I, Jedi
Chapter
Three
I, Listener
Luke Skywalker strode slump-shouldered in his uncle's shadow dejectedly, not at all exhausted by all the chores he had to do. He had been thinking about many things, especially since the day two mysterious off-worlders and two droids arrived to seek refuge in their home, and those things had very little to do --- in fact, those things had nothing to do --- with farming. It involved the rest of his life, and the commitment made by his best friend Biggs Darklighter who had recently departed beyond the blue sky of the sand-laden planet of Tatooine to enter a harsher, yet more rewarding career. His new friends, two teenagers by the names Gohan Son and Videl Satan, didn't help take his mind off space either. Their stories enchanted him even more than they intended to, and he desired to travel with them, wherever their quest to deliver the urgent message would lead them.
But it broke Luke's heart when he found out that the astromech droid belonged to someone named Obi-wan Kenobi, as he had the gut feeling that the hermit he knew by the name of Ben was the same man his new friends were looking for. And their quest would take him nowhere off the planet, which was what he desired above everything else. He had been farming for many, many years, it sickened him. He wanted to go to other planets on an exciting and breathtaking adventure, he wanted to fly a real starfighter --- the latest model of an X-Wing, most preferably --- in a real battle.
He sighed. There was no way he was getting there.
His uncle, Owen Lars, then stopped before an assembly of droids and the Jawas who wanted to sell them, and entered an exchange of squeaks and other sounds that appeared to be a form of conversation with the one in charge. Luke stood nearby, listening indifferently, yet he was forced to tag along when his uncle began inspecting three machines, pausing only to mutter an occasional word or two to his nephew. Luke didn't like how he was treated, but he was forced to live with it, especially because he was supposed to learn from the experience he was going through.
"Luke!" a voice called from his home, and glad to have an excuse to turn away from the conversation, which consisted of the lead Jawa extolling the unmatched virtues of all five machines and his uncle countering with much derision, Luke walked over to the near edge of the subterranean courtyard and peered down. He expected to see his aunt, the stout Beru Lars who liked to work among the decorative plants, but instead, he saw a raven beauty with cerulean eyes that was even more captivating than the sky that stretched about them. Looking up at him, she said, "Your aunt wants a droid that can speak Bocce. I told her that she can have Threepio, but she insisted that you get your own. Sorry to disturb you or anything, I was going to---"
He flashed a smile, his eyes gazing at her with admiration. "That's all right, Videl. I wasn't having much fun myself," he told her, before he turned around slightly to study the collection of tired machines that the Jawas were trying to sell to them. Again, he sighed, then looked back down at her. "It looks like we don't have much of a choice, but I'll remind him anyway. Kindly relay that to my aunt."
Luke then hurried to rejoin his uncle, who had apparenly come to a decision, settling on a small semi-agricultural robot. It was similar to the astromech droid their guests brought with them, the one they called Artoo Detoo, except that its multiple subsidary arms were tipped with different functions. At an order, it stepped out of the line and wobbled along behind Owen and the Jawa merchant. Luke, who had arrived at his uncle's side by then, tapped Owen on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. The older man shook his head, however. "They don't have that kind of droid, Luke. We'll have to settle for that blabbing golden one your friends brought along for the meantime." He then gestured towards their new droid. "Take it down to the garage. I want you to have it cleaned up by suppertime."
"But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some new power converters and---"
"Don't lie to me, Luke," his uncle warned him in a stern tone that he seemed to use a lot recently. "I don't mind you wasting time with your idle friends, but only after you've finished your chores. Now hop to it --- and before supper, mind."
Downcast, Luke started for the garage, dragging their new droid along as his uncle entered into price negotiations with the Jawa. The other Jawas led the two remaining machines back into their sandcrawler. Ignoring everything else that was going on, he headed for the garage, when he heard See-Threepio's name being called out by his friends, and the protocol droid's voice poured in frantically soon after. "It wasn't my fault, Master Gohan, Mistress Videl! Please don't deactivate me! I told him not to go, but he's faulty! He must be malfunctioning! Something has actually boiled his logic circuits! He kept babbling about seeing Obi-wan Kenobi! Such delusions of grandeur that droid has! Such things shouldn't even be within---"
Luke didn't even let the droid finish. He was already towering above Threepio and the two off-worlders by then, gaping. "You mean..?"
"Yes, sir," Threepio admitted, although his tone was just as frantic as it was earlier. "He's gone."
