Ok, sorry to disappoint you, but it's not over yet :) This chapter is pretty long, but then again, most of them are, so there aren't that many. Read and hopefully enjoy!!
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*"Reports of the kidnapping and murder of Senatorial family members are becoming more and more frequent." the holonet reporter, a scaled Mircosien, read. "More than fifteen murders have occured. Most recently, the ten-year-old daughter of Dresselian Senator, Oran Sudaat, was found dead on the lower levels of Coruscant. The girl was abducted from her home two days earlier."
"Coruscant hasn't seen this type of activity since the murders of Trusian Senator Honi Jera, and Corellian Senator Yulin Kerrel, six years ago. Most of the recent murders have Security stumped, but the say that some are linked to the killings six years ago. According to a witness of the double killing, the man who killed them chased them down in a airspeeder and shot them once in the back of the head. No arrests have been made."
"And in other news. The local-"*
Obi-Wan flipped the transmitting device off and stretched. It wasn't often that the sixteen-year-old Padawan got to watch the Holonet. And he figured it was just his dumb luck that they had talked about the murder he had witnessed. Despite trying to forget it for years, it was always tucked in the back of his mind, only to emerge in nightmares.
He stood up and reached up to a shelf and pulled down a small box. He sat onto his sleep-couch and opened it. Inside was where he kept personal things from the past. He pulled out a small focusing crystal, an old lightsaber hilt, a holocube, and finally was left with only four items left in the box. Three toy speeders and a small necklace.
He pulled out the speeders and looked them over. The bright paints had faded over the years, but were still intact. He lined them up on the blanket, then reached back into the box.
Obi-Wan had had the necklace for as long as he could remember, but he didn't know where it had come from. It was white, with lots of tiny black symbols carved into it. He had asked a few people about it, and he had learned that it was japor snippet wood. But no one knew what the symobls meant. The wood hung on a tiny nerf-hide string, that was small enough for him to wear as a bracelet.
A knock on the door made him jump. "Just a moment!" he shouted as he shoved the items back in the box. He had already closed the box when he remembered the necklace in his hand. Not wanting to open the box again, he shoved the necklace into his trouser pocket. He rushed to the door and opened it.
Standing outside was his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Right now the Jedi was looking at him with raised eyebrows. "What took you so long?"
"I had some stuff to pick up, Master."
Qui-Gon nodded. "The Council wants us. Another mission."
"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan followed his Master as Qui-Gon walked down the hall. After a few minutes, they finally reached they Council doors and stepped inside. They went to the center of the room and bowed to the three members present.
"A request for you, we have," Yoda stated with his signature way of speaking. "A Senator fears for his wife and daughter's life. Requested Jedi bodyguards, he did."
Qui-Gon frowned. "It seems unlikey that out of hundreds of senators, the killer would choose that one family. Do we even know if they are targeted?"
Mace nodded. "The family has received several holograms with disturbing images. Similar holocubes were found at the previous victims' home. The wife, Terra Ikuo, fears that they will be killed if they remain of Coruscant, so they want to return to their home planet."
"They are the family of a very important Senator. Senator Henry Ikuo of the planet Tagamia. Do you know of him?" Plo Koon asked.
Qui-Gon shook his head.
"Yes," Obi-Wan answered. All eight eyes of the Jedi Masters fell upon him. He met their gaze steadily. "He is the Senator who is urging Security to crack down on the killer that is threatening his family. He has proposed a few laws that would make it easier to catch the murderer and all other violent criminals."
Plo Koon nodded. "Right, young Padawan Kenobi. Perhaps the killer believes that if he gets rid of the man's family, he will lose his purpose and pull back his propositions."
Mace leaned forward. "This could be necessary for Security to capture the serial killer. The family will meet you in their apartment, where you will escort them to their ship. You are to accompany them to Tagamia, and stay with them until you are told to return. Understand?" Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan nodded. "Good. Here is the address to their apartment." He stood up and handed a datapad to Obi-Wan. "Go now, and may the Force be with you." The other Council members repeated the phrase.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bowed and walked out of the room. As they walked toward the landing bay, Obi-Wan turned to his Master.
"Are they really sure that those people are targets?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "I dont know, Padawan. But they are afraid, and powerful. Which explains why they get Jedi help."
"I don't think we should have to go babysit some senator's family just because they're scared."
"We do what we're told, Obi-Wan." He finally turned to the teenager. "Where is the apartment at?"
"Oh." Obi-Wan turned on the datapad and acessed the data. "3481B in quandrant 4, level 2, Senatoral Suites." he read.
"Nice apartments," Qui-Gon commented.
"What did you expect?" Obi-Wan grinned. The two Jedi made their way to a airspeeder station, where they caught an airspeeder going to the apartments. The two Jedi sat alone, not seeming interested in anyone, but someone was very interested in them. Or at least Obi-Wan.
