Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me :D

Chapter One:

From the edge of the platform the group watched as the enemy ship crashed down on the landing platform approximately 200 hundred feet across from them. The unknown ships had also helped them so that their ship wasn't decimated on impact. Anger flooded Jade's core. They had killed so many of those she cared for, and now Emmara was lying injured in a puddle of her own blood. Anger drove her thoughts and her actions as she tore open their weapons bag and grabbed her sniper rifle and loaded it with three bullets. They would pay for what they had done. She never missed.

She took her place and knelt on the ground and raised the weapon and searched until she found the landing platform begin to descend from the ship. Her mind was racing, and her thoughts fell to her training. She knew that they deserved to stand trial for their actions. Death was too easy for them. So as she held her finger over the trigger she aimed for the first mans knee cap. She pulled the trigger, and the familiar loud crack of the bullet filled her ears. She smiled wickedly as he fell. Without missing a beat, she turned her sights to the next man and took the shot. He fell.

"A leg for a leg." She muttered.

When her sight fell on the man who had personally drugged her, and locked her on the balcony, her anger flared and instead of aiming for his knee cap she aimed for his heart. She didn't have to see his last breath leave his body for her to know that he was dead. She had killed him. The elated feeling was short lived as she realized what she had done.

Remorse swept through her.

She knew better than this and now she was no better than him.

"Drop your weapon." A deep voice commanded behind her. Surprised Jade turned her head to see the assembled troop of soldiers. Jade quickly obeyed and the rifle fell to the concrete with a clank. She slowly raised her hands in submission before rising to her feet and turning to face her apprehenders. Her face immediately hardened before they could see her inner anguish. She began to stride forward and the armed men raised their weapons, all eyes trained on her.

"Not another step." The same voice commanded, "You are under arrest."

Jade nodded,

"I understand. I hold no ill will toward you." She tried to assure them but still took another step. One of the soldiers fired when she violated the order to stay put. Instead of the laser fire striking her down Jade reacted quickly. She was surprised when a wave of her hand reflected the blast. She had never done that before.

"You are a Jedi." The commander of the troop stated lowering his weapon. Jade raised an eyebrow in confusion. What had they called her? "We apologize, Jedi. Your ship was not recognized."

Her bewildered expression doubled at every word he spoke. What was he talking about? What in the world are Jedi?

"Do you and your party require a transport to the Temple?" She had no clue what he was referring to, but her eyes fell on the unmoving form of Emmara and she reckoned that it couldn't hurt to go to this 'temple'. They obviously revered these Jedi, so they could not be that bad. Without thinking Jade nodded her head. She placed her hands on her hips and she noticed his eye fall to her hips. She ignored the expression of comprehension cross his features.

"If it isn't too much trouble," She wondered aloud, "My friend is badly injured and needs healing." She said before adding, "Those men are murderers, please take them into custody." She pointed over her shoulder to the other platform where the men were lying. The leader saluted before he commanded half of his men to arrest them. Jade was taken by surprise when one of the soldiers rushed behind her and encircled her wrists with constraints.

"What are you doing?" She sputtered, turning to look over her shoulder as the man snapped the last manacle to her wrist.

"Jedi do not kill their prisoners," He looked down to her waist, "And they always carry a lightsaber, which you are not."

"Please my friend needs medical attention." She cried as they began to lead her towards a transporter across the way. A few feet away from the transporter the man who held her forearm looked down at her and answered her question.

"Do not worry; she will be taken to the MedCenter at the Jedi Temple."

"I thought we were going to the temple." She stated, and he shook his head.

"You claimed to be a Jedi, which we cannot ignore. The council will be informed and they will decide your fate but until then you will come with us." He spoke as he helped her into the seat of the vehicle. She turned her eyes to watch as Emmara was carefully lifted onto a gurney and escorted by medics into a large emergency transport. She watched as Halley was taken by the hand and led in the direction they had taken Emmara. The rest of them were also placed under arrest and taken to the same carrier as she was.

