I will apologize ahead of time for any mistakes. I wrote this over the course of over a week and made a few changes here and there and there's almost three thousand words in this chapter.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shaak Ti sighed as she left the Council Meeting. They had mediated for hours after the Skywalker Twins and Amariah Jaeger had left the Council Chamber but they were no closer to an answer then they were before. It was around noon now but she wasn't tired.
Now and then she had Felt something Dark but it was a fleeting Darkness. The fear was that the Sith weren't as dead as they thought and were somehow behind everything.
She looked out at the city and felt the Force calling her to the lower levels. She turned and headed for the turbolift. She informed Master Cin Drallig that she would be leaving the Temple for the lower levels and left the Temple.
Calling on the Force to guide her she entered the lower levels. She would periodically check to see what level she was on and made note of it.
Finally the Force led Shaak towards a restaurant with a bar. She paused to examine the outside of the café and the street. The street was dark and could use a good cleaning and Shaak would be willing to bet that someone had disassembled any maintenance droids that had come down here for credits.
The Force shifted oddly and the Dark Side was heavy in the air. The street had changed too though; the street was cleaner but somehow dirtier, some of the beings on the street seemed to reek of despair and odd posters dotted the walls of the buildings.
Shaak carefully rearranged her cloak before she entered the restaurant. The inside had a pleasant feel with holos and memorabilia on the walls and around the booths and upbeat music she didn't recognize playing via hidden speakers.
A female Scáth waitress approached her. Shaak noted that the Scáth female's skin was the deep black of the Dark Cycle of Scáthia; it was unnatural since she was sure that the Dark Cycle had ended several months ago so her skin should be a much lighter color as the planet headed into the Light Cycle. However some beings found certain looks exotic and Shaak admitted to herself that the Scáth with their naturally lighter hair color and light colored eyes coupled with the black skin of the Dark Cycle looked exotic.
"Welcome to Old and New Memories Bar and Grill, my name is Saoirse and I will be serving you this evening." The Scáth, Saoirse, informed her. Even though she wasn't that hungry Shaak Felt that she was supposed to be here so she nodded and Saoirse started to lead her to a table.
Saoirse stopped by a small simple booth and gestured for Shaak to seat herself. Shaak slid in and watched as Saoirse turned towards the entrance as she prepared to activate the restaurant's menus and froze in fear. The entire atmosphere in the restaurant changed as well to unease and fear.
"I am looking for Saoirse Farah Brogan." A harsh male voice called out with authority. "She's a female Scáth roughly thirty standard years old. Our information says she works here at this time."
Shaak silently cursed the fact that her back was to entrance but what she was getting from the speaker was that he wasn't here for nefarious purposes.
Shaak watched as a female yellow skin Twi'lek hurried over to the table. "Go and speak with him. He might want to inform you that Zahra and Khayriyya have been found and missing home. I'll take over from here." The Twi'lek whispered.
Saoirse nodded and headed to the entrance.
Shaak turned her attention to the yellow Twi'lek and observed her in the Force as well. "My name is Kalena and I will take care of you for the rest of your stay or until Saoirse returns." Kalena said calmly with a touch of forced cheerfulness as she activated the menu.
Shaak had just finished choosing a dish and a drink when a scream filled with pain and loss rang from near the entrance. Shaak jumped to her feet, her hand reaching for her lightsaber but her instincts told her to move her hand away; quickly.
As she turned she saw Saoirse on the floor in an alcove by the entrance weeping in front of an officer with a squad of troopers. Shaak frowned in confusion as the Scáth woman wept in sorrow.
"Éire, Bandia na Solas, a chur ar an bhiotáille de mo iníonacha a Paradise." Saoirse wailed; the Force echoed harshly with her pain.
Shaak let her hand fall to her side and watched along with the rest of the occupants as Kalena hurried to Saoirse's side. Once Kalena reached Saoirse's side she knelt and held her friend.
"Saoirse, what happened?" Kalena asked; her voice was full of concern for her friend.
"They're dead! Zahra and Khayriyya are dead!" Saoirse cried as she slumped against the wall; tears running down her cheeks unable to speak anymore from her sorrow.
"What happened?" Kalena asked the officer as Shaak slowly approached the group.
"The remains of Zahra and Khayriyya Brogan ages six and three were discovered earlier today by maintenance droids in a trash compactor. From what little we could piece together at the time was that the two girls had either somehow entered the compactor to scavenge junk or had fallen in somehow while scavenging somewhere higher along it. The investigation is still ongoing." The officer said calmly.
Shaak could see the images that Saoirse was unconsciously projecting in the Force; images showing two small Scáth girls trying to escape a trash filled compactor as the side walls slowly closed in, holding each other as the walls came too close for them to ever hope to escape.
