Dark Side - A Star Wars Story

Journey

"No lessons today."

Ben's eye brows pulled together, and he looked over at Luke.

"Have I don't something wrong?" He asked for second time in the last two days.

Luke shook his head. "No. I have a task I want you to complete."

Ben sat and listened intently.

"On Umbara, there is a legend that tells of a Jedi temple there. I want you to go there, and find it." Luke said sternly, not looking at him.

"Umbara? The shadow planet? Master, why must I go there?" Ben stood upright now, his body tense.

"To face your fears, Ben!" Luke shouted.

Ben was shocked for a moment, and couldn't say anything.

"You.........have no idea what you are doing to yourself. The more you let your visions effect you, the less you will have control of your life."

"Doing to myself? Uncle, I have no control-"

"Enough! You are going to Umbara. Pack your things. You leave at dawn." With that, Luke strode away, leaving Ben standing there fuming.

"Ahhhhh!"

Ben lifted each planter within in reach, gripping each of them with the Force, then smashed them to the ground, shards splattering everywhere. Ben's chest heaved, but he felt like he couldn't breath.

Ben grabbed his staff, and stormed through the academy, and down the steps towards the forest. He didn't stop til he made it to the waterfall, but once there, he couldn't calm himself down enough to breath properly. Did Luke have any idea what he was saying? Did he even understand what it was like for Ben to have these visions? He didn't. He couldn't understand.

"Ben."

He turned to see Rey standing behind him a ways back at the edge of the clearing. She looked up at him shyly, but said nothing more.

"What do you want Rey?" He spat.

She coward back, her eyes going wide with fear. Ben realized what he was doing, and his expression softened. He threw his staff aside, and knelt down, extending a hand to her.

"Come here. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said gently.

She hesitated, then ran to him, slamming into his chest, and throwing her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, his large hands covering her whole body.

"Master Luke said you were leaving." She sobbed.

He pulled back, looking down at her tear streaked face.

"Its not for very long. I'll come back, I promise." He told her.

She looked down, and nodded. "Ok."

He put a finger under her chubby chin, and lifted her face up. "Want to play starships and meteors?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No. I want to play moons and planets."

"I've never played that one before." He commented.

"I'll show you!" She squealed.

She grabbed his hand, and started running through the forest again.

°

"This one has this moon, and this one has this moon." Rey handed him a toy sphere, and he put it where she had instructed.

"What do we do?" He asked.

"Ok, so, both of our planets are in love, but the moons and stars don't want them to be together." She explained.

"How come?"

Her face krinkled in thought. "Because, if the two planets get too close, they could run into each other and get destroyed."

"Why are our planets in love?" He frowned, looking down at the multicolored spheres.

"Because," She said exasperatingly, pointing to my planet. "Yours is a boy," Then she pointed to her planet. "And mine is a girl. Now,"

She reached behind her, and grabbed tiny air planes off the ground, and gave him a handful, and then kept some for herself.

"The planets can only be stopped by spinning them away. But, the moons have deadly lasers on them, and they can shoot the planets dead."

Ben stared at all the pieces. "This is very complicated."

Rey out one chubby finger up. "Shh. Pay attention."

Ben nodded. "Sorry."

"Now, the only way to win is by getting your planet past the finish line. If you do that, you win." Rey huffed when she was done, filling her tiny body back up with air.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Ready."

"Go!"

Ben took his time, not wanting to upset her right off the bat, and he let her win. After a few rounds, he decided to start making it harder for her. He won a couples times, but for the most part he just kept right behind her.

"Whew! That was fun!" Rey said excitedly.

They calmed down a bit, sitting back, and looking at their planets.

"Rey."

She looked up, a small smile on her face.

"Why do the planets love each other?"

"I......I don't know." She said, frowning.

"Do they think about each other often?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Do they spend a lot of time together?"

"Yeah."

"Do they tell each other that they love one another?"

"Yeah."

Ben nodded. "Well, then I suppose they are in love."

Rey's eyes lit up. "So does that mean we're in love?"

"What?" Ben asked, shocked.

"Well, we both think about each other, and spend time together, so does that mean we're in love?" She watched him expectantly.

"You forgot about saying I love you."

"I love you." She said quietly.

He watched her tiny face, and smiled. "Then I suppose I love you too."

°

The starship's engine came to life, and Ben stared up at the ramp. This was his first time flying and to Umbara no less.

He gripped his staff, and swallowed.

"Good luck."

He turned to see Luke standing a ways behind him.

"Thank you, Master."

"May the Force be with you."

Ben paused, then walked into the ship, and it rose into the air.