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"So, they've sent a Jedi, have they?" The man leaned back in his plush, oversized chair and stared off into the distance deep in thought, while the figure on the hologram waited for further instructions. Perrin was getting up in years, but his experiences had made him wise. He no longer rushed his strategies along, but instead took the time to consider every angle. If he hadn't learned this lesson, he wouldn't be alive right now, watching another pathetic lackey squirm in anticipation.
"And what was decided upon at this meeting, may I ask?" Perrin stared down his hawk-like nose at the informant and raised one thin eyebrow.
"The Jedi is just going to investigate for now. He'll just be interviewing the staff and families. If he finds anything, he's to send for back-up. Sir, I don't see this as a problem for our scheduled pickup later this week.... in my own opinion," he quickly added.
"Your opinion indeed," Perrin replied. Another pause had the snitch squirming once again, and Perrin reveled in the reaction.
"All right, then. Keep me informed of his progress, and we will plan on maintaining our previous schedule." Without giving the other time to respond, Perrin reached over and switched off the holoprojector. A Jedi certainly threw a bit of a monkey wrench into things. They would have to be more careful this time. Perrin's brief brush with uncertainty was soon replaced by the jingle of more credits coming his way by the week's end. The hungrier the 'boss' grew for the destruction of the alien races in the galaxy, the heavier Perrin's bank account would grow. Money and power made such compatible bedfellows.
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Sari's speeder pulled up in front of the Grand Sema Hotel for the second time in less than three hours. It had been a long day and very emotionally and physically draining as well. Obi-Wan Kenobi could sense that her mind was troubled, yet he refrained from delving in with the Force to uncover the cause. Instead he opted for a more conventional approach.
"Is something wrong?" he asked. Sari turned from her thoughts to offer a response.
"Huh? Oh... no, it's nothing really."
"Well, it must be something. You haven't said a word since we left the school. I was hoping to hear more stories of your life as a teacher," he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.
She gave him the infamous teacher glare and said, "Are you implying that I talk too much, Jedi Kenobi?" She couldn't help but smile at his lame attempt to look innocent.
"Who? Me? No, I would never imply such a thing. I was actually telling the truth, and please, call me Obi-Wan."
Sari felt a little light headed. It was his eyes and his voice and that grin..... She was feeling like a school girl with a silly crush, and it had to stop. What was it about this man that made her feel so at ease, like she could disclose all of her deepest hopes and dreams without batting an eye? Jedi mind trick---- had to be, she thought.
"You haven't answered my question, Miss Zendar. What has you so preoccupied?"
"Like I said, it was nothing really..... I was just surprised to see Jaik at the meeting tonight. I had no idea he was involved, and he didn't mention it earlier today. He teaches some of our older children and doesn't really know any of the missing students. I was just surprised, that's all." She tried to shrug it off, but Obi-Wan could tell that she was still uncomfortable about it.
"Was he the tall one with the dark hair?" Sari nodded. Obi-Wan had noticed he kept a close eye on Sari throughout the entire proceedings while the other eye had been casting a possessive glare at Obi-Wan. "Yeah, he was rather quiet during the meeting. Are you two--- involved?"
Sari was surprised at his question and it took her a moment to come up with a fitting response. "Involved? No, not really. I mean we were supposed to go to dinner this evening, but then----"
"But then I arrived and ruined your plans. I'm very sorry, Miss Zendar, for imposing upon your evening."
"No, you didn't impose, really. And please.... call me Sari." Her face was so unbelievably lovely in the moonlight, Obi-Wan thought.
"All right then.... Sari. That's a beautiful name. May I ask what it means?"
No one had ever asked her that before, and she was delightfully surprised. "It means 'noble'."
"How fitting," the Jedi said softly. ".... for a teacher, of course," he added quickly, afraid he was revealing more of his instant attraction for her than he should.
Climbing out of the speeder, he turned and offered a simple goodbye before entering the hotel. Sari watched him walk all the way to the door, his cape flowing behind him. He was quite the mysterious figure dressed all in black. As she started the speeder again, she let slip a girlish giggle.
"Sari, you are acting so ridiculous!" she scolded herself. Still, she found herself rushing home to bed in hopes of speeding up the time until she could see him again.
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"You look very pretty today, Miss Zendar." Sari looked up from her desk at the young female Twi'lek standing there.
"Why thank you, Nay'la," Sari replied gratefully. The young girl smiled and took her seat. Not-so-hushed whispers could be heard from the other students as Sari finished organizing her lessons for the day.
"I wonder why the teacher's all dressed up?" asked one.
"Maybe she has an important meeting or something," another one added.
A quiet chuckle escaped the teacher. The student had been right. She was planning on a meeting, so to speak. Her hopes were high that she might just happen to run into a certain Jedi today. After finally getting home last night, she had had the sudden urge to do a bit of research. So, logging onto the galactic network, Sari had pulled up everything she could find on one Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, and had been very pleased at what she had found. He was quite the hero many times over according to the media holoreporters. It had surprised her a little since he seemed so completely unassuming and humble. That just made him all the more attractive to her now.
She had hoped not to be so obvious, but now the whole class knew something was up. They seemed to notice every little change from the ordinary, like if she wore her hair a certain way or if she ventured a new color of lipstick. Not only were they very observant, but they were also very honest and open about their opinion of what they observed. Sari suddenly remembered trying a new hair style only to have a student greet her with, "Bad hair day, huh?" She suddenly started feeling a little anxious about all the extra time she had spent primping that morning.
She tried to push all silly thoughts out of her mind and rounded her desk to start the day's lessons when a voice threw her in a tail spin.
