Coruscant [Monday, way, way late Fandom-time]
"Luke?"
The voice was soft but insistent. Luke turned to look and smiled. "Hello, Ben," he said, his voice sounding oddly tinny to his own ears. "It's been a long time."
"It has indeed," Obi-Wan answered gravely, "and I'm afraid it will be longer still until the next time. I've come to say goodbye."
The landscape trembled slightly, and a small part of Luke's mind remembered that he was asleep in his suite in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and not, as he would thnk as he glanced around, back on Tatooine.
"No, I'm not a dream," Obi-Wan replied, answering Luke's unspoken thought. "But the distances separating us have become too great for me to appear any other way. Now even this path is being closed to me."
"No," Luke insisted. "You can't leave us, Ben. We need you." A thought struck him. "And what about Dad?"
Ben smiled softly. "You don't need me, Luke. You are a Jedi, strong in the Force. And Anakin..." His smile faded and his eyes focused on something Luke couldn't see. "At any rate, the decision is not mine to make. I have lingered too long already, and can no longer postpone my journey from this life to what lies beyond."
Strong am I in the Force, Yoda's voice whispered in Luke's memories, but not that strong.
Ben was still speaking. "You, too, will face this same journey one day." His attention drifted again, then returned. "You are strong in the Force, Luke, and with perserverance and discipline, you will grow stronger still." His gaze hardened. "But you must never relax your guard. The Emperor is gone, but the dark side is still powerful. Never forget that."
Luke's own attention drifted, thinking back to the haunted look in Fandom Jaina's eyes. "I won't," he promised.
"And now, farewell," Obi-Wan said as the vision began to waver and become fainter. "I loved you as a son, and as a student, and as a friend. And Anakin--" The Jedi became practically invisible. "Well, Anakin already knows everything I would tell him. Until we meet again, may the Force be with you both."
"Ben--!"
But Ben turned and the image faded...and Luke knew he was gone. Then I am alone, he told himself. I am the last of the Jedi. Anakin, in self-imposed exile in a different galaxy, wasn't here, and didn't count.
He seemed to hear Obi-Wan's voice from a great distance. "Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."
The voice trailed off and was gone...and Luke woke up, crushed by a sudden sadness. First Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, then Obi-Wan, then Anakin (though that hadn't stuck), and now even Obi-Wan's spirit was gone. He reached for his comlink, heedless of the timezone differences that might exist, and called his father.
"Dad?" he said when the familiar voice answered the other end of the call. "I have some bad news."
[OOC: Taken, tweaked and folded into origami cranes from Timothy Zahn's Heir to Empire, 20 years old this year. Good Lord, I'm old.]
The voice was soft but insistent. Luke turned to look and smiled. "Hello, Ben," he said, his voice sounding oddly tinny to his own ears. "It's been a long time."
"It has indeed," Obi-Wan answered gravely, "and I'm afraid it will be longer still until the next time. I've come to say goodbye."
The landscape trembled slightly, and a small part of Luke's mind remembered that he was asleep in his suite in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and not, as he would thnk as he glanced around, back on Tatooine.
"No, I'm not a dream," Obi-Wan replied, answering Luke's unspoken thought. "But the distances separating us have become too great for me to appear any other way. Now even this path is being closed to me."
"No," Luke insisted. "You can't leave us, Ben. We need you." A thought struck him. "And what about Dad?"
Ben smiled softly. "You don't need me, Luke. You are a Jedi, strong in the Force. And Anakin..." His smile faded and his eyes focused on something Luke couldn't see. "At any rate, the decision is not mine to make. I have lingered too long already, and can no longer postpone my journey from this life to what lies beyond."
Strong am I in the Force, Yoda's voice whispered in Luke's memories, but not that strong.
Ben was still speaking. "You, too, will face this same journey one day." His attention drifted again, then returned. "You are strong in the Force, Luke, and with perserverance and discipline, you will grow stronger still." His gaze hardened. "But you must never relax your guard. The Emperor is gone, but the dark side is still powerful. Never forget that."
Luke's own attention drifted, thinking back to the haunted look in Fandom Jaina's eyes. "I won't," he promised.
"And now, farewell," Obi-Wan said as the vision began to waver and become fainter. "I loved you as a son, and as a student, and as a friend. And Anakin--" The Jedi became practically invisible. "Well, Anakin already knows everything I would tell him. Until we meet again, may the Force be with you both."
"Ben--!"
But Ben turned and the image faded...and Luke knew he was gone. Then I am alone, he told himself. I am the last of the Jedi. Anakin, in self-imposed exile in a different galaxy, wasn't here, and didn't count.
He seemed to hear Obi-Wan's voice from a great distance. "Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."
The voice trailed off and was gone...and Luke woke up, crushed by a sudden sadness. First Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, then Obi-Wan, then Anakin (though that hadn't stuck), and now even Obi-Wan's spirit was gone. He reached for his comlink, heedless of the timezone differences that might exist, and called his father.
"Dad?" he said when the familiar voice answered the other end of the call. "I have some bad news."
[OOC: Taken, tweaked and folded into origami cranes from Timothy Zahn's Heir to Empire, 20 years old this year. Good Lord, I'm old.]