Chapter 17 - Ancient History

And there ain't nothing like regret

to remind you you're alive.

-X-

Anakin answered the door and was surprised by Obi-Wan's attire. "Wow, I haven't seen you wear civilian clothes in," he stopped to think, "well since we lived in the Lake Country."

"I can't go to Ossuss dressed as a Holy Man from Naboo. I figured as long as everyone else was buying new clothes and provisions, I should as well," Obi-Wan answered as he entered the Skywalker home with Ferus, Roan, Trevor and Keets behind him.

Ever the hospitable protocol droid, Threepio took everyone's coats and Trevor's travel case to the guest bedroom.

Ferus tossed the speeder key to Anakin. "Thanks again."

"No problem. Not a scratch on her, right?"

"She's fine. They let me drive," Trevor teased.

"There's an image," Anakin said jokingly.

They had spent the night in Theed, stocking up on supplies they would need for their missions. Roan and Keets also needed to lease their own ship to travel to Shili since Ferus and Obi-Wan would be using the one The Erased arrived on.

"Are you all hungry?" Anakin asked as he led them to the kitchen. "You're just in time for breakfast."

Trevor got to the buffet on the counter first. "I think I'm going to like living here," he said as he filled up his plate with vegetable omelets, bacon strips, and toast. He took a seat next to Leia. She was fascinated by the boy's blue hair and reached out to touch it with her hand. Seeing the soggy piece of toast she held, Trevor turned her highchair around and pushed it away. It floated towards her father.

Leia giggled with delight as the speed increased and her chair almost knocked into Luke's. The spectacle caused Threepio, who was placing a fresh pot of caff on the table, to nearly drop it in fright. Artoo whistled in alarm, ready to come to the twins' aide.

Anakin being closer and faster prevented the collision. Then he shot Trevor a look. That warning compelled Trevor to apologize.

By then every guest had filled their plates and taken their seats around the table.

"Should we wait for Padmé?" Keets asked.

"No. She'll be along in a minute with the younglings," Anakin answered.

As they ate in silence Obi-Wan studied Anakin, who was already on his second cup of caff. He would feed Luke a giant spoonful of something green and mushy, then take a giant gulp from his mug. He looked wired and exhausted at the same time. "Anakin, did you get any sleep?"

"Not much." Anakin didn't feel like elaborating that the younglings were afraid of the storm or that he spent most of the night compiling his list of parts for the Jocasta.

"I said you would never sleep again. I bet you didn't have s-" Trevor was cut off.

"You will not finish that sentence," Padmé demanded.

She walked in just in time with Sors and Jeswi holding her hands. Upon seeing Obi-Wan the younglings ran to him and he turned to give them his undivided attention.

"Master Kenobi!" they said in unison.

"We're going to your school," Sors said.

"Will you be teaching our class?" Jeswi asked.

Obi-Wan gave them a welcoming smile. "You should call me Brother Ben. I don't teach any classes but I'll come see you from time to time."

"We're getting new names too." Sors continued.

"Master Skywalker has to pretend to be our dad," Jeswi said, talking over Sors.

"Now, I'm Sean and she's Aeryn."

"And we have to say we're brother and sister. We have a whole new story to remember."

The younglings rambled on as Trevor looked over to Ferus and Roan. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets and he was shaking his head in distress. They just silently laughed at him.

Padmé set two plates on the table. "Okay, you two. Let Ben finish his breakfast and start eating yours." The children took their seats and eagerly dug in.

Anakin stood up and gave his seat to Padmé at the cramped table. She turned to Luke and said, "Oh my little prince. Look at you. Daddy sure made a mess." Luke smiled without a care in the world that his face was covered in smashed peas.

"I'll clean him up," Anakin said as he lifted his son into his arms and left the kitchen.

Padmé pulled Leia's chair closer to her and cleaned up the bread crumbs on her table. Then, much to Leia's annoyance, she wiped away any baby food from her face that Anakin had missed. Once she was satisfied that her daughter looked presentable she started eating her breakfast.

"Good morning, everyone," Padmé said. Her guests returned the greeting.

"So everything is all set at their new school?" Keets asked, bring the subject back to the younglings.

