As she moved forward, she could feel an energy building in the air as she spotted strange glows apparently emanating from the chambers adjoining the hallway.  Shadows seemed to dart to the openings as whispers began to carry in the hallway, but Ar’lissa couldn’t make out what they were saying as she continued carefully down the hallway and into the last chamber.   The two sarcophagi in the chamber looked intricately designed and had the Ascendancy symbol prominently displayed on them.  She turned her attention to the valet stand at the foot of each one.  The sarcophagus on the southern side had what looked to be some sort of common armored robes, while looking used, could have been bought recently.  The Northern valet stand had a sleek full body black and grey armor with a helmet as well as a similarly sleek jetpack.  It had a thin layer of dust on it but otherwise looked in near pristine condition.  She felt drawn to the armor as she walked over to the stand to get a closer look.  As she stood next to the armor she lifted up her goggles to get a better look at it and as she did an accented voice in Cheunh startled her, “Impressive isn’t it?”

           Ar’lissa quickly turned towards the sound, reflexively slinging her rifle around to the ready as she spotted the semi translucent form of a female Chiss wraith sitting cross-legged on the sarcophagus dressed in the same armor that sat on the stand.  It was almost like looking at an older version of herself the wraith seemed just as surprised as Ar’lissa was for a moment before the spirit recovered and hopped down off of the sarcophagus looking excited.  “Wow, I thought the resemblance would be uncanny but actually seeing it... You can put that away; I’m not going to hurt you.  You must be Ar’lissa.”

             Ar’lissa hands trembled slightly as she lowered her rifle a little bit.  “This can’t be real.  I’m still trapped in the passages.”

             The wraith shook her head, “Nope, you’re out of those passages, for now at least.  Some of the others here take their jobs very seriously and ya don’t want to end up back in those passages.  I’m Ra’lya by the way.  I’m your, well I guess you could say, Ancient Ancestor.  Better than trying to figure out how many greats I need to throw in, which I’m guessing is a lot.”

             Ar’lissa stood there looking dumbfounded as Ray’la put a hand on Ar’lissa’s shoulder, “I know it’s a lot to take in but just breath.  As my dear Sar’ai always tells me ‘When you slow down and breath, your spirit and your body can catch up with your mind and help out...’”

             Ar’lissa took a couple of deep breaths as she slung her rifle over her shoulder.  Ray’la’s continued, her hands followed her words as she gently touched each area as she spoke, “…’To know something truly and deeply you must know it with your head, hand, and heart.  Mind, body, and soul’.  She and I love each other with all of ourselves.”  She then wrapped her arms around Ar’lissa and hugged her.  “It’s so heartwarming to know that our legacy survives in some way.”

             For the first time since before she arrived in lesser space Ar’lissa felt her self-relaxing without having to force herself.  After a moment of relaxing into the embrace she suddenly felt something she hadn’t felt since she was 14, her connection to her third sight.  It wasn’t as powerful as it used to be, but it was back.  Ar’lissa tried to hug her back, but her hands and arms just passed through.  Ray’la let go of the hug smiling sheepishly, “Sorry it doesn’t always work the other way.  You know, your sister has the same insane resemblance to Sar’ai.”

             Ar’lissa’s eyes widened, “Va’lana was here?”

             Ray’la nodded, “Sar’ai’s gave Va’lana her armor and weapon as her birthright.”  She gestured to the valet stand, “My armor and weapons are yours.  I’d very much like to see you in it.”

             Ar’lissa looked at the armor and then back at Ray’la, “I’m deeply honored.”  Ar’lissa started dusting off the armor feeling some excitement, “Did she say where she was going?  Do you how long she’s been gone?”

             Ray’la shrugged, “She went through a portal to the ‘World between Worlds’.  Something we in the Tomb of the Families have been protecting from the outside since it was discovered.  As for how long, well there’s nothing here to mark the passage of time, but it’s been at least a day or two if I had to guess.”

             “Va’lana said I needed to go through a portal in here.  That my destiny lay beyond it…” Ar’lissa paused for a moment as a realization hit her, “I have associates, and a reputation with them, for me to just put the armor on…”

             Ra’lya sighed, “There would be questions because you’re not one to just throw stuff you just found on.”

             “I haven’t been one to trust a force spirit or wraith at their word, granted they’ve all been malicious and or corrupted, yet here I am doing just that with you.  But this just feels different, right.”

             Ra’lya nodded, “I understand, plus the armor can be cumbersome to put on if you haven’t been taught.  Close your eyes, open your mind to me, and allow me to guide you.”

             Ar’lissa closed her eyes and Ra’lya stepped over and into Ar’lissa feeling the dry tomb air for the first time in a long time as she began removing Ar’lissa’s armor.  The sensation of being able to touch something physical again felt incredible and as much as she wanted it to last as long as possible she knew it wasn’t fair to Ar’lissa.  After finishing removing Ar’lissa’s current armor she finished cleaning off the dust on her old armor, and quickly began putting it on.  She was shocked at how much it fit just like a glove.  When she got to the chest armor she turned it over so the back was facing her, inspecting the slot on the back to make sure the socket was clean. 

            Setting it back on the stand, she stepped over to the side of her sarcophagus and pushed the lid partially open, her old clothes were long faded, having been rearranged how she had laid herself out before the ritual, memories of the event flooding back into her mind.  She leaned over and slid her hand over the hidden compartment on the bottom that could easily be missed by even the most comprehensive scans and using the force popped it open.  She quickly retrieved the cylindrical blue crystal with black and red flecks, it was glowing a soft dark blue as she remembered.  Closing the compartment with her other hand she looked at the crystal that contained her wraith spirit in it for a moment wondering why she and Sar’ai were chosen out of all the others?  The Csilla crystals or ‘Chiss heart’ crystals, as they were sometimes called, were extremely rare and a crystal this size could have been cut down into several lightsaber crystals instead of being used to power the Force Commando Armor that she and Sar’ai had worn and now each crystal housed their respective spirits.  What was even more strange was the nearly identical resemblance that Ar’lissa and Va’lana had to her and Sar’ai, it was almost like looking at a younger twin.

