First Knight - Part Thirty
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Once the Jedi had been taken away, Douro clipped the lightsaber to the belt about his waist. He left his tent and went to Sinja-Bau's. He had given her some ale to calm her down after her encounter with the Jedi. Now, as he entered her tent, he saw she was lying as he had left her on the bed, her eyes closed. He looked down at her. Ever since he had first seen her, ranting and raving in the square in the capital city of Lianna, he had been enthralled with her. Not in the way a man is when he is in love with a woman. No, it was nothing like that. He had been captivated by the intense fear and wonder she had generated in him.
"Sinja-Bau," he called to her.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Is he the one?" he asked. "Is he the one you've spoken of?"
"Who?" she asked.
Douro frowned. He hated when this happened. Sometimes the brain fever would leave her and she would be like anyone else. Calm, rational, sane; no longer possessed by the internal demons who spoke to her and told her of things that were to come.
"The Jedi. The one that frightened you."
She sat up. "Jedi? There's a Jedi here? Where?"
"He's in the storage shed. Is he the one, Sinja-Bau?"
Sinja-Bau pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and pressed it.
"I...I don't know. So much in my mind. So many things. Voices. Visions. No, I don't know any Jedi. Not anymore."
Douro showed her the lightsaber. "He was wearing this."
Sinja-Bau ran her fingers over it.
"I've seen one like this. Similar, but different. Long ago." Then a soft smile appeared on her face. "Blue eyes. Big, strong hands. Long, brown hair. Yes, long ago."
Douro frowned. He laid the lightsaber on the bed. Taking her by the shoulders he shook her hard.
"Is he the one?" he shouted. "Is the Jedi the dark one?"
The destruction of the Jedi Order had not much interested or concerned Douro. But this dark one she was always ranting about, that had interested him. He needed to know if the Jedi they had captured was the one she had spoken of. Sinja-Bau cried out as he gripped her shoulders hard.
"I don't know of what you speak," she cried. "I don't know any Jedi. Not anymore."
Douro released her shoulders and angrily showed her the pendant. He opened it and pressed the bottom.
"What about them? Do you know them?"
Sinja-Bau stared at the image of the dark-haired woman and her baby. Suddenly, her eyes regained their delirious, insane glimmer. Her mouth fell open and she gazed rapturously at the image.
"The Mother of the Light," she whispered.
"What?"
"Where did you get this?" she asked him.
"From the Jedi. The one you don't claim to remember."
"The one who was in my tent?"
Douro nodded. Finally she was back to her old self. "Yes. You called him the dark one."
He was surprised to see her shrug.
"Might have been wrong. Yes," she said nodding fiercely as she gazed hungrily at the holographic image, her voice low as if she were talking to herself. "Might have been wrong. This pendant belongs to him?"
"Yes," Douro said, his irritation with her growing. "So who is he?"
Sinja-Bau took the pendant from Douro's hand. She peered at the image of the woman and the child.
"Might have been wrong. Yes, might have been wrong," she murmured. "Things are jumbled. Like a book whose pages have been rearranged. Something happened to change everything. Darkness will still come, but Light will be stronger, fiercer, burn brighter. Don't understand it. Not yet. But with time, clearer it will become."
"Bah!" Douro snarled, finally fed up with her.
He hated when she got confused like this. It had been happening a lot the past few months. She'd say one thing, then contradict it in the next breath. Actually, he was beginning to tire of her. When he got back to Lianna he was going to throw her back into the gutter where he had found her. Or, perhaps, he'd just leave her on this ball of ice.
He made to leave, then saw she still had the pendant. He was about to take it from her, then changed his mind. He had the Jedi's weapon. Let her keep his worthless keepsake. He turned and left her as she continued to stare crazily at the hologram. As he made his way back to his tent, he narrowed his eyes against the wind. Yes, he would leave her here. Leave her here with the corpse of that Jedi.
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Obi-Wan looked up as the door to the storage shed opened. The cold wind blew in, blasting in gusts of snow. Then his eyes widened when he saw who it was. Sinja-Bau pushed the door shut behind her. She was dressed in work- clothes of tunic and pants, along with a pair of heavy boots and the hooded fur coat he had seen her wearing earlier. She looked over at the man who was guarding Obi-Wan. He stared back at her, his jaw slack. Then Sinja-Bau smiled slyly.
"Konar has a jug of ale with him outside."
"Ale?" the man cried. "How comes he gets ale and I don't?"
Sinja-Bau shrugged her shoulders.
The man stood, his face twisted with anger. "He don't rate no more than me. I work just as hard as he does."
He made for the door, then turned to Sinja-Bau, pointing at Obi-Wan.
"Keep an eye on him. I'll be right back."
He opened the door and stepped outside, closing it behind him. Sinja-Bau hurried over. She knelt close to Obi-Wan, her breath frosting on the air. She gently put her hand on his bruised face.
"Forgive me," she whispered. "You're not the one. In my visions, dark he is, the slayer of the Light, but his face I never see. But now I know. Now I see. You are not him. But, things have changed. I can feel it. The river that is the future, new tributaries it has found." Then she frowned as she tilted her face. "Familiar you look. Long ago, perhaps?" She fingered his beard. "No beard then, I think. But the eyes...the color..."
