Definitions of Destiny: Chapter 16
Title: Definitions of Destiny
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 16
"You look tired."
"Just found it hard to sleep."
Senator Danu nodded, but looked unconvinced. "I hope that whatever's troubling you might get a little easier soon."
Luke threw the Senator a quick smile. "I don't think the Jedi way of life is supposed to be easy."
He'd intended the remark to be humorous, aimed at deflecting Danu's concern. From the small frown Danu now wore, it was obvious it'd had the opposite effect.
"For what it's worth, in my opinion the Jedi Order made things harder for themselves than they needed to be."
Luke glanced at him curiously. "They were living through some very difficult times. I'm sure they felt they had to be vigilant."
"Vigilant, yes," Danu agreed. "But too narrow a perspective can cause weakness, even though its intention is to strengthen."
They'd reached one of the many pick-up points for the repulsorcars that traversed the spiraling corridors of the settlement.
"You thought the Jedi outlook was too narrow?" Luke asked.
"Don't misunderstand me. I had huge respect for the Jedi. I trusted and believed in what they were doing, just as the members of the Order believed in it. But something went wrong, and questions have to be asked don't they? I'm certain that you've been asking them yourself."
This went deeply into personal issues, and Luke wasn't sure he wanted to address those with Danu yet, given that they'd only known each other for a few days. But in conflict with his reluctance to confide in Danu was Luke's belief that Danu had asked him here for a reason. One that Danu had yet to disclose. And maybe he needed to give openness in order to receive it.
"It's all I ever do," he admitted. "Without any specific knowledge of anything, the right way isn't that obvious to me."
They climbed aboard a repulsorcar after it had shuddered to a halt beside them, and waited whilst Artoo maneuvered himself up the droid ramp.
"You doubt yourself?" Danu asked.
"Wouldn't you, if you had my family history?"
"In view of that, I'd say that it gives you even more reason for recognizing your strengths. And even though we've only just met, your reputation goes before you."
Luke rolled his eyes at that. "I've been called everything under the suns, mostly by people who've never even seen me."
Danu smiled. "I'm sure. But politicians are skilled in the art of reading between the lines. They have to be - few politicians willingly come out with the blunt truth. I don't know your full story of course, but even working through the exaggeration and misinformation I've heard, certain things that stood out about you have been confirmed by meeting you."
"What type of things?"
"Well, for one, I would say you stick by what you believe in, regardless of circumstances and danger."
Luke gave a quiet laugh. "Reckless, you mean?"
"Not at all. I'd describe it as committed. In any case, what you call recklessness I'd probably call determination. As for your inclination to doubt yourself, I suspect it's not shared by those who know you well."
"Some of the things I did went against what my Jedi teachers told me to do."
"But presumably your own instincts guided you, and they're not to be dismissed lightly."
"No - but it depends on what's behind the instincts."
"Very true," Danu conceded. "But in my opinion you're only strengthening the case in your own favor because I doubt you've been motivated by anything that could be considered bad."
"It's points of view again, though, isn't it? What I might think is a good thing, might be the beginning of something else in Yoda's opinion, and the Council must've set up their Code for a very good reason."
"Oh - that I'm not so sure about."
"You said the Code was vitally important to them."
"It was - but only because they'd been taught from childhood to believe in it. Once something's been set in place it sometimes become immovable - partly through the fear of what might happen if it did move."
Danu fell silent for a moment, glancing out of the repulsorcar at the passing structures of the colony's market-place. When he looked back at Luke, his face wore a trace of indecision, which convinced Luke that deeper reasons for the visit ran beneath their surface assignment.
"Tell me something Luke. Did your Jedi mentors talk to you about the prophecy?"
Luke frowned. "What prophecy?"
"Really, there will be others who will know better than I-"
The noise of the vehicle coming to a halt cut short Danu's explanation. They'd arrived once more in the administrative hub. Que-raik gave them a small bow of greeting in traditional Polis Massan fashion and guided them towards a low, private transport.
Danu gave Luke a swift smile of apology, implying that their conversation would best be left for a more suitable time.
"I'm sure you must both be hungry," Que-raik stated. "I have a table arranged in a nearby dining facility. We'll eat first, and then we can visit the research centers."
***
The clearance work was well underway in the Roqqini hangars, with teams working alternate shifts to keep the momentum going. Han had arrived just before dawn, his mood having turned restless and irritable the instant he'd woken up.
He was there to check on progress, not to join in, but wandering aimlessly about, watching others perfectly capable of managing without him, did little to improve his frame of mind.
Two members of the team were breaking up the old duracrete floor of an adjoining storage yard, the noise of the mechanical wrecking arms blocking out all other sound. A third breaker vehicle sat unused, and Han crossed over to it and swung himself into the cabin. He clamped a pair of ear-guards over his head and gripped the hand controls to maneuver the wrecking arm down to ground level.
The recoil as the durasteel bar bit into the yard surface was satisfyingly powerful, sending shockwaves up his arms that traveled all the way though the rest of his body. He braced himself and moved the breaker forward, watching shattered fragments of duracrete fly up from the ground, sometimes hitting the armored screen that protected him from injury. It was just what he needed. The sheer hard work of controlling the depth of the wrecker demanded full concentration and the noise, even with the ear-guards, effectively drowned out any spare ability to think.
He tossed a grin to the operators of the other breakers as he wove between them, no-one daring to take their eyes off the progress of their wrecking arms for more than a couple of seconds.
That was why he didn't spot Chewbacca until the job was finished. The Wookiee was standing just far enough away to avoid the spray of lethal debris, but close enough for Han to recognize the expression on his friend's face. It was a cross between exasperation and knowingness, and Han glared at him from the cabin of the breaker. He couldn't even do a simple task these days without Chewie analyzing his motives and reading some deeper meaning into Han's wish to remain busy.
He clambered down, still feeling the buzz of adrenalin and phantom vibration from the hammering action of the machine. He raised a hand to the other breaker drivers and moved across to Chewie.
The Wookiee's opening remark was half-serious and half-amused. If its intention had been to provoke Han into breaking the silence he'd maintained over Luke's departure, it succeeded in spite of his reluctance to talk about it.
"It's an assignment," he snapped back. "Jedi stuff. Since when did he want me hangin' onto his cloak every time he goes off somewhere? Anyway, I've already told you - he wants some time to think. He's not gonna get that if I was there hassling him and interfering, is he?"
Chewie's reply threatened to turn into a long lecture over the differences between interference and support, and how Han might've found it easier to demonstrate his faith in Luke by going with him rather than moping around here counting the hours until Luke got back. Han cut him short with an impatient shake of his head.
"Luke likes a lot of space. He wants to work things out in his own time. If I'd gone too, it'd just be an extra thing to worry about."
