Mergirl: Callista's Story
By Ambassador Cara Jade
Part 8: Laughter in the Dark
Geith sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What're you doing, man?"
"Just my job, Geith." He snapped his fingers, and at the same time I felt a flare of danger, but before I could react, someone grabbed me violently from behind. I grunted and tried to wrench free, but the man was very strong.
"Callista!" Geith cried and lunged for the man that held me, but another appeared from the shadows and grabbed him. "Get off me! Get off!"
Evin stuck his thumbs in the back belt loops of his pants and sauntered closer. He nonchalantly drew a switchblade from his belt and twirled it on his fingers. Then the blade was out and pressed against my throat. It was cold on my skin, making me gasp with shock.
Evin stared icily into my eyes. "Geith, this is your last chance, man. You can still walk away clean."
"You're crazy, man." Geith strained from behind the man's arm around his neck.
Evin smiled, still staring at me. "I like you, Geith, and that's why I'm giving you another chance."
I looked at him; he was looking back at me. He closed his mouth, licked his lips. "No."
I looked back at Evin. His face was strong, impassive. "Suit yourself, Jiséo." he said. The blade of the knife shifted ever-so-slightly against my skin. I grabbed the Force like a lightsaber and prepared to strike a blow at these people.
Evin touched my face, and I had the strongest urge to bite his fingers. "They will pay handsomely for you." he said.
Now.
I threw the Force upon him like boiling water, and got very much the same reaction. The man who held me cried out and released me, as did the man holding Geith.
"Come on!" I cried, kicking away desperate hands that latched around my ankles. Geith picked up his duffel and grabbed my hand. We ran down the stairs.
"Get them!" Evin screamed after us. Pounding footsteps followed us as we dodged the mounds of parts and trash. A blaster bolt melted a clutch of screws to a spaner beside us. I screamed and chanced a looked behind us.
Evin's two thugs were close on our heels, blasters drawn.
"The speeder!" Geith creid and burst through the door. He leapt desperately for the speeder--
--and froze when he saw the condition of the ruined engine. It had melted, like the screws.
"Run!" I pushed him down the dark street. All the while I felt them followin us, tracking every blind turn made without judgement. Geith held my hand as we ran. His legs were longer and his strides wider. My breath heaved in and out of my lungs, my blood pounded in my ears. My sides ached. My feet struck the pavement rythmically. Every so often I looked behind me, and every time they were there, all of them running after us.
"Here!" Geith cried and pulled me around a corner. It was an alley, and there was a chain-link fence on the other end. I called the Force and leapt at the fence. Geith and I clamored up and over it, and dropped to the ground on the other side. We collapsed into a pile of garbage and crouched behind the bags. They had stopped rustling by the time Evin and his thugs passed us.
"Stay still," I said. "Wait for a moment."
Nobody returned, and when we had caught our breath, we crept from the garbage. I looked at Geith, and sighed. "Let's go." We started running again.
But when we reached the corner, something broad and heavy knocked my to the ground. I screamed.
"Callista!" Geith yelled and ran to rip the net off me, but Evin stunned him. He dropped beside me, out cold. I gasped and tried to move. A jolt rocked my body. A stun net.
Evin knelt beside me. "What is so special about you, huh?" he asked, his tone amused. I didn't move, other than to breathe. I stared at him. "What about you is so endearing that it makes this mercenary turn against his friends? YOu think being a Jedi let's you do whatever you want?"
I didn't answer.
Evin stood up with a disgusted sigh. "Load 'em up, guys."
"But...Geith--"
"I said load them up! Both of them!"
A low hum indicated the approach of a ship. I looked to the source of the sound.
It was the Cloak and Dagger.
Not my own brother, I thought.
I sighed with relief as the turbolasers fired at the two thugs advancing on Geith and I, sending them high into the air on the back of an explosion. The Dagger hovered above us, out of my range of vision. I heard two people drop to the ground. One of them had to be Master Altis, because the stun net was ripped off my back. I jumpd up and ran to Geith's side.
"Geith! Geith, wake up!"
Josef skidded to his knees beside me. "He's out. Let's get him on board." He and I lifted Geith's arms over our shoulders and ran to the Dagger as Cram brought it down. The ramp was lowered, and Master Altis and I lifted us all up to the edge of it.
"Go! Go! Go!" Josef yelled.
Roderick closed the ramp and lifted off again.
"How did you know?" I asked Master Altis.
"I sensed your emotions through the Force," he said. "You probably had no idea I was monitoring you."
"No," I said. I half-carried, half-dragged Geith to the passenger cabin. We collapsed onto the bed; I laid him out carefully and sat next to him. He finally stirred and opened his eyes.
"Good morning," I said, smiling and stroking his chest.
He groaned and took my hand. "Hey, baby. You okay?"
I smiled. "I'm fine. How do you feel?"
"Like I got run over by a garbade sled," he said with a laugh and beckoned me to lie down with him. I laid my head on his chest. "I'm sorry about Evin," he said. "If I'd had any idea--"
"Don't worry," I said, touching his face. "It's okay. He can't hurt us anymore."
Geith hugged me close and didn't say anything.
"Are you excited?" I asked him. "To start your training?"
"It'll be interesting," he replied. "Yeah, I'd say I'm excited." He kissed my forehead. "And I'll get to be with you."
I smiled. "Yes, you will." We laid in silence and eventually drifted off to sleep.
