DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Dawn came to Corsucant.
At least the side that Obi-Wan Kenobi was on. The first rays of orange stretched lazily across the brightening sky. He squinted against it, trying to look past it, as if it would tell him what lay ahead of him. Unfortunately, the large star held more answers to what he wanted to know than what was already in front of him.
He sighed, breathing in the warming air outside the Jedi Temple. A few yards away from him, Qui-Gon was locked in deep conversation with Mace Windu. Off to the side, Yoda stood, also facing the direction of the sun with his eyes closed, sighing a few times loud enough for Obi-Wan to hear. It was clear enough to the young knight that he was not the only one deeply troubled. The difference was that Yoda was dealing with it all much more calmly than he was. He wanted to turn up every stone and throw open every door until he found some trace of Callisto. His breathing even quicken at the though of it. This he hated, this...waiting. He found it impossible to stand still in one place, taking to shifting from foot to foot until he was pacing.
He had just been there when she was attacked. For all he knew, the Sith had been in the apartment even when they spoke, but he did nothing. He had thought to offer to stay, but he had assumed that she would reject his offer of protection. She was a stubborn woman and didn't like help. She was just so used to doing everything on her own, she probably never once thought to ask for any kind of help. of course, he supposed he could have forced the issue, but then things probably would have gotten ugly with two free spirits such as themselves. But wouldn't that be better than standing there, wondering where she was and what to do, yet doing nothing.
Yoda looked over in his direction.
"Help her, that will not," Yoda said calmly.
Obi-Wan couldn't keep it inside any longer. "I can't do this. I can't just stand her waiting while she..." His voice trailed off. He didn't even want to think what could be happening to her at that moment.
Yoda hobbled in his direction, very quickly for someone with such small legs.
"Danger, there is. Much more there is, than meets the eye. Frustrated you are, as I am, but do not let the anger seep in. Dead, she is not. Alive, she is."
"We don't know that."
Yoda shook his head. "Still much to learn, you have. Feel. She is there."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. So many life forms littering the planet's surface and beyond. The sea of people, plants, animals and anything else the imagination could recollect was hard to seperate. The living Force was not the highest of Obi-Wan's talents, as Qui-Gon had pointed out to him more than once. It was difficult to sperate them all and focus, especially given the whirlwind of thoughts which spun through his head.
Then there was a flicker. It could not really be described in the physical world, but if he had to paint the picture, it was like there was a tiny flash of white the size of a pin prick in a swirl of ever color of the spectrum. It was her, it had to be.
Obi-Wan opened up his eyes, surprised, delighted, and relieved to have seen what he did.
Yoda's demeanor did not change. "See."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, Master, I saw her...for a moment."
"Not enough, is that? Wish to find her, you do?"
This was probably exactly why Yoda held such a high place on the council. He always seemed to know exactly what everyone else was thinking, how to go about it, and what best interests were at heart. Both he and Qui-Gon did not always agree with the aging master's decisions, but he was respected much for all of them.
"I do."
Yoda sighed. "Talk you out of this, I cannot do? Hmm?"
Obi-Wan forced a tired smile. "Its a thought I can't shake."
"Not wisest course of action, this is. Danger there is. Sense it I can, you can too."
The young man realized that he was right. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the air, almost tasting it on his tongue.
"Yes, I can sense something." It was almost like the disturbance he felt in the Force, back on the Trade Federation ship right when the whole crisis had began. He had returned his concentration back to the present as Qui-Gon had advised, but the sensation was impossible to forget. it was almost like walking in the domain of a fierce predator. You knew it knew where you were, it was just deciding when to attack.
It was the Sith, he was certain of it.
"I have to find her. If I don't..." Obi-Wan began.
Yoda dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Find her you wish, then find her you must. Take care and be cautious, young Knight. May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan didn't even respond. Even before Yoda had finished speaking, Obi-Wan had disappeared through the door, bringing all of his skills into focus as he began his own search.
Qui-Gon barely caught a glimpse of his disappearing friend. "Obi-Wan," he said, but the young Jedi was gone. "I really wished he would have waited. I would have liked to help him."
Yoda joined them. "Cannot do that. This is something alone he must do. Other things there are for us to do. Meeting is soon. Discuss this we will then."
Both Mace and Qui-Gon nodded to Yoda as he passed through the door and into the temple. Then the two men exchanged a worried glance.
Already things had been set into motion.
Callisto was not sure how much time had gone by. She just now noticed the sun light streaming in through the window she had broken the night before. Well, technically she noticed it. At least she glanced in its direction. For some hours, she had been engrossed in the information laying out in front of her eyes.
