~@~Witness

   The trip was quiet, and for Atamvr it seemed decidedly more so.  Staring out of a small observation window in the ship's ready room, he was watching the stars slip by at lightspeed with a distracted expression on his face.  There was always a certain amount of downtime aboard a ship with a journey like this one.  Luke had been using that time to brush up on his students' skills, and right now that meant watching Darlik work with a lightsaber. 

   The exercise was slowgoing.  Darlik lurched after the remote, struggling to keep up his defenses.  And waves of frustration rolled off his sense as his struggle deepened.  Luke sighed heavily and called a break before Darlik's mounting frustration could push him into doing something foolish.  Darlik hardly looked at Luke as he blew out a breath and dropped both the flight helmet and the training lightsaber that Luke had provided onto a nearby chair. 

   Luke lowered his head as Darlik brushed past the Jedi and stalked out of the room, his sense still bristling with aggravation and resentment. If there had been a bit of well-placed uncertainty in the past when it came to each of his student's skill levels, there was none now.  Darlik knew that his abilities were lagging far behind his younger counterpart's, and he was very much resentful of that fact... though Luke honestly had a hard time telling if it was himself or Luke that Darlik most blamed for the discrepancy.  Recently Luke had begun to sense a more distinct feeling of restraint beneath the frustration, as if Darlik knew that something was keeping him from his full potential. Luke was determined that he would try again to speak to Darlik and solve that mystery, but it would have to wait until Darlik had had time to cool down. 

   Once the man had disappeared down the hall Luke turned his attention to Atamvr.  And for not the first time, the Jedi experienced his own share of frustration as he wondered how he had ever managed to take on two students; there were still days when he doubted his capacity to train even one... but the doubt was useless. The Force had brought him here and it would lead him forward.  Luke trusted that; he focused himself on the present, and he readily felt Atamvr's distraction as he moved to his student's side. 

   Over the past several days Atamvr had begun to realize that his decision to return home hadn't really been a decision that he had come to – more like something that he felt the need to do in spite of his better judgement, and it was hard to rationalize the recklessness in his own actions, knowing that. Atamvr looked up, briefly startled by the Jedi's presence, and he was surprised to find Darlik already gone.  But the surprise quickly gave way to a stab of relief at the man's absence; the fact that Atamvr carried a lightsaber and Darlik did not was already a sore subject between the two of them, and Atamvr had enough on his mind without having to deal with Darlik's stormy emotions.

   Luke smiled at him warily, but his mentor didn't say anything right away; he let Atamvr go back to staring at the starlines as they raced by outside. Troubled thoughts of home had made concentration difficult for Atamvr over the past several days, for reasons that Luke understood all too well.  But it was more than just his troubled mood and restless thoughts... Atamvr couldn't shake the unrelenting feel of great risk to come in the task ahead of them.  That was his responsibility; he had gotten them all into this, and now their future safety was something that he had to live with being unsure of. 

   "You remember," Luke asked, his eyes resting steadily on Atamvr as the younger man continued to study the starlines, "you once told me that you didn't expect for it to be easy, but you wanted to make it better?"

     Atamvr smiled at the relevance in hearing his thoughts returned to him now. "To follow the Force and be a Jedi."  He lowered his head slightly as he finished the remembrance; he also remembered the way that Luke had reached out to him then. The Jedi's concern and compassion had been an anchor for the boy, given Atamvr reassurance of his own value when memories of the hardest times of his life on Orem had given him doubt for that value.  Atamvr still remembered, vividly, the angry undercurrents of intolerance. Now those emotions had been stoked to the boiling point by expanding hostilities.... He worked at suppressing a shiver.

   "Prejudice among the ravaged worlds, toward the Jedi and the Force-strong, toward outsiders, is something that isn't an issue just for Orem. The trust that many peoples once felt for the Jedi as protectors and peacekeepers, as guardians of the Republic's unselfish government, was broken by the Empire, abused by Vader. Faith broken.  Trust betrayed. It's a challenge that we face now, to heal those abuses."

   Atamvr met Luke's gaze for a long moment before nodding his understanding. Atamvr had been pulled in this direction by an unknown, the fate and well-being of his loved ones... but his purpose here would not be unknown.  As a Jedi his responsibility was always to the innocent.  It was his mission to help restore peace and guarantee safety, not just for his own family but for anyone in need of protection.

   "And if persecution comes as part of that challenge, then it becomes a personal challenge, testing our will to endure those things that are not endured easily... and to somehow make them better for others who will follow."  Luke paused, a fleeting trace of discomfort crossing his sense.

   Across the room, Darlik stood frozen in place. This wasn't what he had thought it would be. This personal challenge Skywalker spoke of – it was nothing he wanted to be going into.

   No such hesitation or lingering doubt showed through in Atamvr.  His eyes held strong and steady on Luke's, certain that they could face the challenge ahead as a whole, and that any challenge, any burden, that they would find on Orem would belong to them all, shared. That sense of responsibility came through very clearly in Luke, and Atamvr found himself trusting in that.

   The pull of responsibility was always evident in Luke Skywalker – there in his thoughts and in his teachings, but especially in his actions – it was something that the Jedi Knight carried with honor, in his inexhaustible striving to serve. Atamvr saw it again now, and he recognized it for what it was. It was the heart of what it meant to choose this life, to live this life.

~

   Atamvr took up the pilot's position as they came out of hyperspace.  From there he was able to transmit the necessary private citizen's codes to get them on world. It was a bit of an ethical smudge – blurring the line between authority figure and private citizen – Atamvr was still a citizen of Orem but he was also a Jedi-in-training, accompanied by Luke Skywalker and another apprentice Jedi. 

   "The code clears," a gruff voice confirmed over the ship's comm. "You'll receive a transmission outlining all acceptable landing locations; no deviation from those sites will be tolerated." 

   "I understand," Atamvr answered dryly. He leaned forward a second later and scanned the list, making his choice with a frown; not a one of them was near the mountain regions he wanted to reach. "Wonder if this is a way to keep us away from the trouble spots or just a means of monitoring our presence more closely."

   "Matter of perception," Luke offered.  In reality, it was probably a healthy dose of each. "Depends on your point of view," he finished with a smile.

   Atamvr brought the ship in with an ease that made it hard for Luke to believe that the young man had never flown anything larger than a land speeder until he had come to Coruscant.  Luke glanced to each side as the ship set down, taking in their surroundings as well as his students' reactions to their circumstances. The spaceport was busy, but not with the typical traffic.  Most of that traffic, and especially the outgoing traffic, had been severely restricted since the comm block had been instated.  But the spaceports of most worlds served as gathering points for the surrounding communities and, even under normal circumstances, they were occupied with a steady flow of beings looking to exchange news and opinions, in addition to comings and goings. Today the spaceport was a place to discuss the conflict and to keep a cautious eye for the handful of newly arriving ships. 

   "Well, here we go."  Luke unstrapped himself and began gathering a light collection of gear before he stepped down the lowered boarding ramp.  The two Jedi-in-training followed his lead.

   Once they had stepped out onto the spaceport floor, three brown-robed figures, two of them wearing lightsabers, any hope at remaining inconspicuous was lost. Murmurs filled the air around them as the sphere of drawing attention cautiously expanded outward in ripples from the three men at its center.  

   Luke, Atamvr, and Darlik made their way toward the spaceport's street entrance, where they were intercepted by a handful of spaceport officials. The group stood in front of them cautiously, but unmistakably blocking their way.

   "Jedi Skywalker, we have requested no assistance from the New Republic."

   Atamvr stepped forward.  "We have not come on behalf of the New Republic.  I am a citizen of Orem, and my purpose here is to assure the safety and well-being of my family on world during this time of uncertainty."

   Luke watched as the spaceport officials exchanged wary looks; their senses remained cautious and their manners rigid. Luke could tell that they were unimpressed with Atamvr's explanation, and unswayed in their desire to be rid of them, quickly.  And then there was the noticeable curiosity that Atamvr had drawn with his perceived forwardness.... Debating the authority of planet officials, even minor ones, was not a popular course of action right now.  They suspected that the young native was only a way for the Jedi to get himself on world.  Then he could take the situation in hand and save the day for the New Republic, at Orem's expense.  

   "You cannot be here."

   "I'm sorry.  But I won't leave until I've accomplished what I came for," Atamvr answered calmly. And without further debate, he walked past the spaceport officials and led their way through the crowd.  In spite of the sea of strong objection that surrounded them from every side, no one offered the small group of outlanders any resistance.

~

   "We'll need a speeder," Atamvr murmured, glancing toward a nearby shop which was currently unattended

   Luke nodded, his arms crossed over his chest, one hand resting thoughtfully on his chin as he surveyed their surroundings.  He regretted that this had gotten off to a rocky start, but the friction between themselves and the locals had been unavoidable; the spaceport officials wanted confrontation.  Emotions were on edge and tempers were running high; it was the same way across most of the planet....  Luke hoped that they could reach Atamvr's family before the situation escalated any further.

   "You think they've sought safety in the mountain regions, under the protection of the nomad tribe that once harbored you," Luke prompted.

   Atamvr nodded. "I'd bet my life on it."

   "How long will it take us to reach the mountain regions?"

   "Hard to say," Atamvr murmured.  The young man looked worried. "At least a week, maybe more, to reach the isolated territories by speeder. Another week, maybe two, to penetrate the mountain regions and get a read on where they've set up camp. And all that's assuming that we don't run into complications."  Atamvr paused.  "Getting there will be the hard part; this journey won't be easy."

   Luke nodded. He didn't doubt Atamvr's assessment, but his feelings told him that they would face challenges far beyond the harshness of this planet's terrain....

   "We'll get to them," Luke promised his apprentice. And pushing away the last of his own reluctance, Luke reached out to the Force. An expression of acceptance and deep assurance came over his features as he drew upon its strength.  Luke knew that Atamvr's first priority was to see his family safe, but he hoped that somewhere along way they could prevent this planet from slipping into civil war, and possibly taking the surrounding systems with it.

   Atamvr nodded and glanced aside anxiously. He had caught sight of a movement inside the shop and stepped away to get the attention of the returning transport dealer so that he could arrange a speeder for them.

~

     A half hour later Luke sat behind the speeder's controls, his gaze passing over Orem's exotic mixture of arid yellow plains as their transport cut a steady path through the late day shadows of the flatlands.  Those plains were traced through with wavering shades of reds, oranges, and browns in the plateaus that rose above the level ground. And still further into the distance, seas of deep blue mountain ranges reached in jagged peaks to meet the clear blue skies overhead.

   The air around them quickly cooled as the sun began to dip behind the highest mountain peaks.  There would be daylight for a few more hours as the sun set behind the mountains and threw what Luke had been told was a spectacular light show, once removed from the more populated areas.  The night temperatures, however, would set in quickly. The climate out here fell in extremes, equal to the vividly contrasting flats and mountains. There were desert-like days and nights over the flats and plateaus, alongside frigidly cold temperatures in the mountains, and there was no moisture to be seen anywhere, not in the form of snow or rain. Everything about this land expressed rugged harshness, but it also glittered and basked in a uniquely pristine beauty.

   Atamvr was engrossed in a series of maps and news reports, trying to pull all the information he could out of them while there was still daylight.  He split his attention between studying the maps and relaying news coverage to his companions. The nature of the dispute, he explained, went back to issues of land rights between the two major territorial rivals on world, the Kelcinans and the Dravidans. This time it centered around the limited water availability and the shakes and slides that the planet was prone to experience.  One of those ground shocks had displaced a vital stretch of river some months ago. 

   Luke remembered from his previous research when he had been preparing to offer mediation on Orem that water was the real illusive component of the land.  It remained in constant short supply throughout the varying landscapes and climates that covered the planet, taking its only form in the handful of rivers that thawed from the high mountain glaciers and recycled themselves again in the deep hotbeds of the planet's core before overflowing back into the springs that fed the glaciers.

   With water constantly in short supply, both sides were sighting a claim to the river in question.  The Dravidans were pushing for it to stay its present course, the result of an act of nature.  The Kelcinans wanted it to be restored to its previous route, insisting that their land right included the river that had historically run through it. From there, things had deteriorated startlingly quickly. The opposing sides had unanimously refused mediation, and the few attempts at compromise had all quickly derailed. 

   The Kelcinans had used their advantage in technologies to bring into effect the comm block that blanketed the planet, a sanction that they vowed would remain in place until the other side conceded.  Their action cut the Dravidans off from their primary source of income, shipment of raw materials off world. The Dravidans had then retaliated by using their superior land positions to cut several necessary roads and passes, severely limiting the Kelcinans own supply routes, and thereby their survival.

   Then there was the militarization that had sprung into effect, almost overnight, at the slightest suspected advances of one side on the other, followed by the string of highly publicized threats that ensued in that wake.  The distrust between the two sides had caused the more immediate dispute to grow and fraction into the inclusion of a half dozen previously unresolved quarrels and festering, deeply-seated biases. At a time when any differences are unwelcome in beings, even in those sharing the same basic views and standpoints, the differences that existed among the handful of divergent native species that shared this land in a semi-constant state of civil dispute had brought a whole new level of dislike and distrust to further complicate the situation. 

   Atamvr finally stopped in mid sentence and paged across several maps before he returned to the reports from one side and then the other; then he sighed heavily.  There was no question or confusion on this one point.  In order to reach his homeland they would have to cross a wide band of the disputed land mass – and in doing so they would have to cross two sets of front lines, front lines where the Kelcinans and the Dravidans were each encamped around the territory that both sides stubbornly claimed as their own undisputable right.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   The three men sat around a small campsite with only the firelight and the stars visible in the dark night around them. Luke was watching the sky, trying to make out the lines where the starry night dissolved into the mountains above his head, and he restrained a sigh when he looked back to the ground in front of him. It was almost impossible to make out the massive shadows in the settling darkness, and it was hard to believe that a simple act of nature could bring about so much malevolence in peoples who had spent their entire lives in a delicate balance of compromise. 

   They had spent many weeks traveling alongside those towering mountains but had made no progress in crossing them. There were only a handful of mountain passes that were safe, and all of those were well-guarded by Dravidan encampments.  Although they had reached the isolated territories fairly quickly, most of their time since then had been spent being rerouted, refused, scoffed at, and ignored. Their presence was unwanted, and with each new rebuttal it became harder to keep patience and hope.  But Atamvr continued doggedly searching out new routes and persisting in negotiations with whomever he could gain an audience with. Tonight he sat close to the fire, straining his eyes in the study of maps, trying to find still another way that might get them through the mountains and across the disputed land mass to his people on the other side. 

   Luke felt a change in his sense just before Atamvr lifted his gaze and called Luke over. Beneath strained patience and hardened determination, there was a building urgency.  Luke leaned down beside his apprentice, resting his weight on one knee as the two men huddled by the fire's light, speaking in quiet tones.

   "You think we can make it through here?" Luke asked, motioning toward the place Atamvr had indicated on the map.  Both men realized that Atamvr had purposefully overlooked that particular pass up until this point, mostly because it was known to be unstable.  They could easily get halfway through the mountain and have their way forward or backward blocked by a landslide... but access to the easier and safer routes had been refused them, time and time again. Now their choices were starting to grow slim.

   Atamvr nodded. "I think this pass is our best option right now."

   "And if the Dravidans catch us breaking their lines?" Luke asked.  "They could easily interpret our action as hostile intent, take us prisoner."

   Atamvr swallowed hard, but his determination did not falter. "Then we'll just have to avoid capture."

   Luke glanced toward Darlik who sat a little further away from the fire, his attention elsewhere in the night.

   Atamvr followed Luke's gaze. He had hoped that the joint effort, time spent pursuing a common cause, might pull the older man out from himself, inspire cooperation, communication, progress... at least provide some relief from that heavy feeling that always surrounded his sense.  He knew that Luke had harbored similar hopes for his apprentice, and Luke still hoped for that change... but he worried that it had not come.  Darlik, thus far, had been short-tempered and negative. He was especially critical of the prevailing prejudices that they had encountered on this world and the negativity that was routinely directed at them. While the same things troubled Luke and saddened Atamvr, they only seemed to multiply the harsh emotions welling within Darlik, and with each new incidence his tolerance was becoming less and less. 

   "I'm worried for him," Luke admitted quietly.  "I don't know how he might react if we were to be captured."

   Atamvr swallowed hard. "If you say 'no' to this plan, I'll respect your judgement.  We can keep trying to gain passage officially, but based on what we've seen so far that's not going to happen.  This conflict has already become far more militarized than anything I've ever seen here before.  The leaders for both sides are stubborn, and determined to show no weakness.  Neither wants to be the first to back down, or to allow a transgression of their lines."

   Atamvr dropped his gaze, trying to ignore the stinging sensation that tormented his exhausted eyes.  All he could do right now was hope that his loved ones were safe somewhere behind those lines, away from the hostilities that each day seemed more destined and unstoppable, and sure to begin soon....

   Luke's heart twisted in sympathy.  "You're telling me that this is our best chance; I trust your judgement."  The Jedi gave his apprentice a tight smile and placed a hand to his shoulder. "I'll go tell Darlik."

   Atamvr nodded. Luke stood slowly, and Atamvr watched him go to inform Darlik of their new plan. When Atamvr resumed his study of the maps a few moments later he was more determined than ever to do everything in his power to get them through this safely.

~

   Luke sat down casually at the edge of the fire's light and began explaining to Darlik about their change in strategy and the potential risk involved. Darlik had no notable reaction to the decision or to the possibility of danger. In fact, again, Luke was getting the distinct impression that the man was trying to restrain his emotions and reactions.

   Darlik took in the Jedi's words, deeply unnerved.  He didn't care about the boy's distressing plight or the terrible certainty of the coming warfare.  Neither were important, aside from the fact that they provided a backdrop for his intentions and therefore had to be considered in his timing....  Actually, he had thought that once the boy was away from Coruscant, caught up in the turmoil that was consuming his home planet, it would be easy enough to arrange for his demise; the cover of strife and war would have provided a seamless explanation for his death. Then Darlik could proceed to the infinitely more important task of facing Skywalker, and attaining his own destiny... but that plan was all but history now.  Instead, he had followed the two of them to this forsaken planet, hoping that an opportunity would provide itself under that same cover. But this, he had not expected.

   The past was too real for him here.  He couldn't stand the distaste with which these lessors looked upon them. It became harder every day to find the necessary distance to hide himself, to contain his rage both emotionally and physically. But so far he had been able to keep his focus upon his goal, concentrate on the prize that awaited him at the end of this: the undeniable power and respect that would be his as the successor of Luke Skywalker.

   "Darlik."  Luke took a deep breath and decided to try reaching out to his apprentice again.  "We spoke once before about the past and the way its influence can extend into the present: our intentions, our impressions, our blind spots.  I told you then that I'd be willing to talk to you about whatever bothered you, and I hoped that you'd take the initiative. But you haven't, so I'll ask again now.  What is it about being here that's got you so withdrawn, and so on edge?"

   His student looked genuinely surprised at the straightforward question.

   Darlik had not expected Skywalker to call him out, only to give him another opportunity to refuse the Jedi's generous offer of help, his intention to free him from his past's burdens.  It did catch him off guard, and his own answer also surprised him.

   "This place has hit too close to home," he admitted slowly, begrudgingly.  "I wasn't ready to be in the middle of something like this again."  And even more unexpectedly, Darlik found himself speaking about things that he had spoken of to no one, the things that had shaped him more than any other. 

