Star Wars: Secret of The Force

Chapter 15

Bail Organa was looking over the report he had just been handed by one of his rebel aides. He didn't entirely need it; he had been nearby when it had all happened. He looked up to the hooded figure on the other side of the communication. "How did they manage it?" he asked. Bail knew that both his Jedi quarry and Fulcrum's Agent had been involved, but the former had his face covered. "Unclear Senator. Imperial Forces are scrambling everything they can to find both of them. I can confirm this Jedi we seek is no higher than a Padawan!" Fulcrum answered. Bail rubbed his tired eyes. Even if this Jedi was a padawan, he needed every ally possible. "What was he after?" he wondered aloud. Fulcrum answered anyway. "He broke into the temple and stole several Library books and jedi Holocrons. I do however suspect that he was only after one in particular. The rest were not his primary mission." Bail scratched his beard in thought. "Is he hiding or fighting?" he asked. "I suspect he is fighting because the Empire are hunting him... shall I make an introduction?" his friend and ally asked. Bail shook his head. "He most likely already suspects that your Agent is working for someone with resources... We must only play our hand if there is no other option... do you think it likely he can go to ground?" he asked. The answer took longer to arrive this time. "I think so, but I don't believe he will... whatever mission he is trying to complete seems important if he would risk entering the temple!" said Fulcrum. Bail nodded. "Do you know what Holocron he was after?" he asked. The answer he received was not optimistic. "I never had access to the Holocron Vault, I only saw inside it once, and even then, only briefly." Bail sighed. "How we find him is up to you Senator, but if we are sending people to find and help him, I need to brief them on what they are after" said Fulcrum. Bail nodded, clearly understanding. "Do we have such a fleet ready on standby?" he asked. There were too many layers to this. He wanted to find the Jedi, but unless he caught a break soon, the two of them may have to consider the whole thing a lost cause. "Not one of more than two or three ships. Do you think this jedi has a fleet of his own?" Bail thought this over. Such a thing was indeed possible, but it wouldn't be one of a great size. "Not likely, but a small possibility. If we knew this Jedi's name we could try and establish what pattern he would follow could we not?" he asked. Fulcrum nodded. "I would be able to predict such a pattern" was the answer. Bail sighed. "What do you advise?" he asked. Fulcrum thought things through for a few moments. "Now that the Jedi has conducted an operation in the core everything has changed. I could have my Agent reveal everything to him, provided he hasn't put all the pieces of the puzzle together as of yet." Bail liked this idea. "Who introduces themselves in such an event?" he asked. Fulcrum's distorted voice was silent for a few moments. "Either me or another one of my Agents. I can make the arrangements if this is the direction you wish to go in..." Bail felt a painful headache start to hit him. "We'll wait a little longer, and see if the Jedi comes to us... lets just be ready" he said. "Understood! Fulcrum out!" the communication ended. Bail sighed. He couldn't wait to go home.Fulcrum, or as she was better known, Ahsoka Tano, stared at her Lightsabers. Completing them had taken some work. She had spent the better part of the last three days wondering if the Jedi did actually exist. It had been difficult to make out, but Lena, her agent, had been the second person involved in the break in to the Jedi Temple. Ahsoka had considered reaching out, but she knew it wasn't the right time. After communicating with Bail, Ahsoka wasn't entirely sure that this Jedi's revelation was a good thing. To the galaxy as a whole his identity was still secret. Ahsoka had no choice but to think of him as smart, he had done everything right. As much as she thought her revealing herself could be of help, she needed to know just what his chances were alone. She sensed someone entering the room. "The Senator have anything that could help?" asked Reymus Antillies of Alderaan. Ahsoka shrugged. Loyal to Alderaan and democracy above all else, Antillies was young, fair haired, handsome and serious. Ahsoka didn't blame him for that. He had been momentarily assigned to her Ship, gifted to her by Bail. The Skywalker was one of Alderaan's newest Ships. Bail had given Ahsoka command of it as a gift; and she had made sure to equip it with as many upgrades as possible. She shook her head. "He still has no idea who it is. I think he's been sleeping badly still..." she said. Bail had confided in her about his lack of sleep not long after she had officially joined his rebellion. Antillies sighed. "What are we going to do?" he asked. Ahsoka shrugged. "Watch and wait..." she said. Antillies nodded and took it for the dismissal it was. Bail's rebellion needed people. She wondered if this Jedi she was searching for had more resources that her and Bail could use. Ahsoka tried to find as much information as possible about the planet he had been hiding on. She speculated that he would likely return there, even if it wasn't straight away. The jedi could have a fleet, or if not, possibly soldiers who would aid hers and Bail's own cause. She started looking into Jedi who had not served with Clones, and hoped she would come up with something."He who seeks knowledge for wisdom may find it, but he who seeks knowledge for power will never be satisfied." I thought on one of the first lessons my master gave me. I had asked, as all padawans did at some point, why the Jedi refused to act until it weas too late. As I explored the moon, I wondered why Raaeda had been the site of a skirmish involving the Empire. I also had been questioning my master's logic since my first encounter with the Inquisitors. I found my answers in what seemed to be a farming field. It didn't take long for me to realise that whatever had been growing had killed the fields. I was no farmer, but I could tell when the earth was alive and healthy. The settlement was largely destroyed. I wandered through, looking around. A lot of what was here seemed standard for a short-term occupation. A command building, a barracks and Imperial Equipment. I entered the building, although I knew it was likely a dead end. I heard Kara's voice in my ear. "How's it looking?" she asked. I took out my Holocommunicator and activated it. "Well whatever