3.10: The Lost Apprentice 1

  ... ...

  I walked into the cantina just outside the Herglic’s Folly gambling district, the HUD scanning for an empty booth. Failing to find one, I instead moved towards one with a pair of Rodians in it. “Get lost,” I snarled at them as I neared. The pair stared at me with large black eyes. “Now.” The two shared a look, hands drifting under the table, though that stopped when I had a blaster in my hand before either could unclasp their blaster. “Last chance.”

  There was a fraction of a moment where I thought the pair might not leave, but in the end, the pair shuffled from the booth, collecting their drinks, and muttering some choice insults in their native tongue. I ignored those, and slid into the booth, gesturing for the two accompanying me to do the same.

  “Villie likes your style,” the Devaronian with me said as he slid into the booth.

  I ignored the horned alien and tossed a credit chit to a rather nervous-looking Togruta female as she shuffled to our table. “We desire privacy,” I said as the female almost dropped the chit. She nodded rapidly and then turned and moved away as fast as she could without making it too obvious my behaviour scared her.

  Once she was far enough away, I turned to Quinlan who had moved into the booth last. “Now, how about you tell me what is going on and how you managed to lose your Padawan, Quinlan,” I asked, knowing my choice of words would cause a reaction.

  Quinlan’s eyes snapped to me, fury burning in them, and I sensed him grasp his lightsaber. “I didn’t lose her!” he snarled. “She was taken!”

  I closed my eyes, using the unstable burst of emotion to see a glimpse of him being Force pushed over a ledge by Aayla. That had me frowning as the two were, from everything I remembered, as close as siblings could be without sharing blood or parents.

  Ever since he had appeared during my sabacc game, all I’d been able to sense from him was rage and confusion. His mind was a mess with no hint of even the basics of control that were taught to Initiates. Almost as if he had forgotten everything he’d ever known and lost his moral and mental centre. The pain and anger flowed out from him like a fountain threatening to consume a mountain. Still, the burst he’d aimed at me wasn’t something, even in his current state of distress, I was going to tolerate.

  I slid my helmet off so I could look him in the eyes. “Quinlan,” I began slowly, “control yourself,” I continued, using a gentle application of the Force to strengthen my words. “I’m here to help, otherwise you wouldn’t have sought me out,” I added, trying to not display my amusement at the fact that, for once, it wasn’t me who was on edge and close to losing control of their emotions.

  Ever since Anakin’s kidnapping, and taking onboard the techniques Adas had taught me, I’d felt far more centred and if not balanced as how the Jedi Order might wish me to be, then with the stability to avoid lashing out like a wild rancor. Now, I’d yet to have that control tested, but I felt my mental strength was sufficient that even if the whirlwind of emotions I sensed in Quinlan existed within me, I wouldn’t be as unbalanced as he was.

  Quinlan blinked, my subtle use of the Force pushing aside just enough of his misplaced rage that he could see clearer. “I…” he slumped into the booth, as if ashamed of his behaviour. “I’m sorry. It’s just… Aayla.”

  I nodded, understanding the pain he would be experiencing since I’d gone through something similar – though Anakin and I didn’t share the strength and length of connection that Quinlan and Aayla did. Still, now that he was calmer, and back from the edge of fury, I could feel how different Quinlan’s presence in the Force was, and not just because of his fear and anger centring on Aayla’s current unknown condition and location. Wanting a read on him, I used Observe and frowned at what it stated.

  Quinlan Vos

  Race: Kiffar

  Level: 28

  Health: 100%

  Age: 27

  Force Potential: High

  Threat Potential: High (Currently Low)

  Reputation: None

  Affiliation Loyalty: Aayla Secura (65%)

  Emotional State: Confused/concerned/disorientated

  Quinlan is frankly a wreck. Recent events have left him uncertain of a great many things, though he knows that Aayla Secura is important to him, akin to family.

  He also knows that they were both Jedi, yet he has no memories of this; only fleeting images from various objects with those brought forth by his ability to read the history of objects.

  It is through such images from Aayla’s lightsaber that he has sought out Cameron Shan, understanding that he is, like him, a friend to Aayla, and now he seeks your help in finding his lost Padawan.

  ...

  It seemed that Quinlan was something of a blank slate with his memories now gone, though I currently had no idea of how that had happened. The lack of loyalty towards the Jedi and his former Master Tholme was interesting, a clear sign of this memory loss, as was his threat potential being considered Low currently when it should be High.

  I recalled sparring with Quinlan on occasion, though not since before I was Knighted. While his base was, like Aayla’s, centred around Ataru he fought unpredictably; almost as if he were forever living on the edge of losing control. Based on what Observe was saying, and what I could sense from him within the Force, Quinlan had gone over that edge and, when combined with his loss of memories of decades of training as a Jedi, was a loose cannon. He should have gone to the Order, or even his former Master for help, yet it was clear he hadn’t and instead sought me out.

