Chapter 51 – The Caves of Ilum

I'm finally done with these chapters. They've taking a lot of time, but there was a lot to write for them.

Ahsoka and Aisha travel towards Ilum so that Aisha can build a lightsaber of her own. Ilum will be quite a challenge and they won't be the only ones there.

Hope you enjoy

;-

Ahsoka was back at her family's house after having spent quite some time at the hangar getting familiar with her new ship. She still had some difficulty wrapping her mind around the fact that she now owned her own ship, let alone such a magnificent ship.

From looking at the ship with her own eyes and then studying the schematics with the engineers, she could tell that Zaa and her family had cut no corners in designing the ship. The chambers onboard were quite expertly designed with a somewhat higher level of luxury than she was used to. The ship's systems were also incredible. From the blueprints of the engines, she could tell that Varon and the others had done a lot of custom work on them. There was no doubt in her mind that it was a fast ship.

The Radiant Eagle, as she had named her, was undeniably one of the finest ships she had ever seen. She was honored that it was hers now. She had no doubt that she would be using it a lot.

;-

"So, how is the ship, Ahsoka?" Yuae asked her daughter as they all sat at the dinner table. "We knew they were working on it, but we haven't really seen much of the plans."

Ahsoka took a sip of her drink and smiled at her mother. "I love it," she replied. "It's an amazing ship, definitely one of the finest I've ever seen and trust me, I've seen a few."

The other at the table smiled as well. "That's good to hear sis," Marina said. "You should have seen how excited Zaa was when she told us about her plans."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lilo added as she laughed a bit. "She was very eager to spring this surprise on you. But there's one thing I don't know. Why did she decide to show it to you now?" she asked.

Ahsoka smiled at Lilo's question. "Well, I asked her if I could borrow a ship as there is some place I wanted to travel too," she replied. "She told me to meet her in the hangar later so she could look at some options, but instead she threw that surprise on me. Needless to say, I was quite stunned."

"I see," Marina replied. "But… Why do you want to travel somewhere now? My wedding is at the end of next week. You wouldn't miss it, would you?" she asked slightly concerned.

"Don't worry Marina," she replied with a reassuring smile. "It won't take that long, especially not with how fast I suspect that ship is. There is no way that I would miss your wedding."

"Alright, but where do you need to travel to so suddenly?" Marina asked.

Ahsoka looked at Aisha. "Well, I wanted to go and take Aisha to build her own lightsaber," she told her family.

Her words surprised her family, but Aisha was definitely the most surprised. "R-really?" she asked in some shock. "Do you really think I could do that?"

Ahsoka could sense her excitement rising quickly. "Yes, I think you can," she replied. "Building a lightsaber will be quite a challenge, but I'm sure that you'll be able to succeed." Aisha smiled widely at the idea of having her own lightsaber.

"Sounds like a great idea sis," Lilo said. "But how come you need to travel somewhere? Didn't you build your other lightsaber here?"

"Yes, I did," Ahsoka replied as she held up her second lightsaber. "But don't forget, I had everything I needed to build it, including the most important part: the crystal." She put her lightsaber away again. "Lux' crystal worked perfectly for me, but we'll need to get a crystal if Aisha is to build her own saber."

"I see, so that's why you need to travel," Yuae said. "But where would you go to find such a crystal? I doubt you could just buy it on the market, right?"

Ahsoka chuckled a bit. "No, a crystal fit for a lightsaber isn't something you'd find on an ordinary market," she replied. "Maybe somewhere on the black markets though, considering the fact that Hondo was so eager to rob the younglings that other time." She shook her head and pushed those thoughts away.

"There may be several places where the Force will let the crystals grow, trying to find such a place might be possible, but I'm afraid that it would take a very long time," she continued. "Fortunately, I do know one place where the crystals can be found in abundance."

"And where would that be?" Marina asked with some curiosity. "I don't think I've ever heard of such a place before."

"Well, it's a sacred site of the Order," Ahsoka replied. "I won't tell you the exact location, but it's a place very strong with the Force and just about every Jedi of the Order finds his or her crystals there." She looked at Aisha. "The Force will test you, like it does everyone that travels there, but I'm confident that you'll succeed and obtain a crystal."

Aisha nodded excitedly. "Thank you, I'll do my best," she said. "When do you think we can leave?" She was quite eager to see this place, the little bit Ahsoka has said about it made her very curious to see what it was like. The Force was around them here on Shili as well, but it sounded like the Force was even more present in that place.

There was a slight trace of unease in Ahsoka's face. "We'll have to get some things tomorrow first. It might be a very uncomfortable journey otherwise," she told her sister. "But we'll be able to leave after that. We'll be back well on time for your wedding Marina."

"That's good to hear Ahsoka," Marina replied with some relief.

"Will you both be careful with this journey?" Yuae asked both Ahsoka and Aisha. "I don't have anything against you travelling Ahsoka, especially not now that you've got your own ship, but the idea of not knowing where you'll be makes me a little nervous."

"Don't worry mom," Ahsoka replied with a little smile. "We'll be careful. Everything will be fine. We'll look out for each other, won't we?" she asked Aisha.

"We will," Aisha replied with a smile. The prospects of seeing a place strong in the Force and building her own lightsaber filled her with excitement.

"So when you get back you'll have your own lightsaber," Lilo said as she looked at Aisha. "That sounds pretty incredible."

"It sure is," Ahsoka replied. "I just know that you'll succeed," She told Aisha with a smile. She smiled back eagerly. She was really looking forward to tomorrow now.

;-

Hyperspace, onboard the Radiant Eagle

Ahsoka and Aisha walked back into the ship's cockpit after a tour of Ahsoka's new ship. Ahsoka had showed her around after they'd taken off. With the ship on autopilot in Hyperspace, there had been plenty of time to do so.

Aisha had been incredibly impressed by the ship. It was way beyond what she had expected it to be. Then again, she hadn't been on many ships before. This ship was amazing and she felt that Ahsoka truly deserved to have it. Together with Ahsoka, she had redecorated the room opposite the master bedroom to make it her room.

She sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Ahsoka and stared out of the viewports. The swirling lights of Hyperspace were quite amazing to see. She was really excited to go on this journey, but she was left with a few questions, especially after the things they had bought before departing. "Ahsoka? Where exactly are we headed?" she asked.

Ahsoka turned to her and smiled. "The planet we're headed is called Ilum," she replied. "It's an ice planet that looks completely barren and uninhabitable, but there is a hidden temple that connects to a series of caves. Inside those caves is where you'll find the crystals. There are a lot of them, but you won't just be able to take any of them. You'll have to trust in the Force and overcome Its test in order to find the crystal that's right for you."

Aisha was surprised by her description of the planet, but one thing did make sense now. "So that's why we bought those heavy winter clothes?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded. "That's right," she replied. "We're going to need them there. While such a winter planet can be an impressive sight, I can definitely do without the cold."

"I can't wait to see it," Aisha said with a smile. "I've never seen something like it before."

Ahsoka smiled at her enthusiasm, but then grew a bit more serious. "Now, Aisha, like I said, the Force will test you in the caves," she told her. "I don't know what you'll encounter there exactly, everyone's experiences in the caves are different, but if you stay true to yourself and remember what I thought you, you'll be just fine. Keep calm and let the Force guide you."

Aisha nodded and gave a small smile. "I'll do my best," she replied. She was a bit nervous about what would happen there, but Ahsoka believed that she could do it, so she wouldn't let her sister down.

Ahsoka nodded as well. "That's good, stay strong and let nothing bring you down," she said with a smile. "Now then, shall we go and take a look at the meditation room? It'll help if you have a clear mind when you enter the caves." Aisha nodded and they made their way there.

;-

Ilum

Ahsoka's face was pure concentration as she guided her ship through Ilum's atmosphere. As usual, there was a large blizzard raging on the planet, making the landing more difficult. However, she had to admit, she expected more trouble with the wind, but it seemed that the aerodynamic design of the ship really helped with the wind resistance. She was again very impressed with the design.

Sometime later she had landed the ship not too far away from the entrance to the caves. She shut down the engines, but made sure to keep the systems active so they wouldn't freeze over and turned to Aisha. "Alright, we're here," she said. "Now is when we'll need those warm clothes." She looked out the viewports. The blizzard looked even worse now that they had landed. "Don't worry, the caves aren't too far away, we won't be in that storm for long."

Aisha looked from the blizzard to Ahsoka and nodded. "Okay," she replied. Now that they were here, she was getting a little nervous, but she followed Ahsoka to where they had put their winter clothes and got ready to disembark from the ship.

As they walked of the ships ramp, Aisha couldn't help but be a little amazed by the sight. She had seen snow before, of course, but she had never seen a storm like this, let alone the massive cliffs of ice they were headed towards.

They stopped a short distance away from the massive cliff. Aisha noticed that they were standing on some kind of circular shaped pattern on the ground. Ahsoka took a deep breath and turned to her sister. "Aisha, we have to work together here," she told her. "Concentrate and focus the Force like I do." With that, Ahsoka stretched her arm towards the cliff and called on the Force.

Aisha concentrated on what Ahsoka was doing and then focused on copying her action. She could feel the Force flowing through the wall of ice in front of her. Through the Force, she could suddenly sense that there was something behind this particular section of ice. She could sense Ahsoka unleashing a great amount of energy and with their combined strength, the ice wall suddenly broke and crumbled, clearing a section of the cliff and revealing an entrance to a cave.

Aisha looked in wonder at the opening that had just appeared. It was obviously crafted by someone who she suspected would have been a group of Jedi. "It looks amazing, doesn't it?" Ahsoka asked next to her. Aisha turned to her and nodded. "Come on, let's go inside," Ahsoka said and they moved towards the entrance.

Aisha looked around through the cave in awe. She had never seen anything like this before. There was ice everywhere around her, some places smooth and some more rugged. The way the light danced through the ice made it seem like everything was glowing slightly.

Even with the little amount of training she had had so far, she could sense the Force moving all around her. There was no doubt in her mind that this was a very special place. She could never have imagined that there would be places like this in the galaxy.

Then the passageway opened up into a large room and she couldn't help but gasp in wonder. It was a large circular room that had obviously been carefully made. Numerous obelisks were placed throughout the room, reminding her of the pillars of the Force she had read about in the book Ahsoka had given her. There were also 4 large statues of hooded figures holding lightsabers over their heads. Looking up, she could see what looked like some kind of focusing array hanging from the ceiling. It all looked like the scene of a dream to her.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Ahsoka asked next to her. Aisha nodded eagerly. "That is where you need to go through, that wall of ice. The device on the ceiling will melt away the ice and reveal the passage. From then, you'll need to…"

Aisha turned to Ahsoka, a little confused by her sudden pause. Her sister was looking around slightly, stretching out with the Force at the same time. "Aisha, hide, quickly," she suddenly said. Aisha was shocked by that, but quickly hid behind the nearby statue nonetheless.

Ahsoka turned towards the cave's entrance, moving into a combat stance, ready to grab her lightsabers. She wasn't prepared however, to suddenly see Master Yoda walk into the large chamber. "Master Yoda," she said in surprise.

"Hmm, a surprise this is," Master Yoda replied. He took out a comlink. "Enter you all can, nothing to fear, there is."

"There is a Gathering journey today?" Ahsoka asked herself. "Guess we chose a perfect time, didn't we…" A short moment later a purple skinned Twi'Lek walked in the chamber, followed by a group of younglings. Much to her surprise, Barriss followed the group inside. "Barriss, how nice to see you," she told her friend.

"Ahsoka," Barriss replied in surprise. "It's good to see you too, but what are you doing here?" The group of younglings was looking at her in surprise.

"You can come out Aisha, everything's alright," Ahsoka called to her sister. Aisha came out from behind the statue she was hiding behind and walked back to Ahsoka.

