Tualin Oola

946 days ABG

Essie pushed the bin of flour back on the shelf; everywhere she looked she still missed him, although Jab kept her up to date on how he was, when he came to the gym.

The Captain was well.

It was the best she could hope for.

And Stone. That had been a mistake and she was kicking herself for it now; since that last morning she hadn't seen him.

She had worried that she would not be able to cope with going into the Cafe, with all the clones going in, more than nat borns now but she knew each clone was different, amazingly so. Both physically and temperamentally. She didn't blame Stone, he took his pleasures where he could, as did she for a few months.

Sometimes the voices, some low and gravelly, others in different accents depending on where they've spent the most time reminded her. All unfailingly polite.

"I want more." Del rushed into the industrial size pantry attached to the kitchen.

"More what? And say please." She corrected him.

"Cake." His little hands were frantically making grabbing actions.

Sol followed him in, "he's already had three," she said hearing his demand

Essie frowned, "How many?"

"He took one off the display without asking."

"Del. That was naughty, I….."

"Don't care. Want more cake." He was getting angry.

"No. And speak properly, you can. No more cake! You've already been naughty, behave or you're going straight to bed."

Del fixed her with a stare that could kill. Then let out a piercing scream before throwing himself to the floor, lying there beating it with his fists and kicking it with his feet, whilst screeching.

For the first time, in a long while, Essie was speechless and didn't know what to do.

"Del?" She started slowly.

She picked him up; he went rigid in her arms sliding down until she let him back down to the floor and he started again.

Essie was running out of ideas, unless she just left him, hoping he didn't hurt himself.

Rhia came to see what was happening. She watched the little boy on the floor; his face becoming redder and redder.

"Perhaps I could take him to the play area, to play ball?"

The screeching stopped as abruptly as it had started and he rolled over onto his back, face bright red but showing interest.

"Can I play ball?"

"Yes." Said Rhia, before Essie could confirm or deny it.

"Okay." Essie relented, against her better judgement. She wanted to threaten him if he was naughty again but let it go. "Fifteen minutes because then we have to go home. Okay?"

"Sir Yes sir." He had taken to addressing everyone as Sir. She thinks one of the clones had taught him to say that as she heard some sniggers. Del grinned at her, back to the normally lovely little boy he was and trotted after Rhia.

"Just like you." Muttered Sol, as she left the pantry.

Essie glared at her and followed her to the kitchen, picked up some pastries and took them to the display cabinet.

"What do you mean, just like me?"

"Is the sprog okay?" Asked a clone she didn't recognise.

She turned to answer him, "Yes. He's fine, thanks."

"Strong pair of lungs." He continued. She could see other clones obviously talking about it.

She straightened up. He was a good boy and healthy, and that was the main thing but Sol had still not answered her question. She followed her back into the kitchen.

"Sol, what did you mean just like me?"

Sol continued to ignore her until she lost patience with the questioning.

"He looked just like you did, when you used to have a tantrum."

"I didn't have tantrums!" Essie declared.

"No you didn't." She said mockingly, "Here put these back and get me this list of ingredients."

A box and list was pushed in her arms.

.

It was quiet now Rhia had taken Del out to play ball; he really needed more outside time which you can't get much in Coruscant. She would have to look for somewhere to take him and perhaps she needed to see if he wanted more friends over to play.

She shook herself realising she had stopped what she was doing. She pulled the large bag of sugar from the shelf to take to the preparation area for Sol.

Walking back into the shop she sensed anxiety, mainly from Rhia but she couldn't see Del.

"We were playing with the ball Mama," she sobbed, "Del ran for it then the man appeared and by the time I got there. He'd grabbed Del and was running."

Nat came running back into the shop, he'd shot out as soon as Rhia came rushing in crying.

"They're on a speeder. Essie! Get Ruby! It's out back!" He pushed the helmet into her stomach and pulled on some goggles.

She rushed out with him, adrenaline coursing through her veins all she had heard was 'He'd grabbed Del.'

