Chapter 14: Glimpses

[The passageways of The Ouran, space above Falleen, the Falleen system]

"So," Shaak concluded her tale to a now more-than-slightly-embarrassed Master Corobb. "It's fair to say it most certainly did cause us a few problems. If you will excuse me, I have a certain council's day to ruin."

She sourly marched off, Fe-Sun in tow.

{Ahem,} Master Corobb sheepishly said to Stass. {We had best get moving…}

Their journey resumed in silence – or almost silence. Master Corobb began to hum some sort of tune as they descended to the conference block.

{So…} he tried to break the ice, {How are you feeling?}

"Better."

He was probably expecting a longer response. Was she being rude?

"Uh, sorry Master Corobb… it's just I really wanted to talk to Ad- er, Master Gallia."

{Not to worry, Padawan Allie,} he warbled back, {I'm sure you will have another opportunity to do so.}

They mercifully arrived at the appointed conference room and further conversation was thankfully unnecessary. Master Corobb bid his farewell and departed while Stass rapped her hand against the door.

"Come in," came the voice of Master Reivzx and Stass entered. Inside sat Agen, Coleman and Agen's master, Norcuna, with Master Reivzx herself.

Coleman gestured the seat next to him and Stass sat, folding her arms into her as all eyes fell to Master Reivzx.

"I shall keep this brief, as I have to meet the Falleen delegation soon. The four of you are being dispatched to Teth. The Wild Space Alliance has specifically requested Jedi assistance in a potential espionage investigation. They think somebody might be trying to make off with a new armament they're developing. They seem extremely concerned about security, so you'll leave first thing tomorrow. The Analysis Bureau and The Strategic Information Service both made unsubtle requests that you acquire schematics for the arm – I shot them down though." Her tone became firm at this point and she fixed a serious gaze on each of them in turn. "You are not, under any circumstances, to do anything that will jeopardise relations between the Republic and The Wild Space Alliance. Am I made clear?"

There was a collective nod in response.

"Excellent," she continued, "All relevant information is on this datapad." She tapped a datapad that lay in the middle of the table. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some roses to pick."

Smirking slightly, she rose to her feet and swept out the door.

Norcuna swept up the datapad and turned to the others.

"Alright," he said, "how much do any of you know about The Wild Space Alliance?"

"Formed approximately three thousand two hundred years ago," rattled off Stass, "it is a confederation of four primary powers with a fifth 'Foederati' power. The four primary powers are Imperial Teth, The Rhen Var Nganism, The Daluuj Sultanate and Bothan Space. The 'Foederati' power is The Cophrigin Colonies, which is not a full member, but receives several benefits of membership – such as free trade and travel – in a special treaty. Bothan Space has dual membership with both The Alliance and The Republic, while the other powers remain outside Republic law. The collective territory of The Alliance forms roughly a crescent around Hutt Space on the far side of the Galactic centre and-"

"Stass," interrupted Coleman, "That is quite enough, thank you."

Stass blushed somewhat and tapped her fingers, "Oh, um… sorry."

"Nothing to apologise for," said Norcuna as he turned to the holopad. "Hmm. Yes, I see. Unauthorised transmissions. Possible data leaks. I have a couple of old contacts on Teth I could scrounge for information at the very least. Now, let's take a look at this armament… a blast cannon. CR-1, it's called. Being developed in partnership with Golan arms. What do you think, Coleman?"

Coleman glanced down the datapad screen, one of his fingers tapping the table.

"Hmm. I think we need to see the security up close before we can get a good idea for how to start."

"That's what I was afraid of, unfortunately. Meeting adjourned, then. Padawans be ready in Hangar 4E at 7am. You both have medical appointments with Master Caudle this evening – he's teaching now. Agen, if you'll come with me and we shall resume our meditation."

"So, Siri," said Adi, as her patience finally ran out. "Are we going to get to Obi-Wan or are you going to continue evading the issue for the rest of today?"

