Wergeld
Sequel to "The Magpie"
by jedimom
anotherjedimom@lycos.com

Yes, I know, I swore I was through after "Mindfulness"--but the Force had other ideas.

This story traces its genealogy back to the Sith Academy, which belongs to Siubhan. KeRaad belongs to Padawan Zol-Tan. Ninigi and Mikotoport belong to me. Everything else belongs to George Lucas, a giant among men. Thanks for letting me play. And thanks to the people who, for whatever reason, keep reading these things and sending feedback.

Rose: thanks for the beta. You rule. Thanks also to Siubhan for the final beta and the encouraging words.

//Ready to go, KeRaad?//

//Just about, boss. How are you going to pull this off? Medical records are about as confidential as they come, and the mind whammy doesn't work on droids.//

//Watch and learn, apprentice. Give me your arm. I'm blind, remember? Wouldn't want to give anyone the idea that I don't need any help.//

The two of them arrived at the spaceport's medical facility, the small man in a hooded robe being guided solicitously by his young, ponytailed companion.

"Good morning," said KeRaad to the clinic's receptionist. "I was wondering if you could help us. I was treated recently by some of your medical droids on an emergency call and my employer would like to confirm the diagnostic codes for my insurance records."

"Certainly, ma'am. Have a seat right over there," said the receptionist in a bored voice.

An hour later they were admitted to the clinic's records department. "No, it's not just the diagnostic codes we need," KeRaad explained patiently. "The insurance people want a detailed description of the symptoms and treatment because they said some of the diagnostic codes were invalid. Would it be possible to speak to the droid that directed the treatment?" Another hour's wait.

"I am Z8E at your service," said the droid. "How may I help you?" KeRaad went through her spiel again, ending with, "Unfortunately my employer is blind and deaf. Instead of using me as an interpreter, would it be possible to set up a direct interface with his datapad? It has tactile readouts so the two of you can communicate directly."

"Certainly," said the droid. "You'll find an access panel on my back that should have a compatible connection." KeRaad connected one of the droid's interface cables to Maul's datapad. Maul typed a few lines and the droid's motor and sensor functions abruptly shut down.

//Hey! How'd you do that?// said KeRaad.

//Trade secret,// answered Maul smugly. //Let's just say I've had a lot of practice hacking into unfamiliar systems. Here, hook up your pad to this one so we can work in parallel. We won't have a lot of time before someone wonders what's taking the droid so long.//

They began by downloading all of KeRaad's medical records, along with the droid's analysis of the bacterium and attempts to find an effective treatment. While Maul replaced KeRaad's records with the false data they had prepared, KeRaad scanned quickly over her chart.

//That's funny, boss.//

//What is?//

//They did a midichlorian count on me.//

//What? Does it say why?//

//No. And the results aren't in the chart, either.//

//Hang on, I'll see if I can trace it.// A few minutes' search ensued. //Here it is. It's in a hidden file with some other records. And they're all encrypted.//

//I have a bad feeling about this,// said KeRaad.

//That's not all,// said Maul. //The subroutine that asks for the midichlorian count isn't part of the diagnostic program. And it's self-replicating. A virus. The droid would pass it on to any other computer it interfaced with.// He scanned the code for a few moments. //Look. The subroutine becomes active when the droid is running tests on a patient. It calls for a midichlorian count. If the results exceed this limit, they're encrypted and stored here along with the patient's I.D. And there's another routine that releases the data on receipt of the correct input code.//

//Oh, shit, boss. Somebody's keeping tabs on Force-sensitives. And given the way the port's medical droids interface with ships' computers, and the ships go to other ports--//

//The virus could be everywhere. Whoever has that access code could find out the name and location of every Force-sensitive in the Republic.//

***

The director of the clinic was having a very bad day. First the Spaceport Hilton's P.R. people had been in complaining--again!--about the perfectly legal and necessary quarantine that had been placed on their hotel for the absolute minimum time necessary. Then one of the emergency medical droids had malfunctioned right in the middle of a consultation, and MIS had been unable to find the cause. Now she had these weird tourists back at her desk again with their stupid insurance problem. Her head was beginning to pound. The hooded man's voice wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but it gave her the creeps--why didn't he get cybernetic implants?--and she was having trouble concentrating on what he was saying. She found herself nodding mindlessly, agreeing to whatever it was he wanted, just to get the two of them the hell out of her office.