The fifteen-year-old girl tried to peer at the handsome young man without looking conspicuous. She pretended to look at something they had passed, dropped her datapad, even slipped off her seat at one point. She was able to decide that he was about her age, and that he was a Jedi, by his clothes, hair, and lightsaber. He had a cute baby face that made him look younger, and short ginger hair that stuck up. Finally she got up and plopped in the seat next to him. He glanced at her and she smiled.
"Hi." she said energentically.
"Hello," he replied cautiously.
"I'm Tela. You?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi." He was a little surprised to be having a conversation with a total stranger on a air taxi.
"Wow, that's a mouthful. So uh, Obi, what do you do for a living?"
"I am a Jedi Padawan. And my name is Obi-Wan." He began gazing out the window, signalling that the conversation was over.
She didn't get the hint. "Wizard. Jedi. I've never met a Jedi before." She looked past Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon, who was now watching them. "Are you like his teacher or something?"
Qui-Gon nodded. "I am his Master."
"Your name is..."
"Qui-Gon Jinn."
"Another big name." She turned back to Obi-Wan. "Anyway, like I was saying. I've never met a Jedi before, but my mother says we are about to get some to protect us." *And I hope they're as cute as this one*, she thought to herself.
Qui-Gon leaned forward. "Really? What is your name?"
"Tela Ikuo. My father is the Senator from Tagamian sector." She set her shoulders back to look important.
The Jedi exchanged a glance. "We were sent to protect your family." Qui-Gon said.
Tela's mouth dropped and she laughed. "Well, by the suns. That's pretty wizard, me meeting you here." She smiled at Obi-Wan. He shifted uncomfortably and inspected his boots. Something about this girl bothered him. "Were you told that we're leaving Coruscant?"
"Yes. We were told that you were traveling to Tagamia." Qui-Gon answered.
"Yeah! That is wizard too. I've never left Coruscant." She turned to Obi-Wan. "Have you?"
"Yes, many times."
Qui-Gon smiled. "Sometimes it seems that we never get to spend much time here."
"Yeah, really." *Why won't he let me talk to Obi-Wan?* she wondered. I'm not interested in him, I'm interested in Obi-Wan. "So, what planets have you been to?"
"Um, Bandomeer, Telos, Melida-Daan, Qusaan, Ledno...geez, there are too many to name." Obi-Wan answered.
"Really?" She tossed her hair over a shoulder. "I think that's cool. I mean, I've been stuck on this rock all my life."
"Yeah, too bad," Obi-Wan said idly. A fancy speeder outside caught his attention and he stared after it for a moment. When he turned back around he noticed both Qui-Gon and Tela frowning at him. Tela was scowling, but Qui-Gon's was a concerned frown.
"Something wrong, Padawan?"
The apprentice shook his head, more to clear it than to mean no. "No, I guess. But something about that speeder seemed wrong."
"I didn't sense anything." Although Qui-Gon was a great Jedi Master, he valued his Padawan's skills and thought maybe the boy had sensed something he hadn't.
"It just felt as if there was something familar about it."
Tela made a face. "Really. So um, what is a Padawan?" Obi-Wan didn't answer her. He was lost in thought. She stood up and waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Hello? Calling Obi-Wan Kenobi."
He blinked. "Huh?"
"I was asking you what a Padawan was."
"Oh! A Padawan is the name of a Jedi apprentice."
"You have to wear that braid there?" she asked, pointing to the long braid resting on his shoulder.
"It is a sign of my Padawan status."
"Oh, ok. I get it now."
"Good." Now leave me alone, he thought,
Qui-Gon laughed softly next to him. He had 'heard' Obi-Wan's thoughts. *Problems, young Padawan?*
*Yes, the obnoxious girl in front of me.*
*She's just curious.*
*Oh, there's more to it than that. She's flirting with me, and I don't want her to.*
*Just try to ignore her.*
"So, how long have you been his apprentice?" Lena was asking.
"About three years."
"How long will it take for you to become a Knight?"
"It varies from Padawan to Padawan." Qui-Gon said quickly. He pointed to the door. "Our stop, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan looked at the door. This wasn't their stop. Why was Qui-Gon telling him to get off? Obi-Wan sighed and stood up. He nodded once to Lena before walking to the front of the airspeeder. He saw Qui-Gon speak quietly to the driver before stepping off. As the airspeeder pulled away, Obi-Wan could see Lena scrambling to the door, yelling at the driver. But the driver didn't stop, he kept on going to his next stop.
Qui-Gon smiled. "I think we should get a little ways away from this stop before she gets off and comes after us."
"Why did we stop, Master?"
"I thought you would like to get away from her. When we got off, I asked the driver to not let her follow us off."
Obi-Wan grinned, a mischevious grin that lit up his eyes. "Good plan, Master. But to think, we have to spend more than a week with her to protect her."
"We will have to do it. Council's orders."
"Speaking of the Council, what will they think when they find out that you ran from the person we're supposed to protect?"
"We are assigned to protect the mother, mostly. Besides, if I feel that the situation may bother my Padawan, than I may get him away from it."
Obi-Wan smiled even wider. "And I thank you for that, Master."