It only took a matter of minutes to arrive at a large silver sky scraper surrounded by similar structures on all sides. All manner of transportation was buzzing above their heads, and Jade's eyes widened in awe at the majesty of it. She hadn't realized that she had stopped completely to stare up until the officer pressed her forward. She had no choice but to move. She was escorted into a dark concrete room with no windows and handcuffed to the table so she couldn't go anywhere. Without a word the men who had escorted her disappeared and she was left alone with so many questions left unanswered.

…

Obi-wan Kenobi had been called before the council due to an unexpected emergency. Anakin, his sixteen year old padawan, could hardly contain his excitement and Obi-wan was very tempted to roll his eyes at his eager padawan. Always on the lookout for an adventure and never wanting to just sit, relax and meditate. He couldn't deny that Anakin was trying for him, but he loved Anakin like a brother and he made a promise to his master that he would never break. Through even the most trying times with Anakin he would never regret his decision to take him as his padawan learner.

"What do you suppose the mission is going to be?" Anakin wondered aloud, trying his hardest to sound in control of his excitement.

"There may not be an assignment, Anakin." He told him, hoping that his subtle tone would reach Anakin's ears. He was sorely mistaken.

"Why else would they request a meeting with us?" Anakin countered, "We haven't had an assignment in months since that disaster on Azure." Anakin was oblivious to the blow he had just dealt to Obi-wan. Obi-wan's head fell slightly at the mention of their last mission, which had cost Siri Tachi her life. The wound inside of Obi-wan threatened to reopen, but he pushed aside the feelings in his chest and focused on his purpose while he repeated the Jedi Code in his mind. He hardly noticed as his padawan rattled on, but continued to nod as if he was paying attention.

"I hope it's something off world." Anakin continued with hope laced in his voice, "I need new scenery, and something to challenge me."

"Anakin there is no need to be presumptuous." Obi-wan told him in a low tone, "Let us listen to what the council has to say before we start speculating prematurely."

Anakin shut his mouth abruptly. He hadn't realized that he had upset his Master, and so he stopped talking and walked in silence alongside Obi-wan. In his head he was still thinking of all of the great missions they could embark on off world. He had overheard some of the other padawan's talking about a mission to Ando to help negotiate peace between the people there, which gave an opportunity for action. Yes, that sounded good to Anakin. He was bored of being stuck in the Temple, especially since Obi-wan had been in a strange mood. Ever since their last mission, Obi-wan was extremely irritable. Anakin had become very used to Obi-wan's constant lectures the past few months and it was getting old. He was hiding something from Anakin, and it was driving him mad.

Before they knew it they arrived at the council chambers. Obi-wan gave Anakin a stern look.

"Allow me to do all of the talking, padawan." He told him, and didn't give him time respond before he strode through the opened doorway. Anakin hardly gave his harsh words a second thought before he followed him into the council room. He stood beside Obi-wan with his hands clasped behind his back as he faced the council.

"Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi, and young padawan Skywalker." Master Windu addressed them with a slight bow of his bald head, "We have a small assignment for you."

Obi-wan nodded, urging him to continue.

"A ship crashed in the city earlier this morning and the inhabitants claimed to be Jedi. We have no records of Order members with names they provided." He explained, "They are in custody as we speak and we need you to go talk to them on behalf of the Order."

"The reason for their deception, find it you must." Yoda interjected, "In their arrival, a greater mystery, I sense. Up for the task, are you and your padawan?"

Obi-wan listened carefully to the assignment they were given, which seemed relatively simple. He could feel the disappointment rolling off of Anakin in waves.

"Of course, Masters." He replied, "Is there any more information I should need before starting the investigation?"

"Here is a datapad with all of the information we have received from the local law enforcement." Master Windu informed him as he held out the square piece of technology towards Obi-wan. He graciously accepted it, holding it at his side until he could look it over outside the council walls.

"Injured, very badly, one of them was. Currently in the MedCenter, she is. When she is well, interview her you must."
Obi-wan nodded,

"Is there anything else you require of us?" Master Windu shook his head,

"Report back to us once you have interviewed each of them." Obi-wan and Anakin bowed simultaneously to the council before turning and exiting the council chambers.

The moment the door had closed behind them Anakin let lose a dissatisfied groan. Obi-wan eyed his padawan.

