Author: Aloysius (aka Elizabeth Wilde)
Title: Rebirth
Series: The Hurst'e'a Saga
Distribution: Anyone who has my fic, anyone who wants it and asks,
.net/wilde [my site]
Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Wars chars. The original ones, however, are mine, MINE!, ALL MINE! So there :P
'Ship: Luke/OFC
Classification: general, romance
Summary: Luke falls for the newest arrival to the academy.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: nope
Completed: 2000 or 2001, I believe
Luke Skywalker watched with interest as the transport ship set down in front of his academy. /One being . . . a woman./ He wondered absently who was piloting the vessel. /We'll find out soon enough./ All sixteen of his students were deployed in the Yavin jungle training. Tionne had insisted that she was more than ready to teach a couple of lessons on her own. /I suppose I'll have to play host all by myself./
The gangplank slowly hissed to the ground. From inside the ship, a faint blue light glowed. A tall woman with long mahogany-colored hair and piercing gray eyes descended to meet him. A smile played on her full, dark red lips, which made her almost-white skin look all the paler. A black half-cloak partially concealed her midriff-baring green top and golden yellow pants. A nasty scar ran from her right eyebrow to just below the eye. "Greetings!"
"Welcome to Yavin," Luke greeted her. "How can I help you?"
"Well, if you're the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, I'm looking for you."
Luke inclined his head. "That's me."
The woman nodded pleasantly. "Good, then. My name is Lucillia Ba'a'ru. I have some letters I thought you might be interested in."
"Letters?"
"Yeah. Come on aboard." She disappeared back into the ship. "Come on! I don't bite... well, not so soon after meeting someone."
Her laugh reminded Luke uncomfortably of the sound a kyldrake made before devouring its prey. "Coming." Though his senses revealed nothing out-of-the ordinary about Lucillia, she made him distinctly uneasy. Luke found her bending over a crate, long braid swinging as she dug through the sundry junk.
"Here!" She emerged triumphant, a pile of paper clutched in her hand. "They were left to me when my grandmother died." Lucillia sounded wistful as she spoke of the late queen. "I never really knew her. Anyway, I thought you would appreciate them."
"Why is that?" Luke asked as he accepted the bundle.
"Check out who they're from," she suggested.
Scrawled at the bottom of the top letter was "Yours forever, Obi-Wan." Luke's eyes widened. "How did they know each other?"
"Apparently they were in love. But gram's marriage messed it up. Or so I gather." She smiled at the Jedi. "You like?"
"Yes. I only got to know Ben-Obi-Wan-for such a short time. It would be nice to know more."
"It's all in there. And I doubt anybody else knows about it, certainly no one living. So. I'm off, then." Lucillia headed for the cockpit, boots clanking on the floor.
"Wait!" /Now why did I say that?/ "Before you leave, would you like to test? Maybe you belong in the academy."
"Of course I do!" A merry smile stretched across her face. "I've known that for years. But I'm a pilot. Wielding a lightsaber won't change that, Master Skywalker."
"You sound like Han."
She bowed. "General Solo is a great man. I could do worse."
"True. But if you have the potential-"
"I really just don't t think it's the life for me." At the same time, her eyes challenged him. She wanted to stay, but she wasn't going to make it easy.
"Try." Luke grinned. "For gram?"
"How underhanded of you!" The defiance left her eyes and she laughed. "Fine. Sign me up-for awhile."
"Wonderful. Come on, I'll find you a room." A bemused Lucillia followed Luke out of the ship. "The other cadets will return soon. I'm sure you'll all get along beautifully. They're a great bunch."
"I'm sure they are." Lucillia smiled to herself. She could sense Luke's excitement easily. /Guess not many people feel the urge to drop their lives to learn how to levitate rocks./ "I look forward to meeting them."
"The letters... Have you read all of them?"
They entered the fixed-up Massassi temple that served as the academy's main building. Though Lucillia had expected the air inside to be dusty and stagnant, it instead seemed fresh and clear, fairly shimmering with power. "No, I haven't. I felt... odd. They are hers, ya know? Maybe I can come read over your shoulder."
