Lightsabers Blazing
A series of vignettes about an undercover Jedi and her new family. Takes place after Episode 3. Minor AU – incorporating Michael Stackpole's history with Episode 3.
Disclaimer: George Lucas, Timothy Zahn, and Michael Stackpole own everything that is recognizable. I don't plan on making any money on this story. :)
Karrie's hand is cold in mine as I hold it tight, willing strength and vitality back into the dying fingers of my dearest companion. She looks at me sadly, a smile shining through the pain as she struggles to speak. Her soft green eyes glitter with tears as I quiet her, but she whispers still. "I'm sorry, Neya," she whispers, and I bow my head over her hand. In this moment I am torn between letting her go and holding her to me… but like all other moments, it passes, and I know what I must do.
The poison makes her grimace and she presses a fist against her stomach, her bright emerald gaze crumpled like a waterlogged piece of paper. It has not been very long since she was poisoned, and the medics say that there is nothing they can do. They don't know what is killing her, and I dare not tell them. If they knew what was killing her we would both be dead. Karrie knows this, but it doesn't make the pain any easier.
"It's time," she sighs, and I nod. It has been "time" for a while now, but I can't seem to bring myself to do it. How does one send one's sister away without procrastinating the moment? Looking at her pain helps to clear my mind; her suffering helps prepare me for what I have to do.
"I release you, Karrie," I say quietly, and my voice cracks on her name. I feel cool tears against my warm cheeks and lips. A warm, electrical tingle grows on my arms and forehead as I gather the Force into myself. Like a syringe I pull everything that is Karrie into myself: the pain and her warm green smiling eyes and her life-energy flash into my body and mind, one long bittersweet moment of everything I had ever experienced with my sister. I could hold us together forever, keep her with me and watch the stars fade and cease their burning, and last an eternity… and then I release her into the Force, and the moment dissipates slowly, taking her away from me.
The bed is empty; the only things that remain are her clothes, and the necklace she always wore. The symbol for "peaceful mind" glints emerald green from the pillow. It is not safe here, but if I leave before I am ready, my world will shatter and pierce the essence of self within me. I lift the necklace and put it on. My hands shake as I tuck it beneath my collar.
A long moment passes, and suddenly I am ready. I rise from her bedside, but I take her memory with me. If I linger I will be killed, and for Karrie's sake I have to move on. The door whispers shut behind me as I leave, unnoticed and unannounced.
Jedi Master Donnet Kowe speaks to the four of us in secret. It has felt like forever since Karrie died, but in reality it has only been three days. I listen but only hear what he says every so often. I am introverted, peering inward for answers that no one else can give me, and everyone else knows this.
"The remaining Jedi should go undercover."
Sren Katth is the only Jedi that sits beside me. He is an old friend, and he seems to want to protect me. He touches my arm when the others aren't looking, and makes me feel something other than emptiness and loneliness.
"We will change our names, our jobs, and our appearances."
This won't be too hard. Karrie and I had always pretended to be different people; adopting a permanent identity was easy in comparison to the fluctuating identities.
"Our heritage should be preserved, and passed on to our children."
The other two Jedi protest at this, but Sren Katth stays quiet and observes. There is nothing wrong with Donnet Kowe's theory, at least from my numbed perspective, and their protests are quickly diminished. Donnet Kowe dismisses us shortly thereafter, and everyone except Sren Katth leaves.
His eyes are like tree bark, dark in color but bright in life and energy. "What's wrong?" he asks, sincerely.
"Karrie is dead." The words hurt my ears when I say them out loud. He touches my face and pulls me into his arms. It has been a while since I had someone comfort me, and a floodgate within releases.
After the tears, I feel just as empty, but it's a hopeful kind of emptiness. Sren takes my hand and kisses me, sweetly and gently.
I start to push him away but then realize that we're not Jedi anymore, and pull him closer. His lips taste sweet and bitter at the same time.
We sit together in our new apartment. This time it is happiness that gathers the tears in my eyes, clouding my vision. Srake Notte sits beside me, holding my hand, and the similarity between him and Jedi Sren Katth is faint. I look different too, my hair a pale gold and my eyes a somber hazel. Our children will look nothing like us as we are now, but they will be our children.
"It's so empty," he says, looking around at the sparse decorations.
"Once the wedding gifts are unpacked we will have enough." I smile and touch his soft cheek. His presence has filled most of the emptiness of my soul. He kisses my hand, long eyelashes darkening his sky blue eyes. I miss his brown eyes, but part of the Jedi code is that change is the one constant. I miss being a Jedi, too, but according to the Jedi code this too will pass.
The Corellian Jedi have been playing against the rules for some time now: they have been breeding their own children. Srake is angry when he hears this, but I am glad. It means that there are quite a few Force-sensitive children on Corellia, and if we are killed our children will have other Jedi nearby to show them the way.
Kieran Halcyon smiles as he introduces us to his son Irric, a stout young man with his father's winsome smile and brown eyes. He is almost fifteen now, and is Force-gifted. Kieran explains that he has not trained the boy in more than the rudimentary basics: just enough for his abilities to warn him if something is amiss.
"This is the best way," he explains. "Anyone looking at him will not see the potential because it is harnessed in a positive way." He beseeches us to train our children in the same fashion.