As usual, Chewbacca refused to accept his answer as the final word on anything, reverting to a now standard accusation that Han ought to have thought twice before standing back and letting Luke fly off to the back of beyond with his mind still full of indecision and guilt.
"What did you expect me to do?" he growled. "Chain him to my bed and tell him he's not going? It's his life."
The problem was, once Chewie got on the trail of something, he never gave up. And the goddamn Wookiee always seemed to know him better than he knew himself. But whatever Chewie said, Han didn't need to prove his faith in Luke because Luke already knew it was there. Trying to convince Chewie of that was another matter, so he decided on a different approach.
"Anyway, I've already taken your advice once, and now the whole damn base is talkin' about nothing else."
Chewbacca was serenely unperturbed, informing Han that if he ever paid attention to what went on around him, he'd discover that most people weren't very surprised over what had happened.
"Well, good for them," Han said acidly. "Glad I turned out to be so predictable."
Chewbacca was already walking back towards the temporary refreshment center they'd set up to keep the clearance teams motivated. It wasn't a bad idea - Han could use a mug of strong caf just to deal with the Wookiee's convoluted reasoning. He was almost as impossible to argue with as Luke...
Han followed behind, picking up every other grunt that Chewie made, only half-listening in any case. But then Chewie came out with something that made Han stop dead in his tracks.
"What did you say? He's not like other Jedi?" Han asked, irritated. "What're you talkin' about? You don't know any other Jedi!" Chewbacca didn't stop walking, and Han only just caught the tail end of his reply. He hurried after him.
"During the Clone Wars? You never told me that!" Han called out. "This had better not be another tall story of yours!"
Chewbacca stopped and waited for Han to catch up. He noted, in a low rumble, that he'd never told Han because Han had never asked.
"There's such a thing as volunteering information y'know. It's called makin' conversation."
Chewie chortled, and aimed himself back in the direction of the refreshments. Han could smell the freshly-brewed caf and took a deep breath in.
"I suppose you're gonna tell me next that Darth Vader was a close friend of yours," he muttered.
Han didn't get a reply until Chewie had supplied himself with a large flask of the rancid-looking pond-water he'd got so fond of, and had settled a steaming mug of bitter caf in front of Han. Han leaned into it, letting the sharp aroma assault his senses. It was too hot to drink it yet. He wrapped his hands around the mug, noticing how the heat from the vessel stung his newly-acquired blisters. He had the wrecking arm to thank for those.
Chewbacca had started up again - this time delivering some endless history lesson in a deep, throaty growl. Han let his attention slide, catching odd words and phrases every now and again. Jedi... Kashyyyk... Clones... Trade Federation's droids... Yoda...
Han took his hands away from his mug and stared at Chewbacca in disbelief. "Now I know you've really lost it. You're tellin' me you knew Yoda and this is the first time you've thought to mention it?"
He took his first, scalding sip of the caf, listening with more than a degree of skepticism to the tale of Yoda's escape from Kashyyyk, and how he was one of the few Jedi from that time to escape with their lives.
"Well he's dead now," Han said flatly. "You didn't think Luke might've liked to know this?"
The caf was still too hot but Han gulped it back anyway. He wondered if the entire Wookiee species had logic as warped as Chewie's, or if Han had just ended up with the one member of that race who thought withholding a piece of information was fine on the grounds that a person might be better off knowing as little as possible. Although Han had to admit that Chewie's reasons for coming to that conclusion weren't actually that ridiculous. Maybe the Jedi had failed because they'd become too fixed in their ways. Luke was different because he saw things from every angle and didn't categorize everything so rigidly that it left no room for free thought. But whereas Chewie thought that Luke being able to draw on emotions from both sides was a good thing, Han knew that Luke himself wasn't so sure. Just telling him that was never going to work though.
"He doesn't see it like that," Han explained. "He thinks he should be able to move past those emotions you're talkin' about. Thinks he should be more passive."
That met with a short, rough guffaw from Chewbacca. He followed it up with a comment that the prospect of a passive Luke was one of the most unlikely things he'd heard that morning, not to mention that fact that it'd be a very bad idea.
"Yeah, well I've told him that a thousand times. He just makes his own mind up about things."
Han downed the remainder of his caf, right down to the gritty sediment that had collected in the bottom of his mug. He frowned thoughtfully. Although he didn't like to admit that Chewie had a point, maybe he had gone about this in the wrong way. And who knew what crazy conclusions Luke might come to left to his own devices?
It wouldn't even be that difficult to arrange. He hadn't taken any real leave since arriving on Arudin, and his current role of supervising the clearance project was a pretty redundant one. The teams could manage perfectly well by themselves, and in any case Chewie would still be around if any problems turned up.
Luke had said it'd take three days to reach Polis Massa. But the Chandrilan cruiser was a slow ship, designed for short hyperspace hops and for dawdling about in sub-space. The Falcon had twice the cruiser's speed, and Han reckoned he could bypass a couple of the safety jumps Luke would've felt compelled to make to keep the Senator clear of Imperial hang-outs. In view of that, he could probably make the Subterrel Sector in just over a day.
***
The covered transport wound its way through the corridors of Polis Massa's colony, and then through the air-locked tunnels that dived down below the asteroid's surface. The Eellayin had once lived far beneath the ground in a self-contained warren of caverns.
Luke studied the rock walls as they passed along. The ancient inhabitants had covered the surface with intricate carvings showing complex and richly detailed scenes. Most depicted the Eellayin in various guises. But although the artists had painstakingly finished and perfected their work, the carvings came across as strangely emotionless to Luke. Looking at them gave him a peculiar feeling of emptiness, which he was certain the sculptors couldn't have intended. He wondered how the Polis Massans felt about them.
The transport slowed and came to a standstill beside a low workshop made from preformed plascrete blocks.
"The air is safe to breathe here," Que-raik explained. "In all but the furthest caverns, the oxygen levels are equal to those in the settlement above. Elsewhere, the air is slightly thinner, but perfectly acceptable."
The cavern they were in was large, encircled on all sides by niches containing further carved panels. The high arched roof dispelled feelings of claustrophobia, but couldn't rid Luke of the closed-in impression that assailed him. He thought it must stem from the sense of isolation the place had. It made him long for sun, and genuine light, and - unusually for him - crowded, bustling streets. Presumably it must've been different when the Eellayin occupied the caverns. Or had they deliberately cultivated the aura of detachment that seemed to ooze from the rock itself?
He glanced at Danu, but the Senator seemed unaffected by the atmosphere, gazing at their surroundings with appreciation. Luke drew his cloak more closely around him, attempting to ward off a chill that had little to do with the temperature of the caverns. If anything, it was almost too warm down here.
"I'll introduce you to Perek-tain. She's looking after our archaeology teams and can tell you more about the history of the place than I can," Que-raik said.
