"Welcome. It has been a long time since anyone has come to our temple to seek our wisdom. Tell us, what is it that you seek?" The disembodied voice sounded as if it was all around her.
"Who are you?" Kiara asked as she tried to find the source of the voice. The temple was covered in darkness, and she searched the walls for torches to light to allow her to see where she was at more clearly. With them lit, she still couldn't see the source of the voices around her.
"We are the keepers of this temple."
"That doesn't really tell me what I wanted to know. Who are you?" Kiara crossed her arms in defiance.
"The spirits of previous force users."
She tilted her head. "A ghost?"
"If that is simpler for you to understand, then yes. A ghost." There was a pause before the voice spoke back up once more. "Now, answer our question. What is it that you seek?"
Kiara stepped further into the shadow-casted room. "I suppose that what I'm looking for, the reason I'm here, is because I'm seeking knowledge."
"Ah! The ultimate power. Knowledge. And what would you use this knowledge for? Bend the wills of your enemies to your desire, perhaps? Cause others to fear you?"
"I don't intend any such thing. I seek knowledge so that I can gain control of the power that I already possess. I don't want to use it to create fear." Kiara shook her head. "In fact, I prefer that no one even knows that I'm a force sensitive."
"So, you prefer to have an unknown advantage over your adversaries?" The whispered voice asked as if it was intrigued.
"No. In fact, the only adversary that I have known full well what I've been capable of in the past." Kiara put her hands on her hips defiantly.
"I am to believe that you are truly only here for knowledge and control over yourself. And that you do not wish to use it to rise above your enemy?"
"Do I eventually want to bring him down? Yes. But I can't do that until I learn to control myself. That way I don't end up drifting over to the dark side."
"Dark side? You speak of Jedi and Sith." The voice could be heard chuckling. "Both have perverted the Will of the Force. Neither understand it to be as it once was. They do not understand that it is balance that one should strive for. Not the exclusion of the other. Go too far to either side and you lose yourself."
Kiara stopped in her exploration of the shadow covered temple when she reached a doorway to another hall. "The Jedi aren't evil like the Sith."
"Evil? No. Misguided? Yes." The voice sounded amused. "For thousands of years, balance is what was strove for. It was only when those who drifted too far to one side or the other and the others considered it to be a danger that living in the shadowed middle ground was considered undesirable."
Kiara tilted her head as she considered what had become the beliefs of the Jedi toward the end of their reign as the supreme force-users. Kanan, for an example, was the most grounded person she knew. His relationship with Hera, however, would have likely sent him into exile from the order. Yet if asked, she supposed that he represented the best of the Jedi, to her.
"Now, if you truly are here for knowledge, go down that hall. There, if you are found worthy, you will find what you seek."
Kiara looked down at the darkened hall and eyed it suspiciously. "What do you mean if I'm found worthy?"
"Your motives will be judged. If they are found to be undesirable, then you will be killed. But if you are as you appear to be, then the knowledge that you wish to obtain will be provided to you."
She swallowed hard as she considered her options.
Kallus sat with the rest of the Ghost crew during the evening meal and did his best to not glare at them for the plan that they were about to set into motion. When Salora joined the table, as she either did or attempted to do nearly every night, he wasn't surprised at all. Especially since the others had intentionally left the seat next to him vacant.
"I had hoped to see you again this evening when I saw you earlier," the Twi'lek said as she settled next to Kallus, making sure that her thigh touched his. "Are you doing well?"
"Well enough," Kallus said in a gruff tone.
Zeb turned his head away so that his grin wasn't seen by the Imperial spy when Hera's comm device went off.
"Yes?" Hera asked as she shifted Jacen in her arms from where she'd been holding him with one arm and had used her other hand to eat moments before.
"The team on Vaxal has sent in a request for assistance. Sergeant Slaoen specifically asked for your crew."
Hera nodded with a sigh. "He is very particular about who he works with." She then glanced around at the others at the table before adding, "Alright, let's get ready to head out."
Sabine let out an aggravated complaint. "We're in the middle of our meal."
Kanan stood and took his son from Hera so that she could stand. "We have rations on the Ghost if you are still hungry." He then turned toward Salora. "Could you do us a favor? Make sure Kallus makes it alright to his quarters? And don't let him tell you that he can make it there just fine. That isn't the point."
