“I think this has got be the last of them, L1,” Airenn said, collecting the crystals one by one. She dropped them gently into the droid’s open belly, making a clinking noise as she did so.
Airenn and her droid were inside a long-forgotten bunker near a farm, where ankle deep water indicated it had been abandoned years before. She had plucked the crystals from a natural formation there. Airenn wondered what the story behind these beautiful deep blue Kybers was, and why she had been led to such a remote and seemingly insignificant place.
Airenn’s mind went back to the words of her master: “This is your gift Airenn, the gift of a Whillseeker. You can see these crystals the way no one else I know of can; through walls and metal and all manner of space, you can sense the Kyber, and you must never forget that the force has granted you this gift for a reason.”
She thought back to the first one of these that she had found, about a year earlier, in a very different location. She had been flying in space— hunting for a different Kyber crystal. While meditating in her ship, she heard the voice of a crystal coming from the most unlikely of places – empty space. Airenn had never before been so surprised to hear a Kyber voice. She concentrated, and felt her vision tilt and pull her to a specific location.
Opening her eyes, she set her nav computer to the space where the voice was coming from. She was unsure anything would be there—perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. But when they arrived, they found something very interesting.
Airenn tethered her droid, L1, to the ship and sent him out to the source of the Kyber signature. In the location, L1 found a miniature meteor shower. He beeped loudly in protest as the sparks peppered his body, leaving tiny pockmarks on his once shiny paint job. Still, though, he reached his utility arm out and grabbed what he could.
It was five crystals, the same ones she was gathering now in this abandoned bunker. They were unique, with a voice that sang to Airenn when she got close. Several times in the past year, she had heard that voice, and found these crystals, dozens now, all over the galaxy. Some were on planets, others in space, as if they were launched from a single point and thrown into places she would be traveling to on purpose.
Yet, Airenn was confused. This Kyber had no connection to a Jedi or a Sith that she knew of. She knew they were strong; just touching them left her energized, but she still felt disconnected from the source. The crystals were beautiful, with a deep blue rock and flakes of gold glittering as she turned them in her fingers. This desolate planet, with apparently nothing on it of importance, was the largest single source of the crystals.
Unprompted and by mere instinct she took one of the crystals and held it in her hand, wrapping her fist around she closed her eyes. She had done this a few times before, with other crystals, mostly when asked by her employers to give an idea of the history of the crystal. Usually, she could see a vision of the Jedi or Sith the Kyber once belonged to. Without any indication of what she was looking for she spoke through the force to the crystal, she was unsure the crystal would respond.
However, it did, and powerfully.
In her mind the crystal was pure light, and it filled her mind with memories that weren’t hers. The memories grabbed her and held on tight, almost hurting her as she lived an entire lifetime in mere seconds. Feelings of heartache, loss, determination, friendship, and sacrifice overwhelmed her. She was frozen, with the crystal in her hand, and tears rolling down her face. Even though she knew this vision wasn’t real, she tried to dodge as a security droid lunged at her. She felt a sadness she didn’t understand watching a holographic message, and finally felt the heat of a giant fireball that was headed towards her, knowing the end was near.
Airenn let go of the crystal in a panic and felt it drop into the water at her feet with a plopping noise that felt miles away from her. She wiped her brow, now slick with sweat, and realized tears were falling from her face into the murky water.
She looked up and found L1 stopping his excavation and looking at her, holding one utility arm out to her in case she needed it. It made her smile. She nodded to him to say she was ok, although she was still somewhat gasping for air. She rubbed her arms, a phantom heat from whatever blast she was remembering still lingering.
“Stardust” she said suddenly, aloud in a shaky voice she barely recognized as her own. “I think I’ll tell them to call this one STARDUST.”
THE STARDUST CRYSTAL
The stardust crystal holds the memories of Jyn Erso as she discovered something to fight for, something worth sacrificing her life for. The crystal is deep blue with gold flakes, representing the deep sadness associated with Jyn’s story and the hope that she gave to the galaxy through her sacrifice. The crystal shines BLUE and YELLOW, colors that independently are powerful, but together give more meaning towards standing up against tyranny.