"You seem disappointed?" He realized that he was stating the obvious, but he felt that Anakin should explain his lack of interest. Anakin nodded slowly, unsure of how to respond to his master's question.

"This is hardly important." He complained, "We should be doing something more significant! It just seems so ridiculous to have us babysitting strays." Obi-wan had to suppress his urge to reprimand Anakin harshly; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In that moment he wished Qui-gon was still here. He would always know what to say.

"Anakin control yourself." He chided, "It is not our place to question the Council." Anakin hung his head.

"Yes, Master." He replied automatically. "I apologize, Master." His apology was almost habitual he was so used to apologizing. Obi-wan was fully aware that Anakin's admission was hardly genuine. Obi-wan attributed that to his dark mood the past few months, which caused a flicker of guilt to hit his core. He had been treating Anakin less than kindly. That was wrong.

"I am sorry, Anakin." He uttered, placing his hand on the teenagers shoulder. "I have been hard on you."

"I understand, Master." Anakin said with a slight smile. "I wish you could just tell me what is bothering you." Obi-wan was surprised that Anakin had noticed. He had hoped that he kept his anguish hidden behind closed doors, but he seems to have been wrong.

"It is hardly of importance, Anakin." He brushed it off, not wanting to have this discussion; especially right now. "From now on I promise to keep my own emotions in check." Anakin was crestfallen that Obi-wan couldn't confide in him with what was bothering him so profoundly. Although he was far from satisfied with his answer, Anakin smiled at his master and nodded.

"What's first?" Anakin questioned, driving the conversation in a different direction. Obi-wan looked at the datapad in his hand and powered it on to browse over the information. It took only a few moments to read over what the datapad held. In short, two ships had crashed in the city and a woman from the first ship claimed to be a member of the Order after shooting 3 men down from the second ship. Not very much information had been collected, most likely due to the fact that they wanted the Order to take precedence of the case. He handed the datapad to his padawan.

"You can read that on the way to the police station." Anakin nodded and followed Obi-wan into the lift that would take them to the landing pad of the temple.

…

Jade was hardly afraid to speak her mind. It was one of her many shortcomings, at least that is what she was told constantly by her peers. So when the men had come in to ask her questions with callous words, she had no trouble telling them off. She had been treated like a criminal! Chained to a desk in a dark room, given no opportunity to see or speak to her comrades, it made her extremely irritable. They then proceeded to tell her that she was, in fact, in trouble with the law for shooting the assassin. She couldn't tell them enough that the man she had shot was a fugitive from the law, and she was completely justified in her actions. She was not about to let them in on the anguish that filled her entire being. She knew she had been wrong to kill him. It went against everything she was taught; to uphold the law.

Besides that, no one cared to explain what was going on! It was obvious that they were on a different planet, but she still did not know which planet. It was not very often that a Guardian was allowed to travel off planet. Of course it had happened once or twice, due to royal business that had brought the Queen off planet. Jade had never been lucky enough to escort the Queen on her off world ventures.

Jade's mind jumped suddenly to Emmara. She wondered if she was okay, or what condition she was in. It was rather annoying that she had been kept in the dark.

Before she could think more on the subject someone walked through the large steel door. She was hardly surprised that it was the same officer who she had been dealing with for the past few hours. He was rather short, with a sagging middle and thinning grey hair. Her least favorite aspect of him was his mustache, which she still had yet to see without a crumb of food stuck in it. He called himself Lieutenant Jorrus Lester. Jade couldn't stand him. Whenever he spoke he seemed to be talking down at Jade, not to her, but at her. It made Jade want to scream and she could barely contain her obvious feelings of resentment.

She listened for a few moments as he rambled on, trying to get her to admit that they had an ulterior motive behind their crash. Jade refused to acknowledge his accusations in any way, and was rather relieved when there was a knock on the door signaling for him to leave. She gave him a sarcastic wave, glad when he gave her a dirty scowl in return. That fat, old, ratty little man. She seethed silently to herself.

