Public Korriban : Rituals of a Queen?

[Zori Galea]

(A long silence. Zori’s eyes glisten—but the tears never fall. Her voice is so cold, it chills the bone.)

"No. I mourn who I had to become because of her. "

(She turns, giving her back to him as if dismissing a servant. Her voice drifts back, razor-sharp.)

"Leave the crypts, Elian. Before I decide, you’re next to be buried in them."

 

[Zori Galea]

ZORI’S PRIVATE CHAMBERS – LATE NIGHT


The flickering flames of crystal lanterns give her chamber a low, dreamlike glow—warm, golden, intimate. Silken drapes drift in the breeze from the open terrace, revealing the crimson horizon of Korriban, cracked and burning beneath storm-wrought clouds.

ZORI sits at the edge of her bed, still dressed in her ceremonial robes, though the outer layer lies discarded across a low divan. Her boots are gone. One leg is drawn up, her bare foot curling into the rug. She’s not armored here. Not physically.

But her eyes?

Hard as obsidian.

She’s staring into a glass of dark wine, untouched.
​

"He’s seen too much."

A breath. She closes her eyes and inhales through her nose—slow, restrained. The predator trying to suppress the woman. Or perhaps the other way around.

Then, she speaks to the shadows:

"Send him to me."

 

[Elian Mareth]

MOMENTS LATER

The doors part with a whisper. ELIAN steps inside, cautious but composed, his brow shadowed by uncertainty. The moment he sees her—not in armor, not on a throne, but in dim light and silence—he falters.

She doesn’t look at him. Just gestures to the seat across from her.

He doesn’t sit.
​

"You summoned me."

 

[Zori Galea]

"Yes."

(She still doesn’t look up. Her voice is composed, but there’s a fragile tremor under each syllable.)


"You shouldn’t have gone into the crypts."

 

[Elian Mareth]

"You knew I would."

 

[Zori Galea]

(She looks at him now. Slowly....)

"That’s why this… can’t continue."

(Her gaze drops back to the wine.)

"You’ve seen too much.

And worse—you’ve started to matter.

To me."

 

[Elian Mareth]

Silence. Elian steps closer, his voice low, edged with ache.

"Then let that matter."

 

[Zori Galea]

"I can’t afford to feel you here."

(She rises now, slowly. Moves toward him. Their proximity charges the air—close enough to touch, but bound by an invisible wall of fear, longing, power.)

"I am building something ancient. Eternal."

"And if I falter because of you—because of what we could be—it all turns to ash."

"A whisper.And I will not burn again."

"You’ll leave tomorrow.

There will be a ship waiting."

 

[Zori Galea]

Her eyes begin to glass over—but the walls hold. She turns from him, her silhouette framed by the window’s firelight.​

"Go before I change my mind."

 

[Zori Galea]

The moonless night has thickened. The only light now comes from the cold blue flames of the meditation basin at the center of the room. Zori kneels before it, her hands trembling slightly over the dark water.

Her robes have been exchanged for a simple black tunic, sleeveless, her arms bare. The tattoos along her spine glow faintly, as if reacting to what lies ahead.

She closes her eyes.
​

"I am power.

I am the will of the force unchained.

I am…

(Her breath catches.)

…afraid."

Suddenly, the flame flares. The room shakes. A wind that shouldn’t exist howls through the stonework. Her eyes fly open—and the water in the basin has gone black.

And in it…

A reflection not her own.

A young girl.

No older than ten. Wild black curls, tear-streaked cheeks, wide brown eyes filled with wonder—and terror.

Zori stares.​

 

[Zori Galea]

"No…..."

GIRL: "You promised you’d come back."

Zori’s breath hitches. She rises, backing away from the basin. But the reflection follows her—not in the water anymore. It’s in the room. A phantom made of mist and memory, standing barefoot on the cold floor.​

GIRL: "You told me the pain would go away.

That if we just made it through the caves… we’d be safe."

ZORI: "You’re not real. You’re a shadow."

GIRL: "Then why do you remember my screams?"

A low, inhuman wail echoes down from the crypts below. Zori stumbles slightly, as if struck by it.

The girl takes a step forward.​

GIRL: "You buried me with Seris. But I was never hers. I was always you."

Zori clenches her fists, tears burning—but they don’t fall.​

ZORI: "That girl was weak. She needed to die."

GIRL: "She didn’t die. She just waited for you to come back and finish the lie."

A long silence. The cold grows deeper. Zori falls to her knees, breath trembling. The girl kneels in front of her—head tilted.
​

GIRL: "Do you still hear the voice?"

ZORI: (In a broken tone) "Every time I close my eyes."

A pause. Then the girl leans in close. Whispers
​

GIRL: "Then maybe you’re not the Sith Queen. Maybe you’re just her echo."

And just like that—the vision vanishes. The flames return to red. The chamber is still. But Zori is not.

She is shaking.

She remains there—on her knees—surrounded by warmth, but colder than she’s ever felt.​

 

[Elian Mareth]

LAUNCH PLATFORM – PRE-DAWN


The sky is slate-gray, tinged with crimson at the horizon. The kind of light that barely touches the ground. The launch platform sits exposed on a cliff face, carved into the rock by ancient Sith hands. The wind is biting.

ELIAN stands alone, cloak whipping behind him, eyes on the small Jedi vessel being prepped for launch. It hums quietly, as if reluctant to wake.

In his hands: a holopad. The mission report.

Still unwritten.

FOOTSTEPS behind him.

He doesn’t turn.

​

VELETH: "So you’re really going."

(He sighs. Doesn’t look at her.)

ELIAN: "Did you ever think I had a choice?"

VELETH: "We all do. We just don’t always like the cost."

(He turns to face her. Her face is bruised—healed, but not forgotten. Still, there’s an edge of… something close to sympathy.)

VELETH: "She’s not what she was, you know."

ELIAN: "Neither am I."

(He tucks the holopad into his belt. Looks past her. Toward the tower that houses Zori.)

"I can’t tell the Council what happened here."

VELETH: "Then tell them the truth. Just not all of it."

(He almost smiles. Almost. The wind cuts through again. The silence stretches.)

ELIAN: "She asked me to leave. But it’s more than that."

"She’s pushing me away because she knows I’m her weakness."

VELETH: "No. She’s pushing you away because she’s afraid you’re her mirror."

(A long moment. Then the sound of the ship powering fully awakens.

Elian takes a slow step toward it—then stops. He turns, pulls something from beneath his robe: a silver chain with a small, raw crystal.

He presses it into Veleth’s hand.)

ELIAN: "If she ever forgets who she was…Remind her."

(Veleth stares at the crystal. It glows faintly red—but not angry. Just alive.)

VELETH: "And if she remembers?"

ELIAN: "Then tell her I didn’t run.I just couldn’t stay."

(He turns away, heading toward the open ramp. As he steps inside, the door begins to close behind him—

And for just a heartbeat—

He sees her.

ZORI.

Standing far on a high balcony, watching him go.

Expression unreadable.

Eyes burning.)​

 

[Zori Galea]