#jedimindfic

For a heartbeat one of the shards grew bigger, giving Mace the impression of... eyes, maybe. Or blood.

"Ponds?" He echoed, stooping to pick them up. He didn't want this walking nest of shatterpoints anywhere near him, but some imperatives were too big to override.

"General," his Master murmured behind him.

"Uh huh!" The initiate flopped against his chest, thumb inserted in their mouth, talking around it. "He says s'not your fault, it was that b-" They broke off, glancing aside. "Huh? A bad word? Oh, okay! It was the bad lady's fault."

Guileless grey-blue eyes stared up at him. A flicker, and they were older and filled with grief. Another flicker and they were younger, dancing with humor. Another flicker.

Mace blinked to clear it away, swallowing his queasiness.

"Thank you for telling me, initiate," he said, trying to sound sincere.

"You seem very knowledgeable, little one," Master Myr said. "Do you know my Padawan well?"

"Uh huh!" They paused mid-nod, glancing aside. "Uh uh!" They shook their head. "I will someday? That's what Cody says!"

"And who is Cody?"

He could feel Cyslin rubbing small circles against his back, but while he tried to take comfort from it he still felt as if he was cuddling a bomb.

"He's- oh right! I need to int'duce myself!" Removing their thumb from their mouth, they held their hand out over Mace's shoulder. "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi! And some day I'm gonna be a Master!"

The named echoed in the Force, a susurration.

The crèchemaster saved him at that point, coming over to whisk Obi-Wan away for a nap.

"I hope Obi-Wan didn't trouble you too much," Master Tlah said, once everyone had been settled. "He has a very active imagination, even for a human toddler."

"That's quite alright, isn't it, Mace?" Cyslin elbowed him.

Mace bowed. "Yes, of course. It was fine, Master Tlah," he lied.

The two Masters chatted for a bit before he and Cyslin finally left the crèche.

"So," she said, in a tone Mace had come to dread. "Young Obi-Wan seems very interesting."

"That's one way of putting it," he muttered.

"Perhaps this is the Force's way of giving you a hint."

He side-eyed her, wariness prickling between his shoulders. She caught the look, grinning as she ruffled his braids.

"My poor, suspicious Padawan," she teased. "All I'm saying is that if he's still 'made of shatterpoints' by the time he comes of age, he might benefit from having a Master who understands what that means."

He turned to stare at her in open-mouthed horror, making her laugh.

"Absolutely not," he said. "I'm still a Padawan! I'll probably still be a Padawan by then!"

"We'll see, my little General, we'll see."

She continued down the hall, leaving Mace to wallow in a sense of impending doom. A flicker of possibility off to one side, carrying the suggestion of laughter.

Hound's voice crackled over the comm, followed by a vid clip of Skye arm-in-arm with a beautifully-dressed woman. Far too beautiful to be safe in that neighborhood.

Skye turned his head to smile at his girlfriend just as the lights of a passing speeder framed them.

Fox stared. He played back the clip. He played it again. He paused it just as the light fully revealed Skye's face. He grinned.

"Stay on them, Hound," he ordered. "Do NOT lose them! I'm on my way to you right now!"

He was already running out the door. Guardsmen flattened themselves against the wall as he passed, and he knew they'd be worried to see their Commander running, but explanations could wait. This was too big, too important for decorum.

Hound kept him updated as be broke a few speed rules of his own in order to catch up.

"Uh... sir?"

Dread curled in Fox's stomach at the Trooper's sudden reluctant tone.

"You didn't lose them, did you?"

"Oh, no sir," Hound reassured him. "It's just, uh... they've gone into the Nookie Nook."

Fox's grin grew even wider as he swung around a final turn, using signals and staying aware of everything and everyone around him.

The "Nookie Nook" was the unofficial name for one of the small, public gardens that were scattered through this sector of Coruscant. It was in slightly better shape than most and provided a little shelter for those seeking to get high... or those seeking a different kind of thrill.

The most important part of it was that it was a public garden. Coruscant had laws against public indecency. Very minor ones, for the most part, and as long as everything was consensual, the Guard was willing to turn a blind eye to a little bit of public sex, but not this time.

There was nowhere to park, of course, so Fox simply found an out-of-the-way spot, parked, and put his Guard placard in the window.

Hound was standing with his back to the entrance of the Nook, fidgeting. Grizzer sat beside him, but stood to wag her tail as Fox approached.

"They still in there?"

Grunts and moans answered him before Hound could.

"...Yessir."

"Don't worry, Hound, I've got this."

The tiniest of giggles escaped him. Hound froze.

"Uh? Are you- I mean, yessir!"

He stepped out of the way. Fox gave him a reassuring pat and moved in. He made sure his helmet was recording- for evidence- and then hit the lights on his helmet.

"Coruscant Guard! Come out with your hands up!"

Screaming. Swearing. The desperate rustle of clothing and displaced foliage.

"Go away!" an all-too-familiar voice snarled. "This is none of your business!"

"Public indecency is very much my business, sir." Fox struggled to keep his tone calm and bored. "Now, step out and prepare to be arrested!"

There was more arguing, of course, but eventually the couple stepped into full, inescapable view.

