Forever Home: A Luke and Callista Story

by Ambassador Cara Jade

What if Callista had gotten her powers back? New content in all chapters! Please R/R

2. The Droid

Forever Home: A Luke and Callista Story

Part 2

The interrogation lasted half an hour. She and Luke had no idea who had sent this HRD—let alone the Bothan assassin—and there was no telling what else this mysterious person would send against them.
Unfortunately, they were no closer to finding their answer than they had been before the droid had arrived. None of the interrogation equipment the Academy had at its disposal did any good against the Human Replica Droid, and the Bothan seemed to have the constitution of a rock. All they ever said to the two Jedi were empty threats.
It unnerved Callista that they had no idea who this enemy was.
When they were finally finished, Luke and Callista left the droid and the Bothan in the brig, locking the two assassins in behind them. At the other end of the hall, Kyp and Dorsk 81 had collapsed into chairs to wait for them.
"So, how'd it go?" Kyp asked as he and his companion sat up.
"She wouldn't answer any of her questions," Luke said solemnly. "We put her in the brig with Neeja."
"Was Neeja able to tell you anything?" Kyp pressed.
Callista shook her head. "Nothing. Their lips are sealed as far as they're concerned. We'll figure out how to deal with them later. In the meantime, we'd better keep an eye out."
"Could the Empire be behind this?" asked Dorsk 81.
No question, Luke said. Some warlord must've constructed the HRD and sent her to kill us all."
"I have a very bad feeling about this," Kyp said uneasily, looking around the cramped corridor. "I've been sensing a disturbance in the Force since this morning."
"Join the club," Luke said, knowing exactly what his student was going through.
"So, what now?" Dorsk 81 asked.
Callista gave the Khomm alien a reassuring smile. "What else? We wait."
"I'm going to contact Tereias's family and let them know what happened," Luke added sadly, his eyes drifting over to Callista. "It's not gonna be easy for me to tell them, butsomeone has to let them know"
The group nodded, and remained silent for a long time, mourning the death of their friend.
"Well, in the meantime," Kyp concluded, "let's go warn the other students about what's going on."
Callista nodded. "Good idea. Luke, why don't you join them, and I'll go up to the Holonet archives for a little while, see if I can find any evidence of Imperial activity."
Luke drew air through his teeth. "Are you sure it's such a good idea to go alone? I mean, with everything that's going on"
Callista smiled and put her arms around his shoulders. He always looked so cute when he was worried about her. "I'll be fine, Luke. I'm a big girl. And anyway," she added with a wink. "It's just a few assassins. No need to pull out the buddy system."
"Yeah, but—"
"Anyway, no offense to you, Kyp, but I think the students would be more inclined to take this matter seriously if their Master is telling them."
Kyp nodded. "I agree. Come on, Master Skywalker."
Luke finally acceded. "Okay. But Callista, please be careful."
Callista smiled, and kissed him gently. "I will. I promise."

The Holocron archives were located at the very base of the Massassi ziggurat, in the same room where over a decade ago, the Rebellion had planned their attack on the first Death Star. Over a dozen shelves were stacked head to toe with Holocrons from various worlds, all in varying degrees of condition, with recordings from various Jedi Masters long gone. The library—like most libraries in the galaxy—was mostly quiet and tranquil, for few students ever came down there; the ones who did came to learn more about the ancient history of the Jedi. Tionne, in particular, frequented this place almost every day, and would spend hours researching the Holocrons, preparing for her next ballad.
Today, however, Callista was alone. Tionne—as well as the other Jedi students—were gathered in the Grand Audience Chamber, where Luke was informing them of the HRD threat, as well as holding a memorial for poor Tereias.
Callista's heart went out to Tereias, as well as his family—who had no doubt already received the news of the young man's death—and she wished she were upstairs with Luke at that moment. But a question continued to hover at the edges of her mind, something that had been bothering her for over two days now
How did she get her powers back?
Callista sat in silence, chewing on a bland—but nutritious, according to the wrapper—ration bar as she listened to a recording made by the Jedi Master Vodo Siosk-Baas, who had been the mentor of the Sith Lord Exar Kun, who had later killed the old Master in a duel.
Callista had seen this Holocron before. A long, long time ago—in another lifetime, it seemed like—when she had been a young woman, around sixteen or seventeen years old, under the tutelage of Djinn Altis on the Chu'unthor. Those memories were so vague to her now. It had been decades ago, and her imprisonment on the Eye of Palpatine had pretty much wiped out much of her remembrance of her past. Bits and pieces remained in her mind, certainly, just enough to continue reminding her of the life she had left behind, but for the most partit was all just a blur.
Bit by bit, though, those lost memories were beginning to come back to her, in the form of dreams—mostly nightmares. And as they came back to her, Callista wished that they had just stayed gone
The Holocron droned on and on, and Callista was beginning to feel frustrated. She had been in the library for hours now, and she was still no closer to discovering the source of her newly established powers than she had been two days ago. Many times, the holographic image of Master Vodo had mentioned Ulic Qel-Droma, the only other Jedi in recorded history other than Callista who had lost his powers.
Only, unlike Callista, he had never gotten them back.
Why me, though? she thought, angrily switching the Holocron off, and putting her head down on the table, trying to think. Am I the only Jedi in history to ever have this happen to? She had checked many other Holocrons recorded by other Masters—Nomi Sunrider, Thon, and even Luke's Master Yoda—and still found no answers.
Perhaps she was looking in the wrong place, she thought, as she stood up and began pacing around the library, looking over at the dozens of Holocrons sitting upon the shelves, many of them having collected dust and cobwebs, recognizing several of them from the Chu'unthor. Maybe her answer had nothing at all to do with the Force. Maybe there was something else involved, something the ancient Jedi Masters had had no idea of
As she walked along the narrow aisles, trying to let her thoughts collect, Callista's vision began to blur. She stopped and rubbed her eyes, wondering what was wrong—maybe she was tired; she had not gotten much sleep in the past few days
And when her eyes opened, she was no longer in the librarybut on a ship.
Callista's heart almost stopped, and she let out a shocked gasp. She saw movement from the corner of her left eye, and turned to see a woman shorter than she, with a wave of dark brown hair—mixed with a few blond streaks—and blue eyes that smiled over at her. She seemed so familiar to her
You'll need to be careful for a while. It's very easy to get lost here.
What? Callista closed her eyes, and opened them, and all at once, the woman was gone, as was the ship. She was now back in the Great Temple library, amidst the shelves of Holocrons.
Alone.
Don't tell me I'm going crazy now, Callista thought as she leaned against the stone wall, taking in several deep breaths. That ship—it had been the Chu'unthor. It had to be. She would recognize that ship anyplace. It was one of the few things she still remembered about her past.
And the woman, her face, the words she had spokenthey were so familiar, as if it had really happened, but no matter how hard Callista tried, her mind just could not completely remember it—
A crash sounded in the room, and Callista jumped, startled out of her thoughts.
All at once, that same feeling—that same dark presence that had been in Callista's bedroom—flared back, almost suffocating her.
She was no longer alone.
"Hello?" she called out, her voice slightly shrill. Her eyes scanned the library, but she saw no movement, no signs of anyone else in the room but her. Maybe it was just Luke, or one of his students. But that same feeling remained"Hello? Who's there?"
A shadow loomed over her, and Callista spun around, but it was merely one of the shelves. Look at me. Jumping at every little thing, now. I must be going nuts or something"I know you're in here. Where are you?"
Footsteps.
Callista's fears were confirmed. They were coming from the farthest shelf, as if the person had realized that his or her cover was blown, and was trying to get away as quickly as possible.
The minute the door opened and slammed, Callista ran after it. She flung the library door open and ran out into the old hangar bay, which had once housed dozens of X-wing and Y-wing fighters, and was now empty, save for the Shapeshifter, Luke's personal ship. The bay was dark and deserted, the lamplights above her long since dead. The only light streamed through the cracks in the temple walls, offering Callista little comfort.
Where did you go? she thought, as she stretched out with the Force. No one else was inside the bay but her, the mysterious person now gone. And still, she could feel that being's presence, dark and evil, could still feel it watching her from the shadows
Why does this keep happening to me?
And as she stood there, alone and shrouded in darkness, Callista could hear Djinn's voice whisper in her ear, a warning that made her blood run ice-cold, her heart pound in terror.
CallistaLuke will die

