Allana

When I opened my eyes, I found Ani next to me. Calmed, with dry tears over his face. I frowned sadly. I breathed in and stood up slowly after I had gently kissed his forehead, careful not to wake him up.

  I made my way to the dresser and found my eyes in the mirror, they were puffy, I rubbed them and then looked at Savage's weapon. It was resting over the dark wood, that made the steel look dirtier. I sighed as my fingertips found the cold metal briefly, as I thought about what I was going to do with it.

"I was going to ask you about that yesterday." Said Ani's raspy voice and my attention snapped towards him. "Obi-Wan gave it to me, saying that you brought it with you. He wanted to know why did you keep it. Specially because of the 'no attachment' rule and because that includes trophies, and-" I shut him up by kissing him.

"Good morning." I said when I broke the kiss.

"Morning." He smiled and his hands cupped my face. His thumbs rubbed my cheeks. "Why did you keep it?" I breathed in loudly as my hands found his wrists.

"I don't know. It's not a trophy..." I bit the inner part of my cheek. "I simply thought those crystals didn't deserve what happened to them."

"You're going to purify them?"

"Yeah." I answered for a hot second.

"That will make them yours."

"I'll keep them, I suppose. Just in case. But I'll throw the rest away." He nodded.

"You should stay and rest." I shook my head. "Lans."

"If I do, I'll feel worse. It'll be better if I keep my mind busy elsewhere, thinking about quick and successful strategies instead of..." He hugged me as my voice started to break, shutting me up. I collapsed into his embrace. I breathed out and the tears that quickly pooled my eyes fell onto his skin. He intensified the hug and rubbed my back slowly each time a cold drop fell over his warm skin.

"Fine." He said as we let go of each other after a while. "Snips and I were going to go on a mission. If you and Cal wanna join, we must leave now." He stood up and I nodded before we started getting ready.

I tied my hair on a braid as we walked out of our house, each one of us with a piece of toast in our mouths, and made our way to the Temple. As we arrived, we called the Padawans to meet us at the hangar. We hopped, separately, into our cruisers and started our way to Cato Neimoidia to fight a separatist invasion.

When we arrived, Cal and I made our way to the hangar of the Triumphant and hopped on our fighters, then, we flew out alongside half of the Light squadron. There were four vulture droids closing by in my radar, so, I fired and destroyed them in a second.

"Light two, do you copy?" I contacted Cal through the communicator.

"Loud and clear Light Leader." He said.

"Cal, punch a hole through the enemy lines for the gunships to get through. Stay on Ahsoka's blind spot, cover her."

"I know the drill, Master." I smiled.

"I know. Alright gentlemen, let's get to work." Another five droids appeared before us and we blew them up as well before we entered the atmosphere. When we did, there were two star-cruisers making a blockade over the city.

"We have three enemy fighters in the back." Anakin informed. "Evasive maneuvers." We all started flying with said movements as to dodge their multiple blasts, unfortunately, two of our troopers' ships were blown up. One for each squad. I spinned the ship backwards to take the droids off of my Wolve's backs. Seconds later, as I went back to my original position, an alarm went off on my screen.

"Look out!" Said Ahsoka. "Incoming missiles." She added and I spinned my ship to the left alongside Anakin while Cal and herself did the same to the right.

"No problem." Said Anakin. Few moments later, the missile blew up right ahead and I saw those buzz droids flying backwards. They mainly hit Anakin's ship but I was right beside him, meaning, mine was hit to. I groaned.

"You were saying?" I complained.

"Well, slight problem." He corrected himself. "How bad did the rest get hit?"

"Slightly." I said.

"I'm all clear." Said Snips.

"As am I." Witty said as well. I chuckled.

"Lucky."I commented.
"What? You two always have it easy." Ani commented at the same time. I started pushing with the Force some of the droids while R6 electrocuted the middle eye of those that got too close to him. He's a smartass as well. "Someday, these droids will learn they keep messing with the wrong Jedi." More droids landed on my ship.

"Anakin, what are you doing? You're throwing them onto my ship." I complained.

"Sorry, Smarty." I pushed them away, but one got away and I lost it from sight.

"Looks like both of you are clear." Cal informed.

"Just keep watching and learning, Padawans." Skyguy said and I chuckled. "Uh, oh." I frowned.

"You're trailing smoke, what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked her Master.

"Oh, nothing...serious. Just a small malfunction. Ugh!" I saw the ship's energy zapping and the lights in the cabin turning on and off.

"Ani? Anakin, come in!" I said but he didn't answer, that's when my controls stopped responding. "Great."

"What's going on with you two?" Asked Cal.