Qui-Gon nodded his acknowledgement and began to walk down the catwalks, high above the levels of Coruscant. Obi-Wan only stopped for a second to gaze at the many foods being sold by venders as they walked down a busy road. He was watching a man sell a Wookie what looked like a tiny Hutt, when some one bumped roughly into him. Obi-Wan immediatly turned to see who had done it, but could not point out who it was. He spotted a figure in a dark cloak walking quickly, but didn't pursue. He suddenly had a sinking, sick feeling in his stomach. Like he knew that person or something.
"Obi-Wan." he vaguely heard Qui-Gon say. The young Jedi turned to his master, still preoccupied with the darkness he had felt. Qui-Gon looked at his Padawan with concern. "Are you alright, Padawan?"
The boy nodded slowly. "I think so, Master." But he still continued to scan the crowd.
"What are you looking for?"
"I'm not exactly sure. Somebody ran into me and I felt something familier about them, but dark."
"Coruscant is full of vile beings, Obi-Wan. That is probably all you felt."
"I don't know, Master. It felt as if I knew them, but I didn't know them. I felt it before on the speeder too. It might have even been the same person. Do you understand?"
"A little, but some parts confuse me." Qui-Gon smiled at the bewildered look on Obi-Wan's face. "Yes, even I get confused sometimes. But clear your mind, we have a mission to complete."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, but later Qui-Gon could still feel the uncertainty his Padawan felt. He ignored it, telling himself that Obi-Wan would focus when the mission began. It took them almost an hour to get to the Senatoral Suites. Then they had to go through a lengthy security process; the security guard didn't believe they were Jedi. After about fifteen minutes of that inconvenience, they were allowed to go to the apartment.
As they walked through the plush hallways, Obi-Wan absently tugged at his collar and brushed his tunic down. He felt so out of place in the rich complex, and felt uncomfortable with all of the richer people staring at him as if he were dirt. One woman even approached the Jedi and asked if they were in the wrong apartment complex. But when Qui-Gon replied that they were Jedi, a small crowd of people came over to meet the Jedi.
One woman grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and pulled him away from Qui-Gon. "Nel! Take a holo of me and the Jedi kid! Tolos will never believe that we met Jedi!" Obi-Wan tried to look to Qui-Gon for help, but the woman kept pulling his head to face forward. Not that Qui-Gon could have helped him anyway. He was equally swarmed with curious busy-bodies.
Nel took the holo of the Padawan and her friend, and were looking at the result as Obi-Wan tried to get away. "Wait!" the woman who had grabbed him before shouted as she grabbed a handful of his tunic. She pointed to the holo. "You're not smiling. You must smile in a holo."
Obi-Wan sighed and waited as the woman prepared to take another holo. The woman draped her arm over the Padawan's shoulder and smiled. Obi-Wan smiled as best he could and then imediatly tried to dash away. But another woman grabbed his arm.
"What! Do you want a holo too?" Obi-Wan demanded.
The woman was unfazed. "Oh!" she squeled. "What a lovely accent. You have a very nice voice." Then suddenly she grabbed his face in her hands. She turned his head from side to side before letting go. She smiled. "A very nice face too."
Obi-Wan jerked away from her and turned toward Qui-Gon. He was trying to gently take the lightsaber back from a man who has taken it from his belt. Obi-Wan sighed and called upon the Force. Qui-Gon's lightsaber was wrenched from the man's grasp and flew into Obi-Wan's waiting hand. Qui-Gon nodded to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan used the Force to vault over the people's heads and took off running back down the hall. Qui-Gon was right behind him.
The Jedi ran until they came to a turbolift. The doors to it opened and they rushed in. Obi-Wan caught a glimps of one man following them before the doors closed. Obi-Wan leaned forward and put his hands on his knees.
"What was that?" he asked Qui-Gon.
"That was the very bored nobility of Coruscant."
"They go that crazy when Jedi come here?"
"They act like that whenever anyone not like then comes here."
Obi-Wan snorted and stood up. "What a life. I thought they had gone mad."
Qui-Gon smiled. "I thought you were having fun having your holo taken."
"About as much fun as you had getting that man to give you back your lightsaber. Speaking of which," Obi-Wan reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled it out. He handed it to Qui-Gon. "Tell me, Master, how exactly did was that man able to take it from you?"
"I was very distracted by the other people trying to rip my robes."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You know the rules, Master. You should never let anything distract you so much that a person can take your weapon right from your belt."
"Yeah, I know. Let that be a lesson to you that not even I am perfect."
Obi-Wan only smiled. The two Jedi were silent as the turbolift took them high into the apartment building. After reaching the right level, they simultaneously stepped out of the turbolift. They walked down the hall quickly, checking door numbers.
"Here Master." Obi-Wan said as he pointed to a door. "That was the number we were given."
