Chapter Twenty

Aedan sat crossed legged on the stone dais, deep in his usual afternoon meditation. It had been a few days since Fay had left them. He sighed deeply. That woman and her talents. He had always marveled at her connection with the force. It was always so effortless with her. And now he saw that same talent, that same power in his young padawan. Kyra has the same glow and vivacity that Fay does, and the thought warmed him, and scared him.

What on earth was he doing training someone so unbelievably gifted?

He grunted angrily and exhaled sharply through his nostrils. What kind of thinking was that? Did the Force not bring them together or what? He was exactly where he was supposed to be. He took a deep breath, and then centered himself. He found Tython's rhythm and began breathing as one with the potent world around me.

Their time here had done wonders for Kyra. She was becoming impossibly powerful and surpassing his wildest dreams. And she did fill his dreams. Before her, if he dreamed at all, it was of the demon and his silver and black sword. But rarely did Sa'kard show up. Now it was Kyra. Flashes of her. Visions of her being Jedi Knight. A slideshow of images of distant planets, unfamiliar faces, and unseen locations. None of it making any sense to him. He shook his head again, and refocused himself, sinking deep into the force.

Kyra had grown exponentially stronger, but she wasn't the only one. He had grown stronger. Much stronger. Sure, Tython was wont to do that to anyone, but not at the level that he had excelled. No, that was due to his Padawan. She had grown so strong, so quickly, that he was forced to give it everything he had to stay on the same level as her.

Refocused on the Force, he drifted into its nether realm. Today, as always, Kyra was a vibrant fountain of light within the force. He always found her instantly. Always. However, today, there was something else nearby that was drawing his attention through the infinite energy field. He prodded at it, and was incredulous at the size of it.

His eyes flashed open, "No way."

Once more in her perch of peace, Kyra couldn't stop thinking about what Fay had said.

"You already know the way."

Kyra stared out over the waves.

She made it sound so simple.

And what if it was?

Kyra's heart began to beat rapidly as she felt her master draw near. It was one thing to be around him for training, but something entirely different when they didn't have an objective. She couldn't even think straight when he was close by, and she felt completely awkward. Normally, he stayed away when she was up here, thoughtfully giving her some much needed space. And that really meant a lot to her. A thoughtful warrior that looked so good it hurt. Ugh. She shook her head. She was in so much trouble.

"Permission to join you, Kyra?"

"Of course, Master," Kyra said, "You don't have to ask."

Aedan made no response and just stared down at the waves, a quizzical look on his face. His silence made her uneasy. Why couldn't she just relax? She looked back up at him and saw the grin grow broader, and he shook his head.

"Have you meditated at all since you've been up here, Kyra," he asked.

Kyra looked down and bit her lip, then shook her head.

"Try now."

"Yes, Master," she said.

Instantly Kyra was deep in the force. She reached out, breathed as Tython breathed, and sensed something out in the blue waves, far beneath the surface of the water, deep down near the ocean floor.

"What...what it is?" She asked.

Aedan smiled, and then winked. Aedan Kahl winked at me.

Kyra felt her cheeks warm, but then refocused on sensing what was out there. She knew it was a lifeform, and she knew it was massive, but that was about it.

"Well, are you going to tell me?"

Aedan shrugged, "I don't know, Padawan. I was thinking we would go...investigate."

Kyra went cold, "What? You mean down there? You want to swim down there?"

He nodded, the infuriating smirk still on his face.

"Master, I just learned to swim, and a lake is one thing, but an ocean is totally different."

Aedan tilted his head, glowering.

Kyra held up her hands, "I know, I know, only different in my mind. But Master, the ocean is huge, we won't be able to see the bottom, and plus you know how I feel about San-" Kyra gasped, unable to finish the word as the truth dawned on her, and she snapped her head back in the direction of the ocean. Then back towards Aedan. "No," she breathed. "Are you serious?"

Grinning wider now, he nodded again.

"But how?"

