My surroundings faded into existence around me as an alarm beeped. Knowing it well enough to not panic, I stood and got ready to drop out of hyperspace. At the right time, I pulled back the lever and the stars formed around me.

After days, finally, sitting in front of me was Ilum. I was lucky, truly lucky, that when I had come for my crystal, I had snuck in during the flight and committed the coordinates to memory. The only records of this place are in the Jedi temple. Or at least, they were.

I shook my head and took the ship down.

"From blazing heat to frigid ice. Glad I stopped to grab a coat." Lowering the ramp led to the cold air slapping me in the face. I flinched before pushing forward. If memory served, the temple wasn't far away from my location. It would be hard to find, however.

Trekking through the snow covered forest, I could feel the Force singing. Taking a breath, I reached out and matched it with my own signature. The Force whirled in surprise, which almost made me pull back. What confused me was the fact that it didn't feel like the normal, grand Force as a whole. Thinking back to the Force orb I met before, I tipped my head to the side and followed the slight pull.

It whirled and floated through the air, almost like fabric billowing in a breeze. My confusion only continued as I moved further and further from the ship.

After some time the presence stopped. I stepped up next to it and looked around. We were at the edge of a small clearing that was cut off by a cliff face. Tracing my eyes up, the trees hid the top of the cliff from sight.

Though the Force signature next to me was completely invisible, I turned to it.

"Why did you lead me here?" It…giggled? There was really no other way to describe the feeling that came across through the Force. Weariness already hooding my face, I fully turned to face it, staring right through it.

"I'm asking nicely because I've got only one other option. Why here?" It 'giggled' again before whirling forward and stopping at the cliff face. Words so faint they sounded like snow falling whispered on the breeze. It took me a moment to catch them.

Find~

Seek~

Hide~

Play~

"I'm sorry. I don't understand." Again with the giggling. The Force itself swirled before a wave of it spread out from the signature. The wave hit the cliff face and went up. Snow was cleared away by the second, leaving a large stone structure sitting in the face of the cliff. I blinked, surprised that the temple was there.

"Oh." I turned to the signature next to me. "Thank you." One final giggle, and it…vanished. I assumed it went back into the Force itself, but that was what confused me. When someone dies, they simply return to the Force. There isn't a sense of individuality once that happens.

"So…what was that just now?" I murmured. A shiver ran up my spine, reminding me of my current situation. "Right. Temple first, second freaky Force event…well, second." I made my way inside the temple, feeling the warmer air that was hidden from the elements.

I sighed in relief and brushed the remaining snow off my clothing. The meditation chambers were my top priority, given that they were the closest connection to the Force aside from the caverns below.

And I didn't need a third Kyber crystal humming with me. A quartet of voices would be way too much.

It probably took me half the day exploring the place before I found the chambers. Once I did, I stepped inside with two questions in mind.

Where are my birth parents?

How can I move on from my grief?

I sat in the middle of the room, folding my legs together. I cupped my hands in my lap and closed my eyes. I gently tugged at the Force around me, feeling the light side nexus under the temple. I pulled more as I breathed in, allowing it to flow through me.

A scream echoed faintly in the distance. I spun around, my hand near my belt. When nothing happened for several minutes, I returned to my position. I settled back into my meditation.

"…No condition…!" More echoes from the past settled around me like black feathers. Stark contrasts from the slate gray stone.

"…To run!"

"I'm no traitor!"

"…On the ship!"

"NO!" My eyes opened as I gasped. I put my elbows on my legs and hid my face with my hands. A single tear slipped between my fingers, falling to the floor.

"Jondu." I looked up.

"Who's there?" The temple was barren. "What is this?"

"You've already forgotten. I'm hurt." My eyes widened, my breath catching in my throat.

"Kalenta? No, she's one with the Force." I immediately denied it. There was an echoing giggle. This time, it sounded just like hers.

"And the Force is in all living things." I steeled myself while closing my eyes.

"We lose who we are when we return to it. This is nothing more than an illusion." I closed my eyes again.

"That doesn't mean we aren't really speaking, does it?" My heart ached and twisted. I made myself sigh as my lungs tried to squeeze every last bit of air out of me.

"Kalenta…" I pulled her lightsaber off of my belt. Hefting it a little, I looked up as if she were standing right in front of me. "I don't know what to do. I've been just…surviving."

"Sometimes, it is all that we can do, that makes us wish we could do more."

"Becoming one with the Force really gives you wisdom, huh?" I half expected a whack on the shoulder or back of the head at the joke. But my face became crestfallen once more. "But I made a promise to use this in your honor. I…haven't been able to."

"Maybe the time isn't right. Or maybe you're not supposed to use it at all."

"Then why did the crystal bond with me? And after I hurt it."

"The ways of the Force are not laid out before you clearly. You will need to find these things out on your own."

"…Of course." I bowed my head. After a long moment, I raised it again. "Kalenta…"

"She already knows." The ethereal presence faded away. My eyes closed as I swallowed hard.

"Okay." I took in a breath through my nose. "Okay." After a few minutes of silence, I pushed myself to my feet. I looked at Kalenta's saber, still in hand. The crystal sang through the Force. It had an…oddly happy ring to it. I couldn't help the smallest smile that formed on my face.

"Maybe it wasn't actually her I was talking to. Right now, you're the closest thing I've got." I clipped it back in place and began leaving the temple. At the exit, I looked back, a hand on the doorway. It was as empty as when I had entered. I smiled, closed my eyes and bowed my head.

"Goodbye, Kalenta. Maybe we'll meet again when my time to become one with the Force arrives." I turned and left.

Wait, what else did I come here for?

…

Dank ferrick!

With the moment of frustration underhand pitched to the Force, I settled back into the same spot as before and closed my eyes. Meditation came easier as I was more invested in this question. I searched the Force, sinking deeper and deeper until I felt close to losing myself. Pulling back from the edge, I continued my search. I paused when I thought I felt something, but there was no Force orb to guide me.

I was looking for anything, even just a region to knock down the size of my search. Time passed like water through a creek as my meditation ended.

One single name, the only clue I received, broke through the fog.

Vlemoth Port

A gentle smile edged my lips as I sent gratitude back to the Force. I stood up and left, nothing in the Temple was worth me carrying.

Once back at my ship, nearly losing my toes to the cold, I sat at the navicomputer and entered the name "Vlemoth Port." The results came up.

It was on the literal other side of the galaxy.

And near Hutt territory.

I slumped in the seat and groaned.

"This is going to be a whole thing isn't it…"

Deciding to get off this barren ball of ice, I set course for a nearby market city and took off. I needed to find a few odd jobs in order to refuel both the ship and myself. And in my off time, I needed to see what research I could find on my family.

I pushed the lever forward. The stars stretched into lines before I shot into hyperspace.