Chapter: 14 Mystery on Manaan

"A strength does not dictate who someone is."

Missing on Manaan! Jedi Master Tamon Chaki and his Padawan Nelani Trell have disappeared on the vast water world. The Jedi Council has dispatched Master Yelena along with her students Elsa and Anna to resolve the matter. In an effort to pay for means of investigation, Anna wagered her lightsaber to a spacer and lost. Without her weapon, the young Padawan now struggles to balance priorities over her weapon and the mission at hand.

Ataru was the most aggressive of all lightsaber forces. It was unpredictable and designed to wear an opponent out with overwhelming intensity. For someone still practicing the technique, extreme endurance training was often a prerequisite to keep the user from tiring. In Anna's case, no amount of work in resilience could've prepared her for the verbal barrage from Yelena and Elsa. "I thought you said you could win?" Elsa asked. "Why would you wager your lightsaber if you couldn't win?"

"Wait," Yelena came to the confounded realization. "You used the weapon that is your life as a tool for your gambling?"

"To get us the credits we need," Anna snuck her own words in.

"I had the situation under control!" Yelena shut her down. "We didn't even end up needing credits. Now your lightsaber is in the hands of Force knows who because you were ignorant enough to bet it."

Anna trudged out of the cantina and her companions pursued. "Maybe we can track him down," she suggested. "I know his name, and with Elsa's Force...sense...thing-"

"We don't have time to clean up your mistake in impatience," Yelena scolded.

Anna gulped but tried to mask her nerves behind a firm resolve. "So what?" she asked. "I'm supposed to carry on the rest of this mission weaponless?"

Yelena shut her down as her tone deepened. "We came here to find missing members of our Order, one of whom happens to be a very good friend of mine. They could be lost, warped, corrupted or even killed and the last thing I will tolerate is insubordination. Anna, you have heart and I appreciate that. But if you can't trust those around you when they aren't Master Mattias, you're not going to make it. Don't you get it? This isn't your story. It's the tale of countless others where the only acts of heroism are determined by who's left to talk about them. And no, I'm not asking you to go weaponless. If a lightsaber is all a Jedi needs to feel armed, then something's wrong. You're better than that, Anna."

Elsa felt unsure whether or not to look at her sister during such an intense conversation. She nervously averted her eyes and saw Erik approaching. "Hate to break up your party, ladies." he began "But Grimsby's prepping your suits now. It's quite a ways from here at bay 89 but we can take a hovertram. Erik's gaze fell upon Anna and she fidgeted with her braid. When his eyes swayed to Elsa, she merely waved. Erik seemed used to having human women fall for his charming demeanor. He offered a simple shrug when Elsa didn't seem as interested.

Sino City's hovertram was designed to help patrons observe the Selkath's greatest marvel. While aboard, passengers could see the bustling city from one side and glimpse the vast ocean from the other. The tram itself served as a bridge between two worlds, much like the city itself. Yelena clenched one of the hanging grips and looked out the windows from each side. She hoped to see Master Chaki amidst crowds of his fellow Selkath, or perhaps he'd be floating across the waves. The thought made her consider his decaying corpse and she quickly sought a distraction.

"How are you, Padawan?" Yelena asked. "I know I don't ask enough."

Elsa's smile was faint but sympathetic. "Honestly, sad. About a number of things. I worry about the people we're here to save and where they might be." Elsa tapped on the window and towards the venomous streaks in the water. "It breaks my heart to see someone tainting nature in such a way. It's bad enough that the pollution is being done to make a statement, but how many have to suffer because of it? Betwixt it all, I feel terrible for Anna. I've been trying to sense where her weapon might be, but we're moving too quickly. There's so much going on. I know she meant well, but-" Elsa sighed and resorted to staring out the window.

