Disclaimer:  The characters contained within are the property of George Lucas.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Notes: This plot bunny hit me in church yesterday (I can't even stop thinking of SW there!)
The only good things about being sick are that you get to stay at home and typing requires neither eyesight or sitting (ie I wrote this while lying in bed with my eyes closed.  I love my notebook computer!)

This story is a little different, having arisen from one image that popped into my head.  I hope you enjoy it.
 
 

Luke Skywalker had always known he was special.  No one ever told him in so many words, but at five years of age, he was more than aware of the interest surrounding him, his training, and his sister.  However Luke never really took much note of this.  It just was.

He was very lucky in many ways.  His father was one of the greatest Jedi Knights in the galaxy, often compared to legends gone long before.  His mother was equally as powerful within the Senate, her compassion for every living species bringing new peace.  It was a glorious time for the Republic: where  prosperity, understanding and compassion flourished.

Luke felt very loved by everyone around him.  But it wasn't just the people, it was also the megalopolis.  Coruscant, once a metallic graveyard, was alive.  Plants grew from every place possible, whether indoors or out, with no obvious sustenance.  No one ever explained it to Luke – it was another thing that just was.  However, this was something he couldn't help but wonder about.

He asked Master Yoda of it one day.  "Why do flowers grow if there's no dirt?"  Luke had been taught only that morning that plants required soil and sunlight and rain, things that were in short supply on much of Coruscant's lower levels.

"It is the way of the Force," Master Yoda had replied sagely.  Luke stared at the Jedi, his intense blue eyes wide, understanding that further answers were not forthcoming.

Coruscant certainly was a special place.  The entire planet bloomed and hummed with undercurrents of energy.  Luke had been told it was because of the Jedi Temple and the fact that so many Jedi were gathered in one place.  Having visited other worlds with his mother or father upon occasion, Luke understood that each world hummed with its own Force signature.  But none had the powerful core that Coruscant seemed to have.

It was something Luke grew more curious about each day.  He wanted answers, but even though he was special, no one would tell him anything.  Not even his father, who got a strange sad look in his eyes when Luke asked him about it.

"Love made this place special," Luke's mother once told him.  But beyond that, she said nothing.  It was as if a great secret was being kept by a very few people.  His mother knew, as did his father, and Master Yoda.  Perhaps a few on the Council.  But no more than that.

As he realised this consciously for the first time, Luke smiled.  He trusted the Force and it showed him new things every day.  So, there was a secret.  It could only be a good secret, Luke surmised, but then why were his parents sometimes sad?

//Leia?// he called, reaching out to his sister with his mind.  He sensed that she was inside working on her reading lessons.  She could be so serious at times whereas Luke preferred to spend his free hours in the afternoon outside.

Luke received the image of a query from Leia – she hadn't quite yet mastered mind speak at a distance.  None of the other children their age, or even those quite a bit older had such an ability, so Luke didn't think any less of his sister whom he loved more than anyone else in the universe.  //Leia, there is a secret.//

Again the question mark, but this time it was accompanied by a scurrying of feet as the young girl left her books behind.   She quickly joined Luke outside in the park especially set aside for young Temple initiates.

"What kind of secret, Luke?" Leia asked, ever curious.

"One about this planet.  Everyone feels so happy here all the time.  Something makes us feel happy."

Leia nodded solemnly, implicitly trusting her brother's intuition as she recognised the truth of his words.

Taking Leia's hands in his own, Luke closed his eyes.  "If we try really hard, I bet we can see where the love comes from."  He didn't need to ask Leia's permission as they joined their minds, sending out a searching wave.  It was an ability they'd been aware of since they were very young, to be able to feel the love of their twin and unite with the other to do amazing things.  Together, they could almost see the coloured pulses of the Force that surrounded the planet, keeping it in harmony.  And those pulses seemed to have a source…

//It's the middle of the planet,// Leia said, but then her perception changed.  //No, higher than that…//

//…but still close,// finished Luke.  Together they followed a yellow strand of Force-directed peace down, down through the layers of levels until finally, they sensed a source.  //Beneath the Jedi Temple.//

//Can we go see it?//

//We have to go see it!//  This was Luke, full of conviction.  He broke the meld with Leia and the two young Jedi stared at each other in excitement.

