Thanks again for reviewing Love. Fiction. 2020 and Guest!
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"He what!?" Luke cried and Amaya felt her insides turn cold.
"I don't know where he went. He destroyed the tracking beacon in the ship he stole and without it we have no way of tracking him." Leia said, glancing behind Luke at the padawans who were listening to the conversation in shock.
"Can we use the Force to find him?" Tai suggested, looking worried. "I mean I'm sure he'll come back but still..."
"That is incredibly difficult." Luke said. "He could be anywhere in the galaxy by now."
"I think we should just wait." Leia said, "Tai is right. He will come back. If he doesn't show up by nightfall we'll send out a search party."
Amaya stared at the floor, trying to breathe. Just last night, he had looked her in her eyes and told her that he wouldn't leave. Just last night.
"I'll go alert security and have them on stand-by." Leia said, turning to leave.
Luke turned to the padawans, worry etched on the lines in his face. "I suggest you all go back to your rooms and meditate for a while to clear your heads. You must remember that we still have a mission to prepare for. You cannot let your attachment to your friend distract you from this task."
Amaya felt a prickle of annoyance at this comment. His own nephew was missing and all he cared about was the mission. Amaya shook her head, unsure why it was so good to be unattached in the first place. Wasn't attachment to others what motivated most, if not all, great acts of selflessness? Wasn't it attachment to others that made life meaningful and motivated people to care for one another. The Jedi advocated universal compassion but how often was that really the motivation behind peoples' actions?
Her mind racing, Amaya closed the door to her room and locked it, climbing onto her bed. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes, feeling the Force flow around her. It was darker than usual - tainted by the worry of herself and the other Jedi. She could feel the Dark Side and she latched onto it, letting it fuel the anger she felt. How could he leave when he'd said he wouldn't? Where had he gone? To Snoke? Amaya felt her anger towards Snoke explode, setting the world around her on fire. She would find him. She would use Snoke's own tricks to beat him at his own game.
Amaya reached out through the Force, feeling her way through the Senate. She could sense Voe, Tai, Hennix and Luke in their rooms on the same floor as her. She reached farther, looking for Leia. She found her downstairs, surrounded by others she didn't recognize and then reached further. She reached out across the city, probing it for any sign of Ben. When she sensed nothing, she expanded her mind, seeing the planet take shape in it. She could feel the Light and the Dark dancing across the entire planet, so intertwined they were nearly indivisible. But still, no Ben.
Amaya took in a deep breath and expanded her mind beyond the planet to the space beyond. She let the calmness of the Light wash over her as she breathed through the effort and let the passion of the Dark fuel her never ending expansion outwards. Planets and then entire star systems passed through her mind until something familiar caught her attention. Amaya felt her heart constrict painfully even as hope blossomed inside her and she narrowed in on the feeling. It was faint, just like a whisper, but the closer she got to it, the stronger the feeling became. It was Ben's Force Signature and, although it was darker than usual, it was familiar as the back of her hand. Amaya closed in on it, feeling it grow to engulf her. She could feel his emotions, read his thoughts, and even envision the world around him.
With a gasp, Amaya opened her eyes, the galaxy flashing before her eyes as she returned to her present location. Panting, Amaya laughed out loud, unable to believe she'd done it. She'd really done it.
Amaya tried to stand up, only to stumble and fall. She burst out laughing, trying to climb to her feet as her entire body shook, exhausted from the effort of having just reached out across star systems. Finally managing to climb to her feet, Amaya walked quickly to the door and left her room. She could feel so much more than before. It was as if more of the Force had awoken to her. Her perceptions were sharper and she could feel everyone and everything about her with more clarity.
"Master Luke!" Amaya called out, pounding on his door.
Luke answered the door a moment later, looking exhausted. "I found him." Amaya exclaimed breathlessly. "He's on Naboo. I'm going to go bring him home."
Luke's eyes widened, "How?"
"The Force." Amaya replied. "I just reached out and I saw...everything."
Luke stared at her, shock written plainly across his face, but Amaya didn't want to wait for him to process this new piece of information. "Can I take the ship?" Amaya asked eagerly.
"Just hold on a second." Luke said, coming out of his room and closing the door behind him. "We should talk to Senator Organa about this first."
