The Ties That Bind
Chapter 17
"Master, how do we look for clues when the assassin doesn't leave any?"
Obi-Wan was sitting at a security terminal, accessing the Palace database, Anakin and Padmé sitting close behind him. "We start with technique, my young padawan. What do we know about the assassin?"
"They prefer a vibro blade," Padmé's voice was thoughtful. "I shot them- he..." she grimaced. "We don't even know if the attacker was a man or woman. Though I'm sure they were human."
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" They three looked up to see a smiling Sabé standing in the doorway. Obi-Wan's eyes widened and she sighed. "You forgot about me. How flattering."
He shook his head, "Of course not, I just thought you needed your rest."
She looked at him archly. "Right. The head of the former Queen's private security detail needs her rest when the very object of her job is out chasing the 'bad guys'. That's a pretty lame excuse, Obi-Wan."
Padmé cleared her throat. "I'm glad to see you're here Sabé, maybe you can shed some light on our unknown assassin. From what we know they're a Jedi, but not a known Jedi. They favor the use of a vibro-knife and travel only during the night, or so it would seem."
Sabé blinked. "Alright, what the heck did I miss?"
The three exchanged looks before Obi-Wan drew her down onto a chair next to him and told her everything that had happened, from start to finish. "... and so we're here trying to compile a list of people in the palace who know how to use a virbo-knife."
"Kind of useless, isn't it?" she shook her head, glancing at Padmé. "Last time I checked almost everyone can use one. Any distinctive markings on the blade?"
The silence that greeted her had Sabé banging her head against the console in front of her, "I'm surrounded by amateurs!" She held up a hand when they started to protest. "Just... don't even try. First rule of investigation into a murder is examining the scene of the crime. Examine the murder weapon, if it's available, is number 2. Can any of you junior investigation scouts tell me what rule number three is?"
Anakin burst out laughing. "Junior Investigation Scouts?"
Sabé turned to look at him. "Yes, cadet, that's right. I'm the senior and experienced member of this investigation, and you three are fledglings. Padmé, I thought I'd taught you better than this."
Padmé shrugged. "I wasn't allowed to look over the weapon."
"Even after Master Yoda put you in charge of this investigation?"
Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan, who was looking sick to his stomach. "Master Kenobi is in charge, I'm simply along for the ride."
Sabé smacked her open palm against her forehead. "Oye. Alright, get out of the driver's chair, Obi-Wan and let's see if we can find you some clues." She stood, waiting for the others to join her.
Padmé was quick to stand, Anakin and Obi-Wan following reluctantly. Sabé led them further into the security offices, stopping by one of the back walls and entering a code into one of the number locked panels. A door hissed open, leading into one of the evidence vaults. Sabé checked the read out of items now that the door was opened. "We have two vibro-knives, a lightsaber and a garrote wire as evidence. Shall we cadets?"
Anakin shot her a disgusted look. "You're enjoying this superiority complex way too much."
She winked at him. "With Jedi and a former Queen? You'd better believe it, buddy. I have to take what I can get. Come along, lesson two is about to begin."
They followed her into the vault and she led the way to the newest items. The first of which was a lightsaber. Anakin shook his head as Sabé was fitting her hands into gloves. "Don't bother. It's not property of the assassin. If we find anything it'll be on the knives."
Sabé arched an eyebrow at him before lifting the lightsaber in her hand. She carefully examined the Master's mark on the bottom before disengaging the power cells. Obi-Wan blinked. "You've handled a lightsaber before?"
Sabé nodded absently. "Our hand to hand specialist for combat training was a Jedi. We have to know how to use every weapon, including a lightsaber, and how to disengage them." She allowed the cells to drop into her hand and then proceeded to carefully go over the casing. The other three shifted uncomfortably before she replaced the lightsaber's power cells and placed it back on its display. "Nothing here. But a good investigator never allowed the possibility of a cue to pass one by."
They were silent as they followed her to the garrote wire. Sabé carefully examined the bloodied weapon before examining the ornate ends. Well made, yet not highly pricey, they could be afforded by a middle, or upper, class person. That didn't narrow it down much if the murdered was attached in the Palace, as the Jedi believed. Seeing the quality inherent in the weapon, Sabé frowned. "This is a personal, hand-made weapon. Whoever committed these murders is well versed in the construction of weapons."
Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a look, each thinking the same thing. As a Jedi, the assassin would be able to build more weapons than Sabé could dream. Anakin swallowed hard, feeling Padmé's hand slip into his. He squeezed her fingers gently before turning his attention back to the master investigation official. In his mind, Sabé was taking her job overly serious, but at least she knew what she was doing.
Sabé replaced the garrote wire and stepped a few feet further into the evidence room. There, in the middle, were the two knives they'd managed to recover. One was stained with blood while the other had been collected from the garden where the assassin had first tried to kill Anakin. She lifted the stained blade first and carefully examined it. The blade was etched with a curving symbol that arced towards the handle. The second blade held the same marking. Sabé frowned as she checked the pommel and then tested the balance. She whistled softly. "This is perfectly balanced for throwing. On, or off. Whoever made these knew what they were doing."
Anakin stayed her hand narrowing his eyes on a mark on the blade by the hilt, "What's that?"
Sabé turned the stained blade towards the light and checked. "A single initial. A "P" in a square. Well, that narrows it down. This is a trademark; the forger's print. Good eye cadet." She checked the other blade and found the same mark. "We have a place to start. We search the security database for this mark."
Obi-Wan whistled as they made their way out of the evidence vault and locked it behind them. "Wow, you're good."
Sabé preened, "I know. At least I'm good for something!"
Obi-Wan's cheeks pinkened as Anakin chuckled. He shot a warning look at his padawan, gaining instant silence, before following Sabé to the terminal. Hopefully they could find what they were looking for or it was back to square one.
Sabé scrolled through the security database in silence, rubbing her eyes with one hand. They'd been looking through personnel records for the last five hours and had still gotten nowhere. The sun was beginning to rise, causing the artificial illumination to slowly dim as the sunshine poured into the room. Obi-Wan was seated next to her, his eyes on her face more than the screen. In the adjacent room, Padmé and Anakin had curled up on one of the rest room couches, and were catching a few hours of extra sleep. She chewed on her bottom lip as she added another name to the large list of suspects. Handmaidens, former handmaidens, the hand-to-hand instructor, any security personnel, several of the visiting diplomats and their escorts, the list seemed to go on forever. Anyone with a 'P' in their first or last name could also be a suspect. As it stood, she'd managed to eliminate herself, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé and the Jedi Masters. Pretty much everyone else was suspect.
The beeping of the program was the loudest sound in the room, but she could hear the rustle of Obi-Wan's robes as he shifted in his chair. She caught the serious look he gave her out of the corner of her eye and paused the program, spinning on him. "Alright, Kenobi, spit it out."
His expression blanked the instant she moved, regaining its mask of Jedi serenity. "Pardon?"
"Don't give me that Jedi calm routine, something's on your mind. What is it?"
He glanced beyond her to the adjacent room where his padawan and the former Queen were sleeping. "I've been thinking. The Jedi may have simply been a way to ensure we can't protect Padmé. What if she's they're true target?"
"Why would she be, she's no longer Queen."
"True, but I hear there's talk of making her the Senator of Naboo. She's very influential and much loved by the people, her death would send them into a state of disorder. No one, except a retired monarch much beloved by her people, could spark that kind of rebellion. It could be enough to insist the Jedi leave for good."
Sabé looked back towards her sleeping friend. "What do you suggest we do?"
He sighed. "Send her away. I hesitate to suggest it because it's putting you in her place and into danger."
Sabé shrugged. "I've been there before, I'm sure I'll be there again. Besides, if the assassin is indeed Force sensitive, I don't think taking her place will help. Wouldn't they know who I was by reading my mind?"
Obi-Wan sighed. "Good point. Still, it's good for appearance sake. From what we understand the assassin has outside help, a channel of Force power if you will, and they've tried to strike from afar most of the time. Most of the Masters were killed by thrown vibro-knives. These, however, shattered upon penetration. The pieces caused enough internal damage to kill them outright. The hand-to-hand weapons we recovered were all close combat, designed for quick strikes. It's possible they don't even scan their targets before striking."
Sabé looked thoughtful. "Alright. Padmé will have to go into hiding if we do it that way, though. She won't like that."
"She won't have a choice." Obi-Wan told her grimly. "This is Jedi business now. She'd probably be safer at the temple on Coruscant."
