Chapter Text
“Honestly, Andreas the balcony, again? We have a door, you know!”
Berthold scrambled to his feet at the sound of his mother chastising someone from the other room. He knew exactly who had to be visiting. Especially considering Mom sounded like she was laughing.
“Hi Andreas!” he shouted gleefully as he turned the corner and spotted the man dusting off his long brown robes, his hair looking decidedly mussed from the trip to the Drucker home. He didn’t fix it.
“Hello, Marie, hello Bert,” said Andreas, sounding more than a little absentminded. “Where’s Claus?”
“He’s out feeding the chickens, I’m surprised you didn’t see him on your way in,” said Mom.
“Ah, I’m a bit distracted today.”
“You look like it. Is everything alright? Younglings giving you trouble?”
Bert laughed at the face Andreas made, looking almost wounded at Mom’s teasing. He knew many of the Jedi younglings weren’t much older than he was – a fact he tried not to be too jealous of whenever he remembered it . Andreas always told him it wasn’t all exciting, being a Jedi, but Bert still liked pretending to be one when he played with his friends . After all, Andreas was kind of a boring Jedi, who didn’t go off on adventures all over the galaxy like the Knights in Bert’s favorite holonet shows. He just taught younglings at the Temple and sometimes helped out in the library, which seem ed like silly stuff to spend your time doing if you could use the Force.
“No,” said Andreas. “It’s something much stranger. Is it alright if I sit down a moment?”
“Sit all you like,” said Mom. “We’ll be eating soon. You’re welcome to join us.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much of an appetite today.”
“Well, I’ll fix you a plate anyway. Maybe it’ll come back to you. Are you sure you’re alright, Andreas? You seem uneasy.”
Andreas took a big, deep breath, as though he were steadying himself. He’d started drumming his fingers on his leg as soon as he sat down. Mom was right, he was acting weird. Curious, Bert took the seat next to him, kicking his legs back and forth a little as Mom stepped into the kitchen to grab their dinner. Maybe something exciting had happened at the Temple! Maybe Andreas knew about some secret Jedi business! Maybe he’d even ask if Bert wanted to help him with it!
Before the Jedi had a chance to answer, though, there was a sound from downstairs, followed by footsteps and soon, the appearance of Bert’s dad.
“Andreas!” said Dad, sounding surprised. “I take it you came in through the balcony?”
“Hello, Claus. How are the chickens?”
“Noisy as ever. Otherwise I wouldn’t have missed a Jedi climbing on my roof.”
A smile finally spread across Andreas’ face. “That’s what you think.”
“How are things at the Temple? Your favorite student still asking you for extra art lessons?”
“You know I’m not supposed to play favorites with the younglings.”
“I do, and it’s easy to see you’re failing. Don’t tell me the Council chewed you out for it.”
Andreas got a funny look again, and Bert caught his parents exchanging quizzical glances. He wondered what was up – and why no one was saying anything about it.
“No, the opposite” Andreas said eventually. “The Council have entrusted me with an important investigation.”
“That’s great, Andreas!” said Mom, setting a plate of roast gornt and mashed protatoes in front of him, though he looked liked he hardly noticed. “Congratulations.”
“Not exactly,” Andreas said with a frustrated sigh. “Did you hear about that Senator that got murdered last night?”
“Murdered??” said Bert, perking up immediately. That didn’t sound like boring stuff at all.
“Murdered?” said Mom, who didn’t sound nearly as excited. “A Senator? That’s horrible!”
“Better have been one of the useless ones,” said Dad. “Though being fair, that’s most of them.”
Mom gave Dad one of her Looks, which always made Bert laugh. Usually he got those, when he was up to something he wasn’t supposed to be. Mom used different Looks on Dad than she did on him, but it was still funny.
“What?” said Dad. “You know I’m right.”
“A man is dead, Claus! Honestly.”
Andreas just shrugged. “His name was Senator Lorenz Rothvogel, from Delaya. I don’t know very much about him, only that he was interested in Jedi history. That’s how I got involved in this whole mess. The librarians didn’t want to deal with him – and no, Jocasta wouldn’t tell me why – but since I’m in the archives so often, Illuminata brought up my name and suggested I could meet with him instead, to satisfy his curiosity. I thought it might be interesting. He certainly seemed enthusiastic to talk to a member of the Order.”