Her fingers gently touched Obi-Wan around his swollen eyes and, for a moment, he saw again that flame of recognition in her gaze. Then it was replaced by the fever of her madness. She lifted her hand and Obi-Wan saw she was holding his pendant. With shaking fingers she opened it and pressed the bottom. Onara and Ben's image floated in front of her.
"This woman?" she asked eagerly, her eyes filled with a wild light. "Do you know her?"
Obi-Wan nodded slowly.
"The child is hers?"
"Yes, and mine. He's my son."
"Ah," Sinja-Bau said, nodding. She gazed at the image for a long moment. Then she looked back at Obi-Wan.
"I must see her. Will you," then she stopped, her voice nearly breaking,"...will you take me to her?"
Obi-Wan stared dazedly at her, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Yes," he finally said through his split lips, his voice throbbing. "That is why I came here, Sinja-Bau. To take you to her."
The woman nodded. "Good, good, yes, that is good. Need to see her. Must see her."
Sinja-Bau leaned over and put the pendant around Obi-Wan's neck.
"Thank you," he told her. "But, if you want me to take you to her, I need to get out of these manacles.
Sinja-Bau suddenly giggled, the sound sweet and young.
"Wait, just wait," she went on sniggling.
Obi-Wan stared at her, then he heard a sound from outside as if two heavy objects were falling against the metal walls of the shed. Sinja-Bau patted his arm as she got up. She ran to the door and opened it, kneeling over what looked like a huge dark shape on the ground. She moved around the shape, then rose and scurried back to Obi-Wan.
In her hand was a slipkey. She slid it into the manacles. They tumbled from about Obi-Wan's wrists. He was still tied to the machine, but Sinja-Bau hunted about the shed until she found a vibro-cutter. She quickly cut the ropes from around him.
"Come, come, quick, must get them in," she cried slipping the vibro-cutter into a pocket of her tunic. She hurried over to the entrance of the shed.
Obi-Wan joined her and saw that the two guards, a jug of ale, its bronze colored liquid spilling into the white snow between them, were lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. Sinja-Bau bent down and grabbed one by the shoulders, grunting as she struggled to drag him in. Obi-Wan touched her, indicating she should step away. She did so and he quickly dragged both men into the shed, closing the door behind him.
"Should we tie them up?" Obi-Wan asked.
Sinja Bau shook her head. "Not needed. Both drank enough knock-out juice that for hours and hours they will sleep." She winked at Obi-Wan and, leaning over, whispered, to him. "Filched it from the infirmary on the harvester. Put it in the ale. Clever, aren't I?"
Obi-Wan nodded. Then, as he was about to head for the door, he felt her hand on his arm.
"My brother, I see that you are injured. Let me help you."
Obi-Wan gasped as he looked over at her. Sinja-Bau was standing, tall and straight, her blue-green eyes clear and sane, like the eyes in her holopicture at the Temple.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, correct?" she asked, her voice strong and warm, full of both sanity and lucidity. "You were apprentice to Qui-Gon Jinn but no longer, I suspect."
Obi-Wan could only nod, too astonished at her transformation.
"Sometimes..." and Sinja-Bau swallowed heavily, her throat working, "...sometimes the winds of the madness die away, like the eye of a storm passing through my mind and I remember. I remember who I was, I remember all I did, I remember everything. However, the calm does not last for long and the storm soon returns and I forget. Therefore, we must hurry. You must be healed of your injuries. Kneel down."
Obi-Wan did so. Sinja-Bau stood in front of him. She gently pressed her hands on his shoulder.
"You will have to heal yourself, Obi-Wan. I can not do it for you, but I can instruct you as to what you must do. Now, close your eyes and call upon the Force."
Obi-Wan did so and, her voice as smooth and cool as the inside of a seashell, Sinja-Bau instructed him on how to use the Force to heal the injuries about his head and face; the cuts, the bruises, the swelling, and the pain he had managed to disconnect himself from but that was taking all his strength to do so. The tendrils of the Force, as Obi-Wan directed it, based upon the instructions she gave him, moved smoothly through the muscles and the veins and the flesh of his face, healing, mending, repairing.
Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes once Sinja-Bau's soft, melodious voice died away. He reached up and gingerly touched his face. His lips were healed and the swelling had disappeared from around his eyes. There were still some minor cuts and a few small bruises on his face, but the pain was gone and he also felt refreshed, strength pouring through him like sunlight breaking through clouds. He looked up at Sinja-Bau and was about to thank her, but was dismayed to see the madness once again swirling in her eyes.
"Come, we must go. The Mother of Light. Yes, yes, see her I must. Hurry. Hurry. Before he finds us," she cried, her shoulders hunched as she scuttled to the door.
Obi-Wan rose from his knees and followed her out into the darkness and cold. The wind was howling and, without the animal wraps the Whiphids had given him, it seemed to cut through his flesh. But he ignored it. The important thing was for him and Sinja-Bau to get away.
