Something Wicked This Way Comes
The news reached the Temple far too late for it to have been prevented. A Padawan had been captured by pirates. While on a mission that seemed to have gone smoothly, Eldra Kaitis had gone missing for over twenty-four hours. When presented with the information, the Council held a meeting to discuss possibilities. They knew she was alive, but her location was beyond the reach of the masters. After they had come to a decision, Obi-Wan had spoken with Qui-Gon.
"There's a possibility she went to the crime capital of the galaxy, Nar Shaddaa." Qui-Gon said to his Padawan. "If she was taken by pirates."
"Do we go and investigate, Master?" Obi-Wan asked.
Raya had been listening in the hallway, waiting for Obi-Wan to finish his conversation with his master. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop on their talk, but parts of it were coming to her in small waves.
"... strictly for members of the Council to handle." Qui-Gon told the younger man. "... no place for you or the other Padawans."
Obi-Wan protested. "Let me prove my ability to take on a mission like this..."
The rest of it wasn't clear, but Raya was aware of the overall context of the talk. She didn't disagree with the Jedi Master. Nar Shaddaa was a ruthless metropolis. It was a base for crime syndicates, a place of secrecy, and where little law enforcement was enacted. It was under control of the Hutts, polluted, dangerous, and truly no place for anyone like her or the others in the Jedi Order.
"Leave it to the more experienced Jedi, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon said. The long break in the conversation meant that it was over. Raya walked further down the hallway and back towards the conference room to make it seem as though she hadn't been listening. Qui-Gon stepped out with Obi-Wan lagging behind, looking distraught. Qui-Gon nodded to Raya in acknowledgment.
"So..." Raya spoke to Obi-Wan. "I... was just walking by and I overheard there was a problem?"
Obi-Wan had been keeping his head low but straightened when he noticed his friend and took in a deep breath. That was something he had to do on occasion when things didn't turn out as he expected. "It's being taken care of. There's no need to worry."
He tried very much to make his voice sound less disappointed than he felt. Raya could sense his troubles like they were her own. She noticed he'd been a bit restless, and possibly feeling neglected by the Council. Her feelings were mutual. Oftentimes, she thought she was being underestimated by her superiors.
Obi-Wan rested his hands on the railing as he watched the sun fall under the horizon of the metropolis. Raya stood beside him, watching him from the corner of her eye. The sun casted a warm glow across his apricot skin. His expression was pensive and focused on the passing skycars right below the Temple Spire. His arms were folded across his chest. Obi-Wan looked several years older than he actually was like this.
"Something bothering you?" she asked, a bit uncomfortable from the silence between them.
He sighed. "I sure hope I actually have what it takes to be a Jedi Knight."
"Of course you do," Raya answered. "Master Jinn just wants you to wait until you're ready."
Obi-Wan lowered his head. "And when will that be? I keep hearing that and it never happens."
The girl shrugged. "I don't understand it, either. The masters have standards that are hard to figure out." She tilted her head to one side while she watched the lights flicker on in a nearby skyscraper. "I'll probably be as old as mine when I finally get my Knighthood..."
Obi-Wan turned to her. "Don't be like that. It'll take time, but not that much time."
He was now starting to sound like Qui-Gon. Maybe he was trying to. It was a common thing for the young Padawans to mimic their mentors. Raya idolized Master Windu, but she didn't want his words coming from her.
"Kind of just feel like they're leaving the not-as-exciting jobs to us." she continued, resting her forearms on the railing.
"I know." Obi-Wan said, glumly. "But we should be grateful we didn't have to go to where they're going. I'd hate to be there if something bad..."
His voice trailed off and there was a spark in his heart. Raya didn't need to look into his mind to know what was going through it. They had considerable faith in their masters, knowing that they have been well-trained in the ways of the Force and various methods of combat. That didn't mean the older Jedi were completely invincible. Without even speaking to each other, the Padawans shared a look of agreement. Though Obi-Wan's showed a bit of hesitation.
