Chapter Eight - A Different Tactic

The probe droid drove home the fact that they were vulnerable, and that a future unexpected visit from Vader was a very real possibility. Obi-Wan racked his brain, thinking of ways for them to hide, even when they had no warning. Three days after the droid's visit, a possible solution came to mind.

Ysalamiri.

The creatures were native to Myrkr, a planet that was on the outskirts of the galaxy. They had evolved a unique camouflage from their predators by pushing the Force away from themselves. Each individual ysalamir was capable of creating a Force-empty bubble of one to ten meters in diameter, and several in close proximity could generate a much larger one together.

Obi-Wan immediately began work on the mechanics of bringing ysalamiri to Sanctuary. He could ask the healers to stay with Padmé, but how would he transport them? The creatures were arboreal and not predatory, but their claws grew into tree limbs as they matured, bonding them to their trees for life. Removing an adult ysalamir from its tree could kill it.

Once he had figured out the details of the task, Obi-Wan broached the subject to Padmé. They were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. "M'Lady, I will be leaving for a few days." He added meat to the pot and stirred their soup.

Padmé looked up from the vegetables she was chopping. "Why?" she asked. The Jedi explained what he intended to do. Padmé frowned. "How long will you be gone?"

"No longer than a tenday. It's a three-day jump to Myrkr from here. I'll rest, gather the ysalamiri, and begin the return trip the next morning."

"I've never even heard of Myrkr. How do you know about these isalamaners in the first place?"

"Ysalamiri," he corrected quietly. "I have...acquaintances who work for organizations that are based there. Myrkr is popular with smugglers, because a planet full of Force-repelling creatures can be very unnerving to Force-sensitives."

Padmé chuckled. "What?" Obi-Wan asked. The crease between his brows deepened.

"You," she laughed. "You're the least pretentious Jedi I've ever met. You've got an acquaintance who runs that diner on Coruscant and more smugglers and spacers for friends. How did you ever get them to see past the Jedi uniform and Alderaanian noble family name?"

"I didn't wear the uniform all the time, when I was growing up," Obi-Wan replied, smirking. He shredded some herbs with his hands, then stirred again.

"I'll just bet." He could have used her tone of voice to dry out a Corellian Sunrise cocktail. Padmé popped a kiri in her mouth, then returned to her vegetables.

Her grin was infuriating. "Oh, come on. That isn't what I meant, and you know it. Padawans may be Jedi, bet we were also adolescents. Friends and I would sometimes sneak out of the Temple for an evening out. You meet all kinds in some of those clubs in the underground." Kenobi wiped his hands on a dish cloth when her back was turned, then made a big show of wiping them clean on Padmé's sleeve.

"Yuck! Get off," Padmé protested, laughing. She used the chopping knife to gesture at him; not threateningly, but not exactly harmless, either. "Another move like that, and I'll change the locks while you're out running. I might even ask Lula to come live with me for good measure." She, at least, doesn't confuse me the way you do.

Obi-Wan held his hands up in surrender, eyes dancing. "I'm sure Moanilula wouldn't mind. Master Alanna used to scare me to death."

Padmé threw her guardian a disbelieving look, then asked, "But if these yasalamis grow into their trees, how will you remove them without killing them? Will they be able to survive on a tree that isn't from their home planet?"

"Ee-sal-uh-mee-ree." She only snorted in response. "Their claws don't start growing into the trees until they reach adolescence, so I'll find younglings. As for transport, I can rig a container and gather some of their native plants and bugs to sustain them until we get back here," he replied. "They've survived on other species of trees before, so we'll just have to hope." Obi-Wan took the chopped vegetables from Padmé and slid them into the pot.

*

Obi-Wan was as good as his word. Eight days after Lula, Padmé, and the droids bade him goodbye, Padmé heard the whine of a speeder over Artoo's excited beeping. The Padawan helped her to her feet. Padmé told the droids to watch the house, and she stepped into the night right behind Lula.

Obi-Wan's compact silhouette was reaching into the back of the speeder as they approached. Padmé heard a gasp from her left. "Are you okay? What is it?" she asked the young Jedi.

"The Force," Lula replied. "It's gone."

Padmé slung her arm around the girl's shoulders and said, "That's the idea, remember?" To Obi-Wan she called, "Welcome back. Have any luck?"