"As Jedi, we have to make grievously tough calls sometimes." Yelena said. "I loathe knowing that Anna's lightsaber is in a stranger's hands, but I can't let her personal setback stop us from continuing our mission." She glanced over at Anna, who was staring off on her own. "I don't know what I'm going to do with your sister. I don't even know how Mattias does it. "What I do know, is that this should serve as a valuable lesson to her. Overconfidence is a curse only cured through humility."

"The question is," Elsa replied. "Can she learn it? I've asked myself that too many times."

"Do not madden yourself with stress over it," Yelena suggested. "Your senses can only handle so much."

"Speaking of senses," Elsa said. "When all this is over, I wish to tell you of the dream I had."

"Of course," Yelena assured her. "With how attuned you are to the Force, it doesn't surprise me that it would try and send you messages."

Anna was bubbling with frustration and the last thing she needed was someone prodding her with questions. "I know that look," Erik began. "What'd you lose?"

"Nothing," Anna was quick to answer. "I just-" He raised a brow at her and she huffed. "I made a stupid bet, okay? Thought I had a game of Dejarik in the bag." I should have, she thought to herself. There's still no way that squid could've anticipated-

"Well hey," Erik continued. "You're still breathing, right?"

"Yeah, but what the heck does that have to do with anything?" Anna remarked.

"Everything," Erik intoned. "It means you still got time to fix whatever you screwed up on. Some people can't say that."

The tram came to a halt as Anna thought on Erik's words. The Jedi followed him and Grimsby to their designated docking bay, which was just as clean and orderly as any other. The amount of Selkath working maintenance made the chamber feel safe. In retrospect, all of Sino City seemed to be dense with Selkath and under constant surveillance. It was enough to make anyone wonder how someone could possibly go missing. Then again, Sino City was merely a taste of what Manaan had to offer. Its mysterious oceans weren't half as protected, which ironically revealed how much the Selkath catered to outsiders.

Regardless of such a safe area, Yelena was still wary. "Be on guard," she whispered and pat her lightsaber.

Elsa casually slid her fingers toward her hilt while Anna did so instinctually. Anxiety-induced nausea plagued the youngest sibling as she was reminded of her missing weapon. All Anna could do was clench her fist as they advanced. Her stress quelled at the humorous sight of a rather...egotistical statue. Thought covered in netting, she could still make out the distinct chin and robust gaze of Erik himself. "You royalty?" she asked.

"One could say that," he guiltily admitted. "Though being cooped up in palace walls never did suit me. I'd rather be out here on trading missions with my subjects. Plus, my mother's got it covered back home."

"Well, Prince Erik." Yelena murmured. "Royal family members should be unified. Not frolicking around planets."

Erik bit back whatever insult he wanted to drop, but still went on the defensive. "Is this coming from a Jedi who spends her days meditating in a temple and barely going outside? No offense, but sometimes your Order thinks that because you have glowsticks and can make things float, you can tell the rest of us how to live."

"That thing that make things float is the only reason any of us are alive," Yelena said. She remembered the favor Erik was doing for them and chose to keep her lecturing to a minimum.

The prince and Grimsby hauled out a plasteel hovercrate and popped the lid. "There you go," he said. "I hope I'm making the right call here."

"We'll get things up and running again," Yelena told him while Elsa looked through the crate.

"Master?" she worried. "Why are there only two diving suits?"


Contrary to the rest of Sino City's facilities, its Department of Special Operations was a mess. It was as if anything out of guest view was a cluster of cables and hurriedly repaired junction boxes struggling to keep the city alive. In the DSO, Selkath officers were hard at work on cases regarding the pollution in their seas and thievery from their docking bays. Lines for spacer complaints never seemed to die out from the front door, which made it all the more stressful when Officer Onum let the Jedi through first.

"Oh what is this?" a spacer blurted from the line's cacophonous center. "VIP treatment over there?"

"The Jedi get to do whatever they want," a Gran scoffed.

"Show some respect! They're the reason you can sleep soundly at night," a Twi'lek merchant countered. "The Jedi saved my people on Ryloth. My family was-"

"The Republic saved your people. Not the Jedi," the Gran growled as more joined in the argument.