Even in the stillness of her room, the jumbled noise in Callista's head made it hard for her to think. It seemed she had stood there for hours in only half an hour, arms folded on her chest, the sound of her steady breathing the only sound in her room.
Luke will die
Callista shivered as she heard Djinn's warning resonate in her mind, making her skin grow cold. The images she had seen in the Holocron library, the noises she had heard, the presence she had felt, remained with her, despite all attempts to block them out.
Stop it! she scolded herself, feeling her anger warm her body. You're overreacting here. There's nothing going on. It's all just in your head
But something inside her told Callista that she was lying to herself. Something was going on, and she had no idea what. It remained at the edges of her subconscious, tantalizing her with that familiarity, and yet, she could not remember it. It was beginning to drive her crazy. That presence, whoever it belonged to, was someone Callista had known a long time ago, someone she had loved
And had been taken away from her.
She felt Luke's arms slide around her waist, and she leaned back, taking his arms and tightening them around her. Just the feel of her lover's arms helped ease some of her discomfort.
"Hey," he whispered in her ear. "A credit for your thoughts?"
She turned and pressed her forehead to his, looping her arms around his neck. "You already know what I'm thinking," she answered back, as he kissed her smiling mouth.
"Crazy day, huh?"
She nodded wanly. "You can say that again." She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "How did it go with Tereias's family?"
She could feel Luke's body stiffen at the question, and for the first time, she sensed that her lover was feeling just as upset as shebut for different reasons. "Not well at all," he said sadly. "His mother just wouldn't believe me when I told her. She accused me that if I had been doing my job right, this never would have happened." He sighed. "And perhaps she was right."
"No." Callista looked up into Luke's eyes, their roles switched; now, it was he who needed the comforting. "It wasn't your fault, Luke. There was nothing you could have done. None of us saw it coming." She offered him a comforting kiss on the cheek. "You did everything you could. You stopped the HRD before she could kill anyone else."
"I know." The faintest shimmer of tears pooled in his blue eyes. "It justwasn't enough to save him."
"I'm sorry, Luke," Callista whispered, as she took his hand in hers. Her worries instantly forgotten, she wiped the tears that slowly slid down his cheeks with the tips of her fingers, unable to bear the sight of seeing her love in so much pain.
He pulled her closer to him—so close that she could feel his breath on her face. As she looked into his eyes, she could see the many things he wanted to tell her, could almost see the words forming in his mind.
At long last, he said simply, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
She smiled and brought her hand to his face. "Yeah," she said, "but I love hearing it over and over, so can you tell me again?"
"Gladly," he said, and took her face in his hands and kissed her—his warmth, his energy, his spirit infusing themselves within her.
When they finally parted, she felt her cheeks flush. "How did I get this lucky?" she whispered. "All those years on that forsaken shipI never thought I'd find human contact again, and now—not only did I, but I found so much more"
"I think," said Luke, "we saved each other."
She smiled at him. "Spoken like a wise Jedi Master," she said.
"How did your search in the archives go?" Luke asked, as he continued holding her, kissing her on the crown of her head.
Callista fidgeted just barely at the mention of the Holocron room. Already, the horrifying images she had seen were beginning to resurface"Another dead end. I'd rather not talk about it right now."
She could sense that Luke knew something was deeply troubling her. But because he loved her so much and respected her privacy, he let it go, and just stood there with his arms encircling her slender body. Callista lightly traced the bruises and welts that blossomed on his face. "I can't believe what she did to you. I almost lost you"
"I sense a lecture coming," Luke said, only half-joking.
"It was foolish of you to go up against her alone. You nearly got killed."
"But I didn't," Luke said back, his voice just barely rising. "It was stupid, I'll admit that. I was just worried for your safety, and of my students—"
"Luke, we're not little children," Callista said. "We can take care of ourselves. That's part of what being a Jedi Knight is. To function together as a team." She traced a large bruise that began at the left side of his forehead and continued all the way down to his jaw. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than I was earlier," Luke said with a grin. "But you know what make me feel even better?"
"What?"
"A kiss, if you will."
Callista could not help but smile. "I'd be happy to oblige, Master Skywalker," she said, her lips just beginning to brush his mouth.
A furious pounding at the door interrupted the lovers. Luke broke from her embrace and made his way to the door. It slid open to reveal a shaken Kyp.
"Master SkywalkerI'm sorry to intrude, but it's an emergency"
"Kyp, what is it?" Luke said, pulling him into the room. It was then that Callista noticed the blood-torn clothing he wore.
"Stars, what happened?" she exclaimed, rushing to their side, and pressing a hand to the bleeding wound on his abdominal area.
Kyp shook his head. "I'll be all right—"
"The hell you will be!" Callista said.
"TionneYou must help TionneMaster Skywalker, CallistaI think she's dyinyou have to come"