"See that brought a friend you have, hmm?" Master Yoda said.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, this is Aisha Tano, my little sister," she replied, introducing her sister to the group.

Barriss smiled. "So she's the girl you told me about on Naboo," she said. "It's nice to meet you Aisha, my name is Barriss Offee."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Aisha replied with a smile. "Ahsoka told me a lot about you."

Barriss was about to reply to that when one of the younglings spoke up. "Is she your sister? But you don't really look alike."

Ahsoka looked at the young human boy. "You don't have to be blood-related to be family," she replied with a small smile. "I'm sure you consider your clan and the rest of the Order your family, don't you?"

Her question made all of the younglings go silent and look at each other, wondering about her statement.

The purple Twi'Lek walked up to them. "So you are Ahsoka Tano, it's nice to meet you," she greeted her. "My name is Nyla Sonter. I was among the people that you saved on Felucia. I'm glad that I have an opportunity to thank you now."

Ahsoka smiled at that. "It's nice to meet you Nyla," she replied. "And you don't have to thank me. I'm just glad that everyone made it out of there alive."

"Yeah, so am I," Nyla said. "That was one of the nastiest things I've ever been through. I'm glad that we both recovered from that mess."

Ahsoka nodded. "It's been a tough time, but I had my family to help me through it," she replied with a smile aimed at Aisha.

"Strong with the Force, your sister is," Master Yoda said as he walked a bit closer. "So, here to build a lightsaber, you are, yes?"

"That's right," Ahsoka replied as she gave Aisha a smile. "We've been practicing with the Force for some time now and I think that she's ready to build one for herself."

Master Yoda nodded. "Then come and join us, you should," he said. "Open to all the Force chooses, this place is."

Ahsoka was bit surprised by his words. She had not really expected him to approve of their presence here, seeing as she no longer was a part of the Order. Nevertheless, she nodded and gestured for Aisha to join the younglings.

Master Yoda moved to the center of the room and the younglings moved to stand in front of him. "The Force made physical, a Jedi is," he told the group. "Comes great responsibility with that, yes? Protect others, how does a Jedi, hmm? Build your own lightsaber, you shall," he said as he used the Force to levitate his own lightsaber in front of the group. "But first, harvest your crystal, each one of you must. The heart of the lightsaber, the crystal is. Focusses the Force from the Jedi, it does." With those words, he stretched his arms up towards the ceiling and used the Force to open a stone slab which revealed a strong ray of sunlight. He then started rotating the construction on the ceiling.

As the device finished turning, the ray of sunlight was suddenly channeled through a series of crystals. The resulting beam of light connected with the archway covered by a wall of ice. With the sudden flare of heat surrounding it, the ice instantly melted and water ran down the small staircase in front of it, revealing an entrance to the deeper caves.

"If Jedi you are to become, enter the crystal cave, you must," Yoda told them as he gestured at the entrance. "Trust yourself. Trust each other and succeed, you will."

"Come on young ones, it's time to go," Barriss said as she and Nyla began to walk towards the entrance.

Ahsoka moved up to join her friend as Aisha and the younglings walked after them. "I really wasn't expecting to see any of you here Barriss," Ahsoka said. "So you're here to escort the younglings?"

Barriss nodded. "Yes I am," she replied. "But I will also enter the caves myself."

"Really?" Ahsoka asked in surprise. "But you still have your lightsaber?" she asked as she looked at her friends' lightsaber on her belt.

"True," Barriss replied. "However, I found out that I gained the ability to dual wield after that whole mess with the bombing. Rather than let it bring me down, I decided to use these abilities as a Jedi."

"Wow, that's quite something," Ahsoka said. "So you can dual wield now? I'd like to see that one day."

Barriss chuckled a bit. "Yes, I can," she replied. "But I think it may be a few years before I'm anywhere near your level." Ahsoka laughed a bit as well.

Then they reached the entrance to the cave. "Alright younglings, once you have found your crystals, it's important that you do not stay in the caves," Barriss told the group. "As the day ends, the door will freeze over again, trapping you inside for one rotation. There won't be anything anyone can do to get you out."

"Also, be sure to keep in mind," Nyla said as she stood next to Barriss. "The sun only rises on Ilum every nineteen days. So, if you do get stuck, it'll be a very long night."

The younglings were a little worried by those words, Aisha could tell that, but it didn't really make sense to her. The Jedi Order wouldn't just put their younglings in such danger, would they? With some confusion she turned to whisper at her sister. /Isn't it just a wall of ice? Can't you just break it should it freeze over?/ she asked. She couldn't see why not.

Ahsoka made a quick shushing gesture and winked at her, not really surprised that her sister had already seen through that little trick. /It's time to go in, may the Force be with you Aisha,/ she told her. Aisha nodded and then followed the Jedi inside the cave.

The group of younglings walked into the cave, all nervously glancing around. Aisha couldn't deny that she was nervous as well, but right now her amazement of this place overrode that feeling. This cavern of ice with all of the detailed crafting works were an incredible sight to behold and she was very grateful that Ahsoka had brought her here.

Behind the group of younglings, Barriss and Nyla walked calmly with an air of determination. They had been here before, of course, so they knew what to expect, more or less. One's experiences in the caves were different each time you went there. Still, they were both confident.

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived in a slightly larger chamber. The younglings all stopped. This chamber split into six different paths. They looked nervously at the paths before turning to the two padawans. "Which way are we supposed to go now?" one of the female younglings asked.

Barriss and Nyla both shrugged. "We don't know that," Nyla simply replied.

This shocked the younglings quite a bit. "But, you've been here before, right?" one of the male children asked. "You know where the crystals are, don't you?"

"There's crystals all around us," Barriss replied. "However, you can't just take one. You'll need to find the one that calls to you and it'll be up to you and you alone to find it. That is the will of the Force. We can't help you with that."

Aisha listened to Barriss explaining things to the younglings. It was what Ahsoka had told her as well. The Force would lead her and tell her where to go. She just had to be calm and listen to what it had to say.

