Star Wars: Love Thy Aliens Ch.8 (Patreon)

“Not bad…” the Warden mumbled as her hologram circled Haro. “And you say you managed to find a Holocron before you escaped Coruscant?”

“Yes, Master Warden,” Haro nodded. “Err… Is there something else I should be calling you?”

“No, no, I forfeited my name when my spirit was uploaded to the temple,” Warden’s ghostly figure waved him off. “Now, who’s Holocron did you find?”

“Bastila Shan. She has since taken me as her Padawan,” Haro answered immediately.

The Warden blinked in surprise, “Bastila Shan? You must have impressed her quite a bit. I’m unsure if she ever took a Padawan while she was alive.”

“It is an honor to learn under her. I must admit that missing out on some of the Master-Padawan traditions, such as the pilgrimage to Ilum and building a lightsaber together, bothers me a bit though.”

“We live in tough times, Haro,” the Warden nodded commiseratingly. “But I may be able to help you with those aspects of Padawan-hood.”

Haro shook his head, politely declining, “I could not impose myself upon you like that, Master Warden.”

The Warden rolled her eyes, “Puh-lease, it would hardly be an inconvenience. I’m sure you’ve noticed how little we have to do here. The temple is all but abandoned and with the news you bring of the Order, it is likely to stay that way for a long time. Allow this old soul to help you.”

Haro still hesitated, “… If you insist.”

“I do. You said you have not yet created your lightsaber, correct?” at Haro’s nod, the Warden continued. “Well, you are in luck. Along with the defense of the temple, I am also intended to teach lightsaber combat and how to craft a lightsaber.”

“That is good news. However, Master Warden, I do not have access to a crystal for my lightsaber. Surely a trek to Ilum would be treacherous and close to impossible thanks to recent events.”

“Ha, silly boy. Do you think Ilum is the only place in the galaxy where one can find lightsaber crystals?”

“Yes? Is that not the case?”

“It is not. Crystals can be found wherever the Force is most prevalent. I’ve even heard of unorthodox items like a Krayt Dragon Pearl being used to construct a lightsaber. The crystal itself is not as much of a limitation as you seem to think.”

“Does the Dawn Temple have any lightsaber crystals I could use?” Haro asked after digesting that information for a moment.

The Warden shook her head slightly, “Other than the ones found in abandoned lightsabers, it does not. And before you ask, those crystals will be of no use to you. Each crystal is specifically tailored to its wielder. You will need to find your own and form a connection with it.”

“Aren’t we back at square one then? I do not have a crystal and I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for one.”

The Warden grinned at Haro, “Ah, but that is where you are mistaken, young Haro. The Dawn Temple was built here for a reason. There is a Force Nexus on this planet and where there is a concentration of the Force, there are bound to be crystals.”

A spark of anticipation lit up Haro’s heart, “And you know where this Force Nexus is?”

“I do,” the Warden nodded. “It seems you will get your chance for a pilgrimage, after all, diminished though it may be.”

Haro bowed shallowly at the waist, “I am ready, Master Warden. Please tell me what I must do.”

The Warden covered her mouth and chuckled, “Fufufu~ Oh how I missed having such a dedicated pupil~ Listen close, Haro. Your task is relatively simple. To make this something of a worthy trial, I believe you should use only your mind, body, and Force abilities to complete it.

“The Force Nexus I spoke of is known as the Caves of Light and Shadow. As the name says, it is a cave that contains a potent concentration of both light and dark side energy. We do not know how old the Nexus truly is, but it has been here for much longer than this temple.

“The cave is located deep within the mountains that this temple stands on. It is somehow impossible for anyone to mark on a map. All I know is that it should be somewhere between here and the village on the other side of the mountain range. It will be up to you to find it. The wildlife and harsh environment of these mountains can be deadly. I have even heard reports that the Force Nexus corrupts the local Icewolves, turning them into violent and volatile dark-side beasts.

“Once you find it, you are to meditate on the nature of balance. The unique Force signature of the cave should give you valuable insight and the crystals that light the cave walls can be used to craft your lightsaber when you return. No matter what, you must be careful to remain alert and aware if you wish to return alive. For your sake and my own. I shudder to think of what Master Shan will do to me if I get her new Padawan killed.”

Haro absorbed the information like a sponge, committing it to memory. He knew this quest would be dangerous, but nothing he had heard would deter him. He wanted to… no, needed to do this. Not just so he could craft his lightsaber, but so he could prove to himself that he was worthy. Even after being accepted by Bastila, a part of Haro still thought of himself as the youngling who was never taken as a Padawan.

“I accept this trial,” Haro said ceremoniously.

“Good,” the Warden said, grinning. “When will you leave?”

“Right now. Before I lose my nerve or waste any more time.”

“You’re not even going to tell your two companions?”

“Ah… That’s probably a good idea…”

“Go. I’ll relay a message to them and take the blame when they inevitably get angry at you.”

“Do you really think they’ll be mad at me?”

