Chapter 18
Forging the Future/ A True Knight
Ilum's orbit, same day, two hours later
Two X-wings came out of lightspeed, and the view of Ilum was breathtaking. It was horribly cold, but hauntingly beautiful despite the many scars left by the old Imperial Empire led by Emperor Palpatine, or the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Mastermind of the Clone Wars and Jedi Purge. Robin could feel the strength of the planet through the Force, and he understood why this world grew Kyber crystals and was considered sacred. Books could never do Ilum justice. Truly, this world was blessed by the Force.
The two Jedi pilots marked the temple location, giving themselves a very rough map of the area and their goal, the Kyber Chamber in the temple, where Kyber crystals are born and grow to eventually find a worthy partner. They had shelter, medical supplies, and food; they were on a pilgrimage, so they resolved to only use the bare minimum of technology. A pilgrimage isn't usually easy, especially for Jedi, they consented that this was a fair compromise as opposed to purely roughing it. The trek, even through snow and ice, would be about half a day each way from where they landed. As they were walking through the hellish cold, bundled in high-quality thermal clothes, they were silent. Not an awkward silence, but companionable silence, when words aren't necessary.
They set up a shelter midway through for respite during their quest both there and back. They shared a bed since the shelter was tiny. Jaina had been right; they did need to pool their warmth. The fact that the best way was via cuddling was a perk that they both enjoyed; she'd insisted they be naked for skin-to-skin contact, maximizing body heat. Suffice it to say, some physical and visual exploration of one another occurred, and they were far from cold despite Ilum's best attempts. (Use your imagination.)
Ilum wasn't exactly conducive to heavy-duty romance, however, so little happened between the two, but they took what intimacy they could get through simple things like snuggling and chatting. "The Kyber cave is said to be beautiful beyond words," Jaina murmured in Robin's ear as they cuddled in each other's arms. He looked into her eyes, smiling. "Nothing can compare to your beauty, intelligence, strength, or compassion. I'm lucky beyond words to have you in my life." This caused Jaina to smile brilliantly, replying, "There's no such thing as luck.," a lesson she learned years ago as every Jedi does.
As they had departed Dagobah, Jaina had resolved to herself that she would claim Robin as hers; she'd always been territorial, especially with those whom she was romantically involved with. For some reason, he made her twice as bad as she'd been in her past relationships. Maybe it was because he'd helped her with her baggage; maybe it was a desire to start settling down; and maybe something else entirely. Alas, it mattered not why, because they only had a few hours of night, which for Jaina's plans wasn't remotely close to enough time, if they were to get any sleep, which was necessary on their quest. The days were much longer on Ilum than on Coruscant or Corellia, her dad's homeworld. "Anticipation will make it better", Bastilla said from Jaina's mind, her disembodied voice a gentle reminder to enjoy the moment for what it was instead of lamenting what it wasn't. They were alone, unobserved, cuddling, and, best of all, naked as the day they were born, both literally and figuratively. "Time to power nap," she said, getting more comfortable while maintaining physical contact.
They really would freeze otherwise; it wasn't just an excuse for Jaina to see her eye candy fully unwrapped while showing off her own very well-toned physique. That had just been an added perk. Falling asleep in his arms with a smile, Jaina couldn't help but mirror Robin's thoughts; she was lucky as well. It was her first time considering herself lucky to be in a frozen, cold, icy world.
As Jaina slept easily, Robin lay awake. He knew they'd have their night, or day, soon. He'd explode from anticipation (snicker) or die if they didn't, a thought that both his familiars found amusing. "Thank goodness for the cold," he thought, remembering what Einstein had said and reminding himself that this was a sacred pilgrimage, and not an excuse to act like a horny teenager. "She wants it too; you just don't have enough time yet. Worry not. Have patience." Einy advised via their link.
The next day had the two Jedi Paladins climbing a sheer cliff, possessing hunks of ice, that looked dubious at best but would have to serve as footholds and handholds to reach the ledge of the entrance to the temple. It was little more than a ruin that was half buried in snow and ice, and the Kyber Cave was within. Robin marked the location of their shelter's premium location for the return stop. As the duo climbed with full rock climbing kits, Robin's line suffered from a faulty anchor, and he would have fallen had Jaina not caught him. Robin managed to fix the situation with a new, secured anchor, returning to the climb. Jaina sensed his thanks, and that was enough. At this altitude, voices got stolen by the wind.
When they reached the cave mouth after an epic day, the duo fell to the ground, each sore and tired, relatively shielded from the elements by the mouth of the cave. A moment to rest, aided by the rich Force-imbued atmosphere, would recharge their batteries in short order. They were Jedi Paladins in training, not invincible or invulnerable, and still required a modicum of rest. Jaina had dislocated her shoulder when catching Robin, and so, using the Force, he set it for her. It was far less painful than ramming it back in with brute physical force, but not fun all the same. Jaina nodded her thanks, too tired to speak. After resting, they continued into the cave.