"Good morning." It was him! That voice was unmistakable.
She felt her insides start to flutter and slowly turned to the door. Could the children see on her face how absolutely delighted and terrified she was to see him?
"Good morning," she finally said. "Please come in." The whispers instantly stopped as all eyes followed the visitor. Again he wore his cape, without the hood this time. He wasn't extremely tall, but his broad shoulders gave him such a commanding presence. The children and their teacher were in awe.
"I don't mean to intrude, but I thought I would start by interviewing some of the children in your class, since we're already acquainted. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind?.... No, of course not. You can use those desks in the corner over there, if you like." Did his eyes always twinkle like that? she wondered.
Obi-Wan nodded and took a deep breath. Being a Jedi had given him the added ability of heightened senses, which could often be a bad thing. But right now...... she smelled beautiful, and he couldn't get enough.
Sari turned back to her class just as a hand shot into the air. "Yes?"
Aido, a male Rodian, grinned mischievously as he readied to ask his question. "Is he your boyfriend, Miss Zendar?" Sari instantly turned red as a burst of giggles erupted all around. She dared not look at Obi-Wan, but could hear him chuckle under his breath.
"No, silly. Mr. Rafe is her boyfriend!" replied another student.
"Ahem," Sari interrupted trying desperately to change the subject. "Class, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Kenobi. He's a Jedi Knight all the way from Coruscant. He's come here to help us find out what happened to your friends that are.... missing."
"A Jedi!! That's so wizard!" shouted one of the boys in the back.
"Do you have one of those laser swords?" another asked.
"Ebo! Please sit down," Sari directed in hopes of reeling her students back in.
"No, it's okay," Obi-Wan assured her as he threw back his cloak and unclipped his light saber. Holding it in front of him, he moved toward the class and took control.
"Now, if you all sit back down and stay in your seats, I just might turn this on." All heads nodded in agreement. "But you can't get up because light sabers can be very dangerous." They were all hanging on his every word and movement as he pushed the button on the saber handle. A hum sounded as a blade of green light instantly appeared, and then a collective "Ahhhh!" filled the silence. Obi-Wan went on to briefly explain how it worked and emphasized the importance of only using it in defense.
"A light saber is not a toy. That is one of the first lessons a padawan must learn before he or she is even allowed to touch a light saber." He continued for a few more minutes, answering some of the questions the students had, and Sari looked on in amazement. Effortlessly, he held their complete attention, something she often struggled to accomplish.
Suddenly, she got the strange sensation that she was being watched. Glancing over at the door, she caught a glimpse of a retreating figure. She hurried into the hall just in time to see the back of Jaik Rafe turn the corner. A slight twinge of guilt entered her mind as she realized she hadn't really thought about Jaik since Obi-Wan had arrived. It seemed ages ago that Jaik had asked her for a date, much to the dismay of the other unattached females on staff. However, she thought that everyone else had been much more excited about the date than she had been. Dating and romance had never been as important to her as teaching, despite her family's frequent innuendoes about marriage. She had been satisfied spending all of her time and efforts on her students.
She walked back inside her room, and Obi-Wan shot her a smile that turned her heart upside down. Yes... she had been satisfied with just the children..... but now......
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Obi-wan had taken over the corner of Sari's classroom and was conducting his interviews of the students. After explaining to the class that he would be reading their minds to look for clues, he began calling them back one by one. Children were so much more open to mind touch than adults, he noted.
As he continued his work, his eyes kept drifting out the windows to a range of mountains in the distance.
//There// a voice seemed to say over and over. He was still staring when Sari came up and laid her hand on his shoulder.
"Is everything okay?" she asked in a hushed whisper. He quickly turned to face her.
"Yes... just fine."
"You know, you should be a teacher the way you handled them this morning. They were glued to your every word."
Obi-Wan smiled shyly. "Well, I am a teacher of sorts, only I have just one student compared to your twenty, and I wish he paid half as much attention to me as your class does to you."
"Yeah, right!" she chuckled sarcastically. Then, without thinking, she asked, "Anakin Skywalker is his name, isn't it?" Obi-Wan was surprised, and his face showed it.
"Yes," he said suspiciously. "But how did you know? I don't recall mentioning him last night." Sari realized her slip and felt her face heat up. She didn't want him to know that she had 'researched' him.
"Um.... I think I remember reading it in some article a while back...." she offered lamely. Little did he know that a while ago was only last night!
"How far away are those mountains there?" he asked pointing out the window.
Sari shrugged. "An hour or so by speeder. Why?"
"Do you know where I could rent a speeder for the night?" he asked, avoiding her question.
"Don't be silly. You can use mine. I'll be finished here by around four and then she's all yours."
"I don't want to inconvenience you again, Miss---- Sari," he corrected with a slight blush.
"It's no trouble at all."
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Obi-Wan spent the last hour of the school day sitting in the corner contemplating the current situation he now found himself in. She was remarkable in her talent with the children. Her classroom was run with efficiency, yet she was so warm and caring towards all her students. They all wanted her attention, and he found himself envious when they got it.
'You're a fool, Obi-Wan Kenobi,' he told himself. 'What do you think you're doing? You can't feel this way about someone you've just met, it's not...... it's not the Jedi way... a Jedi craves not these things,' he muttered, trying very hard to convince himself that he believed every word he was saying, when deep down his heart was screaming out for something it had never had before.
Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the missing children and mysterious mountains again. Breathing in a few deep breaths, he felt the Force calm his mind, but despite all his attempts, his heart would simply not cooperate.