Alex Rider: Operation Far Far Away
Chapter 5: Holocron Heist
Jedi trapped on Felucia!
Clones are surrounded by droid forces.
Their only hope is to escape
on Republic gunships
waiting to land on the embattled surface.
Jedi cruisers have managed
to blow a hole in the droid defenses
and have sent gunships to the rescue.
Alex Rider winced as droid blaster fire shot close to his ear, having only just dodged having his face blown off. He balanced precariously on the tank he and Padawan Ashoka Tano were riding, his blue lightsaber ignited, deflecting blasts back at the droid army in front of them. If someone had told him three weeks ago that he would be in the middle of a battle on an alien planet, he would have called them mad. But here he was, deflecting shots while trying to stay on the tank itself, which was no easy feat. How was Ashoka making it look like a breeze? Duh, she has years of Jedi Temple training and war experience on you! he thought to himself.
Alex still couldn't believe his Master had agreed to this. He had only been training with his lightsaber for two weeks. True, Obi-Wan had admitted that Alex was quite good with the weapon. In fact, he had reluctantly relented that Alex was learning the material at a truly impressive pace. Alex had chalked it all up to his "not getting killed" instinct. But now he was actually in battle. And he had to admit, as thrilling as it was, it was scary. Really, really, scary. And Alex knew scary.
He was jerked out of his thoughts by another flurry of blaster fire way too close for comfort. He leapt back, feeling the slight tug from the Force as it helped him doge the blaster bolts.
Ashoka grinned as she deflected back her own shower of bolts. Of course, she would make it look easy. "How's it going?" she yelled over the sounds of battle.
"Ask me once this is all done!" Alex called back.
Suddenly, he heard his commlink chirp on his wristband. He pressed the accept button quickly before going back to deflecting bolts. On the other end of the commlink, he heard the voice of his teacher, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, calling over the noise of more blaster fire on his end.
"Ahsoka, Alex, what is your location?"
Ashoka got to answer because Alex wasn't sure if he could figure that out and reflect bolts back at the enemy. "About 6 clicks east, Master. We've engaged the enemy and we've got them on the run."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "This is on the run!?" he asked over the din, forgetting that his commlink was on. Unfortunately, that made it sound like it wasn't going well.
Ashoka shot him a look that clearly said, 'shut up.'
Obi-Wan's voice came through the commlink again "They're here to extract us. We're leaving!"
Ashoka's voice was one of shock. "What? Wha...We can't retreat now, Master! We've broken through!"
Obi-Wan's voice was questioning. "Alex doesn't seem to think so."
Alex looked at the droids and spoke this time, his voice a tad hopeful. "The droids are retreating." His sprits rose a bit. Perhaps he and Ashoka could do this after all.
Obi-Wan's sharp voice came through again. "We're outnumbered. You must evacuate. That is an order!"
Ashoka glared as she deflected more bolts. "Master Skywalker taught me never to let up when the Tinnies are on the run."
"They are running back here to regroup with the main force! You are putting your troops' lives in danger, young ones. You will get on the gunship when we arrive." Obi-Wan's voice cut out as the commlink connection shut off.
Ahsoka glared at Alex as bolts shot past her. "Did you have to sound like a worried little youngling? The droids are retreating. We can easily defeat them."
Alex dogged a few more of the red beams and looked at some of the fallen clones around him sadly. They had already lost some of their men. He then looked sideways at Ashoka, careful to keep his eyes on his enemy as well. "Well, I'm sorry." His voice dripped sarcasm, as it normally did when he was in danger. "Maybe they are on the run. I can't tell when they keep shooting at us! I'm concentrating on not becoming a living target practice dummy!"
Suddenly, a ship appeared, hovering in front of them, with both of their masters glaring at them from the open area of the transport. Ashoka looked at them in shock. "What are you doing?"
Anakin was the first to speak. "Get in the ship, now! Both of you!"
Ashoka glared at him, gesturing as she deflected bolts. "Can't you see they're retreating?"
