=Streets of Theed=
Arin hurried to keep up with Kel-Ani and Moraye as they made their way to the center of the city. The three were on their way to the archives.
"How are we going to find him if we don't know his name?" asked Arin.
"I don't know. We'll figure it out when we get there," Moraye said with a wave of her hand. Her strides were long and purposeful. Tall Kel-Ani's loping steps dwarfed Arin's. She was half-human and half-Morellian, a long-lived human subspecies that aged slower than most other sentients, so she looked like she was somewhere closer to eight years old instead of twelve, much to her dismay.
"Do you think the others will find anything?" Kel-Ani asked, referring to their three other clan mates and Kloré, who were going to look for clues in the palace.
"Dunno. The Guard should've swept most of that area by now. But don't worry about that. Our first priority is finding the archives," said Moraye. "We should probably find the university."
"Yeah," said Kel-Ani. "I remember we passed it on the way to the Palace. Find the palace, find the archives."
"We can just ask someone," Arin suggested, glancing around. At night, the streets were eerily quiet.
"We should keep away from guards, though," Moraye cautioned. "I'm sure they're all aware we're supposed to be in Otoh Gunga. The city's transportation hubs are on lockdown. I can't believe Tayla got us in through the canals. That seems like a gaping hole in security if you ask me," she continued somewhat pompously, raising her eyebrows judgmentally.
"Well," said Kel-Ani airily, "I've heard it's very hard to navigate through the planet's tunnels without an experienced guide. They probably thought it was impossible to get in that way."
"That's true," Moraye admitted.
"There's someone," said Arin, pointing. They asked an older-looking gentleman for the way to the university.
"You're actually quite close," he said. His eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled at them warmly. "Another young gentleman just asked me the same thing. What are you children doing out so late?" he asked. "I've heard that the Guard is tightening security."
"Astronomy class trip, sir," lied Arin politely as she and Moraye exchanged glances. "We need to get to the archives."
"Ah, I see. Follow this road for a few more blocks, go over the bridge, and walk across that big courtyard. You're right there."
"Thank you!" they said in unison and made their way over.
The archives towered over them, with wide stone steps and soaring columns, just like the ones they'd seen in the palace. Kel-Ani led, pushing through the heavy front doors, which were thankfully unlocked. Arin wondered briefly if a caveat of Naboo's alleged pacifism was that people just leave things unlocked all the time. It was just the archives, which wouldn't be a high-traffic area on any night but… It wasn't very street-smart, in her opinion.
They entered a gigantic atrium with a central help desk staffed by two droids on standby. The three younglings slunk past, headed for the databases.
"I think we're getting closer…" said Arin, squinting through the Force to examine the energies she felt.
"Closer to information about that Sith?" Kel-Ani asked.
"We don't know that he's actually a Sith," reminded Moraye. "Just someone who works for them."
"Aren't there only two Sith at a time?" Kel-Ani asked.
"I think so," said Moraye.
"Where do we even start?" Kel-Ani asked exasperatedly. "We don't even know his species. Human, near-human, who knows?"
"But we do know he had a red lightsaber, so he definitely is connected to the Sith somehow. And he and Master Plo knew each other, right, Arin? We might be able to find an existing entry in a database…"
Arin stopped in her tracks and looked down rows of data cards into a dark alcove to their left. In the corner behind a row of study carrels, there…
"Guys?" she said. "I really don't think we're gonna have to look very hard."
Before them was their wayward Sith acolyte, and he was laying a bomb.
Arin froze, rooted to the spot as the dark Jedi laid his shocking yellow eyes upon her.
He smirked. "Hello. You again," he said.
Arin drew her lightsaber, igniting it with a resonant whoom. Moraye and Kel-Ani stared, motionless.
The Sith acolyte stood, and his long cloak rippled around him. He adjusted his hood and stepped forward, displaying his palms in a mocking shrug. "Now, is that any way to greet someone? No matter. Congratulations, you've found me. But I'm sorry, but you're a bit late. I've put four of these around the city. I hope you can find them all before they go off," he taunted.
"Who are you," Arin demanded.
The acolyte tutted. "Ah, now telling you would be no fun, would it?"
"Who is your master?"
"My bidding is my own."
"Liar." Arin spat the word out as threateningly as she could, hoping the Jedi couldn't see her lips trembling.
