Chapter Text
Luke Skywalker was never one to turn down the opportunity to fly. The exhilaration he felt as he soared through the vacuum of space was unlike any other. The serene calm he associated with the mottled view of stars in hyperspace could not be found elsewhere.
He supposed it might have something to do with the fact that he grew up on Tatooine. The deserts that stretched on for miles never provided quite the adventure he was looking for, and so when he finally left it behind he was eager to stretch his wings and see where it took him. The stars provided that escape, satisfied his need to look beyond, to do something with his life.
That, and well… Ben had said his father was the best pilot he ever knew. If that were true, wouldn’t it mean that Anakin had loved it there too? It was here in the stars that Luke felt closest to his father, the vastness of it all somehow bringing them together.
The thought made him uneasy for a moment, reminding him of Darth Vader, but he forced the feeling down. Darth Vader was not his father, no matter what tales the Sith Lord tried to spin. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, renowned star fighter pilot, hero , was his father. And he’d just gotten a little lost, that was all.
Luke was sure that his father still existed. Darth Vader had just buried him, but that didn’t mean that Luke couldn’t still reach him. He had to.
Luke refocused his attention on the view of stars outside of his cockpit. Their faithful glow reminded him he wasn’t alone, and that there was still good out there. Somewhere.
Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any good on the planet Luke had just scouted.The Alliance had sent him out in search of a new base, since their headquarters on Hoth had been thoroughly beaten a few months prior, but the territories he’d seen were crawling with Empire goons. No good base locations there, he was afraid.
When his mission had proved a failure, Luke quickly set his hyperspace coordinates for the rebel flagship, Home One. A quick glance at his controls told him he was rapidly approaching his destination.
3… 2… 1…
Luke sighed as his ship reverted out of hyperspace, but his comfort didn’t last long. Almost immediately, the Force sent him a warning.
Alert, Luke glanced around frantically, wondering where the blasted ship had gone. Home One was nowhere in sight, but Leia had promised they weren’t going anywhere while he was away. Had something happened in the short time he’d been gone?
Luke’s heart skipped a dangerous beat. Had Vader found them?
He quickly commed Leia, allowing himself to relax for the fraction of a second when she answered almost immediately.
“Oh, Leia, thank goodness! Are you alright? Where are you?”
Leia frowned a little. “I’m still onboard Home One. Why? What’s wrong, Luke?”
The princess didn’t offer any explanation beyond that, making Luke wonder if maybe he’d overreacted and that he’d simply punched in the wrong coordinates. It was unlikely, but without R2 there to check, it was plausible. Maybe that was all that had happened…
“Really? Nothing’s happened? I arrived at the coordinates you gave me, but I don’t see the fleet. I was worried you’d been attacked,” Luke explained, and Leia paused thoughtfully.
“We’re fine, Luke. What are your coordinates, exactly?”
Luke read them off, and Leia’s frown only deepened.
“That’s odd. Those are the right coordinates, but I don’t see you. Hmm,” she said, and her hologram flickered for a moment. Luke brushed it off, thinking nothing of it.
“Leia, something about this feels wrong-” Luke cut himself off, suddenly groaning at an uncomfortable tug in his gut.
“Luke? Luke!”
“Leia…” He moaned, grabbing his head as daggers shot through it.
“-uke! L-ke, hol-”
The transmission flickered for a few more moments before cutting off abruptly, but Luke hardly noticed it, too entranced by the sight of a pyramid like structure suddenly floating in space and the fact that his ship was being pulled towards it. The last thing he felt was a terrible sense of foreboding in the force as everything went horribly bright.
Sunlight filtered into his ship through the viewport as Luke slowly came back to awareness. He blinked a few times, surprised.
Where was he? Luke hadn’t been anywhere near a planet, nor had he been awake to navigate and land. R2 might’ve, but he’d left the astromech back on Home One. The force practically vibrated around him. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Luke shook off the odd feeling and attempted to fire up his X-Wing. He did everything right, he was sure of it, checking all of his ships systems and making sure his hyperdrive was still functional. Nothing was amiss, except for the fact that his fighter wouldn’t take off.
After a few more failed attempts Luke huffed in frustration and popped the hatch off of his X-Wing and decided to explore and find some sentient life forms to help him.