  I leaned forward and tilted my head to one side. “What happened to you, Quinlan?” I asked gently. “Your Force presence is to be blunt; a mess and I can’t get a clear read on your surface thoughts beyond a desire to find Aayla.” He tensed at her name, making clear she was the driving force behind whatever had made him seek me out. “From the beginning, tell me what happened. I need to understand why you’re this way and why Aayla was taken.”

  Quinlan took a moment and inhaled deeply. I could sense him trying to find some sort of centre as he did so. Giving him the time to do so, I turned my focus to the Devaronian, Villie. The alien claimed to be Quinlan’s friend, and from what little we’d talked before reaching this cantina, Quinlan suggested that was the case, but male Devaronians weren’t considered trustworthy. As such, with a few seconds to spare before Quinlan began his story, I used Observe on Villie and instantly felt my distrust of him increase at what was revealed.

  Villie (Vilmarh Grahrk)

  Race: Devaronian

  Level: 29

  Health: 100%

  Age: 39

  Force Potential: Low

  Threat Potential: Low

  Reputation: Disliked

  Affiliation Loyalty: Vilmarh Grahrk (100%)

  Emotional State: Amused/Curious

  Vilmar, though he often goes by Villie, is enjoying the confusion of the Jedi around him. Vos’ behaviour has been constant since Nar Shaddaa; however, he isn’t sure what to make of you.

  Seeing a Jedi – Vos assured him that you were a Jedi though he has yet to see a lightsaber – in Mandalorian armour is unexpected.

  Still, he is wondering how he might further profit from it, and how good of a gambler you are.

  ...

  There wasn’t much there that helped get a read on Vilmarh as he was truly called – I assumed Villie was a nickname he used – but what was revealed was enough. The only loyalty he held was to himself, or at least the only loyalty that was over 50% that the Interface was willing to reveal to me. He might have some faint respect and loyalty to Quinlan, but it wasn’t showing and even if it did, it would never override his self-interest. With all that in mind, I wanted the alien gone as soon as Quinlan was finished recounting the events that led him to seek me out.

  Honestly, if it was just him we were talking about, I would likely offer to help him. I owed him after my capture by the Bando Gora even though I barely knew him. Aayla, however, was a friend, or at least had been when we’d last spoken, which had been before I’d been knighted. It was possible that Sia-Lan and others had spoken to her since then and turned Aayla’s opinion against me, but I had no way of knowing that currently, and would work on the assumption that we remained friends.

  “It started with an assignment from the Jedi Council,” Quinlan started slowly, bringing my focus back to him as I noted that he was frowning as if struggling to recall the events of which he was speaking. “There was a new drug spreading into various corners of the Republic, Glitteryll, and the Council assigned us to investigate the matter as I had several contacts in the underworld.”

  “Glitteryll?” I asked as while I had heard the term in passing on the Holonet, I’d never bothered to do any deep dive to learn more about it. The galaxy was vast, and a single new drug or hallucinogen seemed to appear every other week.

  “It’s a synthesis of glitterstim and ryll. From what I’ve learnt, it’s made by feeding ryll to energy spiders that are capable of producing glitterstim. I believe that I’ve destroyed the only source of the drug, but what it did was when ingested or injected into a sentient, it caused them to forget their memories – possibly forever if the dosage was high enough – and often made the recipient docile. At least on those not strong in the Force and not kept on a constant supply of the stuff.”

  I growled at hearing about the abilities of this drug. “I do hope you’ve destroyed the source, though if I ever hear of its existence elsewhere, I’ll be seeking to exterminate the spiders and those feeding them ryll with extreme intent.”

  A faint hint of a smile came to Quinlan’s face as he heard that. “I will be doing likewise having been made to experience glitteryll.” He paused and placed his hand against his temple for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, our investigation, as you might expect given where ryll comes from, took us to Ryloth where we met Pol Secura.” one of my eyebrows rose at the name. “Yes, he is… was related to Aayla. Her uncle in fact. He, along with a member of my clan from Kiffu, was involved in the creation of the drug,” he added with a growl, one laced with more rage.

  Quinlan growled and I sensed an almost unrestrained well of rage directed at one or both the people about whom he had spoken. At the same time, the Force subtly moved around us in a way that I didn’t entirely understand, yet I felt it was hinting at something that could affect the path we both took in the future.

  “From what I’ve been able to piece together, when Aayla and I learnt the truth Pol and Asante Vos had us dosed with the drug.” Quinlan paused here and closed his eyes as I felt him working to restrain the well inside him that seemingly bubbled as he spoke of the pair responsible for whatever had happened to him and Aayla. I remained silent, saving my questions for when he ended so that he could get through the entire story without getting distracted by minor matters.