"What do you think it could be?" Luke asked as he grabbed Leia's hand.  They did not stop to ask permission as they dashed into the Temple, Luke using a touch of the Force to render them unnoticed to anyone they passed.

"A Force-directing rock, maybe?" Leia guessed.  "Or a crystal?"

Nodding, Luke said, "It would have to be a huge crystal!  Remember when Master Teluna brought the purple crystal to class?"  The small stone had brought a sense of peace to all who touched it.

The pair reached the elevators and together were quickly able to override the security settings which prevented children from accessing the lower levels of Coruscant where safety could not be guaranteed even if the planet was free of crime.  Luke felt no twinge of guilt over what he was doing: he was so filled with curiosity.  Now that he knew there was a secret and he knew the secret of the secret, he had to see it!

Leia, too, was burbling with excitement.  They watched the levels pass by, leaving the actual building of the Jedi Temple far above them.  Luke and Leia closed their eyes and again reached out through the Force so they would know when to stop.  The pulse of the Force-directed peace grew stronger and stronger.

There was no official level marking when the twins knew they were close.  Again they used the Force to stop the elevator and open the doors on to a well-lit but small corridor.  It had the appearance of the above Temple's décor and the code of the Jedi was written on the wall for all to see.

"This is a sacred place," Luke intoned, sensing the words of others before him.  He glanced at Leia, a little frightened, but her face shone nothing but hope and curiosity.  Their hands were still joined and cautiously, they proceeded along the corridor.  It was not well-travelled but obviously well cared for.  Not a speck of dust was in evidence yet the very place had an aura of a shrine which no one dared enter.

They were very close now.  Luke could feel it; the radiation of the Force that was no longer so enigmatic.  This was pure emotion, this was love that manifested itself as peace, growth, joy, everything so good to the Republic, but it was borne of love.

The twins rounded the final corridor and stopped in shock.  Luke's heart jumped into his throat and he felt momentary fear, fear of being discovered in a place where he really shouldn't be, but the pull had been too strong…!

Leia's words broke through his panic.  "Are they alive?"

And Luke breathed again, taking in the sight before him for what it was.  Two human Jedi (there was no question of what they were) stood tall, facing each other, their eyes locked.  One was ever so tall, with flowing long hair and a beard, and his large hands, face up, grasped the wrists of the other.   Somewhat shorter with a braid that defined him as Padawan, the other man leaned slightly inwards, his blue/green eyes shining with love.  They were not physically close, yet there was a sense of intimacy about the handhold, the stance, that could not be denied.

There was not a hint of movement about them, not even a breath.  Their faces were calm, they seemed to be in deep communication with each other and through that, the Force.  There was no doubt that these Jedi, together, were the source of love that permeated the entire planet.

Luke reverently stepped forward, reaching out one hand to hesitantly touch the robe of the shorter man, the apprentice, but something stopped him.  He innately knew not to disturb their peace.

"I think they are alive."  Luke finally found his voice.  Nothing with such a powerful Force sense could be dead, could it?  Inanimate objects such as rocks could only amplify the Force, not create pure pulses.

A none-too-subtle clearing of the throat caused Luke and Leia to jump around in shock.

"Found them, did you," stated Master Yoda.  Anakin Skywalker was close behind him.

"Master Yoda, Father!" chorused the twins.

"This is a sacred place, children," Anakin said gravely.  "You should not have come here without permission."  He frowned for a moment before smiling warmly at Luke and Leia.  "However, I did much the same thing when I was a few years older than you."

Yoda affectionately swatted Anakin's knee with a stick.  "Told him to stay away, did I, but no, Anakin had to go see his Master for himself."

"Your Master?" asked Luke, his eyes wide.  "I thought Master Yoda trained you!"