"Hey! Wake up, you guys!" With one eye open, I looked up in time to see Josef thump the wall and dart back into the hall. Geith sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, we're here." I said, taking his arm.
The Chu'unthor was waiting for us in orbit. Cram docked the Cloak and Dagger, and as the cloakers were being unloaded, we said our good-byes.
I embraced Josef tightly. "Thank you for everything, Josef. You saved us."
He squeezed me tighter. "Anytime, Callie," he said. He gave me a wry smile. "Stay in trouble, okay?"
I smiled and stepped back. "You're going to be a bad influence on me, little brother."
"Me?" he joked incredulously. "Who inspired whom to run away from home?"
I looked down at his hands in mine. "Seriously, though, be careful. Whoever was looking for us will probably be looking for you, too. Watch your back."
Josef's face was grim as he reassured me. "Don't worry, Callie. We'll be careful."
I nodded and hugged him again, this time kissing his cheek also. "I love you," I said.
"Love you, too," then quieter, "Long live the Jedi."
"Josef!" Cram yelled. "Let's get out of here!"
Josef looked at me and nodded. "On my way!" He called.
Geith walked over and put his arm around my waist. "Hey," he said, sticking his other hand out for Josef. "Clear skies, man."
"Hey, you too." He winked. "Take care of my sister. She's a handful."
I punched his arm. "Get out of here," I said with a laugh.
He laughed, too. "Talk to you guys later!" he called with a wave as he ran towards the Dagger. Geith and I waved back until the ship had left the docking bay.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Geith installed the cloakers, he threw himself entirely into the life of the Jedi. Every day he went to classes with the younger students, and every day I saw a new change in him, though the person I adored stayed the same. He seemed to latch on to empathy and telekinesis especially well. Every night, he and I met for dinner in the mess hall, and he'd tell excitedly about all he'd learned. He was like a convert to a new religion. "It's like everything makes sense all of a sudden," he told me. "The Force seems to explain everything.
As Geith continued on his own path to enlightenment, I continued my training with Master Altis. After having been his padawan for a year, I was more his squire than his page. His lessons were taught by example, which was a lesson in itself—teaching me to read into everything. About two weeks after the Bespin incident, Master Altis decided I was ready to build my lightsaber.
"The lightsaber is a Jedi personal test of skill and discipline," he said. "I'll point you in the right direction, but after that you're on your own." He took me to the weapons workshop, which was aisles and aisles of segrefated desks under a transparisteel dome that opened the entire room to the stars.
"I've never seen this room before," I said, craning my neck for a better view of the nebula looming outside.
"The lightsaber is an elegant, civilized weapon that rtequires dilligent practice to master. Each," he held up his own weapon, whose hilt bore a crosshatched grip incised with scrolling runes. "is as individual as the Jedi who weilds it. You will design your own, and it will be yours, and yours alone." He replaced the weapon at his belt, and led me to a row of bins. "Here, you will find all the components for your lightsaber, except for your focusing crystal. Those," he led me to a wide, flat drawer, which he opened to show me the neatly lined rows of uncut crystals of every color. "are right here."
"Wow," I breathed. The gems sparkled against the black dropcloth that lined the drawer.
"You can choose any one of these gems you wish, and you will cut it as these directions instrcut you." He handed me a datapad. "The rest you must discern on your own. It will take you many hours over many days, but you will have taken you largest step to becoming a Jedi Knight."
I looked at all the gems in the drawer. There were so many to choose from. Some reminded me of the waters of my homeworld, so blue they were almost black. Others were silver like the stars. The most beautiful, though, was a brilliant topaz yellow. It looked like the stone had captured a ray of Chad's sunset. I picked up one of these and looked at it at eye level. "I choose this one," I said.
"Lovely," Master Altis said. "I had a feeling you would."
I spent hours, that first day, chipping and polishing my crystal. The facets had to be exact, the measurements precise, or the lightsaber wouldn't function properly. My eyes burned as hour upon hour passed. My back was sore from bening over the desk for so long. As I sat up and stretched, I chanced a glance at the chronometer. It was past 1900 hours.
"Blast!" I muttered, remembering that I promised to meet Geith Geith for dinner at 1830. I scooped the pieces into a bin and threw it into a cubby, activating the Force-signature lock.
By the time I reached the mess hall, I was an hour late. I looked around the milling students and finally located Geith sitting against the wall. He looked and saw me, so he smiled and waved. "I'm so sorry," I said, dropping beside him and kissing him. "I lost track of time.
"I had no idea little pieces of metal could be so fascinating," he said. I smiled and curled under his arm.
"Have you heard from Cram or Josef?"
Geith shook his head. "No, actually. I haven't."
"Hmm. Do you think they're doing okay? I mean, you don't think anyone went after them, do you?"
"No, I really doubt it," Geith said with a laugh. "If I know Cram, they've erased all trace of themselves and're on the other side of the galaxy. We probably won't hear from them in for a while. Don't worry so much, Callie." He picked up a bread wafer and stirred it through his soup. "Try this," he said. "It's really good." He held the wafer in front of my mouth.
I shook my head. "I'm not hungry," I said, pushing his hand away.
"You okay?" he asked.
Before I answered, everything tore away to a new scene. I was sitting in shadows, with blue-black mist curling around me. Everything was quiet, but the underlying humming told me I was on a ship. I stood shakily, keeping one hand against the wall. I knew where I was.
The Cloak and Dagger.
