Chapter 7

"I'm not sure there's anything you can do." Caalin shook his head sadly. "We already reported her missing to the authorities. We posted pictures all around town. We called all her friends, searched all her normal hangouts…."

"She just didn't come home from school," Koria wiped the tears from her cheeks.

I hesitated. My heart ached to see them like this. I felt drawn to help. It was like time was running out and if I didn't find her, she might be lost forever. I took a step towards the back stairs and paused, unsure if I was ready to face my past. "Can I see her room?" I asked quietly.

Koria nodded and led me up the stairs and to Sàdiya's room. I stood in the doorway as a wave of memories threatened to drown me. My old room hadn't really changed much. Most of the furniture was even the same. But it wasn't the room of a small child. It was obvious a teenager lived there. The room was messy, clothes were scattered all about, holoposters flickered on the walls; it looked like a herd of banthas had run through it recently. My own room was a mess and I'd learned to find order in chaos—but this was different somehow. It wasn't the kind of mess that came from laziness. This was panic. Escape.

I glanced back at Koria and said, "Give me a few minutes. Perhaps the Force will guide me to something that will lead us to her." Koria looked skeptical, but she nodded and turned to leave. I shut the door behind me and opened myself to the Force. Colors danced behind my eyelids—too bright, too fast. My balance wavered. The Force had never spoken to me this way before. I tried again. Most of the colors were blues and greens. I ignored those and continued to study the room. After a few minutes I noticed a small tendril of black seeping out of the trunk at the foot of the bed. Was I imagining this? Or was the Force actually leading me? I let go of the Force sight and went to the trunk. It was locked. I thought about searching for a key, but there was a tension building in the room, a sense of urgency hanging in the air. I drew my practice blade and simply cut the lock.

Unlike the rest of the room, the trunk was well organized. In one corner of the trunk was a neat little stack of IDs and next to that was a box of holocommunicators. There was another box with small datapads in it. As for the rest of the items, I could only guess what they were for. I had no idea what Sàdiya could possibly want with all that stuff.

I started to close the trunk when I noticed the inside corner of the lid was loose. With a little persuasion I managed to pull the panel apart, revealing a small box full of cred sticks and a ledger. It was an actual paper ledger. I had never seen one before. I flipped through the pages completely fascinated. It appeared to be a record of sales made within the last six months. I tucked the ledger into the inside pocket of my robe and closed the trunk.

It was getting dark outside and I knew I would be in trouble if I didn't get back to Master Shadra soon. I would have to continue searching for my niece in the morning. I stood to leave and froze when I heard a scraping sound at the window. I backed into the corner next to the window and waited. To my surprise a small girl climbed nimbly through the window. She was petite, her skin was dark and she had short spiky black hair. She couldn't possibly have been more than ten years old.

She glanced quickly around the room, her eyes passing over me, and went to the small trunk and crouched down to open it. I stepped out of the shadows and she froze. Her eyes darted towards the window, as if measuring the distance and her chances at escaping.

"Are you a friend of Sàdiya's?" I said, my voice low.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. "Who are you and what do you want with Sàdiya?" She spoke with a slight Imperial accent and I couldn't help wondering what her story was.

"My name is Mariatu. I am a padawan and I am Sàdiya's aunt. She's in grave danger. I have to help her. Please, if you know where she is…" I left the question hanging.

She sat back on her heels, one hand still on the trunk, the other on the knife poking out of her boot. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

I shrugged, "A padawan doesn't lie."

She snorted, "Everyone lies. You don't look like a Jedi. Where's your lightsaber?"

"I haven't earned one yet. I have my training saber though."

"Are you really Sàdiya's aunt?"

I nodded. "Do you know where she is?"

The girl narrowed her eyes again. I waited silently for her to reply, though I really wanted to shake the answers out of her. It was obvious she knew something. I could feel the subtle hum of the Force, just under my skin, ready to bend her will. But that wasn't who I was supposed to be. Was it? I dismissed the idea. Anyway, she seemed to be a clever girl so I didn't really think it would work. And if Master Shadra found out…

"The bounty hunter has her."

I blinked in surprise. "What would a bounty hunter want with my niece?" There were rumors at the Temple—children traded like spice, lives reduced to credits. I felt panic creeping in. Time was running out.

