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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘

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Aurora sat by herself on the transport they were assigned to take. Her eyes stayed glued to Padmé, who was having a hushed conversation with Dormé. Even though she knew she should be honored with her assignment, the Jinn woman was frustrated. She still felt that she should be the one protecting the Amidala girl until the threat was long gone. After all, Aurora was the one who knew Padmé the longest and was very familiar with the way she thought. The brunette woman didn't know how qualified Anakin actually was at protecting the Senator. But what Aurora did know was that she couldn't change the Council or Yoda's mind...and she did try.

The Jinn woman was soon pulled out of her thoughts by their transport slowing down. Padmé didn't hesitate to get to her feet and walk toward the exit with Typho and Dormé right behind her. Aurora watched them for a moment before following their actions. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind as she walked toward the front of the transport. The Jinn woman kept her eyes glued to Padmé as she conversed with Typho and Dormé. That continued for another moment before her attention moved to Anakin. The Jedi Padawan stood by the door, ready to begin their journey back to Naboo. It didn't take long for the Skywalker boy to sense eyes on him, causing him to look over at Aurora.

The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the Jinn woman broke the silence surrounding them. "You better take good care of her, Anakin. I would like to see my friend again in one piece."

"You can count on me, Aurora. I'll keep her safe," the Skywalker boy responded while taking in all the emotions in the brunette woman's eyes.

Not even a second after that passed when the Jinn woman felt a hand on her shoulder. Aurora instantly turned around to find the Amidala girl staring back at her with a small smile on her face. The next thing the Jinn woman knew, Padmé pulled her in for a tight hug. The two of them stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before Aurora whispered into her friend's ear. "Please don't do anything reckless. We don't need them figuring out you left Coruscant."

"We'll be fine, Ro. Don't worry," Padmé responded before the two of them ended their moment, allowing the Senator to send the Padawan a small smile, "and if they do, then my Jedi protector will have to prove how good he is."

That caused Aurora to look up at Anakin once again, only to find him having a private conversation with his Master. As soon as they were finished, the Skywalker boy turned his attention toward her and sent her a small smile. "Good luck with Obi-Wan. You're gonna need it."

The Kenobi man simply rolled his eyes at his Padawan's words before his eyes moved to Padmé. "I'll get to the bottom of this plot quickly, milady. You'll be back here in no time."

"I'll be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi," the Amidala girl responded with a smile as she looked over at the woman standing next to him, "and with Aurora by your side, I know you'll be successful."

A look that Aurora couldn't place appeared on Obi-Wan's face. But before she could think about it any further, Anakin announced it was time for them to begin their journey. Padmé quickly said her goodbyes to Dormé, Typho, and Aurora before grabbing her things and following the Skywalker boy. The two of them barely made it halfway down the ramp with Obi-Wan called out to Anakin. The Jedi Master studied his Padawan for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, Master."

It wasn't long after that when the young duo walked down the ramp and began their journey. Everyone watched them as they walked away with R2-D2 following right behind them. They kept their eyes glued to the young duo until they disappeared into the crowd. Not even a second after that passed when Obi-Wan broke the silence surrounding them. "I do hope he doesn't try anything foolish."

Aurora couldn't help but chuckle at his words. She thought back to the memories of her and Padmé when they were younger and up until their adventure ten years ago. It wasn't long after that when she looked up at the confused-looking Jedi Master. "I'd be more worried about Padmé doing something than Anakin."

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The Jinn woman couldn't fight the confusion flowing through her veins as she followed Obi-Wan. They were walking down one of Coruscant's walkways toward a destination that only the Kenobi man seemed to know. And no matter how many times Aurora asked about his plan, the Jedi Knight wouldn't give anything away. His actions irritated the brunette woman to no end, which seemed to entertain Obi-Wan to an extent. It was as if he was seeing how far he could push her. Little did he know that Aurora could last a lot longer than he thought, which was something that always impressed Yoda.

