Part One
"I don't believe it."
Such was the reaction of many Jedi when they returned from their various missions and were told of the events that had recently occurred on Geonosis. The Jedi who had gone to the rocky planet had attempted to capture Dooku, a former Jedi himself, and had instead been nearly wiped out by an army of droids. Only the timely arrival of the great Yoda and his army of clones had prevented the bright flames of Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Barriss Offee, and many others from being extinguished forever.
Now, or so the rumors said, the Jedi would be forced to spearhead the Republic's army, the clone heroes from Geonosis. The Jedi, who for thousands of years had been peacekeepers, were now fighting a war.
"This shouldn't be happening," whispered Déeli Asth. "This can't be happening."
"Focus on what is, not on what should be," replied her Master, Kely Barneto. "If everything was as it should be, there would be no need for the Jedi-even without a war."
Admonished, Déeli lowered her head. "I apologize, Master Barneto."
Kely smiled. "Don't worry about it, Déeli. I'll admit, that was among my first reactions, too."
"You?"
"Certainly! One would have to be blind not to-" She stopped, suddenly remembering her Padawan's one perceived weakness.
Déeli chuckled. "You're always so sensitive about my eyes, Master."
"I know, I know. I can't help it-it's part of who I am."
"Master Barneto and Padawan Asth?"
Kely and Déeli looked up at the same moment. The speaker was Mace Windu, a dark-skinned Jedi who had led the strike force on Geonosis until Yoda's arrival. "Yes, Master Windu?"
"The Council will see you now."
Kely rose slowly and walked into the Council chambers, followed closely by her student. Things had been going so well, she reflected. Our mission was complete, and we were returning here to rest for a while. Maybe even set up a training exercise on Ragoon-6. Now we have to fight again.
"Nervous, you are," began the diminutive Yoda.
There was no use hiding it. "I am," she said quietly. "I have heard the rumors, both of Geonosis and the coming war."
Yoda nodded grimly. "Coming no longer, I would think, hmm? Arrived, it seems to have."
Kely chuckled at the Jedi's dark humor. "I suppose not," she agreed. "What role are the Jedi to play in this conflict?"
Yoda and Mace Windu glanced at each other. "The clones are brilliant in their jobs," Windu began. "But they have no leadership within themselves. They have commanders, yes, but each and every clone is conditioned to obey orders. We, as the sworn protectors of the Republic, are to be those leaders. We have thousands upon thousands of troops, and-"
"You're not going to make me a general, though, are you?" interrupted Kely, basing this assumption on the sense she was picking up to Yoda's right.
Seated there, Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean Jedi who had also been at Geonosis, smiled. "I told Master Yoda you were the right Jedi for this."
Yoda glared jokingly, but quickly grew serious again. "Agree, I did."
Déeli glanced at her Master. "For what?" she asked suddenly.
Mace Windu frowned. "I don't hold with spying as such. It's too deceptive for my tastes. But the two of you are being sent-as spies-to Cirrus, a small planet on the Rim. Its main export is droids. We don't know whether or not the Separatists are allied with the planet, or are trying to become allied. Even if they have not yet begun making overtures to the planet, we suspect they will soon. Your mission is to determine whether the planet is controlled by the Separatists or, if they are not, to do whatever you can to prevent a takeover."
Kely frowned. "How can you be so sure the Separatists want Cirrus? I mean, don't they have droid factories of their own?"
Adi Gallia smiled. "On Geonosis was a droid factory, one devoted to battle droids. This was the source of many troops from that battle. Dooku is no fool. Now that we have that factory, we can be assured that he will need to replace it."
Kely nodded in agreement. "What do you mean, we're being sent in as spies? Will we be able to take our lightsabers, or."
"Your lightsabers will have to be smuggled in," replied Windu. "And only if absolutely necessary. To reveal yourselves as Jedi would be." He paused, searching for the right word. "Unwise," he decided.
"The Separatists," added Ki-Adi-Mundi, "so far as we know, have no Jedi other than Dooku himself on their side. If Cirrus has already joined them, they will be on the lookout for other Jedi, not to kill.but to turn."
"The dark side, I sensed in Dooku," Yoda interjected gravely. "And forget not the Sith."
The Sith! Déeli had heard the rumors-the rumors about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and an unknown warrior, reportedly a Sith Lord, who had slain Kenobi's Master and nearly Kenobi himself. That was ten years ago, she remembered. Are the Sith behind the Separatists? Or was Dooku telling the truth when he said that the Republic is under Sith control?
"To Cirrus, then," she said aloud.
"Go, and return quickly," replied Windu. "May the Force be with you."
Part Two
"Welcome to Cirrus, Madam Barneto. I am GD-X9. Please hand over your belongings for inspection."
Wordlessly, Kely gave the black droid her travel pack as she stared around the city of Cir, the planetary capital. When Master Windu said its main export was droids, he wasn't kidding. All that the eye could see was a long line of droid factories, with a few apartment buildings interspersed among them.