Even as I realized it, a loud succession of explosions rocked the ship from beneath my feet. I grabbed a hold of the railing to steady myself. Bending over the railing, I saw figures moving through the smoke below me. Two of the figures were crouched behind an overturned table. Motionless bodies were strewn around them.
Cram and Josef.
Suddenly I was standing in front of them, surrounded by blaster bolts. I saw the fear on their faces, the surprise that they'd been caught. Then Cram took a shot in the chest and went down with a cry of pain. Josef turned briefly to stare in dismay at his fallen friend. "Cram!" he screamed. It was the first time I'd ever seen Josef genuinely afraid for his life. Seething, he turned back to his assailants behind me and stood up, picking up Cram's blaster and firing both of them desperately.
But for every shot he fired, three more were returned. One found his side with hurling power.
"Josef!" My mouth formed his name, but my voice failed.
Josef cried out and collapsed over Cram's body. Grunting in pain, he forced himself up and reached for his blaster. He was on his knees, then his feet. Weakly, he raised his blaster and fired repeatedly.
"Long live the Jedi!" He shouted on his last breath. Blaster bolts struck him in the chest, shoulders, stomach…
"No!" I screamed and sat up in bed.
Breathing heavily, I looked around to reassure myself that it had been just a dream.
Kasidy had told me that Jedi had certain strengths, and as hers had been empathy and projection, mine were telekinesis and prescience. I shuddered, hoping that it had not been a vision.
But two weeks later, as I was building the casing for my lightsaber, Geith came into the workshop. He touched my shoulder, startling me. I jumped and turned around. When I saw his face, I breathed in relief and smiled. "Oh, Geith…you—"
He didn't apologize for frightening me, instead he took me by the arm and helped me to my feet. "Callie, I—I need to talk to you."
I looked up at him. "What?"
His face was ruddy and his cheeks were wet.
"Geith, what is it?"
He led me into the hall. "Cram—Cram's wife called me this morning. She got…the log from the Cloak and Dagger. There was a message from Cram." He choked. "They were attacked, and…the entire crew was killed."
Heat wrapped around my head. It hadn't been a dream.
Josef was dead.
"I'm so sorry, Callie…" Geith offered, gently wrapping his arms around me, and I, numb and motionless, let him.
There is no death, there is the Force…
"I already told Master Altis. He thinks you should go home and tell your father."
"My father and I don't speak anymore, you know that," I told him huskily, trying to keep my voice level.
Geith nodded. "I know. But would you want to live your life not knowing if your child is alive or dead?"
I hadn't been to Chad in 18 months, and from space nothing seemed to have changed. Through the atmosphere, though, I knew I would feel like a stranger, a visitor. To keep my mind off it, I spent the entire time in the cabin, finishing my lightsaber. Geith had given me a few pieces of bronze to decorate my hilt, like Kasidy's lightsaber. I spent hours cutting the little pieces into the shapes of the tsaelke like my uncle used to keep. They represented what had begun my journey into the life of the Jedi.
"You okay?" Geith asked from the door of the cabin. I looked up at him and forced a smile.
"I'm fine," I said. All things considered, I was. Josef's death saddened me, by seeing it for myself told me he'd accepted death himself and died nobly. I was willing to bet that whoever had killed him had been hired by the same person who'd hired Evin.
"We're in the atmosphere. You wanna come sit up front?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"Oh…uh, sure." He took my hand and we walked to the cockpit.
"So, where is this ark of yours?" Geith asked.
I leaned forward and activated the com, punching in my uncle's code. "I don't know," I said as the connection went through. "They could be anywhere."
"Hello?" Uncle Claine answered on the other end.
"Uncle Claine," I said, my heart pounding. "Um…it's me."
"Callista?" he said my name is if he couldn't belive it was really me. "Oh, my dear niece! It's so wonderful to hear your voice again! Are you onplanet?"
"Uh, yes," I said. "Is my father still living with you?"
Claine sighed. "Yes. He is."
"Can you send me coordinates of your location? I have to come and see you both."
"Yeah, just a minute."
As he pulled up the coordinates, I asked, "Claine, how is he?"
For a moment I wasn't sure he heard me. Then he said. "He's very changed, Callista. Josef left a few months after you did, and Anela after that, because he was so changed." He didn't give me any other details. "Okay, here you go."
"Got 'em," Geith said. "We can be there in ten minutes."
"We're on our way, Uncle Claine," I said.
"See you soon, Callista."
Claine's ark was anchored near the border of the Arctic Cirlce. Geith set the ship down on the deck and powered down. Then he looked at me. "Are you ready?"
I took his hand as I stood. "Let's go."
We walked together down the ramp. Uncle Claine ran out to meet us. I let go of Geith's hand and hugged my uncle tightly.
"This is a gift from the gods," he said. "Seeing you will brighten your father's spirits."
"I wish that was why I came," I said. "But I have some bad news."
Claine's face fell. "What is it?" he demanded.
I bit my lip. "Id rather tell you both together, if that's okay."
Claine nodded and gestured for us to follow him. Geith slipped his hand back into mine.
"Oh," I said, stopping short again and touching my forehead. "Um, Uncle Claine, this is…my boyfriend, Geith. Geith, this is my Uncle Claine."
The two men shook hands. I noticed Uncle Claine's demeanor shift from concern to appraisal. "Let's go. We don't want to keep your father waiting."
