Skywalker's Legacy, page 99
Chapter SixteenLuke had an explanation for it, of course. Rupert and Brenna were both Force-sensitives, albeit untrained, and that sensitivity had drawn them together on some unconscious level.
Han had a simpler explanation: Brenna was a knock-out, and Rupert wasn't bad-looking, either.
But now Brenna seemed to be giving Rupert the cold-shoulder. Based on Rupert's confusion, Han figured that this was a new development, not a reflection of how she had interacted with him when she thought he was just a tramp pilot named Lando. Han hoped Luke would be more encouraging of the relationship, but when he mentioned to Luke that Brenna seemed to be putting Rupert off, Luke's only response was to say, "It's probably for the best."
For the best?
Han wondered if Luke had forgotten what it was like to be young, and in love.
Luke had retrieved Chewbacca and Poul, and the repairs to the ship were coming along, but it was taking longer than Rupert had originally estimated. The leak had been patched, and the airlock sealed, but something was still causing negative lights on the flight computer. Han was about to enter the cockpit to run another diagnostic check, when he saw that Luke and his daughter were already doing it.
It was not exactly eavesdropping, he told himself as he watched them from the door. Luke and Brenna were too busy trying not to look at each other to notice he was there. Brenna keyed the commands into the co-pilot's console, pretending to be absorbed. "You're going to train him," she said. It was a statement, not a question.
Luke kept his eyes on the screen read-outs at the pilot's station. "Yes," he replied.
"I'm you're own flesh and blood. Why is it that you'll give him a chance, and not me?"
"Brenna, I've told you already. With Rupert there's no choice. With you, there is. I'm not going to take him all the way, just enough to keep his empathy under control. And I'm too tired to argue with you any further right now."
"I know." Brenna viewed the numbers on the co-pilot's screen for a moment and then turned to give him a cold look. "You always are." She stood up, saw Han by the door and gave him a look that was either angry or challenging. Han responded to it by giving her an exaggerated wave to usher her by, and watched as she headed into the main deck. At least he had an explanation for it now: jealousy. He'd have to talk to Rupert about it later, to ease the boy's confusion.
Han turned back to the cockpit cabin.
Luke was still staring at the panel as Han slid into the chair Brenna had just vacated. The Corellian, sensing his friend's mood, said nothing. After a while, Luke looked up from the screen.
"You think I'm wrong not to train her," he said.
Han shrugged. "Doesn't matter what I think. You're the one who has to make the decision."
"Come on, Han, give me an honest answer."
"All right, then. Yeah, I think you're wrong."
"But I can't let the same thing happen to her that happened to the others!"
Han protested. "Hey! You asked me for an honest answer, remember?"
Luke let out a long breath, then nodded. "Sorry. All right, then, why do you think I should?"
"Well...because she wants to learn, mainly."
Luke shook his head. "Parents can't always give their children everything they want."
"In case you haven't noticed, Brenna's growing out of kid-hood. And in your case, it isn't so much can't as won't," Han said. "From Brenna's perspective, anyway."
Skywalker looked at him, uncomprehending.
"Look, Luke, from everything you've told me, and everything I've seen, this whole business is not just a passing fancy for Brenna. Now, I am not crazy about the idea of Rupert becoming one of your nearly extinct knights any more than you are about Brenna becoming one. But I've got three kids and you've only got one, and I can look at your situation a little more objectively than you can. From Brenna's point of view, the one thing she wants the most is the one thing you have to offer but refuse to give to her. Sooner or later, she's going to start resenting you for that. When that happens, she'll either hate you for the rest of her life, or try to learn from someone else, or even worse---try to learn it on her own. If you want to talk about danger, I'd say the greater danger is having her try to learn about the Force without your guidance."
"I don't think you understand. Briande died because she was a Jedi Knight. Because I trained her to be one."
Han shook his head with a smile that wondered how the galaxy's most astute Jedi could miss something right under his nose. "It wasn't your training that killed her. She knew the risks. It was... what she was even before you trained her that made her go. Besides, if I remember correctly, wasn't it Jedi-training that rescued her from being executed as her sister in the first place?"
