Chapter 46
Ahsoka hurried after her Master who had left the Temple at a ridiculous speed. The expression on his face made her realise something was terribly wrong. By the time she managed to catch up, she saw him on his knees sobbing. In front of him, a stretcher was being carried into an ambulance. A glimpse of flaming, ginger hair made her heart stop. Combined with Anakin's reaction she knew without a proper look that the person on that stretcher was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Immediately she crouched down beside her Master.
"Anakin?" She said softly. He made no verbal response, but his hand reached out and gripped her shoulder tightly. Ahsoka put her hand over his and squeezed gently. "Come on, Master. We need to get back to the Temple."
"No." Anakin growled. "I will find who did this." His voice was laced with clearly lethal intent.
"And I will help you. I promise. But you are in no state to do anything right now." Ahsoka told him firmly. She could hardly believe that Obi-Wan was dead. Such a thing was unfathomable but her biggest concern was the sobbing mess that was her Master. She had never seen Anakin lose control like this. Ever. And it was scaring her. The pure hatred in his voice wasn't helping any, either.
She sagged in relief as he stood up, leaning on her heavily. She wrapped an arm around his waist.
"'Soka, I don't…" His voice was now so devastated it made her want to cry. She had no idea how to comfort him. His best friend and lover was dead. There was nothing she could say to make that better. She noticed his hand not holding her was clenched tightly.
"What have you got there?" She asked curiously.
"The dart that...that…" He couldn't finish the sentence. Ahsoka nodded and pulled it from his fingers. She examined it closely.
"This is an injection dart." She frowned after a little while. The difference to a regular dart was extremely subtle. "What poison would have killed him that quickly?" Anakin frowned, finally concentrating on something else.
"Nothing that wouldn't leave some other kind of sign." He said finally.
"So what else could he have been injected with?" She thanked every deity she didn't really believe in when Anakin's eyes cleared and he shot completely upright.
"I'm an idiot. Of course."
"Of course what?" Ahsoka asked, grateful but confused.
"But the Force connection..?" Anakin was clearly talking to himself now but it still wasn't making sense to her. "We need to find Rako Hardeen."
"Rako Hardeen?" She asked.
"Bounty hunter."
"You think a bounty hunter did this."
"Yes."
"Why him in particular."
"Call it a hunch." He gave her a wonky grin that was slightly ruined by the red rimmed eyes and splotchy face. Still, Ahsoka was glad for the attempt. They went back to the Temple to allow Anakin to clean himself up and make it less obvious he had been bawling his eyes out. By the time that was done they had received official news from the Temple that Obi-Wan was dead. Ahsoka stared at Windu who had stopped by to tell them.
"Dead?" She asked. Anakin had suddenly seemed so sure it was something else.
"He's dead?" Anakin asked, emerging from the fresher. Windu nodded.
"Skywalker, did Obi-Wan say anything to you about this?" Windu asked in a wary tone that Ahsoka did not understand. Anakin merely nodded. Windu let out a sigh that seemed to be of relief. He nodded to them both and then informed them the funeral would be the next day. Then he left.
"Master...I…" She didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry Snips. I had a hunch that Obi-Wan is just fine once you mentioned the injection dart. Master Windu just confirmed it. This is a cover up so he can go undercover. Obi-Wan mentioned something to me a while back. I just...I had a bad dream and then I felt our Force connection disappear and I panicked."
"Understandable." Ahsoka stated. This was a very elaborate cover up. And for some reason Obi-Wan had mentioned it a while back. How long was a while back? Clearly long enough for Anakin to have forgotten such a crucial detail. Something wasn't adding up here but Ahsoka was too relieved Obi-Wan was alive to care. Then she remembered him telling her about visions of his mother dying. Was Obi-Wan still in danger? "Was it just a bad dream or a vision?" She asked.
"I don't know." Anakin admitted slowly. "It didn't feel like the visions I had of my mother but...I don't know it just felt off. Like something more than a regular bad dream." He shrugged and shook his head. Ahsoka frowned. Not a vision but not a regular dream. She didn't know enough about the Force. She desperately wished Obi-Wan had not chosen now to go undercover.
