Ossus: A Place of Knowledge.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei studied the star map his father left him. He kept checking it against R4's map. He was worried.

"R4, are you sure about this?" Wei asked. "I mean, the last thing anyone heard about this planet, it was engulfed in a supernova."

R4 gave an irritable chirp. Yes. I don't tell you how to drink. You don't tell me how to read my star maps.

Wei looked to his left, staring the astromech full in the optic sensor. He made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Well played, Droid."

R4's chirp turned lighter, happier. Thank you.

"So what makes you think this planet is still in tact?"

R4's sounds leaned back towards irritated. Do you not remember your Jedi Order History?

"Not a droid, R4. Information doesn't just stick around in my head until someone else erases it. It goes away if I don't use it."

The droid's whistle sounded almost like an exasperated sigh. When Exar Kun sent his apprentice to Ossus to recover what was left after the Great Sith War, Jedi Master Ood Bnar sacrificed his life to keep the apprentice from succeeding in his quest. Ood Bnar was so strong in the Force, the legends say he metamorphosed into a tree. If his power was so great, it stands to reason there is the possibility the planet was saved from the supernova by the Jedi Master's great power.

Now it was Wei's turn to whistle. "Wow. That's power I may never have."

You might be crippled, but if you continue your lightsaber training, there is no limit to who powerful you could become.

Wei sighed. "Fair enough. Let's get down there and find what we're looking for."

[Palara Iscandar]

I can sense your growing power in the Force, Inquisitor Iscandar.

She knelt before the hologram, feeling the first waves of fear. If he judged her to be useless, it would take one command to the Troopers and crew and she could be killed. She did not fancy her chances against the entire squad aboard her ship either.

"Wei 'as overmatched me every time I 'ave faced 'im," the twilek Inquisitor responded. "It is natural for me to learn from my mistakes."

Inquisitor Atrapes' expression remained emotionless, though it carried that undercurrent of judgement that had always kept her on edge.

True. The fact you live after having faced him twice speaks well of your abilities. You are after him now.

He knew something, at least, of what had happened to her on Tatooine, though she kept it unsaid to anyone. He likely had noticed discrepancies in her reports. She would have to be careful to avoid showing how much the Jedi, both Solomon and Wei, were making impressions on her thinking.

"I 'ave narrowed down 'is trajectory to ze planet Ossus, Lord Inquisitor," Iscandar responded, straightening and burying her emotions deep. The fact he could read her at all said much about his own grasp of that particular talent. "Zere is a pattern forming."

Ossus? It seems our Jedi is travelling to planets important to the history of his Order. There is something deeper to this as well. Continue your attempts to capture him, Inquisitor.

Iscandar bowed.

"I will. Veritas Vincit, Lord Inquisiteur."

Atrapes saluted and his holographic image disappeared. Iscandar left the pod, feeling tired and drained, and a growing desire to run was quashed once more as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. Striding back onto the tiny little bridge of the Inquisitorial Corvette Silencer, she saw the planet in its hues of orange and red and wondered what was on this planet that Wei was after.

She had learned so much from this mission; she almost didn't want it to end. She pushed away the fanciful thoughts and ordered the droid-pilot to land the ship.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei landed in an open area a half a klick away from the library. Even as a ruin, the thing was enormous. Wei looked up at it, amazed that the spire at the top of the thing was still there.

"R4, you know the drill."

The little droid hooted an affirmative, and Wei started the jog towards the library.

Wei looked overhead. Worry etched his face. Palara had been hounding him for much too long. Sooner or later, she would appear. She was rather like his shadow. He had managed to keep her at bay so far, but with the persistent hounding, Wei found he was not able to expand his bag of tricks fresh enough for his liking. But he had to win. The memories of his family depended on it.

Wei shook the thought from his head. Anticipation was a distraction. His Master had said so. Of course, Quinlan Vos wasn't exactly a model Jedi...

[Palara Iscandar]

The landing was fairly easy; they found an area that was much more habitable than most of the other places, and the squad disembarked with her in a crevasse, with what seemed to be a natural path leading out of it; the area was easily defensible.

"If our records from ze Temple are correct, ze fabled Library will be 'is destination," Iscandar said through the vocalizer on her breather. "Form up. We will make it zere before 'im and lay a trap."

They didn't make it far before a transmission from the ship broke her concentration.

Madame Inquisitor, we are under attack.

"What? By whom?"

Unknown. Primitives it seems, using slugthrowers. We do not know how they have entered the ravine.

Iscandar growled lowly. Things had been going well, too.

"Take ze squad back and drive off zese primitives. Zen rendezvous with me at ze Library as soon as possible."

"Inquisitor," the Troopers saluted and marched back to the landing site. Iscandar watched them go with regret. Without their help, her mission became that much harder to complete.

[Wei Wu Wei]

A zinging slug grazed Wei's cheek. "Ow!" Wei said more out of surprise than pain. "What was that?"

Another slug found the ground in front of Wei's toes. Expecting a fight, Wei drew his lightsaber. As the blade emerged, the Force Cripple's mind expanded. He still couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. Wei expected Imperials. It made sense to him that people who specialized in hunting Jedi would use slugs rather than laser bolts. No matter how hard he tried, Wei couldn't deflect metal with a laser sword.

********************

"I do NOT need a Padawan," Quinlan Vos said to the Council. "I'm trying to infiltrate Count Dooku's inner circles! I cannot be weighed down by some fresh-faced stripling!"

Wei sat outside the Jedi Council. Still just a boy, but somehow more grown-up. More mature. Over the last month, Wei had come to terms with his status as a Force Cripple. He accepted it with a smile. With permission from the Counci, Wei was exempt from all training except for Galactic History and Academics, and lightsaber combat. Already his proficiency in Shii-Cho was higher than average, and with the extra time to study the Youngling found a great deal of useful information imbedded in the history of the Galactic Republic. He could hear the entire conversation between Master Vos and the Council. Vos' voice carried well when he was angry, and the clear, curt tones of Mace Windu carried well.