Yelena wanted to intervene but a Selkath officer stepped in. "My partner and I will handle this, Master Jedi." she said. Even going inside didn't stop all of the riotous noise from permeating.

"It was so sad to hear all that," Elsa lamented.

"Those same arguments are happening galaxy-wide." Yelena said. "All we can do is the best we can as Jedi. The debating will happen regardless, but we can still make a difference in people like that Twi'lek."

"So why aren't you coming, Master Yelena?" Anna asked while she plucked a diving suit from the container.

"I have many skills, young one. However, swimming well is not one of them. I know my age and will be of more use monitoring your progress from up here. So suit up."

While Elsa and Anna went to equip their diving gear, Onum activated a holomap for Yelena. The projection revealed a series of deep caves, edifices, and reef systems all linked beneath the surface. "Master Chaki and his Padawan ventured into the Gukko Reef before we lost contact with them," Onum explained. "My agents have also reported the reef as being the possible ground zero for a polluting bomb of sorts."

"A bomb?" Yelena inquired.

Onum nodded and gestured to a piece of dented durasteel that his agents were examining. "We pulled it from the sands near Gukko Reef. My analysis team believes it was part of an explosive capsule. We fear it could be the first of many, but couldn't investigate further. You see, only one of my agents was able to retrieve that metal after I sent five."

"What happened to them?" Yelena asked.

"That's the worst part," Onum replied. "We lost complete contact. It could've been toxicity, but I thought we would've found the bodies. Unless of course, the firaxan sharks ate them." Onum scratched at his moist head. "But firaxae don't normally prey on Selkath. It's said we're distant cousins, you know."

Anna and Elsa returned clad in diving gear. Though form-fitting, their wetsuits had duraplast shoulder pads connected to sleek backpacks. While the packs doubled as oxygen tanks for their helmets, they also possessed a propulsion system for swift ascension. Anna examined a bracelet linked to the suit and curiously pressed it. The shoulder pads folded up and down like wings in response. Elsa grew irritated as Anna repeatedly made her pads flap like a Avinarian chick's wings.

"That prince spares no expense," Elsa admired as she ran her hand across the suit's fabric. "We're all set, master."

"Not yet you're not," Onum insisted and beckoned one of his agents over. His fellow Selkath handed the sisters each a vambrace to fasten against their suits. "Those are sonic emitters. The waters you're about to enter are also home to firaxan sharks. These devices will launch a powerful pulse to scatter and disorient the predators. Just make sure to extend and aim as far from the body as possible, unless you want to scramble your own head."

"Sharks," Anna mumbled while securing her vambrace. "Fantastic."

"At least these emitters are a more humane way to deal with them," Elsa added. "Wouldn't want to go slashing at them with a-" She glanced at Anna's bare utility belt and stopped herself. "Sorry."

"It's fine," her sister muttered. "The sooner we get this mission over with, the sooner I can get back to Coruscant and craft a new one."

As Onum guided the Jedi to a rectangular chamber, Yelena closed in on Anna. She coughed to get the Padawan's attention and offered her own lightsaber. "You could run into serious trouble down there," Yelena said. "Can I trust you've learned your lesson?"

Anna pursed her lips as the proposal caught her off guard. Her eyes darted between the weapon and its owner before she slowly reached for it. Anna held Yelena's weapon and examined its hilt. Contrary to the shimmering durasteel her weapon possessed, Yelena's wooden hilt emanated feelings of antiquity. Only a Brylark tree could possess wood as strong as metal. Despite the natural power and responsibility Anna felt clasping such a weapon, she felt incomplete. It was still Yelena's, and no amount of empty words could change that. "I have learned my lesson," Anna admitted and handed the saber back to Yelena. "And that's why you should hold on to your weapon. Like you said, if a lightsaber is all a Jedi needs to feel armed, then something's wrong...right? I'll be fine. I got this sonic thingy."

"Anna," Yelena intoned.

