A/N: Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it. The next chapter is written and almost ready to go, so see you next time!
Please read, review, and enjoy until then!
As war continues to fracture the galaxy, planets become pawns in a dangerous chess game. One planet in peril is Naboo, where suffering and civil unrest threaten once-friendly relations between the people on the surface and the underwater-dwelling Gungans. Rumors that the Gungans plan to aid the Separatists in an attack on Theed force Senator Padmé Amidala home, accompanied by Jedi General Anakin Skywalker….
The ocean moon of Kef Bir was just as Seeker remembered it, and the old space station hadn't changed that much either. Granted, it was a lot rustier than before, but it still looked intact for the most part. Much of it was in ruins, with plenty of sharp edges and pieces, but Seeker could sense that there was more to the station than met the eye. And more secrets it was hiding. She and Ventress had arrived only a few hours before using the Phantom, the auxiliary ship of the Ghost that docked right into the back of the larger ship. Chopper had dropped them off on the station's rolling ruins before taking off and heading for the atmosphere. He had dropped them off on a piece of the station that extended out into the ocean, and there was another piece parallel to it a hundred meters away. The going was pretty rough on them because the sea tossed and roiled in a rage the entire time, and they were being battered by wind and water, but they kept at it.
Finally, they reached the entry point and headed into the station, splitting up as they did so. Ventress knew the mission without needing more directions, while Seeker was heading for another part of the ship that was next to impossible to get to. She would have a hard enough time getting there; there was no way she would jeopardize Ventress by asking her to make the trip.
Once Ventress was on her way, Seeker started the dangerous climb. She was only wearing her briefs and half top; her feet and hands were bare, but her utility belt was around her waist with hers and Kit's lightsabers on it. The one she had found on Lola Sayu wasn't part of this, and she needed to focus on this mission. Her necklace was around her neck as always, and her hair was tied back in a single braid to keep it out of the way.
She hissed suddenly as she grabbed a sharp piece of metal, but that didn't stop her as she kept climbing. The station had been destroyed before it was completed, so its ruins were in even worse shape. Seeker knew she was in danger, not just from the menace she could sense watching her but also from the ship itself. The interior of the station was divided in two, while outwardly it looked to be in one piece. She was climbing up one side of the station, a ten-meter gap separating the two sections, and far below, she could hear the sea batter at the station. She kept climbing, knowing there was no way she could abandon this task, eventually coming to a dead end in her climbing. She looked around then, not surprised, having made this climb before. But the other times she had made it, she had fallen when she had gotten to this point.
Now she couldn't fall, or fail.
Seeker kept looking and found the way up she had never been able to get to before a few moments later. She started swinging herself back and forth, picking up momentum, and seconds later she flew through the air and grabbed a metal rod on the other side of the gap. Her momentum didn't let her stop and she kept climbing and jumping, using the Force to her full advantage, and finally came to a piece of level ground where she could stand up. She looked around carefully as she did so before walking a few paces and starting to climb again, heading higher and higher, breath straining with effort as she carefully navigated the station and all the sharp edges around her. Finally, she was able to stop climbing as she came up through a hole in the floor and found herself in a large room with a throne near a viewport. She trembled then, feeling the Dark Side more clearly than before, and looked around.
Seeker, in all the climbs she had made in the past, had never been here before and it was rather scary. Feeling the Dark Side so strongly, knowing it would only get stronger the longer she stood there, made her look around for what she knew was there. She reached out with her senses, feeling the Dark Side and where it was coming from, and a few seconds later she was walking on and heading for the wall to the left of the throne. She ran her hands along it, reaching out with her senses again, and found the key. She ripped off some rust and moss, and a line was soon visible in the metal. It was an inverted triangle inside a square, and she placed her hand in the middle. She reached inside herself then and the Dark Side rose inside her and through her hand.
Seconds later, a door opened to her left and she opened her eyes, smiling inwardly as she quickly went inside, the door shutting behind her and leaving her in the dark. Seeker didn't mind, her eyes adjusted soon enough, and she headed straight for the source of the Dark Side. Her eyes stared unblinkingly around her before she walked through a maze of mirrors, seeing herself in many of them, the Dark Side playing tricks with her mind as she did so. She ignored those mirrors; they were illusions of what the Dark Side wanted her to see and were meant to lead her astray. She followed her instincts and her senses, the Dark Side welling inside of her now and being used as a cloak so that this room wouldn't turn against her. Finally, she reached the center of the maze, where a pedestal stood. On that pedestal was a triangular object, and Seeker's eyes lit up when she saw it.
After so many years of searching, she had finally found it.
She walked over then and picked up the object, holding it in her hand delicately as she looked at it. It was made of Kathol resin and Cybotaro waxen glass. Turning it in the dim light, she could see stars and planets inside, and she knew this would guide her to what she was looking for. The time wasn't right, but when it was she would be ready.
And now she had her compass.
Using the Force, she levitated the wayfinder for several moments as it spun gently before suddenly closing and clenching her fist. The wayfinder disappeared into the Force, and the Dark Side in the room recoiled as it felt that. It rose up in anger, knowing what she was now and angered she had deceived it, but she held firm and turned her full attention to it, and it receded.
The Dark Side would always yield to her.
But those that practiced it would not, and she could feel them closing in. She looked around then, knowing they were close, and started running for the hull of the ship. The way behind her was blocked, and she knew those looking for her would expect her to come that way, so she ran for the only other way out, knowing it was a long way down.
The Jedi had just arrived at the space station and were standing on the same platform where Chopper had dropped off Ventress and Seeker. They were staring in surprise and awe at the massive station, and Aayla asked, "This is the station you saw, Master Gallia?" turning to the Tholothian.
"Yes," Adi said quietly, "This is it. I didn't know it was this big though."