"Well, the buzz droids clearly fucked everything up." I mentally slapped myself. "Sorry." I heard Kestis giggle. "R6, take over the ship or we'll crash." The droid did as I asked.

"R2, what's going on over there?" Asked Ahsoka. The droid beeped and informed us of Anakin's situation. I frowned. "Unconscious? Fly back to the cruiser." R2 beeped in response. "What do you mean there's something wrong with the engines?" R6 beeped too.

"What do you mean our engines are fucked up too? And why are you cussing?" My droid beeped back. "What? I didn't teach you anything."

"Okay, okay. R2, R6, tip the wings to see how bad it is." The sudden movement made me groan. "Oh, that's not good."

"What's not good?" I asked.

"Seems like you're infested underneath." Said Cal and I shivered when I pictured all those droids underneath the ships. Disgusting. "I think it's a good time to land."

"Land where? There's nowhere to land."

"On the cliff ledge." The kids said at the same time.

"Oh, you're not serious." R2 whirred and beeped. "I agree with him."

"Well, I don't care if the landing zone is too short." Said Snips.

"Agreed. Buddies, get those ships on the ground." Cal commanded. I smiled at them even if they couldn't see me. They've grown a lot. The droids started piloting the ships towards the cliff while I held on to my seatbelt tightly. In within ten seconds, I hit the ground. My neck cracked as I made an effort not to be moved in all directions.

I realised we're getting too close to the edge of the cliff and started trying to get out, but, oh surprise! The cockpit was shut. Those droids trapped me in. I made en effort to push it open but I simply wasn't giving in.

"Shit." I whispered and then I saw Ahsoka landing on Anakin's star fighter wing and yelped when Cal landed on mine. I pointed at the glass and he nodded, took out his lightsaber and cut it open. He offered a hand and I took it before we jumped and landed on the ground roughly as the ships fell off the cliff. I sighed with relief after I saw the other Master and his Padawan on the ground, but, worried when I saw none of the droids and heard the fighters blowing up in the distance.

We approached the other two, then, the two R units popped up. Both of them flying with the help of their rockets, beeping excitedly.

"Ugh, very funny, you two." Said Ahsoka as they landed beside us.

"And no, we're not doing that again." Said Cal. I chuckled. That's when Anakin sat down and groaned as he held his head.

"Are you okay, Master?" Asked the Togruta.

"Yeah, what'd I miss?" He asked.

"Oh...not much." I smiled.

"Wait- wait a minute. Wasn't I flying?" He started looking around. "Where's my fighter? How did I get here?" His eyes met mine. "Weren't you flying too? Where's your fighter?" I giggled and shrugged.

"Fighters crashed, we saved the day, you're welcome." Snips told her master. She high-fived Witty once they were standing side by side while Anakin scoffed and I offered a hand to help him stand.

"Alright." He said as he grabbed it and I pulled him up. "They vaguely remind me of a pair of Jedi I know."

"Yeah. Only that there are no feelings involved in this case." He nodded before he clicked his comlink.

"Captain Rex, Commander Wolffe; the gang and I need a little help."

"Right away, sir." The Captain answered. Seconds later, my comlink beeped.

"Master Yoda." I answered with surprise and worry in my voice. Whenever he calls...it's always about something serious. Not to mention, he looks sad.

"Return to the Jedi Temple quickly, you should." His eyes met Anakin's behind me. "You two and your Padawans." The echo of distant blaster fire reached our ears.

"We're kinda busy, Master." We saw a Separatist ship blowing up and one of our vessels flying near by.

"The reason we need you, important it is, Naberrie." His image was replaced with the Temple's, a huge column of smoke crawling out of it. "Bombed the Temple hangar, someone has." My eyes opened wildly and met the ones of those around me. "Your assistance to find the terrorist, we need."

"Who could successfully bomb the Jedi Temple?" Asked Ahsoka.

"We'll be right there, Master." Said Anakin, I nodded and finished the transmission as the gunships arrived.

"I don't know, kid. Not yet." I answered her as we walked towards the ships. "Warthog, get us to the cruiser at once. It's urgent." I said the pilot of the 104th gunship as the General and Commander of the 501 entered theirs.

"What has happened ma'am?" Asked Wolffe.

"There's been an attack on the Temple." I could bet his eyes opened wildly under the helmet as well.

We got to the Triumphant in within minutes and the moment the Captain, Commander and I entered the bridge and informed the Admiral, we jumped into hyperspace. Once we reached Coruscant, and we landed in the large hangar the cruisers have, we walked into the Temple quickly. It took us about three minutes to reach the Council Chambers.

When we arrived, the atmosphere was tense, as if they had been sitting there without saying a word and waiting for us for hours. As if they had so many ideas in their minds but they couldn't share for some sort of reason. We stood at the middle of the room, bowed and then they gave us the information.