"If I'm the target, you mean." They both looked up to see Padmé standing in the doorway. Behind her, Anakin could be seen to be still sleeping. "We still don't know if this is an attack on me, or perhaps on Anakin."
Sabé turned back to the terminal and resumed her search. "The problem, Padmé, is that there are too many suspects. With the symbol, they could be trying to frame you."
"Me?" She looked skeptical. "Hardly. I'm always with Anakin, or so it would seem."
"Are you objecting or bragging?" the handmaiden asked pointedly.
Padmé smile. "Neither. I'm stating a fact. Do you have a list of more likely suspects?"
Sabé nodded. "I do, but there are a hundred names or so on it. The symbol isn't in the database, but I've got to consider anyone with a 'P' as an initial as a suspect. The square is something I don't understand. Why would you pick a square? A circle is more common. A square is so unheard of it should be ridiculously easy to track."
"Yet it's not in the database."
Sabé nodded. "That's what I don't understand. Why have a trademark if it can't be traced. Obviously the person who forged this blade takes pride in it, otherwise it wouldn't have a mark of any kind."
"So what are our other options?" Obi-Wan asked.
Sabé rubbed her forehead as the words on the screen began to blur together. She'd been up for almost two whole days, with a short nap in between, and was starting to feel it. "We could go from person to person and check their personal blades, but that could take weeks. By the time we reached our assassin, if they weren't in our first sweep, they'd know what we were looking for and have the chance to anticipate it."
They were silent as she looked back at the screen for a moment before shutting it off. "I have to come back to this later, right now my eyes are starting to cross."
Obi-Wan stood and moved her hair off her neck, beginning to massage her tense neck muscles. Her tension melted away under his skilled touch. "So what's next, master investigator?" he asked teasingly.
Her voice was muffled as her head fell forward, "We get the help of the only person I can think of."
Padmé inhaled sharply. "You don't mean...?"
Sabé made a face and gently pulled away from Obi-Wan's hands. "I do. Ms. Lapetia. She's the only person I can think of who knows more about weapons than our good Captain Panaka. Come on, she should just be coming on duty."
They paused only long enough to wake Anakin before going to find Sabé's contact.
Chapter 17
"Master, how do we look for clues when the assassin doesn't leave any?"
Obi-Wan was sitting at a security terminal, accessing the Palace database, Anakin and Padmé sitting close behind him. "We start with technique, my young padawan. What do we know about the assassin?"
"They prefer a vibro blade," Padmé's voice was thoughtful. "I shot them- he..." she grimaced. "We don't even know if the attacker was a man or woman. Though I'm sure they were human."
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" They three looked up to see a smiling Sabé standing in the doorway. Obi-Wan's eyes widened and she sighed. "You forgot about me. How flattering."
He shook his head, "Of course not, I just thought you needed your rest."
She looked at him archly. "Right. The head of the former Queen's private security detail needs her rest when the very object of her job is out chasing the 'bad guys'. That's a pretty lame excuse, Obi-Wan."
Padmé cleared her throat. "I'm glad to see you're here Sabé, maybe you can shed some light on our unknown assassin. From what we know they're a Jedi, but not a known Jedi. They favor the use of a vibro-knife and travel only during the night, or so it would seem."
Sabé blinked. "Alright, what the heck did I miss?"
The three exchanged looks before Obi-Wan drew her down onto a chair next to him and told her everything that had happened, from start to finish. "... and so we're here trying to compile a list of people in the palace who know how to use a virbo-knife."
"Kind of useless, isn't it?" she shook her head, glancing at Padmé. "Last time I checked almost everyone can use one. Any distinctive markings on the blade?"
The silence that greeted her had Sabé banging her head against the console in front of her, "I'm surrounded by amateurs!" She held up a hand when they started to protest. "Just... don't even try. First rule of investigation into a murder is examining the scene of the crime. Examine the murder weapon, if it's available, is number 2. Can any of you junior investigation scouts tell me what rule number three is?"
Anakin burst out laughing. "Junior Investigation Scouts?"
Sabé turned to look at him. "Yes, cadet, that's right. I'm the senior and experienced member of this investigation, and you three are fledglings. Padmé, I thought I'd taught you better than this."
Padmé shrugged. "I wasn't allowed to look over the weapon."
