Note: So, who is excited for Ahsoka to be back in the story?

-Tremulous. A being has managed to upstage a farseeing one, mentioning a name of an object, whose existence is almost unknown. The new threat evokes more questions. Not to mention, the fact that an old friend is quickly going to join the battlefield. Where will all this news lead?-

Chapter 25. The Bridger

"…The Bridger."

Another minute of silence from both beings. The sea's waves have reached such a size that, occasionally, one of them would pass through their line of sight. Both of them still remained on dry rugs, not even a drop of water on them. The atmosphere was also starting to change; the cohesiveness of it was fading. Menson was shocked a second time within the same hour. A miracle – for one, and a horror – for some. It was inevitable; someone would find out the name and existence of his precious object. An unworldly being in his 'meditation realm'? Not in the records. The Force sensitive was in a hazardous position. Time was running out; his planned performance with Katooni marched closer & closer. Not to mention the Future of the Galaxy in the coming days. A realization of no escape was excepted. Moreover, acted upon after the silence.

"Congratulations, Miss Unknown. You have now entered my field of interest."

"As expected." – she says.

There were 2 crucial aspects that Menson had to address. Doing that in a chaotic emotional state could prove too difficult, when someone would consider the difficulty of the opponent in front of him. So a calming crusade was being ushered in; the effect – on hold for now.

"It is highly possible that there is nothing that I can hide from you. True?"

"Probably. A slight overstretch of trust, Oswald. Let's keep the mystique of the battlefield in tact until we are more familiarized."

"Fine. I'll continue then."

"Please do."

"I've tried to sense your presence in the Force."

"And what have you found out?"

"That your some kind of anomaly. It is if as though you're a void of it and, somehow, at the same time, you are all of it."

"Which lead you to what conclusion?"

"That you are… An intermediator of the Living Force. A voice of it, for shorter."

"It would be miraculous that the most insightful Padawan of the Jedi Order didn't connect the dots."

"Your knowledge of the object sealed the case for me. If you were an old Sith Lord, you would have Force choked me already. If you were the unknown Sith, same result. If you were the creator of the object, than most likely you would have found me and took it back. No other Sith or Jedi knows of its existence. Therefore,…"

His eyes widen.

"…, you are the Living Force."

"In Human form."

"Correct. That is the conclusion."

"Yet, it is not the finale."

"No."

"Also expected."

No blinking from the blonde male.

"There is an unrelenting question that will not leave my mind."

"You should address it, Oswald."

"I should."

A bit of thinking.

"Why is the Living Force so concerned with a Jedi Padawan conducting an experiment with an archaic object?"

She slightly tilts her head to the right again.

"Care to guess?"

"Not particularly. I'm kind of at a disadvantage against you."

"Still…"

The head tilts back.

"A noteworthy answer from you requires your input first."

"Alright. It has a hidden ability that I've not managed to unlock."

"Success in isolating the options into several ones, rather than several hundred ones. The Bridger is a… Somewhat… Book of history. History of an ancient past. This is what my haunting eluded to. Be cautious about the Future centered around the object."

Menson took some time dissecting those words. Unfortunately, this move was the last in the 'meditation realm'.

"Oswald!" – Katooni shouts.

Suddenly, he opens his eyes back at the village house of Miss Varna. Furthermore, the conversation with the Living Force ends abruptly. He notices a staggering amount of exhaustion; even puts a his right palm on his forehead.

"Your awake."

"Yeah, and you were like entranced somehow." – the Tholothian girl states.

The 12 year old was brushing her legs with his legs at this moment, had a look of concern.

"It was a… Strong meditation."

"I would agree. You look tired. I told you that you need your rest."

"First thing, Katooni, I started my meditation probably at worst – 30 minutes ago. Second thing, an hour of relaxing laying bed will solve it. I'm sure of it."

"Well, we'll see. Anyway, Miss Varna came buy a minute ago to ask us to come to the kitchen. Breakfast is being prepared right now. That is why I had to say your name loudly."

"Then we shouldn't leave our host waiting."

With Katooni leading the way, the two Force sensitives left their room. Menson's mind was entrenched in rethinking all of the upcoming major events. Another person to keep an eye on in the future.

Several minutes later.

"I don't get the issue with drinking green tea in the morning." – Oswald states in a half-chunky way.

