Chapter Text
Osha jostled awake as her shoulders dropped onto a hard surface. No, not awake, I think this is a dream. Her eyes weren’t open and she didn’t really know what was happening. No control over her limbs or thoughts, her sluggish movements feeling like she was moving through sand. This has to be a dream. Her limbs felt like they moved on their own, but she still registered the effort it took for her to move. She was laying on something, a surface cold and hard. The ground? No, not the ground, a table or poorly made bed. She tried to pick up her head to look, but it was too heavy, much heavier than normal. And I can’t even open my eyes.
Her body stopped moving, bringing everything in her to a slow stop, even her thoughts. She distantly felt pressure wrap around her forearms, then over her hips, then her ankles. She couldn’t move now even if she had control over her limbs. She tried, and what she was sure were large forceful motions were in reality, nearly imperceptible twitches to the Jedi surrounding her, observing her.
She was being watched, scrutinized. Osha drifted off once more, unaware that her greatest test had arrived.
As much as Jedi are known for their impassive demeanors, they are not infallible. The younglings especially, are still so easily influenced by what they see around them. They are uncontrollably in tune with the changes they feel, and just as uncontrollable are their reactions.
Master Qimir seems to incite an influx of these reactions. Heads turn to watch as he passes, hurried steps make way for him. He cannot be blamed for such behavior, he very obviously does nothing untoward to encourage it. It simply just, happens.
He notices, of course he does, his skills as a Jedi Master would be shoddy at best if he couldn’t see something so obvious. He doesn’t fight it, not anymore. He doesn’t make himself smaller or walk less assured, because it made no difference. It was him that was the phenomenon.
The other Jedi Masters absolutely notice. They have witnessed the effect he has on others, Force sensitive or not, and they have felt the pull themselves. As steel strong as their resolves are, they can still feel how he draws attention. It has pushed them to make an unspoken decision amongst them. They don’t overly involve him in their affairs, they cannot risk him becoming overly aware of something they would rather he not know. His attention sticks, and his opinions are hard to avoid. So they don’t pester when he doesn’t attend mission debriefs if he does not want to. They don’t demand his attention in every matter of concern. It is not for a lack of tact on his part, no, he is reliable, discrete and passive where needed. The problem is that he decides where that is.
It makes him the perfect teacher for the Knights that will soon become Masters in their own right. He sees so much while keeping the attention of his pupils captured. Any shortcomings are best caught before they can become unbreakable impediments. It is entirely a coincidence that his position also keeps him out of the other Jedi Masters’ dealings, and away from missions where he would have to make more, individualized decisions.
His position puts him in front of numerous Jedi Knights soon to become Masters, and his influence puts him in a prime position to gently correct any faults his discerning eyes pick up.
So naturally he notices when Osha doesn’t attend his lessons. It would be hard not to, she is always there, always in the center of the room, always attentive. Where the students at the front of the room stare at him for long minutes, hoping to capture his attention and notice their dedication, the middle of the room is where his eyes naturally fall.
Today, they fell upon an empty seat.
Lessons still progress as always, but the note of Osha’s absence stays at the forefront of his mind. He dismisses the pupils as usual, but then changes his mind to call out.
“Jecki” Qimir’s voice rushes out before he could think better of it. The action shocks his students too, several of them whipping their heads around as they leave the hall.
Jecki stepped up to Qimir, her eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, Master Qimir?”
Qimir tilted his head towards where Osha usually sits next to Jecki. “Your friend is missing today.” He knew he hadn’t asked a question, he wanted to know where this would go.
“Uh, yes, she had a headache this morning and barely made it through Master Kelnacca’s lessons, and then we left quickly and I haven’t seen her since.” The words tumbled out of her, she didn’t know how to answer his not-question, all she could see was the discerning look he wore.
“I see, you may go, apologies for keeping you.” Qimir nodded slowly. He watched Jecki practically scurry away and finished collecting his things before following after her. Qimir was known for his incredible instincts, and he would simply not be himself if he didn’t follow them.
He followed Jecki as she nearly flew around corners, rushing back to her and Osha’s room. He kept his distance and his pace was unhurried, but he made sure his focus within the Force remained on the girl. Just as the door to their room came into sight, it slammed shut behind Jecki. Qimir kept walking down the hallway, keeping his pace even as he shifted his focus. His steps only faltered when he realized, with surprise, that Osha wasn’t there.
It wasn’t uncommon for students to skip classes, but it was entirely unusual for a student like Osha to do so. She had never even been late to lessons as far as he could recollect. He had only meant to silently check up on her as he followed Jecki back to their room, but she wasn’t there. He could feel Jecki’s distress from down the hall, and as he turned the corner away from the rooms, he heard her slip out once again to race away, presumably to find her absent roomate.
This shouldn’t have struck him as oddly as it did, and yet Qimir couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. He felt the pull to investigate further, but shook it off as he continued down the large corridors to the library. He knew Osha was expected to attend another lesson today, set to begin in less than an hour, and he decided he would listen to his instincts if she failed to make an appearance.
He tamped down the nagging feeling in his chest, and calmed his mind as he walked into the quiet library, moving through shelves and focusing on finding texts to review and help form his lessons. He lost himself in his work and before long, over an hour had passed. He clapped shut the book in his hand and spun to lake long strides out of the library and towards the lesson halls. If younger Jedi had to almost jump out of his way to avoid his forceful, determined steps, he barely noticed. His focus became singular as he approached the closed door, coming to a point to find one person. He sifted through the signatures of numerous students, some paying attention while others’ minds wandered. He combed through every identity, and found nothing.
