Chapter 21: The Idiot's Array
Obi-Wan stared slack jawed at the holographic image of Ahsoka Tano, the Togruta standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest, a smug smirk on her face. It was rare to shock the Sith Lord, so rare that the rebel leadership had an ongoing betting pool on the matter, and now, Bail owed her money.
"Say that again..." Obi-Wan said, his voice calm and even and measured, as it always was when he was concealing his feelings and intentions, and Ahsoka grinned widely. It was better than she could have hoped for.
"Worth interrupting your meditations, Kenobi?" she asked, leaning in toward him. "I said, we found the Chimera."
"You found the Chimera..." Obi-Wan slowly repeated, and Ahsoka nodded.
"We found the Chimera."
"Oh, dear, sweet Ahsoka, I could kiss you!" the Sith Lord cried in excitement, laughing as he quickly swiped his fingers across his datapad and displayed the holographic map of the galaxy beside the Togruta's projection, and he quickly zoomed in to his current location just outside of Garel. After his dangerous foray into the Force with Kanan and Ezra, Obi-Wan had secluded himself in order to properly meditate on the matter, and the more he sat within the Force and played the vision over and over again, the greater sense of foreboding he felt. He didn't see Sidious again, never saw those pale, sickly eyes staring back at him from the shadows, but the vision remained. Him, kneeling before Darth Sidious, an empty shell for his use.
It wouldn't have been so bad if the vision stayed in the Temple it originated from, but it didn't. Night after night, with greater and greater frequency, the Force took Lumis, dragged him under the waters, willing or no, to look upon himself, beaten and broken before Maul, Vader and Sidious. It felt like his earlier visions, the battle between the Jedi he had been and the golden-eyed Sith Lord that always ended in him being slain by the wicked red blade. Until he wasn't. Until it was him holding the Sith's weapon, until it was him that became the Sith that slew poor, fallen Jedi Kenobi. It felt like his visions of the face screaming in flames, the one that had plagued him for years, the one he had misinterpreted time and time again until he finally understood on the shores of Mustafar when he watched Anakin Skywalker burn.
This vision was real. Like the once before it, the Force pulled at him insistently, with warning and caution, but also with sorrow and regret, and as Obi-Wan looked upon the broken vision of himself, he couldn't help but wonder why. Why had Ezra been the first to see this? Had Sidious been correct about the vision becoming fate the moment he looked upon it? Why had the Force, his longtime ally, abandoned him to Sidious' clutches? Was his purpose finally at an end? Was his place in the Force's plans simply to raise Luke and Leia, and now that they were grown and able to fight, was his role over? He didn't know. Visions were so often misleading. Perhaps this meant something else.
But maybe it didn't.
With the Spectres on Lothal to restock and their two Force sensitive crew working to build Ezra's lightsaber as his training progressed, it gave Obi-Wan plenty of time to sit in solitude and see his own plans move forward between his meditations. So when good news came, it was very welcome, and Ahsoka really delivered this time.
"We have traced the movements of the Star Destroyer from here," Ahsoka said, pointing to a spot in the Outer Rim territories, Obi-Wan laying his finger where the hologram indicated, "to here," she said, pointing again, and Kenobi drew a line to connect the tow points. "It's been running patrols in the Meerian Sector for the past few weeks, mainly around Bandomeer dealing with smugglers and pirates harassing their supply convoys leaving the mining depots."
"All headed for their deep space project near Scarif, no doubt..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Have we made any progress on that matter?"
"None," Ahsoka said bitterly. "Nobody can get inside the facility, and I've lost three Fulcrum agents and two squads of my best trying to get close when I heard Krennic was headed toward the facility. Whatever it is they're building, it's well hidden."
"Or it's moving..." Obi-Wan mused, stroking his beard as he looked at the map. "Do you think Thrawn is involved in the project?"
"If he's not, he should be," Ahsoka muttered. "With his record, you'd think so, but my sources say that the higher ups in the navy don't much like him. They've been trying to put him down for years."
"Mm, makes me like the guy even more..." He tapped his finger on the highlighted Meerian Sector. "He's been traveling up and down the Hydian Way, and the presence near Bandomeer suggests that he's dealing with smugglers and criminal factions."
"Which is more or less what he has been doing for years."
"Mm." Obi-Wan lightly traced the line of the hyperspace route, silent in his concentration as he observed the surrounding area. "Their patrol is very close to Dathomir and Mandalore, both which I am closely connected with. So what is our boy Thrawn doing out around Mandalore..." Obi-Wan growled in frustration. "Bo-Katan has been in my thoughts as of late. I don't like this."
"You think Thrawn's after her?" Ahsoka asked, visibly worried, and her anxiousness did nothing to ease Kenobi.
"It's possible. I don't know as much about Thrawn as I should, but he certainly knows a great deal about me. I'll have to ask him when I capture him and his ship..." He flashed a smile at Ahsoka. "This is good, Fulcrum. This is very good."
