Saga 'A Jedi's Anguish' - a Shaak Ti & Plo Koon story

Title: A Jedi's Anguish
Author(s): Handmaiden-Kabe
Timeframe: The Clone Wars
Characters: Shaak Ti, Plo Koon and Anakin
Genre: -
Keywords: -
Summary: Shaak Ti and Plo Koon share some time together in the temple, and happen upon a distressed Anakin...
Notes: This is my first posted fan-fiction, so I might have done it wrong. Sorry if I have...


The food hall was almost empty. A select few silently ate their meals, their minds on another time, another place.
Jedi Master Shaak Ti was no different. Her mind, in fact, was on just a few weeks ago- when she had seen her friend die. Master Abel Lo-Quo had been a friend since?well, as long as she could remember. But she and Abel had been fighting on lost cause Sandoc IV when he had been struck down by a separatist super battle droid. The loss was just one more figure to be added to the Jedi Archives. One more life. One more death.
?Master Ti,? said a familiar voice, quietly.
Shaak looked up, and smiled sadly.
?Plo,? she said, putting down her spoon. ?You have returned.?
Plo Koon drew out the chair beside her and sat down.
?I?m afraid I have some bad news, my friend.?
Shaak?s heart stopped. Another death.
?Who was it this time?? she asked, quietly. Plo bowed his head.
?Eeth Koth.?
Shaak slowly brought her hand to her face, forcing herself to breathe. Eeth Koth. An old, good friend. Just like Plo. Just like Abel.
?How??
?Grevious. One more lightsaber for him to add to his collection,? replied Plo, gravely. Shaak pushed her soup away from her, her appetite gone. Plo continued. ?At least he died honourably. It was?a worthy death.? The Kel?dor was silent, allowing his words to sink in. He too had lost many friends.
Shaak slid her chair back gracefully. Rising, she gestured towards the exit.
?Walk with me, Plo,? she requested softly.
Together they glided soundlessly through the corridors of the Jedi Temple. Shaak could feel the force emanating from Plo, and knew he was trying to ease her pain. She stopped outside a door.
?The Room of a Thousand Fountains,? commented Plo, studying the door he had been led to. Shaak nodded, and opened it.
The peaceful sound of running water filled the room, immediately clearing their minds and clarifying the force. It was a spacious room, with large windows providing lots of light. Exactly one-thousand beautiful stone fountains filled the floor space, each with carvings around the base depicting brave past Jedi, among other patterns and images.
There was just one other Jedi in there. A black-cloaked figure with its hood up, hunched over one of the fountains in the far corner. Shaak could tell through the force that it was the Skywalker boy, recently made a Knight. But there was a presence in him that worried her. A bitterness. A pain.
?It is his business, Shaak. Not ours,? Plo reminded her, quietly. Shaak paused for a few moments more, before setting herself down on the broad rim of the nearest fountain. The rims made effective seating places, as one could concentrate more on the calming rhythm of the water.
?I always come here,? Shaak told Plo, in a voice that sounded almost as though she was speaking to herself. ?I find it calming. I can see everything more clearly when I look into the water. Won?t you join me??
Plo, who had remained standing, conceded and sat down beside her. Shaak continued to stare at the ever-flowing waters.
?It is indeed?peaceful,? agreed the Kel?dor. ?I wish I could see it with my own eyes.?
Shaak looked up. She had never heard him talk like that before. Sharing his innermost thoughts was not something Plo Koon did very often.
?I hadn?t thought of it like that,? admitted Shaak. ?It must be strange for you?? But Plo shook his head sadly.
?No. No, I am used to it now. If I were to return to my home planet, it would almost seem more strange to take it off than leave it on after all these years.? The Kel?dor was referring to the mask he had to wear over his main facial features. His race had developed sensitive eyes and nostrils from the conditions of their planet, Dorin. When