Since I'd left, the ark had grown more cluttered, and now it hardly looked like my home of ten years. The rooms were dark, but the darkness appearled like deep indigo in the dusk. Claine led us into my father's office, as dark as the rest of the ark.
"Brigam?" he called as he turned on the glowpanels. "Someone's here to see you."
A groan emanated from the chair facing the wall. "Not now," my father's voice slurred. "I'm busy."
I looked at Claine, then walked around the desk an dknelt in front of my father. He looked terrible—unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes. He was clearly drunk. I'd never seen him drunk. "Papa, it's me," I said.
He looked down at me. "Callista…oh," he let the bottle drop from his hand. "I told you…I told you…"
"I know," I said. "I know." I stood up, taking the bottle. "Claine, Geith, help me get him to bed. He needs to sleep this off."
The three of us lifted Papa to his feet and guided him to his bedroom. He was asleep by the time we laid him down.
"Better throw away the rest of it," I said. "Claine, why'd you let him do this?"
"He needed something. The man's entire life fell apart before his eyes. I didn't—"
"Come on, Claine. Help us out." I shut the path of conversation and dumped the bottle out the window. "His head needs to be clear in the morning."
"Why?" Claine asked. "What terrible news is this?"
I sighed. "Josef is dead. His ship was attacked and they murdered the entire crew." I put a hand on Claine's arm and embraced him, and act not well-rehearsed between us.
Claine shuddered. "Are you all right?"
I nodded. "I'm okay."
"Do you know who did it?"
"I have an idea," I said.
Claine sighed, and tried to collect himself. "Um, uh…are either of you h-hungry? I could make you something t-to eat."
"I'm a little hungry," Geith said. He turned to me. "You?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm okay. You go ahead, though."
"Okay." He kissed me.
"Good night," I said, and retired to my old bedroom.
Everything was kept the way I'd left it. All the clothes I'd left behind still hung in my closet, the holos still sat on my dresser, my favorite stuffed wookiee sat on the corner of my bed. Jeebie was sprawled on my pillow. He looked up when I opened my door, his tail wagging. He barked and jumped off the bed.
"Jeebie!" I picked him up and hugged him. "I missed you, boy!" I carried him back to the bed and laid down. Stroking his downy fur evoked emotions in me. My tears flowed easily, released. "It's good to be home," I said.
"Callista?"
I looked up. Papa was standing in my doorway. I sat up carefully. "Come in."
He walked in and sat down at my desk. We sat across from each other in uncomfortable silence.
"Is that your lightsaber?" he asked.
I unclipped the finished weapon and twirled the hilt on my fingers. "Yeah."
He nodded. "You've learned a lot," he said.
"I have." He sounded entirely sober. I was amazed.
"Why are you here, Callista?" he said. "I told you not to come back." His hands were shaking.
"I had to come," I said. "Things have happened. Things I couldn't tell you any other way but in person."
"Who is that boy?" he asked. "A boyfriend?"
I sighed and nodded. "Yes."
Papa growled. "Make sure he takes care of you," he said, almost allowing.
I nodded. "He does."
"I knew you were coming," he said suddenly.
"How?" I said with a frown, playing along with his drunken ramblings. "Who told you?"
"He said he was a friend He said you sen thim ahead to let me know."
A pit dropped into my stomach. "Who."
He tried hard to remember, his brow crunched together in concentration. "I can't—I forget his name. Blond boy. Well dressed…are you marrying him?"
I tried to control my shaking. I licked my lips and shook my head. "No. No, Papa, I'm not." Suddenly, Jeebie jumped up and growled. His ears flattened against his head and the feathers on the ruff of his neck bristled. I stood up. "You need to sleep, Papa, come on. I'll help you to bed." My heart was racing. Evin had followed me and Geith here. How he had beat us to the ranch was irrelevent. What was important was that my family was in danger. I clipped my lightsaber to my belt as I guided Papa back to his bedroom.
"Geith," I whispered loudly. "Geith!"
"Quiet!" Papa growled and collapsed on his bed.
"Sorry, Papa," I said, heaving his legs up off the floor. "Papa, listen to me. I want you to stay here. No matter what you hear, do not leave this room.
"I won't if you won't," another voice said. "I grabbed my lightsabert and swung around, but I ended up flat on the floor when a fist collided with my jaw. Then it grabbed my shirt and lifted me back up to my feet.
"We meet again, Jedi whore," Evin said.
"What—"Papa slurred dazedly.
"Shut up, old man," Evin spat. "You're next."
"Leave him alone, Evin," I said. "He isn't a Jedi."
Evin sneered. "He brought you into existance. That's enough."
My mind was reeling. In my current situation there was very little I could do to save myself or my father. My lightsaber had been knocked underneath Papa's bed when Evin had hit me. Papa was struggling drunkenly to stand, but Evin kicked him and he dropped down, unconscious.
I winced, hearing his jaw crack. "You're making a big mistake, Evin," I said. "Geith and my uncle are in the next room. If they hear anything—"
"They'll come running?" Evin said loudly with a barking laugh. "Yes, yes, I suppose they would, but they're a bit…tied up." He kicked open Papa's closet, where Geith and Claine were slumped on the floor, tied back to back. Tiny glints of tranquilizer darts poked out of their necks.
Evin chuckled. "I've always loved those corny power-trip lines." He pinched the side of my neck, my vulnerable pressure point, and I must have poassed out, because the next thing I knew, I was tied to Geith and Claine.
By Ambassador Cara Jade
Part 8: Laughter in the Dark
Geith sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What're you doing, man?"
"Just my job, Geith." He snapped his fingers, and at the same time I felt a flare of danger, but before I could react, someone grabbed me violently from behind. I grunted and tried to wrench free, but the man was very strong.
"Callista!" Geith cried and lunged for the man that held me, but another appeared from the shadows and grabbed him. "Get off me! Get off!"
Evin stuck his thumbs in the back belt loops of his pants and sauntered closer. He nonchalantly drew a switchblade from his belt and twirled it on his fingers. Then the blade was out and pressed against my throat. It was cold on my skin, making me gasp with shock.
Evin stared icily into my eyes. "Geith, this is your last chance, man. You can still walk away clean."
"You're crazy, man." Geith strained from behind the man's arm around his neck.
Evin smiled, still staring at me. "I like you, Geith, and that's why I'm giving you another chance."
I looked at him; he was looking back at me. He closed his mouth, licked his lips. "No."
I looked back at Evin. His face was strong, impassive. "Suit yourself, Jiséo." he said. The blade of the knife shifted ever-so-slightly against my skin. I grabbed the Force like a lightsaber and prepared to strike a blow at these people.
Evin touched my face, and I had the strongest urge to bite his fingers. "They will pay handsomely for you." he said.
Now.
I threw the Force upon him like boiling water, and got very much the same reaction. The man who held me cried out and released me, as did the man holding Geith.
"Come on!" I cried, kicking away desperate hands that latched around my ankles. Geith picked up his duffel and grabbed my hand. We ran down the stairs.
"Get them!" Evin screamed after us. Pounding footsteps followed us as we dodged the mounds of parts and trash. A blaster bolt melted a clutch of screws to a spaner beside us. I screamed and chanced a looked behind us.
Evin's two thugs were close on our heels, blasters drawn.
"The speeder!" Geith creid and burst through the door. He leapt desperately for the speeder--
--and froze when he saw the condition of the ruined engine. It had melted, like the screws.
"Run!" I pushed him down the dark street. All the while I felt them followin us, tracking every blind turn made without judgement. Geith held my hand as we ran. His legs were longer and his strides wider. My breath heaved in and out of my lungs, my blood pounded in my ears. My sides ached. My feet struck the pavement rythmically. Every so often I looked behind me, and every time they were there, all of them running after us.
"Here!" Geith cried and pulled me around a corner. It was an alley, and there was a chain-link fence on the other end. I called the Force and leapt at the fence. Geith and I clamored up and over it, and dropped to the ground on the other side. We collapsed into a pile of garbage and crouched behind the bags. They had stopped rustling by the time Evin and his thugs passed us.
"Stay still," I said. "Wait for a moment."
Nobody returned, and when we had caught our breath, we crept from the garbage. I looked at Geith, and sighed. "Let's go." We started running again.
But when we reached the corner, something broad and heavy knocked my to the ground. I screamed.
"Callista!" Geith yelled and ran to rip the net off me, but Evin stunned him. He dropped beside me, out cold. I gasped and tried to move. A jolt rocked my body. A stun net.
Evin knelt beside me. "What is so special about you, huh?" he asked, his tone amused. I didn't move, other than to breathe. I stared at him. "What about you is so endearing that it makes this mercenary turn against his friends? YOu think being a Jedi let's you do whatever you want?"
I didn't answer.
Evin stood up with a disgusted sigh. "Load 'em up, guys."
"But...Geith--"
"I said load them up! Both of them!"
A low hum indicated the approach of a ship. I looked to the source of the sound.
It was the Cloak and Dagger.
Not my own brother, I thought.
I sighed with relief as the turbolasers fired at the two thugs advancing on Geith and I, sending them high into the air on the back of an explosion. The Dagger hovered above us, out of my range of vision. I heard two people drop to the ground. One of them had to be Master Altis, because the stun net was ripped off my back. I jumpd up and ran to Geith's side.
"Geith! Geith, wake up!"
Josef skidded to his knees beside me. "He's out. Let's get him on board." He and I lifted Geith's arms over our shoulders and ran to the Dagger as Cram brought it down. The ramp was lowered, and Master Altis and I lifted us all up to the edge of it.
"Go! Go! Go!" Josef yelled.
Roderick closed the ramp and lifted off again.
"How did you know?" I asked Master Altis.
"I sensed your emotions through the Force," he said. "You probably had no idea I was monitoring you."
"No," I said. I half-carried, half-dragged Geith to the passenger cabin. We collapsed onto the bed; I laid him out carefully and sat next to him. He finally stirred and opened his eyes.
"Good morning," I said, smiling and stroking his chest.
He groaned and took my hand. "Hey, baby. You okay?"
I smiled. "I'm fine. How do you feel?"
"Like I got run over by a garbade sled," he said with a laugh and beckoned me to lie down with him. I laid my head on his chest. "I'm sorry about Evin," he said. "If I'd had any idea--"
"Don't worry," I said, touching his face. "It's okay. He can't hurt us anymore."
Geith hugged me close and didn't say anything.
"Are you excited?" I asked him. "To start your training?"
"It'll be interesting," he replied. "Yeah, I'd say I'm excited." He kissed my forehead. "And I'll get to be with you."
I smiled. "Yes, you will." We laid in silence and eventually drifted off to sleep.