Siri froze mid-sentence. They were in Adi's office, a modestly sized, modestly decorated room with little trimmings, save for a few holopics and a stand for Adi's headdress. Siri snapped her jaw shut and sighed to herself before leaning back in the chair. She thought she'd been successfully bullshitting her way through the last half an hour. Apparently she wasn't as good at that as she thought. Resigning herself, she nodded mutely.

Adi regarded her pensively before speaking again.

"You like Obi-Wan."

There was no denial.

"You like him a lot and you don't know how you feel about it," Adi continued. "You know that, as a Jedi, you're not supposed to have such relationships – but at the same time it sounds hollow and distant. You don't know if you want him more than you want to be a Jedi."

Siri gawked at her.

"How did you…?"

Adi answered with a roll of the eyes, but eventually followed up with a succinct addendum.

"You really think this is the first time this has happened?"

"It's common?" asked Siri, somewhat confused.

"Of course it is," came the kindly reply. "We're all people here, after all. Most Jedi have to deal with this at some point or another – my advice is to talk to him about it-"

"What?!" squeaked Siri, "I can't tell him! Just… just... how would I?"

To her surprise, Adi only raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"What?" asked Siri.

"You haven't realised, have you?"

"Realised what?"

Adi seemed on the verge of sniggering. If Siri knew one thing, it was that her master didn't snigger.

"Siri, are you being intentionally dense?"

"Master, wh-"

"He likes you as well," Adi finally supplied.

Siri blinked. If there was one thing she hadn't expected, it was that. She really, really hadn't expected that.

"He does?"

"Yes. And most of us can see it," said Adi, humour fading and exasperation beginning to take hold.

Siri narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion.

"Why are you so sure?" she asked.

Adi rolled her eyes for a second time.

"I pay a lot more attention than you do, it seems," she muttered. Putting her hand under her chin, she thought a little, composing her next words. "Just, next time you're talking to him, take note of how he speaks and acts. Look at his body language. In the meantime, think about this: In that test you just did with him, both of you were moving in synch."

Siri opened her mouth to speak, before realising she didn't know what she was going to say and so it hung open like a fish. She closed it and tried again – still nothing. On the third attempt, she finally managed to force something out.

"But… what does that mean?"

"It means that the two of you need to have a serious talk. But that isn't the only thing bothering you, is it?"

Siri blinked, confusedly.

"What do you mean, master?"

Adi chewed her lip before replying.

"Have you spoken to Master Lev'Loa yet?"

'Ah.' Siri thought. Her face gave Adi all the answer she could ever need, unfortunately.

Adi pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Siri's emotional density was really beginning to infuriate.

"Right, right. I'm booking an appointment for you tomorrow with him. You need to talk about what happened in those caves."

"But-"

"No buts, Siri. This can destroy people if they don't deal with it."

Siri crossed her arms moodily and sat back in her chair, sulking.

"Fine. But don't expect me to make it easy for him."

Adi's communicator beeped, rather insistently, for that matter. Siri took the opportunity to close the conversation.

"Are we done talking about this, Master?"

"Yes," said Adi, sagely. "But you are only just beginning talking about this to Master Lev'Loa. And Obi-Wan."

"I'll be off then," she said cheekily.

"Sure," muttered Adi, checking her communicator distractedly. "Go give someone else headaches for a change, why don't you."

As Siri opened the door to leave, she came face to face with Stass. The two stared at each other, before Stass moved aside to let Siri pass. Stass watched her go, plodding pensively down the passage, lost in thought. When she turned back to Adi's office, she saw Adi pulling on her cloak.

"Oh. You're… going somewhere," said Stass, deflating. "I'll come back another time-"

"No need," replied Adi, "walk with me?"

Stass shut her mouth, swallowed, nodded and followed Adi from the office, in the direction of the central lifts. They were shortly accosted by R3-K9, Master Reivzx's astromech droid, who beeped and booped incessantly at Adi, for some reason.

"I get it, K9," snapped Adi wearily, "Relax, I'm on my way now. Go pester Master Giiett; he's in the Room Of A Thousand Fountains and you know he'll be late."

Apparently satisfied with his new task, the little irritation in silver, tore off down the passage at breakneck speed. Shaking her head, Adi resumed her journey with Stass in tow.