Aayla nodded slowly as they started walking towards a giant hole in the bottom of the remains, looking around and up as they did so. It wasn't just her and Adi; Masters Windu, Kenobi, Plo, Mundi, and Tiin were there. They had come in a gunship that had taken off as soon as it had landed because of the pitching deck they were on, but Aayla had brought her starfighter in case they had to chase Seeker in hers. The space station was old and rusting, and as she watched, a piece far above them came loose and fell into the sea.
This station looked as though it was only one strong wave away from sinking into the sea.
Looking around, Master Mundi was surprised to see how intact it still was, but movement caught his eye and he looked up.
"Look!" he said as he pointed up, and the others followed his finger, watching in surprise as a familiar figure raced along a narrow ledge a few hundred meters above them. It was Seeker, running as fast as she could and somehow keeping her footing on the slippery metal. She ran fast before suddenly leaping into the air and grabbing a hanging cable. It swung her over a gap to another part of the station, and from there she kept running before suddenly turning on her heel and leaping down a few meters to another ledge. She slid under a protruding piece of metal at about chest height and then kept running down the ledge. She disappeared through a hole in the station's side then, and the Jedi looked at each other before running towards the station.
They were still twenty-five or so meters away when suddenly two figures appeared out of the hole in the bottom of the station, running hard and fast and followed by many more.
It was Seeker and Ventress; the latter soaked to the bone while Seeker was barefoot and wearing her swimming attire, the black gash in her side standing out starkly. But she still ran fast, trying to stay ahead of what looked like a hundred Sith. The Jedi immediately drew their lightsabers and got ready to fight, while the two women also had their lightsabers drawn. Seeker leaped high into the air suddenly before coming down on top of a Sith, breaking their back from the force of her landing, and kept running.
Ventress called to Seeker then as she twisted on her heel to block a blow, but she slipped and had to backflip to regain her balance. The half-Nautolan was quick to throw her lightsaber from her hand, spinning it with the Force, and it decapitated the Sith threatening Ventress. Seeker then called her lightsaber back to her with the Force and it returned to her hand, which was when Ventress called out, "Where's your droid?"
"I signaled him!" Seeker called back, "He's either lost –" cutting herself off as a Sith attacked her. She twisted in the air and came down too close to him, impaling him on her lightsaber seconds later, "– or ignoring us," she spun around and cut the head of another Sith off as she crouched low, "And I know he's not lost."
She took off running again, heading towards the Jedi while also fighting Sith, and a few seconds later the Sith were attacking the Jedi as well. The Jedi were able to give a good account of themselves, and with Seeker and Ventress fighting as well, it would have been an even fight.
But there were more Sith than Jedi and Sith hunter, and it was turning against them as Seeker fought near the edge and Master Plo. Master Plo's Form V was holding its own against the unrestrained attacks of the Sith, but the close quarters they were fighting in weren't ideal. The platform was smaller than it looked because of the sea and waves, and the pitching and roiling of the surf didn't make it any easier. There was also the fact there was scrap metal and uneven ground to take into account. All in all, this was a terrible place for a fight, but there was no other choice to be had.
Master Plo's fighting depended more on defense than offense, but that wasn't a handicap to him as he kept at it. Seconds later, he was pulling his lightsaber back to strike an opponent he sensed behind him. Normally that kind of a blow wouldn't have been survivable, but someone blocked it with a lightsaber of their own. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to see his lightsaber blocked by a familiar green blade.
The person holding it looked over her shoulder too, revealing Seeker. She was almost back-to-back with him and was looking at him blankly. He froze, realizing this was the closest he had ever gotten to her in years, but suddenly she cocked her head and tripped him, making him fall to the ground as a red lightsaber went right where his neck had been. He landed hard and rolled, coming up seconds later in time to see a Sith drop dead, and Seeker was fending off others so he could regain his footing. He joined the fight again and she moved on, clearly knowing he could hold his own and there was nothing more she could do to help him.
On the other side of the platform, Ventress was holding her own near Obi-Wan, who was surprised to see her new lightsabers. Over the commotion of the battle, he called to her, "You know, white really isn't your color."
"I think it is," Ventress called back as she blocked a blow and locked her blades against two more, giving Obi-Wan a chance to come around and dispatch two of the Sith, "Blue definitely isn't."
"Then why are you here?" Obi-Wan asked, "It's not like your friend is staying close to you right now."
"She'll know I need her before I know," was all Ventress said, focusing on the fight again as a Twi'lek charged her. She only moved to the side and thrust her blade out, impaling the Sith in the stomach before sending his body into the sea. She looked around before turning to Obi-Wan and saying, "We aren't going to win this!"
"You have a plan?" Obi-Wan asked, and Ventress actually smiled before saying, "No, but she does," nodding at where Seeker was fighting four Sith at once, "It's just not a very good one, but they rarely are."
Obi-Wan shook his head before turning back to the fight, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Adi and Aayla were fighting close to each other while Mace, Ki-Adi, and Saessee were ranging out across the platform. At the far end, a gunship came in for a landing, as did Aayla's starfighter, and Obi-Wan turned to Ventress and called, "Our ride's here!"
Ventress didn't turn to him, too busy fighting another three Sith, but said, "Our ride's coming too!"
"When?" Obi-Wan asked sarcastically, and Ventress didn't answer. Looking around, Obi-Wan was surprised to watch Seeker fight. She wasn't letting any Sith that engaged her live and was cutting them down with a brutality and efficiency that was as impressive as it was disturbing. A brief reprieve gave her a chance to connect the ends of her lightsabers, giving her a double-bladed weapon, and she charged back into the fray. Form I became even more powerful then, and she was able to engage even more Sith when she did so. She disappeared then, disappeared into the tide of black cloaks trying to get past them, and suddenly the Force surged towards where she likely was before being released in a wave of energy and power. The Sith were helpless against it, falling into the ocean or being cut down by it, but the Jedi and Ventress weren't harmed by it.
The Sith paused for only a moment but seconds later continued to spill out of the wreckage of the ship, and Obi-Wan looked at Mace when he saw that. They didn't stand a chance if this kept up.
