A/N: The Wookiee and Togruta depicted above are species of aliens in Star Wars. The horns on the Togruta's head are called montrals while the braids pointing downwards are called lekku.

"I sense that something interesting just happened to someone." Lee-Ara's teasing voice wraps around my ears the second I set foot into her dormitory. The rest of our friends are camped out in the room as well, their eyes all on me.

"Pfft, with her face all starstruck like that, who needs the Force to sense it?" The female Togruta beside Lee-Ara snorts, smoothing down her braid-like lekku.

"Kela's right, you know." Lee-Ara nods, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "So, who was it?"

I shrug, the dazed look still very much on my face. "I do not know his name, but he said that he would be at The Gathering."

Lee-Ara and Kela squeal, but they are interrupted by a third voice coming from the wardrobe area of the room.

"How was your meeting with the Jedi Council? Did the Masters allow you to visit your family?" The Wookiee standing at the mirror next to the wardrobe asks, tentatively combing her fur.

My shoulders slump. "No, Immorri. Master Yoda even admitted that he only said it so that I would willingly continue my training. And when I tried to protest, Master Koon told me that I could also consider joining Jedi Corps or going home instead."

Lee-Ara gasps. "But that's not fair!"

"I would have thought Master Yoda would be the one on your side. He is the Master who trained you when you were a youngling." Kela frowns, probably picking up my emotions through the montrals on her head.

"If only they would at least tell you where your family moved to," says Immorri, gently parting her fur. "Then we could at least sneak you out to see them."

"That would not do," argues Kela. "If she were to be caught, she could be expelled from the Order, and even if she would get to be with her family again, it would be in disgrace!"

Immorri sighs. "I just don't like seeing Joelle upset."

I attempt to smile at her and try not to sound bitter. "I have missed them for years, Immorri. What is a few more to me? Everything is going to be fine."

Kela wrinkles her nose at me, the natural white tattoos on her face dotting beautifully. "But will you be fine?"

Lee-Ara waves her away. "She might as well make the best of it, Kela. Pursuing her training is Joelle's best option at this point if she wants to see her family and become a Jedi Knight."

I watch as Lee-Ara's signature scheming grin appears on her face. "Besides, there will be someone waiting for her at the Gathering."

☆☆☆

I shake Immorri awake the minute I see Cep'souza Idrall, the Twi'lek senior Padawan in charge of bringing us to the Gathering, get to his feet and turn to face us in the starship.

"We have just entered Ilum's atmosphere. Have a look through the window yourselves." He gestures towards the windows at the sides of the starship. I catch a glimpse of his Padawan braid attached to the back of his head as he swivels to talk to the pilot. It is made of silka beads, for aliens such as Twi'leks and Togrutas possess lekku instead of hair and thus cannot grow their own Padawan braid.

All twenty of us scramble to the windows, eager to finally be able to see the ancient ice planet sacred to the Jedi. It is where the kyber crystals used to make lightsabers of the Jedi Knights and to power the starfighters of the Jedi Aces are found.

I peer out the window, practically pressed to it by Immorri and a few other younglings.

Ilum's entire terrain is frozen ice, where frost and wind swirl together to create merciless snowstorms. Icy outcrops emerge from the tundra's surface like jagged glass fangs . The longer the starship flies in its cold environment, the more frost gathers at the corners of the windows, almost as if the planet were a living thing with a penchant for decorating.

The second they let us off the ship is the second that we will step into ice-cold hell.

I pull the fur-lined hood of my winter coat over my head as I feel the starship begin to descend. The others do the same, losing interest in the view as they prepared to experience the real deal. The starship lands gracefully and one side of it slides down to expose us to Ilum's frozen wasteland.

Cep'souza steps forward to lead the way, his twin lekku already covered with his hood. "Stay close and follow me," he instructs.

Immorri takes up the pace behind him, her fur offering an extra layer of warmth, and the rest of us follow.

Out of the corner of my eye, I am able to see one familiar but hooded figure three paces behind me. Our gazes meet for a heartbeat before Cep'souza halts and we both break away to focus on him.

I suppress a sudden urge to smile.

We have stopped in front of a wall of ice, an unusually huge outcrop with spires that extended skyward and ended in sharp tips. "With me now," Cep'souza instructs, raising an orange hand towards the structure. "Concentrate. Use the Force."

In unison, we mirror his movement, pushing against the ice with nothing but the Force. I close my eyes and hone my senses, feeling the energy hum in my veins.

The Force is an extension of me. It is my instinct, its will is mine, and I am one with the Force.

I hear the crumbling of ice, of the spires descending into the ground, defeated. A few others are cheering. I open my eyes to see the mouth of a cave, shiny and ethereal. Cep'souza moves to enter, and the rest of the clan trails behind him.

"Late, you are." Master Yoda's seasoned voice rings out the moment all of us are safely in what seems to be a hall in the caves. Cep'souza winces an apology, but Master Yoda barely pays attention to him before continuing. "Risen, Ilum's sun has."

Master Yoda then turns his attention on us. "Essential for a Jedi, a kyber crystal is. Focuses the Force, it does. Use the Force to locate your crystal, you must." He raises both of his hands and a side panel above our heads opens, and a ray of light surges through.

I gape in awe as the light falls onto a fancy protruding mechanism directly above, even more so as the mechanism shoots the light to pierce a gigantic blue crystal I had not noticed before in the centre of the hall. The large crystal then refracts the light onto several smaller crystals around it, finally merging again to unlock a door at the far end of the hall.

Kela pushes my chin up to close my mouth.

"You have until sundown to track down your crystal. If you are not out yet by the time Ilum's sun is gone, you will be trapped in the caves for another cycle," Cep'souza explains, the warning prominent in his tone.

"Guide you to your crystal, the Force will. Trust in it, you must," Master Yoda adds, stepping aside and gesturing to the door with a flourish of his walking stick.

For a second, nobody moves.

"Come on, Joelle! How hard can finding our own crystal be?" Lee-Ara merrily skips forward, pulling me along with her through the door. The rest begin to follow.

"It is a cave," Immorri agrees.

Kela, however, frowns. "I do not think this will be easy."

For the first time in my life, I hope that Kela's Togruta senses are wrong.

A/N: After rewatching 'The Gathering' so many times, here is my own lesser rendition of it! Not much JoHari in this chap, but I promise the ship picks up more wind in the next part.

^ The 4-minute part I watched repeatedly to write this. Sorry if I rushed the glamour of the light, I got sick of describing it.

By the way, this is how Cep'souza Idrall looks like (he's a Twi'lek alien):

Signing out (to watch Revenge of the Sith),

- Scarlet