Out
of the Shadows 16
Coruscant
Mara
dug into the bottom of her carryall and pulled out a couple of cylindrical
lengths of boa wood that she screwed together to form a staff as long as she was
tall. ‘I don’t know for certain if Organa will turn up today after
yesterday’s debacle,’ she told herself. ‘But I think she wants to know
more about Skywalker’s visit to Druckenwell.’ It felt strange to think of
Skywalker and Organa as brother and sister – they looked nothing alike.
However, the facts didn’t lie. The genetic material had proved to be a nearly
perfect match.
She
took a quick glance at her wrist chrono. “I might as well do something with my
time, Organa’s never usually this late.” And for some reason, she didn’t
feel like dancing. Placing her music chip into the machine, she selected a music
track containing a pulsating, driving, rhythmic melody and launched herself into
her workout, athletically wielding her weapon with ease.
For
the first time in years, Mara felt as if her life had direction. It wasn’t
perhaps the direction she’d thought that it might have taken. Her lips
twitched with ironic amusement. In fact some sort of destination would be a good
thing. She closed her eyes and reached out for the Force and found the
connection instantly. Her eyes flew open in surprise and her grip on the staff
slipped. It had never happened so easily before and she could feel a presence
approaching. Leia Organa, no, Leia Skywalker had almost as powerful a
presence as her brother had.
Cautiously,
Leia peered in through the transparisteel view port to see if Mara was there and
tapped quietly on the door.
Without
thinking, Mara stretched out her hand and, pausing the music with the Force,
indicated that Leia, dressed in dark red pants and a short grey tunic, her hair
neatly braided and coiled at the nape of her neck, should join her.
“What
are you doing?” Leia asked Mara, as the red head, clad from head to toe in a
black body suit, returned to working through a series of sharp aggressive lunges
with the staff grasped firmly in her hands. “It looks familiar.”
“Echani,”
Mara said, breathing a little heavily. “It lacks finesse but can be very
effective if done properly. I took part in some classes taken by those
considered to be experts in this style.” She didn’t tell the princess that
Echani had been the premier fighting style taught to Palpatine’s red clad
royal guards. She’d already given away far too much about herself. “It was
then decided that I should learn many styles of fighting. Teras Kasi, K’thri,
Stava, K’tara, to name but a few.”
“And
you trained in this for how long?” Leia was curious. This was far more than
mere routine. This woman was a master of the art.
“Since
I was a little girl.”
“How
old were you when you started?”
“I
can’t remember,” Mara dismissed brusquely but she was lying; she remembered
very well. Mara had been just four years old and they’d had to cut a special
length of wood for her to practice with. Even the training staffs had been too
large. “I was told it would help keep me alive and it has.”
“My
father, Bail Organa, used to like watching K’thri bouts as a form of
relaxation,” Leia said thoughtfully, remembering. “He liked nothing better
than to sit in our informal lounge, watching the matches on the holo viewer. He
said that he enjoyed their skill. I had no time for it. I just thought that it
was two grown men beating each other senseless – I still think that.” Her
expression saddened. “I still miss him.” He had been her real father – a
wonderful man, not that…that monster.
“There
is skill involved but it can look like primitives beating one another to a pulp
to outsiders.” Mara dropped her staff which fell to the ground with a clatter.
“K’Tara on the other hand uses stealth to achieve its aims in short quick
bursts. It expends little energy and attracts almost no attention. I can teach
you if you like.” Mara blinked as the words escaped from her own mouth. Where
had that come from?
Leia’s
mouth dropped open in surprise. “I’d like that, thank you.” The princess
rightly assumed that this was a form of apology for yesterday’s proton torpedo
and this was all she was going to get from the redhead. But the subject had to
be aired for them to move forward. “Mara, you don’t really want to kill my
brother, do you?”
“Oh
yes.”
“But
he’s done nothing to you.”
“I
told you, he ruined my life.”
“Your
life seems fine to me, better than most.”
Mara’s
green eyes flashed coldly. “I had power…”
“You’re
free and alive, you have employment, the use of your own two hands and you have
the Force.” Leia wasn’t about to back down. She did not want this woman as
an enemy and something told her it was vital that she win her around. Perhaps,
Luke’s life would one day depend on that. “In my view that is power.”
