Disclaimer: This story is based up on material
created by George Lucas and owned by LucasFilm, Ltd.
It contains references to places, space craft, and
belief systems from the Star Wars saga. It contains
characters created by Lucas and other Star Wars
writers. The events depicted herein were created by
this writer as were certain original characters.
These events and characters are owned by this writer
as is this story. It may be freely redistributed or
reporduced as long as no alterations are made. The
characters created by the writer of this story may be
used only with permission.
Sisters by the Force
The mysterious two part adventure of Tionne, Callista,
Cilghal, and Tarissa, an interesting new character.
In search for Callista's powers, these 'sisters' will
explore Dathomir, the very existence of the Force
itself, and temptations of the Dark Side. Inspired by
new information about the Force in The Phantom Menace.
Title: Sisters By the Force
Chronology: 11 yrs after ROTJ; 3 after Children of the
Jedi, Darksaber, and Planet of Twilight.
Spoilers: Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, The Phantom
Menace (info but not events)
Author: Mike Milburn masterwindu@starwarsemail.com
Part 1 - Mystery at Dathomir
"Hard to see, the Dark Side is."
-Yoda
The holoprojector activated, revealing the pale
blue image of a woman that Tionne knew all too well.
Anxiety seemed to envelope Callista, the woman in the
recording, as she tried to gain holographic composure.
"Greetings, Tionne. I know it's hard for you to
look at me, to... hear me in Cray's body, but I - I
have to talk to you."
Tionne turned her face to Yavin 4's warm winds
and life's chilly memories. Cray Mingla had been a
friend, an apprentice at the Jedi praxeum, before she
gave up her body for Callista's soul on the Eye of
Palpatine. Now Callista used Cray's hands, Cray's
voice...
"You know... umm... what I'm going through right
now..." Callista's speech was jagged and heavy with
pauses. "I just - I just need some help. I'm getting
nowhere by myself. Unless I make a change... nothing
is going to happen."
She spoke her words as a plea, and Tionne knew
they were exactly that. When Callista's soul had
fused with Cray's body, she had become completely
isolated from the Force. She could not reach out with
her feelings, and no one could reach into her. Her
body was a blindspot, an absence of connection to the
Force. Tionne tried to grasp what that would be like
for herself, much less Callista, a former Jedi Knight.
"I need someone to come with me- to aid me, give
me guidance. I know you're thinking, 'Why not Luke?
He's a Jedi Master and the man you're in love with!'
but -" Callista stopped and clearly searched her heart
as best she could without the Force. "He's not a good
idea because I'm in love with him. When he's
around, it's just too tempting to use the Dark Side to
regain my powers."
Tionne certainly understood that. Love always
complicated things, especially in Callista's case.
Before she was robbed of the Force, Callista and
Master Skywalker had fallen in love on the Eye of
Palpatine while she was mysteriously trapped inside
the ship's computer. It wasn't the usual shallow love
that seemed to be plaguing the galaxy these days; it
was deeper, more intimate. Master Skywalker and
Callista had explored each other's souls as one in the
Force and had fallen into deeper caring than anyone
Tionne had ever known.
Callista's message continued with a conclusive
yet unsure tone, "I'm asking you to come with me and
help me with all your knowledge. You're the most
important Jedi historian in the New Republic; if
there's something I can know, you already do. It's
time to finally solve this problem and move on with
what's left of my life. I need your help." Callista
paused, just staring, before leaving Tionne with blunt
words - "Whatever you do, don't tell Luke about this.
It would just... complicate things - everything.
Ummm... if this is a bad idea... umm... just say so."
It's not, Tionne thought to herself. She may
not have possessed the power of a Padawan, but Tionne
truly had a Jedi heart.
******************************************************
The Blind Specter screamed through hyperspace
toward the gas giant of Yavin and the Jedi academy on
its fourth moon. The transport's lone pilot,
Callista, rested as she tried to organize a mass of
huddled thoughts. She wasn't sure about all this.