"Hey, I just pass the information along," Ahsoka said, raising her hands in the air and smirking wryly. "I didn't do it for you. Thrawn is making it difficult for the rebel factions to unify, we need him out of the way as much as you do. He's a dangerous adversary, and you just happen to be the best one for the job."
"I'll head to the coordinates as soon as possible," Obi-Wan said as he cleared the map away. "I need to prepare, can you transmit all the data you have on Thrawn to my ship I want to compare our intel and make certain we are on the same page."
"Will do," the Torguta said, taking her own datapad in hand, her fingers running swiftly over it. "Happy hunting, Kenobi. May the Force be with you." With a flicker, the hologram shut off, the datapad in his hand chirping as it received Ahsoka's transmission, and he laid the device down, commanding it to interface with the ship as the message was decrypted and the data sent to the holotable to be viewed at his convenience as soon as the files were readable. At last, it was time to deal with Thrawn. An eye on the Chimera was a very good thing, and given the importance of the target, Ahsoka would keep an eye on it until the matter was settled.
This would solve many of his problems. Having a man like Thrawn on his tracks had severely diminished his ability to move freely through the galaxy, which made it very difficult to see his children. Keeping the twins a secret had been their greatest priority, and each day Thrawn was allowed to continue was another day he had to discover their existence and identity. And if that got to Sidious, to Vader...
"Master?" Gold eyes shot up to the door to see K-2S0 enter the study, and Obi-Wan felt irritation roiling inside him. Interruptions from Cody he could take. Interruptions from Cody he actually enjoyed, and any time he settled down to meditate on his increasingly disturbing visions, he had hoped the clone would disturb him. But the droids were supposed to follow commands, and his droids, both of his droids, were rife with errors and glitches in their programming, which had resulted in the semblance of sentience, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that yet.
"Which part of do not disturb me did you not understand, droid?" Kenobi snarled, and K2 drew back slightly, his visual receptors shifting to look the Sith Lord over.
"I thought that was more of a recommendation than a command, Master," K2 said, its tone confused, its look almost accusatory. "CC-2224 never follows the directive. You can understand my confusion."
"If I need you," Kenobi said through grit teeth, "I will summon you. The same rules don't apply to droids and real people."
"...why not?" K2 asked, its head tilting to the side. "That's discrimination, Master. I find this all highly offensive."
"I find you highly offensive!" Kenobi retorted. Childish, he knew, but the droid wasn't worth his effort, not when his mind was focused on bringing down Thrawn. "Get lost before I scrap you and let HK fly the Umbra."
"...you wouldn't do that to me," K2 said cautiously, drawing back slightly and emitting a gasp-like sound when the Sith glared at him as if he were daring the droid to test him. "Master, the HK unit is a savage creation, certainly not worthy of interfacing with your magnificent ship! We don't know if its murderous inclination extends to mechanicals as well as organics!"
"It extends to anything I point at, K2," Kenobi drawled, leaning in toward the droid. "Yourself included." He frowned. "Since you've already wasted enough of my time, what do you want?"
"I don't want anything," K2 stressed, holding out a small, handheld comlink to the Sith Lord. "Ezra Bridger had need of you."
"Tell that idiot to go set himself on fire, I'm busy." The droid held the comlink up to his vocal modulator.
"Master Kenobi is busy and requests that you set yourself on fire, idiot," K2 repeated, and outraged curses spewed from the comlink's speaker.
"That wasn't a request, fool droid, that was a command!" Obi-Wan snapped. "Just like when I say to leave me alone!"
"Kenobi, this is important!" Ezra said frantically, the speakers crackling as his voice raised in pitch. "We need your help! There's a smuggler on the ship!"
"Yes, and her name is Hera Syndulla," Kenobi drawled. "Kriff, Bridger, do you not know your own pilot?"
"We aren't smugglers, Kenobi, we-"
"Smugglers, fugitives, thieves, murderers..." Obi-Wan drawled. "The people with which the rebellion is built." The Sith Lord grinned in the silence. "Do your com have holo capabilities? I want to see your face."
"Another smuggler is on the ship," Ezra ground out between clenched teeth. "Not a Spectre. And we've been roped into working for him." That got Obi-Wan's attention, and with a hiss of irritation, he snatched the com from K2's hand and held it up before him.
"Now, see, that won't do. You belong to me nobody touches my things. Apprentice, kill him."
"What?!" the boy asked, completely horrified at the thought. "Kenobi, that's murder, I can't do that." With a groan of annoyance, Obi-Wan rubbed his temples.
"I suppose you're a bit young to commit your first murder...officially. But keep in mind that every Imperial you kill has a family they won't be returning to..."
"Right, only they're trying to kill us. It's self-defense!"
"Oh?" Obi-Wan asked, a teasing drawl in his voice as he tapped K2 on the chest and beaconed him to follow as he left the room and headed toward the cockpit. "You've never executed a preemptive strike?" There was silence for a long moment before the Sith Lord laughed, feeling through the Force the boy's conflict. "Justifications, Bridger. Petty things the self-righteous use to make themselves feel blameless. A Sith accepts the burden of their actions. A Sith doesn't run from the truth, no matter how awful it may be."