However, he recalled Douro's earlier comments about Zaka. Obi-Wan wondered if Douro had searched as far as the cave where the snow-speeder was hidden. Either Zaka was at the cave or he had gone back to the Whiphid camp. Either way, Obi-Wan had to find some kind of transportation. Even if they made for the cave, he wasn't sure Sinja-Bau could make it that far.
With the two men now unconscious in the shed, that left seven, including Douro. Obi-Wan wondered if perhaps he should risk stealing one of their speeders. He was about to tell Sinja-Bau of his plan when his senses alerted him. He barely had enough time to push her to the ground when he felt the hot hiss of a blaster bolt whizzing past his ear.
Obi-Wan's instinct was to cover Sinja-Bau with his body, but he needed to see where the blaster fire was coming from. He rolled away from her and saw Douro running towards Sinja-Bau where she was rising slowly from the ground. Obi-Wan raised his hands and pushed at Douro with the Force. He was surprised when Douro reacted as if someone had only nudged him. He kept coming, his blaster aimed at Sinja-Bau.
"Traitorous whore," he cried. "Now your corpse will rot along with the Jedi's."
"No," Obi-Wan shouted as he Force-raced towards Douro.
The Arkanian turned and fired at him, but Obi-Wan was moving so fast he easily avoided the bolt. He slammed into Douro and they both crashed onto the ground, rolling across the snow. As they grappled for the blaster, Obi- Wan felt his lightsaber, where it was attached to Douro's belt, digging into his side.
His grip still clasped around the blaster in Douro's hands and, pinned as he was under the Arkanian's weight, Obi-Wan managed to push his knee hard into Douro's stomach. Douro grunted, but didn't move off him. Obi-Wan remembered the Arkanians' fabled stamina. They continued struggling for the blaster, both men breathing heavily and grunting deeply. With a loud cry, Obi-Wan gathered his strength and pushed Douro off him, risking his hold on the blaster, but needing to get to his lightsaber.
Douro rolled across the ground. Then, as Douro leapt to his feet, his blaster raised, Obi-Wan saw his lightsaber lying amid the snow. However, when he tried to pull it to him with the Force, he saw out of the corner of his eye Sinja-Bau running towards Douro, the vibro-cutter she had used to free him in her hand. Douro looked over at her, his white eyes narrowing with malice. He aimed the blaster at her.
Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber. It flew to his hand. He ignited it and ran towards Douro. He saw Douro squeezing the trigger. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber hard and, as Douro's head flew from his shoulders and landed on the ground, his fingers must have been in the process of squeezing the trigger because the blaster fired even as his headless body crumpled to the ground. Sinja-Bau cried out, dropping the vibro-cutter as she collapsed in a heap.
"Sinja-Bau!"
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and ran over to her. He knelt down, his heart pounding. He checked her pulse. She was still alive. The blaster bolt had only struck her in the shoulder.
"Sinja-Bau," he said softly.
"All right," she gasped as she opened her eyes and looked up at him, but Obi-Wan could clearly see she was in great pain. "All right. Just take me to her. I must see her."
"You will see her, Sinja-Bau," Obi-Wan said. "I will take you to her. I promise."
Then, at the sound of running feet, he quickly rose and turned, lightsaber blazing. The rest of Douro's men, having heard the blaster fire and the shouts, now surrounded him, some with their weapons drawn. They looked over to where Douro's head and lifeless body were strewn about the ground, then back at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan gripped his lightsaber, the blood pounding in his ears.
"I swear," he shouted, his eyes burning. "If any one of you tries to thwart me from leaving with this woman, his head will be lying on the ground next to Douro's!"
The men stared at Obi-Wan. Then one of them, a big, burly man with bright red hair, stepped forward. He slowly put his blaster back into his holster as he approached Obi-Wan, hands raised.
"Name's Gobind, Master Jedi. Look, we don't want no trouble. If you want to leave with Sinja-Bau, that's fine with me. We signed on with Douro to make some money, that's all." He gestured over at the Arkanian's headless body. "That one was nothing but bad news. Right, men?"
He looked around at the men. All nodded in agreement. Gobind turned back to Obi-Wan.
"We just signed on to make some money, that's all," he repeated earnestly. "Then when we gets here, Douro starts making us call him lord and master and crap like that. Then we finds out that when he was last here he stirred the Whiphids up by killing their women and young ones. I swear, we had nothing to do with that. Was a different crew that did that. We're just here to make some money, that's all. Once we were done, we just want to leave. We don't want no trouble."
"If that is true," Obi-Wan said in a clipped, firm voice, his lightsaber humming above the whining of the wind, "then I can assure you, you won't be getting any trouble from me. Therefore, do we understand each other?"
Gobind nodded quickly. "Sure, sure, Master Jedi. Actually, you did us all a favor, taking Douro out like that. Crazy as a myrstal, that one was. Right, men?"
The men all nodded again and Obi-Wan was relieved to see that the ones who had drawn blasters were now replacing them in their holsters. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber. He clipped it to his belt and knelt next to Sinja-Bau. She was moaning softly. He bent down and, lifting her in his arms, turned back to Gobind.
"I need to treat her injury."
