Near The outer rim, at the edge of the republic, a large system named
Retsam-Wae was under investigation by the Jedi Counsel. Obi-Wan Kenobi and
his padawan of five years, Anakin Skywalker, were led to the planet while
searching for the leader of a weapon smuggling ring.
"Do you sense anything Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked walking about cautiously past a loud club, pausing once feeling a ripple of disturbance.
"Nothing master, just the same as when you asked me an hour ago." Anakin was a fourteen-year-old strong dirty blond boy. His skills were unusually strong.
"Patience my young padawan learner." Obi-Wan instructed. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a young Jedi knight with brown hair and greenish blue eyes.
"We have not sensed anything all evening, can we not call it an evening? We have not gotten a good nights sleep since we started this mission."
"Because we have not had any decent leads. When we find something we won't have to look so hard." Obi-Wan scolded Anakin. "Besides, something will happen soon. I can feel it."
"Just like you did yesterday and the day before that?" Anakin mumbled. He looked down and began to concentrate on a small silver stone, which he kicked along the alleyway. Suddenly he stopped short. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Obi-Wan halted as well. Voices could be heard in the distance. They were quiet, but could not escape the keen hearing of the Jedi.
"My shipment will be on time then?" A female voice asked the man in blue armor. Lin-San Tseng and her Jedi padawan Danel Walker were on a current mission on the planet as well. Danel was waiting on the rooftop of the run down building to make sure the deal fell through and that she was there in case her teacher needed assistance. Then she was the two-cloaked men approach. Through the thick yellow haze of the city she could not quite identify them.
"Yes, as I told you at our last meeting, our shipments are always on time." He answered in a muffled, metallic voice. "When can Xanatos be expecting your payment?" Obi-Wan jumped at the sound of the name. Xanatos was his master's own first padawan who had turned before being named a Jedi Knight.
"Excuse me." Obi-Wan approached them. The bounty hunter retreated quickly as he saw Anakin's lightsaber drawn. He fired a blaster, which the two male Jedi quickly deflected.
"Run!" Danel warned from above. Lin-San ran down the alleyway. Anakin flipped over her and blocked her, lightsaber drawn.
"We would like to have a word with you, if you don't mind coming with us." Obi-Wan waved his hand summoning the force to try and manipulate her mind.
"You two have no idea what you are interfering with!" She warned drawing her own lightsaber. Anakin attacked immediately, assuming that she was on the side of the sith. She blocked him with great ease, obviously much more advanced than the young Jedi. Obi-Wan found himself forced to help his padawan. Together they cornered her. She withdrew another lightsaber from her belt, much to everyone's surprise. She fought them off easily.
Danel ran quickly down the stairs of the old building. When she came bursting through the side window she went tumbling into Anakin. His lightsaber clattered to the ground. She scattered quickly, trying to grab it, but Anakin pulled it towards him first, summoning the force to his aid. They circled each other for long moments. Neither would attack for several moments. They were both trained as Jedi and therefore new that a Jedi hardly ever takes the offensive stance. Anakin became impatient and lunged at her. She quickly rolled to the right blocking the blow and retaliating with a stab of her own. Anakin jumped over the low blow, feeling the heat of the saber rush by him. Their lightsabers crashed together in a fray of sparks. They struggled against each other, both trying to bend the force for their own benefit. Meanwhile, Lin-San had leaped over Obi-Wan's head and made a dash through the streets. Obi-Wan chased after her yelling at Anakin to follow as soon as he could. Anakin barely heard his master's orders, being too involved with the struggle against Danel. They finally pulled away from each other, feeling the sting of the struggle on their arms.
"Who are you?" Danel demanded, exhausted from the struggle.
"A member of the Jedi order!" Anakin called back. He sensed something dark in the force, but did not feel that it was coming from the young girl he was fighting.
"Then we should not be fighting." Danel put her lightsaber back on her belt. "I am Danel Walker, I too am a Jedi."
Obi-Wan chased after Lin-San. He had switched his lightsaber off, knowing that he would be beaten easily. He instead drew the force to him, and then pushed the wave at Lin-San who merely stumbled. She tossed her own wave at him. He jumped away, sensing the movement. He leaped over her and blocked her with his lightsaber in front of her face. She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides.
"I am a Jedi Knight, I believe that you have quite a bit of information that I could use." He finally managed to say.
"You have got to be kidding me." She cried out. "What are you doing here Master Jedi?"
"I am here under orders of the Jedi Counsel in Coruscant."
"You must be mistaken." Lin-San laughed at him. "They would never put another Jedi on my mission!"
"What?"
"I am Lin-San Tseng, a member of the Jedi Counsel." She emphasized as Danel and Anakin approached slowly.
"Why are you making deals with Xanatos?"
"I am in the middle of an investigation, Xanatos is my only lead!" She screamed at him. "Now the mission is botched, thanks to you two!"
Obi-Wan switched off his lightsaber. "Then why aren't you on Coruscant with the other Jedi?"
"Because she is training me." Danel objected quickly coming to her master's defense. "We have been her for months trying to work out this deal."
"I think that it is time to contact Master Yoda. I am not sure whether to believe your story or not." Frankly Obi-Wan wished that she were lying.
"Weren't you listening to me?" She sighed in aggravation. "I am a member of the counsel."
"There is no reason for you to get angry." Obi-Wan frowned at her. "I just want to verify that what your saying is true.
"Go ahead." Danel crossed her arms. "You can talk to master Windu. He can verify our story."
"Danel, go get our land speeder, there is a transmitter programmed into it." Danel turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Anakin objected. "What if these two are planning something?"
"I am afraid that my padawan is right. We should all go." Obi-Wan agreed without hesitation.
"Are you afraid we will escape?" Lin-San mocked him. "Go with her if you like, but I am staying here. It is not necessary for all to go when it is easier for one." Both Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged skeptical glances after this remark. "Danel give master-" She paused then looked at him as if to ask him to fill in the blank.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi." He finished.
"Kenobi? Then you must be Qui-Gon's old apprentice." Danel smiled. "Yoda talks about you all the time."
"Quiet Danel. Give master Kenobi your lightsaber." Danel tossed her small saber to Obi-Wan. He looked at Lin-San quizzically. "Now your boy can escort her to the speeder, without you worrying." Lin-San handed both her lightsabers to him as well. "Though it is unnecessary, you can guarantee that we won't leave without them." Obi-Wan nodded to Anakin.
"We shall return quickly master." Danel turned away.
"Be careful Ani." Obi-Wan warned.
"I will not let her out of my site for a moment." Anakin assured. They walked quickly away from Obi-Wan and Lin-San.
"Why are you and your master here?" Danel asked.
"Obi-Wan and I are searching for the leader of a weapons smuggling ring." Anakin put his hands behind his back.
"I can tell you exactly who that is!" Danel scoffed almost insultingly
"Really? I don't suppose that you would tell me without your master's permission…" Anakin hinted.
"How would my master find out?" Danel quickened her pace.
"You mean I can't tell Obi-Wan?" Anakin moved quicker to match her stride. He felt again that slight dark disturbance in the force.
"Well, I guess you can't, but hopefully Lin-San will tell your master herself." Danel hopped into a gray land speeder.
"How far is your speeder from here?" Obi-Wan grew impatient, one of his downfalls.
