Salmina, buried in the underbrush, watched the battle from just a short distance above, her soul torn two ways. Perhaps she could help them. Perhaps it was in her power. No. She couldn't go back now...
She saw Luke fall, watched him struggle back up. She watched as the bolt pierced his shoulder. She wanted to cry out; to jump down and grab his arm and pull him up, to use her meager control of the Force to save him. But she just sat there paralyzed with fear and with the conflict tearing her apart. Perhaps it was a shred of loyalty to her heritage that made her pause.
His blue eyes rose to her dark ones, piercing through her. That glance revealed to her that he knew her secret. Knew what she was. Knew what she had had to do. Knew what she would do. And forgave her. His fingers let go. With a gasp he fell into the gaping chasm.
A silence fell, cold and empty as death.
Salmina went numb. She knew she would never see him again. She could have saved him. She felt, as if from afar, someone grabbed her roughly and covered her mouth. On instinct she struggled, but only half-consciously.
"Ha, we've got her, sir!"
"Excellent work. Do what was planned."
Jessi tore her eyes away from Luke's fall and retreated farther into the cave, digging out the back with her lightsaber. As the remaining stormtroopers regrouped, silence settled in. Apparently they had gotten what they wanted. Battle adrenaline slowly simmered down and the immensity of what had happened hit Jessi. Luke was gone. Her hero, her teacher, her guidance, her Master. As close to a father figure as she had ever had.
All danger forgotten, she walked out to the edge of the now tiny ledge and stared into the spot he had fallen. The gaping, pitch-black crevice shattered her brave, happy spirit into a million pieces. Numbness crept over her from the shock, and forced her body to remain motionless, a gentle breeze blowing the loose ends in her blond hair. Her subconscious was dimly aware of the hum of her ignited lightsaber at her side; a pinprick of reality at the end of a tunnel of numbness. A wave of anguish swept over her and drowned the last of her joy. She deactivated her weapon with a tiny movement and collapsed to her knees, her eyes still locked on the crevice.
There she knelt, motionless, as the day wore on. There she knelt, as scorching sunlight heated the rock and made her flesh burn. There she knelt, as the crevice loomed before her, menacing, inverting the light to deathly darkness.
In the late afternoon, a tiny creature scampered curiously up to Jessi's still figure. It reached out a thin, claw-like leg and touched her arm with a squeak of an inquiry. Quick as lightning her hand flew up and smacked the creature angrily, sending it soaring with a pathetic whimper. She jumped to her feet, horrified at herself.
Brought back by the creature to all things physical, she wandered around the jungle listlessly. She had nothing to do. She didn't know what she could do. She was alone. Salmina was gone, Luke was gone... she wasn't even a full Jedi yet. Her booted foot caught on a root. She lost her balance and toppled forward into the foliage, cutting her hands and cheek and bruising her face. She got up without a change of expression and kept walking. Her world had died with Luke.
As darkness was setting in under the canopy of trees she discovered a small abandoned ship. Coming face to face with an eerie skeleton in the cockpit proved it was not actually abandoned. Jessi shrugged off the momentary alarm and dumped the deceased onto the ground. The controls were familiar enough, if a little outdated. Standard Imperial. There was an ample amount of fuel and it started up fine, so Jessi fled the planet. The planet where she had, once again, lost her life. And this time she didn't feel like finding a new one. All she wanted was to escape the sour memories until time erased them: by simple, tentative forgetfulness or by the thorough erasure of death.
Three days after that fateful day at Itaruni found her at Akrea, a dusty planet with many small towns. She dropped onto a rotting bench on a street lined with many small, worn buildings. She had stored her lightsaber in a ragged pack belonging to the former occupant of her newly acquired ship, which she hadn't bothered to name. She had no intention of using the Jedi weapon.