Mara
shook her head. Damn but Organa was good. If these were the kind of words that
led a rebellion to victory, she could well believe it and not for the first
time. She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s
what you do with it. You will never regain what you had in the way that you had
it. You may even find that you no longer want it the same way that you did.
Other things become more important.” Leia rubbed her hands together. As far as
she was concerned, the subject was finished for the moment.
“There’s
more to it than that,” Mara said shortly, hanging onto it like a rancor with a
bone.
“If
you say so.” Leia shrugged casually.
“I
do.” The green eyes narrowed dangerously, daring her to continue.
Leia
tilted her head thoughtfully, unfazed by the hostile expression glaring back at
her. She gazed at Mara as if she was trying to fathom the way that the
redhead’s mind worked. This woman was determined and had it in her to find
Luke. When she spoke again, it was a single word. “Dagobah,” she said.
“What?”
“Dagobah.”
“Never
heard of it. What is it?” She was wasting her time; Organa would be no help at
all.
“It’s
a ‘where’ is it. If you want to find my brother, that’s the place or
planet I think he’s hiding out on. I think it’s a place. But I could be
wrong.”
“Then
where is it?”
“I
don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me.”
“You
don’t know,” Mara said incredulously. “Let me get this straight. Your
brother has been gone three years and you have a place name but you haven’t
found out where it is. Oh, come on. Do you expect me to believe that?”
“It’s
the truth and believe me, I’ve tried to find Dagobah,” Leia said grimly.
“I’ve checked every republic star chart that I’ve managed to get my hands
on and it’s simply not there.”
“That
doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist now, does it?” The two women shared a
smile and Mara found that she liked the sense of shared camaraderie. She had
always worked alone; the Emperor had not permitted friendships. But now she had
Karrde and… Mara wasn’t certain that she was ready to call Organa a friend.
Leia
shrugged. “You and Karrde seem to have other methods of information gathering
far superior to anything I’ve come across, so I’m giving you this. I’m
giving you Dagobah. You won’t get that piece of information from anyone
else. I can guarantee it. I want to know what you can find out from
this.”
“You
are certain that’s where he is?” So ultimately, Organa did have the goods to
trade. This wasn’t information Mara had heard from any other source.
Leia
sighed. “No, but it’s a logical conclusion. That’s where he went after the
battle of Hoth to be trained as a Jedi and he returned there after we rescued
Han from Tatooine. Luke’s Jedi Master was hiding on Dagobah. Luke said he was
very old and sick and I thought he had to be dead by now. Luke didn’t talk
about him much, especially after Hoth. Perhaps it was to protect him. Vader
managed to capture Han and me on Bespin as we tried to escape the bombardment on
Hoth. We were chased into a trap. Luke, knowing nothing of our difficulties,
cleared Hoth’s atmosphere and without letting anyone know where he’d gone -
went to train on Dagobah.”
Mara knew the salient points of Organa’s story but it was fascinating hearing
it from the woman herself. “And he wasn’t dead, this Master…”
“Yoda.”
“Yoda!”
There was real surprise in Mara’s voice as it was a name she was familiar
with. Her Master had mentioned that name on several occasions, always
with anger and vituperative words. But Palpatine had thought that Yoda was dead
– had scoured the galaxy for him. Another mistake. Yoda had managed to stay in
hiding and then train Skywalker. “Why did he leave the
Leia
pursed her lips; Mara was familiar with the name of Luke’s Jedi Master. It
should have been unknown but it wasn’t. Leia had already come to the
conclusion that Mara’s past was far more interesting than she wanted them to
realise. “We went to Bakura to help the people there. The Empire was in no
position to do so after Endor and they were in real trouble. Something happened
while we were there and Luke blamed himself.”
“Was
it his fault?”
“No,
he did what he could but the boy, a young man strong in the Force, died. Luke
thought that he should have saved him.”
“Ah,
I see, I think,” Mara couldn’t reconcile this picture of the Jedi with the
one Palpatine had painted. “Could he have saved the boy?”
Leia
shook her head. “No, nothing could have saved Dev Sibwarra - his injuries were
far too severe - but at least he died at peace with himself and with the light
of the Force surrounding him. Luke was able to grant him that. But he was one
Jedi Knight against the whole Ssi-Ruuk invasion? It wasn’t enough. Luke nearly
died out there but still thought that if he’d had more training, he would have
been able to save the boy. Luke just wants to do the best that he can. Every
life is precious to him and especially, the saving of a Force strong soul.
