The clear, starry skies of Coruscant peered unblinkingly from the heavens, peeping over the rooftops of an endless array of city skyscapes. Leriana watched the ever igniting of a shooting star dart across the sky, to disappear as its red embers died over the rim of a dim horizon. Lightly, she crossed the darkened street, now reasonably empty of beings, and stepped into the glowing blue shade of Café Cremalé.

Leriana crossed to the counter with general ease, behind which stood a smiling woman with dark, purple-tinged hair. Her pale, green complexion bore an interesting contrast to her choice of clothing, which consisted of a daggy, sequined back top mirrored below her waist by an almost identical lacey skirt. Two enormous silver hoops dangled from both ears, drooping like great saucers spun in mid-air. Latya, the Café owner. A Coruscani with an eye for the unusual.

'Good evening, Latya,' said Leriana, with an air of politeness, as she approached.
'Ah, tis you, Leriana,' she greeted with a wave of her hand, a great grin stretching across her face. 'What can I get ya?'
'A mug of cappucino, thanks,' answered the young woman. In response to an over hopeful look from Latya, added, 'Nothing more. It is quite late out.'
Latya quirked an eyebrow bemusedly, as if to say, Didn't know that to stop you.

As Leriana approached an empty windowseat, she was joined by the unexpected but pleasant arrival of Cimanka, her young humanoid friend. His wispy silver hair fanned untidily across his face as he sat down with a smile, and he reached out a hand of wipe the strands away, a gesture that was only to familiar to Leriana.

'And how are you, Cimanka?' She ventured to say.

'Reasonably well,' he answered. 'A fancy it is to find you here. You normally don't come here this late at night.'

'Something troubles me,' Leriana said simply, knowing that whatever was on her mind would not elude him for long.

'Ah,' he said, with a hint of a knowledgeable smile playing across his lips, 'Is it a supernatural disturbance in the force that you feel, my young human friend, something that you can't quite put your finger on?'

Leriana could not help but smile. The war had forced these feelings upon her too often than not, and Cimanka had a knack of picking loose the fine lines of her thoughts.

'Something like that.'

'I see. Then what is it that you see? A cascading shower of sparks to mark our victory? Or a dying sundown to signal a defeat? Either way, one of these inevitabilities will come to pass. Dwelling on them only loosens our disquietened mind.'

Leriana nearly laughed at her friend's unusual display of what some would call wisdom. 'You've been conversing with Kaani, yes?'

He only feigned surprise. 'Of course not.'

Leriana looked amused, but did not argue.

‘I may be no Jedi, but I’ve had enough experience of their ways to last a lifetime,’ retorted Cimanka, skilfully reading her thoughts.

That, no doubt, was true.

‘You might have become one,’ she murmured.

‘Ah, me? A Jedi?’ he looked amused for a moment, until he realised that the twinkle in her eye had been one of seriousness. ‘It wouldn’t have been possible,’ he dropped his gaze sadly. ‘Look at my family.’

‘It has nothing to do with your ancestry,’ she said matter-of-factly.

‘No,’ he admitted. ‘But it would have been beyond my choice, and nor was your destiny a matter of choice. I guess every day, I come to appreciate what you guys do to maintain peace and order; what you do for the Republic.’

Leriana laughed. ‘You seem to be one of the only mere civilians who seem to care.’

‘Sometimes, I’m not quite sure some deserve it.’

Something that Leriana had always admired had been his loyalty to the democracy which was theirs. She knew he was thinking of the Separatist movement, of all the governments which had already given in to the mighty promises of secession.

‘Why, because some are so easily swayed by their own voracity?’

‘Yes.’

‘None of it is your fault. Democracy will not fail as long as there are loyalists who will fight for love and the freedom that they keep.’

As long as there are still those who are willing to fight.

Outside, the moon waned to a cool blue.

:rotkkiss: Sheree sat at the controls of her ship. Felucia was a small green-blue planet from space so it didn't look threatening. She wondered what she was here for. The message didn't say much, but her brother Dane did mention it before he was killed. The Jedi, she hated them. Jennifer and Dane told her they were nothing but trouble, they were responsible for Dad's death and sold Mum into slavery and now Dane's death. She hated them, when she came across them, she would kill them. As she landed at the spaceport, she got out and made her way down the landing ramp. Ahe was met by a woman, or something, she had no hair and was dressed in black.

"What is this? A funeral?" she asked herself.

"You are here to see Count Dooku?" they asked her, and she nodded, "Smuggling business" she told her, as the figure nodded, "Of course, I am Asajj Ventress, I want to be a Sith," she told her.

"Sheree Miller. I don't mind the Sith but hate the Jedi, nothing but trouble," she replied.

Asajj laughed, "I had a chance to kill one of the most powerful Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, but he got the best of me."

Sheree looked at her, "I've heard of him, my sister told me he's like the hero with no fear or something like that. He was working with my brother and me and his master too, but the deal went bad and my brother was killed" she explained.

"So was he to blame?" she asked.

"It was his lightsaber, he let one blast through and it hit my brother" Sheree snapped. She stopped, the memory was too fresh.

They remained quiet, but Sheree had a feeling that she had a made a new friend because of her hatefulness towards Anakin. She passed the hanger and saw guards loading crates around, she didn't know much but had a feeling she would be helping out soon, and hopefully a chance to have her revenge and avenge her brother's death. They reached the end of the corridor and entered the room, and she saw a figure in black. He turned.

"Welcome, young smuggler, I have been looking for someone with your exact talents and you can help me" he told her.

She placed her hamds on her hips "And what's in it for me?" she asked.

He smiled "A chance to come face to face with your brother's killer and avenge his death," he simply replied.

The bright street lamps and city lights, mostly belonging to the air buses and other transports of late night commuters, filled Leriana's field of vision. Crossing the street outside the entrance of the Café, after having waved goodbye to Cimanka, the young woman made her way back to her speeder, beneath the concealed shade of some thornberry trees. One of the few areas of untouched vegetation to be found on the hectic city planet that was the centre of Leriana's existence. If the Clone Wars went on any longer, it was likely that even Coruscant's skies would be a war-torn sight. This was her home, and as much as she loved to travel to other systems, she had known no other.

Leriana climbed into her silver speeder, pushed the throttles forward, and steered away into starry sky, heading towards the dim outline of the Jedi Temple silhouetted against the night. The docking bay was situated on balcony jutting out from the Temple walls to welcome incoming traffic. As Leriana parked her speeder in its customary position, she noticed a lone figure jump into one of the nearby speeders, steadying for take off.

'Anakin! Where are you going this late at night?' Leriana asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

'An evening errand. I won't be gone very long,' he answered quickly, flashing her a wry smile, before whizzing off in the direction Leriana had just come. Somehow, he did not sound very convincing.