The Administrator led them inside the workshop. At the far end, a stooped and frail-looking female was conducting a patchy, static-riddled transmission. She signaled to them to wait.
Luke and Danu moved across to a series of low stone benches where the researchers had laid out numerous artifacts. It was the usual detritus of life. Broken tools, fragments of kitchen ware, drinking vessels and pieces of decaying furniture. There seemed very little to show for thousands of years of history, but Luke imagined this was only a small representation of what they'd found.
Perek-tain ended her communication and stood up, making a small grunt of exertion as she did so. She gave the customary bow of her head, which Luke and Danu returned.
"Welcome to you both. It's an honor to have visitors from the Alliance."
"It's an honor to be here," Danu said. "We feel privileged that you've allowed us to see your work because I understand you wish for privacy until the research is completed."
Perek-tain nodded. "You'd be surprised what a cut-throat business this is. You wouldn't expect academic research to engender such intense feelings of rivalry, but sadly it does."
"Politics is much the same," Danu said dryly.
Perek-tain gave a small laugh. "That I can imagine." She turned to Luke. "I'm overjoyed that you've been able to make it out to us. I've always believed this place needed a Jedi to make it complete once more. I hope you'll wish to follow our research as closely as your predecessors did."
Luke smiled at her. "I only discovered their interest a few days ago. It's all very new to me, but I'd like to know more."
"Then let me show you."
Perek-tain led the way out of the hut towards the back of the cavern. Her age was indeterminable, but her slow and slightly labored gait seemed to confirm Luke's initial impression that she was elderly. She had about her an air of intense enthusiasm, which Luke wished he could at least partly match. Far from feeling a connection to the caverns, he felt out-of-place and uneasy, but putting his finger on why he felt that way was proving difficult.
The archaeologist took her time and led them through a series of caves, stopping in each to give them a brief description. In every cavern the Polis Massans had restored a number of objects. There were large stone bowls, inlaid chalices and stone blocks inscribed with strange, unfamiliar lettering. And everywhere there were more of the intricately carved scenes. Yet the more Luke looked around him, the more he failed to find the heart of the people who'd lived here. But they'd been Force-sensitives, their minds aligned to the same energy-field that ran through his own blood. There should have been a feeling of kinship instead of the increasing sense of alienation. It occurred to Luke that maybe the distance in time was simply too great and the Eellayin too long vanished for him to discern anything of their presence.
The set-up everywhere seemed geared towards ceremonial display, and there was little evidence for a more mundane existence. Where were the sculptures depicting everyday scenes of life instead of grave and austere forms of ritual? Where were the children's objects, or the small collections of mementos that almost every sentient being collected over the years? Luke was far from acquisitive, but even he had certain things he'd accumulated through time. Ordinarily, he'd have understood their absence to imply that the Eellayin had taken their possessions with them when they left, but Perek-tain had disabused them of this notion.
"There is no evidence that the Eellayin traveled beyond the confines of their world," she'd explained. "We believe they hadn't wanted to dilute their unusual lifestyle by assimilating influences from outside."
Yet Jedi had visited here, long before their friendship with the Polis Massans. As Luke studied the carved panels close up he saw other beings depicted, including humans. Shown in formal poses these were undoubtedly Jedi, their lightsabers held high, faces tranquil and calm. Looking at them, Luke felt again that peculiar sensation of not belonging. Yet surely this was what he'd come here for? To absorb these details of Jedi history and to somehow make them his own. But it was as though he was watching from a distance - an interested observer, but one with no emotional investment in this carefully recorded archive.
He moved across to another wall. Here, the peaceful nature of the Jedi had gone, replaced with another mood entirely. The panel showed a battle, with Jedi of all species wielding their lightsabers against vast armies of angular creatures. Peering more closely at the Jedi's opponents he noticed the manufactured joints and power packs of droids. He knew nothing of Eellayin history, but battles with such large numbers of droids must've been extremely unusual in their time.
"Battle droids," Perek-tain explained, noting Luke's scrutiny. "The carving depicts scenes from the Clone Wars."
Luke turned to her in bemusement. "How can it? You said the Eellayin disappeared thousands of years ago. Have these been done by your own people?"
Perek-tain shook her head, her demeanor one of suppressed excitement. "No, the Eellayin created them. There are many scenes like this throughout the caverns, from all periods of history."
"But..."
"They were Force-sensitives, and they used their abilities in a particular way. They could see fragments of the future."
Luke stared at her. "They carved their visions?"
"Yes."
Luke said nothing for a few moments. He looked back at the wall panel, his eyes tracing the sharp lines and uniform shape of the odd-looking droids. "Has everything they predicted happened?"
Perek-tain gave a small shrug. "Many things have - but there are other scenes showing events we know nothing of. Who's to say if they're of the future, or from the distant past? After all, the future is still to come."
Luke nodded slowly, beginning to understand the fascination the ancient race had for the Jedi. But the future was always in motion, Yoda had said. How could the Eellayin have been so certain that what they'd seen was going to happen? But then, Luke had been certain on Dagobah. He'd known, without a doubt, that Han and Leia were going to suffer.
So had the Jedi wanted to study the Eellayin in order to learn their secrets? To gain some control over their fragmented visions? To wish to face a known future involved a particular type of strength, but it also had strong elements of danger. To know in advance what was about to happen could've set in motion the wish to avert those events, but also the desire to exploit them for more malign reasons. It was intriguing, but something about the whole concept felt off to Luke. Just like his uneasiness, it was impossible to define exactly where that feeling came from.
"Is it okay to look further?" he asked, hoping for some time to wander about by himself and maybe try to pin down just why he felt such a strong aversion to the Eellayin.
"Of course," Perek-tain replied. "There are some things the Administrator and I need to discuss, so we'll leave you to yourselves for a short while. All the caverns link together in a long chain, so there's no possibility of getting lost."
Part fascinated and part repelled, Luke wandered slowly around the caves studying all the wall carvings closely. He saw nothing that meant anything to him historically, although depictions of Jedi appeared frequently. He'd left Senator Danu in one of the larger caves busily examining scenes that related to Kuatian culture, and the lack of company increased the air of strangeness the underground world possessed.
The further Luke went along the chain of caves, the more rugged and uneven the walkways became. He found himself breathing more rapidly, compensating for the reduced level of oxygen, but despite the discomfort, something made him want to explore as far as possible. The irregular path finally gave way to rough bedrock, slippery from the long-ago passage of feet. He'd reached the end of the chain, and there was nothing else to do but turn back and repeat his steps.
He wasn't sure why he didn't leave right away. The poor air quality was making him dizzy, and the light from the glowlamps barely reached the end of the path. Instead, he walked forward and placed his hand on the rock face in front of him. It was cold and damp, although there was no trace of moisture to be seen anywhere in the cave complex. A swirl of clammy air wafted across his hand and he frowned, looking down.
