[Black Fleet Crisis(9)

“Go on. “

Streen gestured toward the horizon. “If I have understood what I have read, the Massassi measured themselves against this all-dominating presence and found themselves wanting. They stood at the pinnacle of life on a fecund world, and yet felt themselves and their attainments to be nothing. And that paradox colored their entire history. “

“Yes, ” said Luke. “They failed to learn the lesson of humility. The grander their works, the more they ached for the power that still seemed so far out of reach. They gathered these stones for the Sith in a vain effort to touch the face of their god. And they pursued the dark power of the Sith in a vain effort to become like gods themselves. “

“It was a kind of madness. “

“A glimpse of the truth can bring on madness, ” Luke said softly.

“What truth is that? “

“Look around us, ” Luke said, spreading his hands. “The Massassi are gone, their works crumbling, battered by war, violated by trespassers. But Yavin still rules over their world. “

“Yes. Yes, I see. “

“Streen, I am leaving in the morning, ” Luke said quietly. “I am no longer needed here. It is time for someone else to take over the Academy. I’ve chosen you. “

Those words succeeded in startling Streen in a way the kitehawks had failed to. “Leaving? I don’t understand, ” he said, turning toward Luke.

“Once the Force was to me like a whispered voice on the wind, ” Luke said, standing and looking back toward the Great Temple. “Obi-Wan taught me to hear it, and Yoda to understand it. I trained myself to hear it no matter where I was. And in my turn I taught others to hear and understand. But I have not been hearing that voice well of late, though my hearing is more acute than ever. There is too much noise. There is too much I must screen out. There are too many questions, too many demands. Everyone seems to be shouting at me. It’s painful, and tiring. “

He turned back to Streen. “I can no longer do this work. And the work I have to do cannot be done here. “

“Then it’s time for you to leave, ” Streen said, rising to his feet. “Past time, I think, now that I understand why you’ve been pulling away from us. And I will not ask where you are going. “

“Thank you, ” Luke said. “Do you accept the burden I have offered you? “

“Yes, ” said Streen, offering his open hand. “I accept it. I free you in good conscience from your duties. I will carry this weight now. ” The two men clasped hands firmly and meaningfully. Then Streen smiled. “Though I don’t feel ready. “

“Good, ” said Luke, answering Streen’s smile and releasing his hand. “That feeling will help ensure your diligence. “

“Will you tell the apprentices, or shall I? “

“I’ll tell them. They’ll expect it. And I want them to know you have my confidence. Come, let it be done. “

Taking two long, swift steps, Luke launched himself from the crown of Temple Atun into the warm, empty air, just as the kitehawks did. He tumbled, then extended his limbs as though his robes were wings.

Falling, he meditated on fear for long seconds, then made himself in his mind a creature of the air. Making his body as light as his heart, he touched down so softly near the base of the temple that the grasses barely protested. Streen took longer to arrive, descending the sun-bronzed face of the temple as though rappelling with an invisible rope.

“I hope that wasn’t my last test, ” Streen said breathlessly as he joined Luke.

“No, ” Luke said. “Just something I wanted to do one more time before I left. “

Later, in the small hours of night, a solitary E-wing fighter made an arrow of light across the sky, climbing from the island of ruins in the dark sea of jungle toward the stars. Only one pair of eyes saw it go-Streen’s. He was seated atop the Great Temple, meditating, and the light and sound caused him to look up.

“Goodbye, my teacher, ” he said softly as the ion trail faded. “May the Force be with you on your journey. “

In some ways Jacen Solo was like any seven-year-old boy. He liked building houses from a deck of sabacc cards, driving toy speeders through mud puddles, and playing with model spacecraft. The only problem, as Han saw it, was that Jacen wanted to do all of those things with his mind rather than his hands.

So far, the ability to levitate even small objects had eluded Jacen. The E-wing and TIE fighter that dueled in the air above his bed were suspended by threads, not by thoughts. But knowing that it was possible was motivation enough for Han’s elder son. Like a parent enduring the first year of a child’s clarinet lessons, Han had learned how to keep the sound of small disasters, failed experiments, and the occasional display of impatience in the next room from making his blood pressure spike. And, unlike Leia, he had no trouble with the noise and chaos that are a child at play.