Mara tip toed down the dark passages until a familiar orange glow signaled the immense volcanic cavern ahead. Keeping out of sight, she peered down the shaft at the multiple levels and noticed a sense of agitation from the several of the guards. They marched hurriedly in groups of twos and threes waving their arms in subtle but telling nervousness. Their heads pivoted spasmodically as if in search of something — or someone. Suddenly, Mara realized the number of slaves had dwindled to approximately a third of what she and Luke had encountered previously.
Then, from her vantage point high above the guards, she spotted a lanky Wookiee and young girl darting between crates. She recognized the girl as being Annaïse, but she did not remember ever seeing her hairy companion before. Mara searched madly for the figure of a certain dashing Jedi Master, but did not see him anywhere. While the guards were searching another corner of their level, the two signaled a small group of slaves near them and led them soundlessly out of the cavern. When the guards returned they swarmed to the area where the slaves once were in a near panic. Mara could hear their unintelligible shouting and had to laugh at their fruitless attempts at finding the slaves' escape route.
Obviously, Luke had not given up on their mission. But where was he? Callista. If he thought she was dead, he would be after blood — Callista and Guru's blood. Mara desperately wished she could touch him through the Force, tell him she was alive. Even without the Force, she felt in her heart that if she did not reach him soon, he would seek revenge, which would only make him fall to the dark side. She had to get to Callista first.
The secret entrance into the house lay on the other side of the chasm. Mara decided she didn't have time to sneak all the way around the circumference. She would have to chance it being out in the open. Her clothes were already torn and dirty, so she slumped her shoulders and placed a look of dejection on her face and began a non-hurried walk toward one of the catwalks.
She had nearly reached the other side when she encountered a box turned over in the middle of the catwalk. Her brow furrowed. That's odd. Taking a quick glance around to see if she was still unspotted, she squatted down to inspect the contents which had spilled out of the box. She picked through the delicate white flowers. Buried in the dirt, lay a piece of flimsiplast. She dug it out and perused the contents. A map of the island was printed on the top with several sections of the mountains colored red. Instructions printed beneath the map ordered the receiver to extract the seeds and treat them with some sort of compound.
Frowning, Mara scooped flowers into the box and hauled it over to an isolated computer console. Luckily the last person to use the computer had left the computer logged on. She typed the compound into the computer. She quickly glanced around in case that person might decide to return to his work. After a few seconds, the information rolled across the screen. Mara blinked and double checked the entry to make sure she hadn't made some sort of mistake. According to the computer, the compound they were treating the flowers with was the same as the drug that had overloaded her Force senses.
She grabbed the flimsiplast again and stared at the map. The areas that she and Luke had lost their Force senses were in the same areas that were marked in red on the map. Images of the white flowers surrounding Guru's fortress and the white flower hiding the access panel to the mountainside entrance flashed across her memory. She returned to the map and followed one of the rivers from Mt. Ch'ameki to where they had regained their Force senses. Sure enough, the corresponding area was not in a red section.
But Guru was not only altering the flowers, he was infecting the seeds too. So when this generation of flowers of dies, its offspring would continue to produce the drug. And he would be able to transport the flowers to almost anywhere in the galaxy, because they would only show up as the original harmless flowers at any border checkpoints. They would have no idea about the genetic alterations until it was too late!
Mara quickly shut down the files she had pulled up and stashed the box under a work table and almost yelped in surprise when she encountered an unconscious body. The guy had a serious black eye forming, and the red marks around his neck suggested he was strangled until he blacked out. Mara smirked. Obviously, Luke had gotten here before she did. She gently patted the guard down and found his fully charged side arm. Then she dashed over to the section hiding the entrance to the main house and disappeared into darkness.
Luke wandered through the darkened corridors of the mansion, cautiously poking his head into each of the lavish chambers he came across. The house was unusually quiet. Too quiet. He had not run into any guards or personal staff of any kind. Even the few droids he had glimpsed earlier were eerily absent.
Keeping his lightsabre at the ready in one hand, he slowly turned the old fashioned handle on one of ornately engraved wooden doors and pushed it open. This room was the largest yet. With high ceilings, gothic pillars and randomly scattered greenery, the room was more a garden than a bedchamber. One wall was made almost entirely of glass and gave a view that in the daytime would have expanded all the way to the white sandy beaches on the Eastern side of the island. Although the Force remained elusive to him, Luke knew in his gut that he had found Callista's chambers at last.