The entrance was almost invisible in the dim light, masked as it was by a natural column of rock that threw a deep shadow across the arch. But there was no mistaking what it was. There was yet another cave to explore.
Luke had to duck his head down under the low archway to enter it. It was smaller than the others and felt considerably older. The uneasiness that had struck Luke on entering the caves was much more acute here, and the artificial warmth of the previous caverns was absent. Here, the atmosphere was dank and oppressive, and the stale, oxygen-deprived air made it much harder to breathe. He shivered, and moved to the walls in an attempt to study the carvings. They were equally as detailed as the previous ones, but were worn down and smoothed in places from countless touching hands. Because there was no light in the cavern itself, apart from that which filtered through from the preceding cave, making out the images was almost impossible. He spent some time peering at the panels through the gloom before unclipping his lightsaber. He ignited it, causing light to bounce back off the walls and to fill the cave with an iridescent green glow.
He held the lightsaber up to the walls, trying to make out the worn designs. The formal, restrained tone of the other sculptures was missing, replaced by a turbulence of emotion that cried out from the walls. The scenes were all of Jedi, but they bore no resemblance to the peaceful composure of the Jedi shown in the first caves. Here, brutal death was the dominant theme. Each portrayal showed a Jedi brandishing a lightsaber above a mutilated body. In contrast, the lightsabers still clasped in the severed hands of the slain Jedi were crushed and useless. But by far the most chilling aspect of the images was the expression on the faces of the victors. They revealed a cruel, gloating triumph that seemed to mock everything the Jedi were supposed to stand for. Bewildered, Luke passed from one carving to the next, looking for some hint of compassion or integrity, but finding neither. Panel after panel exuded anger and hate, leaving no room for redeeming characteristics of any kind.
As well as the disturbing nature of the carvings, there seemed to be a symbolism in the cyclical layout of the panels. The date of the work felt irrelevant, because although the artists had created the depictions thousands of years ago, they came across as timeless, illustrating a rhythm of violence destined to repeat itself continually.
But when Luke reached the final panel he realized that he'd been wrong to visualize the carvings forming an unbroken circle. The last panel was the break, set apart from the first in the cycle not just by the arched entrance to the cave, but by a deliberate change in alignment. It was much lower down, and Luke had to crouch in front of it to see it clearly.
The carving was worn even smoother than the others. Again, it depicted death, but this time the emotions it gave off were very different. A man stood above the crumpled body of his slain victim but his lightsaber, instead of ignited in his hands, lay at his feet. Rather than looking down upon the dead Jedi with triumph and satisfaction, the victor looked upwards, his expression both serene and joyfully radiant. The man had his hands outstretched, and the palm of each held an object which Luke didn't recognize. They were roughly hemispherical, but with toothed edges that suggested each one was a half that interlocked with the other to form a whole. A fine tracery of decoration, interspersed with inscribed lettering, covered the surface of each object. Luke held the blade of his lightsaber closer to the panel, but the alien script was indecipherable to him.
He studied the face of the victorious Jedi again and followed the gaze the sculptor had created. It led up into the sky, where, worn and barely distinguishable from the surrounding stone, twin suns blazed down on the world below.
And suddenly Luke understood, realization flooding his mind and the knowledge burning into him, as fierce and powerful as the suns of Tatooine. He felt light-headed with it, steadying himself as he stood up. He recalled extinguishing his lightsaber, but didn't remember making his way out of the cave. It was the combined voices of Senator Danu and Perek-tain that pulled him back into reality.
"What happened?" Danu's voice was edged with anxiety.
Perek-tain's tone was softer, but just as insistent. "The air is much thinner in that cave. I should've warned you."
Luke shook his head. "It's okay. It's not the air."
Perek-tain studied him carefully. "These caves were discovered over five hundred years ago by our people, but I've only been here two years. I'm growing old, and I wanted to fulfill a life-time's ambition - to try to understand the race that my species has such a fascination with. I took over the day-to-day running of the research from Tiriss-elain, my predecessor, and have gained considerable knowledge of the main caves. But that cave is still an enigma to me."
"You've been inside it though?" Luke asked.
Perek-tain nodded. "Of course. It's by far the oldest cave down here. We assume it had some special significance for the Eellayin because they never altered it. Most of the other caverns were rebuilt over the centuries, and new sculptures were created over the top of earlier ones. But it was always Tiriss-elain's specialty - almost a private obsession. I've been happy to leave it that way. Somehow being in there makes me uncomfortable."
She cleared her throat and made a small, apologetic sound, as though she thought her sentiments would appear strange. "I remember when I first saw the carvings - I was sure they couldn't be Jedi, because I'd always believed the Jedi stood only for good. But like everything, the Jedi changed. There must've been an earlier time when things were different."
"No," Luke said quietly. "Your instincts were right. There's only one Jedi shown in there."
"But the clothing? The lightsabers? And we know the Eellayin's links with the Jedi go back for thousands of years."
"Their links weren't with the Jedi. At least, not at first."
Perek-tain shook her head, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Those are Sith. The Eellayin studied the ways of the Sith. And the Sith wanted to control the future."
Luke knew now that the panels depicted a succession of Sith masters and apprentices, their destinies a continual chain of betrayal and accession to power. There were thousands of years of Sith history shown in there, all coming to an end with one man. One apprentice who'd destroyed his master as he was destined to do, but whose motivation came from somewhere beyond the dark confines of Sith ideology.
The archaeologist was staring at Luke, visible shock etched across her face. "All the Jedi who visited... surely they weren't wanting to learn those ways too?"
Luke shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Understand it maybe. But I think the Eellayin changed. I think they spent the rest of their time trying to atone for having practiced Sith ways. It explains a lot of what I've felt here."
"But the visions - you're suggesting that seeing the future is using the Dark Side?"
"The Jedi see visions of the future too. But they don't attempt to manipulate others with it." As Vader had done, sending the images of Han's torture to him on Dagobah.
Danu frowned. "You said there was one Jedi on the panels."
"Yes. On the final one."
"So that marks the end of the Eellayin links with the Sith?"
"It marks the end of the Sith. It shows the death of the last one."
Something like recognition flashed across the Senator's face, and Luke was suddenly reminded of their unfinished conversation. Danu looked as though he was about to say something further, but Perek-tain spoke again before he could do so.
"Are you referring to Darth Vader's death?" she asked.
Luke shook his head again. "The Emperor's. Darth Vader was a Jedi. He's the Jedi on the final panel."
Polis Massan emotions were difficult to read, but Luke felt Perek-tain's astonishment ripple through the air. Alongside it, Senator Danu's excitement was unmistakable.
The Senator tuned to Perek-tain. "The Jedi who visited with your people - did they investigate that cave?"
"Oh yes, many times. Tiriss-elain always refers to it by the name the Jedi gave it. They called it the Cave of the Prophecy."
chapter 17
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 16
"You look tired."
