Quick side-note: I started to publish the books on Wattpad as well. Same author name, same story name, but I'm adding some photo montages inherent to the story to add a bit more color. If you're interested, feel free to check it out.
Author notes at the end of the chapter
Chapter 17: Shroud of Darkness
Indeed, Jaral was furious and scolded every single member of the Ghost, including her father, for their monstrous delay before hugging them one by one for the relief of having her family back. Then she and Darvos headed for her cabin aboard the carrier. Jaral had seriously considered the words of her mother about talking to someone about all the pressure she felt. All the responsibilities she had taken on in the last year were starting to take their toll on her, mostly because she was still learning how to command and she had a lot of insecurities about it.
That's why, to Darvos' delight, they spent a couple of hours just talking and comforting each other. It was like the first time they dated back on Lothal, where they would sit under a night sky and just talk with only a small session of passionate kisses. It was something much more therapeutic than nights of sex. Not that he disliked the latter, but it felt good to finally open up their minds to each other.
Jaral spent a night of peaceful sleep in the arms of the man she loved with all of her being and when she had to wake up early, she almost didn't want to leave.
She gently slipped out of the embrace, but the lieutenant felt her anyway and woke up as well.
"Snuggle time already over?" he groaned in disappointment, looking at the naked back of his girlfriend, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Unfortunately." she replied, looking at the clock on her omni-tool.
In an hour or so, she, Ezra and Kanan were supposed to go and scout a mountainous world for a base location. The planet was called Oosalon, a backwater world full of gray rocky mountains, barely any fauna or flora and constantly hit by electric storms that moved around the planet. Which meant it was a perfect hiding place, all it remained to see was if it was actually livable.
Darvos used one arm as support to raise his upper body and wrapped the other around her shoulders, giving her a soft kiss on the neck. He could see, however, how she was still nervous and thoughts went to their conversation a few hours before.
"Hey," he whispered, gaining her attention. "even if this doesn't go well, we'll try next time. Just because you're a Captain, it doesn't mean that you have to shoulder every small complication."
"It is my responsibility to find a safe spot for the fleet, Darvos." she replied, grabbing his hand with her own and squeezing it in search of comfort.
"No, it is the responsibility of all." he sentenced. "Jari, you've done more for this fleet than anybody else. And we all knew what we were going against when we enlisted. So stop burdening yourself with useless thoughts, and just look forward to when we will find our perfect place."
Jaral chuckled. "Are you referring to the fleet, or the two of us?"
The young man smirked. "Maybe both. Who knows?"
Jaral lost herself in his emerald eyes, then leaned in to kiss him on the lips. "I love you." she whispered.
"I love you too." he whispered back.
With that said, Jaral rose up and put on her blue attire, the one she kept under the nano-suit, while Darvos started to put on his uniform.
When they got out, they separated as Jaral left for hangar 4 while Darvos headed toward the bridge. Despite the late hour, the hangar was always filled with engineers attending to the needs of the ships and soldiers training.
The girl arrived in front of the Ghost, finding only Chopper right outside the freighter. The astromech was actually communicating with Raze, her new astromech, and she approached them.
"Hey, Chop." she greeted and the two droids turned their dome toward her. "Making acquaintance with my new partner?"
Chopper took out his handlers and protested. Something among the lines that Jaral was sidelining him for a new droid. And something else.
"Oh, now you're just melodramatic, Chop. Hera will never put you in the trash. No matter how much you deserve it." Jaral said with an amused smile.
While Raze and Chopper went black warbling whatever they wanted to discuss, Jaral noted her father holding some kind of lesson to a group of five operatives in a tactical asset, all standing at attention. Not wanting to interrupt them, she simply walked into the Ghost via the cargo bay and found it unusually quiet. Her bond said clearly that Ezra was still sleeping, and somehow she could tell that Sabine was doing the same in his exact bunk bed.
Jaral quietly stepped in front of the cabins. Zeb was snoring loudly, so it was easy to detect, but she could feel Hera and Kanan in a bunk together too. It was the Jedi to send some kind of beacon through the Force, or at least that was her impression.
Still, it was weird. She could never use the Force to tell where someone was (apart from Ezra, of course, but they were bonded). Maybe it was just her instinct.