It wasn't long before they approached a small building in the middle of one of Coruscant's busiest skyways. The confusion within Aurora did nothing but grow as she analyzed the building in front of her. It seemed to be much older than the other structures surrounding it. Its walls were rusted and looked as though it could come crashing down at any moment. The Jinn woman silently hoped that they would walk straight past it, but her pleas went unanswered. However, before Obi-Wan could reach the door, Aurora grabbed his wrist and forced him to face her.

"I think it's time you filled me in on the plan," the Jinn woman announced, earning an annoyed look from the man in front of her.

"Like I told Master Yoda, I don't need a Padawan assisting me. Just let me handle this so we can move on," Obi-Wan responded with his eyes glued to Aurora.

"You may not want me here, Obi-Wan, but you do need me. This is too big for one person to handle on their own. Even the Council knows that," the brunette woman retaliated while trying her best to keep her emotions in check, "now please tell me what we're doing here so we can figure this out together."

The Kenobi man just studied the woman standing in front of him for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "I know someone here who may be able to give us some information. He's an old friend of mine. But he can be a bit blunt so let me do the talking."

Before Aurora had a chance to respond, Obi-Wan turned around and walked into the diner. The Jinn woman let out an irritated sigh before following after him. She was surprised to see the inside of the building a lot cleaner and more put together than the outside, but that wasn't saying too much. The booths were filled with customers either eating or waiting for their food. Numerous conversations were happening around them as droids walked around serving the guests.

It wasn't long before a WA-7 droid began walking toward them. Her yellow eyes scanned over them before her attention moved to the kitchen window. "Someone to see ya, honey! Jedi, by the looks of them."

"Obi-Wan!" the Besalisk in the kitchen exclaimed as soon as he spotted the Jedi Knight.

A childish smile appeared on Obi-Wan's lips, shocking Aurora to the core. It wasn't long after that when he opened his mouth to respond. "Hello, Dex."

"Take a seat. I'll be right with ya," Dex told them before disappearing into the kitchen.

"You wanna cup of Jawa Juice?" the droid asked as she moved behind the counter.

"Oh, yes. Thank you," the Kenobi man responded before gesturing for Aurora to take a seat in the empty booth nearest to them.

The Jinn woman sat down and slid close to the window to give Obi-Wan space. He was just about to join her when Dex came out from the kitchen to join them. The redheaded man's smile did nothing but grow as he greeted his friend with an embrace. The confusion within Aurora did nothing but grow as their laughter filled the air, but she did her best to hide it. She was just trying to figure out how in the world Obi-Wan met this man. It wasn't long after that when they ended their reunion and joined Aurora in the booth.

"So, who's your friend?" Dex asked after glancing over at Aurora before his attention returned to the Kenobi man.

"This is Aurora Jinn. She's Yoda's Padawan assisting me with an assignment," Obi-Wan explained, forcing the Jinn woman to suppress an eye roll and send Dex a smile instead. The Besalisk sent her a smile in return, only for his attention to move back to the Kenobi man after he placed something on the table. "We were hoping you could tell us what this is."

"Well, whattaya know! I ain't seen one of these since I was prospecting on Subterrel, beyond the outer rim," Dex exclaimed as he picked up the toxic dart to examine it more closely.

"Do you know where it came from?" Aurora asked, trying to hide her excitement that they were finally getting answers to the mysterious item.

"This baby belongs to them cloners," the Besalisk responded while the WA-7 droid placed three cups of Jawa Juice on the table, "what you got here is a Kamino saberdart."

Obi-Wan took a long sip of his drink as he took in all the information. That lasted for another moment before he placed his cup back on the table. "I wonder why it didn't show up in the analysis archives."

"It's these funny little cuts on the side that give it away," Dex explained while pointing toward what he was describing before holding it out for the Jedi to see, "those analysis droids only focus on symbols. I should think that you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and...wisdom."

The playful smile soon returned to the Kenobi man's lips, surprising Aurora again. She had never seen him act this way, not even when he was a Padawan. But once again, the Jinn woman chose to ignore it and focused on Obi-Wan's words instead.

"Well, if droids could think, there'd be none of us here, would there?" the redheaded man retaliated before picking up the saberdart and closely studying it, "Kamino. I'm not familiar with it. Is it in the Republic?"

