Chapter 3: A Disappearing Act
“Grand Master, I need to talk to you.” Brutus neared the Grand Master, who was staring out at the city skyline. “It regards our security in the Temple.”
“Go ahead,” Malloren said flatly. Brutus didn’t believe that she was really paying much attention, but he decided to go on anyways.
“My protocol droid says that a trio of mischievous Padawans broke into my room while I was gone and trashed the place. I was not aware that Padawans were able to get into the dormitory section so easily.”
“Curious,” Malloren said, turning to Brutus. “Did your droid mention who the perpetrators were?”
“Jaden Von Klyse, Shap Cuvert and Serafine Tinaste.”
Malloren raised an eyebrow after Brutus had spoken. “Interesting. Serafine does not seem like the kind of person that would do such a thing, but I can see Shap doing that and getting the other two to follow his lead. Jaden is a wild card on this one; she probably went along out of curiosity about what Shap wanted to do, which ended up being the trashing of your room. What are your thoughts on the situation, Master Crantilla?”
“I would like to talk to Serafine for a few moments, because I believe that it is some kind of graduation prank.” This line caused a moment of confusion to appear on Malloren’s face, but she quickly regained her composure. “Actually, if at all possible, I would like to have a word with all three of them. I’m pretty sure that Master Finwerk will not be in a training session with his Padawan right now.”
“I’ll try to make sure that that is possible,” Malloren said. “If I see Serafine, I’ll try to direct her to talk to you before the ceremony.” Brutus nodded and turned to leave. However, Malloren caught his attention again. “Brutus?”
“What?” Brutus asked.
“I’ve had this funny feeling the last several minutes through the Force. Have you noticed this as well?”
“I certainly have,” Brutus said. “Something seems out of place here.”
“I don’t like it,” Malloren said, her voice edged with a bit of suspicion. “These two events don’t seem like they should be possible. Our security should not be breached that easily, and it seems strange that three Padawans were able to get into your room to mess it up. We should proceed with caution until we can get more information on this.”
“I agree. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few Padawans to ‘interrogate’,” Brutus said. He was joking about the interrogation, but it also didn’t seem funny. He was always a serious man, but he would never go out of his way to do harm to someone unless they were a direct danger to himself or others. He hoped that the Padawans would fess up about their guilt without much hesitation. Walking towards the lift, Brutus decided that he was going to see if Dil was around to ask him if he could talk to Jaden about the incident. Pressing the button on the lift, he waited for the doors to open. Once they did, he slipped inside the car and selected the button for the main dormitory level on the main console. The car lifted almost instantly, and Brutus started to go over the objectives of his little trip to see the trio of Padawans. He wanted to know why they had the nerve to blatantly break the rules and go into his room without his express permission to do so, and then thoroughly trash the place. It made him angry, but he knew that anger and revenge would not get him anywhere, so he decided to change to a cool demeanor. A simple apology and return of his pillow was all he wanted. When the car opened, he strode out and made his way to the Master’s section, which required a card key and password to enter. Sliding the card through and punching in the password, Brutus walked into the small area. As he walked to Dil’s room, he passed the room of Zell Vurgus, another Master in the Order. He occupied the room that Brutus himself had once lived in, and it was given to Zell when Brutus was promoted to the Council a few years previous. When he approached Dil’s room, he knocked on the door twice. Inside, he could hear some shuffling before the door slid open to reveal Dil. “Master Finwerk, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure,” Dil said. “Come on in.” Brutus accepted the invitation and walked inside. Dil’s room was somewhat like his own, in all its messy glory. Several magazines were stacked on the bed, and there was a circular fishbowl on one of the counters. When he stared inside, Brutus noticed that there was a small blue fish in there, swimming around its watery cage without much enthusiasm. Dil picked up a small bottle and tapped a bit of its contents in the bowl. The fish, not eager to do anything before this, raced up to take a bite of the food. Placing the bottle down next to the bowl, Dil turned to Brutus. “You have something to ask of me?”
“I need to talk to your Padawan,” Brutus said firmly. Dil shrugged.
“She’s out in the garden, I believe. At least that’s where she told me she was going. Why?”
“I believe that she messed up my room while I was out earlier this morning, and I wanted to ask her why,” Brutus answered. “I also want a simple apology from her and her accomplices.”
“I’m not stopping you,” Dil said. “She should be out in the garden.” Brutus nodded and walked out, leaving Dil alone in his room. His next destination was the gardens, where he hoped to find the suspects and maybe get some answers. Taking the turbolift down again, he strode towards the arch that led to his destination. The arch was a piece of fine craftsmanship; in addition to its sheer size, it also was a carved masterpiece that featured all kinds of images etched into the material. One such etching featured a couple of Jedi fighting hordes of battle droids, a tribute to those lost during the Clone Wars leading up to the Great Jedi Purge, which still rang in the ears of the New Jedi Trials over a hundred years later. Ever since then, the Jedi had not had very stable footing in the universe, although relations had gotten better as the years passed. Still, the members of the NJT knew that someone out there probably hated their guts for what they believed in and fought for, and that might cause some conflict sooner or later. Brutus hoped that if there was open conflict, that he and his fellow Jedi would be able to handle it.
As he stepped out into the gardens, Brutus scanned the area for Jaden, who was not in sight. Making his way to the small pool outside, he saw a figure there, staring out at the placidness of the still water. Approaching the figure, Brutus realized that it was Blufus Bajarack, a Knight. Blufus had always been kidded for his name, so he vehemently advocated for everyone to call him Blu so that they would overlook his silly-sounding name. Brutus approached Blu and tapped him on the shoulder. Blu turned around to see who was there. “Master Crantilla,” he said, shocked by who it was. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Have you, by any chance, seen Jaden Von Klyse?” Brutus asked. “I’m looking for her.”
“In fact, I have not,” Blu said. “Sorry.” Brutus frowned. Dil had been wrong; Jaden was not out in the gardens. Why had she lied about her whereabouts? Was she vandalizing other rooms and being a general menace with her friends? “May I ask why?”
“That’s not important,” Brutus snapped. He had not meant to lash out, but he had not been able to restrain himself. Plus, he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry that they could not help him; he wasn’t out on a conquest to cause pain to those who had messed up his room. All he wanted was a few words, not to beat the perpetrators up for their actions. Blu had a look of confusion on his face, shocked at the response that he was given to his inquiry. Brutus realized that he had to rectify the situation before it got out of hand. “Hey, I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”
“I forgive you,” Blu said. “Sorry I couldn’t be of any help.” With that, he turned back to stare at the water. Brutus now had to think of where the Padawans could possibly be hiding; what were they up to now, he wondered. Who would be their next victim? As he was pondering this, his comlink buzzed, and he reached down to turn it on.
“Brutus here.”
“Brutus, this is Malloren. The ceremony is about to start. You’re late.”
“Sorry about that. I’ve been preoccupied with trying to find the vandals.”
“All three of them are here, but I’m not going to interrupt the ceremony to mention that you are looking for them. Oh, and if you see anyone, tell them to get to the ceremony. I want everyone to be in attendance.”
“Will do. Brutus out,” Brutus responded, shutting off his comlink. “Blu, come with me,” he said to the Jedi Knight. Sighing, Blu stood up and followed Brutus out of the gardens and into the Temple. “I hate it when I’m late,” Brutus muttered to himself as the pair wound their way to the lift.
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