Jaral headed for the kitchen and made herself some breakfast: the usual cup of dark, bitter caf and some space waffles.
She sat at the table and started eating, yet something strange was happening, she could feel it around her.
Before she noticed, a strange hum started to pester her hears. She looked around with suspicion.
"Jinx, do you hear any strange sound?" she asked quietly.
"I am not detecting anything unusual." the AI simply stated.
Yet that loud buzz persisted, as if something was knocking on her mind. She took another bite of waffles before deciding that she should investigate. She closed her eyes and rid her mind of any superfluous thoughts.
It was something new. Not even during her meditations has she ever felt such clarity of mindfulness. Images started to flow in front of her. They didn't seem to have any sense, but then they were replaced with a sensation she couldn't describe.
"Sis?!"
"Gah!"
Ezra's voice made Jaral snap out of her trance and she extended a hand. Only then she noticed that one of the waffles was levitating in front of her, and when she slung her arm, the candy flew straight at Ezra, who was just too dumbfounded to bother avoiding it when the thing splattered on its jacket.
"Oh my gosh!" Jaral exclaimed in an apologizing tone, walking over to him. "I'm sorry...are you alright?"
Ezra just grabbed the waffle with two fingers and detached it.
"Gonna need something more than a waffle to take me out." he joked. "But most importantly." he tossed the thing away. "Were you just lifting that thing with the Force?!" Ezra was enthusiast.
Jaral, however, was only confused. "I...I don't know. I just felt this strange sound, I closed my eyes and then...all of that."
"Oh, trust me, it's the Force alright." the boy said with a smile.
Jaral shook her head, an expression of hard concentration. "I thought we already established that I can only feel the Force, not manipulate it."
"We'll have to ask Kanan about that. But I think it's great."
Jaral gazed at the palm of her right hand, still unable to believe it. Was she about to become a Jedi, too?
"Ask me about what?" the voice of Kanan surprised them.
He was already in the common room and he heard the last phrase.
After a brief recap, Kanan looked amazed as well.
"Kanan," Ezra asked eagerly. "do you think that Jaral might become a Jedi too?"
The Jedi regained his composure and brought a finger on his chin, mumbling.
"It seems like your connection to the Force is developing. I honestly have never seen such a thing, though. I can't exactly tell what's going on." he said calmly.
"Then maybe we could ask Ahsoka." Ezra suggested after a couple of seconds.
Kanan nodded. "That's not a bad idea."
Jaral waved her hands to dispel the amazement. "Ok, never-mind that. We need to focus on the mission." and she tried to step outside but Ezra stood between her and the door. "What now?"
Looking at her with a serious expression, Ezra spoke calmly. "Are you sure you should come? This seems to have been quite the shock for you."
Jaral snorted. "Nonsense."
"He's right, Jaral." Kanan added. "You're practically surrounded by doubt. It's understandable. Learning that you suddenly became a full-fledged Force sensitive must be...a shaking experience."
"Kanan," Ezra intervened. "why don't you bring the holocron? We'll know for sure if she has the potential."
The older Jedi seemed impressed. "The good ideas just keep coming today, uh?" he said jokingly.
"I always have good ideas." Ezra said loudly while Kanan was walking toward his cabin.
Then he looked back at his sister, who seemed deep in thought. Through their bond he could perceive a whirlwind of emotions gurgling beneath her apparently calm demeanor.
Ezra simply went and put a hand on her back, trying to sooth her worries, to which she answered with a bit of a more confident smile and a grateful expression.
Not long after, Kanan returned into the common room not only with the holocron, but with Hera, Zeb and Sabine following too. They had heard part of the commotion, especially Jaral's scream, and they decided to wake up.
Kanan handed the cube to her. "Just focus on the holocron. Don't try to find a way to open it, because only the Force will tell you how to do it." he calmly explained.
Jaral did so and close her eyes, keeping the cube on the palm of her extended right hand. She felt her mind connecting to the Force. A path was highlighted in front of her and she followed it.
She didn't know how long she walked that path, but when she arrived at the end of it, she opened her eyes and noticed that he holocron was opened, exposing the amount of data inside of it. She looked in awe, while Ezra and Kanan looked proudly at her.
"You did it, sis." Ezra said putting a hand on her shoulder.