She wasn't sure about trusting Tionne.
Tionne and Luke worked closely at the academy.
It would be hard for her to keep something so
important from him. Not to mention, as a Jedi Master,
Luke was sure to pry.
He always pries, Callista thought to herself,
but she knew that was one of the things she loved
about him. That and his irrepressible spirit of
adventure that was so uncelebrated among the Jedi.
Luke...
How her heart burned to be with him, but she
reminded herself this burning could be made to fuel
the Dark Side. She despised the thought that for her,
even love led down the dark path.
Maybe that was an oxymoron, though. How could
love lead to the Dark Side? Maybe being with Luke
wouldn't be such a problem... Maybe they could solve
this together...
No, she told herself, reinforcing her most
important policy. She just couldn't be with Luke
right now. She remembered how the nightbats had
attacked them on Dagobah and how angry she had become.
She had focused her rage and pushed the creatures
away, freely utilizing the Force. She loved Luke so
much that she may do anything, even turn to the Dark
Side, to truly be with him. She simply could not risk
that.
"Approaching the planet Yavin," alerted the
monotonous, synthesized voice of the Specter's
computer as the ship rushed out of hyperspace. "Begin
the landing cycle?"
"No," Callista ordered. Tionne had agreed to
rendezvous in Yavin's surrounding space. Callista had
no intention of landing on a planet where her love
could be found.
So she waited.. and thought... and waited some
more...
"Permission to come aboard, Callista," Tionne's
voice rang over the ship's comlink. Callista was
relieved to finally welcome her new guide.
******************************************************
"And this is everything you've done?" Tionne
asked as she and Callista held a spontaneous planning
session.
Callista replied, "That's it," as though she was
awaiting judgment.
"Well we know what isn't working," Tionne
realized as she concentrated through her mind's vast
resources of Jedi knowledge. "Jedi training is
certainly not the answer."
Callista clearly agreed. "Right, I've already
been completely trained to the status of Jedi Knight.
I know how to do everything; I just... can't."
Ideas started making their way to Tionne.
"Maybe another type of training could help, though."
"What do you mean?" asked Callista. She looked
a bit shocked. "Not Sith training I hope."
Tionne let go a comforting chortle. "No, of
course not. I was thinking of something even more
different from Jedi."
"Like what?" Callista inquired.
"Well, there are several alternative ways of the
Force," Tionne explained. "We Jedi aren't the only
ones who know how to use it." She continued to scan
her mental libraries. "There's the Fallanassi... the
witches of Dathomir..."
"What?"
Tionne repeated, "The witches of Dathomir. They
descended from Allya, a fallen Jedi who was exiled
there. They utilize words, spells to tap into the
Force."
"How unusual," Callista observed. "Aren't they
evil?"
"Not most of them," Tionne answered. "Only the
Nightsister clan."
"I see," Callista said as she realized where
Tionne was headed with this. "Maybe my connection to
the Force isn't cut off in that way."
"Exactly, Callista," Tionne agreed. "Now, let's
set a new course."
******************************************************
The Blind Specter's black hull clashed with
the pale desert terrain of Dathomir as Callista
landed, not far from a Force witch clan stronghold.
Tionne looked about and located it a good distance
west. Callista and she boarded their speeder and set
out for the fortress.
"Will it take us long to get there?" Callista
wondered as Cray's long blonde hair flowed in the
wind.
Tionne smiled. "Not with your driving," she
teased.
The witch fortress grew bigger and bigger as
Callista increased her speed.
Screeeeeeeeeech! A mind numbing noise
suddenly pierced their fragile human hearing.
Callista released the steering controls to cover her
ears, and the speeder went on a wild, spinning
rampage. Tionne activated the brake, and the
transport spewed both of them to the dusty, desert
ground at the sudden stop.
"What's going on?" Callista screamed, hands
still over her ears.
