Hello once again, dear readers. Sorry I haven't been very active lately. Writer's block, lack of inspiration and ideas, tests, college hunting, and life in general have been keeping me from putting anything out lately, and I'd rather take my time and put out a good read than rush it and post something that isn't worth your time. I've also been doing a LOT of research (both for this story and for others), which also took a good bit of time, and I've got a couple other new stories in the works as well. For veteran readers, I made a couple of important changes in the prologue and chapter 1. In summary, I put in a year at the beginning of each chapter, like in this one; the prologue takes place in 48 BBY, and this takes place when the kids are 12 years old. I also changed the names of some of the characters, changed a bit of dialogue, fixed some typos, and so on. And for the record, Kalei's name is pronounced like Kaylee from Firefly (which is an awesome show).

I other news, since I really enjoy getting feedback, I'm going to try to be more responsive to reviews, but between writing and all the other stuff I mentioned above, I'm not sure how well that's going to go. Also, I'll be taking submissions of ideas for names for the characters' Jedi Masters and Mandalorian trainers, leave a comment or PM if you want me to send you an application. And on that note, I would like those who have already put in character requests to send me a PM or comment with the name of your character, so I can keep them all straight. If anyone has any questions about anything, just comment or PM me and I'll do my best to get back to you ASAP. Constructive criticism is appreciated and encouraged, and if you spot something off, please don't hesitate to let me know.

That's it for now, so sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Ilum, 36 BBY

As the transport door opens, a wall of cold air hits me like a speeder. I pull my coat tighter around me and walk down the ramp into the snow. My siblings and friends surround me, and we all stare in amazement at the temple ahead of us. Not only because of the amazing architecture, but because it looks as if it's part of the cliff behind it. Master Yoda descends the ramp behind us, chuckling at our awe.

"Come," he says, "To the temple, we must go."

We all follow him to the temple, where he leads us to a giant hole in the ice, which leads to a giant cave.

"Go into these caves, you will," he says, "There, a challenge each of you will face. In order to prevail, overcome your weaknesses and fears you must."

Having known Bev my entire life, I shoot him a glare before he can make some snarky comment about his self-perceived perfection. Master Yoda steps aside and we enter the cave. We stay in a group initially, but we split off one by one as we encounter offshoots from the main tunnel. Eventually I'm alone, trudging down a tunnel that seems to go on forever.

After about ten minutes I'm about to turn around, but then I hear a scream that chills me to the bone. Not because of how loud or piercing it is, but because of whose voice it is. I sprint down the tunnels towards the voice, and eventually reach a wall. About twenty meters into the ice, Kalei is frozen in place, unable to move anything but her eyes.

"Kalei!" I yell and pound my fist against the ice. She looks around frantically; being trapped and helpless has always been her greatest fear.

"You can save her," a voice says from behind me, and I turn to see a Force ghost of an old man, wearing Jedi robes, with his hands clasped behind his back.

"How?" I ask, walking quickly over to him.

"Patiently," he says, "You can use the Force to break the ice in thin layers, and free your friend. However, you must be slow; progress too quickly, and the ice will collapse and kill her."

I turn to the ice and crack my neck. "Well, Master Yoda did say this will make us face our shortcomings. I've never really been one for patience."

"It seems that now would be an excellent time to start," the Force ghost says, then promptly disappears.

I stand in front of the ice wall and let the Force flow through my body, strengthening my muscles, then punch the wall. A thin layer of ice shatters and falls away. I reach out to Kalei in the Force, and I can feel panic and fear rolling off her like waves. I try to comfort her, despite being in a similar state, and soon her fear ebbs and her conscious thought regains control of her mind. I feel her sink into a meditative trance to preserve her air, and I focus harder on the work before me. After about an hour and several close calls, Kalei falls into my arms, finally free from the ice. She slowly opens her eyes and looks around, finally focusing on me.

"About time," she says weakly, "I was beginning to get bored."

I laugh, "The rest of the galaxy doesn't move as fast as you."

"Naver," she says as she grabs my arm with considerable strength considering her recent ordeal. "You don't know what it's like. Being forced to endure your greatest fear with no way of escape, no way of doing anything."

"Actually, I do," I say, "Believe it or not, the entire time I was thawing you out I was terrified for you. I don't even know how I held it together."

"Because you're strong. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I don't know if you realize it, but everyone looks up to you and admires you because of that strength. They follow you because your strength and compassion make you a good leader."

"You're beginning to talk like you're dying or something. Come on, I'll carry you back to the entrance."

"I don't need you carrying me the whole way, I just need a few minutes."

"Well, if we don't hurry we'll be frozen in here for good... Oh, wait a minute! Master Yoda, you mirdala old man!"

"What? Why are you calling him clever?"

"That whole business he told us about being frozen in? It's all osik! The ice sealing the cave is the same as the ice I just got you out of!"

I start laughing at the revelation. Her eyes widen in realization, and she too begins to laugh after a moment. After a few moments of laughter I stand up and manage to regain my composure. Suddenly I notice a green crystal in the wall. I walk over to it and inspect it for a moment.

"What is it?"

"A lightsaber crystal. I think it's meant to be mine." I shatter the ice and pull the crystal out, and it feels surprisingly warm. It's larger than most lightsaber crystals, which is odd.

"Here," I say and toss it to her, "Does it feel warm to you?"

"No, it's cold as ice." She tosses it back and I pocket it.

"Yours should be around here too. Look around, think of a place where only you would think to look for it."

She thinks for a moment, then rolls to one side and looks at the place she just vacated. Surely enough, a pair of yellow crystals are embedded in the ice. She pries them out and puts them in a pocket.

"You good?" I ask as I hold out my hand to help her up. She accepts it and tries to stand, but falls back down.

"Ugh, no," she says, "Guess I need the help more than I realized."

I bend over and pick her up, with my right arm under her knees and my left under her back. I start walking back towards the entrance, occasionally pausing to remember the way.

"Did you face your test yet?" Kalei suddenly asks.

"That business with the ice was mine as well as yours. I think it was supposed to help me learn to control my impatience, and I think it worked."

"It kind of did that for me as well. I was conscious that entire time, and it felt like hours."

"I know, right?"

After a few minutes Kalei tries walking again, this time with more success. She takes a few shaky steps, then begins to walk more steadily. Within a few minutes she's walking normally. As we walk, I begin to feel the temperature drop slightly, a sign that we're nearing the exit. We finally arrive to find the others are standing next to the already-frozen doorway.

"I knew we shouldn't have waited," Bev complains, "Now we're stuck here."

"It's just frozen water," I say, "Not really that hard to get through. Watch."

I walk up to the door, open myself to the Force for a few minutes, then punch it as hard as I can. The ice over the doorway crumbles, revealing Master Yoda standing there, smiling.

"Knew you would learn the truth, I did. Come, we must return to Coruscant."

With that, we begin the trek back to the shuttle, Kalei and I subtly holding hands.