Rex barely made it a few meters following "Fives" before he dug in his heels, refusing to take another step further.

Fives– or whoever (or whatever) was only a few paces ahead of him, continuing the trek. The figure had taken off their helmet, now holding it at their hip as all clone soldiers did out of habit. Rex heard him take a deep inhale and exhale out with an audible sigh before Fives's signature vocal tone boomed out,

"Stars! The air on this moon is incredible, Rex. This feels good. I miss that feeling when we could take our helmets off and actually breathe in the air of a new place. Eh, that is, before it all went to shit with blaster fire, blood and smoke, right?"

Fives didn't urge Rex for a response.

But Rex still wouldn't move. He was tired of looking at the perfect replica of the back of Fives's full head of jet black hair.

It was shaved when he died. He had taken his chip out and had a shaved head.

Truthfully, it could be the back of any clone's head. But that walk? That was Fives.

Fives had this walk that just oozed confidence, announcing that he was ready for any damn thing thrown at him with each strut. He always had his shoulders back, chest out, whether he wore his armor, blacks, or those damn starched civvie jumpers.

Fives's goateed chin always led as he walked, giving him a demeanor that was so approachable it was intimidating. Shinies felt special even if he barely said three words to them. And women? Forget it. Military-grade TUG tractor beams only equaled his unique magnetic charisma. Women were instantly drawn to his lively energy field of casual swagger.

It was something Rex had never felt around the opposite sex. Until here, on Splendor with Ahsoka. Rex was still dizzy from waking up with the lustful haze of making love to Ahsoka, now being quickly removed by this bizarre scenario. Was it too much to ask for one day of normalcy and rest?

He heaved out a sigh.

This is crazy. Or am I going crazy?

"Hey!" Rex shouted to his supposed brother, who stopped walking but didn't turn around.

As Rex was trying to puzzle out this non-response, he caught the slightest of movement.

Kriffing hell. I don't believe it.

Incredibly, it was the nervous tick that no other clone had. The thumb and pinky of Fives's right hand would continuously tap a drumming restlessness on the side of his thigh plate. Everyone would joke that Fives could both march in time and to the beat of his own drum.

And it was that tiny detail that finally made Rex confront the situation out loud,

"What in the galaxy is going on?! You're… You're—"

"Dead? Yes."

"What do you mean, 'yes'? Then how—"

"And no ."

"WHAT?! I—I don't understand? I saw you get shot! Commander Fox shot you right in the heart…in front of me. You died in my arms!"

Rex was about to start registering the painful memory again.

"And yet, Captain, here I am, in the flesh even," his face proud and hands out presenting as though he too was impressed, "This was unexpected, I know."

Fives allowed Rex a moment to try to wrap his brain around this strange event. But being Fives, he just couldn't resist,

"But...stranger things have happened on this moon, huh, Captain?" He gave a wink.

"What the—?! You can't be serious! This is some fucking Force trick. You are not really Fives and I am not going to play along with some head game that's going to use Fives's memory to fuck with me!"

Fives stood there pulling his gloves tighter and adjusting his gauntlets, "Are you done?"

Rex's eyes widened at the incredulous question.

Fives walked over to Rex with a playful, almost boyish taunt. He stood face to face with his clone Captain. Rex's quizzical look at Fives was twisted up in so many emotions, as he realized this was not a mystical spirit or ghost. Somehow, here on Splendor, Fives was flesh and blood made whole.

Fives then slowly lifted up his right arm to Rex's cuirass. Then shoved him— hard.

Stunned, Rex lost his footing as he flopped back on his skid plate, his helmet tossed to the ground. Astonished, he immediately got back to his feet and shoved Fives back.

"Haha! There's my Captain!"

"Don't you fucking dare! You are not Fives!"

Rex was karking spitfire mad with rage and grief. Anger was burning from his chest, radiating up and down to his extremities. His face was beet red while tears welled in his eyes with fury.