  “After being drugged, I awoke on Nar Shaddaa without a clue of where or who I was. The room I found myself in was a blaze, and at the time I managed to escape without understanding how, but I now know I used the Force to do so.” That he knew how to use the Force instinctively, and I suspected could wield his lightsaber, hinted that his memories weren’t necessarily gone; just lost in the deepest depths of his psyche. “That was the beginning of my… adventure on that world,” he glanced at Vilmarh there. “One in which every sentient I encountered tried to kill me. It was after that first attack that I encountered Vilmarh.”

  “Villie find Jedi there. Confused and alone he was. Villie wanted to help him,” the Devaronian said with a smile, exposing the large, sharp teeth of his species which when combined with the horns on his head and red skin created a fine image of a demonic figure from my former life. One many might call a devil.

  Now, I knew it was wrong to judge a species by their appearance, but some concerns and misconceptions from my former life still existed in me, and when combined with what Observe had revealed, I doubted I’d ever find myself trusting this particular alien. Haran, if not for the fact Quinlan seemed to trust him – or at least tolerate his presence – I’d have already suggested the Devaronian left. Forcibly if he tried to say otherwise.

  “Help is a subjective word,” Quinlan added with a chuckle which only increased my distaste for Vilmarh. “Vilmarh, though he often calls himself Villie, is something of a gambler. A bad one at that…”

  “Hey!”

  “… as he, like almost everyone in Nar Shaddaa, decided to place a bet on when, where, and how I would die.”

  I grunted, fixing the alien with a stare that, if not for my immense control, would likely see him on the floor in pain as I used the Force to explain why trying to kill a Force user was an incredibly bad idea.

  “Many placed bets on Jedi,” Vilmarh said, failing to catch the cold fury behind my stare and seeing it as a demand for an explanation. “Many tried to cheat to win bet. Villie help Jedi escape cheats.”

  “Because if they had succeeded, you would’ve lost your bets?”

  Vilmarh laughed at my question and slapped the table. “This Jedi gets it!” He said proudly to Quinlan before returning his attention to me. “Must be the Mandalorian in you,” he added as his eyes looked over my armour with a hint of interest. I ignored the stare, along with the blunt probe for information on why I was wearing my armour. None of that was his concern, but if he made any move to acquire any section of the beskar I wore, it would be the last thing he ever did.

  “He did have a bet on my death,” Quinlan said as he continued his story. “However, thanks to the Force, I sensed this and reversed the powercell on his blaster before he could use it against me.”

  “Shame it didn’t explode in his face,” I muttered loud enough that they could hear me.

  “Hey Now!” Vilmarh snapped, “Villie no like your tone Jedi.” I chuckled, daring him to do something about it. “However, Villie forgive you. You friend of Quinlan, who is Villie’s lucky Jedi, so Villie likes you too.” I’d rather he didn’t, but it wasn’t a point worth arguing over.

  “After his failed attempt,” Quinlan continued, “two more sentients arrived. They were dressed like me, carried lightsabers and claimed to be Jedi. I was wary of them however and after Vilmarh warned me that they weren’t Jedi, I killed them and took their lightsabers.”

  I nodded, thankful that they received the justice they deserved for pretending to be Jedi. Not because I cared about what little good standing the Order might have, but because of the principle of the thing.

  “Once I held the lightsabers, I understood they were mine and Aayla’s. When I grasped mine, I saw… flashes of my past, though the images were jumbled and had no emotional meaning to them.”

  “Psychrometry,” I said slowly, “a rare gift that allows those who have it to read images and memories from objects they touch.”

  Quinlan nodded. “Yes, I learnt the name later, but at the time I didn’t understand what I was seeing. From my lightsaber, I learnt my name and images of my past. Some were of my time as a Jedi, a few of when I was a youngling on Kiffu. Many centred around Aayla, though again, at the time I didn’t learn her name until I held her hilt.”

  “That suggests that your memories aren’t gone, but rather buried deep in your subconscious. There might be ways to recover them, but I’m uncertain of how to do so.”

  Quinlan nodded, seemingly accepting my words without issue. “When I held Aayla’s hilt, beyond learning her name and that she is… was my Padawan and that it was my duty to protect her. However, I didn’t have the time to truly focus on the blades and see what I could learn, not when others were still coming after me because of the bet.” He smirked and jerked one hand at Vilmarh. “This one made a new bet after I survived his attempt to kill me; one with outrageous odds which required him to work with me honestly.”

  I looked at the Devaronian and considered the idea for a moment. “He bet on you to live… no, to escape the planet, as while you were on that world you’d be in danger,” I said slowly as I closed my eyes, the answer coming to me with some logical thinking and a gentle grasp into the Force to confirm my suspicions. “He lost something… his ship on the first bet. To get it back he had to make an even riskier bet.”

  When I opened my eyes, both of them were looking at me. Quinlan understood what I’d just done, though he likely didn’t understand that I’d used the Force to take the knowledge instead of asking for it. Vilmarh, however, seemed shocked at my understanding of the details of the situation. “How Jedi do that?” He blurted out.