Kallus rolled his eyes. He didn't even need to pretend to be annoyed by the man's suggestion. Still, the result was precisely as they intended.
"It would be my pleasure to ensure that the agent here gets all the way to his quarters," Salora said as she slipped an arm around Kallus and gave him a one-armed hug as she smiled.
Zeb couldn't help it. He kidded his friend as he made his exit. "Don't do anything I would do. You're not up to it."
"Very funny, Garazeb." Kallus narrowed his eyes as the rest of the crew left and he knew that the communications officer had been told to get them out so that they could get into position. Once he was left alone at the table with the Twi'lek under suspicion he took his time finishing his meal. The others needed the time, and he didn't exactly relish the next step of this plan.
"I had hoped that we'd get to spend some time alone," the woman said at his side as he finally prepared to stand to head back toward his living quarters. Kallus even acted as if his knees buckled before he left the table. Perhaps from the sudden change of position. After all, it had been an issue from time to time while regaining his previous strength in his limbs; a reason why he'd worked so hard to strengthen his muscles over the last several months. When he did so, Salora put her arm around his waist and pressed firmly against him. "Allow me."
"I actually planned to go to the base's gym after the meal. Not my quarters."
"Non-sense. You clearly should go and rest in your bed and I'm going to see to it that is where you'll be when I leave you. Later." Salora then steered Kallus toward the living quarters of the base. "You know, I do enjoy these moments where we've been able to spend time without anyone else. It can be so hard getting to know one another otherwise."
Kallus nodded as he focused on the fact that they were only another corridor to his room. "I suppose that is true. Why don't you tell me more about yourself? What made you join the Rebellion?"
The Twi'lek gave a coy smile. "Do you really want to waste this opportunity asking such questions?"
"I may be willing to listen if you have another topic of discussion," Kallus stated simply.
"I'm sure that I'll be able to find something that can interest you. Perhaps once we've gotten to your room."
It took all the power that Kallus had to not roll his eyes. When the two got to his quarters he wasn't surprised when the woman invited herself into it. She did her best to steer him toward the bed, but he instead sat in the lone chair in the room. He glanced around and saw that Chopper was stationed just inside the closet with the door cracked open. When he saw that Kallus noticed him, he hopped ever so slightly on his servos but was careful not to make a sound.
"Well, I must say, I'm impressed. This room is kept as orderly as I suspected. Though, I'm not sure why I would have expected otherwise. Having been a former ISB Agent, and all. A testament of your years of service to the Empire, perhaps?" Salora sat on the edge of the bed and faced Kallus as he sat on the chair next to her.
"I do prefer order."
"Should also assume that you prefer to be in charge, in all aspects of life?" Salora placed a hand on Kallus's knee closest to her and bit her lip as she moved her hand upward only for Kallus to stop her. "Is something the matter? After all, it is all around the base that your girlfriend left you. That means you are a single man again."
Kallus growled at the mention of Kiara's departure. "The problem is, I don't go for women who still work for the Empire."
Salora's eyes widened just a touch before she tried to throw off the man's accusations. "I don't know what you are talking about. I've been a loyal member of the Rebellion for over a year, now."
Kallus shook his head. "Give me a little credit. Won't you? I'm smarter than you. You've been in contact with the Empire and have been slipping information regarding cell locations and missions."
The smile that the Twi'lek sent his way now was much different than the one she usually gave him. This one didn't have anything to do with seduction. "I think that you must still be suffering from your injuries if you think that I could possibly be working for the Empire. And I'd appreciate you not throwing around such accusations."
Kallus narrowed his eyes before he continued, "You made a mistake. You've made several, in fact. But to be expected, really. An amateur can't be expected to-
"Who are you calling an amateur?"
"So, you are admitting that you are a professional spy, instead?" Kallus grinned when he saw the woman's face change.
Salora's face became cold as she pulled out a vibro-blade that had been hidden in her clothing and leapt forward toward the man. The force of it sent both Kallus and the chair backwards as the two then began to wrestle for the weapon. The woman had the upper hand for two reasons. One, she had more leverage thanks to Kallus's position sitting in the chair. The other, while he was getting stronger every day, he was still healing.