She drew out a dusty cracker from her pack, once again took a bite, and once again spit it out. She had no money to buy anything nutritional, but she figured that was fine because she didn't have any appetite to eat it with. Yawning, Jessi rubbed a dark-ringed, sleep-deprived eye with a thin hand. Passer-bys gave stares of sympathy, pity, curiosity, or just plain disgust. Some offered food she could not eat and some offered clothes or money. These she did accept, only because her old clothes had been torn and dirtied in the battle, and she needed money for fuel.
A small human child with his mother passed by. The little boy peered curiously at her bag and spotted her lightsaber, his small face lighting up.
"Are you a Jedi?" he asked excitedly.
Jessi turned her head. The mother rushed the child along, looking nervous.
Two human men passed by, talking. "...new Empress sure knows how to put a hold on this galaxy." They both laughed.
"I'll say. This is a woman that will reason." He tapped his head. "She's smart. Not like that old Emperor."
"Whassissname... Palpatine? I never liked him much."
"I know what you mean. I heard the new Empress is pretty nasty. Temper that would frighten a Wookie. Smart, but nasty personality."
"I like a little spice in a woman..." Their laughter faded off as they got out of hearing range.
Jessi sighed. What did it matter now? Suddenly she sensed someone standing behind her. The presence was oddly familiar. Whoever it was put a hand on Jessi's shoulder. She did not resist.
"Are you okay?" I was a kindly young woman's voice.
Then Jessi knew.
"No," she replied bluntly. Lying would get her nowhere in this situation. "A friend of mine died. He was shot by stormtroopers-" Her voice wavered.
"You don't have to tell me if it's too hard."
"Yes, I do," Jessi said brusquely, trying to hold back emotion.
"No, really-"
"He's your brother! Don't you care?" Jessi shouted, leaping off the bench and spinning around to face the woman. Tears were streaming down her face. "You- we looked for you everywhere!" Then she caught herself and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry," she whispered, head lowered. "I shouldn't have shouted at you."
Leia just stared gaping. A man came striding up- Han. One glance at the sad, pale shell of Jessi and his mouth dropped open.
"Jessi... Wha-what happened?"
Jessi stared at him a moment, her mouth clamped shut, trying to control her feeling, her childish impulse...
She gave up and threw her arms around his neck like a child around her father's, sobbing. "Oh, it was terrible! Salmina- she- she- and then we went- and the stormtroopers- Luke- oh Han, I've lost everything! Everything!"
Han looked down at the prone figure of Jessi. A different Jessi than he had known; not the energetic, confident, jolly, eager youngster he had met on Corellia. Her clothes were ragged, her skin sickly ashen, her sparkling gray-blue eyes dull. Looking at the broken Jessi, Han realized she truly had lost everything. Or given it up. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. This was uncharted territory for the rough space pirate.
Leia pushed the gnawing fear out of her mind and lifted Jessi off the ground. She would get the story later. She had to admit to herself she wasn't ready for the whole story, either. Han knew this girl? How?
"Come with us," Leia said gently. "We'll get you cleaned up. Then you can rest." She put her arm around Jessi's waist and led the trembling girl down the road. After only a few paces Jessi stumbled and fell to the ground in a dead faint. Han picked her up and carried her. Leia looked into his solemn face.
"Who is she?"
"Jessi Hamilton. I-I've never seen her like this. She was so strong."
A compliment from Han was like Christmas in July. "Something terrible must have happened. How did you meet her?"
"While we were separated."
"That's not what I meant. Who introduced you? What was she talking about? She was muttering something about not being finished training while I was helping her up. Is she a rogue pilot or something?"
"Whoa, one at a time, sweets."
"Who introduced you?"
Han did not answer.
After a long, dusty walk they reached the apartment and set Jessi on a bed. Han collapsed on the soft pallet with a sigh. "You ready for this?"
"Yes." A sickening feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. He was about to say the words she was dreading. She wasn't, however, going to let on to Han, so she set her jaw and steeled her heart. "Please. I need to know."
