Hello everyone. I'm glad you all like the mystery in this story and I hope to build on the mystery in this and future chapters. I noticed that opinion is now divided on Kliph, which is great; it's just what I wanted. Anyway, here is chapter 5; Anakin contacts the council again informing them of the terrible new discoveries and then he and Ahsoka have a poke around whilst they wait for the outcome of Kliph's tests. Note; the first hints of the truth will appear in this chapter.
An Agri-Corps Mystery: Chapter 5 – Investigations.
What a difference a few minutes can make; that was the thought that swept through the mind of Anakin Skywalker as he walked with Ahsoka back towards the quarters he was staying in. In just those mentioned minutes, his entire investigation had unhinged. The revelation that in reality almost no tests had been run had hit him like a battering ram. At least Anakin knew why there was a hint of deception in the Force; someone was lying and he knew it wasn't Kliph or Ahsoka. Indeed, he now considered Ahsoka's word as truthful as that of the Force itself, and he was beginning to believe Kliph slightly as well.
The discovery that the weevils had been killed by the toxin was not just shocking but terrifying. He had ordered Kliph to carry out tests on the soil and plants but he suspected what the results would be already and it filled him with terror, confusion and worry. In addition, he was wondering if his thoughts were even possible; people had been eating pink lettuce for millennia. How could it possibly be toxic? There was something he was missing; of that he was certain.
There was one piece of good news; Ahsoka seamed considerably brighter all of a sudden. Anakin could sense that she was still depressed but she did at least seem to have some purpose to her now and was following him to his quarters quite happily. For a second, Anakin wondered why he was beginning to care so much about her. After all, she was just a teenage Agri-Corps Jedi; why was the Force pushing him so strongly to the young Togruta? Was it possible that she was going to be important to him for some reason? Now was confused; he liked her a lot but he knew it wasn't in the same way that he had liked Padmé before her death, so why was she so important?
He opened the door and entered the quarters that he had spent the night in. he had to contact the council again; they needed to know that they had been lied to and he needed to get them to chase Joa Pritia up as he needed to speak to her badly. Mind you, he suspected that the council would want to speak to her as well; in fact he was certain that they would. He turned to Ahsoka, "Ahsoka, you can get yourself something to drink and sit down if you like. I need to contact the council."
Ahsoka nodded, "Thank you Master." She had to admit, she had been feeling considerably better since Master Skywalker had been talking with her. All of a sudden, a feeling of purpose and belonging began to appear within her; almost as if the Force was telling her what she should have always been doing. She was, however, fearful after the discovery of the dead weevils. She was certain that the observation that she made to Anakin and Kiph was the right one; in her opinion, the plants must be poisoned. She had to admit, however, that she had no idea how it was possible.
Anakin watched as Ahsoka walked into the kitchenette and then he sat down in front of the holo projector in the room. He thought about how he was going to report this to the council for a few minutes; in fact, he wasn't sure that the council would even believe him. He sighed as he entered the connection details for the Jedi Council on Coruscant.
Anakin sighed with mild frustration as holograms of the Jedi council appeared; he wasn't looking forward to this, "Good afternoon Masters."
"Greetings young Skywalker; news you have for us yes?" Master Yoda asked.
Anakin nodded, "Yes Master, and very disturbing news at that."
"Explain" Master Windu insisted.
Anakin paused for a second; multiple scenarios ran through his mind. He was trying to think of some way to make the council believe what he had to say. Eventually, he knew how to word it, "I'm afraid to say that we were lied to. I have spoken to the Jedi here, Kliph Freeah and Ahsoka Tano. They both confirm that, in reality, no real tests have been carried out here at all."
"WHAT?" Master Windu bellowed as he leaned forward.
"Hmmmm, disturbing this development is" Master Yoda added, "Sense deception I do."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan began, "Are you sure that Kliph and Ahsoka are telling the truth?"
"Yes I am Obi-Wan; the Force has told me that I can trust Ahsoka," Anakin answered. He wasn't happy that Ahsoka's word was being questioned; for some reason, he was starting to feel very protective of her. "In fact, something has happened here that mostly confirms their words," Anakin breathed out; he knew the council wouldn't like this, "An hour ago, a whole swarm of weevils was found dead here. Kliph's analysis confirmed that they were killed by the same nerve toxin as was found in the output from here. The only way that could have happened is if the plants were themselves were poisoned."
"That's impossible," Shaak Ti began, "The tests were done on the plants."
Anakin had to fight to stop himself from laughing at that comment; he'd just told the council that the tests had not been done. Hadn't they heard him? "As I said Master, the tests were NOT done. In fact Kliph and Ahsoka were considering doing the tests themselves."