She folded her arms over her chest defensively as the door opened again. She didn't even look up, expecting to see ratty old Lester. She was pleasantly surprised when instead of the infuriating little man instead there were two men, both of which were considerably easier to look at. The younger of the two regarded her with suspicion, and his blue eyes were narrowed as he watched her closely. The older of the two had neither suspicion nor the revulsion that she had received from Lieutenant Lester, instead he only watched her with calm curiosity. It was much more pleasant than being stared down. Jade was extremely grateful for the change.

"I am Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi, and this is my padawan Anakin Skywalker." He introduced himself, "What is your name?" He was very polite, and Jade was relieved. She instantly felt more relaxed in their presence whereas the other officers had her on edge the entire time.

"Jade Aviosa." She responded, noticing that there was something different about these two; they were dressed in beige and brown robes, and they didn't seem to have any badges or patches that specified them as officers of the law. She found it strange.

"Why aren't you in a uniform like Captain Gosular and Lieutenant Mustache?" She was hardly polite, sneering the word Lieutenant decisively. She knew he was listening in from somewhere.

"We are not republic soldier's, we are Jedi." The teenage boy told her, as if she was supposed to know. She didn't pretend to know what the difference was.

"I have no clue what either of those is." She informed them, "Like I have been telling Lieutenant Mustache over and over and over again; I am not from here." They were both intrigued by her words.

"Where are you from?" Obi-wan asked, hoping she caught onto his genuine curiosity. He could tell that she had been treated with far less than respect from the soldiers and that bothered him. So he made it his duty to show her that not everyone here was as impolite as Lieutenant Lester. Obi-wan could hardly stand him either, and he had only met him fifteen minutes ago. She had been stuck in this containment room for hours with him; the poor woman.

"I was born in the city of Galva in the country Eonia." She told them, "The planet is called Enisaari." She could tell by their look that they were unfamiliar with her home planet.

"In what region is Enisaari located?" She could only stare back at them. Region?

They both shared a look, before Obi-wan sat forward with his hands clasped in front of him on the desk. Jade wanted to sit back against the chair they had provided but the wrist restraints kept her stationary, not allowing any room for her to lean back. They must have noticed her discomfort because seconds later the cuffs opened with a hiss and her hands were released. She gave them a grateful smile as she rubbed her tender wrists.

"Enisaari is in the Havicala galaxy, that is the extent of my knowledge on its location." She told them honestly, "Where am I exactly? I know that we are on a different planet, but from the way you have been talking I am starting to assume that we are actually playing in a whole different ballgame."

Obi-wan nodded,

"I have never heard of Enisaari, or a Havicala galaxy." He informed her gently, "Can you tell us how you came to be here?" Jade nodded. At least they wanted to hear her side of the story, whereas Lieutenant Mustache insisted that she was some sort of lying terrorist. It was refreshing. They didn't immediately assume that she was a liar.

She began to recount the events that had led them through the black hole, starting with the Royal Gala and how she had been drugged and locked on the balcony when the explosion occurred.

Jade had just finished doing a small perimeter check and had found a seat on the outer edges of the elegantly decorated ballroom. She did not want to be obligated to engage in small talk with the guests. Most of which were politicians, or family to the queen, and others were simply friends. Jade grabbed a glass of wine from a waiter and nursed it slowly. She was surprised when she was approached by a man she had never met before.

When the handsome blonde man had asked her to dance Jade was tempted to decline, yet something in his blue eyes made her acquiesce. So she took his hand and let him lead her through the crowd of fashionably dressed people toward the hard wood dance floor. She almost felt as if she belonged among the multitude wearing her one shoulder deep sapphire colored gown with a crystal beaded embellishment under her breast. It was almost as if she was one of them, only in the palace to attend an extravagant party and to relax and enjoy the evening. Yet, she was not one of them. She was a guardian to the Queen, and she was here only pretending to be one of them. It made her sad to think that her life would never resemble that of a normal twenty year old woman. Her life would be full of watching, protecting, and serving. It was a life that was not her own.

"Her Majesty Queen Callista of Eonia." A deep voice rang out, introducing the Queen when she entered. Everyone who was sitting stood up out of respect as the Queen arrived, and those on the dance floor had come to a stop. It wasn't until the Queen had taken her seat that the activities resumed.

