CHAPTER NINE: An Excursion
LAH'MU
One Week Later
"Well what you lack in meditation you certainly make up for in application," Chihiro remarked, wiping the sweat from his brow. Since his novices arrival one week ago, she had excelled in all physical aspects of the Force and lightsaber handling, but her meditation certainly left something to be desired.
"I'm sorry I can't picture myself sipping Lyme's rose juice on the beach," Malaika retorted, a smile on her face. Her mood had certainly improved in the past week, even if all her searches for her brother were in vain. No Mandalorian boy had been at the academy in years, as a matter of fact Malaika was something of an outlier, most Mandalorians declined training. Well, it narrows my search, Malaika had thought semi-optimistically, before realizing that she lived in a galaxy full of billions of life forms.
"You know what I think will help Malaika," Chihiro said, leaning against some craggy black rocks. "Tell me more about yourself, your life story."
"You don't beat around the bush do you," Malaika quipped, sitting across from him on the black sand. Today they had been down at the beach for endurance exercises. "Well you already know I was born on Mandalore nineteen years ago. Lived with my family until I hit sixteen. Struck out on my own after that," she said simply.
"And what? Growing up in the middle of a civil war was just a walk in the park?"
"No," she answered rather tersely. "But that was all several years ago." Silence fell over the pair for a moment, before Chihiro rose up.
"Well I suspect that there is something psychologically blocking you from reaching a meditative balance. So until you deal with that, you're stuck outside," turning to leave, Malaika jumped up behind him.
"What? Why the hell do I need a meditative balance or whatever anyway?" Malaika protested. Chihiro stopped and turned around.
"Being able to manifest the Force enough to move things is only one small aspect. Being able to meditate within the Force and find a balance is also important. And since you suck at it, you're locked out until you figure it out," he finished, tossing her a bag of various survival items.
"The hell kind of teaching method is this?" Malaika objected. "I thought we weren't supposed be out after dark anyway?"
"That is now your problem. Don't worry, if you were a novice from Coruscant I'd lock you in a meditation room, but I think you can hack it out here. Goodbye!"
"Gee, thanks," she answered, rifling through the bag. He was definitely serious about leaving her outside, and chasing after him would only forestall the inevitable. Knowing that there weren't any animals to be worried about, only a few random settlers, Malaika looked around the area for a suitable campsite. Seeing a mountain range in the distance, she hiked on the backpack and began her journey.
CORUSCANT
"Sorry I'm late Master Kenobi, Master Unduli, Master Secura," Anakin said quickly, face flushed from rushing to the meeting.
"Not to worry Anakin," Aayla assured him, signaling they could all use first names again. The war had done away with many Jedi formalities. "We were just about to review our traffic charts, have you had a chance to look at yours yet?"
"No, I haven't Aayla," Anakin answered.
"Neither have I," Obi-Wan concurred.
"Lucky for us, I became incredibly bored on the flight over here, and analyzed all the sectors," Aayla announced cheerily. "The ship never jumped to hyperspace which made tracking it much easier. It was last spotted in the Sujimis sector."
"Isn't that close to Wild Space?" Luminara inquired.
"It is. I think they may have a secret base out there," Secura answered.
"There's a cluster of planets in Wild Space at the edge of the Corellian Run. If we leave now we should be able to intercept it if they're not moving at light speed," Obi-Wan interjected, Aayla nodded in agreement.
"Excellent idea, Obi-Wan. Come on, we'll take a transport."
CORELLIAN RUN, WILD SPACE, NEAR THE PLANET NAOS
"I'm not picking anything up on the scanners," Anakin reported from the cabin. So far no electromagnetic pulses had come across the screen in the past hour they had been trolling the wild areas of space.
"Intelligence says the ship was last spotted in this area before disappearing from the scanner," Luminara told him, examining her holo more closely in hopes of finding something new. "Aayla, are there any planets in this system that would be of interest for them to test fire it or use it in a battle?"
