Forever Home: A Luke and Callista Story
Part 4
The Falcon blew another TIE into space dust, and Han took the brief respite to speak to Wedge.
"Wedge, if we stay out here much longer, they're going to overwhelm us," he said.
"I'm not going to argue with that," Wedge said, concentrating on the TIE he was chasing. Not even the Rogues could handle the amount of TIEs they were fighting. "What do you suggest?"
"For a start, we could try and draw the fleet away from Yavin," Han said. "That should give the others some breathing space and give our fleet time to get here." He turned to Chewie, and the Wookiee arfed in confirmation that the signal had been sent.
"Okay, here we go," Han said, turning the Falcon toward the closest perimeter of the battlefield.
"Right with you, Falcon," Wedge acknowledged, as the Rogues disengaged.
The roar of the approaching speeder bike grew louder, and Kirana Ti, holding her lightsaber ignited and prepared, tensed in readiness.
She stepped out from behind the tree she was concealed behind and hurled her lightsaber at the bike. The energy blade sliced through the control vanes, sending it out of control and straight into a large tree.
"That's one!" she shouted to Kam Solusar.
Luke and Callista fought as one, their lightsabers crashing against the Sith Witch's blood-red blade. The hiss of their swords echoed in the corridor, the breathing of the three warriors the only other accompanying sound. They had slowly taken their fight down one of the deserted hallways, which seemed to be leading toward the Knight Hammer's docking bay. Already, Callista could see the open entrance that led into the vast chamber.
Callista narrowly dodged an attack that tore through the wall where she had been standing earlier. No sooner had she stepped away did the other woman strike again. With lightning-fast reflexes, Callista performed a flip over the Witch's back and landed right behind her. She spun around just in time to deflect another jab.
"Luke!" she said over the fighting. "Get the detonators ready! I'll hold her off!" She struck with her own blade, slicing off the Sith Witch's black cape. As it floated down, Callista reached over and picked it up, and dumped it over the Sith Witch's head. It temporarily ruined her focus, and as the woman struggled to throw the cloak off, Callista dropped her with a swift kick to the head.
Luke gave her a quick nod. "Good luck!" Then he ran off toward the empty TIE chamber, beginning the second phase of their mission to disable the Knight Hammer.
That left Callista alone with the Sith Witch.
The woman had scrambled out from under the dark cloak, and she stood, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth. "Not bad," she hissed. "This is going to be very interesting."
Callista stepped closer, her lightsaber held in front of her. "Oh, trust me, it will."
Luke headed toward the rear bay of the hangar, moving with the stealth only a Jedi could possess. His eyes quickly searched the area; all of the TIE fighters and interceptors had already been dispatched to battle the Rogues. The bombers, however, remained unattended to, obviously until it was ready to bombard the Great Temple.
Perfect.
The TIE bombers were fully loaded with explosives. When the detonators would go off, the bombs from the TIEs would help feed into the explosion, which would be just enough to cripple the Knight Hammer beyond repair, or at the very least severely damage it.
Luke switched off his saber and reattached it to his belt, and climbed atop the nearest bomber, reaching into his robe to take out a small bag of Talesian A-700 grenades. Made with enough power to lay waste to an entire building-the Knight Hammer itself equaled to about ten or twelve Coruscant skyscrapers-three or four of them would hopefully be enough to weaken the Super Star Destroyer.
Unlike the original Talesian versions, A-700s were programmed with a five-minute timer, hopefully giving Luke and Callista just enough time to escape before they went off.
As he opened the bomber's hatch and began arming the first detonator, a voice from behind shouted, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Luke turned, startled, to see several stormtroopers standing before him, blasters drawn.
No sooner had his eyes laid upon the white-armored soldiers did Luke quickly hid the detonators, silently cursing the fact that he had left his lightsaber on his belt. At any other time, the stormtroopers would have been a piece of ryshcate for him to handle, but with the ysalamiri cutting him off from the Force, he felt acutely vulnerable.
He moved slowly away from the detonators he had left on the hull. The stormtroopers did not seem aware that they were there, and he quickly reached out and pressed the activation switch on the one he had been working on earlier before the troopers had arrived. He would be blown to atoms if his gambit failed, but he was gambling that the five-minute delay set on the detonators would give the stormtroopers enough time to take him to a detention cell.
One of the stormtroopers gestured. "Give us that lightsaber now, or we'll fry you hotter than a sun." He glanced at the stormtrooper to his right. "Daala did say dead or alive, didn't she?" she asked under his breath.
"Shaddup, Grotto!" the other hissed back.
Luke slowly detached the lightsaber from his belt and threw it down to the deck, then climbed down.
The stormtroopers cuffed him and led him away, one retrieving his lightsaber, and Luke thanked the Force for the inherent stupidity of stormtroopers. They should have checked the bomber for explosives if they had been doing their job properly.
Callista and the Witch fought on, the crash and hum of their lightsabers filling the corridor and throwing weird shadows on the walls. Bit by bit, though, the Witch began to push Callista back. Callista had not fully recovered from the battle with the HRD, and the Witch had plainly had more recent battle practice than her. The strain of blocking the attacks soon began to tell as she adopted an increasingly defensive stance.
Seeing that she was gaining the upper hand, the Witch attacked relentlessly.
Callista was pushed back to the wall under a rain of blows. Her lightsaber was knocked from her hand and sent spinning across the hall.
With her opponent disarmed, the Sith Witch swung her blade. Callista caught the weapon by its hilt, keeping a firm grip on it with both hands. She tried wrenching it from the Witch, but she was equally as strong, and pulled back on the weapon with surprising strength. Callista was yanked forth, and the moment she lost her balance, the Sith Witch pushed back, slamming her opponent against the wall. The blade was now inches away from piercing Callista's chest.
Callista felt cold sweat sliding down her face as she fought to knock the blade away, as the Witch slowly but steadily pushed it closer and closer toward her. She could almost feel the blade's cold heat brushing against her chest. She could feel the ysalamiri's Force bubble weighing her down even more than ever, threatening to cause her to lose her focus, and pay for it with her life--
Callista finally let out a frustrated scream, and pushed the lightsaber away from her. The blade missed its target, but just barely. The Sith Witch, still managing to make the most out of Callista's unexpected attack, pulled down on the lightsaber, of which Callista still had a good grip on the handle. Callista was pulled forth into a flip, landing hard on her back.