"Not far." She leaned her head against a nearby opaque colored wall.
"You know Xanatos?" He asked, almost too calmly. He could never forget the pain he had caused.
"Only by name." She turned to him? "You know him Master Kenobi?"
"Sort of." Obi-Wan did not continue, Lin-San watched him curiously as he struggled with an inner conflict. He opened his mouth several times to say something, not able to put his thoughts into words.
"You don't have to tell me Master Kenobi, unless you want to?" She looked up at him. "You know, sometimes the past is better left at rest. It cannot easily be changed."
"Very true." Obi-Wan felt relieved by her wise words. It was not long before Anakin and Danel returned in the bulky speeder. Danel switched several buttons over on the speeder control panel. From the side panel a small transmitter satellite emerged. They bowed to the hologram of Jedi Master Yoda that appeared before them.
"Master Tseng and Master Kenobi! Surprised I am to see you together." His green ears twitched.
"Yoda, a slight error has occurred in our missions." Lin-San glared at Obi-Wan and his padawan.
"Problem you say?"
"Our missions have collided you might say." Obi-Wan began to explain.
"And that alone may have caused our failure." Danel interrupted.
"Return to Coruscant you must." Yoda decided after a moment of deep thought. "Appear before the counsel you will."
"Yes Master." The Jedi and their apprentices bowed. The hologram quickly faded away ending the transmission.
"I do suppose that we owe you an apology." Obi-Wan said shyly. "I am truly sorry for ruining the success of your mission."
"As you should be!" Danel frowned at him.
"Danel, hold your tongue! Harsh words spoken may make you regretful later on." Lin-San scolded.
"Sorry Master." Danel pouted.
"I am not the one who you should apologize to." Danel looked up to object then turned away. She mumbled an apology. Obi-Wan nodded in return.
"Can we go now Master Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked growing tired. "I am anxious to get to Coruscant."
"Yes, a transport should be leaving soon anyway." Obi-Wan jumped into the speeder. "I too must admit that I am anxious to get back to Coruscant. It will be nice to get a good night of sleep." Anakin sat next to Danel. Lin-San sat at the driver's seat. They sped through the crowded streets to a spaceport at the cities center. They boarded a large ship called The Monument. Obi-Wan stopped inside the engine room. He looked around at the familiar ship.
"This is too strange." He laughed nervously. He turned to the pilot. "This ship is head to Coruscant correct?" The pilot was a young Phindian. His arms were very long, past his knees. His skin was a pale filthy gray.
"This ship is headed to Alderaan." He smiled. "Not so, I lie. It is headed to Coruscant." Obi-Wan sighed in relief.
"Master, is something wrong?" Anakin watched Obi-Wan carefully as he examined the controls of the ship.
"Nothing my young padawan. Let us go to the West lounge." The three other Jedis followed Obi-Wan through The Monument's vast halls. The Monument was normally used for shipping miner's to planets on the outer rim. That was until the Offworld mining company collapsed. They sat down at an oblong table discussing past adventures.
"My first mission as a padawan wasn't too difficult." Danel began to share her story.
"I seem to remember things quite differently." Lin-San commented. "Actually I remember you getting both of us in quite a bit of trouble with some rather nasty Hutts."
"I got us out of it though." Danel folded her arms across her chest.
"After almost killing us." Lin-San teased. Anakin laughed then quit after being elbowed by Danel. Obi-Wan was looking around the ship curiously.
"Master Kenobi." Lin-San called him, but he did not it. "Obi-Wan are you listening?"
"No, I am sorry. This ship brings back a lot of memories."
"Really Master? You never mentioned it before." Anakin thought for a moment.
"It is nothing."
"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Lin-San asked.
"Curious about what?" Obi-Wan returned his attention to his companions.
"How this ship was repaired without flaws, why it is now used as a private shuttle from Retsam-Wae to Coruscant instead of to planets like Bandomeer?" She smiled at his surprised look.
"No, I would rather not know. Like you said before, sometimes the past is better left at rest."
"Yes. I did say that didn't I?" She laughed. "All right Master Kenobi, you don't have to share your story." The flight to Coruscant went smoothly, without any major disturbances.
Though The Monument landed in Coruscant late in the night, the planet was still swarming with hundreds of speeders and druids roaring past at fantastic speeds.
"Master Obi-Wan I would like to ask a favor of you." Lin-San turned to him after exchanging words with an Aquilarian handmaiden.
"Anything." Obi-Wan nodded.
"Keep an eye on Danel while I go take my place in the counsel." Lin- San frowned.
"I can watch myself Master." Danel crossed her arms. "I am not a child anymore. You won't even let me roam the temple by myself anymore!" Lin-San looked at her padawan sternly.
"Do not cross me Danel. Your over confidence will only take you backwards." Danel turned away from Lin-San.
"I will keep an eye on her." Obi-Wan tried not to show his disturbance from the display.
"I appreciate that Obi-Wan."
"Madam, we must be going…" The Aquilarian bowed, her tentacles falling over her shoulder. Lin-San followed the handmaiden into the Capital building.
"Come along you two." Obi-Wan acknowledged Anakin and Danel who followed without any hesitation.
"Master Kenobi." A young female Jedi approached hastily moments later. She had long purple tied into three French braids, which in turn were pulled back into one long braid. Her eyes were red with a gold circle around the iris. Yenshu was a twenty-year old human from the system of Datooine.
"Yes Yenshu?" Obi-Wan was familiar with the young Jedi.
"The counsel requires your presence now." Obi-Wan found his himself worried. Not often was the Counsel so hasty for a meeting to begin.
"Yes I shall be there momentarily. Thank you Yenshu."
"No Problem!" She smiled.
"Found a Padawan worthy of your skills yet?" He joked all ready knowing the answer.
"Of course not Obi-Wan." Yenshu matched his stride as the group of four moved through the ornate halls of the Jedi Academy.
The meeting was extraordinarily crowded. The circular room was dimmed during the evening. Around the rim of the room the Jedi Counsel sat on red chairs in their place of status. Ten Jedi Knights and their padawans were present at the meeting.
"Unusual this mission has become." Yoda grunted.
"Yes, it seems that Xanatos is back up to no good." Mace Windu leaned forward in his chair.
"If I may ask, why are so many of us here?" Yenshu queried.
"Because, young Jedi, all of you have cases that led to Xanatos." Ki Adi Mindu stated. "Not all of you will pursue this mission. "
"Yes, support this with all of our Knights we cannot." Everyone nodded in agreement with Yoda.
"Obi-Wan, you and your padawan will continue your investigation. The past experiences that you and Qui-Gon had with Xanatos may come in handy." Mace Windu ordered.
"Yes Master."
"Accompany him you will Yenshu." Yoda added.
"I would also like to be assigned to this investigation." Lin-San stood from her seat in the Counsel.
"Yes Lin-San, go too you and your padawan must." Yoda agreed. "But careful you must be." He warned in a tone all the Jedi knew well.
"We do not want to lose a member of the Counsel. You must all be very careful. Xanatos is very clever." Plo Kloon advised.
"You shall meet again with us before you leave." Adi Gallia advised. "May the force be with you." The rest of the Counsel nodded at the Knights in a gesture, which ended the meeting. The Counsel dispersed leaving the Jedi assigned to the mission to discuss things.
