1 Mergirl: Callista's Story
By Ambassador Cara Jade
Part 6: Comets Fly Across the Sky
In any other location, Ilios would have been cremated, but it was impossible in the confined atmosphere of the Chu'unthor, in space. Instead, they put him into a silvery-blue casket to be jettisoned. Ilios had no family, and so only Master Altis, a handful of funeral attendants and I were there. Whoever had prepared his body had dressed him in high-collared robes to hide the fact that his head and neck were no longer connected. I kissed his waxy forehead and they closed his box and then it was gone, to be sucked into a distant atmosphere, where he'd be given a Jedi Knight's funeral.
Lord and Lady Getufsko never went to the "proper authorities," or, if they did, the proper authorities never came to us. Either way, we never heard from them again, after that day in the abandoned classroom.
In light of the entire situation and much to my surprise, Master Altis took me as his new padawan, Cerante's replacement. "Your power is far stronger than I first imagined," he told me. "And your affinity for the dark side--as it seems to control your reflexes--requires immediate attention. You're not a bad person, Callista, but you would be a strong asset on whatever side of the Force you choose to serve." I was relieved, because he never devised any other punishment.
But the relief was short. It was less than a month until we received an urgent message from Coruscant: Kasidy and Zara's ship never made it to the Jedi Temple. They had disappeared just outside the system's boundaries, and no one had heard from them since. They were presumed dead.
I related all this to Josef in emotional, even tearful messages. "I think I may come home." I told him once. "This is too hard, Josef, and people are dying because of me. I never wanted this...I may just...I may just come home. Do you think Papa would take me back if I admitted he was right?"
But he was insistent: "Don't you dare come home, Callie. Don't let this get you down. Don't you dare think it's your fault, especially if your Master says it isn't. And Papa isn't right...and you know it. I love you, Callista. I believe in you. If anyone can get through this, it's you."
But I never cried, except for in my messages to Josef. I never let myself cry in front of anyone else. His sympathy was comforting, and it was good to have someone to vent to. Even lightyears apart, we grew closer in those few months after than we'd ever been when we were on the same planet.
I secluded myself more and more from the other students. My only connection to them was Soonta, who became invaluable. The other students, of course, moved on, and soon, they forgot the tragic trio, two of whom were dead and gone for good. After a while, whispers stopped following me wherever I went.
The pain of losing my two best friends so closely together was like a mind-numbing drug, with a permanent hangover effect. Even Cerante, who I had loathed, filled me with guilt and pain, because his death had been my fault. Every day a new memory emerged, some throwaway exchange amongst us that had become priceless: Kasidy visiting me in my room late at night, talking with her for hours. Ilios looking over his computer console and smiling at me. It was painful to remember, to think of them, but it was all my mind could focus on. As a distraction, I threw myself completely into my Jedi studies, reading every text and every holocron Master Altis gave me.
It was a year before things changed.
I hadn't moved in six hours. My mind was far from my body, not feeling the muscle cramps. Master Altis was pacing around me, passing through my vision every once in a while. The lights were low, leaving the room dim and gray. I stared straight ahead. focusing on a nonexistent point in front of me.
Such was my rigorous training as Master Altis' padawan. We'd been working for months, my training accelerated from habitual to consuming. It had become my entire life.
"We are luminous being, Callista," Master Altis broke the last hour's silence. "Not restrained by muscle and bone. That is how we exist beyond our bodies. Now, very slowly, bring yourself back. Do not release your control over your involuntary reactions too quickly."
I relaxed, very slowly stretched my muscles, stiff from holding still for so long. I felt it now--cramp muscles, grown lazy and groaning from sudden use. I pooled the Force over my flaming nerves to ease the pain. As it dulled, I expelled my breath.
"Well done, Callista." Master Altis knelt beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You're doing very well. Soon you'll be ready to take the next step."
I looked up at him. "What the next step?"
"Not tonight. It's late. Go to bed now, and we'll continue tomorrow."
"Yes, Master." I stood and bowed, then took my leave. "Good night."
"Good night, Callista."
I walked to my room through empty halls. It was late, and everyone had gone to bed. I was exhausted from my work with Master Altis. When I got to my apartment I stripped my robes off and changed into the loose pants and tight shirt I usually wore to bed. I was crawling beneath the covers when the com beeped. The communicator's voice filled the room: "Incoming call for Callista Nogati from the Cloak and Dagger"
I frowned. I'd never heard of the Cloak and Dagger; nevertheless I answered the call. "Hello?"
"Callie?"
I smiled. "Josef!" It was my brother. He hadn't called for weeks. "Wow--how-how are you?" I touched my forehead in my surprise.
"Um...okay." He said simply. "I took the job, on the ship that I told you about last year. That's where I am now."
"Papa let you?"
"Um...no, actually. I ran away last month. That's why I didn't call. But I'm here, and Callie, oh, it's great." His smile faded. "Listen, Callie, I'm not calling just to catch up. Um, we...the crew and I, we found something in the Outer Rim. It's...it's not easy to tell you this, but--"
"What?" I suddenly had a very bad feeling about things. "What's happened?"
"We think we found your friends, the ones that disappeared last year."
My throat tightened. I was scared to hear the next words, which I already knew:
"They're dead. Murdered, it's...it's terrible. We think--I think you should come."
