//: Edgefield, Varonat //:
Allyson had been good at keeping the nightmares at bay. She didn't often need sleep, but when she wasn't alone—on nights like this—sleep typically brought peace.
Tonight, the Force had other plans.
Allyson Locke slept quietly in a bed not her own beside someone she desperately wished was. The jungle's symphony hummed through the air, something she'd grown accustomed to during her time on Varonat. A soft breeze drifted through the open window while the comforting heat of the body beside her radiated gently against her skin. Everything felt right, and yet painfully wrong.
In her dreams, she was back on Ember's ship again, heavy wrenches and worn tools filling her palms as she worked. She'd always had an affinity for machines, always heard the soft whispers of engines and starships telling her their troubles. She fixed them easily, almost effortlessly—leaving them better than when they'd first rolled off the assembly line. Ember had taken a liking to her skill, granting her the ultimate dream: chasing the stars as a spacer.
It was a path her father would have vehemently detested. His plan for his eldest daughter, for the prodigy with machines and starships, was to become just like him. He dreamed of building the Locke name into something greater than it already was—before Locke and Key, he had been a creator for the Republic, the name Locke had already been synonymous with the mighty Republic war fleet.
Her father held secrets—things that his wife and children never knew—but Allyson had always intended to become his key.
Yet despite her father's plans and her mother's gentle love, Allyson had dreamed of the stars. She'd wanted a life bigger than Coronet City, bigger than Corellia, bigger than the Republic.
Meeting Ember Rekali and impressing him with her talents had allowed her to finally chase that dream.
But the warning had come too late. Nobody had been prepared. The Corellian government couldn't evacuate fast enough; the Republic could do nothing but watch.
The planets had moved before. Allyson remembered how that felt, the unsettling, inexplicable tug that preceded disaster. Ember had explained it to her then—it was the Force she felt, a power wielded by a being named Akala. It made no sense then, but Ember had already figured out why Allyson was so uniquely gifted with machines and why she had that uncanny way of navigating the stars.
As they'd lifted off, she felt excitement—a thrill deep in her chest—finally starting her new life as a spacer, as a mechanic on a starship where she saluted and had a captain. But then the alarms rang out, frighteningly loud, as red lights flashed and sirens wailed, warning the crew of danger. Gasps echoed around her, causing the girl to hold her breath.
Allyson had rushed to the viewport just in time to see something hurtling down toward the heart of Corellia. She'd felt outside her body, floating above herself, watching as her entire world shattered.
Her brow furrowed now in sleep, a cold chill gripping her, vivid memories clawing back again. She felt it again, the planets shifting, something powerful dragging their gravitational pull. Fear crept into her bones, and in response, the arm draped over her lover's waist tightened instinctively, offering the only comfort the Corellian knew.
Her eyes opened, but she remained quiet. Silence was her solace, and she wouldn't break it, not now. She couldn't risk making everything she'd just remembered feel real again.
Allyson blinked slowly as tears slid silently from her eyes. Her heart ached for everyone she'd lost, for the past; she couldn't recover no matter how desperately she reached for it. There was nothing left of her life before fourteen. She curled tightly against the warmth beside her and buried her face into soft blonde hair. The faint scent of tea and earthy spices grounded her, drowning the memories tinged with death and ash.
When the woman beside her stirred gently, Allyson loosened her hold slightly but remained close. Quietly, she cleared her throat as a mumbled question broke through the silence.
"Sorry," she whispered softly, nearly breaking. "It's nothing; go back to sleep."
Silence returned. Allyson let the comforting presence beside her drown out the painful echoes of the past, keeping the fear that still crept along the edges of her mind away.
The worlds were shifting again; this time, she vowed quietly to herself that she could keep the one she cared about safe.