As if in reply, fifty or so rancors galloped in,
carrying an equal number of women in strange clothes
and eerie decor. The woman in the very front had a
taller, greenish rancor and wielded a weird bone with
a painted yellow eye. Tionne knew at once this was
the leader. The woman uttered a few words, inaudible
over the maddening screeching noise, and it
immediately ceased.
"The witches of Dathomir," Tionne whispered,
stealing the opportunity of silence.
"We come in peace," Callista explained.
"Quiet, wretch!" one of the witches hissed.
"You're coming has already been foretold by the sister
Omi Ka!"
Callista was intrigued. "Then you know why
we've come?"
"We know all about your coming, Nightsister
spies!" The leader shouted, "You will not infiltrate
us so easily!"
Callista opened her mouth, but Tionne motioned
for her to hold back. "What is your name?" Tionne
asked the leader.
The leader was calm yet vindictive. "You know
very well that I am Nashirala."
"We know no such thing!" Callista bursted.
Nashirala shouted a spell, and the eye on her
bone unleashed golden lightening upon Callista.
Tionne's friend shrieked with pain.
Tionne quickly focused and redirected the
lightening away from Callista and on to lifeless
desert ground. "She's telling the truth, Nashirala."
A younger witch observed, "Look, she uses
speechless spells," in neither a positive nor negative
tone.
"More likely she whispers!" hissed a haggish old
woman.
"Can you prove that you have the power of
speechless spells?" Nashirala inquired with doubt.
"Yes," Tionne replied, radiant with confidence.
"Observe my lips. I speak no hex, for I am no witch
and certainly not a Nightsister." Tionne concentrated
and pushed some nearby grains of sand into a mid-air
dance.
At this, the witches realized these weren't the
Nightsister spies whose coming had been foretold, but
Nashirala did not sound any more trusting. "Why are
you here?" she asked.
Callista explained her plight to the witches of
Dathomir. Most of them were confused but sympathetic.
She added, "We think your way of the Force could help
me... maybe."
Nashirala was moved as well, though with less
emotion. "Come to our fortress," she invited. "We
will try to aid you there."
Immediately, a nearby tundra plant erupted into
purple fire. The hag-witch screamed, "The spies are
already among us! They have signaled an attack!"
Chaos enveloped the clan as a thundering herd of
Rancors appeared at the horizon. Nashirala beckoned
to Tionne, "Leave this place immediately if you value
your lives!" She motioned to the young witch who had
first recognized Tionne's unspoken Force powers.
"Tarissa, accompany them to their ship."
Tarissa was happy to do so. "Yes, mistress."
She paused in thought. "May I accompany them further,
into space I mean?"
Nashirala paused as well, trying to think among
the confusion of the pending battle. "Yes," she
decided. "Maybe you can help them."
******************************************************
Nashirala watched as the Jedis' starship
disappeared into hyperspace. Immediately, the purple
flame was extinguished, and the approaching
Nightsister army retreated.
Mona Te looked at her leader with wide eyes.
"What does it mean?"
Nashirala wasn't sure. All she knew was that
she had to find those Nightsister spies... those
damned Nightsister spies.
******************************************************
The Nightsister spy Tarissa concealed an inner
smile aboard the Jedis' ship as it entered hyperspace.
Now she could change her focus to revenge upon the
Jedi. They would pay for what they had done.
Years ago, before Tarissa went into espionage,
she enjoyed her life as a normal Nightsister with her
love slave, Ammahak, until a terrible army of sisters
from the Singing Mountain clan had attacked the
Nightsisters. One of the witches named Kirana Ti,
armed with powerful speechless spells the Jedi had
taught her, managed to free dear Ammahak, ending
Tarissa's happiness forever. The Nightsister had
vowed that the Jedi people would pay for Kirana Ti's
audacity.
Now these two Jedi would satisfy that debt.
Tarissa smiled, this time even physically. The one
known as Callista was already suffering. The revoking
of her powers had left her separated from her love, a
perfect parallel to Tarissa's wound. Callista would
be so gratifying to torture, already in a troubled
state.