"Even after Master Yoda put you in charge of this investigation?"
Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan, who was looking sick to his stomach. "Master Kenobi is in charge, I'm simply along for the ride."
Sabé smacked her open palm against her forehead. "Oye. Alright, get out of the driver's chair, Obi-Wan and let's see if we can find you some clues." She stood, waiting for the others to join her.
Padmé was quick to stand, Anakin and Obi-Wan following reluctantly. Sabé led them further into the security offices, stopping by one of the back walls and entering a code into one of the number locked panels. A door hissed open, leading into one of the evidence vaults. Sabé checked the read out of items now that the door was opened. "We have two vibro-knives, a lightsaber and a garrote wire as evidence. Shall we cadets?"
Anakin shot her a disgusted look. "You're enjoying this superiority complex way too much."
She winked at him. "With Jedi and a former Queen? You'd better believe it, buddy. I have to take what I can get. Come along, lesson two is about to begin."
They followed her into the vault and she led the way to the newest items. The first of which was a lightsaber. Anakin shook his head as Sabé was fitting her hands into gloves. "Don't bother. It's not property of the assassin. If we find anything it'll be on the knives."
Sabé arched an eyebrow at him before lifting the lightsaber in her hand. She carefully examined the Master's mark on the bottom before disengaging the power cells. Obi-Wan blinked. "You've handled a lightsaber before?"
Sabé nodded absently. "Our hand to hand specialist for combat training was a Jedi. We have to know how to use every weapon, including a lightsaber, and how to disengage them." She allowed the cells to drop into her hand and then proceeded to carefully go over the casing. The other three shifted uncomfortably before she replaced the lightsaber's power cells and placed it back on its display. "Nothing here. But a good investigator never allowed the possibility of a cue to pass one by."
They were silent as they followed her to the garrote wire. Sabé carefully examined the bloodied weapon before examining the ornate ends. Well made, yet not highly pricey, they could be afforded by a middle, or upper, class person. That didn't narrow it down much if the murdered was attached in the Palace, as the Jedi believed. Seeing the quality inherent in the weapon, Sabé frowned. "This is a personal, hand-made weapon. Whoever committed these murders is well versed in the construction of weapons."
Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a look, each thinking the same thing. As a Jedi, the assassin would be able to build more weapons than Sabé could dream. Anakin swallowed hard, feeling Padmé's hand slip into his. He squeezed her fingers gently before turning his attention back to the master investigation official. In his mind, Sabé was taking her job overly serious, but at least she knew what she was doing.
Sabé replaced the garrote wire and stepped a few feet further into the evidence room. There, in the middle, were the two knives they'd managed to recover. One was stained with blood while the other had been collected from the garden where the assassin had first tried to kill Anakin. She lifted the stained blade first and carefully examined it. The blade was etched with a curving symbol that arced towards the handle. The second blade held the same marking. Sabé frowned as she checked the pommel and then tested the balance. She whistled softly. "This is perfectly balanced for throwing. On, or off. Whoever made these knew what they were doing."
Anakin stayed her hand narrowing his eyes on a mark on the blade by the hilt, "What's that?"
Sabé turned the stained blade towards the light and checked. "A single initial. A "P" in a square. Well, that narrows it down. This is a trademark; the forger's print. Good eye cadet." She checked the other blade and found the same mark. "We have a place to start. We search the security database for this mark."
Obi-Wan whistled as they made their way out of the evidence vault and locked it behind them. "Wow, you're good."
Sabé preened, "I know. At least I'm good for something!"
Obi-Wan's cheeks pinkened as Anakin chuckled. He shot a warning look at his padawan, gaining instant silence, before following Sabé to the terminal. Hopefully they could find what they were looking for or it was back to square one.
Sabé scrolled through the security database in silence, rubbing her eyes with one hand. They'd been looking through personnel records for the last five hours and had still gotten nowhere. The sun was beginning to rise, causing the artificial illumination to slowly dim as the sunshine poured into the room. Obi-Wan was seated next to her, his eyes on her face more than the screen. In the adjacent room, Padmé and Anakin had curled up on one of the rest room couches, and were catching a few hours of extra sleep. She chewed on her bottom lip as she added another name to the large list of suspects. Handmaidens, former handmaidens, the hand-to-hand instructor, any security personnel, several of the visiting diplomats and their escorts, the list seemed to go on forever. Anyone with a 'P' in their first or last name could also be a suspect. As it stood, she'd managed to eliminate herself, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé and the Jedi Masters. Pretty much everyone else was suspect.
