Time passed quickly after that, and soon Obi-Wan found himself waiting inside their transport. He had to discuss with Qui-Gon and Anakin what their next destination would be.

Personally, Obi-Wan had no idea. The fact that King Renon had been blackmailed into framing Obi-Wan was startling enough, never mind that Obi-Wan had never heard of a person named Sidious. It was all very suspicious, and the young man yearned to solve this unsettling problem.

He heard the door swish open behind him, as he turned to see Anakin and his master enter the room. The three men sat down at the small table wordlessly, silently acknowledging each other.

Qui-Gon spoke first, addressing the issue of their next destination. Obi-Wan responded that since they had no idea who this Sidious was, they had no idea where next to go.

It was the young Anakin that had a suggestion to this. "Why don't we just look him up in the GalactaNet? We might find at least some information in there, even though it only addresses the Inner Rim planets." The hopeful young face gazed expectantly at Qui-Gon, hoping that his comment had been helpful.

It had. One problem remained though, one that Qui-Gon was quick to mention. "Ani, that is a good idea, but the GalactaNet contains millions upon millions of articles and reports. It would take days to sift through it all."

Anakin offered a quick grin. "That's where I come in. I've invented a computer program that can simultaneously sift through hundreds of documents in only a few seconds. It should be able to search through the GalactaNet in about ten hours."

Qui-Gon returned his young apprentice's smile, and allowed a few sentiments of pride to beam through. "Good work, Anakin. Let's get started on that right away."

*______________________________*

The hours passed slowly; the three companions having nothing to do but wait. Every so often Anakin would glance at the console's screen, seeing if there were any search hits. So far, there was nothing.

Obi-Wan forced himself to remain calm. Even if this essai was no help, there were other ways that they could find the identity of their mysterious blackmailer. It would take alot of work and time, but those were things that Obi-Wan was only too eager to sacrifice.

Finally the ten hours were up, and the console gave a small beep. The three men rushed to the console, all hoping to find something.

They were not disappointed. A single search hit was listed, and Anakin quickly opened it. The three investigators leaned in towards the screen, mesmerized by what they read.

Excerpt, Republican Times

Three years prior

Today was a monumental day for the planet of Naboo in its fight for justice against the Trade Federation. Two weeks ago, Naboo was under a blockade caused by the Trade Federation. Queen Amidala was forced to sign a treaty by the Federation's chairman, Viceroy Nute Gunray. It was then brought to the Senate by the Queen herself, where it was decided today that Viceroy Nute Gunray was guilty of fraud and blackmail. The Republican Times were on the scene for the Viceroy's trial. When asked what was the reason behind his blockade, Nute Gunray had a very cryptic and bizarre response. "You will pay, Sidious, for this betrayal." were his words. He then said nothing after that. We will report more as this case develops.

End Excerpt

Qui-Gon moved back from the screen, unconsciously stroking his beard. "As I recall, Viceroy Nute Gunray was sentenced to ten years in a CorSec prison on Corellia. Queen Amidala has since become a Senator, and Naboo a large centre for commerce. This is all very bizarre..."

Obi-Wan and Anakin were quiet, both contemplating what their next more would be. Obi-Wan soon spoke up. "Why don't we request an audience with Gunray? Maybe he will be able to tell us more about Sidious."

Qui-Gon and Anakin both nodded their approval, and soon the Jedi transport was on its way to Corellia, off to find their elusive answers

*__________________________________*

Corellia was a very interesting planetary system. Unlike usual solar systems, all of the Corellian planetary group's worlds harbour life. A bustling, economically rich sector, the main planet of Corellia has always been fiercely independent, while also being a founding member of the Galactic Republic.

Centerpoint Station is one of the many anomalies in this sector. Believed to be an ancient alien artifact, Centerpoint Station is presumed to be some sort of device used to move planets, although this presumption is held by only a few xenoarchaeologists. Several species inhabit this system, bringing variety and flavour to the mix.

In an effort to bring Corellia back from its independent stance, Coruscant entrusted several of their judicial system's prisoners to Corellia's main security force, CorSec. Now many of Coruscant's low-key offenders were sent to CorSec's many prisons, relieving Coruscant of some of its criminal problems.

Obi-Wan had contacted the CorSec prison in which Nute Gunray was imprisoned, asking for an audience with them. He had been surprised with the courtesy he had been addressed with, and had been allotted fifteen minutes with the former head of the Trade Federation. The prison was located just out of Bela Vistal, one of the main cities of Corellia.

They quickly navigated down through the planet's atmosphere, having received clearance from the main traffic control operators. Anakin Skywalker sat near one of the windows, drinking in the beauty of this wonderful planet. He watched as they flew over golden beaches, forest green parks and crystal blue oceans. It looked like a tropical planet out of a dream, at least to him.

Bela Vistal soon came into view, a sprawling city extending its tendrils across the land. Tall skyscrapers reminiscent of the ones of Coruscant reached up into the sky, while the blue water of the ocean lapping against the southern reaches of the city.