  At 10:30 a.m. a major explosion echoed around the Capital and the hangar of the temple was on fire, most of those who were inside died while the rest got awfully wounded, including the droids. My heart sank to my stomach and I felt like vomiting.

"I don't understand." Said Anakin. "How could the Separatists infiltrate the Temple?" He asked. But that was impossible, we would've known; plus, they would've blown the entire place, not only the hangar.

"Worse than that, it is." Said Yoda, making me frown.

"What could be worse, Master Yoda?" Asked Cal. They remained silent and looked at each other. My eyes opened wildly when a thought erupted in my head, one that they are certainly considering.

"You think some in here did it, don't you? That there's a traitor among us?" I asked.

"Everything is on the table." Said Windu, confirming it without exactly doing so. "We have to look at the possibility that it could've been anyone in the Temple, even a Jedi. Indeed." I blew the air out of my mouth.

"If a Jedi this is, gone to the Dark Side they have." Yoda added.

"I...I can't believe a Jedi would attack a place this sacred." Said 'soka.

"We'd like for the four of you to lead the investigation. We can't trust anyone who was here, even a Jedi. As you weren't here when the attack occurred, you will provide an impartial point of view free of assumptions." I nodded.

"We'll do everything we can." Said Anakin.

"Careful you must be. If willing to destroy the Temple the attacker is, to great lengths they will go to keep from being caught." Yoda added.

"Then I guess we'll have to go to even greater lengths to catch him." I said. With that, we bowed at them and didn't even waste a second to get to the hangar.

The way there was silent. The kids were walking in front of us, their eyes going to every corner, meeting every person or droid that walked past us trying to spot something suspicious. I was looking at the ground, picturing in my head the pieces of the puzzle and trying to place them in order to see if one clicks.

"You're quiet." Anakin whispered.

"Just thinking." I whispered back.

"You don't think the Separatists did it, do you? I saw how you frowned back there." It's incredible the way he can read a simple gesture.

"Indeed, I don't. Had they done it, it would've been massive. Like the one they performed a while ago. Remember? When the electricity went off around the entire Capital?" He nodded. "Something like that, not just...a room." We arrived and even the wall outside was burned. My eyes pooled with tears when my ears were flooded with screams as we walked in.

"I can still hear the screams." Anakin commented after sighing. His voice echoing in the large room, which's burned smell made my nose itch. We all could hear them. The tears in my eyes fell when I walked past the debris of a ship and the screams were children screams. Younglings that were off to Illum or back from the planet, perhaps. I bit my lip.

"Do you believe what they said, Masters?" Snips called our attention and I washed the tears quickly before I looked at her. "That a Jedi could do this?"

"Not every Jedi agrees with this war, Ahsoka." Skywalker answered her. "There are many political idealists among us."

"But a traitor?" I saw Cal nodding his head in agreement with Tano.

"I'm afraid one can eventually become the other." I nodded.

"Remember Count Dooku or General Krell." I said. "That's how they started too." I sighed as I placed my hands on my hips and looked around.

"Only analysis and investigation will prove what is true or not." Said a droid who had been hearing our conversation.

"Who are you?" Cal asked the machine.

"I'm Russo-ISC." He answered. "Crime Scene Analyser for the Jedi. I will be working with you all on this case. I was assigned by Master Windu." So...either he doesn't trust our judgement that much or he wants us to have an extra hand. I say 50/50.

"My thoughts exactly." Said Anakin's voice in my head, causing me to look at him. We nodded. "Okay Russo." He spoke out loud. "You and the Padawans should begin with the interviews."

"I would rather interview the witnesses alone." The four of us exchanged looks.

"Why?" Asked Ahsoka.

"Many of the wounded have heard rumours a Jedi was behind this explosion." I breathed in. "There will be ill will towards you." We looked at each other again.

"I think you're over-exaggerating, Russo." I commented. "There were Jedi killed in that blast along with maintenance crew and clones. Take Cal and Ahsoka with you and let us know if you find anything."

"We will, Master." Said Witty and the three of them turned around to start their duty.

In the meantime, we did the same. We focused on scanning the room from corner to corner, inch by inch and find a clue, anything. Gunpowder, circuits of what was left of the bomb, a detonator, a hair, anything. But we found nothing. After about thirty to forty minutes, we made our way to the medical wing, where the rest was. The second we stepped in, the people that were sitting by the door, stood up and walked away. I could sense the fear, the mistrust...it was unsettling.

"Did you find anything?" Asked Ahsoka. I shook my head while her master sighed.

