Whee! Here we go! (Oh! By the way, I don't own Mace Windu, Shaak-Ti, or any other Jedi Council members. I'm just using them right now, and I'm not making any money off of this!)
Chapter Four
Crossing Paths
Carissa waked through the corridors of the building. Even though she had been there for about six months, she still had no idea exactly where she was. She didn't even know what planet she was on. She wore all black, and her black hair tumbled down her back. The stormtroopers had learned to stay away from her and respect her as they did the Emperor himself. A wise decision, Carissa thought as she watched the stormtroopers moved to the sides of the corridors to let her through.
Finally, she arrived at the throne room. The first thing she did was bow. "Rise, young one," the Emperor said, coming off of his throne and walking toward her as she rose.
"What do ask of me, my lord?" Carissa asked.
"I wish nothing more than a simple task," Sidious replied. "You have been with me for quite a while. Now, it is time for you to show me your loyalty and put my teachings and counsel to good use. I wish you to find a young Jedi Padawan named Anakin Skywalker. This is a simple reconnaissance mission. You are not to harm him. You are only to watch him and report back to me in a week."
"Yes, my lord," Carissa replied with a slight bow. She knew better than to question her Master, although she had many questions in her mind. What would her Master want with a Jedi, and why would he ask her not to harm him? These and many other questions clouded her mind as she walked back down the corridors with her lord to the landing platform. Sidious would watch her leave and then go back to his throne room. He had more things to do and plan.
"The ship is on auto-pilot," Sidious told his apprentice. "It will take you to your destination. From there, you are to contact me, and I will give you further instructions."
"Yes, my lord," Carissa replied. "I will not fail you."
"Good," Sidious said. "Now go."
Carissa climbed into the ship, did everything she needed to, and turned the ship on. As it lifted off, Carissa had no idea what was in store for her. She only knew that she would not fail her Master.
Carissa began to get pretty bored, so she got up and started to walk around. She found a hidden compartment and opened it cautiously, so as not to disturb it if it was a bomb or something like that. It wasn't. There were a couple things in the compartment, but the first thing Carissa saw was a note. She took it and read it. It said:
My dear,
I knew you would be smart and cunning enough to find this. Take these things and use them to the best of your abilities. You must not be seen, and you must not give away your true identity as a female. For as you are cunning, most people don't know that; and they will try to take advantage of you. That will only detour your mission. Contact me when you reach your destination, and I will give you further instructions. Until then, use what you have and don't disappoint me.
Darth SidiousCarissa put the note down and drew out the things from the compartment. The first thing was a black cape just long enough to reach down to the middle of Carissa's thighs and a cowl. The second thing was a black mask with eyeholes and holes for the nose and mouth. That obviously wasn't going to be used unless Carissa wasn't able to wear her cape and cowl. The third and final thing was a stealth suit.
Carissa took all three of these things and stored them safely back into the compartment. She would use them once she reached her destination. She started to walk back to the cockpit, but she was thrown forward when the ship lurched. There was a loud explosion, and Carissa did her best to maintain her balance and not hit anything. She would be no good unconscious. She raced to the cockpit and jumped into her chair, continuing to try to keep her balance. She jerked the ship out of autopilot and into manual gear.
Carissa could feel the small ship lurch and jerk as the laser-cannon fire connected with the hull. She looked up and saw the familiar sleek gold color on the slim ship zoom by overhead. It was a Naboo Starfighter. That told Carissa approximately where she was. She took control of the ship and took evasive maneuvers. Not only was Carissa outgunned, her ship was also larger than the Naboo Starfighter. Her only chance of survival was to outrun and outmaneuver the Starfighter behind her.
Carissa gritted her teeth as she continued to narrowly escape the laser-cannon fire that was blasted all around her. Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom. "Give up. Resistance is futile and will only serve to hurt you and your ship more. Prepare for boarding."
"Never," Carissa whispered. Suddenly, she jumped into hyperspace, quickly leaving the Naboo Starfighter behind. She at least had to get to the other side of the planet. Once she did that, she would be able to put the ship back on autopilot.
The ship quickly arrived at the other side of the planet, and Carissa immediately put it back on autopilot. The ship continued on course and finally arrived at Coruscant. Carissa had no idea where she would land that would keep her profile low, but she knew that her lord had taken care of it.
