Supernova
A dark-robed, hooded Jedi Master strolled down the corridors of Cloud City headed towards the docking bay. Pedestrians and short-range vehicles of all kinds passed her, but she took no notice of them because she was on a very important mission. Wisps of strawberry-blonde hair peeked out from under her tan hood, but her face was concealed. Under the cape she wore a simple white dress, which was starting to cling to her sweat-soaked body. She was determined to seek out a child, but this was not just any child. This child was known to be the most powerful being in the galaxy, yet she was untrained in the ways of the Force. In the inner recesses of everyone's mind was a dread of this child's potential to bring about the end of time. Many feared her potential powers, but many more pitied her. She was an orphan who didn't seem to have anyone who cared whether or not she lived. Many turned up their noses at her when they learned of her identity, and others hid themselves and their children from her sight as if coming in contact with her would bring about the end of the universe. The girl shut herself up in the light-tower so as to not cause anyone pain. There she spent most of her time weeping for what was and what was not to be. One stormy night she was spirited away without mention as to where she was taken. Some thought that the girl had run away and had conjured up the storm to cover her path. Others feared that yet another powerful being had kidnapped the girl in order to use her powers for evil. They feared that the evil that had once hunted Kemryi Darkstarr had resurrected and claimed the girl for itself. Nobody dared to speak of the girl until this brown-robed stranger came searching.
Jedi Master Ginevra Nova was touched by the rumors of the forsaken girl and sought to make the child her padawan learner. She continued towards the Bespinian docking bay, clutching in her hands a packet of information that she'd gathered from Lando Calrissian. Lando had told her that if anyone knew where Kemryi Darkstarr was residing, it would be Luke Skywalker. Ginevra bit her lip. She'd never met Master Skywalker, or set foot near his Academy. She was a self-taught Jedi Master who had studied under some of the rogue Jedi Masters of the time. A few of the Jedi Masters that she had apprenticed herself to had disagreements about Master Skywalker's way of teaching and had warned her away from seeking training at his Academy.
Ginevra stopped just short of the docking bay to glance at the window scenery at a near-by view port. She glimpsed a lighthouse tower in the distance and watched as millions of little drone ships flew around it. A deep sense of grief emanated from its very being. Lando had told her that Kemryi Darkstarr's mother had been buried inside the lighthouse's superstructure. The light-tower still sent off waves of sorrow and pain, even though it had been five years since Kemi's mother had been laid to rest there. She shivered. It took something very powerful to remain etched into the Force like that. Usually these feelings would be very strong for a while and then slowly fade away, leaving only a trace of what used to be. But these feelings lingered as if it were only yesterday that Evadne Darkstarr was laid to rest. She shivered again. There was something about that tower that gave her the creeps. She could still feel a strong presence in the Force, as if Kemryi Darkstarr was still locked away inside of it.
Ginevra looked around at the various ships that were docking at the port. Seeing one that looked small enough to be an escort ship, she approached it. The pilot was leaning heavily against the ship, smoking a hookah pipe. She didn't like the feeling that he was giving her through the force. She looked around, but alas, there were no other escort ships at bay presently. As she approached, the pilot blew a ring of pink smoke at her. The smoke lingered in the air around her face, making her cough and gag. It was the pilot that spoke first.
"What can I do for you, sweetheart?" He flashed her a toothless grin and then winked at her.
Oh bother; she thought…not one of those types… "I'm not here for the night life." Ginevra said. "I would like to go to the light tower." She said. The man leaned closer to her. Great…guess he didn't get the hint.
"What's in it for me, sweetheart?" He said as he moseyed over to her and put his arm around her waist. She turned and kicked him in the groin. He backed away from her, swearing. "That will get you nowhere, Lady." He said as he turned to walk away, still rubbing the sore spot. "Seeing that my ship is the only escort ship on shift tonight, it would suit you to behave yourself." He said to her as he again scooted closer. Ginny scooted back. You're the one who ought to behave...she thought.
"You will take me to the tower." Ginevra pushed her will. The man looked at her blankly for a minute and then looked back at his ship.
He nodded, signaling for her to board the ship. "Come on aboard. I will take you to the tower." He hesitated, not quite sure of himself. Ginevra stepped up before he could change his mind.
"I have been told that you might want to enable your shields when you approach the drone ships that fly around the tower. They have a knack for destroying anything that gets in their way." Ginevra said. She hopped aboard the ship and watched as the man absentmindedly pushed various buttons on the control panel. Thus began her trip to the light tower.
