A/N: Hi everyone! So here's chapter 11, and I hope you don't mind the little character swap I made in the beginning. I didn't want Obi-Wan and Adi to go on this adventure without Anakin, and this was the best way I could think of to make that happen. I hope you enjoy it and see you next time!
Please read, review, and enjoy!
Calm before the storm! A rare and welcome respite from endless battle awaits Jedi Knights Saessee Tiin and Mace Windu as they travel through deep space aboard the Jedi cruiser Endurance. Preparing to rendezvous with a Republic frigate, the Jedi remain unaware of a deadly peril lying hidden in their midst….
It had been a few weeks since it had been revealed that a half-Nautolan existed and just as long since anyone had heard anything regarding Master Fisto. Information regarding him was as scarce as it was regarding the half-Nautolan; in other words, non-existent. None of the Jedi's usual sources heard anything regarding either of them, and there had been no sign of her since Naboo. Several Jedi teams had been sent there over the past few weeks to look for her, but it was like she had never existed in the first place. That first sighting was the first time any of the inhabitants of Theed had ever seen her, and it was likely the last if the current trend was any indication.
She seemed to have a knack for disappearing into thin air, and no one in Theed had any inclination of where she might be headed next, mainly because no one knew a thing about her, not even her name.
But at the moment, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Adi Gallia weren't focused on that. They were on Sorrus, in one of the capital cities, Yinn La Hi. They had received a report that Grievous was there, getting ready to launch an attack on the desert planet, and had been sent ahead to prevent such a thing from happening. If it did happen, they were gathering information to help the Sorrusian people fend off the cyborg until the Republic could send a fleet to protect the planet.
And if the Jedi captured Grievous, perhaps they could find Master Fisto as well.
So that was the state of things for the Jedi as they navigated the streets of Yinn La Hi. Obi-Wan had been to the planet years before, and there was one thing he had learned very quickly about the people that he had passed on quickly to those with him: "Sorrusians don't like outsiders and will ignore you to avoid answering any questions you may have."
Anakin, along with Rex and Cody, hadn't really believed him, but he was quickly proven right when they landed and Anakin tried to ask someone for directions. That person just turned around and walked in the other direction, not even bothering to look at the Jedi.
"See what I mean?" Obi-Wan had said bemusedly, "These people would rather walk into a pit of lava than talk to us."
"Then how are we supposed to find out where the Separatists are and what they are planning?" Anakin asked.
"Through the tried and true method of walking the city and seeing what can be learned, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, "In the end, personal observation is better than hearsay."
Anakin still looked doubtful but agreed to exploring the city for any hint of the Separatists. They started walking through the streets, all keeping an eye out for any hint of danger, the clone's helmets moving from side to side as they analyzed all they came across. Sure enough, the majority of Sorrusians ignored them or just pretended they weren't there, leaving the Jedi and clones no choice but to wander the streets. This kept up for several hours, and right when Adi Gallia was about to suggest they head back to the shuttle and report what was going on, a commotion up ahead caught their attention.
They looked at each other before Obi-Wan signaled half the clones to go another way and come from a different direction, Anakin going with them. Once they were on their way, the two Jedi ran to the commotion closely followed by the remaining clones and were surprised with what they saw.
Sure enough, Grievous was there with quite a few droids, easily making a mess of everything in sight, and Sorrusians were almost trampling each other to get away from the cyborg. He laughed when he saw the Jedi, who immediately drew their lightsabers, "Jedi," was all he said, drawing his blades as well.
"Grievous," Obi-Wan said, "And here I thought this mission was going to be hard."
Grievous laughed again, "Your friend doesn't think so. I don't think he's enjoying my hospitality right now."
"Where is he?" Adi asked, drawing her lightsaber back into ready position, ready to strike, "What have you done to Master Fisto?"
Grievous only narrowed his eyes, "Not much," was all he said before lunging forward and attacking the two Jedi while the droids started shooting at the clones, and the clones shot back. Obi-Wan and Adi were more than ready for him and soon had him on the defensive. Grievous was a skilled fighter, but even he couldn't match two Jedi Masters. Especially two Masters that were intent on capturing him and finding their missing friend. Seeing this, he took off running away from the fight just as the rest of the clones and Anakin arrived, the younger Jedi and his clones making short work of the remaining droids.
"What'd we miss?" Anakin asked, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes for a second before something caught his attention and got him staring down an alleyway to their left. The others followed his gaze and were just as surprised as he was. There, leaning against the wall and watching everything, was the half-Nautolan. Her arms were crossed, and she was again wearing a cloak, but the hood was down. Her clothing was the same as the last time they had seen her, with one addition: two knives, tucked into her boots, now completed her outfit. As they watched, she realized they were watching her and took off down the alley. The Jedi and clones took off after her almost without thinking, trying to keep up, with Obi-Wan calling, "Wait! We just want to talk to you!"
Whether she heard them or not, they didn't know, much less whether she understood them, but she kept running all the same. Eventually, the alley emptied out into another street, but this one was a bit different. Not five seconds after entering the street, the Jedi and clones were shocked to see the half-Nautolan fighting hard against some Nautolans. There were four in total, all dressed in black and armed with rifles and pistols and vibroblades. As they watched, two of them rushed in, trying to get the woman on the defensive so they could draw their weapons and shoot her, but she didn't give them a chance.
Stunned to stillness, the Jedi could only watch as the half-Nautolan easily turned the tide against her opponents. She grabbed the arm of one and twisted it behind his back, making him cry out in pain before she threw him against a wall, and he was easily twice her weight and size. She turned to the next one and kicked him in the stomach before giving him a roundhouse kick to the head, sending him to the ground where he lay still. As this was happening, another Nautolan snuck up behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, and her hands immediately went up to his arm to try and make him let go. She elbowed him in the gill plate when that didn't work, making him wince, but he still wouldn't let go.