Sibwarra was someone Luke might have been able to train as a Jedi one day”
There
it was again, Organa making Skywalker seem likeable.
“Luke
wants to save the galaxy. On his own, he can’t.” Leia turned her head away
from Mara’s gaze. “And he’ll kill himself trying.”
“Yeah,”
Mara sneered. “Sure.”
Leia
spun around and faced Mara. “Once you’ve met him, you’ll see.”
“I
have met him,” Mara countered.
“And?”
“Not
enough time to change my mind. It must have been all of two or three minutes.”
Mara couldn’t admit to the princess that he’d made an impression on her in
that very short time. There were not many people could do that. She could still
remember the warmth in his blue gaze and he’d stared at her as if he could see
into her soul, the feel of his hard body pressed against her own. She didn’t
have such close contact with many people. She didn’t like to be touched.
Touching was intimate, spoke of closeness. Mara was close to no one.
“But
you didn’t kill him then…”
“Didn’t
have time,” Mara returned.
Leia’s
brow furrowed. “You, who were a…a…a trained assassin.” She looked
appalled as the truth of Mara’s former life hit her. “That’s what you
were, an assassin.”
“Yes,
amongst other things.” Mara waited for the fear and condemnation. With Leia
Organa, she got neither.
“Trained
from childhood?” Leia’s voice tailed away. “Oh, Mara I’m so sorry.”
Mara
lifted her head. That wasn’t what she expected to hear. Instead of disapproval
in Leia’s brown eyes, there was pity. She didn’t want this woman’s pity;
she didn’t need anyone’s pity. “Oh, I was far more than a mere assassin,
Your Highness. Your brother is the only target I’ve ever missed.”
“Perhaps
there was a reason for that.” Leia’s voice rang confidently around the
exercise room. She was certain that he’d been saved by the Force. “Luke is a
good man whatever lies you’ve been told. He’s not a pious, sanctimonious
do-gooder either. He has his faults - he’s a man, after all - but his heart is
true and I love him.”
Mara
shook her head. Organa really believed in what she was saying. All these people
believed in the goodness of this man – this Jedi.
Leia's
comlink sounded and the voice at the other end could be heard clearly. “Hey,
sweetheart!”
“Han,”
Leia said, her face lighting up.
“Where
are you?” he asked.
“Still
at the gym. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“Uh,
okay. I wonder…could you come and meet me? There’s a ruckus just north of
here. It’s happening where the rebuilding project in
“What’s
happening?”
“Some
sort of protest. I don’t know very much about it, to be honest,” Han
admitted. “It would be beneficial to all if a member of the Council could be
present. Someone with mediation skills. There are some very unhappy beings out
there. All the demolition and rebuilding work has stopped for the moment but the
construction company bosses are threatening to start them up again.”
“And
the people are refusing to move, I take it?” Leia said, rolling her eyes at
Mara. “Why not call the security forces?”
“The
construction droids can’t continue any further because of this. It’s not
just any old group of protesters either. A party from the
“I
thought you didn’t know anything about it?” Leia said, grinning.
“I
know enough,” Han’s disembodied voice complained. “This is not my area of
expertise.”
“I
wonder…” Leia’s mouth twisted wryly. “It sounds like the way she used to
operate but surely it couldn’t be her.”
“Her?”
Mara queried.
“It’s
funny, I haven’t thought about her in years but still…“
“Thought
about whom?” Mara said getting exasperated.
“Doctor
Rule?” Leia said.
“Don’t
know any names as yet.” Han’s disgruntled sigh could clearly be heard by
both women over the comlink.
“I’ll
see you there.” Leia clicked off her comlink and began gathering her things
together.
“There
was something the other day about the possibility of Jedi finds being located in
the city,” Mara muttered as a strange feeling swept through her. “An area of
historical importance…” she said. “Could it be?”
“I
heard that too,” Leia agreed. “In fact, I was scheduled to visit the site at
some point. I can’t remember when. Winter would know.”
“Winter?”
“My
aide, when she’s not being borrowed by the military.”
“The
gym has a computer room for its members,” Mara said. “I checked it out the
other day.”
“What
are we waiting for?” Leia grabbed her bag and set off out the door.
“For
me to pack up?” Mara had to spend a couple of minutes stuffing her own
possessions away but she was finding it difficult to dislike Skywalker’s
sister. The woman was so damn nice but no pushover.