"Why did your Force connection disappear?" She wondered.
"I wasn't expecting that bit. I suspect whatever they injected him with also contained something to cut off his connection to the Force. I definitely want to know how they got hold of stuff like that though. It's very rare. Hopefully it'll be back soon. It almost feels like missing an arm." Anakin sighed.
"Right then, so find this Rako Hardeen and we find Obi-Wan then?" Ahsoka asked. Anakin nodded.
"I think so. We need to arrest him for killing Obi-Wan which allows Obi-Wan to go into cover. Then we wait."
"Ok. Just tell me what I can do to help."
"You're the best, Snips." Anakin came over and hugged her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his waist in return. It was strange, being as tall as his shoulder now. They embraced for a couple of minutes before he told her the plan.
Obi-Wan heaved a sigh. He really hoped Anakin remembered him mentioning this. It was a while ago and he hadn't realised it was coming up so soon. Windu had suggested it in their meeting the previous morning and he had agreed on the condition that Anakin be informed. What he hadn't realised was that Windu already had the plan in place. Hardeen had been in place on his way back from his meeting with Padme at the Senate building. Obi-Wan hadn't even had to take the vitals suppressor he had obtained. Apparently it had been in the dart he had been shot with. His connection to the Force had also been stopped somehow. Windu and Yoda came into the medbay where he was waiting. They had been attending his fake funeral.
"We're sure you remember the plan." Windu stated. Obi-Wan nodded.
"How did Anakin handle the news?"
"He was understandably distraught at first." Windu replied. Obi-Wan cursed inwardly. That must mean Anakin had forgotten. He supposed that was understandable, if he had felt their connection disappear without reason he would assume the worst.
"He was supposed to be told." Obi-Wan couldn't help the slight accusation in his voice.
"I asked if you had spoken to him about this and he nodded in return. I assume that he eventually remembered." Windu seemed to be refraining from rolling his eyes.
The droid came over to give him his makeover. He cringed slightly as it prepared to shave his hair and beard off. It took a lot of willpower not to back away. A few seconds later his head was very cold. Obi-Wan ran his fingers over the smooth skin of his cheek and chin. It felt wrong. Not to mention he very much enjoyed Anakin running his fingers through his hair. It would take far too long to grow back. Still, needs must.
"Facial transformation program ready." The droid announced. Obi-Wan sighed once more.
"Let's get this over with." He muttered. Then he lay back on the bed and felt the prick on a needle in his neck. A second later his entire head hurt as every cell was changed. He gasped in pain. Both hands moved to cradle his face. He let out a yell and then finally it was over. Obi-Wan sat up, panting heavily. "I'd forgotten it was that horrible." He groaned.
"At least it's quick." Windu told him with a sympathetic smile.
"How do I look?"
"Awful, quite frankly." Windu chuckled. They made their way to the place they had planned to meet Hardeen. Obi-Wan sat in the chair and waited. It was only a few minutes before Hardeen came in.
"Well done, Mr Hardeen. You have done the job we hired you for and your credits are right there." He waved a hand and indicated a package on the table beside him. "But first, we need one more thing." He said before standing up and moved into the light. Hardeen's eyes widened. "Your clothes."
"What the…" Hardeen backed away in shock. Windu put a hand on his shoulder and he recoiled. They tied him up and got him talking into the device while Obi-Wan changed into his clothes. They smelled a little and he had to stop himself wrinkling his nose.
"Do I look like a criminal yet?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Definitely. Now you just need to sound like one." Windu told him grimly. Obi-Wan winced. Windu put Hardeen to sleep and Obi-Wan grabbed the device. He closed his eyes and swallowed the wretched thing. It was as painful as he remembered. Obi-Wan gagged violently and then it was over. He took a few moments and regained his breath.
