TITLE: Stars in the Darkness - Sequel to "First Knight"
BY: Arwyn Whitesun
SUMMARY: Two years have passed since the events of "First Knight" and, as old friends meet and new friends and enemies are made, events within the Republic threaten the lives and futures of all.
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: The Great Flanneled One created Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda, et al. The rest belong to me. Definitely not making any money on this fic, but feedback can and will be accepted in lieu of payment. :)
NOTE: As mentioned in the title, this fic is a sequel to a fic I wrote called "First Knight" which can be found at http://www.fanfiction.ws/read.php?storyid=880806 or click on my name to see my listings of fics.
For those who do not wish to read the entire story, but would like to know what happened, the following synopsis is provided.
SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS FROM "FIRST KNIGHT": When Obi-Wan Kenobi and his teen- aged apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, are sent to Ahjane to negotiate a peace accord between warring provinces, as a condition of the accord, a marriage is arranged between Onara, the only child of Dynast K'lia, leader of one province, and Dynast Edress, the leader of the other.
A much older man, Edress is only interested in marrying Onara for her dowry. Meanwhile, as part of an ancient and time-honored ritual, Obi-Wan is asked to bless the marriage of Onara and Edress by spending the night with her. Reluctantly, the Jedi Knight agrees to do so, but as a result, falls in love with Onara.
Unbeknownst to Onara or Obi-Wan, however, Onara's grandmother, the formidable and ambitious Lady Tsara, who longs to have a heir for her province who would possess the power of a Jedi, sees that Onara becomes pregnant from the ritual by ensuring she does not receive the prescribed conception inhibitor. As a result, Onara falls deathly ill from the high midi-chlorian count of the child she carries.
Obi-Wan, learning of Onara's illness, goes on a desperate, and nearly hopeless quest to find an insane, ex-Jedi Healer named Sinja-Bau. Meanwhile, Lady Tsara, who has been banished for her schemes, is visited by Count Dooku at the behest of Lord Sidious. Although he does not participate actively in her plans to get her hands on her grandson, named Ben Gavon Kenobi, he does give her some assistance. Tsara has Onara's husband, Edress, murdered and puts in his place a man who is more than willing to do her bidding.
As Obi-Wan travels far beyond the borders of the Republic to the distant ice planet of Toola to find Sinja-Bau, Lady Tsara hires a cadre of merciless, trained assassins called the Red Tide to kill her son, Dynast K'lia and kidnap her grandson, Onara and Obi-Wan's child, Ben. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, finds Sinja-Bau and, although still gripped by her madness, agrees to come with him and try to cure Onara, who is rapidly slipping away.
The Red Tide attacks Dynast K'lia's manor, killing him and a Jedi Healer by the name of Master Eo, Sinja-Bau's former apprentice, who was helping Anakin guard Onara and Ben. Anakin succeeds in defeating most of the Red Tide, but Tsara is able to escape with the baby. Anakin pursues her and, when Tsara tries to kill him, he kills her instead, rescuing Ben, who is unharmed in the process.
Obi-Wan arrives with Sinja-Bau and she, upon looking upon the dead body of her former apprentice is cured of her madness by the Force and is also given back her power to access the Force, it having been stripped from her by the Jedi Council before she was expelled from the Order. She then successfully cures Onara of her illness. But, the reunion between Onara and Obi-Wan is brief and bittersweet.
He and Anakin are summoned to Coruscant, where Obi-Wan is reprimanded for his behavior by the Jedi Council. He is sent on retreat, to a Jedi Chapterhouse on the distant water world of Bestine, where he is instructed to find his way back to the Jedi path. Anakin is given, temporarily, to another master.
Onara, meanwhile, at the behest of both her people and Obi-Wan, marries Dalan, her deceased husband's nephew, now Dynast of his province. Obi-Wan asks Onara not to tell Ben about him, for he does not want him confused about who his real father is but, at the end of the story, Onara, now married to Dalan, begins to tell her infant son stories about his father. His real father. Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The events of "Stars in the Darkness" take place two years later.
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"Mama, look!"
Onara looked up from her personal datapad where she had been going over the list of things she still needed to pack. She glanced over at her two-year old son and her heart stopped.
"Ben, darling, no!" she cried.
She leapt from the chair and ran over to where Ben was levitating one of the packing boxes over his head. Then she stopped, afraid to say anything more and break his concentration. Ben's large, blue-gray eyes were locked on the box, but he would glance over at her to make sure she was watching, his little face split in a wide, proud grin.
"Ben Gavon Kenobi," a warm, but firm voice said from the doorway. "Put that box down right this minute before you give your mother a heart attack."