"This way," Gobind said, pointing to his left. "There's an infirmary on the harvester. I'll take you there."
Obi-Wan nodded and followed him.
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Obi-Wan was just finishing wrapping a bacta bandage around Sinja-Bau's wound when he heard a commotion coming from outside the harvester. He unclipped his lightsaber.
"Wait here," he told her. She nodded at him, her eyes wide.
Obi-Wan ran outside. At first he couldn't see what was happening because the wind had picked up even more, blowing snow both left and right. Then he heard a familiar voice.
"Where is he, ya motherless pack of mongrels! I'll blast the lot of ya to hell and back if ya don't show him to me right now!"
Obi-Wan ran through the blistering, blinding wind to the source of that voice. He came upon Auna, standing upright in a snow speeder, all four of her hands holding a blaster. Her lovely face was twisted with rage as she gestured with her weapons at the men surrounding the snow speeder. Zaka was with her. He was sitting calmly in the passener's seat of the speeder, apparently oblivious to what was happening. Obi-Wan quickly pushed his way through the crowd of men who, understandably, had their own blasters drawn but, thankfully, had not fired.
"Auna, I'm here. Lower your weapons."
"Master Kenobi," Auna cried out, her face splitting into a wide smile. Then she saw the remaining cuts and bruises on his face.
"Ah, they've hurt ya, Master Kenobi," she said fiercely, gesturing with her blasters at the crowd.
"I'm fine, Auna. Now, please, lower your weapons. It's all right. I'll explain what happened."
Auna looked at Obi-Wan for a moment, then back at the crowd. She slowly holstered her blasters. Obi-Wan turned to the men.
"It's all right. She's with me."
"What about the Whiphid?" one of the men shouted. "Maybe he's here for revenge."
"He's not," Obi-Wan said quickly. "He's my translator. I will personally vouch for his conduct while he's here."
The men murmured and grumbled among themselves for a moment but, finally, put their blasters away and made their way back to their tents. Obi-Wan walked over to the speeder, clipping his lightsaber back on his belt. Auna and Zaka climbed out of the speeder. Auna threw her arms around Obi-Wan and gave him a nearly bone-crushing hug. She stepped back, smiling.
"I was sure I was gonna find ya hung and quartered, Master Kenobi. When Zaka came back to camp and said ya had been captured by Douro, I truly thought that was the end of ya."
"Well, as you can see I'm here. Alive and well."
"And Douro?"
Obi-Wan's smile slipped away. He swallowed and briefly looked away from Auna.
"He's dead," he said quietly.
"Ah, I see," Auna said. She and Zaka exchanged a look. "Let's get out of this wind. My bones are freezing."
"This way," Obi-Wan told her. "I was in the infirmary on the harvester. Treating Sinja-Bau."
"So ya found her?" Auna said as they walked across the snow. "Is she willing to help ya lady love?"
"I think so," Obi-Wan said as he opened the door to the harvester and the three stepped in. "I'll tell you everything later."
They walked down the corridor and, as Obi-Wan turned into the infirmary, he saw that Sinja-Bau had gotten off the table where he had been treating her. She had put her tunic back on and was now peering closely at what looked like a medscanner. Obi-Wan's heart turned over. He could see that somewhere deep within the tumult of her madness she probably recognized the instrument, but it lay buried too deep to make its way to the surface of her awareness.
"Sinja-Bau," Obi-Wan called to her.
She jerked her head up looking, for a moment, like a child caught playing with something she had been forbidden to touch.
"These are my friends," Obi-Wan said softly as he gestured towards Auna and Zaka.
Sinja-Bau put the medscanner down on a counter and walked over to the Whiphid and Cordu-Ji.
"Friends of the Mother of the Light, are you?"
Auna looked over at Obi-Wan, her violet eyes perplexed.
"It's what she calls Onara," he explained.
Auna nodded and looked back at Sinja-Bau. "Yeah, sure, we're her friends. Are ya a friend of hers?"
Obi-Wan frowned at Auna's question, but was surprised to see Sinja-Bau nodding eagerly.
"Friend, yes. But will be much more, yes, much more."
Auna gave Obi-Wan another confused look, but he slightly shook his head, indicating it was best for her not to try and understand Sinja-Bau's ravings.
"What about the ship, Auna?," he asked her. "Is she ready to fly? I'll want to leave Toola as soon as possible."
"Oh, yeah, Master Kenobi. She's more than ready. Some of these Whiphids are pretty handy with the tools once ya show them what to do. Just need to take care of a few more things when we get back to camp, but we'll be ready to go in two shakes of a luma's tail."
"Good," Obi-Wan said.
He turned and went over to Sinja-Bau, taking her gently by the arm.
"It's time to go, Sinja Bau," he said softly. "Is there anything you'd like to bring with you?"
"No, no, nothing. Time to go. Yes, time to go." Then she reached up and placed her hand alongside Obi-Wan's face.
"The future awaits us," she whispered.
Obi-Wan glanced at Auna and saw she was rolling her eyes. He frowned at her. She shrugged, then turned and led him, Zaka and Sinja-Bau out of the harvester.