"Well then," Raya's lips curled into a wide grin. "Looks like we've got a mission to do, after all."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "That is not a good idea. Two, inexperienced Padawans who could barely maneuver the Force on a planet where all criminals can run free?"
The girl's hands were on her hips. "Obi-Wan, there's a Padawan in need over there. Besides that, our masters may need backup. We're perfectly capable of helping them out."
"Just the other day, you were having trouble holding your lightsaber correctly."
"Hey," she spat. "Have you forgotten I've got my special feature?"
Obi-Wan looked down at the ground, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not that I don't believe we should help. I'm just a bit unsure about going against my master's word."
"But," Raya began. "You're concerned about Qui-Gon's safety. And rightfully so. There's a chance we could be preventing some major losses from the Council. My master's life is important to me, too."
Obi-Wan thought for a moment. They both knew that disobeying the Council would grant them consequences. Most likely, they would be temporarily banned from engaging in any missions. But the message that Raya had gotten when he looked at her again showed her that it didn't matter to him.
"You've convinced me," he told her. "Let's go."
It had taken a bit of stealth and distraction on Raya's part. As they entered the hangar, both of them attempted to conceal themselves. For the first five minutes, it worked well, until a guard noticed the shadowy figure of Obi-Wan scurrying across the row of ships. When they'd been caught, Raya attempted to avert their eyes to the various non-native animals that suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of them. Noticing the guards were completely perplexed, they hurried themselves over to the small shuttle at the far end of the hangar.
The shuttle was a tight space, but it was small and fast. It could have easily blended with the rest of the transport ships leaving the city.
Obi-Wan was sitting in the pilot's seat, gazing over the hyperspace funneling around them. Raya made it a point to not pry into his mind against his will and was keeping herself from doing so while they made the voyage to Nar Shaddaa. It made it easier to imagine what he could have been thinking about, anyways. What she told herself she should have been thinking of was how exactly she was planning to provide aide to her master.
Do what I do best, she told herself. Altering the enemy's vision. Master Windu told her to keep the use of her powers at a minimum. Not using them against anyone when it wasn't necessary was a primary rule. Making people perceive different things from reality was not only against their moral codes, but it could have been dangerous. Raya wasn't permitted to enact her abilities without the approval of the Council in general.
Against an enemy was another story. Of course, she could only resort to using any kind of attacks if she needed to. Despite going to one of the most vile locations in the galaxy, this wouldn't have been any different.
The ship slowed down abruptly, signaling the end of their trip. Obi-Wan was careful about lowering it in this city planet. There was a high risk of having their ship broken into, or stolen, and Obi-Wan was trying to lower these odds by landing it beside several other ships that were even smaller.
"We should find time to take a trip like this for fun." Raya said. "You know... as friends."
Obi-Wan turned to her. "When you learn to drive a ship properly, I'll graciously accept."
Raya leered at him. "Was it me who crashed the ship on my first try?"
He turned his head away from her. "I've never driven a ship then. That was a long time ago."
She tried to muffle the sound of her snickering behind her hand.
Unlike on Temple grounds, shielding themselves within the barriers of the Force wasn't as difficult and proved more successful on Nar Shaddaa. Most of the species here weren't Force-sensitive for one thing, and for another, they were happily occupied by other matters, entirely. From the first few steps Raya had taken through the grimy streets, she could see most of the people were locked in intense conversations, pulling out daggers, or so inebriated by substances that they could barely see a few inches from their spots.
It was apart of her code as a Jedi to put a stop to all conflict, including ones as significant as two low lives fighting over some spice, but to keep herself hidden, Raya stayed out of all interactions. Only once did a curious Duros character look in her direction. But thought nothing of it.
"This place gives me the creeps." She communicated through her mind.
"Just stay close to me." Obi-Wan responded.
The others from the Temple were here. She could sense it. They were much further away from the two of them than she wanted to walk. But their Force signatures flowed through her like a pleasant breeze.
