Disclaimer: guess what, I still don't own Star Wars, oh well. I also did not write the song. Get over it, I did. This author is supported by the Star Wars Unlimited Fan Club.
It's nothing I'll forget when the moon gets tired
You are stuck to me everyday
Believe in what I am because it's all I have today
And tomorrow who knows where we'll be
Every Thug Needs a Lady, Alkaline Trio
Ebon Hawk, port crew quarters
In the dark shadows of the night, Brianna walked with her light saber activated. The soft, cyan blue glow lit up her face and cast a tint on the shadows. She heard someone calling out her name, a man's voice. It wasn't Caleb's, but it sounded familiar. She knew that soft, deep voice anywhere; it was her father's.
"Daddy?" she called out into the darkness. Her hopes where up, maybe she would get to see her father again, but he was dead and last time she checked, she wasn't. "Daddy, is that you? Where are you?"
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned around with her light saber pointed at the person's face and there stood Yusanis, just the way she remembered him. Brianna quickly deactivated her light saber and threw herself at the man that was her father. "Calm down, little Bria, although it would appear you aren't so little anymore." The man with white hair and blue eyes smiled at his daughter, hugging her back.
"Daddy, what's going on here? I thought you where dead, what is this place?" she said as she let go of him and took a step back.
"You are in the force, Brianna," a woman's voice said as Brianna turned around to see a woman with brown hair and green eyes, but her face looked so familiar. It was the same face Brianna saw every time she looked at herself in the mirror. This must be her mother, the mother she never got to know.
"Mother?"
"Yes sweetheart, I'm sorry you never got to know me better and that I never was around. I missed you so much."
"I still don't know why I am here, I must be dreaming again. Either that or I am going crazy. Being around Caleb must be driving me to insanity," she said with a smile.
"This isn't exactly a dream, Bria. Since we died and became one with the force, your mother found a way to see you at least one more time in your dreams. While you were asleep, you tapped into the force. So here we are."
Brianna didn't know what to think, "But…I… I," she managed to stammer out.
"It's true, honey. I know it sounds unbelievable, but ask your friend who is staring at your sleeping form right now thinking about you, he's a Jedi. He will tell you that this can happen," said Arren.
"Oh I think he's more than a friend Arren, and I made sure in his sleep for the past week he knew what would happen if he dared dishonor our daughter!" said Yusanis, who had apparently been having fun with Caleb for a few nights, no wonder he had been so careful around her lately.
"Daddy no," Brianna was embarrassed by this. Her parents were dead and still overprotective!
"Oh don't 'Daddy no' me, I guarantee you he will end up doing much worse than I have some day!"
"Yusanis!" Arren said as she slapped him, "Leave the poor boy alone!"
"Fine! But if he," Arren then interrupted him.
"Oh, what can you do? You're dead for force sake! Now can we please get to why we are here to begin with we don't have that much time. And I want to spend at least some time with her."
"Yes, master," he said condescendingly.
Brianna searched her feelings, they were right. They really were her parents, well at least their spirits. They had become one with the force and just wanted to see their child again. What would her father think about what had happened to her sisters? Arren walked over and embraced her daughter, "So you don't think you have gone completely nutters then?"
"No," she said as she hugged her mother back. "Daddy, my sisters, Atris,"
"I know, Atris should have never come for any of you. They were all processed by the dark side, just like Atris was. They are not angry with you; at least you tried to stop them. Although I am not happy with the way they treated you for 15 years," he walked over and embraced both Arren and Brianna.
Arren was next to speak, "Things are going to change very quickly soon, surely you have sensed it. After you find Revan, my old apprentice, there will be a war. Bria, promise me, no matter what you will not give in to the dark side. Revan did terrible things when possessed by the dark side, things he would have never done otherwise. Although, I think watching me be murdered in front of him might have helped a little in pushing him down that path."
"Yes, I found out the hard way that one should not aggravate a Dark Lord when one is not force sensitive. But I do not blame him and forgave him long ago. Bria, will you tell him so for me? We can't just pop up in random peoples' dreams every night."
"I will, but how is it that you know so much about us and everything that's going on now?"
"Because you are our child, and we are dead and can see it anyways," answered Arren.
"As much as I hate for this to end, we have to go," said Yusanis, who looked rather like he was about to shed tears. Brianna hugged her mother and father again then watched them vanish into the force before she awoke from her sleep.
There waiting for her simply content with watching her sleep, was Caleb. He was a little surprised to see her wake up and tried unsuccessfully to make it appear that he was not watching her. Brianna simply kissed him and said, "I do not mind you watching me."
"Oh, okay then." He gently massaged her shoulder. Brianna was still preoccupied with thinking about what had just happened, it seemed to good to be true, but to real to deny.
"Caleb?" she asked softly, interrupting his caresses.
"Yes my love?"
"Is it possible that through the force, that my parents could contact me?"
"Yes, if they are one with the force, then they can. Sometimes a person could even be seen as a ghost and talk to someone. It's not uncommon. Why?"
