Published May 9, 2019

"Padawans"

The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. ~ Luke 6:40, New International Version

Rey's first lesson was more of a conversation. Ben needed to know the extent of her prior knowledge before he could figure out how and what to teach her.

They set up a fire on the beach and spread out a blanket to sit on. Facing Rey, Ben asked, "What do you know about the Force?"

"It's a power Jedi have that lets them control people and … make things float." She sounded lame as she finished.

Stifling a laugh, Ben tilted his head, considering how to respond. "Well … you're not wrong. But it's a lot bigger than that. The Force is not a power in and of itself. Jedi draw their power from it. But it's not exclusive to the Jedi. It's part of all living creatures. It's not something you have, it's something you use."

"Okay." Rey nodded. "But what is it?"

"It's the energy that exists between everything. Some people are more sensitive to it and can connect with it, manipulate it for their own purposes. That's called being Force-sensitive. Back in the Old Republic, Force-sensitive children were sent to train with the Jedi and become knights."

"So, how does it work?" Rey leaned forward eagerly, hungry for knowledge.

Ben answered slowly, thinking through how best to summarize such a broad subject. "There are different ways, different methods for different purposes. You mentioned controlling people—that's called a mind trick, but it only works with people who don't have good mental defenses, and it can't be used to make anyone to do something harmful. You can also use the Force to sense people's thoughts and emotions."

Rey winced slightly at this. "I think I've been on the receiving end of that."

"It's not always that invasive. Sometimes it's subtle, and effortless, like intuition." Ben took his lightsaber from his belt and turned it over in his hand. "And then, there are the martial arts. The Force can help you sense your surroundings and anticipate what's about to happen. That's why some Jedi also made such good pilots, because they had exceptional reflexes."

"Do you think I would too?" Rey asked, her hope and excitement returning.

"Probably. Maybe we'll test that out." Some part of Ben wanted to see what she could do, push her to her limits, if she had any. She seemed to take naturally to everything. And yet she was not arrogant about her abilities, as Luke and the other padawans and even Ben himself were at times.

They spent hours talking. It was strange for Ben, trying to articulate and summarize all the stories, abilities, theories, and disciplines he had learned about over the course of his training. Rey was full of questions. She had heard a handful of stories, most of them sensationalized accounts of relatively recent events. Before the conversation could drift too close to personal territory, Ben suggested they cease the discussion and try meditating. "I'll coach you through what to focus on, so you can learn to feel the Force around you."

He was taken aback by how quickly she picked up the exercise. Rey had barely been sitting for a minute before she sensed the light, the darkness, the life, the death, the peace, the violence, and the balance hanging between all of them.

"Did you meditate on Jakku?" he queried.

"Not exactly. I didn't think of it as that. But …" Rey's voice sounded as though her consciousness was very far away. "When I was hungriest, like during a stand storm when I couldn't leave home, I tried to slow down my body, move as little as possible, to save my energy. Focusing on my breathing helped me think less about being hungry and thirsty."

There had been occasions when Ben fasted for a period time as part of his training, but he had never been hungry due to lack of resources. But instead of pity, he felt a kind of respect, realizing she had endured so much. She was a survivor as well as a warrior.

"I guess that's enough," Ben said finally.

When Rey opened her eyes, she looked up at the sky, and her eyes grew even wider in surprise. "Night's almost over."

Ben had not realized it, but looking now he saw that she was right: the sky was starting to grow brighter, warning them that the night was ending.

"I guess that means we're done for now," he said. "Next time we'll work on combat."

Rey grinned. "What, you want a rematch?" she teased.

Ben returned the smile briefly. Then he glanced at Maz's castle on the other side of the lake, searching out his borrowed cargo ship. "I need to make a trip, see if I can get some things that would help us."

Rey's cheerful countenance faded, but she looked at him evenly. "When will you be back?"

"In two nights at the latest. If I'm not back tomorrow, I want you to keep practicing on your own." He paused and then added, "If you need anything—if there's ever an emergency—have Maz contact me. If she can't reach me, have her contact my parents. She's a friend of theirs."

Rey nodded. "I'll have to talk to Maz about how much I can work, if I'll be splitting my time to train. Why don't you come for the second half of each night?"

"Okay."

"Thank you, Ben." She extended a hand toward him.

He took it in his own and shook it once firmly. "You're welcome." Still holding her hand, he added as an afterthought, "May the Force be with you."