Racing into the garage to check if Artoo was there, hoping against hope that Threepio was bluffing, Luke found himself utterly disappointed. Finding nothing, he rushed back out, joining Gohan, Videl and the droid at a small ridge that formed the highest point close by the homestead, and brought out his precious macrobinoculars to scan the desert that surrounded them. He looked for something small, metallic, three-legged and out of its metallic mind along the horizons, but found nothing. "Well, he's nowhere in sight."
Gohan patted the young man on the shoulder to comfort him. "We'll look for him, Luke. Besides, it's not like he's your problem anyway. He's our droid. At least for the time being." He then looked behind them to see if Owen was still negotiating with the Jawas, and seeing that he still was, he lowered his voice considerably and asked Luke, "I'm sure he's looking for Obi-wan Kenobi, though, as he had been anxious to get to him. Could you possibly bring us to that Ben Kenobi person? I know his name isn't Obi-wan, but I don't think it's simply a coincidence regarding his last name."
The other hesitated, fearing what his uncle would do to him if he would disappear just like that, but then, he remembered that his uncle agreed that he hang out with his friends after finishing his chores. An idea struck him. "I'll do it, Gohan," he answered, still keeping his voice low. He then smiled at him, cocking his head to the side slightly to expose his smile to Videl, who had undeniably caught his eye. She was strong, witty and pretty, definitely a very attractive off-worlder. "But on one condition. You have to help me finish my chores. Then we go see Ben."
"It's him, all right," Luke declared as the tiny tripodal form came into their view. The speeder baked and swung down onto the floor of a huge sandstone canyon, maneuvered excellently by the budding pilot. He then slipped his rifle out from behind the seat and swung it over his shoulder, taking the necessary precautionary measures. Gohan only looked on, seemingly uncaring and very casual, but he was ready to spring into action if ever he would be called upon. "Come round in front of him, Threepio," the farmboy continued as the protocol droid replied with an affirmative.
The Artoo unit obviously noted their approach, but made no move to escape; it could hardly have outrun the landspeeder anyway. The astromech droid simply halted as soon as it detected them and waited until the craft swung around in a smooth arc. Threepio, too, came to a halt, sending up a low cloud of sand on the smaller robot's right. Then the whine from the landspeeder's engine dropped to a low idling hum as the protocol droid put it in parking mode. A last sigh, and the craft stopped completely.
After finishing a cautious survey of the canyon, Luke led his companions out onto the gravelly surface and up to Artoo, although Gohan and Videl simply jumped out of the landspeeder without trouble. Before anyone could say a word, however, Videl strode up in front of the droid and asked as she towered over him, "Just where did you think you were going, Artoo?"
A feeble whistle issued from the apologetic robot, but it was Threepio who did most of the talking. "Master Gohan and Mistress Videl are our rightful owners now, Artoo. How could you just amble away from them like that? From me like that? Now that he's found you, let's have no more of this Obi-wan Kenobi gibberish. I don't know where you picked that up --- or that melodramatic hologram, either." As Artoo protested, Threepio snapped back, "And don't talk to me about your mission! What rot! You're fortunate Master Gohan and Mistress Videl doesn't blast you into a million pieces right here and now!"
Gohan, however, thought otherwise. "But that's what we came here for, Threepio," he explained, stepping into the protocol droid's view. "We came here to deliver the message to Obi-wan Kenobi, and see what it's all about. And now that we're here, we better go and look for him, before the darkness gets to us. Or else Luke here will get in trouble, and we don't want that to happen, do we?" He then nodded towards Luke. "Lead the way. We'll just---"
Without warning, the astromech droid suddenly leaped off the ground --- no mean feat considering the weakness of the spring mechanisms in his three thick legs, his cylindrical-shaped body twisting and spinning as he let out a frantic concert of whistles, hoots, and electronic exclamations. However, nobody seemed to be alarmed. Videl only raised an eyebrow, wondering what it all meant. Gohan just stood in his place and watched, a part of him wishing he brought his brother along, his brother who understood the droid's binary. Luke looked tired. "What is it? What's wrong with him now?"
"Oh my, sir," Threepio gasped after looking around anxiously. "Artoo claims there are several creatures of unknown types approaching from the southeast."
That could be another attempt by Artoo to distract his companions, but the three humans didn't want to take the chance. Instantly, he had his rifle off his shoulder and had activated the energy cell, while Videl dropped into a cautious fighting stance. Only Gohan didn't move, but it was evident in the way his eyes narrowed that he was aware of what was going on. They then examined the horizon in the indicated direction as the protocol droid prattled on in panic, but saw nothing.