"Who said it was an issue?" – Jeremy asks, Alexander's brother & second offspring of Miss Varna.

"You did. Just a minute ago."

The young Human male just brushes off the answer as pure nonsense.

"That's… Preposterous."

"Is it? Or you just wanted to say the word 'preposterous' to someone?"

He quickly shows off his palms, tilted back to his head.

"You got me."

Oswald, Katooni, Alexander smile together; Jeremy joins in later. The buzz around the table was substantial; everybody seemed to be in a good mood. Although Mundi's Padawan didn't completely forget the Living Force's final explanation, he had convinced himself that he still has some time to relax, enjoy the company around him. Jeremy's questioning of the Padawan's truly either maintained the buzz around the table or even enlarged it. Miss Varna was near a stove to the left of Alexander, farthest away from Oswald. The table was set up for 5 (obviously).

"Ey, I just wanted to express my joy in your arrival." – Alexander says.

"There is no need. You showed me that you really missed me, when we were in the pool yesterday."

"Then call this a strengthening of that view."

"I get the feeling Oswald has already been here a couple of times?"

"Oh yeah, Katooni. I think this is the 3rd time." – Jeremy replies.

"That's right."

"I can confirm that." – Miss Varna shows support.

The chat continued until the elder Human male called a halt. Not for any reason; at that time – the food had been finished. So she placed it on the table, sat herself down and told everyone:

"Here. Enjoy."

So they did. With every second the morning went on, the insightful one kept the Living Force's last comments alive. Up to this point, the Alliance's future could not be called a 'certain thing'. With good reason, certainty is a rarity, no matter, to what it pertains to. The archaic object had entered the picture due to an enormous dark side presence on Coruscant. Some of the Alliance is located on the planet. Its unknown existence would probably prove to be the killing strike of the Alliance if left alone. Menson came with an idea to deal with said problem. Yet now, the issue with the tool, that is supposed to accomplish the goal, is even more suspicious than before.

14:30 Coruscant Time, Jedi Temple hangar. Master Yoda, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Council, was welcoming some sort of shipment in one of the Temple's hangars. Master Saesee Tiin asked several Temple Guards about the Grandmaster's location. Luckily, one happened to see him going to a hangar. So, the two Force sensitives meeting would happen soon.

"Ahhh, Master Tiin. Hmmm. Something ask me you want?"

"Why yes, Master Yoda. It is about a member of the Order."

"What about?"

"I would like to register a Special Council Session centered around him."

"Him? Male he is?"

"Yes."

Master Yoda pierces into the Force, calmly dissects the signals coming from it & the signals that are coming from Tiin. Concern is easily captured. After Force sensing, the oldest Order member says:

"Fine. Your wish… granted will be. Present a vote on the time I will."

"Thank you, Master Yoda. Now that we're done with that aspect, I want to ask you about Master Bangad? Have you heard any news from him or Padawan Elanesquil?"

"Hmmm,… Can't say that I have. Moving towards the last stronghold in the Western meridian Master Bangad said."

"He's conducting a good campaign. It is entirely possible that we'll here the news of the stronghold's capture in the coming hours."

"Yes,… Possible."

Tiin was fairly pleased with his efforts. Master Yoda had agreed to propose a time for his Special Session before the evening. With any luck, it will be presented tomorrow. He could now focus on eating something. All work and no relaxation – bad recipe for life. Besides, there was no huge encouragement to tell Koth & Tii the news. They would both here it, when the Council meets again. Just Tii will be in hologram form.

"Ts! Ts! Ts! Ts! Ts!" – were the sound coming from the blasters around the perimeter of the Confederacy's stronghold.

"GET DOWN!" – a clone shouts.

Several of his fellow combatants die from a rocket launcher explosion.

"Sir,… They have already breached the Wall."

"I see that, Commander. Now lay down those clones. If we lose this base, we lose the whole Western Meridian."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Blaster fire continues all around the stronghold. The Republic's forces have managed to break through the Wall that was surrounding the stronghold. Alas, it wasn't big & not a lot of men managed to get through without being shot down. Now, Master Bangad continues the push & search for the leader of the stronghold, while his Padawan and the clones try to eliminate all of the droids on top of the Wall.

"DHUMMMM!"