  I smirked. “The Force is a gateway to many abilities that some would consider incredible or unnatural,” I replied, feeling amusement bubble in my chest. “Anyway,” I continued, waving a hand to dismiss the matter, “given you are both here, it is safe to assume that Vilmarh won his bet, and you escaped Nar Shaddaa.”

  “We did, and once we did I spent time with the lightsabers, trying to regain what I could of my lost memories,” Quinlan said slowly, one hand holding his lightsaber tightly. “Yet, while I recovered much about my past, there was no connection to them. I couldn’t recall living them, and thus they held little importance. Save for those dealing with Aayla.” He paused and leaned forward. “Is it normal for a Jedi to feel a strong connection to their Padawan as I do not feel such a bond to the one who once trained me?”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “The one who trained you was called Tholme, though I know little about him,” I replied gently, taking my time to consider how to phrase my answer to the rest of what he asked. “As for the bond between Master and Padawan, it is a close bond – the closest most Jedi can experience to having a father or children – yet officially the Order prefers if the connection remains at best as one between friends and allies. It does, however, vary between the Jedi Knights and Masters. Some keep the bond in their thoughts while they train a Padawan, while others choose to ignore or dismiss its importance.

  “I cannot say how you taught Aayla, but I recall when we were both just Initiates, that she knew you would be the one to train her in the ways of the Force. It was you, after all, who found her when you were a newly made Padawan yourself and brought her to the Temple.” I smiled as my mind instantly brought back the warmth in Aayla’s words when she spoke of Quinlan. “From what I recall, she considered you her older brother or cousin,” I added, hoping it might help him remember something about his bond with her.

  “Ah,” he said slowly, as if a light had gone off inside his head. “That explains much of why she feels so important to me.” He took a moment, gathering her thoughts, and I stayed silent waiting for him to continue. “There was one other thing that happened before we left Nar Shaddaa. An encounter with another Twi’lek named Bib Fortuna.” I tensed slightly at the name, well aware of his connection to Jabba. I’d rather not find myself in the crosshairs of a Hutt, at least not for the time being, but if that was the case, then I’d do so for Aayla. “He knew who I was, and was connected to both Pol Secura and some, at the time, mysterious benefactor. He wouldn’t reveal who that was, not even when I threatened him with my lightsaber.” A small smirk came to his face, and I felt his enjoyment of the memory, wondering if the darkness that swirled around Quinlan had always been there or if it was a result of the memory loss. “However, before I could convince him to tell me, we were attacked by guards and droids.”

  “Droids?”

  “Yes,” Vilmarh replied with a nod. “Destroyer droids. Very bad news. Villie get Quinlan to leave quickly when they appear. Need to protect my bet.”

  I scratched my chin as I considered the reveal of the destroyer droids, and ignored Vilmarh’s motivation for helping Quinlan.

  Destroyer droids were linked to the Trade Federation, and while they had a new directorate after HK removed Nute Gunray and his assistants, they’d been keeping quiet while the Senate investigated their actions on Naboo. As expected, the matter was going slowly as with Gunray and many other Neimoidians dead there were few to question regarding the motives, but I felt the Banite Sith, in their roles as Chancellors, were working to delay and distract proceedings to suit their plans.

  The fact the droids were seen protecting Bib Fortuna was more concerning as it hinted at possible ties between Jabba and the Banite Sith. Oh, I knew there had to be some sort of contact between them, but the presence of Jabba’s major-domo meant things were far more interlocked than I realised.

  “This is certainly interesting, and something I would like to come back to. However, for now, our focus should be on your story and what happened to Aayla.”

  “Yes,” Quinlan said slowly in agreement. “After escaping Nar Shaddaa…”

  “Villie win big on Quinlan doing that.”

  “… we headed to Kiffar,” Quinlan continued, ignoring the comment from the Devaronian. “I had seen images of my people, and while we travelled I learnt the current leader of the Guardians was Tinte Vos, who I felt a connection towards. Once on Kiffu, I learnt she was my great-aunt and that before we’d lost our memories, Aayla and I had headed to Kiffu to speak with Sheyf Tinte.” He paused and shook his head. “She hates the Jedi, claiming they stole me from her and my clan.”

  “All in Outer Rim know this. Jedi steal babies.”

  I sighed at Vilmarh’s remark and pinched the bridge of my nose. “The Jedi don’t steal younglings,” I said slowly, ignoring the fact I was defending the Order’s practices when I didn’t agree with their methods. “They simply seek out those younglings who are strong in the Force, and if the parents or guardians agree, take the child to Coruscant and the Temple for training. Most parents want that, as they think it’s a good life for their child, but not all agree and in that case, the Jedi are meant to leave and forget about the youngling.”

