Anabeth: Spark Of Change

Chapter 2 - The Temple

A wave of relief hit Obi-Wan the moment he dropped out of hyperspace above Coruscant. He checked to see the girl still asleep beside him as he called the Temple. Master Yoda, Windu and Allie agreed to meet both him and the girl in the halls of healing so that she could be checked and Obi-Wan could brief them on what had happened on Gandri.

As the ship landed in the Temple's docking bay, Obi-Wan got up from his seat and made his way over to the unconsicous girl. The Jedi Master quickly made sure that she was somewhat stable, before picking her up and carrying her to the halls of healing. On their way there the pair recieved curious looks from passing Jedi who must have obviously realized that there was something more than just a little off about the girl in Obi-Wan's arms.

When they finally arrived at their destination Obi-Wan laid the girl down on one of the beds. He quickly thanked Master Allie as she started to  diagnose the girl, while he made his way over to the other side of the room where Master Yoda and Windu were standing. The concern that had previously only been on Obi-Wan's face now also made its way onto the faces of the other Masters as all of them realized the strange force readings radiatong off the girl.

"Are you alright Obi-Wan?" Mace Windu asked his friend, beeing able to tell how confused he was about the whole ordeal. "I'm fine, however, I can't say the same about her" he assured him, taking another brief look at the girl to make sure she was in good hands. "Find her where did you?" Master Yoda joined in the conversation, curious to find out who she was. "On Gandri Master" Obi-Wan was quick to reply "The force led me to discover her within one of the slum districts. As you are probably aware, she is force sensitive. The troubeling part is that she appears to have at least some form of training. She was able to put up some formitable mental shields around herself and sensed my presence. I even checked the archive records for her already, but there is nothing about her. Somehow we must have missed her as a child" "Did you manage to get ber name?" Master Windu spoke, now clearly as alarmed as Obi-Wan by the situation. "Unfortunetly no. After I finally caught up with her she only told me to get away from her before she collapsed" he explained to his fellow Jedi.

"Clouded the girl's presence is. A mystery she will remain for now. Procede with caution we must if to identify her we wish" Yoda voiced his concern. "There is something else Master" Obi-Wan added, stroking his beard as he was deep in thought. "Something about her feels familiar to me" "Interesting, she doesn't give me that feeling in the slightest" Windu told him, confirming what Obi-Wan had suspected all along. There was some form of connection between the two of them, although he was still unsure of what it was.

"I think I found something" Stass Allie's voice sounded from the other side of the room. The three Jedi made their way over to their colleague, curious about her findings. "I ran a full scan on her body and found these implanted in her neck" she pointed to two little devices that were displayed on the screen in front of her. "They're memory suppressors" she explained, her concern both audible in her voice and visible on her face. Obi-Wan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Aren't they illegal?" he asked, looking at the others for confirmation. "They are, and for good reason. These devices have been known for disrupting important neural pathways as side effects, this is also the case for her. It's the cause for her fever and her fainting. If don't take them out soon it's going to be questionable whether she makes it or not. It seems that you found her just in time Obi-Wan" Allie explained to the group.

"How long has she had them?" Master Windu asked, troubled by the fact that this was already raising more questions. "Activated? I'd say about six years. Implanted? At least four years longer than that. It's quiet the miracle complications didn't arise sooner if I'm honest" Master Allie answered. "Take out the devices you must" Master Yoda decided "Hold a Council meeting we will in the mean time. Much to discuss there is" "With your permission, I'd like to call Master Kenobi down here when she is about to wake up. She will probably be quiet distressed and disoriented, I'm sure having him in the room as a familiar face would help her stay calm" Stass suggested. "Very well, contact us when need him" Master Windu granted her request before they left for the Council chambers.

As they went through the door Obi-Wan glanced back at the young girl one last time. For a brief moment he wondered, if she would actually be worth all the trouble she was causing them. Deciding that the force wouldn't have led him to her if she hadn't been worth it, his lips curled into a slight smile. He had brought her back safely and she was most likely going to be completely healthy within a few days. If only he had known about the trouble that was yet to come and he probably would have been pale instead of smiling.

The Council was completely assembled within only half an hour, with the exeption of Master Allie of course as she was still taking care of the girl. Obi-Wan described what had transpired on Gandri in detail, Master Yoda and Windu later joining in when it came to the discovery they made down in the halls of healing. After hearing the story the entire Council was just as troubled and confused as Obi-Wan, noone really knowing how best to proceed at the time.

It was Master Plo Koon who eventually suggested that having a friend her age to support her might help the girl collect herself and adapt a little better. As it was the only suggestion noone had criticized at that point they immediately got to work on naming Padawans that might be up to the task. After carefully concidering all possible factors their final choice was Ahsoka, the fact that she was close to Obi-Wan, who would also be working on the girl's recovery, giving her the advantage over many of the other Padawans on the list.

Both Anakin and Ahsoka were called to in front of the Council and briefed on the situation. Ahsoka, though a little bit nervous about it, accepted the task, both Anakin and Obi-Wan promising they would help her if she required it.

When Master Allie finally contacted the Council to tell them that she had successfully removed the memory suppressors and that the girl should be waking up within the hour, Master Yoda adjourned the meeting. He immediately made his way down to the halls of healing, followed by Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka and Mace.

As soon as the group entered the halls of healing they were greeted by Allie who filled them in on the situation. "I managed to take the suppressors out without further complications. She is stable and showing signs that she will be waking up soon. However, I have to admit, it was a closer call than I first anticipated. Be gentle when she wakes up, I don't quiet know to what extend her brain was affected by all of this in the long run yet"
Stass led Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to two chairs she had put into the girl's room while Mace, Yoda and Anakin sat down in front of it. They now had to wait for the girl to wake up, none of them able to shake the feeling that she was about to surprise all of them yet again.