But surprisingly, the Sith didn't engage them or Seeker. Instead, they stopped as Seeker jumped into the air and backflipped down a few meters away from the Jedi, landing in a crouch with her lightsabers behind her before slowly standing. As she did this, the Jedi could see the scar on her left side and how bad it looked, but she wasn't favoring it and it seemed healed, somehow. Ventress started watching her carefully, recognizing that expression on her face and knowing it was a bad sign.
Seeker ignored her either way, and seconds later the crowd of Sith parted as one Sith in particular walked forward. He walked with a confident swagger, and his eyes were yellow with the Dark Side. His lightsaber was double-bladed like Seeker's was right now, but he hadn't ignited it. He was a human male with black hair and a strong jaw and nose, his dark brows thick and set over his eyes. He looked at Seeker with interest before saying, "You're a powerful fighter, strong in the Force. Why don't you come fight for us? You know the Jedi will lose this war, and the galaxy will be ours. Why not join the winning side?"
Seeker cocked her head slightly when she heard that but said nothing for several long moments before saying quietly, "You want my power, Sith?" Ventress immediately backed up a few steps, knowing things were about to get much worse, and that was when Seeker's eyes turned white and glowed with the power of the Force, and the Sith backed up a few steps as well, the one that had spoken suddenly feeling fear as he realized what she was, and it wasn't just a Sith hunter. The half-Nautolan slowly raised both hands, saying, "Here's more than you can handle!" before slamming them down to her sides in one smooth motion as the Force flowed out of her hands into the surrounding metal.
The shrieking of metal and the shaking of the platform was drowned out by Ventress yelling, "Run!" as she ran for the gunship, knowing that it was time to run for her life. The Jedi did so as well, recognizing the danger, while Ventress reached for her comlink and hit a button there, and an explosion deep in the station was heard by those above as an unfamiliar ship came and flew low. It was painted the same way as the Ghost, but was much smaller and had two small wings coming out the sides. A droid was just visible on the roof, and the back opened as it flew in close. Ventress immediately leaped into the air and jumped into the ship, which took off and headed for the atmosphere, but Seeker was left behind.
Seeing her, Adi almost went back, but seconds later the Force surged with such power and unrestrained rage that the Jedi had no choice but to get away. Aayla was already in her starfighter and had taken off, and the gunship followed suit as the Jedi watched the station collapse in on itself, taking the Sith that had been still inside with it. A few moments later, a giant creature of the deep broke through the waves, with a massive head and powerful jaws, a long neck and powerful arms. Its thick scales were protection against the broken pieces of metal it plowed through as it destroyed the station even more, sending it deeper into the sea, and seconds later, it was diving back down into the deep and taking what was left of the station with it.
High above, the Jedi watched and searched for Seeker, and minutes later Obi-Wan pointed down and said, "There!" and they all looked, surprised at what they saw moments later.
Seeker was there, alive and well and no worse for wear, standing on a board of wood and surfing a massive wave. She crested the wave and leaped into the air with the board, spinning in mid-air before coming back down and disappearing into the wave trough. She ran her fingers through the water beside her as she surfed, and seconds later, she turned her board around and surfed up and over the wave to avoid the sharp rocks she could sense that the station had been resting on for so long. She surfed down the back of the wave and sat down on the board once in calmer waters, waiting for the next big wave.
Seeing her, the Jedi were actually amused, with Mace saying, "That one is indestructible," while Master Plo said, "Not completely, Master Windu. That scar on her side is black and doesn't look good."
Mace shook his head while the other Jedi looked on, but a few minutes later the pilot took them higher to avoid a massive wave coming their way. Looking over and down, Adi said suddenly, "What's wrong with Master Secura's fighter? It isn't responding to her!"
They all looked and were shocked to see that the astromech droid had locked Aayla out of the controls and left, clearly a traitor droid they had missed the last time they had done their sweep of the droid pool looking for incorrectly programmed droids. The astromech took off, while Aayla was trapped in her starfighter as it hovered in reach of the wave. Seconds later she looked up at the others, genuine fear on her face, before disappearing under the wave as it swallowed her and her starfighter.
Obi-Wan immediately called to the pilot, "Fly lower; we need to find her!"
"I can't, sir!" the pilot replied, "We might get stuck in another wave!"
Obi-Wan shook his head as he went back to watching the ocean, looking for any sign of Aayla, but then Master Mundi said, "Look," and pointed down below.
Seeker was there, staring into the water and looking for something. She was still straddling her board, staring intently into the water and clearly searching. Her eyes roved back and forth, as did her head, before suddenly snapping her head back and staring fixedly at one specific spot in the water. Above her, Mace asked, "What is she doing?"
"I don't –" Obi-Wan started to say but stopped when Seeker suddenly crouched on her board before diving into the water and disappearing. Seeing this, the Jedi watched the area around her board closely, waiting for her to come up. Many long minutes passed, and then suddenly, she was there. She was holding something in her arms as she swam for her board, and then she was hauling Aayla's limp body onto it. The Jedi were surprised to see this, and watched as she pushed Aayla onto the board even more before climbing on as well. The half-Nautolan quickly put her ear to Aayla's chest, listening for a heartbeat, and seconds later was sitting upright on the board and pressing on Aayla's chest, trying to force the water out.
She did this three times before suddenly leaning forward and putting her mouth over Aayla's as she pinched the Twi'lek's nose, blowing air into her lungs, and then Aayla was struggling to bring up the water she had inhaled and breathing. She rolled over onto her left side, coughing violently, while Seeker held her on the board and kept her from falling back into the ocean. The half-Nautolan looked around then before reaching into the water and pulling Aayla's legs onto the board and out of the water. She turned the board with her arms and legs, heading for shore, and that was when Obi-Wan said, "Pilot, get in as close as you can so we can retrieve General Secura."