  Now, I agreed that those who could draw on the Force should be trained to harness their power, but the way the Jedi went about it – and their choice to not fully explain the reasoning behind it to the wider galaxy – was a mistake the Sith, even those predating the Banite Order that currently ruled, exploited to drum up anti-Jedi sentiment. The fact the Jedi had never rectified that issue, nor considered the need for a PR department after tens of thousands of years was beyond fucking stupid.

  “Anyway,” I said, drawing a line under the off-topic moment, “your aunt mentioned you had been to her before with Aayla, and I assume, guided you to Ryloth again?”

  “Yes,” Quinlan replied, fidgeting slightly in his seat. His mind was restless, a need to move and do something echoing so loudly in the Force that I wondered how the Council couldn’t sense it on Coruscant. At least until I remembered that it had grown far harder for the Jedi to use the Force to see what was, would be, or might be happening in the galaxy because of the creation of a shroud or veil created by the Banite Sith to hide their presence and actions.

  “It took some time for Vilmarh and me to discover the truth, but eventually we learnt that Pol Secura was involved in the creation and shipping of glitteryll. When I confronted him, he revealed that he was keeping Aayla among his slaves.”

  The word came out as a barely audible hiss, and I closed my eyes to centre myself against the wave of violent, malignant wrath I felt flowing from Quinlan. It reminded me of when I’d felt Anakin lash out at the Trandoshans, that immature, unfocused rage that I myself was prone to using up until that event. Yet what I felt from Quinlan was different in some ways.

  Anakin’s rage and that which I had displayed before the change in the Interface had been of one pushing up against an edge that we didn’t truly understand or know what we were doing. For Quinlan, it felt almost as if he was drawing it into himself without realising; gaining strength and focus while unknowingly submitting to the whims of the worse elements of the Dark Side of the Force. However, what caught my attention, and for a moment drew me in, was the faint whisper offering to let me in, wanting me to take control and guide the rage emanating from Quinlan. To bend him to my will.

  I pushed such thoughts aside and returned my full attention to Quinlan. “Why did he keep her like that?” I asked slowly, using the time it took me to speak to ensure the brief temptation didn’t draw me more than a few inches from my controlled centre.

  “Because she was family,” Quinlan almost spat out. “He saw us in her presence, and kept her filled with glitteryll so she knew nothing but her name. He…”

  His words trailed off and I saw the knuckles on the hand grasping his lightsaber hilt go white. Even as I reached into the Force to offer him something to focus on, I lifted my hand next to him and placed it on his shoulder. “Calm yourself, Quinlan,” I said softly, using my control over my inner darkness to help him suppress the fury that threatened to overwhelm him. “Losing yourself to your rage over events that have happened, or might still happen, will not help us. It will instead make it harder to both find and then save Aayla from whatever danger she is currently in.”

  As I spoke, I used the Force to grant him reassurance, committing myself to helping him find her, regardless of her state or location. I watched as his eyes closed and he turned his focus inward, drawing on my presence in the Force while taking deep, calming breaths to find a point within himself where he could if not control then at least contain the wrath that burned deeply within him.

  If I were a proper Jedi, I would’ve already insisted that he return to Coruscant for help and retraining, yet I had never been one to walk the path the Council wanted all Jedi to follow. Since Zonama Sekot I’d begun to realise that my path lay not just on one separate from the Council, but from the Order as well, and I was beginning to feel that the path I was walking might be one that appealed to Quinlan as well.

  However, such thoughts were a matter for after Aayla was rescued, and the pair reunited. She might not remember me, but Aayla was a friend, and for that, I would do whatever it took to save her, the Council and the Republic be damned as to my methods.

  After perhaps a minute, Quinlan opened his eyes and offered me a weak smile. “Thank you,” he said quietly as I felt the furious storm within him if not disperse then at least lessen and withdraw for the time being.

  “That’s what friends are for,” I replied.

  “Are we friends?” He asked slowly, his head tilting to one side as I removed my hand from his shoulder. “From what I can recall from the images, we were never close. You and Aayla, however, were, though I feel from the lingering emotions I sensed from those images, perhaps not as close as she might have wished.”

  “We only really knew each other in passing; mainly because of Aayla,” I answered honestly, feeling it was the right path to take. “We had sparred on occasion as well, but what you’ve forgotten is that I owe you as I was once captured by a rather evil cult. You and Aayla were part of the team that came to rescue me. It is because of that, and that I consider Aayla a friend, that I pledge to you, here and now, that until we find her I will be at your side.” He nodded and the first flicker of a real smile came to his face. “However, for that, I need to hear the rest of your tale.”

  He nodded and I noted that the grasp on his lightsaber hilt had lessened. As if he no longer sought it and the memories it brought forth for strength and focus. “I spoke with her after Pol revealed her to me, and placed her lightsaber in her hands. Yet she couldn’t recall anything.” He grunted before continuing. “At that, I turned on Pol Secura and demanded answers. I wanted to know who he was working for, and when he refused… I summoned my rage as energy.”