Leriana had overheard for the first time recently Obi-Wan seeking counsel from Yoda about Anakin. He was evidently worried about the unpredictable nature of his padawan. But then, it was not unusual for masters to be concerned about their padawans these days, or indeed, vice versa, especially in the current circumstances of war. Every day, reports might arrive from systems in outer regions, carrying saddening news about the loss of a Jedi, and every day, there were chances the Council might choose to dispatch more Jedi to address pressing campaigns. It was not unusual to find the life of a person close to one endangered. Fear and mistrust was on the rise, especially in the Senate. Times had changed. Jedi were no longer keepers of the peace, but soldiers in a galaxy-wide war.
~~~

The next morning, the sun had risen, climbing across the sky like the herald of day, when a visitor came to the door of Leriana's apartment.

'Bee-ep,' followed by a whistle came the unmistakeable greeting of an astromech droid next door. It sounded suspiciously like Artoo, Anakin's clever, opinionated companion.

Leriana opened the door and peeped through. Seeing who the visitor was, she flung the door wide open, exclaiming in surprise, 'Master 'Kiah! What are you doing here this early in the morning?'

'I needed to talk to you urgently, Leri. Something has come up,' her master made no attempt to hide the ashen expression on her face.

'What has happened?' asked Leriana slowly, unsure of what to expect.

'The Council suspects there has been a kidnap,' Shakiah answered. 'A group of Jedi are missing, a master, and several apprentices. There were signs of a struggle, and the trace of... a mysterious toxic substance at the temple gate. It is believed the Jedi were attacked on their way back to the Temple.'

'That sounds like a very grave situation indeed,' Leriana said, pacing about the room, her eyes downcast in thought.

'The Council has asked for us to meet them in session,' Shakiah continued, 'Since you were close to one of the victims.'

Leriana froze in her footsteps. 'W-who...'

'Your brother, Leri. His absence has been marked among the missing.'

'Rhian?' Leriana gasped, a breath caught in her throat. 'Oh no...'

[Let Sheree stay on Felucia ;) When my character and the others arrive there, I'm sure they'll have a nice... confrontation. Fancy despising your favourite character XD]

[OKay you got it, I've just got to add a little more, to keep it flowing and moving: I know, it was hard to write that part about her hating Anakin, so hard lol]

Sheree looked at Count Dooku, "I'm listening intently," she replied.

"Have you heard of Anakin Skywalker?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, What was it with everyone and this Anakin? she wondered.

"Unfortunately," she replied."

"Well we have a way to crush the Jedi by bringing them here and I will allow you to kill him," he told her.

"Wait wait, no no, I was here to smuggle and then be off, not fighting against Jedi," she told him.

"Not even for your brother?" he smiled.

"Leave him out of this, " she said, pulling out her blaster and aiming for his chest.

"You will be in charge of all our operations here and in charge of our captives, while we wait for the arrival of more" he concluded.

Sheree smiled, it would be nice to have revenge for her brother's death, and a chance to kill the so-called hero with no fear. She smiled, "Okay you got yourself a smuggler," she told him.

"Excellent, Asajj will show you to your quarters" he said.

She followed her out of the room, smiling. "I better get more pay for this," she thought.

What can have happened? Leriana wondered disbelievingly as she followed Shakiah across polished tile hallway of the Temple, heading towards the Council chamber. Can it be that the war has been brought here already, to Coruscant?

A feeling of dread had begun to settle over her as she had heard Master 'Kiah utter the devastating news. 'Your brother, Leri. His absence has been marked among the missing.' Leriana's breath caught in her throat, as she felt, for a moment, the promise of a fateful judgement awaiting her and her brother upon that very horizon. Something was coming, and Leriana was certain.

It was not a momentary vision of the future that told her, but a feeling. Nonetheless, it was a feeling that visited her through the mystical oceans of the Force, an invisible herald that tugged at the profound bond that she shared with her brother. At times, she could sense Rhian's emotions and fears. At that moment, she could not sense one inkling of his presence, and this only served to heighten her anxiety. Please be safe, she whispered a prayer.

'Leri?' Shakiah paused to wait for Leriana to fall back into step beside her, placing an arm around her shoulder and giving her a smile. 'The news troubles you greatly. But please hold back your concerns until we are apprised of the details.'

The first was not a question, but an observation. Leriana almost let her gratitude show. Her master knew her all too well.

'You're right, master. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. It is a shock, that's all... I didn't expect the tragedy to-- to extend to-'

'This planet? The galactic centre of democracy? Do not put your faith in the stability of the Senate, Leri. Even the most steadfast stronghold may shatter in the darkest of times, and I fear those times are not too far away.'

These words did not do much to comfort Leriana, but it placed her on her guard. The two companions made the rest of their way to the Council chamber in thoughtful silence.

[Sorry for the confusion, I was rushed for time last night. I will try and re-write it better, hopes this is better for you]

Sheree walked the place, since she was stuck here, she might as well get to know what was going on. Captives? What captives, the only captive she wanted was Anakin Skywalker, so she could kill him herself, but apparently she would have to wait, as he was not here. As before Dooku left, he told her that he was not here as his master had informed him Skywalker was on Coruscant.

She rounded another corner, where she saw Asajj Ventress, "I was wondering where you went," she told her.

"Just checking out the place... tell me who are these captives?" she asked her.

"Some Jedi we caught sneaking around here" she replied, "More will come of course" she added.

"Will the Skywalker be among them?" Sheree asked curiously.

"No" she rolled her eyes.

"How i wished he were here," she told her, "but he isn't" she added, walking away.


Sheree moved out on to the balcony, taking out her blaster, her brother's. She remembered hiding from the fight, as he had told her to, and she saw him fall, she remembered wanting to kill him but he caught her before she could touch him. She shot into the air, and muttered, "Soon i will have my revenge" she laughed.

Ventress rounded the corner and entered her room, and saw a figure she didn't expect to see. "You're back, it's good to see you here, old friend," she said.

[oh who could this be, and what will happen to the captive jedi, no Anakin is not with them, ]

[Hahah, a long post :) Feel free to beat my record ^^]

A cool breeze drifted in throughout the Council Chamber, wherein was seated a circle of Jedi Council Members. Today, all but one Master, Mace Windu, was present. He was on one of the outer rim worlds, Leriana remembered vaguely, no doubt pursuing some unfinished business with those Sepatists thugs. She cracked a bemused smile. Upon Mace Windu's usual chair was seated a flickering blue holo transmission of the Master, which enabled him to participate in sessions whilst away from the Temple.

The seated Masters surveyed Shakiah keenly as she spoke. 'I've brought Leriana here as requested,' she announced to the chamber at large.
'Ah, yes, of course, that we see,' spoke Yoda, regarding Leriana with a wrinkled smile. The dimunitive Jedi Master was perched upon his usual pedestal, seeming almost like a stuffed child's toy, but Leriana knew better than to judge Yoda by his appearances. Being the Grand Master of the Order, all regarded him with the utmost respect. Leriana admired him greatly in all respects, except where his choice of diet was concerned, but that was a fact she preferred to ignore. 'Told you of the disappearances, has your master not?' Yoda prompted, eyeing Leriana.

'Yes,' Leriana said slowly. 'Of Rhian and the others.'

'Kidnapped, they were. Taken as captives to some remote world,' Yoda continued. 'Or perhaps not so remote as we think,' he paused for thought, 'An idea, we have, about the criminals and where they are.'

'The investigators report that the evidence, traces of a strange plant substance found at the Temple gates, were identified to have come from a world called Felucia,' The flickering image of Mace Windu said.

'Heard of that world, have you?' Yoda asked.

'It once served as a base for the Commerce Guild, I believe,' said Leriana.

'Clever, your padawan is,' Yoda beamed. 'Yes, the plant material, Iri Lysiann, it was. Powerful, very potent, it is. Drugs all living things, suppresses even the immunity given by the Force... If too often it is used, dreadful outcomes will it have for the being.'

'What... outcomes are those?' Leriana said hesitantly.

'Individuals suffer hallucinations, and tremendous emotional upheavals,' Shaak Ti answered. 'The effects are dependent on the individual.'

'And... my brother has been injected with this?' Leriana whispered.

'There is no doubt that those who committed this crime, whom we believe to be allies in the Separatist movement, wished to induce their captives with a substance which makes them vulnerable. Otherwise, they would never have been able to capture Jedi from the fortified gates themselves.'

'Because your brother, taken he is,' Yoda said. 'An errand we have for you and your master, Leriana. Go to Felucia, and retrieve the captives you must. Find out who is behind this, you must, and importantly, what they hope to achieve.'

'Of course we will, Master,' Leriana answered. 'You have our promise that we will not return until we have found them.'

'Some others, we will send with you,' Yoda added. 'With you, we will send Kaani Dashan and Anakin Skywalker. 'Be careful, you must all be.'

'It may take more than a pair of Jedi to combat these sinister enemies,' Shaak Ti said. 'Take care, and may the Force be with you.'

'Thank you, masters,' Leriana said, before the she and her master left the chamber.
***
The stone floor was penetrating and cold. Rhian Aveill'e's eyes fluttered open as he gazed upwards at the dark cave ceiling. His joints felt stiff and frozen, and every muscle in his body ached, as if he had been roughly bruised and jabbed for days on end. His sight was bleary, and his senses mingled with an acrid smell he could not quite place.

'Where am I?' he whispered to himself, his voice a weak croak in the vast underground cave.

Rhian struggled to free his wrists as he tried to move, aware that a taut rope had been tied roughly around his hands and feet. Calming himself, the young Jedi reached into the chilling atmosphere around him for some signs of the warmth of the Force. He reached within it for the lightsaber at his side, and was startled to find it gone.

At a loss, a rising fear that fought to cripple him emerged, but he could not let it overwhelmed him. He sensed the sinister overtones of the uneasy atmosphere around him, and deduced he was in the clutches of an enemy. More than an enemy. The cave stank of the dark side of the Force... Count Dooku had been here not long ago.

Resigning himself to his fate for the time being, Rhian searched within the Force for some comfort, some signs of his sister, whom he hoped was still safe on Coruscant, and received a comforting call in reply. Hold in there, Rhian. We're coming.

Sheree slowly entered the cell. She was bored out of her wits and since there were Jedi here, she thought nothing speeds up the cries of a rescue by the pain of the others. She knelt before the figure before her. He had black brown hair and Jedi robes on. She hit him, "Foolish Jedi, should have known better, but like that foolish Chosen One, you fell into the trap and soon you and your friends wil die along with any others," she told him. He was unconcious, she could see but she knew he could still hear. "The leaders here are very powerful and have big plans for you," she added. She remembered taking a lightsaber from the storage room. "I have your weapon" she laughed, throwing against the wall and watched it smash. "Pops, clumsy me," she laughed, and, taking an electro staff, she shocked him and saw him twitch. "Feel the pain," she laughed, and then left.

"So this Sheree, she's smuggler here, is she good?" Reche Tyalier asked.

"Yes very good according to her skills, and she hates the Jedi especially Skywalker," Asajj sneered.

"Excellent, she will be very helpful in destroying the Jedi," he replied.

"What!?" Assaji exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes, "Felucia is big on plants and fauna and the perfect place to test out my experiement on the prisoners," he explained. "And she will help me," he added. "Now where is she?" he asked and she moved off to show him to Sheree's quarters.

[Hey hey, this is a small part as I had a draft and can't find it, tell me what you think and I will have more next time]

[It's good. Well, it seems everyone has a dark side. That doesn't come without a price ;)]

The world drifted in and out of focus. One moment, he opened his eyes to find the darkness of the underground dungeon obstructed any sense of night or day. Rhian sensed other Jedi captives close by, none he knew by name, and took comfort in the knowledge that he was not trapped here alone. In the dim light, he saw one stir, a female humanoid with dark auburn hair, who gave him a weak smile. He sighed; he had not the strength to decipher the tumultuous currents and eddies of the Force which riddled his mind, each ripple an omen of the inauspicious events to overtake him. The next moment, he had drifted involuntarily into oblivion, seeking comfort from his cloak wrapped around his shoulders, a shield from the chill and his ominous surroundings.

The entire dungeon was flooded with the bright flare of light, as a stone door creaked open to reveal a young woman, her long brown hair, braided at the top, cast over her shoulders. Rhian closed his eyes again; for good or ill, he let events take their course. He felt only a painful blow to his stomach. Rhian opened his eyes, to meet those of the visitor, her blue eyes shining with cold intent, venom hidden behind her thin smile. He gasped for breath, clutching his side. The realisation that he was about to lose his beloved lightsaber only hit home when he heard its fatal, ringing smash against the stone wall. Rhian wanted to cry out, 'No!' but only managed to release an inaudible breath. Next came the vibrant sting, like white hot fire flooding his veins. Rhian yielded to the nightmare, and withdrew uneasily into a healing trance.