Realizing that wouldn't work, the young woman clenched her fist before reaching back and punching him twice in the face, once in the nose and then again in the eyes. That did make him let go slightly, giving her the room she needed. She reached back again and punched harder, easily breaking his nose. He reeled back, and she pushed him back into the wall, slamming him into it and knocking the air out of him. A quick elbow to his stomach brought him down, and then she was moving on to the next Nautolan, who had watched his companions fall so quickly. He was standing there with a vibroblade drawn and ready, but the second she turned to look at him, he seemed to re-evaluate his options, especially when he saw the almost feral look in her eyes.
She wasn't the hunted right now; she was the hunter. Looking closely, the Jedi could see that even though her back was bandaged, there was no fresh blood, so the wounds from the Karkarodon were well on their way to healed and not bothering her.
At that moment, Sorrusian security forces showed up, clearly intent on breaking up the fight, and the Nautolan looked at them, along with the Jedi and clones.
"What the –?!" the Jedi heard suddenly and looked back in the direction of the voice. It was the Nautolan who was still standing, who was staring at the spot where the half-Nautolan had been moments before. But she was gone now, having disappeared completely down another alley. Seeing this, the Jedi were just as surprised, but movement from the downed Nautolans caught their attention.
"What is going on here?" the security officer who seemed to be in charge asked. The Nautolan that was still standing was quick to say, "She attacked us, sir, while we were just standing here doing nothing. She started it."
"Hmmmm," was all the officer said before turning to the Jedi and asking, "Is that what happened, Master Jedi? They were attacked by another?"
Adi answered, "We arrived after the fight started, captain. We don't know who started it."
"Well, until I can get a statement from the other party or witnesses, I have to go with the initial report," the Sorrusian said before turning to the Nautolan and asking, "Do your friends need to go to a hospital?"
"No thanks," the Nautolan replied quickly as his friends started to stir, "We brought medpacs."
The Sorrusian looked him over carefully before saying, "Alright, if that's how you want it, so be it. Don't leave the planet before we find that person that allegedly attacked you. We will need official statements from everyone involved."
The Nautolan nodded, while the captain turned to his men that had spread out and secured the area while he spoke with those gathered there, "I want a full sweep. Find the person that attacked these people and bring her to me. I want answers," before turning to the Jedi and asking, "Can we count on your assistance, Master Jedi?"
Obi-Wan and Adi looked at each other before Obi-Wan said, "We are here investigating reports that General Grievous of the Separatist alliance was here on Sorrus. We have a confirmed sighting of him and will need to deal with that issue first before we can assist you. You wouldn't want a full-blown attack on your planet, would you?" he asked when the security officer looked ready to protest.
The captain immediately reconsidered what he was going to say and so only nodded his head respectfully to the Jedi before turning to issue more instructions to his men. As he was doing this, Obi-Wan nodded at Anakin, who gave the barest nod before walking over to the Nautolans that were picking themselves up off the ground. One of them clearly had a broken arm, but his friend quickly set it. The others only looked winded, but that passed quickly once they were awake. As this was happening, a few more Nautolans appeared down the street, and Anakin asked the one that had still been standing at the end of the fight a few questions. Not liking his answers, he quickly walked back to Obi-Wan and Adi, saying quietly, "They're here to track down the half-Nautolan and kill her, and they won't stop until she is dead. Then they plan to bring her body back to Glee Anselm as proof of the kill."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow while Adi asked, "Are they mercenaries?"
Anakin shook his head, "No, they are special operations soldiers from the Glee Anselm military. They were sent here after a spy reported to them that she was here on Sorrus."
Adi raised an eyebrow as well, "Special operations soldiers going after one half-Nautolan? That seems a bit much."
"Considering what she did to them, Master Gallia," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, "It seems like not even their training was enough," before looking at both of them, "Just who is this person, and where did she learn to fight so well that she could best trained soldiers? She didn't even have to draw those vibroblades in her boots in order to beat them."
"Let's find her and find out," Anakin said, "I doubt she has gotten that far, and she is being chased by those soldiers. That will slow her down as she works to stay ahead of them while hiding from them. Maybe we can pick up her trail."
The clones nodded, following Anakin as he disappeared down an alley where the half-Nautolan might have disappeared. Adi followed behind, while Obi-Wan's keen eyes scanned the rest of the street and the other side streets for a few seconds longer before following at a slower pace.
Once he was gone, the half-Nautolan appeared out of the deep shadows of the alley they had gone down, watching them as they disappeared from sight before turning and running down the main street in the direction of the hangars. She used the Force to hide that she was even there from the security officers and Nautolans there to kill her.
It was time to go.
In space and a few parsecs away, waiting for Grievous to finish his reconnaissance of Sorrus, was his juggernaut. Deep in the detention center, Kit Fisto again hung from his wrists in the force field. His hands were numb by now, and the drugs had such a strong grip on him that he couldn't organize his thoughts enough to even think about the Force, let alone tap into it.
The adrenaline surge from setting his shoulder was gone, and there was quite a bit of pain in its place. The beatings were starting to wear his body down, more so than the pain in his stomach, and he was having a hard time keeping his silence. If not for his friend's iron grip on his will to speak right now, he likely would have told Grievous everything at this point, pain or not.
The truth serum was not helping him keep his thoughts in order either.
Letting his thoughts wander, as they had been for the past few weeks, allowed Kit to actually think of other things when Grievous came and brought pain with him. Those things were what he held onto, things that mattered more to him than anything, and they kept the pain from reaching his mind. If he could keep his focus on those things, then Grievous couldn't break him.
They were what he was fighting for.
They were keeping him strong.
