Star Wars_ Darksaber - Kevin J. Anderson [49]
Delighted, Callista stopped to kiss Luke. “This is so wonderful,” she said. “I can feel the power in this place, the energy. I know we’ll be able to do something here!”
Inside their spacious suite, fountains bubbled in the corners; mists drifted around the rooms, passing glowing heaters that made the multiple chambers comfortable and homey. The furniture was oddly shaped and of varying sizes, carved from rock inclusions that had been found inside the cometary ice crust, now bearing the ubiquitous company logo. The porter droids deposited their packs, and played prerecorded advertisements for the various restaurants and lounges available at the luxurious MC Quarry.
Luke hustled the droids out of the suite before they could begin a droning recitation of sightseeing opportunities. He shut the door and turned to Callista with a smile and a sigh. “We’re here,” he said. He slumped down onto a polished stone contour sofa. Callista joined him.
“According to the brochures, there’s plenty of things to do here,” Luke said. “We could explore the tunnels, or suit up and go out to the surface. The low gravity makes it fun to jump around,” he said. “Or we could see one of the erupting gas geysers. Those are supposed to be quite spectacular.”
She shook her head. “I just want to stay here with you, Luke. We can relax and talk … and just be alone for a while.”
He closed his eyes and realized how wonderful that sounded. “You won’t get any argument from me.”
Callista stared into the foaming fountain; her eyes took on a fixed, faraway look. Luke knew she must be focusing her thoughts, though he still could not sense her, as if the Force itself didn’t know she existed.
“I’m thinking of the oceans on Chad,” she said, not looking at Luke but fully aware he was watching her. “Especially at night at highest tide, when all the moons are full in the sky at the same time. The wander-kelp we kept corralled in mating season would begin to shimmer with captured phosphorus, glowing like an oil slick on fire.”
“What are wander-kelp?” Luke asked.
“We used to raise them at our sea ranch,” Callista said. “It’s sort of halfway between plant and animal—really stupid, but it moves under its own volition. A big mass of iodine-filled leaves that we could shear several times a year, distill, and sell for their medicinal content, while using the rest of the biomass as cheap protein fiber for animal feed.
“Times were tough. It’s not that the market went bad, but the Emperor’s crackdown fouled up the trade routes. All the tariffs and impossible regulations pushed our regular traders out of business. Sometimes we had to cook and eat the barnacles growing beneath our corral rafts. Of course, my family is all dead now … years ago, while I was trapped in that computer.”
Her lower lip began to tremble, and she fixedly refused to look at Luke. She clamped her lips together. “Part of me feels guilty for not staying with them—but I carried that around all the years I was a Jedi. I don’t have any regrets, just sadness.”
Now she turned and looked at Luke. Her eyes were dry and strong. “But my Jedi Master, Djinn Altis, came and showed me the Jedi way. He arrived on his big wandering ship the Chu’unthor, a ship with no destination, much like your own praxeum on Yavin 4.”
“I know,” Luke said. “We found the crashed and buried Chu’unthor on Dathomir and brought it back.”
Callista sighed soberly. “I suppose I must have known Djinn Altis was dead. Perhaps he ran afoul of the Nightsisters.” Her eyebrows knitted together. “I remember once when Master Altis took me on a long, low flight above the seas of Chad. We cruised over singing schools of cyeen and the patterns of tubular eels glowing pink in the moonlight. Master Altis taught me how to sense the life forms with my new abilities. I didn’t believe him at first, but when he showed me how easy it was, I knew I was a Jedi. He didn’t need to convince me. It was my family that required convincing—and I don’t think I quite succeeded in that.”
Luke stood up and went to a pitted black table and pulled out