Ossus: A Place of Knowledge.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei studied the star map his father left him. He kept checking it against R4's map. He was worried.

"R4, are you sure about this?" Wei asked. "I mean, the last thing anyone heard about this planet, it was engulfed in a supernova."

R4 gave an irritable chirp. Yes. I don't tell you how to drink. You don't tell me how to read my star maps.

Wei looked to his left, staring the astromech full in the optic sensor. He made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Well played, Droid."

R4's chirp turned lighter, happier. Thank you.

"So what makes you think this planet is still in tact?"

R4's sounds leaned back towards irritated. Do you not remember your Jedi Order History?

"Not a droid, R4. Information doesn't just stick around in my head until someone else erases it. It goes away if I don't use it."

The droid's whistle sounded almost like an exasperated sigh. When Exar Kun sent his apprentice to Ossus to recover what was left after the Great Sith War, Jedi Master Ood Bnar sacrificed his life to keep the apprentice from succeeding in his quest. Ood Bnar was so strong in the Force, the legends say he metamorphosed into a tree. If his power was so great, it stands to reason there is the possibility the planet was saved from the supernova by the Jedi Master's great power.

Now it was Wei's turn to whistle. "Wow. That's power I may never have."

You might be crippled, but if you continue your lightsaber training, there is no limit to who powerful you could become.

Wei sighed. "Fair enough. Let's get down there and find what we're looking for."

[Palara Iscandar]

I can sense your growing power in the Force, Inquisitor Iscandar.

She knelt before the hologram, feeling the first waves of fear. If he judged her to be useless, it would take one command to the Troopers and crew and she could be killed. She did not fancy her chances against the entire squad aboard her ship either.

"Wei 'as overmatched me every time I 'ave faced 'im," the twilek Inquisitor responded. "It is natural for me to learn from my mistakes."

Inquisitor Atrapes' expression remained emotionless, though it carried that undercurrent of judgement that had always kept her on edge.

True. The fact you live after having faced him twice speaks well of your abilities. You are after him now.

He knew something, at least, of what had happened to her on Tatooine, though she kept it unsaid to anyone. He likely had noticed discrepancies in her reports. She would have to be careful to avoid showing how much the Jedi, both Solomon and Wei, were making impressions on her thinking.

"I 'ave narrowed down 'is trajectory to ze planet Ossus, Lord Inquisitor," Iscandar responded, straightening and burying her emotions deep. The fact he could read her at all said much about his own grasp of that particular talent. "Zere is a pattern forming."

Ossus? It seems our Jedi is travelling to planets important to the history of his Order. There is something deeper to this as well. Continue your attempts to capture him, Inquisitor.

Iscandar bowed.

"I will. Veritas Vincit, Lord Inquisiteur."

Atrapes saluted and his holographic image disappeared. Iscandar left the pod, feeling tired and drained, and a growing desire to run was quashed once more as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. Striding back onto the tiny little bridge of the Inquisitorial Corvette Silencer, she saw the planet in its hues of orange and red and wondered what was on this planet that Wei was after.

She had learned so much from this mission; she almost didn't want it to end. She pushed away the fanciful thoughts and ordered the droid-pilot to land the ship.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei landed in an open area a half a klick away from the library. Even as a ruin, the thing was enormous. Wei looked up at it, amazed that the spire at the top of the thing was still there.

"R4, you know the drill."

The little droid hooted an affirmative, and Wei started the jog towards the library.

Wei looked overhead. Worry etched his face. Palara had been hounding him for much too long. Sooner or later, she would appear. She was rather like his shadow. He had managed to keep her at bay so far, but with the persistent hounding, Wei found he was not able to expand his bag of tricks fresh enough for his liking. But he had to win. The memories of his family depended on it.

Wei shook the thought from his head. Anticipation was a distraction. His Master had said so. Of course, Quinlan Vos wasn't exactly a model Jedi...

