Nellith Skywalker let out a sigh of relief as Serenity left hyperspace, holding true and steady. Kyp thought her fix for the hyperdrive wasn't the most reliable, and while he was probably right, they didn't have time to fix it further.
After all, her sister needed her.
She pulled down the intercom— one of the older pieces of Serenity, she'd discovered. She'd taken great joy in abusing it to surprise her crew at any time.
"Everyone buckle in, we're about to head into the Valley of the Sith," Nellith said. "Oh, also, this is your captain speaking."
She heard Kyp snort as he entered the cockpit, taking the co-pilot's seat.
"You and that thing."
Nellith rolled her eyes as she grinned. "It's fun. I've never been a captain of a ship before. Also, are you going to help me land this thing or not?"
"I was just thinking I could sit here and look pretty." Kyp then tossed his head, showing off his glossy black curls.
"Pretty don't land ships," Nellith said. "Although I hear it can launch a thousand."
"Two-thousand, for mine."
"Shut up and fly, pretty-boy."
The descent shook up the ship a little bit, but nothing fell off, and everything was still stable. Serenity held true, all the way to the makeshift spaceport next to the Valley of the Sith.
"Your Ugly sure is more than she looks, isn't she?" Kyp asked.
Nellith patted the dashboard. "That's my girl."
Nellith was the first to emerge from the ship, with her flowing dress and leather jacket, looking a perfect mix between her mother and her father.
Kyp was right behind her, Jysella next to him and already clutching her lightsaber. Tash and Artoo brought up the rear, clearly the shyer members of the crew.
Well, Artoo wasn't shy, but he was gaining a higher sense of preservation in the years passing since Threepio had briefly lost his memory for the mission to Exogol.
Besides, Nellith knew it was probably worse for her health that Artoo was taking up the rear. He was always up to some sort of mischief.
Out of the central white tents emerged Allana, Valin, and a young woman that Nellith barely remembered, but was all the same familiar to her.
Valin frowned. "Jysella? What are you doing here?"
Jysella folded her arms as the crew of Serenity approached. "Nellith needed someone like me on her crew. Besides, it's the closest I'll get to a traditional apprenticeship, given how many of the masters are dead."
"And Durron?" Before he could make a snarky comment, Allana placed a hand on his arm.
"That's enough, Valin," she said gently. "We've got more to worry about than this."
Kyp frowned. "The hell, Horn? I know you're an uptight prick sometimes, but we didn't get along that badly."
Nellith put a hand up, signaling Kyp to stop. For good measure, she glanced at him, pleading with her eyes for him to wait. They'd all been briefed, that something was up with Valin, something Sith-y.
After all, that was why Serenity had come to Korriban in the first place.
"It's good to see you, sis," Nellith said, lowering her hand. "Dad told me you found something about Mum."
"Apparently she wanted us to come here of all places," Allana said as she strode forward. Wearing a long white tunic with a train that blew in the wind, she reminded Nellith of how their mother looked in the older holographs.
"It was before the Corellian History Society got the rights to the dig site," Aya Tico added.
"Aya, it's been forever," Nellith cried out.
Aya shrugged. "Just three years. Besides, I wasn't really into all the Force-magic stuff like my brother. Even if we Calrissian-Ticos do have a gift for it, or whatever."
"Aya's here to guide us around in the Valley of the Sith," Allana elaborated.
"Gotta make sure you don't wreck any of the temples." Aya planted her gloved hands on her hips, resembling her mother in her sheer determination. "While we might be based in Corellia, we're trying to get a solid database for the history of the entire galaxy. There's been so much lost in all of the wars— it's better to have some clear records so we don't have people getting things wrong, like that the twins were Han and Leia's kids, or that Ben Skywalker was Luke's son, things like that."
Nellith nodded, glancing around her. Part of why she agreed, besides sisterly bonds and paternal compulsion and all of that, was that part of her mission lay here.
She could remember it now, crystal and clear.
She'd stood here, once, clad in the gear of the Imperial Remnant. A black sleeveless jumpsuit, a white scarf covering her hair and neck, tinted goggles allowing her to block out the sun.
She'd had a lightsaber at her side then, too.
They could stay a little longer, Nellith decided— once they'd finished helping Allana retrieve whatever clues Rey had left.
