Beyond - Legends DITL I: Arik's Fury~(AU; canon and OC's) *Author Note~*Fic now on hiatus 10/15*

I'm having severe computer problems and won't be able to post for a few weeks, maybe a month. I will continue writing this story in the mean time and when I get my computer functioning properly again, I'll post everything I have. By then it will probably be several more chapters.

So, until I'm back, thank you to everyone who has been reading this story. Pleae, continue to read and leave replies. I'll have access to another computer about once a week so I can read the replies and answer back.

Happy reading.

 

*Sends angry glare towards computer*

Start working!

Jen, I'll be waiting patiently until your computer starts cooperating again.

 

My computer is starting to behave a little better, way ahead of schedule, so I'll be posting again starting this weekend. It'll probably be Sunday night when the next chapter is up.

 

Writer's block has set in; so has distraction. So for now the story won't be updated until the Games are over. I'll keep trying to write, though. Maybe I'll be inspired by the athletes.

Happy reading.

 

LOL, I understand. I've been watching the Olympics every time they're over the air. (Don't have cable, so I can't watch anything but NBC.)

Or you could be inspired by all the stupid inspirational commercials...

 

I'll be on the look out for the next post!

 

Hi folks! Well, the next few chapters are done and they'll be posted sometime next week. As for now, I'm off to Las Vegas.

Happy reading.

 

Hey readers,

The next chapter is ready to post. It's been written and re-written and I think I'm finally happy with it, however, it does contain discussion of the very mature subject of rape. Physically, I leave it alone, but the emotional and psychological ramifications are discussed at length. For me and my family, it's a subject that is discussed all the time because we have personal experiences with it, so I want to give advance warning that the next chapter of this story does deal with the subject. I know rape is a very serious, and for some people that have experienced that kind of violence firsthand or know someone that has, even the word itself can cause severe emotional distress.

So, if anyone wants to skip this chapter, please do so. I understand that it can be a very difficult thing, especially when the discussion revolves around the aftermath, rather than the act itself.

The next chapter will be posted Monday at 12:00pm pst. I'm going to post this same message in the FF Resource for discussion. Come on over.

 

Chapter 5, part 2

Not having taken the time to dress before leaving his room, Luke stepped into the large dining area of the villa still wearing his sleep pants and shirt.

“Well, good morning sleepyhead,” teased his mother.

“We were beginning to wonder if you’d notice that a new day had come,” added Obi-Wan in a playful tone.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” he told them softly. “There are things we need to discuss.”

Obi-Wan and Padme exchanged a pensive look, both of them able to sense Luke’s turbulent thoughts. Padme could see that her eldest son was hurting.

“Luke, what is it? What’s wrong?,” she gently asked as she reached across the table to grip his larger hand with her own.

“It’s about Arik and Neela,” Luke told them crisply, his voice giving off much more confidence than he actually felt. “Before we left Endor, he and I got into a bit of an argument. He’s angry all of the time. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves. Then yesterday afternoon, he left,” he told them quietly.

“What do you mean he left?,” Padme asked in a worried tone.

“He left Naboo. He’s gone and he’s not coming back. We argued again and he told me that all of his feelings, the anger, rage, hate, suffering, all of those things are what he feels when he’s around the people that are supposed to care for him. He told me that he knows his Jedi training won’t allow for those kinds of feelings, so he gave me his lightsaber and he left,” was Luke’s reply.

Obi-Wan stood up from the table and started pacing around the room. He had been worried about the boy since he first learned of the violent act that brought him about in the first place.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” came Luke’s voice, jarring Obi-Wan from his thoughts. “Something about Arik.”

Padme rose from the table as well and went to stand by her husband. “Yes, there is something that we haven’t told you. Arik is the only one that knows, and now I’m beginning to think it should have been kept from him as well,” Padme told her son.

Obi-Wan walked towards the living room with Padme and Luke following. The three of them sat down, and Luke could feel the Force telling him that he wasn’t going to like whatever his parents had to say to him. Padme grabbed his hand in hers, preparing herself for the tale she and Obi-Wan were about to tell.

“Luke, your father had changed a great deal in the space between he and I getting married and you and your sisters being born. The three of you were too young to really know him when he was around, and then just after your second birthday, he was gone. We had a huge argument and he stormed out of this villa and I didn’t see him again for three years, and by then he was a slave once again, this time to the Emperor,” she calmly told him.

“Mother, I already know all of this. What does any of it have to do with Arik?,” was Luke’s impatient question.