The Jedi Master grinned. "Of course you can. I wouldn't even have the letters without you, Lucillia."
"Oh, you can call me Cill. All my friends do."
Suddenly they heard a tinkling laugh coming from the entrance. "Master Skywalker, I've managed to break my ankle."
"Again," another female voice added quietly.
The injured woman hobbled into view. If it had been possible with her lilac-hued skin, the girl would have been blushing. Her dark eyes sparkled with mirth despite her injury, and Lucillia noted the patch of darker purple scales across the cadet's forehead, along with the small tattoo beside her left eye. "Oh!" she said, finally seeing Lucillia. "Hi. My name's L'a Ru."
"I'm Lucillia. Call me Cill. Is the ankle bad?"
"No worse than the last time," Luke answered for her. "Come on, I'll bind it for you." Supporting the girl's weight, Luke guided L'a into an adjoining room.
Another girl, this one with flowing silvery hair and striking mother-of-pearl eyes, held out her hand. "I'm Tionne." She gestured to the fair-haired, blue-eyed young man beside her. "This is Xavier Diara." The man waved shyly.
"Hi! I guess we'll be getting to know each other pretty well. Master Skywalker has managed to recruit me."
"Good, then." Tionne put an arm around Lucillia's shoulder. "Has Master Skywalker found you a room yet?"
"No, we were working on that."
"I can handle it. There's an empty room next to mine. I'm sure that's where you were headed."
Lucillia smiled at the cadet. "Whatever you say."
The next day, Lucillia began her training. They started out in the audience chamber, where Luke led the cadets through a simple relaxation exercise. Lucillia learned how to put herself in a death-like regenerative trance. /That could be useful after a long night flying./ "Outside, everybody!"
The cadets obediently filed out of the temple. Tionne came up from behind Lucillia. "Hello again. Sleep well?"
"Yeah. Not used to being away from Innocent-that's my ship-but I was very comfortable. I'm not sure about these Jedi robes, though." Lucillia tugged absently at the rough brown fabric.
"You'll get used to them, I promise. Anymore I feel naked without them."
"I suppose you're right." /I'll be getting used to a lot of things./
After the day's training and the evening meal were over, Luke caught up with Lucillia on her way back to her room. "Care to go over the letters? I thought it might be a pleasant way to end the day."
"Sure." As they walked toward the Jedi Master's quarters, Lucillia shed her robes. "Much better." Underneath she wore the tight green tummy top and an equally form-fitting pair of black pants. Every ample curve was outlined perfectly. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all." /Boy, do I ever not mind.../
"So, what do I call you when we're off duty, so to speak?"
"Luke is fine. I swear sometimes my own sister acts like she wants to call me Master Skywalker."
Lucillia shrugged. "It's a big part of who you are. And people respect it."
"Still, it's nice to have someone want to just know *me* every now and then." He opened the door to his room. "Welcome to my little corner of the academy."
The room contained only a cot identical to those in every cadet's room and a small set of shelves containing a few books. "Nice." She threw herself down on the foot of the bed and patted the spot beside her. "Let's get started."
Luke grabbed the packet of letters from the topmost shelf and sat down, very conscious of the attractive young woman beside him. The last women woman who had been in his quarters was Callista. It felt like an eternity since she had left him to rediscover herself. /Forever . . . or maybe that's just because I miss her./ Luke had loved the Jedi woman deeply, but her lost Force abilities had created a gulf between them nothing could fill. /So she left./
"Hey, you okay, Luke?" Lucillia rested her hand lightly on the Jedi's forearm.
Luke blinked suddenly-blurry cerulean eyes and smiled wanly. "Just thinking about the past."
"Old girlfriend. Don't worry, I understand. Now, let's read some depressing love letters to make you feel better."
He smiled in earnest and unfolded the first yellowing piece of paper. "Sounds like a plan." Luke decided not to mention that she still had her hand on his arm. "Dear Adia, I was surprised to get your letter. After you left, I never thought I would hear from you again. I am glad you wrote. You have no idea how happy it made me to see your name at the bottom of that letter."