Revenge! Boba Fett, son of the notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett, infiltrated a Jedi cruiser in an attempt to assassinate General Mace Windu, the man who killed his father. After a near miss at Windu's quarters, Boba was forced to destroy the cruiser and escape with the help of notorious bounty hunter Aurra Sing. Now, having lost contact with Admiral Kilian when his doomed starship crashed, the Jedi search for survivors with aid of a Republic rescue ship….
A few hours of searching Yinn La Hi had yielded nothing, not the half-Nautolan or Grievous, at least not initially. The Jedi had been so interested in finding her, or Grievous, that they had divided their clones into groups to track down either of them with the explicit instructions to let everyone know where they were before engaging.
Grievous for obvious reasons, and the woman because she was clearly more dangerous than they had first thought.
As this was happening, the woman was again on the run, being chased by the Nautolans sent to kill her as they tried to catch up with her. Eventually, a few of them did corner her against the side of a building just as Adi, Rex, and Cody, along with two other clones, found them by accident.
They tried to intervene, but the woman was proving herself to be a skilled fighter. An elbow to one Nautolan's midsection sent him flying against the wall, while a kick knocked out a few of the teeth of another. The last one tried to secure her in a chokehold, but that lasted all of two seconds before she was twisting around to deliver a bite, making him recoil and let her go.
Clearly, he knew something the Jedi didn't since his recoiling allowed her to wriggle free and escape. Deciding to follow her and deal with the Nautolan hunters later, Adi and the clones followed closely as she ran through the city, with Adi reaching Obi-Wan on her comlink and saying, "Master Kenobi, we found the half-Nautolan. She is heading south, towards the hangars. I don't think we'll be able to intercept her; she's too quick!" already feeling breathless from running as fast as she could to keep up. Behind her, the clones were struggling as well. Even with all their training, they were having a hard time.
"Understood," Obi-Wan replied, "We'll try to intercept her before she can get to the hangars. She might have a ship there, and I don't want her taking off before we can talk to her!"
"Copy that," Adi said, putting her arm down and increasing her speed, keeping the woman's cloak in sight. She was swift, though, clearly used to running and fighting and much fitter than she seemed, and Obi-Wan and Anakin couldn't intercept her before she reached the hangars. By the time they got there she had already disappeared into one, and that was when the Jedi had the clones wait down below while they scaled the wall to be able to look down into the bay. Even if she got away today, at least they would be able to see what kind of ship she was flying. Perhaps the fleet that had just entered the system could intercept it before it could jump to hyperspace.
When they finally reached the top of the wall and looked down, they were surprised. The half-Nautolan was there, completely still. She was staring at a spot in the hangar, and by narrowing their eyes and looking more closely, the Jedi could just make out a small oil slick where a ship had been. Now it was gone, and judging from the carefully blank face of the half-Nautolan, she had no idea where it went.
"Huh….looks like her way out of here has abandoned her," Anakin said, "Maybe this will be easier than we thought."
"I wish you wouldn't say that," Obi-Wan said, clearly expecting this to be harder than originally thought. Anakin asked, "C'mon master, where's your sense of adventure?"
"I left it behind on Ryloth when you and your Padawan successfully destroyed several of our ships," Obi-Wan said, not taking his eyes off the young one below them. She was still in the shadows cast by the hangar wall, but as they watched, she took a few slow steps forward, not taking her eyes off the oil slick.
"Let's go while she's distracted," Anakin said, "We can get to her now before those Nautolans come along and make this much harder than it should be."
Before Obi-Wan or Adi could reply, there was a hoarse laugh, followed by a hacking cough. Looking up slowly, the three Jedi were not entirely surprised to see Grievous on the opposite wall of the hangar. He wasn't paying any attention to them, though, and watching the half-Nautolan below. As they watched, he laughed again before jumping down to the hangar floor, and the young woman backed up a few paces at the sight of him.
But there was no surprise in her eyes or face, so maybe she had been expecting him.
The cyborg walked towards her slowly, and once he was a few paces away, he said slowly, "Jedi," clearly savoring the moment, and Obi-Wan looked at the others in surprise, not expecting this. The young one wasn't a Jedi; what was Grievous thinking?
Grievous was oblivious to their thoughts since he only said, "You'll be a prize in my collection, Jedi. Let's see how skilled you are," rushing forward with two lightsabers drawn and ignoring Obi-Wan's call of: "She's not a Jedi, Grievous!"
The half-Nautolan probably wouldn't have cared if Obi-Wan said the sky was purple; she was too busy dodging Grievous' attacks, and Grievous was ignoring them completely. As they watched, the Jedi couldn't help but admire her skill, and Adi said, "She certainly is well-trained; Grievous isn't getting close to her at all."
"No, he is not," Obi-Wan agreed, "but it's just a matter of time before he does, and the only things she seems to be armed with are her fists and her feet, and those blades in her boots. They won't be enough against lightsabers."
Adi nodded, but her eyes stayed on the fight below, not that anyone would really call it a fight. Grievous was lunging and attacking with everything he was worth, but the young one just wasn't letting him get close. She wove through his blades effortlessly and easily, almost seeming to dance as she slid across his back at one point to avoid a blade and then dropped to the ground and slid for a few paces to get away from the other. Grievous was only getting more and more frustrated, and finally, with a roar of anger, he lashed out with both blades. The two blades cut through the air from two directions, Grievous clearly meaning to decapitate her, but again the young one was thinking ahead. Instead of letting herself be cut into several pieces, she sidestepped before stepping back to where she had been before. She backed up a few paces, then did something the Jedi hadn't thought was possible.
She gathered the Force to her, building it stronger and stronger around her, then used it to leap into the air, effortlessly leaping over the walls of the hangar and the Jedi on top of it and landing on a roof a few blocks away. The Jedi were utterly speechless, eyes wide with Anakin actually having his mouth hanging open, but a roar from Grievous caught their attention. They were hard-pressed to get out of the way before he was leaping up to the roof as well, almost crushing Adi. She was able to get out of the way by sliding down the wall, and seconds later, they watched as the cyborg started leaping from roof to roof, trying to catch up with the half-Nautolan. The three Jedi only looked at each other before leaping up to run after them along the roofs as well, with Anakin calling down to the clones, "Catch up when you can, boys. We'll let you know if the direction changes!"
