As Long As There's Light

Chapter 7: A New Padawan

Grim changed out of the pilot outfit, and knowing there was to be a celebration for the heroics of Luke and Han, changed into something other than her armor. After the ceremony was over she planned on talking to Luke about him becoming her Padawan. She decided that she should wear something to match. She put on a set of Jedi robes that she very rarely wore, she had only worn them when she was knighted, and on particularly hard Empire Days (,such as the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth).

The robes had no sleeves, which showed off her prosthetic. On her hand that wasn’t metal, she wore a long white fingerless glove. The robes themselves were a pastel yellow and orange. She wore a sleeveless light brown cloak on top which only reached her belt. The pants were white, and her boots were a very light brown that was far closer to orange. Along with her robes, she had tied her hair into a braid instead of her usual ponytail.

She joined the crowd of rebels at the celebration and smiled as Luke passed. She was proud of him, and he had started down his story and path. “In time a new hope will emerge,” she repeated to herself in a whisper. “Well, Obi-Wan, that time has come.” Luke and Han received their medals from Leia, as she watched them. It was time for the next story.

After the celebration had died down, she sought out Luke. He had been hard to get alone with so many members of the Rebellion congratulating him on the destruction of the Death Star. At last she found him on his own. “Luke, can I ask you to walk with me, for a moment?”

“Sure, what is it, Grim?” He asked her.

The two of them walked away from the celebration where it was quieter. “From what I understand, Master Kenobi has started your training, correct?”

“Yes, he did, but now that he’s gone…” he trailed off.

“He can’t complete it,” she said. “But I can. If you would want me to, I can train you in the ways of the Force, in the ways of the Jedi.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Really? I would love that.”

“I’m glad, Padawan.”

He looked confused by that. “Padawan?”

She chuckled, a little embarrassed. “Jedi that are students are called Padawans. By training you, I would be taking you on as my Padawan.”

“Oh.”

“I do have another question, since you have decided to allow me to train you. In the past, when there were far more Jedi in the galaxy, Padawans would wear small braids behind their ear. If you’d be okay with that, could I give you a Padawan braid?”

He thought about it for a moment. “Okay,” he said.

She smiled. “I’m glad, the tradition of the Padawan braid died when the Empire came into power. So many Padawans had to get rid of their braids, and any Padawans that have been taken after the fact have never had one.”

They found a quiet spot, and Grim sat down, she gestured for Luke to join her. “Are you alright if I braid your hair now?”

“Sure,” he said.

Gently she began to start the process of making a Padawan braid. She tried to remember how they looked on the other Padawans she had seen at the Temple, how the braid had looked on herself. It had been nearly twenty years since she had last seen a Padawan who wore a Padawan braid.

“Grim?” Luke asked.

“Hm?”

“How did you know Ben?”

She smiled sadly. “He was the Jedi who trained me.”

“But I thought he trained Vader?”

“He did, I was his Padawan after Vader became a Jedi Knight.”

“If you knew Ben, did you know my father?”

Her face softened. “I did.”

“What was he like?”

“He was…” There was a long pause. What was she supposed to say to him about Anakin? She couldn’t tell him that his father was Vader, and her memories of her brother had become tainted since his fall. “…A lot of things.” She settled on, instead.

However, she knew she should tell him more, without being able to tell him everything. “He was kind, passionate, and he was so very brave. He saved my life plenty of times, and sometimes he would understand me better than any other Jedi. We didn’t always get along, but I still saw him as a brother, despite everything.”

Luke smiled. “He sounds like he was a good man.”

“He was,” she lied. She wished it were true.

“I wish I’d known him.”

“I do too,” she said. Hadn’t she spent her childhood fighting so that would happen?

She finished his Padawan braid and smiled. “Done. Well, I’ve kept you away from everyone for long enough. Go enjoy being a hero.”

“Thank you. Are you going to come as well?”

“Ah, no. These kinds of celebrations were never really my thing. Besides, you were the hero today, not me.”

“All right,” he said. He left to join his friends.

She smiled as she watched him leave. When he was gone her smile faded. She unclipped Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from her belt and held it in her hands. She looked down at it and began to cry. Now that it was over, she had time to process his death. “I need you, Obi-Wan,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve spent my entire life in this universe fighting, I don’t know how to train a Padawan of my own. What if I teach him how to be a soldier instead of a Jedi?”

“You don’t need me, Grim.” Obi-Wan’s voice replied.

She opened her eyes and tried to find him, but saw no one. “I do,” she choked.

“You’re a strong and wonderful Jedi, even greater than I was. You will do an amazing job training the boy.”

She laughed sadly. “Greater than you? I failed the entire Order, Master. What if I fail Luke, too?”

“What happened to the Jedi was not your fault. Maybe you couldn’t change it, but things are different now. You have learned, and I believe in you. There is no one I would trust more to train Luke.”

Grim raised an eyebrow. “Not even Master Yoda?”

Obi-Wan’s gentle and bright laugh filled the room. It warmed Grim’s heart. She could not remember the last time she had heard him laugh. She smiled.

“I trust you just as much as I trust Master Yoda. You are more than capable.”

“If you say so, Obi-Wan. I will not fail you.”

“You never have, Grim.”