Laser blasts streaked past the Millennium Falcon's cockpit as Lucas gripped the back of Lumina's chair as tightly as he could. The Star Destroyer Avenger had pursued them through the asteroid field and now fired relentlessly at them. The Falcon wove and dipped, seeking to avoid not only the lasers but the asteroids as Han and Chewbacca set their course.

"Hurry up," Lucas forced through gritted teeth. "I'm not that keen on getting fried."

"Nobody is," Lumina told him.

"I'm setting the coordinates as fast as I can, kid," Han snapped, not removing his gaze from the navicomputer.

"At least we're coming out of the asteroid field," C-3PO said, sounding relieved.

Breathe. You know this works. Not the hyperdrive, but how we'll escape the Imperials. At least, it worked in the movie.

However comforting that thought had been on re-watching The Empire Strikes Back as a kid, it was much less so now that Lucas was actually a part of the story.

"Done!" Han exclaimed. "Let's get out of here. Ready for lightspeed?"

"We've been ready for a while now," Lucas groaned as Han grabbed the throttle and eased it back.

Nothing happened. At all. Lucas had known this was going to happen, but he hadn't been prepared for the sudden amount of disappointment that welled up inside him. He couldn't help groaning.

"What?" Han cried, aggravated.

Chewbacca growled.

"Oh, I knew this was going to happen," Lumina murmured, slumping back in her chair. Like Lucas, she looked more disappointed than she should have been, considering they both knew this was going to happen.

"No lightspeed?" Leia asked, her eyes widening.

"Oh no," C-3PO fretted. "I am sure we are about to be destroyed."

"All the transfer circuits are working," Han said, his brow furrowed in anger and puzzlement. "I don't know what's wrong. We should be in hyperspace by now. It's not my fault!"

The Falcon shook as a blast of laserfire struck it, causing Lucas to stagger and almost fall. As he righted himself, fixing his stance, he saw a red light blinking on the control console. For a moment, he thought the light said "Check engine," but then realized it actually read "Check shields."

That's not good.

"Sir, we have lost the main rear deflector shield," C-3PO said, also noting the blinking light. "One more direct hit in the back quarter and we are done for."

"Turn her around, Chewie." Han ordered. "I'm going to put all power in the front shields." He gripped the controls. "I hate that stupid light."

"You're attacking them?" Leia demanded, shocked.

"Not exactly," Han muttered, jerking on the controls and swerving the Falcon to the side, coming around face to face with the Avenger.

He flew straight at the Star Destroyer, increasing the Falcon's speed. The interior of the Star Destroyer quickly became evident, and Lucas could make out Captain Needa standing on the bridge. In the last couple moments, he could even see the expression of horror on Needa's face.

Then Han pulled the ship to the left and they hurtled past the Avenger.

****

Leana tried to focus on the present as she and Luke continued their Jedi training, but it was hard considering the failure in her immediate past. I knew it was a test against the dark side, and I still failed. I failed despite knowing all about it. I failed. Failed, failed, failed.

Stop it, she scolded herself. Luke failed, too, at least in the movie. And he still became a great Jedi Knight. I can make up for this. This failure doesn't define me.

Leana forced her mind to come back to the present, where she and Luke now balanced on their hands, palms pressed into the damp ground. Yoda was sitting on Luke's foot, but it had been a good twenty minutes since he had said anything. She could feel Luke straining, like she was, to hold the handstand, and could sense his pondering thoughts about what they were supposed to do next, the slight uncertainty touching his mind. Leana could sense it all so clearly, and she reveled in that feeling.

"So, what now?" Luke voiced.

Yoda didn't say anything.

Leana furrowed her brow. "Yoda? Master Yoda? What do we do now?"

Yoda still didn't say anything.

Luke and Leana exchanged a glance. "Master Yoda?" Luke called, his voice a little louder this time. Leana could hear the strain in it. "Master Yoda? What now?"

Only a snore answered their question.

"Is he sleeping?" Leana exclaimed.

"I think so," Luke said. "Let's see if I can wake him up." Carefully, he shifted his feet, drawing them away from each other slowly, so as not to affect his overall balance.

"Ahhh!" Yoda screamed as he slipped off Luke's foot and plummeted to the ground. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, scrambling to his feet and looking at Luke and Leana indignantly. The effect was rather a strange one, since they were still balancing on their hands, looking at Yoda upside down.

"We were asking what we were supposed to do next," Leana told him. "But you didn't answer."

"So you kicked me off?" Yoda demanded.

"I didn't kick you," Luke defended. "I simply moved my feet to get your attention."

"You're the one who fell," Leana pointed out wryly.

