Hi everyone!  I thought I'd post this real quick before I run off to see the Two Towers again.  Thanks for the FB and I hope you enjoy the part.  BTW, anyone who hasn't seen the Two Towers yet really should, it's a great movie!

My Place is at Your Side

~ Part Eight: Blood Washed Timepiece ~

Obi-Wan:

"Could you please tell the Directors that Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi has arrived to conduct the preliminary meeting between them," I pleasantly requested of the young secretary whose desk was stationed in the waiting room attached to the Directors' office.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, smiling, "but the Directors left a few hours ago to attend a banquet held in their honor. They should be returning in a few minutes though, if you'd care to wait."

They were attending a banquet? Together? "Yes, of course I will wait," glancing around the room I spotted what I was looking for, "Would it be at all possible for me to use your portable holocom?"

"Of course," she said, "by all means."

"Thank you," I bowed. I didn't mind waiting for the Directors, but as long as I had to wait, I might as well do a little investigating. It was time to find out how Revelc Citanul had sabotaged a shuttle that the Seltec government had given us.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah, yes, Padawan Kenobi," Governor Kernus greeted me with a confused smile, "I did not expect to hear from you or your Master again."

I bowed, "Thank you for speaking with me. I am sorry to disturb you, but I must ask you some important questions."

The Governor cocked a curious eyebrow but nodded nonetheless.

"It is about the shuttle that you gave us…"

"The shuttle?" the Governor interrupted me, "what shuttle?"

I frowned, "The shuttle…the one your government provided for us when my Master informed you that we had bee assigned another mission."

"Ah, yes, that shuttle," he spoke expansively, as if it was some sort of revelation, "I know of which one you are referring to, but we did not give it to you."

What was that supposed to mean? "You mean that you expect the Order to pay you for it?" I ventured.

"No, not at all. We would have gladly given you a shuttle if you required one. The shuttle you left the planet with was not ours, it was sent to you by the Ceerus Directors, for your convenience."

Realization dawned within me, making me want to kick myself. I had assumed. How many times had Qui-Gon told me not to assume? How many more times would he have to tell me before I finally took his words to heart? When the Governor had said that a shuttle had been provided for us, I had never thought to ask by whom. I had simply assumed that it was them.

"Is something wrong, Jedi Kenobi?" he questioned, sounding truly concerned.

I smiled as best I could, "No, thank you for your time, Governor. That will be all."

He seemed confused again, but did not question me further. Instead we both bowed and turned off our holocoms.

So, I considered thoughtfully, the Seltec Government hadn't given us the shuttle, it had come from Ceerus, and I was willing to bet that it hadn't been the Directors' who had sent it for us. It had been Revelc Citanul, who had taken the opportunity to quite cleverly sabotage it.

My thoughts were fortunately interrupted before they could turn more self-berating. From outside the waiting room, I could hear footsteps and voices approaching. Hopefully it would be the Directors, so that I could conduct the preliminary meeting and then speak with them concerning Revelc Citanul.

Moments later, the door to the waiting room slid open and two men in their mid to late thirties stepped in, deep in conversation and seemingly oblivious to their surroundings and my presence. The one on the right, half a step ahead of his companion, was tall and well muscled. His well toned face was dark, made more so by his black eyes and hair. The other man, at least a foot shorter than the first, was smaller and more compact. He had pale skin, brown eyes, and blond hair. Together, they contrasted with each other sharply.

Delving back into my memory, I scrounged up the pictures Qui-Gon had shown me of the two Directors. The taller, darker man was Alianter Macormick, and his associate was Syltris Natzo.

The two men were talking to each other rather loudly, about something obscure called "television", and were laughing and joking as if they had never had a single disagreement about anything in their entire lives, let alone one that could lead their peoples to the brink of war. What if…most of the general public didn't know they were having a disagreement? What if they were trying to keep it a secret for as long as possible to keep the tribes from rising up against each other before negotiations were attempted?

The Directors', quite obviously enraptured by this conversation about the advantages of "television" as an hypnotic device, walked right through the waiting room and into their office without even glancing my direction.

I turned to look at the secretary, who smiled, shrugged her shoulders, and gestured for me to follow them in.