"That is still strange." It was definitely strange hearing someone else's voice coming out of his own mouth. Almost as strange as holding his chin and not feeling the usual beard. Still they wouldn't have long before Anakin arrived. Hopefully. Windu took Hardeen away and Obi-Wan lay himself down on the bed. A while later the door opened.
"Is he dead?" Ahsoka asked.
"If it isn't him then he's about to be." Anakin muttered in return. Oh good. It seemed that he had remembered. A hand grabbed his shoulder and roughly turned him over. Anakin's face was glaring down at him. Obi-Wan glanced at the door to make sure it was closed.
"You took your time." He said, risking a small smirk. Relief flashed across Anakin's face.
"Oh thank the Force." Anakin gasped before pulling him up and into a hug which he eagerly returned. Obi-Wan jolted as there was a violent punch on his upper arm.
"Ow!" He complained.
"That's for not warning us you were going to fake your death." Ahsoka told him angrily. Obi-Wan smiled down at the young Togruta fondly.
"I'm sorry. I had intended to tell you both but Master Windu moved up the time scale. I got hit on my way back from the Senate instead of later in the afternoon."
"I thought...I thought…" Anakin muttered brokenly, putting his hand against Obi-Wan's chest. Right over his steadily beating heart.
"I'm alright. I'm right here." Obi-Wan soothed, placing his own hand over Anakin's.
"You sound wrong."
"Yeah, voice has been changed to Hardeen's."
"I don't like it. I miss yours."
"Well, I'm glad you prefer me to a criminal." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly. "Now, we don't have much time. You need to be arresting me." Anakin nodded. Then, without warning, he punched him in the face. "Ow!" Obi-Wan protested for the second time.
"Just making it look real." Anakin smirked. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. He allowed himself to be placed in cuffs and as he did so, he felt his Force connection come rushing back. Both he and Anakin let out sighs of relief as their bond also returned. It did allow him to sense that Anakin got far too much pleasure out of cuffing his arms behind his back. Thankfully, they made the whole show look convincing once they got to the main part of the bar. Anakin handed him off to the Clones in charge of the prison. He certainly was not looking forward to prison food. It was disgusting.
As he collected the slop that they called food, the other prisoners were staring at him. Whispering that he was the one who had killed a Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi no less. He sat down at the empty end of a table and glared down at the goop. He took a mouthful and spat it out in disgust. He would take liquid ration bars any day over this tripe. One of the prisoners came over and started saying that he didn't look so tough.
"This food is terrible." Obi-Wan stated. Then he stabbed the fork into the webbed hand. He grabbed the other man by the ear and pulled him closer. "Maybe you'd taste better." The Clones broke up the fight and Obi-Wan inwardly frowned at himself. Such barbaric behaviour. Still, worse would be required soon enough. A Phindian came over. Obi-Wan recognised him as Moralo Eval.
"So, when you killed that Jedi. Was it for money, or revenge?" He asked.
"I don't know." Obi-Wan sighed. "Maybe I was bored." He stated, making an unsubtle reference to the fact he knew who Moralo Eval was. Eval chuckled grimly.
"I'll be seeing you, Mr Hardeen." He said as he walked away. Unsurprisingly, Obi-Wan found himself sharing a cell with the Phindian once more.
"What a coincidence."
"No coincidence. I am Moralo Eval and I have great influence here."
"What do you want from me?" Obi-Wan asked.
"A man like you. There's bigger game than Jedi." Eval smiled. "If you've got the guts." He added.
"I'm listening." Obi-Wan took a seat.
"It's a brilliant plan if I do say so myself. It involves the Chancellor. Tomorrow, someone shall start a riot in the canteen and we escape in the chaos. An...acquaintance will meet us outside to pick us up."
"What's the plan with the Chancellor?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You'll find out once we are out of here." Eval told him firmly.
"Fine." He shrugged.
The next morning he was taken to the gym and easily found the commlink. He made contact with Windu, Yoda and Anakin, who he assumed had forced his way into the meeting. There was little to tell that they didn't already know. Obi-Wan did mention that Eval had someone picking him up once they escaped. He assumed it was Bane as he had not been arrested this time. Then he had to go.