"You will take him. As a Force Cripple, he will be instrumental to your work."

"He's a Cripple? So I get a baby cripple for a Padawan! Just great!"

"Much anger in you, I sense. Master Vos, we assign you this Padawan not just for the sake of your mission--but for yours as well."

The ridicule in Vos' tone was apparent. "And how can he help me if I'm so busy changing his diapers?"

"Be still for a moment, Vos. Can you detect the boy's strength in the Force? He's only just outside. Can you feel his power?" Mace asked.

"Well," there was a pause. "No. He's just a regular kid."

"Precisely. Now, see what happens."

Master Windu must have had the Caretaker's bowl with him. The clear pure note sifted through the door to the Council Chambers and reached Wei's ears. Wei took a breath as though he were inhaling some fragrant incense. With his contented, gusty sigh his mind expanded into the Temple. His body felt lighter. All the strength and stamina the Force could afford him electrified his muscles. And yet, the boy was calm.

"Wait, is that him?" Master Vos asked. "Is that the kid?"

One of the Masters must have nodded.

"I didn't know. How does this work?"

Wei could hear the explanations.

"Ok, so what does he do for me personally?"

"A tether to the Light, he will be. Young, positive, hopeful the boy is. Calm, at peace with himself and station. Unusual it is for someone so young to have such inner peace."

Vos chuckled. "Well, a lost little kid who can turn into That might not be such a problem. Sure, why not? I'll take him. He can be my Force Bomb that I can put a timer on and watch him explode when I need him to do his thing."

"That's...one way to look at it," Ki-Adi Mundi chimed in. "Nevertheless, we should call the boy in so you two can become acquainted."

**************

Wei chuckled. Force Bomb indeed. Master Vos certainly seemed to like putting his Padawan in the midst of a group of people that needed to be dealt with. Even now, the situation was familiar.

"You guys, we don't have to do this," Wei said. "No need to fight. I just want to go to the big building and get something. I really would like your families to have someone to welcome back to their homes."

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar turned away from her long look down the path her soldiers had taken back to the landing site.

Something felt wrong, here. Unhooking her lightsaber, she left it unactivated but still ready as she started to jog in the direction of the large ruins in the distance.

The feeling grew progressively worse, until she stopped in a short flat area ringed about with rolling hills.

"Show yourselves!" she shouted, gripping her lightsaber in both hands and settling into a stance.

From the rocky outcroppings surrounding her, a large group of natives stepped into view. Most held blasters, or what she assumed were blasters; they seemed to be of a make and model she wasn't familiar with, but they all seemed dangerous enough when pointed at her.

"Who art thou?" One asked, stepping forward. "That you stride without fear or reverence towards the holy places? None may go hither."

Iscandar didn't ease her stance.

"I am Agent-Inspector Iscandar," the twilek responded evenly. "Of Imperial Intelligence. To point a weapon at a representative of ze Imperial government is a severe crime. Lower your weapons."

The native laughed and brazenly pointed his spear at her.

"Thou art brave, Iscandar," he said through his mask, which seemed to faintly resonate with the Dark. "But it shall not be. Thou shalt die."

Iscandar activated her blade, causing all the primitives around her to back up in confusion. They waited as Iscandar slowly lifted her arm and blade into the air and threw it at the leader of the natives, whose eyes widened before the blade spun through him, killing him instantly. The Inquisitor focused, falling to a knee and keeping her eyes on the spinning blade, desperately reaching into the Force and directing it to carve a path through the hostile natives even as it continued spinning.

The maneuver worked, but she had to abandon it after only a few seconds, as the natives started to shoot slugs from their weapons at her, and a couple charged, their spears held high.

She called the lightsaber back to her, and killed two more of them before a slug buried itself into her arm, causing her to cry out in pain, and emboldened the natives to step forward. Iscandar threw her blade once more, before calling back and running for her life.

The natives cheered and gave chase over the blasted landscape.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei's hand closed around his saber's hilt as the natives began to fire. Wei yanked his saber out of his sleeve and powered it on. The blade's hum reached him quickly, but the slug still found his arm.

"Ow!" Wei said. His jaw clenched while he fought the pain.

The former Jedi ducked and juked around the next set of slugs, dancing like an insect on a hot durasteel roof. With nothing to do but run, Wei bolted towards the Great Library.

***************

"What would you say is the biggest weakness a Jedi faces on the battlefield, sir?"

It was years later. Wei sat amidst the Clone Troopers in his Master's place. Master Vos preferred to be doing espionage. It got him closer to Dooku and made him feel like he was actually accomplishing something to end the war. Besides, he didn't much care for the clones. The feeling was mutual.

The only thing Wei's master and the clones seem to like about it all was Wei. The Padawan was more than happy to direct the troops, and the troops appreciated being commanded by someone who didn't look on them with disdain.

This was a new method Master Vos developed to try to coax more information out of Dooku. Wei would show up at strategic locations with his clones, wreak havoc on the Separatist forces, and then disappear. Along with Wei's capabilities as a "Force Bomb," Wei was supposed to be a mysterious Jedi who had infiltrated Dooku's inner circle. The notion behind it all was to provide Dooku a red herring while having this elusive Jedi spy appear and then fade away like a spectre.

"Well," Wei said, "Solid rounds give me a hard time. I'm not good at moving things using the Force, so an explosive shell or a slug-thrower would cause me a great deal of frustration. I expect they would cause Dooku a hard time too. It's easy to stop ten blaster bolts. But conceptualizing and trying to stop ten slugs using only the Force takes a lot of effort."