Anakin Skywalker looked furious and ready to strangle him. His girlfriend, Senator Amidala, at least had the decency to look mortified, trying to shield her face with one hand while the other kept her dress held in place.

"You can't do this to us!" Skywalker growled. "Do you know who I am?"

"Nika Skye," Fox answered. "Street racer responsible for multiple accidents, injuries, and property damage."

Nika Skye. Of all the stupid, ham-fisted aliases he could have picked... but then Fox hadn't really thought about it himself until he got a good look at him. The promo images and candids always showed him in his racing helmet. Ha. Apparently even an idiot could learn a thing or two from his betters. Wait til Rex found out.

Skywalker blinked, appearing caught off guard.

"Well, yeah! That!" he said. "Except I never hurt anyone! I'm just an ordinary citizen, enjoying a night out with my wife."

"We're so sorry for the trouble, Commander," Amidala said, voice dripping professional sincerity. "It won't happen again, I promise. If you'll just let us go-"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am," Fox said. He hoped the Jedi couldn't sense his glee. "Public indecency is a crime on Coruscant. And there's also the matter of Mr. Skye's multiple traffic violations, involvement in an illegal racing ring with ties to the Black Sun Syndicate-"

Amidala gasped. Skywalker just looked annoyed.

"-as well as damaged property, speeders, and personal injuries related to those traffic violations. Once we're back at the station, you'll be allowed to call an attorney."

"You won't take us in."

There was a pressure to Skywalker's words, an urge to obey, but Fox ignored it.

"We can also provide an attorney for you, if you don't have one of your own," he concluded. He was willing to bet that Amidala, at least, had a whole fleet of lawyers at her beck and call, and he knew the Jedi had some of their own as well.

"Did you hear me?" Skywalker's glare intensified. "I said you won't-"

"Come with us, sir. Quietly," Fox told him. "Resisting arrest will only make things worse." He reached for the binders on his belt.

"Ani." Amidala placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm, but he shook it off, still glaring.

"You'll regret this, Commander," he said. "I'll have your job for this."

Fox rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that, sir. I've been trying to get out of it since the war started."

He did, in fact, get to put binders on Skywalker, citing him as a flight risk. It was one of the greatest moments of his life.

Hound and Grizzer provided backup as they made their way back to the speeder.

"Are you sure about this, Fox?" Hound asked, as they headed back to headquarters. He'd twigged to Skye's true identity as well. "We could get in a lot of trouble for this."

"The Jedi aren't above the law," Fox told him. "And that goes double for Skywalker. Arrogant little shit has been a vibroblade in my side for too long. Flaunting the laws. Acting like he's better than us. Taking advantage of his 'friendship' with the Chancellor to make everything better for himself with no regard for anyone else-"

"Yeah, okay, I know," Hound interrupted. He shifted on the passenger seat, Grizzer in his lap. "But this is gonna bring in the Jedi-"

"I'm counting on that."

"And probably the Chancellor. Like you said, they're friends."

Fox paused. That was a big concern, and the only dark spot in this otherwise wonderful day.

"I'll handle it," he said. He was not giving up this chance for a little payback.

-

Skywalker's story changed as soon as they were in the Processing Room.

"Look, Commander, you really don't want to do this," he said. "I know the Guard doesn't see a lot of action here on Coruscant-"

The thunderous whoosh of indrawn breaths from the listening Guards drowned out his next words.

"...Anakin Skywalker."

Fox refused to rise to the insult Skywalker had carelessly flung at the Guard. Chances were he actually believed what he said.

"And yet your ID says you're Nika Skye."

That earned him another scowl. "Are we really going to play this game, Fox? I know you can't be that stupid."

Fox muted the general chatter feed. Guard opinion of Skywalker was mixed, but mostly positive bordering on indifferent. That was being revised downward fast.

"Lieutenant Rattle, add possession of false ID and lying to an officer of the law to the list of charges," Fox said.

"Mmm," Rattle murmured. Her hands shook more than usual as she added the charges.

"I OUTRANK YOU!" Skywalker roared, making everyone flinch.

Amidala, who'd been on a comm call, turned to look at him.

"It's okay, Ani, I'm handling it," she said.

"You may outrank me, General, but you don't outrank the law." Fox had taken an involuntary half-step back at Skywalker's outburst.

Skywalker closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an apparent effort to calm himself. When he looked at Fox again, his eyes were still bright with rage, but a smile was plastered across his face.

"At least let Pad- Senator Amidala go," he said. "She's an innocent in all of this."

Fox arched a brow, not that Skywalker could see it. Amidala was many things, but innocent wasn't one of them. She was in deep with Skywalker and his schemes, and was probably one of the reasons they hadn't caught him until now.

Still. She was a Senator, and that would be a whole political mess of its own. He tilted his helmet.

"She'll stay here until her security team arrives and then reassess," he said.

Skywalker huffed, rolling his eyes. "Finally! Some sense! I guess I'm so used to Rex-"

"Who's your emergency contact?" Fox interrupted.

"My what?" Skywalker's frown seemed more confused than angry this time.

"Who should we call at the Temple to alert them to your circumstances?"

It was like flipping a switch. Gone was Skywalker's arrogance and bluster. It was replaced with fear and anxiety.

