Author's Note: Ugh. I honestly wish I could get these up faster, but with school and all, it's almost impossible. I hope you like this chapter, but it's kind of short. Sorry about that. Enjoy :)
Chapter 4:
Laula was setting the table in the small hut when they heard a knock on the door. "Alla, can you answer the door? I suspect that's its Obi-Wan and Siri," she called to her youngest. Alla nodded and crawled out of her chair. She ran over to the door and opened it.
Siri smiled cheerfully at the little girl standing in the doorway. "Hello, Alla. Did you have pleasant dreams last night?"
Alla smiled up at the woman. "Yes I did, Miss Tachi," she replied innocently.
Siri squatted so that she was almost eye-level with the toddler. "Really? What were they about?"
"I helped you and Obi-Wan kill the pirates," Alla replied. She scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue. "They're icky."
"I'm sure you fought very bravely, young one," Siri said, placing a pat on Alla's head as she stood up. "May I come in?"
Alla was about to speak when her mother came up behind her. Laula picked up Alla as she responded, "Yes, of course. Will Obi-Wan be joining us?"
"Thank you," Siri said, stepping into the hut. She smiled sheepishly. "Obi-Wan is on his way, Im afraid I may have run ahead of him."
Laula laughed. "Well, enjoy it while you can still run ahead of him."
"I will."
Laula lead Siri to the table. Gareth was already seated at the table, busily helping himself to the food laid out in the middle of the table.
"Gareth!" Laula scolded as she set Alla down. "Guests must be fed first!"
"Oh no, you go ahead." Siri said.
Gareth just sat halfway between picking up a piece of bread, unsure of which woman he should listen to. He looked from Siri, a Jedi and possible threat, to Laula, his wife and a VERY possible threat. He put the bread back and set his hands in his lap.
"Good." Laula acknowledged with a nod. She turned to Siri and gestured to the table. "You may take a seat."
"Thank you," Siri responded politely before sitting down. As she sat, someone knocked on the door. Obi-Wan. Everyone looked up to the door.
"Come in!" Laula called. Obi-Wan opened the door and smiled at the family.
"Sorry it took me so long," he said with a glance at Siri. "Someone ran ahead of me."
"You're perfectly able to run, too." Siri chuckled and turned back to the food. She dished herself some fruit and grabbed a slice of bread. Obi-Wan sat next to her and did the same. Once both of them were done, Gareth dished himself up while his wife helped Alla. Soon, all five people were happily eating.
A few minutes later, a noise came from across the hut.
"What was that?" Gareth asked.
Laula turned toward the general direction in which the sound had come from. "Garen?" She called. "Are you alright?"
Silence.
Laula turned toward her husband and the two exchanged glances. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force and sensed the distress a moment before a scream rang through the small home.
Obi-Wan was up in a moment, tearing out of the apartment. Siri was close at his heels. The pair ran around to the other side of the house and saw a few pirates making their way off with their new treasure.
Garen.
Siri and Obi-Wan ran at top speed, feet barely touching the ground, stomachs reminding them that they still hadn't eaten. Due to their training, though, they were able to push the latter away.
Siri felt dizzy, but knew she couldn't stop the chase. Garen was only seven, after all. He would never be able to survive the pirates.
Obi-Wan sensed Siri's uneasiness and slowed down a bit.
*Obi-Wan! We can't slow down now!* Siri sent him through the Force, unable to speak out loud at the moment.
It appeared Obi-Wan was saving his energy too. *Siri, you can't push yourself too hard.*
*He's only seven! He needs our help!*
*You need to go back and rest.*
*Theres no way in Siths hell that I'm letting you go alone, so forget it Kenobi.* And with that, Siri sped up again. They were catching up to the pirates, who were running incredibly fast considering their size and the terrain they were running over. Obi-Wan leaped into the air and landed in front of the pirates, his lightsaber drawn.
"Put the boy down," He commanded. The pirates turned to run back the other way, but Siri was there, her own lightsaber drawn.
She lifted her chin defensively. "I suggest you listen to him."
The largest of the trio dropped Garen. He stepped toward Siri, his maniac laugh a deep rumbling starting deep in his throat. The leader, Obi-Wan thought.
"What are you going to do, Jedi?" He asked, drawing a blaster from his belt as he drew even closer to Siri. She lifted her lightsaber and pointed it at him.
"Don't come any closer," she said evenly. She glanced at Obi-Wan over the pirates shoulder. *Get Garen.*
He nodded. Obi-Wan forgotten, the other two pirates watched intently as their leader started blasting at Siri, Siri neatly deflecting each shot. Obi-Wan tapped into the Force and pushed sleep toward the two. They fell silently to the ground as the leader (evidently realizing that shooting was getting nowhere) pulled out a vibro-ax. Obi-Wan moved to Garen. He untied the boy's wrists and legs, and removed the scarf from the shocked boy's mouth.
"Are you ok?" He asked. Garen nodded and hugged Obi-Wan tightly. Obi-Wan placed a hand on the boys head. "Shh, you're ok, young one." The Jedi knight made quick work of tying up the two remaining pirates. After he was finished with the task, Obi-Wan looked up and saw that Siri and the pirate were gone. "Stay here," he told Garen.
The boy nodded and Obi-Wan started running again. He reached out with the Force and tried to find Siri. He tracked her and started following her Force signature. When he finally found her, she was in deadly combat, and nearing a ledge.
Siri was acutely aware of Obi-Wan's presence. Sweat lined her brow, and her moves were becoming stiff. She felt the burn on her leg where the pirate had managed to land a blow, the cut from where she had snagged a tree. The pirate and her had fought through the dense forest and the trees had cut at both of them. She had a cut on her forehead while he had a decent gash on his arm. She forced her body to meet each blow, lunging from side to side as his vibro-ax came down. She was trying as hard as she could, but exhaustion was taking its grip. The pirate lashed out and Siri lost her footing, slipping off the ledge. Her lightsaber cluddered down the cliff as Siri let go of it to get a grip on the ledge. She barely noticed as Obi-Wan came up behind the pirate, but soon the battle was over.
Obi-Wan sliced the pirate easily in half, and he moved quickly to grab Siri's arm and pull her up. She groaned as rock cut its way into her leg. Obi-Wan looked down and saw the gash. He gasped. "Siri–"
"It's not your fault, Obi-Wan," she said, ripping off a piece of her tunic to use as a makeshift bandage. "I had to fight him. The cliff wasn't in my favor." She gestured toward the two parts of the body. "Thanks for that, by the way."
He shrugged. "Of course. Let's go get Garen."
She gaped at him. "You left him alone?"
"He'll be fine." He helped her up and they started making their way to the point where Garen was, not far from the cliff. The boy looked terrified.
"Come here," Siri soothed him. "Let's take you back to your family."