CHAPTER III – THE GREEN OF THE KYBER

The next morning, Kei and Mina began training together under the two masters. They used the course that Kei had been using which consisted of agility maneuvers on a section of tall charred palm trees (that had been struck by lightning decades earlier and were considered to be sacred), sparring and a brutal obstacle course that Ahsoka had constructed before she had left Kei on the planet. Rey included some remote droids that she had constructed that shot shock charges when evading attacks and turned very hot when touched.

In the afternoon, Ahsoka instructed Kei to show Rey and Mina the large archive of Holocrons, artifacts and medicine he had been gathering. They all walked back down to the beach to the large metal mound in the sand. When they reached it, Kei used the Force and the mound rose from the sand to reveal a tall cylindrical structure. A door slid open and they walked inside. A spiral staircase led down to a large round room. Shelves filled with books, stones, and various artifacts lined the walls. There was also a section of books, but what stood out the most, was a lone shelf filled with at least a dozen holocrons.

Rey took a look at the shelf and recognized Jedi and Sith holocrons, but half of them emitted an energy she was not familiar with. She realized that these must be holocrons from Harlu, their energy clear and nourishing. In fact, the entire room had an incredible energy. She reached out and felt Kei's strong connection to this energy as well as Ahsoka's calm understanding and balance within it. She reached further into the Force to feel her Padawan's connection to these artifacts and felt her spirit jump from object to object, finally settling upon the Harlu holocrons. It lingered there for several moments before disappearing back into nothingness.

Ahsoka felt Kei and Mina's spirits sorting out the energy of the holocrons like slippery ghosts. She pulled back the hood of her white cloak and reached her hand out toward the shelf of artifacts. She closed her eyes and fell deep into the Force. Both students turned as they felt Ahsoka's energy stream through the very air they breathed. Two small flutes rose from the shelf and floated into their hands. The flutes were made of a series of smooth cylinders fastened by cloth and decorated by tiny metallic stones. As the instruments touched their skin a narrow gash burned into each one.

The feint smell of charred wood and stone filled the room and both students looked down at their instruments, puzzled. Ahsoka and Rey looked at one another before Ahsoka spoke. "These artifacts chose you because they were drawn to your spirit. The fact that they are similar means that it was destiny that you meet. They fact that they both received burns means that you have things that you may not know about but need to overcome. Reach into the Force and hear the call of the Holocrons. Which calls out to you the loudest?" Kei and Mina closed their eyes and heard many voices. Two grew louder and louder until they drowned the others out. They reached out simultaneously and pulled two of the Harlu holocrons toward them with the Force.

Ahosoka spoke once again. "At the end of the next sun cycle, you will be left to face your great trial. These holocrons may not open now, but they will be of use to you at some point in the future. Before then, Master Rey and I will be here to guide you and help sharpen your skills." Both students stared down at the spherical holocrons in their hands and then at each other. Their spirits streamed into one another briefly within the Force before separating, causing them to face opposite directions in the room.

That night, Kei left the camp they slept in and walked back to the mound on the beach. He entered the room with the artifacts and medicine. He paused for a moment and looked back over his shoulder. He made his spirit as small as possible as to not alert the others back at the camp. He waved his hand over a panel on the wall. The wall in front of him revealed itself to be a mere holographic image disguising the entrance to a small hangar with a medium sized ship inside of it. The ship looked sad and wilted, with surface panels and boosters missing. Cargo boxes and various parts were propped up and stacked against the walls of the room. Kei walked straight towards the ship and let his mind wander. He knew nothing of flying, let alone repairing ships. He kept this one as a memorial token to honor his deceased family. This had once been their ship. He never remembered it actually flying, but something about it held their presence and memory and he valued it highly.

Kei walked up a rusty ramp into the ship. He went back into a small cabin lined with padded seating and a round table. He paused before sitting in front of the table and put both of his lightsaber hilts on top of it. He trembled slightly and paused yet again before opening both hilts and removing the kyber crystals from within them. He breathed deeply and fell into the Force as he set both crystals in the center of the table. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and a circular compartment opened up, revealing one of the small round Harlu holocrons. It floated up to the surface of the table and his Kyber were sucked into its surface. The holocron changed colors rapidy before settling back to green.

