The Force rippled and pricked against his senses as he sat in the speeder, the first hour stretching by. Obi-wan was wary, but it wasn't until he felt the familiar roil of the Force in his chest as the real danger began. Thera had disappeared from sight; only seconds before she was placating a Cerulean with small talk. Now through the tall windows he could see the crowd thinning and the wane of noise.
The Force sent a jolt through him and he was already out of the speeder. He ran to the back entrance, startling the lounging guards as he tore past and burst through the rear kitchen. Her Force signature upstairs, glowing brightly in his mind.
Entering the main reception area, Thera felt completely overwhelmed. Many of the languages were different, and a great variety of the local delegates invited were aliens from other systems, without Obi-wan's comforting presence close by, she could hardly enjoy the regal environment or delegate Adavar that was now trying to catch her attention.
As she spent more time with him, she found that he was pleasant enough, but the sensation that she received from Acova was confusing; like a man that was constantly checking the escape routes of a room. It had always been a secret pride of hers; being able to read people and their intentions, but now her talent didn't seem applicable to Acova.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Thera focused on enjoying the introductions as she met other delegates. It was awhile on into the reception when she noticed the crowd making their way towards the main banquet hall, and that Adavar had departed from her company without her realizing it.
She felt it again; the pang of unease, her stomach tightening into a knot. Thera looked around for a restroom, not bold enough to ask the other guests. She turned and headed up the stairs, searching for a moment of privacy. Ducking into a guest suite, she sat down shakily on one of the foyer chairs as she listened to the guests congregating below. In her mind, Thera was having an internal battle.
You should leave now.
Obi-wan would know if any trouble would come around.
You could leave before the dinner, no one would notice.
No, there is a chance to meet others and enjoy my time here. I'm not going to let something as simple as the jitters keep me from enjoying an intergalactic congressional dinner.
She sighed. The whole situation was surreal, but she stood up resolutely and checked her reflection before heading back out to the stairwell landing. At the top of the stairs she saw that the lobby was now empty, and the dark night that pressed against the windows was a little too unsettling. Thera hurried down, afraid to make a late entrance to the dinner when two servants blocked her path.
"Excuse me," she murmured, meaning to wedge by.
One held up a hand, the simple gesture stopping her. "Security breach. Please head back upstairs where it's safe."
Thera was startled, but as she listened to the faint chatter in the banquet hall the distinct sensation from before hit her again, only stronger; "You're lying."
The servants, seemingly average in their alien appearance and dark in attire, kept walking, their movement pushing her back up the stairs. Their pale skin and bald heads a little more than disconcerting. They said nothing in return.
"Let me by," she commanded, clenching her fists. With sudden bravado, Thera tried to push between them. Looking back, she supposed it was a futile effort, but she had to try. She could have kneed one between the legs, or pushed the other down the stairs, but as their hands closed over her upper arms and wrists, her survival mechanism kicked in.
"Let go! Someone-!" Squirming and kicking, managing to tear a hand away and elbow one of the servants in the face. She was distracted at the sound of a door opening below, her dress tangling around her legs as she turned. For a brief second she saw the brown shadow of his cloak; his gaze as their eyes connected, but she was hauled roughly up by the waist by the other servant, and he fell out of her line of sight.
"Obi-wan!"
Twisting in the hold, she was not able to get a foot on the ground. As they reached the main hallway again, her strength was suddenly sapped from her. Her memory flitted out- the last thing she recalled was the sound of a lightsaber activating.
Again her Force signature pounded against his chest, even as he dashed through the busy kitchens before he finally made it to the main reception. The room was empty, but he could sense alarmed faces peering from the corridor leading to the banquet hall, the droids finally activating a security program.
They were already above the first landing of the ornate staircase. Thera was struggling with two men, one of whom was already sporting a bloody nose. His entrance had distracted her, and her shout was terrified and pleading.
"Obi-wan!"
(Please, don't let this happen.)
It was only his name, but the meaning of her voice came through to him loud and clear. A vision of her red dress swirled and fought against the black suits of the servants. As he ran up the stairs the bloody-nose stayed behind, his accomplice already dragging Thera bodily into a corner chamber. Even if the man was a weak adversary, Obi-wan knew that their mission only required a seconds' distraction. With fluid ease, he tossed the servant over his shoulder and back down the stairwell.
As he ran through the halls of the second level, the tension of the Force curled inside him; an uncomfortable and powerful feeling that he had never received from it before. Only when he burst through the chamber door did he understand why.
The second servant was at the balcony window, struggling to open the double doors as Thera lolled in his arms. She was blinking sluggishly in the lamplight, but the thing that automatically activated his lightsaber in his hand was the speeder that was parked next to the balcony railing.