***

'Rhian!' Leriana gasped, stopping abruptly in her tracks to the horror of Shakiah. 'Master! He's in pain. I don't know what's happening to him, but we need to find him.'

'Then we need to hurry,' answered Shakiah, renewed urgency in her voice. 'Find Anakin and Kaani, head for the hanger bay, and ready your starfighters for take off. I will meet you there. Set your co-ordinates to the Outer Rim world of Felucia. Meanwhile, I'll contact Commander Vane, and begin assembling the troops.'

Leriana nodded.

Shakiah placed a hand upon her shoulder. 'All will turn out right in the end, I promise you. Have faith.'

'Of course,' Leriana agreed giving her a smile despite herself. 'May the Force be with you, master.'

'May the Force be with you too.'

:faramireowyn: Reche looked at the room; it was filled with weapons and files, clearly this girl had been busy checking the place out. As Asajj looked for her, he read a file and he was so caught up that he didn't hear the blaster behind him.

"Drop the file or you won't live to see the next day," came the voice. He turned to see a young female, a braid at the top of her hair and the rest flowing behind her.

"You must be the new smuggler" he smiled.

She smiled, "In the flesh, but who are you?" she asked.

"Reche? Ah there you are, Sheree," came Asajj's voice. "Sheree, this is Reche. Reche, this is Sheree," she told Reche and he reached to kiss Sheree's other hand.

"Nice to meet you," he smiled.

Sheree smiled, lowering the blaster. "Enough, what do you want in my quarters?" she asked.

"A little help with my plan for our prisoners," he told her. Leading her out, he motioned for Asajj to bring the prisoners to the "battleground".

Asajj flew the dungeon door open and snarled, "Now you will pay the price for becoming a nuiscance and disprupting our plans." She ordered the guards to chain the prisoners, and they followed her out.


Reche stood in the hanger that led out to the planet. Sheree stood next to him. god she was hot! he thought. But he had bigger palns to execute, and he spoke into his comlink:

"Bring out the Spelunker Probe droids."

Sheree looked at him, "The what?" she asked

"There're my little beauties and they destroy anything in their path," he explained to her as they saw the prisoners come out. They looked bloody awful and were about to be more bloddy awful, especially the one Sheree pointed out she had a little fun with.

"Jedi of the galaxy, the scum of the galaxy is what I call you" Reche told them. "It's time to get you out of my way and from my bigger plans."
He explained, the probes hovered above him, "See these little beauties, they're filled with venom that will be released when they see a target, so I will watch you try to outrun them.

"But chances are you won't, because they are small, hard to see at times and are very fast," he added, unchaining them so they were separate and defenceless. Reche hit a button.

"Now!" he yelled, watching them run. The droids sped off after them towards the wilderness of Felucia.

Sheree watched them run, she couldn't help but smile. This was how the Jedi were to die, chased by the probes that Reche loved. She thought to herself:
Maybe more would come and hopefully so would Skywalker and she would get to see him suffer and then the Jedi would really fall.

She thought of her brother and smiled, "I'm doing this for you, I will avenge you."

Leriana shaded her eyes against the morning flare as she stepped onto the streets of Coruscant. Finding two lone Jedi in the midst of endless sky traffic had proved to be a challenge, so she had opted to search on foot instead. Having contacted Kaani on her comlink, they had organised to meet each other at Café Cremalé, admittedly Leriana's favourite café onworld. Finding Anakin, however, was proving to be more difficult. Contacting him by comlink, Leriana had only received a series of shrill beeps. Clearly, he did not have it onhand. Where could he be?

Moments later, Leriana stepped into the air-conditioned interior of Cremalé, and was grateful to find a familiar face waiting there for her.

'How glad am I see you, Kaani,' Leriana waved in greeting.

The young twi'lek was dressed in a sequined maroon gown, a gorgeous colour which illuminated her lavender skin.

'Leri, I heard about the recent distress, it was all over the holonet!' Kaani said urgently, her tone one of unmistakeable concern. 'It's been an uproar, the first time the centre of the Republic's existence has been threatened in this way. Next thing we know, Separatists will start kidnapping the Chancellor...'

'Let's hope that doesn't happen,' Leriana answered. 'But this news is what I'm here to see you about. We've been entrusted with an assignment by the Council, and I need your aid.'

'I'm listening,' Kaani said, her brilliant auburn eyes flashing.

Leriana recounted recent events succinctly to her friend, whose head-tails waved in a sign of great eagerness.

'I know where Anakin is,' she said immediately. 'He may have figured out a way to mislead his master, but he hasn't succeeded in fooling everyone...'

'Ah,' said Leriana, 'So he has been acting against the Code, as I suspected.'

'Quiet,' whispered Kaani, placing a finger to her lips. 'It's not in our interest to betray a friend.'
***

'Watch out!' A frantic scream ripped through the air.

Rhian turned, and was almost blinded by a string of fluorescent lightning aimed his way. Alarmed, he leapt backwards, fighting to compose himself whilst all his senses were screaming, Danger!

He gazed back at the Jedi who had yelled the warning, the same auburn-haired humanoid, Synne he met once before. 'Thanks,' he mouthed, flashing her a smile.

'Hey, we look out for each other,' she grinned.

'I hear this Reche Tyalier is releasing these droids on their first experimental run,' Rhian said.

Synne looked bemused. 'Oh great, we're an experiment now?'

Rhian flexed his muscles, whipping himself into the air and landing in a croach. The drowiness had gone, leaving Rhian feeling almost recovered, and he was glad to feel strength return to his limbs after the brief ordeal. Rhian glanced backwards, discerning the figures of Tyalier and Ventress at the stone entrance of their vault; it was difficult to detect their expressions. He strongly suspected Tyalier and Reche had orchestrated the entire kidnap. Something fishy is going on, I felt foreign matter manipulating processes within my body... we must have been drugged.

At that moment, Rhian sensed movement once more, and whipped around in his tracks, to see two Spelunker droids hovering menacingly on either side.

'There's no use running,' he yelled, motioning the others to a standstill. 'We are outnumbered, they fly faster than we can move, and we are unarmed. Analyse their tactics, and find where they are vulnerable. We must drive them back.'

A murmur of assent greeting his suggestion. 'Stand together,' Rhian warned. Almost before the words had left him, he dived beneath the droids, climbing to his feet some distance away, a large tree branch gripped firmly in hand.

Both droids wheeled around, releasing screeches of frustration, beady eyes gleaming.

'Up for a game of Basque Pilota?' Rhian asked, eyeing the droids intently.

[I'm awfully sorry things are not going according to plan *cackles manically* ^^ You do realise Reche managed to subdue them by feeding them all his precious wonder drug? In short, Reche (and all his allies), you're a coward XD
PS. I posted today because I don't have time to do this tomorrow, possibly the next day, but shall see how things go.]

Sheree was in the practice room with her blaster, she had seen the probes and how good they were, she was thinking about having some for herself, then she got an idea and she quickly exited the room.

Reche observed the pursuit from the control room, the probes were the best and had not failed, it put fear into his prisoner's minds, he was caught up in the excitment that he did not see Sheree came up behind him,

"I want something from you," she told him.

He turned around, "Yes?" he replied.

"I want those droids used to hunt down and kill Anakin Skywalker," she said.

His eyes went wide. "Really?" he asked. He thought for a moment. He liked how the girl worked, he had read her information and talked to Asajj about her. He could really use her. So he needed to persaude her over to his side, even if it meant destroying one Jedi and a few others to squash the Republic. He didn't care about the galaxy, only the Republic and that was one of the main reasons for the experiment here.

He looked back at her: "Okay, you got a deal," he told her. As she smiled at him, she knew that this would seal it, just to make sure he didn't lie.

"If this works, which it will, I will help you in whatever ways I can, I have alot of helpful skills" she smiled.

Asajj watched them from the balcony. He was planning something with Sheree and she needed to find out. She couldn't help but smile, maybe Sheree would get her revenge on Skywalker after all.

Reche Tyalier resumed pacing about the room, before turning to fix Sheree with a gaze. 'And how do you propose we find this Skywalker you're so eager to destroy?'
***

As Leriana and Kaani approached, the glass doors on either side slid apart to admit them. The bazaar was buzzing with the chatter of sentient beings of all shapes and sizes.

'Kaani,' Leriana said slowly. 'Are you saying we are supposed to find Anakin in a place like this?'

'No,' Kaani answered shortly, flashing her friend a brief grin. 'The bazaar is merely a shortcut.'

'I see.'

The two made their way across the luminous red carpet, past bars crowded with teenagers and other drinkers, past gambling booths with bright neon signs enticing visitors to test their fortunes, past an array of disco lights which reflected colourful shapes across the walls of the bazaar interior...

Crossing into the open on the other side, the two were just in time to step onto the ramp of a parked airbus, which lifted off the ground the moment the glass shield doors lifted to a close behind them.

'We're travelling towards the apartment buildings. The... senate living quarters?' Leriana observed. 'Are you sure--?'

'Patience, my friend.' The smile Kaani wore was enigmatic, and it only served to mystify Leriana even more.

The airbus had barely docked at its destination, a landing bay on the rooftop of one of the lower apartments, its glass doors flying open to admit fresh passengers, when a tall figure stepped into the vehicle. 'Anakin.'

He turned, and recognition registered in his eyes. 'Leriana,' he said. 'We meet again. And I see you have Kaani with you.'

'We've been looking for you,' Kaani said sweetly. 'Care to join us?'

Anakin saw no reason to refuse. 'Of course.' He took a seat opposite them.

'What on earth are you doi--' Leriana began curiously, only to be stopped by a sharp Force nudge from Kaani.

'Huh?' he asked, gazing at her quizzically.

'Oh, I was wondering whether that small mission you flew off to accomplish last night went successfully,' Leriana said instead, displaying the most genuine smile she could muster.

'A couple of gang criminals decided to go on a midnight raid,' Anakin answered. 'Nothing I couldn't handle.' He paused for a moment, before adding in a somewhat more angry tone, 'Did Obi-Wan send you two to find me, because if he did--'

'If he needed to find you, he would be fairly capable to doing that himself, I'm sure,' Leriana said. 'No, this is about a new assignment given to us by the Council.'

'Us?'

'Us three, and my master, who will be leading the mission,' answered Leriana.

Anakin took a moment to absorb what was said. 'Why was I not notified personally?' he asked.

'It was assigned this morning, and clearly, you were not at the Temple, nor where you carrying your comlink with you.'

'I arrived on Coruscant two days ago,' a downcast Anakin said, his tone one of resignation. 'I didn't expect to be called away again so soon.'

'Duty calls,' Kaani said gently.

Leriana reached forward to place a hand on his shoulder. Indeed, they never really had the chance to be home for more than a brief while. 'Come on, we need to meet up with Master 'Kiah at our designated rendezvous.'

[Sorry, I couldn't fit Rhian's episode into this post :( I figured that if I did, I was going to write too much... XD I'll continue it next time :)]

Sheree looked back at him, her piercing blue eyes looking into his.

"We wait for him to come here," she replied

He threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Why leave, so the base is unattended? More will come because of what you done and one of the has to be Skywalker," Sheree told him.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

"Let's just say I have intuition," she winked at him.

"Really?" he asked again, his eyes widening.

"Yes, I trust them and I don't think it's wise to leave the base, because for all we know, they could be on their way here now," Sheree told him.

Reche looked at her, "Okay, I'll trust you, but you better not be wrong about this plan," he warned her.

Little did Reche and Sheree expect that Anakin Skywalker would be there sooner than they would have expected.

Asajj was not happy. She had known Reche for longer and now some smuggler comes in and enforces her own rules and plans. She did not like it, she wanted in on the plan, not out. She shook the problem off. Maybe Sheree was here temporarily and would leave once she was paid and had detroyed Anakin Skywalker.

[ I hope you like this: I will be happy to edit it for you if something is wrong so let me know] :yesnod:

They remained frozen in the air for an instant, perhaps two, beady eyes glistening with what could remarkably be interpretated as hatred, if it was possible for probe droids to possess a single grain of sentience. Then they moved, lunging towards Rhian with deadly precision.

Rhian took a deep breath, angled the branch into position, and summoned the Force in a brief attempt to propel his blow. The branch met both droids in one heart-stopping, sickening crunch, sending them wheeling backwards. Electricity crackled, fumes escaped the droids before consuming them in a cyclone of fumes and dust.

Rhian breathed a sigh of relief. Closing his eyes, called upon the energy waves around him as he levitated a multitude of large sticks, stones and stray plant litter above the ground, and with a forceful gesture, sent them flying like missiles towards the other droids. They made sharp contact with the droids with the sound of ringing metal. Rhian turned to Synne and the others, to realise that he had not been the only one who taken more than defensive action. Fumes gathered surrounding atmosphere, and gradually, defeated Spelunker droids began littering the fungi-covered ground.

'Good one,' Synne smiled.