"This Xanatos must be quite a foe if three Knights are assigned to hunt him down." Yenshu commented. "This should not take too long with the five of us assigned to it."
"You seem quite confident of that." Obi-Wan turned to face her. "You must remember, Xanatos himself used to be a great Jedi."
"I know, but we are three Jedi knights!" Yenshu argued her point. "Surely he will not stand a chance."
"I agree with Obi-Wan. From what I have heard, Xanatos is quite a skilled opponent. With age I am sure he has just become more formidable." Lin-San said in a tone that made Yenshu look at the floor.
"Perhaps you are right." Yenshu sighed.
"Don't let your confidence get the best of you." Lin-San scolded. "It will only lead to your end."
"Yes master." Yenshu said grudgingly.
"Master?" Anakin tugged on Obi-Wan's cape in a childish manner.
"Yes, Anakin."
"May Danel and I go visit the other padawans?"
"If it is all right with Lin-San than you may go ahead." Obi-Wan answered. Anakin and Danel looked pleadingly at Lin-San. She nodded in agreement, the two walked calmly from the room talking quietly. "How much, exactly, do you know about Xanatos?"
"Quite a bit?" Lin-San smiled.
"But earlier you said…"
"You asked me if I knew Xanatos." Lin-San answered quickly. "And I told you; by name. You did not question me further."
"Now I am." Obi-Wan insisted.
"Well, Xanatos was Qui-Gon's first padawan. He turned to the dark side after his father's death by his Master's hand. He is very cunning and strong. It would not surprise me in the least if he had a student or two of his own." Lin-San sighed. "But you all ready knew that."
"Is that all you know?"
"Why should I repeat what you all ready know? I may be a member of the Counsel Obi-Wan but patience is not my strong suit. Now if you do not mind I have a prior engagement." She turned around to walk away while Yenshu and Obi-Wan exchanged quick glances.
"Wait a minute." Obi-Wan called to her. "I still have some questions to ask you!"
"Then you will just have to come along." She continued walking.
"Yenshu, find Anakin and Danel and make sure that they are not getting into any trouble." Obi-Wan instructed. She nodded, but as he turned his head away she stuck her tongue out at him before running down the opposite corridor.
Finding Anakin and Danel was a much harder task than she had thought. She checked every room in the building and still could find no sign of them. She sighed as she reached the dorm rooms. This would take all night. She walked from room to room asking if anyone had seen the two Jedi. No one had.
"This is so stupid! Where are those two little brats?" Yenshu yelled in frustration. Then it occurred to her. Maybe the two were not in the building anymore. She slammed her fist against the wall in aggravation. If the two were out on Coruscant, she would never be able to find them. She finished checking the dorms as quickly as she could. None of the young Jedi had seen Anakin or Danel. She ran to the hangar bay. There she saw several people rushing in and out with speeders. She pulled aside one of the imperial guards. "I'm looking for two young Jedi."
"A lot of Jedi pass through here." He replied.
"I am looking for two Jedi Padawan. A boy and a girl."
"Oh yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawan came down here with a young girl earlier. Asked for a speeder."
"And you gave it to him?" Yenshu yelled.
"Uh-yes, the girl said that her Master gave them permission." The guard stuttered. Yenshu repressed her anger. She should not take her fury out on the guard.
"When they return, detain them immediately!" She ordered. She then tossed the guard a small com-link. "Then contact me immediately!" She ran from the hangar in search of Obi-Wan and Lin-San.
They walked side by side in silence after leaving Yenshu. Obi-Wan wasn't exactly sure how he was going to start a conversation. He struggled to keep up with Lin-San as well as not step on her long dress.
"If you are a member of the counsel, how come I have never seen you before?" Obi-Wan asked after a long silence.
"I taught the younger Jedi before I was assigned to the counsel. After a few weeks Danel became my Padawan." She stepped into a dark room. Obi-Wan followed, recognizing the area immediately.
"Why are you coming here? You all ready have a Padawan." This room was used for battles among the students. Knights would watch them and choose the best as their Padawan.
"Yes, but we are not here for that."
"Actually, I am not supposed to be here at all." Obi-Wan laughed. Lin- San was not amused. "Well, then…" Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "What are we doing here?"
"The older students here, who are all ready assigned to a master of course, get the chance to train in a special combat class."
"Interesting." Obi-Wan commented.
"There are a few talented young students who qualify for this class. That makes my job much simpler."
"What is your job exactly?" Obi-Wan followed her into the small arena. Twelve young Jedi Padawan stood in the room's center. "If you don't mind my asking." Lin-San sat on the seats provided outside the arena. Obi- Wan sat next to her.
"I teach them to fight with dual lightsabers."
"Really?" Obi-Wan seemed surprised. "Perhaps you should teach Anakin. He is very skilled with one lightsaber."
"We'll see." She nodded at the children, who bowed in return. "Any idea where Xanatos may be hiding?"
"Xanatos like to play games."
"Perhaps we should search Bandomeer." She suggested nodding in approval as a tall humanoid boy landed a winning blow on the neck of a Dactyl.
"Bandomeer?" Why do you suggest we start there?" Obi-Wan did not want to go there.
"Xanatos' headquarters for Offworld were located there weren't they?"
"And I am sure he would not be hiding here."
"Sure? Or do you just not want to go there?" Lin-San turned away from the fight taking place to face Obi-Wan. He did not answer her. "When you are lost, you must go back to the beginning Obi-Wan." She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Obi-Wan!" Yenshu ran into the arena out of breath, ducking under the quick swing of a young Jedi. She could feel the heat of the pulsating blade above her. "Whoa!" She exclaimed.
"Yenshu!" Obi-Wan and Lin-San stood in alarm.
"Your Padawan have left the capital building." She said after catching her breath.
"What?" Obi-Wan yelled.
"I let the guards in the hangar bay know. The moment they step foot back in the building we will know." Yenshu said annoyed and exhausted. Obi- Wan started to rush from the room. Lin-San and Yenshu raced after him. They stopped him quickly.
"What are you waiting for? We have got to go find them!"
"You know just as well as I do that we will never find them like that. Coruscant is to big." Lin-San assured.
"She's right. By the time you can cover a mile of the city, it will be morning and they will more than likely have returned." Yenshu added.
"Well then, what do you suggest we do?" Obi-Wan sighed impatiently.
"We wait, they will come back soon" Lin-San suggested. "The trials will just have to be postponed." She ran back into the arena, followed by Yenshu and Obi-Wan. "I am sorry children, but we will have to finish this another time." The Jedi Padawan groaned unhappily. "I promise it will be soon." The Jedi bowed again, and then left the room discouraged.
"I'm sorry." Yenshu finally broke the tense silence as they walked down one of the many corridors.
"It is not your fault that they disobeyed orders." Obi-Wan consoled her. They walked until they reached the room where the counsel had met earlier. They sat on the red chairs waiting expectantly for the buzz of the com-link.
They sat in silence late into the morning, waiting and waiting for Anakin and Danel to return. As the time passed, their impatience grew.
"Anakin is in so much trouble when he get's back." Obi-Wan mumbled.
"Don't be too hard on him. Danel probably prompted him. She is probably still angry with me for making you watch her." She sighed tossing her headdress on the ground.
