Child of the Dark Side

Raissa had abandoned us, her loyal readers! Join me, and we will send Raissa many, many demanding PM's to tell her to come post!

 

maybe Raissa is keeping us in suspense to bring us a wonderful post. Or maybe, like me, she has a case of writers block.

 

Yep, I was suffering from an advanced case of writer's block. But here at long last is a new post....

Jacen and Anakin left the table quietly, leaving Luke alone to watch Gell and Callista across the room. Gell looked so innocently happy as they chatted; it was hard to believe that he might have slipped over to the Dark Side. But appearances were often deceiving and there was really no way to know for sure. No, there was one way to know, but prying into Gell's thoughts that way would be unfair. Or could the intrusion be justified? Wasn't it better to find out what he was dealing with, for Gell's sake and for the Academy's well being? The good that could be accomplished, or rather the evil that could be prevented, had to justify taking a look into Gell's mind. Luke frowned to himself, and shook his head. No, he wouldn't condone that sort of behavior in his students, so he couldn't excuse himself. However, if Gell was truly involved in the Dark Side, it should be apparent without having to probe deeply into his thoughts. Luke opened himself to the Force and let himself drift. The presence and emotions of all the students washed over him, but Luke focused his attention on the couple who sat in the farthest corner of the dining hall.

As he had hoped, Gell's thoughts were open, clear to anyone who wanted to look. He had no reason to shield them; small talk with Callista occupied most of his conscious, thoughts of his classes that afternoon lingered behind that and further back, designs for Luke and Mara's house. Luke was relieved, if more than a little surprised, not to find the telltale coldness of the Dark Side twisting through Gell's presence. The very lightness of Gell's thoughts stood in contrast to the dark tenor of Callista's. One small note in Gell's mind disturbed him though; in his eyes, Callista glowed with a golden aura. Luke winced inwardly. It seemed Gell Lajos was smitten with Callista. And Luke had no doubt she was encouraging it. Not as dangerous as turning him into a Dark Jedi, but bad enough.

He rose from his table and crossed the dining hall. Callista noticed him first; her smile flickered as he approached. Gell swiveled to she what she was looking at. His smile, at least, felt genuine. "Hello, Master Skywalker! Won't you join us?"
"Thanks Gell," Luke replied. "But I was actually wondering if I could talk to Callista privately."

"Oh. Of course." Gell stood reluctantly, but seemed not to be offended by the interruption. "I probably ought to be planning my classes for tomorrow, anyway."

Callista patted Gell's hand as he turned to go. "Don't worry," she said, smiling sweetly up at him. "We can continue our conversation some other time. In fact, I look forward to it." Gell reddened again, his emotions quivering like a leaf in the breeze. Callista, however, paid little attention to the young architect's dazed reaction. She was watching Luke from the corner of her eye, trying to gauge his emotions. And with a sickening clarity Luke realized she was hoping to find one emotion in particular in his presence. Jealousy.

Under other circumstances, Luke might have laughed over her coquetry. Callista thought that he would be crushed if showed interest in another man, when Luke would have been only too happy if Callista did move on with her life. If only he believed her attention to Gell was anything more than a cruel sport. He leaned forward so that none of the students in the dining hall could overhear. "What kind of game are you playing here, Callista?"

"I don't know what you mean," Callista replied, batting her eyelashes in ingenuous surprise.

"Gell," Luke insisted. "What are you trying to do to him?"

"Gell?" she asked, contriving to look even more innocently perplexed. She glanced down at the tabletop, with a shy secret smile. "He's such a dear, sweet young man, though, isn't he? He's been quite helpful to me, giving me advice about teaching. I do enjoy talking with him."

Luke repressed a sigh. Talking with Callista was exhausting; th

 

Y'know, there's this girl in my gym class, who behaves just like Callista. She tries to make every single guy within 100 feet of her crazy over her...even the gym teacher!

 

Glad to see a new post here. It was excellent, as usual.

Hopefully we can finish Parallel SW Universe eventually. At the moment, I'm caught up in finishing Sands of Time. It's actually almost done!

 

Nice to see more story. Thanks Raissa

 

Raksha moved with the stealthy grace of a born hunter, and her silver lightsaber flashed through the gloom of the Blueleaf Cluster Temple like a vengeful spirit. The seeker that hovered in front of the Shistavenen, half-hidden in the shadows, spit blood red laser bolts at her, but she deflected all of them neatly. Raksha's teeth were bared in a grin; her tongue lolled, nearly laughing as she danced through her exercises. Every move was flawless, but she still lacked the passion Callista had sensed in her during that first duel with Tav.