"No, but the rumour about it being a Jedi is growing." Ani answered. "I can feel the anger and the confusion throughout the Jedi Temple. I bet you do too." They nodded.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We have a lead." Cal explained as he pointed at the three of them with the datapad he was holding. "We're looking for one of the Temple workers, Jackar Bowmani." Ahsoka pulled out a small holo-disk and the image of the guy appeared before us, alongside his file.

"One of the witnesses saw him in the area where the bomb exploded right before it happened." She added as Anakin took the disk and paced it closer to us, to have a better look.

"But, we have not been able to find him anywhere." Russo added.

"Come on." Anakin turned the projector off. "Nobody just disappears."

"Unless it was well planned out." The droid added.

"Well, it had to be well planned out to get past Jedi, indeed." I looked at Skywalker. "Let's go for a walk and talk to security." He nodded. "Meanwhile, ask around about this Bowmani. Try to see if anyone knows where he might have gone to or who could he meet up with, he certainly needed a getaway driver of some kind." The Padawans nodded and we headed out.

We walked in silence, paying attention to everything and everyone around us, feeling the discomfort that's filling the building as we made our way out. When we crossed the main gates, we were able to hear the citizens screaming things like 'no more clones', 'stop the violence' and 'end the war' continuously.

"They're all family and friends?" Anakin asked Master Drallig, who was standing there, guarding the entrance alongside Fox's unit.

"Yes, looking for answers." He said to us.

"So are we Cin." I commented and indicated him to follow us with a head movement. We walked a few steps backwards to have a bit of privacy, then, Anakin displayed the hologram. "This is the guy who might be behind all of this."

"If you see him, alert us immediately." Anakin added. I looked at the crowd and spotted a woman who was looking directly at us, at the hologram. I frowned and patted Anakin's arm discretely, pointing at her with my gaze to the front.

"That is Jackar!" She said as soon as we laid eyes on her.

"You know this man?" Asked Skyguy.

"He is my husband." She said and we looked at each other. "I've been trying to reach him since I heard of the explosion. Where is he?"

"We need you to come with us." He added and I offered a hand. She was hesitant at first, but, eventually walked towards us and took my hand.

"We just have a few questions, hopefully, we can all help each other and find your husband." She nodded and we walked back inside.

Once inside, we guided her to our interrogation rooms. Quite dark for my taste but it's the only place where no one would hear the conversation. When we sat down, she took off her hat and looked rather...uncomfortable. No one can blame her, these rooms are designed to make people feel like that. Plus, she was worried.

"What's your name?" I asked gently.

"Letta. Letta Turmond." She said and I smiled.

"I'm Allana Naberrie, pleasure to meet you. This is Anakin Skywalker." He nodded and she nodded back.

"Do I have to refer to you as Master Jedi or General or..?" I chuckled.

"Generals. That would be most adequate." She nodded. "Is there something we can get you for you to feel more comfortable? I know this is an...unsettling place to be."

"A glass of water, perhaps."

"Give me a minute." Ani said and he walked out to get the water. She nodded, thanking him.

"How long have you and Jackar been married, Letta?"

"Five years." I smiled.

"That's lovely." She smiled back, barely. That's when Anakin arrived. As he walked in, and before the door closed, I was able to see Barriss outside. I smiled at her and she bowed her head before the gate closed. Ani handed the cup over and she took a sip.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He said in response.

"Letta-"

"I'm sorry, but enough with the chitchat." She snapped, cutting me off. "Do you have any idea where Jackar is?" We looked at each other and then at her.

"No." I answered.

"You're Jedi, and you cannot find him?"

"We understand your frustration." Anakin said as he sat beside me, across from her.

"Don't. Just find Jackar." She looked at the glass she had in her hands while I breathed in and out. She was going to be tough.

"Letta, do you think Jackar could do something like this, blow up the Temple?" Her eyes snapped towards us.

"Do you have any idea what someone has to go through to work in the Jedi Temple, hmm?" We looked at each other for a brief second before we focused on her again. "Jackar dedicated his life to serving the Jedi. It had been his dream. Not just anyone can walk into your precious Temple. He passed all the entry tests that were needed."

"Okay. I'm sorry, but I had to ask." Ani apologised. "Unfortunately, everyone's a suspect."

"Jackar would never do anything like this. Please, find him." I nodded.

"We'll do everything we can." We stood up and she stood up too. She placed her hat over her head and we walked out. "I'll escort Letta to the entrance while you meet up with the other three. Maybe they know something by now." Anakin nodded and started to walk away as well as the two of us.

The entire way out, she did the same thing she did when she walked in: admire the elegant hallways. We were silent and everything was quiet until we reached the entrance.

"Thank you for your collaboration." I told her. "We'll try to find Jackar."

"Thank you." I nodded.