A quick once over of the field he’d landed in proved useful. Luke spotted a ship that he’d failed to notice earlier, sitting peacefully. The model was a strange one. It looked almost imperial, but something about that description didn’t sit right with him. It was older than the Empire. Perhaps… Republic?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the Force sang. Ah, so it was from the Republic? If so, then what was it doing all the way out here, parked next to him?
Before Luke could do anything else, the ship’s ramp began to lower. Luke tensed, his hand going for his lightsaber only to come up empty. Blast it , he thought. He’d lost the damn thing on Bespin along with his hand, a fact which he frequently seemed to forget. Instead, he grabbed a blaster off of his belt and let the Force flow through him, just as Ben had taught him.
A young Togruta emerged first, followed by two men in strange robes. Luke was shocked to notice the hilts of lightsabers on their belts. Jedi? Luke thought, and then his mind led to the more dangerous but likely option. Sith.
The man with a scar running over his eye caught sight of Luke before using the Force to call his lightsaber to his hand and activated it.
“Identify yourself!” The man ordered, holding the blue blade threateningly. Luke gulped, catching sight of the hilt which eerily resembled his father’s saber.
“I’m…” Luke began, feeling a prompting of the Force, much more potent than any he’d ever felt before. Something about this place…
“I’m Luke, just Luke,” he finished, holding his last name back as he’d felt the Force warn him to. Not that he had any objections, of course. One could never be too careful with strangers, especially with the… weight his name held. Imperials were eager to catch the man who’d destroyed the Death Star. Luke had learned that an extra bit of caution could go a long way.
“Did you bring us here?” The same man growled, leveling the blade at Luke’s throat. Luke held himself still as the blue light danced just out of his line of sight. Just who were these people? That man carried a light colored blade, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t Sith. The lightsaber could’ve been stolen.
Once more, Luke regretted the fight on Bespin. He could’ve used his lightsaber just about now.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” Luke promised. “I just woke up here, my ship was pulled in,” he continued, not bothering to hide the tremor of fear. One wrong move and this man could kill him.
“And what if I don’t believe you, huh?” The man prodded, staring him down.
“Master?” The young togruta asked, looking at the man with a hint of trepidation. “I don’t think he’s lying. I sense… truth in his words.” For a moment, she spared a glance and their eyes met. The corner of Luke’s mouth quirked up. He’d have to thank her for that later if he made it out alive.
“Ahsoka’s right, Anakin. I sense it too,” the second man said, placing a calming hand on Anakin’s shoulder.
Luke flinched at the mention of the name. That had been his father’s name too, once.
Anakin sighed, deactivating the blade. The second man raised an eyebrow expectantly. Anakin looked a little unbelieving at the gesture, before the man did it again. Anakin grunted, turning to face Luke.
“I’m… sorry. It would seem we’re both stuck here,” Anakin attempted to apologize, but it sounded unwilling. Luke could have laughed at the ridiculousness of the exchange that had just transpired before him if he wasn’t still shaken by being on the receiving end of this man’s anger.
“Wow, Skyguy! I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you apologize before. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” The togruta (Ahsoka, was it?) teased.
“Can it, Snips,” Anakin shot back, but there was a twinkle in his eye that hadn’t been there before.
“I suppose if we’re stranded together, introductions are in order. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this here is Anakin Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano,” Obi-Wan smiled, gesturing to himself and then the bickering pair.
Luke stared incredulously for a moment as doubt crept in. Who were these fools, parading around as his mentor and father of all people? If Darth Vader were here, Luke doubted he would’ve let this impersonator walk away with his life.
But as soon as the thought entered his head, the Force rebelled against it.
They were telling the truth?
Luke gaped for a moment before finally stammering out a response. “But… but how?”
“Ah, so you’ve heard of us, then? Figures you’d be a fan,” Anakin laughed, but it sounded almost bitter.
“Don’t worry, they aren’t nearly as awe-inspiring once you get to know them,” Ahsoka winked.
The conversation going on around him went in one ear and out the other as Luke tried to work out what this all meant. Had he traveled through time? Had they?
Before he could follow that train of thought any further, Ahsoka called out to get everyone’s attention.
“Hey! I saw something. A reflection, up on the hill,” she pointed, and everyone’s head swivelled in that direction.
Obi-Wan revealed a pair of binoculars and looked over the area himself. “I don’t see anything,” he frowned.