Callista shook her head and deactivated the remote. It sank to the stone floor with a quiet hiss of air. Raksha's demeanor immediately changed; her tail drooped, her ears flattened, and her spirits sank as the remote descended. "Have I displeased you, Master Callista?" Raksha asked with a small whine.

"No, I'm not displeased," Callista assured her. "How could I be unhappy with such an excellent student?" The young Jedi's presence warmed under this praise; her ears perked up and her tail wagged slightly. Callista smiled at her; Raksha was everything she could have asked for in a padawan-- attentive, obedient, and submissive. She had made great progress in your studies, but she was still hampered by Kam's influence. He'd convinced her that her desire to utterly defeat her opponent came from the Dark Side, and so Raksha was reluctant to use your full strength. It held her back. She could be so much more powerful if only she'd let it loose--stronger than any of the other students. Maybe even stronger than Kam Solusar himself. If only there was a way to convince Raksha to release her power. Callista toyed with the seeker's activator and pondered this problem. She rubbed the trigger absently; it was her own remote, the last of the ones she'd purchased on Annufyn, and there was a groove in the button that just fit her thumb, worn down and polished by use. As often as she had practiced with it, Callista was surprised it hadn't suffered more damage. All of her other seekers were now twisted, charred lumps of metal. They'd been unsatisfactory substitutes for defeating Mara. She smiled to herself in sudden inspiration.

"Close your eyes and let go of your emotions," Callista told her apprentice. "Now, instead of the seeker floating in front of you, you see the opponent you would most like to defeat. Who is it? One of your classmates?" There was a small ripple in Raksha's presence. "Tav?" she guessed, remembering their duel. The wave of emotion trembled a bit more when Callista mentioned the name, but Raksha still didn't feel strongly enough about him to turn loose her passion. "Master Solusar?" Callista suggested softly. Raksha's temper flared to life, a fire of shame and resentment that bordered on hate. "Ah, yes," she whispered as Raksha's anger eddied around her. "Master Solusar." Raksha's feelings about him were clear; she knew she had suffered at the hands of Kam Solusar. He had humiliated her in front of her peers. Made her feel unworthy and hopeless until she wondered if she could ever become a Jedi. But somehow, someday she would prove to Master Solusar she was worthy. Callista nodded approvingly. This was the encouragement Raksha needed to release her full potential.

"Master Solusar stands before you," Callista said. She moved around her apprentice in a slow circle, spinning the image in Raksha's mind. "He has his lightsaber raised, and he invites you to duel with him. 'Show me what you can do, Raksha,' he says. But you can tell that in his heart he believes that your best will not be good enough. He thinks he can beat you easily, that you haven't got the skill it takes to be a Jedi. Is he wrong?"

Raksha snarled in response, the white daggers of her teeth glinting in the temple's shadowy half-light.

"Then show me." Callista snapped on the remote and stepped out of the way, just as the Shistavenen's silver blade hissed over her head. This time Raksha fought with a will. She drew on her emotions, channeling their intensity to feed her

 

Great post! That Callista sure is a sneaky one.

 

is Callista going to use this Raskha to try to hurt Mara? Please don't let that happen....and why is Callista being allowed to be with a student without any supervision......and Callista is lying...didn't she forget the part about the powdered Ysalimiri in Luke's drink and how she betrayed him?

 

Grrrrr.....::hates Callista::

 

::ups fic::

 

....bump this to the top....

 

Sorry it took a while to get this written-- these scenes have a way of going long than I intended. It's a bad habit I should probably break myself of one of these days. BTW, Jeff42 (and anyone else who's interested), I'm going to make myself work on A Parallel SW Universe this weekend. I think Mara has been at a stalemate with the Emperor long enough!
~Raissa
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Jedi masters apparently never got a day off. Mara crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the cool stone of the Academy's main hall, waiting for Luke to extricate himself from a conversation with the Kubaz senator and his interpretor droid. She wished the voluble senator would come to his point, if indeed he had one. Today, Cilghal was taking care of Lucya while Tionne and Kam kept an eye on Callista, as usual. Mara and Luke were spending a day by themselves-- at least that had been the plan. Various and sundry administrative duties had popped up that Luke simply had to take care of at one, according to the anxious caretakers and teachers who brought them to his attention. And when they'd finally been able to duck out of their suite, Senator Kinondin broke loose from the group of dignitaries who were visitng Yavin and accosted Luke with a pointless philosphical monologue. Mara bit back a scowl and felt Phelylan flutter in protest of her mood. She ran a hand over the curve of her stomach to soothe him. Enough, she decided. There had to be some way to get the honorable senator back to his tour guide.