Shaking my head, I turned and walked into their office after them. As soon as I was sure that I had caught their attention, I smiled, "Directors Macormick and Natzo," I bowed respectfully to each of them as I entered their large office, which consisted of two desks that were facing each other in the middle of the room, and a couch that was pushed up against the wall under a large window, "I am Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. My Master isn't feeling well but he has entrusted me with conducting the preliminary meeting between you."

The Directors couldn't have looked more surprised or confused if a marching band of Tarcalians had somersaulted into their office wearing pink tutu dresses and carrying a singing Master Yoda between them. And I couldn't have been more bewildered as to why they were so astounded. What, did they think it was unlikely that Qui-Gon would have assigned me, a young Padawan, this task?

The two shared a very long look before Director Macormick addressed me, "Padawan…Kenobi, I'm sorry, but we have no idea why you are here." He sounded clearly perplexed.

Now it was my turn to be shocked. Qui-Gon and I had come all the way here, had our vessel sabotaged, crash landed, traveled through a forest for four days while every night my Master had suffered terrible fits of pain, only to get here and have them not be expecting us?

Trying to sound as calm and accepting as I didn't feel, I responded, "My Master and I were called here to negotiate a treaty between the two of you because of a disagreement you're afraid could break the government you've established and lead to violence."

Director Syltris laughed, "My dear young fellow," he boomed, "Alianter and myself have been friends my entire life and although we may occasionally disagree, we have never had a serious dispute that would warrant involving the Jedi, and most certainly, neither of us contacted your Council."

I rocked back on my heels. I didn't have to perform a deep meditation or consult Qui-Gon to sense that they were telling the truth, and to feel the deep affection and friendship that they shared. I believed them.

I believed them, but I didn't understand. I didn't understand how reservations could have been made for us at the hotel, how we could have made it on the guest list for the Administration Complex, or how the secretary had had our appointment written in on the Directors' schedule without them having found out about this sooner.

Could Revelc Citanul really have set this entire "mission" up simply to lure Jedi to this planet? Could he really have created this entire situation? He was the chief of security, but surely that didn't give him the clearance necessary to do all this. It would have been easy for him to slip us on the guest list, especially since he was the one admitting visitors, but how could he have made the reservations and appointments that the Directors' would have had to verify? Could he have hacked into the computers? Did he have the computer knowledge to bypass the expensive and sophisticated security system they ran on?

"Directors," I addressed them again, "I know this must seem odd, but I assure you that I am a Jedi and that my Master and I were called here for the reason I said. I would ask you to please trust and cooperate with me. If you must, you can contact the Council and they will confirm my identity."

"That will not be necessary, Padawan Kenobi," Director Macormick assured me, "What can we do for you?"

"First, I would like you to have a security team take Revelc Citanul into custody. I would also like you to order a scan of you entire computer system to see if it was hacked into. And, I would like access to all your personnel files." Now that there was no pending civil war that could endanger tens and thousands of lives, I didn't have to worry about ruining the "negotiations" by giving a bad first impression.

"Revelc is our chief of security, can you give us a reason we should take him into custody?" Director Syltris asked.

"Yes," I nodded to him, "I have reason to believe that he sabotaged the shuttle my Master and I arrived on, forcing us to crash land." I decided to keep my explanation as brief as possible – I could tell them more later, right now I wanted him captured.

"Very well," Director Macormick agreed, "I will take care of the…arrest, and computer scan. Why don't you give him whatever information he wants?" he turned towards his friend, who nodded and gestured for me to follow him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning back in the deceptively comfortable chair, I rubbed my eyes and attempted to alleviate some of the stress that had accumulated in my temples. As I no doubt should have expected, Revelc Cainam was nowhere to be found. He had most likely left as soon as I had entered the building, ready to initiate the next step in his plan that would supposedly end with our deaths. A security team had been sent to his home, but I knew that they wouldn't find him there. No, he was too clever to be in such an obvious place.

Part of my aggravation was directed at myself. Revelc Cainam had slipped through my fingers twice. Once at the hotel and once here. Both times, all I needed to have done was step forward and capture him. The first time I had, of course, ignored my instincts, and the second time I had purposefully decided not to do anything because of the 'negotiations" that ended up not even existing. Now, I had no idea where he was or what he would do next.