But then, sandpeople were experts in making themselves unseeable, and Luke warned his friends about that. "There are some awfully strange things living out here. Not all of them have been classified. It's better to treat anything as dangerous until determined otherwise. Of course, if it's something utterly new..." His curiousity got to him. In any case, he felt that it was just another ruse created by their runaway astromech droid. "Let's take a look," he finally decided, and he moved cautiously forward, his companions close by. Once at the top of the high dune crest he lay flat and traded his rifle for the macrobinoculars. Below, another canyon spread out before them, rising to a wind-weathered wall of rust and ocher. Advancing the binoculars slowly across the canyon floor, he settled unexpectedly on two tethered shapes.
Banthas --- and riderless!
Something dark suddenly blocked his sight, and for a moment, Luke thought that a rock might have moved in front of him. Irritably, he dropped the binoculars and reach out to move the blinding object aside, and his hand touched something like soft metal. It was a bandaged leg about as big around as both of Luke's together. Shocked, he looked up... and up. The towering figure glaring down at him was no Jawa. It had seemingly erupted straight from the sand.
"What happened?"
"Rest easy, son," an old man instructed him as he sat back on his heels. He had appeared in the midst of the battle between the Tusken Raiders to assist the struggling Gohan and Videl, who had difficulties in keeping up at the immense number of beings that appeared from all over the place. He had used some sort of trick involving his voice to scare the sandpeople away. He then sat back on his heels, still looking at Luke, who had just recovered from the blow that struck him unconscious. "You've had a busy day. You're mighty lucky your head's still attached to the rest of you."
Luke looked around, his gaze coming to rest on the elderly face hovering above him. Recognition did wonders for his condition. "Ben... it's got to be!" A sudden remembrance made him look around fearfully, but there was no sign of the sandpeople. Only the two droids, only the two teenagers, and the old man. Slowly, he raised his body to a sitting position. "Ben Kenobi... am I glad to see you!"
Rising, the old man surveyed the canyon floor and rolling rimwall above. One foot played with the sand as he cautioned them about the area they chose to travel into. "The Jundland wastes are nto to be traveled lightly. It's the misguided traveler who tempts the Tuskens' hospitality." His gaze went back to his patient, but not before sweeping his gaze at the young man's companions. "Tell me, young man, what brings you and your friends this far into nowhere?"
"This little droid," Luke indicated Artoo. "For a while I thought he'd gone crazy, claiming that he was searching for a former master. Now I don't think so. I've never seen such devotion in a droid --- misguided or otherwise. There seems to be no stopping him."
"He claims to be the property of someone called Obi-wan Kenobi," Gohan pitched in, trying to be helpful. As soon as he said that, their gazes flew to the old man, watching him closely, but the hermit showed no reaction, to their disappointment. But he still continued. "Luke told me that he knew you, so I asked him if he would lead us to you, presuming that Artoo did escape to look for you. Is that Obi-wan a relative of yours? Or is he just some unimportant bit of scrambled information that got shifted into his primary performance bank?"
An introspective frown did remarkable things to the sandblasted face of Ben. He appeared to ponder the question, scratching absently at his scruffy beard. "Obi-wan Kenobi," he recited. "Obi-wan... not that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. A long time. Most curious."
"My uncle said he was dead."
"Oh, he's not dead. Not yet, not yet."
Luke was then up on his feet, excited. "You know him, then?"
A smile of perverse youthfulness split that collage of wrinkled skin and beard. "Of course I know him: he's me. Just as you probably suspected, Luke. I haven't gone by the name Obi-wan, though, since before you were born." His expression, however, turned into one of puzzlement as he looked at the astromech droid that claimed to belong to him. "The peculiar part is, I can't seem to remember owning a droid, lease of all a modern Artoo unit. Most interesting, most interesting." Something drew the old man's gaze suddenly to the brow of nearby cliffs. "I think it's best we make use of your landspeeder. The sandpeople are easily startled, but they'll soon return in greater numbers."
Placing both hands over his mouth in a peculiar fashion, Ben inhaled deeply and let out an unearthly howl that made the three humans jump. "That ought to keep any laggards running for a while yet," the old man concluded with satisfaction. He then saw Luke gaping at him, identifying what he did to be the krayt dragon call with much astonishment, and asked how he did it. "I'll show you sometime, son. It's not too hard. Just takes the right attitude, a set of well-used vocal cords, and a lot of wind. But this isn't the time or place for that. Let's go inside."
Ben's focused his attention on Artoo as the others looked around the cave he called his home. The squat droid sat passively on the cool cavern floor while the old man fiddled with its metal insides. Finally, the man sat back with satisfaction and closed the open panels in the robot's rounded head. "Now let's see if we can figure out what you are, my little friend, and where you came from."
"I saw part of the message," Gohan began, "and I..."