He shook his head, "It's a big planet, and a very big ocean."

"But here? On Tython and this close to shore? So close to us?"

"So, what do you think?"

"No way! No how. Nope. Not happening."

He tilted his head again, giving her that aggravating, devilishly handsome, all-knowing look.

He reached into his belt and took out his re-breather. Tested it once, then nodded. "Remember, on the descent, use the force to slow you down. A force push will create a cushion when nearing the surface."

"Right, yea. Good to know. The only thing is I. Am. Not. Going. Down. There."

"As you wish, Padawan," he said. Then turned his back towards her and leapt down.

Kyra screamed, watching as he descended the two hundred meters down into dark blue waters. She watched as he slowed ever so slightly and thrust his hands forward just before hitting the water. He sliced through the surface and then was out of sight.

"Ugh!" Kyra yelled. "You blasted, kriffing, farkled son of a mudscuffer."

I heard that

Kyra gritted her teeth, and groaned. She knew exactly what he was doing, baiting her like this. Even worse though, it was working. She paced back and forth on the ledge, continuously muttering to herself, and kicking at the rock pillars as she walked by.

Kyra

What!?

Find your peace

She froze at that. Her head clearing almost instantly. How did that always seem to work? She felt warmth and light coming to her as she began to focus on that which always seemed to bring her peace. The image flashed in her mind's eyes, and she kept it there. It was as clear as day, and it never ceased to grant her clarity, comfort, and serenity. Now, though, it seemed to hold far more than that.

She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, exhaling her fears. Breathing in courage. She took out her re-breather and squeezed it tightly.

"The things I do for my Master," she whispered to the wind, and then leapt off the cliff ledge. The wind howled as she made her descent, the water rushing up at her, but the force was with her, and it aided her down until she landed feet first, toes pointing down, arms tight by her side, body straight as a board.

The water engulfing her was a shock, as she realized this was the first time she'd ever actually jumped into a large body of water. But as she entered the deep blue, the feeling of being engulfed was not unpleasant. It was a truly unique sensation being completely immersed in the cool ocean.

She peered into the depths and saw Aedan, floating only a few meters below the surface. He stared at her, holding her gaze. Then he did his customary loaded nod. The one that said, "Well done, Padawan. I'm proud of you." The nod that had gotten her through many, many, workouts, and drills.

She was surprised to see just how vital those nods had become to her. She lived for them.

And she was seeing now she would die for them as well.

Kyra broke eye contact and looked around. She was underwater, and completely surrounded by darkness. The initial rush of diving in had worn off, and now fear filled the void. Kyra felt panic rising in her chest. Felt her heart pounding in her ears. She couldn't catch her breath, the rebreather seemingly malfunctioning. She began scrambling for the surface when she felt something grab her foot. She screamed, her rebreather falling out of her mouth. She kicked down hard, making contact, freeing her from whatever monstrosity had grabbed her, and then she was once more thrashing upward.

She broke through the surface of the water and gasped deeply. Her mind finally calming down. A few meters away, Aedan came up, holding his nose, and blood seeping between his fingers. "Ow," he said.

Kyra's hands went to her mouth, "Oh, Master. I'm-I'm so sorry. I panicked."

Still holding his nose with one hand he extended his other forward, her rebreather gripped in it. "You might need this."

Kyra took it, "Aedan, I'm-"

He held up his hand, "I'm fine, Kyra. Go through your breathing techniques."

"Master, I can't go down there."

He raised one eyebrow. "Can't?" he asked. "Can't and Kyra Dawnstar don't work together. You can do anything."

Kyra shook her head, her breathing starting to increase again. She could feel her rate jump up drastically. She couldn't do this. "Master, it's so big and so dark. There's so much unknown."

"Reach out, Kyra," he said. "Calm yourself, and really reach out. Sense what's out there, not just the Sando, but everything."

He was so calm. So patient. I just kicked him in the nose, and he didn't even react. I just had a mini panic attack, and he responded as if it was nothing.