Alex looked at his master as well. "She has a point, Obi-Wan. If we've been able to put these Clankers on the run, maybe we can turn them into scrap for good!" Switcher would have been proud to hear him talk like that. The excitable clone had begun teaching him clone slang a few days ago. Unfortunately, as far as Alex could tell, Switcher was on a different transport and couldn't hear his young pupil use what he had learned.
Obi-Wan sighed in exasperation. "You are too inexperienced to know what you're talking about."
Anakin nodded. "He's right. They're about to overrun you. You just can't see it. Now, follow orders and get in the ship."
Ashoka looked at Alex sadly, then leapt into the air, deactivating her lightsaber mid-air, and landed lightly in the transport. Alex flowed suit, though not landing as gracefully as she had. Suddenly, Alex heard a loud boom behind him and felt the heat of an explosion hit the back of his neck. He turned to see that the tank that he and Ashoka had been riding only a few moments before had been turned into a huge fireball. Had he not gotten off... Alex shuddered. No, better to not think about that. He then turned and saw something that made him feel worse. Obi-Wan was glaring at him in disappointment. This was not going to be a fun trip back to Coruscant.
Alex scowled as he straightened his dark brown Jedi robe over his cream tunic in his room in the Jedi Temple. As glad as he was that he had convinced Obi-Wan to only make him wear it during meetings with the Council, he was disgruntled that he hadn't been able to get rid of the thing completely.
He remembered the fight fondly.
"I wore a Jedi robe as a Padawan, and I turned out just fine!" Obi-Wan had argued.
"No one but Jedi Master's wear them, Obi-Wan! I look stupid! Plus, it'll impede my movement!" Alex retaliated.
He also remembered Anakin and Ashoka standing on the sidelines, watching with interest.
"Should we get involved?" He remembered hearing Ashoka asking.
Anakin had looked amused. "Nope," he said, popping the "P" and out the pair had walked, leaving Alex and Obi-Wan to battle it out between themselves.
Back in his room in the present, Alex realized that that fight had been almost three weeks ago, not long after he had first arrived on this planet in a strange unnamed galaxy. It felt like only a few days ago. Time had flown past since he had been brought here by Daughter, the mystical Force Being who had told him he had to help the Jedi in the Clone War. He had had a lot happen to him since then. His days had been filled with activities such as training with Obi-Wan on everything from lightsaber techniques to meditation, meeting most of Cody's men in their barracks and learning each and every name by heart, very slowly but surely learning to understand R2-D2, and so much more.
However, he had to admit that his favorite bit had been building his lightsaber. He looked down at the weapon now, hanging from his belt. The silver cylinder was embellished with bronze accents flowing along it, with a leather grip in the middle of the handle.
Obi-Wan startled Alex as he appeared in the doorway to his room, still with a stern look on his face. "Are you ready, Padawan?"
Alex looked at him. "Do I have to go? Samuel already thinks I'm trouble. This will just confirm it."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Master Windu. And yes, you do. If you don't, they will think worse of you."
Alex muttered a few curses (including some new ones he'd picked up from the Clones) and followed his Master out of the room and up to the Jedi Council chambers. Ashoka and Anakin were already there, standing in the middle of the room. Alex joined them and Obi-Wan took his seat with the other Jedi Masters, then gave a brief explanation on what had happened during the mission.
Mace Windu looked at the Alex and Ashoka carefully once Obi-Wan had finished. "Padawan Tano, Padawan Rider. Do you feel Master Kenobi's description of the incident is accurate?"
Ashoka bowed her head. "Yes, my Masters."
Alex echoed her statement, though his eyes glittered with indignation.
Yoda looked that them with curiosity. "More to add, do you?"
Ashoka looked up at them. "I know I was wrong. I just got so caught up in my own success I didn't look at the battle as a whole. I wasn't being disobedient, I just forgot."
