Chapter Seven
Kayla could tell she was in trouble from the moment she'd stepped away from the cave's entrance. She could still hear the echoes of Luke's scream, but with every step she took, they got even fainter.
"This is what I get for rushing into things." Kayla thought, silently cursing herself for her rash decision. All around her, different beings went about their daily business, despite the ominous weight in the air. Snakes and lizards, creatures Kayla was familiar with from her own homeworld, crawled around on twisted tree limbs, hunting for their next meals.
"The Crocodile Hunter would be right at home here." Kayla mused, sarcastically, almost halfway expecting to see the hyperactive naturalist jump down from a ledge above her. She froze when the air suddenly went ice cold around her, and something materialized from the gloom. Kayla's eyes widened when she saw who it was, and her breath caught in her throat. It was Jordan!
"Jord! Hey! I didn't know you were……………..here……………" Kayla almost shouted, her relief and joy over seeing her little brother giving way to uncertainty and some fear when he turned his attention to her and ignited a lightsaber.
"You abandoned me." Jordan growled, angrily.
"No………….Jord, I didn't……………..I didn't abandon you…………." Kayla stammered, overwhelmed by the hatred that was coming from her younger brother's form.
"Don't lie to me! You gave up on me! You didn't even bother to come looking for me!" Jordan snarled, as he slashed at his sister; narrowly missing her stomach with his blood-red blade.
"Jord, I didn't know where to look! Had I even had a clue, I would've come for you! You could've at least given me a sign that you were still alive!" Kayla argued, while trying desperately to avoid the lightsaber's blade.
"No excuses! Stand and fight me, Kay! Ignite that saber and fight!" Jordan howled, furiously.
"But……………" Kayla said, but was cut off by Jordan.
"No buts! Fight or die, Kay!" Jordan shouted, as he attacked with his full fury. Not knowing any other alternative, Kayla brought up her lightsaber and hit the power button, fully expecting nothing to happen. To her utter shock and disbelief, the lightsaber in her hands flashed to brilliant life; a turquoise blade taking up residence where no blade had been before.
"W-what the heck?! This thing didn't even have a focusing gem before! How could it have a blade now of all times?!?" Kayla wondered, as she parried a blow from Jordan, then knocked his blade away from her. For a few moments, they both stood poised, ready for the other's next move. Then, with a scream, Jordan charged forward, with the full intent of burying his blade in Kayla's chest. With a move spurred by desperation, Kayla dodged to one side, stabbed what she thought was air, then leaped to a safer distance. Horror blossomed when she saw Jordan fall to the ground, and she rushed to his side.
"Jord!" Kayla screamed, voicing the horror she felt as she kneeled beside her younger brother, disengaging her saber while she was at it.
"You………….abandoned me………….Kay…………..and now I'm gonna make you pay………………Just you wait and see…………." Jordan whispered, as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and the huge gash in his stomach. And, as Kayla watched, the vision of her brother faded, revealing that she had been alone the entire time.
Biggs and Dack looked up when Luke emerged from the tree.
"Luke!" Biggs shouted, a bit concerned when he saw the haunted look on Luke's face.
"Biggs…………..Dack……………" Luke replied, as he shakily smiled at the pair, then realized that Kayla wasn't with them.
"Where's Kay?" all three of them asked, at the same time.
"She went in after you! She heard you scream and rushed in there to save you!" Dack said, alarmed by what Luke had just said.
"I didn't scream." Luke replied.
"If you didn't, then what did?" Biggs asked, unnerved by the fact that Luke had not seen Kayla come in after him.
"The Dark Side." Yoda said, simply.
"The Dark Side made that awful sound? How could that be possible?" Dack asked, in complete disbelief.
"Anything is possible in the Force. Ere it be the Light side or the Dark. But you must not allow yourselves to be seduced by the Dark Side. Otherwise, it will eventually destroy you." Yoda warned, as Kayla stumbled out of the cave.
"Kay! Are you all right?!" the three men asked, then noticed that tears were flowing freely down Kayla's face.
"Kay…………" Dack murmured, as Biggs approached her and gently embraced her.
"It'll be all right, Kay. It'll be all right." Biggs whispered, trying to soothe her troubled heart.
"No it won't, Biggs……………not until I find Jordan……………..It won't be all right until I find him, and tell him that I didn't abandon him………….." Kayla sobbed, taking some minor comfort in the strong arms that held her, and the beating heart she could hear.
On board the Executor, Darth Vader stood in conference with the most feared figures in the galaxy, aside from himself, the Emperor, and Jordan; bounty hunters.
"There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Millenium Falcon. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive." Vader ordered, before turning to the one hunter that stood apart from the rest.
"No disintegrations." Vader continued.
"As you wish." The bounty hunter known only as Boba Fett growled, in response.
"Poor Fett. I almost feel sorry for him. I know what will happen to him less than a year from now. Sarlacc food." Jordan thought, then froze when an anguished mental cry reached him. A cry that sounded strangely like his name.
"Kayla?" Jordan's mind asked, confused for a moment as to why she would cry out like that, but then shrugged. He didn't care. He'd catch her soon enough. And when he did, he would find out why she had not tried to find him sooner.
Later that evening, Yoda carried on with the lessons. He could sense that what Kayla had seen had disturbed her greatly, but it didn't deter her from learning more about the Force. She, Biggs, and Luke were now in handstands, levitating all manner of solid objects with the Force.
