Chapter 11
Destiny found a large trunk in her parents closet. It was dusty and had a lock on it. Destiny sighed. She didn't think even Tash knew how to break into locks… yet.
"Artoo?" she yelled. Within a few minutes she was greeted by beeps and chirps. "Can you open this for me? I lost the combination," she lied.
Artoo beeped indigantly. "What do you mean I'm not allowed in there?" she asked incredulously.
Destiny began to realize what this meant. At the very least, something was being hidden from her. "Why, Artoo?" she queried.
Artoo blatted at her. She sighed. "No Artoo, I don't think you're stupid." He beeped again. Destiny grinned. "Or manufactured yesterday."
Destiny reached into one of the pockets of her jumpsuit and pulled out a small, cylindrical object. Before Artoo could so much as shriek, Destiny slapped a restraining bolt on him. "Artoo, open the trunk," she commanded.
Artoo emitted a small moan, but inserted one of his appendages into the data terminal. The lock clicked, and the lid opened a crack. Destiny cautiously lifted the lid, and peered inside.
Nothing leaped out at her immediately. There was a small, opalescent cube that looked as if it was constantly swirling about, like currents in an ocean. Destiny was mesmerized by it for a bit, but decided to leave it for later. Most likely it was just something pretty given to her mother while she was Princess of Alderaan.
There were also several datacards. Destiny knew she couldn't possibly go through all of these before her parents got home. She grabbed most of them and put them in a pile next to her. It shouldn't be too hard to disguise them as homework.
While I'm here… Destiny thought. She reached inside the trunk, behind the lock and felt around until she heard another small click. Old-fashioned locks had a flaw in them that allowed them to be disabled without any evidence of tampering. Someone with nosy teenagers probably fixed that, she thought.
There were also a few holocubes towards the bottom. They were dusty and old; Destiny was afraid to touch them for fear of ruining them with any toxins from her skin. She picked them up around the edges and looked at a few. There was a picture of her mother, father, and Chewbacca, along with several military personnel. Leia was beaming at Han, who was holding up Leia's hand to show off a very expensive, very large, diamond ring. Obviously Han had just asked Leia to marry him. Destiny smiled despite herself. Her parents had showed her throughout their married years what true love was. Despite their many differences and disagreements, they always managed to show how much they loved each other. Destiny felt lucky to have grown up in such a loving environment with two parents who still loved each other despite the gray hairs and wrinkles.
Destiny moved onto another picture, this one of a blonde-haired man and brown-haired woman. She immediately recognized the man as Luke Skywalker, but this was the first she had seen of the tall brown-haired woman. She was the same height was Skywalker, and her soft gray eyes seemed happy and free of trouble. Skywalker's blue eyes could not, however, keep a haunted look from his eyes. Destiny wondered what could haunt a Jedi after the defeat of the Empire. Probably more than I want to know, she thought.
There were more holos with Skywalker and the mysterious woman, along with a few more of Han and Leia. Then, she found the holo she hoped she wouldn't find.
The Skywalkers, obviously married judging by some of the previous holos, were holding a small baby in a blanket. The baby had bright blue eyes and absolutely no hair. He or she was very small, and couldn't be any older than a month.
The next holo showed a small girl with Luke Skywalker. Her chubby cheeks were accentuated by a slight parting of her lips, and her eyes curiously gazed at something beyond the holocam. Her pudgy hands reached for it, while Skywalker tried to point her attention towards the holocam. Destiny's chest hurt when she realized she was the little girl. Maybe Mom and Dad just let him hold me, she hoped.
She placed the holos back into the trunk, unable to look at them any longer. She glanced at the other objects in the trunk: a coarse brown robe, a medal, and a long, metal cylinder about the length of her forearm. She picked up the cylinder and tested it's weight in her hand. It was a comfortable weight to carry. She found a button on it and instinctually pressed it.
Artoo shrieked as a green blade nearly grazed his dome. Destiny nearly dropped it, not expecting anything to happen. Artoo began jabbering at her angrily, but Destiny barely heard him. She was mesmerized by the green glowing blade. Once she saw the blade she knew exactly what it was: a lightsaber. She could have seriously injured or killed herself if she had been holding it the wrong way: lightsabers could cut through almost any material, including human flesh and bones.
She pressed the button again, depressing the blade. Somehow she knew it had been Skywalker's lightsaber. Well who else's could it be, stupid? Mom and Dad don't exactly collect Jedi artifacts, she chided herself. But somehow she just knew. It was as if the last piece of a puzzle had been placed. Somehow all the pieces fit together, and she couldn't figure out where she had attained this knowledge from. She felt connected to something, but couldn't figure out what it was or even how she was connected to it.
She gingerly placed the lightsaber back into the trunk. She didn't want to put it back; it felt right in her hand, as if it belonged there. She resisted the temptation to take it back, and instead closed the trunk. She slowly pushed the trunk back into it's former place, feeling an odd twinge of sadness and regret. Sadness at what? Perhaps at the loss of a friend of her parents. Regret? Perhaps that she hadn't known him.
Destiny slowly gathered up the data cards and trudged back to her room, suddenly feeling very old.
