What Any of it is Worth
Preview:
Ahsoka traced the ruin with her eyes, then closed them, trying not to feel defeated. Even if Ilum was Imperial free, the main source of crystals she knew of was damaged beyond accessibility. At least the front entrance was. They would have to spend more time on Ilum than she liked. It was necessary. "We'll need to do some surveying. Do some deep scans from the Drake. Ilum is a big planet, with a strong Force pull. There's got to be more than one cave with crystals."
She didn't think there was desperation in her voice, but perhaps a bit of disappointment snuck through. Rex reached out, took her glove encased hand in his and squeezed a little. The sensation of his hand in hers was muffled by all the heavy layers surrounding their fingers, but the gesture was still appreciated and understood. She smiled a little at him, and he smiled back. Rex was no Force-sensitive, but he was getting entirely too good at reading her moods. She resisted the urge to laugh, which in turn caused her to resist the urge to kiss him fondly. They were both entirely too cold and heavily insulated to enjoy such silliness. Instead, she squeezed back as best she could through their padded hands, then shivered.
"Maybe we should head back," Rex suggested, looking down again at his scanner. "Another long climb. Then some caf. Hot caf."
She squeezed his hand again in agreement. As Rex moved back towards their hiking equipment, kicking up clouds of soft snow, Ahsoka cast one long, last look at the remains of the Crystal Cave of Ilum.
In a few years, she would have Padawans.
The rest of chapter one from What Any of it is Worth can be found under my profile. Enjoy!
~Queen