"You must understand that...Jackar is still the main suspect in this investigation, so, if you hear from him I'm gonna ask you to let us know immediately. Otherwise you could be charged with obstruction." She breathed in and nodded after a couple hesitant seconds. "I'm at your disposition, as well as anyone else in my team."

"You mean General Skywalker?"

"Yes. And some guys you haven't met yet." She smiled.

"Just, find my husband. That's all I ask."

"I'll try my best. I promise." She nodded and started walking downstairs while I walked back in. Few minutes in, my comlink beeped. "Naberrie, here."

"Hey. Meet us at the hangar, we're reconstructing this morning's scene." Said Anakin.

"On my way." I finished the transmission and headed towards said room. When I arrived, I found holograms of people and ships where they were. Barely seconds went by when a gunship exploded. The ship with the younglings right beside it. I flinched as I walked over some debris to get to where everyone else was.

"Based on the trajectory of the debris." Ahsoka started. "It seems the blast came from there." She added and the hologram indicated the exact point with a flag.

"Why is there no bomb residue?" Asked Russo.

"So you think whoever did this triggered a ship to explode?" Anakin asked his apprentice.

"We think so." Answered Cal. "Russo's trying to use the shrapnel to determinate that now." I crossed my arms as I stood beside them.

"The witness says he saw Jackar in the area." Snips commented. "Maybe Jackar planned to do this and just kept quiet."

"Or..."

"It actually was a Jedi." Cal added after a couple seconds. I sighed.

"I found something." Russo called our attention. "An anomaly." He clicked some things on his datapad and the hologram continued moving. Pieces of ships blowing everywhere and landing nearby. He started walking forward and we all followed behind. "These pieces come from the blast origin." He said once we had pieces of the hologram before us and they were pinned with flags. "They are covered with microscopic droids of a highly volatile nature."

"Nano-droids." Anakin and I spoke at the unison.

"Yes, nano-droids." The holograms turned off and the main gate started to slid down to let the light in.

"Great. Now we're chasing nano-droids." Ahsoka complained.

"Russo, go through the security footage. Try to see if Jackar went to other parts of the Temple." Skywalker instructed and the droid nodded before he walked away. "Gang, let's go find out how Jackar got his hands on these nano-droids."

We walked out of the hangar and made our way to the central security station, where the files are as well. Once there, the droids asked who were we looking for, we gave them the name and waited a few seconds for them to hand the file over to us.

"Bowmani's file, Master Jedi." Said the tiny guy as he handed me the datapad.

"Thank you." My eyes opened wildly when I read the information.

"Well, look at that." Said Cal. "The guy's a munitions expert."

"Jackar was the foreman over all the gunships, bombs and weapons." I added. When my eyes met the last line, I looked at them all, hitting the back of the device with the palm of my free hand. "Guess what his speciality is." Anakin grabbed the datapad when I offered it.

"Nano-weaponry." He read.

"We've got to find this guy." Ahsoka commented as we approached Russo, who was on the opposite side, going through the footage as he had been instructed. The images were flashing too fast it gave me a small headache.

"Isn't that going a little too fast for you to make any sense out of it?" Skywalker asked Russo.

"It is simple data." Answered the droid. "At this pace, I'm able to view hundreds of hours of footage." His head moved in all directions quickly.

"Alright buddy, but, have you found Jackar?" I asked, seconds later, the droid looked at us after he removed his metallic goggles off his metallic eyes.

"No." I arched an eyebrow.

"I'll gather some Jedi and search the Temple." Said Anakin. "If he's still here, he might be planning another attack."

"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked. "I mean, I don't want it to be true as much as any of you do, but the chance of it being a Jedi is still on the table." The three of them sighed.

"I agree." Said Russo. "Instead of Jedi, I have droids that can do the job much faster."

"Fine. Your little fellas can handle that while we report to the Council." With that, we walked out and headed towards the Council Chambers. The atmosphere felt exactly the same way than it did in the morning. As soon as they indicated us to speak, we told them everything we knew and had found. When saying it out loud it was as if...

"So, you've found nothing so far?" Asked Windu. Yeah. Basically that, more or less.

"We have a clue we're following." Said Snips with optimism.

"But we still don't have answers." Anakin commented. I placed my hands behind my back as I sighed through my nose.

"It is imperative that the truth be found soon. There are whispers the Senate will have a meeting to decide whether the military police will need to become involved in the investigation." I frowned.

"They can't do that." Said Ahsoka, getting a bit too overwhelmed, Anakin had to place a hand over her shoulder.

"Clones died in that explosion, maintenance clones working on the gunships as well as civilians. The Senate tends to take a notice of these things no matter where they happen."