As expected, a riot broke out at lunchtime. This time around Eval paid off a random prisoner to start a fight with the guy who had bothered Obi-Wan yesterday. Obi-Wan made sure to sit by Eval and they both slipped out during the chaos. They made their way through the morgue and Eval pushed in the code at one of the panels. Once inside they hid in the coffins. Thankfully, this time he didn't have to share with a dead body.
They easily overpowered the guards at the cremation centre. As they burst out into the fresh night air, Eval shot the Clones that were guarding the exit. Bane was waiting. They both jumped into the ship and Bane flew off.
"Who's this?" He asked Eval, nodding his head back towards Obi-Wan.
"Rako Hardeen. Killed a Jedi, thought he could be of some use." Eval shrugged.
Bane frowned but said nothing. His silence seemed to be an agreement as nothing further was said on the subject.
They left Coruscant with terrible ease. Obi-Wan figured they really needed to upgrade their security on the prisons at some point. As before, they flew to Nal hutta where Obi-Wan took one of Anakin's favourite things to do and crashed the ship. They climbed out of the sinking ship.
"Nobody can trace us here. The swamp will swallow up the ship." That was a bit of a lie. He had complete faith that Anakin could track him. Although he hoped that he wasn't. There was no need for it.
"So we leave no trace of our crash. Moralo Eval likes a man who plans ahead." Eval said appreciatively. "You do have a plan?" He added questioningly.
"Yeah." Obi-Wan agreed. "We can get a new ship at the Bilbousa Bazaar. This time we buy one or we have the authorities back on our trail." He also wanted to do this as legally as possible. It was bad enough innocent guards and Clones had been killed in their escape.
"You need to ditch the prison fatigues." Bane pointed out. "You will already have a bounty on your heads for escaping and I have one myself." They arrived at the bazaar, drawing several looks for their outfits. Obi-Wan and Eval had to dodge the local security a few got themselves some new clothes and then split up. Obi-Wan was quite happy to be in charge of finding a ship, suspecting that Bane would probably try to ditch him if he and Eval got the ship. Bane had made no mention of ditching him so far but that only made him more suspicious.
As before he put a tracking device on their ship as a precaution. Bane and Eval arrived as he secured the deal. Bane tried to tell him he wasn't coming. The shop owner from earlier was pointing them out to local security. Anticipating the spray in the face, Obi-Wan ducked under it and shoved Bane into the ship, jumping after him. The ramp closed behind them as Eval got them flying.
"What was that?" Bane asked furiously.
"You're not getting rid of me until I get my reward." Obi-Wan snarled back.
"You are resourceful. I'll give you that." Eval smirked at him. Obi-Wan then had to consider his next move carefully. They were likely to be pursued by Hutt ships. Thankfully it would take a while to find them given that he was no longer a prisoner able to give them away. Eventually they made it away from Nal Hutta. Eval went to inform Dooku that he was on his way to Serenno.
Serenno was a beautiful planet, Obi-Wan had to admit. Despite the beauty he was rather on edge. He would have to hide his Force signature so that Dooku did not realise he could use the Force. While still needing the Force to get him through that blasted competition alive. Once they landed, Eval apologised to Dooku for being late. Unsurprisingly the Count was rather unhappy.
"I see Cad Bane is with you. Who is the other one?" Dooku asked as Bane and Obi-Wan got off the ship.
"Rako Hardeen. Proved himself resourceful. Helped me to escape. Thought he might be useful for the tournament." Eval explained.
"Enough talk. I want my money." Bane interjected.
"So do I." Obi-Wan spoke up for the first time.
"You shall have it, and perhaps much more, both of you." Dooku assured them. "If you would like to enter our friendly little contest."
"I'm in if he is." Obi-Wan jerked his head towards Bane.
"You already owe me for one job, Dooku. Anything else will cost you triple."
