Chapter 126: Extra 1.

The night was freezing on the surface of Korriban. An idyllic starry sky spread out above the frozen sand dunes, the exact same sight that repeated for many millennia.

The otherwise beautiful scenery was only disturbed by the corrosive coldness of the surface.

The planet had little to no surface vegetation, helping to balance the sharp contrast between the day and night cycles, nor large water surfaces to preserve some of the heat radiated from the nearby star and slowly let it out over the nightly hours.

Thanks to the brutal wars in the past, burning them up while the stifling presence of the dark side eliminated any remaining possibility of the natural regrowth of such vegetation.

The planet was a catacomb, its current state could not be embellished and there was little to no reason to even try.

One should recognize a futile endeavor when looking it into the eye.

Yet, it seems that even in such a deserted place, under the heavy cover of darkness.

Life could still find its way…

A fickle gray light blinked over the frozen dunes.

Someone was moving through the night. It was a young adult woman, a togruta, orange skin with white montrals covered in blue stripes. A baffling sight in this inhospitable place.

Alas, the woman did not seem to be affected by the cold.

The light she was carrying belonged to a silver lightsaber, its weak shine the only source holding the darkness in an arm’s length. As miles and miles of emptiness surrounding her on all sides.

She was covered in long gray robes from head to toe, robes that were strangely still even in the middle of these blowing and freezing winds. Her thin clothes could hardly deflect such winds, but this person had never seemed to rely on that possibility.

After all, she was covered in the warm layers of the force like multiple blankets, tightly hugging her body in a circular shield like shape.

Yes, those people who the force itself cherished had little need to cover from the elements.

The young woman walked with a sense of haste. There was a clear goal in her mind, a place she quickly wanted to reach.

A few more dunes went by as the woman climbed upwards on the side of frozen sand, only to descend on the other side and repeat the whole process.

Eventually, after about half an hour, she have come to a large flat plain. On one side, a rust-colored rock column towered towards the sky while on the other side were the endless dunes spearing into the horizon.

Yet in front of herself between these two the half buried remains of a destroyed ship could be found.

A few more years, and the sand will completely cover the wreckage.

As the mysterious person stepped closer, her eyes focusing on the ruins of the once proud spaceship.

Her steps seemed to falter when seeing the familiar sight. Old memories blinked into the present. For a short time, the woman was but a girl again. Covering from the shadows and the dangers lurking within said shadows.

The darkness, filled with the deteriorated spirits of long perished Sith lords, swirled around her, tightening around the bright presence of the lonely woman.

Their gleeful laughter echoed through the clearing, their voices whispering in the darkness, raw gloating radiating from their presence, waiting-hoping for another soul to join them in their shared ethereal solitude.

But the momentary weakness in the girl’s spirit passed, and the shadows run back into the comfortable cover of darkness under the sharp glare of the slightly shaken woman.

She breathed in and out a few times. Calming the unexpected storm of memories.

Soon she continued her walk towards the foot of the nearby rock formation. Turning her back on the ruins of the once ship, leaving it to its inevitable decay.

Reaching the foot of the small mountain, she began to look around. Searching for a crevice in the rocks.

She didn’t have to search for long, as her eyes soon found a large ripple on the rocks. And following the broken line etched in the surface of the rock, she was led to a crevice large enough that she could walk in if she crouched down a bit and lowering her head slightly.

She moved into the crevice with a solemn expression frozen on her face.

As she moved deeper in the small cave, the space was getting smaller. Soon enough, she had to crawl. The large hood covering her face was suddenly dragged back, as its hem got stuck to a spiky protrusion on the roof.

Now completely uncovering her features. The unique montrals belonging to her race.

The montrals were those of an adult woman, yet there was still a lot of room for them to grow. She was only twenty-two years old, after all.

As the young woman tried to unstuck the stubborn cowl from the rocks, she began to whisper a series of curses in huttese.

-E chu ta!

It was one of the many languages she received as a gift from her old friend…

The voices kept complaining in her head. They wanted her to refer to her as master or grandmaster… yet she stubbornly ignored them.

For them, she might have been one of those things… but for her, she was a friend.

Nothing more, nothing less.

She felt a light pull on the edge of her hood, a warm presence blinking into existence by her side.

Her eyes widened as she fell forward, her clothes free at last. She flailed to catch herself and to turn around as fast as possible, but the strange presence had already disappeared.

She kneeled on the side of the cave, body stiff, only her eyes blinked rapidly. Searching the inside of the dim place. Before forcing herself to continue her march.

