Obi-Wan, Anakin and Kanan reached Lothal's main city and immediately got to work searching for places that Opal could possibly be. They first started by looking at all missing persons boards that they could find, but to no avail. They then began asking around places that people were caught being taken or going missing, but once again came across nothing. Next, Anakin suggested that they just ask around the city for an Opal, though it was sort of difficult as they didn't know what her last name would be. They began by asking around an open marketplace for an Opal from Endor, but they once more had no luck. Then, Kanan suggested they ask for an Opal that may be related to Emberly Cannossis. Obi-Wan and Anakin both agreed that would be their best shot.
They were roaming around the open marketplace for a good two hours when Obi-Wan discovered something.
"Excuse me, sir," someone said from behind Obi-Wan. He turned around to see who was speaking to him. It was a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. He had dyed-maroon hair and his eyes were a dark grey color. He wore a dark wheat-colored shirt and brown pants with shoes that were black. "I hear you're looking for an Opal?"
"Yes, indeed I am," Obi-Wan said, "Have you any information on her?"
"That depends; is it possibly Opal Brandir? Sister to the former Emberly Brandir, though I believe she goes by Emberly Cannossis these days," the man replied.
Obi-Wan was shocked. "Would you mind coming with me to get my two friends who are assisting in my search?"
"Sure, but we'll have to be quick. You never know who could be listening.." the man said, "I'm Leerixen, by the way - but I usually go by Leerix."
"I'm Obi-Wan. Nice to meet you, Leerix. Now come quickly, this is vital information."
Leerix nodded and followed Obi-Wan to Anakin and Kanan. He introduced the three and then they began to quite quickly speak of what Leerix knew.
"So, do you know Opal and/or Emberly personally?" Anakin began.
"Both, yes," Leerix responded, "Opal and I were great friends - even dated a bit - but Emberly? Oh man, she always hated my guts. She's the reason Opal and I didn't continue dating, actually."
"Do you by any chance know where Opal may be now? No one has heard from her in quite sometime from what we hear." Anakin said.
"That is true, but where did you hear that? Who could've told you?"
"Emberly's daughter and my apprentice - Astoria Cannossis," Obi-Wan said.
"Well shoot, Emberly's kid made it through her torture?" Leerix exclaimed, clearly surprised, "Dang, I feel bad for that kid, then..."
"What? What do you mean?" Kanan asked.
"Well I'm sure she's told you of how they abused her and treated her as, well, they're slave, right?"
"Of course, but how did you know?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"Opal told me about it all the time... it bothered the crap out of her. She hated how horribly they treated their own kid! Opal told me that their kid didn't know any other way of life," Leerix explained.
"Astoria speaks quite highly of her aunt," Obi-Wan said, "Is it true that Opal would do as much as she could to make Astoria's young life better in any way she could?"
"Oh, yeah! Opal would bring her these little gifts, candies and sweets, even entire meals sometimes. Shoot, that kid was more of a child to her than her sister and her husband!" Leerix said, "But then one day she just... disappeared. No one knew what happened. The entire family stopped talking about Opal - didn't even bring up her name. The one time I saw their kid - Astoria, you said? - she seemed so sad... like Opal was her last hope, but that was taken away..."
Anakin, Obi-Wan and Kanan were all shocked. His story matched Astoria's perfectly! This really was a big deal then.
"Do you have any clue where she could be?" Anakin asked after the momentary surprise passed.
"Actually, yes," Leerix said, "But we can't discuss that here. We could get in a whole lot of trouble if we were caught."
"Come with us to our hidden base here on Lothal then," Obi-Wan said, "I'm sure Astoria would be thrilled to bits to meet you!"
Leerix smiled and nodded. "Sure! I'd love to help that kid out any way I can, just like her aunt did for her."
"It's settled then. Come on, we better get back. It'll be getting dark soon, plus we don't want to be caught, right?" Kanan said.
They all agreed and headed back quickly to their Speeder Bikes and then immediately began their trek back to the base. By the time they reached it, it was dark out. The stars sparkled brightly against the deep navy blue sky and the clouds carried a deep purple color as the moon shined down over the Lothalian plains. The Jedi and their apprentices never got to see nights like this often, as they were mostly on Coruscant and the beautiful nights were drowned out by the bright city lights from hotels, casinos, bars and clubs.
Obi-Wan and Anakin went off with Leerix to look for Astoria while Kanan went to the hangar to do some repairs on his fighter.
Anakin spotted Astoria entering her and Ezra's room with Ezra. Leerix, Obi-Wan and Anakin quickly went after them, and before they closed the door, stopped them.
"Astoria! We need to talk with you," Obi-Wan said as she was about to start closing the door, "It's very important."
"Master Kenobi?" Astoria said, "Uh ok, what is it?"
"Astoria, this is Leerix," Anakin said, stepping aside to give her a clearer look at the man, "He knew your aunt - your family - very well, and possibly what happened to Opal."
Astoria looked absolutely shocked to say the very least. Then, her eyes filled a little with tears.
"I... I recognize you..." She stammered after her shock mostly passed, "You... I saw you with my aunt a few times, holding hands.. Were you two together?"
Leerix nodded. "We were, yes. I'm surprised you remember me, kid."
"There's a lot of my childhood that I can't forget..." She said quietly.
"Your aunt Opal told me how you were treated.. I feel awful that I never caught onto it..." Leerix admitted.
"Lots of people never did. And if they did, they just didn't care," Astoria said.
"Astoria, are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked. She looked down, so he looked to Ezra. Ezra slightly shook his head, a look of high concern in his eyes. Obi-Wan immediately understood what was going on. She was going through a depression episode again.
Obi-Wan quietly told this to Anakin. He didn't seem too surprised. Apparently he could just see it, too.
"Astoria dear, Leerix has some very important and great news," Obi-Wan said in a soft tone, "Would you like to hear it, or would you rather wait until tomorrow?"
"I can hear it now.." She said, looking up to Obi-Wan as if it took a lot of effort to move. He frowned a little, as did Anakin.
"Alright," Anakin said, "Then, Leerix; tell her what you told us."
"Ok," Leerix began, "Astoria, I know where your aunt is."
Astoria immediately looked up, the sparkle in her eyes returning once again. "You do?" She asked eagerly.
Anakin and Obi-Wan smiled, as well as Ezra, upon seeing her hopes soar again.
"Yes. All evidence that I've collected over the years lead to her being held captive by her sister - your parents. I have every reason to believe that Opal is actually here on Lothal, hidden away in your parents' base on this planet," Leerix told them, "I've been planning ways to help her escape, but I'm not the most popular person in the city, so I've been unable to go through with these plans..."
"W-We'll help you then!" Astoria exclaimed with a smile, "We've been planning on helping get her back if she was still alive; but now that we know for sure that she is, we can help you!"
"That would be perfect!" Leerix said, smiling now, too.
"It's settled then. We'll inform Ahsoka and Kanan of this plan of your's, Leerix, and then tomorrow we will begin assigning jobs for this mission," Obi-Wan said, "For now, let's all just get some rest. Especially you, Astoria; please try to sleep tonight."
Astoria nodded. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try to sleep.."
The five said their goodnights and Obi-Wan led Leerix to his own room. For now, everything was peaceful.
But everything would turn to chaos soon enough.