One of those would be the one she and her Padawan were assigned. Under the guise of teacher and student-a rather common one among the Jedi, but one that was not often seen through-Kely and Déeli had been able to gain passage to the factory world. This reminds me of Eriadu. But where Eriadu- another planet renowned for its factories-had a layer of grime covering the streets, this world was clean. Probably they make enough cleaning droids to keep it that way. Glancing at her Padawan, Kely saw that she had reached the same conclusion through her bond with the Force and had adjusted her expectations accordingly. While many Jedi had specialties, the blind Déeli was the only one Kely had ever heard of who could get precisely the same view of an area without eyes as another Jedi could with them. She's almost ready.
"Madam Barneto?"
The droid's voice snapped her out of her reverie, returning her focus to the here and now.
"Yes?"
"Your documentation checks out. You have been assigned quarters at X2-Y4- Z35."
"X2-Y4-Z35? Is that a traditional three-dimensional grid system?"
"With an origin at the center of the capitol building," the customs droid confirmed.
"Thank you, GD-X9." The gratitude in Déeli's voice sounded sincere, but Kely could tell that her student was merely being polite. She seems distracted. As they left the customs building, Kely turned her consciousness toward the Force, letting Déeli lead her to the city.
I sense fear.Fear of the Separatists? Fear of the Jedi? And anger.
Still, she only sensed droids nearby. Probably the only humans on-planet live near the capitol, she mused.
"Teacher?" asked Déeli.
"What is it, my student?"
"There is more going on here than reaches the surface."
Kely allowed herself a tight smile. "Why do you think the Council sent Jedi here?" she responded.
Properly chastised, Déeli looked down, just in time to sense a mouse droid- an MSE-2, Kely thought-skitter past them on its way to some unknown destination. Amused, Déeli used the Force to toss a rock at it as it sped away. The rock hit, denting the small droid and causing it to speed up.
"Déeli!"
"Sorry, Master."
"It's not just that you used your learning inappropriately. Remember," and at this Kely swept her glance around to ensure that no one-no biological, no droid, not even an insect flying by-could hear them, "we are not Jedi while we are here. You are my student. I am your teacher. We are here to study the workings of droids. You will only use your learning passively, not actively."
"Yes, Teacher." Still, the sense of having enjoyed herself radiated off of Déeli, creating what felt like a miniature sun in the Force.
Maybe not as near ready as I believed, thought Kely to herself. Ah, well. No harm done.
In the capitol building of Cirrus, a hooded figure turned from his listening device and smile at his companion.
The companion did not smile back.
"You are to inform the planetary governor that his two guests are Jedi, here to discover what is going on beneath the obvious."
"Yes, sir," responded the subordinate in an appropriately deferential tone of voice. "As you say, it will be done."
Part Three
The nightmare had returned. Once again, she was caught in some sort of energy cage. Once again, her Padawan was dueling-a lightsaber duel, but one against someone hidden, someone her Padawan should have more sense than to duel. If she could just touch the Force, she could warn her Padawan of the trap her opponent was setting up.
Kely Barneto awoke, sweat dripping off her ears and nose. She glanced over at the room's other bed, saw that Déeli was still sleeping soundly. Touching the Force, she got a sudden sense of danger. In the same instant, Déeli started awake.
"What is it?" she mouthed after flicking on a light.
"I'm not sure," replied the teacher, also mouthing her words. Glancing at her chrono, she saw that it was nearly dawn. As her gaze swept the room for danger, she saw the bugs they had discovered the night before-bugs they had left running, knowing that they could say anything important in their private code-flashing in a synchronized pattern.
"Out of the room!" she yelled suddenly.
The flashing increased in tempo as Kely grabbed their travel packs and shoved Déeli out the door, diving out herself as the bugs-turned-bombs exploded, causing the room to blaze much faster than it should have. And they have to have firefighter droids here, thought Kely wildly as she ran from the inferno.
Ran. That disgusted her. But she ran.
Just like any non-Jedi teacher would.
Half a kilometer away, the pair finally stopped for breath. For breath, and to think over why they had just been nearly killed. Not that it's that hard, thought Déeli silently. Our cover's been blown.
"We just got on-planet yesterday. Our cover must have been blown then."
Déeli looked at her curiously. "Why do you say that?"
"Because," replied her Master, "if our cover hadn't been blown yesterday, then our room wouldn't have been blown today."
As they sat talking, an MSE-2 droid drove by. Driven by a sudden irrational urge to know, Déeli reached out and checked the top to see if it was the same one from yesterday.
"Master?" she asked quietly.
Kely was checking over her burns, though Déeli could tell with a Force- glance that she would be fine within a few hours. "Yes, student?"
The Padawan composed herself. "I sense two sets of people."
"Nearby?" Kely had not yet tried to get a read on the new situation, preferring to ensure her student's safety beforehand.
"On the planet. One is-" She pointed in the direction the mouse droid had been going. "-that way. And the other is-" She pointed in the opposite direction. "-that way."
"And?"
"That mouse droid yesterday had been traveling between those exact same points, just in the other direction."
Déeli knew by the sense of her Master's face that Kely saw where her student's line of though was going. Reaching out, she made a quick read on the feel of the two groups of people. "The group the droid was coming from today feels like hostages, and the group it was going to feels like." She couldn't quite express the feeling.
Her Master could, though. "Like people who have nothing to lose, and are taking orders from someone powerful," she concluded.
"Right. Separatists, or some group like them. So what does the mouse droid have to do with this?"