"Yoda did train me, but he was not my first Master," Anakin revealed, gesturing towards the taller of the frozen Jedi.  "This man, his name is Qui-Gon Jinn.  He found me on Tattooine.  I only knew him a few short days, but in that time he taught me much about the Force."  Anakin paused, reflectively.  "Without these two men, everything you know would not exist," he said.

Luke didn't understand and said as much.

"Their actions, stopped a Dark path they did," Yoda said.   "Tell you more when you are older, I shall."

Anakin shot a look at his former Master.  "Master, you can't tell them that.  These children are strong in the Force, surely they can handle the truth now."  It was obviously a long-running debate between the two.  "I fail to see why you do not let everyone know the truth about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan."

"An exhibition they would become!"  declared Yoda indignantly.  "Put up signs now, we should, if that is how you feel!"

Anakin laughed softly, wondering if Yoda knew that there had been many jokes in the Temple about Yoda himself being a museum piece.  Then his face sobered and he knelt down, eye-level with his children.  "Luke, Leia," he began gravely, "are you ready to hear a story?"

They both nodded enthusiastically.

"You know I was rescued from slavery by your mother and two Jedi – these men.  This was a time of darkness for your mother – her planet was under attack and there were the evil forces of the Sith at work."

Luke shivered.  The Sith was a name used to frighten young children, something only whispered about as a Very Bad Thing.

"The Sith were amongst us but we did not recognise it.  A Sith Master pretended to be your mother's friend."

Yoda interrupted the tale.  "Asked Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to investigate, we did.  But expect this we did not!"

"What happened?" Leia asked.

"We don't exactly know," Anakin revealed.  "Obi-Wan was talented in foresight, much as I am.  At the time, I could feel death coming, not for me but for someone close to me.  I knew that death was attached to the Sith that once attacked Qui-Gon."  Closing his eyes, Anakin remembered.  "Perhaps Obi-Wan decided that he could not let that happen.

"We were on the verge for leaving for Naboo once again when we felt it.  It was much like you sense now, the waves of Force peace and love emanating from once single source.  Coruscant was very corrupt in those days, so it was almost like an explosion.  Everyone felt it.  And in the Council chambers, the Sith Lord, your mother's friend, was suddenly revealed in all his darkness."

"These Jedi found the Sith!" exclaimed Luke, understanding.  "They did it together – they were stronger together.  Just like me and Leia."  He looked at his sister, his eyes shining.  And then a cold thread of fear wormed into his heart.

"What if that happens to us?" Leia asked, her voice quavering with fear.  "I don't want to become frozen.  I don't want to - to die!"

"Dead they are not," Yoda reassured.  "Only outside time, moving so slowly that we cannot even comprehend it."

Anakin laid a reassuring hand on Leia's shoulder.  "When the Jedi found them, they were standing much as they are now in Master Qui-Gon's chambers.  Perhaps they were a little further apart, it's hard to tell," Anakin continued.  "No one told me what was happening but I managed to find out; I watched as Jedi Healers tried to get into their minds.  But they never succeeded, so they were brought here, where they could not be harmed.  And it was decided that what they have done is a good thing."

"A good thing it is," interrupted Yoda again.  "Good for the Jedi, good for the universe."

"Luke, Leia, they chose to live in the moment," concluded Anakin.   "It won't happen to the two of you unless you choose it.  You will be strong Jedi, the strongest I have ever seen."  Yoda shot Anakin a warning look.  "Perhaps one day you will be able to get through to them."

"But what if they don't want it?" Luke wondered aloud.

No one could answer that question.  Luke took one last look at the Jedi, awed, before his father and Master Yoda led them away from the sacred chamber.  Leaving behind, for all purposes, two statues, two Jedi who had sacrificed their futures to save them all and live in the moment.

*

Time flashed by at a phenomenal rate but the Jedi did not notice.  They lived in the moment, one moment, brought about by pure and selfless connection.  Only moments before had Obi-Wan said, "I love you,"; less moments since Qui-Gon had returned the sentiment.  They knew death was coming fast for Qui-Gon and chose to ignore it.  They basked in the light of love, unending in one moment.    They knew nothing but each other.

And the universe continued on.

---
End.

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