Chapter 59 - After Effects

"Are you- a T-47?" Asajj asked, her eyes glancing out the window in the front of the ship.

Dooku sat back and closed his eyes to rest. It had been a lot easier for him to keep his youngest in line since Anakin had been playing a game with her. He had a faint headache that was suddenly getting worse, but trusted it would resolve itself.

"Anakin?" Asajj began to radiate worry, and Dooku opened his eyes to see what was going on.

The young man had gone pale, and his muscles were tight, shaking spastically. He didn't respond to Asajj's calls. Dooku pulled her back before she could do more than poke him.

"Anak- Padawan Skywalker. Are you alright?" Dooku tried. He got no response, so he looked to the other younglings for help.

Kate, one of the girls who was with him, stared at the floor. She was pale, and looked like she might get sick. The door to the back where the other two were sleeping opened up and Alex emerged. He took three steps in and he did get sick. The other girl, Freya, walked out like she had been hit in the head.

Dooku looked at Tol and Asajj, whatever it was, it was not affecting them, and they didn't look responsible. Tol was eying Alex with a sad look and Asajj seemed just as worried as he was.

"NO!" Suddenly Anakin broke his silence to shout. Then he started to cry, clutching his head.

"Their training bonds." Tol whispered. "Something must have happened to their Masters."

Dooku looked at him in shock. He wanted to protest, to insist that it had to be another cause, but then he had no other ideas. His and Qui-Gon's old bond was a seldom used pathway in his mind that now seemed as quiet as ever.

Asajj squinted. "My master died too. I didn't react to it like this."

"I didn't say they died." Tol walked between the younglings with his hands behind his back. "I hardly felt anything when my Master died. Not over the bond. But when he first touched that gem, it felt…" He motioned towards Alex, who was shaking his head like he was very dizzy and wanted to clear it. "It felt like that."

Dooku had to accept it. Something was very wrong here, and not likely to get better without intervention. "Help them," he ordered. Then he bent down to Anakin, who was shaking now. His eyes were unable to keep focus for even a few seconds.

It took more than a few minutes for them all to regather their strength. Tol had brought Alex to the showers, to hold him under cold water, which he insisted would help. None of them had spoken yet, but they did whisper amongst themselves. None of them felt even the teensiest bit dark, so Dooku let them recover at their own speed.

The door to the refresher opened, and a shivering, but mostly upright Alex emerged wrapped in towels.

Tol followed him out. "Alright. Anyone else need a cold shower?" he asked passively.

"No." Freya answered coldly, and the other shook her head.

"Yeah, I'll pass, thanks." Anakin responded.

"What do we do now?" Alex moaned.

"We get on the radio to Coruscant." Anakin answered. "We need to report to the council."

Kate nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think Master Windu sent them an update before they left."

"He did." Freya confirmed. "They should be able to send someone."

"But what should we tell them?" Alex asked.

Dooku leaned in closer, hoping to hear someone describe what just happened. The younglings just looked up at him, like they were planning a party and he was an uninvited guest.

"Grandmaster, if you could go into the back…" Anakin started.

"B- I-I Want to help. Just a few moments ago, you couldn't stand on your own," Dooku pointed out.

Anakin sighed. "If Mace already talked to the Council, they know about your involvement in this. They won't be ready to trust you yet, and we need them to trust us."

Dooku exhaled and released his anxiety into the Force. He knew Anakin was right. He sacrificed his position as a respectable former Jedi when he first decided to comm the Sith. He nodded, "Just tell me if I can do anything."

He didn't have to say anything, Tol and Asajj moved towards the back room. Dooku only had to follow them, and shut the door behind his back. Somehow he felt like he was shutting it on his own Padawan. He stepped in and fell to the floor, as Tol and Asajj rushed in to help him.

"What should we tell them?" Alex repeated the question.

"It feels like Master Windu is… I don't know. I feel him, but I can't hear him." Freya tried to describe.

"Uh-huh." Anakin hummed in agreement. It was a poor description, but the closest he could put words to. "Before that, I think something attacked Obi-Wan. I felt darkness like I couldn't describe."

"You were actively connected that whole time?" Alex asked. The others looked at him in shock.

"Yeah, I was worried. Anyway, I tried to shine a light on whatever it was over the Bond. But then Obi-Wan put up his shields, and I couldn't get in there anymore. Now, Obi-Wan is gone, like you said. Not completely, but like he's under a shadow."

"Okay, that's a good description of it," Alex said. "But none of us know where they went. Do you know if Mace included that in his message?"

Freya shrugged.

"I can find out where they went," Anakin volunteered. "Obi-Wan's comlink. He finally let me update it last week and it has this thing where if you lose your comlink, you can find it again." As he said this he was walking up to the computer.

"I think the rule is for your Master to keep it locked under a password," Kate warned.

Alex smiled like he knew what would happen next.

Anakin went up to the screen. Typed in a few hotkeys and in less than a minute had the computer's homescreen up. "What password?" He was enjoying himself. "Alright, according to this, Obi-Wan and I presume the rest of the gang are here." He pointed to the red dot on the screen. "I don't know if it's good or bad, but they don't seem to be moving."

"At least we can tell the council specifically where they are." Alex agreed.

Depa tried. Some days it all seemed to go scud.