Alex took over. "It really did look like the enemy was retreating. If the tank hadn't been blown up by them, we may have been able to beat them. How were Ashoka and I to know that they were going to destroy it?"
Anakin came up and put a hand on Ashoka's shoulder. "Masters, this incident is my responsibility. Because of Ahsoka's advanced abilities, I forgot how young she is. I gave her more freedom than I should have."
Obi-Wan stood up and moved next to Alex. "I agree with Anakin. The incident was my responsibility as well. Alex is young and has only been here a few weeks. I was blinded by the fact that his lightsaber skills are impressive, and he has been learning and retaining information quicker than most. It was foolish and irresponsible of me to allow him to go into battle. I should have never allowed it to happen."
Mace gazed at the two Padawans before him. "That may be, but it doesn't excuse what happened on Felucia. I think they need some time away from the battlefield."
Yoda nodded his assent. "On Archive security, reflect on your actions you can, Padawans."
Ashoka looked aghast. "Guard duty?" she complained.
Alex didn't like the look that Ashoka was making or the tone of voice she used. "For how long?" he asked, his own annoyance getting the better of him, making the question sound more disgruntled than he meant it to.
Mace glared at the two of them. "Longer, now."
Alex and Ashoka walked side by side with their masters toward the Jedi Archives. As they walked Alex overheard Ashoka talking to Anakin.
"I'm sorry I let you down." She sounded so disappointed in herself that Alex was relieved to hear the understanding in Anakin's voice.
"I know. I was a Padawan not that long ago."
Alex felt like he should probably apologize to Obi-Wan as well. "Obi-Wan…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have argued with you on Felucia and I should have kept my mouth shut back there with the Council."
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and Alex looked up to see a kind smile on Obi-Wan's face. "I meant what I said during the meeting, Padawan. I keep forgetting that though you've grown up fast and you are skilled in more ways than one, you are still young, and this way of life is new to you. I should have made sure you were ready for a full out battle instead of just deciding you were. I should have asked you. I'm sorry as well."
Obi-Wan's smile then turned more reminiscent. "You also aren't the first Padawan to argue with their Master. I remember when I was young, I'd argue with Qui Gon quite often; most of the time because I also felt like I was right. Sometimes I was, sometimes I wasn't." He looked down at Alex, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I do not hold what happened on Felucia against you, Alex. Just remember, mistakes…"
Alex finished the sentence with a smile. "Make a wiser person, which makes a stronger Jedi." It was one of his first lessons with Obi-Wan on his first day here, and it was one that the pair kept coming back to.
Obi-Wan nodded. "As for the Jedi Council, I was just reminded yet again of Qui Gon. He argued with them a lot as well." He then gave a fond chuckle. "Sometimes I think he just liked to make them annoyed," he finished a twinkle in his eyes.
Alex liked hearing stories of Obi-Wan's Master. The man seemed like someone Alex would have gotten along with.
He noticed that the group was slowing, which meant that they must have reached the Jedi Archives. An older woman sat behind a desk in the typical cream tunic and leggings of the Jedi. Her white hair was piled into a bun at the back of her head.
Anakin approached the desk. "Madame Jocasta Nu, this is Ahsoka Tano and Alex Rider. They are to be your new security officers."
Ashoka smiled at the woman. "Hello, Madame."
Alex gave a nod. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Madame."
Madame Jocasta smiled at the pair of them. "So good to meet you both. Let's show you around."
Alex turned to Obi-Wan one last time, giving a jaunty salute to his Master as he and Ashoka passed through the doors leading to the Jedi Archives. Obi-Wan returned it with a smile and a wave of his hand as the doors slid shut. As they walked, Alex looked around, amazed by all the books and information stored in the place. Though he had been in the Jedi Temple for three weeks, there were still places he had yet to visit. This had been one of them. Now that he looked around, he was disappointed that he hadn't come here sooner.
Madame Jocasta was now speaking, and Alex turned his attention on her. "There is more knowledge here than anywhere else in the galaxy."