"I don't know," Luke said with a sigh. "When Brenna was born, we had such high hopes for her. We used to...plan how we'd train her, how we'd bring her up to use the Force naturally. I didn't even think about the danger until Briande was killed."
"Hmmm," Han said. Then he said, "Luke, you remember when you came back and said that Briande was dead? Brenna had been crying for two days straight. It was getting on my nerves. Then the instant you picked her up, she stopped crying and clung to you like a teeta bug to a stem. Do you think she knew?"
Luke met his eyes. "I got Briande's sending while I was on Sardirh. It took me two days to get back to Coruscant. Yes, Han, I think she knew." Luke looked down, drew in a breath, let it out again. "And I think that somewhere in her sub-conscious mind, she still remembers."
"Deities," Han whispered. "She wasn't even three years old."
The tool case was next to Rupert, and Brenna headed for it without even acknowledging Rupert's presence.
"Find anything?" Rupert asked.
Unable to avoid a direct question, she replied tersely, "I think I may have your glitch. It's on the exterior. The atmospheric stabilizer, I think. A piece of the hatch must have damaged it coming off." She grabbed the toolbox and headed down the gangplank.
Rupert picked up a welder and followed her outside.
"Brenna, wait up!"
She ignored the request and continued walking along the side of the ship, looking for the stabilizer. She found it and frowned; it was still in one piece. Then she nodded to herself and pried open the access panel underneath the stabilizer. She put her hand through and wiggled each wire in turn.
"Brenna, we have to talk."
"Here's your problem," she said, isolating the loose wire. "You're lucky it's just a broken connector. Must have shaken loose. Hand me a size six sealing wrench, will you?"
Rupert found the tool and gave it to her. "Brenna, what's the matter? You haven't said two words to me since our parents found us."
"Go away," Brenna said, fitting the wrench over the connector and twisting violently.
"Well, that's two words, anyway," he said, trying for humor. When that got no response, Rupert tried the straight approach. "Look, I'm sorry I lied to you about my name, but knowing that the ones who planted the bomb might be after me, I thought it would be safer for you."
Brenna closed the access panel and handed him the tool she had been using. "Don't worry about it, Cousin. I grew up not even knowing what my real name was. Why should I care about yours?" She turned away, pretending to make a visual inspection of the ship.
"Cousin..." Rupert said quietly to himself, brows furrowed. Then a smile cleared his expression as he thought of something, and he chased after her. "Brenna, you do know that I was adopted, don't you?"
Brenna stopped, looked at him in surprise for a moment, then turned away again. "No, I didn't know. But the fact that we're not blood-relatives doesn't make any difference."
"Then what is it?"
"It's nothing either one of us can do anything about, so let's just pretend nothing ever happened between us."
"Pretend? How can we---" Rupert began, but Brenna was already walking away. He hurried to catch up with her. "Brenna, how can we pretend nothing ever happened? Do you know why I was so relieved to find out who you really were? It's because I knew I'd be able to see more of you."
"Look," Brenna stopped again and turned to face him. "Just leave me alone, okay? It's not your fault, but just the same I'd prefer not to dwell on it."
Rupert watched her go, still wondering what it was that had caused the rift. He hoped he could find a way to repair it, but before he could dwell on it any further, he sensed something nearby, something almost underneath Brenna's feet, filled with living things. "Brenna, wait!" he called. "There's something---"
Before he could say anything more, the ground suddenly opened up where Brenna was walking...
And Brenna disappeared as the sand swallowed her whole..
"Brenna!" Rupert called. He rushed to the edge of the pit that had just opened up in the sand and threw himself down to the ground to distribute his weight, lest more of the edge cave in. He knew what it was, of course. His father had warned him of krail pits on Tatooine, and why one should never walk on the desert surface without a stick to probe the ground ahead. Rupert looked down but could see nothing. "Brenna!"
There was no answer. The shadows from the setting twin suns hid the bottom of the pit in blackness.
Rupert scrambled back from the pit, regained his feet, then ran back to the gangplank as fast as he could.
Luke rubbed his eyes wearily. "I don't know, Han. If things were different, maybe I'd consider it. But with the way things are now, I just---" His head snapped up suddenly and he stopped speaking.
"What is it?" Han asked.
Luke bolted out of the chair. "Brenna's in trouble!" he said. He and Han met Rupert just as the door to the Millenium Falcon opened to admit him.
