After my act of defiance and disrespect towards the Chancellor, Master Windu placed me on probation and punished me with detention and meditative isolation. In his own words, he told me that I held a great deal too much anger and fear which made me a threat to the Jedi Order, and so I was to reflect upon my mistakes for a period of time before then being restricted in my activities until the period was over. This meant that when Obi-Wan had received a plea for help from his friend the Duchess Satine on Mandalore, I was unable to go with him to help settle the dispute. Had I been allowed to leave the temple, I would have snuck away with him, as I sensed that there was a conspiracy to the coup of Mandalore, and it was only when Obi-Wan returned did I learn that I had been right in my suspicions.
Maul and Savage Opress had been responsible for gathering the great crime families and overthrowing Mandalore, and despite his best efforts to rescue the duchess, she was killed by Maul in his quest for revenge. I had felt the ripple of grief through the Force at the moment of her death, making me lift my head from the detention cell I was being held in, and in my heart I could feel that Obi-Wan was suffering. As his long term friend, I wanted to be by his side to support him in his moment of need, but I was unable to help, and so all I could do was meditate and hope that he returned safely.
Although unable to leave my cell, I was allowed visitors and upon Obi-Wan's return, he soon found his way to me in order to tell me what had happened, knowing that I would want to hear about Maul and Opress. However when he entered, his eyes were downcast and there was such mournful sorrow in his heart that I could do nothing but feel it around me, seeing it begin to encase my friend who had lost someone he had dearly loved secretly in his heart. I reached for him, pressing my hand to his bearded face and tenderly turned him towards me, having no words of comfort to offer him, but I had a shoulder, and arms in which I could embrace him, and so I brought him towards me so that he might lean against me and allow the weight of his world to pass onto me instead until he was ready to stand upright on his own once more.
In the end, I spoke nothing of the duchess, or what had occurred on Mandalore, merely asked if he knew what had become of Maul and Opress as when he had escaped with the help of the Death Watch rebels, Mandalore had been engulfed in a civil conflict. "No, I do not know how it all ended, but perhaps now the Senate will agree to send Republic forces to settle the uprising."
"The Chancellor should have listened to us in the first place. Had we been given the aid we required to search the Sertar Sector for the escape pod, then none of this would have happened. At what cost must we now hunt and battle these Sith before their tyranny and machinations be put to rest?" To this Obi-Wan had no answer, and so we left the conversation there as a temple guardian had appeared to silently indicate that our visiting time had now expired. Taking Obi-Wan's hands in mine I gripped his fingers tightly as I bade my farewell and he promised to try and persuade Master Windu to lessen my punishment, encouraging me to take this as an opportunity to rest before I was once more left alone.
Soon thereafter, my sentence was reduced and within a few rotations I was allowed to return to my teaching duties and leave isolation, though I was confined to Coruscant and not permitted to leave its orbit. Whatever argument Obi-Wan had made in my favour must have proven effective. Grateful for his interference, I returned to teaching the younglings under my care, where I focused on their lessons and nurturing their development with the intent to put all thoughts of the numerous conflicts and conspiracies in the galaxy to rest. Instead, I brought my younglings with me on a tour of the temple, for they had yet to fully explore the vast extremities beyond their residence and classrooms. It was here that the next calamity of our Order occurred, and the next series of unfortunate events unravelled.
Mere moments before the accursed explosion of the temple hanger, I felt a rippling disturbance in the Force. It caused me to fall silent mid-word, sensing it and listening to the distant echoing cries as I had been leading my younglings whilst giving a lecture on the Jedi Temple and the workforce who assisted us, and the many kinds of jobs and tasks they performed. Slowly halting, my younglings all began to murmur in confusion, but just as one asked me what was wrong, the trembling of the Force suddenly burst with reverberation and the explosion from the hanger caused the temple to shake.
My arms dove to wrap around all of the younglings who cried out with fear and whimpered, huddling close and gripping onto me as our position was close enough to the hanger itself that we could hear the cries of the people within as well as the burst of flames which powered through the open doors which cast out a veil of heat. I could feel them as much as I could hear them, their screams of agony as they were caught in the unexpected blast which continued to roar almost endlessly until gradually, the strength of its burning began to subside. The moment everything had settled, I ordered the younglings away, making them hurry with me back into the care of their overseers as Jedi and guardians then rushed towards the explosion.
Once I was certain my younglings were safe, I returned in order to help, seeking out the injured as we hurried to retrieve them from the wreckages all around us and an alert was raised over the temple, locking it down. The Council were swift to respond, and amongst the mayhem and confusion, I was able to find my master. "Master Plo, it is good you are here." I breathed a sigh of relief as the investigation droids began their work in scanning the scene of the bombing, moving swiftly to my old master's side as his hand rose to catch my arm with tender concern.
"Theca, are you alright? Were you near the blast when it happened?" He asked me with overmuch anxiousness, his hands naturally rising to grip hold of me as he scanned me with a discerning eye.
"I am alright, but my younglings were frightened by the explosion. I chose a poor day to instruct them on the inner workings of the temple." Nodding his head, Master Plo and I then turned to look upon the carnage and destruction around us. "Our sacred temple has been desecrated, Master Plo. The war has found its way into our peaceful way of life, into our sanctuary. What are we to do?"
"The Council have summoned Skywalker and little 'Soka back in order to lead the investigation. Until we know for certain who is responsible, we will be unable to make any course of action." This caught my attention, glancing to Master Plo with a quirked eyebrow.
"The Council does not think it was a Separatist attack? Surely this has the makings of a terrorist attempt against our Order. Is there evidence to suggest to the contrary?" For a moment Master Plo did not answer, but there was no need as I could clearly and distinctly read the pattern of his expression and stance and even a hint of his thoughts began to draw themselves into my own mind for me to understand. "The Council suspects it is the work of a traitor." I realised, my face immediately dropping in horror. "One of our own, a…a Jedi. No that can't be, how could one of our own do this to innocent civilians and our own people? Such wasteful loss of life…it is unthinkable."