[Palara Iscandar]

The landing was fairly easy; they found an area that was much more habitable than most of the other places, and the squad disembarked with her in a crevasse, with what seemed to be a natural path leading out of it; the area was easily defensible.

"If our records from ze Temple are correct, ze fabled Library will be 'is destination," Iscandar said through the vocalizer on her breather. "Form up. We will make it zere before 'im and lay a trap."

They didn't make it far before a transmission from the ship broke her concentration.

Madame Inquisitor, we are under attack.

"What? By whom?"

Unknown. Primitives it seems, using slugthrowers. We do not know how they have entered the ravine.

Iscandar growled lowly. Things had been going well, too.

"Take ze squad back and drive off zese primitives. Zen rendezvous with me at ze Library as soon as possible."

"Inquisitor," the Troopers saluted and marched back to the landing site. Iscandar watched them go with regret. Without their help, her mission became that much harder to complete.

[Wei Wu Wei]

A zinging slug grazed Wei's cheek. "Ow!" Wei said more out of surprise than pain. "What was that?"

Another slug found the ground in front of Wei's toes. Expecting a fight, Wei drew his lightsaber. As the blade emerged, the Force Cripple's mind expanded. He still couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. Wei expected Imperials. It made sense to him that people who specialized in hunting Jedi would use slugs rather than laser bolts. No matter how hard he tried, Wei couldn't deflect metal with a laser sword.

********************

"I do NOT need a Padawan," Quinlan Vos said to the Council. "I'm trying to infiltrate Count Dooku's inner circles! I cannot be weighed down by some fresh-faced stripling!"

Wei sat outside the Jedi Council. Still just a boy, but somehow more grown-up. More mature. Over the last month, Wei had come to terms with his status as a Force Cripple. He accepted it with a smile. With permission from the Counci, Wei was exempt from all training except for Galactic History and Academics, and lightsaber combat. Already his proficiency in Shii-Cho was higher than average, and with the extra time to study the Youngling found a great deal of useful information imbedded in the history of the Galactic Republic. He could hear the entire conversation between Master Vos and the Council. Vos' voice carried well when he was angry, and the clear, curt tones of Mace Windu carried well.

"You will take him. As a Force Cripple, he will be instrumental to your work."

"He's a Cripple? So I get a baby cripple for a Padawan! Just great!"

"Much anger in you, I sense. Master Vos, we assign you this Padawan not just for the sake of your mission--but for yours as well."

The ridicule in Vos' tone was apparent. "And how can he help me if I'm so busy changing his diapers?"

"Be still for a moment, Vos. Can you detect the boy's strength in the Force? He's only just outside. Can you feel his power?" Mace asked.

"Well," there was a pause. "No. He's just a regular kid."

"Precisely. Now, see what happens."

Master Windu must have had the Caretaker's bowl with him. The clear pure note sifted through the door to the Council Chambers and reached Wei's ears. Wei took a breath as though he were inhaling some fragrant incense. With his contented, gusty sigh his mind expanded into the Temple. His body felt lighter. All the strength and stamina the Force could afford him electrified his muscles. And yet, the boy was calm.

"Wait, is that him?" Master Vos asked. "Is that the kid?"

One of the Masters must have nodded.

"I didn't know. How does this work?"

Wei could hear the explanations.

"Ok, so what does he do for me personally?"

"A tether to the Light, he will be. Young, positive, hopeful the boy is. Calm, at peace with himself and station. Unusual it is for someone so young to have such inner peace."

Vos chuckled. "Well, a lost little kid who can turn into That might not be such a problem. Sure, why not? I'll take him. He can be my Force Bomb that I can put a timer on and watch him explode when I need him to do his thing."

"That's...one way to look at it," Ki-Adi Mundi chimed in. "Nevertheless, we should call the boy in so you two can become acquainted."