"Because, I think they just did."
"That could explain why you randomly said 'Daddy' a few times."
"Caleb, what did Daddy threaten to do to you?"
"Oh, that," something had obviously been said to him while he slept, the fact that it had must be due to their bond. Brianna had no more doubts on what had happened. "He threatened that if I ever dishonored your person in any way, body, mind, innocence, that he would personally make sure I could never have children."
"Damn it Daddy, even dead you are still overprotective! I would not like it if that where to happen."
"I was meaning to ask you," Caleb was nervous all of a sudden, he was treading in dangerous waters here. "Someday, would you mind having children? I'm sorry it seems so fast or that we're moving too fast, just a rhetorical question," now he just seemed to be covering himself for asking such a question. He might just be fearing Daddy's wrath now that he is covering and looking away, thought Brianna.
"I would love to have your children, someday. It is okay to ask me, it is not like we are going to start now or something. Daddy may find a way to come back and harm you, that I would not like." Caleb was clearly sweating at her last comment and covering his lower half and muttering something about 'not his babies'. Brianna didn't understand what he was muttering about, and did not want to either. She simply smiled and hugged him. "I love you," she said softly laying her head on his chest.
"I know," he whispered back hugging her in return. "I love you too, my Warrior Princess." Brianna snorted and shut her eyes and falling back asleep.
Courscant, Jedi Temple
The next day they had arrived at the Jedi Temple landing pad on Courscant. It had been almost two years since Bastila stepped foot on it and even longer for Caleb. Sometimes he worried that they would take him back, he was about to be knighted last time, but he ran off with Revan to fight the Mandalorians. Would they chain him up and arrest him? Would they actually take the force from him this time? "Relax my love, you are not here to be persecuted. You saved the galaxy and the Jedi. You could have killed the lot of them but did not. Besides, if they lay a hand on you I will have something to say about it."
"Are you going to sick your deceased father on them too?" Caleb thought to her hopefully.
"Perhaps, but stop making me laugh we will be in front of the council soon. I am not a Jedi and I know better."
"Sorry love."
"Caleb, when we are in there will you stand next to me? I am scared." It was then that Caleb noticed that she was visibly shaking, he stood closer to her and placed his hand on the small of her back, rubbing it slightly.
"Of course, I won't leave you alone. By the way, is this kind of touching approved by Daddy?" Brianna looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"Yes that is fine," Caleb moved his hand slightly lower and gave her bottom a slight tap, Brianna inhaled sharply. "And that is not. Well at least not here anyways."
"Oh you're no fun, by the way you have a very nice…"
"I can always channel Daddy. Or to think what my Mother may say," Caleb stopped and moved his hand back to where it was, still moving it in small circles comfortingly. They finally reached the Council Chambers and walked inside. Bastila had already warned Caleb to behave himself and now that Brianna had threatened him with her dead parents, he wasn't going to try anything. Brianna was staring at one person there rather uncomfortably and with spite. He then realized who it was. Atris, she still must be angry with her, he thought. Well who could blame her? When Atris was staring at the both of them during Master Kavar's speech, Caleb moved a little closer to Brianna and visibly wrapped his arm around her waist and planted a very small kiss on the top of her head, just to anger Atris. Brianna noticed what he was doing and moved a little closer and laced her fingers with his hand that was on her hip, holding it to her and winking at Atris. "She's gona hurt us," thought Caleb to Brianna when Kavar had stopped welcoming them.
"I know, I know. But we still have Daddy," Brianna had a feeling that her father had created a joke that was never going to die. "He does not like her anyways, she took his six daughters away from him. Well he was already dead though."
"And now, Padawan Veers, step forward." Caleb let go of her and stepped forward, kneeling. "After showing your loyalty to the Republic, and thinking about how wrong we were the first time, this council has decided to restore you into the order and grant you the position Jedi Knight. The Chancellor would also like to extend her thanks to you and throw you and your crew a celebration where you all will be given the Cross of Honor for your service to the Republic and Jedi Order." The room was filled with applause as the Padawan braid he had sheared off in front of the council so many years ago was returned to him along with his old blue light saber. He bowed and returned to his post next to Brianna who smiled at him. One by one his companions where called up and if they had them, their Padawan Braids were cut off and they were given a set of Jedi robes.
It was finally Brianna's turn. She now knew what it felt like for her Mother when she became a Jedi Knight. "Padawan…Kae?" Well this was awkward. Atris could be seen trying to make herself smaller while Brianna smirked at her. Whispers could be heard coming from members of the council and the Jedi standing around. They must have known my Mother, she thought to herself. "Was your Mother Jedi Master Arren Kae?" asked a tall Twi'lek master.
"Yes, Arren was my Mother."
"Then as a full pardon to Master Arren Kae and to show our apology in her memory, we grant you the position of Jedi Knight. We have heard much of you, Brianna Kae, and we are sure we can expect great things from you." Kavar smiled and cut her remaining braid, severing her ties to Atris and as Caleb's Padawan. The last of the handmaidens no longer, she stood up and accepted her new robes and bowed. She then walked over to Caleb again.
