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The hiss of her spray can was music to her ears. She kept it simple, as she usually did. This time it was just a circle with a line through it. But since it was right over the Emperor’s face, on a poster right outside of a military academy, she knew she would have multiple imperial military commanders panicking over it before the sun rose. Rebellious sentiment was bad enough in the rest of the galaxy. But here? On Coruscant? The very seat of the Emperor’s power? It was unthinkable. And that was why it was so important. She had done it across the planet, spraying statues, posters, murals, and buildings. Always with some anti-Empire sentiment. Always a distraction from the outer rim, where she believed rebellion would arise.
It was a risky maneuver, she knew. It was drawing attention towards her and her people. But they had to do something. It was intolerable to sit the battle out completely.
Her work done, Reva ran. Curfew had been implemented across the planet – explicitly because of her – so she needed to go further to blend in.
Past a few buildings, a hole appeared before her. It was smaller than most of its kind, only a few meters in diameter, but it was more than enough for her. She jumped in.
The fall that awaited her was not as far as she would have preferred, only nineteen levels. She had twenty-seven more to go before she was fully out of the Empire’s territory.
That said, though, when she landed, Reva would be out of the levels that were most often patrolled. She was probably safe. All that would be left was to get home.
Well, not quite. Reva needed to first get back to her speeder, go on her hunt, and then go home. But some part of her considered the deepest levels of Coruscant to be home, no matter how far from her true home they were.
Reva fell past level after level, getting faster the whole time. When she sensed she was getting close, she drew the Force into herself and slowed down, coming to a gentle stop on top of a small pill of refuse. She hopped off it, to the side, ending up in an old market square. It had been built over centuries ago, but some clever souls had made sure that the next few levels had a light-shaft built into them. After that, it was a matter of tradition.
The old market was abandoned by now. Commerce tended to happen higher up or, down here, behind closed doors. A few old market stalls still stood, but they had been stripped of any cloth. There were a few old lights still shining their flickering light, making puddles of light through the cavernous space. Reva liked those lights and their glowing puddles. She didn’t need them, since she was fully capable of seeing with only the Force, but she did like them.
“Reva,” someone said, a Force-signature unfolding and brightening the gloom of Coruscant.
Reva spun to look, though she already knew who had spoken.
“Master Offee!” Reva exclaimed. “I was… err… just…”
“The truth, please, Knight Reva,” Barriss Offee said sternly.
“I was doing vandalism,” Reva admitted. “Anti-imperial art to inspire rebels and distract the imperials.”
“I see,” Offee said. “So, you are the one stirring up the Empire. I suspected as much.”
“How?” Reva demanded. “I’m our best hunter! I covered my tracks perfectly!”
“You smile proudly when you think no one is looking and people complement your work,” Offee answered dryly. “It was not enough for the Council to act, perhaps, but it was enough for me to follow you.”
Reva winced.
“I did only what was right, and less than we should,” Reva defended herself.
“Less than we should?” Master Offee repeated, her tone dangerous. “Knight Reva, we gave the lives of multiple generations to the uncaring galaxy. And did they appreciate it? Did they honor the generations, the centuries of service we provided? Or did they decide we are the scary monsters in the dark?”
Reva didn’t answer Barriss’s questions. They both knew the answers to them.
“What if I just want to make the galaxy a better place?” Reva asked. “What if I don’t care about what the rest of the galaxy will think?”
Barriss Offee sighed deeply.
“Would you abandon your duties to the next generation for that?” Offee asked.
“I have not,” Reva pointed out. “I bring them food and, soon, I think I will be ready to take on a Padawan. A Padawan I would not bring up here. I know we must protect our children.”
“You have endangered the very children you say you know we must protect,” Master Offee argued. “But come. We need to go before we are followed.”
Reva nodded and sent agreement in the Force. They walked together, away from the bottom of the shaft. Reva noticed that Offee clearly knew the way back to Reva’s speeder. After a while of walking, Master Offee broke the silence.
“You may have endangered us all with your reckless activism, but you did so for a noble reason,” Offee allowed. “I will ensure the punishment you face will be no more that confinement to the Deep Conclave.”
“That would not be the most intolerable punishment,” Reva admitted. Plenty of other Jedi never left their hiding place in the unmapped wilds below the city. “But I would miss hunting.”
“I did call it a punishment,” Master Offee said with a slight smile. “But we shall see what the rest of the Council says.” She paused for a moment and then added: “Some of them may not even want to scold you.”
“You mean they would approve?” Reva asked, shocked. Ever since the fall of the Temple, her elders had preached caution and the protection of their own.
“We do understand the desire to help the wider galaxy,” Barriss admitted softly. “We were trained for that. Some of the Council hold that desire too uncritically, but all of us know and hold it.”
“Oh,” Reva breathed.
Of course, the Council wanted to help. That was what all Jedi were called to do, after all.