Chapter 24: The Break In
Kestin came back and checked on Aila periodically after Avarik left. She was worried about her friend and employer and wanted to make sure she was resting comfortably. After witnessing the full extent of his rage, Kestin did not want to give Lord Avarik a reason to be angry over the care she had given Aila.
Aila was eventually roused by her handmaiden's presence, even though Kestin was careful to be quiet so as not to wake her up. "Kestin?" Aila asked sleepily as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She yawned and stretched as her eyes focused on her handmaiden.
Kestin paused her movement. She had her back to Aila as she attempted to creep silently from Aila and Avarik's bedroom. When she turned back towards Aila, her face was remorseful, apologetic that she had disturbed Aila from her slumber. "I'm sorry to disturb you, milady. I was just checking to make sure you were all right."
Aila smiled at her handmaiden's concern, "Not a problem…" She paused to glance at a small chrono atop the bedside table on Avarik's side of the bed. "It appears I've slept long enough as it is."
Kestin shook her head, "It hasn't been that long, besides it is still evening. With all you have been through, you should get some more rest. I'll leave you in peace…."
Aila's brow furrowed as she took in what Kestin was saying. She gave a great sigh as her mind started to piece things together. "My husband frightened you, didn't he?"
Blinking in surprise at Aila's perceptiveness, Kestin answered back, "How did you know?"
Aila gave out a derisive snort of laughter as she brushed her fingers through her hair, "Because lately he does that to everybody, including me!"
"Well… Why don't you leave…?" Kestin's voice was barely a whisper as she made her suggestion, but she trailed off and raised her voice as she rethought her statement. "I am sorry milady; it is not my place to…"
Aila waved aside Kestin's apology. "It's a fair question, and the answer is both simple and complicated." Aila paused and gazed wistfully at the empty spot that was Avarik's side of the bed. "I stay because I love him. We may argue a lot, but I love him and I know he loves me."
"But he treats you…"
Aila interrupted Kestin before she could finish her statement. "That is his Master's influence, the Sith. The man I married is kind and gentle. He just doesn't always show himself. His Sith side pushes me away, but deep down the Jedi in him needs me." Aila fell silent and reflected on what she had just said. The words sounded a bit odd after the way she had felt before her nap. She had to admit that she sounded like Qui-Gon, analyzing Obi-Wan's behavior. Now that she searched her own feelings she knew she would reopen her Force bond with her husband, but she wanted to have a long conversation with him once he got home before that happened. Like Qui-Gon had said, she needed to make it clear to Obi-Wan that she was disappointed with him. However, at the same time, she had to forgive him and give him her love and support for his Jedi behavior so she could drive a wedge between Obi-Wan and Sidious.
Shaking out of her musings, Aila lifted her eyes to Kestin's, "It is hard to explain, other than I love him. He and I are going to have a long conversation about his behavior and what I will and will not allow." Aila shrugged. "He might not like what I have to say, but it is for his own good."
"He just seemed so…" Kestin's voice was full of concern for Aila.
"Angry." Aila finished with a nod. "It isn't all his fault. He was hurt really badly by the Jedi Council and they unwittingly pushed him towards his Sith Master."
"But Chancellor Palpatine has helped end the war and secured the galaxy." Kestin backed up the leader of the galaxy, having believed all the lies Sidious fed the citizens of the galaxy.
"Palpatine, Itappa, or Sidious, no matter what name he goes by, the man is still a Sith." Aila did not hide her bitterness. "He instigated that war and he corrupted my husband. Now I have to undo the damage to get my Obi-Wan back."
Kestin still did not agree with Aila's assessment of the Emperor. She had watched several of her upperclassmen at the Academy graduate, only to be killed months later in the Clone Wars. With the fighting stopped, all were better off and it was all due to his royal highness. Kestin wanted to voice this opinion, but she also understood that both her and Aila's opinions were colored by their experiences and it would be difficult to sway either of them. She had seen her friends die in a never-ending war while Aila was locked away by an overprotective husband. One praised the Emperor and the other condemned him, but Kestin knew it was best to turn to another subject then pursue this more deeply. Trying to bring a more neutral topic up for discussion, Kestin said, "You would know more about the Emperor's relationship with your husband than I do. However, milady, you really should get some more sleep before his Lordship returns home."
Aila shook her head, noting Kestin's change of subject. "No, I'm fine for now. Actually, I'm hungry. Would you like to have dinner with me?" Aila wondered where Kestin got her biased view of the Emperor and wanted to press her for more on it, but she could also sense it was a touchy subject between them. There did not seem to be anything malicious about Kestin's beliefs, it just seemed she did not get to see Sidious' actions from the same viewpoint.
