Korono was a place humming with outer rim culture. Though the landscape was nothing more interesting than endless planes of mud and brown grass the cities were splashes of beauty: filled with coloured cloth and captivating beaded ornaments. Anakin found the architecture a little too similar to Tatooine for his taste, though the buildings were taller and made of a darker sort of mud.
The refugees were to be integrated in a spread out fashion, small groups being sent to every corner of the globe. Where to start looking for Ahsoka would have seemed a hopeless question to ask, had the planet not only hosted two spaceports. One of these was much larger than the other, being located in Korono's capital city. This was where the refugee ship had dropped them off, and in the force Anakin felt that he would not have to look far to find the location of his vision.
They gave the authorities the slip soon after touching down, not wanting to end up on one of the land transports which would have taken them to the middle of nowhere. Anakin and Obi-wan disagreed on their first course of action. Anakin wanted to find the exact location of his vision, and Obi-wan thought it would be wiser to search the space port for any information on the zygerrians. It was only after a calm suggestion from Padme that they realized they could do both at once. She offered to stay with Obi-wan, and Rex accompanied Anakin out into the city. They left Artoo with Obi-wan and Padme as well. He'd been powered down for the duration of their flight there, and was still rebooting some of his systems.
There were a few main streets wide enough for vehicles, but the majority of the city was snaking alleys which seemed to have been built with no pattern in mind. The ground and buildings were the same hard packed dirt, and as the wind whistled through the streets some of it blew up into Rex and Anakin's faces.
"I really wish I had my helmet right now," said Rex, tilting his hat as far down as he could, over his eyes.
"You think this is bad you should try living on a planet covered in sand," said Anakin. "Nowhere is safe from it."
Despite his initial impression, as they walked aimlessly through the city, Anakin came to the realization that Korono was a happier place than Tatooine. It felt lighter in the force, and there was a source of live music on almost every block. Every once in a while a group of alleys would meet in a small communal plaza with a fountain in the center. People filled water jugs, and children played. There were too many smells to identify: food coming from the various eating establishments, and the different incenses the people of the planet seemed to favour so heavily.
The third plaza of this kind that they came across was slightly larger than those before it. Anakin had decided that the best way to find where Ahsoka would have gone was to think like her. A large entranceway lead into a restaurant which seemed to serve only one dish: some sort of fried meet. In the corner, one man played a melody on some sort of stringed instrument which he plucked in his lap.
Rex was hungry so they decided to eat as well, but Anakin had come here to ask a question. They waited at the counter for the alien to bring them their bowls of food.
"Excuse me," Anakin said, as she set them down in front of them, "but is there anything like a hostel nearby? Somewhere we could stay for a couple of nights?"
"It's a bit of a walk," she said, "but T'sto will put you up real cheap."
She gave them direction which followed the main roads, knowing that offworlders would get lost in the twisting streets of the neighbourhoods. They ate quickly before departing. Though Rex tried to carry a conversation, Anakin barely spoke. His demeanor was different than it had been on the refugee ship: intense and focused only on the task at hand.
After Anakin and Rex had departed from the space port, the first thing Padme and Obi-wan had done was find an eating establishment themselves. Though the one Obi-wan lead them towards was seedier in nature. It was part saloon part diner, a hangout for the pilots who did not know the planet and did not wish to venture out into the city. It was also sure to be a den of criminal activity; the perfect place to gather information.
A wind whipped through the spaceport, pulling dust off of the hard packed ground and into Padme's face. She wore a loose shall over her hair, and pulled up part of it to cover her mouth and nose, while carefully stepping over the large pile of animal dung which lay before her. Artoo whistled loudly, swerving abruptly and almost knocking her over.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" she asked, peering at Obi-wan out of the corner of her eye.
He understood, despite her lack of elaboration. "This place reminds you of Tatooine?"
"In a strange way. Maybe it's being here with you and Anakin, maybe it's this dirt blowing in my eyes, but every time I turn to look at you I'm half expecting to see you clean shaven with a Padawan braid."
"Nothing ever changes, and yet everything does." They'd stopped in the shadow of the saloon, the building sheltering them from the wind. "These planets are no different than they were all those years ago, but I am no longer a Padawan, and you are no longer a queen."
"And the galaxy is no longer at peace," Padme muttered, as if talking to herself.
"True. But does this dirt know any different? Does this wind? Empires rise and fall but the galaxy continues to exist, as does the force. When it all gets to be too much, I remember that."