"No, no. It's beyond the Outer Rim. I'd say about, uh, twelve parsecs outside the Rishi Maze. Should be easy to find, even for those droids in your archives," the Besalisk explained after Aurora took the dart from Obi-Wan to get a closer look at its cuts. But her attention was soon drawn back to Dex when he began leaning closer to them. "These, uh, Kaminoans keep to themselves. They're cloners. D*mn good ones too."

"Are they friendly?" Aurora asked while Obi-Wan continued to stare at his friend with an unreadable look on his face.

"Oh, depends."

The blank expression on the Kenobi man's face soon turned to annoyance before he quickly covered it up with a forced smile. "Depends on what, Dex?"

The smile on the Besalisk's face slightly grew as a hint of mischief appeared in his eyes, making Aurora unnoticeably squirm in her seat. "On how good your manners are...and how big your, uh, pocketbook is."

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Later that day, Aurora found herself in the Jedi Archives searching for any information on Kamino. What seemed like an eternity passed of them looking through everything they could find, only to come up short everywhere. While the Jinn woman continued her search, Obi-Wan went to get them assistance. Aurora continued to stare at the screen in front of her until her eyes began hurting. A small sigh passed over her lips as she rubbed her hands over her face. It wasn't long after that when her attention moved to Obi-Wan, who was studying a sculpture nearby.

Aurora didn't remember when the Kenobi man returned from requesting someone to help them. He didn't even try to make himself known. She just studied him for a moment, wanting nothing more than to get a hint at what he was thinking. But his blank expression revealed nothing to her, and that only seemed to irritate her more. She hadn't been able to get a read on the Jedi Knight since their reunion. One minute he's apologizing for what he said to Yoda about training her to be a Jedi, the next he's acting as though his views never changed. All Aurora wanted was to know how he truly felt about her, especially since Obi-Wan was a huge factor in deciding if she would continue her Padawan training or become a Jedi Knight.

It wasn't long before Jocasta approached the Kenobi man, drawing his attention away from the statue. The Chief Librarian sent the Jedi Knight a small smile before opening her mouth to speak. "Did you call for assistance?"

"Yes, yes, I did."

"Are you having a problem, Master Kenobi?"

"Yes, um, we're looking for a planetary system called Kamino. It doesn't show up on the archive charts," Obi-Wan explained as he and Jocasta walked toward Aurora until they were standing directly behind her.

"Kamino. It's not a system I'm familiar with. Are you sure you have the right coordinates?" the Chief Librarian asked as the Jinn woman typed the coordinates Dex had given them into the system.

"According to the information we were given, it should appear right here. Just south of the Rishi Maze," Aurora announced while pointing to an empty spot on the screen in front of her.

Jocasta leaned forward and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, zooming in on the area Aurora was referring to. To both Obi-Wan and Aurora's dismay, there was nothing but empty space. The Chief Librarian let out a small sigh as she turned her attention back toward the two Jedi. "I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you're searching for doesn't exist."

"Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete," the Kenobi man declared while moving his attention back to the screen in front of them.

All the positive emotion slowly faded from Jocasta's face before annoyance was all that was left to be seen. "If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist."

Before they had a chance to continue their conversation, a young Padawan approached them. That was all it took for the Chief Librarian to turn her back to them and walk over toward the Padawan. It wasn't long after that when Jocasta led the boy to another area in the Jedi Archives. Aurora watched them until they were out of sight before her attention moved to Obi-Wan, only to find him deep in thought. Not even a second after that passed when the Jinn woman realized who they really needed to be talking to.

"How confident are you that Dex gave us the right information?" Aurora asked, breaking Obi-Wan out of his trace and drawing his attention toward her.

"Extremely," was all the Kenobi man said in response as he continued to study the brunette woman.

That was all it took for Aurora to close the map on the screen in front of her and get to her feet. A small smile appeared on her lips when she noticed Obi-Wan staring at her in confusion. "I think it's time that we talk to someone much wiser than these machines."