Wei shrugged. "It'd take even more effort for me, since my only options are to run or close the distance and destroy their weapons."

The clone commander nodded. "We need to get you some good old-fashioned armor. None of these silly robes. It's a war, not a pajama party!"

Wei and the clones laughed. "Hey, even at pajama parties there are pillow fights!" This only provoked more laughter. Life was good before Order 66.

*************

[Palara Iscandar]

Slugs made an awful sort of sound as they traced their paths through the air. It was a whistle, a buzz, and a hum, all at once, and one could only hear them far too late for it to matter at all.

Their war-cries were nothing compared to the sound of slugs whirring through the atmosphere. Some shots were off, but seemed to arc about, guided by the very wills of the natives. Iscandar was astounded; were all these warriors Force-users?

A native leapt from some scraggly underbrush, but lost his arm to the Inquisitor's lightsaber. He fell to the ground, screaming, and she continued to run, until she caught sight of Wei, running directly on her left. She contemplated an attempt to disable him and finally complete her mission, but a small upheaval of earth from a missed shot forced her to focus on survival more than anything else.

Their pursuers stopped as the two fled up the stairways of the old Library and dashed inside. Iscandar didn't stop until she was sure she wasn't in the path of any of the warriors' arcing bullets.

"I almost 'ad you to rights," she said, powering off her lightsaber and affixing it to her belt, before checking the wound in her upper arm. "But it seems I am fated to fail at zis mission."

[Wei Wu Wei]

A wry chuckle escaped Wei's lips. "Well, that's good news for me."

Wei heard one last shot from a random slug-thrower: he sidestepped smartly and out of reflex or frustration swung his lightsaber at the zinging projectile. It passed through his sea-green blade and turned into a slagged metal splatter on the wall.

"That's interesting," Wei muttered. "They're not shooting anymore. They're not even standing at the steps. Look."

Sure enough, the natives stood well away from the structure shouting and shaking their fists and weapons at the pair.

"Well, that'll make trying to leave interesting." Wei glanced over at Palara. Trapped inside with his pursuer, he felt ill-at-ease. The natives would keep him penned inside the library for the time being. If he left, he'd be killed unless he could come up with a plan. The library was big, but not even the massive hallways and chambers could accommodate his starfighter. If he let his guard down, Palara might try to get him anyway. He wasn't sure how she felt about the Jedi Library, but Wei knew from experience the Empire didn't hold Jedi lore sacred. Nothing could stop her from taking her larger ship, blasting a hole in the roof and then lifting the pair of them out.

"I hope you don't take offense that I'm not putting this away," Wei said. "It's just that you're trying to apprehend me makes it hard to get comfortable." What he didn't tell her was that the moment he turned it off, he'd be at a considerable disadvantage. Wei knew Force-sensitives could detect his crippling when he deactivated his saber. As a man amongst a crowd, it didn't matter so much. But here, in the large empty space, it would be no big feat to guess the sudden disappearance of a Force signature would originate from him.

"Anyway, welcome to Ossus and the Great Jedi Library. Shall we go walkabout?"

[Palara Iscandar]

"'Great Jedi library'?" the Inquisitor responded, looking around at the ruins, and back at Wei. "Zis? It is ruins, now. Why come 'ere?"

She asked, mainly out of curiosity as she tried to pull the slug from her arm, and failed horribly. She pulled out her commlink and brought up the image of her squad sergeant.

Inquisitor. We are still pacifying the area around the landing site. The natives outnumber us and we cannot bring them into direct confrontation. No casualties.

"Good. When possible, bring ze ship to my position, or at least, as close to my position as you can. Natives 'ave trapped me in ze ruins. I require evacuation."

Understood, Inquisitor. Out.

She placed the commlink onto her belt as well and faced Wei completely. She was extremely close to her quarry, but with a wound, and one which hampered her use of one arm, she wasn't quite sure of her chances at surviving, much less winning.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei waited patiently for her to finish her communication. He probably had only minutes before that ship arrived. If Iscandar got reinforcements, Wei would have a bad time trying to reach his own ship. He considered calling R4 to him as well, but the smaller fighter would be easy pickings for the Inquisitor's ship.

"Yes, the Great Jedi Library ruined. During the Great Sith War it was destroyed, but several of its artifacts and holocrons survived. Then when the Dark Lord Exar Kun sent his apprentices to recover what was left, Jedi Master Ood Bnar put a stop to them."

Wei shrugged. "I don't really know what I'm looking for, or where I'll find it. Though I figure I will know what it is and where I will find it eventually." He paused. "Of course, it would be easier if you left me alone. After all, I'm just a drunk chasing ghosts. I'm not entirely sure I'm not wasting my time. Why go to all the trouble of chasing me down? What have I done to upset this Inquisitoriate?"

[Palara Iscandar]

"You are Jedi. Zat is enough for ze Inquisition to target you," Iscandar explained, ripping off a section of her jacket and tying it around her arm. "We also 'ave known of you for some time."

The twilek winced, knotting the jury-rigged bandage and sighing. Painkillers would have helped, but also would bring down her motor skills and reaction times. She needed to remain alert, even if it meant dealing with the pain of a bullet-wound.

She hadn't been in such close quarters with her quarry before, and now she was wounded and both were trapped by natives. It would be difficult at best to capture the Jedi now, but he didn't need to know that.

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy all ze time," she said finally. "A Jedi, of all people, should know zat much."

[Wei Wu Wei]

*****************

"Remember, Padawan," Master Vos told him. "The idea is that you want to gather information without calling too much attention to yourself. When you were little, it was pretty easy to walk up to someone pretending to be lost, or confused, or curious. People want to entertain the questions of wide-eyed children, especially if that child admires the adult he is speaking to. Now that you're older, you'll have to change your tactics."