Aila really liked Kestin; she was a friendly face when Aila needed her. However, Aila was dismayed by Kestin's assessment of the Emperor. She knew she had to be careful how she handled the topic of the Emperor with her handmaiden, so she wouldn't lose her friend. She resolved to make the conversation over dinner light and airy, but Aila also hoped that with time Kestin would lose her naivety and realize the Emperor's true nature.
"Where are the Jedi, Commander?" Avarik's smile curved with malicious intent as he casually walked through the dense underbrush of Murkhana's forested terrain and onto a clearing where several clones seemed to be holding a conference.
The clone troopers' necks swung around to gaze at the Empire's second in command. Immediately, the Commander of the troops stepped forward and spoke quietly so only Avarik could hear him. "Milord…" The clone bowed respectively, but there was an edge of fear in his voice and his body shuddered slightly in apprehension. "There are no Jedi here that I am aware of, they have all been killed."
"Liar!" Avarik growled. "You're hiding them, tell me where they are." Avarik kept his tone loud and sharp to make sure all heard them, including the three Force presences he could feel hiding within a large crowd of prisoners waiting to be shuttled off the planet. He could sense wariness and confusion coming from the Jedi and was pleased that his presence was intensifying these emotions. It angered him that he could not sense Skywalker in the group, but he hoped if he was patient his former apprentice would be drawn out of hiding as well.
Unaware of the danger she was in, Jedi Padawan Olee Starstone pushed her way through the crowd. Her deep blue eyes shone with relief at seeing another Jedi. Herself, Jedi Master Bol Chatak, and Jedi Master Roan Shryne, had been fleeing a sneak attack by their own clone troops, only surviving because one of the clones had gone against his orders. Tired and shaken by their ordeal, the Jedi had discarded their weapons and hid themselves in a group of prisoners to be transported off planet. They had received conflicting emergency communications from the Jedi Temple to first return to it and then to flee it and go into hiding. No one knew what they should do, but it was hoped that once they escaped the planet they could find answers.
Seeing Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in their midst was a great relief that not all was lost and that they would soon have answers to all of their questions. "Knight Kenobi, we are here." Starstone called out as she stood at the front of the mass of prisoners, her normally dark black curls, were matted and plastered to her face in a mixture of sweat, moisture, and grime from trudging through the planet's dense forest. She was disguised in a mercenary's cloak, but her muddy Jedi tunic could be scene underneath it.
Avarik smiled as a couple clone troops aimed their weapons at the Jedi Padawan, but the Sith raised his hand in a gesture of warning that they should halt their actions. The clones immediately complied and quickly started backpedaling from the Sith, fearful of what he might do to them. "Yes, young padawan, I could sense your presence as well as that of your two companions. Tell me, do you know where Skywalker is?"
Olee placed a hand over her heart in mourning at Kenobi's words. She had thought Master Skywalker was stationed on Coruscant. If he was not then that could only mean he had met the fate of the three Jedi that had been killed on Murkhana, unable to escape like herself, Master Chatak, and Master Shryne. Grief washed over her as she contemplated the worst fate for Master Skywalker and the rest of the Jedi Council. The prospect of losing such powerful Jedi was almost too much to comprehend and Olee could not find the words to answer Kenobi.
Stepping out of the crowd of prisoners towards Starstone, Jedi Masters Chatak and Shryne joined Padawan Starstone's side. They were glad to see that the clones backed away from Knight Kenobi and decided not to engage him. "Last we heard Master Skywalker was on Coruscant, you would have to contact the Temple for his whereabouts." Master Shryne, the human Jedi Master stated.
Kenobi's expression grew cold and sharp as he appraised the three Jedi. He knew they were lying to him, but he decided to play their game for a few more moments. "Perhaps you have not heard the news; the Temple was raided and all inside were killed. I can assure you I know that Skywalker was not there. I want to know where he is hiding."
Shryne, Chatak, and Starstone, all felt their hearts clench in grief for their fallen comrades and the loss of the Jedi Temple. There was a moment of silence before Chatak answered, "We are sorry Kenobi. We do not know where he is. I pray to the Force that your former padawan is not…."
"He is not dead!" Avarik shouted sharply. All three Jedi jumped back in surprise at Kenobi's anger, causing the hood of Chatak's cloak to fall from her face and reveal her Zabrak features, and her horns jutting out of her hairline. "And you all would do well to not address me by my former name. However, I may be lenient if you tell me where Skywalker is."