"Not yet. It will be in a few more days, I hope. One of the queen's handmaidens is an accomplished slicer and is in the process of creating new ID docs for them. Along with the new identification is their story; they have come to live with their father, Den Mercer, after their mother died," Padmé answered.

"Padmé can't pretend to be our mom because she's famous on Naboo," Jeswi announced. Padmé smiled at the girl, glad to know that she was practicing the cover story.

Trevor cut in, "Why is it taking so long? I could slice that in half the time."

"The queen and her handmaidens are overwhelmed at the moment. There are issues with rebuilding the homes and businesses that were destroyed on Apulia Island during the hurricane. Just coming out of a galactic war, Naboo has labor and supply shortages. Queen Apailana and the regional governors want to reach out to our allies in the Chommell sector to negotiate a trade of goods and laborers. Many of the new Moffs have stonewalled them and brought in Imperial aid. The queen is trying to regain democratic rule of Naboo without it looking like an outright rebellion. Therefore, slicing into the databases of Naboo and creating new IDs is not a priority."

"Let me do it," Trevor pleaded.

Padmé looked unsure. Having Trevor's help to rebuild the Jocasta and devise an escape plan was one thing. It was a different story when it came to breaking into the databases of Naboo to add birth records for the younglings, grade transcripts from another school, and then also create a fake trail for their "recently deceased mother." She hadn't known him that long and wasn't sure she could trust his abilities, but she knew she could trust the queen to deliver. Her people had created the identity of Den Mercer after all.

"You can trust Trevor," Ferus said. "I taught him everything I know."

The boy scoffed, "I taught you a few things."

Still in senator mode, Padmé chose her words very carefully, "I appreciate the offer, but the queen will not allow an outsider to slice into our database."

"She doesn't have to k-," Trevor started to say.

Ferus interrupted him, "That's completely understandable."

Anakin returned to the kitchen with Luke in his arms. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Not really," Obi-Wan said. "We should get going." The Erased agreed.

"I will retrieve your coats," Threepio said as he shuffled out of the kitchen.

-X-

Thousands of years ago the Great Jedi Library was located on a hill in the Eocho Mountains of Ossuss. This provided a great advantage for Obi-Wan and Ferus. They could remain unseen in the mountains as they observed the Imperial archeologists in the valley.

This reconnaissance was not exciting. Over the course of several days they watched the teams of sentient beings and droids dig and dig some more. Sometimes items were catalogued and put in a crate.

The Library had been a massive complex, spanning many buildings. It held relics from four different eras of history: Pre-Hyperdrive, Pre-Republic, Early Republic, and Mature Republic. Dangerous and restricted materials were located underground in the Chamber of Antiquities.

Over the course of three thousand millennia many excavations had taken place, but they never got very far since they would run out of grant money. Only a small fraction of the Library had been uncovered. These Imperial archeologists were aiming to reach the Chamber of Antiquities and it would take them years to uncover it, even with the help of droids. However, Obi-Wan and Ferus doubted they would run out of funding.

"We're not going to learn anything of importance from up here," Ferus said with frustration. Through his macrobinoculars he was watching the transports that served as the offices for the archeologist. "We need to get inside. Slice through their computers and see what they have found. What they are looking for."

When Obi-Wan didn't answer he looked over to see the Jedi Master staring at one of the two the moons. This was not the first time Ferus saw him do this. "Are you ok? You've been distracted."

"I feel as though someone has been tapping me on the shoulder and then running away," Obi-Wan explained.

Ferus looked up at the moon then back at Obi-Wan. Whatever Obi-Wan was sensing, he could not feel it. "Friendly?"

"I don't know. I don't sense malice, just…curiosity, perhaps," Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "I think you're right that watching from here is useless. We need to rethink our strategy."

"Then we might as well head back to the hotel. No sense in freezing our butts off on this mountain for no reason."

-x-

Ferus walked into Obi-Wan's bedroom and found him sitting cross legged on the floor and meditating. He didn't want to disturb a Jedi Master when he was in a trance, so he decided he would just leave a note.

"Yes, Ferus?" Obi-Wan called as he walked away.

"I'm heading to the cantina," Ferus said. "A lot of the archeologists go there and maybe I can overhear their conversations. That way I can figure out how we can get into their offices."

Obi-Wan kept his eyes closed. "I'll join you shortly."