When the man, Stetson, pulled her into his arms she came out of her thoughts and smiled.

They began to follow the other dancing couples in a circle as they waltzed, and at first neither of them spoke. Jade was busy watching the people swirling around her, and wondering why she had allowed herself to be taken to the dance floor. She loved to dance, but something about tonight was not sitting well with Jade. An almost foreboding feeling had invaded her being and it was clouding any chance of enjoyment. She couldn't place the feeling, and so she didn't know why she was so out of it. So she simply tried to ignore it.

"You look concerned." Stetson stated as the song ended and he took her han d to guide her from the dance floor. Jade looked up at him.

"Do I?" She wondered, trying to seem innocent so he would cease from trying to pry farther. "I am sorry I am a little distracted…" She trailed off as her eyes wandered around her.

"About?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil the party, why don't we go out onto the balcony for some fresh air?" Before he could answer she stalked off towards the table to grab her purse before heading in the direction of the balcony doors. In doing so she missed his look of utter exasperation. He was trying desperately to get her to talk, but she was blocking him out. It was most frustrating. If she failed to be interested in him this whole plan would fail…

He followed after Jade, ducking through the enormous mass of people but stopping to grab two glasses of champagne from the waiter beside the door. With a smile he thanked him before stepping out into the cool night air.

Jade was staring up at the stars and her eyes were distant as though she was deep in serious thought. The balcony was uninhibited by people, they were completely alone. He watched her carefully for a moment.

"You are quite morose, whatever is the matter?" Jade's head turned to look at him, and he offered her the glass of champagne. She took it with a smile and sipped it generously.

"It has just been a strange day." She told him, setting the glass down on the thick stone balcony railing. "A good friend of mine died today. She was murdered by a dimwitted miserable lout." She took another generous swig, willing the tears in her eyes to dry up. She hated crying, especially in front of an audience.

"I am sorry." Even as he said it, the tone of his voice portrayed his actual feeling of indifference. Offended by his comment she looked over at him ready to tell him off, but something in her head felt strangely light. In seconds her vision was becoming cloudy but she had the frame of mind to reach out with her feelings to understand who this man was. She found herself invading places in his mind that she had no business intruding upon. She knew in an instant that this whole gentlemanly charade was fake and he was simply distracting her from something, something monumental. Jade's brow rose in question, and by the look on his face she could tell that he knew she had been poking around where she didn't belong.

"I really wish you hadn't done that." He advanced and Jade backed away, dropping her purse on the ground and she prepared herself for a fight by raising her fists clumsily. Whatever drug had been in the champagne was taking affect quickly and shrouding all of her senses. He struck first, and she barely dodged the shot by weaving to the side and instead landed her own weak blow to his ribcage. He barely noticed and recovered quickly enough to catch her wrist and twist it behind her back effectively trapping her against him. Inside of her head Jade was raging. What had she been thinking? Letting her guard down to a total stranger and giving him the opportunity to drug her!

"You won't get away with this!" Her voice was slurred as the drugs began to affect her tongue. He covered her mouth as he laughed.

"I was hoping you would go down quietly." He told her holding her tightly so she couldn't escape no matter how hard she fought. It made no difference because her vision was beginning to blur and fade. It took mere seconds for her to black out completely.

He carefully laid her on the hard ground. Before anyone could discover them he bound the handles to the doors so they couldn't be opened. He pulled Jade's body over to corner so nobody from upper balconies could see her. After doing so he sent the message to his cohorts that his part of the plan was taken care of before he carefully climbed over the balcony ledge and descended down to the grass below. He had to go prepare the ship for a quick getaway.

"The next thing I remember is waking up, and then a large explosion." She said. Recounting the experience was difficult for Jade. She felt responsible for so much that had happened, and now she was stuck where she couldn't even begin to rectify the damage.

Jade had been struggling to open the doors and had been knocked back when the man had kicked them open so she fell to the ground. The suspect spared her a quick glance before he leapt over the railway and plummeted down to the ground. Emmara made it to the balcony seconds after and stopped to help Jade to her feet. Jade had recovered from being drugged quickly due to quick healing rate, but she still felt a little cloudy. She wasn't about to let the criminal get away just because her head felt heavy. She could still kick his butt if she wanted to.

