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.
It was well past the midnight hour, and the hologram had grown bright in the darkening shadows. Callista felt stiff all over from being hunched over it, and as she tried to move, Dayved reached out to her and began to massage her shoulders.
Although the figure was just a hologram, they could not image the real Vaiya Jade Skywalker being any more real as her shoulders slumped, as if she were exhausted from telling her tale. She looked up at the young Jedi students and smiled.
"So it ends," she said. "And it begins again."
"There's more?" Callista ventured. She wanted to hear, but she had been listening to this thing all day. She was tired and hungry and wanted to go home. She glanced at Dayved, feeling very tender emotions for him as he gazed down at her. The story had awoken some things in him, and the fact that they were true made the whole tale even more bittersweet.
"There is always more," the hologram of Vaiya said. "There is a whole lifetime of more. But this tale ends here. And my father has not yet had a chance to speak to you."
She disappeared, and in a split second a fourth image appeared. This one was dressed in a gray Jedi robe, hood up over his eyes, which even in the downsized image of the holocron they could see were a familiar blue.
"Greetings, Jedi-to-be," he said, pushing the hood back. "I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and father to Master Vaiya."
They felt the terrible impulse to kneel. "Master Skywalker," Dayved managed over his dried throat.
The image nodded. "I come bearing one message. The Skywalkers have always faced great trials, and have been known throughout history to fall to the dark side. When I was a young man and training to become a Jedi, my Master told me that once you started down the dark side, it would dominate your destiny forever. This is true, but it is not hopeless. We have risen up again and defeated the dark side because we have hung fast to one unchanging truth--the only power anything has over you is what you give it--for good or evil."
He paused, and the two listeners stared at him. "But Master Skywalker, what does this mean?" Callista ventured.
Luke Skywalker smiled. "It means that there is no destiny except the one you choose. And you are always free to choose. But only when you give yourself to the right path, the path of light, or the path of Yejion, which my daughter chose for us, do you become truly powerful. Only in becoming weak do you become strong, only in sacrificing yourself do you find yourself."
"He sounds like the priests," Dayved muttered.
The image smiled. "Perhaps I do. I thought that Vaiya would be the teacher, but the burden fell to me. And I will teach you things about the Force, things you may never have learned. The wheel is always turning, the pendelum of the Force is always in swing. It will come back around again."
With that, he faded. Callista and Dayved exchanged glances, their energy levels suddenly high. But with a firm squeeze on Vaiya's shoulder, Dayved took the holocron from her.
"Tomorrow," he said. "There is always tomorrow."
She nodded. There would always be tomorrow.
And so it went on.