"If that is true, I can speak to Senator Amidala and other members of her party for them to give us a hand and delay said meeting as much as they can. Buy us time." Windu nodded, that's when the beeping of Anakin's comlink interrupted and called our attention.

"Master Skywalker, we have found Jackar." We looked at each other.

"Lock down all exits so that he can't escape." He said. "If you'll excuse us for a moment." We bowed our heads and rushed out of the Chambers and directed ourselves towards the spot where Russo's location was coming from that Cal was displaying in a hologram.

"The morgue?" I asked as we reached the spot and Ani opened the door. When we looked inside, we only found Russo and several coffins in the background. I frowned, as well as the rest.

"Where is he?" Asked Kestis.

"Well, part of him is here." He said as we walked downstairs.

"Part of him?" I asked. "What do you mean with 'part of him'?"

"I don't think now is a good time to joke." Anakin said angrily. I placed my hand on his forearm and he breathed in, relaxing his face. That's when we approached a table with a blanket over it.

"This is all that remains of Jackar." Said Russo and removed the blanket, causing me to look away and Cal to suppress a yelp.

"Goodness." I said to myself as I looked at it again.

"His hand?" Asked Anakin.

"The rest of him exploded." Russo explained and my eyes opened wildly.

"Because he was so close to the bomb?" Asked Snips.

"Because he was the bomb." I frowned even more as he handed over a device. Cal took it.

"What's this?" Asked he.

"The connection we were looking for to the explosion of the hangar." Russo answered as he scanned the hand for an image to appear in the device the Padawans were holding.

"The nano-droids." Said Ahsoka.

"How did they get in his bloodstream?" I asked.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better." Anakin commented. "We're gonna have to search Jackar's home for evidence." I nodded.

"And...we must inform Letta that we found him." I sighed as my eyes met Anakin's. He nodded.

We went to the cruiser's hangar, the remaining ships were sent there. Once there, we hopped on a speeder and Anakin piloted towards the address that was registered in his file. He parked the speeder right outside a large building in the middle of the Underworld and we entered the place, then, we took the lift to the fourth floor and found his apartment. Ani sighed before we stepped closer to the door.

"This isn't the nicest place." He said.

"I would've thought working for the Jedi payed better." Snips commented as I knocked the door. No response. I breathed in and used the Force to pick the lock. The door opened and we walked in. Everything was dark and so quiet.

"Letta? Are you here?" I asked. My voice echoed in the place. "It's Allana." Still no answer. "I don't like how this feels." Anakin nodded to my left.

"You two search for the droids, but be careful." He told the Padawans, who had the scanning devices that Russo gave them. "And remember, he was a munitions expert. I'd rather not set off another explosion today." We walked further in. "If he was a suicide bomber, he must have left a note, right?" It was sad to think about it.

"I guess so." I answered and we started searing for something that could indicate why did he do what he did. I searched the furniture while Anakin checked a few boxes that laid in the middle of the living room. Then, I moved to check behind the T.V while Anakin checked underneath the frame of a painting and behind it. As he placed it back on the wall, I heard something. I frowned. "Can you hear that?" We stood silent and looked around. "A buzz." He nodded.

"There." He said when his eyes stopped scanning the room and we found a bunch of datapads covering something. As we approached, we heard a beeping and the shadow of a red light blinking. I gulped. Our eyes met and we hesitantly held each other's hand. His pinky was laced with mine as we removed the datapads slowly. A second later, the hologram of a clone helmet being crossed out was displayed before us. We looked at each other briefly.

"Masters!" Our attention snapped to Ahsoka's voice in the back of the house. We let go of each other and rushed to the point where the voice came from, the kitchen.

"The sensors are picking up traces from the disposal." Said Cal once he looked at us and showed us the device he had in hand, the nano-droids were still moving.

"The nano-droids were in the food." Ahsoka added.

"Well, I guess the question now is, did he eat them willingly, or did someone feed them to him?" Anakin spoke.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Letta's voice asked behind us. When we turned around, we found the confused woman.

"Letta, we found Jackar." I said, when she was about to open her mouth and ask or say something, but, I spoke again cutting her off. "We've learned he was, indeed, involved in the bombing."

"That can't be true." I frowned.

"See if she has any nano-droids on her, Ahsoka." Anakin asked.

"Uh, nano-droids?" Asked Letta as Snips stepped closer to scan her. Seconds later she turned to us.

"She's clean." Informed the Commander.

"What do you mean 'nano-droids'?" Asked the woman.

"We believe someone set Jackar up and made him the bomb." Witty explained.

"I...I don't understand." Her eyes were meeting every corner of the room but ours, she was getting too nervous. I wasn't the only one to pick up on that, obviously. This situation seems a bit too...suspicious.