  “Force lightning?”

  He nodded. “Yes, that is perhaps the name for it. He gave me the name of his patron: Senator Chom Frey Kaa.”

  “I recall the news that he was removed from office a few months ago, but the Holonet didn’t say why,” I said slowly, the information, along with the ascension of Orn Free Taa to the position of Senator for the sector containing Ryloth. “Since he was removed, I assume this matter was brought to the Council and the Senate?

  “It was, however, not by me.” I frowned at hearing that, though I withheld a question as I could feel that was unimportant to the current position in Quinlan’s tale.

  “After Pol gave me the Senator’s name, I could’ve released him. I could’ve let him go. But I didn’t.” He looked up at me with pained and confused eyes. “I wanted to hurt him. To torture and kill him.” Understandable, if not exactly a sentiment the Council would approve of. “Aayla, not understanding why I was hurting her uncle, nor that I was doing it because of what he’d done to her… she lashed out with the Force. Pol and I were tossed off the ledge we were on. I survived the fall, the Force protecting me. Pol was not so lucky.”

  “Villie help Jedi escape. Wormheads not like political assassins. Like really not like. Bad poodoo.”

  “We… we were forced to escape from Ryloth before I could go back for Aayla,” Quinlan continued, both of us ignoring Vilmarh’s added commentary. “With little to work with, I headed to Coruscant. I wanted to take out my rage on Senator Kaa. I eventually gained a confession from that fat toad, but before I could execute him for what he’d done to me, Aayla, and countless others, Master Mace Windu appeared.” I growled, knowing how that little confrontation had gone before Quinlan told me.

  “He stopped me from killing Kaa, even fought me to protect that slug. I lost and he assured me the Senator would be punished in accordance with the law. He… he then offered to take me back to the Temple so that I could be retrained. He said he would help me find Aayla, but the Force told me he wouldn’t. That he didn’t care about her.”

  The storm within Quinlan began to grow wilder, and I placed my hand back on his shoulder, helping him push it back so he might continue his tale.

  Quinlan turned his head to face me. “All he cared about was getting me to the Temple, to have me brought under the Order’s control before my actions on Ryloth disgraced the Order.”

  “I’m not sure that’s exactly why he wanted to take you to the Temple, or at least not the main reason,” I said slowly, mindful of how I phrased my words so the storm that was his Force presence didn’t overwhelm what little control he had. “However, that you killed an official on a Republic world would cause tension between the Order, the Senate, and the Republic at large. He would’ve wanted the matter brought in-house to avoid embarrassment to the Order,” I added, barely able to keep my dislike of the way the Council operated at times from my tone and Force presence. “To help keep the peace.”

  “Yes. Exactly. That’s what the force told me,” Quinlan replied with a nod of hope. “I… he let me leave, saying that I could return to the Order when I was ready but all that mattered to me then, all that matters now is finding and saving Aayla.”

  “If you wouldn’t accept help from the Order, why would you turn to me? I am a Jedi after all.”

  “You no dress like Jedi.”

  I ignored Vilmarh’s comment and kept my focus on Quinlan, “And you say she needs to be saved?”

  “Yes,” he replied with a nod. “In the months since leaving Coruscant, as Vilmarh has helped me search for Aayla, I’ve grown certain she’s in danger. Something… sinister is closing its vice around her. Something that I know will kill her if I’m not quick enough to find her. The Force showed this to me, along with images of you.”

  “Not easy to find you Jedi,” Vilmarh interrupted again. “Name of Jedi on the Holonet, but location of you not. Took Villie much effort to find your ship.”

  “The Force guided me here,” Quinlan cut in before I suspected the Devaronian attempted to get me to pay him for his troubles in helping Quinlan. I was going to do that anyway as there was as much chance of a Wookie falling in love with a Trandoshan as there was that I’d let him on Raven, but the fact he was trying to drive up his price only proved how unreliable he was if another made him a better offer.

  Yet, for all the Devaronian’s attempts at increasing his pay, my focus was on the Force as I felt it continuing to swirl around Quinlan and myself. Faint, almost indistinct whispers of what might be slipped past me, their words, and ideas just beyond my reach. However, while I felt that I knew what was being at, my focus remained on the here and now, and working to find and save Aayla. At least for the majority of my thoughts.

  “You will help me, won’t you?” Quinlan asked a hint of desperation in his tone.

  “I will,” I replied. “However, without anything to go upon, finding a particular Rutian Twi’lek female in the galaxy is going to be very difficult,” I continued, ignoring the alert that popped up in the Interface. That would be a quest for finding and saving Aayla, and I’d find time to see what exactly was required for the completion of the quest.

  “I know that!” Quinlan snapped, though his tone and the rage he generated within the Force was less than it had been when we’d first sat down. “I spent months looking for her without success, and then I saw hints of you in the Force and I knew that you were the key to finding her.”