Lucillia took over. "And Love. You signed it Love. I could almost hear you speak the word as I read it. How I long to hear you speak it! Do you still feel as you did that night in the garden? I do. I think of you constantly. I will not say more now. Not until I hear from you. Yours forever, Obi-Wan."
"I had no idea . . ."
"Funny how little we really know about people sometimes," Lucillia agreed. "Gram always seemed like such a proper little old lady. Here I find she had an affair. With the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi, no less. At least she had some taste."
"I suppose everyone has secrets."
"Yeah. Some just run a little deeper than others. Wanna read more, or should we call it a night?"
"Let's save the rest for another day. Besides, you're going to need some rest for training tomorrow," he teased.
Lucillia groaned and stood up. "I can hardly wait."
Before going into her own room, Lucillia knocked on Tionne's door. "Can I come in for a minute?"
The cadet's musical voice called out, "Of course, Cill!"
Lucillia stepped inside and glanced around the sparsely-furnished room that was nearly identical to her own. "Thanks. I just... want to ask you about something." She sat down on the cot beside Tionne.
"Someone. Master Skywalker."
"I thought you said you aren't very Force-sensitive."
"I'm not. You're just extremely obvious," the woman replied lightly.
"Ah." Lucillia looked down nervously at her hands. "I wanted to ask about..."
"Callista."
At the sound of the woman's name, Lucillia looked up. "Yes."
"Alright. I was here when she first arrived." Long, slender fingers knotted together, then released. "I only have sketchy details about her past. Callista was a Jedi. Somehow her essence became trapped inside the main computer of the Eye of Palpatine, an Imperial droid ship. While Master Skywalker was aboard, they fell in love. Her spirit was later transferred into Cray's body." Lucillia sensed an upwelling of emotion at the mention of Cray's name. "Cray was one of the students here. She... she was killed. Before she died, she asked Callista to use her body.
"Everything seemed perfect, except for one. Somehow after the transfer, Callista was blindfolded to the Force. It was as if she didn't even exist in the Force. But she came back with Master Skywalker and stayed here for awhile. The whole time, they searched for a way to reawaken her abilities. Nothing worked. Finally Callista left. For a long time, Master Skywalker believed her to be dead. Eventually she sent a message capsule saying it wasn't fair to either of them, her staying. She promised to come back once she rediscovered her connection to the Force and told him she loved him. He got another message a couple of years ago warning him about a mission."
"And no word since?" Lucillia could hear the sorrow in Tionne's voice. /If even she feels bad about it, how must Luke feel?/ The thought of his long, thankless vigil touched her heart.
"No word. Nothing... but she promised to return. Sometimes," the cadet hesitated, "sometimes I think Master Skywalker has trouble believing that."
"Who wouldn't? I had no idea it was so bad. I mean, I knew he'd gotten dumped, but... losing your true love is way beyond that." Despite a sudden tug on her heartstrings, Lucillia refused to think about her own romantic past.
"You've experienced it." Tionne put her arm around Lucillia. "Sometimes a broken heart needs another broken heart to help it heal."
The next night Luke and Lucillia met again in his quarters. She thanked whatever gods were listening that she had kept herself in good physical condition; the training would have had her unconscious already otherwise. "I've never run so much in my entire life. I'll be feelin' it tomorrow." She tugged the pins out of her bun and let the dark tresses fall free, accenting her pale porcelain skin.
"I meant to ask you before, where did you get that scar?" Luke indicated the faint line across her right eye.
"Oh! A vibroblade that moved a bit faster than my dagger. Should have known better than to trust that Corellian harlot to keep it a fair fight. I won in the end, though. Let her go and took her ship as a reward."
The pride in Lucillia's voice and face reminded the Jedi Master so strongly of Han that he laughed out loud. "And that's where Innocent came from?"
"Yep. And now she's all mine. Nobody else could figure out the wiring except me anyway." Lucillia plucked the top letter from the pile and handed it to Luke. "You first."