The Sith Witch smiled in triumph, bearing her lightsaber in for the killing blow.
"Skywalker is next after you," she hissed gleefully.
Luke will die.
"No!" Callista screamed. She caught the incoming blow by the hilt again, stopping its quick descent toward her head. With her other hand, she reached up and snatched the Sith Witch's fingers gripping the weapon. She intertwined her fingers around the other's, and bent them back hard enough to crack her knuckles.
The Sith Witch grunted in unexpected pain, and dropped the blade. It clattered next to Callista, shutting itself off. Callista rose to one knee, grabbing the other woman by the arm, and threw her down, causing her to roll further down the hallway.
As the Witch scrambled to her feet, Callista got up and retrieved her lightsaber, activating it and bringing it to rear in one fluid motion.
The two women clashed once again, their blades striking each other over and over again. Callista parried a blow aimed at her shoulder, and swung a slash toward the Sith's legs. The woman saw it coming and leaped over the topaz blade, laughing as she did so.
As the minutes wore on, they slowly took their fight down the hallway, and eventually ended up within the Knight Hammer's main docking bay. The echo of their clashing sabers sounded louder than ever, amplified across the chamber a hundred times over, accompanied by the battle that raged outside the SSD. They continued to battle, slashing, jabbing, swinging, doing everything possible that came to mind in attempts to overcome the other.
Callista waited until she saw an opening, which came seconds later. With a swift move that would have made her Master proud, Callista kicked the lightsaber out of the Sith Witch's hands. The woman was momentarily surprised, but quickly regained her composure and threw a pair of powerful kicks, both of which Callista blocked with her arm. The two circled each other, and the Witch aimed a blow for her opponent's head.
Callista was able to duck beneath the swing, and attacked with her lightsaber, hoping to lop the other's head off. The Sith Witch reacted with admirable speed, sidestepping and grabbing Callista's arm in mid-swing. She flipped the Jedi over onto a large crate. It splintered under Callista's weight, spilling blaster cartridges onto the floor.
Callista's entire back went numb, and she let out a pained groan as she lay under the pile of cartridges. Her vision almost blackened, and it was only through her will to continue fighting that she did not lose consciousness. For a few precious seconds, she could not move as the Sith Witch reached down for her.
Callista brought both legs up, grunting as the numbness began to wear off, revealing a layer of pain beneath it as it rushed down her spine, and kicked them into the Sith Witch's face. She heard the woman's nose crack, and she fell back to the floor, stunned. That gave Callista just enough time to roll to her feet, the pain still fresh in her back. If she managed to live through this fight, she would be horribly bruised come morning.
The Sith was already up, and heading in Callista's direction. Callista moved fast, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick that knocked the woman into a pile of crates.
Callista, a feral grin spreading across her face, charged toward the injured Sith, ready to put an end to this fight.
Like a crash of thunder from the sky, the stormtrooper overran the Great Temple, a deadly mass of white armor and weaponry as they charged from the jungle and descended upon the Praxeum. Within seconds, the hangar bay doors blasted open, and the stormtroopers poured in, opening fire.
Almost immediately, the hidden Jedi responded in kind. Leia armed her cannon and fired back at the crowd of Imperials, hitting one clean in the chest, causing him to evaporate in a wash of smoke and fire. She ducked as a hail of laser bolts tore through the air and struck the barricade that shielded her body. She took down another trooper with a well-placed shot that blew his head completely apart.
Beside her, Kyp manned the other cannon. He cursed as one bolt nearly singed his dark black hair, and ducked beneath the meager shelter. "There's got to be at least a hundred of them out there!"
"Good, that means there's a hundred to kill!" Leia shouted back over the blaster fire, and shot back at the invading enemy. Having spent most of her life armed with a blaster, she had flawless precision and accuracy, almost as good as her husband's. With each shot she squeezed from the trigger, she cut down another stormtrooper. Body after body fell, until Leia finally had to reload.
The stormtroopers pushed forth relentlessly, their weapons speaking with deadly red laser fire. Most of the Jedi were able to deflect the incoming missiles with the Force or their lightsabers, but some of them were struck down, either wounded or dead. They were doing well for now, but Leia knew that they could not hold out like this forever.
They just had to keep on fighting.
Cilghal recoiled as one of the stormtroopers leaped onto the scaffolding. With one sweep of her lightsaber, she cleaved his left foot off. The man screamed in agony and fell off the barricade, clutching at his cauterized stump. Two others aimed their weapons directly at her and fired, but Kyp reacted fast, coming to his friend's aid. Reaching out with his mind, he snatched the two bolts from the air, forced them into a complete 360-degree turn, and straight into the chests of their owners, both of whom were knocked down the ground.
There was a sudden rumble, and Kyp shouted, "Incoming!" as the stone wall caved in, showering debris and dust in the air, pelting Jedi and stormtroopers alike. When the haze had settled, Leia looked up to see an AT- ST emerging from the dusty fog, its weapons trained on the barricade.
"Everybody move!" Leia screamed, as the scout walker opened fire. Several of the students shrieked as they were hit, the powerful bolts searing through their flesh. Others were knocked down by the sheer magnitude of the salvo, while others managed to barely get away in time.
Leia bit her lower lip as she retreated, taking out two more stormtroopers with her blaster. She took refuge behind the remains of an ancient X-wing fighter, the AT-ST now at least twenty or thirty meters away. It continued firing, targeting mercilessly at the fleeing Jedi.
Leia leaped atop the X-wing, her eyes focusing intently on her blaster cannon. She was not nearly as well trained in the Force as her brother, or even Kyp and Cilghal, for that matter, but she was nevertheless powerful, and more than capable of manipulating other objects. She closed her eyes and concentrated, her mind probing the unmanned weapon.
Come on, come on.
The cannon's nozzle suddenly began to move, as if suddenly awarded a life of its own. As the AT-ST continued hammering at the Jedi, the cannon, guided by Leia's mind, targeted the walker's right leg.
And fired.
The Imperials operating the AT-STs never knew what hit them. The laser bolt sliced through the walker's jointed leg, creating a brilliant explosion of melted circuits and wires. Crippled, the AT-ST fell helplessly to the ground and flowered into a blinding white fireball, taking out even more stormtroopers who had been unable to escape the reaching flames.
