A few hours later, I wake up. I sit up without much pain this time, and even manage to stand up. The bandages on my hands are stiff, so I peel them off. Dried blood stains my hands, so I leave the room and find a refresher right next door. I go inside and gasp when I see myself in the mirror.
More dried blood cakes my cheeks where there used to be bandages and I have a swollen black eye. I think I have a broken rib, and I look down at my ankle to see more bandages. I must have sprained it. Thankfully though, there are no bandages on my arms, or my legs. At least part of me isn't injured. I wash my hands free of blood and take a washcloth on the wall and clean my cheeks. As I'm putting it away, I hear a voice call out for me.
"Spirit!" I hear Astri call. I stumble out of the refresher and she's looking in the room where I slept. I tap her on the shoulder.
"Oh! Spirit!" Astri says, jumping and turning to me. "You scared me."
"Sorry," I say sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind, I found the refresher and thought I'd clean myself up a bit."
"No, not at all! I'm glad to see you're up and running. Well, walking," Astri smiles. She puts a hand on my shoulder. "Come. Dad wants to meet you."
She leads me down the hallway and down a set of stairs to a small living room. An older man sits in a chair with the Holonet playing in front of him. I stop walking as a picture of me comes up. It's a recent picture, of me in a simple brown tunic and boots.
"Rogue Jedi Padawan Spirit Syunic has escaped the Jedi Temple. She has been in contact with the leader of the Separatists, Count Dooku. She is highly dangerous and armed. If you see her, contact authorities immediately."
The man sees me and shuts the Holonet off. "Hello there," he says, standing up. "I'm Astri's father. But you can call me Didi. May I ask, WHY exactly are you being framed for treason?"
"Good question," I reply. "I'm pretty sure that Jedi Padawan Dev Haght is behind it, but why? Sure, I kicked his butt in lightsaber training and EVERY other subject in our Jedi training, but still! We are rivals, not anything like this."
"You WERE rivals," Didi corrects. "Obviously, this runs deeper than that. I suspect that he's the real traitor, and that he's got a reason for framing you. He's obviously got some ties with the Separatists."
"No. He wouldn't seriously betray the Republic," I shake my head.
"Sweetheart, anyone will do anything for money. Or power. Overall, greed. There's nothing that could change that. Obviously, this 'Dev Haght', if that's even his real name, has been offered some power if he stirs up the Republic and knocks us off balance. Why not frame a rival he didn't like anyway? It gets the job done and the position or wealth won, plus gets rid of you. It makes perfect sense." Didi says.
"Okay, say you're right. How do we catch him?" I ask.
Didi smiles. "That's not my problem. MY problem is keeping the Jedi and those Clone Troopers off your trail. Astri can help you with the evidence part. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to report seeing you on the other end of the city, in the under levels. Far away from here." Didi says and leaves the room. I turn to Astri.
"Ready to do some snooping?" She asks, and I nod. "Great. But first, let's scavenge some weapons and a disguise for you. The Republic will know what you were wearing and will use that to help search for you."
She leads me outside into a back alley and climbs onto a speeder. "Ready?"
I smile and climb on behind her. Astri guns the engine and we zoom off.