"If I get in too close, I could tip the board over, sir," the pilot said, and Mace interrupted then and said, "Just follow her, pilot. I think she knows where she is going," as below them the half-Nautolan headed for shore that was a few miles away. She kept to the smaller waves and a back current that she knew, following it in and only standing on her board for a few moments to ride the smaller waves in and keep her board balanced with the extra passenger at the front. Aayla stayed limp and still on the front of the board, clearly exhausted, eyes closed as her breathing calmed and quieted.
The half-Nautolan looked at her in concern for a few moments before shrugging and leaning down, straddling the board as she approached an outcropping of rock near the shore. Aayla opened her eyes then and raised her head, seeing where they were. She carefully sat up, not wanting to tip the board, but Seeker was holding it steady with her feet in the shallow water and a hand on a nearby rock. Her other hand was extended in case Aayla lost her balance, but she didn't and was able to get on the rocks safely. Once there she sat down, too tired to go any farther at the moment, turning to Seeker as the half-Nautolan turned her board and headed back for open ocean.
"Thank you," was all she said, and Seeker froze a moment before glancing over her shoulder and nodding. She lay on her stomach on her board then and started paddling hard, finding another current that would take her back out to sea. She was clear of the gunship by then as it came in to hover near Aayla, unable to land because of the uneven terrain. Obi-Wan and Master Plo were quick to jump out and run to Aayla, helping her stand and walk back to the gunship. They were onboard in seconds, with Adi kneeling near the Twi'lek as Kix put a blanket around her to warm her up since she was shivering from the cold.
"Are you alright, Master Secura?" Mace asked, and Aayla nodded tiredly before saying, "I didn't expect her to come save me," she looked at Mace, "She is confusing."
"Yes, she is," Obi-Wan said, "But I'm glad she did save you."
The others agreed and went back to watching Seeker far below as she headed for a massive wave, over forty meters high. She waited in its path for several seconds before suddenly paddling away from it and standing up on her board, surfing the wave with skill and speed. She leaped into the air and spun around, gripping her board with one hand before landing on the wave again, twisting her body suddenly to change direction, and then suddenly dropped down into the wave itself as it started to fold over itself. She disappeared into the wave's barrel then, and it was silent for a few minutes before she suddenly appeared on the other side of the wave and disappeared around the side of a cliff.
Seeing this, Mace said, "Let's get Master Secura to the cruiser and retrieve our fighters. By the time she joins us in space, we need to be ready for her. Especially since she doesn't seem to have her freighter with her," the cruiser having scanned the space surrounding the moon when they arrived and finding no sign of the Ghost. The cruiser had also been equipped with signal detectors, looking for any sign or signal the Ghost was there and finding nothing. They had no way of knowing Seeker had gotten wise to their detection techniques and was employing some new ones of her own to avoid detection.
However Seeker and Ventress planned to get off the moon; to the Jedi it looked like it didn't involve their usual means of escape.
As this was happening, Seeker was heading for her ride out, using a wave to jump onto the wing of her starfighter and saying, "Let's go home, R6," to her astromech, who beeped in agreement. Her surfboard folded up into something that easily fit into her cockpit, and then she was climbing in and heading for the atmosphere, where a massive space battle had started. Grievous had tracked the Republic here and engaged the Republic fleet in an epic struggle, and Seeker rolled her eyes and sighed when she saw it. The last thing she had wanted was to get involved in one more fight, even though she had known it was coming and she would be sneaking onto Grievous' juggernaut. That didn't make her anymore willing to want to engage in a fight.
Especially since she knew Grievous wouldn't be able to resist once he knew she was on board his ship
The Jedi and clone pilots were already engaging the droids, so there was no way for her to sneak past them. A starfighter suddenly flew next to hers, and she looked over, surprising the Jedi there when he saw who it was flying the starfighter with such a familiar paint job. He said into his comms, "Seeker is flying Master Fisto's starfighter, be on alert."
"Are you certain, Master Tiin?" Mace asked from the bridge of the cruiser. They had brought Master Secura to the medical center right when the Separatist fleet had arrived, and Mace had decided to stay behind and coordinate their attack.
"I'm sure, Master Windu," Saessee said, "The markings are the same," as the other starfighter shot off, and he followed it. Seeker was proving herself to be an adept pilot and fighter, easily destroying droids while executing hairpin turns and flying at speeds that even a Jedi would find dangerous.
Suddenly Master Tiin and all the other fighters became aware of another voice on their comms, and Saessee realized it was Seeker. She had patched into their comms so they would know what she was doing and make sure they didn't accidentally have a mid-air collision.
"Okay, R6, let's try out that new toy we've been working on," Seeker said as she flew straight towards a squad of vulture droids and hyena bombers. She dodged and avoided the lasers they were shooting at her with skill and precision, and seconds later, she flew right through their center and away. At first, nothing happened as the droids swung around to follow her, but seconds later, they were being blown to pieces by unseen explosives and the Jedi and their pilots were surprised. But there was no time to process what had happened because Seeker was again talking to her droid: "Alright R6, time to get what we came for."
Before anyone could wonder what that was she was heading straight for Grievous' juggernaut, firing a couple of torpedoes at the ship's bridge and weakening the shield. Seconds later, she was veering away before swinging back around for another pass, and that was when the juggernaut's power fluctuated, and the shields around the hangar went down. Whether that was because of Seeker or not was hard to tell, but it didn't matter to her because she immediately headed for the hangar, landing in the bay and jumping out, her droid following her.
She only said, "You know what to do, R6; I'll meet you back here in a few minutes," the droid beeping and leaving the hangar through one door on one side of the hangar while Seeker went through another close to where she had landed her starfighter. As this was happening, the Jedi had landed in the hangar and were getting out just as she was running through the door, leaving them confused. It was only Masters Kenobi, Tiin, Gallia, and Plo at the moment, and they looked around warily before approaching Seeker's starfighter and looking at it, with Obi-Wan saying, "It looks like someone has been busy. This starfighter has had quite a few modifications made," as he took in the more advanced targeting computer and more powerful engines.