A frown spread across Kely's face. "First, we need to find a way to make whoever planted those bombs thinks we're dead."
Puzzlement spread across the younger Jedi's face. "Master? How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure, Padawan," replied Kely grimly. "But I suggest we find out quickly." She nodded in the direction they had come from.
The Force told Déeli that there were droids coming their direction. A closer look revealed the laser cannons mounted underneath, the concussion missile launchers on top, and the sheer size of the thing. It's scarcely larger than a normal battle droid. Assuming, for the moment, that the droids on Geonosis had been "normal", of course.
Glancing at her Master, she got a nod. "Do it," Kely said. "As we run."
Part Four
The mission began perfectly.
A Jedi employee, a Twi'lek pilot by the name of Drach'num, flew his ship into the Cirrus system as quickly as possible without blacking out. As he pulled closer to the specified coordinates, he noticed droid starfighters exiting the atmosphere. Gonna be tight, he thought. Arming a pair of concussion missile launchers, he let loose, not at the fighters, but at the planet.
Then he began defending himself.
"Master!" The pair had been running for ten minutes, followed closely by the squad of battle droids, when Déeli sensed a change. "They're coming!"
In that moment, the "missiles" fired by Drach'num landed, scarcely ten meters from where they stood. Thank the Force, Déeli thought as her weapon landed with a soft thud in her hand. Now it's a fight.
Still, the Jedi weapons could do little against the miniature concussion missiles being fired, and so the two of them continued to give way-were forced to give way-deflecting blaster bolts, dodging missiles. Moments later, Déeli's Force abilities-the only thing close to vision that she had- flickered, without warning, and then gave out completely. "Master!" she screamed, suddenly helpless. To emphasize the point, she shut down her weapon.
Kely got the message quickly. With a few whispers of encouragement, she lifted her Padawan onto her shoulder, using her weapon wrong-handed to defend them.
Still, she could tell it was a losing fight. "Stop!" she yelled. "We surrender."
They were led, stuncuffed, toward the capitol building. The droid commander had refused to answer any questions, choosing instead to have two subordinates hold a blaster to the head of the younger, apparently reasoning that the Master would not try anything with her student in such direct danger.
Or perhaps being ordered to do so, with the being giving it orders doing the reasoning. It was sometimes hard to tell with battle droids.
"Well," whispered Déeli, a touch of sarcasm in her tone. "Our mission's shot."
Kely began to touch her finger to her lips, only belatedly remembering that her Padawan had somehow lost the ability to touch the Force. The only time I've ever heard of that happening was back during the Sith War, remembered Kely before replying in a low tone, "Silence. The less we speak, the less they learn from us."
The younger woman nodded her head, then closed her useless eyes and tried again to touch the Force. Once again, she failed, and her suffering showed.
Still, even those few words were enough to attract the attention of the droid commander. "Silence."
Ten, or twenty, or thirty minutes later-and possibly longer; without the Force Déeli had no sense of time-they stopped moving. She heard one of the droids move away and overheard it. "The Jedi, sir."
A deep voice Déeli did not immediately recognize answered. "Thank you, OOM- 13. You have done well."
Kely's voice intervened. "Dooku."
Déeli understood. The former Jedi had arrived on Cirrus. He must have been the one to set up the bombs, the droid ambush.Moments later, she arrived at a startling conclusion. Possibly even my lack.
She did not even realize she had begun moving forward until Dooku startled her by saying, "That's close enough."
"What have you done to me?" she answered, angrily treating her earlier hypothesis as admitted fact.
She could hear a smirk in his tone. "Oh, the blocking?" When she nodded her head, he continued. "It's only temporary."
"Really?" She infused her voice with all the sarcasm she could muster. "And just how may I serve you, that you may bestow upon me once again the gift of the Force touch?"
"Join me."
Kely could not read her student through the Force, but long experience told her that the offer came as a shock. This could be trouble, she decided, reading a glint of hope in the younger woman's face.
"What do you mean?" asked Déeli suspiciously.
Rather than answer, Dooku stood up and began to circle the apprentice. "How did you lose your sight?" he said, after a few minutes of this.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
The former Jedi chuckled. "Not really." His face became deadly serious, though he had to know Déeli couldn't see it. "You had not yet been chosen as a Padawan, though your current Master-" He glanced at Kely. "-was in the crowd. You were in a practice duel against Heik Meio, a slightly disappointing apprentice who was later reassigned to the Agricultural Corps. The lightsabers were set to a low level, to prevent actual injury.
"But something went wrong." Again, he glanced at Kely. She nodded, confirming that this was accurate so far. "When Meio slashed you across the face, his saber did cause damage."
"Very good." There was a touch of bitterness in Déeli's tone as she spoke. "You have your sources, don't you?"
"I was in the crowd as well, young apprentice." He smiled, and Kely shivered at the coldness in his tone. "This all happened thirteen years ago."
"Yes.but what does any of this have to do with my willingness to join you? And," she added before he could add anything, "don't give me that 'Sith in control of the Senate' line. Obi-Wan Kenobi has already reported all that happened to him on Geonosis."
Dooku smiled again. "All?"
