Chapter Eight – Master Yoda
Obi-Wan looked on with pride as he saw Anakin playing with his young son Luke. They had an instant connection, there was no denying it. It reminded Obi-Wan of the time when he had begun training Anakin. Granted, Anakin was not a toddler, but he had been a young man and Anakin had been a young boy. Anakin had been overjoyed when he first laid eyes on his son properly. He had missed the birth and the first one and a half years of his life. He didn't want to miss anymore for the galaxy.
Bail had brought the ship back to Obi-Wan's hut as soon as Obi-Wan made contact. Bail had been cautious of Anakin. He had heard rumours of Anakin turning to the Dark Side, but he trusted Obi-Wan's judgement. When Bail saw Anakin and Luke together, he would never have imagined in a million standard years that Anakin could have been a Sith Lord.
Obi-Wan and Anakin had decided to continue the original plan to see Master Yoda, but for slightly different reasons. Firstly, Obi-Wan wanted to speak to Yoda about Anakin. He believed that his old Padawan could return to the light, and wanted to ask what he should do to aid him. And secondly, Anakin wanted to speak to Yoda about his children.
The group was aboard a ship Bail had borrowed off a fellow senator, and were nearly ready to come out of Hyperspace near Dagobah. They had been in Hyperspace for a long time, and Obi-Wan was getting restless. He hated being in Hyperspace for too long. He began to get agitated. He wanted to do something constructive. He had tried to perform his usual kata exercises, but the noise of the ship and Luke's constant laughter repeatedly broke his concentration.
In the end he had decided it was a futile attempt at passing the time, and gave up. He opted to join in with Anakin and Luke instead. A couple of times Bail had talked to Obi-Wan about the Purge and the Empire. It was not something Obi-Wan was enthusiastic about talking about, but he knew it wasn't the kind of subject he could keep avoiding.
When he wasn't with Luke, Anakin would be found piloting the ship in the cockpit. Bail had done most of the flying, and being the excellent pilot that he was, it was natural that he be the one to take over from Bail when he needed a break.
"We are ready to pull out of Hyperspace!" Obi-Wan recognised the yell as coming from Bail, and he started towards the cockpit. Anakin was already there when he got there. He was staring intently at the ship's control panel.
"Three… Two… One." The ship exited hyperspace and the stars no longer flashed by. Space was quiet around this part of the Outer Rim. Dagobah was nothing but a swamp planet, and so nobody had any business there. Obi-Wan wasn't sure whether there was any wildlife living there. Anakin pointed towards a nearby planet. Its landscape was a creamy green colour, with different shades and patches all over it.
"Look, Dagobah."
Bail typed some co-ordinates into the ship's control panel, and some instructions began to flash up on one of the screens. He quickly read them, and then piloted the ship downwards towards the planet. The ship got closer, and within minutes the group were in the atmosphere. Anakin watched as the trees began to get closer. He looked for a spot which looked safe enough to land on.
"Set the ship down over there Bail. The land will hold." He said as he pointed to a spot he had found. The ship turned right about twenty degrees and headed for the spot. The trees weren't bunched together, and the ground looked solid. The ship hovered above the spot, and began a slow descent as the landing gears were activated. There was a slight bump, as the ship hit the ground.
They wasted no time about exiting the ship. Luke was asleep in Anakin's arms and Bail held a tracker device which was pointing them in the direction of the co-ordinates given to him by Master Yoda. The three men treaded carefully, making sure not to step in any swampy water. Soon they came to a hut, and they all stopped. Obi-Wan approached the little hut, and bent down to knock on the small wooden door that stood firmly in the tiny opening.
"Master Yoda! It's Obi-Wan Kenobi." He heard a crash and the tapping of small feet coming to the door. The door flung open and Yoda stepped out with his gimmer stick. He stamped it down on the floor and looked up at Obi-Wan.
"Too long it has been Master Obi-Wan. Come alone you did hmm?" Obi-Wan stepped out of the way to reveal Bail and Anakin standing behind him, with Luke still asleep in Anakin's arms.
"Dangerous it was to bring young Skywalker here. Or is it Vader?" The little green Jedi stamped his stick down once more. Anakin handed Luke over to Bail, stepped forward and approached Obi-Wan and Yoda. As he did, Yoda instinctively reached for the lightsabre at his belt.
"I have no intention of fighting you Master Yoda. I-I wanted to speak with you."
"Wish to return to the Light do you?" Anakin nodded. Yoda stroked his chin with his left hand, still leaving the right on his lightsabre.
"Hmm, interesting. Realise you do, that a hard feat to accomplish this is?"
"Yes Master Yoda. I want to return to the Light, and I want to try and make up for all the terrible things I have done."
"Seek forgiveness you do?"
"More than anything Master. I… hate myself for what I did to the Jedi Order. I want to right my wrongs. I feel remorse, and guilt. I realise now that I was manipulated and too arrogant to think about anyone but myself." Yoda removed his right hand from his lightsabre and leaned on his gimmer stick.
"If sincere you are, then much work we have to do if you are to return to the Light Side of the Force. Much work and effort and time this will take. Prepared to do this, are you young Skywalker?"
"Yes Master Yoda. I will do whatever it takes."