The ship dove through the atmosphere of the planet, and Carissa soon found herself in a surprisingly remote area. There, the ship landed. Carissa grabbed the things that Sidious had given her and jumped out cautiously. She found that there were no signs of living presences anywhere. Carissa grabbed her com, set it on the ground, turned it on, and knelt. "Rise, my servant," a voice came over the com. "You have arrived at Coruscant, I presume?"
"Yes, my lord," Carissa replied.
"Very good," Sidious said with a sinister smile under his cowl. "I also presume that you have found your goods?"
"Yes, my lord," Carissa replied once again.
"Good," Sidious stated. "The Jedi you are to find is one Anakin Skywalker by name. You are to find him and observe him. You are not to let him or his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, know that you are there. After a week, you are to report back to me; and I will give you further instructions. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord," Carissa replied yet again. This time she bowed.
"Very good," Sidious said. "I expect that everything will go according to plan. Do not fail me."
"I won't, Master," Carissa said. She bowed once again, and Sidious disappeared. Well, Carissa thought. Time to find this Anakin Skywalker. I hope that he will be easy to find. At that moment, Carissa felt a surge in the Living Force, and she knew that she had found her way of finding the young Jedi. She smiled. "Well Jedi," she said, "it's time to meet your match." With that, she set off to find Anakin Skywalker, masking her Force signature to keep a low profile and to keep her identity and presence a secret. She wouldn't fail.
Carissa walked on for about a half an hour, using the Force signature from Anakin Skywalker to find him. She stayed in the crowds, making herself less conspicuous. Finally, she arrived at a large building. Ah, Carissa thought. The Jedi Temple. Wait a second. How am I supposed to get in there and stay hidden? The answer came quickly as a Master-Padawan team walked out of the building. Carissa got caught up in the crowds again, keeping a close eye on the two men. That was easy.
She followed the two men. She knew that the younger one was the one that she wanted, because she felt the Force signature. "Anakin," she heard the older man say, "The Council requests your presence once we return."
"Master," the younger man, obviously Anakin Skywalker, replied, "I already know what you and they wish. You wish me to stay away from the Chancellor. Master, you don't know him like I do. He is not a bad man. He just needs a little help, and nobody but me will give it to him."
"Anakin," the older man said, "we will discuss that matter later. That is not why the Council wishes you, although that will be discussed in the near future. Anakin, it is time that we end our role as Master and student and become brothers in the Force."
Anakin raised a curious eyebrow. "Master?"
"Never mind," the older man replied. "We must focus on the task at hand right now." The two men walked on for about another fifteen minutes, Carissa following quietly and secretly.
Finally, they stopped at what looked like a bar. Carissa raised a curious eyebrow. Almost as if the older man knew she was there, he said, "We have reason to believe that Jenna Zan Arbor is here."
Anakin shuddered. He knew that name. She had once been able to keep him in a place called the Zone of Self-Containment. She had thought that he was Force-sensitive, but he had been able to keep her from knowing that. That was a good thing, probably. From what Anakin had heard about Qui-Gon Jinn's experience with her, he had rather wanted to avoid a confrontation. She had been able to get away before Anakin and his Master were able to capture her, and now they believed they had found her again.
The Master and Padawan walked into the bar casually, unknowingly trailing a spy for Darth Sidious. The two walked over to a table and sat down. They appeared to be talking casually, but between words, they would speak in hushed tones. "She is over there," the older man said, glancing at a table across from them. Anakin threw a casual glance over his shoulder and saw a fair-skinned, blond-haired woman sitting at a table nearby.
"How are we going to get her?" Anakin asked.
"She knows both of us, but if we both use the Force to scramble her mind, she shouldn't remember us," the older man replied.
The two of them got up and walked over to Zan Arbor's table and sat down. "Hello," the older man greeted the woman.
"What do you want?" the woman asked. Suddenly, something flickered across her face; but it was gone so fast that nobody knew what it was. She gave a quick, casual glance to Anakin and then the older man before looking back to her drink.
