Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan or George Lucas.
Enter Luke, on Mortis.
Luke lays in bed, recovering from his wounds at the Grotto of Yun-Ne'Shel.
Enter Vestara Khai, an immortal Sith female with brown hair and eyes, as well as a small scar on her lip which gives the impression that there is a grin on her face.
Luke tries to rise.
Vestara. Stay still. You're too weak to rise.
Vestara feeds bacta to Luke, healing him.
Luke. Who?
Vestara. Shh, brave one. Rest and heal. No harm will come to you here. I am Vestara Khai.
Luke sleeps.
Exit Vestara.
Luke awakes days later in a cave. Sitting up, Luke discovers that his lightsaber and Vodo-Siosk Baas's whistle are still with him. Standing up, Luke looks at himself in the mirror.
Luke. Vader's eyes.
Luke turns away and heads outside the cave.
Enter Vestara, speaking with her cloaked servants.
Luke approaches Vestara.
Vestara. Well, the sleeper finally wakes.
Luke. Who were you talking to?
Vestara. Oh, just a messenger. How do you feel?
Luke. How long have I been out?
Vestara. Time . . . time is always difficult here. I honestly do not know, Luke.
Luke. You know my name?
Vestara. You talk in your sleep.
Luke. [blushes] Yeah. I've . . . been told that before.
Vestara. Yes. Who is Mara?
Luke. Oh, a friend. We were together when . . . wait. How did I get here? Where am I?
Vestara runs her fingers through Luke's hair.
Vestara. I'm sorry. I've just grown used to caring for you. As to how you got here, you fell from the sky. You landed in the water, just there. I do not know how you survived. The water seemed to cushion your fall. As to where you are, you are in Mortis.
Luke. Is that near the Sacred Spire?
Vestara. [laughs] It isn't near anything, brave one. Mortis is my ethereal realm. It exists by itself, anywhere and nowhere. You can heal here in safety. Never fear.
Luke. But my friends . . .
Vestara. Mara. And Corran and Lowbacca?
Luke. Yes. I have to get back to them. They're in danger.
Vestara. Rest first. You are no good to your friends until you heal.
Luke. [hesitates] You're not . . . you're not an evil dark-sider, are you?
Vestara. [smiles] Why would you think that?
Luke. Well, I met Talzin once, and she had a pretty nice realm, too . . . except she liked to turn males into tusk-pigs.
Vestara. [laughs] I promise I will not turn you into a tusk-pig.
Luke. Or anything else?
Vestara. I am no evil dark-sider. And I am not your enemy, brave one. Now rest. Your eyes are already closing.
As Luke collapses, Vestara catches him and lays him down.
Rest.
Luke sleeps.
Exit Vestara.
Luke rises days later and stands to view the constellations, among them the Witch of Dathomir: a monument to the late Akanah Norand Goss.
Enter Vestara.
Luke. What do you see?
Luke turns to face Vestara.
Luke. I was just looking at . . . [frowns] I forgot.
Vestara. [laughs] Well, as long as you're up, you can help me plant these.
Vestara shows Luke to her garden, where she plants dalsa flowers.
These are dalsa flowers. They can only be planted at night.
Luke. What do they do?
Vestara. Do? It doesn't really do anything, I suppose. It lives. It gives light. It provides beauty. Does it have to do anything else?
Luke. I guess not.
Luke and Vestara plant the dalsa flowers.
Vestara. I love my garden.
Luke. It's astral. Back home, my mother always wanted a garden.
Vestara. Why did she not plant one?
Luke. Well, we live on Coruscant . . . in an apartment.
Vestara. Coruscant? Apartment?
Luke stares at her.
Luke. You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?
Vestara. I fear not. I have not left Mortis in . . . a long time.
Luke. Well, Coruscant's an entirely urban planet, with not much gardening space.
Vestara. [frowns] That is sad. Yun-Shuno visits from time to time. She tells me the galaxy has changed greatly. I did not realize it had changed so much you cannot have gardens.
Luke. Why haven't you left your realm?
Vestara. [looks down] It is my punishment.
Luke. What did you do?
Vestara. I? Nothing. But I'm afraid my father did a great deal. His name is Dooku.
Luke. Still, it's not fair to punish you for what your father's done. I knew another daughter of Dooku. Her name was Akanah. She was one of the bravest beings I've ever met.
Vestara studies Luke sadly.
What is it?
Vestara. Are . . . are you healed yet, my brave one? Do you think you'll be ready to leave soon?
Luke. What? I don't know. Do you want me to go?
Vestara. I . . . I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well.
Exit Vestara.
