Daughter of Mortis

Wisdom and Warnings

   
    Ania released the magnetic locks on the speeder, setting on the ground gently, before landing a short distance away. She was still covered in mud from the Rancor's den but it was mostly dry, thanks to the heat of the desert. Tolsa had fared just as well. Luke stood up from his seat and headed towards the boarding ramp.

    Ania and Tolsa followed him, pausing at the ramp. Luke headed down before turning back to them. "Thanks for that," Luke said. "I never would've thought I'd break into Jabba's Palace." He laughed. "Good memories for when I'm an old man still stuck on this farm."

    Ania grinned slightly. "I don't know. Something tells me you've got more adventures ahead of you."

    "Yeah. A wonderful adventure of trading with Jawas." Luke rolled his eyes, still smiling. "I'd better go. Thank you again!"

    "Tell your uncle thanks from us," Tolsa called.

    Luke tipped two fingers to her as he ran to the speeder and hopped in. He fired up the engines and sped away towards the moisture farm. Ania turned to Tolsa. "Well, let's go get your lightsaber built." Tolsa's eyes gleamed.

    "You mind if I clean myself up a bit, first?" She asked, closing the bordering ramp.

    Ania slid into her chair and lifted off. "Sure. I'll take my turn while you're working." Tolsa nodded and headed into the refresher. Ania sighed and bit her lip, thinking back to the vision she'd had.

    She rubbed her temple with a hand. "I don't even know what all of that meant," she whispered to herself.

    They reached Ben's small house soon enough. Ania let Tolsa climb out before she flew back to the canyon and landed in the cave. Ania quickly stepped into the refresher and cleaned the mud off of herself. She sighed with relief when she was finally clean again.

When Ania stepped inside the house, Ben was examining the lightsaber crystal. Tolsa peered over his shoulder from time to time. "So, when can I start?" Tolsa asked, excitement radiating from her.

Ben handed the crystal to her. "To construct a lightsaber you need a plan. Your lightsaber should be unique to you." Ben shuffled over to a trunk and returned with a stack of paper and charcoal in his arms. "Thanks to our limited supplies, it'll take a lot of work to fit any design you make." He set the paper and charcoal down before Tolsa.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Draw what your lightsaber will look like. Let the Force built it within your mind. If you have it before you, it will be easier to build," Ben directed. Tolsa nodded and grabbed some charcoal and paper.

Ania looked at her lightsabers, now clipped in place. Ben followed her gaze and made his way over to her, letting Tolsa work. "I would have known who you were just by those lightsabers alone," Ben said. "You changed them a little. Did the crystals connect with you?"

"Yeah, they made a strange sound when they were given to me, but no one else could hear it."

"Perhaps it's time you build your own lightsabers."

"I...shouldn't waste these ones. After all, supplies are limited, like you said."

Ben put a hand on her shoulder. "Think about it. Perhaps it's time to leave Ania Tano behind completely." Ben turned back to Tolsa.

"I'll be on the ship," Ania murmured. She left the house and ran towards the Redemption. Once on board, she quickly sent out an active hologram to Ezra.

He responded almost immediately. "How did it go?" The blue projection flickered a bit.

"All right. Tolsa found the crystal and connected with it. Jabba tried to double cross us and feed us to his rancor, no surprise there," Ania recapped. "We borrowed a land speeder from Owen Lars, the moisture farmer I told you about. The boy is his nephew and he came with us."