“After Anakin left me with the three of you, he went straight to Coruscant to join the Emperor, who was still masquerading as Chancellor at the time. When he got there, he met one of Palpatine’s aides, a young woman named Elisha Renashaii. She was barely out of her teens, new to Coruscant, and like so many people, completely in awe of Anakin Skywalker,” were Padme’s quiet words to her son.

Luke was quiet for few moments, then he suddenly stared his mother and stepfather. Padme and Obi-Wan met his stare, none of them saying a word. Luke knew the secret. He now knew what his parents had kept hidden all these years.

“He’s not your son,” Luke stated plainly. It wasn’t a possibility that Luke had ever considered. With Arik’s brown hair that resembled Padme’s and Leia’s and his green eyes that could have come from Obi-Wan, he’d just assumed that Arik was their son, a child born of the grief two people shared over another.

“No, he is not our son biologically,” came the declaration from Obi-Wan.

“Why all the secrecy? Why wouldn’t you just tell us?,” Luke demanded.

Padme locked eyes with son, hoping the look in her eyes as well as her words would convey to him the importance of their secret.

“It had been close to a year since I had seen Anakin, and nearly that long since Obi-Wan had seen him when Elisha arrived here on Naboo with an infant. Arik was just days old. Tears were streaming down her face and I didn’t need the Force to tell me that she was terrified. I ushered her and Arik inside where they could get warm. It had been raining and both were soaked to the bone,” came the words, remembrance flooding Padme’s soft features as she spoke.

“I sat Elisha down in front of the fireplace to get warm and I gave Arik to one of the maids so he could be changed and swaddled in dry clothing. Luke, I don’t think I can make you understand how afraid this young woman was as she sat there. Her tears hadn’t stopped when she began telling me how her infant son had come into being.”

Luke could see that whatever had happened to Elisha had affected his mother deeply. She was, without question, the strongest woman he knew. He wrapped his arm around her, silently urging her to continue.

“She told me that when she met Anakin he was charming and sincere in his dealings with her. It was like going back in time for me because he had been that way with me as well, but I couldn’t understand how he could be that way with her when he’d become so cold and angry with me. Then she informed me of her relationship to Palpatine, and I understood,” Padme said softly, still reliving the moment.

Luke suddenly stood up and walked over to a window and stared out at the lake. The waters were choppy as a steady rain fell outside. The gray skies seemed to fit the mood of the discussion. He had a feeling that he knew what was coming, but he needed to hear it, to have his suspicions confirmed. So, he waited, knowing Padme would speak again when she was ready.

“Elisha Renashaii was Palpatine’s granddaughter. Luke, your half-brother is Palpatine’s great-grandson. Your father was ordered by Palpatine to…,” unable to continue as her quiet tears became sobs, Obi-Wan moved to her side and gathered her into his arms.

“He raped her, didn’t he? Our father raped Arik’s mother. So, on top of being a mass murderer, Anakin Skywalker was a rapist, right?,” came Luke’s angry questions.

“Yes, Luke. Anakin was completely under Palpatine’s control by then, and when he was ordered to do something, I imagine he did it, even something as heinous as rape. Palpatine wanted a Force-sensitive child he could teach in the ways of the Dark Side. Don’t ask me why he wanted a child, he already had Anakin,” Obi-Wan told Luke.

“Luke, you have to understand that we didn’t keep this from you to hurt you, or your siblings. Elisha never wanted anyone to know what had happened to her, didn’t even want anyone to know who she was. She was traumatized to her very core after what had happened to her. Carrying the child of her rapist had to make things so much worse. Having children is the most miraculous happening in the universe, and they’re supposed to be conceived in love, not violence and violation. Her trust was betrayed by two people she was supposed to be able to count on. She trusted her grandfather and she trusted your father. It tore her apart inside that she was wrong about them. She felt as if it had been her own fault,” Padme told her son, desperately trying to make him understand.

“Elisha stayed here for about two weeks, and every night she’d wake up screaming. During the day she could push the memories from her mind by occupying her time with other things, but at night they came to her unbidden. She told me of seeing shadows on her wall, knowing that it was Anakin and Palpatine having found her, having come to take her and her child away. After two weeks of living in a relatively safe place, here in this villa, Elisha made what she called the hardest choice of her young life. She asked me to reach Obi-Wan. She’d known he used to be Anakin’s Jedi teacher, and she had a favor to ask of him,” Padme finished, gesturing for her husband to finish the story.

