One Day Remains
By Rhi
Chapter 2
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Enjoy.
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The twelve members of the Jedi Council sat in their respective chairs around the council chambers and watched as Jedi Knight Tahl and her dark-haired Padawan, Remy Turro entered the room, their light footsteps echoing slightly in the high-ceilinged room. They both stopped simultaneously in the middle of the chambers.
"You summoned us, Masters." Tahl said by way of greeting.
"Yes, we did. Mission for you, we have." Yoda said, his aged face wrinkling as he spoke.
Both Knight and Padawan looked slightly relieved. Both had been on temple leave for a month and were eager to get back into the field.
Mace took over the briefing. "You will be sent to Corellia. Corellian Security has apprehended a dangerous fugitive and have requested that he be escorted to Coruscant by Jedi representatives. It will not be a hard mission, but as always, be prepared for anything. Your ship will leave in one hour from Docking Bay 2. It should only take a day to get there."
Both Tahl and Remy nodded their heads and Tahl accepted a datapad from Mace, which contained further details of the mission. "Is there anything else that we should know?" Tahl asked.
"Hmmm." Yoda's wisened voice filled the room. "Help I sense you will need. From unusual places it will come." He then thumped his gimer stick on the chair to signal that he had finished.
"Thank you, Master." Tahl said, easing her body into a short bow, before turning and leaving the room, Remy following two steps behind.
The next morning, Obi-Wan was up at the crack of dawn, not wishing to make the same mistake that he had the previous day. He ambled through the kitchen, snagging a piece of tica fruit off the counter, before making his way into the shop, knowing that his father would want him to work in the shop today.
He gulped down the fruit in a few bites and tossed the pit of the fruit over his shoulder as he stepped past a trash receptacle. There was a clunking noise as it hit the bottom of the can.
He wiped his hands on his grubby pants and pushed open the door that led into the shop, where his father was standing at the counter, bartering with a customer over the price of a box of thermal detonators.
"400 credits. I won't go any lower than that." Kovi stated, placing a protective hand on the box of explosives.
"Too much." The lizard-like man said, his voice hissing as he spoke. "I can get them for 300 on Tatooine."
Kovi leaned forward, almost menacingly. "You're not on Tatooine." He said simply.
The creature huffed with indignation and dumped a handful of credits on the counter. He scooped up the box of thermal detonators under one arm and stormed out of the shop.
Kovi counted out the credits carefully, smirking as he did so, before placing them in a locked drawer for safekeeping. "You'll do good to take notes, boy. Never back down on price." He then snagged a broom that was leaning against the wall and shoved it into Obi-Wan's hands. "The floor could use a sweep."
Obi-Wan gave the stained duracrete floor a glance. "What's the point? It's not gonna get any cleaner."
"Shut your trap or you'll be on your hands and knees scrubbing it." Kovi threatened, giving the boy a quick cuff upside the head.
Obi-Wan knew that this was one of those times where talking was not a good idea, as he had no desire to stay inside all day, cleaning out the shop, so he quickly swallowed the smartass statement he was going to make, and started sweeping.
He was relieved when a customer came in and Kovi ushered him straight into the back room. He knew that room was where Kovi kept his illegal drugs, including the commonly purchased spice. The two stepped out of the room again a couple of minutes later, the customer tucking a small bag into the inner pocket of his thick jacket. Credits were handed over and Kovi smirked as he locked them into the drawer. "Nice doing business with you. Do come again." He said to the customer, knowing very well that he would be back the next day or the day after, even though he'd been sold enough spice to last him a week.
Obi-Wan finished up sweeping the shop and turned to leave when he was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're going, eh?" Kovi growled.
Obi-Wan twisted around, shaking the hand off his shoulder. "I'm going out. I've done the floor. Can't you see? It's slightly less brown than it was before." He gestured to the still grimy floor.
Kovi glowered at the young boy. "I thought I told you to shut your trap. For that, you're going to scrub the floor."
Obi-Wan groaned, but didn't say anything else. If he'd learned one thing in his short five years in the universe, it was to shut up before you got yourself into worse trouble. Annoyed with himself, he scuffed his feet as he made his way over to the supply cupboard and retrieved a plastoid bucket and a scrubbing brush. He filled the bucket with hot water and a cleaning mixture and got to work on the floor.
It was early afternoon in Coronet when Knight Tahl and Padawan Remy landed on Corellia. They were met at the landing strip by two sober-looking CorSec representatives – one was talking on a comlink, while the other stood by, looking worried.
As Tahl and Remy approached, the guard talking on his comlink hastily ended the conversation and clipped the item on his utility belt. He stepped forward to welcome the Jedi. "Greetings. My name is Commander Deine Paq, and this is Officer Oster Rush. My apologies, but I'm afraid that I must be the bearer of bad news so soon after your arrival. I have just been informed that Ris Threm has escaped from our custody. However, we have every available officer out on the street looking for him, and expect to recover him soon."
Tahl introduced herself and her Padawan. Outwardly, she seemed unperturbed at the news, however, inwardly, she allowed herself to feel a little frustration at the unexpected turn of events. Yoda's statement from earlier that day came rushing back to her. Help I sense you will need. From unusual places it will come. Maybe this was why she and Remy would need help. She had pondered that statement during the short journey from Coruscant, and couldn't understand why they would need help on a mission such as this. Mysterious are the ways of the Force, she reminded herself.
"Take us to your headquarters. We will aid you in your search." Tahl stated.
"I assure you, Knight Tahl, we have every available man out looking for him, although appreciated, your assistance is not required." Commander Paq said, becoming slightly flustered under the strong-willed Jedi's gaze.
"Commander, I have probably dealt with more criminals than you've seen people. One would think that Jedi input would be a benefit to your operation."
"Alright then." The commander said, not wanting to start an argument. "I will take you to headquarters and brief you on the search."
"Thank you, Commander." Tahl said, as she and Remy followed the commander and his officer to the transport that awaited them.
It was late afternoon by the time Obi-Wan had finished cleaning the floor. He'd ended up scrubbing the whole shop three times over, as Kovi had decided each time that the job was not good enough. He was just scrubbing the last section of the floor when suddenly, he felt himself fully on alert, as if there were danger nearby. His heart raced as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on.
An image of Laini flashed through his mind and he knew that there was something wrong.
Dropping the cleaning rag, Obi-Wan dashed out of the shop, much to Kovi's surprise.
"Hey boy, get back here!" Kovi yelled after the boy.
Obi-Wan ignored his father and ran down the road, not knowing exactly where he was headed, instead, letting his instincts guide him.
He ran, untiring, down streets, through alleyways and occasionally ducking through people's back yards, until he reached a park.
Corellia had always prided itself on its reserves and parks, and the park he'd ended up in was one of the largest in Coronet, backed by an area of trees and native bush, planted by some naturalists many years ago. The trees had grown tall and thick and at the present moment, held a rather ominous quality as they were cast in shadow by the setting sun.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan said to himself, as he paused, trying to figure out why he'd felt compelled to come here. A couple of seconds later, he heard a faint scream coming from the woods.
…Rhi