*Peaks around the corner*
Heyyyyyyyyy...It's uh...been awhile huh?
*Laughs nervously*
**See Author's notes at the end**
Chapter 10: A Solo Echo
24 ABY
Everything was happening way too fast for Klara to comprehend as to who was fighting who. She had been tucked behind a crate with Chewbacca on her left and Han to her right. Han occasionally would lean over to fire shots from his blaster before seeking cover yet again. Chewbacca would also mimic Han's actions but was more vocal on how Han had led them into the mess in the first place. What was supposed to be a simple trade-off ended up turning into a battlefield. The fault clearly was Han's, and Klara wasn't the least bit surprised on the turn of events from her uncle. Originally, Han had set up a meeting immediately after the one they were attending, as a precaution, in case the trade wasn't to Han's liking. However, the meeting with the second group ended up arriving much earlier than planned. That is when everything broke out into a fight.
"I thought you said they were old friends of yours, Han?!" Klara shouted as she blocked blaster shots with her lightsaber before returning to cover. She would rather sit this fight out.
After firing from his blaster and returning to cover, Han let out a sigh. "Well, typically, the term 'old friends' hangs loosely around the term 'friends'".
After growling at his reply in frustration, Klara shot her uncle a glare. "This is your fight Han. Deal with it."
Han gave her a pointed look. "You're the Jedi. It would be much easier if you dealt with them."
Klara scoffed. "Now why would I do that when it's much more fun to watch you dig your way out of this mess." Klara paused as she watched Han give her a 'fair point' look. "Besides, if my father finds out-"
"He won't." Han interrupted. Before Klara could utter a reply, she felt that familiar tug in the Force and groaned.
"I'm afraid he's about to find out." Klara bit as she silently cursed herself for jinxing the moment. Klara watched as her father materialized in front of her, only visible to her seeing eyes. She had yet to master control over her Force Bond with her father and he used that to his advantage whenever he felt Klara was in danger.
"Klara?" Her father questioned with worry laced in his voice. "Where are you."
"Well…" She started but trailed off. She watched Han give her a confused look, no doubt wondering who she was talking to. She watched as her father diverted his eyes from her to look around. Klara knew that her father would be able to look at her surroundings with no hesitation since she lacked control to shut him out. She watched as her father grew in realization on just where she was and what was happening in her background as his eyes finally trailed to where Han sat to her side.
"You deliberately disobeyed me, Klara." Her father stated in disappointment.
Klara huffed in annoyance. "How am I supposed to learn to be a Jedi if you never allow me to test myself out here, in the universe, and learn?
She watched her father sigh, the recurring argument from memory resurfacing. "Part of learning to be a Jedi is patience Klara. You will get to have your time on missions."
Klara scoffed. "When? You've let Ben go on missions with you and he started his training much later than me. You won't give me the option to grow in my training as a Jedi, so I just took the initiative."
"Klara, you're just not-"
"Ready?" Klara interrupted. She could see the irritation growing on her father's features. "How will I ever be ready if you're the one that's not ready for me to go on missions. You and I both know this isn't about me, but about you." Klara sighed, trying to ease her annoyance. "Look, Dad, I get it. At some point, you are going to have to ease up."
Her father's eyes softened as a small smile danced on his face. "You remind me so much of your mother." He paused, giving one last glance in Han's direction who was still focused on the shootout behind them. "We will continue this once you are home. This doesn't mean you are not out of trouble yet." Luke paused, again, glancing towards Han's situation and let out a sigh. "And for the Force's sake, help Han out of his mess."
After nodding, she watched as her father disappeared.
"So…" Han trailed as he was firing his blaster. "I take it that was Luke?"
Sighing, Klara nodded. "You and I are as good as the Death Star when we get back home." She stated solemnly as she watched Han flinch.
Igniting her lightsaber, Klara returned her attention to Han. "He also pleaded I help you." Klara smirked as she got out of their cover and began fighting her way out of Han's mess.