Ben looked over at Sinja-Bau. The ex-Jedi Master was frowning fiercely at him, her brows drawn down over her blue-green eyes. Ben's face fell.
"Yes, Bau-Bau," he said softly.
Onara smiled, despite the hard thumping of her heart. When Ben had first learned to talk, he had been unable to say Sinja-Bau's full name, so he had called her Bau-Bau, a name he still insisted on calling her by. He slowly lowered the box to the floor. Sinja-Bau walked over and, kneeling down, took him by the shoulders.
"Your mother has enough to worry about without you getting that little noggin of yours..." and she reached over and tapped him gently on his glossy, black hair "....cracked open. Now, be a good boy, kiss your mother, and wait for me in the garden. I have something for you."
The toddler's face, which has been crestfallen as his beloved nanny and teacher scolded him, lit up instantly. Turning from Sinja-Bau, he raced over to his mother and kissed her quickly on her cheek. Onara tried to grab his little body so she could give him a hug, but he squirmed deftly from her arms and ran out of her room. Sinja-Bau, who had risen from the floor, walked over to Onara.
"Do you think his father was so fearless when he was Ben's age?" Onara asked her.
"Obi-Wan?" The silver-haired woman laughed. "More so, or so I heard."
Onara raised a dark, slender brow. "You're joking? I could never imagine Obi-Wan being so...so..."
"Impetuous?" Sinja-Bau finished for her. "Precocious? Reckless?"
Onara nodded, but her eyes were full of laughter.
"But," Sinja-Bau said, her mouth crinkling with a smile, "isn't this the same Obi-Wan Kenobi who leapt out of a window with you on the night of the blessing ceremony to go see the mating dance of some butterflies?"
Onara blushed as she recalled that night. The night she first met Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, master to Anakin Skywalker, and father of her only child, Ben Kenobi.
"Yes, he did," she agreed. "And it wasn't butterflies, whatever they are. It was the mating dance of the Katarra.
Sinja-Bau shrugged and smiled. "Well, now you see where Ben gets it."
Onara sighed. "He's been doing that a lot lately, hasn't he? Levitating things he knows he shouldn't."
"Yes, he has. But you mustn't blame him. He knows you'll be leaving soon. He only wants your attention."
"I know," Onara said sadly as she went back to her desk. She looked over her datapad, then held her hand to her forehead. "If I had known being a Senator was going to be so much work, I would have never have accepted the position.
"That's not true and you know it," Sinja-Bau scolded as she walked over and put her arm around Onara's shoulder. "You and Dalan have worked too hard to get Ahjane a full seat in the Senate. Now, all your hard work has paid off."
Onara sat at her desk and thrummed her fingers on it. "Do you think it wise of me to move to Coruscant?"
Sinja-Bau moved a chair over and sat next to her. She reached over and took the younger woman's hand.
"You're a Senator now, Onara. It's not absolutely necessary for you to live on Coruscant, but until you know your way around the Senate, at least for now, it's probably best."
"You're right." Onara gripped Sinja-Bau's hand. "Do you think...he'll be there?"
"It's possible. Although most Jedi Knights and their apprentices are usually away from the Temple on missions throughout the Republic."
Onara nodded. She had only received a few letters from Obi-Wan over the past two years. He had successfully completed his retreat on Bestine a year and a half ago and been reinstated back into the Order. Anakin had also been returned to him, and his mastership of the boy was continuing. As for Onara, she had been so busy lobbying for Ahjane's admission to the Republic as a full member and raising their son Ben, she had been amazed at how quickly the time had gone by.
Ben, who was now just over two standards, had proven to be a handful over those years, and Onara had thanked the gods everyday for Sinja-Bau's presence. But, it wasn't just his gifts with the Force that had been a challenge for Onara. Ben had learned to walk and talk much earlier than normal children, and he was not only bright, but very curious about everything around him.
There was many a time that Onara, her husband, Dalan, her elderly twin aunts, Sinja-Bau, and the household staff had gone searching for the toddler, who was prone to wander off after whatever happened to catch his eye. Onara had finally had to have security droids placed on the grounds. Not as protection for the manor, but to keep an eye on Ben. Sinja-Bau, who had been watching the expressions flitting across Onara's face, squeezed her hand.
"Do not worry, Onara. Ben will be fine. He'll miss you, of course, but once you're all settled in, I'll bring him to you. Trust me. It will be better for you both if you go on alone at first."
Onara nodded. Yes, she would be going on alone to Coruscant. Ben would stay here, at least for the time being, with the people he knew and loved. As would her husband, Dalan. As a result of their marriage, both their provinces had been merged into one and it was now one of the largest provinces on Ahjane. Overseeing it took up much of Dalan's time. Onara stood and Sinja-Bau with her.