Another part of the wall breaks apart, more than a dozen blocks of stone fall down.

"Ts! Ts! Ts! Ts! Ts!"

This time the sound was coming from the 17 year old Twi'lek's blue lightsaber. She confidently stood her ground, repelled the droids blasts. By doing both of them, at least 10 droids died in the coming minute.

"We're almost half on clearing the Wall, Master!"

"Very good, Padawan. Do not let up. My forces are nearing the top of the base. Soon the leading officer here will be under arrest."

"Understood! Elanesquil out!"

She suddenly Force jumps into a dense droid area, repels all blasts at her and slices 2 with one swing, another 2 – with another.

"We're winning this."

Her grey cloak had some holes in it, but that was to be expected. This was, after all, a war zone.

An hour passed.

"Everything's ready, Admiral?"

"Yes, General. You are clear to transmit a signal to the Jedi Temple."

"Then stand by for the transmission."

The Admiral nods & his projection disappears.

"Now we'll get the opportunity to report our progress & ask of the surge of sadness you had today."

The orange skinned female simply nods.

"Transmitting." – a clone trooper says.

On Coruscant.

"Sir,… An off planet signal is transmitting to us."

"Put it through." – Windu states in a firm, low tone.

Along with him, the War room also had Council members Luminara, Koth. A hologram of Master Bangad & Padawan Elanequil appears in a couple of minutes time.

"Master Windu, we're ready to report on our progress on…"

"Very well, Master Bangad. Have you secured the stronghold?"

"Yes. Not to long ago we managed to round up all the Separatists that were left standing and detain them."

"So I assume that means you have the Western part of the planet secured?" – Undhuli inquires.

"Affirmative, Master Undhuli."

"Is that all?" – Koth questions.

"No. There is also an issue concerning my Padawan."

"An issue? If so, why do you have to voice it to the Council?" – Koth questions in a minor annoyed tone.

"Easy, Koth. No need to start demonizing the Padawan."

"You can speak, Padawan Elanesquil."

"Thank you, Masters. Less than 24 hours ago I felt a strong surge of loss through the Force. Therefore, I was hoping that you could share some light on the whereabouts of Padawan Farnos."

Windu's Face grew in severity so rapidly that someone would assume it was always that way. The face changed within the confides of Kelan's statements. There was a minute of silence. Both Koth & Undhuli reluctantly lowered their heads a bit. It was not a good sign whatsoever for the 17 year old. Then Windu says:

"His whereabouts are known to the Council."

"Good, Master Windu. So would you mind telling me, where and how he is?"

"Haaah!"

Mace took a deep breath before mentioning the tragic news.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Padawan, but fellow Padawan Zane Farnos has been killed and is kept now under surveillance in the Temple."

"That… Is… Heartbreaking, Master Windu."

"We understand that you cared for Padawan Farnos, but it seems that the Force has made it impossible for you to see him again. At least… In this realm." – Luminara steps in.

"Is the culprit being looked in?"

"We're working on it, Padawan Elanesquil. Rest assured, we will find the person responsible for his death."

"Sorry to be so brief, Masters, but I have to go deal with my emotions."

"Understandable, Padawan. You are free to leave."

The Twi'lek's hologram disappears; Master Bangad waits for Kelan to leave the room before their conversation continues.

"She took it well."

"Well enough, Luminara. She did process the signal's strength and isolated only several possibilities."

"You must keep an eye on her emotional state."

"Will do, Mace. I'm obviously going to need her in a harmonic state if we're to take the whole planet. What about her other close Padawan? Padawan Menson, any news about him?"

"As far as we know, he is now vacationing on Naboo." – Windu answers.

"At least he's safe for now."

A little later. When people desire a distinct thing, especially one that is risky, their senses heighten, whenever there is a feeling within them that the thing can be achieved at that exact moment. It could be the heightening of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch or any combination of the senses. Near the ceiling of a storage room in the Temple, within the grasp of shadows, suddenly, a Human figure appears. Said figure looks at a lot of different directions, judges their safety.

"Seems clear." – Tanlia states, while turning her head to the darkness behind her.

"Then we are safe for another day."

The 18 year old stood on top of a mountain of silver grey containers. Not only that, she was half-naked. A second oversight of the surrounding happens before the person goes walks back into the shadows.