"Use the Force………Yes, now………the stones…………….feel them…….." Yoda said, softly, concentrating on the three in front of him, and Dack, who was also lifting objects with the Force (only not from a handstand, and sitting on the boulder next to Yoda). It wasn't until Artoo started beeping shrilly in alarm that the spell was broken, and three out of four Jedi students fell soundly on their butts.
"Ow." Kayla and Biggs muttered, and as Luke and Dack rushed over to where the ships were located. The shuttle was still in place, but the two X-Wings had sunk even deeper into the bog.
"Oh no…………….we'll never get them out now." Luke muttered, hopelessly.
"Well, there goes any hope of getting back home. What now?" Biggs asked, irritably. They all knew that the shuttle was far too small to carry all of them.
"This day just keeps getting better." Kayla thought, unwittingly echoing what Jordan had thought hours earlier.
"So certain are you." Yoda spoke up, catching Dack with the Force and setting him down gently when his legs gave out from under him. Yoda sighed in resignation; one step forward, two steps back.
"Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you four nothing that I say?" Yoda asked, with a minute trace of irritation in his voice.
"Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different." Luke stated, as he motioned to the trapped starfighters.
"Yeah. It would take a small tractor beam to pull those X-Wings out now." Biggs added. Yoda only gave him a look of annoyance.
"No. No different. Only different in your minds. You must unlearn what you have learned." Yoda said, as both Biggs and Luke gave him a resigned look.
"All right, we'll give it a try." Luke murmured, but Kayla knew only too well that he would fail. Yoda shook his head.
"No. Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try." Yoda stated, grimly. With that said, Yoda, Kayla, and Dack watched as Luke and Biggs turned to the starfighters and closed their eyes. For a few moments, nothing happened, then the fighters started to rise. Slowly but surely, the X-Wings started to come out of the bog. It was when looks of strain started to appear on the faces of both X-Wing pilots that Kayla made a decision.
"Dack." Kayla said, as she looked at him, then looked at their friends. At first confusion reigned on Dack's face, then he realized what Kayla wanted, then closed his eyes. Together, they reached out through the Force to Luke and Biggs, with the intent to share their strength with them.
"Luke, Biggs. Let us help." Kayla mentally said, noticing when the two men started in surprise, then eased.
"I don't think Master Yoda will be too pleased with your helping us, Kay." Biggs' mental voice replied.
"We'd help you with or without Master Yoda's permission. You and Luke are our friends, remember?" Dack stated, letting his friends know that he was in on the conversation as well.
"Yes. But you're also more stubborn than Wookies. All right. Let's do this." Luke's 'voice' muttered, as he let go of whatever inhibitions and misgivings he had, and allowed himself to become one with the Force……….and as his friends did the same. Almost at once, Yoda noticed the difference; he could tell that all four of his apprentices were working together to solve the problem, something that had been part of the Jedi training many years ago and had been abandoned in the later years of the Old Republic.
"Such strength from these four! Maybe there is reason to hope after all." Yoda thought, as the four young Jedi levitated the two starships to firmer ground, cementing a lasting bond between them in the process.
"Good. Very good. Even though I did not give permission for two of you to help, you did very well. It seems you are learning." Yoda said, getting rather sheepish looks from both Dack and Kayla while he was at it.
"I almost gave up. It was too big to handle on my own." Luke murmured, giving his friends a rather embarrassed look to prove his point.
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?" Yoda asked, with something akin to a smirk on his face.
"No sir." Biggs said, getting some chuckles from Dack, Luke, and Kayla in response. Yoda only arched an eye-ridge.
"And well you should not. For my ally is the Force…..and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. It's energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." Yoda said, pinching Luke in the arm to prove his point. Luke flinched, and gave Dack an unreadable glance when he snickered at that.
"You must feel the Force around you." Yoda continued, "Here, between you four…..me……the tree…….the rock…everywhere! Do not forget that."
"We won't, Master." Kayla replied, quietly, aware when the ancient Jedi Master gave her a knowing look, then hobbled away, leaving the four to their own thoughts.
"Apology accepted, Captain Needa." Jordan sneered, as he watched Vader kill Needa for his failure to capture the Millenium Falcon. The ship had disappeared without a trace (or so the Imperials thought) and now another incompetent had paid the price.
"Lord Vader, Commander Devans, our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing." Admiral Veers said, trying not to notice when some of his subordinates dragged the corpse of the unfortunate Needa past him.
"If the Millenium Falcon went into lightspeed, it'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now. Alert all commands. Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory." Vader commanded.
"Yes, my lord. We'll find them." Veers promised. Vader gave an imperceptible nod, before turning slightly and saying, "Don't fail me again, Admiral." With an audible gulp, Veers turned on his heel and began issuing orders to the rest of the crew. Jordan smirked when he saw Veers rush from the bridge when he thought no one was looking.
"What has you so amused, my young apprentice?" Vader's mental voice asked, with the tiniest hint of curiosity in it.
"I was beginning to wonder just how strong Veers' stomach was. Now I know." Jordan replied in kind, snickering somewhat at the thought of the greenish tinge that had appeared on the Imperial Admiral's face when Vader had finished with Needa. Vader 'said' nothing more, but Jordan could tell that this vaguely amused his master.