"Then I'd best get moving," she said. "I have a lot more to do before my ship leaves for Coruscant."
"Don't work too, hard, Onara," Sinja-Bau said. "We're all here if you need us."
"I won't."
Sinja-Bau patted her cheek. Turning, her wide blue skirt swirling around her, she went to where Ben was waiting for her in the garden. Once she was alone, Onara sat down again, her hands clasped in her lap. She was very excited about the new life she was about to begin as a Senator on Coruscant, but she was also more excited about finally seeing the world that the man she still loved with all her heart called home.
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Anakin peered down the hill behind the camp. The sky was pearling towards dawn, and he heard the soft twitters and chirrups of the awakening birds in the linden and birch trees surrounding him. Soon everything in the world would be awake; eager, or not so eager, to start a new day. And that included the dissidents below in the camp.
If they had even been asleep, Anakin thought. He had not. He'd been positioned on this hill all night, just as Master Obi-Wan had ordered him to. A tiny smile crinkled Anakin's somewhat chapped lips for it had been quite chilly during the night. Two years ago he would not have been so patient, so willing to wait, but a lot of things had happened in the past two years between him and his master to change that.
Noting movement in the camp, Anakin focused his attention back on it. Two figures walked out of the main building, heading towards what Anakin knew was a storage shed. His heart quickened. Master Obi-Wan had instructed him to keep an eye on the dissidents and to make sure they didn't leave the camp. If they were to leave, Anakin's job was to stop them. From where he was on the hill, he knew it would take him only minutes to make his way down before they could get away, so he wasn't worried.
But he was worried about the child the dissidents had kidnapped. The only child of Senator Elester Rhygdon, the little girl had been taken from her home where she had been under the care of a nanny and a battalion of household staff and guards, but that had not stopped the dissidents, whose heated political grievances with the Senator had erupted into their daring act of kidnapping her two-year old daughter.
Personally, Anakin sympathized with the dissidents, for it was no secret that Senator Rhygdon was corrupt, having appeared several times before the Supreme Judge on Coruscant to answer charges of having accepted bribes for key Senate votes. But, each time, the wily Senator had beat the charges and emerged unscathed.
Anakin grimaced. Fully aware of his master's feelings toward politicians, and especially corrupt ones, Anakin was at first surprised that Obi-Wan would have chosen to offer his assistance to Senator Rhygdon. But Anakin knew it wasn't for the Senator's sake, so much, that Obi-Wan was doing this. It was because a child was involved.
Inching forward, Anakin searched for any sign of his master in the thick woods that surrounded the camp. It hadn't taken him and Obi-Wan long to find the hideout of the kidnappers. Even the local law enforcement, in the two weeks the child had been missing, had not been able to find them. But, more than willing to accept the help of the Jedi, who had been on Nida to assist with the distribution of medical supplies to a disease-stricken region on one of its smaller continents, the local authorities had given Obi-Wan and Anakin free rein.
Actually, Obi-Wan had asked Inspector Monel and his men to remain some kilometers back from the camp and allow him and Anakin to take care of things. A decision that Anakin had secretly applauded. He much preferred not having what he considered civilians, even if they were law enforcement personnel, around when he and his master did their work.
Soon Anakin saw more movement within the camp. As far as he and Obi-Wan knew the child was safe and alive. Senator Rhygdon, in her typically tempestuous style, had steadfastly refused to give up her seat in the Senate, which had been chief among the dissident's demands. Public opinion on Nida was squarely on her side, but not because the populace didn't think the dissidents were right in their complaints against her, but because sympathy had shifted from the dissidents to the Senator when they had gone too far and kidnapped an innocent child.
On their earlier reconnaissance, Anakin and Obi-Wan had counted six dissidents, four males and two females, in the camp. All of them were young and appeared to be from different strata of Nidaian society. Obi-Wan's plan, as he had revealed it to Anakin, was to rescue the child without any harm coming to the dissidents; another reason his master had not wanted the local authorities involved. They were too prone to shoot with their blasters and ask questions later.
A soft beeping sound altered Anakin that his comlink was active. He didn't answer it. It was Obi-Wan's prearranged signal. It meant his master was in position. Moving swiftly, but silently down the hill, Anakin made his way towards the camp. Now that he was nearer to it, he saw clearly that four of the dissidents were moving about the grounds, apparently loading equipment and supplies in order to move to a new location. That had been their strategy the last two weeks. Moving constantly from one hideout to another. The other two were probably still inside the main building, guarding the child.
Although the sun was nearly up, its white light chasing away the night's shadows, Anakin was still able to slip unnoticed into the camp. There was no fencing about it, the dissidents apparently having believed their remote location was protection enough. Anakin ducked behind a row of barrels near the storage shed. The four dissidents he had noted before were nowhere near it. He slipped inside.
