Eeth
Before


Far below, a thin crescent was all that showed of Coruscant. That, and the string of lights that traced across the dark portion of the planet. The whole planet was one big city. Only the poles had no people living there on a regular basis. Almost twenty-five billion people lived on that planet.

And Eeth Koth, Jedi Master, wanted to help them all.

He knew that was impracticable, maybe even impossible, but it was what he wanted.

He mentally examined his image in the reflection on the window. As a Zabrakan, he looked much like any human, save his horns on his head. Thousands of years ago, they were used for defense, and in mating rituals. He who had the biggest horns, got the most females. Not so, now. It was better that hearts were won over by words and feelings, rather than combat, to be certain, but the horns remained. Some on his home planet, Iridonia, felt that perhaps genetical manipulating could be used to eliminate the horns, but very few thought it a good idea. He had nine horns, two large ones with two smaller ones laying symmetrically on his head, and five smaller horns forming a triangle on his fore head. They were rounded, not pointed, and a layer of skin had grown over them.

He currently had no hair on his head. His normally straight, black hair had been shorn off, in a traditional sign of mourning with his people.

His padawan was dead.

He pushed that thought aside for the moment. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

Normally, he grew his hair quite long, from the only place a Zabrakian - the name his people called themselves - could grow hair: The back of his head.

His eyes looked black. In truth, they were a very dark brown, but from a distance, they did look black.

Other than his horns and dark brown skin, he looked like a fairly bulky human. With his hood up, he could even pass for human, if he wanted to. Closer inspection of his face also revealed a series of lines tattooed on his face. That was his kanali, or ritual tattooing. Usually it started when a Zabrakian was young, and sometimes continued long into adulthood. However, Eeth did not grow up on Iridonia. He grew up on Nar Shaddaa, a moon of Nalhutta, planet of the Hutt. In his youth - four years of age, old for a padawan - he was taken by the Jedi's and trained in the Jedi arts. He did not learn of kanali until he was already in his adulthood.

His kanali were his one small rebellion. His master had forbidden it, saying they had no place in his current life as a Jedi. That was the wrong argument to use on the young Eeth. He promptly went out, learned all he could about kanali, and went to Iridonia, and had a first level kanali done.

It was very painful. He got the first level done, and decided he wanted no more.

But not because of the pain. With the Force, he was very tolerant of pain. But the more he thought about it, he decided he didn't need them. While in the tobaka - or traditional house for kanali - he listened to those about him, and learned that kanali were part superstition, part myth, and part social phenomena.

He smiled at the reflection.

How odd, he thought. It always amazes me where thoughts can travel. I began worrying about the poor and down-trodden, and wound up considering the various social facets of my home world.

"Such is life," a voice said behind him.

Without turning, he knew who it was. And he wasn't to surprised he slipped in unawares.

"Eaves dropping again, Ki?"

"Hardly," the Cerean said. "You're broadcasting your melancholy all over the station. Some of the padawans are upset."

Not quite angrily, Eeth turned to face Ki.

Quietly, he took in the Cerean before him. If Eeth could just barely pass as human, Ki-Adi-Mundi would have to hide a lot more. His race had a double brain, one on top of the other, giving him a large, lumpy head. His downy white beard and mustache, and matching eye brows, were the most human looking. His pale blue eyes gave an added serenity to his face.

"Perhaps they should be. There is much to be -" Eeth paused, thinking of a proper word. "-Concerned about."

"Concerned?" Ki asked. "There is a disturbance in the force about you. We of the Council know you have-"

Uncharacteristically, Eeth interrupted Ki. "The Council knows nothing of my pain."

Ki hesitated. He knew he must tread carefully here.

"You are not the first person to loose a padawan."

"I know," Eeth answered, "but how many have lost them to murder?"

Ki looked at Eeth, letting all the sympathy and sorrow he felt pour out. "Many, have been murdered. My own masters' padawan before me was murdered."