And then there was Tionne, the historian.
"Amala tokreiyu," Tarissa whispered in sweet hatred.
The probing spell took its effect. Tionne was weak in
the Force. She would pose no threat. In fact, maybe
this weakness could be used in her punishment...
The pathetic Callista approached Tarissa with
shyness. "Umm... about helping me," she began, "how
effective do you think... umm... the spells will be?"
Tarissa assumed a mask of innocent ignorance.
"I don't know. I've never heard of this sort of
thing," she explained with dishonest cordiality. "I
guess no one has."
Callista looked slightly disappointed but
surprisingly strong for a Jedi. That could be
changed with time and effort...
"Maybe you should go into Callista's quarters
and get started," Tionne suggested.
Maybe you should cower in pain before my dark
might for even presuming to tell me what to do was
Tarissa's initial thought, but she realized Tionne's
idea was perfect for the first phase of revenge. "Of
course, Tionne."
Callista led the Nightsister to her meek room.
The place was clean and traditional for spacecraft,
void of decoration. How plain, Tarissa observed.
Callista sat and awaited further instructions.
Tarissa gave them: "Alright... I'm going to
teach you some spells and you repeat them and... we'll
see what happens." Tarissa raised her staff upright.
It was magnificent: a sturdy wooden rod that blended
perfectly into a lizard's tail at the end. There were
no signs of separation; it was positively organic. At
the widest part of the lizard's tail, an imperfect
corusca gem was embedded. Tarissa had infused her
staff with Force powers using a spell she learned from
pathetic Nashirala herself.
She unleashed a neutrally dark spell. "Ashim
rashek toleva," she spoke with purposeful
intimidation. Callista's humble quarters erupted in
wind.
Callista looked amazed, as though she had never
seen a spell before. "Okay," she said and prepared
herself to try the hex. "Ashim rashek toleva."
Nothing happened. Tarissa smiled. "Try again,
Callista," she suggested. This was going to be good.
Callista delayed, apparently trying to utilize
Jedi techniques as well. "Ashim rashek toleva."
This time Callista's spell was accompanied by
Tarissa's dark whisper. Tarissa's wind filled the
room, but powerless Callista thought it belonged to
her.
Pitiful tears of bliss filled her wretched Jedi
eyes. She was speechless at the final retrieval of
her lost connection to the Force. How delicious it
would be when this elation would serve as Callista's
sorrow.
"Ashim rashek toleva," she repeated. The wind
followed Tarissa's matching whisper. "Ashim rashek
toleva," Callista said it again. The wind came.
"Ashim rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva." The wind
sped up with Tarissa's accompanying words, dancing
before Callista's eyes. The Jedi cast again, "Ashim
rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva! Ashim rashek
toleva!"
The wind did not come, not even a consoling
breeze, as Tarissa cut off her help. Callista's glee
transformed into the desired terror. "What happened?"
she shrieked.
It was time for that playfully false innocence
again. "I don't know! It's just - it's just stopped
working! It - it must have been temporary."
"No!" Callista yelled. "Ashim rashek toleva!"
She screamed it, harder, fiercer. "Ashim rashek
toleva! ASHIM RASHEK TOLEVA!" Callista tore out of
the room, a chaos of tears and torture.
Revenge phase one... complete.
******************************************************
Tionne's door burst open, revealing Callista in
a sudden rage of sorrow.
"She tried, Tionne" Callista screamed in tears.
"It was working, but then- then-" She couldn't say
more; it was too painful. She just sobbed in Tionne's
arms.
"It's okay, Callista," Tionne tried to console.
"Just let it all out." It pained Tionne to see
Callista like this. It pained her almost enough
too...
"Callista, there's something I haven't told
you."
Callista looked up at her in confused sadness.
"What? Why?"
Tionne's reply was a look that signified more
danger in the Force than the Dark Side would ever
dare, at the very threshold of existence.