   Luke listened intently, sympathetically, as his student shared that insight into himself.  And he understood the things that Darlik had seen.  His home planet was within the Tritis territories, some of the farthest reaches of the outer rim. The sector was considered dangerous for its removal from galaxy civics and civility, and for a history of keeping nearly fanatical loyalty to the ideals of the Emperor's new order.  The Emperor's prejudices against non-humans and the Force-strong were still law there, and when Darlik's talent had come to knowledge he had been persecuted relentlessly, ruthlessly driven from his home; he had barely escaped with his life.

   "Indiscriminate hatred and aggression," Luke breathed, and he restrained a sigh as his thoughts returned to those dark times... the Emperor's influence, and the heavy costs that those attitudes had exerted across the galaxy.  For those who had lived in the shadow of fear that that vendetta had bred, it was something that could not be forgotten. Its existence had been as strong here as it had been on Marnia and all along the outer rim extending into the Tritis territories.

   "It's ironic, that deep loyalty to the Emperor, keeping alive his vendetta against the Force-strong. Really, it was nothing more than a way to eliminate those like him, any who might equal or surpass the power that he commanded."

   Darlik nodded. Perhaps even more ironically, Darlik did understand. Just as it had been with the Emperor, Darlik knew that his power would come at the expense of the weaker, and he knew with certainty that any threats to that power had to be destroyed.... Darlik's sense flickered briefly as he drew back from those thoughts, cautious that he not give too much away. He had to remember to keep his thoughts on the present and to keep his guard well in place, lest Skywalker look too deeply. Despite his endless talk of restraint and tolerance, such things were still in his power.

   Luke felt the brief flicker of cautious uncertainty in the other man's sense... and a shade of suspicion.  Darlik was almost certainly wondering how much of this sharing might be really be Luke's doing, and his guard was notably raised now.

   "We must try to understand those attitudes." Luke ignored the shadow of distrust that had fallen over Darlik's emotions as he began to speak to his student, mindful of the unhealed wounds left upon him by his past.  "It is important to face the past, but it is also important not to confuse the past with the present. Remember, this planet's history is one of turmoil and deep-seated prejudices; neither have been helped by the outside galaxy, and neither can be solved overnight. Only with slow growth and the gradual acceptance of differences between equals can the beings here hope to move forward and leave the past behind.

   "It's not our place to force that change or to hinder it.  Our responsibility here is to face our own set of challenges, relying on the strength we find in the light of the Force. We must accept our hardships and try to work through them peaceably: with reason, and with understanding – even for those who would wish us harm."

   Darlik gave him a hard stare, and Luke could see something very dangerous brewing in his eyes.

   "Darlik," Luke breathed easily, "you must understand that this place, this situation we find ourselves facing, it's not some unfair reprisal of the past, but a new challenge that brings with it a real opportunity for change.  We cannot change the past but, hopefully, this is a situation that we can make better.... Always in motion is the future."

~

   Atamvr sat quietly a short distance away.  Only bits and pieces of the conversation came to him, but he focused himself on the gentle, constant tone of Luke's voice, his patient instruction in the value of the light... just the way the sound of his voice carried the sound and the feel of his faith.  That source of strength and conviction was deeply reassuring, but even as he felt those things Atamvr found himself identifying with the lament of the other man.  Atamvr also understood the unfairness of persecution: times of pain and confusion, separation from his loved ones, fear for his safety and for theirs, and all of it because of his own talent in the Force. 

   Now the value of those days, weeks, and months that he could have had seemed even more unjustly taken from him.  But beyond his deepest personal struggles, Atamvr lamented the untold years that had been lost to such meaningless hate.  Now hatred had all but consumed this place, his home, and they all waited in its shadows, hoping for some sort of reprieve from the worst possibilities. 

   Atamvr closed his eyes, and his mind wandered in the darkness. He remembered his shock and elation at the feeling of having grown past the pain and fear that had once haunted him, that day Luke had given him the vision test. And he remembered, too, that he wasn't the only one who had known such injustices and been able to grow past them. He could still remember his stunned emotions in a cramped recovery suite on Taypon, hearing Lara answer, "the Empire came for me."  His own shell shocked response had been followed by her faint smile in the darkness, and the hope in her voice had balanced itself against difficult memories and her own inner strength. "I always thought there was a good chance I wouldn't survive. But it was a chance I intended to make work for me, and somehow it did.  I ended up helping Luke Skywalker," she had said.

   He remembered the sound of her voice very clearly. Atamvr had known again, in that moment, that he wanted this life.  He wanted the kind of life that inspired hope, like the hope he had heard in Lara's voice when she spoke of the man who had forever changed her life.  Atamvr opened his eyes and lay down to watch the stars, listening once more to the rise and fall of the conversation off to his side.

~

   Luke hoped that some of what he had told Darlik might take, inspire within him new sympathy, lead to greater understanding. But he could tell that the man was not really ready to understand, much less forgive, the ill treatment that he had experienced in his past.  The brief window to open communication had closed to those thoughts of acceptance and forgiveness, and it could not be made to open again. 

   Luke set the matter to a temporary close and left Darlik to himself once again, but Luke lay awake with his own worried thoughts.  He realized the dangerous imbalance in Darlik's emotions. This environment held too much resemblance to the festering wounds that Darlik still held on to.  And if he could not come to terms within himself, with the past and all of its pain, then the outside world would only keep pushing him until there was nothing left, in his mind, but to push back.

   Luke took a deep breath and reached out to the Force, letting its familiar calm clear his thoughts and sooth his emotions as he looked up at the stars. And his gaze searched them harder as his brow furrowed in memory. It was a little more than two months since he had left Coruscant.  Today, it was five years....  And Luke suddenly, intensely, wished that he could find one pinpoint of light like the bright white-orange reflective glow of Coruscant's center system sun. 

   "She'll be all right." The sound of Atamvr's voice startled him from his absent emotions. Luke looked in his direction and nodded uneasily. 

   He hoped that she wasn't alone.  The strength of that emotion made Luke wince, and he closed his eyes, reaching out to the Force more deliberately this time. She was so far away... he wished that he could touch her sense over the distance, just enough to let her know.... He sighed as he opened his eyes again, his heart aching. All he could see in the sky above him were bright white pinpoints of light.  They seemed to extend into the far reaches of the universe without ever reaching familiarity.

   She would know.  She did know... how much he was loving her tonight. Luke just wished that he could tell her... all of that, and just that he was thinking of her.

~

   Lara settled in for another night, her new routine.  The twins had fallen asleep about half an hour ago but Lara sat with them, rocking them, watching them sleep... grateful beyond words for the way they filled her heart. That positive energy filled the empty spaces inside of her, and had become greatly healing to the parts of herself still missing her lost family.  During the days she could center herself around her children, busying herself with them, and hopefully she wouldn't have the energy for thought, and worry, and sleeplessness at night... but usually that energy was there anyway.  Tonight she felt it acutely. 

   With one last caress, she kissed her sleeping children goodnight and went to the kitchenette to make herself a cup of hot chocolate.  It was something that always seemed to make her feel closer to Luke.  Lara smiled at that feeling and tried not to let herself remember that he was far away, facing unknown trials and dangers.... She pushed those thoughts aside with a sigh; she couldn't stop missing him, but on top of this day's horrible emptiness, it was too much to worry about her husband's safety.

   Lara stood at the living room window, watching the moving pattern of lights that formed the Coruscant skyline as it was framed by a sea of stars above.  She held the warm cup to her lips and breathed deeply the sweet aroma before finishing the last of the chocolate.  That lonely feeling of emptiness washed over her emotions again as she turned away from the stars outside her window to return the empty cup to the kitchenette. But before she made it there an uncomfortable strand of emotion pressed at the edge of her conscious thought. Lara set the cup down on a counter top and walked quietly to the front door. She keyed it open to find Leia standing in the hall, an odd expression on her face.

   "I don't know how I knew," Leia tried to explain her presence, "but–" her voice trailed away, as did the last of her discomfort.  "I thought you could use some company," she decided.  Lara stepped back, allowing Leia to come inside, and Leia felt her reservations ease further. Lara's acceptance was a welcome relief, one that Leia hadn't been entirely certain would come.

   "Am I that transparent?" Lara asked dryly.

   Leia shook her head. "I know where you are right now. I go to that place every time I remember Alderaan."

   The two women sat down in the living area.

   "It wasn't your fault," Leia assured her friend sternly. "You did everything you could to prevent their deaths."

   Lara's haunted eyes lifted to meet Leia's, and she studied the woman who held herself responsible for an entire planet's death.  They both knew that forgiveness wasn't that easy.

   "I'm sorry," Leia breathed, letting the harsh determination and the strong front slip away.  There was a time to be strong and brave, and there was a time simply to try to understand a friend's pain. "I can't imagine what you must have gone through in the Empire."

   Lara shook off her concern.  "You lost your home and family. Luke did too."

   "But we also gained new family and new purpose, being a part of the Rebellion. You were trapped in a reality not of your choosing, with the only purpose being to survive it."  Leia paused in that thought.  "I admire that you didn't let that break you; you did what you had to do to survive, but you also chose to risk your life for Luke's when you when you didn't have to, when you could have walked away."

   Inexplicably, Lara smiled. Leia's words were familiar.  Luke had said nearly the same thing when he had first brought her to Coruscant.  But she hadn't believed it any more then; surviving the Empire had nearly destroyed her.... "Looking back, I think it shattered me.  I was just too caught up in my own survival to notice anything else."

   Leia winced. "I catch myself wondering sometimes, what I would have done after Alderaan if I hadn't had the Rebellion... but the Rebellion had to survive, more than my own life, more than anything that had been lost....  That meant I couldn't afford to fall apart or to feel sorry for myself, even for a minute.  Too much depended on our success," she finished, coming to the only natural conclusion.  "I could easily have lost myself in grief and hatred otherwise," she added more softly.

   "I put all of my energy into Luke," Lara whispered.  "The more I saw of him, the more I admired him, respected him. Those things that I'd pushed aside started to creep back in, and I remembered who I wanted to become, not just what I had wanted to survive. His survival was my mission, and it was the only good and decent thing that I had to show for my life... aside from the hope that my family...." Lara trailed off, and she remained silent for a few moments.  "But when I went home there was nothing." She took a deep breath, remembering. "Something in me died that day."

   "And you mourned it," Leia acknowledged, gently reassuringly her friend.

   "No," Lara contradicted her quietly. "I was swallowed up by the grief.  I all but stopped living, and two years went by....  You and Luke never took that choice to heart. You just kept moving forward." Lara lifted her gaze to Leia's. "I admire that in you. I wish I had had that driving force."  Lara swallowed hard.  "It took a long time for me to decide that life, and especially my life, was worth living again."  Then Lara smiled.  "Luke understood that, but he also refused to let me sink into my own darkness."

   "I always knew that Luke had a side to him that was troubled, hurting," Leia admitted softly, "a part of himself that he tried to keep hidden.  I never was able to reach through to that, to see the pain that he was hiding enough help it....  But you did."

   Lara nodded. "I knew what he was feeling, knew what it was like to live with that unspeakable pain."

   "And you were willing to share that with him."  Leia smiled.  "I'm glad that you were, glad for you both."

   An easy silence fell over the room.

   "Luke often tells me that the Force is so large, it's almost impossible for us to understand its purpose.  All we can do is try to find our place within that purpose.  There's so much about the Force that I still don't understand," Leia admitted, "but I most understand that particular mystery when I look back on everything that has happened and try to understand how it all fits together.

   "I can't look back to Alderaan without remembering the farm boy who barged into my detention cell on the Death Star and announced that he was there to rescue me. It's hard to believe that he's a Jedi Knight, my brother.  And our father...." Since Alderaan, Darth Vader had been beyond unforgivable in her mind.  "When Luke told me the whole truth of who Vader really was, I was horrified, and I couldn't believe that Luke saw anything other than danger and evil in him. I trust Luke, implicitly, when he says that there was still good in him, even that it saved his life....

   "That reality is still hard for me to imagine," Leia confessed.  "But I know that Vader saved Luke's life, and maybe yours too. That doesn't excuse the rest of the things that he was responsible for, but maybe it's enough to redeem him. And if you hadn't been, and done, and lived what you did–"

   She stopped. Lara had looked away uncomfortably.  "I'm sorry," Leia offered cautiously. "I'm talking about the worst times of your life like they were the down-side of a successful negotiation."

   Lara managed a smile.  "It's not that. It's hard for me to remember that part of my life, but those years weren't the worst; the Empire wasn't the worst.  Knowing what I did is worse.  The two years on Marnia were worse... and knowing that all of that was for nothing–"

   "But it can't have been all for nothing," Leia argued, "not if you believe what Luke says, that everything has a purpose in the Force.  If nothing happens by accident, then those events were somehow necessary to bring us here.  They've shaped us.  Hopefully our reactions to them have made us better than we were before, made us more able to face the challenges ahead."

   Lara met Leia's eyes, considering. "How can it have been completely bad if it brought us to a good place, made us into better people?"

   Leia nodded. "That's it exactly," she said cautiously, her eyes sparkling with fresh hope. 

   "Then maybe that's what it was, a successful negotiation," Lara conceded. 

   Leia's hopeful expression faltered when Lara shook her head sadly. "Part of me wishes that I could see it that way," Lara admitted a moment later, "but it sounds too much like justification.  And I can't justify those years, not for any reason. It was thinking I could that started that chain of events, and too many things that I still have to live with."

   Leia nodded, but her sense was dampened at the return of that heavy feel to Lara's emotions.

   Lara smiled, trying to lighten the weight a little.  "You don't have to feel that though," she told Leia.  "I know it's not worth holding on to. Your way, Luke's way, is the better way."

~

   Lara lay awake that night for a long while, sleep hard to find.... She was happy for the new realization that Leia had come to, happy knowing that it would help Leia.  Lara understood it; she even admired it, but she did not share her sister-in-law's conviction that everything they had been through had been necessary. There were still too many wrongs that Lara was unable to forgive herself for....

   But perhaps Leia could finally come to forgive Vader, in spite of his many wrongs. Lara pushed her own heavy emotions aside to allow herself a smile. Luke would be happy for that.  It had long troubled him that his sister had not been able to let go of her unresolved anger when it came to their father.  Lara sighed.  Her emotions shifted at the thought of Luke, and suddenly she was more aware of the quiet ache deep within her. That feeling of missing her husband's warmth at her side... it always seemed to sneak into her heart from this place.

   She could spend hours talking to the twins, telling them in a million ways how much their father loved them.  And she was sure to miss his laugh and his gentle touch in just as many ways... but this was the hardest. Suddenly wishing so desperately that she could just draw up to his side, feel him reach an arm around her and watch him smile, like the secret was his, while he waited for her to share her restless thoughts with him. Lara rolled over and reached an arm around his pillow, pulling it close to her, letting herself give in for a moment to the feel of lonely sadness that she usually tried to minimize. The soft trace of his scent under her chin was a poor substitute for his strength and love, his smile and his kiss.

   She managed a small smile at those thoughts of him and closed her eyes tighter, trying not to think any more, just wanting for the forgetful peace of sleep. She leaned into Luke's pillow, and with her last conscious thought Lara reached out to the universe.  Just as she always did, she offered him all of her love... and some small but familiar touch of peace was shared there, on the edge of sleep.

~

   Travel had grown steadily more difficult as Luke, Atamvr, and Darlik worked their way toward the dangerous pass that likely held their last hope and final option for crossing the Dravidans' front lines.  They had long since had to abandon the speeder, the rocky terrain proving too much for its propulsion systems.  Now they found themselves staring down a narrow chasm that was ominously blocked by rocks and boulders, the result of previous land slides.  They exchanged chagrined expressions. It would be at least six days journey through the mountain, but this pass remained the only possible way through. With a final glance toward the steep rock walls rising high above their heads, the three men started to pick their way forward across the rocky floor. 

   Atamvr estimated that they were roughly halfway through the pass late in the third day, when the mountains around them began to shake.  The three men ducked for cover, pressing themselves against the rock walls, and Luke reached out with the Force to help shield them from heavy falling rocks and the powdery loose ground that tumbled down from the unseen mountains overhead.

   Atamvr added his efforts to deflecting the falling bits of mountain as the shake grew steadily longer... too long for it to be any ordinary ground shake. Luke looked to him worriedly.  They both realized that it was not an act of nature causing the land to shake this time.  New sounds had begun to come through to their grasping ears, the sound of heavy weaponry being fired from multiple positions.

   The crossfire between the two sides had begun... and they were literally caught in the middle.

   Darkness had fallen around them before the battle had subsided.  They spent most of that night burrowing their way out from under the fallen debris and trying to find stable footing in the shifting remains.  The weakened ground still shifted in aftershocks, raining more debris down over them, but they kept moving forward.  They all knew that they needed to make as much forward way as they could toward open ground – before the exchange could resume.

   Things went on like that for the next few days.  They hunkered down when the mountains began to shake around them and they moved forward during the periods of relative quiet. When they finally neared the end of the chasm daylight could be seen reflecting brightly from the yellow flatland just beyond, but there was more awaiting them out there than the open air they had been seeking. 

   Luke used the Force to clear the last of the heavy rocks away, pushing it back onto more secure ground.  Then he reached out further, extending his senses toward the source of the disturbance he had just felt in the Force.  Atamvr looked to him, his expression serious beneath a wealth of scrapes and bruises. Three sore and exhausted travelers, coated in dust and grime, stepped out from the heavy debris field, purposefully moving very slowly.  There was no use in attempting to hide themselves; they had been located by their inferred signatures long before they had ever reached visibility. And they were immediately captured by the waiting Dravidian patrol force.

~

   Luke's feet scuffed the packed yellow ground as they moved across the flat expanse; the butt of an unfamiliar weapon had just connected with his back between the shoulder blades in an attempt to hurry his lagging pace.  They had been walking for several days alongside the speeder of their escort and, from what they had been able to gather from conversations among the patrol officers, their base was at least another day's journey south. Luke stood a little straighter and gathered his feet under him, trying to ignore the dryness in his throat and the burning sensation that had taken over his muscles.

   "Hard to imagine," Atamvr said softly, motioning toward the wide expanse of flat land that stretched in front of and behind them for almost as far as the eye could see between the high mountain ranges.  "You can just make out the shores now," Atamvr noted as his eyes moved away from the dry ground to search over the base of the mountain they walked alongside.

   Luke looked too, to no avail.  The ground under their feet was as dry and seemingly endless as all the rest of the terrain they had traveled; the desolation of it reminded Luke of the Jundland Wastes. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago this place had harmlessly held the center of all this controversy.  Since then the winds and the shakes had reduced the shores and banks at the mountains' feet to dust and packed ground, as nonexistent now as the depth of water that they had held a short time ago. Only the smooth rock, worn down by centuries of moving water, still remembered its presence.

   "The river's course now," Atamvr told Luke, "takes it to the far side of the mountains, and off to the south beyond that."  He fell silent to thought.  They would still have to cross the opposing mountain range and then travel north if they were to reach his homeland.  Atamvr looked ahead again, his eyes falling on the rough, sun-hardened ground which stretched endlessly in front of them. He realized with grim certainty that there would be more urgent matters to get through before that destination could become their priority again.

~

   "Patrol unit 412.  Report."  The Dravidan lieutenant's gaze swept over his men appraisingly. "You're early, and where's the remainder of your unit?"

   "The rest of the unit is finishing its assigned sweep, Lieutenant. We picked up these prisoners in the buffer zone and were instructed to take them to the nearest base camp."

   "Kelcinian spies?"