Destiny found a large trunk in her parents closet. It was dusty and had a lock on it. Destiny sighed. She didn't think even Tash knew how to break into locks… yet.
"Artoo?" she yelled. Within a few minutes she was greeted by beeps and chirps. "Can you open this for me? I lost the combination," she lied.
Artoo beeped indigantly. "What do you mean I'm not allowed in there?" she asked incredulously.
Destiny began to realize what this meant. At the very least, something was being hidden from her. "Why, Artoo?" she queried.
Artoo blatted at her. She sighed. "No Artoo, I don't think you're stupid." He beeped again. Destiny grinned. "Or manufactured yesterday."
Destiny reached into one of the pockets of her jumpsuit and pulled out a small, cylindrical object. Before Artoo could so much as shriek, Destiny slapped a restraining bolt on him. "Artoo, open the trunk," she commanded.
Artoo emitted a small moan, but inserted one of his appendages into the data terminal. The lock clicked, and the lid opened a crack. Destiny cautiously lifted the lid, and peered inside.
Nothing leaped out at her immediately. There was a small, opalescent cube that looked as if it was constantly swirling about, like currents in an ocean. Destiny was mesmerized by it for a bit, but decided to leave it for later. Most likely it was just something pretty given to her mother while she was Princess of Alderaan.
There were also several datacards. Destiny knew she couldn't possibly go through all of these before her parents got home. She grabbed most of them and put them in a pile next to her. It shouldn't be too hard to disguise them as homework.
While I'm here… Destiny thought. She reached inside the trunk, behind the lock and felt around until she heard another small click. Old-fashioned locks had a flaw in them that allowed them to be disabled without any evidence of tampering. Someone with nosy teenagers probably fixed that, she thought.
There were also a few holocubes towards the bottom. They were dusty and old; Destiny was afraid to touch them for fear of ruining them with any toxins from her skin. She picked them up around the edges and looked at a few. There was a picture of her mother, father, and Chewbacca, along with several military personnel. Leia was beaming at Han, who was holding up Leia's hand to show off a very expensive, very large, diamond ring. Obviously Han had just asked Leia to marry him. Destiny smiled despite herself. Her parents had showed her throughout their married years what true love was. Despite their many differences and disagreements, they always managed to show how much they loved each other. Destiny felt lucky to have grown up in such a loving environment with two parents who still loved each other despite the gray hairs and wrinkles.
Destiny moved onto another picture, this one of a blonde-haired man and brown-haired woman. She immediately recognized the man as Luke Skywalker, but this was the first she had seen of the tall brown-haired woman. She was the same height was Skywalker, and her soft gray eyes seemed happy and free of trouble. Skywalker's blue eyes could not, however, keep a haunted look from his eyes. Destiny wondered what could haunt a Jedi after the defeat of the Empire. Probably more than I want to know, she thought.
There were more holos with Skywalker and the mysterious woman, along with a few more of Han and Leia. Then, she found the holo she hoped she wouldn't find.
The Skywalkers, obviously married judging by some of the previous holos, were holding a small baby in a blanket. The baby had bright blue eyes and absolutely no hair. He or she was very small, and couldn't be any older than a month.
The next holo showed a small girl with Luke Skywalker. Her chubby cheeks were accentuated by a slight parting of her lips, and her eyes curiously gazed at something beyond the holocam. Her pudgy hands reached for it, while Skywalker tried to point her attention towards the holocam. Destiny's chest hurt when she realized she was the little girl. Maybe Mom and Dad just let him hold me, she hoped.
She placed the holos back into the trunk, unable to look at them any longer. She glanced at the other objects in the trunk: a coarse brown robe, a medal, and a long, metal cylinder about the length of her forearm. She picked up the cylinder and tested it's weight in her hand. It was a comfortable weight to carry. She found a button on it and instinctually pressed it.
Artoo shrieked as a green blade nearly grazed his dome. Destiny nearly dropped it, not expecting anything to happen. Artoo began jabbering at her angrily, but Destiny barely heard him. She was mesmerized by the green glowing blade. Once she saw the blade she knew exactly what it was: a lightsaber. She could have seriously injured or killed herself if she had been holding it the wrong way: lightsabers could cut through almost any material, including human flesh and bones.
She pressed the button again, depressing the blade. Somehow she knew it had been Skywalker's lightsaber. Well who else's could it be, stupid? Mom and Dad don't exactly collect Jedi artifacts, she chided herself. But somehow she just knew. It was as if the last piece of a puzzle had been placed. Somehow all the pieces fit together, and she couldn't figure out where she had attained this knowledge from. She felt connected to something, but couldn't figure out what it was or even how she was connected to it.
She gingerly placed the lightsaber back into the trunk. She didn't want to put it back; it felt right in her hand, as if it belonged there. She resisted the temptation to take it back, and instead closed the trunk. She slowly pushed the trunk back into it's former place, feeling an odd twinge of sadness and regret. Sadness at what? Perhaps at the loss of a friend of her parents. Regret? Perhaps that she hadn't known him.
Destiny slowly gathered up the data cards and trudged back to her room, suddenly feeling very old.