"Good, Padawan." Qui-Gon knocked twice on the door and took a step back. Obi-Wan stood obediently behind him on his left side. The door hissed open and revealed an attractive, middle-aged woman dressed in an elaborate tunic. She eyed the Jedi suspiciously, resting her gaze on the Padawan.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Jedi Master Qui- Gon Jinn, and this," Qui-Gon guestered to Obi-Wan, "is my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We were sent by the Jedi Council to protect you, Mrs. Ikou."
"Jedi, huh? Good." She narrowed her eyes at Obi-Wan. "But I don't want a child envolved in this."
"I assure you, ma'am, Obi-Wan is no child."
"Even worse. I have a young daughter, and I know how teenagers are when they get together. The boy has to go."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "You don't understand, Mrs. Ikuo. Obi-Wan and I come as a team. If he can't stay, I can't stay."
The woman frowned and turned to someone inside the apartment. After a moment, she looked back out at them. "Alright then. I trust the word of you, Master Jedi, that he is capable and will be a help, not a hinderance." She stepped to the side to let the Jedi pass.
Qui-Gon nodded to her and stepped inside the plush apartment. As he expected, the entrance room was filled with expensive art, furniture, and other small nicknacks. Obi-Wan frowned. All the money these people spent on dumb decorations could feed many of the poorer families on Coruscant. Not for the first time in his young life, Obi-Wan wondered why people could be so rich, and others have nothing.
He turned away from a shelf to follow Qui-Gon, and almost ran right into Tela, the girl from the airspeeder. He expected her to be peeved that they had rushed out and left her behind, but she was smiling from ear to ear.
"So," she said, "you are the Jedi who are to protect me. I was afraid there had been a misunderstanding."
"Um..." Obi-Wan struggled to find something to say. Finally, all he could think of was, "Excuse me." He walked past her and half-way hid behind his Master. Qui-Gon grinned.
The older woman stepped forward and looked from her daughter to the hiding Padawan. "What is going on here?" she demanded.
"Nothing Mother." Tela said.
"Have you met before?"
"We ran into your daughter on an airspeeder on our way here." Qui-Gon answered. "But we had to leave her for a while due to other pressing matters."
Mrs. Ikou nodded. "I see."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Qui-Gon cleared his throat. "Well, I believe that we have to ship to Tagamia to catch. Are you all packed, Mrs. Ikou?"
The woman nodded and pointed to a set of very large bags. "We have packed all of the neccesities."
Obi-Wan's mouth hung open for a second. *Those were neccesities? What all did they have to bring?* he thought. It seemed that they had packed everything but the kitchen sink. *Oh wait,* he thought, *I bet it's in that back bag there.*
"You will pose as personal servants. We have a pair of uniforms back there, " she eyed Qui-Gon, "but I believe that we'll need one in a bigger size." She walked over to a desk and snatched a datapad off of it. She keyed in something, and after a moment, set it down and returned to the Jedi. "There," she said. "Your uniform, Master Jedi, will be here in a few moments. But you," she turned to Obi-Wan, "will need to go ahead and put yours on. Change out here. We leave in fifteen minutes." She turned away from the Jedi and went into another room, emerging a moment later with a crisp uniform still on the hanger. She thrust it at the Padawan and then went back into the same room, shutting the door behind her.
Obi-Wan glared after her for a moment before taking the jacket part off of the hanger. He was about to undo his belt when he felt Tela's gaze on him. He looked up at her. "Do you mind?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she asked, obviously lost in thought. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She turned and practically ran into another part of the house.
Obi-Wan shook his head and pulled the belt off. He turned to Qui-Gon, who was inspecting a shelf of small glass figurines, as he pulled off his boots. "Why must we dress as servants?"
"I don't know. Maybe they don't want the assassin to know that they have protection."
"Why not? It might make him go away." Obi-Wan pulled on the trousers, which were even stiffer than the ones he had to wear to political gatherings.
"It might, or it might make him want to get them even more to prove that he can get past Jedi." Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, who was buttoning the equally stiff shirt-jacket. "Criminal minds work in strange ways."
"Yeah, they do. So do the minds of the rich and famous of Coruscant," he tugged at the collar of the suit.
Qui-Gon grinned. "It suits you." Just then the doorchime rang and both Jedi stiffened. "The uniform, I presume." the Jedi Master told his Padawan. "But still be wary."
He walked up to the door slowly and opened it, his hand ready to grab his lightsaber. Outside, grasping the hanger of a very large uniform, was a young human little older than Obi-Wan. "Uh...hello sir. I recieved an order for an extra large uniform like the one previously ordered from this apartment. Um...here." He thrust the uniform at Qui-Gon, who took it. The boy bowed his head and took off down the hall in a brisk walk. Qui-Gon shut the door and turned back to Obi-Wan.
"Well," he began, "now you aren't going to be the only uncomfortable one." Obi-Wan smirked and turned to the bags, gauging which ones he would carry and which ones his Master would carry. He reached down and picked up one, hefting it onto his shoulder. It was heavy and he promptly lost his balance due to the weight and tumbled to the floor.
Qui-Gon spun around at the sound of Obi-Wan hitting the floor, then smiled. "Problems?"
