Chapter 18
Location: Jedi Base on the planet Shedu Maad
Luke Skywalker was not a man of many possessions. Even when his wife Mara Jade was alive and they tried their best to have a real home, it was basic and utterly unmaterialistic. And now, besides Mara's ship, the sum of his possessions could be stored in a large duffel bag. One of his possessions was a treasured prize he had found in Obi-wan's Hut, while briefly living there. It was a Jedi holocron constructed a decade or two before order 66. Before the purge, The Jedi Temple had stored hundreds of holocrons, both Jedi and Sith in origin. The emperor had destroyed some and others he had squirrelled away in secret storehouses throughout the galaxy. Still others had been in private collections and in yet to be discovered hiding places. Since the restoration of the Jedi Order, Luke and later others, set out on missions to acquire these and other artifacts related to the Force, the Jedi, or the Sith. The former for instruction, the latter, for safe keeping. Over the four decades that the new Jedi Order had existed, a substantial library of artifacts had been assembled. The holocrons in that collection belonged to the Order, it was their heritage and their legacy. This Holocron belonged to Luke and to him alone. It now sat in front of him on the floor of his simple quarters. The room would have been nearly pitch black if it weren't for the small glowing cube. A moment earlier he had been meditating alone. He had little else to do while being grounded on base. He tried to understand the point of view of the Masters. He could see it in all their eyes; they resented the stranger that wore the skin and spoke in the voice of their loved and respected friend. Luke was trying and failing to make peace with the fact that they had trouble understanding what was happening to him. But how could he expect them to understand when Luke didn't himself. He wanted to put on the brakes, this was not the direction he chose for his life. The Force, however, had its own plans and it would drag a confused and conflicted Luke wherever it chose.
Master Sebatyne and just sent a message that the investigation team was on its way back to base, and that there would be a Council meeting. That's when Luke felt it. A surge of power in the force. He closed his eyes and pin pointed its location: his duffle. He walked over and opened up the bag and his face was lit up by the blue glow of... his Holocron. Holocrons were, simply put, data storage devices. Yet that was a vast understatement. They were semi sentient interactive holographic devices mainly used for instruction in the ways of the force. They could contain a specific topic of knowledge (like the Jedi Holocron of Prophecy). Or they could contain a wide range of information on a variety of topics. They all had one thing in common: a gatekeeper. The gatekeeper was a force generated simulation of the holocron's creator. The internal organic crystals and hologrammic technology, were imprinted with it's creators cognitive patterns, personality and even appearance. It was the device's primary interface. The gatekeeper was able to sense the user's force ability and thus allowed them to only access information deemed suitable for their ability. Long ago, Luke had reached a degree of experience that had opened up every level of data in this particular Holocron. At least, that's what he had thought. After receiving Saba's message, the now rarely used guide, sprang to life of it's own volition. Once he placed it on the floor in front of him, he sat down with his legs crossed. After a moment, a familiar small image of a long dead Jedi Master appeared. Although his projection was less then a foot tall, Luke had always got the sense that in life, this man would have had an impressive presence. He radiated a humble spirit yet at the same time he looked like a being who was a complete stranger to doubt. The gatekeeper bowed and said:"Padawan." (He always called him Padawan, even after Luke had achieved mastery of the force) "I sensed that the path ahead of you is on the verge of a great bifurcation." Luke smiled. One of the great pleasures left to Luke was that of being surprised. He had experienced so much, and had his world turned upside down by unimaginable events, but the force still moved in ways that he could not anticipate. The moment he thought that the force would no longer dispense guidance to him, it blessedly proved him wrong. "Gatekeeper Jinn, my path... my path has never been more clouded... You have told me many times to listen to the "living force" but... but I just can't hear it.."
Truer words had never been spoken. It had been over a year since Luke, Leia and Han's unplanned visit to the monolith. All 3 of them were fortunate. In that place, the force had been unleashed into it's raw form. Most beings left that place, crazy with force corruption after being exposed to it. Although they had not turned Barvey, the encounter had, changed them, that is Luke and Leia. Han, not being a force user, was left relatively unaltered, except for perhaps a greater understanding of the Dark side's temptations. Leia, was left with a sense of accomplishment and the urge to take a hands-off approach to the affairs of the Galaxy. She and Han spent the last year being a normal married couple that were still madly in love with each other, all the while playing tourist in the Falcon. Luke's experience had been similar but the result had been different. It was as if something had been awaken in him; a part of his brain that he would have spent the rest of his life being unaware of if it weren't for the monolith. Afterward he knew that he could no longer lead the Jedi. He had come back to try and force himself to be Luke again, but he had a sickening dread that it was futile. "Padawan, when one part of the force grows silent then it simply has nothing to say for the moment. It's true the "living force" speaks to us; allows us to know the right direction to take when there is no clear path. But don't turn a deaf ear to the will of the "cosmic force". It shows us the great design the force has in store for the galaxy, through visions and prophecy."