The
holo-access room was empty for which the two women were thankful. Leia pulled up
the file Han had sent and read out the co-ordinates. Mara began tapping away on
one of the keypads and moments later a holomap of the
“What?”
Mara
nodded. “Just as I thought.”
“What?”
Leia repeated.
Mara
pointed to the screen. “I’ve superimposed an older map over the first one.
This map predates the Clone Wars.”
“Oh.”
“I
presume you took courses in galactic history?”
“Of
course I did,” Leia answered, staring over Mara’s shoulders at the
vid-screen. Galactic history was an important course for any budding senatorial
candidate but not usually for independent trade operatives. “My father tutored
me at home on Alderaan.”
“Ah,
the Rebel perspective.”
Leia
nodded. “My father didn’t exactly agree with the Imperial slant on education
and he lived through some interesting times, as have we.”
“But
you know enough to say for sure that the building currently being investigated
before the droids move in, is most probably directly above where the
“You
are right,” Leia breathed. “I should have known, especially with something
being found last week that was rumoured to be possibly of Jedi origin.”
“Do
you know what it was?”
Leia
shook her head. “No, it was removed to the university for study. There’ve
been so many of these finds in the last few months that it’s been difficult to
keep track of them all.”
“Solo
is right. Someone should be there – a representative on behalf of the Jedi.
Otherwise these finds disappear into a cupboard somewhere and never see the
light of day again.”
“I’m
not a Jedi,” Leia said sharply.
“But
you are strong in the Force as is your brother. These abilities often run in
families and until he shows up you are the nearest being the Jedi have got.”
“Tell
me something I don’t know,” Leia snapped, her hands clenching into fists.
Inside her head she could still hear Luke saying, ‘The Force is strong in
my family. My father has it…I have it…and my sister has it.’
Mara
tilted her head to one side. She was getting very mixed feelings coming from the
princess. This wasn’t the same feeling that came from Organa with regards to
her brother. Those feelings were warm and loving. This was something else
altogether. “You need to be there, as a representative of the Senate and the
inner council, if nothing else.”
“Is
something telling you that I should be there?” asked Leia.
“I
don’t know. My gut feeling tells me…something. I don’t know what. Make up
your own mind. No one else can truly make it for you. But I can tell you one
thing. If you don’t go, sure as hell I’ll get nowhere near the place.”
Leia’s
respect for Karrde’s assistant was growing. This strange woman showed depths
of intellect that ran far deeper than your average smuggler. But then she’d
never had to deal with the average smuggler. The ones she’d met had all been
above average and very possibly unique. “You want to come?”
“Sure,
my nose is bothering me,” Mara said casually.
“That
sounds like something my…something that Han might say.”
Mara
glared at her, not keen to be compared directly with Solo. “Doctor Rule?”
she mused. “The name is familiar.”
“It
should be, if you were on Coruscant before it fell…so to speak.” The
inference was there. Leia knew that Mara had worked for the Empire in a very
important capacity. While Mara hadn’t hidden that, she hadn’t advertised it
in glowing letters either. How high up in Imperial circles had this woman been?
“We need to go and pay them a little visit.”
The
smile Leia gave Mara was wicked and it gave the former Emperor’s hand a bit of
a shock. Leia Organa had durasteel in her veins and wasn’t nearly quite as
‘nice’ as Mara had thought. Her intelligence was not in question and never
had been. The two women eyed each other again with increased respect.
”This
Doctor Rule person?” Mara hinted darkly. “What did she do?”
“She
made quite a name for herself even then. Academics were not exactly high on the
list of Palpatine’s favourite people.”
“No,”
Mara said reluctantly.
“They
thought too much. People with ideas were dangerous.”
Mara
hesitated; she couldn’t quite reply to what Organa was saying. Mara was
discomfited to find that she couldn’t refute the princess’s statement out of
hand. “I suppose so.”
“Folla
Rule definitely had a flair for the dramatic,” Leia explained. “She worked
as an archaeologist in the department of antiquities for the
“Hence
this stunt,” breathed Mara.
“Oh,
this is no stunt. If she follows the pattern I remember, she will have every
holo-journalist on the planet present and will be ready to make a grand
entrance.”
“So
that the entire galaxy can witness the forces of government bearing down upon
our history and destroying things that should be preserved.”