   "Off-worlders, except for this one." He gave Atamvr a shove forward.

   "Lieutenant, my companions and I are here because I have family in the low plains territories. It's taken us nearly three months to get this far.  My only goal is to reach them, to see that they're safe."

   Luke could feel the building impatience and hostility among the Dravidian soldiers.  "We'd like to speak to your commander, Lieutenant," Luke interrupted, stepping forward, bringing as much official bearing as he could to their circumstances.

   One of the officers flanking the lieutenant moved forward and struck Luke, hard. There was laughter from his comrades, and a satisfied smirk from the lieutenant.  The hostility abruptly drained out of the air as they all waited to see what would happen next.

   Luke straightened slowly.  A small gesture of his hand urged Atamvr not to get involved as Luke lifted his bound wrists and wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand.

   "Jedi Skywalker. I don't know why you have come back, but you don't belong here.  None of you belong here. Take them to the detention area," the lieutenant ordered his officers. "We'll hold them until Field Commander Logrine returns."  He looked toward Luke.  "He will decide what will be done with you."

~

   The next few days were difficult ones, as power-drunk lieutenants waited for their leader to return from reconnaissance so that they could present their captives.  And in that time, the three off-worlders were held in detention as captives, prizes, lessors... treated poorly.

   It was Luke who bore the brunt of their aggressions. Being a person of stature, it was like a badge of honor for each of them to take a shot at him.  It made no difference that he was already held in restraints. The powerful Jedi, they would insist, tongue firmly in cheek, should be reminded of his limitations, that he was no better than them after all; only human, same flesh and blood and bone.  Atamvr was next in line.  He placed himself there repeatedly, determined to stand with his friend and master.  He liked to remind their captors that he was a local, a turncoat, pulling their attention from Luke to himself when Luke was most in need of a reprieve. 

   Darlik, also, did not escape the torment of their captors. But no matter his own condition, Luke always kept watch over Darlik, keeping as much of the pressure off of him as he could manage. Luke was acutely aware of the strain on his second student. Darlik was the polar opposite of Atamvr, who seemingly could absorb almost anything without letting it really touch him, with no trace of fear or anger.  Darlik seemed to take all the abuse and hostility deep into himself, holding on to it. And though Luke could not sense the most dangerous of emotions actively at work in him, he could feel just as strongly that the strain would break Darlik down eventually... and when it did there would be retaliation.

~

   "We're not going to get out of this."

   Luke and Atamvr each looked up from their meager rations in the direction of that ragged voice.  Darlik was staring down at his food, his sense crackling with restrained desperation.

   "I believe that we will," Luke answered calmly.  "I don't feel any sense of finality in our being here.  Death can come for us all, at any time, but we must trust in the Force and continue to serve its purpose for our lives as best we can."

   Luke could see the flash of anger in his eyes as Darlik looked up. His restraint really was remarkable, but his thoughts were clear: Does the Force will this?

   Luke thought about the unforgiving ground beneath them, the beatings, the taunting threats, and the specter of death in the power that their captors held over them to do them harm. In his weaker moments Luke knew that escape was far from impossible. He knew every weak point in the metal of the binders which held his wrists, and every regret of guards who secretly winced at the violence they lacked the courage to question. The answer was clear: Yes. The Force did will this, not out of cruelty or blindness but simply because it was necessary; for reasons Luke did not yet understand, for reasons he knew he might never fully understand, it was necessary.

   "Suffering is only temporary," the Jedi whispered, his eyes sparkling.

   Darlik had never thought him more of a fool. Why, when he had the power to end this, would he refuse to do so?

   "And what is permanent, death?"

   Luke smiled. "Perhaps.  From a certain point of view," Atamvr smiled too; he had known that Luke would say that.  Darlik only shook his head as he returned his attention to his uneaten food.  "Death is not to be feared," Luke said softly.

   Darlik shuddered.  He had seen death.  He did not think it some peaceful doorway to another place, simply the failure of an ended life, and he did not wish to die in this place at the hands of enemies.

   "And things are not always as they seem," Luke concluded, taking another bite of his food.

   Luke knew that the Force was at work, regardless of the difficulty in their present circumstances. He felt Darlik's emotions settle: cool, brooding, and under control.  Even now, there was a guard who was fascinated by Luke's words, hoping that his shift would be a quiet one for his prisoners.  And further away, the man they had been waiting for was passing the final checkpoint.  Luke smiled.  His men treated him with respect but they did not fear him.  This man was tough, but he was also reasonable and practical....

~

   "Jedi Skywalker," Field Commander Logrine greeted them with a smile as he walked through on his inspection tour. He was a big, gruff man who walked with purpose and wasted no motion.  "To what do we owe the honor of your presence?"

   "As I'm sure your men have told you, we were on route to the northern low plains territories when we met one of your patrols. Perhaps you would grant us a few moments of your time, in order to discuss the resumption of our trip."

   "Perhaps so. In one hour."

   As promised, an hour later they were standing before the field commander inside the tent that served as his quarters.  And though he made no showing of anything other than pride in his men's performance during his absence, at least he was willing to hear them out.

   Luke and Atamvr were allowed to speak as Logrine listened a little lazily to their arguments.  Their audience was rather short, and Luke had the distinct impression that their host had made up his mind before the audience had even begun.  Feeling that a point had been well-proven, of his men's toughness more than Atamvr's statement of purpose or Luke's reassurances of neutrality, Field Commander Logrine decided that they were to be granted their freedom and allowed the chance to make their way toward the Kelcinan lines and their destination on the other side.

   Atamvr gave a short bow of thanks after hearing that unexpected news.

   "Keep in mind," Logrine warned them, "I'm not in the habit of doing anything that's not in the best interest of myself and my men. Your reprieve is not unconditional."

   Atamvr's brow furrowed.  "But you are letting us go."

   "You are being released to serve a purpose." The larger man stood from his seat.  "Take with you on your trip the memories of a brutal and entirely capable fighting force, and remember that strength when the Kelcinans ask you how it was that you got to their borders." He grinned, glancing back toward his men.  "Assuming that those technology-dependent weaklings haven't grown so soft that they can't stop a gaggle of off-worlders from crossing their battle lines."

   His men laughed heartily at the insult to their foes just as Logrine came to stand in front of Luke, speaking lowly this time.  "And I will also expect you to remember the kindness that I have personally shown you this day, in the event that we have dealings again once you have left this planet and I have helped the Dravidian forces to secure what is rightly ours."

   Luke gave the ambitious man a knowing half nod.  "I understand."

   "Very good." He motioned to the guards who had escorted them here, and the men came forward to release the captives from their bonds.

   Luke could feel their nervousness as they did so.  "Thank you," Luke murmured quietly before he turned back to Logrine.  "If you'll need nothing else of us then, we'll be gone."

   "Good journey."  Field Commander Logrine dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and the three men walked out of the camp freely.

   The night stretched out desolately around them as they put the Dravidian base camp to their backs, setting off to begin a long trek on foot across the flatlands. And regardless of the strings attached or the fact that they were really no better off now than they had been a few days ago, all felt fortunate to be leaving the custody of this group. They would have to double back in the direction of their position before they had been captured, then they could angle across the flats of the buffer zone to make their way through a second mountain pass.  If they could make it that far unscathed, and avoid capture by the Kelcinan forces, then they could begin the task of finding the nomad group who could help them locate Atamvr's family....

   There was still no guarantee of safety or success, and Luke's thoughts wandered restlessly as he lay sleepless, now several hours away from the Dravidan's base camp, luxuriously stretched out on the cold, flat ground. His body was sore and aching all over, but he felt hopeful.  Luke felt a flicker in the Force and he pulled an elbow under him to turn onto his side. 

   "Atamvr. There'll be time to find the way tomorrow."  Luke gave his apprentice a tired smile. "Get some sleep.  Atamvr responded with an exhausted half nod and he tucked the map that he had begun studying back into his pocket before he stretched out on his own patch of hard ground.

   Luke lay back too. He let his mind brush lightly over Atamvr's before reaching out further. He and Atamvr found themselves further bonded by the ordeal that they had endured, having stood together in shared philosophy and shared values in the face of great trials. Darlik's sense remained unchanged except perhaps that his emotions had become even more self-contained. But he too had endured the ordeal now behind them, without giving in to the dark side, without breaking under the strain inside him....  Luke drew himself back and closed his eyes, allowing a deep, weary sleep to overtake him.  The Jedi was hopeful that the future would bring progress and good news for them all.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   They had made it through the base line of the opposing mountain range when the crossfire resumed.  They hunkered in again, seeking safety against the flat rock walls that surrounded them, but at least this pass was more stable than the last one had been. Despite the dizzying shaking of the world around them, the mountains over their heads held together. 

   Atamvr stared into the air, studying the projectile fire overhead, trying to determine where it was coming from. Then he raced hard across the stretch of uneven ground, stopping himself against the heavy rock wall at Luke's side.  Luke reached out to grab him and pull him against the cover the wall offered, and he quickly glanced back to see that Darlik was staying where he was, not wanting to risk the change in position until the exchange of fire quieted.

   "I was afraid of this," Atamvr managed though the noise surrounding them, "that the fighting would extend this far–"  The noise of another explosion drowned out the rest of his thought, and Atamvr left it unfinished.  Luke knew what he meant.  Atamvr had been counting on finding a safe zone for passage in this territory, expecting this route to bring them west of the Kelcinan's fighting lines.  Obviously, what he had seen overhead had not been encouraging.

   Luke could feel Atamvr reaching for calm, sternly demanding it of himself as he started to suspect the worst in their circumstances.  Luke cleared his own mind, reaching out to the Force and hoping to get some sense of what they would face once they made it through this pass.  He expected a small base encampment or a reconnaissance party, something that they could still bypass with a little extra work and stealth. Instead he sensed a more widespread force waiting in a holding position at the far side of the range. Their minds were methodical, determined, and patiently focused on meeting their duties.

   Luke took a deep breath and let the worry slide away from his sense as he opened his eyes to meet Atamvr's gaze. They all knew that there would be no way of getting past the Kelcinan's lines unseen, and turning back was no better an option than surrender. They were on the verge of another dead end, effectively blocked in.  Atamvr assimilated the unpleasant knowledge with a sense of helpless dread. Darlik had more vivid emotions of denial and refusal at the thought of a second incarceration. Luke reached to the Force, seeking its peace as he pushed himself to come up with a solution for their dilemma.

   It was harder this time to ignore his own uneasy feelings and to see past the turmoil of emotions in his companions.... The tickling sensation that alerted Luke of danger began its steady warning at the back of his mind.  Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, gathering his thoughts, deliberately reigning in his emotions. The danger that he sensed wasn't immediate... but it was coming.

   Luke crouched down and leaned his back into a more or less comfortable position against the rock wall.  He had no control over the future, only the present.  They would concentrate on getting through this one step at a time.  "We'll wait this out," he said to Atamvr and motioned for Darlik to settle in as well.  "It'll be dark soon, and we can't do anything until this fire subsides."

~

   Luke felt a distinct but illusive sensation of deja vu as he waited for the mountain to stop trembling so that he could wedge his back a little tighter against the stone wall.  That tickling sensation had returned to the back of his mind as Luke drifted in and out of sleep between the rounds of fire. He reached out with the Force, sensing his students, feeling the life of the area around them as he listened to the activity of small night creatures at work. And he could sense other minds in the standoff beyond their sights, minds that were filled with tense emotions, full of determination and stubborn confidence in their own might.

   Finally Luke opened his eyes and tilted his head back, awake, exhausted from the days of difficult travel, from the weight of stress, and now this illusive worry... but unable to find rest. Even the stars were cut off from him by the overhanging mountains above his head.  Luke watched the last lights of the lingering firefight play off of the high stone walls, and he remembered the feeling distinctly this time: Lara's words... frustration and worry in her eyes.  "There was this feeling that something was about to go really wrong. Or it already had – and you just didn't know it yet."  Luke shivered at the memory and closed his tired eyes against unpleasant emotions.  That persistent, tingling sense of danger in his mind felt like a warning, but it also felt like a reality that had already been set into motion... its inertia now irreversible.

~

   With the following dawn they worked their way further through the mountain pass until they came unexpectedly upon a clearing: a network of caverns reaching into the depths of the mountain walls. Luke's eyes were drawn to something in the stone, and he knelt down beside a nearby wall to investigate.  Atamvr felt his surprise and followed him. "It's artificial," Luke breathed, "parts of these passages are man-made."

   Atamvr bent down to look at the stone but Luke stood, that tickling sensation returning at the edge of his mind.  He reached out with his senses... there were beings nearby. He could feel, ten, eleven minds; they were very close.  Luke shifted his weight uncomfortably, keeping a defensive posture but also trying to convey a non-threatening presence as he worked at seeing deeper into the shadows, extending his emotions to feel more of those other minds' intent.

   Atamvr got to his feet, and Luke felt the change in his sense. "It's okay," Atamvr said slowly. He didn't meet Luke's curious gaze, but a smile tugged at his features. 

   "Intrensinic," Atamvr called quietly.  "You can show yourselves," he added cautiously.

   A moment passed, and then three men stepped out from the shadows.  The weapons that the first two men carried were lowered from ready positions, and Atamvr stepped forward to meet them, extending a hand to each of them in the tribe's unique form of greeting. It seemed that they were captured again, this time by friends.

   The older man who stood just a step behind the others, unarmed, came forward more slowly while Atamvr exchanged greetings with the first two men. Then the man smiled in clear disbelief, and stepped forward to embrace the long lost son who had returned to them.

   "Atamvr," the older man murmured proudly, pushing Atamvr back to arm's length to study his face. Then he turned around to speak to the others who remained unseen in the caverns behind him.  "Aura Intrensinic," he announced joyously, "Atamvr Luminas."

   Atamvr had never felt more proud or grateful to hear himself introduced as an honorary member of the Intrensinic tribe. "It is good to see you, High Elder Goshin," Atamvr breathed as the others came forward from the shadows.  Atamvr was reunited with the nomad friends of his mountain tribe.

   "This is Luke Skywalker, and his apprentice, Darlik," Atamvr introduced them.  "High Elder, we are looking for my family."

   High Elder Goshen smiled and placed a hand on Atamvr's shoulder. "Not to worry. They came to us in the early days of the conflict and they remain with us still. They are well, and in hiding with others of our tribe who have settled in the low plains territories for the coming winter season." 

   Atamvr took a deep breath, relieved, but he could feel that there was something still not right about all of this. "I need to see them." 

   "I will arrange for you and your companions to be taken there as soon as it is safe." 

   Atamvr bowed to High Elder Goshen. "Again, thank you."

   He patted Atamvr's shoulder affectionately and turned his attention to some of the men who had come in closer, clearly waiting to report news.

   "The Kelcinan forces in this area are not permanently intrenched.  We expect them to move their line further east in a few more days, just as they have done before.  We can move then." 

   Atamvr was obviously relieved. "I thought I had taken us too far east," he breathed, absently rubbing the back of his head as he smiled, old worry and new relief intermixing.

   "No. Your sense of direction was always true, young Aura," the High Elder assured him quietly.   

~

   They traveled further into the mountain caverns, where the tribe had established a makeshift base. It was a position that afforded them a view of both sides of the fighting.  There were high clefts cut into the mountain walls, providing watches, magnified by lenses which they had implanted into the rock. From those positions, the watchers assured them, they could see everything, even a far off twisting stretch of the river, though just at a glimpse.

   The weary travelers were given food and drink and they sat with the High Elder and a handful of others, chiefly watchers and other informants who were discussing the conflict, going over the facts and new developments.

   "I'm confused by something," Luke admitted conversationally. "From what Atamvr has told me, your tribe was formed as a passive unit.  Why this interest now in the conflict between the Dravidans and Kelcinans?"

   The High Elder nodded appraisingly.  "Atamvr has not told you wrongly. The Intrensinic tribe was formed on passive beliefs and with the desire of pursuing isolationism, but this conflict is different."

   "Different?" Atamvr asked. "How so?" 

   "Since the conflict began the Trimutive Tribe's leadership has been banding together with dissident factions who aid in our efforts to follow the conflict.  There are suspicions, among dissidents from both sides, that this conflict was affected from the outside."  He shrugged at Atamvr's look of stunned confusion. "It is something that can neither be proved nor disproved, but what is certain is that the situation did take shape and gain in power much more quickly and with far more intensity than these things normally do.

   "In answer to your question, Jedi Skywalker, we also see an opportunity here.  It is our hope that, at the right time, we may be able to provide the impartial leadership necessary to bring the aggressions to a halt and achieve a peaceful compromise between the two sides."

   Luke nodded and continued to listen to the High Elder's words of wisdom. He added his thoughts here and there, but mostly tried to get a handle on the situation and to remain aware of how they might best serve in the efforts to bring peace. Occasionally as they were speaking, Luke noticed the High Elder's gaze resting upon him, as if he were taking measure of the teacher by the growth that he recognized in the student. And it occurred to Luke that if that was his measure he was greatly honored.

   Atamvr listened carefully to High Elder Goshin's hope for the matter's resolution, and he saw readily the injustices of beliefs that he'd more easily accepted as unalterable in his childhood.  It had once been too daunting a task to imagine bringing change to such deeply ingrained attitudes. And Atamvr had once thought the chosen isolation too extreme a form of protest, even when those attitudes had endangered him. Now it was part of his chosen life's duty to ease the burden of others and to try to affect change in those injustices, and he found himself deeply admiring both of the Elders' past choices and of their current understanding that these troubled times brought with them the opportunity to help bring about much needed change.

   The High Elder nodded to the watchers, who then took their leave in order to return to their duties. Atamvr sensed a moment of hesitation in the older man as he waited a few more heartbeats, letting the watchers leave them before he spoke again.

   "There are," the High Elder began slowly, looking between the faces of his visitors, "some of us, and some whom we have taken in since this conflict arose, who believe, rather urgently, that we should continue to engage in isolationism." He paused heavily. "There has already been friction between the two standpoints."  He paused again, choosing his words carefully.  "I warn you, that friction may extend to involve you and your presence here."

   Then his gaze fell back to Atamvr, and this time the High Elder smiled warmly. "But rest assured, you and your companions are welcome here with us, as you have always been, as your family is now."

   Atamvr nodded, bowing his head.  He was grateful and visibly moved by the kindness.  "I don't have words enough, or life enough, to repay your kindnesses to me," he said softly.

   "Words are not needed, my son, nor deeds.  Not among this family."

   Atamvr smiled and nodded again.  And after a moment the High Elder returned to his first train of thought. "Regardless of the shallow-minded objections held to by some, the Trimutive of Elders stands in agreement. We have our course to follow, and we will not sacrifice our loyalties to our own."

~

   Several mornings later, in the early dimness, they regrouped.  Guides were preparing to escort Atamvr and his companions to the place where his family and others from the Intrensinic tribe were settled, and another scouting party was just returning. The newly returning warriors conversed with members of the tribe, taking in this new activity and the newcomers warily.

   Atamvr walked with the High Elder through the cavern tunnels, returning to the place where they had left Luke, Darlik, and their guides packing up the small mountain of supplies which had been allotted to provide for their traveling party through the lengthy journey to come. Atamvr's emotions ranged ahead.  Luke, Darlik, and two of their guides now sat reviewing the maps in preparation for the journey ahead. Their senses were filled with the expected emotions: curiosity and purposeful thought, some understandable caution, and something more. 

