Have I mentioned I don't own Star Wars? I don't. Not a teeny itty bit.
Med Bay
Theed
Naboo
"A peculiar nightmare?" Ben Solo asked, his eyes alight with curiosity. "Really? Where I was evil and Dark Sidey? Please tell me about it!"
Luke stared at him, uneasy, "Why would you want to know?"
The young man grinned enthusiastically, "I'm always looking for a new plot for a book. I'm thinking a fictional holobook after I finish my Clone Wars history, so yeah, if you had a weird dream where I was a Dark Side nut, I'd love to hear about it."
Luke relaxed slightly even as he forced his brain to think about the holobook thing.
"That's right, you wrote a book about Father, didn't you?" he said in relief. His memory wasn't completely toasted, it appeared.
"Yes!" Ben replied. "And while you were unconscious, it hit #1 on the holobook non-fiction lists in the Core and the Outer Rim; my publicist says that's because Grandfather was so important in the Core and he grew up on Tatooine."
"Tatooine!" Anakin muttered angrily. "Tatooine. I could live the rest of my life without even hearing the name of that wretched planet."
"Sorry, Grandfather," Ben said apologetically. He then added, a bit more up beat, "You are dead now, just a quick reminder. Though I spent a few weeks there to absorb the cultural and physical atmosphere, so to speak, and it is awfully hot and the sand is everywhere ..."
"Sand is rough, coarse, and irritating!" Anakin replied indignantly.
Obi-Wan groaned aloud, "Ok, time to go, Anakin. We need to see if we can tear Yoda away from his botany class and discuss the Binks situation."
"Botany class?" Ben asked in bewilderment.
"Yoda is learning about botany," Kenobi explained patiently. "He says he was on Dagobah for years and didn't know the names of most of the plants, and it was a continual source of annoyance. We've got some Jedi from AgriCorps here, and some of them are providing a daily botany class. Which is all well and good, but this Binks thing takes precedence."
"Grandfather!" Ben Solo piped up enthusiastically. "Can you come back soon and tell me about your Clone Wars mission to Cato Neimoidia? Obi-Wan gave me his own version but there are some details that are a bit obscure ..."
"Obi-Wan gave you details?" Anakin demanded indignantly. "Obi-Wan's memory of that particular incident is way off, I promise you. I saved his life but he refuses ..."
"That didn't count," Kenobi squabbled back. "Because ..."
"You're making my head hurt," Luke pointed out patiently.
Both dead Jedi subsided instantly.
"Sorry, Son," Anakin said apologetically. "I'm so glad to see you looking better. Yes, Ben, I'll come back when I can. Until then, may the Force be with you both."
The ghosts vanished, and Luke leaned back with a groan and closed his eyes. He adored his father and treasured the times when the former Sith showed up, but his head did hurt.
"So do you want to sleep?" Ben asked carefully.
His uncle shook his head though he kept his eyes closed, "No. I've slept for 9 weeks. Talk to me."
"No," the younger man replied mischievously. "You talk to me. I want to hear about this crazy nightmare. So I was evil?"
Luke opened his blue eyes, stared at his nephew's open, honest face, and smiled slightly.
"Yes, you were evil. And I was a total jerk."
"A jerk?" Ben asked excitedly. "Really?"
The Jedi Master shook his head wearily. "Really. I mean, total, complete jerk. Like, how could I be like that? You were way more ... consistent, I guess. Not that I think you'd turn to the Dark Side, Ben, but you at least were acting in a consistent manner for a Dark Sider, albeit a whiny Dark Sider. I was ... Ok, let me just tell you what I did in my dream."
"Wait, wait!" Ben demanded. He reached out and a holopad flew into his hand. He quickly typed in a few commands, then lay it carefully on a bedside table. "I'm recording this. You don't mind, do you, Uncle Luke?"
Luke frowned a little, "Promise you won't let this get out? Because people will think I'm insane, and we've had enough insane Force Sensitives both in real life and in my nightmare."
"I promise," Ben said, bowing dramatically. It looked particularly silly since he stayed seated.
"Ok," Luke agreed, and gestured toward a glass of water. It floated obediently into his hand, which was a relief. His control of the Force was improving. He took a sip of water, then forced himself to relax and think.
