Meera sat on the floor of her living quarters. She was meditating. She had failed her mission miserbly. Not only did she let Serran escape, but mass destruction of the area had been done. She felt awful about it. It had only been a few days since their battle but she was still bothered by it.
There was a knock on her door. "Come in." She said and the door slid open. It was her former master, Roihd. The purple twi'lek stepped inside. "Master Roihd, it's been too long." She greeted.
"Hey, Meera. I heard from Kresonri that you failed your last mission." Roihd said sympathetically.
"Yes. I did. I'm sorry. Why are you here?" Meera asked, standing up.
"You're being tasked with bringing jedi younglings to Ilum. Master Kresonri will be going with you." He explained.
Meera felt better. She could use this mission to distract her from her defeat. "When do we go?" She asked her former master.
"Tomorrow. You and master Kresonri will be taking five younglings to Ilum. It'll be a simple mission." Roihd said. Meera nodded. She remembered when she had gotten her kyber crystal from Ilum. It had been a difficult task but quite fun. She had been the last one out of the icy cave.
A simple mission to distract myself. Master Kresonri must've given me this mission with her on purpose.
It was the next day. Meera and Kresonri stood in front of five younglings while they were going through hyperspace. The younglings were Bascha, a human, Comko, a human, Zi-len, a twi'lek, Lauer, an Ithorian, and Tynan, a Kel Dors. They all looked excited to be getting their first lightsabers.
"Hello, jedi younglings. I am Kresonri. The jedi knight accompanying me is Meera Tendulkar. Today you will all be getting your very own kyber crystal on Ilum to make your very own lightsaber. Would anyone like to explain what a kyber crystal is?" Kresonri said to the younglings.
Tynan raised his hand. "Kyber crystals are special crystals that are used to power a force users lightsaber. They are mainly found on Ilum but can be found on many other planet's." The Kel Dors explained.
"Very good. Kyber crystals are very important to the jedi. It is extremely important to a jedi that they have a lightsaber." Kresonri said.
Meera took over. "To make a lightsaber, you will need a kyber crystal, a hilt that includes a power cell or energy core, focusing ring, blade emitter, and various controls. You will be able to customize your lightsaber to your liking." She explained.
"Master Tendulkar." Bascha asked.
"Please, just Meera is fine." Meera responded.
"Right, Meera. How do we find our kyber crystals?" Bascha asked.
"Well, when I acquired my kyber crystal, when we all went into the caves, I let the force guide me and was careful where I went. This only led me to dead ends. When I didn't know what else to do, I decided to trust myself and to make risks. You will all go through a change while finding your kyber crystals. I promise you that." Meera answered.
The younglings were in awe with these words of wisdom. "While we travel through hyperspace to Ilum, I recommend thinking of designs for your lightsaber. If you have any questions then please ask either Meera or I." Kresonri chimed in. She and Meera then went to the cockpit.
A republic soldier was flying the ship.
Meera sat down in one of the empty seats. Kresonri did the same. "How are you feeling?" She asked the younger jedi.
Meera gave it a thought for a moment. "I'm alright. It's nice to know that we are helping future jedi make their lightsabers." She said.
"Yes, it's quite something. I remember when you, Serran, and Seth all got your kyber crystals." Kresonri reminisced.
"Yes, Serran was all confident and eager to get his kyber crystal and went on and on on how he would be the first to get his." Meera remembered. Serran had been such a courageous and extroverted kid. She wondered how he had changed so much since then. He was like an entirely different person now. All of the good in him had disappeared. He had fallen to the darkside.
~
Serran got out of hyperspace and was above the icy blue planet of Ilum. He wanted to make this quick and get his new kyber crystal as soon as possible. He pulled some levers and pushed some buttons and made the ship enter the planet's atmosphere.
The sky was white as snow and everything was a shade of grey and blue and white. He flew close to the ground to see his surroundings better. Damn, I still can't see anything. He then reached out with the force to better know his surroundings. He sensed a strong lightside energy coming from somewhere. He reckoned it was the ancient cave full of kyber crystals.
Serran flew the ship towards where the energy was coming from. The snow cleared out just enough for him to see an opening to the cave. He brought the ship down and landed it close to the opening. It wasn't the main entrance to the cave but it did lead to it.
After powering down the ship, he searched for something warm to wear. He figured Gossec would have something since he would travel around the galaxy frequently.
Serran then found a parka stuffed in a bin. That would surely keep him somewhat warm. He put the parka on and grabbed a blaster just in case. He could never be too careful.
He exited the Nova Burst and was instantly greeted by the cold crisp air of Ilum. He marched through the snow to the opening. It was a lot smaller than he had anticipated but he could still squeeze himself through.
The opening wasn't too bad to get through; he only had to enter walking sideways. The cave was dark and icy but still bright at the same time. Not knowing what to do since he hadn't gotten his original kyber crystal from this planet, he opened himself up to the force and searched for anything that gave off the same energy as him.