The beeping of the program was the loudest sound in the room, but she could hear the rustle of Obi-Wan's robes as he shifted in his chair. She caught the serious look he gave her out of the corner of her eye and paused the program, spinning on him. "Alright, Kenobi, spit it out."
His expression blanked the instant she moved, regaining its mask of Jedi serenity. "Pardon?"
"Don't give me that Jedi calm routine, something's on your mind. What is it?"
He glanced beyond her to the adjacent room where his padawan and the former Queen were sleeping. "I've been thinking. The Jedi may have simply been a way to ensure we can't protect Padmé. What if she's they're true target?"
"Why would she be, she's no longer Queen."
"True, but I hear there's talk of making her the Senator of Naboo. She's very influential and much loved by the people, her death would send them into a state of disorder. No one, except a retired monarch much beloved by her people, could spark that kind of rebellion. It could be enough to insist the Jedi leave for good."
Sabé looked back towards her sleeping friend. "What do you suggest we do?"
He sighed. "Send her away. I hesitate to suggest it because it's putting you in her place and into danger."
Sabé shrugged. "I've been there before, I'm sure I'll be there again. Besides, if the assassin is indeed Force sensitive, I don't think taking her place will help. Wouldn't they know who I was by reading my mind?"
Obi-Wan sighed. "Good point. Still, it's good for appearance sake. From what we understand the assassin has outside help, a channel of Force power if you will, and they've tried to strike from afar most of the time. Most of the Masters were killed by thrown vibro-knives. These, however, shattered upon penetration. The pieces caused enough internal damage to kill them outright. The hand-to-hand weapons we recovered were all close combat, designed for quick strikes. It's possible they don't even scan their targets before striking."
Sabé looked thoughtful. "Alright. Padmé will have to go into hiding if we do it that way, though. She won't like that."
"She won't have a choice." Obi-Wan told her grimly. "This is Jedi business now. She'd probably be safer at the temple on Coruscant."
"If I'm the target, you mean." They both looked up to see Padmé standing in the doorway. Behind her, Anakin could be seen to be still sleeping. "We still don't know if this is an attack on me, or perhaps on Anakin."
Sabé turned back to the terminal and resumed her search. "The problem, Padmé, is that there are too many suspects. With the symbol, they could be trying to frame you."
"Me?" She looked skeptical. "Hardly. I'm always with Anakin, or so it would seem."
"Are you objecting or bragging?" the handmaiden asked pointedly.
Padmé smile. "Neither. I'm stating a fact. Do you have a list of more likely suspects?"
Sabé nodded. "I do, but there are a hundred names or so on it. The symbol isn't in the database, but I've got to consider anyone with a 'P' as an initial as a suspect. The square is something I don't understand. Why would you pick a square? A circle is more common. A square is so unheard of it should be ridiculously easy to track."
"Yet it's not in the database."
Sabé nodded. "That's what I don't understand. Why have a trademark if it can't be traced. Obviously the person who forged this blade takes pride in it, otherwise it wouldn't have a mark of any kind."
"So what are our other options?" Obi-Wan asked.
Sabé rubbed her forehead as the words on the screen began to blur together. She'd been up for almost two whole days, with a short nap in between, and was starting to feel it. "We could go from person to person and check their personal blades, but that could take weeks. By the time we reached our assassin, if they weren't in our first sweep, they'd know what we were looking for and have the chance to anticipate it."
They were silent as she looked back at the screen for a moment before shutting it off. "I have to come back to this later, right now my eyes are starting to cross."
Obi-Wan stood and moved her hair off her neck, beginning to massage her tense neck muscles. Her tension melted away under his skilled touch. "So what's next, master investigator?" he asked teasingly.
Her voice was muffled as her head fell forward, "We get the help of the only person I can think of."
Padmé inhaled sharply. "You don't mean...?"
Sabé made a face and gently pulled away from Obi-Wan's hands. "I do. Ms. Lapetia. She's the only person I can think of who knows more about weapons than our good Captain Panaka. Come on, she should just be coming on duty."
They paused only long enough to wake Anakin before going to find Sabé's contact.