An eruption of cheers sounded from the Jedi, and Leia raised her blaster into the air. Let's finish this.
The Jedi sprung from their hiding places and descended upon the unprepared Imperials.
Luke stood in the turbocar on his way to the detention area, counting down to the point where he expected the detonators to go off and trigger the munitions in the TIE bombers.
He counted well past five minutes, and began to wonder if he had actually armed the detonator.
The turbocar began to slow down, and one of the stormtroopers jabbed him in the ribs with his blaster rifle. "Almost there, Jedi scum."
At that moment, back in the hangar bay, the detonator went off. The TIE bomber immediately became a cloud of expanding metal. The explosion spread to the other bombers in the hangar in increasing sequence. The end result was a hole big enough to fly a Corellian corvette through torn in the hull of the Knight Hammer.
Even from the detention area, Luke felt the ship rock.
And he felt something far more significant.
The explosion had taken many of the ysalamiri with it. He smiled as the Force surged through him once again. The cuffs opened and clattered to the floor, and his lightsaber leaped to his hand as he reached out for it.
Then there was only the green blade and the crackle of laser fire in the small turbocar.
The Sith Witch, enraged, hauled herself up as Callista approached. Her eyes glittered menacingly as she raised her lightsaber and struck, driving Callista's blade aside. With a complete spin, the blade came around again for a killing blow before Callista could recover.
At that instant, the Knight Hammer shook from bow to stern, and the rear area of the hangar bay was enveloped in a white flash of heat and fire. At the same moment, Callista tried to avoid the descending blade, and was completely knocked off her feet.
Even those two factors did not help, though. The Witch was thrown off balance as well, but her lightsaber still sliced through Callista's arm almost deep enough to reach the bone.
Callista screamed, the pain searing through her arm almost unbearable. She shielded her eyes from the harsh light that glared in the chamber, and realized that Luke's mission had been accomplished. The plan had worked! As the light began to dim, Callista could see a gigantic hole burned through the wall of the docking bay, providing a spectacular view of the battle raging outside the ship. Almost immediately, the emergency force fields were established, preventing anything from getting sucked out into space-including Callista and the Sith Witch. Hopefully, that would be enough to cripple the Knight Hammer, and give the Republic fleet enough time to arrive.
Callista hoped that Luke had gotten away in time, but she had little time to think about that. She rose to her feet, the pain tremendous, and yet she still retained enough focus to sense the Force flowing through her again. It filled her with renewed energy, and she smiled a feral smile. She rolled away and scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain.
The Sith Witch was up again as well, and stalked toward her, ready to continue the fight. Callista braced herself, already considering the best way to take her opponent down, and fast. Her options were slowly running down, and she was not sure how much longer she could fight for.
Even as she looked into the cold, hard eyes of her opponent, a string of long-forgotten memories flooded back to her, as if the explosion had somehow reawakened them from their dormancy in her mind. She could suddenly remember her days as a trainee, still learning hand-to-hand combat. She and a friend had practiced aeriel duels, stretching their minds as well as their bodies. Callista could suddenly envision it all as if it had happened a week ago.
She wished she could remember his name.
She took a running leap and lifted herself into the air, above the Witch. Surprised wiped across her opponent's face, but after a moment's recovery, she was right up there with her.
Callista kicked her, and with her lack of physical purchase, the other woman sailed across the TIE chamber, slowing her fight in a series of slow flips. The Witch held out her arms to steady herself, then arrowed back to Callista, headfirst, intending to ram her in the chest.
Callista performed an aeriel flip herself, out of the Witch's path. As her legs came over her head, she struck one of them against the Witch's back, sending her into a wall. The Witch cried out and landed on the floor with a thud.
Callista lowered herself for a touch-and-go, and when she left the floor again, the Witch was right behind her. Callista rotated and faced the incoming Sith. Putting her energy into a thrust, she charged her.
They collided somewhere between the two of them, over a TIE bomber that continued to be consumed by orange fingers of flames, a jumble of arms and legs that kicked, punched, held, broke, tore.
One.The routine came back to Callista easily, the old moves, numbered for their exercises. Five! Two! Three! Seven!
She saw his face clearly, his green eyes and mussed blond hair, handsome and smiling. His name...his name...
Focus!
Callista levitated higher, unbound by the laws of mortals. She flipped over the Witch's head, soaring over her. She grabbed the woman's ankle and plummeted to the hard floor, pulling herself up just before they hit.
The Witch, of course, was not so lucky. She hit the floor and bounced at least once, maybe twice; Callista was unsure.
Energy pulsed through her body from the aerodynamics, alive and full of power. She laughed and leaped to the floor.
It was a big mistake.
Wedge had just finished shooting down another TIE when an explosion burst from the Knight Hammer's docking bay, spreading deeper and deeper into the ship. A succession of white-hot flames engulfed the black hull, rendering the Super Star Destroyer crippled and drifting in space.
Wedge stared, awestruck, and realized what had happened. "They did it!" he shouted. "Luke and Callista did it!"
Cheers erupted from the Rogues and the Millennium Falcon, which was further heightened when the entire Republic fleet emerged at that moment from hyperspace. The Imperial fleet was quickly thrown into a panic as the Mon Calamari cruisers, corvettes, and escort frigates opened fire on the Star Destroyers. Hordes of X-wings, Y-wings, B-wings, and A-wings soared from the starships, overwhelming the TIEs.
Admiral Ackbar's harsh, guttural voice echoed through the speakers of each starfighter. "Excellent job, Rogues. Now, it's time to finish the job."
Wedge nodded and laughed with joy as he led Rogue Squadron toward the weakened Knight Hammer.
The Witch pounced on Callista like a rabid cat, screeching in fury. The two went down against the floor, the Witch on top. They rolled under one of the few TIE bombers that had not been touched by the explosion, and the Witch latched her fingers around Callista's throat.
"It's too bad you won't be around to watch your boyfriend die when I get my hands on him," she cackled.
Callista screamed, focusing all her rage, pain, and fear on the Sith Witch's fingers. Finally, with a loud shriek, she pulled the woman's hand away from her throat. Breathing in several grateful breaths of air, Callista slammed her opponent's head against the bomber's hull, trying to knock her silly. It worked, and the Witch rolled off of her, groaning in pain.