"Dad---" There was a quiet sob from the depths of the sand-hole. "Krail pit..."
"I know," Luke replied, gesturing to Han to secure the end of the line around a landing strut.
"Dark..." Brenna said.
"Just hang on, Bren. I'm coming down," Luke replied. His hands worked as he spoke, finding the other end of the line. The darkness at the bottom of the pit was good. The krail used mainly light to sense when they had captured a victim. Had she fallen earlier in the day before the suns started to set, she'd already be dead.
Han intercepted Poul, who was running towards the pit with a portable lamp. "No!" his father yelled. Chewbacca snatched the lamp away before Poul could reach his destination.
"No lights!" Han said. The fact that the twin suns were so low in the sky was Brenna's only chance.
Brenna's voice rose piteously from the pit, not in response to Han or Poul, but to her father. "Too late, Dad...already bitten. Just...toss a lamp down here, okay?"
"I can't, Bren. It would cause more krail to bite."
"Told you...too late. Please..."
"Hold on just a little longer, Bren."
As Luke started to wrap the rope around himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Rupert.
"Let me do it," Rupert said.
Luke shook his head and went on with what he was doing. "It's too dangerous. That pit is full of krail."
"That's why I should be the one. I can...I can feel them. I felt them right before Brenna fell in. I know their instincts. It's like I'm one of them."
"But you're untrained," Luke pointed out. "You can't control them."
"Can you?" Rupert asked.
"No," Luke admitted. "I was figuring on using the darkness for protection."
"If it's dark for you, it's dark for me, too. And I've got a better chance. Besides, if anything happens to you, what have I got to look forward to? An insane asylum? I'd rather be bitten by the krail."
Luke stopped working on the rope and looked at him. Right now the boy was on an adrenaline rush, and the krail were mostly in the dark, which was the only reason he wasn't weirding-out already. If the krail became any more excited, or Rupert loss the personal emotional intensity he was currently experiencing, the empathic link would take over completely, and Rupert really would become one of the krail.
Rupert met his gaze unfalteringly.
"A million things could go wrong," Luke said. "You might be able to anticipate them, but you might find yourself in a link you can't get out of. Then there would be two of you down there."
"Let me go. Please."
Torn by indecision, Skywalker turned to the boy's father. "Han---"
Han closed his eyes. "I don't know, Luke. This is outside of my territory."
Rupert held out his hand for the rope. "Let me do it."
Luke hesitated for a second, then started undoing the rope from around himself. "Force forgive me," he murmured, then gave the rope to Rupert. He unhooked his lightsaber and handed that over as well. "You may need this," he said. "But it gives off light. If you have to activate it, use it. I know how you feel about hurting lower forms, but if it's a choice between the krail, and you or Brenna..."
"I understand," Rupert said.
Then, as Rupert wrapped the rope around himself, Luke called back into the pit. "Brenna!"
"Dad?" came the frightened little reply.
"Rupert's on his way down. How are you doing?"
Brenna's sob carried up to the top of the pit. "Dad, he'll never make it. They're all over me. Please, can't...you just send down a lamp?"
"Just a little longer, I promise." Luke said. "Tell me how you feel."
"I...can't feel my legs anymore, and my arms are starting to go numb."
"Not much time," Han murmured. "Even if Rupert can avoid the krail, he'll never get her out in time."
Rupert signaled that he was secure and ready. Chewbacca and Luke held onto the rope as he climbed into the side of the krail pit. As they let him down, he found foot-holds and hand-holds on the side of the pit. All of them knew Rupert had to keep his descent slow and controlled lest he alarm any of the serpents.
He had just descended past the shadow-line when something in the dimness caught his eye. A large krail lay coiled on the ledge not two inches from right hand. Rupert's heart leapt in fear, but the snake didn't stir. Cautiously he moved his hand away. Then he looked down.
It was impossible to see the bottom for the darkness, but it couldn't be much farther down. He remembered that Brenna had said the krail were all over her. He took a deep breath, praying that Luke was right and that he really did have some sort of empathy with animals, and mentally wished the krail away from Brenna.
Then he called up to be let down lower.
