Disclaimer: As if! I own none of this it all belongs to George Lucas and
other assorted folks.
Thank you very much for the reviews everyone. I hope ya'll enjoyed.
Luke Skywalker sat in his council chair waiting patiently for the meting to begin. Once everyone was seated, Luke watched with interest as Kyp rose and took the proverbial floor.
"Masters, Knights and other assembled personages of import," he said with an eloquence Luke had almost forgotten he possessed. "Thank you for gathering here at my request. I have an important matter to bring before you today, which could possibly be an extremely beneficial asset to the war effort." He paused as a few of those gathered gained interest or simply looked on in disbelief. He was after all Kyp Durron.
"One are last mission to Chad, the Goddess Jaina Solo and myself discovered a Jedi. Not any Jedi, but a Jedi of the Old Republic who can sense the Vong through the force."
At this all of the gathered Jedi sat up a little straighter. This was indeed momentous news. When, however, the door opened and a middle aged woman walked in, Luke didn't recognize her. Instead he noticed how everything about her seemed familiar. It wasn't until the woman gave her blonde-brown hair an-oh-so-familiar shake that he recognized her.
Surprising even himself, Luke shot up out of his chair, "Callie!" he practically demanded.
"Hello Luke," she said with simplicity, although Luke realized as he sank belatedly back into his seat, it seemed as if few things would ever be simple again.
Sitting back down Luke tried to gather his thoughts. He hadn't been so unsettled by something since he was under Yoda's tutelage. This situation with Callista was complicated. If what Kyp said was true, he, as the foremost Jedi Master of the day, would be expected to deal with Callista, no matter what the personal situation was between them. It was awkward; that was the only thing Luke could say about it definitely. Ironically he suspected it would be harder for him to work with Callista now, than it was to work with Mara back when she was trying to kill him.
Honestly, though, he couldn't say he regretted his relationship with Callista..Well parts of it anyway, but he certainly would never regret, resent, or wish he could undo his marriage. Mara was the love of his life and the mother of his child. She understood him better than anyone else in the galaxy. No, Callista was no temptation, he already had everything he could possibly want, but it could make things difficult.
"I nor the Jedi scholars were able to find the cause for my apparent force blindness," Luke heard Callista saying as he tuned back in to the discussion, "but I think that's what allows me to sense the Vong. With the Council's permission," she requested with difference, "I would like to begin studying this with the help of other Jedi. Perhaps if we can discover how I do this, it can be taught to other Jedi."
Luke glanced around the table, checking the reactions of the other members. Most were nodding in agreement with Callista's request.
Cilghal was the first to speak up, "I concur. This could be a valuable asset to the war and also lead us to a better understanding of the Yuuzhan Vong and possibly help us save lives."
Several of the other Jedi nodded, but Cal Omas cut in first. "Ladies and Gentlebeings, it seems to me this is solely a matter of the Jedi, perhaps we should leave this to them and return to our duties."
To everyone's surprise most of the non-Jedi agreed easily and left. This wasn't a matter of inclusive secrecy, but of little relevance to the other at that time.
After the room had lost half of its occupants, Kyp spoke for the first time since his introductory remarks. Luke was surprised he had been silent this long, especially on a matter he had raised for discussion. However, what he said next surprised Luke even more.
"I disagree. This is unexpected and interesting, yes, but it would mean taking Jedi away from the fighting and to be honest, I don't trust Lady Callista. We know nothing of her activities since she disappeared, only that she had been dabbling with the darkside before se left. It's too big of a risk and a distraction."
Luke almost smiled. Kyp was beginning to surprise him with his maturity, but he was also objecting to his own proposal! Suddenly Luke longed for the days when he could predict Kyp's rebellious responses. Things were so much simpler when Callista hadn't been around to create this confusion.
In the end, which was quite a long time in coming, it was decided that Jedi could volunteer to work with Callista as they choose. It would be an excellent change of duty for some of the war weary Jedi. The Council also decided to make Callista's base of operations on Eclipse, not Mon Calamari for both security purposes and so that she could work with the Jedi scholar Tionne.
All in all, Luke concluded, it was a very long session that would likely influence or play a hand in decisions made for years and possible decades to come. Now all he had to do was go home, to explain the situation to his wife, to explain the fact that since she would be the only person piloting a ship to Shelter for the next month, Callista would be joining her as a passenger. For a moment, Luke almost wished he was still on Tatooine, just a simple middle aged moisture farmer. It would all have been so much simpler!