Asajj Ventress wasn't one to give up on a mission so easily; she would battle a Jedi if it came to it. Granted- that the odds were in her favor. In this instance they weren't. Downstairs she could already sense the awareness of the delegates' security that would be there shortly, and her only exit was the speeder on the small balcony.
Her lip curled in distaste at the young Jedi already advancing on her hired man, knowing all too well that her effort was in vain. She activated the speeder as Obi-wan deftly disabled the guard and caught Thera in one fluid movement. As Thera unconsciously curled into his shoulder, Obi-wan watched as Asajj steered her craft away, the anger showing through her features even in the darkness.
I'll be back, she mouthed to him with a solemn nod. The speeder disappeared into the night, and he knew it was a promise the Sith apprentice had intended to keep. It confirmed his suspicions; Thera's strong Force signature wasn't just a fluke and now she was a commodity. Little did Ventress know, Obi-wan vowed that next time Thera would not go so easily.
"Thera Munro, are you hurt?"
As before, her head lolled as she tried to lift her gaze up to him. "Kenobi," she mumbled into his tunic, her grasp becoming weaker with each minute. As her head rolled, Obi-wan could make out a stippled circle that was forming on her neck. An epi-pen injection would account for such a fast effect, he thought grimly.
It wasn't long before he pushed through the crowds that were now formed downstairs and loaded Thera onto his own speeder. The wind rushed by as he set off through the Coruscant skyline, other cruisers honking indignantly. Keeping an eye on Thera whenever he could spare it, through the Force he could sense her consciousness dwindling. He requested the temple's medical assistance upon landing, not knowing the actual use of the drug.
On the landing platform, Obi-wan ignored Thera's weak protests and carried her to the waiting medical transport. They worked quickly, even before he fully laid her on an awaiting gurney. The medidroids took over, strapping pulse readers and toxin sensors readers to her skin. A healer approached at a run and Obi-wan explained what had happened as the healer examined and scraped a small surface culture from the injection area.
Her vision had already began to go in and out. She felt heavy, as though she was sinking into the ground. Eyesight blurring, she could still hear Obi-wan, the voice of the healer, and the faint whirring and buzzing of the droids around her. The dark curtain of the drugs in her system was slowly became overpowering.
In an exam room, the healer Ghreshard read the surface culture into a spectrometer. "It's Devoven," he replied while reading the results. "A sedative but the administered levels are appropriate."
"Will she need antibodies?" Obi-wan asked.
"No," Ghreshard murmured while pulling back a lid to peer into Thera's half-closed, dilated eyes. "She'll be able to sleep it off without a problem."
"Asajj," Thera mumbled. "Kenobi. Asajj."
Obi-wan brushed a strand of hair from her face. "It's alright, Thera. You're safe now. You can sleep."
"No, she…"
His voice was quiet and insistent, "You're safe. Sleep."
As before, he used a trickle of Force to send her to rest, watching as her breathing slowed, evened. As the drug smoothed the lines in her face, Obi-wan saw her as she must have looked before she had ever met a Sith.
"She'll be safe here, Master Kenobi," Ghreshard said kindly, seeing the slight distress of the situation.
Obi-wan pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. He could still sense a trickle of worry, a tensing inside her Force, but he let the healer convince him to leave. Things were progressively becoming worse, especially with the surprise of Thera knowing Asajj's name. He needed to speak with Master Yoda.
Yoda had listened passively, both hands clutching the top of his staff. "A kidnap, Ventress was planning?" he asked, when the young Jedi finished his report of the attack at the consulate.
"Yes," Obi-wan frowned at the reasons.
"And yet, take her, she did not." Yoda frowned. "No good can this be. A Sith, on Coruscant, but to what reason? Other plan, the Sith have. One already in motion." The elder thought to himself for a moment as Obi-wan patiently waited. "Continue with observation, Obi-wan. Sleep with these thoughts, I will."
"As will I, Master Yoda."
Perhaps Asajj thought sooner was better than later, thought Obi-wan as he awoke and heard the telltale hiss before the security alarm klaxon. The entry droids made a clean cut through the plexifilm of his suite, allowing him only a fraction of a second to call his lightsaber to his hands.
As always the case, there were three droids but Obi-wan didn't allow himself the time to think of why he could not detect them earlier in the Force. With surprising difficulty, he cut down one of the destroyers before he was fully able to get out of bed. A startling spurt of blood came from the machine, and Obi-wan almost thought himself wounded. No droid ran on bio-fluids, especially droidekas. He advanced on the other two already gearing to find another sort of entrance into the main levels.
