Amnesia, Ghostly Visits, and Heart Shards

"Kenya, wake up."

I moan and open my eyes to see Vader at my side. "We there yet?"

"There and long gone," says Jango from the foot of my bed. "We arrived at Babylon Palace two days ago."

I frown. "Two days ago? Why can't I freakin' remember it, then? And where are we now?"

"Back home," Vader replies. "There was a battle... a bad one. You were knocked out fairly early on and have been unconscious ever since."

Why is it that whenever we have a Resistance battle, I always get conked somehow? "Everyone okay?"

"Physically, yes," Vader replies. "Otherwise..." He sinks into a chair at my bedside. "We are all very... shaken, I suppose. Terrible things happened..."

"Where's the laptop?" I ask. "If people are gonna keep being vague, I'll find out for myself."

Grievous brings the computer over, and I turn it on and set to checking blogs. It doesn't take me long to read about Babylon Palace, the battle in the arena, and Kyxiel's little Skywalker-worthy act during said battle. I have a suspicion who the white knight mentioned in Snape's last post is, and I'm relieved to know that Palpatine is gone, even if Voldemort is once again at large...

"They revived the dead?" I ask finally. "Soulless dead? They decided to go 'Army of Darkness' on us?"

Jango nods. "Padme was there... or her body was. As was Shmi. And my own parents and Mandalorian comrades..." He shudders.

I swallow apprehensively. "Anyone... from my family?"

"No... but faces you would have known," Grievous replies. "Dumbledore and several deceased Jedi, among others."

"They would have," I mutter. "Voldemort would have wanted to profane the Only One He Ever Feared somehow. And Palpatine just couldn't stop using people after death, could he?"

Vader seems to finally gain a little control of himself, and he stands. "I am headed to Kentucky shortly. Prime needs my support."

"Soon as I'm on my feet, I'll follow you," I tell him.

He nods and leaves.

"Anything else?" I ask, closing down the laptop.

"Yeah, Strong Bad's been in a funk since we got back," Jango replies. "He was completely gung-ho and ready to take on Palpatine single-handedly when we got there... but sometime during the course of the battle something broke his spirit. He's barely spoken, barely even left the barn... something's wrong, and we're not sure what. And that bothers me."

It bothers me too. I mean, if Strong Bad is depressed, something's REALLY wrong. That guy's either belligerent, angry, or ecstatic -- never depressed. I'll have to think about this.

Jango takes the laptop from me. "We'll go check on him."

"You do that."

They leave, and I stare at the ceiling as I ponder. Snape left a lot out of the last post he wrote. I wonder what else went on... and just how terrible Palpatine's demise was that Snape was glad Vader, who's probably seen it all, wasn't present...

"Kenya."

I sit up. "Who's there?"

A ghostly form steps out of the corner, offering me a smile. I recognize the white beard, the splendid cloak, and the stance and step of nobility, and I smile in return.

"I was wondering when you'd put in a ghostly appearance, Dooku."

"Circumstances have forced me to do so." He sighs and shakes his head. "I thought I had seen Sidious go as low as it was possible to go. I see now I was wrong."

"Nothing's too low for him. You know that."

"I only learned that when it was too late -- when Anakin had two lightsabers at my throat and Sidious was giving him the order to kill me. Thank the Force Anakin learned that lesson sooner than most."

I lean back in bed. "Why are you here now? The fight's over -- at least, I think it is. I don't remember it at all."

"There is still work to be done." He goes to my nightstand and extends a hand as if to set something there. "And this will help complete it."

He withdraws his hand, leaving a shard of glowing crystal. As I gaze at it, I feel the worry and stress begin to melt away, as if they were shadows chased off by a cleansing light. I realize what this must be... and that it seems appropriate that Dooku is the one to reveal it. After all, Keily had admired him and carried his lightsaber.

"The heart shard," I breathe. "Keily's Hope was in your grave."

Dooku nods.

"What do I do with it?"

"Ensure that it reaches Snape. He will know what to do with it."

"We'll get right on it."

He nods and vanishes.

I pick up the shard and carefully close it up in a small teak jewelry box. Then I punch a code into my comm, summoning Artoo.

"Take this out to Delta," I tell him. "Tell her to fly it to Montreal pronto."

He bleeps and takes the box, then scoots out.

I roll over and try to catch a little more sleep. The Force help me if the memory of the visit to Babylon Palace hits all at once. I don't have time in my schedule for a fit of hysteria.