Star Wars: Lost Stars

Chapter 1: Part 3

After flying practice, Ciena and Thane went to the Fortress.

So they'd named it when they were eight years old and inclined to be dramatic. Really the space was nothing but a cave, albeit a cave they'd spent several years fixing up to their satisfaction. Every few weeks, one of them would show up with something else to add to their collection. Most of the nicer stuff (the proton-fuel heater, the holo-games) had been brought by Thane - castoffs from his family, luxuries they had tired of or would not miss. Ciena's offerings were humbler, but she consoled herself by thinking they were more important. The Fortress would have been incredibly uncomfortable without the thick blankets and hide rugs she'd brought. Those, too, were castoffs, passed on by the valley kindred trying to modernize their dwelling to Imperial standard. But they were warm and soft, the ideal lining for their nest hidden away from the world.

Really the cave was located fewer than fifty meters from the Kyrell family's hangar, but the mouth was tucked above one outcropping and overshadowed by another, making it so secret that Ciena sometimes thought she and Thane might be the first people in the history of Jelucan to walk inside. In short, it was the perfect hangout.

Occasionally, each of them went there alone, but mostly they visited the Fortress together, talking about everything in the world and dreaming about their future among the stars.

"My father said it was three dozen senators who walked out," Ciena said.

Thane shrugged. He was less interested in politics than Ciena was and continued lounging on the red rug, staring out at the sunset. "What difference does it make whether it was twenty or thirty-six? Out of hundreds of senators, that's not many either way."

"They refused to cast votes. They're going to be replaced by Imperial appointment. That's a big deal, Thane."

"It's just some rich old politicians being self-important. That's their idea of fun."

"How could they betray their oaths? Their honor?" Ciena still couldn't fully believe it. "Everybody knows it was the Senate that steered the galaxy into civil war before the Emperor established order again. Why would anyone take the peace we have now for granted?"

Thane shrugged. "Probably they're really fighting about something else entirely and just saying it's all about high ideals. When they realize they don't have any power anymore, they'll come crawling back to the Emperor and forget about all the stuff they arguing over before."

"You're really cynical sometimes."

"I'm right, though. You'll see."

Ciena sighed as she lay back on the black gundark hide, its thick fur as cozy as any bed. From this angle, the sunset blazed magnificently just beyond the far ridge of the mountains. The light glowing into the cave turned Thane's hair to true red and added warmth to his pale skin, and something about the way it fell made his face look startlingly older.

He'll be handsome, she thought. Strange though it was to realize that, Ciena felt she was only being objective. I wasn't as if she and Thane were - as if they would ever - well, they wouldn't. If her parents loathed her having a second-wave boy for a friend, how would they react if she ever fell in love with one? And while Thane had never explicitly told her about the way his father treated him, she'd seen the bruises and sensed in his silences the things he hadn't said. Thane's father would do worse than that if he ever thought the two of them were together.

Besides, she and Thane . . . maybe they were too close to each other to fall in love. Sometimes she felt that they were two parts of the same person.

"Hey," Thane said quietly, carefully. "Can I ask you something that might be, uh, personal?"

Had he guessed what she was thinking about? Ciena sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "You can ask. I don't promise to answer."

"Fair enough."  He paused again before continuing. "Every once in a while, when you see something really amazing, you whisper, 'Look through my eyes.' Is that a valley thing? What does it mean?"

It was personal, but Ciena found didn't mind Thane's knowing. "Yes, it's one of our customs. A rarer one, though. See - when I was born - I was a twin."

"A twin?" Thane sat up straight. Even a second-waver would be intrigued; most planets had myths and legends about twins. "For real? But I thought you were an only child."

"I am now. My sister, Wynnet, died only a few hours after we were born."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, it's all right. It's not as if I remember her or anything. But I live my life for both of us." Ciena held up her arm to show off her leather bracelet. "Didn't you ever notice that I never take this off?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought you just liked it."

Ciena ran her fingertip along the braid. "I wear it as a symbol that I'm still tied to Wynnet. All my life, everything I do, everything I see - it's as much of the world as she'll ever have, because I share it with her. So when I see something especially beautiful - anything amazing, or sometimes even things that are especially bad - I say those words. My sister looks through my eyes, and I show her the most important moments of my life."

Thane leaned back on the rug. "That's . . . really great. I mean it."

Ciena nodded. "Sometimes it feels like this huge responsibility, living for Wynnet, too, but mostly it reminds me to look for what's truly special. Maybe I wouldn't see so much of that if I weren't looking for her."

The sun had finally dipped below the horizon. Although light still suffused the lower part of the sky, higher up the blue had become dark enough to reveal small twinkling points of light.

Ciena whispered, "Someday, once we've made it to the academy - I'm going to show her the stars."