Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 31/?)

[butterfly]

Title: White Rabbits
Part: 31/?
Author: Diana Michelle (butterfly)
Warnings: Spoilers for Revenge of the Sith.
Pairings: Anakin/Obi-Wan; Leia/Han.
Rating: R/NC-17 (overall -- PG in this part)
Summary: Luke has a frustrating encounter.
Disclaimer: Not Lucas, don't own a thing, not making any money.
Chapter Index

Chapter Thirty-One -- Light Conversation

"-I’m sorry, Minister, but this truly is all that we could find.”

 

The holoprojecter dimmed, the data slip automatically ejecting. Luke placed it in a small pouch on his belt, next to his lightsaber. He leaned against the wall, the young, sad face of that first image of Anakin Skywalker still hovering in his mind.

 

“I wonder what her name was.”

 

With the words came a sudden splash of being in the Force, a very identifiable one.

 

“So, you finally decided to show up,” Luke said, looking over his shoulder. Even his mild irritation couldn't hide the warmth in his voice.

 

Ben was sitting in one of the straight-backed chairs of the meeting room, his bluish-white glow flickering clearly in the low lighting Luke had set the room to when he’d entered. Ben was bent over slightly, his chin cupped in his hand, fingers thoughtfully stroking at his beard.

 

“I was in the system,” he said, glancing over at Luke, a smile in his eyes. “I thought I could drop by, see how you’re doing.”

 

“If you know what’s going on, tell me,” Luke said, turning his back against the wall as he stared at Ben, expectantly. “And… the whole truth, not just the part you want me to know right now.”

 

“I’m sorry, Luke,” Ben said, placing his hands on his knees, brow furrowed. “The little that I know about this situation isn’t actually very useful.”

 

“Tell me anyway,” Luke said. Ben smiled at him, gesturing him over to take a seat.  

 

“Hmm. To start with, it involves something that I’ve been struggling with for some time,” Ben said, settling back in his chair. Luke watched him for a moment, then settled down in a chair next to him, resting an arm on the nearby meeting table. “The short version?”

 

“If you could,” Luke said.

 

“I know why… why the younger Obi-Wan can’t use the Force,” Ben said, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

 

“And?” Luke asked.

 

“A person’s Force-connection is… unique, a pathway to the Force that is designed solely for their use,” Ben said. “Putting it as simply as possibly, Obi-Wan can’t use the Force because he’s already using it.”

 

“So, the fact that you’re still around means that-“

 

“That I am, in essence, blocking his access to the Force. He can’t reach it because I’m in the way,” Ben said, sounding mildly embarrassed.

 

“Wait, why isn’t Anakin having problems?” Luke asked.

 

“Ah, that,” Ben said. “Well, it’s a bit complicated.”

 

“As simply as possible,” Luke said, throwing Ben's words back at him.

 

“He’s not in the way,” Ben said. “As a matter of fact, both Anakin and Yoda fully rejoined the Force after that celebration on Endor.”

 

“But not you,” Luke said, cocking his head.

 

“It’s not as though I could foresee my younger self coming to the future,” Ben pointed out, stepping around the subject. “I didn’t know that I’d need the connection. Still, the problem remains.”

 

“So, what happens now?” Luke asked, leaning forward in his chair.

 

“Well, there is a fairly simple solution,” Ben said. “I allow myself to fade into the Force.”

 

“And then you’d be gone,” Luke said, slowly.

 

“I would, yes,” Ben said, glancing away from Luke.

 

“You didn’t explain yet why my father and Yoda choose to join the Force and you didn’t,” Luke said.

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ben asked.

 

“No,” Luke said. “It isn’t.”

 

“Anakin left almost immediately – he’d severed his need to hold onto this world just before he died. He stayed only so that you might have the chance to truly see him, Anakin Skywalker, and not Darth Vader. Master Yoda did not take long to follow him,” Ben said. “And then I tried and found…”

 

“What?” Luke asked.

 

“That I was not ready to leave,” Ben said, meeting Luke's eyes. “You must understand -- when I appeared to you after my death, no Jedi had done such a thing for a thousand years. All of the Jedi who came before are with us, in the Force, but merely as part of the fabric of the whole. They cannot interact with the world as you do. But I can. Here and now, I can feel this chair that I’m sitting on. I’m still attached to this universe, physically attached.”

 

Ben reached out, his half-transparent hand stroking Luke’s cheek. Ben’s touch felt... like standing a step away from a fire. Close enough to feel the heat, but not close enough to truly burn.

 

“I’m still attached to you, dear child,” Ben said, quietly. “From the very moment you were born, I loved you. That love has never wavered or faded, only strengthened with time.”

 

“And that’s what's keeping you here,” Luke said. “You can’t leave because… because you don’t really want to.”

 

“Yes,” Ben said, pulling his hand away. Luke felt oddly cold. “You managed to sum it up quite well.”

 

“So, Obi-Wan will have his… connection back when he returns to the past,” Luke said, decisively. Ben's mouth twisted slightly and he looked a bit uncomfortable.

 

“Well, yes,” Ben said. “If he returns to the past, one would assume that he would once again be the only person trying to be Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

 

“You don’t think they’ll be able to go back,” Luke said, raising his eyebrows.

 

“I’m still rather bewildered by them being here at all,” Ben admitted easily. “And to get back, they have to first find out how they got here. And they haven’t had much success so far.”

 

Ben paused.

 

“They’d probably have more luck if they didn’t keep getting distracted,” he said, with a half-smile.

 

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

 

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” Ben said, his voice an odd mixture of ominous foreshadowing and rueful amusement.

 

“Ben,” Luke said.

 

“Try not to think too badly of Anakin. He’s likely doing his best,” Ben said. “And now, I really must go. Things to do.”

 

“What things?” Luke asked, but Ben was already fading from view. Luke sighed in frustration. “You’re a ghost. There’s a limit to how busy you can be!”

 

Luke settled back in the chair, his fingers tapping against the pouch the data slip was resting in. Leia might be interested in seeing it, once he’d met back up with her.

 

He stretched out his senses to look for her, and noticed a room-sized shielded area in the building. That had to be Anakin’s doing, but Luke couldn’t see why Anakin had felt the burning need for some privacy.

 

Maybe he just didn’t trust Luke.

 

Luke sighed, again, and continued to search for Leia, finally locating her some distance from the building, but approaching rapidly. Leia had probably realized where Luke was, earlier, and was currently bullying Han into coming over to pick him up.

 

Han wasn’t a big fan of the New Republic’s administration building. Or of the New Republic’s administration in general.

 

‘Talking to bureaucrats is as dull as watching a ship rust’ had been his exact words. And so Han avoided the place as much as he could, which wasn’t much, considering that Leia was bound and determined to have as much influence on the direction of the new government as possible and thus insisted on spending a lot of time in the building whenever they were on Coruscant. And Leia was good at getting her way.

 

Luke grinned and got up from his chair, making his way towards the rooftop landing platform. He’d rejoin Leia and Han, and then they’d figure out the next step.

 

It always worked out best when it was the three of them, together.

~end chapter thirty-one~

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

“You’re a ghost. There’s a limit to how busy you can be!”
Hehehe.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! Thank you.