I need to be more like him.

Kyra took another deep breath, focusing on the oxygen passing through her airway, and then concentrated. The Force opened up to her, and then she saw the ocean through a different lens. She was wrong. It wasn't dark.

The ocean was filled with life. Vibrant, abundant, ubiquitous life. There were millions upon millions of lifeforms in the water, and each one had its own celestial spark. From the gargantuan Sando to fish weighing two hundred kilograms, to tiny microscopic critters, each gave off their own light. How had she never known such vivacity existed down here?

She put her rebreather back in, and took several breaths confirming it was in perfect working order, and then dove down, the world around her no longer dark. She let the force guide her through the depths.

After swimming down for a few dozen meters, Kyra began to feel pressure. Aedan had taught her how to equalize, releasing pressure in her head. But this new pressure was on her whole body, particularly her lungs. But she was deep in the force now, and knew there was some way it could aid her. She drew it in, and then let it form somewhat of a bubble around her, fortifying her fragile body against the vast ocean's volume.

I am weak, but the force is strong.

Aedan was right behind her as she continued down several hundreds of meters. Soon a shape began forming along the ocean floor. A vast, monstrous shape that Kyra had trouble believing was something living, and not an underwater mountain range.

A long, almost feline figure filled their view. Powerfully muscled arms and legs were tucked in against its body, and its long tale wrapped around its curled-up body. A long neck extended from the boulder-like shoulders, into blunted jaws that could engulf a Jedi Starfighter with ease. There beneath them lay a Sando. Kyra marveled at the enormous entity beneath them, and was stunned at how peaceful it looked.

It's sleeping.

Yes, it is.

Then a loud booming pulse resounded from the monster, causing Kyra to flinch, and nearly lose her composure. She didn't move after the initial reflex and held absolutely still. A full minute later there was another, single deep reverberating noise. What in the worlds is that?

And then a minute later there was the same noise.

Its heartbeat

Kyra almost gasped again.

No way

One heartbeat per minute

Aedan sounded every bit in awe as Kyra felt.

Aedan was completely awestruck by the Sando, and watched as Kyra turned back to face him in the water, and she had that same look of wonderment, of curiosity, on her face that made his heart skip a beat. Eyes wide, full of wonder, and lips pursed, she looked at him seeking answers.

The coronary reverberation drummed in the deep. It was so powerful that Aedan felt it in his own chest, the pulse permeating every fiber of him.

He watched as Kyra turned back towards the massive beast, and then swam even closer. She covered the final fifty meters tentatively, and stopped a few arm's lengths away from the Sando's face. It lay still, unmoving, deep in slumber.

It was impossible to believe that the silent, unmoving, peaceful entity before them could literally destroy towns and cities if it decided to go for a stroll on the surface. Such massive untapped potential power laying there dormant.

Aedan glanced from the sleeping monster to Kyra, a smirk playing on his lips underneath the rebreather. But also, another notion seemed to take place in her eyes. One of understanding. Of Recognition. She stared at the massive beast, and slowly nodded. Acknowledging some distinct, proverbial truth.

Time to go, Padawan

But, Master, can't we stay

I seem to remember these things being your biggest fear

Kyra turned back towards him, chagrinned. She shrugged. Things change, I guess. And just look at it, Master. Have you ever seen something so incredible, so...majestic?

He held her gaze for a long moment. I have

Her shields were down, so he felt the mental shockwave of surprise from her. He quickly turned away from her and began swimming back up to the surface. She would follow shortly.

"All set?" Aedan asked her.

Kyra slung her backpack on, tightened the straps, and smiled, "Good to go." They each hopped on their respective speeders, and began checking the gauges and securing their equipment.

"It's a little over fifty kilometers to the Forge. There's going to be some lovely scenery, enjoy it, but also be wary of threats. We don't want another Silik Lizard attack, do we?"

"No, we do not."