It seemed the Spelunker droids did possess some remnant of intelligence. The remaining droids paused, unsure of the choice between maintaining loyalty to their creator and risk becoming destroyed by these seemingly invincible enemies, or fleeing. They fled.

'Synne,' Rhian said quietly. 'The droids are no threat to us for the present, but this presents a chance for us. Our captors are preoccupied. We must gather the other Jedi, and escape while we still can. We're out in the open, and we may never get this chance again.'

'Good thinking, Rhian,' Synne answered, as she sent urgent Force signals to the other captives in the clearing. 'We must move. Now.'

Within moments, the two had organised a silent retreat, with Synne in the lead, and Rhian taking up the rear. The Jedi had moved no more than a few metres, however, when Rhian felt the presence of unwelcome eyes following their every move.

Asajj Ventress, the humanoid associate of Tyalier, had watched them throughout the entire ordeal, skilfully concealing her Force presence to avoid detection. Now, she had allowed herself to be revealed in all her glory. Purposefully accentuating her presence, she stalked into the open, before accelerating her approach with front flip which could rival any of them, before landing softly less than two feet away from Rhian. Rhian breathed, letting the horrible realisation sink in. She's a dark Force user.

'Going somewhere?' Asajj asked, shadowed eyes glinting with menace.

Change of plan, Synne, Rhian sent a Force call to Synne, painfully aware that if Ventress were an adept dark Force user, she might penetrate even this defence. Form a group, lead the others away from here with all the speed you can muster.

Ventress' expression remained neutral. Perhaps not.

And what about you?

Rhian allowed himself to radiate a measure of reassurance. I'll do my best to keep Ventress occupied.

Everything happened in an instant. The other Jedi retreated in the opposite direction in a unified group, but Ventress, who appeared to have suspected such an attempt, lifted her hands momentarily in readiness for attack. Rhian, however, was quicker to react. Summoning all the strength he could gather, he forced Ventress backwards with a strong Force push, sending her sprawling onto ground.

Momentarily bewildered, Ventress composed herself immediately and sprung to her feet, summoning the silver weapon which could only be her lightsaber, into the clutches of her awaiting hand. The expression on her face was one of pure, unstemmed rage.

'I'll take care of this one,' she whispered, her voice that of thin ice.

Rhian did not need to look to know that the other Jedi had gone.

[I love this. Ok... I would maybe call this... half courage, and half pure recklessness. Doh, I couldn't fit in the other character's parts. It seems I can only fit in one :(]

Asajj paused for a moment, before reaching into the confines of her cloak and pulling out a second lightsaber. A bemused expression crossed her face, as she held it up to the light to get a better glimpse. Seeing the Jedi's reaction, she knew it was his.

"Recognise this?' she taunted.

"I found it the prison cells when you were taken away. It has a lovely handle and beautiful quality."

She smiled, "Here catch," she told him, throwing it into the air. He was forced to move forward and use the force to catch it.

"Lucky lucky, but this was just to encourage a fair fight and with you distracted, my friends will go after your friends," she teased

She sneered this comment, seeing his eyes widen. Somehow, she she knew she was going to have some fun.

***
Scene fades to a room, which we see as Sheree's quarters-- she had Reche wrapped around her finger now. She laid upon her bed, spinning her pistol around her finger. Her motives for the droids? Simple-- she wanted revenge on her brother and she wanted to get rid of Skywalker for killing him. Reche. She thought he was tough but she worked her way to him usng her feminine charms... she saw the looks he gave her. What she wanted was Skywalker dead, her brother's murder avenged and for everyone to think of her as one tough smuggler who twisted her way into killing Anakin Skywalker-- the hero with no fear.

It was almost midday. White sunlight streamed through the violet shutters of the Jedi Temple hangar bay to illuminate the group gathered there, some twenty clone troopers, encased in a white armour which shrouded their faces from view. If their faces could be seen, they would be one and the same, much like the armour, which emphasised their ranks more so than their identity. Identity. Although each had the same outward appearance, the face of the late bounty hunter Jango Fett, from whom the Kaminoans had modelled the Republican troopers, each possessed a unique personality, Leriana knew. Bred for the singular purpose of war, the characteristics of each individual, owing to the unique conditions each trooper was subjected to, was sometimes obscure, as individuality was naturally discouraged as part of their training... yet still, it was there. Leriana knew, deep down, that it required more than obedience to place utter trust in your leaders, and venture into the unknown, not knowing what fate or fortune might befall you there. It required courage of a kind which transcended the years of training these remarkable men underwent. It was a choice. A choice to remain loyal to your comrades unto the darkest hour, their brothers and the Jedi.

It all comes down to the reality that we're one and the same. Nothing can change the reality that they're humans of flesh and blood... What is it then, that makes them so different from us?

Shakiah was discussing the impending journey with Commander Vane, leader of the battalian of clone troopers who were to accompany the Jedi on the mission to faraway Felucia, a world of which few of the troopers had heard.

'I fear that Felucia will become a contested world in the outer rim sieges. Already, the original inhabitants of the planet, the Gossam colonies, have been scattered senseless. This may only be the beginning,' Leriana heard her master telling Vane.

Leriana was seated in the pilot's seat, gazing past the screen of her starfighter at the sea of clone troopers. They were few for an outer rim mission to a possibly Separatist-occupied planet, but it was in stealth that they hoped to secure a rescue there, and decode the intentions of their enemies, not become involved on yet another would-be battlefront.

Some feet to her right, Anakin was seated in his fighter, fingering the controls as if eager to be on their way. Near the side wing of the ship, his loyal astromech, Artoo, was perched snuggly in his socket, releasing a series of animated beeps.
'No, Artoo, we're not going somewhere familiar,' Anakin answered, bemused. 'We're off to a place called Felucia.'
At Artoo's reply, a translation scrawled across the screen beside the control area. 'I'm sure it's perfectly safe for droids... well, I hear the place is abundant in fungi and flora... I can't guarantee the plants aren't toxic, but that would be more of a threat to living beings than, well, droids.'
Artoo swiveled his head once more. 'Yes, I think we're just about set to go. Think you can map out some co-ordinates for our destination, Artoo?'

Leriana flashed Kaani, perched in a nearby starfighter, a bemused smile. Anakin's friendship with his astromech was undeniably... unique.

Shakiah's voice reached Leriana through the channel. 'We're all set. You three, fly into orbit above Coruscant's atmosphere, and get ready to make the jump to lightspeed... we'll be right behind you.'
***

Rhian was startled by the coldness that tainted the handle of his all-too-familiar lightsaber. He smoothed the weapon over in his hands, comforted by its touch. Having believed he had lost the beloved weapon, its return more than healed that visceral ache, it placed him on his guard. Ventress' intentions could not be benevolent.

The venom in Ventress' voice had subsided, to be replaced by a watery, equivocal tone. 'It has suffered some slight damage, but the handle was well fortified, and I have repaired it for you.' Here, her eyes sparkled, before she continued. 'The Jedi who forged it must have placed his heart and soul into its making. That is something I admire. Commitment,' she paused for a moment. 'Tell me, young padawan, how is it that you happen to be out here, so far from the Republic?'

'It appears I was brought,' Rhian said calmly. 'Against my will, for purposes unknown to me.'

'Do you not suspect the purpose?' she hissed. 'Do you not know why this war was waged?'

'I know you have connections with Count Dooku, and that the Sith, quite possibly, are manipulating the war.'

'Are they now? And do the Jedi have ample evidence to support this claim?'

'The war is evidence enough, that something malicious is directing the game board.'

'You're intelligent, young padawan, I will not deny that,' she said softly. 'Perhaps you do not know that I, too, was once a Jedi?'

'You left the Order?' Rhian breathed. 'But that cannot be possible. You were not numbered amongst the lost twenty.'

'No,' she answered quietly. 'I have never stepped foot inside the Temple. My training did not take place on Coruscant, but on my forsaken homeworld of Rattatak. The Jedi abandoned my master, Ky Narec, there. They left him to die at the hands of the warlords, alone and unaided. They abandoned him!' Her words echoed in a deadly whisper. 'The Jedi are cruel and unethical. Do you not know that you live a lie? The Order is laced with corruption, and one day, it will collapse, and its ruin will be faciliated much by their own blindness and insolence than by the hand of external threats.'

'I don't believe that will happen,' Rhian countered fiercely. 'The Order is central to the maintenance of peace in this galaxy. The Jedi possess values and traditions which have been fortified over a millennia, values you will never truly understand because you have mistakenly embraced the dark side.'

'The dark side... the dark side,' Asajj Ventress echoed thoughtfully. 'No. You're wrong. It has brought me salvation, a way to channel my anger. Count Dooku made me see past their misguiding lies, their half-truths. I have trained in their ways, and I tell you, you have been grossly misled by them, padawan. The Jedi do not allow themselves to feel the full spectrum of emotions, because they are afraid, afraid to feel, afraid of corruption. Embrace the dark, and you will feel the passion, vengeance and rage that has been denied you for so long.'

'You are wrong,' answered Rhian quietly, his voice resolute. 'Don't try to tempt me, Ventress. That is not a road I'm willing to take. I know where my loyalties lie.'

'I offered you a route to survival,' Ventress said softly. 'It seems you are yet too naive to accept a path that offers such salvation. Perhaps, pitted against the might of the dark, you will be disillusioned by your own weaknesses. I may be no Sith, but my powers suffice to defeat the pathetic limitations of the light.'

With a gentle flick of her wrist, Ventress summoned her other lightsaber into her empty hand, her fingers moving to a close around the the curved handle with relish. With a hiss, both sabers sprang to life, the glow of two blood red blades illuminating her grey face.

[All hail the clones, (and I <3 being the villain)! PS. I felt, you know, if we had no clones, there wouldn't be a definite thing to define the time period. If we didn't have 'em, this wouldn't be called the 'Clone Wars' would it? ;)]

Reche was becoming frustrated. It had been three hours, and his droids had not yet returned with news on his captives. Asajj appeared to be missing and Sheree was becoming close to him-- which was unusual, but he liked the attention he got. He turned the corner. Maybe Sheree had heard from Asajj.

He entered Sheree's cavern room to find her hair fanned out in the long curls, wearing tight black pants and a short top, working on her blaster. He had to admit she was nice to look at. She looked up at him:

"What do you want?" she asked.

He went straight to the point. "Have you heard or seen Asajj?" he asked.

Shaking her head, she replied, "No, not since the droids were released."

"Sith spit," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"I would like to know where she is," he told her.

She got up and moved over to him, her piercing blue eyes looking into his "I'll help you find her," she smiled.
***

Mid-afternoon... a young female walks through the streets of Coruscant. She had not seen her sister in months, her brother was dead, her mother was presumably in slavery and her father was dead-- the Jedi were possibly behind it all as she had told her sister, and everytime she saw a report about the Jedi in the clone Wars, she would become more angry... especially with the 'Hero with no Fear'. she secretly hoped he would die at the hands of an enemy, or better yet, her own blaster. According to Sheree, he was the one who was responsible for Dane's death.

Jennifer remembered the conversation she overheard in the Café earlier, while waiting for a friend who did not show up. It had seemed important because she noticed how one would look around all the time to make sure no one was listening. So she had used the technique her brother Dane had taught her, to eavesdrop during conversations. She heard them speak about Jedi, captives, mission and Anakin Skywalker- how she hated hearing that name! Why? What was so important about him? She wanted to follow them but she had a friend to wait for. So now, she walked the streets, wishing she had followed them as it could have been her one chance to have revenge on Anakin Skywalker.

***
Anakin had just finished a tranmission with Obi-Wan, who was staying behind in case another mission came up. Anakin was very excited to be on a mission on his own, without Obi-Wan. It would be different being on his own but he wouldn't have to worry about being scolded. He turned to R2, his droid.

"You all ready to go?" he asked as Artoo beeped excitedly, saying he had finished powering up and ready to go as Anakin smiled and moved down to see if his companions were ready to take and finish this mission.
***

Felucia was full of bizarre plants and fungi covering the planet. Some would say it was beautiful, others would disagree. Sheree did not say otherwise, she was here for a job. She hoped that Skywalker would come here so she could have some more fun. She looked over at Reche. He was becoming annoyed because Asajj had not shown up and now he had to leave the compound to find her before she really did something wrong.
***

In the Industrial District of Courscant, in a tall, dark tower, two figures secretly met, one cloaked so his identity wasn't revealed, the other in Sith robes and crooked lightsaber from his belt. He approached the hooded figure.

"Our operations on Felucia are underway with the capture of some Jedi for Tyalier's experiment. The new smuggler is with him to help him out" Dooku told announced.