"...I-I'm not Sith," Bridger said, though he lacked the stubborn conviction he so usually possessed.
"Perhaps not..." Obi-Wan said softly. "Perhaps you will never be. Still, the lesson is a good one. Don't do anything you will feel you must justify after the fact. Own your actions, apprentice."
"...I understand." With a smirk, Obi-Wan settled into the pilot's seat, K2 sitting beside him in the copilot's chair and plugging itself into the command console.
"Tell me, apprentice," Obi-Wan said, synching the comlink to the cockpit controls and swiftly putting in the coordinates for Lothal. "How did this smuggler come to think he owns my Spectres?"
"He doesn't think he owns us, Kenobi, he got us to do a job for him!" Ezra grumbled petulantly for a moment as if weighing whether or not he should continue speaking. "At least, I don't think he thinks he owns us. He sure is friendly enough with the girls, though..."
"Ooh, Kanan must be furious!" Obi-Wan said, laughing in his amusement as he angled the Umbra's nose toward Lothal and pulled the accelerator back.
"I-I'm mad too!" Ezra said indignantly. "Hera at least isn't buying any of his shit, but Sabine is eating it up! He's talking to her about her art, and complimenting her and I've been telling her for months that I like her stuff, but now she's saying I'm not cultured enough to understand, and..." The boy huffed. "She offered to show him her private collection, Kenobi!"
"Oh, we can't have that," Obi-Wan said seriously. "I can't have some scoundrel touching my Mandalorian."
"Y-yeah!" Ezra said enthusiastically before falling silent for a moment. "Wait, what?!"
"We're off topic, Bridger. The Smuggler. How are you indebted to him?"
"R-right..." Ezra said nervously. "But...not really your Mandalorian, right? I mean, Sabine's not yours..."
"Focus, apprentice, the smuggler. I'm not here to satisfy your vanity, tell me about the smuggler."
"I don't know, Kenobi, Zeb and Kanan came back with him, he says they lost Chopper to him in a game of sabacc and if we want him back, we need to do this job for him, no questions asked."
"...what, that's it?" Obi-Wan asked, and scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "This one is simple. Ditch the droid."
"Right, only...Chopper's sort of part of the crew..." Ezra said slowly. "Hera's really mad, and he's paying us for this job anyway, so..."
"If you need money, Bridger, you come to me, I told you that, I told all of you that!" Obi-Wan groaned as he rubbed his temples. The Spectres seemed to forget that they had another member of the crew that could support them, but Hera didn't like feeling indebted to others. Especially not when it felt like slavery to her. Which was, Obi-Wan confessed, a ligitimate concern, since she came from a slave race. And he did keep a slave...
"Look, Kenobi, I would love to take your money," Ezra said quickly. "But mostly, I'd love it if you found a way to get this Lando asshole off our ship. I really don't like him."
"...wait, Lando?" Obi-Wan asked, his jaw slack as he stared at the comlink and then at K2, the droid not understanding what the big deal was. With a huff of frustration, Obi-Wan shouted over the ship intercom for Cody. "Lando Calrissian, is that who we're talking about?!"
"...shit, you know him, don't you..." Ezra asked, completely dismayed.
"No, but our meeting is long past due, I've been trying to get my hands on him for quite some time." Obi-Wan laughed loudly, leaning back in his seat and putting his feet up on the console. "Oh, it's my lucky day. That slippery bastard has been skipping out on every meeting I've tried to arrange with him. Keep him on the Ghost, apprentice, I'll be there shortly."
"Yeah, great..." Ezra said, a sinking feeling in his gut. He had a very bad feeling about this.
"I don't understand what we're waiting for," Lando slowly drawled, his hand draped over the back of Hera's seat and leaning in toward the woman. "Not that I mind, with company like yours..." Kanan glared at him from his place in the copilot's seat and grew more and more pleased with each passing second that Kenobi was on the way. A tense glare from Hera indicated that she was eager for the Sith Lord to arrive as well, though it was likely that she would throw her lover to Kenobi and demand him to exact his unique and painful brand of judgement upon him. It was, after all, his fault for allowing Chopper to be bet in the sabacc game.
The intent was good, Kanan had tried to explain, and the pot was enormous, and they were in desperate need of credits so they could keep the Ghost fueled and supplied. No credits meant no flying, and if they couldn't fly, they couldn't fight against the Empire. Kenobi offered several times to be something of a benefactor, but Hera would have nothing of it, and so, the jobs continued to support their little rebellion. Lando was willing to pay them for the job, and pay well, but being forced into the matter rubbed Hera the wrong way, mostly because her droid was being used as collateral. Really, it rubbed them all the wrong way, and Kanan was feeling very stupid and very guilty for helping to land them in that situation.
And Ezra, ever the one to use every advantage he had, had contacted their patron Sith Lord.
"I told you," Kanan said tightly, rolling his eyes. "We don't do anything unless every member of our team agrees to it, and we have one other member of our crew."