He saw a wheeled van, large enough to carry all the dissidents. He examined it. Pretty primitive by his standards, therefore, it was no trouble at all for him to disable it. He didn't want anyone trying to get away in case his and Master's Obi-Wan plan didn't work. Once he was done with that, he stole back outside and made his way toward the main building.
The four dissidents, two males and two females, were busily gathering up whatever they had decided to take with them. Their voices rang through the camp, some sleepy and grumpy, others crisp and efficient. Anakin saw that only two of them were armed, one of the males and one of the females. As he inched closer to them, he waited for the other signal he and Obi-Wan had agreed upon. Finally, he heard it. The snap-hiss of his master's lightsaber coming from somewhere near the main building.
Anakin streaked from his hiding place towards the dissidents, his lightsaber flashing on. Fortunately, the two armed dissidents were standing next to each other, arguing as to whether they should take a generator with them. The unarmed dissidents, who were picking up a large, metal box cried out when they saw Anakin.
The armed couple turned towards Anakin, but before they could draw their blasters, he used the Force to knock them down. The man fell, his blaster flying from his hand. Anakin reached for it with the Force and flung it into the trees. The woman, however, held onto hers. As she scrambled to sit up, Anakin stood above her, the tip of his lightsaber at her throat.
"Don't," he said softly. "I don't want to hurt you. Put down your weapon."
The young woman, who was slender with soft brown eyes, sneered up at Anakin as she tossed away her blaster.
"Jedi. So, now the Jedi do the bidding of that dirty _shetai_."
Anakin grinned. "I'm afraid I know nothing about the Senator's parentage. We're here only for the child."
"We?" the girl cried.
"Yes, we," Obi-Wan said as he walked out of the main building.
He was holding a little girl with big green eyes and short, black hair, her thin arms clutched tightly around his neck, her tiny fingers woven through his red-gold hair. The woman's eyes widened at the sight of still another Jedi.
Obi-Wan stopped and looked down at her. "It's over," he told her.
As the young woman stood, her eyes lit up with fire.
"Over? It will never be over, Jedi. Not until justice is done and Senator Rhygdon pays for her crimes against the people of Nida."
"That may be," Obi-Wan said quietly. "But, if you are seeking justice, involving the innocent in your cause will not bring it to you."
The woman only glared at him. Anakin, who had rounded up the other three, turned to Obi-Wan.
"What about the ones inside the building, Master?"
"They are...waiting for the authorities," Obi-Wan said with a small smile.
"Didn't leave anything for me yet again, did you Master?" Anakin asked, his blue eyes dancing.
Obi-Wan looked around the camp. "You seem to have done well enough out here."
Anakin grinned, then turned as he heard the sound of transport vehicles entering the camp. Obi-Wan must have contacted the local authorities and let them know the situation was under control. A dozen law enforcement officers disembarked from the vehicles and quickly took the kidnappers into custody. A square-faced, lantern-jawed man with thick blonde hair walked towards Obi-Wan and Anakin. It was Inspector Monel. He had coordinated the search efforts and had been the Jedi's liaison between the local authorities and the Senator's office.
"Good job, Master Kenobi," Monel said. "You did as you promised. The child is safe and no one was hurt."
Obi-Wan looked over to where the dissidents were being herded into the vehicles.
"They weren't truly dangerous, Inspector Monel. Most of them are no older than my Padawan. Students, by and large. The child is in good health and was not harmed."
"Well, be that as it may, you still did a good job."
Monel reached over to take the little girl, whose name was Joyna, from Obi- Wan.
"No, no!" she cried, turning her face from the inspector and holding onto Obi-Wan as if her life depended on it.
Monel drew back. Obi-Wan smiled at the inspector. "If it's all right, perhaps it would be best if she stayed with me until we return her to Senator Rhygdon."
Monel shrugged. "Fine with me."
He turned and helped his men finish loading the last of the dissidents into the transport vehicles. Anakin looked over at Joyna and Obi-Wan. The little girl, who had buried her neck in Obi-Wan's shoulder when Monel tried to take her, was now looking up at him, her bright green eyes locked on his.
What struck Anakin, however, and hurt him to see it was the look on Obi- Wan's face. He was smiling at Joyna, but Anakin clearly saw the pain in his master's blue-gray eyes. And he knew Obi-Wan was thinking of his own child, his little son, Ben. The son who was now the same age as Joyna, and whom he had not seen in two years. Noting Anakin's gaze on him, Obi-Wan turned towards him.
"Ready, Padawan?"
"Yes, Master."
With Joyna securely in Obi-Wan's arms, they went to where Anakin had hidden the vehicle they had used to come to the camp.