Master Altis did let me come along to rendezvous with the Cloak and Dagger. We took one of the shuttles from the Chu'unthor, and Zara Guyenn's former Master, Korin Vella, joined us. He brought along his new padawan. Tornio Valetta was small and slight with a thin face and nervous eyes that twitched continually. He looked sick at the prospect of seeing two dead bodies.
I, myself, was not. Instead, I was a maelstrom of other emotions, the major two being anxiety and relief. The relief surprised me a little. I had known all along that Kasidy and Zara were dead, so finding their bodies was just the last piece of the puzzle.
"Why are they just now telling us this?" Master Vella asked. We were approaching the large gray freighter, the Cloak and Dagger. Nearby, the scorched and scarred remains of a shuttle drifted, tethered to the other by a single cable.
"My brother said they just barely found the shuttle last week," I said. "He called me when he realized who they were."
Master Vella glanced at me indignantly. I knew I had spoken out of turn, but I had felt compelled to defend my bother's integrity. I hadn't considered the fact that Master Vello was my elder and I should only speak to him when he spoke to me directly first.
"Republic shuttle, please identify yourself." a tinny voice emitted from the communicator.
Master Altis returned: "Cloak and Dagger, this is the Republic Shuttle Apollus, from the Jedi ship Chu'unthor."
The com crackled. "Callie?"
I jumped. It was Josef. "Josef!"
I could hear his smile in his voice when he answered. "Welcome aboard. You're clear to land."
Master Altis landed the shuttle in the Dagger's docking bay. As the airlock resealed, Josef burst through the blast doors. I smiled and looked at Master Altis. He gestured to me as if flitting me away. "Go on, go greet your brother."
As composedly as I could manage, I dipped my head. "Yes, Master." Then I ran to the hatch and lowered it, not waiting until it had touched down before leaving the ship.
Josef was waiting for me at the bottom. I threw my arms around him. He spun me around in a circle before setting me down. "Oh, Callie! It's so good to see you!" He pushed me back to look at me. He was my same height now, even though he was two years younger. He had changed so much since I had left that I had to remind myself that he was only sixteen years old. Holo messages still hid a lot. His face was solemn and serious, a demeanor that didn't seem to fit well on his boyish features. I stared back at him, taking in his changes and the things that were still the same.
He enfolded me in another hug, this time a comforting one. "Callie, I'm so sorry."
I hugged him back. "I'm glad you called me."
Master Altis came down the gangplank, and I pulled myself out of Josef's arms. "Josef, this is Djinn Altis, my teacher. Master, this is my brother, Josef Nogati."
Josef stuck his hand out and gripped Master Altis' hand firmly. "Sir, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Master Altis nodded. "I remember you from my journey on Chad. You rode the skittish creature that led Callista to me."
Josef cracked a smile, and he was my little brother again. "Yeah, I guess that was me, wasn't it?" He nodded to Master Vella and Turnio as they came down the ramp. "Anyway, Captain Roderick would like to speak with you before you go down to the hold. Just follow me."
I walked beside my master, just behind Josef. We followed him through the corridors of the freighter in silence. The entire ship was dark, as far as I could tell, and backlit with blue light. Steam clouded and curled around our feet, whipping in all directions when cut by our cloaks. The air was humid, thick and sharp when inhaled.
Josef mounted the stairs, taking them three at a time. We followed and reached the bridge.
"Captain," Josef got the attention of the only other person there. He looked up and walked over to us.
Cram Roderick was a muscular man of medium build, with piercing green eyes and dark hair that curled around his ears in a rather charming way. His expression was serious, but his lips were permanently separate as if he was out of breath. In profile, his nose had an angular curve down its bridge. His sleeveless shirt revealed a tattoo of an Ieagan angel with black wings holding an indigo lightsaber. A black dragon curled around his arm to his wrist, baring his teeth at the angel. a tiny silver dagger dangled from a silver hoop in his left ear.
"Hey," he said. "I'm glad you guys are here." He shook hands with Masters Altis and Vella. "I'm Captain Roderick. This is my ship, and it is completely at your services."
"Thank you, Captain." Master Altis said evenly. "If you don't mind, could you take us--"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sure you're rather anxious to see them. Um...I wanted to make perfectly clear that the condition their bodies are in is exactly how we found them. We didn't do anything to them. Really the only two people who've had access to them are myself and Nogati here. We didn't know what to do with them until he volunteered to call his sister." He looked at me as if to confirm that I was the one to fit that role.
Master Altis lifted a hand. "I'm sure your intentions were honorable." he said.
Roderick nodded. "We have the bodies in the hold. I'll take you down."
The hold was chilly and still, a makeshift morgue. There was little light, even less sounds as the six of us entered. Josef slipped his hand into mine, and I leaned in closer to his shoulder. Inwardly, I berated myself. The moment of truth, and I was getting scurriers.
There was a table at the far end, and two elongated forms underneath a light blue sheet. We clustered around the table, and Roderick looked at all of us. Without a word, he pulled back the sheet.
Josef looked away but I stared at them. I wasn't afraid of bodies. That fear had left me after my seventh lifeday. These bodies had been mummified by a year in the cold and the vacuum of space. The wounds were open and white.
I looked at Kasidy first. Half of her beautiful face was burned away, and her hair was gone. One of her blue eyes had been reduced to a milky, toasted ball in her socket. The chest of her robes was burned and tattered, testament of where she'd been shot.
When I looked at Zara, a queasy feeling rose in my throat. I coughed and tasted bile.
Her face was completely gone, burned away and charred to the ears. One of her lekku had been severed, no doubt a trophy of the kill. The other looked like it had deflated, and was just and empty flap of skin, a tumor.
I looked at Master Altis. His face was stony, but it masked a torrent of emotions that he kept in check. Roderick glanced at him, then at Master Vella. "Are these them?"
It was Master Altis who replied. "Yes. It's them."
An hour later I sat in the Dagger's lounge with Josef, Master Altis and Roderick. Master Vella and Tornia had departed in our shuttle, taking the bodies of Kasidy and Zara with them. Their course would take them past Naboo, to return Kasidy to her family and Ryloth to do the same for Zara. Roderick had asked us to stay behind.
"I don't know how up to date you are on galactic events," he began. "But over the past year the number of Jedi deaths has gone up thirty percent. Not significant enough to be catastrophic, but significant enough to make some people think that someone is targeting them."
Master Altis leaned closer. "I've heard no such reports."
Roderick nodded. "Which is why I'm telling you. I sympathize with the Jedi, and not everyone these days is. I want to help you." He looked from Master Altis to me. "There is a planet along the Corellian Trade Spine that is, as far as I know, one-hundred percent pro-Jedi. Are you familiar with Bespin?"
Master Altis nodded.
"I have an acquaintance there who's a mechanics expert, especially when it comes to installing cloaking devices. His father owns a technology company, which means you could get them cheap. We have to stop at Bespin for supplies, and if you'd like, you can accompany us. I'll put you in touch with my friend, and you're Jedi ship will be protected."
Master Altis sat forward. "Your price?"
Roderick shook his head and spread his hands. "Special favor."
I glanced at Master Altis, and knew from experience that the look on his face meant he was searching for treachery in his tone. He looked at me, encouraging me to probe for myself. I reached out and gently prodded his brain, looking for the telltale emotions that signaled a lie, but I felt none. I opened my eyes and nodded.
Roderick had been kept only a moment.
"Thank you, Captain Roderick." Master Altis said.
Roderick nodded. "Josef, show them to the passenger cabins." We stood up, and Master Altis shook hands with Roderick.
"How long is the trip?" I asked Josef. He shrugged.
"Only a day or so." he said, then dipped his head and looked at me with concern. "Are you all right? You're pale."
I pushed him lightly. "I've been on a spaceship for a year and a half. That's all. You're pale too."
He smiled. It was true. We'd both had tan skin for as long as we could remember. It came with living on the sea. Since we'd left, our tans had faded, leaving our skin pale and, truthfully, I think I liked it better that way. I could tell that his hair had darkened like mine, with no sun to bleach it and dry it stiff.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get a drink from the caf."
I shook my head. "Rain check. I'm exhausted."
"Okay. Coffeine in the morning, then."
I ate breakfast with Josef the next morning, alone in the lounge. Master Altis and Captain Roderick were speaking with the rest of the crew, deciding how best to execute this mission.
Josef poured a mug of coffeine for me. It was strong and hot, jolting the grogginess out of me.
"Wow." I said.
"The navigator, Kev, makes great coffeine. Josef said, plopping down beside me. "The well-being of this ship depends on it."
I smiled.
"How are you doing?" He asked me seriously.
"I'm fine," I said. "I mean, I won't pretend that seeing their bodies wasn't a shock, but I accepted their deaths months ago. If anything, this was closure."
He nodded, and took a swig of his coffeine. "I'm glad."
After a moment of silence, I said, "So tell me what happened between you and Papa."
Josef set down his mug. "You left, what, eighteen months ago?"
"Seventeen," I corrected.
He nodded. "Then it's probably been fifteen months. I met Cram at the Purple Demon in Geramlia. He was looking for a first mate, he told me, and he'd heard I was good. He bought me a drink, we agreed on a salary and had the deal made before Dad could say anything. We didn't even talk to him until after I'd signed a contract and everything."
"What did he say?" I asked.
"The usual: 'You're too young, we need you here, especially with you sister gone.'"
"But I though you were going to join the Republic Navy. What happened to that? I found it hard to believe that everything my brother had ever wanted had so quickly become second best to this.
"I thought about it, and I realized that the only reason I was going to join the Navy was because Papa wanted me to. I didn't."
I nodded. "He couldn't control my future so he tried to control yours."
"Exactly. And here I am, free of paternal control." He spread his arms wide and grinned.
"You're still a kid, Josef. You're sixteen years old."
"What's you're point? You're eighteen."
I waved a hand to close that road of conversation. "Have you talked to him?"
He shook his head. "I figured I'd give him a while to cool off."
I arched an eyebrow. "A year and a half?" I asked incredulously.
Josef rotated his hand rapidly. "Collectively, Callista, collectively. I figure he was still cooling off after you when he had to start cooling of for me. I'd actually give him a few months more."
"Ah." I said with a smile and a nod.
"Anyway, I have talked to Uncle Claine."
"How is he?"
"Good." Josef gulped down the rest of his coffeine. "He's gotten himself a winter ranch in the Circle. Growing fat off the land, I suspect. It'll be good for him."
"So business is fine without us." I said.
Josef pounded the table. "Exactly."
"So...what's Papa so worried about?"
"Who knows?" Josef said with a shrug.
I ate in silence for a few minutes, acknowledging that we both really knew why. I wasn't angry at him anymore, if anything I felt sorry for him, trying to hold his family together and ending up alone. But I couldn't help that; I had my own destiny to follow, and so did Josef, and my sisters.
"Did you ever hear from Maya or Arkna?" I asked.
"Mmm," Josef swallowed the last bite of his breakfast. "Arkna got married. Some Republic lawyer or something. And I think Maya's gonna have a baby. She's probably had it by now."
"How things change." I said contemplatively.
"You've got that right." Josef agreed. Here...let me take your dishes."
We reached Bespin that evening. The pinkish gas giant was turning orange with the dimming sunlight. It was beautiful, like nothing I'd ever seen before. I watched from the lounge as we plunged through the first layer of atmosphere.
The Cloak and Dagger headed for something in the far-off distance that looked like a child's top. As we got closer, I realized that it was a floating city. "Wow." I breathed. Master Altis smiled at my wonder. Even after a year and a half in space, at heart I was still nothing more than a wide-eyed teenager from a backwater planet. The Dagger soared agilely through the city, weaving around high buildings and giving us a breathtaking view of the entire cityscape. We docked on the outskirts of the floating city, and as we touched down the ship's crew snapped into activity, gathering boxes of supplies to trade with. In all the chaos, Josef found me and tossed me a pair of pants."
"What are these for?" I asked.
"We don't want to be too conspicuous," he replied. "and Jedi robes are definitely that. Do you have an extra shirt?"
"Oh, yeah. Why don't we want to be too conspicuous? I though Roderick said Bespin was Jedi-friendly."
Josef shrugged. "Can't be too careful. Go ahead and get changed." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
I changed quickly. Josef's pants were big on me, both in length and width. I tightened them around my hips and fastened my belt as far as it would go. I always wore a small white shirt beneath my robes, so I just wore that, and hoped it wouldn't be too cold. I borrowed a pair of Josef's black leather work boots, too, then I slipped out of the passenger cabin and trotted down to the cargo hold.
Master Altis and Roderick stood together near the crew. Master Altis was dressed in a rust-colored coverall, which was strange since I'd never seen him wear anything other than his tan robes. He turned and looked at me. "Good. You're here." He said, walking over to me. "Roderick and I have spoken with this man you're going to meet. His name his Geith Jiséo. Go and meet him at this address, and bring him here so we can finalize all the details."
I took a sheet of flimsiplast from him and read the name, then nodded and stuffed it in my pocket. "I won't fail, Master."
Master Altis put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't doubt that. I'm going to stay here and inform the Chu'unthor about the situation. Take a comlink so I can contact you, or you can contact me."
I nodded. "Yes, Master." I bowed slightly and dropped to the lower level to help Josef and the crew load the speeder.
Roderick loaned me a speeder to get to Jiséo's garage. I guided it through the semi-crowded streets, using my time alone to practice the awareness techniques Master Altis had been teaching me, feeling out the people around me as a I passed them. I sensed little hostility, which I expected. There was mostly aimless and wandering thought. Most of these people were too busy thinking about their individual lives to be concerned with others.
Jiséo's garage was a simple-faced building, so simple that I almost missed it. The large hangar door was lowered, and a sign in the walk-in door said CLOSED in several different languages. I stopped the speeder and stared at the sign, pursing my lips as I tried to think of what to do. I could go back tot he Cloak and Dagger and say I couldn't complete my task, but that meant I hadn't exhausted every path, which Master Altis had taught me to do. Going back now meant admitting failure.
I stretched out through the Force, and sensed the presence of a single person inside. One path remained open.
I hopped out of the speeder and walked to the door. It was a rustic think made of wood like Uncle Claine's ark. I tested the handle, and it turned easily inside my fist. I pushed it open and walked inside.
The interior of the room I walked into was dimly lit and dirty. There was nobody there, but an open door led to the work area. I poked my head in, and was greeted by the whirring of machinery and the hissing of a faulty heater.
"Hello?" I called.
A tremendous crash emanated form behind a high worktable, punctuated by a long string of angry and colorful words.
I edged closer to the worktable, weaving around mountainous piles of dirty rags and tools. I leaned on the corner of the table and peered down at the speeder. A pair of khaki-panted legs stuck out form underneath it.
"Mind if I take a moment of your time?" I said.
A loud clang of a cry of pain answered me. The mechanic was on a rolling board, so they slid out form underneath the speeder and sat up, rubbing his head.
"Are you all right?" I asked, stepping forward and taking his arm to help him up.
"Damned piece of--" he muttered, then he looked at me and stopped talking. My reaction was similar, though I didn't have to stop talking. Instead, my mouth fell open.
The mechanic was a head taller than me, with spiky red hair. His blue eyes were fixed on mine, sparkling form a clean-shaven but oil-stained face. He had a gold ring in his right ear. Under my fingers, his arm was taut with muscle.
He was really good looking.
His mouth opened and closed several times like a beached fish. "Um-- I, uh--I don't think it--" he stammered, then finally gave up use of speech. I took my hand off his arm.
"Uh, are you Geith Jiséo?"
His head bobbed up and down several times. "Yeah. Yes, that's me." He looked down at me and gripped the back of his utility belt.
"Okay...great. Uh, I need your help. I'm here with Cram Roderick--"
"Oh! Yeah, he said you were coming. "Yeah, I can help you out. I don't keep cloaking devices lying around here--well, maybe one or two--but I can have twenty here by the end of the week." He glanced back at me, for his gaze had wandered around his shop while he was talking. "That should be enough, with the measurements that Genie guy gave me."
I tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. "Genie?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I've never been too good with names."
I stuck out my hand. "Well, remember this one. "I'm Callista."
By Ambassador Cara Jade
Part 6: Comets Fly Across the Sky
In any other location, Ilios would have been cremated, but it was impossible in the confined atmosphere of the Chu'unthor, in space. Instead, they put him into a silvery-blue casket to be jettisoned. Ilios had no family, and so only Master Altis, a handful of funeral attendants and I were there. Whoever had prepared his body had dressed him in high-collared robes to hide the fact that his head and neck were no longer connected. I kissed his waxy forehead and they closed his box and then it was gone, to be sucked into a distant atmosphere, where he'd be given a Jedi Knight's funeral.
Lord and Lady Getufsko never went to the "proper authorities," or, if they did, the proper authorities never came to us. Either way, we never heard from them again, after that day in the abandoned classroom.
In light of the entire situation and much to my surprise, Master Altis took me as his new padawan, Cerante's replacement. "Your power is far stronger than I first imagined," he told me. "And your affinity for the dark side--as it seems to control your reflexes--requires immediate attention. You're not a bad person, Callista, but you would be a strong asset on whatever side of the Force you choose to serve." I was relieved, because he never devised any other punishment.
But the relief was short. It was less than a month until we received an urgent message from Coruscant: Kasidy and Zara's ship never made it to the Jedi Temple. They had disappeared just outside the system's boundaries, and no one had heard from them since. They were presumed dead.
I related all this to Josef in emotional, even tearful messages. "I think I may come home." I told him once. "This is too hard, Josef, and people are dying because of me. I never wanted this...I may just...I may just come home. Do you think Papa would take me back if I admitted he was right?"
But he was insistent: "Don't you dare come home, Callie. Don't let this get you down. Don't you dare think it's your fault, especially if your Master says it isn't. And Papa isn't right...and you know it. I love you, Callista. I believe in you. If anyone can get through this, it's you."
But I never cried, except for in my messages to Josef. I never let myself cry in front of anyone else. His sympathy was comforting, and it was good to have someone to vent to. Even lightyears apart, we grew closer in those few months after than we'd ever been when we were on the same planet.
I secluded myself more and more from the other students. My only connection to them was Soonta, who became invaluable. The other students, of course, moved on, and soon, they forgot the tragic trio, two of whom were dead and gone for good. After a while, whispers stopped following me wherever I went.
The pain of losing my two best friends so closely together was like a mind-numbing drug, with a permanent hangover effect. Even Cerante, who I had loathed, filled me with guilt and pain, because his death had been my fault. Every day a new memory emerged, some throwaway exchange amongst us that had become priceless: Kasidy visiting me in my room late at night, talking with her for hours. Ilios looking over his computer console and smiling at me. It was painful to remember, to think of them, but it was all my mind could focus on. As a distraction, I threw myself completely into my Jedi studies, reading every text and every holocron Master Altis gave me.
It was a year before things changed.
I hadn't moved in six hours. My mind was far from my body, not feeling the muscle cramps. Master Altis was pacing around me, passing through my vision every once in a while. The lights were low, leaving the room dim and gray. I stared straight ahead. focusing on a nonexistent point in front of me.
Such was my rigorous training as Master Altis' padawan. We'd been working for months, my training accelerated from habitual to consuming. It had become my entire life.
"We are luminous being, Callista," Master Altis broke the last hour's silence. "Not restrained by muscle and bone. That is how we exist beyond our bodies. Now, very slowly, bring yourself back. Do not release your control over your involuntary reactions too quickly."
I relaxed, very slowly stretched my muscles, stiff from holding still for so long. I felt it now--cramp muscles, grown lazy and groaning from sudden use. I pooled the Force over my flaming nerves to ease the pain. As it dulled, I expelled my breath.
"Well done, Callista." Master Altis knelt beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You're doing very well. Soon you'll be ready to take the next step."
I looked up at him. "What the next step?"
"Not tonight. It's late. Go to bed now, and we'll continue tomorrow."
"Yes, Master." I stood and bowed, then took my leave. "Good night."
"Good night, Callista."
I walked to my room through empty halls. It was late, and everyone had gone to bed. I was exhausted from my work with Master Altis. When I got to my apartment I stripped my robes off and changed into the loose pants and tight shirt I usually wore to bed. I was crawling beneath the covers when the com beeped. The communicator's voice filled the room: "Incoming call for Callista Nogati from the Cloak and Dagger"
I frowned. I'd never heard of the Cloak and Dagger; nevertheless I answered the call. "Hello?"
"Callie?"
I smiled. "Josef!" It was my brother. He hadn't called for weeks. "Wow--how-how are you?" I touched my forehead in my surprise.
"Um...okay." He said simply. "I took the job, on the ship that I told you about last year. That's where I am now."
"Papa let you?"
"Um...no, actually. I ran away last month. That's why I didn't call. But I'm here, and Callie, oh, it's great." His smile faded. "Listen, Callie, I'm not calling just to catch up. Um, we...the crew and I, we found something in the Outer Rim. It's...it's not easy to tell you this, but--"
"What?" I suddenly had a very bad feeling about things. "What's happened?"
"We think we found your friends, the ones that disappeared last year."
My throat tightened. I was scared to hear the next words, which I already knew:
"They're dead. Murdered, it's...it's terrible. We think--I think you should come."
