The place was well chosen, secluded enough that there would be no
unexpected guests, yet open enough to provide more than one exit if necessary.
Palpatine felt his admiration for his unknown adversary ratchet up a notch. It
was a place he, himself, might have chosen had he been given the opportunity;
but instead, he found himself called from his palatial quarters with little or
no knowledge about the one who had summoned him.
Though normally the Sith Lord would have sent someone else to the meeting, or
in the very least, would have taken back-up; Sidious found that he was too
intrigued to leave this to one of his subordinates, or to risk losing the
chance for a meeting because he had brought along a security detail. Although
it was indeed a risk for him to have come alone, Sidious felt there was not
much he had to fear. He was as well trained in the Dark arts of the Force as
Master Yoda was trained in the Light, after all.
"I didn't actually expect you to come," a soft voice hissed from the deep
shadows. "I figured you would send one of your lackeys instead."
"And ignore such a gracious invite?" Palpatine answered, straining to make out
the identity of the hooded figure. As if his gaze had acted as a summons, the
man detached from the shadows and pushed his hood back. "Padawan Kenobi… this
is certainly a surprise."
Ignoring the Politician's attempts at courtesy, Obi-Wan huffed lightly. "I know
who you are, and I know what you have planned. You will not get away with it."
Narrowing his eyes, Palpatine was silent as he studied the desperate fervor
apparent in both the posture and within the eyes of the young man before him.
When he next spoke, it was in the deep raspy voice of an ancient Sith Lord,
instead of the casual platitudes of an oiled politician. "And what exactly do
you think you know, young one?" Sidious hissed, already having determined that
the young Jedi would not live long enough to reveal his information, however
valid or invalid, to another.
"I know that you are, even as we speak, working to create a clone army with the
help of the Kaminoan Cloners. I know that you are in contact with Master Dooku,
and that you are working to convince him to join you in replacement of your
fallen apprentice, Maul. I know that your plans include complete and total
domination of the Galaxy, and more than that, I know that this time you will
fail," the young Jedi growled, though he did not move from his position several
meters away from the Sith Lord.
His mind working rapidly to discover how the Jedi had uncovered so much,
Sidious almost missed the blatant clue that the young man inadvertently
dropped. His politician's training, however, caught the phrase. "This time?"
Sidious wondered, keeping his expression studiously blank as he studied his
young opponent in an entirely different light. Perhaps young Kenobi has
usefulness beyond my simply killing him…
Playing along and pretending that he had not caught Kenobi's slip, Sidious
questioned the young man. "And how is it you have come to know so much, young
Jedi?"
Noting that the Sith did not even attempt to deny any of the accusations,
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. "I have my sources," he answered bluntly, even as his
hand slipped ever closer to the lightsaber loosely attached to his utility belt.
"Well, then," Palpatine replied, his voice once again the calm tones of the
politician, "I guess the question is, what do you plan to do with this
information?"
*********************************************
Although things were proceeding according to plan, Obi-Wan could not help but
feel wary. He had not spent decades fleeing from the Empire without learning
just how devious Sidious could be. Of course, this time, Obi-Wan held the upper
hand, while the future-Emperor was working without full knowledge of the
situation.
During his long years of exile on Tatooine, Ben Kenobi had frequented several
of the bars on the small planet, sitting quietly and listening to the
smuggler's tales, seeking out the bits of information about the Rebellion and
Skywalker's other child. Although the smuggler's stories tended to be inflated
and exaggerated, Ben was usually able to isolate the small and precious bits of
real information conveyed. Of course, the smugglers were not without their
bravado, and several had made claims as to what would happen should they ever
catch the Emperor alone. Though their stories were rather amusing, Ben tended
to ignore them unless there was no better information available. There was one
story, however, that had caught his attention.
The smuggler had obviously seen better days, as the deep scars crossing his
face and arms attested to, but it was apparent that his mind was still as sharp
as ever. He was a frequent patron of the bar Ben usually visited, but he
rarely, if ever, spoke. Instead, he seemed to have been content to simply sit
back and listen, occasionally guffawing at some of the more wild tales. On this
particular day, though, there was something slightly different about the man.
His eyes, though usually opaque and unreadable, appeared almost haunted, and
his posture spoke of a deep despair. When he began to speak, the silence in the
bar was so pervasive that the slight scratching of sand against the
establishment's dirty windows sounded almost loud.