Maul and KeRaad took their newly acquired droid (salvaged droids can be a real bargain) back to the Mindful, where its mysterious software problem suddenly vanished. Maul began reprogramming it as KeRaad worked on converting one of the Mindful's unoccupied cabins into a sickbay.

//Nice mind whammy you got there, boss.//

//I could do it better when I had eyes. Gives the victim something to focus on. And it's easier if you can hear yourself.//

//While you're at it, can we give the droid a new name?//

//Like what?//

//How about 1Z2Z?//

//KeRaad, one of these days I am going to lose patience with you entirely.//

***

MESSAGE TRANSMISSION, TEXT ONLY, DATE 32/24/006 GST 18:29:14
FROM: Jedi Temple Administrative Headquarters, Coruscant, 0/0/0
TO: Obi-Wan Kenobi, userid *******, c/o Jedi Academy Guest Services
RE: Returned message, user unavailable

User "Qui-Gon Jinn" no longer has an active account. No further information is available. If you believe you have received this message in error, please check your spelling and try again, or contact the system administrator.

***

"Come in, Obi-Wan," said Mary Sue. "Have a seat. Did I show you the pictures of Mom's latest venture?" //My office is bugged. Do you mind? It'll give us a cover for our conversation.//

"Oh, cool. Let me see," said Obi-Wan, taking the leather chair in front of her desk and opening the large photo album. "Wow. Where does she find the time to come up with all this?" //Are you all right? I came to ask you a favor, but you know I'm up for helping you with anything, anytime.//

"And look, see, she's color-coordinated the stock certificates to match the office furniture so you can hang them on the wall." //Someone's been hacking into my accounting and in-house communications systems,// Mary Sue continued. //I cut KeRaad off the payroll and canceled her card as soon as I found out. Hopefully they won't have traced her. What kind of favor do you need?//

"She thinks of everything. Did I hear she's doing custom speeder interiors too?" //I need access to your corporate espionage files. I'm looking for illegal bioresearch facilities. I figured your people might have taken note of any unusual trading patterns.//

"Yep, that's right. They're selling like mad. Let's see, I think there are some pictures of the new ones in here somewhere...." //All right. I'll put you in touch with the appropriate people. Don't stay on Coruscant too long, Obi-Wan. Things are getting really nasty since the Senate started investigating Dad.//

"Awesome. Thanks for showing me those. Anyway, the reason I came by was to ask if you'd like to do dinner some evening while I'm here." //Do you have a way out of here yourself? If he decides to make a move, this is not going to be a healthy planet to be on.//

"No, sorry, bro, I can't, calendar's full for the week. But listen, here's the address of a new place that just opened, you should try it." She wrote on the back of a business card. //The hostess is one of my corporate spies. She'll get you access to the files. And don't worry about me. I have an escape hatch. And some assets and contacts that aren't on the books.//

"Thanks, sis," said Obi-Wan, hugging her. "Take care of yourself." //If a crisis comes, look for me in the Callodas system. I'll head there with Maul and KeRaad and anybody else I can grab.//

"Good to see you, bro. As always." //I love you. Be careful.//

***

A careful analysis of the MacroStiff data showed unexplained shipments of medical research equipment to two sites; one on Ninigi and one on Kessel. The next morning Obi-Wan reported to the Council chamber but was refused admission.

"The Council is in special session to elect a new Head. No one will be admitted today," said the droid who had been assigned as doorkeeper.

"What happened to Master Mace?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Master Mace Windu has resigned."

"Why?"

"No information is available on that topic," said the droid.

"I was supposed to report to the Council for a new assignment," said Obi-Wan.

"Messages have been left at the visitors' information kiosk," said the droid. "Please check there."