Leia
nodded. “Exactly. Whoever it is has already shipped in people to start
work.”
“Clever.
Forcing the authority’s hand.”
“The
woman’s a media genius – if it’s her.”
“What
did she look like?” Mara queried as she tried in vain to recall this female.
“Attractive,”
Leia murmured. “Didn’t look like an academic. She was quite
glamorous…tall, slim, dark hair, eloquent…” She stared down at the map of
the city which was still displayed on the vid-screen. “She wasn’t important
to me at the time but I do remember her addressing the Senate. I was sixteen and
just learning for the first time how intolerant and harsh the Empire could be. I
was more interested in beings than things. It seems so long ago. Practically a
lifetime ago.”
“Would
she have survived?”
“Coruscant
has changed little. You must have seen that. Government changes but life for the
citizens of the most populated world in the galaxy remains much the same.”
“True.”
Leia’s
com buzzed. “My minders,” she said with a grin. “Yes,
General Solo did give you the correct information. I’m just on the point of
leaving and I have company. Mistress Jade of the Karrde group will be my
companion.” She reeled off the set of grid reference numbers Han had
transmitted to her. “I’ll see you there. We have clearance? Good. Platform
seven-nine-eight.” She flicked off the comlink and attached it to the collar
of her tunic.
“We
can use my speeder,” Mara said dryly. The woman was a human power droid once
she got going.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dagobah
Carefully
Luke assisted his Master to bed. Yoda lay motionless, his breathing shallow, his
face almost grey with pain but the young Jedi sensed that his Master was at
peace. Luke drew the covers up and went to fetch a cup of water. In it, he
sprinkled some of the medicinal herbs he’d collected on one of his travels.
The infusion seemed to ease the old Master’s pain
“Door
open… I wish,” Yoda whispered.
“Please,
Master Yoda,” Luke entreated softly. “Save your strength. Don’t try to
talk.” He held the cup to Yoda’s lips. “Drink this.”
“To
hear the song, I desire.”
Luke
shook his head, confused, but he went to the door and opened it. As soon as he
did so, he heard a strange, eerie humming. “What is that?”
A
streak of scarlet caught his gaze. ”Scarlet on Dagobah?” he exclaimed.
Everything was either green, grey or brown, the colour palette muted and dull.
“What on…”
“Jubba
bird,” Yoda’s voice was faint. “Sing to me it will. Knows I need to hear
its song it does. A gift it honours me.”
Luke
stared as a large, brightly plumaged bird, alighted on the nearest branch and
began to sing. Low and sensuous, the melody wound through his head, calming his
mind and easing the worry and sadness in his heart. The song of the Jubba bird
was part of the Force and the bird had known that Yoda needed his music. Taking
a deep breath, he turned back to Yoda and found that his Master was asleep, his
breathing still shallow, but he was peaceful. Luke decided that sleep was the
best thing for the aged Jedi. It could not be long now.
“Thank
you,” he said to the bird.
The
avian stretched its wings and preened before launching into a wistful melody
that reminded the young man of something his Aunt Beru used to sing to him when
he was troubled. The last song had been for Yoda. Luke knew he was immensely
privileged as the bird sang this one for him. It was as if the Force had told
the beautiful creature of Luke’s own pain at the imminent loss of his friend
and master.
“He’s
dying,” Luke told the bird, who seemed to understand him. “I don’t want to
be selfish, but I need him. I don’t know if I’m ready to go on alone.”
“You
won’t be alone.”
Luke
swung his gaze away from the preening Jubba bird and smiled. Approaching him
from out of the twisted jungle of trees was a shimmering figure he knew well.
“Obi-Wan!” He greeted his first teacher and guide thankfully.
“We
will always be with you.”
“I
know,” Luke said matter-of-factly. “You told me that before…after
Endor.”
“I
did, didn’t I? You are ready, Luke.”
“I
have to be, don’t I?”
“Yes.”
The smile on Obi-Wan’s face was one of love and pride. “It’s nearly time
for you to rejoin the real world, Luke – make the Jedi rise again.”
The
young man stiffened, sorrow etched upon his features. “Yes,” he whispered,
staring out into the darkening gloom as Dagobah’s night began to fall. “I
know. This has all been like a strange dream being here. I feel cocooned, cut
off from my reality. But I know what I have to do. It is my task, my debt…my
life to give.”