"Hey! Wake up, you guys!" With one eye open, I looked up in time to see Josef thump the wall and dart back into the hall. Geith sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, we're here." I said, taking his arm.
The Chu'unthor was waiting for us in orbit. Cram docked the Cloak and Dagger, and as the cloakers were being unloaded, we said our good-byes.
I embraced Josef tightly. "Thank you for everything, Josef. You saved us."
He squeezed me tighter. "Anytime, Callie," he said. He gave me a wry smile. "Stay in trouble, okay?"
I smiled and stepped back. "You're going to be a bad influence on me, little brother."
"Me?" he joked incredulously. "Who inspired whom to run away from home?"
I looked down at his hands in mine. "Seriously, though, be careful. Whoever was looking for us will probably be looking for you, too. Watch your back."
Josef's face was grim as he reassured me. "Don't worry, Callie. We'll be careful."
I nodded and hugged him again, this time kissing his cheek also. "I love you," I said.
"Love you, too," then quieter, "Long live the Jedi."
"Josef!" Cram yelled. "Let's get out of here!"
Josef looked at me and nodded. "On my way!" He called.
Geith walked over and put his arm around my waist. "Hey," he said, sticking his other hand out for Josef. "Clear skies, man."
"Hey, you too." He winked. "Take care of my sister. She's a handful."
I punched his arm. "Get out of here," I said with a laugh.
He laughed, too. "Talk to you guys later!" he called with a wave as he ran towards the Dagger. Geith and I waved back until the ship had left the docking bay.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Geith installed the cloakers, he threw himself entirely into the life of the Jedi. Every day he went to classes with the younger students, and every day I saw a new change in him, though the person I adored stayed the same. He seemed to latch on to empathy and telekinesis especially well. Every night, he and I met for dinner in the mess hall, and he'd tell excitedly about all he'd learned. He was like a convert to a new religion. "It's like everything makes sense all of a sudden," he told me. "The Force seems to explain everything.
As Geith continued on his own path to enlightenment, I continued my training with Master Altis. After having been his padawan for a year, I was more his squire than his page. His lessons were taught by example, which was a lesson in itself—teaching me to read into everything. About two weeks after the Bespin incident, Master Altis decided I was ready to build my lightsaber.
"The lightsaber is a Jedi personal test of skill and discipline," he said. "I'll point you in the right direction, but after that you're on your own." He took me to the weapons workshop, which was aisles and aisles of segrefated desks under a transparisteel dome that opened the entire room to the stars.
"I've never seen this room before," I said, craning my neck for a better view of the nebula looming outside.
"The lightsaber is an elegant, civilized weapon that rtequires dilligent practice to master. Each," he held up his own weapon, whose hilt bore a crosshatched grip incised with scrolling runes. "is as individual as the Jedi who weilds it. You will design your own, and it will be yours, and yours alone." He replaced the weapon at his belt, and led me to a row of bins. "Here, you will find all the components for your lightsaber, except for your focusing crystal. Those," he led me to a wide, flat drawer, which he opened to show me the neatly lined rows of uncut crystals of every color. "are right here."
"Wow," I breathed. The gems sparkled against the black dropcloth that lined the drawer.
"You can choose any one of these gems you wish, and you will cut it as these directions instrcut you." He handed me a datapad. "The rest you must discern on your own. It will take you many hours over many days, but you will have taken you largest step to becoming a Jedi Knight."
I looked at all the gems in the drawer. There were so many to choose from. Some reminded me of the waters of my homeworld, so blue they were almost black. Others were silver like the stars. The most beautiful, though, was a brilliant topaz yellow. It looked like the stone had captured a ray of Chad's sunset. I picked up one of these and looked at it at eye level. "I choose this one," I said.
"Lovely," Master Altis said. "I had a feeling you would."
I spent hours, that first day, chipping and polishing my crystal. The facets had to be exact, the measurements precise, or the lightsaber wouldn't function properly. My eyes burned as hour upon hour passed. My back was sore from bening over the desk for so long. As I sat up and stretched, I chanced a glance at the chronometer. It was past 1900 hours.
"Blast!" I muttered, remembering that I promised to meet Geith Geith for dinner at 1830. I scooped the pieces into a bin and threw it into a cubby, activating the Force-signature lock.
By the time I reached the mess hall, I was an hour late. I looked around the milling students and finally located Geith sitting against the wall. He looked and saw me, so he smiled and waved. "I'm so sorry," I said, dropping beside him and kissing him. "I lost track of time.
"I had no idea little pieces of metal could be so fascinating," he said. I smiled and curled under his arm.
"Have you heard from Cram or Josef?"
Geith shook his head. "No, actually. I haven't."
"Hmm. Do you think they're doing okay? I mean, you don't think anyone went after them, do you?"
"No, I really doubt it," Geith said with a laugh. "If I know Cram, they've erased all trace of themselves and're on the other side of the galaxy. We probably won't hear from them in for a while. Don't worry so much, Callie." He picked up a bread wafer and stirred it through his soup. "Try this," he said. "It's really good." He held the wafer in front of my mouth.
I shook my head. "I'm not hungry," I said, pushing his hand away.
"You okay?" he asked.
Before I answered, everything tore away to a new scene. I was sitting in shadows, with blue-black mist curling around me. Everything was quiet, but the underlying humming told me I was on a ship. I stood shakily, keeping one hand against the wall. I knew where I was.
The Cloak and Dagger.