   Atamvr gave pause to his step at the feel of open comradery which he sensed between Luke and the guides, and the regretful way it clashed with his own heavier emotion. He was so close now, Atamvr couldn't help thinking.  This should be a joyful time; these should be hopeful preparations....

   The High Elder came to a stop beside him, recognizing Atamvr's hesitation.

   Atamvr repressed a sigh. "High Elder Goshin, something troubles me," he admitted heavily.

   "Yes," the older man prompted in a voice which indicated he already suspected that much.

   "Now that I know my family has been safely in your care since this conflict started, I'm puzzled.  When I left here, no one but them and yourself knew that my destination was Coruscant.  Yet the transmission I received, from here, identified me personally. It was the only part of the transmission that I was able to receive."

   The High Elder only nodded grimly. "I have told none but the Trimutive leadership of your whereabouts, Atamvr. And I think you already know that none of us would have sent that transmission," he stated honestly, "especially knowing that it would not pass through the Kelcinans' block," he added, pointing out the logic as quietly as he had stated the truth, the truth that Atamvr had already known.

   Atamvr only nodded, but his face grew more troubled as the feelings of unrest deepened.  He had also recognized a hint of something mysterious in the Elder's tone. "I knew that you would no sooner put me in danger than my family – the rest of my family – would," Atamvr amended his statement with a smile, which slowly faded again.  "But I couldn't take that chance, that it could have been you, or them, in desperate enough need to..." he trailed away, and they took a few more forward steps before coming to another pause.

   The two men stood in the entranceway to the larger cavern, looking over the flurry of activity there for several moments. This time it was the High Elder who broke the silence to speak in a troubled tone.

   "I would advise caution," High Elder Goshin stated heavily.  "It seems that someone very much wanted you here, and knew exactly how to accomplish that feat."

   Atamvr looked at him, stunned. "You think it was all some kind of elaborate hoax."  His disbelief vanished seamlessly into logical thought.  "But what could bringing me here possibly accomplish?" he asked rhetorically, his senses already deep in consideration over the new mystery.

   The High Elder only placed a hand to his shoulder. "That I do not know. I can only promise you that I am sending my most trustworthy guides to show you the way. The rest you must–"

   Their attention was pulled away by several loud voices.  Luke and the others were also staring at the small group of returning scouts. Those men were exchanging heated words with several members of the guide party who had risen to confront them. 

   "You have no right to jeopardize the security of the whole for these outsiders," the scout leader accused.

   "We aren't taking random strangers into the camp; we're leading one of our home."

   "Why should these outsiders take priority over the goals we have agreed upon?" another of the scouts argued furiously.  "Or have you forgotten why we're here: to follow the conflict and keep watch against the movements of both sides." 

   "We haven't forgotten. We still do those things, but first we see our kinsman to safety," the lead guide defended their actions before turning his back on the argument.  But he was pulled back by a hand on his shoulder, which he promptly wheeled around to brush off. His gaze narrowed on the scout team member who had touched him, tempers swiftly escalating.

   "You're fools to put yourselves in danger for those off-worlders," the scout leader growled.

   "You place your trust in them if you want," another of the scouts bit out, "I refuse to take in Jedi," he spat the word, an insult.

   "That's more than enough," High Elder Goshin stated, seeking to end the viciously bitter debate.

   Members of both parties obediently stepped back from the confrontation, but tempers continued to smolder.

   "Fine," the scout leader grumbled, "do what you will," he added as he led his men back to gather their belongings before moving deeper into the caverns.  "Just don't expect me to be a party to it."

   One of his men swung his pack over his shoulder and pushed his way past the strangers. "Find your own way home, Jedi," he breathed, pushing past Darlik and making hard shoulder-to-shoulder contact as he did.

   Luke immediately moved between them before anything more could happen, and High Elder Goshin repeated his call for order... but the damage had already been done.

   Darlik's sense flared with rage over the insulting treatment.  Then he looked down to find Skywalker's hands on his arms, pushing him, holding him back... and Darlik snapped at the perceived transgression.

   Finally the long-withheld truth had emerged. Through his endless profession of passive resistance, the Jedi might have intended to catch him off guard, but he had failed.  Darlik was ready. Rage pounded in his veins for the months of having to restrain himself, for being forced to shun the methods that would make him powerful in order to satisfy the Jedi's weaker hold on the Force. The truth was indisputable in Skywalker's move against him now, and now there would be no more holding back.

   Darlik let out a bloodcurdling yell as he shoved Skywalker away from him.  His blood boiled with his desire to face and to overthrow the Jedi; now Skywalker would have to fight him... and meet his destiny. Before his adversary could regain his balance and recover from the initial shock of Darlik's offensive, he struck again.  He quickly called on the dark side of the Force to push back the others who might interfere, and Darlik smiled as he directed a wave of dark energy at the unsuspecting Jedi.

   Luke began trying to calm Darlik as he recovered from absorbed blows and managed to partially block his apprentice's next flurry of attacks. The edges of a lightening bolt of Force energy crackled around him with the eerie power of the dark side, and Luke offered defense. He kept reaching for reason, searching for something that would turn Darlik back from this dangerous path.

   But the other man was done with listening. Darlik would have none of Skywalker's talk of peace and acceptance this time.  He lashed out a third time, trying to force Luke to respond, to fight him.  Again, Luke offered only defense, and Darlik's anger deepened, all but consuming him with rage. He reached to the Force again, pushing back the helpless crowd with a wave of Force energy. 

   Atamvr had come forward through the crowd, prepared to try to intervene when things had started to break down, and he moved to their defense now, stretching his own defenses to absorb Darlik's attempt at intimidation. The apprentice Jedi stepped back, staggering under the shock wave of dark energy, but no more than a static tickle reached those in his protection. 

   Most of them stood watching, part spellbound and part horrified, hoping that the Jedi could reason with their seemingly crazed ally. But a few of those who had made the initial belligerent advance grew overconfident within the relative safety they enjoyed. They began stepping forward, moving into a half ring formation, seeking to surround Darlik and overpower him. 

   Atamvr yelled at them to stand down. High Elder Goshin demanded the same, but to no effect.

   Luke tried to keep himself between them and Darlik as their threatening intentions edged into the Jedi's consciousness, but his entire sense and being were engaged in Darlik – still trying to find reason, to keep defense – though it became steadily harder, with each passing moment and each step closer, to ignore his own screaming danger sense at the hostile emotions surrounding him. 

   Darlik lashed out again, and this time his lightning bolt struck down one of the advancing men.  The others rushed in, all caution forgotten in a fury for their fallen colleague, dangerous weapons drawn.

   Luke tried to keep them back but he was jostled aside by their sudden advance. He reached to the Force and managed to prevent Darlik from lashing out at them as he would have liked, and the armed group advanced on the one, unarmed. 

   Luke felt a new degree of helplessness as he realized his dilemma. Both sides were seeking the other's destruction, the means blatantly distasteful and inherently unfair.  He pushed forward, once more trying to interject himself in the confrontation, and Luke glimpsed a flurry of motion through the forms that had moved to block his way.

   Darlik, realizing his new disadvantage, had turned and fled. And the others gave chase.

   "No! don't," Luke cried out in objection, grabbing hold of the man nearest him. 

   He turned on Luke, but stood waiting for Luke to cast the first blow. 

   Atamvr quickly stepped in between them, calling the man by name, asking him to stand down.

   The man only hesitated for a moment before he turned and followed the others after Darlik.

   Luke lurched forward helplessly just as Atamvr turned to face him, and a shiver ran though Atamvr at the horror that he saw in his friend's eyes. He knew that Luke wanted anything but to stand here, helpless, and Luke started to move past Atamvr, to follow the others who had chased Darlik away from this place. 

   But Luke pulled up short.  The student stood blocking his master's path, his eyes pained.  "It's too late now," Atamvr whispered.  "Darlik was never open to you,"

   The words rang in Luke's ears. He shook his head against them, against his own feelings of helplessness.  He had to do something. Luke raced outside, past Atamvr and into the lightening day, but Darlik and the pursuing warriors were gone.  Not even an echo of them remained, and the coming day was deadly still.  Luke took a deep breath and struggled to calm his emotions. He knew that he could track them relatively easily, but he doubted that he could catch up to Darlik before the others would... and Luke had no doubt of what would happen when the men caught up to their prey.

   Luke hung his head.  Atamvr had been right.  It was too late to stop this now, but Luke Skywalker knew that there would be plenty of time to deal with the consequences of this day.

   Atamvr stood behind his mentor for a long moment, watching in indecision as he felt the reeling of Luke's emotions. Once Atamvr felt certain that Luke would remain where he was and not attempt to follow Darlik and the others, Atamvr turned and went back into the caverns where he could finish making the arrangements to get them out of here. 

~

   Halfway across the galaxy, aboard the Wild Karrde, Mara Jade inhaled sharply and her fork dropped from her hand to clatter against her plate.  Talon's grin evaporated when he realized that his previous remark hadn't caused the unexpected lapse in Mara's poise; he had only seen that pale, strained look come over her expression a handful of times throughout their association.  It was never a good thing, but now that Talon Karrde better understood the workings of the Force, it was all but impossible for him to restrain the chill that ran down his spine as he watched Mara recover her balance... and Karrde wondered what had just occurred.

   "If you think it might help, we could swing by Coruscant," he suggested warily.

   Mara's eyes flashed. "Skywalker's a big boy.  He doesn't need me meddling in his Jedi business," she growled.

   So this was about Luke.... Only her eyes hinted at misgivings, and Karrde knew her well enough to challenge that.  "I owe Luke; if you think he's in trouble...."

   Mara shook her head. "It's nothing like that," she answered quietly.  "Besides, Coruscant is days out of our flight path, and if we have to reschedule our meeting with the Beringe again we can forget about them joining the Coalition."

   "And sharing their knowledge of Laus's network with us."

   Mara tilted her head in a half nod.  They had already been forced to put this meeting off twice due to complications with Laus. "They've already declined to meet me without having you present," a fact that Mara remained strongly suspicious of.

   "The Beringe have no allegiance to Laus. I think they just want to take their measure of his competitor before they agree to throw their support behind me," Karrde murmured, his thoughts elsewhere.  "Mara, you could take the Jade's Fire on to Coruscant and still have time to catch up with us at the rendezvous."

   "No way," she was quick to answer. "You need me here. We narrowly escaped that ambush at Biatal, and if we don't make a stop at Betimmer for fuel and supplies the Wild Karrde won't be making it to the rendezvous."

   "All I'm asking is that you consider it," Karrde persisted, but he knew that Mara's mind was already made up. That last ambush had been too close, and the Karrde may not have made it clear if he hadn't heeded Mara's warning and cut their last supply run short. Unfortunately, that made this Betimmer stop critical for the Karrde and its crew. Talon just wanted a little more in the way of confirmation that his friend was in no danger....

   "Skywalker can handle it," Mara stated curtly. Let the Jedi work out their own problems, that little voice in her head seconded her spoken argument, and Mara went back to her dinner without another word.  But she had felt the darkness rise up to once more shift the balance of the Force between dark and light....  The source of that disturbance had been nowhere near as powerful as Emperor's presence had once been, but she had still felt the familiar stab of malice: a cold, hard hatred, strengthened by the energy of the dark side....

   "Okay," Karrde conceded. "We're due to arrive at Betimmer in about ten hours."  He wisely knew not to press Mara Jade when she chose to keep to herself, but he watched her very closely.

   Mara Jade nodded, her features expressionless. "I'll take the night watch then. One of us should be on the bridge when we dock, in case there's trouble."

   "Good point," Karrde agreed, taking another bite of his dinner and chewing it carefully. The food seemed to have suddenly lost its taste in his mouth. "I'll be in my quarters if any problems arise."

   Mara nodded, and returned her attention to her own food. The woman who had once been known as the Emperor's Hand knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, regardless of her duties aboard the Wild Karrde.

~

   High Elder Goshin came to Luke a short while later as Luke stood outside the cavern, still very much in a state of shock.  He placed a hand to Luke's shoulder and Luke turned to him slowly.

   "The Jedi Knights were a noble and upstanding breed," the High Elder offered carefully.  "I admire that you fight to carry on that tradition, and I see clearly its success. Atamvr has blossomed in your care and guidance.  The boy who had a good heart is now a man of firm belief, strong with compassion and justified action.  But not all have that good heart; the same is true for those I represent," he said regretfully. "Still, we cannot give up trying.  And so often, those most in need are also those who are hardest to help."

   He fell silent.  "I was a party to a meeting some years ago... some such trivial dispute," he waved the details away exasperatedly.  "The Republic sent Jedi Knights to offer mediation. I only wish that they had been given a fair chance to speak the reason they had so clearly brought to offer." 

   He paused again. "That was the last I thought I could take of this planet," he said quietly, "the territorial leaders, so certain that they would rather fight amongst each other than spend that same energy to live peaceably. It was when that endeavor failed so unfairly that I and mine withdrew from the public squares into the hills, where at least there could be freedom from the constant squabbling.  Peaceable lives lived between like-minded beings. 

   "Part of me has always regretted so drastic a step, taken in a moment of unbearable disillusionment. Though granted, "he admitted through a stifled smile and a conspiring tone, "most of fifty years have passed, and I have not seen much course to reconsider."  Then the older man's eyes quieted on Luke's.  "But now.  Now it is different.  I have little time left.  And I want my legacy to be one of peacemaking, problem solving, not isolation as the answer to both the internal and the external disappointments."

   An easy silence fell around the two men as they stood for several moments in the lightening morning. Finally the High Elder spoke once more to Luke.  "Nothing truly worth establishing is ever come by easily. More often than not, there are first great and costly losses to be endured.  Still, if the cause is a just and beneficial one, then we cannot give up the effort."

~

   Atamvr asked only one guide to accompany them considering the already substantial loss; he knew that those who had chased after Darlik most likely would not return.  They all knew it, though none of them were eager to acknowledge the reason for the change in plans openly. The final arrangements were settled quickly, and before another hour had passed they set out. 

   They had only covered about an hour's travel before they stopped to bury the four men who had left ahead of them, heavily armed, in pursuit of Darlik.  All four had been murdered. They completed the unpleasant task and pushed on. They were all in shock, needing distance to breathe, to think, and to regroup. Right now the best thing they could do was to put their energies into the journey. To that end, Atamvr determinedly kept them moving.

   He knew that there would be plenty of time to turn and face this reality and its many repercussions. And Atamvr was silently aware of the enormous weight of guilt that Luke was carrying.  He, too, would need time to deal with all this. With each forward step Atamvr became more determined that when that time came he would be there to stand with his friend in every way he could.

~

   "You okay?" Atamvr found himself asking again.

   It felt like the hundredth time. Luke was greatly shaken and deeply troubled, mourning the loss of a student to the dark side and questioning himself for it. All of this Atamvr understood. What he didn't know was how to help his friend overcome the shock and the blame that he was wrestling with.

   Luke glanced toward him, a nod, that same empty reassurance returned for the thousandth time. 

   "You know, I had to do a lot of learning on my own," Luke offered slowly, deliberately.  "The Jedi who taught me were teaching me so that I could face Darth Vader, so that I would have the strength to stand against the Emperor. They were trying to prepare me in the hardest of times, for the most difficult of challenges.  There was never enough time for all the little things I wondered about, and a lot of the big things too. 

   "I guess the challenge, the hardship, in learning as you go is that you never know if you're getting it right. And so you live each day hoping that your limited knowledge can be enough to start a whole new order." Luke's crystal blue gaze pierced Atamvr. "But you doubt.  How can you teach the most important lessons with unshakable resolve, knowing that you might never have learned them yourself if your life, and your loved one's lives, and the course of the entire galaxy hadn't hung in the balance?"  Luke's voice lowered. "And even then, only you know how close it really came....

   "There's only one thing that you don't question. You know that you cannot allow this dark plague to cast itself once more over the galaxy, not at any cost... because you've seen the harm it's done; you've seen the pain and suffering, and the hurt that stays long after....  You've seen it in the eyes of the people you love most, and you can never forget the ones who aren't here any longer because of it."

   The Jedi closed his eyes for a moment, searching inside himself. "I saw Darlik, and I saw the weakness there. The dark side's appeal in the promise of power, a lasting escape from the powerlessness and the fear that was in his past....  After we left that Dravidian base camp, I hoped more than ever that he'd find the strength to overcome those things."  Luke shook his head, lost in his own thoughts.  "How could I not have seen that this was as much about the present as the past? It was as much about me as it was about him." 

   "I don't understand," Atamvr admitted hesitantly.

   Luke looked back to him. "I was wrong.  Horribly wrong. I thought that I could teach him.  I thought that I could turn him away from that dark course."

   "Not if he didn't want to be turned from it," Atamvr said gently.  "Remember what I said before," he breathed.  "Darlik was never open to that, to you. I don't know what it was he wanted, but it was never to learn about the Force, never to follow the light." 

   "Power," Luke whispered. "That was what he wanted, what he needed... it still is."  He shook his head.  "And I wish it was that simple. I took him in; he was my responsibility."

   "How is he your responsibility, more than his own?" Atamvr challenged. "You gave him everything that you possibly could.  You put yourself, your life, on the line for him. He saw that, and he turned away from it. He chose to fight instead of accepting that you wanted to help him." Atamvr paused, his voice softening as he spoke more gently. "Darlik chose what happened here, and he has to be held responsible for his own actions. Too much responsibility can be just as bad as not enough."

   "Yes.  But I agreed to teach him, knowing that there was danger in him.  I share that responsibility, like it or not," Luke countered grimly, and again he looked away. His emotions shifted abruptly, his face darkening with their frustrated fall. 

   "The bottom line is that I doubt myself, more than any single decision.  I've learned well, that the dark side is too near.  It's inside each of us, not in some evil, far off enemy.  That knowledge is something that has to be faced every day, in every action and every temptation, not just in one great, climatic battle with everything on the line.  And the best of intentions are no guarantee of their results," he added quietly.  "Nothing in us is certain."

   "We can make some things certain." Atamvr challenged quietly. "Determination.  Honor.  Friendship. Compassion.  Love."

   Atamvr could feel the falter in Luke's emotions, especially as he considered that last.  "See?" Atamvr persisted. "Certain if we believe it. When we can let go of everything else and simply believe, with all our hearts and all of our strength."

   Luke smiled, the expression pushing cautiously through his disbelief.  "You make a good point," he had to concede when finding himself faced with such a simple truth.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   Luke and Atamvr followed their guide in hurried steps down a winding incline.  They had begun traveling downhill several days ago, and a steady wind had been blowing out of the east for several days before that. Their guide was clearly anxious to get them out of the mountains before the already frigid temperatures could drop further. Luke crossed his arms over his chest, his hands buried within the protection his Jedi robe provided, as their small party came to pause for a brief moment's rest.

   Over the course of several weeks' difficult journey through the mountain territories, as they had continued on toward Atamvr's homeland, Luke had continued on his journey, his inner struggle.  By this last leg of the trip he had gathered fresh determination, and he visibly kicked himself into another gear as they neared their destination. Luke Skywalker was starting to return to himself.  His eyes were still quiet and shadowy with the troubles he pondered and the burdens that were heavy on him, but he also felt a need to follow this through.

   "We're very close now," their guide assured them with a grin.  He shrugged out of his heavy supply pack and dug through the bag for a flask of water. Luke and Atamvr followed suit. "We should reach the low plains territories in a few hours."

   As expected, they came out of the mountains into an open expanse of flats and plains a couple of hours later; a wide valley extended into the low hills of Atamvr's homeland, and was then surrounded by more mountains in the distance. Atamvr stood silently for a moment, drinking in the welcome sight.

