Playlist:

❶ "Marion's Theme"—Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

On a beautiful summer day three months after the mission to Castell, Luke and Naluma hiked a few clicks north of the Jedi Academy complex on Khalkha. Packs filled with food, blankets, and lightsabers burdened both Jedi as they climbed to the higher elevations. The bright-blue sky beckoned them higher still as puffy clouds raced across the expanse.

When they reached a glade surrounded by a grove of massive kedari trees, Luke said, "This will do." He dumped his pack on the springy grass and dropped to the ground.

As Naluma sat beside him, she cocked her head. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He smiled back at her, relaxing her with a ray of sunshine that emanated from his inner being. Luke hunted in his pack and withdrew his water bottle. After sipping the bottle, he handed it to Naluma.

He's still so pale. I know he's been working out in the weight room and combat arena, but he's still a long way from healed. 

Luke pushed his pack to the side and pulled himself into his favorite meditation pose with his legs crossed and his feet intertwined over his knees.

"We're meditating?" That's good. Give him a chance to catch his breath.

He nodded. "Feel the Force flowing through the grove?" 

She closed her eyes and mirrored his pose. "Yes. I always love it up here, away from the kids, just me and the Force ... and you."

He smiled. "Focus on the Force, not me right now."

She laughed and winked at him.

"Let go of your fears, your concerns. Even Wei'ahtt."

She shuddered at his name. He's still not back. No word yet. I shouldn't have left him.

"Release that fear. Fear leads to anger, which leads to aggression, which leads to suffering."

A few silent moments passed until Naluma pushed her protégé from her mind.

"Now, let the Force flow. Cleansing breaths. Don't try to do anything. Let the Force have its way with you."

She laughed. "That sounds a bit naughty, Luke."

"Enough." He cut her off in a tone she had not heard in years. "You know what I meant. Return to peace."

A few minutes became an hour, as the Force moved its tendrils in and out and around the pair dressed in black in the glade. The sun beat down on their backs, the black uniforms absorbing the rays.

She groaned as Force-visions assaulted her. After the initial shock, images flowed in and out of her consciousness—Wei'ahtt on Ruusan and Kallay on her new mission. Both brought peace.

"Reach out further. Grab more of the Force. Let it guide you." 

Lowering her head, Naluma inhaled the scent of the sun-warmed grass under her. She widened her channels as the Force brought more images to bear. Her face remained at peace, gaining understanding while the Force directed her. Visions of Jannah, Tandolleau, and Zeke weaved through her mind.

The Force turned dark in the next vision. The academy was the same, but darkness permeated the building and overlaid the Padawan. Yet a light still shined underneath the darkness and fought back against the evil, eating at its corners, consuming it.

In contrast to the gloom, the last vision brought peace and joy. Naluma's mouth beamed. Her eyes crinkled, and her lips spread so much her cheeks ached.

When she fell out of the vision trance, her smile dropped from her face as anxiety replaced it. She glanced over at Luke and then closed her eyes as she considered the experience. He waited.

She grabbed a small white flower and plucked it from the grass below her. "I know why you sent Kallay on her own now." She smiled in relief. "She'll be fine."

"And now you know that I don't send people on missions without the guidance of the Force."

"You go through this every time?"

He nodded. "What else did you see?"

She looked at his brilliant blue eyes for a moment. "Wei'ahtt's headed back. Mission accomplished." She jerked her head across the glade, staring into the dark woods around her, focusing on the bark of a gigantic kedari tree. 

"Jannah ... I see her in the Senate, in the Jedi Box. Tandolleau with Zeke headed to ... oh, I'm not sure where, but a desert planet. Not deserted, but a place with sand. Lots of sand. It wasn't Jakku, either."

Luke nodded. "Those are confirmations. I've seen the same. Was that all?"

Naluma shook her head. "Darkness is coming. Things will change. It threatens to consume the Order."

He laid his hand on top of hers. "We'll get through it together. Did you see the light?"

Naluma nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yes."

"What was your last vision? The one that made you happy?"

