Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 08_ Ascension - Christie Golden [40]
“There are those,” commented Jaina drily, “who still think you can’t be redeemed. Or Grandfather. Or Aunt Mara. Or Kyp Durron, or—”
Luke held up his hand. “Point made. But those were different.”
“Were they? Or do you just want to think they’re different because you’re worried about your son getting hurt?”
Luke opened his mouth to retort, then closed it again. Jaina was right. His very quickness to respond negatively was proof of that. While Jedi did have to make split-second decisions over life-and-death matters, they were also not supposed to react emotionally, or to rush down a path recklessly. And he was doing precisely that.
“I do worry about Ben,” he admitted. “He’s a strong young man. And wise—much wiser than I was at his age. And no, you don’t have to agree with me,” he added as Jaina drew breath to speak. They smiled at each other. “I don’t think for a moment she’ll bring him over to the dark side. But I think he might get hurt—physically and emotionally—because he wants this so badly. He cares for her, Jaina. I can feel it.”
“Which means she can, too, most likely,” Jaina said. “I don’t want to get overly sentimental here, Uncle Luke, but—don’t underestimate the power of love. It’s pulled two family members back from the dark side already. Ben may be sixteen, but he’s not a fool.” She leaned forward, her dark eyes intense. “Maybe if he believes she’s redeemable … it’s because she is.”
Luke was silent. “All right,” he said at last. “Vestara can come with us to Korriban. But we are going to be watching her every minute.”
“Of course we will. And drink your caf, it’s getting cold.”
LUKE WASN’T HAPPY ABOUT ANY OF THIS. NOT ABOUT NOT KNOWING where either Abeloth or the Sith were, not about having to visit Korriban and other Sith-steeped locales, and especially not about having a Sith girl with them on said jaunts.
She was a danger. Luke knew it. Was there a chance that Ben and Jaina were right, that Vestara could indeed be won over to the light side of the Force? Of course there was. There was always hope. But there were also odds. And Luke knew that the odds were stacked—heavily—against that possibility.
He had at one point, years earlier, banned all navigation data regarding Korriban from Jedi computers, and asked the Galactic Alliance to do the same. Now that decision came back to bite him. Jaina had set Natua Wan the task of going through ancient, locked-up records in order to find anything of use. Luke half hoped the Falleen would fail in her task, but she—along with, presumably, more able researchers—had uncovered sufficient information for their purposes.
The closer they drew to the ancient Sith world, the quieter they all became. The only one who seemed excited about the prospect was, of course, Vestara.
Luke had pressed her to tell him what she knew about the place, considering that at one point she had had access to the Omen’s data banks, and somewhat to his surprise, she agreed.
“The term Sith actually refers to a species of red-skinned beings who were native to Korriban,” she began. “The Sith today are descendants of Jedi who chose to follow the dark side of the Force rather than the light side. There was a war in which the Dark Jedi were exiled. They arrived on Korriban and, much like my own people with the Keshiri, were received almost as gods because of their ability to harness and direct the Force. They assumed the name Lords of the Sith, not because they were Sith, but because they were their masters. They figured out a way to mingle their DNA with that of the Sith natives, and gradually that species became extinct. I myself might have some Sith DNA.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke noticed an expression that might have been a wince flickering over Ben’s face.
Vestara continued. “The