"Who are you, dear? Why are you here?"
Xan woke and found herself looking into the face of some old grandfather-looking person. "I-I don't know. Where am I?" she asked as the old man helped her to her feet.
"You are out side of the Galactic Council building" said the man, indicating the gigantic building about a hundred meters to the left. Xan could not believe the size of the building. "Well, my name is Palpatine, I am the Supreme Chancellor, who are you?" the old man said, looking at her with concern. "My name is Xan" she said, still confused as to where she was, or what she was doing there. All she remembered was she needed to sit, then she was out. Something happened, but she was still in a deep state of shock and couldn't remember. "What are you doing here? Where are you from? And where are you going?" Palpatine said, wondering where she could have come from. She was thin, tall and dressed all in black, except for the lining of her cape, which was dark green. Her hair was cropped short, and spiked all around her head. He could sense the force in her, strong enough to be a Jedi. But he didn't say any of this aloud. Jedi did not usually lose themselves, fall to the pavement and lose their memory.
Xan started answering his questions best she could, "I'm not sure why I'm here, I'm from Telos, and-and I'm not sure where I am going." She answered, getting frustrated that she couldn't remember. She should! She was force-sensitive, so she should be able to remember such silly things as where she was and what she was doing there. She was also very worn out and her muscles hurt. She felt like she had traveled a long time and had run around Curoscant ten times. Curoscant! That's where she was. But why? She was too tired to figure it out now. "Do you know of any place I can stay?" she asked. The old man looked thoughtful, then said, "Come with me, I think I know a place you can stay at least the night." "Thank you." Xan said as she followed the man. She was not entirely sure he could be trusted, but she had a laser-saber. She would be ok.
She followed him to his speeder, and hopped in. He took her to a large apartment building, and they took the turbo lift to a level she hadn't been paying attention to, so she didn't know. The door opened and they stepped into a fine apartment. It was homey and pleasant. She wasn't sure if she would stay here, but she sure wouldn't mind if she did. There were people there, most of whom, she didn't know. Wait, the two men standing in the corner, they were Jedi. She gasped as she recognized the younger one. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her.
She had watched Granta ride away, and gone into the house. Although he had told her what he was doing, he hadn't told her means by which do it. Even though he hadn't, Granta had been a meticulous note-taker. He had many writings in his computer, and had stored others everywhere. She went into his room and started to look. They seemed opposites in everyway; she kept her quarters very clean and orderly. Granta's were a picture of chaos. Papers, clothes, writing utensils, even dishes, littered the floor. His thoughts had always been orderly, but it seemed he compensated by keeping his quarters in a constant state of chaos.
Xan waded through the mess surveying. Where should she start? Her eyes looked around the room and rested on one lone holocube, sitting in its own little place on the floor. How odd. She picked it up and turned it on. The cube came to with images of Xanatos, Granta and herself. She searched through them, laughing at some. (Like the one of her first saber-fight with Granta- they were having such a good time, laughing their heads off, not able to concentrate on the fight. Xanatos came into view, telling them to stop at once, and they both jumped and tackled him.) She was laughing and looking through the pictures when she paused, looking at image that had suddenly appeared on the screen. It was a long list. She had found Granta's agenda.
First he would try to find a Sith master to train him. A laughable task, the Sith were believed to be extinct. And even if there were any left, why would they train him? He wasn't force-sensitive.
Next, he would go to Coruscant, to the Jedi temple, to see where the Jedi that killed his father would be.
Then he planned to kill him, as he had told her.
"Then what, Granta?" she said aloud to herself, never thinking about how easy it was to get this information. Although Granta had always made ridiculously detailed lists, he always left some things to revise. He always had a back door. Both children did, they got that from their father.
"At least I have an outline of where he would be." she thought to herself. She stood, looking around the room again. She had to bring him back.
She left and went to her computer.
She had to see where the Sith had last been in existence. That was where Granta would start. She couldn't find anything about their last whereabouts. She needed to go to the Jedi Temple where they kept their records. The Jedi would surely have know the last whereabouts of the Sith, their enemy. She would have to hack into the Temple's main computer. If she could do that, she could read the records. The Jedi never let any outsiders into the Temple, and though many places had records, very good ones at that, but none as complete as the Jedi's. Xan was an expert hacker, but getting into the Temple's records was no easy task.
She worked through the night, and was awarded with access to the records. Why were they so heavily guarded? In fact, the entire Temple was in high alert.
Suddenly, a display showed that someone in the Temple was tracking her computer, and disabling her access to the records.
