MOONDUST ▷ OBI-WAN KENOBI

CHAPTER IV. the way she shone

☆ | CHAPTER FOUR; THE WAY SHE SHONE

{" and the stars blinked as they watched her carefully, jealous of the way she shone"}

While Obi-Wan had decided to do research on the Kamino System in the Jedi archives, Ingrid had something important to do. She had simply told him that she had something personal that needed attending to before she could continue the hunt for the bounty hunter, and told him to contact her using the comlink if he were to find anything.

Galactic City encompassed the entire planet of Coruscant, making it impossible for someone to explore everything the ecumenopolis had to offer. Ingrid had come to realize, after becoming part of the Jedi Order and spending time with people of power, that most didn't know what the city was truly like. People who lived in luxury, the ones who resided in the upper levels, had never even bothered to see what the lower levels were like. They'd rather be blind to the toxic air and the artificial light that the people in the underworld had to deal with, enjoying breathing in the filtered oxygen and sun. Down below, sunlight was a myth.

Ingrid had to travel to the lower levels undercover, but she managed to do it without being noticed. Her Jedi cloak, hooded and black as night, allowed her to stay in the shadows, unseen, and she arrived at her destination with no problem.

The dwellings down below were crammed between machinery used to pump the planet of it's resources, making them small and cramped, but Ingrid saw a certain charm to them that the big homes on the top layers did not possess.

When she reached the home she was looking for, she raised her fist and knocked twice. There was the muffled sound of footsteps on the other side of the door, and the scraping sound of the peephole cover being removed, and Ingrid drew her hood back and moved into the light so that the person on the other side of the door could see who she was.

There was a pause, and then the front door creaked open, revealing a pale girl with dark hair that was twisted into an intricate plait along on side of her head. She was clothed in practically rags, the cloth hanging off her frame.

"Hey Esmé," Ingrid greeted her best friend.

"Ingrid," Esmé said, a smile breaking out onto her face. "Come on in." Ingrid glanced around before ducking into the home. Once Esmé had shut the door, she embraced her friend.

"I was wondering when you'd return," Esmé said as they parted.

"Sorry it took so long," Ingrid said. "A lot has happened in the past few days."

Before Ingrid began to live with Padmé, she had many acquaintances on the streets, including Esmé Vale. When it came to the life of a street rat on Naboo, it was always smart to have an ally, but Esmé was more than that- she was a friend. Much like any other street rat, the two didn't have families, so they formed one of their own. They were practically sisters, but when Ingrid was offered to live with Padmé, Esmé turned down the offer to come along with her. She didn't trust politicians, not after seeing so many corrupt ones ruin Naboo, and decided that staying on the streets was the best thing for her. Despite their separation, they managed to remain friends, even when Ingrid joined the Order. Ingrid even managed to find her a job and somewhere to live on Coruscant so that they could be closer.