“When I arrived, Padme and Elisha told me what had happened with Anakin. The she asked me if I was willing to claim Arik as my own. The only thing that overrode her fear for herself was the fear she carried for Arik. He was her child, she carried him, she bore him, and now the only way to protect him was to let him go. Changing his last name to Kenobi and leaving him in my care was seen as hiding him in plain sight. She didn’t believe, nor did I, that Palpatine and Anakin would ever come looking for Arik here. He would be as safe as possible. So, here he stayed with myself, your mother and Siri Tachi,” Obi-Wan finished, letting his words settle in Luke’s heart.

Luke finally turned away from the window and faced his parents again. He supposed that he did understand the need for the deception. Had he ever been discovered as Palpatine’s great-grandson and Anakin Skywalker’s son, he would have been priceless to the Empire. He would have been made to serve an evil purpose. Considering his mounting anger and rage, he still might. Luke wondered now if it was Arik’s beginnings that had twisted the once sweet-natured, carefree and happy child into what Luke feared his younger brother was becoming.

“You mentioned earlier that you had to tell us something concerning Arik and Neela. You haven’t mentioned her yet,” Obi-Wan reminded his stepson.

Moving to once again sit near them, Luke took a deep breath and prepared himself to drop a bombshell of his own.

“I went to see Neela last night to tell her about Arik. We started talking and she told me that she’s pregnant. The child she’s carrying belongs to Arik,” Luke calmly informed them.

He watched as Obi-Wan and Padme digested this new information. Surely they knew, as he did, that Neela’s child may be facing the same future he himself had faced. Neela’s child may one day be the only hope of bringing Arik back from the darkness that was slowly and methodically claiming his life.

******************************************************

She wasn’t young anymore, far from it, at least in terms of life experiences. She’d been barely twenty when she’d experienced the worst life had to offer, the worst thing one person was capable of doing to another. She was just shy of twenty-one when she experienced the best thing life had to offer. Losing her innocence in one moment had given way to new life in the next. Her memories were few, but they were precious. He had a head full of dark brown hair that matched her own and green eyes that mirrored those belonging to her beloved mother. Her tiny son’s very existence had been the product of one horrible moment, but she had been determined that his life would be the product of one wonderful moment after another with people that loved him as their own.

When the chime rang, the middle-aged woman moved to open the door and found herself staring into a pair of green eyes she’d never imagined she’d see again.

“Hello, Mother,” said the young man Elisha Renashaii hadn’t seen since he was a baby.

 

I was not expecting that!

Very good post, though. Poor Luke... To discover that his father was a rapist. (Even if not of his mother.)

Just one question. If Arik's great-grandfather is Palpatine, who was his great-grandmother? Because... Urgh.

Whatever. Great post! It was worth the wait!

 

Darth_Suzie,

Well, I suppose I could give his great-grandmother a name and a little back story. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it, it's really his connection to Palpatine that's important. Let's just say that Arik's great-grandmother was a deeply disturbed individual. I mean, she had to be, right, she married Palpatine.

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

Chapter 6, pt.1

He hadn’t meant to listen in on their conversation. He’d awakened earlier than usual and had taken his breakfast out onto the terrace to eat and watch the rain. He had just been about to come back into the villa when he’d heard the whispered voices of his parents and Luke. He’d only listened for a few moments, but it had been enough to hear her name. It was just a casual mention, but it had been enough.

Zak was resting on his bed when his door slammed open and a young man with reddish-brown hair ran into the room. Zak’s eyes shifted from the holo he’d been looking at to his younger half-brother Jathan. The thirteen year-old boy was a bundle of energy.

“Who’s in the holo?,” Jathan asked curiously.

“My mother,” Zak said as he handed the holo to his brother. The holo had been taken a few moments after Zak had been born. Siri Tachi and Zak Kenobi. Mother and son looked so content.

“It was just a few hours after that holo was taken, just a few hours after I was born that Darth Vader and his storm troopers raided the whole complex and murdered all but two people inside,” Zak told his brother solemnly. “It was a medical facility, Jathan, and Father and I were the only two survivors,” he finished.

Jathan continued to look at the holo. He’d always known that Padme wasn’t Zak’s biological mother, but he’d never talked with Zak about the woman that had given birth to his elder brother. The sadness that sometimes crept over Zak was at times barely noticeable and at others it seemed he was on the verge of being crushed by the weight of his grief. For Jathan, who had both his biological mother and father, Zak’s grief was foreign. It wasn’t something he could understand.

“She was very beautiful,” Jathan observed. Siri had been very beautiful. She’d had long flowing blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Jathan could see Siri’s features in her son. “You look a lot like her. Well, except for the little bit of red in your hair and the green in your eyes,” he decided. “What kind of Jedi was she?,” the boy asked quietly.