**************

Wei chuckled. Force Bomb indeed. Master Vos certainly seemed to like putting his Padawan in the midst of a group of people that needed to be dealt with. Even now, the situation was familiar.

"You guys, we don't have to do this," Wei said. "No need to fight. I just want to go to the big building and get something. I really would like your families to have someone to welcome back to their homes."

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar turned away from her long look down the path her soldiers had taken back to the landing site.

Something felt wrong, here. Unhooking her lightsaber, she left it unactivated but still ready as she started to jog in the direction of the large ruins in the distance.

The feeling grew progressively worse, until she stopped in a short flat area ringed about with rolling hills.

"Show yourselves!" she shouted, gripping her lightsaber in both hands and settling into a stance.

From the rocky outcroppings surrounding her, a large group of natives stepped into view. Most held blasters, or what she assumed were blasters; they seemed to be of a make and model she wasn't familiar with, but they all seemed dangerous enough when pointed at her.

"Who art thou?" One asked, stepping forward. "That you stride without fear or reverence towards the holy places? None may go hither."

Iscandar didn't ease her stance.

"I am Agent-Inspector Iscandar," the twilek responded evenly. "Of Imperial Intelligence. To point a weapon at a representative of ze Imperial government is a severe crime. Lower your weapons."

The native laughed and brazenly pointed his spear at her.

"Thou art brave, Iscandar," he said through his mask, which seemed to faintly resonate with the Dark. "But it shall not be. Thou shalt die."

Iscandar activated her blade, causing all the primitives around her to back up in confusion. They waited as Iscandar slowly lifted her arm and blade into the air and threw it at the leader of the natives, whose eyes widened before the blade spun through him, killing him instantly. The Inquisitor focused, falling to a knee and keeping her eyes on the spinning blade, desperately reaching into the Force and directing it to carve a path through the hostile natives even as it continued spinning.

The maneuver worked, but she had to abandon it after only a few seconds, as the natives started to shoot slugs from their weapons at her, and a couple charged, their spears held high.

She called the lightsaber back to her, and killed two more of them before a slug buried itself into her arm, causing her to cry out in pain, and emboldened the natives to step forward. Iscandar threw her blade once more, before calling back and running for her life.

The natives cheered and gave chase over the blasted landscape.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei's hand closed around his saber's hilt as the natives began to fire. Wei yanked his saber out of his sleeve and powered it on. The blade's hum reached him quickly, but the slug still found his arm.

"Ow!" Wei said. His jaw clenched while he fought the pain.

The former Jedi ducked and juked around the next set of slugs, dancing like an insect on a hot durasteel roof. With nothing to do but run, Wei bolted towards the Great Library.

***************

"What would you say is the biggest weakness a Jedi faces on the battlefield, sir?"

It was years later. Wei sat amidst the Clone Troopers in his Master's place. Master Vos preferred to be doing espionage. It got him closer to Dooku and made him feel like he was actually accomplishing something to end the war. Besides, he didn't much care for the clones. The feeling was mutual.

The only thing Wei's master and the clones seem to like about it all was Wei. The Padawan was more than happy to direct the troops, and the troops appreciated being commanded by someone who didn't look on them with disdain.

This was a new method Master Vos developed to try to coax more information out of Dooku. Wei would show up at strategic locations with his clones, wreak havoc on the Separatist forces, and then disappear. Along with Wei's capabilities as a "Force Bomb," Wei was supposed to be a mysterious Jedi who had infiltrated Dooku's inner circle. The notion behind it all was to provide Dooku a red herring while having this elusive Jedi spy appear and then fade away like a spectre.

"Well," Wei said, "Solid rounds give me a hard time. I'm not good at moving things using the Force, so an explosive shell or a slug-thrower would cause me a great deal of frustration. I expect they would cause Dooku a hard time too. It's easy to stop ten blaster bolts. But conceptualizing and trying to stop ten slugs using only the Force takes a lot of effort."