So many pieces, so very, very many. It was taking forever to place them together and to save them as physical proof. She did not like to make false accusations and this was a big one. A monstrously huge one.
"Why the hell am I doing this?" Callisto asked herself.
It was a valid enough question, but finding the answer was a little harder. She really wasn't sure. What had the Jedi or anyone else on that planet done for her? Why was she out there sticking her neck out for people she didn't know or truly care about? Well, there was Anakin, she did like the kid and his mother as a direct result. If she could do anything to protect him from the experiences she had been forced to endure, she would do it without a second thought. somehow, that didn't feel entirely accurate. She wasn't just out there for the boy and his mother. In her mind, she could feel the beginnings of an alliance with the Jedi. She decided she at least respected the two Jedi she had first come into contact with. Qui-Gon had been quite kind to her without asking for anything in return and Obi-Wan had saved her life. She owed him one for that.
Still, it didn't feel enough. There was some factor she was missing. It was like she was holding back from herself.
It would have to wait. She had to focus on the present.
"Display ballot records for recent election."
Before her, in 3D, a list of what felt like infinite words spilled out in rolling white text. There were certainly a lot of worlds in the Galactic Republic."
"Rodia..... Bail Antilles.... Naboo... Palpatine.... Falleen.... Palpatine... Trade Federation... Palpatine? Wait a damn minute," she said, scooting back in the chair as if shocked by electricity. "That can't be right, it makes no sense? Why the hell would the bloody Trade Federation vote for the representative of the world they were invading. Not out of a sense of decency for sure."
This was certainly developing into quite an interesting web. Once again, she was involved and this time there was o escape. She was following this one in wherever it led.
"Save file to chip. Display saved recordings 272A9 from Trade Federation database."
In the artificially, genderless voice, the computer responded, "Access denied. Voice activation required."
"Not what I wanted to hear, sweetheart," she told the computer and promptly reached in, yanking a few wired and dabbling around with the machinery. A moment later, another image fell before her, this one chilling her straight down to the core.
In a very faint, very fuzzy picture with crackling sound, she could make out a few men, Neimodians to be sure, sitting at a table. Even fainter was the figure sitting at the head of the table. No, he wasn't actually there. This was bizarre...she was looking at a holo image of a holo image.
"...it is out of a range."
"Not for a Sith." Another image stepped into view.
At that, Callisto fell out of her chair. "Holy..."
It was the man who had now attacked her on two occasions. She had just struck gold. She could feel the fear and excitement of her discovery racing through her veins like a drug. She was too excited to even check to see if this was being saved properly or not, but she was certain it was. She had done this before.
Dear gods...it was him. It was the tattooed bastard who had broken her arm and roughed her up in her own quarters the other night.
"This is my apprentice, Darth Maul. He will find your lost ship."
Darth Maul and the other man disappeared. The Neimodians broke into some shocked conversation and the old transmission ended. One could always trust the Neimodians for being so mistrusting. Whoever these Sith were, the Neimodians had apparently had all this saved in case of an emergency so they could defend themselves.
Well, this was an emergency. She hoped they didn't mind.
That voice. the other one, she had heard that voice before. She tapped in a few possible candidates. How many of them were on files was anyone's guess. It was worth a shot though.
"Run a match on files 1-37 against 272A9 section A."
"Computing."
Several minutes passed by.
"Come on you piece of bantha...."
"Results. Match found. 272A9 section A matches file 4b section G."
She leaned in closer. "Display." This could mean everything. She may have just found the key to saving herself and all those other people she had come to know. This would protect Anakin and his mother...and yes, it would protect the Jedi. Most of all, it would give her an advantage that she didn't have.
The results rolled out on front of her. This time, she couldn't control her own shock at what she saw.
"No... No, there has to be an error. That's impossible," Callisto said.
"Is it?" that same smooth, familiar voice she had just scanned said from out of the darkness.
Before Callisto had even the chance to begin to turn her head, an unseen movement threw her and her chair across the room, smashing into some equipment. Fresh sparks jumped forth onto her skin, burning her. Quickly, she pushed the chair off her, but too late. He was upon her before she could even open her eyes from a quick blink. There was the slap of the back of a hand across her face, knocking her across the ground, onto her back.
Shaking off the shock of such fast blows, Callisto bent her legs, about to leap up to her feet. She was not going down this way, not in a million years...
There was a sudden glint of light through the air, swinging at her arm. A blade sliced through the vein in the soft tissue inside her arm where the elbow bent from the inside. Warm blood gushed out from the freshly severed artery.
Callisto fell back, holding onto the wound, and losing consciousness fast. Before her eyes closed, she could make out a hooded figure standing above her...
...and then a second.