Yoda glowered at both of them. "See? This is why I dislike students. I'm going to direct you from the ground from here on out. Balance on one hand. Your left hand. Now!"

Luke and Leana lifted their right hands slowly, shifting their weight onto their left hand. Leana felt the increased strain of her muscles as she did so.

"Use the Force," Yoda instructed. "Yes. Now, the stone."

Luke gazed intently at a stone lying on the ground, and it rose into the air.

"Now you," Yoda said, nodding to Leana.

Leana focused on a second stone and touched it through the Force, commanding it to rise. It lifted into the air, wobbling slightly before stabilizing. Elation soared through her.

"Good job!" Yoda exclaimed. "I didn't expect you to get the hang of that so quickly. Now put them in the hole in that tree."

He pointed to the tree, the hole about five feet from the ground. It was just a little bigger than the stones.

"You want us to put a stone in there?" Luke repeated. "That's crazy."

"If that's crazy, I'm an old man," Yoda declared. Leana and Luke just looked at him. "All right, that was stupid. But do it anyway. That's what you get, for kicking me."

"All right," Luke agreed, as Leana was already guiding her stone through the air. Luke's followed her.

Leana was so focused on her stone, she almost didn't hear the astromech droids both whistling. Then she heard a thud and her concentration was broken. Dropping her legs down to the ground, Leana staggered back out of her handstand, glancing around as she came out in a crouch, right side up. The X-Wings had both started to sink into the swamp, and Luke had fallen on realizing that. Both their stones now rested at the base of the tree.

"Concentrate!" Yoda screamed at them, a little belatedly.

Luke rolled up onto his feet as Leana stood, the two hurrying to the swamp's edge. Yoda sighed, rolling his eyes, and walked after them after picking up one of the stones by the tree. The two Jedi trainees watched their X-Wings settle deeper into the swamp's muck.

"Oh, no," Luke moaned, glancing down at Yoda. "We'll never get them out now."

Yoda just looked up at him. "Wow, you're so tall."

Bewildered, Luke glanced at Leana, who just shrugged, before looking down at Yoda again. "Did you just hear what I said?"

"Repeat it, please," Yoda requested.

Luke gestured out toward the X-Wings. "I said we'll never get them out now."

"Never, never, never," Yoda said mockingly. "You sound so certain. Always with you it cannot be done. Do you not hear anything I say?"

"Well, you seem to not hear what others say," Luke replied. "Why should others listen to you?"

Yoda threw the rock at Luke, making the Rebel jump away from him and knock into Leana. She staggered and Luke grabbed her as Yoda barked, "I asked you a question!"

"You just threw a rock at him!" Leana exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"He was being disrespectful," Yoda declared. "I'll hit you next, if you keep questioning my leadership!" Yoda hit Luke again, this time with his cane, and shook it threateningly at Leana. "Luke! Answer my question! Or I'll have to hit you with something else!"

"Uh, what was the question again?" Luke asked, frowning and rubbing at his thigh, where Yoda had hit him.

Yoda rolled his eyes. "You just answered it."

Confused, Luke looked at Leana, who smothered a laugh. She'd almost forgotten the question herself, but not quite. "He asked if you heard anything he said, during training."

"Heard and listened to are two different things," Luke said to her, giving her a smile before glancing back to Yoda, sobering. "In all seriousness, Master, moving stones is one thing. This is totally different."

"No!" Yoda exclaimed, lifting his cane to hit Luke again. He grabbed it, preventing Yoda from striking him. "No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned. Or Henry will get to have a snack."

"We'll do it," Leana said quietly, looking out at the X-Wing. She wondered if Henry had survived his encounter with her lightsaber earlier, and what Yoda would do if he found out his favorite pet had been injured or possibly killed.

"We'll try," Luke said.

"No! No! No!" Yoda exclaimed. "Do not try! Do. Or do not. There is no try."

"Really?" Luke asked.

"No. Of course really! Here's an example. I either put raspberry jelly on my sandwich, or I don't. I don't try to put jelly on my sandwich, because there is no in between. You either do, or you don't. I don't, because they don't have raspberry jelly here. I want some." Yoda frowned, looking sad.

Leana looked out at her X-Wing and stretched out her hand, reaching out to the Force. She felt the X-Wing, felt the muck it was trapped in. She could sense it all, through the Force, the power that bound all lifeforms together. And she could feel the X-Wing stirring at her mental touch, responding to the power she wielded.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Use the Force, Leana. Use the Force. This is your dream come true. Use the Force.

Leana felt it when the X-Wing started to rise out of the swamp and elation swept through her. At least, this test she could pass. She would not fail, she would not underestimate the Force like Luke had done.

