Heaving a heavy sigh, Obi-Wan slowly rose to his feet still holding his injured arm. He did not try to suppress the pain, instead allowed the burn to seep into his mind and stepped slowly from the small cabin under Ruan's watch.
Before he could move too far, the bounty hunter robbed him of his weapon clipping it to his belt next to the smaller lightsaber. Under drooping eyelids, pale blue eyes studied the trophy lightsabers.
The blaster rifle muzzle was shoved forward jamming the Jedi in his wounded shoulder. Obi-Wan grunted softly as he was prodded through the ship. It wasn't very far before he stopped and stared down at the body of the young Calamarian in the middle of the walkway.
"He was just a boy," Obi-Wan said softly, "you didn't have to kill him."
"He was also a rebel sympathizer aiding in transport of contraband." The mechanized voice gave no hint of emotion. "He should be grateful. If the Imperials had gotten to him first he would have begged for a quick death but would not have received it."
A chill raced through the Jedi.
The rifle struck him again pushing him toward the open hatch. At the ramp the Jedi was struck with the cool wind. The icy cold rain pelted Obi-Wan as he was marched away from the ship over the muddy ground. The wet soil clung to his feet threatening to weigh him down and swallow him was he to stop.
The sucking, sloshing footsteps ceased and Obi-Wan stood defiantly in the brown evening. Loosening his hold of his wounded arm, he studied the thin trickle of blood that coursed between his pale fingers. He turned back to face black and silver armored figure allowing his gaze to fall to the larger cylinder at Ruan's belt.
The bounty hunter tightened his grip on the rifle. "Move."
Obi-Wan took a few stumbling heavy steps through the muck and stopped again.
Live, you will.
"You surprise me, Kenobi, I thought you would put up more of a fight."
"I am tired," Obi-Wan answered dully over the din of the falling rain. His ginger locks hung damply over his weary eyes as he turned his face to the polluted sky. The poisonous rain continued to fall unabated. It's murky yellow droplets coursing over the Jedi's face. "My friends, my family and my home are all gone." The bitterness was heavy in his voice. "What's left to keep running for?"
"Your life." Ruan Uri had spoken those two little words in the plainest most honest manner.
"My life is worthless." Obi-wan felt the chill of the rain soaking through his clothing and it intensified the physical ache that had seized him months ago.
The voice from within the expressionless mask hissed, "To me it is worth two million credits and the glory of your death at my hands."
"Is that all?"
Nothing else matters. Needs you, the son of Skywalker does. Know this you do.
So mentally numb, the bounty hunter's words did not even stir a pang of dread within the Jedi. For Obi-Wan had spoken only the truth, all that he loved and cared about was gone. He felt it every day in the silence of the Force and the raging emptiness in his heart. It was through his decisions and choices and ultimately his failures that had brought him to that wretched moment. In the end his failures not only destroyed his apprentice but also brought down the ancient Order and gave Palpatine the means to enslave the galaxy.
The fogged raindrops continued their assault on the broken man. Streams of water clung to the ginger tips of his hair and weighted down his eyelashes as he stared at the dark visage of his murderer.
The black armored form reminded Obi-Wan of the menacing figure of Vader towering behind the Emperor that he had seen on the Imperial HoloVision broadcasts. He had known then that the bit of flesh that remained had once been Anakin Skywalker but now commanded the slaughter of the Jedi. He understood now, to some degree, just what those who had fallen to Vader had seen and felt in those last moments.
Strength seeped from his legs and he fell to his knees, sinking into the mud. Hands to his side offering no threat to the bounty hunter.
And he waited.
In that moment under the deep brown sky, the only thing the Jedi possessed was the fear of not knowing if the Force would cradle him in death or would he be cast out into the nothingness for all eternity. In the end though, he preferred death and the unknown to the alternative of being taken alive and held prisoner by the Emperor and his dark servant.
Ruan Uri remained perfectly still, perfectly targeting the Jedi. His finger tightened on the trigger.
Reaching into the Force, Obi-Wan whispered a soft plea for forgiveness.
Releasing his hold of the trigger, Ruan allowed the blaster rifle to lower slightly. "Stop playing games and get on your feet," he growled.
"No."
The unshielded anger rippled through the Force as Ruan stormed the few steps up to the Jedi and pressed the cool muzzle to Obi-Wan's chest just below the right collarbone. "There's no honor in killing a coward! On your feet, Jedi!"
Remember the child! Everything depends on–
"No, I suppose there isn't and in the end I will be dead either way." Obi-Wan threw himself to the side while calling his weapon from Ruan's belt. In an instant the gloom with lit up with the flash of orange blaster bolts and the stark blue of an activated lightsaber. As Obi-Wan flipped back to gain a better defensive position, Ruan threw the blaster rifle to the side and took both of the silver blasters in hand.
Obi-Wan deflected the volley of bolts but his weariness and shoulder wounds left him a little slow. A bolt burst through his defenses catching his right thigh. Stumbling a little, the Jedi turned and rushed the source of the deadly barrage.
Obi-Wan! No! Yoda's call rippled through Obi-Wan's mind. Ignoring it, he raced through the rain toward his soon to be killer.
Blue flashed, slicing through the wet air.
The blaster fire stopped as Ruan Uri's headless body sank to its knees and toppled backward sending a sickly glop of mud splashing over the soaked Jedi.