"Just found it hard to sleep."
Senator Danu nodded, but looked unconvinced. "I hope that whatever's troubling you might get a little easier soon."
Luke threw the Senator a quick smile. "I don't think the Jedi way of life is supposed to be easy."
He'd intended the remark to be humorous, aimed at deflecting Danu's concern. From the small frown Danu now wore, it was obvious it'd had the opposite effect.
"For what it's worth, in my opinion the Jedi Order made things harder for themselves than they needed to be."
Luke glanced at him curiously. "They were living through some very difficult times. I'm sure they felt they had to be vigilant."
"Vigilant, yes," Danu agreed. "But too narrow a perspective can cause weakness, even though its intention is to strengthen."
They'd reached one of the many pick-up points for the repulsorcars that traversed the spiraling corridors of the settlement.
"You thought the Jedi outlook was too narrow?" Luke asked.
"Don't misunderstand me. I had huge respect for the Jedi. I trusted and believed in what they were doing, just as the members of the Order believed in it. But something went wrong, and questions have to be asked don't they? I'm certain that you've been asking them yourself."
This went deeply into personal issues, and Luke wasn't sure he wanted to address those with Danu yet, given that they'd only known each other for a few days. But in conflict with his reluctance to confide in Danu was Luke's belief that Danu had asked him here for a reason. One that Danu had yet to disclose. And maybe he needed to give openness in order to receive it.
"It's all I ever do," he admitted. "Without any specific knowledge of anything, the right way isn't that obvious to me."
They climbed aboard a repulsorcar after it had shuddered to a halt beside them, and waited whilst Artoo maneuvered himself up the droid ramp.
"You doubt yourself?" Danu asked.
"Wouldn't you, if you had my family history?"
"In view of that, I'd say that it gives you even more reason for recognizing your strengths. And even though we've only just met, your reputation goes before you."
Luke rolled his eyes at that. "I've been called everything under the suns, mostly by people who've never even seen me."
Danu smiled. "I'm sure. But politicians are skilled in the art of reading between the lines. They have to be - few politicians willingly come out with the blunt truth. I don't know your full story of course, but even working through the exaggeration and misinformation I've heard, certain things that stood out about you have been confirmed by meeting you."
"What type of things?"
"Well, for one, I would say you stick by what you believe in, regardless of circumstances and danger."
Luke gave a quiet laugh. "Reckless, you mean?"
"Not at all. I'd describe it as committed. In any case, what you call recklessness I'd probably call determination. As for your inclination to doubt yourself, I suspect it's not shared by those who know you well."
"Some of the things I did went against what my Jedi teachers told me to do."
"But presumably your own instincts guided you, and they're not to be dismissed lightly."
"No - but it depends on what's behind the instincts."
"Very true," Danu conceded. "But in my opinion you're only strengthening the case in your own favor because I doubt you've been motivated by anything that could be considered bad."
"It's points of view again, though, isn't it? What I might think is a good thing, might be the beginning of something else in Yoda's opinion, and the Council must've set up their Code for a very good reason."
"Oh - that I'm not so sure about."
"You said the Code was vitally important to them."
"It was - but only because they'd been taught from childhood to believe in it. Once something's been set in place it sometimes become immovable - partly through the fear of what might happen if it did move."
Danu fell silent for a moment, glancing out of the repulsorcar at the passing structures of the colony's market-place. When he looked back at Luke, his face wore a trace of indecision, which convinced Luke that deeper reasons for the visit ran beneath their surface assignment.
"Tell me something Luke. Did your Jedi mentors talk to you about the prophecy?"
Luke frowned. "What prophecy?"
"Really, there will be others who will know better than I-"
The noise of the vehicle coming to a halt cut short Danu's explanation. They'd arrived once more in the administrative hub. Que-raik gave them a small bow of greeting in traditional Polis Massan fashion and guided them towards a low, private transport.
Danu gave Luke a swift smile of apology, implying that their conversation would best be left for a more suitable time.
"I'm sure you must both be hungry," Que-raik stated. "I have a table arranged in a nearby dining facility. We'll eat first, and then we can visit the research centers."
***
The clearance work was well underway in the Roqqini hangars, with teams working alternate shifts to keep the momentum going. Han had arrived just before dawn, his mood having turned restless and irritable the instant he'd woken up.
He was there to check on progress, not to join in, but wandering aimlessly about, watching others perfectly capable of managing without him, did little to improve his frame of mind.
Two members of the team were breaking up the old duracrete floor of an adjoining storage yard, the noise of the mechanical wrecking arms blocking out all other sound. A third breaker vehicle sat unused, and Han crossed over to it and swung himself into the cabin. He clamped a pair of ear-guards over his head and gripped the hand controls to maneuver the wrecking arm down to ground level.
The recoil as the durasteel bar bit into the yard surface was satisfyingly powerful, sending shockwaves up his arms that traveled all the way though the rest of his body. He braced himself and moved the breaker forward, watching shattered fragments of duracrete fly up from the ground, sometimes hitting the armored screen that protected him from injury. It was just what he needed. The sheer hard work of controlling the depth of the wrecker demanded full concentration and the noise, even with the ear-guards, effectively drowned out any spare ability to think.
He tossed a grin to the operators of the other breakers as he wove between them, no-one daring to take their eyes off the progress of their wrecking arms for more than a couple of seconds.
That was why he didn't spot Chewbacca until the job was finished. The Wookiee was standing just far enough away to avoid the spray of lethal debris, but close enough for Han to recognize the expression on his friend's face. It was a cross between exasperation and knowingness, and Han glared at him from the cabin of the breaker. He couldn't even do a simple task these days without Chewie analyzing his motives and reading some deeper meaning into Han's wish to remain busy.
He clambered down, still feeling the buzz of adrenalin and phantom vibration from the hammering action of the machine. He raised a hand to the other breaker drivers and moved across to Chewie.
The Wookiee's opening remark was half-serious and half-amused. If its intention had been to provoke Han into breaking the silence he'd maintained over Luke's departure, it succeeded in spite of his reluctance to talk about it.
"It's an assignment," he snapped back. "Jedi stuff. Since when did he want me hangin' onto his cloak every time he goes off somewhere? Anyway, I've already told you - he wants some time to think. He's not gonna get that if I was there hassling him and interfering, is he?"
Chewie's reply threatened to turn into a long lecture over the differences between interference and support, and how Han might've found it easier to demonstrate his faith in Luke by going with him rather than moping around here counting the hours until Luke got back. Han cut him short with an impatient shake of his head.
"Luke likes a lot of space. He wants to work things out in his own time. If I'd gone too, it'd just be an extra thing to worry about."
