Chapter 5 – Luke Skywalker
'Golden Eagle' landed on Yavin IV. The landing was rough and the whole ship shook hard as soon as it touched the ground. Vasil almost fell from his seat.
"That was quite a landing.", Kane sarcastically said.
"It could have been a lot worse you know.", Vasil replied. "Now I have to see how I can repair the ship."
"Maybe there is someone here who could help us?", Jai asked. "We should explore the surroundings."
"No one is in Yavin IV.", Kane said. "The entire planet is one big jungle."
"You never know. We may find parts from other crushed ships. I am sure we are not the only ones who have crushed on this planet."
"He is right.", Vasil replied. "It's not like we have anything to lose from searching the surroundings."
"Alright.", Kane said. "But I am pretty sure we will not find anything useful on this damn planet."
Vasil opened the outer hatch of the ship and lowered the ramp. Then he, Jai and Kane walked out of 'Golden Eagle' and began exploring the jungle of Yavin IV. The sun was passing through any miniature hole it could reach and illuminated the green background. The air was moist, they were surrounded by thick trees, plants and brush and they were constantly attacked by leeches and mosquitoes. The leaves brushed up against them. From every direction came the hums and chirps of insects.
"I hate jungles…", Kane murmured.
Suddenly tens of armed soldiers appeared almost out of nowhere and pointed their guns at the three explores. Those soldiers were wearing green uniforms and as such it was almost impossible for anyone to notice them amidst the vast greenness of the jungle until it was too late.
"Don't move!", one of the soldiers shouted. "State your business!"
"Well, our ship got a problem with the hyperdrive and we were forced to land in order to repair it.", Kane replied.
"You look suspicious.", the soldier said. "You will be coming with us to our base and be held prisoners for the time being!"
"Who the hell are you to jail us!?", Vasil shouted.
"We are with the Resistance.", the soldier said. "You better not try anything foolish and come with us peacefully or we will beat the hell out of you!"
"If you are with the Resistance, we are on the same side.", Kane noted. "Take me to your leader, General Leia, and I will explain everything to her. I am a Jedi."
The soldiers laughed and one of them replied, "Yeah, right. And I am Kylo Ren."
Kane was about to grab his lightsaber when one of the soldiers shouted, "Don't touch anything and don't try to draw any weapons because we will shoot you. Now come with us and stop the talking."
Kane sighed. The soldiers seemed serious about shooting them and he would have not time to draw his lightsaber and prove to them that he really is a Jedi. So he and his two friends were forced to follow the soldiers to their base.
Kane, Jai and Vasil were held in force cages in a cell inside the Resistance's military base. Although the soldiers found the lightsaber in Kane's belt when they took their weapons, they did not let him go and they imprisoned him and his friends. Their commander said that it was a temporary only measure and that if Kane was really a Jedi and not a member of the Knights of Ren they would set him free and apologize to him. But despite the fact that many hours had passed since they were arrested, no one had come to their cell.
"Great friends you've got!", Vasil complained. "Why do I always end up in a cell?"
"Because of smuggling?", Kane nonchalantly replied.
"And the one time I did not smuggle, I still ended up in a cell. It seems it is my lot in life to end up in a cell…"
"Quit complaining.", Jai said. "We've got to think a plan, not complain all the time."
"Hey you blind old man, if it wasn't for me you would have been captured by the First Order!", Vasil shouted back.
Kane sighed. "Shut up both of you! If we do not work together, we are not going to get out of this mess."
At that moment a bearded old man with grey hair wearing a long white Jedi robe and a young woman with brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin entered the cell, accompanied by five soldiers and an officer. The old man was Luke Skywalker and the woman was Rey. Kane was shocked to see his old Master before him. It has been years since he had last seen him. He couldn't formulate a though and his face was washed blank with confusion.
"Master!", Kane said.
Luke was holding Kane's lightsaber. He ignited it and saw the green glow it emitted. "Impressive. You actually managed to build a lightsaber on your own?", he said before deactivating the lightsaber and hanging it in his belt. "Have you come here for revenge?"
Kane was surprised that his Master treated him as if he was a potential enemy. "Of course not. Our ship got damaged by the First Order and we had to land here to make repairs."
"Why would the First Order attack you?", Luke wondered. "Ren knows you are a Jedi no more."
"Look, I do not want to interrupt your conversation", Vasil said, "but could you please let us out of those force cages? Then we can talk with you for as much as you want."
Before Luke could reply Kane said, "I want to help you against the First Order. I know that I have made mistakes in the past but now I want to help you defeat the dark side."
Luke was silent for a moment when Rey intervened. "We could always use more help, right?", she said. "If he is a Jedi, then he can be of assistance to us."
"He is no Jedi.", Luke replied. "He was once my apprentice but he gave in to his anger and fell to the dark side. Although he might be of some use to us…"
He then turned to Kane and said, "I'll let you free and return to you your lightsaber. But I will not allow you to stay here. You shall leave this place and come back here only when you can prove that you have changed your ways."
"How can I prove my sincerity?", Kane asked.
"When there is peace and compassion in your heart. Go to the places affected by war and shoulder the pain and misery of the people. Help them and in doing so you will help yourself."
At that moment the Resistance officer, Alek was his name, protested about Luke's decision: "Sir, if we let him go, how do you know he will not reveal our secret base to the First Order? He fell once in the dark side, he may do so again."
Luke just smiled. "If it is the will of the Force for us to be destroyed, nothing can prevent it.."
He then ordered Alek to deactivate the force cells and so he did.
"Where is my ship?", Vasil asked as soon as he was let free.
"We have taken it to our hangar and repaired it.", Alek replied.
"Good". Vassil then turned to Kane and said, "Shall we be going from this damned jungle world?"
Kane nodded in agreement. Before leaving, Kane bowed before Luke and said, "Master, I will prove that I have changed and I shall not fail you."
Luke did not reply, he just smiled. It was then when he noticed Jai. He felt somewhat uncomfortable. It was as if he knew this man although he had never met him and he had a bad feeling about him.
"You are…?", Luke asked.
"I'm just a blind old man.", Jai replied. "I do not believe that I can be of any interest to a great hero like you."
"Have we met before?"
"I do not believe so. How could a blind old man have met a great Jedi Master like you?
Jai then walked out of the room along with Kane and Vassil leaving Luke lost in his thoughts. 'Who could be this man?', Luke wondered in his mind. 'I can feel a dark presence about him. There seems to be something wrong about him but I cannot tell what it is.'
After his old student and his friends had left, Luke walked back to his room. As he was about to enter the room, he heard Rey's voice.
"Master, you are going to study again the Sith holocrons?", she asked. She had hoped that they could practice together swordsmanship and that he could teach her some more lightsaber techniques.
"Yes.", he replied. "It is of vital importance to unlock the secrets of those ancient Sith holocrons. Although Snoke and Ren are not Sith, they are agents of evil and serve the dark side much like the Sith did. As such, it is vital to learn more about the secrets of the dark side in order to find a weakness in it and exploit it. If we do not learn more about our enemy, how are we going to defeat them?"
Luke had discovered those ancient Sith holocrons in Korriban. He decided to study them in order to find a way to defeat Snoke and his evil First Order. It was a risky decision as the lure of the dark side was always strong and those holocrons made it even more powerful. But he had to take this risk for the sake of the galaxy.