"Yes, Master Cill. Let's see... Dear Adia, Master Qui-Gon discovered your letters yesterday. Only two, but he seemed worried. He does not want them found by someone less willing to overlook them. I told him I could care less what anyone else thinks. I refuse to let it touch your life. You have obligations. If the letters are all I may ever have of you, so be it."
"Congratulations on the baby. I know you will be a wonderful mother," Lucillia read softly, the sadness behind the words obvious despite Obi-Wan's attempt at cheer. "I can picture you holding him. I know you must have glowed during the pregnancy. You always glowed.
"I wish we could have made it work, that the baby were truly ours. But he isn't, is he? In my heart, I will always be with you. With both of you. In another life... I love you. Obi-Wan." Lucillia bit her lip and fought back tears. "The baby was my father." /And the baby's father?/ a voice within her asked. /Do you know your family so well as you think?/
Luke seemed to catch the thought as well, but asked instead, "Why is it that you aren't ruling your planet right now? If your grandmother was queen-"
"After the Emperor came into power, he took over Umdalla and all the surrounding planets." Lucillia shrugged. "Once father died, ruling lost any importance to me, so I never stepped forward to claim leadership even after the New Republic came into power. Re-taking the planet was his dream. It was not my path. Piloting satisfied my wanderlust, so I stuck with it."
Luke smiled at that. "I used to have stars in my eyes too. Ben gave me what I needed to follow my dreams."
"Maybe so that you could succeed where he had failed."
"Maybe..." /Maybe waiting isn't always a good idea. Ben waited for Aida, and what did it get him? Alone in the middle of the dessert of Tatooine./ "It's hard to learn from other people's mistakes sometimes, though."
"Sometimes we have to screw up for ourselves before we learn anything from it." Her thoughts turned inward again, back to the question of her lineage. "Maybe... Luke, do you think that Obi-Wan might be my grandfather? I mean, I know we don't even know if he and gram saw each other after she left, but if they did-"
"It's possible. Anything is possible." He smiled at her and wished he could help somehow. "Perhaps someday the answer will find you."
L'a Ru was meditating by herself when Lucillia walked by the door to her quarters. "Hey. How's the ankle?" It felt good to focus on someone else's problem instead of the nagging questions that seemed to be eating up her thoughts.
"Almost there. Still a little sore... but it's healing." Coal black eyes seemed to absorb all the nearby light. "How were your first few days?"
"Good. Tiring." She stretched out her tired arms and let the muscles relax. Somehow even the slight soreness was a welcome sensation.
The bell-like laugh Lucillia remembered from her first day sounded. "And you're loving every moment."
"I am. I feel like I belong here more than anywhere before."
"You do! I sense it. Master Skywalker says I have great potential. I hope he's right. But he always is. How do you like him?"
Lucillia hesitated for only a moment. "Seems like a really great guy. I'd like to get to know him better." /Maybe a lot better./ Blushing suddenly, Lucillia forced the thought back.
"You should. The longer I stay the nicer he gets. He doesn't even make fun of me for getting injured so often." The girl leaned forward and patted Lucillia's hand. "I'm glad you came. Somehow . . . we need you."
They both noted an approaching presence at the same time. "Lu-er, master Skywalker's coming."
The man in question poked his head around the door. "Hello, you two. The ankle is improving... good. We've missed having you around." His ice blue eyes focused on Lucillia. "Ready?"
"Sure am. I'll come see you again tomorrow, L'a."
"I'd like that," the injured cadet replied. "Have fun." When Luke turned away, she winked, giggled and whispered, "Lots of fun."
As Lucillia took her customary spot beside Luke, she became suddenly serious. "Thank you." None of her usual flippant manner seemed to color the words.
"For what?"
She sighed. So much had changed in the short time since her arrival. Even her background was a subject suddenly new. "For getting me to stay here. Piloting always filled my needs, but training here has opened up parts of myself I never even knew existed. I just needed to tell you how much it's meant to me."
He clasped her hand, eyes shining. "You have no idea how much that means to me. I think the credit for keeping you here might better be given to Adia and Obi-Wan, though."
"Maybe. But I'd rather thank you."
Something in her eyes made Luke suddenly uncomfortable, so he pulled out a letter. "Shall we begin?"