Be sure to read Part 1.
created by George Lucas and owned by LucasFilm, Ltd.
It contains references to places, space craft, and
belief systems from the Star Wars saga. It contains
characters created by Lucas and other Star Wars
writers. The events depicted herein were created by
this writer as were certain original characters.
These events and characters are owned by this writer
as is this story. It may be freely redistributed or
reporduced as long as no alterations are made. The
characters created by the writer of this story may be
used only with permission.
Sisters by the Force
The mysterious two part adventure of Tionne, Callista,
Cilghal, and Tarissa, an interesting new character.
In search for Callista's powers, these 'sisters' will
explore Dathomir, the very existence of the Force
itself, and temptations of the Dark Side. Inspired by
new information about the Force in The Phantom Menace.
Title: Sisters By the Force
Chronology: 11 yrs after ROTJ; 3 after Children of the
Jedi, Darksaber, and Planet of Twilight.
Spoilers: Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, The Phantom
Menace (info but not events)
Author: Mike Milburn masterwindu@starwarsemail.com
Part 1 - Mystery at Dathomir
"Hard to see, the Dark Side is."
-Yoda
The holoprojector activated, revealing the pale
blue image of a woman that Tionne knew all too well.
Anxiety seemed to envelope Callista, the woman in the
recording, as she tried to gain holographic composure.
"Greetings, Tionne. I know it's hard for you to
look at me, to... hear me in Cray's body, but I - I
have to talk to you."
Tionne turned her face to Yavin 4's warm winds
and life's chilly memories. Cray Mingla had been a
friend, an apprentice at the Jedi praxeum, before she
gave up her body for Callista's soul on the Eye of
Palpatine. Now Callista used Cray's hands, Cray's
voice...
"You know... umm... what I'm going through right
now..." Callista's speech was jagged and heavy with
pauses. "I just - I just need some help. I'm getting
nowhere by myself. Unless I make a change... nothing
is going to happen."
She spoke her words as a plea, and Tionne knew
they were exactly that. When Callista's soul had
fused with Cray's body, she had become completely
isolated from the Force. She could not reach out with
her feelings, and no one could reach into her. Her
body was a blindspot, an absence of connection to the
Force. Tionne tried to grasp what that would be like
for herself, much less Callista, a former Jedi Knight.
"I need someone to come with me- to aid me, give
me guidance. I know you're thinking, 'Why not Luke?
He's a Jedi Master and the man you're in love with!'
but -" Callista stopped and clearly searched her heart
as best she could without the Force. "He's not a good
idea because I'm in love with him. When he's
around, it's just too tempting to use the Dark Side to
regain my powers."
Tionne certainly understood that. Love always
complicated things, especially in Callista's case.
Before she was robbed of the Force, Callista and
Master Skywalker had fallen in love on the Eye of
Palpatine while she was mysteriously trapped inside
the ship's computer. It wasn't the usual shallow love
that seemed to be plaguing the galaxy these days; it
was deeper, more intimate. Master Skywalker and
Callista had explored each other's souls as one in the
Force and had fallen into deeper caring than anyone
Tionne had ever known.
Callista's message continued with a conclusive
yet unsure tone, "I'm asking you to come with me and
help me with all your knowledge. You're the most
important Jedi historian in the New Republic; if
there's something I can know, you already do. It's
time to finally solve this problem and move on with
what's left of my life. I need your help." Callista
paused, just staring, before leaving Tionne with blunt
words - "Whatever you do, don't tell Luke about this.
It would just... complicate things - everything.
Ummm... if this is a bad idea... umm... just say so."
It's not, Tionne thought to herself. She may
not have possessed the power of a Padawan, but Tionne
truly had a Jedi heart.
******************************************************
The Blind Specter screamed through hyperspace
toward the gas giant of Yavin and the Jedi academy on
its fourth moon. The transport's lone pilot,
Callista, rested as she tried to organize a mass of
huddled thoughts. She wasn't sure about all this.