Visions and prophecy? Now that hit close to home. Gatekeeper Jinn was right. Luke may have temporarily lost his instincts, but visions and prophecy were screaming at him. In a flash of insight he now was completely sure of three things the force had been trying to tell him:
1 He needed to get to Kesh
2 The Sith where expecting him to save them
3 The prophecy of the Sith'ari was in play.
The realization made all the hair on his body stand on end, as if he had passed by an unprotected power source. He had been fighting the guidance offered by the "cosmic force" because it scared him. But he was part of some destiny and he couldn't ignore it. That didn't make it any less frightening. "Gatekeeper Jinn, what if the will of the force ... what if it leads me to the dark side?" His concern was valid. In fact, it had been his nephew's obsession with Visions and Prophecy that ultimately transformed him into the galaxy's latest Dark Lord of the Sith. The holographic Qui-Gon's face exuded vast pools of patience and kindness, as he spoke: "That's not possible, and I'll tell you why. I do not sense the dark side in you, or the light. Your power is unique and raw. You have become a vergence in the force, the likes of which I have never witnessed or heard of, yet... I still call you Padawan and you do not correct me, I do not sense even the slightest irritation or hate in the force... Why? It's because you do not crave power or adoration. You don't abuse the force or twist it to your will; you instead humbly accept the counsel of a ghost in the dark. No...I do not worry about loosing you to the dark side, my Padawan.
Luke, at that moment, felt a peace he hadn't known for a long time. He didn't know what was happening, or what to do and he finally surrendered to that notion, because he trusted the greater will of the force. Only one thing gave him pause: His friends. He could sense the Jedi council had to follow their own path. They wouldn't understand this divergence and could feel betrayed. "What about the council?" Luke asked. A knowing smirk emerged on the ghostly glowing face of Qui-Gon. "Disappointing the council is only forgivable if it means not disappointing the Force. Trust me... I...I know a little bit about this. They aren't perfect, and when they see your course is the will of the force, they will come around."
At this, Luke made a small bow with his head and said: "Thank you for your guidance Gatekeeper." Gatekeeper Jinn in return gave him one last contented smile and said: "May the force be with you, and ever guide you... always." With that the hologram faded out, but the room had not grown fully dark again. A bluish glow had begun to emanated from Luke's whole body as he sat in the middle of the room resuming his meditation. In a few hours he would be summoned by the counsel and, as painful as it was going to be, he would let the force guide him, and when the force was ready he would know what to do and he would not hesitate. At that time, he would not try, he would simply... do.
Location: The Millennium Falcon in Hyperspace, headed for the Planet Shedu Maad.
The Millennium Falcon's cockpit would always be the closest thing to a childhood home for Jaina. Instead of riding back to base with the rest of her team, she had opted to catch a ride back with her parents. They were on the precipice of somthing huge, everyone could feel it. What, started as tragedy had some how morphed into an inevitable showdown between light and dark. As the " Sword of the Jedi" she would be the knife point of any major confrontation, and this was set to be the greatest battle in Jedi history. Indeed, She didn't know if she would even be alive at the end of the week. She had to take this opportunity to be with her Parents, as it might be her last. In the mesmerizing swirls of hyperspace, she lounged in the copilots chair with feet up on the console (her default position in the Falcon), just enjoying the familiar creaks, knocks, and hums that were uniquely the Falcon. Her Mom just sat beside her just soaking in the presence of her only surviving child. She felt it too: a storm on the horizon. Leia decided to break the ominous silence with some mindless family gossip: "So, what is going on between Dena and Luke? Ben was telling me that they've been... and I quote: "Acting all creepy toward each other""
Jaina burst into giggles thinking of her Cousin's sophisticated analysis. "He's right, I don't know "whats up" but I've caught them looking at each other in a strange way." Leia was quick to jump on that: "What do you mean? show me." Jaina scrunched her face up in response and said: " Ewww, no Mom! I'm not going to show you! It's like... I dont know... like... like they share a secret, or like she is giving him permission somehow." Nodding her head Leia said: "That is kinda creepy." Jaina suddenly had a disturbing epiphany: " You don't think?... you know..." With a crinkled nose, Leia replied:"What Dena? And Luke? No... No! I don't think he will ever get over Mara. I mean, He and Dena might be friends but I can't imagine it being anything physical. I could see him..." Just then she was interrupted by Han, who had finished repairs and was reentering the cockpit: "Stop! Please! For Force sakes please Stop!" Jaina gave her dad a mischievous smile that mimicked his own and said: "Come on Dad, He's family, it's our business to know whats going on." Han had a look of disgust on his face and said: Ok! But your Mother was talking about him as if he's some kinda castrated Monk. I think... well... you know!... He's a guy! Han said this as if it somehow was the explanation of everything. That earned hi an eye roll from Jaina followed by another Observation from Leia: "Plus she's like what? Two? Three years old?"
Han answered with: "Well, she definitely don't look three years old!"Leia lifted one eyebrow and asked: "And what exactly does that mean?" Han put up his hands in mock surrender and said: "Easy Lady, I'm just sayin..." "Ooh, I know what your saying Han..." Jaina closed her eyes and wanted to soak up this moment: her family. By some freakish happenstance, everything aligned to make the galaxy right for that one moment in time, and Jaina was grateful for that.