Turning Point: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 12

A chill passed through Kalder's body, even though he stood in the bright sunlight just past the fringe of the forest. He glanced toward the refresher area. He could have sworn he had seen a man near the one on the end.

Another wave of frigidity trickled straight down his spine. He whipped his head around, noticing something in the trees behind the refreshers. He sprinted into the woods, but he never caught up with it. He stopped in the middle of the trail and opened himself to the Force.

He shut out everything—the loudspeakers blaring the political speeches, the military units surrounding the perimeter, everyone nearby. Radiating from his position, he stretched out with the Force. As the wave passed, branches swayed, creatures chittered, dust moved. He tuned in to the Force, picking up its faint strumming on the cords of his soul.

He stood there for many minutes, extending his senses. Time slipped away.

"Kalder!" Kallay shook his shoulder. "Kalder!"

His Force-wave halted. The swell snapped back into his body and sent him reeling, his mind plunging in the violent tide and swirling eddies of the Force.

"What do you think you're doing, going into a trance alone?" Her face tensed with worry.

"I-I felt something. Had to investigate. Lost it." His speech came out in staggered sentences and gasps. "I don't know what it was."

She stared down the trail and strangled back a sob. "Tell me, what did you see?"

"A man, a little over two meters. Broad shoulders. Headed into the forest with purpose."

"What was he wearing?"

"Jedi combat uniform. But—"

"But what?" Tears trickled down her face.

Kalder took her into an embrace and held her against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. It wasn't Wei'ahtt."

"How do you know?" She pushed away from him and turned down the path.

"Kallay."

"He's come back, Kalder. To protect us from that Gorax. I know it's him."

He grabbed her to him. "It's dangerous, Kallay. Eight of us couldn't handle him. What makes you think you could?"

"You have your strengths. I have mine. My intuition has never been wrong."

He lowered his head. "You're not thinking straight. Your grief is messing with your mind, Kallay. You know how it can affect our Force senses, too." He drew her close to him once more. "You've got to let him go."

"I-I c-c-can't. " Her words blubbered out through congestion. She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I-I n-n-never told him, Kalder. I never told him I love him." Her quiet whimpers transformed into an onslaught of tears.

"Sh. You're jumping to conclusions, Kallay. We don't know."

She stared deep into the forest. "And I feel the light right now. It's down there. I know it's him. He's come to save us."

"I feel the light right now, too. Whatever that is, it's part of the Force and nothing to be feared. But it has its own agenda." He brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Besides, if he were Wei'ahtt, he would have come straight to you."

"You think so?"

"Look, there are so many lifeforms between us and the cruiser, there's no way you could feel just one person. " He tilted her chin up with his finger. "He loves you, you know."