OOO
Chapter Six.
OOO
Barriss stood in the center of the Council chamber, the world of Coruscant stretching out in all directions beyond the transparisteel glass encircling the room. The sun rising over the jagged spires of the horizon cast long shadows across the marble floor.
"...When I woke up, his handcuffs were lying on the ground next to me, and he was gone," she said. "My communicator was lost in the fall, so I could not send for help. I tried looking for him, but..." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Masters."
Looks passed between those seated around her.
She controlled her breathing, forcing her heart to remain steady. Their gazes weighed from all sides, and the air thickened. They were never going to accept her report at face value. She knew that. But no proof existed to contradict her. Whatever happened next rested on how unreadable she could be—and how discerning the Council was.
"Well," Obi-Wan finally spoke. "It appears it was fortunate you decided to accompany him, Padawan."
"Yes..." Mace tapped a finger against the armrest of his chair. "Very fortunate."
She kept her eyes on Obi-Wan.
"Find him, we must," Yoda said.
"If I may, Master Yoda," Shaak Ti said. "I am familiar with the boy. I believe of those available to search, I would have the best chance of locating him."
Yoda hummed, nodding. "Barriss, also, will join your search."
Mace looked at him. "Are you sure that's wise?"
Silence settled over the Council.
Yoda peered at him over the handle of his walking stick. "So certain, are you, that it is not?"
Mace looked from Yoda to the other masters seated around the chamber. No one spoke.
Aiden's comments about Master Windu echoed in Barriss' mind.
He cleared his throat, and inclined his head. "Forgive me, Master."
Yoda continued to peer at him.
Now Master Kenobi cleared his throat. "Well, it appears it's settled, then. Master Ti and Barriss will locate our young fugitive, and return him to the Temple until we learn what transpired."
A murmur of agreement swept through the chamber, and Shaak rose from her seat, motioning gently for Barriss to join her. "Come, young one."
Her chest untightened as she followed Shaak out of the chamber, leaving behind the tension that still lurked under the surface of the room. Aiden's words still haunted her as the Temple halls passed by.
"Master Ti? Does Master Windu behave like that... Often?"
The corner of Shaak's lip tugged. "Be mindful of the things that affect you, Padawan. And do not concern yourself with things that do not."
Her brow wrinkled.
"Come," Shaak said. "We must acquire a new communicator for you, and then we will begin our hunt."
OOO
Palpatine sat in his personal suite, drumming his fingers on crimson velvet. Statues and relics from the galaxy over rested on marble pedestals, and a holonet screen hung between two ancient works of art, broadcasting a news report he had long since stopped listening to.
A scowl creased his face as the screen played images of melted scars running down stained duracrete, and glass scattered across dust-ridden floors.
The little cretin was alive.
His communicator beeped.
He held the device in his hand, and the image of Tarkin appeared. "Your Excellency."
"What is it, Admiral?"
"I've encountered a problem with the task you gave me."
His eyes narrowed. "What kind of problem?"
Tarkin looked over his shoulder before speaking. "The data pad the Jedi handed over to the SBI is not the one the slicer used in his intrusion."
Impossible. "How do you know this?"
"The data pad is completely clean. No trace of anything."
That was to be expected. Even by one such as Tarkin. "Do you think a criminal would not wipe the memory in case of capture? There are ways to restore what was lost."
Tarkin tensed his jaw. "I'm aware of that. What I mean is, there was never anything on this data pad. Someone took an ordinary data pad, and ran a wipe on it to make it look like something had been erased." He held up the pad. "This may be one of the slicer's data pads, but it is not the one we need."
Palpatine continued drumming his fingers, and glanced at the holonet broadcast still displaying the marks of a lightsaber through grey walls.
Either the little cretin was smarter than he had believed, or the Jedi were playing a game of their own.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Admiral," he said, still looking at the holonet screen. "I have matters to attend to."
He disconnected the call, running his thumb and forefinger together in a circular motion, and he looked at the portrait piercing from the far wall, studying its old, familiar, crimson gaze.
If it was a game the Jedi desired, then a game they would play.
OOO
Flick, thump... Flick, thump... Flick, thump...
Aiden lost count of how many times he had tossed Barriss' communicator in the air and caught it again, coarse sheets scratching his back with every motion. She told him she would call as soon as she was able. Told him not to leave the room until he heard from her.
Flick, thump.
She also told him it wouldn't be long.
The electric hum that once sat docile in the background now slithered across the grimy floors, whispering in his ear with unspoken taunts.
Flick, thump.
Hurry, Barriss.
The communicator beeped, interrupting the hum.
He shot up to a sitting position, and held the device in both hands as he pressed the receive button. "Barriss?"
A girl, the same race as Shaak Ti, appeared in his hand. "Barri—" She stopped short as their eyes met. "Who are you?"
He froze.
Another woman appeared next to the girl, the same race as Barriss, but much older. Her eyes settled on him, and her gaze narrowed. "What are you doing with my padawan's communicator, young man?"
He smashed his thumb against the disconnect button, and their images winked out. He sat motionless as the hum crept in again, louder than before.