Rex's call of "Yes sir!" was lost on the wind; the Jedi running as hard as they could to catch up with the running beings. The half-Nautolan was fast, much faster now that the Force was actively helping her and was running along the tops of roofs with ease, dodging lines of laundry and water towers, ducking under panels and leaping over rooftop sheds, easily keeping ahead of Grievous. The cyborg, in turn, was just not able to keep up with her no matter what he tried, which left him very frustrated. He snarled at one point before tossing a lit lightsaber at her, but she only leaped into the air in a backward somersault and, in what seemed like slow motion, let the lightsaber just pass underneath her. Not even her long hair was singed.
Seconds later, she was back on her feet and running, and those chasing her were hard-pressed to keep up. Down below, one of the Nautolan special forces soldiers caught sight of her and started following on the ground, unaware of a friend of hers getting ready to help nearby.
As for the half-Nautolan, she started to run closer to the edge of the roofs, looking for a way back down to the ground to get away a bit quicker. A few roofs later, she found what she was looking for and jumped down. At first, it looked like she was falling to her death, again, but at the last second, she grabbed a cable hanging there and used it as an anchor point to run along the side of the building. From there, she jumped again, the Force giving her the push she needed to leap to the other side of the street, running along the side of the building there before leaping again to the next set of buildings, going lower and lower until she was finally back on solid ground. She kept running, but just then a speeder came out of nowhere, the Sorrusian security officers clearly having caught up with her. She went into a slide then, sliding under the speeder so quickly they couldn't stop her, disappearing into the crowd one more time and forcing Grievous to retreat once more as the Jedi made it down to the ground as well and got ready to engage him.
Grievous only ran away as quickly as he could, and the Jedi let him go, knowing they needed to deal with the security officers. But just as they were about to, there was a cry of surprise and panic from a passerby on the street. The officers and Jedi, followed by the clones, quickly ran in that direction.
They were treated to a sight none of them had ever wanted to see when they arrived. The half-Nautolan, clearly winded and not paying as much attention as she should have to her surroundings, was now in the arms of a massive Nautolan. He wasn't holding on to her directly but had two ends of thin wire in his hands. The wire itself was around her neck, and her palms were becoming bloody from fighting against his grip and the garrote, despite the fingerless gloves she was wearing. But he was too strong for her, and as the Jedi watched in alarm, her eyes started to flutter closed from lack of air, and she was beginning to go limp, even though she fought it as hard as she could. She slammed him back into a wall, elbowed him repeatedly in the stomach, even tried to bite him, but to no avail.
She was running out of air and time.
Almost without thinking and wanting to save her life, the Jedi rushed in, Adi heading for the woman while Anakin and Obi-Wan headed for the Nautolan intent on the kill. But before they could get to her a rifle was fired, and seconds later the Nautolan was falling limply to the ground, a sniper bolt straight through his head. The garrote fell from his limp hands, and the half-Nautolan only turned to look at him fall for a few seconds before turning back to where the shot had come from. Everyone there turned to look as well, but there was nothing there as best they could see, and when they turned back to the half-Nautolan was gone. The only sign she had been there was a few drops of blood next to the downed Nautolan.
Going over to him revealed that he was clearly dead; the sniper had done their work too well.
"Sir!" Cody's voice came over Obi-Wan's comlink then, "We found the place where the sniper set up, but they're long gone now. They certainly move fast!"
"Understood, Cody," Obi-Wan said, "Head back here."
"Yes, sir!" was Cody's response, and then Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and Adi, saying, "It seems like everything in this city is out to kill someone. We need to find this half-Nautolan, and then the sniper, whoever it may be."
"While also finding Grievous and not getting shot at ourselves," Adi added, and Anakin chimed in with a reckless grin, "How hard can that be?"
Obi-Wan only gave him an annoyed look before turning to the Sorrusian security captain, who looked a bit fed up with the entire situation, leaving Anakin and Adi to look at the dead Nautolan. Seeing something odd, Anakin crouched down next to the body and studied the head wound for a second before saying, "That sniper hit him right between the eyes. They knew what the best kill shot would be and how to take it. The fact he was moving clearly wasn't a factor this sniper considered relevant," he looked up at Adi then, "Whoever this is, they are incredibly skilled."
"And incredibly dangerous," Adi said, "They shot a Nautolan special forces soldier in front of Jedi without worrying about any repercussions or consequences. That tells me they have no concern for the law. They won't hesitate to do so again if they feel cornered."
"We don't even know who, or what, we're looking for," Anakin said, "It's not like they left any clues behind."
"Maybe not," Adi agreed, "but that doesn't mean they left nothing. We just need to find her."
Anakin didn't understand for a moment, but then realization dawned as he said slowly, "Right….whoever did this cares about that half-Nautolan or was paid by her for protection, which means that if we can find her, we can find the sniper. So we just need to search this city carefully and see what we turn up."
Adi nodded but didn't look too optimistic. After Anakin turned away to speak with the clones, Adi looked down the streets and avenues of the city, thinking. That presence in the Force, from the half-Nautolan, she had felt it before, but it wasn't the young one, not entirely; she just couldn't place it. Like that time on Beatha úr, when she had felt a presence then, she thought she knew it but couldn't understand from where. It was just like here, and now she was trying to remember where she had felt it before.
But again, the memory eluded her, leaving her with no choice but to go with Anakin and Obi-Wan as they coordinated a search of the city with the security officers to find not just the half-Nautolan and Grievous but the mystery sniper as well. Hopefully, the search would turn up something of value.