"We're having an emergency council session," informed Adi, as they arrived at the lift entrances. One was already here and open. Stepping inside, Adi hit the button for the council chamber. "Master Ti just dropped some unpleasant news on us. But never mind that, what's up?"

Stass took deep breath and put together exactly what she wanted to say in her head. She probably should have done this already.

"How do you do it?" she asked, gazing up at her elder cousin.

"Do what?" said Adi, brow furrowing in confusion.

"How do you keep such a level head? How do you put up with all the crap? How do you… keep control? I… I just… I don't know if I can do it."

Adi's face softened. A knowing smile formed.

"It's not easy, believe me," she began, "I don't know if it's something I can put into words very well… I take things one step at a time; one foot in front of the other. It's something we all learn in time, don't fret about it too much."

"But, some days it just feels like I have no idea what I'm doing," replied Stass, in a rush. "And I never know if I'll ever be good enough, or if you won't come back one day, or-"

She was interrupted by Adi's hands on her shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

"That's perfectly normal," Adi said into her ear, "you're a bright young girl with a brighter future ahead of you. I have faith in you."

The lift halted, the doors opening. Adi released Stass and stepped out.

"Have fun on Teth!" she called behind her as she entered the council room.

Stass just stood there, in the lift, gazing at the closed chamber doors. She couldn't stop grinning like a village idiot.

With a crackle, two lightsaber blades clashed. One green, one blue.

"You're distracted," said K'Kruhk, the owner of the blue blade, gruffly. Bultar gritted her teeth as K'Kruhk followed up with two more heavy strikes. Backing away to give herself more room, she sidestepped his next strike and put her entire weight into the next swing, hoping to knock his weapon out of his hand. The clash was heavy, but not nearly heavy enough. K'Kruhk rolled his eyes and parried effortlessly, landing another hefty swing on her blade.

"Really? Power swings? Against me? I'm disappointed." He grinned and grabbed her arm, pushing away her lightsaber and holding his own near to her belly. "Aaaaand, you're dead."

"Damn it!" Bultar cried in frustration.

"Focus," called Lilit Twoseas, K'Kruhk's master, from the side. "You won't beat him by brute force, Padawan Swan – he's much bigger, heavier and stronger than you. I could never beat him with sheer strength; fight more cleverly."

They were in the Room Of A Thousand Fountains – transplanted directly from the old temple to the Ouran. It was an impressive display of hydroponics – an indoor garden grotto, centred around a small waterfall with lush, well-kept foliage all around. Bultar, K'Kruhk and their masters were by the plunge pool. High above, others watched from bridges extending across the cavern. The room was situated at the very bottom of the Ouran, but the cavern's height took it through several floors – hence the necessary bridges.

Ordinarily, it was a place of quiet reflection and meditation. Today, it was being used to test the padawans' ability to keep in a meditative state with The Force and maintain a successful duel. Not a required skill, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was generally considered worth learning by most masters.

Micah smiled fondly as Bultar and K'Kruhk assumed their opening stances for round two.

"It is interesting how quickly they fall back to wild instincts when multitasking," he whispered to Lilit, as their padawans clashed again. "K'Kruhk only won that because of his strength."

"I know," said Lilit, "he's abandoned all form – I'll need to have a talk with him about that. All Bultar needs to do is keep it cool and she'll trounce him."

"A pity, then, that she doesn't seem able to meditate and fight well, either."

Their quiet conversation was interrupted by frantic whistling. Looking round, the two saw K9 hare into view, barely stopping in front of them in time. It hurriedly jittered at Micah.

"Council? Now?"

His only response was a barrage of beeps and a slight nudge from the droid.

"Alright, alright," he said, annoyed. "I'll stay for this last bout then. Lilit, can you take over on your own afterwards?"

"Sure," she replied, before both turned their attentions back on Bultar and K'Kruhk. K'Kruhk was fighting much more cleverly now, as was Bultar, but every time they tried detaching their minds, they just fell back onto brute strength. Usually, they were quite well-matched, but with the added distraction, K'Kruhk had the decisive upper hand.

