[Short Stories] - Dark Emperor 6(18)

“Oh, Espaa,” she wept. “We did it…we saved you. Espaa…I’m your mother, Gemsaa.”

“Mother?” said Espaa Pestage. “You are my mother! But I thought you were dead. How can this be?”

“There is no death, my son. There is the Force. I’m here now…that’s all that matters. I will never leave you again, Espaa, so long as you need me. I promise you that.”

Gemsaa Pestage held her son tightly to her and wept unashamedly as the assembled Jedi looked on in awe.

*

“Are you sure he remembers nothing?” Brand asked Anakin.

“His mother probed his thoughts. He doesn’t know who he used to be. All he remembers is his life with his father after his mother died giving birth to him.” Anakin shook his head. “It’s a miracle. Gemsaa is a brilliant healer. If she hadn’t died, I think her son’s life would have been very different. And so would the fate of the galaxy. I wonder sometimes, Brand. Does the Force control our destinies? If it does, why did it heap so much pain and evil on one man, starting with the death of his mother? Or was it all some ghastly cosmic mistake?”

“A mistake?” said Brand doubtfully. “If so, it has been corrected here today. And thanks are not only due to Gemsaa. I do not think I could have put up with Palpatine at such close quarters as you did, with Obi-Wan and my Master.”

“I was already used to him,” Anakin said ruefully. “But it was a burden. I won’t argue with that…Still, to me it was a chance to complete my own redemption.”

“You did your work perfectly, all three of you. The Emperor was totally convinced by your story. He fully expected to destroy all of us. For a moment, even I almost believed that he could.”

“I knew him so well,” said Anakin. “That’s all. I knew how to bring out and manipulate his deepest character traits. Fear for his own survival. Paranoia. The desire for revenge. The need for power. He did the rest by himself.”

“Such a healing has never before been accomplished among the Jedi. And it could only have happened here, where our very forms can change, and where there was a place to send what we took away from him forever. I am still in awe that I witnessed it. Come with me, Anakin, I want to see the results for myself.”

They approached the little group on the plateau hesitantly, but Gemsaa saw them and waved them closer. Anakin marveled at how simply beautiful she looked with her son. They both had the same hair color, a subtle brownish blonde that glistened in the silvery light from above. Gemsaa held Espaa without possessiveness, and he seemed to belong in her arms.

Anakin sat down next to a pensive Yoda and nodded at his satisfied looking old Master, Obi-Wan. Brand floated at his other side, completing their small circle. Espaa looked at Anakin with a reserved greeting expression. Anakin could detect no hint of recognition in the boy’s eyes, and he sighed with relief.

“Espaa,” said Gemsaa, “this is Anakin, a powerful Jedi, and Brand, his friend and also a great Jedi. They are going to be your teachers too, along with myself, Yoda, and Obi-Wan. Together, we will teach you all you need to know about the Force, to prepare you for what lies ahead.”

Espaa smiled nervously at the newcomers. Then he turned back to the comfort of his mother. “I’m so glad to have you back. Father told me all about you. He missed you so much when you went away. But…now I miss my father. I want him to be here, too. Where is he, mother? Why isn’t he here?”

Gemsaa smiled sadly, and a few more tears brimmed in her large brown eyes. “I miss him too, Espaa. I loved your father very much. He was a good man. I’m glad you remember him. He loved you, more than anyone else in…well, in the whole galaxy. He stayed by your side and took care of you all the days of his life. But he was old, and he died. Sate Pestage wasn’t like you and I. He wasn’t touched by the Force and called upon to do special things like we were. When he died, he didn’t come to a special place like this one. He joined with the All instead. He became a part of the Force. I can feel him, and he is always with me. I’ll teach you to be able to feel it, too.”

“What am I supposed to do?” asked Espaa. “What special things?”

“Beyond this world, Espaa, there are others. More worlds full of light and darkness. We have battles to fight there, and broken spirits to heal. The Force needs to work through us, to make sure evil doesn’t destroy those worlds. It needs us to heal them instead.”

“Will we all be going? Will you? Will my teachers?” Espaa looked worried.

Gemsaa stroked his hair. “Don’t fear. You need never fear. You will not be alone. I will be with you, and so will your other teachers, for as long as we can.”