-x-

Ferus had been sitting at the bar for a while, slowly nursing his second drink. The cantina, called Five O'Clock Somewhere, was the only one in the town of Eocho and therefore it was packed. It was also the end of the work week.

Ferus recognized some of the Imperial archeologists from the dig site at the other end of the bar. To his dismay he came too late to sit any closer to eavesdrop. That didn't matter much because they were pretty loud and not talking shop.

There were ten of them, out of their Imperial uniforms, and sharing a pitcher of something intoxicating. One of them, a man kept looking over at Ferus while talking to his female colleague.

The bartender, an older human woman with salt and pepper hair, came over to Ferus with a third drink.

"Oh, I didn't order," Ferus explained.

She cut him off, "From the gentleman over there." She pointed to the young Imperial, who was smiling shyly and waving.

Ferus accepted the drink and making eye contact with the man, lifted it in acknowledgement.

The man walked over and took the recently vacated seat next to Ferus. "I'm Allen."

"Malcolm," Ferus lied as he shook his hand.

"I don't make a habit of buying strangers' drinks, but my friend told me to go for it. And I'm tipsy enough that I'm feeling bold."

"I'm glad you did. Thank you."

"Haven't seen you around before. What brings you to Ossuss? It's not exactly a tourist destination."

"I'm a travel journalist," Ferus watched as Allen's brown eyes lit up with surprise. "Well, trying to be. I write about places off the beaten path."

"This place certainly defines that."

Before Allen could ask him other questions about his fake career Ferus asked, "What brings you to Ossuss?"

"I'm sure you've seen that big dig site. I'm one of the archeologists."

Ferus sat up straighter and turned to him with interest. With excitement in his tone he asked, "What's there?"

Allen hesitated and Ferus could sense he was weary of what he could share. "It used to be a library. It was destroyed 3,000 years ago. Not many artifacts survived. It was the beginning of the digital age so they kept most of the records on scrolls and hand written books back then. It would be a miracle if any of that survived. There were some remnants of statues, and furniture."

"That's amazing. Can I write about that in my article? That would attract visitors. You could turn it into a museum!"

Allen laughed. His smile was bright and wide. "You're going to have to wait on that. Not until we publish our paper first."

"Fair enough," Ferus said with a smile.

They talked for some time. Ferus asked more questions about the excavation and Allen gave vague answers. In turn he also made up travel adventures that "Malcolm" went on.

Their pleasant conversation came to an end when one of Allen's colleagues approached them. "Who's your friend?"

"Ian, this is Malcolm," Allen said. "Malcolm, this is Ian."

Ian scrutinized Ferus. His eyes seemed to linger on the silver streak of his hair. Then he turned to Allen, "We're going over to the capital to check out the cantinas there. Are you coming?"

"I think I'll stay here," Allen said with a twinkle in his eye as he kept his gaze on Ferus.

"You should go," Ferus said. He felt guilty after he saw the look of disappointment on Allen's face. However, he was a married man, and a perfect opportunity had presented itself.

Ferus explained, "I have to head back to my hotel and pack. I'm taking an early shuttle in the morning. Plus, I have a deadline for my article. Sorry."

"Well, at least let me give you my comm channel," Allen said. "That way if you come back to Ossuss you can let me know. We'll be here for quite awhile."

"Sure, sounds great." Ferus gave Allen his data pad to type in his info. Ferus could feel a tsunami of jealousy as Ian's eyes bore into him. Ferus just gave him a smirk, which angered Ian even more.

As Ferus watched Allen leave the cantina with the rest of his group, Obi-Wan joined him at the bar. He was shaking his head.

"It was just harmless flirting to gather information," Ferus explained.

"You lead him on. You took his contact information."

"Correction," Ferus held up a finger, "I took his fingerprints and the encryption codes of his key card."

Obi-Wan was impressed. "Alright. That was a good plan."

-x-

The site was deadly quiet, except for the wind coming from the mountains and moving into the valley.

The only illumination came from the stars. Both of the planet's moons had set, so Ferus and Obi-Wan were using night vision goggles to navigate the ruins. Heavens forbid they fall into a giant pit or run into the security droids.

Luckily the makeshift offices were on the outskirts of the excavation. Ferus walked up to the door and used a copy of the electronic key he stole. The door opened without alarm.