The prison could be seen in the distance, a large, ugly building not fitting in with the Correlia that Anakin had seen from above. But Anakin also knew that, as beautiful as Corellia seemed, it was also a world of smugglers and criminals.

Obi-Wan gently piloted the ship down, landing on one of the many platforms built for such uses. A man and a woman awaited them, both human. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Anakin all quickly filed out of the ship and greeted the CorSec personnel.

The red-haired female introduced herself first. "My name is Lieutenant Kaea T'Hir, and I am second in command here. This is Cpl. Remin Morjet, and he will be accompanying us today."

Even while Lt. T'Hir spoke, Obi-Wan was struggling to keep his mind on her words. He had been struck by her beauty from the moment that he had stepped out of the ship. Her flaming red hair cascaded past her shoulders, kept in check only by an elastic band. An oval face was complimented by striking cheekbones and cerulean blue eyes, eyes that were not unlike his own. A toned and muscular body only added to her beauty, beauty that was very hard for this ex-Jedi to miss.

Lt. T'Hir stopped talking, and Obi-Wan forced himself to focus. The group of five turned and headed into the building, T'Hir in front with Morjet taking up the rear.

Young Anakin gazed with wonder around him, eagerly drinking in the atmosphere and sights of the prison. Even with having been to many places and having had many adventures with Qui-Gon, they had never once set foot in a prison. He was certain that Qui-Gon had, and of course Obi-Wan had, but this was all new to him.

Sterile and bland were the words of the day in this prison. CorSec obviously took great pride in its wondrous array of colours for its prisons: grey and off-grey. Anakin began to find himself becoming slightly nauseous, also becoming claustrophobic about his surroundings.

Obi-Wan felt very uncomfortable here. Being a convicted, but innocent, criminal, he knew what some of the prisoners in here felt like. Trapped, confined and alone. As they passed by the locked doors, he could see several of them just staring out into nothingness, dreaming of a better reality.

Lt. T'Hia just kept walking, obviously used to her surroundings. She reached door 14B, and pulled out a vibro-key. Vibro-keys were specifically attuned to a single person, used to open a series of doors. It prevented prisoners from escaping with the guard's keys, although mistakes had happened in the past.

Cpl. Morjet stepped forwards now, stepping into the cell with T'Hia. They grabbed the Neimoidian, cuffing his hands together and leading him out. The former Viceroy of the Trade Federation never looked up, just shuffled his feet along as the party of six moved to table where they could talk.

The prisoner sat across from the two Jedi and Obi-Wan; while Lt. T'Hia and Cpl. Morjet flanked Gunray on both sides. The CorSec officials motioned for Obi-Wan to start, while they remained silent.

Obi-Wan clasped his hands together and folded them onto the table in front of him. He cleared his throat, feeling the grip of nervousness closing around his throat. "Mr. Gunray, we are thankful that you allowed us to speak to you." started the young man, hoping to get a response.

A small nod of the head was all he got. He decided to push onwards, and hope that Gunray would have something for him. "We understand that you were deceived by a man named Sidious. Could you tell us something about him?"

At the mention of Sidious, the three Force-sensitive companions were hit with a wave of anger, emanating from the Nemoidian. Obi-Wan realized if he could get it just a bit father, Gunray would most likely spill it all.

"Sidious tricked you, didn't he, Mr. Gunray? He pulled you into his plans, and ended up pinning his failures on you."

The Neimoidian's features clouded over with anger. "He fooled me out of my money, that backstabber!" Gunray yelled out in a manner most unbefitting his species.

"Who was he?" Obi-Wan prodded again, a hint of Force manipulation entering his tone.

"He claimed to be very powerful, very influential. There was a word... a word he used to describe himself..."

The three companions held their breaths unconsciously, awaiting the answer.

"Sith. Yes, that was it. A Sith lord was what he called himself..."

The three men turned pale white. Qui-Gon whispered softly, more to himself then to anyone: "That's impossible..."

The two CorSec officers exchanged confused glances, wondering at the significance of that word. Sure, they had heard of the Sith, but they were extinct... weren't they?

Obi-Wan was shocked. Never had he expected to discover something like this. Even if Gunray was lying, this was still a monumental discovery. If the Sith were still out there... the entire galaxy was at risk. And even more puzzling was what would the Sith ever want with him? He had only been a single Jedi Padawan, a simple teenage boy in the midst of thousands of others. What had been so special about him?

Obi-Wan knew now that, no matte how long it took and how hard it was, he would find the answers he was searching for.

*Well, at least that was slightly longer than my other chapters, eh? Sorry I changed the spacing format, I myself found it hard to read, I don't know about you.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank my reviewers, you all know who you are. Thanks so much for reading my story to this point, and I hope that you will keep reading for the next chapters. There isn't that many yet, but I am considering a sequel.

Anyways, we'll see what happens, and thanks!

~Eleia Kenobi*