'Tis the time again; the time were I might have a modicum of time available for stories. Kinda, sorta, not really. But at least this time I'm inspired. Nothing like really boring classes to convince me to write.
(-)
Luke paused for a second after his father's grand statement. "You want to train me?" Luke asked with a hint of incredulity in his voice. He leaned forward across the table, staring into the eyes of his father's mask. Suddenly, Luke roared with laughter. He leaned back in his chair, holding on to his ribs, laughing as if he had not laughed in years. He laughed and laughed. Through the entire outburst, Vader sat still, still holding on to the lightsaber he had placed on the table. Finally, Luke gained control of his laughter, wiping the tears that squeezed out during his emotional release. "You…want…to train me?" Chuckling, the coldness crept back into his face.
"You have no idea do you?" Luke began. "I have trained." With that statement, Luke remembered his discovery of his powers.
2 years after meeting
Luke sat in a cantina, sipping a clear drink carefully from a tiny glass in his right hand, while his left was twirling an empty glass. Each swallow felt like fire pouring down his throat, but it numbed his mind. Oh, how I want to leave, thought Luke. This planet has nothing left to offer me. Even the imperials have left the planet. What else am I to do, become a bounty hunter? I will never lower myself to that level.
Looking through the haze that filled his mind, Luke looked at the rest of the cantina. Usually the bar was filled with various creatures from all over the galaxy looking for fortunes in the doomed desert planet Tatooine, but today was a celebration at Jabba's Palace. He was celebrating the anniversary of his ascension to the leading Hutt of the family. The bounty hunters (despicable weaklings) went to the palace in an attempt to make a name for themselves in the "celebrations," or the poor men and women who dared defy his Huttness. And those who worshiped the bounty hunters also joined the celebrations; others simply went for the entertainment; Luke avoided it all. He did not care greatly for blood sport and had no interest in becoming a lackey for Jabba, especially as a bounty hunter. While the Hutt was massively wealthy, he was not willing to share great portions of his wealth—especially to a young human desiring status in the galaxy. Luke would rather sit it out and wait for his next opportunity to come up.
Luke stared at his cup, seeing that his glass was still half full. With a smirk, Luke slung back the rest of the contents in one swallow, suppressing the urge to choke or cough. As he was about to push out of his chair to leave the quiet cantina, a person enrobed in a cape blocked his path. Luke stepped aside to avoid colliding with the man—it was most definitely a man underneath the hood—but the man stepped with him. After a few moments of stepping around and imitating dancing, Luke stood still. The man just stood still. A few moments of silence followed.
Realizing that this silence was part of a mind-game, Luke just waited for the man to speak, since he was sought out, not the other way around. With a small inclination of his covered head, the man conceded defeat. "Luke Skywalker?" the man asked.
"Who wants to know?" responded Luke cockily. With practiced ease, Luke carefully laid his hand on a blaster in a leg holster. But this movement was not the ease of someone who used the gun, but rather insinuated that he did. In truth, Luke had never actually needed to use the gun, since the mere presence was effective enough. The cloaked man, however, did not respond at all to the hint, but rather lowered his hood. An older man with blue eyes and a beard stood in front of look with a confidence that Luke could only dream about.
"I am looking for a guide," the man answered, with an unknown accent tingeing his voice. "I require the guidance of a man willing to take me to the lesser known areas of this planet. I am searching for the remnants of a civilization that was destroyed not too long ago. I have been informed by the powers that be that you are a quite effective guide for this part of the world." The man raised a hand before Luke had a chance to even open his mouth. "You will, of course, be properly rewarded for your efforts."
Luke looked up and down the man, who was covered in dust and was oddly dressed in unimpressive robes. Reaching deep into his cloak, the old man pulled out a credit chip. "Will fifty thousand credits suffice?" Luke covered his surprise and nodded quickly. Trying to retain his dignity and his normal, professional manner, Luke croaked out, "I would like half of the money up front to properly ascertain certain…supplies that might be necessary for the trip." The man merely smiled and handed the credits to Luke. Glancing at it to check authenticity, Luke smirked to himself, pleased that he managed to squeeze some of the money already out of the man. Twenty-five thousand credits would be a healthy addition to his growing savings, especially for a passage away from this planet.