To be continued...
BY: Arwyn Whitesun
SUMMARY: Two years have passed since the events of "First Knight" and, as old friends meet and new friends and enemies are made, events within the Republic threaten the lives and futures of all.
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: The Great Flanneled One created Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda, et al. The rest belong to me. Definitely not making any money on this fic, but feedback can and will be accepted in lieu of payment. :)
NOTE: As mentioned in the title, this fic is a sequel to a fic I wrote called "First Knight" which can be found at http://www.fanfiction.ws/read.php?storyid=880806 or click on my name to see my listings of fics.
For those who do not wish to read the entire story, but would like to know what happened, the following synopsis is provided.
SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS FROM "FIRST KNIGHT": When Obi-Wan Kenobi and his teen- aged apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, are sent to Ahjane to negotiate a peace accord between warring provinces, as a condition of the accord, a marriage is arranged between Onara, the only child of Dynast K'lia, leader of one province, and Dynast Edress, the leader of the other.
A much older man, Edress is only interested in marrying Onara for her dowry. Meanwhile, as part of an ancient and time-honored ritual, Obi-Wan is asked to bless the marriage of Onara and Edress by spending the night with her. Reluctantly, the Jedi Knight agrees to do so, but as a result, falls in love with Onara.
Unbeknownst to Onara or Obi-Wan, however, Onara's grandmother, the formidable and ambitious Lady Tsara, who longs to have a heir for her province who would possess the power of a Jedi, sees that Onara becomes pregnant from the ritual by ensuring she does not receive the prescribed conception inhibitor. As a result, Onara falls deathly ill from the high midi-chlorian count of the child she carries.
Obi-Wan, learning of Onara's illness, goes on a desperate, and nearly hopeless quest to find an insane, ex-Jedi Healer named Sinja-Bau. Meanwhile, Lady Tsara, who has been banished for her schemes, is visited by Count Dooku at the behest of Lord Sidious. Although he does not participate actively in her plans to get her hands on her grandson, named Ben Gavon Kenobi, he does give her some assistance. Tsara has Onara's husband, Edress, murdered and puts in his place a man who is more than willing to do her bidding.
As Obi-Wan travels far beyond the borders of the Republic to the distant ice planet of Toola to find Sinja-Bau, Lady Tsara hires a cadre of merciless, trained assassins called the Red Tide to kill her son, Dynast K'lia and kidnap her grandson, Onara and Obi-Wan's child, Ben. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, finds Sinja-Bau and, although still gripped by her madness, agrees to come with him and try to cure Onara, who is rapidly slipping away.
The Red Tide attacks Dynast K'lia's manor, killing him and a Jedi Healer by the name of Master Eo, Sinja-Bau's former apprentice, who was helping Anakin guard Onara and Ben. Anakin succeeds in defeating most of the Red Tide, but Tsara is able to escape with the baby. Anakin pursues her and, when Tsara tries to kill him, he kills her instead, rescuing Ben, who is unharmed in the process.
Obi-Wan arrives with Sinja-Bau and she, upon looking upon the dead body of her former apprentice is cured of her madness by the Force and is also given back her power to access the Force, it having been stripped from her by the Jedi Council before she was expelled from the Order. She then successfully cures Onara of her illness. But, the reunion between Onara and Obi-Wan is brief and bittersweet.
He and Anakin are summoned to Coruscant, where Obi-Wan is reprimanded for his behavior by the Jedi Council. He is sent on retreat, to a Jedi Chapterhouse on the distant water world of Bestine, where he is instructed to find his way back to the Jedi path. Anakin is given, temporarily, to another master.
Onara, meanwhile, at the behest of both her people and Obi-Wan, marries Dalan, her deceased husband's nephew, now Dynast of his province. Obi-Wan asks Onara not to tell Ben about him, for he does not want him confused about who his real father is but, at the end of the story, Onara, now married to Dalan, begins to tell her infant son stories about his father. His real father. Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The events of "Stars in the Darkness" take place two years later.
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"Mama, look!"
Onara looked up from her personal datapad where she had been going over the list of things she still needed to pack. She glanced over at her two-year old son and her heart stopped.
"Ben, darling, no!" she cried.
She leapt from the chair and ran over to where Ben was levitating one of the packing boxes over his head. Then she stopped, afraid to say anything more and break his concentration. Ben's large, blue-gray eyes were locked on the box, but he would glance over at her to make sure she was watching, his little face split in a wide, proud grin.
"Ben Gavon Kenobi," a warm, but firm voice said from the doorway. "Put that box down right this minute before you give your mother a heart attack."
Ben looked over at Sinja-Bau. The ex-Jedi Master was frowning fiercely at him, her brows drawn down over her blue-green eyes. Ben's face fell.