"How can you confirm your suspicions Skywalker?" Master Mundi asked.
"Well, I've suspended all activity here and I've asked Kliph to carry out tests on the plants and the soil. Hopefully, they'll tell us something. In the meantime, Ahsoka and I are going to have a close look around this base as there was something really odd going on here."
"What do you mean Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Masters, Kliph has told me that eighteen people have left this base in three months," Anakin explained. "In addition, I've found strange controls in the control room relating to bio filters, containment fields and so on." Anakin sighed again, "The other suspicious situation here is how Ahsoka has been treated." Anakin could see that Shaak Ti suddenly took an interest.
"Why? How has she been treated?" she asked.
Anakin shook his head, making it clear that he was unhappy about this, "She has been forced to be alone here. In fact, from what she has told me, she has been more or less alone since she came here a year and a half ago; as a result, she is seriously depressed."
"I'm not surprised that she is depressed," Shaak Ti responded, shaking her head, "In fact, she's in grave danger."
"What do you mean Shaak?" Luminara Unduli asked.
"Like me, Ahsoka is Togrutan," Shaak Ti's eyes closed, "My people have a physiological requirement to be part of a group. If a Togruta is forced to be solitary, it causes a great depression. If it lasts long enough, members of my people have been known to commit suicide because of it."
"NO!" Anakin shouted as he remembered that he learnt about that on Kiros. "I'll watch her, I can't let that happen."
Master Yoda chuckled, "Fond of young Tano you have become Skywalker. Projecting, your emotions are. Perhaps telling you something the Force is."
Anakin shook his head; again, Master Yoda was confusing him. He just decided to carry on with what he needed, "I have become fond of her master. I suppose I'll have to think about that. However, the real reason I contacted you is that I need something from the council."
"What do you need Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I learnt from Kliph that the senior Jedi here before him was a woman called Joa Pritia. According to him, she also left here extremely quickly. She was the senior Jedi here at the time the controls I mentioned were installed. I need to speak to her about why there were scientists here but Kliph has no idea where she went. Can I ask if the council could chase her up? My feelings are telling me that she knows something about what is going on here." Anakin could see the council members look at each other and he could see that they were disturbed.
"Find her we will," Master Yoda answered, "Wish to speak to her myself I do."
"Thank you," Anakin responded. He smiled as Ahsoka came back in from the kitchenette with a glass of blue milk and sat down. With her back, Anakin decided to protect her from any awkward questions that the council were bound to ask her, "I'm just going to have some food masters, and then Ahsoka and I are going to have a close look around, so I'll sign off."
"May the Force be with you Anakin."
"And you masters." With that, the connection broke and the holograms disappeared. Anakin sighed with relief; he was certainly glad that that was over.
"Where are we going to look Master Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked. Anakin's idea confused her considerably; Ahsoka thought that she knew pretty much every part of the base. She couldn't understand exactly what Anakin was hoping to find, "I know this base fully; trust me, there's nothing here."
Anakin looked at Ahsoka and he chuckled as he sensed her confusion, "There obviously is something here Ahsoka." He smirked, "Remember those controls I found; they must be for something."
Ahsoka frowned, "I suppose so, but I can't think what."
"Finish your drink Ahsoka, then we'll begin," Anakin said. He took the opportunity to check her over. He was pleased to note that Ahsoka seemed the brightest he had seen her since he first landed on Pheebos. One thing was concerning him about her however, what would happen to her once this was sorted and he returned to Coruscant? She'd be stuck here alone again; he silently groaned at that thought. 'Is there anything that I can do about it?' he silently asked himself.
Ahsoka nodded and drank the rest of her blue milk. A feeling began to build up inside Ahsoka; a feeling that she hadn't experienced in a long time; belonging. For the first time in years Ahsoka felt like she truly was a Jedi. Before Anakin came, she was just a farmer. No, she thought, not even that, she was a silent worker; quietly tending plants, not seen, heard or valued.
Anakin watched as Ahsoka finished her drink and he stood up, "Come on Ahsoka. Let's have a poke around."
Ahsoka nodded and stood up herself. A sudden realisation ran through her mind, "Er, Master Skywalker, what exactly are we looking for?"
Anakin chuckled again, "I have no idea."
Ahsoka shot Anakin a questioning look in response, "Then how….?"
"Don't worry Ahsoka. My feelings are telling me that we will know when we find it." Anakin gestured towards the door, "We'll start in the warehouse."