There was indeed a message for him, but it read only, "Return to your last planetfall and await further instructions. Credit for your transportation has been arranged with SpaceTrans Coruscant." It was not signed. Mystified, Obi-Wan went in search of a flight to Ninigi.

***

Obi-Wan paced restlessly back and forth across the room. The guest quarters of the Mindful were really too small for such a maneuver, but that didn't stop him from trying.

//From what I was able to pick up at the spaceport,// he said, //Qui-Gon was banished from Coruscant a couple of weeks ago. He's forbidden to act as a Jedi for one year--no uniform, no lightsaber, no mind tricks. Rumor has it that Mace Windu resigned in protest. Nobody knows where either of them is, or at least nobody's willing to talk. I tried to contact Yoda, but the whole Council is sequestered until they pick a new Head.//

//What did he do to piss them off so badly?// asked Maul.

//Nobody knows. He's not the only one, either. I'd never heard of it before, but apparently banishment used to be a common form of discipline for bucking the wishes of the Council. They seem to have revived it all of a sudden. And since nobody knows why Qui-Gon and the others were banished, everyone's walking on eggs, afraid to violate whatever unwritten rule is in effect. The whole Academy's acting paranoid--you can practically hear them thinking 'there are spies everywhere'.//

//Damn. This is new. I always figured you Jedi could get away with just about anything as long as you weren't on Yoda's personal shit list.//

//Up till now that's been more or less true. But not any more. And that's not the only disturbing development. Someone's been hacking into MacroStiff's confidential systems, and Mary Sue found out her office had been bugged. She's essentially pretending she hasn't noticed, but she's cut KeRaad off the payroll and cancelled her card. I hope that won't cramp your style too much.//

Maul grinned. //Oh no. We've been funding ourselves for the last few months anyway. I was running out of cargo space. I'd figured something was up at MacroStiff. KeRaad and I ran across a very interesting computer virus; I think it was probably packaged with a software upgrade.//

//What kind of virus?//

//It works on medical droids. Any time they do diagnostic tests it prompts them to do a midichlorian count. If the results are high enough it stores the data and the patient's I.D. until called for.//

//Shite.//

//We've started another virus to combat it, but there's no way of knowing how far the original one has spread.//

//Best we can do at the moment, I guess. Now about that research lab...//

//Odds are it's been abandoned by now.//

//But we still have to try.//

A few hours later, armed and carrying a few useful items, Maul, Obi-Wan and KeRaad entered a cavernous building that was supposed to be a warehouse. Most of the ground floor was indeed taken up by unmarked crates, pallets stacked with shrinkwrapped boxes, and nondescript cardboard cartons. But the basement held several rooms that promised more interesting contents.

The first door yielded to Obi-Wan's lockpicks to reveal a desk surrounded by state-of-the-art computers, monitoring devices, and a bank of video screens that showed enough vats, pipes and heating coils to equip a small brewery. //Jackpot,// thought Maul smugly. //Let's see what's behind the rest of these doors.//

The second door led to a clean room with electron microscopes, computerized sampling and testing equipment, and racks of Petri dishes.

The third, a vertical sliding door with electronic locks, was heavily reinforced and separated from the others by what seemed like half a mile of corridor. It took Maul and Obi-Wan, working together, several minutes of concerted application of the Force to open it. The room beyond held the bacterial culture vats and all their associated pipes, heaters, coolers, and monitors. Judging by the amount of open floor space, it had been built with expansion in mind.

//KeRaad, go through the records in that office,// ordered Maul. //Look for anything that would tell us where the stuff is going, or who's supplying the raw materials. Failing that, download any records of incoming or outgoing transmissions you can find. Give it half an hour, then come get us. We'll sterilize the tanks and then we can trash the place.//

//Will do, boss,// said KeRaad, heading back down the corridor.

