The Hidden Truth

Chapter 30: the true meaning of a  hero

**So this is the last chapter of my story. Enjoy it and let me know, what you think of it. Thanks again to my wonderful beta-reader, who suggested this ending. Thank you all for your reviews and feedback!!**

Qui-Gon breathed deeply and gave the signal to walk. The Jedi mingled with the crowd so that they couldn't be recognized as Knights, but every one of them was paying attention to their surroundings. Every one of them was keeping their hand near the lightsabres on their belts. Kyah walked next to Qui-Gon and was a bit concerned about the well-being of the people around her. Jinn seemed to pick up her thoughts and gave her a little reassuring smile. A smile could say more than thousands of words. His smile reflected hope, insecurity, belief, trust and worries. Though she didn't know the Jedi very well, she knew that he was an honest and reliable person and could be considered as a friend. Obi-Wan loved this man and she trusted and worshiped Kenobi. Hesitantly, she smiled back, but it didn't look confident. Det went next to the talkative Mace Windu. Mace also tried to convey tranquillity. He talked -without a pause- of his new spaceliner 2005 and how he hoped that the King hadn't touched it. Garen talked to a good-looking woman and was flirting heavily when they reached the village. The palace was in view. The thick walls of stone were coming nearer and nearer. Qui-Gon touched Kyah's shoulder and whispered,

"once we are in front of the palace, you'll take the lead. You have to speak to Draju and convince him to step down from the throne without a fight. Remember, he can't hurt you or anyone anymore. The Jedi are behind you, and we will protect you. So don't  be afraid. We will deflect the arrows, if we have to. Speak loud enough in order for the whole village to hear you. They have to join us in order to put more pressure on Draju. If it works, his soldiers will lay down their weapons and flee. You can't buy loyalty. You have to gain it through trust."

Kyah's mouth gaped open. Sure, she knew her part, but she was so nervous. He looked at her once again with his penetrating blue eyes and this time gave a confident smile before leaving her side. He strode to Ardnas and informed her of her special part. She had to watch for snipers. She was agile, quick, cunning and the best for this job, but nevertheless a selfish jerk. Her golden eyes were shimmering with anticipation. Jinn looked at each Jedi to make sure that they were taking their positions and was not disappointed. Kyah was standing in front of the gigantic entrance of the palace and her knees were trembling. She looked at the ground and encouraged herself.

"Come' on, you can do it. Stay calm, come' on Ky, you're gonna make it," she said to herself and shrugged her shoulders. Suddenly, King Draju appeared on the top of the wall with his soldiers around him, for he was truly a coward.

"Ah, Kyah, I thought that you learned your lesson—" he was cut off harshly by the girl that was standing 20 meters below the despot.

"Draju, I can smell your fear. Don't even try to pretend that you aren't afraid of me and my people," She said in a very loud voice and tried to arouse interest. Villagers started to peek out of their windows and doors. Draju cocked an eyebrow, but didn't realize what she was trying to do.

"I want you to resign and hand over the power to the rightful heir of the throne…-me!" The soldiers had begun to murmur and looked unsure. The bravest of the villagers had already joined the crowd, followed by other villagers. Then the king raised his right hand and archers started to fire their weapons. The Jedi drew their lightsabres and deflected the arrows easily. Though the rain of arrows was quite thick, nobody was harmed. The crowd felt stronger and more confident. Even when burning arrows were shot into the mass, the Jedi deflected them easily. Draju was clearly shocked and enraged. So, there were more than two Jedi on his planet. Suddenly, his rage gave way to fear and he became frantic and didn't know what to say.

"You know that this brat killed a fellow Jedi?"

"We didn't kill him. Your men tried to murder him. But did you really think that you could kill a Jedi that easily, Draju? Obi-Wan isn't dead," Kyah screamed at the king.

"This is impossible," he yelled back in anger. He had Kenobi's lightsabre. It was a trophy, that was a wonderful eye-catcher, hanging above his throne. Once more he gave a signal to fire, but this time he gave not only the archers a signal to fire, but also someone hidden- a sniper.

