Who Are You?

Obi-Wan Shows Up

Padmé attempted to comfort her son, however, she was at a loss.  It was still pretty awkward between the two, so they exited the hut silently.  Artoo joyfully reacted to their arrival, yet Luke just brushed him aside.  Padmé was at a loss for words, she had absolutely no idea how to help her son.

I wonder if Ani would have any thoughts.

Luke was leaning against a tree, in a very sullen mood, when Padmé approached him.

"Luke, I know it hurts now-"

"But what, it's going to get better with time?!"  He interjected.

"Luke, is that any way to speak to your mother?"

Both people turned around to see an old man there,

I-I can see through him!

"Obi-Wan?!"  Luke shouted in surprise.

"Wait, are you..."  Padmé found it hard to finish her thought.

"Yes, been that way for a while.  However, and don't take this the wrong way, you seem to be alive and well."

Feeling a bit guilty, Padmé tried to avoid his gaze before speaking again.

"Well, Master Yoda was able to establish a theory as to why I'm here."

"We believe it was her connection to my father."  Luke added.

Obi-Wan rubbed his chin in deep thought,

"Yes, even before I found out officially, I noticed the closeness between you and Anakin."

Padmé blushed and looked down in embarrassment, Luke couldn't help but comment about his confusion.

"Pad-I mean mother?  Oh wait, what should I call you?  Well anyway, why do you keep getting that look on your face when your relationship to my father is mentioned?"

"Because marriage is forbidden by the Jedi order, Anakin and I however, still decided to risk it.  We were married in secret and have been keeping it that way since."

Artoo beeped and whistled in excitement,

"You remember it don't you Artoo?  The wedding?"  Padmé said as she reminisced for a second with the droid.

Luke turned back to the ghost of his mentor,

"Speaking once more of my father, why didn't you tell me Ben?  You told me Vader betrayed and murdered him!"

Ben sighed before glancing over at Padmé and then returning his gaze back to Luke,

"Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force.  He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader.  When it happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.  So what I have told you was true...from a certain point of view."

Luke was outraged,

"A certain point of view!"

Ben ignored him for a moment and focused on Padmé, her eyes were filling with tears.

"They had said that Anakin had fallen from the light, but for the life of me I just can't see it.  I saw him this morning, he was just as happy and full of kindness as the day before and how I imagine he will be tomorrow.  How could this have even happened?  He is a bit reckless and sometimes goes against the council's better wishes, but it always works out in the end!  What could he have gained from abandoning everything, and everyone?"

Obi-Wan approached her slowly,

"It wasn't what he wanted to gain, it was more of what he was afraid to lose.  The Emperor took advantage of the fear he couldn't shake, leading to his fall.  He boosted Anakin's ego with the praise that the Jedi council denied him, he made false promises that appealed to him, he flat out lied so many times it ended up affecting Anakin's perception of reality.  He twisted and molded Anakin's fragile mind, he morphed it into a warped and demented version of what he once was.  Perhaps if I had not been sent to destroy General Grievous, or if I had caught on to the corruption sooner.  Still, it no longer matters at this point."

After a few moments, Padmé broke the silence.

"Obi-Wan, I still have absolutely no idea who the Emperor is."

"Oh," Luke answered, "he's the leader of the entire galaxy.  He was the one who created the empire, and from what Leia said, destroyed the Republic."

"He is also a dark lord of the Sith and Vader's master."  Obi-Wan added.

"So he's the corrupt lying monster who destroyed my Anakin!"

Padmé had long since stopped crying, her rage was immense as she saw nothing but red.  Luke and Obi-Wan both tried to distance themselves a little from her out of fear,

"I wouldn't worry, I believe there is still good in him."  Luke revealed in an attempt to calm his mother down.

"I also thought he could be turned back to the good side.  It couldn't be done.  He is more machine now than man.  Twisted and evil."  Obi-Wan protested.

Luke, sensing his former mentor's implication, grew an extremely anxious look on his face.

"I can't do it, Ben."

What does he want Luke to do?  Padmé thought silently to herself.

"You can't escape your destiny."  Ben continued.

"I tried to stop him once.  I couldn't do it."  Luke complained.

"Wait, you can't mean...Obi-Wan you want Luke to murder Anakin, his own father?!"  Padmé shouted in horror.