"Well, I hope he's an agreeable businessman," Lando lazily drawled. "I'd hate to have to leave without this lovely lady getting her droid back."
"Oh, you'll find him very agreeable," Hera said through clenched teeth, shooting a glare to the glowering Kanan. "This friend of ours is very profitable to the smugglers he deals with." Lando scoffed.
"Oh, please, Hera, I'm not a smuggler," he smoothly explained. "I'm more of a...galactic entrepreneur." He paused, looking over at Kanan out of the corner of his eye before he leaned in toward Hera again. "...how profitable, exactly?"
"I'll let you decide that for yourself," Hera said, pointing out the forward viewport, and Lando leaned forward, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping as he gazed upon the ship that swiftly approached them, black as deep space and lined in glowing red, making the sleek vessel look more like an aquatic predator cutting through the depths than a ship.
"Well I'll be damned..." Lando said softly, awe and fear leaving him almost in a daze. "If I didn't know better..." He laughed nervously as Hera piloted the Ghost beside the larger vessel and initiated the docking procedures. "Who exactly is this member of your crew?" Lando asked cautiously. "Because I swear, that ship looks exactly like a very, very famous ship owned by a very dangerous man..."
"What?" Kanan asked lazily. "What would an honest businessman like you know about dangerous men?"
"A fair deal, I'm afraid," Lando said, looking out the side of the viewport nervously as the docking bridge secured into place. "These days, there are dangerous men everywhere. I've taken care to avoid them myself, but in doing so, you get to know the worst of them, and if I'm not mistaken..." Lando swallowed hard. "That ship looks like the Umbra."
"Oh, you know it?" Kanan asked casually, a sly, wicked grin on his face when he saw smooth, charming Lando fill with wide-eyed anxiety.
"Oh, hell no!" the smuggler said, his calm cracking. That ship belongs to Mandalore's Shadow King! You mean to tell me that the Shadow King is a part of your crew?!"
"As we said, Lando," Kanan drawled. "Very profitable."
"For some, maybe," the scoundrel said, leaning over Hera to look at the ship they were docked with. "I'm all for high risk behavior, but some things are too much, even for me. Where the Shadow King goes, the Empire follows, and I'm not looking to mess with them. The Empire is terrible for business."
"Seems as though my reputation precedes me..." came the smooth drawl from behind them, and Lando quickly whipped around, a bright smile on his face, his arms spread wide in open friendliness, all trace of his anxiety gone as he looked upon the black-clad man leaning in the doorway, calm and relaxed, his arms crossed over his chest and the three lightsabers on his belt plainly in view.
"Your Highness!" the smuggler said, bowing deeply at the waist. "Lando Calrissian, at your service." He looked up at the man in a careful study of his features. "You're...much younger than I would have thought..."
"Older than you'd expect..." Obi-Wan drawled. "I hear my crew's been contracted into your service. I'd like to hear how this came to pass."
"All fairly, I can assure you," Lando said, raising his hands before him, a disarming gesture. "Your friend Kanan here wagered his droid in a friendly game of sabacc."
"My droid!" Hera said between clenched teeth, glaring at the scolded Jedi.
"Hey, I wasn't the one playing, it was Zeb!" Kanan quickly said in his defense, and was silenced when Hera shot him a withering glare.
"Maybe not, but you should have known better!" she snapped. "Chopper wasn't yours to bet!"
"Hera, Zeb held Pure Sabacc!" Kanan said, exasperated and from the way Hera rolled her eyes, it was clear the Jedi had explained this multiple times. "That's a winning hand!"
"Unless the other player has an Idiot's Array," Hera said, mock sweetness dripping off her every word. "Which Calrissian had!"
"Sadly, he lost," Lando said remorsefully, though it was clear the sentiment wasn't genuine. "But I offered him a chance to get his droid back and get paid handsomely in exchange for helping me move some cargo."
"Generous..." Obi-Wan said softly, his eyes narrowing as he looked the man over. "What's the cargo?"
"I was promised no questions asked," Lando said smoothly. "As you said, the offer is generous."
"And it was made to the wrong person," Obi-Wan said coldly, the relaxed amusement dropping off his face. "This is my crew, and their debts are mine. You deal with me now, Calrissian." Lando eyed the Sith Lord carefully, trying to take the measure of the intimidating man, and slowly, his laid-back ease returned with a lazy, lopsided smirk on his face.
"But of course," the smuggler said smoothly, straightening the clasp of his cape. "After all, this meeting has been a long time coming."
"It has..."
"I apologize about it not happening sooner," Lando said, softly chuckling as he shrugged. "I always meant to sit down with you, but you know how business is..." He smiled smoothly at the Sith when arched an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "May I ask why you've been so keen to talk to me? Surely the illustrious Shadow King has far more important things to deal with than little old me..."