Obi-Wan staggered to the side a step. Reaching out through the Force he sought the ancient master that had called to him but found only silence. Weakness seized his legs and they buckled from the weight of his existence sending him crashing into the wet ground next to the bounty hunter's fallen body. A tortured gasp escaped the Jedi, then sobs and finally wails, as he no longer had the strength to fight the pain inside.
_______________________
Coruscant Time: -259 days
Heavy footfalls tracked through the still muddy ground under a sickly yellow sky. Six Imperial peacekeepers that were rapidly being dubbed stormtroopers marched in a protective formation around a single officer. They were halted by a makeshift security fence that surrounded the scene of the crime from the night before.
"You will let me pass!" the short, squat officer barked, shoving his way to the front of the armored figures. His black beady gaze settled on the tall thin man blocking his access to the scene. "I am Hashaar, Captain of the Onyx Guard," he announced.
"I am well aware of who you are, but you have no jurisdiction here."
"I have jurisdiction everywhere!"
Unimpressed, the tall official folded his arms across his chest and replied, "I am Colonel Goris Egan, Boyran district supervisor to the Regional Governor Mnans Perot. You sir, have not provided the proper permits therefore you have no jurisdiction here."
In the center of the cordoned off area, an investigator from the Governor's office walked carefully over the muddy ground so not to ruin his freshly polished boots. He paused and looked across the way to the heavily damaged ship Reliant.
"Ruan Uri, am I correct?" the investigator asked, turning to eye bounty hunter standing quietly a few meters away. He never even tried to hide his disgust in his tone.
"Yes," the mechanized voice replied. The brushed silver armor and black under suit were nearly unidentifiable under the thick cake of dried yellowish mud. Yet, at his hip, his meticulously cleaned weapons glinted in the hazy morning light.
The investigator turned to study the muddy ground a short distance away where a mud-splattered head lie quite a distance from its body. Making another note, he never looked up to speak to the bounty hunter. "Seems you did us quite a favor, Uri. Not only did you take out another one of those Jedi you handled one of our little pirate problems. If you weren't scum I'd hire you."
"I enjoy what I do," came the cold reply. "My reward."
"All in good time. First I have a few questions."
The masked figure remained silent, appearing to stare at the investigator.
"I am the Captain of the Onyx Guard!" Hashaar screamed in the background. His red face turned at the sight of the armored form of Ruan Uri. "You will detain that thing!"
The Colonel turned to look back at the bounty hunter. "I have no alert for holding him."
"Tell me what happened," the investigator softly demanded as if oblivious to the argument a short distance away.
Ruan masked face looked to the devastated [i]Reliant[/i] and began, "I had been watching the port for the day, my sources said Kenobi was heading this way. I spied the Jedi being welcomed upon the ship by members of the crew. When approached they said there was no Jedi aboard and attempted to keep me from getting to Kenobi."
"It did not look as if they put up much resistance on the ship. Go on."
There was a pause before the filtered voice continued, "They attempted to interfere with my apprehension of Kenobi and were swiftly taken care of."
Suspicion laced the investigator's voice, "And you found the Jedi?"
"Captured and led him out of the ship. He was worth more alive."
"Yes, I am aware of that."
Unhindered, Ruan continued by motioning toward the body in the mud, "At which point, he interfered and aided in Kenobi's escape."
"And who is this Jedi?" the Imperial asked still making notes.
"Not one that I know of."
The bounty hunter's reply caused the investigator to look up from his notes to study the armored figure before him. "It seems you have quite a body count. Almost two dozen Jedi, impressive." Briefly, his gaze fell to the shining blasters at Ruan's hip. The moment of awe in his voice turned back to the serious tones as he added, "Until we can prove he is a Jedi, there is no reward."
"Of course," Ruan said. His emotionless black and silver mask turned toward the muddy, headless corpse suddenly surrounded by the Hashaar's men.
In the midst of it all lay a silver cylinder half buried in the murk. The investigator had begun to speak again but the bounty hunter paid it little attention as he limped slightly toward the decapitated form in the mud. As he reached for the lightsaber hilt, the stormtroopers suddenly targeted him.
"You will arrest him for interfering with an investigation!" Hashaar bellowed fumbling toward Ruan in the mud.
"Until you provide proof I will not," Colonel Egan shot back. His
despise for the man in his tone and the way his blue eyes studied the contemptuous Captain.
Ignoring the arguing men, Ruan Uri snatched the saber up and roughly shook the mud from it. Studying it briefly before carefully clipping it to his utility belt next to the smaller one. His gloved fingers brushing against the leather pouch strapped to his right thigh.
"We will need that," Hashaar growled.
"It is a trophy," Ruan growled twisting slightly to show another, smaller saber at his belt.
Hashaar burned red at the sight of the small saber.
"I keep them as proof of my kills."
The investigator made another note, adding dully, "We have no use for it. We have the body."
This only made Hashaar more furious. He barked at the bounty hunter, "You are a clod compared to a Jedi. Soon your kind, just like them will have run their course. Take your toy, scum. It will not save you in the end. I promise that!"
"Am I excused?" Ruan asked.
Colonel Egan absently dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
The black helmet tilted in a tight nod and he marched away from the scene.