It opened up and a small bead of green light rose in front of Kei's face. He kept his eyes closed. His trembling had ceased and his spirit zoomed away to a distant place. In his mind's eye, he walked across a smooth black pond of water. A green flame flickered in the distance. Huge white fish swam beneath his feet, but he did not look down, focusing all of his attention on the flames. As he grew closer, the flame split itself into several more flames creating a wide perimeter around where he stood.

Arms as pale as moonlight embraced him from behind, their long clear nails reflecting the green flames like the most brilliant crystal. A soft voice rang through his entire being. "Kei-Ron, it has been weeks since you have come to see me. I was beginning to think you had forgotten." Kei stood stoic and spoke. "I would never forget you." In this place he could speak and did not have any scars.

The figure who had embraced him slithered around to face him again, this time from the front and gave him a passionately venomous kiss. The figure revealed itself to be a slender woman with skin that glowed like moonlight in this dark place. Her dark hair streamed down endlessly and blended with the water beneath them. In fact, the water and her hair seemed to be one in the same. A dark robe that blended with the sky hung loosely across her smooth frame.

Her breath filled his body and his desire began to rise. He looked away from her as she began to speak again, her words penetrating his soul and echoing through the Force. "You're different somehow. Yes, you're stronger, but there's something else." She closed her eyes and reached into the Force. She seemed to fill it completely. She looked into Kei's eyes and smiled. "Ah, yes…you know now don't you? Your…master told you who she really was. The visitor as well…she revealed herself to you."

Kei spoke, "yes Hara, she's a powerful Jedi master, teaching a new generation of students." At this, the woman began laughing loudly. "Jedi master? That may be how she cloaks her truth now, but she was once the heir of The Sith, destined to be their empress upon the throne. She adopted her new identity as a false salvation to fill the void of the masters who had left her behind to be one with the Force."

Kei let her words ring throughout his head. The heir of The Sith? Was this true? Everything Hara had ever told him had always come to be. Was this why Master Rey's energy frightened him? He looked deep into Hara's eyes and said "her padawan is strong in the Dark Side of the Force." Hara had begun walking away from Kei, but paused and looked back over her shoulder when he said this. "Padawan? Strange, I have not sensed her presence". She turned back towards the green flames and shed her robe.

Hara's skin glowed brighter than before and pulsed with soothing light. The rhythm of her silky movement across the water along with the pulsing glow of her skin penetrated Kei's mind. Rays of light began digging deep into his thoughts and memories. They rushed past blurred images and came to memories of Mina. Hara witnessed their duel, his frustration with her as well as his brief moment of lust for her at the hot springs.

Kei's heart began to pound as Hara continued to pry through his thoughts, massaging them as if her invasion of his most intimate memories, no his soul, was uniting them in some kind of destined erotic union. She lingered for what seemed like an eternity. She always did this when he visited her. The first time he had ever let her in seemed like a lifetime ago when in reality it was right after Ahsoka had left him to train in solitude nearly two years ago.

He had been drawn to this holocron and began studying its teachings when he discovered it with the medicine his aunt had given to him before she passed away. After activating the holocron, he learned he could enter a whole different dimension by communicating with the spirit within it. Hara taught him many things about the Force and its connection to his ancestors. Things Ahsoka and his family had never shown him. It was Hara who taught him to change to color of his Kyber from clear to green. The same green that burned in the flames around them as they held each other close, lips locked, bound together in body and mind.

Kei had promised himself that he would not allow her to consume him this way ever again. It was why he had not returned for weeks, but here he found himself, a slave to pleasure and mental torment, his thoughts and actions completely owned by another. His body and the thoughts implanted in his mind told him he enjoyed this union, that it was the secret source of his power. But deep down he knew these were lies. Was his power a lie? The thought faded away as he gave in to the pleasure of Hara's embrace. "Kei-Ron, give in to your true feelings. It's our destiny to be together this way. Unleash your true power. Kei-Ron, I've missed you…Never forget that I am the only one who will every truly know you. Next time you return, bring the girl Mina to me. It is her destiny to be here with us as well".

Kei replied, "yes, Master."