Sabine chuckled and commented. "Now you too will become a Jedi? The Empire won't last another year." The others smiled at the statement.
"Still, I think it's better if we wait for Ahsoka to come here. She might be able to assess you better, and maybe teach you the basics." Kanan said.
"Or I can teach her the basics when we come back." Ezra said nudging his sister's elbow.
"You, teaching something?" Jaral joked with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, let me have just this one." he mocked a pleading.
"All right." Kanan interrupted them, although gently. "Ezra, go get ready. We better start moving."
Jaral wasn't much happy to be left out from the mission. Still, Kanan was right: right now her mind was overwhelmed by questions, and she needed to sit down and work on them. The older Jedi had broken the news on the command bridge, astonishing Darvos and Sato, who however were eager to have another potential Jedi on board. Ahsoka was contacted immediately and she accepted to come back on the Phoenix Nest as soon as possible, while Ezra and Kanan left aboard the Phantom and headed for Oosalon.
No more than two hours later, Jaral was in Kanan's cabin. The Jedi had told her to use it to meditate and delve into the holocron on her own while she waited for Ahsoka. The young Bridger was astonished at how much information was stored into that tiny cube that resembled more of a decorative object than a pool of information.
She had just learned how to use the Force to navigate into the extensive database of the holocron when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Jaral said, sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose on Kanan's small cushion.
She carefully disconnected her link to the Force as the Holocron closed itself again. Only then Jaral noticed that Ahsoka was there, looking at her from the open door with a gentle smile.
"Nice to see you again, Ahsoka." Jaral greeted the Force-wielder.
"It's a pleasure for me as well." Ahsoka answered, going to sit on the other small chair in front of the cushion. "It seems like you have changed a lot." she added jokingly.
"Pretty much overnight." the girl replied in kind.
"So, you really didn't notice any possible foreshadowing about you being a Force-sensitive?" Ahsoka asked calmly.
"Not that I can recall." Jaral said, unfolding her legs to sit regularly on the small chair that resembled more of a footrest, given the cushion at the top. "Though, to be fair, I've never done anything other than meditating. Maybe if I'd given a try before…" she said in a reflective tone.
"What you could've done, now doesn't matter." Ahsoka said to dissuade her from pointless thoughts. "Now we have to understand if it's actually possible that someone becomes a Force-sensitive so suddenly."
"Have there ever been cases like mine?"
"I can't tell. Back in the days of the Republic, the Jedi Order took children for training since a very young age, so they were very much aware about their connections. You, on the other hand, had probably never had the attitude necessary to connect to the Force."
"What do you mean?"
"In order to connect to the Force, you have to let yourself go. When was the last time you ever did it?"
Jaral made a quick recap of her life in her head. Thinking about it, she realized that she had barely ever let herself go. When she was young, Jordan taught her to keep her mind always focused and alert, as this was his life doctrine as a soldier. While not reaching levels of paranoia, Jaral had always been a girl with her mind set on solid ground, and would rather spend her time planning her next move in life than have her mind wander aimlessly. Even that short time she had with Darvos on Lothal didn't distract her from being always on guard.
Ezra, on the other hand, could allow himself to take things a bit easier. After all, Jaral had been taking care of him and doing most of the heavy lifting when they were living on the streets. Basing on what Ahsoka just said, it suddenly made sense that Ezra had developed his potential before joining the Ghost, while she started to feel the Force after that event, when she allowed herself to relax a little, now that she and Ezra had a family to watch their backs.
The answer to Ahsoka's question came after a few seconds.
"I guess yesterday night. I spent a lot of time talking with Darvos about my anxieties, something I never do. I just...completely disclosed myself. I felt at peace."
Ahsoka smirked. "Guess you only needed to find your own way of letting yourself go a bit."
Jaral chuckled but she stopped when a sense of danger tingled in her bond and her expression changed.
"Is there a problem?" Ahsoka asked.
"Ezra is in trouble. And I bet Kanan too."
"The Inquisitors?"
"I can't tell for sure, but I think it's likely. I felt this way the other times they crossed swords."
"I'm sure they will pull it off." Ahsoka tried to reassure her.
"Oh, I know." Jaral replied calmly. "But I'll feel at ease when I'm sure they are safe."