He continued his descent, hoping that the Force was with him and would keep any stray serpents out of his path. At the same time, he continued trying to convey the feeling that the krail wanted to move away from the bottom, especially where it was warm. It wasn't warmth they were drawn to, but light. Light meant that there was food nearby.
His feet touched something, and he used his hands against the wall to push himself away from that part of the pit. The last thing Brenna needed was a cracked rib from being stepped on. Fortunately, there was nothing on the other side of the pit that bit him, and nothing under where his feet touched down that squished, squirmed, broke, or bit.
He called up for slack and quickly undid the rope from around himself, working by feel since he couldn't see anything. Then he bent down and ran his hands along Brenna's inert form, searching for snakes. He found several, but fortunately they just slithered off when he brushed them away. He ran his hands over her body again, but there were no other snakes. There was, however, another problem that he noticed.
"She's not breathing!" he yelled to the people above, forgetting the krail for a moment. He yanked on the rope, to show that he needed lots of slack.
"Hang on, Brenna," he said more quietly, not sure if she could hear him or not, and wrapped the rope around her armpits. He finished the knot around her, then wrapped the tail end of the rope into a loop and tied it off for a foothold. Then he tugged to let the others above know they were ready to come up. Chewbacca and Luke hauled on the rope as quickly as they dared while Rupert continued to try to send telegraphic messages to the krail to keep them away. He had no idea whether or not it actually was working, but the krail seemed to be leaving him and Brenna alone.
Brenna's body hung from the rope limply, and several times she knocked against the sides of the pit. Rupert tried to hold her still, but it was impossible. So he concentrated instead on keeping the poisonous krail at bay. But as they neared the shadow line, the back of Brenna's hand slapped the pit wall hard near a nest, and one of the krail, visible now in the dim light, raised its head to strike.
Reacting quickly, Rupert pushed away from the side of the pit with his free foot, and started to unhook the lightsaber. Then he hesitated, and left the weapon where it was. The rope was causing them to swing back into the krail's reach. Rupert ripped one of his gloves off, and tossed it at the krail's head as they swung within reach. The snake lunged for the glove and chewed at it viciously as Rupert pushed himself and Brenna away again.
"Pull us up!" Rupert yelled. If this didn't work, he'd have to kill the krail. He pulled off the other glove off and did the same thing as they pendulumed towards the nest again. By the third swing, thanks to Chewbacca's Wookiee strength, Brenna was nearly out of reach, and he was able to kick himself away.
It seemed forever before they reached the top, and anxious hands reached first for Brenna, then for himself. As Han pulled him out, Rupert saw that Luke was already loosening the knots around Brenna.
"Were you bit?" Han asked his son.
Rupert shook his head as he quickly undid the rope from himself and tossed it aside. Then he turned his attention back to Brenna.
Her face was deathly pale. Luke had a hand placed over her forehead, and his eyes were momentarily unfocused. But an instant later, Luke's eyes came back into focus and he turned toward the others.
"Is she---?" Rupert began, unable to finish the question.
"Not yet." The Jedi answered. "She's gone into a bio-trance."
"Can she do that?" Han remembered once overhearing Luke tell Leia about how difficult it was to teach that particular trick to his students.
"Apparently, but she's gone in too deep. The trance has slowed the spread of the poison, but either one could kill her."
The Jedi Knight quickly gathered his daughter up in his arms and carried her to Falcon. Lucy ran ahead, to make certain the way to the medical bay was clear, then melted back out of the way as Luke followed, moving much more quickly than one would have thought possible for an older man carrying a dead weight. Han and Rupert trailed behind.
Luke entered the medical bay and didn't even look behind him to see Han behind him. "Get the Falcon out of here fast," he said. "That 'wave' effect I was telling you about? When Brenna fell into the pit, it was like a tidal wave."
"Get the Falcon into hyperspace, Rupert!" Han shouted.
"She's not space-worthy!" Rupert protested.
"Just do the best you can!"
Rupert took off at a run for the cockpit, followed closely by Chewbacca.
Lucy went to the medi-computer and rapidly keyed in a code. The answer the computer gave back was not encouraging. "There's no anti-toxin for krail poison," she said helplessly.
"It acts too quickly," Han replied. "Krail are found only on Tatooine, and the victims are usually dead before help can even arrive, so it's not a standard supply."