She wasn't sure about trusting Tionne.
Tionne and Luke worked closely at the academy.
It would be hard for her to keep something so
important from him. Not to mention, as a Jedi Master,
Luke was sure to pry.
He always pries, Callista thought to herself,
but she knew that was one of the things she loved
about him. That and his irrepressible spirit of
adventure that was so uncelebrated among the Jedi.
Luke...
How her heart burned to be with him, but she
reminded herself this burning could be made to fuel
the Dark Side. She despised the thought that for her,
even love led down the dark path.
Maybe that was an oxymoron, though. How could
love lead to the Dark Side? Maybe being with Luke
wouldn't be such a problem... Maybe they could solve
this together...
No, she told herself, reinforcing her most
important policy. She just couldn't be with Luke
right now. She remembered how the nightbats had
attacked them on Dagobah and how angry she had become.
She had focused her rage and pushed the creatures
away, freely utilizing the Force. She loved Luke so
much that she may do anything, even turn to the Dark
Side, to truly be with him. She simply could not risk
that.
"Approaching the planet Yavin," alerted the
monotonous, synthesized voice of the Specter's
computer as the ship rushed out of hyperspace. "Begin
the landing cycle?"
"No," Callista ordered. Tionne had agreed to
rendezvous in Yavin's surrounding space. Callista had
no intention of landing on a planet where her love
could be found.
So she waited.. and thought... and waited some
more...
"Permission to come aboard, Callista," Tionne's
voice rang over the ship's comlink. Callista was
relieved to finally welcome her new guide.
******************************************************
"And this is everything you've done?" Tionne
asked as she and Callista held a spontaneous planning
session.
Callista replied, "That's it," as though she was
awaiting judgment.
"Well we know what isn't working," Tionne
realized as she concentrated through her mind's vast
resources of Jedi knowledge. "Jedi training is
certainly not the answer."
Callista clearly agreed. "Right, I've already
been completely trained to the status of Jedi Knight.
I know how to do everything; I just... can't."
Ideas started making their way to Tionne.
"Maybe another type of training could help, though."
"What do you mean?" asked Callista. She looked
a bit shocked. "Not Sith training I hope."
Tionne let go a comforting chortle. "No, of
course not. I was thinking of something even more
different from Jedi."
"Like what?" Callista inquired.
"Well, there are several alternative ways of the
Force," Tionne explained. "We Jedi aren't the only
ones who know how to use it." She continued to scan
her mental libraries. "There's the Fallanassi... the
witches of Dathomir..."
"What?"
Tionne repeated, "The witches of Dathomir. They
descended from Allya, a fallen Jedi who was exiled
there. They utilize words, spells to tap into the
Force."
"How unusual," Callista observed. "Aren't they
evil?"
"Not most of them," Tionne answered. "Only the
Nightsister clan."
"I see," Callista said as she realized where
Tionne was headed with this. "Maybe my connection to
the Force isn't cut off in that way."
"Exactly, Callista," Tionne agreed. "Now, let's
set a new course."
******************************************************
The Blind Specter's black hull clashed with
the pale desert terrain of Dathomir as Callista
landed, not far from a Force witch clan stronghold.
Tionne looked about and located it a good distance
west. Callista and she boarded their speeder and set
out for the fortress.
"Will it take us long to get there?" Callista
wondered as Cray's long blonde hair flowed in the
wind.
Tionne smiled. "Not with your driving," she
teased.
The witch fortress grew bigger and bigger as
Callista increased her speed.
Screeeeeeeeeech! A mind numbing noise
suddenly pierced their fragile human hearing.
Callista released the steering controls to cover her
ears, and the speeder went on a wild, spinning
rampage. Tionne activated the brake, and the
transport spewed both of them to the dusty, desert
ground at the sudden stop.
"What's going on?" Callista screamed, hands
still over her ears.