Ashoka also looked around as they walked, then turned to Madame Jocasta. "Master Kenobi says there are even texts here that are forbidden to be read."
Jocasta gave a small chuckle, "Well, the Archives hold a great many secrets, 'tis true."
Alex's ears perked up when he heard that. Many secrets. Maybe the Archives could hold the answer to getting him back home. He wondered if he could use his time as a security guard to do some digging into the subject.
They approached a round door at the end of the Archive chamber. Madame Jocasta gestured with a hand. "Beyond this door lies the Holocron vault. The Holocrons contain the most closely guarded secrets of the Jedi Order."
As they watched, Jedi Master Kit Fisto walked past, heading toward the keypad to the right of the door, smiling at the group.
"Good morning, Master Fisto." Madame Jocasta said.
Master Fisto nodded at them and waved his hand in front of the keypad. As Alex watched, the keypad turned green, and the door opened. Master Fisto then walked in and the door shut behind him.
Ashoka looked at Madame Jocasta. "Can we go inside?" she asked, her eyes inquisitive.
Madame Jocasta shook her head. "Oh, I'm afraid not, my dear. I haven't been inside myself for years. Only members of the Jedi Council are allowed access." She then turned to Alex and Ashoka. "Guarding the Holocrons is one of the most important duties a Jedi can be given. Do you think you're up to the task?"
Alex and Ashoka looked at each other with smiles on their faces and turned back to Madame Jocasta, answering together, "Definitely."
Alex had known that the job wouldn't been exciting. After all, he and Ashoka were essentially being punished. What he had not expected was the mind-numbing boredom that came with walking around the endless halls of the Archives. They had been at this for a few days now. The only interesting thing that had happened was that the Jedi Master's had felt that someone would try to break into the Jedi Temple earlier today. Anakin and Obi-Wan had been assigned to search parts of the Jedi Temple for them. Unfortunately, that did not allow Alex and Ashoka off of Archive duty.
Alex groaned and stretched in his chair. He and Ashoka had decided to guard in shifts, and it was almost his turn. In fact, Ashoka would be coming over soon to trade off.
Alex sat at one of the holoscreens that showed the information from different books in the Archives. He was looking for any information on intergalactic space travel, little known life forms, anything that could help him in his quest of getting home. So far, the information he had found ranged from making his brain hurt with its complexity to just stupid, useless facts. And nothing had been of any help so far.
As he glanced up from his screen, he noticed that Ashoka had been making her way over to him but had paused to talk to a Jedi Master who was passing by, a man who was huge and beefy with wrinkles all along his face. After thinking for a moment about his lessons on the Jedi Masters with Obi-Wan, Alex recalled the name; Jedi Master Ord Enisence.
Ashoka smiled at the man. "Good afternoon, Master Enisence."
Master Enisence nodded to Ashoka. "Good afternoon, young one."
"May I be of assistance?" Alex had to chuckle. He knew that Ashoka was just itching to do something. He felt the same way. In fact, he was kind of jealous. She had actually found someone to help. Last time he had found someone to help, it had been a Jedi Master so old and of seeming little mind, he hadn't quite understood that Alex wanted to help him and had wacked Alex in the shin with his cane. Alex winced and subconsciously rubbed his thigh.
Master Enisence shook his head. "No. No, thank you, my dear. I don't want to bother you." He moved to leave, but Ashoka followed at his heels.
"Oh, it wouldn't be a bother at all, Master. Things are slow right now.
I could use something to do." Man, Ashoka wasn't giving up. Alex had to give her credit. She was persistent.
Master Enisence looked about uncomfortably for a few seconds. "Oh, uh..." The man seemed to be distracted by something for a moment before answering Ashoka. "Thank you. I'll be fine on my own." He turned to go.
Ahsoka looked a bit crestfallen. She tried one last time. "You sure?"
Master Enicence whirled around so that he was looking Ahsoka in the eye. His tone was harsher now. "Look, youngling, I said I was fine. Now let me go about my business."
