The Heart of the Galaxy: A Star Wars Story (with Legends)

Chapter 16 - Kybers and Connections

Ahsoka sat on top of the Hill, leaning on Rex. She was glad he was here. Without him, she did not think she would have been able to sit on the grass with the other Jedi. She relaxed as Rex's right hand petted her montrals and his left hand moved over her rounded middle. Meditation became almost effortless when she was carrying a child within, as if the baby enhanced her connection to the Force. As Rex squeezed her montral, she gave a sudden loud gasp, overwhelmed by the images and sensations inundating her senses through the Force. This planet is alive!

"Little U'n!" Rex's voice was filled with alarm. "It's way too early for that!"

Pulling away from the vision, Ahsoka opened her eyes. "I'm not having labor pains," she assured him. "It's this planet. It's so powerful, it almost frightens me."

"It is extremely powerful," agreed Whie, opening his eyes as well. "We have been its Guardians during the Dark Times of the Empire.

"He knows about it," Ezra interjected abruptly. "Namah Agati knows about Kyber and its power."

Luke drew a sharp breath. "The Death Stars- they were powered by large amounts of kyber crystals. I don't even want to think about what a planet-sized kyber could power."

"A world," Talisbeth waved toward the Malreaux house, "a civilization."

"It could control a galaxy," Ezra murmured, softly caressing the blue grass. "Bend the minds of whole worlds. Agati is not strong with the Force, but he knows its ways."

"The void in the Force," Leia exclaimed, "the one your friend Bendu mentioned, that he thought was Agati. Ezra, do you really think he is cutting himself off from the Force? I thought only Force-users could do that."

"The ysalamiri do it," Ezra mused. "True, they're stronger in the Force than your average lizard, but the void they create is a product of their unique biology. It's possible that he has found a way to copy them."

"It's odd that I haven't felt anything strange from him in the Force," Leia tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How do you suppose he does it?"

Ezra sighed. "I don't know, but I'd sure like to find out."

Leia blinked and pressed a hand to her mouth. "You just might get your chance. When Han and I went back to the Falcon for the kids, I had a short talk with Admiral Bwua'tu. His spies have discovered that Agati is preparing to launch a droid-manned fleet. I had assumed the droids were part of his continuing Jedi hunt, without any specific destination, but now..."

The Jedi all shared a glance. Whie stood to his feet and grasped his lightsaber hilt.

"He is coming here."

"You know,  you Jedi are handy to have around sometimes, but you can be a lot of trouble," Han complained, as Leia ended her call.

"This is not our fault," Leia returned, "And if we don't stop this crazy non-Jedi, the whole Galaxy will be in 'a lot of trouble'." She rubbed her temples and leaned on her husband's shoulder. The information Arni Belden and Nek Bwua'tu had given her had been painfully sparse. The emergency quorum was planning to require mandatory midi-chlorian level testing throughout the New Republic. Agati's fleet had jumped. The Bothans had provided a departure time, a general direction, a shockingly large fleet size estimate, and a promise to send information they had gleaned from covert scans on the ships. The spynet was also planning an insertion into the factory complex to gather more data. For now, she would have to exercise the Jedi patience Luke and Ezra were always talking about.

Draping an arm around her, Han gently pulled her along, away from the makeshift comm station she had set up in the garden, back into the Malreaux house. Whie and Talisbeth had insisted that their guests stay with them rather than return to their ships to sleep. The Footman droids had been busy making up beds for everyone and had somehow found time to prepare an evening meal. Leia had sent Threepio to help and Artoo had tagged along without waiting to be asked.