"Cody?" Kenobi spoke into his wrist comm as he dodged in and out of thick Coruscanti traffic. No matter the time of day, whether it was high noon or the dead of night, the flow of speeders never seemed to thin.
"Yes sir?" his commander answered back, the glow of the comm pulsating in time with his response.
"I need you to put together a squadron. We're going after a Gray Jedi defector on his way to meet Count Dooku." he replied, merging into another lane of traffic. He swerved around a speeder transporting a Weequay and two Twi'leks and continued on.
"A Gray Jedi sir?" the clone asked with confusion, his voice muffled from the wind.
"Yes, I will brief you more on it later. The Gray Elders have sent us some help for tracking him down. I am picking up the contact now and will let you know when I'm on my way back." the Jedi master said.
"I'll get on that right away, general." The comm went dead as Obi-Wan dropped his hand back to the steering controls.
Ahead of him, the senate building rose high into the atmosphere. The early morning sunlight was gleaming off the tall dome. Dozens of windows lined the facade.
Far below was the courtyard. Some senators and citizens were wandering about in the morning air, greeting one another as they passed. They walked beside the metal statues of famous senators and Republic generals, none of whom Kenobi could remember currently. He really needed to read up on some Republic history next time he had some downtime. Time off was becoming less common and much more appreciated nowadays.
Kenobi passed the courtyard and did a wide turn towards the other side of the tower. He swooped around, landing on the speeder pad at the back side.
"Hello sir." greeted the clone guarding the pad. The general got out slowly, cautious of how he moved. He was still a little sore from his recent mission on Christophsis, in which he ended up getting pinned underneath a vulture droid... one that Anakin Skywalker had just destroyed seconds prior. No warning, no "get clear", no nothing. Just lightsaber blazing, the way he liked it. Obi-Wan sighed. Sometimes he wondered who would bring about the end of him first, a droid or Anakin.
"Hello trooper. I am looking for Cordelia of the Gray Jedi." he asked as he approached the sentry. The clone dropped his salute before pointing down the hallway.
"She is in the west wing, sir. In Senator Chuchi's quarters." he informed his superior. "Senators Amidala and Chuchi, along with Representative Binks, are with her now." Kenobi shook his head dismissively.
"Oh great. Jar Jar was a part of the welcoming committee." he drawled. "Well I better get over there and rescue our guest. Thank you trooper." The clone brought a hand to his visor before turning his attention to Senator Orn Free Taa of Ryloth. The rather... large senator had pulled up a moment before and was having a good amount of trouble getting out of his speeder, so he was in need of assistance. Obi-Wan did not envy the clone.
Kenobi entered into the Senate building. It was quite beautiful on the inside. Carpeted hallways lined the corridors, looking much newer or more ornate than the ones in the temple. Sconces with light fixtures adorned the walls, casting the hallways in a white light. It was usually quite packed with senators and diplomats, but it seemed rather empty today.
He passed a few politicians as he walked, some he knew, some he didn't, along with a senate guard here and there.
As soon as he walked through the doors to the west wing, Kenobi could sense the Gray Jedi.
She was unlike any being he had sensed before. She didn't have the coldness of a Sith nor did she carry the warmth of the Jedi, but her presence was very strong. Her aura reminded him of a mountain range. There were peaks of cold and darkness, but also valleys of warmth and light, all at once. It immediately put him on edge.
He followed the source of the unique aura deeper into the wing. The closer he got to it, the more it unsettled him. As he tried to read her, her aura seemed to shift away, like a game of chase. He would get so close, a breath away from an understanding, just to have her aura change completely. He wondered if that was how the woman always was or if she was doing it on purpose. Mace's words echoed in his head. Unpredictable indeed.
Kenobi sensed the aura coming the strongest from an office halfway down the corridor. He knocked gently. The door slid open of its own accord, allowing him to enter. It was here he found the Gray Jedi chatting with the two senators and the Gungan. He tilted his head to the side in amusement. She was not what he had expected.
From the back, he could tell that Cordelia was a small woman, a good few inches shorter than himself. Her frame was very narrow and petite. She had long legs and thin arms. Had he not known who she was, he may have even described her as looking delicate. But if the stories of the Gray Jedi are to be believed, that was far from the truth.
"Hello Obi!" Jar Jar exclaimed as Kenobi entered. The other three turned and put their eyes on him.
"Hello Jar Jar, Senator Chuchi. Padme." he said warmly as the door hissed closed behind him.
"Greetings, Master Kenobi." Chuchi replied serenely with a dip of her chin. Light was flooding in from the far wall from a large floor length window. Skyscrapers and speeders could be seen zooming by in the early light.