Alex saw the droop in Ashoka's shoulders as she made her way over to him. Alex raised an eyebrow as she approached. "Well, he was a pleasant man," he quipped as he stared at the Jedi Master's large receding back.
Ashoka sighed. "I can't do anything right these days."
Alex shook his head. "Don't let him get to you. Anyway, you aren't the only one having trouble today." Alex stared at the screen in front of him, his expression deadpan. "Did you know that there's an insect species called the Fefze that, alone, are just normal insects, but when they get into swarms, they can do all kinds of stuff like dance and play music? I do….know that….now."
Ahsoka chucked. "So…no luck on finding info for getting home?" she asked. She and Anakin, along with Cody and Rex, had been told by Obi-Wan how Alex had gotten here a few days after Alex's initial appearance. He had told them that Alex wasn't from this galaxy and was essentially on a special assignment with the Jedi before he would have to go back to his home planet. However, none of them knew about his past or his missions as a spy. And for that, Alex was very grateful.
Alex shook his head. "Nothing. I thought that I might find something here. This is supposed to be a vast treasure trove of info." He groaned and rubbed his temple in exasperation. "Unfortunately, every time I think I'm getting somewhere, it's either a dead end, an unfinished theoretical scientific essay, unimportant facts, or just plain legends."
Ashoka frowned slightly at the less than stellar news, but then smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find something eventually. It may just take a bit is all."
Alex sighed and then returned the smile. "Thanks," he said as he stood up and stretched with a groan. "Well, at least I can get some blood circulating with a few dozen laps around the hallways. And hopefully I can keep from ticking Master Enisence off anymore then he already is. I think I'll just steer clear of him for now."
Ashoka nodded. "Good idea. See you in a few hours!" She walked off into another area of the Archives. She had told Alex that she wanted to find some information on some new lightsaber technique.
Alex sighed and walked along the Archives many shelves. Was it too much to ask that one of these books held the information he was looking for? He was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice where he was going until he bumped into Madame Jocasta at the end of one of the shelves, staring off into space.
"Oh, sorry Madame Jocasta. I didn't see you there." Alex said. He then noticed that she seemed troubled. "Is everything okay?"
Madame Jocasta seemed to come out of her reverie. "Hm…oh, Alex. I'm terribly sorry. Yes….at least I think it is."
Alex tilted his head. "You think it is?"
Madame Jocasta sighed. "It's just….Master Enisence. I've never seen him snap at a youngling like that before. He's normally so calm and compassionate around them. He once told me that because of his rather… intimidating appearance, he often tries to talk kindly to them to get them to see he's not as frightening as he seems."
Alex shrugged. "Everyone has a bad day from time to time. Maybe he's just having one today."
"Even so…" Madame Jocasta mused. Then she turned back to Alex. "Enough about that. You seemed to be troubled as well. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Aren't I supposed to be on guard duty? I don't want to make the Jedi Masters think I'm skimping on my punishme- I mean, job."
Madame Jocasta smiled. "I think I can let it slide just this once. I've seen you pouring over the holoscreens when your off duty. It's obvious that you haven't found what you're looking for. So, what can I help you find?"
Alex looked at her. "I'm trying to find some information on intergalactic space travel. More specifically if anyone's ever done it before or come up with ideas about it."
Madame Jocasta contemplated his answer for a few moments. "I'm afraid we don't have much, as I'm sure you've noticed. I do remember reading somewhere that there was a group of scientists looking into that sort of thing, but that was over thirty years ago. The Archives update so often it's more than likely anything about them or their research is probably buried under years and years of other information. If it didn't get deleted, that is."
Alex's hopes plummeted. Years and years of other information was a lot to sort through. And it might not even be here anymore. Alex tried to keep his voice light. "Okay. Thanks anyway, Madame Jocasta."
Madame Jocasta smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be of more help, Alex."
