Everything Broken: A Star Wars Story

Chapter Three: Cold and Warm

Kidara woke in the middle of the night. She wasn't sure when she had drifted off or what time it was exactly, but the sky outside was still dark and she didn't hear voices. For a moment she couldn't really tell where she was; this wasn't her and Quinlan's quarters.

He's gone.

She realized she had a head in her lap—Ashoka's head—peacefully sleeping, curled into a tight ball besides her arms, which were wrapped loosely around Kidara's waist. She faintly remembers petting Ashoka's montrals and speaking of the war. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

Kidara then realized she was lying in Obi-Wan's lap. She wanted to slap herself in the face, absolutely mortified, but she was afraid she'd wake the others. She turned her gaze to look at Obi-Wan, who was asleep as well, head on Anakin's shoulder. Anakin was snoring, loudly, arms tightly wound around a pillow.

It reminded Kidara of one of the first missions she ever went on, a freezing planet with short days and excruciatingly long nights. Quinlan, Kidara and two clones, Faie and Archer, were assigned to locate an old Jedi temple and see why the Seperatists were so keen on destroying the planet.

The air was freezing. Kidara tried to take in a breath but nearly choked by how much the air stung her lungs. Her feet pumped through the hardened shell of frozen surface ice to sink into the knee-deep snow below. The wind was practically howling, snowflakes sticking to Kidara's eyelashes, making it difficult to see. Against the fading light of the setting blue sun the snow looked like the stars racing past at light-speed. They trekked on for what seemed like hours, searching, for something. Kidara did not know what. Quinlan said when they found it that she would feel it. Kidara didn't feel anything but cold, as the wind whipped past her face.

They past the entrance to a cave, but Kidara stopped. Something in there was calling to her, wailing like a crying child.

"Master, I feel something." Kidara spoke, barely a whisper.

Quinlan closed his eyes, reaching out with the force. "I feel it too."

"What is it, general?" Faie raised his blaster as Archer followed suit.

"No, no wait, vod." Kidara spoke in Mando'a, her native tongue. "Master, I think the force wants me to go in that cave."

The four walked into the cave, stalactites of ice glistening in the setting sun. The cave was small, rounded, and had smaller tunnels leading to an unknown place. Kidara hoped it was an animals burrow, but she doubted there was any life out here. It was becoming cold, and fast. As the last trooper stepped inside, the cave entrance collapsed, leaving them trapped. There was only small holes that air could pass through.

"Master, if you help me we could move the ice," Kidara started, pulling her cloak tighter around her body. She was suddenly grateful for the many layered robes the Jedi wore.

"No," Quinlan pulled Kidara back by her shoulder. "The cave isn't stable, if we try and move the ice the whole cave could collapse on top of us. Then the temple could collapse at any time, and then we'd be as good as dead. Don't try and use your saber to melt the ice either, there are kyber crystals hidden all over this place, one touch and this entire place explodes. I'm going to see if I can comme the council, tell them about our... predicament."

"Yes master."

Kidara looked around the cave. The walls were tall enough to where Kidara could touch the ceiling if she stretched her arms above her head and stood on the toes of her boots, but there wasn't any obvious exists. Quinlan was right, she could see small, glistening kyber crystals trapped deep in the ice below the cave walls. She could hear the wind howling outside, and was thankful that they were shielded from it inside.