"Why don't we keep ourselves busy with a few...beginner's exercises?"
Jaral sighed and smiled. "Yeah. I guess I have a lot to catch up."
Around 20 minutes passed. Jaral learned how to lift small objects in the meantime. She remembered the words she herself told Ezra when he was practicing that ability. She had told him to keep his mind clear and to reach that goal they even went on a supply run, which turned into Ezra and Zeb stealing a TIE fighter, that some months later they used to rescue Kanan.
How surprising it was, to think that everything seemed to be happening because of a grand scheme.
As she was making practice with Force attraction, Jaral felt the sense of danger being replaced by one of relief, and she knew that Ezra and Kanan were safe. A smile formed on her face.
A few minutes later, Hera knocked on the door.
"We received a message from Kanan. We are to meet him and Ezra in deep space, away from the fleet. Ahsoka, he wants to speak to you as well." she said.
Jaral felt like Hera was trying to hide her anxiety behind a serious mask.
"Very well." said Ahsoka. "I'll be waiting here."
"I need to get to the comm." said Jaral, raising up. "I have to inform Commander Sato that I'm leaving."
Hera looked at her in surprise.
"Wait...you don't have to come."
"I have a feeling I do." Jaral simply answered.
Hera scoffed, though she seemed amused. "You can lift things and suddenly you talk like a Jedi."
Jaral realized that her last sentence might have been a bit cringe and nervously rubbed the back of her neck.
Anyway, another hour later, the Ghost and the Phantom finally met. The crew was waiting in the common room. Zeb was making maintenance on his rifle, the girls were talking near the ladder.
Kanan was the first to climb down, though Ezra was right above him.
"Well, you two seem just fine." Jaral commented with relief.
"How's the Phantom?" Hera asked jokingly.
"I don't know. Chopper was flying." said Ezra with a polite tone but an embittered expression.
"Oh, boy." Hera added.
"So, kid," Zeb intervened with a hopeful smile. "you find us a base yet?"
"No." Ezra said dryly. "But we did find two Inquisitors."
"Oh, that's nothing new." Zeb dismissed.
Ezra stopped to kiss Sabine on the cheek, to which she replied with a hesitant smile, as she could feel the gloomy atmosphere around him. Ezra then went to Kanan's cabin.
"She's waiting for us." Jaral said to Kanan.
"Yeah, why did you want to meet so far away from the fleet?" Hera asked in suspicion.
"It's safer this way." was Kanan's answer. Then he turned to Jaral. "How was your first training?" he asked jovially.
To answer, Jaral raised a hand toward the table, where Zeb had left a couple of small tools. One of them started levitating. Very slowly and it only made a few centimeters upward, but she still managed to get it down gently. Zeb didn't even notice it in those few seconds.
"Well, that's a start." Kanan said encouragingly. Jaral nodded with a satisfied smirk.
"Come on, let's not waste more time." she said.
When Jaral and Kanan stepped into the latter's cabin, they found Ahsoka and Ezra talking in front of a recording coming from the holocron. Their last sentences were about the Inquisitors.
"Speaking of the Inquisitors…" Kanan started off. "Ahsoka, what do you think about us doing the hunting, for a change?"
Ahsoka mumbled.
"When you defeated one, two more came. Who's to say we won't multiply our problems yet again?"
"And there's Vader…" Ezra added grimly.
"I don't disagree, but the fact remains we can't protect our friends while we are chased by Vader and his Inquisitors." Kanan said. "And now…" he turned to Jaral, prompting the others to do the same. "Jaral too is becoming Force-sensitive. I'm afraid that paints another target on our hull."
It was a harsh truth, but it was the truth nonetheless. Jaral vowed inside her to start training hard if the Force actually wanted her to become a Jedi.
"In times like these, Anakin and I would turn to someone like Obi-Wan or Master Yoda." Ahsoka remembered. "They always had the answer...well, almost always."
"Then maybe we should ask Master Yoda." Kanan said wittily. Ahsoka looked with a surprised eyebrow arched up.
The Force-users quickly prepared themselves and boarded the Phantom with Chopper. They informed the three remaining members of the crew that they were going to Lothal, looking for answers in the Jedi Temple.
