Disclaimer: The characters contained within are the property of
George Lucas. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Five year old Luke Skywalker investigates the secrets
of Coruscant's past.
Notes: This plot bunny hit me in church yesterday (I can't even
stop thinking of Q&O there!) The only good things about
being sick are that you get to stay at home and typing requires
neither eyesight or sitting (ie I wrote this while lying in bed
with my eyes closed. I love my notebook computer!)
This story is a little different, having arisen from one image
that popped into my head. I hope you enjoy it.
Luke Skywalker had always known he was special. No one ever
told him in so may words, but at five years of age, he was more
than aware of the interest surrounding him, his training, and
his sister. However Luke never really took much note of this.
It just was.
He was very lucky in many ways. His father was one of the
greatest Jedi Knights in the galaxy, often compared to legends
gone long before. His mother was equally as powerful within the
Senate, her compassion for every living species bringing new
peace. It was a glorious time for the Republic: where
prosperity, understanding and compassion flourished.
Luke felt very loved by everyone around him. But it wasn't just
the people, it was also the megalopolis. Coruscant, once a
metallic graveyard, was alive. Plants grew from every place
possible, whether indoors or out, with no obvious sustenance.
No one ever explained it to Luke --it was another thing that
just was. However, this was something he couldn't help
but wonder about.
He asked Master Yoda of it one day. "Why do flowers grow if
there's no dirt?" Luke had been taught only that morning that
plants required soil and sunlight and rain, things that were in
short supply on much of Coruscant's lower levels.
"It is the way of the Force," Master Yoda had replied sagely.
Luke stared at the Jedi, his intense blue eyes wide,
understanding that further answers were not forthcoming.
Coruscant certainly was a special place. The entire planet
bloomed and hummed with undercurrents of energy. Luke had been
told it was because of the Jedi Temple and the fact that so
many Jedi were gathered in one place. Having visited other
worlds with his mother or father upon occasion, Luke understood
that each world hummed with its own Force signature. But none
had the powerful core that Coruscant seemed to have.
It was something Luke grew more curious about each day. He
wanted answers, but even though he was special, no one would
tell him anything. Not even his father, who got a strange sad
look in his eyes when Luke asked him about it.
"Love made this place special," Luke's mother once told him.
But beyond that, she said nothing. It was as if a great secret
was being kept by a very few people. His mother knew, as did
his father, and Master Yoda. Perhaps a few on the Council. But
no more than that.
As he realised this consciously for the first time, Luke
smiled. He trusted the Force and it showed him new things every
day. So, there was a secret. It could only be a good secret,
Luke surmised, but then why were his parents sometimes sad?
//Leia?// he called, reaching out to his sister with his mind.
He sensed that she was inside working on her reading lessons.
She could be so serious at times whereas Luke preferred to
spend his free hours in the afternoon outside.
Luke received the image of a query from Leia --she hadn't quite
yet mastered mind speak at a distance. None of the other
children their age, or even those quite a bit older had such an
ability, so Luke didn't think any less of his sister whom he
loved more than anyone else in the universe. //Leia, there is a
secret.//
Again the question mark, but this time it was accompanied by a
scurrying of feet as the young girl left her books behind. She
quickly joined Luke outside in the park especially set aside
for young Temple initiates.
"What kind of secret, Luke?" Leia asked, ever curious.
"One about this planet. Everyone feels so happy here all the
time. Something makes us feel happy."
Leia nodded solemnly, implicitly trusting her brother's
intuition as she recognised the truth of his words.
Taking Leia's hands in his own, Luke closed his eyes. "If we
try really hard, I bet we can see where the love comes from."
He didn't need to ask Leia's permission as they joined their
minds, sending out a searching wave. It was an ability they'd
been aware of since they were very young, to be able to feel
the love of their twin and unite with the other to do amazing
things. Together, they could almost see the coloured pulses of
the Force that surrounded the planet, keeping it in harmony.
And those pulses seemed to have a source...