A beautiful piece of Pantoran artwork hung on the wall parallel to Chuchi's desk. It was a swirling mass of deep navies, stark whites, pale blues, and shimmering gold.
As for the desk itself, it was immaculate. There wasn't a speck of dust on the oval wooden top. A blue petaled plant with blood red stems added a bit of life to the room. A turned off monitor was accompanied by a tray of wide rimmed glasses. The light filtered through the liquid contents, turning it a vibrant champagne color. Binks lumbered over and put a hand on the general's shoulder.
"Thisa is misa's very good friend Obi-Wan Kenobi!" the Gungan exclaimed, pride in his voice. "Obi saved misa's life!"
Kenobi turned his focus to the Gray. He only now realized that she was studying him as intently as he had been her a moment before.
She was very curious. Mostly covered by a piece of cloth that sat on her nose, the only visible part of her face was her pale skin, eyebrows, and slate colored eyes.
She was wearing an ornate gray and white armor with a unique design, one that did not fit in with the modern look of the senate tower. Two lightsabers hung on her waist. One hilt was silver, while the other was a deep purple. Interesting.
A small wisp of white-blonde hair was poking out from under the hood near her right ear. Her thin gloved hand held an empty glass.
Dressed the way she was, she reminded him of a hologram of an ancient Echani warrior he had seen in the archives. Perhaps she was one, somehow alive after thousands of years. She was certainly mysterious enough. Obi-Wan hated to admit it, but he was immediately quite fascinated by this unusual warrior. So he put on a smile and approached her like one would an unknown beast, slow and careful-like. One wrong move could cause a spook or an attack.
"Cordelia, as Jar Jar said, this is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." Padme Amidala introduced, motioning to Obi-Wan. Padme's dark hair was up in an ornate bun on the back of her head and traced with golden ribbon. She was wearing a beautiful long green dress, nothing less than he would expect from the senator.
Behind her was the pretty Pantoran senator, Riyo Chuchi. Chuchi was wearing a white and gold dress with silver head piece in her light purple hair. Jar Jar was wearing his usual senate garb. The Gray was still surveying him with interest as she took a few steps over to greet him.
"Hello Master Kenobi. I am Ashla Adept Cordelia." the Gray said, her voice sweet. Yet, curiosity lined her tone. Obi-Wan had a feeling she was as fascinated with him as he was with her. She extended her hand out to him, the other still holding onto her glass, although her grip had changed. She now held it underneath, the stem between two of her fingers.
"It is nice to meet you Cordelia." he replied, reaching out to grab her hand. It was small in his, but her grasp was strong. There was something in her eyes, something Kenobi couldn't read, but he could tell that flash was positive. He shook her hand before releasing it.
"Shall we be going? I have a few urgent matters that I would like to discuss with you." he said.
"Yes, let's get going." she agreed. She placed the glass back on the tray. "It was nice to meet you Senators, Representative." Cordelia said with a lifting of her hand.
Jar Jar ecstatically waved goodbye as the two left the room, knocking his drink and the Gray's empty glass onto the floor. Obi-Wan winced at the sound of shattering.
The Gungan was profusely apologizing as Cordelia and Kenobi headed out into the hallway. A small chuckle escaped the Gray's lips. The curiosity of what her face looked like beneath the cloth was starting to itch at his mind.
"So fill me in on what has happened." Kenobi said, putting any other thoughts out of his head. He couldn't afford to be distracted right now.
"Straight to the point, I like it." the Gray Jedi commented. Kenobi had a feeling a smirk went along with it. She sighed.
"As you well know, when Jedi and Sith conflicts emerge, that puts the Gray in a situation. We must choose whether or not we wish to get involved, and, if we decide yes, we must debate on which side we should enter." she recanted.
"And you said no to the Clone Wars." Kenobi interrupted.
"Yes, I'll be getting to that." she replied, tucking her loose strand of hair behind her ear. It fell out a moment later.
"As Gray, we exist in the center of the Force. However, it is impossible for a being to exist solely in the gray area, hence our name. Every Gray has a leaning, either towards the light or dark side. So in war time, some wish to assist the Sith and some wish to assist the Jedi. It's how it's been for thousands of years since our founding." she explained as they skirted around a group of senators. He nodded to Bail Organa as he passed.
"So when the Clone Wars broke out, it was very polarizing to my order. Some felt that the Republic was too stagnant and there needed to be a change in leadership. Others felt that since the Republic has been successful for so long, that it should stand." she said. Her eyes flicked to Garaan Haruub, the senator from Sullust. He was speaking with Mon Mothma of Chandrila in the senate lobby.
"And your thoughts?" Kenobi asked. He was curious to find out what made this woman tick. It would prove useful later, once he figured out how her mind worked. Cordelia moved around three senate guards, bumping into Kenobi as she did. He grabbed her shoulder to steady her.
