Angst Warning: non-canon death ahead!

Chapter 17 - Autumn Lament

Coruscant, Several Days ago:

"Master, I think that's it." Padawan Tol Skorr said. When he and his Master, Kel Vee, had been sent to this V.I.P. box at the racetrack, Tol thought they were on a wild Bantha chase. The eccentric Master Jinn probably felt his own nervous twitch and overreacted. But, no. When they arrived at the box, he and his Master sunk into a deep meditation together, and it just showed itself.

"Yes, it's under these floorboards." Kel confirmed. "Help me pull this up."

Tol grabbed a tool and began prying the floorboards up. At first he was surprised. They hardly needed any pressure and came off easily. "There it is!" Tol shouted to get his Master's attention.

In the new hole in the floor was a statue of an ancient Sith warrior, made of black stone, and painted with bright colors. Tol reached for it, to have Kel slap his hands back. "No, It's too dangerous. Never just touch a Sith artifact." He pulled a towel out and used it to pick up the statue.

"Hmm, I'd of thought there'd be more dust," Tol said.

"Yes, it's been down here for less time than I thought. Perhaps…" Kel placed it into a box they brought from the Jedi archives. One specially built to handle such items and contain their dark side influences. "Perhaps, it is worth looking into the old owner."

"Sheeve Palpatine?" Tol read off the file. "Wasn't he a senator?"

"Yes, a prominent one, actually. He was elected Supreme Chancellor shortly before his death."

"Hmm, how disappointing. You spend your life working at something, then just when you achieve it, splat! You're dead."

Kel laughed. "Splat, that's how it happened. He fell off a balcony at one of the Queen's parties on Naboo."

"Now that's a party I want to go to." Tol enjoyed these moments when his Master was unhinged. So often at the Temple the man became stiff and wouldn't laugh at anything.

Kel shook his head. "I'll show you a party. Get the box and carry it with us. Does that file tell you who's in control of the Chancellor's estate now?"

"One Jar Jar Binks," Tol answered.

"We'll look him up on the way."

"I thought our mission was just to bring this in." Tol corrected.

"I won't be leaving this mission half finished for some Council member to come in and take all the credit for. No Padawan, sometimes on a mission you must think on your feet and change the parameters as the mission progresses. You won't always be able to call the Temple to be told what to do." Kel argued as he followed Tol, hurrying him along the way.

Jedi Temple, Coruscant:

Anakin started running as soon as he saw it. He jumped and collapsed in his Temple bed with an "Ah." Then he looked up at his Master who was carrying his belongings into the room. Obi-Wan laughed. "It was great going back and seeing my mom again, but nothing beats home. And a bed that's not got a lic of sand in it."

Obi-Wan kept laughing. "Put your stuff away. I'm going to make us sandwiches."

"Great." Anakin rolled off the bed and began stuffing his clothes back into his dresser. When he was half way through, their door buzzer went off.

"Grandmaster Yoda," he heard Obi-Wan greet.

Anakin turned and left his room. He figured whatever Master Yoda was coming by for was something that concerned him too. His curiosity wouldn't let him think otherwise. "Hi Master Yoda." He bowed.

"What may I do for you today?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Come up, an important mission has. Leave the Temple, I must. My courses at the Creche, will you teach?" Yoda asked.

"Oh, well. I am honored that you would ask, but isn't another master more qualified?"

"Other duties, they all have. Fewer other duties, you have."

"You can do it Master. They'll all be while I am in lessons anyway." Anakin encouraged.

"Prepared for you, the lesson plans are." Yoda offered.

"Oh, okay. I guess I could do that." Obi-Wan answered. "I'm curious, Master. Why must you leave so unexpectedly for this mission?"

"If you say: too old, I am, bend my stick on your head, I will." Yoda waved his stick teasingly.

"I'm not. It's just, usually when something happens, the Council sends another Knight and Padawan pair."

Yoda nodded. "Sent on a mission recently, Knight Vee and Padawan Skorr were. Reported back, they have not. Curious, I am. It was safe, I thought."

"Oh, you're worried for them." Anakin interpreted. "That's okay. Obi-Wan and I will have everything managed for when you get back."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Yes, I'm sure we will manage fine. May the Force be with you, Master."

"And with you. Hope this will only take one day, I do." Yoda bowed with respect, then left chuckling to himself, as he listened to the youngling.

"What's so funny?" Anakin questioned his Master. The man handed him a sandwich and refused to respond. "Why'd you say 'we' so weird?"

"Master, have you found anything?" Mace Windu asked the Holo Grandmaster before him."

