Chapter 4

Enclave

Zhar Lestin's hologram said, "There is another reason why the Jedi created this enclave here on Dantooine. Nearby there is a cave. It may be collapsed over time, but I trust that the Force will guide you. In this cave you will find lightsaber crystals. If the Force is with you, you will find your lightsaber crystal."

"But I thought lightsaber crystals could only be found on Ilum?"

It had taken some work, but eventually Ahsoka convinced the archeologists to let her take the holocron with her, at least for now.

Master Zhar nodded, "We had thought so too, but the galaxy is full of surprises. Be careful, though. Like the caves of Ilum, the crystal caves here on Dantooine are strong in the Force. They will test you, both to see if you are worthy, and to force your true self to the surface. This is how you will find your lightsaber crystal."

"I've gone through the trial before." Ahsoka said, "And I returned to Ilum to help another group of Padawans see it through."

"Then hopefully this will be no difficulty for you." Ahsoka released her Force grip on the holocron, and the image of Master Zhar said, "Best of luck, young one." before shrinking back into the holocron.

Ahsoka walked out of her small bunkroom in the Red Drexl and prowled the hallways. Jyssa was nowhere to be found, but Arc was sitting on his bunk in the medbay, attempting to roll a large vial of something along his left hand.

"What are you doing?"

Arc replied, "Wishing I had a right hand so I could actually contact juggle this thing."

"What's contact juggling?"

Arc rolled the vial along his hand, yet when it reached the end of his fingers he flipped his hand over and it rolled down the back of his knuckles until it rested there. "It's when you've got a ball, or something about that size..."

"You mean like a thermal detonator."

"Yeah, if you're crazy you can contact juggle a thermal det. But yeah, you keep it in motion. Roll it along. Never lose contact. Hard to do when you're wearing gauntlets, but not impossible."

Ahsoka snorted, "So, which is easier to contact juggle: thermal dets or droid poppers."

Arc purposely put on a fake Concord Dawn accent and did his best imitation of a common GAR clone soldier, "Oh, definitely thermal dets. Spherical is a lot easier to contact juggle than cylindrical, and the baradium core adds a little more mass to it so it rolls smoother. But you didn't hear that from me, Commander."

Ahsoka laughed, and she realized that may have been the first time in the last two days, "At ease, soldier. I won't put you on report. Seriously, though, do you know where Jyssa is?"

"Haven't seen her in a bit. I think she went outside. She was getting a little stir-crazy, stuck here on the ground."

"I've got... well... I guess a mission to go on. I wanted to let her know I was going to be gone for a bit."

"I'll go with you." Arc stood up, much more steady on his feet than the last time Ahsoka saw him stand.

"I don't know if its a good idea. It's... kind of a Jedi thing."

"In that case, you need someone at your back. I've seen enough Jedi things to know how dangerous they are."

"Arc, I can't ask you to come with me."

"You don't have to, Ahsoka. I may be MIA, and you may not be a Commander anymore, but right now we're all we've got. I lost my brothers on Ren Vhar. You can't ask me to not have your back."

Ahsoka nodded, "In that case, maybe we should find you a blaster you can hold with your left hand."

"What kind of action are you expecting here on Dantooine?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it'll be a trial of some kind."

Arc kneeled down and pulled open a cabinet under his bed. What few possessions he had were in there. It only took a moment of rifling through for him to pull out a holster and a small pistol. "It's not much, but they gave it to me to use as a backup when I passed the ARC test. Small nuclear power cell inside, recharges the power pack over time and it draws gases in from the air to ionize and use as plasma, so it never needs more tibanna gas. Worth a small fortune, and only ARCs and Commandos get it."

"Wow. I can bet."

"Now for the embarrassing part."

"What's that?"

"I need your help flipping the holster around... and putting my belt on."

"Aww, Arc, you don't need to be embarrassed. Let me call Jyssa in so she can watch. Then you'll be embarrassed."

Arc tried to glare at her, but with only half his face showing much expression, it didn't really work. "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't worry, I left the Jedi order. That doesn't mean I turned to the dark side. Now hand me that holster, let me figure out how it's attached to the belt."

It took a bit of fiddling, but eventually Ahsoka figured out how to flip it around to the left side and make the holster face the other way. After she helped Arc put his belt on, he slipped the expensive pistol into the holster, and then practiced drawing with his left hand.

It was a little slower than drawing with his right, but that was to be expected. A lot of the clones learned how to be effectively ambidextrous, but that was one thing that was lacking in the specialized flash-training that Arc had recieved.

"I noticed your balance is a lot better. How's your inner ear?"

Arc sat down on the edge of his bed and started pulling his boots on with his left hand, "A lot better. I think the bacta plug really helped."

"In that case, you can catch up to me when you get your boots on. I'm going to go find Jyssa."

"Sure thing, Commander. I mean, Ahsoka. I still have to get used to that."