Forever Home: A Luke and Callista Story
Part 6
She watched the small skirmish from the shadows of the jungle, a grin escaping her pale lips. Callista Skywalker and Mara Jade were more worthy adversaries than she had thought. But the cat-like creatures were strong and agile. If they failed in their mission...
She shook her head. They won't, she assured herself. And even if they did lose, she had a few more tricks up her sleeve.
She heard a twig snap from behind. She turned, hissing, and saw three Jedi students walking along a narrow trail, oblivious to the battle raging not far from their location. They were talking amongst themselves, their lightsabers in hand.
She smiled. Time for some more fun.
The creatures attacked with a ferocity that chilled Callista to Cray's very bones. She tried to deflect each blow as it came, but they were beginning to become too much. It did not help that she could not focus and channel the Force to help herself. Yet she fought on.
Suddenly, a hiss sizzled through the air, and one of the creatures jerked, its body bending backwards before it collapsed at her feet. Callista felt blood hit her face. She cringed, but not before the other beast twisted its head to seek its predator. Obviously, there lay its final mistake. Where it should have ducked, it looked, and that hesitation was all Mara needed to fire a killing shot.
She strode over to where Callista lay and roughly grabbed her by the hand, hoisting her up into standing position. She motioned for Callista to follow her, and they pushed through the lush Yavin jungle.
"This blasted moon has more nasties than the Emperor's petting zoo," Mara remarked to herself sarcastically. Aside from that, she made no other attempts at conversation. Long minutes passed.
Kara? Callista thought, mouthing the name. She shook her head. What had they meant...
It's never anyone you expect.
"I can hear your thoughts screaming like a rancor in a bad mood," Mara snapped suddenly.
Callista drew back. "Sorry," she muttered.
"Oh, yeah," Mara continued, "you're welcome."
Callista bit her lip. "I...Mara."
"Why don't you just call me 'foul, murdering wench'?" Mara suggested in a calm voice. "You've obviously already set your opinion on me. Why try to hide it behind pretty words?"
"I haven't done anything of the sort!" Callista remarked hotly.
"Tsk, tsk," Mara chided. "You're a Jedi Master; anger is very unbecoming."
"I'm not angry. I'm...frustrated."
"You're the one that jumped on me about Luke. Spare me. We are friends, if you haven't noticed." Mara paused. "Unless you have noticed-and that's what's bothering you."
Callista made no reply.
"Don't worry about that," Mara said in a softer voice. "He married you. He loves you." She continued to look straight ahead as she spoke. Then she snorted. "He hardly pays any attention to me when I am here, anyway. You have no solid reason to be threatened by me, unless you're challenging me to a fistfight. Then you should start worrying."
Callista managed a weak smile. Perhaps she had jumped to conclusions. Maybe she just had too much on her mind right now....Kara...?
"Explain something for me," Mara said, breaking the silence.
"Go on," Callista replied.
"I was there.when we pulled you out of the wreckage of the Eye. We thought you were Cray. How is it...how is it that she went in, and only you came back?"
Callista sighed. She and Luke had talked about what they would say if her past were to come under public scrutiny. She had been Luke's first protégé, then his assistant, then his companion. The truth was simply too fantastic for anyone to believe. Luke had also thought that people would target her for taking Cray's body, so they kept that a closely guarded secret.
But, then again, Mara had seen everything. She deserved a true explanation.
"Cray lost Nichos a year ago. You know that," she began. "She decided she didn't want to live without him. And...the opportunity presented itself, and she decided to take it. In the process of granting her deepest wish, she granted mine as well."
"So...you didn't kill her?"
"What?" Callista's head whipped around to stare at Mara in surprise. "Why would you think that?"
Mara shrugged. "Some of the students were saying."
"They're wrong," Callista cut her off. "They're wrong."
"How can you prove it?" Mara continued. "Did anyone see her give you that body?"
"No," Callista said. "But-"
"Then you're asking us to believe the word of a woman we hardly know. I knew Cray. Not well, but I knew her well enough to know that she loved life."
"But-"
"Let's get something straight here. I don't especially like you. I don't think that any moral person, in your position, would have done what you did. Maybe that's just me. But there are quite a few students, Cray's friends, that don't think she died willingly."
Callista grabbed Mara by the arm, stopping her in her tracks. "You really don't believe that, do you?"
"It's a possibility," Mara said coldly. "What gives you the right to receive another chance of life? You've already lived your life; you don't deserve-"
"Lived my life?" Callista cut in, on the verge of screaming. "You really don't know me at all, do you?"
Mara crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You're right, I don't. Enlighten me."
