28 ABY, Uncharted Planet, Outer Rim
The Jedi Temple was a crumbling ruin on an uninhabited planet in a long forgotten system, and Ben didn't know why Luke had brought him along on the trip since there seemed to be little of value to find. The interior of the Temple was slightly more interesting, almost every chamber rigged with booby traps and no computer database at all. It seemed that it was far older than even Luke had anticipated, but the information excited him and Ben left him alone to inspect the records which were written on parchment and bound in large volumes preserved only because they had lain undisturbed for so long.
Exactly what Luke was searching for on these trips Ben wasn't quite sure. Knowledge certainly, but Luke didn't elaborate much more than that. Once, Ben had pressed him and Luke had simply given him a strange sort of smile and said our heritage. What that meant exactly was anyone's guess and Ben didn't enquire further, rather leaving Luke to his own devices while he explored the various planets alone.
Ben examined an empty chamber he found in the bowels of the Temple, reaching out through the Force asking it to reveal its secrets but there was no response. Still, Ben could sense danger, a tingling at the back of his neck that told him that the room was designed to be a trap. There was only one entrance and on examining it Ben could see that a stone door was designed to slide out from the wall to seal the chamber. Looking up at the high ceiling Ben thought he saw small round rings crisscrossing the stone but there was no way to get closer and examine exactly what they were. Again Ben reached out, this time focusing on the marks and closing his eyes to open himself up to answers.
They weren't marks, Ben realised, they were hollow - holes carved into the rock and only thinly covered by stone at the other end. Above that he felt the overwhelming sense of heaviness, and Ben opened his eyes, a good idea of what it was. Upon further investigation of the walls he found a small catch hidden in the stone, clearly designed to be triggered and set off the trap.
Satisfied that he'd discovered the secrets of the room and with nothing else in the Temple of interest to him, Ben made his way back through the dark hallways and towards the surface. His thoughts, as they often did in the safety of solitude, turned to the subject he always tried to forget and yet somehow never could.
It had been eight years since Rey had been left on Jakku and Ben could only assume she was still there. Luke had certainly never been able to find her, Ben had made sure of that. He'd visited Lor San Tekka himself on his uncle's behalf, since he'd known the old man from childhood. Of course he'd been instructed to ask Lor and his Church if they'd heard anything since Jakku was so close to Imperial space, but instead he'd made polite conversation and had managed to discover that the village had little contact with Unkar Plutt's scavengers and no reason to investigate them without prompting. Once he'd returned to Devaron Ben had informed Luke that there was nothing worth investigating on Jakku or the surrounding systems and his uncle had taken his words at face value with no reason to doubt them.
But that hadn't been the end of it, once Ben turned eighteen he'd constantly be sent on missions and while ordinarily he would have jumped at the chance, they weren't the kind he wanted, tasks of prestige and skill where he could truly put to use what he had learned of the Force. Instead, the search for Rey and Valara went on, with Luke trusting Ben to enquire on his behalf so they could cover more ground. They would hear from a friend in the Outer Rim of a girl around Rey's age with strange powers and Luke would rush halfway across the galaxy to seek her out only for it to turn out to be local gossip. Whispers came from bounty hunters eager to boast that they'd been involved in an attack on the Jedi which always turned out to be simple bravado, or from a hunter getting on in years referring to the Clone Wars. Every time Luke was left disappointed and frustrated but rather than him slowly losing hope as Ben had expected to happen, Luke continued the search with dogged persistence.
In Luke's constant absences, the Temple stagnated. Maliak did the best he could but Luke was the one people had come to train with. The incoming stream of students and acolytes in the early years had slowed to a trickle, and many had left frustrated with the distractions and constant absences of their master. They became even further isolated from the New Republic, with little influence and even less respect. The last time Ben had been to Hosnian Prime visiting his mother he'd noticed a scant regard for Luke and the Jedi - some called them a cult, and others dismissed them as fantasists and naval-gazers
Ever so slowly Ben's disappointment in his Uncle had been turning to hate, for squandering his talent and responsibilities, for being brought down by his attachments, but perhaps most of all for his neglect of Ben. Even now at the age of twenty-three Luke had not taken him on a search for a kyber crystal to build his own lightsaber, nor had he knighted him.
