Skywalker's Legacy, page 23

Chapter Four

Ben Owens took his daughter with him on his inspection of the crop on the eastern sector of the farm. He thought it would be a good idea to take her mind off her being grounded, and he was always uncomfortable whenever she was out of his sight.

But Brenna's was a restless spirit, as his had once been. He thought to try to make her grounding a little more bearable by giving her a physical outlet for her frustration and allow some social interaction in the bargain. "If you want," he told her, "you can invite your girlfriends over after school tomorrow for a self-defense lesson."

"The only one besides me not going to Mori's party is Posha," Brenna replied. "And Posha couldn't fight her way out of a sack made of lithet skin."

"True," her father said with a smile. He'd been kind to the girl, allowing her to flip him to the ground even though her technique was all wrong, just to build up her confidence a little. "But that just means she needs more practice.

"I don't think so," Brenna said. "I'm not in the mood to go back to square one."

"Your choice," her father said. He bent to examine the thirsty plants, then glanced up at the clear blue sky, the same color as his eyes. There wasn't a wisp of cloud in sight, par for Tatooine. "One more week, I think," he said, "if we can get the moisture 'vaporators working again in the next couple of days." Moisture 'vaporators seemed to be the bane of his existence. But compared to other matters, they were only a minor nuisance.

"If we planted rayam instead of guaco beans, we'd be able to afford a dozen new 'vaporators," his daughter reminded him, for the umpteenth time.

"Guaco beans are a staple," her father replied. "The underdeveloped planets depend on them. They can be grown cheaply, transported cheaply, and---"

"And sold cheaply," Brenna added with a sigh. "I know."

"We make enough to get by on. If nobody grew guaco beans, there would be a lot of people on a lot of worlds who would starve to death."

"I'm not complaining," Brenna told him. "I'm just pointing out that if we saved even one field for something besides the standard crops, we wouldn't have to work so hard."

"Hard work is good for you. Takes your mind off your problems." He smiled at her, then stood up and brushed the sand from his pants and robe. The plants had been without moisture for weeks, but they were genetically engineered to grow on worlds like this. They could survive a while longer. "Anyway, we should have your Academy tuition saved up by the time you're ready to go, and that's all that matters." He glanced at the position of the twin suns. They had just about an hour left before the suns set, and they needed to be back at the housing units by then. Or at least, Brenna did.

"I don't want to go to the Academy," Brenna said. "I want to learn the ways of the Force."

Owens' smile evaporated. "Brenna, we've been over this before. The Jedi Knights are a myth, a remnant of imagination from by-gone days. They don't exist anymore."

"They do exist," Brenna insisted. "As soon as my birthday gets here, I'll hire out as a mechanic and get off this rock, and---"

"You've never spaced before." Owens interrupted. "Do you have any idea how dark it is out there?"

"Hyperspace isn't. I've seen it on the threedees. There's got to be one or two Jedi Knights somewhere. I'll find them. And if they won't train me, I'll find some other way to learn."

"You're chasing a fantasy, Bren."

"You don't understand. I feel the Force. I know I do. I want to learn how to use it."

"I know what you want, but the fact remains that---"

He stopped suddenly and stared straight ahead. His face drained of color, and his breathing quickened.

Brenna's frustration immediately turned into worry and concern. "Dad? What is it? Is it another attack?"

"Brenna," Owens said tightly. "Brenna, get back...to the housing complex." He didn't want her to see him. It was Corran, this time, and he'd always been closer to Corran than to the others.

"No! I won't leave you! I'm calling for the emergency medics." She fumbled for the communicator on her belt.

"Won't do...any good. Please, Brenna, get...back to the complex. I'll be all right!"

"I'm staying with you!"

Owens closed his eyes and pressed his fists against his head in agony. "No!" he shouted. "No! Leave him...alone! Stop it!"

"Dad!" There was genuine fear in his daughter's voice, fear that would normally drive him to alleviate it as soon as possible, partly because he just didn't want her to be afraid, but partly because of the side-effects of her fear that even Brenna didn't know about.

But right now Ben Owens couldn't hear her words or sense her fear. He was someplace else, someone else, feeling what was happening not to himself, but to someone who had been his best friend. "Stop it, you...bastard! Leave him...alone!"

It didn't last as long as the others had, although the twin suns had both set by the time it was finished, but the intensity was much greater than before. As Owens returned to himself, he discovered that he was sobbing. As he realized that, he also realized he was not the only one crying. Brenna held his head cradled in her lap and was sitting on the ground rocking him to her. Her face was buried next to his, and the wetness he felt on his cheek was just as much hers as it was his.

"I'm...all right now, Bren," he said. He reached out blindly, found her head, and stroked her hair. "It's over." But it was only over for Corran and for himself, not for her.

"Dark...Dark...Dark..." she whispered.

She wasn't herself. Just as he hadn't been himself.

He recovered enough to realize that the daylight was gone, and he knew the terrors that night held for his daughter. During the day, there seemed to be nothing that could scare her, but at night, just the night itself was terrifying to her. "Come on, Bren, let's get back to the complex." He somehow found the energy to stand up and pull her with him.

"It's dark..." Brenna said again.

"I know. But I'm here with you. And look, I've got a lamp here, on my belt."

The tiny illumination offered only a small comfort to his daughter, but every little bit helped. Brenna clung to her father tightly. "It's dark..." she repeated in the same frightened whisper.

"We're not far, Bren," Owens said soothingly. It was hard to act like a father again so soon after just returning from Hell, but Brenna was in her own Hell now, and there were reasons of which Brenna herself was not even aware that made it imperative to end it quickly.

Especially now that Corran was gone, too.