Title: Ghost of the Past
Author: Spirit White
Summary: Luke Skywalker died at thirteen years of age. Abruptly, the threads of the future were torn to pieces and remade, and Leia Organa and Lord Darth Vader must deal with the consequences.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by George Lucas, Lucasfilms Ltd. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Revised Thursday, May 10th, 2007
Chapter Two: Leia
"So this Leia is my sister?" Luke asked, staring at Qui-Gon's noble face. The tall man nodded with a smile. Luke paused, taking that in. "Twin sister?" He made sure. Qui-Gon laughed.
"Yes, Luke," he said, smiling. "Your twin sister, Leia."
"And I need to – to – help her?" He frowned, confused. "But I'm dead, how can I help her when I'm a – a spirit?"
"The Force, remember, Luke," Qui-Gon said. "A Force sensitive can often appear to another Force sensitive after they merge with the Force. When you go to Leia, you will be able to reveal yourself to her for small amounts at a time."
"Oh," Luke said slowly.
"Don't worry so much, Luke," Qui-Gon said in his mild voice. "The Force will guide your actions. You just need to allow it."
"Right," Luke said, blinking. "When do I meet her?"
"Right now, if you like," Qui-Gon replied. "Simply close your eyes and search within yourself. You will feel a bright light, and beside it, a smaller light. Touch that small light." Luke closed his eyes and stood there, confused. "Take a deep breath," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Don't try to force it, just let yourself go…" Luke sighed and relaxed, and his vision, black because his eyes were closed, began to lighten. To his surprise, two white lights appeared in front of him. Reaching out, he touched the smaller one. It pulsed beneath his mental probe, and abruptly, he opened his eyes to find himself in a huge room full of opulent materials. White and pale blue dominated the color scheme, a pale bedspread with white hanging drapes, and filmy white curtains across a broad, graceful window overlooking a beautifully ordered garden.
A girl was stretched out on her stomach on the bed, propped up on her elbows with a book in front of her. She had long, dark hair that curled loosely and spilled across her back and shoulders, and warm dark eyes in a pale, flawless face. Luke blinked.
"Sit down, there," Qui-Gon said from behind him. Luke looked. He was pointing at a chair, which Luke sat down in. "Now, simply observe for a while," Qui-Gon said quietly. "I cannot stay…this is your mission alone. When you feel the time is right, simply concentrate on allowing her to see you. Speak with her, but don't explain too much."
"What is too much?" Luke asked quickly, but he was too late. Qui-Gon had gone. Sighing, Luke scooted more fully onto the seat and pulled his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. For long moments, he simply watched the girl – Leia – and looked around at her room. In the corner were two powered down droids – a golden Protocol droid and a short, squat little astromech. Finally, bored, he concentrated on allowing her to see him. Slowly, he began to shimmer blue.
"Hi," he said quickly, before he lost his nerve. The girl jumped, sitting up swiftly. Her eyes grew wide.
"Who are you?" She demanded, standing up. "How did you get in here?"
"Uh, I'm not sure," Luke admitted. "Qui-Gon still has to explain a bunch of stuff to me…something weird, I should say." He blinked. "Oh, sorry," he said, flushing a light blue. "I'm Luke."
"Well, Luke," Leia said, sounding like she was gritting her teeth. "Why are you in my room?"
"To see you, of course," Luke said, feeling it was obvious.
"Yes, but why?" Leia asked sounding irritated. Luke frowned.
"Well, why not?" Luke said. "Does there have to be a reason for everything?"
"Well, yes!" Leia bit out. "Why do something without a reason?"
"For the sake of it." Luke said promptly. Then he hesitated. "Well, that might not always be a good idea. That's how I died, actually." Leia's expression went into shock, as if she had just now realized that he was bluish and transparent.
"D – died?" She asked, sitting down heavily. "You're dead? Then why are you here? What is going on?" She sounded horrified and fascinated..
"It's all right, Leia," Luke said uncertainly. "Oh, and don't speak loudly if there are people about. Someone might wonder why you are talking to thin air. Only you can see me."