Master Altis did let me come along to rendezvous with the Cloak and Dagger. We took one of the shuttles from the Chu'unthor, and Zara Guyenn's former Master, Korin Vella, joined us. He brought along his new padawan. Tornio Valetta was small and slight with a thin face and nervous eyes that twitched continually. He looked sick at the prospect of seeing two dead bodies.
I, myself, was not. Instead, I was a maelstrom of other emotions, the major two being anxiety and relief. The relief surprised me a little. I had known all along that Kasidy and Zara were dead, so finding their bodies was just the last piece of the puzzle.
"Why are they just now telling us this?" Master Vella asked. We were approaching the large gray freighter, the Cloak and Dagger. Nearby, the scorched and scarred remains of a shuttle drifted, tethered to the other by a single cable.
"My brother said they just barely found the shuttle last week," I said. "He called me when he realized who they were."
Master Vella glanced at me indignantly. I knew I had spoken out of turn, but I had felt compelled to defend my bother's integrity. I hadn't considered the fact that Master Vello was my elder and I should only speak to him when he spoke to me directly first.
"Republic shuttle, please identify yourself." a tinny voice emitted from the communicator.
Master Altis returned: "Cloak and Dagger, this is the Republic Shuttle Apollus, from the Jedi ship Chu'unthor."
The com crackled. "Callie?"
I jumped. It was Josef. "Josef!"
I could hear his smile in his voice when he answered. "Welcome aboard. You're clear to land."
Master Altis landed the shuttle in the Dagger's docking bay. As the airlock resealed, Josef burst through the blast doors. I smiled and looked at Master Altis. He gestured to me as if flitting me away. "Go on, go greet your brother."
As composedly as I could manage, I dipped my head. "Yes, Master." Then I ran to the hatch and lowered it, not waiting until it had touched down before leaving the ship.
Josef was waiting for me at the bottom. I threw my arms around him. He spun me around in a circle before setting me down. "Oh, Callie! It's so good to see you!" He pushed me back to look at me. He was my same height now, even though he was two years younger. He had changed so much since I had left that I had to remind myself that he was only sixteen years old. Holo messages still hid a lot. His face was solemn and serious, a demeanor that didn't seem to fit well on his boyish features. I stared back at him, taking in his changes and the things that were still the same.
He enfolded me in another hug, this time a comforting one. "Callie, I'm so sorry."
I hugged him back. "I'm glad you called me."
Master Altis came down the gangplank, and I pulled myself out of Josef's arms. "Josef, this is Djinn Altis, my teacher. Master, this is my brother, Josef Nogati."
Josef stuck his hand out and gripped Master Altis' hand firmly. "Sir, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Master Altis nodded. "I remember you from my journey on Chad. You rode the skittish creature that led Callista to me."
Josef cracked a smile, and he was my little brother again. "Yeah, I guess that was me, wasn't it?" He nodded to Master Vella and Turnio as they came down the ramp. "Anyway, Captain Roderick would like to speak with you before you go down to the hold. Just follow me."
I walked beside my master, just behind Josef. We followed him through the corridors of the freighter in silence. The entire ship was dark, as far as I could tell, and backlit with blue light. Steam clouded and curled around our feet, whipping in all directions when cut by our cloaks. The air was humid, thick and sharp when inhaled.
Josef mounted the stairs, taking them three at a time. We followed and reached the bridge.
"Captain," Josef got the attention of the only other person there. He looked up and walked over to us.
Cram Roderick was a muscular man of medium build, with piercing green eyes and dark hair that curled around his ears in a rather charming way. His expression was serious, but his lips were permanently separate as if he was out of breath. In profile, his nose had an angular curve down its bridge. His sleeveless shirt revealed a tattoo of an Ieagan angel with black wings holding an indigo lightsaber. A black dragon curled around his arm to his wrist, baring his teeth at the angel. a tiny silver dagger dangled from a silver hoop in his left ear.
"Hey," he said. "I'm glad you guys are here." He shook hands with Masters Altis and Vella. "I'm Captain Roderick. This is my ship, and it is completely at your services."
"Thank you, Captain." Master Altis said evenly. "If you don't mind, could you take us--"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sure you're rather anxious to see them. Um...I wanted to make perfectly clear that the condition their bodies are in is exactly how we found them. We didn't do anything to them. Really the only two people who've had access to them are myself and Nogati here. We didn't know what to do with them until he volunteered to call his sister." He looked at me as if to confirm that I was the one to fit that role.
Master Altis lifted a hand. "I'm sure your intentions were honorable." he said.
Roderick nodded. "We have the bodies in the hold. I'll take you down."
The hold was chilly and still, a makeshift morgue. There was little light, even less sounds as the six of us entered. Josef slipped his hand into mine, and I leaned in closer to his shoulder. Inwardly, I berated myself. The moment of truth, and I was getting scurriers.
There was a table at the far end, and two elongated forms underneath a light blue sheet. We clustered around the table, and Roderick looked at all of us. Without a word, he pulled back the sheet.
Josef looked away but I stared at them. I wasn't afraid of bodies. That fear had left me after my seventh lifeday. These bodies had been mummified by a year in the cold and the vacuum of space. The wounds were open and white.
I looked at Kasidy first. Half of her beautiful face was burned away, and her hair was gone. One of her blue eyes had been reduced to a milky, toasted ball in her socket. The chest of her robes was burned and tattered, testament of where she'd been shot.
When I looked at Zara, a queasy feeling rose in my throat. I coughed and tasted bile.
Her face was completely gone, burned away and charred to the ears. One of her lekku had been severed, no doubt a trophy of the kill. The other looked like it had deflated, and was just and empty flap of skin, a tumor.