***

Obi-Wan and Maul spent several minutes examining the tanks and their controls. //Okay, I've got it,// said Obi-Wan. //We can override these sensors here and fuse this array, and the heating coils will stay on indefinitely. It shouldn't take long to get the tanks up to boiling. Then we can blow the place up without spreading plague all over the continent.//

//Let's get to it,// said Maul. They worked in silence for a time. By the time they reached the last tank in the series the room was already growing warm from the heat given off by the first. Maul paused, feeling an odd sensation. It was as if something were tugging at his connection to the Force, competing with him for its energy. He focused his attention on it. The strange feeling drew closer, accompanied by an ominous sense of foreboding. Maul grabbed Obi-Wan's arm.

//Obi-Wan. Look.//

Obi-Wan turned as a black-robed figure glided silently through the door. It lifted a gloved hand and pulled back its hood.

Horns. Tattoos. Blazing yellow eyes. And an arrogant, taunting smirk.

//He cloned you. The bastard cloned you,// thought Obi-Wan as the two of them separated to flank the Sith.

//Don't kill him, Obi-Wan,// Maul said suddenly, as Obi-Wan and the Sith both shucked off their outer robes.

//I'm not sure I'll have that luxury. Even with your help.//

//He's younger. Less experienced. And he doesn't know we were expecting him. He'll be cocky.//

//I'll do my best,// Obi-Wan said as he and his opponent ignited their sabers.

Maul had never missed his eyes as much as he did in the next few minutes. Apart from the frustration of not being able to join the fight, he had the feeling that he was missing the most impressive sight of his life. Obi-Wan and his opponent were both radiant with the Force, attacking, defending, tumbling, feinting in patterns too complex for his mind to follow. Maul stayed back, using the odd correspondence between himself and his clone to hinder its use of the Force, dragging on its mind, trying to distract it. He felt the Sith's frustration and annoyance.

Obi-Wan apparently felt it too; he suddenly became more aggressive, raining blows on the Sith, trying to back him into a confined space where his two-handed weapon would be a hindrance. The Sith parried Obi-Wan's attack with contemptuous ease and spun abruptly to lash out at Maul.

Maul jerked back, not quite far enough. The tip of the lightsaber scored a smoking gash across his face. Maul screamed and fell, rolling over and over. With a sneer, the Sith turned his full attention to Obi-Wan, forcing him back with a barrage of lightning-fast slashes and thrusts.

Behind his clone's back, Maul quickly and silently rose to a crouch. //You just made your last mistake, little brother,// he thought to himself. //Eye sockets aren't nearly as sensitive as eyes.// He pounced. The unexpected attack threw the Sith off balance and the slash he had aimed at Obi-Wan's head missed. The Jedi took advantage of the distraction to kick the lightsaber out of the Sith's hand.

Maul clung to his double's back, applying a choke-hold while at the same time assaulting the clone's mental shields with all the Force he could summon. The Sith swayed from lack of oxygen, but still managed to Force-bash Kenobi halfway across the room. The Jedi lay still, sprawled on his back. Maul kept up the mental and physical assault, sparing no attention for Obi-Wan.

KeRaad, hearing the sounds of battle, had come out of the office and into the corridor. Through the open doorway at the far end she saw Obi-Wan defending desperately against the attacks of a lightsaber-wielding foe in black. She saw Maul leap onto the dark figure from behind, saw Obi-Wan kick its lightsaber away. She ran towards them. The dark warrior flung out an arm and Obi-Wan flew backwards to land beyond the doorframe that limited her view of the room. As she raced for the end of the corridor she saw Maul abruptly go limp and slide off the warrior's back to the floor. The dark figure straightened up, threw back his head and laughed, a sound that made her skin crawl. Its voice sounded uncannily like Maul's, but filled with an unholy triumph she had never heard from her master.

She was nearly there. Still running, she fired her blaster at the creature, but missed. His head snapped up and he extended a hand. A lightsaber flew to him from somewhere outside her line of sight and he ignited it, revealing twin red blades. KeRaad skidded to a halt, still several yards short of the doorway into the room.

The Boss's instructions came back to her clearly: //Never fire a blaster at someone with a lightsaber. Never. Any novice can block plasma bolts, and a skilled fighter can redirect them to hit you or anybody else in the area.// She settled for blasting a corner of the doorframe repeatedly, spot-welding the door in place before the creature could close it and separate her from Maul and Obi-Wan.