"Oh, uh, that- that won't be necessary, right?"

He was looking anywhere but at Fox. Interesting.

"It's- it's High General Kenobi, sir," Rattle supplied.

Skywalker flinched. "Here?! He can't be! He's supposed to be in a meeting with the High Council!"

Fox's grin returned.

"Thanks, Rattle. I'll be sure to give him a call and let him know his former Padawan is safe."

And wouldn't that be a fun call. In a meeting with the other High Generals? And Fox could interrupt? The day kept getting better and better.

"Wait! No!"

"Burke, Boot, please escort General Skywalker to holding," he said. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to him before General Kenobi gets here."

"Sir!" They said in tandem, moving to herd the suddenly worried Skywalker to the cells.

"Commander Fox," Amidala said, holding the comm to her chest as she spoke. "I know we've caused unbearable upset for you and your Guard, but-"

"Senator Amidala, ma'am," he said. "You're free to leave once your security detail arrives. What you do to help your 'husband' after that is your business."

The already pale Amidala went chalk-white at his words. About the security detail? Or- shit. He'd thought Skywalker was bluffing about the wife thing. The Storms had truly blessed him on this day.

"Please," Amidala whispered, her eyes wide. "You can't tell-"

"If you'll excuse me, ma'am, I have a lot of work to do. Have a good night."

Expecting to see a pair of younger Padawans, perhaps, Mace stepped around the corner and regarded the empty hallway. There was an access panel of some kind near the floor, looking slightly off-kilter.

"Hello?" He took a step closer. "Does someone need help?"

Silence, broken by the sound of hitched breathing and smothered snuffles. Could two younglings even fit in that vent, or had one of them abandoned the other?

He considered his options, but really, what choice was there? Someone- and they had to be small, judging by the side of the panel- was hurting. Misery, shame, anger, and resentment hung thick in the air.

He'd be late to his next class, but that was fine. He sat, leaning back against the wall next to the panel.

"Perhaps I'll just stop here to meditate," he announced.

He closed his eyes, centering himself before stretching his senses in the Force. It twisted around him, spinning him in circles.

He clapped a hand over his mouth and reached into his pouch for one of the anti-nausea pills he always kept with him.

As it dissolved under his tongue, he took deep breaths, waiting for his stomach to settle. At least now he knew the likely identity of the person hiding in the vents.

He'd crossed paths with the human Initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi several times over the past few years. Part of that, he was sure, was due to his Master's machinations, but sometimes, like now, it happened more… organically.

Obi-Wan was still an absolute mess of shatterpoints, but he'd come to terms with the fact that it wasn't the boy's fault, it was simply how he was. As unsettling as he could be to look at directly (and even worse in the Force), he still shone with a clear warmth to Mace's senses. A warmth that had dimmed since their last encounter.

"It's strange that this hall isn't as bright as it should be," he said. "Almost as if there was someone very sad nearby."

The vent huffed.

"If only I had some way of finding who it was, I might be able to help. It is, after all, one of the duties of a Jedi to help those in need."

Another huff.

"I know what you're doing," Obi-Wan said.

The vent cover rattled and Mace helped set it aside and extracted a dusty, disheveled Obi-Wan Kenobi.

His eyes were red and tear tracks cut through the dirt on his face.

"I don't need your help," he continued with a sniff. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his Initiate tunic, smearing more dirt. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your day, Gen- Padawan Windu."

Prickly. Very prickly.

"It's a welcome interruption, if I'm honest," Mace said. "What about you? What brings you to this conveniently broken vent at this time of day?"

"It was already like that!" Obi-Wan snapped. His glare turned to one side and he rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just needed to get away from people for a while."

He shifted, turning his back on whatever was in the hall that Mace couldn't see.

"I understand," he said. "People can be overwhelming even at the best of times, and when the Force has blessed you with a particular gift it can be even harder."

Obi-Wan gave him a narrow-eyed look. "A gift?"

"Sometimes gifts can feel like a burden," Mace said, rubbing his thumb against the base of his wrist. "Like psychometry. Or shatterpoints. Or whatever ability it is that you are developing."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "Or maybe I'm just crazy, like Bruck 'n them keep saying."

Shock, followed by an all-consuming rage that threatened to swallow him. Mace closed his eyes and breathed deep, acknowledging the anger while recognizing that it wasn't helpful in his current situation. Calmness replaced the rage, but it was the calm of purpose. Banking the fire, as his Master called it.

"No," he said, looking Obi-Wan in the eye. "You are not crazy. The Masters may not have found a reference for your ability yet, but it's clear the Force has gifted you with an important tool. You may not have learned how to use it yet, but-"

"Gossip seems like a stupid tool," Obi-Wan said, glaring at a point past Mace's shoulder.

"Gossip?" He resisted the urge to glance back. "Gossip can provide a lot of unexpected information. Spies in particular covet it."

"Whatever." Obi-Wan shrugged and began trying to straighten his hair and clothes. "Not like I'll ever get to use it anyway. Everyone says I'm too angry to be a real Jedi."

Mace's eyebrows shot up. "Everyone?"

Obi-Wan stood, shaking out the wrinkles in his tunic. "Master Tlah, my teachers, the training Masters, Bruck."