"Good. To cleanse yourself of the Dark Side, much counselling and meditation you will need. Hard it will be, to return to the Light, but accomplish it together we will." Anakin smiled and turned to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan gave him a look that said 'I told you so.' Yoda motioned for Bail to come forward.
"Young Luke, I presume?"
"Yes Master Yoda," Bail replied. He bent down to Yoda's level so the aged Jedi Master could get a proper look at Luke. The boy was fast asleep, one thumb in his mouth. He had short blonde hair which reminded Yoda of the first time he saw Anakin at the Jedi Temple.
"Beautiful he is. Strong in the Force young Luke is." Yoda turned to Obi-Wan.
"Master Obi-Wan, a word?" Ob-Wan nodded and Yoda motioned for Anakin and Bail to enter Yoda's hut. They had to bend down as they did, and they crawled in on their hands and knees. When Yoda saw that he and Obi-Wan were alone, he spoke.
"Believe you do, that Anakin wishes to return to the Light?"
"Yes Master."
"Why so sure?"
"Master, I have known him since he was a small boy. I know when he is telling the truth or not. I could feel his remorse and his sorrow as he came to me on Tatooine. He has committed a terrible wrong, but he wants to do whatever it takes to fix it, so to speak."
"Fix what he has done, he can never do. Make it better he can, but fix it he can not. Realise you do, that to truly redeem himself, young Skywalker will have to face the Emperor?"
"I do, and I think he does. We have not discussed that yet."
"Talk with him about it I will. Meditate on this I will too. Very powerful the Emperor is. Searching for his apprentice he is. Keep him hidden from the Dark Side we must."
"Yes Master Yoda."
"Stay on Dagobah we must. Safe enough it is. Detect Anakin's presence here, the Emperor will not. Too far in the Outer Rim it is."
"I agree. The Emperor won't send any troops here either due to the lack of settlers. He won't think to check a planet where the only life is wildlife." Yoda leaned forward on his gimmer stick closer to Obi-Wan.
"Made contact with other Jedi have you?" Obi-Wan stared at a spot on the ground for a moment before answering.
"No, Master Yoda. I fear we may be the only living Jedi left."
"As do I. Need more allies and help, if to fight the Empire we are. In large numbers the clones are. Well protected the Emperor is. A cunning plan we will need to restore the Republic." Yoda coughed quietly. "Come Master Obi-Wan, into my home."
Obi-Wan followed Yoda through the small hut's opening. His hands and his robe were covered in dirt when he got through to the inside. It was a very basic home. In one end of the hut, there was Yoda's bed. A short distance away was a place for food preparation. And that was all. The ceiling was curved upwards, so it would appear in the shape of a sphere from the outside. The hut was so small, Obi-Wan had to be careful not to bang his head on the hard concrete ceiling.
Luke was once again in Anakin's arms. He was still asleep, but had begun to drool, so Anakin cleaned his son's face with the end of his sleeve. Bail sat on Anakin's right, with his hands in his lap, waiting patiently for someone to say something. Obi-Wan sat down on Anakin's lap, and Yoda completed the circle by sitting in between Obi-Wan and Bail.
"A good idea I think it would be, if you would return to Alderaan with young Luke, Senator Organa. Looked after well, he will be, and reunited with his sister he would be."
"That could easily be arranged. My wife and I love children. It would be an honour."
"I agree," Obi-Wan added. "If we are to train together intensively, Luke would be a bit of a problem." Anakin looked down at the young boy in his arms. He hadn't had much time with him, and yet he loved him as much as he had loved his wife. He didn't want to let the boy out of his sight for a second.
"Anakin?" He looked up to see Obi-Wan looking at him.
"I suppose it would be for the best. I trust you Senator Organa."
"I promise you, he will be loved and he will receive the best care Alderaan can offer him, Anakin."
"Thank you Senator." Anakin quickly hugged his son and then handed him over to Bail. The senator nodded and headed for the exit. As he reached it, he turned around.
"Until we meet again, my friends. I will have a ship sent here by my Astromech for you to use whenever you want. It will be yours." Yoda and Obi-Wan gave nods of approval and Bail left the hut. Anakin stared down at his lap as his son left. It hurt him that he only got to spend a few days with his son in nearly two years. Yoda stamped his gimmer stick down into the ground, creating a louder thump than usual. Anakin looked up as Yoda chuckled.
"Down to business, shall we go now, hmm?"
Author's Note: No update since Thursday? I must be turning to the Dark Side. Just kidding.
To be honest, I was out pretty much all day on Friday, and it was my last day of school for that week, so as usual, I was exhausted. On Saturday I was a bit lazy, and I wanted to watch Chelsea play West Ham. (It's English football/soccer if you don't know what I'm going on about) And on Sunday, well, that was pure laziness.
So, the chapter was delayed until today. I am very sorry about that, but I would expect that sort of laziness at the weekends from now on if I were you. I don't sleep nearly as much as I should do during the week, so the weekend is pure bliss for me.
Anyway, enough about me. I must thank everyone who has been kind enough to read Redemption. I must thank everyone who took time out to write a review. And I must thank everyone who added this story to their alerts list, or added me to their author alert list. It really is appreciated.
As usual, I am now going to ask that you all leave me a review. It doesn't have to be long, a few words will do, and it really gives me a boost to know that my writing is appreciated. I read all my reviews and take note of them, so if you have any criticisms, by all means feel free to make them known.