by Alex Wheeler
"Dagobah system?" Luke sounded confused. It was not surprising. Very few humans had ever heard of Dagobah—it was one of the reasons Yoda had stayed safely hidden for so long.
"There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me."
Luke didn't understand, but he soon would. Obi-Wan had no doubt the young Jedi would follow his instructions and find his way to Dagobah—and there he would find Yoda, and his training could finally begin. Obi-Wan had watched the boy for three years, waiting to be sure that he was strong enough to learn the Jedi way. That he wouldn't be tempted to the dark side. That he was not another Anakin. Obi-Wan knew he shouldn't blame himself for the rise of the Empire—the rise of darkness—but he still bore the guilt.
He refused to release another such evil on the galaxy. And so he had waited, and waited, desperate to be sure.
But he had finally come to accept: You could never be sure.
You could only hope; you could only believe. He had come to know Luke well these past years, and he knew that Luke was no Anakin. He was his own man, strong enough to take on the burden and gift of being a Jedi. The training would be difficult, and there would be many temptations along the way. Luke would hear the call of the dark side…but Obi-Wan believed the boy would resist. And once Yoda had the chance to know Luke, Obi-Wan was sure he would agree.
Trust your instincts. Trust the Force. Words he had learned from his Masters, repeated to so many Padawan, to so many fallen friends.
He was finally ready to follow his own advice.
As Han Solo appeared on the horizon, Obi-Wan allowed himself to fade away. It was only a matter of time now. Luke would survive to fly to Dagobah. He would train. He would learn. Soon, he would be ready. The Jedi would return. And the fight for the galaxy could truly begin.
