Author's Note and Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars! Anyways, this is the start of book two. Oh and if you didn't read Book One, you might want to...its a vital part of this one. And thanks to Sydney for giving me the name of Caylee's starship! Enjoy!
Chapter One: New Beginnings
"Caylee will you be back soon?" Tia asked hopefully.
"Yes I will be back soon, Tia. Until then Caitlyn will help you with your skills," Caylee said kneeling before the young girl. The six year old hugged Caylee tightly then ran back towards the Jedi Academy on Ossus.
Caylee smiled and stood up and walked towards the hanger with Artie close behind her. Their Tara Binks waited for her patiently. "Ready for this Tara?" Caylee said as she approached the Gungan.
"Misa ready as misa gonna be," Tara said a bit worried.
"Come on. I promise I won't crash again." Caylee said as she approached a lightweight Corellian freighter that Caylee and Han had built, named Silverdancer.
"Wesa gonna die!" Tara said quietly as she wearily followed Caylee onto the ship. Artie beeped in agreement.
"I HEARD THAT!" Caylee yelled.
Luke Skywalker scanned the skies of Denon. He knew that Caylee and Tara should be there anytime and he hoped that Caylee would not crash land again. He thought when Caylee was a toddler that she was a handful at times….but that was nothing compared to having a sixteen-year-old daughter.
The Solo twins really didn't have a teenage life. They grew up during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. As for Caylee and her friends, they were given that chance to live as teenagers because of the sacrifices that had been made during that war.
But still…Caylee worried Luke greatly. She knew what her destiny was and how to go about it. But it seemed sometimes that she had a streak of arrogance in her, like she knew she was better then everyone else. Anakin reassured his son, that he had that exact same streak in him when he was her age and that if Caylee dare tread on the path of the dark side, it would be him go after her.
Yet at the moment, none of that mattered. 'Please don't let her crash land again!' Luke thought to himself as he spotted Silverdancer approaching him.
Caylee maybe have inherited the Skywalker Force talents, but an ace pilot she was not. Yet he did give his daughter the benefit of the doubt – she was only sixteen.
Luke sighed in relief as Silverdancer landed gently on the platform in front of him. As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Tara Binks came running down, tripped, and landed face first on the durasteel platform.
"Wesa alive!" she said kissing the platform.
Luke laughed slighty. Tara had been in far too many accidents with Caylee – anywhere from flying accidents to explosions of all sorts.
"That's not nice!" Caylee said coming down after her. "I landed safely!"
Luke smiled at the sight of his daughter. In his mind, Caylee had grown up far too fast. Her curly strawberry blonde hair had turn a tad redder, but not much. To him, she reminded him of Mara – from her hair to her attitude. She was her mother's daughter. Mara would have been so proud of her.
"Give her a break, Caylee." Luke said approaching them.
"Fine," Caylee said hesitantly.
Luke smiled. "That's my girl," he said pulling her into a hug. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too daddy,' Caylee said returning the hug.
"When did you get so tall!"? Luke said immediately giving her a hard time. He knew that drove her insane. She was as tall as Luke was, if not just a tad taller.
"It's not my fault that I got my height from grandpa!"
Luke chuckled as he and Caylee walked arm and arm to the Jedi complex. Tara and Artie followed right behind them.
"How's things with the council?" Caylee asked.
"Same. Some love us, some hate us." Luke said. "How are you liking teaching?"
"I love it! There's this little girl from Naboo that grandpa sent there. Her name is Tia and she's six. Plus she's very shy, but opens up around me. And above all she's strong in the Force."
"Good. But you know the real reason why I called you here."
"I know daddy," Caylee said suddenly unsure of herself and Luke knew it. Caylee was going to begin her Jedi Trials.
Anakin had requested that Caylee be given the Jedi Trials of old, like he had gone through. That meant a trial of courage, skill, flesh and spirit. But how she was going make it through them, she didn't know.
When Anakin had mentioned this to Luke, his son had been unsure of it for many reasons. Luke thought that Caylee was too young to be installed as a Jedi Knight and so did the rest of the council; but Anakin kept pushing the idea. He could feel that something was lingering in the Force and that worried him.
It worried him because it could be close to the time that Caylee must face her destiny. And he and Caylee both knew that she might not survive, but that they kept under wraps as well as some other secrets. There were just some things that were too painful to even tell Luke…
"Sweetheart, you don't have to go through your trials yet. Kyler is almost 20 and hasn't gone through his."
"But Kyler hasn't been training since he was three."
Luke sighed again. He knew that training her so young was going to come back and haunt him sometime. "But we are taking these trials slow. Only two tests a year."
"I know daddy."
Luke smiled at her as they approached the apartment that they lived in. "I'm going to go relax and possibly meditate." Luke said opening the door. "But I know a certain young man that is very anxious to see you."
Caylee blushed as she kissed her father's cheek.
"Are you coming with me Tara?" Caylee asked.
"No. Mesa gona sleep." Tara said going into the apartment. Artie followed her inside.
"Guess I'm on my own then. I'll be back before dinner." Caylee told her father.
Luke watched happily as Caylee made her way back into the main thoroughfare. He knew that this was a good thing.