Wei had been trying to gather information on a droid foundry for a few days now. Since the start of the Clone Wars, the Separatists slowly automated more and more of their droid manufacturing. As such, it was getting ever more difficult to slip inside undetected.

At first, it had been easy to play the role of a young human, simple and eager to join the workforce and make a small life for himself. But later, it seemed more and more that only specialists and supervisors were living beings. Hardly any of them were human.

"Just remember to be polite, be efficient, and always have a plan of escape in case things go pear-shaped." Master Vos would never admit it, but he had grown fond of Wei, and cared very much for the boy's safety.

"Of course, Master."

Vos smiled. "That's my Force Bomb. If you can shut down this Foundry yourself, we can avoid having to use the Clones." He made it sound like he was interested in efficiency and the lives of his men, but Wei wasn't fooled.

"So what do I do?" Wei asked.

"I know you can't really tell a good lie, so be honest. But don't give too much information. Remember, the more information you give them, the more they have to discern your true motives. You can do it. Good luck."

*************

"So that's why my family had to die?" He had to know. Did they know about him before that day? Had his family been in danger the entire time? Or were they just after the information his father stole. "If you knew about me then, you knew where I worked. You could have come for me there. It's not like the Empire is precisely interested in being quiet or subtle."

He needed to know if she had an idea about why he was there. If she was aware he had stolen information, then he needed to hurry. If she didn't know about it, then he had to make sure she would never know. Not if he could help it.

[Palara Iscandar]

"I 'ave no idea why your family 'ad to die," Iscandar replied, squashing a small stab of guilt. "But evil things 'appen to good people. Zey or zose zey love are killed, robbed, tortured or... or raped. But ze Inquisition is after you, Jedi. No one else."

A small smirk graced her lips.

"As for ze why ze Inquisition does what it does... I cannot apologize for a system I cannot control. And if you want me to tell you, plainly, why ze Inquisition is so doggedly at your 'eels; well, you must think I am a fool, or stupid. You will learn when we question you."

The smirk dropped.

"It is only a matter of time, now," she said, not looking too happy with that prospect.

[Wei Wu Wei]

**********

"Pay close attention to what a person tells you, Wei. Take it all in. Their words, their tone, their expressions. Do they hug themselves when they talk about something? Do they look in you in the eye or do their eyes shift to one side? Posture, how they center their weight, whether or not they hunch their shoulders: all of these unconscious ticks create an entire picture of communication. You don't have to use the Force to tell if someone is lying to you. Just focus on their body language."

"But Master, droids don't have any of that."

Quinlan Vos rubbed the stubble on his face. "True, but droids can only lie or tell the truth as much as they're programmed. Even the most advanced droids are limited in how well they can 'lie' if that's what you want to call it. Usually if you ask a droid the wrong question, it will simply tell you it cannot answer."

***********

Wei raised an eyebrow. He could safely assume the Inquisition was not after him when they murdered his family. Wei still felt angry, but also somewhat relieved. Somehow, knowing that helped him begin to absolve himself of their murders. It wasn't his fault they died.

Wei also picked up something like fear or pain in the Inquisitor's voice. Her face looked sad or regretful. Suddenly it occurred to Wei that the Inquisitor did not enjoy her work.

Even so, Wei figured she would not simply let him go. Running wasn't an option. What kept her towing the Imperial line? There was a lot to ask, but time was short. The former Jedi got the impression that Palara was right. If he didn't do what he came to Ossus to accomplish, he might very well be leaving on Palara's ship rather than his own. That couldn't happen.

"If this library can survive the rampages of war, plunderers, and thieves, then I can outlast your Inquisition," Wei said at last. "I have escaped you plenty of times already. I will do it again. Give up and let me be."

Wei stepped out into a court yard that apparently connected the several wings of the Great Jedi Library. In the middle stood Ood Bnar's tree.

[Palara Iscandar]

"You are not zis librarie," Iscandar replied shortly. Hadn't she said this before? She couldn't simply give up. This was her duty, her obligation; she was ordered to capture the Jedi, and she would die trying to do so. To fail likely meant death anyway.

Iscandar was not afraid of death.

She followed Wei into the central courtyard, where a large tree stood. She could feel it in the Force, but most of her attention was on Wei.

She pulled her lightsaber from her belt.

"Jedi," she called, keeping the hilt firmly in her hand. Her arm was throbbing, but she ignored it. "I place you under arrest. Please place your weapon on ze ground and step away from it."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei only offered the Makashi salute in return. He would make his stand, as he always had.

"Back down yourself! Why serve the Empire? You know my fate if I give up, and I can safely guess you do not like what will happen to me if I go with you. What keeps you attached to them that you are able to ignore your own conscience?!"

[Palara Iscandar]

"Why I serve zem is my own affair. Suffice it to say I am greatly indebted to zem," Iscandar replied, jumping and landing in front of Wei with a thud and a high strike, coupled with a low kick and hook with her foot to trip up her adversary.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei chose to block the lightsaber. When Palara swept his feet out from under him, he chose to roll with it--literally. One smart backroll a split-second later had him back on his feet.

"So you mean to say you owe them so much that you gave them your sense of justice as collateral?"

The former Jedi hacked away with an overhead chop followed by a spinning lateral swing at Palara's midsection.

[Palara Iscandar]

"Justice," Iscandar responded, sounding almost bitter, parrying the overhead chop and blocking the lateral swing.

Her hand flashed out to release the Force in a concentrated wave only inches from the Jedi's chest, immediately wincing and hacking down at him with the lightsaber held by her right hand; her left arm was held close to her body to protect it from the fight.

"I 'ave 'ad little experience with justice. And zey are ze ones who showed me it."