"Ya'll speak as if you'd ever actually have a shot at that svetch," the man
grumbled, his inner core accent in direct contrast to the outer rim curse. "No
one gets near that man unless his lapdog, Vader, allows it," he continued.
"Oh, and I bet you've got a better plan on how to rid the Galaxy of him, eh?"
one of the younger smugglers laughed, as his buddies thumped him on the back.
"Ain't no way to get to him alone," the older smuggler replied gruffly, "but
wouldn't be that hard to take a bunch of 'em out at once."
"You actually think you'd get a bomb anywhere within a parsec of the Imperial
Center?" another man laughed. "You're just plain nuts."
The laughter within the bar droned out the man's response to all but Ben, who's
enhanced hearing caught the man's garbled reply. "T'ain't no need to get a bomb
to him, just have to get him to level 16…"
*********************************************
Although he couldn't make out the words, even with his enhanced Jedi senses,
Qui-Gon could clearly hear two separate voices ahead of him. Obi-Wan, what
have you gotten yourself into? He wondered as he identified the one voice
as Chancellor Palpatine. Although he had tried to come up with an explanation
for the cryptic messages that didn't lead to the horrifying conclusion that the
recently elected Chancellor was the Sith Lord, even Qui-Gon had to admit
defeat. There simply was no other explanation for Obi-Wan's behavior.
"… I have my sources."
Although the accent and tone was distinctively that of his Padawan's, the cold
edge behind it was something Qui-Gon had never before heard from Obi-Wan, not
even when he was young and continuously fighting with Bruck Chun. Keeping his
presence within the Force concealed, the Master Jedi continued to move closer
and closer to the dimly light section where he could just barely make out the
forms of Chancellor Palpatine and Obi-Wan.
"… what do you plan to do with this information?" the Chancellor asked, causing
Qui-Gon to wonder at the sudden shift in the politician's tones. The man had
begun to speak in the voice so familiar to the entire Galaxy, before switching
to a deeper, raspier voice. Now, he once again used the composed, modulated
tones of a trained politician.
"I guess that depends on you," Obi-Wan returned, calmly, yet coldly; his even
tones only broken by the sound of his lightsaber activating.
Although he had intended on waiting, Qui-Gon could not simply stand by and
permit his Padawan to kill in cold blood. Despite all he had learned of
Sidious's future atrocities, the Jedi Master would not allow one so bright in
the Force as Obi-Wan to fall to the Darkside. "Obi-Wan, don't do this!" he
yelled, his hand reaching for and engaging his own lightsaber as he burst out
of the shadows.
*********************************************
Sneaking out of the Temple had not proven difficult, but finding his way
through the twisting and turning streets of the Republic Capital was almost too
difficult for the young Tatooine native to handle. Not only did he have to
worry about which direction to head, but he also needed to find the correct
lifts to carry him from level to level. Some of the lifts stopped on every odd
level, while others stopped on every even level and still others seemed to have
no set pattern he could discern.
"This is impossible!" Anakin grumbled, as he found himself on a wrong lift yet
again. This one would deposit him on levels 13-15 or levels 21-30. Huffing in
irritation, he choose to exit on level 15, hoping that he might find some sort
of ladder to convey him up the final distance.
As the lift chimed, and the doors opened, Anakin scuttled out into an
oppressive darkness. Though he had been used to the night cycle of Tatooine, he
had never before experienced such total blackness. He could not even see the
hand that he waved before his face. "Oh, isn't this just perfect," he
complained as he searched his pockets for the glow rod he always kept on him.
Igniting the small stick provided some illumination, but barely enough for him
to see more than a few meters in any direction. Sighing heavily, he began his
search.
*********************************************
"I guess that depends on you," Obi-Wan stated, as he simultaneously reached for
and ignited his lightsaber. In his other hand, he clutched the small
thermo-nuclear detonator he had pilfered from the Temple stores on his way out.
Though the Jedi did not often have use for such items, the Temple stores were
nothing if not completely efficient.
The small explosive device, in and of itself, was not powerful enough to cause
much damage; but when combined with the exceedingly oxygen rich atmosphere of
the sixteenth level, it would prove to be quite potent. Though the blast radius
would only extend to the unoccupied levels just above and just below, it would
obliterate anything and everything organic on level 16. Though it meant that
the colonies of Cinavus fungus that grew so abundantly on the level would be
destroyed, Obi-Wan was willing to sacrifice the odiferous mold in order to save
the Galaxy from the reign of Sidious. Although the fungus only grew on that
level for some unexplained reason, Obi-Wan doubted that anyone would notice its
absence… other than to perhaps note the sudden decrease of oxygen on the
abandoned level.