"I assure you that if you survive the challenge, the reward will be well worth it." Dooku told Bane. Obi-Wan refrained from rolling his eyes. Any challenge that had the possibility of not surviving had to have a good reward or nobody would bother. Well unless they were completely stupid and then it may not be quite such a sad thing if they did not make it. Obi-Wan shook himself at the thought. He had been among criminals for far too long. And it had only been a few days. Bane and Obi-Wan shouldered past Eval and into the building.
They wandered past several other bounty hunters. Bane shot one of them for his hat before Obi-Wan could stop him, expecting it or not. He bit his lip to refrain from yelling at him. It would certainly blow his cover. He was saved by Dooku's arrival.
"Welcome to Serenno. You have been summoned because you are the best bounty hunters in the galaxy." He said. Then he introduced all of them to each other. "Soon all eleven of you will enter that we call 'The Box'." He indicated the hovering cube behind them. "Some of you will not make it out alive. Of those who do, we are looking for the five most skilled amongst you. Any other survivors will be eliminated to preserve the integrity of the mission that awaits you." They were instructed to put their weapons on a trolley as Dooku continued talking. When he was done, Moralo Eval took over.
"Listen up. The Box was designed by me, Moralo Eval, to simulate certain situations that might happen on the job. Go now. Enter the Box. If you have the courage." A ramp lowered and they all walked inside. They stood on a platform that took them upwards. They ended up in a cubed room with white tiles. Suddenly Moralo Eval's picture took up all the side walls.
"Before we begin. Let me just say there is only one rule inside the Box. There are no rules." Obi-Wan wanted to roll his eyes once more. How could it be a rule that there were no rules? It was ridiculous. One of the bounty hunters asked a question. "The point, is to escape and quickly. Only the survivors will advance to the next challenge." Then the image disappeared and the white walls were glanced around nervously.
Suddenly one of the floor tiles retracted downwards and a green gas came hissing out.
"Dioxis. Breathe it and your dead." Obi-Wan warned the rest out of instinct. He needed to stop that. No matter his general desire to save everyone. Even if he did save them, they would be killed once they got out anyway. He needed to divert attention from himself. Even if it went against every instinct in him. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth and concentrated. Some of the tiles started rising. Everyone began scrambling to get on one. Obi-Wan kicked Bane off of one and took his place. Bane recovered quickly and stole another tile, glaring at Obi-Wan.
"That wasn't so hard." One commented. Obi-Wan couldn't see who. One of the tiles went right up to the ceiling, forcing the occupant down to another one. This pushed off the current occupant. Then the ceiling began coming down. Obi-Wan jumped off of his perch and quickly looked for the one tile that had sunk. He jumped down and looked for the way out. A panel in the bottom retreated. A small tunnel lit up. He followed it without calling to the others this time. It would only make him look weak. After a few moments he had to climb. He emerged onto a platform in the middle of a similar room except it was black. Not long after, Bane clambered up beside him, followed by most of the other bounty hunters. Onca did not emerge.
The platform sunk to the floor. Then came the moving blocks with laser spikes on the end. Lovely. He watched long enough to recall the pattern and then began moving. The others would notice a likely follow. Bane was the first one after him but the others all quickly began moving. Swan and Sinrich died but the others all made it up.
The next room had a reddish light. One side lit up as a picture of Moralo Eval appeared once more.
"To reach your final challenge, you must pass through my ray shield." Said shield was put up as he finished the sentence. One panel flipped open to reveal a switch. "The switch to turn it off is on the other side. The syringe on the platform," A platform emerged. "Contains a highly electrolytic serum that will allow you to pass through the shield. However it is toxic to all but one of you." The person reaching out for the serum quickly retracted their hand. As they all looked around, the platform with the serum on began to rise higher. Everyone made a jump for it but a shield was erected just above the floor, killing the Rodian bounty hunter, Jakoli. More, smaller, platforms rise up creating a path to the switch. Derrown made a grab for the serum but Bane stopped him.
"Who put you in charge?" Bane snarled angrily.
"He's a Parwan. His blood can take the serum." Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Are you sure?" Bane asked. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow behind the safety of his helmet.
