Star Wars: The Forgotten Student

21.

"How did...how did you find me?" I asked Anakin and Obi-Wan in a state of shock.

"As soon as it was clear you had been taken, we immediately sent out search parties and crews, all over Takodana and the rest of the region. After a few weeks, we tapped into a transmission between a Separatist officer and a battle droid. They didn't explicitly mention you, but they spoke about your ability and that the Star Destroyer you were on was travelling across the galaxy. That's when knew you were on a ship." Obi-Wan started.
"It took a while to track you down, the Star Destroyer was on the very outer rim of the Galaxy; it obviously didn't want to be found. To be honest, we took a bit of a chance. We didn't actually know whether you would be on it or not. But we sensed that you were on board so knew we had to get you off."

"Why just you two, alone?" I asked.

This time, Anakin spoke.
"The rest council wanted to send troops first and scout out the ship. But they didn't have enough troops ready, we don't know how much longer it would have taken if we had waited for backup. You had already been gone three months, and that was long enough; Obi-Wan and I decided it would be better to go alone, undetected and get you off of that ship. The Council doesn't know we're here."

I didn't know how to react. For the first time in a very long time, I felt important, I felt as if I meant something. Anakin and Obi-Wan came all of this way, putting themselves at risk and didn't tell the rest of the council. That had to have meant something.

"Thank you, both of you. Truly. I don't know how much longer I would have survived." I said, choking up a little.

They both smiled back at me.

"You should probably try and get some rest. It will be a little while until we reach Coruscant. And I'm sure the rest of the council will have plenty of questions for all of us." Obi-Wan said. He and Anakin stood up and both went back to their pilot seats at the front of the ship.

I took a deep breath in. I laid down on my side, on the padded row of seats, and shut my eyes. Quiet quickly, I found myself slipping into a deep sleep. Although I wasn't incredibly comfortable, I hadn't slept properly in weeks.

I awoke by the ship rattling around, coming out of hyperspace. Beyond the window I could see Coruscant. It felt like a life time since I had been there, despite it only being three months. We flew down towards the Jedi Temple, through the traffic clogged skies. The bustling skies completely contrasted the weeks of solitude and isolation I had just been through.

Obi-Wan bought the ship gently down to land in the ships hangar. I peered out of the window and saw Master Windu and Master Yoda waiting for us.
"I alerted the council about your rescue." Obi-Wan said, walking over to me. I nodded my head in response before standing up. I was still quite wobbly and weak on my feet so held onto the wall as I stumbled towards the door.

I slowly made my way down the steps of the ship and onto the ground, where Master Windu greeted me.
"Are you alright, Delta?" He calmly asked.

"Yes, thank you, I am now." I replied with a small smile.

"When I received word that Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker had found you, I was almost in disbelief. Despite going against the advice of the Council, they got you back safe, and that's what matters." Master Windu said.
"Is there anything we can do for you?" He added.

"If it's alright with you, Master, I'm absolutely starving." I said with a chuckle.

Next, I was taken to a room with a circle table and chairs. I was given food and water and all the nutrients that I had been deprived of. As I finished my meal, a guest arrived in the room. It was Markcol.

I stopped what I was doing and slowly stood up from where I sat. I just stared at his face, examining his features. I was still in disbelief that he was actually alive. Then, I quickly walked over to him and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Eventually, we pulled away from the hug and I just smiled at him before we both sat down at the table.

"Markcol, all this time, I thought that you were dead." I said to him.

"I know. And I'm sorry, truly I am. I tried to find you after the Wookiees helped me, but nobody knew where you were." His eyes looked sorrowful and apologetic.

"So what happened to you, how did you end up on Takodana?" I asked him.

"I was making a pit stop whilst travelling to Naboo to try and find you and then I don't really know what happened, it's all a little cloudy. But I got ambushed by some clankers and Seppies who took me to that temple and questioned me. I didn't tell them anything but my name. However, I assume that it's from my name that they realised I was related to you, because then they put me as bait to lure you in."

I felt sorry for my brother, he spent so long looking for me, only for us to be reunited whilst he was being used to trap me.

"Delta, what did they do to you?" He asked, shaking his head slightly.

I looked down at the floor and hesitated before responding.
"They tortured me." I bluntly said.
"Put me through hours upon hours of suffering, to try and exploit my seeking ability. They wanted to know the location of a Jedi Holocron, containing a list of force-sensitive children. If I told them where it was, they would kill them all. I couldn't let that happen." I looked back up at my brother's face, eyes watering a little.
"They even tried converting me to the dark side. Manipulate me with tales and tricks about the power of the Sith."

"I can't imagine what all of that must have been like. But you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you again. You're my little sister and I will always be there for you."
Can't lie, I found his statement a little ironic.

I went to speak again, but was interrupted by a third person entering the room. It was only Obi-Wan.
"Pardon me, I don't mean to intrude. I was just coming to return this." He held up my lightsaber.

"Thank you." I said as he placed it on the table.

"Also, Delta, when you're ready, the council would like to speak with you about what the Separatists wanted." Obi-Wan said.

I nodded with worried smile and he left the room.

"Isn't that my lightsaber?" Markcol asked with a chuckle, picking up the hilt.

"Yes...well...not anymore." I chuckled back.
"I didn't think you would need it again and I wanted something to remember you by. It just made me feel closer to you, having the hilts connected."

"It's a nice gesture."

The rest of the afternoon I spent with Markcol, essentially catching up and telling each other what our lives had consisted of the past few years. It was good to be back by his side. I had my best friend back, my ally, my brother.

———————————————————————————

Later than evening, I was ready to talk to the council. We arranged to talk in a large meeting hall, around a large circular table. Around the table sat myself, Master Windu, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Master Yoda the other council members, some presented via a blue holographic image. And then the meeting begun.

"It's obvious that the Separatists wanted Delta for her ability to seek things. However, it's also obvious that the Separatists can't have wanted this power for a good cause." Master Windu said, moving his hands as he spoke. He then looked to me, encouraging me to tell my account of what happened.

"The Separatists have discovered a Holocron, a Jedi Holocron. It holds a list of force-sensitive children all over the galaxy. To the Separatists, these children pose as a threat and they wish to slaughter them all. Their only problem is that they don't know the location of the Holocron and therefore captured me to find it for them."

The members of the council began to mumble amounts each other and shuffle in their seats. For once, they actually listened to me.

A/n
Hello,
Thank you so much for reading.
I really hope you enjoyed!
Always happy for feedback and constructive criticism! :)
-A