"Letta, we want to bring you in for more questioning." Said Anakin. When I gave a step forward, she gave a step backwards. Her back hit the frame of the door. I frowned once again. "Maybe you can help us make sense out of all of this." She sighed.

"I'll answer any question I can." She finally said and we walked out of the apartment and eventually the building. We were closing the line and she walked in between us and the kids. The moment we were walking downstairs, Letta grabbed a man and pushed him onto the Padawans, making them fall.

"Letta stop!" Anakin yelled at her as I aid the kids and helped them up, as well as the man. By this time, we saw how she was climbing a floating small business. "Letta!"

"Letta!" I called her this time and we started chasing after her.

"Take the high road." Anakin ordered Snips.

"Go with her." I ordered Cal.

"Right away, Masters." They said at the unison before they jumped to the upper level while we continued running. My eyes didn't look away from the transport, nor the little figure that stood over it. Moments later, I saw her jumping on top of another floating transport and jump down. We approached slowly, using the darkness to hide from her, and it worked.

She entered the ally and we saw how the two young Jedi jumped down, cutting er escape to the front."

"Letta, stop!" Ahsoka commanded and the woman started walking backwards. We walked in, Anakin was crossing his arms over his chest while I placed my hands on my hips. She turned around when she bumped Anakin's chest.

"Let me go." She said, walking backwards again, but she's trapped. There's nowhere to go now.

"Running means you know more than you're telling us." Cal commented as the rest approached.

"Jackar is dead, and now you're trying to blame his murder on me." Letta complained. I frowned.

"Nobody ever said he was dead." I said as Ani stepped closer, cornering her against the wall.

"But running means you had something to do with the bomb." He commented.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She spit. I breathed in and sighed as I looked around, people were gathering around the ally's entrance.

"People are watching." I whispered. "We'll talk about this in a more private place and you are coming with us." With a glance, Ahsoka and Cal grabbed her arms and made her walk alongside us all the way back to the speeder.

The three of them sat on the back while we sat on the pilot and co-pilot seats. Anakin piloted all the way back to the Temple and we proceeded to take Letta to an interrogation room again, only that I was not going to offer water this time. When we sat down, she didn't remove her gaze from the two teenagers that had escorted her here. I sighed as I sat down.

"Those are the two teammates you hadn't met. Commander Tano and Captain Kestis." They nodded respectively when I mentioned their names. Letta's eyes landed on me. "Care to explain yourself?"

"I have nothing to say." I frowned.

"People blamed Jedi because of you." Ahsoka complained, pointing at Ani and I to set the example as she walked around the room. She was, clearly, very upset. "People were killed because of you!" She pointed at Letta. The woman grabbed her hand and pushed it away from her face.

"You can't prove anything!" Said the widow.

"Did you feed the nano-droids to Jackar?" Asked Anakin. She remained silent and we all started losing our patience.

"Answer him." I said.

"Now!" Skywalker yelped. Her eyes went from his, to mine, to her hands over the table. But remained silent.

"I think she did." Said Cal. "I think it's too...curious how she's clean from nano-droids when her husband clearly had them in his bloodstream." He stepped closer and placed his hands over the table, to my left. "Am I right?" She sighed. "Hm?"

"Yes." She finally admitted. "I did feed the nano-droids to Jackar."

"You set up your own husband to die?" Snips asked and I raised my eyebrows.

"Wow." I was truly astonished. Almost speechless. How can you do something like that? To someone you love so as to share your life with them? How can you betray them like that?

"You're dealing with things you don't understand." She said coldly.

"Well, then help us understand, Letta." I said harshly. "Lucky for you, we have plenty of time for you to explain everything." She shook her head.

"I'm done talking for the moment." She said. When Ahsoka was about to complain again and push further, like her Master always does, I lifted my hand. That made her stop.

"Fine." I stood up. "Make yourself comfortable. You're spending a great deal of time here." I headed out and the rest followed behind.

"We should continue the questioning. We can make her talk." Said Tano.

"I know that, but, if we leave her there she'll get more anxious. Therefore, she'll talk more. Let her drown in the desperation of being there alone and the fact that she's worried about what she knows." I said to her. "We must inform the Council." After a mutual agreement, we started to walk towards the Chambers, once there, we shared what we had found and where the clues lead us to.

"We're holding Letta in the cell below the Temple to await further questioning." Anakin concluded, that's when Cal's holo-disk started beeping. When he answered, the hologram of Russo was presented to all of us.

"Russo, what'd you have?" Asked Witty.

"I am pleased to report there were no other nano-droids found in the sweep of the Temple." He said. "I am also pleased to report, based on the security footage, Jackar Bowmani acted alone. Which means no Jedi was involved." Everyone in the room sighed, silently, with relief. Those were great news.