"If you guys don't discipline them, I sure will." Yenshu was half- asleep, upside down on one of the chairs. "Those two have put me through a lot of grief this evening."
"Don't worry, when they return they will be in plenty of trouble." Obi-Wan scoffed slouching down in his chair. But Yenshu had all ready fallen asleep. "So much for finally getting a good night's sleep." Obi-Wan laughed. Lin-San laughed in return.
"Yes. Well, Danel and Anakin won't be getting a pleasant night's sleep for a while either." Lin-San shifted in her chair.
"Danel, she is different isn't she?"
"I knew you had noticed. She is an odd one. In fact she has no background to speak of." Obi-Wan looked at her questioningly. "One day she appeared here at the academy, no one knew how. But she could harness the force better than any Jedi I had met. I took her as my Padawan after she spent only a week at the academy. My first week as a member of the Counsel as well." Lin-San laughed. "That had to be my worst mistake." Obi-Wan was about to respond when the com-link switched on.
"Master Jedi?" A voice called through the static. Yenshu woke up abruptly and fell off of her chair. "Your two young Jedi are here."
"Huh? Oh yes, very good. Escort them up to the Counsel immediately if you please."
"Yes Madam." The guard responded. The com-link switched off leaving the room in silence. Yenshu picked herself up off of the floor.
"It is about time." Yenshu yawned rubbing her head and sat back down in her chair. Obi-Wan stood and began to pace back and forth impatiently.
"Will you chill out?" Lin-San scolded. "Your pacing is driving me nuts." Obi-Wan halted. Then the guard appeared in the doorway.
"Master Jedi." The guard bowed then stood to the side of the door. Anakin and Danel walked in, heads bowed low.
"You two have a lot of explaining to do." Obi-Wan scowled at Anakin.
"We were just out having a good time." Danel retorted. "It is not like we did anything wrong."
"I was looking for you for hours! You are lucky that I am not your master." Yenshu crossed her arms across her chest.
"You two will no longer have the privilege of being unsupervised." Lin-San scolded. Anakin nodded and whispered an apology. Danel stepped forward in protest.
"But we have done nothing wrong! We just had a little fun!"
"You disobeyed orders Danel. You could be expelled for that sort of thing!" Lin-San retorted.
"You never let me do anything on my own!"
"You are not ready to do things on your own yet." Lin-San approached her.
"I am ready. You just don't think I am!"
"You are too confident! You lie, and you are disobedient. You are not ready until myself or the Counsel says it is so." Danel did not respond, but turned red. "Yenshu, if you would be very grateful."
"Sure." Yenshu turned to Danel. "No funny stuff." Yenshu and Danel walked from the room in silence.
"I am so sorry Lin-San." Anakin tried to smile. "We did not mean to be gone for long."
"You shouldn't have been gone at all." Obi-Wan yelled. "You will be punished Anakin. But not until this mission is done with."
"Anakin. You must stay away from my padawan." Lin-San instructed. "She will only get you in trouble."
"Yes Master."
"I am going to go change now. Can't exactly do much investigating in this." Lin-San exited the room. Obi-Wan picked up her headdress then led Anakin down the path that Yenshu and Danel had followed.
They arranged for a transport to Bandomeer only an hour later. Bandomeer was a dead planet, formerly used for Offworld's mining company. Now the Agri Corps was working on re-fertilizing the land, a project that started when Obi-Wan was only twelve years old. The transport landed in the capital late in the afternoon. They left the capital as quickly as they could. They took a water transport in hopes of finding the old Offworld deep sea mine.
"I only hope that they haven't demolished it after all these years." Obi-Wan said veering the craft around a large school of underwater beasts.
"That is not going to be our biggest problem." Yenshu frowned staring in disgust at the mucky black water.
"Yes, let us hope that it is still intact." Lin-San stared up at the filthy red sky. "Offworld built poor mines. Many have all ready collapsed. They did not care whether their workers lived or died."
"Ah, there it is. Just as I remember." Obi-Wan interrupted. "It looks pretty stable." He parked the boat at a small landing.
"Looks can be deceiving." Yenshu added. Anakin summoned the force to open the locking mechanism in the large steel door. The doors slid to the side with a loud hiss. The air inside was murky. The lights had long since died. Danel closed the steel doors behind them.
"Lead the way Obi-Wan." Lin-San instructed.
"Why me?"
"Because, you are the only one who has been here before."
"Oh right." The hall was dark as they felt their way past the rusted doors and old cells.
"What are we looking for?" Anakin called out to no one imparticular.
"Any sign of Xanatos. Anything that might lead us to his whereabouts." Lin-San answered.
"I sure hope it is soon. It is creepy in here." Yenshu said.
"Me too." Danel agreed walking ahead of everyone except for Obi-Wan. The metal groaned under their feet as the path went downwards. Then without warning the floor gave way. Yenshu and Anakin plunged to the floor below. The floor continued to creak and moan.
"Anakin!" Danel and Obi-Wan called into the darkness.
"Yenshu!" Lin-San called from the opposite side of the hole. The only response they received was the sound of more bolts snapping and the continuing moan of the floor. The three clung to the walls as the room shook violently. Obi-Wan, Danel, and Lin-San ran in opposite directions as the floor beneath them gave way.
Yenshu sat up and rubbed her head. She looked up at the hole and groaned in discomfort. She stood up, pushing the rush of dizziness away.
"Master Yenshu, are you all right?" Anakin asked.
"Yes, Ani, I am fine." She stared down at the boy. He was holding his arm carefully. His left arm had been sliced pretty deep. "That cut doesn't look so good." She looked around at the musty room in dismay.
" I know."
"We have to find the others, I am sorry Anakin cannot rest." He nodded in agreement." Try to concentrate on healing your wound all right?" The room shook again, and the path above them began to drop. Both Anakin and Yenshu dropped down to the floor, covering their heads. They collapsed down through another floor. They lay still for a long time until the dust from the new collapse settled down. "Are you still with me Anakin?" A moan from across the room signaled that he was. They sat up and examined their surroundings. They seemed to be in a large storage room. All the boxes contained Offworld mining equipment. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Yenshu, there is something over here." Anakin was stooped down in the corner next to a silver-ish box.
"What is it?" Yenshu approached him feeling soreness in her legs.
"It is a box, but it looks new." He wiped the top of the box finding no dust or dirt.
"That is odd." She traced the outline of the broken circle on the top of the box. "Open it."
"I can't"
"What do you mean you can't?"
"It won't open, not even with the force at my aid."
"Let's get out of here." Yenshu decided after a long awkward silence.
Obi-Wan and Danel stopped running after reaching the small cell at the end of the corridor.
"That was close." Obi-Wan sighed in relief.
"Yeah, well now what?" Danel said, slightly hostile.
"I suppose that we should go find your master and the others." Obi- Wan jumped to the floor below, landing safely with the help of the force. "With any luck they won't be far from here." Danel jumped down after him. They walked slowly across the room and through the corridor. The rooms were covered in a thick layer of dust.
"Can't we wait for them to come to us?" Danel objected.
"I do not thin that staying put is a very good idea. They are in trouble, I know it."
"Yean, well what do you know?" Danel retorted.
