End of the Assignment

Chapter 5

Why didn't I hold out for a Trial that allowed the use of a fucking lightsaber?

Siri dived to her right and heard the blaster bolt go through the window behind her, grabbing her blaster as she did so.

"You backstabbing bitch! You think you can steal from us?" Krayn screamed, but at least he stopped shooting when Siri had the ability to shoot back.

Siri got up, glanced towards her left, and noticed that the bodyguard, who also had to dive to avoid being shot, had not yet picked up his blaster. She concentrated on it for a fraction of a second, tapped into the Force, and it flew into her left hand.

Nice to know those skills don't just disappear after not using them for months!

Siri would have found the shocked look on the men's faces very funny if she didn't still have a blaster aimed at her.

"Jedi bitch!" exclaimed the bodyguard.

Siri was certain she had never heard those two words together before.

She aimed one of the blasters at the bodyguard and the other at Krayn. "Look, if you don't want me to blast your brains out, let me go," she said, slowly backing up against the window, hearing glass crunch under her feet.

The men didn't move or say anything.

Siri reached the wall. The blasted-out window was right behind her. Continuing to keep a blaster on the men, she jumped to sit on the window ledge. There were small pieces of glass on it, but her pants were thick enough to keep her from getting cut up.

She lifted her left foot behind her. There – she got her foot on the ledge. That made it easier to get her right foot on the ledge. She stood up; her thighs burned for a second.

Suddenly, Krayn's face changed. "You're not going to blast us, you Jedi prude," he yelled out.

"Don't push me," said Siri, firing a warning shot.

In the momentary distraction that followed, Siri turned around and jumped off the ledge, She started running before the men could follow her.

"I'm out of the building," she called into the wire.

"Go one block north," came Master Adi's voice in reply.

That happened to be the direction she was running in. Just a few seconds later, she heard a familiar voice call out "Siri!" from a speeder on the side of the road. She jumped in and then it started to speed away. Siri turned her head to look at Ob-Wan and Anakin.

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then everybody started to talk at once. They stopped again.

"Did the Council get whatever is on Krayn's server?" asked Anakin.

"Yes," she replied,

"Yippee!" cheered Anakin. "Did you pummel him? Or force-choke him? I hope you did, after his raid on Mos Espa a few years ago."

"Anakin, I only agreed to let you come along because you swore you would be a model Padawan, even when confronting your past."

"Sorry, Master Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan then turned towards Siri. "I thought you'd left the Order without even saying a proper good-bye. We had no idea where you were until a few days ago."

"I'm so sorry, Obi-Wan! Bu the Council ordered me not to tell anyone."

"Master Obi-Wan thinks you look cute in that top," came from the back of the speeder.

Siri looked at Obi-Wan, whose cheeks had suddenly become noticeably redder than usual. Well, she had worn tighter tops that showed more skin as Zora.

"If it weren't for the Code forbidding attachment..." Siri whispered,

"I know," Obi-whispered back.

Siri realized that if she and Obi-Wan were several years older and they were all wearing middle-class clothes, the three of them could almost pass for a family. And it hurt, for a second, that the Code would never allow her to have a husband or child of her own.

But the Order had taught her to live without that.

"I can't believe the Council actually listened to me," spoke up Anakin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Siri.

"I told them everything I knew about Krayn and his raid on Mos Espa. He kidnapped my friend's mother."

"So you're the one that got me sent to that hellhole for months," said Siri. "Obi-Wan, you might have to protect your apprentice when we get back to the Temple."

"He's all yours if you want him."

"Obi-Wan!"

Siri turned towards Anakin. "You did the right thing. I'm kidding – mostly."