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| - The freighter had only one class: steerage. Padmé and Nalanda sat on boxes with a packing crate between them while Anakin was asleep on one of the bunks. With their hoods and cloaks they passed unnoticed among the refugees in the hold of the freighter. At one end was the food line where a serving droid dished out small bowls of tasteless mush. R2-D2 fetched a bowl then deposited it on the crate between Padmé and Nalanda with a soft chirp. “You must do a lot of travelling as a Jedi,” Nalanda said, curiously poking the mush with a spoon. “We do a fair bit,” Padmé replied, “but it’s not the side of the galaxy that you generally would want to see. Helping solve hostage situations, assisting settlers on radiation stricken worlds…nothing like the Holonet heroes we are generally associated with.” “On the contrary,” Nalanda said, “I think a lot of good work goes unrecognised, particularly these days. It’s far more often we hear about a war or a murder than someone who has done something worthwhile.” “True,” Padmé agreed, “but all the same, I would rather do something worthwhile and not get recognised for it at all.” “Mom…” At this both women turned. Anakin was mumbling in his sleep, and from his face he seemed to be having a bad dream. After a few minutes he turned over and relaxed again. “He’s…having bad dreams again,” Padmé said turning back. “He’s still having a hard time letting go of his mother.” “That’s what I've never understood about the Jedi,” Nalanda said. “Why is it that you shun any form of affection?” “We don’t,” Padmé replied. “But that depends on how you would define affection. Attachment is forbidden, because attachment can lead to possession which leads to jealousy and that leads to the dark side. But compassion is central to a Jedi’s life; we need to be able to embrace all that we meet in order to be whole.” “But what about emotions?” Nalanda pressed. “What about falling in love?” “Not in that sense,” Padmé told her, shaking her head. “A thousand years ago the Jedi could marry and have children, but it was stopped when it was realised that such a thing endangers too many.” “So what happens if it happens to you?” Nalanda asked, by now Padmé knew what she was speaking about. “Like everything you have to accept it,” Padmé said, she was having trouble meeting Nalanda’s gaze. “Then you have to let go, leave it all behind.” “And if you can’t?” “You don’t have a choice,” Padmé told her. In the vast chamber that housed the Jedi Archives, Obi-Wan Kenobi stood studying the bust of Count Dooku: one of the Jedi that left the Order that made up the Lost Twenty. The latest, and as some said, the saddest. Though Obi-Wan had never really known him, despite the fact that he had been Qui-Gon’s Master. Qui-Gon had hardly mentioned him, Obi-Wan had always had the impression that they had not had a close relationship such as he and Qui-Gon had shared. Still… “Master Kenobi?” Obi-Wan turned to see the Archivist, Madame Jocasta Nu standing beside him. A somewhat older and slight woman, but she had a voice that could send even Mace Windu to do her bidding. The Archives were her domain, and woe betide anyone who was guilty of wasting her time. She examined the statue with interest. “Impressive, isn’t he?” she mused. “He was one of the most intriguing Jedi I had the privilege of knowing.” “Really?” This somewhat surprised Obi-Wan. “Oh, yes,” she replied with a nod. “He was often out of step with the views of the Jedi Council, much like your Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.” “Oh.” That had not occurred to Obi-Wan either. It had been no secret that Qui-Gon would often follow his own initiative rather than the Council’s ruling. But to such an extent as this? “They were alike in many ways,” she said. “Very individual thinkers. Idealists. He was always striving to become a more powerful Jedi. He wanted to be the best.” She smiled and her eyes seemed to go far away. “With a lightsaber, he had no match. His knowledge of the Force was…unique.” “Interesting,” Obi-Wan murmured, but Madame Nu did not seem to hear him. “In the end he left because he lost faith the in the Republic,” she continued. “He felt the Jedi had betrayed themselves by serving a corrupt Senate. He always had very high ideals and expectations about government.” “I still don’t understand,” Obi-Wan said. “None of us does,” the archivist replied. “He disappeared for about ten years,” she said, her eyes