The Empire Strikes Back: Lifting The X-Wing

Another short one, with a bit of extra dialogue. Did it ever occur to Luke that the X-Wing was his only way off Dagobah, and if he didn't get it out he'd be stuck there (at least until Vader found him, which he surely would sooner or later)?

Dagobah

As Luke is training

It was Artoo's frantic calls which alerted Luke to his increasingly dire situation re his stranded X-Wing. When he'd 'landed', the craft had been half-submerged, but its weight had caused it to sink further, as he now gazed in despair at it. The fighter was now mostly underwater. "Oh, no," he groaned, "we'll never get it out now!"

"So certain, are you?" a querulous voice could be heard. It belonged to his mentor, as wise as he was diminutive: Jedi Master Yoda, one of the few survivors of Order 66 and the ravages of the Inquisitors. He turned to face Yoda, who sighed, shaking his head. "Always with you, it cannot be done," he chided. "Hear you nothing that I say?"

A little stung by the veiled accusation of ignorance, Luke attempted to cover himself by protesting, "Master, moving rocks around is one thing, but this," he waved his hand in the general direction of the X-Wing, "is - totally different!"

He had meant that it was different in magnitude rather than degree, but Yoda interpreted the protest as the latter, not the former, and jabbed his walking stick into the ground sharply, snapping, "No! No different! Only different in your mind!" More gently he went on, "You must unlearn what you have learned."

Luke was beset by uncertainty. Could he actually use the Force to...?

Nothing to lose, he thought. "All right, I'll give it a try -"

But that was still wrong. "No. Try not," Yoda admonished him. "Do. Or do not." Again he shook his head. "There is no try."

Most things Master Yoda said made little sense to Luke, but this did. One could, he acknowledged, only succeed...or fail. So he approached the edge of the pool, closed his eyes, reached out, set himself...and used the Force to grasp the X-Wing.

At first things looked promising. The water around the fighter bubbled as it started to rise. Yoda looked pleased at his student's effort. Artoo whistled hopefully. But then, as his doubts came to the fore, Luke started to shake.

The X-Wing ceased to rise. Worse, it sank deeper. It was now almost completely submerged. Incom had built the X-Wing to last, and so a mere dunking would have little effect on its systems, but that was no use to Luke if it couldn't take off. Artoo beeped sadly as it sank, and Yoda was disappointed, if unsurprised. Enervated, Luke made his way to where Yoda was standing and collapsed. "I can't," he managed, panting, "it's too big."

"Size matters not," Yoda returned. "Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Mmm?"

Luke was almost too exhausted to shake his head, but he knew better than that. "No, Master, never," he replied respectfully.

"Mmm," Yoda pronounced. "And well you should not. For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is," he breathed. Almost reverently he gazed at their surroundings of swamp and trees. "Life creates it. Makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us...and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter," he added, pinching Luke's arm for emphasis. "You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock. Everywhere! Yes! Even between the land and the ship," he finished.

But for once Luke was in no mood for a lecture on the nature of the Force. He needed modern antigrav grabs, or even an ancient device he'd seen in an old textbook (only on an Outer Rim world like Tatooine would you even see a book) known as a "crane". But his lightsabre, his blaster, Artoo, his power pack - and, ironically, his X-Wing - were the only machines on Dagobah, and all were useless for raising the fighter from its watery prison. "You want the impossible," was his curt comment.

"Mmm. 'Impossible' a meaningless word is. Besides, consider this you must: if 'impossible' the task is, then leave this world you never will, mmm?"

Luke frowned. "What?"

"Your friends," Yoda inquired, "know where you are, do they?"

"Well...no," Luke admitted lamely. "It made sense to me at the time not to tell them - because if they knew and Vader captured them, then he'd find out, and come here. That's the last thing we want."

"So no rescue will there be," Yoda nodded. "If raised the ship is not, remain here you must." He paused. "If find you Vader does not. Certain of this, that find you he will not, I cannot be. Strong with the Force, he is...and the Emperor more so. Sooner or later, find you he will. Years it might take him...but search for you he will. Hide here forever you cannot. Must not."

That was all true, but Luke was too tired to think about it right now. He resolved instead to get some sleep, and maybe try again in the morning. Dispirited, he began dressing.

He didn't see Yoda setting himself for the ordeal to come. True, his command of the Force was immense. But even for a Jedi Master, nearly 900 years of age and an almost total lack of practice made a difference. In his heyday, at the end of the Clone Wars, it would've been easy. Now, frankly, it would be an effort even for him.

But it had to be done. Only if the ship could fly would Luke be able to leave and, hopefully, defeat Vader and the Emperor. It could only fly if it were raised out of the water.

And the Force was his only tool.

But...a powerful tool it was!

He applied his power. Again the water started to bubble, but this time it did so more energetically.

Gradually the X-Wing rose.

Artoo noticed it, and began whistling and beeping frantically to attract Luke's attention. What's wrong with Artoo? He's almost as jittery as Threepio -

And then he was paralysed with astonishment.

Gracefully the X-Wing was rising out of the water. Yoda, his eyes closed as he concentrated, directed it to float over to where Luke was, on dry land. As he watched, agape, the fighter descended, and touched down on its landing gear.

Incredulous, he looked it over. It was festooned with weeds, and water was pouring out from various gaps in the spaceframe, but all that was trivial.

Especially given the miracle that had just occurred!

His task done, Yoda exhaled.

As Artoo warbled, Luke ran his hand over the fuselage. Then he made his way to where Yoda was standing and admitted, "I don't...I don't believe it!"

"That," Yoda told him calmly, without reproach, "is why you fail."

Now, for the first time, Luke understood. It wasn't enough to know the Force existed, or how to use it. One had to know that one could do almost anything with it.

He regarded the wizened little green creature with far more respect than he had before. This was, he knew, an object lesson in what was possible with the Force. Next time, he swore, he would not 'try'.

He would do.

Or do not.

THE END