Then an intense strain filled her arm, like leaden weights had just been chained around her wrist and bicep, and Leana couldn't help a gasp of exertion as the X-Wing slipped out of her Force grasp and back into the swamp. She staggered backward, Luke grabbing her arm to steady her.

I failed. I failed anyway.

But how? I did everything right! I believed in the Force, I knew it would work, and yet I failed!

Bewildered, Leana looked to Yoda. "Master, what happened?"

"Leana Ganner, you are looking at all of this as a test," Yoda told her.

"Yeah," Leana said. "And? Isn't it?"

"Yes," Yoda said, as if it was obvious. "Duh."

"Then what was I doing wrong?" Leana demanded. But it wasn't Yoda that answered her.

"Leana, can you learn to write the perfect essay by reading someone else's feedback?"

Qui-Gon's voice came out of nowhere, and Leana spun around to see the Jedi Master standing behind her, his form pale and semi-transparent. Luke and Yoda pivoted as well, Luke's eyes wide in astonishment.

"Master Jinn," Leana said, blinking.

"Qui-Gon Jinn," Yoda remarked. "I haven't seen you since...well, I haven't seen you alive since we set you on fire."

"I was dead by that point," Qui-Gon told Yoda with a wry smile.

Yoda looked confused. "You were? Since when?"

"Is this the Jedi you were talking about?" Luke asked Leana, looking a bit awed.

Leana nodded, looking back to Qui-Gon. "Master, what do you mean?"

"You know this is a test," Qui-Gon said, his voice quiet. "And you are trying to pass the test by following the corrections given to somebody else. Training in the Force does have its generalizations, yes, but much of it is specific – about how you access the Force. You cannot rely on feedback given to another to learn the Jedi path, Leana. You must learn it for yourself."

And with that, Qui-Gon faded away.

Leana turned back to the swamp, glancing out at her X-Wing still stuck in the muck. I'm looking at this as a test, but I'm using a cheat sheet to answer it instead of doing the work. I got to find the answers on my own.

Breathe.

Leana closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. As she did so, she heard Yoda telling Luke to lift his X-Wing out of the swamp and after several moments, opened her eyes to see the ship rising. But then it fell back into the swamp, just like hers had.

"I can't," Luke said, plopping down on the ground. "It's too big."

"Size matters not," Yoda insisted. "Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?"

Leana and Luke both hesitated.

"Well?" Yoda demanded.

"No way," Leana told him.

"Definitely not," Luke sighed, although he looked doubtful.

"Good," Yoda stated, satisfied. "That means you still got some sense left. You should not judge me by size, for my ally is the Force and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. We are luminous beings, not made of crude matter. You must feel the Force around you, and the sandwich within you. Between you, me, the tree, the sandwich, the ship, everywhere. Including between the land and the ship."

"You want the impossible," Luke muttered, shoving himself up onto his feet.

"Luke," Leana called. "Just because something's impossible doesn't mean it can't still happen."

"The definition of impossible is that it is not able to happen," Luke said, exasperated.

"And yet, how many times do you hear someone say 'That's impossible' while watching that very thing unfold before them?" Leana challenged. "Luke, I always wanted the impossible, and I never thought I'd get it. For me, the Force was an impossibility. But now I'm here, now I'm using the Force, when not too long ago, I would have told myself it was impossible. What does that tell you?"

Luke just looked at her. "Some things are impossible, Leana." He turned and began to walk away.

Leana glanced out to the swamp and extended her hand to her ship, centering herself. Yoda also lifted his hand, and Leana felt the surge in the Force as they both reached out to the trapped ships.

The Force flows from me to the ship, from the swamp to the land. The Force is all around me, inside me, guiding me.

It's not just about belief. It's about control, centering. It's about the Force.

The X-Wings lifted up from the swamp, slowly, slowly, but surely. Leana kept her focus on the Force, the Force connecting her and the ship, her and the land, the ship and the swamp. She focused, and she breathed, and she forgot all else.

The ships continued to rise.

She vaguely heard R2-D2 beeping, heard R4-14 whistle, and heard a startled gasp that must have come from Luke. But Leana kept her eyes on the X-Wing, harnessing the Force to guide it over the swamp and lower it gently onto the shore. Yoda directed Luke's ship to come to a landing right beside hers.

"Whoa," Luke murmured, coming up beside his X-Wing, touching it almost hesitantly. "I can't believe it." He glanced over at Leana, his expression shocked. Leana returned his gaze steadily, controlling her excitement. She had done it.

"That is why you fail," Yoda said, shaking his head at Luke.