Mace joined him in standing, banking another wave of anger.

"If anger disqualified you from becoming a Jedi, I wouldn't be here right now," he said.

"What?" Obi-Wan stared at him, wide-eyed. "You? But you're perfect!"

It startled a laugh out of him.

"Please be sure to tell my Master that. She'll be very surprised." Waving off Obi-Wan's attempted defense of him, he continued. "No, but I'm serious. There's nothing wrong with having negative emotions, it's even healthy to experience them."

He checked over the Initiate, smoothing down a tuft of hair and unkinking the hood of his robe. The shatterpoints seem to have stilled. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"What's important is how you handle those emotions. Has anyone shown you how to channel your anger into something more productive?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, and Mace began to mentally compose a letter to the Master of the Crèches for their lack of oversight into the management and teaching of the Clans.

"Well, then. How would you feel about some private lessons from a lowly Padawan Learner about how to use your anger for good rather than letting it control you?"

"What, really?"

"Really."

The Force didn't express emotions, but if it did, he was sure it would be laughing at him. Cyslin would definitely laugh when he told her about it later. She could tease him as much as she liked, but this was less about picking a future Padawan and more about giving a struggling child the tools he should have already been given to help him.

"Yes! Thank you, Padawan Windu!"

Mace watched, distracted, as some of the shatterpoints around Obi-Wan actually healed. He'd never seen that before.

His sibs jumped into action, two of them running for the heavy equipment locker while the rest gathered to try and open the doors through brute force.

Rattle stood nearby, swaying on her feet. Her armor rattled worse than usual.

"Rattle, you okay?" Fox walked into her line of sight. Her helmet was off, dropped to the floor beside her, and her eyes didn't seem to track him.

"Lieutenant Rattle! Report!"

She shuddered, snapping to attention and firing off a salute on sheer muscle memory.

"Sir!" She fixed her eyes on him. "I was waiting for the lift! I heard..." Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, her eyes wide and shining. "I heard a scream," she whispered, voice squeaking.

Fuck. Fox pulled his helmet off and looked her in the eye.

"It's alright, Rattle." He kept his voice soft as he reached out, cupping the back of her neck. She twitched, but didn't look away.

"There's nothing you could have done. The important thing is that you're safe, yeah?"

"I... I don't..."

"I do know," Fox assured her, briefly pressing his forehead against hers. "Now, go check in with Nudge. Tell him what happened and make sure he's ready for whatever we find."

"I... yeah."

The strength seemed to come back to her. "Yessir," she said, nodding acknowledgement of the order. "I'll do that!"

She fast-marched down the hall toward the infirmary, so Fox turned his attention to the current disaster.

How many repair requests had he sent about this damn lift? Always rejected. Always ignored. He'd even taken the chance of mentioning it to the Chancellor once, only to be given a patronizing excuse about the "war budget" and "money goes where it's needed most." Probably right into the coffers of the warmongering Senators.

And now someone was dead because of it.

Fox channeled his rage into helping. The doors had been knocked off their tracks and wouldn't budge more than an inch or two, but Nubs and Burke soon returned with the hydraulic rescue tool and they were able to pry open the broken doors.

Helmet-mounted floodlights revealed more of the carnage. Dangling wires sparked and flakes of metal glittered. The permacrete interior of the shaft was scored and crumbling in places. The only thing missing, however, was the car that had fallen.

"Did it... did it crash right through the floor?" Burke asked.

This was supposed to be the bottom level in this part of the building. There shouldn't be any more down to go. And yet the hole where the bottom of the shaft should have been swallowed up their lights.

"No sign of floor for it to crash through," Fox observed, which was irritating. He was supposed to know the layout of the entire Senate, dammit. He'd downloaded all the schematics, old and new, so he could be sure no one could break in through hidden passages. And yet here was a hidden passage right in their Storms-damned territory.

After a brief but intense discussion, climbing gear was retrieved from storage and Fox led a team down into the unexplored depths below them.

The shaft continued down a long way. Long enough that he was getting concerned about running out of rope before their lights finally reflected off the remains of the damaged lift.

Recovery began. Equipment was hauled down to them and the broken remains were photographed, catalogued, and hauled back up out of the way. Spur and his forensics team were being meticulous about everything. Not that anything would come of it, of course. No one would care about the death of a single trooper, even one who'd been the victim of faulty equipment.

Fox oversaw it all, as was his duty, and was first into the destroyed car once Spur declared the scene stable.

There wasn't any way to identify the remains. Whoever it was hadn't even been in armor. Fox said a few words while Spur collected samples and sent them up for analysis.

"Uh... sir?"

Burke's voice was strained over the comm.

"I think... I think you'll want to see this, sir."

Fox couldn't get a ping on Burke's location, but a gap in the doors showed that he'd likely gone exploring whatever space was at the true bottom of the shaft.

"It better not be more dead bodies."

"Uh..."

The hesitation was ominous.

Fox let Spur know where he was going and wriggled through the broken doorway into a large open space.

There was lighting down here. Good lighting. Fox almost wished it wasn't.