"There's Scarif, it's solid Separatist but they could be testing there. Tatooine and Geonosis are unlikely locations, unless it's being worked on at Geonosis. Christophsis and Ryloth are the only two planets I could see them using the weapon in a fully functional capacity. It's hard to say, there's so many possibilities."
"Are there Jedi on any of those planets?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Mace Windu is on Ryloth. I believe Plo Koon was on Christophsis with Ki Adi Mundi last I heard, and we have spies on Tatooine but that is as good as it gets," Aayla replied.
"Christophsis and Ryloth would both be prime places to test the effectiveness of the weapon. I don't think they'd risk moving it this far otherwise," Obi-Wan concluded. "Aayla, which planet do you believe is the most likely target?"
"Christophsis is largely a stalemate, but there are two Jedi and a significant number of clones on the planet. They may use it to break the stand-off. On the other hand I understand the rebels on Ryloth are causing the Separatists quite a bit of grief and Master Windu is the only Jedi on the planet," Aayla explained. "Honestly I believe it could be either planet equally."
"Lets alert them to the possibility, and we'll be quick to reach whoever is attacked," Luminara suggested.
"I agree we should alert them, but their commlinks will be fried if they're attacked," Anakin objected.
"I'll go alert them now," Luminara said, walking towards to communications room.
"Should we split up in hopes of one team finding the weapon and being able to destroy it? Or wait in space?" Obi-Wan asked the remaining Jedi.
"I think we should split up into teams of two to cover more ground," Anakin answered.
"I agree, but one planet is a lot to cover for two people," Aayla countered.
"It's our best bet for destroying it though. If we make the wrong choice too much is at stake," Anakin said firmly.
"Luminara and I will go to Christophsis and conduct some surveillance, you and Obi-Wan can do the same on Ryloth," Aayla decided. "Similar plan as on Kirdo?" The two Jedi nodded, and Aayla went to go brief her colleague.
"I believe it's time for us to depart Anakin, reconnaissance on the citadel is not an easy task," Obi-Wan told his former Padawan, heading for the hangar.
RYLOTH
Anakin and Obi-Wan's starfighters landed on the scorched plain behind some ruins. Climbing out, Obi-Wan initiated a transmission to Mace Windu on an encrypted channel.
"Kenobi to Windu, requesting location," he said to the receiver. It lit up a blue color to indicate it had been sent successfully, and they began to wait for a returned message.
"Master Windu didn't leave his last location with another Council member?" Anakin asked, remembering how Windu had reamed him in the past two Council meetings for a lack of accountability.
"No. Separatists have jammed most of our channels and I believe the resistance prefers when their guests don't spend much time on their electronics," Obi-Wan responded, pulling out his binoculars to examine the surrounding area. No signs of life in a village that before the war had been vibrant was never a good sign. "And be careful, the resistance has laid traps in Separatist areas and has a far better understanding of the geography than we do," he cautioned. Anakin kicked some rocks, eyes flitting around to take in the landscape.
"Are the twi'leks going to make contact with us or will we just wait here for them?" Anakin asked impatiently.
"I suspect they will find us first," Obi-Wan answered. They waited in silence for some time, Anakin even tried to sense Mace Windu through the Force, but came up empty.
"Can we just do our own recon on the citadel?" Anakin asked after nearly an hour of waiting, the sun was beginning to set, and the Jedi were growing hungry.
"I suppose so, the darkness will give us cover," Obi-Wan began walking east, and Anakin followed suit. Eventually darkness fell over the deserted landscape, and in a way, it reminded Anakin of Tatooine, only this planet had mesas and valleys instead of endless dunes. Seeing the sheer face of a mesa in the distance dotted with light, Anakin pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look. The city was swarming with droids, twi'leks were nowhere to be seen.
"Finding the weapon in a city full of machines shouldn't be too much of a problem, Obi-Wan," he joked, passing the binoculars to the other man. The bearded Jedi nodded, stroking his chin in thought.
"Scaling the walls is nearly impossible from this side of the moat. Do you think you could jump across or is it too far?" Obi-Wan asked. The junior Jedi shrugged.