Kallus grabbed the woman's wrists to prevent her from bringing the blade down onto him. When she realized that he was stronger than she had anticipated she then began to bring her knees up to blindly try to injure the man. Before she could make contact, however, she felt a jolt of electricity before she collapsed onto the man below her.
When he saw Chopper standing behind the woman Kallus took a deep breath and nodded, "Thanks. At least I can count on you. I had thought that the others would have burst in before now."
"We knew you were able to take care of yourself," Zeb joked as he entered the room. "But we did leave Chop here just in case."
Kallus shook his head. In a way, he was glad that the others had decided to stay pulled back. It showed that they once more trusted in his abilities to take care of himself. Even if he isn't fully back to his old self just yet.
"Well, what are you just standing there, for? Get her out of here and put her in a detention cell. And then Kanan and the others can see if he can get more information out of her regarding just who her contact is and what she's shared since coming to this base."
Zeb nodded. "The leadership has made the decision. We're leaving. Hopefully we'll be able to return once the Empire thinks that we've totally abandoned it. The orders have already gone out."
After a moment of consideration Kallus agreed with the decision. One mistake that they'd made on Suaren was not acting soon enough when Kanan and Kiara had come across the Inquisitors.
"I'll get my stuff together to get ready for the transport."
"Transport?" Zeb shook his head with a chuckle. "I don't think so. You are coming with us, Roomy."
"Know that time inside that hall works differently than outside it. If you're chosen, you can spend many months, even years inside, yet return to the moment that you've left."
"Why would time work differently in there?"
"This temple was once used to travel instantaneously along with others across the galaxy. To travel in such a way, we learned to manipulate time itself in the realm that we used." The airy whisper explained before pausing. "Have you chosen to go in or are you prepared to leave our temple?"
Kiara closed her eyes as she thought about what she should do. When she came here, this isn't what she expected. She'd hoped to perhaps uncover some ancient texts that she'd then spend months, even years, translating and learning from. Not an active yet forgotten temple.
"Answer me this. There are others on this planet. There's even an Imperial prison a few continents away. How is it that no one else has found this place?"
"Oh, but they have. But none have been found to be worthy of the knowledge within. As such, they never returned to their people. We are very particular about who enters into our realm."
Kiara steeled her nerves and nodded before she turned to step forward into the shadowy hallway. When she did, she no longer felt as if she was actually in the temple, at all. In fact, if she had to describe where she found herself it appeared to be very similar to how Ezra had described when he and Kanan went through the portal at the Jedi temple on Lothal.
Kiara walked along the dark path, lined with white lines, and came across an archway that looked to be a large full-length mirror. When she stepped closer the image changed and she saw a person she despised more than any other in the galaxy. She saw Elios on the bridge of his ship and watched as he directed the men of his crew around. He then left the bridge and walked to his own office. Once he was alone the whispered voice from before returned.
"This is the man who is the bane of your existence, is he not? You already hold the power to end him from here. If you did, you would be safe. Your friends would be safe. Your brother would be safe. Your loved one would be safe. This man could never be a threat again. All you would have to do would be to reach out with your mind and squeeze. You nearly did it before. You even used the power to defeat the whuffa worm. Why would it be any different if you ended this man's existence?"
Kiara stared at the man who would have killed her and her friends without a thought. The man who nearly killed Alex after he tortured him for more than three days. Even killed the rest of the rebels in front of him in an attempt to break his resolve to not betray the Rebellion. That man deserves to die. He deserves to suffer. But...
"No. Not now. Not like this. He will pay for his sins but not in this way. Would it be easier this way? Absolutely. But the easiest way isn't always the right one. I will bring him down, but in person and not hidden behind portals and whatever this place is."
Kiara turned around and left the portal behind her. She then heard a laugh from overhead.
"So, you didn't take the bait. We are impressed. Follow this path, and the true test of your intentions will begin."
Kiara swallowed. That wasn't the test? Then what was it? She walked the path indicated and found a portal that looked differently than the rest. She paused at it and figured that she'd come this far, either she passed, or she failed. If she failed, then there wouldn't be anything else to worry about ever again.