Ilum, an old mine leading to Kyber Cave
Robin and Jaina walked through the cave, which was more like a system of tunnels. Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, had it mined out for both Death Star's construction; there were still telltale signs of the excavation, though thankfully nature was taking it back with a vengeance. They were met by obstacles and old traps specifically designed to stop Force-sensitive individuals; the worst were Void bubbles, where the flow of the Force ceased. It was a good thing Robin hadn't been used to the Force like many were when born into a Force-user family and lifestyle. He hadn't grown up with it, so he was less affected, unlike Jaina, who'd lived with the Force's connection since she was young. As such, the Void bubbles hit her hard, like an illness or a piece of herself having gone missing temporarily. Luckily, they were generated by fairly degraded machines, and so the bubbles were small and weak. Suffice it to say, Jaina felt very grateful and less green when Robin dispelled them after passing through them all, an easier task than overcoming natural ones.
After getting to the tunnel's end, our heroes found a grand door of what looked like gold, though it bore signs of people who tried to force their way in and failed. It was all that remained of the great Jedi temple above. The door would only open to the worthy; somehow Robin knew this and also knew that they were worthy. Where others had tried and failed, they would succeed. They approached the door and were scanned. "Midiclorian count: very high. Welcome to the Kyber Cave, young ones; this system only lets in Jedi. And you're both in the Jedi registry," a recording said with Master Luke's voice. He must have established more advanced security since it was said to be remarkably simple when Yoda was Grandmaster. The door opened, and the two walked to the threshold.
They saw countless translucent crystals everywhere, of varying shapes and sizes, inside the Kyber Cave. "I just came for the journey. I have a crystal; you go on in, and I'll wait here," Jaina said with a smile. "Right," Robin said. He felt nervous for some reason. Maybe because Kyber crystals were sentient, each crystal was unique, and the colour reflected the individual. Blue for warriors, the more physically minded. Green usually meant powerful in the Force and more likely to utilize it for diplomatic purposes and to avoid confrontations. Yellow for those who are the jack of all trades but masters of none, and that's only the three basic colours. There were more, but thinking about it too much, wouldn't help with his anxiety. Robin knew that he had to just go and step into the cave.
Once inside, he found it strange that nothing had happened yet, as in, at all. Then the Master Holocron flew out of his pack and shot a beam into a crystal at the far end of the cave, which caused the light to reflect and refract over and over. It was almost blinding as crystals lit up, each bearing a different colour. "What the hell?" Robin thought. As the colours grew in intensity, they shot towards the only crystal he could see without any colour, and it exploded with a riot of light and every colour you can imagine, including a few that might lack names. When the light show died down, a multi-coloured Kyber crystal slowly approached him before gently placing itself in his hand. It was indescribable; some colours were obvious, others subtle, with lines more delicate than a vein. The colours shifted and changed everywhere, in every facet cut by nature.
Robin would've lost himself to its beauty and power if not for Master Holocron breaking the trance-like state. It turned and projected another light; through this light, an image was formed, made larger than life because of how the light was bounced and broken by all the crystals, ultimately converging to create a familiar, albeit giant, holographic image. Revan, Jedi Master and Sith Lord, turned Paladin, transcending both the limits of the light and dark sides. "You have done well, young one. This crystal you now possess is truly one of a kind. It's only ever wielded by the Ruler of the Paladins. Some called it the Shifting Stone, others called it the Prime Stone, and to some, the Omni-stone. My personal favourite was Balance-Breaker, as it was used to break those foolish or arrogant enough to mess with the Balance, with reality itself. Use it well, Paladin Ruler. You have more work before you are truly ready, of course, but you are otherwise only a couple of steps from being the officially recognized Ruler of the Paladin Clan. " The image faded, and the crystals that had projected so many colours were translucent once more.
Balance-Breaker, as Robin would call the crystal, (for now anyway,) rested in his hand while projecting power; it was warm with its energy and heavy with the burden of the office it signified. When he showed Jaina, she gasped, speechless, before entering a similar trance-like state that he broke her out of. Now to go home and construct his lightsaber, since he couldn't progress on his Juyo form VII without another practitioner, and his instructor for that form was on a mission, Robin thought he might learn the dual-wield Jar'Kai style, in addition to form V, both the Shien and Djem So styles, given time. Shien focused on protection from blaster fire and counters, while the Djem So variation was designed for lightsaber combat and less for protection from blaster fire. Robin smiled at Jaina, just enjoying the new high this pilgrimage brought him. "We should get going," she said, knowing he'd want to craft his personal weapon and because she had plans for them that didn't involve ice or snow.