A/N: Greetings, fellow Star Wars fans! I'm terribly sorry about the long delay on this chapter, and I wish I had a better excuse than school and writer's block. But, alas, these are the usual excuses for a busy freshman just beginning her writing career. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, and before I forget, Darren Jade is of no relation to Mara Jade. I thought it sounded cool, and Mara completely slipped mind. When I finally realized it, Darren Jade had planted himself so firmly in my mind that I couldn't bear to part with him.

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With each arduous stroke of his muscled arms, the Padawan took in steady, even gulps of oxygen through his Aquatus A99 as the water flowed past and around his body. He was in a race against time to get to the bottom of the hundred-meter-deep pond. He glanced at his aqua-chrono: four minutes left of the twenty-five he'd been given. His arms lashed out in haste.

At the two-minute mark, the rocky, muddy pond-floor was in sight. About fifteen or so more pull-throughs—

Two blaring, short beeps sounded through the water, signaling the need to resurface. The Padawan grunted in half-hearted frustration. With a small twist of the leg, he turned to face the rim of the training aquarium. Within twenty minutes, he'd broken the surface of the water, managing to avoid colliding into the jagged rocks and entangling himself in the seaweeds. With his head now above the water, he removed his supply of oxygen and began swimming towards the ladder at the edge with small, conserved breaststroke pulls. As he pulled his body up the ladder, a pair of boots suddenly stopped in front of him. Subconsciously gulping, his gaze traveled up the tan-robed body until he saw the smirking face of his Jedi Master, Darren Jade.

"Dono Orono," the elder black-haired man rumbled, the emerald jewels for his eyes glinting with sarcastic amusement. He shook his head as a smile emerged, and Dono grimaced, understanding that he was not being reprimanded.

"Sorry, Master. The training arena was full, so I thought it might be a good time to work on my underwater endurance, seeing as I haven't been able to since the mission to Alderaan," explained Dono, his hair dripping into his brown eyes, giving him a comical appearance completed by his soaking clothes.

"Not to worry, my young Padawan. Dry off quickly, and meet me back at our quarters," instructed Darren, handing his apprentice a towel and a fresh set of traditional Jedi robes. "We have a Council meeting to get to."

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There were very few things that could cause anxiety within Dono Orono. He could keep his cool in a battle, and he could speak to an influential Senator without so much as stuttering. But if there was one thing that made him nervous, it was walking to Council meeting. The excitement of receiving a new mission would bubble a hundred times more vigorously than a spring from the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Each time he was called up for an assignment, he could barely find the will to calm down, so it was no surprise for him to hear his Master's kind but firm reprimand.

"Padawan, calm down. It's help neither of us, nor the Council, for that matter, if you can't concentrate long enough to get the briefing."

"Sorry, Master. I'm trying. You know how anxious I get before a Council Meeting."

Master Darren heaved a weary sigh. "Yes. Unfortunately. That's something we must work on. Patience. Serenity. Learn to live these, and then you will be at peace. It is easier to hear the will of the Force as such."

"Yes, Master," replied the Padawan.

Dono took a deep, soothing breath and began to siphon his turbulent emotions into the Force. By the time he was calm they had reached the Council doors, where a Padawan aide stood guard, stolid and unmoving. A blank look came over the boy's face as he alerted the Jedi Masters in the room beyond of the new arrivals. His eyes slid back into focus, and he nodded them in. They stepped forward and Dono palmed open the door.

The Council Chamber: that glorious, magnificent round room atop one of the five towering spires of the Jedi Temple, opening up to the industrious beauty of Coruscant. Twelve Masters were seated comfortably on twelve chairs mounted upon the cold stone floor. This room, filled to the brim with the quintessence of the Force, was hallowed as the birthplace of the Jedi Order.

The summoned Jedi stepped into the circular room, their footfalls echoing off of the stone floor. Bowing deeply, as was custom, Darren and Dono awaited the instructions for their mission. They were not hindered long; the deep rumble of Torin Terius, High Jedi Master, soon greeted them.

