Chapter 20

Obi-Wan had just finished putting Jinn down for her nap when he felt a disturbance in the Force so strong that he staggered and had to hold on to the back of a chair for support. Cold feelings of fear were quickly followed by shock, hurt, and overwhelming anguish. Luke! Something was terribly wrong. He quickly checked their bond. While he wasn't in any immediate physical danger, Luke's emotions felt like the sea in the midst of a hurricane.

"What's the matter?" Luna, who had been in the kitchen washing up from lunch, came over and put a hand on his arm. "Are you alright?"

"It's Luke. Something has happened."

"Is he hurt?" Luna looked worried.

"I don't think so. Not physically anyway." He shook his head. "I have to find out what's wrong."

"Do you want me to call Beru?"

"No, I'm going to the overlook to see if I can pick up any clues. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Be careful my love." Luna hugged him tightly. He donned his sand robe and headed down the path to the Lars farm.

By the time he got to the ridge overlooking the farm, Owen Lars was nothing more than a tiny dot on a speeder bike, his presence quickly receding as he flew towards Anchorhead. Even at such a great distance Obi-Wan could feel his unrestrained rage . He turned his attention back to the house and reached out through the Force. Beru was terribly upset, but Luke…Luke's usually brilliant Force signature was dull and almost lifeless. He felt like he'd been gutted. What could possibly have happened?

Deciding that Owen was probably not coming back for some time, Obi-Wan made his way down from the ridge and crossed the sand towards the house. As he passed one of the outbuildings, he noticed their speeder lying at a strange angle through the open door. A few feet ahead of him a small droid lay in pieces.

It was obvious Beru had been crying when she opened the door. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat, trying to pull herself together as she let him in.

"What's happened?" he asked as gently as possible.

"He knows." Beru sank down onto the sofa and looked at the floor. "He knows you've been training Luke and that I allowed you to do it."

This was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. He knew they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever, but he had hoped to have a little more time. While he had expected Owen to be angry, he hadn't realized the extent of his temper. A terrible thought crossed his mind.

"Did he hurt you or Luke?"

"No. But he was so angry I was afraid he was going to. Luke came running in so upset that he couldn't even tell me what happened and then Owen…he just blew up. He said that he knew you'd been training him and that if Luke ever used his powers again he'd…"

Obi-Wan's heart dropped to his feet. "He'd what?"

"He'd tan his hide with a strap to make him stop."

Obi-Wan first reaction was white-hot fury. He had never used the Force in anger to choke someone before, but if Owen were here right now he'd be the first. Icy cold tendrils of darkness licked at the edges of his mind and suddenly he stopped himself. Guilt quickly replaced anger. What was he thinking? Anger was the path to the darkside. He should know that better than anyone. Poor Luke! This was all his fault.

"How is he now?" Obi-Wan looked down the hallway towards the boy's room.

"Inconsolable. He cried so hard he made himself sick."

"May I see him?" Beru nodded.

Obi-Wan made his way down the hallway and knocked gently on the door before peeking inside. Luke lay on the bed facing the wall clutching a stuffed bantha in his arms. He had stopped crying, but hiccuped intermittently.

"May I come in?"

"Ben?" Luke looked over his shoulder and scrambled into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you had a bit of trouble this afternoon."

"Yeah." he looked as if the weight of the galaxy was resting on his small shoulders and Obi-Wan's heart went out to him. He crossed the room, stepping over toys and dirty clothes as he went and sat down on the bed next to Luke.

"You know, I've often found that it helps to talk about it and if you're feeling up to it, I'm a very good listener."

Luke looked up at him thoughtfully. Then his eyebrows bunched together and his chin began to quiver. "Uncle Owen hates me."

"What makes you say that?"

"He yelled at me and told me to never use the Force again and that he'd rather die than have me save him."

"You saved him? How?"

"He was working on the speeder and it started to fall on him and I stopped it."

Luke had managed to hold up a speeder all by himself? Pride in his small pupil filled his heart. What a special boy he was! Back in the temple, if an initiate had done something like that, Yoda would have gone to visit them personally. Their clan master would have praised them and perhaps made sure they received an extra helping of dessert that night with dinner. How that dolt Owen could be angry with his nephew for saving his life was beyond his understanding. He stroked his beard, and for a brief moment almost wished Luke had dropped the speeder and squashed his uncle like a bug.

"He said that Force powers are wrong and unnatural. Do you think he's right?"

Obi-Wan knew he must tread carefully here. "No. Your powers are a gift Luke. Don't ever believe otherwise. What you did today was commendable and I'm very proud of you. Your Uncle…he loves you and wants to keep you safe, but he believes that the Force is dangerous. In some ways he's right."

"Dangerous?" Luke looked confused. "How can it be dangerous?"

"Well, if used in the wrong way it can be very dangerous. Remember when you summoned that Krayt dragon by mistake?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. But if I learned to control that, then it wouldn't be dangerous would it?"

Obi-Wan smiled sadly. "You still have much to learn my young friend. Sometimes the danger isn't real things like Krayt dragons, it's what is in a person's heart."

"Huh?" Luke looked confused.

"What have I always taught you about when to use the Force?"

"You said to use it only to help others and do good things."

