Author: Phil RedBeard

I thank the hardcore bloggers of Star Wars.com, for their heartfelt encouragement. They don’t know me and I don’t know them, but they write and it soothes my heart. For my readers, I echo a sentiment from the mission field but with a twist: I’m a Star Wars fan, you wouldn’t understand.

This post is inspired by my SWblog friends, and a product of my melancholy state, but the truth is still there

 

The Jedi stood, abandoned in a universe of dark, alone and afraid. All that he had fought and bled and cried for had been cruelly snatched away and destroyed. His way of life was outlawed. Devastation was visted upon his family, and only one other had survived. The other, the most ancient, frail, and powerful was walking into the heart of darkness to do battle. Alone. Always now they would be alone, the Jedi felt it in the currents of the Force. His light was dim, and flickering, and fueled only by his discipline and quiet grace. The Jedi was a man beaten, crushed down, and uncertain. He was a shell of the man he had been; all that he was, stripped away, all that he hoped to be, vanished away. Some wounds cut too deeply to ever heal, some scars define who you will be, some betrayals never are forgotten. Espcially when they come from a friend, particularly when they are dealt by a brother.

The Jedi sees his brother, listens to his words. Or rather, the animal that was his brother. It is only a twisted fate and horrible irony that this destroyer wears the face and form of the brother. It would be easier were this creature of hate and rage behind a mask, obsucured. A simple thing it would be if the voice was different, if the eyes could not be looked into. How convienent his task if with every guesture, word, and movement the monster did not resemble the brother. The Jedi watches as his former brother destroyes the very reason for which the betrayal was done, and he is sick. He cannot watch it happen.

“Let her go!”

The command is difficult to voice. Once the sonic waves emanate, they are ignored. The Jedi tries to reason with the creature, and only succeeds because he distracts it. The evil one stalks and spouts forth things the Jedi never thought he could hear that voice say. The pain roars in the darkness, and the Jedi cannot silence that shout. Not with his training, not with what he knows to be true: none of that is a help to him. There is only the Jedi and the pain.

The Jedi makes the decision to ignore the pain, to disregard the hurt, and to lay aside his love. He is still a Jedi, and a thing remains that needs doing. He hates the universe for forcing this upon him, he hates the Force for keeping him alive to face this destiny, and he hates the Dark Side for being the mirror of the dark, though in this shrouded, hateful moment, the Dark Side is much with him.

“I will do what I must.”

Those words spoken by him echo the unwillingness of this warrior to fight. But mere fractions of a moment later, that fight is forced upon him, and he is the embodiement of defense. He is unwilling to be more, and cannot be less. They are more than brothers, the Sith and the Jedi, they are twins, halves of the whole, mirror images. The Sith is feral, raging, and powerful; the Jedi is calm, peaceful, and powerful. In this fight now the Force flows into him, and its presence brings a centre to the storm that brews. The Jedi is able to accept his destiny, and release his hate, his doubt, his disbelief. He releases attachment and his will, and follows the will of the Force.

The fight never seems to end. One blow and parry, one block and thrust, one leap and chase after another. From landing platform, though a hall of dead, to a gantry, to lava flow, and repulsor platform. Impacts of lightsabers clash like shards of hate, the Force is formed as weapons. The Jedi no longer feels the Dark Side within himself, only without. He no longer feels hate, only pity and sorrow. The pain is still there, and always will be. He disengages, and prays that this will be the end.

“Don’t try it!”

He pleads with love, and foreknowledge. The Sith is deluded, and does not listen. He leaps, trying to gain a higher position, but is blinded in his self-importance. The leap is not enough, and the Jedi is horrified to see his lightsaber sweep through both legs and an arm of the Sith. The Sith tumbles down towards the lava flow, and becomes again the brother, if only for a minute.

“You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!”

The Jedi’s heart is breaking, torn to shreds and ribbons by the pain. The brother becomes again a Sith. The force whispers of what must be done, but the Jedi is unwilling. For the first time in his life, he rebels, he disobeys, and walks away. He will not kill his brother.

The Jedi stood, abandoned in a universe of dark, alone and unafraid. He has faced again the Sith that was his brother, so long ago. The son of the father watches this drama he cannot comprehend. He sees emotions that he does not understand, and hears words without meaning. He cannot, for he does not know his past. The Jedi could not tell him, the pain is still to near, even this twenty years later. And the Jedi was wrong. It is no easier to obey the whisper of the Force. His foe is masked, and the voice is different. He moves and guestures differently, but still the Jedi sees his brother, half a man and burning. He always will, just as there will always be pain. The Jedi has grown, and the Force has matured him. He still has the strength of discipline and quiet grace, but though the opportunity is there, he disobeys a second time. The Jedi raises his lightsaber in salute, and is cut down by his brother’s blood-tinged blade. The Jedi is no more.

The Jedi, the Unwilling Warrior, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is dead.