Each word was punctuated by a quick slash at Wei. Despite the bitter undertone, the twilek seemed to be controlling her emotions well and keeping her attention on the fight itself.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei grimaced. He was feeling troubled and distracted by his little "talk" with Palara so far. She hit him with the Force. He allowed the wave to wash over him and push him down into a limbo position. He held his saber horizontally across his chest to block her follow-up.

Wei let the lightsabers "stick" at first--if only so he could use his free hand to keep himself from falling over--then painstakingly parried the scratching slashes while he pulled his feet back underneath him. He returned to a standing position.

"If the only justice you have learned is Imperial, then you need a better teacher!"

Wei forced Palara's saber outside, then kicked her mightily in the chest. The Force was with the former Jedi's kick. Wei could feel the small moment of contact as the energy transferred from Wei's kick to Palara's abdomen, and then the Inquisitor flew backwards. Right into the ancient tree.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar cried out as she hit the huge tree, her arm seeming to explode in white hot pain. She fell face first into the ground and gasped, shuddering, until she felt something else.

A root had sprung up from the great tree and wrapped itself around her ankle. She spun and gasped, but before she could raise her lightsaber to strike it from her, another root ripped itself from the ground and wrapped lithely around her arm, holding her down with unyielding strength.

"Hroom. What is this? A Sith? I sense Dark and Light."

The tree spoke, it's tones a deep rumbling and a high crackling, like the sounds Iscandar remembered when she had sailed on a wooden ship. Her thoughts were scattered as the tree's roots tightened around her leg and arm, and more sprang up to tether her to the ground.

The movement jarred her wounded arm, causing her to gasp.

"I," she began, but her pain and the strength of the tree overwhelmed her, and she fell quiet, save for her pained breathing.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei's eyes widened as the tree moved. That was definitely not something a tree would do.

"Well, of all the things that exist in the galaxy, I would have never believed this could be."

Then the tree spoke, and Wei couldn't help but be impressed--and a more than a little afraid. The former Jedi swallowed and put a clamp on his emotions. Ood Bnar was a Jedi. He wasn't going to hurt them.

"Hold still," he said lamely to Palara. It was evident she wasn't going to struggle. "It's going to be fine."

Wei wasn't sure what to do, but he didn't want to hurt Master Bnar--if the tree could be referred to as a person--but he felt compelled to help Palara. Of course, he should be taking the opportunity to run, but he still needed to find the thing he needed to solve his father's riddle.

**************

"Remember to have patience in all things, Padawan."

"Since when did you encourage something like patience, Master Vos?"

The Jedi master laughed. "Since I started getting closer to Dooku. In espionage, you can't afford to be hasty. Choose your moments carefully. It's like we've been discussing with your lightsaber training: look at every person you deem a potential threat and size them up: remember, we're undercover. No one can know who we really are, what we want, or why we want it. If someone has to be killed--whether they're a Separatist, a droid, or a Sith Lord, you may only get one chance to strike one good blow. Sometimes the the time between your first and second attack will be all a person needs to sound the alarm, so make the first strike the only strike."

"I will do my best, Master."

"Good. Just bear in mind that this advice is good for more than just fighting: if you have to do diplomacy, or convince people to give you information, you may have only one opportunity. Your words must be as swift and precise as your lightsaber blade. If you have a limited amount of time to search for an important piece of information, then you must choose the places you search well. You may not have another opportunity again."

**************
Wei started to look around the courtyard, gathering his senses and honing his mind. He remembered the last item he found on Ossus. Would it look like that?

"Hroom. Stay where you are. I will get to you in a moment."

Wei held still. He would wait. Now was not the time. He would get his opportunity later.

[Palara Iscandar]

"I have been asleep for a long, long time, it seems. The air and earth are in turmoil, and eddies of a Great Darkness still remain."

The tree shook its branches, the leaves and twigs creating an almost musical backdrop to the Tree's words, which seemed to come up from within the trunk and reverberate out into the air.

Inquisitor Iscandar could feel the reverberations twofold through her contact with the root system of the great Tree. She gasped and grit her teeth, feeling lances of pain shooting up and down her arm.

"I," Iscandar gasped, before collecting her strength and continuing on, "I am Inquisitor Iscandar of ze Galactic Empire. Unhand me at once!"

"Empire? Then Exar Kun has succeeded? Are you an acolyte of his, then?"

The roots tightened on her slightly, but released after only a moment.

"No. I can feel your answers, Inquisitor. You do not know the name of Exar Kun. He has been defeated."

The Tree's response was heavily accented with relief.

"I... I serve ze Galactic Empire, and 'er majesty ze Empress Tarkin! I seek nothing but what zey command!" Iscandar shouted. The Tree's roots loosened even more.

"You are lying, hoo rha rhoom. You seek only... peace? Interesting. But they hold you back, little Inquisitor. Only letting go of your pain will ease the hurt."

Iscandar remained quiet, staring at the Tree in amazed dismay. She could feel the Tree, it's presence around her like a thick scent, flowing through her easily; her arm kept her from focussing enough to keep it from reading her like a book. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was still powerful in its presence in the Force.

"I 'ave let it go! Zey can no longer touch me," Iscandar gasped, suddenly aware of how powerless she was; the feeling increased her dismay. "My masters are dead, at my 'ands. Zey can no longer 'urt me."

"And even as you speak them, the words you were taught seem so hollow."

Iscandar stopped, feeling the Tree's roots loosen more, though not enough to allow her to escape.

"I do not wish to cause you pain, little Iscandar. I can feel you in the Force, and it speaks to me. It says I can trust your word in oath. Promise you will cease this conflict, and I will release you."

"I cannot promise zat," Iscandar responded, grateful for the lessened pressure. "I 'ave been ordered to capture zis Jedi. I must 'onour my oath to zem, even if I should die."