He laughed. "Ah-ha, you're a brave little one, aren't you? Your friends here must be the brains of the group. How about a nice intellectual game? A puzzle, if you will, or perhaps… a race. Let's see if they can figure it out, hm?"
He waved his hand in the direction of the bomb, and Arin heard it click to life.
"You have three minutes. Until next time!" said the acolyte, and with a maniacal laugh, took off down the hall.
Without hesitation Arin tore after him, sheathing her lightsaber as she ran. "Call the guards!" she screamed to the shocked help-desk droids as she crashed through the door. The Sith acolyte was much faster than she was, but she ran as fast as her short legs would carry her to keep up across the strangely deserted courtyard to the bridge.
Arin shouted into her comlink hooked to her forearm. "We've found the Sith acolyte! Repeat, we've found the Sith acolyte! Theed University archives to Corleo Bridge. He's laid a bomb in the archives~"
Kloré's reply came immediately. "Alerting the guards. Backup is coming. Do not engage the Sith! Arin, do you hear me? Do not-"
Arin switched off the comlink and used the Force to propel her forward. Her heart fluttered madly. She'd lost him. No, no, no…
She thundered up the bridge's steps looking around wildly, and then she saw the dark Jedi landing in a waiting water speeder below. Did he have help from inside the city? She didn't remember that boat being there before.
He cackled. "So long!" he called with an exaggerated salute. He then pushed his palm in the air, splaying all five fingers. Huh? Then a blast hit Arin squarely in the torso, launching her backwards and back down the stairs. She tumbled to a halt flat on her back, gasping for air.
"Arin!" She heard Zade's voice as he sprinted over, falling to his knees next to her. "Are you okay?"
"Just… wind knocked… outta me…" she wheezed as she sat up gingerly.
"I was looking around just outside the palace. The others are on their way. Where's the bomb? Can you stand?"
"He…ye… yeah…" Zade pulled Arin up by her upper arm.
He pressed his hands to the base of her rib cage. "Here," he said, and she could breathe again.
"How'd you do that?" She asked as they took off at a run across the courtyard.
"You had a diaphragm spasm. It needed to be steadied. That's not important. Where's Kel-Ani and Moraye?"
"They're… I think they're still in there," said Arin as they pushed through the door. She was certain they only had seconds left to defuse the-
Ka-BLAM.
The building rocked in a thunderous blast and Zade and Arin were knocked off their feet by a shock wave that rippled across the floor. She screamed for her friends, scrambling to her feet and rushing past rows of miraculously-standing duracrete archive shelves.
"Arin!"
"Moraye!?" Arin called.
"Moraye!" echoed Zade.
"Over here!"
Water was seeping across the floor from cracks in the wall. There must've been a canal just beyond. Arin stumbled over scraps of plasteel from the study carrels, which had been blown apart by the explosion.
"There!" said Zade, pointing. They rushed over to where Moraye's arm waved from beneath a pile of rubble.
"Moraye!" cried Arin, bending to rip away sheets of plasteel and duracrete.
With a final pull Arin and Zade tore away enough space for Moraye to crawl out.
"Where's Kel-Ani?!" asked Arin as she felt panic rise in her chest.
"Here," said Moraye, kicking a block of duracrete away and crawling out. Arin realized that they'd ducked behind an empty duracrete-enforced information desk to use as a shield. Duracrete didn't seem so durable to Arin right now…
"I'm okay," said Kel-Ani softly, clambering out behind Moraye. When he stood, he swayed.
Zade gripped his elbow. "Take it easy."
"There's water everywhere," said Moraye, as it seeped into their shoes.
"Are we going to get electrocuted?" asked Zade.
"I don't know. But we shouldn't go near any electronics, just in case," Moraye advised. Then she put her hand to her forehead and winced. "Ow."
"Did you hit your head?" Arin asked.
"I hit everything," said Moraye.
"Kel-Ani? Can you walk?" Zade asked Kel-Ani gently.
He took a moment to answer. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"I think you have a concussion," said Zade.
"A- a conk-what?"
"Let's get you out of here," said Zade, draping Kel-Ani's arm around his shoulder. "Arin, have you got Moraye? We should leave," he added, swishing a foot in the water that was now shin-deep.
Arin offered Moraye her arm, which she took readily. They waded out up a small set of stairs to the main hallway. The two help-desk droids were gone. Arin briefly wondered where, but she was intercepted at the main door by Naia, who swept her and Moraye up in a big hug.