There were tanks with... things floating in them. It looked like something out of a scene from one of those damned horror flicks Thire loved. Some of the shapes were humanoid and gave him bad flashbacks to Kamino. Others were more confusing. One contained the embalmed head of a muun, displayed like a trophy.

"This looks like weird shit, Burke," Fox said.

"Sorry, sir," Burke replied.

Fox hated weird shit. And it was just his luck that Coruscant seemed to be Weird Shit Central.

That's when he noticed the transplas box in front of the head. The transplas box that contained contained a metal cylinder with an ignition switch.

"Garbage detail for a month, Burke."

When his attempt to contact Thire failed, he headed back to the shaft, not as surprised as he should have been that as soon as he squeezed through the doors he had a signal again.

"Thire, we've got a problem," he said, switching to private comm.

"That's a fucking understatement. They're gonna pin this on us, you know."

Fox frowned. "What? How the hell were we supposed to know about a secret lab that wasn't on any of the schematics?"

"Secret lab? I'm talking about Chancellor Pastepatine. You know, the body in the lift?"

Fox closed his eyes and counted to ten. It didn't help.

"So we have a dead Chancellor who should never have been on that lift, a secret nightmare lab at the bottom of that lift, and some kind of Jedi shit, based on the lightsaber I just found?

Thire swore, long and hard.

"That's it," Fox said. "I'm calling the Jedi."

"You're calling the Jedi?" Thire repeated.

"This isn't just weird shit, it's weird Jedi shit and I'm going to dump the whole thing in their laps and go on holiday somewhere on the Outer Rim."

Thire scoffed. "Good luck with that. Be sure to send a holocard."

-

Fox didn't get his vacation, of course. But he and the Guard were absolved in the death of the Chancellor; all the repair requests he'd submitted helped prove that.

The Jedi swarmed the lab, and each secret they uncovered seemed to be more horrible than the last. High General Windu himself was put in charge of the media circus regarding the death of the Chancellor, although a lot of important details were left out of the things he had to say.

Like the fact that the Chancellor was a Sith. And that he'd been playing both sides of the war. And that the clones were an unwitting part of his grand conspiracy to seize power.

Contrary to popular belief, Fox didn't hate the Jedi, he'd just never seen much use in them. Until now. Now he was very, very grateful that they were on his side. Maybe he'd even let that Orve kid join the Guard, since it seemed the war was going to be winding down soon.

"Here, come in, sweetheart," he said, scooping a weak Luke into one arm and reaching for her with the other. "We'll call your parents-"

"NO!"

Leia screamed the word, and he heard something in the office rattle.

"NO! We kwest 'SYLUM! Allaran helps!" Her fists were clenched at her side and the tears rolled heavier than ever.

Allaran was what the twins called Alderaan, and...

"Are you... requesting asylum?" Bail puzzled out the toddlerspeak, but still couldn't make sense of it.

"Yuh- yes! Puh-please!" She sniffled as snot mixed in with the tears.

"Of course, sweetheart," Bail said, because what else was there to say in the face of all this? "Of course Alderaan grants you asylum."

Leia melted into his arms, sobbing. Luke was now sobbing, too, with a bit of a wheeze to it.

Bail pulled them into his office and locked the outer door.

"What happened?" Bail asked again, retrieving the box of tissues off of Narin's desk to wipe their faces. "Who did this to you? Where are your parents? Are they hurt?"

"NO!"

Bail's right ear rung as Leia screamed into it.

"Dada mad," Luke rasped. "Sowwy, Dada."

The air seemed to freeze in his lungs at the implication. He knew Padmè's husband had occasional fits of temper, but surely he wouldn't direct them at his own children, would he?

"How bad are you hurt, Luke? Do you need a doctor?"

He tried to check the boy's throat, but couldn't see any obvious marks. But then again, would his father leave any marks? He glanced at the shape on Leia's face, so very like a handprint.

"NO!" she yelled, almost on cue. "No, we got 'sylum! You pwom- promised!"

"Yes, dear." Bail patted her back as she leaned into him again. "And part of having asylum means access to doctors if you need them. Do you? Either of you?"

The twins looked at each other, their expressions going through multiple changes even though they didn't say a word. Luke shook his head and coughed again.

"No, thank you," Leia said.

She'd always been a little more articulate than her brother. Bail had never questioned why, until now, and hated that he was questioning it at all. It could be innocent. It probably was innocent. He sure as hell hoped so.

"Let me at least get you a glass of water, Luke," he said, moving them all into the inner office and heading to the bar.

He helped Luke drink- his glasses were heavier than standard- and listened as a confusing story poured out of Leia.

Luke had had a nightmare and went to his mother for comfort, but Anakin had objected, saying that any time past bedtime was for he and Padmè, alone. Padmè had told Luke he was fine and the nightmare was nothing to worry about, but Luke hadn't listened and had started babbling all the details. Anakin had gotten angry and told him to go back to bed, at which point Luke burst into tears.

Leia, who'd followed her brother, moved in to help, but not before Anakin yelled at Luke to stop crying and then used the Force to choke him when he wouldn't stop. Leia had screamed at him, and her mother slapped her, telling her true ladies didn't yell and that she and her brother should go back to their room and stay there while she tried to calm their father down.

