22nd Transmission: Memories [Action/Written]

[thefinaljedi]

Action

[Waking up this morning had been harder for Luke that it’d been in a long, long time. The past few weeks had been trying, with nearly everyone around him seeming to fall apart at once. Friends and family arriving from home, fellow Jedi and other people familiar with life in that galaxy so very, very far away were a blessing, but admittedly a mixed one. Each new arrival had seemed to come bundled with a bantha laden with baggage, a load of new problems to be dumped onto the growing pile that seemed to be collecting around the house Luke had called home for a little over two years. That house had seen many people come and go, and every single one of them had their own share of troubles, but never quite as bad as this. Han, Leia, and Anakin had been a perfect storm, a genuine disaster that Luke had no idea how to even begin to approach, and yet he still felt responsible for finding a way to resolve some of the tension. Ahsoka hadn’t helped matters, tearing off without much word to anyone, and all of this wasn’t even taking into account how Obi-Wan must be feeling with his emotions beyond his control.

And then there was today.

A reminder pinned to his mental calendar, a day he’d broken down and just completely failed someone he was supposed to care about. The last time he’d spoken that someone, someone he’d never see again, and one of the few moments he’d ever really regretted in his time in Luceti.

And of course, that had to be the day the Malnosso fulfilled his mission point request for a house expansion. A little bit of cruel irony that he’d expanded the house to better accommodate the influx of people into a home that felt somehow…emptier…than it should have. The second floor was lovely and put together precisely how he’d requested, but somehow stained for him. So, rather than face that chasmal emptiness he gathered up a few things and just left. Enough was enough, and there was only so much tension and emotional turmoil that a single man could take, even with the Force to aid one’s mind.

Luke strides the through the village with a purpose, Artoo rolling along behind him and whistling solemnly, the empathetic little guy the only person with any real inkling of what was running through his head. His first stop is the clinic, where he carries out his early shift with mechanical precision, but once that’s over he silently takes his leave, slipping out the back with the droid. Next, an hour or so in the Battle Dome running through a series of gymnastic exercises, and then he heads to by both the item shop and the flower shop. From the item shop, he picks up a fishing pole, and the flower shop a single winter jasmine and a sprig of wolfsbane. Finally, he’ll end this trip on Cherry Blossom Hill, planting those flowers.

After that, Luke heads straight for the teleporter, and to a place where he’d always liked to go and think: the beach. Sitting in the shade of a tree, he writes out a few notes, though he tosses most of them away before sending out three. After doing that, he lays out under a tree with only his droid and a small, glowing box for company, losing himself in conversation with the two machines.]



Written, Private to Red (Gameverse)

Red,

I’m going to be a bit preoccupied for the next few days, I was wondering if I could count on you to look after Hamal for me.

Luke





Written, Private to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Ben,

I’ll be away for the next few days. I need to get a little space from the house. I haven’t been kidnapped if anyone asks, I’m just out at the beach, fishing. If you need me, I’ll be out by the fort with Artoo.





Written, Private to Spock

Spock,

I’m sorry to bother you, but could you meet me down by the beach sometime in the next few days? I have a question for you and I’m not entirely comfortable asking about it over the journal.




[OOC: Luke will be out and about, and down at the Beach for the next few days, if anyone needs him or cares to run into him. Sorry for the lack of a more general message.]

Comments

[thefinaljedi]

[And that paleness and stiffness is enough to really get Luke's attention when she enters, her sense immediately catching his attention. It's not Padme that's been troubling him. It's everyone else.

Moving quickly, he crosses the room and takes her arm.]

What's wrong? Where does it hurt, Mother?

[padme_amidala]

( His sudden approach and concern takes her off-guard. She stares at him blankly, the question not registering right away. But then she remembers to smile. )

It's nothing. ( Memories leave their marks on the mind and the body. ) The past is far too vivid as of late. I'm sorry if I've been distracted. I know it hasn't been easy for you either.

[thefinaljedi]

You look pale.

[Unwell.]

And it is what it is, it isn't your fault. No need to apologize.

[padme_amidala]

It's a shame that you've had to endure this multiple times. ( She is quietly proud of Luke's bravery. It had hurt her too much to reveal the truth to Anakin. ) I...remember.

( Her voice is hoarser. )

He used the Force to - ( She feels awful revealing this, but it's part of the pain she bears. ) - choke me. It hurt to talk afterwards.

( Yet that pain was nothing compared to the agony in her heart. )

Luke, I have much to apologize for where you and your sister are concerned. After I saw that you were both alright, I just couldn't...

I gave up.

[thefinaljedi]

It's the nature of this place. It gives and it takes.

[He looks away, trying to hold back tears as he feels the anguish in her, the sadness mingling with his own and threatening to overwhelm his already tenuous handle on his emotions.]

You...I know...what happened. And you have nothing to apologize for. It's...not your fault.

[He chokes a bit, wrapping his arms around her.]

[padme_amidala]

Luke... ( She holds him tightly, wishing she could shield him from the pain. But there isn't really anything she can do for him - except be truthful and offer him all the comfort a mother can. ) I'm here for you now. You and your sister mean so much to me and I know -

( Here, she frowns. )

We'll be a family. It will take time and patience... ( A lot of that. ) But I haven't given up hope. Anakin has it in him to be a wonderful father and I'm ready to be a good mother.

[thefinaljedi]

I believe that. [He pulls back a bit.]

But...it's a matter of more than that. There's just...there's so much wrong. So much I never told you, either.

[padme_amidala]

Then it's time to tell me. ( She smoothes over his hair and prepares herself. ) You don't need to bear your memories alone.

[thefinaljedi]

A year ago...there was an invasion. I mentioned that. But...I didn't tell you how.

[Luke swallows, taking a deep breath.]

Our minds were altered. To...believe we'd lived here all along, in Luceti. I...had...a family. Some of it...was the same. You were my mother, Anakin my father, but they were dead. I had a sister and a brother. Trisha and Chouji.

[That much he can say without difficulty...]

But...Ami and I were married. [His voice cracks.] And...we had a daughter.

[padme_amidala]

( His...daughter? With Ami? Padmé grasps his hands, the pain easy to read on her face. )

She disappeared. ( Leaving Luke and Leia behind had been difficult, but she had known they were alive. They would grow; they would be safe. If they had disappeared instead...

The pain is unbearable. )

Tell me about her. ( She lives in his memory and Padmé wants to know that much of her. ) She must have been remarkable.

[thefinaljedi]

Her name was Arya of House Stark. From a place called Westeros. She...was a noble, in her world. A precocious tomboy, a troublemaker, with an enormous pet wolf.

[Luke honestly doesn't know how she managed to tame that beast...]

She's strong, incredibly brave...and may very well be the last Stark alive. There's a war there...and her family is taking part.

[padme_amidala]

She sounds like prime Skywalker material. ( She smiles sadly and kisses his forehead. ) I know you want to protect her, but it isn't your fault that you're here and she's...there. I'm sure she enjoyed the time she spent with you and Ami.

[thefinaljedi]

She would fit right in. [He smiles weakly.] And I know that. I just...I wish there was a way I could have done more. She deserved better...than what she got.