Chapter 11 Rite of Passage
It was the dead of night when Anika snuck out of her lab. She needed to make contact with Obi-Wan, as risky as it was. General Raff's plans had shaken her up considerably. She only hoped that Obi-Wan had gotten the disk to the Jedi.
Obi-Wan was waiting in the spot where Anika had saved Obi-Wan from getting caught. Obi-Wan was already there, blending in with the shadows. The scientist almost jumped when he made his presence known. Anika took his hand and they went into the hidden alcove.
In a hushed voice, Anika went into her findings without preamble, "General Raff is planning an invasion on Vrelin."
Vrelin was a small, but peaceful world. It had a successful and fair government. They had a decent defense, but it would be no match for General Raff's army of terror.
Obi-Wan was thoughtful for a moment, he knew time was of the essence, "When?"
"In three days. He has the lab running day and night producing the chemical. Obi-Wan, you are that planet's only hope, you need to tell your fellow Jedi. They have to stop this."
Obi-Wan agreed, "I will make contact immediately. Don't worry Anika, it will be alright, I promise."
The council listened to Obi-Wan's report with growing interest. They would go to the Senate immediately with this information and hopefully they would be able to warn the Vrelians.
Yoda spoke to Obi-Wan, "Done well you have, Apprentice. Be careful you will."
"Yes, Master Yoda. I will be careful." Obi-Wan answered, he then asked, "Have you spoken with my Master?"
Mace was the one to give the response, "I have, Young One. He is very concerned about you. Be careful."
"I will my Masters, May the force be with you."
Qui-Gon and Darick stood in front of the view screen listening to Mace Windu.
"Qui-Gon, you and Darick have to make haste to Vrelin. If they have the antitoxin, they will be prepared to fight." Mace implored, "It will take 12 hours to get there, they are expecting you. They have their top scientists working on the antitoxin now."
Qui-Gon breathed deeply, it would be hard to leave his apprentice, but he was not doing any good here, "Of course, Mace. We will set course immediately," Then he asked, "How is Obi-Wan?"
There was no mistaking the worry in his friend's eyes and for a brief moment, Mace was almost sorry he told Obi-Wan to stay, "He is fine, Qui-Gon. But we need to move, General Raff will be furious when he finds out he was double crossed, we will have to figure out a way to get Obi-Wan off that planet."
The republic shuttle landed and Qui-Gon bounded off the transport and was greeted by the Prime Minister who was surrounded by an honor guard.
The prime minister stepped forward, "Master Jinn, Master Kint. We welcome you to Vrelin. I am Prime Minister Ducla."
Qui-Gon and Darick bowed to the Prime Minister and Qui-Gon spoke, "Thank you Mr. Prime Minister. We are honored that we can assist you during this hard time."
The three men began to walk to a building and the prime minister responded, "It is us who are honored Master Jedi. I know how hard it was for you to leave Thanills. But you will be pleased to know that my scientists have reproduced the antitoxin. We will forever be indebted to Obi-Wan Kenobi and his courage to make a stand against wickedness when no one else would."
Hearing those words made Qui-Gon proud. Obi-Wan had come so far and done so well. He was growing up. Everyday his padawan became more independent. Yes, the past three years had been hard on him. Even devastating. But, instead of becoming weak, Obi-Wan grew stronger. From the ashes of his boyhood, came forth a young man resolute in upholding peace and justice in a changing galaxy.
In a few moments the men were in a lab and a young scientist came over to the Jedi and in a polite voice asked the Jedi to roll their sleeves up. The masters complied and the woman gave each of the men the shot.
"Thank you, Layna." The prime minister said to the girl. She bowed and went back to her work station. The man then turned to his companions and stated, "Now we are ready to fight. When the Thanillians attack, we will be ready."
Obi-Wan was thoughtful as he listened to the mini holo of Master Windu before him. "Padawan, you will make yourself scarce. General Raff will want revenge when he knows that you were able to warn us and prepare Vrelin."
Obi-Wan nodded, "I understand Master Windu. But you have to understand that I have a friend in there. Without her, we would not have this information. She is alone and General Raff will surely kill her and her brother. I can not allow that to happen. I WILL not allow that to happen."
Mace sighed, he knew the inner struggle the young man was going through, "I will not order you to hide Young Padawan. But I do implore you to be mindful. You are not a child anymore. May the force be with you."
Obi-Wan was relieved and said, "Thank you, Master Windu I will heed your warnings. May the force be with you."
The ensign reporting to General Raff was very nervous, "Sir, the Vrelians are fighting back."
Even through the holo, the young man could see the General turning red, "What do you mean, 'fighting back'? That does not make any sense! Are you using the chemical? Half of the population should be dead by now, the other half begging for mercy!"
