The Rise of the Final Order - A Star Wars Story

Chapter 1

Kelsa Antilles

Three Months After the Battle of Exegol...

Arkane Prime was cold, wet, and gloomy, and Kelsa hated it. As she climbed out of her X-Wing, a cold wind blew past, and she shivered. Cora, who had already gotten out of her own X-Wing, was now standing in front of the giant cave entrance on the side of the mountain looming over them. A short distance away, a forest of trees with needle-like leaves swayed with the gust of chilly air, bringing a wet, earthy smell in their direction.

"Wow, this place is kind of terrible," Kelsa remarked, jumping down from the ladder and onto the stone below her feet. BB-11 booped in agreement as he popped out of his compartment and thumped onto the ground beside her. "I hope this is worth it."
"If we find those kyber crystals, it will be," Cora responded, not taking her eyes off the entrance.

"Right," Kelsa agreed, coming over to stand beside her Jedi friend. "So let's start looking. I want to get out of here as soon as possible." She pulled out a glow rod from the satchel she had slung across her body and switched it on, peering into the darkness of the cave. BB-11 rolled up beside her, pausing behind her legs as he leaned his head to the side to look too.

Cora entered the cave first, activating her lightsaber so that its blue glow lit up the passageway along with the glow rod and pulling down the hood of her Jedi cloak as she did so, revealing her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, since there was no need to cover her head now that they were out of the wind. Kelsa followed close behind her, BB-11 rolling along beside her, as they descended deeper into the cave system.

The cave itself was massive, and someone had clearly been here before them, long before. Here and there Kelsa spotted cracked and crumbling pillars, and occasionally, she saw large, looming statues of hooded, humanoid figures, some of them missing heads or other various body parts.

Cora seemed to notice them too, and she gazed up at them cautiously as they walked. "I don't like it here," she muttered. "Something feels wrong."

"What do you mean?" Kelsa asked, swinging the glow rod around to point it at the Jedi, who deactivated her lightsaber and shielded her eyes for a moment before adjusting to the light.

"The Force is strong here," Cora explained. "But I feel a darkness." Her brow furrowed and her eyes sparked with worry.

"It's probably fine," Kelsa told her, waving her hand dismissively. "Let's just make sure the crystals are here and get out."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Cora agreed, still looking disturbed. "The sooner we leave, the better."

They continued moving deeper into the cave, though their pace quickened, and Kelsa could tell Cora's unease was growing. Eventually, they came to a point where the tunnel split in two directions.

They stopped and exchanged glances. "I guess we split up then," Kelsa muttered. "Unless your Jedi powers can tell you where the crystals are."

Cora shook her head, frustrated. "The Force is strong in both directions." She paused, looking incredibly unhappy. "I think we need to split up."

Kelsa sighed heavily. "I was afraid of that." She flashed the glow rod from one tunnel to the other, considering. "I guess I'll take the left tunnel, and you take the right one."

"OK, but keep your comlink on," Cora responded. "Just in case one of us finds something."

Kelsa nodded, pulling her comlink out of her satchel and pressing it so that it turned on. Then she turned in the direction of the tunnel to the left and took a deep breath. She glanced back at Cora. "Good luck."