"No. Here they were. An item they took. But days ago that was. No dark influences here, I can find."

"Hmm, then they must have taken whatever Qui-Gon sensed that day with them." Mace theorized. "Listen, we received a strange comm message after you left. It was not long, but it clearly was Padawan Skorr. He sounded to be in some kind of distress. Only the signal didn't come from Coruscant at all. It came from Naboo. We're trying to find out how he got access to a ship now. Our best lead is Knight Vee borrowed one from an old contact. I understand he was accustomed to doing so on occasion."

Yoda looked grim "Yes, sensed a disturbance there, I have."

"This isn't your fault, Master. I know Padawan Skorr fell in the other timeline, but that isn't this. You will find them, I am sure. Knight Vee has a way of improvising. I'm sure that's exactly what this is."

"Go to Naboo, I will. Teach my classes a few more days, Obi-Wan will have to."

Mace chuckled. "I'm sure he'll manage, Master."

Yoda signed off and his Holo disappeared. Mace turned to leave, grabbing a datapad on his way.

"Anakin, good form. Keep your shoulders high and do it again." Master Adi Gallia ordered.

Anakin tried to follow her instructions, only to be distracted when the door opened. He looked up right away hoping to see Obi-Wan, only it wasn't him.

"Master Gallia," Mace greeted.

"Master Windu," Adi returned.

"Is Master Yoda back from his trip yet?" Anakin jumped in with the question.

"Ahh, Mace winced. "It looks like Yoda will need to extend his mission a bit. But that's not what I came here for.

Mace stepped closer to Anakin and activated his datapad. "The Council received this request today from Master Don, from the Creche. He wants approval to buy these parts for the Nanny Droids, and he says you were the one who gave him this list."

Anakin peered over Mace's shoulder at the list. "Um-hmm, uh-huh. Yes that's correct, Master. I know it's a long list, but his droids are very old. I can help him install the parts when he gets them, though."

"When did you meet Master Don?" Adi asked. Mace looked up to the worry she was projecting.

"We met a couple weeks ago, when we went to help Qui-Gon." Anakin paused to think about how much to tell. He didn't want to get his Grandmaster in trouble. "The droids were running so slow. I had to rewire them just to update their systems. But while I was doing that, Obi-Wan helped Qui-Gon with the younglings." Anakin looked funny at Adi. That last part was supposed to be reassuring, but she was so angry.

"That's good news. I will approve his request. It is much cheaper than his previous requests for six whole new droids."

"If you wouldn't mind looking after him, we are done for today," Adi said. "Goodbye Anakin," Then she pushed past them out of the room.

"She's gonna kill someone." Anakin stated.

"Wha- nah. Master Gallia is more controlled than that."

"Yeah, her anger started building when I said…" Anakin spun nervously. "She's gonna kill Qui-Gon!"

"I'm sure Master Jinn can handle it himself…, but if you're worried, we can check on them," said Mace.

Anakin followed him eagerly.

Naboo, days ago:

Tol followed his Master, Kel Vee up to the estate door. Looking around Tol whistled. "It's a good thing I don't care about wealth and luxuries, or I'd say I was in the wrong business."

"You and me both, kid." Kel rang the doorbell.

Tol expected a household servant to greet them. Something fitting with the posh atmosphere. What they got was the floppy eared Gungan himself. "Heyday ho! Who yousa?"

"Greetings, I am Knight Vee. This is Padawan Skorr. We came across your name in our investigation, and we would like to ask you a few questions," said Kel.

Tol stood back and studied his Master. Kel had a knack for these types of interactions. 'Of course don't mention the search and seizure until we're through the door.'

"Sure, sure. Me'll answeren yous questionens." Jar Jar turned to lead them into the mansion. "What do yous wanten to know?"

"It isn't so much what we'd like to know, as what we'd like to see. The Palpatine estate is very large, I'd imagine. Have you been to the VIP box he once owned in the Coruscanti Podrace circuit, by any chance?" Kel looked innocently up at their host.

"Nosa. Me will haveta planen another tripen to coruscant, den. Me liken races. Me was at da Boonta Eve racen, yah know!"

"No, you don't say. We recently had to seize an item of unknown origin from there. It could have been dangerous. We were wondering if there was anything else you found on the estate that might be equally dangerous?"

"Bad danger! Dalee were da wangzappers, but daysa are sold now. Da rest in hair." While Tol was trying to puzzle out what a Wang-zapper was, Jar Jar opened the door he was leading them to.

They walked into an office, or what once was one. The bookshelves were stripped of books, of course, and there was no computer on the desk. But there were a number of odd trinkets on both.