Shaak was soon uncomfortably aware of a datapad being held near her face by one of the troopers. Confused she looked at the trooper and the datapad beeped in confirmation; immediately the trooper showed the datapad to the officer only for the officer to sniff. "If you looked closer you would see that she is listed as deceased idiot; however your confusion is understandable since some Togruta look similar." The officer stated almost scathingly.
"But sir, you know that some of them are labeled incorrectly." Another trooper spoke up which only seemed to infuriate the officer further. "She is labeled dead so she dead. That's the end of it!" The officer practically snapped.
"Maybe we should summon one of the Inquisitors and see what they have to say. It is our duty to report any one that sets off too many alarms." One of the other troopers suggested in a flat voice. Shaak immediately Felt the change in the atmosphere when the trooper finished; Saoirse looked ready to faint and Kalena looked stricken.
"I doubt sir that if she was just an unfortunate lookalike that it would have told us that there was a match." The first trooper added solemnly.
Shaak almost opened her mouth to tell them that she was a Jedi but the Force warned her against it.
"Surely you don't think she's one of them." Kalena blurted out apparently finding her voice. "The odds are good that she's just some off-worlder visiting Coruscant." Kalena continued in a hurried almost panicky manner.
Shaak could Feel foreboding in the Force and knew that this could go in nearly any direction. She considered again informing them that she was a Jedi but the Force warned her again to not reveal anything.
The officer now looked worried as if he was caught between a rock and a hard place. One hand Shaak could just be an innocent Togruta citizen or she could be a wanted criminal.
Without warning the officer's commlink beeped and the Force radiated his relief at not having to reach a decision about her yet.
"Yes?" the officer asked calmly. "Commander Ozzel you and your squad will report to level 32 to assist in crowd control." The being on the other end ordered sharply. "Understood," Commander Ozzel answered before he cut the transmission.
"THX 1138, put a tracking bracelet on her." Commander Ozzel ordered sharply.
Immediately the trooper with the designation 'THX 1138' stepped forward and retrieved a tracking bracelet from a compartment on his belt. "Hold out your main hand." Shaak slowly held out her right hand and THX closed the tracking bracelet around it. The cold durasteel felt strange but she had worn metal around her wrists before whether as jewelry or restraints as a prisoner. "Removing or tampering with that is punishable by law so even if you aren't who we think you are you will be punished if we discover you removed it." Commander Ozzel told her coolly.
He then turned back to Saoirse. "I remind you once again that it a few days time someone will come call you and your husband telling you where to retrieve your daughters' remains." He informed the grieving mother.
With that he and the troopers left.
Shaak didn't need the Force to Feel the change in the restaurant. It was as if a dangerous creature had left the area and the creatures were relaxing and slowly resuming their activities.
"That was close for you." Kalena whispered. "I have heard horror stories about what happens to those unfortunate to resemble a-" The Twi'lek stopped herself and smiled grimly. "I'm sure you've heard the stories and since you were just mistaken for one I'm sure you don't want the reminder."
"Kalena," a heavy set Zabrak called out. "Take Saoirse home and stay with her."
Kalena nodded as she helped Saoirse to her feet. "I'm sorry that a regular night turning into a nightmare." The yellow Twi'lek whispered to her. Shaak nodded solemnly and watched as the pair walked out the front door.
"Ma'am," a low, polite male voice said behind her. Shaak turned and saw a male of mixed species heritage standing short of her with a takeout bag. "We didn't think you would want to stay after a scare like that. I apologize if we were too forward." He stated calmly.
Shaak took it with a grateful smile. "Thank you, it might be best if I return to my lodging." She told him.
She was relieved as she stepped out into the darkness of the street. In the distance she could hear Saoirse weeping for the loss of her daughters. The Force shifted again and the street changed again, back to what it had been before. The Force was warm again and everything seemed right.
Shaak took a deep breath and released her fears into the Force. She examined the tracking bracelet around her right wrist and noted that the lights were showing that the signal had been lost.
Confusion filled the Jedi Master as she tried to think of reasons why.
The chirping of her commlink ended her musings on the matter; something she was grateful for. Quickly she retrieved the device and turned it on. "Master Ti," she stated calmly.
"Master Ti I've been trying to get ahold of you for several minutes, is everything alright?" The Knight on the other end asked. Shaak was silent for several seconds as she processed the fact that the Temple hadn't been able to reach her.
"I am well; thank you for asking." She told the knight on the other end of the transmission. "Is there something that I should be aware of?" she asked as she headed for the nearest mag-lev station.
"Not really, just the fact that we lost contact with your commlink longer than is acceptable in a potentially dangerous area. I wanted to make sure that you were safe." The Knight informed her calmly.