She stared at him, as though he had said something both strange and familiar. Perhaps she did not quite understand what it meant. But it stirred something in her—a spark of confidence.

Ben had almost reached his ship when the sun peeked out from the horizon. He turned around to look back the way he had come. Though Rey was far away, he could see her form change, shimmering and shrinking until she looked like little more than a dot in the distance.

The exhaustion of staying up all night started to catch up to Ben as he flew to Hosnian Prime. His parents, naturally, were nowhere to be found, having gone to their respective workplaces. Ben found it somewhat strange to be back in the elegant urban setting after spending two nights in the rough yet peaceful environment of Takodana.

After he had bathed and changed into fresh clothes, he all but collapsed into his bed, and slept more peacefully than he had in years.

When he woke, a day seemed to have passed. His parents had sent him messages, apologizing for not seeing him while he was awake, asking him to check in. Ben sent a brief reply, explaining that he was leaving again, this time to visit Luke, and that he was not sure when he would be back because he might have another appointment after that.

After making planetfall a short distance from the training temple, Ben stayed in the cockpit of his borrowed ship for a few moments, steeling himself, trying to think of what to say. This was not going to be comfortable, least of all at the beginning. He and Luke had clashed many times throughout his training, and they had not parted on the best of terms. Ben did not consider his uncle to be an exemplary teacher, and he did not like the idea of trying to imitate him, but he was the only example of a teacher he had, and he ought to use whatever resources were available to him, for Rey's sake. Besides that, Luke was the only person he could think of who might be able to help break the curse. Remembering that renewed Ben's resolve.

Luke was waiting outside when he finally disembarked. He had sensed Ben's arrival, and was understandably surprised to see him returning to the training temple just days after leaving for the much-anticipated vacation. His first instinct was to assume that something was wrong.

"Ben," he said by way of greeting. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's … fine, for the most part."

Luke looked at him with grave apprehension. "Did something happen with your parents?"

"We had a fight," Ben admitted, not understanding his concern. "Dad sent me on a delivery run, to clear my head, I guess. We haven't really talked since."

Luke seemed to relax slightly, but his curiosity remained. "What brings you back here so soon?"

Ben looked directly at him, more serious and more respectful than he had been toward him in a long time. "I know I haven't been the best of students, and you don't owe me any favors. But I need your help. Well, actually, I don't, but—I met someone who does. And you're the only person I know who might be able to give it. It's important. But I'm not sure you'll believe me if I tell you."

Luke raised his eyebrows, starting to smile. "Sounds intriguing. Try me." He turned away and motioned for Ben to follow him.

Ben trailed after his uncle, trying to bury the resentment that the familiar situation stirred in him. Sometimes it seemed as though all he had ever done was follow in his elders' footsteps, often in their shadow. With Han, it had been his choice, his own desire to be a pilot someday. In Luke's case, he had followed reluctantly, dejectedly, the first day he came to the temple, and every time he got in trouble and was taken aside for a lecture.

But now, Luke did something he had never done before: he stopped walking and waited until Ben had caught up, and then fell into step beside him.

They went to Luke's hut, which was somewhat larger than the students' because he sometimes hosted visitors. Ben accepted the drink offered to him and preoccupied himself with drinking it while Luke bustled around, cleaning up a space for them to sit and eat.

When Luke finally sat down, they were both silent, until Luke said, "I know trust doesn't come easily for you, Ben, but you can trust me. If there's any way I can help, I'll do it. That's what family is for."

Those were pretty words, Ben thought cynically. He rotated the cup in his hands. "I'm not sure how to start."

"Who are you trying to help?" Luke asked.

Careful to avoid saying "A girl," Ben answered, "Someone I met on Takodana. Her name is Rey. She's strong in the Force—untrained, but stronger than she knows."

While he did not lose his focus, Ben relaxed enough to open up and tell Luke the entire story—finding the strange Force-sensitive girl in the forest, witnessing her transformation firsthand, testing her abilities, offering to teach her how to use her powers. Luke listened intently, the emotions on his face shifting between concern, bewilderment, disapproval, and something that might have been amusement.

When he had finished, Ben asked pointedly, "Have you ever heard of anyone like her? Or anyone who could do that kind of thing to someone?"

Luke seemed uncertain. "There are legends, folk tales. Some are older than others, and not all of them align with the Jedi's knowledge about the Force. I never put much stock in stories like that—they sounded more like fables than history. One thing is certain: whatever that person did to her goes beyond just tapping into the energy around us."