Luke awakes again days later. Upon awaking, he tries to contact through their mind meld, to no avail. As the days move by, Luke aids Vestara in her garden, then later eats dinner with her, served by the female Sith's cloaked servants. As they eat on one evening, Luke relays to Vestara his first quest with Mara and Corran. As he speaks, Vestara looks down sadly.
Luke. There it is again.
Vestara. What?
Luke. You keep pulling away, like you're trying not to enjoy yourself.
Vestara. As I told you, Luke, I have been punished . . . cursed, you might say.
Luke. How? Tell me. I want to help.
Vestara. Don't say that. Please don't say that.
Luke. Tell me what the punishment is.
Vestara. Luke. This realm, Mortis, is my home, my birth world. But it is also my prison. I am under . . . house arrest, I guess you would call it. I will never visit this Coruscant of yours . . . or anywhere else. I am alone here.
Luke. Because your father was Dooku.
Vestara. [nods] The Je'daii do not trust their enemies . . . and rightly so. I should not complain. Some of the prison worlds are not nearly as nice as mine.
Luke. But that's not fair. Just because you're related doesn't mean you support him. This other daughter I knew, Akanah Norand Goss . . . She fought against him. She wasn't imprisoned.
Vestara. But Luke, I did support him in the war. He is my father.
Luke. What? But the Sith are evil.
Vestara. Are they? All of them? All the time? Tell me, Luke. I have no wish to argue with you. But do you support the Je'daii because they are good, or because they are your family? Perhaps I was wrong in the war. And in fairness, the Je'daii have treated me well. They visit me from time to time. They bring me word of the outside galaxy. But they can leave. And I cannot.
Luke. You don't have any friends? I mean, wouldn't anyone else live here with you? it's a nice place.
Vestara tries to withhold her tears.
Vestara. I . . . I promised myself I wouldn't speak of this. But . . .
Luke and Vestara stir as a roar of flames advance toward Mortis.
Luke. What is that?
Vestara. [sighs] A visitor.
Enter Yun-Ne'Shel.
Vestara. Lady Yun-Ne'Shel. This is a rare honor.
Yun-Ne'Shel. Vestara Khai. Beautiful as always. Would you excuse us, please, my dear? I need to have a word with our young Luke Skywalker.
Exit Vestara.
Luke. Yun-Ne'Shel. What's going on? Is Mara . . . ?
Yun-Ne'Shel. She's fine. Resourceful girl, that one. She found her way back, told me the whole story. She's worried sick, you know.
Luke. You haven't told her I'm okay?
Yun-Ne'Shel. That's not for me to say. Everyone thinks you're dead. I had to be sure you were coming back before I started telling everyone where you were.
Luke. What do you mean? Of course I'm coming back.
Yun-Ne'Shel studies Luke skeptically, then removes a holoprojector, from which she displays a live feed from the HoloNet: a holographic image of the Sacred Spire.
Enter Javis Tyrr, a holographic image of the holojournalist.
Tyrr. Still uncertain about further eruptions. Authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost half a million beings as a precaution. Meanwhile, ash has fallen as far away as the Western Sea and Aldera. And the entire Sacred Spire area is closed to traffic within a hundred-parsec radius. While no deaths have been reported, minor injuries and illnesses include . . .
Yun-Ne'Shel switches off the holoprojector.
Exit Tyrr.
Yun-Ne'Shel. You caused quite an explosion.
Luke. [aside] Half a million beings evacuated? Injuries? Illness? What have I done?
Yun-Ne'Shel. The Noghri were scattered. Some vaporized. Some got away, no doubt. I don't think they'll be using my grotto any time soon. On the other hand, neither will I. The explosion caused Nyax to stir in his sleep. We'll have to wait and see . . .
Luke. I couldn't release him, could I? I mean, I'm not that powerful.
Yun-Ne'Shel. Not that powerful, eh? You could have fooled me. You're the son of the Earthshaker, lad. You don't know your own strength.
Luke. [aside] That's the last thing I wanted him to say. I wasn't in control of myself in that grotto. I released so much energy I almost vaporized myself, drained all the life out of me. Now I find out I nearly destroyed a large portion of the Galactic Alliance and almost woke the most horrible monster ever imprisoned by the Je'daii. Maybe I am too dangerous. Maybe it is safer for my friends to think I'm dead. [to Yun-Ne'Shel] What about Corran and Lowie?
Yun-Ne'Shel. [shakes her head] No word, I'm afraid. I suppose the Graveyard has them.
Luke. So what am I supposed to do?
Yun-Ne'Shel. Don't ever ask an old cripple for advice, lad. But I'll tell you this. You've met my consort?