Kely could see that her apprentice was wavering. Still, this offer had not been unexpected-having failed with one Jedi, it was not improbable to suggest that he might try again with another, less experienced Jedi-one who had not slain a Sith, for example.
"Why would Kenobi lie?" wondered Déeli aloud.
Again, Dooku smirked, and Kely wondered what was going through that mind- that twisted, dark-side addled mind. "Why, indeed?" he finally said.
Part Five
Having been dismissed by Dooku, Kely and Déeli were being held in the planetary governor's palace by a containment field, similar-or so Master Barneto had said-to the one described by Obi-Wan Kenobi. It always comes back to Kenobi, thought Déeli bitterly. If he had never gone to Kamino, this would never have happened-our capture, our mission here, Geonosis, this whole war is about Kenobi.
Unable to touch the Force, unable even to see, it took all of Déeli's energy to stay awake, and that energy was focused on a single question: Why?
"Dooku is good at this sort of thing," commented Kely. "One of his specialties-aside from lightsaber combat-is interrogation. Often he would complete assignments simply by questioning a random person who 'felt' right."
Why are you telling me this? Don't you know I need more than information about our foe? That I can't see? That the Force isn't here for me?
"Déeli," and the young Jedi finally noted concern in her Master's voice, "you have to remain strong. Remember what Yoda told us before we left: The dark side, I sensed in Dooku. Do not fear. We will escape."
Déeli began formulating a reply, but heard the sound of a door opening before she could respond. "Door," whispered Master Barneto. No kidding? Wow, I never would've guessed.
"Déeli?" questioned a strange male voice. "Is that you?"
No, not completely strange. Déeli rippled through her memories, imagining the voice younger, prepubescent, even. "Heik Meio?" she finally guessed.
"It's me," replied Heik. "I'm supposed to give you a message."
"First things first," warned Master Barneto's voice. "What are you doing here, with the Separatists?"
Déeli's old friend's voice flowed normally. I can't even use the Force to tell if he's lying or not, thought the Jedi.
"Dooku found me working with the Agricultural Corps in the Outer Rim. I don't even remember which planet it was. He knew who I was. He knew our.past history. He taught me much that I had been willfully ignorant of- that I could not touch the Force, the Unifying Force, nearly as easily as I had once been able to, that the Senate is a bureaucratic mess, that-" and here he hesitated a moment-"that the galaxy is changing. I don't know what all the changes will be, and I don't care. I do, however, care for the people the changes will affect. That includes both of you."
"How?" The question came out more harshly than Déeli intended, but she merely winced inside and let it lay.
"The Jedi." Again, Déeli wished she could sense the truth in his words. "The Separatists want them. They know that the more Jedi they can kill, the more quickly this war will be over-and that the more Jedi they can turn, the faster their goal will be accomplished."
"Is this your message for us?" Kely's voice, too, was harsh. "Or do you simply want to gloat over the student you blinded?"
"I-" Heik's voice cracked. "I never meant for that to happen. Every day, I've wished it hadn't. Every day, I've wondered what would happen if we ever met again-and now, for it to be like this-" Déeli could make out, faintly, the sound of sobs, so faint that she wondered if her Master heard them, or only sensed them.
Again, anger flared up in Déeli's heart, and again she forced it down. I may yet touch the Force, she reflected. It wouldn't be helpful to turn dark in the meantime.
Finally, Heik spoke again. "Listen," he said, possibly with Force-emphasis on the words-Déeli couldn't tell. "The only way to save yourselves-and me, as well-is to join him. Once you do that, Dooku will command, and you will obey."
Déeli willed herself to remain silent. This was her Master's choice, first and foremost.
Deep down, of course, she knew her real reason for remaining silent. I don't know which I would choose.
Softly, her Master's voice came to her-so softly, she thought at first that it was a Force-touch, one that Dooku had not managed to block. "Each Jedi must make a choice in this war," Master Barneto whispered. "Each Knight, each Master, each Padawan, each student. For me to rob you of this choice would be for mine to be made for me."
What is she talking about? What choice?
"Yet perhaps your time has not come yet," continued the Knight. Within moments, Déeli could hear a measured pattern of breathing, a familiar one. Her Master was entering a Force-trance.
With a yelp, however, the entrance failed. "The containment field," explained Heik, "will prevent you from touching the Force. Dooku wishes you to make this choice on your own, unaided, out of touch with the rest of the universe."
It doesn't get much more out of touch than this, reflected the Padawan.
"I-" Master Barneto's voice was still low. "Either choice will bring evil. The death of two Jedi will hurt the Order. The loss of the data those two possess will hurt the Republic. Yet if we turn, who can say what evil will be brought about by our actions?" There was a pause, as if she was shaking her head or deep in thought. "Better the evil you know than the evil you don't. But what of you?" Another pause. "I cannot make this decision, Déeli," and for the first time, the Padawan knew that Master Barneto was actually talking to her, not simply to herself.
The loss of our data will bring great harm to the Republic. Our turning will bring at least equal harm. In truth, Déeli was skeptical about the harm done by their deaths. They'll find out what happened here soon enough anyway. And they have other battles to fight, not just a battle for Cirrus. And then a new thought came to her-one that, in a moment, made her decision for her.
"Send my Master to the Republic," she said, confident that this was the best way. "I will join your revolution."
