Make Them Hear You
A.N.: The song "Make Them Hear You," is from the musical "Ragtime," by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
Go out and tell our story
Let it echo far and wide
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
How justice was our battle
And how justice was denied
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
The day was drawing to a close. The sun sinking ever lower, ever lower, and lower still in the sky above Yavin IV gave loud testimony to that. Below the sky, testimony was being given to the brave men that had rallied in defense of the Rebellion.
The brave men that had not made it back after the destruction of the Death Star.
With a few final words of solace and hope, the service was concluded, and people walked off in sullen bunches.
Except one.
For a good quarter of a standard hour, Luke Skywalker stood near motionless and examined the tombstones, occasionally pacing around the perimeter of the earth that had been torn apart to collect the bodies. They'd lived life out loud, and they died with equal splendor and valor. Luke could only hope that when his own time came, it would be doing something equally courageous. The idea of a peaceful death in his sleep did not appeal, not to him, a man of action.
He hadn't really gotten to know most of them. He supposed now he never would. It was really too bad. They'd probably been nice guys. Somebody's brother, somebody's son. They might have been someone's father, or cousin, or uncle, or husband. There might be a mother receiving a letter with the heading "We regret to inform you that your son passed away in the line of duty." Volunteer work, all of it. They had volunteered to die. They'd known the dangers, they'd paid the ultimate price.
"I'm not afraid."
"To die? No. But you're afraid of something, and I'm going to find out what."
He was not afraid of death, but of what the death of others did to him.
Master….
"Luke?"
And say to those who blame us
For the way we chose to fight
That sometimes there are battles
That are more than black or white
And I could not put down my sword
When justice was my right
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
He tore his eyes from the grave markers to a much more favorable sight; Leia.
"Are you going to come in now?" she asked him worriedly, taking a few steps closer to him.
"I don't know."
"Would you like some company?"
"From you? Always."
Taking his hand, she lead him to a large rock, and there they sat, watching the horizon as the golden coin sun melted slowly down the heavens. And as the sun crept across the sky, it burned the very air, which lit afire. A sun so hot as to burn the sky to black of night.
She sighed, closing her eyes against the bright light for a moment. "So….Tomorrow we'll start choosing a new base."
"That's too bad. I really like it here." He paused to look around him appreciatively, soaking it all in. "It's so much prettier than any place I've ever seen."
"Oh, but, Luke," she protested. "You were the Imperial Prince. You must have lived in dozens of fascinating and interesting places."
"That's exactly the problem," he explained. "There were dozens. No place to plant some roots and watch them grow. Every six months to a year or even sooner than that it was time to pack up move on. Tons of places, beautiful places, rich places, powerful places. I couldn't stand them. I couldn't, because….as soon as I began to like them, or felt easy in them – not constantly on the watch, knew where I was, what my boundaries were – they changed all over again."
Go out and tell our story
To your daughters and your sons
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
And tell them in our struggle
We were not the only ones
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
"We were in space for the most part. And if we weren't there…." He shuddered suddenly, his eyes taking on a black and far away look to them. It seemed to Leia he was lost in some private hell that no one could ever go with him into. No one….except Obi-Wan, who'd been so willing to carry the burden of Luke's nightmares. No one else had the strength to do that, maybe not even Luke's own father. So that made Luke's attachment to Kenobi even more than a Padawan, more than a son, more than anything Leia could liken it to or understand.
"Coruscant," he whispered, quite terrified as though it were looming right around the corner. "Coruscant…Oh, Force, I…." He chocked back tears, remained as composed as he possibly could. "I hated it there…so much…..It was like….I can't even describe it. It was like being sucked into a black hole. It was hell." He shivered again, his voice gaining strength. "And I'm never going back there. Ever. I'll die first." He paused to glance at her, not worshiping, or condescending. Rather impatiently expecting, which was odd for him. "And you? I suppose you spent most of your life on Alderaan."
Her throat tightened instinctively, and it always had, ever since she'd had to watch her home be blown to bits. Watch as millions of people died. Watch as….they murdered her father….
True enough, Bail Organa was her adopted father. She'd been told that many times. But, he'd always promised, that didn't matter, because he loved her just as much as if she really was his biological daughter. It didn't matter that they didn't look the same. They loved each other, that was all that counted ever.
She'd never hear that again.
Your sword can be a sermon
Or the power of the pen
Teach every child to raise his voice
And then my brothers, then
Will justice be demanded by ten million righteous men!
Make them hear you….
She chocked back the threatening tears before nodding. "Yes, that's right."
"What was it like."
"It was….beautiful. Elegant, graceful. Warm in summer, but never too warm to stand. It wasn't humid. I don't know, Luke….I don't know how to describe something like that. It was just….you felt….It was home."
He shook his head. "I'm afraid that doesn't clarify it. I've never felt at home. I've never belonged anywhere."
She covered his hand with hers, and he stared at her, surprised. "You belong here."
He smiled slightly until he realized that speaking of Alderaan had upset her. He wiped away one of the tears that had managed to slip through her barricade, kissing her forehead in a chaste manner. She did not object.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"I know you didn't."
"I would never want to see you hurting."
"I know you wouldn't."
He paused for a moment, staring at the tomb stones before staring at her again. "I want to…apologize to you. I never really paused to consider that other people had lost someone in the aftermath of Alderaan."
She squeezed his hand, smiling. "Always forgiven. Everything's forgivable."
He smiled, helping her off. "Come on, sun's set. We'd better go inside." They paused to nod respectfully to the grave stones once more, a symbol of protecting other planets from sharing the fate of Alderaan.
When they hear you
I'll be near you
Again!
The End