Chapter 2 - Investigation

Kijimi, 27 ABY

"We went for a walk in the marketplace. Jorah was so distracted by the spaceships. We told him we would go look at them once we were done getting our provisions for the week, but he just kept pulling at us to go over there. I turned my back for just a moment to haggle with the salesman over the price of food; and when I looked back, he was gone. His father and I searched everywhere but found no trace of him. We contacted the authorities and they searched, but he was just gone. They said that there was a holo that showed him walking around the ships but not what happened to him."

"I gave birth to my precious little girl not five months ago. She was beautiful. The doctor put her in the nursery with the other infants. When I asked to see her, the nurse came back and told me that she was not in the nursery but that the doctors must have been giving her an exam. I found that odd since I was supposed to be with her for any examinations. So I asked again later but still nothing. It was like my daughter never even existed. Losing my husband was hard enough, but losing my daughter… please. You have to help me!"

On and on the stories went. Day in and day out. Ben could just about predict what people were going to say at this point. When he and Tai had been sent to Kijimi to look into the disappearances of so many of the children, he hadn't thought it would be this widespread; but after eight standard days of listening to story after story about missing children, he was more than a little disturbed.

Not that Ben's morale compass was the most reliable. In fact, more often than not, he had to have Tai there to help bring him back down to earth and make him think before he just acted irrationally. This situation with children being taken though, that was something he definitely had no love for. He knew what it felt like to be ripped unwillingly away from his parents, and it was not something he desired for anyone else.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Tai took notes on his holopad while they listened to a single mother explain the disappearance of her twin boys. This investigation relied heavily on the notes that Tai was taking and her certainly kept some of the most meticulous notes about things. He could also sense emotions better than anyone else. Together, those things made him the best suited for a mission that involved the mysterious disappearances of so many younglings. So far, the notes revealed so much and yet so little.

The first thing they had picked up on was that the parents were either distracted or unavailable at the time of the kidnapping. Like the poor mother who was unconscious for two days after her baby was born and had no one there that she trusted to help her. Or like the parents who were trying to get a reasonable price on their food. It was the perfect moment to strike which is why it was the most common method used.

The second thing they noticed was the age. All of the children who had been taken were under the age of six. They had made some guesses about why that age and had come to the conclusion that it had to do with their impressionable minds and weaker bodies. They were still very moldable and wouldn't be able to put up as much of a fight.

The last big thing they were clued in on was that the set pattern gave very little to actually work with. If the child was vulnerable, they were picked up. If the child was orphaned, they were most certainly picked up. It didn't matter if they were rich, poor, big, little, male, female. None of the families had any connections with each other, and none of the contacts for their search parties were connected either. If they were healthy and under the age of six, they were vulnerable. Whoever was doing this was a ghost. Someone who conducted things in the shadows. A wraith.

"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Tai uttered in a comforting voice. "We will get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

With a gentle pat to the grieving mother's hand, Tai rose and left the stone dwelling with Ben following close behind. They quietly made their way through the marketplace looking for the next home they were supposed to be meeting at. There were still five other families that they were scheduled to question. Once that was done, in this village alone, they would have questioned a total of eighty families some of which had more than one child go missing.

"These poor people," Tai murmured. "I can't imagine what they must be going through. At least our families know where we are and what we are doing even if they don't get to see us. These families though…"

Tai's sentence trailed off, and for once, Ben didn't need further clarification about what was meant. Typically, Ben was not the most empathetic person. Today, however, he got it. Even a person who was dull to the force could have seen and felt the agony from these distraught parents. He looked over at his friend and could see the same pain reflected in his bright blue eyes.

"Then let's figure it out for them," Ben growled adamantly through a clenched jaw. This was not the first time he had said something like that, but he would say it as many times as it took for Tai to just agree to stay on Kijimi and wait for something to happen instead of crawling back to Skywalker just to be patted on the shoulder, told they did good, and sent to their quarters to do nothing more. Ben was about action, and right now, there was no action outside asking questions.

Following yet another emotional visit with a pair of grandparents who were their grandson's guardian, they stopped by a vendor and purchased a simple lunch of dried vegetables with a spicy dip. While they ate, they went back over their notes. Several times. There were still no major hints as to who was behind all these disappearances. Ben knew Tai was just as determined to figure this out as he was based on how aggravated he became when they reviewed the interviews.

Needing to allow his brain to stop going over the heartbreaking stories they had relived with these families, Ben found himself looking around and really taking in the sights on Kijimi. Between the multitude of bars, sketchy looking people, and the questionable haze in the air, it really wasn't that great of a place to be. This planet screamed hideout. He had learned enough from his father to be able to identify that type location with relative ease. Perhaps that was why so many children went missing from here. Who would miss the child of a criminal?

This line of thought spurred his mind to the senate and what they had done to his family. Very few people in the galaxy now had much love for the Skywalkers since it came out who Anakin had become. Because of Anakin, Ben was fairly sure that no one would really miss him if he went missing.

