Hello readers—Happy New Year! Apologies for the delay—in my defense, my last chapter didn't get any reviews (*sad face*). Please accept this offering of a much longer chapter. And please review whenever you read—just one sentence letting me know what you thought, which parts you enjoyed, which characters you want to see more of, or what you think/hope will happen is fine! It's just motivating to know that people are still reading/enjoying.
Their time on Telos IV dragged on. Tahl and Mylua each attended various meetings daily and spent their remaining time making their presence known in the city. It had been decided that Orykan would go with Mylua so that the Padawan could provide any relevant information from the previous mission that their new comrade was unaware of. At first she had been excited—albeit terrified—about working alongside the legendary Jedi Master, but it was evident that Mylua viewed her as more of a tagalong observer than a mission companion. She was also quickly learning that Mylua went silent for extended periods of time when thinking, and it was hard to feel she contributed anything to the mission when the Jedi Master kept her thoughts to herself and Orykan was too nervous to speak first.
It was the day before the general election when Orykan finally decided she needed to initiate a conversation with Mylua. The Jedi would return to Coruscant as soon as the election results were in and the new leaders were settled into their positions, so there were only a few days left for the Padawan to learn everything she could from Mylua Jinn. On their way back to their quarters after Mylua's lunch meeting, Orykan nervously constructed her first question. She saw her opportunity disappearing as their door came into view—she knew they would need to contact Tahl once they got there. "Master Jinn," she started respectfully, "I was wondering if it's true that you and Master Mundi are the only Jedi allowed to visit Utapau," Orykan said quickly, trying to engage her.
"Were you?" The Jedi Master replied, only half listening.
The Padawan's heart fell. Why was this woman so disinterested in talking to her?
The door to their quarters swished open, and Orykan thought she saw the slightest hesitation in Mylua's step as she crossed the threshold. The Jedi Master moved across the common space with long strides, leaving Orykan standing just inside the doorway. No sooner had Mylua reached the center of the room than she spun on her heel, both arms outstretched toward the Padawan. By the time Orykan sensed the danger herself, Mylua's movement had thrown her back into the hallway, the door swishing shut as she landed on her back with a thud. The explosion was immediate, and strong enough to shake the entire building—the Padawan tripped over herself as she tried to leap away from debris falling around her. Thinking quickly, she scrambled into a small alcove where a metal grate had fallen and wedged it in front of herself as a shield. Orykan looked back toward the door in horror. Mylua! She searched for the Jedi Master in the Force, but all she found was a void—Mylua's Force signature had vanished.
•••••••
It was 03:00 on Coruscant. Qui-Gon had become accustomed to being awake at that hour, though he was usually wandering the Temple rather than hiding away in his quarters. He had made some effort to return to a normal routine after having to sit out the second mission to Telos IV, which included laying in bed at night, even if all he did was stare at the ceiling. Since he had nothing better to do than wonder about his comrades' activity there, Qui-Gon had been probing their mental shields when Mylua slipped out of his grasp. At first he thought she had caught him and withdrawn in order to block him out, but that didn't make sense. He knew the esteemed Jedi Master was more than capable of keeping him out of her mind with unyielding mental shields alone—there was no reason for her to hide her entire Force signature. Delving deeper, Qui-Gon found that his friend had become a mere whisper in the Force, ever elusive. There were a few potential explanations for the disappearance of her Force signature, but none of them were likely to have occurred on Telos IV. Mylua had intentionally concealed herself, and the only reason he could think of for her to do that was to hide from another Force user.
At the same time, he knew it wasn't Xanatos she was hiding from, even if he was still on Telos IV. She was most likely worried about the neighboring Antarian Rangers—they were Force users and were welcome on the planet again since Qui-Gon had exposed Crion's efforts to blame them for the political assassination that had started this whole ordeal. If Mylua encountered his student, she would face him head-on, and probably try to talk some sense into him in the process. Qui-Gon wondered if there was any chance that she would be successful. Would Xanatos apologize? Ask to become his apprentice again? What would Qui-Gon do if he did? The boy had so much potential. It would be cruel for his Master to turn him away, but would their relationship ever recover from the sense of betrayal they both carried now? He didn't think so. Perhaps another Master would be able to complete Xanatos's training, and fix whatever mistakes Qui-Gon had made. That thought made him feel worse.