"You can't do this! You have no right!"

Rex tried again to shove him, but Fives easily dodged Rex's jump at him with a zig-zag sidestep.

"Fight it, Rex. C'mon, Cap! That's it. Get pissed!" Fives dropped his bucket to the ground

"Stop!"

"I tried to tell ya." Fives's right boot swiped around Rex's left calf, almost taking Rex out completely. But, Rex caught himself on his knee plate, back up on his feet in a flash, and repositioned a defensive stance.

Rex roared with unrestrained anger, "FUCK YOU!"

His boisterous voice echoed across the landscape. Rex's chest was heaving, his head pounding from the exertion of his emotional release still traveling the distance.

Fives closed his eyes and listened, appreciating the sound as it traveled.

The two of them silently registered the reminder of their dear brother— Echo.

Both men now knew that Echo was never actually dead. The 501st's silent trauma from thinking they lost him at The Citadel turned out to be worse than grief. Instead, they should have felt overwhelming guilt for leaving him behind still alive and suffering.

Echo's torturous imprisonment at the hands of the Techno Union had left his mind and body permanently scarred. And even though Rex risked everything to save him, he had to let Echo go...again. No longer the ARC Trooper he once was, Echo was changed forever. Still, saving Echo was one of the few victories Rex could actually be proud to have achieved.

Fives spoke carefully in a calm tone, "On Anaxes, you knew it was Echo. Even Cody doubted you, but you knew. Didn't you ever wonder how you were so sure or more importantly why you were sure that Echo was still alive?"

"I just figured...Are you saying...No, no, no, this isn't fair. You have no idea what we went through! What Echo went through!"

Fives relished in Rex's challenge. Oh, he was ready for a brotherly fight.

"Oh, I don't know?! Tell me, Rex, how I don't know what it's like to be deserted, by my brothers?"

"I was there, Fives! I did not desert you. You don't think I regretted giving you permission to stay with Tup on Kamino?! Not a single, fucking day went by when I wished I could go back and do things differently. You would have left with me and let them–"

"Let them what? What, Rex? Let them reprogram Tup? Or worse, let him die? Cap, if you think I would have actually listened to you—"

"Listened to me? Oh,Maker, forbid!"

Rex's fury came out in nasty biting sarcasm as he continued,

"How dare I, Captain Rex, expect the one and only cee tee fucking five five five five should listen to me? I was just the lowly captain of the whole damn 501st Legion?! You'll have to forgive me, Fives. Yes, I regret the very moment that I—yes,me, Captain Rex— made the wrong choice and gave one of my best men, my closest brothers, clearance to go on a damned suicide mission."

Both men stared daggers into each other's eyes. These emotions were actually the agonizing love that could only be between what most people call…family.

"I should have ordered you to leave with me!"

Fives scoffed an incredulous laugh at Rex's predictable response. He made no effort to mask his disappointment in Rex's final declaration on the matter.

"Sometimes, Rex, honestly, I can't believe I looked up to you. You know what? Forget it. You aren't ready for this! If you're gonna pull that same 'good clone soldier' crap you always do, then there's no point to me even being here."

Rex would not accept such an insult. The blatant insubordination was too much—from anyone, whether it was some Force ghost or even a reanimated, undead Fives.

The boiling rage moved Rex to charge and lunge at Fives in response. The two soldiers tumbled down to wrestle; their colliding plastoid armor pieces clacked and clashed as both scraped for the upper hand over the other. Rex bared his teeth with each forceful reach, then shouted and spat out every painful conviction,

"Not ready for what, Fives, huh? Tell me, smart ass! You cocky, mouthy bantha-fucker! Grrrrrrr—"

Rex used his whole torso to dig his head into the weak point under Fives's armpit. The maneuver caused Fives to wince aloud in pain at the stabbing pressure being applied to his pectoral muscle. Rex was limiting the reach of Fives's bicep as he tried to grab at Rex from behind.

