The ride to Coruscant was long and choppy. But not because of the asteroids outside of Runei, or problems with the ship.
The interrogation had already begun. Christa sat in the cabin with the three Jedi. Anakin flying. Obi-Wan and Mace Windu listening.
"We're trying to piece this together. You, the device, a connection to Dooku?" Mace said, gazing intently into her eyes.
"I don't know him."
Christa stared at Mace, her eyes oozing with doe-like innocence. Against his better judgment, he believed her.
Anakin looked at them both and sucked his teeth.
"Master Windu," Christa said. "If you don't mind my asking…"
"Yes?"
"It's about, attachment."
There it was. That ugly word. Love bred attachment, which bred fear. Fear, which bred hatred… a subject most Jedi carefully avoided. And here she was, a source of attachment and fear shoving it in their faces.
"There is no attachment. A Jedi's life is spent in service of the Republic."
"That's what I mean," Christa started. "Couldn't it be said that the Jedi's loyalty to the Republic is itself a form of attachment?"
Six eyes darted to Christa, each other, then back.
"Well, Christa," Obi-Wan started.
She'd had enough of him. Enough of his excuses. Christa waited. Eyes already rolling into her head.
"The attachment you speak of is personal. The Jedi loyalty to the republic is an oath all Jedi are required to make."
"But how can an oath not be personal? It's only impersonal to one who doesn't honor or cherish the oath he is pledged to." This time, her eyes darted to Anakin. "One must have a personal belief in the oath for him to make it. So why are the Jedi allowed to marry beliefs and ideals, but are not allowed to marry people?"
"Moira?"
"Yes, Master Windu?"
"There's a seat in the deck with your name on it."
Anakin smiled. Only because Moira was asking the right questions.
"I'll go with her," Obi-Wan said.
Better you than me, Mace thought, then continued…
"Of course. Someone has to keep an eye on her. Don't let her out of your sight."
"I won't," Obi-Wan answered.
The pair walked to the deck with Christa in front, Kenobi not far behind. She reached back, locked her finger onto his, like a loop in a chain link fence.
Finally, a moment alone.
Once out of earshot and sight they embraced. Obi-Wan bent his head forward and pressed his forehead onto hers.
Moira, he thought. Somehow, he'd always known, but thought it impossible. All these years she let him believe she was someone else.
"Kiss me," she said.
"They'll see us."
Obi-Wan sat down. Christa sat across. No words between them. Only their memories. Only their happiness. Even if temporary.
COOL BREEZE OVER THE COUNTRYSIDE
The cruiser landed on the breezy, airy, technologically advanced, Coruscant. Home of the Republic and Senate. The sun shined and the skies were blue with streaks of amber colored clouds. Moira took Master Windus' hand as she descended the ship noting that even angry with her , he was as gentlemanly as Jedi could ever be.
Coruscant, was heavenly compared to war-torn Runei. And for a moment, Master Windu, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and even Moira felt a big sense of relief.
Small single passenger cruisers, each its own vibrant color, streakd by. Some close enough to whip Anakin's long dark cape behind him.
Anakin studied her face, his eyes wise and incisive. Her plotting may have fooled Master Obi-wan, but it would not fool him, he thought. Christa's confidence in her own mission had slowly begun to shrink with Anakin's menace chipping away at her aplomb. He held back when they were at her flat. But she could see the resentment and hatred in his eyes. Something she had never seen in a Jedi before. Not even in Dooku.
Other cruisers followed, the breeze was slight, but close enough to give Moira an idea. Sensing something unusual, Obi-Wan slipped a hand into the small of her back. A spark. She turned, her eyes searching, wondering if he could feel the energy passing between them too. Obi-Wan said nothing, only turned his head in hope of avoiding Christa's unasked question. He gave her a nudge, signaling for her to walk ahead. It was easier to guard her from behind.
Eyes squinting, penetrating with use of the force, Mace Windu sensed a furtive passion coining between his cousin, and well regarded comrade. He contemplated the error of pairing Moira and Obi-Wan together so many years ago. The impact of his decision to send a Padawan, only a few years her senior to escort her to the Edge still reverberated until this very day. Even worse, his guilt of sending her away at all.