Jaral was actually reluctant to go, considering that she had discovered her affinity with the Force literally that day, but Kanan and Ahsoka reassured her that this probably wasn't a coincidence, and Ahsoka in particular seemed pretty sure that the young Bridger needed to be there. Ezra made sure to ease his sister's worries along the trip.
They finally arrived outside the orbit of Lothal. The planet was almost unguarded in orbit, since the Imperial Sector Fleet was busy hunting down Phoenix Fleet.
Kanan set the course to the Jedi Temple, in the northern hemisphere. It was winter there, meaning that the temperature was cold and there was a modest layer of snow, but nothing that would impede them.
Kanan ordered Chopper to stay with the Phantom and be on guard in case the Empire got near them.
Jaral was taken aback by the structure. Even though it seemed only one of the many great oval mountains that could be found all around in Lothal plains, she noticed quickly the disposition of the other rocks, and the signs carved in the ground.
And the Force. She could feel it almost grabbing and pulling at her.
"Here." the voice of Ezra made her snap out.
The boy was indicating at one of the circles carved in the ground.
"This is where me and Kanan opened it last time." he said to the girls.
"Shall we go, Master?" he said politely.
"Actually, I think we should let Jaral try it." Kanan said calmly.
The teens looked at each other in disbelief.
"I get that we need her to learn as quickly as possible, but aren't you asking her a bit too much for her first day?" Ezra protested.
"I didn't mean alone, of course. You shall guide her." the Jedi replied.
"Excuse me?" Ezra was confused.
"You guys remember when Ezra used the Force on that list of prisoners?"
"How could I forget?" Jaral said. "The one that led us to Mum and Dad again."
"Exactly. Remember what you did to help him, Jaral?"
The girl recalled the memory. "I...just kept his hand. Even a little bit of physical contact seems to increase our Force bond exponentially, and our ability to connect with the Force as well."
"I think I know where this is going." Ezra commented.
"So you're saying…" Jaral finally intervened. "that you can 'guide' me into the Force?"
"It's just a theory," Kanan clarified. "but a strong Force bond like the one you two share had rarely been seen in the galaxy. I say you give it a shot. If it doesn't work, better luck next time and me and Ezra open the temple again."
"All right." Jaral sighed.
"Hey." Ezra told her, extending his left hand toward her. "Do you trust me?" he asked with a confident smile.
She returned with a witty smirk. "You know I do."
They both stepped into the circle, holding hands and pointing toward the temple. Even before they closed their eyes, they started to connect through their bond. Jaral just cleared her mind, letting everything flow past her as Ezra's warming presence started to gently pull her mind into the swirling flows of the Force.
The siblings extended their free arms. Jaral could feel something moving in the Force. She kept following Ezra's signature without question. Ezra, on his part, was following his own instinct, letting himself to be guided by the Force.
A minute later, they felt like the path was over and they opened their eyes. Jaral was amazed, while Ezra asked in confusion.
"Wait, this is a new door, right?" he asked while noticing that the door he and Kanan used last time was above them by now.
"New problem, new door, I guess." Kanan said. "Anyway, good job, you two." he stopped to give an encouraging smile to both of them before walking toward the temple along with Ahsoka.
The siblings quickly looked at each other and then followed suit.
The four entered the door, finding a similar entry to the one of last time, except that this one only had a small, circular room at the end of the corridor. Aside from primitive paintings on the walls and these being shaped in forms of reversed triangles, there was no way to go deeper inside the mountain.
When the main door closed behind them, the group understood that they had a job to do for sure.
"How did you contact Master Yoda from here?" Ahsoka asked.
"Well…" Kanan tried to find the words. "he...kinda contacted us, actually."
"I thought I was dreaming when I first heard Master Yoda's voice." Ezra remembered.
"And I was meditating." Kanan added.
"Then perhaps is a good place to start." Ahsoka concluded.
The three Force-users sat down on their knees and assumed a meditative position. Jaral wasn't sure if she was supposed to join them. Ezra then smiled to her and tapped a free spot on his left, between him and Ahsoka, and Jaral went to kneel there.
As the others closed their eyes, Jaral took a deep breath and focused. She already knew how to meditate. At least this first part she could help with.
She let her mind rejoin the flow of the Force. Slowly but certainly, the dark clout of doubt was slowly withdrawing.