The Jedi Knight rolled over to face the window in his room. He could fantasize all he wanted—imagine his student returning, apologizing, setting things right—but he knew it was in vain. Returning to the Jedi Order now would require the greatest humility, and Qui-Gon was reminded of yet another one of his failures: he had never managed to pacify the boy's pride.
•••••••
Tahl raced up the stairs of the now-burning palace, leaping onto the railing when she could no longer avoid being trampled by Telosians fleeing the building. She had sensed Orykan's panic and knew the explosion had come from the north end where their quarters were located. The Noorian Jedi's suspicions were confirmed when she had to use the Force to clear a pathway through debris in the hallway. "Orykan!" She shouted. "Mylua!"
"Here!" A voice called back. Tahl threw rubble aside until she found the Twi'lek girl curled up beneath a metal grate, shaken but shielded from harm. Smart girl, she thought.
"Master Jinn was in the room," Orykan blurted out as Tahl helped her pry loose the grate she had wedged rather firmly in place. "Her Force presence is gone," the Padawan told her desperately.
Tahl closed her eyes, remaining calm as she confirmed Orykan's observation: Mylua's Force signature was missing. For some reason she simply didn't believe that the Jedi Master had died in the explosion. "Help me get this door open," she ordered. Together the two Jedi forced the door aside and stepped cautiously into that which remained of their quarters. They had to use their rebreathers immediately to avoid choking on the smoke, and even those would not protect them for long—they were designed to make it possible to breathe through water, not toxic gas. The glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows by the balcony were completely shattered. There was no sign of Mylua. Tahl saw that Orykan was watching her for guidance, but the Jedi Knight was somewhat at a loss for what to do in this particular situation. Mylua was generally capable of taking care of herself, but if she had been injured in the blast she could need help. If she had been injured, though, she wouldn't have been able to leave the room of her own volition; perhaps the person who had set off the explosion had taken her. In that case, their best bet was to investigate the explosion and hope it led to their comrade. She tried to ignore the smoke rising around them—they had to get out soon.
Scanning the room, Tahl located the source of the blast and carefully pocketed the partially destroyed trigger mechanism. They wouldn't be able to pull any fingerprints off it given the level of damage, but identifying the make and model might help them trace the bomber. She vaguely wondered why such an intricate device had been necessary—surely a simple motion sensor would be sufficient for its purpose. Tahl felt a firm hand on her arm, and relief washed over her as she turned to see a battered Mylua. The Jedi Master had placed a guiding hand on Orykan's forearm as well, and she led them quickly onto the balcony, taking care to step over the broken glass. Tahl saw her plan immediately: they could jump to the much shorter building next door and climb down from there. As she took her stance to jump, Tahl felt Mylua's grip tighten. The Jedi Master shook her head, gesturing toward Orykan—the Padawan didn't look confident in her ability to make the jump. Mylua moved to Orykan's other side and placed herself under the girl's arm for support. Tahl mirrored her actions in understanding. The three jumped together, landing less gracefully than they might have otherwise. Rolling to her feet and looking backward, Tahl saw Mylua catch a stumbling Orykan who was struggling to slow her momentum. The Jedi Knight's eyes went wide as she looked past them and spotted a man waving frantically at them from a floor above their quarters, holding a small child in his other arm. They could catch the man with the Force if he jumped, but the little girl would be terrified. Tahl assessed their options quickly—as both a Jedi and a Noorian, she could probably make the jump back to the palace and carry the girl down. With a running start, Tahl threw herself back toward the building. She missed the handhold she was aiming for but managed to catch herself and begin climbing toward the window above. The building was no longer stable, and Tahl was relieved to reach the window safely. "I'm going to carry her down," Tahl shouted, taking the girl from the man's arms. "Once I get there you need to jump and we'll catch you." She thrust her rebreather into the man's hands, leaving no room for argument as she climbed out of the window.