Blaster marks scored his living quarters and Obi-wan barely had the upper hand against the intruders, which were nothing more than augmented droidekas. He focused on the machines as he deflected the blasts; the droids edging back towards the gaping hole of his quarters. Again, as the second droid fell underneath his blade, the metallic smell of seared metal and blood reached him. So appalled by the stench that he barely had a moment to react to the grapple that had now hooked itself around his right leg.
"Oh- not good."
As the droid dipped outside, Obi-wan grunted, losing his center of gravity as he fell on his back. The impact caused him to hit the butt of his lightsaber against the tile, the connection popping the device out of his hands and rolling away. The weight of the droid pulled him, and with each passing inch he sensed the inevitable drop that was soon to come. Throwing his arms wide, the droid climbing down the side of the temple dragged him backwards and his hands hooked on the edge of the cut panels. Shredded plastisteel and metal dug at his skin. Gritting his teeth with the effort, he heard an oncoming noise; a rippling pulse of an engine over the rainfall.
Thera had never allowed her body to operate on auto-pilot before, but as she raced down the temple corridors, she knew she had never experienced such clarity in her actions for such a vague destination. She had torn off the sensors that were still clinging to her skin from the mediward bed, and could hear the faint sound of an alarm off on one of the other levels.
The landing platform was deserted at this time of night and a cold rain pelted against the slick decking, the three moons illuminating the row of cruisers. Thera sprinted across to the first one, a brown speeder that looked more like a winged cricket than anything else in her mind. She jumped on and activated the flight system, not stopping to think how she knew the controls. The speeder rocketed off and there was a dip of gravity as the craft adjusted to the weight. With a twist of the throttle she spiraled in a headlong dive down the side of the building.
The huge spire of the temple was well lit in the light of the moons, and it was clear to Thera as she saw the large droid scuttling away from a hole carved into the building. Even at the distance, she could see Obi-wan's grasp slip in the rainwater and the droid pulled him over the edge, disconnecting the tethered cable on his leg in one fluid movement.
Thera's jaw clenched as she pushed the throttle to the limit, the momentum throwing her stomach into her throat. She focused on his falling form through the rain and wind, his expressioning reflect annoyance at the disadvantage he was in, and surprise bordering on concentration as he saw the speeder. Gravity curled his body back towards her as she drew parallel. Things like how close the ground was, or how rivulets of rain ran backwards on her face and into her hair had no effect. The only connection that made sense was when they simultaneously reached for each other, grasped hands and in one supreme effort Thera banked the speeder under Obi-wan and pulled away from the temple.
The craft shuddered as they pulled out of the dive and coasted along the top of the lower traffic isles that winked dimly in the storm. Thera shivered as the night rain clung to her; she was able to properly focus now that she had completed her objective and the Force let go of its hold. It was then that she suddenly became uncertain of how to handle the speeder, and Obi-wan sensed her tension as they hovered. Curling an arm around her waist from his position behind her, he spoke calmly in her ear, his left hand indicating an entrance platform near the ground.
"Land over there, it should be secure."
Just as she became comfortable with handling the speeder, they had landed; Obi-wan jumping off quickly as he turned to Thera. He had not seen her face since he had been pulled aboard, but the expression now was bordering on frightened. The medical robe clung to her frame; such a small figure upon the large speeder, skin white in the moonlight as she clutched the gears. Her eyes were still dark, dilated.
He gestured to help her from the speeder, "Thera?"
She suddenly leaned away, turning her head so that she vomited over the opposite side of the speeder. He watched, stunned as she started shivering violently, her head now resting on her raised arm. Obi-wan stepped onto the side of the speeder again and pulled her off, against his chest as he made his way through the rain towards the platform entrance.
"Come in, Obi-wan," chirped his comlink.
He waited until he had guided Thera into one of the lifts and it rose, heading back towards her chambers. He brought he comlink to his lips, shaking rainwater out of his eyes, "Master Windu, a security breach has been made, level 74."
There was a pause, the master's voice sounding slightly surprised, "Noted, Obi-wan. Is Thera Munro with you? She's been reported missing from the mediward."
"I have her now, give me a few minutes and I'll be able to make a report. To the council," he added as an afterthought.
Mace heard the implication in the statement. "10 minutes, Kenobi."
She was still shaking when they entered her guest quarters, and he led her towards the washroom. Turning the spray on as hot as it would go, he guided her under the stream, still clothed in the simple medical robe. Rinsing the cold rainwater away, Obi-wan tried to relax the sickening tension that was apparent in her frame; rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders.
"Wh- what did I do?" The shock that was settling over her body, her lips a grey-blue as they turned her words into mush. Her expression was confused and anxious. "I-I have never done anything like th-that, it w-was like I was some-someone else."