“Father says she was very brave, and as you said, very beautiful. He told me that when they were children they were always arguing with one another and competing. Once, I asked how she fought that day, the day I was born. Father had tears in his eyes when he told me that she fought knowing she was going to lose. She knew she was going to die, but she hung on long enough for him to escape with me,” Zak said emotionally.

Jathan didn’t know what to say to that. In his thirteen years, he had seen death on many occasions. Living with parents and siblings that fought with the Rebellion had opened his eyes, as well as those of his twin sister Nalisha, to the horrible things that were taking place throughout the galaxy.

“Do you miss her, even though you never knew her?,” Jathan asked timidly, afraid of upsetting his brother.

Zak didn’t really know what to say. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t grown up without a mother. On the contrary, Padme had never treated him as anything other than her son. He was as loved as Luke and Jathan, the sons she had carried and to whom she had given life.

“Maybe miss is the wrong word. I’ve had a mother all my life. Even before Father and Padme married, she helped him take care of me, just like they took care of Arik together. I feel cheated because I never got to know her, but mostly I wish she had been given the chance to live, to be a mother. I wish things for her more than myself,” he managed to tell the boy.

“Do you blame Darth Vader for what he did?,” Jathan questioned, prying further into Zak’s psyche.

If rage was an emotion that could explode in a person in an instant, it did at that very moment in Zak. His blue-green eyes darkened so as they almost looked black. His body tensed as if preparing for an attack. His whole demeanor changed right before Jathan’s eyes.

“I’m sorry Zak, I didn’t mean to upset you,” the younger boy quickly apologized.

In truth, Zak didn’t know what to feel where Anakin Skywalker was concerned. Rage was his knee-jerk reaction to the mention of the monster that had once been, and apparently was again, Anakin Skywalker. Monsters were easy to hate, men were not. Vader had been a monster without a face, without a conscience, without a family. Anakin Skywalker had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he felt pain and suffering, and he had fathered four of Zak’s siblings.

“I want to hate him, Jath, and I want to blame him for every terrible thing he did in his life. But in doing that, I walk down the path he forged for himself. I think…no, I know that I won’t ever forget what he did to my mother, or to the countless others that suffered by his hand, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him,” Zak carefully informed his brother. “Father tells me that someday I will find a way to do that, to forgive. Until then, all I know is that I’m starting to understand that Anakin was manipulated and influenced by a Sith Master. Certainly his own actions and feelings started his fall, but Palpatine helped him along greatly. Do you understand?,” Zak inquired of his brother.

“I think so,” Jathan replied as he stood to wander the room.

“Well, it’s alright if you don’t understand. Some days I’m not sure if I really understand either. Come on, I think Mother and Father may have some things to discuss with the family,” Zak stated.

Jathan turned around and eagerly followed his elder brother out of the room.

 

Chapter 6, pt. 2

“Hello, Mother,” said the young man Elisha Renashaii hadn’t seen since he was a baby.

A shocked gasp escaped Elisha’s lungs as she stared at the green-eyed son she’d given up over two decades before. He was tall and handsome, so changed from the tiny infant of her dreams.

“Nothing to say, Mother?,” came the sneering question from Arik Kenobi.

“I have no words,” was the quiet, sad reply from Elisha. She reached out towards Arik, her slender fingers managing just a glancing touch before the young man jerked away.

“May I come in?,” Arik asked impatiently.

Elisha stepped away from the door so Arik could enter the small home. She watched every step he took, every move his body made, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the baby she’d known. She found none.

“Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?,” she asked tentatively, unsure of his reaction.

Arik seemed to pause when he heard her question, some of the tension and anger leaving his taut body. He turned to face the woman that had given him life.

“Corellian brandy would be nice, if you have it,” Arik said calmly, a complete turnaround from his belligerent attitude from moments earlier.

Elisha gave her son a smile as she moved past him towards the kitchen, hoping that the calm he was displaying now would continue. So far he was reminding her of his father much more than she really wanted to admit.

Arik watched Elisha as she moved into the kitchen. She wasn’t what he was expecting, or maybe she just wasn’t what he was hoping for, he didn’t really know which. For now, he would reserve his judgment.

Elisha came back into the living room carrying a tray with two drinks. She placed the tray on the table and handed one of the glasses to Arik, watching as he took a sip.

“Is it acceptable?,” Elisha questioned her son.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied. Arik raised the glass to his lips again and took a larger taste of the strong drink. “It’s actually very good,” Arik finished.

“I certainly hope you weren’t offended by my shock at your sudden appearance. You must understand, this is a moment I never expected to have,” Elisha told her son pleadingly.