"Do you think he could be a Sith?" Ben tried not to sound too excited about this prospect. He had always harbored an interest in the legends of the Sith, though he kept it secret, knowing his family and fellow padawans think it strange and suspicious.

"Not necessarily," Luke reflected. "Not every person who uses the Dark Side is a true Sith."

"Do you know where we could find out more about that kind of thing?"

Luke glanced at the shelves lining one wall of his dwelling. They held many of the Jedi artifacts he had gathered over the course of his travels: tools, ornaments, books made from materials long considered obsolete. "I have old texts I can look through. My friends and colleagues have others. It may take a few days to find the information, if it is there." He looked back at Ben. "Would you want to look with me?"

"No. There's something else," Ben said. Luke looked wary at this, but stayed quiet as Ben explained, "She wants to learn about the Force, but she's not sure she wants to come to the temple. I offered to teach her during the vacation, and then she'll decide. Do you have anything I could use, to help her catch up?"

Ben was almost afraid that Luke would insist that Rey come to train at the temple instead. But Luke seemed to relax at this request. He nodded and went over to the lowest shelf, which was the least dusty and held more commonplace items, including a few datapads. Luke sorted through them and found one before turning back to Ben.

"Here." Luke handed him the datapad. "This has digitized copies of the texts I've assigned, and some others I collected. You can share them with her."

"Thank you, Uncle." It was the first time in a long time that Ben had said those words out of true gratitude rather than obligation.

As they walked back to the ship, Luke asked casually, "Your mom said something about a party for your birthday."

Ben had almost forgotten about that. "Last we talked, nothing had been decided. It's up to me in the end. At least, that's how we left things."

"Have you told your parents about this girl?"

Ben swallowed and tried to sound nonchalant. "Not yet."

"Do you plan to?"

"I … hadn't decided."

They stopped outside the ship. "If I were you, I'd let them know sooner rather than later," Luke said frankly.

Ben scoffed. "You know how that'll go. They're dying for me to hook up with some nice girl—"

"Is that what you're hoping?"

Ben spluttered. "I—no, I just offered to be her teacher, that would be—see, this is exactly why I—"

"I'm sorry," Luke said, sounding contrite now that Ben's anger had risen. "I meant in general."

"It's none of their business," Ben insisted.

"If you decide to let someone into your life, and make plans involving them, it's their business insofar as it affects them. If you're going to be spending a lot of time on Takodana, they deserve to know why. And if things ever did go in the direction they hope, with Rey or anyone else, it would be their business if they gained a new family member. And it would be less of a shock to them if they knew about her before things got that far."

Ben glowered, not wanting to acknowledge the logic of his uncle's words. It was laughable how easy Luke made family dynamics sound, when he had no spouse or children of his own.

Luke smiled and gently clapped Ben's shoulder. "I'll see you before the vacation is over."

Ben paused as he was turning away. "I don't know if I'll be coming back."

"What?"

"Dad offered me the Falcon if I go through with this party thing. He said I can decide for myself where I go and what I do."

Luke looked almost alarmed. "But your training …"

"Yes?" Ben looked his uncle in the eye, daring him to say what he was thinking.

"I'll have to have a word with—"

"I'm right here," Ben interrupted. "This is my training you're talking about. You can have a word with me."

Luke seemed to wither before his eyes, though Ben could not quite distinguish his emotions, either by sight or through the Force.

"What, now you don't want to talk about it?" Ben mocked. Luke had never held back criticism of him before.

"No," Luke said simply. "I just want you to think about what that would mean—what you'd be leaving behind."

"What are you so afraid of?" Ben demanded, almost sounding plaintive. "What is the worst thing that could happen if I stopped training? I didn't want to come here in the first place, but I did, and I tried, but this isn't the Jedi Order. Not really. There's no end goal, no graduation, no certificate of completion. A little ceremony with lightsabers won't make us knights, any more than a crown would make Mom a queen. They're just titles left over from a galaxy that doesn't exist anymore. I don't need all the rules and trappings to learn what I need to know about the Force. And neither does Rey."

Luke did not respond directly to this outburst, even as Ben mocked and questioned everything he had been working toward for over two decades. Instead he said, "Please ask your parents to contact me when they have the chance."

"Fine." Ben held up the borrowed datapad. "Thanks again for your help."

"You're welcome," Luke said sincerely. "I'll get back to you with whatever I find. May the Force be with you—and your padawan."

Ben nodded and returned the pleasantry out of habit. "May the Force be with you too."