"Papa!" The girl wailed. Tahl didn't have time to comfort her. When she reached their balcony again, she looked out toward Mylua and Orykan, who were waiting anxiously on the rooftop. Tahl would have trouble controlling her landing with the girl in her arms. Foreseeing the same problem, Orykan raced to the edge of the rooftop and held her arms out to indicate that she would catch the girl. Tahl leapt, passing the child to Orykan as she hit the ground. "Tahl!" Mylua shouted immediately. The Noorian Jedi ran to her friend's side, seeing that the palace was becoming less stable and the girl's father was beginning to panic. "Jump!" she shouted, gesturing wildly. The man looked fearful but didn't hesitate a moment longer. Mylua and Tahl moved together to guide and slow his fall. As soon as he landed on the roof, Tahl stumbled down in exhaustion. The child in Orykan's arms was wailing hysterically by the time Mylua helped the man to his feet, so the Padawan wasted no time placing her back in her father's arms.
Tahl heard Mylua speaking with the man but tuned them out as she took a drink from the small canteen on her utility belt and tried to catch her breath. After a moment, Mylua and Orykan left the man to calm his daughter and sat down next to Tahl.
"Are you both okay?" Mylua looked at Orykan, who nodded.
"What happened?" Tahl asked immediately.
"Our quarters blew up," Mylua replied dryly. Tahl had to smirk slightly, mostly at Orykan's stunned reaction to her friend's humorous quip. Then growing serious, the Jedi Master offered more details. "I don't know how we tripped the explosive," she frowned thoughtfully. "I sensed that something was wrong before we even got to the door, but the bomb didn't go off until I was halfway across the common area."
"It could have been a timed reaction," Tahl suggested.
"Possibly," Mylua agreed. "But why? If we had tripped the sensor at the door and then each gone into our private rooms during the countdown, we would have been more protected from the blast than if the attacker had just placed a bomb in the doorway to go off as soon as we opened it."
"It took long enough that we could have grabbed something from the common area and left before the bomb went off too," Orykan added.
The Jedi Master nodded. "Using a timer made it less likely that we would be hit, not more."
The three Jedi considered the question silently. Finally Tahl spoke. "You haven't told me how you escaped the blast."
"I leapt over the edge of the balcony once I pushed Orykan back into the hallway. Then I climbed back in through a window and ran upstairs to find her," Mylua paused. "I hid my Force presence to buy us time to form a plan—I apologize for scaring you," she gestured to Orykan.
Tahl inclined her head curiously. "You think the Antarian Rangers have something to do with the explosion?"
"Possibly—I'm not ready to make any assumptions." The Jedi Master's gaze lingered on her friend, and Tahl nodded in recognition of the silent message: Xanatos was a suspect too. "I think the best way to proceed is for me to lay low," Mylua continued. "We'll reassure the populace that all is well, but I'll stay out of sight and let the attacker think we're covering up that I was killed or severely injured in the explosion."
Tahl nodded slowly. Mylua would have the freedom to investigate the bombing without the attacker wondering about her whereabouts, and she and Orykan would proceed with their assignment. It would damage public confidence if too many other people doubted that Mylua had been unharmed, but the Jedi Master could make an appearance later if necessary. Tahl pulled the charred trigger mechanism from her pocket and passed it to her companion. "I found this by your bedroom door. I couldn't tell whether it was placed intentionally or just landed there in the explosion."
Mylua examined the device closely. "This looks very much like something I saw used in an assassination attempt a few months ago. The trigger uses facial recognition," she looked up, her brow furrowed. "Why use facial recognition to set off a bomb in a room that only your targets would be in?"