"Elsa has her weapon," Anna reassured. "And again..." She exaggeratedly waved her vambrace. "Sonic thingy."

Anna and Elsa stood at the brink of an opening hatch. A frigid breeze brushed against their legs as they peered down at the waves several feet below. "This is it!" Onum exclaimed over the blustering winds. "Once you submerge and begin your descent, swim east towards the Gukko Reef! We'll be in contact through the comms in your helmets!"

"May the Force be with you," Yelena said while testing the station's communicator. Her voice entered Anna and Elsa's helmets like the living Force itself.

"Race you to the bottom!" Anna joked and leapt first. As she did so, she tripped on one of her flippers and stumbled headfirst over the edge. Elsa rolled her eyes and gracefully leapt feet first. The first few moments in midair seemed to stretch on like the city above them. The rectangle they'd leapt from grew smaller as the waves below prepared to engulf them. While Anna struck the sea with a flop, Elsa pierced its surface like a precisely placed projectile. The world's temperate brightness succumbed to darkened, chilly depths. Elsa watched a vast array of bubbles race across her helmet and noticed Anna spinning to catch herself. "I still won," Anna answered dizzily while rubbing her belly.

Anna and Elsa checked their oxygen levels and ensured that all connections had survived the jump. Once all was secure, they began a synchronized descent. Like bizarre, metallic, and bubbly marine life, the sisters activated their shoulders pads. The propulsion systems angled the pads downwards as they listed deeper towards the seafloor. As the waters darkened, lights from Selkath cities could be seen in the distance.

"There's so many of them," Elsa awed.

"Stay focused," Yelena replied and sounded like Elsa's conscience in the helmet. "I'm looking over the holomaps up here. Do you see a colossal, coral archway?"

Anna twirled around and enjoyed swimming far too much. "I have eyes on it," she called in. Elsa followed her lead as they kicked towards the looming, natural archway. Elsa couldn't tell if it was because of her sister's mishap or if it was her mysterious setting, but she was constantly making sure her saber was still clipped. Since Anna refused to take Yelena's weapon, Elsa couldn't help but feel like she was their last line of defense. The sisters swam over an entire ecosystem of aquatic fauna. Anna examined a crustacean until it skittered back into hiding. Meanwhile, Elsa found herself admiring the Force's presence in so many mystifying, living things. The admiration was short-lived as the sisters soon found a trail of decaying coral. While the nearby kelp forest seemed lush, an entire half of it had been blackened. Strands of plantlife unable to survive any longer simply withered free from the sand and floated towards the surface. An older-looking fish rested atop one of the decaying clusters of coral. Its eyes were pale while its maw was barely agape. While one fin was mangled, the remaining flipper attempted to keep the creature balanced.

"Poor little guy," Anna said and pet its scales. "If he was alright, he'd be swimming for the hills right now."

Elsa endured a great sadness as she sensed the creature's pain. She felt the toxins ravaging its gills like scraping needles. "Yelena?" Elsa called in while choked up. "The residue on the surface isn't half of what's really going on. The reef's getting totaled by these toxins."

"We still don't know what chemicals are involved," Yelena replied. "Make sure your bodies are one hundred percent contained at all times." Anna double-checked her gloved hands after petting the sick fish and motioned for Elsa to do the same.

"How could anyone do this to a living system?" Elsa asked.

"Look at what people do to each other in war," Anna answered. "If they don't have any regard for their fellow person's life, what makes you think they'd treat the environment any better?"

"I've been thinking," Elsa said. "We've been treating the thievery and pollution as two separate issues. But what if they're one in the same?" Anna started treading to hear Elsa out. Meanwhile, Onum and Yelena listened intently from their headquarters. "What if whoever stole the supplies wants people to think it was the Selkath? Then that same person stages this toxic attack on their underwater world to pit land and sea against each other?"

"Okay," Anna began. "Now I swear there's no pun intended for where we are, but Elsa...that's deep."