Suddenly on edge by Kenobi's tone and manner, all three Jedi took a reflexive state backward, and they all laid a hand at their hips where their lightsabers usually rested.
"What do you mean former name?" Starstone asked in confusion.
Avarik chuckled maliciously. "Don't tell me my former padawan has not told you yet. After all, you Jedi seem to delight in plotting against myself and my wife. I thought you would want to know everything about the two of us."
Shryne's muscles tensed as the Force screamed a warning at him. "Aila? What plot?"
Avarik's eyes gleamed in a sickly yellow color, his right hand reaching in his robes for his own lightsaber. "The plot where the Jedi tried to kill her." He growled as he pulled his saber from his belt and ignited its crimson blade.
Chatak, Shryne, and Starstone's eyes all widened in horror as they whispered, "You are a Sith."
Avarik nodded, "Darth Avarik, with the power to destroy all Jedi who stand against me." Punctuating his sentence with a great yell, Avarik sprinted towards the Jedi with unnatural speed, his saber held ready to strike. Behind the Jedi, prisoners and clones fled into the woods to avoid the Sith's strike. Weaponless, Shryne grabbed Starstone and Chatak and tried to pull them in the woods to hide so he could formulate a plan against their new enemy. However, Master Chatak, shrugged out of Shryne's grasp and immediately pulled out her own lightsaber and ignited its cerulean blade. While Shryne and Starstone had abandoned their weapons in an attempt to look like lowly prisoners, Chatak had simply concealed her weapon in the deep folds of her tunic.
Raising her weapon in defense, Chatak stood in front of Shryne and Starstone, to protect her fellow Jedi from the Sith's fury. Avarik's crimson blade clashed with such strength that Chatak's saber was almost wrenched from her grasp, but somehow she managed to hold it steady. Frantically calling on the Force to guide her, Chatak prepared herself to outwit the Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord.
After the unease of their discussion on Sidious, Aila and Kestin kept the topics neutral as they made and started eating dinner in Aila and Avarik's small dining room. They talked of happier times before the Clone Wars, their own childhoods, and their personal likes and dislikes. It was like sharing one's life with a good friend and both women seemed to take comfort in having someone friendly to talk to.
"I can remember when I was five and my father…" Kestin's reminiscing was interrupted by a strange crashing sound from the sitting room in Aila and Avarik's quarters.
"What was that?" Aila asked in confusion, rising from her chair as if she was about to investigate.
Kestin raised a hand to stop Aila as she too rose from her chair, straining her ears to listen for the strange sound. She did not hear the crash again, but she could tell that someone was rummaging around the room next door.
"Obi-Wan?" Aila started to move around the table to walk out to find her husband, but Kestin caught her arm and pulled her back.
Kestin's eyes glittered with a stern resolve as she whispered to Aila, "He hasn't been gone long enough, and besides I'm sure if it was him he would have gone straight for you. That is someone else."
Aila's eyes widened in concern and reflexively a hand settled protectively over her abdomen.
There was no way Kestin could get Aila out of the quarters without going through that sitting room, and with some unknown person lurking there that was not a solution. She would just have to secure her employer while she went ahead and performed her duties as handmaiden. "Go back to your bedroom and lock the door. I will handle this." Kestin whispered, giving Aila a slight push towards the bedroom door to encourage her to move quickly.
"But…." Aila began, concern for her friend's safety showing on her face.
Kestin shook her head, and placed a finger to her lips indicating Aila should remain silent and pushed her onward once more. "This is my duty, milady." Kestin's voice was barely audible as she ushered Aila into hiding. "Secure yourself, I will take care of this."
Half aware of what she was doing due to shock, Aila entered her bedroom and locked it per Kestin's instructions. She leaned against the doorframe, breathing heavily as adrenaline coursed through her system. She jumped when she heard the sound of blaster fire through the door and the sound of Kestin's scream. For a moment she almost opened the door to run to her handmaiden's aid, but she realized that being unarmed she would be of little use considering the danger that was lurking outside. Aila moved away from the door and began to pace in front of it while she thought of something to do.
It became apparent that there were only two things Aila could do, particularly when the edge of the bedroom doorway started to glow red hot as someone on the other side was trying to break inside. Running towards the various shelves and cabinets in their bedroom, Aila rummaged for something to protect herself while she opened her Force bond and called out to the only man who could save her. She was not sure if she'd reach the Jedi or Sith version of her husband, but it did not matter to her, all she knew was she needed at least one of them to come home.