She smiled at him, hoping he knew how much his words really meant. Ever since she'd know him Obi-wan had always been a calming presence, and as a Jedi master she respected him immensely.
They were forced to leave Artoo outside when they entered the bar. Sitting down they ordered only food. The night before last they'd drank enough to last them for quite some time. They needed to be alert and listening. Small metal dishes hung near the ceiling, incense smoldering in every one. A thin cloud of smoke hung above everyone's heads. Near the back of the room a group of weequay threw knives at a target.
"You're right, you know," Obi-wan said, looking almost as if he was suppressing a laugh. "Now that you've said it I can't shake the déjà vu. Maybe we should ask around about local pod racing, see if Anakin's still any good."
He'd clearly been joking, but a strange look had fallen across Padme's face.
"What is it?"
"Oh," she shook herself, "it's nothing. Just… he was so young. He was so tiny when I met him. It's just… it's just weird…"
Obi-wan was watching her as she trailed off, an eyebrow raised. When she did not say anything more he turned his attention to the weequay across the saloon.
Eating the last spoonful of the strange porridge they'd ordered, he said, "I think I'll go make some new friends."
As he swaggered towards the pirates, Padme couldn't help but sigh. This was bound to be trouble. Jedi were all the same. He had his methods, and she had hers. She ate slowly, scanning the saloon. She might not have had the force, but if there was one thing Padme was good at it was reading people. Most of these people were just passing through. If she wanted to find information she had to talk to a local.
Her eyes settled on an aged man on the other side of the circular counter. His cloak was covered in the dust of this place, and he greeted the bartender like he knew him. Padme caught his eye, and gave him a warm smile. He nodded at her respectfully before turning to his drink, and the pastry he'd bought. Lies could only get one so far. Sometimes it payed to be straightforward.
Walking over to him, Padme said, "I'm very sorry to bother you, but I'll buy you a round if you'll sit and listen to me for a few moments."
The man looked her up and down suspiciously, but there was a kind crinkle beside his eyes. "Alright, sit down. I'm not one to refuse a beautiful lady such as yourself."
She settled onto the stool beside him.
"So, what business could you possibly have with someone like me?" he asked, taking a long sip of the warm alcoholic beverage in front of him.
"Well, I take it you're from around here, and I'm actually on Korono looking for someone: a friend of mine."
On the other side of the bar, Obi-wan was showing off.
"You cheated," snarled one of the weequay. One of his arms was badly bandaged and held across his chest in a sling.
"How so?" Obi-wan asked, twirling one of the throwing knives in his hand. "How about this? Double or nothing. I'll even play with my eyes closed. Any of you up to the challenge?"
There was a chorus of laughter and trash talk from the pirates, indicating that they would take his bet. He really had no intention of taking their money. Once he won, he'd allow them to settle their debt by buying him a friendly round of drinks.
Padme watched them with amusement as the man, whose name she'd learned was Zero, thought.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I've heard anything about a togruta girl. I definitely haven't seen one. It's a big port. A lot of people pass through."
Padme bit her lip. There was another detail she could give the man, but it risked giving Zero more information about them than she was completely comfortable with. However they were in Separatist space already, and people said all sorts of things around bars like these.
Lowering her voice, Padme said, "she used to be a Jedi Padawan. She was exiled from order only a few months ago."
Zero's sharp intake of breath gave him away. His eyes had gone to her waist and she knew what he was looking for. She shook her head slowly.
"I'm not."
With impeccable timing, Obi-wan chose that moment to sink a knife into the center of a target from across the saloon, with his eyes closed. Padme winced, then looked up to meet Zero's fearful gaze.
"Please… if you know anything. She's just a child, out there alone in the galaxy."
There was a long pause before Zero spoke. "There has been talk of the Jedi girl. A couple of this place's less savoury customers allegedly sustained injuries from her, and they were loud about it. Once word got out it traveled fast. Drunks like to talk."
Zero wasn't looking at her. Instead he was staring across the bar at Obi-wan and the weequay. One of them had an arm in a sling. Another's spiny head was bandaged.
"You don't mean…?" Padme gasped.
On the other side of the bar, Obi-wan absorbed the weequay's death threats like well earned praise. It meant they liked him, he was making progress. The one with the bandaged head had just agreed to buy him a drink, when he felt Padme looking at him. She was sitting beside an older gentlemen, and when he met her eyes she beckoned for him to come closer.