Callista sighed. Her heart was seething. "My life ended when I was seven years old, when I held my mother's cold, lifeless body in my arms. She killed herself, because she thought I always took her for granted, pushed her out of my life. I never even had a chance to say goodbye." She felt the first sting of tears well up in her eyes, and her vision slowly grew blurry. "My family never forgave me for that. And neither did I...even when I started my Jedi training, the suffering didn't end. I lost so many friends over the years, too many to count...and you know what's even worse, Mara? I can't even remember who they are anymore! Years of entrapment on the Eye have pretty much wiped out most of my memories of the past. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, with so many of the pieces lost forever."
She looked into Mara's eyes, expecting to see scorn or anger in them. But she only saw surprise, and an understanding...even some compassion. In just a few seconds, her feelings toward the other had changed.
"So, basically, friend, you can tell that I haven't really had much of a life at all. That it's all been one big nightmare for me. And that doesn't even include the Jedi purges, or the Eye of Palpatine, or when I lost. So call me crazy, but I wanted another go. And I got a chance." She paused, as a memory as clear as day flashed in her mind's eye:
Holding her small, naked body in her arms, feeling the smooth warmth of her flesh, smiling as she looked into her beautiful gray eyes, so much like her mother's.
"That still doesn't change what happened with you and Cray," Mara pointed out, in a much less hostile voice than before. "Or the fact that many of the trainees here still don't trust you."
"They won't trust me, one of their own, but they trust you, the Emperor's Hand?" She glared at Mara. "If there's anyone they shouldn't trust, it should be you. I don't judge people by the sins of their fathers, but what you did for your Master is enough for me to not hold you in high esteem, either. You killed Jedi, and then suddenly decided you wanted to be one? Half the time, you can't even decide if you want that. Mara, you represent everything I fought against thirty years ago. The atrocities the Emperor committed." She paused, taking a breath. "Children died in my arms because of him."
Mara sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Callista. I really am. I had no idea." She looked away for a moment, and Callista could see the faintest sheen of tears in her emerald-green eyes. "I'm just worried that Luke will get hurt."
"I love Luke more than anything," Callista said fiercely. "He's the reason why I want to keep on living. Whenever I'm in his arms, everything seems right with the galaxy, even it if it lasts for only a few minutes. I would never, ever hurt him. You have my word on that."
Mara finally looked back at her. "The thing is, I actually kinda believe you now."
"I still completely don't trust you, though," Callista replied softly.
"It's understandable," Mara answered with a shrug. "You don't know me. I don't know you. I don't trust you fully, either. But Luke trusts us both, so go on that. And he trusted me to work with you. I doubt that he would have dared to part with his new bride if he had any reservations that I might just murder you and dump your body into a lake." Realizing how cold- hearted she was beginning to sound, Mara laughed quietly to herself and changed her tone to a more neutral tone. "Remember, we're working together to achieve the final goal. Don't let your anger and your prejudices cloud your judgment and your actions." They started off again, cutting through into a small clearing. "From Skywalker, that much I learned, at least."
Mara gritted her teeth. "I am not proud of what I did for the Emperor, but it's in the past. This is who I am now. I'm one of the Jedi, who my Master once fought to destroy. Now, I would not do anything to harm them. In fact, the opposite."
Callista nodded. "And I the same. Whatever I may have done in the past, you have to trust me that I will never betray the Jedi, or kill one of them. All I can give you is my word. You and I don't have to be best friends, but as long as we have to work together, we should at the very least be able to trust each other. Let's at least settle on that for now." She held out her hand. "I give you my word as a Jedi that I will not stab you in the back."
Mara looked at her hand for a moment, and then gripped it. "And I the same," she said, fixing Callista with her icy green stare. "For now. We're not finished, you and I."
Callista nodded. "Agreed." Then there was movement a little bit beyond them. Mara stiffened. Callista turned, and they stood back-to-back, weapons drawn and on the offensive.
"Sithspawn," Mara cursed, "can we go a few minutes without having to fight? This is getting obnoxious."
"Do you think Kyp and Kirana Ti might be dead?" Rama asked as he walked alongside his companions. "I mean, if Master Skywalker can't sense them through the Force..."
"Don't think that, Rama," replied Chir'aka, a female blue-skinned Twi'lek who slashed a vine that blocked their path. "We'll find them. Don't you worry about that."
"We should be near the Massassi Lake now," said Mormer, the only human in the trio. "This is where Kirana Ti usually hangs out in the morning."
"I'm sure that if anything happened to her, she can take care of herself," Rama said, not entirely convinced.
Something stepped out of the bushes, startling the three students. The students gasped and stepped back, readying their lightsabers. Rama sighed when he realized it was just Tionne. "Tionne," he sighed. "You scared us."
"Fear leads to the dark side of the Force," Tionne said, a faraway look in her eyes. "Best you remember that, Rama."