The communicator beeped.
He stared at the flashing light of an incoming call.
He pressed the decline button.
OOO
Barriss walked beside Shaak Ti through the Temple hangar, a new communicator tucked in her robes. She glanced at the Togruta master out of the corner of her eye as technicians and ships passed in the background. She needed to find a way to separate once they were away from the Temple. At least long enough to call Aiden. Otherwise...
The mouth of the hangar darkened, and a transport touched down on the platform with a jolt. And before the ramp had even finished lowering, Ahsoka jumped out onto the hangar deck, Master Unduli striding down after her a moment later.
Ahsoka's eyes caught hers, and the Togruta padawan stopped short and pointed, mouth moving in unheard words.
Luminara followed Ahsoka's finger, and spotted Barriss.
Oh, no... Her stomach tightened. "Master Ti." She motioned toward her approaching master.
Shaak looked from Barriss to Luminara, and slowed.
Everything as normal. Barriss released a breath as if she could whisper away the knot in her belly, and bowed as Luminara stopped before her, Shaak doing the same. "Master," she said. "I didn't know you were returning today." Why, oh why did she have to return today?
"Padawan." Luminara peered at her, a strange look on her face. There was relief, but also something else she couldn't place. "Why is your communicator currently in the possession of a young human male?"
Her heart jumped.
Shaak raised an eyebrow, and Ahsoka crossed her arms, an insufferable smirk on her lips.
Control your breathing. Think. "What did he look like?" she said.
Luminara's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she studied her. A light nudge brushed the edge of their bond.
"Blue eyes, kinda scruffy looking," Ahsoka said.
Barriss turned to Shaak, the edge of her hood shielding her from Luminara's scrutiny as she strengthened her walls, and the nudge fell away. "That's him."
"May I ask what's going on?" Luminara said.
"Forgive me." Shaak inclined her head. "Barriss lost her communicator in pursuit of a fugitive yesterday. It seems we now know where it is." She turned to Ahsoka. "Could you see anything of his surroundings?"
"Just that he was sitting on a bed." She shrugged. "And it looked kinda... Grungy."
"A cheap motel would be a likely place of refuge." Shaak said to Barriss. "The establishments in the areas surrounding your landing point would be a good place to begin our search."
"I will come with you," Luminara said.
Ahsoka nodded. "Me too."
Barriss clamped down on her emotions before they could be detected. "What about Master Skywalker? Won't he be expecting you?"
Ahsoka waved a hand. "Skyguy's not expecting me until tonight. And I could use some fresh air after being cramped up in a starship for so long."
"We would be glad for the company." Shaak smiled.
Luminara's eyes remained on Barriss. "Indeed."
Barriss kept her head down as they walked, her stomach tight. Master Ti alone, she might have been able to slip away from. Now...
Ahsoka pulled up next to her as they entered the shuttle. "So, while I was stuck in hyperspace, you were chasing bad guys through Coruscant, huh?"
Barriss sat in one of the seats, occupying herself with untangling a safety strap that wasn't tangled. "It wasn't nearly as exciting as that."
"The new scar gracing seventy levels of Coruscant would beg to differ," Shaak said.
Ahsoka's eyes widened. "What?"
"Sounds like quite the story, Padawan," Luminara said from the seat across from her. "I'd very much like to hear it."
"So would I," Ahsoka said, plopping down in the seat next to her.
She bit the inside of her cheek. "Very well, Master."
The transport lifted away, and she retold her report as they descended through the lower levels of Coruscant, Ahsoka sitting in rapt attention and Luminara remaining as steadfast and unreadable as ever.
They came to the now-infamous access shaft, and followed the lightsaber marks down until a familiar, shattered glass roof glinted in the fog.
The transport hovered parallel with the protruding platform, and the four Jedi hopped out, the graffitied metal door of the warehouse screeching open as they stepped through. The glass scattered across the layers of dust crunched under their boots.
"Wow." Ahsoka stood in the center of the room, looking up through the spider-webbed remains of the glass. "You weren't kidding."
Luminara walked over to a pair of handcuffs lying near the thickest concentration of broken glass, and picked them up, examining them in a dusty shaft of light. "How did he release the safety catch by himself?"
Barriss knelt by a piece of splintered wood, examining it.
"When he was brought to the Temple, he managed to free himself from his monitors without raising alert," Shaak said. "It does not surprise me he would know how to escape simple handcuffs."
Luminara looked from the cuffs to Barriss.
"Well." Ashoka turned away from the jagged hole in the roof, facing them. "Where do we start?"
"The nearest motels," Shaak said. "We will branch out from here, widening our search until we find him."
"Wouldn't a motel owner contact the police if a known fugitive was staying there?"
"Not in the underworld, young one."
Luminara tucked the cuffs in her robes. "We should begin immediately, lest he put more distance between us."
Barriss stood and dusted off her hands, exhaling quietly. I'm sorry, Aiden.
"Agreed." Shaak nodded. "Ahsoka and I will search in one direction, and you and Barriss will search in the other."
"Agreed."
