Naboo: Betrayal

[Var-Sulis]

Var didn't hesitate. "I do. With everything I am."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

he crowd shifted with soft breaths and flickering smiles. Two rings—one of woven phrik and silverleaf, the other of Corellian crystal—were brought forward by Mido, now beaming with reverent awe. Kara and Var took them, exchanged them, and placed hands together as tradition dictated.

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

Pahul lifted his hand, but before the final blessing could be spoken—

The sky darkened slightly.

A single thunderclap cracked from above, though the weather shield should've made that impossible.

Several guests glanced up. Jedi Masters instinctively exchanged glances.

 

[Kara Kornelius]

Kara's eyes lifted to the kyber-laced ceiling.

And again—faint, so faint it could be imagined—a whisper in her mind.

"Sister."

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

 

[Var-Sulis]

Var turned to her. "Kara?"

 

[Kara Kornelius]

She blinked it away. "It's nothing. Let's finish this."

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

The wedding festivities had barely begun to echo down the temple corridors when a hidden door sealed shut behind six Jedi Masters, their robes whispering as they took their places in a circular chamber dimly lit by hovering kyber lanterns. The air was heavy with unspoken tension, thick with a disturbance none could yet name, but all had felt.


Master Pahul Vitorbreeze stood at the center, his hands clasped behind his back, eyes cast toward the central holoprojection of the galaxy—now pulsing slowly with a faint, unnatural tremor in the Outer Unknown Regions.


"She masked it well," he began, voice low, "but Kara Kornelius felt it during the bonding ritual. So did I. As did each of you, I assume."


Around the circle, heads nodded in grim unison.


Master Lynari Shae, a Mirialan with skin patterned in sacred geometric tattoos, leaned forward. "It was not a vision. It was presence. The Force cried out. Something has awakened… or returned."


"Exegol," muttered Master Brell Tarak, the eldest among them. "That cursed world should have collapsed a long time ago... We should have destroyed the entire star system when we had the chance."


Master Solun Dai, younger and more pragmatic, crossed his arms. "The Council voted against that. Too much risk. Too many unknowns."


"Unknowns," Pahul echoed sharply, turning to face him. "That's precisely what we're dealing with again."


The holomap zoomed in to the charted fringes of the Unknown Regions, where the data feed flickered—a ghost signal—an energy anomaly similar to Force echoes, pulsing faintly from a region near the coordinates once associated with Exegol.


Master Shae frowned. "You believe it's Kara's brother?"


"I don't believe," Pahul said. "I know. Arcubis Kornelius was never confirmed dead. The Order's reports said he vanished after the Purge. Kara believed he had exiled himself. Now I fear he did more than that. I fear he found something… or something found him."


There was silence then—weighted and long.


Finally, Master Brell spoke again. "She cannot face him alone. And if their bond is strong enough that it echoed during the wedding, then he may already be tethered to her... using the bond as a conduit."


Pahul gave a grave nod. "Then we must act. Quietly. No panic. No public declaration. I will speak to Kara. We need her honesty, and perhaps… her guidance."


Master Dai frowned. "You want to involve her in a mission so soon after her union?"


"She may not have a choice," Shae said gently. "The Force has already chosen her."


The room fell silent once more, the soft hum of the holomap the only sound. The pulse from Exegol continued—rhythmic, patient, like a war drum preparing for a march.


And far away, in the dark, he was listening.

 

[Kara Kornelius]

Soft music drifted through the open courtyard, blending with the gentle rustle of silken banners that hung between moon-kissed archways. The stars above twinkled unobstructed—an illusion of peace preserved by the temple's skyshield. Guests mingled across polished stone terraces lit by glowing blue orbs, laughter and polite conversation creating a gentle hum over the delicate clinking of glasses.

But Kara barely heard it.

She stood beside a sculpted fountain in the garden's secluded alcove, her bridal gown still flawless, her veil now pinned back, revealing the contemplative gaze that had not left her since the ceremony. A moment ago, she'd excused herself from the crowd of senators and Jedi, claiming she needed air.

What she really needed was answers.

 

[Var-Sulis]

Behind her, quiet footsteps approached. Familiar ones.


"I figured you'd be here," said Sulis softly, hands in his ceremonial jacket pockets as he stepped into the moonlight. "You always find the quiet corners."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

"The quiet is where I hear things I wish I didn't."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Var tilted his head. "The Force again?"

 

[Kara Kornelius]

She finally turned to face him, her expression gentle but troubled. "It wasn't just a whisper this time, Var. It was him. Arcubis."