Chapter 23: The Prime Jedi

Most of the Jedi Masters had arrived in the morning, and they busied themselves overseeing the transfer of their belongings to their quarters. Ben had been there for several days, and his belongings were already stowed in his quarters. The Jedi Council would call to session in an hour, and he had taken the opportunity to meditate upon the recent events. He had not been wounded by his mother's attack, but the anger he felt to both his mother, his father, and his uncle burned within. And then there was the matter of Kira; he could not blame her for her part in this, but her attack on him, even though that too had been harmless, had unnerved him. He knew she possessed darkness, and he once had faith that she would be able to overcome it. But now with the knowledge that she was the daughter of Darth Sidious and the memory of her attacking him in anger, his alarm grew at the thought of her loose in the galaxy.

But beneath the anger and the fear, Ben sensed a deep, consuming sadness that he struggled to stave off. As he meditated, the sadness pressed in, and Ben sought to erase it. His family had betrayed him. It was his duty to set things right. He was best suited for the job. And yet, no matter how many times he tried to affirm this in himself, a thought from a darker corner of his mind admonished him, saying, you are alone.

"Ben?"

The voice had not come from inside his quarters; it had come from inside of him. He recognized the voice, as it had been a presence in his conscience since before he was born. Hearing her voice stirred both his anger and his sadness, but in that moment, his anger won out. He attempted to close his mind to her.

"Ben, I made a mistake," Leia said, her voice distant. "I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have attacked you. I. . . I shouldn't have lied to you."

Ben continued to attempt to shut her out, but she was too deeply connected to him – or he was too deeply connected to her; he could not tell. Escaping her presence was like trying to outrun his shadow, and he felt a moment of sympathy for Kira after his intrusive attempt to find her.

"Leave me alone," he said aloud.

"I'm ready to come in. Your father and I agree it was the wrong thing to do. We want to come back," Leia continued.

"Then come back," Ben spat, allowing venom to infuse his voice to convey his disdain.

"We've been attacked. We are stranded on the planet Nal-Hef. You will find it in the Alderaanian relocation databases. More of the Acronemses are coming," Leia's voice trailed off, and Ben became aware that the connection had closed.

"Mother?" Ben said aloud, straining through the Force to reach her. "Mother?!"

But no response came – only silence within his room. Fear mingled with his resentment. He wanted her to be held accountable, but he did not want to see her harmed. Nor his father, who undoubtedly had gotten caught up in this for the wrong reasons. He turned to a console to find the location of Nal-Hef. The edge of the Unknown Regions? He thought to himself. What were they doing there? If they were being attacked by the Acronemses there, and if they had no other means of support, they would not survive. Nal-Hef would be a lengthy run, but if he left immediately, he might be able to get there in time.

Then there was the matter of the Jedi Masters. He had already been censured for his role in leaving the temple with Kira, and with Luke gone, he knew Master Rancisis would be even more averse to rash actions. He expected them to advise patience and investigation, but if that were the case, they might be too late. He disagreed with Luke on a great deal, especially now, but, to his annoyance, he empathized with why his uncle had preferred an unorthodox approach that did not always wait for permission.

He made his decision and reached for his commlink. Switching it on, he said, "This is Ben Solo. Get me Director Specks."

***

Veryx stood aboard the bridge of the Eventide, reading the report from the assault on the Millennium Falcon. Dozens of Chiss officers and technicians busied themselves at their consoles, all doing their best to maintain a safe distance from the dangerous dark Jedi. The ship's fighters had been moments away from destroying it for the last time when the girl arrived and saved them – at least temporarily. Intelligence suggested the ship had come down on the planet and may still be intact. The beacon implanted in the traitor's hip was broadcasting their location within a basin on a continent in the planet's northern hemisphere. Three assault shuttles prepared for take-off, with assault vehicles, squadrons of Dichonemses soldiers, and six fully trained Acronemses on board to kill the Chancellor and the Palpatine girl.

His commlink buzzed, but instead of a report on the assault force's readiness, he heard the voice of Commander Specks. "Lord Veryx, the Jedi Ben Solo has reported that his mother reached out to him through the Force. She asked him to come to her, apparently ready to surrender."

"Has he departed?" Veryx asked.

"He has requested a squadron of troops," Commander Specks confirmed. "I delayed his request until our conferral."

Veryx mulled over the request. Organa and Solo were on the planet below. The girl was there too. If Ben Solo would also go, then perhaps everyone there together would also draw out Skywalker. All the womp rats in one hole.

"Allow Solo a squadron, and notify me of his anticipated arrival time," Veryx ordered.

"Yes, sir," Specks replied, signing out.