She calmly looked at the different paths, taking her time observing them one by one. The path at the far left caught her attention. Something about it was different, but she wasn't sure how. It reminded her a little of the practice exercise she had done with Ahsoka. Her sister had made her concentrate on the location of a small object, then she had used the Force to move it around the house while Aisha traced its location. She had been able to feel the object calling to her through her sisters Force presence. She felt something slightly similar down that path.

She took a few steps towards it, ignoring the slight complaints and doubts the younglings had. "I'm going this way," she said as she pointed at the path.

Everyone turned to look at her. "Why?" one of the female younglings asked her.

Aisha shrugged. "Because I feel like it," she replied, there was really no other way for her to describe it.

The younglings looked at her like she was slightly crazy, but Barriss and Nyla gave her a smile. "She's got the right idea," Barriss said as she looked at the younglings again. "It's your crystal. Only you will know where to find it. The Force will be your guide here. Let it lead you to where you need to go. Trust your feelings and you will succeed."

"Barriss is right," Nyla added. "We are Jedi, the Force guides us all, now and always. But this is all the advice we can give you. The rest is up to you." She smiled the younglings. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'll be headed this way." She pointed at one of the other paths and moved towards it.

Barriss nodded and moved over to Aisha. "I can sense that I have to go this way, so it looks like I'll be joining you for a little while," she told her with a smile. She turned back to the younglings. "May the Force be with you all." With those words, she and Aisha began to move to the path they chose and Nyla began her way as well.

Aisha looked around the new path. These passages of ice were wonderful to see and so different from each other. She couldn't help but wonder how long this place had already been here.

"It's always interesting how the Force works," Barriss said as she walked next to her. "When I saw Ahsoka on Naboo and she told me about you, I told her that I'd like to meet you one day and here we are. Although this is the last place I'd expect to meet you. Ahsoka didn't tell me that you had the Force."

"Ahsoka said that as well, I guess it's true," Aisha replied with a smile. "But I'm glad, after what Ahsoka told me about you, I wanted to meet you as well." She looked around the path a bit. "I didn't know I had the Force either. Ahsoka told me that that's how she found me. I somehow called out to her through the Force and she heard me."

"In the Temple we are taught that the Force always looks out for us," Barriss told her. "Even if you didn't know about it, it'll look out for you."

"I'm really grateful that it does," Aisha replied honestly. "If Ahsoka hadn't found me, that monster would have sold me to the Hutts." She shivered, but not from the cold of the caves. "But I'm really happy now, I have a great family and learning about the Force is amazing."

Barriss smiled at the young girl. "Ahsoka always liked teaching others," she said. "And she always was a good teacher. The younglings at the Temple always really enjoyed her classes. I'm sure that she'll be able to teach you a lot."

Aisha smiled at her as well. "Ahsoka said that you are a healer and that you can use the Force to heal people. What is that like?" she asked curiously.

"Force healing is a rare gift, but it's a really useful one," Barriss replied. "It can go far beyond normal healing and do things that many doctors would consider impossible."

As they continued to walk through the cave, Barriss explained more about how Force Healing worked and gave some examples of the things that she had done, like saving the life of that little girl that had been caught in that fire on Coruscant. Aisha had listened to everything intently and Barriss couldn't help but smile with how eager this girl was to learn about the Force.

Eventually the two reached another set of different paths to take. They paused in the middle of the chamber and looked around. "Which way do your feelings tell you to go now?" Barriss asked Aisha.

Aisha carefully looked at the different paths like she had done before. Letting her mind go quiet and listening to the Force, she eventually settled on the path straight ahead. "I'm pretty sure I need to go that way," she replied.

"Alright," Barriss said as she nodded. "It looks like I'm headed this way, so I guess this is where we go our separate ways."

Aisha looked at the direction that Barriss had pointed at and grew a bit concerned. "Are you sure?" she asked as she looked at the Mirialan. "That way looks really dark… Are you sure it's where you need to go?"

Barriss nodded again. "Yes, I'm sure," she replied. "I can tell that's where the Force wants me to go."

Aisha looked at the path. Compared to the other paths in this room, it just looked and felt a lot darker. Going there seemed like a very bad idea. She grew a bit worried for her sisters' friend. "Be careful in there," she said with concern. "And may the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you as well Aisha," Barriss replied with a smile. "I think you'll do just fine." Aisha smiled back and then they both began to make their separate ways towards the paths they had chosen.

;-

Ahsoka waited patiently outside the entrance of the crystal cave. She had faith in Aisha, she knew she would succeed, but she was a bit apprehensive about her current company. Being around Master Yoda made her feel rather uncomfortable, considering all that had happened before. So she just stood calmly waiting, trying not to let it bother her too much.

Master Yoda observed Ahsoka as he sat in the middle of the room. He could tell that she was uncomfortable around him and that made him feel quite sad. He had always been fond of teaching others and he cared deeply for the Order. To see someone who was part of the Order before feel this way about him now hit him quite hard.

Still, he couldn't help but be quite impressed by what he sensed in the young girl she called her sister earlier. She couldn't have been with Ahsoka that long and it was clear that she had suffered, he could clearly sense that in her mind, but despite that her Force presence was bright. He couldn't help but notice, so was Ahsoka's, despite everything that she had gone through. A few of other Jedi had expressed some concern about her possibly going down a darker path after what had happened with her trial. He had wondered how she was doing, but he knew that she wasn't one to ever turn dark. Some Jedi thought that she would turn, but he doubted that she would and he had the proof now.

A few minutes of thinking and quietly meditating later, the elder Jedi couldn't help but express some curiosity. "Meet your sister where, you did?" he asked Ahsoka.

Ahsoka turned to him, a bit surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?" she asked in return, slightly confused. She wondered what he was up to, she had known him longer than today of course.

"Curious, I am," Yoda replied a bit amused. "Seems like a nice girl, she does. And strong in the Force, as well, she is."