"Will she be all right?" Lucy asked.
There was no answer. Luke had laid Brenna out on the table. He again had one hand on Brenna's forehead, and the other placed on her chest just below her throat, near her heart. His eyes were closed. Meanwhile, the ship lifted off on repulser jets, then shuddered as the main thrusters refused to come online. There was no way they were going to leave the atmosphere. Han, Poul, and Lucy had to grab onto supports to keep their balance. Luke had to momentarily move one of his hands to the table to regain his balance.
Poul started to say something, but Han waved him silent, knowing that Brenna's only chance lay in whatever healing powers the Jedi had, and he didn't want to cause any distractions for Luke.
For a few minutes, Luke and Brenna seemed frozen like statues as the ship bounced on unstable repulsors like turbulence encounters in old-fashioned atmospheric aircraft. Silently, Han edged over towards the table. He saw beads of sweat forming on Luke's brow, but other than that there was no movement of any kind from either Luke or Brenna. Han was afraid to move or speak lest he disturb the trance of concentration the Jedi had fallen into.
The ship shuddered with a sudden lurch as Rupert brought the disabled vessel through an awkward landing, and Han held onto the table with one hand while using the other to steady Luke. Except for a step Luke had taken to maintain his balance, it was as if nothing had changed with either of them.
A moment later Rupert came back to the medical bay and joined him.
"Where are we?" Han whispered.
"About six hundred kilometers from where we were before," Rupert replied quietly. "It was the best I could do until I get the main engines online. At least we're sheltered from above by an outcropping."
More time passed. Brenna's face continued to remain deathly pale. Only Luke's relentless vigil spoke of any life at all left in her body. Han's eyes traveled across the room to Rupert, Poul, and Lucy. They, like him, were watching and waiting, wishing there was something more they could do, but knowing there wasn't. It was all up to Luke, now, and Brenna.
Gradually Han became aware that Brenna's face no longer seemed as white as it had been when they had first pulled her out of the pit. He looked around and saw that Rupert, too, seemed to have noticed the slight change. Rupert looked up at his father with questioning eyes, but Han merely shook his head; it was too soon to tell yet.
The slight promise of hope seemed to make the torture of waiting a little more bearable. Han kept looking away, hoping that when he looked back again he would see some measurable change, but the improvements were so slight that it was impossible to be sure they were even there. Han wondered where Luke found the stamina to continue the endless concentration it must have taken to keep this task up.
Han's attention wandered again. Lucy stood up and silently left, only to return a few minutes later with cups of hot coffee. Han nodded his thanks soundlessly and drank his as he looked back at the unmoving scene in front of him.
Suddenly Han's gaze was drawn to Brenna's chest. It was moving up and down in slow, regular motions as her body respirated in normal rhythm. The Corellian wanted to shout with joy, but instead contained his elation to a heartfelt grin. From across the room, Rupert met the grin with one of his own. Lucy clapped Poul on the shoulder and nodded encouragingly.
Han's grin turned into an expression of concern as he looked back at the table. Brenna was definitely better, but Luke looked bad. The Jedi Knight's face was lined with exhaustion, and his hands were beginning to tremble. Han moved quietly behind Luke. A few minutes later, the Jedi started to sway, and Han caught him before he could fall to the floor.
Instantly, Rupert was at Brenna's bedside, pressing two fingers to her throat and examining her vital signs. He looked up at the sensor read-outs in disbelief. "The poison's gone," he said incredulously. "It's just...gone."
Luke's eyes opened as Han pulled one of his arms around his neck for support. "Brenna---" he choked. "Is she---"
Han glanced at Rupert, who nodded. "She's fine, Luke. I think she'll be all right. You can rest now."
Han thought he had never seen Luke look more ill or tired than now. But there was still something else on the Jedi's mind. "Get the Falcon...out of here fast. I can feel Lippa..."
"We can't lift offplanet yet," Han replied. "Rupert, can you make another hop? Stay low. We don't want to be picked up by air-traffic sensors."
"I'll see what I can do," Rupert answered, moving to the cockpit again.
Then Han lifted Luke's weight to turn him towards the cabins. "Come on, Luke. You need to rest."