"Master Jade-Skywalker?" a voice called from across the hall. Mara looked up to see a pair of students, a young man and Twi'lek female, walking towards her with the purposeful stride of those who were about to add another petition, another question, another request to the already endless-and-growing list. *Not again* was Mara's first thought. Her second was that the Force had provided exactly what she needed-- a distraction.

"Master Jade-Skywalker, we've been looking all over for you," the young man said. Mara recognized him as Tav T'nan, one of Kam's advanced students, who liked to pore over obscure points of Jedi philosophy. She smiled; truly the Force was with her. "What a coincidence," Mara murmured in reply. "Because you're just the person I need."

"Really?" Tav asked. He blinked at her once and turned to his companion, who shrugged back. "Um, ok. But first we have something?"

"Have you met Senator Kinondin of Kubaz?" she interrupted, steering him towards Luke and the senator, who was still droning on at such a rate his droid was hard pressed to keep up. Mara elbowed her way into the conversation, pulling the Tav with her. "Excuse me, Senator, but I'm afraid I have have to steal my husband away. He's urgently needed elsewhere. However," Mara continued as the interpretor droid relayed her words and the Kubaz began to gesticulate madly. "I leave you in the capable hands of two of our best students, Ari'alal and Tav T'nan. Tav is very interested in the implications of the Jedi Code, too. I'm sure you'll enjoy talking to him." Without waiting for either Kinondin or Tav to answer, Mara took Luke's hand and led him away. Behind them, she heard Tav faintly protest, "But Jedi Lajos needs?" before the senator, having found a new audience, started in on his harrangue again.

Luke raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her as she pulled him towards the door. "I'm urgently needed elsewhere?"

"Yes," Mara told him. "I had an urgent need to be anywhere but there." Luke's forehead creased and the corners of his mouth twitched as if he wasn't sure whether he was supposd to smile at her or reprove her. His expression finally worked itself into an indulgent frown. Mara cut off the comment about offending Senator Kinondin she knew would be coming. "Face it, Skywalker, you didn't want to be there either. And you know he only wanted to talk to you for the sheer status of pontificating with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker." She glanced over her shoulder at the Kubaz and the students. Ari'alal fidgeted restlessl

 

I think Raskha is under Callista's dark influence. She's probably going to sabotage the house or something.

 

Something's going to happen. I have a bad feeling about this. (Yeah, I know, I just had to say that.)

 

Light, Dark, and all in between! I've got a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY bad feeling about this!

 

Uh-oh. I wonder what evil plan Callista has for the house. This should be good.

Speaking of Parallel SW Universe, I finally finished Sands of Time yesterday, so I should actually be able to work on it now! I think we've easily set a record for the fan-fic that has taken the longest time to complete.

 

up up Up Up UPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!

 

top

 

to the top!

 

I thought this thread had died!!! Or maybe Raissa has...........

 

No, I'm still here, just fighting off another case of writer's block on this story. This post is only about half of the scene, but I wanted to get something posted. Sorry it's short; the rest *will* be coming later this weekend!
~Raissa

The house was growing like the jungle in the rainy season; it sprouted new walls like a trumpet vine unrolling leaves. Crews of the Academy's students constantly bustled around it like busy makants. Despite her early doubts, Mara was impressed by their dedication and their willingness to perform even menial tasks. Some of the students quarried the black stone with lightsabers and vibro-chisels. Others levitated the immense blocks with the Force, guiding them down the long path from the quarry to the construction site, learning - as Luke was fond of saying-- that size mattered not. Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin insisted on helping, too. Jacen, with his knack of handling Yavin's various forest creatures, made sure that the animals were safely moved before building began. Jaina and Anakin joined a group of the younger students in helping Gell clear the site of brush and trees. Once the trees were cut, they processed the wood for future use as beams or furniture, or in the case of one aged massasi tree, the house's front door.
Before hewing into planks, Gell cut a cross section off the massive trunk and polished the deep purplish wood until it shone. He and the other Jedi presented it to Luke and Mara at the groundbreaking ceremony. Gell had engraved the words "Welcome to Skywalker House" with the tip of his ligtsaber in the center of the plaque. The first member of each species to become a Jedi then carved the same message in his or her own language around the edges of the wood. It now hung it at the head of the path that led to the house. Every evening when Mara checked the progress that had been made that day, she stopped in front of the sign, sometimes to admire the elegant tracery of scripts, sometimes to reflect on the future-- the Academy's, the students', hers and Luke's, Pheylan's.

Tonight, though, her thoughts were interrupted by a strange growling noise followed by the shriek of a small child. Mara glanced back up the trail and bit her lip to keep from lauging at her husband. Luke lurched down the path with his arms outstretched, growling mock-ferociously as he snatched at Lucya. She ducked under his grasp and giggled madly as Luke made another feint towards her. Lucya danced away, swinging her lightsaber-stick fiercely. Luke smiled a little sheepishly when he noticed that Mara was watching them. "I'm supposed to be a wampa," he told her.

"Ah," Mara replied, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, that would explain the smell."

"Hey!" Luke grabbed her around the waist and growled into her ear, about as menacingly as a purring whisperkit. "Caught you." He looked over Mara's shoulder at Lucya. "What do you think I ought to do with her?"

"I dunno." Lucya shrugged, bored of the game now that it involved Mara. She took a few whacks at an unsuspecting bush with her saber, then tugged at the edge of Luke's shirt. "C'mon, Daddy, let's go look at the house." Lucya held on to the hem as she bounced off down the path; Luke had to let go of Mara and follow unless he wanted to lose a chunk of his shirt. And as usual, Mara was left on her own. Somehow she always wound up walking in front of or behind Lucya and Luke, never with them. She smothered an annoyed sigh as she made her way down the trail.

 

YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

RAISSA'S BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

That was cool. Mara's feeling left out again? :....(

 

Lucya hasn't warmed up to Mara yet. Darn.
Welcome back, Raissa.

 

Hey, for once I actually have a post done when I said I would! I'm so proud of me.
Hope you enjoy!
~Raissa

It was easy to catch up with them, even with their head start at warp-speed toddler pace. Lucya had a knack for finding all the possible hazards of the construction site and heading straight for them. Luke was pulling her off of a particularly climbable bit of scaffolding when Mara rejoined him. He threw her a wry grin as he took a firm hold of the little girl's hand. "It's really starting to look like a house, isn't it?" Luke said.

"It is," Mara agreed. The foundation and frame were finished; the floorboards had been laid for the ground floor. Some of the more technically minded students and Jedi had installed an electric generator and a cistern in the basement. Now pipes and wires were starting to snake up through the walls.

They strolled through the outlines of the kitchen, conversation circle dining room and stopped by the irreguar contour of the stone-lined pool. Gell's plans called for a waterfall to cascade down the side of the house into the pool, forming a secluded palce for the family to relax. Even though it wasn't much more than a meter-deep pit, Lucya was already fascinated by the pond. A stern glance from Luke warned her away from the edge, however, and she decided to play with the stone chips that littered the ground instead. With Lucya safely diverted for the moment, Luke wrapped an arm around Mara 's waist and paused to admire their home. "I think this is one of the best features of Gell's plans," Luke remarked. "It's going to be beautiful when it's done. Pretty clever bit of engineering, too," he added, inspecting the labyrinth of pipes that led from the pool to the peak of the roof, where the cascade would start. "Gell and Daiex made it a continous loop; the water flows into the pool and gets pumped right back up to the top--and the whole system is powered by the waterfall's energy."

"Hmm?" Mara hardly heard Luke's explanation; a vague sense of unease had started to prickle at the back of her mind as they stood by the empty pool. She stretched out to the Force to pinpoint its source, and it suddenly exploded into a scream of warning. Mara was in motion even before she had time to think. She twisted out of Luke's embrace and crossed the ground between them and Lucya in one long stride. Lucya screeched in indignation at being taken away from her rocks as Mara whisked the girl up into her arms.

The crystal snake no one had seen lurking among the rocks struck. Its jaws snapped on air, and hissing, it lunged again. The snake's fangs sunk deep into Mara's boot, but couldn't penetrate the thick leather. Now Mara found herself engaged in two battles, one with the snake, the other with an angry, squirming child. She tried to shake the reptile loose before it worked its wickedly sharp teeth through her boot, all the while struggling with to keep Lucya's flailing hands and feet from hitting her in the stomach. She finally managed to gain some control by tucking Lucya under one arm, as if the girl was a sack of lommite. Unfortunately, from that angle, she could see the snake attacking Mara, its jaws working furiously to get a better grip. Lucya screamed in earnest and scrambled up Mara until she had a hold of Mara's neck. She had a strong grasp for such a small girl, Mara reflected, gasping; she thought the girl would throttle her.

Luke was at her side now. He grabbed the snake just behind the head and picked up Lucya's lightsaber-stick. Wedging it under the creature's top jaw, he pried its mouth open and yanked it free. Mara gasped in relief as its fangs popped loose; she had just felt the first trickle of venom down the inside of her boot. Another few seconds and its teeth might have penetrated her skin. The snake hissed and writhed in Luke's grip. It lashed its tail violently, coiling and uncoiling itself around his arm. Mara felt a small nudge in the Force and the snake suddenly went slack going limp in Luke's hand. He set the unconscious creature asid