"By someone who knew what they were doing," Master Tiin said, "Seeker must have been given this starfighter and then made the modifications. I recognize Master Fisto's signature on this," tapping the joystick where a small symbol was engraved. Seeing it, Adi said, "I think I've seen that design on Seeker's lightsaber, but I can't say for sure. I've never gotten a very good look at it."
"Too bad we didn't bring a homing or tracking beacon with us," Obi-Wan said lightly, "They would come in handy right about now."
Adi nodded, but suddenly the Force surged and they were all looking towards the door where Seeker had disappeared as she came running through it with Grievous on her heels. She went into a slide, made easier by her bare feet and hands, twisting on herself before somersaulting forward and avoiding a blow from one of Grievous' lightsabers. He tried again but she was crouching down, a lightsaber ignited and out to one side while her leg was out to the other, and seconds later she was launching herself forward and attacking him. He had no choice but to go on the defensive, and she didn't let up for a moment, but she was clearly playing with him and didn't see him as a worthwhile opponent. Every time he tried to attack her, she wasn't there, while every time she attacked him, she got in a significant blow.
Finally, Grievous decided there was only one way to end this: by cheating. He swung his lightsaber at her left side, where the wound from Florrum stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin, trying to get her off guard, but she saw it coming and backflipped to get away from him at the same time he leaped back towards the door. She landed in a crouch, a lightsaber behind her while the other was on the ground with her other hand, and watched as he reached the doors. The cyborg turned around then and laughed, and Seeker's eyes narrowed for the briefest second before widening as she realized what he was about to do. She launched herself forward as she sheathed her lightsabers, putting them on her belt, but was too late to stop Grievous as he shut the door and shut down the shield for one of the hangar doors. The other stayed up, but the lack of one created a vacuum that started sucking everything not bolted down into space.
And that included Seeker and the Jedi.
The Jedi were quick to jump and grab onto the sides of the hangar, while Seeker was blown back and only saved by the cable launcher she had. It hit the hangar wall near Obi-Wan, and he looked down to see the grappling hook embedded in the wall. He looked back to see Seeker hanging on for dear life. A sudden cry of surprise had him looking up, and he was in time to see a loose supply crate hit Adi and make her lose her grip. She started hurtling towards space, unable to grab anything.
"Adi!" Obi-Wan cried over the rush of wind, making Seeker look up. Seconds later, there was another cry from Adi, this one of pain, and the Jedi all looked to see that Seeker had grabbed Adi's right wrist and stopped her from being sucked into space, but it was impossible to tell what damage had been done. Seeker was holding on, not just to Adi but the cable as well, while looking around for a way to fix this and turn the shield back on. There were no control for the shields near the hangar doors, and there was no way to turn them back on anywhere close.
But that wasn't a concern of Seeker's as she looked around before looking up at the ceiling, and Obi-Wan could tell an idea was forming in her mind. Seconds later, she was yelling over the roar of the wind, "R6! Get ready!" and there was the sound of an astromech beeping that could be heard over the rushing air. Obi-Wan looked and was surprised to see R6 flying through the air and getting into Seeker's starfighter, ready to go.
At the same time, Adi cried out again, and Obi-Wan whipped his head around to see Seeker was pulling Adi up by her damaged arm and fighting against the wind to do so. Doing this allowed Adi to be in range of the cable launcher, which she instinctively grabbed. Once sure Adi wouldn't let go, the half-Nautolan was the one who let go, and seconds later she was flying back and hitting the ceiling. She winced slightly before grabbing a pipe and holding on tight, breaking a panel in the ceiling open as she did so and pulling half her body inside. She stayed in there for several minutes, and that was when R6 started up the starfighter and headed for the exit. At the exact same moment he passed under her the hangar shield was reactivated, and Seeker was falling into the open cockpit. Seconds later, she was gone and the Jedi were picking themselves up with Obi-Wan turning to Adi.
"I don't think your shoulder is supposed to look like that, Master," he said, his humor hiding his concern, and she looked at him with absolutely no amusement as she got to her feet with his help. As this was happening, Master Tiin said, "We should go before Grievous realizes the shield is back on and turns it off again. Can you make it, Master Gallia?" as he turned to the Tholothian, who nodded and started heading for her starfighter, holding her arm close with her left hand and using every technique she knew not to feel the pain.
Obi-Wan went with her, and seconds later they were back in their fighters and flying out of the hangar bay; as they did this Seeker watched closely. Seeing they were out she turned to her R6 and said, "Time to finish this, R6. Shall we?"
The droid beeped in agreement, and she started piloting the fighter towards the droids as Grievous left his ship in Soulless One to fight her on more even terms. At least, what he thought were even terms.
Seeing his ship, Master Tiin said, "He's going after Seeker! Should we intercept?"
"Please don't," Seeker said with some amusement, reminding them she was on their channel as well, "I'm trying not to get dead in the next few minutes."
Master Tiin shook his head, but before he could think about going to help her, she was leading Grievous on a merry chase around the space battle. She headed straight towards the Jedi cruisers at such a fast speed it looked like she was about to crash into it, but at the last possible second she checked herself and did an about-face that must have damaged her engines as inertia kept her from moving for several seconds. But that was broken immediately and she was speeding away, heading between the two bridges of another cruiser before ducking down behind and going past the engines in the back. She cut left under the cruiser and headed for the Separatist juggernaut, saying, "Alright, R6, let's see if this works," suddenly firing two torpedoes at the cruiser. They were clearly tracking torpedoes because they made a direct path for the juggernaut's bridge, Seeker using her laser cannons to keep droids away from the torpedoes. They hit the shield protecting the bridge and did nothing, and R6 beeped. Seeker only said, "Don't worry about it, R6. It's all part of the plan."