"Master Jade and Padawan Orono. Your new assignment is to take place on the planet Aquilaris," the elder humanoid began.

"Just a few hours ago, their newly elected Prime Minister, Varas Odai, was injured in an attempted assassination," continued Master Telana Kiarr, her shoulder-length blonde hair pulled back into a half-ponytail. "She is healing, but they require extra security."

The Jedi Masters exchanged a curious glance. Kruineph Novastar, a lanky humanoid with claw scars across his jaw, cleared his throat before continuing in a musical tenor, "What is very disturbing about this is the fact that Odai was shot almost literally right after her name was announced. She was up at the podium when she was fired upon, according to the head of security."

"Right after the election?" reiterated Darren, the incredulity evident in his tone.

"Yes," confirmed Master Terius. "Your job, along with increased security, is to uncover the identity of the assassin, or assassins, and arrest them."

"You are to leave in two hours. Gather what belongings you need, and be ready to leave in the Temple Hangars," directed Master Kiarr.

Master and Padawan bowed deeply, and after a blessing of the Force, they walked out of the Council Chamber. Silence in their wake, the two matched each other stride for stride, contemplating what they had just heard. As they reached the Temple elevator, Dono spared his Master a glance before breaking the silence.

"What does it mean, Master? Why would some one be shot minutes after an election?"

"You're right, it doesn't add up. Unless..." Master Jade drifted off, an idea almost visibly forming beneath his shoulder-length raven hair. He led the way off the elevator, making towards their quarters.

"Unless what, Master?" pressed Dono. Silence reigned for a few more minutes but for the echoing of boots in the corridor. Click, clack, click, clack. The two were so in synch, so focused, that their footsteps were as one single person. At the same time as they approached their door, Darren frowned deeply before announcing his thoughts.

"There could be...several possibilities," he began hesitantly. "The assassin could have rigged the election so they could then kill off Odai. But then that would lead into why they chose her, or why they were against her—from what I remember in reading about the election before today, there weren't very many views she was taking that would be easily opposed, per se."

Dono palmed open the door for his Master, rapt by Darren's progress. Master Jade was known for being a 'thinker' as well as a 'doer,' and the two combined together was a benefit in many situations. He had stopped many planets from breaking out into civil war, but if war was inevitable, he was most definitely able to hold his own in battle.

"But," he continued, pacing a circle around their table, "it could be that someone else didn't want her to win, and they paid the assassin off to kill her."

"But they failed to do so," finished Dono, catching onto Darren's train of thought. "Which means they may try to kill her again."

"Exactly." He paused for a moment, seemingly considering his options. Finally, he turned to Dono and articulated with slow precision, "Hand me a plaitfruit."

Dono quirked his lips and arched an eyebrow as he reached across the table for the bowl. The golden fruit shimmered under the fluorescent lighting, soaring until Darren snatched it deftly from the air. He nodded his thanks and sank his teeth into the fruit. The young Padawan, shaking his head in playful disbelief, stood up from the table and headed towards his room, preparing to pack. He could somehow sense that the approaching mission was going to be a difficult one.

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"Master, we're coming out of hyperspace."

Darren shook himself out his doze as he heard the sound of his Padawan's slightly distorted Coruscanti accent coming through his commlink speaker. Rubbing his eyes slightly, he responded with a quick, "I'm on my way," and stood up slowly, so as to keep the blood from rushing from his head.

The trip had so far taken a total of three days, so he and Dono had decided to take shifts during the night cycles. Right now happened to be Dono's turn, and Darren had fallen asleep in his attempts to just doze. Twisting his neck with a slight crack, he stepped into the two-pilot cockpit. His Padawan was just tapping in the last calculations that would take them back into realspace. Taking his seat in the co-pilot's chair, Darren stared through the transparisteel viewport at the planet they were approaching.

"Beautiful," whispered Dono, voicing the very thought that was going through his own mind. While he knew that every planet that they had visited was beautiful, Darren couldn't help but think that the deep cerulean blue water of Aquilaris was breathtaking, even from this distance in space.

Inhaling deeply, he turned to Dono and said, "Well...there's Aquilaris for you."