The warrior--oh, Force, the Sith--saluted her ironically. Then he glanced down at Maul's unconscious body. She sensed his exertion of the Force even through her shields. There was an audible snap and Maul's body twitched once, then went limp again, head twisted sideways at an unnatural angle.

KeRaad stood frozen as the dark warrior turned away from her master's broken body as if it were a piece of trash. Now that she was closer to the doorway she could see Obi-Wan's unmoving form. She thought he was still alive but didn't dare drop her shields to try to sense him through the Force. The Sith might well try to turn her; she refused to make it easy for him. Briefly she considered using the blaster on herself, but that would leave Obi-Wan in the hands of the Sith. As long as there was a chance that he was still alive, she couldn't do it. The creature glanced back at her calmly, one eyebrow raised slightly in an expression of inquiry.

Yellow eyes in a face covered with black and red tattoos. A crown of sharp, triangular horns. With a shock, she realized that this must be what Maul had looked like before the bombing and torture. A wave of hatred swept over her and she nearly forgot what a suicidally stupid move it would be to blast this monster. KeRaad fought for control, regained it--barely.

The Sith deactivated one blade of his saber as he gracefully went down on one knee beside Obi-Wan's body. "Get away from him," said KeRaad, her voice shaking. The Sith ignored her, lightly touching the Jedi's neck, then his forehead, with the fingertips of his free hand. He glanced back up at her.

"He's alive. He should be coming around soon. And then we can negotiate."

//Gods, that voice.// KeRaad suppressed a shudder. "Negotiate? With you? I'd kill all three of us first."

"You can't kill me. I doubt you can kill him with me defending him. And if you kill yourself you leave him alone with me. Not an attractive option."

"What do you want?"

"Why don't we all three discuss it," the Sith replied. Beside him, Obi-Wan stirred slightly. The Sith rose and backed up a step. Another. Obi-Wan sat up warily, trying to force his eyes to focus. The Sith took one more slow step back, leaving Obi-Wan between himself and KeRaad, at the edge of his saber's striking range. The Jedi cautiously got to his feet, poised to fight or dodge, eyes locked on the Sith's. Without taking his eyes off Obi-Wan, the dark warrior gestured suddenly and KeRaad's blaster flew out of her hand and skidded down the hall behind her. The Sith backed further away from Obi-Wan, deactivated his saber and slid it along the floor to rest at the Jedi's feet.

"Obi-Wan. Tell KeRaad who I am before she shoots one of us," he said with a half-smile.

Obi-Wan stared at him. "Khameir?" he breathed.

"Obi-Wan, NO!" shouted KeRaad. She made a desperate dash for her blaster, came up with it, whirled--but Obi-Wan was blocking her aim, walking towards his opponent as though in a trance. What was the damned thing doing to him? "No, Obi-Wan! He'll kill you!" she screamed. She ran forward, trying to get out into the room so she could get a clear shot, but it was too far, she'd never make it in time. Obi-Wan and the Sith stood face to face, blue eyes staring blankly into yellow.

"Oh, gods," said Obi-Wan, his voice unsteady. "Khameir. You did it." And the two were in each other's arms.

KeRaad stumbled to a halt, her mind refusing to grasp this sequence of events. The Sith lifted his gleaming eyes to her face. "KeRaad. It's me," he said. "I drove him out. This body is mine now." His smooth voice was vibrant with triumph; flaming eyes glowed in the horned, unscarred face.

"It's really him, KeRaad," said Obi-Wan.

KeRaad stood helplessly in the middle of the room. Slowly she holstered her blaster. She looked down at Maul's still form. "No," she whispered, and sank to her knees beside the body of her teacher.

"KeRaad," said Obi-Wan gently, "we have to get out of here." KeRaad didn't respond. Obi-Wan put his hands on her shoulders. "Come on, KeRaad." She nodded, scrubbed her arm across her eyes, and stood up. She avoided looking at Maul.