A strange sense of void around her pushed Jaral to open her eyes, and the spectacle in front of her eyes had her silently gasp in surprise.
All around her it was dark, like she was inside a sphere. Yet right in front of the direction she was facing was a light.
The girl stood up and realized that, wherever she put her feet, there were small wavelets, like a quiet lake when a small rock falls in it. There must have been some sort of energy field to keep her from falling, but she preferred not to inquire it.
She stepped slowly but surely. She closed her eyes again, trusting that the Force would guide her.
When she finally reached the light, it became blinding. As soon as her closed eyes were able to take it, Jaral slowly reopened them completely and found herself in a strange cave. It was similar to the circular room she sat until a few seconds ago, but this wasn't on Lothal. Looking out from the two doors carved in the walls, she saw a trail leading down a hill and another one lead to what seemed like a terrace, where the sun was setting, bathing the entire room into a dim orange light.
On the ground, at the center of the room, there was a mosaic. A humanoid meditating, his body split between a white and a black side, probably a metaphor to indicate the two faces of the Force.
That was the only thing Jaral had the time to assess, because the familiar hissing of a red lightsaber igniting compelled her to turn around in alarm.
From a shadowy corner came out a figure that Jaral recognized immediately as the Seventh Sister. Her mask was lowered, meaning that she was showing her devious smirk as she pointed one of the two blades toward the girl.
"What do we have here?" the Sister said. "Another aspiring Jedi?"
Jaral didn't answer, just stood on guard, her hands on her plasma batons on her belt.
"Girl, do you really think you have any chance against me?"
"No." Jaral replied defiantly. Then she unhooked the batons and ignited them, the yellow rays on their tips humming.
The Sister started to walk toward Jaral, the saber in front of her.
"You can barely use the Force, and you are here, alone. Your brother and his Master will not come to shield you." she stopped a few inches away from the range of her saber. "I'll give you a choice. Join us...or die."
For answer, Jaral hardened her expression and united the batons, creating her double-edged staff.
"A pity." the Sister said sarcastically before launching herself with a jump on Jaral.
The attack was extremely quick and Jaral barely managed to put one of her plasma blades in a position to block the Sister's saber. Her strength did give her an advantage in these kind of confrontation, since she easily pushed back the Sister.
The dark-sider, however, was fought more with speed and agility than brute strength, since that used to be the style of the Fifth Brother.
Jaral did learn rapidly how to combat a saber, but that didn't mean that she was anywhere near ready to fight back the Inquisitors. Her role with the plasma blades was supposed to be a meager support for Kanan and Ezra, not to let her go toe-to-toe against the dark-siders, who were infinitely more expert than her.
Soon enough, the Sister stroke a blow that cut in half one of the batons, so now Jaral had to use only one, which was way shorter than a regular lightsaber.
It didn't take long for the Sister to push her weapon away and kick Jaral straight in the stern, making her fly back a few meters and cutting her breath short.
The girl coughed as she tried to get back on her feet.
"Such willpower." the dark-sider said with her usual malicious tone. "It would be a waste. Allow me to extend the invite again." she extender her free hand toward the girl, even if they were still at a distance.
Jaral stared at her with a defiant gaze, her mouth still panting heavily. The Sister shrugged with an expression saying 'Well, I tried', and charged Jaral again.
The girl tried this time to avoid the slashes and getting nearer to the dark-sider, to force her in a melee, but the Sister understood it and parried her correctly. When Jaral stumbled back, the Sister closed her free hand and the girl could feel her neck constrained.
Struggling for air, Jaral was lifted from the ground, before being smashed violently against the wall. An enraged scream of pain escaped from her mouth as she tasted her own blood.
She couldn't get back on her feet. The physical damage wasn't that bad, but she simply understood that she had no chance of winning. She just sat on her knees, holding a hip with the right arm.
The Sister walked in front of her and pointed her crimson blade to the girl, who now wore a neutral expression.
"Once again. Join us, or die here."
Jaral stared at her for a few seconds, before lowering her head and closing her eyes.
"Then I guess we say goodbye." the girl calmly said.
She could feel the Sister raising her blade and bringing it down. A wave of heat hit her body, but still Jaral didn't falter.
Yet she didn't die. At least that was her impression.