"I don't believe it."
Such was the reaction of many Jedi when they returned from their various missions and were told of the events that had recently occurred on Geonosis. The Jedi who had gone to the rocky planet had attempted to capture Dooku, a former Jedi himself, and had instead been nearly wiped out by an army of droids. Only the timely arrival of the great Yoda and his army of clones had prevented the bright flames of Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Barriss Offee, and many others from being extinguished forever.
Now, or so the rumors said, the Jedi would be forced to spearhead the Republic's army, the clone heroes from Geonosis. The Jedi, who for thousands of years had been peacekeepers, were now fighting a war.
"This shouldn't be happening," whispered Déeli Asth. "This can't be happening."
"Focus on what is, not on what should be," replied her Master, Kely Barneto. "If everything was as it should be, there would be no need for the Jedi-even without a war."
Admonished, Déeli lowered her head. "I apologize, Master Barneto."
Kely smiled. "Don't worry about it, Déeli. I'll admit, that was among my first reactions, too."
"You?"
"Certainly! One would have to be blind not to-" She stopped, suddenly remembering her Padawan's one perceived weakness.
Déeli chuckled. "You're always so sensitive about my eyes, Master."
"I know, I know. I can't help it-it's part of who I am."
"Master Barneto and Padawan Asth?"
Kely and Déeli looked up at the same moment. The speaker was Mace Windu, a dark-skinned Jedi who had led the strike force on Geonosis until Yoda's arrival. "Yes, Master Windu?"
"The Council will see you now."
Kely rose slowly and walked into the Council chambers, followed closely by her student. Things had been going so well, she reflected. Our mission was complete, and we were returning here to rest for a while. Maybe even set up a training exercise on Ragoon-6. Now we have to fight again.
"Nervous, you are," began the diminutive Yoda.
There was no use hiding it. "I am," she said quietly. "I have heard the rumors, both of Geonosis and the coming war."
Yoda nodded grimly. "Coming no longer, I would think, hmm? Arrived, it seems to have."
Kely chuckled at the Jedi's dark humor. "I suppose not," she agreed. "What role are the Jedi to play in this conflict?"
Yoda and Mace Windu glanced at each other. "The clones are brilliant in their jobs," Windu began. "But they have no leadership within themselves. They have commanders, yes, but each and every clone is conditioned to obey orders. We, as the sworn protectors of the Republic, are to be those leaders. We have thousands upon thousands of troops, and-"
"You're not going to make me a general, though, are you?" interrupted Kely, basing this assumption on the sense she was picking up to Yoda's right.
Seated there, Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean Jedi who had also been at Geonosis, smiled. "I told Master Yoda you were the right Jedi for this."
Yoda glared jokingly, but quickly grew serious again. "Agree, I did."
Déeli glanced at her Master. "For what?" she asked suddenly.
Mace Windu frowned. "I don't hold with spying as such. It's too deceptive for my tastes. But the two of you are being sent-as spies-to Cirrus, a small planet on the Rim. Its main export is droids. We don't know whether or not the Separatists are allied with the planet, or are trying to become allied. Even if they have not yet begun making overtures to the planet, we suspect they will soon. Your mission is to determine whether the planet is controlled by the Separatists or, if they are not, to do whatever you can to prevent a takeover."
Kely frowned. "How can you be so sure the Separatists want Cirrus? I mean, don't they have droid factories of their own?"
Adi Gallia smiled. "On Geonosis was a droid factory, one devoted to battle droids. This was the source of many troops from that battle. Dooku is no fool. Now that we have that factory, we can be assured that he will need to replace it."
Kely nodded in agreement. "What do you mean, we're being sent in as spies? Will we be able to take our lightsabers, or."
"Your lightsabers will have to be smuggled in," replied Windu. "And only if absolutely necessary. To reveal yourselves as Jedi would be." He paused, searching for the right word. "Unwise," he decided.
"The Separatists," added Ki-Adi-Mundi, "so far as we know, have no Jedi other than Dooku himself on their side. If Cirrus has already joined them, they will be on the lookout for other Jedi, not to kill.but to turn."
"The dark side, I sensed in Dooku," Yoda interjected gravely. "And forget not the Sith."
The Sith! Déeli had heard the rumors-the rumors about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and an unknown warrior, reportedly a Sith Lord, who had slain Kenobi's Master and nearly Kenobi himself. That was ten years ago, she remembered. Are the Sith behind the Separatists? Or was Dooku telling the truth when he said that the Republic is under Sith control?
"To Cirrus, then," she said aloud.
"Go, and return quickly," replied Windu. "May the Force be with you."
Part Two
"Welcome to Cirrus, Madam Barneto. I am GD-X9. Please hand over your belongings for inspection."
Wordlessly, Kely gave the black droid her travel pack as she stared around the city of Cir, the planetary capital. When Master Windu said its main export was droids, he wasn't kidding. All that the eye could see was a long line of droid factories, with a few apartment buildings interspersed among them.