"She was Luke's apprentice."
So her fears came true. She retreated from the room so Han would not see the tears.
She saw Luke fall, watched him struggle back up. She watched as the bolt pierced his shoulder. She wanted to cry out; to jump down and grab his arm and pull him up, to use her meager control of the Force to save him. But she just sat there paralyzed with fear and with the conflict tearing her apart. Perhaps it was a shred of loyalty to her heritage that made her pause.
His blue eyes rose to her dark ones, piercing through her. That glance revealed to her that he knew her secret. Knew what she was. Knew what she had had to do. Knew what she would do. And forgave her. His fingers let go. With a gasp he fell into the gaping chasm.
A silence fell, cold and empty as death.
Salmina went numb. She knew she would never see him again. She could have saved him. She felt, as if from afar, someone grabbed her roughly and covered her mouth. On instinct she struggled, but only half-consciously.
"Ha, we've got her, sir!"
"Excellent work. Do what was planned."
Jessi tore her eyes away from Luke's fall and retreated farther into the cave, digging out the back with her lightsaber. As the remaining stormtroopers regrouped, silence settled in. Apparently they had gotten what they wanted. Battle adrenaline slowly simmered down and the immensity of what had happened hit Jessi. Luke was gone. Her hero, her teacher, her guidance, her Master. As close to a father figure as she had ever had.
All danger forgotten, she walked out to the edge of the now tiny ledge and stared into the spot he had fallen. The gaping, pitch-black crevice shattered her brave, happy spirit into a million pieces. Numbness crept over her from the shock, and forced her body to remain motionless, a gentle breeze blowing the loose ends in her blond hair. Her subconscious was dimly aware of the hum of her ignited lightsaber at her side; a pinprick of reality at the end of a tunnel of numbness. A wave of anguish swept over her and drowned the last of her joy. She deactivated her weapon with a tiny movement and collapsed to her knees, her eyes still locked on the crevice.
There she knelt, motionless, as the day wore on. There she knelt, as scorching sunlight heated the rock and made her flesh burn. There she knelt, as the crevice loomed before her, menacing, inverting the light to deathly darkness.
In the late afternoon, a tiny creature scampered curiously up to Jessi's still figure. It reached out a thin, claw-like leg and touched her arm with a squeak of an inquiry. Quick as lightning her hand flew up and smacked the creature angrily, sending it soaring with a pathetic whimper. She jumped to her feet, horrified at herself.
Brought back by the creature to all things physical, she wandered around the jungle listlessly. She had nothing to do. She didn't know what she could do. She was alone. Salmina was gone, Luke was gone... she wasn't even a full Jedi yet. Her booted foot caught on a root. She lost her balance and toppled forward into the foliage, cutting her hands and cheek and bruising her face. She got up without a change of expression and kept walking. Her world had died with Luke.
As darkness was setting in under the canopy of trees she discovered a small abandoned ship. Coming face to face with an eerie skeleton in the cockpit proved it was not actually abandoned. Jessi shrugged off the momentary alarm and dumped the deceased onto the ground. The controls were familiar enough, if a little outdated. Standard Imperial. There was an ample amount of fuel and it started up fine, so Jessi fled the planet. The planet where she had, once again, lost her life. And this time she didn't feel like finding a new one. All she wanted was to escape the sour memories until time erased them: by simple, tentative forgetfulness or by the thorough erasure of death.
Three days after that fateful day at Itaruni found her at Akrea, a dusty planet with many small towns. She dropped onto a rotting bench on a street lined with many small, worn buildings. She had stored her lightsaber in a ragged pack belonging to the former occupant of her newly acquired ship, which she hadn't bothered to name. She had no intention of using the Jedi weapon.