"We should do it quickly. He could move and I honestly don't know if I have the strength to go through the process of finding him again." Amaya said, as they walked down the hall.
"Perhaps I should go talk to him." Luke mused as they walked. "Or his mother."
Amaya resisted the urge to tell him that was a terrible idea and struggled to find the right words. "Ben has been teaching me how to fly. If that's what you're concerned about. I also think he might be less inclined to run if he's approached by a friend rather than...well a..."
"Family member?" Luke suggested and Amaya felt her cheeks burn.
Luke sighed, "You're right though. He won't want to talk to Senator Organa or I. You have a good relationship with him. Perhaps you can talk some sense into him."
"I'll try." Amaya agreed, as Leia came into view.
"What is it?" Leia asked, sensing something had changed.
"Amaya knows where he is. She's going to go bring him back." Luke said.
Leia turned to Amaya, a look of utter relief and gratitude filling her face. She stepped forward and before Amaya knew what was happening, the Senator was hugging her.
"Thank you." She breathed, pulling back to look at Amaya with affection. "I knew I liked you from the moment we met."
Amaya felt her cheeks burn, uncomfortable with the praise. "Thank you." She muttered back and Leia laughed.
"Okay, go on." Leia said, leading the way to the hangar. "Your ship is stored in here. Call us if you need assistance."
"I will." Amaya said, climbing into the pilot's seat. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she turned on the ship, watching as the door to the hangar opened in front of her. Ben's voice rang in the back of her mind. Relax. You're not going to crash unless you convince yourself you will.
Taking a deep breath, Amaya started the engine and took off, hoping Ben's flying lessons would pay off. Before she had time to panic, she was past the atmosphere and into outer space. Amaya jumped to hyperspace and then breathed a sigh of relief. She'd done it. The worst was over. Now she only had to worry about landing...
About half an hour later, Amaya slowed to sub-space speed and stared in awe as the planet of Naboo came into view. Amaya reached out through the Force, feeling Ben's Force Signature and letting it guide her towards the right spot on the planet. She entered the atmosphere, a luscious and green metropolitan city spreading out below her. He was here, she could feel it.
Amaya let the Force guide her as she set the ship down on the outskirts of town near a river. She breathed a shaky exhale as she turned off the engine, happy to have made it alive.
Climbing out of her ship, she walked over to the river, spotting Ben on a nearby bench. He didn't even look at her as she sat down next to him.
"I just flew half-way across the galaxy to find you and you don't even say hello?" Amaya asked, and Ben turned to look at her at last.
"Hello." He said, turning back to look at the river.
"Better." Amaya said, following his gaze out to where a family of ducks were swimming on the river.
"How did you find me?" Ben asked after a moment.
"The Force." Amaya said, and he turned to look at her, a hint of admiration in his expression.
"And you flew here yourself?" He asked, and Amaya cracked a smile.
"Turns out I actually have improved." She said, and Ben almost smiled.
"Who knew." He said, turning back to the river.
They fell into silence and Amaya leaned back against the bench, looking up at the bright blue sky above them. A pair of birds flew by, calling to each other.
"I told my mom the truth about Snoke." Ben said at last and Amaya sat up straight, unable to believe what she'd heard.
"For real?" She breathed.
"They didn't tell you?" Ben asked, frowning slightly.
"No. Your mom didn't tell us why you left. I don't even know if Master Luke knows. He probably does..." Amaya trailed off, turning to look at him. "What happened?"
Ben sighed, "I don't want to talk about it." He said, and Amaya's heart fell. "But I can show you." He said, and Amaya's eyes widened.
"Okay." She said, closing her eyes. She reached out through the Force, experiencing the memories Ben showed her. She watched the argument, experiencing it from Ben's point of view. When she finally came back to reality, the air around them felt colder and she shivered.
"So then what now?" Amaya asked. "You're not leaving forever...are you?"
"Well that depends on whether I'm expelled." Ben said. "I might not have a choice."
"But if Master Luke lets you stay, you're going to?" Amaya asked and Ben sighed.
"I don't have anywhere else to go." He said.
"We could go anywhere." Amaya said, looking at him. "We could do anything. Be anything."
"We?" He asked and Amaya suddenly felt self-conscious.