Once again, the striking portrait was being projected into empty space from the front of the little robot. Gohan broke off, enraptured by its enigmatic beauty once again. Luke, seeing the message for the first time, had the similar reaction; while Videl, who was leaning against the wall at the far end of the cave, only scowled. Who in the galaxy is that woman anyway, and why does she seem to be able to enthrall teenage boys just like that?!
The image continued to flicker, indicating a tape hastily prepared. But it was much sharper, better defined now, Gohan noted with admiration. One thing was apparent: Ben was skilled in subjects more specific than desert scavenging. He was snapped out of his thoughts, however, as the mellow voice he had heard a handful of times flooded into the cave once again. "General Obi-wan Kenobi, I present myself in the name of the world family of Alderaan and of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. I break your solitude at the bidding of my father, Bail Organa, Viceroy and First Chairman of the Alderaan system."
The old man absorbed the extraordinary information calmly while the younger humans' eyes widened considerably.
"Years ago, General, you served the Old Republic in the Clone Wars. Now my father begs you to aid us again in our most desperate hour. He would have you join him on Alderaan. You must go to him. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person. My mission to meet personally with you has failed. Hence I have been forced to resort to this secondary method of communication. Information vital to the survival of the Alliance has been secured in the mind of this Detoo droid. My father will know how to retrieve it. I plead with you to see this unit safely delivered to Alderaan."
She paused, and when she continued, her words were hurried and less laced with formality. "You must help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You are my last hope. I will be captured by agents of the Empire. They will learn nothing from me. Everything to be learned lies locked in the memory cells of this droid. Do not fail us, Obi-wan Kenobi. Do not fail me." Then, a small cloud of tridimensional static replaced the delicate portrait, then it vanished entirely. Artoo glanced up expectantly at Ben.
Luke's mind was suddenly as muddy as a pond laced with petroleum. Unanchored, his thoughts and eyes turned for stability to the quite figure seated nearby. The old man. The crazy wizard. The desert bum and all-around character whom his uncle and everyone else known of for as long as Luke could recall. "General Kenobi, you fought in the Clone Wars? But... that was so long ago."
The question about what the Clone Wars was almost came out of Gohan's mouth, but Videl silenced him with a glare. She was just as confused as he was, and if they were going to uncover information and find things out, they would have to listen. And just like Gohan, she only knew one thing for sure: something wrong, very wrong, was going on, and that woman's plea for help was only the beginning of a more complicated situation.
"Um, yes," Ben acknowledged Luke's question, as casually as he might have discussed the recipe for shang stew. "I guess it was a while back. I was a Jedi Knight once. Like your father," he finished, watching the youth appraisingly. As expected, Luke objected to the information that was relayed to him, saying that his father was only a navigator on a space freighter. "Or so your uncle has told you. Owen Lars didn't agree with your father's ideas, opinions, or with his philosophy of life. He believed that your father should have stayed here on Tatooine and not gotten involved in..." He shrugged indifferently. "Well, he thought he should have remained here and minded his farming. Owen was always afraid, you see, that your father's adventurous life might influence you, might pull you away from Anchorhead. I'm afraid there wasn't much of the farmer in your father."
At that, Luke turned away. He turned to cleaning the particles of sand from Threepio's healing armature. "I wish I'd known him."
"He was the best pilot I ever knew, and a smart fighter. The Force... the instinct was strong in him. He was also a good friend." Suddenly the boyish twinkle returned to those piercing eyes along with the old man's natural humor. "I understand you're quite a pilot yourself. Piloting and navigation aren't hereditary, but a number of the things that can combine to make a good small-ship pilot are. Those you may have inherited. Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim. In many ways, you know, you are like your father. All this reminds me... I have something here for you."
He then rose and walked over to a bulky, old-fashioned chest and started rummaging through it. All sorts of intriguing items were removed and shoved around, only to be placed back in the bin. Gohan, good-natured as he was, wanted to help out, but Videl once again warned him off. It was the old man's business, she relayed. Whatever the old man needed to find, he could find it on his own. Besides, it was his stuff, and not theirs.
"When you were old enough," Ben was saying, "your father wanted you to have this... if I can ever find the blasted device. I tried to give it to you once before, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He believed you might get some crazy ideas from it and end up following old Obi-wan on some idealistic crusade. You see, Luke, that's where you father and your uncle Owen disagreed. Lars is not a man to let idealism interfere with business, whereas your father didn't think the question even worth discussing. His decision on such matters came like his piloting --- instinctively."