"I've always liked a good smuggler," Obi-Wan said flippantly, his gold eyes flashing with sinister light as he leaned in toward Lando, a sly smirk on his face. "I need allies in my fight against the Empire, and I place high value in those who can successfully evade Imperial ships and blockades, which makes a skilled smuggler an invaluable asset." Obi-Wan's grin widened. "But it isn't you in particular I'm interested in. It's your ship..."
"My ship..." Lando repeated, and the Sith Lord's face lit up with covetous delight.
"The Millennium Falcon..." Obi-Wan softly drawled almost reverently. "An unassuming freighter modified to absolute perfection. Doesn't look like much, but I hear it's one of the fastest ships ever built. Word is the hyperdrive on it makes it twice as fast as most Imperial warships. That's too good to be ignored."
"You want the Falcon?" Lando asked in disbelief, his brow furrowing. "You have a ship, and word is that not only is the Umbra fast, it's equipt with the most advanced stealth system in the galaxy!" He scoffed, gesturing to the jet black ship just outside the viewport. "Compared to the Umbra, the Falcon is garbage."
"Which is part of its brilliance," Obi-Wan said softly. "Nobody would think that such a derelict ship would be any threat." Kenobi grinned. "They call it a freighter, but the Millennium Falcon is a warship. And as it so happens, I have need of a ship like that." Lando cleared his throat.
"Uh...for what reason, if I may ask?"
"A few..." Obi-Wan drawled. "Such a swift ship could be put to good use by those willing to take a stand against the Empire, and I am always on the hunt for resources on the behalf of..." His eyes drifted to the ceiling in thought, a sly, thoughtful smirk on his face, and after a moment, he looked back at Calrissian. "Interested parties, shall we say. And..." He tapped his fingers against the doorframe he leaned against. "As of today, I find myself with an opportunity to deal a critical strike to the Empire I cannot afford to pass up, and when I head that my crew here was dealing with you..."
"You thought to secure help with this mission and acquire an ally at the same time," Lando finished, nodding in understanding.
"Precisely so."
"Kenobi, what opportunity?" Hera asked, her interest piqued, but Obi-Wan didn't even look at her.
"Nothing I want you directly involved in. This matter isn't just dangerous, it's personal, and if I'm going to be successful, I need to introduce new, unknown elements, and the Millennium Falcon can do that for me. The Empire knows the Ghost as a rebel ship, and I don't want to risk it when a much faster, unknown vessel is within reach." Kenobi's eyes flicked briefly to the Twi'lek before he looked back at Lando. "Your safety is my priority, Hera, it's why I'm here. The Ghost and your crew fall under my protection."
"Well, well..." Lando said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Shadow King, but the Millennium Falcon is no longer in my possession," he said, the smooth tones of his voice unable to conceal the bitterness that lay just beneath. Obi-Wan stared at him, his jaw slack, his face impassive for a long while, the silence tense, and Kanan could feel the calm waters of the Force beginning to churn, the surface still and calm, but just beneath, the current rushed.
"...what..."
"I lost it in a game of sabacc, of all things." A frown crossed Lando's lips as he stood up tall, as if trying to save face in light of his wounded pride. "To a no good lying, cheating scoundrel and his Wookie coconspirator."
"You lost the Falcon?!"
"And I wouldn't bother trying to get to it now," Lando said bitterly. "Her new pilot is a dishonorable rogue, you couldn't pay him enough to get mixed up with the Empire."
"Oh, Calrissian..." Obi-Wan sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. "My solution to the matter of getting their droid back was to throw you out an airlock and be done with it. Knowing who you were and the ship you had was the one thing keeping you alive, and now you tell me you don't have that thing?!"
"Well..." Lando said, rubbing the back of his neck as he laughed nervously. "My mother always said that gambling would be the end of me."
"How right she was," Kenobi said tiredly, raising his hand, and Lando's eyes widened as his throat suddenly closed his lungs burning as he found he could no longer draw breath.
"Obi-Wan, what are you doing?!" Hera said frantically, rising from her seat as she looked between the choking smuggler and the casual Sith Lord. "This is murder, I won't have you killing anyone on my ship! We are in this situation because Kanan and Zeb are idiots, and I won't have you settling our debts with death!"
"But mom!" Obi-Wan whined with a roll of his eyes, his grip on Lando loosening just enough to allow the man to draw thin, wheezing breaths. "He touched my stuff! You know how much I hate that!"
"What part of this are you all failing to understand!" Hera growled in irritation. "Chopper is my droid! And I'm going to get him back my way!" Kenobi sighed deeply as he released his hold on Calrissian, the man coughing and gasping for air as he fell back into the seat behind Hera.
"You're lucky my friend Hera is kinder than me, Calrissian," Obi-Wan said smoothly, staring at the man as he rubbed at his neck in confusion, uncertain of what had just happened. "Tell you what. We'll honor your agreement with Kanan. This job, whatever it is, will be done. But," he said, his eyes narrowing dangerously and taking a step closer to Lando, "I'm altering the terms. I will know what this mission is, and you will pay us up-front." He extended his hand palm up toward the smuggler. "Now." Lando looked cautiously at the man's hand and slowly, discretely scooted toward the edge of the seat in an attempt to put as much space between himself and the man before him.