Behind them, A'Sharad and Xiaan were having a more balanced duel – mostly because they were both utterly failing to enter any kind of meditative state. J'Mikel surveyed them, worriedly.

Xiaan's yellow blade ground to a standstill, locked with A'Sharad's red, her eyes fixed on the lenses of his mask – the red, impenetrable circles she had never seen behind. Staring each other down, each blade moved back and forth, neither gaining any kind of advantage. Suddenly, the standoff was broken by A'Sharad's second lightsaber swinging round at her. She hopped back, breaking off, and nearly got under his guard. He fended her off, retaliating with a flurry of rapid strikes that glanced off Xiaan's lightsaber – but one or two were a narrow thing.

"Need I remind you of the object of this exercise?" put in J'Mikel as the pair separated and sized each other up some more. "Reach out with The Force. Let it guide you, relax from your surroundings – but do not lose track of them."

"Not for lack of trying," growled Xiaan. She steadied herself and cleared her mind.

'Okay, relax,' she thought to herself, 'let The Force guide you. No distractions. No- ahfuck!'

She was broken from her trance by A'Sharad lunging, caught off guard, she barely deflected and stumbled back. She pushed him away with The Force, buying herself a little time. A'Sharad's scrawny build and two weapons gave Xiaan the strength advantage – she had more power on the swing with her two-handed grip. She just had to find an opening and she could take one of his weapons clean out of his hands.

'Focus. You can do thi-'

"Stop focusing with your mind," said J'Mikel, "Focus with The Force. It is your ally."

Shaking her head, Xiaan changed stance and tried once again to clear her mind. She set her eyes on A'Sharad's lenses again, on the dark red shroud – behind which lay who knew what. Not for the first time, she found herself curious as to what his eyes were like. No. This was not the time for such thoughts. The two circled each other, still staring, weapons ready. Xiaan kept gazing into those sanguine pools; she was sure he was keeping eye contact behind them. She could sense it. Or… she thought she sensed it. Everything seemed to fall away. She felt detached. Like she was watching what was happening as opposed to being directly part of it. Fluidly, she made the first move. Her lightsaber flashing across to be intercepted by one of his. Then she counter-parried his riposte, deflecting one red sabre, then the other. Her own return strike caught him off guard and he barely caught it.

J'Mikel's eyes widened as he saw the duel unfold.

"Lilit! Micah!" he called, "Look at this; they're doing it!"

The other two glanced over, caught by surprise. Bultar and K'Kruhk also looked, abandoning their duel. Xiaan and A'Sharad moved fluidly, in almost perfect unison, deflecting and redirecting the other's blows. Their eyes remained fixed on each other as each slash and lunge fell.

"Ah!"

Xiaan had gone under A'Sharad's guard and left a small graze on the inside of his elbow. His left-hand weapon fell to the grass with a thump and extinguished. The response was both immediate and shocking.

With an inhuman growl, A'Sharad viciously lashed out with his remaining weapon, nearly disarming Xiaan. A change had come over him. Suddenly a storm of swift, violent blows rained down on Xiaan, accompanied by the guttural roars that Tuskens were known for. Taken aback, she barely parried each in turn, stumbling backwards. A'Sharad leapt at her, his hand closing around her neck, as they both fell to the ground. Xiaan gazed up, terrified, at the mask barely an inch from her face. She could feel the heat of his lightsaber somewhere near her throat.

There was silence, save for the heavy breathing of both of them. Xiaan could feel her heart racing; she could also feel his pulse from the proximity – it was so fast. The masters all had their hands on their weapons, unwilling to come close, lest it endanger Xiaan further. She could almost make out some kind of glow behind those lenses, those ruby discs of his that hid so much.

"A'Sharad?" Xiaan whispered in a small voice.

The glow receded. A'Sharad seemed to come to himself; his hand slacked and fell from her neck. Shutting off his lightsaber, he continued to stare at her eyes. Well, Xiaan thought that's what he was looking at.

"Xiaan?" his voice sounded confused. Sitting up, he glanced down at his hands. His lightsaber hilt dropped from his right hand. "I… what… what did I do?"