   "Come on.  We best keep moving," their guide suggested, giving Atamvr's shoulder a squeeze.

   "Right," Atamvr agreed.  Then he glanced toward Luke.  "We need to get out of the open before this weather breaks."

   Luke nodded and followed, but he was confused by the emotion he was sensing as they drew closer. "What's going on?" he asked Atamvr, drawing discreetly alongside his student while their guide went on ahead to speak with some of the tribe members. What Luke had been feeling was confirmed by the sparseness of the encampment ahead of them, but despite the lack of population the scene was very busy.  Tents were being hastily packed; what remained of the camp was being broken as quickly as possible.

   Atamvr gave him a slight grimace.  "Looks like they've moved on."

   Luke could feel his dismay, after coming so close....

   "Don't worry," Luke reassured him. "We're closer than we have been."

   Atamvr suppressed a grin.  "Yes, we are," he had to agree.

   "We're welcome to join the rest of the caravan," their guide reported back.  "The tribe left here a couple of days ago.  Apparently the Elders determined that the storm season was coming early, and all the indicators warn that a big storm is brewing. The families have already been moved to safer positions."

   Atamvr's brow furrowed in unspoken question.

   "There's a canyon near here that's serving as a winter shelter.  It cuts off the winds, and the rock walls have a way of reflecting the sunlight to create heat pockets."

   Luke stood a little straighter.  "Sounds perfect." He could feel the need to get moving becoming more urgent all the time. "Can we help with getting things broken down?"

   "I offered, but they say they're almost finished and will be ready to move out shortly."

~

   Luke, Atamvr, and their guide were the last members of the caravan to emerge into the canyon, and they shook off the cold as they discarded their packs and lowered their hoods. The temperature was noticeably more comfortable within the canyon's walls, and this scene looked surprisingly normal.  Several teenage girls were tending a fire while a handful of younger children played in its light. Women were preparing the evening meals as the rest of the men finished pitching the tents that would house them for the foreseeable future.

   Several of the men who had come to greet the new arrivals stopped short when they realized that there were strangers among the caravan party, but the Tribal Elders quickly rose to follow them; they recognized the dress and manner of Jedi Knights when they saw them.  Atamvr's attention wasn't on the Elders at the moment, however. Luke felt the jolt in his emotions as one of the men came close enough to grasp Atamvr's hand in greeting and then hugged him tightly.

   Atamvr's emotions were chaotic as Jess's father hugged him tight.  He hadn't seen the man or his wife since the day he'd sat numbed to the bone in front of a comm console, having to tell them that their only child hadn't survived the transport to Taypon. Atamvr hadn't expected their compassion then; he hadn't yet been able to forgive himself for the senseless loss, determined that if he had only done more, gotten to her sooner....  

   "Thank you for what you did, Atamvr."

   He shook his head. "I only wish it had turned out differently."

   "You risked your life so that my child could have a chance at survival.  I'll never forget that."

   Atamvr smiled. "Thank you."

   Jess's father moved aside to allow the Tribal Elders to greet Atamvr, and Atamvr embraced them each warmly.  All of these people were like a second family to him.

   "Welcome home, Atamvr," Elder Egreg breathed in greeting before he turned to face the rest of the tribe. "We celebrate! Tonight we have guests, and a long lost son has returned to us safely."  By that time the curious crowd had cleared to allow Atamvr's mother and father through.

   "'Tamvr," his father whispered, grasping the back of his head and clapping his arm while Atamvr hugged his mother tightly.

   He couldn't contain his joy as he studied them eagerly.  "It's so good see you safe," Atamvr whispered.  Finally, the knot that had been churning at his gut since he had received that mangled transmission relaxed. At least they were safe, and he had gotten back to them. He had this.

   His mother let him go and wiped her eyes self-consciously as she moved aside enough to put her arm around another woman's shoulders.  She too smiled at Atamvr through tears.

   Atamvr took her hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't..." he whispered to Jess's mother.

   She shook her head and placed an affectionate hand to his face.  "I'll always remember you as the boy who so befriended my daughter, my only child, that she called him her brother." 

   "You will always be that to us," Jess's father assured him, his hands on her shoulders, "and your family, so under our protection."  Overwhelmed, Atamvr embraced them again as his eyes filled with tears.  Then a towheaded little boy bearing features very similar to Atamvr's ran toward him, and Atamvr immediately dropped down to pull the boy into his arms and pick him up.

   "This isn't right," Atamvr argued, grinning. "You can't be Raysan.  He was just an eight year-old boy when I left."

   "I am Raysan.  I'm ten and a half now! And I've got so much to tell you, 'Tamvr."

   "I'm sure you do," Atamvr grinned at his younger brother, setting the boy back down.

   There was a stream of friends still waiting to welcome Atamvr back.  Luke suppressed a smile; he could feel genuine joy in their senses, and he was happy for his friend's good fortune.  But Luke also felt a little out of place. It was one of those discomforting times when he found himself suddenly aware of his own stature, and self-conscious of other's expectations. In light of recent events, that emotion was a bit more acute than usual.... 

   But Atamvr was elated; for him the trip was an unimaginable success. That justified it for Luke as well.  But now what was left for them? Luke asked himself.  In the middle of a planet that was being torn apart by strife and warfare, and that wanted none of their assistance....  Luke sighed, determinedly pushing those heavy thoughts and emotions aside. So much had been sacrificed already... but he would concentrate on one forward step at a time, and trust that their purpose here would come to light in its own time.  Now was simply a time to be thankful for safe homecomings.

   "You must be hungry after such a journey," Jess's mother fretted over Atamvr.  "Let's have all your stories over dinner."

   Atamvr nodded, grinning widely.  Then he stopped short and wheeled to look behind him. Luke stood calmly, his arms crossed into his robes, smiling at the scene before him. 

   "I almost forgot.  This is Luke Skywalker; he's–" 

   "Yes, yes," Atamvr's mother interrupted, ignoring his distraction as she steered her son in the other direction. Atamvr had been about to say: "the Jedi Knight.  He's taken me as his apprentice...."  That was only the start of his story... but Luke's introduction was unceremoniously cut short. 

   "Bring your friend along," Jess's mother prompted, waving Luke along with them.  "You know all are welcome here."

   Luke shrugged and followed obediently, grinning. He had never been quite so grateful to be overlooked... accepted.

~

   Luke and Atamvr were quickly made at home in a large tent that served as a combination mess hall and meeting hall.  It was a comfortable structure despite its temporary nature.  The people of the Intrensinic tribe had obviously become adept over the years at creating a home for themselves no matter their location.  And here, under the cover of near-primitive tents, tucked between the protective walls of a massive canyon, Luke and Atamvr felt truly relaxed and at home for the first time in a long while.

   It was a rather short-lived feeling though.  Once the greetings had been finished, Luke had been properly introduced, and Atamvr had given his comrades a satisfactory summary of his life over the past two years, the conversation quickly turned toward the conflict between the Dravidans and Kelcinians. The latest updates, they were told, indicated that the fighting was becoming widespread, feeding like engulfing flames over the past weeks while they had been traveling.  Vicious exchanges had become the norm on both sides, and the planet remained blanketed under the Kelcinan's comm block.

   Here, however, there was palpable hope at Luke and Atamvr's presence.  "Jedi Skywalker, do you think you might be able to help?" Jess's father asked hesitantly.

   "Of course they can help," Raysan answered defiantly.  "They're Jedi." His awe was evident as he gazed up at his older brother. "Jedi can do anything."

   Atamvr smiled, exchanging amused looks with the Tribal Elders. He remembered well their stories of the Jedi and the legendary feats they had once performed in service to the Old Republic. Atamvr had heard those stories and been encouraged in his own talents.  It warmed his heart to think that the Elders still told those stories to the kids.

   Luke's expression was wary.  "I'm afraid our options are slightly more limited than that," he answered.  "Realistically, negotiation is less likely than it has been, perhaps at any time in the history of this conflict.  And given the spiraling violence you were just describing... I fear that our presence and involvement would solve nothing at this point."

   Luke spared them a smile as he looked over the faces watching him; he could feel the wave of disappointment, and something more: loneliness, isolation. There were many beings here who, like Atamvr's family, had been forced from their homes by violence and the threat of violence.  Though they appreciated the hospitality with which the tribe had taken them in, they longed for the cessation of hostilities which would allow their return to their homes, their lives, and in some cases their families.

   "Even for a Jedi," Luke offered softly, "negotiation relies on the desire for peace, and a willingness to compromise.  An attempt to bring the two sides together prematurely would not help that cause."

   "But if there was a way you could help?" Elder Egreg tried cautiously.

   "We would be willing," Atamvr answered, and Luke nodded in agreement.

   "We believe that if we could find some way to undermine the fighting, just long enough to establish a neutral zone between the two sides, we could begin to engage both sides in a peace process and build toward compromise....  From there, given that opening, the High Elders propose offering themselves as mediators."

   "The High Elders?" Luke questioned.

   "Our ruling council," Atamvr answered. "Over the years the tribe has become more and more dispersed as sections have split off to try to find lands that would support them. Each tribal unit is represented by an Elder who is elected and given the title of High Elder.  High Elder Goshen represents us, with Elder Egreg as his second.  High Elder Goshen and two other High Elders form the Trimutive unit which leads the High Council."

   "The High Council is the only truly neutral party with on world interest," Elder Egreg explained.

   Luke sat back in his chair and gave a thoughtful tug at his lip. It was a good plan, with a likely chance at success, especially knowing first hand High Elder Goshen's wisdom and desire for peace.

   "Then what would the High Elders need from us?"

   "The Dravidans and the Kelcinians have no interest in the outside galaxy and believe themselves even more removed from it as a result of the comm block.  But while their conflict has escalated, the rest of the galaxy watches."

   "Waiting as this system hinges on the edge of a civil war," Luke breathed.

   "Someone needs to tell them that the situation is not lost," Elder Egreg suggested carefully.

   Luke nodded. And warn them not to interfere.... This was their course; he could feel it. The involvement of any off-world forces would jeopardize the possibility that the Dravidans and the Kelcinians could resolve this conflict given the aid of impartial mediation.  That process had to remain unaltered by the outside universe.  But Luke and Atamvr could help, if they could get that message out.

   They exchanged brief glances and, seeing agreement there, each nodded his consent.

   "It won't be easy," Elder Egreg warned.  "It will mean sending you into the Kelcinan stronghold in order to disable their prize piece of technology."

   "The comm block," Atamvr breathed.

   Elder Egreg nodded heavily.

   "When can we do this?" Luke asked.

   "Time will be required to finalize this course of action; it must be approved by the Trimutive of Elders.  Their decisions dictate the High Council's policies. Two of the three can be contacted easily.  As you know, it will be more difficult to locate High Elder Goshin, but hopefully this can be done within the month."

   "Until then," Jess's father offered, "you must consider yourselves our guests and enjoy our hospitality."

   "We would be honored to," Luke answered.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   Atamvr was determined to make use of the time that he had been allotted with his family and friends while the planning was being finalized and approval for this course of action was sought out from the Trimutive of Elders in the person of High Elder Goshin.  Luke, also, had been making use of the time; spending a great deal of time in meditation, the Jedi Knight had been trying to understand and make sense of everything that had happened since he and Darlik had first crossed paths.

   Atamvr gave a light knock at the edge of Luke's quarters.  There wasn't much privacy to be had here but in this case it didn't matter; he knew that Luke had been aware of his presence well before Atamvr had approached him.

   "The winds are quieting a bit; I was wondering if you'd like to come with me on a little field trip. I'm going to take some of the youngsters to burn off a little excess energy."

   Luke smiled. "Some things never change."

   Atamvr frowned thoughtfully as he came further inside. "Maybe it shouldn't be so easy to slip back into old routines, but they need someone."

   "No, you should go.  You're right. Children need a reminder that there's more to life than the hard work of putting food and water on the table. Enjoy yourselves while the weather allows. Force knows it's kept us all cooped up for long enough."

   "What about you?"

   "Oh, I'm all right here. It's good to have some time to reflect."

   "On Darlik?"

   "On a lot of things, but mostly Darlik," Luke admitted.

   Atamvr waited a moment.  When Luke didn't volunteer, he asked. "And what does the Force tell you?"

   Luke took a deep, focusing breath. "What you said was true. I don't believe that Darlik was ever open to me.  Even during the stand off between us, I could feel aggression, anger, but rest of his thoughts and emotions were closed to me.  Darlik was always very closed.  I thought it was a result of what he had experienced in the past... the treatment he endured on his home world, the manipulation by Imago.... Now I wonder.... Was all of it part of this?"

   "This?"

   "A plan. A way to bring about this confrontation; he clearly wanted that."

   "But why would he wish to confront you?  In all this time, he must have learned that you were stronger."

   Luke lifted his eyebrows warily. "When confined to the ways of the light. I'm certain now that that was the source of his frustration. Darlik had touched the dark side, of his own choosing, before I ever came into contact with him. He tried to deny that knowledge for my benefit, to deceive me. I still don't fully understand his purpose in that, but I know that he resented the weakness he perceived in the ways of the light."

   "You weren't the only one he deceived. Darlik deceived us all." Atamvr knew that it had been Darlik's intention to turn him against Luke.  It was painfully clear now, as he remembered the veiled suggestions meant to make him doubt that Luke was what Atamvr thought he was, what he needed him to be.  The thought of how close that deception had come to succeeding turned Atamvr's blood to ice in his veins... but it also made him more determined to see Luke through this internal crisis he was facing.

   "I've been wondering about his reasons for coming here since the moment I saw him rush out onto the platforms," Atamvr admitted. "He wanted to divide us; it was only when that plan failed that he moved on to another.  I have little doubt that that transmission was meant to lure me to my death.  Darlik didn't count on your deciding to come along, but when you did he decided that he had to come here too."

   "Most likely he still intended to find a way to eliminate the threat you represented to him."

   Atamvr swallowed hard. He hadn't thought of himself as a threat to Darlik, but that logic made sense. "That would explain the jealousy, the stormy mood swings."

   Luke sighed heavily. "The dark side of the Force is deceptive.  Maybe I allowed myself to forget how deceptive."

   "You gave him the benefit of the doubt, tried to help him, and you would do so again.  That's not a weakness," Atamvr argued.  He knew that his mentor was trying to come to terms with a painful truth, and he could feel the conflict in Luke's emotions.

   "I've tried to do my best by my students, I just don't know if my best is enough.... I think I'll always doubt that, just like I'll always miss my own teachers' guidance.  I've mourned that in my own life, not having anyone to show the way, no one to answer those painful questions that keep you awake in the night.

   "But this isn't something I can choose to take up or walk away from."  He looked up at Atamvr again. "Beings who feel the Force will find their way to it.  But the light is much harder to find, almost impossible to find alone. It's way has to be taught. Lara once told me that," Luke remembered softly, "and coming from someone else who'd seen – who'd felt the dark side....

   "I hoped that my guidance and direction would be enough. I hoped that every person I could show the light side to would be a little better armed against the seduction of the dark side. I've tried to show the ways of the light to you, and to Leia, and I will show it to Jacen and Jaina, and to my own children if they follow...."    He stopped, allowing a worn smile to cross his face.  "The truth is I'm the only one who can do this, and I've got to do it.  There is no 'try'." He sighed heavily. "I just don't know if I can put my own doubts aside enough to do what needs to be done. I don't know anymore, if my best will be good enough."

   Atamvr placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I can only tell you that for me it has been enough. You have done those things for me," Atamvr stated strongly.  Even through these uncertain times, he saw in Luke – his teacher, master, and friend – everything that he wanted to be, as a Jedi, and as a person.  "You have," Atamvr said again when a shake of his head numbly betrayed Luke's disbelief.

   "Get going now," Luke prompted his apprentice. "You don't want to keep your charges waiting."

   Atamvr only hesitated for a moment, touching the Force for reassurance that Luke meant what he said, that he was okay.

   Luke smiled as he watched Atamvr go. His actions a moment ago had reminded Luke very much of Lara, and that made the Jedi quickly redirect his thoughts to settle calmly back into the Force for meditation.  Lara was a part of him: her heart as much as her thoughts and her words... her touch....  Luke curtailed that thought; he couldn't allow himself the distraction of missing his wife's comforting and healing presence.  There was still too much work to be done before they could leave here, and he would accomplish none of it by wishing for home.

   The Jedi cleared his restless thoughts and let himself sink deeper into the Force's healing calm... but that same Force also pushed him to find answers within himself. Luke's thoughts were focused by events other than the ones he had recently seen as he considered his dealings with the dark side... thinking about Bespin and what would necessarily follow at Endor. He allowed the light to lead him through those harsh details, searching parts of his mind that he hated to revisit, even in memory.

   Bespin.  The ruthlessness he had seen and felt from Vader in that encounter... it was something that had never left him, something that Luke still carried with him.  Every time he picked up his own lightsaber there was the feel of its creation, the memory of its predecessor. And in every flex of those fingers, his mechanical hand, there was his physical tie to Vader.

   Endor was a little easier to remember. Though he had almost died, though he had almost fallen, he had seen a great truth.  Staring down at Vader as his father lay wounded on the floor of the Emperor's throne room... their roles from Bespin, this time reversed....  Luke had realized in that moment that they were the same.  Both had the same humanity within them, in its strengths and its weaknesses, and both were given the same choice: to embrace it, or to deny it.

   Anakin had made his choice.  Long ago he had chosen the dark path, taken the quick and easy way, and turned his back on his flawed humanity.  And now that choice was Luke's. Luke had responded by throwing down his lightsaber: will and dominance, hatred and aggression. Emotions that had consumed him a moment before faded from his mind, and the rush that he had been caught up in before fell away.  The need, the temptation of great power just beyond his reach, available for his use... it all lost its pull.  Those narrow confines of willful emotion dropped away, and he felt peace in himself. He felt the whole of the universe, connected in the peace of the Force around him... and Luke made his choice. 

   Anakin over Vader. Light over dark. Regardless of the consequences, and even if it meant his death, Luke would choose the light and stand in his own strength, his own humanity....  It all came back to that one simple reality: the choice between darkness and light.

~

   Luke awoke that night in a cold sweat. He was stunned as much by the content of what he had experienced as the reality of what had just happened to him; his sleep hadn't been bothered by nightmares in years.  Luke sat up slowly and pulled his Jedi robes on over the more casual clothes he slept in. Out of habit the Jedi attached his lightsaber to his side, and he walked to the mess hall to get something to drink.

   The cool drink did little to calm his nerves.  Luke tried to tell himself that the nightmare was just a manifestation of events that he had been meditating on and his current circumstances... but he wasn't certain of that. And it was hard to get those haunting images and emotions out of his head....

   Luke sat silently, lost in thought until the night began to lighten just noticeably. Then the silence was broken by the sound of small footsteps.

   "Jedi Skywalker!" several voices called in unison.

   "Raysan, Glashir, try to keep still and leave the Jedi be while I get your breakfast started," Raysan's mother warned as she smoothed her son's hair and gave Luke a smile.

   "It's all right; they're no bother.  I have a niece and nephew who aren't much younger than they are."

   "I know," she answered as she stoked the fire and began heating a kettle.  "Atamvr talks of your family often in his transmissions.  It must be difficult for you to be away from them."

   Luke suppressed a half smile as he watched the two boys engage in a make-believe lightsaber battle.

   "It is," he whispered.

   "Here, drink this," she offered quietly, sliding a cup in front of him.