"So first of all," he began, "I thought about killing ... killing you, Ben."
His nephew's Force presence was a mixture of confusion and fascination, "You thought about killing me?!"
"Yes, because you were being pulled toward the Dark Side. So you were sleeping in some dreary little hut somewhere, and I came in and lit my lightsaber. Then I thought better of killing you, I guess, but you woke up and, naturally enough, were thoroughly enraged with me. So you drew your lightsaber and we fought, and you beat me and knocked me unconscious, and then you killed most of my students and burned down ..."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ben interrupted, his eyes wide. "I beat you?"
"Yes."
Ben Solo began laughing in semi-hysteria, "Well, that should have clued you in right there that it was a dream, Uncle Luke. I would never be able to beat you. You're ... you're an amazing fighter. You beat Darth Vader!"
Luke leaned back and frowned at this, "Well, I'm getting old."
"Nonsense," Solo replied, gesturing toward a food unit. A moment later, a bowl of shelled kola nuts floated into his hand, and he began eating them enthusiastically.
"Listen, Uncle," Ben continued, waving a dramatic hand. "You know perfectly well that only a true master could beat you in a lightsaber duel. You've practiced and practiced and practiced and realistically, I haven't. The very idea that I could beat you in a duel ..."
He chortled for a few seconds, then forced himself to calm down, "Sorry. It's just funny to me. Please go on."
Luke smiled back, slightly. It was rather ridiculous. Ben Solo was very powerful in the Force, but he'd decided early in his life that he wanted to be an author, not a Jedi. He'd trained enough to manipulate objects and to handle a lightsaber sufficiently to prevent random assassins from taking him out, but he wasn't a brilliant fighter.
"So," the Master Jedi continued determinedly, "I retreated to Ahch-To and lived as a hermit for years, growing grumpier and more bitter by the month, apparently."
"Ahch-To?" Ben asked, "Where the Jedi agricultural training center is?"
His uncle frowned thoughtfully, "Yes, that's right. But ... but there wasn't a center. I was mostly alone though the Lanai were there. Are Lanai real?"
"The avian caretakers? Yes, they are there."
"Ok, so yeah, it was just me all irritable in a hut, and the Lanai wandering around, and porgs to eat, and thala-siren to milk."
His nephew shook his head incredulously, "And Mom was Ok with this?"
The Jedi Master looked down at his own hands, one real, one mechanical. Even if his dream was just a dream, and it was, he was ashamed of his own actions, "She ... she didn't know where I was. I hid myself from her and cut myself off from the Force."
This provoked an incredulous snort from his nephew, "Cut yourself off from the Force? Could you even do that if you wanted? Wouldn't that almost kill you?"
"Yes?" Luke muttered uncertainty. In truth, it would be very difficult for him to do such a stupid thing. The Force had been his life blood for decades. Could he truly cut himself off from its life giving power?
"I love this," Ben chortled enthusiastically. "I can do something with this, fictionally I mean. Great Jedi Master loses all hope and retreats and became a grumpy old hermit. It defies expectations. Did you do anything else stupid?" as he leaned closer.
"I was a fool. I threw my lightsaber over a cliff."
"Wut?" as Ben's face took on a look of confusion and then obvious disbelief. "Now you're just teasing me."
"No, really, that was in there too ... crazy stuff."
Ben's expression softened, "In your dream, Uncle Luke. In your nightmare. It wasn't real."
Luke sighed, "But what a nightmare it was. I just don't know why ..."
"Maybe you were affected by Binks in some way?" Ben interrupted with enthusiasm. "Maybe his attack on you and Mom provoked some kind of Dark Side response that messed up your thought processes?"
The elder Jedi stared at his nephew in amazement.
"Ben, that's an incredible idea. And probably you're right. I probably ..."
He broke off and raised his head as he sensed someone approaching his med bay door.
"It's the doctor," Ben stated, getting to his feet.
The door slid open to reveal a tall Togruta female, taller than Luke – though that wasn't saying a great deal. Neither Skywalker twin had inherited their father's height.
"Uncle Luke is awake," Ben said excitedly and unnecessarily.
The doctor approached, her gray and white striped montrals twitching slightly, her blue face pleased.
"Master Skywalker," the female said with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to see you awake and cognizant. I am Doctor Rose Tico."