Week 20: Legacies

All quotes are from the LEGACY comics, written by John Ostrander.

Destiny

"Every generation has its challenges to face, its own battles to win." - Luke Skywalker

I once thought that every battle was mine to wage and war, no matter what the cost. My wife helped me to see that no one man is responsible for the galaxy and my son taught me that the ends do not, in fact, justify the means.

I have learned to allow others their mistakes and to watch over the younger generations, acknowledging that their struggles are not mine. I cannot fight for them. But I can hold high the torch to light their way.

Legacy

"I have a legacy, too. And I'm just as trapped by mine as you are by yours. The Sith are evil. It is the Empire's - and my father's - shame that we ever allied with them. We must make it right." - Princess Marasiah Fel

The strength that runs through our veins was forged generations ago by those who fought for freedom. We honor them by refusing to bow, refusing to kneel, refusing to embrace the darkness that threatens to choke everything in its path. Betrayed but not defeated, the light lives as long as we are still fighting.

Hope

"Whatever Cade has done, I forgive him. He is finding his way, however reluctantly. He is becoming a Skywalker in truth as well as in name." - Hosk Trey'lis

The Jedi once feared that the Skywalker's light was gone from the galaxy, yet it has been found. Only a glimmer as yet, it glows in the heart of the man who condemned and saved me. Fire burns in his eyes, but our hope lives and I know now that it will not be extinguished. I shrink not from the Sith's red blade but I go to the Force in peace.

Future

"If I die here, then I die as who I am - controlled by nobody." - Cade Skywalker

Alone in that damned Embrace of Pain, I learned that there are worse things than death and I no longer fear it. The Sith or the Imps can take my body and my life, but they cannot take my soul. That's mine. Whatever the future holds, I make my own way as my own man. I choose death over submission, family over revenge and friendship over anger. I'll be no one's pawn or prize. My father's sacrifice will not be in vain.

Fate

"We take what is given." - Kol Skywalker

It is strange, to look death in the eye and realize that it can be accepted or denied. Although, truly, there is no choice. Destiny has presented itself and it is mine to claim. My entire life has been honed to embrace this shatterpoint and I will not go quietly, but fighting to preserve lives - to save my son. Perhaps, I shall be remembered for, in the end, what we leave behind is the only legacy left to us. It is ours to make life important. To make our existence matter.