"I met her on Tatooine, while I was working on the protection for Kiros," Ahsoka replied a moment later. "The violence of the war robbed her of her father and some sleemo killed her mother, then kidnapped her with the intent of selling her to the Hutts. I felt her calling out through the Force and saved her from him."

Yoda shook his head. "Deserve to go through that, no one does," he said. "Looking out for her, the Force was, to have run into you. Gone through much, she has, yet bright she is. Helped her well, you have."

Ahsoka couldn't help a light smile. "Thank you Master," she replied. "I'm really glad that I found her. She reminds me of myself in a few ways. And when I returned from Kiros, when mom told me that she and dad wanted to adopt her, I was so happy." She looked over at the cave entrance again. "When she asked if I could teach her about the Force, I was quite surprised. After leaving the Order, teaching someone wasn't exactly something that I thought I would do. However, I couldn't deny that I really wanted to. We've already had some great times together. Being able to teach her at our own pace is wonderful. She's really quite a natural when it comes to the Force."

Master Yoda nodded. He had been able to sense her Force abilities as well. Still, there was something that he felt he needed to do. "Apologize to you, I must," he said, causing Ahsoka to turned around quite startled. "Made terrible mistakes, we have. Paid severely for them almost, you did. Failed you as the Jedi Council, we have. Deeply sorry for that, I am."

For a moment, Ahsoka was silent. To say she hadn't expected to hear that was an understatement. True, she hadn't expected to see Master Yoda here, but she definitely had never expected to hear an apology from him. "Thank you, Master," she replied after a little while, unsure of what else to say.

;-

As Aisha walked through the frozen path, she grew a little concerned. This path looked like it stretched out for a very long time. That feeling she had in the Force was still there, so she assumed she was still going the right way.

A sinister laugh suddenly echoed through the cave, causing her to freeze in her step, a sense of fear tingling down her spine. She started shivering, not from the cold of the ice, as she saw the Devorian that killed her mother walking towards her. He had an evil smile on his face and he held a vicious looking electro whip in his hand that he swung, the sound of it crackling evilly through the cave. In his other hand, he held a slave collar. The sight of it made her blood run cold.

She took a few steps back as he started walking towards her, the whip crackling violently on the ice. She whimpered slightly, he couldn't be here, he just couldn't be. She wished that Ahsoka was here to protect her again from him, but Ahsoka was outside the caves.

"Weak little brat," his dark voice echoed through the cave. "I'm taking you to the Hutts. It's the only fitting place for such a weak child like you."

His words made her freeze in place. She had been a weak girl before, easily scared by the bad things that sometimes happened, but that was before she had met Ahsoka. Her new sister had taught her a lot and she had grown stronger. She had the Force now. She could stand up for herself now. She took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"It was just a bad dream. He can't hurt you anymore and you know it."

Her sisters' words echoed through her head, overpowering the shadow in that monster's words. She stood firmly, refusing to let herself feel fear for him anymore. He got closer and closer to her, his sinister laughter growing louder with each step. She shook lightly as she stopped a few feet away from her. He swung his whip, the violent light flashed towards her. She stayed strong and just as the whip was about to touch her face, it and the man vanished into thin smoke.

For a little moment she stood there, then she sank to her knees, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. The memory of Ahsoka telling her about the tests she would face came back to her. "I never thought that it would be like this. It was so real," she taught as she took a moment to calm down. "The Force is amazing." Despite the scare, she couldn't deny that.

After a few minutes she stood up again and looked ahead. The long cave she was in suddenly seemed a lot shorter and she could see it opening into a larger cavern up ahead. A bit startled, she turned around to look behind her. She was a little stunned when she noticed that she hadn't exactly walked the distance she thought she had walked. "Or did I walk it?" She truly wasn't sure anymore.

With some renewed confidence after having faced the nightmarish specter of her past, she continued onward towards the chamber she saw. She entered the room and was quite surprised by how different it looked compared to the tunnel she was just in. It was a circular chamber and all of the ice on the floor, ceilings and walls was completely smooth, giving it a beautiful glance.

She crossed the room and looked at the far wall. The smoothness of the ice gave it a rather reflecting surface. She could easily see her own reflection in it. Then she noticed movement behind her reflection. Fearing the worst, she slowly turned around and gasped in shock as she saw her mother standing there.

For a short time, she was utterly speechless. She tried to say something a few times, but her voice just wouldn't come to her. "M-mom?" she finally managed to stutter out.

Her mother nodded and gave a kind but sad smile. "I'm so sorry sweetheart," she said softly. "I made such a mess of things and you suffered so badly for it. I'm so sorry, you must hate me. I'm the worst mother in the galaxy."

Aisha shakily walked closer to her mother, happy to see her but at the same time saddened by her words. "No, don't say that mommy," she replied in a trembling voice. "I don't hate you."

"But I should have taken care of you, especially after your father died," her mother said. "But I didn't, I let everything fall apart."

Aisha shook her head. "You were just sad that daddy didn't come back, I was too," she replied as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't want anything bad to happen."

"I should have done more for you," her mother said. "I failed as a mother and you paid for it."

Aisha shook her head again. "No, that's not true mommy," she replied. "I… I'm alright now. My new sister Ahsoka saved me. I'm part of her family now. I'm fine and I'll be safe now." She managed a smile between her tears. "I've got a new home on Shili now, I'll be alright, Ahsoka will make sure of that."

"So you can forgive your mother for her failures? Even after everything that happened?"

"Of course I can, you're my mom," Aisha replied quickly. "I still love you, no matter what happens." A few more tears dripped down her face. "I won't ever hate you."

A few tears rolled down her mother's face as well. "I'm so proud of you sweetheart. I love you and always will." With those words, her image faded and Aisha found herself sinking to her knees again.

When she opened her eyes again, there was something else glittering on the icy floor. Her eyes widened as she realized just what she was looking at. She doubted it for a few seconds, but the Force confirmed it for her quite quickly. She smiled excitedly and accepted the gift of the Force in front of her.

;-

Ahsoka was still waiting outside of the crystal cave. Quite some time had already passed, but she wasn't concerned. The cave was massive and the Force liked to test patience as well.

