Meeting

Chapter One: The Meeting

The myriad halls and chambers of the Jedi Temple were filled with the millenia of knowledge the order had gathered over the course of its exitence. Old-fashioned books of paper, files stored in massive servers, accesseable through datapads and fixed work stations, and holocrons, some open to all and some only to the masters sitting on the High Council, all of the wisdom offered by and to the Jedi were collected here on Coruscant.

For Lissa, it was paradise.

The archives were bustling with activity. Jedi of all walks, apprentice and master alike, were working and studying and exchanging their knowledge and experiences between the endless rows of shelves. Small groups talked with hushed voices about the events taking place in the order and in the wider galaxy. This general buzz, however, did not face the youngling that sat at one of the long tables, her nose burried deep into a holo-book. The young Mirialan loved the histories of old, and the stories of adventure they told. She lost herself into them, in her mind taking the role of the heroic knight standing up to the Mandalorians and the Sith to protect the innocent. In her imagination she would sit at the controls of her own starship, leading her to unknown worlds far beyond civilised space to strange places not visited by sentient beings for eons. Around her, the library began to fade into the background, as her mind led her deep into the ruins on Dxun, the war raging on around her, the great Jedi scholar and warrior on a mission to secure some artefact for the Order.

A hand smacking on her back tore her out of her fantasy. "Watcha doin'?" Lissa turned around in her chair, rubbing her aching back. Behind her stood a tall Wroonian girl, grinning down widely at her, her dark brown eyes glowing with youthful excitement. "That hurt, Kil!" , the Mirialan pouted. "Sorry." Kil let herself drop on the seat next to her, straightening out somewhat her messy robes. "So, what are ya doin'?" Lissa looked down at the holo-book in front of her. "Uhm... I'm reading?" "I can see that." A short pause. "So, what are ya readin'?" "Master Brienne's book about the Mandalorian Wars." "That old thing?" The Wroonien leaned over, her brow furrowed. "It's a good book!"Eh" Her friend shrugged, straightening back up. "Suit yourself!" Lissa side eyed the girl next to her, who now was lazily sprawled out over the table. She looked back down, fixing her gaze on her hands. "So.. uhm... did you find yourself a master?" Kil shook her head, still half lying on the desk. "No, not yet." She turned her head to face Lissa. "You?" "N...no." "So, it's only us and Zat left." , she sighed. "W...we'll find one, s..soon, I think" , Lissa stammered. The two younglings fell silent. "It's so weird" , Kil said finally. "A month ago, all of our year was still here." Lissa nodded. She knew what her friend was feeling, what all three of them were feeling. The anxiety whether they could make the cut and start the second leg of their training to be full jedi knights, or whether, in a years time, they would all be shipped off to the Service Corps, was palpable between the last three remaining members of their initiate clan. Usually, a Mirialan like her would be taken up by another member of her species - a tradition that had on the most part ever since Mirial had entered into the Republic - but for now none had come forward. But that was at least a chance. Neither Kil nor Zat had the luck of long-standing tradition backing them up. Finally, Lissa broke the heavy silence between them. "So, uhm, h..how was your talk with Master Sinube?" "He chewed ma ears off for hours." Kil's answer was muffled by her arms, in which she had burried her face. "Well, you did manage to set transparasteel on fire..." Lissa giggled at the groan that answered her from somewhere within the heap of clothes and hair that was her friend. "Actually, how *did* you do it?" "I don't know..." , the heap whined. "And anyway" , Kil sat herself up quickly. "Zat did that, too!" "Well, Zat is an oaf." A short pause. Then both girls broke out into fits of giggling, soon swelling into laughter. All around the pair, the jedi populating the workplaces next to them turned their head, disapproving stares boring into the two laughing and joking younglings. As the tales of the exploits of their clan flew back and forth they failed to notice the old, stern woman making her way towards them. They were ripped out of their merriment when the Jocasta Nu loudly cleard her voice. Kil and Lissa found themselves faced with the scornful presence of the librarian bearing down on them. "You two are making quite the ruckus, aren't you." The younglings fell silent, looking approproately chastised. They knew better than to anger the archivist. "Shouldn't you two by chance be somewhere?" Both children looked at each other, confused for a second. "Uhm, wha...what time is it, Ma...Master Nu?" Lissa looked to her feet, embarrased. "Time for your lightsaber practice!" The jedi master's voice was steely. "So hop along, you two! Being late is disrespectful! That goes for you too!" She snatched the holo-book out of Lissa's hands. "Physical training is as integral to a jedi as training their mind!" "Yes, master." "Good, now go!"

