Chapter Ten

"What do you mean she's gone?" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

The head nurse looked scared. "Our systems went down and a lot of the patients went crazy. We had our hands full. She must have taken advantage of the chaos and escaped."

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to keep himself clam, Obi-Wan asked for Chae's belongings, reassured the head nurse that the Jedi would search for Chae and left. Obi-Wan knew he had to find Chae before she did something stupid. Standing outside the building Obi-Wan closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping he might be able to track her down through the Force. Her presence wasn't too hard to trace. But on a planet like Coruscant it wouldn't be easy.

"Where are you, Chae?" Obi-Wan thought to himself as he scanned the planet through the Force. The he found her. She was hiding out on the lower levels, plotting a way to get back to her daughter then escape the planet without being caught. Not that he could blame her for wanting to go. After all, she'd been thrown out of the Order for having a baby, had the child removed from her, been locked in a mental hospital for a crime she hadn't commited and had been generally mistrusted by the Jedi for years. It appeared that Chae was heading for an unsavoury looking nightclub to find a pilot who was happy to make a few quick credits without any questions or strings attached.

Returning to the Temple to return Chae's belongings, Obi-Wan set off again with the intention of stopping Chae.

Chae felt naked without her lightsaber as she entered the nightclub. She was eyed with suspicion by a few patrons at the bar as she approached, but generally most people ignored her. Chae bought a drink and found a corner to hide away in so that she could people-watch and find a suitable pilot. Chae wanted to get as far away as possible and it appeared that most of the people that were pilots weren't going anywhere near remote enough that the Jedi wouldn't care about or bother to go looking for her. And Chae certainly didn't want to go anywhere near Tatooine again ever again. That place was cursed as far as she was concerned. Alderaan was far too obvious, what with the Royal Family being blood relatives of her daughter, and she knew either the Jedi or the authorities would look there first.

But one name caught her attention; Manaan. It was a planet completely covered in water except for several floating city-like platforms-cum-landing pads. There hadn't been any Republic presence on the planet for longer than anyone cared to remember. It sounded ideal; for a first stop at least. It would serve as a base whilst she planned what to do and where to move onto next if need be.

Chae stood up slowly and was about to approach the pilot about possible passage when she felt a hand grip her arm. She knew who it was before she even turned round. Turning around slowly Chae looked Obi-Wan square in the face and stated "you're here to stop me, aren't you."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes because I don't want to do anything crazy."

"But if I stay here, I'll be imprisoned, maybe even executed, for a crime I didn't even commit!"

Obi-Wan paused then said "good point. But if you must insist on skipping the planet, I'd rather we find you a pilot who we know we can trust. And I think I know someone"

"Are you sure this will work?" Asia asked, as she and Obi-Wan approached the hanger bay where her friend, Tom Antilles had his ship docked.

"Of course it'll work. He has a soft spot for you. He'd go right out into unknown space if you asked him to," Obi-Wan reassured her.

Taking a deep breath, Asia walked into the hanger alone. As she approached Asia said "hello Tom".

Removing himself from under the ship, Tom smiled and replied "hey Asia...it's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Asia paused, "thing is, I need to ask a huge favour of you – again." Asia then proceeded to tell him about Chae and what had happened with her being set up for a fake assassination attempt on the Supreme Chancellor.

Tom listened without interruption and only spoke once Asia was done. "So, you wanted someone you could trust to get your friend out of here."

Asia nodded. "Please, Tom, will you help? You know I wouldn't ever ask you unless we were desperate."

Tom seemed to be quiet for a very long time before answering "how soon can you be ready to leave?"