"Tell me, Fives, you little shit! Running your mouth again, huh? You have no idea what I have been through! After Umbara, losing Ahsoka, then Tup and you? Then how we found Echo. And now?! Now, I've lost everyone. Everyone, Fives!" Rex spat out the combination of sweat and saliva that had built up with his shouting and complete focus on maintaining his dominant hold over Fives.

Rex was now shoving Fives's face down into the dirt to get the dulled arm in a hammerlock behind his back. Both men were now snarling out their breaths as Fives fought against Rex's strength to search for an opening. Rex's voice strained as he continued,

"I…would search…the galaxy and back…tenfold…if I— ARGGHHHH!…if I could...hmph...bring…GAHH!…any of my brothers back!"

Fives feigned a moment of surrender, and then he laughed maniacally as he pounced on Rex's slightest readjustment and release. Fives quickly wrapped his left leg around Rex's thigh, attempting to start a flip and spin for a reverse half-shoulder hold on Rex. But Rex anticipated the move and just applied more pressure to his grip on Fives (now completely) numb shoulder and crunched neck as the adrenaline raged Rex's continued fury,

"How dare you tell me I'm not ready for whatever the fuck 'this' is , or will be! After everything I have been through, everything I have lived through?! What in this damned galaxy could I not handle?"

Rex's body was worn out from fighting one of the smartest, toughest damn troopers he's ever known. He released Fives with a huff and sat back on his haunches. Fives pulled himself up to his knees, heaving with breath. He swung his arm in circles to soothe his rotator cuff as he plopped back down on his skid plate and stretched his legs out before pulling his knees up to rest his arms on his knee plates.

"I can't Fives. I can't fight you, whether you are him or…aw fuck, I don't know anymore."

"So you do see that it's me?"

"I don't know what you are. You sure as hell fight like Fives."

"Ha!" Fives snickered in response.

Rex yowled into the air at his physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Letting himself catch his breath, he confessed, "I don't know what's happening. Fuck! Every day here has been like some dream, then a nightmare that then turns into a dream. How is this harder than fighting a damn war?"

"Because you are becoming your own man, Rex. I'm never gone as long as you see yourself as a free man. You can't pull that perfect soldier routine anymore. You're a rebel now." Fives stood up and reached out his hand for Rex to safety-grip his wrist, "And you know what that means?"

"What?"

Rex accepted Fives hand and the two locked their grips around the other's wrists as Fives pulled Rex up to face him. Fives placed his hand on Rex's shoulder plate.

"It means you'll do what is best and right because you know it is. You'll question authority, doubt their bluffs, and know that you can always outsmart them."

Rex would have been horrified and insulted by the label 'rebel' at any other time in his life. But now? He was sure he just couldn't live up to the description.

"That was always you, Fives. I was never the rebellious type."

Fives gave him a smirk.

"Hmm…interesting. Yet here she is, with you, on this moon. She's in love with you too…and you with her. Guess you only rebel when it comes to uh…love?"

Rex had no idea how to respond to this. Fives was right. Again.

"I'm…," Rex felt the hesitation creep up. He was facing one of his brothers who knew about his and Ahsoka's relationship. Of all of his brothers, Fives knew. Fuck.

Rex wasn't sure what came over him, but he started to laugh. He genuinely began to laugh because he absolutely didn't give a shit what anyone thought, even Fives.

"Ahsoka and I… I'm not going to deny what I feel, Fives."

"Good."

"It is. It's better than good, it's the best feeling I've ever had in my life."

"Oh, I bet ."

"Don't fucking start, Fives. I'm not talking about that with you."

"Really, Rex? You're telling me that fu—

"Watch it, brother!" Rex stepped to Fives

"Excuse me…uh, having sex with Ahsoka—

"It's more than sex, Fives."

"Kriffing stars, Rex will you lighten up?"

"Not about this, no. It's Ahsoka, Fives. She's not just some quick fuck in the back of 79's. She's…."