"I will pretend that I did not hear that." Obi-Wan looked down through another hole in the floor. "This is about where Yenshu and Anakin fell." He leaned next to the hole. "I hope that they are all right."
"Do you sense anything Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked walking about cautiously past a loud club, pausing once feeling a ripple of disturbance.
"Nothing master, just the same as when you asked me an hour ago." Anakin was a fourteen-year-old strong dirty blond boy. His skills were unusually strong.
"Patience my young padawan learner." Obi-Wan instructed. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a young Jedi knight with brown hair and greenish blue eyes.
"We have not sensed anything all evening, can we not call it an evening? We have not gotten a good nights sleep since we started this mission."
"Because we have not had any decent leads. When we find something we won't have to look so hard." Obi-Wan scolded Anakin. "Besides, something will happen soon. I can feel it."
"Just like you did yesterday and the day before that?" Anakin mumbled. He looked down and began to concentrate on a small silver stone, which he kicked along the alleyway. Suddenly he stopped short. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Obi-Wan halted as well. Voices could be heard in the distance. They were quiet, but could not escape the keen hearing of the Jedi.
"My shipment will be on time then?" A female voice asked the man in blue armor. Lin-San Tseng and her Jedi padawan Danel Walker were on a current mission on the planet as well. Danel was waiting on the rooftop of the run down building to make sure the deal fell through and that she was there in case her teacher needed assistance. Then she was the two-cloaked men approach. Through the thick yellow haze of the city she could not quite identify them.
"Yes, as I told you at our last meeting, our shipments are always on time." He answered in a muffled, metallic voice. "When can Xanatos be expecting your payment?" Obi-Wan jumped at the sound of the name. Xanatos was his master's own first padawan who had turned before being named a Jedi Knight.
"Excuse me." Obi-Wan approached them. The bounty hunter retreated quickly as he saw Anakin's lightsaber drawn. He fired a blaster, which the two male Jedi quickly deflected.
"Run!" Danel warned from above. Lin-San ran down the alleyway. Anakin flipped over her and blocked her, lightsaber drawn.
"We would like to have a word with you, if you don't mind coming with us." Obi-Wan waved his hand summoning the force to try and manipulate her mind.
"You two have no idea what you are interfering with!" She warned drawing her own lightsaber. Anakin attacked immediately, assuming that she was on the side of the sith. She blocked him with great ease, obviously much more advanced than the young Jedi. Obi-Wan found himself forced to help his padawan. Together they cornered her. She withdrew another lightsaber from her belt, much to everyone's surprise. She fought them off easily.
Danel ran quickly down the stairs of the old building. When she came bursting through the side window she went tumbling into Anakin. His lightsaber clattered to the ground. She scattered quickly, trying to grab it, but Anakin pulled it towards him first, summoning the force to his aid. They circled each other for long moments. Neither would attack for several moments. They were both trained as Jedi and therefore new that a Jedi hardly ever takes the offensive stance. Anakin became impatient and lunged at her. She quickly rolled to the right blocking the blow and retaliating with a stab of her own. Anakin jumped over the low blow, feeling the heat of the saber rush by him. Their lightsabers crashed together in a fray of sparks. They struggled against each other, both trying to bend the force for their own benefit. Meanwhile, Lin-San had leaped over Obi-Wan's head and made a dash through the streets. Obi-Wan chased after her yelling at Anakin to follow as soon as he could. Anakin barely heard his master's orders, being too involved with the struggle against Danel. They finally pulled away from each other, feeling the sting of the struggle on their arms.
"Who are you?" Danel demanded, exhausted from the struggle.
"A member of the Jedi order!" Anakin called back. He sensed something dark in the force, but did not feel that it was coming from the young girl he was fighting.
"Then we should not be fighting." Danel put her lightsaber back on her belt. "I am Danel Walker, I too am a Jedi."
Obi-Wan chased after Lin-San. He had switched his lightsaber off, knowing that he would be beaten easily. He instead drew the force to him, and then pushed the wave at Lin-San who merely stumbled. She tossed her own wave at him. He jumped away, sensing the movement. He leaped over her and blocked her with his lightsaber in front of her face. She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides.
"I am a Jedi Knight, I believe that you have quite a bit of information that I could use." He finally managed to say.
"You have got to be kidding me." She cried out. "What are you doing here Master Jedi?"
"I am here under orders of the Jedi Counsel in Coruscant."
"You must be mistaken." Lin-San laughed at him. "They would never put another Jedi on my mission!"
"What?"
"I am Lin-San Tseng, a member of the Jedi Counsel." She emphasized as Danel and Anakin approached slowly.
"Why are you making deals with Xanatos?"
"I am in the middle of an investigation, Xanatos is my only lead!" She screamed at him. "Now the mission is botched, thanks to you two!"
Obi-Wan switched off his lightsaber. "Then why aren't you on Coruscant with the other Jedi?"
"Because she is training me." Danel objected quickly coming to her master's defense. "We have been her for months trying to work out this deal."
"I think that it is time to contact Master Yoda. I am not sure whether to believe your story or not." Frankly Obi-Wan wished that she were lying.
"Weren't you listening to me?" She sighed in aggravation. "I am a member of the counsel."
"There is no reason for you to get angry." Obi-Wan frowned at her. "I just want to verify that what your saying is true.
"Go ahead." Danel crossed her arms. "You can talk to master Windu. He can verify our story."
"Danel, go get our land speeder, there is a transmitter programmed into it." Danel turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Anakin objected. "What if these two are planning something?"
"I am afraid that my padawan is right. We should all go." Obi-Wan agreed without hesitation.
"Are you afraid we will escape?" Lin-San mocked him. "Go with her if you like, but I am staying here. It is not necessary for all to go when it is easier for one." Both Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged skeptical glances after this remark. "Danel give master-" She paused then looked at him as if to ask him to fill in the blank.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi." He finished.
"Kenobi? Then you must be Qui-Gon's old apprentice." Danel smiled. "Yoda talks about you all the time."
"Quiet Danel. Give master Kenobi your lightsaber." Danel tossed her small saber to Obi-Wan. He looked at Lin-San quizzically. "Now your boy can escort her to the speeder, without you worrying." Lin-San handed both her lightsabers to him as well. "Though it is unnecessary, you can guarantee that we won't leave without them." Obi-Wan nodded to Anakin.
"We shall return quickly master." Danel turned away.
"Be careful Ani." Obi-Wan warned.
"I will not let her out of my site for a moment." Anakin assured. They walked quickly away from Obi-Wan and Lin-San.
"Why are you and your master here?" Danel asked.
"Obi-Wan and I are searching for the leader of a weapons smuggling ring." Anakin put his hands behind his back.
"I can tell you exactly who that is!" Danel scoffed almost insultingly
"Really? I don't suppose that you would tell me without your master's permission…" Anakin hinted.
"How would my master find out?" Danel quickened her pace.
"You mean I can't tell Obi-Wan?" Anakin moved quicker to match her stride. He felt again that slight dark disturbance in the force.
"Well, I guess you can't, but hopefully Lin-San will tell your master herself." Danel hopped into a gray land speeder.
"How far is your speeder from here?" Obi-Wan grew impatient, one of his downfalls.
"Not far." She leaned her head against a nearby opaque colored wall.