But that is not the end. The Jedi becomes the Force, and time is meaningless. In the next thought he sees his companion, the once ancient Yoda now ageless, and there appears his brother. The pain he has lived with forever fades and disappears. Anakin has done the impossible and turned from the dark path and joined his soul to the light. Redemption is bought in the salvation of the son. These three, the Jedi, and the Force, appear and look to the son. He is the future now, and they smile upon him.

Light returns to the galaxy of night and the night flees away.

After reading some on Star Wars dot com about the nature of the force and one who would balance it, I have decided to post my own opinion, merely for my own pleasure, and because I think they are wrong (shocking, isn’t it?)

read the orginal article and the comments to it

then consider:

I believe that the Force was out of balance, but that it was the Jedi who had unbalanced it.

bal·ance n
1. a state in which two opposing forces or factors are of equal strength or importance so that they effectively cancel each other out and stability is maintained
2. a state in which various elements form a satisfying and harmonious whole and nothing is out of proportion or unduly emphasized at the expense of the rest

(Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.)

Therefore, a balance demands equality. Both sides are the same and uniform.

The Force as seen in Episodes 1-3 was unbalanced. The simple reason was that there were only 2 Sith and hundreds of Jedi. Though the Dark Side, through Darth Sidious’ manipulation was growing and clouding the Jedi’s Force use, it was still only a small portion of what the Jedi could draw on. After the Sith were destroyed eons before, the only force use was in the Light Side realms, goodness and purity the focus. Eventually a Sith survived, and began using Dark Side power for anger and revenge. Through the ages, the Dark Side users stayed small, only two at any one time. The Jedi Order meanwhile, proliferated. Soon there were many Jedi.

Now, that arguement is basically about numbers, and as far as that goes, it works.

But relative power also needs to be assesed. For instance, Yoda’s power is far greater than that of one of his youngling trainees. So in that case, the Force is unbalanced between them. This is an unbalance of power and mastery. Looked at from this view point, the Jedi, as a group, had more power than the Sith, as a group. Darth Sidious, however, I believe had more power than most of the Jedi Order, singularly, and of several collectively. Why else, in Revenge of the Sith, was he able to dispatch three Jedi Masters with ease? Why else was he holding his own against Yoda? He had great mastery of the Force. Now, if fifteen Jedi had come to his office to arrest him, I think he would have lost, both in the numbers and mastery departments. In this arguement, the Force is still unbalanced, but the question is how? If we go one against one, the only balance to be found is Yoda vs Sidious, Yoda is stronger than any Jedi or Sith except for Sidious, and vice versa. I still we think we need to go collectively. Sidious could not have beaten Anakin and Windu (if Anakin had made the right decision). Therefore the balance was still in the Jedi’s favor. It took Anakin aka Vader, who was stronger singularly than most Jedi to defeat the Jedi at the temple (with the help of the 501st) and Palpatine aka Sidious took out those he was stronger than. So it was only through deceit and clone help that the Sith brought balance. Which leads to the next area of this discussion: the Chosen One.

He Who Brings Balances: Anakin Skywalker.

Centuries earlier it was prophecied that one would be born miraculously who would bring balance to the Force. The Jedi arrogantly assumed that it would be a Jedi who would eradicate the Sith. “You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness! ” – Obi-Wan. Only it would be a Sith who would destroy the Jedi and bring balance. The Jedi misunderstood the prophecy. “With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force? ” – Obi-Wan, “So the prophecy says.” – Mace Windu, “A prophecy that misread could have been.” – Yoda

Therefore, it was Anakin’s destiny to become a Sith and destroy the Jedi and bring balance to the Force.

In Episode IV, the Force is balanced once again. Yoda and Obi-Wan are aging but growing; Sidious is growing old and complacent. Vader’s power has grown, and he will eventually take over. If the four had met, the only end would have been the death of them all.

With the onset of Luke Skywalker and his training, the Force became again unbalanced. He introduced the supremacy of the Jedi yet again. In Episode VI we have the culmination of the Battle of the Heroes and the final surge for the mastery and balance of the Force. What should have happened was for Luke to have killed the Emporer, and he and Vader been at equal odds. However, this is where destiny is proven not to be absolute. Back in Episode III, Anakin could have decided to defy his destiny and not join the Sith and destroy Palpatine. Here he decides to defy the Emporer, and is seeking to turn Luke to rule with him. That is his aim. Eventually it is his love for Padme, manifested in Luke, that drives Anakin to renounce the Dark Side and destroy the Emporer. Thus, the Force is unbalanced, and only Jedi remain. The Sith exist after Return of the Jedi only as a shadow and a possibilty.

The Children of the Prophecy are Luke and Leia, and if Anakin was to bring balance, I believe Leia would eventually turn to the Dark Side to culminate a new era of equal numbers of Jedi and Sith. I believe that there is no possibility of Luke turning to the Dark Side, after his ordeals on Cloud City and the Death Star.

But, this is only my opinion….and Star Wars is only a galaxy far, far away….