For some reason, the lagoon came to Rex's mind.

A warmth settled in his chest as he recalled how jittery and nervous he was to touch Ahsoka then. The terrifyingly wonderful rush of kissing her neck while suspended in the air combined with the sound of her surrender to affection.

"She's everything to you now."

"Yeah. She really is."

"You going to admit I was right? You never did apologize, Rex."

"What you said was out of line. Then and now."

"And what was it I said, again? Remind me."

"Oh this again? You know what you said that night. As usual, too kriffing much."

That night. That stupid, wasted, drunken night.

The same week Ahsoka left, Rex went out with the boys to 79's and sat there like a drunken fool. The memory stung differently now. He no longer felt like less than a man for not participating in the hedonistic orgy. He wasn't made of stone. But now facing Fives, Rex shuddered at the thought of what happened on the way to 79's.

As they all left the barracks, Fives pulled Rex aside to walk a bit behind the others,

"Captain, sir, I know you don't want to go out with us. But you should do yourself a favor and let one of these Shebbies finally fuck you. Maker, those gals have been dying to fuck the one and only Captain Rex!"

He gave Rex a slap on the back before throwing his arm around Rex's shoulder.

"If this is supposed to be a pep talk, you are failing miserably, Fives."

"Come on! Do you know how many times we are asked," Fives squeaked up his voice to a high pitch and batted his eyelashes, 'Where's the Captain, tonight?' or 'Is Captain Rex taken or what?' Haha. Or what is right!" Fives belly laughed as he shoved and released Rex from his hold.

"I highly doubt that, Fives. Am I taken? Why would they even ask that?" And what do you mean or what, huh?"

"Because…"

Rex looked at Fives blankly, having no idea what he was implying. Fives stopped walking. Rex stopped in turn.

"Captain, I'm serious. She's gone now. I know it's gotta hurt. She was the only female you've ever really cared about."

"What? You mean, Commander Tano? We all will miss—"

"Sir, respectfully, I'm talking to you, one man to another. You don't have to admit it out loud, but come on, Rex. I know."

Rex laughed off the serious tone in Fives's voice.

"Know what?"

Fives snickered out his bafflement that had just a hint of pity hanging in the air.

"Fives, if you're implying that I have feelings for Commander Tano in that way…."

"You're telling me that you don't care, it doesn't hurt that you may never see her again?"

"She's our Commander?!" Rex was starting to turn red in the face. Fives wasn't sure if it was anger or embarrassment.

"Come on, Rex! You mean to tell me that all that time you two have spent together, sitting next to each other every flight, every briefing, working extra hours on field reports, covering Skywalker's ass, guarding her tent on missions, every night we went out you two stayed in for—"

"All of those things I did as her captain! Look, the 501st has, fuck! We had one of the most talented and dedicated Jedi Commanders in the GAR. I never saw her as…as…."

"A beautiful, wickedly smart, kind, and powerful Togrutan Jedi whose body needed to grow up as fast as ours did, so you could finally kiss her one day?"

Yup. Rex still remembered what Fives had said that night…and not one trooper in the 501st failed to notice Rex's response that stuck around on Fives's face the following week.

"Look, Fives. I am sorry I punched you that night. Though, you were out of line. But yes, I... I could've handled my response better."

"Worth it."

Rex laughed.

Fives grinned, "Well, it was. And...I was right."

"That mouth of yours. Kriffing unbelievable. Damnit, Fives. I told you it would get you killed. Are you going to at least admit that I was right?"

"Again. Worth it."

Fives grinned at his brother with pride and said no more. For someone like Fives, silence carried significance. This was Fives's unspoken declaration of pride and honor. He stood there silently, grinning at Rex. Fives knew that even though the circumstances of his death were tragic, had he not uncovered the truth of the inhibitor chips, Palpatine's true identity, and the plan for Order 66, he would've been just another pawn in the greatest deception against the Jedi and The (now fallen) Republic.