"You drive!" Ordered Nat, "Are you up to it?" he asked having second thoughts; he'd taught her and she scared him with how fast she drove but they needed that now. He would be too slow, too cautious.

"Yes. Which way?" She'd already started it up. He strapped himself in, as they climbed almost straight up. He got on his com. He knew a lot of taxi drivers and put the details out there. Rax came back almost immediately with a sighting, he knew Del by sight and the speeder had nearly taken him out.

"Next level, right."

She put her toe down; Nat's stomach was left behind, as they climbed and swerved, narrowly missing speeders in their wake. He could never understand how she could do that.

"There!" It was in front of them heading towards the Spaceport. Essie accelerated again, he didn't think there was this much power in the old bike, Maze must have tinkered with it further.

They were breaking the speed limits but neither of them cared. Nat knew who had taken him, Rax had confirmed it. They all knew what he looked like. Nat had put the word out just in case. At the moment Essie didn't—yet.

He could hear sirens in the background.

Not now! He thought. Please, not now! They were actually gaining on the speeder.

Nat heard the amplified requests to stop and knew it was directed at them but Essie wasn't going to stop; he saw from how she hunched over the controls, there was no way she was going to stop.

She dipped the bike under the first Police Droid that suddenly appeared in front of them. Nat closed his eyes expecting an impact. They lost some speed but she cranked it up again, rising up looking to find the speeder before it reached the crowds going into the spaceport.

Suddenly there were three Police Droids, in a triangle in front of them; they had deployed an Enet for stopping criminals. Essie jammed the brakes on, cutting the power, the bike groaned with the strain on its old fuselage as it banked to avoid the droids and the net. They came to a stop, hovering inches from it. They would never have got past it; that would have been suicide.

She pulled off her helmet in frustration, watching the speeder disappear into the traffic heading into the spaceport, soon it was merging with all the rest and had all but disappeared.

Nat put his hands up and prompted Essie to do the same. He saw her raise her arms but her eyes never left the direction of the Spaceport, although the speeder had now disappeared totally from view.

The Police droid was saying something to her but all she could do was search frantically for the speeder her son was on.

.

Coruscant Guard HQ

Republic Executive Building.

Detention Wing

She lay staring at the ceiling from the hard, cold bunk but that was nothing compared to how Essie felt —empty. She had failed the most important person in her life.

She closed her eyes trying to use this bloody force thing to sense him.

She couldn't.

Were they hurting him?

Who had taken him and why?

It was dark now, the lights dimmed in the cell. They had released Nat and allowed him to visit her; he stood just outside the force field.

"You alright love?"

Stupid question Nat. He told himself.

She just looked at him, dark circles under her eyes. She looked devastated and she was. Sol was on her way.

"Rax saw him."

"How was he?" Her voice wavered.

Nat nodded, "He looked fine, frightened but alive and uninjured. He was with Giddean."

"Giddean?"

Giddean would not have been her first guess; he didn't know she even had a child. She had taken precautions to ensure that but she must have missed something become lax. Then it came back to her.

The Senate Nursery.

The Chancellor's visit.

The Holonews cameras.

They used it for propaganda.

"Essie? Are you okay?" The voice that asked her seemed very distant

Commander Stone entered the cell with a bottle of water. She sat up and held her arms out for him to remove the cuffs.

He shook his head. "Not until you calm down."

"I am calm."

"Essie….I'm your friend but you ….I've never seen you like that."

"He's my son."

"And Giddean Perrive is his Father."

"Pah! Maze had been more of a father than he has. He didn't even want me to have him. And how did you know that anyway."

"Nat."

"Oh."

"Is Nat in trouble?" She avoided looking at him

"No. He'll get a fine, but you….you attacked a police droid."

Essie took a deep breath. She was in trouble but that didn't matter, all that mattered was her son.

"Has he left the planet?"

"Not yet, we put a block on once Nat told us. He has Separartist connections so was on our watch list. I don't think he knew that."

"He's from Jabiim."

"We know."