Her left eye was in a permanent swirl of grey clouds, while the right was filled with the same blueness as it always was.

Thoughts swirled in her mind as she neared her goal, following one another almost chaotically.

She never allowed them. Her eyes to get a single tinge of yellow. She was a grey jedi, not a grey lord after all. Yet she didn’t judge those who did so. Just like Nizzal did. She was hellbent on the fact that the color of one’s eyes held little justice towards one’s character.

Still, her jedi upbringing continued to make her dislike the golden color in the iris. It was not really her choice at this point.

Ahsoka Grey now knew Nizzal’s life completely. Her hardships and suffering as a young child. The way she was kicked out to the street with nothing else but the clothes on her and the force following in her steps.

Ahsoka wasn’t sure if she could have survived such hardships. While still remaining a kind person in her core.

It was what she respected the most about her friend’s memory. The fact that she even forgave her father was simply beyond her. It was supposedly true that the man didn’t know about her existence… but she found such convenient explanations a bit fishy. Aside from the fact that such an explanation was not truly acceptable.

It was Hondo’s nature…

The voices reminded her.

Still, maybe she was right to forgive him…

Ahsoka thought, as the memory of Hondo’s expression came to her mind, after she told him that her daughter died like a hero. Seeing the always cheerful man become so pale and silent left a heavy impression on her.

She never seen him since then. Only occasional rumors got to her ears. And those rumors were speaking about the formation of a space pirate guild, one that seemed to only target the ships of the United Separatist Empire. Led by a certain woman…

The voices whispered in her mind, repeating the world “traitor” endlessly. As if it wasn’t already etched into her mind, the face of the person who killed her best friends.

But she took an important someone from her chess pieces, not the revenge she hoped for, but a good start none the less.

A light smile grazed her face. Mixed with a strange sense, as if someone, something was watching her.

She looked with her force seeing eye. Her left eye, with a grey swirl like iris, which could see the force, the condensed structures of midi-chlorians. It was the perfect tool to find the unnatural elements of the world. And it usually worked without much effort on her part.

Yet it proved hard for her to find a clear view of the presence lurking around here.

Well, it was hard to differentiate an eluding presence which might not even exist from the enormous force energy, or as Lily liked to call it, psionic energy completely engulfing this world.

Her swarm has found a perfect home under the frozen surface of this godforsaken planet. A home that her kind tended to call cozy and peaceful.

Words that only Lily could say with a straight face to describe a planet like Korriban.

At least the zerg continuous presence here offered the grey order the opportunity to make an actual temple and a teleport gate on the surface.

Her only remaining complaint was caused by the mysterious reason, which continued to elude her understanding. Just why couldn’t they place the two building on the same place, instead of building them on the opposite side of the same plateau?

If she had to guess, then it must have to do something with secrecy…

Ahsoka continued to head even deeper into the cave. Wild thoughts of the past years followed her slow descent into the narrow corridors.

She was a grandmaster now. For a few years, to be exact.

Her trial was sharply different from those of the grey lord title. Hers did not include a Sith name, for starter.

One thought passed through her mind and turned into another.

Thinking about her one grey eye, she remembered when she figured out a way to get the best from both eyesight. It was a simple idea, but hard to maintain and took a long time for her to get used to a split and also unique vision in both eyes.

Thankfully, her already heightened senses helped her adapt to it.

Her gaze passed over the suddenly appearing rock wall in front of her.

Looking into the thin crevices of the wall, no, looking behind the wall itself. Her left eye seeing the almost tangible congregation of midi-chlorians behind the wall.

For another fraction of a second, she felt that earlier presence, but it disappeared before she could focus on it.

She blinked, rubbing her left eye with some frustration.

Was she overusing it? But that never really happened before…

Sensing things that were not there was not unusual for her at this point… but it was none the less disconcerting, especially if she couldn’t find an explanation for such things to happen.

Still, she had to move forward. The entrance was just beyond that turn over there.

But where was she? Ah yes… knowing huttese and preferring to use the language specifically for explicit words still managed to easily rile up Anakin… Even after all this time. He hated the slimy folk, and she could easily understand the reason. She even shared in it at one point and with an equal sense of disgust none the less.

However, after she was changed… she couldn’t quite feel the same disgust towards the hutts as before.

They were at least true to their nature… and one does not easily turn against their nature. Even if it’s not impossible, only a fool would expect it to be the norm.

Following one’s nature was also a respectable quality. But truly accepting what you are is not always as easy as it sounds.

