CHAPTER VI – THE TRIAL STARTS

Mina had stayed up the entire night before laughing and sharing stories with her master. Back on Ahch-To where the Jedi Academy was, they would often go several nights without sleeping, training their bodies to withstand being pushed past their natural limits. This was something Rey had learned from studying Sith teachings, only she inverted the method. Instead of pushing the body's limits by subjecting it to excruciating pain or resentful sleep deprivation, she would pass the time dancing and singing with the Island's Native Caretakers or sharing stories and dreams with her students. Sometimes they would have sparring matches on the cliffs or would go fishing for some of the various bioluminescent species of ocean wildlife. Their bodies would be pushed to their limits, but their spirits would be nourished, their strength increasing with every passing night.

Mina loved this time spent with Rey and even though she would normally be very tempted by the Dark on nights like this, she felt clear and ready. She was no longer the young girl stumbling into the Dark Side well on Ahch-To, being pulled back to the surface and lectured by her master. She had grown and Rey had sensed it. She had still had the vision of herself, Kei and the green flames every night until now, but they did not consume her. Kei was still the key to it all, of this she was certain, but he would be beside her the entire time. She would get what she desired and she will have earned it.

Ahsoka called everyone together in the early morning light, flock of loud flying creatures diving into the ocean for their morning meals in the background. "Your great trial starts today. We'll be going off-world, so pack a small amount of necessary items with you for the flight. You won't need anything but your lightsabers, medicine and the holocrons that chose you when we get to where we're going."

Kei's heart raced with excitement. This would be his first time off-world, but also, he would need to take Hara's holocron with him. Its presence would need to be concealed from everyone. He had not planned for this, but he would find a way.

Ahsoka looked over at Kei and said, "We're taking the big ship." He fought a smile. The big ship she was referring to was the structure that held the artifacts and his family's old cruiser (along with Hara's holocron). Ahsoka had converted it into a disguised ship years ago after arriving on the planet in case they ever needed to transport all of the artifacts or some of the planet's inhabitants to a safer place. Everything seemed to be working out as it should.

During the flight, Rey and Mina admired Ahsoka's work on concealing such an impressive ship. They along with Ahsoka were very good pilots and mechanics. These were all subjects very foreign to Kei, so he went down to the lower cabin to play his flute. The vastness of space took his breath away and going into hyperspace was mesmerizing and beautiful, but aside from those things, he found the flight somewhat dull. His mind went to Hara. She was so close, now would be his best opportunity to retrieve the holocron. He looked up toward the top of the stairs which lead to the cockpit and closed the safety door, blocking off the stairs.

Once he had the holocron, his spirit burned with longing. It was a bit smaller than some of the other Harlu holocrons, so he was able to conceal it within the hilt of one of his sabers. He had created this compartment to conceal seeds or medicine, but it fit the small spherical holocron perfectly. He could keep it close to him until the time was right. His mind became very conflicted and cluttered again, so he closed his eyes and fell into the Force in meditation. He soon drifted off to sleep.

Kei awoke to find Mina sitting next to him in meditation. There was a brief moment of turbulence before the entire ship lurched sideways and it felt as if they were falling. Mina seemed unbothered by the action, but Kei got to his feet suddenly and used the Force to quickly open the safety door and jumped high past the stairs into the cockpit room. He was surprised to see Ahsoka leaning back in her chair as Rey piloted the ship, bringing them in for a landing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a jungle with jet black foliage. Rey turned to Kei, her warm smile piercing through his confusion. This jungle moon is called Krenolie.

The four of them stepped off of the ship and took in the view. The sky was pink with aquamarine clouds and a breathtaking view of the gas giant world that Krenolie orbited. Kei closed his eyes and felt an overwhelming concentration of the Force in the air. It was as if every living thing on the planet was feeding on it voraciously. Rey was standing next to him when he opened his eyes. "That's right; everything on this planet consumes Force energy and recycles it in some way to feed its power. In this area it is very beautiful, but in others it's deadly." She said knowingly.

Ahsoka led everyone to a wide flat area of the cliff side. She and Rey stood facing the students. Kei and Mina were trying their hardest to concentrate on anything their masters were saying. The longer they were on this planet, the more their brains were filled with noise from all of the living things vapidly using the Force. They had never experienced such a thing. Of course their masters would choose a place like this for their trial.

Ahsoka and Rey both fought back grins as they observed the expressions on their students' faces. They had both grown stronger together under their teachings and their lives were about to change forever. Both masters stood proudly before Ahsoka spoke, her voice booming. "We will leave you on this planet for two days. You will have to survive with nothing but your lightsabers, your skills, the holocrons you brought and each other. There's a reason the holocrons haven't activated yet and part of your trial is to uncover why that is. We will return for you at the end of the week. Our rendezvous point will be at the lake at the far side of the valley at the east side of this mountain. As you can already tell, there is nothing ordinary about this world. You'll be pushed to your absolute limits. Use everything you've learned until now. Before any of that though, you must participate in one more duel on the Force Plane…against both me and Master Skywalker".