****

Anakin was having a hard time dealing with the hyperactive children. They were crying for their parents and making enough noise for a hundred kids. Perspiration streamed down his face as he tried to calm the children down. He was just wondered what Obi-Wan was doing in the med-bay, when the door opened and a fully dressed Knight came out of it.

"Obi-Wan, you should stay in bed. Qui-Gon is going to kill me if he finds out that you stood up. Where is the droid," Anakin said, forgetting the children around him.

"The droid is trying to repair its head again. You know about the dent from the accident. And Qui-Gon doesn't need to know, alright? Remember the story with the socks? If you think that this was cruel, you'd better shut up, understand?" Obi-Wan grinned menacingly.

"Man, how could Qui-Gon live with you for almost thirteen years? I wouldn't survive a week with you, and poor Garen," Anakin teased back. Suddenly Kenobi became more serious.

"I can't lay in my bed and wait for them to return. I have to occupy myself. So I'll help you," the knight said to Qui-Gon's Padawan. He told the children to form a circle on the ground. The kids sat down under the scrutiny of an adult and became silent. Anakin sighed gratefully.

"Alright, now everybody will tell me his or her name. Afterwards we'll play a game and eat, how does that sound," Kenobi said delightedly. The children cheered. The 30-year-old man touched the shoulder of the child sitting next to him and told the girl to start. Then, a noise came out of the med-bay. Anakin sprang to his feet and rushed into it, only to find the severed head of a robot and a mechanical corpse which was trying to find its missing appendage. The corpse was rolling uncontrollably against everything that was in the room.

"Obi-Wan how did you do that," Anakin asked stunned from the infirmary.

"The droid is too trusting. That will teach him not to let a patient help fix the damaged head.

****

The sniper aimed at Kyah's chest and fired the arrow, but the arrow was reflected by a young woman who was rushing to the girl's side. The sniper knew that he was detected and jumped from the roof he was lying on. He never got far because the Jedi stopped him and took care of him before he could flee. More and more people joined the group in front of the palace.

"Draju, give up and nothing will happen to you. Soldiers of Dakona, surrender and the Jedi won't harm you," the teenager announced. Some of the soldiers were leaving. They dropped their weapons and ran to the gate of the palace to surrender. But Draju didn't change his opinion. He stood like a stone on the top of the wall protected by his bodyguards. Burning arrows rained on the group, but the Jedi were quick enough to deflect all of them. But Garen didn't deflect one burning arrow correctly. His Lasersword met the metallic tip of the arrow and hit it like a baseball back into the palace. It flew over the heads of the flabbergasted soldiers and king and landed very unfortunately. It landed on, or to be more precise, in Mace's new spaceliner 2005. Obi-Wan had neglected to shut the small skylight. Thick clouds of smoke rose into the sky. Every soldier left his position and ran full of panic to the gate. But Draju stayed on the top of his palace. He didn't make one move. Coughing soldiers, servants, slaves, children and women opened the gate and rushed outside to safety. Mace peeked into the court in order to see what the source of the smoke was and his heart stopped for a second.

"Jinn, I will kill Obi-Wan for that. Look! My spaceliner, my pride!! It's burning!" Mace was barking at his closest friend in a very un-Jedi like manner. Suddenly, the ship exploded and their was no way to get in the palace anymore. There wasn't a way in, nor a way out. Mace regretted his statement after saying it. Draju climbed down the stairs of his precious castle. He would rather die here than in a prison on another planet. Slowly, he sat down on his throne and waited for the flames to engulf him.

The Jedi stared unbelieving at the gate. They couldn't do anything for the despot. Criminal or not, every life was precious and it hurt to lose one like that. The fuel tanks of the ship were on fire and with the lack of technology on this planet, they couldn't control the flames. Tapestries began to catch fire, then the carpets, the wooden furniture. Draju was the captain of this sinking ship and the captain would never leave his ship; he would rather die with it. The whole palace was burning down, wiping out every life contained within its walls. The stone walls secured the village from the deadly flames and for the first time served as protection.

Kyah turned around and faced the crowd. Her voice was heavy with regret.