One of those would be the one she and her Padawan were assigned. Under the guise of teacher and student-a rather common one among the Jedi, but one that was not often seen through-Kely and Déeli had been able to gain passage to the factory world. This reminds me of Eriadu. But where Eriadu- another planet renowned for its factories-had a layer of grime covering the streets, this world was clean. Probably they make enough cleaning droids to keep it that way. Glancing at her Padawan, Kely saw that she had reached the same conclusion through her bond with the Force and had adjusted her expectations accordingly. While many Jedi had specialties, the blind Déeli was the only one Kely had ever heard of who could get precisely the same view of an area without eyes as another Jedi could with them. She's almost ready.
"Madam Barneto?"
The droid's voice snapped her out of her reverie, returning her focus to the here and now.
"Yes?"
"Your documentation checks out. You have been assigned quarters at X2-Y4- Z35."
"X2-Y4-Z35? Is that a traditional three-dimensional grid system?"
"With an origin at the center of the capitol building," the customs droid confirmed.
"Thank you, GD-X9." The gratitude in Déeli's voice sounded sincere, but Kely could tell that her student was merely being polite. She seems distracted. As they left the customs building, Kely turned her consciousness toward the Force, letting Déeli lead her to the city.
I sense fear.Fear of the Separatists? Fear of the Jedi? And anger.
Still, she only sensed droids nearby. Probably the only humans on-planet live near the capitol, she mused.
"Teacher?" asked Déeli.
"What is it, my student?"
"There is more going on here than reaches the surface."
Kely allowed herself a tight smile. "Why do you think the Council sent Jedi here?" she responded.
Properly chastised, Déeli looked down, just in time to sense a mouse droid- an MSE-2, Kely thought-skitter past them on its way to some unknown destination. Amused, Déeli used the Force to toss a rock at it as it sped away. The rock hit, denting the small droid and causing it to speed up.
"Déeli!"
"Sorry, Master."
"It's not just that you used your learning inappropriately. Remember," and at this Kely swept her glance around to ensure that no one-no biological, no droid, not even an insect flying by-could hear them, "we are not Jedi while we are here. You are my student. I am your teacher. We are here to study the workings of droids. You will only use your learning passively, not actively."
"Yes, Teacher." Still, the sense of having enjoyed herself radiated off of Déeli, creating what felt like a miniature sun in the Force.
Maybe not as near ready as I believed, thought Kely to herself. Ah, well. No harm done.
In the capitol building of Cirrus, a hooded figure turned from his listening device and smile at his companion.
The companion did not smile back.
"You are to inform the planetary governor that his two guests are Jedi, here to discover what is going on beneath the obvious."
"Yes, sir," responded the subordinate in an appropriately deferential tone of voice. "As you say, it will be done."
Part Three
The nightmare had returned. Once again, she was caught in some sort of energy cage. Once again, her Padawan was dueling-a lightsaber duel, but one against someone hidden, someone her Padawan should have more sense than to duel. If she could just touch the Force, she could warn her Padawan of the trap her opponent was setting up.
Kely Barneto awoke, sweat dripping off her ears and nose. She glanced over at the room's other bed, saw that Déeli was still sleeping soundly. Touching the Force, she got a sudden sense of danger. In the same instant, Déeli started awake.
"What is it?" she mouthed after flicking on a light.
"I'm not sure," replied the teacher, also mouthing her words. Glancing at her chrono, she saw that it was nearly dawn. As her gaze swept the room for danger, she saw the bugs they had discovered the night before-bugs they had left running, knowing that they could say anything important in their private code-flashing in a synchronized pattern.
"Out of the room!" she yelled suddenly.
The flashing increased in tempo as Kely grabbed their travel packs and shoved Déeli out the door, diving out herself as the bugs-turned-bombs exploded, causing the room to blaze much faster than it should have. And they have to have firefighter droids here, thought Kely wildly as she ran from the inferno.
Ran. That disgusted her. But she ran.
Just like any non-Jedi teacher would.
Half a kilometer away, the pair finally stopped for breath. For breath, and to think over why they had just been nearly killed. Not that it's that hard, thought Déeli silently. Our cover's been blown.
"We just got on-planet yesterday. Our cover must have been blown then."
Déeli looked at her curiously. "Why do you say that?"
"Because," replied her Master, "if our cover hadn't been blown yesterday, then our room wouldn't have been blown today."
As they sat talking, an MSE-2 droid drove by. Driven by a sudden irrational urge to know, Déeli reached out and checked the top to see if it was the same one from yesterday.
"Master?" she asked quietly.
Kely was checking over her burns, though Déeli could tell with a Force- glance that she would be fine within a few hours. "Yes, student?"
The Padawan composed herself. "I sense two sets of people."
"Nearby?" Kely had not yet tried to get a read on the new situation, preferring to ensure her student's safety beforehand.
"On the planet. One is-" She pointed in the direction the mouse droid had been going. "-that way. And the other is-" She pointed in the opposite direction. "-that way."
"And?"
"That mouse droid yesterday had been traveling between those exact same points, just in the other direction."
Déeli knew by the sense of her Master's face that Kely saw where her student's line of though was going. Reaching out, she made a quick read on the feel of the two groups of people. "The group the droid was coming from today feels like hostages, and the group it was going to feels like." She couldn't quite express the feeling.
Her Master could, though. "Like people who have nothing to lose, and are taking orders from someone powerful," she concluded.
"Right. Separatists, or some group like them. So what does the mouse droid have to do with this?"