I looked at Master Altis. His face was stony, but it masked a torrent of emotions that he kept in check. Roderick glanced at him, then at Master Vella. "Are these them?"
It was Master Altis who replied. "Yes. It's them."
An hour later I sat in the Dagger's lounge with Josef, Master Altis and Roderick. Master Vella and Tornia had departed in our shuttle, taking the bodies of Kasidy and Zara with them. Their course would take them past Naboo, to return Kasidy to her family and Ryloth to do the same for Zara. Roderick had asked us to stay behind.
"I don't know how up to date you are on galactic events," he began. "But over the past year the number of Jedi deaths has gone up thirty percent. Not significant enough to be catastrophic, but significant enough to make some people think that someone is targeting them."
Master Altis leaned closer. "I've heard no such reports."
Roderick nodded. "Which is why I'm telling you. I sympathize with the Jedi, and not everyone these days is. I want to help you." He looked from Master Altis to me. "There is a planet along the Corellian Trade Spine that is, as far as I know, one-hundred percent pro-Jedi. Are you familiar with Bespin?"
Master Altis nodded.
"I have an acquaintance there who's a mechanics expert, especially when it comes to installing cloaking devices. His father owns a technology company, which means you could get them cheap. We have to stop at Bespin for supplies, and if you'd like, you can accompany us. I'll put you in touch with my friend, and you're Jedi ship will be protected."
Master Altis sat forward. "Your price?"
Roderick shook his head and spread his hands. "Special favor."
I glanced at Master Altis, and knew from experience that the look on his face meant he was searching for treachery in his tone. He looked at me, encouraging me to probe for myself. I reached out and gently prodded his brain, looking for the telltale emotions that signaled a lie, but I felt none. I opened my eyes and nodded.
Roderick had been kept only a moment.
"Thank you, Captain Roderick." Master Altis said.
Roderick nodded. "Josef, show them to the passenger cabins." We stood up, and Master Altis shook hands with Roderick.
"How long is the trip?" I asked Josef. He shrugged.
"Only a day or so." he said, then dipped his head and looked at me with concern. "Are you all right? You're pale."
I pushed him lightly. "I've been on a spaceship for a year and a half. That's all. You're pale too."
He smiled. It was true. We'd both had tan skin for as long as we could remember. It came with living on the sea. Since we'd left, our tans had faded, leaving our skin pale and, truthfully, I think I liked it better that way. I could tell that his hair had darkened like mine, with no sun to bleach it and dry it stiff.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get a drink from the caf."
I shook my head. "Rain check. I'm exhausted."
"Okay. Coffeine in the morning, then."
I ate breakfast with Josef the next morning, alone in the lounge. Master Altis and Captain Roderick were speaking with the rest of the crew, deciding how best to execute this mission.
Josef poured a mug of coffeine for me. It was strong and hot, jolting the grogginess out of me.
"Wow." I said.
"The navigator, Kev, makes great coffeine. Josef said, plopping down beside me. "The well-being of this ship depends on it."
I smiled.
"How are you doing?" He asked me seriously.
"I'm fine," I said. "I mean, I won't pretend that seeing their bodies wasn't a shock, but I accepted their deaths months ago. If anything, this was closure."
He nodded, and took a swig of his coffeine. "I'm glad."
After a moment of silence, I said, "So tell me what happened between you and Papa."
Josef set down his mug. "You left, what, eighteen months ago?"
"Seventeen," I corrected.
He nodded. "Then it's probably been fifteen months. I met Cram at the Purple Demon in Geramlia. He was looking for a first mate, he told me, and he'd heard I was good. He bought me a drink, we agreed on a salary and had the deal made before Dad could say anything. We didn't even talk to him until after I'd signed a contract and everything."
"What did he say?" I asked.
"The usual: 'You're too young, we need you here, especially with you sister gone.'"
"But I though you were going to join the Republic Navy. What happened to that? I found it hard to believe that everything my brother had ever wanted had so quickly become second best to this.
"I thought about it, and I realized that the only reason I was going to join the Navy was because Papa wanted me to. I didn't."
I nodded. "He couldn't control my future so he tried to control yours."
"Exactly. And here I am, free of paternal control." He spread his arms wide and grinned.
"You're still a kid, Josef. You're sixteen years old."
"What's you're point? You're eighteen."
I waved a hand to close that road of conversation. "Have you talked to him?"
He shook his head. "I figured I'd give him a while to cool off."
I arched an eyebrow. "A year and a half?" I asked incredulously.
Josef rotated his hand rapidly. "Collectively, Callista, collectively. I figure he was still cooling off after you when he had to start cooling of for me. I'd actually give him a few months more."
"Ah." I said with a smile and a nod.
"Anyway, I have talked to Uncle Claine."
"How is he?"
"Good." Josef gulped down the rest of his coffeine. "He's gotten himself a winter ranch in the Circle. Growing fat off the land, I suspect. It'll be good for him."
"So business is fine without us." I said.
Josef pounded the table. "Exactly."
"So...what's Papa so worried about?"
"Who knows?" Josef said with a shrug.
I ate in silence for a few minutes, acknowledging that we both really knew why. I wasn't angry at him anymore, if anything I felt sorry for him, trying to hold his family together and ending up alone. But I couldn't help that; I had my own destiny to follow, and so did Josef, and my sisters.
"Did you ever hear from Maya or Arkna?" I asked.