Elsa glared at her until Yelena chimed in. "That's a bold deduction, Padawan. However, such a belief would mean another...more resourceful party was involved in this conspiracy."

"But our way of life only promotes gain," Onum insisted. "Who in their right mind would want to sabotage that? Surely not a Selkath nor a trading spacer."

"Or maybe it was neither," Yelena considered. "Perhaps those responsible don't care about your system. Have agents check your ledgers. Scour every manifest and examine who's really calling Sino City home. I'm going to investigate a possible lead." Yelena called down to the Padawans. "Anna...Elsa, you're going to be on your own for a bit. I'm leaving Officer Onum with you on comms while I look into our newest friends. Stay safe and I'll be back shortly."

"Is she seriously just gonna go off on her own?" Anna scoffed.

Elsa sighed and continued swimming along the seafloor. "She...does that. You get used to it, but I'll tell you this much. When I have a Padawan someday, I'm gonna always be there for him or her."

"Sounds...possessive," Anna jested. "You ever think maybe she just trusts you by yourself?"

"Oh I did," Elsa replied. "The first time...and the second. But after around the fiftieth 'Gotta go' I started running out of excuses for her."

"I wish Mattias would trust me on my own," Anna added.

"Yeah, well maybe we can switch sometime." Elsa despised the tone she used and instantly regret it. "I'm sorry. I don't know what-"

"Just...leave it."

Anna and Elsa delved deeper into a ravine to discover a blackened epicenter. Greyed sand and withered kelp mixed together around dented shards of metal. "I think we got something," Anna called. Determined to prove her continued value without a lightsaber, she stretched out her hand and called one of the shards up. The piece wobbled through the sands, much like Anna herself amidst the water.

"It's hard to maintain balance when there's a ocean current to factor in," Elsa remarked.

"But I'm sure you could do it just fine, right." Anna scoffed.

"Let's see." Elsa attempted to gather the shards, but made herself fail on purpose. "Perhaps together we can best the current and dig those up." Anna stared at her suspiciously. "Please?"

"Well, if you need my help." Anna huffed.

Elsa's attempt to quell the tension with her sister worked as they reached out with the Force together. Sand rolled off the debris as the pieces slowly came free. They almost had them out when a thin, shadowy figure glided above them. "Wait," Elsa warned.

"But we've almost got it," Anna grunted.

"Shark," Elsa intoned and Anna reluctantly released the debris. Pale, orange fins came into view as the firaxa swam across the sands. Its prominent dorsal fin swayed while its tail swished away from the sisters.

"That was close," Anna whispered. "Let's get back to-" She bit back a gasp as another firaxa glided overhead. Two more breached the dying kelp forest and scoured the seafloor for food. Anna and Elsa froze at the sight of the four, swirling predators.

While they remained quiet, it was all the more pulse-pounding to have Onum barking in their comms. "Did I hear you say shark?" he asked. "Don't panic. Get as low to the ground as you can and lay still. Firaxae hunt in packs and will swarm you if one of them is alerted. No matter how many you see, there's always more."

"That's encouraging," Anna whispered as she and Elsa cautiously sprawled themselves against the sand. "What's the range on these sonic emitters?"

"Decent," Onum answered. "But it's only going to effect the area directly in front of you and takes time to recharge. Use it wisely."

"It's like he wants us to get eaten," Anna mumbled.

"Anna," Elsa worried. "I think you should take my lightsaber. If things get too close, I would rather you-"

"That one's yours. I got this."

"You have nothing to prove."

"Actually, I do." Anna intoned.

Elsa sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to get us eaten?"

"Are you with me or against me?" Anna snapped. During her outburst, she twitched her leg upward. Not only did Anna kick up sand, but her fin flopped briefly. The sisters went rigid as one of the sharks slowly rotated towards them. "Do you...think he saw that?"

The prolonged silence kept Elsa holding her breath. When the shark merely faced them, she chose to answer. "I think we're good." With a rapid thrust of its tail, the firaxa launched itself towards the sisters like an underwater missile. "NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!"