As the pair hurried through half empty corridors, Lissa time and time again couldn't help admiring the simple yet elegant decorations that lined the walls and ceiling and wound their way all through the temple. Enthralled, she did not notice the grin that snuck across Kil's face. "Race ya to the courtyard, Lis!" Like a flash she took off, racing away through the hallway. For a moment Lissa stared after her friend, stunned. Then she took of after her. "W...wait! Unfair!"

Dodge left, dodge right, going with the flow around her. Running through the temple, evading jedi and droids walking the corridor was familiar to Lissa, reminding her of some of the exercises she had had with lightsaber and the force. She strained to keep up with Kil. Even though she was well aware that she was slower than her friend, she would be damned if she just handed victory in their little contest to her on a silver platter. She ignored the calls cautioning her to slow down. Dodge left, dodge right, dodge right again, dodge...

WHAM!The impact slammed her off her feet and send her tumbling to the ground. Lissa groaned painfully, rubbing her backside. "What in the world would you happen to be doing, initiate?!" Startled, she looked up. Before her stood a Togruta, tall for his species, clothed in the traditional robes of the order. The expression on his face betrayed a mixture of irritation and curiosity as he looked down at the youngling sitting at his feet. Lissa couldn't help but stare, in part out of surprise and shock, but also in awe at the commanding stature in front of her. Only now she noticed that the tip of one of his montrals was missing. "What is the matter?" A voice from the side tore the girl's attention away. She froze as she saw Grand Master Yoda, followed by Master Windu, exiting the room to her right. "Uhm... Ma...master...I..." "Running around, you have been, hmm?" The amusement in the ancient jedi master's voice was obvious. Lissa looked down. "Yes" , she said quitely, her cheeks starting to heat up, wrangling with embarrasment and shame welling up. "Running races along the corridor is unbecoming of a jedi, young one!" The disapproval in Master Windu's voince was palpable. "Y...yes, Master." Somehow, Lissa managed to shrink even further under the withering gaze of the Master of the Order. "Then keep the lesson in your mind this time!" He gave a nod to his fellow masters before taking his leave, shaking his head while walking down the hallway. Lissa's attention was caught by something on the edge of her field of vision. There, between her and the Togruta, a datachip was lying on the floor. Curious, she reached out for it. "M...Master! This i...is yours right?" He turned his attention to the object she was pointing to. "Hm? Oh, yes, that is mine." , he said. Lissa reached out to grab the chip. "There you are, M..."

"Worrying it is, seeing artefacts like this one traded on Coruscant." Master Yoda lowers his eyes to stare at the chip lying in front of him on the table, worry edged into his face. "Where there is money to be made, someone will be there to make it." , Mace Windu says quietly. "Well, I have seen groups like this operating out on the Outer Rim." The Togruta looks to Master Windu . "But seeing them here in the Core is new." "Are they connected to any group you know, Lamik, old friend?" The adressed looks up, keeping his eyes firmly affixed on Master Windu. "I don't think so, no." , he says with a slow, deliberate tone. "They do seem to be rather small though. However, and this is quite interesting, they do seem to have access to an extensive network of informants, which reachers, I suspect, all the way into the administrative apparatus of the Republic." He pauses. "I suspect those people have an employer or at least important customer, who has a high up position, here on Coruscant. That is, I think, how they managed to evade the attention of the local security forces, even our attention, so effectively." "Hm" The Grandmaster closes his eyes, for a heartbeat absorbed in thought. He looks up. "Deeply troubling, this possibility is. Find out who is their employer, we must. Master Moula, look further into this, you should. This black market, go on, it must not!" The Togruta bowed. "I will, Master Yoda"

"Allright are you, youngling?" Lissa's mind snapped back to the here and now. Next to her, Master Yoda stood, leaning on his cane and observing her carefully. "I..." Lissa shook her head, trying to drive out the fog that had gripped her mind. "I...yes, Master Yoda." "You look at bit pale. Are you sure, initiate?" The Togruta - Master Moula, she thought - towered over her, looking down at the child sitting on the floor with a raised eyebrow (or what would have been his eyebrow if he had any, Lissa thought), his arms crossed. "I... I..." , the girls stammered. "I'm sorry!" She quickly gathered herself and scrambled to her feet. Handing the datachip to its original owner, she bowed hastily. "I...it will not happen again, Master!" , she managed to force out of her mouth. Then she scurried off, not noticing the intense look with which Lamik Moula followed her all the way until she turned around the corner, towards the courtyard.