Star Wars_ Rebel Force 2_ Hostage - Alex Wheeler [21]
"Never pause too long to mourn the dead, lest you do disservice to the living."
At the sound of the familiar voice, laced with dry wit and a hint of good humor, Ferus whirled around. And there he was. Well, not there, exactly. Not in the full-bodied flesh.
Shimmering, translucent, present and yet somehow absent at the same time—but there.
"Obi-Wan?" Ferus gasped. "But you're—"
"Dead. Yes." Obi-Wan smiled sadly. He seemed older than Ferus remembered, his face ravaged by age. Was it life that had been so hard on him, or death? "A necessary inconvenience."
"How is this possible?"
"The past is the past," Obi-Wan said brusquely. "We have much to discuss about our present dilemmas. First—"
"No!" It was so typical of Obi-Wan, this refusal to offer any "unnecessary"
explanation. The Jedi was just as infuriating from beyond the grave. "You expect me to act as if nothing of importance has occurred?"
There was a long silence. "You've suffered greatly, I know," Obi-Wan said finally, his voice grave. "But you are not alone, Ferus." He spoke as if he could see inside Ferus's head.
Maybe he could.
The two men stood silently for several moments, absorbing the emotion of the situation, letting it flow through and between them. This was the Jedi way, to acknowledge, and move on.
Gradually, Ferus pulled himself together, accepting the new reality. As if sensing his ability to continue, Obi-Wan spoke. He told Ferus what had happened to him on Tatooine, how he and Luke had faced Darth Vader on the Death Star…how he had fallen.
"It's imperative that Luke not learn the truth about his father," Obi-Wan said urgently.
"He's not ready."
"I don't see how I can train him without revealing his past," Ferus argued. "It wouldn't be fair to him."
"You won't be training him," Obi-Wan said. "Luke has learned all he needs to know for the moment, or at least all he can absorb. He needs time."
"What he needs is a lightsaber lesson!" Ferus argued. "Time won't give him control of the Force, or teach him how to fight the battles you know he will face."
"But it will allow him to discover the kind of man he is."
And without our guidance, what kind of man will he be? Ferus thought. How will we learn whether darkness dwells inside of him?
But out of respect for the fallen Master, he kept this fear to himself.
"In other words, you want to watch and wait," he said, instead. "As usual."
"The time when I could give you orders is long behind us," Obi-Wan said. "I can only ask that you trust me."
"It would mean keeping my identity from him," Ferus warned. "Allowing him to believe that he's truly alone."
"He's not alone," Obi-Wan pointed out. "He has Leia."
And so they came to the subject Ferus had been hoping to avoid. "And Leia, what of her? You would have me continue to lie to her as well? Let her fight side by side with her brother, never knowing who he is—or what she is?"
"You have many secrets from her."
It plagued him. Each morning, Ferus woke up, wondering, Is this the day? Will I finally reveal everything? But something always held him back. She wasn't ready, he told himself. Not yet.
Now he wondered whether that was caution—or fear. While Luke seemed so youthful and naïve, Leia was wise and strong. She was everything that Obi-Wan hoped Luke would become—even if Obi-Wan, so focused on Luke, couldn't see it.
Just like Anakin. Ferus immediately tried to squelch the thought. Obi-Wan had been so determined to see the best in Anakin, so sure that his Padawan was the Chosen One, superior to all others. How much had that certainty blinded him to the dangerous reality?
This was different, Ferus told himself. It was understandable that Obi-Wan focused on Luke, even to the point of overlooking Leia's potential. But Ferus had no such excuse. If Obi-Wan had deemed Luke ready for the truth—or part of it, at least—maybe he owed Leia the same.
"Only you know what Leia is capable of,