Callista and the Sith Witch scrambled quickly out from under the TIE bomber. They stood and faced each other, their faces masks of blood.
The Sith Witch wiped blood from her nose and looked at Callista grimly.
Dazed from the battle, Callista failed to react in time as the Witch pointed her hand at her, unleashing a storm of Force lightning at her. Callista was hurled back into the wall with staggering force.
More lightning poured from her hands, hitting her squarely in the chest. Callista screamed as she was thrown back against the wall again, the air leaving her body in a rush. Her breathing became labored as she struggled to get up.
The Witch sneered down at her, looking every bit as powerful and terrifying as she had been thirty years ago. "Rest in peace, Jedi."
She fired several more bolts, burning through Callista's chest and touching her heart. Callista's limbs jerked out of control, and she flopped to the floor like a fish caught on land, relearning how to breathe. Blackness tore at her vision as the Witch continued the attack, hammering her over and over again with Force lightning. Distinctly, she could hear her heartbeat throbbing in her ears, could hear it begin to grow faint, to slow down, until it eventually reached the point of stopping.
The last thing Callista did was scream for Luke, and she fell into blackness.
Luke heard Callista's scream tear through the fabric of the Force, then fall silent and disappear.
"Callista." he said as her presence faded. He leaped aside as the turbocar fired another volley at him. "No!"
He threw his lightsaber toward the driver, slicing the trooper in half. Without a pilot to navigate the vehicle, the turbocar flailed through the air and crashed into the wall, exploding in a hail of debris, flames, and burnt flesh.
With the enemy taken care off, Luke ran off to help Callista.
He sprinted toward the hangar, where he had left Callista with the Sith Witch, praying to all the gods of the galaxy, the Force, and the stars that he wasn't too late. He could feel Callista's life slowly dwindling away, could feel her pain as if it were his own, could taste her fear of dying. Her heartbeat was weakening by the second, threatening to completely stop-
Luke rounded a corner and skidded to a halt-and barely missed the blue lightning aimed at his chest.
"Hello, Skywalker!" the Witch cried in a disgustingly cheerful voice. "Time for you to join your sweetheart!"
Luke gritted his teeth. He charged at the Witch with his lightsaber. She met him halfway, her ruby-red lightsaber crossing his own with such force that sparks flew.
"She's dead, Jedi. None of your parlor tricks can save her now." She struck at his head, and he parried quickly.
He matched her, blow for blow, calling on the Force with every move he made. She swung at his chest, but he leaped high into the air, completing a flip that put him in the perfect position to plant his feet on her chest, which he did, and knocked her to the floor. The air escaped her lungs, and she lay on the floor, gasping.
"You-can't win, Jedi. Just let me kill you now and end the pain."
He shook his head. "No. Not after what you did to Callista."
She forced herself to her feet, and threw her fist into his nose. "Suit yourself."
As he reeled from the blow, the Witch called her lightsaber to her hand. Luke barely had time to parry, but he did, and then whipped his lightsaber around to strike her at the neck. She blocked it again.
"Do you want to know how she died, Skywalker? It was pitiful, really. She was pleading for her life, on her knees! What a coward, am I right?"
Anger swelled in Luke. "Shut up!" He struck again, feeding off his own anger.
Anger, fear, aggression.
He stepped back. The dark side would not save Callista. It would not save his friends, or his students. He took a deep breath, quieting his anger.
Seeing his hesitation, the Witch lunged. Luke quickly parried, no longer acting out of anger. He called upon the Force and threw the woman into the far wall. She hit with tremendous force and slid to the floor. Luke called her dead weapon to his hands.
Unarmed, she pushed herself to her feet and threw herself at him.
Reflexively, Luke whipped out both blades, live and humming, and held them out in front of him. They slid through her skin, burning and charring the flesh. The dying Witch managed one last scream before falling limply on the floor, finally dead.
Luke pulled his blade free of the growing chasm in her chest. He did not even utter a word of conquest, but continued his sprint toward the hangar bay.
Time was running out.
But by that time, it may have been gone.
Wedge's X-wing hurtled over the surface of the Knight Hammer, which was spewing atmosphere and flames from the massive breaches in its hull. Behind him, the rest of the Rogues and two full squadrons of B-wings came on, pouring laser fire, ion cannon shots, and proton torpedoes into the hull. Further back, the Galactic Voyager was pouring turbolaser shots into the rapidly weakening bow shields.
"Keep the pressure on, Rogues!" Wedge spoke through gritted teeth, swerving to the left as a TIE interceptor approached, its cannons speaking with fiery green light. "We take Daala out, the rest will go down with her in minutes!"
"Copy, Rogue leader!" the Rogues responded in unison, as their fighters proceeded to wipe out the remaining TIEs that soared protectively around their dying flagship, giving the rest of the fleet the opportunity to focus their firepower on the Knight Hammer.
Slowly, but surely, the Imperials were being trapped.
Daala stared wide-eyed into the battle, which was now firmly swinging the way of the New Republic.
Two Corellian gunships and a Nebulon-B escort frigate cruised over the hull of the Super Star Destroyer, heading directly for the command tower.
"Full shields now!" Daala screamed, realizing what they were intending.
Pellaeon took one last look at the situation, and then slipped surreptitiously off the bridge. Far better to live-and perhaps fight again, he reasoned. Daala could die here if she wanted.
At that moment, the bridge rocked violently.
"What was that?" Daala screamed down into the crewpits.
"We've lost both bridge shield generators, Admiral!" one of the crew shouted back.
Daala turned back to the viewport to see the Nebulon-B escort frigate reach point-blank range to the bridge. It vanished in a blue glow as it fired multiple proton torpedoes at the unshielded command tower.
There was nothing for Daala to do but watch her death approaching.
Wedge whistled as, one by one, the torpedoes took the Knight Hammer's command tower apart. It became a ball of expanding metal and flame.
The sight finally broke Imperial morale. Several ships had already fled into hyperspace, considering the battle lost, but now most of the remaining ships fled or surrendered.
The Knight Hammer was still capable of damage, but with the bridge destroyed, there was no chance of organized resistance. Republic fighters began systematically knocking out the turbolaser batteries that were still firing.
