The Force Betrayed: Cal Kestis x OC

18.

Three and a Half Months Before Present-Day

Sakana was in the middle of one of her longest meditations since the Purge when a familiar feeling suddenly struck her. It felt like a warm hand trying to pull her in for a swift embrace, though only the hand was really visible. And the hand couldn't be touched, but the tip of the pointer finger felt just out of reach.

She imagined herself in the meditation plane as the hand reached ever closer, her own fingers trembling before her as they tried to touch whatever was reaching out to her. It had to be her mother; it just had to.

It had to be Eryyyn because if it wasn't, Sakana felt like she might go insane. The journal had been impossible to enter for the past two weeks, despite her desperate attempts to push through the darkness that clouded it. Something was really wrong.

The more she hoped it was her mother, the closer the finger got until it was just a quick stretch away, teasing her sanity. Once or twice she had sworn that her mother had called out to her, but that was impossible. The practice of force ghosts was foreign to the Jedi of her mother's era, and Eryyyn had only mentioned the phenomena handful of times. As far as Sakana knew, a Jedi's voice was gone with their body when they died. It was her imagination.

Just when she thought she might reach the elusive tip of the spirit's finger, the warmth of the setting sun blinded Sakana's eyes and she came to in the Origin Tree, completely alone. She didn't know how long she had been gone for, but it had been at least an hour, if not longer, and that alone was a feat.

The journal burned in her pocket as she gave in to the urge to try and open it once again. The Empire hadn't posed a real threat within the past few weeks, giving her unlimited time to meditate and grow closer to the Force. She was slowly becoming more powerful, but she still couldn't trust it. She hated being gone for more than an hour, and even that was pushing it. The confidence that getting through the journal had given her was fading away as she failed to progress any further.

She pulled out the leather-bound book and stared at it, sensing the darkness within. It wasn't a feeling of anger, such as when Obi-Wan had faked his death, but rather a consuming darkness unlike anything she had felt before; it was despair. Her whole world felt ruled by fear and she didn't want to give into it anymore. She had to know what had happened to her father, if he was still alive, and where he would be hiding if he was.

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as she tried to calm herself and let the Force flow through her, guiding her through the entries as it had done so far. She had seen a great variety of interactions between her parents and their friends, colleagues...whatever darkness came next likely involved them too. Still, she knew he had to press on.

The push of the journal was exceptionally strong as she fought against it, letting the Force face the brunt of the resistance this time. Holding on to her concentration as she continued to focus, the Force carried her through the darkness and spit her out on the other side. Black faded into light blue, revealing the familiar holo-table against the skyline of Kashyyyk.

"Wroooooar wraaa," Chewie bellowed as Eryyyn frantically made her way to the edge of the holotable. A deafening explosion sounded nearby that shook Sakana and the vision, momentarily disorienting her.

"Go join the others!" Eryyyn yelled at the Wookie as she steadied herself against the table. "I'm notifying the Council now!"

"Raaaa," Chewie begged, his eyebrows creasing together.

"We'll be fine, Chewie, they'll send someone," she assured him, her hands gripping the trembling table. "Go."

In the silence that followed as Eryyyn contacted the Council, Sakana's stomach dropped. She had finally reached the dreaded Purge.