While Elsa chose to swim away, Anna opted to aim her emitter. Just as she fired, the fleeing Elsa accidentally smacked her in the face with her fin. Anna spiraled away and launched her sonic emitter into the reef. The misfire left an atrocious, disorienting ringing in her ears as Anna collapsed into the coral. More firaxae emerged from the darkness with jaws agape as Elsa tried to line up a shot. She couldn't aim her emitter in time and didn't trust herself with a lightsaber, so she quickly analyzed other options. If she utilized her suit's propulsion system, she could rocket to the surface. However, there was a lot of open water and the surface didn't equal freedom if she couldn't reach a platform. Amidst it all, Elsa couldn't bring herself to escape knowing Anna was still under. There's too much going on underwater to concentrate with the Force, Elsa thought. I know what I need to work on if I make it out of this.

The firaxae surrounded her and closed in for the kill. She opted for a swift descent as some of the predators collided with one another. After observing a narrow set of coral passageways, Elsa darted for the entry. Her thighs burned from how rigorously she kicked. She could sense the hostile marine life several feet behind her and closing in. She could feel the starvation in their bodies and detected how desperate they were to feed. Feeling like she wouldn't make it, Elsa threw her hands back to create a sporadic burst with the Force. She launched herself into the coral and backed away as her predators swirled around.


In Docking Bay 89, Erik was having an intense staredown with his stony self. He felt his own bicep and compared it to the statue's gross exaggerations. "They couldn't just portray me for me, could they?" he asked.

"Oh give it a rest," Grimsby hollered from their ship's loading ramp. "It was a gift and the least you could do is be grateful. If nothing else, let that statue be someone you can aspire to be."

"A chiseled mound of stone?" Erik quipped.

"I mean, you have gone soft."

"Excuse me?"

Grimsby climbed up to Erik and almost threw out his back in the process. "All due respect, but you've cast your parents' sternness aside. Your mother sent me to look after you because she cares. I've known you ever since you were a child, and you've always had a soft spot for the ladies. Like your late father."

"Oh come on, Grim." Erik scoffed. "The Jedi are gonna make things better and we can profit off of that. Do you think I just gave away two suits because those students were attrac-" Grimsby raised a brow and shot him a glare. After a brief pause, Erik relented. "Okay...so those sisters were lovely. But that Anna..." Erik swooned. "Grim, that girl was stunning. Her eyes were so bright I could barely stop looking at them."

"Erik," Grimsby warned.

"I know, Jedi aren't allowed to love. But what's a rule, right?"

"Erik..."

"What can I say? I have a thing for redheads." As Erik finished speaking, he heard a distinct cough behind him. By the time he realized Grimbsy was trying to warn him about Yelena, it was too late.

He leapt in alarm as she observed his body language. "I see why you're out on your own," Yelena intoned. "If I was your mother, I'd be greatly disappointed in your lack of respect for Jedi women."

"Hey," Erik retorted. "I was looking, not touching. The trading life gets boring, alright?"

"How boring?" Yelena inquired. Eric raised a brow as the Jedi stepped uncomfortably close. "Boring enough to spark a conflict here on peaceful Manaan?"

"What are you getting at, lady?"

"That's Master Jedi Lady to you," Yelena said. "I'm saying I don't think it's a coincidence that your world deals directly with Manaan."

"So do countless others," Erik assured.

"Yes, but yours is crucial to their business topside. You make moisturizing suits for the Selkath to walk out of the sea. You also happen to have a surplus of diving gear in your ship. What if the Selkath found another buyer or simply cut your services? Does that mean poor Prince Erik has to go back home and be a boring royal?"

Erik's eyes widened as he shook his head. "Wait. You think I...we did this? The shipment stealing? The pollution? So I could stay trading out on Manaan? That's a bold accusation, Master Jedi."

"Sometimes boldness is the only key to truth," Yelena replied.