   Luke wrapped his hands around the warm cup and inhaled the sweet scent.  "Thank you."

   She only shook her head. "It's I who should be thanking you, for making my son a part of your family."

   Luke's gaze fell back to the boys' imaginary battle, complete with the humming and crashing of blade against blade. "I'm going to take my hot chocolate and get some fresh air.  I'll be back in time for breakfast," he assured her easily when a warning look crossed the lady's weathered features.

~

   Luke stood outside in the chilly morning air, watching the coming sunrise slowly light the sky and trying not to think of his own family at home.  He closed his eyes and reached out to the Force... letting its familiar peace fill and strengthen him, allowing its strength to ease the weight of his worries and burdens, gently quiet his loneliness and uncertainty. Luke wasn't aware of the passing of time but when he lifted his eyes again the sky had lightened noticeably and the morning sun was throwing a spectacular light show against the ground and sky in front of him... every color represented in time. Luke stood still and watched the sunrise light the sky in brilliant colors, truly feeling its beauty.

   Atamvr cleared the canyon's walls and looked out to see his friend staring blankly off into the distance.  "You're thinking about Darlik again," Atamvr stated carefully, assuming the state of distraction to mean that Luke was thinking, worrying.

   A slight smile crossed Luke's face.  "Actually I was thinking about the sunrise. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful display."

   Atamvr had to grin at himself. He pulled his own thoughts away from their heavy internal bustling to let himself breathe deeply and appreciate the beautiful colors that were slowly spreading across the morning sky.

   Waves of pastel pinks and purples drained into deeper oranges and golds as they crossed the sky. All stood in amazing contrast to the overlapping mountains' series of deep blue ranges... and the sky was reflected again off the shadowy yellow ground in new shades of reds and oranges that played against the darker shadows cast below the mountains.

   "Cloud City was close," Luke's voice broke into Atamvr's conscious relaxation, "but not quite." 

   Atamvr looked toward him.  A hint of a smile showed on Luke's face as he glanced in Atamvr's direction. It was a moment that would stay with Atamvr for a long time to come: both the stunning sight and the amazing gift that he recognized in it. Atamvr smiled back as they both returned their gazes to the horizon. He stood there with Luke, watching until the last of the brilliant colors faded and the stars that had littered the night sky were finally swallowed up by the light of day.  Atamvr stood at Luke's side and he hoped to see the same in that sunrise, hoped to find that place in himself where he could appreciate life's beauty, find hope and idealism, even in midst of one's greatest trials. He stood, and he hoped to be the same.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   Several weeks later a small audience watched, enraptured, as Luke and Atamvr practiced their lightsaber skills in the early morning light.  Blue and green blades danced off one another as each side analyzed the other's attack and moved to counter that attack.  They had made this exchange a part of their morning routine as of late, to the great amusement of their young audience. 

   Cheers erupted as Atamvr twisted and parried Luke's blade before flying into a Force leap, using that momentum to disarm his mentor. Then there were gasps when Luke responded with a backflip with placed him out of his opponent's striking range and allowed Luke the space to recall his weapon to his grasp.

   The two warriors paused and stood studying each other as their audience cheered loudly, prompting Luke to smile.

   "Either you're getting better at this, or you're showing off."

   Atamvr raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I wouldn't dream of it," he answered, and he met Luke with another flurry of blows, which Luke deflected.

   That exchange continued for several minutes before Luke returned the favor, neatly disarming his student. Atamvr pulled his lightsaber back to his grasp and bowed slightly in acknowledgment. They had just begun to measure one another for another go round when they each felt a shift in the Force. Both blades retracted simultaneously, much to the disappointment of their audience.

   "Sorry," Luke apologized with a smile, "but it looks like our show is over for today.  We have a visitor to greet." The messenger who had left them over a month ago to seek out the Tribal Elder's approval had returned. 

   Atamvr reached out with his emotions.  "And judging from his sense, the news is promising."

~

   The High Elders had agreed that Luke and Atamvr could get a message off to the New Republic, and they believed that it could be done without having their actions traced back to the Elders or the tribe. It was understood that this would be their mission: their initiative and their responsibility, whether it succeeded or failed... and theirs alone if they were captured. Above all else, all parties understood that nothing could be allowed to cast doubt on the High Elder's neutrality, or to in any way compromise their position.  Their leadership would be vital for the difficult work of bringing about peace.

   Now that it had all been finalized, Atamvr found himself with mixed feelings about leaving.  He was grateful that this plan of action had been approved and was proud to be a part of it... but it was harder than he had ever expected it to be, the thought of leaving his home and family again.

   Luke placed a hand to his forearm as he moved past Atamvr. "Just try to keep your focus on the mission," he encouraged his student. "I'll start gathering a few supplies."

   Atamvr nodded, and gave his mentor a slight smile. He knew that Luke was also giving him the opportunity to say his goodbyes....  Atamvr could sense the conflicting emotions in his parents as they each embraced him. They were proud and worried, wishing that the danger he was about to go into wasn't so great, but they were sure that he was capable and admiring of the man that he had become. 

   Atamvr spoke quietly with them and a half dozen other well-wishers before Luke made his way back, laden with a couple of packs and in conversation with another member of the tribe.

   "I wish we could afford you an escort," the man was saying.  "You'll be going through some of the roughest territory this planet has to offer."

   "You've already done enough," Luke assured him easily. "From here on, it's up to us."

   Luke set the packs down and gave Atamvr a questioning glance.  It was time to go.  They could gain nothing by waiting any longer. Atamvr nodded and closed the distance to pick up one of the packs.

   "Jedi Skywalker."  Atamvr's father extended a hand to Luke.  "Good luck." 

   "Don't worry.  We'll go carefully, and we won't take any unnecessary risks." Luke looked over the crowd that had begun to gather.  Word had quickly spread that they were leaving, and the majority of the tribe members had come to see them off.  "And we'll do our best for all of you," Luke finished.

   Luke was surprised when Atamvr's mother hugged him tightly.  "We know you will," she whispered.  She was scared but she was also grateful, and she knew that she had no choice but to entrust her son to Luke's care again.

   "Try not to fear for him," Luke whispered. "I'll watch over your son, as if he were my own brother. You have my word."

   Atamvr met Luke's gaze, once more speechless, but he nodded, accepting that sentiment. Somewhere in the middle of all this they had become more than teacher and student, more than friends.  Luke was like a brother to him.

   Luke and Atamvr returned the embraces and handshakes offered to them as they began making their way out of the canyon. When they finally reached the outside, Atamvr gave Raysan a hug and kissed the top of his head as he set the reluctant boy back on the ground.

   "Be brave now," he said, kneeling down beside his brother.

   "But I want to go with you."

   "I know. But someone has to stay and take care of them, right?"

   He nodded, fighting back tears. 

   Atamvr smiled. "We'll see each other again before you know it."

   "Are you sure?"

   Atamvr tousled the boy's hair affectionately.  "I can feel it." 

   Raysan nodded bravely. "Then may the Force be with you."

   Luke smiled as Atamvr stood and readjusted his pack. "May the Force be with us all," Luke Skywalker echoed as they turned to go.

~

   The weather and Orem's terrain combined to give the worst as Luke and Atamvr made their way toward the Kelcinan territories. Atamvr had warned Luke, as had others in the tribe, that this part of the planet was particularly prone to rough weather... something about the way the high density troughs created wind-tunnel-like pockets of air pressure.  He didn't have to fully understand the cause to see and feel the effects.  For weeks on end, they had been severely battered by storm winds that made it impossible to see or hear, much less travel. Those conditions had led to several lengthy delays when all they could do was hunker down in makeshift trenches until the high pressure blasts had relented enough for them to keep pushing on.

   Their next challenge was in crossing the Kelcinan border but, surprisingly, they made it through without incident.  The Kelcinan's border patrol forces were sporadically placed and poorly equipped. Luke and Atamvr were able to evade them with ease.

   "Strange," Luke commented.

   "I'm not complaining, after the run of bad luck we had with the Dravidians, but...."

   "But border patrol here isn't what it should be. Things must not be going well on the front lines," Luke surmised. 

   "No matter how bad things are on the front lines, you can bet that comm relay station will be well-guarded," Atamvr warned.

   "Right.  How far away do think this puts us?"

   "My guess is a week."

   "Weather permitting," Luke assumed with a dry smile.

   Atamvr grinned.  "Even the Dravidians and the Kelcinans weren't foolish enough to settle the territories we just crossed. "The weather, at least, should become more accommodating from here on in."

   "Glad to hear that something will be," Luke agreed with a mischievous smile.

~

   A little over a week later the two men lay sprawled flat on a plateau which gave them a view overlooking their destination.

   "It's a camp," Luke mumbled, surprised.  "I was expecting a city."

   "A comm block like this one doesn't have many peace-time uses. The station's mobility is one of its greatest advantages; it can be moved into any position that will increase the block's strength.  Over a campaign like this one they'll expect to relocate it several times depending on weather patterns and progress on the front lines."

   "But this isn't a battle encampment; I don't see any heavy weaponry."

   "No. Their function is only to protect this station, and to be able to move it at a moment's notice."

   Luke nodded. "I can make out several barracks surrounding station.  It'll be well-manned." 

   "There also appears to be a medical area and a small detention area." 

   "Defenses?" Luke prompted.

   "We can expect heavy surveillance around the perimeter wall."

   "Manned or artificial?"

   "Both. They will detect us," Atamvr stated; "it's just a matter of getting through their defenses and into the station before they can stop us."

   Luke nodded. "We should go in on that far sector. It's close to the station and farthest from the nearest manned guard unit."

   "Agreed."

   "Weapons?" Luke asked next.

   "Nothing we can't handle," Atamvr answered with a smile.

   "And the station?"

   "I should be able to get us inside.  Then I'll need you to buy me some time while I find a way to break the block and open a channel.  Once the channel is open the room will lock down. It will stay locked down until our message is away.  After that, it's unlikely that we'll be able to get out undetected. They'll be waiting for us."

   "And they'll be angry."

   "This won't be easy," Atamvr warned.

   "When is it ever easy?" Luke answered.

~

   The hum of a lightsaber cut through the thin coat of duasteel that walled in the camp. It was a lightweight and thin material, but it would have proved impenetrable to nearly any other weapon. The security drone which had honed in on them and was now buzzing over their heads was not impressed.

   "Halt! You are trespassing and will be detained.  Halt!"

   Atamvr's lightsaber sliced it through before it could repeat its warning.  "Boring conversation," he noted with a grin as Luke crossed into the camp through the hole he had just created in the perimeter wall.

   Two lightsabers immediately sprang to life as four more drones appeared. These were armed and firing vigorously on the intruders. Luke and Atamvr deflected the bolts as vigorously, defending themselves and skillfully directing the bolts back toward the drones. By the time Atamvr's blade sliced through the final armed drone, the manned forces had already located them.

   "We've got to get to the station," Atamvr breathed.

   "Let's make a break for it.  I'll cover you."

   The two Jedi managed to evade the security forces as they raced toward their objective.  And Luke continued to cover his apprentice as Atamvr broke the lock, allowing them to enter the station.  Its partially makeshift metal confines reminded Luke a little too much of the old Imperial-style bunkers, like the ones that had supported the defense systems of the second death star at Endor. He felt a slight chill run down his spine in the comparison, and he wondered briefly if these building materials might have been left over supplies from this planet's Imperial occupation.

   Luke deliberately put the old memories aside as he sealed the door behind them, keeping his senses cautiously extended toward the life forms outside. The door had hardly closed when Atamvr wheeled around, his hand extended, and the controllers who were manning the station quickly found themselves disarmed.  Even unarmed, they attempted to rush the intruders. Luke casually extended a hand in their direction, causing both men to fall unconscious with only a slight wave of his fingers.

   Atamvr wasted no time in jumping over the console where the controllers had been seated. He settled himself at the display panels and hardly paused to give them a appraising glance before he began programming in an emergency override code.

   "They've instituted a security lock. This is going to take longer."

   "What can I do?" Luke asked.

   "Just keep anyone from coming through that door."

   Right on cue, a beeping noise indicated that the door was being forced from the outside. "Is that all?" Luke murmured, his lightsaber snap-hissing to life as he spoke.  The Jedi Knight took a deep breath, suppressing a wry smile as he reached out to the Force, took up a defensive posture, and waited. When the door opened a second later Luke was blocking incoming fire.

   After a few minutes of lacking success the Kelcinans changed tactics.  Now interspersed between the intense blaster fire he was having to deflect, Luke also had to disperse the stun gas canisters which were being rolled and thrown toward the door before each one could enter the station.

   Luke let one canister dissipate as he held it in a secure Force grip, spewing its contents harmlessly into the open air; another he used to intercept a blast bolt, and it exploded violently.  The forces firing on Luke had to ease back in order to escape the expanding gas field, and their fire lessened noticeably. The gas was clouding their sights and they couldn't risk having one of their bolts accidentally hit the station's interior.  Luke brought his lightsaber back to a guard position, waiting for the next exchange.  Then the door slammed shut in front of him.

   The Jedi exhaled a tired breath. "I hope you did that," Luke offered, turning toward Atamvr.  He could already feel the blend of relief and satisfaction in Atamvr's sense.

   "I've got a channel," he breathed.

   Luke leapt across the control console and leaned over Atamvr's shoulder as he briefly scanned the display panels.  There was no time to waste. Luke began punching in a memorized transmission code, one that would give them direct access to the Senate Inner Council.

~

     From the limited information they were still able to gather from the surrounding systems, the situation on Orem was growing more precarious by the day.  The comm block was still in effect, and keeping most of the circumstances contained, at least in solid fact.  But the unsubstantiated reports of increasing violence were enough to create a great deal of worry and tension on Coruscant.

   The emerging rumors were even more graphic and disturbing. The one consistency Lara had been able to ascertain since she had returned her efforts to information gathering, assisting NRI in monitoring the conflict, was that the hostilities were steadily worsening.  It went without saying that anyone caught in the middle would not be spared in the fallout. And of course Luke, Atamvr, and Darlik were trapped behind that communications block. They had been behind those lines for most of six months now.

   Lara rubbed her eyes and rested her face in her hands for a moment.  It was late.  NRI headquarters was quiet and, despite her and Artoo's best efforts, distilling the whirlwind of rumor and innuendo that surrounded Orem into some sort of solid, workable intelligence seemed an all but impossible task.

   "Hey." A hand on her shoulder startled her, as did the fact that she had started to doze off. "You all right?"

   "Yeah. Fine."

   Lara smiled up at Allad. She had found him here working the night shift more and more often over the past several months. Someone of his ranking had little need to pull extra shifts, and especially graveyard shifts, but Lara got the distinct impression that he did so in order to keep himself up to date on the latest developments.  Like many in the New Republic who held allegiance to Luke and counted themselves in his debt, Allad Perril wanted to find some way to help resolve this situation... and he knew that Lara would be here.

   "I'm here if you need anything."

   She nodded.  "I know.  Thanks."

   He nodded back, and left her to her work.

   Lara could feel the conflict in his emotions as he walked away.  He didn't like that she was here, or more specifically, he didn't like the reason why she was here. He understood and he sympathized with her need to do something, but Allad hated to see his friend's wife wearing herself down with worry for him while none of his resources were able to find anything that could help Luke.

   Lara's hands slid over her face again as she reached out with her emotions, seeking solace in that familiarity. In the Force she could feel Allad's protective determination to watch over her fade back into dogged persistence for doing his job.  There was little more than a skeleton crew on watch at this hour... and everything else was quiet. But not for long. 

   Lara sensed something.... an unexpected presence.  She looked up from her entrenchment, over the data consoles and piles of scattered data cards, just as Artoo gave a flurry of fluttering beeps and warbles, sounding startled but not alarmed. 

   "Leia!"  Allad nearly jumped out of his chair in surprise. He had just settled in to begin looking over the new systems' reports; the last thing he had expected was to see Leia Organa Solo come gliding into the room at this hour. "Is anything wrong, Senator?" 

   "No," Leia answered with the cool smile and practiced ease of a career politician. "I just need to borrow Lara for a few minutes." 

   Lara's heart skipped a beat when she saw Leia's expression, and Leia didn't have to say another word.  Her eyes met Lara's and Lara immediately stood to follow her.

   The two walked briskly toward the Grand Corridor. 

   "They aren't going to like this, but don't worry about it. I want you here for this transmission," Leia told Lara in hushed tones.

   The objections Leia expected were loud and numerous when Lara stepped into the Senate Inner Council Chambers, but Leia hadn't spent her whole life in the political arena without learning how to get what was needed when the chips were down.  She fell back on the privileges of her delegate rank and named Lara as a temporary aid, an official advisor serving her in her brother's absence.

   The argument quieted fairly quickly after that.  Those who respected Leia were willing to accept that strong proclamation of trust, and the grim reminder of its cause.  The rest knew that Leia was within her rights and it was useless to argue that point. Any remaining objection was suddenly cut short as all eyes moved toward the transmission display. The message had been sent on a delay, allowing a couple of minutes for the intended audience to assemble before beginning, and the timer was swiftly counting down from the ten second mark.

   Lara took a few steps back, assuming a more discrete position among the handful of other seconds and advisors who were watching as the anxiously awaited transmission came through. She was glad to see a familiar face there.

   "Mistress Lara, it is good to see you again."

   "And you, Threepio," Lara answered as she fell in beside Leia's protocol droid.

   Then an image appeared, wavering slightly and marred by static.  Luke paused, giving the signal connection another moment to solidify before he began making his report; his eyes crossed the room, slowly and carefully taking in the assembled members of the Inner Council. Atamvr stood at his side and a step behind Luke, his attention mostly on the room around them.  In that simple show of caution, their audience realized that the two men were taking a risk to be making this report, and the cautious mood which permeated the air surrounding the New Republic's highest Senate officials darkened considerably in that knowledge. 

   Both men looked disheveled and worn, with some signs of injury, but none visibly serious.  Lara balanced her relief and worry with the need for objectivity as she stood quietly out of the way and took in Luke's statement, their status.

   "I'm sure that you've all heard rumors and probably little else regarding the situation on Orem, but even in rumor I doubt that the scale of this disaster can be overstated.  Things are at their worst now.  As I speak, there is widespread hostility and near-constant, heavy exchanges between two well-armed oppositions who are bent on destroying one another.  But," he emphasized, "the situation is not hopeless.  These circumstances are completely contained to Orem, largely because of the comm block, and there are plans in place that, if successful, may bring this deadly conflict to a peaceable halt within that containment." 

   Luke paused. "It is vital that there be no outside interference unless it is deemed absolutely necessary, and of last resort." Then his attention was pulled away briefly; they could see him glance aside, and could hear muffled noises in the room around Luke and Atamvr. 

   "Oh my," C-3PO murmured. "That doesn't sound promising."

   Luke and Atamvr had undoubtably been discovered. Luke continued his report clearly and concisely, but he also recognized that his audience was acutely aware of his own uncertainty in the coming moments.

   "I repeat, leave things to settle themselves until such time as need for further involvement arises. That advisement includes any preemptive reaction to our welfare here."  Luke glanced off screen once more, and this time Atamvr stepped away in that direction. The noise level was rising again in the background.

   Luke returned his attention to the transmission feed and looked briefly to Leia, sparing a smile for his sister.  Then he nodded to the members of the Inner Council and made his sign off. But his gaze settled on Lara's, their eyes locking for a fraction of a second. 