Eeth nodded. He suddenly realized he had stepped over a boundary he shouldn't have. He very nearly lost his temper. Eeth looked away, staring at the wall without really seeing it.

"Sharad meant a lot to all of us," Ki was saying.

"Has the Dark Woman said anything of this?" Eeth asked.

The Dark Woman was the Master of the Aurra Sing, and Aurra Sing was the woman who murdered his padawan, Sharad Hett.

Ki shrugged. "What could she say? Would anything make you feel better?"

"Of course not," he said quickly. "I only meant, does she know where she might be hiding?"

Ki shrugged again. "Tatooine is a big planet. The search would be narrowed since only parts of it are habitable."

"‘Would be'?" Eeth asked, sharper than he had meant. "We're not searching for her?"

Ki mentally sighed. "Tatooine is not a member of the Republic. We have no jurisdiction there."

Eeth nodded. "That's exactly what I've been thinking about."

Ki thought for a while, then said, "I'm not sure I follow."

"It seems to me, we limit ourselves in what we can do."

"There is no limit to the force," Ki said with a puzzled smile.

"No, but there is a limit to what we will do with it," Eeth returned.

Ki looked uncomfortable. "There are legal-"

Eeth interrupted again. "Excuses. That's all they are. We should be helping anyone. And everyone."

"I understand," Ki said with a sigh. "But that's not very practical, is it?"

"Maybe, and maybe not. I only know what I feel at the moment."

Silence descended on the two Jedi Masters for a while.

Suddenly, Eeth started to walk away. "I think I should be leaving."

Surprised, Ki said, "Not leave the order?!"

Eeth stopped at the door, and said, "No, I mean the station. I find it stifling here."

At the door, Ki called out, "Eeth, we will be here for you. Always."

He hesitated, but only for a moment, and then he was gone.

Ki turned from the door, and looked out the window that Eeth had been looking at just a few moments ago. More of Coruscant was now in darkness. He hoped it was not a metaphor for Eeth.

**** **** **** ****

For a while, Eeth wandered the passageways of the Space Station. It was strictly a Jedi station, so while there were many beings going about their business in Jedi robes, there were few droids. With few exceptions, Jedi's preferred not to rely on mechanical things. Others shunned anything technological, save the Jedi's weapon of choice - the light sabre.

With few exceptions.

Some Jedi's willingly excepted mechanical parts to replace body parts that were lost in battle. A select few, even had a certain reliance on mechanical things.

"Master Eeth!" A voice called out, interrupting his thoughts.

He turned, and saw a woman moving towards him, swiftly but not hurriedly, just as a Jedi should move.

She was a human, fairly tall for a woman, coming almost to his chin. Her black hair was hidden by her robe hood, but Eeth knew it came down to her shoulders. Her skin, while browner than most humans he knew, was not nearly as brown as his. She had two small gems attached to her skin: one on her forehead, the other on the bridge of her nose. He did not know the significance of the small, round, silvery gems, but often wondered about it. He felt, however, it was not his to ask.

He smiled, and said, "Jedi Knight Depa Billaba. Or should I call you Jedi Master?"

He did not intend to let the discussion with Ki spill over into other conversations.

Depa smiled at his compliment. There was a very good chance that she would be joining the Jedi Council soon, as they just recently had a vacancy form, and her name came up many times. While that vacancy had been filled by another, a place had virtually been assured for her.

"You flatter me, Master Eeth," she said in her quiet voice.

It suddenly struck Eeth just how quiet it was here. A more normal person would think a library noisier than a Jedi Space Station. Or any Jedi building, perhaps.

Quiet and docile. Is that what the Jedi had become?

"If I'm interrupting some personal time, please forgive me," Depa said, and Eeth realized he had been quiet for a while.

"Oh, no, my apologies," he said quickly. "My mind seems to be wandering much lately. The smallest thing will send it all over the galaxy."

"That does not sound like such a bad thing," she said with a smile.