//It's the middle of the planet,// Leia said, but then her
perception changed. //No, higher than that...//
//...but still close,// finished Luke. Together they followed a
yellow strand of Force-directed peace down, down through the
layers of levels until finally, they sensed a source. //Beneath
the Jedi Temple.//
//Can we go see it?//
//We have to go see it!// This was Luke, full of conviction. He
broke the meld with Leia and the two young Jedi stared at each
other in excitement.
"What do you think it could be?" Luke asked as he grabbed
Leia's hand. They did not stop to ask permission as they dashed
into the Temple, Luke using a touch of the Force to render them
unnoticed to anyone they passed.
"A Force-directing rock, maybe?" Leia guessed. "Or a crystal?"
Nodding, Luke said, "It would have to be a huge crystal!
Remember when Master Teluna brought the purple crystal to
class?" The small stone had brought a sense of peace to all who
touched it.
The pair reached the elevators and together were quickly able
to override the security settings which prevented children from
accessing the lower levels of Coruscant where safety could not
be guaranteed even if the planet was free of crime. Luke felt
no twinge of guilt over what he was doing: he was so filled
with curiosity. Now that he knew there was a secret and he knew
the secret of the secret, he had to see it!
Leia, too, was burbling with excitement. They watched the
levels pass by, leaving the actual building of the Jedi Temple
far above them. Luke and Leia closed their eyes and again
reached out through the Force so they would know when to stop.
The pulse of the Force-directed peace grew stronger and
stronger.
There was no official level marking when the twins knew they
were close. Again they used the Force to stop the elevator and
open the doors on to a well-lit but small corridor. It had the
appearance of the above Temple's decor and the code of the Jedi
was written on the wall for all to see.
"This is a sacred place," Luke intoned, sensing the words of
others before him. He glanced at Leia, a little frightened, but
her face shone nothing but hope and curiosity. Their hands were
still joined and cautiously, they proceeded along the corridor.
It was not well-traveled but obviously well cared for. Not a
speck of dust was in evidence yet the very place had an aura of
a shrine which no one dared enter.
They were very close now. Luke could feel it; the radiation of
the Force that was no longer so enigmatic. This was pure
emotion, this was love that manifested itself as peace, growth,
joy, everything so good to the Republic, but it was borne of
love.
The twins rounded the final corridor and stopped in shock.
Luke's heart jumped into his throat and he felt momentary fear,
fear of being discovered in a place where he really shouldn't
be, but the pull had been too strong...!
Leia's words broke through his panic. "Are they alive?"
And Luke breathed again, taking in the sight before him for
what it was. Two human Jedi (there was no question of what they
were) stood tall, facing each other, their eyes locked. One was
ever so tall, with flowing long hair and a beard, and his large
hands, face up, grasped the wrists of the other. Somewhat
shorter with a braid that defined him as Padawan, the other man
leaned slightly inwards, his blue/green eyes shining with love.
They were not physically close, yet there was a sense of
intimacy about the handhold, the stance, that could not be
denied.
There was not a hint of movement about them, not even a breath.
Their faces were calm, they seemed to be in deep communication
with each other and through that, the Force. There was no doubt
that these Jedi, together, were the source of love that
permeated the entire planet.
Luke reverently stepped forward, reaching out one hand to
hesitantly touch the robe of the shorter man, the apprentice,
but something stopped him. He innately knew not to disturb
their peace.
"I think they are alive." Luke finally found his voice. Nothing
with such a powerful Force sense could be dead, could it?
Inanimate objects such as rocks could only amplify the Force,
not create pure pulses.
A none-too-subtle clearing of the throat caused Luke and Leia
to jump around in shock.
"Found them, did you," stated Master Yoda. Anakin Skywalker was
close behind him.
"Master Yoda, Father!" chorused the twins.
"This is a sacred place, children," Anakin said gravely. "You
should not have come here without permission." He frowned for a
moment before smiling warmly at Luke and Leia. "However, I did
much the same thing when I was a few years older than you."
Yoda affectionately swatted Anakin's knee with a stick. "Told
him to stay away, did I, but no, Anakin had to go see his
Master for himself."
"Your Master?" asked Luke, his eyes wide. "I thought Master
Yoda trained you!"