"Good, good, soon the galaxy will be mine to rule. The Sith will rule again," the figure crackled.

"So what would you have me to do?" Dooku asked.

"Remain on alert in the Outer Rim on one of our bases and I will summon you if needed. This plan on Felucia could help to turn the tide of the war for the better," the figure replied.
***

Jennifer entered her apartment-it was luxious and spacious, considering she had managed to make friends with some Senators' aides which could come in handy. She thought to herself...

If I can't get to Anakin in person, there must be some information on him to take him down and ruin his reputation. She laughed out loud before skimming through datapads on the tables and paperwork. She had to prove that the so called 'hero with no fear' was just human after all and like all humans, he would have some secret agenda.
***

Sheree sat in the speeder. What was she doing? She wondered. She was a smuggler and now she was helping to stop the Jedi from destroying Reche's plans here. She was a smuggler, didn't mean to cause much trouble, in it for the money. As she sat there in the speeder, she thought to herself about how would Skywalker's death would help her ease the pain over Dane's death-- what really happened? She only saw a bolt hit him and he had fallen. Anakin was next to him, deflecting bolts. She did blame him-- how she ran out to hurt him but the look on his face when her brother died wasn't evil. It was sadness-- was it an accident, and she blamed him because he didn't see the bolts coming? As she sat there, watching the landscape streak past her, she wondered if she was here because she wanted to be here.

The nose of Leriana's Light interceptor Jedi Starfighter cleared the surface of the misty Coruscant atmosphere. Peering into the haze, Leriana steadied the vessel, easing the fighter through the centre of a hyperdrive booster ring. Leriana glanced at the ship's navicomputer, ensuring the co-ordinates which would propel her towards distant Felucia were accurately calculated.

'We're getting ready to enter hyperspace,' Leriana alerted her astromech, an R4 unit which had recently acquired the name of Fifler, and received a whistle in response.

In a whirl of blinding light, Leriana felt the cockpit seat become feather light, as the starfighter pitched forward, equipped with the ever-reliable booster craft which compensated for the inability of her fighter to carry a hyperdrive of its own. In a space of what felt remarkably like seconds, Leriana's vessel emerged into realspace once more. Moments later, the respective ships of Kaani and Anakin emerged beside her.

'We've just entered the Felucia system,' Shakiah's voice announced over the comm. 'The only major world in this star system is, well, Felucia. It should not be hard to identify.'

'I thought we would have been here by nightfall,' Kaani remarked.

'It does seem surprising the co-ordinates here were so easily mapped out. But then, we have had some dark dealings with the Commerce Guild in recent times,' Shakiah replied. Her fighter was several metres away, tailed closely by several ARC-170 starfighters, piloted by members of their clone battalion.

'I can discern Felucia from here,' Anakin's whispered. Ahead loomed a luminous green planet, beside which perched a glowing orb, the planet's sun.

Without warning, a multitude of space debris began to approach at dangerous speeds. As the first approached, Leriana realised that they were not debris, but in fact solid asteroids. She slammed hard to starboard, darting aside to make way for its passing. Before it had passed, however, Anakin released a string of cannon fire, blasting the asteroids into infinitesimal smithereens.The explosion caused Leriana's fighter to quiver violently beneath her. 'Bad move, Anakin.'

'Sorry,' his voice sounded sheepish.

'What are we going to do, blast our way into its atmosphere?' Leriana said.

'Well, that seems like our only option,' Anakin answered, glancing quickly at the others. 'I hear you're a good pilot, Leriana. Think you're up to dodging some "space debris"?'

Leriana hesitated, stealing a backwards glance at her master's starfighter. Thankfully, Shakiah seemed preoccupied with transmitting instructions to the Clone squad leader, Vane. She forced her thrust her throttle forward, permitting herself a mischievous smile. 'You're on.'

Two starfighters streaked at lightning speeds towards the blue-green atmosphere, picking up speed as they plunged towards their destination. I'm going to be in deep trouble for doing this, master... I hope you'll forgive me, Leriana thought. I just hope we don't crash. 'Hang in there, Fifler. Guess this is your chance to prove how phenomenol a pilot you are, Anakin,' Leriana grinned, letting the thrill of the ride course through her veins... she had missed the joy of flying for too long.
***

As his own green blade sprang to life, Rhian was subconciously aware of a precarious premonition. You're in dangerous waters, Rhian. Be wary.

He could feel the energy radiating from his adversary, her determination, and yet even more unnerving, the putrid stench of the dark side swirling around them both like endless dark fog, penetrating and oppressive. He felt terribly vulnerable. Rhian closed his eyes for a moment and tried to envision Master Lenar, letting her comforting voice fill his mind. There is nought you need fear about the dark, except to recognise that it is all around us and undeniably within each of us. When it clouds your better judgement, just remember this: your only obstacle, in the end, is yourself.

Ventress stalked forwards, blades raised in a crimson cross. Three blades met in a flash of blinding light. Both hands clenched tightly about his lightsaber, Rhian felt his own energy coursing throughout him; it gave him strength to feel the sturdy weapon clasped in his fingertips. He twisted backwards, landing in time to force Ventress backwards with a furious thrust. You call this a fair fight, Ventress? A full-fledged dark Jedi targeting a padawan learner? You receive more credit than you deserve.

Turning, he deflected a blow and delivered his own, calling upon the Force the urge his blade forwards. Be on the defensive, never the offensive, Aereine's words echoed. Rhian let out a deep breath as he forced himself to meet Ventress' gaze. The flame of fury in her eyes was unmistakeable. Fury, hatred, tempestuous vehemence, rage, vengeance. Vengeance upon who? Her former master for leading her astray, or the Order itself? Don't worry, master. I'll remember. I'll always remember.

[I like taking on personas. There's the reckless me, the one who talks in riddles (I live to confuse), not to mention I <3 being the villain. So fun! PS. I resisted the sudden urge to quote, 'this weapon is your life!' XD I also resisted the urge to call Ventress names. I don't think they've ever invented a more despicable character, with the exception of that, er, Grevious *shudder*]

The speeder sped across the landscape of Felucia. Reche was putting the speeder into overdrive so that he could find Asajj and continue on with his plans. He was becoming tired of all these problems- first the droids and now Asajj had just run off without telling him. He looked over at Sheree, who stared out at the passing landscape; she had not said a word since she had gotten in the speeder- probably thinking about all that had happen to her since she had gotten here. He liked having her help and wanted more than just silence, so he broke the silence-

“Felucia sure has a lot of bizarre plants, doesn’t it?” he pointed out.

Not even turning, she simply replied, “More like bizarre fungi to me.”

As he stared at her, her fingers twirling her hair, wanting to know more about her, he asked,“Why do you want to destroy Skywalker so badly?”

He saw her flinch. Knowing that there was more to this plan of hers, he went on, “I mean you don’t seem the type of smuggler who wants to harm or see the Republic fall just have some fun. Asajj wants to see the Jedi suffer because of what the Jedi did to her Master on her home planet Rattak” he explained. “So what about you?” he asked again.

She turned to acknowledge him. He had forgotten how pretty she looked from the front as her dazzling blue eyes stared into his. She sighed and replied, “If you must know, it’s a long story and to sum up, it’s revenge.”

Intrigued, he wanted more so he told her, “Well, we got the time, let’s hear it.”

She turned around more in her seat, “When I was younger, my family was struck with tragedy. My father was killed, my mother was sold into slavery so I was raised by my older brother and sister who told me that the Jedi were behind the attack, they did nothing to stop it. So when I was 12, my brother took me on a mission and we were allied with the Jedi, I didn’t trust them, but kept it hidden. When I was starting to trust them again, a stray bolt that could have been deflected by a lightsaber hit my brother and killed him,” her eyes swelling with tears as she turned away.

Reche looked at her, “I’m sorry but why Anakin?’ he had to ask, but shouldn’t have.

“It was him, he was there, next to my brother- he could have hit it back but missed,” she told him angrily.

“I’m sorry. I’ll help you to finish him, I promise,” he told her as the speeder sped faster across the planet.
***

Coruscant Late Evening.

Jennifer had spent all afternoon and well into the night searching for any news or reports of wrongful behaviour of Anakin Skywalker and was becoming frustrated,

“Come on, come on. There has to be something you have been doing wrong, no one’s perfect,” she mumbled to herself. She was caught up with her work that she did not see or hear her friend enter the room and move over to where she sat, looking over her shoulder.

“Looking for something?” he asked, seeing her jump.

“Don’t do that, you scared the life out of me,” she told him angrily, seeing him laugh.

“Just something to bring an enemy down” she told him.

He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, he knew who she meant “Maybe I can help. I have other files around here that shows that being a Senator’s aide does have advantage,s” he smirked.

Jennifer smiled at her friend, “I think I know where you are getting at, like stretching the truth a bit, maybe?” she asked.

“Perhaps,” he replied as she smiled more. This was turning out to be the most perfect plan ever.
***

The border of Felucia, edging on the space lane, two fighters were preparing to storm the planet. Anakin looked out through his cockpit at the bluey green planet ahead of him. Why Felucia? He would have to find out about the planet. He looked to his faithful droid, R2-D2 and smiled,

“You ready to show them what we can do, R2?” he smirked.

As R2 replied with a series of excited beeps and whistles, Anakin looked over at his friend in the other fighter. He would be going down to Felucia with her to free the captives and he was about to show her why he was one of best pilots of the Jedi Order.

Leriana's starfighter was gaining momentum as it made its rapid descent through the planet's asteroid belt. A simultaneous release of laser cannons from both vessels spelled the disintegration of multitudinous stray boulders in violent explosions.

'I don't suppose Felucia inhabitants fancy star gazing?' Anakin remarked. 'I daresay they will spot some peculiarities in the skies tonight.'

Leriana winced with a sudden realisation. 'Whether they be mere astronomers or spies, it would be wiser not to continue blowing up space debris... We're in a view of a possibly enemy-occupied planet. It will bode ill for us if we are attacked by Separatists the moment we land.'

'Ah,' Anakin answered, clearly disquieted. 'I managed to forget the part of the mission description which stated we travel "in stealth".'

'Meteor alert,' Leriana warned moments later. A brilliant flare illuminated the space in their vicinity, a celestial body releasing a fiery streak of dappled light as it orbited the world. The meteor had passed dangerously close to the world's sun. 'No, a shooting star,' she breathed.

'It's... beautiful,' Anakin declared quietly.

A smile played at the corner of Leriana's lips. It was enlightening to know that Anakin still appreciated the simplicity and aestheticism of natural phenomena.

Their vessels, which moments before had been travelling at five hundred miles per hour, had dwindled to a steadily controllable speed. With the luminous green surface of Felucia visible through the viewport, all thoughts of their momentary aviation rivalry had escaped them. As the pair of starfighters touched the world's surface, giant fluorescent flora rose up to meet them, reaching out towards the skies as they towered above the fungi-littered ground. The cockpits of both starfighters flew open, admitting them to the foreign world, a world adorned in kaleidoscopic colours, vivid greens, golds, violets and blues, and all the shades on an artist's palette. Translucent trees, covered with rainbow growths, flourished beneath the incandescent flare of the warm afternoon sun.

'This is a sight I had never dreamed I would see,' Leriana said in a low voice, her senses alert to the aura of her mysterious surroundings.

Sinking in the mystifying ambience of Felucia, Anakin knelt and ran his hand over a blade of lavender grass. He lifted a sample of dead fungi from the ground, a growth which should have decayed, and yet still glowed a brilliant azure, and observed it, bewildered. 'If we spent all our lives travelling to the worlds spread across this galaxy, we would nonetheless never be able to glimpse every planet, or every sight and sound. Or so a wise friend once told me.' He fell silent, lost in a moment of thought.

'Obi-Wan?' Leriana prompted gently.

'No. He died a very long time ago. He was a mentor who understood and recognised me for my gifts and my flaws, and never forced me to mould into an image of himself under the tutelage of his own master, and who offered me true guidance...' Unlike Obi-Wan. 'He is gone now.' His hands clenched about a handful of lavender grass, whether in agitation or bitter resentment, Leriana did not know.

A cloud shifted across the sky to block the sun's glow. For a brief instant, Anakin's face was shadowed, and Leriana could not catch a glimpse of his expression.
***

Their blades moved in quick succession, a synchronic display of brazen light and colour; dark crimson and brilliant green. Try as he might, Rhian could find no loophole in the defences of his formidable foe. It was clear that she possessed experience beyond his own years, yet was propelled by a force more than skill and tactic-- she was a merciless ball of fire, a fierce adversary empowered by eager onslaughts, a manical gleam in her intense eyes.

With a tremendous burst of strength, Ventress unleashed a sudden torrent of cerulean Force lightning. Rhian forced himself to deflect the attack with his lightsaber, using his weapon as a shield against the spirraling blasts of savage energy Ventress summoned. Relying on sheer will power alone to stop the saber from trembling in his clutches, Rhian persisted.