"Spare us the lecture." Grimsby jeered as he put himself between the two. "You'll have to forgive the prince's amorous ramblings about one of your students, but I assure you that he's not capable sending a whole city into disarray."

"What about you then?" Yelena asked. "I overheard that you look after him. It sounds like Erik could goad you into formulating a plan. Perhaps you've been covering for him this whole time."

"Are all Jedi so accusatory?" Grimsby asked.

"You still haven't denied it," Yelena insisted. "And-" Her eyes listed as she formulated a theory. "What if Master Chaki and his Padawan were on the same trail we were...and finding you in that cantina was no coincidence."

"You're reading too much into this," Erik suggested.

"Are you working on making us disappear as well?" Yelena asked.

"Alright, enough!" Grimsby exclaimed. "Master Jedi, I would love nothing more than to go back to our homeworld. But I also love Erik as one would a son. Now I know Jedi cannot have children nor can they love, but I have to believe that you feel a similar care for your students. I'm here because he doesn't want to go home, but that doesn't mean I'd commit crimes to help him. Erik gave you those wetsuits because he let his lonely heart dictate his decisions." Grimsby nodded somberly at Erik. "Sorry lad. But, it's true."

"I'd never want to hurt you, Master Jedi." Erik said. "Nor your students. Especially the younger sist-"

"I get it," Yelena said. "I'm sorry. I just thought-"

A call came in on Yelena's comlink. "Master Jedi! It's Officer Onum. You need to get back to Spec Ops department effective immediately."

Yelena nearly smacked her device to reply. "What's going on, officer?"

"I've lost contact with your students in the reef. Firaxae swarmed and-"

Yelena didn't want to hear the rest and hurriedly interrupted. "I'll be right there!"

"If you're waiting on another hovertram, it won't be back at this junction for another twenty minutes." Erik warned as Yelena stomped angrily. "If the girls are in trouble, we want to help."

"We do?" Grimsby blurted from behind.

"Hop aboard, Master Jedi Lady!" Erik proclaimed. "We'll give you a lift." After analyzing her options, Yelena cautiously accepted.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Grimsby muttered to him. "We're not fighters, you know."

"Sometimes thinking with your heart isn't a bad thing," Erik answered. "Prime the engines."


"Jedi?" Onum called in. "Alsa? Enna? Padawans? Please respond!" Anna carefully recovered from her daze to find herself sprawled against crumbling coral. On impulse, she nervously checked her helmet and was relieved that it was still fastened. Her head ached from taking part of the sonic emission and the ringing was slowly fading from her ears. "Someone answer!" Onum exclaimed. The comms were like scraping nails in Anna's ears and she angrily answered.

"We're here," she groaned and shut off comms to rest her hearing. "Kriffing hell," she cursed and wished she could rub her throbbing ears. When Anna emerged from the coral, she noticed the firaxae circling and ramming another spot below her. "Bet that's Elsa," she whispered. Anna examined the oblivious sharks and considered her proximity atop the oceanic cliffside. "Hang in there sis. If this works, you owe me one of those Hyperdrive drinks."

Elsa turned her comms off out of paranoia that the firaxae could hear Onum. Hope of waiting for the pack to disperse dwindled as they continued to ram into her hiding spot. She peered through the hole and saw the sharks' sinister jaws. If the jagged teeth didn't kill her, the lingering toxins on some of the infected sharks would. Elsa wanted to feel bad for them, but sympathy was hard to come by when she was about to be eaten...that was if the coral cavern didn't collapse on her. Elsa prepped her sonic emitter and aimed it towards the entry. She wished she could cover her ears as one of the sharks lingered by. Elsa braced and sent a deafening pulse spiraling through the coral. The one shark she'd struck was deterred, but that left another mass of well-oriented and very hungry firaxae. Elsa glanced at her vambrace and gawked at the emitter's immensely slow recharge.