When she opened her eyes again, the Sister was gone, her wounds had disappeared, but she was still in the room. In fact, the sun from the terrace was pointing right at her, blinding the girl.
"You possess a strong will, child." a voice came.
Struggling to see facing the sun, Jaral noticed that something was coming in from the terrace, or someone.
She stood up and took a step sideways, to take the sun away from her eyes. A few moments later, she was confronted with a man in strange robes. Jaral was sure that those were Jedi robes that she saw in the holocron. He didn't have the mantle, but only the cream-colored kimono and knee-high boots. His face was that of a man around his 50s; he had blue eyes, beard and mustache; his long brown hairs were gathered behind his back while he had a receding hairline on the front.
The man was keeping his hand behind his back and walked calmly toward the girl.
"Who are you?" Jaral said as politely as she could.
"I'm merely a servant of the Force. I came here to assess you, and to bring you a message."
Jaral called all of her willpower to keep composure.
"Your face...I think I saw you...are you a Jedi?"
The man nodded. "Before I took this form, I answered to the name of Qui-Gon Jinn. Jedi Master."
Jaral realized that she had crossed his name in the holocron, but didn't stop to read since she didn't have the time back then.
"What is this place?" Jaral asked.
"An illusion. Your body is still on Lothal, but the Force allowed your mind to travel here, in the birthplace of the Jedi Order. Ach-To."
Jaral was taken aback by the revelation. She took a moment to look around her a bit more accurately, and the Jedi politely let her do.
"So...why am I here?" she asked.
"That is the question. Now we have to find the answer."
Jaral gulped down and straightened up as much as she could, trying to appear confident.
"Do you believe in the Force?" Qui-Gon calmly asked.
"Yes. I do." Jaral said without hesitation.
"What do you think about it?"
"It's the energy that binds the universe. Everything happens because the Force wills it. At least, that's the impression I have based on my limited experience."
"Even the Dark Side and its servant?"
"I don't know. They just use the Force for themselves, bend it to their will. But it might be also more complicated." the girl said with a bit of curiosity in her voice.
The Jedi didn't show any reaction at all. "Do you wish to become a Jedi?"
Jaral wasn't expecting that question so abruptly. "I don't know. Until this morning I thought I didn't have the potential to do so."
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't have a strong connection to the Force."
"Child," the man said gently. "being a Jedi is much more than being able to make tricks with your hands or push away an entire battalion of droids simply by raising your palm. Besides, you do have a connection to the Force. It doesn't matter how weak it might be. As long as you are eager to listen to it, the Force will become your greatest ally."
"Yes. I guess I never listened to it in the due way."
The girl was surprised at how the words came out calmly from her mouth.
Qui-Gon nodded. "And now that you know? What do you want to do?"
The girl took a moment to reflect. She closed her eyes, looking at the answer inside of her.
"I will follow the Light." she declared at the end. Her gaze now open and firmly looking the eyes of the spirit in front of her.
"Your thoughts linger on your brother. On your family. If you want to protect them, wouldn't the Dark Side be more suitable to you?"
"No." she said with absolute clarity. "Even if there will be more darkness than light in the universe, I will not succumb. I'm nothing but a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. So even if the Force wants me to remain alone, even if my destiny is not the one I hope for, I won't turn toward the light just to win a cosmic game. I'll turn toward it because it is the Light."
There was silence for a bit.
Then small pieces of rock and dust started to fall from the roof. Jaral watched in distress.
"What's happening?" she asked trying to remain composed.
"The servants of the Dark Side have found where you are. We don't have much time." Jinn said.
"You said you had a message for me?"
"Yes. Soon, very soon, two universes will collide. When the Force tells you, come back on Lothal. And bring your father."
"My father?" she asked in surprise. "Why"
Another rumble interrupted her and the vision of Ach-To started to dissipate.
"Wait! Why?" she tried to ask again but she had to duck in order to avoid a landslide.
Jaral's eyes twitched open, along with a gasp of terror.
She realized that she was alone in a small room of the temple, knelt down as she was the moment she entered the vision.
Except that she felt something under her right hand, which was leaning on her respective thigh. It seemed like a small object, so she grasped in a punch and lifted it. Then she opened the hand and struggled to believe it.
