Star Wars : New Jedi

( Jedi Archives )

No one really paid Jan any mind as she walked with confidence through the halls of the Jedi Temple. So many people were rushing too and from that it was easy to not get noticed. She smiled, thinking about poor Kyle. As much as she was the one tasked with trying to figure out what happened, he had the hardest job – getting a feel for the Jedi and keeping their cover intact.

But still, the Temple was huge! She dimly remembered someone saying that it was what was left of a mountain on Coruscant before the world had become a world-city. Everything here was larger than life, and when compared to the Temple on Yavin, this place was grandiose. Almost excessive even.

The Temple had been attacked by Darth Vader and the 501st Legion at the end of the Clone Wars. With an eye toward defending this place from a full Legion of Stormtroopers, Jan evaluated what she saw.

And she didn't like it. Too open. Too many long corridors meant to impress the visitor that be defensible. Although, she figured that if they refitted half of these statues lining the walls with shield generators, and installed some pop-up turrets in the ceiling, you could create some excellent kill-boxes.

If things continued to go bad, she would see whom she could suggest these improvements to. There had to be someone around here who would appreciate her input who wasn't Kyle.

At least the Archives were not hidden. The massive doors were open to all to enter, and Jan stepped in, trying not to drop her jaw at the sight of all the Stacks. The massive databanks that held centuries of information from all across the Galaxy. If the solution to her problem existed, it would be here.

While no one came to ask her if she needed any help, Jan wasn't eager to interact with any of the local Jedi either. They may ask uncomfortable questions that even her New Republic Intelligence training would be hard pressed to excuse.

She really didn't like acting on so little information, with such a fragile plan. But it was their best hope right now. And that meant finding an unused terminal she could slip into to begin her search.

"Can I help you?" a wizened old voice spoke from beside her as she walked along the side of the stacks. "Not many come here simply to look at the machines."

Jan didn't startle at the presence. Instead she put on her best innocent face. "Sorry about that. First time here, you know. I'm Jan," she introduced herself to help control the flow of conversation. "I'm the pilot for Master Katarn. While he's doing his thing, he told me to do some research here in the Archives." Completely true. Utterly false. The best lies.

"My name is Rayce," the Jedi said, robes thick on him. "I am apprenticed to the head of the Archives, Master Nu. What can I help you with?" He seemed to be the helpful sort, which would only get in Jan's way.

"Thank you, but it's not necessary. I just need a terminal and some time." Her brows furrowed in concern. "What about the service? Are you not attending?"

Rayce's shoulders fell. "No, the ceremony proper is for Maters and high ranking Knights, of which I am not one. The event will be transmitted via holo to all public chambers, including this one once Grand Master Windu begins."

"You have my sympathies for your loss," Jan said honestly. "Once Master Katarn heard, he came straight to Coruscant."

"As did a great many other Jedi," Rayce admitted. "Look, there is an empty terminal. Did your Master give you an access code?"

Jan was certain she could have sliced in. "No," she sighed. "He forgot that too. First, his formal robes. Now a low-level access to get me into the public information networks."

Rayce found that funny. "A forgetful Master? Not something you see everyday."

"He's under a lot of stress. Some things slipped his mind."

"I can understand that. Come, I will log you in as a guest. Just the public information?"

"He wanted me to study up on some Hyperspace phenomena," Jan explained to the apprentice Jedi. "He sensed something on the way here, and wanted me to look into it while he did his thing."

"I understand." Jayce said as he leaned over and tapped in a passcode into the terminal. "This will get you what you need and more should you desire. It is just a guest access though, and your queries will be logged as normal."

"Thanks," Jan smiled in gratitude. That would save her a lot of trouble! It wasn't like she was going to be digging for secrets, so she didn't have a problem leaving a trail like that. She waited for Jayce to wander off in search of something else to do before setting her goggles off to one side and sitting at the terminal.

"Search query, huh?" Jan's hands hovered over the keyboard, knowing that with this, there really was no way to go back. Looking for a solution to a problem meant that there was a problem in the first place. "Let's see.... Hyperspace Anomalies? No, that would just give me a list. Let's try Anomalous Hyperspace events, and work from there...."

...

Obi-Wan Kenobi walked into the Archives, nodding at Master Jocasta Nu. The elderly woman returned his gesture coldly, still sore over his discovery that the Archives had been tampered with. While he was certainly innocent, that he was the one who discovered the flaw meant that she held him partly responsible for the problems she had since the rediscovery of Kamino.

"Kenobi," she said as she stood behind a desk. "What brings you here?"

"Master Katarn was called up to the Council Chamber, so he asked me to let his pilot know that he would be delayed." Obi-wan was apologetic, and used his body language to emphasize that he was still injured, and thus wasn't in a position to take or deal with anything other than politeness. "Do you have a Jan Ors logged in?"

"Yes, actually. Jayce set her up before the service at terminal D-1132. I presume you can find that?" No, she didn't like his presence at all, though she was willing to tolerate it for the time being.

"I can, thank you." He bowed to the matron of the Archives and walked down the Stacks, looking for D-section.

He found it, and spotted Jan quite quickly. True to Master Katarn's prediction, she was swearing under her breath as she flipped through page after page of information. He slowly approached her as he suspected that if he surprised her in her current state, she would probably hit him with one of the books in reaction.

Watching her, he could feel her tension ebb and wane as she looked over very technical articles. From his position behind and to the side, he couldn't read anything properly, but he did recognize some graphs associated with Hyperspace travel.

In a lull in her studies, one she took when she stepped up to stretch her legs, that was when he introduced himself. "Pardon me?"

"Yes?" She said without sounding the least bit impressed by the interruption. "Look, I know you guys want to help and all, but I'm fine on my own."

Ah, she thought him one of the librarians. "I'm sorry, I'm not who you think I am. Are you Jan Ors?"

"Who wants to know?" She was suspicious of him, so he settled on alleviating those concerns right away.

"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi," there it was again! The sense of recognition, then surprise, then respect and sadness. While he could attribute that to news of Geonosis travelling around, this didn't have the same feel to it. Like it was deeper. And for her, unlike the Jedi she flew around, the respect was greater than anything else. He could use that. "I have a message from Katarn."

"Kyle? Is he alright?" Her worry was almost physical.

"He is fine." He shifted to make himself a little more comfortable. "After the service for the fallen, he was summoned to the Council Chamber. He asked that I inform you that he would be delayed.

"The Council?" Interesting. There was fear and dread now. But they weren't focused on Katarn at all. It was almost like she was worried for the Council...

...

Hey guys if you like the story please throw some power stones to Elevate the ranking.

...

if you want to read ahead of the public release you can go to p@treon :

 [email protected]/Rage_moon