“What’s he like”?

  “Who, Master Orad?” The miniature holograph of Jason shrugged, “He’s a good teacher, wise, and strong in the Force”.

  Des knew his friend, he was holding something back. “But”.

  A look of resignation settled across Jason. “He’s just, not what I expected Des. For a Sullustan, he’s kind of lacking a sense of humor”.

  The miniature holoprojection of Jason visibly paused, shaking his head. “No, that's not right. Maybe this just isn’t what I expected as a Padawan. Moving from system to system, talking to politicians and the rich. I thought I’d be out there, helping people, defending against the Sith. Not visiting government buildings or taking factory tours.”

  Jasons demeanour began to shift, a small smirk growing on his face. “Or visiting shipyards”.

  It was an attempt to shift the conversation, he knew that, but Jason knew Des just as well as he did him. “Where”?

  The smirk grew wider. “In Corellia”.

  Des felt a pang of jealousy, he wanted to see those shipyards for himself. “What was it like”?

  Jason laughed, “Like a shipyard Des, they all look the same to me. The planet was nice though, nothing like Coruscant, it was covered in fores-”.

  There was a small beeping that could be heard through the transmission, distracting Jason for a brief moment.

  “I have to go. I’ve got a meeting I have to stand in the background of. Congratulations again Des, and good luck with your gathering”.

  He bid his friend farewell before the connection ended, leaving him alone once more in his tiny cabin. It had taken a long time to reach Jason, most of the journey having already passed before he was able to talk to his friend. Between those attempts he had spent his time in meditation, breaking only for food and to use the fresher.

  Deciding it was time to eat once more, he rose and exited the cabin, stepping through the corridor into the ships common area. Knight Kemp was already present, eating one of the ships prepackaged meals.

  “Good timing Cain, we should be arriving in the Ilum system soon”.

  Des nodded, then moved to collect his own breakfast before joining Kemp at the table. “Any last minute advice”?

  “Clear your mind of any expectations and let the Force guide you. It's basic and you've heard it before, but it’s accurate and the best advice I can give”.

  Des accepted Kemps guidance and began his meal. While he ate, he considered what he knew of the planet he would soon be arriving at.

  Ilum was an Ice ball. The planets orbit was distant enough from its blue dwarf star that ninety percent of the surface was frozen over. That orbit was also slow, resulting in a year that was almost three times longer than Coruscants. Added to that, the planets slow rotation made for a day that was just as out of proportion as its year. He knew there was a temple somewhere on the equator, and that that temple led into a cave system that held the crystals a Jedi needed.

  While he was caught up in his thoughts, he felt a slight shift in the ship, signaling the drop from hyperspace. They had arrived.

  “Hmm, a bit earlier than I expected.” Knight Kemp rose, “Continue with your meal, I’ll check in with the pilot.”

  Des attempted to do so, but the Jedi returned after a few bites. “It’s fine, nothing to worry about. We’re the first here, but the others should still arrive on time for the sunrise, you should return to meditation once you're finished”.

  Feeling the anticipation rising, Des ate quickly and returned to his cabin. He had barely begun to sink into the force when he sensed the planet they were approaching. Even at this distance, he could feel its connection. It was vast and complex, like an ever shifting mosaic made of parts too small or too distant to make out. but the connections between those parts. They shone, radiant within the Force.

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  Like an old man watching a sunrise, Des was content observing the planet. He watched the shifting connections as they ebbed and swelled in complexity and depth. He could have stayed like that indefinitely but through his meditation he could also sense their landing upon the planet, as well as the arrival of a second ship hosting four more Force sensitives.

  Knowing that the time was fast approaching, he pulled back from the Force and planet Ilum, ending his meditation. He left his cabin, joining Knight Kemp in the ships common area.

  “Good, I was just about to collect you, it’s time to go.”

  Des followed the Jedi, down the ladder and into the cargo bay, taking up position at the exit as Kemp operated the controls. The back of the ship unsealed and descended to the permafrost below, exposing Des to his first alien world.

  The frigid air hit him like an electric shock, his muscles tensed in response to the planets bitter cold. He drew on his connection to the Force to compensate, using it to bolster and warm his body as Kemp passed him walking down the gangway.

  Falling into step with the Jedi he looked around. The first thing he noticed was the large frozen mountain. They had landed at the foot of the massive geological feature but the low light made it difficult to see more than sheets of ice and snow.

  The second thing he noticed was the other ships, there were two of them. The first was your standard boxy transport with no character, but the second had a hammerhead shaped front end, with a neck that tapered back a third of the way, before expanding out once more to accommodate five cylindrical engines on the rear.

