A/N: You may recognise some scenes in the later parts of this chapter. I found that it is necessary to tie in certain film events into the tale I am weaving. There will be a few scenes in future chapters as well that you may recognise. I tried to limit them and change them enough so as not to bore the reader.
RESOLVE II
5.
When Obi-Wan arrived on the level where Tyro's office was located the Force was steadily suffusing with panic. He sensed the lifeforms move around him, separated only by the hallways and doorways, and felt their fear before he saw it on their faces as he sped by through the corridors of the Senate building. The closer he got to Tyro's office, the more chaotic their feelings became.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath mid-stride and allowed their fear and their panic to flow through him, leaving him alert to their terror but unaffected by it. He swept past a few familiar faces he'd seen in passing, but whose names he didn't know, and turned the final corner.
Tyro's office was in complete disarray.
"Master Jedi!" A human man exclaimed upon seeing him. "Something terrible has happened!"
Clearly, Obi-Wan thought with no small amount of annoyance and trepidation. He'd felt it in the Force long before he saw the visual evidence. With practised ease he clamped down on his vexation and swept past the man still yammering away. His words had taken on the coherency of unintelligible drivel.
The sliding door to Tyro's office stood open. Obi-Wan felt a strong breeze flow through the doorway. Steeling himself against what he suspected he would find, he stepped through the doorway and carefully peered around the room. His cloak billowed out around him, and slapped against his frame as the wind buffeted it.
The transparisteel window had been blow to pieces.
No shards within the office space, Obi-Wan put the pieces together as he surveyed the room. The window was blown out from the inside.
Tyro was nowhere within sight.
Obi-Wan stepped over a stack of fallen holo-documents and made his way to the gaping maw of the destroyed window. He glanced over the edge and his heart caught in his throat.
A crowd had already formed on the walkway five stories below his vantage point. And in the centre of the mass of curious and horrified onlookers a small figure lay prone. Obi-Wan swallowed down the lump in his throat. He now had a duty to perform.
With the grace of a seasoned Jedi he leaped out the window and used to Force to slow his decent and cushion his landing. His arrival startled the onlookers, but he paid them no mind as he crouched down next to the small form of his Svivreni friend. Obi-Wan sensed no life in him, but he brought a steady hand to the pulse point beneath Tyro's jawline anyway. In some childish corner of his mind he'd hoped to find a beat.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and briefly contemplated the loss of life. Tyro was a singularly good being, and he did not deserve what fate had bestowed upon him. Yet there was nothing to be done about it now. Obi-Wan felt peace in the knowledge that Tyro had returned to the Force. And that had to be enough.
Obi-Wan straightened to his full height and cast a stern glance over the onlookers. Some were frightened, some morbidly curious, but all seemed to share a sense of apprehension.
"Did anyone see what happened?" Obi-Wan asked in a loud, clear voice.
Not a single being was eager to speak to the stern Jedi. They stood before him in their extravagant dress, their flashy decoration, and all exuded a simple callousness that had Obi-Wan clamp down on his irritation once more. He realised that they felt nothing for the loss of life, and cared only about the spectacle it created.
Disgusted with their lack of compassion he turned away from them and cast his eyes over the duracrete surface of the walkway. Small shards of transparisteel littered the area.
The crowd's murmurings began anew as the shock of the Jedi's arrival wore off. The word suicide was thrown around and Obi-Wan had to work hard to restrain himself from having a very unbecoming outburst. Tyro would never have taken his own life.
There was something he had desperately been trying to tell Obi-Wan.
This was murder, Obi-Wan knew it as he knew every component of his lightsaber. They killed Tyro to protect whatever information it was he discovered.
It would only be a matter of time before the Security Forces arrived. Obi-Wan kneeled down next to Tyro and rested his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes and shut out the curious voices of the onlookers.
In the middle of the public walkway, concerned with neither the crowd nor the corpse of his friend, Obi-Wan drifted to and became one with the Force. He searched through its vast oceans for a hostile presence nearby. Avarice was everywhere, and so were the egocentric and the envious, the prideful and the lustful. Hidden beneath the veil of rotten spirits he found glimmers of hopeful and compassionate ones.
All these he ignored.
What he sought was far darker. Through the Force everything was connected, and it wasn't long until a wrathful presence leaped out at him. But this was not what Obi-Wan was searching for, he knew. The wrath was too young, still untested. No, he was looking for a killer. A void existed in the labyrinth and Obi-Wan tried to focus in on its unique presence. The more he tried to grasp at it the further it slipped away, as though it wished not to be found and reacted instinctively to avoid his searching presence.
A spike of pure hatred penetrated the veil, then disappeared as quickly as it came.
Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open and he glanced upwards at the same moment he leaped to his feet and activated his lightsaber. His eyes focused in on the Senate building above him, indistinct feeling and instinct telling him it came from the large circular construct.
The gasps and terrified exclamations of the crowd had him return to his senses.
No sign of the hateful presence remained. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and slowly stowed it at his side. He heard the sirens announcing the Security Forces' arrival and turned his gaze to meet them. Droids quickly began to herd the onlookers away and established a perimeter around the scene.
A human man, a sergeant by his insignia, approached Obi-Wan. His face betrayed his disinterest and his mind was elsewhere, Obi-Wan sensed.
"You Jedi move fast," he said with a bored tone. "But we'll take it from here. Standard suicide is what it looks like."
"Do not be so hasty. I was on comms with the victim," Obi-Wan explained. "His connection was cut and when I arrived at his office the—"
"Whoa whoa, slow down," the officer said, both hands raised in a placating gesture. "We have procedures to follow. I would take your statement, but that duty actually falls to Estoo."
Obi-Wan looked past the man and saw a droid approach. Typical, Obi-Wan thought.
"Listen to me very carefully, sergeant," Obi-Wan said in a voice that demanded attention. "This man would never have killed himself. You must approach this as a case of murder or you'll be failing in your duties."
The man balked at Obi-Wan's less than subtle reprimand. Then shrugged a shoulder and said, "All right, all right, Master Jedi. I'm not one to go against your mystical mumbo-jumbo, not that I particularly believe in it one way or another. I'll take your statement and then I'd like you to clear out, all right?"
Obi-Wan did not appreciate the patronising tone the man used, but years of practice in diplomacy bolstered him as he gave the officer a polite bow and began to recite every facet of his discoveries throughout the scene. He included all of the visual details, and omitted all of the Force-born ones. Estoo, or S2-SO6 as its number indicated, stood dutifully behind the officer and recorded everything.
"All right, you got everything Estoo?" The officer asked his droid after Obi-Wan finished his statement.
"I have detailed voice recordings and have already translated them to text for the archival report, sergeant," Estoo said, it's vocabulator sounded like something between a man and a toneless machine.
"All right, Master Jedi," the officer pulled his mouth into an unimpressed line. "We got what we need from you. On your way then."
"I must make one last study of the victim's office before I leave," Obi-Wan said. He loathed referring to Tyro as a victim, but to refer to him by name would show an attachment that would be inappropriate for a Jedi. And whatever feelings he had, however he managed to cover them up until he was able to work through them, that fact remained. He was a Jedi.
"What for?" The officer asked rudely.
"Mystical mumbo-jumbo, sergeant," Obi-Wan said over his shoulder as he headed for the nearest entrance to the senate building. He did not look back when the officer snorted his disdain, and he did not look back at the small, broken body of his friend.
Siri checked the seals on the transparisteel doorway that led to the balcony for any imperfections. Satisfied that all was as it should be she turned back to the senator, who sat comfortably on the couch with a cup of tea in hand. She turned towards the front doorway when she sensed her apprentice and Skywalker approach. They entered one after the other. Ferus gave a respectful bow before giving his concise report.
"Everything is in order, master," he said. "Perimeter sensors are functional and all possible entry points have been secured."
"Very good, Ferus. Thank you," Siri said.
"Where's master Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked. His question was directed at Siri, but his eyes looked past her at Padme on the couch. "I sensed him rushing off."
"He received a communication that demanded his attention," Siri said plainly. "You're with me and Ferus until he returns."
"And with Padme," Anakin said, a small grin spread across his face.
"Keep your mind on your duties, padawan," Siri instructed with a stony gaze.
"Yes master," Anakin's grin dropped from his face and his eyes dropped to the floor.
"I'm sure you two have it handled for the time being," Padme adressed Siri and Ferus. "I actually wouldn't mind catching up with Anakin. It has been ten years, after all. I'm sure he has many great stories to tell me. He'd only just become Obi-Wan's apprentice when last I saw him."
Siri considered the less than subtle request for a moment. Her posture remained rigid, and her unease with the situation displayed clearly in her blue eyes. Finally, she relented. "Very well, senator. But only a brief time. I do not approve of this shirking of duties, even at your own behest."
"Duly noted, Master Tachi," Padme said. "I won't keep him long."
Siri watched as Padme and Anakin disappeared into the kitchen. She then turned towards the large windows and looked out to the senate building. She could sense a commotion, but the distance was too great to catch even a glimpse of what was happening there. She hoped it was nothing serious.
"Is everything all right, master?" Ferus asked quietly, no doubt sensing her disquiet.
"That remains to be seen," she said.