Arik placed his glass on the table in front of him and simply looked at this woman that had given birth to him. He could see the resemblance between her and himself. They shared the same dark brown hair and high cheek bones. The difference was in the eyes. Hers were brown. His were green.

“You seemed to know me the moment our eyes met, even before I spoke. How?,” was his simple question.

“I carried you, I gave birth. I cannot explain how I knew. I just looked at you and I knew you were my son. The Force, perhaps,” she offered as an explanation.

“Perhaps. You must be curious as to how I found you, and why I’m here,” Arik said, his voice oddly devoid of any emotion. “I’d be curious if I were you,” he said, almost playfully. His moods were shifting faster than Elisha could keep up with, and that was a bit frightening.

“I am curious, you’re right about that,” she told him. “As I said earlier, this is something I never expected to encounter. I never once imagined that I’d ever see you again. I had come to accept the fact that you were lost to me forever,” came her emotional words.

“I wasn’t lost, Mother, you gave me away without remorse,” Arik sneered, his mood once again angry.

“That is not true!,” Elisha shouted. “I’ve spent every day since then thinking about you, wondering what you looked like, how you were being treated. I’ve lived with remorse for twenty-two years,” she told him, her eyes still blazing from his accusation.

Arik stood and walked over to the mantle above the fireplace that held holos of her family. In one of them, she was sitting in a chair and a middle-aged, gray-haired man of about fifty-five stood behind her with his hands on her slender shoulders. On her left was a teenage girl with long curly brown hair and sparkling green eyes. On Elisha’s other side was another teenager, this one a boy a little older than his sister. He had the same brown hair and green eyes. Both teens looked happy as they posed with their parents.

“Let me ask you something. When you were busy making your new family, these two new children, did you think of me then? Or was it as you were reading them bedtime stories that I crept into your thoughts? Perhaps it was when you were bandaging their cuts and scrapes that your lost son was remembered, hmm? Was it then, Mother?,” he questioned angrily. His green eyes had darkened to near black, the veins in his neck pulsing visibly. “I don’t believe you, not one word you have to say. I understand that you became pregnant with me through no fault of your own. My father raped you. That was his shame, not yours, yet it was you who chose to give your child away. That is your shame,” he told her, his venomous words cutting Elisha to the bone.

Tears were spilling like a waterfall from Elisha’s eyes as she endured Arik’s vengeful tirade. She could see the hate in his green eyes. She could feel his hate as it boiled in his soul. If she looked hard enough, she could see the Anakin Skywalker she had known staring at her through the eyes of their son.

“All of the time, Arik, that’s when I thought of you. Every day you were there, in my heart. I hated leaving you, but it was the best thing, the only thing I could have done. You wouldn’t have been safe with me. Please, believe me,” she pleaded. She had to make him understand, she had to. “If Anakin and Palpatine had found you…Arik, you would have suffered a fate worse than death. They would have corrupted you, turned you into a servant of the Dark Side, like them. My sweet, innocent little son would have…,” her words were stopped by the snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited. She didn’t want to look over at her son, afraid of what she might see in his eyes.

“Your sweet, innocent little son would have…what?,” Arik asked slowly. He twirled the saber in his hand while he waited for her to answer.

“I don’t know, Arik. I don’t know what they might have done to you, that’s why I took you to Padme,” she finally answered. “I knew Padme would love you as much as she loved her own biological children. I knew that you would learn to be a Jedi, I knew…,” she stopped, searching for the right words. “I knew you would have the family that you deserved, the family that I couldn’t give you,” were her final words. She hoped that would be enough for him. It was all she had to give.

Arik thumbed off his lightsaber, not even really knowing why he’d ignited it in the first place. He clipped the weapon to his belt, picked up the cloak he had discarded and made his way to the door. Just as he touched the doorknob, it happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

”Don’t do this, Arik! Please!,” Zak Kenobi yelled.

”That name no longer has any meaning for me,” quipped the black clad warrior.

”It’s who you are, Arik. You’ve just forgotten,” came Zak’s reply.

”I’ve forgotten nothing, my brother. I’ve made my choice, my fate is sealed. Coming here has sealed yours as well,” said Darth Orion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What is it?,” Elisha asked her son.

Arik shook off the last vestiges of the vision as Elisha touched him. Trying to control his breathing, Arik closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

“I’m fine,” he told her in a clipped tone.

“You’re not fine. Something just happened and I want to know what it is, Arik,” she instructed him in her best mother tone of voice.

“Really, I am fine,” Arik said in a reassuring manner. “It was just a vision. I have them sometimes and they throw me off a little, that’s all,” he finished, hoping she believed him.