Though he had planned this moment, if only in his dreams, for decades, Obi-Wan
was still uncertain as to whether his plan would actually work. He knew for
certain that Sidious would die, but the question remained as to whether or not
he would survive. He has spent many long and lonely hours obsessing over this
plan, which at the time he had thought useless, but as with most things, he
could not be completely sure that everything would work as planned. He needed
Sidious to expend enough energy trying to kill him that the Sith could not
block the effects of the explosion, but he also needed to conserve enough of
his own energy to save himself. Though he would have the advantage of knowing
when the blast wave would hit, it would still be a difficult proposition at
best.
Well, here goes nothing he thought, as he brought his lightsaber up,
effectively challenging the Sith.
*********************************************
The distraction was exactly what he did not need. Though he had felt his Master
approaching on some level, Obi-Wan had successfully ignored it as he
concentrated solely on the Sith. Now, however, as the lightening ripped through
his body, he wished he had paid closer attention to Qui-Gon's approach.
The sudden appearance of the Jedi Master had distracted him just enough that
the first volley of Force-lightening from the threatened Sith Lord had broken
through his defenses. Though he had managed to bring his lightsaber up to block
the rest, the damage had been done. His timing was off, and his motions were
slowed by the agony that sung through his veins. Despite that, he still managed
to prevent any of the Dark energy from striking Qui-Gon or himself, though the
effort drained his energy far more than he could afford.
For his part, Sidious kept up the lightening volley, apparently sensing the
waning strength of the younger Jedi. Though he normally would have retreated
from the confrontation, the Chancellor could not allow the two Jedi to escape
with their knowledge of his identity. Sidious was confident enough in his
abilities that he knew they would tire much sooner than he would.
Feeling his energy waning, Obi-Wan knew that he needed to activate the
detonator sooner, rather than later. Using even more energy he could not afford
to spare, the former Jedi Master turned Padawan reopened the training bond he
shared with Qui-Gon. \\Qui-Gon, you must conserve your energy and use it to
create a Force bubble around you\\
\\Obi-Wan, we must retreat. We can return with the Council Members and take
Palpatine into custody\\ Qui-Gon declared as he continued to deflect the Dark
energy with his emerald 'saber.
\\No! This is our only chance to get rid of him. If we leave now, he will
simply find a way to return to power later\\ Turning his head just slightly
enough that his determined gaze could settle on his former Master, Obi-Wan
continued. \\You need to form a Force bubble around yourself now. I am going to
set off this detonator, and if you do not do as I tell you, you will die\\
Taking in the set expression and stormy gaze, Qui-Gon nodded and immediately
began to draw energy to himself, feeling his apprentice doing the same. The
Light energy gathered within him, and he compressed it into a tight ball deep
within his being, waiting for Obi-Wan's sign to release it into a temporary
Force shield. Though it was not a technique commonly used, it was one that both
the Master and the apprentice had found useful on their many harrowing
missions.
Once he had gathered enough energy, Qui-Gon nodded slightly to Obi-Wan.
Inclining his head in acknowledgement, the younger Jedi deflected another bolt
of Dark energy, before reaching down quickly to activate the detonator. Tossing
it in the general direction of the distracted Sith, Obi-Wan shouted the command
to his Master to release the Force energy.
*********************************************
Ten years of close training, and a lifetime thereafter of avoiding, had
imprinted the Force signature of Anakin Skywalker deeply into the psyche of
Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was perhaps for that reason, that he alone sensed the
approach of the young boy.
*********************************************
The slight thump as the device landed and rolled caught Sidious's attention,
momentarily distracting him from his assault on the two Jedi. Looking down, he
immediately identified the small device. Trying to draw on the Dark Force to
create a Force shield around himself, Palpatine was dismayed to find that his
energy levels were too drained. Not one to simply give up, Sidious realized
that he did not have time to escape the blast, but that certainly did not mean
he had to be the only one to be killed.
Using the remaining energy he had gathered to him, Sidious unleashed one final
volley of Dark energy, directing the sinister blue lightning bolts directly
toward the young Jedi that had destroyed him. As the last of the energy escaped
his body, the detonator activated.