They set off at a decent pace, not pushing the speeders anywhere close to their limits, but enough to feel the rush of alacrity. Once past the dense jungles that were close to the compound, they made it onto lush field of green grass, with huge rock formations scattered about the area. It was beautiful, and Kyra found herself marveling at her surroundings. It was not unlike home.

Home, she thought.

She was surprised that it took less than a day for the Dawnstar homestead to become home over the temple. It made her insides ache. She'd heard of people being homesick, and now she was feeling it for the first time. She missed the love, the laughter, the sense of belonging, not the belonging that the similar sense of purpose brought all Jedi together, but a belonging because of the bonds of blood. They were family. However, she was thrilled to still be motivated and still loved being a Jedi. That first day back was rough, and did not bode well for her future. Aedan was beside himself with worry that he had made a disastrous mistake. But he didn't. And the relief was palpable when Kyra showed up the following day, determined and as eager as ever to improve.

The bigger conundrum was that Aedan had brought her there. He had to know the potential dangers of opening up that reservoir of attachments. But he did it anyway, and from the moment they had been introduced to the Dawnstars, he had been sublimely happy. So why had he done it?

Obviously, she had questioned a lot of what her master did, but there had always been a reason. But this, bringing her to her own family? Which was absolutely forbidden. What was he thinking? She remembered when he admitted to just wanting her to be happy on her birthday brought him to tears, and still hadn't come to a conclusion about that.

Before she knew it, Aedan was slowing down, and came to a stop. He took out a pair of binoculars, looked through them at something in the distance, and then handed them to Kyra. She could see the ruins of an old city, the outer walls of which were now just rubble, in fact much of the city was now in ruins, save for the temple. This consisted of two tall, and blocky structures, which towered high above the deteriorated city.

"This is the ancient temple-city of Kaleth, but we're steering clear of that."

"How come?"

"Flesh Raiders have made it their home. But look to the right."

Kyra looked and saw another temple like structure built into the side of a mountain range. There was a zig zagging stone staircase that led up to an arched structure. "The Forge," she said.

Aedan nodded, "We'll have to go undetected, so we'll leave our swoops here, and make our way in on foot, staying as far away as we can from Kaleth."

"Understood, Master, but one thing," Kyra bit her lip in apprehension.

"Yes, Padawan."

"If it's so risky a mission why come here? We can just make the alterations to our sabers, well, anywhere."

Aedan nodded, conceding her point, "That is true. But, one, this Forge is thousands of years old and yet it is still far more advanced technology than anything we'll find at the temple on Coruscant, which will make for a very clean augmentation. It's like it adds an intangible upgrade to the saber. And two, there's just something special about this place, you'll feel it when we get there."

Kyra pursed her lips, and bobbed her head, "Well, when you put it that way, what are we waiting for?"

They stowed their bikes within a rocky outcropping, and hastily threw some dense branches over them to cover them up. Then they began making their way to the Forge. It didn't take them long to cover the two kilometers to the large stone structure. As they neared Kyra began feeling a palpable pull, and she was surprised by how tall the structure was. The stone stairwell was carved into the side of a sheer rock face for two thirds of the way up, then the stairs made a ninety degree turn away from the rock face, and formed into a bridge, essentially a rock archway, that connected the rock face with another rock formation on which the Forge had been built.

They stood at the bottom of the stairwell, peering up at the long pathway, and the tall structure.

"Risky or not, this was totally worth the trip," Kyra said, mesmerized by the intricacy of the stairwell, and the architecture of the Forge.

"I thought you'd like it."

They cautiously moved up the stairwell. While aesthetically pleasing, it was still an ancient construct, so they had to be careful. Kyra, though, was becoming more and more puzzled. While approaching the Forge the pull she was feeling was more and more intense, but the closer she got, the more she realized the pull wasn't coming from the Forge. It was coming from the rock wall next to the Forge. The very wall she was walking alongside now and they made their way up the stairwell. They made it up to the Forge entrance, which stood three or four stories up in the air. They were about to enter when Kyra spoke up, "Master, I'm definitely feeling a pull, but it's coming from over there," pointing to three quarters of the way up the rock face.