"How did you do that?" Lando asked, more curious than frightened, his bold confidence never wavering. "What are you, some kind of Jedi?" An amused smirk crossed over Obi-Wan's lips and he chuckled softly, drawing back slightly to a less threatening distance.
"Yeah, something like that." He reached his hand forward. "The credits, Calrissian. Now."
"And, uh..." Lando cleared his throat. "If I reconsider this deal and decided to find help elsewhere? The droid does still belong to me." Obi-Wan smiled tightly, a mockery of good nature that showed cruelty and cleverness instead of kindness.
"You think to use that to manipulate me, Calrissian? I care nothing for the droid."
"But lovely Hera does," Lando said smoothly, looking at the Twi'lek out of the corner of his eye, smirking slightly when he saw Kanan's jaw clench in anger.
"True enough," Kenobi said, nodding in agreement. "And if you wish to find help elsewhere, we would be happy to return you to Lothal, or any other planet of your choosing." Kenobi grinned wickedly. "Only...you don't have a ship anymore, do you? Certainly not one that suits your needs, or you wouldn't have the need to seek outside help for this pick-up of yours." Obi-Wan grinned as Lando's forehead creased with deep lines as his brow furrowed in annoyance, the Sith Lord hitting the mark completely. "As it so happens, our fee for this service can be paid in droids." Obi-Wan's smirk widened when he saw Hera's eyes light up, her entire face brightening when she understood the trap the Sith had captured Lando in, the arrangement suddenly becoming much more to her liking, as control of the situation was suddenly in their hands.
"Getting past an Imperial blockade is no easy thing," Kanan said smugly, a wry smirk on his face as he rose from his seat and stood beside the Sith Lord, patting the man gratefully on the shoulder. "And it seems as if such a skill is suddenly in very high demand. Of course, if you still wish to back out of the deal, you're welcome to do so." He thrust his thumb at the door. "Chopper can show the way out the nearest airlock."
"You drive a hard bargain..." Lando said stiffly. "How could I do anything but accept your terms?"
"A wise choice," Obi-Wan drawled.
"I expect no less from a good businessman," Kanan added, a satisfied smirk playing at his lips when Lando looked unamused, the face of a man that had gambled and lost. Kenobi held out his hand once again.
"The credits, Calrissian," Obi-Wan said sweetly. "Now. I'd like to continue on with our business arrangement, and I'm afraid we can't do that until we are paid for our service."
"Well, see..." Lando said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat under the intensity of the glowing eyes upon him. "I don't have the credits." Kenobi's face became impassive, cold, dangerous. "But I will!" Lando said swiftly, his hands raised by his shoulders in a gesture of surrender. "As soon as I pick up my cargo, I'll turn a profit that will get me the money to pay you back!" He smiled broadly when no expression, no emotion at all registered on the Sith Lord's face. "As I said, I'm a businessman! This is an investment opportunity!"
"Businessman!" Obi-Wan cried in astonishment. "You're a swindler and a con man, that's what you are, Calrissian, and Kanan here might be stupid enough to fall for that, but those tricks won't work on me!"
"Well, I've always been a gambling man," Lando said in his smooth, easy drawl. "You win some, you lose some."
"Yes, and you explain to me how you're going to win this, because so far as I'm concerned, my crew is obligated to complete this job for you, and you don't have the ability to pay, which means now," Obi-Wan growled, pointing his finger into Lando's chest, "you owe us a debt. Tell me, with no credits, no leverage, no ship, and no escape, how do you plan on repaying the debt?"
"...care to settle it over a game of sabacc?" A slow, sly grin spread over Obi-Wan's face.
"I would love to." Lando smiled, his smooth, easy confidence returning in full force, and he stood from the seat and walked toward the Sith, a swagger in his step as he extended a hand.
"Well, it would be an honor to play with you, Shadow King," Lando drawled, extending his hand to Kenobi and the Sith tightly clasped it. "Come. I got a tour of the ship earlier, I'll show you-"
"I know the Ghost, Calrissian," Obi-Wan said softly, walking out of the cockpit with Lando walking casually beside him. "Don't forget, I spend a great deal of time on this ship."
"Uh, wait, are we actually doing this?!" Kanan asked as he quickly followed the pair. "Obi-Wan, he's got nothing to bet! Nothing at all! You have nothing to gain and everything to lose!"
"Is that how it is?" Obi-Wan asked, gesturing for Lando to be first on the ladder down to the cargo hold, and the smuggler obliged, disappearing down the ladder. "Trust me, Kanan," Obi-Wan whispered.
"I do, you know I do," Kanan said softly. "But I've seen this guy play. Kenobi, he beat a Pure Sabacc, that just doesn't happen."
"Kanan." Obi-Wan laid his hand on the Jedi's shoulder. "We're getting your droid back, and we're going to know what this job of his is before we do it. If we do it. With any luck, Calrissian will be doing my job."
