Private Time Means Nothing

[DELETEME]

Naboo, outside of Theed
Continuation of Old Demons

Time means nothing in a vacuum. And between the void and the artifact, time had little meaning to Padd. His meditation could have lasted seconds or days. Judging by the height of the sun, he estimated it had been more in the range of a few hours. He was very familiar with Naboo’s day/night cycle after calling this home for a significant portion of his life.

A shift, a new presence, had pulled him back into the world. They had come at last.

Padd stretched his arms overhead and leapt down from his post. He wondered — should he feel anxious? Concerned? He felt neither. What he felt could be better described as excitement. The next step. He rubbed the key on the chain around his neck before tucking it beneath his shirt. An incomplete but very necessary piece of the puzzle.

But he reminded himself that whoever was coming — whoever had come — was not expecting to find him here. The alarm had been triggered by a Sith assassin. The headless inquisitor still laying on the floor of Master Hifax’s house. They expected a fight. And he would oblige if necessary.



———
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Naboo
Objective: Investigate Alarm
Tags: Padd

Today just wasn’t her day. A simple investigation into a drug smuggling ring had been botched by an overly excitable rookie cop. The top leaders were likely to walk now, after two months of under cover work. That had been bad enough but the alarm was a new low. Katarine hadn’t had time to sleep yet. Her eyes were puffy and she was exhausted but someone had to go investigate the source of an alarm going off and she wasn’t sending the rookie cop in.

So she entered, wondering if her luck was going to strike out finally.

​

 

[DELETEME]

As the female Jedi approached the cabin, Padd froze. A purely reflexive reaction. A moment of surprise — shock, even. He stared, his mind racing. “Master Ryiah.“ The words rolled off his tongue without thinking. He instantly recognized the young Jedi Master. Another ghost from the past.

Padd had not seen Kat in decades, not since falling into the Chaos. She should have died a millennium ago. But so should he, he reminded himself. He knew her from their time shared at the Temple Theed. His Padawan, Hwo, had trained alongside her. She had always been a promising student, powerful, and wise beyond her years. Of course she found a way to survive, to be here, now. The universe was speaking, he had but to listen.

“This is quite unexpected,” Padd finally said, composing himself. “Another specter crossing the void of space and time.” His thoughts returned to the present. Could she lead him to what he desired?

———
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Padd

"This is quite unexpected........ Another specter crossing the void of space and time."

Katarine blinked and froze at the sight of someone she recognized. In this time period that rarely happened. Eventually she let her deep green eyes take in the scene around them. Two dead, one of them a known Jedi Master.

"Master Padd...."

Confusion furrowed her brow again. How was it possible he was here? Was he responsible for the death of the Jedi?

"What happened?"

​

 

[DELETEME]

“They’re dead,” Padd replied dryly. The Sith’s body lay in three pieces, lightsaber burns where both the head and half of the arm had been severed from the rest. She would quickly recognize the obvious — the killer was the large man standing with a lightsaber hilt clipped to his belt, not the feeble old Jedi.

But the feeble old, and very dead, Jedi Master was the problem. The robes were torn, slashed, covered in blood and burn marks. In reality, neither Padd nor the inquisitor had killed Master Hifax. Or perhaps both had, from a certain point of view.

Deception was the way of the Sith. And, as Padd had come to realize, the way of the Jedi. But he did not take Master Ryiah for a fool, despite her allegiance to an Order that treated its members as such.

“Master Hifax deserved his fate,” he finally said. “And he deserved it long before today. But you can help me undo the damage he has done.“

———
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Padd

"Master Hifax deserved his fate," he finally said. "And he deserved it long before today....."

Katarine narrowed her eyes at Padd for a moment, wondering if that was a confession. She wanted to ask, but years as an undercover cop taught her not to start hostilities this early in the game, especially when the suspect was seemingly willing to share information.

"You really think anybody deserves this fate?"

She of course meant the Sith as well, and her eyes were genuine when she asked. Katarine hated to see anybody die, even her enemies. She was a gentle soul deep down but sometimes aggressive negotiations were needed.