His gut was proven right when he turned a corner and found Callista resting on a large cushioned sofa. Luke's throat tightened at the sight of her looking so relaxed and so beautiful, yet she wore an expression of sadness. She refused to look at him and kept her gaze distant. She had shed her disguise as Guru's assistant Auria. The folds of her wine-colored skirt splayed like the petals of a wild flower about her slim body. Anger, hurt, betrayal, love and remorse flowed as one river through Luke's consciousness. Callista was the cause of Mara's death, adding one more body count to the growing list of people who had gotten too close to Luke Skywalker. Fighting to get his emotions under control, he approached her, his lightsabre ready to spring to life at the slightest twinge of his thumb.
Without warning, Callista raised her eyes to meet his, and he was taken aback to see that her eyes were moist with unshed tears. She made no move to defend herself. She only held his gaze for a fleeting moment before staring off into space as before. Luke had expected a fight with a dark Jedi or at least an impassioned plea for him to come back to her. This apathy stopped him in his tracks, and he found his negative emotions being replaced by curiosity and, even more deadly, hope. Maybe Callista really had been a pawn in all of this. Maybe she hadn't caused Mara's death.
"What's going on here, Callista?" Luke asked. In all the confusion in his mind, it was the only thing he could think to say.
"I'm sorry, Luke," she began. "I never meant for this to go so far. I never meant for anyone to get hurt — for anyone to die."
Tears began to slip down her cheek, but Callista made no move to wipe them away. Luke felt himself sitting down beside her without even remembering walking the final distance to the sofa. He set his lightsabre next to him. They sat in silence for several uncomfortable moments, not daring to utter a word even if it would ease the tension. Callista made no move toward Luke but kept her head bowed in shame. Finally, Luke moved closer to her and put his arm around her trembling shoulders. She did not resist and let him hold her until she regained control of herself.
Despite the vengeance he had felt for Mara's death, Luke could feel himself softening toward his former lover. Forgiveness is of the light side of the Force, he repeated to himself. Callista may have temporarily fallen to the dark side, but he could help her find her way back. Callista raised her tear-stained face. Luke wiped away her tears.
"How did this happen," Luke asked without judgment. "You were once such a great Jedi."
Callista looked away. "Once." She repeated bitterly. "You don't know how hard it has been for me, Luke. To know that I can still do the things I used to do before I took over Cray's body. I still have that power, but it is forbidden to me because it now comes from the dark side. It is like the universe or the Force itself has played some kind of cruel joke. I cheated death, so the Force cheated me of my destiny. Never mind the near eternity I spend protecting that infernal ship from falling into the wrong hands."
"Your light side powers were taken from you for a reason," Luke responded gently. "I have to believe that there is a purpose in that beyond the universe playing a cruel joke on you. But that still doesn't explain how you ended up in this place with Guru manufacturing spice that could be devastating for all Jedi — including those you used to call friends on Yavin four."
"If you had seen how I'd been living, you'd understand. I bought passage to the most remote planet in the star charts so you wouldn't be able to find me. But once I got there, I couldn't escape. I was forced into near slave labor, washing out refreshers for the rich or serving ale to the slime of the galaxy. When Guru found me, I had already exercised some of my dark Force powers in keeping me safe from some of the more unsavory citizens. I thought I had it under control.
"Then Guru rented a villa in the town I had been living in, and I began to clean for him. He liked me and made me his personal assistant for the remainder of his stay. We began talking, and soon he found out who I was. He offered to take me to this island where I would work with him undercover on a special project. I would use my powers to disguise myself as Auria, so no one would know who I was. And in return, he said he would help me win you back. I knew he dealt in spice, but I had no idea what he was concocting for the Jedi.
"Then about a week ago, Guru told me he had arranged for you to come to the island, and everything I had been working for was about to come true. But when you arrived with Mara, I knew I was too late. I was so jealous, it nearly drove me insane. When I found out Guru's plans to capture you both, I did nothing to stop him. I didn't think he would actually go so far as to kill either of you. I guess I was wrong."
Luke had remained silent during Callista's confession, trying to make sense of everything she had told him. Everything she said seemed to fit with the information he already had, but something continued to nag at the back of his mind. But his heart ached to believe her. He needed to believe her, to rid himself of the pain that had been his constant companion for so many years. He closed his eyes. The distant hum that had engulfed his mind since he had been exposed to the anti-Force spice began to grow louder.
"I'm so sorry, Luke," she whispered when he hadn't said anything. "I just wanted us to be together again, as equals."
"I never thought of you as anything less than an equal," Luke insisted. It was the same argument they had had time and again when they were together, until one day Callista ended the argument by disappearing. This time, however, it seemed like it was finally starting to sink in.
"I realize that now," she said. "I know I have no right to ask this, but I want us to have another chance. Is that even possible now?"