This was the moment where Ben's bookish nature and observational skills proved to be his greatest strengths. Unlike most of the other padawans, Ben had taken to studying history and science and literature – but especially history. History had shown that the thought he was now entertaining was a likely explanation for what was happening here.

"I have an idea about why they are targeting kids here. On Kijimi," Ben blurted out.

"Okay…" Tai drawled out urging him to continue.

"A lot of these kids are the children of thieves, spice runners, conmen, murderers. Even if those people are 'retired' so to speak," Ben began speaking fervently. "If something were to happen to them, the galaxy would likely turn a blind eye. That would make this a good place to abduct a child without all the attention it would get on a planet more controlled by the Republic. More than likely, it is a starting point for something. Something the people doing this need to go unnoticed or ignored."

Tai hummed noncommittally as he absorbed what Ben had said. "So what you are suggesting then is that the reason so many children are missing from here is because someone wants to fly under the radar, and maybe this person also is planning something bigger where planets like Kijimi are ground zero?"

"Yes," Ben confirmed, "That is exactly what I am suggesting."

"Then that should also indicate that other planets like this one are having the same issue on a smaller scale," Tai continued thinking aloud.

They both sat in silence contemplating this new thought. The marketplace hummed with activity, but no one seemed to notice the two young jedi padawans intensely observing their surroundings clearly hoping that something would happen. It was doubtful that anything would happen with the two guardians keeping a close watch on things.

"Best theory we have working so far," Tai heaved out on a groan breaking the tense silence. "Perhaps we should make a few stops at other planets on our way back home. See if the theory pans out."

"I can check the charts on Grimtaash when we get back aboard this evening to go to the next village," Ben told him.

With their meal completed, they moved to leave the marketplace when a young Twi-lek boy suddenly appeared at their table. He was eyeing Tai curiously like he had suddenly seen a rare creature.

"Mis'er Jedi sir," the boy suddenly blurted out, "Why you has no hair?"

Ben couldn't help himself when he busted out laughing. "Yes, Tai, do tell. Why do you has no hair?"

"Habib, what are you doing?" his mother called out frantically. The young Twi-lek woman picked her little boy up and all but smothered him in a hug. "I am sorry for my son interrupting you. We all know why you are here, and we don't want to interrupt your work. All of us parents are that way. Thank you for looking into this and helping to ease our minds."

"It was no trouble at all, ma'am," Tai interjected warmly. He leaned in to the boy conspiratorially and said, "And I have no hair because handsome guys like you and I don't need it."

The little boy smiled really big. "My mama always calls me her handsome little boy."

Ben and Tai said goodbye to the child and mother; and then began making their way to the next home on the list.

"So bald equals handsome, huh?" Ben chuckled. "If only I was as good with kids as you are Tai. That is why Skywalker sends you on missions like this with me. In fact, not real sure why he sends me at all. He doesn't trust me."

"Not true, Ben," Tai assured. "You are the best student at the temple and the best at picking up on the little details. You see things most people would miss. Plus, outside Master Skywalker, you are the best pilot we have. And you could be good with kids if you stopped glowering at everyone."

Ben huffed out his disbelief. Skywalker didn't actually trust him with anything except maybe the job of piloting, but Voe could do that just as easily now too. That told Ben that it would only be a matter of time before he would lose that privilege as well. He had already lost the chance to teach and spar with the younger students. Not because he had ever lost control with any of them either! The only times he ever lost control were when he was around Skywalker or Voe or when he was alone a lot. He could easily teach about the history of the force. In fact, he would love that! He would also love it if Skywalker allowed him to go on the exploratory missions to find ancient Jedi artifacts like he used to.

"Come on, pal," Tai insisted. "Let's get these next interviews over that way we can be on our way. Don't know about you, but this is leaving me a little depressed."

And that is precisely what they did for the following three days. They traveled from village to village, house to house, listening to stories that began to sound more and more familiar. The parents were distracted. The kid was at school or somewhere the parents were not. Friends were looking after the child and lost them because they weren't used to keeping an eye on children. At the end of the day, there were thousands of children missing on Kijimi and several pages of notes with nothing more to show for their work.

It was with grateful hearts and exhausted minds, that both Tai and Ben clambered back on board the Grimtaash after having been on Kijimi for just over two weeks.

Ben eagerly busied himself with the preflight checks, and the temple droid GeeGee took up its spot in the copilot seat. He liked that droid. It reminded him a little of 3PO without all the annoying facets of his personality. The fact that GeeGee was silver instead of gold also helped draw a line of separation between the two.

"Do we have our next destination figured out?" Tai queried upon entering the cockpit.

"Master Solo has set course for Batuu. We should arrive in four standard hours," GeeGee informed Tai.

During take-off, Ben's ears started ringing. He rubbed at them and plugged them in his best and yet futile attempt to get the ringing to subside. It ended on its own after roughly thirty minutes. Gaining altitude had not bothered his ears in a long time. Maybe he should see the medic once they arrived back at the temple.