Thank you very much for the reviews everyone. I hope ya'll enjoyed.
Luke Skywalker sat in his council chair waiting patiently for the meting to begin. Once everyone was seated, Luke watched with interest as Kyp rose and took the proverbial floor.
"Masters, Knights and other assembled personages of import," he said with an eloquence Luke had almost forgotten he possessed. "Thank you for gathering here at my request. I have an important matter to bring before you today, which could possibly be an extremely beneficial asset to the war effort." He paused as a few of those gathered gained interest or simply looked on in disbelief. He was after all Kyp Durron.
"One are last mission to Chad, the Goddess Jaina Solo and myself discovered a Jedi. Not any Jedi, but a Jedi of the Old Republic who can sense the Vong through the force."
At this all of the gathered Jedi sat up a little straighter. This was indeed momentous news. When, however, the door opened and a middle aged woman walked in, Luke didn't recognize her. Instead he noticed how everything about her seemed familiar. It wasn't until the woman gave her blonde-brown hair an-oh-so-familiar shake that he recognized her.
Surprising even himself, Luke shot up out of his chair, "Callie!" he practically demanded.
"Hello Luke," she said with simplicity, although Luke realized as he sank belatedly back into his seat, it seemed as if few things would ever be simple again.
Sitting back down Luke tried to gather his thoughts. He hadn't been so unsettled by something since he was under Yoda's tutelage. This situation with Callista was complicated. If what Kyp said was true, he, as the foremost Jedi Master of the day, would be expected to deal with Callista, no matter what the personal situation was between them. It was awkward; that was the only thing Luke could say about it definitely. Ironically he suspected it would be harder for him to work with Callista now, than it was to work with Mara back when she was trying to kill him.
Honestly, though, he couldn't say he regretted his relationship with Callista..Well parts of it anyway, but he certainly would never regret, resent, or wish he could undo his marriage. Mara was the love of his life and the mother of his child. She understood him better than anyone else in the galaxy. No, Callista was no temptation, he already had everything he could possibly want, but it could make things difficult.
"I nor the Jedi scholars were able to find the cause for my apparent force blindness," Luke heard Callista saying as he tuned back in to the discussion, "but I think that's what allows me to sense the Vong. With the Council's permission," she requested with difference, "I would like to begin studying this with the help of other Jedi. Perhaps if we can discover how I do this, it can be taught to other Jedi."
Luke glanced around the table, checking the reactions of the other members. Most were nodding in agreement with Callista's request.
Cilghal was the first to speak up, "I concur. This could be a valuable asset to the war and also lead us to a better understanding of the Yuuzhan Vong and possibly help us save lives."
Several of the other Jedi nodded, but Cal Omas cut in first. "Ladies and Gentlebeings, it seems to me this is solely a matter of the Jedi, perhaps we should leave this to them and return to our duties."
To everyone's surprise most of the non-Jedi agreed easily and left. This wasn't a matter of inclusive secrecy, but of little relevance to the other at that time.
After the room had lost half of its occupants, Kyp spoke for the first time since his introductory remarks. Luke was surprised he had been silent this long, especially on a matter he had raised for discussion. However, what he said next surprised Luke even more.
"I disagree. This is unexpected and interesting, yes, but it would mean taking Jedi away from the fighting and to be honest, I don't trust Lady Callista. We know nothing of her activities since she disappeared, only that she had been dabbling with the darkside before se left. It's too big of a risk and a distraction."
Luke almost smiled. Kyp was beginning to surprise him with his maturity, but he was also objecting to his own proposal! Suddenly Luke longed for the days when he could predict Kyp's rebellious responses. Things were so much simpler when Callista hadn't been around to create this confusion.
In the end, which was quite a long time in coming, it was decided that Jedi could volunteer to work with Callista as they choose. It would be an excellent change of duty for some of the war weary Jedi. The Council also decided to make Callista's base of operations on Eclipse, not Mon Calamari for both security purposes and so that she could work with the Jedi scholar Tionne.
All in all, Luke concluded, it was a very long session that would likely influence or play a hand in decisions made for years and possible decades to come. Now all he had to do was go home, to explain the situation to his wife, to explain the fact that since she would be the only person piloting a ship to Shelter for the next month, Callista would be joining her as a passenger. For a moment, Luke almost wished he was still on Tatooine, just a simple middle aged moisture farmer. It would all have been so much simpler!