To be continued...
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Once the Jedi had been taken away, Douro clipped the lightsaber to the belt about his waist. He left his tent and went to Sinja-Bau's. He had given her some ale to calm her down after her encounter with the Jedi. Now, as he entered her tent, he saw she was lying as he had left her on the bed, her eyes closed. He looked down at her. Ever since he had first seen her, ranting and raving in the square in the capital city of Lianna, he had been enthralled with her. Not in the way a man is when he is in love with a woman. No, it was nothing like that. He had been captivated by the intense fear and wonder she had generated in him.
"Sinja-Bau," he called to her.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Is he the one?" he asked. "Is he the one you've spoken of?"
"Who?" she asked.
Douro frowned. He hated when this happened. Sometimes the brain fever would leave her and she would be like anyone else. Calm, rational, sane; no longer possessed by the internal demons who spoke to her and told her of things that were to come.
"The Jedi. The one that frightened you."
She sat up. "Jedi? There's a Jedi here? Where?"
"He's in the storage shed. Is he the one, Sinja-Bau?"
Sinja-Bau pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and pressed it.
"I...I don't know. So much in my mind. So many things. Voices. Visions. No, I don't know any Jedi. Not anymore."
Douro showed her the lightsaber. "He was wearing this."
Sinja-Bau ran her fingers over it.
"I've seen one like this. Similar, but different. Long ago." Then a soft smile appeared on her face. "Blue eyes. Big, strong hands. Long, brown hair. Yes, long ago."
Douro frowned. He laid the lightsaber on the bed. Taking her by the shoulders he shook her hard.
"Is he the one?" he shouted. "Is the Jedi the dark one?"
The destruction of the Jedi Order had not much interested or concerned Douro. But this dark one she was always ranting about, that had interested him. He needed to know if the Jedi they had captured was the one she had spoken of. Sinja-Bau cried out as he gripped her shoulders hard.
"I don't know of what you speak," she cried. "I don't know any Jedi. Not anymore."
Douro released her shoulders and angrily showed her the pendant. He opened it and pressed the bottom.
"What about them? Do you know them?"
Sinja-Bau stared at the image of the dark-haired woman and her baby. Suddenly, her eyes regained their delirious, insane glimmer. Her mouth fell open and she gazed rapturously at the image.
"The Mother of the Light," she whispered.
"What?"
"Where did you get this?" she asked him.
"From the Jedi. The one you don't claim to remember."
"The one who was in my tent?"
Douro nodded. Finally she was back to her old self. "Yes. You called him the dark one."
He was surprised to see her shrug.
"Might have been wrong. Yes," she said nodding fiercely as she gazed hungrily at the holographic image, her voice low as if she were talking to herself. "Might have been wrong. This pendant belongs to him?"
"Yes," Douro said, his irritation with her growing. "So who is he?"
Sinja-Bau took the pendant from Douro's hand. She peered at the image of the woman and the child.
"Might have been wrong. Yes, might have been wrong," she murmured. "Things are jumbled. Like a book whose pages have been rearranged. Something happened to change everything. Darkness will still come, but Light will be stronger, fiercer, burn brighter. Don't understand it. Not yet. But with time, clearer it will become."
"Bah!" Douro snarled, finally fed up with her.
He hated when she got confused like this. It had been happening a lot the past few months. She'd say one thing, then contradict it in the next breath. Actually, he was beginning to tire of her. When he got back to Lianna he was going to throw her back into the gutter where he had found her. Or, perhaps, he'd just leave her on this ball of ice.
He made to leave, then saw she still had the pendant. He was about to take it from her, then changed his mind. He had the Jedi's weapon. Let her keep his worthless keepsake. He turned and left her as she continued to stare crazily at the hologram. As he made his way back to his tent, he narrowed his eyes against the wind. Yes, he would leave her here. Leave her here with the corpse of that Jedi.
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Obi-Wan looked up as the door to the storage shed opened. The cold wind blew in, blasting in gusts of snow. Then his eyes widened when he saw who it was. Sinja-Bau pushed the door shut behind her. She was dressed in work- clothes of tunic and pants, along with a pair of heavy boots and the hooded fur coat he had seen her wearing earlier. She looked over at the man who was guarding Obi-Wan. He stared back at her, his jaw slack. Then Sinja-Bau smiled slyly.
"Konar has a jug of ale with him outside."
"Ale?" the man cried. "How comes he gets ale and I don't?"
Sinja-Bau shrugged her shoulders.
The man stood, his face twisted with anger. "He don't rate no more than me. I work just as hard as he does."
He made for the door, then turned to Sinja-Bau, pointing at Obi-Wan.
"Keep an eye on him. I'll be right back."
He opened the door and stepped outside, closing it behind him. Sinja-Bau hurried over. She knelt close to Obi-Wan, her breath frosting on the air. She gently put her hand on his bruised face.
"Forgive me," she whispered. "You're not the one. In my visions, dark he is, the slayer of the Light, but his face I never see. But now I know. Now I see. You are not him. But, things have changed. I can feel it. The river that is the future, new tributaries it has found." Then she frowned as she tilted her face. "Familiar you look. Long ago, perhaps?" She fingered his beard. "No beard then, I think. But the eyes...the color..."