As they approached the tower, the drone ships flew closer and closer to the ship. Ginevra hesitated a moment, not so sure it was a good idea to fly into their path. She hoped that the pilot had made this trip before. She closed her eyes and pictured all of the drone ships' locations. She'd help guide the ship to the tower.
After her visit to the light tower Ginevra finally returned to her own ship. She pulled her hood down and put her hand to the touch-lock that was on the door. The inner-system of the ship sent out a pulsating blue light that scanned her hand. Once her handprint was recognized, the door unlocked and slid open. The Jedi Master entered her ship.
"Welcome back, Master Nova." Her ship greeted her when she stepped inside the door. She quickly turned around and shut the door behind herself.
"We're ready to leave Bespin." Ginevra said matter-of-factly to the ship as if she was talking to an old friend. "Set course for Yavin 4." She said as she watched the display panel of the navicomputer light up as the ship worked to complete her command. She walked over to the pilot's seat and sat down, keeping her packet of information in her lap. She then swiveled her chair back towards the navicomp and scanned the map that Calrissian had given her into it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young woman approach and start to observe the read-outs of the navicomputer.
"Hello Je'onna," Ginevra stood up to greet the girl. "The Darkstarr child is not here. Her mother, Evadne, is buried in the light tower, but Kemryi has not been here for at least five years. There's nothing in the tower that gives me the slightest clue as to where the girl went. There's no sign of a struggle, so I'm not so sure that she was kidnapped. If she were, she was probably drugged and taken when everyone was asleep. It's strange. Her personal belongings were still all over the place as if she were only out for a stroll and were going to be returning at any minute." Ginevra said.
"The locals say that Kemryi Darkstarr once destroyed that tower." Je'onna said, not so sure that she believed it herself. "I wonder if that's true."
"It's a possibility. I wouldn't discount it as a rumor. The closer we flew to the tower; I could tell that there were different stones at the top than at the base. It does give the impression that it was destroyed and rebuilt." Ginevra said as she slipped something out of her pocket. "Look what I found in the tower." She said as she held up a lightsaber. "It's older than the girl, so it was probably her mother's. If we ever find Kemryi, she may want to have it." Ginevra reached up and opened an overhead compartment and put it there. "It's strange, but usually when someone has a lightsaber, they keep it on their person at all times. I found Kemi's laying on the floor near the only window of the tower. So that leads me to believe that the girl was not planning to leave. Perhaps she had to leave in a rush." Ginevra said, pondering the possibilities. She then switched the subject. "We're about to set course for Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy." The young woman looked at her curiously from under a mop of ratty brunette hair. Je'onna blew a puff of air at her bangs to keep them out of her eyes for the moment.
"I thought you said that you'd never set foot near that place." Je'onna spoke out. She reached up to bat at her bangs and tried to straighten her mussed hair into some sort of order. Je'onna was one of the girls who had joined Master Ginevra Nova as a padawan, though she'd never really admitted to herself that she had wanted to learn the ways of the Force. She was thirteen years old and had lost her parents in a confrontation between clans on her home planet. She had had a happy childhood, but had been forced to grow up beyond her years when her mother and father died. She had three younger siblings who had opted to stay with other relatives. She had stayed with an aunt until she met Ginevra Nova one day on the roadside. Je'onna's aunt wasn't too keen on the fact that her brother's daughter was going off with some total stranger to learn the ways of the Force, but when she met Ginevra Nova, those thoughts dissipated. She could tell that Ginevra wasn't going to let her niece go for stray. From then on, Je'onna tagged along wherever Ginevra went because she was attracted to the charismatic Jedi Master.
"I am just taking advantage of some information that was afforded to me. Calrissian said that Skywalker might know the current location of the one we seek." Ginevra smirked. Je'onna grinned back at her, making Ginevra guess that the girl had been up to some sort of mischief.
"While you were out talking, I decided to do a little exploring myself. I found something that may be of interest to you." Je'onna said as she reached into the back pocket of her pants, pulled out a necklace, and dangled it from her pointer finger. Ginevra stepped closer to the girl to examine the necklace. The vibes that emanated from the star-shaped charm were not unlike the vibes she had picked up from the light-tower.