Kam Solusar, leading the fight against the Imperial ground forces, heard the distinctive rumble of a Flying Fortress. The huge vehicle drifted into view overhead as he stood with Streen and a couple of the students.
"There it is," one of the students pointed, his eyes widened with barely-controlled fear.
"When do we attack?" the second, a young female Twi'lek no older than seventeen with light blue skin, asked.
"When I give the signal," Kam explained solemnly, not intimidated in the least by the sight of the massive juggernaut. He had seen far worse in his days as an Imperial agent; this was a mere child's toy in comparison. "Remember, just do what we did before. Let the Force guide your actions."
"We won't fail, Kam," the third, and oldest, student said bravely.
Kam nodded. "Then be ready."
Overhead, a grim-faced Kelron studied the displays. The Jedi were putting up a much stronger resistance than he had anticipated, with nearly half of his forces destroyed, and the battle in space was going equally badly.
It had been a mere thirty seconds ago when Kelron had received the news that the Knight Hammer had been critically damaged, and would be destroyed from the combined might of the Republic warships within moments. Which meant that in less than five minutes, the Empire would once again be without a great leader.
Kelron felt a tightness in his throat, but chose not to let Daala's inevitable death interfere with his mission. He would set out to do what he had been ordered to do-wipe out the Jedi.
A chance to do so presented itself before him, as the vehicle's sensors picked up five life-signs ten or twelve meters straight ahead. Kelron looked up to see five Jedi Knights staring defiantly up at him from below. All seemed to be unarmed.
Kelron sneered as he began arming the vehicle's cannons. In another ten seconds, the five Jedi would be little more than black cinders.
Kam looked up and nodded to Streen.
The Jedi Knight raised his arms, and immediately began to feel his hair whip about as the wind picked up. He glanced at the students, and all three ignited their lightsabers and focused on the large repulsorlift cells on the underside of the Flying Fortress.
Drawing their arms back, all three hurled their lightsabers at the repulsorlifts and hit them. The Flying Fortress instantly fell like a stone, but the wind, now at hurricane force, slammed head-on into the Flying Fortress, which was hurled aside like a leaf.
On board, Kelron was hurled off his feet and slammed into a console. His head crashed into it, and he lost consciousness, just as a bright wave of flames washed over him, engulfing him in a burning blanket of agony.
And then nothing.
Kam and the others watched as the Flying Fortress slammed into trees and erupted in a massive fireball that came straight on toward them. He reacted immediately, diving for the ground, and seeing one of the students yank Streen down as the fireball passed overhead. For a few seconds, there was an agonizing heat and sudden vacuum as the fireball burned up oxygen, and then it was gone.
Kam leaped up, tearing his burning cloak off, and glanced around at Streen and the students to see if they were okay, then turned to look at the burning remains of the Flying Fortress.
"I think that must have really wrecked their day," he said with a grin.
Luke finally rushed into the hangar bay and saw Callista, every one of his preconceived fears confirmed. She was lying on the floor, unconscious, bluish-black bruises and second-degree burns disfiguring her beautiful face. Her arm seemed to be badly burned, as if the Witch's lightsaber had cut her. As he neared her body, he saw that she was still breathing--if just barely.
Luke cradled her fragile form in his arms, trying to fight back the encroaching tears in his eyes. "Callista." he whispered, stroking her pale cheek. "No."
Callie, can you hear me? Please answer me.
Don't die on me now.
He heard shouting from behind, and turned to see stormtroopers entering the hangar. Without wasting any time, he slid his arms underneath her limp knees and shoulders and carried her to the Shapeshifter, which had made its way into the docking bay via tractor beam.
The stormtroopers spotted them and opened fire. Blaster bolts sizzled the air around him and Callista as he entered the ship and closed the ramp behind him.
He placed Callista gingerly on a cot in the ship's cabin and headed for the cockpit. He could hear Wedge's voice crackling through the comm. "...about to explode any minute now. You and Callista need to get the hell out of here!"
Strapping himself in, Luke grabbed the comm and replied, "Copy that, Wedge, loud and clear. We're outta here."
"Thanks, Luke! We owe you guys big time for this one. How'd everything go?"
"Fine, Wedge," Luke lied, though he knew Wedge could tell something was wrong. He looked back toward the cabin, silently whispering another prayer for Callista to make it. "Everything went just fine."
He cut the transmission and fired up the ship's engines.
The stormtroopers continued shooting as the Shapeshifter lifted off its repulsorjets and soared out the hangar door, leaving the doomed Knight Hammer behind.
In the bowels of the Great Temple, the fierce battle between the encroaching Imperials and the Jedi reached its climax. The hangar was alive with the crisscross of laser fire and lightsabers, with bodies piling up on both sides, mostly stormtroopers. Leia led the brunt of the battle, alternating between her lightsaber and her blaster, flanked by Kyp and Cilghal.
A stormtrooper foolish enough to attempt an ambush attacked Leia from the right, a vibroblades clutched in his gauntleted hand. He obviously had never entangled with a Jedi Knight before, if he thought he could take one by surprise. Leia turned and slapped the arm carrying the blade away with her free hand, and buried her lightsaber deep into the man's stomach. A marred gurgle found its way past the trooper's hidden mouth, and he sank to the ground, twitched once, and died.
Leia moved on past the dead trooper, kicking another in the face as he began aiming his blaster at her. Even with the helmet on, the blow hurt, and he was propelled back against the wall, stunned.
As the battle wore on, the Jedi began gaining the upper hand. The stormtroopers were well trained and well armed, and outnumbered the students three to one, but not even those factors were enough to beat the Force. Slowly, the stormtroopers were losing their ground as the Jedi pushed back.
"Get down!" Cilghal shouted to Leia, flinging her hand out. Leia felt a powerful ripple through the air as the Force smashed into the chest of a trooper than had leaped upon the scaffolding in front of Leia, his rifle aimed at the top of her head. The trooper flew through the air, hitting an area Leia couldn't see.
Leia nodded thanks to Cilghal, and rushed forth to disarm a black- uniformed officer, knocking him out with a solid blow to the face. A trooper rushed to his commander's aid, both hands holding a blaster. Leia easily cut the weapons into pieces with her lightsaber, and impaled the unlucky stormtrooper through the chest with the sky-blue blade.