It was an affront, he'd started his training as a boy and had been working at it for well over a decade when Luke himself had only learnt of the Force itself when he was nineteen, and declared himself a Jedi only four years later. He'd come to believe that Snoke had been right all along, that Luke was afraid of Ben's potential and was deliberately holding him back. It had been left to Ben to seek out his find his own crystal and forge his own blade, one that was kept hidden from his uncle at all costs.
Snoke had been right about a lot of things, including the strength of the dark side. Ben had gotten a taste of it when he'd traded Valara's life to the First Order and left Rey on Jakku. It had given him a thrill of power, to know that he was deceiving not only Luke but Snoke as well, who thought Rey had died and so put all of his effort and energy into Ben. It had felt right to be the object of such attention and praise, what he should have been receiving from Luke all along, what he had been receiving until Rey had come along.
Ben had long learned to live with any regrets over his cousin, and had never asked Snoke what had become of his aunt. Sometimes at night he remembered her screaming as they dragged her away and he couldn't sleep but Ben convinced himself that she had brought it on herself. If she'd been more like a mother to him, if she hadn't been suspicious and haughty, if she hadn't been such a distraction to Luke, maybe things could have been different.
The sky was red when Ben existed the Temple and he shielded his eyes against it. The entire system was clouded with electromagnetic radiation and they'd had to fit speciality shields to their ship in order to safely navigate through and so it wasn't in danger parked on the surface. But Ben knew he couldn't linger outside for too long though in case of exposure, and quickly made his way inside.
Only the emergency lights were active to save on power due to the radiation and shields which had also disrupted the communications systems, leaving them somewhat isolated from the rest of the galaxy. For that reason Luke had decided to leave Artoo at the Temple, something the little droid had taken issue with, and Ben had stood there rolling his eyes while Luke had explained to Artoo that it was for his own comfort, and even if he'd come he'd have to remain confined to the ship.
Ben didn't miss the droid - when he'd been younger he'd loved Artoo, who always had a quick quip or amusing story for those who could understand his particular dialect of droid binary. But he had come to grow weary of the droid always at Luke's heels, as if Artoo had appointed himself Luke's protector and personal bodyguard. Ever since what had happened with Valara and Rey Artoo barely left Luke's side, as if he feared something might happen to his master as well.
Ben took his usual place in the co-pilot's chair, noticing a flashing light in the ship's console indicated that they'd received a message. With all of the difficulties with communications it was impossible to know how long ago it had been sent but it was a relief to find that something could get through. Ben flicked the system on, and a small hologram of his mother appeared looking grim and uncharacteristically nervous.
He sat there with mild surprise as Leia told him of her deception in keeping the truth of his heritage from him, and now it had been revealed to the entire galaxy that Darth Vader was her biological father by a political rival. She apologised for keeping the truth from him, and asked that he understand.
When it was finished Ben played the message again. His mother seemed so diminished, tears running down her face as she justified her lies. He wasn't unmoved by it, the love he had for his mother was strong, but she'd turned her back on her true heritage, tried to pretend that it didn't exist. Ben wasn't about to make the same mistake.
It was only after he played the message a third time that Ben realised that the timing wasn't an accident. It was a message from Snoke, somehow he'd planned this or at least engineered the circumstances so the information would be brought to light now, when Ben was with Luke away from the safety of the Jedi Temple. This was the moment Ben had to chose between his two masters, between the dark and the light.
Once he'd thought he could master both but Ben had come to see the truth, that the light was weak. That was obvious in the image of his mother so broken by something which should have given her pride, in Luke as he'd watched hope in him slowly fade over the years. Both his uncle and mother followed the light, and what had it done for them? Leia would lose her political influence, and Luke had already lost most of his. They'd shone in their youth but that sheen had long since faded through hard work with little reward. Ben didn't want to end up like either of them, stymied by politics or more concerned with philosophy than power.