She drew out a dusty cracker from her pack, once again took a bite, and once again spit it out. She had no money to buy anything nutritional, but she figured that was fine because she didn't have any appetite to eat it with. Yawning, Jessi rubbed a dark-ringed, sleep-deprived eye with a thin hand. Passer-bys gave stares of sympathy, pity, curiosity, or just plain disgust. Some offered food she could not eat and some offered clothes or money. These she did accept, only because her old clothes had been torn and dirtied in the battle, and she needed money for fuel.
A small human child with his mother passed by. The little boy peered curiously at her bag and spotted her lightsaber, his small face lighting up.
"Are you a Jedi?" he asked excitedly.
Jessi turned her head. The mother rushed the child along, looking nervous.
Two human men passed by, talking. "...new Empress sure knows how to put a hold on this galaxy." They both laughed.
"I'll say. This is a woman that will reason." He tapped his head. "She's smart. Not like that old Emperor."
"Whassissname... Palpatine? I never liked him much."
"I know what you mean. I heard the new Empress is pretty nasty. Temper that would frighten a Wookie. Smart, but nasty personality."
"I like a little spice in a woman..." Their laughter faded off as they got out of hearing range.
Jessi sighed. What did it matter now? Suddenly she sensed someone standing behind her. The presence was oddly familiar. Whoever it was put a hand on Jessi's shoulder. She did not resist.
"Are you okay?" I was a kindly young woman's voice.
Then Jessi knew.
"No," she replied bluntly. Lying would get her nowhere in this situation. "A friend of mine died. He was shot by stormtroopers-" Her voice wavered.
"You don't have to tell me if it's too hard."
"Yes, I do," Jessi said brusquely, trying to hold back emotion.
"No, really-"
"He's your brother! Don't you care?" Jessi shouted, leaping off the bench and spinning around to face the woman. Tears were streaming down her face. "You- we looked for you everywhere!" Then she caught herself and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry," she whispered, head lowered. "I shouldn't have shouted at you."
Leia just stared gaping. A man came striding up- Han. One glance at the sad, pale shell of Jessi and his mouth dropped open.
"Jessi... Wha-what happened?"
Jessi stared at him a moment, her mouth clamped shut, trying to control her feeling, her childish impulse...
She gave up and threw her arms around his neck like a child around her father's, sobbing. "Oh, it was terrible! Salmina- she- she- and then we went- and the stormtroopers- Luke- oh Han, I've lost everything! Everything!"
Han looked down at the prone figure of Jessi. A different Jessi than he had known; not the energetic, confident, jolly, eager youngster he had met on Corellia. Her clothes were ragged, her skin sickly ashen, her sparkling gray-blue eyes dull. Looking at the broken Jessi, Han realized she truly had lost everything. Or given it up. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. This was uncharted territory for the rough space pirate.
Leia pushed the gnawing fear out of her mind and lifted Jessi off the ground. She would get the story later. She had to admit to herself she wasn't ready for the whole story, either. Han knew this girl? How?
"Come with us," Leia said gently. "We'll get you cleaned up. Then you can rest." She put her arm around Jessi's waist and led the trembling girl down the road. After only a few paces Jessi stumbled and fell to the ground in a dead faint. Han picked her up and carried her. Leia looked into his solemn face.
"Who is she?"
"Jessi Hamilton. I-I've never seen her like this. She was so strong."
A compliment from Han was like Christmas in July. "Something terrible must have happened. How did you meet her?"
"While we were separated."
"That's not what I meant. Who introduced you? What was she talking about? She was muttering something about not being finished training while I was helping her up. Is she a rogue pilot or something?"
"Whoa, one at a time, sweets."
"Who introduced you?"
Han did not answer.
After a long, dusty walk they reached the apartment and set Jessi on a bed. Han collapsed on the soft pallet with a sigh. "You ready for this?"
"Yes." A sickening feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. He was about to say the words she was dreading. She wasn't, however, going to let on to Han, so she set her jaw and steeled her heart. "Please. I need to know."
"She was Luke's apprentice."
So her fears came true. She retreated from the room so Han would not see the tears.