Finally, one of the few remaining officers did the most sensible thing the Imperials had done since the attack began. He called for a retreat.
In unison, the surviving stormtroopers turned and ran in the opposite direction, realizing the hopelessness of the battle. The Jedi gave chase, getting a few more good blows in, before the troopers rushed into their transports and headed into orbit, toward the sanctuary of the Imperial fleet.
Cheers erupted in the hangar bay, with Leia's the loudest one of all. Cilghal and several others immediately set to work treating the wounded. Overall, the battle had gone well for the Jedi. Only fourteen dead, and seventeen wounded; it could have been a lot worse for them. It had turned out to be a good day after all. She felt someone enter the bay, and turned to see Kirana Ti rush through the ruined entrance. Her eyes took in the remains of the battle, and went over to Leia's side. "Are you all right?" she asked. Leia nodded, shutting off her lightsaber. "Just bruised. Have we won?" "I think so," Kirana Ti said.
The two of them turned and walked outside the temple. From there, the Knight Hammer was visible as a small triangular shape high in the atmosphere, colored by faint flickers of orange-red light as the Republic ships pounded it into oblivion.
Luke was somewhere on board, Leia knew. She wondered if he was all right.
She was barely breathing.
Luke's heart thrashed wildly against his ribs as he watched her take in shallow breaths-her chest nearly motionless. Her skin felt cold against his, like ice against his own feverish flesh.
"Please, Callista," he whispered, stroking her matted curls that were wet with blood and sweat. "Please wake up.don't do this to me, don't you do this to me." He shook her, but she continued to lay lifeless in his arms- pale and unresponsive, and it was all Luke could do not to scream out in agony at the galaxy.
I've already lost too many people I've loved. I cannot lose her, too.
"Fight for me, dammit!" he said, lifting her up to sitting. Her body collapsed ragdoll-like in his arms. "Callie, I know you can hear me.I know you're inside there. Please."
Hot tears trickled down his face, mingling with his sweat, and as he pulled her close to him, he made one last desperate attempt at saving her. Mustering all of his energy, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of her throat, summoning the Force-white light and energy and fire. He felt it course through his veins, and he sent this healing power to her, hoping against hope that the Force in her would respond.
He felt her stir in his arms.
"Lu...Luke."
"Callie?"
She rasped and tried to sit up. He held on to her, as if letting her go meant she would vanish altogether like smoke. "It's all right," he told her. "You'll be all right; take it easy for now."
She smiled subtly, looking at him through eyes half-closed with raging pain. "You try taking it easy when you feel like this," she stammered.
Luke laughed through his tears. He pressed his lips to her temple and brought her up to lean against him. "I thought I had lost you," he whispered. The words made him shudder-the very thought of losing her stabbed him like a thousand vibroblades.
He felt her smile against his shoulder, and she raised her head slowly. "You didn't think I was going to leave without marrying you, did you?" She touched a hand to his chin, already filled with dark blond stubble, and brought her face to his for a kiss.
At that moment, Wedge's triumphant voice crackled through the comm. "Guys, we did it! Say goodbye to Admiral Daala and the Knight Hammer forever. We won, thanks to you two!"
"Copy that, Wedge, thanks," Luke said, feeling a smile curve his lips upward. The Imperials had been defeated, and the Jedi Academy was saved.
Callista's smile widened as she gave him another kiss. "Oh, Luke," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love you so much."
Luke returned the kiss, his heart almost bursting with relief and joy. "Likewise," he whispered.
He had never been so happy to know that someone was alive. And he had never been so happy to be alive himself.
Luke still hadn't quite figured out what had come over him forty-eight hours ago. It was crazy--the craziest thing he had ever done in his life. Crazier than following an old wizard to rescue a princess he had never met; crazier than rushing off half-trained students to confront a powerful Sith Lord; crazier than walking in weaponless into the court of the most notorious gangster in the galaxy.
And yet, when he saw her at the long end of the aisle, her malt-brown tresses pinned up, wrapped in flowing white silk and silvery veils he knew that this crazy idea also made sense in every way.
My wife.
The sound of the words in his mind was pure magic-a rush so fierce and intense that he nearly lost his breath, like the rush he had felt when he had first sensed the Force awaken in his blood.
Her eyes locked with his for an instant that seemed like an eternity, and suddenly, all else disappeared in the room except for the smooth hush of his breath, and the beauty of the woman who stood before him.
As she came up to him, he whispered, "Are you all right?"
She nodded and smiled, straightening the luxurious folds of her formal gown. "Never better," she whispered back.
He returned her smile, took and kissed her extended hand, and together, they turned to face Leia to begin the ancient Jedi marriage ceremony. Their hands intertwined, they joined together in heart, mind, body, and soul and together they spoke:
The Force brought us together
And sustains our love
For eternity I will be yours
And you mine
Together for life.
Luke took his bride's face in his hands and gently, sweetly, kissed her in front of his closest friends and family. And as applause rang around them throughout the Grand Audience Chamber, the Force that radiated within them swirled in a dazzling sunburst of light and color and magic, surrounding them and penetrating them and binding them as one.
Hours later, Callista sat next to Luke at their wedding feast, beaming and still reeling from all that had happened. The feast was being held outside the Great Temple, as hundreds of students and friends celebrated their victory over Admiral Daala, as well as the union of two people who shared an equal, beautiful love for each other. While everyone else ate, drank, danced, laughed, and mingled, Callista was content to just sit next to her new husband, her hand entwined with his, gazing at each other with loving adoration in their eyes.
Had it really been? Was it true that after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, a lifetime of tragedy and loss and shattered dreams, she was now married to the man she loved? It seemed unreal, like a dream- like everything she had ever hoped or dreamed for had come true in one moment.
She was finally home.
"What are you thinking, Callista?" Luke asked, as he cupped Callista's chin with his hands and kissed his new wife. When he pulled back, he smiled warmly at her, and pressed his forehead against hers. Callista smiled back and threw her arms around his shoulders, kissing him again. "I'm thinking about how lucky I am," she said softly. "Luke, this is the happiest day of my life, and it's all because of you."
"And you," Luke said back, kissing the crown of her head, "have made this the best day of my life. For the first time in my life, I feel...complete."
