Edit: 5/17/2020 dialogue tags fixed
"What do you think happened to it?"
Ben blinks at the sudden question that escapes Beru's mouth. For a moment, the only sound in the small kitchen is the woman cutting up vegetables for their dinner. Ben sits calmly at the table with Luke resting in his arms.
It had been a little over a week since the day Beru forced her way into Ben's small dwelling. Ben thought he would be used to the odd questions the couple would ask him every so often.
He wasn't.
He rolled the question around in his mind as he gauged the woman. The Force swirled around him, but she bore no ill will. Ben shifts in his seat, cooing to Luke as the boy whimpers in his sleep.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking."
Beru pauses in her cutting and Ben finally looks up at her. He can see the sorrow in her eyes.
That's another thing he thought he would have gotten used to seeing. When Owen and Beru looked at him, their eyes were usually filled with sorrow and pity. Owen's was mostly filled with guilt when he looked at the Jedi, but Ben always tried to quell that guilt.
"The Temple."
Ben's blood freezes as the response echoes in his mind.
The Jedi Temple. She wants to know what happened to it. What happened to his home that became a place that haunted his dreams. A home that filled with the blood of innocents.
"I don't know." He whispers. It's the truth, and he really wished he had known.
"What do you think happened to it? What would you have wished to happen to it?"
Ben lets the question roll around in his mind once more before closing his eyes.
"In a perfect world, I would have wanted nothing to happen to it. I would have wanted it to remain as it was before the slaughter of my people." He hears her breathing hitch, but he makes no apology for the way he phrases the statement. "I know that we don't live in a perfect world or galaxy. I know that the Temple has not remained untouched. I would think that the Emperor has either burned it to the ground or let it sit there with blood staining the floors until it rots away into nothing." He swallows thickly before speaking again. "I think he would let it stay there, to serve as a reminder that we were traitors to the Republic. He could tarnish our name and break down walls, leaving it unrecognizable. He would let the people of Coruscant destroy it themselves. We caused them heartbreak and pain, why shouldn't they repay us in kind?"
"Do you really believe all that?" Beru's voice is soft and closer now. Ben opens his eyes and gazes at her. A sad smile graces his features.
"I know we did not betray the Republic. Why would we go out and fight the war ourselves only to betray those we fought for? Why would we send our young ones out to lose their lives?" Ben shakes his head. "We did not betray the Republic. I don't know what happened. I don't know why our men turned against us. I can only hope one day I'll find out." He draws in a shaky breath. "We should never have been fighting that war in the first place. We were peacekeepers. We were meant to be on planets negotiating peace and helping anyone we could. We weren't supposed to be General and Commanders in charge of an Army."
"I think we lost our way a long time ago though." Ben knows that the words would have garnered him stern looks and harsh words from his fellow Jedi if they were here. "My Master would be heartbroken over the state of the Jedi if he could see it now." Ben feels an odd warmth on his shoulder, shivering at the touch. He looks at the spot but sees nothing. He shakes himself and focuses back on the subject at hand. "You know, I don't understand how we didn't feel the presence of the Sith Lord on Coruscant so close to the Temple."
"You've said it yourself," Beru starts, "He was very powerful. Don't you think he could have . . ." She pauses and Ben can see the cogs turning in her head as she thinks of the word she's supposed to use. Her thinking face is very obvious and Ben watches the process. Her forehead creases in thought before her teeth snag her bottom lip, and finally, her hand comes up to her chin as her finger taps on it softly. Once she has the answer or solution to a thought, her face softens and she snaps her fingers. "Shielding. That's the word. Don't you think he could have been shielding himself really well?"
Ben nods his head, his smile growing softer and more genuine.
"The thought crossed my mind, and I'm sure that played a part in it. I know there had to have been something else. There must have been something or someone on Coruscant that was blocking his signature in the Force as well." As Ben speaks, he feels Owen's signature flare-up. Ben straightens up more, passing Luke to Beru as he rushes up from his seat.
"What's wrong?" Beru questions from behind, following closely as Ben rushes to the door.
"Owen's worried." The fear that flared in his mind was harsh and almost blinding, but Ben took it in, then breathed it out. "He's scared."
Owen burst into the home with a red face and sweat dripping down past wide eyes. Ben's hands flutter around the man as he draws him closer into the home. Beru's already there with water as Owen collapses onto the couch that Ben uses as a bed.
"What's wrong?" Beru asks, rocking Luke carefully. The boy had woken up at the commotion but was quickly working his way back to sleep.
Owen takes long sips from the glass in his hand before his flicker back and forth between his wife and house guest. He digs inside his pocket before bringing his hand out. Ben's breathing stops as he stares at the holo.
A clone trooper stares right back at him.