Sorry for the late update, I hit a spot of writers block and decided to split the chapter.

CHAPTER 14

Lah'mu

The Millennium Falcon landed in silence in the hangar bay.

As soon as the landing gear made contact, Leia got up from her seat and walked down the ramp, not looking at anyone. Disturbed by her unusually stoic behavior and Luke's silence, Han turned in his seat, looking back at the other twin.

"Listen, kid. I didn't know the old man that well, but no one should have to go out like that."

Luke mumbled something in response, not taking his eyes away from the lightsaber hilt he turned over in his hand.

Han took his cue from Luke's silence and got up, Chewie right behind him.

"If you need anything, let me know," he said, putting his hand on Luke's shoulder.

Leia walked down the halls of the rebel base, surprised they had managed to stay here for so long. In the early days they were lucky if they went undiscovered for a few months. But ever since Vader's death the Rebellion had been wildly successful, system after system began to revolt, and the influx of new recruits had been astronomical. The Hand, or as the Empire called him, Fourth Brother, was Vader's new replacement, but he wasn't nearly as effective, and the more the Empire tried to clamp down, the more the people rebelled. All of these victories, however, were mostly limited to the Outer Rim and parts of the Mid Rim, where Imperial presence was less imposing. Even with the tide going their way, the Empire still had better equipment, training, and resources. Many of the worlds that had thrown off the Empire's yoke were in chaos, and many production facilities were damaged during the fighting. But before she had left for her last mission, Mon Mothma had mentioned something about a major offensive they were beginning to plan for, and Leia hoped it would be enough to destroy the Empire.

And Obi-Wan wouldn't be here to see it.

Ducking into the nearest empty room, Leia sank to the floor, her back against the wall.

She had kept her composure on the flight back, afraid if she started talking she would start crying, or get angry, and things between her and Luke were fragile at best. And who knew how he was handling this, he was as still and silent as she had been on the way back.

Tears began streaming down her face, and she couldn't stop them. For three years he had trained her, all those years he had been by her side, pushing her to become a Jedi powerful enough to take on the Emperor. All those times she had depended on him, needed his support. And she hadn't been there the one time he needed hers.

Crying won't do him any good, you know that, she thought, wiping the tears away from her eyes. What she needed to do now was make sure Luke was trained, and make sure the Rebellion had all the information they needed to defeat the Empire. Shakily standing up, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, steadying herself.

Leia, I am so proud of you. You are a stronger Jedi than I could have ever imagined, she heard Obi-Wan in the Force, and smiled.

But now, there is something you must do.

The planet was cold and windy, and Luke wished he hadn't left his jacket on the Falcon. But the tranquil surroundings, away from the crowded presence in the Force that was the rebel base, was exactly what he needed. Ever since the encounter on Lantillies he had withdrawn himself from the Force once again, preventing it from communicating with him. He wasn't ready to face Obi-Wan's absence, not yet. He had heard him speak when the stormtroopers started pouring in, telling him to run. How could he talk to him now, knowing he had caused his death? If he hadn't thrown away his lightsaber!

Infuriated with himself, Luke picked up the first rock he saw and hurled as far as he could, watching the black earth spray where it landed.

If Obi-Wan were angry with me, why would he tell me to run? he thought, breaking the train of angry thoughts that swirled around in his mind. All Obi-Wan had talked about once they reunited was how determined he was to help Luke. While it didn't make it much easier to forgive him for the lives he had told, maybe if Luke could recreate their connection, he could get some answers. All of this guilt, shame, anger, and sadness raging inside was already getting too much to bear. The entire flight back he had kept silent, afraid to unleash it and show Leia who he had become, how much he had changed. If talking to Obi-Wan could get rid of at least one of these emotions, it would be worth it.

Quieting his mind as best he could, Luke slowly began to take down the walls he had carefully constructed over the years. Instantaneously a wave of nausea and dread washed over him, and Luke thought his meager breakfast was going to make a reappearance. Pushing the sensation away, he tried to take down more barriers, but the feeling only intensified, causing him to keel over onto his side. Now frightened as well, he pulled back into his shields, and the awful turbulence inside disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Slowly sitting up, Luke rubbed his temples, trying to calm his racing heart and pounding head. The last time he had let down his shields was on Lantillies, and reaching into the Force had never caused him such pain before. Was the Force punishing him for what he had caused?

He shook his head frantically, that was insane. The Force was a living thing, but it was not vindictive, he knew that. Perplexed, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, the thought of a nap in a warm bed and dark room suddenly very appealing. As he walked back to the base, he saw Leia's dark figure racing out to him.

"Luke!" she shouted, her voice carrying on the wind. "We have to leave now!"

"How is that possible?" Luke asked, rubbing his temples. He heard Leia's sigh of exasperation, but pretended he hadn't noticed.

"I told you, Obi-Wan talked to me as a ghost, and said that the Emperor would be able to track you whenever you used the Force. When you left Imperial Center Obi-Wan helped shield you, and I guess cutting yourself off from the Force was enough to stop the Emperor as well. I started shielding you as well as soon as he told me, and-,"

"I get that bit," Luke interrupted, "but how is staying on Dagobah going to help?"

"Yoda is there, and he can shield better than me I imagine. Obi-Wan said something about it being too wild for the Emperor to find you, but he didn't elaborate much."

"Very Jedi-like," Luke seethed, shaking his head. Even in death the Jedi were still cryptic and misleading.

"Don't be like that, Obi-Wan was a good man and he did everything he could to protect you," Leia shot back, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry," Luke said, "I'm upset too."

"I know," Leia said, her voice softening. "It's been a long day, why don't we get some rest."

Leia watched her brother walk back to the cabin, and leaned back in the pilots seat, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do next. She and Obi-Wan had reached an agreement that once she was Knighted she would be able to work more closely with the Rebellion, since her training had kept her away longer than she had liked. But now they had found Luke and Obi-Wan was dead. Yoda had helped train her, but he was a bit more, opaque, than Obi-Wan, and she wasn't sure if he would give her as much free reign as Obi-Wan wanted to. While she felt nothing but pride and relief that the Rebellion was doing well against the Empire, she couldn't help but feel wary of their successes, that while earned, she felt the Empire was somehow allowing them to get their hopes up, let their guards down, and crush them in one swift strike.

Her concentration gradually slipped away from her efforts at shielding Luke, and she threw them back up at the last second, thankful Luke had been shielding on his own as well.

This would be a bad place to run into the Empire without support, she thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she began to enter a meditative state, manifesting all her strength in the Force.