Rex stepped to his brother and hugged him. He held Fives so tightly his own armor was digging into his skin. But Rex let the pain of the armor do its worst as he took a deep breath and confessed,

"Thank you, Fives. I'm sorry. And you were right, brother."

Muffled in their armored embrace, Fives responded,

"I'm still waiting for you to admit making love to Ahsoka is the best kriffing feeling you've ever had."

Rex grunted, then pulled away from their embrace. He was blushing, but he was also grinning. It was the cheekiest grin Fives ever saw on Rex's face.

"Come onnnn, Cap! You can tell a brother."

"Oh, not just any broth— Oh no, brother?!"

Kriff! Rex had forgotten entirely.

"I was supposed to check in with Cut!"

Ahsoka trekked the crumbling path that was lined with buried and broken columns. It was headed in a direction that would go much deeper into the cloud forest. She assessed that the heavy lower and upper canopies of massive trees could tangle up any clear path, so she paid attention to the patterns above made by the branches and foliage. There seemed to be hundreds of shades of green in this forest. This only made the forgotten detritus of demolished stone stand out worse. Life had moved on and taken over the untamed area that once was a hallowed, sacred space.

She could not help but think of the grand structure of the Jedi Temple. Growing up inside the temple walls, she had always believed the Jedi Order's high prestige was known and respected throughout the galaxy. But her months in the lower levels of Coruscant saw no such greatness or protection. The rest of the capital city was stifled beneath the weight and bloated distinction of Coruscant's upper levels. An obvious ruling class that was physically burying the rest of the city's population beneath them. And there at the very top level was where the "guardians of peace and justice" made their home.

The city's central landmark had a majesty that presided over the people of the capital city as a symbol of what? Was it to glorify their ability to protect others, or was it self-glorification?

In the months after she left the Order, Ahsoka would often wonder if the Jedi ever considered the real difference they could've made had they chosen to build their temple in the bottom levels of the city instead.

But none of that mattered now, though.

Ahsoka began to recall through a series of emotions and images the memories of the grand hallways, the quiet of the Jedi Archives, the lights of the training rooms, the comfort of the living quarters, and the powerful energy of the Jedi council room. All of these would one day be a ruin, buried in layers of time and forgotten.

I need to find out who survived.

Ahsoka hoped she could find answers if anyone else survived Order 66? Knowing that so many others fell, who would train the younglings now?

The younglings!

Ahsoka collapsed under the weight of grief, anger, and agony. Her connection to the Force was crawling under her skin, stinging with pain throughout her whole body.

No. This can't be…

Tears fell without shame from her eyes as she rooted her feet back to the ground to rise back up. With concentrated breath and gritted teeth, she slowly built up her spine one vertebrae at a time as she fought the weight of darkness and a sense of horror.

Innocent lives. They were just children and had done nothing wrong.

Vengeance will not bring them back.

Still, the rage brewing in her was instant. Ahsoka felt the shudder in her neck and shoulders as her jaw clenched. Lips curled in; she wanted to scream, spit out fire, and roar at the whole damn galaxy when she imagined what monster would commit such an unfathomable act of violence.

She wanted to do all those things. Instead, she let it horrify her but not consume her. Again, there was a darkness similar to a bottomless cavern of pain that had clouded her when they first arrived on Splendor. Her connection to the Force was a lifeline that she clung to as the grim shadow invaded her thoughts.

Ahsoka's body was trembling from being so locked up; her muscles flexed with tension. She was still registering the anger and disgust, calling for swift retaliation. She concentrated her focus and stared at a patch of grass that was struggling to sprout through the dirt.

Life. Hope.

Fixated on this one spot, she stayed grounded in her place at the moment.

"Darkness cannot guide my path. I am one with the Force and the Force is with me."

Rex.