She looked up at him with her gray eyes so full of hope and the near desperation for a life companion. Luke had seen that same look reflected back at him so many times in the mirror. He too simply wanted to ease the aching loneliness that pierced his heart every time he saw the happy family gatherings at his sister's apartments. He thought he could've had that with Mara, but Fate or the Force had decided differently. But now he was being given another chance at happiness. And he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers this time.
He leaned forward and locked his lips to Callista's. Their breath mingled as they wrapped their arms around each other. Luke breathed in the almost forgotten scent of her hair and skin, caressed the familiar contours of her body. When their lips broke away, they remained in an embrace.
"We still have a lot to work through," Luke murmured, a look of sadness mixed with hope passing over his features.
"We'll make it this time," Callista replied. A triumphant grin slid across her face.
Mara rapidly moved through the house in search of Luke. She passed through the empty corridors with trepidation. She grasped her stolen blaster with a steady hand, ready for any would-be attacker. Silently she opened doors and peeked inside. The house appeared to be empty. Odd. She entered one room that served as a either a sitting room or a reading room. A door on the adjacent wall led to another room, and that room lead to another.
Mara wandered through the maze, confident in her abilities to find her way back. She encountered a narrow set of stairs leading to a loft or balcony and yet another door. She reached out her hand to turn the knob, but halted when she heard voices. Immediately, she recognized one of them as belonging to Luke. Her heart soared despite the feminine voice that accompanied him. He must have found Callista, and as the voices were not raised in anger, he must have found a way to subdue her. She passed through the doorway and found herself on another balcony that was a reflection of the previous one. From her vantage point, she could see two figures sitting on a sofa. Her heart stopped beating for a second. There, wrapped in the arms of her captor and tormentor, was her lover. Their lips locked in a passionate kiss, which was then followed by a tender embrace. She could not see Luke's expression, because his back was to her, but the expression on Callista's face was as clear as Calamarian crystal. Callista had won.
Mara fought back her tears and silently exited the room. It looked like it would be up to her to complete the mission and save the Jedi Academy. She pushed her personal feelings aside and headed for the lower level.
A shadowy movement caught Callista's eye. She glanced over Luke's shoulder and up into the balcony. Stretching out with the Force, she at first felt nothing. She discreetly rubbed her nose, and her fingers brushed over the imperceptible bump where the nose filters had been lodged to protect her from the spice. Reaching out again, she caught a whisper of muted pain and betrayal seeping through an iron fist of control. Callista's expression darkened. Mara Jade must have escaped. But her agitation did have a silver lining; seeing Luke in her arms must have been quite a blow.
Callista's face melted back into the warm-hearted, tortured, penitent expression that had enraptured Luke. She pulled away from him gently. "Luke, we need to leave this place."
Luke opened his eyes as if awaking from a deep sleep. "Leave?" Suddenly some spark of memory lit his face. He stood up abruptly, grabbed Callista's hand and began pulling her toward the door. "We have to leave now."
Overjoyed, Callista followed him down the corridor. But a tendril of suspicion pulled at her. "Don't get me wrong, Luke, I'm glad we're getting out of here, but why the big rush? What about Guru and buyer?"
"I've taken care of it," he replied simply.
"Wait!" Callista pulled up short causing Luke to stumble backward a few steps. "I forgot, there is one last thing I must do before we leave."
"We don't have time," Luke insisted.
"It will only take a second," she persisted. "It will take a few minutes to find a speeder or hover car to take us to the hangar. While you do that, I can finish my business here."
Callista could tell Luke wasn't going for the plan, so she exerted subliminal pressure on him through the Force. But she had to be careful, because even though he couldn't feel the Force, he was a smart man and would figure out he was being manipulated if she didn't keep him distracted.
After a pause, Luke finally nodded. "Okay, but meet me in the antechamber next to the grand reception room in five minutes." He kissed her roughly before taking off at a dead run down the hallway. Callista rubbed her chin where his several days of beard growth had scratched her. She reminded herself to give him a shave first thing when they reached her ship.
She whirled on her heel and ran back to her quarters. Picking up her comm, she beeped Guru. He was quick to respond. "You idiot! You let Jade escape! You were supposed to kill her!"
Guru's voice came back raspy and strained. "We'll find her. Don't you worry about that."
"You'd better find her. She could mess up all our plans. Find her and kill her — permanently this time." Callista jammed the comm into a pocket. A small feeling of guilt tickled her conscience. Luke obviously planned on destroying the lab, maybe even the whole island. That would explain his haste — no, his desperation — in getting her off world as quickly as possible. She brushed the feeling aside. Guru was getting what he deserves and so was she. If he perished along with his men and Pellaeon's delivery boy, then so be it. She had what she wanted and no one was going to ever use her again. She took a last glance at her luxurious quarters, then dashed off to the rendezvous spot to meet Luke.