Knights and Eros Bound
Chapter 4
With a last brush of fingertips, Anakin and Padmé exited the transport and made their way to the grand reception hall. Milling around and waiting for the call to be seated were a few dignitaries and their Jedi escorts. A small, intimate reception, Anakin noted mentally. Hopefully the evening would be relatively short.
"Anakin!" came the greeting from across the room. Kampher Lutador, an Adleraanian Jedi waved them over excitedly. To Anakin's dismay, she was escorting Bail Organa and although he knew Organa was Padmé's colleague and one of her staunchest supporters, he still felt a twinge of jealousy when he was around . Adding to that was the presence of the Corillian Schurke Canaille, with his own escort, a younger female Senator whom Anakin didn't know. Schurke, much to the consternation of his former master, was known for having a roving eye and worse, acting on it...
With a barely concealed sigh, Anakin followed his wife over to the small congregation. After the formal introductions and pleasantries, the small group began the process of idle chit chat and 'shop talk' that seemed to be the meat of such gatherings. Bail and Padmé began an animated discussion with Sentor Kirath of Averam, who seemed to be turning a blind eye to Canaille's advances, at least for now. Anakin stood quietly, seeming to be quietly surveying the room and trying all the while not to think of Padmé's choice of dress and the promise of the evening. At least not too much.
Kampher, however, seemed anxious and distracted. She shifted her weight back and forth after only a few minutes of this conversation, politely broke in.
"Master Skywalker," she bowed deeply. "May I have a word with you in private?" She tugged at Schurke's robes. "You too Canille…" Anakin brushed Padmé's hand lightly as the three Jedi made their way to a quiet corner of the room.
"I hope this is important," grumbled Schurke. "Kirath and I are making progress you know…"
Kampher rolled her eyes as Anakin shifted uncomfortably. "Please Shurke; you have as much chance with that senator as an eopi in a rancor pit. Besides," she added as an after thought, "Jedi aren't allowed to love. You know that as well as anyone…"
"Love has nothing to do with this exploit, Milady…" Canaille bowed deeply with a mocking sweep of his arm. Anakin cleared his throat, impatient to get back to Padmé.
"You wanted to talk to us Kampher…"
"Oh that's right," Canaille grinned. "Anakin gets uncomfortable talking about the basics of all human pleasures. Master Obi-Wan's influence is showing…"
"Master Obi-Wan has nothing to do with it!" Anakin snapped.
Kampher stepped in between the two men raising her hand slightly.
"Please…" She spoke softly, but her voice carried enough weight for the two men to put aside their disagreement. Oddly, she threw Anakin a pleading look that he could not quite fathom, and he decided that there was far more to this than he originally thought. He would talk to her privately about it later but for now…
"What is it?" he asked, trying to cool his demeanor. "What's so important that couldn't wait?"
She was nervous, but she pressed on. "It's about Gris Chevel, her Master…" She bit her lip nervously. "He passed into the Force this morning, almost right after the Knighting Ceremony."
Both Anakin and bowed their heads momentarily. Padrone Aliéné, a venerable scholar and skilled Jedi Knight, had dissapeared on a mission to Ord Mantell only to be found in a desolate bar on Anobis several months later. The former Jedi Master had been sitting there silently, staring blankly into space, unable to explain where he had been or how he had come to be there. He had been brought back to the Jedi Temple and the Healers, completely mad…
"I'm sorry," said Canaille, all pretense of bravado gone, Anakin nodded in agreement.
"He was a good man," Anakin said softly. "Master Obi-Wan, always spoke well of Master Aliéné. He was like another mentor... "
"But that's not all…" Kampher whispered. "I over heard the Healer talking to Master Windu. "It seems that Master Aliéné... he'd gone over to the darkside... "