[The Space In Between]

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke thought that he'd been doing entirely too much thinking since coming aboard Stacy.

He knew that since he'd taken on the task of rebuilding the Order, he'd become less inclined to act before he thought about it first; it was as though the words of Yoda (Adventure--tch!  Excitement--heh!  A Jedi craves not these things) had taken root in his mind.  That was probably Yoda's goal.  But still, it seemed he'd found himself out on the Obs Deck, staring into the Bleed, far too often since awakening from podsleep.

Nonetheless, there was a lot on his mind, and his father was foremost among it all.  As it stood, Vader was a huge danger to anyone and everyone who got in his way on Stacy, and as much as Luke hated the idea of locking his own father up or somehow otherwise restraining his movement on the ship, he had to think of the rest of the crew too.

Sighing, Luke shifted a bit on the squishy seat, blue eyes half-closed and faraway.

Comments

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

Mara stepped up behind him, lightly, knowing he knew she was there. Her fingers trailed through his hair, a light and reassuring touch. She crouched down beside his chair and looked up at him. "Hey, Farmboy."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Mara's presence was always soothing to Luke, so when she ran her fingers through his hair, he smiled and moved over, making room for her to sit beside him. These squishy, fatty chairs made for pretty cozy conversation spots.

"Hey, Mara," he replied. "Was I thinking too loudly again?"

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

She stood to squish herself in next to him, sliding her legs over his. "Just a little. Of course, it's always easier for me to hear you."

Her fingers trailed through his hair again. "And maybe I just don't want to spend too many hours apart yet. We did that enough."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"Yes, we did." Luke leaned his forehead against his wife's, for a moment just basking in her presence. He hadn't thought he was going to ever have this again, this kind of calm that only Mara could bring, and he wasn't about to waste a second of it if he could at all help it.

"Sorry I was being so mentally disruptive, though," he said after a moment, draping an arm across her legs.

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

"It's okay." She said, lightly. "Want to talk about it instead of mentally stewing?"

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"It's my father," Luke said, sighing. "I don't know what to do about him. On one hand, he's my father--I don't feel right treating him like a criminal, despite what he's done. On the other hand, I don't want other people on board to get hurt if they look at him wrong."

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

Mara shifted against him. She knew it was about Vader, the turmoil the man was creating permeated the ship. Her own feelings about Vader weren't going to be very helpful in this matter anyway.

"He's very unstable right now." Mara says, quietly. "I'm not sure how to help him, other than getting him pumped full of tranquilizers."

[craaazyisland]

"Hey, it's not often that you're the one looking all stressed out."

Steve must have been practicing his ninja routine to sneak up on Luke like that. He grinned and had a seat at the seat next to him. "What's up?"

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"Or keeping a blaster leveled at him at all times," Luke said, grinning at her, but the smile quickly faded into that serious expression. "I'm hoping that I can bring him back to the light, like I did at Endor, but I'm not sure. He's a much different person right now, Mara. What put him in that suit is still fresh in his mind."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for Steve, Luke was a Jedi and could thus sense people sneaking up on him when they weren't hiding their presences. But he could certainly pretend, and did pretend to be surprised, and smiled. Steve was like a second son to Luke, and talking with him always made Luke feel pretty good.

"There's just a lot on my mind right now," he said. "The last podpop brought in some people who could sure cause a lot of trouble around here, and since I currently hold the highest Jedi rank, they look to me for guidance. They're tough decisions."

[craaazyisland]

He hated to admit it, but it was kind of nice not being the one with the problem for once. Poor Luke had already coached Steve through an entire high school's worth of issues. Steve liked helping other people out for a change.

"You shouldn't frown so much. It makes you look old," Steve teased. "What kind of people are you talking about?"

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

"Maybe not having a small redheaded girl torment him most of her early life will help him see the light that much faster." Mara joked, her smile kind of sad.

"We'll just have to keep trying to talk to him. Eventually he'll realize we're not the bad guys. That we're all in this together."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke gave Steve a long Look for that joke, but there was a twinkle in his blue eyes and a little lift to the corners of his mouth that undid any unspoken chastising that might have come of it. Still... not old.

