Chapter Six

19 BBY

~ Obi-Wan Kenobi ~
As I slipped past the clones that I had once commanded and now had turned on me, something caught my eyes. My breath caught. No!

The clones had my Padawan.

I cursed under my breath. Kya's lightsaber was held by one of the clones. Kya herself was unconscious. The clones had blasters trained on her as they snapped electrical binders on her wrists.

I cursed again. I wouldn't leave my Padawan behind. It was the duty of the Master to protect the apprentice as much as possible.

I should have taken her with me when I headed the attack, I realized unhappily. Then we wouldn't have been separated when the clones turned on us.

As I melted back into the shadows, I decided to wait. At the moment, a rescue mission would only attract more attention and would spell suicide and failure. I couldn't risk my Padawan's safety by doing something so impulsive.

I will come for you, Padawan, I vowed.

32 BBY

~ Qui-Gon Jinn ~
"This is impossible!" declared the Jedi Healer, waving a hand around for emphasis. She pointed at the bed where the girl lay, her breathing very shallow. Other healers were rushing around, administering bacta and other things.

"How can the records say that this girl doesn't exist? Why, she's right in front of me! She even has a Padawan braid, and a Master-Padawan bond!"

I pondered the riddle as well. Master Nu had spent the better part of the day searching the Archives, but the first scan had come up dry. There was no record, even in the Senate's archives, of anyone named Kya Ranor, much less someone who was a Jedi Padawan called Kya Ranor.

And yet the girl was in front of us, being healed. When she had been brought to the healers, chaos had ensued. The healers had been furious that the Council had waited so long to bring the girl. She was injured very badly, with so many burns and scars that even Yoda winced at seeing them. Yet she had stood in front of them and resisted all the probes the Council had sent her way to batter down her shields.

It was obvious that whoever had trained her had trained her very well.

"She has a Master-Padawan bond?" interrupted Adi, her gaze snapping to the healer.

"Yes, but it is dormant now. It must have flared in the Council chambers, and she must have responded."

"Can the Master be traced through the bond?" asked another Master of the Council, stepping forward.

"I doubt it," the healer replied, running a hand distractedly through her hair. "Padawan Ranor is in a very deep healing trance; no one can reach her. Only she can pull herself out. She has very strong shields."

Then another healer ran over, and whispered something in her ear.

"What?" the healer exclaimed. She whirled on her heel and placed a hand on the girl's forehead. Her frown grew deeper as she stared at Kya.

"What is – "

Then a strong ripple burst through the Force. My head snapped up, and many others jumped. A strong sense of someone searching desperately radiated from the ripple. I extended my senses toward the search. What I sensed shocked me.

Someone was calling out for Kya.

19 BBY

~ Kya Ranor ~
I came to, finally. Someone cradled me gently, so I at once knew it wasn't a clone. But nor was I out of danger, apparently, as I could hear shouts and shots in the distant background and could smell the ozone of recent blaster shots.

There had been a fight here recently. Very recently, as the smell was strong and sharp.

"Kya?" came the gentle voice from somewhere above me.

I relaxed in the hold. Master?

A familiar presence brushed my mind, a touch I knew like the back of my hand. It was my Master.

I nestled deeper into the gentle hold, instinctively burying my face into the soft weave of my Master's tunic. My fingers tightened on his tunic, not letting go. I wouldn't let go. Tears of relief slipped from my eyes, wetting my face and his tunic, but I didn't care right now about keeping a straight mask.

My Master was alive. He was alive. He was alive.

He bore it patiently, but I knew that he felt just the same as me. His hold around me was tighter than usual, and I could sense the huge relief in his emotions through our bond.

I felt the same relief. Partly it was that he was alive and safe, and that he had come after me despite everything. And partly it was because now I didn't have to go through the pain of losing yet another beloved Master to this stupid war.

But I didn't think about that right now.

If this is a dream, I thought, then I hope I'm dead and dreaming. I don't want to wake up.

~ Obi-Wan Kenobi ~
I chuckled gently at my Padawan's behavior as she pushed herself deeper into my embrace, seeking comfort and warmth and reassurance – reassurance that I was alive and that this wasn't all a dream conjured by her imagination.

"Come on, little one. You can't sleep forever," I said softly. I didn't want to push her, but we couldn't linger too long; the longer we stayed put, the better the chances of being found.

Kya's eyes flew open again at this. I peered down at her. She tried to smile as I helped her stand.

After Kya was standing, I pulled my fifteen-year-old apprentice into a strong embrace. I sensed Kya press her face into my chest. I rested my chin on her head, stroking her hair gently. Kya trembled slightly, and pressed against me again. She must have thought I was dead after the explosion.

"I'm sorry, little one," I said. I slowly opened the bond completely, and I felt her fear flood into me. I gently poured reassurance into her. I'm safe, little one, and so are you. "I should have taken you with me. Are you okay?"

Kya smiled, closing her eyes briefly. "I think so." She looked up at me then, a slight frown creasing her face.

"Good. We need to make – "

My head jerked up as the Force screamed a warning, and I darted in front of Kya to shield her as a clone patrol discovered us. My lightsaber hummed in my hands as I quickly decimated the patrol.

"Master, what's going on? Why are the clones attacking us?"

I deactivated my lightsaber, and wrapped a reassuring arm around Kya. "I don't know, little one, but we'll find out." I glanced around, clipping my lightsaber back on my belt. "Come on. We'd best make for Coruscant, and try to contact the Temple."

Kya frowned at me, and said bluntly, "You're all wet."

I sighed. Sometimes Kya could be so much like Anakin that it scared me. Anakin was blunt too. "What do you expect from one who has fallen in that big river down there?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her and gesturing down the platform.

My Padawan grinned up at me. "You fell and swam?" she teased, knowing my aversion to getting all wet for no reason.

I directed my gaze heavenward, unconsciously copying my own Master. First Anakin, now Kya, I thought with amused resignation. "Come on, little one," I said, choosing not to get involved in a debate as I had onboard the Invisible Hand. After all, that one hadn't ended well.

"No! No, please, don't!"

I spun around, my eyes narrowed, my lightsaber out and activated. Anyone who intended harm to my apprentice would have to go through me first. I would allow no further harm to come to Kya; it must have been agony for her when I shielded the bond on my end after the explosion.

What I saw made my jaw drop.

Kya was on the floor, shaking in agony.

"Kya!"

I flew to her side at once, dropping to my knees, bringing Kya close. My heart was pounding in fear that something had happened to her, something bad, something that hurt her. I couldn't bear to lose her, not now of all times when I had been so close. I'd saved her from everything – but this. . .

I could not lose her.

"Kya! Kya, what is it?"

I reached for our Master-Padawan bond, trying to reach my apprentice, trying to see what was wrong. I had to do something.

Kya's mind was a turmoil of emotions. Fear, anger, joy, sadness, hope – everything and nothing. But it was fading, receding into some place I couldn't follow or sense. For some reason, her mind was going dark, as if she was falling into a deep trance that she had no control over.

I spun out a probe, too desperate to be gentle.

And then the probe slammed into something, and a voice that was as desperate as I felt resounded in my mind.

"Padawan Ranor! Kya! Come back! You're going too deep!"

I jerked, startled out my meditative trance and losing my connection with her mind. Panting, I fought to regain my balance and figure out what was going on.

I could only come up with one conclusion.

Someone else was calling for Kya – and that someone was dragging her someplace I could not follow.