'Careful,' Ventress whispered. 'Perhaps I underestimated you.'

The sun had climbed high in the sky, revealing the incandescent Felucian landscape in all its glory, heralding the early afternoon with uncanny subtlety.

The moment Ventress paused for breath, Rhian lunged, seeking for the vulnerable area admist her grey armour which he could now discern. The Rattatakan anticipated his advances before Rhian could score her with more than a cut, swiftly forcing the Jedi backwards with both blades. Ventress narrowed her eyes, leaping from the ground with all the agility of a feline predator. For an instant, Rhian found it difficult to detect her presence in the Force. As had been the case earlier that day, when the wily Ventress had first revealed herself, Rhian was visited by the uneasy suspicion that his opponent could conceal her own presence at will. Yet relying on sight alone would never let him overcome Ventress, he knew. He would have to rely on his instincts.

She moved faster than distinguishable by the eye, invisible to all but the most delicate senses. It relied on all Rhian could draw from the personified combat style Aereine had taught him to detect her next attack. He stood poised in suspense, drinking in the long moment of silence, broken by nothing but the thudding of his own heart. In a split instant, he twisted on the spot, swinging his blade blindly into seemingly thin air... before it was met in an explosion of light by one of Ventress' twin blades as she materialised before him once more.

Her second disappearance disturbed not a blade of grass in her passing. The sun's warmth was was suddenly eclipsed, the darkening aura, strangely surreal, stilled Rhian's heart, a descending blanket that threatened to suffocate him. It was not till the cloud had moved away from the sun again could Rhian, greatly perturbed, regain his composure-- too late to anticipate Ventress' onslaught. She was an unyielding hurricane as she delivered a deep gash down the side of Rhian's left arm. Wincing with pain, he managed to block her strike in time to stop her causing him severe harm. Cradling his injured arm, Rhian fought to regain his senses in order to fight on, helplessly aware that the wound was bleeding profusely, soaking the damaged sleeve of his cloak. There was nothing to be done about that now, except pray the bleeding would cease of its own accord. Leriana, where are you when I need you?

For what seemed like eternity, Rhian was forced to test skills he had learnt, concentrating now solely on defence. It was all he could do to avoid being trampled by her fury, besides which it could not concern him whether or not Ventress was defeated; survival was crucial. An impetuous blow in the side forced him to his knees in agony. He had lost too much blood, and his senses were growing faint. Ventress, impassioned by her emotions, had nothing to stop her from murdering her opponent in cold blood. Rhian's strength was ebbing away.

His chest heaved with each shallow breath. 'You would be willing to murder a vulnerable sentient being... whether he be friend or foe?' he said quietly.

Ventress paused, gazing upon him dispassionately. 'If he is of no more use to me.'

His last fleeting image was of Ventress, crimson blades imbuing her face in a dark hue, before oblivion overcame him.

Reche pushed the speeder forward, the wind making Sheree’s curls bounce. He kept on going until they both saw a lone figure coming towards them. They looked at each other- they both knew who it was. Reche brought the speeder to a stop and jumped out, followed by Sheree. He approached the figure.

“Where in the galaxy did you run off to?!” he exclaimed as the figure looked up.

“I was following your droids, Reche, and lost track of time,” Asajj replied. Looking at Sheree, she said, “What took you so long to come look for me?” she asked.

“Our new friend here?” Reche added. “No, I was busy and she was only helping to find you” he corrected, clapping his hands together. “So how did the little beauties do?” he asked as she looked at him.

“I will not lie so I will tell you,” she replied.
:) ***

Jennifer laughed with her friend as he thought of the perfect rumour-“That is so crazy! It’s going to be true, even his crazy friend Obi-Wan will believe it.”

She remembered him from the reports about the Clone Wars as her friend smiled proudly.

“I told you, it never helps to bend the truth,” he told her as she playfully hit him.

“You never cease to amaze me” she replied, making him go red.

“That’s because I love to help a friend,” he told her as she bundled up the files.

“I’m going to head over to the Senate and start with the Senators and their aides,” she smiled, heading out the apartment with a big grin on her face.
***

“The droids escaped!” Reche exclaimed after Asajj told them what had happened with the droids and now he was clearly venting his anger out. “How? They were not supposed to escape! They were my droids. MY DROIDS!” he yelled, making Sheree and Asajj jump back.

“It’s okay, it will be alright, we’ll think of something better,” Sheree beamed.

Asajj looked at her, there was something going on between them, maybe that’s why she came along.

Reche was clearly unimpressed, “This is not happening,” he told them, before he looked at them. “That’s it! New plan- and this one will not fail!” he declared as he laughed evilly.

Jennifer strolled down the hallway, beaming. She had the ultimate plan. Nothing could stop her now- Anakin Skywalker was going down. She had complied the ultimate rumour which would make him crumble. She was so happy with herself that she did not see the figure standing a few feet ahead of her and walked right into them! They turned around and Jennifer found herself staring into the very eyes that she never expected to see- she gasped, “Obi Wan Kenobi,” a taste of hatefulness in her voice.
***

The trip back to the base was a quiet one, Asajj thinking about her big fight with the Jedi who she had challenged, Reche thinking about his big plans and what he was going to do to bring everything back into order and Sheree was thinking about her own presence- She had seen Asajj staring at her and knew she was still looking at her now in the speeder- she tried to shake the thought of that and think of her brother. She was beginning to feel lost- could her brother’s death really be avenged?

The humming of engine power signalled the landing of two other Jedi starfighters, and a successive fleet of Clone ARC-170 starfighters, cooperatively organised in landing formation. Upon exiting her ship, Kaani paused to survey her surroundings in awe, joined shortly by Leriana and Anakin. Indeed, it was hard to ignore the sights and scents which saturated this strange world.

'Leriana, why did you continue onwards without notifying me?' Shakiah demanded, in a tone which suggested she was not pleased.

Leriana sensed denying truths was not the approach to take with her master now. 'I was intrigued,' she said, and left it at that.

Before Shakiah could continue reprimanding Leriana with a 'you-are-in-big-trouble, missie' lecture, Anakin interrupted. 'It was my fault, I compelled her to make the decision.'

'Then you will have to forgive me having to report to your master that you have disobeyed direct orders,' she told him.

'Direct-?' Anakin opened his mouth to protest.

'Implied orders, then,' Shakiah corrected.

Anakin sighed deeply. He was certainly not looking forward to another lecture from Obi-Wan when he returned home. Things will never change, will they?

'Let's not start the mission on a negative note,' Kaani said brightly, 'After all, you must remember back to the days when you were still an apprentice, Master Leusa.'

A nostalgic smile played across Shakiah's face at the memory. 'Perhaps... but rebellion should never be encouraged. It would be detrimental to our operations. You know best, Kaani,' she paused with a slight grin. 'That's why you and Rhian get on so well.'

'Speaking of Rhian...' Kaani added quietly. 'I hope we gain a sense of direction as to the whereabouts of those Separatist allies and their hideout.'

'I'm worried about him,' Leriana admitted, pacing as if greatly disquieted by something.

'Is he in danger?' Shakiah asked in a softened tone.

'No, it's more than that, master,' Leriana answered faintly. 'Between Coruscant and Felucia, I could sense a flicker of his presence. Now we're here, I... I can no longer feel him... at all.'

'That's grave news,' Kaani murmured, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.

'Don't place all trust in your senses, Leri,' Anakin said reassuringly. 'As my master would say, your senses are not always atuned to the currents of the Force. What do your instincts tell you?'

'I don't know,' Leriana said truthfully, at a loss.

Anakin let out a breath. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'

'Indeed,' Kaani supplied.

'That's not to say we give in,' Leriana said, jumping to her feet in determination. 'We have to proceed with the Council's orders, and do what we came here to do. We need to scour Felucia for our enemies, and, regardless of what we find, we will make them regret they ever allied themselves with the Separatists. We will make them regret they ever declared the Jedi their enemies.'

'Leri's right,' Shakiah said, with admiration for her padawan's fierce optimism. 'I have been provided with a map of the surrounding lands. While we have no general sense of the direction in which their vault lies, we need to start the search immediately.'

'Yet another campaign,' Kaani said to Leriana, reflecting upon the complications of the past months, 'I hope this one has a happy ending.'

'We're in this together,' Leriana answered, placing an arm around her friend's shoulder. 'Whatever happens, we'll see it through.'

From his socket on the side-wing of Anakin's starfighter, R2-D2 beeped, as though seeking permission to join the party.

'No, Artoo,' Anakin smiled, waving a hand to order his astromech to stay put. 'Stay with the ship. We won't be long.'

'Artoo has a personality of his own,' Leriana observed, gazing towards her own R4-unit Fifler, which had already powered herself down.

'They possess more than just the functions you build into them,' Anakin explained. 'I used to build droids myself, once a very long time ago,' he added wistfully. 'This particular one was a gift from Senator Amidala.'

'You must be good friends with her,' Leriana remarked.

Shakiah had turned back to the ships. 'Commander Vane, inform your troopers that they are to guard our ships for the time being. We will notify you if we need help-- otherwise, we will return to camp by nightfall.'

Vane nodded to show he understood. 'We will wait for your news, Master Leusa, and may the Force be with you all.'

Jennifer stared at Obi-Wan in anger- how she just wanted to hit him there and then but it was too much a public place so she just spoke out, “How’s the killing tally?” she asked as he blinked at her.

“What?” he asked.

“Come on, why aren’t you with your partner in crime, Skywalker?” she asked.

He smiled, “He’s elsewhere. Do you have a problem with anything?” he asked.

She paused for a moment, then smiled. “I have something here you need to see,” she told him.

As he looked at her, she went on, “Here we’ll go into a spare room. You need to see this.” She motioned for him to follow her into a room, where she placed the file on the table. “Look at this file- there is evidence that Skywalker is not being completely honest with everyone,” she told him as she saw Obi-Wan open up the file and look at everything in the file. After a few minutes, he looked at her. Shock was written on his face, he couldn’t speak, and she smiled a bit- it was working, he finally spoke.

“How did you get this information?” he asked.
***

The speeder pulled into the hanger area and Reche hopped out of the speeder and headed off. Sheree moved to follow him when Asajj pulled her back,

“What’s going on with Reche and you?” she asked, her eyes were sharp, never taking them off hers.

“What? There’s nothing going on here. Just business,” Sheree replied,

“Don’t give me that. I noticed it the minute you guys found me,” she corrected her, before going on. “I mean, you’re a young, talented smuggler with the looks to persuade him,” she told her as she saw Sheree smirk.

“I’m just here to do a job and perhaps do something you couldn’t do,” she smirked back as Asajj looked at her.

“What’s that?” she hissed back.

Sheree simply smiled. “Kill Anakin Skywalker,” she replied.

Asajj laughed. “You try that, but I’ll be watching you. Don’t cloud Reche’s mind with your 'looks'", she told Sheree, walking off.

Sheree pulled out her blaster and held it in her direction. “You better stay out of my way or you’ll meet my blaster in your face” she muttered.
***

Jennifer smirked. “I’m glad that you asked,” she told Obi-Wan. “I had a friend who is a Senator’s aide and we found this information about Anakin- working to rid the Senate of 'improper Senators'".

She wanted to laugh, she couldn’t believe that this was working as Obi-Wan stared at her.

“I can’t believe that Anakin is doing this- this can’t be true,” he replied as she moved closer to him, placing an arm around him.

“I know it’s hard. You were really close but people can commit treacherous things,” she replied.

Obi Wan looked at her. There was something not right about what she said but there was proof and visuals are better then words. He was so upset that he couldn’t look her in the eyes as she continued to comfort him.
***

Sheree moved through the base quietly- Reche was locked with some officers in the control over this plan, Asajj had headed to her quarters- still angry that maybe something was going on with Sheree and Reche, which was crazy- she was only starting to like him as a friend. She moved to her room, filled with files and weapons as well as personal belongings. She moved over to the mirror to comb her brown curls and adjust her braid at the top. Taking out her blaster, she moved to window, holding to the outside- something was going to happen that would finally get her to show everyone her talents as a smuggler and abilities to use weapons. She laughed to herself thinking about what Asajj had mentioned about Reche and her- she was so wrong, she would see.

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes and gazed thoughtfully at the data files. The images were blurred, almost cryptic, but enough to recognise the figure of Anakin, discussing some matters regarding the Senate with Chancellor Palpatine. Though Obi-Wan could not clearly hear the conversation, he grew slightly troubled. The young woman's face stirred in his memory somehow, but he could not recall her name. It was understandable that she would recognise him, however. It seemed the Jedi were receiving too much publicity these days.