"Perhaps," he allowed. "Was there something you wanted of me?"

"Oh, well, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I was concerning Sharad. And, that a group of us were considering volunteering to go after Aurra. Unless, you would rather. . ." She let the statement go unfinished.

Eeth thought for a moment, and suddenly realized he had no desire for revenge. Perhaps, he had become to much a Jedi, keeping his emotions at bay. Emotions weren't bad things, but a Jedi spent much time learning to control them, so they would not control him.

"No," he said, and realized that a few Jedi Knights were standing near-by. He recognized a few, including one of the newest Knights, Sifgia. He turned more to them.

"No, I have no desire for revenge just now. I only have a desire for justice."

"But Master Eeth," one of the Knights said. It was Sifgia. "Wouldn't revenge be justice? In this case?"

"Do you really want a lecture now, Sifgia?" Eeth asked with a smile. The others laughed, but not at her expense.

"But I will say this - Revenge is justice without thought. It solves nothing, and proves only violence. It would be far better to bring Aurra Sing back to the light."

And with that, Eeth turned his back on them, and went to a shuttle for the surface.

Chapter 1

Some days later, Jedi Master Eeth Koth was back on the station, knocking on the door of Jedi Knight Depa Billaba's room. She was surprised to see him, and even more surprised when he wanted to talk to her.

"But, why me?" She asked him when he had come in and sat down.

"You know that Knight, Sifgia?"

"Somewhat," she answered, trying to fathom this question. "I helped her become a Knight after her Master died. She didn't have much training to go."

"Yes. Her Master." Eeth paced the floor while he talked. "Rylla. Seems there has been a lot of death around here lately. And there may be more."

"What? What do you mean?" Only her Jedi training kept her calm. Anything that could make a member of the Jedi Council say such things must be trouble.

He looked at her. "You know I left a week ago to pursue - personal matters."

"Um, as I understood it, you had a tiff with the Council concerning treatment of the poor."

Eeth had to smile. "Nice to see the Council meetings aren't one hundred percent secret." He turned serious. "But, unfortunately, it's come to a lot more than just dealing with the poor."

"What's happened Eeth?"

Eeth thought a moment. "I should start at the beginning. When I left here a week ago, I was concerned only with our actions - or rather, inactions - towards the poor. It left me in what might be called, a bad mood."

Using the Force, he pulled a chair over, and sat on it. "I think a part of me was planning on helping all the poor in the universe. By the time I got down to Coruscant, I realized my error. So, I narrowed it down to wanting to help as many as possible. The problem was, where to start."

**** **** **** ****

Coruscant was a busy world.

From high up in the Jedi's towers, Eeth could see quite some distance. For the most part, Coruscant looked the same all over. Or, at least, that was the mistake many visitors made when first coming to Coruscant.

There were different designs in buildings, marking different era's of construction, different patterns to street design, but mostly, there were different people. Every possible alien race came to Coruscant, in hopes of making it rich, or big, or just of surviving.

Eeth could never prove it, and he understood urban environments well enough to know that every city would have a slum - bigger cities having worse or multiple slums, but he felt the government here was purposely keeping certain area's slums.

He looked out in the general direction of one of the largest slums, although it was several thousand kilometers away. He could still feel it with the force. He could feel the suffering, the hunger, the pain, the sickness of all who lived there.

How could the Jedi make the universe a better place if their own backyards were cess pools?

In a flash, he decided to go there, to the largest slum of Coruscant, and do what he could.

He left his room, and started going down. He suddenly realized it had been a long time since he'd been to the surface. Like so many here, the higher your status, the higher you lived. Jedi's lived amongst the highest towers.

Scowling at the thought, he went to the transport shaft.

"Oh! Master Eeth!" A robotic voice called out.

Reluctantly, Eeth turned to the voice. There was a silver protocol droid heading his way. Inwardly, he sighed his exasperation.