Obi-Wan's face blanched as he stood up, untangling himself from the straps of the evil bag. "No. But I think you should carry that one."
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*"Reports of the kidnapping and murder of Senatorial family members are becoming more and more frequent." the holonet reporter, a scaled Mircosien, read. "More than fifteen murders have occured. Most recently, the ten-year-old daughter of Dresselian Senator, Oran Sudaat, was found dead on the lower levels of Coruscant. The girl was abducted from her home two days earlier."
"Coruscant hasn't seen this type of activity since the murders of Trusian Senator Honi Jera, and Corellian Senator Yulin Kerrel, six years ago. Most of the recent murders have Security stumped, but the say that some are linked to the killings six years ago. According to a witness of the double killing, the man who killed them chased them down in a airspeeder and shot them once in the back of the head. No arrests have been made."
"And in other news. The local-"*
Obi-Wan flipped the transmitting device off and stretched. It wasn't often that the sixteen-year-old Padawan got to watch the Holonet. And he figured it was just his dumb luck that they had talked about the murder he had witnessed. Despite trying to forget it for years, it was always tucked in the back of his mind, only to emerge in nightmares.
He stood up and reached up to a shelf and pulled down a small box. He sat onto his sleep-couch and opened it. Inside was where he kept personal things from the past. He pulled out a small focusing crystal, an old lightsaber hilt, a holocube, and finally was left with only four items left in the box. Three toy speeders and a small necklace.
He pulled out the speeders and looked them over. The bright paints had faded over the years, but were still intact. He lined them up on the blanket, then reached back into the box.
Obi-Wan had had the necklace for as long as he could remember, but he didn't know where it had come from. It was white, with lots of tiny black symbols carved into it. He had asked a few people about it, and he had learned that it was japor snippet wood. But no one knew what the symobls meant. The wood hung on a tiny nerf-hide string, that was small enough for him to wear as a bracelet.
A knock on the door made him jump. "Just a moment!" he shouted as he shoved the items back in the box. He had already closed the box when he remembered the necklace in his hand. Not wanting to open the box again, he shoved the necklace into his trouser pocket. He rushed to the door and opened it.
Standing outside was his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Right now the Jedi was looking at him with raised eyebrows. "What took you so long?"
"I had some stuff to pick up, Master."
Qui-Gon nodded. "The Council wants us. Another mission."
"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan followed his Master as Qui-Gon walked down the hall. After a few minutes, they finally reached they Council doors and stepped inside. They went to the center of the room and bowed to the three members present.
"A request for you, we have," Yoda stated with his signature way of speaking. "A Senator fears for his wife and daughter's life. Requested Jedi bodyguards, he did."
Qui-Gon frowned. "It seems unlikey that out of hundreds of senators, the killer would choose that one family. Do we even know if they are targeted?"
Mace nodded. "The family has received several holograms with disturbing images. Similar holocubes were found at the previous victims' home. The wife, Terra Ikuo, fears that they will be killed if they remain of Coruscant, so they want to return to their home planet."
"They are the family of a very important Senator. Senator Henry Ikuo of the planet Tagamia. Do you know of him?" Plo Koon asked.
Qui-Gon shook his head.
"Yes," Obi-Wan answered. All eight eyes of the Jedi Masters fell upon him. He met their gaze steadily. "He is the Senator who is urging Security to crack down on the killer that is threatening his family. He has proposed a few laws that would make it easier to catch the murderer and all other violent criminals."
Plo Koon nodded. "Right, young Padawan Kenobi. Perhaps the killer believes that if he gets rid of the man's family, he will lose his purpose and pull back his propositions."
Mace leaned forward. "This could be necessary for Security to capture the serial killer. The family will meet you in their apartment, where you will escort them to their ship. You are to accompany them to Tagamia, and stay with them until you are told to return. Understand?" Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan nodded. "Good. Here is the address to their apartment." He stood up and handed a datapad to Obi-Wan. "Go now, and may the Force be with you." The other Council members repeated the phrase.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bowed and walked out of the room. As they walked toward the landing bay, Obi-Wan turned to his Master.
"Are they really sure that those people are targets?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "I dont know, Padawan. But they are afraid, and powerful. Which explains why they get Jedi help."
"I don't think we should have to go babysit some senator's family just because they're scared."
"We do what we're told, Obi-Wan." He finally turned to the teenager. "Where is the apartment at?"
"Oh." Obi-Wan turned on the datapad and acessed the data. "3481B in quandrant 4, level 2, Senatoral Suites." he read.
"Nice apartments," Qui-Gon commented.
"What did you expect?" Obi-Wan grinned. The two Jedi made their way to a airspeeder station, where they caught an airspeeder going to the apartments. The two Jedi sat alone, not seeming interested in anyone, but someone was very interested in them. Or at least Obi-Wan.
The fifteen-year-old girl tried to peer at the handsome young man without looking conspicuous. She pretended to look at something they had passed, dropped her datapad, even slipped off her seat at one point. She was able to decide that he was about her age, and that he was a Jedi, by his clothes, hair, and lightsaber. He had a cute baby face that made him look younger, and short ginger hair that stuck up. Finally she got up and plopped in the seat next to him. He glanced at her and she smiled.