This information was either a hoax and this friend of hers was greatly skilled at manipulating data, or it was real. Obi-Wan considered the possibility for a moment. Considering Anakin's ways, his padawan was impulsive enough to start to a rebellion. Obi-Wan had always known this, but he also knew him enough to know that Anakin would never betray his loyalty to the Republic-- even if the Senate body was not necessarily representative of that ideal.

'No,' Obi-Wan said finally, after giving the matter much thought. 'He not betray my trust by doing something like this. Who is this friend of yours? I should very much like to speak with him.'
***

The humid afternoon was waning swiftly, and miles of luminescent fungal terrains had already passed them by. They had been confronted with no threat thus far that day, except for the occasional encounter when their path crossed with those of gigantic megafauna. A primitive beast with a drawn neck reaching into the hazy canopies of enormous pitcher plants for edible parts gazed down at the travellers through unblinking eyes.

Possibly wondering whether we are some strange new life-form, Leriana thought bemusedly.

The sun-drenched scenery resembled a picturesque image painted on canvas.

'I sense disturbance ahead,' said Shakiah suddenly, gazing through her binoculars into the far distance.

Several kilometres away was a spot on the horizon, which marked a moving group of life-forms. As the group approached, Leriana saw that they were a troupe of brown, wrinkle-skinned species, sporting elongated necks and shrunken heads. Several were conversing in a lispy tongue bordering on croaks, as evident to the onlooker. The leader, who leant on a long, shrivelled wooden walking stick, had noticed the Jedi, and was now staring at them through keen eyes, as though judging their intentions.

'A small colony of Gossams,' Kaani observed.

'The name sounds familiar,' Leriana said. 'Care to enlighten us, Kaani?'

'They're a saurian species native to the planet Castell,' Kaani began. 'There are colonies established throughout Felucia and nearby Saleucami. The most renowned of the Gossams of which--'

'--is Shu Mai, the president of the Commerce Guild,' Leriana finished, remembering. 'Of course.'

'Unfortunately for us, the species has become allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems,' Shakiah stated darkly. 'They're not welcome on Coruscant, and are often deported from the planet in the most extreme of cases. We must be wary; they may be Commerce Guild spies.'

'I sense no hostility,' Leriana murmured, as the Gossam company neared them.
***
He awakened to find himself floating in a sea of substance. The touch of a cool, cloudy fluid on his bare skin seemed strange. The skin at his side tingled, and his entire body ached, a dark reminder of the ordeal. Gradually, Rhian's senses returned enough for him to realise that he was floating upside down in a globular bubble, translucent in that he could discern the dungeon at large, littered with complex medical equipment and apparatus, well. Transparent tubes suspended in the liquid had been attached to his nose, evidently to aid in breathing. I don't remember coming here...

A stiffling presence entered stony cavern that served as a medical ward, the figure of Asajj Ventress, clothed now in a grey cape. She inspected the stain by her shoulder fleetingly, the only damage Rhian had been to inflict upon her, and permitted herself a satisfied smile at the fact that neither Reche nor Sheree had been perceptive enough to glimpse it. If they had, she knew, an explanation would have been in order, and for the present, she was not yet prepared to justify her actions.

Ventress turned to Rhian, suspended half-conciously in the large bacta bank, as had been the case when she had first left, and spoke.

'How do you feel, Jedi?' It was not an inquiry laced with hatred, but rather an unnervingly calm acknowledgement of the damage she had done. 'I came to realise that Reche Tyalier quite possibly needs you for his purposes... and it would benefit me less to jeopardise his plans. After him having hired men to seek you out on Coruscant, it is clear he has great uses for you. In your folly of releasing all the other captives, you are the only Jedi left now on whom he can carry out his plans. But that's not a cause for rejoice, you understand, young padawan. He is not pleased about the fate of his droids, you see. Soon, you will wish you had died under my merciful blade.'

She twirled Rhian's abandoned lightsaber about her fingertips. 'And you will no longer be needing this. But I only take the weapons of enemies I defeat utterly... therefore yours I will send into the safekeeping of- your captor, though I doubt he will find uses for it. Humans,' she paused to emphasise her disgust. 'They believe they are extraordinary masterminds, yet their mental capacity extends only to what is tangible. You and I... we are much alike in what we can perceive... yet you are still naive in the ways of the world. How unfortunate it is that not all of you have become disillusioned by this war. It would be fine to follow Count Dooku's example, would it not?'

How easily you allow yourself to be manipulated by a Sith such as he, Ventress...

She flung her cape aside, to display an array of finely crafted lightsabers. 'See these? They are a lasting reminder of the Jedi I have killed, and they are not few. You should consider yourself lucky that I decided to spare you... It is perhaps fortunate that you are not the object of this enmity that boils inside me.

'No,' she continued. 'It is not you, but Anakin Skywalker.'

Jennifer stared at Obi Wan, hiding her disbelief and shocked with a simple smile,

“You want to see my friend. What you don’t trust me or these images?” she asked, moving her hand to his shoulder. He stepped back away from her, obviously he was trying to remember where he had seen her before, judging by the way he looked at her, she moved her hands to her hips, smiling as he spoke,

“I want to know where he got these files from. I mean from the blurry images I can make out Anakin but I find it hard to believe that he would have meeting with the Chancellor behind the Jedi” he told her, she laughed,

“In my experience, you never trust anyone. NEVER” she replied, piercing him with her pair of bold blue eyes. Obi Wan stared into her eyes, he had seen those eyes before but where?

He took a deep breath “I would like you to take me to your friend” he told her strongly,

She dropped her hands to her sides, “Fine, we can go right now and you will see that this is all true. Anakin is a trickster and the sooner you learn that the better” she replied, and she pulled out another file and Obi Wan leaned in to have a closer look:

Obi Wan looked at the file that Jennifer had pulled it-it was a hologram video taken of Anakin with the Chancellor. Obi Wan knew of Anakin's relationship with the Chancellor and it didn't bother him. Although in this video captured of them it seemed that they were planning something. He saw Anakin, the Chancellor and two to three clone leaders. It seemed that they were in a long discussion over something which made the Chancellor give a crooky smile and Anakin nodded as the CLones moved off and Anakin shooks heads, smiling with the Chancellor. Obi Wan couldn't believe this-how could this happen? Still he looked at Jennifer and said

"I can't believe this. I want to speak to your friend" seeing her become frustrated and she started,

Packing up the files and heading out the room. Obi Wan followed her; he was trying to remember where he had seen her before. He needed to speak with her friend; Anakin would never do this to him.

Sheree was sitting on her bed, combing and styling her hair when Reche came running in, he was out of breath and relieved to see a familiar face;

“Finally I found someone familiar. The plan is gold” he said as she looked at him,

“Why aren’t you finding Asajj and telling her this instead of me?’ she asked,

“Because I can’t find her and she is acting weird ever since we found her and well I kind of need her for the first part” he told her as Sheree came over and took his hand in hers, he looked at her face-she had the prettiest face he had ever seen,

“What’s the plan?” she asked
He took a deep breath before going on “Well I was going to work with the Commerce Guild here to attract more Jedi and then have the toxin adjusted to go into the system without the victim recognizing it.” He smiled as she replied,

“How does this involve Asajj?” her blue eyes fluttered,

“Well I was going to ask if she knew about any Jedi she found while she was out walking or whatever she was doing” he told her,

Sheree looked at him, “I haven’t seen her. She’s been strange with me because she thinks something’s going on between us” she told him as he looked at her,

“Isn’t there?’ he asked as she looked at him, “Not while we are working here. Maybe later” she replied as he stared at her as she moved to the window, “I am here to be taken seriously as a smuggler not to be distracted by anyone” she went on.

“Okay then, well if you see Asajj tell her I’m looking for her” he said and left the room.

Asajj turned the corrindor to her quarter where she saw Reche emerge from Sheree’s room, making her eyes go wide as she muttered,

“Nothing going on huh Well we’ll see about that” as she headed into the room where Sheree had her back to her, “Reche. I told you I will tell you that you are…” she stopped when she saw Asajj standing there,

“Oh, Asajj. Reche is looking for you” she told her as she smirked

“I bet he is. What was he doing here?’ she asked, seeing her flinch,

“Oh, he was just talking to me about his plan. I’m meeting him later to discuss it” she replied,
“I’m watching you. Both of you” she told her as she saw Sheree laugh,

“You are unbelievable. I am watching you. Ever since you came back, you have been acting strange and never can be found. You did something out there that I will find out what it was” she told her, causing Asajj to storm out of the room.

Reche stood in the control room, discussing his plan with some officers, when he heard a voice that made him jump,

“What are you planning?’ he heard them asked and he turned to see Asajj standing there, he moved over to her,

“All in time but first you must answer me a question for the plan to go on” he told her as she looked at him,

“Yes, what’s wrong?” she asked

He looked at her intently, “Tell me. When you were out doing whatever you were doing before we found you, did you come across any fleeing Jedi about?’ he told her, his arms folded in front of him, not taking his eyes off her.

Jennifer led Obi Wan to her apartment where she lived with her friend and the Senator he worked for. No one there-but she knew he was here. She turned to Obi Wan,

“Wait here. I’ll go get him” she told him and he moved over to the couch as she moved to the study where her friend layed sprawled on the couch, she smiled and moved over to wake him,

“Wake up, we have company. He’s here” she told him,

“What!?! Did it not work?” he asked as she replied,

“Not sure, but he does want to talk to you” as he got up and followed her out to met the Jedi.

Obi Wan saw them approach and come over to sit on the opposite couch,

“What can I do for you, Jedi?’ he asked, a look of distrust on his face,

Obi Wan looked from Jennifer to her friend before speaking,

“Tell me where did you get your information about Anakin?” he asked as he saw him leaned back with his arms behind his head,

“A file across the Senator’s desk at his office in the Senate chambers and I brought it back because I didn’t want it lying around in his work office where anyone could see it” he replied, hiding his smirk as Jennifer spoke

“See I told you. The Senator had it so it’s all true” she smiled as he looked at her,

“I can’t believe that. I want to speak to the Senator” he concluded. He needed to get to the bottom of this-it couldn’t be true and he needed to remember where he had seen this girl before.

'Greetings,' Shakiah stepped forwards to greet the troupe.

The Gossams chattered in their native language, before the Leader answered them in halting Basic, 'What brings a group such as yourselves to Felucia?' he inquired.

'We are Jedi, here on a mission from the Republic capital,' Shakiah answered, surveying the strangers closely.

'The planet is occupied by Separatists,' the Gossam leader said slowly. 'Do you come here with ill intentions?'

'Our intentions are made known only to us. We come not to assail the planet, but to negotiate in peace.'

'You are allied with the Galactic Republic?' the Gossam asked curiously.

'Yes,' Shakiah answered, spreading out her hands in a gesture of benevolence.

To her surprise, a smile spread across the elderly Gossam's wrinkled face. 'That is glad news.'

The Gossam turned back towards the rest of the troupe, and launched into a lengthy explanation. It was apparent not all of them were fluent in Basic. A Gossam youngling, however, appeared disinclined to listen to his Leader's lengthy explanation. Impatiently, he jumped forwards and exclaimed to the Jedi, 'We have been besieged! If you truly are Jedi as you say, you have to help us!'

'Besieged?' Leriana asked curiously. 'In what way?'

A female Gossam, seeming as though she did not readily take to strangers, peered at them suspiciously, clinging to the youngling, and muttered hastily in a series of raspy vocalisations. The young Gossam disengaged himself from her grasp and continued, 'We are in trouble. The Commerce Guild seeks for us, eager to punish any disobedient Gossam colonies.'

'You are rebeling against the Guild?' Leriana inquired of him.

'Those who refuse to be by swayed by the Guild's influences,' the young Gossam answered, gesturing to the company around him, 'Are being sought out and killed.'

'He is right,' the elderly leader clarified, speaking once more. 'As a consequence for wishing to preserve our own freedom, we are being hunted.'

'You are in as much danger as us on this world,' Kaani said quietly.

'Then you must come with us,' Leriana said to them decisively. 'It is not possible to survive living in hiding forever. It is crucial you are transported to safety.'

'And you trust them?' Anakin whispered, audible enough for his companions to hear.

'If they were concealing hostile intent, we would know, Anakin,' Leriana turned to him.

'Don't be so sure.'

'I agree with Anakin,' Shakiah said. 'Our role is to aid them-- but stand on guard. We cannot be entirely sure whether they are telling the truth.'
***
By evening, after having travelling a great distance across the Felucian landscape, it was agreed that they would set up camp, and not attempt to journey any further. Shakiah had sent a brief holo transmission to Commander Vane, alerting him to the change of plan-- they would continue their exploration of the surrounding lands, and the Clones were to await further orders.