"Notten hair a bad danger." Jar Jar began dusting the trinkets on the bookshelves. "Take dose statues if yous'd liken. Da schools no wanten themsa."

'Didn't want a statue of the dead senator? How strange.' Tol moaned sarcastically.

"Yousa can stayen at da estaten..." Jar Jar set down one trinket and picked up another. "If you want to seize the property here I will need to see your warrant. I assume you have one as it would make your earlier seizure illegal otherwise. The law does not allow for Jedi to have eminent domain." The Gungan's voice changed with his accent drop, and the hairs on Tol's arms went up.

Jar Jar dropped the trinket and he shook his head. "Wooh, Datt was wired!" He shrugged his shoulders and moved on. "Me no wanten anytten bad danger. Stayen as longo as yousa have tah. Me'm goen on a tripen to Geonosis. Me'm goen treasure hunten. Me no wanten to missen da skeebeetle."

Jar Jar reached out to pick up another item off the shelf, but Kel jumped, reaching out to stop him. It was obvious things here we're not all as they seemed. When he reached out, Kel's arm brushed against a blood red, crystal trinket, sitting on the shelf. "Of course, we don't want you to miss your ride. You better head down there right away. This will all be in safe hands."

Tol scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Surely his Master would want to question the executor of the estate more. They'd ask about the items no longer here, at least.

"Okeeday, it's good dat yousa came today. Me'd besa gone tomorrow," Jar Jar mumbled as he left. "Me'll gos getsa bags, and me will leave. Selongabye." He waved as he disappeared from the room.

Jedi Temple, Coruscant:

Anakin and Mace tracked Adi and Qui-Gon down to a training room which was often used by knights to spar and such, more than actual lessons.

They opened the door as Adi was flipping Qui-Gon onto the mat, using the Force to keep him pinned. Neither had their lightsabers out, it wasn't that sort of match.

"You brought him there." Adi growled. "Let him hold it, after the Council's decision."

"She's not an it! She's a youngling human, and her name is Abigail." Adi winced to Qui-Gon's words. "Have you met her? Have you gone down there to hold her?"

"No, that would be attachment."

"That would be civil. All this refusal to become attached, I'm starting to suspect we were fools. What kind of Guardians are we, when the one thing we're afraid of is Love?"

Adi pulled her head back and turned to Mace at the door.

Mace turned to Anakin and said. "See, like I said. Master Jinn's got it all under control here."

Anakin just looked up at Mace with questioning eyes. Adi stared at him in shock.

"Come, Let's go find your Master. I have to tell him he's got a job for a few more days." Mace put his hand behind Anakin's back and led him down the hall.

Naboo, Present:

Yoda had little trouble tracking down the disturbance once he reached Naboo. The Force wailed with danger in an empty mansion, long since bereft of life.

Just getting into the sanctum required him to get past several of what looked to be homemade boobytraps and blockades. But then Yoda is an expert in using the Force for his sight and he'd done his share of treasure hunting in his day.

Yoda jumped and landed in the main sitting room of the house. He flicked his saber at a droid. Built for cooking it was armed with a spatula and rewired into defense mode. Anakin would be proud. That or really, really sad. Either way, the Master did not take time to mourn it. He ran up the hall and through a doorway.

"There's nothing for you here," hissed the figure bent clutching an item in his hands.

"Answers, there are." Suddenly the figure turned and Yoda gasped, "Kel Vee." He was almost unrecognizable, shrouded in the dark side. His eyes were mad.

"The name means nothing to me," he whispered.

"Where is Padawan Tol Skorr?" Yoda asked, eyes darting back and forth to appraise as much of the situation as possible.

"The boy, I sent him away," Kel answered. Was getting too close to the source."

"Hmm," Yoda grunted in relief. "This source, what is?

"The most marvelous thing. I never thought something dark imbued could bring so much Joy." Kel clutched a blood red gem in his hand, and he stroked it with his other hand.

"Permeate your soul, this darkness will. Great suffering it will cause."

Kel closed his eyes. "Fill me up, until I am no more. All Sith I will be. Yes, what bliss."

"One solution there is. Regret this, I do." Yoda pulled back and prepared his mind and body.

Tol pushed his way past the outer perimeter. Getting past a defensive wall he himself had built was remarkably easy.

What Tol intended to do once he got in was less certain. He knew he needed to get his Master away from that fierfek gem. The how was less clear. He almost regretted trying to call the Temple. That was what lost him his Master's trust. He didn't know if he'd dare hope that the Council would send someone.