Luke and Callista helped support Kyp as he led them to the infirmary. Blood flowed from his stomach injury, volumes—too much. Callista's hand remained pressed to the wound, but small runnels of warm blood still managed to squeeze through, spilling onto the floor.
"Tionne" Kyp whimpered, wincing as he took another step.
"Shhh," Callista whispered, using her free hand to stroke his hair, like a mother to her son. "It'll be okay, Kyp, I promise. Everything will be okay"
They reached the infirmary in record time. Kyp was on the verge of passing out by the time they had stepped through the door. What Callista saw in the room told her that everything was not okay. "Tionne!" she gasped.
The beautiful, silver-haired woman lay prone on the medtable, blood flowing from a deep wound on one side of her head. Her injuries were even more grievous than Kyp's; it looked as if someone had beaten her with something largeand blunt.
"Kyp!" Cilghal said quietly, melancholy. "Please, lie down before you do further damage to yourself." She went over to help Luke and Callista position the young man atop another table next to Tionne. "I found them ten minutes ago, Master Skywalker. Kyp was lying next to her, nearly out. He can't remember anything that happened. They're both in very bad shape, I'm afraid."
"" Kyp managed to moan, his eyes beginning to lose focus. "didn't see it coming"
Callista could not describe the horror that shook her to the core. Could the HRD have"Tionne, what happened?" No answer. "She's not dead. I can feel her. Who could have done this?" She could already feel her throat tighten. Pleaseshe silently begged. We've already lost one. Not another
"I don't know at this point. I haven't had time to really examine her. She may recover, but we don't know what condition she's in. Look at the wound on her head, here." Cilghal gestured at the gash that covered the left area of Tionne's forehead and soaked her silver hair with blood. "I'd say that this was done by a club, or something else blunt. Kyp must've come in after she was knocked out and tried to help, but they overpowered him. I'm doing everything I can to save them; I promise."
Luke turned to Callista. "Callie, do me a favor. Rally the students. I don't think we're alone here. We need to comb this entire place for Imperials."
"Luke, you don't think" Callista said, meeting her lover's eyes.
Luke knew what she was thinking. "I don't know. It's possible"
"The two prisoners are still locked up," Cilghal told them as she applied a warm, wet rag onto Tionne's wound. "That's where I found them. The door was locked."
"No," Callista said, a sickening sensation in her gut. "It was their accomplices, whoever they are. They're somewhere in this templetrying to free them, maybe. Tionne and Kyp must have gotten in their way." Her resolve to find these people strengthened. "Well, we'll just have to find them before they find that droid."
"I'll stay here with Tionne and Kyp," Cilghal said. "But I'll need a medical droid to assist me."
"I'll get one for you," Luke said. "Then I'll get the students together."
"I'll go scout around," Callista offered. "Something might turn up that'll help us. A clue or something."
"All right, but meet us in the Audience Hall in ten minutes, okay?"
"Will do."
"Be careful, Callista," Luke said as she headed for the door.
Callista gripped the doorpost and turned around. With a wink, she said, "Hey, I'm always careful."

Brakiss crept down the dark tunnel, careful to make as little noise as possible, for fear of possibly being discovered by one of the Jedi students.
He had left Kyp and Tionne for dead just outside the prison corridor. Tionne had been carrying the identification card needed to open the cell door that contained the HRD and the Bothan assassin, and she had refused to give it to him. So, he had to be a little more insistent
Brakiss had once been an Imperial agent, brainwashed by the Empire since the day he was born. Master Skywalker had known about this, and still thought he could make Brakiss see the light.
But Skywalker was a fool. He had no idea of all the torment and suffering Brakiss had put through in his life—the separation from his mother, the brainwashing, the terrible Imperial training, the nightmares. No one here on Yavin 4 could understand.
Luckily, the Empire was willing to give him a second chance.
Brakiss finally reached the cell door, and slipped the identification card through the lock. A green light flashed above the door, and it slid open a second later with a quiet swoosh.
Without hesitation, the HRD stepped into the hallway, looking very much like a fearsome deity about to unleash her wrath upon the people who had imprisoned her.
Brakiss looked over her shoulder, expecting Neeja to follow her out. But there was no movement from inside the cell. "Hey, where's the Bothan?"
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," the droid said coldly, through parted, immobile lips. "Spending so much time in that cramped cell made me feel a littlebloodthirsty. So, as you can guess, it is very messy in there."
Brakiss shuddered, amazed at the sheer destruction this weapon could cause.
"Thank you for freeing me," the droid replied. "I owe you my services."
"I work for Admiral Daala," Brakiss said proudly. "Carry out you—"
His loftiness was broken as the droid latched onto his chest and extended her fingernails into razor-sharp knives, shoving deep into his flesh. She twisted her hands and ripped them out, trailing strings of gore. Ten ragged holes grew more prominent in his tunic, growing purple with leaking blood.
Brakiss's mouth opened in a wordless scream of indescribable pain. His eyes grew blank, and his knees buckled until he slumped to the floor.
"Look on the bright side, Brakiss," the HRD hissed over his defunct corpse. "At least your life isn't so bad anymore."

