Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [125]
“And what’s that?” Luke asked.
“Monsters,” Dolph whispered. “Monsters, Skywalker. But you wouldn’t understand that.”
“No,” Luke said. “I don’t.” He walked a few steps closer to Dolph. Dolph’s cape snapped in the breeze, revealing a lightsaber at his side. “Tell me, Dolph, what’s the difference between the Je’har and you?”
The death mask’s mouth thinned, making the skeletal face almost rigid. “Does speaking in riddles amuse you, Skywalker? Or do you do it to buy time?”
“I do it,” Luke said, “because I am truly curious. You’ve destroyed every being on this planet. I suspect that in the time I was here, you destroyed another planet as well. The Je’har murdered people who didn’t agree with its policies on Almania. Murder is murder, Dolph, at least to me. Is it to you?”
The death mask shivered, almost as if it were separating itself from the face. “My name is Kueller.”
“Your name is Dolph,” Luke said. “And I will only talk to Dolph. The Dolph I met was a gifted, loving boy who had a vast future before him. That’s the person I want to talk to.”
“That Dolph is dead,” Dolph said. “The Je’har murdered him when they murdered his family.”
“And left Kueller in his place?”
“Yes,” Dolph whispered.
“But you don’t need Kueller,” Luke said. “Kueller helped you survive, but you don’t need him anymore. You have me. Come with me, Dolph, back to Yavin 4. We can heal those wounds the Je’har put in your heart.”
The death mask didn’t move, although behind the mask, real eyes glinted. Luke could see their reflection but not their shape and color. Then the flash disappeared.
“You can heal the wounds?” The voice was full of sarcasm. The eyes were gone again, deep black pools in their place. “You can resurrect my family, Skywalker? I doubt that. Not even Jedi tricks can bring the dead back to the world of the living.”
“We all experience deep pain,” Luke said. “It’s the price of surviving. How we handle that pain is what matters.”
“I’ve handled it my own way,” Dolph said. “I will continue to do so. I will make certain no one like the Je’har appear in the galaxy again.”
“How do you plan on doing that?”
Dolph swept his gloved hand around. “The Je’hars of the universe shall disappear, along with those who serve them. Those like your sister and her government.”
“Leia had nothing to do with your family’s murder,” Luke said.
“Precisely.” Dolph’s voice grew even lower. “And she was one of the few who could have prevented it.”
The hatred had festered so deep in him that it fueled the dark side. No wonder he had grown so strong so quickly.
Luke stopped a few meters from Dolph. “Brakiss said you wanted me to come here.”
Dolph nodded. He let his arm fall slowly. “I want to give you a choice, Master Skywalker. I need your strength. Join me, and rid this universe of the evils of beings like the Je’har. Together we can make this a better place.”
“I will join you,” Luke said, “if you renounce the dark side.”
Dolph laughed. The sound was deep, echoey, and icy-cold. “You should have learned long ago, Skywalker. There is no dark side. The rules you placed on the Force were placed on you by a weak and frightened old man, placed so that you would never grow to your full potential. Join me, Skywalker, and you can become what you were meant to be—the strongest man in the galaxy. The Force will be with you. It will guide you. It will give you everything you want.”
“It already has,” Luke said.
“Has it?” Dolph’s voice was soft. “Really, Master Skywalker? Your sister has three children and a husband who loves her. You embrace no one. You have companions, but no family. You teach tricks you learned long ago, and search the galaxy for challenges. You have no real home. Is that what you want, Skywalker?”
“Everyone’s life can be made to sound bad, Dolph,” Luke said. “I enjoy mine. I value it, and I wouldn’t change it.”
“Not even to make it better?”
“Not your way,” Luke said.
“So be it, then.