"Come on, we have to follow him." Emmara said and Jade nodded. They both quickly shed their high heeled shoes and took them in their hands so that they could jump without breaking an ankle. Jade hurried to grab her purse before she jumped over the balcony edge with Emmara. They both landed on their feet and didn't spare a second before they sprinted in the direction the criminal had headed.

They were hot on his tail and followed him as he skidded around the corner of the palace toward the hangar bay about ten yards away. Once they were inside the building they stopped briefly to catch their breath and to watch as the man fiddled around with a datapad. Jade turned to Emmara.

"He had help. They might have a flier ready to take off." Emmara nodded as they jogged,

"Do you have a communicator with you?" Jade nodded,

She pulled her communicator out of her purse before flipping it on.

"Raleigh is gone, try calling Nya." A look of sadness passed over her face at the news but then she solemnly nodded. It took only seconds for Nya to answer.

"We are in pursuit of the criminals. We are outside the hangar and in need of assistance."

"Understood. Over and out."

The transmission ended and Jade looked back through the window to see where the man was. He was still going over a datapad, and he had an angry scowl on his face.

"Why isn't he in a hurry? He just set a bomb of in the palace. You would think that would call for some urgency." Jade wondered aloud, looking to Emmara. She shrugged.

"I tied up one of their men in a supply closet after he attacked me. Maybe he's waiting for him…" She conjectured.

"Either way we need to stop him… Where are those damn soldiers?" She cried, looking around desperately.

"No need to swear, ma'am." A deep voice said, stepping towards them with a handful of men behind him. They were soldiers, dressed in the royal uniform and armed with guns and swords. "Captain Brion Nooram," He stated, "How can we help?" Jade smiled very obviously embarrassed for being so impatient.

"I apologize, Captain but this is a dire situation." Jade said sincerely, "We need to get into the hangar and stop them before they get airborne. As far as we know there are only two men inside, but there may be more."

"We will enter through the mechanic station and overtake them." Emmara informed them of the plan, "Please be sure not to kill any of them. I want them alive to face trial for their crimes."

Captain Nooram nodded in understanding and looked through the window to see what he was dealing with. The man was still standing beside a flier, looking at the entrance expectantly.

"Let's go."

Emmara and Jade lead the small group through the mechanic station entrance in the back of the hangar, and as quietly as possible filed into the hangar bay. The soldiers had provided them with guns, and so they held them up ready to fire. They snuck from airship to airship, hidden behind the giant masses of metal. Once they were within firing distance they stopped and prepared themselves. Before they could step out and arrest the man someone burst through the entrance, swearing and raving loudly.

"Where the hell have you been Jarem?" The man shouted and advanced towards him.

"The guardian, Niada, knocked me out and tied me up in a broom closet." He replied, anger seeping from his tone.

"Well let's get out of here…" They both turned to run up the platform of a space craft.

Before they could get very far Emmara and Jade stepped out of hiding and called for them to halt. The other soldiers stepped out and aimed their weapons at the two men. Without warning both men turned and pulled guns out and opened fire.

Jade ducked behind the steel of an aircraft. After they had shot at her a few times she stepped out and took a few shots of her own. Both men realized that they were overpowered and ran up the platform before they were killed. After they were safely inside the platform lifted and sealed to the aircraft as it fired to life. Swearing, Jade looked over her shoulder to Emmara.

"The Wanderer is over there," she indicated to her ship only a few yards behind her, "Let's go get them, Emmara."

Emmara nodded.

They had to hurry. The rebels had fled onto their ship and had already taken off, and so Jade hurried to their ship, The Wanderer. She immediately made a dash to the cockpit to get the ship up in the air.

"You know the rest." She finished with a grimace. They continued to ask her questions, and she was completely honest and forth coming with her information.