She softened at the thought of him. A slight grin formed thinking of last night, his handsome face cradled in her lap as she watched his lips move when he spoke. She thought of how his eyes glowed when he smiled at her now. She closed her eyes and recalled the warmth of his voice when he was close to her skin just before kissing her neck. She wasn't sure if it was a feeling of comfort or safety, but it was calming. Rex was more than just her first love, closest friend, and warrior bound. Now he would always be a beacon that could to guide her back to the moment she fought her last fight in the war for the Republic…and was victorious. As long as the two of them lived, this evil that had murdered so many could never truly claim victory.

She knew leaving Rex behind this morning was what she had to do, but she missed his grounding presence right now. Still, Rex would be furious if he knew about the slaughter at the Jedi Temple. His clone instinct to protect the innocent and vulnerable would have him halfway to battle mode, and she would be the one telling him to stand down for a moment.

"Who did it? Who ordered the younglings to be killed?"

"One who controls the galaxy now."

The voice that answered was masculine, older, distant, yet serene. This spirit is here with her or around her, somewhere. She felt his presence in the Force. Morai circled above, but the man's voice was near. There was a familiarity with his Force presence. One she doesn't remember, but she knows him.

"This murderer? This is the work of Darth Sidious?"

"His apprentice, but yes, by his orders."

"They must be stopped."

"And how will this be acheived? More battles, more war. Isn't that what the Jedi were trying to do all these years? Not much to show for our efforts."

"Our? Then…you are a Jedi?"

"In my mortal life, I was, yes. Now I am just one with the Force. One of many Jedi who have left their mortal bodies. Now they are Jedis in memory only. For as long as anyone will remember if they do at all."

"I remember. I will not forget. I— I want to seek vengeance, but I–"

Ahsoka's emotions were simmering underneath her skin as a singe of heat caused her teeth to clench. She looked out to scope around her and distract her from the painful sensation. She noticed the top of a ruined pediment edging out of the ground. Once the smooth and shaped marble cornice slabs had met at a perfect point, now they were off-center, one side bearing the weight of the other that was crushed and buried into earth and loam.

"You know vengeance is not the way. Balance, Ahsoka. As you have found here. And you have found it here. You opened your heart to love with Rex when tragedy and grief could have consumed you."

The petty embarrassment of how much this spirit knew took her by surprise for a moment. That is until she registered what was just said and the lack of judgment in the man's tone.

"Balance? I certainly do not feel any balance since this massacre of my…," she stopped herself.

"You can say it, your people. Your family. You grew up at the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka. Leaving one place does not erase who you were in the past, you bring it with you in the present, for better or for worse."

"Who are you? Why do you feel so familiar to me?"

"Our connection exists here and now because your presence here has increased your powers, Ahsoka Tano. As a Jedi, I sought out past the acceptable boundaries of the Order. There was always more truth and more knowledge. A Jedi was to have no fear, and yet, the forbidden is only deemed so out of fear. You are now able to commune with me in the Force because of the power here. As you may have realized this place is not simply a moon."

"The Force is very powerful here. It…it reminds me of…."

"Mortis? I was there, with all of you. Obi-Wan and Anakin, they never spoke of your time there again, did they?"

Ahsoka felt as though she was dusting off a lost sentimental treasure from her mind. It was a memory placed in some mental vault for safekeeping but then lost to the frantic day-to-day demands of the war. Recalling it now, she considered all that she, Anakin, and Obi-Wan experienced on Mortis. The significance was lost at the time.

"No. We never spoke of it. Not even to the Council. It's as though…we just dismissed that it ever happened. And I—"

Morai's flight circling above her caught Ahsoka's attention.

"Morai, she was…the Daughter."

The bird gracefully swooped down and took its place on Ahsoka's vambrace.

"You gave your life for me. I'm trying to remember…The Father, The Daughter, and The Son. It all seemed so significant when we were there, but it was as though it never happened once we left," she said.

Qui-Gon responded, "When memories are forgotten, did the experience even happen?"