Shaak turned and left through the door, and Ahsoka shrugged at Barriss before jogging to catch up with her.
"Come, Padawan." Luminara stretched her arm toward her. "Let us begin."
Barriss ducked her head, and fell in beside her, the two of them heading north, away from the warehouse.
As they navigated through smoky alleys and neon-tinged walkways, neither of them noticed the set of red eyes watching.
OOO
The humming.
Aiden sat on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, and his fingers interlocked behind his lowered head.
It was getting louder. Or maybe just smarter. Barriss said she would call, but all he heard was the humming.
His stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten since before the crash. They hadn't thought about dinner last night. Just Palpatine. Until she came back, he couldn't leave to get something.
The humming was louder. He was sure of it. Like it reverberated within him.
Why hadn't she called like she said? Did they find out she helped him? Maybe she got caught. Thrown in a cell like him. Would she tell them where he was? Was a squad of troopers on their way to kick in the door right now?
Or maybe the hum was coming from within him...
Was he just supposed to wait to see what would happen to him? If the door would open to reveal a friendly face, or a merciless mask? Should he leave his future to chance, and do nothing? Or should he take his own chances?
His stomach growled.
He shot up from the bed and walked to the door, slapping the panel on the frame. Steel grinded open, and he stepped through, looking left and right.
A quiet hall greeted him.
The hum called out to him from the room. Or maybe from inside him.
He started walking.
The doors lining the hall passed one by one, slowly at first, then gradually faster until they became a blur as he burst out of the building onto the streets. His chest heaved, sucking down musty air like it wasn't recycled fog.
The humming was gone.
He stood under the pink letters cutting the darkness above him, hands on his knees, breathing. Listening.
The coo of distant airspeeders floated down the walkway. The patter of footsteps here and there. Quiet whispers of those passing by.
The twi'leks under the streetlight stared at him.
He turned and walked the other way. This was a bad idea, but he needed to get away from the hum. He needed to hear something else. He needed... something.
A food vendor displayed eat-on-the-go style snacks in a booth ahead of him.
Better than nothing.
Unnaturally long fingers clamped down on his shoulder from behind, and cold metal jabbed into his back. "Walk casual." A sandpapered, but feminine voice spoke behind his ear.
He sucked in a breath and froze. Please just be a mugger.
Another cold dig of steel. "Move."
He did, and glanced down at the hand on his shoulder. Bone-white skin stretched over spindly fingers as long as his face.
"Who—"
The metal jabbed harder. "Say one word, and I'll drop you here and now."
The hope of a simple mugging dissolved, and he swallowed, glancing at every dark corner and pathway. If this was one of Palpatine's dogs, breaking a run now might be his only chance.
She herded him through back-alleys, directing him which way to go with jabs from her blaster, and a single, utilitarian-looking speeder idled on a metered landing pad ahead. She pushed him toward it, giving his shoulder a shove.
He stumbled, and two patrol troopers standing in a shadowed corner looked their way.
"Pick up your feet, you waste." Her voice was urgent. "Move it."
He risked a glance back at her.
She stood a full head taller than him, her ghostly pale face severe as she stared past him toward the troopers. "Into the speeder. Now."
The troopers began moving toward them. "Hold it—"
The cold metal left his back, and she leveled the pistol over his shoulder and blasted the lead trooper straight in the chestpiece.
He crumpled to the ground and Aiden's mouth fell open.
"Move!" she grated.
The trooper's partner dove behind a parked speeder and slammed his blaster over the hood, sending streaks of blue scorching toward them.
She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and he yelled as she dragged him toward her speeder with one hand, blaster shrieking in her other. She threw him into the passenger seat, and he pressed down as far as he could into the frayed leather as blaster bolts screeched overhead. "You're insane!"
She jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the accelerator, boosting away from the platform as bolts trailed after them.
His heart pounded through his fingers as he curled a damp grip into leather. "You killed him."
She dug the hot barrel of her blaster into his side. "And I'll kill you too, if you move a muscle while I'm driving."
"You're taking me to Palpatine. I'm dead, anyway."
A chuckle escaped her, and her lips curled. "How precious." The blaster twisted deeper. "I'm going to enjoy this even more than I thought."
He glared at her, but something sour knotted his gut. "Enjoy what?"
She didn't answer as she weaved through traffic and neon-covered towers, and came to a nondescript building with a single small landing pad protruding from a large door halfway up the side of the structure.
The speeder shuddered against the platform, and she hauled him out, shoving him toward the door.
His breath came shallow as the doors parted, and she pushed him through into a plain, dark room, a dim luminator glowing above a metal table and chair in the center of the room.
A life-sized hologram of a man stood on the other side of the table, bathing the room in an eerie, blue haze. A neatly-trimmed, grey beard graced the lower half of his face, and an ornate chain secured a black cloak on his shoulders.
A curved lightsaber hilt rested on his belt.
Aiden stopped short, and his lips parted.
"Welcome, my young friend," Dooku said.
She sat him down roughly in the chair, and Dooku gazed down at him, eyes cold and unforgiving as stone.
"You and I have much to discuss."
END CHAPTER