The Tree remained silent for a time, its branches waving slightly in a non-existent breeze.

"I will promise, zat I shall not attack 'im again in your presence," Iscandar said finally, hesitation colouring her tone. "Zat is ze most I can give."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei sat on a stone and listened intently. The former Jedi leaned forward with his elbows propped on his knees, watching Ood Bnar and Inquisitor Iscandar talk. How interesting. He finally was learning about this woman. It wasn't exciting, but the enlightenment took a heavy burden off of Wei's heart and mind. He knew his pursuer, and for a reason he couldn't quite explain, he felt relieved at having gained some knowledge.

"You sound like me," he said. "Not the serving the Empire part, obviously, but the letting things go part." Wei's cheeks puffed up for a second before releasing a gusty sigh. "I thought a while back that I had let go of the pain I felt at being forced out of being a Jedi by the new Empire and its Order 66. Though I let go of being a Jedi, every decision I have ever made since then has been dominated by that event. Even now, the Empire is continuing to harm me. They've taken my family, and I cannot let it go. Even now, I'm sitting in the middle of a ruined library with a talking tree on a planet with savage sentients being chased by someone who wants to hunt me down and either torture or kill me only because I once carried the title of Jedi. If I could really let it go, I'd just keep living my life without danger, concern, or..." Wei looked away for a moment and finally ground out "...alcohol."

Wei got up, walked over to where Palara lay trapped under the roots of the ancient tree, and sat near her head. It occurred to Wei that Palara's comments earlier about bad things happening to good people might have been from personal experience.

"These masters--the ones that cannot hurt you anymore--they may be dead, but they're still living rent free in here," Wei tapped his own temple rather than Palara's. Wei figured she would not be receptive to his touch. "What you're doing today is directly the result of what they did to you then. They still hurt you. They still control you. Not directly, but through this Empire that you claim has freed you. They hang the end of of your masters' lives over your head. They say 'We helped you break your chains. Therefore you should serve us instead.' Perhaps they don't abuse you--" Wei decided to walk out on a limb--"but they still make you do things you don't like."

Wei's brow creased. Suddenly things felt so heavy on him. He hadn't just learned about Inquisitor Inscandar: he had learned something about himself, and what he learned bothered him greatly.

Hra hoom.

Wei looked up in time to see one thin branch snake out and rest a leaf on the middle of his forehead.

I will look into you too.

There was heavy pause. With a little work, Wei managed to empty himself enough to allow Master Bnar in. He did his best to put aside the anguish of his Order and his family, but it seemed the thorn would only burrow deeper the more he struggled to pull it out.

You live in the past. A Jedi must live in the moment. A Jedi empties himself, lets go of himself, and thusly joins with the Force and becomes one with the universe. Remember the Jedi Code.

[Palara Iscandar]

"Zey do not trouble me any more," Iscandar said, feeling close to tears that this Jedi knew her secret. She was as naked as she had been before Atrapes had placed the cape of the Inquisition over her shoulders. It was humiliating. "Zey are dead. Ze dead cannot trouble ze living."

She repeated herself, trying to find the same consolation in it as she had when she had first heard it.

But she could not ever remember feeling consoled by those words, all she ever remember was an emptiness that troubled her incessantly.

An emptiness that disappeared with the Light; the Light that she had been shown by the same man who had told her to kill her masters.

Could this Jedi understand this? No matter the reason, she had been saved from a fate worse than death, and shown a sliver of the thing needed for healing. The rest was up to her, but she could not simply turn her back on Atrapes and the Inquisition.

Her soul was a juxtaposition of Light and Dark, both battling for her, a proxy battlefield in a struggle as old as Time itself.

The roots loosened and released her completely, and she scooted back, away from the humiliation that the Tree and Wei both knew and their pity stung like alcohol to a wound.

"You would 'ave me base my loyalty on something so trivial as my fickle likes and dislikes?" she asked, untying the bandage, cradling her arm and concentrating. She could feel the slug in her arm; it settled like a stinger, barbed and coated in venom. The Tree began to lend her its aid, but she broke free and nearly snarled at it. It withdrew from her slightly, and she went back to work, focussing on nothing else but the bullet. She pulled, and after four tries, the slug tumbled out onto the ground.

Iscandar sagged, and watched Wei converse with the Tree.

"Merely because I dislike something is not reason to cut ties with zose 'oo did not need to save me, but did so anyway. I am bound to zem with far lighter chains zan ze ones I bore before."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei's forehead wrinkled in thought. "Did your Inquisitoriate teach you the Jedi Code, Inquisitor Iscandar?" Wei asked. "You and your other Inquisitors are all Jedi-hunters, right? Did they teach you anything at all about the history of the Jedi or the beliefs it was founded on?"

It would not have surprised Wei if she knew more about the Jedi than he did: after all, knowledge of an enemy was power over that enemy. But Wei would have been equally unsurprised if she told him she knew nothing of the Jedi Code. Why teach your underlings something that might make them doubt the righteousness of your cause and cause them to defect? It'd be one more Jedi to hunt down and kill--and at great expense.

[Palara Iscandar]

"Zey 'ave taught me of both ze Jedi and Sith Codes," Iscandar answered. "In case a target attempted to sway me with eizer."

She pulled the bandage back on, and tied it tightly around her arm, holding one end in her teeth as she worked the already bloody rag once more around her wound.

She kept an eye on the Jedi and the ancient tree, which was letting loose long low groans from deep within its trunk, but she somehow had the impression that it was listening to her.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I think it would be rather difficult to convince you to leave the Inqusitoriate using the Jedi Code alone. I just wondered if you had heard of it. Really, I wanted to know if you actually used it."