Elisha didn’t believe him, but she couldn’t very well make him tell her what he’d seen. That wasn’t her right. But there was something she could do.

“Would you like to stay here for a while? I know you’re angry with me, and I can understand and accept that, but I’d like for us to get to know one another. You could meet your stepfather and half siblings,” she told him, her hope clouding her features.

Arik didn’t know what to do. This was a woman he wanted to hate for what he perceived as her abandonment of him when he was an infant. He also felt a connection to her. It was tangible, he could feel it in his bones. He sensed that she could help him, that maybe she and her family were the only ones that could. He knew that if he left, the only things waiting for him on the other side were his visions. If he stayed, perhaps he would fall into his mother’s arms, the arms of his salvation. All that remained was his choice

 

This is an interesting story

Loooking forward to more

 

Thanx for the review LaYa. Glad you find it interesting. Keep reading.

 

*Author Announcement*


Here?s the list of the major differences between the events in this story versus the events in canon:

~~In this story, Anakin and Padme were together up until Kiya, Luke and Leia were two years old.

~~In this story, Padme gave birth to triplets, not twins. (Kiya, Luke and Leia-in that order)

~~Here?s a big one, Obi-Wan is alive after the events of RotJ.

~~Kiya, Luke and Leia are fully trained Jedi Knights.


Other differences do exist, like the fact that Obi-Wan and Padme are married, but these four things are the major ones. Eventually, the story will tell how they came to be married. Also, things like how Obi-Wan survived beyond the events of ANH will be explained, as will who trained Luke, Leia and Kiya.

*Other differences will be revealed shortly in the story so they are not listed here, as that would give away the story.*

Chapter 7 and 8 are upcoming. I will be going out of town beginning the morning of September 16 and won?t be back until Monday evening, the 20th. So, both chapters will be posted tomorrow evening. There will not be a post on Wednesday the 22nd.

 

Oooo, this looks like it's a very in depth alternate reality. So much differentness! It makes sense, in a convoluted way, which i like. And you're so efficient at updating! Even when faced with computer issues. Impressive. I wish i had this kind of motivation to help me with my story.

I'll be watching this one, i just don't know if i'll be able to keep up with it!

 

Chapter 7

Luke wondered if telling the rest of the family was a good idea, but he’d been outvoted. Obi-Wan had insisted that secrets were what had gotten them into this mess, and keeping more now wouldn’t help the situation. So now Jathan and Nalisha were struggling to understand why their elder brother was gone.

“Will he be coming back?,” Nalisha asked her father, her voice quivering. Luke thought she sounded like a little girl.

Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his daughter’s shoulder and pulled her close. The tears that had been welling in her eyes since the tale began were now falling. “It will be alright, little one,” he tried to reassure his child, not sure if he believed his own words. Quickly, he discovered that his eldest step-daughter didn’t believe them either.

“Listen to yourself, Ben. It isn’t going to be alright!,” came the outburst from Kiya Skywalker. “Arik has let his emotions take control of his actions. He’s run of to Force knows where and could be doing anything. We have to find him,” she stated, her voice still raised, her own control over her emotions slipping ever so slightly.

“Kiya we can’t do that. We can’t just go traipsing all over the galaxy looking for him. He could be anywhere,” Zak spoke up from his position across the room. “Besides, I really don’t think Arik wants to be found. He left, that seems like a clue to me,” he finished, his last comment drawing a withering look from Kiya. She didn’t appreciate his sarcasm.

The chiming of Luke’s com-link broke the silence that had quickly settled over the group after Zak’s comment. Taking the small device from it’s pouch on his belt, Luke flipped it open. “Skywalker here,” he greeted.

“Solo here,” came the chipper reply from Luke’s best friend and brother-in-law, Han Solo. Luke grinned. He knew that if Han had arrived on Naboo, so had Mara.

“Where are you?,” Luke asked eagerly. With every beat of his heart, his thoughts turned more to the time when he would see his beloved wife again. His smile increased as he realized that time may now be at hand.

“We’re in the spaceport, Skywalker,” Mara said after she’d snatched the com-link away from Han. “We’ll be heading to the villa in about twenty minutes,” she finished and then disconnected the link, not giving Luke a chance to reply.

Luke had heard the longing in her voice. He could sense her desire to be with him again just as easily as he could feel his own desire to be with her. It’d been weeks since they had last been together. Weeks since he’d run his fingers across her tender skin, through her soft red hair. Weeks had gone by since he’d last been able to stare into her deep green eyes. He missed her with his whole heart. He missed her with his whole soul.