Callista wandered away from the infirmary and silently trekked the corridors. As far as she could tell, she was alone—but she knew that could not last for long, not at the rate things were going.
The tunnel was deathly silent, like a tomb, broken only by Callista's own ragged breathing. Sweat ran down her face, stinging her eyes. Callista wiped them away and continued onward.
As she walked, the image of Djinn Altis played over and over in her mind. Her skin ran cold with fear as she remembered what had happened in the Holocron library, remembered that familiar feeling she had sensed, the images of the Chu'unthor.
Was this happening for a reason, trying to warn her about something, of an impending dangeror was she just going insane?
Callista was glad to have her Force powers back—she would certainly need them at a time like this—but she still had no idea how they had been restored to her. Was this necessarily a good thing? A few days ago, she would have thought yes, but now
Was Djinn trying to warn her about that?
Then she recalled the voice in her head. Luke will dieWhat had Djinn meant by that? Would the Human Replica Droid kill him?
Well, Callista was not about to let that happen to Luke—or to anyone for that matter.
Never again, Callista had promised herself. Not after she had let her mother die.
Growing up motherless had left Callista permanently scarred. Now, years later, she longed to feel her mother's sweet kiss on her face, the soft texture of her long, black hairbut those were only empty dreams. Callista knew that she could never again regain the innocence she had lost from her mother's death. It was tragic, but true.
Still, that did not prevent her from dreaming.
It is your fault, you know, a voice whispered in her head, alien to her, but dark and seething with evil. You never loved her at all. She died because of you, you selfish little bitch!
As Callista walked, she noticed the walls around her begin to lose shape, to blur, to close in on her. Dizziness washed over her, threatening to propel her into blackness. Very distinctly, she could hear the crashing of waves, and the flapping wings of seagulls
You killed your own mother. She will never forgive you.
Callista closed her eyes, as if doing so would ward these horrible thoughts away. But they always remained in her mind, continued to threaten her, whisper lies into her ears. In her mind, she could visualize the shape of a bottle of drain cleaner
When your time comes, join me
The corridor melted away, as did Callista. The frightening, unfamiliar voice mixed in with her mother's last words before she had died, and the world Callista knew was enveloped in a bright flash of light—
She was seven years old, a child, lumbering through the hallway that led from her bedroom to the house refresher. Her eyes were fixated on the refresher door. The lights were on indicating that someone was in there. Her mother had not come out in a long time, and she could sense that something was wrong
"M-Mama?"
She moved forth, woodenly. She wanted to run, to see if her mother was all right. But time had slowed down around her, and she could barely walk. But she continued to move forth in slow, plodding steps, fear wrapping around her body like an invisible blanket. Outside, she could hear the rest of her family, laughing as they enjoyed themselves on the beach, unknowing of what was going on.
Of what was to come.
But they would know. They would know very soon
"Mama? Are you all right?"
There was no answer. No answer other than the uncomfortable silence. She could hear movement from inside the refresher, something hitting the floor. Glass shattered, and she could hear herself almost screaming. Something was wrongsomething had happened to Mama.
"Mamawhat's going on?"
Still no answer. The silence was terrifying.
She was within arm's reach of the door now, terror paralyzing her body. She somehow found the strength to reach out with one tiny, chubby hand and press the button that would slide open the door. It began to open, slowso very, very slow.
"Mama?" A small, barely audible squeak escaped her mouth.
The door began to open, and a bright light came out, washing over the little girl. A woman's agonized scream cut through the still air, and—
Callista opened her eyes and screamed.
When she finally regained her awareness, she looked around and saw that she was still in the Great Temple, far away from Chad, away from her nightmare. She had been standing in the corridor for Force knows how long. The memory remained clear and frightening in her mind, and she could not stop the tremors that shook her body.
I killed her
She looked up abruptly when she heard a noise from up ahead.
Taking a deep breath, the image of the hallway hovering at the fringes of her consciousness, she moved forth again, more cautiously, her feet landing softly and soundlessly. As she moved, she vaguely could hear the sound of footsteps.
Moving away from her.
Then a scream.
Without hesitation, Callista headed for the prison cell that held Neeja and the droid. Something in her gut told her that she had to go there. Although she did not know what to expect—as if things could not get any worse for her, after what she had just seen—Callista had an extremely bad feeling that
She skidded to a halt, inertia from her headlong flight sending her a few catching steps ahead as she tried to stop.
There was a body lying on the floor, near the open cell door.
It was a student.
Callista dropped to her knees beside the fallen form. It was Brakiss, and one look at him told her that he was dead.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Callista took a look inside the cell.
What she saw staggered her. Apparently, the two roommates had not gotten along so well. The walls of the cell were caked with dried alien blood. As her eyes drank in the horrible sight, Callista saw Neeja, or rather, what had to be Neeja. Her body was completely torn apart. All that remained was a bloodied, unrecognizable mass of flesh and a few tufts of Bothan fur.
Her hand going up to her mouth to stifle a gasp, Callista backed away from the cell and began running down the hallway. The droid was loose.
Luke had to know about this immediately.
Or had the droid already reached him? Luke will die
No! Callista's mind shouted in rage. I will NOT let that happen!
She had barely turned a corner before a figure stepped from the shadows, barring her path. Callista let out an involuntary yelp of surprise and stepped back, her intuition and fear already telling her who it was.
The figure stepped out of the darkness, revealing the droid.
"Well, well, well," the droid said as she closed in on Callista. "If it isn'tme. I see you've noticed my handiwork already," the droid smirked, her eyes drifting toward the Bothan's mutilated corpse. "Nasty little thingIf only she had been more cooperative, I would not havetorn her apart so"
Her cackles sent chills up Callista's spine. "And Brakiss?"
"Yes, yesBrakiss," the droid continued, her sneer growing even wider. She looked more like a psychotic serial killer than a droid. "Well, I suppose that's what Daala gets for getting her help from holoads."
Callista took another step back from the droid, and noticed for the first time that the HRD walked without any trace of a limp. "I saw Luke break your leg earlier. How could you have healed so quickly?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" the droid sneered. "Self-repair units can be such a lovely boon to assassin droids, don't you think? It makes killing us even harder than before. I have a question for you: when I kill your lover, should I start by ripping his arms off and work my way down, or the other way around—"
If you lay a hand on Luke, I'll
Callista took a deep breath. Calm. A Jedi must be at calm. At peace. Djinn had drilled this into their heads enough times. The dark side was never the way to the light, she reminded herself. She had to fight to keep her anger at bay here.
But the sight of Brakiss and Neeja, the blood soaking their lifeless bodiesthe temptation to tear the droid limb from limb was so great—
"What's the matter, Jedi? Can't find your tongue?" her mirror image taunted. "You're really too squeamish. It's just a little blood"
"This stops here and now," Callista said, managing to keep her voice even, though the emotions raged within her.
Not another onenot another one
"Who says? You're not going to stop me, are you?"
The droid took a step closer to Callista, and Callista's hand automatically went for the lightsaber at her side. She would be ready.
"You beat me earlier because you had your boyfriend helping you," she said, inching closer to Callista. "But now it's just the two of us. Are you willing to risk it?"
"A Jedi does what a Jedi must," Callista shot back. She smiled back at the droid, and watched her snarl in response. "I've already died once. I'm not afraid of dying again."
"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, because you will die today. And so will your beloved Jedi Master!"
"NO!"
Callista leaped at the droid in fury. Within a few seconds, she tore her lightsaber from her belt, and it snap-hissed to life, its sun-colored blade casting an eerie yellow hue in the darkness of the corridor. As she moved to strike against her unguarded opponent, something stopped her.
Callista
She stepped back, and saw that her opponent was just as stunned as she was.
Callista, the voice beckoned again. This time, she knew who it was—it was Djinn. Anger leads to the dark side. Do not take her bait.
Callista deactivated her blade and took in a shaky inhale. But a few seconds later, she regretted having disarmed herself.
Without warning, the droid moved to her left in a blur of inhuman speed. She snatched at the lightsaber clipped to Brakiss's belt, and ripped it free from its deceased owner. The blood-red beam came to life, and the HRD slashed at Callista—narrowly missing her shoulder.
Callista cursed and reactivated her weapon. Their blades made contact, yellow and red coloring the lifeless crypt with their fire.
Inch for inch, stride for stride, the droid matched her every move perfectly. And though it did not feel like it overpowered her, neither did she feel she could overpower it.
Blades humming, crackling in the still, dense air of the hallway, Callista gritted her teeth and drew on all her energy to fight off the droid. She did not know how much longer she could keep doing this.
Callista drew upon the Force, as Djinn had advised her, using it for the light rather than for the dark. She aimed a chop for the droid's neck, intending to decapitate her right then and there.
The droid saw the blow coming, and easily deflected the topaz blade aside. She sneered wickedly into the Jedi's face. "You'll have to do better than that," she said teasingly, her voice thick with contempt.
In a lapse of concentration, Callista unleashed her anger and kicked the droid full in the face, catching her off guard. She wasn't completely sure that the blow had hurt, but it was enough to stagger her. She threw a lower kick, catching her in the side, and the droid was knocked against the wall. With a spin, Callista slashed downwards, aiming for the HRD's head—
Recovering and moving faster than anticipated, the droid blocked the blade with her own. "Much better," she said, as she snatched Callista by the arm and swung her around into the wall, their faces pressed closer together. "But not good enough, I'm afraid." She kept her grip on the other's arm, pressing with almost enough pressure to snap the bone.
Thinking fast, Callista head-butted the droid. Had the droid been human, the blow would have pulverized her nose. As it was, she staggered back, nearly losing her balance as she hit the opposite wall, her grip on Callista's arm lost. Blood trickled from her nose and mouth in crimson ribbons. When she regained her equilibrium, she charged forth with her saber with a vengeful cry.
Callista met the red sword's attack, producing sparks that sizzled in all directions. The droid slashed toward her opponent's head, but Callista was able to dodge it by a hairsbreadth.
In retaliation, she jabbed her blade toward the droid's gut. Unfortunately, her opponent saw it coming, and kicked Callista's wrist, snapping the weapon out of the way. Callista felt as if her fingers had been flattened, but somehow she kept the hilt in her hand.
In seconds, she resumed her attack position, and the droid came at her with powerful speed.
The HRD fought with such strength and speed that Callista was finding it difficult to concentrate, even with the Force. Her entire hand was throbbing with pain, making it hard to keep a firm grip on her weapon. Her energy was beginning to wear off, whereas the droid looked as if she could continue to fight well into the night. Callista would have to win this fight quickly.
But how?
Finally seeing an opening, Callista chopped the topaz beam down toward the HRD's left arm. But she miscalculated her attack, and the droid was able to avoid the incoming blade. Callista lunged toward her, and the droid sidestepped, grabbed her by the shoulder, and redirected her to the floor, nearly wrenching her shoulder clean out of its socket.
Callista remained sprawled across the stone floor, her shoulder on the verge of dislocation. She groaned and rose to her hands and knees, her eyes never leaving the grinning droid.
Her mind whirring, her arm burning with fresh pain from the shoulder all the way down to her bruised fingers, Callista did the only reasonably thing she could do.
She ran.
She could hear thundering footsteps behind her as the droid gave chase, but she did not dare look back. She continued running down the darkened corridor, her mind wild with barely controlled fear, reaching out with the Force to anyone who could hear her.
Luke, she finally whispered, knowing he could hear her wherever he was. Luke, please come