"Sithspit, you guys had me so worried! Are you okay?" she cried. Her messy strawberry-blonde curls bounced madly.
"I'm okay," said Moraye. "Just bruised. It's Kel-Ani who needs some attention, I think."
"Younglings!"
Arin looked over to see it was Kloré who had spoken, slowing from a run to a brisk walk. Three guards were with her. She gestured to one of them.
"This is Captain Panaka, head of the Royal Naboo Security Forces. Tell him everything that happened."
"Um, well…" began Arin.
"Quickly, please," Panaka said sharply.
"It was Arin who spotted him. He was laying a bomb in the archives," said Moraye tiredly. "He said we had three minutes before it went off. Arin went after him and we tried to defuse it, but… we couldn't, and we had to take cover."
"And there are three more in the city," added Arin. "He left going that way down the canal." She pointed in that direction.
"I've had enough of this," said Panaka. "We've already found one of them, and we just activated our shield generators. The city's on full lockdown. Nobody gets in… or out." As he spoke the words a translucent purple dome arched across the sky.
"Shields operational, Captain," announced one of the guards.
"Which of you saw him last?" Panaka asked seriously.
"Me," said Arin.
"How did he leave?"
"He had a water speeder waiting for him," she answered. She looked around. Where was Halyon?
"Was this the first time you saw the speeder?"
"I'm not sure. I think so." Arin cursed herself for not being more observant.
"May have an accomplice in the city," Panaka remarked to another guard. He turned back to Arin. "Can you give me a description?"
"Human, I think. He… wore a hood. It was all black. Head to toe. He has…" she squeezed her eyes shut as fear sank into her stomach. "Yellow eyes. He has yellow eyes."
"Can you guess his height?"
"I… I don't know."
"About your height, Captain?" offered Zade.
"Note it, Sykes," said Panaka to the same guard.
"Yes, sir."
"No one's leaving this city. We won't rest until we've found him," Panaka declared.
"What about the Jedi?" Naia asked timidly.
Kloré frowned. "I've tried to reach them. They don't respond."
"They're still here?" Zade asked.
"They've been unable to leave," bristled Captain Panaka, "because this Sith acolyte knocked out our entire scanner database."
"Does that mean-"
"What's important right now is that we find him. We'll explain the details to you later. Did the Jedi give you further instructions? Other than the ones to stay in Otoh Gunga…"
Kloré flushed, and Arin jumped in. "Master Plo said that some Jedi from Bespin were coming. They should be here in the morning."
"Yeah, I remember him saying that," added Zade. "How are they supposed to get in?"
"They'll request permission to land," said the guard named Sykes. "We'll handle the situation and notify you upon their arrival."
"Oh, there might be a problem…" said Kloré sheepishly. "The Jedi from Bespin were probably told to meet us in Otoh Gunga."
"We'll be in contact with Boss Lyonie and alert him of this. Now, it's imperative that you all return to the safety of the palace."
"What about the other bombs?" Arin asked.
"Your friend seems to need medical attention," said the third guard, who was an gentle-looking woman. Arin glanced to Kel-Ani. He looked dazed and pale. "Leave the bombs to the Royal Guard. We appreciate your willingness to help, younglings, but it's not something you're trained yet to handle."
"We'll explain what's going on inside," Kloré said. "Let's get to where it's safe."
Arin huffed. Always grown-ups were telling her she wasn't ready or strong or capable enough. There was always some excuse to get them to go back and hide and do nothing while there was a dangerous Sith acolyte on the loose. Still, she kept her mouth shut and allowed herself to be escorted back inside the palace.
"Where's Halyon?" Arin asked Naia quietly.
"On the bridge," she said, pointing. "Look."
Arin turned to see, and sure enough, there was Halyon. His eyes were shut and his hands rested on the railing. "Halyon!" she called. "Come on!"
He didn't reply. Arin squeezed Moraye's arm, then unhooked her elbow and slipped away.
"Hey!" Arin called, jogging over to him.
Halyon looked over, but didn't reply. He stared back to the canal.
"We have to go back now," Arin insisted.
Halyon tore his gaze away. "Yeah, all right."
"Did you find any clues at the palace?"
"We found nothing."
"Oh. Did you see something? Just now?"
"I was just looking."
"Well, come on, let's go."