Hoping to gain some notion as to why he was doing this, I had looked up all information on him. Aside from finding out that he had a degree in advanced computer programming and had first worked designing ships, the computer had offered little of relevance. Then I had tried looking up T'Sixe Tnodi, only to find that no such person existed. That assumed identity had most likely been a means by which he could ensure that I didn't speak with someone who might actually have relayed my request for a rescue team. He had probably rigged the communications system to contact him despite any input to do otherwise. His extensive computer knowledge would have made that, as well as the rest of the sabotage, ridiculously easy.

Besides telling me that we were dealing with a man of many talents, it revealed nothing. I still had no idea what his motives were, or what had driven him to such an intense hatred of the Jedi, for it certainly could not be Qui-Gon or myself he despised as we had never met or even seen him before arriving on this planet. I had no idea how to find and stop him before he carried out the rest of his plan.

It frustrated me so much. There was nothing more that I could think to do right now. He had no living family members and apparently no friends. No one knew him well enough to even possibly have any information as to why he wanted us dead. On top of that, I had absolutely no way of locating him. The building had already been searched three times and if he actually happened to be sitting in his home, waiting to be captured, it would be an act of the Force. So what was I supposed to do? Sit here and wait for him to attack?

I massaged my forehead and temples. Qui-Gon would know what to do, but he was back in the hotel room, probably in more pain than I wanted to even dream about. After a discussion that had nearly become an argument, he had convinced me that shielding me from him would be the best thing to do. That way I couldn't be distracted during the negations. However there were no 'negotiations' and I felt that sorely needed his advice.

What would he tell me now? Probably that waiting was an art I needed to learn and that I should meditate and find my center so that I could be ready for when Revelc Cainam decided to strike next. After all, all I could deal with was the here and now, and an opportunity would prevent itself.

All of that was perfectly wonderful advice that made sense, but…how could I meditate knowing that this man was out there, working to kill us? Wasn't there something else I could be actively doing?

Aside from being patient and waiting, what would he advise? Whenever we were stuck on a mission, what would he always and annoyingly have me do? Review all pertinent information to make sure that I hadn't overlooked something. Well, even if I didn't find anything new, it was better than just sitting around and waiting, that was for sure.

A piece of information, which at the time my Master had forced me to learn it had seemed useless, popped up in my head. On this planet there was a customary naming ritual upon reaching the year of adulthood where one could chose a different name. I had already known our saboteur by two names, what if he had a third?

Similar to the law on Coruscant which kept a person's criminal actions prior to the age of 18 in an inaccessible file so that they could not be used against the adult, all information regarding someone before his naming day was kept in a separate, classified file. However, I was confident that by using the Directors' office, and having been given clearance, I would be able to get at what I needed.

"Computer," I orally addressed the advanced computer system, "Is 'Revelc Cainam this man's birth name, or his chosen name?"

"Revelc Cainam is a chosen name," the automated, monotonic voice answered almost immediately.

"What was Revelc Cainam's birth name?" I prompted.

"Cramer Xirtam is Revelc Cainam's birth name."

I smiled. I might be getting somewhere now. "Then, computer, by all means, bring up all information on 'Cramer Xirtam'."

The computer beeped in response and a small screen of information appeared on the panel in front of me. The file on Cramer Xirtam was surprisingly empty. There was a brief summary that detailed where he had grown up and what schools he had attended, but other than that, there was nothing. That was odd. This file should have contained everything he had ever done until turning eighteen.

"Computer, why is Cramer Xirtam's so incomplete?"

"All remaining information is contained in his medical file, which can only be accessed by his psychologist."

Medical file? Psychologist? That perked my interest. Leaning forward onto the console, I pondered how I could gain access to that file. Medical files were strictly confidential between the patient and the doctor, but I had a strong feeling that what I needed to know was in there. Perhaps I could get in contact with his 'psychologist'.

"Computer, what psychologist did Cramer Xirtam see?"

"Doctor Ramóne Mercílo," it dictated unwaveringly.

Swirling the chair so that if faced the holocom that had been to my right, I directed the computer to contact Doctor Mercíilo and waited as the communication was routed through the necessary systems before the small, partly transparent form of an older gentleman appeared in front of me.

