Wartorn

Chapter 7 - Family

"I've felt something calling me ever since I came here," Luke tells Anakin when his father finally arrives. Reva is working out the details of the treaty, and now that Anakin is here, Luke can finally leave her to ask his father about this. He's not sure what it could be, but especially now that the mission is over, he can feel a strange sort of humming. "It's like something's calling me, and I'm not sure what."

"Like a kyber crystal?" Anakin queries, "It is possible yours isn't on Ilum."

"But I'm not a Jedi," Luke replies, frowning, "Could I really have a lightsaber?"

"Considering the strength of your Force abilities, I think it would be likely for you to have one."

A lightsaber. Luke has always wanted a lightsaber, and to be more like his father, but now that they're actually talking about him officially getting one? "Aren't there rules about that?"

"You don't have to be a member of the Jedi Order to have a lightsaber, no," Anakin assures, "Former Jedi can keep their lightsabers. Dooku did. I'm sure we can find a way to work around any regulations. Besides, considering how we've encountered the Sith twice already, I think you need one."

Luke wholeheartedly agrees with that.

They have to wait until the negotiations are over anyway before leaving, though. "Where are you going?" Reva inquires, following them outside. "We have to go back to the cruiser."

"Luke and I have something else to take care of first," Anakin replies, climbing onto one of the speeders.

"What's more important than going back to the Temple?" she asks.

"Luke senses his kyber crystal here, on Tatooine."

"He's not even a Jedi." It's blunt, not really rude, but it still feels like it was meant to be. Likely, it's a mere case of bad first impressions, but Luke just doesn't like the way Reva is talking to his father.

"I keep running into Sith," Luke cuts in, stepping forwards, "If I could have actually fought Ventress here, we could've gotten Rotta back home much faster."

Reva eyes him. (He can't shake the feeling she's thinking about how similar he looks to Anakin, but he has no idea if he's just being paranoid or not.) "Even so, you're not a Jedi," she replies, "You haven't learned to wield it."

"That doesn't mean I can't," he replies, "I know what I'm doing."

"We can't teach our way to just anyone," Reva argues, and under any other circumstances, he'd probably concede her point. But it's different for him, because Luke is Anakin's son. In another lifetime, he easily could've been trained from birth. He easily could be a Jedi by now, though he can't say he's upset he isn't.

"If you want to come, you can," Anakin replies, "If you believe it's a necessity."

"I will," she decides, much to Luke's admitted disappointment, and they head out.

Once they're back in the desert, he senses the pull of the crystal again, and follows it. It leads him to a cave, and he slides off the speeder, cautiously approaching the entrance. "Be cautious," Anakin warns, "These caves can get dangerous."

Not for you, Luke would've said once. But he's no longer as certain as he once was, no matter how hard it is to understand that his father isn't nearly as infallible as he had once thought. Anakin is human like everyone else. It really shouldn't be that hard to understand.

Now that he's closer and inside, the strange humming is louder, just as he thought it would be. But still, he can't help asking. "Why would there be a kyber crystal here?"