The old man began speaking again. "Since I have now paid partly in advance, I expect the search to begin immediately. Once the search is complete, you will receive the rest." Turning on his heel, the old man left before Luke had time to comment. Stunned for a moment, Luke stared at where the man had been a moment before. Quickly, he came to his senses and ran after the man.
"Old man!" Luke called after him, realizing how stupid he sounded, not knowing his own client's name. "Old man! Wait for me. How am I supposed to guide you if you leave me behind?"
"Good," the man said, continuing to walk down the dusty Mos Eisley street. "You have some semblance of intelligence. You may address me as Obi-wan, if you wish."
"Obi-wan? That's it? No last name?" Luke wondered out loud. "Where are you from?"
"I am from a place that no longer exists." With that statement, a flicker of pain flashed through the old man's, Obi-wan's, eyes, but it was quickly masked again. "And yes, Obi-wan will suffice."
"Well, Obi-wan. What are we looking for?" Suddenly Obi-wan stopped, catching Luke off-guard. Luke spun around to face the man.
A sad smile graced Obi-wan's face. "Jedi."
(-)
5 y.a.m.
Luke broke from his thoughts for a second to look up into the eyeholes of his father. "Father," he whispered. "Do you remember Obi-wan Kenobi?" His father's respirator kept its static rhythm, not revealing any response. Finally, his father responded. A single "Yes" hissed out of the respirator. "Well, he trained me in the ways of a Jedi. What use is being a Sith to me?"
Pushing back the chair, Luke stood up and turned around, taking long strides out the door.
He did not look back at his father, but he did look back into his past.
(-)
2 y.a.m.
At first, Luke thought that the search for Jedi would last a day or two, waiting for the old man to grow tired off chasing lost ruins, but the simple trip turned into an opportunity Luke never would have imagined. Not only did he sell his prize, his pride and joy—the symbol of his ambition and success—the SYG-3215, the follow-up model to the speeder Luke lusted after during his early teen-age years, but he had also left the planet of his youth Tatooine. The dust planet no longer held any power over the seventeen year-old boy. He finally had achieved what he had desired for the last two years, since he bought his speeder—complete freedom and a life away from what he had known. All of this change because of a crazy old man in search of the forbidden past and Luke did not complain one bit.
They had traveled across many worlds, never staying for long. Luke had seen more in one month of his life than he had ever dreamed was possible for his entire life. He had seen the galaxy's largest waterfall, followed by civilizations built in permanent storms, great planets of water and forest, and had even witnessed an imperial battle between the Rebel Forces and a Star Destroyer.
The old man Obi-wan and Luke had recently landed on a near core planet called Yetha. Yetha was a small planet with little to offer, but for some reason the old man had declared it their next location to search for "the lost Jedi." Luke had a funny feeling about Yetha, but was still not comfortable enough around Obi-wan to voice his suspicions.
Unfortunately, Luke should have told Obi-wan before they were ambushed, but by then it was much too late for Luke to do anything effective. Fortunately, for Luke, Obi-wan was not too shocked by the sudden appearance of the thugs. With cool confidence, the same confidence that impressed Luke when he first met Obi-wan, the old man looked at the five men who had their blasters out. Luke reached for his blaster, but Obi-wan stayed him. With a small hand wave, Obi-wan stated, "We mean no harm. We are simple travelers."
Luke was about to complain that stating the fact that the were travelers would not be helpful, but then one of the men stated to his accomplices, "They mean no harm. They are simple travelers." The others nodded and walked away. Stunned Luke glanced at Obi-wan, amazed that the tactic worked.
"But how?" began Luke. Obi-wan looked at Luke for a moment before responding. "Those with weak minds are easily persuaded. But like most things, persuasion is a skill that can be learned."
Luke's eyes became bright and excited. "Can you teach me things like that?" Obi-wan nodded, "The skill is not to be abused. It is a skill, and it can be used for harm as well. One must be careful." Obi-wan led the way, with Luke excitedly bouncing behind him, showing off his youth.