"If he's a separatist. How did he even get in?"

Stone shrugged, "We think he had help."

Another Coruscant Guard entered and gave a message to Stone. He nodded.

"He was apprehended at the space port as a person of interest flagged up by SOB but he escaped. He definitely had help there. He's on the run now."

SOB could only mean Maze.

Would he even help now?

.

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

Jedi Quarters

General Zey's com link pinged; it didn't wake him, he wasn't asleep. He hadn't been able to sleep through the night for months now. He tried meditation and even that was getting more difficult; now he was trying that force forsaken brew called camomile tea. He forced himself to swallow it.

He opened up the com message. It was audio only. Unknown origin.

"Arligan?"

"Janyne?"

"I'm just coming into land on Coruscant and I need your help. Your Captain's actually."

"Jan…"

"Arligan. Can we meet? I'd rather talk in person. Neither Council should know I'm here."

"Neither?"

"First Knowledge."

"I thought the Council of First Knowledge had been merged into the Council?"

"You know it hasn't!"

"I'm not really in the loop anymore, not since Geonosis."

"It appears it's needed more than ever. Kenobi killed that Sith years ago, Maul, or didn't as the case may be. But now is not the time to discuss Jedi poltics. Can we meet?"

He sensed the urgency in her voice.

"Of course! ARCA Barracks?"

"I'll see you in your office in an hour."

Zey tipped the tea in the sink and headed for the shower, wondering what was so important she couldn't talk on the encrypted comlink. He was worried.

.

ARCA Barracks

Early morning.

"Janyne, it's good to see you but I would have preferred better circumstances."

"So would I."

"Why the secrecy?"

"This is personal."

"Janyne…." His tone held a hint of warning. They had been through this before, several times.

Personal for Janyne meant breaking the Jedi Code.

"I know but when have I actually totally adhered to the Code? A code which, although I can see the reasoning behind it, is totally against most sentients natural instincts. It just makes it so much easier to fall to the Dark side, whatever that is."

This had always been an argument for them over the years.

Zey sat down on one of the visitor's chairs, Janyne sat opposite.

"This…. What I am going to do is…. nothing like what Krell did, or Dooku or even Sifo-Dias, and yet I could be ostracised if I asked permission of the Council to pursue this matter and it's time sensitive."

"I have never known you do anything you could be ostracised for."

"Oh Arligan." She put a hand to his face, he could feel the callouses from her years of using a light sabre, from a child, just like him.

And here he was sending men to their deaths.

"My family."

Zey had never known his family and never wanted to, he had no memories of them, often thinking they had been dead by the time he came to the temple. He had been happy where he was but he knew Janyne had struggled with this. She vaguely remembered a baby sister, just before she was taken away. She remembered her mother being pregnant and looking forward to having a baby sister and then being torn away from them. When she was a Padawan she had disappeared for a while.

"Arli. I found them, my family, only my sister was left. This was years ago. I kept in touch sort of. When I could. She had a baby girl and then my sister and her husband were killed. My niece survived."

Janyne paused, debating her next words.

"Arli, she's Force sensitive. A good couple took her in and looked after her; they have done a good job. Better than I could."

"Go on."

"You've met her."

He thought of the young women he met.

Tur-Mukan?

Support Officer Loea.

Then it came to him.

"Essie Devro?"

Janyne nodded.

"I knew there was something familiar about her."

"You were always quick."

He rolled his eyes. The things he knew about and conveniently overlooked, he pushed those thoughts to one side.

"So what's the problem?"

Zey always wanted to do something that helped people, to see a result. What he trained for rather than continually fighting a war that seemed at times unwinnable.

"I was on Jabiim, the nationalists there are still very active and it turns out monitoring the Emperor's every move. Then three days ago, a man called Giddean Perrive left Jabiim on an unmarked ship. His whole family have been embroiled in the nationalist cause of Jabiim for generations and he has managed to land on Coruscant."

"Perrive?" He knew the name.

"Now he's kidnapped my great-nephew."

