INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 9/CORRIDOR - SUNSET
Anakin makes his way along the corridor to his room. His hair disheveled and his eyelids heavy, he is clearly pooped from the day's activities.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 9/ANAKIN & NASHIRA'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM - SUNSET
Nik opens the door to the small room and steps inside.
ANAKIN: 'Shira, I know it's my turn to cook dinner, but today was just --
Noticing for the first time that the room is completely empty, Anakin goes silent.
ANAKIN: 'Shira?
Guessing that Nashira's in the bedroom, he goes to check it out. Finding it empty, he strides over to the closed refresher door and raps on it lightly.
ANAKIN: You in there, 'Shira? I was saying that I'm really tired and I was hoping you could do the cooking tonight.
Anakin receives no answer from the other side of the door.
ANAKIN: (frowning) Nashira?
Still no answer.
ANAKIN: You'd better be dressed, 'cause I'm coming in.
Opening the door to the refresher, Anakin immediately finds a message scrolled on the mirror in bright neon-blue lipstick; it reads: "CHECK THE DATACARD ON THE TABLE".
Spinning around, the teenaged boy sprints to the round table. There, neatly arranged in the centre, is a datacard and datapad. Picking them up, he slams the card into the pad and activates it; a recorded image of Gurkan's face immediately comes to life on the small screen.
GURKAN: Hello, Skywalker. Doubtless you're wondering what's happened to your girlfriend. Rest assured, she's safe.
As he says that, the Abyssin quickly pulls Nashira's still-living face into view before pushing her back out again.
GURKAN: (cont'd) For now.
ANAKIN: (grinds his teeth) What do you want?
GURKAN: You and I have a score to settle, Skywalker, and I'm the type who likes seeing scores settled. But as we are where we are, it gets so very hard trying to do that -- too many hardassed Mandalorians and snotnosed trainees running around to get in the way. (beat) I want to meet up with you, Skywalker, where none of the busybodies can interfere with us -- down in Sublevel R.
ANAKIN: Sublevel R?
GURKAN: Sublevel R has been abandoned and sealed off for decades, so nobody goes down there anymore. I know a way of getting there through the ducts, however, and I've provided you with a map to show you the way. (beat) But don't get any grand notions of calling the Mandies or your Jedi friends for help. If you show up with anyone or anyone other than you shows up, I'll give Nashira a brand-spanking new red-lipped mouth to go with the one she has already. (beat) See you soon.
With that, Gurkan's recorded message comes to an end. Anakin, bristling with pent-up rage, can barely keep himself from crushing the datapad in his hands to powder.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 4/CORRIDOR - SUNSET
Having followed Gurkan's map on the datacard to Level 4, Anakin now finds himself at the end of an empty corridor; there, set high up in the wall near the ceiling, is a metal grate.
Walking up to the wall, Anakin pockets his datapad. Bending his knees, he takes a leap, arms outstretched. Reaching the grate, he begins clawing at it, desperate to catch a hold through the metal slats, but fails and falls back to the floor.
ANAKIN: (under his breath) Dammit!
Flexing his fingers with impatience, Nik tries again. Closing his eyes in concentration, he crouches down low to the ground. Then, flinging his eyes open, he rockets upward, nearly overshooting the grate and taking a headlong collision into the hard ceiling.
Throwing out his arms, he reaches for the grate, takes hold of it, and manages to pull it right off the opening into the ducts.
ANAKIN: (landing hard on his feet) Yes!
Transferring the loose grate to his left hand, Anakin leaps again and manages to catch hold of the open hole's edge. He hoists himself up and in and, with caution and care, manages to twist himself into a position allowing him to pull the grate back into place.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 34/OBI-WAN, SIRI, & PRIMEDAY'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM - TWILIGHT
As Siri walks in after a long day of activity, sporting bruises from her fight with the punks along with her clashes with merciless Mandalorian instructors, she finds that Obi-Wan has already set the table and is currently dishing out each of their suppers.
OBI-WAN: Good evening, Siri. Glad to see you could make it to dinner on time this time around.
SIRI: (weary) What did you make?
OBI-WAN: Well, they're supposed to be nerf steaks in white chocolate sauce, but we both know it's just nerf stock mixed with gelatin smothered in dehydrated milk mixed with artificial chocolate powder.
PRIMEDAY: (takes a bite of faux nerf steak) It's delicious! My compliments to the chef!
SIRI: (astonished) You're actually eating that?!
PRIMEDAY: It's perfectly edible.
SIRI: But ... but ...
PRIMEDAY: But?
SIRI: It's not Primeday Surprise!
PRIMEDAY: (frowns) Of course it is. (slices off another bite and forks it into her mouth)
SIRI: No, it isn't! It's nerf jello in chocolate syrup!
OBI-WAN: (rolls his eyes) Thank you for framing my cooking in such delicate terms.
SIRI: (holds her finger up at him) You keep quiet.
PRIMEDAY: Primeday Surprise comes in a myriad of forms. You just can't see them all at once.
SIRI: (sighs) I give up.
Wearily, she plops herself down at the table and begins to eat dispassionately.
OBI-WAN: (sits down at his plate) Rough day?
SIRI: As if you even need to ask.
OBI-WAN: Yeager made you run the gauntlet again, didn't he?
SIRI: I was talking about the fight at lunch.
OBI-WAN: What fight?
SIRI: The fight at the mess hall.
Obi-Wan furrows his brow. He obviously doesn't know what she is talking about.
SIRI: (to Primeday) You didn't tell him?!
PRIMEDAY: (shrugs) I didn't see the need to.
SIRI: (incredulous) Didn't see the need to!?
PRIMEDAY: He would have found out eventually. (beat) He did find out eventually.
OBI-WAN: What happened at the mess hall?
SIRI: Today, during my first rest period, I had lunch in the mess hall with Primeday and Nashira. While we were eating, four scumbags showed up and began assaulting us, causing a fight to break out. Nashira got separated from us, and one of them -- the leader -- cornered her in an alley and tried to rape her.
OBI-WAN: My God.
SIRI: She was saved, though, by one of the Mandies. Zull, her name was.
OBI-WAN: You got her name?
SIRI: She revealed it to Nashira. The two apparently hit it off right away.
OBI-WAN: That strikes you as odd?
SIRI: Most of the other Mandalorians -- the ones who aren't abusive -- tend to stay detached, aloof from the prisoners. But this woman ... she was different ... very friendly, very warm. She even took her helmet off for Nashira.
OBI-WAN: That is unusual.
SIRI: I got the sense that she was ... hurt, somehow, wounded.
OBI-WAN: Wounded. You mean emotionally, not physically.
SIRI: (nods) Exactly. (beat) I don't think she's been a Mandalorian very long. She was forced into the role, and fairly recently.
OBI-WAN: She's one of us, then.
SIRI: No, not anymore, but she was. (beat) She's a friend, at the very least.
PRIMEDAY: Yes, a friend -- a friend to help link all others.
SIRI: (frowns) What do you mean?
Before the H'nemthe can respond, Ben suddenly doubles over, grimacing with pain.
SIRI: (alarmed) Ben, what is it!?
OBI-WAN: Siri, it's Anakin ... He's in danger! He's in grave danger!