"Yes, Bau-Bau," he said softly.
Onara smiled, despite the hard thumping of her heart. When Ben had first learned to talk, he had been unable to say Sinja-Bau's full name, so he had called her Bau-Bau, a name he still insisted on calling her by. He slowly lowered the box to the floor. Sinja-Bau walked over and, kneeling down, took him by the shoulders.
"Your mother has enough to worry about without you getting that little noggin of yours..." and she reached over and tapped him gently on his glossy, black hair "....cracked open. Now, be a good boy, kiss your mother, and wait for me in the garden. I have something for you."
The toddler's face, which has been crestfallen as his beloved nanny and teacher scolded him, lit up instantly. Turning from Sinja-Bau, he raced over to his mother and kissed her quickly on her cheek. Onara tried to grab his little body so she could give him a hug, but he squirmed deftly from her arms and ran out of her room. Sinja-Bau, who had risen from the floor, walked over to Onara.
"Do you think his father was so fearless when he was Ben's age?" Onara asked her.
"Obi-Wan?" The silver-haired woman laughed. "More so, or so I heard."
Onara raised a dark, slender brow. "You're joking? I could never imagine Obi-Wan being so...so..."
"Impetuous?" Sinja-Bau finished for her. "Precocious? Reckless?"
Onara nodded, but her eyes were full of laughter.
"But," Sinja-Bau said, her mouth crinkling with a smile, "isn't this the same Obi-Wan Kenobi who leapt out of a window with you on the night of the blessing ceremony to go see the mating dance of some butterflies?"
Onara blushed as she recalled that night. The night she first met Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, master to Anakin Skywalker, and father of her only child, Ben Kenobi.
"Yes, he did," she agreed. "And it wasn't butterflies, whatever they are. It was the mating dance of the Katarra.
Sinja-Bau shrugged and smiled. "Well, now you see where Ben gets it."
Onara sighed. "He's been doing that a lot lately, hasn't he? Levitating things he knows he shouldn't."
"Yes, he has. But you mustn't blame him. He knows you'll be leaving soon. He only wants your attention."
"I know," Onara said sadly as she went back to her desk. She looked over her datapad, then held her hand to her forehead. "If I had known being a Senator was going to be so much work, I would have never have accepted the position.
"That's not true and you know it," Sinja-Bau scolded as she walked over and put her arm around Onara's shoulder. "You and Dalan have worked too hard to get Ahjane a full seat in the Senate. Now, all your hard work has paid off."
Onara sat at her desk and thrummed her fingers on it. "Do you think it wise of me to move to Coruscant?"
Sinja-Bau moved a chair over and sat next to her. She reached over and took the younger woman's hand.
"You're a Senator now, Onara. It's not absolutely necessary for you to live on Coruscant, but until you know your way around the Senate, at least for now, it's probably best."
"You're right." Onara gripped Sinja-Bau's hand. "Do you think...he'll be there?"
"It's possible. Although most Jedi Knights and their apprentices are usually away from the Temple on missions throughout the Republic."
Onara nodded. She had only received a few letters from Obi-Wan over the past two years. He had successfully completed his retreat on Bestine a year and a half ago and been reinstated back into the Order. Anakin had also been returned to him, and his mastership of the boy was continuing. As for Onara, she had been so busy lobbying for Ahjane's admission to the Republic as a full member and raising their son Ben, she had been amazed at how quickly the time had gone by.
Ben, who was now just over two standards, had proven to be a handful over those years, and Onara had thanked the gods everyday for Sinja-Bau's presence. But, it wasn't just his gifts with the Force that had been a challenge for Onara. Ben had learned to walk and talk much earlier than normal children, and he was not only bright, but very curious about everything around him.
There was many a time that Onara, her husband, Dalan, her elderly twin aunts, Sinja-Bau, and the household staff had gone searching for the toddler, who was prone to wander off after whatever happened to catch his eye. Onara had finally had to have security droids placed on the grounds. Not as protection for the manor, but to keep an eye on Ben. Sinja-Bau, who had been watching the expressions flitting across Onara's face, squeezed her hand.
"Do not worry, Onara. Ben will be fine. He'll miss you, of course, but once you're all settled in, I'll bring him to you. Trust me. It will be better for you both if you go on alone at first."
Onara nodded. Yes, she would be going on alone to Coruscant. Ben would stay here, at least for the time being, with the people he knew and loved. As would her husband, Dalan. As a result of their marriage, both their provinces had been merged into one and it was now one of the largest provinces on Ahjane. Overseeing it took up much of Dalan's time. Onara stood and Sinja-Bau with her.
"Then I'd best get moving," she said. "I have a lot more to do before my ship leaves for Coruscant."