Veryx redirected his gaze to the planet below. The opportunity was too great to waste. It was a chance, certainly. Skywalker and Organa were formidable warriors. The consequences of failure would be dire. "Alert Captain Lorin to prepare an additional shuttle for me. Dispatch an additional six Acronemses, but delay our assault for another 12 hours to ensure time for Solo to arrive." With the Captain's affirmation, Veryx left the bridge and stalked toward the flight deck.

***

Luke Skywalker was four hours into his meditation outside of the moldy, vine-covered remains of Yoda's hut on Dagobah. He had stopped first at Corvus, following Han's beacon. Once there, he descended to the surface to contact Master Yoda. For the first time since the Emperor's death, Yoda had not responded. Once Luke had concluded that Yoda would not appear, he tried Obi-Wan, his father, Ahsoka, and even Qui-Gon. The silence had been deafening and disturbing; there had been an agreement that the role of the deceased masters would be protecting and guiding awakenings while offering counseling to the Grand Master. Yoda had affirmed it in their last conversation, and they had never failed to reach him when needed.

And yet, as he reached out and called out, there was no response. Alarmed, Luke had set course for Dagobah rather than continuing to Nal-Hef. If there was some sort of interference preventing the connection, Luke believed that he would be able to break through the interference here, where Yoda's presence remained strong, and the planet's connection to the Force was rich and deep. But after four hours, all Luke had to show for his efforts at meditating was that he was now soaked by Dagobah's pervasive rains. Artoo twittered nervously nearby, making his disdain for the swamp evident. The Force was indeed rich and vibrant here, but aside from the cold, dark presence of the cave nearby, Luke felt no connection to anything familiar. A sense of abandonment stole over him as he pulled himself out of his meditation and got to his feet, working out the stiffness in his legs.

He took his bearings as the rain subsided, leaving a heavy mist over the swamp. As he surveyed his surroundings, the darkness adjacent to the cave drew his attention. After his experience in the cave during his training with Yoda, he had often wondered how the Jedi Master had tolerated it. Yoda later affirmed that tolerance became easier when a Jedi learned to recognize and reject the darkness he or she carried while acknowledging it as part of the Force. Yoda had even relied on the darkness to shield his own presence from the Emperor, and Yoda spoke of it with a respect that Luke struggled to understand. It was still a place of fear for him, bringing up the vision of his face within his father's helmet.

Almost without realizing it, Luke had made his way toward the cave. His instinct still told him that his friends needed his help, but with the disappearance of the Masters, the events in the Senate, his loss of control of the Jedi Order, and the thought of Kira vanishing into the galaxy, Luke felt a desperate need for answers, even if those answers might be suffused with darkness. Merely a part of the Force, the dark side is, Yoda had explained, and even as Luke considered his Master's words, he wondered if seeking answers from the dark side was a slippery slope. More likely he might be misled, or, as before, he might only see his own fear staring back at him.

The tree growing over the entrance to the cave had died, and moss and fungi proliferated over its carcass. It was a deeply unappealing spot, yet he forced himself to enter anyway, bringing in only what he had with him. He made his way carefully over the uneven, knotted floor, relying on the Force to guide him in the dark. Spider webs caught in his hair, and a sickly smell of something half-decomposed suffused the dank air. The cave widened slightly, and Luke paused, reaching out with his senses. This was the spot where he fought a vision of his father, decapitating him only to realize that he had become Vader.

The air shimmered and rippled, and he sensed a dark presence suffusing the air around him. His vision swam before his eyes, and the outline of Ben, collapsed to the ground and shouting in agony appeared before him. Luke started toward him, consumed by the vision, but the vision shifted rapidly. A series of images cycled before him, including Kira swallowed by red lightning, Leia vanishing in a green haze, Ben weeping over a robe, and a dark, icy cold encasing him, a swirling, black vortex laced with something red and pulsating. Luke connected each image to a vision he once shared with Leia – his worst nightmare come to pass. The images stopped abruptly, and in that moment, the cave returned as if it had never disappeared.

You will find no answers here, spoke a voice. The voice was high and clear, yet distant, emotionless, and detached, like a child's, but immeasurably ancient. He knew the voice, but it took Luke a second to place it. As he sought to connect the voice to Jedi that he had known, a light began to grow in the cave. Unlike the vision he experienced in the past, this light was pure, almost blinding. The cave seemed to shrink and recoil, as if the presence of the light threatened to negate its very existence.

"Who is it?" Luke asked, alarmed.

It is I, the one you call the Prime Jedi, the voice explained, and Luke could sense the voice radiating from the light. This is a curious place to contemplate your plight.

"The Masters. . . they're gone," Luke admitted, feeling a touch of embarrassment at the emotion seeping into his voice.

