Shadows of Tomorrow

Chapter 44 - Crisis on Utapau

"She was the first Jedi to visit Utapau in many years. This is precisely the way we found her," the Utapauan Inspector tells them.

Theseus glances between her and the dead Jedi lying in front of them. This is by far one of the stranger missions he's had. Jedi Master Tu-Anh mysteriously died here, and no one has any idea how it happened. Or even what she was doing here in the first place. He's here with Anakin and his master to investigate the incident.

"No obvious external wounds," Obi-Wan observes with a frown. That's the most puzzling part. There doesn't even appear to be a reason that she died.

Anakin holds a hand over her head, a look of concentration on his face as he reaches out with the Force. "I'm picking up unusual neurological activity," the Knight reports.

"Can you be more specific?" Obi-Wan asks.

"It's as if her mind was left unsettled."

"Since I'm pretty sure she was murdered, it would be odd if that wasn't the case, right?" Theseus asks.

"Yes," Obi-Wan agrees, "But there are still no signs of any external damage." He runs a hand over her arm, as he checks her over for any more signs of injury. "She never reported her whereabouts to the Jedi Council. I'm afraid she was something of a maverick, like my own master Qui-Gon Jinn. She would disappear for long periods conducting rogue investigations, her activities often unknown to even the Council."

Somehow that reminds Theseus again of Athea, of how she's disappeared without a trace. No one can find her anywhere, and he can't shake the feeling that it's intentional, whatever happened. She doesn't want to be found, but he can't understand why. What's happening with her? Is she alright? He doesn't know when they're even going to find out. Or if. He ignores that thought.

"If there was something here worth a Jedi's attention, I should like to know what it was," the inspector murmurs.

"You and I both, Inspector. You and I both," Obi-Wan agrees, reaching down to close Tu-Anh's eyes before they turn to leave. Time to get started on the actual investigation.

***

It doesn't take them long to find another lead. "That's quite a shot even with a precision laser dart," Anakin observes, as the three stand by a large window overlooking the spot where the Jedi was killed. There's the tiniest hole in the glass which could easily have been from a laser, and everything else lines up indicating that that's what could have killed Tu-Anh.

"Which means whoever was in this room had to have the sophistication to use it," Obi-Wan declares.

"Someone who wasn't sophisticated enough to use it probably wouldn't have been shooting at Jedi in the first place," Theseus points out.

"It could have been a droid," Anakin suggests.

Theseus looks up sharply at the sound of beating wings right behind them. The Toydarian who let them in managed to fly up right behind them. Seriously, have they never heard of privacy before? "Do you mind?" Anakin almost snaps.

It retreats to the other side of the room again, but Theseus keeps an eye on it, anyway. "I sense our fellow Jedi stumbled onto a rather formidable gathering," Obi-Wan continues after a moment of contemplation.

"A plot of some kind," Anakin agrees.

Theseus scans the room again, eyes falling on a strange purple substance on the floor. "What's that?"

The other two immediately cross the room over to it. "Whatever it is, it's recent," Obi-Wan observes.

"Perhaps residue of some kind?" Anakin suggests, reaching down and promptly sticking his hand right into it.