"Where did you find this?" Ginevra asked as she reached forward and took the necklace off of Je'onna's finger. She turned it over in her hand, noting the intricate designs that were etched into the star. "It's got Huttese markings on it, but these are not from any recent times." The power that emanated from it was not something from the light side of the force. She was very careful in handling it and had to set up a block of some of its energy so that it wouldn't sap her of her own.
"One of the locals was hawking it. It just interested me." Je'onna said, shrugging. She seemed to have an uncanny ability when it came to finding things that were useful to a mission. "What is it, Ginny?"
"It appears to be some sort of key. And it definitely sends off vibes that it was once in the possession of our Darkstarr child. The vibes that come from this thing are not good. It almost drains me to hang onto it." Ginny quickly put it into one of the bags that hung from the ship's control panel. "If we weren't in such a big hurry, I'd go back and ask Mr. Calrissian about this necklace, but as it is, he's a busy man and we've got to get going to Yavin 4." No sooner had Ginevra stopped talking, there came a knock on the hull of their ship. Ginny hoped that it wasn't that flirty pilot. She quickly went to the door to see if perhaps it was Calrissian with any more information for their journey. She touched the pad to open it and was somewhat surprised to see a young man standing at the base of the ramp.
"Yes?" Ginevra asked. The boy took a few steps up the ramp to get closer to Ginny before he started to speak. Ginevra took a few steps backwards to put a little distance between them. Experience had taught her not to let anyone too close until she knew his or her intentions.
"I am also seeking Kemryi Darkstarr. I have been observing the both of you since you landed." This information took Ginevra aback. She hadn't told anyone of her intent to seek out the girl until she spoke to Lando. She should have known that she was being followed. The young man extended his hand. "My name is Tyne Lysander. I am a friend of Kemi's. If you will allow me to accompany you on your journey, I will tell you what I know about her and what happened the night she disappeared."
Ginevra took the boy's hand and shook it firmly. She wondered how the boy knew that they were seeking Kemryi. So it was he who had told Calrissian of their intent. She had been amazed that the man had been able to clear his schedule at so short a notice. Now she knew that he had a little forewarning. As she touched the boy's hand, she caught a glimpse into this boy's life, past, present, and future. She saw the day of his birth and his loving parents. She also saw how he had been in hiding with his family and the tragedy that befell his parents. She also saw the girl whom she sought and how this young man's life was entwined with Kemryi's both in the past and in the future. She released her grasp on his hand.
"Welcome Tyne, we'd be pleased if you'd join us. We don't have too many leads as of right now." She said as they walked up the ramp of the ship and sat down at a table inside the ship. "How did you know that we were seeking the Darkstarr child?" She asked as soon as Tyne had seated himself. She looked him in the eyes and waited for an answer.
"I don't know how I knew. I just knew. It was like something inside me told me so." Tyne said. "This must sound pretty strange to you."
Ginevra studied him for a while, trying to decide if she wanted to tell him that she thought he could be a potential user of the Force. She decided against it for the time being. Her attention snapped back to the task at hand. "Actually, it doesn't sound strange at all." Ginevra said. "Calrissian said that Kemryi would be fifteen or so now." She reached under her robe and drew out an envelope. "I have here some holocrons that were taken of Kemi before she disappeared. I don't know if they will give us any clues or anything, but since you knew her personally, you might want to have them." She said to Tyne as she emptied the contents of the envelope onto the table. The boy reached forward to take a couple of the photo cubes off the table to study them. After a few minutes he spoke.
"These two were taken a couple days after her mother died." He said as he slid them away from himself and back towards Ginevra. "See the sadness in her eyes?" Ginny picked up the two holocrons that he was talking about and looked more closely at the girl's eyes. She hadn't seen the sadness in Kemi's eyes the first time she'd glanced over the pictures.
Tyne looked at the next two. "Ok, these were taken several years after that…" His voice trailed off… "It was a celebration that my family held for my birthday. At this point in time, Kemi was still grieving the loss of her mother, though the sting was not totally there anymore. She was beginning to be happy again." He said as he picked up the one closest to him. This particular holocron showed a girl that appeared to be in her mid-teens with curly red hair and grey eyes.
"Is that the same girl?" Je'onna spoke up. She'd crept up behind the two and was peering at the pictures over Tyne's shoulder. "She looks different in each picture. If I didn't know that you were talking about the same girl, I'd swear that these pictures all were of different girls…or maybe girls in the same family." She said as she leaned in for a closer look. "They all have the same birthmark on their cheek."