In a dark alley a few blocks away from where the Jedi were coordinating the search for her, the half-Nautolan met up with the sniper who had just saved her life. No words were spoken, and they immediately went their separate ways, the sniper disappearing with a quick flick of his green head-tentacles in the direction of the ship he had hidden on the outskirts of the city and the woman for the city center.
She would stay there a few days while she waited for her ship to come back and as she recovered from nearly being strangled to death. It hurt to breathe right now, but she would make good her escape once she was recovered. She had gotten what she needed from this city, and now it was time to go before those soldiers made things even harder for her.
Or the Jedi made it impossible for her to leave.
Lethal trackdown! The young Boba Fett has taken the law into his own hands and made two attempts on the life of Mace Windu, the Jedi Master who killed his father. Boba's mentor, bounty hunter Aurra Sing, has taken three Republic officers hostage in an effort to force Windu to face Boba on their terms, a tactic that does not sit well with the young vigilante….
A few days after her run-in with the Nautolan who had nearly strangled her to death, the half-Nautolan was again spotted. Again, she had Grievous on her trail, and he had no intention of retreating this time. The cyborg's juggernaut had been spotted in a nearby sector, and now he was hurrying to get off the planet and get back to his ship to make a hasty retreat before more Republic ships arrived to destroy his ship and rescue Kit Fisto. The fleet that was already there had engaged with his ship, but Separatist reinforcements had shown up and there was a full-on space battle happening above the planet. The Republic ships were aware that Kit was likely on board the juggernaut and were trying to board it to find him, but they weren't having much luck right now and needed the Jedi back soon, even though Grievous would likely make things more difficult when he finally returned to his ship.
But apparently the chance to catch the half-Nautolan was too good to pass up; the Jedi unaware that he had orders to capture or kill her, whichever came first. And so, as he chased the half-Nautolan, Adi and Obi-Wan chased him. Following the Jedi were Sorrusian security officers, and coming from another direction were the clones and Anakin. This was the best trap they had been able to think of on short notice, and hopefully, it worked.
The Jedi didn't know the half-Nautolan had sliced into their comms and was listening to all their conversations and planning and was more than ready for them.
As they ran, the Jedi were able to see that she was apparently recovered from almost being strangled to death. She was breathing well and running as fast as ever, Grievous having no choice but to use a speeder to keep up with her. And even then, he was lagging behind because of her powerful connection to the Force that increased her speed. Obi-Wan, while running, was actually able to remember where he had felt that presence before, but there was no time now to analyze what it could mean.
Finally, the half-Nautolan made it to an intersection, where she suddenly skidded to a stop. Grievous, not expecting this, pulled up a few paces behind her and the Jedi right behind him a few moments later, more than a bit winded from the chase. The half-Nautolan only stood there in the deserted street. The locals had gotten out of the way when they saw what was happening, and she looked left and right quickly, trying to decide which way to go. Seeing this, Grievous laughed and got off his speeder, clanking over to where she was standing in indecision. But the second he started, she whipped her head around to look at him, then turned to face him directly.
As she did so, a button on her comlink blinked red.
Grievous again drew his lightsabers, and the half-Nautolan only looked bored. Instead of retreating, she charged him, still unarmed. The Jedi were shocked at her audacity and even more shocked when nothing Grievous did fazed or even touched her. She was as elusive as the wind, and twice as fast. Every time Grievous tried to lash out at her with a blade, she was already moving on to another place. She flew over his back again before getting in very close. The Jedi couldn't fully see what she did, but seconds later, Grievous was flying through the air as she threw him over her shoulder into a pile of crates and barrels. He untangled himself quickly, not taking his eyes off her the entire time, and the Jedi were similarly surprised.
Neither had felt the Force then, so she was much stronger than they expected if she could fling a cyborg as heavy as Grievous over one shoulder without help.
Then, a beep was heard, and the half-Nautolan looked down to her comlink, which was now yellow. Seeing this, she looked up at Grievous before looking down the intersection in front of her. Apparently, she was waiting for something, but Grievous seemed intent on making sure she didn't make it. He lunged forward, four lightsabers drawn instead of two, but the young woman only looked at him tiredly before raising her hand and pushed it forward, sending the Force out from her hand. The push was so strong it knocked the Jedi back a few paces from its strength and sent Grievous flying back into the mess of crates and barrels he had made.
Only now it would take him a few minutes to get out of it.
Grievous dealt with, for now, the half-Nautolan took off running again, this time heading left down the intersection. Adi and Obi-Wan followed to the street while the Sorrusian security forces tried to deal with Grievous, but he only broke free of the pieces of wood and metal and ran off, deciding to cut his losses and run while he still could. With Grievous gone, the Jedi and Sorrusians were able to watch the woman as she ran away, knowing she was about to run out of room. That became clear when Anakin and the clones appeared, running straight towards her. She drew up for a few seconds before turning on her heel at a run, making her slide a few feet towards the clones and Jedi before she caught herself and took off running back the way she came.
Unknown to them, her comlink light had just turned green.
Seconds later, the roar of an engine was heard, too loud to have come from the hangars or Grievous' ship as he made his escape. Obi-Wan and Adi turned in the direction it was coming from, surprised and shocked at what they saw. Racing down from the clouds and coming in fast was a starfighter. But it was unlike anything the Jedi had ever seen before and certainly not what they were using in the war. It was larger than their usual fighters and painted red and green. It had two instead of one cockpit, one in front of the other and both tinted to make it impossible to see inside, but the droid was still in front of the cockpit like theirs. This starfighter was also easily twice the size of a regular starfighter but just as fast.
As they watched, the starfighter came down low, heading down the street at an impressive speed for such a large craft, only a meter or so off the ground. It headed straight for the half-Nautolan, who was running hard at it. At the last second, though, it started heading up, heading for the atmosphere again and looking like it was leaving her behind. But at the last second, she leaped, using the Force, and landed on the fighter as it started ascending. Just before it disappeared into the clouds they were able to see the forward cockpit open, and the young one disappear inside, and then it was gone.