Ahsoka was familiar with this type of questioning. The contemplative nature of a Jedi was the result of deep philosophical training. Wisdom and compassion for others within a small community are simple and accessible. But to have the same consideration and openness for an entire planet? That was much more challenging.

Whereas Jedi were expected to practice compassion for all living things in an entire galaxy —while also wielding the power of the Force. Jedi needed to expand their perceptions and opinions beyond the narrow scope of their own personal understanding. The individual is limited. Jedi were trained to accept that they were part of something greater.

Once, she was part of something greater, too…until she wasn't anymore. The thought of this never quite settled in her heart right. It was as though some emotional limp from a painful injury healed wrong. She accepted she would live with the invisible scar forever.

"I remember you little one. Master Plo once told me his heart grew tenfold the day he sensed you, Ahsoka. The power in you had a strength and light that was unlike any he had felt. Your sense of good and bravery was so uplifting, he wondered if I had not made a mistake in my conviction for the youngling I had found."

Ahsoka still could not puzzle out who this was. She was done with this bizarre encounter attempting to bring up her past as though it had any idea what she had been through these last few days or even this last year.

"What do you want from me?! I'm here, aren't I?"

"No, you are not here! You were drifting back to your days as a Jedi padawan. We can talk about the Order, your training, your determination to prove yourself over and over again. What good would that do? It is gone now. Would you like to waste precious time reminiscing over days past? Is that what you have become since leaving the Order?

"No. That's not fair. My entire life was devoted to the Jedi Order. I was...," Ahsoka could not stop the hurt that always stung in her chest when she thought of Bariss's betrayal by framing her. But even more hurtful were the actions of the Jedi Council, believing Ahsoka was capable of the Temple bombing.

"Thinking of the past will always leave you falling behind. Where you are now is all that matters."

"To prepare for what is ahead?"

"Wrong again. A future that has not happened. How does one prepare for that?"

Ahsoka reached out to touch one large piece of a broken column. Its once smooth, sturdy stone had stood at an unknown height but now lay in shattered rubble. Its base was strangled in the ground at a falling angle.

The man's voice continued,

"You see what is broken before you. Do you waste time staring at these ruins wondering how or why they got this way? You could. You could do that. Or…you can try to put it back together."

Eyeing the pieces like a puzzle for a moment, Ahsoka assessed the difficulty. She closed her eyes, reached out her hands to allow the energy of the Force to work through her, and lifted all the pieces to hover. Next, she drew in the expanding breath that allowed her body to release an exhaling breath of elevated power. This is when the Force manifests from her as its conduit. As the scattered rubble swirled in a guided dance, the pieces began to pull together to their original columned form. Some pieces were large and jagged around the edges, some as tiny as a pebble. When she attempted to reassemble the pieces, her mind began to play flashes of scenes, unfamiliar to her but familiar to…

"Qui-Gon Jinn? You are Master Qui-Gon Jinn. You were…Obi-Wan's Master, the one who found Anakin. I-I barely remember you."

"I am. Yes, you were quite young. And, yes, I was a Master, but now of none, of nothing."

She sensed his presence grow stronger. She wanted to open her eyes to see him, but she would lose the focus needed to hold the broken pieces together.

"You are rebuilding a ruin. What will hold it all together?'

"The Force…"

"Hmmm…not without you. It won't stay together."

"But you were the one who said I could put it back together?!"

"Your mind is clouded, young one. The lesson is in the learning. What is there to learn from studying ruins or attempting to rebuild what cannot exist again?"

Ahsoka was so close to completing the column ruin. She wanted to finish this one task just to feel like she was still...capable. Always trying to prove herself, but to whom now? A ghost of someone she barely knew? There was no Anakin, Obi-Wan, Master Windu, or the rest of the Council.

She reluctantly recalled her weeks alone in the lower levels of Coruscant, sitting without any purpose.