Doctor Mercíilo appeared to be in his early sixties and although he had lost most of his hair, and the little that remained around his years was thin and gray, his blue-green eyes were intense and focused. "Yes, how may I help you?" he asked in a soft, scratchy voice.

"Doctor Mercílo," I inclined my head respectfully, "I am Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I was wondering if I could speak to you regarding one of your previous patients."

"You know that I cannot break doctor-patient confidentiality," he warned me in a chiding tone, "but I will help you if I can."

"Doctor, I need all the information you can give me on a man named Cramer Xirtam. He would have been under eighteen years of age when…"

"There is no need to explain, I remember Cramer quite well," the man's eyes seemed distant, and his expression turned regretful, "he had such talent and potential, it was such a shame to see it wasted on hatred. He was one of the few people I couldn't help."

"Help with what, Doctor?" I prodded carefully, wondering how much he'd be willing to tell me. He had mentioned "hatred"…could it be that he had actually worked with Revelc Cainam regarding his "hate" towards the Jedi?

The man's eyes flashed with something that could have been annoyance, but when he answered his voice was perfectly calm, "I could be disbarred for telling you more. I'm sorry, but I cannot help you."

Of course he couldn't. Why had I ever thought otherwise? Had I actually expected him to break his vows? "I'm sorry, Doctor," I apologized softly, "and thank you."

Sighing, I moved to terminate the transmission when the doctor exhaled softly and said, "Padawan Kenobi, if the matter concerns the security of (innocent civilians), the Directors do have the authority to violate patient-doctor confidentiality."

I smiled appreciatively. He had just helped me without breaking the law. If I could only convince the Directors that this was important enough for them to do that, then perhaps I could gain a deeper understanding of this man and his motives.

"Thank you, Doctor Mercílo," I said again.

The aged Doctor nodded and simultaneously, we discontinued the transmission.

The door to Directors' office slid open with a soft whoosh, and I looked up to see both men walk in, immediately turning to address me. "Padawan Kenobi," Director Macormick began, "Our team of computer specialists has finished analyzing the system and has concluded that a very skilled computer expert did alter some files, but the changes were made so carefully that it is impossible to determine exactly what was done."

I wasn't surprised, especially not after finding out that he had studied computer programming. "Thank you," then I hesitated before asking, "Directors, would it be all at possible for you to give me access to the medical files of Cramer Xirtam – that is Revelc Cainam's birth name."

Director Macormick raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Do you really believe that information will help you?"

"It is important for me to know everything about this man, not only so that I can determine why he's out to kill my Master and I, but so that I can better know how to defeat his plan and capture him." It was always harder to fight against a stranger because then it was impossible to know his weaknesses and strengths. If I could learn enough about him, then I could use his weaknesses against him, and turn his strengths to my advantage. Or at least that was what Qui-Gon had taught me.