They walked forward, keeping the hoods of their cloaks up and remained under the radar for just a while longer. But as they delved further into the city, Raya was starting to feel a hinderance. There was a presence that had given her the same cold feelings as she had when she read through Little Ahsoka's mind. Except that they had come with a slight twist in her lower abdomen. Like she had been experiencing disturbances.
But that was to be expected. She didn't want to focus more of her energy on that than keeping the shield around her.
While her eyes were focused on the steps before her, she noticed there were several glass shards spread about. Stepping closer, there were more of them. Her head turned up and she saw they were approaching yet another crime scene.
A bar with its window shattered and its occupants wounded. Several corpses were being dragged away. A couple of people had gathered around the area, murmuring to each other about what could have happened.
"Never seen one man destroy so much in under a minute." One of them said.
"You sure it wasn't a Jedi, or something?"
The bystander, a Trandoshan, folded his arms across his chest. "Jedi carry those... laser sword things. Nah, this one just had a lot of skill."
"The Jedi are capable of more than we're used to seeing."
The Trandoshan tilted his head to one side, considering the other's words for a moment.
Raya was eyeing them with curiosity and for a moment she forgot about keeping herself hidden. The Trandoshan turned his head and noticed she was looking at him. And he drew more attention to the two Padawans by drawing his blaster.
"We ain't got nothing here for you and your people!" he yelled. Some of the others followed suit while the rest of them stood around in confusion. The Trandoshan fired his blaster and Raya reached for her saber far too late to deflect it.
It was the blue blade of her companion that spared her.
That first shot was the only thing to set the next chain of events to happen. Suddenly, everyone that had their weapons out started raining blaster bolts on the two Padawans. Raya ducked below and clumsily pulled out her weapon. Remembering her training from before, she carefully rose and maintained the same three defensive positions along with moving her head from one side to another. One bolt barely sped past her ear.
Obi-Wan moved through the crowd and used his weapon to knock their weapons out of their hands. He managed to do so without severing their limbs. Raya leapt upwards and flipped forward to the Trandoshan. She sliced his blaster in half, while also minorly injuring him, and used the Force to shove him back into an alley.
Disarmed and now frightened by the two Jedi, the rest of the crowd stood back, their empty hands up.
Obi-Wan held his saber upwards. "We don't want any trouble. We are just looking for several others of our kind."
Each of them turned their heads to the ground, refusing to look at either of them. Raya motioned for Obi-Wan to follow her. "I think this one knows something."
The Trandoshan was laying on the ground and pulling himself away from the others. One arm was pressed against the injury on his chest while the other dragged his body.
"Please don't kill me!" he begged. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know! Just let me live!"
Obi-Wan and Raya pulled him up by his arms.
"Calm down," Obi-Wan said to him. "We're not here to take your life."
"We just want some information." Raya said.
The Trandoshan was breathing heavily and trying to hold himself up on his weakened legs. Obi-Wan pulled a medpac from the small satchel hanging on his hip and began to dress the man's wounds. At first, he protested, not wanting anyone else's hands touching him. But when he tried to move Obi-Wan's hands away, he winced at the pain it caused him.
"Just let him help you out." Raya said.
The Trandoshan breathed a sigh of relief as Obi-Wan's hands moved over his chest. He slumped down the wall and sat with his back against it. Obi-Wan knelt beside him.
"The person that did this," he began. "What did they look like?"
The Trandoshan took a moment before answering, seemingly trying to process all of it. "I... couldn't really see what he was. He was dressed in all black."
"And he killed all of those people?" Obi-Wan continued.
He nodded. "Yeah, he did. He didn't use nothing but his own bare hands. No blasters, no knives. Nothing."
Raya shifted in her position, trembling slightly at the thought of people being murdered by a killer's hands. She'd never witnessed something like that and hoped she wouldn't have to.
"Did you see him do anything else?" Obi-Wan asked.
The questioned man shook his head rapidly. "No, I swear that's all I know. Everything exploded right before my eyes."
Without warning, Raya gently rested his hand on his head. The Trandoshan noticed her touch and moved away.