"You know Xanatos?" He asked, almost too calmly. He could never forget the pain he had caused.
"Only by name." She turned to him? "You know him Master Kenobi?"
"Sort of." Obi-Wan did not continue, Lin-San watched him curiously as he struggled with an inner conflict. He opened his mouth several times to say something, not able to put his thoughts into words.
"You don't have to tell me Master Kenobi, unless you want to?" She looked up at him. "You know, sometimes the past is better left at rest. It cannot easily be changed."
"Very true." Obi-Wan felt relieved by her wise words. It was not long before Anakin and Danel returned in the bulky speeder. Danel switched several buttons over on the speeder control panel. From the side panel a small transmitter satellite emerged. They bowed to the hologram of Jedi Master Yoda that appeared before them.
"Master Tseng and Master Kenobi! Surprised I am to see you together." His green ears twitched.
"Yoda, a slight error has occurred in our missions." Lin-San glared at Obi-Wan and his padawan.
"Problem you say?"
"Our missions have collided you might say." Obi-Wan began to explain.
"And that alone may have caused our failure." Danel interrupted.
"Return to Coruscant you must." Yoda decided after a moment of deep thought. "Appear before the counsel you will."
"Yes Master." The Jedi and their apprentices bowed. The hologram quickly faded away ending the transmission.
"I do suppose that we owe you an apology." Obi-Wan said shyly. "I am truly sorry for ruining the success of your mission."
"As you should be!" Danel frowned at him.
"Danel, hold your tongue! Harsh words spoken may make you regretful later on." Lin-San scolded.
"Sorry Master." Danel pouted.
"I am not the one who you should apologize to." Danel looked up to object then turned away. She mumbled an apology. Obi-Wan nodded in return.
"Can we go now Master Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked growing tired. "I am anxious to get to Coruscant."
"Yes, a transport should be leaving soon anyway." Obi-Wan jumped into the speeder. "I too must admit that I am anxious to get back to Coruscant. It will be nice to get a good night of sleep." Anakin sat next to Danel. Lin-San sat at the driver's seat. They sped through the crowded streets to a spaceport at the cities center. They boarded a large ship called The Monument. Obi-Wan stopped inside the engine room. He looked around at the familiar ship.
"This is too strange." He laughed nervously. He turned to the pilot. "This ship is head to Coruscant correct?" The pilot was a young Phindian. His arms were very long, past his knees. His skin was a pale filthy gray.
"This ship is headed to Alderaan." He smiled. "Not so, I lie. It is headed to Coruscant." Obi-Wan sighed in relief.
"Master, is something wrong?" Anakin watched Obi-Wan carefully as he examined the controls of the ship.
"Nothing my young padawan. Let us go to the West lounge." The three other Jedis followed Obi-Wan through The Monument's vast halls. The Monument was normally used for shipping miner's to planets on the outer rim. That was until the Offworld mining company collapsed. They sat down at an oblong table discussing past adventures.
"My first mission as a padawan wasn't too difficult." Danel began to share her story.
"I seem to remember things quite differently." Lin-San commented. "Actually I remember you getting both of us in quite a bit of trouble with some rather nasty Hutts."
"I got us out of it though." Danel folded her arms across her chest.
"After almost killing us." Lin-San teased. Anakin laughed then quit after being elbowed by Danel. Obi-Wan was looking around the ship curiously.
"Master Kenobi." Lin-San called him, but he did not it. "Obi-Wan are you listening?"
"No, I am sorry. This ship brings back a lot of memories."
"Really Master? You never mentioned it before." Anakin thought for a moment.
"It is nothing."
"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Lin-San asked.
"Curious about what?" Obi-Wan returned his attention to his companions.
"How this ship was repaired without flaws, why it is now used as a private shuttle from Retsam-Wae to Coruscant instead of to planets like Bandomeer?" She smiled at his surprised look.
"No, I would rather not know. Like you said before, sometimes the past is better left at rest."
"Yes. I did say that didn't I?" She laughed. "All right Master Kenobi, you don't have to share your story." The flight to Coruscant went smoothly, without any major disturbances.
Though The Monument landed in Coruscant late in the night, the planet was still swarming with hundreds of speeders and druids roaring past at fantastic speeds.
"Master Obi-Wan I would like to ask a favor of you." Lin-San turned to him after exchanging words with an Aquilarian handmaiden.
"Anything." Obi-Wan nodded.
"Keep an eye on Danel while I go take my place in the counsel." Lin- San frowned.
"I can watch myself Master." Danel crossed her arms. "I am not a child anymore. You won't even let me roam the temple by myself anymore!" Lin-San looked at her padawan sternly.
"Do not cross me Danel. Your over confidence will only take you backwards." Danel turned away from Lin-San.
"I will keep an eye on her." Obi-Wan tried not to show his disturbance from the display.
"I appreciate that Obi-Wan."
"Madam, we must be going…" The Aquilarian bowed, her tentacles falling over her shoulder. Lin-San followed the handmaiden into the Capital building.
"Come along you two." Obi-Wan acknowledged Anakin and Danel who followed without any hesitation.
"Master Kenobi." A young female Jedi approached hastily moments later. She had long purple tied into three French braids, which in turn were pulled back into one long braid. Her eyes were red with a gold circle around the iris. Yenshu was a twenty-year old human from the system of Datooine.
"Yes Yenshu?" Obi-Wan was familiar with the young Jedi.
"The counsel requires your presence now." Obi-Wan found his himself worried. Not often was the Counsel so hasty for a meeting to begin.
"Yes I shall be there momentarily. Thank you Yenshu."
"No Problem!" She smiled.
"Found a Padawan worthy of your skills yet?" He joked all ready knowing the answer.
"Of course not Obi-Wan." Yenshu matched his stride as the group of four moved through the ornate halls of the Jedi Academy.
The meeting was extraordinarily crowded. The circular room was dimmed during the evening. Around the rim of the room the Jedi Counsel sat on red chairs in their place of status. Ten Jedi Knights and their padawans were present at the meeting.
"Unusual this mission has become." Yoda grunted.
"Yes, it seems that Xanatos is back up to no good." Mace Windu leaned forward in his chair.
"If I may ask, why are so many of us here?" Yenshu queried.
"Because, young Jedi, all of you have cases that led to Xanatos." Ki Adi Mindu stated. "Not all of you will pursue this mission. "
"Yes, support this with all of our Knights we cannot." Everyone nodded in agreement with Yoda.
"Obi-Wan, you and your padawan will continue your investigation. The past experiences that you and Qui-Gon had with Xanatos may come in handy." Mace Windu ordered.
"Yes Master."
"Accompany him you will Yenshu." Yoda added.
"I would also like to be assigned to this investigation." Lin-San stood from her seat in the Counsel.
"Yes Lin-San, go too you and your padawan must." Yoda agreed. "But careful you must be." He warned in a tone all the Jedi knew well.
"We do not want to lose a member of the Counsel. You must all be very careful. Xanatos is very clever." Plo Kloon advised.
"You shall meet again with us before you leave." Adi Gallia advised. "May the force be with you." The rest of the Counsel nodded at the Knights in a gesture, which ended the meeting. The Counsel dispersed leaving the Jedi assigned to the mission to discuss things.