"But you can help me undo the damage he has done."

She raised her eyebrow. "I'm listening."

​

 

[DELETEME]

Padd was not sure where to start, how to explain it. A voice — the voice — whispered to him. Do not trust her. He pushed it aside, tried to block it out. It was stronger than normal. He had lived with it for too long, learning to control it, or at least control himself, to not give in. But here, now, perhaps the emotion rising from seeing a fellow Master of the Temple Theed, it seemed to have grown.

He closed his eyes, squinting, focusing his mind. “When I arrived here, I was lost. Skipping through time with no idea what happened. I went to the Jedi Order for help. And they did, at first.” The voice was gone now. He could think clearly again. “On a mission with Hifax, we found something. An object, an artifact. I don’t really know how to describe it. A box of dark magic. We opened it — I opened it,“ he corrected himself.

“We should have destroyed it. But Hifax and the others refused. They saw the power and kept It. The Jedi crave power as much as the Sith.” Padd turned his gaze to the dismembered inquisitor. “The Sith sent an assassin here looking for it. I don’t know how, but they know the Jedi have it. Hifax was too damn stubborn to give it up.”

“I need to find it, Kat. I need to destroy it before the Jedi use it again, or before it falls into Sith hands.”

——
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Padd

Katarine folded her arms across her chest and listened as he explained about this artifact. His emotions seemed genuine and if he was telling the truth he was not responsible for the deaths here today. That meant there was no reason to arrest him. Sure she could bring him in but holding him for twenty four hours wouldn't result in a charge and then he wouldn't trust her. Plus if this artifact was real it was dangerous and it needed to be dealt with. She wrinkled her brow, thinking.

"Okay so last you knew Master Hifax had the artifact? If so we can start there. Search his home, track down any leads related to him. Maybe we can figure out where he hid it."

She was trusting him here and she hopped it didn't wind up with her laying in pieces on a floor in the future.

​

 

[DELETEME]

“It’s not here.” Padd had not bothered to search the cabin. When Hifax told him it wasn’t here, he knew the old Jedi was speaking the truth. And if it was here, he would have felt it. “I already have a lead. Hifax’s Padawan, his name is Deckard. He was promoted to Jedi Knight after the mission. Lies they told to cover up what they had done. But he dropped off the map years ago. I can’t find him on my own. I need your help. You have access to the Order’s database. They will know where he is.“

Padd walked over to the dead assassin and picked up the lightsaber that had rolled out of his gloved hand when his arm was separated from his body. He turned back to Kat and ignited it, watching the red blade spring to life, listening to the hum. Did she believe him? Would she help him? He took a step toward her, the crimson glow projecting onto his face. An elegant symbol reduced to a crude tool. He deactivated it, spun it in his hand so the butt of the hilt faced the Jedi investigator, and offered it to her. “Will you help me find Deckard?”

——
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Padd


Katarine narrowed her eyes at the man, and accepted the offered Sith lightsaber. She pushed it inside her jacket and studied him for a second.

"Yes I think its important we deal with this artifact."

That didn't mean she trusted him. She wanted to because she was so pleased to see a face from her actual past, but she wasn't sure he was trustworthy at this point. But she would help him. If what he said was true it wouldn't do to let this go unchecked.

"We won't need to go to Coruscant to access the Jedi records. I have a connection that can get us in from Theed. He's at Theed University. Can you get me there?"

Kat was not a pilot so as far as speeders etc were concerned she always let someone else do the driving. Of course they could hail a cab as well. As long as she wasn't behind the wheel they were safe!

​

 

[DELETEME]

“Yes,“ Padd said, relieved by her response. He had expected a physical confrontation with whoever the Jedi sent to investigate. The nagging negative energy infecting his mind had even craved the fight. But the Force had other plans, providing a familiar face, one that sought answers before jumping to unfounded conclusions. ”My bike is at the bottom of the hill, at the edge of the treeline.“

Padd started to go, but abruptly paused, then turned back to the dead assassin. He walked over to inspect the body, emptying the pockets on the Sith’s belt. A small datapad and a comm unit. “He arrived before me,” Padd said, looking up at Kat. “I would like to know how he beat me to Hifax.”