Aedan turned toward her, eyebrows raised, "Really? You're sure?"

She took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes, reaching out with the Force. "I'm sure," she said.

"Weird," Aedan responded.

"What do you think it means?"

"I have no idea. There's nothing up there but rock and stone," he said, "Come on, you gotta see this." And began walking into the entryway, which was just an eight-foot rectangular door cut into the tall escarpment.

Kyra hesitated, and glanced back curiously at the spot that was pulling at her. She shrugged her shoulders and went inside.

If the pull outside was puzzling her, what she saw inside was an enigma. They were inside an archaic and primitive building, but in the middle of the huge room was an extremely advanced piece of machinery. It was hexagonal workbench that had two bronze arms raising in the air from each end of the table and then meeting in the middle, a blue energy coupling connected them. Bright blue light emanated from all parts of the machine, and bronze and gold panels lined the apparatus.

Aedan set his pack down on the ground in front of the forge, and then removed the small box containing the two Mestare crystals. The two vibrant gold gems gleamed in his hand as he set them down on the metallic table before him. Aedan then began tinkering with the sole electronic control panel, entering in configurations and commands. "I'll do mine first, so you can see," he said, "Then I want you to do the same."

Kyra nodded and watched on with rapt attention as Aedan hit the "Ignite" button on the console, and instantly the blue power coupling intensified fivefold. He laid his lightsaber directly underneath the nexus, and then, using the force, he disassembled the light saber and floated the pieces upward into the humming blue energy field. He then floated one of the orange Mestare crystals forward into the assembly nexus as well. Kyra watched as the focusing crystal and the primary crystal were removed from the energy chamber. That's when the Mestare crystal was maneuvered in so that it would connect directly with the blade energy channel. The original crystals were placed back into their respective places, and then Aedan hit the "Activate" on the control screen, and the blue light turned to Gold for a moment, then there was a brilliant bright flash. So bright that Aedan and Kyra had to shield their eyes for a second. When they turned back the lightsaber was completely reassembled, and power coupling was back to its faint blue hue.

"Wow," Kyra said

Aedan retrieved his lightsaber, and then ignited it. The blue blade sprang forth, but now there were gold undertones to the bright blue color. Kyra gasped, "Your lightsaber has accents! Golden accents!"

Aedan laughed, "That it does."

Kyra playfully shoved him aside, "Out of my way," she quipped, "It's my turn."

Kyra executed the same procedure, with some help from Aedan, and within moments had a blue lightsaber with gold accents herself. "Totally worth the risk," she said with a smile.

"I thought you'd enjoy this," he replied.

"I'm still curious about that pulling sensation,"

"You still feel it?" he asked.

Kyra closed her eyes again, sank into the force, and then she gasped. "Oh no."

"What?"

"We've got company," she said, igniting her lightsaber.

Aedan reached out with the force, and after a moment, his eyes went wide. "Kriff," he cursed, and ignited his own saber. "Padawan, let this be a lesson. Always be mindful of your surroundings."

"How did they sneak up on us?"

"I have no idea. They are heavily influence by the dark side, maybe that has something to do with it. Perhaps Kaleth has become corrupted and somehow shrouded them from our perception. I don't know. But I do know we have to get out of here." And with that they exited the Forge.

Kyra's blood ran cold when she saw what awaited them beginning at the bottom of the stairwell. Over a hundred flesh raiders were assembled below them, all snarling and roaring and anxiously anticipating the slaughter to come.

The moment the two Jedi came into view the grotesque horde of monsters, all pink fleshed, bulbous eyed, and wide mouthed abominations, came running up the stone stairwell.

"What do we do?" Kyra said frantically.

"Breathe, Padawan," he said. "And you tell me."

"What? Master!"

"Calm yourself, Kyra," he said sharply, "And focus."