Alex shrugged slightly. He tried to not let his disappointment show. "That's okay. I should probably get back to guard duty now. Let me know if you need anything." He turned and walked down the way he had come. As soon as he was sure Madame Jocasta wouldn't see him, he leaned against the end of one of the shelves and tried to compose himself.
"There is no emotion, there is peace…" Alex muttered, the Jedi Mantra Obi-Wan had taught him flowing into his mind. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to get his to mind calm itself after such a huge blow to his hopes of getting home. You shouldn't have gotten your hopes so high! he chided himself. Once he felt more composed, he walked out from behind the self and continued his rounds.
Later in the day, Alex was yet again pouring over the holoscreen. After what Madame Jocasta had said, he had little hope of finding anything, but it gave his mind something to do. Besides, any real important knowledge he could learn would no doubt help him grow more comfortable in this strange new galaxy. He was just reading about a little group of primitive fluffy creatures that looked like teddy bears to him when his commlink chirped.
Master Yoda's voice came through the device, his voice grave. "Padawans, alert, you must be. Sense deception, I do. Posing as a Jedi, the intruder is. Find Master Jocasta, you must."
Alex sprang up from his chair as he looked about for Ashoka. An impostor posing as a Jedi. This was serious. As Alex contemplated calling Ashoka on her commlink, he spotted her racing toward him.
"Hey," she panted as she came to a halt in front of him. "You got the message too then. We can find Madame Jocasta faster if we split up." She nodded to one end of the Archives. "I'll take this end; you take the other."
Alex nodded. He darted off, racing down the lines of shelves, scanning for any sign of Madame Jocasta. Just as he had given up hope of finding her, he saw a familiar cream sleeve poking out from behind one of the shelves. He ran over to find Madame Jocasta lying on the floor, eyes closed and unmoving.
Alex quickly knelt by her side. "Madame Jocasta, can you hear me?" he asked quietly, shaking her shoulder slightly.
When he didn't get a response, he felt his blood chill. His fingers searched her neck. Please, please, he silently begged. Then, Yes! He felt a pulse under his fingers, slow but steady. She was just unconscious. Then, Alex noticed something else. Madame Jocasta's lightsaber was gone. That made Alex even more alert. His brown eyes hardened as his spy instincts came back to him. Madame Jocasta had been knocked out. That meant that the intruder was in the Archives. And they were armed with a lightsaber. He had to let Ashoka know.
Suddenly he heard her voice, ringing through the Archives. "Who are you and what have you done with Madame Jocasta!?"
He stood up, hand on his lightsaber hilt as he tore through the Archives toward where Ashoka was. As he skidded to a halt, he saw Ashoka battling someone, their blue lightsaber and her green one flashing and whirling, the humming cutting through the normal quiet of the Archives. However, what made Alex pause was that the person Ashoka was battling was… Madame Jocasta? But that couldn't be! He had just seen her on the other side of the Archives, unconscious. No time to think about that now! Alex shook himself from his thoughts.
He pulled out his own lightsaber and ignited it, springing at the impostor Jocasta, or "Imposta" as he mentally decided to call the doppelganger. Imposta spun away from him, locking sabers with Ashoka before pushing her into a table. Alex darted forward again, but the intruder sliced at him, making him leap onto the table to avoid the humming blue blade. Imposta then slashed at Ashoka, causing her to leap up onto the table as well. The doppelganger fended off a few more lightsaber blows before leaping over the table and darting off between two shelves.
Ashoka raced after the intruder, Alex following at her heels. As he and Ashoka battled Imposta, Alex had to admit that Ashoka was an excellent fighter. He was very impressed when he saw her dodge a swing from their foe by flipping right over the intruder's shoulders. Soon, Alex saw the doppelganger was tiring. Ashoka then took the opportunity to kick Imposta right in the stomach, sending the doppelganger flying. Ashoka moved to intercept as Imposta stood up. As the two combatants dueled farther along the hallway, Alex looked for something he could do to help.
