When Obi-Wan arrived on the dock, he felt irritable, regretful, and couldn't shake the image of Christa's weepy brown eyes staring into his own. He shook his head... "think of other things" a voice much like Qui-Gon's whispered in his ear. He heard the voice more frequently these days and wondered if Christa had fully driven him mad. Or perhaps it was his conscience driving him crazy.
Upon reaching his ship, the Jedi Master found R-4 resting and recharging his battery. This annoyed him. R-4 was supposed to be on watch. A typical recharge wouldn't take that long.
"R-4!" he called. "Why are you still asleep? You're supposed to be on watch... lazy astro-droid. R-2 would never do such a thing. R-2 would be more alert." The rant startled the poor machine from his droid recharge.
"R-4?" he continued. "Do you hear me? What exactly have you been doing?"
I could ask the same of you..." the droid wanted to say, his head winding around like a spinning top. But instead, the droid chirped a positive response to the Jedi Master as he climbed into the ship.
"Well, you should know better than to sleep in a place like Runei, what's gotten into you?"
R-4 chirped and beeped again, rueful of Obi-Wan's anger. You are one to talk...
"Well there's nothing we can do about it now." Obi-Wan pressed a button on the control panel. The button should have triggered the ship's engine, but nothing happened.
"R-4, figure out what's wrong here."
R-4 chirped and "beep beep beeped".
"You think someone sabotaged the ship? Great. Why would someone...?" Christa suddenly came to mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Spies are all around you... the voice whispered Perhaps they've alerted Count Dooku. No time for a battle. Getting the device to the council was more important.
Obi-Wan considered the data simulator, and information stored in its matrix. Perhaps the Jedi Council can decipher the codes in the device and figure it out.
"R-4, can the ship be fixed?"
R-4 chirped. Affirmative. More beeping.
"Severed wires, you say?"
Obi-Wan left the ship at R-4's behest and found the ripped wires exactly where R-4 said they would be. Apparently, whoever tried to keep the ship docked didn't realize the importance of keeping an astro-droid nearby.
XOXOXsection endingXOXOX
Obi-Wan hurried through the gleaming Jedi Temple. It was nice to be home. His next mission will carry him to the Outer Rim with his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. They hadn't seen each other in a while, and the time apart had done them good.
Now that Anakin was finally a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan's role changed from that of a teacher, to that of a mentor. He had little control over where Anakin went, and how Anakin spent his free time. He was a man. A man in his own right and a force unto himself to be reckoned with.
Obi-Wan wondered about his good friend, who was like a son and brother to him. Where did he disappear to when their missions were over? "Funny..." he mused. His friend, Padme Amidayla, the Senator from Naboo, was also difficult to locate. But only when Anakin came to town. Obi-Wan smiled and shook his head in denial of the thought.
"Good news, bring with you, I hope." Master Yoda, the little green alien creature and Supreme Master of the Jedi Council leaned forward to look at Obi-Wan.
"Yes Master. I've found something I believe to be of relative importance to the Separatists' military strategy. Likely to Count Dooku himself. In fact, I felt his presence on Runei so he's apparently traveled there leaving shortly before I arrived. But just before I departed, someone tried sabotaging my ship to keep me from reaching the Jedi Temple with the simulator. Thankfully I made it before my mission could be further compromised. We may need a special droid, like R-2 to decipher the codes in the device or a very special protocol droid."
"I'll be the judge of that." Mace Windu said. "Let us see what you have."
Obi-Wan began a futile search through his cloak for the device. Had he hidden the device so cleverly that he actually hid it from himself?
The council stared as Obi-Wan searched through the secret compartments of his robe. Though he held no suspicion of Christa wanting anything to do with the simulator, his mind wandered to her searching through his things...to her holding his lightsaber and brandishing it around the room believing him sleeping too deeply to hear it. Like the data simulator, the lightsaber was also hidden deep inside of his robe. It seemed, all indicators pointed to Christa. But why would the simulator be of interest to her?
Obi-Wan slipped out of the robe and gave it a brisk shake. Something inside made a soft thunking noise. The device must have slipped to the bottom. A sense of relief washed over him as he reached deep into his pocket, believing he'd found the simulator. But when he whipped the so called device from his pocket, to his shock and dismay, the only thing in his hand was a crystal encrusted hair comb. Christa wore it on the night he was with her.
A big brouhaha erupted among the other Jedi Masters at seeing the comb and the befuddled look on Obi-Wan's face.
"I...uh...can't...really explain what happened...this, uh–I'm sorry. Something's gone terribly wrong–"
"Fear not, young Jedi. Happen to us all, mistakes do." Yoda used a cane to help lower his tiny body from one of the chairs. "Return to Runei to retrieve the device, you will. I sense Count Dooku."
"I sense a plot." Mace Windu answered.
"Chase a great Jedi like Obi-Wan, important this device must be. Obi-Wan, you and your apprentice will return to Runei. You will bring the device and the one who stole it back with you. Tell us what we need to know, this thief must."
"But Master Yoda, I don't believe the thief even realizes what she has."
"She?" Mace Windu asked, his eyes deepening with surprise.
Obi-Wan lowered his head.
Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, who teleported into the meeting via hologram, listened with keen ears from the outskirts of Kashyyk. "Forgive me for the interruption, but eyes and ears on Runei have reported the presence of Count Dooku and his droid army. He's seized the entire planet. Our contact, a galatian spy was killed in the coup. An explosive device was left strapped to his remains, along with a message for Master Kenobi. A demand. Our nemesisCount Dooku wants the device in exchange for the woman's safety. Or else, we can expect to find her an in an even less desirable predicament than Captain 098-TX.
Yoda rubbed his chin... "Your thief Obi-Wan, this could be?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "It will only be a matter of time before he realizes that she is in possession of data simulator. And then it will be too late. I have no excuse. I have failed you."
"Make assumptions, we must not." Yoda replied.
"If he's taken over the system, and he's already in possession of the simulator, what's the point of kidnaping the woman and holding her for a ransom?" Master Windu asked.
"Good question. It could be the trap you spoke of earlier," Obi-Wan muttered,"Unless Dooku has yet to realize that she is in possession of what he is looking for. This might be our only chance of getting the simulator back." hearing the words leave his mouth, he understood getting the simulator back was important, but it also served as an excuse to save Christa.
"I have no other obligations at this time, so I'll join you and your apprentice on the mission. You'll need my help," Master Windu said, leaving his seat on the council.
Master Windu seldom joined them on missions, and his request to join them seemed almost out of place. As if sensing Obi-Wan's thoughts, Master Windu continued, "I sense an old presence. One I'm familiar with, although, I hope I am wrong."
"More to this thief than meets the eye, there is. Bring her to me."
"But Master Yoda-" Obi-Wan said, not wishing anything as private as his visits to Christa to come to light. Christa shared no respect for Jedi canon. What will she say? Or do for that matter to embarrass him further? Then again, he recognized his thoughts as prideful, so Obi-Wan buried them deep. He must concentrate on the mission at hand and not worry about his image or how he appeared before his peers. And if Christa acted foolishly and spoke of their relationship, then she'll get her wish...he'll be expelled from the Jedi Order.
"Settled it is. You must depart immediately." Yoda said, adjourning the meeting.
Mace Windu stood next to Obi-Wan. He sensed anxiety in the younger Jedi, but said nothing.
Mace had concerns of his own.