Luke allowed his eyes to scan the terrain for the first time. Wherever they were, it was vast. Chunks of rock were scattered throughout the sky, unaffected by the pull of gravity. Lush vegetation covered almost every surface.
Are you the One?
Is he the One?
The same voice spoke the two questions simultaneously. Luke whirled around to search for the source of it at the same time as Anakin spoke. However, Luke had a feeling he had been the only one to hear the second question. It felt directed towards him.
“What the… What? Uh… Did you hear that?” Anakin asked.
“I did,” Luke replied quietly, unsettled by the voice. Anakin glanced at him with a strange look before turning to Obi-Wan.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Obi-Wan replied, but didn’t seem too phased by the fact that Luke and Anakin wear hearing strange noises.
“Are you the One?” The strange voice asked, but left the second question out. This time, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka seemed to hear it.
“Hello,” Obi-Wan greeted humorously, caught off guard by the woman’s odd appearance.
“Who are you?” Anakin asked in lieu of a greeting.
“I am Daughter,” the ethereal woman introduced herself, her vibrant green hair flowing behind her despite the lack of wind. Her entire form seemed to shine with power and strength. Luke raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
“Are you the One?” Daughter asked again.
“Uh… the One, what?” Anakin asked in return, rolling his eyes.
“I will take you to Him,” Daughter said instead, ignoring the query.
Luke frowned, noting the echo of power behind her voice. It reminded him of how Ben sounded whenever he spoke to him as an entity of the Force. Was this woman a Force ghost in the same way Ben was?
“Him, who?” Ahsoka asked, leaning forward.
“Uh, did you bring us here?” Obi-Wan followed, stepping up beside the togruta. Both sounded accusatory in their questions.
Luke didn’t sense any ill will from the young woman. He was surprised that the well trained Jedi were unable to feel the same.
“Only He can help you,” the Daughter replied uselessly. “There is little time. Follow me,” she ordered. “We must have shelter by nightfall.”
The Daughter turned and began walking in the opposite direction, expecting them to follow her. Luke recognized the fact that she likely understood the danger they were in if they didn’t find shelter, but he didn’t want to leave his father if Anakin was unwilling to follow her.
Anakin spun around to face them. “And we thought the planet was strange. How about this one?” He grimaced, throwing a quick look over his shoulder at the ethereal woman.
Despite himself, Luke laughed. It seemed his father had a sense of humour after all, although he doubted he would ever hear such sentiments from Vader.
Anakin glanced over at Luke and his lips quirked into a semi-smile, as if they’d just shared an inside joke. Although it probably meant nothing to the elder Jedi, Luke’s breath caught in his throat. How long had he longed for an intimate moment like this with his father? How long had he desired to just have a normal conversation with him?
It almost felt too good to be true. Luke feared he would blink and open his eyes to find himself stranded in space just as he’d been earlier, utterly alone.
“We’ll be fine as long as we stay together,” Obi-Wan assured his friends. “You’d best stick with us, young man,” Obi-Wan continued, this time addressing Luke.
“Y-Yes, Sir,” Luke stuttered, caught off guard at how much he sounded like the old hermit he’d once known.
Ahsoka smiled a little at his little stumble, but no one else said anything about it as they set off after the Daughter.
As they walked, Luke began to pick up on the strange behavior of the world around them. On Tatooine, things didn’t often change, so Luke had been forced to learn to notice the little things. It had helped him during his training, and it helped him now. He was able to spot the changing color of the leaves and grass before anyone else, and quickly noticed the shift in temperature.
“Uh… Is anyone else seeing this? This shouldn’t be possible,” Luke piped up, gesturing to the world around them.
“My thoughts exactly, young one,” Obi-Wan frowned.
“Yeah,” Anakin agreed, his eyebrows furrowing.
“And there are no animals!” Ahsoka announced, and Luke thought about it for a second before realizing that she was right. He hadn’t spotted any other creatures, not even a small insect that one might expect to find in the almost jungle like vegetation around them. Luke had been plagued by those little pests during his short time on the rebel base on Yavin, so he’d familiarized himself with the signs quite quickly.
“And you sense it?” Obi-Wan asked Anakin pointedly. Luke glanced at his father, noticing the way his frown deepened.
“Mmhmm, since we arrived,” Anakin replied. “The Force is very strong.”