"Just one moment, gentlemen," Obi-wan said. "I'll be right back with you. And there better be a drink waiting here for me."
As the Jedi master walked towards them, Zero stiffened fearfully. He did not wish to be sucked into what was clearly about to happen. Padme touched him reassuringly on the shoulder.
"What is it?" Obi-wan asked, in a quiet voice.
"I think you should ask your new friends how they got their injuries. I hear that they've seen Ahsoka, and that the run-in was less than cordial."
When Obi-wan walked back over to the pirates, his expression no longer friendly.
"Show me your arm."
He grabbed hold of the pirate's shoulder firmly, ripping through the thin sling.
"What the crick? Why?"
"Show me your arm," Obi-wan repeated, this time with a slight movement of his hand, and prod with the force. "I want to see how you got it."
The pirate nodded vacantly, and allowed Obi-wan to unwrap some of the bandages.
The cut went all the way through the muscle, almost to the bone. The cauterization of the wound made it clear it had been caused by a lightsaber.
"You're going to tell me exactly how this happened," said Obi-wan, threatening but calm. "Don't spare any detail."
"He's not telling you anything," hissed another one of the pirates, "and don't you even try to mess with my mind. I saw what you did there, Jedi."
There was a blaster in his hand, pointed directly at Obi-wan's chest. He began to back away, gesturing for the other weequay to follow him. As he rounded the bar, Padme stuck out her leg. He'd been so focused on Obi-wan the pirate hadn't noticed, and he pitched backwards, crashing to the floor. Obi-wan pulled the blaster from his hand with the force, sending it skidding across the ground like it had happened naturally.
But there were five pirates, all of them armed. Two pulled their friend roughly from the ground, and one fired a single shot in Obi-wan's direction. He dodged easily, but they were already at the door. Grabbing the blaster off the ground, he pursued them. There was a hovercar and two speeders waiting outside. In a full out sprint, Obi-wan aimed for the fuel tank on the car. The force guided his hand, and his aim was true.
There was a small explosion, and the pirates were knocked backwards.
"I just want to talk to you!" Obi-wan yelled in frustration, as they fired back at him. "Stop this."
He was forced to dive behind a delivery cart for cover.
They piled onto the speeders, two on one and three on the next. Those who weren't driving faced backwards, guns in hand. The one with the injured arm sat squished in the middle of the three person speeder.
"Oh no you don't," Obi-wan muttered.
The spaceport was a busy place, and the pirates were forced to dodge through a maze of vehicles and animals unloading cargo. Obi-wan leapt on top of the delivery cart, then propelled himself up onto the slanting overhang of a nearby building. Now on the rooves, Obi-wan was able to cut them off, as they drove around the block of buildings.
He dropped down, balancing perfectly on the handlebars of the lead speeder. His robe blocked the pirates view completely, and they swerved back and forth as they fought for control of the steering. Before the pirate on the back of the bike could fire, Obi-wan used the force to pull the blaster from his hand. They were moving so fast he had no chance of retrieving it, and it fell to the ground far behind them.
"I know it was the zygerrians who took her." Even balanced on the front of a speeding bike Obi-wan was attempting to negotiate. "All I needed was information. Why make this so difficult?"
All the weequay did was snarl at him. The other speeder had pulled ahead of them. Obi-wan could feel the danger in the force, but he had to twist awkwardly to see the gun being aimed at him. Dodging the blasts unbalanced him, and he was forced to leap from the handlebars.
They had been traveling alongside a magtrain, which still moved very slowly in the bustle of the spaceport. Obi-wan grabbed hold of a ladder on its side, and launched himself onto the roof. The speeders were moving faster than the train, and he had to run to keep pace with them.
He'd managed to keep a hold of the blaster, and now he fired at the engines of the bikes. He hated the inelegant weapon, but right now it was practical. He was too focused on running and dodging to have any hope of concentrating long enough to use the force to stop the vehicles.
All this time, Padme had not been idle. She'd followed Obi-wan and the pirates from the bar, staying in the doorframe to avoid the blaster fire. When they took off on the speeders, Artoo beeped frantically at her.
"No," she said, "we're not going to follow them. I have a better idea. We're going to make sure they have nowhere to go."
It didn't take Padme long to find the office of the portmaster. It was a cubic concrete building, surrounded on all sides by docking bays housing more expensive looking freighters.
