Thrawn’s measured voice seemed to echo in the chamber, “A warrior does not cease to serve.  Are you no longer a warrior?”

  Ar’lissa hesitated, “I...”

“The young woman who served under my command and has so much potential would not so easily give into despair.  You cannot change what has happened.”

“I killed a skywalker.”

“Setting aside the fact that she was no longer a skywalker, you did not intend to kill her even when she was hostile towards you and the Ascendancy.  It was a regrettable error and one you must come to grips with, don’t compound the error.”

Ar’lissa’s hands trembled for a moment before she let go of the vibroblade, letting it clatter to the ground in front of her.  Then tilting her head back and closing her eyes, she let out a heartbreaking wail of agony that seemed to last forever.

To her surprise she felt someone crashing into her, knocking her over as she felt arms rapping around her neck in a hug.   She heard Va’lana’s concerned voice, “Ar’lissa!”

 Ar’lissa looked up in stunned disbelief into Va’lana’s concerned face and quickly returned the hug, tears of relief flowing down her cheeks. “I thought I had killed you!”

 Va’lana shook her head, close to crying as well. “It was a dark force vision.”  Va’lana got a slightly goofy look for a second, “We this is a vision too, or maybe more like a force projection, I’m not entirely sure how this works.  The point is I thought I wasn’t going to make it to you in time, but you didn’t succumb to it.”

 Ar’lissa blinked away the tears and out of the corner of her eye she saw Thrawn standing near one of the walls with a slight smile on his face. He gave a nod of approval before he seemed to disappear along with remnants of the mist.  Ar’lissa tightened her hug on Va’lana, “I had help.  You truly are alive?”

 Va’lana squeezed Ar’lissa one last time before they both released the hug.  “Yeah, it’s a long not so fun story in parts.”  She quickly stood up and then helped Ar’lissa to her feet.  Ar’lissa noted that Va’lana was dressed in a more utilitarian outfit but still kept with the Chiss military uniform colors. “I can’t keep this up for long, I need to lead you out of this and into the tombs below quickly.  There are other darker things in these passages.  Sith wraiths who feed off those who get lost in the passages, tormenting them to madness or death.”

 Ar’lissa looked to be still in shock as she quickly picked up the dagger, turning it off and sheathing it, trying to refocus her thoughts.  “Lead on.”

 Va’lana looked at her curiously, raising an eyebrow, and then pointed towards the discarded rifle. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

 Ar’lissa looked hesitantly at the rifle and Va’lana put her hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her sister, “It’s ok, that wasn’t me remember?”

 Ar’lissa squeezed Va’lana’s hand, “It’s still hard.”  Remembering Va’lana’s warning about not being able to keep whatever she’s doing for long she quickly walked over to the rifle and hesitantly picked it up.  She turned it slightly and looked at the selector switch, still sitting where she had set it… ‘Stun’. Cautiously she pointed it at one of the walls and hesitantly pulled the trigger.  Screaming circles of blue light flashed out and the stun blast splashed harmlessly against the wall.  She frowned in frustration as she flipped the switch back to ‘safe’.  Va’lana gestured to an opening that had appeared in the chamber, “You’ve had an adverse relationship with the force during your time in Imperial space, haven’t you?”

 Ar’lissa nodded as they walked through the opening and into another passage, but unlike the others it was dimly lit with a strange blue glow coming from spots in the walls, “Until your hug it’s been pretty much one evil spirit, artifact, or witch after another.  Not to mention inquisitors.”

 Va’lana shrugged, “Well it’s not all that bad, I wouldn’t have been able to save you without it.”

Ar’lissa looked at her sister, her expression one of disbelief, “How are you able to do this?  How did you keep your gift of third sight?”

Va’lana smiled as she traced her hand along one of the glowing blue spots, “I have a bit of help and we share a rare and powerful connection.  As to my third sight, come to find out we don’t really lose the gift, it just gradually becomes dormant.  I was able to nurture it, so it never went dormant on me and I also gained a new ability that has been useful in staying alive.  We learned so much, but most of it was lost when our ship crashed.  We can talk about it more as I guide you out, but we have to pick up the pace a little.”

 A couple of minutes later Ar’lissa stepped out of the mist looking around the tombs as the passage sealed behind her, seemingly turning into an ordinary wall.  Her sister’s voice echoing in her mind.  “It’s critical that you head to the Northeast chamber of the tombs as soon as you exit, your intuition will guide you there.  Go through the portal on the east wall, your destiny lay beyond it.”

 Ar’lissa took a couple of centering breaths in the darkness before turning on her goggles and readying her rifle.  She took one last look at the wall behind her before starting down the passageway that was in front of her wondering about Iz'aphine and hoping she was alright.