They were still going in blind. While Ferus had managed to get Allen's fingerprints, if the computers needed a retina scan or a passcode then it would take longer to slice into.

"Ok, I got this. Keep a lookout," Ferus whispered.

Obi-Wan went to stand by the door and kept his senses aware of their surroundings.

The computer terminal did require a passcode. It took ten minutes for Ferus to break in, and once he did he immediately began copying the files.

There were packing lists of the artifacts they found. Just as Allen had mentioned, they were mostly broken pieces of statues of the Jedi Masters. What he did not mention were the pieces of ancient weapons, the precursor to the lightsaber.

Digging deeper Ferus found their mission from the Emperor himself. They were looking for holocrons from Jedi Masters, as well as datacrons and holodiscs.

Ferus didn't want to waste time reading it all at the moment. He could examine the files in detail later. What did catch his eye though was a message from another excavation team labeled "top secret and off the record." Ferus opened it.

Imperial archeologists were studying the Massassi Temple on Yavin IV when they discovered a mysterious energy source coming from a tomb. The team was ordered to leave immediately.

This part of the message was off the record. It was rumored that shortly after they evacuated the Emperor and Lord Avel went to the tomb themselves.

Ferus stiffened in his seat.

"What's wrong?" Obi-Wan whispered in alarm.

"I'll tell you later." Ferus looked at the percentage of files copied. "Five more minutes and we can leave."

-x-

It wasn't until Ferus and Obi-Wan were safely in their hotel room that they read through the specifics. The archeologists were instructed to find any artifacts relating to alchemy.

"Alchemy? Why alchemy?" Ferus said as he kept reading.

Obi-Wan kept reading the top secret message over and over again. "The Great Jedi Library and the Massassi Temple do have a common link."

It had been a long time since Ferus had taken a Jedi history class so he thought back on his studies. There were thousands of years to cover and so students often learned the basic overview of past eras and wars. If a youngling or Padawan desired to learn more about a specific part of history, the Jedi Archives was there to provide information. Only Padawans who went on to become historians or archivists bothered to remember every single detail.

"I remember that the Massassi Temple was constructed around the same time that the Library was destroyed." Ferus was annoyed with himself for forgetting so much that he had learned as a youngling. He strived to be the perfect Padawan and excelled in all his studies. He never wanted to disappoint Master Siri, or the Jedi Council.

He felt like he was failing them now because he was struggling to remember.

To jog his memory Obi-Wan gave him a hint, "What do you remember about Exar Kun?"

"He was a Jedi Knight who fell to the dark side. He founded the Brotherhood of the Sith."

"His fall led to the Great Sith War. He attacked the Great Library here on Ossuss. He was looking for Sith secrets hidden by the Jedi."

Ferus snapped his fingers in sudden recollection. "He enslaved the Massassi people and used Sith alchemy on them. Obi-Wan, you don't think -"

"The Wookiees? The slaves the Rodians released?" Obi-Wan sighed heavily before he continued, "We can't jump to conclusions without solid proof. Right now all we have is a hunch and a lead."

Ferus shook his head and sighed. "Anakin is going to be enraged."

Obi-Wan looked worried. "I suppose I should be the one to tell him."

Ferus wanted to wish him luck, because he was going to need it, but he knew Obi-Wan did not believe in luck. Instead he asked, "Why use alchemy on the slaves?"

Obi-Wan turned off the screen of the data pad. "Exar Kun used it to make the Massassi more obedient and faster workers. They built the Temples on Yavin IV in his honor."

"I'm afraid to even ask it out loud. Is it possible the Emperor is building something?"

"A Sith Lord is ruling the galaxy. Anything is possible," Obi-Wan said with dismay.

Ferus tapped his finger on his knee as he absorbed everything. "Maybe we should check out Yavin IV on the way back to Naboo?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "First we must stop at Nerit."

"The moon you've been staring at?" Ferus asked, perplexed.

-x-

Obi-Wan felt like the visions from his meditation had come to life as he and Ferus walked through the forest. They were weaving between ancient trees that were thousands of feet high. The canopy of leaves sheltered them from the sun's rays. The moss under their feet silenced the sound of their boots.

The wildlife was not frightened. The birds called to one another in the trees. Insects buzzed all around. Animals scurried on the ground and up in the branches.