"Until we have the results of a full investigation, the Council will not eliminate any possibilities." My heart sank deeply at these words, unable to comprehend that a Jedi could be responsible for this. I felt my master's hand upon my back, guiding me away and my thoughts were so deep and despairing that I almost did not hear his warning. "Be cautious in your actions from now on, Theca. Many will begin to suspect you because of your views on the war. They may become prejudiced against you."
"Master, you should know better than anyone that I am not capable of something as violent and horrifying as this." I responded with a wide gesture to our surroundings as we made to leave.
"Of course, I have no doubt of your innocence, but others may not agree. It is widely known how outspoken you are against the war and our participation. It is likely that you will be the first suspect to be investigated, and I want you to be aware of how it will look if you are found to have any link to the bombing." My eyes narrowed sharply, flashing up towards my master with a strong air of indignation. "Theca, the Council knows that you have been disappearing often into the lower levels of the Underworld to meet with someone. Please. Be wary."
"What I do in my spare time is no business of the Council since my confinement has been partially lifted." Pulling away from Masker Plo I strode away, feeling a slight sense of anger towards the Council for their short sightedness. They were fools. Fools for entering this war, fools for bowing to every whim of the Republic and Senate that had no business interfering in our affairs, and fools for listening to the Supreme Chancellor when he says that war is a necessary evil to obtain peace. Why could they not see? Had the Jedi become so lost in their ways that we no longer represented the ideals of peace, justice and light? I knew how we were viewed by most in the galaxy, they believed that we, the Jedi, instigated this war. We are seen as the aggressors, and we are now feared.
It was heart breaking, causing me to wallow in sadness as I returned to my room in order to think, however I was not alone for long. My door chimed and after signalling permission to enter, I turned around to find Kit Fisto entering, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft hiss. "Kit." Surprised but undeniably pleased to see him, Kit crossed the room over to me in order to pick up my hands and hold them between us, my sadness and heartache seemingly vanishing as his presence bade such emotions to flee, replacing them with a warm tenderness which caused my pulse to flutter. "Kit you should not be here, it is…inadvisable."
"I sensed your unease so strongly, I could not help but seek you out in order to know what has caused such melancholy. Is it the bombing incident?" Touched by his soft words, I turned my hands in order to hold his in return, our fingers interlocking as we stood with our foreheads pressed against one another. Ever since the battle of Mon Calamari, Kit and I had been inevitably drawn to one another. Whenever our paths crossed, our eyes would stray to one another, and I soon discovered that he would go out of his way in order to locate me, to converse even for just a few moments. We had grown close, closer than we should have, but since neither of us spoke openly about the feelings that had risen between us, neither of us made any motion to quash them.
"It was a number of things, but I am better now. Thank you for coming Kit, your being here sets my mind at ease." Giving me a smile, we stayed close to one another for several long, blissful minutes as I simply revelled in the feelings which wove themselves around us, taking in everything about these precious moments that I could possibly could. The sound of his breathing, the warmth of his hands around mine, the ambience of our peaceful setting, and the quiet from around us which maximised our focus on one another. "The Council suspect that it was I who committed the crime. Master Plo Koon told me himself."
"You are not guilty, Theca, so you will not be made responsible for this. You have no reason to fear." Kit told me firmly and I chuckled to myself.
"So resolute is your faith in me. It is comforting." Squeezing my fingers lightly, I naturally responded by lifting my gaze up to his, noticing not for the first time how deep and interesting his eyes were, like a vast gathering of stars. "Kit…" The responding murmur of my name upon his lips drew me in with a light intake for air, closing my eyes once more to heighten all other senses so that as our lips came to touch against one another's, I could fully explore the wonder of this intimate expression. So deeply did I want this connection with him that I completely discarded the knowledge that this attachment we were developing to one another was wrong, and felt no guilt or unease as our feelings brought us to this moment, this shared expression, and even if this was to be our first and last allowance of intimacy with one another, I would cherish it as my own without regret.
The soft and tender region of his mouth coaxed a stirring within me as I moved closer still, releasing his hand which until now had been resting atop his, and drew it about his neck as his came to my waist so that I could feel his arm around me before touching my fingers to the long tendrils of his head and felt them against my skin. The touch caused him to shudder and lean in closer, tilting my head back as a means to deepen our kiss as I felt his grip upon me tighten. I gave into him, and as our kiss reminded me of that underwater sharing, I could not help but feel satisfied in the knowledge that this was not a means to share air, but I felt no less a sense of revival at this contact, like I had not known I had been drowning until this touch had returned my breath to me.
It was great reluctance we parted from one another, our arms now securely looped around the other but barely before I had taken a fresh intake of air, Kit's lips were upon mine once more with a firmer distinction than before, as if searing himself upon me to leave me with a constant imprint on his touch that would never fade. I welcomed it, as I welcomed all the touches that followed and for the time that we were together, I allowed myself to let go of everything that concerned me. I recalled not the war, the bombing, or the fact that I was under scrutiny by the Council, all I could feel and see was the one that had suddenly become a strong fixture in my world, someone I did not expect to become close to, and was in great danger of forming an irrevocable attachment to despite all laws that forbade the connection.
Giving into my desires, I surrendered myself to the feelings I felt for Master Kit Fisto with the notion that no matter what this union brought, I would weather the consequences without regret or shame, because as his kisses and fingers wove their way into my heart, I could not see how a feeling so pure and full of light could be considered an evil or weakness, and wanted nothing more than to savour and treasure it for all my years to come.