“Hey, Naboo Starfighter Command to Commander Skywalker, come in Commander,” Jathan teased his big brother. He’d seen Luke go a little spacey at the sound of Mara’s voice before and he thought it was funny.

Luke snapped out of his Mara-fog at the sound of Jathan’s youthful voice. Looking over at the boy, Luke seriously replied,” Copy Starfighter Command, what can I do for you?,” the teasing note clear in his actions as he ruffled Jathan’s hair. The boy tried to scamper away but was held in place by the Force.

Padme and Obi-Wan smiled as they watched their sons interact. Luke was always a wonderful brother to his siblings, but there was something between him and Jathan that didn’t exist between Luke and the others. Padme once told him that it was because Jathan was the youngest son and Luke was the oldest. Obi-Wan sensed that the bond between them was more profound than birth order. The two just seemed to understand each other. From their innate sense of right and wrong to their passion for flying, Luke Skywalker and Jathan Kenobi clicked. Obi-Wan believed them to be what his old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn referred to as kindred spirits; two people that shared everything and walked their paths through life together.

*********************************************************************************

All that remained was his choice.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Arik whispered. He was in agony. His vision told him that not just his own life, but millions were in danger if he made the wrong decisions, stepped in the wrong direction. If only his visions would tell him if staying was right…or wrong.

“Please Arik, just for one night. Over the years I’ve told my husband all about you. He would really love to meet you,” Elisha pleaded with Arik to stay. She couldn’t bear the thought that this one glimpse was all she would be aloud after more than twenty years.

Arik was about to speak when the front door slammed open and a dark-haired young man with vivid green eyes ran through. He was tall and slender, and appeared to be around sixteen years old. Arik recognized him as the young man from the holo he’d been looking at earlier.

“Arik, this is your half-brother, Kyp Durron,” Elisha introduced. Arik stared at his half-brother. It seemed foreign to him that he should call someone he didn’t know by the name brother. Luke was his brother. Jathan was his brother. Zak was his brother. But this young man was a stranger.

“Nice to finally meet you. Mom talks about you all the time,” Kyp told him. It was odd for Arik. Kyp seemed to know all about him, but he knew nothing about Kyp.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Arik replied halfheartedly. “How old are you?,” he then questioned.

“I’m sixteen. My sister Melanya is fourteen. We had an older brother named Zeth; he’d be twenty if he was alive,” Kyp said softly, pain clearly visible in his green eyes as spoke of his lost brother.

//Wonder what happened to him?// Arik thought to himself. He then uttered,” I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Well, it was three years ago. The pain lessens as time goes on,” Elisha revealed in a careful voice, her emotions tightly controlled as she spoke of her dead son. Arik could sense that her pain over the death of her son hadn’t lessened one bit in three years. But he supposed that a mother was aloud to grieve her child.

“Come sit down Arik. You and Kyp can get to know each other until Melanya and my husband get home,” Elisha instructed both of her sons. Neither seemed thrilled at the prospect. Arik suddenly wanted nothing more than to go back to Naboo. Kyp wanted nothing more than for this newfound brother of his to go back to where he came from.

 

Thanx Yodimus. Glad you're enjoying this story.


you're so efficient at updating!

LOL. That comment got me. I write far more often than I post.

 

I'm not caught up on this story yet, but I wanted to say that it is incredible! I can't wait for a quiet moment to sit down and finish it. I just may lock the door to the office and ignore the indignant cries of my children while I read. After I feed them of course. A great story!

 

Chapter 8

Luke was pacing from one end of his balcony to the other. He’d spoken to Mara nearly thirty minutes beforehand and he was getting more antsy by the second. He checked the chrono on his wrist again and found that it was only forty seconds later than the last time he’d checked. He and Mara had been separated before, but it was worse now. When they were fighting the Empire, missions often took them away from each other, but now that the war was over he hated to be away from her.

“You’re going to wear a whole in the carpet if you keep up that pacing, Skywalker,” came the voice he’d been waiting to hear.

Luke spun on his booted heel and just gazed at his wife. He hadn’t seen her since just after the Battle of Endor weeks before, and now that she was in front of him again, he couldn’t move. She was beautiful, just as he remembered her. Her red shoulder-length hair framed her face in curls. Her green eyes that seemed to look right through him were sparkling with mischief. Her skin-tight clothing gave him a stunning view of her slender, athletic body. She was perfect, just as she had been when he’d first seen her so many years ago.

“Bantha got your tongue, Skywalker?,” Mara asked her flustered husband.

