Chapter 11 - A New Threat, Disliked on Both Sides
"Fellow apprentice!?" Sidious howled. Never had he believed two words could infuriate him to this level. He was thankful Plagueis was not here with him or he may have lashed out at him with all his might in that instant.
To openly state his replacement in front of himself was a step too far. Sidious had always intended on betraying his own master in the proper way of the Sith. But now it may be even harder than he thought.
Plagueis would not lower his guard like he wished now that this boy was with him, neither would he allow himself to be careless while the boy was being trained or on his own. If anything this would now be harder than ever. The time for biding his time was over. He now needed to act and make sure the blow was strong enough to kill Plagueis.
The Shuttle was completely silent as all the Jedi rode back to Coruscant. They all had a confusing recollection of what happened on Tatooine, what they remembered and what was told to them by the locals were both conflicting.
Anakin had completely vanished and no one in the area saw him leave or in what direction he went.
But one thing that conflicted both views was their ally that was found in a separate area from themselves and his injuries looked like he was directly hit by an explosion. Master Qui Gon Jinn pointed out though that his arm looked like it was severed with a lightsaber. Many burns seared the body but the lightsaber burns were unique and didn't have the markings of an explosion all over it.
With no one able to tell them of Anakin's whereabouts they then went back to his mother only to find she too was missing. Searching for her they found some information that she had been taken by a group of mercenaries and had vanished near the spaceport of the planet. Believing that Anakin was now off planet with his mother and the same mercenaries that had taken her.
"We need to report to the council at once what has happened and attempt to track down Anakin again." Qui Gon broke the silence talking to his fellow masters.
"I agree, however we have no leads on their whereabouts and most likely they are now off world somewhere." Master Koth answered him.
"We also have no idea what happened on that planet and the danger to ourselves is not an impossibility."
"I know Masters. I feel like something is out of place, with what you have told me about the Queen's evacuation and what just happened to us there seems to be a third party involved."
"He's right. We don't want to admit it but there seem to be other force users involved." Master Plo Koon answered them. Some of the other Jedi just pondered what their Master had just stated not wanting to be the first to say what they were all thinking.
"I believed it when you informed me of my own Padowan, after what just happened I know it to be true. The Sith have returned." Qui Gon stated confidently to the group.
"The Sith have been extinct for over a thousand years." Master Koth stated back to him. "More likely it is a rogue Jedi or a fallen Jedi. I do doubt the Sith would have anything to gain from getting involved in Naboo's politics, there would be need for them to expose themselves for something so trivial. An individual like a fallen Jedi gaining favour from a group outside the republic that could gain asylum is more likely."
"Either way we must report back to the council at once. There is much we don't know and may need to contact people outside the order in order to find the child Skywalker." Master Plo Koon ordered the group.
"Jedi Masters." A voice came over the speakers most likely the pilot. "We're receiving a transmission from the Jedi temple, the caller is Master Windu."
Master Windu stood in front of the communication unit waiting for the image to connect. Suddenly it blurred into an image and Master Qui Gon Jinn and Master Plo Koon appeared in front of him.
"Master Windu." Qui Gon addressed him as he made a slight bow.
"Master Qui Gon, have you been successful in locating the boy?"
"We did locate him Master but on our departure we were attacked and Anakin disappeared. We searched the immediate area and found nothing, also his mother too has vanished with what seemed to be mercenaries. We believe it was a force attack that we were under when Anakin disappeared, the locals of the area told us conflicting stories on what happened at the time."
Master Windu looked slightly down looking a little bit lost in thought. "Do you have any evidence that a force user was involved in this attack?"
"No Master." Master Plo Koon answered him. "But a fellow Knight Zersech was found killed nearby from an explosion. But his body had trace marks of a lightsaber wounds on one of his arms."
"Was his lightsaber on his body at the time?"
"It was not found in the area." Master Qui Gon answered him. "But we still believe that this was the act of a Sith that was in the area."
"The Sith are extinct Master Qui Gon. Our order has tracked them all down and eliminated them from the force."
"Master Koth was of the same opinion. Many of the Jedi aboard are of the same judgement as me, we know what we saw and what we felt at the time of the event."
"It matters not right now. Queen Amidala is returning to Naboo in an attempt to free her people. She has requested the Jedi that were accompanying her to help her in the liberation of her planet, Padowan Kennobi has already left to meet with her on the spaceport and will be leaving with her very soon."
Qui Gon was debating returning with the Queen and helping her for her home planet and continuing his search for Anakin. Sensing his debate master Plo Koon spoke up. "We can turn this ship around and meet up with the Queens transport. After what has happened to ourselves and the belief that either a Sith or a Fallen Jedi are involved we need to approach it with caution."
Master Windu placed a hand on his chin pondering what he was just told. "Yes I can agree with that. If there is a Fallen Jedi involved in this then we need to take proper precautions and bring them into custody."
"Yes master. And if they are involved in this then there may be answers to Anakin's whereabouts. I sensed it in the force the moment I met him Master, Anakin is involved in Naboo. Either directly or indirectly his appearance at this time and under these circumstances are too coincidental to be anything other than the will of the force." Master Plo Koon answered him while taking a slight turn to Master Qui Gon, who nodded slightly in appreciation.
"Yes, you and your fellow Jedi have permission to travel to Naboo and aid in its liberation. Take care of yourselves and protect one another." Master Windu answered before disconnecting the transmission, before making a mental note for himself. If this boy, Anakin Skywalker was indeed missing and possibly abducted by a Fallen Jedi or if however unlikely a Sith.
Then the order itself may have a very powerful enemy in the future that owes no loyalty to anyone. One that was too old to be taught the proper discipline and inner peace that was needed to use the force responsibly. A dangerous enemy that most likely could not be reasoned with, and would not hold back. He hoped that Qui Gon was able to find the boy soon and help him. Because if the worst was to happen he does not know if he could forgive himself for harming a child, no matter how righteous he believes his actions to be.