Naluma stared at her hands. "It scared me."

"How can something that makes you happy scare you?"

"If it is truly a Force-vision Luke, I'm afraid we will be the cause of this darkness. That our actions will destroy the Order." She locked her eyes with his.

Luke hesitated before speaking. "The future is always in motion. What you see or what I see does not always come to pass."

"It was so real."

"Force-visions have a way of doing that." He bit his lip before asking, "Naluma, when you saw Wei'ahtt, what did you feel?"

"Peace. Victory. Pride."

"And Jannah?"

"Peace. A rightness about it. Competency."

"Zeke and Tandolleau?"

"Fun. They were definitely having fun." Naluma chuckled at the memory.

"And your last vision?"

Naluma brought her hands back to her stomach and looked at her black uniform where her utility belt crossed her waist. Her beaming smile returned. "Peace ... joy ... love like I have never felt before." Her voice cracked.

He reached out with the Force to her and reciprocated his love to her. "Sometimes, the Force reveals light and hope after it reveals darkness and despair, because the light and hope is the only way we'll make it through. Trust your feelings, Naluma. I've never seen you smile like this before. Take it as a vision of hope."

She opened her mouth. "But, Luke, I was—" She shook her head. "I can't tell you."

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be here." He stood up and winked. "Wanna spar?"

She jumped up and nodded. "You ready to go down?"

"You and what army?" He grinned as he pulled two training sabers from his pack. "Teach me that dual-blade technique."

She chuckled. "Now I know why we hiked so far. You don't want the Padawan to see you get whooped."

The Jedi Master tilted his head at her and winked. "Maybe."

After an hour of instruction in dual-blade sparring, the couple collapsed to the ground as the sun climbed to its apex. Sweat seeped through their uniform tunics as the black fabric magnified the heat.

❶ Naluma pulled out the blanket from her pack and laid it out as Luke pulled out their meal. In the heat, she stripped her tunic off, revealing her gray tank top underneath.

Luke winked at her. "Kriff. You didn't wear that sparkly one today."

She laughed and shook her head. "Next time, if you can keep your hands off me."

After setting out the sandwiches on puffy rolls and the first of the summer fruit, he pulled off his tunic, too. They tossed the smelly tops a few meters away to dry in the sunlight. "That feels better."

She grabbed a small, dark-red fruit and popped it into her mouth, savoring the sweet juice that ran down her throat. She washed it down with a swig of water. "Not quite Chinot's, but it is tasty."

"Yeah, I guess I owe you a dinner there next time we're on Hosnian. Sorry about that."

"Actually, I think Madine owes us a dinner. Not your fault you got pneumonia." She bit into one of the sandwiches, enjoying the buttery flavor of the flaky roll interspersed with imported cheese and thinly sliced fianna haunch.

Luke bit into his sandwich, devouring half of it in one bite. He made a face at Naluma as he ate.

She responded by throwing a few blades of grass at him. "Goofball."

He pulled their packs to him, scrunching them together for a pillow.

"What am I going to lie on?"

He waved his hand, motioning her to him.

She scooted across the grass, leaving green stains on the seat of her pants. She laid her head on his chest diagonally. "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"My vision." She drew his arms around her, resting his hands on her belly with hers. As she opened her mind to him, she placed the vision in his mind, with the peace, joy, and love she felt. "Light and ... our Hope." As their minds melded, their hands moved above her flat stomach above the projected bump in the vision. "But I dare not hope for something we can never have, Luke."

"If the Force wills it, it will happen. Trust the Force." He kissed her forehead. "Light and hope."

Did you know ...

● Force visions scared Luke into abandoning his training on Dagobah. His compassion for his friends continued to be his undoing, from Bespin to Endor. Luke's Jedi compassion and unconditional love for his friends compelled him to self-sacrifice.

Tell me what you think ...

● What foreshadowing did you pick up on in this chapter? (There's a lot of it.)

● What do you think Naluma's last vision is about?

● Why is Naluma more afraid about her last vision than the one about darkness attacking the Order?