"Same here," Callista said, and sighed. "I just wish..."
"What?" asked Luke, after a moment of silence.
Callista sighed again as she laid her head against his chest. "I just wish my family was here to see this. They would have been so happy."
"I'm sure they are," Luke said soothingly, stroking his fingers through her hair. "They'll always be with you, even if you can't see them. I'm sure they're very proud of you right now."
Callista felt the faintest tinge of tears in her eyes, and blinked them away. She looked up at Luke with a smile. "Thank you," she said softly. "For the first time since I can remember, I feel like I'm finally home."
"You are," Luke said, rewarding her with another kiss. "You're forever home, my love."
They spent most of the rest of the evening in silence, watching as their friends and family enjoyed themselves, listening to the playful tunes of the jizz-wailing band. Callista smiled as she rested against Luke's chest, relishing the touch of his hands against hers. She could have spent the rest of her life in his arms, and nothing else would have mattered--
A flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned in time to see a swirl of celestial air disappear from sight. For a second, she thought she had seen a pair of green eyes staring at her through the haze.
She frowned. What.?
Then she was standing, leaning into Luke's ear and telling him that she would be right back. He looked at her worriedly, but nodded when he saw the reassuring look on her face. Callista slipped into the temple hangar bay unnoticed, looking for whomever it was she had seen.
The hangar was dark, strangely. Callista pressed on, determined to discover the identity of the strange visitor. For a moment, a cold, paralyzing hand of fear stopped her in her tracks, as she remembered what had happened in the Holocron library. But something inside her reassured her that the presence she had just felt, whatever it had been, was not malevolent. All she had to do was find out who, or what it was. Deep down, she knew who it was. Her heart pounded at that realization. And she rounded the corner, the rest of her, her entire being, resounded with the knowledge of her identity.
The black hair, the vivid green eyes that shone in their supernatural brilliance.
Her mother.
Callista drew back, remembering her mother's actions in her dream. "M- Mama?"
The ghost took a step closer, her perfect face glowing. "Hello, Lissy."
It was her mother. Only her mother had called her that. It had been her nickname for Callista when she was still young and innocent. Callista had hated it as a child, but after her mother's death, cherished it, as it was one of the few untainted memories she had left of her mother. She had not heard that name spoken to her in decades.
Callista took a step closer, despite all her inner alarms screaming for her to run away.
She'll kill you...kill you...
Callista's mother stretched out her spectral hand. "Come here, my child."
Callista hesitated, and then obeyed. She felt her hand clasp around her mother's, shuddering at the smooth texture of her pale-white skin. The last time she had felt this touch had been when she had been cradling her mother's newly dead body.
Callista looked up at her mother's face-she was slightly taller than Callista, by about two inches-into those beautiful green eyes. At first glance, no one would have thought that they were related. Callista had inherited everything from her father-the hair, the eyes, the structure of her face. Her younger brother, Josef, had been the one who bore a striking resemblance to their mother.
Not that it mattered to Callista, who had felt as a child-and still did-that her mother was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.
Her mother marveled. "You look so beautiful, and happy."
Callista nodded. "I am happy. I miss you, though."
"I know that, Lissy." Her grip tightened. "That's why I'm here. To take you with me."
Callista's eyes widened. "What?"
"Everyone dies once. You were supposed to come to me, remember? You promised me you would. And you lied!" There was pain-real pain, not the façade the demon had used as a weapon in Callista's dream-in her voice as she spoke, and tears fell from her green, green eyes.
"Mama, please-"
"You must come with me, Lissy. Please, I'm begging you!" Her mother's voice was choked with sobs, as she held onto Callista's hand. "All these years of waiting.I need you with me. I want to make things right between us. We can be together again, in the afterlife, Callista. With the rest of our family. We can have a second chance. You promised me, Lissy. Please."
"Mama, I can't!" Callista begged, as she tried pulling free from the ghost. "Please, don't make me do this. I'm not ready yet!"
The betrayal that flashed in her mother's eyes was so heartbreaking that Callista almost recanted. Almost. "Even now, after thirty years, you still care nothing for me. Do you feel anything at all toward me? I gave you everything, Callista, and it meant nothing to you! Do you honestly think so little of me, that you would go so far as to break your promise?"
"Mama-"
"No!" For the first time, Callista heard anger in her mother's voice, and she felt an actual rush of fear, fear of what the spirit would do to her. "Lissy, I love you. I have always loved you. You will always be my daughter. And I know that does not mean much to you, but it does to me. I know you never loved me as much as you loved your father, and I accept that. The least you can do for me now is to join me on the Other Side.as you promised."
Callista stopped struggling with her mother, just kept staring into her eyes, into the pain sparkling in them, a decades-old pain that had never fully healed. Unbidden, the memory of that fateful day came back like a wave crashing into her:
Her mother lay dying in her arms, beyond saving. She managed pained words as the poison slowly killed her, her hand tightening around her daughter's, the life draining from her eyes. "Lissy.Promise me.when your time comes, join me on the Other Side. Promise me."
And Callista, barely seven years old, nodded amid her frightened, little-girl tears. "I promise, Mama. I will, I promise."
"But it's not my time yet!" Callista cried. She fought to pull herself away. "I will come to you, as I promised, but when it's time! I love you, Mama! I swear I do!"
Her mother stopped pulling, aghast. "Say it again."
Callista straightened. She reached with one hand and stroked her mother's soft, pale cheek. As she looked deep into her eyes, she saw the pain still buried in them, as fresh as it had been forty years ago. Not even death had changed that. For the first time in her life, she could see the ordeal her mother had gone through, and how selfish she had been as a child to have kept her at a distance. "I love you, Mama."
The spirit came closer. Callista wanted to take a step back, but it would only betray what she had just said, even though she had meant every word. She let her mother touch her face. Her hand was warm, soothing. "That's all I wanted to hear, my darling...to know you love me...it's enough to let me wait."
"Mama...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I killed you."
Her mother shook her head. "No, my darling. Don't be. I died so you could live. Remember that, and live like I didn't."
Callista smiled, tears now rolling down her cheeks. "I will."
The ghost kissed her forehead, and vanished.
"Callista?" Luke's voice said from behind her. "Are you okay?"