"Let the fire stand for a new beginning, the birth of a Republic. The King is dead. I do not want to repeat the pattern of my ancestors. I want to be the first thread in a new tapestry. Something like this shall never happen again. We have to build up a democratic system and to elect our leader. The Birth-right of a king doesn't make him a good leader. A good leader has to be judged by his or her merit."

Everyone was impressed by the girl. She was very wise for her age and juggled her words skilfully. Det went to her side.

"I want to suggest Kyah Tara as our new leader, our first Governor of Dakona V." The people cheered around her. Now she was speechless. She didn't want to make a hasty decision and so went for a walk with Det. The Jedi and the people flew back to the camp, where impatient children were waiting for their parents.

Obi-Wan had slipped back into bed again and tried to fake sleep, but wasn't able to. Anakin had placed the head of the droid next to Obi-Wan's med-cot. The babbling of the robot made Obi-Wan mad.

"Anakin, take the stupid droid's head away," he screamed into the common room of the ship.

"I didn't behead the robot because I loved it!" But Obi-Wan couldn't say anything more because his former Master stepped into the doorframe.

"You did what," Jinn asked calmly. Obi-Wan had to swallow quickly. Even though he wasn't Qui-Gon's Padawan anymore, he still felt intimidated by him.

"Obi-Wan is it not enough that you gave the droid's head a new shape," the Master asked with a smile twitching the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, the droid said,

"Master Jinn, your former apprentice left the bed against my strict orders. That is why he severed my head." Obi-Wan was shocked that the robot told Qui-Gon about it. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was hanging open.

"You metallic snitch," he muttered.

"Master, I couldn't wait here. I had to do something, so I helped Ani look after the children." Obi-Wan had become pale and he was getting sleepy.

"Obi-Wan, you are looking tired. Why don't you take a nap," Jinn said and waved with his hand.

The next day the Jedi were ready to leave. The first Jedi team had already left with a devastated Mace Windu and the lovesick Garen Muln. But Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Ani  wanted to say goodbye to the new elected Governor of Dakona V. Kyah was sitting next to Obi-Wan and told him that she wanted him to be her witness to her marriage. She wore her cherry-red hair loose for the very first time.

"A wedding? Kyah, you are only sixteen years old. That's too young," the Knight told her.

"But I'm not too young to rule a planet. Believe me Det is the right man." She took Det's hand. Det, who was standing next to her, beamed like it was all of the best days of his life combined in to one marvellous day.

"I wish you both all the best! Det, watch after your future wife. You won't meet another woman like her ever again. Your parents would be proud of you both."

"Yes they would! I hate to say goodbye. I want to make it as short as possible. So goodbye Knight Kenobi," Kyah said and kissed Obi-Wan on his cheek. Then she ran out of the room, for tears were glistering behind her green, sparkling eyes.

"Yes, goodbye Obi-Wan. We owe you everything! Now I can admit it. I couldn't stand you at first. I was jealous," Det said in a hushed voice, so that Kyah couldn't hear him.

"Well I couldn't stand you either. I thought that you were a traitor."

"But that was almost true, because I told my sister, who betrayed us. I can't believe it, you know. Her treason resulted in her death…" Now Det blinked back his own tears .

"So goodbye Obi-Wan ,but I won't kiss you!" The boyish voice was back again.

"A handshake will do fine, my friend!" So Obi-Wan stretched his healthy arm and shook Det's hand, then Bignis went and said his good-bys to Qui-Gon and Anakin. A few minutes later, the engines roared and they departed. Obi-Wan leaned his head against his soft pillow. So much had happened in his young life. Bandomeer, Xanatos, Bruck, New Apsolon, Tahl, Naboo and now Dakona V. His emotions were crashing down on him and threatening to sweep him away completely. Suddenly, he felt that this was the right time to speak about Naboo to his Master. Ani wouldn't understand, not yet. The boy would understand only with time and training. He called Qui-Gon over their bond.

"Qui-Gon, I have to tell you something," he said as soon as Qui-Gon came in to the room.

"What is it? You are sounding so serious."

And, for the first time since the fateful day of the Battle of Naboo, Obi-Wan finally told him all.

Ende