Title: R&R and History Lessons
Fandom: Star Wars
Timeframe: Post Original Trilogy
Author: Endaewen
Disclaimer: All characters and settings used in this story belong to Lucasfilm and their other creators. I'm making no profit from this story in any way, just getting it to leave me alone.
Summary: A conversation reveals some history.
Note: I've only seen TPM and none of the other prequels.
"We need to do this more often," the older of the two men in the compact lounging area said, "it's been far too long since we were able to get together like this." He was carefully wiping grease smears and other marks from a variety of tools before stowing them away in the chest at his feet, seeming quite at home. Both men had a few grease smears on their clothes and Han's outfit also had a couple of scorch marks from where some of the wires had sparked. It had been a familiar routine for the two over the years since Obi-Wan had hired the Falcon to take himself and Luke away from Tatooine. This time though, it wasn't a critical repair-job that they were doing, it was simply that the Corellian pilot was taking the time to do some upgrading of his ship.
"Agreed. Han. I thought that once we destroyed the Death Star and the Emperor that there'd be less work to do. Instead, it seems as though there's more. I feel like I hardly ever see either you or my sister these days." The younger of the two figures was pouring out their drinks at the table while he spoke. That was what he'd always done after one of their repair sessions, always assuming they had any suitable beverages.
"I know. I never realized that governing was such hard work." Han said, shaking his head. He and Leia had been traveling almost non-stop since that victory, going from planet to planet so the former Alderaanian Princess could negotiate their support for the newly created New Republic government.
"Not to mention dealing with the various warlords and factions that the Imperial forces broke up into after the Rogues took Coruscant," Luke added. "Speaking of Leia, do you know where she is today?" He'd just gotten back from one of his trips searching for the lost knowledge of the Jedi and the Force the day before and hadn't really had the time to catch up with everyone yet.
"She's got meetings all day, in various branches of the government. I'd be surprised if she'll be able to find time for a meal." Han replied. "I told Goldenrod to make sure she got food sometime around midday though. Hopefully she'll be able to grab at least a few bites of it before something else comes up to involve her."
By this point, Han had finished tidying up his tools and the conversation broke for a minute while he put the tool chest away.
"When you met us, did you ever think you'd end up where you are now?" the younger man asked his friend curiously, once the pilot had sat down again. Even though he'd watched the other man change from the mercenary he'd met on Tatooine several years before, Luke sometimes had trouble believing the man he knew now, and the one he'd met then were the same person. And yet, in so many ways they were the same.
"No, I never thought either of us would end up where we are now. Me, I went from a smuggler who didn't care about anyone other than Chewie to a general who is married to the head of the government," Han replied after a second or two. "Back then, my only interests were in keeping myself safe and off of Jabba's problem list. How about you?" he asked his younger friend.
"Nowhere near where I am now. Back then on Tatooine, my only goal was to get off of the planet somehow." Luke replied, adding, "it seemed that the Imperial Academy was my only choice, and my friends were applying or had already gone, and my Uncle kept refusing to let me apply."
Han commented at that point, "probably a good thing. If the name 'Skywalker' had come to Vader's attention..." he trailed off with a shudder.
"Or the Emperor's," Luke added. If Vader's discovering of Luke was an uncomfortable thought, the Emperor's doing the same thing was even more so on an exponential level. "He would have known Vader's former name and recognized that, as his son, I was likely Force sensitive. With his training, I wouldn't have had a chance."
"So you never thought you'd become a Jedi?" the teasing in the Corellian's voice was clear.
Luke replied, "never in my wildest dreams. I wanted to become a pilot, which was what Uncle Owen told me my father had been." He frowned in thought and when he spoke again the conversation took a turn away from the lighthearted banter that it had been for the most part. "Speaking of the Jedi, I've noticed that a lot of the time, people seem to be afraid of them when I'm looking for information. It's odd because the old Jedi were the guardians of peace. What information I've been able to find shows that the Jedi were commonly peace-brokers and negotiators for the Old Republic. How can people be afraid of that?"
Han thought for a moment or two before speaking. "Luke, you grew up on the Outer Rim, so you might not have been exposed to as much of the propaganda the Empire promoted." He paused then spoke again. "Generally I've noticed in my travels that the Rim planets tended to be one of two things. Either they were fanatically loyal to the Empire, or more commonly they virtually ignored it or hated it. The second was the most common. Why do you think the Rebellion tended to have it's bases way out here? Tatooine was one of the second category." Luke nodded and Han continued speaking. "As such, generally, Imperial propaganda would have less of an effect."