One by one, the people that had entered the cave came out again. Nyla Sonter was the first of them to come out of the cave. From the sight and feel of her, she had seen something awful, but she was also very pleased with her success.

A few of the younglings had also come out after the Twi'Lek padawan. All of them were very excited now that they had their own crystals. They all crowded around each other, Padawan Sonter and Master Yoda to eagerly show the crystals they had found.

Ahsoka smiled as she sensed their excitement. She could remember herself happily running to Master Plo after she had constructed her first lightsaber. She had been so excited to show him that day.

A very familiar Force presence approaching snapped her out of the memory. She looked at the cave entrance to see Aisha walking out with quite an excited spring in her step. Ahsoka smiled when she noticed that she was holding something in her hands. /Hey there sis,/ she said when Aisha reached her.

Aisha smiled happily at her. /Look! I did it!/ she said happily as she held up her arms and opened her hands. She was holding two crystals, a clear sign that she had been successful in the cave.

/Well done Aisha,/ Ahsoka replied with a large smile of her own. /I knew you could do it./

/I… I saw my mother in there,/ Aisha said as she looked at her sister. /It was so real./

Ahsoka nodded understandingly and kneeled down. /I know, the Force is strong here. It can show you all kinds of things,/ she replied. /And remember what I told you? The people that leave us are still with us./ Aisha nodded with a smile. /Did you see anything else?/ Ahsoka asked.

She nodded again and swallowed a bit. /I also saw him. He tried to get me again,/ she said a little shakily. /But I remembered what you said, he can't hurt me anymore, so I stood up to him and he disappeared./

/Well done sis,/ Ahsoka replied. /I know it can be very scary to do so. I'm really proud of you./ She stood up again. /And now we can work on building your lightsabers. /She looked around and noticed that a few more younglings had come back out, but Barriss still wasn't back. /Let's wait until Barriss get out of the caves, then we'll head back to Shili./

Aisha nodded, before a slightly concerned expression appeared on her face. /I hope she's doing alright,/ she said. /That path she was headed down looked really dark./

Ahsoka could sense her concern. /Don't worry, Barriss is strong,/ she told her sister. /She's stronger that she's willing to admit herself. She'll be fine./ With that, she looked back at the cave entrance which was already getting close to being frozen over halfway.

;-

Some more time had passed and just about everyone had made it out of the cave, all of them except for Barriss. Ahsoka was growing a little concerned for her friend. Considering everything that she went through, she was worried that the Force had created one very hard test for her friend.

"But what about Padawan Offee?" one of the younglings asked worried. "The door is almost fully frozen!"

"Don't worry, Barriss will be alright," she heard Padawan Sonter reply. Ahsoka looked back at her and could see her looking worriedly at the gate as well. The youngling was right, it was almost fully covered with ice again.

Ahsoka was about to gently reach out with the Force to try and locate her friend when the ice of the gate started to crack. Then it shattered, creating an entryway in the ice from which Barriss calmly stepped out, shocking the younglings quite a bit.

"Weren't you supposed to be stuck if the door closed?" one of the other younglings asked.

"Well, it's only ice," Nyla replied with a shrug as she walked up to Barriss. "Are you alright Barriss? What happened in there? You look exhausted."

Barriss gave an exhausted smile. "Is it that obvious?" she asked a bit sarcastically.

"Yes, it is," Ahsoka replied. She looked at her friend and seized her up in the Force. "Your whole presence feels lighter Barriss. Like you've taken quite a load of your mind. What did you see in there?"

Barriss took a moment to compose herself. "I encountered some kind of Force vision of an enemy. An enemy that I had to defeat," she explained. "It was me, some kind of Sith version of myself. Of what I might have become if that Sith had his way with me."

Her words shocked everyone quite a bit. "Wow, that's pretty rough," Ahsoka replied. "Are you doing alright?"

"Yes, I'm doing okay, just a little tired, but," Barriss said as she took a deep breath. "I feel strangely better than I did before."

Master Yoda walked up to her. "Hmm, sense that overcome the last of your darkness you have, Padawan Offee," he told her. "Done well in that, you have. Always difficult to conquer the Dark Side is."

"Thank you Master Yoda," Barriss replied.

Master Yoda nodded and turned back to the group of younglings. "Succeeded in obtaining your crystals, you all have," he told them, earning him a group of excited smiles. "Come, back to the ship, we go now. Get ready to build your sabers, you all must." With that, the excited smiles turned into excited murmuring.

The Jedi Master then turned to Ahsoka and Aisha. "Invite you to join us, I do. To build a lightsaber, more components you need. Plenty on board the ship, there are," he told them.

Ahsoka was again surprised by his words. "Thank you Master Yoda, I believe we'll take you up on that offer," she replied with a smile aimed at Aisha. "We were already making plans on how to gather all of the necessary parts, but this will really help us out."

"The least I can do, it is," Master Yoda said. "Come, lead you to the ship, we will." With that, the whole group departed the caves.

;-

Ahsoka walked into one of the larger rooms on the Jedi Cruiser with Aisha following behind her, still eagerly holding her crystals. She looked around the room for a bit. From the looks of it, there were a lot of storage compartments in this particular room and she couldn't help but wonder what was inside them, though she had some idea.

She heard a metallic clanking in her montrals and turned around to look at its source. From a different part of the room emerged a type of droid that she had never seen before.

"Well now, who do we have here," the droid said. "Ahsoka Tano, I certainly was not expecting to see you onboard this vessel again. Still, I am glad to see you. I heard some disturbing things about you."

Ahsoka smiled at the droid. "It's good to see you as well, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you," she replied. "Being back on this ship came as a surprise to me as well, we had no idea that there was a Gathering journey today. But Master Yoda invited us along to get what we needed."

"I see," the droid said as he studied Aisha a moment. "Well then, who is this with you?"