The Dug nodded uneasily. He didn't know how to explain it, but something didn't feel right.
"Have you found Kyp yet?" Tionne asked.
Chir'aka shook her head. "So far, nothing. Not a single trace. We were heading for the lake, hoping that Kirana Ti-"
"She's not there," the silver-haired woman interrupted. "I was just over there."
"Oh." The Twi'lek hesitated. "Then I guess we'll have to look someplace else."
"I'll come with you," Tionne offered, withdrawing her lightsaber. A feral grin spread across her face. "The jungle can be a very dangerous place for young Jedi."
Rama felt a shiver rush up his spine at those words. Just in case, he kept his lightsaber out.
The group set off.
She watched as the three young students led the way through the jungle, cutting through the thick outcropping. She smiled as she walked up behind Mormer, careful not to draw attention to herself. This one will be the first to go... As they stepped over an enormous log, she wrapped her arm around the human's neck, choking him. At the same time, she plunged her lightsaber through his back, slicing his spinal cord in half and cutting through his chest. Mormer uttered a single groan of pain, and then the life went out of his eyes.
Chir'aka and Rama spun around, stunned, and she kicked the corpse to the ground. She then turned to the other two Jedi. "Next!" she shouted, leaping over the log.
Chir'aka screamed in anger and terror and charged toward her, brandishing her saber. She merely smiled as blue lightning poured from her fingers, striking full- force into the young Twi'lek. Chir'aka shrieked in agony as the fire melted into her flesh, burning her entire body.
Within seconds, she had been reduced to a skeletal corpse.
She laughed. "What did I tell you fear, you little fool?" She then looked up at Rama, the last survivor. "Care to give it your best shot?" Rama stepped away, his body stricken with terror, as she advanced toward him...
Mara and Callista heard the scream half a mile away. "What the hell was that?" Mara said, looking out into the jungle.
"I don't know," Callista said, feeling her throat tighten. "But I'm gonna find out." She began running through the dense forest, her lightsaber cutting through any barrier that stood before her. Mara followed suit.
Within seconds, they arrived at where the scream had originated. Callista was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her.
Three corpses of Jedi trainees lay strewn on the ground like discarded trash, smoke rising from their lifeless bodies. She recognized one of them as Rama, his body lying in two neat pieces, as if something sharp had cut him in half.
A lightsaber...
"In the name of Chad," Callista whispered, one hand going up to her mouth.
Mara looked away from the onslaught, a look of shock and disgust on her face. "Whoever did this sure has a really sick sense of humor."
"I think I know who it was," Callista said, taking several deep breaths to calm down.
Mara turned to her. "Who?"
"I can't tell you right now," Callista said, avoiding Mara's green- eyed stare. "But we've gotta find Luke."
"What for?" Mara asked. "It's gonna take a while to find him in this kriffing jungle."
"You got any better ideas?" Callista snapped.
"Yeah, I do. I say we find whoever is doing this and kick the living bantha fodder out of them."
"Are you crazy?" Callista said, glaring at the other woman. "This person managed to kill three people-maybe even Kyp and Kirana Ti. If we try to fight them, it will only get us killed."
Mara sighed and kicked at the dirt. "Callista, dear, this is going to be a very long day for us."
Callista managed a small smile. "Tell me about it."
Luke walked silently through the jungle, hoping against hope that everyone was still all right. Streen walked tensely at his side, his eyes darting nervously back and forth.
As they passed the placid crystal lake Kirana Ti often frequented, Luke frowned at the chunks of ice floating in it, like a behemoth glass of ice tea. Even more unusual were the bodies strewn on the ground-from the looks of it, they were vaguely feline, of a species he had never seen before.
Luke knelt by the nearest one, his fingers poking at the wound in its throat. A large hole had been blown through its brown-furred flesh, suggesting a lightsaber or a blaster. It was still smoking, which meant that the creature had been recently killed.
He then heard a jarring sound-not far away.
The sound of evil laughing.
Accompanied by a terrifying chill in the Force, as if someone had tossed him into the lake at his left.
"Master, did you-"
"I did, Streen. Come on!"
They took off through the jungle.
The temple was the one Luke and Callista had discovered merely two weeks ago. He had never felt the dark side emanate from someplace so strongly. Not even Palpatine's sanctum on the Death Star. It was a mere second.
He entered cautiously, pulling out his lightsaber but not igniting it. Streen remained outside, standing guard in the chance that whoever it was should return. The meager light spilling through the holes in the ruined ceiling manifested strange, feline hieroglyphics along the wall and floor.
A floor bathed in human blood.
His breath growing shallower, he followed the trail of red liquid behind a pillar.
And what he saw nearly knocked him over.
Hanging by their necks from sharp, rusted hooks, were the desecrated bodies of Kyp Durron and Kirana Ti.