The confusion on the Jedi Knight's face did nothing but grow, causing a laugh to escape Aurora. It wasn't long after that when she turned and made her way out of the Jedi Archives. Obi-Wan didn't hesitate to catch up with her before they walked through the halls of the Jedi Temple. Aurora was always amazed by the structure of the temple. The walls seemed to stretch on forever and were side enough for half a dozen people to walk side by side. But what interested the Jinn woman more was the people inside.

Everyone seemed to be on their own mission of sorts. Whether it was going on a diplomatic mission to another planet or training their Padawans. Knowing that everyone had their own stories always interested Aurora and made her want to know as many as possible. She especially wanted to know those involving her parents. But she knew that would have to wait for now. Padmé's safety remained her top priority until the threat was taken care of.

It wasn't long before they finally reached their destination. While Aurora watched the scene in front of her with a smile on her face, Obi-Wan was unsure as to why she would think bringing them to a youngling training room was a good idea. At least that was until he saw who was leading the training. The two of them watched the younglings train for another moment before Yoda glanced over at them.

"Younglings! Younglings! Visitors we have," the Jedi Grandmaster announced, causing the children to sheathe their practice sabers and lift their helmets.

"Hello, Master Obi-Wan. Hello, Master Aurora," the younglings greeted, causing the confused look to return to the redheaded man's face as he looked over at the woman next to him.

"'Master Aurora'?"

"I help Master Yoda with their training. It's a lot of fun," the Jinn woman responded with a smile on her face before turning her attention back to the younglings and the Jedi Grandmaster, "you're all doing an amazing job. We're sorry to disturb you, Master."

"What help can I be? Hm?" Yoda asked as his eyes moved from Aurora to Obi-Wan.

"We're looking for a planet that an old friend of Obi-Wan told us about," the Jinn woman explained before gesturing for the man next to her to continue.

Obi-Wan sent her a small nod before turning his attention back to the Jedi Grandmaster. "I trust him, but the systems don't show on the archive maps."

"Hm. Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan and Master Aurora have. How embarrassing," Yoda announced after looking over at the younglings, causing a few of them to laugh. It wasn't long after that when the Jedi Grandmaster's attention landed on a boy. "Liam, the shades."

Not even a second after that passed when Liam turned around and held his hand out toward the window. Aurora watched with a large smile on her face as she watched the youngling use the Force to pull down the shades. Not even a second after that passed when Yoda continued speaking. "Gather round the map reader. Clear your minds and find their wayward planet we will."

As soon as it was dark enough in the room, Obi-Wan stepped forward and placed an orb on the map reader. It wasn't long after that when the star chart they were looking at in the Jedi Archives was projected in the room. The smile on Aurora's face did nothing but grow as she watched the younglings look around in awe. But her attention was soon drawn back to the situation at hand when Obi-Wan began walking around the room.

"It ought to be," the Kenobi man said as he looked around at the stars surrounding them before finding what he was looking for, "here, but it isn't."

"If you look closely, gravity is pulling all the stars in the area toward this spot," Aurora explained with her eyes glued to the spot Obi-Wan was pointing to before turning her attention back to her Master, "but nothing's there."

"Hm. Gravity's silhouette remains, but the star and all the planets, disappeared they have," Yoda reiterated as he looked around at the younglings, "how can this be? Hm? A thought? Anyone."

"Master?" a boy called out, breaking the silence surrounding them and drawing everyone's attention toward him, "because someone erased it from the archive memory."

Yoda's laughter soon filled the air as he looked over at Aurora and Obi-Wan. "Truly wonderful the mind of a child is. The Padawan is right. Go to the center of gravity's pull and find your planet you will."

It wasn't long after that when the Jedi Grandmaster began walking toward the exit, causing Aurora to follow him. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment before calling the orb to his hand and following them. Just as they reached the doorway, Yoda stopped in his tracks and continued speaking. "Hm. The data must have been erased."

"But, Master Yoda, who could empty the information from the archives? That's impossible, isn't it?" the Kenobi man asked while Aurora looked at her master with curiosity in her eyes.

"Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer," the Jedi Grandmaster responded before taking a second to think over the new information they discovered, "meditate on this I will."

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