Star Wars

Mandalorian Way

Written by Rachel E Hayler

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

The Outlander Club was a seedy hideout for all of the scum and villiany of the galaxy. It was by utter coincidence, or so it felt to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi that he found himself in this particular establishement once again. The whole place reeked of betrayl and conspiracy, from the slightest of glances from the shifty looking patrons around him, to the smallest of hand movements between friends that were aimed just a little bit in his general direction. A small, wry smile crossed his face at that point, once the thoughts rang through his fast-working mind. The Senate itself felt very much like this nowadays, or at least, the back-stabbing Senators of rivalling planets aurored these certain emotions. He sighed. Even the Chancellor and his associates seemed to be enveloping upon themselves even more than usual, especially since the Senate had granted him emergency powers to create a clone army that would protect the faltering Republic from the violent actions of the ever growing Seperatist movement. But right now, this was something that he could not worry himself with. The Jedi Council themselves had set him a very special mandate. And apparently, he was the only Jedi in the entire Order that was up to the task.

Now that the Jedi Order were becoming more wide-spread across the galaxy, and their supplies of fully trained and adequete Jedi Knights were starting to come at a short haul, the sources from which they had been getting information from on the Seperatists were becoming more and more untrustworthy with each new piece of information that was being sent their way. Worst of all, the Jedi themselves were unable to try and sense if this information was correct, due to the fact that the elusive Seperatist leader and Sith Lord, Count Dooku, had draped the actions of him and his council in a veil of dark-side illusion, the information was just not safe enough to be investigated. Hence, on of the reasons why the Jedi Council had sent him on this particular mission, no-one would be able to hide their intentions from a Jedi Master, surely. But, truth be told, Obi-Wan in his usual way of thinking was still feeling that his skills were inadequete to fill in the tasks that needed to be performed as a Master of the Order. All the same, Master Yoda and his other fellow Council members - it was still a shock to him to be able to refer to them as his other members on the Council along with himself, even though it had been a good standard month since he had first been elected onto the Jedi Council, even after the tragic loss of a Council member at the battle of Geonosis that had occurred a year ago - and so, he had made sure that he would put his full mind to the task of this new mission, and make sure that he was not distracted in any way.

Then again, it was not as if the Council had given him enough information to try and carry out this mission anyway. The mandate had simply said that he was due to meet the informant, who would tell him the location of his target, in this dingy nightclub. He coughed slightly, as a patron with a rather sickly smelling cigarette meandered - it seemed deliberately - past him. He shrugged the action off, and went back to his own private thoughts. It still seemed very weird to him as to why the Council had not allowed him to have more access into what he was supposed to do on this new assignment. All that he did know was pretty vague, his aim was to try and locate the young boy Boba Fett, who had gone missing since his father had died at the hands of Jedi Master Mace Windu almost a standard year ago. That was going to be easier said than done. So now, here he was, sat at the bar of the dirty and smoggy Outlander Club, not knowing who he was supposed to be meeting to get some information that would start him off on his mission.

"If the details you lack, " Master Yoda had said in his strained Basic. "Then more of an open mind when the time comes, will you have."

An eyebrow raised on his forehead without him even realising it. The Council had been very withdrawn recently. Or perhaps, that was just how it appeared to him. They had been keeping information back from him for several months now, and it was starting to become more and more frustrating as the days went by. He sighed. The Senate was starting to poison the mind of the members of the council for sure, or at least, corrupting the way that they came to decisions about important matters concerning the whole of the Jedi Order.

With a quick shake of his head, he took another long sip of the drink he had ordered, and closed his eyes as he felt the cool, soothing liquid trickle down his throat. His mind cleared in an instant, and he downed the remainder of the glass in one. If the Council decided to keep some information from him, then that was fine. Who was he to criticise the thoughts and wishes of great Jedi Masters such as Master Yoda and Master Windu? The words 'also a member of the same jedi council as them', sprang to mind, but he banished them as soon as they entered his head.

All he was going to have to do now, was await the arrival of the Jedi who he was supposed to be working with on this mission. But then again, as usual, this was another detail that had been kept hidden from him. And this time, unlike the other times, the Council had not stated why they were not going to tell him this. This had startled him somewhat, but, true to Jedi fashion, he had bitten back the thoughts and merely accepted the knowledge that he had been offered.

He looked over his shoulder slightly, looking around for any sign of a being that might be the Jedi that he would be working with, but saw no-one that stood out in particular. He turned back around and sighed, waving slightly at the gruff looking bartender with two single fingers. At this rate, and at the rate that he was consuming alcohol, he would not be in a very fit state to even start carrying out this mission. The bartender nodded slightly at the gesture, and with a rather agitated expression, obeyed the Jedi's command and came over a minute or so later.

With a polite smile, he indicated his empty glass and pushed it over to the rather burly looking Rodian before him. "Same again, if you would be so kind."

The Rodian replied with a soft grunt that suggested he was not particularly pleased to be spoken to in such a teasing and demeaning manner, but obliged none the less.

"Three fifty, please."

With another smile that could melt the coldest of ice, Obi-Wan tossed a credit chip over to the man, even though the price was more than extortionate for such a common beverage. "Thanks."

The bartender grunted once more, and turned around to serve another customer who he had eyed out earlier.