He'd resisted Snoke for so many years, doggedly pursuing the same path his mother and uncle had laid out for him. But for now Ben realised the wisdom Snoke held, the ancient understanding of the Force and the dark side that Luke couldn't even comprehend, let alone master.
Ben was twenty-three years old. The same age his uncle had become a Jedi, and his grandfather a Sith. Ben now had to choose which legacy to follow, and knew that choice would now be irrevocable.
Luke was deep into examining the records when he felt something was wrong, like a shift in the Force. He closed the book he had been studying and rose to try and find the source of the problem.
"Ben?" Luke called out as he walked through the catacombs of the Temple - perhaps he'd uncovered something, who knew what secrets of the Force were within the walls. There was no answer, and Luke searched the various dark corridors and empty chambers careful to avoid the booby traps until he'd found Ben in a small room with a high roof, much taller than the cramped hallway.
Ben was sitting on the floor as if meditating, facing away from the doorway with his hands on his knees. But through the Force Luke felt Ben's mind swirling and not in a meditative state at all.
"Is everything alright?" he asked, approaching Ben cautiously.
"I got a message from Mom," Ben said in a strange, blank tone of voice, still facing away from Luke. "Someone found out about grandfather and revealed it to everyone."
"What about your grandfather?" Luke asked, just in case it was not the obvious.
"That he was Darth Vader," Ben said simply, rising to his feet and turning around to reveal a expression that was impossible to read. "That you and Mom had been lying to everyone."
At first Luke felt only relief, but then it dawned on him how difficult it must be for Leia to deal with. "Is she okay?"
Ben scowled, and Luke belatedly realised that his first concern should probably be his nephew who must be reeling from the knowledge.
"She's dealing with some political issue, I don't know," Ben said dismissively. "She said that she lied because she couldn't deal with it, and not anything to do with me."
"That's true," Luke told him, walking over to Ben. "She's always struggled with the knowledge. You should know Ben, that even though your grandfather did terrible things as an agent of the dark side, he came back to the light in the end. He killed the Emperor to save my life."
But Ben didn't seem to be listening, perhaps he was numb from what he'd just discovered. "Are you sure you didn't tell me because you were afraid I would follow his example?"
"No, that wasn't it at all," Luke told him, laying a hand on his shoulder but Ben shrugged it off, walking past Luke towards the door.
"I am sorry we kept it from you," Luke said, careful not to lay any blame with Leia but treat it as a joint decision. Ben stopped in the doorway, his shoulders visibly tense.
"It was always our intention to explain, but it never seemed like the right time," Luke added, regret flooding him at their complacency, they should have known someone would find out eventually.. "I suppose that's the same justification Obi-Wan and Bail Organa used, and perhaps we've simply repeated their mistakes, but I'm here for you Ben, to answer whatever questions you have."
"It's alright, Uncle Luke," said Ben, strangely calm as he turned back around to face him. "I've known about it for a long time."
"What?" Luke furrowed his brow. "When did you find out?"
"I was...let's see." Ben looked upward as if trying to recall the memory. "I was fifteen when I learned the truth."
"Fifteen…" Luke began to make calculations in his mind, already beginning to draw conclusions he wished with every fibre of his being not to be true.
"But he's always been there," Ben tapped his temple. "In here, whispering to me, helping me, urging me to spot your lies."
Luke blinked as Ben's words sunk in. "You think...that your grandfather is speaking to you through the Force?"
"Why not?" Ben said defiantly. "You said you saw his ghost on Endor, why wouldn't he speak to his grandson."
"I never saw him after that," Luke reminded him. "Nor heard him. How can you be sure-"
"Because I am," Ben snapped, and to Luke he suddenly appeared as he'd never seen him before. There was a dark cloud about him, the swirl of emotions Luke had felt earlier now solidifying. Or perhaps they'd been there for some time, and Ben had just been hiding them.
"Who do you think is speaking to you," Luke asked carefully. "Anakin Skywalker, or Darth Vader?"
