The Rude Awakening- Monday afternoon
The closer they got to where they'd tracked Abeloth, the quieter Luke got, and Jaina didn't have to guess as to why. Of course, she wouldn't be her if she didn't say something about it anyway.
“A little advice from the junior Master on the Council?” she asked, looking over at him from the pilot's seat of the Void Jumper. “Not that I want to rush your planning or anything, but a mind divided against itself cannot win.”
Luke didn't look especially impressed. “You interrupted my meditations to quote a training aphorism that the Banthas learn in their second week?”
“Yes. That, and we’re about to get jumped.”
“You’ve sensed Ship?”
“Not yet,” Jaina replied. “But we’re entering a choke point, and it’s where I would mount an ambush.”
“And Abeloth is trying to draw us in," Luke agreed. “Ben has been reaching out to me, trying to let me know their situation is desperate.”
Jaina raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't tell the pilot?"
“You’re not the only one expecting an ambush," he replied.
Then there was a long pause. “And, I’m still trying to decide whether we’re doing the right thing," he said finally.
Of all the things Jaina could have expected him to say, that was not among them. "You mean by going after Abeloth?"
“Sort of,” Luke said. “I mean by going after Ben and Vestara.”
“It’s all part of the same problem," she insisted. "To recover Ben and capture Vestara, we have to take out Abeloth. Take out Abeloth, and we recover Ben and capture Vestara.”
“That’s one way of looking at it. But I went back and checked the Archives for anything on the Mortis monolith.”
“And?”
“I found confirmation in a report from Obi-Wan,” Luke said. “Everything Anakin said was correct."
Jaina considered him. “I see what you’re thinking. It was your father’s refusal that resulted in the death of the Ones. So maybe it’s your son’s destiny to become the new Keeper of the Balance?”
“Close,” Luke said. “I’m wondering if it’s Ben’s destiny to take the Daughter’s place and become the embodiment of the light side.”
“And Vestara’s to become the embodiment of the dark side?”
“After the way she played us, you have to admit she fits that role,” Luke said. “And since the two of them are in love …”
“You think it has the will of the Force written all over it,” Jaina said. “The two lovers, opposites bound together.”
“Something like that,” Luke admitted. “And you know it’s not just the Archives. I have other reasons for thinking this might be the will of the Force- all the Masters do.”
Yeah, she knew what that was about. She was still a little weirded out about it, in fact. Did the Force just know she got a promotion? “The dream. Ben and Vestara fighting for the Balance in the courtyard of the Font of Power.”
“That would be the reason,” Luke said. “If I had been the only one to see that, maybe it could be dismissed as a dream. But when all of the Masters have the same dream …”
“Okay, that’s hard to ignore,” Jaina agreed. “But the will of the Force? It’s pretty arrogant to claim the Force is telling you what it wants. That’s the kind of thinking that led Jacen to... to do what he did.”
Outside, they were clearly getting closer to their destination, and it seemed like Luke had to talk this out before they got there. “Jaina, I want to agree with you, to say that we have to do the obvious thing and rescue Ben. But-"
“But that’s the trouble,” Jaina finished, starting to get where he was coming from now. “You want to agree, and that’s why you can’t be certain it’s the right choice.”
It was probably natural, she thought. Or maybe it should be. It was hard to separate work and home life, and at times like this, maybe it wasn't bad to question your own actions and motivations. It was probably better for him to see where he stood objectively, especially considering some of his reactions back when Ben had been in danger from Jacen.
“There is no emotion, there is peace,” Luke agreed. “But I’m filled with emotion. I’m terrified for Ben, and it’s clouding my judgment.”
“Of course it is. You’re Ben’s father- and that’s part of the Force, too.”
Luke frowned. “I’m not sure how that fact helps.”
“I’m saying that you can’t ignore who you are in this,” she said. “If the hand of the Force is at play in Ben’s fate, then it’s at play in yours, too. You can’t hold yourself above the will of the Force, or you make the same mistake Jacen did.”