"Probably, doesn't look too hard. Have you heard from Luminara or Aayla yet?"
"No. I suspect Christophsis is about as easy to search as Ryloth."
"Obi-Wan, do you sense that?" Anakin asked suddenly, dropping his relaxed demeanor, scanning the horizon quickly.
"Yes. It doesn't seem friendly. Don't pull out your lightsaber just yet, it may not have noticed us," Obi-Wan whispered, while grabbing the hilt of his own. A native creature of Ryloth, one that the twi'leks would ride, walked towards them, growling. "Don't. Move." Obi-Wan said faintly.
"Jedi?" a voice called across the mesa, and the animal returned to it's owner.
"Who's there?" Obi-Wan returned, brandishing his lightsaber.
"Cham Syndulla. Put down your weapon," the voice commanded. Obi-Wan retracted his lightsaber, and slowly put it back in it's hilt.
"Don't sneak up on people in the dark," he retorted, noticing that other rebels were beginning to come out of the woodwork.
"What brings you to Ryloth? I thought one Jedi was enough for the Republic," Syndulla sneered.
"We're here for reconnaissance, nothing more," Obi-Wan reassured him.
"Scouting out a location for a new Republican base?"
"No. We're looking for a weapon that could annihilate your troops," Anakin shot back, clearly becoming impatient. The resistance bristled at his sudden response, hands shifting towards their weapons.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan warned in a low tone. "Excuse my friend, he's a little strung out from being in hyperspace."
"I should hope that is the only cause for his rude behavior," Cham stated, glaring at Anakin before returning his gaze to Obi-Wan. "I can take you to your friend. We have been operating out of the caves."
"Thank you, Cham Syndulla. You're very kind," Obi-Wan said. The Jedi were shown which beasts to ride, the Master giving the Knight a look that said, behave yourself. The Knight smirked, and they rode off towards the base.
"Master Kenobi, Skywalker, I did not anticipate your arrival, my apologies," Mace Windu greeted them at the entrance. "Thank you again Cham. I truly was not aware of their arrival." Syndulla grunted in acknowledgement, the twi'leks following their leader.
"Syndulla doesn't want to hear about the weapon?" Anakin asked once they were alone.
"No. He believes in letting the Republic handle it's own affairs," Windu responded.
"Our own affairs? If that weapon is here, it can wipe out his army in no time flat!"
"Which is why you need to keep your voice down Skywalker!" Windu growled. "Do not ever let them come under the impression you are threatening them, literal or implied." He waved to the suspicious Cham, who returned to his business. "I know about the machine, the best I can do is give you recon advice, I'm attached to the resistance indefinitely."
"We understand," Obi-Wan said before Anakin could interrupt. "We believe the weapon may be inside the citadel. Trouble is the place is crawling with droids."
"It'd be good to go tonight. Its winter so the sun comes up later. Try the temple in the city square. Twi'leks have a taboo against spying in religious areas, and the Separatist are using that to their advantage. Hurry, before the sun comes up. And Skywalker, try not to cause too much mayhem," Windu added sternly.
"Of course not Master," Anakin said with faux seriousness. The two Jedi mounted speeders near the entrance, and took off down the cliff face.
"The temple seems as good a place as any to start," Obi-Wan whispered to Anakin. The Knight shrugged, sliding down the side of the building they were staked out on, and leaping across the street to the flat roof of the temple, and pressing himself flat against it. Obi-Wan signaled he was clear, and Skywalker slipped down through the trap door in the ceiling. Twi'leks often used the roof in major ceremonies, and the droids were unable to climb the ladder to secure it.
After several minutes of silence from the building across the way, Obi-Wan mimicked his former Padawans motions, and jumped through the hole in the roof and landed on the temple floor.
"Any sign of it?" he asked.
"Not in here. I think they set command up in the government building. Any information we'll want is up there," Anakin answered, climbing back up the ladder. Obi-Wan signed, this was going to be a long night.
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