Dark Legacy 2

Now

Zonama Sekot

"I killed him, with my own hands. I can never forgive myself." Ben said. His healing was taking a long time. He had been on Zonama for over a year and had progressed much, but always had the inevitable relapse in self-hatred. He had killed so many, Sekot sometimes wondered if he ever could be saved. But then the moment of doubt passed, because Sekot knew Ben could.

"It was not your fault Ben, you were not your self." Sekot said. She had the image of Mara, so Ben would feel someone safe, familiar, he could talk to. "You had no control over your actions."

"But I did, and I enjoyed every moment of it." Ben said. "I remember," His voice became a near whisper. "When my blade went through my father, I enjoyed it. I reveled in the surprise look on his face when the blade erupted through him, and when he fell into the lava below. And before that, when Reya looked at me, hoping I would let her go, and when I did, into the lava, I enjoyed it. And when Zekk, came and tried to help me, but I was a fool. I killed them all. I don't deserve to live."

Sekot stared at Ben. She reached out to put her hand on Ben's shoulder to comfort him, but just passed right through him. She wished he could touch him, as she knew that just the simplest touch can sometimes help people incredibly.

"Ben, you must learn to forgive yourself. It is alright to be mad at yourself, but you must also let it go. You cannot concentrate on the past only, but use it to shape your future."

"But is it that if one forgets that past, the future may repeat itself?" Ben said.

"That is true, but I am not telling you to forget the past, but to embrace the future. What is done is done, and you cannot change the past. Right now the future is all that matters."

"But how can I even go back to what I once was, or even try to?" Ben said. "I helped to start an Empire, start a war, that led to the destruction of the both the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. No one will ever forgive me."

"They will Ben, trust in the people. And in the Force."
"The Force," Ben said contemptuously. "This is all the Force's fault. The Jedi had agreed that there was no dark or light side, and that there are only the actions we commit that define if we are good or evil. The Force is neutral and it is how we use it. But if I had never used the Force, never tapped into it in the first place, none of this would have happned." He was silent for a moment. "I have to go." He stood up.

"Ben remember," Sekot said. "Above all else, be true to yourself."

Ben nodded and walked out of the hut. It was sunset and the sky was a mixture of yellow, orange, and red. Ben looked and noticed the residents of Zonama, Sekotans and Yuuzhan Vong alike, begin to retire for the night. Ben sighed and noticed how peaceful it all ways. He wished the galaxy was like this all the time, but knew that could never be. There would always be someone out there, trying to mess it up. And, in the pit of his stomache, Ben knew that someone would, sooner or later.