"This is my sister and student, Aisha Tano," Ahsoka introduced her. "Aisha, this is professor Huyang, an Architect droid that has been with the Order since before Master Yoda was a youngling." Aisha's eyes couldn't help but widen a bit at those words as she looked at the droid, especially after having just met the old Jedi Master. "He is the expert when it comes to building lightsabers."

"It's nice to meet you," Aisha said as bowed her head. If she was honest, she hadn't expected a droid to be the one to teach how to build a lightsaber. But after what Ahsoka has just old her, it did make some sense.

"How polite, it's nice to meet you as well young one," Huyang replied. "Well then, has she passed the Gathering?" he asked the duo.

Ahsoka nodded. "That she sure has," she said with a smile. She gestured for Aisha to show him her crystals. She nodded and held up her hand to show the two crystals she had found in the cave.

Huyang took the two crystals and examined them a moment. "Ah yes, these are two fine crystals," he told her. "One can build a fine lightsaber with these." He moved over to the worktable and placed the crystals on it. "Come on young one, let's give these crystals life." Aisha eagerly made her way over to the table. Ahsoka smiled and walked up next to her.

"Now then," Huyang said as he pushed a button on his side of the table. Aisha stared with wide eyes as a hologram activated showing all kinds of different lightsabers. "What will your lightsaber be like? A standard hilt, the curved approach?" He moved back to the storage compartments and took out a drawer which he placed on the table. It was filled with all kinds of components. Aisha watched with fascination as the droid quickly put together a few basic components of the lightsaber.

"Those are the blade emitter, the matrix, the stabilizing ring and the power cells, right?" Aisha asked excitedly, recalling some of the things she had studied so eagerly before.

"Very good young one," Huyang commented with some surprise. "It's clear that you've studied well. Now then, shall we go and find out what else your lightsaber will use?" he asked as he gestured at the storage compartments behind him.

Aisha nodded, but she wasn't overly sure about what else she should look for. It was obvious that there were tons of materials on board this ship, but how would she know what was right for her?

Ahsoka could sense her apprehension. "Don't worry too much Aisha, it's not that difficult," she told her. When Aisha looked at her, she continued: "Just like you did in the caves, let the Force guide you to the right parts. You'll find everything you need."

Aisha nodded and smiled. That had worked for her in the caves and she couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't work again now.

"She's right, young one," Huyang added. "Only you will know what your lightsaber will be like. Look at your hands and try to picture what you see in them.

Aisha then made her way over to the many storage compartments. She opened a few to look inside them. A few contained all kinds of different parts and a few others contained materials for and a few outer saber hilts. She was instantly drawn to one of the material types in the compartment. As she held it and moved it around in her hands, it just felt right. She took a bunch of the material and moved it over to the table.

She kept moving around between the storage and the table, adding more and more parts every time. The droid architect Huyang helped her with gathering enough of each of the different materials. She now had everything she needed to build her lightsabers, but she was suddenly drawn to another storage compartment. She opened it and looked at the parts inside. One set of parts inside it really spoke to her. She picked it up and looked it over. It looked like it would combine something together.

Huyang walked over to her to examine what she had just picked up. "Ah, an interesting choice," he said as he saw what she had in her hands. "Now then, let's go and construct your saber." Aisha nodded and followed him back to the table.

A couple minutes later Aisha had constructed all of the parts with Huyang. Now, all there was left was for her to combine them all together with the Force. While Huyang had been constructing a few of the more basic mechanical components, she had been studying the lightsaber blueprints that he put on display for her.

Now that she had everything, she had to put the lightsaber together. It made her a bit nervous again, she wasn't sure if she could do this.

Ahsoka could sense it and walked up to her. She kneeled next to where she was sitting on the ground. "Don't worry Aisha, you can do this," she said reassuringly. "Just remember everything that we practiced. Concentrate on all of the parts in front of you and see how your lightsaber will be in your mind. The Force is with you, now let it guide you again." Aisha looked at her and nodded.

She relaxed a bit and moved her feet so that she was sitting in the meditating position they had been using all the time before. She closed her eyes and worked on calming her mind to focus on the Force.

Ahsoka smiled as she felt her sister relax and call on the Force. She slowly raised her hands and willed all of the parts to levitate in front of her. She watched with pride as her sister moved all of the parts together and formed her lightsaber. She was quite surprised however, when she noticed that she was building a saberstaff. She herself hadn't really done much with double-bladed lightsabers, so she wondered just what made her sister build hers like that. It did explain the reason for her obtaining two crystals from the caves.

After all of the parts had clicked together, Aisha opened her eyes again and looked in wonder at the lightsaber she had just put together. It was the same color as Ahsoka's lightsabers, smooth handles with little rubbery spots to make sure you could easily move your hands along the handle yet still keep a solid grip on them. She stood up and gently lowered it into her hands. Resisting the urge to immediately hit what she knew were the activation switches, she first looked at Huyang.

"You assembled everything correctly," the droid told her. "Go on now, show us what you have made."

Aisha nodded and looked at her saber expectantly. She hit the activation switches eagerly. A green blade emerged from one end and a blue blade came out from the other. Her eyes went even wider, if possible, as she took in the full realization that she had just constructed her own lightsaber.

"Well done Aisha, I knew you could do it," Ahsoka told her with a large smile. "But I'm a bit surprised that you made a double-bladed saber. I wasn't expecting that, to be honest."

Aisha carefully turned around to face her sister, a beaming smile on her face. She looked at the weapon in her hands. "Dad fought with a weapon like this," she replied, memories flashing through her mind. "It was amazing to see him use it. But look," she moved her hands and the special parts she had picked last allowed her to separate the double blade into two separate lightsabers that she then held like her sister always did. "I can separate them too and fight like you do!" Her excitement was clearly showing.

Ahsoka was surprised but also very happy and pleased by this. She was amazed by the fact that she made her lightsaber in the memory of her father. It was a wonderful thing to do. Adding to that that she had also made her lightsaber in such a way that she could separate the blades so Aisha could fight like her made her feel honored.