"Only me?" Leia asked weakly. "Why – who are you – and what is going on?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Luke said promptly. "We're talking. Well, trying to, anyways. You seem a little bit..." he trailed off, thinking that it might not be a good idea to finish that thought.
"But why?" Leia asked huffily. She looked as if she wasn't accustomed to asking why all the time. Luke hoped she wasn't like this normally.
"Because I'm here to help you," Luke said, the 'isn't it obvious?' going unsaid but not unheard.
"Well," Leia said, nose in the air. "That is quite kind of you, but I assure you, I have no need of any assistance at this point in time." Luke blinked.
"But I'm supposed to help you," Luke argued. "I don't have anything else to do!"
"Well, that is not my problem," Leia said crossly. "I have no need of any help."
"Not even from your own brother?" Luke asked irritably. This girl was weird. Weirder than Camie was.
"Brother?" Leia snorted derisively. "I don't have a brother, much less a blue one."
"I am so your brother," Luke said hotly. "Qui-Gon said so! We were separated because...of something..." he trailed off, pondering.
"Oh, something," Leia said sarcastically. "Because of something. Get real, flyboy!" Luke frowned, suddenly sad. He looked at his sister, at her pretty face distorted in a mocking expression, an all-too-familiar expression for Luke, who'd been mocked far too much in his life. Clingy, they'd called him. Little worm. Wormie. He'd hoped his sister would be different. He drew in a deep breath, although he thought it strange that he still did so despite being dead. His throat was tight, but he was not going to cry. He'd been a crybaby too much, lately. He wasn't going to cry anymore.
Leia was staring at him expectantly, but Luke suddenly needed to get away. Before he'd even consciously thought about it, his surroundings melted away, taking Leia with them.
"I don't know what to do," Luke said miserably. "I'm sithspit at this stuff. How can I make her believe me?"
"Patience, Luke," Qui-Gon advised. "This sort of thing takes time. You can't force it; it has to come gradually. Go back to Leia, as often as you can. Tell her about the Jedi and the Force, and the reason you can appear to her. Give her a reason to believe, otherwise why should she? Remember, just because she is your twin, doesn't mean she is exactly like you. She's her own person with her own beliefs and a different upbringing."
Luke sighed. "I guess," he said quietly. Qui-Gon patted him on the shoulder.
"You'll get this, Luke," the man said reassuringly. "I have every belief in you."
"Thanks," Luke muttered, flushing a tiny bit. Qui-Gon squeezed his shoulder once more before he left Luke alone, with his gloomy thoughts and a responsibility too heavy to bear.
"You again!" Leia said in exasperation. "Why do you not go to...wherever dead people go when they die? Why are you haunting me?"
"I'm not haunting you," Luke corrected indignantly. "I told you before, I'm here to help. Because, like it or not, you will need it."
"Oh?" Leia said, raising her eyebrows. "For what?"
"I dunno yet. I suppose with anything you need help with," Luke said uncertainly, and Leia smiled, shark-like.
"I...see," she said, with just enough skepticism in her tone to make it clear that what she saw wasn't what Luke was trying to tell her. He resisted the urge to stamp his foot, thinking it probably wouldn't impress her much.
"Look," he said, desperately. "I can explain everything, if you'll just...all right, sit down, will you? It's a long story."
"I'm sure," Leia said snootily, and Luke wanted to scowl, but manfully suppressed it, in his opinion.
"All right," Luke said uneasily. "Well, I was raised as Luke Skywalker by Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen - that is, Owen and Beru Lars. For a long time I thought my aunt was my mother's sister, which would explain my last name not being Lars or Whitesun - that was my aunt's parent's name - but it turned out that my uncle is my father's brother, but only step brother, Qui-Gon told me. Technically, they're not my aunt and uncle at all, but Qui-Gon said..."
"Are you going to get to the point sometime this year?" Leia asked, one eyebrow arched. Luke flushed, realizing he'd been rambling.
"Right," he said. "Ahm, I'm not really positive about a lot of things, I only know what Qui-Gon's told me - "
"Who is Qui-Gon?" Leia asked in exasperation.