In her palm was a small, green kyber crystal.
The Temple was shaken once again. She remembered that the Inquisitors were probably the ones trying to force the door. For a moment, Jaral wondered why she saw only the Seventh Sister in her trial.
Looking around her, she quickly found the exit and ran toward it. She reappeared in a circular room, though it wasn't the one they entered from, and right when Ahsoka, Ezra and Kanan all came out from other doors and met in the middle.
"Guys!" Ezra said immediately. "You're not gonna believe it!"
"We'll talk later, come on!" Kanan urged.
Somehow, Kanan knew there was a secret exit and led the group into a pathway through the cave.
"Up ahead, a way out!" Kanan yelled backward. Behind him were Ezra, Jaral and Ahsoka in order.
The Bridger sister noticed that Ahsoka had stopped and was looking behind her.
"Ahsoka, come on!" she called.
The Togruta turned and followed them with a small smile on her lips. What made her so happy, Jaral didn't know and she didn't inquire.
The group finally ran out of the temple. It was night, which only highlighted the circles engraved in the soil, now basked in a red light.
The Phantom appeared right that moment, piloted by Chopper from the droid's socket on the rooftop. Kanan waved at him and the astromech brought the fighter in front of them, ready for the pickup.
Understanding that the Empire was most likely bringing reinforcements for the Inquisitors, the Jedi didn't waste a second and jumped right into the ship. Chopper closed the backdoor and headed at full speed toward the orbit.
After taking a collective breather, Ezra spoke again.
"I saw Master Yoda?"
Ahsoka and Kanan almost jumped for the surprise.
"Saw him?" Kanan asked. "What did he say?"
"He said to find Malachor." Ezra simply stated. "Does that name ring a bell?"
The older Jedi looked at each other in reverence.
"Malachor is a place." Ahsoka simply said, apparently unwilling to disclose further information.
There was only a dim light in the fighter, so when Jaral reopened her palm, the kyber crystal was immediately spotted by everybody.
"Wow." Kanan said. "Jaral, where did you get it?"
"I had a vision." she tried to explain. "It's a bit like the one Ezra had, but it wasn't master Yoda who talked to me?"
"Then who?" Ahsoka asked.
"A man by the name of Qui-Gon Jinn." she reported.
Ahsoka and Kanan were now even more puzzled.
"Mater Jinn has died almost 30 years ago. How is this possible?" Kanan asked.
"I don't know. He called himself a Servant of the Force. He made me some questions and gave me a message. When I woke up, I had this in my hand."
"A message?" Ezra asked.
Jaral was still trying to make sense of said message. After collecting her thoughts, she spoke.
"He said that, very soon, the Force will warn me of a great event. And that I shall bring Dad with me to investigate."
"Dad?" the boy asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"
Jaral shrugged. "Beats me. But if that's the will of the Force, I guess I'll better follow it."
Silence fell in the ship. Everyone just seemed to have had a pretty intense experience in that Temple.
The only other news they received, was that Kanan had apparently being Knighted.
A/N: So I received some suggestions by PM. Once again, thanks to those who gave me suggestions or even forwarded requests that actually managed to inspire the future planning of the series.
As I stated in the last chapter, I don't want to just make every chapter a written version of the original show, that's why I expect that all of those who read this one know what happens to Ahsoka, Kanan and Ezra in the Temple and I used the opportunity to expand Jaral's background, as it will be important in the near future.
So near a future in fact, that it will be the next chapter, which is the episode "The forgotten droid", which normally would leave me no room for adding original moments in the script.
So I decided that I will enact a parallel story. The mission that Jaral had been foreshadowed to take on along with her father, Jordan. Perhaps some of you can already guess what this is about, but I don't want to spoil the plot further.
I decided to use the idea of RPGs like KOTOR, where the main character doesn't have a connection with the Force at the start and it has to develop it (well, take it back actually, but I hope you get the idea). I tried to give a reasonable explanation as to why Jaral didn't discover her potential before because I'm a maniac and I want my stories to have a somewhat logical explanation behind them.
That said, it might take some time for the chapter to be published. Tomorrow morning I have an exam, and another one right 7 days later, so I won't have much time to focus on the book, though I already have planned the plot entirely.
See you next time and May the Force be with You.