Luke and Leia - Rebels [2]

26: A City in the Clouds

Luke blew out a long breath and shook out his hands. Yoda peered up at him. "Ready to begin, are you?"

"Yes, Master." He replied. They were about to do another handstand exercise, but fortunately he'd gotten much better at them since he'd last fallen. It had been several days now since the X-Wing had been lifted out of the marsh, and ever since that day Luke had been filled with a determination like never before; he was hard pressed to learn this power and use it to help himself and those in need against the Empire. He still had his doubts and fears, but they had been pushed to the back of his mind and been replaced by confidence as his skills grew exponentially.

"Then begin, we shall."

The boy leaned over and tipped himself so that he was now in a handstand, and Yoda watched from a log this time; just because Luke hadn't fallen in awhile didn't mean that Yoda wasn't prone to slipping off of his foot. His eyes slid closed, darkness greeting him like a friend as he calmed his mind and quieted his physical senses. Background noise and sensations dimmed as the Force flowed through him, and he felt things start to lift around him.

Artoo's frantic beeping was subtle to his ears, but enough to let him know he was lifting the droid as well. "Concentrate..." Yoda's voice reached his brain through the Force. "Feel the Force flow. Yes. Good."

Luke eyes squinted slightly as more objects started to lift around him, causing more strain. But Yoda continued. "Calm, yes." He praised. "Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future... The past... Old friends long gone."

The boy winced marginally as a flash of orange obscured his vision, a sunset sort of orange. It was only a solid color that lasted for a second, but what followed made his heart skip a beat. More flashes of memories he didn't have yet started flurrying through his mind. The orange. A male scream that sounded frighteningly like Han. Leia's face in a pained expression, her hand reaching out into an orange glow where steam erupted while everything else around her was a dark blue. A flash of red. A booming breathing apparatus. And all above it loomed a city, appearing to float on the clouds it sat on. "Han... Leia!" He gasped, his eyes popping open as he fell.

Every other object fell with him, including Artoo who tumbled to the ground disgracefully with a blat. Luke sat up immediately, catching his breath and feeling a familiar sinking sensation in his chest when he knew something bad was about to happen in the future. He knew now that it was the Force, but when he was a kid he and Leia just said it was their 'intuition'.

Yoda shook his head patronizingly. "Control, control, you must learn control."

Luke ignored his advice, instead staring at him in awe. "I saw... I saw a city in the clouds."

"Mmm." Yoda mused thoughtfully. "Friends you have there."

"They were in pain." Luke's voice cracked lightly.

"It is the future you see."

The boy's chest sunk further; his 'intuition' was right. "Future?" He asked fearfully, swallowing hard. "Will they die?"

The old master closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Difficult to see. Always in motion, the future is." He replied grimly

Luke shot up off of the ground. "I've got to go to them." He declared, wiping his hands off and heading to stand Artoo up as well.

As the astromech stood up with a clang Yoda protested. "Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now help them you could... But you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

His ominous words stopped Luke cold in his tracks, and he started at the creature in confusion before he realized what he was talking about. If Luke left now he could die himself, which wouldn't help anyone and the Alliance would lose him as well. Plus, being this early in his Jedi training he was much more susceptible to the Dark Side according to Yoda and Ben.