Wei shrugged. "It'd take even more effort for me, since my only options are to run or close the distance and destroy their weapons."

The clone commander nodded. "We need to get you some good old-fashioned armor. None of these silly robes. It's a war, not a pajama party!"

Wei and the clones laughed. "Hey, even at pajama parties there are pillow fights!" This only provoked more laughter. Life was good before Order 66.

*************

[Palara Iscandar]

Slugs made an awful sort of sound as they traced their paths through the air. It was a whistle, a buzz, and a hum, all at once, and one could only hear them far too late for it to matter at all.

Their war-cries were nothing compared to the sound of slugs whirring through the atmosphere. Some shots were off, but seemed to arc about, guided by the very wills of the natives. Iscandar was astounded; were all these warriors Force-users?

A native leapt from some scraggly underbrush, but lost his arm to the Inquisitor's lightsaber. He fell to the ground, screaming, and she continued to run, until she caught sight of Wei, running directly on her left. She contemplated an attempt to disable him and finally complete her mission, but a small upheaval of earth from a missed shot forced her to focus on survival more than anything else.

Their pursuers stopped as the two fled up the stairways of the old Library and dashed inside. Iscandar didn't stop until she was sure she wasn't in the path of any of the warriors' arcing bullets.

"I almost 'ad you to rights," she said, powering off her lightsaber and affixing it to her belt, before checking the wound in her upper arm. "But it seems I am fated to fail at zis mission."

[Wei Wu Wei]

A wry chuckle escaped Wei's lips. "Well, that's good news for me."

Wei heard one last shot from a random slug-thrower: he sidestepped smartly and out of reflex or frustration swung his lightsaber at the zinging projectile. It passed through his sea-green blade and turned into a slagged metal splatter on the wall.

"That's interesting," Wei muttered. "They're not shooting anymore. They're not even standing at the steps. Look."

Sure enough, the natives stood well away from the structure shouting and shaking their fists and weapons at the pair.

"Well, that'll make trying to leave interesting." Wei glanced over at Palara. Trapped inside with his pursuer, he felt ill-at-ease. The natives would keep him penned inside the library for the time being. If he left, he'd be killed unless he could come up with a plan. The library was big, but not even the massive hallways and chambers could accommodate his starfighter. If he let his guard down, Palara might try to get him anyway. He wasn't sure how she felt about the Jedi Library, but Wei knew from experience the Empire didn't hold Jedi lore sacred. Nothing could stop her from taking her larger ship, blasting a hole in the roof and then lifting the pair of them out.

"I hope you don't take offense that I'm not putting this away," Wei said. "It's just that you're trying to apprehend me makes it hard to get comfortable." What he didn't tell her was that the moment he turned it off, he'd be at a considerable disadvantage. Wei knew Force-sensitives could detect his crippling when he deactivated his saber. As a man amongst a crowd, it didn't matter so much. But here, in the large empty space, it would be no big feat to guess the sudden disappearance of a Force signature would originate from him.

"Anyway, welcome to Ossus and the Great Jedi Library. Shall we go walkabout?"

[Palara Iscandar]

"'Great Jedi library'?" the Inquisitor responded, looking around at the ruins, and back at Wei. "Zis? It is ruins, now. Why come 'ere?"

She asked, mainly out of curiosity as she tried to pull the slug from her arm, and failed horribly. She pulled out her commlink and brought up the image of her squad sergeant.

Inquisitor. We are still pacifying the area around the landing site. The natives outnumber us and we cannot bring them into direct confrontation. No casualties.

"Good. When possible, bring ze ship to my position, or at least, as close to my position as you can. Natives 'ave trapped me in ze ruins. I require evacuation."

Understood, Inquisitor. Out.