With the items in hand, he exited the cabin and led Kat through the woods to his speeder. “Hopefully your connection at the university can be trusted.” It remained a mystery how many knew about Hifax’s and Deckard’s actions and, more importantly, who had helped them cover up what they had done.

———
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Padd


“He can be don’t worry. He’s a high level computer tech. He might be able to pull something off that data pad if you want him to take a look.”

Kat didn’t want to admit that the reason she often had a software professor help her was because she was unfamiliar with today’s technology. She was a century behind after all and where she grew up there was no technology so she was even worse off. She knew there was a way to tap into the Temple records from her own data pad but she did not know how to do it. She also didn’t want to trust Padd to do it. It would be unwise to give someone access to that type of information before you truly understood their motives.

“So do you know exactly what this artifact can do? I was just wondering what you plan to do with it once we find it?”

She asked as they started the walk to the bike. He had already said he wanted to destroy it but sometimes in the midst of casual talk people admitted lies. That was one thing you learned quickly about being an investigator. Get people’s stories over and over to see if they changed.

​

 

[DELETEME]

As they sped across the countryside toward the school, Padd attempted to answer Kat’s questions. His frustration rose as he considered how little he still knew, even after all this time. “I don’t fully understand it,” he admitted. “It’s like a poison, or a plague. It infects you.” He had witnessed the effects first hand, watched as it drove those touched by it into a violent frenzy. But his memory was fuzzy: small clips, still images. Could he even trust his own recollection of what happened? He could feel it now, inside his mind, trying to manipulate him.

“I plan to destroy it,” Padd said after a moment, repeating his earlier statement of intent. “There has to be a way to destroy it.“ But he had doubts. He had doubts as to whether the object could even be destroyed. He had doubts as to whether destroying it would free him of its hold. And he had doubts as to whether he could fight it long enough to destroy the artifact when the opportunity presented itself. More reason for the Force to have reunited him with Master Ryiah. “And if I can’t,” he added, “then you must.”

They soon arrived at their destination. Padd was less familiar with the university, so he let Kat take lead. The Jedi Order would surely keep tabs on Deckard, and that was his best lead at the moment.

———
Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Padd

As they walked Katarine noted that his story did not change. That was a good sign but it didn't entirely rule out deception. She wondered if maybe they should bring in a Jedi archeologist. Relics and ancient evils were probably researched by the archeology team, more than Katarine. She spent most of her life in the Underworld investigating criminal threats, but sometimes the Force lead the way and she just followed, like today.

They arrived at the university and Katarine lead the way to a high tech looking building. They went down a flight of steps that looked dusty compared to the shiny lifts all the students preferred. The hallway had rows of offices for faculty and she went right to the end and knocked. They were greeted by a humanoid male who looked like he might be a partial human. He had a big of a soggy belly, like a powerfully built man who had gone slightly to seed from all the stationary work. His eyes lit up when he saw Kat and narrowed slightly as they fell on Pad.

"Master Ryiah! This is a pleasant surprise."

"Dr. Tar it's nice to see you again. I was wondering if you had a moment?"

"For you I have all the moments! Come in! Come in!"

He moved back so they could enter the large office. Katarine wondered if all the faculty had offices this big (writer hint: they don't) because this room was almost a full computer lab. There were monitors everywhere and whirring machines. Crammed in the corner was a desk that looked like it wasn't used as much.

"I was hoping you might be able to help us access something on my datapad, and maybe take a look at my friends and see if you can find anything."

He sighed in a playful exasperated voice.

"Did you forget how to use the secure connection I set up for you?"

Katarine blushed. "Honestly... its a lot of buttons."

She handed the datapad over and in a quick flash he had handed it back. Kat was now connected to the Temple database.

"Thank you. This is Master Padd. Could you see if you can get anything off the datapad he has? We aren't sure what's on there."



((you can decide if there is anything useful on the datapad while Kat searched for our paddy))

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