S-3_C-12: Journey Across the Stars
After putting on my usual white shirt, I tied off the sleeves out of habit—the left one at my wrist and the right one above my elbow. I wouldn't be needing to keep the sand out for a while, but old habits die hard. I added a leather vest with pockets for traveling, and my boots, belt, and sidearm completed the ensemble. I slung my packed satchel over my shoulder and patted my pockets in search of my datapad. Instead, I found an oddly-shaped lump in one of the front pockets.
It was the kyber crystal shard that I used to carry for good luck. I rotated the translucent stone as the memories came flooding back.
I returned it to my pocket.
Tip-toeing across the hall, I opened the door to the baby's room. He was still sleeping, which was unsurprising since it was before dawn. I leaned over the railing of the crib to watch his tiny chest rise and fall.
"Anakin," I whispered experimentally, trying to wake him. "Anakin?" Nothing. I took it as a sign.
"Hey, baby…" I reached down to gently shake him, and he stirred out of his peaceful sleep.
By the time I had him dressed and wrapped in a warm blanket, Ben was already waiting for us by the door. He wore his usual dark clothing with a leather belt for his sidearm. When I approached him, he placed a large hand under the baby's head.
"He fell back asleep," I whispered, glancing down the dark hallway to John and Laye's room.
"Probably for the best," Ben replied. "Ready?"
Going through my mental checklist, I nodded once. "Ready."
The streets of Mos Espa were empty as we made our way to Gran Cara's house, just as we had planned. It was almost eerily quiet. Ben's head was on a swivel as I activated the door signal.
"I'll wait here," he told me, moving closer. He dropped his head to place a kiss on the baby's head. The gesture sent a pang through my chest.
Cara, wrapped in a gray shawl, answered the door. She immediately waved me inside. "Come in, come in."
"Gran," I greeted, tapping my boots on the ground before entering. I passed her the bag of supplies that she had requested. "Thank you so—"
"Shh," she interrupted. "It's my honor."
I smiled at her.
Moving the baby to my chest, I gave him one last hug. "I love you," I whispered, holding the back of his tiny head. I closed my eyes to sense his presence through the Force; despite his size, his energy was just as immense as Ben's.
After she took the baby, Cara reached up to cup my face with one hand. Taken by surprise, I stared down at her deeply wrinkled face.
"You're glowing, dear," she stated with a smile.
I chuckled awkwardly, wondering if it was my hair. "...Thank you."
I felt a rush of sadness when the door whooshed shut behind me. Leaving the baby had never been so difficult before. Seeing the same emotion on Ben's face made me feel slightly better.
Suddenly, he was offering me a blaster nestled in its leather holster. "I wanted to give this back."
"You need a weapon," I argued, pushing it back towards him. He knows very well how dangerous traveling can be.
"I know," he murmured, pulling his jacket open. His lightsaber, smaller and shinier than I remembered, hung from a loop inside. A second one, similar yet different in appearance, dangled beside it.
I looked up at him questioningly. Isn't he worried about revealing himself?
He just shrugged. "Blasters are so…"
His attitude made me smirk. "Unsophisticated?" I guessed.
"Something like that," he laughed under his breath.
As we finally made our way to the spaceport, my belt felt heavier than ever with two blasters strapped to it. Since his weapons were concealed, I could've passed as his bodyguard. I went over our cover story in my mind to keep it straight.
The sun still hadn't risen when we joined the line of travelers at the port. The long-distance transport to Coruscant only came once a week, so it drew large crowds. As we waited, I eyed the New Republic Rangers checking people in with unease.
"Visiting family in Coruscant," I rehearsed to myself.
"You're nervous," Ben observed.
I looked up at him. He wore a serious look and had his arms crossed. His presence did a great deal to keep my anxiety at bay. "Is it that easy to tell?" I asked, trying to school my expression.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "But I can't help sensing it."
Of course he would. I tried to seem unphased by his remark. "I've just never met a Ranger that I liked," I muttered.
He hummed in agreement.
When it was our turn for inspection, we stepped forward together. The Ranger's orange uniform was just as tacky and annoying as I remembered. "State your business," he said in a bored tone.
We both started saying, "Visiting family—" Ben gave me a look before finishing with, "In Coruscant."
The Ranger glanced up. He was slightly overweight, and it showed in his face. I wanted to rip the stupid-looking visor off his helmet. "Names," he said flatly, spinning his datapad around.
I quickly typed my name and stepped away. A moment of panic struck me as Ben typed his name: B-E-N_S-O-L-O.