Callista turned. "Did you see...?"
Luke shook his head. "I didn't see anything. What was it? You're crying; are you okay?"
Callista looked back at the place where her mother had stood moments before. "I'm fine."
Deep within the jungles of Yavin 4, she stood, watching the festival from a faraway distance. She watched, somber, as an alien band began playing a new tune. The guests rose from their seats to dance, but her eyes never left Callista.
She, along with her new husband, had rejoined the feast moments ago. Hand in hand, they began dancing in the center of the crowd, moving with swiftness and radiance, their lives full of happiness.
At least for now.
But she knew what was to come. What would have to come.
This happiness would not last for much longer.
As midnight neared, and the reception continued outside, Luke and Callista slipped away, hand in hand. They walked down the hall, silently reflecting.
Callista stared off into space, feeling better than she had been in a long time. Her mother's unexpected visit had lifted a great burden off her shoulders, one she had been carrying since her seventh lifeday. For the first time in decades, she felt good about herself. It was wonderful to finally have this terrible burden cast off, leaving no guilt behind. Only love...love for her mother, with whom she had finally made peace with, and love for the man who walked beside her, his hand joined with hers.
Callista looked over at Luke, her head tilted to the side. She smiled and reached for his face, turning him to face her. Leaning against the wall, she kissed him passionately, taking him entirely by surprise.
He did not resist, though, instead lifting her light frame so she could wrap her legs around his waist. His lips wandered around her neck and throat, tasting her pulse, as she ran her fingers through his hair in anticipation. Without breaking contact, Luke found the handle of his door and pushed it open.
Once they were inside, Luke set her down and shut the door with a dismissive mental push. Callista pulled back and looked at him, eyes closed and mouth open, waiting for her lips to rejoin his. She smiled and brushed against his lips.
"Keep your eyes closed," she said. She kissed him lightly, barely letting their lips touch before taking a step back. She hooked her fingers through his belt loops to guide him after her, teasing him with more almost-kisses.
"This isn't fair," Luke said, mock-pouting. He grabbed her playfully, knocking them both onto the bed. The mattress bounced under the impact, and Callista laughed and kissed him passionately again.
Luke moaned, satisfied for the moment. He rose to his knees and pulled off the stiff formal jacket he had worn, understanding why Han hated them so. Callista untucked his shirt and pulled it over his head. She stroked his chest and kissed his smooth, muscular skin.
"Did you lock the door?" she murmured.
"Oh, damn!" Luke said, leaping off the bed and locking the door.
Callista laughed as she kicked off her shoes and slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulders. Luke returned to her and kissed her again. His hands slipped around her waist and up her back, undoing the clasps one by one. He felt her warm skin beneath the silky fabric, quivering. Luke pushed her back to the bed and laid her down gently, leaving her dress discarded on the floor.
Her body was flawless, as if carved from a sculpture, pale and smooth under the moonlight streaming from the window. Luke found himself unable to breathe as he gazed down at her beautiful brown hair, her smooth and pale neck, her perfect breasts, her smoky-gray eyes, her long legs. He had met many, many beautiful women in his life, but to him, the most beautiful one of all was lying right before him, waiting for him. He brought himself closer to her, barely able to contain himself.
Callista wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into her shoulder. She kissed his earlobe, and whispered, "Touch me."
Slowly, Luke ran his hand up her side and traced the curve of her breast. He cupped his hand around it gently, and she exhaled. With trembling fingers, she unfastened his trousers and slid them down his legs, kicking them off past his knees. She looked up at him, breathing heavily and kissing him again.
"Don't be scared." She sat up and giggled. "Fasten your seatbelt, Master Skywalker, and I will be your guide into a world of undiscovered-" She kissed his lower lip. "-excitement."
She lay back down, taking him with her. "Don't be scared," she said again.
Luke gasped and moaned, the sensations flooding through him taking him by surprise. He thrust into her, again, again, trembling with excitement.
Callista moaned each time. "Harder," she pleaded amid gasps. "More, please, more. Yes..."
Luke thrust again and again, faster. He ignored the sweat collecting on his skin, only focused on Callista, moving rhythmically beneath him, her face compressed in a mixture of intense pain and pure ecstasy. His hands were tingling, every inch of him quivering with desire.
Callista rolled on top of him and sat up. She rose up and down on top of him, eyes closed.
"Callie--" Luke tried to say, but was out of breath. He held onto her hips, and moaned in pleasure, his eyes rolling back in his head.
After an eternity, he cried out as his entire body went rigid, and Callista moaned louder than ever. She froze, holding onto the climax for as long as she could before collapsing, exhausted and breathless, beside him. He laid his head back and exhaled, trying in vain to reform himself from an incoherent puddle.
"Callie, that..." He waved a hand, wrapping his arm around her. "That was amazing."
She moaned and nuzzled his neck.
"I love you," he said.
She smiled. "I love you, too." She snuggled under his arm and stroked his chest, using her tongue to lick some of the sweat off, slowly, sensually. Luke shuddered at the feel of her tongue, a low, pleasure-filled moan escaping his lips. He brushed his fingers up and down her side.
Neither spoke for a long time, as they caught their breath. She lay so still beside him, as if the effort of lovemaking had drained all of the life out of her.
"Callista?"
"Hmmm?" she murmured.
"Tell me about your life before," he said. "What do you remember?"
Callista sighed. "I remember...Master Altis, Geith. Some faces but no names...a boy with blond hair, and green eyes...I think I had something of a crush on him. He died...badly, I think." She shuddered. "Anyway, Geith and I, we were together for four years. Towards the end, though, we...we grew apart."
"Why?"
She did not answer right away. "Something happened, something to make Geith denounce the Jedi. He didn't understand why I didn't, too."
"What happened?"
She shook her head. "I-I don't remember." She slid on top of him. "Let's not talk about this," she said, kissing him slowly, seductively.
Luke kissed her back, pulling her against him. His questions about her mysterious past faded from his mind. It didn't matter, really. Nothing mattered but their future.
Callista rolled on her back and rubbed her foot up and down his leg.
Luke moved over her, resting on his elbows and stroking her face. "I love you, Callista." He kissed the narrow valley between her breasts, moved to the hollow of her throat. "Forever."
He kissed her lips, and they made love again.