   Luke's words from a moment ago had chilled Lara, as had Luke and Atamvr's reaction to their circumstances. But when his eyes met hers Lara was aware of nothing else. Luke paused to touch his forefingers to his lips, offering her the light gesture, one moment shared between them.

   She returned the familiar motion through a smile.  The feeling of normalcy that came to her in reaching out to him and her own wish to give him strength pushed aside her worry. The time and distance between them evaporated in that one fleeting second. Then the screen fell blank. 

   Lara took a deep breath, her smile fading quickly behind the surge of wishful strength that she had felt a moment ago.  Leia looked in her direction, and Lara slowly met her sister-in-law's gaze before drawing to her side and leaning down to speak to her softly.

   "I can't add much to that," Lara acknowledged. "He meant what he said, and he risked his life to say it.  Make sure they take that seriously."

   Leia's expression hardened just noticeably, but her words remained controlled, polite. "Thank you for being here," Senator Organa Solo breathed.

   Lara gave an appreciative half bow in response to her dismissal. Their play completed, Lara straightened and turned to leave the Inner Council Chamber.  They both knew how bad it was, and could still get for Luke.  Now the Senate Inner Council had some serious decisions to make, and Lara and Leia both knew that Lara's presence would hamper that process, exaggerating long-standing worries which had no place interfering in the present circumstances.

   "Threepio. I trust you'll function adequately in my absence."

   "I shall endeavor to, Mistress Lara," Threepio answered seriously.

   Lara smiled as she gave the droid a pat on the shoulder and made her exit. She would wait for Leia outside in the Grand Corridor, close enough to effectively monitor the mood inside the Council Chambers, and she would be ready to offer Leia any advice that she could once the meeting came to an end.

~

   Lara felt the rise and fall of varied emotions inside the Council Chambers as the different sides argued their opinions and the meeting stretched deeper into the night.  She was trying to keep her awareness centered on those circumstances but her thoughts kept straying, replaying details of the transmission in her mind.  She remembered the urgency that she had seen in Luke and the urgent circumstances around him, along with traces of hardships that he had already endured. 

   Most of that hadn't been obvious to the average observer.  Luke's manner had been all-business, his voice and face calm and direct, and Atamvr had shown no less depth of calm and confidence. Each of them had looked and behaved every inch the Jedi Knights they sought to be, focused on their chosen path of service.  It worried her that Darlik had been absent from the transmission, but she tried not to read anything into that fact; perhaps he was holding another position outside the station.... Lara hoped that he, too, was all right.

   She sat back and closed her eyes, stifling a yawn. If this meeting ran much longer they'd be watching the day break soon.  Lara felt tired to the core, but that was a near constant thing.  Beyond the fact that much of her nighttime hours were spent in NRI, sleeplessness had become common to her... the sleeplessness and the half dreams of his return, her many worries for him, and the endlessness of missing him....  Now that she finally knew something concrete, she only hoped that something could be done to bring the hostilities to a peaceful conclusion, to bring the man she loved back to her, back safe to his family.

   A quiet beeping broke the silence in the Grand Corridor. "Hi, Artoo."

   The little droid's beeping took on a distressed tone, and Lara could easily guess why. He had already followed her here from Intelligence. Artoo was worried too.

   "Yes, that was about Luke. He and Atamvr are safe, but... they're in a lot of trouble."

   Artoo beeped forlornly.  Lara guessed that he was also familiar with that set of circumstances.  And like herself, he would rather be facing danger with his master than be left behind where all they could do was worry and wait for news.

   Lara looked up when Artoo beeped expectantly, his dome swirling around, and she stood from her seat as the doors to the Inner Council Chambers opened.  Leia was one of the first to emerge.  Her face looked tired, but her eyes were blazing. Lara could see that it must have been a tough session, and she would guess a measured victory. 

   Leia sent the droids back to her quarters and the two women walked in silence to Leia's office, where they could speak freely. As soon as the door closed behind them Leia made her opinions clear.

   "We've got no other choice.  We have to do as Luke says, and trust him now."

   Lara nodded slowly, agreeing, even if she was caught a little off guard at the forcefulness of Leia's statement. She took a steading breath.  "They would oppose that," she offered cautiously.

   Leia's sense flickered with restrained frustration.  "They want more information," she explained, "but if we try to break the comm block, we risk setting off a chain reaction in the surrounding systems." 

   Lara nodded in agreement.  "Orem will resent the interference, and the surrounding systems could be led to choose sides and enter the fighting."

   "That, of course, would justify our further involvement, which is exactly what a lot of beings would like. Many in the Senate Whole think that this stand off has already gone on for too long. They think that some backwater planet like Orem should be grateful that the New Republic is willing to help them solve their problems, and that our hesitancy to take control of the situation makes us look weak, in addition to risking a civil war in the system."

   "They have a good argument," Lara acknowledged, "but Luke risked a lot to get us that update, to tell us that they need more time. Anything else we try puts him in even more danger." 

   "I know. I won't allow that – and a lot of others on the Council share that determination."

   Lara raised her eyebrows.  "Let me guess who opposes," she said dryly.

   "Fey'lya aside, the majority of them deeply respect Luke and are genuinely worried about him.  But they sometimes find it difficult to trust his judgment." Leia hesitated.  "The dark side of the Force casts a heavy shadow, and some of them are scared of what Luke represents."

   "What he represents?" Lara asked incredulously.  "What he represents is the same Order that guarded the Republic for a thousand generations."

   "Before the Empire." Leia's interruption stopped Lara cold. "What he proposes is something they don't understand anymore.  Jedi Knights and the Force have become a thing of myth and legend since the Empire hunted the Jedi to extinction.  Luke is all that remains of that tradition, and trusting in the unknown is a great risk."

   Lara swallowed hard. "Maybe my being here was a bad idea," she whispered, "a reminder of the wrong things."

   "No," Leia answered firmly.  "No one deserved be here more than you; Luke didn't need to see anyone as much as he needed to see you. It's time that some members of the Council learn to accept my brother's judgement, and his marriage," she added more quietly.  "Besides, I'm grateful for your insights, Madam Advisor."

   Lara smiled, and Leia placed a hand to her arm.

   "Thank you, Leia.  I needed to see him too."

   Leia smiled, but that smile slowly faded.  Something troubled her. "Lara, did you feel anything wrong with Luke during that transmission?"

   Lara flinched slightly.  So Leia had also sensed it. "There was a lot lingering under the surface.  I'm sure they've been through a lot," she said softly, "but he was very focused on getting the transmission away.  That was his first priority."

   Leia smiled more easily. "And he's very good at putting everything else aside in order to carry out the mission."  She was encouraged by the thought of her brother's strength.  "I just hope he's right about Orem, and that the peace will be made soon."

   Leia felt the change in Lara's emotions. "We'll get Luke home," she whispered, giving Lara's forearm a squeeze. "Try not to worry."

   Lara shook her head, dismayed at her sudden inability to keep her own focus. "I just miss him so much, Leia.  Sometimes it feels like I'm coming apart at the seams."

   "I don't believe that for a second," Leia said with a smile. "What you are is exhausted.  Go home and get some rest."

   Lara nodded reluctantly. "I'll try. I haven't been sleeping much.  I thought that working in NRI would help keep my mind occupied, but I can't keep myself from worrying about him."  Lara paused.  "What will happen if the peace doesn't come on Orem?"

   Leia drew herself back to the problem at hand. "They say they're willing to give it another month.  If nothing changes in that time, then they'll want to discuss other options."

~

   Luke made his sign off and ended his transmission as the noise level outside increased to a new intensity, brutally demanding immediate entry to the comm station.

   "'Fraid were gonna have company soon," Atamvr called as he continued trying to blockade the door.

   The Kelcinans knew that their comm block had been interrupted. The physical blockade that Atamvr had set up would stand no chance against the weaponry available to the men on the other side, but it might slow them down a little.

   Luke scanned the control panel in front of him.  "Atamvr, is there any way we can disengage the locking mechanism? They might take this easier if we surrender before they can blast the door down."

   Atamvr used the Force to secure one more heavy beam against the wall, then he moved back to one of the consoles.  He worked for a few moments, trying to find some combination of commands that would override the self-protect status and disengage the locking mechanisms. Then Atamvr shook his head warily. 

   "Everything is programed to keep the room airtight surrounding a transmission; there are multiple safeties guarding the self-protection programing.  I can't break into it."

   While that kept the Kelcinan forces out for a few more moments, it also kept Luke and Atamvr trapped inside.  They could use their lightsabers to cut themselves an exit, if only they were sure that doing so wouldn't short any of the vital systems supporting the block. Simply put, they were trapped here, and there was nothing for them to do but wait.

   The timing mechanism finally beeped an alert, and Luke ducked for cover behind the console that Atamvr had been working at.  Atamvr also ducked down in his seat, and they waited for the worst as the doors unlocked and were immediately forced opened.

   A few well-placed blast bolts sent portions of their makeshift blockade flying across the room, clearing the way for the incoming troops. Luke cautiously announced their surrender and got to his feet, holding his hands up.  The weaponry stayed trained on them as the comm systems were checked for sabotage, then the block was swiftly reinstated. It was apparent however, as their armed guests checked the records, that Luke and Atamvr had successfully gotten a message away.   

   The unwelcome knowledge was met with a heavy blow from a weapon to the back of the head, knocking Atamvr out of his seat and face forward into unconsciousness.

   Luke dropped down to his side, trying simultaneously to break Atamvr's fall and to shield him from further attack.  Through his worry, Luke didn't see the next blow coming until a split second before a heavy boot slammed into his rib cage.  Then severe pains shot through him, doubling Luke over and taking his breath away as a sickening grating sound echoed in his ears. After that he felt himself roughly hauled to his feet.

   "Take them to the detention area.  They will both be held accountable for this sabotage," the head security officer growled threateningly as Luke was forced outside, still struggling to get his feet under him. Atamvr was gathered up as well and dragged away behind Luke.

~

   "Did you disarm them?" the Kelcinan Senior Officer asked.  He had been summoned to supervise their prisoner's transfer into the detention area.

   "Yes sir, Commander Cyssum.  These were their only weapons."

   Cyssum studied the two cylindrical laser swords, shifting their weights over one another in his hand.  He had never dealt with Jedi before and he wasn't looking forward to the special challenges involved in keeping a Jedi confined.

   "I want the parameters on the detention force shield doubled."

   "Sir?" his head of security questioned. 

   "I don't know what these men are capable of, Alvvok," he conceded quietly, "and I don't want to risk losing these prisoners."

   "That won't happen, sir. We can ensure that they won't escape."

   "Yes.  I'm certain that you can, but I don't want them incapacitated either. I want them to be able to walk out of here at a moment's notice. I don't know why they broke into our comm station, but since they got a message away someone will know that they're here.  That could make them valuable negotiating tools, and in that case I want to avoid any uncomfortable accusations about their treatment. I certainly don't want to end up explaining to the New Republic how one of their people turned up dead in our custody. Is that perfectly understood?"

   "Yes sir."

   "Good. I want the medic checking their conditions regularly, and reporting his findings to me.  You will be responsible for making sure that every man in their guard understands and follows any recommendations that the medic makes regarding them."

   "Are there any other restriction that we should be aware of, sir?"

   "No."

   "Thank you, Commander Cyssum.  You have my word they won't be permanently damaged."

   "You sent for me?" Cyssum turned to find the medic standing behind him.

   "Yes.  I want you to keep a close watch on these two prisoners and keep me apprised of their conditions.  Lieutenant Alvvok will be in charge of their guard. Keep him apprised of anything that they require while in our custody."

   The medic nodded.  "As you wish, Commander," he answered, and swiftly moved past them to enter the detention area and begin his work.

   Commander Cyssum watched his men lower the detention force shield to allow the medic in, then he turned back to his head of security. "Lieutenant Alvvok, get a team to work on the shields immediately, and keep the prisoners under double restraint until the adjustments are completed."

   "It will be done, sir. And I'll double the assigned guard as well."

~

   The medic who was checking Atamvr's condition cursed under his breath. As Luke had feared, he had sustained a concussion.  The medic sat back on his heels, and after a moment's hapless deliberation he waved the two men beside Luke over to him. They left reluctantly, glancing toward the detention shields that were still being worked on, and placing Luke in another set of restraints before they left his side.  This one was more discomforting to movement than the standard energy binders that Luke was already wearing at his wrists and ankles.  The sensation of pins and needles led Luke to suspect that these binders also restricted circulation.

   "Bring him around," the medic instructed the two guards despondently.

   "Wait," Luke yelled as the men exchanged cautious glances. They were puzzled by the unique challenge of reversing unconsciousness without dangerously aggravating a head injury.  "Let me," Luke pleaded.

   The medic watched the Jedi for a moment before nodding his approval.

   Luke didn't move from the place where he had been deposited on the hard ground minutes earlier.  He reached out to the Force and concentrated on Atamvr's mind, hoping that he could do this and save his friend a crueler awakening.  Luke became aware of the guards' impatience, and then the Force gave a little nudge at the edge of his mind. 

   "Those herbs," Luke suggested suddenly, "are they a type of chek root?" 

   The medic took a few steps toward the edge of the enclosure to investigate.  It was as much a stall tactic as a backup plan, and it would also provide a short distraction to keep the guards from becoming too preoccupied with Luke's mysterious abilities.  The medic concurred with Luke's observation a moment later, and he sent the two guards to pull the roots and squeeze out their foul smelling liquid centers.

   "How did you know that those roots have medicinal purposes?"

   "Let's just say I've experienced more than my share of emergency medicine, both on the giving and receiving ends," Luke offered with a grin.

   "That makes two of us," the medic agreed, "well, at least on the giving end of medical treatment," he amended. "And if I ever have to practice under these conditions again, it will be too soon."

   "You treat the wounded here?" Luke asked, making conversation. In the meantime Luke continued to reach out to Atamvr, trying to find the places in his mind which were still able to respond, still capable of separating conscious reality from the hazy confusion of his injured mind. 

   "Yes," the medic answered softly, "for the past several months, more every day it seems...."

   Luke took in that answer and turned his attention back to Atamvr, wary of the physical damage that had already been done, and also of the dangerous consequences in pushing Atamvr's injured mind for more than it was capable of. Through all that, Luke quietly asked his friend to fight for consciousness.

   Atamvr was trying, working moment after moment through the dementia of the concussion and a blindingly disorienting pain.  Luke tried to aid him, slowly easing Atamvr back, and easing the pain that Atamvr's efforts were creating as he fought his way back.

   "He's waking," Luke breathed.

   The medic blinked in surprise and leaned over his patient, checking his reflexes and his eyes. Apparently satisfied with what he was seeing, the medic leaned back. "He'll be all right."

   The returning guards cursed when they saw that their prisoner was already coming around without the benefit of the foul smelling extract which they were still trying to brush from their hands. They started to toss it aside in a show of frustration.

   "Fools!" The medic murmured and jumped to his feet, stopping them with a restraining hand, "you don't waste valuable resources, especially during a battle.  It might be needed later," he grumbled darkly. 

   The medic waited until the men placed the container of root extract on the ground and turned their attention to checking on the progress of the force shield upgrade. Then he stepped toward Luke briskly; he looked again to make sure that the guards were occupied before he crouched down and spoke quietly to Luke.

   "You know it's vital that he stay conscious for at least twenty-four hours, while the worst of the swelling in his brain is coming under control," he stated. 

   Luke nodded.

   "If there's anything else that you can do for him..." he tried cautiously.

   Luke shook his head. "I wish that there was.  My healing skills are limited at best."

   "If he starts to slip, if you need help, don't hesitate to ask for me."  He paused, looking around himself with a cautious glance.  "I'm a medic first." 

   Luke held his gaze for a moment before nodding.  "Thank you." 

   The medic nodded in return, and silently walked away.  He paused only to pick up the discarded herb extract, giving an exasperated shake of his head as he walked past the guards. The guards exchanged equally exasperated glances, and reactivated the detention force shield around their prisoners.  Then they holstered their weapons and returned to their post a short distance away, to keep watch through the night.

~

   Atamvr managed to stay conscious and remain alert throughout the night and into the next day.  The medic returned to check him early that morning and confirmed that Atamvr could expect a full recovery, provided that no further harsh injuries were inflicted.  Luke was relieved, for both judgements, but he could also see the displeasure in the faces of their captors.  Luke and Atamvr were viewed as saboteurs, and as worse than the enemy for involving the outside universe in Orem's dispute.  As such, they weren't deemed worthy of decent treatment, and it was resented that a medic would demand such a thing. But if they would go easy on Atamvr, that was all that Luke cared about.

   "Thank you, doctor," Atamvr whispered unsteadily.

   "I did very little," the medic admitted. "Your friend was responsible for bringing you around and keeping you conscious during the critical period."

   "I know," he answered, smiling.  "I remember a little."

   Luke smiled back.  "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

   The medic checked his pockets. "I should have something to help you sleep; it'll help with the pain too," he amended, and trailed off. "But I don't have it here."  He stood. "I'll have to get my medical bag." The medic suddenly stopped short and bent back down beside Luke.

   "Have you been in these restraints all night?" he asked. Before Luke could answer he had stood again and called to the guard on duty. "The force shield was updated to the proper specifications yesterday.  Remove these binders now, or do you intend to risk permanent circulatory damage to this man's hands and feet?"

   Three unhappy guards entered the detention area while another stood watch outside. One of the three men kept a stun weapon trained on Luke while his two comrades released Luke's restraints, with the medic overseeing the whole production.

   Luke allowed the guards to move a safe distance away before he rubbed his wrists.  "Thank you," he offered, working the feeling back into his hands.

   The medic nodded.  "I'll be back with those meds."

   Luke crouched down beside Atamvr.  "How you feeling?"

   "Still not full speed, but the pain is a lot better. I–" Atamvr stopped short, and Luke followed his gaze.

   The guards had entered their cell again. Luke stood, placing himself between Atamvr and the men who had just entered.

   "You heard the medic," Luke stated calmly. "He's off limits."

   "We understand that. Nobody said anything about you, Jedi."

   Luke sighed and lowered his head slightly, mentally preparing himself as best he could.  He was still unprepared for the pain that radiated through his body when a fist connected with his abdomen, taking his breath away. Luke fell to his knees, his arms wrapped against his abdomen as he tried to control the sensations of dizziness and nausea that had overcome him.  He went down on one hand as more blows began to rain down on him. Soon he found himself flat on his belly being kicked and stomped for several minutes. All he could do was try to protect his head and press his lame side against the ground for protection.

   "He's had enough," Atamvr yelled, clutching the side of his own head against the ringing sensation.  When the guards didn't cease he tried to regain enough control over his equilibrium to throw his body down over Luke's.

   "No!" one of the guards shouted before his counterpart could strike a blow.  "You heard the medic. No one lays a hand on that one; he's afraid we might damage him further," he sneered. 

   The other's laughed. "What about the Jedi?"

   "I think he can take a little more.  Get this one out of the way."

   Atamvr shrugged off an attempt to grab his arm, and the medic appeared outside the detention area just in time to see two of the guards pull Atamvr to his feet and redeposit him roughly a few steps away. He rushed inside the enclosure. "Clear out, all of you!" He quickly moved to Atamvr's side and checked him over.  "I told them–" he gritted angrily. 

   "They didn't hurt me," Atamvr panted, fighting a sudden wave of dizziness. Other than the fact that his head refused to stop spinning, he was fine.  "I was trying to get them off Luke. He's bad," Atamvr whispered. It hurt him to reach out to the Force, but Atamvr could feel the pain radiating from Luke's sense.