"Alright," Padme whispered, crouching down next to Artoo. "Here's the plan. I'm going to chat up whoever is at the desk, and you'll slip past and get inside. You've been on covert missions before, I know you can handle it. I saw a service door on the other side of the building, you can let me in there."
Artoo gave a short beep of acknowledgment.
The receptionist was a human male with a large red beard. He surveyed Padme suspiciously as she approached. Artoo hovered outside the door, watching.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"Do you keep records of old ship dockings?" Padme asked.
"Depends on how old we're talking."
"Just a few months. I just came in on the refugee ship, but a friend of mine came a few months earlier. We can't find her, and I'm so worried."
The man rolled his eyes. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you just don't have the authority to see any of the records."
"Please," Padme pouted, even tearing up a little. She leaned on the desk, making sure to make eye contact. "She's only sixteen. She could have come in with smugglers, or traffickers, oh I'm so worried…"
Artoo fiddled with the data port near the door behind the desk. Much to Padme's relief, it slid open silently, and the astromech disappeared inside the building. She soon gave up her fake attempt to gain information, and left the office and the poor man alone.
She'd only waited outside the back door for a few minutes when it slid open. Artoo beeped proudly, and Padme couldn't help but smile. She'd always liked him, but since giving him to Anakin it was clear modifications had been made. Artoo was no ordinary droid.
It was only a two floor building, and they found the records room on the second level. As Padme climbed the stairs, Artoo hovering beside her, she heard footsteps coming down the hall below them. Padme quickened her pace. At the top of the stairs a main hallway lead down to a large door labelled with the words Records and Servers in basic. To her right was a doorframe leading to a small hallway with what looked like office doors leading off of it. Padme slid through the door, pressing herself into the corner the frame made with the wall. Artoo did the same on the other side.
Much to her horror, the man did not continue down the main hallway. He walked through the door behind which they hid. If he had turned his head even a little he would have seen her. Keeping her breathing level, Padme slid back around the frame so that her back was pressed to it on the other side.
"What are you doing here?" she heard a man's voice, obviously addressed at Artoo. "Are you new?"
Artoo beeped in response.
"Don't speak binary, sorry. I'll have to ask Kegan later, I guess."
There was a hiss and then a click, indicating the man had entered one of the rooms, and Padme let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
There was only a single twi'lek woman in the records room. She looked to be half asleep, leaning heavily on her consul and talking into a communicator she wore on her head.
"Razer V you are clear for landing. Please proceed to bay 103."
A line of desks and computer servers separated her from Padme, and she could keep out of site by staying in a crouch. On one of the empty desks, there was a datapad plugged into the servers alongside it. Bringing it down to the floor with her, she activated it while hiding her body mostly under the desk.
"Plug in there," she whispered to Artoo, pointing to the data port on the nearest server bank.
"We need to find their ship. Bring up landings a little prior to four nights ago, mid-sized modified freighters."
The droid worked quickly, and soon data was flashing across her screen. There wouldn't be anything labeled weequay pirate ship, but still holos were taken of the ships landed. With a bit of effort she'd hopefully be able to identify them.
It didn't take too long. Artoo was good at his job. When she found them she had to stifle a gasp, not the twi'lek would have noticed, so absorbed was she in what she was doing.
"Starless," Padme mouthed to herself, as she looked over the file.
It was a unique looking ship, but more importantly it was in hanger 75-B. She had Artoo download all of the recent landing data on the datapad, and slid it into an inside pocket of her jacket. She'd have time to search for the zygerrians later. Getting to her feet, she exited the building in a brisk walk, not even bothering to sneak around. She would rely on the power of looking like she was supposed to be there. Hopefully Obi-wan had kept the pirates busy enough that they had not yet doubled back for their ship.
Outside she broke into a full-out run. The space port was large, and was beginning to worry this whole endeavour had taken so long it would be pointless. Padme passed a cargo-haller and skidded to a stop. It was little more than an antigrav platform with the handlebars of a speeder attached. Jumping on, she took off at the highest speed it could manage, with Artoo on the back. It wasn't much faster than a run, but every bit helped.
When they skidded to a stop in docking bay 75-B, the Starless was still there. It was painted grey and shaped like a boomerang: pointed at the cockpit with two long wings which curved back. The body was shorter than the wings, just a small cylinder coming out of the cockpit and resting on the ground.
As Artoo worked on unlocking the ramp, Padme drew her blaster. The ship looked empty, but one couldn't be too careful. Whatever security system—if any—the pirates had was no match for the little astromech.