Tol knew the easiest way to get in was through the garden door. Inside the house was a small army of droids. His Master reprogrammed them to guard the house. It was funny, Tol never heard of his Master's talent for electronics. The toaster back home used to confuse him.

Anyways, Tol crawled through the bushes, to the back door of the house. Before he got within view, he sensed a presence within. 'Grandmaster Yoda! Surely he will be able to help my Master.'

Tol crawled the rest of the way as quickly as he could. He was just within view, about to pull himself out of the hedge, when he saw Master Yoda pull his blade out of Kel's chest.

'Noooooo,' Tol would have been yelling, only his voice was stuck in his throat. The hedge seemed to grip him, and he had to fight his way out. By the time he got inside, Yoda had left, probably to deal with the gem as it too was missing.

Tol fell on the floor next to his Master as angry tears were allowed to flow. It had been years since he let himself cry. Now that he had, he didn't think he'd ever stop.

Tol didn't know how long it was that he stayed there. Maybe just a few minutes, but it felt like hours. When he picked himself up, he did so with a resolution not to go back to the Temple. 'Whatever happens, the Jedi will pay.'

Jedi Temple, Coruscant:

Master Don walked into the Creche, noticing the Force Presence of Qui-Gon. This wasn't one of his shifts, but the Creche Master never minded his assistants stopping by on their own. It was a sign they were truly becoming the role of caretaker.

There was a note on his computer from the Council. Don clicked it eagerly, wanting to see their response to the request he'd sent them. It hadn't been long, and that usually wasn't a good sign. But his request this time was different, and Don was certain he'd at least get a consideration.

'From the High Council… yada yada… concerning your requested expenditures… Approved,' Don read.

"Yippee!" He jumped with joy, equivalent to the Younglings he spent most of his time with. The nearby nursery room door opened and two nervous heads popped out. "We were approved!" He announced. "Oh, hello, Master Gallia, Master Jinn."

"We were just…" Adi started to explain.

"No need." Don waved his hand in front of him. "The younglings appreciate the attention."

Master Jinn urged her back to the nursery. Don whistled as he went about his chores cleaning and disinfecting the room.

"Abigail likes to be held. Here, this is her favorite blanket." Qui-Gon quietly told her.

"Qui-Gon, is that wise to encourage?" As Adi scolded him, her hand came up protectively to shield the youngling in her arms.

"Oh it isn't that unusual," Don spoke up. "I remember another youngling Tholothian who favored the same blanket." Master Don had been Creche Master that long. Other Jedi wouldn't take a position as he did, without an end limit, especially not a long lived species as he was, but Master Don couldn't imagine doing it any other way. "Here, do you remember this?" He picked up a stuffie from a pile in the room.

"Huh, Boo!" Adi named it.

Don smiled. Each of the stuffies in his Creche had many names given to them by each youngling, but a Master like him remembered them all. "Why don't you introduce her to Boo?" He handed it over.

Adi turned to Qui-Gon and said in a low tone, "Thank you. I know I shouldn't feel this way, it's not very Jedi like, but truth is, I was feeling a bit jealous. You get to see Obi-Wan every day. I had to send my Padawan away. Siri is… She's not here. I miss her."

Their conversation was getting personal, so Don walked out of the nursery. He thought now would be a good time to send the dinner orders down to the refectory kitchens. Their voices faded as he walked away.

"I'm sorry…" Qui-Gon tried.

"No. It isn't your fault. I'm sorry. She is a darling isn't she?" Adi interrupted.

"That she is," Qui-Gon confirmed.

Well,

I did warn you, all the angst was not over with Palpatine's death. I know this is weird, telling this chapter in a nonlinear format, but I thought it was best. I hope you can follow it, with my chapter breaks.

Tol Skorr is a Legends character who fell and became a Sith Acolyte, trained by Dooku. His Jedi Master was never specified, so I had to make him up.

Skorr's age wasn't canon, exactly. The images on his Wookieepedia page looked a lot like Thor, so I did research and calculated Chris Hemsworth's age when that movie came out: 28. Assuming the illustration was close to BBY 19, that would make him about 15 now.

If you read my other works, Return of the Survivors recently featured a character named Skorr too. This is a completely different character. This one never was a bounty hunter, and he never met Luke, Leia, or Han Solo.

This chapter mentioned events from chapters 9 and 11, and youngling Abigail, first introduced in chapter 8. I've given enough hints so far, so if you can guess where I'm going with this, go ahead and speak up. I won't confirm or deny anything, but if you're close, I might wink at you.