After a few months of training, Lucillia constructed her own lightsaber: pure silver handle, blue stone controls and a teal blade. She waved the Jedi weapon back and forth experimentally. It felt light in her hands, almost as if it were an extension of her arm rather than a mere weapon.
"Now you must learn how to use it." Luke grinned, then drew a remote from an inside pocket. "Try this. First without a blindfold."
"Whatever you say." Lucillia took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. /Relax. Feel the Force./ She watched as the remote hovered in front of her. A small jolt went through Lucillia. She brought up her lightsaber just in time to deflect the numbing bolt of energy. The process repeated several times before Luke stepped forward again.
"Good. Now blindfolded." Luke tied a scrap of black material firmly around Lucillia's eyes. "Ready?"
"Yes." It took a moment longer to center herself with the blindfold blacking out her view. The Force controlled her limbs as she spun and blocked every attack from the remote. Lucillia felt Luke's approving gaze throughout and finally she felt the remote being deactivated. Pulling the blindfold free, Lucillia flashed the Jedi Master her most confident grin.
"Well done, Cill! Now, how about you try a living opponent?" Luke gripped his lightsaber as well.
"Bring it on!" She resumed a fighting stance, watching as Luke did the same. His lightsaber flared to life with a comforting hiss. Though both blades were green, the touch of blue in Lucillia's made a marked difference in the lightsaber's appearance. "Ready?"
"Always," Luke responded. Taking the initiative, he advanced on Lucillia, aiming a blow at her head. She deflected the strike easily.
For what could have been half an hour or half a day, the two fought. Neither ever truly had the upper hand. Instead, each anticipated the other's every move as if they had been practicing together for years. Finally Luke deactivated his lightsaber and held out his hand with a smile. "Truce?"
Lucillia clipped her lightsaber back onto her belt and accepted his hand. "Truce."
With her dark tresses flying partially free in the evening breeze, her pale cheeks flushed and her slate gray eyes snapping, Luke couldn't help but notice how beautiful Lucillia looked. The revelation brought to the surface feelings the Jedi Master had all but forgotten since Callista's abrupt departure. Love had for so long been associated with pain he had trouble seeing it any other way. In retrospect, Luke saw that over the months since her arrival, he had grown steadily more fond of the free-spirited cadet. More than fond. As he looked into her wide, clear eyes, Luke realized with a small measure of shock that he loved her.
For her part, Lucillia had to admit how pleased she was that despite having finished the stack of letters from Obi-Wan Kenobi, she and Luke still met often in his quarters simply to talk, sometimes about the academy, sometimes about her possible link to Obi-Wan and sometimes about nothing at all. Never before had so felt so connected to another person, as though every past experience in her life had molded her for the moment she met Luke.
In the past, she'd had her fair share of bad luck with the opposite sex. The first man Lucillia gave her heart to had left in the middle of the night after making love to her and had taken up with a slutty dancing girl a few years older than she. He never spoke to her again and she never knew why he left. After that, trusting people had seemed harder, especially when it came to romantic entanglements. Even when she did become involved, Lucillia found it difficult to fully give her heart. Something inside her whispered assurances that Luke was different, that if he could get over his own painful memories, he could be what none of the others had been.
Even as he leaned forward to kiss Lucillia, part of Luke's subconscious mind begged him to stop, to remember Callista's promise to return to him. He ignored it, focusing all his attention on the woman in front of him. Their kiss was more than a simple physical gesture; it was also the first time each of them released all of the mental barriers set up to ensure privacy and allowed the other to see their thoughts and feelings clearly. Luke held Lucillia close, the length of her body pressed against his.
Lucillia's fingers ran through Luke's slightly-shaggy blond hair. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind and body became fully immersed in the moment. All too soon, the kiss ended and the pair were left gazing into each others' eyes. "What took you so long?" she whispered gently.
Luke grinned and held Lucillia a bit tighter. "Guess it just took me awhile to realize how much you mean to me." His fingers carefully traced her jawline. "I love you."
"Mmm." Lucillia rested her head on Luke's shoulder. "I know."