Leia had taken Luke back to their room, packed their bags, and headed here, because she liked Mr. Bail and had heard her mother talking about Alderaan's asylum project, which had ramped up after the end of the war.

Bail excused himself for a moment to retrieve the discarded bags from the hall and have a quiet moment to try and get his emotions under control.

So. Calling their parents was out of the question. The Jedi would likely answer the comms, even at this hour, but the fact that Leia had brought herself and her brother here instead of trying to contact Obi-Wan made him uneasy. He rubbed his temples; he'd spent too much time on Coruscant and away from Alderaan and it was making him paranoid. He knew Obi-Wan would never hurt a child, but for now, at least, he was going to go along with whatever rationalizing was going on in Leia's poor, overwrought head. No toddler should bear this kind of weight on their shoulders.

Not knowing what else to do, he called his wife. It was lunchtime in Aldera, and if anyone was good at handling a fraught political situation- because this was definitely going to be political- it was the Queen of Alderaan.

As he waited for the call to connect it occurred to him that Leia's request for asylum might actually carry some weight.

Breha's face filled the screen, her soft smile fading as she took in the background.

"Bail, love, I know for a fact that it's after midnight there. If you're still in your office-"

"Darling, I'm afraid I may have gotten us into a little bit of trouble..."

He panned the comm around to show the twins on his couch. Luke was already asleep and Leia was fighting a losing battle with her eyelids. Her arms were wrapped around him and a tiny scowl furrowed her brow, daring anyone to interfere.

"Fucking scent bombs," Hound complained. "Bastard was prepared. I'll see if Grizzer can pick up the trail again, but it isn't looking good."

He sounded mournful. Seek knew they wouldn't give up the chase so easily, but without Grizzer's nose to lead them...

He hesitated. His finding ability was usually seen as either a cool party trick or a sign of dangerous mutation. He'd only been with the Guard for a week and had only met Hound at the start of shift, but he had a good feeling about all of them. More importantly, a little girl was missing and he could feel a clock counting down in his head.

"I think they went this way, sir," Seek said. "I'm really good at this sort of thing. It's how I wound up here."

The less said about that, the better.

"You think so?" Hound didn't sound skeptical so much as hopeful? Maybe?

Seek nodded. "I can't be sure," he lied, "but I think this is the way we need to go. She... she might be in trouble."

"Right. C'mon, Grizz." Hound scooped up the still whining massif and carried her into the alley past the worst of the lemon stench before putting her down again. "Lead the way, Seek."

Seek did, trusting his instincts to guide them. Through the alley, down another road, and then a shortcut through a building full of tents and wary-eyed locals.

As they were exiting through a hole in the side of the building a figure landed in front of them in a swish of blue robes.

Hound swore, blaster out and leveled while Grizzer growled a warning. Seek's hand drifted towards his blaster, but he wasn't sure it was needed.

The figure straightened, revealing a dark-skinned humanoid in a mix of blue and cream embroidered robes. Where their eyes should have been there was just skin, and an elaborately painted pair of eyes that seemed hawklike, given the feather patterns around the edges.

"Hands out and step back!" Hound ordered.

"Sorry," the figure said, complying. "I could have planned that a little better. I thought you might be someone else. Anyway! I'm Knight Naremi Twiss! I'm here to help!"

The raised arms revealed a tooled leather belt. And a lightsaber.

"Fuck! I mean, sorry, sir," Hound said, reholstering his blaster. "You surprised me."

"I do seem to have that effect on people, for some reason," Knight Twiss mused. "Anyway, no worries! Although I'm more of a she/her if that matters."

"Yes, ma'am." Hound introduced himself, Seek, and Grizzer, who was already happily accepting scritches from the Knight.

"Well met!" Twiss stood again. "I take it you're hunting the Blood Drinkers, too?"

Horror washed through Seek. "The... what?"

"Blood Drinkers?!" Hound's voice went up an octave.

"Well, that's what I call them." Twiss waved a dismissive hand. "Maybe you call them something else? They go around grabbing people and draining their blood to sell on the black market. Sometimes a little bit, sometimes all of it."

Seek shuddered.

"I think I might have heard some chatter about that back at the base," Hound said slowly. "But I didn't think it was that widespread. Or this high up the levels."

"We think they're increasing their operations." Twiss motioned for them to follow her. "And they have been sticking to the lower levels. That's why I'm not sure if this is them or something else."

"We're just trying to locate a kidnapped girl," Hound said. "But this sounds... bad. Should I call it in?"

Seek was relieved to see the Jedi was taking the same route he would have, although how she could see without eyes was beyond him. The Force, maybe. He also had the uneasy feeling that their case and the Jedi's might be linked. Somehow.

"There!"

He and Twiss stopped at the same time, pointing at an abandoned diner with blacked out windows.

"Jinx!" Twiss nudged her shoulder against Seek's. "C'mon, let's check it out!"

"I think we should wait," Hound said. "I called for backup. If this is more than just one missing kid or a couple of criminals trying to start a new medical scam, then it's going to take more than four of us to do this."

Grizzer huffed, as if agreeing.

Twiss nodded. "Okay, sure! That's probably a good idea. But let's go wait over there." She pointed toward the side of the building. There was a narrow passage and a propped-open door almost hidden in the dark.