Luke. Yun-Q'aah.
Yun-Ne'Shel. That's her. She's a tricky one, lad. Be careful of love. It will twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong.
Luke. Is this part of her plan? Did she land me here?
Yun-Ne'Shel. Possibly. Hard to say with her. But if you decide to leave this place, and I don't say what's right or wrong, then I promised you an answer to your quest. I promised you the way to Vodo-Siosk Baas. Well, now here's the thing. It has nothing to do with Nomi Sunrider's blood trail. Not really. Sure, the blood trail works. That's what the Sith army will be after. But the best way through the Graveyard . . . Andur Sunrider had the Princess's help. And the Princess was a regular mundane, not an ounce of Force-sensitivity in her. But she was clever, and she could see, lad. She could see very clearly. So what I'm saying . . . I think you know how to navigate the Graveyard.
Luke. [with realization] Yeah. Yeah, I know.
Yun-Ne'Shel. Then you'll need to decide whether or not you're leaving.
Luke. I . . .
Yun-Ne'Shel. Don't decide yet. Wait until daybreak. Daybreak is a good time for decisions.
Luke. Will Baas even help us? I mean, if he gives Caedus a way to navigate the Graveyard, we're dead. I saw dreams about . . . Baas killed his niece. He turned bitter and angry and . . .
Yun-Ne'Shel. It isn't easy being a brilliant inventor. You're always alone, always misunderstood. It's easy to turn bitter, make horrible mistakes. Beings are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a being, he can't be fixed. Baas started well enough. He helped the Princess Nomi Da-Boda and Andur Sunrider because he felt sorry for them. He tried to do a good deed. And everything in his life went bad because of it. Was that fair? [shrugs] I don't know if Baas will help you, lad. But don't judge someone until you've stood at his forge and worked with his hammer, eh?
Luke. I'll . . . I'll try.
Yun-Ne'Shel. Goodbye, lad. You did well, destroying the Noghri. I'll always remember you for that.
Exit Yun-Ne'Shel.
Enter Vestara.
Vestara. She has ordered you to return.
Luke. Well, not ordered. She gave me a choice.
Vestara. I promised I would not offer.
Luke. Offer what?
Vestara. For you to stay.
Luke. Stay. Like . . . forever?
Vestara. You would be immortal on this world. You would never age or die. You could leave the fight to others, Luke Skywalker. You could escape your prophecy.
Luke. [stunned] Just like that?
Vestara. [nods] Just like that.
Luke. But . . . my friends . . .
Vestara takes Luke's hand.
Vestara. You asked about my curse, Luke. I did not want to tell you. The truth is the Je'daii send me companionship from time to time. Every thousand years or so, they allow a Jedi to crash-land in this realm, someone who needs my help. I tend to him and befriend him. But it is never random. The Force ensures that the sort of being they send . . .
Luke squeezes her hand.
Luke. What? What have I done to make you sad?
Vestara. They send a being who can never stay, who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. They send me a being I cannot help . . . just the sort of being I cannot help but fall in love with.
Luke. Me?
Vestara. [smiles] If you could see your face. Of course, you.
Luke. That's why you've been pulling away all this time?
Vestara. I tried very hard. But I cannot help it. The Ones are cruel. They sent you to me, my brave one, knowing that you would break my heart.
Luke. But . . . I'm just . . . I mean, I'm just me.
Vestara. That is enough. I told myself I would not even speak of this. I would let you go without even offering. But I cannot. I suppose the Ones knew that, too. You could stay with me, Luke. I'm afraid that is the only way you could help me.
Luke looks away in contemplation.
Luke. I cannot. I would never do anything to hurt you. But my friends need me. I know how to help them now. I have to get back.
Vestara hands Luke a dalsa flower and kisses him on the forehead.
Vestara. Then come to the beach, Jedi. And we will send you on your way.
As Luke and Vestara arrive at the beach, a small shuttle lands before them, one which looks barely spaceworthy.
This will take you wherever you desire. It is quite safe.
Luke takes Vestara's hand.
Luke. Maybe I can visit you.
Vestara. [shakes her head] No being ever finds Mortis twice, Luke. When you leave, I will never see you again.
Luke. But . . .
Vestara. Go, please. The Ones are cruel, Luke. Just remember me. [smiles] Plant a garden on Coruscant for me, will you?
Luke. I promise.
Luke boards the shuttle, and it takes off from Mortis.
Exit Vestara.
Luke's shuttle travels through the Mortis monolith, returning to the wider galaxy.
The Jedi Praxeum. Sail me home.
Exit all.