"They are both the same," Ben said. "I know you would like believe that Darth Vader was some dark dragon that inhabited your father once he turned to the dark side, but that's just not true Uncle Luke. He was both light and dark, he just never mastered either."
"Is that what you want to do Ben?" Luke asked, suddenly feeling very tired. "Learn of the dark side so you can master it?"
"I've already learnt it," Ben declared, and Luke felt his heart sink. How had he missed this?
"From who?" Luke demanded. "There are no Sith left in the galaxy, I'm sure of that."
"That was your mistake Uncle Luke," Ben told him, his features stern, his voice sharp. "You thought that because there are no Sith the dark side had gone as well. You think the Force is a binary, but I've learned things you can't even imagine, from someone who was here before Jedi or Sith. Lord Snoke had taught me the truth about the Force."
Luke tried to remain calm, thinking that if he could just keep Ben talking he'd find a way to get through to him. "And how long has he been in contact with you?"
Ben smiled in a way that made Luke feel ill. "Longer than you would want to accept."
Luke ran a hand over his mouth, this was worse than he could have imagined. Suddenly he saw Ben with fresh eyes, not the eyes of a loving uncle who overlooked much, but instead those of a Jedi Master who hadn't even realised his pupil was being courted by the dark side. Was this how Obi-Wan had felt when he'd learned of Anakin's betrayal? Sick to the stomach, blaming himself and his blindness, wondering what he could have done to prevent it. But it was worse than that, Luke realised as he came to see the truth.
"This Snoke - he's the one who took Rey and Valara, isn't he?" Luke said, already knowing the answer. "You were involved, and I just didn't want to see it. Valara knew something , that's why it happened."
He remembered Valara telling him after the incident at the Devaronian village that she was concerned in the darkness in Ben, that in some moments when he was unguarded she saw something shift in him through her Force-sight. Like a storm brewing, she'd said, and Luke could see it now, except it was clear the storm was about to break.
"What happened to them?" Luke asked, his voice cracking. "Are they still alive?"
"I tried to save them, Uncle Luke." Ben's voice softened and his scowl melted into sorrow. "When I found out they were missing I tried to fix it, to rescue them and bring them home to you. But I was too late, Valara tried to escape and the ship crashed."
Luke saw a glimpse of Ben's memory, a fleeing ship, fire from another vessel, a fiery crash and subsequent explosion no one could survive. All of his breath was sucked out of him as he faced the horrifying, final truth. He'd known for years, really, that if they were out there he should have found them by now - his wife was too clever, too capable to be held prisoner and he'd spent years expecting her and Rey to just show up one day with an incredible story to tell. But now he had to accept that they were truly gone, and Luke closed his eyes as his soul felt like it was shattering.
"And all of that wasn't enough to stop you from toying with the dark side?" he asked.
"You weren't there for me, Uncle Luke." The venom in Ben's voice returned. "You were no longer a teacher, so I had to turn to someone else to learn."
"No…" Luke said, opening his eyes. "This isn't you, Ben. The dark side is strong, but it only weakens you in the end."
"I was strong enough to keep your from sensing it all these years," Ben said proudly. "I played both sides, learning all I could and I'm now beyond you, Luke. I don't need you anymore."
Luke's lightsaber was in his hand and lit before he even realised he'd reached for it. "Are you sure about that?"
Ben stepped back over the threshold and waved his hand. Luke heard a faint clink to his right and turned to late to see that a trigger had been concealed in the wall. Luke ran towards the exit but he wasn't fast enough, a solid stone door sliding down between them and enclosing Luke in the room with no means of escape.
"I'm sorry, Luke," Ben called from the other side, and he sounded genuinely regretful. "This is the way it has to be."
"Ben!" he called after his nephew, but heard his sure footsteps walking away. "BEN!"
Behind him Luke heard a strange sifting noise, and turned to see that sand was falling in steady streams from holes in the high ceiling. The streams soon became cascades, the sand already up to Luke's ankles as he examined the room looking for a means of escape. He tried moving the door with the Force but it held firm, no doubt part of the trap assuming that trespassers or enemies would have the Force at their disposal.
