Sorry I haven't written much but like the rest of Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria left with no water till October, no wifi till November 1st and no electricity until last week. College re-started and each professor decided 'free time' was no longer allowed so until now when Christmas vacation began I was literally drowning in work. Also please note that this chapter was written on September so I'm well aware it doesn't fit with the events of 'The Last Jedi' (Which I hated with a fire worthy of Mustafar for reasons I will post later).
19 ABY
For all their supposed detachment, members of the old Jedi Order failed to purge all emotional ardor from their way of life, as proven by the Archives. While harmful in the long run, one can't deny there's some advantage in the no-attachment doctrine. Specially in the face of excruciating woes. When Grandmaster Yoda first sensed the onslaught caused by Order 66, his impartiality allowed the Jedi Master to block out any physical repercussions of those dreadful hours except for the ache in his chest. Yoda was nothing if not a Jedi. Relenting to sentimentality was foolish in his eyes. Luke Skywalker was indeed a Jedi but he was also human. He had never suppressed his feelings, never compromised his beliefs. As a result, he was totally unprepared for the massacre of the New Jedi Academy. When his students perished, C-3PO panicked at the sight of his beloved master hemorrhaging all of a sudden. Without hesitation, the golden protocol droid frantically set a course to Yavin 4 as Luke's Jedi robes turned red with blood. Artoo calls Han & Leia, requesting medical aid for Mistress Padme's baby boy. The old astromech and his counterpart stay by Master Luke's side, R2-D2 beeps angrily at the Force for ripping his humans apart over and over again whilst C-3PO silently bandages a torso mysteriously covered in blaster burns and angry red slashes eerily similar to lightsaber wounds, wondering why good organics like Master Luke always suffer the most. Luke screams incoherently for the most part, at intervals the droids are able to make out "Help!" along with "No, pleaseee!" or "I don't wanna die!" but everything else is unintelligible.
Rain falls heavily in Yavin 4 as Luke lands on the surface of the planet. He's met with the sight that will haunt him throughout the rest of his days. The temple floors are tinged crimson with the bodies of his students. Not even the infants were spared. Hoping beyond hope, he scours every inch of the building for survivors. C-3PO runs after him, shouting that he'll reopen his hastily made stitches. With every bloodied room, his heart sinks a bit further. One of the dead younglings in the nursery has a blaster in her hand. Allana* never hurt a soul, she must have been so scared. In sorrow, Luke embraces her tiny form and closes her cinereal eyes for good. Frenzied kicking from within the walls reaches his ears. Master Skywalker, are the bad men gone yet? We can't sense anyone else. He lets himself be guided by the force, not trusting his psychological state. It could be his lacerated mind playing tricks on him, feeding him false hope where there is none. Or perhaps he was foolish to hope for a New Jedi Order in the first place. The terror stricken force signatures are strongest in the southeast corner. Cameras show no sentient beings or droids in the bedchambers, until it hits him.The dumbwaiter! With painstaking odds against the fragile wish he has barely acknowledged, he pries the steel doors open with the Force. Initiate Veila gleefully jumps out of Lor San Tekka's arms and squeezes him as tight as she can. Her emerald green eyes dance with unworldly mirth as she says "See guys I told you he was coming, I knew you would never abandon us!" Tahiri, sweet child I came far too late. Little by little her companions clumsily climb out of their improvised shelter. Five toddlers, a scholar, a preteen girl raised by Tusken Raiders and an unconscious Kyp Durron* are all that's left.
"We placed Kyp under a healing trance so he wouldn't die. He saved our lives, it was the least we could do. Lor San Tekka helped us concentrate for it" they say, proud of their accomplishment. Rightfully so, most force sensitives take years to achieve a successful healing trance. Some peace and quiet will leave young Durron good as new. They cling to Luke and Lor San Tekka like castaway's hands clutch a raft. Seeking for answers the Jedi Master doesn't have or can't respond to without a nervous breakdown: Why did this happen? Is there anyone else alive? Why won't my brother/sister/parents wake up? Where was the Republic? Han nearly vomits when he finds him kneeling down by the rotting corpses, Luke can't blame him for it, because whenever he needs it the most Han is here. Ben is among the missing, Leia prepares her son's funeral befitting Alderaanian tradition, her husband refuses to accept his son is dead. His sister leaves to handle the political shitstorm coming. Han picks up an old-fashioned shovel and helps Luke bury the carcasses. When Republic officers finally enter the scene, both men reek of death. One of the New Republic deputies speak and reality loses its last shreds of prudence.