As usual, Chewbacca refused to accept his answer as the final word on anything, reverting to a now standard accusation that Han ought to have thought twice before standing back and letting Luke fly off to the back of beyond with his mind still full of indecision and guilt.
"What did you expect me to do?" he growled. "Chain him to my bed and tell him he's not going? It's his life."
The problem was, once Chewie got on the trail of something, he never gave up. And the goddamn Wookiee always seemed to know him better than he knew himself. But whatever Chewie said, Han didn't need to prove his faith in Luke because Luke already knew it was there. Trying to convince Chewie of that was another matter, so he decided on a different approach.
"Anyway, I've already taken your advice once, and now the whole damn base is talkin' about nothing else."
Chewbacca was serenely unperturbed, informing Han that if he ever paid attention to what went on around him, he'd discover that most people weren't very surprised over what had happened.
"Well, good for them," Han said acidly. "Glad I turned out to be so predictable."
Chewbacca was already walking back towards the temporary refreshment center they'd set up to keep the clearance teams motivated. It wasn't a bad idea - Han could use a mug of strong caf just to deal with the Wookiee's convoluted reasoning. He was almost as impossible to argue with as Luke...
Han followed behind, picking up every other grunt that Chewie made, only half-listening in any case. But then Chewie came out with something that made Han stop dead in his tracks.
"What did you say? He's not like other Jedi?" Han asked, irritated. "What're you talkin' about? You don't know any other Jedi!" Chewbacca didn't stop walking, and Han only just caught the tail end of his reply. He hurried after him.
"During the Clone Wars? You never told me that!" Han called out. "This had better not be another tall story of yours!"
Chewbacca stopped and waited for Han to catch up. He noted, in a low rumble, that he'd never told Han because Han had never asked.
"There's such a thing as volunteering information y'know. It's called makin' conversation."
Chewie chortled, and aimed himself back in the direction of the refreshments. Han could smell the freshly-brewed caf and took a deep breath in.
"I suppose you're gonna tell me next that Darth Vader was a close friend of yours," he muttered.
Han didn't get a reply until Chewie had supplied himself with a large flask of the rancid-looking pond-water he'd got so fond of, and had settled a steaming mug of bitter caf in front of Han. Han leaned into it, letting the sharp aroma assault his senses. It was too hot to drink it yet. He wrapped his hands around the mug, noticing how the heat from the vessel stung his newly-acquired blisters. He had the wrecking arm to thank for those.
Chewbacca had started up again - this time delivering some endless history lesson in a deep, throaty growl. Han let his attention slide, catching odd words and phrases every now and again. Jedi... Kashyyyk... Clones... Trade Federation's droids... Yoda...
Han took his hands away from his mug and stared at Chewbacca in disbelief. "Now I know you've really lost it. You're tellin' me you knew Yoda and this is the first time you've thought to mention it?"
He took his first, scalding sip of the caf, listening with more than a degree of skepticism to the tale of Yoda's escape from Kashyyyk, and how he was one of the few Jedi from that time to escape with their lives.
"Well he's dead now," Han said flatly. "You didn't think Luke might've liked to know this?"
The caf was still too hot but Han gulped it back anyway. He wondered if the entire Wookiee species had logic as warped as Chewie's, or if Han had just ended up with the one member of that race who thought withholding a piece of information was fine on the grounds that a person might be better off knowing as little as possible. Although Han had to admit that Chewie's reasons for coming to that conclusion weren't actually that ridiculous. Maybe the Jedi had failed because they'd become too fixed in their ways. Luke was different because he saw things from every angle and didn't categorize everything so rigidly that it left no room for free thought. But whereas Chewie thought that Luke being able to draw on emotions from both sides was a good thing, Han knew that Luke himself wasn't so sure. Just telling him that was never going to work though.
"He doesn't see it like that," Han explained. "He thinks he should be able to move past those emotions you're talkin' about. Thinks he should be more passive."
That met with a short, rough guffaw from Chewbacca. He followed it up with a comment that the prospect of a passive Luke was one of the most unlikely things he'd heard that morning, not to mention that fact that it'd be a very bad idea.
"Yeah, well I've told him that a thousand times. He just makes his own mind up about things."
Han downed the remainder of his caf, right down to the gritty sediment that had collected in the bottom of his mug. He frowned thoughtfully. Although he didn't like to admit that Chewie had a point, maybe he had gone about this in the wrong way. And who knew what crazy conclusions Luke might come to left to his own devices?
It wouldn't even be that difficult to arrange. He hadn't taken any real leave since arriving on Arudin, and his current role of supervising the clearance project was a pretty redundant one. The teams could manage perfectly well by themselves, and in any case Chewie would still be around if any problems turned up.
Luke had said it'd take three days to reach Polis Massa. But the Chandrilan cruiser was a slow ship, designed for short hyperspace hops and for dawdling about in sub-space. The Falcon had twice the cruiser's speed, and Han reckoned he could bypass a couple of the safety jumps Luke would've felt compelled to make to keep the Senator clear of Imperial hang-outs. In view of that, he could probably make the Subterrel Sector in just over a day.
***
The covered transport wound its way through the corridors of Polis Massa's colony, and then through the air-locked tunnels that dived down below the asteroid's surface. The Eellayin had once lived far beneath the ground in a self-contained warren of caverns.
Luke studied the rock walls as they passed along. The ancient inhabitants had covered the surface with intricate carvings showing complex and richly detailed scenes. Most depicted the Eellayin in various guises. But although the artists had painstakingly finished and perfected their work, the carvings came across as strangely emotionless to Luke. Looking at them gave him a peculiar feeling of emptiness, which he was certain the sculptors couldn't have intended. He wondered how the Polis Massans felt about them.
The transport slowed and came to a standstill beside a low workshop made from preformed plascrete blocks.
"The air is safe to breathe here," Que-raik explained. "In all but the furthest caverns, the oxygen levels are equal to those in the settlement above. Elsewhere, the air is slightly thinner, but perfectly acceptable."
The cavern they were in was large, encircled on all sides by niches containing further carved panels. The high arched roof dispelled feelings of claustrophobia, but couldn't rid Luke of the closed-in impression that assailed him. He thought it must stem from the sense of isolation the place had. It made him long for sun, and genuine light, and - unusually for him - crowded, bustling streets. Presumably it must've been different when the Eellayin occupied the caverns. Or had they deliberately cultivated the aura of detachment that seemed to ooze from the rock itself?
He glanced at Danu, but the Senator seemed unaffected by the atmosphere, gazing at their surroundings with appreciation. Luke drew his cloak more closely around him, attempting to ward off a chill that had little to do with the temperature of the caverns. If anything, it was almost too warm down here.
"I'll introduce you to Perek-tain. She's looking after our archaeology teams and can tell you more about the history of the place than I can," Que-raik said.
The Administrator led them inside the workshop. At the far end, a stooped and frail-looking female was conducting a patchy, static-riddled transmission. She signaled to them to wait.