"Don't work too, hard, Onara," Sinja-Bau said. "We're all here if you need us."
"I won't."
Sinja-Bau patted her cheek. Turning, her wide blue skirt swirling around her, she went to where Ben was waiting for her in the garden. Once she was alone, Onara sat down again, her hands clasped in her lap. She was very excited about the new life she was about to begin as a Senator on Coruscant, but she was also more excited about finally seeing the world that the man she still loved with all her heart called home.
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Anakin peered down the hill behind the camp. The sky was pearling towards dawn, and he heard the soft twitters and chirrups of the awakening birds in the linden and birch trees surrounding him. Soon everything in the world would be awake; eager, or not so eager, to start a new day. And that included the dissidents below in the camp.
If they had even been asleep, Anakin thought. He had not. He'd been positioned on this hill all night, just as Master Obi-Wan had ordered him to. A tiny smile crinkled Anakin's somewhat chapped lips for it had been quite chilly during the night. Two years ago he would not have been so patient, so willing to wait, but a lot of things had happened in the past two years between him and his master to change that.
Noting movement in the camp, Anakin focused his attention back on it. Two figures walked out of the main building, heading towards what Anakin knew was a storage shed. His heart quickened. Master Obi-Wan had instructed him to keep an eye on the dissidents and to make sure they didn't leave the camp. If they were to leave, Anakin's job was to stop them. From where he was on the hill, he knew it would take him only minutes to make his way down before they could get away, so he wasn't worried.
But he was worried about the child the dissidents had kidnapped. The only child of Senator Elester Rhygdon, the little girl had been taken from her home where she had been under the care of a nanny and a battalion of household staff and guards, but that had not stopped the dissidents, whose heated political grievances with the Senator had erupted into their daring act of kidnapping her two-year old daughter.
Personally, Anakin sympathized with the dissidents, for it was no secret that Senator Rhygdon was corrupt, having appeared several times before the Supreme Judge on Coruscant to answer charges of having accepted bribes for key Senate votes. But, each time, the wily Senator had beat the charges and emerged unscathed.
Anakin grimaced. Fully aware of his master's feelings toward politicians, and especially corrupt ones, Anakin was at first surprised that Obi-Wan would have chosen to offer his assistance to Senator Rhygdon. But Anakin knew it wasn't for the Senator's sake, so much, that Obi-Wan was doing this. It was because a child was involved.
Inching forward, Anakin searched for any sign of his master in the thick woods that surrounded the camp. It hadn't taken him and Obi-Wan long to find the hideout of the kidnappers. Even the local law enforcement, in the two weeks the child had been missing, had not been able to find them. But, more than willing to accept the help of the Jedi, who had been on Nida to assist with the distribution of medical supplies to a disease-stricken region on one of its smaller continents, the local authorities had given Obi-Wan and Anakin free rein.
Actually, Obi-Wan had asked Inspector Monel and his men to remain some kilometers back from the camp and allow him and Anakin to take care of things. A decision that Anakin had secretly applauded. He much preferred not having what he considered civilians, even if they were law enforcement personnel, around when he and his master did their work.
Soon Anakin saw more movement within the camp. As far as he and Obi-Wan knew the child was safe and alive. Senator Rhygdon, in her typically tempestuous style, had steadfastly refused to give up her seat in the Senate, which had been chief among the dissident's demands. Public opinion on Nida was squarely on her side, but not because the populace didn't think the dissidents were right in their complaints against her, but because sympathy had shifted from the dissidents to the Senator when they had gone too far and kidnapped an innocent child.
On their earlier reconnaissance, Anakin and Obi-Wan had counted six dissidents, four males and two females, in the camp. All of them were young and appeared to be from different strata of Nidaian society. Obi-Wan's plan, as he had revealed it to Anakin, was to rescue the child without any harm coming to the dissidents; another reason his master had not wanted the local authorities involved. They were too prone to shoot with their blasters and ask questions later.
A soft beeping sound altered Anakin that his comlink was active. He didn't answer it. It was Obi-Wan's prearranged signal. It meant his master was in position. Moving swiftly, but silently down the hill, Anakin made his way towards the camp. Now that he was nearer to it, he saw clearly that four of the dissidents were moving about the grounds, apparently loading equipment and supplies in order to move to a new location. That had been their strategy the last two weeks. Moving constantly from one hideout to another. The other two were probably still inside the main building, guarding the child.
Although the sun was nearly up, its white light chasing away the night's shadows, Anakin was still able to slip unnoticed into the camp. There was no fencing about it, the dissidents apparently having believed their remote location was protection enough. Anakin ducked behind a row of barrels near the storage shed. The four dissidents he had noted before were nowhere near it. He slipped inside.