A rumble sounded from outside the coral. It was different compared to the sharks trying to barge in, and Elsa observed a dumbfounding sight. Her sister had thrown herself onto one of the sharks and was attempting to...wrestle it? Anna latched herself on to the firaxa's crusty dorsal fin as it flailed wildly. She punched at its eye and caught the attention of its pack. It took Elsa a moment to realize that her sister's endeavor was more of a distraction than a conquest. Elsa turned her comms on and called to her from hiding. "Anna! Are you out of your mind?"

Unable to hear her sister, Anna could only keep herself motivated. You got this, Anna. Just don't let go and watch the- Her "mount" took a snap at her. -teeth...

A bolder firaxa flanked from across and chomped at Anna. She let go so the sharks would bite each other and then swiftly swam deeper. Though her heart raced, Anna weaved between the shark swarm as if racing them. She utilized the acrobatics and endurance training she possessed and applied them to her swimming. With the occasional, poorly-aimed Force push, Anna was able to keep a safe distance from the sharks. Some of the firaxae seemed to even give up the chase.

With only a few more sharks still in pursuit, Anna dove into an algae-coated canyon. She waited until the firaxae were deep in it with her and hurriedly spun to meet them. Anna thought about what Elsa had taught her. She envisioned the nonflowering greenery resting across the undersea rocks. She stretched her hands to each side of the canyon and visualized it pulling towards her. While she wasn't strong enough to make that happen, she did break the lower stones and cause an underwater landslide. Sand clouds shrouded the initial collapse as the rest of the canyon crumbled down on the sharks. Anna got herself clear just as the last shark took an algae-ridden boulder to the snout.

The seafloor went eerily calm as Anna tread silently. She caught her breath and observed her steady oxygen supply. The once freezing waters now felt warmed due to her rising adrenaline. "Damn sharks," Anna panted. Just as her breathing returned to normal, she noticed another figure swimming along. After deducing its body movement to be that of a firaxa's Anna checked her sonic emitter status. She rejoiced in seeing it was fully charged and ready for shark scrambling. "Didn't get the memo, huh?" she taunted her final foe and took aim. "No worries. This'll be loud enough for you." Anna fired and the sonic pulse hit the target full blast.

Anna's confident smirk vanished when the creatures didn't flee. It didn't even appear disoriented. Instead, it quickly turned towards the source of its attacker. What Anna presumed to be a tail unfolded into feet, the tips of which were serving as propellors. White, metal plates slinked together as a bizarre form floated upright. A scarlet photoreceptor glowed from the armored machine as it raised a weaponized appendage. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," Anna said as the droid opened fire. Red lasers zipped towards Anna and boiled up the water beside her. Anna wanted to swim downward, but noticed a wave of the one-eyed death machines emerging from below.

She swam back to the reef just as Elsa caught up with her. "I thought you were shark food," Elsa worried.

"Get back!" Anna warned while swinging her arms and kicking. "Go!"

"What?" Elsa asked. "Anna, I'm not getting any reception from your helmet."

In her panic, Anna flipped her comms back on and practically screamed into her helmet. "Droids! Get back to the reef!"

A storm of laserfire followed behind Anna and prompted Elsa to ignite her lightsaber. Her blade caused boiling levels of turbulence across the water as she deflected incoming blasts. While she did so, Anna grabbed Elsa by her air tank and pulled towards the reef. "Officer Onum!" Elsa called.

"There you are," the Selkath sighed in relief. "Wait. What am I hearing?"

"Laser cannons. We've got droids down here. Send immediate reinforcements!" Elsa and Anna returned to the coral archway as the droids overwhelmed their position. Having lost sight of them, Elsa deactivated her weapon and took cover with Anna. "Those designs...I've seen them before."

"Where at?" Anna whispered and caught her breath.

"The Jedi Tech Division has various droid models to study. After the invasion of the Republic's clone facilities on Kamino, the temple received some of the droids used in the attack."

Anna's eyes widened. "So you're telling me that-"

Elsa called the surface. "Officer Onum," she said. "The droids down here...they're Separatist aqua droids."