"Hi." she said energentically.
"Hello," he replied cautiously.
"I'm Tela. You?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi." He was a little surprised to be having a conversation with a total stranger on a air taxi.
"Wow, that's a mouthful. So uh, Obi, what do you do for a living?"
"I am a Jedi Padawan. And my name is Obi-Wan." He began gazing out the window, signalling that the conversation was over.
She didn't get the hint. "Wizard. Jedi. I've never met a Jedi before." She looked past Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon, who was now watching them. "Are you like his teacher or something?"
Qui-Gon nodded. "I am his Master."
"Your name is..."
"Qui-Gon Jinn."
"Another big name." She turned back to Obi-Wan. "Anyway, like I was saying. I've never met a Jedi before, but my mother says we are about to get some to protect us." *And I hope they're as cute as this one*, she thought to herself.
Qui-Gon leaned forward. "Really? What is your name?"
"Tela Ikuo. My father is the Senator from Tagamian sector." She set her shoulders back to look important.
The Jedi exchanged a glance. "We were sent to protect your family." Qui-Gon said.
Tela's mouth dropped and she laughed. "Well, by the suns. That's pretty wizard, me meeting you here." She smiled at Obi-Wan. He shifted uncomfortably and inspected his boots. Something about this girl bothered him. "Were you told that we're leaving Coruscant?"
"Yes. We were told that you were traveling to Tagamia." Qui-Gon answered.
"Yeah! That is wizard too. I've never left Coruscant." She turned to Obi-Wan. "Have you?"
"Yes, many times."
Qui-Gon smiled. "Sometimes it seems that we never get to spend much time here."
"Yeah, really." *Why won't he let me talk to Obi-Wan?* she wondered. I'm not interested in him, I'm interested in Obi-Wan. "So, what planets have you been to?"
"Um, Bandomeer, Telos, Melida-Daan, Qusaan, Ledno...geez, there are too many to name." Obi-Wan answered.
"Really?" She tossed her hair over a shoulder. "I think that's cool. I mean, I've been stuck on this rock all my life."
"Yeah, too bad," Obi-Wan said idly. A fancy speeder outside caught his attention and he stared after it for a moment. When he turned back around he noticed both Qui-Gon and Tela frowning at him. Tela was scowling, but Qui-Gon's was a concerned frown.
"Something wrong, Padawan?"
The apprentice shook his head, more to clear it than to mean no. "No, I guess. But something about that speeder seemed wrong."
"I didn't sense anything." Although Qui-Gon was a great Jedi Master, he valued his Padawan's skills and thought maybe the boy had sensed something he hadn't.
"It just felt as if there was something familar about it."
Tela made a face. "Really. So um, what is a Padawan?" Obi-Wan didn't answer her. He was lost in thought. She stood up and waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Hello? Calling Obi-Wan Kenobi."
He blinked. "Huh?"
"I was asking you what a Padawan was."
"Oh! A Padawan is the name of a Jedi apprentice."
"You have to wear that braid there?" she asked, pointing to the long braid resting on his shoulder.
"It is a sign of my Padawan status."
"Oh, ok. I get it now."
"Good." Now leave me alone, he thought,
Qui-Gon laughed softly next to him. He had 'heard' Obi-Wan's thoughts. *Problems, young Padawan?*
*Yes, the obnoxious girl in front of me.*
*She's just curious.*
*Oh, there's more to it than that. She's flirting with me, and I don't want her to.*
*Just try to ignore her.*
"So, how long have you been his apprentice?" Lena was asking.
"About three years."
"How long will it take for you to become a Knight?"
"It varies from Padawan to Padawan." Qui-Gon said quickly. He pointed to the door. "Our stop, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan looked at the door. This wasn't their stop. Why was Qui-Gon telling him to get off? Obi-Wan sighed and stood up. He nodded once to Lena before walking to the front of the airspeeder. He saw Qui-Gon speak quietly to the driver before stepping off. As the airspeeder pulled away, Obi-Wan could see Lena scrambling to the door, yelling at the driver. But the driver didn't stop, he kept on going to his next stop.
Qui-Gon smiled. "I think we should get a little ways away from this stop before she gets off and comes after us."
"Why did we stop, Master?"
"I thought you would like to get away from her. When we got off, I asked the driver to not let her follow us off."
Obi-Wan grinned, a mischevious grin that lit up his eyes. "Good plan, Master. But to think, we have to spend more than a week with her to protect her."
"We will have to do it. Council's orders."
"Speaking of the Council, what will they think when they find out that you ran from the person we're supposed to protect?"
"We are assigned to protect the mother, mostly. Besides, if I feel that the situation may bother my Padawan, than I may get him away from it."
Obi-Wan smiled even wider. "And I thank you for that, Master."