If she wanted that information, she would have to get it soon, or risk getting cut off, or worse, discovered. She couldn't risk that. Her father had told both children that if the Jedi ever discovered them, they would waste no time to hunt them down and kill them. Now, even at 14, Xan still held it to be true.
There! There was the information she wanted! She printed it out and closed the connection. She turned of the computer and went to pack. She paid no heed that the person who was trying to track her had succeeded.
"Hello? Dear girl, have you fallen asleep?" said the old man who found her, Palpatine. She realized she hadn't said anything for quite some time. She looked up and was startled to find that everyone in the room, including the two Jedi, were looking at her intently, waiting for her next move. "I-I'm sorry. I am very tired." Xan said. Seeming to satisfy them, they looked at each other. Palpatine spoke, "She is still in this state of shock, the same way I found her. I was wondering if she could stay here the night, with Jedi escort already here, it might be the best choice. " He said, looking at the Jedi and a woman dressed in an amazing, but uncomfortable-looking gown. Her hair was done up in an elaborate twist held by what looked like a basket. "Why would she need a Jedi escort?" asked the older Jedi, the younger said nothing. He was the one she recognized, but from where? He looked at her and she held his gaze, trying to figure out where she had seen him, why he was so familiar. He broke her gaze when the woman spoke.
"Hello, Xan. I am Padme and this is Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker. This is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine." Padme said kindly. Palpatine and the Jedi were over in the corner of the room, discussing her, no doubt. She couldn't hear what they said, but here's their conversation for you to know:
"Again, why does she need Jedi protection?" Obi-Wan asked, not getting an answer that satisfied him.
"She is force-sensitive, enough to be a Jedi, I was wondering if you had ever seen her before?" Palpatine said, looking at then intently.
"No, but you still haven't answered our question, why does she need Jedi protection? Being force-sensitive does not warrant a Jedi escort." Obi-Wan answered. Still, Anakin was silent. "She is in great danger, and all though is probably not connected with Senator Padme, she still needs a safe place to rest. She can be tested at the Temple tomorrow to see how force-sensitive she is, in case you don't believe me." Palpatine said, guessing Obi-Wan didn't believe him. Really, Obi-Wan did know she was quite force-sensitive, he felt it. He also felt something else emanating from her but wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't the dark side of the Force, but wasn't good either. He would have plenty of time to find out, though. With a sigh, he consented. Xan could stay the night. Anakin didn't know what to think about her. She wasn't dangerous, was she? She could be, but if she meant harm to them, she hid it well. He felt something from her, as his master did, and was just as puzzled by it. He was pleased with his master's decision. He was just a curious about her as his master. "Very well." said Palpatine, obviously pleased with the arrangement.
They called Padme over and told her of the arrangement. She seemed pleased.
Palpatine left and Padme showed Xan to her room before retiring.
Obi-Wan
and Anakin sat
for a little while in the empty living room. "What do you think of
her?" asked Anakin, who couldn't keep silent any longer. Obi-Wan
considered for a moment. "I don't know." He said simply. "She
seems so odd, unlike anyone I've ever seen. Both good and bad
swirling inside her, but its hard to see which the dominating emotion
is. Maybe she will come out of this shock by tomorrow. But, we shall
see. I have to look after an errand, I will be back shortly." He
said, and left the room. Anakin agreed with his master, she wasn't
easy to understand. There was something way too interesting about
her. It had intrigued the young, curious padawan from the time he
first saw her, just hours ago. He never thought he would see her again,
but here she was, in the same building, almost the same room. She
seemed familliar, from long ago, he had heard of her, but he had never
met her. Xan. The name itself sounded familliar.
Oh, well. He had to keep to his job of
surveillance of Padme, guarding her was more important that this
strange girl he had encountered.
Xan couldn't sleep. She had to remember. She forced herself to remember.
She booked a flight out on the first available starship. She traveled for weeks, finding no sign of Granta. Weeks turned to months, months turned to years. She met many colorful characters, and learned to be quite the pilot, even buying her own ship. She returned home every few months to get her bearings and money left to her by her father, but left soon after.She hadn't been home in nearly six months, when she found her brother. It had been nearly 5 years and she was now almost 19. Granta was nearly 26. She found he was heading to Curoscant. He found out that the Jedi that had killed his father was now dead. But he had an apprentice. The apprentice was Granta's new target. He was already on his way to Curoscant, already ahead of her. She needed to get to him!