Still, she could never forget the first time her ex-master heard her speak huttese. She could swear the man was thinking over the possibility of her getting possessed by the spirit of a hutt or switched out by a togruta like android while he wasn’t looking.

She could tease Anakin with that moment for weeks.

Her light smile, brought forward by the precious memory, immediately dispersed as her eyes saw the end of the corridor.

Another natural looking rock wall towered in front of herself, cutting off her way, this time for good.

Yet her left eye showed that this wall was not as natural as it seemed.

It was another one of those secret doors, those which could only be opened by precise force manipulation. The opening trigger of the door was similar to certain lightsaber igniters.

Certain type of sabers could only be activated by the force, while others had more traditional activator buttons.

Each to their own.

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She reached out with her mind, lightly pushing or pulling the opening mechanisms at just the right angles. It was like a small puzzle, only you needed to guide the pieces with the gentle use of the force. It took both patience and refined control to succeed.

Finishing the puzzle, the door quickly gave way for her, and she slipped into the silent hall carved into the rock.

Her eyes took in the silent, but otherwise relatively clean, room. The sand clearly didn’t find its way in here. Aside from the rare times, the door was opened.

Come to think of it…

With a wave of her left wrist, she closed the door behind her. Not intending to allow any more sand to sweep into the room.

As the metal contraption closed behind her, the chamber seemed to become ever more silent.

The constantly accompanying noise of screaming wind was left behind the doorstep of the thick metal door, and the hundred meters of rock between her and the surface.

This was an isolated place. She understood. A place with its own rules, here the actions of the outside world didn’t matter. It was holy ground for her order. A tomb for the masters.

But this place was a bit different. As those who laid here were not only belonging to the grey order.

It was tomb for both jedi, and gray.

It was a place to remember her beloved friends.

And today, she can finally give her respect properly.

Her left arm reached into the depths of her clothes. Pulling out a minimalistic lightsaber hilt. Raising it in front of her head, looking over the simplistic elegant weapon.

She ignited it. A second silvery blade burst to life. This one had an almost undetectable dark hue to its edge.

She genuinely smiled at seeing the glorious weapon coming to life.

She felt a tight knot forming in her throat as the memories of Nizzy swam into her consciousness.

The cheerful yet awkward twi’lek, carrying the weight of the world on her small shoulders. Yet still finding the energy to smile and care for her friends.

Someone she missed so dearly, just like she did with Barriss and Kalifa, who were also resting in this room.

Two platforms were raised in a jedi style, to remember their story. The stone carvings were holding their lightsabers like candles, pointing towards the sky as it was their only true possession.

A few lines describing the events of their lives and their names.

To symbolize the steady example which they drew by their lives and remind us of its ingrained fickleness..

And how many eerily similar stories were lost out there in the chaos of war?

How many young Jedi’s died, and how many innocents perished.

The only acceptable answer was:

Too many.

Yet today she came to give this blade back to its rightful owner. And she intended to do just that.

Turning off the blade. She stepped in front of the only empty platform here.

The one belonging to Nizzal Grey, the last Grandmaster of the Order of the Grey, and her cherished friend.

She placed the saber on the raised podium and smiled, feeling as if a heavy weight have been lifted from her being.

She carefully positioned the hilt into the middle of the stone structure. So it will point towards the sky like the rest.

-And now, everything is as it was meant to be, Nizzy.

She felt a wave of relief now as the blade rested on the massive stone structure.

-I have brought back your saber, the one you got from your precious master. I took it back from the man who stole it… We made sure that he won’t hurt anyone else… ever again. It took quite a few of us to work together… both from the jedi nad the grey order, but we managed.

A silent promise went unsaid in the fickle silence.

She will be the next.

-You should have seen it… Even Anakin decided to take up a lightsaber for this particular battle. And you should know that he never ever used one since he was kicked out of the order. Aside from those ridiculous vibroblades of his… He even spent a week in Unity, just to learn the specifications of those vibroblade using maniacs of yours.

She smiled lightly. While continuing her speech.

-I swear, the moment I hear the noise of an activated vibroblade, the small hairs are standing straight upwards on the back of my neck… hehe….

She laughed lightly. Then a solemn expression appeared on her face again.

-You must have noticed my newly acquired jewelry…

She raised her right hand, uncovering it from the tight clothes for the first time.

The glint of a golden prosthetic robotic arm appeared. The silver hue of her ignited blade glinting on the cybernetic extension.

-The masters in my head are saying that with the right ritual, I can regrow the meat and bone as if it was never severed.