"Okay" Ahsoka replied as she followed Anakin out of the door. The two of them walked down the side corridor and entered the warehouse. Ahsoka looked at the sacks of produce all around and instantly realised the difficult job ahead of her and Anakin. This was a building that she had been in an incalculable number of times before, but never had she looked at it in this way before, "Where shall we start?"
Anakin mused for a second and pointed towards the right half of the warehouse, "You check over there Ahsoka; I'm going to check over here."
"Check the sacks you mean?" Ahsoka asked.
"No, we know the produce is poisoned. In fact don't touch them as they will all have to be destroyed at some point. I want you to check the walls and floor and things of that nature."
"Check them for what?" Ahsoka asked with a frown on her face. This was getting more and more puzzling to her.
Anakin gave her a lob sided grin; he was delighted that she was taking such an interest but he didn't really know why he was so happy about it, "For anything that shouldn't be there. Trap doors for instance."
Ahsoka nodded and headed off to her side of the warehouse and started examining the walls. If she was honest, she had no idea why; a wall as a wall wasn't it? Besides, she couldn't remember any suspicious activity here in the warehouse and there was constant security camera coverage here as well that would surely capture anything untoward.
She continued to look around for over half an hour. She checked the walls, the floor and looked up to see if there was anything unusual in the roof but as Ahsoka suspected, everything was pretty much as it appeared. She glanced across the opposite side of the warehouse and noticed that Anakin was coming up empty as well.
She was just about to give up and join Anakin when some of the sacks on a nearby pallet caught her eye. Ahsoka knew that Anakin had told her not to touch the sacks since they were likely poisoned but there was something definitely different about these sacks. She walked in closer and studied them; they were the same sacks as the rest and the writing on them said "Corellian Potatoes" just like the rest but she could see that they weren't holding potatoes; the bulges in the sacks were all wrong. Deciding to risk it, Ahsoka ripped open one of the sacks and pulled out one of the objects inside.
Ahsoka's eyes widened when she looked at the object; it wasn't a potato, it was a petri dish. Now she was confused; she had seen them before of course but only in the odd biology lesson when she was at the Temple before she was assigned to the Agri-Corps. Her mind raced; why where they here? Why hadn't she seen them here before? She kept the dish in her hand and ran to the other side of the warehouse, "Master Skywalker. Master Skywalker, I think I've found something."
Anakin was studying one of the side walls when he heard Ahsoka call. He turned around and noticed her running up to him. He could sense the confusion in her and he knew already that she had found something that she didn't understand. Inwardly, this concerned him. Ahsoka was a member of the Agri-Corps and stationed in this base; if she didn't understand it, the chances were that he wouldn't either. He hid his own concern and responded, "What have you found Ahsoka?"
"This" Ahsoka answered as she held the petri dish up. She pointed to the pallet of them that she had discovered and continued, "I found several full sacks of them over there. I know you said not to touch the sacks, but these looked so different I had to check them out. I can't understand why these are here; I've certainly never had any use for them."
Anakin took the dish from her and studied it closer. He discovered that the dish in itself was unremarkable; just like the ones he had used in lessons at the temple in fact but it was the fact that it was here on a farm that was unusual. After a couple of seconds, a light bulb lit in his mind, "Scientists."
"Master?" Ahsoka questioned.
Anakin grinned at her, "Scientists Ahsoka; this is the kind of thing that they use. We know that there have been scientists stationed here; they must have used these for something and left them behind when they basically fled. I must say it was kind of careless of them to leave these." He sighed; this confirmed something that he was suspecting already, "These are proof that there are hidden areas of this base."
Ahsoka gained a sceptical lob sided grin and her voice gained a hint of sarcasm, "How does it prove that?"
Anakin was happy to see any kind of grin on Ahsoka's face; for some reason, it pleased him. However, her question needed answering, "Scientists need labs to carry out the kind of work they use petri dishes for. If they were here using these, there are labs somewhere and we have to find them."
Ahsoka shook her head, "I've been everywhere in this base; there is nowhere where labs could be hidden."
Anakin could sense that Ahsoka was telling the truth and it made him think; if Ahsoka had never seen the labs, then they must be hidden somewhere where she had never been. This also doubly confirmed that she was innocent. Still, the fact that she hadn't been somewhere could be used to his advantage, "Think Ahsoka; is there anywhere on this base that you have never been? Anywhere at all?"
Ahsoka stood silently for a few minutes; was there anywhere that she hadn't been to? She ran through everywhere on the base. Eventually, she did realise something, "The only places I haven't been to master are the other quarters."
