A/N: Sorry this isn’t much. It’s really only here for continuity’s sake. (At least, I don't like it much.) There will be more interesting chapters later on.

The luxury spaceliner on its way to Telos IV was overflowing with passengers. Every stateroom was full, and the air was abuzz with activity and conversation.

I gathered the skirts of my robe and watched it all spin by. This was the first time I’d been on a luxury spaceliner, and I’d wasted no time exploring what all there was to see. But I couldn’t forget why I was going to Telos IV, and it wasn’t because the planet had beautiful natural wonders and was a tourist favorite.

I wasn’t alone. Mom and Dad and Obi-Wan were along too. Dad and Obi-Wan were coming unofficially; the Council had only actually sent Mom and me to Telos IV. They’d selected Mom as my guardian for the trip, if only because she had done much research and would know what to do. Obviously they hadn’t been too pleased about it.

All the travelers were a bit overwhelming, but they did make it easy for us not to stick out. Nonetheless, we’d taken precautions on how we dressed and kept our lightsabers hidden. Dad and Obi-Wan wore simple, nondescript brown cloaks over their tunics. Mom and I were dressed more elegantly, though we still wore our tunics underneath; rich velvet floor-length cloaks enfolded our bodies completely. Mom’s was silver-blue; mine metallic jade green. Mine was also too big, and I had to keep rolling up the sleeves and gathering up the skirts.

We weren’t recognizable, and no one spared us a glance, except for the occasional man, mostly human, but also a few Duros, Twi’leks, Togrutas, and other species, who would briefly stop and stare at Mom, sometimes even flashing her a smile. I could understand why; she looked very lovely. I thanked the Force that Dad was too busy studying Mom’s research notes to notice.

I pondered what we’d do. No doubt Xanatos expected me, and Dad as well. He would be prepared. And we were in his territory—Mom said he had great influence in Telosian high society, was very rich, and had bribed many Telosian officials. But I did have a slight advantage over Dad in that Xanatos had known Dad for years, but didn’t know me half as well. I certainly wasn’t up to his level in swordsmanship, but if I could possibly outwit him…

“Do you think she is here?” I whispered. “On Telos IV, I mean.”

“Most likely, if Xanatos is,” Mom said thoughtfully. “No doubt he plans to use her as bait for you, who would in turn be bait for your father. You know he expects you and your father. It seems that trickery will be the only way to bring him down and free her.”

She brushed a curl off her forehead. “I don’t think he expects me, though. Considering as the Council would rather you see as little of your father and me as possible. That, and you’ll need my help to outmaneuver him. You saw his cleverness.”

“Is it likely that he might kill or harm her?” I asked.

Mom rested her head in her hand. “You won’t like to hear it, but I honestly don’t know. Your father knows him far better than I do. He’ll greatly help—his acquaintance with Xanatos plus my research should lead to a good plan.”

“You two make a great team,” I said. No wonder they had worked together so much.

“I’ve known that for a long time.” Mom smiled. “One of many reasons I married him. Hopefully we passed such strategic thinking to you.”

“My robe is too big.” I rolled back the sleeves for about the umpteenth time. “It’s going to hamper my movement and speed.”

“That can easily be fixed, Illiana,” said Mom. “That one’s mine; I understand that it’s not your size. There are plenty of clothing shops in Thani.”

“But how are we going to manage to afford something this exquisite?” I asked. “I barely even have 100 credits in my pocket; I was wondering where you even got these.”

“There are several ways to earn money,” said Mom. “And I don’t mean mercenary work. You know the Council never allows it.”

Knowing Mom and Dad, I doubted that would stop either of them. That is, if they firmly believed that taking a mercenary job was the right thing to do.

The spaceliner was docking, and the passengers started to gather their bags and head toward the exit.

“Attention all passengers,” boomed the voice over the announcement system. “There will be a slight delay in exiting for a security check. All passengers over the age of 12 must show valid ID cards before leaving the ship. Thank you.”

Oh Sith—Xanatos must be onto us already. If we went through that security check, it would definitely tip him off. How were we ever going to outwit him?

Mom stood up and beckoned in the opposite direction from where all the passengers were headed. “This way.”

The streets of Thani were filled with tourists, seemingly of all ages, sizes, and species. Most of them seemed to be heading in one direction. Shops and cafes teemed with customers.

