Chapter 11 Hidden in Darkness

Kimmy fiddled with the ship's buttons as they flew. Jesse watched her for a minute, the tension so tight it felt like it was going to snap. He got up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're on autopilot, you don't need to manually control it." He said softly.

Kimmy moved away from his touch. "I guess I'm just worried."

"So am I. But I don't think that's why you're uptight."

Kimmy looked away, her shyness making her even more attractive. Jesse groaned inwardly. He was turning into such a hopeless romantic, first Padme, now Kimmy.

"You're a better Jedi than I am." He said.

Kimmy looked up and started to protest, but Jesse cut her off.

"You had feelings for me, but you didn't let them get in the way; instead you checked them. But I let my feelings run wild without trying to stop them. If it weren't for you…" he trailed off, knowing his life would have been miserable. Eventually the breaking point would have come, and who knew what the result would have been? "Everyone needs a friend to slap them to their senses once in a while. Thanks."

Kimmy nodded, still a little shy. "You would have done the same for me."

Jesse took her hand and caressed her cheek softly. "Another time, another place… we might have been more than friends."

Kimmy withdrew her hand with a smile that left no room for words. "I know."

>>>>

"Where are they?" Jesse muttered as they landed on Geonosis.

"What's the radar say?" Kimmy turned to look over his shoulder.

"Nothing. Either the ship's out of range, or it's not running right now." Jesse felt like slamming the control panel. He shut off the engines and opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Kimmy asked, following him off the ship.

"We're looking for: a bounty hunter, Anakin and Padme, and Obi-Wan. Staying in the ship won't be very effective in any case; we'll probably have better luck out here."

"So you don't know where we're going."

"Not exactly. Improvise."

Kimmy shrugged and followed Jesse to an open shaft. They both looked down it, but it was too dark to see anything. The smell of melted metal wafted up though the open hole. Without a word Jesse picked up a small rock and dropped it down the hole. They counted silently until they heard the faint plink of it hitting the bottom.

"About fifty feet." Jesse said.

"We can jump then." Kimmy suggested not very eager to go down the shaft.

Jesse looked at her. "We could find another way. It may just be an underground cave."

Kimmy shook her head. "Let's go."

Taking a deep breath, they jumped. Kimmy used the Force to cushion the impact and watched Jesse do several flips to slow his descent before landing lightly, hand on saber. They were in a drafty corridor, dimly lit by torches. The sound of machinery echoed from further down the tunnel.

"Which way?" Kimmy asked in a whisper.

Jesse cleared his throat, the sound seeming extremely loud in the eerie darkness.

"Left." He whispered too.

They crept down the corridor, hardly daring to breathe. Jesse sent out waves of the Force like echolocation to tell him if anyone was around them. Even so, he felt chills running up and down his spine, giving him the impression of being followed. He turned around. No one was there. Kimmy gave him an odd look, but she didn't say anything. The darkness was too overpowering to talk. So silence prevailed.

Jesse closed his eyes for a minute, concentrating on the Force and feeling some of the depressing darkness leave.

"Let's go." He whispered.

This time he concentrated on what was behind him as they moved forward. Someone was definitely there, but other than that he couldn't sense anything. The person's presence would brush him, like a ghost or a shadow before disappearing again. He had a feeling that that was because whoever was following them was using the Force to keep track of them instead of sight or hearing.

Kimmy stopped and Jesse almost ran into her. She turned and put a finger to her lips then pointed down the tunnel. Jesse concentrated for a minute. Something was down there too. They could stay and be caught by whoever was following them, or they could walk into a trap. Jesse drew his lightsaber but didn't ignite it, and stepped forward. Dozens of droids that blocked the way turned to face the two Jedi, drawing their weapons.

Blaster fire ricocheted off the wall and the glowing sabers as the battle ensued. Suddenly another saber glowed a vibrant blue along with the turquoise and green.

"Kitch!" Jesse and Kimmy exclaimed at the same time.

Kitch didn't answer but concentrated on slaughtering the rest of the droids.

"What are you doing here?" Jesse demanded. Not that he wasn't thankful for the help, but Kitch was thirteen for crying out loud.

"I found out that you guys were headed in the wrong direction, and when I couldn't contact you, I followed Obi-Wan here."

"So you know where he is?" Kimmy asked eagerly.

"Um… no. We kind of got separated." Kitch looked away not especially eager to talk about what had happened. Later would be time enough to tell Jesse about his former master.

"Great." Jesse rubbed his forehead. "Kitch, does your master know you're here?"

"No." Kitch didn't look too sorry for the steps he had taken.

Jesse groaned. Was this how Qui-Gon had felt when he had discovered Jesse in the ship all those years ago?

"Alright." He finally said. "Our first priority is to find Obi-Wan. Then we'll see about this bounty hunter."

"And Anakin and Padme?" Kimmy asked.

"There around here somewhere." Jesse said. "Hopefully we'll run into them. In the meantime, Kitch, tell me everything."

Kitch's stomach dropped. "Everything?"

"Yes." Jesse gave Kitch a weird look. He was definitely hiding something.

"Is something wrong?" Kimmy asked, wondering what Kitch was so reluctant to tell them.

"Noooo." Kitch hedged. What to say? He'd been so adamant about getting things out in the open, but now that it came down to it, he would just as soon leave everything hidden, the way it always had been.

"I followed the bounty hunter here, that's where I lost Obi-Wan. Then I overheard a conversation that said he'd been caught, so I've been looking for him. No luck so far though." He finally blurted out. Later, he told himself. Later he would tell the truth. For now Jesse's mind needed to be clear.

"That's it? How long have you been here?" Jesse asked.

"Not long." Kitch tried to think back. He'd lost track of days.

Jesse gave up trying to pry open the clam; it would obviously have to wait. "Well, tell us where you have looked, and we'll go where you haven't." he said.

Kitch nodded. That he could do. "This way." He said.

Ahh, together again! The three musketeers (I don't think Ispelled that right).Sorry to any romantics who were just waiting for Jesse and Kimmmy to fall in love. One of mypet peeves is when authors let Jedi get away with falling in love.

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Anything else? Nope. Oh yes. REVIEW! (please)