focusing beyond the statue, “and then showed up recently at the head of the Separatist movement. Anyway,” she once more looked at Obi-Wan. “You called for assistance and I don’t think it was for a history lesson.” “Yes, yes I did.” Obi-Wan crossed to the terminal he had left when he had contacted Madame Nu. “I am looking for the planetary system of Kamino. For some reason it doesn’t show up on the archive charts.” “Kamino,” she leaned over his shoulder and pressed a few keys. “It’s not a system I am familiar with. Do you have the correct coordinates?” “I just have the quadrant,” Obi-Wan replied. “It should be about here, just south of the Rishi Maze.” “Let me see,” she pressed a few more keys. “I’ll try a gravitational scan.” They waited for the scan to complete. “Could it have been destroyed?” Obi-Wan asked. “No, not unless it is very recent,” she replied. The scan showed nothing. “I’m sorry, but it appears that the planet you are searching for does not exist.” “Impossible,” Obi-Wan said, “there must be some mistake! Perhaps the archives are incomplete—” “Master Kenobi,” Jocasta Nu said in a very patient voice, “if an item does not show up in the archives, it does not exist. That you can be sure of. May I assist you with anything else?” Obi-Wan shook his head, still staring at the screen after she had gone. This was the second dead-end he had come to in his investigation of Nalanda’s assassin. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to go to sort this out. Shortly thereafter Obi-Wan found himself walking towards the room where the young Jedi initiates—or younglings as they were more often called—trained with Master Yoda. “Feel the Force you must,” Yoda said in a low meditative voice, “help you it will.” He noticed Obi-Wan entering the room and made a gesture that caused all the seekers to go to the ceiling. “Enough, younglings, a visitor we have, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Welcome him.” “Hello Master Obi-Wan,” the children chorused beneath their helmets. “Hello,” Obi-Wan could not help but smile at all the faces transfixed upon him. He turned to Yoda. “Master, I hope I am not intruding.” He had been a bit hesitant to approach Yoda with the matter since he himself had been given the assignment. “What help may I be?” Yoda asked, his ears moving slowly. “I'm trying to locate a planet I heard from a friend,” Obi-Wan explained. “I trust him, but the planet doesn’t show on the archive maps.” He indicated that he had a holocube with him. “Hmmm.” Yoda turned to the gathered younglings with a meditative, but slightly amused expression on his face. “Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has, how embarrassing. How embarrassing.” Several of the younglings tittered as he took the cube from Obi-Wan and went across the room. Yoda glanced at one of the children. “Liam, the shades,” as the room darkened he glanced around so he had all of their attention. “Open your minds younglings and find Obi-Wan’s wayward planet we will.” Yoda flicked the projector on and the darkened classroom was flooded with the light of stars. Obi-Wan smiled as he noticed some of the children try to touch the projection. How like Yoda to turn his problem into a lesson! He waited another moment then walked through the hologram. “It ought to be here,” Obi-Wan pointed to a blank spot in the projection. “But it isn’t. Gravity is pulling all the stars in this area towards this spot.” “Hmmm, a puzzle we have here,” Yoda said. “Gravity’s shadow remains but nothing there is. A thought, anyone?” There was a pause and then one of the younglings tentatively raised his hand. Yoda nodded. “Master, because someone erased it from the archive memory,” the child said. “That's right!” several others chorused. “If the planet blew up,” a young Togruta suggested, “the gravity would go away.” Obi-Wan looked sceptical, but Yoda merely smiled. “Truly uncluttered, the mind of a child is.” He turned to Obi-Wan. “The Padawan is right, go to the centre of gravity’s pull you must and find your planet you will.” “But Master, who could have erased it from the archives?” Obi-Wan retrieved the holocube and opened the shades. “That’s impossible, isn’t it?” “Dangerous and disturbing that puzzle is,” Yoda replied, his brow furrowing. “Only a Jedi could have done such a thing. Meditate on this, I will.” And there Obi-Wan left him, with more questions than answers but at least a destination.
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