Luke and Danu moved across to a series of low stone benches where the researchers had laid out numerous artifacts. It was the usual detritus of life. Broken tools, fragments of kitchen ware, drinking vessels and pieces of decaying furniture. There seemed very little to show for thousands of years of history, but Luke imagined this was only a small representation of what they'd found.
Perek-tain ended her communication and stood up, making a small grunt of exertion as she did so. She gave the customary bow of her head, which Luke and Danu returned.
"Welcome to you both. It's an honor to have visitors from the Alliance."
"It's an honor to be here," Danu said. "We feel privileged that you've allowed us to see your work because I understand you wish for privacy until the research is completed."
Perek-tain nodded. "You'd be surprised what a cut-throat business this is. You wouldn't expect academic research to engender such intense feelings of rivalry, but sadly it does."
"Politics is much the same," Danu said dryly.
Perek-tain gave a small laugh. "That I can imagine." She turned to Luke. "I'm overjoyed that you've been able to make it out to us. I've always believed this place needed a Jedi to make it complete once more. I hope you'll wish to follow our research as closely as your predecessors did."
Luke smiled at her. "I only discovered their interest a few days ago. It's all very new to me, but I'd like to know more."
"Then let me show you."
Perek-tain led the way out of the hut towards the back of the cavern. Her age was indeterminable, but her slow and slightly labored gait seemed to confirm Luke's initial impression that she was elderly. She had about her an air of intense enthusiasm, which Luke wished he could at least partly match. Far from feeling a connection to the caverns, he felt out-of-place and uneasy, but putting his finger on why he felt that way was proving difficult.
The archaeologist took her time and led them through a series of caves, stopping in each to give them a brief description. In every cavern the Polis Massans had restored a number of objects. There were large stone bowls, inlaid chalices and stone blocks inscribed with strange, unfamiliar lettering. And everywhere there were more of the intricately carved scenes. Yet the more Luke looked around him, the more he failed to find the heart of the people who'd lived here. But they'd been Force-sensitives, their minds aligned to the same energy-field that ran through his own blood. There should have been a feeling of kinship instead of the increasing sense of alienation. It occurred to Luke that maybe the distance in time was simply too great and the Eellayin too long vanished for him to discern anything of their presence.
The set-up everywhere seemed geared towards ceremonial display, and there was little evidence for a more mundane existence. Where were the sculptures depicting everyday scenes of life instead of grave and austere forms of ritual? Where were the children's objects, or the small collections of mementos that almost every sentient being collected over the years? Luke was far from acquisitive, but even he had certain things he'd accumulated through time. Ordinarily, he'd have understood their absence to imply that the Eellayin had taken their possessions with them when they left, but Perek-tain had disabused them of this notion.
"There is no evidence that the Eellayin traveled beyond the confines of their world," she'd explained. "We believe they hadn't wanted to dilute their unusual lifestyle by assimilating influences from outside."
Yet Jedi had visited here, long before their friendship with the Polis Massans. As Luke studied the carved panels close up he saw other beings depicted, including humans. Shown in formal poses these were undoubtedly Jedi, their lightsabers held high, faces tranquil and calm. Looking at them, Luke felt again that peculiar sensation of not belonging. Yet surely this was what he'd come here for? To absorb these details of Jedi history and to somehow make them his own. But it was as though he was watching from a distance - an interested observer, but one with no emotional investment in this carefully recorded archive.
He moved across to another wall. Here, the peaceful nature of the Jedi had gone, replaced with another mood entirely. The panel showed a battle, with Jedi of all species wielding their lightsabers against vast armies of angular creatures. Peering more closely at the Jedi's opponents he noticed the manufactured joints and power packs of droids. He knew nothing of Eellayin history, but battles with such large numbers of droids must've been extremely unusual in their time.
"Battle droids," Perek-tain explained, noting Luke's scrutiny. "The carving depicts scenes from the Clone Wars."
Luke turned to her in bemusement. "How can it? You said the Eellayin disappeared thousands of years ago. Have these been done by your own people?"
Perek-tain shook her head, her demeanor one of suppressed excitement. "No, the Eellayin created them. There are many scenes like this throughout the caverns, from all periods of history."
"But..."
"They were Force-sensitives, and they used their abilities in a particular way. They could see fragments of the future."
Luke stared at her. "They carved their visions?"
"Yes."
Luke said nothing for a few moments. He looked back at the wall panel, his eyes tracing the sharp lines and uniform shape of the odd-looking droids. "Has everything they predicted happened?"
Perek-tain gave a small shrug. "Many things have - but there are other scenes showing events we know nothing of. Who's to say if they're of the future, or from the distant past? After all, the future is still to come."
Luke nodded slowly, beginning to understand the fascination the ancient race had for the Jedi. But the future was always in motion, Yoda had said. How could the Eellayin have been so certain that what they'd seen was going to happen? But then, Luke had been certain on Dagobah. He'd known, without a doubt, that Han and Leia were going to suffer.
So had the Jedi wanted to study the Eellayin in order to learn their secrets? To gain some control over their fragmented visions? To wish to face a known future involved a particular type of strength, but it also had strong elements of danger. To know in advance what was about to happen could've set in motion the wish to avert those events, but also the desire to exploit them for more malign reasons. It was intriguing, but something about the whole concept felt off to Luke. Just like his uneasiness, it was impossible to define exactly where that feeling came from.
"Is it okay to look further?" he asked, hoping for some time to wander about by himself and maybe try to pin down just why he felt such a strong aversion to the Eellayin.
"Of course," Perek-tain replied. "There are some things the Administrator and I need to discuss, so we'll leave you to yourselves for a short while. All the caverns link together in a long chain, so there's no possibility of getting lost."
Part fascinated and part repelled, Luke wandered slowly around the caves studying all the wall carvings closely. He saw nothing that meant anything to him historically, although depictions of Jedi appeared frequently. He'd left Senator Danu in one of the larger caves busily examining scenes that related to Kuatian culture, and the lack of company increased the air of strangeness the underground world possessed.
The further Luke went along the chain of caves, the more rugged and uneven the walkways became. He found himself breathing more rapidly, compensating for the reduced level of oxygen, but despite the discomfort, something made him want to explore as far as possible. The irregular path finally gave way to rough bedrock, slippery from the long-ago passage of feet. He'd reached the end of the chain, and there was nothing else to do but turn back and repeat his steps.
He wasn't sure why he didn't leave right away. The poor air quality was making him dizzy, and the light from the glowlamps barely reached the end of the path. Instead, he walked forward and placed his hand on the rock face in front of him. It was cold and damp, although there was no trace of moisture to be seen anywhere in the cave complex. A swirl of clammy air wafted across his hand and he frowned, looking down.