Obi-wan was completely fascinated as he listened to the stranger, Jade Aviosa, describe the events that had led to the crash landing in the inner city of Coruscant. He was especially curious about the group of warrior handmaidens that Miss Aviosa was affiliated with and made a mental note to ask about that later. He had immediately sensed her ties to the Force, and was quite surprised that she was, to some extent, trained to act upon its call.

It would have been impossible for him not to notice the way that she had read him, and felt around for his aura and intentions. He was even more fascinated by the fact that she told him how she had somehow deflected a blaster shot with nothing but her hand. She wasn't even aware of a third of the strength she had within herself. His initial impression of her was that she was trying too hard to come off as callous and mean, which was hardly the case. She was rough around the edges, to be sure, but she was not cold hearted in the least.

From what he could tell when Miss Aviosa and her group came through the black hole they were transported across space into a completely new galaxy, possibly even across multiple galaxies. It was impossible to tell, although, that would explain the reason that the world she described was completely unknown to him and his padawan. It would explain her obvious ignorance to this world and its regulations. Her story seemed plausible. If he was being honest it was hardly the most outlandish scenario he had encountered over the years.

"Is Emmara okay? Is Halley still safe with her?" Jade asked suddenly, hoping that they could tell her at least a little of what had become of her closest friend and the young girl.

"All we know is that she is in the infirmary at the Temple," Obi-wan told her softly, "I am sure we can arrange for you to see her, but for now can you tell me about the men you were after?"

Jade nodded in cooperation.

"Members of a rebel group called GoSal," She answered, "They are the ones responsible for both of the attacks that lead us here."

Obi-wan nodded, remembering the two attacks she had previously mentioned.

"Speaking of, where did they end up?" Jade wondered aloud, wanting to know the fate of the assassin's responsible for this whole mess.

"I am not at liberty to divulge that information, but I assure they are not in any shape to escape." Obi-wan told her before eyeing her closely, "Which brings us to another point of topic."

"You openly wounded two of them and killed the third." Anakin interjected, throwing a sharp glance at Jade. She hung her head so that her eyes were cast downward.

"That was done in a moment of impulse." She admitted, "I knew what I was doing, and I know that it was wrong."

"Killing a man in cold blood is a crime," Anakin told her but stopped when Obi-wan put a firm hand on his shoulder. Jade had not lifted her head, but continued to stare down into her lap. She was trying to hide the tears that were dropping unceremoniously from her eyes.

"I believe the council will be willing to overlook the incident due to the circumstances," Obi-wan tried to comfort her, "He was a murderer after all."

But his words were of no comfort to Jade. She was riddled with anguish at her actions.

"There are still a lot of questions to be answered." Obi-wan spoke after a few brief moments of silence, "But I do believe it is scarcely necessary to have you detained as criminals."

Jade wiped away the tear residue from her eyes before she looked up in astonishment to Obi-wan and Anakin. They were going to let them go. Where would they go? Obi-wan sensed her feelings and looked to his padawan who was just as clueless as he was. He needed to speak to the council before he made any decisions.

"We are going to step outside for a moment to work out your living accommodations."

So Obi-wan exited the interrogation room with his padawan close on his heels. He was met by Captain Gosular and Lieutenant Lester with disapproving stares.

"You are going to let them go?" The captain demanded with an angry stare.

Obi-wan nodded calmly despite the captain's heated tone.

"They are hardly a threat, and they will be under close supervision by the Jedi." He informed them, "Your only duty now is to assign them an apartment in the refugee sector. The Order will handle the rest." His command was brief and to the point. It left no room for speculation and so he was confused when the Captain was not complying.

"Is there a problem captain?" He ordered, but the man shook his head before stalking off without another word. Obi-wan turned to his padawan.

"I will com the council to inform them of what we have learned," He glanced over his shoulder to the hall where the captain had fled. He gave his padawan a pointed look. "I am uncomfortable leaving them alone in the hands of Captain Gosular and the Lieutenant." Anakin nodded in agreement, although he wasn't as convinced of the off worlders' quite yet.

"I will stay and make sure they are not mistreated." Obi-wan nodded before turning and leaving to notify the council of what they had learned.

Once he was outside the station house and standing beside the speeder he pulled out his com link to get a hold of the council.

Let me know what you think?

Maura