"My thighs are still trembling."

"The adrenaline hasn't fully left my body."

The other being on this mountain was Calder; he also was half-naked, rather than walking, rested on a wine red rug. In front of Tanlia, to the right of Calder, stood a sangria red lamp. It illuminated the room enough, so that the two could see each other faces well enough 2 meters (~6,5 feet) away. When the female arrived in the illuminated area, she slowly lands with her knees on the rug.

"As I said the first time, I have no regrets." – the blonde expressed herself in a gentle tone.

"Neither do I. It is a part of who we are."

She smiles, then rearranges her body to be sitting, back turned to Calder. The black haired male waists no time, darts up from lying on the wine red rug. Soon, there was less than a meter (~3 feet) from their faces, their bodies were shaped like the letter 'T', Tanlia being the vertical part, while Calder – the horizontal. A moment of silence filled the space around them. Not a major surprise. Their minds were still somewhat overrun with emotions which limited their ability to chat about something other than themselves happening in the future.

"He surely knows about the movement against Him."

"There is no past event… That would make me doubt his ability to anticipate. I mean, he is just that good."

"Ahsoka's dismissal probably made him even more committed to the Goal."

"It does show the Council as an incapable, misjudging group."

"That is exactly why I believe…"

She turns her face to be in direct contact with the fellow 18 year old.

"…A trial for Him is imminent."

"Sadly, I agree. It is only a matter of time before they get tired of his… Mystical,… Unknown motives."

Not even a minute later, both were lying on the wine red rug, enjoying the tranquil sound of silence & the beautiful sight of each other.

10:30 Naboo time. The birds were cheerfully chirping in the nearby trees of Miss Varna's house. The wind was blowing at a noticeable speed, but the tress scattered it. The two Force sensitives were making their way up to the clearing; Oswald was leading Katooni & carrying the polished, grey, steel box. The Tholothian girl felt confident with the viewpoint that, what her partner caried had its purpose. Couple that with: her disbelief that simple meditation would be enough to figure out the origin of the dark side presence of Coruscant, the monstrous kilometers (miles) that separated Naboo from Coruscant, there was less of an inkling by the mind to question such an action. Mundi's Padawan reassured himself that the chosen path was the best one he had with the circumstances at hand.

"The Vote is just 3 days away. I've looked into several tactics, planned out several roads to find the origin of the enormous dark side on Coruscant. This…Is…The best move."

The site was reached. So, the 19 year old spoke:

"Here we are."

"What's our next move?" – the Youngling asked in a light tone.

"Firstly, I have to get into a meditating position."

The blue eyed male commences his walk to the middle of the clearing. Yet, Katooni stops him with:

"Hold on, Oswald."

Realizing it would be even more dangerous to move forward with ignoring her, he stopped & turned his head.

"What is it, Katooni?"

"Aren't we supposed to be partners?"

Concern had appeared in her voice.

"We are. You will be presented with your task, while I'll be presented with mine."

The Human turns around completely, back facing the close cliff.

"As I remember, partners are supposed to trust each other."

"They are."

"And you view this as an action of mistrust?"

"Exactly, Oswald."

It was time to address an aspect of the Tholothian girl's well being that could prove deciding in a negative way to their goal.

"The activity that has to be performed to reach our goal is…, to put it lightly, would most likely be tabooed by the Jedi Council. As I also remember, you do want to protect your friends, right? It's going to be a hard task if the Council accuses you of reveling in activities that are greatly punishable."

"In what way?"

Suddenly, Menson's Force stance begins to shift, become less monotonic.

"If I had to guess, a massive suspension or expulsion from the Order. Do you wish for that to happen, Katooni?"

The 12 year old started tensing; everything was becoming clearer. Issue – clearer does not necessarily meant better in her case. Seeing the confusion, the male continued.

"Remember our deal? The third part was you not betraying my trust? So…"

He lifts his right leg, in a strong, menacing way puts it down in front of him.

"…Are you slowly sliding back to the Council's position? Which is – not doing anything about it?"

Katooni read the recent signals from the Force; there was no getting around it – Oswald's stance in the Force contained both the light and the dark. What made her continue was the love, huge affection for her friends, whether it was Pedro, Ahsoka or even Oswald himself.