Not because of the clouds, but because it became invisible to the naked eye once the cockpit was closed. There was no telling where it had gone, and Obi-Wan said, "Well, I guess that's the end of that! I haven't seen a ship that small capable of being cloaked."
"Neither have I," Anakin agreed as he caught up to them, "And if you're interested, according to Fives and Echo, that looks like the exact same starfighter that visited the Rishi moon before the base was destroyed."
Obi-Wan shook his head while Adi said, "We need to tell the Council about this. They will need to assign a carrier group to the system to keep Grievous from advancing if we are forced to retreat now. I'm sure they will also be interested in the latest developments regarding the half-Nautolan. Especially when it comes to those soldiers chasing her the way they did. This is turning into a witch hunt, and we need to do what we can to contain it. The last things we need are random shootouts and botched executions happening all throughout the Republic for one person."
Obi-Wan nodded while Anakin said, "We should get going then; I've already signaled Hawk to pick us up and get us back to the fleet. He should be here soon. We need to get to the hangar to meet him."
"After we deal with our new friends," Obi-Wan said with a nod in the direction of the Sorrusian security officers, who looked none-too-pleased that the one they were looking for had gotten away again. The Nautolan soldiers chasing her had also disappeared, and there had been no sign of them ever since the one had been killed a few days before. His body had been stolen from the morgue in the hospital, with no one taking responsibility or credit for it. The Jedi could only assume the special forces soldiers had done so to take his body home without having to answer some unpleasant questions.
Up in the atmosphere, the half-Nautolan had headed straight for the cloaked Ghost. She made it to the ship in record time and was soon back in the cargo hold, Chopper immediately setting coordinates and getting them out of there after navigating through the space battle and away from the planet.
As they did so, she turned her head in the direction of Grievous' juggernaut, knowing that Kit was on that ship with no way of being rescued by her or the Jedi; the Jedi were the ones that needed to complete that task. By the time the Jedi returned to the fleet, Grievous would be long gone, disappearing back into Separatist space where the Jedi couldn't follow.
Back on Coruscant a few days later, the Jedi were again in the communication center, reviewing the footage of the half-Nautolan that had been pieced together from the surveillance cameras throughout the city that the security forces had handed over before they had left the planet. The Republic had assigned a fleet there to keep an eye on things for the time being, even though it was clear Grievous had escaped with his ship to Separatist space, leaving the frigates behind to distract the Jedi and keep them from following the juggernaut. And with Grievous went Master Fisto, who the Jedi could sense on Grievous' ship, even though he had made no attempt to reach out to them. But they could all sense his pain, and it hurt them they could do nothing about it when they saw the juggernaut jump into hyperspace and leave the battle behind.
Reviewing the footage now, the rest of the Council was actually impressed. Masters Windu and Tiin had recovered from almost being killed on the Endurance when it had crashed, and Master Plo had just returned with Ahsoka after tracking down Boba Fett and Aurra Sing, even though Aurra's ship had crashed when she had tried to make her escape without Boba.
"She certainly is skilled," Eeth Koth said as he watched the footage of her fighting the special forces soldiers, "She knew what she was doing the entire time, and those are some well-practiced moves. She has had to fight before, more than once."
"Agreed," Mace said, "And she clearly isn't afraid of repercussions from the Monarchy of Glee Anselm. She must think it's worse than anything the Republic would do to her."
"This is what I find the most impressive," Anakin said as the footage cut to the half-Nautolan's leap over the hangar wall to the roof, "I have never felt the Force respond so strongly to someone before. It was like it knew what she wanted before she did."
Obi-Wan nodded, "She had the most powerful presence in the Force I have ever felt. I have never sensed anything like it, I think."
The rest of the Council gathered there turned to him, and Master Plo asked, "You think, Master Kenobi?"
Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully before he looked at Master Plo and said, "For the past year or so, especially in the Outer Rim, I have felt….something. It was always gone when I went to look for it, and it felt so strange I didn't think it was a person. I thought it was an animal or something Force-sensitive, like a stone or something. But it moved from place to place, planet to planet, system to system, so I eventually believed it was a being. I couldn't figure out what it was, but I felt it again when we were on Sorrus. And this time, I know what it was," he turned back to the footage of the young half-Nautolan, "It was her, moving throughout the Outer Rim and doing the Force knows what. I felt her when the Malevolence was destroyed, felt her after the Rishi base was destroyed, felt her when we were on Iego, and felt her just now on Sorrus. I couldn't explain it before now, but now I can. Somewhat."
Master Plo nodded, while Saessee Tiin said thoughtfully, "Perhaps you couldn't figure out it was her because she is of two peoples: humans and Nautolans. She is of no defined race, and her presence in the Force is different because of that and not something you have ever sensed before. That may be why it was so difficult for you to figure out what she was."
"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said, "But it doesn't change much of anything now. And it doesn't explain this," nodding at the footage that now showed the half-Nautolan nearly being strangled and a sniper bolt coming out of nowhere and killing the Nautolan attempting to kill her, "There were special forces soldiers from Glee Anselm on Sorrus, sent there to kill her. But who was the sniper? They were gone within moments and eluded our troops. No one saw anything either."
"A friend she has," Yoda said, speaking for the first time, "Skilled they are. Easy to find, they will not be."
"I agree," Mace said solemnly, "Which makes them dangerous if they are so willing to kill soldiers like that," he turned to Master Yoda then, "Perhaps a Jedi task force should be assigned to this matter to find her and bring her in before more lives are lost. She is a skilled fighter, but that sniper may make things more dangerous if we can't identify them."
"Hmmm, think on this, I will," Yoda said softly, "For now, learn what we can, we should," turning back to the footage.