"He wasn't after her. Don't you know what's happened?"

I shook my head.

"We think he's after the girl who killed the senator's son. But he grabbed Sàdiya instead. I think he's going to try and get us to trade Z for her." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Like that would ever happen."

"Wait a minute, slow down. I think you better tell me the whole story."

She glanced quickly towards the door and said, "There's no time." She pushed the trunk aside and skirted past me to get to the window. With a sarcastic grin she said, "Either call for security or get out of my way."

There was this ominous weight that fell over me, threatening to suffocate me. My heart was racing and it was like standing on the edge of a precipice, knowing I had to get to the bottom, but the only way down was to jump. I took in a slow breath, trying to center myself. I could hear Master Shadra's voice in my head—Think, Mariatu! You must think things through. If you keep rushing headlong into things you'll eventually find yourself at the bottom of a deep well with no way out.

"Do you at least know where this bounty hunter is holding her?" I tried to keep the sound of desperation out of my voice.

Z'rellia shook her head. "That's what we need the creds for. Information doesn't come cheap, you know."

I finally let go and took the leap. "Alright, I'm in." Was I really about to follow this street-smart child into whatever danger lay ahead? It was reckless. It was foolish. But doing nothing felt worse.

"You?" the girl smirked, "You wouldn't last five minutes on the streets."

"Oh really?" I couldn't believe the impertinent little girl. After all, I had been training for most of my life in how to use the Force and how to use my training saber.

Z'rellia shrugged. "You'll stand out like a Hutt working on a Tatooine moisture farm." She stood and walked over to me. She looked me up and down then walked around me. "Who designs these robes anyways? Never mind, whoever it is needs to be fired. If you're going to help you need to wear some normal clothes. You're about the same size as Sàdiya…."

I watched as she picked out clothes for me to wear. A Jedi learns not to take offense, but her words stung a little. I glanced at myself in the long mirror in the corner of the room. I never spent much time worrying about how I look, not like Z'myra did. My reddish brown hair was pulled back in a sensible ponytail and my padawan robes, while plain tans and brown, were hard earned and I was proud to wear them. It felt a little odd to want to change how I looked. Being a Jedi was all I knew, all I wanted. But maybe she was right. I didn't want to draw a lot of attention to us, that would be a good way to get us killed. "I should tell my brother…."

"No!" Z'rellia shook her head. "They'll only involve the authorities and that would be really bad for Z—for Sàdiya."

"Well I can't just walk out of here wearing their daughter's clothes. They'll want to know why."

"You're right." She bundled up the clothes and went back to the window. "Meet me behind the building in five." I watched her hop out the window, still a little stunned. I shook myself out of it and turned back to the small trunk. Had I really seen the dark side of the Force emanating from it? Could it have been a warning? I tipped the lid up, almost expecting to see something evil inside. Instead all I found was the secret compartment open and all of the credits gone. I chuckled softly. I hadn't even seen her open the lid, let alone take the credits.

I told my brother and his wife I would do everything I could to bring their daughter home. Koria nodded silently, her eyes rimmed red. Caalin gripped my shoulder—he didn't speak, but I saw the question in his eyes: was I ready for this? Was I enough? I didn't know.

Outside, dusk had settled over the city like a warning. The last rays of sunlight stretched long and low, casting twisted shadows across the duracrete streets. In the distance, the neon flicker of signs buzzed to life. Daylight's protection was fading fast.

This was the hour the city changed—the safe faces vanished behind locked doors, and the predators came out to play. And Sàdiya was somewhere out there.

Z'rellia waited in the alley behind the cantina, crouched beside a stack of broken crates like it was the most natural place in the galaxy to be. I hesitated a moment before stepping into the gloom.

I changed quickly into the clothes she'd brought. The fabric clung uncomfortably against my skin—a symbol of everything I was not. The robes I folded carefully, almost reverently, before tucking them under my arm.

Z'rellia smiled at me. "Pink is definitely your color." She winked, then turned to walk away. After a few steps, she looked over her shoulder. "You coming?"

I glanced once more at the cantina's warm glow behind me, then turned toward the alley and the cold unknown. Whatever this was, it wasn't part of any Jedi lesson I'd been taught. This was the real galaxy—ugly, unforgiving, and full of shadows. And I had just taken my first step into it.