His voice sounded muffled as he said, "Whether you bean good or bad, yes." He lugged a large box half out of the speeder. Lula took the other end, and Obi-Wan led the way to the tree that grew against the back of the house. As the Jedi set the crate at the foot of the tree, Obi-Wan asked Lula, "Would you please get a lamp? There's one in the common room closet, top shelf." Then he sneezed explosively. As the Padawan ran to do his bidding, and he sighed. "I hobe dis wasn't for nothing." Padmé handed him a handkerchief, and he blew his nose.

She looked at him in the darkness. "Was it so bad?" Padmé asked quietly.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "The forest is dangerous, but that isn't what I meant. I spent the entire time in hyperspace thinking of alternatives, in case the ysalamiri don't survive. I couldn't come up with a thing."

Lula arrived with the lamp. He murmured thanks and took it. "Ever seen a ysalamir before?" Both women responded negatively. Obi-Wan pried the lid off the box and lit the lantern. He turned his head away and sneezed again.

"Are you okay?" Lula asked.

"Blasted allergies," he muttered. Padmé patted Obi-Wan's arm in comfort as he scooped out a small, furry snake with legs.

Padmé was fascinated and Lula wrinkled her nose, but both women reached out to run their fingers over the ysalamir's short, coarse fur. After a moment, Obi-Wan straightened and placed the creature on the lowest tree branch. It hissed at the three humans, then scrambled up the trunk to a higher limb. Lula took the other ysalamir and put on the tree. It moved to its companion. Obi-Wan switched the lantern off, bathing them in darkness.

They stowed the crate against the house. Several meters from the tree, Obi-Wan and Lula felt a surge of awareness rush through them. Each Jedi heard the other sigh, and he chuckled. Padmé hurried into the house to prepare tea, switching lights on as she went.

She heard the two Jedi step inside, and then Lula – quiet, polite Padawan Moanilula Yung – shouted, "Dear Force, what have you done to yourself! Threepio, get some ice and a dry dish cloth."

Padmé set the teapot onto the kitchen counter and rushed into the common room past Threepio, who was headed for the frig. A grisly sight met her eyes, and she cried aloud. Even in the darkness, how could we not have noticed this?!

The right side of Obi-Wan's face was an angry shade of red, and a ragged gash ran down his cheekbone. That eye had swollen shut. Purple welts crawled across his hands, chest, and neck. "What happened?" Padmé asked, rushing towards him. She reached out and turned his head with gentle fingers, peering at the wound on his face. His face was burning under her hand. The tall droid returned, and Padmé took the ice-filled cloth from him. She pressed it lightly to her guardian's cheek, her other hand holding his bearded jaw in place. Obi-Wan's right hand covered hers as he adjusted the cloth higher.

Their eyes met. Padmé couldn't help it, she felt her eyes prickle. She was drowning in Obi-Wan's selflessness, he was injured because of an attempt to keep her and her children safe. What if he'd died out there?

The Knight saw it, of course. Kind sympathy left traces of its passage on his face. The hand that had been covering Padmé's traveled down, just to her wrist, but the movement caused every hair on her arms to stand on end. Obi-Wan's thumb circled her wrist and slowly paced, back and forth, over the blue-green veins there.

Lula cut in between Obi-Wan and Padmé; they sprang apart. All business, the Padawan unfastened his belt and sash. "You heard my Lady," she grumbled. "What happened?" The Jedi's tunic and undershirt were off a moment later. Both women hissed in sympathy, for his back and chest were discolored with bruises, too.

"Vornskrs. Actually, it was just one, but he was enough," Obi-Wan muttered. "I'd heard about the ysalamiri, but none of my acquaintances ever mentioned the predators." Lula guided him to a chair. "They hunt using the Force, and this fellow thought I'd make a good breakfast."

All business, the Padawan demanded, "Why didn't you stay there to heal first?" She guided him to a chair and he sat.

Obi-Wan saw Padmé shudder, and he regretted his last comment - he hadn't meant to scare her. He reached a battered hand out and held one of hers reassuringly. "I wanted to come home," Obi-Wan replied, looking at Padmé. His gaze shifted to Lula and he added, "The two best healers in the galaxy are here, too," the Jedi said.

