Even receding into the house, Luke's tiny figure was painfully luminous. Ben forced himself to tear his eyes away and focus on Owen. The farmer's rough and weathered face, lit up as it was in the starlight, was no match for his nephew. Ben was a little surprised that Owen wanted to talk to him, though he supposed it would be another warning to stay away. He braced himself for the younger man's wrath.
"My wife," Owen began clumsily, fiddling with his sleeves, "she'll be all right?"
Ben relaxed a little. Strangely, he felt more anxiety from Owen than anger.
"Yes," he replied. "She needs plenty of water and plenty of rest, but she will be good as new in a week."
"Good." Owen looked up at the sky, unwilling to meet Ben's gaze. "I'll be repairing the comm unit, so you won't need to come here again."
Ah, thought Ben. Here's the warning. But it did not feel like a warning. Ben explored the words for the meaning behind them.
"I'll be buying a second speeder, too," added Owen.
At last Ben understood. Owen did not want Ben to think that he was incapable of caring for his family, incapable of raising Luke. He feared that Ben might ignore warnings altogether and take Luke away "for his own good".
But there's no call for that, is there? I had hoped that if Luke was eager, Owen would be willing, but he is not. It would be the lowest low thing I could do to take Luke away and train him without everyone's mutual consent. It would ruin everything.
He could not train Luke. He could not do anything. Owen's fears were baseless-- but they still needed assuaging, and Owen was waiting for a response.
"Luke will be pleased," said Ben.
Owen accepted this with a nod.
"Well, then," he said, "good night."
"Good night," said Ben. For the second time that evening, he turned his footsteps towards home.
~*~
When he arrived, he found a transmission from Alderaan waiting for him. He turned it on and was surprised by the figure of not Padmé, but Bail Organa.
The interruption of the healing process two days ago came back to him in a flash. He'd forgotten about it in his exhaustion. The tatters of his old training bond with Anakin had screamed back to life, and he had felt the full force of his padawan's anger and despair. Something terrible must have happened to elicit such a reaction. Then, too, young Luke had seemed distressed, and now here was Bail instead of Padmé. Could the three be related? He gave the transmission his full attention.
"Master Kenobi," said Bail, "we received your transmission yesterday, and respect your decision to cease contact. You will receive no more messages from Alderaan. However, recent events – quite recent – have transpired, which you ought to be aware of.
"Three days ago, we were informed that the Emperor and Lord Vader intended to pay a visit of state to Alderaan. Amidala was convinced that she would be discovered, and rather than put the lives of her daughter, myself, and my people at stake, she took action.
"She boarded a shuttle offplanet, and then approached Alderaan as though she was traveling there from Coruscant, just as the Emperor and Lord Vader were arriving. She hailed Lord Vader's shuttle and asked permission to board. Her hope, she had told me, was to reach what was left of her husband. She believed that at the very least, he would take pity on her and not ask too many questions. At best she hoped her sudden presence would bring about the full return of Anakin Skywalker."
Bail's image flickered, and his normally steady gaze faltered.
"She was a courageous woman," he said lowly.
His use of the past tense was not lost on Ben, who felt it like a vibroblade in the throat.
"She was granted permission to board," Bail continued, his composure regained. "However, before she reached Lord Vader's vessel, she was fired on by one of the ships escorting the Emperor. She died immediately. The Emperor is presently making his address to the galaxy concerning the incident.
"For the safety of all concerned I will destroy this transmitter as soon as this message is sent. If I need to contact you, I will find other means. Farewell, Master Kenobi, and may the Force be with you."
The transmission ended in a blip of blue.
Ben repeated the last words of the message to himself.
May the Force be with you. Does Bail Organa still believe the Force helps its servants, then? He would not be so confident if he could see me now. A fine example of those who try to carry out the will of the Force, I am. I am alienated from the natives, banished from the sight of the one I came to protect. The woman who was quite possibly a dying man's last hope is dead, one more good soul lost to the Empire. Why am I still alive?
As for the will of the Force – surely for all my efforts I have failed to carry it out. What was my task? To save Qui-Gon? To train Anakin? To protect Luke? What does it matter? I have done what I thought was demanded of me, and made a mess of it all, and the Force has discarded me. I may as well sit here and die. Or perhaps I should follow Padmé's lead and deliver myself to the Emperor.
I'll look into getting a shuttle off this rock. Soon.
Too tired for more, he fell asleep.