Suddenly, Ashoka was knocked back against another table. That was all Imposta needed. The doppelganger darted off at a tremendous speed. Alex knew there was no way he could catch up. The intruder was too fast, no doubt running on the adrenaline of escaping the Padawan pursuers. Then, he saw the chair he had left pushed out from the holoscreen he had been at. An idea then struck him. Alex reached out with his hand and closed his eyes in concentration, trying to use the Force just like Obi-Wan had been teaching him to do. As the imposter raced toward the Archives' main doors, Alex jerked his hand, pulling the chair out farther with The Force. With a yell, Imposta tripped on it, tumbling backwards, sending Madame Jocasta's lightsaber clattering across the floor as it hissed out. Alex's eyes snaped open and he grinned triumphantly as he sprinted over to where Imposta lay and pointed his blue lightsaber at her throat. Ashoka dashed forward to his other side, copying Alex's action with her own green saber.
"You may have Madame Jocasta's shape, but not her skills." Ashoka growled.
The impostor's form suddenly simmered, revealing a female, green-skinned creature with huge yellow eyes with silted pupils like those of a snake. She snarled at Ashoka, but made no move to get up. Alex, still grinning, glanced down at the shapeshifter with a humorous glint in his eyes.
"I thought you might like to take a seat." he quipped. The shapeshifter snarled again. Alex looked at Ashoka. "Can you handle things here? I'm going to go check on Master Jocasta."
Ashoka nodded, not taking her eyes off of her prisoner. Alex shut off his lightsaber and reattached it his belt as he raced back to where Madame Jocasta lay.
"Madame Jocasta? Madame Jocasta, can you hear me?" Alex asked as he again kneeled next to her, shaking her shoulder gently.
Madame Jocasta's eyelids fluttered a few times, then they opened blearily. She slowly sat up, leaning against one of the Archive shelves for support. "Oh…oh my. What happened?" She then gasped as her eyes widened, apparently remembering. "Master Enisence! He's the impostor! I knew something was off! I must warn the Jedi Council!" She made to get up, but Alex placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay. Ashoka and I were warned that the impostor was posing as a Jedi. They've been apprehended." Alex explained. "Now you should rest. After all that's happened to you, I doubt that you're in any condition to go springing to your feet and start tap dancing any time soon."
Madame Jocasta looked at him strangely- no doubt for his odd word choice-before placing a hand to her forehead and nodding. "Yes…maybe a few moments to center myself would be of some help." She glanced at Alex with a smile. "I'm very proud of you and Ashoka."
Alex smiled with a playful shrug. "Hey, we're on guard duty. Apprehending shapeshifting criminals wasn't quite what I had in mind when getting assigned the job, but it was a nice break from the endless hours of walking the halls."
Madame Jocasta chuckled as she got to her feet. "Well, I suggest that we go find Ashoka and then alert the Jedi Masters to have someone come pick up our unwanted guest."
Alex and Madame Jocasta walked back to where Ashoka was dragging the intruder to her feet, her hands cuffed behind her back.
Ashoka turned as they approached. "Madame Librarian, are you okay?"
Madame Jocasta nodded. "I think I'm all right. We must call security."
As the group walked back, Alex suddenly sensed a person watching them, but when he looked around, there was nobody there. How odd, he thought, but then shrugged as he followed Ashoka and Madame Jocasta to where they could wait for security and the Jedi Masters.
A few minutes later, Alex was in the Holocron vault with Ashoka and the shapeshifter, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Master Yoda and Mace Windu. They were staring at the groups of glowing Holocrons in front of them.
Alex had never seen anything like these before. They were crystalline blue cubes with a design of two diamonds and a circle made of a bronze metal within each other on every side. On the corners were large triangular sections of the same metal.
They were all nestled together except for one, and the missing space in the wall of glowing squares sent alarm bells ringing in Alex's head.
Yoda voiced his thoughts aloud. "Hmm. Our war operations, it was never about."