   The medic quickly bent down beside the wounded man. 

   Luke was trying not to move, but just breathing was intensely painful; it didn't help that he couldn't catch his breath.

   "Where is it worst?"

   Luke tried to get to his hands and knees and ended up leaning his head against the ground, which was turning red under his fingers. "I don't know. Tell me when everything stops spinning," Luke whispered, closing his eyes tightly.

   "That's a pretty good gash in the side of your head," the medic murmured, pulling a square of absorbent cloth from the small medical bag he had brought with him and pressing it to the wound. "Here. Hold this steady for me."  The man did as he was told, but the medic didn't miss the wince that accompanied his motion. 

   He dropped down to a knee, deliberately blocking the guards' view. "What happened here?" he asked under his breath, "a kick to the ribs," he guessed seamlessly as he pushed past his patient's clothing and began checking the area for abrasions. Then he put a little pressure to the still darkly bruised rib cage.  Luke flinched in spite of himself.

   The medic sat back on his heels and let loose with another set of his graphic curses.  "A good bruise, maybe a crack, maybe a couple," he concluded under his breath. "I can't do a thing for it," he grated.  "I just don't have the supplies."

   Luke nodded. Reaching out to the Force to steady himself, the Jedi ignored the pain and pushed himself up to his knees. "A little dip in the bacta tank fixes me good as new."

   "What I wouldn't give for even a couple of bacta compresses," the medic wished out loud. The momentary lapse of helpless need was soon overshadowed by another tirade of curses, directed at the poor conditions and the foolishness of those who propagated them.   

   "You know, things can be changed?" Luke asked honestly, quietly.

   The medic met his gaze for a long moment.  "Not today," he noted sourly.

   "If not today, when?" Luke returned evenly. 

   The medic nodded, something in his eyes changing.  "Here." He placed a couple of small capsules into Luke's free hand.  "Take this; it'll hep you." He hesitated.  "I'll see if I can't find some more medically minded individuals to take your guard in the future," he said, casting a distasteful glance toward the small group of guards outside the detention area. 

   Luke nodded, and gave him a slight smile: understanding, appreciation. "Thank you, Jerrend."

   The medic's face showed surprise.  It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to interact personally with his patients.  "You're welcome, Luke."

~

   Over the next week the medic, Jerrend, followed through on his promise to attempt to alter the make up of their guard force, but that change was slow in coming, and the medic's good intentions brought with them no guarantee of fair or decent treatment. There was much bitterness remaining toward Luke and Atamvr among the Kelcinan forces, and since this line of duty kept the troops removed from the front lines, many of them craved an outlet for their frustrations and aggressions. For now, that outlet was Luke.

   Though the treatment from their captors was far from fair, Luke took great pains to engage the Kelcinans in discussion about the conflict and their situation here, anything that he could get them to hear, anything that might pull them a little further away from the destructive mind frame of warfare and the compromised rules of ethics that followed. And Luke also routinely dug for information, questioning what he and Atamvr were being held for, what was to be done with them. 

   Eventually he was told that they would be held indefinitely, until negotiations for their release could be made.  The thought of being held here under these harsh conditions with no end in sight was disheartening, to say the least, but they endured.  Luke and Atamvr took care of each other through conditions that were too often cruel – humane only by the narrowest of wartime standards. And a great deal of that was due to the medic's vigilant and frequent supervision.

   Luke bent down to help Atamvr back to a sitting position once his examination had been concluded.  Atamvr's mind continued to heal from the effects of the concussion, and his abilities in the Force were slowly becoming manageable without pain.

   Luke winced as he straightened; the motion was met with a familiar flash of pain.  The medic moved seamlessly to check him over next.

   "This is new, Luke," he accused, unhappy at the Jedi's characteristic stoic acceptance when it came to his injuries.

   Luke offered no confirmation or denial.

   "I know you're trying," Atamvr began heavily, "and it is getting better, but...."

   "The guards are still roughing him up. I'm sorry."

   "It's not your fault," Luke breathed.

   Jerrend sat back.  "I've been pushing Cyssum to negociate for your release.  I keep telling him that I don't have the ability to treat your injuries properly, and that it will go badly for them if anything were to happen as a result.... Sometimes I think I'm getting through to him.  I just wish I could do more," he admitted regretfully.

   "It'll be all right," Luke whispered.  "I can handle this."

   "You shouldn't have to," Jerrend whispered sadly.  He stood and returned to the edge of the detention area, waiting there for the guards to deactivate the force shield.

   Luke watched him go. Then he turned his attention to Atamvr.  "Let's practice those exercises again," he suggested. 

   Atamvr looked down with a sigh; Luke could feel the discomfort in his sense, and he reached a hand to rest reassuringly on his student's forearm.  "This isn't your fault either."

   "If I could just get a handle on it," he motioned to his head, frustrated by his inability to help himself.

   "Even if you were unharmed, escape wouldn't necessarily be our first option."

   "But if I could travel, it would be an option."

   "To what end?  Just to get out of this camp? Force our way out of this cell and then what?  Fight through the guards to get to our lightsabers.  Steal a transport and evade capture for long enough to get off the planet.  For what purpose? All to avoid the pain and suffering of captivity? 

   "That's not a good enough reason, and you know it. We accomplished what we came here for. Your family is safe, and the High Elders have their chance to make peace here.  Is our need to escape these circumstances worth provoking the Kelcinans, reminding them of why they fear Force-strong individuals? They will try to stop us; how far do we go to win our freedom? Is our escape worth their injury, their deaths?  Those actions would have repercussions long after we we're gone from here."

   Atamvr slowly shook his head.  He understood it, but that didn't make the reality any easier, not when it meant his friend's continued suffering.

   Luke squeezed his arm lightly. "I know how difficult this is. Your feelings do you credit, but there are times when emotion must be put aside.  Our place is to serve.  The Force will lead us and protect us, and it will take us from this place in time, when our purpose for being here is served.  I trust that. You must try to trust it as well. Now, let's practice those exercises."

   Atamvr nodded. As his mind had slowly recovered the two of them had begun a process of meditation with an emphasis on healing. Luke was able to provide the needed support to offset his apprentice's remaining weaknesses, and their progress had been pleasantly surprising. Where Luke's own healing skills had always been lacking, Atamvr was showing a talent for the subtleties of healing.

   Atamvr closed his eyes, bringing his emotions to calm, peace.  Both men let the Force wash over them, sinking gratefully into its peaceful hold and trusting in its ability to strengthen them through their trials.

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   "What's wrong, Love?" 

   Her voice was soft against his skin, and her lips pressed warmly against the nape of his neck before Lara slipped her arms protectively around him.

   Luke didn't begin to know how to answer her. His body ached.  His heart ached.  He was exhausted and he longed for home.  Luke closed his eyes and gave in to the feel of her embrace.

   Lara rested her head against his shoulder and held him closer. "It'll be all right, Luke," she whispered.

   He sighed. A part of his weary mind registered that all this was happening in his imagination, but Luke had no desire to leave the confines of such a pleasant fiction just yet.

   "I don't know how we're going to get out of this," he breathed regretfully, rubbing her arm. His fingers and the palm of his hand slid slowly and affectionately over her dedication band.

   She pulled closer. "You made me a promise, Luke Skywalker," Lara warned him from behind a teasing smile. You come back to me, she had whispered to him on the platforms over Coruscant many months ago, and he had promised.

   Luke turned to see her face. "I know."  He touched her cheek and softly pressed his lips to hers. "I haven't forgotten that promise."

   Her hands found his shoulders. "There's nothing else I can do," she decided worriedly.

   Luke blinked and shook his head slightly.  The onset of pain made him realize that the voice he had just heard hadn't belonged to Lara, but to the medic, Jerrend.  The last thing Luke remembered clearly was hitting the ground after the new on-duty guards had begun to pummel him.

   "He can't take much more of this," Atamvr argued, his voice also worried.  "It's happening almost every shift now."

   Jerrend winced.  "The last few days have been bad. The news from the front is getting worse, and there's nothing they can do about it from here but watch their injured comrades being brought back...."  He shook his head. "That doesn't justify anything... I just need to get the two of you out of here before it gets any worse for him."

   "I'm all right," Luke protested. Taking hold of the medic's arm, he pulled himself up to sitting.

   "Atamvr's right, Luke. We're getting into dangerous territory now.  If they keep using you for a punching bag, one of these days..." he trailed off.  Then his expression hardened. "Stay here."

   Luke glanced toward Atamvr as he watched the medic walk away with determination in his stride. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere, were you?"

   Atamvr shook his head, less than amused.

   Jerrend returned a few minutes later with Commander Cyssum in tow. "I wanted you to see this for yourself.  If this mistreatment is allowed to continue they'll hurt him far beyond my ability to treat him, and I've warned you before that I can't adequately repair the injuries he's already sustained."

   The commander hesitated, studying his prisoners for several moments. "Fine," he finally decided.  "No one touches either of these prisoners, on my orders. Is that understood?" he questioned the guards on duty. 

   "Yes sir," they answered obediently.

   "Very good.  They may serve another purpose soon," he added under his breath.

   Jerrend allowed himself a satisfied smile for that small victory, but they were all left wondering what the commander had meant by another purpose....

~

   Luke lay on his back watching the stars come to light in the twilight. Another week had passed since Commander Cyssum had issued the order granting Luke and Atamvr protected status, but they were still prisoners here; their futures remained unknown.  In some ways the uncertainty was worse than the physical abuse.  His body was slowly healing, but his mind and heart remained troubled. 

   Luke followed the stars in their nightly journey across the sky and his fingers tightened against the pendant that he wore around his neck, just for a moment before he carefully tucked it back inside his clothing.  He could feel the time growing long around him in this place... and his thoughts returned to the comm exchange, the brief view that it had afforded him of Leia and of Lara. 

   He remembered vividly the strength through the worry in the faces of the two women he loved most.  And he remembered his wife's smile, her relief and her hope, just in seeing him. Luke smiled as he remembered feeling those same emotions in the shared exchange, but he also felt a heavy, unavoidable regret settle over him in that memory. He had seen the strain that had shown on her face and in her eyes, as she had bravely pushed it aside for his benefit.  It was a strain that she didn't deserve, but she took it up willingly, with all of the strength in her and all of her love for him.  It was unavoidable in sharing his life, his responsibility, and the burdens in both.  

   Atamvr woke to see his cell mate sitting up, searching the stars.  He knew from the familiar past that when Luke watched the stars he was usually thinking of home; in his sleeplessness, he was usually missing Lara and his family... thinking about his life... facing off with his doubts.

   "You awake?" Atamvr asked just to start conversation.

   Luke smiled dimly, realizing that.

   "It won't be for much longer," Atamvr tried.

   Luke nodded without looking to him.  "It's already been too long."

   The silence fell again. 

   "It was our anniversary, just as we were leaving, gone by somewhere in hyperspace. Only our second. We didn't have time to think of it, much less celebrate it." He was silent again. "And now our children are almost a year old."  Luke shook his head as he closed his eyes against painful emotions. "It's not fair," he finally managed painedly.  "Seven months, she's been without me, not knowing, our children to raise. It's not fair to her.

   "A million unknowns and dangers that she opened herself to when she promised to share my life, and the weight of all the burdens that would sap me of my will and my hope, she shoulders with me... giving me her strength and her love, believing in me. The one thing I didn't think was that it would leave her alone."  He was silent for a long while. "It hurts," he finally said softly, "and that's the one thing I didn't want for her... to be alone, and to hurt any more than she already has.  She's already hurt too much," he whispered.

   Atamvr was silent. He had worried over and he had rejoiced in the happiness between his two friends.  They had allowed him into their lives, close enough to see the full strength of their feelings for one another and the heart of their relationship: the deep friendship and deeper love that worked between them in a very special way.  And he had seen the challenges in it too....  Lara had been kidnaped, at least in part, because she carried Luke's children, and the worry that Atamvr had seen and felt in her as she had seen them off into this was difficult to forget. 

   It was sobering to him, the idea that just sharing this life – this life that Luke had chosen, and that Atamvr chose after him – meant the possibility of danger and pain, and a great deal of unavoidable worry and loneliness to Lara, the person Luke loved most.... It was something Atamvr had never considered, and the thought was even more sobering because it wasn't a newly occurring thought.  It wasn't brought on by doubt or by the time apart and away from home. This was something that Luke was quietly aware of, a knowledge that he lived with alongside his deep love for her.  The time apart had only shifted the balance in his emotions to make the downside more real, probably for the first time, the first time that his responsibilities and his burdens had tested them in this way.  And Luke had said it himself, it hurt.

   "But neither of you would change it," Atamvr offered quietly. 

   Luke nodded slowly; that was the truth.  "We've always strengthened each other, and the love, the happiness, has always outweighed the pain, the sacrifice." He paused a moment.  "We couldn't change the bonds between us any more than we could stop ourselves from breathing."  He smiled as he conceded that fact, and he spoke another more seriously.  "Loss of that connection wouldn't just be a great loss. We'd both be much less without it."  He looked toward Atamvr, a smile playing on him again.  "I know she makes me better."

   Atamvr smiled back.  "What do you make of the rumors?" he asked a moment later.

   They had begun to hear rumors and whispered confidences over the past few days that things were changing in the cities.  It was said that a growing peace movement was gaining support, lead by a once-respected leader who'd turned recluse in order to escape the very fighting that had escalated into this terrible stalemate.

   Luke sighed. "I hope that they bear some truth, and I hope that it won't take much longer for both sides to grow weary enough of this conflict and its heavy losses that they may begin to consider compromise."

   Atamvr nodded. "Maybe the time is right for peace."

   "Maybe so," Luke whispered.

~

   The cold morning air filled his lungs, combining with the ache in his side to create a dull pain every time Luke took a deep breath. It was only one of a dozen minor pains that he hardly noticed anymore. It was barely first light, and Luke was concentrating on the warmth of the sunlight against his face.

   He could almost imagine that he was home, sleeping in a warm bed with the Coruscant sunrise causing bright rays of daylight to cascade in through the window over his head.  He could almost feel the soft tickle of his wife's breathing against his skin, her hair against his shoulder.  Luke smiled.  By now he would have already tried to wake her at least once, but Lara would only pull closer to his side and bury her head against him; he would laugh and let her sleep a little longer, pulling the covers closer around them to shield her from the bright sunlight.

   "Good morning all. You'll never guess what I've got here." 

   Luke opened his eyes reluctantly, and Atamvr sat up. Jerrend had entered their cell and was holding a data pad.  Luke wondered if his eyes were starting to play tricks on him in the dim light.

   "They didn't reactivate the force shield after you came in." Atamvr had noticed it too.

   "That's right," he said happily. "These are your release orders." He handed Atamvr the data pad. "I'm supposed to escort you to the new neutral zone where prisoner transfers are being conducted. From there you'll be given a transport to one of the cities and you can arrange for transportation off world if you wish."

   "Then the rumors we've been hearing are true?" Luke questioned.

   "Yes.  There is a peace effort underway and both sides have agreed to participate in talks.  The cease-fire came a couple of days ago.  Both sides have pulled back to create a neutral zone, and the first prisoner transfer was scheduled for daybreak today."

   "It says here that we are to contact the New Republic."

   "That will be our first stop," he acknowledged.  "They want you to send word to the New Republic, tell them that the fighting has ceased and assure them that the situation is under effective local control."

   "What about the comm block?" Atamvr asked.

   "Except for your transmission, it will remain in place for the time being. One step at a time," he acknowledged, "but at least this is a start."

~

   Luke and Atamvr transmitted the requested message to the New Republic and they spent most of that day traveling by convoy toward the edge of the Kelcinan territories, where they would be taken across the river to the newly formed neutral zone.

   At the following dawn, in the early morning light of their second day of freedom, Luke and Atamvr boarded a skiff to cross the river.  The light morning air brushed lazily at their clothing and hair as the skiff pulled away from the bank and cut gracefully across the water. Luke leaned against the rail and watched the length of the river twisting and turning along its path, in a continuous rush, forever ahead, before it finally disappeared into the mountains far in the distance.  Then he carefully dropped down to one knee; Luke reached into the river and splashed a handful of water to his face. Glorious relief from dirt and grime and dried, itchy injuries, the cool, refreshing water gave his breath and his spirit a jolt. Luke shook the drops from his hair and looked down into the water's depths for another moment before he wiped his face with a slow brush of his hand and stood.

   The sun was slowly emerging over the mountains.  The blue-green tones of the water caught the sparkling daylight in its ripples, and the pale yellow lands on each side were reflected back from its luminous shores. Given all that this river meant to the planet, its beauty and grace made for a truly powerful sight....

   When the skiff docked on the other side Luke and Atamvr were quick to disembark, but they turned back when they felt a shift in the emotions of their traveling companion.

   "I'm afraid this is as far as I go," the medic offered with a smile. "There are some Kelcinan fighters I need to see to and escort back to our camp."

   Luke and Atamvr each shook his hand. "Thank you, Jerrend," Luke offered.  "I don't know if we'd be here today if it wasn't for your dedication and compassion."

   He shook off their thanks. "I was just doing my job."

   Luke smiled. It wasn't that simple and they all knew it. 

   "All the same, we're in your debt and that won't be forgotten," Atamvr promised.

   Jerrend smiled.  The truth was that these two men had had every bit as much of an impact on his life as he had had on theirs.  "Just get yourselves home safely," he encouraged them, "and we'll call the debt paid."

~

   "This is the day, the opportunity, that I have hoped I would live to see."

   Luke and Atamvr stood among a throng of civilians that had gathered to hear High Elder Goshin's words. His remarks were being broadcast in the public square. It was the first day of formal peace talks. 

   "I and the others will give all we know, and feel, and believe to bring peace to this land."

   Cheers of approval and hope rose all around them as Luke scanned the sizable crowd, a sea of only two colors.  Atamvr beamed at him, and Luke returned his expression of contagious joy with a little more caution. Luke knew from hard experience that the first steps toward peace often came much easier than the last, but still, he felt the same joy. He also understood that these moments were cause for the most genuine joy, the freest celebration, because these were moments that came alive with boundless possibilities and with inexhaustible hope for all of the great things still to come.

   Already, within just a few weeks of the cease-fire, the High Elders had managed to bring both sides to grounds for comm block and heavy weaponry dismantlement, and prisoners from both sides continued to be released. But perhaps the most telling sign of change lay in this gathering itself.  The whole crowd seemed to be adorned in cream and olive, shades representative of the two sides that had been brought together... beings who a short time ago had wanted only to destroy one another.  Today they cheered the possibility of peace. 

   And Luke and Atamvr were no different. Proud to be a small part of this important moment, they blended into the rest of the crowd with cream and olive tunics draped over their Jedi robes. Newly arriving in the city from their long journey across country, they were bone weary, and because the battered planet was still feeling the after-effects of its long, harsh ordeal, there was little treatment to be had for lingering injuries.  But despite the accepted toll of tired, aching bodies, there was a rich sense of fulfillment. Finally, Orem was headed for its chance at lasting peace, so long in coming.

   Luke placed a hand to his student's shoulder as the ceremonies wore down and the crowd started to disperse.  Atamvr met his eye, the excited gleam dying down just a bit as he understood. The travel restrictions had also been lifted, and they knew that it was time for them to return home. The situation was well in hand; the Dravidians and the Kelcinans would continue to make slow and steady progress under the High Elders' wise leadership, and there was nothing more for Luke and Atamvr to accomplish here.  The two Jedi turned away from the crowds and set out for the spaceport, for home. ~@ ~ ~