"Forgive me, Master Eeth, but I am B-9RV, protocol droid for Senator Kiiln," the droid introduced itself. Eeth's total recall memory drew up the name, and attached it to the Senator to Iridonia. Or one of them, in any case. Factionalism, based on horns of all things, had caused a split in the Iridonian party. There were seven senators, and this one represented ‘his' people - that is, those with nine horns - although he had never lived amongst them, except for the brief time he spent getting his kanali.

"How very nice to meet you," Eeth said, not entirely sincerely.

"My master requests a meeting with you, as soon as possible," the droid announced.

**** **** **** ****

"A Senator? What did he want?" Bilba decided to interrupt his narrative.

Eeth shrugged. "Not much. Ki wanted him to talk to me. Kiiln came from the slums of Coruscant, and thought he might be able to help. But he was more interested in defending his opinions. And policies."

"Typical."

"Unfortunately, all to typical. It seems to me, politicians are more interested in making policy, and then defending it, rather than helping people."

"Oh, I don't know," Depa mused aloud. "I think most politicians mean well, but it's dangerous to admit you've made a mistake. Your opponent will take advantage of it next election."

Eeth looked at her in a new light. "Depa, have you ever considered being a politician?"

"Please!," she replied, making a pained expression. "Wash your mouth out with soap!"

Eeth smiled. "You may be right, though. He is not an evil man. That much I could sense. But during the conversation, I began to have a strange sensation. Not quite of the Force, but not not of the Force, if you understand what I mean."

Depa thought about it. "No, not really. How can anything not be of the Force?"

"I wondered that myself. And the more I felt it, the more I felt I had to leave. So without much of an explanation, I got up and left him."

"What? Just up and left?" Depa was deliciously scandalized.

"Mmm, yes. I imagine I'll be hearing about that sooner or later. But it'll have to be after we take care of the current problem. You see, I decided to head for the source of the disturbance. For I felt it was nearby."

**** **** **** ****

Eeth hurried down the corridor, back to the elevator that would take him to the surface.

He didn't know that Senator Kiiln was trying to delay him - more likely, he was only doing what he said - trying to help. But he didn't want Kiiln's kind of help. Normally, he would like to play the philosophical debate game, but not today. Not now.

He quite possibly should have explained to the Senator.

It didn't really matter. He had to find the source of this problem. This strange sensation in the Force.

He rode the elevator down without admiring the view. When the door slid open, he expected the sensation to increase. Much to his surprise, it disappeared altogether.

Slightly stunned, he slowly walked out of the elevator, and looked around. Nothing caught his attention right away.

The ground floor of the Jedi Council building was the only place ‘normal' people could go at the Jedi Council. All other floors were closed to the public. As always, there were hundreds of people down here, most of them couples, or single people, with babies, submitting them for testing. If they had potential, they were taken in, and trained in the Jedi arts. The parents were paid a nice sum for the child. Eeth had heard of some people who just had child after child to see if any of them could be Jedi's. While there would be great prestige for the family with a Jedi child, Eeth figured the money played a part in it as well.

The funny thing was, he thought, this was unnecessary. When a child was strong in the Force, the Jedi's knew about him, no matter where the child was.

The crowd parted for Eeth as he walked about the main lobby, but no matter where he went, he could feel no change in the Force.

He had walked almost to the far side of the lobby, casually watched dozens of padawans turning away dozens of children as unacceptable for Jedi. Many people, men and women, cried and pleaded. It made Eeth sad. He stopped at one particular woman who seemed to be crying more than the rest.

"No! Please!" She was screaming at the padawan behind the desk. "You don't understand!"

"But Madam," the padawan, a young Rodan that Eeth recognized as Gweedo. "Your child has no talent. There is nothing we can do."

"But my husband is dead! I can't afford all these children!"

Gweedo reached out, and touched her hand. "Please. You must go now."

Eeth was disturbed he was using the Force on her.

"Yes," the woman said. "I must go now." And with that, she got up and left, four small children in tow, a baby in her arms.

