Luke Skywalker stood on the edge of a cliff and looked out over the
stormy sea. He shivered from the cold wind. It was many years ago when
he found the island. This was the place where the very first Jedi temple
had been built.
He had retreated here after the catastrophe when
his own nephew had betrayed him and the New Jedi Order. The Jedi Master
still wondered why he hadn't noticed how Ben Solo had changed and had
become a servant of the dark side. But he shouldn't dwell on the past.
As
the storm picked up, Luke walked down many steps to the dwellings under
the Force tree. The steps were slippery and he had to be careful where
he stepped. The strong wind blew his hood off his head, revealing his
graying hair and beard and his weather-beaten face. He stumbled and
almost fell when a gust of wind caught him.
Luke was almost there
when he lost his footing and fell. But it was not the storm that had
caused his fall. He heard millions of voices in his head. They were
screaming in fear and pain. Luke could not bear the emotions of so many
people. His head hurt and he covered his ears. But the screaming could
still be heard.
He had not heard it with his ears, he had heard it in
the Force. The Jedi Master lay half unconscious on the ground. Suddenly
the screaming ended as suddenly as it had begun.
Luke remembered
the annihilation of Alderaan dozens of years ago. Back then, Ben Kenobi
had felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions had cried out
and suddenly fallen silent.
He was pretty sure that something terrible had happened. Slowly he rose to his feet.
Perhaps it had been wrong to go into exile and leave the galaxy to its fate.
