The Betrayer

The room was dark and silent save the beeping from the hand-held holo-projector indicating an incoming transmission.

The sleeping Jedi stirred on his simple bed, reaching down to the small device he had hidden in the secret pocket of his Jedi robe. Still half-asleep, he flipped the switch.

The shimmering, distorted image of Count Dooku appeared in the darkness. The Jedi closed his eyes against the sudden brightness.

"Yes, Master?" he answered sleepily.

"Tomorrow you will meet one of my men at The Core Racetrack, and pass over any information from the Council meeting today," Count Dooku ordered.

"Yes, Master," the Jedi responded, clearing his mind and focusing for his nightly visit to the Jedi archives.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the glowing image of Count Dooku was gone. The Jedi blinked against the sudden darkness. He then swung his feet off the bed and dressed.

Each Council meeting was available for viewing by any Jedi, and the hall of the Jedi archives was protected by the security of its own giant computer, inaccessible outside the Temple.

The corridors of the Jedi Temple were silent, and he moved stealthy through the corridors. As he approached the archives, he was relieved to see there were no other late night visitors. This was the riskiest part of his involvement with Dooku. But he told himself it was worth it, for what they were working towards…

Without a sound, he crept into the archives, managing to avoid Madame Jocasta Nu, the Jedi Archivist-who somehow was always here. He wondered if she ever slept.

Finding a terminal in the back corner of the hall, he accessed the Jedi Council minutes from the meeting earlier that day. At times he felt concern that record of his accessing the Council meetings minutes would lead to his being discovered. So far he'd been safe, but he could sense his time was running out.