"Relax," she said to him. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He was under her influence and his struggle ceased momentarily as she mesmerized him with her abilities. She heard Obi-Wan ask her what she was doing, but she didn't respond. Breathing in deeply, she pulled her focus forward and searched through the events in his mind.
In her perspective, she was no longer in the dark alley, but sitting in front of a hexagonal table, looking down at the cards that suddenly appeared in her hands. The others around her were bellowing, downing large jugs of alcohol, and teasing the one she was embodying. Then each of them stopped and turned their heads to the newcomer that had just arrived.
It was just as the Trandoshan said: a man completely clad in black, like he was trying to wear the actual darkness around himself. He walked up to the table and started asking the bartender for information.
It was difficult to hear over the loud chatter around her. But she noticed from the bartender's expressions that the details the dark figure asked for were forbidden knowledge. The man under the blinking light denied the newcomer after multiple attempts. Several others gathered around and began antagonizing the cloaked person.
In one split second, the table in front of her was tossed in her direction and she fell backwards in her chair. The figure she was portraying crawled out from the table and stood up to witness. She could feel the aches in his legs and arms. His hand hovered over his weapon but before he could use it, a body was thrown directly at him.
At that point, Raya was tossed out from the Trandoshan's memory and stumbled backwards. Her head was spinning from the impact of a body colliding with her own. It had taken a second for her to come back to full awareness of her own environment. Obi-Wan rushed to her side.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Raya nodded and rested her body against the wall of a brick building. Her hand rubbed her forehead.
"Fine... just..."
She wasn't sure if she should have told Obi-Wan about the uneasiness she experienced from when the cloaked figure entered the room. The Force was clearly strong within the character, but it wasn't like anything she had ever felt before. The ripples were jagged and rushing into her like a violent wave, instead of the serene river flowing through her when she was in the company of her master. It was dark, and not the similar kind of dark from Ahsoka's nightmares. It was filled with hatred. Anger over everything and anything.
Raya had only heard of what it meant to be in the presence of one such as this being. If she was accurately presenting the assumption that he represented these kinds of creatures. The ones who use the Dark Side of the Force. She was told to be aware of these kinds of Force-wielders. Dark Jedi.
Raya hadn't known each and every person that were apart of the Jedi Order, and during her younger years, she was under the impression that the only Force-sensitives that existed were Jedi. Until her master had educated her about rogue Jedi and the Sith. This person could have been one or the other.
But the Sith were extinct, her master had told her. They hadn't been seen for millennia. Raya kept this in mind, but couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of doubt in Master Windu's words.
"What did you see?" Obi-Wan asked her quietly.
"I don't know." she answered. "Something wicked."
The male Padawan raised his brow.
"The man wearing the black cloak," Raya began, her eyes bright and alert as she turned to the Trandoshan. "What did he want?"
The wounded creature turned his reptilian head upwards. "He was asking for a very important representative."
She stepped closer. "Who?"
He hesitated for a minute. But the thing about Nar Shaddaa was that no one here owed anyone else any loyalty. Raya knew that without being an active member of any of the crime syndicates.
"Xev Xrexus." he answered.
Obi-Wan and Raya shared a look.
"And what of Xev Xrexus?" Obi-Wan asked.
The Trandoshan growled. "How should I know?" He raised up on his two legs, rolling his neck and shoulders. The loud cracking of his bones made Raya wince. "Well, you've got what you wanted. Are we done here?"
Obi-Wan and Raya stepped out of his way as he walked towards the opposite end of the alley, mumbling to himself about his intense loathing for the Jedi. He wasn't even trying to keep his words quiet as they bounced off the walls of the two buildings. It didn't matter. Raya had received the vision that revealed all that was necessary.
Who it was she wanted to present it to first was unclear. Obi-Wan looked at her with a question on his face. With all honesty, she didn't know whether she should tell him about the disturbance, or wait until they were accompanied by the masters. Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go find our masters." he told her. "They'll know what to do about all this."
She nodded to him as they both continued into the uncharted territory that was the "Smuggler's Moon".
