Chapter 20
Madness
Mirian Varos ran as fast as she could. She had to outrun the monster. The creature that wielded the Force and her lightsaber, the creature who she saw tear apart living beings as if they were nothing.
The creature who wallowed in the dark side of the Force.
Ahsoka Tano tapped a button on her wrist computer. She was transmitting an audio-only feed to her new, albeit unofficial Padawan. She could feel him in the Force, following from a distance, unsure of why she left the hospital with a strange Caamasi in tow.
The Caamasi walked beside Ahsoka, his hands clasped together inside the broad sleeves of his turquoise robe. And while the robe, with its bright color, and its gold and purple trim, didn't look anything like the plain brown Jedi robes Ahsoka was used to, the man wearing it showed every sign of a Jedi Master's calm demeanor and poise. As the two got closer to the docks, and the crowds grew thicker, he said to Ahsoka, "My name is Ylenic It'kla."
"How did you recognize me? I thought my disguise was pretty good."
"I'm sure it was. But it was not with sight or the Force that I recognized you, Padawan. We Caamasi have a strong sense of smell, and even though you have grown from a child to a young woman, your scent has not changed too much for me to recognize."
"Well, let's hope there aren't any Jedi hunters out there who know my smell. Should we really be talking about this in public?"
"On the contrary, in public is the place where we are the least likely to be overheard. In a small crowd, it's hard not to overhear bits of conversations. Walking through a thick crowd like this, it's hard to hear more than a word or two. And far easier to dismiss those words. I have brought you here because the docks here are the site of several of the recent lightsaber and Force attacks."
"Yeah, I read the reports," said Ahsoka, "and they didn't look pretty. Do you think we have a Jedi who went rogue. Or worse, fell to the dark side?"
"I am afraid it may be so. On my last mission here, I came with two other Masters seeking fallen Jedi. We tracked them an ancient Sith temple outside of the city. We fought, and while one of our own fell, we managed to defeat them. Still, if something as simple as a building with ancient Sith teachings etched onto the walls was enough to corrupt the mind and spirit of three Jedi, there is no telling what once frightened Padawan may do."
"A Padawan? I read the report, the people who were hurt through the Force... I don't think a Padawan could be strong enough to do that."
"I didn't either. But the young man in the hospital told me that the lightsaber had a silver blade. I only know of two Jedi who wielded lightsabers that used a durindfire crystal who have ever visited this planet. The last time I left this planet, I took one of those lightsabers with me to return to the Jedi Order. I returned to search for the owner of the other, a missing apprentice by the name of Mirian Varos."
"I hope you're wrong. Because I came here to find Varos. She has family back on Alderaan who want to know that she's safe," said Ahsoka.
"I hope that I am wrong as well. I've known Mirian since she was a small child. My relationship to her was much like the relationship between you and Master Plo Koon. I found her, brought her to the temple. The Jedi may forbid attachment, but when you bring a small child into your world you can't help but care what happens to her." He shook his head. "I can't imagine that she would fall to the dark side. But perhaps there is something about this place, something that can corrupt. If so, then perhaps she can be taken away from it."
"I hope you're right."
"There is another topic I would like to discuss with you, Padawan Tano. But first, duty calls." Ylenic shifted the direction he was walking through the crowd, leading Ahsoka to an alley between two refrigerated warehouses. "In spite of the rather strong scent of fish here, I can smell faint traces of Mirian. I will stay low, if you will take the higher road."
Ahsoka tightened her face mask and said, "No problem." Taking care to hide her true Force-enhanced athletic abilities, she scaled the wall of the building using as little Force power as possible. When she reached the roof, she said into her comlink, "Nat, I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but stay back and be my eyes and ears just in case."
A text of "sure thing" popped up on the heads up display in Ahsoka's mask. Ahsoka ran across the roof to cover the other end of the alley, and she saw Ylenic walk into the alley.
Mirian had lost the monster. She didn't know where it had gone. There were too many people, there was too much. Her senses were dulled from lack of sleep. She didn't know where the monster was. She didn't know what he was doing with her lightsaber. All she knew was that she'd found a quiet place, a place in shadows. A place to hide.
And then, she heard her name. Spoken aloud for the first time in weeks.
She panicked.
"Mirian, I know that you are here. I can feel that you are tired, and afraid. You know me. You know that I will not hurt you." Ylenic It'Kla sat down in the middle of the alley. "Please, speak with me."
Ahsoka saw a trash can wobble, then a small figure darted out from behind it, knocking it over. Ahsoka leapt, kicking off from wall to wall until she hit the ground at the other end of the alley. She could see now that the figure was a girl, no bigger than she was. Bedraggled, malnourished, and as It'Kla had said, resonating fear in the Force. The girl took one look at Ahsoka's masked face and screamed, falling backwards.
"Stay away! Stay away! No more monsters! No more!" she cried as she crawled backwards away from Ahsoka.
"Grife, I forgot about that," Ahsoka said as she lifted her mask. "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Ahsoka Tano. You were in the Youngling class right after mine a few years ago."
The girl kept crawling backwards, still afraid. "No more monsters... please... make it stop... make it stop hurting people..."
As she crawled away, Ahsoka couldn't help but notice one more detail. The girl's belt clip where a lightsaber should be hanging from was empty.
Author's note: Ack, forgot to edit out my notations for line breaks. Fixed now. :P Hopefully the next episode/set of 4 chapters will be ready by Sunday or Monday.