The Warden quirked an eyebrow, “You don’t know much about relationships, do you? *Sigh* I always knew that was one area where the Order failed its younglings. Remind me to give you a few pointers when you return. And maybe talk to the Jailor. He’ll be able to give you advice from a male perspective.”

“I thought relationships were forbidden in the Order…”

“The Jailor and I have been around long enough to pick up a thing or two. And only attachments were forbidden. After all, what do you call the bond between Master and Padawan if not a relationship? Additionally, the Order is gone now. Who’s to say that you cannot find your own way?”

Haro nodded, the Warden’s words confirming thoughts and ideas he’d had recently, “I will strive to meditate on your wisdom, Master Warden.”

The Warden smiled and shooed him away, “Go on now. Your trial awaits…”

Haro returned her smile with anticipation burning in his heart. This was his chance to prove himself wrong. To prove to himself that he was worthy of the belief and trust Ari, Lu’la, and Bastila so readily gave him. It was also his chance to fulfill a childhood dream of his. With the Order gone, this may be his sole opportunity to create his lightsaber and get a dedicated lightsaber trainer as well.

He left his blaster and vibroblade with the Warden and walked out into the cold. The icy wind slapped him in the face. A landscape of snow and rock stretched before his eyes, seeming to ascend to the heavens on one side. With a Force-enhanced breath to keep him warm, Haro started his trek.

Not long after Haro left, Ari, Lu’la, and the Jailor returned to the temple’s main hall. Ari’s attempt at fixing the Curator’s Holocron had been unsuccessful. The Jailor ended up just turning the Holocron off for the moment to keep everyone’s sanity in check. Lu’la looked around the hall for her master but didn’t see him anywhere.

“Where’s Haro?” Lu’la asked the Warden.

The Jailor shot the Warden a knowing look that made her blush, “I… may have given him a trial to complete…”

Lu’la shrugged, accepting the Warden’s words at face value, “Cool, so is he just somewhere else in the temple?”

The Warden’s blush deepened despite her monochrome hologram, “Not… quite… I sent him to find the Caves of Light and Shadow.”

That got everyone’s attention and caused the Jailor to sigh and shake his head, “Was that really prudent, Warden?”

The Warden nodded, sticking to her guns, “It was. The boy needs a lightsaber and he wanted to earn it. He felt he would never have the chance again due to the current… situation with the Order.”

“Situation? What do you mean?”

“Oh just that the Order is dead and we are some of its last remaining remnants.”

The Warden’s flippant response gave the Jailor pause, “… Let’s put a pin in that for the moment. Did either of you give any thought to the boy’s companions?”

The Warden nodded, “I did. And I ask that they reserve their anger for me instead of young Haro. He was a bit overexcited about the process of the trial.”

“But was it completely necessary that he leave his weapons here for the trial?” the Jailor asked.

“He what?!” Ari and Lu’la shouted in sync.

The Warden was sensible enough to wince at the girls’ worry, “Ah… This might be a harder sell than I initially thought…”

Haro walked through the deep snow of the mountain. A thin layer of Force projected from the soles of his feet made the process easier than it had any right to be. The weather on the mountain was thankfully calm, the crisp blue of the sky above him reflecting the slight chill Haro felt on his skin. The peak of the mountain still loomed in front of him but Haro felt like he was making good progress.

He was relying on the Force for almost everything at the moment. It kept him warm. It made the terrain traversable. It strengthened his body and spirit. The mystical power even gave Haro a sense of direction. He followed that direction, giving himself over to the Force and settling into a slight meditative trance.

Haro’s mind drifted as he hiked, from his current trial to dreams of the past. His body stayed aware and alert to the world around him, but his mind was elsewhere. Currently, his mind seemed to linger almost unnaturally on memories of Naomi. His catgirl friend danced in front of his mental eyes as they played tag in his memories. There were other younglings in those memories, but Haro only had eyes for Naomi.

It was a simpler time. Back before they were separated by fate. Before they began to understand the real Jedi Order and Haro was left in the dust. Before the world turned itself upside down.

A not-insignificant part of him yearned for those days. The rest of him knew going back was impossible. And it wasn’t like he hated his life now. Ari and Lu’la made him happy. Bastila and the Warden were giving him a chance to learn and get stronger. The call of the past might have been strong, but the call of the present was stronger.

And yet Haro still couldn’t get his mind off of Naomi. It was like something was dragging his attention back to her and what could have happened to her. From his deep foray into the Force back on Coruscant, he knew she was alive. But something must have happened to change her so completely from the girl he once knew.

The weather began to grow worse as he climbed further up the mountain. The wind picked up, slapping Haro in the face with tiny crystals of ice and snow. A thin fog clung to the ground at his feet. He heard the distant howls of far-off wildlife but ignored them. The Force was telling him that he was getting close.

Haro quite literally ended up stumbling into the Caves of Light and Shadow. He had been following the pull of the Force, still somewhat lost in thought. Suddenly, his feet broke through a patch of ice he was walking on. Tripping brought his attention back to the physical world and he quickly gathered Force to regain his balance.

