ACROSS THE STARS
Chapter One
Coruscant
Seventeen Years Later
“Another assassination attempt there
has been.” Yoda, the diminutive green Jedi Master, looked at the Jedi Knight
and her Padawan as they stood before the Council. “Foiled it was when the
Senator’s daughter pushed the assassins out the window. However, requested
protection the Senator’s wife has. For this purpose, sending you we are.”
“Which Senator’s family is this,
Master?” the Jedi Knight, Maira Jennings, inquired.
There had been several
assassination attempts on Senators in the past few weeks, some more successful
than others—all on Senators who had opposed the Military Creation Act. Someone
badly wanted the act passed, but the Jedi had not yet been able to ascertain
who.
“The family of Cleon Bukater, who
was assassinated three days ago,” another Council member, Ki-Adi-Mundi, told
her. “The second attempt took place last night. Bukater was the Arcadian
Senator, and on Arcadia, political power is often passed amongst family
members. We suspect that the second attempt may have been to try to remove any
further threat to the Military Creation Act from members of the deceased
Senator’s family.”
“I see.” Maira stood quietly for
a moment, processing this information. “And our assignment is to protect the
remaining Bukaters?”
“Protect them you must while
found the assassin is,” Yoda said, tapping his gimer stick on the floor. “Too
many attempts there have been. Three Senators dead there are; help protect the
remaining targets we must.”
“Yes, Master.” Maira glanced at
her Padawan, Jack Dawson, relieved that he was paying attention.
“To the apartment of the
remaining Bukaters, Ruth and Rosé, go you will. Check the security and keep
watch. To be taken lightly these assassins are not.”
“Yes, Master.” Maira and Jack
bowed, then turned to leave the Council room.
“May the Force be with you,
Knight Jennings and Padawan Dawson.”
*****
A short time later, Maira and
Jack were in an elevator, ascending to one of the higher levels of 500
Republica. Maira turned to him, raising an eyebrow.
“Padawan, I need to make
something clear.”
“What is it, Master?”
“You need to pay more attention
to your surroundings, more attention to what is being said. There is more to
being a Jedi Knight than sketching pictures of likely suspects. You must be
mindful of what’s going on around you.”
“I am.”
“Not mindful enough, Jack. You
need to pay attention to detail, not just so you can record it later, but so
that you know what is happening in the present. This is why you’re twenty years
old and still a Padawan—you haven’t learned to be mindful of the present
enough.”
“Master…”
“Padawan, this assignment is very
important. There have been several assassination attempts, some successful,
over the past few weeks. Someone is trying to put a stop to opposition to a
bill they support, not through campaigning or even favors or bribery, but by
killing the opposition. Not only does this destroy innocent lives, but it
undermines the democracy we are bound to protect. Do you understand?”
Jack sighed. “Yes, Master Maira.”
“I hope you do. You’ll make a
good Jedi Knight someday…probably someday soon…but you must learn to be mindful
of what is happening in the moment.”
The elevator stopped, the doors
opening, before Jack could reply. They stepped out, nodding respectfully to a
Senator waiting for the elevator, and made their way toward the Bukater apartment.
Jack stood behind Maira as she
pushed the button to announce their presence, mildly annoyed at the lecture he
had just received. He did take note of what was going on around him—it
just wasn’t always in the way his Master wished. He knew that she was right,
that he needed to be mindful of the moment, but he didn’t appreciate being
lectured.
The door was answered by a TC-16
protocol droid. “Ah…the Jedi Knights. Do come in. Mistress Ruth has been
expecting you. May I offer you refreshment?”
“Not at the moment, thank you,”
Maira told the droid, following it inside.
“Mistress Ruth, Mistress Rosé,
the Jedi Knights are here.” TC-16 announced their presence.
A haggard, exhausted-looking redheaded
woman of middle years rose from a couch to greet them. “Thank you for coming. I
am Ruth DeWitt-Bukater, and this is my daughter, Rosé.” She indicated a young
woman with equally red hair who sat beside the window, seemingly unaware of
their presence. “Rosé, we have visitors. Remember your manners.”
The girl turned slowly from the
window. “Hello,” she said, then turned back to the window, her expression
distant.
Ruth turned to the two Jedi. “I
do apologize. She hasn’t been herself since her father’s assassination. She saw
it happen, you see…she hid from the assassins and then contacted me on the
comlink.”
Maira and Jack looked at each
other, each knowing what the other was thinking. Perhaps the second
assassination attempt hadn’t been to put an end to any political power held by
the family, but had instead been to silence the only witness.