Present
On the Falcon
Aboard the Falcon, Klara had taken a seat next to the table for Dejarik-a holographic game that emits creatures. This was a game she was all too familiar with from her past whenever she accompanied Han on some random adventure. One thing was for sure: always let the Wookie win. She had learned her lesson the first time she had bested Chewbacca. That Wookie did not like to lose.
As she sat there, waiting for their arrival to Starkiller Base, her mind wondered to Rey. She was strong with the Force and with such raw power too. With that much raw power and untrained, Rey could be easily manipulated to the dark side of the Force. Klara wondered if Ben, or rather, Kylo Ren, was offering Rey the same proposition he once had offered her himself all those years ago. She had faith in Rey to make the better decision, to stay on the light side.
Klara let out a sigh as she thought more on their current destination: Ilum. Ilum was a planet that was once rich with Kyber Crystals that is now just a barren icy wasteland that is depleted of its natural resources to power a weapon more powerful than the Death Star. She remembered her father telling her stories of how Padawan's would venture to the icy forested caves of Ilum to find their Kyber Crystal which is used to assemble a lightsaber. Of course, this was back when the Jedi Order still stood. Kyber Crystals are the heart of the lightsaber. The journey to finding a Kyber Crystal was important, and still is. A Padawan must know themselves before they could ever hope to build a unique lightsaber, for the lightsaber is an extension of the Jedi wielding it.
Klara's hand went straight to her lightsaber she had crafted. She unlatched it from her side and examined it. It took her some time to find all the pieces she wanted to construct her lightsaber with. Her father had told her that the Force would guide her into the assembly of her lightsaber and so when she saw a piece in some random location that she was pulled to, she collected it. The hilt of her lightsaber was much smoother than most hilts for a lightsaber. She found that some of the obtrusions on the hilts would disrupt her fighting style, especially when she connected her mother's lightsaber to her own. It was much easier to twirl her lightsaber in this sense. Klara's lightsaber design took after her father's when it came to the metals. Black was the hilt, and silver coated the rest, especially the activation button.
Unlatching her mother's lightsaber from her other side, Klara connected the two lightsabers together. When she was arranging her own lightsaber, she had made the same adjustments to her mother's lightsaber hilt. Having two different designs would have put her off when it came to dual wielding. Klara disconnected both her lightsabers and returned them to their designated locations on her side. She always had her own lightsaber on the side with her dominate hand since she used it more often than her mother's lightsaber. Klara liked to believe that she was very excellent in dual wielding but never used the technique unless she had to. Dual wielding took precision and concentration, especially of the surroundings.
When venturing to find a Kyber Crystal, her father had told her that the crystal chooses its wielder. The Force guided Klara to her crystal, and like her mother's, her crystal was purple. She could not understand why her father had looked at her with worry once he had seen the color of her lightsaber until it had bothered her enough to ask him. Purple lightsabers are among one of the most mysterious Kyber Crystals. Her father had told her that the purple shading symbolized moral uncertainty, reconstruction, and recovery. However, this was not what had worries him. Because of this symbolism, a purple Kyber Crystal shares affinity with both Light and Dark sides of the Force.
At the time she felt that his worry was not needed but after some more years of experience, she can see how she should be worried. The Force guided her to the crystal, chose her, so she wondered what exactly the Force foresaw in her future. The Force knew that at some point in her life, she would tap into the Dark side of the Force. Klara knew one thing for certain: she was no longer the same person she was before the destruction of her father's Jedi Temple.
Knowing what her lightsaber had meant, Klara had wondered for some time what this meant about her mother. She had stopped asking about her mother when everyone, especially her father, would avoid the topic. However, in doing so, it only made her more curious, but she respected her father enough to wait for him to finally talk to her about the matter. This was years ago and now that so much time had passed, Klara felt that she more than deserved the answers she sought.
"Hey Kid." Han spoke softly, interrupting Klara's deep thoughts.
She looked up to see Han giving her a rare soft expression she had not seen in a while.
"Hey." Klara greeted him with a smile. Han was leaning against the doorframe which made her wonder how long he had been there while she was lost in her own mind. Klara shifted and beckoned Han to the seat across from her. He obliged. "How long have you been standing there?"
