DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc, 20th Century Fox, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly, YKW and the other writers of the expanded Star Wars Universe. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Callista stared at the image, which had grown rather solemn. "So that was who I was named for," she said softly.
"Indeed, although you have inherited my red hair." The image moved, and her robes seemed to flow as if they were alive. "That was the birth of Vaiya Jade Skywalker, who was an honor to the woman who saved her and my life. Vaiya grew quickly, and it seemed like the eyes of the galaxy were rivited on us. Such attention is not healthy to the life of a Jedi. There were attempts to steal her from us that we had to thwart time and again. Luke and I returned to our ship, the Jaded Sky, and fled Coruscant to return to Yavin IV, where Luke had now changed his Academy into a humble school. We thought that the presence of many Jedi would be good for Vaiya, as well as offer her sufficient protection. But I was unhappy with settling in one place, for the roots of lust for adventure and excitement were not yet dead in me. Luke, for his part, was disappointed that my idea of our completing the training of Jedi Knights-to-be while we were actively traversing the galaxy had not yet been attempted in fact. We were Jedi Knights, but we were parents first. We should have realized that this was the best path, the safest path. When one takes on lofty aspirations, one had far to fall when they fail. But no, we thought we were failing the rest of the galaxy. So Luke began to teach again, even though he was limited to the surface of Yavin IV, and I became engrossed in our daughter, for she had powers in her youth that were not safe for her to have. Power such as that is never safe, but in the hands of reckless youth, it is more dangerous still."
"But..." and Callista looked at Dayved sharply, nearly upset that he had broken the image's story, "what about the boy? The son of Master Skywalker and Jedi Knight Callista? Did you ever find him?"
"That was Valery Ben Skywalker, was it not?" Callista asked the image.
"Yes." The image's eyes seemed distant. "The boy eluded us. We were unable to find him, and we were burdened with our new responsibilities and the responsibilities we thought we were to have."
"But two great Jedi Masters such as yourselves," Dayved objected, getting more dirty looks from Callista, "should have been able to---"
"I was not a Jedi Master. Not yet. I had no real wisdom-- only space-smarts that I had picked up in my long careers as an assassin and a smuggler. I was no Master of the Force. But I was going to learn." She paused, as if having memories too painful to tell. "The next tale in our saga shall be told by Valery Ben Skywalker. He will tell you why." And she vanished to reveal a young man with deep brown hair and somber grey eyes, dressed in a simple blue robe much like the one Mara had worn.
"Greetings, friends," he said, his voice dignified, like he was addressing a house of important people. The gentleness on his face, however, implied that he truly did think of them as his friends. "I have been called upon to tell the tale of my sister Vaiya and my mother, Mara. The story of their connection is too painful for either one of them to tell, so they have entrusted it to me."
"Painful?" Callista echoed. "But they are Jedi Masters. How...?"
"Knowing one's limitations is vital if one is truly to grow." The image smiled. "Humility is the greatest and most hard-learned of all lessons. My mother and sister have asked me to tell the story because their certain point of view is colored by their emotions. They know they cannot be secure in relating its wisdom through their emotions, but I can."
"You keep calling Mara your mother," Dayved pointed out. "I thought Callista was your mother."
"Callista gave me life and birth," Valery Ben said solemnly, "but it was Mara Jade Skywalker who gave me the love of the mother that I never knew. She is my mother, in spirit. So I shall begin this tale where she left it. My parents had returned to Yavin IV to raise Vaiya, but it was not the happy home that they had dreamed of. Other things weighed on them that they did not realize were not their duty. Only when they discovered their enormous responsibility in Vaiya did they gather the courage to return to their old life as wanderers of the galaxy."