A cry must have erupted from his lips, because Streen barreled into the temple, lightsaber drawn. "Master, what is it?" He then saw what Luke had found, and he staggered back in disbelief. "No...no!"
"Yes!" came a new voice. Streen turned upon the woman standing in the shadows behind him, only to come in direct contact with her lightsaber. Streen's decapitated head rolled to Luke's feet. His face had frozen in shock and horror.
His killer emerged from the shadows.
"Tionne!"
"There is no Tionne here. Only Kara."
Luke frowned. "Who?" He brought his lightsaber up closer, ready to draw it at a split second's notice.
Tionne's face radiated a smug smirk. "Go ask your dear wife. You know her as Callista. But to me, she will always be Mother. Or, rather, she would if she hadn't abandoned me."
The remark was punctuated with another evil chuckle.
"You're lying. Callista would have told me-"
"If she cared! As it is, she doesn't care about her own daughter! Or her dear husband-her real husband. If she had, she wouldn't have killed him!"
"Geith." Luke understood. Callista had had a child with Geith before they'd perished in the Moonflower Nebula.
Did she really not care?
Or was Kara just another of the memories that had escaped her dwindling spirit?
She saw his hesitation, and lunged. Luke barely managed to activate his own lightsaber before she was upon him. "It's her time to join her family! She doesn't belong here!"
Luke blocked a second round of lightsaber attacks. "She's part of our family, now, Kara. It's not yet her time!"
"You fool! You've taunted the Force! You must pay!"
She attacked again, and he could not stop her.
Luke will die...
"Luke?" Callista whirled, swearing she had heard him. She stretched out with her mind, focusing on his presence in the new temple.
"Mara! Luke's in trouble! Come on!"
Kara attacked again and again, overpowering Luke until she had succeeded in knocking him to the ground. She chuckled and kicked his living weapon away, then planted a foot on his chest.
"You seem to have lost, Master Skywalker." She raised her lightsaber in preparation to decapitate him.
"Kara!"
Kara spun. Callista and Mara stood in the doorway, bathed in the sunlight.
"Your fight is with me, Kara," Callista said as she walked closer. "Come to Mama."
Callista entered the ancient temple, her lightsaber in hand. Mara ran past her to help Luke, who was still lying on the floor, literally shaking with fear.
That left her alone with Kara.
Her daughter.
Callista could do nothing but look into the face of Luke's attacker. Her true face was hidden behind the mask that had been Tionne's face. Her eyes were no longer the serene mother-of-pearl of the Jedi historian's, but a pair of black pits that glared at Callista through the mask.
Still, despite the horrific disguise, Callista knew that this woman was her daughter. She could feel it in her gut, through the fabric of the Force. The daughter of Callista Nogati and Geith Jiséo. The daughter she thought had died so many years ago, mere days after her birth, when the Empire had taken her away.
"Kara." she said, a hushed whisper. "You're alive...I can't believe it."
"You seem surprised to see me, Mother," Kara hissed, a sneer forming on her lips. "You shouldn't. I was going to find you sooner or later."
"It was you in my nightmares," Callista accused, pointing a finger toward the demonic woman. "You tried to make me think it was my mother doing this the whole time."
"Oh, yes. Didn't work, obviously." Kara laughed.
"How did you..." Callista choked on her words and tears. She lowered her lightsaber and stepped closer to Kara, one hand instinctively going up to touch her daughter's cheek. "What happened, Kara? I thought you had died. They took you away from me...I don't understand."
Kara slapped Callista's hand away, her eyes seething with rage. "It's a long story, Mother. One that unfortunately will not be told, for I plan to kill you before the day is out."
"I don't want to fight you, Kara," Callista said gently, shutting off her weapon. "I am still your mother, and I still love you."
"You do?" It almost sounded sincere. "Even after you abandoned me?"
"I thought you were dead!" Callista shouted back, tears falling down her cheeks. "Please, Kara, if I had known otherwise, I never would have left you. The Eye of Palpatine, it had to be destroyed-"
"Is that all you care about?" Kara snapped furiously. "Saving the lives of millions of people you have never met--and never will? More important than your own daughter?"
Before Callista could reply, Kara's hand was already thrust out, calling upon the Force. Callista cried out as she was thrown back through the air and onto the ground. Pain shot through her entire body, and for a moment, she feared the impact had left her paralyzed.
When she got up, Kara was gone.
Luke and Mara ran up to her. "Callista, is it true?" Luke asked, confusion and shock evident in his eyes. "Is Kara your-"
"Yes," Callista said hoarsely, the tears falling fast now. "Kara is my daughter."
Kara sprinted out of the ancient temple and into the jungle. She ran for what seemed like hours until she reached the Massassi Lake, where the corpses of her feline warriors remained smoking on the ground. She pressed her back against a large rock and sank to her knees, tears running down her cheeks.