  I offered him what I hoped was a comforting smile. “I can attempt to search for her through the Force, but it was never something at which I was particularly skilled. What would help with that would be something that belongs to her. Do you have anything?” I asked softly. Fay had told me before that having something to focus on often helped with seeking help from the Force relating to a specific sentient, however, I had never attempted such a thing. Both because the Interface had dulled my connection to the Force, and because I lacked the, to be blunt, patience to spend days if not weeks in communion with the Force seeking answers.

  “No,” Quinlan replied, his shoulders slumping. “I did have her lightsaber, but it was lost on Ryloth. I assume she took it with her, but I can’t be certain of that. After Pol Secura’s death, Vilmarh was more insistent that we escape the planet before we were arrested for the death than trying to stop Aayla or taking anything of hers.”

  “Hmm, that’s going to make things more complicated,” I said slowly only to stop for a moment as I realised I was stroking my chin in that oh-so-typical Jedi manner. It was a minor thing, but I’d once sworn to not do that, yet I kept finding myself doing it more and more as I matured.

  Putting my irritation with the small lapse in concentration, I return my focus to Quinlan and how to find Aayla. “Heading to Ryloth might be possible, so long as you remained on my ship, but I’m uncertain if that would be any major help as I’m uncertain they’d give me anything we could use as a focus while meditating.”

  I gestured for Vilmarh to stand so we could all exit the booth. Once I was up, I slid my helmet on and turned to face the Devaronian. “Your services are no longer required,” I stated bluntly to him.

  “Now wait a minute Jedi, Villie…” his voice trailed off as I placed a handful of credit chits in his hands.

  “Consider that more than ample payment for helping Quinlan up until now,” I said, casually using about ten thousand credits to get rid of the Devaronian. Perhaps I was over-paying him, but Quinlan trusted him so I might have some use for him in future, and thus placing the idea that I paid well into his mind didn’t harm anyone. Ten thousand credits was a drop in the ocean considering my reserves were over three billion credits with more rolling in every day from my cuts from the holomovie for Fellowship of the Ring and its merchandising.

  “Do not follow us,” I added, though I already knew he couldn’t, not unless his hyperdrive was at least 0.7-rated. Raven could go faster if I delved into the Force and flew the lanes with her, but I preferred to keep that factoid hidden until it was critically needed.

  “Vilmarh is a thief and pirate, but he’s helped me so far,” Quinlan said as he caught up to me as I reached the door to the cantina.

  “He has, but I suspect that is because he won that bet on Nar Shaddaa and now considers you something of a lucky charm,” I replied as I pushed my way out of the cantina; the pair of Weequays about to step in scurrying to avoid the armoured Mandalorian exiting the place.

  Quinlan’s robes were darker and more worn than those usually seen on Jedi, but even if they weren’t it was doubtful anyone would believe he was a Jedi. Not so long as they failed to see the lightsaber at his hip. Yes, I had mine there as well, but people’s eyes were drawn to the armour, and then if they knew about it the beskar used in its construction over the rare weapon at my hip.

  As we moved, the HUD was capturing the images of everyone nearby and through the Battlenet linking it to Raven’s computers, accessing the local Republic security systems. While those weren’t the most dependable – especially on a world where corruption was almost as rampant as Coruscant – about forty per cent of the faces were known to local security forces. On another evening, if I felt the need to blow off some steam, I’d find the worst of the lot and either remove them or drag their defeated bodies to a security station and claim any outstanding bounties on them. Yes, I wasn’t a member of the bounty Hunter’s guild, but as a Jedi, I could easily circumvent that issue.

  However, tonight those fools were safe as I had more important issues to handle. “My ship is about an hour’s walk from here,” I said to Quinlan as we moved. “Once there, we’ll consider our next steps, and I can introduce you to my Padawan.”

  There was no hiding Anakin from Quinlan, so being open about it was the best path to take since I’d committed to helping Quinlan find Aayla. The issue would be that once Aayla was found and saved as if they returned to the Temple, then they would mention Anakin to others. That would let the cat out of the bag – with about the Council and the Banite Sith – but after around twenty months with Anakin as my ad and Padawan, I was secure in the fact he wouldn’t let anyone separate us. Nor would I for that matter.

  Having Quinlan along, and then later Aayla after we found her, would do Anakin some good I felt. He was limited in his interactions with others who could use the Force. I mean, he had spoken with Vosa – as much as I disliked her interest in my son – and been trained a little by Dooku, but outside of that, he had no interaction with any major Force user. Yes, Quinlan was off-balance and missing much of his memories – or at least the emotional attachment to them – but he was a trained Jedi and would be a new sparring partner for Anakin.

  “You have a Padawan?”