Wei turned towards Palara. "Every Jedi uses the Code as a foundation for their interaction with the Force. It has been a while since I have meditated on the Code and its teachings, but it has been a big help in dealing with the losses in my life and letting go of my attachments, and my addiction."

The tree rumbled, and Wei shot it a look. "I'm still working on it," The Force Cripple said testily. "No doubt your superiors told you to use that pain you feel, and the anger you had towards your old masters, right? To make it your power. They can't hurt you anymore! You took those harsh feelings and used them to kill those people, and now you are free of them forevermore! But the feelings linger, and so you are not free."

************

"Don't listen to Dooku, Master!" Wei said. "We can find ways around his orders! We don't have to endanger the lives of these Republic citizens to get closer to that Sith!"

Quinlan Vos' face hardened. "Yes we do. Or have you grown attached to these people?"

The younger Wei adjusted his glasses and tried not to look pained at his Master's accusatory comment. "Hardly. If these people die as casualties of war, I will regret their deaths, and then I will go on. I'm prepared to face that. But Sir, I think you are beginning to let your frustration and anger get the best of you. It's clouding your judgement. Remember, anger and aggression are quick to join us in conflict. The Dark Side is not stronger, just easier."

The Padawan turned to face his Master. "Sir, you knew even before you took me as your Padawan Learner that this would be a difficult mission. Patience pays off more than anything. You taught me that yourself."

Vos whirled on his Padawan, "Don't think to lecture me by parroting back my own words!" he snarled. "This war has gone on long enough! There is no end in sight! The Republic spends more and more money to grow these, these Clones--"

"It isn't their fault they were grown and bred for war," Wei said. "Let it go, Master! Clones or no, Soldiers or no, they are in fact people! And if we treat them like people and no just flesh-and-blood battle droids, then perhaps they will not have any trouble finding their way in peaceful society when this war is over!"

Quinlan snorted derisively. "Of course you defend them!"

"It's my job! And it's yours too! If you have to be disgusted with the Clone Army, be disgusted that these lives are created just to be thrown away on charred battlefronts across the Galaxy! War is abhorrent because people's lives become tools for people in power to use to gain more power! And if nothing else, the Clones' existence make that fact more pronounced! They deserve to live! They deserve to have the kind of lifestyles they're defending, but know nothing about!"

"So do we deserve to have those lifestyles too?"

"We chose to give up those lifestyles. I have seen men with their wives and children sitting around a table to share a meal. I've witnessed children playing in the street without a care in the world. The Jedi Council would not grudge me if I chose to leave the Order to pursue that life. I choose not to do that! What choice do they have?"

Vos held up a hand. "I will not argue philosophy and politics with you, Padawan." He sighed. "You are right, of course. But don't you ever get tired of all of this?"

"I surely do. Let's learn some more about all this and see what we can find out."

Wei's Master chuckled. "Suddenly the Master has become the Student. When this mission is over, I will have to see about getting you through the trials. You're pretty wise for having had to learn from me."

Quinlan's Padawan chuckled. "You've been a great example," he said. "A great example how to be a bad Jedi," he teased. "I just figure whatever you do, I just do the opposite."

The pair laughed in earnest: long, loud, and from the bottom of their bellies.

"I'm not interested in convincing you to join me. At the least, I would just like for you to let me be. But if nothing else, I would convince you to meditate on the Jedi Code and make it part of you. Fire burns, but the only way we find relief from the pain is when we let go of the coals we hold so tightly in our grasp."

Wei invited her to sit next to him with a gesture. "If you like, we can meditate together. Master Bnar, will you guide us?"

The great tree did not speak in its rumbling voice, but only inclined its branches towards the former Jedi. Wei took it as a bow of assent.

"Please," Wei said to Palara. "I promise, you are in no danger here."

[Palara Iscandar]

Palara's hand twitched, her frustration and shame warping into anger as Wei's pity grated on her. Her lightsaber was still in her hand, though deactivated; all it would take was a single swipe and he would be dead.

"Silence!" she gasped, her promise to avoid violence in the shadow of the tree the only thing that stayed her hand. She stood and backed away from the Tree and Wei, pointing the deactivated hilt of her weapon at the two. "Stay away! Stay away! No closer!"

Tears threatened her eyesight, but she swallowed them down.


-------------------------------


"Does suffering make one stronger, Inquisitor?"

Inquisitor Atrapes looked up, his eyes dark and hidden. If they hadn't been so cold and emotionless, if she could not feel his lack of lust or desire in the Force, she would have suspected him of ogling her naked body instead of merely looking over the myriad cybernetic implants that had been surgically placed within her, making sure for himself none of the droids had done a less than perfect job.

He turned away and retrieved a large dark red cape of the Inquisition from the shadowed wall behind him.

"You ask me of the Sith," he asked, though it was phrased as a statement. She nodded. "Suffering does indeed make one stronger, if you do not allow it to overcome you and make you bitter and thoughtless. Peace within yourself does grant stability and a great power, but it will lead you to complacency."

He walked around her with the cape and placed it on her shoulders. His fingers did not touch her. She let it sit, and only when his expression changed slightly did she cover herself completely.

"Meditate, but do not give yourself to the Force. It is a wave you must crest, a sea you must swim. If you drown, it will be in the complacency of the Jedi, or in the feckless hate of the Sith."


---------------------------------------------------


Iscandar stood for a moment, cataloguing each emotion she was feeling and releasing it, and studying the crippling helplessness she had felt under the grip of the Tree; it would not leave her, so she set it aside for later.

The Tree rumbled, and she could feel it deep in her belly, accompanied by the most disarming peaceful and gentle feeling emanating from it.