Her fingers gently touched Obi-Wan around his swollen eyes and, for a moment, he saw again that flame of recognition in her gaze. Then it was replaced by the fever of her madness. She lifted her hand and Obi-Wan saw she was holding his pendant. With shaking fingers she opened it and pressed the bottom. Onara and Ben's image floated in front of her.
"This woman?" she asked eagerly, her eyes filled with a wild light. "Do you know her?"
Obi-Wan nodded slowly.
"The child is hers?"
"Yes, and mine. He's my son."
"Ah," Sinja-Bau said, nodding. She gazed at the image for a long moment. Then she looked back at Obi-Wan.
"I must see her. Will you," then she stopped, her voice nearly breaking,"...will you take me to her?"
Obi-Wan stared dazedly at her, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Yes," he finally said through his split lips, his voice throbbing. "That is why I came here, Sinja-Bau. To take you to her."
The woman nodded. "Good, good, yes, that is good. Need to see her. Must see her."
Sinja-Bau leaned over and put the pendant around Obi-Wan's neck.
"Thank you," he told her. "But, if you want me to take you to her, I need to get out of these manacles.
Sinja-Bau suddenly giggled, the sound sweet and young.
"Wait, just wait," she went on sniggling.
Obi-Wan stared at her, then he heard a sound from outside as if two heavy objects were falling against the metal walls of the shed. Sinja-Bau patted his arm as she got up. She ran to the door and opened it, kneeling over what looked like a huge dark shape on the ground. She moved around the shape, then rose and scurried back to Obi-Wan.
In her hand was a slipkey. She slid it into the manacles. They tumbled from about Obi-Wan's wrists. He was still tied to the machine, but Sinja-Bau hunted about the shed until she found a vibro-cutter. She quickly cut the ropes from around him.
"Come, come, quick, must get them in," she cried slipping the vibro-cutter into a pocket of her tunic. She hurried over to the entrance of the shed.
Obi-Wan joined her and saw that the two guards, a jug of ale, its bronze colored liquid spilling into the white snow between them, were lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. Sinja-Bau bent down and grabbed one by the shoulders, grunting as she struggled to drag him in. Obi-Wan touched her, indicating she should step away. She did so and he quickly dragged both men into the shed, closing the door behind him.
"Should we tie them up?" Obi-Wan asked.
Sinja Bau shook her head. "Not needed. Both drank enough knock-out juice that for hours and hours they will sleep." She winked at Obi-Wan and, leaning over, whispered, to him. "Filched it from the infirmary on the harvester. Put it in the ale. Clever, aren't I?"
Obi-Wan nodded. Then, as he was about to head for the door, he felt her hand on his arm.
"My brother, I see that you are injured. Let me help you."
Obi-Wan gasped as he looked over at her. Sinja-Bau was standing, tall and straight, her blue-green eyes clear and sane, like the eyes in her holopicture at the Temple.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, correct?" she asked, her voice strong and warm, full of both sanity and lucidity. "You were apprentice to Qui-Gon Jinn but no longer, I suspect."
Obi-Wan could only nod, too astonished at her transformation.
"Sometimes..." and Sinja-Bau swallowed heavily, her throat working, "...sometimes the winds of the madness die away, like the eye of a storm passing through my mind and I remember. I remember who I was, I remember all I did, I remember everything. However, the calm does not last for long and the storm soon returns and I forget. Therefore, we must hurry. You must be healed of your injuries. Kneel down."
Obi-Wan did so. Sinja-Bau stood in front of him. She gently pressed her hands on his shoulder.
"You will have to heal yourself, Obi-Wan. I can not do it for you, but I can instruct you as to what you must do. Now, close your eyes and call upon the Force."
Obi-Wan did so and, her voice as smooth and cool as the inside of a seashell, Sinja-Bau instructed him on how to use the Force to heal the injuries about his head and face; the cuts, the bruises, the swelling, and the pain he had managed to disconnect himself from but that was taking all his strength to do so. The tendrils of the Force, as Obi-Wan directed it, based upon the instructions she gave him, moved smoothly through the muscles and the veins and the flesh of his face, healing, mending, repairing.
Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes once Sinja-Bau's soft, melodious voice died away. He reached up and gingerly touched his face. His lips were healed and the swelling had disappeared from around his eyes. There were still some minor cuts and a few small bruises on his face, but the pain was gone and he also felt refreshed, strength pouring through him like sunlight breaking through clouds. He looked up at Sinja-Bau and was about to thank her, but was dismayed to see the madness once again swirling in her eyes.
"Come, we must go. The Mother of Light. Yes, yes, see her I must. Hurry. Hurry. Before he finds us," she cried, her shoulders hunched as she scuttled to the door.
Obi-Wan rose from his knees and followed her out into the darkness and cold. The wind was howling and, without the animal wraps the Whiphids had given him, it seemed to cut through his flesh. But he ignored it. The important thing was for him and Sinja-Bau to get away.
