What Vader Wants Most

Finding

Obi-Wan had thought, perhaps, that visiting the Sith temple with his new padawan might have been a good idea. After all, the site was long abandoned, and made by a Sith regarded as a laughing stock by any historians still floating around. The ancient Force-wielder had made many large, theatrical objects, most of which had either refused to work or backfired spectacularly.

Therefore, even with his sketchy knowledge, Obi-Wan had thought him and Luke would be able to have a safe and educational Jedi field trip.

Upon arrival on the planet's surface, this had appeared to be the case. As the two had manoeuvred carefully beneath the clouds, dodging the occasional rock formation, it had appeared exactly as expected.

Plants of all shapes and sizes dotted the landscape – the usual seed planet mix of tall trees, with lower-lying shrubs swaying in a light breeze. Unlike other worlds he had visited, most of the fauna was a deep, dusky orange, blending in with the tall gorges of a very similar colour all around. If not for the bustling life, it would have looked very similar to Tatooine. Thankfully, there was bustling life; Obi-Wan didn't think he would've been able to stand another second on any desert planet. Force, he could understand his old padawan's hatred of Tatooine. And sand.

"This is it?" Luke asked from beside him, both of them standing on a plateau, high up enough that the mountains and valleys laid out around them were shrouded in fog. Before them, the shelf of rock spread into the distance, with no discernible edge. But, breaking this horizon, the temple rose out of the ground – sharp angles and striking black stone.

Kenobi turned his face to the young man and smiled slightly. "Yes," He said. "Whilst we are here, follow my lead and do everything I ask without hesitation." Danger and warnings permeated the Force, which wasn't unusual for structures such as this. The ancient Sith had been adept at twisting the Force to convey obscure messages of doom. But, you could never be too wary. "Reach out with the Force; what can you sense?"

Luke closed his eyes, face scrunching into an expression of concentration. Even with only a few weeks of training, the boy was progressing incredibly fast. Kenobi turned away. The child looked painfully like his father.

"Its... Dark?" His padawan opened his eyes again and squinted at the monolith. "There is... Pain. Loads of pain..." Luke winced.

Obi-Wan hummed, reaching into the Force again. The boy was right; wistful longing and pain permeated the dark aura of the building. That wasn't too much of a surprise; temples like this had a knack for trapping unfortunates with little left to live for. Thankfully, most had been trapped for years, with little strength left to pose any sort of threat.

"You are right, son." The Jedi stared out at the temple. The amount of darkness seeping from it was somewhat more than he had expected from a galactically-known failure, but he was confident that Luke would be able to handle it. His father had been doing similar things at half the age. "Be wary of traps and follow my lead."

Luke nodded enthusiastically and walked after his master a couple of feet behind, looking about himself in wonder. After a life time of Tatooine, it wasn't very surprising – if Kenobi hadn't been concentrating on the Force, he would have found it endearing.

Surprisingly, the usual wall of furious Force energy was partly absent, with a few recently-destroyed tatters reaching out as malevolently as they could manage. Just before they came in range, Kenobi stopped, holding out an arm to make sure his charge didn't continue, either. "Luke; there is a barrier here. Can you feel it?"

The farm boy's eyes widened, and then scrunched closed again, the achingly familiar look of concentration back in force. Kenobi turned away, studying the pyramid before them. As usual for ancient structures, it was weathered, with holes in the wall every hundred metres. They wouldn't have any trouble getting in.