A frown spread across Kely's face. "First, we need to find a way to make whoever planted those bombs thinks we're dead."
Puzzlement spread across the younger Jedi's face. "Master? How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure, Padawan," replied Kely grimly. "But I suggest we find out quickly." She nodded in the direction they had come from.
The Force told Déeli that there were droids coming their direction. A closer look revealed the laser cannons mounted underneath, the concussion missile launchers on top, and the sheer size of the thing. It's scarcely larger than a normal battle droid. Assuming, for the moment, that the droids on Geonosis had been "normal", of course.
Glancing at her Master, she got a nod. "Do it," Kely said. "As we run."
Part Four
The mission began perfectly.
A Jedi employee, a Twi'lek pilot by the name of Drach'num, flew his ship into the Cirrus system as quickly as possible without blacking out. As he pulled closer to the specified coordinates, he noticed droid starfighters exiting the atmosphere. Gonna be tight, he thought. Arming a pair of concussion missile launchers, he let loose, not at the fighters, but at the planet.
Then he began defending himself.
"Master!" The pair had been running for ten minutes, followed closely by the squad of battle droids, when Déeli sensed a change. "They're coming!"
In that moment, the "missiles" fired by Drach'num landed, scarcely ten meters from where they stood. Thank the Force, Déeli thought as her weapon landed with a soft thud in her hand. Now it's a fight.
Still, the Jedi weapons could do little against the miniature concussion missiles being fired, and so the two of them continued to give way-were forced to give way-deflecting blaster bolts, dodging missiles. Moments later, Déeli's Force abilities-the only thing close to vision that she had- flickered, without warning, and then gave out completely. "Master!" she screamed, suddenly helpless. To emphasize the point, she shut down her weapon.
Kely got the message quickly. With a few whispers of encouragement, she lifted her Padawan onto her shoulder, using her weapon wrong-handed to defend them.
Still, she could tell it was a losing fight. "Stop!" she yelled. "We surrender."
They were led, stuncuffed, toward the capitol building. The droid commander had refused to answer any questions, choosing instead to have two subordinates hold a blaster to the head of the younger, apparently reasoning that the Master would not try anything with her student in such direct danger.
Or perhaps being ordered to do so, with the being giving it orders doing the reasoning. It was sometimes hard to tell with battle droids.
"Well," whispered Déeli, a touch of sarcasm in her tone. "Our mission's shot."
Kely began to touch her finger to her lips, only belatedly remembering that her Padawan had somehow lost the ability to touch the Force. The only time I've ever heard of that happening was back during the Sith War, remembered Kely before replying in a low tone, "Silence. The less we speak, the less they learn from us."
The younger woman nodded her head, then closed her useless eyes and tried again to touch the Force. Once again, she failed, and her suffering showed.
Still, even those few words were enough to attract the attention of the droid commander. "Silence."
Ten, or twenty, or thirty minutes later-and possibly longer; without the Force Déeli had no sense of time-they stopped moving. She heard one of the droids move away and overheard it. "The Jedi, sir."
A deep voice Déeli did not immediately recognize answered. "Thank you, OOM- 13. You have done well."
Kely's voice intervened. "Dooku."
Déeli understood. The former Jedi had arrived on Cirrus. He must have been the one to set up the bombs, the droid ambush.Moments later, she arrived at a startling conclusion. Possibly even my lack.
She did not even realize she had begun moving forward until Dooku startled her by saying, "That's close enough."
"What have you done to me?" she answered, angrily treating her earlier hypothesis as admitted fact.
She could hear a smirk in his tone. "Oh, the blocking?" When she nodded her head, he continued. "It's only temporary."
"Really?" She infused her voice with all the sarcasm she could muster. "And just how may I serve you, that you may bestow upon me once again the gift of the Force touch?"
"Join me."
Kely could not read her student through the Force, but long experience told her that the offer came as a shock. This could be trouble, she decided, reading a glint of hope in the younger woman's face.
"What do you mean?" asked Déeli suspiciously.
Rather than answer, Dooku stood up and began to circle the apprentice. "How did you lose your sight?" he said, after a few minutes of this.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
The former Jedi chuckled. "Not really." His face became deadly serious, though he had to know Déeli couldn't see it. "You had not yet been chosen as a Padawan, though your current Master-" He glanced at Kely. "-was in the crowd. You were in a practice duel against Heik Meio, a slightly disappointing apprentice who was later reassigned to the Agricultural Corps. The lightsabers were set to a low level, to prevent actual injury.
"But something went wrong." Again, he glanced at Kely. She nodded, confirming that this was accurate so far. "When Meio slashed you across the face, his saber did cause damage."
"Very good." There was a touch of bitterness in Déeli's tone as she spoke. "You have your sources, don't you?"
"I was in the crowd as well, young apprentice." He smiled, and Kely shivered at the coldness in his tone. "This all happened thirteen years ago."
"Yes.but what does any of this have to do with my willingness to join you? And," she added before he could add anything, "don't give me that 'Sith in control of the Senate' line. Obi-Wan Kenobi has already reported all that happened to him on Geonosis."
Dooku smiled again. "All?"