Qui-Gon nodded his acknowledgement and began to walk down the catwalks, high above the levels of Coruscant. Obi-Wan only stopped for a second to gaze at the many foods being sold by venders as they walked down a busy road. He was watching a man sell a Wookie what looked like a tiny Hutt, when some one bumped roughly into him. Obi-Wan immediatly turned to see who had done it, but could not point out who it was. He spotted a figure in a dark cloak walking quickly, but didn't pursue. He suddenly had a sinking, sick feeling in his stomach. Like he knew that person or something.
"Obi-Wan." he vaguely heard Qui-Gon say. The young Jedi turned to his master, still preoccupied with the darkness he had felt. Qui-Gon looked at his Padawan with concern. "Are you alright, Padawan?"
The boy nodded slowly. "I think so, Master." But he still continued to scan the crowd.
"What are you looking for?"
"I'm not exactly sure. Somebody ran into me and I felt something familier about them, but dark."
"Coruscant is full of vile beings, Obi-Wan. That is probably all you felt."
"I don't know, Master. It felt as if I knew them, but I didn't know them. I felt it before on the speeder too. It might have even been the same person. Do you understand?"
"A little, but some parts confuse me." Qui-Gon smiled at the bewildered look on Obi-Wan's face. "Yes, even I get confused sometimes. But clear your mind, we have a mission to complete."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, but later Qui-Gon could still feel the uncertainty his Padawan felt. He ignored it, telling himself that Obi-Wan would focus when the mission began. It took them almost an hour to get to the Senatoral Suites. Then they had to go through a lengthy security process; the security guard didn't believe they were Jedi. After about fifteen minutes of that inconvenience, they were allowed to go to the apartment.
As they walked through the plush hallways, Obi-Wan absently tugged at his collar and brushed his tunic down. He felt so out of place in the rich complex, and felt uncomfortable with all of the richer people staring at him as if he were dirt. One woman even approached the Jedi and asked if they were in the wrong apartment complex. But when Qui-Gon replied that they were Jedi, a small crowd of people came over to meet the Jedi.
One woman grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and pulled him away from Qui-Gon. "Nel! Take a holo of me and the Jedi kid! Tolos will never believe that we met Jedi!" Obi-Wan tried to look to Qui-Gon for help, but the woman kept pulling his head to face forward. Not that Qui-Gon could have helped him anyway. He was equally swarmed with curious busy-bodies.
Nel took the holo of the Padawan and her friend, and were looking at the result as Obi-Wan tried to get away. "Wait!" the woman who had grabbed him before shouted as she grabbed a handful of his tunic. She pointed to the holo. "You're not smiling. You must smile in a holo."
Obi-Wan sighed and waited as the woman prepared to take another holo. The woman draped her arm over the Padawan's shoulder and smiled. Obi-Wan smiled as best he could and then imediatly tried to dash away. But another woman grabbed his arm.
"What! Do you want a holo too?" Obi-Wan demanded.
The woman was unfazed. "Oh!" she squeled. "What a lovely accent. You have a very nice voice." Then suddenly she grabbed his face in her hands. She turned his head from side to side before letting go. She smiled. "A very nice face too."
Obi-Wan jerked away from her and turned toward Qui-Gon. He was trying to gently take the lightsaber back from a man who has taken it from his belt. Obi-Wan sighed and called upon the Force. Qui-Gon's lightsaber was wrenched from the man's grasp and flew into Obi-Wan's waiting hand. Qui-Gon nodded to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan used the Force to vault over the people's heads and took off running back down the hall. Qui-Gon was right behind him.
The Jedi ran until they came to a turbolift. The doors to it opened and they rushed in. Obi-Wan caught a glimps of one man following them before the doors closed. Obi-Wan leaned forward and put his hands on his knees.
"What was that?" he asked Qui-Gon.
"That was the very bored nobility of Coruscant."
"They go that crazy when Jedi come here?"
"They act like that whenever anyone not like then comes here."
Obi-Wan snorted and stood up. "What a life. I thought they had gone mad."
Qui-Gon smiled. "I thought you were having fun having your holo taken."
"About as much fun as you had getting that man to give you back your lightsaber. Speaking of which," Obi-Wan reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled it out. He handed it to Qui-Gon. "Tell me, Master, how exactly did was that man able to take it from you?"
"I was very distracted by the other people trying to rip my robes."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You know the rules, Master. You should never let anything distract you so much that a person can take your weapon right from your belt."
"Yeah, I know. Let that be a lesson to you that not even I am perfect."
Obi-Wan only smiled. The two Jedi were silent as the turbolift took them high into the apartment building. After reaching the right level, they simultaneously stepped out of the turbolift. They walked down the hall quickly, checking door numbers.
"Here Master." Obi-Wan said as he pointed to a door. "That was the number we were given."
"Good, Padawan." Qui-Gon knocked twice on the door and took a step back. Obi-Wan stood obediently behind him on his left side. The door hissed open and revealed an attractive, middle-aged woman dressed in an elaborate tunic. She eyed the Jedi suspiciously, resting her gaze on the Padawan.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Jedi Master Qui- Gon Jinn, and this," Qui-Gon guestered to Obi-Wan, "is my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We were sent by the Jedi Council to protect you, Mrs. Ikou."