“So I should just do what I want to?” Luke shook his head. “Sorry, life is never-”
“No- I’m saying you should do what you know is right. And you do know what is right. It’s simple. it’s always simple.” Everything she'd gone through since the Vong War had proved that to her. It'd been nothing but hard decisions doing the right thing. Ultimately things worked how they needed to.
“So, act on principle,” Luke said. “Don’t worry about the results.”
“Mortals can’t always know the results,” Jaina replied. “Not for certain. We can only act according to our true natures, and leave the rest to the Force.”
“And we just ignore the visions the Force sends us?”
“Of course not. But we don’t take them literally, either. The Force doesn’t send comm messages, right?”
Luke half smiled. “I suppose not. When dreams speak, they do it in symbols.”
“Exactly,” Jaina said. She could work this out with him if it might help. “So, who’s Ben? The ideal Jedi, right?”
“And Vestara is pure Sith,” Luke nodded. “It’s the Jedi and the Sith who must take the place of the Son and the Daughter… and deal with Abeloth.”
“That’s my guess," she said. "The only thing I don’t see is, if the Father is dead, who keeps the Balance?”
Luke thought about it. "Us, I think. The Jedi and the Sith. If the galaxy enters a new age whenever Abeloth is freed- and the dream means that in this age, it's the Jedi and Sith, each following our own natures, who will keep the Balance."
“So, Jedi and Sith, at war forever?” Jaina asked. Not a happy thought.
“Not forever,” Luke said. “Just until the next time Abeloth is freed.”
“If we can stop her this time,” Jaina said. “And that’s a very big-”
She was cut off by the sudden screeching of proximity alarms. Looking at the gravity readings she realized it was too late to go any evasive maneuvering, so she activated the laser cannons and prepared to deal with this.
"Ship?" Luke asked.
"Could it be anything else?" Jaina asked.
"Not really." He undid his safety harness and stood. "Don't get vaped, but try to get past him. Make it look good."
“Wait, look good?” Jaina glanced over at his departing form. “Where are you going?”
“To strap into a medbay bunk,” Luke replied. “I don’t know how long this is going to take, so I should probably make sure my body is lying down when I leave it.”
[I have very honest love for Jaina being Luke's sounding board. NFB, 123, JFK, FBI, BYOB, Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD. Dialogue taken from Apocalypse by Troy Denning.]
“A little advice from the junior Master on the Council?” she asked, looking over at him from the pilot's seat of the Void Jumper. “Not that I want to rush your planning or anything, but a mind divided against itself cannot win.”
Luke didn't look especially impressed. “You interrupted my meditations to quote a training aphorism that the Banthas learn in their second week?”
“Yes. That, and we’re about to get jumped.”
“You’ve sensed Ship?”
“Not yet,” Jaina replied. “But we’re entering a choke point, and it’s where I would mount an ambush.”
“And Abeloth is trying to draw us in," Luke agreed. “Ben has been reaching out to me, trying to let me know their situation is desperate.”
Jaina raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't tell the pilot?"
“You’re not the only one expecting an ambush," he replied.
Then there was a long pause. “And, I’m still trying to decide whether we’re doing the right thing," he said finally.
Of all the things Jaina could have expected him to say, that was not among them. "You mean by going after Abeloth?"
“Sort of,” Luke said. “I mean by going after Ben and Vestara.”
“It’s all part of the same problem," she insisted. "To recover Ben and capture Vestara, we have to take out Abeloth. Take out Abeloth, and we recover Ben and capture Vestara.”
“That’s one way of looking at it. But I went back and checked the Archives for anything on the Mortis monolith.”
“And?”
“I found confirmation in a report from Obi-Wan,” Luke said. “Everything Anakin said was correct."
Jaina considered him. “I see what you’re thinking. It was your father’s refusal that resulted in the death of the Ones. So maybe it’s your son’s destiny to become the new Keeper of the Balance?”
“Close,” Luke said. “I’m wondering if it’s Ben’s destiny to take the Daughter’s place and become the embodiment of the light side.”
“And Vestara’s to become the embodiment of the dark side?”
“After the way she played us, you have to admit she fits that role,” Luke said. “And since the two of them are in love …”
“You think it has the will of the Force written all over it,” Jaina said. “The two lovers, opposites bound together.”