The jedi master took a testing sip, and satisified with its quality, he smiled and turned back around to survey the scenery around him for any possible informants or other jedi that he might be working with. He frowned as he gaze passed a suspicious group of various beings of different sizes and species, who turned and conversed between one another when he looked in their direction. In any normal circumstance, he would have pursued the event further, trying to find out what had caused the shifty manouver, but right now, he had been ordered to stick to the task at hand.

He continued to sweep a long gaze about the room around him, taking note of the appearance of any beings that did happen to look rather weird for future reference, then suddenly, saw a shadow shift slightly to his right. He returned his gaze to the bar before him and his drink, making sure that his hands were knotted neatly on his thighs, and pushing back his Jedi cloak just enough so that any ambushing assasain would know that he was indeed, armed. But, just as before nothing happened. He groaned in agitation. Maybe it was just the alcohol that was making him so jumpy, but he had been so certain that someone was about to approach him. Well, there was always one way to be sure. He fell into the Force, and out-stretched his hyper enhanced senses. For sure, he felt a blinding Force-presence to his right, slinking towards him as he searched. With a beaming smile, he withdrew himself from the Force.

He spun around in his new accomplace's direction, and found himself gawping wide-eyed at a young female jedi, who had shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Siri!"

Jedi Knight Siri Tachi gave him a warm smile, and patted the air slightly with a single hand. Nodding in understanding, he fell back into the Force in unison with her, and together they put up a Force-Illusion to hide their true identities.

Once they were both under the protective veil of the Force-illusion, she slipped in closer towards him, and gently kissed him gently on the lips. "Nice to see you too, Kenobi."

When she pulled away, he patted a stool beside him, and she vaulted elegantly up on to it.

He waited until she had ordered her own drink, then asked, "How the blazes did you get the Council to allow you to come on this mission with me?"

She shrugged, and tossed a chip over to the burly bartender, who gave her a pleasant and intruiging glance as he accepted the chip. "I didn't. The Council thought that with your experience and my contacts, we would have just the right mixture of skills to try and find this Fett kid."

As the bartender continued to remain where he was, Obi-Wan gave him a quick Force-shove in his mind to divert his attention elsewhere. Siri smiled. "They were going to send Anakin, until Master Windu suggested that the mission needed to be dealt with a bit more 'sensitively'."

That brought a smile to his face. "I can see why the Council would have considered such an action."

She nodded. "I spoke to Anakin about it before I left, and he did not seem too bothered." Her eyes rolled upwards and to the left as she tried to remember something. "Actually, I can remember him saying that he had some other business to take care of back at the Temple while you were away anyway."

He frowned. "I will never quite understand what that young man is constantly needing to take care of every time we return to Coruscant."

She shrugged, and took a long sip of her own drink, then watched in awe as the liquid changed colour from a brilliant blue to a luminous green. She licked her lips, and set the glass back down on the bar before them. "He didn't give me any details, just briefly mentioned that he was saying goodbye to an old friend."

Obi-Wan's face fell at the mention of the 'old friend'. "Oh my blazes! I completely forgot!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He looked her directly in the eyes. "It's the anniversary of the death of Anakin's mother today."

Her jaw became firm, and her blue eyes betrayed a slight sense of guilt. "Oh, no wonder. He did seem a little...withdrawn."

He nodded. "I would have thought so. They were very close." He looked away for a second, then back at her again. "The events surrounding her death weren't particularly pleasant."

She ignored an urge in the back of her mind to inquire further. "How long has it been since she...you know?"

His eyes turned sad for a brief moment, and a grim smile came to his face. "A year."

She shuddered, and finished off the remainder of her drink. "Poor Anakin."

He nodded, and downed the remainder of his second also, almost trying to rid himself of the grief and torment that he was suddenly feeling coming from the presence of his old apprentice, even though he was half way across the city from him. "I agree."

Siri shook her head so that her blonde hair bounced gently about her shoulders, then looked slightly to her left, trying to find an excuse to change the subject. "Seen any sign of that informant yet?"

He shook his head. "Nope. No tinglings in the Force, no nothing."

She froze for a second, and suddenly whirled back to face him. "Speak again. She just arrived."

"She?" He remembered to keep his gaze on her. "By any chance to my left and yours?"

She nodded solemnly, and leant in close towards him. "Hug me."

"What?" He remained baffled to her plan. "Is this really the time to - "

"Just do it, Obi-Wan!" She exclaimed, cutting him off and making him oblige instantly. She waited for a moment, then giggled lightly and whispered gently into his ear, "Do you see her?"

He flinched as her breath tickled the side of his neck, but replied in a hushed and hasty tone. "The one with the red hair?" When he felt her nod, he whispered something random about Master Yoda into her ear, forcing her to giggle rather strangely. "Then yes."

She pushed him off of her, and brushed her hand down his cheek. "Does she want us to follow her?"

The lady with red hair caught his gaze, and after digging her hands even deeper into the pockets of her grimey, black jumpsuit, turned with a flick of her hair and left through the port-hole of the establishment a few seconds later.

"She just left." He dropped down off of his stool, and straightened out his rather crumpled uniform. "Give her a few minutes to get ahead, then we'll follow."

She nodded, and remained where she was seated. "I've got a tab on her presence in the Force." She gave him a slight look of concern. "Should we worry that I think she is Force-Sensitive?"

He smiled calmly at her, and nodded. "We'll just have to take a little more care when we are dealing with her."

She nodded once more, then leapt down from her own stool and gripped his hand. "Let's go."

Togther, they dropped their Force 'guises, and ventured out into the bustling street before them.