Chapter 38- Not a Cave and Training
Lena and Leia sat in the cockpit. Lena kept hearing faint booms and she could only figure it was the Empire trying to flush them out, but stretching out with the Force, Lena could sense that all the Imperials were some ways away. Lena looked over at her cousin. Leia looked rather morose, looking at nothing. Leia then looked outside the viewport at some winged creature as it flew by. Lena looked in the same direction.
Leia and Lena both stood and Leia gave a sharp scream as something stuck to the viewport with a squeal. Leia and Lena left the cockpit. "Sir, if I may venture an opinion-" Lena heard Threepio start to ask.
"I'm not really interested in your opinion, Threepio," Han said crudely as Leia all but ran to him.
"There's something out there," Leia said sharply as Han turned to her, a welder in his hand and safety goggles covering his eyes.
"Where?" Han asked, removing the goggles.
"Outside in the cave. And what I can feel of them through the Force is that they are mindless and hungry," Lena said, indicating the direction with her chin. A banging sound followed her statement.
"There it is. Listen. Listen!" Threepio whined pathetically.
"I'm going out there," Han said, removing his goggles and going towards his breathers and weapons.
"Are you crazy?" Leia asked as Han passed her and Lena.
"I just got this bucket back together. I'm not going to let something tear it apart," Han said as he ran.
"Then we're going with you," Leia said as she, Lena, and Chewbacca grabbed breathers. Lena pulled out her lightsaber and powered it up. The blue blade could hardly cut through the murk and the ground felt soft and porous.
"This ground sure feels strange. It doesn't feel like rock," Leia said as the moved around.
"There's an awful lot of moisture in here," Han said, his blaster in one hand as he looked around.
"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this," Lena said, stretching out again with the Force. Something felt off and hungry? How could a cave feel hungry? It wasn't a living being.
"Yeah," Han agreed. Something then squealed. "Watch out!" Han shouted and fired at something flying through the air and missed. Lena pulled out her lightsaber and sliced through it deftly. The creature landed in two parts on the ground.
"It's all right. It's all right," Han said as he and Lena stepped closer to examine it and Chewbacca whimpered. "Yeah, that's what I thought- mynock. Chewie, check the rest of the ship and make sure there are no more attached, chewing on the power cables," Han said to the Wookie.
Lena and Leia both looked at each other before looking at Han. "Mynocks," Leia said, voicing Lena's thoughts.
"Go on inside. We'll clean them off if there are any more," Han said as a swarm of mynocks swept down out of the sky. Leia screamed as Lena powered up her lightsaber and Han used his blaster.
"Han!" Leia screamed as she made her way to the ship. A shot from Chewbacca made the whole cave shake and roar, scaring away the mynocks.
"Wait a minute," Han said, looking around. Han aimed at the ground and fired, causing the cave to shake and roar again. The four of them ran into the Falcon without a word.
"Let's get out of here!" Han shouted as he raced to the cockpit.
"The Empire is still out there! I don't think-" Leia started to say, trying to keep up.
"No time to discuss this in committee!" Han interrupted sharply as he raced past her.
"I am not a committee!" Leia exclaimed, looking positively insulted.
"You can't make the jump to lightspeed in this asteroid field," Leia protested as Han got in the pilot's chair.
"Sit down, sweetheart! We're taking off!" Han said sharply. He took off.
"Look! Look!" Threepio protested as what looked like the mouth of the cave was collapsing.
"I see it. I see it," Han said shortly.
"We're doomed," Threepio wailed.
"The cave is collapsing," Leia said in shock.
"This is no cave," Han and Lena said.
"What?" Leia asked as they slipped between the closing entrance. Lena looked as what was a space slug lunged for them, closing its teeth hard. They went right back out into the asteroid field.
"Trust you to land inside a creature, Han," Lena said sarcastically under her breath.
Training for a Jedi was a lot harder than Talon remembered, even though it was Talon and Yoda training Luke. Talon had always thought being a Padawan wasn't all that difficult, but this training that he and Yoda subjected Luke to made the Battle of Geonosis look easy. Talon and Luke climbed vines and did Force leaps. Of course Luke had to do all that with Yoda on his back and Yoda telling him how to use the Force. Talon would occasionally put in his input, but Yoda was doing most of the training.
Yes! Run!" Yoda said as Luke somersaulted and breathing hard, took off running.
"Yes! That's it, Nephew! A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression, they are of the dark side. They flow easily and are quick to join you in a fight. If you start down that dark path they will forever dominate your destiny. It will consume you like it did Obi-Wan's apprentice," Talon said as he and Luke came to a stop.
"Vader. Uncle, Master, is the dark side stronger?" Luke asked.
"No, no. No. Quicker, easier, more seductive," Yoda said in a forlorn voice as he looked down, probably remembering all the friends they lost to Palpatine and Vader.
"How do I know the good side from the bad?" Luke asked.
"You will know, Luke, when you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. It has never been the Jedi way," Talon said.
"But tell me why I can't-" Luke started to ask.
"No, no. There is no why. Nothing more will I and Talon teach you today. Clear your mind of questions," Yoda said. Luke did as Yoda asked and he put Yoda down. Luke went to a nearby tree to retrieve his shirt and stopped, looking into a dark cave, that gave Talon a case of the shivers. The dark side had saturated that cave and even an untrained Padawan could have felt it. Luke was no exception.
"There's something not right here. I feel cold, death," Luke said with a slight shiver in his voice.
"That place is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go," Yoda said from the spot where he had sat down. Talon sat down next to him. If this cave was what Talon remembered from his days as a Padawan, Luke would probably be in there for awhile.
"What's in there?" Luke asked.
"Only what you take with you. You won't need your weapons, Luke," Talon said, looking up as the boy strapped on his blaster and lightsaber. Luke went into the cave.
"Impetuous he is, my old Padawan. Much like his father," Yoda said.
"I know, Master, but he doesn't really know any better. If I had raised him or if Owen had let Obi-Wan train him, things would be different. Fortunately Lena and Leia are more levelheaded of the three of them," Talon said.
"Do not know any of them?" Yoda inquired.
"Lena and Luke know they are brother and sister, but they don't know about Leia. I told Lena once a long time ago, but I think she forgot," Talon said.
Powerful Jedi, Lena Skywalker is," Yoda said.
Talon smiled briefly. "Yes, she is. I have trained her since she was a baby and now she helps train my youngest daughter, Cora. I am sorry, Master, but marriage was the safest way to keep the Vader and Sidious from finding out that Talon Orran lived," Talon said.
"I understand, I do," Yoda said as a sense of despair washed through them both. Through the Force Talon could see that Luke had failed this test. Artoo beeped and the two Jedi looked at the droid, both feeling a profound sadness that Luke hadn't realized how he had failed this test with his anger.