"Mmm," Josef swallowed the last bite of his breakfast. "Arkna got married. Some Republic lawyer or something. And I think Maya's gonna have a baby. She's probably had it by now."
"How things change." I said contemplatively.
"You've got that right." Josef agreed. Here...let me take your dishes."
We reached Bespin that evening. The pinkish gas giant was turning orange with the dimming sunlight. It was beautiful, like nothing I'd ever seen before. I watched from the lounge as we plunged through the first layer of atmosphere.
The Cloak and Dagger headed for something in the far-off distance that looked like a child's top. As we got closer, I realized that it was a floating city. "Wow." I breathed. Master Altis smiled at my wonder. Even after a year and a half in space, at heart I was still nothing more than a wide-eyed teenager from a backwater planet. The Dagger soared agilely through the city, weaving around high buildings and giving us a breathtaking view of the entire cityscape. We docked on the outskirts of the floating city, and as we touched down the ship's crew snapped into activity, gathering boxes of supplies to trade with. In all the chaos, Josef found me and tossed me a pair of pants."
"What are these for?" I asked.
"We don't want to be too conspicuous," he replied. "and Jedi robes are definitely that. Do you have an extra shirt?"
"Oh, yeah. Why don't we want to be too conspicuous? I though Roderick said Bespin was Jedi-friendly."
Josef shrugged. "Can't be too careful. Go ahead and get changed." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
I changed quickly. Josef's pants were big on me, both in length and width. I tightened them around my hips and fastened my belt as far as it would go. I always wore a small white shirt beneath my robes, so I just wore that, and hoped it wouldn't be too cold. I borrowed a pair of Josef's black leather work boots, too, then I slipped out of the passenger cabin and trotted down to the cargo hold.
Master Altis and Roderick stood together near the crew. Master Altis was dressed in a rust-colored coverall, which was strange since I'd never seen him wear anything other than his tan robes. He turned and looked at me. "Good. You're here." He said, walking over to me. "Roderick and I have spoken with this man you're going to meet. His name his Geith Jiséo. Go and meet him at this address, and bring him here so we can finalize all the details."
I took a sheet of flimsiplast from him and read the name, then nodded and stuffed it in my pocket. "I won't fail, Master."
Master Altis put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't doubt that. I'm going to stay here and inform the Chu'unthor about the situation. Take a comlink so I can contact you, or you can contact me."
I nodded. "Yes, Master." I bowed slightly and dropped to the lower level to help Josef and the crew load the speeder.
Roderick loaned me a speeder to get to Jiséo's garage. I guided it through the semi-crowded streets, using my time alone to practice the awareness techniques Master Altis had been teaching me, feeling out the people around me as a I passed them. I sensed little hostility, which I expected. There was mostly aimless and wandering thought. Most of these people were too busy thinking about their individual lives to be concerned with others.
Jiséo's garage was a simple-faced building, so simple that I almost missed it. The large hangar door was lowered, and a sign in the walk-in door said CLOSED in several different languages. I stopped the speeder and stared at the sign, pursing my lips as I tried to think of what to do. I could go back tot he Cloak and Dagger and say I couldn't complete my task, but that meant I hadn't exhausted every path, which Master Altis had taught me to do. Going back now meant admitting failure.
I stretched out through the Force, and sensed the presence of a single person inside. One path remained open.
I hopped out of the speeder and walked to the door. It was a rustic think made of wood like Uncle Claine's ark. I tested the handle, and it turned easily inside my fist. I pushed it open and walked inside.
The interior of the room I walked into was dimly lit and dirty. There was nobody there, but an open door led to the work area. I poked my head in, and was greeted by the whirring of machinery and the hissing of a faulty heater.
"Hello?" I called.
A tremendous crash emanated form behind a high worktable, punctuated by a long string of angry and colorful words.
I edged closer to the worktable, weaving around mountainous piles of dirty rags and tools. I leaned on the corner of the table and peered down at the speeder. A pair of khaki-panted legs stuck out form underneath it.
"Mind if I take a moment of your time?" I said.
A loud clang of a cry of pain answered me. The mechanic was on a rolling board, so they slid out form underneath the speeder and sat up, rubbing his head.
"Are you all right?" I asked, stepping forward and taking his arm to help him up.
"Damned piece of--" he muttered, then he looked at me and stopped talking. My reaction was similar, though I didn't have to stop talking. Instead, my mouth fell open.
The mechanic was a head taller than me, with spiky red hair. His blue eyes were fixed on mine, sparkling form a clean-shaven but oil-stained face. He had a gold ring in his right ear. Under my fingers, his arm was taut with muscle.
He was really good looking.
His mouth opened and closed several times like a beached fish. "Um-- I, uh--I don't think it--" he stammered, then finally gave up use of speech. I took my hand off his arm.
"Uh, are you Geith Jiséo?"
His head bobbed up and down several times. "Yeah. Yes, that's me." He looked down at me and gripped the back of his utility belt.
"Okay...great. Uh, I need your help. I'm here with Cram Roderick--"
"Oh! Yeah, he said you were coming. "Yeah, I can help you out. I don't keep cloaking devices lying around here--well, maybe one or two--but I can have twenty here by the end of the week." He glanced back at me, for his gaze had wandered around his shop while he was talking. "That should be enough, with the measurements that Genie guy gave me."
I tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. "Genie?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I've never been too good with names."
I stuck out my hand. "Well, remember this one. "I'm Callista."