"Can we, sir? Please?" Seek looked at Hound, fidgeting. The clock in his head was getting closer to running out.

"No going in!" Hound warned. "Not til backup arrives!"

"Yessir!"

"I mean, if you want to be logical about it, that's fine," Twiss agreed.

As they approached the side of the building, voices could be heard.

"-part of the deal! She's my daughter! You said I could keep her!"

The first voice had a swirly accent that reminded Seek of the missing girl's mother's voice.

"You didn't tell us she had a rare blood type."

The second voice sounded modulated, and much deeper than the first.

"Screw you, Nusk! I'm taking Tem and-"

Blaster fire erupted.

"DADDYYYY!"

Seek was already in motion without consciously choosing it. He and Twiss burst through the already-open door with Hound and Grizzer hot on their heels.

The inside of the derelict diner was surprisingly clean. There were a lot of medical-looking equipment around, including exam tables and IV stands with empty bags and tubing.

A scrawny, dark blue nautolan was on the floor, smoke rising from a blaster wound in his chest. A much younger, purple Nautolan was being dragged back by a long, furry brute while a Nemoidian ordered another one to "drain the dead one."

Everything seemed to speed up after that. Twiss launched herself at the one holding Tem. Seek fired a stun round at the Nemoidian, who dodged it. Hound was barking orders for the criminals to stand down and Grizzer was just barking.

One of the furry brutes fired a shot at Seek, only for Twiss to deflect it. Using some Force move, she launched one of the IV stands at them. They went down, tangled in the tubing.

The one holding Tem hauled her up into their arms, only to yell and drop her as she bit him. She scrambled back toward her father as two more figures burst through the doors of what would have been the kitchen area.

Seek was lining up another stun shot when the Nemoidian pulled something from his pocket and threw it.

Thick smoke filled the room, obscuring everything. Despite that, the blaster fire continued. Seek paused, lined up a shot, and fired.

There was a yell as someone hits the ground. Twiss's pale blue blade cut through the smoke, followed by the scream of whomever she'd hit.

A snarl and a yelp indicated that Grizzer's caught someone, and Seek can hear the clink of binders as Hound reads them their rights.

"Bright Guy! Catch!"

Seek holstered his blaster and turned, knowing where and when to hold out his arms. He caught the wailing, coughing Nautolan girl and headed for the exit.

"I've got the girl," he told Hound over internal comms. "Taking her out of the smoke."

"Copy."

As he rounded the front of the diner he saw a squad of fellow Guardsmen approaching.

"Trooper! Report!"

Twiss staggered out of the smoke, coughing, followed by Hound and Grizzer, who was wheezing, but looking satisfied with herself.

Hound and Twiss are the the ones to fill in Thorn and his squad. That left Seek free to remove his helmet and try to comfort Tem, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with Clicker's attempts to check her for injuries.

Eight underlings were captured or dead, including Tem's father. The Nemoidian in charge, unfortunately, managed to escape.

"I'll be able to find him again," Seek said. "I know it."

"That's why I like you, Bright Guy." Twiss appeared at his side. "And it's also why I'm taking you home with me."

Seek stared at her, bewildered.

"Look, General," Thorn started. "We're grateful for-"

"Not a General," Twiss corrected. "They don't trust me with troops. Except this one." She grinned at Seek.

"Uh..." Seek said.

Her eye makeup had smeared a bit during the fight, almost making it seem like she was winking.

"We're grateful for your help," Thorn continued. "But you can't simply take a trooper home with you to celebrate."

Seek's whole face burned, and he could feel it spreading down his chest.

Twiss laughed. "If that's what I was doing, you'd be absolutely right," she said. "But in this case I need him for Secret Jedi Reasons related to Secret Jedi Things."

Seek could almost hear Thorn grinding his teeth.

"It's okay, sir," he said. "I'll go."

Thorn tipped his helmet. Taking the hint, Seek put his own helmet back on. Tem's mother had arrived on scene shortly after the Guard, so she was in safe hands.

"If anything happens, Fox will have both our heads," Thorn warned.

Seek swallowed before answering. "I know, sir. But she's a Jedi. And I think... I think this might help."

Torn's helmet glared at Twiss.

"His shift ends in three hours. If he isn't back by then..."

"I promise I'll do my very best, Commander," Twiss said. "Now, if you'll excuse us, soonest gone is soonest returned."

As they headed for the nearest speeder dock, Twiss smiled at him.

"Where do you want me?"

Stone blinked. He really should have been wearing his helmet. This was too much to process. A Jedi Initiate? Here? And a huttlet one at that. A Jedi huttlet. Here. Who seemed to think xe had a job waiting. With the Guard.

"...I wasn't aware we were hiring."

It was the nearest coherent thing he could think to say. He picked up the 'pad to read it and give his brain time to reboot itself. Where was Fox when you needed him?

"It's a- a pilot program," Orve said, fidgeting on xyr sled. "I'm joining the ExplorCorp and the Guard seems like a good fit to help give me a grounding in social structures, interspecies communication, and diplomacy."

Stone surreptitiously tapped out a code for "help" on his comm as he read the "resume" Orve had given him.