  I chuckled under my helmet at the shock in Quinlan’s tone. “It’s not that recent a thing, but also one I’ve not advertised. I took him not long after the Battle of Naboo, though I suspect you know little about that.”

  “I do actually,” He replied. “When I was searching for you on the Holonet, I found images linking you to the liberation efforts though there are articles claiming you overstepped your bounds as a Jedi by interfering.” I glanced at him.

  “Yes, I’ve heard those voices. Both politicians, social commentators, and even inside the Order and from the Council.”

  “They’re wrong!” Quinlan said firmly. “The Council only care about themselves and not the younger members of the Order!” Images of Aayla rushed from him into the Force. “Why would they care what you do to help others when they won’t?”

  I stopped and turned to face him, sensing the raging storm of his emotions surging forward within him again. Wanting to see if this storm was simply a result of his memory loss, or if there was something else buried in there, I peered into him through the Force, seeking the core of his personality.

  With his training only existing in the subconscious, his mental defences were, to be blunt, pathetic, and I was easily able to circumvent them without him realising what I was doing. As I dove into what shaped his presence on the Force, I found that Quinlan had something buried deep within him that fuelled his aggression. Something that perhaps had always been an influence on him even before he lost his memory.

  While the source of his aggression and reactive tendencies was his, it was familiar, reminding me of both myself and, as much as he was still young and immature, Anakin. A gentle pull existed from Quinlan’s core, tempting me to push deeper and possibly even shape this fury that lay at the very core of his being; however, this wasn’t the time nor place to consider such an action and I pulled back.

  “Wh-what did you do?” He asked slowly, suggesting even though I’d been careful he’d sensed my mind entering his.

  “I looked at you through the Force,” I replied honestly. “It is a slight invasion of privacy, for which I apologise, but I wanted to get a proper read on you and see what was affecting your actions and choices in the Force. Amusingly, I see much of myself in you, though as we’re both prone to rushing into situations that’s not a huge surprise.” A faint flicker of amusement flashed over his face. “Perhaps if we had both spent more time at the Temple growing up we might’ve become good friends. Who knows, after this perhaps we might become so,” I finished before turning and resuming my walk to Raven.

  Quinlan stayed still for a few seconds before he caught up with me. “I sense that you are right,” He said slowly as we walked. “That might be why the memories of you were so prevalent in the images I saw while holding Aayla’s lightsaber. That I felt a connection to you through the Force but didn’t understand it at the time, and why I chose to seek you out over taking Mace Windu’s offer to return and retrain at the Jedi Temple.”

  “Perhaps,” I replied, not wanting to dwell on the matter until I’d had more time to consider it. “However, what might have been, and what could be, is less important than what is. Our focus must stay on finding and helping Aayla. Hopefully without her trying to kill you for the death of her uncle,” I added.

  I understood why Quinlan had wanted to kill Pol, and if our positions were reversed, I’d have done the same. However, that didn’t change the fact Aayla blamed Quinlan for Pol Secura’s death, and might well seek to kill him when they next met.

  Silence came from Quinlan as he considered my words as we walked. In that silence, I accessed my HUD. The merchant I was waiting on to find the component Anakin was seeking for his droid would need to be contacted and I’d have to have the order either cancelled – unlikely given about half the time we had to wait had already passed and this deal wasn’t strictly legal – or I’d have to ask him to hold the component.

  Another idea came to me then, and I used the Battlenet to access the planetary communication network and reached out to see if any other Mando’ade were on the planet. I smirked as five responded to my greeting. There might be more who couldn’t or didn’t want to respond to my call, but five should be enough.

  After explaining the issue, I discovered one – someone who had fought under my banner on Naboo actually – was in orbit and was willing to take the component elsewhere for me. I considered having it sent to Duke Adonai, but in the end, chose to have it delivered to Dooku in the Gaia system. I knew that no matter how this mission to find Aayla played out, that would be my first port of call afterwards.

  My fellow Mando’ade accepted my request to deliver the component, and after the transfer of a thousand credits – for discretion as the component wasn’t strictly legal without the proper permits – I considered that matter closed and could avoid Anakin complaining at us leaving before he got what we had initially been here for.

  With that handled, my thoughts returned to Aayla. She was somewhere out in the galaxy; the question was where. Also, who, if anyone, was she running with and what sort of danger did she find herself in? I accepted she would be in danger even without opening the quest that would likely confirm it as, where I was concerned, The Force seemed to enjoy throwing me into chaotic situations that while I emerged from stronger; either caught me by surprise or tested me in ways I didn’t realise I needed to be tested. Often at the same time.

  The Force was using me to seek whatever it considered balance, yet I had to be careful. What it wanted and what I desired were, in all likelihood not going to align perfectly. I had to carve out my path so that I could survive and flourish in the coming chaos, and as I walked, I felt that Quinlan and Aayla might have some role to play in creating that trail, though what it was would have to wait until after Aayla was found and saved.

  … …

  … …