As if in reply, fifty or so rancors galloped in,
carrying an equal number of women in strange clothes
and eerie decor. The woman in the very front had a
taller, greenish rancor and wielded a weird bone with
a painted yellow eye. Tionne knew at once this was
the leader. The woman uttered a few words, inaudible
over the maddening screeching noise, and it
immediately ceased.
"The witches of Dathomir," Tionne whispered,
stealing the opportunity of silence.
"We come in peace," Callista explained.
"Quiet, wretch!" one of the witches hissed.
"You're coming has already been foretold by the sister
Omi Ka!"
Callista was intrigued. "Then you know why
we've come?"
"We know all about your coming, Nightsister
spies!" The leader shouted, "You will not infiltrate
us so easily!"
Callista opened her mouth, but Tionne motioned
for her to hold back. "What is your name?" Tionne
asked the leader.
The leader was calm yet vindictive. "You know
very well that I am Nashirala."
"We know no such thing!" Callista bursted.
Nashirala shouted a spell, and the eye on her
bone unleashed golden lightening upon Callista.
Tionne's friend shrieked with pain.
Tionne quickly focused and redirected the
lightening away from Callista and on to lifeless
desert ground. "She's telling the truth, Nashirala."
A younger witch observed, "Look, she uses
speechless spells," in neither a positive nor negative
tone.
"More likely she whispers!" hissed a haggish old
woman.
"Can you prove that you have the power of
speechless spells?" Nashirala inquired with doubt.
"Yes," Tionne replied, radiant with confidence.
"Observe my lips. I speak no hex, for I am no witch
and certainly not a Nightsister." Tionne concentrated
and pushed some nearby grains of sand into a mid-air
dance.
At this, the witches realized these weren't the
Nightsister spies whose coming had been foretold, but
Nashirala did not sound any more trusting. "Why are
you here?" she asked.
Callista explained her plight to the witches of
Dathomir. Most of them were confused but sympathetic.
She added, "We think your way of the Force could help
me... maybe."
Nashirala was moved as well, though with less
emotion. "Come to our fortress," she invited. "We
will try to aid you there."
Immediately, a nearby tundra plant erupted into
purple fire. The hag-witch screamed, "The spies are
already among us! They have signaled an attack!"
Chaos enveloped the clan as a thundering herd of
Rancors appeared at the horizon. Nashirala beckoned
to Tionne, "Leave this place immediately if you value
your lives!" She motioned to the young witch who had
first recognized Tionne's unspoken Force powers.
"Tarissa, accompany them to their ship."
Tarissa was happy to do so. "Yes, mistress."
She paused in thought. "May I accompany them further,
into space I mean?"
Nashirala paused as well, trying to think among
the confusion of the pending battle. "Yes," she
decided. "Maybe you can help them."
******************************************************
Nashirala watched as the Jedis' starship
disappeared into hyperspace. Immediately, the purple
flame was extinguished, and the approaching
Nightsister army retreated.
Mona Te looked at her leader with wide eyes.
"What does it mean?"
Nashirala wasn't sure. All she knew was that
she had to find those Nightsister spies... those
damned Nightsister spies.
******************************************************
The Nightsister spy Tarissa concealed an inner
smile aboard the Jedis' ship as it entered hyperspace.
Now she could change her focus to revenge upon the
Jedi. They would pay for what they had done.
Years ago, before Tarissa went into espionage,
she enjoyed her life as a normal Nightsister with her
love slave, Ammahak, until a terrible army of sisters
from the Singing Mountain clan had attacked the
Nightsisters. One of the witches named Kirana Ti,
armed with powerful speechless spells the Jedi had
taught her, managed to free dear Ammahak, ending
Tarissa's happiness forever. The Nightsister had
vowed that the Jedi people would pay for Kirana Ti's
audacity.
Now these two Jedi would satisfy that debt.
Tarissa smiled, this time even physically. The one
known as Callista was already suffering. The revoking
of her powers had left her separated from her love, a
perfect parallel to Tarissa's wound. Callista would
be so gratifying to torture, already in a troubled
state.