"I'd like to know what plan that is," Mace said suddenly, but there was no answer from Seeker as she went back to focusing on the battle. He shook his head, but there was nothing else he could do as Seeker veered away from the juggernaut as the shields shut down to fire its own tracking torpedoes. They locked on to her magnetic signature and stayed right on her tail, and that was when Seeker said, "Alright R6, on my mark, transfer everything we got to the engines and shields. 70/30. Let's see if this works."
R6 only beeped and whistled, but whatever he said was lost as he did as he was instructed, and seconds later they were flying around the cruisers and heading back for the juggernaut. Just as they were about to reach the juggernaut Seeker said, "Now, R6!" and the starfighter put on such a burst of speed it was nothing more than a blur. The starfighter headed straight for the bridge with the torpedoes right on its tail, and that was when the Separatists turned the shield back on. But something happened because suddenly explosions rocked the ship as a chain reaction was set off. The explosions traveled backward, and seconds later, the reactor blew and flames engulfed the ship, causing Seeker's starfighter to disappear amongst them.
Everyone watching was awed by what they saw, even though Grievous wasn't since he beat a rather hasty retreat almost immediately, knowing better than to stick around and knowing he was needed on Naboo at the moment. The Separatist fleet immediately made plans to retreat and started carrying them out, leaving the Jedi and clones to watch as the juggernaut went down and kept exploding as more and more critical systems overheated and shut down or were just destroyed before fire suppression systems could kick in and extinguish the blaze. As this was happening, Master Tiin escorted Adi's starfighter to the cruiser so that she could get to the medical center and get her shoulder back into place before joining the battle again.
"Anyone have a visual on Seeker?" Mace suddenly asked, and there were negative responses all around, with Obi-Wan saying, "Her starfighter might not have been up to the task of surviving those flames. Perhaps –" but suddenly cut himself off for a few seconds before saying, "I see something!"
Mace looked up then and headed for the viewports and could just make out a small speck flying away from what remained of the juggernaut. At that moment, a familiar voice said over comms, "Good job, buddy, you've been holding out on me," accompanied by very excited beeps and whistles.
Mace shook his head with a slight smile when he heard that voice; a few of the clones on the bridge applauding to hear that voice and know that such a skilled pilot had survived, while out in space Seeker flew her ship at a much slower speed as she said, "Time to go home, buddy. Let's get out of here," but her starfighter had apparently had enough because the engines quit just then. She said, "Uh, if we can," a few moments and some fiddling with the controls later she sighed and said, "Everything overheated. Looks like we're stuck for the moment until things cool down," she looked out and around them and said, "Well….this just took an interesting turn," as around her starfighter the Jedi and a few clones closed in around her and used their momentum to keep her starfighter going and flying towards the cruiser.
Seeing where they were going, Seeker only raised an eyebrow as she looked over to where Master Plo was flying next to her, knowing that there was another starfighter below her and to the side and above her, and the clones were filling in the gaps to the front and back and every other angle they could. All in all, she was essentially trapped, but she only cocked her head as R6 beeped at her, telling her there was a transmission coming in and asking if she wanted to accept it.
She shrugged and said, "Why not?" and a few seconds later, a hologram of Mace Windu appeared. She stared at him for several moments, knowing others were listening in, and cocked her head as she waited him out. After a few minutes, Mace finally said, "You are a hard person to pin down, and even harder to talk to."
"Part of my charm, Jedi," Seeker said, eyes fixed on Mace, "I set my own calendar a long time ago and prefer to stick to it. And I don't really play nice with others; sometimes it's better for everyone if I just don't have anything to do with people."
"And yet you get along with Master Fisto's brothers," Mace said, "And Ventress. So you do have some friends. And I wonder what you did to convince Master Vos to abandon the Jedi Order and work for you. What makes you so different from everyone else? And what about Master Gallia? What is your connection to her?"
Seeker cocked her head before saying, "Ask Kit the next time you see him. He knows the answers to all those questions. I do too if I'm being honest, but I don't feel like answering them. I never do. As for the Tholothian, maybe I was just feeling a desire to help that day. Kit would know the answers and would be able to tell you better than I could. I don't feel like it today."
Mace's brow furrowed and he asked, "Where is he?"
"Beyond your reach," was all Seeker said, "and I have no intention of leading you to him. This hasn't been as riveting a conversation as I thought it would be, so if you don't mind, I think it's time for me to get going. Dinner's waiting at Home Base, and the cooks promised a meiloorun pie when the mission's done, and it's only partly done, but I have no intention of missing that pie. The clones will eat all of it if I'm late."
"You can't believe that we would just let you go," Mace said, "And how far do you think you're going to get? You don't have a hyperdrive and your engines are overheated. You won't get far; if your engines overheat too much, they'll vaporize you and everything nearby."
Seeker nodded thoughtfully, "Perhaps. But this starfighter has more modifications than just a few new fancy weapons and stronger engines and shields."
"You put in a hyperdrive, didn't you?" Master Tiin asked, and Seeker cocked her head and said, "No, I did not. I flew the last starfighter enough to know it was a flying deathtrap with that extra weight and had a habit of cutting out in atmosphere. It's been retired now, and I have no intention of flying another like it. This one suits me just fine."
"But you are still trapped with no way out," a new voice added, and Tarkin appeared on the bridge and entered the conversation, "You have no choice but to surrender."
"I surrender to no one, Tarkin," Seeker said softly, and there was no ignoring the deadly undertone in her voice, "Especially not to you."
Tarkin narrowed his eyes while Seeker turned back to Mace and said, "You know who owned that two-seater before me. You know what kind of pilot she was. And I learned how to fly from her," she cocked her head then, "Almost makes you wonder if I'm as crazy as her behind the stick," gripping the joystick in front of her a bit tighter before saying quietly, "Time to find out," as the transmission was suddenly cut and the starfighter's engines came back online.