However, he recalled Douro's earlier comments about Zaka. Obi-Wan wondered if Douro had searched as far as the cave where the snow-speeder was hidden. Either Zaka was at the cave or he had gone back to the Whiphid camp. Either way, Obi-Wan had to find some kind of transportation. Even if they made for the cave, he wasn't sure Sinja-Bau could make it that far.
With the two men now unconscious in the shed, that left seven, including Douro. Obi-Wan wondered if perhaps he should risk stealing one of their speeders. He was about to tell Sinja-Bau of his plan when his senses alerted him. He barely had enough time to push her to the ground when he felt the hot hiss of a blaster bolt whizzing past his ear.
Obi-Wan's instinct was to cover Sinja-Bau with his body, but he needed to see where the blaster fire was coming from. He rolled away from her and saw Douro running towards Sinja-Bau where she was rising slowly from the ground. Obi-Wan raised his hands and pushed at Douro with the Force. He was surprised when Douro reacted as if someone had only nudged him. He kept coming, his blaster aimed at Sinja-Bau.
"Traitorous whore," he cried. "Now your corpse will rot along with the Jedi's."
"No," Obi-Wan shouted as he Force-raced towards Douro.
The Arkanian turned and fired at him, but Obi-Wan was moving so fast he easily avoided the bolt. He slammed into Douro and they both crashed onto the ground, rolling across the snow. As they grappled for the blaster, Obi- Wan felt his lightsaber, where it was attached to Douro's belt, digging into his side.
His grip still clasped around the blaster in Douro's hands and, pinned as he was under the Arkanian's weight, Obi-Wan managed to push his knee hard into Douro's stomach. Douro grunted, but didn't move off him. Obi-Wan remembered the Arkanians' fabled stamina. They continued struggling for the blaster, both men breathing heavily and grunting deeply. With a loud cry, Obi-Wan gathered his strength and pushed Douro off him, risking his hold on the blaster, but needing to get to his lightsaber.
Douro rolled across the ground. Then, as Douro leapt to his feet, his blaster raised, Obi-Wan saw his lightsaber lying amid the snow. However, when he tried to pull it to him with the Force, he saw out of the corner of his eye Sinja-Bau running towards Douro, the vibro-cutter she had used to free him in her hand. Douro looked over at her, his white eyes narrowing with malice. He aimed the blaster at her.
Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber. It flew to his hand. He ignited it and ran towards Douro. He saw Douro squeezing the trigger. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber hard and, as Douro's head flew from his shoulders and landed on the ground, his fingers must have been in the process of squeezing the trigger because the blaster fired even as his headless body crumpled to the ground. Sinja-Bau cried out, dropping the vibro-cutter as she collapsed in a heap.
"Sinja-Bau!"
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and ran over to her. He knelt down, his heart pounding. He checked her pulse. She was still alive. The blaster bolt had only struck her in the shoulder.
"Sinja-Bau," he said softly.
"All right," she gasped as she opened her eyes and looked up at him, but Obi-Wan could clearly see she was in great pain. "All right. Just take me to her. I must see her."
"You will see her, Sinja-Bau," Obi-Wan said. "I will take you to her. I promise."
Then, at the sound of running feet, he quickly rose and turned, lightsaber blazing. The rest of Douro's men, having heard the blaster fire and the shouts, now surrounded him, some with their weapons drawn. They looked over to where Douro's head and lifeless body were strewn about the ground, then back at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan gripped his lightsaber, the blood pounding in his ears.
"I swear," he shouted, his eyes burning. "If any one of you tries to thwart me from leaving with this woman, his head will be lying on the ground next to Douro's!"
The men stared at Obi-Wan. Then one of them, a big, burly man with bright red hair, stepped forward. He slowly put his blaster back into his holster as he approached Obi-Wan, hands raised.
"Name's Gobind, Master Jedi. Look, we don't want no trouble. If you want to leave with Sinja-Bau, that's fine with me. We signed on with Douro to make some money, that's all." He gestured over at the Arkanian's headless body. "That one was nothing but bad news. Right, men?"
He looked around at the men. All nodded in agreement. Gobind turned back to Obi-Wan.
"We just signed on to make some money, that's all," he repeated earnestly. "Then when we gets here, Douro starts making us call him lord and master and crap like that. Then we finds out that when he was last here he stirred the Whiphids up by killing their women and young ones. I swear, we had nothing to do with that. Was a different crew that did that. We're just here to make some money, that's all. Once we were done, we just want to leave. We don't want no trouble."
"If that is true," Obi-Wan said in a clipped, firm voice, his lightsaber humming above the whining of the wind, "then I can assure you, you won't be getting any trouble from me. Therefore, do we understand each other?"
Gobind nodded quickly. "Sure, sure, Master Jedi. Actually, you did us all a favor, taking Douro out like that. Crazy as a myrstal, that one was. Right, men?"
The men all nodded again and Obi-Wan was relieved to see that the ones who had drawn blasters were now replacing them in their holsters. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber. He clipped it to his belt and knelt next to Sinja-Bau. She was moaning softly. He bent down and, lifting her in his arms, turned back to Gobind.
"I need to treat her injury."