"Thanks." she said, moving away from him. He released his hand from her arm. "Personally, I do agree that the Republic has become stagnant." she began.
"When governments, people, anything really, have gone too long without challenge, they become weak and corrupt. Look at how much exploitation has been unearthed since the beginning of this war." She waved her arm generally at the ceiling of the senate building for emphasis.
Kenobi couldn't refute her claim. A lot of deception had been discovered in the senate since the Clone Wars began. Not just senators cutting deals with the CIS, but regular corruption as well; Blackmail, bribery, under the table loans, even murder, both attempted and successful.
"However, I do support the Republic and hope they defeat the Separatists." Cordelia finished. "The Republic needed this war to grow, to evolve. The Separatist Alliance didn't form because everyone was happy with how things were being run."
"You make some very valid points." Kenobi replied, his mind abuzz. He began to think that perhaps being a Gray Jedi didn't just mean following the Light and the Dark side of the Force; Perhaps it was a mindset as well. This woman seemed to have a pretty unbiased grasp of the situation even though she supported one side. Or perhaps it only seemed that way because of his own bias for the Republic, although he was still very aware of its flaws.
"Minus a few skirmishes here or there, it has been about a thousand or so years since the Republic had a full scale war. The last one was during the days of the Old Republic." Kenobi was impressed.
"You know your history." he noted as they rounded a corner. Her cheekbones raised from a hidden smile.
"I do. I'm a historian of sorts." she replied with a tone that Kenobi would have described as pride.
"My job in the temple is protecting the Library of the Ancients. We Gray know a great many things that both the Jedi and Sith do not. That's our job. We hold some of the most ancient texts in the galaxy after all." They emerged onto the speeder pad.
"Going back to the current war, it divided my people so heavily that it caused a kind of civil war within our ranks. Some even resorted to violence. It got so bad that our Elders said we would not get involved, which in turn angered many." she said, a bit of worry at the edge of her voice.
"There are many things that fuel passion; Anger, fear, justice, but none more than apathy. Doing nothing to most is worse than supporting the opposing side." Kenobi gestured to the clone sentry as they crossed the pad.
"Our Elder's choice angered one in particular, a dark side leaner named Biron Sykes."
"He's the deserter?" Obi-Wan asked as they reached the speeder. He slid over to the driver's seat.
"Yes." she affirmed. "He is a very talented warrior, proficient in both lightsaber combat and in the Force." Cordelia slid in next to him.
The Jedi Master attempted to get a sense of the Gray again, to see what she was feeling or if she was hiding anything. Much to his displeasure, he got nothing. This was quite unnerving to him, not to mention impaired facial expressions made her even more unreadable.
"According to one of Biron's associates," she explained as he pulled away. There it was. Kenobi caught a slight hesitation between 'Biron's' and 'associates'. It was barely noticeable, but it was definitely there.
"He set up a meeting with Count Dooku on the Hutt controlled world of Nar Shaddaa, which is right next to Nal Hutta." Kenobi thought on this as he rounded the back of the senate tower.
"It is a smart place to meet with the count." he replied. "With so many people packed into one area, it is going to make it quite difficult to track them down, especially through the Force." The woman shifted to the side, resting her leg on the seat. She put her eyes on him. They were serious.
"We need to capture Sykes before he and Dooku meet. Sykes has possession of some information that Dooku can not know." she told him. Kenobi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? What kind of information?" he asked, sneaking a second peak at the Gray before focusing his eyes to the sky in front of them again.
"He knows who I am, my real name. He knows where I come from, and that is something Dooku can not find out. If Dooku finds out, he will burn everyone and everything in his path to get to me, which right now includes my order and you and your men." the woman warned. Kenobi found this very... intriguing. What would the dear old count want with a Gray Jedi?
"Please don't take this personally, but why are you so important to Dooku?" he asked as the Jedi Temple came into view. She turned herself forward again, resting her ivory boot up against the dash. Her eyebrows were drawn together in concern.
"Let's just say Dooku came looking for me a long time ago, but the Elders kept me from him. If he finds out they lied, we will be the next Nightsisters." Kenobi let the subject drop.
The Nightsisters, also known as the Witches of Dathomir, made an attempt on Dooku's life a while back. They were now extinct. The Separatist Army had been able to overpower such a powerful species in one fell swoop.
Should they do the same to the Gray Order, who were small, but pivotal in the eyes of the Force... He could tell Cordelia was thinking the same thing. He felt her mood darken drastically, which was the first time he had been able to sense how she was feeling. He assumed that meant she was quite worried.
Below them, Commander Cody and two other troopers were waiting for them as they pulled up onto the pad.