"Yeah, Kemryi could change her appearance reflexively. Confused many of us when she first moved to Hoth with her Aunt Aidia." Tyne said. "Didn't take very long to identify her without a problem. No matter what changed, she still have the same facial features, including the star shaped birthmark on her cheek. Only the color of her hair and eyes would change. Many times they would change right before our eyes."
"Ooooh, that's one of the hardest tricks in the book to maintain. How'd she do it without draining her energy?" Je'onna asked, in awe of the girl's abilities.
"It was a reflex of hers, I believe." Tyne went on, "I don't think she had any control over it, actually."
Je'onna raised her eyebrows. Ginevra smiled an all-knowing smile. It was the kind of smile that she was known best for; the kind that makes a person believe that she is reading one's mind. Ginny pulled the necklace out of her robes and spoke up. "Do you know the significance of the key on this chain?" She asked as she laid the necklace with the star shaped charm on the table. "I think it belonged to Kemryi."
"I know that it was in her possession at one time." Tyne said. "I believe it was her mother's actually." He said as he reached forward and took it into his hands in order to examine it a little closer. While Kemi had had it, it was one of her prized possessions and she had never let him or anyone else close enough to touch it. He turned it over in his hands a few times. His stomach knotted up. He felt a sharp burning pain shoot up his hand from where the star touched it. He quickly handed it back.
Ginevra noted his reaction. "What happened?" She asked as he grimaced.
"I don't know," he said, "I just got a funny feeling when I touched that thing. Did you hold it up to a fire or a heater before you handed it to me?" He frowned in disgust. He'd thought that these people were a little trustworthy than that, but he guessed he'd assumed wrong. What was he thinking? "It burned."
"We'd do nothing of the sort." Je'onna piped in. "What kind of people do you take us for?" It was her turn to frown in disgust. She leaned forward to look Tyne in the eyes. "Master Nova wanted to know if you knew that this charm is a key. And if you do know something about it, what does it open?" She said, really wanting to hear his answer to the question.
Tyne nodded a negative. "I don't know much about the necklace other than it led some very bad people to our camp when Kemi wore it." He said. "That necklace was nothing but bad luck."
"It's a trick of the force," Ginevra said, "usually employed by the dark side." She flipped the necklace over a few times in her own hands. The darkness that radiated from it was enough to make her sick to her stomach. "I don't think that Kemryi cursed this necklace. I think that the power that comes from it is older than she is. You said that you believe that this actually belonged to her mother?" Ginny questioned the boy. Tyne nodded an affirmative.
"Yes." He said. "All I remember about that lady was that she saved her daughter's life. That's true love if anything is." Tyne's eyes clouded over with a far-away expression…as if he was in another place and time. "I don't know too much about Kemi's past, but I remember the day she came to Hoth with her aunt Aidia. Aidia Darren was a tall woman…she strolled into our playroom slowly as if hindered by something unseen. My father was behind her to let us children know who the woman was and what she was doing in our camp. We were all hiding from something or someone. Anyways, Aidia wore a black cape that cascaded to the floor, covering everything but her face. She had an eerily distant look in her eyes; one that we were quite used to seeing on newcomers to the colony. It was the wary look of someone on the run." Tyne paused for a minute, then continued. "Suddenly her cape opened up revealing a little girl who hid perfectly underneath it. She didn't look any older than five or six to me, but looks can deceive. I believe that she was seven at the time. She was really small for her age, but that's not uncommon in families that are on the run. Stress can stunt growth, you know."
"How long did you live with her?" Ginevra asked.
"For three years. When Kemi moved into the tower at Bespin, I moved away on my own. There was something creepy about that place. Though I loved Kemi dearly, I had no wish to stay there. It was as if there was an aura of death around the place. Now, I wish I had stayed. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I received word that Kemi was gone. Luke Skywalker had been keeping an eye on her since she moved in the tower, but I guess that his Academy has been keeping him busy and away from here. I came in hopes of finding her somewhere around here. I don't know how far she can get on her own." Tyne said. He looked past Ginny for a moment, looking to see if they were being watched. He saw a couple of people within a few feet of the ship's ramp, but they seemed to be in a hurry to get wherever they were going. There was another person, a hooded figure, who seemed to look away when Tyne's gaze swept by. Tyne leaned a little closer. "I think we're being watched." He said, nodding to the figure in the hood.