“An intersection unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Be wary,” Obi-Wan warned.
Luke frowned, unsettled by the comment. “I agree that the Force is strong here, but… I see no reason to be wary. The Force here feels peaceful, somehow. Kinder, even.”
Anakin’s head snapped towards him. “You’re trained in the ways of the Force?” He asked, his eyebrows rising ever higher.
“How can that be? I’ve never seen him at the temple before,” Ahsoka pointed out, sounding shocked.
“Why does that matter? Surely it makes me no less a Jedi,” Luke defended, curious as to why they were so appalled they’d never seen him at the temple before. Of course, the temple didn’t exist in his time, but they didn’t need to know that, did they?
“You’re a rogue? Who trained you? When?” Obi-Wan pressed.
Not feeling anything from the Force that said otherwise, Luke decided to answer truthfully. Well, at least partially truthful.
“I was trained by an old Jedi master on Tatooine. He decided it was necessary when I was nineteen, after my aunt and uncle had been killed.”
The others did not react well to this, however. Ben and his father looked as if they might be sick from shock, while Ahsoka looked between the two men worriedly. Luke sensed confusion rolling off of the young togruta, but not nearly as much as the others.
“You began training at age nineteen? On Tatooine?!” Anakin demanded, grabbing the young man by the shoulders.
“Anakin,” Obi-Wan scolded, but made no move to intervene. Luke noticed the Daughter had stopped walking and was now watching the exchange with interest.
“Uh, yes? Is there something wrong with that?” Luke asked, unsettled by the look in Anakin’s eyes.
“If a Jedi master trained you, surely they were aware of the rules? Only younglings are brought into the Order for training. The Council barely even allowed me to be trained at age nine!” Anakin ranted.
“I’ve never heard of such a rule,” Luke shrugged, and Anakin’s hands dropped to his sides. This information would not leave him as easily, however. His father had almost not become a Jedi? That was bewildering. Ben had claimed that Anakin was one of the greatest Jedi he knew, surely they would have trained him no matter what if he was truly that strong?
“And who exactly was it that trained you? You claim he was a Jedi?” Obi-Wan asked, his hand rising to hold his chin thoughtfully.
“Yes. We all called him Ben,” Luke answered honestly. Obi-Wan’s eyes narrowed at the phrasing, understanding what it implied. And Obi-Wan was right to suspect, but it wasn’t as if Luke could tell the man that he had been the one to tell Luke about the Force and train him.
“Why did he train you? If he knew you growing up, why not bring you before the council? He sounds more like a Sith than a Jedi to me,” Ahsoka questioned, arms crossed in front of her chest.
“Ben was a good man!” Luke snapped. “He did the best he could considering the circumstances surrounding my childhood! And besides, it only made sense that I be trained. My father was a Jedi,” Luke defended, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. The thought of someone calling Ben a Sith greatly distressed him.
In unison, the three Jedi all exclaimed, “What?!” before clamoring to speak over each other and try to get answers.
“Who was your father?!”
“Did he also live on Tatooine?”
“Which Jedi broke the Code?! When?”
“Why wouldn’t your father bring you to the Council?”
“Who was your mother?”
“How come none of you have approached the Jedi after all this time?!”
“Enough!” The Daughter ordered, finally stepping in. “I have allowed you some time to seek answers, but now we must continue onward if we are to reach Him in time.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and resumed the walk.
Anakin and the others looked back at Luke like they wanted to protest and keep the interrogation going, but they reluctantly jogged after the Daughter. None of them were too eager to lose the only person who knew their way around this planet.
“Uh, excuse me!” Anakin called after her. “Who are you taking us to?”
“The Father, of course,” the Daughter answered, sparing a glance at him over her shoulder.
“Of course!” Ahsoka added, smirking. Luke chuckled. Despite some of her accusations about Ben earlier, Luke was beginning to like her.
Obi-Wan ignored the little comment. “And what, exactly, are you?”
“We are the ones who guard the Power. We are the beginning, the middle, the end.” The Daughter explained. Luke couldn’t help but notice how every answer she gave seemed to only inspire more questions. He missed Leia, and her no-nonsense, straight to the point attitude. The Princess wouldn’t have been able to stand this woman.
Luke spared a smile at the thought of Leia. He hoped she was alright, and that she wasn’t too worried about him.
