NABOO REVIEW
by ardavenport
- - - Part 2
Luke had always imagined the Force presences of Ben Kenobi, Yoda and his father as bluish holo-images. He knew it was his own imagination, interpreting what he felt through the Force, like the way he 'saw' his surroundings with his eyes covered during lightsaber training. But the presences of his father and two mentors were fleeting. They came to tell him things, maybe answered questions, and then vanished, vanishing back into the Force.
This bluish image of Qui-Gon Jinn persisted.
He genially observed the argument amongst the Naboo officials gathered at the base of the statue of him to be dedicated in the plaza the next day. Luke felt amusement from this presence.
There was talk of adding a second statue, of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had slain the Sith who had killed his Master, the deed that had earned him his knighthood. But the Naboo could not decide on whether to erect a statue of the young man of that time, or of an older Obi-Wan Kenobi, the famous general of the Clone Wars, as he was far better known in the galaxy.
They had tried more than once to get Luke to take sides, but he had humbly offered no opinion. He did not care. He doubted that Ben Kenobi would care. And he was sure that Qui-Gon Jinn did not care, though he seemed amused by the issue. Or was it Luke that this new Force presence was amused by?
"Councillors, please," the Queen interrupted. She had refrained from taking sides as well, but Luke sensed that she preferred the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi. "We should discuss this later. I am sure that our guest did not come all this way to hear us bicker."
At once chastened, the Councillors apologized for the distraction.
"Would you like to walk with me in the plaza, Master Jedi? Before you go on to see your family?" the Queen invited.
Luke inclined his head. "I'd be honored, your Majesty."
"We will take our leave for now," the Queen said to the others, clearly dismissing them. Some of them looking disappointed, but they withdrew.
"I was disappointed that your sister could not come with you, Master Jedi. I very much enjoyed meeting her," the Queen said as they walked side-by-side, four matched handmaidens silently tailing them.
"Her duties in the Senate take much of her time," Luke answered. Leia was an at-large representative in the Senate of the New Republic for persons displaced by the Empire, particularly the refugees of Alderaan, but also for some of the many populations that had been enslaved and removed from their home worlds. She had been to Naboo once before, on a mission with other Senate delegates to encourage Naboo to join the New Republic. The world remained friendly, but still uncommitted.
"And please, call me Luke, your Majesty," he finished.
He knew that he could ill-afford to take time away from his own duties, but lately it seemed that the harder he worked, the more complicated things got. More problems with the Temple, the Senate, people to meet, and a minefield of superstition and suspicion of the Jedi left behind in the wake of the long years of Sith rule. He had help, of course, from Leia and Han, Chewie and Lando, and well-meaning but not always competent supporters of the Jedi who had been hiding their true allegiances from the Empire. There had been an outcry when he had announced that he was leaving for a few days, but now, strolling through this peaceful plaza on this green planet, Luke knew that he had made the right choice. If everything fell apart while he was gone, Luke decided that it probably should.
The Queen smiled briefly and gracefully inclined her head before her expression became serious again. The mask of state. And she did not invite him to address her by an informal name. Luke knew that technically she did not have one when serving in her role as Queen.
"It is a time of much re-building," the Queen said, her eyes going to a large patch of paving in the plaza that was lighter colored than the surrounding, older stones. Luke had noticed the same mismatches in the coloring of the walls and roofs of some of the buildings around them. He supposed that the Naboo had deliberately left the repairs to their capital city obvious, as a reminder of the dark times under the Empire.
The presence and transparent image of Qui-Gon Jinn walked with them and looked down benevolently at the diminutive Queen's headdress. Luke had stared at it, looked away, winked, blinked and crossed his eyes, but Qui-Gon Jinn had said nothing to him but the handmaidens were looking at him with a little concern.
Thinking his thoughts loudly and clearly never seemed to work with the Force presence of his father, Ben or Yoda. He always seemed to need the extra prompt of voice to communicate, just as he needed to extend his hand to call his lightsaber to it.
When he had trained with Master Yoda on Dagobah, he had asked about Ben Kenobi's presence remaining with him after he had died. He had asked if all Jedi remained a living presence after death.
Yoda had said no. It had never happened before. Surprised, Luke had asked why only Ben Kenobi.
Yoda had said that there was another.
Then Yoda had admonished him to keep his mind on what he doing. On the training he needed. With an Empire and Sith to challenge and defeat, Luke had let the matter go.