He tried slashing his lightsaber at the walls but the stone was resistant, not even singed by the heat of the blade. Luke reached out for Ben through the Force, making a final plea not to do this but was met with walls as strong as those keeping him enclosed in the trap, and he felt Ben leave the Temple behind.
The sand reached his chest, and Luke began to give in to the hopelessness of the situation. He could no longer move, flailing of his arms to try and keep on top of the rising sand only made him sink further. This was the ignoble end, Luke overwhelmed by the magnitude of his mistakes - how could he have missed what Ben had done? He hadn't wanted to believe it, he realised, Valara had been right, he'd been blinded by his love for him, and it had doomed them all.
He closed his eyes as the sand and sorrow began to close over him, lifting his face to take one last breath as he accepted death for his failure.
Valara, my love, I'll be with you and Rey soon.
But it was then, when the darkness finally covered him that Luke felt a jolt deep inside. He hadn't given up when all had seemed lost before, so why would he do so now, just because it was easier to lay down and die than fight? Luke Skywalker never took the easy way out, and he never gave up on anyone he loved.
Reaching out through the Force again Luke searched upward. If the sand was coming in, that meant there had to be a way out. He found the small holes through which the sand was pouring and focused on them, reaching up with his hand as if he was grasping an invisible rope. There was a crack above as the ceiling began to split, and with his other hand Luke pushed through the sand to grasp his lightsaber again. The blade cut easily through the sand, turning it to glass and hardening it enough for Luke to wrest himself free using his artificial hand. Once atop the sand he pulled on the holes above again with enough Force to break the stone between them.
An avalanche of sand poured through but he'd made the hole big enough to escape. Luke clipped his lightsaber back to his belt and called upon all of his Force strength to jump upwards against the tide of sand. He just made it, gripping onto the side of the large hole he'd made and pulling himself into the higher chamber. Almost all of the sand was now in the trap below, leaving the higher chamber empty and with the help of his lightsaber and guidance of the Force, easy to escape from.
Once back on the surface Luke saw Ben had taken the ship and was gone, leaving him all but stranded on the planet. He looked up in the sky, a radiation storm was brewing and he'd have to take shelter back inside the Temple until it blew over. Luke cursed to himself, knowing that every moment he was losing precious time to stop Ben from carrying out whatever his plans were, to try and turn him back to the light.
Luke inspected his right hand where some of the artificial skin had been burnt off by the searing glass and he could see some of the silver mechanisms inside. But that was the least of his worries, the Temple had no communications equipment, and Luke regretted leaving Artoo back on Devaron. He still had his comm unit, and switched it on to scan for local frequencies. Although the planet had seemed uninhabited, Luke knew it was the perfect place for a smuggler's base or anyone else that wished to stay hidden. With any luck, he'd find someone and convince them to help.
Jedi Temple, Devaron
It was dark and raining when Ben landed just outside the shield which concealed the Temple from outside view. The perfect weather, he told himself, they had the element of surprise and launching a defence in a storm would be difficult. Armitage Hux had brought one of his Star Destroyers under Snoke's orders, and they were lying in wait above the planet.
The six Knights of Ren were also waiting for Ben, all armed and dressed in the black of the order Ben himself had formed over the past two years. He felt his heart swell with purpose - thousands of people waiting for him, for his order, as it was always meant to be. Ben approached his Knights of Ren and one of them removed his helmet to reveal Nada Yilu, onetime student at the Temple who'd left a few years earlier in disgust. They'd become close after Nada had concealed Ben's absence from the Temple following the abduction of Valara and Rey, and when Ben had become sure of his loyalty he'd told him about Snoke.
Nada had already been fed up with his lack of progress under Luke and Maliak's tutelage, and so left the Temple to train under Snoke instead. The rest of the Knights were those Ben had met on his travels while he was meant to be searching for Rey and Valara; two bounty hunters who had shown particular skill, an assassin, and two promising cadets from Hux's Academy. None of the latter had the Force and Nada's skill was minimal but Ben prefered it that way, it made them easier to command.