Mom and I found a specialty boutique that had excellent deals and prices. There were so many colorful, feminine things to choose from—gowns, robes, blouses, skirts, tunics, slacks, jackets, shoes, jewelry. Even the underwear was elegant and colorful.

I glanced at the racks. I wanted to pick out a few different items instead of just one, so I’d have different disguises on hand should I need them later. But I also didn’t want to spend too much money.

It wasn’t long before I settled on a lavender and cream septsilk robe, another one in royal blue and silver, an emerald green chiffon one, and an ordinary black one. They did drag a little, but they were the right size and would still fit me in the years to come.

Mom made the purchase, and we went into the nearest café to go to the refresher and exchange clothes. I took care to pay attention to the ambient conversation—someone might mention something important.

“We’d better hurry,” I heard a Duros say. “Katharsis starts in half a standard hour.”

“Is it really that amazing?” another asked.

“You’re going to love it,” said the first one. “This is my third trip.”

“Hm,” the other one said. “Who do you think I should put my money on?”

“What’s Katharsis?” I asked Mom when we were in the refresher, pulling the green gown on over my tunic.

“It appears to be some sort of contest which gamblers bet on,” she replied. “It’s relatively new to Telos IV, and seems to have been instituted by Xanatos. It didn’t appear until he started to gain more power and social status here. Most likely it’s why most of those other passengers coming with us came.”

I wondered why Xanatos would start up a contest designed for gamblers. Wait, hadn’t Mom found out something about Offworld losing a lot of money over a futile, expensive mining operation? So if Xanatos was strapped for cash, maybe he was trying to milk money from wherever he could get it.

“It seems as though Xanatos is after money,” I said. “But can this Katharsis thing possibly lead us to Kanna?”

“It could be a good start,” said Mom. “We would disappear into the crowd, and Xanatos might inadvertently drop us a clue. After sunset, though, we visit bars and cantinas.”

“Why would we go there?” I didn’t think minors were even allowed in cantinas under Republic law. And with good reason too—those places were where the galaxy’s worst gathered to get drunk and start fights.

“The weak-minded often have valuable information to share,” said Mom. “Particularly when drunk. Certainly one or two patrons will have seen her, or someone they think matches her description. It’s really rather easy to obtain that information if you can do it right.”

“The mind trick?” I’d never attempted a mind trick yet. I doubted if I was even good enough with the Force to actually pull it off.

Mom nodded. “Yes, the mind trick, as well as feminine charm and grace. I’m sure you could use both quite well. The truly hard part is not letting such control over the weak-minded go to your head.”

We followed the flow of the crowd down the streets, as they all seemed to be headed in one direction. I never thought I’d be glad to be stuck in a throng of noisy sentient beings who kept bumping into me, but I was.

Several meters ahead, I saw a large round building with a gleaming white cloth dome for a roof. Large red letters that spelled KATHARSIS flashed blinking lights.

“That’s it,” I whispered. “It’s almost as big as the Senate building!”

“It would need to be to fit a crowd this size.” Mom always did have a cynical remark for any situation.

Then we passed an information kiosk, and I saw something that made me stop dead in my tracks.

“Illiana!” I could sense Mom pushing back through the crowd to find me. “Come on, Illiana. What—”

“It’s Dad,” I said.

There, on the kiosk, was a holographic image of Dad. Obi-Wan’s picture was next to him. Underneath both pictures, it read Wanted: Galactic criminals. May likely be traveling with female companions. Reward 100,000 credits.

Mom understood what was going on even before I explained it to her. She nodded and pulled me along toward the Katharsis dome again before anyone noticed anything.

“Xanatos always seems to be a step ahead,” I said.

“Seems,” said Mom. “He certainly expected them, and no doubt he expects you. However, I believe he expects you to be with them. He most likely knows that you would not have come alone. You’ll need to stay close to me. It may throw him off when he doesn’t find you with them. And when we rendezvous with your father and Obi-Wan, we shall have to keep it brief.”

More and more, I felt like we were trying to do the impossible, and that we were up against an enemy stronger than we were. Nonetheless, impossible or not, we needed to stop Xanatos and recover Kanna. We’d find a way somehow.

::TBC::