This is probably not a good idea.
It was her first thought upon stepping off the gangplank of the Hawk and striding forward, only to stumble over her own aching feet.
"What are you doing?" Bastila had murmured from where she sat curled up on her bunk, watching as Katrina tightened her boots and tunic.
"Brewing Tarisian ale."
Bastila sighed heavily.
"You aren't seriously intending on heading out now?"
"Perhaps the Council was right." She sighed heavily. Sometimes she wanted to rip Malak's spineless and doubting jaws off.
Katrina stood, putting her hands on her hips and staring back at the Jedi.
Malak is dead, and Bastila is not Malak. And I am not Revan, she reminded herself.
"We have only just emerged from a battle in which we have assumed that the two Sith were Abbas and Sakh," Bastila continued, "Without even knowing how to distinguish the two. There was also another that we cannot identify. For all we know, we may be walking straight into a Sith stronghold!"
"The idea of a trap didn't seem to phase you when Haytham sent us that cordial invitation."
"Regardless of any kind of suspicions," Bastila forced through her teeth, "Is it logistically wise to go straight into another battle while exhausted and injured from the last?"
She searched for their bond, found it, and twisted until she felt pain.
"We are going to end this, Bastila. That's what the Council has charged us with, and that's what we're going to do."
And now, as a hot wind swept over her face, she thought of how liberally she had interpreted the Council's instructions.
At least I'm following them, she reminded herself.
Abbas's private estate lay sprawling to the North. She could make out the tiny figures of protocol and assault droids scurrying around it in an endless circle. The estate was sparsely appointed on its exterior: The ruins of an abandoned ore mine stood directly behind it, a tall, crumbling structure that had lost its man-made apparatus long ago. A long tunnel led from the abandoned mine to the back of Abbas' estate.
Katrina smirked. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be his secret Sith headquarters.
"Is it us marching against the armies of a politician, or would you happen to have another plan for surprising these Sith?" Canderous said, coming up beside her.
"Right now I just want a better look at what we're dealing with."
And, should the opportunity arise, to kill both of them and head on home.
The Mandalorian nodded without another word, standing still for a moment as if to catch the scent of their enemies.
Katrina found that if she stared long enough at the battle-hardened man she had come to respect all the more in the past few weeks for his level-headed leadership and silent support, his sharp features seemed to move closer to the scruffy ones she was achingly familiar with.
She allowed herself to pretend he was Carth only for a moment.
The moment passed, and she began to walk across the red earth towards Abbas's estate.
"I'm moving the Hawk off a few kilometers," Mission's voice transmitted clearly through the communicator, even though the roar of the ship and the subsequent gust of wind its movement created would have told her that anyways. "T3 says he's got HK up and running again, and other than a nasty droid hangover, he's good to help me out."
"Be careful, huh?" Katrina answered back. Zaalbar grunted good-naturedly behind her at the likelihood of that.
The closer they came to the estate, the more the droids milling around it seemed to take interest. She folded her arms behind her, pausing as a pair approached her.
A protocol droid followed by an assault counterpart. She raised an eyebrow. If diplomacy fails, there's always death.
"These are private grounds, sentient. You are unauthorized to be here."
First instinct was to draw her lightsaber and slice through it like tissue.
That would, however, mean that every other droid out on the property would have to be chopped up in turn. While a small army of droids was by no means a formidable opponent, it probably wasn't wise to draw any more attention to herself than she already had.
Second instinct was to lie.
"I realize this may be an intrusion on your master's privacy, but I have a critical and urgent matter to discuss with Committee Member Abbas."
If a droid was not capable of looking skeptical, this one did a remarkably good imitation of it.
"This is highly irregular, sentient. The master would not communicate confidential messages of state through a band of renegades."
Abbas had programmed these droids well. She tried to ignore the sense of admiration she always had for someone who used their brain as well as their power.
"We are representatives of the Jedi Council. We have been investigating Anellian involvement in crimes against the Republic. We are here under the authority of the Committee itself."
The droid took a moment to process it. His assault partner looked them up and down as if it were only a matter of time before he got the order for termination and was looking for the most fleshy, unprotected parts.
"While you are clearly identifiable Jedi, sentient, there is nothing to identify your presence as a mandate from Anelli's governing body."
Katrina reached into her pack, drawing out the datapad from Phineas.
"This authorizes my presence in any city or district on the planet as sanctioned by the Committee. It's signed by one of the senior members, Committee Member Phineas."
