"A constellation of three stars, but two were much closer together." "But you were our polestar. Our guide. Don't you know that?" **** It took courage for Stellan to brace himself outside of the Force's guidance. It also took courage for Elzar to fully return to the Force, to believe in his ability to wield it fully again. Before long, he imagined he could hear the ocean. Elzar thought perhaps Stellan heard it too. Elzar was back in the present, as far away from Avar Kriss as ever. Yet he was stronger for that moment of communion. He hoped that Avar, whatever she was doing, whatever troubles she faced, had shared a moment when she heard the waves of the sea. Both far away and very near, Avar levitated with her arms outstretched, calling upon the song of the Force to sustain them all and give them strength as every Jedi in or near Starlight Beacon fought to save the station and all those aboard. Each individual was a note in the most meaningful chord she had ever known. Between these notes lay another sound, so subtle she barely recognized it: the sound of the waves, the roaring of the sea. *** Avar murmured, "Stellan always saw the Force as the firmament. As brilliant and expansive as all the stars in the galaxy." "He told me he saw the three of us in a constellation." Elzar's vision blurred with tears he fiercely blinked away. "An incomplete one now." "No. He's still with us, as surely as the Force is with us. Stellan has become one with the Force after all. And when we think of him- we can always find him, as long as we look to the sky." Elzar held her close. "Our polestar still shines." *** Characters and writing: Avar Kriss, Stellan Gios and Elzar Mann from Star Wars: The High Republic. Art: Me (It took SO LONG)