"I want you all to be very careful," Luke said in a commanding voice as he stood before the gathered students in the Grand Audience Chamber. The students listened with rapt and horrified attention as their Master informed them of the prisoner's escape. "This droid is extremely dangerous. She has already killed one of my studentsand I don't want that to happen again. If any of you should encounter this droid, don't try to engage it. Run, as quickly as you can, and let me know as soon as possible. I will deal with this situation myself.
"May the Force be with you."
With that, the students rose from their seats as one unit, and began filing out of the Audience Chamber. Luke's mind picked up on the dozens of quiet conversations that passed between them, particularly the younger ones. Fear and uncertainty were running rampant in their minds, as well as rage from the older students, who wished for their new threat to be already over.
Once the last student had left, Kam Solusar and Kirana Ti—two of Luke's original students, and two of the most powerful at that—went up to join the Jedi Master on the dais.
"Master, I have a bad feeling about this," Kam said honestly. "Judging from what this droid did to Tereias, who knows what else it is capable of."
"I agree," Kirana Ti added, also showing some traces of uncertainty, which surprised Luke, considering that the warrior woman was normally stoic and calm in situations like this. "I fear for everyone's safety here, Master Skywalker. Especially the younger ones. What if the droid should—"
"Calm yourselves," Luke quietly admonished them. "The HRD is indeed a lethal weapon, and I also have my concerns, but we can't let our fears hamper us. If we're gong to find it, we have to be patient and calm."
Their conversation was broken by a loud, shrill scream that invaded his mind. Luke flinched at the river of pain and terror that followed, and he immediately recognized the voice.
Luke!
"Callista!" Luke said, his voice unusually loud.
"What is it, Master Skywalker?" Kirana Ti asked.
"It's Callista," Luke gasped, sudden dread weighing down his gut. "She's in trouble!"
"The droid," Solusar said.
It was not a question.