She arrived in Coruscant three days after Granta did. She could guess his plan. He would track down the Jedi, and try to kill him. The Jedi was at the Temple. He and his apprentice were soon going on another mission. He had an apprentice. Xan was horrified; Granta would be taking the closest thing this person had ever had to a father. Xan couldn't let that happen, she knew what it was like.
What would Granta do? Stake out the Temple? Break in and hide in one of rooms? She decided to contact the Jedi first.
She broke into the Temple late at night on her fifth day on the planet. She had not heard anything else about her brother, and assumed he hadn't acted yet. She went into a room called "The Room of a Thousand Fountains". It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. Everywhere, there were flowers, shrubs and trees. The sound of the fountains was interesting; whichever one you were standing next to, you could hear that one, plus the waterfall in the distance. She wondered how big the room was, and how many fountains were in there. She was thinking about running around and counting them, when she heard a voice. She ducked behind a bush and peered over it, seeing who the voice belonged to. She found a young man, around her age, and he was talking to himself. Not wanting to interrupt what seemed a very important conversation, she turned to leave. She was hit with a feeling of uneasiness; there were dark ripples in the Force. Granta. He was one a few. He could make himself a void. Emitting no Force, making im very difficult to track. But Xan could always feel when he was close, whether he was cloaking himself or not. He was here, but where? She turned to the left and found herself facing a tree. She looked into its branches and saw a figure clinging to a branch directly above the young Jedi's head. Granta. He crouched, ready to spring. The Jedi was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Granta draw his saber. As Granta sprang, Xan leaped as well, sabers drawn and ready. She kicked the Jedi out of the way and met Granta's full force. He had grown and gotten stronger since she last saw him. But she had too. She met his lunge and swung down hard with her own saber. Granta parried her blow and swung at her again. He was much better with a saber and was impressively fighting against her relentless attack. Xan didn't want to hurt her brother, merely knock some sense into his head. She allowed Granta to maneuver her to the edge to the waterfall. The moon shone off the water and it was easier to see. The young Jedi came to, and was bewildered to find two people he didn't know in the Jedi Temple with lightsabers. For a moment her wasn't sure he has fully awake.
Granta was tiring, as
was Xan. They had switched places, now Granta was next to the
waterfall. Xan spoke "Granta! Please! Stay this madness!" Granta
looked at her, and even in this darkness, she saw that the fire still
burned in his eyes, even more than before. She didn't want to admit
it, but he was evil. She couldn't save him. He spoke "Xan, Xan,
Xan, madness you say? This is not madness! What is, is a man who
devoted all of his time and resources to a girl! When he had a son
that he could nurture right there, you always got the best of his
time, his money, everything!" Xan couldn't believe what she was
hearing. "Granta, that's not true! Father never gave more to one
of us than the other! He loved you just as much as he loved me! And I
will not allow you to kill this Jedi! And do to his apprentice what
was done to us!" She said, her voice wavering. She never thought
Granta felt like this. It brought tears to her eyes. Granta shook his
head and said, "You will not allow me? Since when have I needed
your permission?"
"Since now." Xan said and swung herself
around to build up force. She landed a hit on his saber so hard it
forced him to lose his footing. She fell to the ground and kicked his
feet out from under him. She jumped up and faced him, her back to the
water fall. She put the laser to his throat. It looked as if she had
won, but Granta drew his saber and pushed hers away, his throat
slightly singed. He jumped over her head and landed on the banks of
the waterfall. Xan turned to face him and was met with a slash from
his saber. She easily avoided it and slashed at him. He dropped his
saber slightly and it hit the water. It buzzed for a second and
shorted out. Xan only needed to lunge and he would be dead. But he
was her brother. And although, unlike when they saber-practiced when
they were younger, he was trying to kill her, she showed mercy and
Granta knew this. "I don't need your pity, or your mercy,
sister." And with that, he jumped off the waterfall. He missed the
rocks and landed in the pool. He took a breath and dived under. He
had escaped, but Xan paid him no more heed. He couldn't do anything
without his saber, he needed to repair it and if the Jedi wanted him,
then he wouldn't be too hard to catch.
Xan turned to the young Jedi and helped him up. He looked at her with amazement. She said to him, "That was my brother, Granta." Her words caught in her throat, they sounded strange to her. Toneless, and eerie. She turned from him and ran down the path, out of the room, out of the Temple. She suddenly wished to put as many miles between her and her brother as possible. She ran for what seemed like miles, when everything that had happened caught up with her. She had to sit. She looked for a place to sit and didn't see a little debris on the ground. She tripped, and hit her head hard on the concrete. She saw no more until Palpatine woke her.