Dad raised an eyebrow “Oh?”
Rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish gesture, Andreas gave an awkward laugh. “He kept calling me ‘Master Maler,’ for one thing, even after I explained I’m only a Knight. And kept asking to meet with me, too. I had thought it would just be the one time.”
“Is that why the Council’s asked you to investigate what happened to him?” asked Mom.
“It’s why half the Council’s asked me to investigate him,” sighed Andreas. “The other half think we should steer clear of the whole matter, and that any Jedi involvement could turn it into more of a holonet story than it already is. Or a holodrama. They’ve left it up to me to decide what to do. I think it’s worth looking into – like you said, Marie, a man is dead – but all this is way over my head. I don’t know anything about Senate politics, or even much about Jedi ones.”
“You should solve the mystery, Andreas!” Bert exclaimed, slapping his hands on the table in excitement. The big bowl of mashed protatoes in the middle wobbled slightly from his enthusiasm.
Andreas gave him a little smile – littler than usual, Bert noted. “I’d like to,” he said. “It’s bothering me, wondering about it. But I don’t know about causing trouble for the other Jedi.”
“They’re causing trouble for themselves, disagreeing about it,” said Dad. “Seems like half of them won’t be happy whatever you choose. They really just left it up to you?”
“Essentially. Master Yoda said I was free to continue with the investigation, if the Force compelled me, but advised against it,” said Andreas.
“Do you think you’re going to? Investigate, I mean,” said Mom.
“I don’t know. I spoke with Master Piero after I talked to the Council, and he told me to trust my instincts. Honestly, I was hoping he’d have more direct advice, but I suppose I’ve more than outgrown being his padawan.”
“A direct answer? From a Jedi?” Dad teased. “I hate to break it to you, Andreas, but you all aren’t exactly known for those.”
Bert sighed – loudly, dramatically, and on purpose. He didn’t know how adults – even adults he liked, like Mom and Dad and Andreas – could take something like a real murder mystery and make it so dull. Andreas sounded like he wanted to figure out who had killed the Senator, so he should figure it out! Besides, who was going to cause trouble for the Jedi? They all had cool Force powers, and even the ones like Andreas that didn’t spend their time going on exciting adventures still knew how to use a lightsaber. That made them pretty much unbeatable.
“Are we boring you, Berthold?” Mom said with a smile.
“I want to hear more about the murder,” he said. “Was there blood? Did you see it?”
Andreas shook his head, though he looked amused.. “I haven’t had the chance to examine the Senator’s office yet. It’s strange though…” he trailed off.
“What’s strange?” asked Dad.
“Well, that it happened last night. I’d received a message that Senator Rothvogel was hoping to meet with me again and had to respectfully decline as I’d already promised the younglings in Clawmouse Clan we were going to do another art lesson. They’ve been getting rowdy in the evenings, I think Master Frosch was grateful.”
“You’re lucky you’re not a suspect yourself!” said Mom. “Oh, Andreas – you don’t think someone was trying to get you in trouble, do you?”
“Or get the Jedi in trouble,” said Dad, sounding grimmer.
“I don’t see why they would. I’m hardly important outside the Order. Or in it, for that matter. But it’s a strange coincidence. Maybe I should investigate further.”
“Yes, yes you should!” said Bert. Finally someone had the right idea!
Mom, Dad, and Andreas all laughed, which hardly seemed fair. The latter reached over to ruffle his hair, a full grin finally on his face.
“You’re certainly good at direct answers,” he said.
“You’ll tell me when you figure out who did it, right? After you catch them?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Andreas might not be able to catch the murderer, Bert.” said Mom. “These things can be complicated. No offense meant, Andreas.”
“None taken. I hardly even know where to start.”
Bert scoffed. “Of course he will. He’s a Jedi. They can do anything.”
He knew he was right. Even if real life wasn’t always like his favorite stories – wasn’t always as flashy, or as exciting – there was a reason people trusted the Jedi to keep them safe. They could talk to the universe, or at least that was a little bit like how Andreas had once tried to describe the Force to Bert when he’d asked. That had to make it easier to figure out what you were supposed to do, or who the good guys and the bad guys were.
Or to solve a mystery.