Obi-Wan followed the pull he felt towards the center of the maze and moved right and left until he saw the funeral pyre and a single tree beside it that looked different from the rest of the native flora.

"Hello, T'ra Saa," Obi-Wan said.

The tree shifted. Lower branches formed into arms, hands and fingers. The trunk reshaped into the body of a woman wearing brown Jedi robes. The upper branches remained as brown coils of hair but where they converged there was a knot of bark that slowly transformed into a face with no nose and full lips. When her yellow eyes snapped open T'ra Saa said, "Welcome to Nerit, Master Kenobi." She then focused on the man behind him and bowed her head, "Ferus Olin."

"Master Saa," Ferus responded with a bow.

"What are you doing here?" Obi-Wan asked.

T'ra looked at the funeral pyre. "Sitting vigil at Tholme's grave."

Like many of the Jedi, Obi-Wan knew of her close friendship with Jedi Master Tholme. Some believed they were in love. Obi-Wan wasn't sure, but perhaps her being here meant it was true. The list of Jedi fugitives recored Master Tholme as alive. That intel was outdated. "What happened?"

T'ra could not take her eyes away from the pyre. "He died of his injuries after we escaped Kashyyyk. We were rescuing Quinlan."

"I'm sorry."

T'ra shook her head and her brown tendrils uncoiled. She sighed and then opened her yellow eyes to address Obi-Wan, "Why are you here?"

"Following a lead. Have you felt the disturbance on Ossuss?"

She gave a single nod. "They have disturbed the resting place of many Jedi. As well as my deep meditation."

"They won't be leaving anytime soon," Ferus said.

T'ra gave a short grunt and began to stretch. She had not been in her human form for some time and felt stiff and disjointed. "What lead are you following?" she asked.

She worked her muscles as she listened to Obi-Wan and Ferus explain what led them to Ossuss and what they had found. They started with Jin-Lo and the Agents of Ossuss, then discussed their recon mission and their suspicion about the alchemical connection between The Great Library and the Massassi Temple.

"We'll be going to Yavin VI next to see what brought Darth Sidious and Lord Avel there," Obi-Wan said.

T'ra dropped her foot she was holding behind her. Something about their story was calling her to ask, "This new apprentice. Who is he?"

"He used to be a Padawan. Darrous Emerson."

"Oh, burning stars," she said exasperated, but without surprise. Being over one hundred and fifty years old T'ra Saa had seen many things and had known many Jedi over her lifetime. She went to sit with Obi-Wan and Ferus on a giant log. "It was a sad situation. There were secrets about his family that the Jedi Council should have never kept."

"Barriss said his master died while they were on a mission. Instead of being reassigned he left the Order," Obi-Wan said.

"Because of what his master told him with his dying breath, that his mother was also a Jedi."

Obi-Wan was skeptical but knew her memory was longer than his. "How is that possible?"

"His mother was a young Jedi named Michaela Emerson. She was newly knighted when she had an affair with the senator from Sorenno. When she became pregnant he wanted nothing to do with her and refused to acknowledge his child."

Seeing that Obi-Wan and Ferus were stunned to the point of speechlessness she continued, "Of course the whole ordeal was complicated for the Jedi Order. Michaela asked for a special dispensation that she could raise her child at the Temple, and was denied. The Jedi Council felt that Michaela would have formed an attachment and so would the child. So the Council made a deal with Michaela. She would leave the Order and they would help her start her life over. And her son, Darrous, would be raised by the Jedi."

"This sounds…unbelievable," Obi-Wan said unsteadily.

"I assure you it's true. Master Ethnori, he was her former master, he brought her to Alderaan. He stayed with her until her son was born. While Michaela was pregnant she entered a university to study alchemy and biochemistry. When you mentioned alchemy that bothered me."

"Why?"

T'ra sighed. "Years later, Master Ethnori chose Darrous to be his Padawan, much earlier than most younglings start their apprenticeship. Just as he did with Michaela, Ethnori went on missions with Darrous looking to use alchemy to restore agriculture that was destroyed by war or natural occurrences. Or they would help villages restore the water supply that was poisoned by chemical plants. I don't know all the details but there was some kind of chemical explosion. Master Ethnori's injuries were fatal. Despite the Council's gag order his master told Darrous the truth."