"...the Imperial thing." Kenobi nodded. "What is it?" Obi-Wan's mouth pressed into a thin line, his eyes focused on the ground.
"Intel from Fulcrum," the Sith whispered. "We found Thrawn."
"Shit..." Kanan whispered. "The guy that's hunting you?" Obi-Wan nodded gravely.
"In light of Ezra's vision, I want to err on the side of caution. And a Star Destroyer isn't exactly a small target. This isn't the Clone Wars..." He took a deep breath. "I really needed that ship...but I can't just let the Chimera go. I need to go, and I think I may be able to use Calrissian."
"More than you can use us?" Kanan asked. "Kenobi, whatever it is, we can help." Obi-Wan smiled faintly and stared at the floor.
"I can't lose you, Kanan," the Sith whispered. "Thrawn's already taken Luminara from me. I won't lose you guys too. You are made for better things, for something greater than yourselves. I won't drag you into this fight."
"You said this was a critical strike against the Empire. Obi-Wan, if not for fighting the Empire, what are we for?" Obi-Wan closed his eyes and breathed deeply, feeling the Force and trying to decide what to do.
"...I'll take that under advisement, Kanan," Obi-Wan said quietly. "For now, please, trust me."
"...I do." With a slight, genuine smile, Obi-Wan dropped down the hole the ladder ran through and landed on the lower deck just behind Lando, the smuggler standing with his hands in the air as Zeb pointed his large, menacing bo-rifle at the smuggler's chest, the Lasat growling ferociously. Beside him stood Ezra, his arms crossed as he stared the man down, and off to the side, a highly irritated Sabine tried to talk some sense into her crew mates.
"I told you!" Lando was calmly explaining. "I was invited down here to play a friendly game of sabacc!"
"I ought to shoot you now!" Zeb snarled. "Ezra, pressurize the airlock, we're going to throw him out!"
"Right, on it."
"Don't you dare!" Sabine snapped. "He's here because of your mistake, Zeb! You don't get to avoid responsibility for losing Chopper in a bet by throwing him out the airlock!"
"Well, am I glad to have you, Sabine..." Lando smoothly drawled, and Ezra ground his teeth as he burned. "Trust an artist to be cultured and civilized..."
"Do you think you're smooth, Calrissian?" Obi-Wan asked as he sauntered into the room and dropped on to the comfortable seat, his fingers running over the round table that sat in the middle of the semi-circular couch. Sabine gasped when he entered, her eyes lighting up, and she quickly rushed to his side, seating herself on the edge of the couch and grinning brightly when Kenobi smiled slightly at her. "Don't forget what I said. This crew is mine, and I will not have you touching what belongs to me."
"Of course," Lando said casually as he sauntered over to the couch and sat opposite of Obi-Wan. "I was just making friendly conversation with the lovely lady..."
"Sweet talk won't work on my Mandalorians..." Obi-Wan drawled, handing Sabine the deck of sabacc cards. "Adol an uraktyc, vi kelir cuyanir. Shuffle the deck, my little warrior."
"Kenobi, I called you here to get rid of this guy, not play cards with him!" Ezra cried in frustration as he watched Sabine shuffle the cards, handing them to Kenobi when she was done, and the Sith Lord expertly shuffled the deck a few more times.
"I said I would deal with him," Obi-Wan calmly explained. "That could mean many things, and right now, it means playing sabacc." He smirked at Lando, looking out of the corner of his eye when he heard Kanan and Hera walk into the room.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Kenobi..." Zeb said, putting his bo-rifle to the side and coming to stand beside the rest of the crew. "This guy's pretty good..."
"I know he's good," Obi-Wan said, smirking at Lando, his eyes never leaving the smuggler's unwavering gaze, his expression vaguely amused and impossible to read. "I don't need to see him play to know exactly how good he is."
"Such a bold claim," Lando said with a deep chuckle. "You a mind reader or something?"
"I am," Obi-Wan said casually, smirking when Lando raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "But I don't need to read your mind to know what sort of a player you are." Obi-Wan absently shuffled the cards. "You beat a Pure Sabacc with an Idiot's Array, and while there's always an element of chance involved in the game, to pull off something like that requires careful planning and strategy. Your eagerness to gamble means you are a longtime player, and the fact that you lost your ship in a game isn't indicative of a poor player, but a confident one." Obi-Wan grinned. "A man doesn't bet his ship if he doesn't win often. I'm willing to bet that you're not just a professional, but a very good one." Obi-Wan held the deck out to Lando. "Sound about right?" Lando took the cards and quickly shuffled them.
"You read people remarkably well, Shadow King," Lando said smoothly. "Are you familiar with Corellian Gambit rules?" Obi-Wan nodded, and gestured for Lando to deal.
"The wager, Calrissian..." Obi-Wan said softly. "You win, and we will consider your debt paid, and we will do this job for you." The Sith Lord leaned in. "But if I win...you will do my job, free of charge." He smiled, leaning back as Lando dealt the cards. "We can talk about the jobs while we play. Save us some time."