"Thank you, Russo." Snips said.

"Good job." Kestis congratulated the droid and the transmission was ended.

"Did this woman say what her reasons were for attacking us?" Asked Windu.

"Not yet, but we're working on that." I answered.

"I think we can guess her motives easily enough." He said. "Public opinion is swaying against the Jedi. That is becoming clear." We all looked worried at each other. "This war is becoming less and less popular every day it persists." He reclined on his chair and that was signal that this meeting was over. We bowed our heads and walked out in silence. I stretched once we were outside the Chambers.

"Masters, I'm relieved we solved this case, but-" Ahsoka started as we walked down the hall.

"What if it had been a Jedi?" Anakin complemented her idea. That's something we were all wondering.

"Yes." She said. "I don't know how I would've felt if a Jedi was really behind this." I smiled sadly at her.

"There are going to be Jedi who disappoint us, Ahsoka." Ani said gently.

"True, but, as long as we know there are good Jedi who fight for what's right...it makes it all worthwhile." I added and we entered the lift.

"Agreed, Smarty." Ani said, sending me a smile, that I returned. "Now, I'm carving french fries, who's in?" The Padawans quickly agreed, making me chuckle.

"You enjoy. I'm meeting with Kenobi." I said.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Anakin.

"No. I just owe him a drink." The doors of the elevator opened and we walked out. "I'll explain everything later. Bring me an order of chips, though. And don't eat them this time. None of you." I pointed at Witty and Skyguy as we walked separately towards the exit of the Temple. They chuckled.

"No promises, Master." Said Cal, making me roll my eyes.

"Well said, kid." Ani high-fived him and the three of them made their way to Dex's while I walked towards the pub where Obi-Wan and I had agreed on going to.

When I found him, we sat down by a table and ordered the whiskey bottle we had agreed on as well. We poured the beverage on the glasses and drank slowly as we remembered our Masters and he found the courage to talk about Satine.

I was glad he trusted me enough as to speak about her. That made me feel sort of guilty, because in this moment, I wanted to tell him so badly that I actually understood him. That I understood what hiding the way you feel towards someone because of the Code feels like, but I couldn't.

I reached the conclusion that, maybe, in the future I'd tell him...over another bottle of whiskey. Besides the tears, we enjoyed a pleasant conversation and eventually a meal —burgers to be specific— before returning to the Temple. It was quite late, so, I crashed here after signaling Ani so that he didn't stay up waiting for me.

I laid down thinking about the great deal of memories that were just shared, the feelings they brought. I was glad to spend time with one of my best friends besides fighting side by side on different battles and having nearly dying experiences.

When I closed my eyes, I heard Adi. I frowned and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a very bright room, and there she was. Standing in the middle of the shiny room with her hands on her hips, a side smile and shaking her head.

"Finally." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"Did Cal delver my message?" I couldn't articulate a word. This was...how is this possible? "Allana?"

"Wha- what message?"

"The one about you being hard to talk to."

"Oh, that. Yes, yes, he did." She chuckled. "You wanted to talk to me?" She nodded.

"Yes. For about five weeks now."

"Oh." She chuckled again. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You know, things." I scoffed and nodded. "I wanted you to know that I'm okay. Life here is fun." She had a bright smile on her features, one I hadn't seen since the war started. "Is tranquil, harmonic and happy. There's no suffering. At least not for me." I smiled as my eyes pooled with tears.

"That's all I wanted to know. All I needed to know." She smiled more as I smiled, myself.

"I know." She sighed. "I don't have much time left, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've always been. And don't blame yourself, I would've done it either way, had you been braver or not. I would have never hesitate on saving you, little sister." I smiled brightly and the tears fell. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I?"

"Taking revenge even if I shouldn't?"

"No, I thank you for that. I'm sure that if it had been you, I would've avenged you as well. But you must stay away from that path. You're balancing yourself in between Light and Darkness. You've always have. You're closer to the light, though. Stay that way." I nodded and her hand found my shoulder for a second before she smiled. "Goodbye, Allana." She started to walk away while I just stood there.

"Will I see you again?" She turned around and smiled for a second.

"Like this?" I nodded. "No. Not for a long time." I nodded sadly. "But keep an eye out for me, you'll see, we all have a way to come back to the land of the living somehow. I'll always be looking out for you so that you don't do something...too stupid." I chuckled. "Goodbye, my Padawan." I breathed in and nodded.

"Goodbye, Master." She smiled, turned back around and walked further into the room, until the bright light hid her figure.

From that moment on, everything started losing the brightness it had until I was submerged in darkness. From that moment on, I just slept further in, feeling calm, at peace and happy to know that she's okay.