“And
you will rise to your challenge, Luke. You willingly isolated yourself from your
loved ones to allow total concentration on your training. This now gives you an
advantage many Jedi did not have, including myself. I was brought to the temple
as a baby. I lived most of my formative years amongst the Jedi and after having
been apprenticed, I was almost always with other Jedi until the Sith destroyed
the only home I’d ever known, overthrew the Republic and took control over the
galaxy and forced us into hiding.”
“The
Jedi had already cut themselves off from the people,” Luke murmured.
Obi-Wan
sighed and seated himself on a fallen branch of the gnarl tree. “Most beings
distrust something they cannot truly understand. Only the Jedi can understand
the Force and although we worked with the beings of the galaxy we were always a
separate part of that universe. I had the temple to return to time and again
until the day it was destroyed and we all left for exile. You, Luke, always knew
that your outside world was waiting for you. Many of the Jedi never embraced
reality. It was another reason why we failed.”
Luke
shook his head adamantly. “You failed because of Palpatine’s evil.”
“Perhaps,
but the Jedi had become full of pride and from that came their blindness. We
were taught to beware the dark side but no Jedi expected such concentrated evil
emanating from one being to suddenly erupt in their lifetime.”
“We
have to believe in the good in people,” Luke said. “Without hope what else
is there?”
“Your
belief in the goodness of others is one of your greatest strengths,” Obi-Wan
said. “Never lose that part of yourself, Luke. There will be days when even you
cannot see hope.”
The
young man nodded. “My sister...”
“Misses
you.”
“As
I do her.” Luke laid a hand on top of Artoo’s domed head. “But I will be
with her soon.”
“This
is a certainty. Your willing exile will soon be over.”
“Of
course it will. Can’t you feel his spirit slipping away to join you?” He
stopped and took a deep breath. “I will not leave him to die alone. No one
should have that happen to him.”
“It
is his time.” Obi-Wan’s faded gaze watched Artoo Detoo rotate his little
round head.
“Go
and watch over Master Yoda, Artoo. He should be sleeping.” The little droid
beeped softly and rolled into Yoda’s hut. “When Yoda
passes…” Luke stared in the direction his droid had taken and swallowed,
visibly distressed. “And it won’t be long now.” Luke struggled to regain
control, his head bowed.
“It
is the way of all things, Luke,” Obi-Wan counselled gently.
“Yes,
but does it have to be so hard?” he said.
“He
is old, tired and sick, Luke. Do you deny him what he craves…what he
deserves?”
“No,
of course not.”
Obi-Wan
stood up again, his shimmering hand resting on Luke’s shoulder. “He has
earned his right to his peace. Yes, you have seen more than your fair share of
death. We would have protected you from all of that if we could have done so but
we could not.”
“I
know.”
“This
is a good end for Yoda. He dies with dignity, his last padawan by his side.”
“It
has been a great honour for me to have been trained by both you and Master
Yoda.” Luke and the spirit of Obi-Wan began to walk towards Luke’s own
dwelling; Artoo would keep watch on Master Yoda for now.
“What
are your plans once…?”
“I
haven’t really made any,” Luke confessed. “But I think I’ll head towards
Coruscant and find Leia and Han, perhaps stop off on Tatooine for a few days.
Catch up with Rogue Squadron. Eat a good dinner.” He shook his head and
laughed. “Search for new Jedi.”
“And
the girl?” Obi-Wan’s blue-green gaze suddenly held a sharp twinkle.
“What
girl?” Luke answered quickly.
“The
one with the spectacular hair colour you keep dreaming about.”
“I
do not,” Luke muttered defensively. “What’s this? An Imperial
interrogation?”
The
ghostly form of Obi-Wan chuckled. “She’s very…”
“What
happened to all that ‘a Jedi should not know love’ business?”
“With
your family, Luke, that doesn’t appear to work too well. So perhaps it’s
time for the Jedi to look at things from a different perspective.”
“I’m
not in love with her. I don’t know her.” Luke wondered why his words sounded
as if they lacked conviction. “I only met her once and she didn’t take to
me. I’m not in love with anyone. I was never very successful in the
relationship stakes. And I don’t know where she is. The galaxy is too vast.”
The
old Jedi chuckled. “Give her time - perhaps she will find you first.”
“Find
me first! Obi-Wan…” But the old man had vanished into the descending
mists of the Dagobah night.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX