Star Wars_ Darksaber - Kevin J. Anderson [39]
Luke looked into his sister’s large brown eyes, mapping out the faint tired lines that had begun to form around them. The weight of leadership pressed down heavily upon her. The New Republic was large and scattered, beset by hundreds of problems, brushfire squabbles, and growing threats. And Leia had three children to contend with, as well as a husband.
“Leia,” Luke said, “I have a request, an important favor to ask.”
She sat up straighter, looking at Callista and then at her brother. “The last time you asked for a favor was to let Kyp Durron destroy the Sun Crusher.” She bit her lower lip. “But I suppose that came out all right.”
Luke relaxed. “Nothing so monumental this time,” he said. “Callista and I have a lot of things to work out between ourselves. We need some time alone so we can devote our attention to reawakening her Jedi powers. She could be one of our strongest Jedi, if she regains her affinity for the Force. She could teach me a lot. I think the only way we can crack that wall around her is if Callista and I work together. Intensely.” He grasped her hand. “We need a week or so alone, to focus on salvaging her powers, not a thousand other problems. No distractions.”
Leia smiled wistfully. “I know exactly how you feel.…” Then she became serious. “I can’t order you around, Luke. There’s no need for you to ask my permission.”
Leia looked at Callista, and Luke could see that her face held a whirlpool of conflicting emotions: the need to see her brother happy, the desire for Callista to be his equal again, and her own need to keep Luke focused on training new Jedi Knights to strengthen and protect the New Republic.
But Leia loved her brother very much, and her choice was clear. “Take all the time you need. I wish you the greatest success.” She looked up. “Or should I say, may the Force be with you?”
Later, still holding hands, Luke and Callista went to the upper westside docking platform of the former Imperial palace. The air was thin so high above ground level, and the gusting breezes were cold and cutting.
He squeezed Callista’s hand, and her grip returned his twice as strong. Though Luke couldn’t read anything from her with his Jedi senses, he saw her obvious eagerness mixed with reluctance. Callista shared his high hopes for their journey alone, but she was also afraid they would fail.
Leia, her robes of state whipping briskly around her, held the hands of the twins, Jacen and Jaina, as she came to see Luke off, while Han carried young Anakin propped against his hip; the dark-haired boy blinked his ice blue-eyes, drinking in the sights.
Threepio and Artoo came along at their own pace, though the hairy Wookiee urged them to greater speed. “Do be patient, Chewbacca,” Threepio said. “I can only move so fast. If you had replaced my leg servomotors last week—as I suggested—I’d be able to move much more efficiently.” The Wookiee groaned something untranslatable back at the golden droid.
Callista stood by Luke’s side at the boarding ramp to a nondescript space yacht. Luke saw her in profile—her long face and generous lips, her highlighted blond hair that had been cropped short and was still growing out from her stormtrooper cut on the Eye of Palpatine. Han had once called her “the blonde with the legs,” and Luke couldn’t argue with that description.
Callista was so beautiful to him—but that wasn’t all. Many women were beautiful. With the Force, he had seen Callista inside. He knew her in a way it was impossible to know most women. They had fallen in love before they had even seen each other face to face, back when Callista had been no more than a wandering presence. Now she inhabited another body—a beautiful body, to be sure, but Luke would have loved her no matter what. They had treasured one another in Luke’s dreams before Callista had manifested herself in the body of one of his former students.
Now, as they