Chapter 11 A Surprising Twist

Padme was working alongside Talme, helping her replace the maintenance panel on a fighter they had just finished repairing.

"Milady, has Captain Skywalker ever talked about…you know…being a Jedi?" She asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean, Talme?" Padme replied.

"Well, this afternoon, when Dav and I were having problems with our trainer…well…" Talme trailed off.

"He used the Force, Talme." Padme answered, smiling.

"Well, that's what I don't understand; I can't see it or touch it. What is it?" Talme asked.

"It's nothing you can touch; and I don't know if I can even explain it because I can't feel it like my husband can. I just know what he can do, and that's enough for me." Padme told her.

Talme shook her head, she still could not believe in such a thing as the Force.

"I know it's hard to understand, Talme; but believe me, people who are sensitive to it, like my husband and Master Kenobi…even little Zak can tap into its power." Padme explained.

"What power? I'm sorry, Milady, but I am just not convinced that something like that really exists." Talme insisted.

"Well, someday, you'll see it at work; and then you will believe." Padme replied.

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"I don't see any sense in staying out here any longer, Obi-Wan; if he was here, he's long gone." Anakin said, sounding frustrated. "We'll never catch him now."

"Oh, Anakin; you thinking in the negative again; why do you always do that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Well, what else is there? He's gone, brother." Anakin replied.

"For now; but we will find him." Obi-Wan answered.

"How?" Anakin asked.

"The Force will always show us the way." Obi-Wan said. "You're a Jedi; you should know that."

"I was a Jedi." Anakin corrected and then regretted it; he could feel that his remark had hurt his brother.

"I'm sorry, Anakin; I keep forgetting." Obi-Wan replied sadly.

"No, I should not have said that; I know that you will always think of me as a Jedi." Anakin told him. "And I guess Mace was right; I can't just stop being one, it's who I am."

"You're right about one thing; there's no point in staying out here; let's collect my apprentice and go back inside." Obi-Wan said as the last few words had not been spoken.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan; I hurt your feelings." Anakin said.

"It's nothing, Anakin; you were right, you're not a Jedi any longer. I just have to remember that." Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin shook his head, once more, his tongue had been too quick and his words had cut his best friend. Why, he thought, did he keep doing that?

Obi-Wan slapped him lightly on the back, "It's alright, Anakin; you're frustrated. I understand this." He assured him.

"You're always so forgiving; don't you ever hold a grudge?" Anakin asked.

"I try not to." Obi-Wan answered truthfully. "Oh, dear."

"Obi-Wan, what…oh." Anakin started.

They had both felt it; a disturbance in the Force…and then almost immediately, it was followed by Zak's call for help. Without a word between them, they took off at a dead run back to the landing pad.

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The dim gloom of the shed had been replaced with light when Zak's companion, a boy, had activated a remote light switch he had with him. Now he and Zak circled each other, Zak's lightsaber ignited in his hand and Zak's opponent apparently weaponless.

"Well, well, look what we have here; a baby Jedi." The boy said.

"You're the boy who pulled all those cables, aren't you?" Zak asked.

"Very good; but I'm afraid you won't be telling anyone about it; heh, heh." The boy answered.

"And you killed Kev; didn't you." Zak responded.

"Now, why would I do that?" The boy asked.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Zak asked.

"Why should I?" The other said.

"Because my master would want to know." Zak answered.

"Your master! What are you, a Jedi or a slave?" The other asked.

"A Jedi." Zak replied.

"Well, I hate the Jedi." The other said in disgust.

"Then I'm sorry, but why did you kill him?" Zak asked.

"Because he was stupid; he nearly got us caught." The other answered.

"I don't understand; I though you were working for him." Zak replied in confusion.

"Wrong, Jedi; he was working for me. I needed him to get on this base." The boy said as he brought his arm up. "But no one's going to catch me."

At almost the last moment, Zak saw what the boy was going to do. He leaped into the air, back flipped and landed to one side just as flames shot out of the arm of the boy's ill-fitting armor.

"Oh, you have to do better than that; I'm a Jedi." Zak said.

"Well, in a moment, you'll be a dead Jedi." The boy threatened and threw another shot of flames in Zak's direction.

Again, Zak flipped up and away from the assault, "I don't think so." Zak replied.

"AHHH." The boy screeched and aimed another shot at Zak, missing him completely.

"My master will be here in a moment; why don't you give up now?" Zak asked calmly.

However, the boy was not ready to give up, he brought his other arm up and fired a small projectile towards Zak. Zak made a dodging leap, but the projectile exploded under him; it did not make a loud noise, but the force of the blast threw him hard against one of the shelving units. He lost hold of his lightsaber and then he lost consciousness.

"Heh, heh, heh." The boy laughed as he approached Zak, lying motionless on the floor. "Not so tough now, are you."

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"Do you think the captain will find this Kev?" Dav asked Killian.

"I don't know; but I certainly hope so or we'll be on a lot of trouble." Killian answered.

"I can't believe I was that stupid. I should have known better." Dav said.

"It doesn't matter now, Lieutenant; we just have to make sure we fix all the damage that's been done." Killian told him.

"I know, Chief; but if I hadn't been so stupid, we wouldn't be in the mess." Dav replied.

"No, but now that we in it, we might just as well get out of it." Killian insisted.