Anakin also kept his senses attuned to Christa. The way Obi-Wan humored her, and his constant acceptance of her misdeeds bothered him. It was patience the Master never extended to his former apprentice.
Clouds eclipsed the highest tower of the ancient Jedi temple but Christa stared beyond it, her reluctance growing as they near its entrance. "Obi-Wan..." she said, stopping several feet shy of the door.
Master Windu and Anakin broke their stride, and waited a short distance ahead for the couple. Obi-Wan hesitated, waiting forChrista to say whatever she was going to say. But instead, she stared over his shoulder at a Cruiser approaching from behind.
As it neared,Christa slipped right of the Jedi Master and reached out, grabbing the passing cruiser by its bumper.
The speeding vehicle zipped her into the air at a frightening velocity, causing Moira to lose her breath. Her heart caught in her throat as the wind assailed her. She hung from the tail of the Cruiser, which climbed the air at a speed the stunned Jedi was unable to meet.
Anakin leapt into action, using the force to jump to onto approaching Cruiser.
He then climbed his way to the top and opened the hatch, pulling the startled driver out of the flying vehicle.
"Jedi business," he said, not waiting for the owner's response. The man was stunned into wordlessness as Anakin swooped low enough for him to drop from the small ship without inflicting injury.
Taking a more measured route, Obi-Wan found a Cruiser parked nearby. He opened the hatch and climbed inside.
"Be patient. Anakin will bring her back," Master Windu said.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Obi-Wan replied, closing the hatch before lifting from the ground.
Christa hung from a speeding dark orange Cruiser by the tip of her fingernails. The driver of the cruiser looked into his rearview mirror and caught a glimpse Anakin, a Jedi Knight,pursuing from behind. He dipped low as he tried to shake the vehicle from her clutches.
Fearing arrest, the driver brought the cruiser to the ground, slamming the brakes with unnecessary force. The abrupt stop hurled Christa into the grass, where she rolled several feet until she was able to stop herself. Christa smacked dust from her white dress. Ignoring the bruises and scraped skin on her arms as she ran away.
Master Dooku said the opportunity to assassinate Anakin would arise when the time was right. But Obi-Wan would never forgive her for killing his apprentice. Anakin was like a son to him. Perhaps losing Obi-Wan was the sacrifice Dooku wanted her to make. But wasn't the purpose of her alliance with Dooku to seduce Obi-Wan away from the Order? Anakin's death would have to look like an accident.
The sidewalk was busy with vendors, families, and people going about their daily business. Anakin's Cruiser plowed into the side of a nearby building, sending a gust of dust into the air. With little time to spare, he used the force to blow the hatch open, then flipped out, sprinting into the crowds in pursuit of Christa.
Obi-Wan's cruiser chugged behind them, seeming to run out of fuel. He gripped the steering wheel and gave it a turn. But to no avail. He lost control of the vehicle and slammed it dead smack into the sidewalk. Pedestrians scattered hoping to avoid the impact and the resulting debris flying towards them.
The vehicle laid crushed, a mangled mess. Obi-Wan suffered a few scrapes and a cut on the head, but he ignored the fluxing pain as he ignited his lightsaber. The heat of the weapon brought a salty sweat down his face and a stinging sensation to his wound as he squared his shoulders and pointed the weapon up and burned his way out, slicing a hole into the roof of the vehicle amid sparks and heat. Obi-Wan then used the force to blow the melted steel into the air, and jumped out of the cruiser onto the sidewalk. The twisted metal whirled coin-like onto the pavement then paddled into ground.
Feeling uneasy, he looked ahead and saw Christa's white dress whipping behind her as she ran with Anakin hot on her trail. Running was difficult with so many pedestrians blocking the way. So Christa used her elbow to throw men from her path, and her speed to barrel women into corners. She raced, sliding under a vendor's cart, and flipped over a slow-moving service droid as it cleaned a shopkeeper's window.
Her athleticism was surprising to Obi-Wan. And her reflexes were sharp. Almost warrior-like.
Anakin raised his hand, and by use of the force, blew the cover from a manhole. Christa turned and looked over her shoulder at the two Jedi, then suddenly dropped right into the dirty, sewage ridden water of the manhole.