Thanks to a mission years ago she'd performed so well at, Depa was declared a Master before most of her fellow clanmates had even chosen their first Padawans, and was appointed to the council soon after that. She had little experience teaching and even less in counseling young ones who were in real danger. But, as Mace often reiterates when he's stressed, "The Force does not give us more than we can handle."

It was days like this that made her question if the man had even the foggiest idea what he was talking about.

First, her master sent in a mission report that had her summoning the Grandmaster, and half the council. To say that she woke them was a strong word, it was hardly evening, but they came in willing to help her resolve the mess anyways. Yaddle boarded a ship and headed out to give her former Master backup, and Yoda went to Serenno, to be there when the teams they had sent to arrest Dooku, ineffectually apparently, brought in their evidence. With that disaster averted, the rest of the council went back to bed. Depa could have gone back to sleep, like the others. Her comm would've awakened her when the emergency call came in, but she had things to do, and what better time than the present.

Next, all the Sith hells came and opened up to swallow her whole, or so she felt. She became very sick suddenly, and she was about to comm the healing halls, even though Master Che would probably just lecture her about working too hard. Like she had any choice in the matter. That was Council life. Before she dialed the halls, her comlink started to blink. It was another one on the council's emergency line, and it was her responsibility for the next eight hours to answer it. She'd only realized belatedly that it was from the same number that Mace had used to contact her earlier.

"Master. Master." came the voices of four younglings over the comm.

Depa was still slightly dizzy, and she squinted at the holo like it was way too bright. "Master Billaba here. Who is this? Where are your masters?"

"Depa, we need help." came the voice of one of them.

"Padawan Freya?" Depa named when she recognized the voice.

"Yes, Master Windu, and all of our Masters went out on the hunt for a Sith who was supposed to be in the area. Then we all woke up with our heads spinning and our bonds quiet. Something's wrong, and I don't know what to do."

Depa immediately touched the bond she had with Mace, and what she felt sent a chill down her spine. Bonds were most effective under short distances. On a battlefield, two Jedi could fight as one. It was the reason Master-Padawan pairs were used for so many missions. But sometimes, when the bond was especially close, the Padawan's could get an assurance or a feeling from much farther away than that. Hers and Mace's was one of those bonds.

She looked up with alarm at Freya. "You feel it too, don't you," the girl guessed.

"We must not worry. Mace would tell us to release our anxious thoughts to the Force. The attachment will not help us or him." Depa took a moment to try her own advice.

'There we go. That sounded Master-y. You can do this. Ge, I hope they don't cry, cause then I'm gonna cry, and then… Focus Depa."

"Master?" Anakin questioned.

"Master. Yes, that's what you need. A Master."

"Master, when it happened, I think I felt it…" Anakin started to explain, but Depa was too busy in thought to listen.

"It's all going to be okay. I'm going to comm Yaddle. She's already on her way to you."

"It was very dark, and I think it felt like someone, not like a statue," Anakin continued. "I have the Global Positioning coordinates for where they are now, but I don't think it would be good to go there."

"No, you stay right where you are. Yaddle is a very good Master. She will know how to help. Send me those coordinates. I'm going to close now. Wait for her to come." Depa pressed the button and the holo shut down.

Next she used her computer to find the number to Yaddle's vessel, and commed her.

"Here, Yaddle is."

"Master Yaddle, this is Master Billaba. We've had an update from Murkhana. It, uh, it isn't good. Their Padawan's just commed the emergency line, and apparently something's happened to their Masters. They sent me the coordinates, I'm sending them to you. You have to help them, Master. They are younglings, and very scared."

"Know they are Younglings, I do. Resolve matters I will. Update the Grandmaster, you should."

"Update Grandmaster," Depa mentally added it to her checklist. "How do I do that? He's gone to Serenno."

"Peace, young one. Carry his Comlink, Yoda always does." Yaddle lectured.

"Oh, you're right." Depa hit her forehead, and the holo Master disappeared in front of her.

Yaddle sighed as she typed on the ship's computer. The situation was dire, she knew. But Yaddle had seen dire things before. Anticipating three Jedi Masters and a Knight were in peril, she had to go straight to them. But, a responsible Master, like herself, wasn't about to bring her padawan into that level of fighting, not to mention a whole bunch of them.

If she stopped to drop her Padawan off, it's likely some of them would insist on coming along with her. If she didn't stop, then Leeta would have to come with her.

Yaddle decided quickly what her best option was. She went to the back and poked the youngling. "Awaken, you should, Padawan mine."

Leeta groaned. "What is it, Master?"

"Landing soon, we will be. Sending you ahead of me, I am. Check on the away team, I must. Help the others restore their calm, you will."

"Yes, Master." Leeta dutifully agreed.

Yaddle felt confident she would do well with her former clan-mates. Leeta was wise and calm, and she could help them with whatever trauma they were going through, at least until Yaddle could return, that is.

Hello,

I don't know if anything is Canon about the Bonds when stuff like this happens, but I figure it has to be traumatic for the one at the other end, especially when they are a youngling. I figure Dooku's got several years on them, and even on Depa, and his connection is probably less strong, especially after Qui-Gon saw him with the red saber. If anything would fracture their trust, that would be it.

Now, Yaddle is headed straight for the lion's den, figuratively speaking. Will she have any luck fighting them, or will she be possessed as well. And what will Anakin decide about working with Dooku?