"Did you know they had a statue of her in the Dantooine Academy? They covered it in the library after they exiled her. But I hear that since they rebuilt the academy, they are brining it to the upper level and are placing it in the courtyard."
"I think she may have liked that, from what I learned of her last night, she seems to be the outdoor type."
Caleb decided it was best to speak up then, "Master Kavar, we are on our way to find Revan. We would like to ask that they hold of the celebration until his return." Caleb knew that Bastila didn't want to wait in finding her love. It would not be fair to her either if she had to stand there watching everyone else at the ball dancing with each other and partying like they did after the Star Forge without her Revan. Besides, he wanted his best friends all with him.
"I will talk to the Chancellor, but I am sure she will not mind. She always liked Revan, she thought he was a tactical genius of some sort. And after serving beside him personally for years I have come to the conclusion that the Chancellor is right. We shall hold the celebration on Dantooine after the return of Revan, when ever he feels comfortable being around people again."
They all bowed and left the chambers. Bastila went to get Jolee and the rest of the Crew headed back to the Ebon Hawk. Canderous was waiting for them. "It's about time you got back, is the Jedi Princess going to get the old man?"
"Yes, Canderous, she is," said Caleb.
Caleb went off to talk to Atton and Carth about where to find Revan, they had spent the past few days with T3 unlocking the navacomputer. They finally had a lead, Revan had left a tracker only accessible by T3 showing where he was. Revan was on Dathomir, a planet that thrived in the dark side.
Brianna headed back to the cargo hold. She was going to move her things over to Caleb's room like he suggested. She didn't have that much in her possession anyways. Just a bag with a few weapons, very few articles of clothing, a light saber, and Arren's Jedi robes. She had worn those robes after the one and only time Caleb asked her to put some clothes on after dueling. It had sparked the conversation that had eventually led to Caleb training her in the force as a Jedi Guardian.
Now that they were headed towards Dathomir and a large war eventually, she didn't know what to think anymore. At least one thing stayed the same, she had Caleb to care for her and she deeply cared for him. Sometimes it seemed that the words 'I love you' were not enough. Even though they were bonded and could be close to each other in ways other people could never be with the exception of Revan and Bastila, she didn't feel whole. Not even after seeing her parents again did she feel whole, although a large part of it was filled.
Caleb walked in to find her looking at Arren's robes. He sat down beside her and watched her. "Hey beautiful," he said softly.
She turned to look at him and simply said, "Hello."
"Do you need time alone?" he asked, this just seemed like a memory she would need to sort out herself.
"No, I had that for about an hour while you were talking with Admiral Onasi and Atton."
"Okay then," he said as she moved closer to him resting her head against his shoulder. Caleb placed an arm around her shoulders and massaged her upper arm.
"Caleb, after last night, I thought I wouldn't miss them so much, but I do. If anything I miss them more!" the distraught look on her face turned to one of agony and she felt like her whole world was collapsing. "I feel so lost."
"Lost? I know it hurts not having parents and I know how it feels to miss them. I was taken from my parents when I was two, but I still remember them. I love you, and I sometimes feel lost too, but when I'm with you, I feel safe and loved."
"I love you too. I cannot show you how much I love you and it frustrates me sometimes," she moved closer to Caleb and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. "I remember bits and pieces of my childhood with my Mother. I was about two years old and she was holding me by the ocean. She kept saying how much she loved me, but the Jedi needed her, and she had to leave me for a while. She didn't think I'd understand, that maybe I wouldn't remember. I thought it was a dream until last night, now I know its real. I think it may be my first memory even. She left the next day and I never saw her alive again. I was sent to live with Daddy, but he had to go off to war with Mother and Revan a few years latter. Only Daddy returned, only to become a senator and be killed later. Then Atris took us and eventually you found me. At least I have you, if I hadn't stowed aboard your ship with the intentions of spying for Atris I wouldn't have even have had you!"
"So you really were a spy for Atris? I thought that everyone was just jealous of you and said that to try to get me to ditch you?"
"Yes, I thought you knew. I know I stowed away on your ship with the intentions of spying on you for Atris, but she hadn't even known I had left. And in my quest to try to prove myself I lost all sight of what it meant to be a servant of the Jedi. From the moment I first laid eyes on you I knew I loved you. That is why I followed you and could never report back to Atris. She exiled me, as she exiled you," she looked into his warm brown eyes and gently caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.
He leaned down to take her face in his strong hands and gently kissed her. She moved her hands around his waist again and pulled him tighter to her. She deepened their passionate kiss and parted his lips with her tongue. He could feel her warm tongue enter his mouth and gently caress his own. Caleb gently placed his hand at the back of her head and caressed her hair softly. They both opened up their minds to each other and let the love flow through their bond, from one exile to another.
TBC…review! You know you want to…