Kely could see that her apprentice was wavering. Still, this offer had not been unexpected-having failed with one Jedi, it was not improbable to suggest that he might try again with another, less experienced Jedi-one who had not slain a Sith, for example.
"Why would Kenobi lie?" wondered Déeli aloud.
Again, Dooku smirked, and Kely wondered what was going through that mind- that twisted, dark-side addled mind. "Why, indeed?" he finally said.
Part Five
Having been dismissed by Dooku, Kely and Déeli were being held in the planetary governor's palace by a containment field, similar-or so Master Barneto had said-to the one described by Obi-Wan Kenobi. It always comes back to Kenobi, thought Déeli bitterly. If he had never gone to Kamino, this would never have happened-our capture, our mission here, Geonosis, this whole war is about Kenobi.
Unable to touch the Force, unable even to see, it took all of Déeli's energy to stay awake, and that energy was focused on a single question: Why?
"Dooku is good at this sort of thing," commented Kely. "One of his specialties-aside from lightsaber combat-is interrogation. Often he would complete assignments simply by questioning a random person who 'felt' right."
Why are you telling me this? Don't you know I need more than information about our foe? That I can't see? That the Force isn't here for me?
"Déeli," and the young Jedi finally noted concern in her Master's voice, "you have to remain strong. Remember what Yoda told us before we left: The dark side, I sensed in Dooku. Do not fear. We will escape."
Déeli began formulating a reply, but heard the sound of a door opening before she could respond. "Door," whispered Master Barneto. No kidding? Wow, I never would've guessed.
"Déeli?" questioned a strange male voice. "Is that you?"
No, not completely strange. Déeli rippled through her memories, imagining the voice younger, prepubescent, even. "Heik Meio?" she finally guessed.
"It's me," replied Heik. "I'm supposed to give you a message."
"First things first," warned Master Barneto's voice. "What are you doing here, with the Separatists?"
Déeli's old friend's voice flowed normally. I can't even use the Force to tell if he's lying or not, thought the Jedi.
"Dooku found me working with the Agricultural Corps in the Outer Rim. I don't even remember which planet it was. He knew who I was. He knew our.past history. He taught me much that I had been willfully ignorant of- that I could not touch the Force, the Unifying Force, nearly as easily as I had once been able to, that the Senate is a bureaucratic mess, that-" and here he hesitated a moment-"that the galaxy is changing. I don't know what all the changes will be, and I don't care. I do, however, care for the people the changes will affect. That includes both of you."
"How?" The question came out more harshly than Déeli intended, but she merely winced inside and let it lay.
"The Jedi." Again, Déeli wished she could sense the truth in his words. "The Separatists want them. They know that the more Jedi they can kill, the more quickly this war will be over-and that the more Jedi they can turn, the faster their goal will be accomplished."
"Is this your message for us?" Kely's voice, too, was harsh. "Or do you simply want to gloat over the student you blinded?"
"I-" Heik's voice cracked. "I never meant for that to happen. Every day, I've wished it hadn't. Every day, I've wondered what would happen if we ever met again-and now, for it to be like this-" Déeli could make out, faintly, the sound of sobs, so faint that she wondered if her Master heard them, or only sensed them.
Again, anger flared up in Déeli's heart, and again she forced it down. I may yet touch the Force, she reflected. It wouldn't be helpful to turn dark in the meantime.
Finally, Heik spoke again. "Listen," he said, possibly with Force-emphasis on the words-Déeli couldn't tell. "The only way to save yourselves-and me, as well-is to join him. Once you do that, Dooku will command, and you will obey."
Déeli willed herself to remain silent. This was her Master's choice, first and foremost.
Deep down, of course, she knew her real reason for remaining silent. I don't know which I would choose.
Softly, her Master's voice came to her-so softly, she thought at first that it was a Force-touch, one that Dooku had not managed to block. "Each Jedi must make a choice in this war," Master Barneto whispered. "Each Knight, each Master, each Padawan, each student. For me to rob you of this choice would be for mine to be made for me."
What is she talking about? What choice?
"Yet perhaps your time has not come yet," continued the Knight. Within moments, Déeli could hear a measured pattern of breathing, a familiar one. Her Master was entering a Force-trance.
With a yelp, however, the entrance failed. "The containment field," explained Heik, "will prevent you from touching the Force. Dooku wishes you to make this choice on your own, unaided, out of touch with the rest of the universe."
It doesn't get much more out of touch than this, reflected the Padawan.
"I-" Master Barneto's voice was still low. "Either choice will bring evil. The death of two Jedi will hurt the Order. The loss of the data those two possess will hurt the Republic. Yet if we turn, who can say what evil will be brought about by our actions?" There was a pause, as if she was shaking her head or deep in thought. "Better the evil you know than the evil you don't. But what of you?" Another pause. "I cannot make this decision, Déeli," and for the first time, the Padawan knew that Master Barneto was actually talking to her, not simply to herself.
The loss of our data will bring great harm to the Republic. Our turning will bring at least equal harm. In truth, Déeli was skeptical about the harm done by their deaths. They'll find out what happened here soon enough anyway. And they have other battles to fight, not just a battle for Cirrus. And then a new thought came to her-one that, in a moment, made her decision for her.
"Send my Master to the Republic," she said, confident that this was the best way. "I will join your revolution."