"Are you ready?" Nada asked, and Ben realised they were all wondering if he was up to this.
He scowled and stared them all down. "Of course."
Nada handed Ben his own helmet, black and silver to emulate Darth Vader's, although Ben's was sleeker. He'd worn the helmet whenever he was with the Knights to hide his identity, and they had already become feared in the Western Reaches for their ruthlessness and anonymity. The New Republic did nothing, the planets bordered on Imperial Space and they valued their treaty top highly - the old Imperials disavowed knowledge of them anyway, and no one knew of the First Order gathering strength in the Unknown Regions. But they would know soon enough, Ben told himself, lovingly tracing the helmet. Soon his chosen name would be as feared as Darth Vader's had once been.
"Skywalker?" Nada asked.
"Taken care of," Ben said, sure to keep his voice steady. "He won't be interfering."
"Then this is the first day of our victory," Nada said, puffing out his chest. "The day Ben Solo proves himself."
"Not Ben," he corrected him, putting on the helmet. Immediately he felt changed, more powerful, like a creature void of form but fueled with the dark side. "Kylo Ren."
He turned on one heel and stalked towards the shield, activating the hidden passage through the Force as he went through. The Temple came into view, rising above him as lightning lit up the sky. He took one last look at his past and then deactivated the shield entirely with the codes he alone had been trusted with, exposing the Temple to view.
Nada was on his comm unit behind him, acknowledging that the target was now open and that Hux should release his fighters. The Knights of Ren joined Kylo and they watched the first ships break through the cloudy sky and almost immediately focusing their blasts on the main tower of the Temple. It exploded in a haze of fire, and Kylo felt half of the inhabitants die instantly. They were the lucky ones.
"Let's go," he ordered and ignited the blood-red blade of his lightsaber.
Luke came out of hyperspace with a jolt, cursing the ancient navcomputer on the borrowed shuttle which had made the journey a bumpy ride. He'd located a small settlement colony a few hours walk from the Temple and he'd been lucky that one of the elder statesmen of the community remembered Jedi from the Clone Wars. The lightspeed capabilities weren't great, but they'd eventually gotten him home.
But as soon as Luke veered the ship down through Devaron's atmosphere he knew he was too late. The protective shield that usually hid the Temple from view was gone, revealing the devastation below visible even in the darkness.
The Temple had been completely destroyed, half the building blown away and plumes of smoke still rising from the smouldering ruins. The grounds had been scorched by blaster fire from above and as Luke brought in his ship to land he saw small dark clumps that looked like rocks from a distance, but he knew were bodies.
The stench of fire, smoke and death filled the air as he left the ship, some of the blackened trees still smouldering. He reached out through the Force to find any trace of life but there was none, the lifeless bodies that lay on the ground leading up the the Temple only a few of those that had been killed. Looking up at the ruins, he surmised that most of them must have perished in an aerial assault, killed instantly as the Temple had been destroyed.
There was no doubt of Ben's involvement - who else could have disabled the shield or led the attack. Luke bowed his head, grief overwhelming him. He'd been responsible for every life in the Temple and he hadn't been able to protect them - they had come to him in good faith to learn the ways of the Force, and that had only lead to their deaths. Anger coursed through him at what Ben had done, this was further towards the dark side than he had ever imagined. It whispered to Luke like an old friend, reminding him that he could easily take revenge - no, retribution. But Luke quickly paused those thoughts away, spotting them easily for the seductions they were, false promises from the darkest parts of his soul intent on leading him away from the light and everything he'd worked his entire life for.
He heard a soft electronic warbling in the distance, and Luke looked up to see Artoo rolling towards him through the darkness. Luke almost sobbed in relief as the little droid recounted to him the terrible story and expressed his regret that he could not do anything to stop it.
