Chapter 15

Location

"So, I've got an idea of how to deal with the Whipclaw," Ahsoka said, "I think we should stash it. Keep it in a safe place, easy to get to. It's not safe to sell it. An Inquisitor's ship goes up for sale, and the Inquisitor isn't around... that's gonna draw attention."

The group was sitting on the crumbling stone remains of benches in what was once the meditation grove in the Jedi Enclave. Jyssa sat cross-legged on a boulder that may have once been part of a short wall or bench, chewing on a piece of sweetreed. Nat had his own half a bench next to her. To the right was one remaining solid bench, where Arc, ZT-47 and Xho sat. Xho was, under ZT-47's cautious direction, helping to connect a very basic prosthetic hand to Arc's stump of a right arm. It didn't have much fine motor control, but at least now he'd be able to hold a glow rod and a blaster at the same time.

Jyssa took the honeyroot out of her mouth. "Well, it's a little too big to mate up with the Red Drexl when we're flying around. So we'll have to have somebody pilot it out of here. And I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my mechanic."

Ahsoka smiled and said, "I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my bunk. The Whipclaw has held a few too many prisoners. It's got kind of a... bad aftertaste in the Force. But, it can still be useful. It's powerful. Armed to the teeth. It has permission to go just about anywhere and its transponder has codes that will demand cooperation from any Imperial government agency. Not to mention that L'Larr had files and contacts that could help lead us to other Jedi. And a bounty hunter's license, and Inquisitor status. Using that ship, we can pose as bounty hunters or Inquisitors and help rescue untold numbers of Jedi from actual bounty hunters and Inquisitors. Not to mention that L'Lar also had several false identities ready for insertion into Imperial databanks. Looking at some of his lists of contacts and informants, it looks like his usual MO is to find some underworld scumbag who is in trouble with the wrong people, give them a new identity and then instead of demanding payment, he uses them as informers."

"Sounds too good to"–Arc winced as Xho tightened something in his mechanical hand– "ow. Too good to pass up. The problem is, where can we stash it?"

Jyssa said, "We can't leave it here. And you'll need to do something about his body, make sure its untraceable."

"Yeah, I hate to do something that dangerous, but I think I'll need to head back to Sandrale City with something flammable and light that dumpster on fire. It's probably the best way to hide the body."

"It occurs to me," said Arc, "that at some point, I'm going to need a full name. A real name. Might as well use one of those fake identities for me."

Ahsoka nodded, "There were a few that didn't have names attached yet. Let me know when you pick something."

"Nobody else here picked their own name. I got mine from my brothers, when they saw me in action."

Jyssa said, "How about... Bryn. My parents said that if they ever had a boy, they'd name him Bryn."

"I don't really look Corellian, I don't think."

"You don't sound it, either. But it's not a traditional Corellian name. I think it was the name of a holodrama actor my mom had a crush on when she was your age. Bryn Arc. I think it sounds good."

"Well, that works for me."

Ahsoka nodded. "I'll take care of it. You'll be in the system before we get to Rudrig. I can set your home planet to Rudrig, you can get ID when you're there. Since everyone's switching over to Imperial systems, it won't be too hard to get a new ID and just claim that you misplaced your old one. I'll probably do the same. Nat, your first name is common enough that you can keep it, but we'll need a new last name for you."

"It's okay. I'm not too attached to it. Don't you need a new name too?"

"Yeah, I do. And I'll need a bounty hunter persona too, if I want to take Jedi hunting missions. I've been looking over some old Togruta myths and legends, looking for a good name. I'll come up with one before we leave for Rudrig. But we still need to come up with a good place to stash the Whipclaw."

A timid voice came from behind the group, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear." The Alderaanian student who had helped find the holocron containing the memories of Jedi Master Zhar Lestin stood in the doorway to the meditation garden. "My third year geology internship involved taking scanner readings of several small asteroids near Rudrig."

Ahsoka turned to him, "You found something useful there?"

"Yes. In my internship I found an asteroid that had been used as a mining base a long time ago. At least a hundred years. It was hollowed out, and it had solar heat recycling generating power to keep the air inside fresh, even after so long. And when I looked up old navcom codes from that era, I found that the hangar bay doors still worked. The hangar was big enough for mining ships, your Baudo class should fit in there easily."

"First you find me a holocron, then you find me a secret asteroid base. In all my years of Jedi training, no one ever told me how useful a degree in Geology could be."

He blushed, "Well, I don't have my degree yet. I still have to finish my thesis."

"Well, if you need any held finding strange and interesting gemstones to study for your thesis, I may have some insider knowledge to share about jedi lightsaber crystals. It's the least I could do."

"Actually... there is more that you can do." He looked down at the ground. She could feel his hesitation through the Force, but she couldn't tell why. "When I was eight, my parents had another child. A little sister. She was the best little sister anyone could ever have. Bright. Curious. Somehow she always managed to do things, even when she was a toddler. Cookies went missing from the top shelf. Doors that we swore we locked got unlocked. Eventually we found out why. When she was four, she was tested by a Jedi, a Caamasi named Ylenic It'Kla. She was strong in the Force. My parents decided it was best to send her away to the Jedi Academy. She'd be fifteen now. My parents knew that we couldn't be close to her anymore, she needed to have no connections. But they remained in contact with It'Kla. He would tell us how she was progressing. How she was doing."

The young man lowered his head and covered his face with his hand. Ahsoka couldn't tell if tears were coming from his eyes, but in the Force, his pain was obvious. "I will do whatever I can to find out what happened to her."

"She was fifteen years old. Fighting in a war. Her name was... is still, I hope, Mirian Varos. Last time my family talked to Master It'Kla, she was on a mission near Susevfi."

Ahsoka stood up, walked over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Well then, I know where to go immediately after Rudrig."