A few minutes passed and nothing had happened. Serran was growing impatient. He then decided to walk through passageways and let the force guide his movements. He was then lead to a dead end. "DAMN IT! WHY IS THIS SO KRIFFING DIFFICULT!" He screamed. He punched the ice wall in front of him over and over and over again until his knuckles bled. He stared into the reflection of himself in the cracked ice. "What're you looking at?" Serran uttered.
He was beginning to lose himself. Something here in these caves was making him lose it, whether that be the amount of lightside energy, the endless tunnels of ice, or his own mind going against itself.
~
The jedi had landed on Ilum and were now all standing in front of the cave entrance. The entrance was tall and elegant with a beam of light shining on it at the top. "Welcome to Ilum, younglings. This place is sacred to the jedi and is used only for the harvesting of kyber crystals. You will all enter this cave and explore it whilst finding your kyber crystals. It may be easier for some of you than others but don't let that distract you. Once you find your crystal, come back here as soon as you can or else the ice on the entrance will seal you in." Kresonri announced to the younglings.
"You have until the ice seals the entrance. Good luck and may the force be with you." Meera finished. All five of the younglings rushed into the cave at once. Meera looked at Kresonri. "You didn't have to make the whole ice sealing the entrance thing sound scary to them." She brought up.
Kresonri chuckled. "I know, I just wanted to inform them that they didn't have a lot of time." She said.
~
Serran was sitting on the ground with his back against the icy wall that he had punched earlier. He was focusing purely on a kyber crystal that called to him but was unable to find it. He didn't know what to do. He then sensed a presence from around the corner. It wasn't strong but it was definitely force sensitive.
He jumped up and felt for his nonexistent lightsaber. He then remembered that he didn't have one anymore. He whipped out the blaster he had brought and readied himself for an attack. Had someone followed him here? No, that was impossible. He hadn't sensed anyone until now.
He took slow, careful steps forward. As the presence got closer to him, he could tell that it was a jedi youngling. He had to kill them. He had no choice.
Once the youngling got close enough, Serran jumped out from behind the corner and slammed the youngling to the floor. The youngling tried fighting back but it was useless. Serran pointed the gun at the human boy's head and pulled the trigger, killing the youngling.
The blaster hadn't been too loud but loud enough to alert anyone in the area.
Serran ran from the body as quick as he could. He knew that he had to find his kyber crystal soon or else he could attract some big trouble.
As he was sprinting, he slipped on the ice and tumbled down a passage that sloped down. He tried stopping himself from sliding but he couldn't get a firm grip on anything. As a result, he slammed into a dead end, cracking the ice.
He had to get up. He coughed a few times as he pushed himself up from the fall. He tried running up the ascent but slipped and fell back to the wall.
"Damn it. I can't get back up. My only choice is to smash through this ice and hope to get somewhere or wait for someone to help." Serran muttered to himself.
A few minutes passed and nothing happened. He was pacing around the small area trying to think of anything. He stopped and looked at his hands. They were turning purple from the lack of warmth. After a moment, he thought of something.
If I can use the force to pull things to ms then I can probably pull myself up using the force. I have to try it.
Serran rubbed his hands together to help warm them up and then reached his arms out. He took several deep breaths before grabbing onto a thick pillar of ice at the top with the force and attempted to pull himself up on his own.
He started moving upward but it wasn't enough. He turned his frustration into strength and then reached out with the darkside. In an instant, he was launched upward and thrown into the pillar of ice. The pillar shattered into millions of tiny ice pieces.
Serran could see something under the shards that was glowing with what looked like a pulse. He reached for it and then held it up to his face. He had found what he came here for: a kyber crystal.
~
Kresonri whipped her head to the cave entrance. "What is it, master?" Meera asked.
"I sense an imbalance in the force. A sith is here." She said in a both serious and frightened tone.
"A sith? But this planet is sacred to the jedi. How would a sith know about this planet?" Meera asked. She already knew the answer to her own question but didn't want to say it out loud.
"Why would Serran be here?" Kresonri said cautiously before igniting her light blue lightsaber and darting into the cave. Meera did the same and whipped out and ignited her green lightsaber.
The two jedi entered the icy cave and went in opposite directions.
Kresonri followed where she had felt the disturbance. She sprinted through passageways and tunnels until she stopped. She was staring at the body of Comko. He had a blaster wound in his forehead and looked like he had fought till the very end. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, young one. May you be one with the force." She said calmly, honoring the dead youngling.
She took a deep breath and focused herself. She then searched for any darkside energy in the area. There was nothing. She then closed her eyes and opened herself up to the force. She could see a cracked ice wall. Something must've hit it hard. She then saw broken shards of ice with a glowing kyber crystal buried in it. Someone had found their kyber crystal but she was positive that it hadn't been one of the younglings. It was the intruder.
After focusing harder, she could make out the intruders face. It was Serran. She opened her eyes and sprinted down a passageway. Meera had been given the task to look after the younglings in secret to make sure that they weren't harmed. Kresonri didn't have to worry about the younglings anymore and was focused purely on finding her former padawan.