She wasn’t there. Osha was still missing and the tension that had unfurled in his chest before grew tenfold. Something was wrong and he needed to find out what. He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about something that was most likely just a student having a bad day. He just knew he wouldn’t be able to calm the waves of tension consuming him if he didn’t assure himself of her safety.
Qimir spun on his heels and started down the hall, towards the command centers and meeting rooms, determined to find answers. His Jedi robes billowed behind him as he swiftly turned corners and dodged other Jedi. The strong grip of uncertainty loosened as he neared his destination, but hesitation stopped him from making his last turn.
I have to be smart about this, I need a plan . He peeked around the corner and quickly scanned the corridor. Few Jedi milled about, and he couldn’t see anyone that would question his presence. He turned into their sightlines and marched past the other Jedi with purpose, and as soon as he was sure the eyes were off of him, he slipped into a meeting room. Every meeting room was fitted with a built-in holoprojector. Most of the Masters kept one on their person or at the least owned a personal device, but he had opted to not keep one. He had decided he would rather not be expected to be reached at all times, but now he came to mildly regret that decision. Could have saved me some trouble at least. He scoffed at himself before moving to use the projector. Master Sol had been Osha’s Master, and he would know if something was truly amiss with her. If he seemed fine, chances were Osha was safe also.
Qimir called up Master Sol’s ship, knowing he was off on a mission and slated to return in six days. The projector beeped in tone to send out the request to answer, and then droned in error. The projector in Sol’s ship had been switched off?
Qimir switched off the projector and stood still for several long moments. This didn’t ease his worries, and there would be few reasons as to why a ship’s projector would be switched off while actively on mission. He elected to make no further calls, knowing the bounced requests would rouse suspicion. He slipped out of the meeting room, glancing both ways before making his way back to the common halls. His plan had to become more intricate, and it needed more thinking upon.
This irrational worry was beginning to take over his peace, and he knew he needed to recenter himself before proceeding. This wasn’t a matter to be tabled, but a more focused mind was needed, and Qimir felt more haggard than focused. As he passed a grand staircase on his way to the meditation atriums, he stopped.
“Master Sol!” The words rushed out before Qimir could stop himself. Master Sol stopped abruptly to look down from halfway up the stairs, surprise taking over his features.
Quickly correcting his expression, Sol turned fully to meet Qimir as he came up the stairs to greet him. He watched realization slowly creep over Qimir’s features, and hoped that he wouldn’t notice too much.
“You’re back, we weren’t expecting your return for a few days.”
It wasn’t a question, but rather a blunt statement, practically demanding explanation.
“Yes, the bulk of the work was quickly completed and I was able to hand the reins over to Jedi stationed more locally.” Sol slowly responded, judging Qimir’s expressions to gauge how well his lie sold. He knew that Qimir would have seen the mission updates from that morning, the updates stating that the mission had been extended. Sol was meant to return in another four days, but based on his ongoing reports, it was decided he should remain two extra days. Sol was nearly a week early, and lying about why.
Qimir knew, for all intents, Sol should not be here right now, in front of him, looking terribly spooked. He had caught him in the middle of something, something odd. Sol was headed upstairs, a sector designated for utility and storage. Even from between floors, Qimir could feel the loud hum of machines working to keep the floors below them.
Sol noted this quick evaluation, and in the seconds it took for Qimir to fully ascertain that this situation was truly unusual, Sol fabricated another lie.
“I was just headed to order a few ship parts to be brought down from storage, my ship was slightly damaged.” He pointed up into the plain corridors behind him.
Qimir nodded slowly, knowing that whatever Sol was attending to, he was seriously not meant to see. Despite his casual tone, Sol was still being secretive, and he needed to leave while the topic was still open to return to. It would do him no good if Sol closed up completely.
“Well, I will leave you to it, welcome back.” Qimir bowed away from Sol as he nodded in response and once again started up the remaining stairs. Qimir quickly descended the few stairs, his robes once again flowing behind him, and he made the turn towards the meditation spaces.
He stopped just past where the wall cut off, and heard for Sol’s footsteps to quieten away, and then silently moved to follow him up. This time, his robes didn’t fly out behind him, his steps made no noise. In fact, had anyone been watching him, they would note he had almost floated up the steps, ascending like a spirit brought to light.
Qimir followed the side of the corridor lightly echoing with Sol’s footsteps until he heard them stop. He paused immediately, knowing Sol’s was already on edge. Qimir did his best to shield his presence, and then he waited.
Voices floated to his ears, barely audible and not at all decipherable. Each tone was different however. There was Sol’s deep and slow speech, the sharper, more feminine tone that Qimir suspected belonged to Master Vernestra, and then the softer voice carrying Master Indara’s words. They were quietly discussing some matter, just around the corner from where Qimir was, not quite hiding, just standing in near plain sight.
Suddenly, quick sets of footsteps made their way away from him before he heard a door groan open, and then all the personable noise around him ceased as the door groaned shut. He waited a few more seconds to hear any sign of activity, before stepping out from behind the corner and walking down to the door he had heard open and close. He couldn’t hear anything beyond it, and standing there like a lost pet would surely raise alarm when the other Masters inevitably exited. Looking left and right, Qimir soundlessly padded over to the room just next to the one that the others had disappeared into, and quietly opened the door just enough for him to slide in. He held the door open just an inch with his foot, not wanting to miss the conversation the Masters were bound to have as they left. Qimir shifted his body just right, and then leaned over to the wall adjacent to the mystery room. Slowly, wanting to prevent even the slightest sound, he touched his head to the wall, held his breath, and listened.