Now Luke knew who the 'other one' was.
Luke hastily brought his attention back to what the Queen was saying to him. They had stopped before a narrow two-story building with a balcony that overlooked the plaza, modest in size, but decorated with elaborate curling stone carvings. Long flowering vines hung down from pots overhead.
" . . . . your sister enjoyed her visit to this museum of our rulers. I hope you will as well."
"I think I will," he answered.
They entered. Persons in blue and black uniforms bowed them in as they crossed the entryway. Apparently, they were expected. Qui-Gon Jinn glowed in the shadowed reception area with an eerie light that only Luke could see.
Proceeding through a high arched doorway, they entered a long hall of figures frozen in their own separate spotlight. Luke did not make any pretense about which one he was interested in. The Queen seemed to understand and she followed him.
This was not a carved statue or a hologram, but a lifelike replica. Elaborately gowned in red, black and gold robes and headdress, the whitened face and painted eyes stared blankly back through the mask of state. Queen Amidala.
His mother.
Luke had seen images of her before, eagerly read her history, even some of her writings. But this was the first time he had viewed her, on her own world, in the same way that the Naboo would see her. It felt different.
Next to the still figure, a long list of accomplishments glowed on a display screen. Participating in a raid on the palace to successfully capture the Viceroy of the Trade Federation and end the occupation of the planet was at the top of the list, at the beginning of her reign.
He turned at the sound of footsteps on the marble floor. A uniformed officer approached and bowed.
"Apologies for the interruption, Milady, but the Gungan delegation has arrived," she announced.
The Queen nodded and turned to him.
"Please, excuse me, Luke. But I must go to greet our Gungan brethren who will be joining us for the ceremony tomorrow. If you need anything, please ask one of the custodians here."
"Of course."
She turned and glided away, her skirts murmuring over the marble floor, the handmaidens following. A man in blue and black uniform remained by the door at loose attention, arms behind his back.
Luke turned back to the Amidala display and wondered about the woman underneath the mask.
// You should not dwell on the past, // the presence next to him admonished.
Luke turned to the image of Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Then what are you doing here?"
The look he perceived was one of surprise and Luke smirked back toward it. And then he noticed the curious look on the face of the museum custodian by the door. He looked away, pointing his eyes back toward Amidala.
// I am not here to dwell, // came the reply.
"You could have fooled me," he commented, keeping his voice low, but it still sounded loud in the quiet room. He felt a wave of amusement, but no more answers. He waited, but nothing else came though the presence stayed.
His eye followed the flow of the curling patterns on the skirts of Queen Amidala. Qui-Gon Jinn had met her. Known her, at least briefly. Defended her world. Died for it. But Luke hesitated to ask him about her. If he was not supposed to dwell on the past, he would likely only get cryptic questions to deflect his interest toward the things he should be concentrating on. Yoda had been very good at that any time he had ever asked about his parents during his brief time training with the ancient Jedi Master.
But what should he be concentrating on? All the complications piling up back on Coruscant? Or just a few? Or one? He wanted a plan, a way out of it, a clear goal toward training the others who had come to join the Jedi.
"What am I supposed to do?" he asked softly.
// Do what you must. //
Baffled, he looked toward the image and then away again. Ben, Yoda and his father appeared only briefly, but they usually could answer a simple question.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
// It means that if you ask a vague question, then you will get a vague answer. //
He exhaled.
"OK," accepting this as a fair response. "What was she like?"
He sensed disappointment in this question through the Force.
// She was brave and determined and devoted to her people and planet. She was everything the Naboo say about her. But I am not the person you should be asking. Or the person you should be answering. //
Luke smiled. This was not anything he did not know, but hearing it made the plain facts more real to him, more personal. And he had a fair idea of who he should be speaking with. He would be having dinner with them that evening.
"I don't know what I'm doing. Back on Coruscant," he admitted. "They're all expecting more and I don't know what else I can give them." Luke had thought he was prepared to lead, but as a Commander in the Rebel Alliance he had only dealt with battles and squadrons of fighters. Everything back on Coruscant was all about people and supplies and buildings and schedules.
The disappointment next to him lessened into. . . . . sympathy?
// Master Yoda taught you everything you need to know about being a Jedi. And you have taught us more than we ever imagined possible. //
The voice faded away and when he looked again, the Qui-Gon Jinn image was gone.
- - - End Part 2