Callista dashed madly down the corridor, her footsteps echoing in the claustrophobic chamber, the pain in her arm now a dull, throbbing ache. A stitch was forming in her side—it had been a while since she had run so hard—and yet she forced herself to keep moving.
Slowly, but surely, the HRD was gaining on her.
Callista stumbled and fell. She threw her hands out to catch herself, and the rough stone grated at the flesh of her hands and knees. Desperate, and heedless of the pain, she leaped to her feet and doubled her speed.
It was hopeless.
Luke! Callista called out to him, near panic. She did not know what else to do. She could not fight the droid by herself, and she could not surrender.
She needed help.
Luke, come quickly!
Fear leads to the dark sidea voice whispered in her ear. The voice of Djinn Altis. Fear, anger, hopelessnessYou must not lead Luke here, my child. The Force shall guide you when you need it.
Callista skidded to a stop, the words of her Master resounding in her mind. She turned around and stood firm, waiting for the droid to catch up to her.
She came seconds later, rounding a corner, Brakiss's lightsaber casting a demonic red glow in the dark tunnel.
The Human Replica Droid seemed half-surprised, half-amused. "What, you're not keep gonna run away?"
Callista shook her head, keeping her face a blank, empty mask. "No more running. I'm going to finish this right here, right now."
"I'm stronger than you, Skywalker, and always will be," the HRD said as she circled around Callista, never taking her eyes off her. The smile never left her face.
"You're wrong," Callista countered evenly, while at the same time trying to catch her breath from having run so hard. "Evil is never stronger than good. You may be able to kill me, and Luke, and maybe even the entire Jedi Academy, but there will always be more. The dark side may win some battles, but it will never win the war." She wobbled on her feet, her equilibrium fading in and out of effectiveness.
The droid laughed and kicked her deep in the stomach, seeming to Callista that her foot had left marks on her gut with all the force put behind it. She crumbled, every single cell in her body screaming out in agony.
As Callista writhed on the floor, she drew on the Force and cleared her mind. A Jedi does what a Jedi must, she reminded herself.
In her mind, she heard Djinn's deep voice spurring her on: Fight through the pain, the exhaustion, the uncertaintyand never, ever let evil triumph
Adamantly, her Master's words surging her with new power, Callista flew from her fetal position and hurled herself at the HRD so quickly that her mirror image had not expected it. They fell to the floor with an ear-crashing thud in a jumble of identical limbs and relentless rage, the droid's head smashing against the hard stone.
"How does it feel?" Callista said, getting back up, watching as the droid eased up on her elbows.
The droid gnashed her teeth, and brought her foot up to kick Callista, but this time the Jedi was ready. With the quick reflexes that had been her blessing from the very beginning, she leaped away to avoid the kick, which narrowly missed her forehead.
The pain crept back to her body slowly. Fire raged under her skin—in the torn tendons and severed ligaments.
Just hold on a little longer, she implored herself. Just a little longer.
Another kick to her stomach sent her catapulting across the room, propelled by the air as it left her body. She hit the floor, and slid a full meter before stopping. Her vision blacked, and when it returned, she weakly looked up to see the droid staring down at her, a victorious smile on her blood-red lips.
The droid loomed over her, Brakiss's lightsaber raised above her head, ready to end Callista's life.
At the same time, Callista—using the last of her near-gone strength—struck the droid with the Force. The droid cried out in surprise and anger as she was knocked backwards through the air—
And into the garbage chute.
Callista could hear the droid shrieking as she slid down the tiny tunnel and into the trash compactor, deep underneath the Great Temple. She stood up and sighed. "Never mess with a Jedi," she said with a relieved grin, followed by several winces as the pain returned to her tenfold.
Callista, armed with her lightsaber and the Force, headed for the garbage room below, determined to put an end to this once and for all.

"This way!" Luke exclaimed breathlessly as he led Kam Solusar and Kirana Ti down the prison corridor. He ran toward the entrance door, his lightsaber out and ready. His mind was focused on only one thing: to get to Callista.
"I hope we are not too late," Kirana Ti said as she ran beside him.
"I think we already are," Luke said gravely, as they rounded the corner and into the adjoining hallway.
The three halted in unison at the carnage that awaited them, the shock just barely beginning to register on their faces. Off to his side, Luke heard Kirana Ti utter a Dathomirian curse, while Kam gnashed his teeth in disgust.
The entrance to the HRD's cell was open. As Luke peeked in, he noticed the blood smears on the walls, and the puddle of unrecognizable flesh torn apart on the floorthe remains of the Bothan assassin, Neeja. Outside the cell was Brakiss's corpse, bleeding profusely from his chest, as if someone had dug several sharp blades through his ribs.
Luke stood in the midst of the atrocity, gaping. The stench was nauseating, and he had to draw upon the Force to prevent from passing out.
"What happened?" said Kirana Ti, her face pale.
"I have no idea," he replied.

The garbage chamber was as large as the Audience Hall, and was filled top to bottom with waste—scraps of food, pieces of broken lightsabers, debris, refuse, human and alien waste. Any sort of filth that existed could be found in this room. The smell was unbearable for anyone who entered the area.
Callista, her lightsaber at her side, cautiously walked across the walkway that separated her from the ocean of trash. She knew the HRD was around here somewherebut where?
She stretched out with her feelings, her mind probing every area of the garbage chamber. She could feel a dark disturbance emanating from somewhere nearbybut because her enemy was a droid, and not alive, she could not pinpoint its exact location.
She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, and she spun around to see her opponent standing behind her, a wicked grin on her beautiful, artificial face.
"Surprise!" she shouted, already raising her weapon.
Callista had little time to react before the hilt of the lightsaber fell upon her temple. A burning rise of agony exploded in her skull in a blaze of blinding light, and she vaguely felt herself losing her balance and tumbling off the walkway. The world spun around her as she landed in an enormous pile of wires and plastic, and her vision went black
Luke heard Callista's silent scream in his mind. "Callista!" he shouted, startling his two students. "I know where she is!"
"Where?" Kam asked.
"The garbage chamber," Luke said, very certain. "Come on!"
They ran.