"Jedi, huh? Good." She narrowed her eyes at Obi-Wan. "But I don't want a child envolved in this."
"I assure you, ma'am, Obi-Wan is no child."
"Even worse. I have a young daughter, and I know how teenagers are when they get together. The boy has to go."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "You don't understand, Mrs. Ikuo. Obi-Wan and I come as a team. If he can't stay, I can't stay."
The woman frowned and turned to someone inside the apartment. After a moment, she looked back out at them. "Alright then. I trust the word of you, Master Jedi, that he is capable and will be a help, not a hinderance." She stepped to the side to let the Jedi pass.
Qui-Gon nodded to her and stepped inside the plush apartment. As he expected, the entrance room was filled with expensive art, furniture, and other small nicknacks. Obi-Wan frowned. All the money these people spent on dumb decorations could feed many of the poorer families on Coruscant. Not for the first time in his young life, Obi-Wan wondered why people could be so rich, and others have nothing.
He turned away from a shelf to follow Qui-Gon, and almost ran right into Tela, the girl from the airspeeder. He expected her to be peeved that they had rushed out and left her behind, but she was smiling from ear to ear.
"So," she said, "you are the Jedi who are to protect me. I was afraid there had been a misunderstanding."
"Um..." Obi-Wan struggled to find something to say. Finally, all he could think of was, "Excuse me." He walked past her and half-way hid behind his Master. Qui-Gon grinned.
The older woman stepped forward and looked from her daughter to the hiding Padawan. "What is going on here?" she demanded.
"Nothing Mother." Tela said.
"Have you met before?"
"We ran into your daughter on an airspeeder on our way here." Qui-Gon answered. "But we had to leave her for a while due to other pressing matters."
Mrs. Ikou nodded. "I see."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Qui-Gon cleared his throat. "Well, I believe that we have to ship to Tagamia to catch. Are you all packed, Mrs. Ikou?"
The woman nodded and pointed to a set of very large bags. "We have packed all of the neccesities."
Obi-Wan's mouth hung open for a second. *Those were neccesities? What all did they have to bring?* he thought. It seemed that they had packed everything but the kitchen sink. *Oh wait,* he thought, *I bet it's in that back bag there.*
"You will pose as personal servants. We have a pair of uniforms back there, " she eyed Qui-Gon, "but I believe that we'll need one in a bigger size." She walked over to a desk and snatched a datapad off of it. She keyed in something, and after a moment, set it down and returned to the Jedi. "There," she said. "Your uniform, Master Jedi, will be here in a few moments. But you," she turned to Obi-Wan, "will need to go ahead and put yours on. Change out here. We leave in fifteen minutes." She turned away from the Jedi and went into another room, emerging a moment later with a crisp uniform still on the hanger. She thrust it at the Padawan and then went back into the same room, shutting the door behind her.
Obi-Wan glared after her for a moment before taking the jacket part off of the hanger. He was about to undo his belt when he felt Tela's gaze on him. He looked up at her. "Do you mind?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she asked, obviously lost in thought. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She turned and practically ran into another part of the house.
Obi-Wan shook his head and pulled the belt off. He turned to Qui-Gon, who was inspecting a shelf of small glass figurines, as he pulled off his boots. "Why must we dress as servants?"
"I don't know. Maybe they don't want the assassin to know that they have protection."
"Why not? It might make him go away." Obi-Wan pulled on the trousers, which were even stiffer than the ones he had to wear to political gatherings.
"It might, or it might make him want to get them even more to prove that he can get past Jedi." Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, who was buttoning the equally stiff shirt-jacket. "Criminal minds work in strange ways."
"Yeah, they do. So do the minds of the rich and famous of Coruscant," he tugged at the collar of the suit.
Qui-Gon grinned. "It suits you." Just then the doorchime rang and both Jedi stiffened. "The uniform, I presume." the Jedi Master told his Padawan. "But still be wary."
He walked up to the door slowly and opened it, his hand ready to grab his lightsaber. Outside, grasping the hanger of a very large uniform, was a young human little older than Obi-Wan. "Uh...hello sir. I recieved an order for an extra large uniform like the one previously ordered from this apartment. Um...here." He thrust the uniform at Qui-Gon, who took it. The boy bowed his head and took off down the hall in a brisk walk. Qui-Gon shut the door and turned back to Obi-Wan.
"Well," he began, "now you aren't going to be the only uncomfortable one." Obi-Wan smirked and turned to the bags, gauging which ones he would carry and which ones his Master would carry. He reached down and picked up one, hefting it onto his shoulder. It was heavy and he promptly lost his balance due to the weight and tumbled to the floor.
Qui-Gon spun around at the sound of Obi-Wan hitting the floor, then smiled. "Problems?"
Obi-Wan's face blanched as he stood up, untangling himself from the straps of the evil bag. "No. But I think you should carry that one."