Anakin grinned; that was perfect. In addition, he had an idea, "Erm Ahsoka, all the quarters apart from yours, Kliph's and mine should be unlocked shouldn't they?"
"I believe so; I can't think why they would be looked; why?"
Anakin smiled as he answered, "Because Ahsoka, if any of them are locked and the rest aren't, then that is a good place to start looking."
Realisation dawned on Ahsoka; that would be the only way that anything secret could get past her and Kliph, "Ah, I see."
Anakin was just about to answer when his comlink beeped. He sighed and answered, "Skywalker."
"Ah Knight Skywalker; it's Kliph. I've had carried out the tests you have asked for and the results are puzzling and disturbing. Can you and Ahsoka come back to the control room?"
Anakin quickly glanced at Ahsoka as he replied, "Alright, we'll be there shortly. Skywalker out." He turned off his comlink and turned to Ahsoka "Come on."
Ahsoka nodded and followed Anakin out of the warehouse and back to the control room. As they were walking, some fears started to return to Ahsoka's mind; what could Kliph find that was disturbing to him? She shook her head; she didn't like this at all. Her mind was still racing as she followed Anakin into the control room.
"Alright, what did you find out Kliph?" Anakin asked.
"I don't know how this is possible….." Kliph began, "…..but according to the test results, the plants are full of the toxin."
"What? How?" Ahsoka asked. She was both stunned and hurt by the news that all the hard work that she had put in had gone towards growing crops that could kill someone.
"That's….that's the most disturbing part." Kliph uttered.
"What do you mean?" asked Anakin. The fact that his suspicions were confirmed deeply concerned him. At least he knew why nothing had ever shown up on the security holos now; the toxin was in the crops before it was even harvested.
Kliph closed his eyes and shook his head; his shame and fear rippled through the Force, "After I made that discovery, I carried out a deeper analysis. I still can't believe the results. According to my tests, the toxin wasn't introduced into the plants; the plants are making the toxin."
"WHAT?" Anakin and Ahsoka screamed together. They both stood staring at Kliph with wide eyes. "That's…..that's impossible" Ahsoka added.
"I know. I ran the analysis three times" Kliph responded. He then uttered, "I've…..I've never seen this before in the twenty seven years that I've been in the Agri-Corps. I don't know what to say."
"Are all the crops making the toxin?" Anakin asked in a deeply shocked and confused voice.
"Fortunately not all but a large proportion of them are" Kliph replied, "After I checked the pink lettuce, I checked the bilaberries and the Corellian Potatoes as well. I'm afraid to say that some plants of all three species are producing the toxin."
"The same toxin in all three?" Ahsoka asked. The fear was evident in her voice; she felt like she had been hit by a rancor.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. As I said, I've never seen anything like it."
For once, Anakin was stuck; he didn't know what to say or what to do. At least he knew that he could trust Kliph now. In fact, Anakin wondered if the only reason that Kliph and Ahsoka were still on Pheebos was the fact that they were innocent. That thought made him realise something, "Kliph, could this be a natural disease or something like that?"
Klipf thought for a second and stroked his chin with his hand, "I'm not an expert Knight Skywalker, but I don't really think so; not the same toxin in three species. Add the fact that the plants themselves are growing fine."
Anakin sighed again, "What about the soil?"
"That's the other bad news. According to my tests, the toxin has been leeching out of the plants slightly and is starting to appear in the soil."
After hearing this, Ahsoka started to cry; this had hit her personally, "So it's all useless, the whole field?"
"I'm afraid so" Kliph replied sadly.
Anakin watched in horror as Ahsoka broke down in tears. He instantly became deeply concerned as her lekku instantly darkened. Not caring for Jedi protocol, he pulled Ahsoka into his arms to comfort her. Shaking his head he said, "It's getting late; let's call it a night. Ahsoka, you and me will go through all the quarters tomorrow and find that lab; I'm certain that it's linked." He turned to Kliph, "Can you start destroying the plants? We can't leave them around if they are that toxic."
Kliph nodded as Anakin guided a still tearful Ahsoka out of the control room. Anakin decided that if he found out who was responsible for this then they would pay. For now, he had to get Ahsoka back to her quarters and make sure that she was okay; that was not going to be easy he reasoned.
Well, that's chapter 5 and you have the first hints of the truth. I wonder if any of you can work out what has actually happened on Pheebos yet. There are enough clues that you might be able to guess. Poor Ahsoka; just as she was starting to improve as well. I wanted to show that hitting her hard as it was basically her life's work. Anyway, next chapter; Anakin and Ahsoka go on a hunt of a hidden lab and make a discovery that might push Ahsoka over the edge.