*

The Human Replica Droid laughed—her cackle echoing throughout the vast chamber—as she brought her lightsaber down upon the fallen Jedi, heading for her neck.
A voice suddenly rang from behind. "Wrong Jedi, lady!"
The HRD turned in surprise to find Skywalker—along with two more of his students—standing behind her, all three armed with their Jedi weapons.
"Get away from her," Luke warned in a deep, threatening voice, putting strength behind each and every word.
The droid locked her cold gaze on him, and then looked down at Callista. Several slow, agonizing seconds passed before she finally relinquished, and stepped away from Callista's unconscious form. "I'm not after her, anyway. My true target is standing right in front of me. Isn't that right, Skywalker?"
Luke ignored her as he stepped forth. He nodded quickly, and Kam and Kirana Ti went over to pick up Callista and take her away from the fight that would soon erupt between the combatants. They then went to stand on either side of their Master, protectively flanking him.
"You want me?" Luke said to the droid, his lightsaber the only barrier between him and the assassin. "I'm right here, then. Give me your best shot."
The droid's smile widened even more. "With pleasure."
She moved fast, faster than Luke had anticipated. First, she was directly in front of him, the next second she stop atop the tall mound of garbage off to his right. Luke had barely even seen her move, even with the Force.
A second later, he was met by a hard boot to his face.
The pain that exploded behind his eyes was excruciating, and he felt his body fall back, hitting the filth-soaked ground. Stars danced across his vision, mixed in with the droid landing before him and attacking with her lightsaber.
Almost immediately, Kam's lightsaber came up to intercept hers. At first the HRD was surprised, but it quickly vanished as she twisted her wrists, diverting the lightsaber toward Kam's chest. Kam saw it coming and stepped away, but wasn't fast enough. The edge of the red blade brushed against his collarbone, sizzling the flesh it touched. Kam cried out and reeled back, one hand going up to the fresh burn on his chest.
Luke tried to get up to help his friend, but the pain that raged across his face was so great that he collapsed to one knee. He heard Kirana Ti call out Kam's name and rush to his rescue. The HRD now directed her attention to the warrior woman, ducking an attack that would have taken her head cleanly off. She unleashed a ferocious backhand that snapped Kirana Ti's head to the left, and followed with a kick to the stomach that rendered her sprawling unconscious.
"No!" Luke cried out, and he was on his feet again, the pain beginning to diminish as he relied on the Force to give him the strength he needed to defeat this killer once and for all.
The droid spun at the sound of his voice, and unleashed another swing at him with her weapon. Luke narrowly dodged the searing blade, even as she tried a direct jab for the heart.
Retrieving his fallen lightsaber with the Force, Luke brought his blade up to intersect with the HRD's, and pushed the attack aside.
His moment of victory was short-lived, though, as the droid brought her fist straight into his jaw. The blow spun Luke around—he distinctly felt one of his teeth dislodge from his mouth—and the droid followed with a sidekick to the small of his back, knocking him against the walkway.
Luke's lightsaber went sailing from his grip as he fell. As he quickly rose to his knees, the HRD was already moving in for the kill, cold and silent efficiency burning in her lifeless gray eyes. She held her lightsaber in both hands and brought it up, intending to strike a blow that would cleave Luke in two—
His hands were up in less than a second, snatching her by the arms and twisting them down, forcing her to drop her lightsaber. He knocked her aside with a Force blow, pitching her into a pile of urine and droppings.
Luke rolled to his feet and flipped onto the walkway, calling his lightsaber into his hand. The droid looked up at him, enraged; Luke merely smiled back, silently beckoning her.
The droid complied, leaping onto the platform a few six feet away from him. Kam followed suit, and the battle continued.
Luke aimed a blow that would slice her legs off just above the knees. But the droid was more than capable of avoiding his attack, and she leaped away from the blade, throwing her foot into his back, dropping him to his knees. A searing pain ripped through his spine and down to his legs, and Luke could not hold back a scream.
As he writhed on the walkway in agony, the HRD spun to face Kam Solusar. The moment their blades met, she thrust her knee up into his gut. The blow connected, hard, drawing out all the air in Kam's body. A second blow brought him to one knee, and the droid climaxed with a knee to his face. Even from where Luke remained on his knees, he could hear the breaking of Kam's nose as the blow struck home. Kam was left moaning on the ground, his hands covering his nose, blood smearing his face and the front of his brown tunic.
As the HRD turned her attention back to Luke, he attempted another kick, entangling his leg into the droid's, and forcing her off the walkway. The droid cried out in unexpected anger as she fell, the back of her head smashing against a ruined R2 unit.
Luke leaped off the walkway, intending to use this moment to his advantage. He had barely gone over to the droid's side, however, before he felt her grab him by the front of his jumpsuit and lurch him forward.
As she pulled him, she sent a painful kick into his face
Luke fell back, feeling a wash of blood spurt freely from his torn lips. He spat more out as he scrambled to his feet, looking around for his lightsaber. Where had it gone—
He saw the droid come at him, and he threw a punch at her. The HRD brought her head to the left as the blow sailed past her, leaving her unharmed. He tried again, and the droid's arm came up to deflect it. That alone was enough to cause Luke's hand to go numb, and as he reeled, she threw a succession of punches to his gut, each one connecting, and each one hurting. A right hook to his jaw staggered him back, and the droid moved forth and shoved him with enough force to tear him off his feet. His back bounced hard off the slime-ridden wall, and he nearly fell.
He had just managed to gain his footing when the droid strode forth and kicked him full in the chest, cracking several ribs and dropping him to the ground.
The droid's triumphant cackle coursed through Luke's ears, tearing through the fiery pain that burned in his chest, and when he looked up, she was standing over him, her lightsaber once again in her hands. "Mission accomplished, Skywalker," she said as she brought her lightsaber up.
Her victory was shattered by a startled scream as something invisible snatched her by the neck and lifted her up into the air. The HRD dropped her lightsaber and struggled, her eyes wide with rage.
"Think again," a voice said, and Luke turned to see Callista, now fully recovered, and soaked in filth. Her eyes were focused entirely on the squirming HRD.
Luke, I think it's time to take out the trash, wouldn't you say?
Luke's eyes drifted around the vast chamber and rested on the garbage masher pit lying several yards away. A sly smile crept upon his face as he thought-spoke, Good idea, my love.
As the droid tried unsuccessfully to break free of the Force grip, Luke and Callista hurled her into the pit.
The HRD screamed in terror as she plunged deep into the hole. Luke then used the Force to gather as much garbage as he could and dumped it all into the pit, burying the droid in tons of scrap.
The garbage masher sprang to life, activated by a mere thought from Callista, and the four walls began to close in on each other, compressing the garbage into a neat square half the size of Luke's hand—with the droid trapped inside.
Luke could barely hear the droid's frightened screams of agony as the wall pressed upon her in all directions, slowly but surely crushing her into a small square, with the rest of the garbage.
Within seconds, the droid's screams stopped.
Callista looked over at Luke and sighed. "I hate computers."