"Get to the cockpit," Padme whispered. "I'm going to sweep the ship."
Much to her relief, it truly was deserted. The only danger to her was the stench. The living quarters were a mess. There was a communal space, two sleeping quarters each containing a bunkbed, and a third one containing a larger bed. It must have belonged to the captain.
Satisfied, she made sure the ramp was locked in place, and followed Artoo to the cockpit. She sat in the gunner's chair, not the pilots.
"Can you fly this thing?" she asked the droid.
He beeped an affirmative.
If it had been any other droid, Padme would have trusted her limited pilot's skills more than his, in the tight space of the hanger, but Artoo wasn't an ordinary droid.
"Keep a look out for the pirates," she said, pulling out the datapad.
If she could find the zygerrian's ship forcing the pirates to talk might even be unnecessary. Part of her was glad it had been Obi-wan to find them in the bar, and not Anakin. She knew her husband well enough to know he would not have shown the same subtlety. It both scared and comforted her that if she and Obi-wan could not convince them to talk, Anakin certainly would. Though she would much prefer if they had the information before he returned.
Not far away, Obi-wan was getting tired. He was also aware that—though he had not drawn his lightsaber—he had failed utterly at keeping a low profile. In their wake they'd left two destroyed landspeeders and tons of toppled cargo.
They were on foot now, having a full out blaster fight in a hanger which appeared to be empty of witnesses. It housed two mud spattered ships, one which the pirates used for cover, and one which was used by Obi-wan. He'd already dragged this out too long. The pirates had already guessed what he was.
Stepping into the open, he called his lightsaber to his hand. It slid from its hidden sling on his back, feeling comforting and familiar in his hand. He easily deflected the next volley of blaster shots. There were yells of alarm, and the weequay made a break for the door to the next hanger.
A stack of bushels of some dried plant sat in the corner of the hanger. With the force Obi-wan toppled it. It was a light material, but there was enough of it to knock the pirates to the ground. Obi-wan flipped through the air, clearing the debris completely and landing in front of the door.
The pirates were getting to their feet. Seeing the lightsaber, they may have given up, had their destination not only been two hangers away. Obi-wan pulled the blaster from the closest weequay, pushing him back down with the force. He held the tip of the lightsaber so close to his spiny forehead the pirate would feel the heat.
"You ready to have a nice, civilized conversation?" Obi-wan asked.
The weequay's friends were fleeing, but Obi-wan made no move to stop them. All he needed was one. Suddenly the force flared, warning of imminent danger. The pirate bared his teeth in something which resembled a grin, and Obi-wan realized what he held in his hand. It was a thermal detonator. He threw it at the Jedi's feet and launched himself at the door.
Obi-wan hurled the device down the full length of the hanger, but it exploded while still in the air. He barely had time to shield himself with the force. There was no way to stop the momentum of the blast from picking him up off his feet, so instead he controlled his flight so that it took him through the door after the pirates. With the force he slammed the door closed, stopping most of the heat. All the same, he could have sworn his beard felt a bit singed.
The pirates were already on the far side of this hanger, heading into the next. He took off at full speed. It was clear now that they weren't just running aimlessly or trying to lose him as they had been at the beginning. They had a destination in mind.
In the next room, he realized what it was. This small hanger held only one ship, and it rose into the air as they weequay approached it. If they made it on board he would be unable to pursue. He'd failed, been too cautious, and because of that their only lead on Ahsoka's whereabouts would slip through his fingers.
That was when he realized the weequay had stopped running. They looked confused. The ship hovered only a little off of the ground, but the ramp had not lowered to allow them to get on. Obi-wan looked up at the cockpit window, and relief washed over him. Padme grinned at him from behind the gun protruding from the ship's nose. He should have known the senator would have his back.
Artoo kept the Starless level as Padme aimed the gun. She fired once, the energy blast hitting the ground not far from the feet of the pirates. They were thrown backwards, towards Obi-wan. Looking back and forth between the Jedi and the gun of their own ship, the pirates finally accepted that they were out of options.
A/N: Sorry this took so long. I got a bit distracted. I wrote a one-shot you should totally check out and started another secret, Star Wars related project I hope to one day have enough written to post. Also I'm a university student, and engineering is a bitch of a program.
If things go as planned we should see Ahsoka again in the next chapter. I know you guys miss her. As always, thanks so much for reading, and a gentle reminder that I love comments.