The Ranger looked up at his face for a long moment. For a split second, I thought about how long it would take me to draw my blaster.
"Proceed," the Ranger droned, waving us through.
Relief washed over me as I followed Ben up the catwalk. Thank the stars he wore that mask all those years. As we boarded the large transport full of alien species from all corners of the Galaxy, I started to get excited for the adventure ahead.
We were first ushered into a galley to receive rations from the kitchen crew. The bowl of grayish soup and of prepackaged crackers didn't look appetizing in the slightest, but it was better than skipping breakfast. We sat at a table that was relatively secluded until the room filled with aliens and the dull roar of voices, making conversation virtually impossible.
I noticed the way Ben's eyes lingered on the boisterous group of gamorreans at the table over. My eyes did a sweep of the room; it looked like we were the only humans aboard. Oh, no, there's one over there. I got distracted by an argument between a tall, blue-faced chargrain and a crewman over some kind of smoking device.
Finally, we escaped the claustrophobic room to hide in our designated quarters for the rest of the trip. As we made our way down a row of narrow doorways, their durasteel surface a sickening shade of brown, a general announcement played over the speakers above. The pilot's voice reminded me of the annoying sports announcers on the holonet.
"Hello, hello, hello, humanoids! That's right, we're going to Coruscant. If you're not, well, now you are! Our trip through hyperspace will take about sixteen hours, so get comfortable. Alright. Enjoy your trip."
Ben suddenly stopped, and I halted to keep from bumping into him. "This is it," he said, rapping his knuckle on the serial number above the door.
"Does this door look smaller than the others?" I asked, glancing back as he typed in the code.
Ben ducked through the doorway. "Sure feels like it," he said grumpily.
The quarters were tiny. A bunk bed took up half of the room, and a small storage container took up a full quarter. That left a small opening for the sliding door to the refresher. Amazingly, they had managed to fit a shower and a toilet inside.
"Not much to do besides…sleep," I said hesitantly, attempting to shove my bag into a narrow drawer.
Ben stood awkwardly behind me as he waited for his turn to store his belongings. "Or take a shower," Ben suggested.
In just a matter of minutes, he was doing just that. I tried not to imagine the comedy of him taking his clothes off in the minuscule fresher. Instead, I focused on removing my extra gear before climbing into bed.
I set my blasters on top of the container, and then I did a double-take. Ben's lightsabers were sitting there in plain view. Feeling a rush of curiosity come over me, I rested my hand on one of the metallic hilts. It practically hummed against my fingertips.
I couldn't help but recall the first time I had held his lightsaber. "You can't win against something you fear, Lucia. Take it." Memories easily swept my mind far away.
"I almost threw it into the ocean."
I jolted in shock as the fresher door slid shut. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder. Before I could do anything, Ben reached around me to pick up the saber. He smelled like soap.
"I decided to keep it, as a reminder," he continued. When he offered the weapon to me, I stole a peek at him as I took it. Yes, he's dressed—where's your head at?
Focusing on the object in my hands, I turned it over. It felt more simplified and streamlined than it had before. The twin vents for the crossguard were also missing. In fact, it looked like it had been taken apart and put together about a hundred times. When I set it back down, my eyes fell on the second saber.
"Whose is this?" I asked, hesitantly picking it up. It had more flat surfaces and an overall more elegant appearance than Ben's.
"Grandfather's," he said. He took it from me gingerly. "It's been used by him, Luke, Rey. Now it's mine, I guess."
Hearing the uncertainty in his voice, I smiled up at him. "I'm sure he would've wanted you to have it."
He immediately shook his head. "Luke gave it to Rey."
"I meant Anakin," I told him.
He seemed frozen for a moment, and then he smiled.
As I finished stripping down to just my shirt and slacks, Ben crawled into the bottom bunk. I couldn't imagine a man his size squeezing into the tiny space between the top bunk and the ceiling. I finally switched off the light and stumbled over to the ladder. Finding my footing in the dark was a bit difficult.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm. I gasped, searching for his face through the darkness. "Ben?"
"I wondered if you still had these…" His hand moved up my arm, following the exact pattern of the metal embedded into my skin. "I can heal them," he said, "and your leg—"
"No," I breathed, drawing back. My heart pounded as I clutched the ladder in front of me. "I—I want to keep them, to remind me of…all the people—" My throat clenched around the words.
He was silent.
Thoroughly embarrassed, I finished climbing and flopped into bed. I roughly pulled the loose sleeve down my left arm and squeezed my eyes shut. Stars above me!
"…I understand," Ben said from below, his voice barely audible. "More than you know."