Han took his place across from her before replying. "Long enough to see your face scrunch up like this." Klara watched as Han tried to mimic what she looked like when her face was scrunched.
She couldn't suppress her laugh and soon the room was filled with barrel of laughs emitting from her. "Oh please, I do not look like that."
"You weren't the one looking at your facial expression." Han smirked but paused and became a little more serious. "What were you thinking about so intensely?"
Klara's expression fell slightly and hesitated before speaking. "Mainly about my mother."
Han let out an "oh" before they sat in an awkward silence.
"I want to know more about her. I try to be understanding of the secrecy, but don't you think that it's been long enough?" She said out of frustration, breaking the silence her and Han were in.
Han let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "Listen kid, I understand but out of respect for your father, you should talk to him. It was his choice."
Klara shifted in her seat, leaning back, and let out a groan. "Trust me, I will. Just got to find the old man first."
Han smiled. "How are you holding up by the way?"
How was she holding up? Well, did her list keep on piling up. First, her father was making it extremely difficult to find him. Next, Rey was captured and no doubt under extreme duress from Ben's probing into the mind. Thirdly, somehow the Force had intertwined Rey and her futures for Force knows what. Next on that list was Ben: he remains Kylo Ren. This was just as upsetting as the struggle to find her father. Finally, it came across her attention when meeting Finn that he may be Force sensitive, which isn't a problem for her but something she now must look into before approaching him with this information. However, the biggest stressor for her is living up to people's expectations. She told the Resistance who she was and now they expect just as much greatness as they did with her father, no doubt comparing them both. It's a lot to live up to, but Klara wasn't going to let that hinder her ability to win this war and hopefully bring peace. She had her time away, being a coward, and refusing to take part in the war after the events of her father's Jedi Temple. She is a Jedi, and a part of being a Jedi is to uphold peace.
What she didn't understand was how her own father could turn his back on people that needed him. It didn't sound like him and it irked Klara to no end. Why would the Luke Skywalker abandon the Resistance? So how was she holding up? Well, she was alive so there was that, but she was also taking it one step at a time.
"The question should be directed to you. You might see Ben and I'm sure that won't be easy." Klara finally replied to Han.
She watched as Han's facial expression dropped. "He's still my son and if I see him, I will talk to him even if it's all based on a fool's hope, I will never stop trying to bring him back home. We do not give up on family." Han said a little sharper towards the end. Klara wondered if he had another meaning behind those last few words.
Klara shifted out of her seat and walked across to Han and leaned down from behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he remained seated. She knew Han wasn't much for opening displaying personal emotions, but after many years of being treated like his daughter, they both had gotten into a rhythm. "Hope is all that matters Han."
Han let out a sigh and patted her arms that had woven around him into a slight hug. "Thanks, kid."
Klara pulled away from Han, moving into his line of view and rested her hands on her hips. "You do know I'm not a kid anymore?" She said with an added sass.
"You are still a kid to me, Kiddo." Han chuckled in reply.
Klara simply scoffed and waived him off.
It was then that Finn walked in with a serious look across his face. "Hey," He paused looking between the two. "I think we are almost there."
Getting up from his seat, Han spoke, "Well then, I better prep this baby for entry."
As he and were about to leave, Klara halted Han, resting her hand on his arm. "He will sense us coming." Klara whispered silently.
Han nodded, knowing what that meant: He would see his son on this mission.
Author's Corner
Short chapter, but I wanted to give you guys something after MONTHS of nothing. I told myself that I wouldn't write until I finished school, and well, I DID...Back in December. Then I told myself I wouldn't write until I found a job, and I DID...back in January lol. So now here we are after several months. I'm at a part that's so hard to decide: Do I kill Han like on script, or do I keep him alive? Decisions, decisions.
I really hope to update much more sooner but now with a full time job, I only find the times to do so on the weekends. This chapter here was a combination of last weekend and this weekend to formulate and it ain't much. My updates will remain sporadic and random with no set time frame and I do apologize and THANK those that still stick to this. I am invested to finish this and see it though, it's just a matter of finding my quiet time to be able to focus on writing.
Until Next Time :)