She shut her eyes, trying to shut out what had just happened in the temple. Her mother's voice wafted in her mind, the words she had spoken:
They took you away from me.
I thought you were dead...if I had known otherwise, I never would have left you.
Bitch! Kara's mind screamed furiously, banging her head back against the rock. The pain that followed helped clear her mind, bring her back to the here and now, as her Master had long ago instructed her. You lying bitch! You never loved me. Palpatine said so.
Kara had no childhood memories of her parents. She had spent most of her young years wandering the streets of Ord Mantell, with no home to go to, no family to love. She had done whatever it took to survive...even if it meant robbing and killing others for food and money.
A kindly old couple had eventually taken her in when she had turned twelve. They did their best to provide for her, but Kara had been an angry, troubled adolescent. She had run away from home more than once, and eventually stowed away on an Imperial merchant ship heading for Coruscant. It was there that Emperor Palpatine entered her life, and her destiny took on a new direction.
Palpatine told her the truth of her parents, that they had abandoned her shortly after her birth. Her father, Geith, had wanted to go back for her, but Callista had flatly refused, insisting that the child was better off without them, that they had a mission to accomplish. He told her of Geith's murder on the Eye of Palpatine at the hands of Callista, and how Palpatine's warriors had eventually defeated her, trapping her within the computer core of the Eye. This had devastated the young seventeen-year-old, who angrily vowed to avenge her father's death, by finding the woman who had murdered him and left her daughter to die alone in the streets of Ord Mantell.
Under the tutelage of Palpatine and Darth Vader, Kara learned for the first time that she was Force-sensitive, and he began teaching her the ways of the dark side. As the years passed, she became one of the Emperor's most powerful students, and she developed a close relationship with Vader. The two apprentices found that they had much in common; like Kara, Vader had had a turbulent life, which included the murder of his mother, the turning point in his life. Like Kara, he had never known his true father, and he had left his mother at a very early age. The two forged a strong bond, one that continued well into the early beginnings of the Rebel Alliance.
On one mission, just after the Rebels had stolen the plans for the original Death Star, Kara met up with a young man who came from a distant planet few in the galaxy had ever heard of. The man, who claimed to be a priest of an ancient sect that dated back to pre-history, offered Kara a chance to come with him to his home planet, located deep in the Unknown Regions. For some inexplicable reason, Kara had readily agreed to accompany him. It would not be until years later that she realized that she had heard of this strange cult before, as a child in the attic of her foster parents' home on Ord Mantell.
Kara growled as she snapped out of her thoughts. She stood and headed back into the jungle. Now was not the time to let her personal feelings get in the way of her mission. Callista had to pay for her crimes. She and Skywalker both had to die. She strode through the jungle, not stopping until she reached the Great Temple. When she arrived, she saw her feline henchmen surrounding a group of Jedi trainees. All the Jedi were disarmed and bleeding from various injuries inflicted by the cat-like creatures.
The cat leader, Shakra, stepped forth and bowed. "The Jedi temple is now ours."
Kara nodded. "Good. Lock up all the Jedi in the detention cells. We'll wait for Skywalker and Mother to return. And when they do, we'll slaughter them all."
Shakra nodded, and he led the Jedi away.
Kara turned back to the jungle and smiled. "Come on, Mother," she whispered. "You don't have much time now. I'll be waiting for you."
"Geith was her father," Callista confessed, refusing to meet Luke's demanding eyes. "It was months before I died on the Eye of Palpatine. The Jedi were dwindling so fast...in some kind of desperate attempt of saving ourselves, they told us to have children. I didn't want to at first, but Geith talked me into it. Soon after that, I found out I was pregnant."
She hesitated, wiping tears from her eyes. Mara placed a calming hand on her shoulder, silently urging her to continue.
"Djinn promised that Geith and I would train her ourselves. The months passed, and once-right before she was born-we found out that there was an attack planned on Belsavis. We went to warn them, but before I could....I went into labor."
"What happened?" Luke asked.
"Geith was there by my side the whole time. It was the most excruciating experience I'd ever known...I had to use the Force to stretch my bones to let her out. But the moment she entered the world, I felt peace. I felt safe. Life felt completely different, like suddenly it had a purpose."
Callista sniffed, unable to control her raging emotions. She finally let it all out. "But then we were attacked. Imperials came and attacked Belsavis. I'd hidden her in a closet to keep her safe, but when I went back to get her, and she was gone. Dozens were killed, and the building collapsed, with Kara inside.
"I looked everywhere for her, day and night, not resting, not eating, nothing but looking for my baby. But I never found her."