Shaak paused as she waited for the mag-lev to come to a halt and boarded it. "How long were you trying to reach me?" she asked the Knight back at the Temple. "I tried for close to ten minutes hoping that your location was disrupting the signal." The Knight responded.
Shaak nodded slowly to herself. If it had been any longer a team would have been sent out to locate her.
"I am on my way back to the Temple now." She informed the Knight on the other end. "That's good to know." The Knight replied, sounding relieved.
With that the transmission was cut.
Within half an hour Shaak Ti was on the same level as the Temple but closer to the governmental center of the Republic. She was grateful to be standing in the light of Coruscant's planetary star. She could almost forget what had happened all those levels below her feet if it wasn't for the tracking bracelet on her right wrist and the memory of Saoirse's pain at the news of the loss of her daughters.
Mamaí! Daidí! A Jedi!" a child's voice called out excitedly.
Shaak slowly turned and smiled when she saw a small humanoid girl that she would put around three or so standard years old obviously excited to see a Jedi. The girl was clutching the hand of who Shaak guessed was her father while her mother held the hand of an older girl.
The family turned and Shaak knew that they were tourists from another world. She wasn't sure which world it was but they had an exotic look to them.
"You're Jedi Master Shaak Ti, right?" the father asked curious. Shaak nodded ask she examined the small family. The mother seemed familiar but that didn't mean anything since Shaak had been on many worlds in her life as a Jedi.
"Would you mind standing in a holo for us?" the older girl asked, hope brimming in her voice. "I learned about the Jedi last month in cúrsa. It would be nice to have a holo of a Jedi to show everyone back home."
"Zahra, I am sure she's busy and doesn't have the time to stand for a holo with us." the mother whispered softly in a gentle reprimand. Shaak was struck again how familiar the mother was but still couldn't be sure.
"I don't mind." Shaak informed the mother warmly. The two girls smiled brightly with excitement.
The father programmed the small holocam droid that belonged to the family and Shaak allowed the family to gather around her. The droid took a holo and then drifted over to them for them to examine the holo it had taken. "I think it's a good one." The father stated and his wife nodded. "Do you think so Master Ti?" he asked.
"Yes, I think it's a fine holo." Shaak told him.
"Thank you Master Ti!" Zahra said with a bright smile. "Bealtaine Éire aoibh gháire ar tú." Zahra said and bowed politely.
The father inserted a datawafer and tapped a few buttons on the holocam droid before ejecting the datawafer and handed it to her.
"To remember us," the father told her with a gentle smile. Shaak carefully pocketed the datawafer.
"See Saoirse, I told you that we would see a Jedi today." The father told his wife. Shaak paused as she turned to leave. Saoirse, that had been the name of the woman that she had lost her two daughters.
"We are Khalid, Saoirse, Zahra and Khayriyya Brogan." The father, Khalid informed her.
Shaak hid her shock well as the family walked away; she knew now why she thought she recognized the mother; because somehow both Saoirses were the one and the same. The biggest differences were that the Saoirse in the Underworld had been eating something to keep her skin in the Dark Cycle and had just lost her two daughters to an early death while this Saoirse was letting her skin shift to the Light Cycle and her daughters were still alive.
Shaak turned and headed for the mag-lev station to head back to the Temple and tell the Council what she had experienced.
Xxxxxxxx
Anakin's eyes flew open and the nightmare he had been in the throes of vanished.
In the nightmare he had been participating in a space battle shooting down enemy fighters in callous boredom but some excitement had seeped in when the last pilot showed signs of being strong with the Force.
The dream had shifted to a room that he knew but yet didn't. Someone had been there and been very displeased with him. He remembered pain but he had been in worse pain.
He had brutally tortured a prisoner physically, mentally and emotionally to learn the identity of the Force Sensitive pilot.
He had woken before the prisoner could give him any information.
Anakin was grateful to be awake and free of the nightmarish images. But they had felted so familiar and it bothered him. He found himself remembering how he had almost joined Darth Sidious that fateful night. He had been so close to coming to the aid of the Sith Master when a thermal detonator along with a more dangerous bomb had been tossed into the office from the shattered window.
He had acted on some higher instinct and shielded himself and Master Windu with the Force from the powerful detonation of the bomb and the thermal detonator.
The blast had killed Sidious as surely as a lightsaber could kill.
He imagined that the nightmare was would have been if he had helped Sidious instead of helping Mace Windu.
He found himself wondering if something had happened somewhere in the Force causing them to see or experience what might have been.
The door to his room slid open allowing his family and his Padawan to enter. His mouth opened in a bright smile; his unpleasant thoughts forgotten for the moment.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The mystery deepens.