She placed the commlink onto her belt as well and faced Wei completely. She was extremely close to her quarry, but with a wound, and one which hampered her use of one arm, she wasn't quite sure of her chances at surviving, much less winning.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei waited patiently for her to finish her communication. He probably had only minutes before that ship arrived. If Iscandar got reinforcements, Wei would have a bad time trying to reach his own ship. He considered calling R4 to him as well, but the smaller fighter would be easy pickings for the Inquisitor's ship.

"Yes, the Great Jedi Library ruined. During the Great Sith War it was destroyed, but several of its artifacts and holocrons survived. Then when the Dark Lord Exar Kun sent his apprentices to recover what was left, Jedi Master Ood Bnar put a stop to them."

Wei shrugged. "I don't really know what I'm looking for, or where I'll find it. Though I figure I will know what it is and where I will find it eventually." He paused. "Of course, it would be easier if you left me alone. After all, I'm just a drunk chasing ghosts. I'm not entirely sure I'm not wasting my time. Why go to all the trouble of chasing me down? What have I done to upset this Inquisitoriate?"

[Palara Iscandar]

"You are Jedi. Zat is enough for ze Inquisition to target you," Iscandar explained, ripping off a section of her jacket and tying it around her arm. "We also 'ave known of you for some time."

The twilek winced, knotting the jury-rigged bandage and sighing. Painkillers would have helped, but also would bring down her motor skills and reaction times. She needed to remain alert, even if it meant dealing with the pain of a bullet-wound.

She hadn't been in such close quarters with her quarry before, and now she was wounded and both were trapped by natives. It would be difficult at best to capture the Jedi now, but he didn't need to know that.

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy all ze time," she said finally. "A Jedi, of all people, should know zat much."

[Wei Wu Wei]

*****************

"Remember, Padawan," Master Vos told him. "The idea is that you want to gather information without calling too much attention to yourself. When you were little, it was pretty easy to walk up to someone pretending to be lost, or confused, or curious. People want to entertain the questions of wide-eyed children, especially if that child admires the adult he is speaking to. Now that you're older, you'll have to change your tactics."

Wei had been trying to gather information on a droid foundry for a few days now. Since the start of the Clone Wars, the Separatists slowly automated more and more of their droid manufacturing. As such, it was getting ever more difficult to slip inside undetected.

At first, it had been easy to play the role of a young human, simple and eager to join the workforce and make a small life for himself. But later, it seemed more and more that only specialists and supervisors were living beings. Hardly any of them were human.

"Just remember to be polite, be efficient, and always have a plan of escape in case things go pear-shaped." Master Vos would never admit it, but he had grown fond of Wei, and cared very much for the boy's safety.

"Of course, Master."

Vos smiled. "That's my Force Bomb. If you can shut down this Foundry yourself, we can avoid having to use the Clones." He made it sound like he was interested in efficiency and the lives of his men, but Wei wasn't fooled.

"So what do I do?" Wei asked.

"I know you can't really tell a good lie, so be honest. But don't give too much information. Remember, the more information you give them, the more they have to discern your true motives. You can do it. Good luck."

*************

"So that's why my family had to die?" He had to know. Did they know about him before that day? Had his family been in danger the entire time? Or were they just after the information his father stole. "If you knew about me then, you knew where I worked. You could have come for me there. It's not like the Empire is precisely interested in being quiet or subtle."

He needed to know if she had an idea about why he was there. If she was aware he had stolen information, then he needed to hurry. If she didn't know about it, then he had to make sure she would never know. Not if he could help it.

[Palara Iscandar]

"I 'ave no idea why your family 'ad to die," Iscandar replied, squashing a small stab of guilt. "But evil things 'appen to good people. Zey or zose zey love are killed, robbed, tortured or... or raped. But ze Inquisition is after you, Jedi. No one else."

A small smirk graced her lips.

"As for ze why ze Inquisition does what it does... I cannot apologize for a system I cannot control. And if you want me to tell you, plainly, why ze Inquisition is so doggedly at your 'eels; well, you must think I am a fool, or stupid. You will learn when we question you."