Ahsoka gave her a wide smile. "For how nervous you were when we left Shili, you've certainly created a very advanced and wonderful lightsaber," she told her sister. "I think it suits you perfectly. Now then, you're going to need these," she said as she took something out of her pocket that she had grabbed while her sister had been collecting her lightsaber components.

Aisha watched as her sister took two items and clipped them both to her belt. She recognized them as the belt clips that Ahsoka had her lightsabers hanging on right now. She deactivated her sabers, secured them and hung them on the clips.

Ahsoka smiled as she looked at her sister with her lightsabers on her belt. "That looks really right on you sis," she said. "They're a perfect fit." Aisha smiled happily at that.

"Thank you 'Soka," Aisha replied happily. She then turned to Huyang. "And thank you for your help," she said as she bowed to the droid.

"It was my pleasure young one," Huyang replied. "I'm sure that you will take good care of your sabers." He turned a bit to look at Ahsoka as well. "Perhaps we'll see each other again some time."

"That would be nice," Ahsoka replied. "Thank you for your help, professor Huyang." She also bowed and then turned to Aisha again. "Come on sis, let's get back to Shili." Aisha nodded and they turned to leave the room.

;-

As they made their way to disembark from the ship, they found Master Yoda waiting there with Barriss and Nyla. The three of them all smiled when Ahsoka and Aisha reached them.

"See that successful you've been, young one," Master Yoda said. "Constructed fine lightsabers, you have."

"Thank you Master Yoda," Aisha replied with a smile.

"Yes, thank you," Ahsoka added as well. "Being able to use the parts from this ship and having professor Huyang's help has made this a lot easier for us."

"Glad to hear that, I am," Master Yoda said as he nodded.

Barriss smiled and took a step closer. "It was nice to see you again, Ahsoka," she said with a smile. "And it was a pleasure to meet you Aisha."

"Same goes for me, it was great to meet the both of you," Nyla Sonter added with a smile.

"It was nice to meet the both of you as well," Aisha replied with a big smile.

Ahsoka smiled as well. "It was very nice to see you again Barriss and I'm glad to have met you Nyla," she replied. "If the two of you are ever on Shili I do hope you'll come and pay us a visit."

"We'll be sure to try that," Barriss said as Nyla nodded in agreement.

"For now, I think this is goodbye," Ahsoka replied. "We need to get back to Shili. Our sister is getting married next week, so we need to get ready for that."

"Wow, congratulations," Nyla said surprised.

"Thank you," Ahsoka replied. "I'm sure it'll be a great party. Seeing how much our other sister has been looking forward to it, I'm sure she'll see to it that things go perfect."

"That sounds great," Barriss said with a smile. "I'm sure things will be fine."

"Now then, we'll take our leave and let the younglings get to building their lightsabers. I can clearly sense their excitement from here," Ahsoka said with some amusement. "Your presence feels a great deal brighter now Barriss, take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will Ahsoka, don't worry," Barriss replied as she gestured towards the direction of the boarding ramp. The party began making their way there. "By the way, how did the two of you get here?"

Ahsoka smiled at her question. "I have my own ship now," she said.

"You do?" Barriss asked in surprise. "How did that happen?"

"You know everything I did on Felucia and for Kiros right?" Ahsoka asked in return. Barriss nodded. "Well, princess Zaa Vashee was very determined to see to it that I would get a reward for that, despite me saying that she didn't have to." She shook her head in amusement. "I went to ask her to borrow a ship so we could travel here. She then asked me for my opinion of their new ship. I told her that it looked like a fine ship and she shocked me by saying that it was mine."

"They build a ship for you?" Nyla asked with wide eyes.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, they did," she replied. "And Zaa was not going to let me refuse it."

They all laughed a bit at that. "That princess did strike me as an interesting character when I saw her after Felucia," Barriss said.

"You have no idea Barriss," Ahsoka replied with an amused smirk. They then reached the boarding ramp. "It was great to see you all here. I hope you have a quiet journey back to Coruscant."

Yes, let's hope it's a pirate free journey," Barriss said dryly. "Have a safe journey back as well. It was nice to see the both of you here. May the Force watch over you."

"May the Force be with you as well," Ahsoka replied. They all shared a bow and Nyla lowered the ramp. Ahsoka and Aisha pulled their hoods back on and gave a quick wave before leaving the ship.

After they were off the ramp, it closed behind them again. "Let's get back to the ship," Ahsoka called out to her sister. Aisha nodded back and they set off to the Radiant Eagle.

;-

"I'm glad we won't be needing these on Shili anymore," Aisha commented as she put the heavy winter clothes back in the storage crate. They had arrived back at the ship and now with the ramp closed, the thick clothes weren't needed anymore.

Ahsoka laughed a bit. "Yes, I'm not a big fan of the cold either," she replied amused. "Let's go home." Ahsoka gestured towards the cockpit and they both made their way there.

After going through the take-off procedure, Ahsoka took with the Radiant Eagle and guided her ship out of Ilum's atmosphere. She was extremely happy with the way her ship handled. It flew incredibly smooth, not to mention very fast. After leaving the planet's surface, her ships sensors picked up another ship nearby. "Look, that's the Jedi cruiser," she told Aisha as she pointed at the ship.

Aisha looked out of the viewport. "Oh wow, it's bigger than I thought," she replied. "I couldn't fully see it before because of the snowstorm."

"Considering the amount of younglings that were with them, you'll need a ship that size," Ahsoka said with a smirk. She flew a course around the Jedi cruiser, setting up for the jump to hyperspace. "Alright, time to go home," she said as she pulled the lever and her ship went into hyperspace.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

Aisha succeeded in her test and has built her own lightsabers now. She and Ahsoka will be practicing a lot with them later.

In case you were wondering about the weapon Aisha said her father used, look up the twinblade weapons from Dark Souls 2. Those were fun weapons to use in the game.

Up next for them will be Marina's wedding. I'm not sure yet if it'll be in the next chapter or the one after that. I still need to see how the chapters will work out.

I'm going to work on a new chapter for Gift of Light next. People liked the story idea so far, so I'll continue working it out.

Until next time.