Jaina sat up straight out of bed. She'd had another terrible dreams, with that voice in it. The creepy old man was lurking about in every disastrous scenario, whispering his cold advice and weird sayings.

Jacen?

Her heart raced as she realized she couldn't sense her twin. She flew to her feet, despite being in an old, slightly-translucent tank top, and short hole-ridden shorts, and threw open the door. She ran to Jacen's door and pounded on it.

"JACEN?" She screamed in terror. She pounded it again. "JACEN, ARE YOU OKAY? OPEN THE DOOR!"

She rammed it just as Jacen opened the door, and the connection came flooding back in. Her inertia continued, so they both tumbled to the floor of Jacen's bedroom.

"What the kriff?" Jacen mumbled, half-asleep. "Jaya, what—"

Jaina got off from on top of her brother. "I couldn't feel our connection."

"Oh."

Jaina felt like they must not have connected back up all the way, because his thoughts were fuzzy. She couldn't read them— unless he was keeping her out on purpose?

"Jacen—"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Jacen said. "I usually can't reach you at night. Maybe the Force Bond needs to sleep too!"

Jaina decided to put aside her doubts for the moment. They had more important things to do.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and get dressed," Jaina said. "Then we can go and look for kyber crystals to make our lightsabers."

"Alright," Jacen agreed. "Meet you in five?"

"Or something like that," Jaina agreed.

Jaina returned to her room and shut the door behind her. She changed into a newer black tank top and a gray-green grease-stained flight-suit with plenty of pockets. She then rolled up the sleeves to her elbows, and put her silver blaster on her belt, along with her multi-tool. She pulled on her boots— a new pair, as a birthday present, although she didn't know who had bought them for her— and headed down to the main lounge room near where the Jedi lived.

To her surprise, she saw Kyp Durron sitting out there. He was lifting water out of a glass of water with the Force. His dark green eyes were entranced, fixed upon the water with a wonder that was foreign to Jaina.

She always knew the Force. He hadn't— so all his new abilities, she realized, were wondrous and a marvel to him.

"That's wizard," she said as she sat down next to him.

"What?" Startled, he turned to look at her, and the water hit his lap. "Kriff."

"I said that I thought what you were doing was really wizard," Jaina said, willing her cheeks to not turn red.

"Oh, thanks," Kyp said. "I'm still getting a hang on all this Jedi stuff. I've always been able to do weird things, but I didn't do a lot of it."

"So you don't know your limits yet," Jaina said. "I get that. I get the idea that you'll be a pretty powerful Jedi someday, just like Mum."

"You really think so?" His expression was earnest, and Jaina could sense that he wanted her approval.

"Of course," she said, trying to sound cocky and funny— not as awkward as she felt.

"I bet you've seen and done things more wizard than that," Kyp said. "You and your brother."

Jaina shrugged nonchalantly. "Jacen's done more impressive things with the Force. But Mum won't assign us teachers. . . Well, she will once we get a task done."

"What kind of task?" Kyp asked.

"Today, Jacen and I are going to make our lightsabers," Jaina said. "Then we'll have to beat Mum in a lightsaber duel working together."

"Wait, can I go with you?" Kyp asked. "I want to make a real lightsaber. I'll even help you practice with the fight. Stormtroopers are trained to use these electro-staffs— they're a lot like lightsabers."

"You'd do that?" Jacen asked as he approached the two.

"You heard that?" Kyp seemed somewhat flustered.

"Jedi senses, Young Padawan," Jacen teased.

Jaina could sense Jacen's jealousy through the Force bond, but she couldn't help but flaunt it a little— she got to spend time with Pretty New Kid alone.

"So let's go find some lightsabers," Jaina said, getting to her feet.

"Do you guys want some help?"

Jaina, Jacen, and Kyp turned to see the source of the timid voice. Tash Arranda stood in the doorway of her bedroom, her braided Alderaanian hairstyle airtight and her Jedi tunic and robes crisp and neat— as always.

"Hey, Tash," Kyp said, smiling from relief.

"Hi, Kyp," she said. "I just thought— since I know where the kyber crystals are on this planet, I thought maybe I could help you guys find your lightsabers."

Jaina bit her lip. It made her angry that even Tash had one before they did, and that there would be a tagalong. But she felt sorry for Tash. The girl was really nice, and she did mean well, even if she was a goody-goody and had been apprenticed before her.

She heard the voice of one of the ghosts she'd known for most of her life. Jaina, let go of your anger.

"Sure," Jaina said, faking a smile. "The more the merrier!"

Jacen gave her a bewildered look, but she ignored it. She can help us, Jaysa. And we need to be nicer to her.

But do you think Mum might've wanted us to do it without help?

Jaina shrugged. She didn't specify, so…

"Come on," Kyp said, standing up. "Let's go."

Jaina took out her personal speeder, a four-seater she built from scrap around the base, and followed Tash's directions from the passenger side. In the back, Jacen and Kyp were discussing some Force philosophy or another. Jaina tried to ignore how cozy they were both getting.

The desert below the rock-structures was freezing, but the nightly layer of ice had melted during the sunrise. The shadows of Upahatu loomed over the speeder as it headed towards where Tash directed.

"Here," Tash said, pointing at the towering rocks, which were gray, startling against the reddish brown rock of the desert and other formations.

"Whoa," Kyp said. "Why's that one different?"

Jaina felt a coldness radiating off of it.

The dark side.

"Something's not right," Jacen said aloud. "Tash, are you sure—"

"Yeah," she said. "I remember."

She absently touched the handle of her lightsaber.

Jaina lifted her speeder, and landed on a precipice on the structure, next to an entrance into a cave with glimmering jewels within.

"Come on," Jaina said, leaping out of the speeder. She peered into the caves, at the strange patterns of colors of the glimmering gems.

Jaina, turn around.

Jaina frowned when Jacen thought that at her. Still, she turned around and gasped.

A fleet had appeared, of shining silver ships that were beyond what even the First Order had.

"Into the caves," Tash said, her timid voice now certain. "We can look for your crystals and hide."

All four teenagers fled into the caves.