Star Wars The Clone Wars: A Galaxy Of War

Chapter 13: Trapped in Ilum

-Five Weeks After the Battle of Ryloth-
"You sure about this, General?" Captain Arc asks, his helmet placed on the edge of the holo-table and his hands next to his A.R.C phase I white and yellow helmet. The Jedi Knight nods. "Jelia has been a quick learner and I think she's ready to construct her own lightsaber. There's a few lightsaber pieces that could be used now. They're all in storage so I'll have to look for them." Lance says as he zooms in on the 3D holographic map. The planet that's being displayed in blue is none other than Ilum, the home of kyber crystals. Lance got his yellow crystal when his master was still alive, so he believes he should do the same with Jelia. Arc doesn't understand Jedi training or why they go through all the trials they have, but he is not one to judge either. "Alright, general. I'll start making all the preparation for our jump to light speed." Arc says before ordering the naval officers to set course to Ilum. Lance walks out of the bridge of the cruiser and gets on the elevator. Now he just has to inform the Alf survivor about the trip.
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"Ethan, be careful." Jelia warns the child, who is messing around with a standard white clone trooper phase I helmet. Taking care of a child is much harder than Jelia expected, but it's all worth it for her. "I will!" The child says as he looks inside of the large helmet. Ethan has been interested with the clones lately, mostly Breakfall squad.

     "Jelia." The female Alf hears her name being called out. She turns around to see Lance walk inside. "Lance!" Jelia happily says as she approaches the mature teen. "I see you're taking care of Ethan." Lance says as he notices the boy playing around the place. "Yes. He's been very curious lately so I have to keep an eye on him." Jelia says. Lance nods. He knows what she means with Ethan being curious. "Curiosity is a good thing. But to much of it may be harmful." Lance says before focusing all his attention on Jelia.
      "Jelia. As your...master," Lance says, saying master in a not so sure tone,"I think you are prepared to construct your own lightsaber." Lance informs the girl about her progress. Jelia eyes widen in surprise. "R-really! You think I'm prepared enough to construct my very own lightsaber." Jelia says, excited like if a child was just promised candy. Lance smiles and nods. He knows very well that Jelia has learned enough to build her lightsaber, but he's not sure if she's prepared to enter the cave.
"Yes," Lance says as he takes out his handheld hologram projector,"the crystals are found in the planet Ilum inside of this cave," Lance zooms in on the planet and shows her the cave entrance,"once inside, a crystal will call out for you, and you will simply grab it and leave."
"Will you be coming along?" Jelia asks the young Jedi Knight. "Why, of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Lance asks. The purple hair survivor looks down and rubs her left arm with her right hand. "Well...you said that I will grab the crystal...so I thought you'd stay here..." Jelia softly answers the yellow eye teen's question. Her tone being insecure and a somewhat sad. Lance places his right arm on her shoulder. Jelia looks up at Lance's bright yellow eyes. "Jelia, you are going to grab the crystal, I'm just going to accompany you. I wouldn't let you do something alone."

       "W-when do we go?" Jelia asks another question, her tone being more anxious and happier than before. Lance smiles, glad that Jelia had a switch in attitude. "We are already making our way there." Lance informs Jelia about their trip to the icy cold planet. "Great! What do I need?" Jelia asks about gear and equipment. "Your mind and body is what you'll need to enter the cave." Lance teasingly answers the question. "You know what I mean." She says, elbowing the knight in the arm. Lance quickly laughs before answering the question. "Winter outfit. The planet is covered in snow and ice." The teen with clone armor and a Jedi robe over it answers. "I don't like the cold." Jelia says as her ears droop downwards. "It'll be a quick trip." Lance says. He turns around and leaves the room, and when he returns he is holding a thick brown coat for the Alf. The Jedi tosses the cloak to Jelia, who she catches the coat and looks at it before putting it on. But the time Jelia looks back at Lance, he is already wearing a very dark olive green winter coat. "Let's go. We don't want the cave to close." Lance says as he leaves the room.

     "Ethan. Don't do anything dumb ok? Be a good boy. Can I trust you?" Jelia asks the little boy, who is wearing the clown helmet that is to big for him. The kid nods, sending the helmet into a wild wobble. Jelia giggles before exiting the room and following the Jedi knight.
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A republic gunship lands outside a massive cave, the entrance being a giant mouth that grants access into the rocky cave with crystals covering every corner, but no one can see the kyber crystals. Lance exits the gunship, shortly followed by Jelia who almost sinks into the snow. The LAAT ship closes its doors and ascends back towards the republic cruiser, leaning the two to finish what they came for. "Now that we're here, the cave is filled with crystals all around it." Lance says as he enters the dark cave, with the sun lighting part of the inside. "I don't see them." Jelia says as she looks all around the cave's entrance.
       "The force will guide you towards your crystal. Just enter the cave and let the force take over you." Lance says. "You're not-"
       "I am only allowed to stay here and help, but I cannot enter with you. It'll be fine." Lance assured the girl, whose hair changes back to mint green. Jelia nods and walks deep into the cave, not knowing what she will find or encounter. With that, the things Jelia see, the feelings that stir insider her and the thoughts she has cannot be mentioned, for this is private for her and her alone.
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Jelia rushes out the cave and tackles Lance with a massive hug, causing the Jedi to fall over and land on his back. "Lance! Don't leave me!" The girl cries, holding the muscular teen tightly. Lance places his arms around the girl that tackled him. "Jelia, Jelia, it's just an illusion. Whatever you saw isn't real. Just calm down." The Jedi whispers soothingly towards the girl. Jelia eventually clams down after a while, standing up and letting go of Lance. The young knight stands up and smiles at the Alf. Jelia smiles tiredly at the Jedi and wipes her tears from her face. "Do you have the crystal?" Lance asks. Jelia nods and shows him a blue kyber crystal about an inch or so tall. "Good. Let's leave this place, now that we have what we came for." Lance says. He then absentmindedly holds Jelia hand, and the Alf blushes as she sees his hand intertwine with hers. Lance, not knowing that he's holding Jelia's hand, exits the cave.

       "No...no..." Lance says as he looks up towards the dark and gloomy sky. "What is it?" Jelia asks, not sure what to expect. Lance turns towards the cave and sees the entrance being covered by ice. What should've been an easy trip has now become more complicated that it should be. "We just happened to arrive right before a snowstorm." Lance says, and as if on cue, a massive and violent blizzard took over the place, snow flying in every direction. Luckily, the two find a closet sized mound of snow to hide behind, reducing the amount it snow hitting them. Jelia sits down and leans her back onto the pile of snow while Lance sits down aside Jelia. The two shiver, the cold being to much for them. "H-have y-you tried c-contacting t-the cruiser?" Jelia asks, her jaw shivering and hitting the other part rapidly. "I a-already tried. T-the storm isn't a-allowing me to make contact w-with them." Lance replies to the question. After a while, Jelia looks towards the distance before saying something. "I-I am cold! I-is there a-anything we can d-do to heat us up!?" Jelia loudly asks, for the wind picked up speed and force, and she can barely hear herself think. "I-I do. But I-I don't t-think you'll like it!" Lance replies to the girl's question. "J-just keep me w-warm!" Jelia shouts, closing her eyes and rubbing her arms. At first, Jelia doesn't feel anything happen, but soon after she can feel lance's arm wrap around her waist. Lance had set Jelia on his lap and kept her close. This is the only thing he can think up of to keep Jelia from freezing.

      And so the two stay like this for a long while, the blizzard looking like if it's going to go on for several hours. Jelia doesn't mind the position she's in, just the storm that is making this uncomfortable.