"The strongest stars have hearts of kyber..."

-Chirrut Imwe, Guardian of the Whills

The Lothal Jedi Temple

Director Krennic stepped into the new Imperial mining facility with his Death Trooper escort and Pryce...

"What is the progress on the kyber crystal extraction?" Krennic asked... "My facility on Eadu is in need of new crystals for another weapons test...

"What happened during the previous test?" Pryce asked curiously... It probably wasn't good...

"Galen reported a giant explosion caused by a power overload... These crystals are still too powerful to control with our current technology... We will need several more tests if we are to complete the Death Star on schedule..." Krennic said as they entered the mining facility.

The mining facility was the Lothal Jedi Temple discovered by the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother two years prior. Lord Vader then led a sweep that uncovered several massive kyber crystals... Krennic then ordered the extraction of these crystals to replace those lost in Galen Erso's experiments... All but two have been removed for delivery to Eadu.

"I see... We will double our efforts then... Hopefully without any Rebel interference as we extract the final two... As you already know, the Rebels destroyed several crystals from our previous source on Lothal." Pryce said...

"The loss of that batch is truly unfortunate... The Rebels have been a nuisance... Hindering me from finishing my greatest achievement... But the new Rebels on Lothal do not know of the weapon... And Saw Gerrera's band of fanatics can't stop me from finishing my plans..." Krennic said, his tone changing to that of ruthless determination... His white outfit glowed red as he walked over the glowing red rings caused by the Inquisitors' initial discovery of the Temple.

(Imagine or play the Imperial Suite for added effect...)

They turned to look at Acclamator I-class Assault Ship dropping a convoy of Imperial AT-ACTs and TX-225r Assault Hovertanks. More AT-ACTs walk into the Acclamator, each one carrying a set of kyber crystals... Some of which are large enough to fit in the cargo bay of one of the massive cargo walkers.

Jedha...

(Listen to the "Guardians of the Whills Suite" if you want.)

Ezra walked through the streets of the Holy City of NiJedha... There were thousands of religious men and women traversing the streets of the cold desert planet's largest city. And there were quite a few Imperial forces to keep guard... The Emperor did say it was a warzone...

Palpatine had sent him there for some reason... But he could only watch, and because of that didn't have his lightsaber.

He stared at an Imperial walker passing by... One he's never seen before... He guesses that Saw's Rebels forced the Empire to go on high alert here... There were probe droids everywhere... He was glad that probe droids were specifically ordered by the Emperor to prevent attacks on him. The Emperor obviously wanted Ezra alive, but Bridger wasn't completely sure why.

His pensive moment was cut short by a voice calling to him... "You there!"

He turned to look in the direction the voice came from, finding a blind man with his hand motioning for him to come closer... Nearby was a man wearing body armor, armed with a massive repeating blaster...

"What do you want?" Ezra asked cautiously...

"I can see you're troubled... The Force feels strong around you, but it grows dark with fear and confusion..." The man said...

Ezra was shocked... How did he know?

"How do you know?" Ezra said curiously... Is he a Jedi? No... He couldn't be. Jedha's probably one of the first places the Empire would look.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I can use it to see my surroundings, sometimes even the feelings of others..." He started saying... Looking straight at Ezra as he sat down in front of him...

"And you my friend, are like a book open for all to read..." He said, his voice strongly indicating humor... But it faded away in an instant... "I can help you... But you'll have to pay..."

Ezra didn't seem convinced... He never knew about groups of non-Force-Sensitives that follow the Force in a similar way to the Jedi and Sith... And he wasn't ready to deal with that at the moment...

"I don't think I need the help..." Ezra said... Not noticing the coldness in his voice...

The man's face didn't change expression... He simply shrugged and said, "Whatever you think is right..."

The sound of a massive explosion nearby caught Ezra's attention... And the man simply sat as he heard the boy run to intervene. The other man walked up to the blind monk...

"He's a Jedi... I can feel it..." The blind one said...

"He's just a boy, Chirrut. There's no way he can be a Jedi..." The other said...

"That's what you think Baze, not what I believe..." Chirrut replied... A smile forming on his face... Chirrut still believed in the Force. Baze, however... Did not believe, not anymore.

Remember that the Death Star has a heart of kyber.

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