Ginevra didn't turn around to look to see who it was, she simply closed her eyes and preformed a mental scan of the figure, trying to discern if it was friend or foe. Whoever or whatever it was immediately put up a mental block. She leaned in a little closer to Je'onna. "I think our friend out there might also be on the search for Kemryi as well. I don't know if he's friend or foe though. He put up a mind block before I could get any sort of read on him."
"Let's hurry and get out of here." Je'onna said as she got into her chair and belted herself in. "That's enough to give me the creeps." Ginevra quickly closed the door and the ship blasted off.
The navicomputer beeped at them. Ginevra startled in her chair. She had been so absorbed in the conversation that she had forgotten that they had set a course for Yavin 4. Je'onna turned and looked at the computer screen and signaled at Ginevra that they were approaching the planet. Ginevra unstrapped her safety harness and went over to the console to have a look. Just then the com buzzed to let them know that someone on planet was trying to make contact with them. Genevra pushed a button to talk with the person who was signaling them.
"This is Ginevra Nova aboard the Star Strider seeking to land and take audience with Master Luke Skywalker." Ginevra released the button and waited for the response. It came over a crackly connection.
"Master Nova, you have permission to land. Master Skywalker has been expecting you." The masculine voice on the comlink buzzed. "Please proceed to landing dock two where you will be greeted by an escort."
Ginevra turned in her seat towards Tyne and Je'onna. "Well, that reception was better than I expected. Master Skywalker and I are rivals of sorts. He with his Academy and I with my apprenticeships have come into conflict a few times. It's a friendly rivalry, springing from some minor disagreements which I won't get into in this conversation. Perhaps later." Ginevra pulled her hood back over her head to conceal her hair and her eyes partially. She didn't want to make it too easy for any of the students around the academy to read her. She pointed to Je'onna's robe that was draped over the seat behind her. "Best to put that on." She said simply. "Take your saber as well." Ginny said as she guided the ship in for a landing.
Once docked, the three exited the ship and glanced around for their escort. A hooded man appeared who Ginevra noted right away to be Master Skywalker. She was taken aback that the Jedi Master himself would come out to escort them.
Reading her thoughts, Luke Skywalker spoke up right away. "It's best that not too many people hear what I will disclose about the Darkstarr child." Luke said as he guided the small group to one of the smaller buildings. Once inside, the group was motioned to a room that contained an auditorium of sorts. It was rather small, but contained a stage and a couple of rows of chairs lined up. Everyone seated themselves. Ginevra guessed that the auditorium was probably used for some sort of training classes. Luke nodded, again reading her thoughts. "This is one of our older buildings. Built when the Academy was in its upstart. We used it for sparring and levitation classes. Had to be abandoned when we failed to contain an aura.
Tyne looked at him confused. "Contain an aura?" He asked.
"I can feel it." Je'onna piped in. She held her hands out for everyone to see the sweat that was beading on her palms. "Felt it as soon as I came in. It's rather strong."
"One of our students betrayed us. This was where we were all were sitting when it happened." Luke said pointing at the chairs in which they were all seated. Both Je'onna and Tyne shivered. Master Nova frowned briefly but wasn't too put off by the thought. She had heard worse. "We had simply gathered for a test of will."
"Was it Kemi?" Tyne interrupted, almost afraid to know the answer.
"No, it was a fellow padawan learner that was training at the same time as Kemi." Luke said. "To tell the truth, I'd never seen anyone else as capable as this other student. He learned quickly and seemed to only have eyes for our dear Kemryi. He was jealous of her power. He cloaked his feelings for her well, though I had an inkling that he was out to get her." Luke said. "He had Kemi as frightened as she was when the sith was after her. One day, the day that all the deaths here happened, he confronted Kemi. I believe that he may be the reason for her disappearance, though I am not sure if she left on her own accord or if she was abducted." Luke said.
Ginevra leaned closer to Luke and reached into her cloak, pulling out the necklace with the star shaped charm. She held it out for Luke to examine. "Do you know what this key unlocks?" She asked him.
"I haven't seen that necklace since it was discarded after one of Kemi's confrontations with the sith. I am unsure of what it unlocks, but I know that it was cursed. It will lead the sith straight to Kemi if it were ever to come into her possession again. I'd advise you to be rid of it." Luke straightened up. He had also been leaning.