Power

11.

I stand within our penthouse on Coruscant, staring out to where the Jedi Temple once stood.

"You okay?" I hear Maro ask behind, I spin around to see him holding a tray with a teapot and two mugs. I smile and sit down in one of the chairs in the living room.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just lost in thought." I tell him, pouring the boiling tea into my mug. It's been a long, long time since the death of the Emperor and the fall of the Empire, but I fear a new power is rising. The remnants of what Palpatine built piecing itself back together, I fear for the day they come looking for us.

"Are you thinking about the First Order?" I look up at him, it's like he can always read my mind. "When the Empire fell, they believed us to be dead. We made sure of it, Lyra, we'll be alright. We were said to have met our demise within the destruction of the Death Star." I nod and take a sip, though my mind continues to wander. "Your eyes are looking better." I smile at him, always noticing the little things.

"The mediation helps, they've almost fully faded back to blue." He gives me a soft smile. "Hair is still white though, I don't think that one is going away." Maro chuckles, taking a sip of his own drink.

"I like it, it looks very beautiful on you. And it suits the blue in your eyes." A faint pink rises to my cheeks, I look away from him and out the window.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like? If the Jedi Order never fell to ruin?" He nods. "I wonder everyday. I used to hide my old things from
the Temple under my bed on my Star Destroyer, every few nights I would take it all out and relive my life there. Master Windu appeared one night, he told me how he never wished for me to live this life, that I was meant for more than this." I shake my head and look down at my tea. "The terror I caused, the lives I took, I don't understand how he could say I deserved more. I have brought so much sorrow across the galaxy, it is them who deserves more, not me." Maro lifts my face so my eyes meet his.

"Lyra, you saved the galaxy. You killed the Emperor, that is more than enough to redeem yourself to the people across every planet. We have entered a new generation, many of the people from the time of the Empire are dead or one foot in the grave. This is a time for us to start anew, for you to use that power coursing through your veins for good." I study his face for a moment, taking in everything he said. He suddenly stands up and pulls me up next to him. "You need a night out, one free of stress. Put on your shoes, I'll grab your cloak."

He disappears as I laugh and slip on my shoes, returning to drape a cloak across my shoulders. I clip my lightsaber to my thigh, hidden beneath my dress. So many years ago, when Luke Skywalker had taken us to find refugee from Empire, he gifted me something I missed so dearly. My lightsaber I built within the walls of the Temple, holding a blue kyber crystal. Maro opens the front door and I walk out, he shuts and locks it behind us.

"There's a new restaurant that just popped up on main street, I've been wanting to try it." Maro tells me, leading me outside and to the right of our building. "It's a short walk, and it's a beautiful one." He glances at me with a smile. I slip my arm through his and he hooks his elbow against mine, I notice a smile immediately grow on his face. After a few minutes of walking, he stops to open a door for me. "After you, sunshine." I grin and walk inside to reveal a beautiful dining room, completed with woven chandeliers and a pianist playing heavenly music.

We sit down and order drinks, spending the night reminiscing on memories we had made together after the fall of the Empire. Maro watches me talk with an intensity behind his eyes, like he's taking in every word. I finish my sentence and just stare at him for a moment, making unwavering eye contact.

"You know, there is no one I would rather spend this life of immortality with than you, Maro." I tell him, he smiles and takes my hand from across the table.

"Love, spending so much time with you is my greatest blessing." He says, he quickly puts money down on the table and pulls me to my feet. "Come on, I've got one more place." He leads me to a building down the street and walks me to the roof. When we reach the top, a view of all of Coruscant reveals itself. I look in awe as I walk towards the edge.

"This is beautiful." Maro comes to stand beside me and takes my hand in his own.

"I wanted you to see that there is still beauty left in this world for you to see." I look over at him and meet his eyes for just a moment before he leans towards me. I meet him in the middle and press my lips to his.

After a moment, the sound of ship thrusters appear to be way too close to where we're standing. I pull away and immediately take out my lightsaber as a First Order shuttle comes down from above us. Maro quickly puts himself between the ship and where I stand. The ship hovers as the ramp extends and an officer along with a squadron of stormtroopers walk out and onto the roof.

"Lyra Adhara, Maro Calrun, you'll be coming with us to extend your servitude to the Empire, through the First Order." The officer says. I ignite my saber and Maro takes out his blaster. "This is not a debatable departure. You belong to the Empire, you are both an Imperial experiment. You will be coming with us." I glance up at Maro, his eyes are focused on the officer in front of us. I holster my saber for just a moment and lift him with the force, sending him soaring to the rooftop across the street and placing him gently on it.

"No!" I hear him scream as I ignite my saber once more.

"Go! Go now!" I yell at him as I begin to deflect blaster fire. Stormtrooper after stormtrooper spills out of the shuttle when suddenly there's a heavy sense of power weighing down on me. I sense Vader, although it is impossible, for I watched the man die in front of his son.

"Darth Verloren." A distorted voice says as the force causes me to freeze, dropping the saber next to me. The troopers part ways to reveal a new Sith Lord. "You have given up your powers in the Dark Side I see, a mistake you will come to regret." The troopers lock a device around my neck like a collar and cuff my wrists, a beam of energy holds them all together and blocks me from using any of my power.