"I'm not changing my view on the operation."

"So you still believe this is the best way to proceed?"

"I do, Oswald. Though, I want to meditate with you."

"How much…"

The tone becomes lower.

"…Do you crave it?"

Rather than answering immediately, she takes a step forward.

"Greatly."

"I know that you know this will not be a traditional meditation."

"Correct, partner. Why else we would be on Naboo to do it?"

"You're learning to better detect the details with every passing day. Though… I discourage you from participating in this meditation because of your Force presence in the last day."

Now the partners voiced their findings on each other's emotional state. Something inside Katooni altered.

"You took this much time to identify the change?"

"Not at all. I presented you the opportunity to reposition yourself in the light."

She took another step forward; from the side, they looked to be significantly more unorthodox than most members of the Jedi Order.

"I declined."

"I see. That is the second reason, why I don't want you to perform the action with me. I know, what type of toll it can take on a Force sensitive, especially, a Youngling. You may not be able to handle it."

"True, but I presume you know that two Force sensitives will have a better chance to succeed than just you alone with me watching over you. Am I correct?"

"Something has changed with you. You are more susceptible to submerge in the dark side than before your incident. Also,…"

He smiles in a cryptic way.

"…You are correct, partner."

"I will not lie, partner, my state has changed. Whatever has changed, we must proceed to conduct this activity right now."

"You sense, what the Force is telling us?"

"Who couldn't? It is a huge amount of danger signals."

"And you are willing to move beyond them?"

"Aren't you?"

"Without a doubt. I arranged… Everything. Just to be in this position."

She completely erases the space between them, slowly grabs his left hand. Mundi's Padawan doesn't object. Both of the girl palms engulf his left palm.

"Believe me, Oswald. There are dangers around us. They'll always be there. I'm willing to see this thing out with you. The Person has hurt you no less than he's hurt me."

Takes a deep breath.

"We must act together in this special meditation technique that you've prepared."

Oswald shortly thinks, ways his options.

"Alright, Katooni. Let's take our places near the center of the clearing."

She smiles and they start to walk again.

The older Force sensitive places the box in between them; the gorgeous grass welcomes the bottom half of their bodies. Not even a meter (~3 feet) separates their bodies. All of the newcomers to this place arrange themselves in a concentrated area. Then, Menson slowly states:

"Before we continue, I must advise you not to be repulsed by what you see."

The Tholothian girl nods slowly; he takes it as an affirmation & with precious care, a slow pace places his right thumb on a red rhombus.

"No veil can hide you from me."

The red rhombus glows and in gracious fashion the top of the box starts lifting up. Seconds pass, Katooni just watches, how the grey, steel lid goes almost 270 degrees.

"Take a look at what's inside."

She carefully lowers her head and the eyes quickly lock onto the one & only thing inside the grey box. It was a blood red sphere, with a glass surround. That was the ordinary part. The unordinary thing was a blood red crystal that penetrated the sphere diagonally down. It was also covered in glass. The sight was so tranquil, intense, powerful.

"What…Is…It?"

"An object. An object I found a long time ago."

"Tell me more."

"Very well."

First, the insightful one closes his eyes, then – his partner.

"This was the 1st year of the War, me & my Master were sent on a mission to Xenis. A cold, desolate planet with a lot of snowy deserts. We were following a lead that a group of space pirates had kidnapped an important official of a planet in a nearby solar system. Me, my Master and three squads of clones were walking through one of the snowy deserts. It was very much cold. This… Proved to be the decisive thing that led to an ambush. In it, one pirate shot a rocket, it landed near me and some clones… I nearly died. Yet,… that was not all. Me and a clone fell down at least a 200 meter (~650 feet) neither all crystal, nor all glass cave."

"You didn't notice it before the ambush?"

"No. Later on I came to a conclusion on, why we didn't. Back to the story… The clone landed on a sharp edge of an icy top, it pierced him in the chest. I managed to reach the bottom of the cave. It was… unbelievably quite there. Even the Force seemed to be asleep down there. While trying to look up, I noticed something obscure in the furthest section of the cave."

"What was it?"

"It was…A square shaped, beautiful hole with a polished steel grey box. It was covered in perfectly cut, purely transparent square glass chards. I used the Force with the intention of finding out more about this obscure object. To my complete surprise, it registered nothing of it."