"Luke Skywalker, you are under arrest for the mass murder of the Jedi Training grounds of Yavin 4. You have the right to remain si- ahhhhh!"
The officer's words are interrupted by Chewbacca strangling his neck. His partners all raise their blasters at the wookie's head. Han readies his gun, set to shoot first like always when all of a sudden everyone freezes. The Corellian smuggler receives an apology through the Force as Luke turns himself in. Forgive me old friend, but I won't have you die for me. I never wanted anyone to die for my sake, that hasn't changed. Details blur for the Jedi as they load him on the ship after chaining his hands and feet. He complies with absolute silence as they shove him into a sterilized white room with no windows, shave his golden mane, yank the clothes from his back. How he reacts is tied to the Order's future, they will find no fault lest he go mad. He keeps track of the days by reading the guard's thoughts and speaks only in prayer. They dismantle his prosthetic hand and replace it with a threadbare version, they beat him for holding onto his wedding rings. On the fourth day of his imprisonment Wedge and the rest of Rogue Squadron show up to free him. Luke turns down the offer, the Jedi must prove they are susceptible to the laws of man. A weary eyed Poe guilt-trips Wedge into obeying Luke's wishes. The boy confesses to dreaming of the massacre and asks for a way to stop the nightmares. Luke suppresses Poe's connection to the Force, unwilling to watch it wreck the youth's life the way it did his. Halfway across the galaxy, he does the same to his remaining students and erases their memories to protect them. Obiwan hugs him that night as ghosts weep beside the living.
He is introduced to a psychologist on the twelfth day. All at once, it makes sense why no one's discussing a court hearing. Putting him on trial would create discord between Hosnian Prime and the Outer Rim. To accuse him publicly for murder will send every former member of the Rebellion in outrage. Declaring him mentally unstable presents far less difficulties. Back stabbing schemers will make a sob story of it. Tell the galaxy they're trying to help the poor little Jedi that went crazy after losing his wife. While the press eats it up, they'll lock me in a straightjacket and throw away the key.
"Tell me mister Skywalker, what were your goals when you started your academy for mystic warriors"
Two can play at this game, sir. Palpatine makes you look like a sock puppet. "With all due respect sir, the Jedi are protectors, not warriors. That distinction is vital to overcome the Dark Side."
"Ah yes, the dark side you and the Church of the Force bespeak so often. Do you believe the Dark Side sways the Republic against you? Do you hate them for putting you in jail?
Trap number two. " The New Republic is trying to solve this issue without bloodshed. Few dark siders would care about that. I chose to stay in prison, if I wanted to escape the Republic couldn't stop me. "
"So you believe yourself to be all-powerful mister Skywalker? Invincible? Capable of defeating an entire army?"
Trap number three. " It has nothing to do with my powers and everything to do with my time in the Rebellion. I'm a decorated war veteran with a lot of favors I haven't cashed in. All I have to do is call one of my many friends with questionable pasts and I'll be gone before lunch. "
"But you do have your resentments with the Republic? Your marriage to the Emperor's Hand was seen in certain circles as a declaration of love to the Empire's legacy. And yet you claimed to be undisturbed by the slander. Then a decade later your wife died fighting an invasion the government ignored until it was almost too late. Your nephew, who was 10 at the time, presumed dead since the massacre swore that the Republic killed Mara Jade. Did you agree with his point of view?"
Going right for the throat: you're running out of ideas aren't you. "By normal standards, my wife shouldn't have reached adulthood. So every minute we shared together was spent on borrowed time. She was aware of that and so was I. That's why we made each moment count. And I knew what marrying her entailed, but I was far too in love with Mara to care about what they said. Give me a time machine and I'll still marry her, happily. Love within reason isn't love, it's convenience and I've never been drawn to conformity. As for my nephew, words spoken in the throes of grieving anger rarely stem from the heart. Letting my rage consume me, blaming others for her demise: that would cheapen her sacrifice. So I let go of my fury and moved forward, as much as I could."