Before the next person in line could step up, Eeth rushed up, using a touch of the Force for speed. The next person in line was startled that some one suddenly appeared in front of her, and Eeth felt her anger and hatred - until she saw that it was a Jedi in front of her. She cowered back, in a mixture of fear and respect.

"You're Gweedo, are you not?" Eeth said to the Rodan.

The green, scaly alien quivered slightly at the attention directed at him. His long snout twitched slightly, but he clearly answered, "Yes, sir."

"Why did you use the Force on her? And do you think that was proper?"

Gweedo looked startled, but said, "She would have been here all day. I could not leave, and she would not."

"So?"

"Her child - children, really, she wanted us to take them all - were of no use to us. They had no talent, but she would not believe me. She had set her hopes entirely on us accepting her children. That would have given her money, and hope that her children would have a better future."

That was most likely true, but it did not make Eeth feel any better.

"Be that as may, how did use of the Force in such a way help?"

"I got her to move along, so I can get more of my work done, and I implanted a suggestion that things were going well, and would only get better."

Eeth scowled. "I do not believe that is how the Force was meant to be used," he said. "However, I cannot find fault with your logic. I think I will bring this up at the next Council Meeting."

As soon as he said that, he felt that odd disturbance in the Force again. He cast about until he found the direction it was the strongest.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Gweedo asked.

"Not now," Eeth said absent mindedly. He set out in the direction he felt the disturbance.

Pushing through the crowds, he found a lone woman, human, pleading with a padawan behind a desk.

"Please, I must see a Jedi!" She was saying.

"But, Miss," the padawan was answering, "you can't just go see a Jedi!"

"But I need their help! Only they can prevent-"

"Yes, I know," the padawan interrupted. "But they are busy people! They can't just come down here and help any person who asks for them."

The woman stared at him for a while, then ran off, bursting into tears. "Then there's no hope for me!"

Eeth quickly walked over to the padawan, who looked at him with shock. Eeth was going to lecture him, but decided he may loose the woman. Using Jedi speed, he caught up with her just outside the building.

"Excuse me," he said. She turned around, and Eeth continued. "I overheard you needed a Jedi. Can I be of service?"

"What-?" She whispered, staring in disbelief.

Eeth now saw she had purple eyes, with no pupil. Not entirely human, then. That's not uncommon. Not here.

Eeth gestured back to the building. "You said in there you needed a Jedi. Here I am. What can I do for you?"

"I, uh - I can't believe-" She stuttered. Her mouth worked, but no more words came out.

"Miss, it's alright. Please don't be afraid."

"But - he said, he said you couldn't be bothered-!"

Eeth smiled. "He said many things, not all of which were necessarily true, Miss. Now, could you at least tell me your name?"

Eeth was contemplating using the Force on the woman, to calm her down, but after the lecture he gave Gweedo, he decided to use more old-fashioned methods.

The woman swallowed, and brushed her blonde locks out of her face.

"My name," she said, slowly and deliberately, "is Sushanna."

Eeth smiled even broader. "And what, Sushanna, did you need?"

"I - it's really a small matter. Nothing important."

"Let me decide that, please."

"I mean," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "What does one life matter when you consider billions every day?"

"Every life is important, Sushanna."

She looked up at him, as she was almost a foot shorter than Eeth. Tears filled her eyes.

"No," she said miserably. "Not every life."

And with that, she ran off, surprising Eeth so much, he did nothing more than just stand there, watching her run.

Just as she disappeared into the crowd, he darted after her, just as he did earlier. But this time, she had lost herself in the crowd. And there was no Force trail to follow. No sign of that earlier strangeness.

He stood there for a while, amongst the milling crowd, not noticing how they made plenty of room for him. He reached out with the Force, but could not feel her presence anywhere on the planet. It was almost as if she didn't exist anymore.

Slowly, he turned away, and headed back to the Jedi Council Building.

He walked straight to the padawan who sent her away.

"What did she want?" He demanded.