The two shared an unreadable glance before Director Syltris said, "We'll see what we can do."

~~~~~~~~~~

Cramer Xirtam's medical file was extremely long and detailed. It held over twenty pages of information and since I had no idea where to start, I began flipping through the pages while quickly skimming the contents, seeing if anything caught my eyes. Apparently, at the age of seventeen, his parents had institutionalized him because he would alternate from increasingly violent and volatile behavior, to staying hidden in his room while murmuring unintelligibly. Although Doctor Mercílo had quickly diagnosed him with an acute form of dementia brought on suddenly by a traumatic event in his life, he had been unable to determine exactly what that event had been. His notes indicated that Xirtam's parents had been unaware of anything disturbing having recently occurred and were of little help.

Nearly fifteen pages were spent describing Xirtam's actions and symptoms, most of which were stated in such advanced medical terms that it was little more than garble to me. It wasn't until the last few pages of the report that Doctor Mercílo stumbled upon what he termed a 'revelation' when, in one of his fits, Xirtam had babbled out what had been haunting him.

Feeling that I had finally found what I was looking for, I began to read the report aloud to myself. "A little less than a year ago, the new Directors Macormick and Natzo were sworn into office and a Jedi team was called upon to oversee the proceedings. The youngest Jedi, a Padawan by the name of Alyana Alizzer, was a little older than Cramer at the time, and by some happenstance, a cruel twist of fate, the two met and immediately took a liking to each other. The Jedi stayed here for almost two months, and during that time the young couple secretly began to date each other.

"From what I can determine, their feelings soon grew from that of normal infatuation, and Padawan Alizzer was faced with a difficult choice. As a Jedi she was not allowed to have "attachments" – in other words, to fall in love and chose a mate – but she did not wish to leave Cramer. In the end, after an apparently heated argument between the two, Padawan Alizzer ended the relationship, saying that it should never have been, and left the planet with her Master. Cramer has not had any contact with her since that day, and shortly after that, his strange behavior began. From that point, it is evident that Cramer's anger towards Alizzer at choosing the Jedi way of life over him, intensified into a hatred of all Jedi, and the Jedi way in general."

I fell silent and lifted my gaze from the report. That explained it then. Our saboteur was using this as a means of gaining revenge for what Padawan Alizzer – Knight Alizzer now – had decided to do. He had loved her, and she had walked away. Understandably, that could be quite devastating, but for this man…it had been the catalyst towards insanity. I had always believed that the Jedi Code was overly strict on Jedi forming 'attachments'. Of course, it could lead to complications if the Jedi was more concerned with his or her family than his or her duty to the Order, but love was the most beautiful thing in the universe, and to deny even the chance of being able to have a family was harsh and, at least to me, unjust. However, it was the choice we all made when becoming Jedi, and Knight Alizzer had done what was right for herself. It was unfortunate that it had had this result.

The last paragraphs in the report spoke of Cramer's sudden 'turn around' in behavior. He no longer had fits of anger or violence, and spoke of making a new life for himself, and finding happiness elsewhere. When he had asked to be released from the institution, his behavior had warranted it, and Doctor Mercílo, with reservations, had been forced to allow it. The Doctor, apparently, had hoped for the man's happiness, but had seen past the façade enough to write this last foreboding sentiment:

My colleagues are thrilled at my 'breakthrough' with Cramer. They credit me for giving the man his life back, for erasing his insanity. I wish I could celebrate with them, but I fear that it may be premature. The loathing and fury is still inside him, he has only learned to suppress and control it. One day, I know these emotions will lead him to commit an egregious act of violence, or a total breakdown.

The Doctor had been right – our saboteur's anger and hatred was in the process of culminating. I only hoped that I could stop him, that I could prevent him from reaching his final goal. Qui-Gon's and my life depended it.

~~~~~~~~~

I have no doubt whatsoever that when you learn to trust the Force at all times, you will become much more powerful and wise in it than I am. Qui-Gon's words wrung in my mind with a persistent ferocity, reminding me of my greatest weakness as a Jedi. Time and time again I ignored my instincts and second-guessed myself instead of truly trusting the Force. At this moment, Revelc Cainam could have already been in custody and Qui-Gon and I could have been planning our return to the Temple. But we weren't, because I had ignored my instincts, and by so doing, ignored the Force.

It was a problem I needed to overcome. And if I planned to overcome it, I needed to start right away. I had to trust the Force, not simply use it. Perhaps it would take years for me to change my way of thinking and relating to the Force, but I didn't have years. In fact, right now I didn't know how long I had before our saboteur struck again. If I had to wait for him to act, I might as well be prepared. I needed to be as deeply connected to the Force as possible, and that meant meditating.