               She pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she walked back over and inserted the crystal.  She smiled as she slid the protective cover slid back into place and could see the energy flowing between the Refined Cortosis Weave infused plates.  She quickly donned the rest of the armor and jetpack, neatly putting Ar’lissa’s old armor on the rack before releasing her control on Ar’lissa, allowing her to finish putting the gloves on as she stepped back admired Ar’lissa in the armor.  Ar’lissa looked over at Ra’lya as some of the armor’s systems came online but she could tell there were some repairs that were needed and the jetpack needed recharging, “That was…different.”

                Ra’lya nodded, “I tried to keep it as short as possible.  The armor fits you perfectly.  You’ll feel a bit more power when I’m fully integrated and not in my Wraith form.  I can still talk to you when I’m integrated, but only you will be able to hear me.  I can also lend part of my power to you and over time as we attune, I will hopefully be able to lend you more and more.”

                Ar’lissa shook out her arms, feeling more agile than she did in the old armor as Ra’lya continued, “I know you must have a planets worth of questions and I’ll try to answer them as best I can.  But first I have a question, you a good shot with that rifle?”

                Ar’lissa nodded as she walked back over to the stand and picked up the rifle, slinging it over her shoulder, still feeling a little uncomfortable with it.  “I don’t like to brag but I do apparently have a reputation for my marksmanship with rifles.  Unfortunately, I focused on that skill to the detriment of others, but I’ve been learning recently to become a pilot.”

                Ra’lya chuckled softly, “I hear you, I went hard into my lightsaber training and became a master, but my other skills suffered because that.  I can teach you how to wield those blades attached to your armor.”

                Ar’lissa reached back feeling the handles for a moment before letting go of them, “That would probably be best.”  She looked over at the partially opened sarcophagus, “I should close that.”

                Ra’lya shrugged, “Nothing in there worth taking now, but Va’lana did the same with Sar’ai’s.”

                “Might raise another question from the others, as well as temp them to start poking around the other sarcophaguses, they do have a habit of throwing stuff on.” Ar’lissa walked around to the other side carefully slid the lid back into place.  Ra’lya grimaced, “Yah that wouldn’t be wise especially in this section if their non Chiss.  These associates of your sound ‘interesting’.” 

Ar’lissa nodded, “Yeah they are.  You’re right though, I do have a lot of questions, but when Va’lana spoke to me in the passages as she was leading me out she said that it was critical that I go through the portal on the East wall.”

                Ra’lya looked at Ar’lissa strangely for a moment, “This tomb has been quiet for a couple thousand years and then your sister arrives and accesses the portal, and now you say she’s told you to go through?”

                Ar’lissa gave her a confused look back. “I don’t really know myself.  Honestly, I’m still kind of reeling from my experience in the passages.  I’m new to all of this and my third sight just barely came back to me.”

                Ra’lya looked at her with a confused expression, “Third sight?”

                Ar’lissa nodded, “Navigators use Third Sight to navigate Chiss ships in hyperspace though the Chaos.  It allows us to see the hazards and steer the ship to avoid them.  I use to be a navigator for the Ascendancy when I was younger”

                Ra’lya nodded back in understanding.  “Ah the others call that the ability of foresight.  I can help you learn how to access it with more clarity if you wish.” Ar’lissa heated for a moment and then nodded, “I’d like that.”  Ra’lya smiled back at her, “Remember what I said earlier, just breath.”

                Ar’lissa took a deep breath as Ra’lya continued walking slowly around Ar’lissa.  “Now close your eyes for a moment, feel the Force around you.  Think of it like navigating a ship through hyperspace only now you’re looking to navigate your future.  Don’t try to control it yet, for now just let go on its path.”

                Ar’lissa continued to take deep breaths, her eyes opened but they looked unfocused, “It’s vague, there’s a specific portal gateway I need to go through…There’s a Chiss in white and maybe a Mandalorian?  Definitely a woman in Mandalorian armor.  I can’t make out specific details for them.  There’s a stone structure, but also the metal of a ship outside of it.”  Ar’lissa suddenly blinked and shook her head, “It’s gone!  How do I get it back?”

                Ra’lya tried to look reassuring, “The force can be stingy with its visions, but that was excellent for your first time.  We can try again later but for now though it sounds like we need to get you into the World between Worlds.”

                “If that’s what it’s called.” Ar’lissa nodded, “How do we do that?”

                Ra’lya shrugged, “First we have to see if you can access the gateway here.  Let’s go over to the Eastern Wall.”

                Ar’lissa followed her over, “Use your Foresight, find where you need to put your hand.”

                There was little hesitation as Ar’lissa raised her hand and looked at the wall.  She then put her hand on a specific spot on the wall, “Good.  Now focus and listen for what you need to do.  I’ll assist you.”

                Ra’lya stepped up placing her spectral hand next to Ar’lissa’s, lending Ar’lissa some of her power to speed up the process as Ar’lissa concentrated twisting her hand as if opening something.  The smooth stone shimmered as stylized images of Nightdragons seemed to rise from the floor at the edge and fly into a humanoid sized circle.  Ar’lissa felt her hand partially go through the wall and her eyes went wide in surprise.  Ra’lya’s form seemed to dissipate as her wraith energy returned to the armor.  Ar’lissa felt a gentle warmth envelope her for a moment as she heard Ra’lya’s voice.  “Nicely done.  Are you ready to step through?”

                “Not really but let’s do it.”