He saw a wheeled van, large enough to carry all the dissidents. He examined it. Pretty primitive by his standards, therefore, it was no trouble at all for him to disable it. He didn't want anyone trying to get away in case his and Master's Obi-Wan plan didn't work. Once he was done with that, he stole back outside and made his way toward the main building.
The four dissidents, two males and two females, were busily gathering up whatever they had decided to take with them. Their voices rang through the camp, some sleepy and grumpy, others crisp and efficient. Anakin saw that only two of them were armed, one of the males and one of the females. As he inched closer to them, he waited for the other signal he and Obi-Wan had agreed upon. Finally, he heard it. The snap-hiss of his master's lightsaber coming from somewhere near the main building.
Anakin streaked from his hiding place towards the dissidents, his lightsaber flashing on. Fortunately, the two armed dissidents were standing next to each other, arguing as to whether they should take a generator with them. The unarmed dissidents, who were picking up a large, metal box cried out when they saw Anakin.
The armed couple turned towards Anakin, but before they could draw their blasters, he used the Force to knock them down. The man fell, his blaster flying from his hand. Anakin reached for it with the Force and flung it into the trees. The woman, however, held onto hers. As she scrambled to sit up, Anakin stood above her, the tip of his lightsaber at her throat.
"Don't," he said softly. "I don't want to hurt you. Put down your weapon."
The young woman, who was slender with soft brown eyes, sneered up at Anakin as she tossed away her blaster.
"Jedi. So, now the Jedi do the bidding of that dirty _shetai_."
Anakin grinned. "I'm afraid I know nothing about the Senator's parentage. We're here only for the child."
"We?" the girl cried.
"Yes, we," Obi-Wan said as he walked out of the main building.
He was holding a little girl with big green eyes and short, black hair, her thin arms clutched tightly around his neck, her tiny fingers woven through his red-gold hair. The woman's eyes widened at the sight of still another Jedi.
Obi-Wan stopped and looked down at her. "It's over," he told her.
As the young woman stood, her eyes lit up with fire.
"Over? It will never be over, Jedi. Not until justice is done and Senator Rhygdon pays for her crimes against the people of Nida."
"That may be," Obi-Wan said quietly. "But, if you are seeking justice, involving the innocent in your cause will not bring it to you."
The woman only glared at him. Anakin, who had rounded up the other three, turned to Obi-Wan.
"What about the ones inside the building, Master?"
"They are...waiting for the authorities," Obi-Wan said with a small smile.
"Didn't leave anything for me yet again, did you Master?" Anakin asked, his blue eyes dancing.
Obi-Wan looked around the camp. "You seem to have done well enough out here."
Anakin grinned, then turned as he heard the sound of transport vehicles entering the camp. Obi-Wan must have contacted the local authorities and let them know the situation was under control. A dozen law enforcement officers disembarked from the vehicles and quickly took the kidnappers into custody. A square-faced, lantern-jawed man with thick blonde hair walked towards Obi-Wan and Anakin. It was Inspector Monel. He had coordinated the search efforts and had been the Jedi's liaison between the local authorities and the Senator's office.
"Good job, Master Kenobi," Monel said. "You did as you promised. The child is safe and no one was hurt."
Obi-Wan looked over to where the dissidents were being herded into the vehicles.
"They weren't truly dangerous, Inspector Monel. Most of them are no older than my Padawan. Students, by and large. The child is in good health and was not harmed."
"Well, be that as it may, you still did a good job."
Monel reached over to take the little girl, whose name was Joyna, from Obi- Wan.
"No, no!" she cried, turning her face from the inspector and holding onto Obi-Wan as if her life depended on it.
Monel drew back. Obi-Wan smiled at the inspector. "If it's all right, perhaps it would be best if she stayed with me until we return her to Senator Rhygdon."
Monel shrugged. "Fine with me."
He turned and helped his men finish loading the last of the dissidents into the transport vehicles. Anakin looked over at Joyna and Obi-Wan. The little girl, who had buried her neck in Obi-Wan's shoulder when Monel tried to take her, was now looking up at him, her bright green eyes locked on his.
What struck Anakin, however, and hurt him to see it was the look on Obi- Wan's face. He was smiling at Joyna, but Anakin clearly saw the pain in his master's blue-gray eyes. And he knew Obi-Wan was thinking of his own child, his little son, Ben. The son who was now the same age as Joyna, and whom he had not seen in two years. Noting Anakin's gaze on him, Obi-Wan turned towards him.
"Ready, Padawan?"
"Yes, Master."
With Joyna securely in Obi-Wan's arms, they went to where Anakin had hidden the vehicle they had used to come to the camp.
To be continued...