She sighed, brushing aside more tears. "Finally I came to terms with the fact that Kara was gone forever. Soon after, Geith left too, to figure things out. He was as traumatized as I was. It tore something away from me forever...something I'll never recover from. All that was left in me was...emptiness."
"You didn't care whether you lived or died at that point," Mara said. It was not a question.
Callista nodded. "Yes. You're right. Geith came back a few weeks later and told me about the ship in the Moonflower Nebula. When we arrived on the Eye of Palpatine, I was determined to put an end to this threat once and for all. I didn't care if I lived or died; my only wish was to cause the Imperials as much suffering as they did me.
"And I got my wish."
The chamber remained silent for a long time.
Callista looked up at her husband and said, "Please forgive me, Luke."
Luke, however, was unwilling to accept it. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he demanded. "You never kept secrets from me before. Why now?"
"It was the past, Luke, dead and buried. I thought," she replied.
"But look at what's happened!" Luke said, near-shouting. "I can imagine how horrible it must have been for you to carry such a burden on your shoulders for so long, but why couldn't you have shared it with me?"
"It wasn't any of your business," Callista said sternly. No anger was in her voice. It was the truth. Luke had no reason to know about it.
"It is now," Luke shot back. "We're married, remember? Three of my students are now dead, thanks to your daughter! And you want to know why? Because she had no one! No one to care for her. No one to guide her. No one to teach her right from wrong. No one to love her!"
Callista drew her knees to her chest, wrapping them tightly around herself, and muttering something under her breath.
Luke said.
"They were looking for you!" Callista cried, almost shouting, with such intensity that Luke stepped back in shock. "When they attacked Belsavis, they thought that you were there, and mistook Kara for you or Leia. That's why they took her. Then, when they realized she wasn't the one, they probably left her to die in some street." Luke's face reddened at the rebuke. He looked away.
"Hey, farmboy, cut her some slack," Mara added. "Callista had nothing to do with her daughter's actions! She didn't even know Kara was still alive! And I seem to recall a certain Jedi Master whose father had once been a Sith Lord and committed some pretty unspeakable crimes as well."
His eyes met Callista's, anger and accusation replaced with compassion and sorrow. "Callista, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I don't know what came over me. I just-"
"Okay, I hate to break this up," Mara interrupted, "but in case you guys forgot, there's a psycho out in the jungle who's probably up to no good. What are we going to do about it?"
"I'll think of something," Luke said, looking around the temple. "These ruins are infested with the dark side. It's the focus of Kara's power, much like Exar Kun's connection to the Massassi temples. The key to defeating her lies somewhere within this temple."
"Well, we'll leave that to you," Mara said. "Me and Callista will head back to the Academy to warn everyone else." She began heading out the door.
Callista quickly ran after Mara. She gave Luke one little wave before disappearing into the jungle.
Luke, now alone, looked over at the bodies of Kyp, Kirana Ti, and Streen. "My friends," he whispered. "I will avenge you. I promise."
A daughter.
Luke could still scarcely believe how his life had just been turned upside-down in the last few minutes. The revelation rocked him to the core- jealousy, anger, resentment...As much as he hated to admit it, he felt them stirring in his blood even as he looked at her and knew the anguish she must have felt.
Another man had touched her. It was yet another link to a life she'd lived long, long ago, something completely separate from the present, something he couldn't even begin to understand. But he couldn't think of his hurt now. She was out there somewhere, and she was going to pounce again soon.
A thick silence blanketed them all around, broken only by the cries of animals in the distance.
He yelled. I know you're here!
"You're no fun to hide from," a voice suddenly ripped out into the stillness.
Luke pivoted behind him and saw Kara, hair in wild tangles, eyes glinting with evil glee.
"Nice to see you again," she said, stepping forward just a bit closer. "And what do I call you? You're certainly not my father...Mother took care of him, didn't she? You'd better watch out, Jedi. Her bedfellows always seem to end up dead."
Luke shouted, moving forth to slash Kara. His lightsaber flared to life like a bolt of lightning, cutting into the demon's midsection-
And disappeared as if it had never been.
A vision. It had been a vision.
Luke shuddered at what he had seen in the dreamscape. Kara needed to be defeated-and fast.
And the key to beating her was somewhere in the temple.
As Luke headed up the stairs, he hoped that if Callista had run into Kara, she would be all right.
"Kara, it does not have to end like this," Callista said, her lightsaber inches from her daughter's chest.
Mara stood next to her, her Jedi weapon out as well.
Kara smiled and laughed. "It's too late to change the past, dear Mother. What's happened is done, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Callista gulped, a shiver of terror rushing through her blood. "Kara, please-"
"Enough!" her daughter snapped, her oily-black eyes searing with hate. "I've wasted enough time as it is. Goodbye, Mother."