"This Xanatos must be quite a foe if three Knights are assigned to hunt him down." Yenshu commented. "This should not take too long with the five of us assigned to it."
"You seem quite confident of that." Obi-Wan turned to face her. "You must remember, Xanatos himself used to be a great Jedi."
"I know, but we are three Jedi knights!" Yenshu argued her point. "Surely he will not stand a chance."
"I agree with Obi-Wan. From what I have heard, Xanatos is quite a skilled opponent. With age I am sure he has just become more formidable." Lin-San said in a tone that made Yenshu look at the floor.
"Perhaps you are right." Yenshu sighed.
"Don't let your confidence get the best of you." Lin-San scolded. "It will only lead to your end."
"Yes master." Yenshu said grudgingly.
"Master?" Anakin tugged on Obi-Wan's cape in a childish manner.
"Yes, Anakin."
"May Danel and I go visit the other padawans?"
"If it is all right with Lin-San than you may go ahead." Obi-Wan answered. Anakin and Danel looked pleadingly at Lin-San. She nodded in agreement, the two walked calmly from the room talking quietly. "How much, exactly, do you know about Xanatos?"
"Quite a bit?" Lin-San smiled.
"But earlier you said…"
"You asked me if I knew Xanatos." Lin-San answered quickly. "And I told you; by name. You did not question me further."
"Now I am." Obi-Wan insisted.
"Well, Xanatos was Qui-Gon's first padawan. He turned to the dark side after his father's death by his Master's hand. He is very cunning and strong. It would not surprise me in the least if he had a student or two of his own." Lin-San sighed. "But you all ready knew that."
"Is that all you know?"
"Why should I repeat what you all ready know? I may be a member of the Counsel Obi-Wan but patience is not my strong suit. Now if you do not mind I have a prior engagement." She turned around to walk away while Yenshu and Obi-Wan exchanged quick glances.
"Wait a minute." Obi-Wan called to her. "I still have some questions to ask you!"
"Then you will just have to come along." She continued walking.
"Yenshu, find Anakin and Danel and make sure that they are not getting into any trouble." Obi-Wan instructed. She nodded, but as he turned his head away she stuck her tongue out at him before running down the opposite corridor.
Finding Anakin and Danel was a much harder task than she had thought. She checked every room in the building and still could find no sign of them. She sighed as she reached the dorm rooms. This would take all night. She walked from room to room asking if anyone had seen the two Jedi. No one had.
"This is so stupid! Where are those two little brats?" Yenshu yelled in frustration. Then it occurred to her. Maybe the two were not in the building anymore. She slammed her fist against the wall in aggravation. If the two were out on Coruscant, she would never be able to find them. She finished checking the dorms as quickly as she could. None of the young Jedi had seen Anakin or Danel. She ran to the hangar bay. There she saw several people rushing in and out with speeders. She pulled aside one of the imperial guards. "I'm looking for two young Jedi."
"A lot of Jedi pass through here." He replied.
"I am looking for two Jedi Padawan. A boy and a girl."
"Oh yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawan came down here with a young girl earlier. Asked for a speeder."
"And you gave it to him?" Yenshu yelled.
"Uh-yes, the girl said that her Master gave them permission." The guard stuttered. Yenshu repressed her anger. She should not take her fury out on the guard.
"When they return, detain them immediately!" She ordered. She then tossed the guard a small com-link. "Then contact me immediately!" She ran from the hangar in search of Obi-Wan and Lin-San.
They walked side by side in silence after leaving Yenshu. Obi-Wan wasn't exactly sure how he was going to start a conversation. He struggled to keep up with Lin-San as well as not step on her long dress.
"If you are a member of the counsel, how come I have never seen you before?" Obi-Wan asked after a long silence.
"I taught the younger Jedi before I was assigned to the counsel. After a few weeks Danel became my Padawan." She stepped into a dark room. Obi-Wan followed, recognizing the area immediately.
"Why are you coming here? You all ready have a Padawan." This room was used for battles among the students. Knights would watch them and choose the best as their Padawan.
"Yes, but we are not here for that."
"Actually, I am not supposed to be here at all." Obi-Wan laughed. Lin- San was not amused. "Well, then…" Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "What are we doing here?"
"The older students here, who are all ready assigned to a master of course, get the chance to train in a special combat class."
"Interesting." Obi-Wan commented.
"There are a few talented young students who qualify for this class. That makes my job much simpler."
"What is your job exactly?" Obi-Wan followed her into the small arena. Twelve young Jedi Padawan stood in the room's center. "If you don't mind my asking." Lin-San sat on the seats provided outside the arena. Obi- Wan sat next to her.
"I teach them to fight with dual lightsabers."
"Really?" Obi-Wan seemed surprised. "Perhaps you should teach Anakin. He is very skilled with one lightsaber."
"We'll see." She nodded at the children, who bowed in return. "Any idea where Xanatos may be hiding?"
"Xanatos like to play games."
"Perhaps we should search Bandomeer." She suggested nodding in approval as a tall humanoid boy landed a winning blow on the neck of a Dactyl.
"Bandomeer?" Why do you suggest we start there?" Obi-Wan did not want to go there.
"Xanatos' headquarters for Offworld were located there weren't they?"
"And I am sure he would not be hiding here."
"Sure? Or do you just not want to go there?" Lin-San turned away from the fight taking place to face Obi-Wan. He did not answer her. "When you are lost, you must go back to the beginning Obi-Wan." She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Obi-Wan!" Yenshu ran into the arena out of breath, ducking under the quick swing of a young Jedi. She could feel the heat of the pulsating blade above her. "Whoa!" She exclaimed.
"Yenshu!" Obi-Wan and Lin-San stood in alarm.
"Your Padawan have left the capital building." She said after catching her breath.
"What?" Obi-Wan yelled.
"I let the guards in the hangar bay know. The moment they step foot back in the building we will know." Yenshu said annoyed and exhausted. Obi- Wan started to rush from the room. Lin-San and Yenshu raced after him. They stopped him quickly.
"What are you waiting for? We have got to go find them!"
"You know just as well as I do that we will never find them like that. Coruscant is to big." Lin-San assured.
"She's right. By the time you can cover a mile of the city, it will be morning and they will more than likely have returned." Yenshu added.
"Well then, what do you suggest we do?" Obi-Wan sighed impatiently.
"We wait, they will come back soon" Lin-San suggested. "The trials will just have to be postponed." She ran back into the arena, followed by Yenshu and Obi-Wan. "I am sorry children, but we will have to finish this another time." The Jedi Padawan groaned unhappily. "I promise it will be soon." The Jedi bowed again, and then left the room discouraged.
"I'm sorry." Yenshu finally broke the tense silence as they walked down one of the many corridors.
"It is not your fault that they disobeyed orders." Obi-Wan consoled her. They walked until they reached the room where the counsel had met earlier. They sat on the red chairs waiting expectantly for the buzz of the com-link.
They sat in silence late into the morning, waiting and waiting for Anakin and Danel to return. As the time passed, their impatience grew.
"Anakin is in so much trouble when he get's back." Obi-Wan mumbled.
"Don't be too hard on him. Danel probably prompted him. She is probably still angry with me for making you watch her." She sighed tossing her headdress on the ground.
"If you guys don't discipline them, I sure will." Yenshu was half- asleep, upside down on one of the chairs. "Those two have put me through a lot of grief this evening."