"Well, only one who would really be dangerous," Luke admitted, some of that sparkle dying as his thoughts crowded in again. "My father--not Anakin, the Jedi. Darth Vader, the Sith Lord. Not the most pleasant man around."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"I hope so. Our first conversation when he came on board wasn't... well, it wasn't exactly pleasant. You and Ben only saw a little bit of it before you abandoned me." He grinned, kissing her cheek to show he didn't mean that, lingering and resting his head against hers afterward. "I got the feeling he's not as proud of having his son become the Grandmaster of the Jedi as I thought he would be."

[craaazyisland]

Steve's smartass expression sank a bit at that news. "It's your father?"

Then it took a moment of mentally translating all those Luke-centric words. "So your dad's a bad guy, huh?" he asked. "What's wrong with him?"

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

"Hey, finding my ship was very important." Mara grinned before sobering. "And of course he isn't. Not now, not when he's at the height of his anger at the Jedi. He's just...a very angry man."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"He was deceived by someone he trusted, back before he... became how he is." Luke didn't have a nice way to put He looks like he was left to roast on the sands of Tatooine, so he didn't voice that particular thought. "He fell to the Dark Side and became a Sith--the antithesis of the Jedi. He thought he could save my mother from what he thought was certain death. Now the Dark Side, and the events that put him in the position he's in now, have twisted him. He's filled with hatred, anger, and fear... but sadness, too. And because of that, I know there's still good in him."

Luke sighed. Talking about all that dragged sandpaper over a freshly reopened wound. "And... In the timeline I'm from, I was able to redeem him. Of course, it took me getting electrocuted nearly to death..."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"He's sad, too," Luke said. "About my mother, about what he's become. That gives me hope that he'll be able to be redeemed again. Hopefully without me almost dying this time. And did you find your ship?"

[craaazyisland]

He listened carefully and realized with a pang that all the times Luke had warned him away from all those negative emotions he had in such plentiful supply-- he was likely trying to keep Steve from ending up like this guy.

Then he frowned thoughtfully. "Jeez."

Then came up with something a bit more insightful. "So, you're afraid he's gonna do something stupid now that he's here, right? Or other people think he is."

[jaded-jedi.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I'll be horribly angry if you almost die. Or come anywhere close to it." Mara narrowed her eyes in a warning.

"And yes. I did. She's safe and sound."

Cue beaming Mara :3

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "You're right. Both. His body is damaged, but Anakin Skywalker was one of the most powerful Jedi in recorded history and even now, Darth Vader is extremely powerful. I'm worried he'd hurt himself and others on board if we just let him have run of the ship. But at the same time, he's my father. I'd feel bad just locking him up with Security, like others want."

[craaazyisland]

That was tough. Steve bit his lip and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling for a moment.

"You know, I'd tell you I could relate," Steve offered after a moment, "Except my dad was a mindless rotting zombie who was trying to eat us when I shot him in the face. And yours is just... really pissed off."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke grinned. "That's good. Having the Shadow is definitely a big plus. And she's got her full crew aboard, finally." Luke smiled happily for what seemed like the thousandth time. Strange though their family might be, they were all together now. And the Skywalkers worked best as a team.

"And your request for me to remain in good health is duly noted. I'll be sure to avoid being on the receiving end of Force Lightning."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

That made Luke snort laughter. "So there's really no comparison," he said after a minute, grinning despite the seriousness of the conversation. "But that's a pretty accurate summary of the situation." He sighed, shaking his head. "My family is complicated."

[craaazyisland]

Pitch black humor or not, at least it made Luke smile.

"Families suck like that," he commented with a shrug. Then he thought about it for another moment or two. "I don't know. I really can't say one way or the other because it is totally different, but-- I think if I knew what my dad was up to before all hell broke loose..." He made a bit of a face. "I would have done whatever to stop him."

He paused again. "But I don't know. He might be doing stupid shit but he's still your dad. No wonder you look so stern."