Katie was rather unaware of the havoc caused by her disappearance, though whether or not she got the better end of the deal remained to be seen. True, she was not being tortured or threatened (yet, at least), but nor was she having any fun.

After giving her his whole canned 'sketchy abductor' speech André had pretty much left her alone, and was off discussing strategy with some of his officers. She couldn't hear a word of what was going on, and it wasn't like there was anyone to talk to. Rather than work herself up stressing over things she could do nothing about, she leaned against the vaguely foreign palm tree, and closed her eyes. Maybe if she meditated, or tried to, she'd figure out a way to get around this Force-block thing.

She'd barely finished clearing her mind when something hit her on the nose. Snapping her eyes open, she found a rather amused looking person grinning at her, holding a small pile of pebbles like the one he'd thrown at her. He was a dark as everyone else, looking like what she would have called a mulatto, and looked as though he was the sort to enjoy another's distress.

"You're not very interesting, are you?" he asked idly, looking vaguely disappointed, and not far older than herself.

"What?" she asked confused.

"You're not being very interesting. Most times, they start crying or whining for us to release them by now."

She shrugged, not liking being an object of interest and not really wanting to 'fraternize with the enemy'. "I'm too important for you to let me go just because I cried. So it would be pointless." She was rather hoping for this strange Rebel person to tell her that no, crying and whining would work just fine.

He shrugged in return. "I guess so…" He hadn't quite expected her to take up on that so fast, being a girl and all, but he supposed that Jedi had to fairly intelligent.

This thrilling and deeply invigorating conversation was interrupted by faint yells of triumph. Katie looked around, confused, but he answered her unspoken question for her. "They found a searcher… now this is going to be interesting."

She shivered, not really liking the ominous overtones in that innocent phrase. She was not disappointed as something of a howling throng faded in through the trees, dragging a boy who could not have been much more than twelve.

"A local," The young man she'd been talking to clarified. "He was giving searchers directions. Apparently, they listened too well and walked into the scouts."

"What are they going to do to him?" She breathed; feeling utterly terrified for the boy and crushingly naïve.

"Pull out his fingernails and toenails, and probably skin him alive." He replied entirely emotionless. "It's standard for traitors."

Katie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to turn her head away, not wanting to watch, but he had grabbed her by the back of the neck. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy." He muttered. "We have some questions to ask you, and you need to know the consequences."

It was then, helpless in the face of such brutality, that Katie realized they were going to kill her. No, not threaten, but honest-to-god slit her throat. And they'd enjoy it.

- - -

Obi-wan paced the length of the holding cell and back, trying desperately to think of a way out that did not leave him or his padawan dead or on the run. Yet now, when it was so very important, he found himself utterly idea-less.

It didn't help that Mel had fainted across the table, dead to the world. He didn't blame her, not at all; he'd been on the receiving end of Vader's anger more than once (far more) before.

She just looked so damn pathetic looking lying there… It was such a killer reminder of just how lonely he'd be without her. It was really sort of funny… he'd never actually wanted a padawan, not thinking himself fit to take charge of the health and welfare of another human being (just look at how his own life had turned out!). But then, she really wasn't much of a padawan anymore. That implied inferiority, and she was becoming too much of his friend to really be below him. He hadn't had the heart to tie her down, leaving her lying free on the steel table.

Sighing, he ran a nervous hand through his hair. And now she was going to die, once Vader got his hands on her. It was just such an awful shame…

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the cell door. "Yes?" he called, fighting down a wild panic at the thought of his hour being over already…

"Let me in." It was just Terryal, though he can't have been the bearer of any good news. He never was.

Obi-wan complied, shutting the door and locking it and keeping his feelings guarded. "You obviously have a reason for coming here." He offered as a way of greeting, not in the mood for this. "What is it?"

Terryal gave a long, low sigh. "I have something very important to tell you."

"Then get on with it already. I'm a bit pressed for time, as you must know." Obi-wan did not exactly snap, though he was not pleased.

"I'm the informant you're looking for, and I know where Katie is."

There was something of a silence, as Obi-wan processed that comment. "You?" He'd always considered Terryal as a rather sketchy sort, the kind of person that one could never quite be sure of the motives of. But he'd never thought that Terryal would lean towards the Resistance, which tended not to reward those with selfish motives.

"Yes, me." Terryal replied, patiently waiting for Obi-wan to figure out the rather spectacular mess that he'd created.

Obi-wan, on the other hand, was really wishing that for once in his life someone would just come up to him and hand him a nice, neat solution in a box. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to be that easy. And why did it always have to be him 'saving the day'? Why couldn't someone else make some of the hard decisions for him for once? Where had he gotten such shitty karma? Hell, he wasn't old enough for this.

Sending a rather despairing look towards his unconscious and entirely unhelpful padawan, Obi-wan turned back to Terryal (whom was still looking at him expectantly). "What do they want? Why are they bothering?"

"They're hoping for a hefty ransom." Terryal replied as though this should have been exceedingly obvious.

"There has to be more than that!" It really had not taken Obi-wan long to realize that the Resistance was little less money-oriented than the Empire, though he labored against the disillusionment.

"There is. The exchange is going to be done by one of their own, and as soon as they get the money she gets a knife between the ribs." Terryal revealed this with an entirely straight face, as though it did not matter to him that she was a (relative) innocent.

Obi-wan took this in and glared at Terryal. "Do you have any idea how much you've screwed things up? Now they'll both end up dead if I don't manage to miraculously pull something out of my sleeve. And then where will we be? Right back to where we were months ago, and minus two perfectly viable Jedi."

"Two?" Terryal asked lightly, raising an eyebrow and giving Obi-wan a rather patronizing look.

Obi-wan's glare deepened. "This is why I liked it better when all you did was skulk in the shadows. Just tell me where she is, and I'll see what I can do to clear up your mess." Cutting off the smart reply, he continued in an entirely threatening, nearly Vader-esque way. "You are going to stay here, and tell him that I'm off saving his girlfriend, and keep him from torturing my padawan. Or he really will find out who turned traitor. So unless you want the longest, most tortuous death imaginable, you are going to guard her with your life." There was a short silence. "Not that it's worth much, anyway."

- - -

So Terryal was not in the most of relaxed moods when, some fifteen minutes later, the inevitable Imperial Knock came at the door. Opening said reinforced door with more than a little trepidation, he gave the requisite half-bow.

"Where is Obi-wan?" Vader demanded almost immediately, upon seeing his 'Advisor's' absence.

"Following up on the girl's information," Terryal replied as respectfully as possible, not wanting to be the not-so misguided target of what would be a very fatal anger.

"Why did he go alone?" He inquired again, slightly less demandingly.

"Because she would only tell him," Terryal replied logically. "She was rather willing to tell on that one condition, to avoid your lordship's anger." Being of rather high rank himself Terryal rarely used such formal titles, but now seemed like a good time to start.

Vader did not reply, though he eyed Terryal suspiciously. There was something very wrong with this situation, and he did not appreciate it.