Seconds later she increased her speed for a fraction of a second before cutting her engines and twisting the stick to such a degree the starfighter went into a spin. It spun between the fighter to her left and the x-wing below it, missing both by only a hair and breaking free of the formation, and seconds later she was speeding off with Masters Plo and Tiin right on her tail. But her starfighter was apparently completely recovered and flying much faster than theirs could, but she was still patched into their comms, and they could hear as she said, "Time to leave. Ventress!"
The Ghost suddenly appeared on scanners and headed right for Seeker's starfighter, opening the cargo hold and letting her fly right into it before closing. Turning to the holotable, Mace turned on the feed to Kit's lightsaber and watched as Seeker jumped out of the cockpit and said to R6, "Better get ready in case we need to get out of here in a hurry."
The droid beeped, and Seeker headed for the bridge with the droid following, getting there seconds later and saying, "We ready to go?"
"Definitely," a familiar voice said, and Quinlan Vos turned around in the pilot's seat and grinned before facing forward while Ventress sat in the copilot's seat and was getting the hyperdrive ready. Seeing this, Seeker raised an eyebrow and asked, "We made sure the hyperdrive was actually fixed this time, right? It isn't just one of Chopper's fix-it fast solutions?" ignoring the droid in question's indignant beeping.
"Repaired it myself," Quinlan said, "If this thing fails, it wasn't because of mechanic's error."
"More like pilot error," Ventress muttered, but there was no bite as she kept inputting coordinates while Seeker raised an eyebrow.
As this was happening, Mace turned to Tarkin and Thrawn, who was captain of this ship, and said, "Is the tractor beam ready?"
Thrawn nodded, "We just need them in range," and Mace nodded. Turning to the viewports, they were able to see the Ghost was being somewhat harassed into range of the tractor beam, and as Master Gallia came onto the bridge with her arm in a sling but her shoulder back in place they were able to see the exact moment the freighter was in range. Seconds later, the Ghost suddenly stopped and Quinlan exclaimed, "Tractor beam!"
"Dammit," Seeker swore under her breath, but before they could truly think about it or how they were going to get out of this situation, her comlink beeped, and a clone's voice was heard, "Don't worry about it, sir. I'm on it."
"What does that mean?" Ventress asked, but Seeker only shook her head as she turned to look out the cockpit's viewports. Seconds later, her eyes widened and she said into her comlink, "Don't do it, Trap! You won't make it!"
"I know what I have to do," Trap said, "I got this!"
Mace's eyes widened suddenly and he said, "That clone is on this ship!" making Thrawn turn to the holotable and send orders for a squad of troopers to get to the tractor beam generator.
"I don't like your tone, trooper!" Seeker said and made them look at the hologram of her, "Get out of there! Our lives aren't worth yours!" surprising the Jedi there that she cared about him so much and wasn't willing to risk his life in such a way.
Seconds later, an explosion rocked the ship and was heard from the outside, and the tractor beam shut down. Outside the cruiser, the Jedi and clones watching had been able to see a single trooper running for the generator and throwing himself at it. Seconds later there was an explosion as the generator overheated and exploded. But that explosion allowed the Ghost to fly free, and it did, with Seeker saying softly, "Dammit, Trap," bowing her head before shaking it and looking up before saying, "We have to go."
Quinlan nodded and flew the ship clear of everyone before activating the hyperdrive and disappearing, leaving the Jedi with no choice but to return to the cruiser and debrief. Once on the bridge, they were greeted by Thrawn, who was saying, "That clone's service record indicates he was part of General Fisto's fleet before being transferred to this one. The transfer was organized by his division officer, who reported directly to General Fisto."
"So there could be hundreds more scattered throughout the different fleets that work for Seeker and Master Fisto, and we can't find them because they likely won't do something as foolish as this," Mace said quietly as the others joined him. He shook his head and said, "I want to know why Master Fisto scattered these troops throughout our fleet and what their purpose is. We need to find a few that are still alive and ask them if they know anything about this."
"I am already looking into the matter, General Windu," Thrawn said calmly, "And so far, it seems Trap was the only one whose service record wasn't changed. If there are others, it is possible their records were changed, like Commander Monnk's and Chipper's for others, which would make them harder to find. It's possible that this clone was the first one General Fisto tried a switch with and couldn't switch the service records. He may have just wanted to see if it was possible to do so without anyone noticing."
Mace nodded slowly as the holotable showed the cockpit of the Ghost. Quinlan, Ventress, and Seeker were there, as well as R6. What was different was that they were looking at a hologram of their own. It was a hologram of Mace, Thrawn, Tarkin, and the others, who were watching a hologram of the three of them. Seeing this, Mace and the others were surprised, with Thrawn looking more closely at the hologram and realizing it was in real time as the hologram of him moved with the real version.
A low whistle caught his attention, and he looked at Quinlan Vos, who was watching all this with fascination before saying, "That's impressive. Where'd you hide that bug anyways?" as he turned to Seeker.
The half-Nautolan only shrugged and said, "Well, let's just say if Thrawn ever finds it, he can keep it," she cocked her head, "Removing it may be a bit….deadly."
Thrawn's eyes widened in surprise, while the others with him stared at him since they knew Seeker had never had direct contact with Thrawn, but weren't able to focus on him as Ventress asked, "Why'd you bug Thrawn anyway? Would have made more sense to bug Tarkin. It'd have been a lot easier too."
Seeker only stared at the hologram as she said quietly, "I can predict what Jedi are going to do. They are nothing if not predictable. And Tarkin isn't worth the time or effort to bug. He's about as imaginative as a chair and easy to out-think and outmaneuver. Kit did it for years without him catching on," Tarkin's mouth tightened when he heard that, but Seeker only continued, "Thrawn is someone I can't predict as well as I'd like to, and there is something….off about him. I want to learn about him, and this was the best way to do it. Going to his home planet yielded nothing of use to me, so I will go by this route instead," she looked up then and said, "We've got places to be that the Jedi don't need to know about. Shut it down," turning to R6 and saying, "Sorry, buddy. We'll turn you back on when we get home."