She knew Qui-Gon was right. Once she had each piece together, what would keep it all there? She had to choose. Does she stubbornly stay there and hold the assembled column in place for the satisfaction of putting it back together? It's not like she could stay there holding this one column's thousands of pieces in place? But if she let go, it would all fall apart and crumble again. Her efforts would be a waste.

She accepted and admitted to the Force spirit, "I must let go."

"Yes. When you understand your choice, you know you are making the right one. As you enter the Temple of The Mother, be wise not to dwell on what happened before. Ask yourself, why are you here now? "

Ahsoka let her connection to the Force subside. The tiny twist of defeat she knew too well irked her as she realized she was still trying to convince the ghosts of her past that their doubt in her innocence was a betrayal that hurt her deeply. But her need for their approval was hurt much worse.

His spirit stood tall over her when she opened her eyes, a hazy form of stardust and light. She suddenly remembered when she met Master Jinn so long ago; she thought he was the tallest human alive. Now in some strange spirit form, she studied his face, robes, energy, and presence in the Force.

"You must begin your training today. Morai will guide you to The Mother."

"The Mother."

Ahsoka still had no notion of who or what was The Mother. She looked over into the midst of the wild forest. The massive trunks of kapoks, banyans, and palms appeared woven together to form some kind of an arboreal gate.

"I see no entrance to a temple at all. Forgive me, Master Jinn, but we just went through this. I cannot rebuild something that is lost."

"No, you can't. But, as you said, you can see what is before you. Look ahead, begin your own path."

Ahsoka closed her eyes and held her breath for a moment. Exhaling out, she opened her eyes and moved to take a step but thought again. It was no hesitation; instead, a sense of farewell and gratitude filled her heart. She looked over where Qui-Gon had stood, and he was gone.

"May the Force be with you, Ahsoka Tano," his voice then disappeared with the wind.

She felt a subtle warm breeze brush against her skin. Then it was gone.

"Thank you, Master Jinn. May the Force…be with you, always."

Ahsoka then took her first step on the unseen path further into the forest. She was determined not to falter in her actions.

The ground began to tremble as she walked. A thunderous rumbling underneath the ground caused Ahsoka to brace her stance. Unphased, maybe more determined, she continued, adjusting her gait as she moved in tandem with the crunching wave-like shifting of ground that would split and reset. It was as though something was waking up, but she sensed no other living beings of any kind.

The vines and dirt that had covered the shattered ruins of columns began to snap and crumble; a new pathway was being outlined directing the now elevated path into the cloud forest. Ahsoka observed the transformation as she leaped when suddenly, the columns rose up fully reassembled and erected once again. This time, it was not Ahsoka holding any of this together. The Force was demonstrating its impressive power, her own seeming small in comparison.

Up ahead, she saw the branches and leaves of the trees shake mightily as it was clear something was uprooting itself from below to rise out of its hidden natural tomb. In her vision, she saw two large White Wroshyr trees grow out of the ground to an impossible height in a matter of seconds. Ahsoka and any padawan of the Jedi Order had studied the archives of the mystical gem bearing majestic trees.

She remembered learning how they had long been extinct. The last one on Kashyyyk was said to have provided the last known precious meriyx gemstone over a millennia ago. Yet here on Splendor, two of these sacred trees stood guard on either side of a small humble stone square structure flanked on either side by the two trees and massive moss-covered boulders. The newly revealed path of mismatched stepping stones had also broken through the surface, snapping roots and knocking over some of the gigantic trees.

The building had some sort of small entrance. As Ahsoka got closer, she deduced that this was not the temple. This was just the entrance.

She finally padded her swift feet to face the small darkened entrance. There was no door, no markings, or symbols. Nothing gave her any indication of what was inside, but she braved every step anyway.

She had let the Force guide her on her own path, and now she stood at the precipice.

Morai swooped down and flew past her, disappearing into the darkened entrance.

And as Ahsoka took a step inside the temple's dark and seemingly empty entrance, she smiled and thought of Rex.

He's okay. He's not alone.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."