Approximately four standard hours later, they landed on Batuu. The bustling town they stopped off in was much like the one they had just left on Kijimi. Tai might have been naïve enough to not be able to identify the kind of people that were walking through the marketplace, but Ben knew what they were. This would be a perfect place to check his theory.

After asking around for a few hours, they were finally able to locate the local law enforcement officer's office where they inquired about any disappearances. There had been several, most of which were children. The child abduction rate had nearly tripled in the last decade alone.

Once they had questioned a few families and confirmed that their stories lined up with the stories they had been told on Kijimi, they boarded the Grimtaash again and put the ship into orbit. Aligning their communications system, Ben commed his uncle.

"Ben, Tai, you are running late," the little blue holo of Luke Skywalker stated by way of greeting.

"Yes, sir," Tai confirmed as he took control of the conversation so Ben wouldn't say the wrong thing and upset their master. "We checked out a theory."

For the next hour, they conveyed their findings and concerns to Skywalker. He listened intently and only interrupted a few times to get clarification. He seemed genuinely concerned that the situation might not be concentrated solely on Kijimi as he once had thought. Ben tried to speak a few times to convey his own concerns, but Skywalker would direct the conversation back to Tai.

You see, my boy, the voice in Ben's head growled, he does not trust you to even give him basic information.

Though he didn't outright say it, Ben agreed. It feels like he is never going to trust me with anything. I am waiting on the day he takes my ship.

Ben sighed in defeat and stood to leave the common area where they were taking the call. It was better that he go do something useful like set course for the next planet so they might continue their investigation.

"Ben!" Luke snapped, "We are not done. Stay put while I speak with the two of you."

With an irritated growl, Ben slumped his body back into the seat next to Tai. The conversation with their master continued for a further three hours with Ben growing more and more annoyed as the minutes ticked by. He was barely allowed to get two words in edgewise before Luke would ask Tai to speak on the matter.

It was obvious to Ben that Tai was also a little put out by their master's dismissive behavior toward him. He had always been Ben's greatest encourager, but he never directly stood up for him. All Ben wanted was for someone to really be there for him. The voice was. Snoke was. Snoke had told Ben that if he were there, he would have put Luke in his place a long time ago for how he treated Ben.

Finally, they were released and told to set course for Yavin 4. They were to make no other stops on the way back home even though that is what they requested. It was made clear to Skywalker that they wanted to continue investigating the disappearance of the children, but he told them that they had done all they needed to do. Their findings and the authority to continue looking into things would be turned over to the New Republic's senate. They would decide what more needed to be done. Odds were pretty good that the issue would be handed to the overworked and understaffed Rangers.

"Ben," Tai cautioned, "you need to calm down. Getting angry like this won't help."

"Well neither does Skywalker sweeping this under the rug!" he bellowed.

Without another word, Ben stomped back into the cockpit and throttled up the hyperdrive setting a course for "home." Not that he would ever call Yavin 4 his home. A home was a place you were welcomed and loved. That place was none of the above for him. The only good things there were Tai, Grimtaash, and GeeGee. Occasionally he would lump Hennix in the mix. The Quarren was a unique individual that Ben could actually say was mostly neutral on the majority of things until his personal morals were viciously attacked.

An hour into the trip, the ringing returned to Ben's ears. This time, it didn't go away. Try as he might, he couldn't silence it. Turning the controls over to GeeGee, he slipped into the captain's quarters. Sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed, Ben eased himself into meditation hoping the issue could be resolved by just simply calming himself, but that was not at all the way it turned out once he discovered that the ringing was connected to something in the force.

He followed the ringing through the force only to find that the further he went the more it sounded like a woman's voice. Her words were unintelligible, but it held a soothing quality. Her force signature was garbled like a call that was just barely out of range. Regardless, Ben eagerly reached out toward the source of calm and began speaking to it. He asked it questions in an attempt to get the calming voice to continue speaking to him.

What happened next left him in a breathless pile on the floor. The force seemed to split wide open and pull at some thread he was unaware of that was attached to his soul. In the next instant, he felt pain bloom through his body. It reminded him of the time he had fallen from the roof of the temple after Voe had dared him to force jump from the highest spot. He had jumped, but when he landed, he had the wind knocked out of him thoroughly.

After lying there breathing heavily for force knows how long, he finally sat up to find Tai staring at him in shock.

"What was that?" Tai wondered loudly making Ben as he became aware of a slowly blooming headache.

"No idea," he groaned.

He sat up slowly wincing with every move. The room spun quickly forcing him to stay still with his head between his knees once he was upright. As his head cleared, he became very aware of that presence he had felt earlier. It was still garbled but present.

When everything finally settled, Ben found himself checking everywhere on the ship for the source of the force signature that he was now aware of. There was nothing. Just him, Tai, and GeeGee. As soon as the presence came though, it vanished, leaving his mind quiet and yet louder than ever.

What was that?! he asked himself incredulously while he reached back into the force searching for the calm voice only to find that it was gone too.