Even as I realized it, a loud succession of explosions rocked the ship from beneath my feet. I grabbed a hold of the railing to steady myself. Bending over the railing, I saw figures moving through the smoke below me. Two of the figures were crouched behind an overturned table. Motionless bodies were strewn around them.
Cram and Josef.
Suddenly I was standing in front of them, surrounded by blaster bolts. I saw the fear on their faces, the surprise that they'd been caught. Then Cram took a shot in the chest and went down with a cry of pain. Josef turned briefly to stare in dismay at his fallen friend. "Cram!" he screamed. It was the first time I'd ever seen Josef genuinely afraid for his life. Seething, he turned back to his assailants behind me and stood up, picking up Cram's blaster and firing both of them desperately.
But for every shot he fired, three more were returned. One found his side with hurling power.
"Josef!" My mouth formed his name, but my voice failed.
Josef cried out and collapsed over Cram's body. Grunting in pain, he forced himself up and reached for his blaster. He was on his knees, then his feet. Weakly, he raised his blaster and fired repeatedly.
"Long live the Jedi!" He shouted on his last breath. Blaster bolts struck him in the chest, shoulders, stomach…
"No!" I screamed and sat up in bed.
Breathing heavily, I looked around to reassure myself that it had been just a dream.
Kasidy had told me that Jedi had certain strengths, and as hers had been empathy and projection, mine were telekinesis and prescience. I shuddered, hoping that it had not been a vision.
But two weeks later, as I was building the casing for my lightsaber, Geith came into the workshop. He touched my shoulder, startling me. I jumped and turned around. When I saw his face, I breathed in relief and smiled. "Oh, Geith…you—"
He didn't apologize for frightening me, instead he took me by the arm and helped me to my feet. "Callie, I—I need to talk to you."
I looked up at him. "What?"
His face was ruddy and his cheeks were wet.
"Geith, what is it?"
He led me into the hall. "Cram—Cram's wife called me this morning. She got…the log from the Cloak and Dagger. There was a message from Cram." He choked. "They were attacked, and…the entire crew was killed."
Heat wrapped around my head. It hadn't been a dream.
Josef was dead.
"I'm so sorry, Callie…" Geith offered, gently wrapping his arms around me, and I, numb and motionless, let him.
There is no death, there is the Force…
"I already told Master Altis. He thinks you should go home and tell your father."
"My father and I don't speak anymore, you know that," I told him huskily, trying to keep my voice level.
Geith nodded. "I know. But would you want to live your life not knowing if your child is alive or dead?"
I hadn't been to Chad in 18 months, and from space nothing seemed to have changed. Through the atmosphere, though, I knew I would feel like a stranger, a visitor. To keep my mind off it, I spent the entire time in the cabin, finishing my lightsaber. Geith had given me a few pieces of bronze to decorate my hilt, like Kasidy's lightsaber. I spent hours cutting the little pieces into the shapes of the tsaelke like my uncle used to keep. They represented what had begun my journey into the life of the Jedi.
"You okay?" Geith asked from the door of the cabin. I looked up at him and forced a smile.
"I'm fine," I said. All things considered, I was. Josef's death saddened me, by seeing it for myself told me he'd accepted death himself and died nobly. I was willing to bet that whoever had killed him had been hired by the same person who'd hired Evin.
"We're in the atmosphere. You wanna come sit up front?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"Oh…uh, sure." He took my hand and we walked to the cockpit.
"So, where is this ark of yours?" Geith asked.
I leaned forward and activated the com, punching in my uncle's code. "I don't know," I said as the connection went through. "They could be anywhere."
"Hello?" Uncle Claine answered on the other end.
"Uncle Claine," I said, my heart pounding. "Um…it's me."
"Callista?" he said my name is if he couldn't belive it was really me. "Oh, my dear niece! It's so wonderful to hear your voice again! Are you onplanet?"
"Uh, yes," I said. "Is my father still living with you?"
Claine sighed. "Yes. He is."
"Can you send me coordinates of your location? I have to come and see you both."
"Yeah, just a minute."
As he pulled up the coordinates, I asked, "Claine, how is he?"
For a moment I wasn't sure he heard me. Then he said. "He's very changed, Callista. Josef left a few months after you did, and Anela after that, because he was so changed." He didn't give me any other details. "Okay, here you go."
"Got 'em," Geith said. "We can be there in ten minutes."
"We're on our way, Uncle Claine," I said.
"See you soon, Callista."
Claine's ark was anchored near the border of the Arctic Cirlce. Geith set the ship down on the deck and powered down. Then he looked at me. "Are you ready?"
I took his hand as I stood. "Let's go."
We walked together down the ramp. Uncle Claine ran out to meet us. I let go of Geith's hand and hugged my uncle tightly.
"This is a gift from the gods," he said. "Seeing you will brighten your father's spirits."
"I wish that was why I came," I said. "But I have some bad news."
Claine's face fell. "What is it?" he demanded.
I bit my lip. "Id rather tell you both together, if that's okay."
Claine nodded and gestured for us to follow him. Geith slipped his hand back into mine.
"Oh," I said, stopping short again and touching my forehead. "Um, Uncle Claine, this is…my boyfriend, Geith. Geith, this is my Uncle Claine."
The two men shook hands. I noticed Uncle Claine's demeanor shift from concern to appraisal. "Let's go. We don't want to keep your father waiting."