"Sounds like fun..." Lando drawled, picking up the cards he had dealt himself. "Let's make it quick, though, I don't want to keep my supplier waiting." Obi-Wan smirked as he picked up his own cards, and upon seeing the Sith Lord's hand, Zeb visibly winced.
"Kenobi, I really don't think-"
"Hush now, Zeb, Daddy's working..." He drew a card from the deck and quickly discarded one from his hand. "Tell me about the mission."
"I lost an awful lot when I lost the Falcon," Lando said, his voice even and giving away nothing as he drew and discarded. "I'm trying to get back on my feet, trying to go legitimate."
"This is legitimate?" Kanan asked in amusement. "I think you're going about it wrong."
"It's a process," Lando drawled, glaring at the Jedi out of the corner of his eye. "I bought a bit of land down on Lothal from a charming fellow named Vizago. With Imperial interest on the planet, seems likely the area can be mined for valuable resources that I can smuggle off-world and sell."
"Vizago," Hera said flatly. "The crime lord."
"Maybe..." Lando smirked as Kenobi folded, and the first hand went to him. The Sith quickly set to shuffling the cards and dealt them. "Trouble is, the Empire doesn't like private landholders mining Lothal, which makes standard mining equipment and scanners a poor option if one wants to remain in business." He shrugged as he drew a card. "So I acquired a creature with a nose for precious minerals. It'll be able to avoid Imperial detection since its organic."
"All this seems simple enough," Obi-Wan said, folding the next hand as well, Lando chuckling as he swiped the cards from the table. "So what's the catch?"
"Eh..." Lando quietly shuffled the cards. "The seller's a crime lord with a taste for..." His eyes drifted to Hera, his lingering gaze keenly noticed by Kanan, and the Jedi's eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth.
"You were going to sell Hera to a crime lord for mining equipment?!" Kanan shouted, and Lando raised his hands as if trying to calm him.
"I wasn't going to let him keep her!" Lando said, smooth and easy despite the angry stares from everyone in the room. "Your pilot's a clever woman, I was going to tip her off on how to escape!"
"Got news for you, Lando," Kanan shouted. "Selling a woman into slavery in exchange for an ore sniffing animal isn't legitimate business!"
"I told you, she'd be able to escape!" Lando said defensively. "Probably..."
"Aren't you all glad I'm here now?" Obi-Wan asked as he drew a card. "All this we need to know before the mission, and now we know."
"You'd better stop playing like an amature, Kenobi," Kanan growled. "Because if we lose and we have to go through with that-"
"Relax, Kanan, knowing ahead of time will allow us to prepare for these conditions," Obi-Wan said softly, watching Lando carefully as he drew a new card.
"Your mission?" the smuggler asked. "You've heard the extent of mine."
"I'm going after Imperial Admiral Thrawn," the Sith said smoothly, and Lando's eyes widened. "You've heard of him?"
"I have..." Calrissian said as he drew another card and discarded from his hand. "He's been a huge problem for smugglers around the routes he patrols. Lots of very lucrative operations broken up by him. There isn't anyone more effective than him." He chuckled bitterly. "All the more reason to go legitimate."
"Right, your particular brand of legitimate is likely to make you a target..." Kanan muttered.
"You seem to know a bit about Thrawn..." Obi-Wan gently prodded as he slowly drew a card, looked at his hand, and discarded. Lando quickly did the same.
"I've heard people talk..." Calrissian said, his voice smooth and confident. "I know a guy that's following his career pretty closely, he's got his hands in all kinds of illegal mining and smuggling operations. Thrawn has effectively shut down several of his major operations."
"This guy have a name?" Obi-Wan asked quietly. It sounded like this guy was worth talking to. It didn't sound like it would be very difficult to convince him to join the rebel cause. Ahsoka could use more informants. Lando simply shrugged.
"Don't know his name, no. But he calls himself Nightswan." Obi-Wan nodded and filed the name away for later. "So what role do I play in your little assault against the Empire?"
"I need a distraction," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully as he drew another card. "A fast ship or a smooth talker to hold Imperial attention or draw their fire while I infiltrate the ship. Someone on the outside I can call upon to manipulate Imperial actions in the system." He shrugged casually, watching as Lando drew a card, and a smug smile spread across the smuggler's face. "I've yet to work out the details."
"Well, you may want to make adjustments on that plan that don't include me," Lando said smugly as he laid down his cards. The Evil One, the Star, and the Nine of Sabres. A Pure Sabacc. "Sorry, friend..." Lando said, leaning in and extending a hand to Kenobi to shake on a good game. "Luck just wasn't with you today." Obi-Wan looked at the cards laid out on the table, an unreadable, slight smirk on his lips as his golden eyes searched Lando's smug, triumphant face.
"You know..." Obi-Wan said, his voice soft and smooth and even. "The thing about the Force, Calrissian, is for those with the aptitude to feel its flow, to listen to its whispers, the odds are always in your favor..." the Sith Lord drawled as he laid his cards upon the table, and Lando Calrissian was left to stare in disbelief at the Idiot's Array.