happened, I'm not entirely sure anyone survived... the whole place is in ruins and has been deserted for a while" I explained. Kara considers this, and then speaks. "How long do you think we can risk being here?" she asked. I shrugged. "I don't know, it depends on when I find what I'm looking for" I answered. Kara seemed briefly uncomfortable. "And what are you looking for here?" was the reply. I shrugged. "Anything helpful... I'm in the old Admin building, although they're old, there are definitely Lightsaber cuts" I said, and rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. Kara finally seemed a little more interested. "A jedi?" she asked. I shrugged. "More than likely, possibly a Knight, or a very high level padawan. I'll report back when I know more..." I said. Kara nodded, and the communication ended. I walked through the rest, finding an old detention block. The damage seemed to end here. Whoever had done all this must have had help and escaped alive. I thought over the possibility that Lena was working with a rebel group. It was likely, and if this Jedi was part of the same group, why wasn't she teaching lena. There were only two options: Lena didn't know she was reporting to a jedi, or the jedi, if there was one, didn't know Lena was Force Sensitive. Out of the two, I suspected both were equally possible. I left the detention area, and started to wander the settlement again. I finally found a downed ship. I didn't recognise the make, but it did prove my theory that whoever was in charge of all this had a lot of resources. I examined the ship. It seemed like it was new enough that the Empire had no records of any kind of ship like it. Deciding I had enough to go on, I started to head back for my ship. It was time to get answers, and give a few of my own. It didn't take long for me to arrive back, and I found Lena in the common room. "Who's the leader of your Rebel cell?" I asked. "I know that you were searching for me on the orders of someone else. Likely the same person who helped a Jedi out there" I said gesturing. I felt the ship taking off, and Kara entered. Lena sighed. "I don't know..." she said. I sized her up briefly. She was maybe sixteen at most. "You're too young to be fighting a war" I pointed out. Lena shrugged. "I was fourteen when the Empire killed my family, I've been part of the Rebellion for about two years, I lied about my age to be sent on missions" she said. I considered. "How long have you known that you were force sensitive?" I asked. Lena shrugged. "Not sure, I taught myself through old recordings the rebellion has. I found you and thought I could finally find a master!" she said. I considered this. Kara spoke next. "How old did you say were to get sent on missions and train?" she asked. Lena looked down. "I said I was seventeen at the time" she said. I could tell she felt guilty. Kara looked at me, and I shrugged. "Did you ever suspect that the person you reported to was a Jedi?" I asked. Lena shook her head. "Never, I don't even know their name, and I can't make contact. Fulcrum contacts me whenever they feel I have something to report" she explained. I sighed and buried my head in my hands. "Kark it!" I muttered. "You shouldn't be doing this; you shouldn't have lied to anyone I put you in danger by letting you come into the temple!" I said. Lena sobbed as she nodded. "I wanted justice for what happened to my family! Then you came along, you saved my life, I felt like I was running out of options! I needed to find you, to find a teacher!" she said. I nodded. "Why do you even want to become a Jedi?" I asked. "Didn't you notice what happened to the rest of us!?" Kara gave me a look, and I knew I was being unfair, but this needed to be said. I was likely the only one who wouldn't chew her out completely for it. Lena nodded. "I did, but I didn't feel like there was another option..." she said. I sighed. "Did anyone know how old you were?" I asked. I may not be this girl's father or even brother, but for the moment it seemed like I was her guardian. She shook her head. "I'm sure some suspected, but I never told them" she answered. Given that I hadn't had an answer to one of my questions, I asked again. "Why do you want to become a jedi?" Lena sighed. "Why did you want to become a jedi?" she asked. I sighed. "We're not talking about me" I said. Lena finally gave me an answer. "Because I want to avenge my family, and any others who lost families to the Empire!" she said. I sighed. "Revenge is not the Jedi Way" I said simply. She glared at me. "Says the man who hid for years instead of fighting the Empire!?" she demanded. I shook my head. "No... says a padawan of the Jedi order whose master died! Do you really want to live your life on the run forever!?" I shot back. Lena seemed calmer after this. I decided not to push the issue of her possible training for a moment. "Were you told where to go if you found me?" I asked. Lena shook her head. I nodded. "Off you go... I'll figure out what to do with you later." I said, and Lena went off. Kara gave me a look. "Bit harsh?" she asked. I shrugged. "Would you have been nicer?" I asked, genuinely interested in the answer. Kara shrugged. "I wouldn't be talking to her like a father or older brother" she said. I nodded. "I wasn't trying to be harsh; I was trying to be realistic and many others would have been harsher. She needed to hear it" I explained. Kara nodded. "I agree that she needed to hear it, and I'm not saying what she did was right. I'm just saying that I understand why she did..." she explained. I nodded. "What would you have me do? I can't let her keep putting herself in danger" I replied. Kara nodded in understanding. "I get that, I just want to make sure you're not going to decide she doesn't get a shot at being trained because of it" Kara said. I shrugged. "It will depend what I think after I eventually get to talk to whomever is running that rebellion" I said. Kara nodded. "So, where to next? Hide the holocron?" she asked. I shrugged. "I still haven't had time to consult it again" I said. Kara sighed. "So?" she asked. I considered my options. "We go a planet called Tython, what many believed to be the first jedi Homeworld... I might find some answers there." I answered. Kara sighed. "When do we stop searching for answers and start hiding this thing?" she asked. I was wondering the same thing, but I needed to know. "I... I don't know yet" I answered. Kara nods. "Czar" she said. I nodded. "I won't let what she did affect my judgement on if I train her or not..." I promised. Kara nodded, accepting it.