Mace nodded, and they all went back to watching the footage of a few days later when the half-Nautolan appeared again with Grievous chasing her. A few of the Jedi gathered there smiled inwardly in amusement when they saw her Force-push Grievous into the crates and barrels, and that was when Adi said, "This part is where I was genuinely concerned for the safety of the civilians surrounding us," watching as the starfighter appeared and flew so low to the ground it was almost touching it.
Seeing that starfighter caused Mace Windu to draw in a breath, clearly recognizing it, and so did Master Yoda. The footage ended then of the half-Nautolan leaping onto the starfighter as it ascended without a drop in speed, and then Mace was looking down at Yoda, who looked back at him with a knowing look in his eyes.
They knew that starfighter.
"Master?" Anakin asked then, "Is something wrong?"
Yoda stared at Mace a few moments longer before nodding slightly, and then Mace said quietly, "I haven't seen that starfighter in a long time. A very long time."
"You know whose it is?" Obi-Wan asked urgently, and Mace nodded as he walked over to the large monitor on the wall of the communication center and accessed a few files. After a few minutes, he found the one he was looking for and pulled it up on the large monitor so that all could see. It was about the starfighter in question, and Mace explained quietly, "That starfighter was surplus left over from the Old Republic. Many felt it should have gone to a museum or junk planet because it just seemed too old and dangerous to be used on missions. But a young Jedi took a liking to it and fully restored it with a few upgraded systems and actually made it space-worthy again. Her name was Sundali Abazza," turning to those standing there. Hearing that name caused a few of the older Jedi in the room to bow their heads, clearly recognizing the name and grieved to hear it again.
"I have never heard of her," Obi-Wan said into the silence, "Where is she?"
"That is a question we have asked ourselves many times, Master Kenobi," Mace said, "She disappeared a few months after passing the Trials and becoming a Knight. It was a routine mission supervising an election, but she never returned. Her ship was never found either, so it was assumed that there was a malfunction and she was vaporized in the explosion. We sent out a team to look for her, but they found no sign of her. Apparently, she completed her mission and left the planet, but after that, she just disappeared," turning back to the monitor and pulling up the file of Sundali Abazza, revealing an image of a young human woman.
She was tall and fit, with long auburn hair tied back in a braid and deep blue eyes. Her features were delicate, but there was strength behind her eyes, and she had a slight smile on her face that was a bit heart-shaped with a widow's peak and complete with dimples. A light smattering of freckles dotted her face, especially her cheeks, and her eyes were framed by red lashes and brows. They were large and open and set evenly on her face. Her skin was light and pale, and what they could see was dotted in even more freckles. Another image showed her in ready stance for a fight, and the smile was gone from her face, which was now carefully blank to keep her opponent from knowing her next move. Her lightsaber blade was blue, the hilt beautifully crafted like all lightsabers.
"We always assumed she became one with the Force years ago," Mace said quietly, "We held a quiet funeral for her here in the Temple, but it always felt we were missing the rest of her story. Now it seems like we have found the answers to some of our questions if that really is her starfighter. Perhaps we should investigate what happened to her one more time," turning to Master Yoda as he said this.
Yoda was already nodding, but then Shaak Ti asked, "You sent Masters Jinn and Fisto to investigate what happened to her if I remember correctly?" to which Mace nodded. Shaak sighed and shook her head, the hologram making her movements a bit choppy because of the distance, "One is one with the Force now, and the other is missing. That doesn't bode well for reopening the investigation."
Mace nodded, "We sent them because they were all in the same class and seemed to be good friends. We thought their friendship would help us determine what happened to her."
Shaak nodded slowly, while Anakin asked suddenly, "Who was her Master? Perhaps they know something that could help?"
Mace only looked at Yoda, who said, "Ky Narec, her master was. Lost he was, on Rattatak."
Anakin shook his head, "So all of our leads regarding Master Abazza are dead ends?" trailing off in thought before asking Mace, "Can you pull up the image of her starfighter one more time, Master?"
Mace nodded and did so, Anakin walking over slowly and looking it over carefully. Obi-Wan couldn't help but say, "I think we finally found a Jedi that liked tinkering with old ships as much as you do, Anakin."
Anakin ignored him while Mace said, "Yes, she certainly did. I often found her running to class, late, because she lost track of time in the hangar. She made Master Fisto late a few times as well since he often helped her restore that starfighter."
Everyone there couldn't help but smile and shake their heads at that, but Anakin was still staring at the image of the starfighter. After a few more minutes of this, he said quietly, "I knew that looked familiar," turning to the controls for the monitor and re-orienting the image so that it was face forward and slightly up. Once he had done so, he said, "That starfighter was coming towards me on Sorrus, and it was impossible to get out of the way. It would have crashed into a wall if it hadn't pulled up. But it did, and I got a good look at its underside as it flew away. I remember seeing that mark on it," pointing to a small symbol under the nose of the fighter, and the others drew closer to get a better look.
It was a symbol of a blue lightsaber across the symbol of the Republic. It was small, but a keen eye could see it easily enough. Turning to those gathered there, Anakin said, "That symbol was on the fighter, I'm sure of it."
Mace nodded slowly before saying, "Then this really is Master Abazza's starfighter. And a piece of the puzzle surrounding her has been answered now," turning to Yoda, who only said, "A piece maybe, but enough to hope. Alive, Master Abazza may be. Search for her again; we should."
"Agreed," Saessee Tiin said, speaking for the first time, "But how to go about it if she has been hidden for so long? It's been over thirty years, almost?" to which Mace nodded, "What do we know about her that would tell us where she would have gone?"
"Master Fisto would know," Mace said, "They were good friends and often caused trouble together."
Saessee sighed and bowed his head, "And we don't know where Master Fisto is. He can't help us find Master Abazza if she is alive right now, and doing so could lead us to the half-Nautolan, or vice versa."