He receives a call from his work at Corellian Security and we must leave. He seems worried, as if something is amiss, but when we inquire he shrugs it off.
I sit beside Mayve Halcyon as she sobs, trying not to wince as each sob shakes her body. Kieran Halcyon is dead, a valiant last stand against a superior force. Somehow they discovered that he was a Jedi, and staged a scene at his office. I hold the fear from my voice as I tell her that she will have to change her name or they would come to kill her, too. A baby wails from the next room, but she makes no move to comfort it. Roget, on her other side, whispers soothing words and she clutches at him.
I go into the other room to quiet little Dennys. His tiny hands clutch at my fingers and he stops crying as I soothe him. Kieran's death has shaken me more than I let on, and I hold onto the crib as my knees weaken. What if it had been Sren-- Srake, I correct myself sternly, and the mis-name seems to bring my mind back to itself. As if responding to the dark thoughts in my mind, the unborn baby in my womb moves. All it takes is one mistake and I would destroy all that is precious to me.
Dennys sucks on his thumb as I hold him, swinging slowly back and forth and humming a little tune I learned at the Jedi Temple when I was little. Our children must learn their heritage somehow, although their gifts will probably surface on their own. Dennys has shown no talent yet, but it is still early.
Irric steps into the room as I hold his younger brother. "What's going on?" He asks, and comes over to touch Dennys. I am suddenly aware of how much I don't know about children. They are crafty and sneaky; he touches my arm and reads my surface mind, hears that his father has died.
He pulls away from me. "You lie!" He yells, anger shading his brown eyes.
"Irric," I begin, as Dennys begins to cry.
"He's not dead!" Irric rushes out of the room and finds his sobbing mother. Glass breaks as he hears the news from Rostek. The baby is inconsolable now, howling as if he knew what was wrong. I bring him into the other room and Mayve takes him.
Irric is seated beside Rostek, his head on the older man's shoulder. Glass is spread on the ground near his feet, and I'm not sure if he threw the glass physically or if he broke it with the Force. His eyes are shut, tears leaking from the corners every so often.
"Do you know how he died?" Rostek asks. He has been there with the family every step of the way. He is not Kieran's true brother, but he has spent so much time with them that he could be.
"Lightsaber wound," I reply softly. He looks down as if realizing that there is only one person that could kill a full-fledged Jedi with that Jedi weapon: Darth Vader. I don't know if he understands these implications, but he knows that something is amiss with this death.
"Thank you for telling us, Elyna," he says, and I know a dismissal when I hear one. I am glad to leave, and more glad to return to Srake and enjoy the fact that we both still live.
"A mandatory vaccine has been put into effect," Srake tells me. My blood runs cold and I collapse, Srake catching me with surprise. He holds my icy body and runs his hands through my hair, not understanding my reaction.
"It's just a vaccine, Elyna," he says, and I shake my head.
"They mean to kill us off," I squeak out, putting my head in my hands.
"What are you talking about?"
"This vaccine—I know what this is about. They mean to kill us!" I'm making no sense but my mind is racing too fast for the words.
"Calm down," he says commandingly, and presses his Force-energy into me, warming me and slowing my racing heart. "What is wrong, love? Tell me."
"This vaccine is what killed Karrie," I whisper. I haven't said her name in a long time. "The vaccine will kill our midichlorians like it did to Karrie."
"Are you sure?" He asks. He takes my head out of my hands and looks into my eyes. "You never told me what killed her." But he believes me, and shivers as he understands. "I have to tell the others."
They find us one cold night. We knew that our rebellion against the vaccine would not go unnoticed, but we didn't leave. We had gathered quite a following of Corellians that protested against the vaccine, but the victory was short-lived. They are coming to give us the vaccine.
Srake and I wake with the sudden thought that something is terribly wrong; he goes for our lightsabers while I go for two-year-old Annika in her crib. The bright red tone in her hair seems to echo the urgent anxiety in my mind as I pick her up and hush her.
Jedi Sren Katth appears at my side, soft hands pressing the familiar coolness of my lightsaber hilt into my palm. His eyes are still blue but the way he holds himself has changed. He kisses me fiercely, communicating wordless love and affection. I return the kiss, and as he pulls away I find myself filling with strength. We are a family, Jedi or not. We will stand strong for each other.
Sren wraps his arms around both of us, one last chance to enjoy the heritage we have created before we have to fight for it. The chain around Annika's neck has my sister's charm on it. In the charm is a message from Sren and me, a message explaining about the Jedi heritage. Annika smiles and touches Sren's cheek with her chubby hands, and my sight is overwhelmed with a Force-vision.
I look into my daughter's future and see a lonely journey into the darkness and a return to light. Her new name escapes my lips as I see her grow into an amazing young woman.
I return to myself when Annika shifts in my arms. I am filled with purpose now; I look at Sren and know that he has seen the same thing. We know what we must do.
I set Annika back down in her crib. Her wide eyes reflect the green of my lightsaber as I turn it on. She looks so much like Karrie that I have to look again.
Sren takes my elbow. "It's time." His blue eyes catch mine and we share one last moment of affection.
I nod. "Goodbye, Mara Jade." The baby coos as if in recognition of her name as Sren and I go to our destiny together, lightsabers blazing.