  As they walked on, Des’s attention shifted from the impressive ship to the small group they were approaching. At their head was a large quarren in armour, at his hip, a lightsaber signaling his Jedi status. Behind him stood two young men, both looked in their early twenties. They also looked very much alike, similar in size and build and they had the same short wavy black hair. They could have been brothers, but Des was confident they were not.

  “Knight Vaat, are we ready to proceed”?

  Kemp had to practically shout to be heard over the wind, and Des missed the other Jedi’s response thanks to a particularly strong gust in his ear, but when they began walking off, towards the base of the mountain, Des did not hesitate to follow behind. With the wind drowning out all other noises, no one attempted to talk.

  Des pushed out his awareness through the Force, determined not to be caught off guard on his first alien world. Through his earlier observation he knew Ilum held life, hard as it was to believe anything could survive on this frozen rock. Without the Force, likely nothing could.

  Step by step the group drew closer to the base of the mountain, the sky brightening along the way as the longest twilight Des had ever experienced shifted towards day. Despite the increased light, he could see nothing of the temple they were approaching. Through the Force he could sense they were near, as well as its approximate direction but the snow drifts and jutting ice made whatever path they were following a twisting maze of frozen white.

  When they finally arrived at a set of doors, they almost seemed to appear out of nowhere, emerging from behind a snow drift only meters away from them. Neither Jedi hesitated, both walking straight at the door, the barrier opening automatically to grant them access to the facility within.

  Des and the two field recruited Initiates followed closely on their heels, moving through boxy rooms adorned with the usual pillars and trappings favoured by the Jedi. If Des was not wrong they had carved directly into the mountain itself to make these rooms, which made the next chamber they entered all the more impressive.

  The chamber they entered was substantial, its circular floor dominated by large statues of former Jedi and a pair of truly massive doors on the far side. The walls of the chamber were made of intricately carved pillars that stretched all the way up, at least seven or eight stories above them. At the top, the chamber curved inward, forming a hemispherical end cap of decorative windows that emitted a pale illuminating light.

  There was some sort of mechanical contraption at the top, but Des resisted the urge to reach out with mechu-deru and understand what he was looking at. Somehow that felt like it would be cheating. Maybe it was the solemn atmosphere within the temple that gave him that idea, or maybe it was the two Jedi Masters waiting patiently for Des and the others to stop gawking at the architecture.

  Des cleared his throat and stepped forwards towards the Masters, the two other Initiates caught his signal and quickly moved to match his pace. While the three had been distracted, the two Jedi Knights had moved to the side of the masters, allowing them to take the lead.

  “Greetings Initiates, and welcome. I am Master Starsen and this is Master Nee’ron“.

  The man who had identified himself as Starsen was a tall dark skinned human. He looked imposing, and every bit the Master in his plain Jedi robes. The other was a blue skinned Twi’lek woman, no taller than Des himself, but she felt just as powerful as her counterpart.

  “Let us begin”.

  What followed was a short speech on Ilum and the role it played in the Jedi’s history. From the first expansions out from the homeworld of Tython, to its current role in the Padawan trials. From there, they moved onto the caves below them and what to expect. The Masters gave them Similar advice to what Knight Kemp had offered on the ship, then the three were issued their first real challenge.

  “You must work together to open these doors.” Master Starsen turned, swinging his arm out behind him like a gameshow host presenting a prize, indicating the four story tall double doors leading into the cave system.

  The three Initiates exchanged glances, but none spoke or moved to offer a plan. At almost the exact same moment, each of them reached out with the Force, checking the doorway to gauge the difficulty of the task.

  The doors were covered in a thick sheet of ice. To Des’s mind that was just excess weight, if he guessed correctly, the doors would be engineered to accommodate that load. The key would be clearing the hinges and cracking the center to allow the doors normal mechanisms to function as intended.

  He was about to share his thoughts when something else occurred to him, he arched backwards, craning his neck to look up at the device several stories above him.

  ‘Am I overthinking this,’ he wondered. He thought about the feeling he had earlier, that scanning the device would be somehow cheating.

  Des was about to reach out for answers, when a loud crack rang out in the chamber, accompanied by a powerful swell in the Force. His head snapped to the slowly opening doors, then to the other two Initiates, both of whom were now standing with their eyes closed, their arm stretched out and the Force flowing through them.

  A little put out, Des added his efforts to that of the other two but at this point his contribution was meaningless.

  There were more loud cracks and pops as sections of ice kept breaking off and crashing to the floor until finally, the doors were fully opened.

  Des expected the Masters to say something about working together, but they just congratulated them on opening the way. Then Master Starsen issued a warning.

  “You have until sunset to navigate the caves and locate your crystal, after that the doorway will be sealed once more”.

  For a moment Des began to worry, but then he remembered just how long a day was on Ilum. he would have nearly two whole days by coruscant standards.

  “Take care Initiates, and may the Force be with you”.