Xyr marks were indeed high in diplomacy and xe was fluent in three languages and had a passable understood a couple more. Their skills also included slicing and experience on archaeological digs, which the resume assured him would be applicable to forensics.

All this from a kid. Well, technically xe was 78, but with how slowly hutts aged, that still put xem in the "kid" category. Stone was the one who was starting to feel old.

"I know what you're thinking," Orve said, startling Stone from his thoughts. "You're thinking that with my... limitations I might be a liability!" Xe gestured at their sled.

Stone hadn't actually gotten that far in his thinking. He opened his mouth to say something, but Orve barged on.

"But I can assure you that I'm fully capable of moving in a hurry when I have to! And without hurting anyone! Plus, look!"

Xe flung the cape aside to reveal some kind of... contraption wrapped around xyr body.

"It's a flight harness! I won't slow anyone down! See?" Xe started pushing buttons.

"Whoa!" Stone raised his hands in a calming gesture. "No, that's fine. No flying inside, please. It'll give the Shinies ideas."

"Oh, right." Orve deflated a bit. "Of course. My apologies."

"It's fine, just-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the inner door, followed by Fox entering the office, hand on his holster and scanning the room for trouble. His eyes landed on Orve and stopped.

Relief threatened to swamp Stone. Grabbing his helmet he jumped to his feet.

"Commander Fox! Just in time," he said, rushing over. "This is Orve Aarrpo, our new Jedi recruit! You can show xem around. I'd do it myself, but I'm due on patrol-"

Fox's arm shot out, stopping Stone in his tracks.

"A patrol?"

Fox's helmet tipped at him and Stone felt his heart sink.

"Sounds like a perfect learning opportunity for our new liaison. Orve, was it?"

While Orve gushed at Fox about what an honor it was to meet him and how brilliant and concise his archived reports were, Stone put on his helmet.

A message flashed in his HUD from Fox, ordering him to distract the "Jedi" while he investigated what the fuck was going on. Stone sent an acknowledgement and told him to check the 'pad on the desk.

Fox waved the two of them off, and Stone reluctantly showed Orve what sights there were to see within the Guard. Or at least the Fox-approved highlights, since he seemed to think there was a security issue at play.

The surprising thing was that Orve was a good listener. Xe asked intelligent questions, obeyed any directions Stone gave, and even offered a suggestion here and there.

Trooper Buckle, the not-a-tooka therapy assistant in the med wing, took an immediate liking to xem and even joined xem on their rounds. Clicker, the medic on duty, gave his approval and asked Orve for files on medical information related to hutts. It hadn't exactly come up before, and he hated not knowing something at least as much as Nudge did.

Wires was all set to adopt xem on the spot, after a quick pop quiz on slicing techniques. Rattle was skittish, but that was normal for her around new people.

All in all, it was a good learning experience for everyone, and a poignant reminder not to judge someone based on their appearance. Stone was beginning to think it might not be a bad idea to keep Orve around for a while. Provided xyr story checked out.

When they got back to the front office, Fox was talking to an Ithorian dressed in Jedi robes.

"Uh-oh," Orve said behind him.

"Uh-oh indeed, young Orve," the Ithorian said via a translator fitted over their mouths. "It seems you've had a busy day."

Stone glanced back to see Orve doing xyr best to hide behind him. It was not very effective.

"Stone. About time," Fox said, as if he couldn't have messaged him at any time. "This is Jedi Master Nocci, from one of the crèches. He's here to retrieve a missing pupil.

Master Nocci bowed low to Stone. "Apologies again, Commanders," he said. "I'm afraid that in xyr enthusiasm, Orve may have misrepresented xyrself to you. Xe's only the human equivalent of a ten-year-old and is nowhere near ready to be apprenticed into any jobs."

"Aww, but Masterrr!" Orve's voice took on a distinct whine. "Can't I stay? They're nice!"

Trooper Buckle meowed her agreement.

Stone was definitely too old for this shit. Ten standard? And already seemed to know more than he did after years of flash training? Maybe it was just a Jedi thing. He'd certainly met less mature kids, and some of them had been a lot older than ten. Hells, some of them were adults.

"I'm sure they are," Master Nocci said. "Just as I'm sure they're also very busy."

"We're always happy to help the Jedi, sir," Fox said.

Over internal comm he added, "Get Buckle back to the infirmary and go write your report."

"Orve is welcome back any time," Stone said, collecting Buckle as Orve hovered by. "Xe's no trouble at all. Could have a good career in the Guard in a few years' time."

"Really?" Orve grinned at him.

"Really," Stone said, ignoring the twin glares from the Jedi and Fox. And he knew Fox was glaring even if he couldn't see his face.

"We'll see," Master Nocci said in a tone Stone recognized as meaning never. "Say goodbye and let us get back to where we belong."

"You're on garbage detail for the next week," Fox growled over the comm.

"Suck it, Fox," Stone replied before making his farewells to the departing Jedi.

Once the door was closed, Fox turned to face Stone.

"We're not adopting a damn Jedi, let alone a baby one," he warned.

"Yessir," Stone replied, scritching Buckle between her ears. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just return our tooka to the infirmary and go write my report."

"She's not a tooka!" Fox snapped. "She's a trooper!"

"Right, my mistake."