"This way," Gobind said, pointing to his left. "There's an infirmary on the harvester. I'll take you there."
Obi-Wan nodded and followed him.
---------------
Obi-Wan was just finishing wrapping a bacta bandage around Sinja-Bau's wound when he heard a commotion coming from outside the harvester. He unclipped his lightsaber.
"Wait here," he told her. She nodded at him, her eyes wide.
Obi-Wan ran outside. At first he couldn't see what was happening because the wind had picked up even more, blowing snow both left and right. Then he heard a familiar voice.
"Where is he, ya motherless pack of mongrels! I'll blast the lot of ya to hell and back if ya don't show him to me right now!"
Obi-Wan ran through the blistering, blinding wind to the source of that voice. He came upon Auna, standing upright in a snow speeder, all four of her hands holding a blaster. Her lovely face was twisted with rage as she gestured with her weapons at the men surrounding the snow speeder. Zaka was with her. He was sitting calmly in the passener's seat of the speeder, apparently oblivious to what was happening. Obi-Wan quickly pushed his way through the crowd of men who, understandably, had their own blasters drawn but, thankfully, had not fired.
"Auna, I'm here. Lower your weapons."
"Master Kenobi," Auna cried out, her face splitting into a wide smile. Then she saw the remaining cuts and bruises on his face.
"Ah, they've hurt ya, Master Kenobi," she said fiercely, gesturing with her blasters at the crowd.
"I'm fine, Auna. Now, please, lower your weapons. It's all right. I'll explain what happened."
Auna looked at Obi-Wan for a moment, then back at the crowd. She slowly holstered her blasters. Obi-Wan turned to the men.
"It's all right. She's with me."
"What about the Whiphid?" one of the men shouted. "Maybe he's here for revenge."
"He's not," Obi-Wan said quickly. "He's my translator. I will personally vouch for his conduct while he's here."
The men murmured and grumbled among themselves for a moment but, finally, put their blasters away and made their way back to their tents. Obi-Wan walked over to the speeder, clipping his lightsaber back on his belt. Auna and Zaka climbed out of the speeder. Auna threw her arms around Obi-Wan and gave him a nearly bone-crushing hug. She stepped back, smiling.
"I was sure I was gonna find ya hung and quartered, Master Kenobi. When Zaka came back to camp and said ya had been captured by Douro, I truly thought that was the end of ya."
"Well, as you can see I'm here. Alive and well."
"And Douro?"
Obi-Wan's smile slipped away. He swallowed and briefly looked away from Auna.
"He's dead," he said quietly.
"Ah, I see," Auna said. She and Zaka exchanged a look. "Let's get out of this wind. My bones are freezing."
"This way," Obi-Wan told her. "I was in the infirmary on the harvester. Treating Sinja-Bau."
"So ya found her?" Auna said as they walked across the snow. "Is she willing to help ya lady love?"
"I think so," Obi-Wan said as he opened the door to the harvester and the three stepped in. "I'll tell you everything later."
They walked down the corridor and, as Obi-Wan turned into the infirmary, he saw that Sinja-Bau had gotten off the table where he had been treating her. She had put her tunic back on and was now peering closely at what looked like a medscanner. Obi-Wan's heart turned over. He could see that somewhere deep within the tumult of her madness she probably recognized the instrument, but it lay buried too deep to make its way to the surface of her awareness.
"Sinja-Bau," Obi-Wan called to her.
She jerked her head up looking, for a moment, like a child caught playing with something she had been forbidden to touch.
"These are my friends," Obi-Wan said softly as he gestured towards Auna and Zaka.
Sinja-Bau put the medscanner down on a counter and walked over to the Whiphid and Cordu-Ji.
"Friends of the Mother of the Light, are you?"
Auna looked over at Obi-Wan, her violet eyes perplexed.
"It's what she calls Onara," he explained.
Auna nodded and looked back at Sinja-Bau. "Yeah, sure, we're her friends. Are ya a friend of hers?"
Obi-Wan frowned at Auna's question, but was surprised to see Sinja-Bau nodding eagerly.
"Friend, yes. But will be much more, yes, much more."
Auna gave Obi-Wan another confused look, but he slightly shook his head, indicating it was best for her not to try and understand Sinja-Bau's ravings.
"What about the ship, Auna?," he asked her. "Is she ready to fly? I'll want to leave Toola as soon as possible."
"Oh, yeah, Master Kenobi. She's more than ready. Some of these Whiphids are pretty handy with the tools once ya show them what to do. Just need to take care of a few more things when we get back to camp, but we'll be ready to go in two shakes of a luma's tail."
"Good," Obi-Wan said.
He turned and went over to Sinja-Bau, taking her gently by the arm.
"It's time to go, Sinja Bau," he said softly. "Is there anything you'd like to bring with you?"
"No, no, nothing. Time to go. Yes, time to go." Then she reached up and placed her hand alongside Obi-Wan's face.
"The future awaits us," she whispered.
Obi-Wan glanced at Auna and saw she was rolling her eyes. He frowned at her. She shrugged, then turned and led him, Zaka and Sinja-Bau out of the harvester.
To be continued...