Callista climbed out of the bacta tank a few hours later, feeling more refreshed than she had ever since her first encounter with the Replica Droid. Every cut, every bruise she had received at the hands of the look-alike assassin had completely healed up, leaving little to no scars. The bacta experience, however, had been absolutely dreadful, and she hoped never to experience it again.
"How are you feeling?" Cilghal asked, as she wrapped a towel around Callista's soaked form.
Callista nodded. "Much better. Thanks, Cilghal." As she began drying her hair, she added, "How's Luke doing?"
"He's doing fine. He should be out within a few minutes."
"Good." Callista could feel some of her tension in her chest ease. "And what the others? Are they okay?"
"Kirana Ti and Kam are doing just fine. They both needed an hour or two of bacta treatment. Kyp's on his feet now. Tionne's condition has stabilized; it looks like she's going to make it. She just needs some rest. You all took some pretty hard knocks today."
Callista couldn't help but smile. "Tell me about it," she said. "But we got her in the end. Anyways, thank you very much, Cilghal."
Cilghal nodded back to her. "I'll leave you alone so you can change."
Cilghal left the room, leaving Callista alone. She looked around as she dried off, still worried that at any moment the HRD would spring on her from behind.
But it wasn't the HRD that took her by surprise.
A pair of hands wrapped another towel around her body, and Callista gave an abbreviated scream. She whirled around, holding the edges of her towel to keep it from slipping.
But it was only Luke behind her, who met her with a kiss on her eyebrow. "Good to see you on your own two feet," he said.
Callista sighed with relief and leaned against him. "You scared me, you big nerf-herder."
"I'm sorry," he said, although Callista could see the faint beginnings of a chuckle lining the edges of his mouth. "I promise. It wasn't my intention." He looked at her with an impish grin. "You looked cold."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," Callista shot back playfully, although her own towel was completely soaked by now. She gratefully accepted Luke's and finished drying off.
With mischievous intent in his eyes, he leaned in and kissed her ear, whispering, "But you do look good wet."
"None of that, Master Jedi," Callista murmured playfully. "Remember, I'm still in a fragile state."
She moved closer to him and brought her hand up to his face, gingerly tracing the bruises that hadn't quite faded yet, even after the bacta treatment. He flinched a little under her fingertips, and then slowly eased under her touch.
He brought her close to him, wanting to feel her breath on his cheek—seeking some sort of tangible proof that she was really here by his side, and not in danger of her look-alike assassin. Their light exchange faded to memory and was replaced by the hushed breaths of relief that everything was going to be okay.
It was Callista who spoke first, to break the long silence between them.
"It kills me to think that she hurt you like this," she whispered.
Luke felt her delicate skin grazing his jawline, and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It's over now," he told her. "And I'm fine. We'll, I'll live, anyway." He laughed softly, and she began to laugh with him as well. "I wasn't too crazy about having to go in there, again." He gestured towards the bacta tank, the memories flooding back. Eight years had gone by since the wampa's vicious attack on him, and he could still taste the bacta in his mouth from the last time he had been submerged in the gooey, red liquid.
"I'm sorry you had to go in there again," she said with a smile of understanding. "But I'm just glad you came out of there okay."
He nodded and gave her a deep kiss. "Thanks for caring," he whispered. He looked and noticed her bloodshot eyes, the pain and worn exhaustion on her face. "Are you all right?" His hands framed her face in concern.
"Don't worry about me—"
"Hey, tough girl," he joked, eliciting a smile from her. "Can you blame the guy who's hopelessly in love with you for worrying about you?"
"No, I guess not," she admitted. Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
"I know you can take care of yourself," Luke said. "I've seen that for myself, and as a matter of fact, it's one of the reasons I love you so much." He lifted her chin with his finger and brought her face closer to his. "But I can't help it if I get a little protective sometimes. I don't want to see the woman I love get hurt."
"Just as I don't want to see you get hurt, either," she reminded him. "So, I guess that means we'll just both have to get used to worrying about each other." She laughed, a soft lilt of a laugh that tickled Luke's ears.
"You've got a deal," he said, reaching over to give her another kiss. "HmmmI better get changed." He smiled sheepishly as he pulled away slightly, and saw that his jumpsuit had gotten wet from the bacta that hadn't yet evaporated from her skin.
She laughed. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't towel off enough."
He watched her laughing in her carefree and spontaneous way, and he marveled at just how! beautiful this woman was. He reached for her hand, and she came to him, pressing herself to him for another impromptu kiss.
"I feel like a teenager," she said, slightly breathless from laughter. She leaned in close and touched her forehead to his. "That's how you make me feel, Luke."
He kissed her, and he knew she could feel him smile against her mouth. "Callie," he whispered, his eyes locked with hers. "Marry me. Right here, right now."
She gasped—he knew she was not expecting him to say that, and he had to admit, he had not expected it either. But as soon as he spoke the words, he knew this: nothing had ever felt so right.
"I mean it, Callista," he said, breathing into her mouth. "I know it's crazy, and I know it's sudden, but you and I both know it's right."
She smiled back at him and nodded, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "There's nothing that would make me happier than being your wife, Luke Skywalker."