Indeed, the voice responded, matter-of-factly. A veil has fallen; one of many that have already fallen, and certainly not the last.

"But how?" Luke asked, suddenly eager in his hope for answers.

There is much I must tell you of this, responded the voice, but it then admonished him, gently, but unmistakably. Yet you search for answers in a cave. Why do you not come to me?

"The Jedi Order. . ." Luke began to explain.

A transitory concern. I warned you of putting faith in the constructs of men, the voice continued. The admonishment triggered a sense of shame and anger in Luke, which the presence noticed immediately. Do not feel shame in the face of truth, Skywalker. As I told you before, the Order is only as strong as it is unified. You could do so much more. . . the voice tailed off.

"If I come to you," Luke finished.

Yes, the voice affirmed. Are you prepared to abandon this folly?

Luke considered the Prime Jedi's offer, which the being had delivered during their last contact. The promise of being able to protect the galaxy for good was too enticing to ignore, yet there was still something he did not trust. He knew that his friends were undertaking a dangerous mission on Nal-Hef, and perhaps they were even in danger this very moment. He was surprised that Leia had not reached out to him; he had been attempting to reach her for a while now, but her presence was as absent as Yoda's. He would have felt her death. Or would he?

Worry not for your friends, Master Skywalker. The day-to-day affairs of the galaxy are insignificant to the Force. All that matters is balance, the voice advised.

"But they're my friends," Luke implored.

Attachment. It blinds one to the truth and neuters one's purpose, the voice chastised. It held no anger, yet the disapproval was clear.

"The galaxy is under attack from without and within. If I don't help them. . . If I can't stop this," Luke said, struggling to find the words to voice his fears.

As I said, I can show you how to protect the galaxy, but more importantly, I can show you how to protect the Force. Surely you have felt it, gnawing at the back of your mind? Something sick, diseased. The Force – it is ill. Its will dictates that you find me, the voice said, this time with more urgency.

Luke stood silent for a long moment, then, his conclusion reached, he answered. "I must help my friends. Too many lives are at stake. And when I'm done, I will come to you."

Luke could sense the disapproval and the disappointment, and he heard it in the voice's final response. Very well, Skywalker. After you've seen this latest folly through, I will be waiting.

The light faded as the voice spoke, gradually disappearing and leaving a blinding imprint on Luke's retinas. He slowly worked his way back out of the cave. Upon exiting the cave, he called to his droid, "Artoo, prepare the ship and set a course for Nal-Hef."

Artoo beeped an eager affirmative and set to work immediately. Luke walked slowly toward his master's old hut. The structure had caved in, leaving only the foundations, the hearth, and fragments of walls to testify to its existence. As he stood before it now, it seemed a fitting metaphor for the decades of effort he had imparted on restoring the Jedi Order. Countless hours of teaching and training; countless light years traveled seeking out awakenings in the Force and concentrating the center of Jedi knowledge on Yavin-4. It had vanished in a flash, just as Yoda's body once did. Without him, he feared the Order would collapse under its own divisions, personalities, and dogmas. And what then would it become? A political tool for the Republic? A police force of trained officers wielding the Force? His vision for an accepting, progressive order had died before his eyes, leaving him exiled as a pariah due to the truth he had kept from the galaxy.

As he knelt before the remains of Yoda's hut, he felt the same crushing sense of failure that he felt when he failed to lift his X-wing from the swamp. The sensations arose in him of shame and hopelessness. Had Yoda been there, he might have chastised Luke, then provided clear insight and wisdom, followed by encouragement to act and to let go of his certainty. Always with you what cannot be done. And just as he had before, he felt the uncertainty and anguish of not acting while his friends were in danger. At that time, he had been driven primarily by a need to protect them. Now, he saw Leia and Kira as essential to the galaxy's ability to combat the rising threat. And if he were to go to the Prime Jedi, their survival was now more important than ever.

Folly, the Prime Jedi had called it. Whatever he might say about protecting the Force and the galaxy, Luke had staked his life on saving those he loved. He could not abandon that now – not yet.

Luke had come to Dagobah once before since Yoda had died, and during that time, guided by Yoda himself, he had laid his contingency plan. A failsafe that might aid him should all fail; a gift recovered and then stored away for safe keeping. He stretched his hand over the structure, reaching out with the Force. The muddy earth in the center of Yoda's hut shimmered and shook before breaking apart and sliding away. A box about two feet wide and one-foot-deep rose from the ground, dirt and mud sliding off it as it rose. It came to a rest in front of Skywalker, hovering unsupported. The lid of the box sprang open, and for the first time since he left Yavin-4, Luke Skywalker smiled.