He's entertained all week long by Natasi Daala's* tantrums after six psychologists all declare him perfectly sane. Her hysterics almost make the waterboarding fun. If the guard's information is true, his jailers are being pressured to release him. Daala wants a confession to make that impossible, how they get it doesn't matter. They try lacing his food with hallucinogens, he goes on hunger strike. He giggles when they expose him to what they call extreme heat, this is a cold day on Tatooine you wimps. They stretch him on the rack, stick nails in his flesh hand, force-feed him raw eggs mixed with feces, flog him with the cat. He all but panics at the electroshock, his mind returns to the second Death Star only this time Father isn't there to save him. All this cruelty, this enmity for what? Why do people latch on to hate if it only destroys !? He breathes and prepares himself to become one with the Force.
Ohhh no, don't you dare farmboy! I forbid you to die this dramatically! You're getting out of here even if I have to drag you outside in my miniature body, understand!
Mara...How I've missed your voice. Please let me die, I'm tired of this world. Life bleeds on and joy evades me. Death is long a welcome guest.
Look honey, I know the Galaxy tends to dump every worst case scenario on our family and honestly, I'm fighting the urge to decapitate these bastards but you can't die now, not if your reason for dying is our reunion.
Is this your way of telling me about your new boyfriend in heaven?
No you idiot! It's my way of telling you I broke the laws of life and death for you!
You're alive... Where are you? Are you healthy? When can I see you again? Force, I want to kiss you every inch of you.
Slow down, hotshot. You wouldn't say that if you saw me right now. In fact I bet you ten credits you'll regret those words if you do. Just hang in there, I'll come back sweetheart. I'll save Ben, after I kick his butt. Stay in the land of the living, okay.
Mara, wait!...
Stay here. I'll come back for you sweetheart. I promise.*
(On Jakku, a little girl misinterprets her own vow and thinks the woman's voice is the mother who abandoned her.)
On his fortieth day of imprisonment, Luke Skywalker is released by the government to prevent another Galactic Civil War. Han steadies him so he doesn't walk out in crutches. Leia recruits her brother for the Resistance, ready to bring the war to the First Order's doorstep.Why does no one ever compare you to Anakin Leia? I see his fire in you more than any trait of Padme Amidala. She and Han wage their own bloodbath when they find out about Ben's betrayal. His sister accepts the collateral damage but passes on the blame to Vader. Han leaves to search for Ben, Leia calls it a hopeless cause and yells "We have a duty, laserbrain! If you walk out that door without joining the war effort or bringing Luke into the fold, then I hope you never come back!" Same old Leia, focusing on the hell father unleashed, just like the rest of the galaxy. Luke is the only one who ever cared about the hell Anakin Skywalker lived in. Always picturing the Old Republic as a glistening Utopia with liberty and justice for all. Forgetting that it created an army of slaves, gave free reign to the Hutt's crime sindicates, used the Jedi as cannon fodder and left them to die in the aftermath. The Separatists didn't come out of thin air & they weren't just power hungry radicals. He has tried to be their hero but all they can see is Darth Vader's son. Hipocrites, the lot of them. Reaping the fruits of a War they didn't fight in. Preaching a new tomorrow while obsessing over the past. He owes them nothing. They've rewarded a lifetime of sacrifice with hatred, distrust and humiliation. Enough is enough, he refuses to play the game any longer. People seldom aprecciate what they have until it's gone. For once he'll follow Leia's suggestion.* He erases himself from the narrative. In a year or two, the Senate will beg for Jedi intervention during the next crisis as their paranoia drives them further apart. He will search for the bosom of Ashla, retrace the steps of the first Jedi. Perhaps there he can find a way to end this maddening death waltz. Right before leaving, Luke repeats the action the Galaxy never truly understood : he forgives.
Let the Force fall asleep until the worthy come forth.
Notes: *If you recognize this name, then you're a true EU fan.*Tahiri Veila & Kyp Durron also deserved to be Canon. Although I would like them to suffer less than they did in the EU. A little cameo appearance would be enough.
*Going deep into EU territory with this name.
* Taken straight from TFA novelization page 34.
*Leia in ROTJ: Luke run away, run far away.