BFD Better Late than Never

Last night on Mustafar, the Ethereal Spirit spoke to me. "Call me Ben," he said.

No, I cannot do that, Master Kenobi. You are a wise Jedi Master, worthy of being my teacher and guide.

And so I went forth on a mission for my beloved Obi-Wan, finding shards of a broken crystal in and around the bubbling lava of Mustafar. Repairing them, carrying them to an underground bunker, where they were fused together into a shimmering beacon of power.

A dark Jedi appeared, and told me to leave it along, or else my ashen shadow would be the last mark I left upon that planet.

Master Obi-Wan told me, "I'm afraid you have no choice, you must use the crystal." And use it I did. And I fought the dark Jedi, a man supposedly twenty levels above me, but the crystal seemed to give me unlimited power! I fought him on and on, it must have lasted five minutes, and when he was dead I was exhilarated.

"Destroy the crystal!" Obi-Wan told me. And as I clicked on it, the choice came up before me: 1) Destroy the crystal or 2) Keep the crystal for yourself.

For a moment, I was Luke Skywalker on board the second Death Star! Do I do the right thing, or do I take the power. I wanted that power. I hesitated, and the ghost of Obi-Wan said, "You must destroy the crystal! Don't let the dark side cloud your mind!" (or something like that)

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew, that because of the way the game works, I wouldn't get the crystal even if I chose option 2, because I'd be able to kill everyone in the game, and it just doesn't work that way. But I wanted it!

My 10 year-old grandson said, "I wouldn't want to go against Obi-Wan, but I'd want to keep it!"

But it was Obi-Wan, so I destroyed it. I am nothing if not loyal.

And there in my head was Luke, standing over Vader, his saber at his neck, ready to make a killing blow. And he stopped and looked at his mechanical hand, a reminder of everything he'd learned and everything he was afraid of.

"I don't want to lose you the way I lost Vader," must have echoed through his mind.

"Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice!"

Was Luke as tempted as I was? He could have ruled an entire galaxy! I just wanted to wreak havoc on a role playing game!

So the Force was balanced that day. Obi-Wan's ghost was happy, and he gave me a reward, a shard of the crystal that I can use when I need it, for a short time, and not too often. Keeps me on the Jedi Path, I suppose.

Yes, "An Empire Divided" is only a game. And Star Wars is only a movie. And if you follow that, I've got some swampland on Tatooine I could sell you! Happy BFD, everyone!