Several hours later when they finished their searching for the day—Luke did not think they actually found anything, but he was still being payed—the two men stopped in an inn and rented a room for the evening. The inn was not luxurious, but it was well constructed with no noticeable deficiencies. After discussing some of the things they had seen that day, Obi-wan abruptly went off-topic. "Luke," he began, "would you like to learn those skills I mentioned earlier, including persuasion?" A big grin crossed Luke's face, and he nodded fiercely. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Obi-wan motioned that Luke should join him. Without hesitation, Luke emulated the old man and joined him on the floor. "First, you must clear your mind of all extraneous thoughts and focus on the task at hand. You then will stretch out with your mind and feel your feelings and then focus on me. Once you know what I am feeling, you shall progress to making me feel a certain way. After that, you shall attempt to command me to think a certain thought. These levels are not easy to pass and they may be used against you as well, so do not be surprised if I retaliate. Acceptable?"
Luke nodded. "Acceptable. So I just have to clear my thoughts?" That seemed quite simple to do.
Obi-wan nodded sagely. "Yes, but this task will be harder than you originally think." Luke closed his eyes and began clearing his mind.
(-)
They stayed on Yetha for an entire month, with Luke slowly learning to control thoughts with his mind. He was only allowed to practice with Obi-wan, but he was slowly straining to try his skills on someone else. What's the use of a skill if it is not used? And how do I know I really can do it, and Obi-wan is not just lying to me? Luke thought. I just need to test my skills out. Luke only had to wait for his opportunity.
One warm afternoon, his opportunity came up. Obi-wan had requested supplies at a local store, but then had another conflict. He sent Luke to pick up the items requested. Luke walked into the store and spoke with the clerk, asking for the held items. When the man came back, he stated his price. The price stated was higher than Luke had anticipated and was shocked for a moment. He then decided that he should demand a lower price. But why should I haggle or negotiate when I can persuade? Luke thought. I will simply tell him to give it to me for a much lower price. Using his newly learned skills, Luke stretched his mind out to the clerk and, with a clear voice, commanded, "You took a long time getting the supplies. You will make me pay for a quarter of the supplies." Much to his great pleasure, the man repeated the statement, granting Luke a large discount. Taking the supplies with him, Luke confidently strode to the inn, where Obi-wan was waiting for him. Luke handed the supplies over to his elder and sat on the floor, clearing his mind as he had been taught. After going over the contents that Luke brought, Obi-wan joined him. Wordlessly, they began their ritual. Luke stretched out with his mind, like he had done with the clerk. Suddenly the routine was broken. Luke caught a glimpse of a thought in Obi-wan's mind, something he did not know was possible.
A tall man stood in front of him, with brown hair flowing past his shoulders. The room was bright, and the air was cool to the touch. The man was his master, with a deep voice gently instructing. "You must focus on your task at hand. It is easy to become distracted, so you must always focus on the job that is required of you. If you can accomplish this, you may become a great Jedi, Obi-wan Kenobi."
As suddenly as Luke was in Obi-wan's mind, he was out of it again. Luke thought about what occurred, then the final words of the memory came into his mind. "Obi-wan…Kenobi?" Luke muttered under his breath. He looked up at the man training him. "Kenobi? Old Ben Kenobi? You are the crazy old wizard from the desert of Tatooine?" Sudden realization came to him. "And you are a Jedi? We weren't looking for Jedi, you were looking for a student. You were looking for me!" Luke quickly stood up. "I don't appreciate lies, Kenobi. If you had told me the truth, I'd have…" He broke of suddenly, unsure of what he would have done.
Obi-wan got up wearly. "You would have done what, Luke? Come with me? The crazy old wizard? No, Luke. I'm sorry I withheld the truth, but you needed training."
"So I could become a Jedi, hunted by the Empire? I'm sorry, but I don't mind the Empire. It has treated me well."
"But, Luke, you have no idea what the Empire truly does! It has destroyed the lives of billions, including your parents."
"My parents? You now claim to know my parents? I don't believe you! You've lied before. I don't care what you say, how do I know it's true. I don't! Good-bye, Jedi Master, but I will not go with you anymore. I don't care about the money. I'm leaving now."
Turning on his heal, Luke stormed out of the inn, heading to the spaceport to catch the first transport of the gods-forsaken planet Yetha.
(-)
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