Luke sank to his knees, unable to keep upright any longer, and reached out his hand to rest on Artoo for strength and comfort. His prosthetic was fully visible now, the artificial skin unsalvageable so he'd removed it entirely, and it made a small clinking sound against Artoo's round dome.
I can't do it Artoo. I can't go on alone.
He'd said those words to the little droid after Yoda had died, and he'd thought that grief was bad enough. Obi-Wan had appeared at that moment which had given him some comfort, but even though Luke looked up hopefully there was no shimmering light that would indicate the presence of his former Masters or father. He truly was alone now.
Luke forced himself to walk the path up towards the Temple with Artoo at his heels, choking down the bile as he passed body after body, some with blaster wounds, others with lightsaber slashes or injuries from what looked like blunt objects. They'd been caught by surprise, and for once Luke regretted keeping lightsabers locked away in the training rooms until a person was knighted and they could build their own. Perhaps if they'd had them they'd have been able to put up more of a fight.
Ben must have built his own, Artoo had told him that a tall man in a black mask had carried a red lightsaber unlike any he'd ever seen before. The blade had been unstable, from the description Luke assumed it used a cracked kyber crystal, but it had also had crossbar blades that came from an ancient design Luke had come across in his research. When Ben had built it or where he'd obtained the crystal from Luke didn't know, but according to Artoo he was the only one of the group who'd carried one.
Maliak's body was by the former gardens, now burnt away by wildfire which had been dampened by the storm. He had carried a lightsaber of course, but Luke couldn't see one in his hand - it must have been taken from him once he'd fallen. From the looks of his body he'd put up a fight, defending the Temple and the students with his life. Luke had to turn away to keep from breaking down again at the sight of his close friend and greatest confidant slain by both blaster fire and lightsaber.
There wasn't much left of the Temple's main tower, it was more a pile of rubble than anything else, collapsed stones black from blaster fire. Luke had lived there for close to two decades, it was the home he'd shared with Rey and Valara for all too brief a time. He reached into the pocket of his robe, thankful for the two objects he always carried with him; the green worry stone and a silk hair ribbon that had belonged to Rey. They were all he had left now, the rest of his belongings and memories blown away by Ben's betrayal.
Amidst the rubble Luke sensed something, almost like a presence clinging to life. A survivor, perhaps? Luke reached out his hand and moved the debris with the Force to try and free them but soon realised it wasn't a person he was sensing. He climbed over the stones to where the Force tree had fallen, uprooted from its place in the highest point of the tower and buried by the explosion.
He pressed his hand to the trunk of the dying tree as tears filled his eyes. It had been waiting for him, Luke realised, clinging to life to give him one last gift. Moving quickly, he found a small pot amid the rubble and filled it with with earth from the forest, then excised a small clipping and gently planted it in the pot where it quickly took root. It was too late for the rest of the tree, once so bright in the Force, and when it died Luke almost heard the sound of a final exhale.
Feeling someone approach, Luke looked up to see a Devaronian woman walking cautiously towards him.
"Farnay," he called to her through the darkness. "I'm over here."
"Luke," Farnay rushed over. "We saw the battle from our village," she told him. "It was terrible, Luke, the sky was lit with explosions. There was nothing we could do to stop it."
"I know."
"Is everyone…" Farnay looked around, pressing a hand to her mouth as she saw the carnage. "Who could have done this?"
Luke didn't know how to respond, other than Ben he wasn't sure who had been involved and the pain was too raw to admit even to Farnay that his nephew had turned to the dark side.
"Someone who hates me," Luke said, almost choking on the words.
Farnay approached to embrace him, and Luke accepted her comfort, feeling her feebly reach out through the Force to try and soothe his battered soul. She was better with plants than people, Luke thought, but he appreciated it all the same.
After a few moments she pulled away, and touched the clipping in his hand lightly. "Is that all that's left?"
Luke nodded, holding it out so Farnay could place her light fingers upon the root. He felt the Force spark in it again, enriched by Farnay's gift.
"It survived the Empire," Luke told her. "It was cut down and unable to thrive, but it lived to grow again."
"Will you replant it?" Farnay asked.