A guilty feeling swept through Obi-wan, knowing he had just witnessed Thera's Force potential. Of course it would have shocked her, and the counsel had unwittingly let her experience the repercussions without explanation. But how had they even come to be in this situation? To a Jedi Knight, droids were not much of an adversary, yet they had gotten the better of him, somehow blurring his connection to the Force. And the blood…the odd addition that seemed to be the only difference. He had seen the energy cells before, and thought back to the time and state of her first rescue. The equation began to make sense in his mind; it was why he couldn't sense the droids; Thera's midi-chlorians had masked their mission's intent. Someone had stocked energy cells of her blood, and the thought chilled him.
Obi-wan stopped the shower and handed her a towel, holding up her dressing gown as a dividing curtain as she sluggishly took off her medical robe and then into the dry garment, pulling the fabric around her shoulders and struggled to tie it at the waist.
Thera turned to face him, gripping his damp tunic to steady herself as her teeth chattered, her hands shaking. She tried to focus, her eyes blinking slowly as he towel-dried her long hair. "P-please, I must speak to Master Yoda. Please."
Obi-wan tucked a damp strand behind her ear. He would much rather have waited for her to overcome the shock she was experiencing from the invasion, but he too believed in settling this with the council. It had gone on for far too long; "It's been arranged, we'll leave now, if you're ready."
"Of this security breach, what have you to say?" Yoda asked.
"I was asleep," Thera stated slowly, her voice wavering from the cold. "But I found myself running. Up to the landing platform where the speeders are. I took one, over side of temple and down-"
"Why did you do this?" Mace Windu asked, sharply.
Thera curled and uncurled her fists, her long hair dripping onto the platform she stood on. "I don't know. I felt… driven."
Mace regarded her intensely, gesturing for her to continue.
"I saw Obi-wan- near edge. There were droids, he was falling."
The Jedi exchanged sidelong glances.
"I went, down. It was so fast, and my mind would not let me stop. I had no fear, no...care. I reached Obi-wan, pulled him onto the speeder. We landed, my senses came back to me."
Obi-wan and the council noted that she stopped shaking as her eyes focused on Master Yoda. "I came to say it was my fault. This is not something that I do." Almost imperceptibly, her voice turned serious and softly accusing. "You knew. You waited for me to understand. I should have been told."
Yoda grunted knowingly, "Intuitive, you are."
She swallowed, her voice quiet; "I could have been dangerous."
"Munro," Depa Billaba leaned forward into the light. "Members of the Jedi order often have callings, sensations through the Force that we cannot ignore, which we must follow."
The statement only seemed to confuse, "The Force? I am not Jedi."
"No, you are not," Mace said, his voice now bordering on amusement. "And yet you managed to activate and drive a speeder without training, save Obi-wan from imminent death in trying conditions, all without regard for yourself. We would be doing you an injustice if we did not tell you that you have the potential to become a Jedi."
"Performed strongly, you have." Yoda said. "Happened before, this has?"
No memory came to mind, her mind a blank slate before her arrival to the temple. "I do not know."
"To come to us and tell us of your involvement and opinion tonight shows great courage," Mace Windu said.
"To become a Jedi Knight is not easy," Depa added. "There are terrible pains, hardships, and you must master your body and your mind."
"Face pain, a Jedi does," Yoda said. "Face joy, a Jedi also does."
"Can you see yourself becoming a Jedi, Thera Munro?" Windu asked.
She was aware of Obi-wan, standing to the side. His frame unusually tense, and she could feel the collective gaze from the members of the council.
She recalled in a moment of pure weakness, that without knowledge of who she was or regard for his own safety, he had saved her. It was apparent that any member of the council would have done the same. To have that strength, to have that understanding, she realized to her in this new world, nothing else meant more.
Her own voice was surprisingly calm; "If I can become like the hands that saved me, I will give everything to be a Jedi."
"Spoken well, you have." Yoda allowed a ghost of a grin to settle on his lips. "Jedi Kenobi's Padawan, you are."
From the moment it was approved, Obi-wan's thoughts kicked in motion. He was polishing up on defense routines that had become second nature, but he immediately began to see his own faults. It had been awhile since he had practiced with someone who had pushed him, and now he was passing it on to a padawan. Obi-wan had the fleeting feeling of inadequacy.
He imagined the right course of missions for Thera to accompany him on, the environments she needed to spar in, and every corner of the Force that could be tapped, would. But all of these thoughts suddenly dead-ended as he watched Thera respond to Yoda's words.
She went from the first stages of shock and indignation to pure, glowing hope. The relief in her eyes and the smile on her lips as she turned to Obi-wan in front of the council- it wiped his mind blank. This new Thera was suddenly the woman that he realized was there all along.