"Let's go," said Maul. "The tanks have been up to temperature long enough to sterilize them. We need to set the charges and get back to the ship."

The three of them dug the explosives out of KeRaad's pack and set them around the room. "Four minutes," said Maul, triggering the master timer.

KeRaad hesitated, looking back at the body on the floor. "Obi-Wan, I can't...we can't just leave him here."

"We don't have time for this," Maul growled.

"Here. Take this," said Obi-Wan, handing KeRaad his lightsaber. He picked up the body in a fireman's carry. "Let's go."

About a minute after they cleared the building, the charges went off. The ground heaved beneath their feet and the building swayed, sagged, and then settled at about ten feet below its previous level. "Nice job," commented Obi-Wan.

***

Back aboard the Mindful, Obi-Wan set the body on a bed in the sickbay. //Let me talk to KeRaad alone for a while, Khameir,// he suggested. Maul shrugged and left.

"KeRaad," Obi-Wan began hesitantly.

"I know, Obi-Wan," she said. "It's really him. The training bond's still there. But...to my memory, to my senses, this is my master. I know the Boss thinks it's just dead tissue, but I couldn't--"

"I understand. Let's up ship and get to a secure place and we'll do what's appropriate. I'll stand vigil with you."

KeRaad hugged him and stood for a moment with her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Obi-Wan," she said quietly. Then she straightened up, re-fastened her ponytail, and headed for the bridge.

Later that night, on a cold, windswept beach, two cloaked figures stood beside a pyre of driftwood on which lay a shrouded body. The smaller figure stepped forward, stood with bowed head for a moment, then spoke: "Your spirit still lives, master, and so it is not time for me to bid you farewell. But in this body I first knew you. In this body you accepted the bond between us. In this body you taught me and fought beside me. I honor it and you. I bid the past farewell and turn my mind to embrace the present."

The second figure stepped forward. "Your spirit still lives in new flesh, my love, and so it is not time for us to part. But in this body I first knew you. In this body I first loved you. In this body you saved my life and bore great torment for my sake. I honor it and you. I bid the past farewell and turn my mind to embrace the present." Obi-Wan kindled a torch and handed it to KeRaad. She set the pyre ablaze and tossed the torch onto it. Then the two of them sat listening to the crackle of flames and the whisper of the waves as the fire slowly burned to ash.

Aboard the Mindful, Maul sat in the captain's chair, eyes closed, eavesdropping on his own funeral. He had always had an amused contempt for any kind of ritual. But he was beginning to wonder why a meaningless act should make him so uncomfortable.

***

"Good morning," said Maul. "For a few more minutes at least. Want coffee?"

"Yeah. Thanks," yawned Obi-Wan, rubbing his eyes. "Where's KeRaad?"

"Working out." Maul handed Obi-Wan a cup of coffee and took one himself. They sat at the table in the galley. "Have you noticed," Maul continued, "that every time we answer a question, two more come to take its place?"

"Yeah. And we still haven't answered the first one: who the hell is smuggling lightsaber crystals? It can't have been Sidious, or you and KeRaad would have found his apprentice waiting for you when you went to retrieve the crystals. Or else the crystals would have been off-planet before she got out of quarantine."

"But it was definitely Sidious who came up with the plague bacterium and my brand-new body--possibly the only thing I've ever wanted to thank him for."

"Yeah. Which means Sidious not only has advanced biological warfare capability; he's also had a cloning facility in operation for years right under the nose of the Republic. I'd be willing to bet that by the time we get to Kessel there'll be nothing there," Obi-Wan said disgustedly.

"No bet. Also no betting that it's the only one he has. I'm not sure we can stop him, Obi-Wan. It may already be too late."

"Did you have any idea this was going on?"

"Not a clue. I knew about some of his political schemes, but he obviously didn't trust me with the military stuff. I wonder what else he's been up to. It's a fucking wonder he ever got any sleep."

"Maybe he has a clone to do his campaign appearances."

"You may be right. Ew, two of him in one galaxy."

"Speaking of which--why did you break your neck? Your old body's neck, I mean."