Gulping, the messenger replied, "They seem to have an antitoxin. It is not having any affect on them. The battle is going on day two. We have sustained heavy losses. They...they were ready for us."
It did not make sense to General Raff. How could they have been ready for them? Who could have warned them? General Raff had a feeling that his answers laid in the lab with the young scientist. He barked his orders, "Retreat! Return to Thanills at once!"
"Yes, Sir." With one last salute, the holo ended.
The two Jedi Masters kept watch over the battle. The Vrelians were fighting an excellent battle and the army from Thanills was retreating. Qui-Gon's comlink went off, "Jinn, here."
Qui-Gon recognized the voice of Mace Windu on the other end, "Qui-Gon, the senate has just voted to go after General Raff and his army. They are sending republic fighters to join you."
"Darick and I will return to Thanills at once, tell Obi-Wan he is to hide until I get there."
Silence on the other end prompted Qui-Gon to say, "Mace, Mace, are you there?"
"I'm here Qui, but I can't order Obi-Wan to hide and go against what the force is telling him."
Qui-Gon was not sure he heard right, "What are you saying? Are you saying that you agree with this vendetta that Obi-Wan has gone on?"
"It's not a vendetta Qui, it's a boy becoming a man. Windu out."
Qui-Gon started pacing back and forth, Darick watched for a bit and quietly said, "Mace is right, you know."
That stopped Qui-Gon in his tracks, "Right? How can you say that? You know what he is up against. You lost your own padawan this way. How can you agree with Mace."
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Darick carefully considered his words before responding, "Look, Qui, when we first came after Obi-Wan, I thought, here is a teenager taking on the galaxy himself to avenge the death of his best friend. But I don't think that anymore."
Qui-Gon looked at his friend, "You don't?"
"No, I don't. Oh, he is still doing this for Bruck, but it's not just for Bruck, or for Klea or even Cerasi for that matter. It is for the principle in which they died." Darick allowed his friend to absorb the words before continuing, "It is his trial. A trial I will never get to see Bruck make."
With that, Darick walked out of the room. Thinking about all the things he would never see Bruck do still hurt the man deeply, he needed to be alone now and mediate.
The fortress on Thanills was in chaos, with what was left of the army regrouping. It was somewhat easy for Obi-Wan to make his way back to the lab. Anika was waiting for him, "Ok, Obi, I have your shot of the antitoxin right here. We have no time to lose."
Anika prepared to give Obi-Wan his inoculation, but the sound of footsteps coming down the hall caused Anika to put the needle in her pocket, pushing Obi-Wan towards a supply closet, she whispered, "Hide."
Anika jumped up when the door to her lab was kicked open. She stood with her back straight. She would not back down to the man who had caused so much death, pain, and destruction. The man who destroyed her family. But nevertheless, she was still frightened.
General Raff slowly made his way over to the young scientist. The click of his boot heels echoing in the silence of the lab. Circling her, he looked over her with intent. Anika felt herself start to waver under the scrutiny.
Finally, the general spoke, "Well, Anika. I seem to have a problem. My wonderful plan to attack Vrelin somehow has failed." The man stopped speaking for a moment, he then edged himself up to Anika, and all but screamed in her face, "And you know why, don't you? DON'T YOU?"
From his hiding spot, Obi-Wan could not let his friend take the brunt of the assault. He stepped out, and said in a sure voice, "Leave her out of this."
Swinging around, General Raff took in the sight of the person before him. Not a teenager, but not quite a man. He noticed the short hair cut and the long braid along with the beige clothing and the silver cylinder hanging on his belt. For some reason the sight caused him to smile, "What have we got here? A little Jedi to make all the evil go away?"
Obi-Wan swallowed his anger, the man who was responsible for Bruck's death was before him. But Obi-Wan had come to far for anger to destroy is concentration, His hand went to his saber and he ignited it, "I place you under arrest in the name of the Republic."
This caused General Raff to laugh, "The Republic? The Republic does not exist here. You have no legal right to arrest me."
"Oh but I do. When you kill a Jedi, you automatically fall under the Law of the Order."
General Raff looked amused, "And when you trespass on Thanillian soil, you fall under our laws." At that point over a dozen armed soldiers came barging in. Obi-Wan considered his options. Then General Raff said, "Go ahead, Kid. Take them out with your mystical laser weapon. And maybe a stray bolt won't hit your friend here."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath, he knew there was no way he could defend himself AND Anika at the same time. He lowered his weapon and turned to General Raff, "If anything happens to her, you had better hope I am dead. Because if I'm not, you will pay."
"I'm sure, young Jedi. I'm sure."