The smirk dropped.

"It is only a matter of time, now," she said, not looking too happy with that prospect.

[Wei Wu Wei]

**********

"Pay close attention to what a person tells you, Wei. Take it all in. Their words, their tone, their expressions. Do they hug themselves when they talk about something? Do they look in you in the eye or do their eyes shift to one side? Posture, how they center their weight, whether or not they hunch their shoulders: all of these unconscious ticks create an entire picture of communication. You don't have to use the Force to tell if someone is lying to you. Just focus on their body language."

"But Master, droids don't have any of that."

Quinlan Vos rubbed the stubble on his face. "True, but droids can only lie or tell the truth as much as they're programmed. Even the most advanced droids are limited in how well they can 'lie' if that's what you want to call it. Usually if you ask a droid the wrong question, it will simply tell you it cannot answer."

***********

Wei raised an eyebrow. He could safely assume the Inquisition was not after him when they murdered his family. Wei still felt angry, but also somewhat relieved. Somehow, knowing that helped him begin to absolve himself of their murders. It wasn't his fault they died.

Wei also picked up something like fear or pain in the Inquisitor's voice. Her face looked sad or regretful. Suddenly it occurred to Wei that the Inquisitor did not enjoy her work.

Even so, Wei figured she would not simply let him go. Running wasn't an option. What kept her towing the Imperial line? There was a lot to ask, but time was short. The former Jedi got the impression that Palara was right. If he didn't do what he came to Ossus to accomplish, he might very well be leaving on Palara's ship rather than his own. That couldn't happen.

"If this library can survive the rampages of war, plunderers, and thieves, then I can outlast your Inquisition," Wei said at last. "I have escaped you plenty of times already. I will do it again. Give up and let me be."

Wei stepped out into a court yard that apparently connected the several wings of the Great Jedi Library. In the middle stood Ood Bnar's tree.

[Palara Iscandar]

"You are not zis librarie," Iscandar replied shortly. Hadn't she said this before? She couldn't simply give up. This was her duty, her obligation; she was ordered to capture the Jedi, and she would die trying to do so. To fail likely meant death anyway.

Iscandar was not afraid of death.

She followed Wei into the central courtyard, where a large tree stood. She could feel it in the Force, but most of her attention was on Wei.

She pulled her lightsaber from her belt.

"Jedi," she called, keeping the hilt firmly in her hand. Her arm was throbbing, but she ignored it. "I place you under arrest. Please place your weapon on ze ground and step away from it."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei only offered the Makashi salute in return. He would make his stand, as he always had.

"Back down yourself! Why serve the Empire? You know my fate if I give up, and I can safely guess you do not like what will happen to me if I go with you. What keeps you attached to them that you are able to ignore your own conscience?!"

[Palara Iscandar]

"Why I serve zem is my own affair. Suffice it to say I am greatly indebted to zem," Iscandar replied, jumping and landing in front of Wei with a thud and a high strike, coupled with a low kick and hook with her foot to trip up her adversary.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei chose to block the lightsaber. When Palara swept his feet out from under him, he chose to roll with it--literally. One smart backroll a split-second later had him back on his feet.

"So you mean to say you owe them so much that you gave them your sense of justice as collateral?"

The former Jedi hacked away with an overhead chop followed by a spinning lateral swing at Palara's midsection.

[Palara Iscandar]

"Justice," Iscandar responded, sounding almost bitter, parrying the overhead chop and blocking the lateral swing.

Her hand flashed out to release the Force in a concentrated wave only inches from the Jedi's chest, immediately wincing and hacking down at him with the lightsaber held by her right hand; her left arm was held close to her body to protect it from the fight.

"I 'ave 'ad little experience with justice. And zey are ze ones who showed me it."

Each word was punctuated by a quick slash at Wei. Despite the bitter undertone, the twilek seemed to be controlling her emotions well and keeping her attention on the fight itself.