He stopped to examine the hole he made in the ice. The patch of ice that had been partially broken covered a large opening in the ground. Haro could see the bottom, but from there, the cave seemed to extend horizontally deeper into the mountainside. Something unseen casted rays of rainbow light from deep within the cave.

“This must be it,” Haro mumbled to himself.

The feeling he got from the Force certainly seemed to confirm that suspicion. The Caves of Light and Shadow — the goal of his trial — currently lay beneath his feet. Haro took a step back and thrust his hands out with a mighty Force Push. The ice cover of the cave instantly cracked and buckled under the sudden unnatural weight.

Glass-like shards of ice fell into the cave below. A decent dusting of snow followed. The wind howled as it found a new crevice in the mountain to invade. Haro jumped down, barely having to bend his legs upon landing. From his new position in the mouth of the cave, he could see what was casting the colorful lights.

The first couple of meters of the cave was just dark rock, devoid of life and light. The passage narrowed before it opened back up into the main cavern. Beyond the chokepoint, all Haro could see was almost overwhelming light. And while his physical senses were basking in the light’s glory, he felt a roiling dichotomy of white and black through the Force.

Haro walked through the cave’s chokepoint. He paused, taken aback by the cave’s picturesque beauty. A small rainbow existed underground here. Crystalline prisms of all shapes, sizes, and colors glowed, lighting up the previously sealed-off cave. Blue and green seemed to be the predominant color for the crystals, but Haro could also see splashes of yellow, purple, and even red.

He started walking deeper into the cave. His steps submerged him in the dense Force signature of the Caves of Light and Shadow. Past the initial chokepoint, the cave opened up into a large chamber with crystals that spiraled in rings around the space until they came together in a great crystalline mound in the center of the cave. Toward the back of the cave, Haro could see a cliff that abruptly dropped off and continued farther into the mountain.

Haro could feel the light side of the Force flowing into the cave from the entrance he had made behind him. Darkness surged up from the depths beyond the cliff to compensate. Haro’s act of opening up the cave had disrupted the delicate balance of Force energies here. The two energies whirled and churned like a whirlpool, focused on the giant, multicolored pile of crystals in the center of the cavern.

Haro opened himself up to the Force even more than he already was. It was like he could taste the uniquely balanced signature found here. Every breath brought energy into his lungs. Energy from both sides of the Force slowly trickled into the rest of his body. It was as if the concept of balance was being imprinted on his soul.

As he was headed to the crystal cave’s center, some premonition pulled Haro off course. Something in the ring of crystals closest to the central pillar called out to him. His mind reached out. His eyes closed involuntarily. Something rumbled and cracked from the ring of crystals. A crystal appeared in his hand as if it had just been teleported. Haro opened his eyes.

A spot of gold glowed in the palm of his hand. The crystal that had chosen Haro pulsed with light and barely constrained power. It was slightly warm to the touch, almost sizzling against Haro’s skin. Haro felt a tendril of the crystal’s warmth reach down his arm and coil inside his core.

Haro continued his journey up to the top of the crystal pillar. He didn’t take his eyes off his new crystal for even a moment, trusting the Force to guide his jump up. Thankfully, the top of the pillar was flat and plenty wide enough for Haro to stand on. He sat down, crossing his legs in a meditative position.

He hadn’t forgotten the Warden’s instructions to meditate on the nature of the Force Nexus before he left the cave. So he settled in and made himself comfortable, hugging the golden crystal to his chest. With the help of the cave’s unique atmosphere, Haro quickly fell into meditation.

Haro’s mind and soul were once again thrust under the waters of the Cosmic Force. His presence began to spread out, seeking the thin strands of color that signified a connection in the Force. A part of his mind still lingered on Naomi though, so he naturally gravitated toward the longest bond he had.

On a planet far removed from Haro’s current location, a young Cathar woman perked up. She felt it again; that familiar soul she would never forget. A reminder of her past and the sole reason she managed to stay somewhat sane throughout her torture and fall. For a moment, she stopped struggling against her bindings and the pain of the physical world fell away. Her eyes closed and she reached toward the source of the connection just as it reached her.

Haro and Naomi’s minds collided. Ripples radiated outward through the Force, going unnoticed by most of the galaxy. This wasn’t some galaxy-shaking event after all. It was simply the prelude to a reunion. The physical world around them shook. Haro was lucky enough to have the Caves of Light and Shadow absorb the recoil Force energy. Naomi’s surroundings weren’t as fortunate, though the results were more than beneficial to her.

A violent wave of the Force, tinted heavily by the dark side, washed out of her. The chair she was bound to trembled and her restraints crumbled to dust. Naomi’s captor, the Dark Jedi responsible for the murder of her master and her fall to the dark side, was smeared across the stark gray walls of Naomi’s cell. Yet Naomi was left unable to capitalize on her sudden freedom because of the shared vision she and Haro were shown by the Force.