"Nothing? No Force presence?"

"No. It was an absolute void of the Force. I was stunned by what I had found. My curiosity poured through my veins, so I carefully move the shards away from the box. As soon as it came to contact with my hands, the unnoticed red rhombus glowed. It gave me more of an urge to take it with me back to the spot, where I landed. I shouted at my Master; a few minutes later, he looked down, saw that I was alive and lowered me a rope that was long enough for me to Force jump and hold onto it. That was, how the object was found."

"But you hadn't opened it yet?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about the first time you managed to unlock it."

"It was on the journey from Xenis to Coruscant. I placed it on a table in my living quarters; tried to understand more about the box that I found. The trip was long, so I focused a large amount of my energy, time on said activity."

The Human male takes a deep breath.

"At one moment, I had become so frustrated that my emotional state was out of control. Somehow I became angry at my Master, this created a passion within me. I wanted to find out, where he was at the ship and heavily criticize him. It grew & grew, when a mysterious thing happened. The red rhombus glowed and the box opened up. I was so consumed in my passion that I didn't notice it. Then…I entered what it looked to be a Force tunnel and in only a few seconds was face to face with my Master in some kind of form. It was probably the biggest chock in my entire life. Only when the passion faded a little, my view of my Master, the tunnel disappeared and the box closed. There was also a noticeable amount of the dark side in my room & around the box. Luckily, I managed to contain it, minimize it or change it, so it wouldn't be detected by my Master. Back at the Temple,… I realized, what I had found, what I had done. On that day I knew I couldn't tell any Jedi Master about this or I most likely would be expelled. The object… Didn't have a name. So…I called it…The Bridger."

He gasps and opens his eyes.

"There you go – the story of the object that you see."

"Thank you, Oswald. Now I understand, why were you afraid & what we'll be doing right now."

"Trust me, Katooni. I would never have done this if I saw a better way out of this situation."

"I know, Oswald. I know. But we must perform it."

"So be it. Here is how it will go. First, both of us will have to latch on to a strong emotion. It must remain as such consistently or else it will not work. Second, we both focus in on the presence that we felt on Coruscant. This is important – the Bridger can only present you with the answer behind a Force presence that you have come in contact with. Once these requirements are achieved, we'll be more than likely thrusted into that Force tunnel together. I don't know, how much time it'll take, but the result should be the identity of the person, who has an enormous dark side presence on Coruscant. Clear?"

"Clear."

"Good. Last warning – do not get startled by anything. Anything! This process requires gigantic concentration. And we have to get it right on the first try, since you know the side effect."

"I understand."

"Then clear your mind & tell me, when you're ready."

The time around them seemed to slow down; the chirping had mysteriously disappeared.

"I'm ready."

"Good now. Now latch onto a strong emotion. Give everything you got towards growing it stronger."

The two Force sensitives began breathing heavily; the process had started. The surroundings became unnoticeable; their entrenchment in their meditation blocked them out completely. Almost 5 minutes passed, when Katooni stated:

"Now."

"Alright. Focus in on that Presence and let the Bridger do its work."

The Padawan connected himself first to their unknown person. Nothing surprising. As soon as the Youngling fulfilled the same criteria, the Bridger slowly lifted up and spontaneously ignited its red. A few seconds later the sphere started to disconnect from the crystal; another few seconds and a shower of blood red mixed with porcelain white appeared from both parts of the sphere. With the connection to the crystal, instantaneously Oswald & Katooni are thrusted into the 'Force Tunnel'.

"JUST MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF YOUR EMOTION!"

Unsurprisingly, both Force sensitives had chosen passion as their emotion. In less than a minute, the Force Tunnel had brought them back to Coruscant, insanely quick from the atmosphere to the Republic Senate building, then – through all the floors to the top one. Another three seconds & here both of them were, only 3 meters (~10 feet) from the person sitting in his chair. That person being – Chancellor Palpatine.

"How interesting." – he said.

Katooni was struck with such disbelief that her passion began to waver.

"KATOONI! NOOOOO!"

Alas, it was too late. Instantaneously, their 'Special Form' disappeared from the Chancellor's office. Not only that, it created something totally unexpected & dangerous back on Naboo. What could it be?