Fame and Fortitude

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Luke managed to land the Wookiee Princess without sinking it in an algae covered bog, and the four humans left the safety of the ship, stepping out onto the spongy surface of Dagobah.

"So, this is where you got your training from Yoda," Leia said, staring around at the air-moss hanging from tree limbs, and the various winged creatures flapping overhead.

"I know you think Yoda was wonderful, but for the life of me, I'll never understand why the few remaining Jedi thought it was a grand idea to hide out for twenty years while the Emperor enslaved the galaxy," Mara stated.

"I guess both Yoda and Obi-Wan believed that I was the only one that could defeat both Vader and Sidious," Luke answered truthfully.

"That makes no sense, kid," Han said, annoyed. "You were young and half-trained. What made either one of 'em think you could do better than fully trained Jedi Masters? Didn't those guys train for years and years? It was like they were waitin' for you to fail, so then they could shift the blame onto your shoulders instead of theirs."

"I can't argue with you, Han," Luke replied. "Yoda told me it was my destiny to destroy Darth Vader, and my test was going into the cave. He told me not to take my lightsaber, but I took it anyway."

"Then what happened?" Leia asked, truly curious.

"Vader appeared to me as an apparition, and I fought with him." Luke gave a rueful smile as he recalled that day. "I won, but when the helmet came off, it was my face under the mask. Then, when I came out of the cave, Yoda was disappointed with my effort."

"Let me get this straight..." Han said, frowning as they continued to follow Luke deeper into the swampy forest. "He was training you to kill Vader, and when you took your test in the cave and actually killed Vader, it was wrong? I don't get it."

"I guess the cave was supposed to reveal the danger of the dark side to me, which is why my face was under the mask."

"How was doing what you were being trained to do then considered dark side?" Leia asked. "Why would he expect you to confront Vader with no weapon?"

Luke shrugged. "I was angry and frightened when I fought the apparition. Maybe the test was to remain calm in the face of danger and evil." The Jedi Master stopped walking and placed his hand on Han's shoulder. "Maybe that was only my first test in the cave. Now that we're going into the cave, we all need to remain calm and not allow the dark side to reach us. That's especially true for you, Han. The Emperor is going to use the dark side to try and take over your body, so he needs you to get angry and frightened in order to do so." He then looked at Leia and Mara. "Palpatine won't be opposed to trying to turn any of us to the dark side and serve him as our Master."

"What about the kid... Rey?" Han asked. "If she's in there, and whoever is holding her sends her out, she can't be left alone. Someone should stay with the girl to protect her, and maybe take her back to the ship."

"I never thought about that," Luke said, nodding. "Leia..."

"NO!" Leia snapped, her eyes narrowing. "I'm going along to protect Han."

"Then, Mara...?"

The red-head glared at her husband. "I might not be a Skywalker by blood, but I'm better trained in the Force than Leia."

Luke sighed, and looked dismayed since both women had a point. "Maybe we should draw sabacc cards, and the one that draws the high card stays outside the cave to protect the girl?"

"Sabacc. That sounds like my kind of solution," Han said with a snort of amusement. "You're the Jedi in charge, Luke, so make an executive decision based on your superior Force skills."