Ben let out a grun, then with a satisfied expression on his features, he walked over and handed the young man a small device, which Luke studied with interest. Even Gohan and Videl moved closer to examine what it was, for it looked very intruiging. It consister primarily of a short, thick handgrip with a couple of small switches set into the grip. Above this small post was a circular metal disk barely larger in diameter than his spread palm. A number of unfamiliar, jewellike components were built into both handle and disk, including what looked like the smallest power cell Luke had ever seen. The reverse side of the disk was polished to a mirror brightness. But it was the power cell that puzzled Luke the most. Whatever the thing was, it required a great deal of energy, according to the rating form of the cell.
"What is it?" he finally asked, unable to identify the device.
"Your father's lightsaber. At one time, they were widely used. Still are, in certain galactic quarters." He paused upon seeing that Luke had activated the weapon, revealing a soft blue-white beam that caused astonishment to him and his friends. "This was the formal weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. More skill than simple sight was required for its use. An elegant weapon. It was a symbol as well. Anyone can use a blaster or a fusioncutter --- but to use a lightsaber well was a mark of someone a cut above the ordinary. You see, for over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the most powerful, most respected force in the galaxy. They served as the guardians and guarantors of peace and justice in the Old Republic."
The teenage demi-saiyajin looked puzzled. He knew nothing about the so-called Jedi Knights, and if they did truly exist, where were they when his own planet was in peril? And would they have been able to defeat monsters like Freeza and Cell by waving around swords of bright light? Did they even know how to use ki? Did they use ki in operating the thing Ben called lightsaber? Were they capable of flying? Wasn't Earth part of the Old Republic? He had so many questions, yet he seemed to know that he would get no answers. It appears as though his planet was far out for the Jedi Knights to get involved with.
"How," Luke asked slowly, "did my father die?"
"He..." Ben hesitated, and the young man sensed that the old man had no wish to talk about this particular matter. However, he was the kind of man who was unable to take refuge in a comfortable lie. "He was betrayed and murdered by a very young Jedi named Darth Vader. A boy I was training. One of my brightest disciples... one of my greatest failures. Vader used the training I gave him and the Force within him for evil, to help the later corrupt Emperor. With the Jedi Knights disbanded, disorganized, or dead, there were few to oppose Vader. Today they are all but instinct."
"Force? That's the second time you've mentioned a force," Luke observed.
"Yeah, what is this force you keep talking about?" Videl seconded.
Ben nodded. "Let us simply say that the Force is something a Jedi must deal with. While it has never been properly explained, scientists have theorized it is an energy field generated by living things. Early man suspected its existence, yet remained in ignorance of its potential for millenia. Only certain individuals could recognize the Force for what it was. They were mercilessly labeled: charlatans, fakers, mystics --- and worse. Even fewer could make use of it. As it was usually beyond their primitive controls, it frequently was too powerful for them. They were miunderstood by their fellows --- and worse." He then made a wide, all-encompassing gesture with both arms. "The Force surrounds each and every one of us. Some men believe it directs our actions, and not the other way around. Knowledge of the Force and how to manipulate it was what gave the Jedi his special power."
"So not everybody can use the Force?"
"It exists everywhere, but only a few are sensitive to it," the old man answered with a curt nod. "If those who are sensitive to the Force undergo training, they will eventually learn how to use it in different ways, just like Jedi Knights. However, one must be careful in using the Force, as negative emotions can lead a Jedi to the dark side. But before anything else, those who are Force-sensitive must be identified --- and I see two of them right now."
His gaze rested on Luke and Gohan.
Whew, finally, the chapter finished! Anyway, I'd like to apologize for the late update, I've been working on my Star Wars New Jedi Order fic Scarlet Shadows (Shameless promotion, but why not? It's NJO AU, Anakin/Tahiri, Jacen/Danni and Jaina... um... I haven't decided!) the past days, and I've also been completing my other fics that are close to completion. So... I really wanted to bring Goten along, but I felt that there's going to be a lot of members in the party already. And then if Goten goes, then Trunks must go as well. But as I mentioned the last time, Goten and Trunks will make a comeback; I just have to figure out how to work that out.
Thanks for your reviews and for your support; it's fun to write when you know your writing is appreciated. This is one of my favorite pieces, from what I've written that is, because it's the combination of my two favorite series. *grins* Once again, thank you so much, and may the Force be with you! =P
Next chapter: Adverse circumstances force Luke to accompany his friends on their journey to Alderaan. But with Gohan's starfighter busted, they head to Mos Eisley to find someone who can take them there, meeting up with Han Solo and his Wookie sidekick Chewbacca.
I,
Jedi © Kaz, 2003
Dragonball Z © Akira Toriyama
Star Wars © George Lucas
