The pitch-black tunnel stretched on before us, barely illuminated by the glow of our lanterns. Shadows danced across the walls as we moved, revealing nothing but the rough stone. Every few feet, we held the lanterns up, checking for even the slightest glimmer of Kyber crystals, but the walls remained frustratingly blank.

  “We must have traveled at least a mile or two, Teya,” I said, my voice echoing slightly in the confined space. My frustration was beginning to show.

  “Patience, young Padawan,” she said, grinning as she repeated the phrase the Jedi Masters often used to scold us as younglings.

  I rolled my eyes, frowning. “Very funny, but we came here for crystals, and we haven’t seen a trace. Either there never were any, or the Imperials got to them first.”

  Teya glanced around, a thoughtful crease forming on her brow. “The troopers were guarding the entrance, which means they sent a search party inside. And we haven’t seen them yet, which means they’re either lost... or deeper inside.”

  I nodded, conceding her point. “Good thinking. That means we’re likely heading toward them, so I’d better be ready.” With a small gesture, I released my steel ball bearings from their pouch, letting them float above my hand. They hovered in the air, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

  Teya eyed them with a smirk before tying her makeshift pickaxe to the stick she’d acquired earlier. “Let’s hope you’re as good with those as you were back there.”

  We pressed on, the minutes stretching into another long, cold hour. The air grew even staler, and a faint vibration hummed through the stone beneath our feet, like the distant thrum of a great machine. My nerves buzzed with anticipation, the Force tingling at the edge of my senses, but still, no sign of the crystals.

  Finally, the faint sound of voices reached us, distorted by the echoing tunnel. We slowed our steps, moving carefully until we could make out the words.

  “It won’t budge, sir,” a trooper’s voice came, strained and robotic through his helmet.

  “Then blast it!” snapped a second voice—authoritative, commanding. Must be an officer.

  Pew. A blaster shot reverberated through the tunnel, followed by a frustrated silence.

  “No damage, sir,” the trooper reported, his tone almost sheepish.

  “Then send for explosives,” the officer ordered, his patience wearing thin.

  “Is that wise, sir? The tunnel could collapse,” another trooper argued, his voice tinged with anxiety.

  “Do you want to explain to my boss why we failed to completely scout the tunnel and ruins?” the officer retorted sharply.

  There was a pause before the trooper replied, “No, sir.”

  “Then radio for support.”

  A few seconds of silence, then, “We have no signal here, sir.”

  “Then go outside!”

  Teya and I exchanged a look, reading each other’s thoughts. She gestured with a few swift hand signals, indicating she’d take out the trooper going for reinforcements. After that, we’d surprise the others with our combined attacks.

  I nodded, crouching in the shadows as she moved forward. Not thirty seconds later, I heard a muffled Ack! and a heavy thump!—the sound of a body hitting the floor.

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  “Nice,” I whispered to myself, a smile creeping onto my face. Teya had always been quick and efficient.

  “Your turn,” she whispered back as she reappeared beside me, nodding toward the remaining troopers in the chamber. “Let’s see what you can do with those,” she added, glancing up at the ball bearings that hovered above my head.

  I cracked my knuckles dramatically, then focused on the bearings, sending them hurtling into the darkness ahead. The Force guided them, each sphere spinning and striking with pinpoint precision. I couldn’t see the targets, but I could feel them—the shapes of the walls, the outlines of the troopers, the way each impact vibrated differently through stone and armor.

  Metallic thunks and pained shouts filled the air as my bearings ricocheted off the walls and troopers, turning the corridor into a chaotic storm. One of the troopers stumbled out of the darkness, his blaster raised, but Teya moved in a flash, smacking him with the blunt end of her pickaxe stick. He crumpled to the floor, out cold.

  After several tense minutes of silence, we crept forward, stepping over the unconscious bodies of the fallen troopers. My bearings floated back to me, orbiting above my head like a protective swarm. The room beyond came into view, illuminated by the flickering glow of an Imperial floodlight.

  “DIE, JEDI!” a voice suddenly roared from the shadows.

  Before I could react, a blaster bolt seared through the air, aimed straight at Teya. Instinctively, I summoned my bearings into a defensive formation, creating a spinning shield of rotating bearings just in time to deflect the bolt. The energy dissipated with a crackle, the impact sending a jolt of pain through my mind as I struggled to maintain the shield’s rotation.

  Normally, a simple steel ball wouldn’t block a blaster bolt or a lightsaber, but I had adapted an old mechanic’s knowledge. The technique involved spinning the balls at high speeds, creating a barrier that could deflect energy, much like vibroblades could resist lightsabers. But holding it together strained my powers to their limits.

  As the last of the energy fizzled out, I collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. My head pounded, my limbs shaking from the effort. Three times today I’d used my strongest techniques, and my reserves were nearly dry. Unlike other Force users, I couldn’t draw on power easily—my low midi-chlorian count saw to that. I could only store what little energy I had, and it would take time to replenish.

  Teya, shaken but recovering quickly, threw out her hand, sending the officer flying into the stone wall with a heavy thud. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. A look of relief crossed her face as she turned back to me.

  “You okay?” she asked, offering me a hand up.

  I took it, wincing as I rose to my feet. “I’ll manage. But remind me not to make a habit of this.”

  Her worried expression softened into a small smile. “You did great, Roan.”

  I brushed off the compliment with a shrug, turning my attention to what the troopers had been trying to break into. My breath caught in my chest.

  A massive double door loomed before us, standing ten feet tall and covered in intricate murals. One side of the door depicted a figure in white, holding a lightsaber aloft, its blade pointed toward the heavens. The other side showed a similar figure in grey, their lightsaber angled downward, as if casting a shadow over the earth.

  The carvings were worn with age, the edges softened by time, yet the figures seemed to pulse with a faint, ancient energy. The doors had no visible locks, no seams or mechanisms that might open them, yet they remained stubbornly shut.

  “What... is this?” Teya whispered, awe creeping into her voice.

  I shook my head, equally mesmerized. “I don’t know. But whatever’s behind it, the Imperials wanted in badly.”

  She reached out, pressing her hand against the cold surface of the door. It didn’t budge. She turned to me, a hint of frustration in her eyes. “How the heck do we open this?”

  I studied the door, tracing the lines of the murals with my eyes. There was something here, something hidden beneath the surface. I could feel it, a resonance in the Force that made the air around us buzz. My instincts told me that brute force wouldn’t work here. This was a puzzle—a test, maybe, from whoever had built this place long ago.

  “It’s not a matter of strength,” I murmured, reaching out with my senses, trying to feel the flow of energy through the door. “It’s... something else. Like it’s waiting for us to do something.”

  Teya’s brow furrowed as she looked from the door to me. “You think it has to do with the murals?”

  I nodded slowly, feeling a strange sense of certainty settle over me. “Yeah. I think it’s a key—one we have to figure out.”

  Teya glanced back at the door, determination flashing in her eyes. “Then let’s figure it out together, Roan. Whatever’s behind this door, we’re getting in.”

  I nodded, steeling myself as we stood before the ancient threshold, the secrets of the past waiting just beyond our reach.

  What could be on the other side?