Still, there was something about all of this that left Nellith uneasy.
Perhaps it was that they were in the resting places of the oldest and most terrible Sith Lords ever to live— and resting places held power. Or perhaps it was the way that Valin looked around, like he was itching for a fight.
Or how Kyp looked ready to take the bait.
"Come on," Aya said. "Let's get out of the sun and let's make a game-plan. I was talking with the head of the site, Dr. Tharen. She mentioned that one of the graves was very recently disturbed— like, in the past decade. Most of the locals live on the other side of the planet, want nothing to do with it. So it's very unusual."
"You think our mum went grave-robbing?" Nellith asked.
"Probably needed something in there," Allana said quietly as they entered one of the tents.
Aya then looked at the commlink on her wrist. "Oh, Dr. Tharen needs me to help with some sample analysis outside the the tomb of Exar-Kun— not his true resting place, you know, just one erected by later Sith in his honor."
Aya breathlessly then swooped up a satchel bag that was lying on the makeshift rug floor of the tent. "The point is, we'll talk tonight, this is gonna take a while— just stay here and try not to get into any trouble, help yourself to our supplies—"
She practically stumbled back out, leaving the Jedi crew to sit under the tent.
Allana sat down on a crate, pulling a beautiful silk fan out of a hidden pocket. "There is no breeze here."
"Don't worry, you still look as lovely as ever," Kyp assured her with a wink.
Allana giggled, and Nellith felt a churning in her stomach.
She knew it was probably nothing— even before the Purge, Kyp had a reputation as rather flirtatious among the younger Jedi males and females.
But all the same a part of her wanted to scream, "look at me."
She couldn't really blame him, though. Allana had been lucky enough to get more of their mother's facial features. Nellith's more angular features and large nose was considered unfortunate on a girl in many circles. Besides, her coloring was more stark, with dark hair and light eyes, while Allana had lucked out with black hair and brown eyes like their father—
Nellith shook her head. Where had that come from?
There was a mission here. Who was she to care about flirtations and who was prettier of the Skywalker sisters?
Besides, everyone knew that the real looker of the family had been Jaina.
Still, even if it was only for a second, it still hurt to watch as Kyp hung onto Allana's every word in the way that only enchanted boys could, as Allana recounted some story about a hot day on Madrassa, in Hapan Space.
After all, Nellith never forgot when they were growing up that Allana was the one with the special destiny.
It wasn't favoritism, not exactly. And she couldn't really fault her parents for the extra responsibility, the reminders of her future— even though they had tried to hide it in the earlier years.
But when puberty hit, everyone in the Jedi Order seemed to know about Allana and her mysterious destiny as the Jedi Queen.
Everyone commented on how regal she seemed, how special she was— you could just see it after all—-
It was hard, being the ordinary sibling in the Skywalkers. After all, Thea was the eldest, and the one to take on the legacy of politics, so she shone in that way. Everyone knew the twins were special, and their bond was unique. Allana had her royal destiny— and then there was Anakin, who was the subject of several prophecies.
Nellith wasn't supposed to know about that, with Anakin— but she couldn't help it. She'd seen Tionne and Rey examine the old parchment and holocrons when Nellith had woken from a nightmare one night.
Rey had told her, that night, that Nellith was special in her own way.
"You have the Skywalker eyes," Rey said, bopping Nellith on the tip of her large nose. "Maz Kanata even said so, shortly after you were born. Besides, sometimes it's better not to have some great destiny. You have the chance to write your own destiny, walk your own path. I think you'd be surprised about how much your brothers and sisters wish they had what you do."
Even then, Nellith considered that a consolation prize kind of speech.
But it returned to her now all the same.
"Nellith?"
"What?" She looked to see that Kyp was watching her.
"You alright?" Kyp raised an eyebrow. "You had this weird expression—"
"Sorry." Nellith shook her head, tossing a few stray curls loose from the three loops. "Just remembering some things. Probably space-lagged, that's all."
Kyp nodded, but the look in his eyes told her that he didn't quite believe her.
Nellith didn't plan on saying anything, however, and her cheeks turned red. Those thoughts were incredibly childish and selfish.
And then Nellith couldn't help but feel as if something was watching them.