“Glad she cleared that up for us,” Anakin stated sarcastically, recalling Luke’s attention. As they continued walking on, Luke noticed the season beginning to shift more drastically. It was strange, to say the least.
“Hey! Look out!” His father shouted, the first to notice the sudden rockfall above them. Anakin came barrelling towards Luke and the Daughter, shoving them out of the way.
Luke landed roughly on the stone, groaning as he felt the air knocked out of him. Rubbing his head, he sat up to look around at the damage.
They’d been effectively cut off from Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.
“It is forbidden for you to touch me!” Luke heard the Daughter snap at Anakin behind him. Slowly, he climbed to his feet to look at them.
“Sorry, I was just saving your life!” Anakin drawled, gesturing to a pile of rocks that surely would’ve crushed them.
“Well, I owe you my thanks!” Luke spoke as he dusted off his tunic. If the Daughter wouldn’t acknowledge what Anakin had done for them, then Luke would.
Anakin nodded in acknowledgement, before the Daughter explained that the rock fall had been her brother’s work, and ordered them to stay put. Despite only having known Anakin for about an hour, Luke doubted his father was about to listen to that.
“Anakin? Are you there?” Obi-Wan hailed him over the comm. Luke sighed, relieved to know that the pair were alright on the other side of the rocks.
“Yeah, but our friend here has run off!” Anakin answered, expressing his frustration as he called after the Daughter. “Go back to the ship and try sending another distress call,” he suggested. “I’ll follow her and find out how to get off this rock.”
“And if this is a trap?” Obi-Wan asked in reply.
“Then I’m not gonna wait around to find out!” Anakin answered before ending the transmission and taking off in the opposite direction.
“Hey! Wait a minute!” Luke called after him, running to catch up after his father. If it was even possible, Anakin moved faster than Vader, a man with specially engineered prosthetics to make his movements quick and deadly. Still, Luke did his best to keep up.
Anakin spun around looking surprised, as if he’d forgotten Luke was there entirely. Then, he frowned. “You can’t stop me, Luke. Go back and see if you can rejoin Obi-Wan and Ahsoka! It’s safer there.”
“What?! No! I’m not here to stop you. I want to go with you!” Luke explained. He noticed how Anakin immediately looked wary. “Look, I’ve been trained as a Jedi. I can defend myself. Let me come with you!” Luke pushed, smiling when Anakin finally nodded.
“Just… don’t get in the way, alright? And if things get bad, you run,” his father acquiesced, on conditions.
“I’ve fought a Sith lord before, what could be worse than that?” Luke teased, trying to keep his voice light. He couldn’t help the involuntary shiver that traveled down his spine, however, at the thought of his fight with Darth Vader.
At the admission, Anakin looked like he wanted to ask many more questions. The knowledge that the Daughter would soon be out of their reach if he waited much longer, however, forced him onwards. Luke was glad. He found he didn’t want to be answered questions of that nature.
As they ran after the Daughter, the afternoon sun quickly turned to dusk, which was soon followed by nightfall. If not for the luminescent foliage (which, okay, that was weird, right? What was up with this planet?), Luke feared he wouldn’t have been able to see.
The weather turned violent not long after nightfall, and Luke understood why the Daughter had been so anxious to find shelter. Lightning littered the sky, and wherever it struck, deadly sparks followed.
The terrain rose sharply. Both Luke and Anakin used the Force to aid their climb, jumping and vaulting higher than what was normally possible. Luke was reminded of jumping through the treetops on Dagobah with Master Yoda. What had once seemed menial then now proved a great help.
As they crested the hill, Anakin came to a standstill. Luke followed suit, observing the eery tower in the distance. He sensed immediately that whatever was making the Force act so strangely was converging there.
“Whatever we’re looking for is in that monastery,” Anakin decided before taking off again, Luke right behind him.
When they reached the monastery, Luke was struck by just how large it was. Strange blue light with no clear power source lit long pathways above a seemingly bottomless pit filled with fog. In the center of it all was a grand throne, with an odd looking man sitting atop it. It certainly was some throne room.
Together, Luke and his father approached the man, who showed no sign of having noticed their presence. At least, not until Luke and Anakin took a seat in front of him and his eyes opened wide.
“Welcome, my friends,” the man said, his voice filled with the same ethereal power that the Daughter possessed. Was this the Father that she had referenced only a few hours ago?