Callista's vision began to lose focus. The world around her spun and twisted into different, unrecognizable shapes. She staggered back, one hand going up to her forehead. What in the Force was going on-?
Seconds passed before her surroundings returned to normal. Callista straightened, relearning how to breathe. She looked in front of her and saw that Kara had disappeared.
Callista turned to Mara to see if the same thing had happened to her-
And cried out as someone kicked her hard in the face.
The nerves in her mouth screamed in pain as the blow connected with her chin. Her vision became unfocused again, fuzzy, as she fell down to one knee. An eternity seemed to pass in the space of a few seconds.
She looked up weakly, her entire mouth numb, and saw Kara looming over her, standing where Mara had been seconds earlier. The female ex- smuggler was nowhere to be seen.
What had Kara done to her?
Callista did not have time to ask that question, as her daughter brought out her lightsaber and thumbed the switch. An electric sky-blue blade hissed to life, sounding like a swarm of deadly, humming insects. Her daughter glared down at her as she began bringing the blade down-
Almost immediately, Callista raised her own weapon. The two met somewhere in the middle, crackling as they made contact. Kara grunted as she drew back and struck down a second time. Her speed was incredible; were it not for Callista's reflexes, her head would have been lopped off.
As it was, Callista was able to deflect the second attack. She pushed back with her blade, knocking her opponent back a few steps. She rose to both feet, the numbness in her mouth beginning to wear out, replaced with a fresh rush of pain. Her chin was torn and bleeding, a thin red stream running down her throat.
Callista ignored it and surged toward her daughter, disarming her quickly with a quick slap of her hand. It was unexpected, and Kara staggered back even further.
With her enemy weaponless, Callista now had the advantage. But she did not wish to kill her daughter; despite everything she had done, she was still Callista's child. Deep down, Callista could still see the bright, beautiful girl she had held in her arms in the few short hours they had had together before the Eye of Palpatine. The dark side had consumed her, but she could still renounce it, could still regain some of the goodness she had lost.
But Callista was not naïve. She knew that Kara meant to kill her when she was given the perfect opportunity. No, she did not want to murder her daughter...but that did not mean she wasn't willing to fight.
On the contrary, she planned to give Kara a fight she would never forget.
Seconds after she had knocked the lightsaber from her hands, Callista landed a hard punch to Kara's jaw, catching her off guard. The second blow hit her square in the chest, causing her to stumble. Callista directed the Force at her chest, nearly tearing her off her feet. Her daughter was sent reeling back a few steps, attempting to regain her balance and her breathing, one hand going up to her bruised ribs.
In her mind, Callista could hear the numbered moves she had learned on the Chu'unthor, the many different combinations she could create.and the blond boy's face again, his name she had long forgotten-
Callista charged forward, giving Kara little time to recover. She swung an arc toward her daughter's left thigh, intending to incapacitate her, not completely sever it. But Kara had called her weapon back into her hands, and blocked it, sending sparks flying toward the ground.
Callista spun and sent a slash toward Kara's side, this time aiming for her hip, but the blow was effortlessly deflected away. Another spin, another slash, and another parry. What Kara didn't realize until it was too late was that the third attack had been a mere feint. Even as she blocked the topaz blade with her own, Callista brought her free hand across Kara's face in a powerful backhand. A thin spurt of blood left her nose as her head twisted sideways, fanned by her long silver hair. She turned back and snapped the laser blade down in an uppercut toward Callista's jaw, intending to slice it off.
She counterattacked with equal strength and punched Kara full in the gut-Three!-and followed with a hammer blow to the head with her saber's hilt, dropping her onto her stomach-Four! A pained moan escaped Kara's mouth as she rose to her knees, blood oozing from a wound on the side of her head, encircled by a massive black bruise. She looked up at her mother, the hate in her eyes intensifying, like two endless black holes. Her lightsaber still in her hands, she slashed the blue blade toward Callista's legs in an attempt to slice them off. Callista anticipated it and leaped high over the blade, performing a flip that landed her behind Kara.
Kara scrambled to her feet and faced Callista, her fighting stance mirroring her mother's. For a brief moment, they remained still, as if engaged in a silent conversation. The faintest sparkle of uncertainty glimmered in Kara's eyes as she locked gazes with Callista, and for a moment, she hoped that her daughter would stop fighting and reason with her- The hope was shattered seconds later, when Kara charged toward her mother, letting out an infuriated howl. The two blades clashed again twice, with Kara first aiming for Callista's chest, and then for her forearm. Callista blocked both blows and aimed a swing for Kara's head.