"Ms Devro's son?"

"Yes."

"I didn't know….but why?"

"He's the father but has never shown any interest and didn't want the child to be born. From what I've been told."

Zey felt an irrational surge of anger at that comment.

"Essie thought she had managed to keep my nephew's birth secret from him cutting all ties but he found out."

"And?"

She took a deep breath. "This faction of nationalists he belongs to have close links with Dooku and there is evidence that the Sith Lord behind the War is also interested in Force sensitives."

"Your niece!"

Janyne nodded. "She's not trained. She wouldn't be able to defend herself against….."

Zey grabbed her hands to comfort her.

"And she would go after her son, to protect him." Zey continued.

Janyne nodded.

"I can't let her down again but I need help."

"I'll get Captain Maze."

.

Maze woke to his comlink buzzing. He glanced at his chrono, it was early for the General.

"Maze here!"

"My office Captain as soon as you can."

"On my way Sir!"

He made a quick call to the fresher, pulled on his body suit and armoured up.

.

Maze walked into the General's office.

There was a visitor.

He stood to attention. "Sirs?"

"Caf over there Maze. Help yourself, we need your help."

Maze pulled off his helmet, poured his caf and sat at the space indicated by his General.

Anticipation bloomed in him. He had the feeling this was not a request for logistics or a requisition.

"What do you need sirs?"

.

Coruscant Guard HQ

Detention Wing.

Essie paced the cell. They were wasting time. Nat and Sol sat with her watching her walk back and forth .

"What is he doing?" She asked no one in particular, for what must have been the tenth time.

She headed back across the cell; wringing her hands.

"They know who's got him. Why aren't they finding him?" Again to no one in particular but this time Nat answered.

"Essie! Sit! Conserve your energy. We'll find him." Nat was worried, he had commed Maze but received no answer and he wasn't sure about this Commander Stone.

Finally she sat next to Sol, who wrapped her arm around her and kept her steady.

Nat heard the main doors open and voices. He recognised only the clones but there was another.

"Thank you Commander. Ms Devro will be secure in SOB's hands."

"Of course Sir. But she will have to wear this tracker device."

"Does she really need to —Commander Thire, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Even though she will be helping us with our enquiries."

"Regulations sir."

"Of course."

He took down the ray shield and entered.

Essie glared at him but held out her arms; she knew this was her way out and once out she could find her son in some way.

He clasped it on her wrist and set it up.

"It will monitor where you go. These are your list of restrictions."

Essie glared again, ignoring the list. She followed Nat and Sol out of the cell.

"Ms Devro. Good to see you again but I wish it was in better circumstances. Should we go to the Tualin Oola is it?" The Jedi asked.

"General Zey?"

"I have a speeder ready."

Within a few minutes they were on their way. Essie recognised Jab, who nodded as she sat in the back. Nat and Sol had taken their own.

"I'm sure you have lots of questions but all will be revealed when we reach the Cafe."

"I don't really care, so long as I get my son back."

She stared out of the window in silence.

Zey could feel the anger and fear radiating in her.

She would have been strong like her aunt.

.

Tualin Oola

Essie was speechless when she entered the back room, followed by Zey and Jab.

There was Maze and Stone, Sol and Nat and a female Jedi who she felt she should know.

The female Jedi walked towards her and flicked her fingers. "Let's get rid of that!"

The tracker jumped off her wrist and dropped to the floor; the Jedi bent down to pick it up, placing it on the counter. Commander Stone watched but said nothing. She adjusted it.

"There. Should show you as being here all the time now."

Essie radiated anger.

"What are you all doing here and who are you?" She asked, facing the New Jedi.

"We're here to help find Del?" Maze started the conversation.

"But who is she?" She pointed at the Jedi, fixating on her.

"Janyne Teral. I'm your Aunt."

Essie stared at her. Maze took a step forward but Nat held him back. He had expected her to be angry with him, not this Jedi.

"Well, you're a bit bloody late aren't you!"

She spun on her heels and headed towards the back room.