"I..." she trailed off, stepping closer, feeling the part of her soul that was now empty begin to fill. The tree's rumbling took form in her thoughts, and she knelt, closing her eyes and emptying her mind, releasing the pain from her arm and wrapping the Force around it. She smiled.

Her trance was broken by the chatter of gunfire, the sound of laser cannons, and the sound of starship engines in the distance. Her comm unit fizzed with static and a voice echoed tinnily through the quiet.

"Inquisitor. We are en route to the ruins. Repeat. We are en route to the ruins."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei watched with concern at first when Palara backed away, and ordered him not to approach. He just didn't know what went wrong.

Master Bnar's tree rumbled. Then she settled. Wei began to settle and meditate. Suddenly, the noise of battle reached them, along with a message that Wei could only perceive as a dire threat.

He had wasted his time. And now he did not know what he would do. He needed to find the thing he was after. Panic and fear started to grow in his chest. Wei's hands started to shake from withdrawal.

The tree rumbled again. The sound blasted away fear, but the sense of urgency remained. "I have to get out of here. But there's something I need, Master Bnar. Do you know what it is I seek?"

Bnar answered. I do. Placed here long ago by a Jedi who no doubt suspected what I was, but did not quite realize. Come forward. The tree began to crack and split near a place where two large branches connected to the trunk of the tree. As they split apart, Wei could see a sort of hollow. Use it to find your answer, Wei Wu Wei. May it bring you the lasting peace you so earnestly desire.

Wei thrust his hand into the tree and withdrew the piece. It looked like the one he found back on Tython. The second of the two wings that were part of the insignia of the Jedi Order.

And take these with you as well. The split in the trunk mended at a prodigious rate while the roots at the base of the tree shifted. Underneath the roots of the tree lay two lightsabers. I once used these to preserve order, balance, and justice in the galaxy. Wei, Iscandar, use them to do the same.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar cast an inscrutable gaze upon Wei as he took the ancient lightsaber hilt from the tree. A long, leafy branch wrapped around the other and held it out to her.

Her hand reached out, and the weapon dropped into her palm.

"Inquisitor, we have reached the ruins, and have the Jedi's ship in our sights. Do you wish to capture or destroy the ship?"

Iscandar blinked away a tear and raised her comm-link to her lips.

"Leave it. Wei is dead. Anozzer ship will come to claim it."

She deactivated the comm-link, and placed it in her belt.

"Do not make me regret zis, Jedi," she said, another tear threatening to escape, "any more zan I do now."

She had betrayed her own Order, the one which had saved her, for her own selfish desires. She needed to think, to plan... to consider what she had done and the consequences that would ripple from this for the rest of her life. Pulling the blaster pistol from her belt, the twilek fired a single bolt at Wei's feet. None of the three had moved, save for Iscandar's arm.

"Run, and 'ide. Do not surface again. Ze next time we meet, I will not 'ave leave to be so merciful."

She turned and stalked out of the room, leaving the Jedi behind. The ship had landed just outside of the Temple, or Library, and the old Jedi Starfighter sat beside it. The astromech droid's top was spinning nervously, taking in the Inquisitorial squad which had taken up positions around the ships.

"Copy ze navigational data from ze starfighter, and leave it. We shall make 'aste to Imperial Centre to report zis to Inquisitor Atrapes."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei rolled his eyes. Of course despite the fact that she let him live, she couldn't just let it lie, either. Perhaps in good time she would find the courage to be true to herself.

"Thanks," Wei said after she finished her transmission.

With any luck, Wei could get to the next several stops before this Inquisitor Atrapes could. He kept the name filed away for later. If Atrapes was pulling Iscandar's strings, perhaps some time soon, Wei could find a way to cut them.

For now, he'd have to wait. He disappeared into the shadows of the ruins and stayed until the Inquisitor left.

[Palara Iscandar]

"...She is of good stock. Not a Rutian, but still one of the more uncommon skin colourings."

She watched as the man looked her over, his hands pressing against her and moving all about her body.

"How old is she?" he said, his words clear and crisp, delivered with a Core accent. "I don't want to buy her and find out her appearance has been tampered with; too old and I'll get no enjoyment. Too young and I'll have to wait until she ripens."

"According to our records, she is fifteen," the auctioneer said. "She could very well be fourteen, but our doctors have said she is in her early to middle teen years."

The man's eyes looked her over. They weren't cold, in fact they seemed warm and almost watery. But their warmth was like a fire made from diseased or low-quality fuel.

"I'll take her," he said, his hands squeezing her breasts before finally falling to his sides.

"Very good sir," the auctioneer said, brightening. "Come this way and we can have payment worked out accordingly. You, and you. Take her and get her cleaned and clothed. Then bring her to the doctors to have the chip installed, and then to the delivery quarter."

The two men grabbed her by her arms and pulled her out of line.

"You may just be a maid there," one of the older women said. Another nudged her with her elbow.

"Don't go giving the girl false hopes."

"What should we do?"


--------------------------------------------

Inquisitor Iscandar blinked, and turned to the Inquisitorial trooper, still saluting her and waiting for her answer.

"What?" she asked, saluting quickly.

"Should the starfighter be destroyed?" the trooper asked, dropping his hand to his side. The Inquisitor thought for a moment, but shook her head.

"No. We will return for it later. It is unlikely the natives will be able to learn its functions, or even come close to it, so near to the Library itself. Prepare the ship for lift-off. I shall be contacting Inquisitor Atrapes from the holocommunication pod."

"Inquisitor."

The trooper left. Iscandar was left looking at the fighter from her position on the ramp, before finally entering the ship.

I hope, for both of our sakes, you stay 'dead', Jedi Wei.

The ramp closed behind her, and the ship engaged its repulsors; the whine of the engines filled area for a moment before the thunder of their firing drowned out all other sound until the ship itself was in the upper atmosphere.