No! You don't want to kill her! Callista faltered, giving Kara just enough time to duck the blow. She spun until she was standing behind Callista, and kicked her in the small of her back. Callista cried out as she felt her daughter's high-heeled boot connect squarely with her spine, and she was knocked forward. She used her hands and knees to soften the impact to the ground and began to get back up-
When she suddenly felt Kara's fingers latch around her throat, choking off her air supply. Callista gagged as she strained for air. Her hand reached out toward her lightsaber, but Kara kicked her out of her reach, sneering as she did so. She tightened her grip, and Callista saw stars explode across her vision. Her thoughts spinning, Callista reached out with one hand. She gripped the hand choking her and dug her nails into the soft, pale flesh, hard enough to leave small, half-crescent marks that oozed blood. Kara screamed, and she lost her grip on Callista. Her mother drew back, regaining her breath, and struck Kara with the Force, knocking her clean off her feet. The young woman rolled across the ground until she hit the wall of the Great Temple, letting out a pained gasp as the air left her body. Callista rolled to her feet and grabbed her lightsaber, rushing over to finish the job. Kara saw her coming, and waited until her opponent was upon her. She then kicked out, striking Callista just behind the heel of her right foot. The blow was hard enough that her feet left the ground, and Callista fell, the back of her head hitting a large rock half-buried in the ground.
For a few precious seconds, Callista could not move. Her vision was just one large, white explosion of pain. She blacked out, and when she could see again, Kara was standing over her, preparing to deliver the killing blow. Trying to see through the haze of pain, Callista reached with one hand and snatched her lightsaber, which was still activated. She brought it up just in time, parrying Kara's blow, which would have cleaved her head in two had it connected. The two locked eyes on each other for a few seconds as the blades intertwined between them. Callista pushed forth with all her might, sending Kara teetering off balance. She was unable to regain it in time, and ended up on her back, her lightsaber still clutched in her right hand. She was up almost immediately, her lightsaber held in front of her in a defensive stance. Callista charged her, enveloping her daughter in a full-body tackle that knocked them both off their feet and into the temple wall. The wall, which had been weakened during the Imperial attack by scout walkers, crumbled upon impact, sending the two combatants through the ancient stone and into the hangar bay. Debris rained all around them and pelted them both as they hit the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Callista rolled away, her entire body a burning, quivering mass of pain. Bruises and cuts discolored her arms and face, and she could feel a warm wetness seeping through her hair. She felt at the back of her head with one hand, and it came away smeared with blood. Whether it had been from hitting the rock or going through the wall, she wasn't exactly sure. It didn't matter; either way, she would be feeling extremely sore come morning, if she survived this fight. She got back to her feet, slowed by pain and nausea, and turned to face Kara. Her daughter had fared well from the impact, either. As she stood, she clutched her left arm, her face contorted with pain. They faced each other again, separated by a large gap of space, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the newly made hole. Both faces showed pain and uneasiness, neither willing to continue the fight. Callista took a few steps toward her daughter, wincing as a twinge ran through her leg. She opened her mouth to speak to Kara, to reason with her. She no longer wanted to fight- But the hatred that Kara had been carrying for over thirty years easily won out. As Callista dropped her guard, she spun, catching her mother in a backhand with a closed fist that connected with her jaw, causing her to bite her tongue.
The blow hurt, and Callista almost fell. At the last moment, she was able to clear her mind and regain her footing. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kara strike another blow, this time with her lightsaber. Callista spun back and parried the blow, producing a loud sizzle that echoed in the hangar bay. The two stared at each other across the blades again, their eyes showing more emotion than all the words in the galaxy could convey: one full of hate and a burning desire for revenge, the other full of love and regret, as well as a desire to end this conflict and bring mother and daughter together again. Kara's face was livid with pure loathing as she punched Callista in the gut, leaving her breathless. She topped it with another blow to the face, dropping the Jedi to her hands and knees.
Callista felt dizziness and nausea dance across her vision, bordering on unconsciousness. The pain in her stomach was so great that she almost threw up. She closed her eyes and let the Force flow through her, washing away the pain that raged in her body. She felt it and the nausea leave her like a disease, and she looked up to see Kara coming at her again. Wasting not a breath, she brought her foot back and into her daughter's stomach, hitting her with enough force to knock her back several steps and into the wall. Kara cried out as she fell to her knees, her eyes bulging, a groan of pain escaping her lips. Callista leaped to her feet, determined to put an end to this fight the quickest way possible.
Kara responded likewise, and focused on a large boulder that had been blown off the wall in the Imperial battle. Within seconds, it was floating in the air, controlled by the Force. With a push of her mind, she sent it hurtling toward Callista. Callista uttered a silent curse and rolled out of the way, barely in time to avoid being crushed. The boulder passed her, missing her by a hairsbreadth. It hit the opposite wall with enough force to crack the ancient stone, creating a loud rumble that resounded through the chamber. Within seconds, mother and daughter were at each other's throats again.