She looked at the bare prosthetic. It was yet to be covered with silicone flesh.

-I decided to keep it for now. This way we look alike with Anakin now, but Padme seems to urge me to listen to the master’s for once. I might just do that, eventually. It’s a novel experience, you see… and they also said the ritual will be extremely painful. Regrowing nerves and bones and such…

-Oh, come to think of it, Luke and Leia are sending their regards. They are quite cute.

-Speaking of my arm… It would have been easier to reconnect it, only If I could find it. Ha-h-h… another thing crossed from the list with the things I never expected to do. Searching for my right forearm in the middle of a battlefield. Fascinating…

A heavy silence stretched across the room after she finished those sentences. The oppressive aura of the tomb was becoming a bit too much…

-I guess… that is it for now. And yeah… I… I also wanted to say… that I miss you, all of you.

-The masters were pretty angry with you when they realized you didn’t leave behind a functioning avatar. It would have been nice, indeed… to meet with you whenever I want. It would surely have made the exchanges inside my mind a lot more enjoyable.

Her face grown serious. As she hastily added.

-But I guess that is only my selfishness talking. Also, the masters are only angry because they can’t figure out how you did it. You might have to share that secret when the time comes… I don’t plan to listen to their moaning to eternity either. Haha!

-Anyway, girls… I have to go now, be good and… wait for me.

With that said, Ahsoka turned on her heels, reopened the door with the force, and stepped through it. As she made another half turn to close the door, she found herself looking at three familiar figures smiling back at her. Neither one of them changed a single bit. They were looking just like in her dreams and memories.

She blinked in utter disbelief and shock.

But the sight of her friends did not disappear even after her rapid blinking.

Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked at the impossible sight.

Three voices began to speak in her head, each voice having a uniqueness of her friends while also a sharp contrast to the tone.

Barriss spoke in a darker tone.

Nizzal in a neutral one.

While Kalifa spoke in a gentle one.

-We also miss you, but now you have to leave, Ahsoka. Leave this place, and never again come back until it is time. You will have to live your life.

-We will always watch over you.

With that, the massive door in front of her closed on its own, and out of nowhere, a seemingly endless flow of sand began to seep in into the corridor. Forcing Ahsoka to flee the place, allowing no time for hesitation.

The next few moments were a blur for her. As she fled the tomb as a rarely experienced sense of panic took control of her body.

Before she knew, she found herself laying on the sand just outside of the tomb, as the sand filled the entirety of the cave… The cave she barely escaped from. Her breathing was haggard and uncoordinated as she tried to crawl to her knees. Looking at the mysterious cave entrance.

Only to realize that she couldn’t even find the entrance anymore. It seamlessly melted into the mixture of sand and rock. Even if her mind knew that it was right in front of her, she couldn’t see it anymore…

There was a bit too much mystery here for her taste… and the whole situation left her speechless.

Did she hallucinate all of that? But then, where would the cave go?

The way her friends spoke also reminded her of something, something that she clearly heard before…

As she thought about that, the three spirits of the grey order came to her mind almost instantly.

The way they spoke was very similar, representing the three distinct dimensions of the force. And the spirits were very much capable of impersonating anyone. But they could not mimic someone’s presence, and their presence was too similar to the original to be overlooked.

Ahsoka didn’t know what that meant… however, one thing was obvious.

Her friends made it quite clear.

They did not wish to meet with her in the near future. Or she should better prepare for a harsh scolding.

She couldn’t help but smile, straightening herself and shaking her head helplessly from the sheer amusement she felt.

-That’s one way to show me the door, I guess… you beautiful bastards.

She didn’t know what was going on, and she didn’t care anymore. The future will tell her the truth about what she saw today. When it was time, and she was no longer the child who couldn’t wait.

For now, she felt simply glad that she was alive, and she even saw her old friends… if only for a glimpse…

The friends she never expected to see again.

Eventually, she turned around and began her long walk back towards the gate.

She stopped or a second… Should I visit Lily before going back? Hmmm… why not! She will surely enjoy hearing about all of this…

-Now I only have to find a nydus worm…

Her face morphed into a disgusted expression… as the thoughts about traveling through one such entity flashed into her mind.

Should I postpone my visit for the next opportunity?

No… probably not… best do it now. While the experience is still fresh.

By why couldn’t they make a simply stair to their nest…

-Ugh… sometimes, I hate you Lily…

Ahsoka grumbled to herself as she turned towards the nearest permanent nydus entrance she know of. Luckily it was not too far from the gate...

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