Accompanied by the small Gossam colony, the Jedi had, since the meeting, learnt much of recent Separatist events on the planet, seemingly hostile to anything that moved.

'We have recently had some unwelcome visitors to the planet,' the elderly Gossam, whose name they had learned was Zarrar, now explained. 'Sources say that Count Dooku has induced a Separatist leader, by the name of Reche Tyalier, to use Felucia as a means of facilitating his experiments. Having allied with the Commerce Guild base on this world, he is being funded well for his exploits.'

'This Tyalier character,' Kaani said. 'Can you tell us more about him?'

'As I have said earlier, our knowledge is limited,' Zarrar said, 'We hear news by chance or luck, and even then as a risk to our safety. We do know, though, that Tyalier, somewhat mad, claims himself to be some type of botanic scientist, a human with scarlet hair, quite possibly having allied himself with the Separatist movement for material wealth and the glory that accompanies it.'

'Well, it makes sense to choose a planet abundant in plant species for his experimental projects,' Leriana said. 'I can't think what Tyalier hopes to achieve here, though.'

'Now, that's the interesting part,' Zarrar answered her in a mystified voice. 'We don't know if what Tyalier is planning is large scale, or simply for personal satisfaction. But seeing as he became associated with the likes of Dooku, there's a large chance this project will prove significant enough to advantage the Separatists in this war.'

'That makes sense,' Anakin said slowly. 'Why else would Dooku associate himself with Tyalier if not for mutual benefit?'

'The key here then is this,' Shakiah added thoughtfully. 'We need to discover what Tyalier is up to.'

'Do you think he has anything to do with Rhian's disappearance, master?' Leriana asked her.

'Considering what we've heard today,' Shakiah answered. 'Quite possibly.'

Sheree was getting bored, lounging around at the base every single moment- she wanted some excitement- a fight even, but she knew she had to wait. At last she had had some interaction with people, although Ventress was becoming suspicious of her being around and was watching her, but Reche was good company. When he wasn’t spending time working on his plan, he was teaching her about how the droids worked and what you do to activate them- they got the job done everytime. Well, almost.

“So these droids will seek out their target and eliminate them?” she asked him as he looked at her.

“For sure. I always use these beauties. They’ve never failed on me,” he replied, noticing that Sheree had raised an eyebrow at his reply.

“Really? Well what about the recent test with the Jedi captives?” she asked as he smirked,

“That was…..That was…” he was lost for words at the remark. “Those damn Jedi must have been smart enough to use stealth or something,” he waved his arms around as she looked at him,

“Let’s hope that this time, they succeed,” she told him, her piercing blue eyes telling him that they had better, or else.

He smiled, “Not to worry. He won’t know what will hit him. He’ll be unprepared,” he laughed.
***

Jennifer’s friend tried to hide his worry with a smile, looking from Jennifer to the Jedi sitting in front of him, still leaning back with his arms behind his head. He laughed,

“You want to see the Senator?” he asked, “Well that’s going to be a little hard,” he added. Jennifer was trying to hide her laugh as Obi Wan leaned forward.

“And why is that?” he asked, looking at both of them sitting in front of him.

“Because he is off planet and I only found the file a day ago,” he replied, smirking back at him, as Jennifer put in, “He won’t know what you are talking about either, because like my friend said, it's only recent news,” she smirked.

“Recent as in only a few days?” he asked, “How long has the Senator been gone?” he asked. He had a strange feeling that this Senator was among the few Senators who disliked the Jedi’s involvement in politics.

“About a week. Had to leave suddenly because there was a crisis on his home planet and he left me in charge of his business here and I was in his office and found this file addressed to him,” he replied. Of course, he knew he was lying- this was all a trick but he thought to himself, Man I am good at lying.

Jennifer spoke up, “The Senator always spoke about how he was against the Jedi. He didn’t want to leave the Republic but he was against you all,” This is why she had become friends with them- she hated the Jedi because of what they did to her family.

Obi Wan couldn’t believe this. It was strange and he felt like there was more to this, perhaps at the office.

“Could you take me to his office?” He had to ask, noticing their tired sighs as her friend stood up.

“What does it take to get you Jedi to believe us!?” he exclaimed.

Sheree loved to spy on others- it was always a hobby of hers. She was very good at it. From an early age, she would spy on her sister when she was little as well as her brother which is how he had her help in smuggling and now it was time to put those skills into practise again.
***

Ventress had been snooping around the compound recently when she wasn’t working with Reche and Sheree wanted to know why. So she decided to get her back from watching her all the time by watching her and following her.

Sheree left Reche’s quarters after talking about the droids to see Ventress heading down the hall, so she quietly followed her through the twists and turns on the base. She knew she was at the very bottom of the base because it was dark, damp and cold. She crouched down behind a wall watching her go in. It seemed like eternity before she remerged out of the room and Sheree checked to if she was really gone and ran to the door. Using her trusty small blade, he smashed the lock on the door and entered the room. She was totally unprepared for the sight that she saw.
***

Jennifer could not believe her luck- what began as a simple let’s-take-Anakin-Skywalker-out-by-making-a-rumour-and-tampering-with-some-files was now a game to find the truth. Dane had always told her how easy the Jedi were to be tricked. One memory flashed into her mind:

It was the night before Dane and Sheree were leaving on a smuggling mission. Their younger sister was resting up for their early leave tomorrow so Jennifer decided to talk with Dane about the mission:

“Are you sure that the Jedi won’t turn traitors on you during the mission?” she asked, watching Dane fix his blasters.

“No, they need us. The Jedi are weak and need smugglers like us. This mission will fail if they turn on us” he smirked, “You worry too much Jen,” he added, making her laugh.

“Besides, Jedi can be tricked and even though we hate them we can trick them into thinking we are always on their side,” he added as Jennifer pointed out,

“You better be right about this because we told Sheree to hate them.”

He looked at her, “Sheree knows to follow my lead. She watches them at all times and does her thing. She’s very good for her age,” he added, preparing his weapons as Jennifer just smiled.

Jennifer had actually believed that! What was she thinking? How could that be? It was because they were brother and sister. Obi Wan Kenobi was tough to get to believe lies and it was going to take more than a few made up files to get him to see their point.

Night had fallen, as had a shroud of unfathomable darkness that seemed to envelop the land. They had built a makeshift camp beneath the shade of gigantic Felucian pitcher plants, where it was decided that they would spend the night. The stars blinked through gaps in the canopy, and the soft breathing of her sleeping companions could be heard nearby. A gentle breeze ruffled her raven dark hair as Leriana lay in the silence, troubled by a growing sense of unease which had haunted her since her arrival on the planet, an unease she could not name. I'm concerned about my brother, that's all, she attempted to reassure herself, aware of the fact that there was something more than the pain of Rhian's disappearance, a subtle force, which troubled her.

Dark forces held silent sway over the world, a stifling shadow which threatened to destroy day itself. It was that darkness more than all else, Leriana felt convinced, which had clouded her senses, and had left her unable to sense Rhian. The dark side of the Force seemed a stronger presence here, a damp, murky aura that was even more poignant beneath the light of the moon.

Blades of grass fluttered in the night breeze, reflecting silver moonlight. In that deceptive stillness, a sudden realisation hit Leriana. There is someone nearby, watching us...

Even while that someone had all the stealth of an intruder, Leriana became disturbed by the growing sensation that the presence was strangely familiar. Leriana lay for several moments longer, attempting to fathom the identity of the stranger while her senses screamed with flashes of warning. A sudden feeling of nostalgia assaulted her. Disquieted, Leriana stood quietly, hitching her weapon to her side as she left the campsite, ensuring that her companions had not wakened.

Leriana had moved only several metres when she sensed a figure moving in the thickets behind her. She turned abruptly, violet lightsaber flashing to life in an instant, to be met in a sharp clash with a luminescent green blade.

'Kaani!' Leriana breathed, startled. 'I- I didn't notice you--'

Her friend looked surprised. 'I'm sure I'm not that hard to miss. I followed you. You nearly caused me serious damage, Leri. What are you doing out here alone?' Kaani whispered.

'I felt someone out here, and I came out here to investigate,' Leriana answered, 'It seemed as though we were being spied upon, and yet...'

'Go on,' Kaani prompted gently, sensing that her friend was greatly troubled by the subtle encounter.

'... and yet he seemed familiar,' Leriana finished. She shivered. The temperature seemed to have dropped at least ten degrees out here in the open.

'He?' Kaani repeated slowly.

'Yes,' Leriana said. 'Or so it seemed.'

'I don't sense anything unusual,' Kaani said, surveying their surroundings.

'No. He's gone,' Leriana confirmed.

'Let's not concern ourselves with any hostilities for the moment... I'm sure we're going to meet a fair few unwelcome strangers nonetheless. Let's go back to the campsite,' Kaani said, placing an arm around Leriana's shoulder. 'And brew some tea. It will do us both some good.'

Leriana smiled at the suggestion. 'You know what, Kaani? You're right,' she agreed gratefully, glad for the chance distract herself from the unease playing at the back of her mind. 'I suppose I'm just so afraid of loosing someone else I love...'

'I understand how you feel, and to be truthful, I feel the same way,' Kaani admitted quietly. 'You're not the type of person who lets worries burden you, Leriana. Remember that. I don't want to see you go through what happened on the seas of Wroona again.'

'Wroona?' Leriana sighed at the memory. 'No more than do I.'
***

It was night. He receded in and out of conciousness, as he floated in a refreshing sea of healing fluid. Rhian was feeling slightly better, though the viscosity of the fluid made movement extremely difficult. Though he longed to exit the bacta tank, he knew from experience in the medical facilities of the Jedi Temple that it would be a maximum of several days before it would be deemed suitable to leave-- if his captors were hospitable people, a fact which he greatly doubted. Thankfully, none of those Temple casualties had been personal experiences; Rhian had at times had the privellege of observing his sister in practice under the tutelage of the Medical Staff in the Temple wards-- Leriana was indeed a phenomenol healer. Which is quite possibly why she rarely gets herself in this kind of mess...

Rhian's own gift, however, lay in foresight, a skill, Master Lenar had once said, ran deeper in him than most other Jedi. He felt however that the skill was, at times, more a burden than beneficial insight. Rhian was eternally glad at having mastered the ability to control his foresight, something which was said to be beyond the capacity of most. Undeniably, this meant that there were times when Rhian himself hesitated to seek for knowledge of the future, fearful for what he might see. Of late, the visions had grown disturbingly more vivid. He had seen signs of a great descending darkness, though whether it resembled a universal eclipse of the light, or merely personal doubt was impossible to determine. What he knew for certain was that a significant event would soon happen that would leave an eternal imprint in the history of the galaxy, for good or for ill.

The future is always in motion...

Sheree could not believe her eyes when she had slipped into the room. She flicked on the lights to get a clearer look; it was a bacta tank with someone inside! She moved closer to see if she could remember the person and as she moved closer, she suddenly remembered where she had seen this person before-all too well it would seem:

The dungeon was cold and dark as Sheree entered, smiling to herself seeing the Jedi lie there, helpless, she couldn’t help but laugh. She moved over to one where she kicked him and taunted him with his lightsaber before she left after she had her “fun”

She smiled to herself, remembering that time and here he was again, in a bacta tank, helpless and no way out. She laughed as she tapped the glass of the tank,

“Foolish Jedi, we meet again and in circumstances that hold you down to fight back” she smirked, twirling a finger through her curly, brown hair,

“I see that you have been attended to be Ventress. Unlike her but no doubt she will hand you over to Reche for his new plan” she added, moving around the tank, tangling the cords around, she added,

“I would like to have some fun now but Reche nor Ventress would like that, so I’ll play with these cords” she twisted them around before her comlink went over, she picked it up off her belt and muttered,

“Oh well, looks like I’ll have to play with you another time, Jedi” as she placed the cords back and darted from the room.

Jennifer walked with her friend and Obi Wan Kenobi into the Senate chamber, memories of Dane coming back to her-this was one of the two Jedi who were with Dane and Sheree when he died-she still remembers how Sheree called her, with the news:
Jennifer had spent most of the night with her friend down at the Outlander, partying and drinking with some friends they met that day. She did not hear her comlink chime until her friend tapped her on the shoulder and handed her the comlink, wondering who could be ringing her, she answered,

“Hello? Who’s this?” she asked, she couldn’t hear the reply because they were crying and blabbering, “Hello, speak up!” she yelled,

“It’s me, Sheree” came the reply as Jennifer became concerned, “What’s wrong? Why are you upset