Luke stared up at the ceiling. It was dark in the cell, and he and Parck were both laying down on cots. The cots weren't comfortable, but it was much better than sleeping on the floor.
From the sounds of his companion's breathing, Voss Parck wasn't asleep either.
Luke Skywalker didn't feel like talking, however. He found that his conversations with the extremely intelligent Chiss left him drained. The expression "kept him on his toes" took on a whole new meaning. Their conversations felt vibrant, and Parck remained patient even though he often gave knee-jerk reactions that had been drilled into him time and time again, both by Luke himself and by others. Even though he hated to admit it, Parck had instilled the beginnings of doubt into his mind about his beliefs.
Yes. He hated to believe it...He wanted nothing more than to deny it to his death...But he was tired of running away from the truth.
He quietly took a deep breath.
Okay. He would admit it. The New Republic had its fair share of corrupted leaders. Corruption was to be expected in any government. Measures could be made to prevent the decay of ideals, but sometimes it seemed the most difficult of all to do so in a democracy. But surely it was best to fight for the government that was most beneficial to the people in the long run, rather than the one that was easiest to uphold...Right?
Luke mulled over what his cellmate had said to him. A democracy allowed time to be wasted, oftentimes due to quibbling over pointless issues, and when the republicans finally chose to focus on the main issue, they were often split down the middle, thus getting nowhere. Diplomats could quarrel for weeks over how to drive back an invading force, and they would be destroyed in the process.
Maybe for a single planet, democracy would be a wise choice, but in a time when the galaxy needed unity in destroying opponents and helping those in need, it suddenly didn't seem so wise.
The fight against Emperor Palpatine for a republic had been a wise one, for the tyrant had been a man solely out for power and wealth...Yet, maybe it should not have been a democracy that the Rebels fought for...Maybe an empire was a good idea, it had just been brought into effect by the wrong person.
Luke sighed inwardly. It wasn't as if his changing his political opinion would result in a change of the galactic government.
He was a prisoner of his own mistake, but his imprisonment had been finalized by those who had once been his close friends in a time of war. And now, in a time of peace, a wedge had driven them apart.
He had himself to blame. He knew. They knew...
But it didn't stop the pain...The longing...
...The wish to finally set a firm place for himself in life. Sure, he was a Jedi Master—even if he currently didn't feel like he deserved the title. Teaching students had never given him a strong enough feeling of accomplishment, and so he had gathered more and more in hopes that greater numbers would make him feel more complete.
Still, things felt wrong. He felt lonely, and he had not experienced a true sense of pride in himself since he had destroyed the Death Star, although he had tried to hide the fact from his sister.
He clenched his artificial hand, the action making him feel like even more of an alien to society. He was different from most people, and it wasn't his Force potential that set him apart.
Luke could blame it on his heritage, but Leia had the same father as he did, and she hadn't let it ruin or take control of her life. But she hadn't known Darth Vader as well as he had...
He knew it wasn't totally because of the deceased Sith Lord. Perhaps it was because he felt hollow inside, and it showed through his eyes.
Humans and aliens alike had always beheld him with either a sense of love or a sense of hate, but it was accompanied by awe every time, for he was a great Jedi Master and a Republic hero.
During his trial, he had mostly remained secluded, not wanting to know precisely what everyone thought of him after his murder of the New Republic agent, but he sensed there were now few with respect and pride in him.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't particularly care for anyone's opinion now, not anymore...What he really wanted to do was help save the galaxy.
The help he now wanted to give was not his typical "rescue damsels and the common creatures from distress." Instead, he wanted to help pull the galactic government out of the black hole it was being sucked into.
...To make a true difference and help right the wrongs he had helped put into place.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He could not believe that he was actually thinking about replacing the New Republic with the Empire.
Luke sighed. Maybe he would have a different perspective in the morning...
Parck could sense the restlessness of his fellow jailmate, and he knew that it had to deal with their previous conversations. Their conversations had disturbed the Jedi greatly, and Parck didn't bother trying to start up another one. He knew that the seeds of dubiousness he had planted were growing and spreading rapidly.
In time, Skywalker would finally see the light.
Voss Parck slowly broke into a cool smile. The irony of that thought was not lost on him.
Author's Note: Thanks Moy for betaing!
Useless Trivia: This fic was originally entitled "Exile."