"Oh, Qui-Gon is a Jedi Master," Luke said quickly. "He's dead, though, and he isn't supposed to appear to you. In fact, I get the feeling it should be much harder to appear to someone living, but I haven't tried it with anyone else, so I don't really know."
"Well, you don't know much of anything, now do you?" Leia said dryly.
"Well," Luke said slowly. "I've only been dead a few hours, I think. I died this morning. Can you imagine, one minute you're alive and the next you're a spirit and being told by a dead council of Jedi Knights that you have a sister you never knew about and you have to help her? Add lots of scary words like Destiny, and Fate, and only hope, and you might understand what I'm going through." He crossed his arms, irritated.
"Go on," Leia said, making a graceful, absent gesture with one hand. Luke gave in and scowled fiercely.
"Anyways," he said, annoyed, "Qui-Gon says the reason you can see me is because you're...um...sensitive to the Force...Jedi," he clarified, at Leia's blank look. "Or at least, we - you - could become a Jedi, because you...I don't know, can do stuff like that. I could too, but I'm dead now, so I can't. The Council told me I have to help you with your Destiny, which was mine until I died, so now its yours, before I can go...to wherever people like me go."
"Jedi?" Leia asked, eyes wide. "I'm not supposed to talk about Jedi!"
"So?" Luke frowned. "Is that going to stop you?"
Leia opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She flushed a very light pink.
"Anyways," Luke said airily, trying not to smile at the sight of his sister speechless. "You have to train and such to be a Jedi, so I can't be one, unless you can get training after you're dead...which, you know, could be possible, really." He looked thoughtful, then he scowled. "You know, I just realized...I think I'll be thirteen years old forever."
"Well, you won't get old," Leia pointed out, but Luke only scowled. Leia huffed. "Well, if you don't mind me asking..." she trailed off, gesturing at his transparent blue form.
"How did I die?" Luke asked. Leia nodded. "I was stupid," he said matter-of-factly. "My Uncle Owen had just bought me a brand new Skyhopper – er – T-16 model. I flew it too high, which was the stupid part, and without permission, another stupid thing. I would've been okay, but the engines failed."
"You fell?" Leia whispered, her face a mask of shock. Luke nodded.
"It wasn't so bad for me," he whispered quietly. "I hit hard, hurt a bit until I died. Took about fifteen seconds, I would say. Enough time for me to see my uncle running from the dome…his face was…he looked… absolutely horrified..." Luke trailed off. For a few seconds, he simply remembered. "My aunt came out to watch him." He continued, closing his eyes. "He wouldn't accept it, kept screaming my name and tearing at the wrecked hopper. Aunt Beru, though, she knew. She knew as soon as she saw the hopper that I was already gone."
"That's terrible," Leia said quietly. Luke only nodded with a sigh.
"So you believe me?" He asked, suddenly smiling again. "No denial?"
"Well, no…not really," Leia's words were choppy and uncertain, a strange contrast to her previous confident superiority. "I suppose I knew…I mean, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but some sort of feeling when I saw you…"
"You know, then," Luke said smartly. "The Force already told you."
"Well, yes, I suppose." Leia said, sounding skeptical still. "Yeah, I guess." She frowned, and stared at Luke, who ducked his head self-consciously, letting his longish white-blond hair fall over his face. "We don't look alike," she said pensively. Luke shook his head.
"I suppose we take after different parents," he said with a shrug.
"I have a holophoto of my mother," Leia said, brightening. "Our mother," she corrected. "She looked like me…well, a bit. She was very beautiful. I have her hair and eyes. She seemed…sad." Leia whispered, her voice quieting at the end.
"I don't remember her," Luke said softly. "Unfortunately, I have to…move on…before I can see her. She wasn't Force-sensitive. We get that from Father."
"I don't remember him," Leia said. "Have you met him?"
"No, not yet," Luke said, feeling an eager flutter in his chest. "I really want to, though. I'll tell you about him…maybe he'll come see you too. I don't see why not."