Since I'd left, the ark had grown more cluttered, and now it hardly looked like my home of ten years. The rooms were dark, but the darkness appearled like deep indigo in the dusk. Claine led us into my father's office, as dark as the rest of the ark.
"Brigam?" he called as he turned on the glowpanels. "Someone's here to see you."
A groan emanated from the chair facing the wall. "Not now," my father's voice slurred. "I'm busy."
I looked at Claine, then walked around the desk an dknelt in front of my father. He looked terrible—unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes. He was clearly drunk. I'd never seen him drunk. "Papa, it's me," I said.
He looked down at me. "Callista…oh," he let the bottle drop from his hand. "I told you…I told you…"
"I know," I said. "I know." I stood up, taking the bottle. "Claine, Geith, help me get him to bed. He needs to sleep this off."
The three of us lifted Papa to his feet and guided him to his bedroom. He was asleep by the time we laid him down.
"Better throw away the rest of it," I said. "Claine, why'd you let him do this?"
"He needed something. The man's entire life fell apart before his eyes. I didn't—"
"Come on, Claine. Help us out." I shut the path of conversation and dumped the bottle out the window. "His head needs to be clear in the morning."
"Why?" Claine asked. "What terrible news is this?"
I sighed. "Josef is dead. His ship was attacked and they murdered the entire crew." I put a hand on Claine's arm and embraced him, and act not well-rehearsed between us.
Claine shuddered. "Are you all right?"
I nodded. "I'm okay."
"Do you know who did it?"
"I have an idea," I said.
Claine sighed, and tried to collect himself. "Um, uh…are either of you h-hungry? I could make you something t-to eat."
"I'm a little hungry," Geith said. He turned to me. "You?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm okay. You go ahead, though."
"Okay." He kissed me.
"Good night," I said, and retired to my old bedroom.
Everything was kept the way I'd left it. All the clothes I'd left behind still hung in my closet, the holos still sat on my dresser, my favorite stuffed wookiee sat on the corner of my bed. Jeebie was sprawled on my pillow. He looked up when I opened my door, his tail wagging. He barked and jumped off the bed.
"Jeebie!" I picked him up and hugged him. "I missed you, boy!" I carried him back to the bed and laid down. Stroking his downy fur evoked emotions in me. My tears flowed easily, released. "It's good to be home," I said.
"Callista?"
I looked up. Papa was standing in my doorway. I sat up carefully. "Come in."
He walked in and sat down at my desk. We sat across from each other in uncomfortable silence.
"Is that your lightsaber?" he asked.
I unclipped the finished weapon and twirled the hilt on my fingers. "Yeah."
He nodded. "You've learned a lot," he said.
"I have." He sounded entirely sober. I was amazed.
"Why are you here, Callista?" he said. "I told you not to come back." His hands were shaking.
"I had to come," I said. "Things have happened. Things I couldn't tell you any other way but in person."
"Who is that boy?" he asked. "A boyfriend?"
I sighed and nodded. "Yes."
Papa growled. "Make sure he takes care of you," he said, almost allowing.
I nodded. "He does."
"I knew you were coming," he said suddenly.
"How?" I said with a frown, playing along with his drunken ramblings. "Who told you?"
"He said he was a friend He said you sen thim ahead to let me know."
A pit dropped into my stomach. "Who."
He tried hard to remember, his brow crunched together in concentration. "I can't—I forget his name. Blond boy. Well dressed…are you marrying him?"
I tried to control my shaking. I licked my lips and shook my head. "No. No, Papa, I'm not." Suddenly, Jeebie jumped up and growled. His ears flattened against his head and the feathers on the ruff of his neck bristled. I stood up. "You need to sleep, Papa, come on. I'll help you to bed." My heart was racing. Evin had followed me and Geith here. How he had beat us to the ranch was irrelevent. What was important was that my family was in danger. I clipped my lightsaber to my belt as I guided Papa back to his bedroom.
"Geith," I whispered loudly. "Geith!"
"Quiet!" Papa growled and collapsed on his bed.
"Sorry, Papa," I said, heaving his legs up off the floor. "Papa, listen to me. I want you to stay here. No matter what you hear, do not leave this room.
"I won't if you won't," another voice said. "I grabbed my lightsabert and swung around, but I ended up flat on the floor when a fist collided with my jaw. Then it grabbed my shirt and lifted me back up to my feet.
"We meet again, Jedi whore," Evin said.
"What—"Papa slurred dazedly.
"Shut up, old man," Evin spat. "You're next."
"Leave him alone, Evin," I said. "He isn't a Jedi."
Evin sneered. "He brought you into existance. That's enough."
My mind was reeling. In my current situation there was very little I could do to save myself or my father. My lightsaber had been knocked underneath Papa's bed when Evin had hit me. Papa was struggling drunkenly to stand, but Evin kicked him and he dropped down, unconscious.
I winced, hearing his jaw crack. "You're making a big mistake, Evin," I said. "Geith and my uncle are in the next room. If they hear anything—"
"They'll come running?" Evin said loudly with a barking laugh. "Yes, yes, I suppose they would, but they're a bit…tied up." He kicked open Papa's closet, where Geith and Claine were slumped on the floor, tied back to back. Tiny glints of tranquilizer darts poked out of their necks.
Evin chuckled. "I've always loved those corny power-trip lines." He pinched the side of my neck, my vulnerable pressure point, and I must have poassed out, because the next thing I knew, I was tied to Geith and Claine.