hyperspace! → star wars ✓

ix. reminders

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

NOVA COULD RECALL IT LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. She remembered how she hadn't been able to sleep that night, and how that had led her to train in the field near the Temple where she felt the most at peace. She remembered the way the cool night's air danced across her skin, the way her lightsaber hilt felt in her hand as she trained; she remembered all of it, down to the last detail.

She had been twenty-three at the time, and had spent an increasing amount of time training alone as of late. It wasn't that she minded train with the others, because she really didn't, but being alone gave her time to think, and she had had a hell of a lot to think about.

It was no secret that her brother was prone to the Dark side—she knew it, her mother knew it, Luke knew it, hell, even her father knew it—but his connection with it only seemed to be getting stronger. Nova couldn't help but feel like things were about to change, and not for the better...even six years later she still wished she had been wrong.

It was unclear to her then why she had woken up and decided to train that particular night; at first, she had dismissed it as too much being on her mind, but it became clear to her over time that she had been able to sense what was going to happen before it did, at least in some respect. She had been working on some form practice with her lightsaber when the first sign of chaos erupted over the hill. She could hear the small hut topple to the ground, causing her to jump and hold her lightsaber at the ready.

Perhaps it was her tiredness, but her first thought had been that they were being attacked by an outside force. Her eyes searched the sky for ships, but what she saw instead was much, much worse. The clear crisp night sky was soon filled with crackling bolts of lightning, all going this way and that until they converged on a single target: the Temple. Without a second thought, Nova ran to the top of the hill, watching with wide eyes as her home burned to the ground. For a moment, she couldn't bring herself to move off of the hill, though the sight of a figure emerging from the shadows seemed to bring her to her senses.

She held her lightsaber at the ready as she cautiously descended the hill, her gaze locked on the figure she was following. As she reached the bottom, however, he seemed to notice her, as he stopped in his tracks and spun around to face her.

"Ben?" A wave of relief washed over her, enough of one to make her turn off her lightsaber...but something wasn't right, she could feel it, and perhaps that was why she kept the weapon in her hand.

"Nova," he breathed out, his tone a mix of relief and surprise.
"I-I was afraid you were in the Temple, where—"

"I couldn't sleep, I was training in the field," she explained quickly, brushing it off.
"What...What happened?"

"He was going to kill me, Nova," he began, stepping further into the moonlight where she could properly see him. His eyes were filled with many emotions, but he was unreadable—something his twin found quite odd.
"I woke up and he had his blade ignited, I had to defend myself—"

"What are you saying?" she asked, interrupting him for the second time that night.

"The hut collapsed on him, and then I-I was just so angry...next thing I know lightning strikes and the Temple is destroyed." And suddenly Nova realized why she had felt the need to keep her lightsaber in hand. Her gaze flicked to his hand, where he gripped his own hilt, and she took a step back.