R6 beeped in alarm and tried to get away but wasn't fast enough to avoid Quinlan and Ventress, and the feed went dead.
Seeing that there were no more answers to be had for the moment, Mace turned to Thrawn, who looked at him calmly and said, "I'm sorry, General, I wasn't aware she had bugged me, or how. As far as I know, it isn't something external, so perhaps there is an implant she placed on me without my knowledge. If I may, I will leave the ship under your command while I investigate this?"
Mace nodded, and Thrawn left, realizing then and there he or Captain Tarkin would have to immediately let Lord Sidious know about this so that precautions could be taken. But first, he would find this bug and get rid of it if he could.
Back on the bridge, Mace turned to those there and said, "This complicates things, and now we have more than one security breach. This is getting ridiculous, not to mention dangerous. Any military secrets discussed with Captain Thrawn are now under threat of being compromised. We will need to change security protocols as soon as possible."
"And double our efforts to find Seeker now," Obi-Wan said, "Before, she was a curiosity for us because she was Force-sensitive and a half-Nautolan, but now she has proven she has breached our security in more ways than one. Whether she sells what she learns to the Separatists or not makes no difference at this point. We need to find her and bring her in for the safety of our operations."
The others nodded while Adi cocked her head and asked, "How do we plan to bring her in if we don't know where she is? We can't attempt group meditation again; she will be expecting it and will be prepared to fend us off."
"No, we can't," Mace agreed, "but we can focus on Master Vos or Ventress instead. Perhaps one of them will lead us to her. Or Master Abazza could lead us to her, if we can find her. Our efforts have been in vain for the most part regarding her, but perhaps we can try again."
"All of them know how to guard their minds, Master," Obi-Wan said quietly, "It won't be easy."
Mace nodded slowly, "No, it won't be. But we may not have a choice in the matter. If we can't find them and stop this security breach, our efforts in Captain Thrawn's sector will likely be compromised. We can't have that."
Obi-Wan nodded while Master Plo said, "Perhaps we should focus on finding someone else instead. Someone who may have more people looking for him."
"Whom might that be?" Master Tiin asked, and Master Plo said, "If we can find one of Master Fisto's brothers, perhaps they can lead us to Seeker. They know her and seem to be working with her as well; finding one and planting a tracking device on them may lead us to her and Home Base. And Master Fisto as well."
"And because they've made quite a few enemies, especially in the Outer Rim," Adi said slowly, "you think those enemies will be more willing to let us know where they are and what they are doing?"
Master Plo nodded, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. There are likely many people who would like to see them gone and may be willing to help us do so. And these brothers likely eliminate any competition or rivals in their operations, so there are likely many people who bear grudges against them that may be willing to help for some kind of justice. These brothers may be competent warriors, but they also haven't fought Jedi in a long time. They may not be ready for us."
"It is a risky idea," Obi-Wan said slowly as he stroked his beard, "But it may be the only one we have. Finding one of the brothers may lead us to everything we want to know."
"Captain Thrawn has been monitoring civilian frequencies for the last few weeks," Tarkin said suddenly, "There has been no chatter from these brothers or communications between them. Whatever means they are using to stay hidden but in touch with each other isn't something we have been able to find yet."
Mace nodded while Adi said, "If Seeker bugged Captain Thrawn recently, then she knows he is searching frequencies for her and the brothers. She would have made sure they are on a frequency we aren't aware of."
"Or a secure military frequency of ours or the Separatists," Obi-Wan added, "We could be looking for a random communication among thousands sent daily. And there is the consideration of Lyzann Fisto. He sells information to the highest bidder; he could use his sources in the Republic and the Separatists to ensure they aren't found. I've been attempting to track down those sources in the Republic, but they know how to hide and stay invisible," he raised an eyebrow, "These security breaches certainly are irritating, especially since we can't really do anything about them because we don't know where they are."
The other Jedi gathered there nodded slowly at that, and then Adi said quietly, "I'm afraid I must return to my cruiser and get underway. We are being sent to the Mid Rim to monitor for Separatist advancement. Please let me know if you require my assistance, Master," bowing her head to Mace and receiving a nod in return.
Adi left then with no more answers than before this mission and still feeling confused about what Seeker wanted with her, and eventually the other Jedi split up as well to return to their respective fleets and ships. They would look for the brothers from different angles and different parts of the galaxy and see if that worked to track them down.
And hopefully Seeker would be with them when they did so.
Once back in his quarters, Tarkin immediately sent a transmission to Chancellor Palpatine. As soon as the hologram appeared, Tarkin said, "We have a problem, Chancellor. Seeker was somehow able to bug Captain Thrawn. We're not sure where or how, and he still hasn't found the listening device, but the Jedi are concerned she could actively compromise our operations now."
Palpatine stared at him for a few moments before saying, "This is unfortunate. We will have to take active steps to make sure she learns nothing of use when we are meeting with Captain Thrawn. I still think he would be a valuable asset to my plans, so for now, help him find that device and get rid of it. I will start reaching out to contacts of mine in the Outer Rim and start tracking these brothers down. One of them will lead us to Seeker, and Kit Fisto, I'm sure of it. For now, Captain, carry on as you have. I don't want anyone getting more suspicious of you than they already are," both of them knowing the Jedi were treading warily around him now and were less likely to tell him what they were thinking or what their plans were.
"Yes, Chancellor," Tarkin said, "It will be done."
Palpatine ended the transmission then and Tarkin shook his head, wondering if and when the Jedi would be able to track down Kit Fisto's brothers. They had done an excellent job of avoiding them and staying invisible; it would be interesting to see what would happen if the Jedi and brothers finally did cross paths.
And what the resulting fight would look like, if there was one.
As this was happening, Seeker, Quinlan, and Ventress headed deep into the Chorlian sector of the Outer Rim, searching for a long-lost planet where evil was stirring once more, unaware they had an extra passenger with them as a small girl hid herself in the Ghost's vent system and her mother at Home Base looked for her desperately.