"Yoda did train me, but he was not my first Master," Anakin
revealed, gesturing towards the taller of the frozen Jedi.
"This man, his name is Qui-Gon Jinn. He found me on Tattooine.
I only knew him a few short days, but in that time he taught me
much about the Force." Anakin paused, reflectively. "Without
these two men, everything you know would not exist," he said.
Luke didn't understand and said as much.
"Their actions, stopped a Dark path they did," Yoda said. "Tell
you more when you are older, I shall."
Anakin shot a look at his former Master. "Master, you can't
tell them that. These children are strong in the Force, surely
they can handle the truth now." It was obviously a long-running
debate between the two. "I fail to see why you do not let
everyone know the truth about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan."
"An exhibition they would become!" declared Yoda indignantly.
"Put up signs now, we should, if that is how you feel!"
Anakin laughed softly, wondering if Yoda knew that there had
been many jokes in the Temple about Yoda himself being a museum
piece. Then his face sobered and he knelt down, eye-level with
his children. "Luke, Leia," he began gravely, "are you ready to
hear a story?"
They both nodded enthusiastically.
"You know I was rescued from slavery by your mother and two
Jedi --these men. This was a time of darkness for your mother
--her planet was under attack and there were the evil forces of
the Sith at work."
Luke shivered. The Sith was a name used to frighten young
children, something only whispered about as a Very Bad Thing.
"The Sith were amongst us but we did not recognise it. A Sith
Master pretended to be your mother's friend."
Yoda interrupted the tale. "Asked Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to
investigate, we did. But expect this we did not!"
"What happened?" Leia asked.
"We don't exactly know," Anakin revealed. "Obi-Wan was talented
in foresight, much as I am. At the time, I could feel death
coming, not for me but for someone close to me. I knew that
death was attached to the Sith that once attacked Qui-Gon."
Closing his eyes, Anakin remembered. "Perhaps Obi-Wan decided
that he could not let that happen.
"We were on the verge for leaving for Naboo once again when we
felt it. It was much like you sense now, the waves of Force
peace and love emanating from once single source. Coruscant was
very corrupt in those days, so it was almost like an explosion.
Everyone felt it. And in the Council chambers, the Sith Lord,
your mother's friend, was suddenly revealed in all his
darkness."
"These Jedi found the Sith!" exclaimed Luke, understanding.
"They did it together --they were stronger together. Just like
me and Leia." He looked at his sister, his eyes shining. And
then a cold thread of fear wormed into his heart.
"What if that happens to us?" Leia asked, her voice quavering
with fear. "I don't want to become frozen. I don't want to - to
die!"
"Dead they are not," Yoda reassured. "Only outside time, moving
so slowly that we cannot even comprehend it."
Anakin laid a reassuring hand on Leia's shoulder. "When the
Jedi found them, they were standing much as they are now in
Master Qui-Gon's chambers. Perhaps they were a little further
apart, it's hard to tell," Anakin continued. "No one told me
what was happening but I managed to find out; I watched as Jedi
Healers tried to get into their minds. But they never
succeeded, so they were brought here, where they could not be
harmed. And it was decided that what they have done is a good
thing."
"A good thing it is," interrupted Yoda again. "Good for the
Jedi, good for the universe."
"Luke, Leia, they chose to live in the moment," concluded
Anakin. "It won't happen to the two of you unless you choose
it. You will be strong Jedi, the strongest I have ever seen."
Yoda shot Anakin a warning look. "Perhaps one day you will be
able to get through to them."
"But what if they don't want it?" Luke wondered aloud.
No one could answer that question. Luke took one last look at
the Jedi, awed, before his father and Master Yoda led them away
from the sacred chamber. Leaving behind, for all purposes, two
statues, two Jedi who had sacrificed their futures to save them
all and live in the moment.
Time flashed by at a phenomenal rate but the Jedi did not
notice. They lived in the moment, one moment, brought about by
pure and selfless connection. Only moments before had Obi-Wan
said, "I love you,"; less moments since Qui-Gon had returned
the sentiment. They knew death was coming fast for Qui-Gon and
chose to ignore it. They basked in the light of love, unending
in one moment. They knew nothing but each other.
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