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Obi-Wan and Anakin crept through the foliage. Anakin was frustrated with himself for not sensing anybody nearby.
/It's alright, Padawan. Let go of your frustration and concentrate on the here and now./
Anakin winced at having been so transparent. /Yes, Master./
Obi-Wan paused when he heard a male voice. He honed in on the voice and quietly made his way forward. He motioned for Anakin to stay back. He peeked through some leaves and saw three burly men. Two were human, one was a Rodian.
One of the humans seemed quite agitated. "How are we supposed to find the Jedi? They could be anywhere!"
The other human, obviously the leader, looked irritated. "We may not have to. There ARE four other teams looking!"
The Rodian spoke up. "Our informant told us the Jedi should have arrived by now. If we can locate them, they'll lead us to the station."
The man did not look appeased. "They could already be inside the station by now. We have no idea where they landed or where they're heading! And besides that, we're talking about JEDI here! They're not exactly easily caught by surprise. And even if they are, they can still be quite deadly."
The leader shrugged. "I think the boss knows that this is a shot in the dark, but he's desperate. At least he knows which planet the station is on now. It'll only be a matter of time before its location is discovered."
The Rodian crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. "Personally, I think the reputation of the Jedi is exaggerated."
Obi-Wan gestured to his right. /Anakin, go position yourself near the Rodian. When I move to knock out the leader, disarm him. I'll disarm the other human./
/But…/ The look Obi-Wan shot him brooked no refusal. /Yes, Master./ Anakin quietly moved towards the Rodian.
Obi-Wan moved liked lightning. The leader didn't have a chance to blink before being knocked unconscious by a swift kick to the chin. Obi-Wan whirled and quickly kicked the blaster out of the other human's hand. Simultaneously, Anakin had jumped in front of the Rodian – lightsaber activated – and cut his blaster in half.
Obi-Wan now had his lightsaber aimed at the still-conscious human. He picked up the fallen blaster and aimed it at the Rodian. "Go gather some vines so we can tie their feet and hands."
"Yes, Master." Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and ran into the greenery. Why did his master always get to have all the fun? Capturing those men was entirely too easy. He had almost hoped for more of a fight. Anakin sighed as he set about his task.
Obi-Wan noticed the Rodian looking around for a possible escape. He smiled at the blue-skinned mercenary. "I wouldn't, if I were you."
The human looked afraid. He hissed through his teeth, "Don't be stupid, Treevo!"
Obi-Wan was a bit puzzled. The human looked frightened, but Obi-Wan couldn't sense his fear. In fact, he hadn't been able to sense any emotion from any of them. He'd been able to sense their presence, but nothing else. That's odd.
Anakin came back with several vines and they quickly tied the hands and feet of the three men. They patted the men down and found a comlink on the leader. Obi-Wan tucked it into his pocket and looked around the area. "Let's tie them to that tree over there." They dragged each one over to the large tree and tied them down with a long vine. Obi-Wan squatted in front of the human. "Who hired you?"
The Rodian angled his head to glare at his companion. "Don't you dare squeal!"
Obi-Wan studied the human. He decided to put the Force behind his words. He gestured almost imperceptibly with his hand. "You will tell me who hired you."
The human glared at Obi-Wan. "I'm not saying a word, Jedi."
Obi-Wan kept his features neutral, but he was confused. This was a petty thug. He should be able to get the man to talk. He decided to try it on the Rodian, but had the same result. Curious. He got up and smiled. "If that's the way you want it, fine. I do hope you're comfortable. You may be here a while."
Obi-Wan sat down a ways away and dug his cloak out of his pack. He started ripping it into strips. Anakin came and sat next to him, speaking quietly. "What are you doing, Master?"
Obi-Wan spoke equally soft. "I'm making gags for our friends."
Anakin played with some of the pieces of fabric, trying to decide whether or not to voice his question. He glanced at Obi-Wan, who eyed him knowingly. As usual, his master could sense he had a question. "Master, I don't understand why we're doing all of this. Why don't we just MAKE them tell us who they're working for?"
"They're obviously resistant to Force suggestion, which is strange. What would you suggest, Padawan?" Obi-Wan was concerned with Anakin's line of thinking. He wanted to get this out in the air so he could hopefully nip it in the bud.
"We're the ones in control here, Master. Why don't we make them tell us what we want to know?" He tried to keep his voice low, despite his passion on the matter. He did not agree with his master's handling of this situation.
Obi-Wan could read the passion in his padawan and deliberately measured his words. "Jedi do NOT threaten, Anakin. And Jedi certainly do NOT use violence to get information, no matter how much that information is needed." He studied his apprentice. It disturbed Obi-Wan greatly that Anakin could even think such a thing. Anakin had been sequestered in the Temple for nearly three years, having Jedi philosophy and foundational skills hammered into him. They'd only just started getting missions recently, and then only minor ones – until this one, that is. Obi-Wan did find it a bit odd that the Council suddenly gave them this important mission, after a steady stream of innocuous ones.
Anakin was fighting a mixture of emotions. He felt ashamed at his line of thinking, angry that Obi-Wan had been able to so clearly read him and rebuff him, worried that his master would be disappointed in him, and frustrated at feeling unable to truly 'get' Jedi philosophy. His first inclination in any given situation was usually the opposite of what a Jedi was supposed to do. No matter what I do, I'm always wrong!
Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Don't worry, Padawan, you'll get to where you need to be. It just takes time. You need to be willing to give yourself that time and not try to rush things. Okay?" He searched his padawan's eyes, offering him an encouraging smile.
Anakin released his emotions into the Force. He couldn't help but smile back at his master. He did feel better. More than anything, he wanted Obi-Wan to be proud of him. He'd be willing to do just about anything to accomplish that. "Okay, Master."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Okay. If we cannot get the information we need from these mercenaries directly, we may be able to get some indirectly. The Force always provides in the end – usually in ways we never imagined." He threw Anakin an ironic smile.
"What will we do now?"
"We will put the other teams of mercenaries out of commission."
"We're not going to the research station?"
"Not while those other teams are still out there. I'm not going to risk giving away the station's location."
Anakin tried not to let his disappointment show. He really wanted out of the jungle. He had hoped to be safely ensconced in the research station by now. But then again, hunting down a bunch of mercenaries could be quite the adventure!
Obi-Wan took in his padawan's sudden mood change with a shake of his head. He got up and walked back over to the tied up men. "Where are the other teams?" He asked knowing full well they wouldn't answer. The human stubbornly turned his head in the other direction. "You're two of the chattiest folks I've ever met," he said dryly. Obi-Wan forced open the human's mouth and shoved in a rolled up strip of cloth. He took another strip and tied it off.
While Anakin finished gagging the other two, Obi-Wan gathered up their supplies. The leader's comlink suddenly came to life. "Team 1, this is Team 3. Are you there, Ty?"
Obi-Wan tried to remember the leader's voice. "Yeah."
"Have you seen any signs of the Jedi, yet?"
"Not yet. You?" Obi-Wan knew he'd better keep his answers short and sweet.
The man snorted. "Nothing. Well, I better check in with the others. Happy hunting."
Obi-Wan just grunted and closed the connection. He was halfway tempted to ask the man's location, but knew that it would probably arouse suspicion. He would rely on the Force to guide him. The Force WAS trying to tell him something. Obi-Wan had a growing feeling that something was…off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could tell that things on this mission were not as they seemed…