Kyra couldn't calm down, there was an army of atrocities charging this way with the sole purpose of slaughtering them.

"Breathe, Kyra."

Kyra shook her head, and willed herself to calm down. That didn't work. And her heart was still pounding. She scrunched her eyes closed, and begged the force for help.

And it came.

Serenity invaded her, and the panic subsided. She breathed deeply, and focused once more on the force, breathing in the tranquility. She looked to Aedan, and then assessed the situation.

"We need to hold them half way up the walkway, their numbers won't count for anything as only one assailant can ascend at the narrow pathway at a time. While one is fighting, the other needs to be recuperating and watching for ranged attacks."

"Perfect," he said, "Only problem is, we can't hold out up here forever."

"I know," Kyra said, "But this will at least buy us some time to figure it out. If we let the fight come to here in the forge, we have no way of retreating."

"Exactly," Aedan said. "Let's get to it," and he sprinted down the stairwell.

The flesh raiders were past the halfway mark, and gaining ground, so the first thing Aedan did was unleash a force push, knocking a few raiders over the side, and several more backward. Then he took to slashing and stabbing. Driving the enemy back. Kyra was quick to help out behind him, letting loose quick force pushes, or even just grabbing a flesh raider with telekinesis and nudging it off the stairwell down to the rocky ground below. But for the most part she waited, conserving her energy, and watching for aerial projectiles. These flesh raiders were no strangers to throwing spears as she had deflected quite a few already.

How do we get out of this one? She thought. All the while, Aedan was supremely focused on the foes in front of him. Disarming, dishanding, and disheading any that came within reach. They were no match for his prowess, but how long could he keep this up.

"Switch," he said, and the two Jedi traded places.

"Got it," Kyra said, and stepped around Aedan just as a flesh raider thrust a spear at her. She brought her saber in front of her, slicing off the sharpened tip, and then countered with an overhand chop, slicing the flesh raider in half from head to groin. The next in line just stepped through the seared mess that now lay on the floor. This one also was quickly dispatched by Kyra with several lightning fast cuts, and then she focused on the next, and continued dispatching foes. She felt a tremor in the force.

Uh oh.

"Kyra, we've got more incoming," he said from behind her. "Any ideas?"

"Um, not now," she said, as she cut down another opponent, "I'm a little busy."

But Kyra did spare a glance down below, towards the new threats approaching. Hundreds more of them were on their way.

They were in trouble. There was no way they could hold them off forever and trying to escape back to the bikes would be nearly impossible. Plus, they'd probably be cut down trying to get the bikes started.

"Kyra, I'm going to fight my way down to the bottom of the staircase and draw their attention, while you leap down from the other side of the Forge and make a break for it to the swoop bikes," Aedan said in a way to serene tone. "I'll keep them occupied as long as I can, but you need to get out of here."

Kyra heard the words coming from her Master, but couldn't fathom their meaning. "What?!" she shouted, badly wanting to turn around to confront the stupidest idea she'd ever heard. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"Kyra, I have to get you out of here." he said.

"And what about you?"

"I am irrelevant at this point."

The shock and anger and disbelief that filled Kyra at that moment was staggering. Only two things outweighed those feelings. Her terror at the idea of losing Aedan. And the pull from above. Is this really a time to be worried about a rock face? She took a quick peak up at the formation above her. "Take over," she said, "And don't do anything stupid."

Aedan quickly stepped in front and continued the defense of the narrow pass.

She took a longer look above and noticed it was a heavily cracked and fractured rock face, and didn't appear to be entirely natural now that she was looking at it closely.

"Kyra," Aedan yelled out as he was fighting, "There's no time. I will fight my way through them and draw their attention. You have to run as fast as possible to the swoops," he said sternly, then his voice changed. "I'm sorry, Kyra, I wish..." his voice caught, the passive tone cracking. "I'm sorry."

This was not happening again. Her master was not going to die while she lived. She sneered. Slammed her teeth shut. She wanted to rage and thrash and scream up at the universe. I'm not letting this happen again.