"What compelled him to do such a thing?"

T'ra shrugged. "Guilt? Love? Maybe a promise he made to Michaela? Whatever the reason Darrous knew the truth and he returned to the Temple with hatred and anger. Honestly, who could blame him? He found out he'd been lied to his whole life. I went to console him in his grief and I offered to become his new master, but he said he was leaving the Order."

"Where did he go?" Ferus asked.

"I suspected he either went to Alderaan to find his mother or he went to Sorreno to find his father. I reached out because I wanted to help him but he would not answer my messages. It took some time but eventually I tracked down Michaela. She confirmed that he was with her and said to just let him be."

After a moment of silence to absorb her tale Ferus asked, "How long ago did this happen?"

"He left the Order a few years before The Battle of Geonosis. He was fifteen at the time."

Obi-Wan and Ferus look at each other. "It makes sense why Darth Sidious would want Avel as an apprentice since he's proficient in alchemy," Obi-Wan said out loud what they were all thinking.

"Whatever the Sith are planing we're going to need to find more Jedi that survived. Is Quinlan with his clan on Kiffar?" Ferus asked.

"You will not find Quinlan on Kiffar. It's too dangerous and he has a wife and son to protect. They constantly move around the galaxy."

Obi-Wan thought back to the Jedi Council's dossiers about Quinlan's undercover mission. "Did Khaleen become his wife?"

T'ra nodded. "After we rescued him. Their son was born shortly after the end of the war. Tholme and I hid her while Quinlan was fighting on Saleucami and Kashyyyk."

"Who's Khaleen?" Ferus asked.

T'ra explained, "She was a Separatist agent sent by Dooku to spy on Quinlan while he was undercover for the Jedi Order as Dooku's acolyte. She fell in love with Quinlan and became his agent instead."

Ferus shook his head. He was disturbed to hear that Quinlan went undercover and could only imagine the dark deeds he committed while working for Dooku. He also remembered when Padmé told him that Anakin was asked to spy on the chancellor. It broke his heart to learn of how far the Jedi had fallen.

"It's not something to be proud of but it was war, Ferus," she explained.

Obi-Wan brought the conversation back to the relevant issue. "Does Quinlan ever come to Nerit?"

"He has promised to come back and visit. Do you have a message for him?"

Obi-Wan pulled out a goddess statue carved from a seashell from the shores of Naboo. The Holy Order had given the statue to him when he became a Brother. Obi-Wan hid it within the charred wood of Tholme's pyre. An object made from the sea was out of place in the forest setting. When the statue would come into Quinlan's possession he would be able to 'read' Obi-Wan's message through his psychometric power.

"I'll make sure he gets it," she said.

"You're not coming with us?" Ferus asked, surprised. He didn't want to be rude or insensitive, but how long did she intend to keep her vigil?

Standing up she walked to the spot where they had found her. "I must return to my meditation." Turning she gave Obi-Wan a slight, mischievous smile, "An old friend and I are looking for Tholme."

"An old friend?" Obi-Wan was perplexed.

"Qui-Gon," she answered.

"He did it?" Obi-Wan gave a look of surprise, "He found a way to retain his consciousness. But how did you find him?"

"I thought I could find Tholme in the Netherworld. So I entered a deep meditation that's very close to death. It was while I was in that state that Qui-Gon found me."

Obi-Wan chuckled and shook his head with astonishment and glee.

"Would you like to see him again?" T'ra asked.

Obi-Wan was taken back. "Of course, but I don't know if I can meditate that deeply."

"I know I can't," Ferus murmured. "I haven't meditated since I was a Padawan."

T'ra put up her hands to reassure them. "You won't have to. I have to so I can enter the Netherworld to find Tholme. But we won't have to meditate at all for Qui-Gon to communicate with us." She looked over her shoulder and right before their eyes the blue, translucent figure of Qui-Gon Jinn materialized.

Ferus gave a nervous laugh as he realized he just witnessed a ghost appear.

Obi-Wan walked up to his former master and looked into his eyes. He looked the same as he had that day on Naboo. "It's good to see you, Master."

"It's good to see you, Obi-Wan."

"How did you do it?"

"I can teach you." Qui-Gon smiled.

Author's Note: Lyrics from 'The Difficult Kind' by Sheryl Crow.