"Yes, you're right, I know…." Dav trailed off.

"Forget it, Lieutenant; let's just get back to work." Killian answered. "We still have eight more to fix."

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Zak was not in sight as Obi-Wan and Anakin neared the landing pad.

"Where did he go? I told him to stay right here." Obi-Wan said.

"I don't think he went far, Obi-Wan; he feels close doesn't he?" Anakin replied.

"Yes, but I don't…there, that light wasn't on before, was it?" Obi-Wan answered.

"No, it wasn't." Anakin said as together they walked toward the shed.

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The boy kicked Zak hard in the ribs, but received no response, "Oh, this won't be any fun unless you're awake to feel it. Wake up, Jedi." He said as he kicked Zak again.

"I don't think I'd do that again, son." Obi-Wan said behind him.

The boy turned to see both Obi-Wan, arms folded, standing in the doorway; Anakin standing just behind him.

"You! I know you; you were there when my father was killed. You brought all those Jedi there, it was your fault he died." The boy exclaimed.

"Your father tried to kill him and Master Windu; his death was his own doing." Anakin replied.

"He was just doing his job; you didn't have to kill him." The boy said.

"His job included killing people; violence always ends in violence." Obi-Wan told him.

"Well, I guess you'll be joining him then." The boy said as he raised his arm and fired one of his projectiles toward them.

The little bomb exploded, but did nothing except take the door off the shed, Obi-Wan and Anakin had easily dodged it by leaping clear and now flanked the boy. The boy, now having two targets instead of one, turned his attention to Obi-Wan, raised his other arm and shot a line of flame at him. With his attention diverted to Obi-Wan, Anakin, having no lightsaber, picked up the nearest heavy thing he could find – a loose shelf that had been leaning against one of the shelving units. Obi-Wan easily leaped clear of the flame and the boy sent another one at him. Again, Obi-Wan was able to elude the fire, but it lit a small pile of rags and it burst into flames. The boy was temporarily distracted, and Obi-Wan moved quickly to his downed Padawan. Meanwhile, Anakin moved behind the boy and hit him in the back of the head with the shelf. The boy went down in a heap and Anakin leaned down to check his life signs; he was still alive.

"Obi-Wan, how badly is he hurt?" Anakin called out softly.

"It's alright, he's just knocked out." Obi-Wan answered as he picked Zak up, called Zak's lightsaber to him and moved toward the door.

The fire had spread to the nearest shelving unit and was quickly threatening to engulf the entire shed. Anakin grabbed the boy's collar, dragged him toward the doorway and followed Obi-Wan out.

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"Look the maintenance shed is on fire." Corporal Vaan said.

"What? But that's where my husband went!" Padme cried as she ran to the door.

She threw the door open and bounded toward the blazing building followed closely by Talme who had been working with her and Dav. The others were not far behind them. As she drew nearer, she caught sight of Obi-Wan carrying Zak in his arms. For a moment, her heart caught in her throat. Where is Anakin? Then her unspoken question was answered when she saw her husband, dragging someone, appear behind Obi-Wan. She bolted forward, ahead of the others and threw her arms around him with such force that he staggered backward and lost his hold on the form he had dragged out of the burning shed.

"It's alright, Padme." Anakin assured her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Padme asked.

"Fine, dear; and look what we found." Anakin said as he turned the boy over with his foot.

"What is he doing here?" Padme asked.

"He's probably the one who tampered with all the fighters." Obi-Wan answered as he lowered Zak to the ground. "It seems that Zak cornered him."

"Zak? Is he hurt?" Padme asked with concern.

"He must have just hit his head." Obi-Wan replied, touching his Padawan's head to check him again, "He'll be alright in a moment or two."

"But if he's here, then where is Kev?" Dav asked as he joined them. "And who is he?"

"I don't know where Kev is; but this is the Clone of a bounty hunter by the name of Jango Fett." Anakin answered.

"A Clone?" Talme asked. "But he's just a kid."

"Well, this one is unaltered, so he has no growth stimulation. Jango was raising him as his son." Obi-Wan explained. "His name is Boba and he's as ruthless as his father."

"Why would he want to invade Naboo?" Killian asked.

"I don't think he cares about Naboo; I think he was probably only doing a job. Kev is the one we need to speak to; Boba was probably working for him." Anakin answered.

"Kev is dead." Zak said quietly and all heads turned in his direction.

"Dead? How do you know that?" Anakin asked.

"I saw him." Zak answered.

"Where, Padawan?" Obi-Wan asked.

"In the corner of the shed; he'd been shot." Zak replied.

As everyone had their attention on Zak, Boba came to his senses and started to crawl away. Anakin immediately sensed him and, without even looking, slammed his boot down on Boba's back, forcing him back to the ground, "You're not going anywhere, Boba." He told him.

"Then who killed him?" Padme asked.

"He did." Zak answered, pointing to Boba. "Kev was working for him."

"Heh, heh, heh; it doesn't matter now. You're all dead; you can't stop them." Boba taunted.

"Well, if we're all dead, then so are you." Anakin replied.

"No, I work for them; they'll come for me." Boba said.

"No they won't; if you die, they won't have to pay you." Obi-Wan told him.

This wiped the smirk off Boba's face and he seemed to have lost his former bravado, "Yes, they…I know…well, I'm not telling you anything." He stammered and then finally finished defiantly.