"No," she said, and a shockwave of energy exploded within her.

"Kyra, this is the only way," he said, and turned back quickly to say something, but he froze for a second, his jaw dropping. "Kyra, your eyes!"

Kyra picked Aedan up with the force, and then flung him all the way back to the Forge entrance where he landed on all fours. Then she grabbed hold of a flesh raider and blasted him down the stairwell, knocking a dozen other raiders off the path, giving her a little breathing room, and then she herself ran back to the entrance.

"What are you doing?" Aedan asked.

"I'm not losing you," she said. She hooked her lightsaber to her belt and then reached out with both hands toward the rock face. She sank deep into the force, deeper than she'd ever been except for that brief moment on Obredaan when she was able to escape Salas. That vast reservoir of power and wisdom was now open to her. She whispered, "Give me strength."

Flooded with the living force, she reached out and grasped at the rock face with her giant celestial force grip and began pulling at the formation. The crevices and slivers within it began to widen. There were groans and loud cracks, and a deep rumbling as Kyra Dawnstar began to pull at the mountain side. She felt huge portions of the cliff begin to give. She increased the pressure and caused even more large outcroppings of stone to bow to the force. And with one final heave, a large supporting section of the rock wall tumbled down to the ground below. The temple started trembling as boulders the size of banthas began collapsing down. She weakened the supporting foundation, sending the entire shelf crashing downward. The avalanche was deafening, and kicked up a dust storm. It clouded their vision, filling their nostrils, and causing them to cough.

Once the dust cleared, Kyra and Aedan stared in stunned silence at the devastation below them. Half the opposing force had been wiped out in seconds, and the other half were either too injured or too frightened to retaliate. The remaining flesh raiders just stood there, not really understanding what they just witnessed, but totally understanding that they wanted nothing to do with the power that now confronted them. They slowly, and uncertainly, began to retreat, moping back to Kaleth.

"Kyra..." Aedan started, but what on earth could he possibly say. What she just did was probably the most impressive display of power he'd ever witnessed.

Kyra was every bit was awestruck, and had no idea what to say either. "We should probably get out of here; there's a chance they could regain their composure," Aedan said, "And looks like we found out why you experienced the pull to the rock face."

Kyra looked up at the wall and froze. "Actually, I still feel the pull. And now we do know why. Look." Aedan looked up and saw that now there was a narrow passage half way up the mountain side. It had been covered by the rocks. Intentionally covered perhaps.

"How is that possible?" Kyra asked.

"I don't know, but it appears that the rock wall that you brought down was constructed over that tunnel. How anyone or anything could have done that is beyond me."

"Can we check it out?"

"I think we've overstayed our welcome in these parts. Its best we head on back."

Reluctantly, Kyra agreed, "Okay, another time." They jogged back to the swoop bikes and sped on back to the compound at a fairly quick pace.

Once safely inside the fortress walls, they relaxed by the fire, and Aedan prepared one of the Premium Selection MRE's and they dined by the campfire. "We'll take tonight off, as we had a good deal of action already. But back to the grind tomorrow."

"Sounds good, Master."

"Kyra, what you did today, even before that incredible show of power, was amazing. I am so impressed with you. And that being said, our time here is coming to an end."

Aedan could see the frown appear on her face. "I didn't even think about that. I have enjoyed this far too much, and I'll hate leaving here, but I understand it's time we got back to being Jedi."

Aedan nodded, "We have just over two weeks left."

"So soon?"

"I'm afraid so. But the focus will be working with the remotes and sparring."

"Roger that, Master."

"We'll ease up on the workouts slightly, and... you can take the next two weeks off from classes and studies."

Kyra's fists shot up into the air, "Yes!"

"However," Aedan continued, "We are really going to push it with the sword practice and tactical training, so you will need that extra time to rest."

"I promise to give you my best."

Aedan gave a single nod, "You always do."