"Yeah, maybe," Leia smiled. She studied Luke again. "Do – I mean – can we touch each other?" She asked, uncertain. Luke shrugged.
"Probably not, cause I don't have a body," he said. "I'm just a spirit." He reached over and brushed a hand on Leia's wrist. It went right through. Luke didn't feel anything, but Leia shivered, looking spooked. "What?" He asked. "What did it feel like?"
"Like static," she said uneasily. "Kind of…fuzzy and tingly." Luke raised an eyebrow, and Leia opened her mouth, perhaps to ask another question. However, they were interrupted by a soft voice, one very familiar and comforting.
"It's time to go now, Luke," Qui-Gon said, laying a hand on Luke's shoulder. "We have much to discuss." Luke nodded and rose to his feet.
"Bye, Leia," he muttered. Leia looked at him looking somewhat forlorn.
"Will you come back?" She asked, and her voice was odd. Almost...indifferent, as if she was trying to seem like she didn't care. She was failing. Luke smiled.
"I'll be back soon," he said reassuringly. "I'm your helper, remember?"
"You can call for him, Leia," Qui-Gon said. "Simply concentrate on his presence and call his name. He'll hear you wherever he is, wherever you are, and come."
"Oh, all right," She said, looking happier. "Bye then, er, Luke."
Luke waved cheerfully at his sister, gave her an easy, casual smile, and his surroundings faded as he drifted away. Leia was the last thing to fade, and for a moment, she stared at him, hard, until she, too, faded away. Luke was once again in Qui-Gon's private quarters.
They sat down on Qui-Gon's seat, and the Jedi had a droid, which Luke looked at with bewilderment, go and get refreshments for them.
"Well, what did you think?" Qui-Gon asked. "Did you like her?"
"Oh, er," Luke said, and paused. "She's - she's nice."
"I'm glad you think so," Qui-Gon smiled, and then his face became serious. "Luke," he started, his voice sounding heavy. "I'm going to tell you something that the Jedi Council doesn't wish me to tell. However, I am a believer that truth – and blood – will prevail."
"What?" Luke said, feeling a sense of foreboding descend over him.
"It's about your father," Qui-Gon said. "Who he was…or is…and why he isn't here."
"You mean he's alive?" Luke asked.
"Yes, he is."
"Why didn't he raise Leia and me?" Luke whispered, confused.
"Because he thought you had died with your mother," Qui-Gon replied heavily. "But I will come to that in a moment. For now, I will start with your mother, who, when I met her, was fourteen years old, and the Queen of Naboo."
"Queen?" Luke said, surprised. Qui-Gon nodded.
"She was Queen, and I met her when the Jedi Council sent me and my Padawan – my Apprentice - to Naboo. There was a blockade, you see, surrounding her planet. They planned to force your mother to sign a treaty, which she was against. My Padawan and I convinced her – and her handmaidens – to accompany us away from the planet, so we ran the blockade in a Naboo starship. Unfortunately, our hyperdrive was damaged…we had to make an emergency landing for spare parts. We landed in an out of the way settlement on a desert planet called Tatooine, where we met a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker."
"My father?" Luke asked. "He was a slave?"
"Yes, he was," Qui-Gon said quietly. He took a deep breath and continued, and Luke listened with rapt attention as a wonderful, horrible, achingly sad tale unfolded.
"Anakin was desperate, you see, to save your mother," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Desperate enough to defy all Jedi laws, and become that which he hated. Still, your mother died after you were born, having lost the will to live. When Anakin awoke from his injuries, he discovered that he had lost the only thing he cared about anymore, and his fall to darkness was complete. He still lives, but he has forgotten who he was, what he strove so hard for. He became a shell, an almost robotic slave, feeling nothing because he cares for nothing. I don't believe that Anakin is completely gone, however. Not like the Council, who never believed in him at all. It is only you and Leia who can bring him back, Luke. You, who are his beloved's children, can blow on that tiny ember of light and make it burn again."
"Where is he now?" Luke whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
"With the Emperor," Qui-Gon said softly. "He is the Sith Apprentice. He calls himself Darth Vader."