“What is it that you want from me?” Anakin asked, clearly unnerved.
“To learn the truth about who you really are,” the man answered and then stood before continuing, “one that you have maybe known all along! One you must believe in order to fulfill your destiny.”
Anakin stood to meet him, and Luke did so as well, not one to be left out.
“Enough with the riddles, old man. Tell me what’s going on here!” Anakin ordered, before his gaze turned to Luke. “I understand why Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were brought here, but why him? What is he to all of this?”
Luke did his best not to look offended. It was, after all, a fair question. To Anakin, Luke’s presence made about as much sense as if a porg had tagged along. It was intriguing, but relatively useless.
Then, the man’s gaze settled on Luke. A cold shudder went through him as the man practically stared into his soul.
“Ah, the boy out of time. You understand the connection you bear, do you not?” The man smiled.
Anakin stared at Luke expectantly, his eyebrows having risen a great deal.
“I-I believe so, but I’m not quite sure of my purpose. Did you bring me here to learn how… it happens?” Luke frowned, unsure of what to think. It was the first moment he’d been allowed the chance to ponder it, so he made an attempt to guess.
“I would say that is indeed a part of it, young man. However, you are an enigma. It was not my intention to call you, but if you are here, then it must be of the will of the Force. Your time here is whatever you make of it,” the man explained, but Luke found the answer left him even more unsure than before.
Could he… could he change what happened to his father? Somewhere, deep inside of him, Luke knew the answer was yes.
Then, shouldn't Luke tell his father who he truly was?
No, Luke, a voice told him. Luke frowned, before recognizing it as belonging to Ben. His Ben.
And why not? Luke asked in reply.
It is not the will of the Force that he learn now. When the time comes, you will know.
Luke felt the connection sever after the answer, so he didn’t waste his time trying to call after Ben. Anakin and the older man were still looking at him, now with concern, so Luke quickly assured him he was alright.
“It is late,” the man announced. “You will both be my guests tonight.”
After being led to a room where he could find rest, Luke let his head fall onto the pillow so he could finally be alone with his thoughts and sleep.
How was any of this real? How was it possible that Luke was in the past, over twenty years ago? How was it that he was meeting his own father? Not Darth Vader, not some pilot of a spice freighter that Owen had tried to convince him, but Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, hero.
As these thoughts filled his mind, Luke barely even noticed as he drifted off to sleep.
Kooh…
Kush…
Kooh…
Kush…
Luke’s eyes blew wide open at that familiar sound. He fumbled for his lightsaber, only to remember a moment later that he was no longer in possession of it.
Kooh…
Kush…
Giving in to the inevitable, Luke stood up and turned around to face his father.
There, in all of his terrifying glory, stood the hulking monster of Darth Vader.
“Son,” Vader greeted, and Luke was struck by how different this man’s voice sounded to Anakin’s. Now that he heard both, it was impossible not to notice.
“Father,” Luke greeted in turn, his eyes never leaving where he knew Vader’s own eyes to be, behind that terrible truth.
“So you have accepted the truth, then? I am glad,” Vader affirmed, and Luke could almost picture his father’s smile.
“I have accepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father,” Luke agreed, bracing himself for Darth Vader’s anger.
Nothing came.
Vader took a step forward and Luke barely repressed a flinch as he set a gloved hand atop his shoulder.
There was silence between them for a few moments, save for the mechanical sound of Vader’s breath. And then…
“Help me, my son.”
Luke felt his jaw drop, completely out of his control. “What?!”
“Help me become Anakin Skywalker once more. Save me, Luke, I’m begging you.”
Luke was frozen for a few moments, but when the Force screamed that this was the truth, he found himself able to move again.
“Tell me how, Father! I’ll do anything!” Luke found himself suddenly overcome with emotion, and his eyes welled with tears. His father wanted to come home, at last.
“Guide me, Luke. Don’t let me fall. I believe in you, my son, and I love you.”
“I… I love you too, Father,” Luke responded, but his father was already gone.
The sound of lightning exploding outside of his window sent Luke shooting out of bed, and only then did he realize he’d never been awake.
The Force told him that it did not make it any less real.
He gasped for breath, thinking about the visitor he’d just had.
His father had asked for help.
Luke would be damned if he didn’t try.
Well, here goes nothing.