The older man seemed to see what lay behind the eyes in the glances that she gave to the Master and Padawan. He looked at Anakin, his eyes telling the boy that they needed to leave quickly. "We must be going," he said to Zan Arbor. As they got up to leave, it didn't seem like the woman was going to do anything. But as soon s they turned their backs, Zan Arbor jumped up and pulled out a laser whip. "Anakin!" the older man yelled as he saw Zan Arbor flick her wrist. It was too late. The whip wrapped around Anakin's shoulders and chest. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees. Zan Arbor took the moment of distraction and grabbed the boy. He bit down on his lip very hard to keep from crying out again as Zan Arbor deliberately and viciously sunk her sharp nails into the newly inflicted wounds. He couldn't, however, keep a slight moan from escaping.
Zan Arbor saw Anakin's Master running toward her and held up her whip again. She snapped it so that it snapped right at Anakin's neck but did not touch it. Anakin tried not to show the woman how very afraid he was. He didn't know what it was, but this woman was about the only person who scared him so much. Granta Omega, who had hurt him so many times, didn't scare him. Count Dooku, who had shot bolts of electricity through his body, didn't scare him. Yet this woman, this so-called scientist, scared the living daylights out of him and was easily able to contain him without his real knowledge.
Carissa watched all of this, interested in Anakin's reactions and this woman who had so easily captured him. Suddenly, she turned her head as Anakin's Master spoke again. "Let him go, Zan Arbor."
"Never," the woman replied. "You, Obi-Wan Kenobi, seem to like giving over those whom you love the most. First, you let your Master get captured by me. Now, you are letting your Padawan fall into my hands. You are certainly not a very good guardian, are you?"
Obi-Wan saw the fear in his Padawan's eyes, and his heart burned. He had seen the same look on Qui-Gon Jinn's face when he had found him. Obi-Wan had never thought that anything could intimidate his Master. He was beginning to think the same about Anakin. However, it was this one woman who seemed to intimidate them both. Nothing and no one else but Zan Arbor could. He gulped and closed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and opened his eyes before saying, "Let him go." He emphasized each word.
"All I really want to do is study the Force," Zan Arbor replied innocently. "Is that really so much to ask? If the people I study would cooperate, there would really be no reason for me to be so rash. But they won't, and that is why I need more. Actually, your Master nearly broke on more than one occasion. You should be proud to have had such a strong Master. He certainly died a noble death to go along with his personality. Perhaps I may get some cooperation from your Padawan."
"Don't bet on it," Anakin suddenly replied. He didn't know where he had gotten the courage, but it had just come. Zan Arbor seemed stunned for a minute, and Anakin used this opportunity. He tried to grab the whip and twist out of Zan Arbor's grip, but Zan Arbor was quicker. She tightened her grip on Anakin and used his trying to grab the whip as an opportunity to wrap it around his wrist. He cried out again and struggled to remove the whip. However, Zan Arbor had twisted Anakin's other arm behind his back. She pressed his body tightly against her own to keep his arm behind his back and backed off toward the door, intent on getting Anakin and herself back to her laboratory.
Tears threatened to overwhelm Anakin as he felt himself being led away by Zan Arbor. A sudden state of panic had overcome him, and the laser whip wrapped around his wrist wasn't helping. He hated this woman! He could feel himself being led away, and he wondered if he would ever see Obi-Wan or Tru or any of his other friends again. He would even be glad if he could just see Ferrus again.
Carissa couldn't sit around and do nothing. It was obvious that the man named Obi-Wan couldn't do anything without hurting Anakin, but Carissa could. She had said that she wouldn't fail her Master, and she intended to do everything in her power to do so. She knew that Sidious had not wanted Anakin hurt, so she intended on not letting him get hurt. She used the Force to unwrap the laser whip from Anakin's wrist and even risked using it to calm his nerves and take away his state of panic. Then she used the Force to push Zan Arbor away.
Obi-Wan didn't know what had happened, but he used it to his advantage. He ran over to his shaky Padawan and pushed the boy behind him, so Zan Arbor could not get him again. He ran after the woman, but she got away… again. Obi-Wan had to swallow back the pain. He didn't know what he would have done had she gotten away with Anakin. He walked back inside and quickly led his Padawan out of the bar. "That was some good work," he told Anakin once outside.
"It… wasn't me," Anakin replied, looking at Obi-Wan with confused eyes.
Okay. This chapter was a little longer. I'll try to make the next one even longer, but I'm not sure if I will. Spring break is ending, so either my chapters can be updated fewer times or I can make shorter chapters and update quicker. It's your choice.