"It occurred to me that the Force-ghost might be able to possess it. You and KeRaad I figured I could handle, but not with a Sith apprentice in my body to confuse the issue."

Obi-Wan sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "This is going to be hard for her to deal with."

"I know. She won't talk to me."

"Give her time. It's not easy to get used to, even for me. You look younger than you did when we met--I feel like a cradle-robber."

"Sorry," grinned Maul in a voice that suggested precisely the opposite. "I was hospitalized for tests when I was ten. Bone scan, gene sequencing, checking for prions and retroviruses, everything they could think of. I figure that's probably when he took the cells to start the clone. Or clones. There's no telling how many more of me there are."

"Force. That makes you, what, about seventeen? You're a little shorter than you were."

"Yeah. I haven't quite finished growing yet." Maul smirked. "All the energy of youth and all the guile of experience."

"And all mine," said Obi-Wan, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Think you can keep up with me?"

"Or die trying." They stood up together, ignoring the noise of their chairs hitting the floor.

***

KeRaad had been on the treadmill for an hour, running steadily on an uphill grade until she was soaked with sweat. Her knees, already tired from her weight routine, begged for mercy. She wished she could run forever, beat her imagination into oblivion. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the Boss's body twitch, heard the sickening snap of the broken neck. Or she saw the Boss's new body, young, unscarred, with smoldering eyes and an aura of sexuality that made her burn all over. She shivered as she ran.

//I can't stay here. I can't deal with this.// She nudged the treadmill's speed up a notch.

//He doesn't need me any more. I should jump ship when we get to Kessel and find another job.// Her breathing was becoming harsh, losing its rhythm.

//He belongs to Obi-Wan. They love each other.// She stumbled, slapped at the controls to turn the treadmill off, and staggered off to sit on the floor. She propped her arms on her knees, her head on her arms, breathing in gasps that were almost sobs.

//I can't leave him. I can't leave him. I can't.//

MESSAGE TRANSMISSION, TEXT ONLY, DATE 33/02/006 GST 11:35:59
FROM: Public user terminal 83695-300, Mikotoport, Ninigi 78/44/53
TO: Office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, CRSC, Coruscant, 0/0/0 CC: Jedi Council, Jedi Temple Administrative Headquarters, Coruscant, 0/0/0
RE: Call for investigation of criminal activity--threat to Republic security
**PRIORITY CODE SEQUENCE VERIFIED--STATUS URGENT**

Chancellor Valorum and Venerable Members of the Jedi Council:

The attached information has come into our hands accidentally as a result of an inquiry into a totally different matter. We regret the necessity for remaining anonymous, but trust that careful investigation of the sources cited will convince you of the accuracy of our data. The facts as known to us at this time strongly suggest that a concerted attempt is being made to destabilize the Republic and replace the current administration with one far less benign. We will let you draw your own conclusions as to the identity of the person or persons responsible. However, we strongly urge that once you have identified a suspect or suspects, they be kept under constant surveillance until this matter has been thoroughly and publicly examined. [see attached files numbered 001-286 in chronological order]

MESSAGE TRANSMISSION, TEXT ONLY, DATE 33/03/006 GST 02:04:41
FROM: Public user terminal 83695-300, Mikotoport, Ninigi 78/44/53
TO: Office of Senator for Naboo, CRSC, Coruscant, 0/0/0
RE: Acknowledgement of Charitable Contribution

Dear Senator Palpatine:

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for your recent contribution. Please believe that your kind gift has made all the difference in the life of a homeless orphan. Thank you for your generosity; I am sure my colleagues appreciate your kindness as well. --Khameir Sarin

MESSAGE TRANSMISSION, TEXT ONLY, DATE 33/03/006 GST 09:11:45
FROM: Address of Origin Suppressed
TO: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Passenger, Ship MSMindful, Mikotoport, Ninigi 78/44/53
RE: Congratulations

I hear you found a use for that obscure technique I taught you. I'll be in touch. --Qui-Gon

[If you're 18 or older, click here to read a bonus scene.]

END

(11/22/99)

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