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47 Years Later
Imperial City, Coruscant
Luke Skywalker leaned his head against his apartment's bay window, silently watching the always bustling traffic of Imperial City down below, lost in thought. Just five months ago the Vong had retreated to their home galaxy. And ten months ago, Kyp had left the Jedi with a third of Luke's knights following. He wanted to wage his own war against the Vong, wielding the Force in the way he thought was best. Unfortunately, his arguments were very persuasive and seductive to those who had been the most hurt by the Vong.
What made it worse was the fact that after Kyp and his third had left, the turning point in the war had happened at Corellia - the New Republic won its first major battle. So Kyp's tactics appeared fruitful, while Luke's seemed stagnant. Somehow, it didn't matter anymore how aggressive Kyp’s followers acted. What mattered to most sentients was that when Kyp split from Luke, the Vong started to fall back.
It wasn't that the New Republic was completely supportive of Kyp's "Order", but they weren't necessarily against him. It wasn't as if Luke's knights had been idle in the War; the Government recognized and praised their contribution and efforts. But they made sure the public and Kyp Durron knew that they were neutral on the matter.
Luke wished that he could somehow give the politicians the same understanding of the Force as he had, so that they could see how thin the line Kyp walked on was. If only they knew how dangerous and how seductive the darkside was. To most of the people holding Government positions, the Sith were a threat of the past, a danger more mythical than tangible. Few were alive during the time of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. And even if they were old enough to remember either, no one had seen their evil as closely as Luke. No one seemed to know or care how closely Kyp's Order courted the darkside. They saw nothing more than war heroes. It was strange how fast public opinion changed when fear was erased from the equation. And to top it all off, rumor had it Kyp had found more remnants of the old Jedi Order, and was apparently instigating the old ways into his own.
Luke sighed, banging his head against the window. Sometimes he wished, like Corran and Mara, that Kyp had been dealt with years before, losing his life in hopes of creating some justice for the people of Carida. Had he known then, what he did now... he would have made the same decision. He still felt it was right.
"Are you alright?" Mara asked, leaning into the living room's door way.
Luke turned around, a sly smile tugging the corners of his lips. "Isn't that my line?"
Mara shook her head. "No, you lost all rights to it after Ben was born."
Luke folded his arms. "That's assuming I ever had rights to it."
"You didn't." Mara cocked her head towards their bedroom. "Come see what your son has taught himself to do."
Luke grinned, pride already swelling in his chest. It was an interesting feeling, being a parent. It was fun to watch his son grow, even if it was just learning how to smile or discovering his hands. He followed Mara into their bedroom, where their infant son lay wiggling on the bed. Luke smiled down at his son, and tickled his neck. Ben gave him a toothless grin, his bluish-green eyes sparkling.
"So, what is it you can do?" Luke asked, as Ben shoved a tiny fist in his mouth, smiling around it. He reached his free hand up, grasping Luke's thumb.
"He can roll over." Mara informed Luke, stroking Ben's peach fuzz hair.
Luke smiled, freeing his thumb just before Ben pulled it into his mouth. "Is that so?" He asked his son, tickling him again. Ben squirmed, cooing up at his father. Luke looked at Mara. "I’ll take that as a yes."
Mara nodded. "He sounds pretty serious about it."
"He does," Luke agreed, looking back at Ben. The baby had narrowed his eyebrows, soft "o" sounds escaping his mouth. He then turned over on his side, griping.
Mara laid her hand on Luke's shoulder. "He's going to do it."
Luke nodded, watching as Ben continued to whine, his face scrunching in frustration as he tried to flip himself over. Luke's hand hovered over him, itching to help. Mara raised an eyebrow at Luke, causing him to withdraw his hand. Ben found his thumb, sucking noisily on it as he arched his back as high as he could, and flipped over onto his stomach. A proud smile curled Luke's lips. He rubbed Ben's back. "Well, what do you know? He did it."
"And all by himself," Mara commented, nudging Luke. "I think he's been doing it for awhile. I just barely caught him in the act today."
Luke grinned. "He's a sneaky little guy." He rolled Ben onto his back, his grin growing wider at the bright smile his son gave him. "So he's rolling over now.... what comes next?"
"Inching, crawling," Mara held her hand out for Ben to grab and inspect. "Then there’s walking."
"Chasing him around the house," Luke added.
"And then the neighborhood." Mara agreed, slipping her fingers out of Ben's hand as they met his warm, wet mouth. "When he's a teenager, he'll hate us."
Luke laughed and slipped an arm around his wife. "Sounds like we have a lot to look forward to."
Mara nodded, finding his free hand and giving it a squeeze. "Together."
"Always together." Luke agreed, giving her shoulders a squeeze and kissing her cheek.
"Speaking of togetherness," Mara said, moving slightly away from him. "What was bothering you just a few minutes ago?"
Luke sighed. "Kyp and his followers."
"Who else?" Mara asked sarcastically, spreading her hands. "Exactly how long has he been giving you trouble?" She lifted her hand, ticking off her fingers. "Ten years, twenty..." She paused. "When did he come to Yavin IV?"
Luke shook his head. "Mara..."
"Yes?" Mara asked, folding her arms.
"He wasn't always a problem."
"Oh?" Mara questioned. "Name a time when he wasn’t."
Luke frowned, searching his memory. After a moment, he let out a long breath. "He means well."
"I’m sure he does," Mara said evenly. "He surely meant well when he destroyed Carida."
"The problem is, he did." Luke scrubbed a hand through his hair. "As long as I’ve known him, he’s always wanted to do what’s right, what’s best for everyone."
"No matter how they feel about it."
Luke nodded. "He never stops to think that his way just might be wrong."
Mara's emerald green eyes twinkled. "Sounds like a wide eyed farm boy I used to know."
Luke looked at her, a smile playing across his lips. "Whatever happened to him, anyway?"
"I don't know," Mara said, pretending to consider it. "I think his ego crashed, and a Jedi Master emerged from the ruins."
Luke raised an eyebrow at her. "And the cause of that crash?"
Mara laid her hand over his. "An old threat turned friend."
"You're wrong," Luke informed her, pulling her close. "Turned wife." He leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against hers, when Ben emitted a loud squeal.
Mara broke off the kiss with a sigh. "Turned mother."
Copyright 2002 by Luney.
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