“I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’m sixteen again, seeing you for the first time…,” Luke managed to say in a strained voice, “…and I’m just waiting for Master Muln…,” he paused, remembering that she didn’t like for him to call Garen that,”…your father to walk in on us like he did then,” he finished, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

Mara began walking towards Luke, their eyes locked on one another. “Since you’re worried about my father I suppose I should tell you that he isn’t here. He declined my offer to accompany me to Naboo and decided to stay on Coruscant and help with the excavation of what’s left of the Jedi Temple,” she informed Luke, now standing directly in front of him, her breath tickling his face.

Unable to stand not having her in his arms for another second, Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a fierce embrace. Her arms went around his neck and they clung together, their emotions swirling in the Force.

“I missed you, Mara,” Luke whispered in her ear. “I really…,” he hesitated, suddenly feeling like they weren’t alone in the room. “Do you sense something, Mara?,” he asked, sounding panicked. He didn’t want anything to ruin their reunion.

Mara stepped back from her husband. “Use your senses, Skywalker. Even you can figure this one out, Farmboy,” she told him.

Luke knew she was hiding something from him; he’d known that since before they parted weeks ago. He’d sensed then that something was…not wrong, but different. Carefully, and with more than a little trepidation he closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, searching for…something.

Mara stood very still. It used to be a game they played as teenagers. She’d hide something deep within her mind, hidden behind strong mental shielding and Luke would do his best to uncover the something she was hiding. To this day, when they played the game, she was never able to keep anything from Luke.

Time stood still as Luke’s blue eyes snapped open. Mara knew he’d learned her secret. Now she just needed to know if he was happy about it or not. She thought he would be. Her question was answered when he swept her into his arms and began twirling her around the room.

“Luke, put me down!,” she yelled at him.

“Oh! I’m sorry Mara, are you okay?,” he asked quickly, fearful of hurting her.

“Yes, Luke I’m fine. I’m not sick, I’m pregnant,” she told him heatedly, lest he get the idea that he needed to protect her, or hover over her for the entire pregnancy. She was a Jedi Knight, the same as him. She didn’t need protecting.

“Whoa, relax. I’m not trying to…,” was as far as he got before a pillow flew through the air at his head.

“Stay out of my head, Skywalker,” Mara warned.

Luke rested his hands on her shoulders and tipped her chin up so that their eyes met once again. For a few moments they just stared at one another, their eyes saying all they needed to say. Finally, Luke took her hand and led her over to their bed. He guided her down onto the soft mattress before crawling up behind her and wrapping her in his arms, his large hands covering her abdomen where their child was nestled, safe inside his/her mother.

“What has you so frightened of becoming a mother, Imzadi?,” Luke asked softly, caressing her stomach lightly as he waited for her answer.

“That’s part of the problem, I don’t know what scares me. I’m just…scared,” she told him, hoping that it made sense to him because it sure didn’t to her.

Luke pulled her closer against him. “I don’t think scared is the right word, Mara. I think you’re just nervous. So am I. I’ve never been a father before and I don’t have the first clue how to go about being one. We’ll learn how to be parents together,” he promised her, wanting desperately to alleviate her fears.

Mara turned to face Luke. She removed his hand from her stomach and held it in her own. Their eyes met, blue and green mixing together as completely as their DNA had to create their child. Luke moved closer and connected their lips in a passionate kiss that had them both gasping for air when they parted.

“I love you, Mara,” Luke told her, his voice gentle, his feelings for her clearly written on his face. He would love her until the day he ceased to exist.

Mara’s hands had drifted to Luke’s shirt during the kiss. She pushed the parted folds of black silk apart and off of his broad, tanned shoulders. Leaning forward to place a kiss on his chest, she whispered,” I love you too, Luke.”

Lips met, hands caressed and undressed; all other thoughts were gone as the couple lost themselves in each other.

 

*Melts in a puddle from all the L/M goodness*

They're having a baby!

That's so awesome!

*Continues blabbing on about the L/M for several minutes*

Anyway. I love the word imzadi. That's so sweet!

I think my favorite part of the story so far is the tension between Kyp and Arik. That's just fascinating. I'm a huge Kyp fan, and I'm becoming just as much of an Arik fan. So it's painful, but really cool, to see the tension between them.

I write far more often than I post. I'm always so surprised by authors who can write so fast. I am one of the slowest authors alive. (By which I mean, it once took me three months to write a four-page vignette) I can't post anything while I write it, because everyone would forget it existed. So you are amazing. To write so fast, and such quality...

 

Darth_Suzi~I am so glad you like it.


If you like the Arik/Kyp tension now, wait for the next few chapters.

 

Awwww great post

 

Thanks LaYa. I got caught up in the L/M mushiness I've been reading on the board.