"Fifty-fifty. Depends on the blood of the Parwan but of all of us he's the most likely." Obi-Wan shrugged. Bane didn't look happy but allowed Derrown to take the serum from him. As the Parwan got closer to the switch, some of the platform descended again and the ray shield got closer.
"Hurry up." Bane growled. There was some desperate shuffling to stay on the small platforms. Mantu got hit by one of the closing ray shields and fell to the floor being electrocuted by the bottom one. Thankfully Derrown took the serum. He pressed the button just before the shields closed around the rest of them. Obi-Wan let out a deep breath and the ray shields disappeared. That had been far too close. As they made their way through the newly revealed exit, Bane glanced at him.
"How did you know about Parwan blood?"
"Used to kill 'em for a living." Obi-Wan shrugged. Derrown made a noise of horror but continued on. They emerged into another similar room.
"The final challenge had arrived." Moralo Eval told them. All the tiles on the floor flipped open to reveal flamethrowers, making the floor unusable. A side panel slid open and Moralo Eval stood there. "Unfortunately no." The floor began rising until the flames were all around them. Then they disappeared and the platform was now larger. A gun appeared. "We are going to test your sniper skills. Hit the target." A target moved around the wall until it stopped opposite them. Sixtat ran forwards.
"Stand back. I show you how it is done." He stated proudly. He hit the first couple but then missed and was thrown down to the flames. Obi-Wan hid his wince. He volunteered to go next. He hit the first three quickly.
"This is not the first time you've shown them how to do it." Eval sneered. "Five more hits from you." Everybody else rose up and Obi-Wan's platform shrank. He recalled this deception and could only pray that Bane now respected him enough to save him. He hit the four targets he could, using the Force to guide him. As expected the blaster did not fire a fifth time.
"There's no fifth blaster bolt." Obi-Wan accused.
"Oh, what a shame." Eval mocked. "Out of charges. As a bounty hunter it is also important to be lucky. You, are out of luck, Hardeen." Obi-Wan held his breath as the platform swiftly began to descend. He briefly thought of how Anakin would react if he died now. It felt like eternity before a cable wrapped around his outstretched arm. Obi-Wan jerked violently as his fall was stopped. Glancing up, he saw Bane leaning over.
"How dare you defy Moralo Eval." Eval cried at Bane.
"If you're going to kill him, do it like a man." Bane sneered in return.
"You heard him, Eval." Came Dooku's voice. Then his face appeared on the wall opposite. "Show us what you are made of." The flames disappeared except the ones at the edges as the wall panel came forwards, forcing Eval to fall onto the floor. A platform rose up so Obi-Wan could drop safely onto it. Then he was taken to the floor to face Eval. Eval summoned four probe droids. Obi-Wan, careful not to use too much of the Force with Dooku watching, destroyed them all.
"You're going to have to do better than that." He sneered.
"You my friend, have seen nothing yet." He made to press another button on his controls.
"More help? Afraid you'll lose in a fair fight?" Obi-Wan taunted. This infuriated him and they traded blows. Eventually Obi-Wan had him pinned with his head over the flames.
"Finish him, Hardeen." Dooku ordered. Obi-Wan hesitated. It would gain him a lot of respect and aid in keeping his cover. Yet, at the moment, Eval was an unarmed man. Obi-Wan sighed. He couldn't.
"All due respect, I just want to do my damn job and get my damned money." He stated, standing up.
"Very disappointing." Dooku intoned. "However, you are to be congratulated on surviving the box. Tomorrow you will kidnap Chancellor Palptatine at the festival on Naboo. With the leader of the Republic as our hostage, we will demand the release of all Separatist prisoners. If our demand is not met then the Chancellor shall be executed. Either way, you shall help to reshape the galaxy. Once you are all on the transport, Eval will run you through his plan. However, the job on Naboo will be run by Cad Bane." Dooku announced. Obi-Wan noted Eval's fury. "All of you work for him now." With that, he disappeared.