Maira looked at Rosé, frowning
slightly. The girl was obviously upset, perhaps about more than her father’s
death. She turned her attention to a nearby table covered in black, a holo of
the late Senator sitting atop it surrounded by flowers and flickering candles—a
traditional sign of mourning amongst Arcadians. Traditionally, it was the body
that was surrounded by candles and flowers for three days before burial, but on
Coruscant, with no place for burial, the body had been cremated the following
day, and the holo on the black-covered table had taken the place of the
traditional deathwatch.
She took a deep, calming breath
to center herself, tucking her hands inside the sleeves of her robe as she
turned back to Ruth.
“We were told that the assassins
returned yesterday…what happened then?”
Ruth sank back down on the couch,
gesturing to them to sit on the matching piece of furniture across from her.
“Rosé and I were here alone—the
other mourners had left and I had sent TC-16 on an errand—when I heard an odd
noise coming from the kitchen. I went to investigate and found three heavily
armed strangers there—a human, a Toydarian, and a member of a species I
couldn’t identify. I don’t know how they got in—perhaps they slipped in with
the mourners, disguised as friends of Cleon, or perhaps they found a way over
the balcony that the bedrooms open onto. I keep the door locked at all times,
particularly since my husband was killed, but with all the mourners coming and
going, it would have been easy enough for someone to slip in unchallenged.
“I cried out when I saw them and
ran, but one of them grabbed me and put a hand over my mouth, dragging me into
the living area. Rosé had heard my cry and come running, and when she saw them,
she ran to my defense, leaping on the back of the human holding me prisoner and
trying to free me. He let go of me, but the three of them began to push us
toward a closet—intending, no doubt, to kill us there and hide our bodies. When
they found that the closet was locked and we refused to give them to code to
open it, they moved across the room to confer, the one whose species I couldn’t
identify keeping his blaster trained on us so we wouldn’t escape.
“In a couple of moments, they
came toward us again, blasters raised—I suppose they’d given up on the idea of
a quiet killing—but when the human aimed his blaster at me, Rosé screamed and
ran in front of me, throwing her arms out in an attempt to protect me. The
blaster must have backfired, because all three of them suddenly flew backwards
and through the transparisteel windows.” She glanced at her daughter. “Rosé is
certain that it was something she did that caused them to fly through the
windows, but I don’t see how—they were clear across the room. She never touched
them. The Toydarian flew away, but the others plunged to their deaths hundreds
of stories below.”
Maira looked at the girl, who was
still staring out the window, hunched as though against a blow. She had an idea
of what had happened, but she wouldn’t say anything to Ruth until she had
talked to Rosé herself—and perhaps tested her for certain inborn abilities.
She turned to her Padawan,
wanting his opinion, but found, to her annoyance, that his attention had
wandered again—this time to the girl sitting in front of the window. More
than just wandered, she thought. He’s a Jedi, and shouldn’t be looking
at anyone in that way—and certainly not a girl we’re supposed to watching over.
/Padawan/ She called to him through their bond.
/Mmm?/ His attention was still focused on Rosé.
/Stop looking at her like
that/
Rosé turned to look back at him,
showing the first sign of interest in their presence, causing Maira to wonder
if she shouldn’t just leave Jack alone. Still…he wasn’t supposed to be watching
her with such interest.
Jack paid no attention to her
command. Sighing inwardly, she tried again. /Padawan, stop it/
Jack still ignored her, all his
attention focused on Rosé, who had looked away for a moment but was now staring
back at him challengingly.
Maira moved a little closer to
him, surreptiously elbowing him in the side. His attention finally pulled away
from Rosé, Jack turned to her. “Yes, Master?”
/Stop looking at her like
that. You’re a Jedi. She’s a Senator’s daughter. Need I elaborate?/
/Sorry, Master/
/Be mindful of your feelings,
Jack. They betray you/
/I’d like to sketch her,
Master/
/No doubt. But this is not the
time or the place. You are here to protect her and her mother, not long for the
attention of a girl who is forbidden to you. Remember that/
Jack sighed. /Yes, Master. But
at least I’m paying attention to my surroundings this time/
/Pay attention to all your
surroundings, Jack, not just one person/
Rosé watched them quietly,
observing the interaction between the two. They seemed to be communicating,
though she wasn’t sure how. She had seen the woman elbow the young man in the
side when he was staring at her and knew that she disapproved.
She shrugged, turning away from
them again. The young man’s interest and the woman’s disapproval meant nothing.
After tonight, nothing would have any meaning.