Luke nodded and allowed himself to be carried to the co-pilot's cabin without argument. Han was not surprised to see tears roll unashamedly down his long-time friend's face.
"Well, young lady, would you like some company with your breakfast?"
Brenna looked up from the meal she had only been toying with at the sound of Han's voice. She pushed the tray away when she saw who was with him. "Dad."
Luke smiled as he entered the cabin, leaning on Han ever-so-slightly for support. Han found a chair for the Jedi to sit in, since Luke was still a little weak after the ordeal. Then the Corellian left, figuring that father and daughter had a lot to talk about.
"How are you feeling?" Luke asked after a long moment.
"Fine," Brenna said. She hesitated, then dropped some of the pretense. "Not fine. I was scared down there."
"Good," Luke said.
"Why?" Brenna asked in astonishment.
"Because now you know how I feel every time I sense you playing with the Force."
"Oh, Dad---" Brenna's voice caught, and she looked away.
"I'm sorry, Bren. I didn't mean to scold you. I was just so worried that we would lose you."
"And you." Brenna turned back and looked at her father, not fooled by his attempt to disguise the weariness and strain etched in his face. "You could have been killed, couldn't you?"
"Now, Bren, don't---"
"It's true. You had to pull me out of the bio-trance and draw the poison out." She drew in a shaky breath, then looked away again. "Why didn't you tell me the truth before?"
"What do you mean?" Luke asked, not understanding.
"Why...you wouldn't train me."
Luke stared at her. He had told her the truth. The reason he hadn't trained her was Etan Lippa.
Brenna closed her eyes. "I should've known that the pit was there," she said. "I should've been able to keep the snakes from biting. I shouldn't have gone so deep into the trance." She hesitated, then added, "Instead, I let myself be overcome by a stupid, childish fear that even a toddler outgrows."
"Everyone has fears," Luke said. He'd meant to comfort, but his words sounded flat even in his own ears.
"Not you. Not the Jedi. Not even the novice you sent down in the pit after me. He knew the pit was there, and how to control the snakes. And he wasn't afraid of the dark."
Luke was silent. She didn't realize that Rupert's gifts were unique, that every sensitive's gifts were as unique as the individuals themselves. She didn't know that Rupert's gifts could destroy him if he weren't trained, as easily as Brenna's could destroy her, if she were.
She drew in a shaky breath, still without looking at him. "I understand now. And I won't...I won't ever use the Force again. I promise." She bit her lower lip and held it a moment before releasing it. Then she said, "I think I'd better give you something..." Brenna rolled off the bed, stood up and went over to her travel-case, favoring her bitten leg. She rummaged around her clothes for a second, found what she was searching for, then limped back to the bed. She placed a gleaming metal tube into her father's hand.
Luke felt his anger rise as he looked down at the Jedi weapon he had all but forbidden Brenna to possess. "Where did you get this?" he demanded.
Brenna looked down at the floor. "I made it," she replied quietly.
Her father stared at her, his anger being replaced by incredulity. "You...made it?"
She nodded. Shame registered on her face, and she sat back on the bed.
Luke was speechless. The lightsaber looked like it had been constructed by a Master Jedi Knight. The seams fit together so precisely they were all but invisible, and the metal was polished to a bright gleam. There was even a design etched into the guard and pommel. Only its light weight testified to its incompleteness. The expensive energy cell needed to make it work was the only thing lacking.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. I guess...I don't know."
Brenna turned away, but not before Luke saw the pain-filled expression in her eyes. Luke reached out towards her again, but the instant he touched her, she pulled away, and he let his hand fall back to his side.
There was a moment of silence before Brenna spoke again. "Would you...leave me alone for a while, please."
Luke nodded and stood up, feeling suddenly very old. He kissed Brenna on the top of the head and then moved toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, Brenna said softly, "Father---"
Luke stopped without turning back, somehow knowing that Brenna wasn't looking at him, either, and that the formal address of him as 'Father' was an indication of the distance that now seemed to be between them.
"I'm sorry I was so stubborn before. And...thank you...for bringing me back."
Luke nodded again, fighting a large lump in his throat, as he left the room. He had just won the most important argument he'd ever had with Brenna, but somehow it felt as if he had lost.