"She wanted to see a Jedi Knight." Eeth did admire how he remained calm in front of his strong disapproval.

"What did she want to see a Jedi Knight for?"

"She said she wanted to stop a murder - hers."

Eeth actually looked surprised. "Hers?"

"That's what she claimed."

"‘Claimed'? What do you mean?" His disapproval returned in full force.

"Sir, if I may speak openly-"

"Of course!"

"Sir, thousands of people come in here every day trying to see Jedi. Some of them have honest, serious problems. Those, we forward to upstairs. Most, just want to meet a Jedi. They make up ridiculous stories - that the planet is about to break-up, or one of the moons is about to collide with the planet."

The padawan paused for a moment, and saw to his relief that the Jedi Council member also saw how ridiculous these stories were. Bravely, he continued.

"Some make up stories that are more plausible. The President is going to be assassinated, or some Senator. These, we send upstairs to be looked into, or we do it ourselves, if possible. Sometimes the person to be killed is some one they know - like this woman, she felt her life was in danger."

Eeth nodded, and the young padawan continued.

"I looked into it with my future sense, and saw no threat to her at all. So, I turned down her request to see a Jedi of higher rank."

Eeth thought about this, and his inability to see the woman with the Force, except in unusual moments.

"What did you feel about her?" He asked.

The padawan was surprised by the question, and spent a moment thinking about it.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure that I felt anything at all. I was just looking for any threats to her, but I don't recall feeling anything now."

He looked appropriately puzzled. Eeth nodded.

"Yes, I thought so. You should've turned her to us, I think."

The padawan looked sharply at him. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think you know or appreciate what we do down here. Thousands of people come here a day, with only one thought: To see a Jedi. We weed out the people with serious problems from all the other people."

Eeth looked around. There were indeed thousands of people here, waiting in line to talk to one of the five or six score padawans here. Many were screaming at the padawans, demanding to see a Jedi. He just caught one near-by demanding a Jedi find his lost speeder bike. Many more were pleading that the Jedi take their children. Some of the children were plainly to old.

A great sadness welled up in him. He could see it affected the padawan to.

Without another word, he turned and left.

**** **** **** ****

"Wow," Depa said quietly. "I didn't know. I mean, I did my time down there, but I seem to have either forgotten how bad it was, or its gotten worse."

"I think its gotten worse. I don't remember it being like that either."

"So, what did you do? Did you find this woman - Sushanna? And how did you find her?"

"Ah! So you realized I must've found her, eh? Well, yes I did. And it was easier than I thought it would be."

**** **** **** ****

Eeth headed up the Jedi Towers, to his own room. His mind was only filled with one thought: Find the woman called Sushanna.

A quick computer search had revealed that there were millions of Sushannas' on Coruscant. He had no last name, and for that matter, that may have been her family name. He had no place she lived at, and could not be sure she was even on this planet. There was also the chance that she was not in the Grand Data Base. People did slip through the government red tape, all the time.

So intent was he as he left the data storage center, he almost ran into Ki.

"Ah! Eeth!" Ki said. "There you are! I was told by Senator Kiiln that you went down to ground level!"

"Yes, I did," Eeth answered. "But only for a moment. I take it you did send the good Senator after me? Well, he didn't help," he said in response to Ki nodding his head. "I still want to help the poor and down trodden."

"We all do, Eeth, it's just not practical to help all of them at once."

"Maybe not," he admitted, "but there is one person I want to help."

"Oh? Who's that? Maybe the Council can help."

"Maybe. It's a woman I saw down there. Her name is Sushanna. And she felt she was going to be killed. Perhaps soon."

"Murder?"

Eeth shook his head. "I don't know. I lost the woman. She ran from me. And I could not find her with the Force, either."

"Couldn't find-?" Ki was incredulous. He had never heard of the Force failing before in such a simple matter. "The Council will be interested in this."

"As will I, Ki," Eeth assured him. "As will I."


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