Cell number twenty-three
Obi-wan sat with his back against the wall, cradling his sister in his arms. They were both hurt, but Ahn had just received an awful beating that lasted for two hours for talking back to a guard. She was half-conscious, but her eyes were closed as she focused on healing herself with the Force. Obi-wan had given her some of his energy and took some of her pain for his own. Her back was the worst of all the injuries given to her during her last beating. Whip marks dug deeply into her skin, bleeding steadily and Obi-wan couldn't stop the flow, but she wasn't loosing an alarming amount. Surrounding the deep lacerations were ugly, painful bruises that she had gotten from a booted foot.
Obi-wan was covered in blood, some his own blood and some of Ahn's blood. He didn't have as much injuries compared to Ahn, for he didn't mouth off to the guards as Ahn did. She was slipping into unconsciousness unwillingly and held on tightly to whatever consciousness there was to grasp. Obi-wan gently wiped some hair away from Ahn's forehead. "Don't fight it." He said, seeing her struggle. He felt Ahn let go and then become completely relaxed.
Then the rusty, iron-barred door swung open and three guards came walking in, holding whips and metal bars in their meaty fists.
Master Qui-gon Jinn paced back and forth across the room, thinking hard. He couldn't feel his Apprentice through their bond at all. It was like a long tunnel, enveloped in a void of darkness and he was walking blindfolded through that tunnel. And this meant he didn't know if Obi-wan were dead or alive.
Master Mace Windu sat in the Annex Room in the Temple's Library, searching for anything that would help him find Ahn. His thoughts drifted away as he remembered Ahn, ready to leave for her first double-apprentice mission with Obi-wan. The Council didn't usually let siblings do a double-apprenticed mission, but they were curious on how the Kenobi twins would handle it...
"Master, I swear you worry way too much!" Ahn teased, packing a small bag of necessities for her mission.
"Every mission you end up hurt or in peril. I have a right to worry for you, Padawan." Master Windu smiled at his Apprentice.
Ahn shook her head, smiling. "Well, you do know I have my big brother to watch out for me. I trust him with my life." Ahn said, closing a drawer gently.
"Oh, nice comfort in my mind, my young apprentice, he's as accident-prone as you are. You are like two peas in a pod!" The tall Master replied. "Look at the medical charts in the Healer's Ward. You both have just as many records for mission-related injuries. The Healers want to frame them and remind everyone about the two most accident-prone Jedi in history—the Kenobi twins."
"Oh, that's not nice; I do not intently get myself injured. Everyone is after me, I mean it! No need to worry though, this is just peace negotiations, nothing big." Ahn said, swinging her bag over one shoulder.
"Knowing you two, something bad will happen and it won't just be peaceful peace negotiations...it'll be a dangerous fight in which you'll get injured or captive or whatever."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence, Master." Ahn said and smiled, planting a kiss on her Master's cheek and walking out of the room. She knew he was teasing, of course. Her Master thought she was an excellent Jedi.
"Master Windu?" Someone asked and for a second he thought it was Ahn and this whole thing about her missing was just one big nightmare. But it wasn't her.
"Yes?" He asked the Apprentice standing before him.
"You are needed in Master Jinn quarters...something about Ahn and Obi-wan." The Apprentice said.
"Thank you very much." Master Windu bolted out of the chair and rushed to the 'lift. Once he was on Master Jinn's level, he ran to the other Master's quarters, dodging other residents of the Temple as he went.
Windu knocked on Qui-gon's door and it opened moments later. "What did you find?"
Ahn woke up on the cold floor of the cell, immediately aware of Obi-wan's absence. Her back was on fire and she noted it felt better if she laid her back on the cold floor. An unpleasant thought entered her mind as she thought of Obi-wan being beaten as she was.
They needed to escape and fast. When Obi-wan came back, Ahn would form a plan with him. For now, she'd just wait for Obi-wan to be delivered unharmed to her.
Qui-gon held a picture up to Mace, showing the image to the other Master. It showed Obi-wan and Ahn, sitting on the floor with their knees to their chests and they sat side-by-side with their heads touching. Mace noted how much they looked alike, although they were fraternal.
He remembered that picture. The four Jedi were on a vacation to Naboo. Mace had taken the picture (along with about 60 others) with a digital camera rather than with a holo camera.
"What about it?" Mace asked, not seeing the point. He had doubles of the pictures in his quarters.
"Now look at this one." Qui-gon held up another picture.
It was all four of them by a tan-brick railing. Ahn sat on the ground in front of the other three standing Jedi. "I remember that one too, Qui-gon, but I don't get the point."
"Remember the man who took the picture for us?" Qui-gon waited until Mace nodded and then he continued, "He acted strange around the twins, didn't he?"
"He was nervous around Jedi." Mace said.
"Not us, he was acting strange around the twins, but he acted comfortable around us." Qui-gon said. "And when we went to the photo development shop, I remember seeing him there as a worker. Once I had the photos developed, I noticed some doubles of the twins were missing."
Qui-gon held up two more pictures. "I bet you don't have these two pictures in your share of the Naboo vacation pictures, do you?" he asked. He held up two more pictures. "Or these?"
"So you think this guy had something to do with their disappearance?" Mace asked.
Qui-gon nodded and went into the Commons room. He chose a videotape off the counter and popped it into the player. An image of Ahn and Obi-wan popped up.
"Hello, I'm Ahn Kenobi."
"And I'm Obi-wan Kenobi."
"Now say something else..." Mace heard Qui-gon whisper in the back-round.
"Well, we don't know what to say, but, um, hello to anyone watching this." Ahn said and she turned to her brother. "I bet whoever is watching this is laughing at us." Ahn laughed slightly, a smile crossing her face.
Obi-wan nodded.
The tape stopped, the screen buzzing and beeping. Qui-gon ejected the tape and set it on the table. "Taken two days before the twins' disappearance." He said.
"Mace, do you remember the name that guy gave us after he took the twins' pictures?" Qui-gon asked.
"He went by Laergo, but it could just be an alias, you know."
"I know, but we must try." Qui-gon said, sitting at the computer and typing in what he needed.
The cell door opened with a loud screech and Ahn turned her head to look over at the guards. The tall, meaty-fisted guards threw Obi-wan to the ground, eliciting a small moan from the older twin. As the guards left, Ahn moved to her brother's side. She quickly scanned his injuries, finding that he was beaten badly. His knee was shattered, his back full of laceration marks and head wounds were present. Gently, Ahn took her brother into her arms and cradled him. She moved hair from his forehead gently and then softly ran her half-curled finger down the side of his cheek.
"Tables are turned, brother, are they not?" Ahn asked, feeling weak on her part, but trying to comfort her brother.
"They are..." came a soft, mumbled reply.