Therefore, before contacting the Council to give them an update on our 'mission', I dropped to my knees in the center of the Directors' office and focused on calming myself and letting the Force sweep over me. Even when I was finished and I drifted back into wakefulness, I knew I wouldn't be anywhere near as in-tune as Qui-Gon was, but I knew I would be much better equipped to fight our foe. And maybe, just maybe, it would help me trust my instincts.

~~~~~~~~

As I stood in front of the activated holocom, waiting for Yoda to pick up, I felt much calmer and less impatient than I had before meditating. I also felt more relaxed in my connection to the Force. I could feel and sense things more clearly, and it gave me somewhat of a sense of peace. I knew I wasn't about to trust the Force as Qui-Gon wanted me to, but as long as I kept myself open to it, and reminded myself to let it guide me, I would begin to. For now, that had to be the important thing.

There was the buzzing hiss of static just before Yoda's and Mace Windu's partly see-through forms appeared floating above the holocom. The transmission didn't allow for enough clarity to truly judge their emotions by reading the expressions on their faces, but through my slightly heightened connection to the Force I could feel their relief and joy.

"Padawan Kenobi, it pleases us greatly to hear from you," Mace Windu addressed me before I could speak, "we have been worried for you and your Master."

Worried? Why had they been worried? It was not uncommon for Qui-Gon to take more than a week before reporting in to the Council. Even when things went wrong, he usually did not inform them right away. Had we been expected to do differently on this mission?

"Forgive us for not reporting in sooner," I apologized hesitantly, "but we have experienced…problems, and only reached the city this morning."

Mace Windu raised an inquisitive eyebrow and shared a stern look with Yoda, "Where are you and Master Jinn, Padawan?" he finally asked.

Now I was truly confused. "We're on Ceerus, in the capital city." Where else would we be? We couldn't very well complete our mission to resolve the 'situation', which consequently didn't exist, between the Directors if we didn't come to their planet.

The Force was filled with their surprise, but I still did not know the reason for it.

"Tell us, Padawan Kenobi, exactly why are you on Ceerus? Your last mission was on Seltec, and ended nearly a week ago. You were expected back at the Temple days ago and since we did not hear from you, we thought that something had happened."

Mace Windu's voiced faded into the back of my head as I realized what had happened. I had thought that Revelc Cainam had fooled the Council into thinking that a Jedi team needed to be dispatched on a mission to this planet, but I was wrong. There wasn't a mission, there never had been.

Our saboteur hadn't tricked the Council, he had tricked us. Sometimes the Council delivered mission orders in code – not a visual transmission – and he must have found a way to fake that code. Having received written orders, Qui-Gon and I had never had any reason to speak with the Council, and had thus never discovered the deception.

Revelc Cainam's anger towards the Jedi had grown and built inside him throughout the many years since he had been left by Alyana. Now it had driven him to seek revenge against the Jedi and the rules that had kept her from him. He had planned this out so carefully, and Qui-Gon and I had fallen right into his trap.

"Padawan Kenobi," his voice had lost some of its confusion and was now more persistent, "what diverted you to Ceerus?"

I was about to answer him, and explain everything that had happened, when a growing, chilly darkness in the Force stopped me cold. I had been waiting for our saboteur to strike again, and I suddenly knew that somehow, he was in the process of doing just that. I could just feel it. There was great danger encroaching upon us now.

Swiftly, I turned and inspected the room. Everything was silent, and aside from the flickering, buzzing transmission of Mace Windu and Yoda, I was alone. There appeared to be no immediate threat, and yet I knew that there was. I couldn't tell whether it was to Qui-Gon or myself, but it was looming above us like a cloud of destruction.

Yoda said something, but the words floated around aimlessly, refusing to be processed by my brain as my body slowly tensed in response to the knowledge of lurking danger. I had to end this transmission and be ready for whatever Revelc Cainam had planned. So far he had beaten us at every turn – I had to stop him before he could do it again.

Focusing my attention back on the Council Members, I opened my mouth to offer some sort of quick explanation, but then, before I could speak, I saw it. Sitting on the windowsill, appearing as innocuous as the rest of the things in the Directors' office, was a red timepiece. A simple red timepiece, and yet it made a shrieking alarm sound within me. It filled me with a rush of dread and sinister doom. It sent flying flashes of burning ruble tumbling before my eyes. It conjured images of Qui-Gon's body, falling amongst a cloud of debris. It made me stop breathing.

The dream… There had been an explosion in my nightmare… Qui-Gon had been killed… I had lost control… I had shattered the window… A red timepiece had fallen to the floor, breaking… It had all been so real… So real… It had terrified me… Now, that same horror crept back into my heart.

Brushing past the holocom, I ignored the questioning voices of both Mace Windu and Yoda, and rushed to the widow to look out. It overlooked a street, and across the street was the hotel. The same hotel where Qui-Gon was. The same hotel that had been in my dream. No, not a dream, a vision. A vision of a future that would certainly happen if I didn't do something to stop it, if I didn't do something to save my Master.

Or was it already too late?

TBC… (on Thursday)