She watched the droid scan the signature, hoping he didn't have the further aptitude to search the rest of the datapad and find information incriminating his master in the attack.
"The authorization is legal. You are permitted entry, sentient. Please restrict your search to the public areas of the master's estate, or you will be subject to arrest and possible charges."
Katrina slipped the datapad back in her bag, sighing in relief as the pair of droids turned and continued their tandem patrol.
"Handy tool to have, that brother of yours," Canderous commented, beginning to stride towards the building.
He would be her relation to everything it seemed; on Anelli, at least.
A large entrance stood straight in front of them. To the sides, Katrina noted two small private entrances.
The large one would be public and no one would pay them any heed if they entered that way. On the other hand, Abbas would be notified that much more quickly (if he was there at all) that they were inside.
The private would be, well, more private. But it would set off a small droid battle, not to mention any security systems Abbas undoubtedly had in place.
The wrong choice might even get her captured again. It might even lose her whatever small chance she had to catch both Sith off guard.
She walked towards the larger. Another protocol droid nodded in greeting.
"I have been instructed to provide you with a tour of the master's estate should you wish it, sentient."
I might as well be house hunting for all the estate tours I've gotten lately.
"...the master has been influential in helping to bring interstellar culture to Anelli, as evidenced by his wide collection of art ranging from planets on the Outer Rim to those as distant as Coruscant..."
Evidently the droning protocol droid was so caught up in his own prepared speeches that he hadn't noticed Katrina and her companions whirling around every corner with their weapons drawn.
Katrina glanced around warily, lowering her blade slightly upon entering another empty room.
Maybe Abbas isn't here.
She bit her lip. He had to be here.
Maybe he and Sakh are long gone by now.
This probably was the least likely place he would go. Surely he would know that she had ways of figuring out where his hideaways were. Surely he knew that they needed an out of the way place to hide while authorities searched for them in Fornia.
He and Sakh were politicians, just as her brother Phineas was: Surely they knew he was her brother? Surely they knew she would have been in contact with him?
She paused and swallowed hard. And if they knew all that, wouldn't they be after him this very instant?
There is no momentary panic, there is no uncertainty.
She would stay calm; she would not go charging out of here and back to Fornia, to deliver herself into the hands of well-meaning captors and to damn her brother to further political ruin.
"You're still good at changing the subject."
"You're still good at dragging us back to it," he replied without missing a beat.
She missed him. She realized it, trying desperately to ignore it.
If they wanted him dead, he would be dead by now. There was little she could do about that.
A hand grasped her arm. She tensed and followed it with her eyes until she found the face it belonged to.
Juhani squeezed in lieu of a smile. Katrina nodded, standing up straight and following the droid.
And if they haven't killed him yet, or if they have him in their clutches, the best thing I can do is wander around here until I find that information or them.
"...I am sure it is common knowledge that the master has an illustrious career in politics, and it is further evidenced by his many honorary titles and awards from-"
"Is Abbas close with any members of the Committee personally?" Bastila demanded, only another of the many questions she had been grilling the droid with since they entered.
Although verbose, the droid was also obviously programmed by a politician; it had hedged its way around each and every one of Bastila's point-blank questions.
"The master has been on the Committee for over fifty years. He is close with all its members. He has been involved in mentoring and bolstering the careers of several up and coming politicians who have now risen to their highest positions from his sterling guidance-"
"Anyone in specific?" Bastila prodded.
"By the name of Sakh, maybe?" Dustil added from where he stood in the corner, lightsaber idling in his hand as he examined one of Abbas's decorations.
"The master has indeed helped several of the Committee's most important members to reach their current positions. The master endorsed Committee Member Sakh during elections, and has been a sponsor for Committee Member Phineas since his entry into the political circles-"
So he had betrayed not only his fellow Committee member, but a senior Committee member as well. Not only a fellow politician, a co-worker and colleague, but also a formermentor and possibly a friend.
They had entered an office. It couldn't have been Abbas's- that would never be included on a public tour. But it had a computer terminal all the same, and she headed straight for it.
There is no fear. There is only absolute certainty that something will have changed before I board that ship again.
"...if you will notice the collection of Manaan murals to your left..." the droid droned on. The others kept it happily occupied; Canderous and Zaalbar edged out towards the doors, keeping an eye on things.
Katrina furrowed her brow. Slicing the computer of a Committee member was, as she had expected, not as easy as slicing the codes for a jail cell on a Sith ship.