Ashoka jerked the shapeshifter around, guiding her out of the Holocron vault. "Come on, changeling. We have a new home for you."
Alex waited so that he could walk next to Obi-Wan. He could tell that his Master was troubled. "What would someone want with a Holocron?" Obi-Wan mused.
As the group exited the vault, the sound of the shapeshifter's hissing voice sounded. "Wait!" Ashoka pulled up short, steering the shapeshifter around so that she was facing the Jedi Masters. "Bolla Ropal," the shapeshifter said.
Master Windu glanced at the shapeshifter with a calm mask on his face, but his voice was intrigued. "What did you say?"
"Bolla Ropal," the shapeshifter repeated. "That's who Cad Bane's next target is; some Jedi."
The Jedi Masters all looked at one another in concern. Alex was confused. He was about to ask who Bolla Roppal was when Anakin beat him to it. "What's wrong? Who's Bolla Ropal?"
Mace answered. "He is the keeper of the Kyber crystal, the data on which can only be read by Holocrons."
Alex definitely didn't like the sound of this news. If this Bane person had stolen a Holocron and he was going after Bolla Roppal….well, Alex doubted that Bane was just going to find the man to ask for a cup of tea and a chat.
Alex then got a confused look on his face. "Wait. I thought lightsabers were powered by Kyber crystals. How can one have information on it?"
Mace turned to him. "This is a special kind of crystal. It's called a Memory crystal."
Ashoka sounded worried when she asked, "What's on the crystal?"
Mace's response was grim. "A list of every known Force-sensitive child in the galaxy. The future younglings. The future of the Jedi Order."
Alex couldn't believe it. What would a thief want with a Holocron and a crystal of future Jedi? It didn't add up. Something wasn't right.
Obi-Wan looked at the group. "We have to warn him."
Mace sighed. "That's going to be hard to do. He's out of contact, somewhere in the Devaron system."
Alex didn't know what the Devaraon system was, but the fact that Roppal was out of contact was worrying. They had no way of telling the man that a dangerous person was coming to get the Kyber crystal.
Yoda spoke up. "Seek him out, you must."
Alex was waiting for Obi-Wan to say that he and Alex would leave to warn Roppal, but Anakin was the one that spoke up instead. "Ahsoka and I will set out immediately."
Obi-Wan took the shapeshifter from Ashoka, leading her away. He turned to speak with the others briefly. "If this Cad Bane is still here on Coruscant, Alex and I find him."
The group all went their separate ways, Alex following Obi-Wan and the shapeshifter toward the main doors of the Archives. As they went towards the front desk, Alex saw Madame Jocasta sitting there, seemingly trying to fend off a medical droid who was trying to look after her.
"I'm fine, thank you!" she said harshly to the droid. The droid finally got the hint and rolled off. She turned to the pair as they approached. "Master Kenobi, I think you should like to know that your Padawan was a huge help in the Archives while he was here. If you ever need to leave for a few days on a mission without him, feel free to send him my way to look after."
Obi-Wan bowed slightly to her, though he kept walking toward the main entrance. "Thank you, Master Jocasta. I'm happy to hear the Alex performed well in his task."
Madame Jocasta then turned to Alex, who paused to hear what else she obviously she had to say. "Thank you again for your help, young one. You know, I do believe that if we both search hard enough, we may be able to find the research on intergalactic space travel you were looking for. I will continue to look when I have the time and will let you know if I find anything."
Alex was surprised to hear that Madame Jocasta would continue the search, even if the reports were no longer there. "Thank you, Madame Jocasta. I appreciate it."
Obi-Wan was now nearly to the main doors of the Archives. "Padawan! We have to get this Clawdite to the authorities and then start our search for Cad Bane! We have no more time to waste!"
Alex turned to his master "Coming, Obi-Wan." He then nodded his head to Madame Jocasta. "Thanks again. See you later, Madame Jocasta." And with that, Alex bounded after his Master with just a little bit of hope sparking in his heart. Maybe he would find a way home after all.