"That's right. Now, imagine if a person who had great powers used them to do evil things. What if they used the Force to help them commit crimes or hurt people? They could do terrible things couldn't they?"

This had obviously never occurred to Luke. He looked horrified. "But why would anyone want to do that?"

"Not everyone is as pure hearted as you are Luke. Besides, people don't always set out to do bad things on purpose. Sometimes they start out with the best of intentions and the temptation to do wrong is just too great to resist. That is why you must always be on your guard."

Luke thought about that for a while and nodded his head slowly. "Have you ever met anybody like that? You know, that used the Force to do bad things?" His blue eyes, so like his father's were wide with concern. Being asked that question by a carbon copy of Anakin was jolting.

"Yes." he nodded sadly. "It's something I hope you never have to experience Luke. What I am about to tell you is terribly important. You must always, always do your best to stay on the righteous path and never use the Force in anger, selfishness, or fear. No matter what happens, promise me you won't."

"I promise." he said solemnly. "I won't ever use the Force to do bad things."

"I think that is the root of the problem your Uncle has with the Force. He's afraid that if those people who use their powers for evil found out how talented you are they might come and try to take you away from here. That's why he doesn't want you to use your abilities. If someone were to see you do something, like holding up the speeder, they might find out about it."

"Oh." Understanding began to dawn on his face followed quickly by worry. "But…what if something happens again? I might not be able to stop myself from using the Force. I mean, today I didn't really know what I was doing until I was already doing it."

"It was a reflex Luke. You saw what was about to happen before it actually did and caught the speeder before it fell. That's how you were able to stop it from crushing your Uncle."

Luke nodded and picked a piece of lint off the leg of his trousers. Obi-Wan drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly. This was it. He didn't need a vision of the future to tell him that Owen would be unwilling to let them see each other again let alone continue training. This was probably the last chance he'd have to speak to Luke for a long time.

On the way over, he had devised a plan. He needed a way to make sure Luke would experience no more of his Uncle's angry outbursts as a result of the training he had provided. Having the boy suffer because of him was a thought he simply couldn't bear.

"There is a way I could help you with that, if you'd allow me to."

Luke looked up at him curiously. "How?"

"Well, I could take all the things you have learned in our lessons and store them for you in a special place in your mind until your Uncle gets over being upset." Obi-Wan pointed to a toy box that stood against the wall with it's lid up. "It would be just like when you clean your room and put all your starships in there." He reached out with the Force and closed the lid. "You see, with the lid down, your toys are all safe inside but no-one can see them."

"So I wouldn't accidentally use the Force again?"

"Precisely. Then, when the time is right, we can open the place in your mind where those memories are and start right in again where we left off." He smiled reassuringly even though inside his heart was breaking. "Would you like me to do that for you?"

Luke turned this over in his head. "Will it hurt?"

"Not a bit."

"Well….ok then. What do I have to do?"

"Nothing. Just open your mind like we do when we start meditating."

Luke closed his eyes and leaned back against the head of the bed. "Wait!" He sat back up again.

"What is it?"

"I won't forget you will I?"

"Of course not! I'll always be right there." he pointed to Luke's temple and smiled reassuringly. It wasn't exactly a lie, at least not from a certain point of view. The memories would still be there, he just wouldn't be able to access them.

"Ok."

"Alright, then. Close your eyes." Luke began to settle down, but the second he touched the boy's mind his eyes popped open again.

"Wait!" he jumped up and launched himself across the bed, throwing his arms around Obi-Wan neck and hugging him tightly. "I know I won't forget, but just in case…I love you Ben. You're the best! Someday I want to be just like you."

A hard lump formed in Obi-Wan's throat and he swallowed thickly as he returned the boy's embrace. "I love you too Luke. You're the best student I've ever had." Tears burned the backs of his eyes, but he firmly reminded himself that this was in Luke's best interest and steeled his resolve to make a good job of it.

Once Luke finally relaxed, Obi-Wan was able to gently sift through his mind. It didn't take long since he was so young. He isolated everything that involved himself, Luna, Jinn, and the Force. Deep in the center of Luke's brain, he built a series of thick walls behind which he hid all of these memories. While the walls were sturdy and strong, he left a fail-safe that would immediately release the hidden memories. All he had to do was say the words "You must learn the ways of the Force."

Finally, he gave Luke a gentle sleep suggestion and broke their connection. He sat for a while trying to get his emotions under control enough to leave. Once he pulled himself together, he gave Luke one final look and went to find Beru.

She was sitting at the kitchen table with a dazed expression on her face. He cleared his throat.

"You don't need to concern yourself about any of this happening again. I've arranged things so that he won't remember anything about the Force."

"You took away his Force powers?"

"No. They're still there, but I hid them in an unused part of his mind where he can't access them for now. We can uncover them again when he's older."

She nodded. "He won't remember anything?"

"No. It will be as if none of this ever happened."

Just then, soft footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

"Aunt Beru?" Luke called.

"I'm in here, sweetheart." Obi-Wan held his breath as Luke walked into the kitchen.

"Can I have a snack? I'm hungry." The boy paused when he noticed they had company and looked at the stranger curiously.

"Hi!" He said with a friendly smile. "I'm Luke. Who are you?"