Over his shoulder, Xiaan saw the masters relaxing somewhat – J'Mikel breathing a sigh of relief. Xiaan waved them away, however, as they made to come closer. More people was not going to be helpful.

"What… what happened?" A'Sharad continued. He sounded… scared, his head now tilted slightly further downward. Xiaan was confused at first, then realised he was looking at her neck.

'Must be a mark,' she thought.

What did she say? What should she say? A'Sharad's hand reached out to touch the red bruise, fresh on her neck.

"Did… did… did I do that?" His voice and breathing were both heavily shaking. Still lying back on the grass, staring up at his mask and wishing just for once she could see his face, Xiaan wrapped her hand around his and tugged it away from the bruise. His head was framed by the golden daylight, a simulation of the room. He may not have been able to show expressions through his wrappings; but his near-hyperventilation and the sheer distress in his voice convinced her. Whatever that was that had just happened, it was not his fault.

A'Sharad had, by now, gleaned the answer from Xiaan's eyes. He slumped, looking around at the others, who were all staring at him in shock.

"I-I'm sorry. I… I'm sorry."

Xiaan sat up, still holding his hand.

"It's alright," she whispered.

"No," came his despondent reply, "It isn't."

In the one of Nigh Verity's many leisure districts, two old friends – a Muun and a human – stepped up the steps into a glittering theatre. It was an opulent venue, to be sure. A place frequented by the wealthy and political elite.

The Muun was a banker by trade; wealthy, straight-backed, and with a soft, kindly expression almost permanently present on his worn features. The human, one of the Naboo, had similarly aged features, but was not as old. Pale, wrinkled skin, greying brown hair and with blueish grey, watery eyes. A senator, he had travelled much of the galaxy in his time; in stark contrast to the Muun, who rarely made public appearances. They talked and smiled and waved as the occasional member of the elite recognised them. Proceeding into the grand building, the pair were greeted and shown to the Muun's private box. The show was said to be glorious and indeed it was, one of the finest performances of modern opera imaginable. For the two, it was an evening of pleasant company, superb art, fine wine and a deserved respite from their stressful jobs. Tonight, they let themselves relax and be enthralled by the spectacle of art, forgetting their responsibilities, tribulations and agendas; for one night only. Work awaited them tomorrow, pressing business especially for the Muun. But that could wait, tonight they made merry. They talked of a great many things; financial endeavours, private agreements, personal irritations, the state of the galaxy, The Jedi, The Sith, The Republic and many other topics.

All too soon, the wondrous final few notes came to a close. The two stayed some time afterwards, drinking further. There was no hurry. Eventually the Human was seen leaving, sleepily, by a number of staff, but the Muun remained. He drank and he drank, slowly falling into a slumber. His eyes were heavy, his form almost melting into his armchair. Finally, he let go and fell into a deep, long sleep.

"At last," said a quiet voice. A hand reached up and closed into a fist. It was the human.

The neck of the Muun slowly constricted, tightening dangerously. He began to awake, dimly aware of the emergency, but was too far into his intoxicated stupor to muster any form of defence. He had no energy; his body was heavy, lumpen, a great weight. There was nothing he could do. And yet, strangely, he found he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he felt pensive. Reflective, even. In his final moments, he found himself more serene and content than life had ever granted him.

'So this is how it ends?' He groggily thought to himself, "Ironic. The only one I couldn't save: me.'

The only thing that puzzled him was, why now?

"A clandestine investigation has launched into Damask Holdings," said the man, "They have found you. They may not know it yet, but the Jedi have unearthed you."

The Munn's neck tightened further.

"I have learned all I can from you. You are now a hindrance," continued the man, "Dead weight. And a liability with your exposure. I have found an apprentice. We shall continue where you no longer can. I no longer need you."

The Muun was losing consciousness once more. He felt his impending end. For all his exertion on the matter of preserving life, he now found himself curious as to what death would be like.

"Goodbye, Master."

And so it was, that thought fell from the Munn, his eyes closing almost peacefully.

And the life of Darth Plagueis the Wise came to its end.