“Something like that,” Luke admitted. “And you know it’s not just the Archives. I have other reasons for thinking this might be the will of the Force- all the Masters do.”
Yeah, she knew what that was about. She was still a little weirded out about it, in fact. Did the Force just know she got a promotion? “The dream. Ben and Vestara fighting for the Balance in the courtyard of the Font of Power.”
“That would be the reason,” Luke said. “If I had been the only one to see that, maybe it could be dismissed as a dream. But when all of the Masters have the same dream …”
“Okay, that’s hard to ignore,” Jaina agreed. “But the will of the Force? It’s pretty arrogant to claim the Force is telling you what it wants. That’s the kind of thinking that led Jacen to... to do what he did.”
Outside, they were clearly getting closer to their destination, and it seemed like Luke had to talk this out before they got there. “Jaina, I want to agree with you, to say that we have to do the obvious thing and rescue Ben. But-"
“But that’s the trouble,” Jaina finished, starting to get where he was coming from now. “You want to agree, and that’s why you can’t be certain it’s the right choice.”
It was probably natural, she thought. Or maybe it should be. It was hard to separate work and home life, and at times like this, maybe it wasn't bad to question your own actions and motivations. It was probably better for him to see where he stood objectively, especially considering some of his reactions back when Ben had been in danger from Jacen.
“There is no emotion, there is peace,” Luke agreed. “But I’m filled with emotion. I’m terrified for Ben, and it’s clouding my judgment.”
“Of course it is. You’re Ben’s father- and that’s part of the Force, too.”
Luke frowned. “I’m not sure how that fact helps.”
“I’m saying that you can’t ignore who you are in this,” she said. “If the hand of the Force is at play in Ben’s fate, then it’s at play in yours, too. You can’t hold yourself above the will of the Force, or you make the same mistake Jacen did.”
“So I should just do what I want to?” Luke shook his head. “Sorry, life is never-”
“No- I’m saying you should do what you know is right. And you do know what is right. It’s simple. it’s always simple.” Everything she'd gone through since the Vong War had proved that to her. It'd been nothing but hard decisions doing the right thing. Ultimately things worked how they needed to.
“So, act on principle,” Luke said. “Don’t worry about the results.”
“Mortals can’t always know the results,” Jaina replied. “Not for certain. We can only act according to our true natures, and leave the rest to the Force.”
“And we just ignore the visions the Force sends us?”
“Of course not. But we don’t take them literally, either. The Force doesn’t send comm messages, right?”
Luke half smiled. “I suppose not. When dreams speak, they do it in symbols.”
“Exactly,” Jaina said. She could work this out with him if it might help. “So, who’s Ben? The ideal Jedi, right?”
“And Vestara is pure Sith,” Luke nodded. “It’s the Jedi and the Sith who must take the place of the Son and the Daughter… and deal with Abeloth.”
“That’s my guess," she said. "The only thing I don’t see is, if the Father is dead, who keeps the Balance?”
Luke thought about it. "Us, I think. The Jedi and the Sith. If the galaxy enters a new age whenever Abeloth is freed- and the dream means that in this age, it's the Jedi and Sith, each following our own natures, who will keep the Balance."
“So, Jedi and Sith, at war forever?” Jaina asked. Not a happy thought.
“Not forever,” Luke said. “Just until the next time Abeloth is freed.”
“If we can stop her this time,” Jaina said. “And that’s a very big-”
She was cut off by the sudden screeching of proximity alarms. Looking at the gravity readings she realized it was too late to go any evasive maneuvering, so she activated the laser cannons and prepared to deal with this.
"Ship?" Luke asked.
"Could it be anything else?" Jaina asked.
"Not really." He undid his safety harness and stood. "Don't get vaped, but try to get past him. Make it look good."
“Wait, look good?” Jaina glanced over at his departing form. “Where are you going?”
“To strap into a medbay bunk,” Luke replied. “I don’t know how long this is going to take, so I should probably make sure my body is lying down when I leave it.”
[I have very honest love for Jaina being Luke's sounding board. NFB, 123, JFK, FBI, BYOB, Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD. Dialogue taken from Apocalypse by Troy Denning.]