"I just mean...if you wanted to-"
Before Amaya could finish what she was going to say, Ben leaned in and kissed her. Amaya felt the Force explode around them, sensations she had never experienced before filling her mind. Amaya kissed him back, a feeling of pure bliss coursing through her.
Too soon, Ben pulled back and looked at her, placing a hand on her cheek. "What are we doing?" Amaya breathed. "Jedi can't-"
"We're not Jedi yet." Ben said. "And if we don't want to be, we don't ever have to be."
This was enough justification for Amaya and she leaned in, pressing her lips to his again. This time, she wrapped her arms around him, moving closer to him on the bench. When Amaya finally pulled back, Ben wrapped his arm around her and she moved in close to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while, watching the duck on the river and Amaya felt some of the Darkness in the Force lighten.
"We could just stay here forever." Ben said, "Never go back to the Senate. We could forget about the Jedi and the First Order and the New Republic and just live a normal life."
Amaya sighed, knowing this was impossible. "What about your family?"
"What about them?" Ben asked, his body tensing with the question.
"They love you." Amaya said, twisting in his arms to look at him. "They're not perfect but they do love you."
Ben let go of her and Amaya sat up straight to look at him. "You didn't see how worried they were today. They were panicking."
"And yet you are here, not them." Ben pointed out.
"That was my doing." Amaya said. "Master Luke wanted himself or your mother to come but I told him I wanted to go instead. I didn't know if you wanted to talk to them yet so I just thought-"
"I don't want to talk to them so you thought right." Ben replied and Amaya sighed, leaning back on the bench.
They fell into silence once more and Amaya closed her eyes, feeling the Darkness in him pulsate through the Force. It was too much, Amaya thought, the Force in him was out of balance. Too much Dark, not enough Light.
Slowly, Amaya reached out and touched his hand. He flinched but then turned his palm over and interlocked their fingers and Amaya felt the Darkness dissipate ever so slightly. Amaya opened her eyes to find him looking at her and she smiled, feeling the Force lighten ever so slightly as she did so.
Ben almost smiled before his mood darkened and he sighed. "We should go back." He said and Amaya nodded silently.
"Yes, we should." She agreed.
Amaya watched out of the window of her ship as Ben descended from his own ship in the hangar bay. She quickly descended from her own ship, walking over to meet him as he walked towards the entrance to the Senate. Before they could even leave the hangar bay, Leia burst through the door, a look of relief coming over her face when she saw Ben. She walked up to him, looking for a moment like she was going to hug him, and then seemed to decide against it.
"Don't you ever do that again." Leia reprimanded. "You cannot just steal a ship and run away every time you don't like something I have to say. Do you have any idea how worried your uncle and I were? Thank the Force Amaya was able to locate you-"
"How about we all go inside first." Amaya said, gesturing towards the door.
Before either could respond, Luke entered the hangar, "Ben!" He cried, a kind of anger Jedi were not supposed to have written plainly on his face. "We need to talk. Now."
"We haven't eaten since breakfast. Can this wait just a bit?" Amaya asked, feeling the Darkness growing in Ben and knowing without a doubt that being yelled at was the complete opposite of what he needed right now.
Luke turned to look at Amaya, looking almost as if he'd forgotten she was there.
"Yes, lets eat first and then we'll discuss this." Leia agreed. "It will do us all good."
"Great." Amaya said, glancing at Ben out of the corner of her eye.
It's going to be okay.
Ben glanced at her, his expression telling her he did not believe her, but he followed her, Leia and Luke inside. The four of them walked in silence until they reached Leia's office. Leia pulled a droid aside and ordered meals for the four of them before letting herself fall into her desk chair, looking exhausted.
The office was large, circular and complete with panorama-style windows. Amaya walked over to the windows, looking out at the city beyond. Ben came to stand next to her and she resisted the urge to reach out and hold his hand. Instead, she used the Force to convey her affection, shooting him a small smile of reassurance out of the corner of her eye.
Amaya jumped when the door opened suddenly and a cohort of droids whirred in, carrying trays of food. Amaya and Ben walked over to join Luke and Leia around a round table, each grabbing a tray of food.
The four ate in silence for the most part. Every now and then, Leia would attempt to engage Amaya or Luke in conversation, but since no one was in a particularly chatty mood, each attempt at conversation died pretty quickly.