Luminara Unduli frowned, "So everything involving this Jedi leads back to the one Jedi that we don't know where he is? That is not ideal."
"No, it is not," Obi-Wan said, "Perhaps we should focus on finding Master Fisto first, and then finding Master Abazza. If we find him, he can tell us about her and perhaps make it possible to find her if she is alive, which may lead us to the half-Nautolan. Without taking our attention away from the war, of course. Master Abazza could have given her the starfighter, or she could have stolen it; it is hard to say at this point."
The others gathered around nodded, and then the meeting came to a close as Jedi went off in separate directions to attend to other duties or responsibilities that were calling for their attention. As this was happening, Yoda shook his head and sighed before looking up at the monitor which showed Sundali Abazza and her starfighter, wondering if they would finally have actual answers after all these years.
The Force had been clouded around her for so long, it would be good to finally know if she was at peace or not.
Far away from Coruscant, Count Dooku met with the king and queen of Glee Anselm via hologram on Grievous' juggernaut, "Your Majesties, a pleasure to make your acquaintances," the Count said respectfully, "I must say, I was surprised you took this request for a meeting."
The king nodded, his head-tentacles flapping in the water gently, "You said you had a proposition for us that would be mutually beneficial. We thought it was worth hearing out."
Dooku nodded before saying, "As I'm sure you know, we have Kit Fisto in our custody," the king's mouth and features tightened at the name, and Dooku continued, "I don't know what your grudge against him is, and I don't want to know at this time, but I understand you are against half-Nautolans as well."
"Yes, we are," the queen said, "Their very existence is an abomination we cannot abide or allow."
Dooku lifted an eyebrow at such a strong opinion, "Then I think we can enter a beneficial arrangement. I want the half-Nautolan; you want Kit Fisto. I don't have the sources or network in the Outer Rim to track her down, but you do. That was made more than clear when you found her so easily on Sorrus," the king and queen looked at each other but said nothing, and Dooku continued, "If you give me the half-Nautolan, I will give you Kit Fisto. I assure you, she won't live through the encounter, and from the anger I sense in you, neither will Kit Fisto. What do you think?"
The two Nautolans were silent for a few moments as they communicated silently with each other, but finally, the king turned to Dooku and said, "You have a deal, Count, but our loyalties will remain with the Republic in the interim. We don't want to make it seem like we are traitors to the Republic since they do help us fill our coffers."
"I understand, Your Majesty," Dooku said, "I look forward to your next transmission. If you need any assistance of any kind, do not hesitate to contact me."
The king nodded while the queen asked hesitantly, "All due respect, Count, but how do we know you actually have Kit Fisto? Rumors are rumors after all; it is hard to verify them."
Dooku only smiled cruelly before looking over his shoulder as Grievous walked onto the bridge. He was dragging something, which he threw at the feet of Dooku. At first, it didn't move, but after a few seconds, the being could draw in a shaky breath and raise their head, and the queen smiled with cruel glee at the sight.
It was indeed Kit Fisto, his hands and ankles shackled with tight binders. As he tried to raise himself up with his hands, they automatically tightened and sent him down to the ground again with a small cry of pain as electricity coursed through his body. But still, he tried again and was able to level himself upright onto one thigh and look at the hologram. Seeing his face, a bit battered and bruised with one eye swollen shut, the king of Glee Anselm smiled at the sight before saying something in a language Dooku didn't understand. Kit understood it, though, and his mouth and eyes hardened as he grit his teeth and forced himself to say nothing as he looked away, refusing to acknowledge whatever the king was saying.
Dooku was surprised then; anger was not the Jedi way, but Kit gave in to his rather easily just now. Before he could mock the Jedi, the king was clearly finished taunting the Jedi since he turned to the Count and said, "Thank you, Count, that is enough proof for me. We will keep you apprised of the hunt for the half-Nautolan and let you know if we need anything from you," with that the transmission ended and Dooku was turning to Kit, who didn't bother trying to stand. His recently broken ankle just made that an unpleasant idea to even think about.
A few moments later, the Count said quietly, "Anger is not the Jedi way, and yet here you are, giving in to yours. What did he say to you that angered you so much?"
Kit refused to reply or even look at Dooku. Finally Dooku said, "Perhaps we will get the answer to that later. For now, General," turning to Grievous, "please take our guest back to his cell, and make sure he is properly punished for his behavior just now. There was no need to be so rude to our guests."
"Yes, my lord," Grievous said, clanking over and grabbing Kit's recently relocated right arm. The Jedi didn't even both trying to hold back the cry of pain when that joint slid out of place once more and actually tried to stand and walk so that he wouldn't be dragged. Grievous wouldn't let him though and dragged him off the bridge and back to his cell, ignoring his struggles to get free all the while.
Back on the bridge, Dooku stood in thought, wondering just what was going on between Kit Fisto and the Monarchy of Glee Anselm that would inspire such anger.
No, he realized a moment later, it wasn't anger he had sensed.
It was hatred.
A hatred so strong he had never encountered the likes of it before. Just what had happened between the Jedi and the rulers of his home planet to make him hate them so much? What could it be that would make a Jedi ignore the teachings of the Order so completely, even if it was only for a few seconds?
And how could he use that against Fisto in the future?
Far away, on the ocean moon of Senali, a small floating house hid in a thick bank of fog. But the fog was nothing more than a barrier to unfriendly eyes keeping unwanted visitors away, and behind it, the house was surrounded by perfect views all around. And living there, at least for now, was a woman and her daughter. The woman was cleaning fish and fruit for her dinner as she watched over her daughter playing nearby. As she did so, the sun slowly set, turning her auburn hair a beautiful fiery red as she gazed at the setting sun, hoping that everything would turn out alright for the galaxy and everyone in it in the end.