*********************************************
Grumbling every step of the way, Anakin finally encountered a service ladder
that appeared to ascend all the way to the sixteenth level. He had already
attempted to climb one, only to find that it ended abruptly several hundred
meters from the access panel to the next level. This time, he made certain that
it extended all of the way before he began to climb.
He was only halfway up the ladder when he began to feel the slight tremors in
the Force. Although he was not skilled enough in Force-control to accurately
identify the phenomenon, it felt almost as if the Force was warring with
itself. Maybe this is the "Darkside" that all of the instructors keep
talking about Deciding to be more cautious in his approach, since he could
not be certain of what was causing the odd tremors, Anakin slowed down and
tried to move as silently as possible.
Nearing the top of the ladder, Anakin gently pulled himself up the final few
meters without making a sound. Once he stood upright on the sixteenth level, he
began to move stealthily toward where he could just make out the sounds of a
battle. He was almost there when he heard Obi-Wan's voice call out, "NOW!"
Curiosity gaining the best of him, he tried to move forward to where he could
see what was happening, but swiftly found himself encased in some sort of Force
shield. Trying to fight his way out of it, he didn't even notice the shock wave
of the blast approaching until it had lifted him off of his feet and thrown him
solidly into the nearby wall.
*********************************************
Having been Obi-Wan's Master for so many years, Qui-Gon found that he had
developed almost a "danger sense" when it came to the young man. Though the
Master/Apprentice team did seem to draw an inordinate number of difficult
missions, it still seemed that Obi-Wan managed to injure himself more often
than most. Though his bond with his Padawan had become noticeably strained in
the past few hours, the Master Jedi still knew immediately when Obi-Wan was in
danger.
Acting without thinking, Qui-Gon threw himself at Obi-Wan, driving the younger
Jedi to the ground with the force of his leap just as the detonator activated.
Shielding his Padawan's body with his own, and with the assistance of the
Force-shield, the Master Jedi waited for the shock waves from the blast to pass
before he rolled painfully to his feet.
Wincing as he stood up, he reached a hand down to draw his apprentice to his
feet as well, only to notice that Obi-Wan had not yet moved from his prone
position. Leaning down to gently roll the younger Jedi over, Qui-Gon was
distracted by a low groan that was emitted just behind him. Calling his
lightsaber to his hand, the elder Jedi swiveled on his heel and turned to face
his enemy.
Scanning the slightly smoky atmosphere of the level, Qui-Gon used the glow from
his 'saber to help light the area. Moving toward where he had last seen the Sith
Lord, he was surprised to find only the empty cloak that the Chancellor had
been wearing. Prodding it gently with his boot, he realized that the Sith was
truly dead and gone. Just as he was about to turn back to Obi-Wan, another low
moan called his attention to the small figure slumped against the wall.
"Anakin?" he called, quickly dropping to his knees by the young boy to assess
his condition. Once assured that he was healthy, other than a slight
concussion, Qui-Gon gently roused him.
"What happened?" Anakin groaned as his blue eyes flickered open and settled on
Qui-Gon's concerned gaze.
"I'm not sure," the Jedi Master admitted as he helped the young boy to his
feet, "but I must see to Obi-Wan. I fear he may have been injured."
Biting his lip to keep from responding, Anakin followed docilely behind as the
elder Jedi returned to his fallen apprentice. Rolling the younger Jedi over
slowly, Qui-Gon could not hold back the gasp as he took in his Padawan's
appearance. At the slight noise, Obi-Wan's eyelids flickered open, and his
stormy gaze settled on his Master.
"Maaahhhster?" he asked, his voice slurred and raspy.
"Shh, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon hushed. "Everything is going to be just fine. We just
need to get you to the Temple Healers."
Ignoring his Master's response, Obi-Wan's gaze instead settled on the pale
young boy behind Qui-Gon. "Take… care… of him… pllleease," he rasped, the last
word drawn out in a pain-filled hiss.
As his eyes suddenly filled with tears, Anakin nodded softly. "I promise that I
will."
Accepting the boy's promise with a slight, agonized nod, Obi-Wan softly smiled
as his gaze returned to his Master. "He is the… Chosen One. Train… him… well."
With one last smile that was only a shadow of its usual brilliance, the Force
once again claimed its own, leaving behind a grieving Jedi Master, and a young
boy who had a life full of destiny ahead.