As the droids cleaned up the table and removed the trays, a tense atmosphere settled over the room as all four waited for someone else to begin the conversation. After a few moments of heavy silence, Leia spoke.
"Amaya, you can leave if you want." She said, smiling kindly at her. "You've been a great help and I'm so glad Ben has a friend like you-"
"She can stay." Ben said, finally meeting his mother's eyes. "She knows about Snoke. I told her on Naboo."
Amaya felt her heart beat increase as Leia and Luke's gazes both landed on her. "I can leave if you want privacy-" Amaya began but Leia shook her head.
"No, stay." She said, glancing over at Ben. "It may be good to have a third party witness."
At this, Amaya frowned, feeling the spike of anger these words created in Ben. "Okay, well I'm listening." Ben said after a moment of tense silence. "I believe you had something you wanted to talk about Master Luke?" Ben asked, fixing his uncle with a deadly glare.
"Yes, Ben. I do." Luke said, letting out a tired sigh. "I should expel you for lying to me for so many years. It's what I would do if Tai, or Voe, or Hennix did what you did."
"So then expel me." Ben snapped. "I know you've wanted to for years now. Why don't you just get it over with?"
"What in the Force makes you think I've wanted to expel you for years!?" Luke asked, "Did he tell you that? Snoke? Has he been planting ideas in your head-"
"He didn't need to tell me. I already knew." Ben snapped back. "You just don't want to admit it because you're ashamed."
"Oh, I'm ashamed, am I?" Luke asked, frustration plain in his voice. "Please explain to me what I am ashamed of because I don't quite follow."
"You're ashamed you failed!" Ben cried. "You don't want to admit that you couldn't get rid of the Darkness in me. You don't want to let my mother know you let her down."
At this, Leia's eyes widened, "Luke has not let me down." She protested.
"Hasn't he?" Ben snarled. "You sent me away to get rid of Snoke - to get rid of the Darkness - and he failed. Nothing's changed."
"I sent you away to become a Jedi." Leia sharply. "Snoke was only a secondary consideration. I could have dealt with him on my own but I needed Luke to train you. I had my responsibilities at the Senate to take care of."
"Yes, I know. The Senate is most important." Ben sneered and a flash of anger crossed Leia's face before she ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down.
Amaya sat in silence, wishing she had taken up Leia's initial offer to leave. The Force was practically humming with electricity and not in a good way.
"So what now?" Ben asked, looking between Leia and Luke.
For a moment, no one responded until finally Luke leaned forward, folding his hands together. "I'm not going to expel you." He said. "But Ben, you need to talk to me when he says things to you. I don't know what lies he's feeding you but-"
"He doesn't tell me lies." Ben snapped. "He doesn't have to. The truth is bad enough."
"It's not the truth!" Luke cried, a look of panic entering his eyes.
"How would you know?" Ben asked sharply. "You don't know what he says."
"And whose fault is that?" Luke retorted and Ben's face flushed red, his hand clenching into a fist under the table.
"Luke is right." Leia said. "You shouldn't be trusting what Snoke says. He's trying to turn you against us."
"You are doing a good enough job of turning me against you all on your own." Ben snarled and Amaya leaned forward, unable to stay silent any longer.
"Snoke twists things." Amaya said, drawing the attention of all three towards her. "From what Ben told me, I mean, that's what it sounds like. He takes reality and then he frames it in a light that's favorable to him. So no, Ben's right. He's not lying. But that doesn't mean he can be trusted. If anything, it only makes the need for you to tell us what he says that much more important."
Amaya looked at Ben, her heart beating quickly, and Ben met her eyes, a hint of hope tainted by fear behind his eyes. It was like he wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe that what Snoke told him wasn't true but he was afraid to. He didn't want to trust only to find out that Snoke had been right all along.
"Then we're agreed?" Luke asked. "You will tell us what he says?"
Ben turned to look back at his uncle, "I'll tell Amaya." He said and Amaya's stomach did a flip.
Luke's face fell and he sighed, "Okay. I suppose that's okay for now."
"So are we done here?" Ben asked, getting up.
For a moment, no one responded, until Leia nodded silently, and Ben turned to leave.
"Thanks for lunch." Amaya said, standing up to follow him out, leaving Leia and Luke sitting at the table in silence.