And then there was Tionne, the historian.
"Amala tokreiyu," Tarissa whispered in sweet hatred.
The probing spell took its effect. Tionne was weak in
the Force. She would pose no threat. In fact, maybe
this weakness could be used in her punishment...
The pathetic Callista approached Tarissa with
shyness. "Umm... about helping me," she began, "how
effective do you think... umm... the spells will be?"
Tarissa assumed a mask of innocent ignorance.
"I don't know. I've never heard of this sort of
thing," she explained with dishonest cordiality. "I
guess no one has."
Callista looked slightly disappointed but
surprisingly strong for a Jedi. That could be
changed with time and effort...
"Maybe you should go into Callista's quarters
and get started," Tionne suggested.
Maybe you should cower in pain before my dark
might for even presuming to tell me what to do was
Tarissa's initial thought, but she realized Tionne's
idea was perfect for the first phase of revenge. "Of
course, Tionne."
Callista led the Nightsister to her meek room.
The place was clean and traditional for spacecraft,
void of decoration. How plain, Tarissa observed.
Callista sat and awaited further instructions.
Tarissa gave them: "Alright... I'm going to
teach you some spells and you repeat them and... we'll
see what happens." Tarissa raised her staff upright.
It was magnificent: a sturdy wooden rod that blended
perfectly into a lizard's tail at the end. There were
no signs of separation; it was positively organic. At
the widest part of the lizard's tail, an imperfect
corusca gem was embedded. Tarissa had infused her
staff with Force powers using a spell she learned from
pathetic Nashirala herself.
She unleashed a neutrally dark spell. "Ashim
rashek toleva," she spoke with purposeful
intimidation. Callista's humble quarters erupted in
wind.
Callista looked amazed, as though she had never
seen a spell before. "Okay," she said and prepared
herself to try the hex. "Ashim rashek toleva."
Nothing happened. Tarissa smiled. "Try again,
Callista," she suggested. This was going to be good.
Callista delayed, apparently trying to utilize
Jedi techniques as well. "Ashim rashek toleva."
This time Callista's spell was accompanied by
Tarissa's dark whisper. Tarissa's wind filled the
room, but powerless Callista thought it belonged to
her.
Pitiful tears of bliss filled her wretched Jedi
eyes. She was speechless at the final retrieval of
her lost connection to the Force. How delicious it
would be when this elation would serve as Callista's
sorrow.
"Ashim rashek toleva," she repeated. The wind
followed Tarissa's matching whisper. "Ashim rashek
toleva," Callista said it again. The wind came.
"Ashim rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva." The wind
sped up with Tarissa's accompanying words, dancing
before Callista's eyes. The Jedi cast again, "Ashim
rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva! Ashim rashek
toleva!"
The wind did not come, not even a consoling
breeze, as Tarissa cut off her help. Callista's glee
transformed into the desired terror. "What happened?"
she shrieked.
It was time for that playfully false innocence
again. "I don't know! It's just - it's just stopped
working! It - it must have been temporary."
"No!" Callista yelled. "Ashim rashek toleva!"
She screamed it, harder, fiercer. "Ashim rashek
toleva! ASHIM RASHEK TOLEVA!" Callista tore out of
the room, a chaos of tears and torture.
Revenge phase one... complete.
******************************************************
Tionne's door burst open, revealing Callista in
a sudden rage of sorrow.
"She tried, Tionne" Callista screamed in tears.
"It was working, but then- then-" She couldn't say
more; it was too painful. She just sobbed in Tionne's
arms.
"It's okay, Callista," Tionne tried to console.
"Just let it all out." It pained Tionne to see
Callista like this. It pained her almost enough
too...
"Callista, there's something I haven't told
you."
Callista looked up at her in confused sadness.
"What? Why?"
Tionne's reply was a look that signified more
danger in the Force than the Dark Side would ever
dare, at the very threshold of existence.
Be sure to read Part 1.