Luke held out the pot for Farnay to take. "You will," he told her. "Find a nice spot near your village but keep it secret. Use your light to help it grow."
"What about you?" Farnay asked, accepting the gift with tears in her eyes.
"I must leave this place," Luke told her, looking sadly around at the ruins. "This Temple has been destroyed twice now and I'm not sure I have the heart to rebuilt it again. Let the jungle reclaim it, let your people care for the land again."
"No," Farnay shook her head, clutching the pot to her. "You can't leave."
"I have to," Luke said, squeezing her arm gently. "This all happened because of me, and for now I need to go where I can't put anyone else in danger."
He started to walk back towards the ruins of the Temple, Artoo on his heels. The second tower which housed the vehicle hangars had also been destroyed, but only above the ground. Luke led Farnay down beneath the main structure which had now been exposed by the explosions, where he kept a ship he couldn't bear to house with the others.
"This was Valara's X-Wing," he said as they approached the fighter which stood in the middle of the underground chamber. "The one she used to get the Death Star plans. I flew it myself at the Battle of Yavin and it crashed a few years later."
Luke ran his hand over the X-Wing's hull thick with dust. "It was something we shared, it brought us together and so I tracked it down for her. She spent years rebuilding it, modifying it so she didn't need her sight or a droid to fly it. I promised her that she would fly again, you see, but I couldn't keep that promise, she was taken before it was finished."
"But you fixed it," Farnay nodded, understanding. "Where will you go?"
Luke's first instinct was to set course for Hosnian Prime, to Leia. She deserved to hear what had happened from him but Luke couldn't bear it. Half of him was guilty that she had given him her son for safekeeping and he'd failed her, the other half was angry that it was her child who had hurt him so deeply. All of that could be reconciled of course, their love for each other surpassing all else, but Luke knew he could not go back.
The events would no doubt galvanise Leia, she would come back fighting against whatever dark force Ben had aligned himself with. She would draw him into the fight, persuade him that it was the best course of action because that was all she knew how to to do; react, be on the offensive. But Luke knew he had to look to the Force for answers - something had gone wrong with Ben, and a war would not bring him back nor guarantee their success, it would also result in more bloodshed. If he saw her, Luke knew he wouldn't have the strength to deny her request for help and so while it pained him deeply, he had to set out alone.
Besides, Leia would not be alone, she and Han would have each other, and Luke trusted in their bond to see them through the dark times ahead. Because of Ben he didn't have that, his wife was dead and he could not turn to her for comfort. There was a bitter taste in his mouth, and Luke choked it down, knowing that he couldn't go after Ben either, it would draw him too close to the dark side.
"Luke?" Farnay asked again.
Luke turned to her. "In my dreams I've seen an island in a vast and swirling sea. The first Jedi Temple, the one I've been searching years for, the one I now have to find."
"What do you think will be there?" Farnay asked.
"Answers." Luke crouched down to Artoo's level. "But you can't come with me, old friend. You have to explain what happened to Leia and the others."
Artoo warbled plaintively, asking Luke not to leave him. "I'm sorry," Luke touched his dome again, this time with his left hand. "This is a journey I have to take alone."
Artoo's eyestalk drooped, and he let out a low beep, asking when Luke would be coming back.
"I don't know," Luke said truthfully, and turned to Farnay whose tears had spilled onto her cheeks. "It's dangerous to be associated with the Jedi right now," he told her. "You should be safe here, and if anyone you don't know asks where I've gone please say you don't know."
"But Luke," Farnay voice was plaintive, "without the Jedi, won't the dark side grow stronger?"
Luke rose to his feet and looked back up at the smouldering ruins of the Temple. "Without the Jedi there can be no Balance, and the Force itself will become dormant as those of us still alive go into hiding." He thought of Laisha, still out there somewhere in the galaxy, passing on what she had learned. He thought of the handful of other students who had become Jedi and returned to their home planets or travelled to systems most in need of them. "But we will return," he told her, patting Artoo lightly in a promise. "I will return."