The entrance was almost invisible in the dim light, masked as it was by a natural column of rock that threw a deep shadow across the arch. But there was no mistaking what it was. There was yet another cave to explore.
Luke had to duck his head down under the low archway to enter it. It was smaller than the others and felt considerably older. The uneasiness that had struck Luke on entering the caves was much more acute here, and the artificial warmth of the previous caverns was absent. Here, the atmosphere was dank and oppressive, and the stale, oxygen-deprived air made it much harder to breathe. He shivered, and moved to the walls in an attempt to study the carvings. They were equally as detailed as the previous ones, but were worn down and smoothed in places from countless touching hands. Because there was no light in the cavern itself, apart from that which filtered through from the preceding cave, making out the images was almost impossible. He spent some time peering at the panels through the gloom before unclipping his lightsaber. He ignited it, causing light to bounce back off the walls and to fill the cave with an iridescent green glow.
He held the lightsaber up to the walls, trying to make out the worn designs. The formal, restrained tone of the other sculptures was missing, replaced by a turbulence of emotion that cried out from the walls. The scenes were all of Jedi, but they bore no resemblance to the peaceful composure of the Jedi shown in the first caves. Here, brutal death was the dominant theme. Each portrayal showed a Jedi brandishing a lightsaber above a mutilated body. In contrast, the lightsabers still clasped in the severed hands of the slain Jedi were crushed and useless. But by far the most chilling aspect of the images was the expression on the faces of the victors. They revealed a cruel, gloating triumph that seemed to mock everything the Jedi were supposed to stand for. Bewildered, Luke passed from one carving to the next, looking for some hint of compassion or integrity, but finding neither. Panel after panel exuded anger and hate, leaving no room for redeeming characteristics of any kind.
As well as the disturbing nature of the carvings, there seemed to be a symbolism in the cyclical layout of the panels. The date of the work felt irrelevant, because although the artists had created the depictions thousands of years ago, they came across as timeless, illustrating a rhythm of violence destined to repeat itself continually.
But when Luke reached the final panel he realized that he'd been wrong to visualize the carvings forming an unbroken circle. The last panel was the break, set apart from the first in the cycle not just by the arched entrance to the cave, but by a deliberate change in alignment. It was much lower down, and Luke had to crouch in front of it to see it clearly.
The carving was worn even smoother than the others. Again, it depicted death, but this time the emotions it gave off were very different. A man stood above the crumpled body of his slain victim but his lightsaber, instead of ignited in his hands, lay at his feet. Rather than looking down upon the dead Jedi with triumph and satisfaction, the victor looked upwards, his expression both serene and joyfully radiant. The man had his hands outstretched, and the palm of each held an object which Luke didn't recognize. They were roughly hemispherical, but with toothed edges that suggested each one was a half that interlocked with the other to form a whole. A fine tracery of decoration, interspersed with inscribed lettering, covered the surface of each object. Luke held the blade of his lightsaber closer to the panel, but the alien script was indecipherable to him.
He studied the face of the victorious Jedi again and followed the gaze the sculptor had created. It led up into the sky, where, worn and barely distinguishable from the surrounding stone, twin suns blazed down on the world below.
And suddenly Luke understood, realization flooding his mind and the knowledge burning into him, as fierce and powerful as the suns of Tatooine. He felt light-headed with it, steadying himself as he stood up. He recalled extinguishing his lightsaber, but didn't remember making his way out of the cave. It was the combined voices of Senator Danu and Perek-tain that pulled him back into reality.
"What happened?" Danu's voice was edged with anxiety.
Perek-tain's tone was softer, but just as insistent. "The air is much thinner in that cave. I should've warned you."
Luke shook his head. "It's okay. It's not the air."
Perek-tain studied him carefully. "These caves were discovered over five hundred years ago by our people, but I've only been here two years. I'm growing old, and I wanted to fulfill a life-time's ambition - to try to understand the race that my species has such a fascination with. I took over the day-to-day running of the research from Tiriss-elain, my predecessor, and have gained considerable knowledge of the main caves. But that cave is still an enigma to me."
"You've been inside it though?" Luke asked.
Perek-tain nodded. "Of course. It's by far the oldest cave down here. We assume it had some special significance for the Eellayin because they never altered it. Most of the other caverns were rebuilt over the centuries, and new sculptures were created over the top of earlier ones. But it was always Tiriss-elain's specialty - almost a private obsession. I've been happy to leave it that way. Somehow being in there makes me uncomfortable."
She cleared her throat and made a small, apologetic sound, as though she thought her sentiments would appear strange. "I remember when I first saw the carvings - I was sure they couldn't be Jedi, because I'd always believed the Jedi stood only for good. But like everything, the Jedi changed. There must've been an earlier time when things were different."
"No," Luke said quietly. "Your instincts were right. There's only one Jedi shown in there."
"But the clothing? The lightsabers? And we know the Eellayin's links with the Jedi go back for thousands of years."
"Their links weren't with the Jedi. At least, not at first."
Perek-tain shook her head, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Those are Sith. The Eellayin studied the ways of the Sith. And the Sith wanted to control the future."
Luke knew now that the panels depicted a succession of Sith masters and apprentices, their destinies a continual chain of betrayal and accession to power. There were thousands of years of Sith history shown in there, all coming to an end with one man. One apprentice who'd destroyed his master as he was destined to do, but whose motivation came from somewhere beyond the dark confines of Sith ideology.
The archaeologist was staring at Luke, visible shock etched across her face. "All the Jedi who visited... surely they weren't wanting to learn those ways too?"
Luke shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Understand it maybe. But I think the Eellayin changed. I think they spent the rest of their time trying to atone for having practiced Sith ways. It explains a lot of what I've felt here."
"But the visions - you're suggesting that seeing the future is using the Dark Side?"
"The Jedi see visions of the future too. But they don't attempt to manipulate others with it." As Vader had done, sending the images of Han's torture to him on Dagobah.
Danu frowned. "You said there was one Jedi on the panels."
"Yes. On the final one."
"So that marks the end of the Eellayin links with the Sith?"
"It marks the end of the Sith. It shows the death of the last one."
Something like recognition flashed across the Senator's face, and Luke was suddenly reminded of their unfinished conversation. Danu looked as though he was about to say something further, but Perek-tain spoke again before he could do so.
"Are you referring to Darth Vader's death?" she asked.
Luke shook his head again. "The Emperor's. Darth Vader was a Jedi. He's the Jedi on the final panel."
Polis Massan emotions were difficult to read, but Luke felt Perek-tain's astonishment ripple through the air. Alongside it, Senator Danu's excitement was unmistakable.
The Senator tuned to Perek-tain. "The Jedi who visited with your people - did they investigate that cave?"
"Oh yes, many times. Tiriss-elain always refers to it by the name the Jedi gave it. They called it the Cave of the Prophecy."
chapter 17