"You're not bypassing the right ones," Dustil hissedin her ear.
"I think I can handle slicing a computer, Padawan," She hissed back.
There is no irritation, there is only the absolute certainty-
He exhaled angrily.
"If you could, you wouldn't be doing it wrong, Revan."
There is no desire to break his arrogant little neck.
"Excuse me, sentient, but I'm afraid that computer terminal and its contents are strictly off limits," the protocol droid called out. Katrina ignored him, continuing to furiously slice around the securities and encryptions.
"I feel obliged to warn you, sentient, that further attempts to retrieve this information will result in your arrest in violation of Section 247.446 in Anellian law, and you will be subject to formal charges and a trial. Further attempts after this warning will result in termination-"
She motioned vaguely towards the droid with a wave of her arm.
"With pleasure," Bastila muttered, slicing straight through it. The droid's face froze in that same expression of slight worry and perplexity before its body crumpled in two pieces to the ground.
"Juhani, check for any signal that went out with the destruction of that droid,"Katrina murmured up from the terminal. It beeped indignantly from another failed attempt.
Dustil snorted impatiently.
"Here, let me," he said, brusquely shoving his way next to her.
There is no more patience; there is only this boy shoving me out of the way.
Her hand was around his wrist so fast it seemed that it had always been attached to him. His palm had begun to turn white before she even realized she was squeezing.
Dustil stared at her. She stared back.
"Padawan," Juhani said slowly.
Dustil wrenched himself free of her grip and backed towards Juhani.
Katrina could feel his hatred at the back of her neck, his anger on his shoulder telling him to pull out his lightsaber, it would be so easy to just slice her head clean off her shoulders-
She ignored it. Juhani would deal with it. She could already hear the Cathar's soft murmuring behind her.
With a satisfying beep of false recognition, the terminal yielded.
"There appears to be no connection between this droid and the rest in the estate," Bastila said distractedly, leaning forward to read over Katrina's shoulder.
Probably so any Sith in a bad mood can toast whichever droid is irritating him without setting off a household alarm.
"It looks as though Abbas once had a rather large mining industry," the Jedi added.
The majority of what she had hacked into were old invoices and bills of state- a sort of computerized filing cabinet.
"But any documents pertaining to it stop around two or three years ago," Katrina replied.
She thought of the collapsed mine that had led suspiciously to the estate. It can't possibly be that easy.
"Isn't that around the time you and Malak made your little trip to this planet?" Canderous said from where he stood near the door.
She tried to remember pushing the two politicians towards darkness, but all she could see was herself and Malak seething after their rejection by the Committee.
"So you're saying that after going dark this Abbas guy just decided to blow up his mine and turn it into his own secret lair? Sounds a little too much like the holovids we used to watch as kids." Dustil's voice was tentative, but a clenched wrist apparently wasn't enough to make him totally lose his tongue.
Three unread messages.
The words caught her eye. She moved to open them.
"Very often, Padawan, the supposed power and brilliance of the Sith stops short with their overwhelming arrogance. The Sith believe themselves to be so immortal, so unstoppable that their over-confidence leads them to simplistic and trite plans, such as this one."
She sometimes didn't understand how Juhani could be so patient, so willing to explain the basics over and over to a Padawan who had experienced them first-hand and still could not comprehend them.
The first one was an old message of thanks from the Anellian Environmentalists Consortium. She furrowed her brow in irritation and hurried past it.
There are always two, Master.
Katrina read so furiously that it took a moment or so to register that the message was simply five words.
Master; a Sith or Jedi title.
She wondered that this message hadn't been long deleted or encrypted. Probably too short to be made into anything incriminating.
That is, unless you were a Sith or a Jedi yourself.
The last message was just as maddeningly short:
There are three. Sakh would do well to remember it.
One Master, two apprentices...too many cooks in the kitchen. And it sounded as though Sakh had been beginning to feel it around the time he had sent the message to his Master.
The other apprentice was in all probability the unarmed one. Fine. If she found him quickly and dealt with him quicker still, the battle would be even.
"I agree with you, Master, but I still think it's too simple. Sith are arrogant, but they aren't stupid either. There has to be something else they're hiding there, some kind of upper hand-"
Dustil stopped abruptly as Katrina began to charge out of the room.
Not enough for the Committee, not enough for the Republic or the Senate, but certainly enough for the Jedi. Enough to threaten them with, enough to justify going after them.
Enough to justify killing them, when it came to that.