He continued, "given who your parents were, and the circumstances of how you ended up living on that dust ball," Luke grimaced when Han referred to his home planet, "you were born during the time of the Purges, near the beginning, I think." The younger man agreed with that date, though he had a confused look on his face as though he couldn't see where his friend was going with his line of reasoning.
"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.
"After the Clone Wars, there was a slight shift in the general perception of the Jedi. Or at least that's the impression I got from classes. This was just a couple of years before the Purges. I was too young to really take any notice of all this just yet, but I remember the shift that came later," the Corellian frowned as he spoke, trying to remember the details. "I think it was around then that the Jedi Order began to be seen as arrogant."
"Still, it was enough of a shift that once the Emperor cracked down on the Jedi, he could use it to turn the public against them. That I do remember. It was a gradual process over a couple of years. Do you really want the details, Luke?"
The listening Jedi nodded. "If you don't mind. It might help me to counter people's fears if I know what caused them."
"Never thought I'd be teaching someone about history," Han commented. Luke grinned too. It certainly didn't fit the image that Han portrayed of himself, either as the smuggler he used to be, or of the General he was now. Neither did the way he was speaking right now. More educated and upper class. Either the former smuggler was hiding something in his background, or all the time he'd spent with Leia and the politicians was rubbing off on him. "Anyway," he said, picking up the thread of his story again, "Once the Jedi were seen as arrogant and remote, it wasn't that hard for propaganda to make them seem ineffective too. At least, that's the method I think they used. What I remember was the history lessons at school giving that impression and the portrayal of the Jedi in popular entertainment changing."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
Han replied, "it would have been easy to make the old Jedi seem remote to the ordinary person. After all, how many of them would have met or even seen one of the old Order? Make them something people are uncomfortable with and they're less likely to help them."
Luke nodded his agreement with Han's statement. "I got that impression from the records I found. That's something I'd like to prevent happening with the new Jedi, when they start."
"Good idea." Han went back to his account of recent history from his perspective. "At any rate, holovids went from portraying Jedi as the heroes of the story to characters who weren't particularly effective. Eventually they became mere background characters and then the villains, though at first they were villains who had good intentions. The type of vids that Garik Loran from the Wraiths used to star in. I wouldn't be too surprised if he did some on the Jedi at some point in his past," Han added.
"We never watched much on the holovid. No time I guess," Luke said, adding, "there was always something that needed to be done on the farm. Not to mention that most of the entertainment on that planet was out of date, generally at least five years or more old. There was generally very little money for new luxuries such as holovids there." He fell silent for a moment before continuing. "You know, we never saw much with the Jedi in it. Knowing what I know now, I wonder if Uncle didn't want me getting any ideas."
"You'll never know, now." Han said quietly, then picked up where he'd left off. "They also put out a lot of material about how the abilities of the Jedi were just simple tricks and nonsense, and that the Force didn't exist." The younger man snorted when he said that, remembering all the times that the older man had called what Ben was teaching him that in the past. The Corellian chuckled briefly, guessing what Luke had thought. "That campaign must have been more successful," Han admitted ruefully.
The Jedi nodded. "I'd say it was. Most of the people I talk to don't believe. Although it's easy to understand that until you feel it for yourself, or otherwise get proof."
"I'll admit I fell for the Imperial propaganda myself," Han said. "I didn't believe, more like refused to believe, in what old Kenobi was teaching you until that encounter with Vader at Bespin." There was a definitely rueful sound in his voice when he said that.
After a moment or two of uncomfortable silence, Han changed the subject back to the improvements they'd been working on. "Well, we got the improved communications array installed. The preliminary tests show it works. Chewie will be surprised. He didn't think it would work with the Falcon."
"Why?" Luke knew he could do minor repairs on his own but was perfectly able to admit that he was no technician. He'd spent most of the time passing tools to his friend and holding things in place.
"Differing power demands. That's what we were working on most of the time. Adapting the power flows," the Corellian replied.
The younger man nodded. "Where is Chewie, anyway?"" he asked. "I was surprised not to see him here."
"He wasn't feeling well this morning." Han said. "I told him to stay home and rest today."
"I hope he feels better soon."
Soon afterwards the two men called it a day and went home.