"Don't worry, when they return they will be in plenty of trouble." Obi-Wan scoffed slouching down in his chair. But Yenshu had all ready fallen asleep. "So much for finally getting a good night's sleep." Obi-Wan laughed. Lin-San laughed in return.
"Yes. Well, Danel and Anakin won't be getting a pleasant night's sleep for a while either." Lin-San shifted in her chair.
"Danel, she is different isn't she?"
"I knew you had noticed. She is an odd one. In fact she has no background to speak of." Obi-Wan looked at her questioningly. "One day she appeared here at the academy, no one knew how. But she could harness the force better than any Jedi I had met. I took her as my Padawan after she spent only a week at the academy. My first week as a member of the Counsel as well." Lin-San laughed. "That had to be my worst mistake." Obi-Wan was about to respond when the com-link switched on.
"Master Jedi?" A voice called through the static. Yenshu woke up abruptly and fell off of her chair. "Your two young Jedi are here."
"Huh? Oh yes, very good. Escort them up to the Counsel immediately if you please."
"Yes Madam." The guard responded. The com-link switched off leaving the room in silence. Yenshu picked herself up off of the floor.
"It is about time." Yenshu yawned rubbing her head and sat back down in her chair. Obi-Wan stood and began to pace back and forth impatiently.
"Will you chill out?" Lin-San scolded. "Your pacing is driving me nuts." Obi-Wan halted. Then the guard appeared in the doorway.
"Master Jedi." The guard bowed then stood to the side of the door. Anakin and Danel walked in, heads bowed low.
"You two have a lot of explaining to do." Obi-Wan scowled at Anakin.
"We were just out having a good time." Danel retorted. "It is not like we did anything wrong."
"I was looking for you for hours! You are lucky that I am not your master." Yenshu crossed her arms across her chest.
"You two will no longer have the privilege of being unsupervised." Lin-San scolded. Anakin nodded and whispered an apology. Danel stepped forward in protest.
"But we have done nothing wrong! We just had a little fun!"
"You disobeyed orders Danel. You could be expelled for that sort of thing!" Lin-San retorted.
"You never let me do anything on my own!"
"You are not ready to do things on your own yet." Lin-San approached her.
"I am ready. You just don't think I am!"
"You are too confident! You lie, and you are disobedient. You are not ready until myself or the Counsel says it is so." Danel did not respond, but turned red. "Yenshu, if you would be very grateful."
"Sure." Yenshu turned to Danel. "No funny stuff." Yenshu and Danel walked from the room in silence.
"I am so sorry Lin-San." Anakin tried to smile. "We did not mean to be gone for long."
"You shouldn't have been gone at all." Obi-Wan yelled. "You will be punished Anakin. But not until this mission is done with."
"Anakin. You must stay away from my padawan." Lin-San instructed. "She will only get you in trouble."
"Yes Master."
"I am going to go change now. Can't exactly do much investigating in this." Lin-San exited the room. Obi-Wan picked up her headdress then led Anakin down the path that Yenshu and Danel had followed.
They arranged for a transport to Bandomeer only an hour later. Bandomeer was a dead planet, formerly used for Offworld's mining company. Now the Agri Corps was working on re-fertilizing the land, a project that started when Obi-Wan was only twelve years old. The transport landed in the capital late in the afternoon. They left the capital as quickly as they could. They took a water transport in hopes of finding the old Offworld deep sea mine.
"I only hope that they haven't demolished it after all these years." Obi-Wan said veering the craft around a large school of underwater beasts.
"That is not going to be our biggest problem." Yenshu frowned staring in disgust at the mucky black water.
"Yes, let us hope that it is still intact." Lin-San stared up at the filthy red sky. "Offworld built poor mines. Many have all ready collapsed. They did not care whether their workers lived or died."
"Ah, there it is. Just as I remember." Obi-Wan interrupted. "It looks pretty stable." He parked the boat at a small landing.
"Looks can be deceiving." Yenshu added. Anakin summoned the force to open the locking mechanism in the large steel door. The doors slid to the side with a loud hiss. The air inside was murky. The lights had long since died. Danel closed the steel doors behind them.
"Lead the way Obi-Wan." Lin-San instructed.
"Why me?"
"Because, you are the only one who has been here before."
"Oh right." The hall was dark as they felt their way past the rusted doors and old cells.
"What are we looking for?" Anakin called out to no one imparticular.
"Any sign of Xanatos. Anything that might lead us to his whereabouts." Lin-San answered.
"I sure hope it is soon. It is creepy in here." Yenshu said.
"Me too." Danel agreed walking ahead of everyone except for Obi-Wan. The metal groaned under their feet as the path went downwards. Then without warning the floor gave way. Yenshu and Anakin plunged to the floor below. The floor continued to creak and moan.
"Anakin!" Danel and Obi-Wan called into the darkness.
"Yenshu!" Lin-San called from the opposite side of the hole. The only response they received was the sound of more bolts snapping and the continuing moan of the floor. The three clung to the walls as the room shook violently. Obi-Wan, Danel, and Lin-San ran in opposite directions as the floor beneath them gave way.
Yenshu sat up and rubbed her head. She looked up at the hole and groaned in discomfort. She stood up, pushing the rush of dizziness away.
"Master Yenshu, are you all right?" Anakin asked.
"Yes, Ani, I am fine." She stared down at the boy. He was holding his arm carefully. His left arm had been sliced pretty deep. "That cut doesn't look so good." She looked around at the musty room in dismay.
" I know."
"We have to find the others, I am sorry Anakin cannot rest." He nodded in agreement." Try to concentrate on healing your wound all right?" The room shook again, and the path above them began to drop. Both Anakin and Yenshu dropped down to the floor, covering their heads. They collapsed down through another floor. They lay still for a long time until the dust from the new collapse settled down. "Are you still with me Anakin?" A moan from across the room signaled that he was. They sat up and examined their surroundings. They seemed to be in a large storage room. All the boxes contained Offworld mining equipment. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Yenshu, there is something over here." Anakin was stooped down in the corner next to a silver-ish box.
"What is it?" Yenshu approached him feeling soreness in her legs.
"It is a box, but it looks new." He wiped the top of the box finding no dust or dirt.
"That is odd." She traced the outline of the broken circle on the top of the box. "Open it."
"I can't"
"What do you mean you can't?"
"It won't open, not even with the force at my aid."
"Let's get out of here." Yenshu decided after a long awkward silence.
Obi-Wan and Danel stopped running after reaching the small cell at the end of the corridor.
"That was close." Obi-Wan sighed in relief.
"Yeah, well now what?" Danel said, slightly hostile.
"I suppose that we should go find your master and the others." Obi- Wan jumped to the floor below, landing safely with the help of the force. "With any luck they won't be far from here." Danel jumped down after him. They walked slowly across the room and through the corridor. The rooms were covered in a thick layer of dust.
"Can't we wait for them to come to us?" Danel objected.
"I do not thin that staying put is a very good idea. They are in trouble, I know it."
"Yean, well what do you know?" Danel retorted.
"I will pretend that I did not hear that." Obi-Wan looked down through another hole in the floor. "This is about where Yenshu and Anakin fell." He leaned next to the hole. "I hope that they are all right."