The skin near his right eye twitched - he was trying to wink. The eye that was visible was a dark, bright blue. In spite of the severity of the situation, Lula blushed like a little girl, and Padmé giggled. Obi-Wan continued, "I got anti-infectants for the scratches and an antidote for the poison –"

"Poison?!" both women exclaimed. The levity from a moment before vanished; this kept getting worse.

"The vornskrs' tails are like whips, and there's a mild poison in them," he explained.

"There's a mild poison in them," Padmé mocked. "Are you hearing this? As simple as that, oh, being attacked and poisoned by wild animals is an everyday thing!"

"Vornskrs aren't as bad as lupines, M'Lady," he lied. He kissed the back of her hand courteously.

Padmé snatched her hand away. "I should slap you silly for that," she growled.

"I passed silly a long time ago," Obi-Wan quipped. He began to grin, but winced instead when his face hurt.

"Excuse me, Senator." Lula's quiet request silenced Padmé's retort. She was holding a chair, and she set it down in front of Obi-Wan when Padmé moved. The Padawan sat in it, face-to-face with the Knight. "This is going to take a while," she said, eyeing his injuries. "When we come out of it, he's going to be hungry. Would you take care of that, please?" Padmé nodded and backed away. "Relax," Lula whispered to Obi-Wan.

"Don't teach your grandmother how to clean house," he retorted. Lula smiled and leaned forward. Her trembling hands brushed Obi-Wan's skin, one coming to rest over the welts on his chest, the other covering the right side of his face. As one, their eyes closed, and they settled into a healing trance.

Padmé could feel the Force swirling around her; it was both soothing and unnerving. She stepped into the kitchen and, with Threepio's help, started cooking. "Mild poison," she grumbled again.

*

Just over an hour later, Padmé felt the Force trance come to an end. She and Threepio emerged from the kitchen with plates of food just as Obi-Wan was refastening his sash around his tunics. She and Lula had eaten dinner earlier, but healing made the Padawan ravenous, and Padmé was eating for three, so she was always hungry. None of them seemed interested in their victuals, though – Obi-Wan sat in an exhausted stupor, and both women were watching him in concern. "Obi-Wan," said Padmé.

His eyes popped open. "Hmm?"

"If you're too tired, we can have this ready when you wake up," she said kindly.

"I'm sorry for being so rude, it looks wonderful, but I can't stay awake," he agreed. He stood and braced himself against the table. Padmé moved to his side and put her arm around his waist, supporting him.

Lula hurried ahead to Obi-Wan's bedchamber to gather her things; she'd been sleeping there since he left. She pulled the covers down as Padmé and Obi-Wan entered the dark bedchamber. Padmé set him down on the bed and braced him in a sitting position with one hand. Why did he bother getting dressed again, if he was too tired to eat? she wondered idly. With her other hand, she quickly relieved him of his boots, sash, and tunics. Obi-Wan toppled onto his pillow, and Lula laid the covers over him. The women exited the chamber.

"Wow," Lula whispered, impressed. "I could never get myself out of my uniform that fast, even using both hands."

Padmé shut the bedchamber door and leaned against it, smiling just a little. "It's been a while, but this isn't the first time I've disrobed a Jedi in the dark," she admitted dryly.

"Ah," Lula replied, understanding. She glanced at Padmé's large belly was they walked back to the common room. "So that's why you left Master Kenobi's clothes scattered all over the floor."

*

The two young ysalamiri generated a Force-repellent bubble that was about eight meters in radius. It covered the unoccupied bedchamber, which Padmé would use as a nursery when the time came, a small part of her own bedchamber, the kitchen, and most of the garden patch outside. Obi-Wan was grateful that the creatures were thriving in their new home.

*

Author's Notes: As always, thanks so much for reading. Even more thanks go out to those who review!

Solo7MBP: I'm updating sections of this daily on another website, so I'm posting chapters here frequently now. Glad to have you aboard!

HGLuv: You found me again! Happy happy joy joy! The only Tammy character I'm borrowing is Alanna, though Lula is Yamani, okay, fine, she's Asian, despite her height. I love Trickster's Choice and am impatiently awaiting Trickster's Queen, which I believe is due out in the Fall. Thanks for the grammar compliment, I am very nitpicky about proper English. Chatspeak is the devil! Thanks also for the movie-tie-in compliment…

I am taking my own roundabout way to get to Episode IV, and having a fabulous time doing it, thanks to you all!