[Legacy Of The Force] - 02(98)

Jacen thought of his astonishing lapse in failing to spot the simple truth that Ailyn Habuur had been sent to assassinate his parents, not Cal Omas. It was the kind of thing he should have been able to divine from the Force through a number of techniques, and yet he hadn’t. He hadn’t seen it coming.

I’ve been blinded by personal preoccupations, by family ties. That must be the reason.

“Sith lore teaches that we shouldn’t avoid love and anger,” said Jacen. “How can that be true if it was Anakin Skywalker’s flaw?”

“You don’t have to avoid it. You have to be able to pass through it and draw strength from it. Look at the Jedi now, all with their families and children, all fettered by them. Luke’s little wife ignores what she feels about you and looks for any excuse not to believe it because she puts her son’s happiness first. Luke doesn’t confront you because he fears alienating his wife and son. If they faced those fears and drew on them, they might well thwart our plans. But they won’t.”

Jacen knew she was right. “And Ben?”

“Ben will make a fine apprentice for you once he stops being defined by his father’s name and resenting it. He’s already on the path.” Lumiya lowered her voice as if afraid to make the next suggestion. “You must become a Jedi Master.”

“Isn’t that what I don’t need?”

“Ben needs you to be his Master so he knows he’s made the break from his father’s control. The Jedi council needs to show it values what you do for the Galactic Alliance if it doesn’t want to be seen as undermining government, because there are always those who will use that against them.” She paused. “Besides, why shouldn’t you be a Master? If what you’ve learned over the last few years doesn’t qualify you, what does?”

“Lumiya, if I lobby for this, it’s going to look like a weakness they can exploit.”

“You don’t have to, not yet. Let me shape opinion.”

“Influence the Jedi council? Oh, come on now …”

“You have allies there apart from Mara Skywalker. Let me plant the idea in a few places-outside the council, of course. Ideas take on a life of their own.”

“Like Admiral Niathal’s.”

“She already had ambitions. She merely needed not to be ashamed of being bold.”

“Is there anyone else you’ve influenced to act?”

“I haven’t had to influence much. This is a galaxy in search of order.”

Jacen needed to ground himself again. Attractive as Lumiya’s reassurance was, he trusted his own feelings most. He would go back to the Jedi Temple tonight and see for himself-hear for himself, feel for himself-what was true and not true.

And he would risk time-walking to his grandfather’s day again. He had to face it.

“You’ll be ready to understand what your final passage must be very soon,” said Lumiya. “I know it.”

“So do I,” said Jacen, and clapped his hands together once in a burst of Force energy. The beautiful blue underwater illusion vanished like shattering ice on a pond, and he was back in his sparse apartment again with a bag to pack and a war to win.

SKYWALKERS’ APARTMENT, GALACTIC CITY.

The apartment doors opened before Ben could press the entry key. Luke felt him coming, a turmoil of emotions in the Force.

Is that what I do to him? Is he that scared of me? I think I preferred it when he just ignored everything I said.

“No need to look so scared,” said Mara. She took Ben’s shoulder and steered him into the living room. “We’re just worried about you, that’s all.”

She sat him down and gave Luke a warning glance as he walked into the room to attempt to pull his son back from the brink. Ben was still wearing his black fatigues, which were actually no more than the standard special forces uniform but somehow looked a great deal more sinister. He certainly didn’t look like a Jedi.

You tried to force him to be what he didn’t want to be. This is what happens.

“Are you okay, Ben?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“I’m not angry with you.” Luke pulled up a chair. “But we see the kind of things Jacen is doing lately and we wonder if you should be part of it.”

Ben just stared back at him. Luke had seen that expression on children’s faces before, but they had been refugees, children from war zones who’d had to grow up faster than was reasonable or decent and who never went back to being carefree kids again.

“I’m learning a lot,” said Ben.

“I’m not sure if it’s the kind of thing you ought to be learning.”

“Why, sir?”