XV

After a long afternoon, night, and then morning, Luke sat beside one of the windows to Coruscant and watched the news. On the wide galactic map, Republic soldiers pushed the Imperial Remnant back in to those systems around Carida. Every battle, every faction, had a romantic name given it by the press, and this felt for some reason sickeningly ironic.

The door chimed and Threepio trundled in with a tray of fruit and blue milk. Scruffy Wedge Antilles jogged after him a second later. While the droid sat the tray in the dining section of the room Wedge nonchalantly went over to Luke's chair.

"Hey, d'you mind if I stop by?"

Luke shook his head.

"So how was the vacation?"

Luke found himself muttering, "It did not end up as a vacation. The sinkholes of Utapau were nice."

"Come on; what's wrong?"

"I've faced bad guys before, Wedge, but something now...is gone. Confidence. And I'm going to face a Sith Lord by myself."

Wedge twitched. "Sith!"

Luke moved; leaned over the chair arm and stared into Wedge, sensing for his strength. "Where does anyone get confidence?"

Did Wedge's face pale? "Uhm, you just have to believe in yourself. Know you can do whatever you need to do. You've done plenty impossible things in the past. Just the trench run..."

Luke shook his head. "Not impossible. The Force chose me--now it chose wrong."

"Skywalker, I think you're stuck feeling hopeless."

Luke was not entirely listening. Instead he thought about the Death Sar run, when afterward in the celebration he hadn't felt lessened by supernatural or military aid. He struggled to remember when...

He hadn't had time to think then. Only to act--like Yoda's maxim. Believe in having confidence...It was easy to deny that as too simple, cliché, useless to the circular problem.

Was it not will which transcended confidence or lack thereof and allowed continued action by the courageous?

Yes. Could will be cultivated? Or only owned?

Whatever its properties, Master Skywalker remembered the workings of willpower.

"What is this about Sith?" Wedge nervously asked.

"I believe only the Jedi need to deal with this now. It is...somewhat phantasmagoric."

"Someone has arrived!" Threepio spoke from the other side of the room.

Luke and the rather shell-shocked Wedge walked calmly to the door. A teenager with long black hair and about Luke's build stood there, wearing a brown Jedi's cloak over a green outfit emblazoned with the Rebellion emblem.

The Force flickered with intense wavelets of danger.

Luke asked, "Good morning. What is it, Kyp Durron?"