Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 02_ Omen - Christie Golden [103]
“Again?”
“Yep.” Luke’s smile widened. “You’re not going to flow-walk because you want to make a gesture to me. It’s been uncomfortable these last several days, and it’s all centered on the flow-walking. You’re denying yourself this to try to smooth things over after this rough patch.”
Ben nodded, not looking at him.
“I’ll be honest. I’d be just as happy if you never learned this skill, never used it. Especially not to see Jacen. Because that’s what this is all about. But you know what?”
Luke placed his hands on Ben’s shoulders and turned his son to face him. “The Aing-Tii aren’t babies who need the watchful eyes and control of Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil. They can make their own decisions. And the same goes for you.”
Ben looked up at him searchingly Luke smiled.
“Go on, if you need to do this.”
Ben hesitated for a long moment, then nodded, opened the hatch, and stepped outside. Luke watched him as he went to Tadar’Ro, and then was surprised when Ben strode off alone. Tadar’Ro turned to look at Luke expectantly. Confused, Luke hastened down the ramp to the Aing-Tii.
“I thought you would go with him.”
“He knows the technique. For what he must do, he does not need me present.”
Luke felt a pang as he glanced at Ben, a small figure growing smaller in the distance. His son looked terribly alone to him, but Luke understood.
“And,” Tadar’Ro continued, “there is something else I must share with you, Luke Skywalker.”
BEN WONDERED IF HE SHOULD HAVE HAD A SANISTEAM AND SOMETHING hot to eat before attempting what he was about to do, but it was too late now. He trudged slowly but doggedly toward the spot where he and Luke had spent so many days learning from Tadar’Ro. It all looked as it had before, the time-smoothed stones warm from the sun, the taller stones casting cool shadows. But it didn’t feel the same to Ben.
Here was where Tadar’Ro had taught Luke, and Ben, and Jorj Car’das.
And here was where Tadar’Ro had taught Jacen Solo.
For a long moment, Ben stood, his heart beating too rapidly in his chest, his arms folded. Part of him wanted to just walk away. But another part of him knew he had to do this, or else he would forever wonder if he could have learned something, anything, that might make a difference.
He sat down, but not on one of the stones upon which the students sat. He was still several strides away from the teaching site, close enough to observe and hear, far enough away so that hopefully his presence would not be noticed. That was one of the things Tadar’Ro had cautioned him about. One who traveled into the past could be seen and heard—even change things. But according to the Aing-Tii, the Force would resume its natural flow. One couldn’t change things in any significant way; the Force would bring things back to the way they should be.
Except … and Ben’s heart spasmed in his chest.
The Aing-Tii said this because they believed that the Force guided them in their everyday lives. And now, they had this dreadful schism. What if they were wrong? What if both sides were wrong? What if beings weren’t guided, or if things weren’t preordained?
What if he could really change the future?
He began to tremble at the awesome nature of the thought. There was only one thing to do—flow-walk, and see what happened. Since his legs were threatening to buckle underneath him anyway, Ben sat down cross-legged on the rocky ground.
He began to calm his breathing, as if he were prepared to simply meditate, but he kept his eyes open. “Soft eyes with which to see,” Tadar’Ro said. “Hard eyes will not see what they need to see. Closed eyes will see nothing.”
Soft eyes. Unfocused, but watching. Ben understood.
His heart rate dropped and his body relaxed. With his slightly out-of-focus gaze, he regarded the flat stones upon which he and his father had sat.
“I don’t understand,” came a familiar voice. Ben’s head whipped toward the sound, but he kept his gaze soft. Tadar’Ro was approaching the teaching area, and with him, striding briskly, wearing the brown and tan robes of a