"Are you concerned about our mission?" Ferus drew level with her and folded his hands into opposite sleeves of his brown cloak. Siri turned to face him. She had to look up.
"You know," she said conversationally. "I remember a time when you had to look up at me. When did you get so tall?"
"Now I know there is something amiss," Ferus said, his eyebrows quirking into a small frown of concern.
Siri sighed. Training a padawan meant that eventually they would turn the tables on you. Ferus was seeing beyond the pleasant veneer and into the concern she hid beneath it. "I do sense a disturbance, Ferus, but I am not convinced that it's tied to our mandate," Siri said.
"Master Kenobi?" Ferus asked.
"Yes," Siri said. "He received a comm from a mutual friend while you and Anakin were checking the perimeter. I sense trouble."
"In my experience Master Kenobi has a way of attracting trouble," Ferus toed the line between professional decorum and amusement.
"That's because he can handle it," Siri said, her voice sober.
Ferus frowned, his dark brows drew together to form deep lines as he contemplated the floor. "Is everything a test, master?" He asked.
"In the life of a Jedi?" Siri turned to face him fully and waited until he met her eyes. Then she gave him a very emphatic, "Yes."
Obi-Wan walked past the retreating forensic droids and into Tyro's office. It had been marked as a crime scene, but no one tried to stop the Jedi. The giant hole in the window had been sealed with an atmospheric containment field, and as a result the wind no longer whipped through the space. All was quiet.
The light was beginning to fade to dusk.
Obi-Wan knelt in the centre of the room and closed his eyes. Tyro's death had left a heavy weight in his heart and on his shoulders. It was never easy to say a final farewell to a friend, and in addition to that the lawyer had discovered something of paramount importance. Both blows felt like jagged spears tearing through his soul. Obi-Wan practised a few breathing techniques to centre himself once more, then dropped into a deep meditation.
It did not come as easily as it did on Taanab—the Force was as filmy as the perpetual smog of Coruscant's lowest levels—but with effort Obi-Wan managed to root himself in the present. He felt the floor beneath his knees, the air around him, the desk to his left, and the window ahead. He heard the hum of the containment field, the near silent buzz of the ventilation system, and a distant voice speaking over an amplifying device.
The Force cleared the way and the room was suddenly filled with terror. Only Obi-Wan's experience kept him rooted in the vision as he felt Tyro's last moments fly through him. There'd been a visitor, but their face was obscured in darkness. It cleared for a moment, then warped away the light again. There was no clarity where the person had stood and their voice was muffled, the words and tenor unrecognisable. Tyro had been mildly curious, then apprehensive. And then terrified.
The person had lunged and Tyro had ducked beneath their outstretched arm, his smaller stature had offered him a moment to escape. But the person had been quick as well and with the brutality of a well-trained killer they'd caught Tyro by the throat and in one fluid motion had snapped the small Svivreni's neck.
A sonic blaster had shattered the transparisteel window then, and Tyro's body had been carelessly thrown out the window.
Obi-Wan emerged from his meditation with tears running down his cheeks. The salty rivers disappeared into the strands of his light auburn beard. He wiped his face, cleared his throat and stood. Regret over involving Tyro coursed through his being.
I got him killed, Obi-Wan thought miserably. He inhaled deeply, then breathed out the regret and the pain. It could not help Tyro, and it would only hinder him as he moved forward. It was in the past now, and that's where he would leave it.
Obi-Wan was about to vacate when a small, cube-shaped toy caught his eye. It sat in the corner of a bookshelf, unassuming and ordinary. And yet a compulsion drove Obi-Wan towards it. He picked the ivory-coloured cube up, and noted its segmented sides. A spacial puzzle. He'd seen Tyro fiddle with it once or twice. Obi-Wan moved to place it back where he'd found it, but something stopped him. A feeling.
You're being sentimental, Obi-Wan accused himself. Shaking his head he pocketed the small toy and left.
By the time he reached senator Amidala's temporary abode again the Coruscanti sun had set on the district. A chill had settled in, even indoors, and Obi-Wan drew his cloak tight about his frame as he waited for someone to answer the door. It slid open to reveal a disgruntled Siri Tachi.
"When you said she was obstinate I had no idea you meant to the point of reckless idiocy," the fiery female Jedi whispered.
"What did I miss?" Obi-Wan raised a single eyebrow as he stepped past Siri into the apartment.
"She's retired for the evening," Siri said, tucking stray hairs back behind her ear.
"I'm afraid I don't see the problem," Obi-Wan took off his cloak and threw it neatly over the back of the couch. It was significantly warmer in the living space than out in the hallway. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since morning.
"She refused to let any of us stand watch within her room," Siri said, watching passively as Obi-Wan popped dry rations from his belt pouch into his mouth. "There's real food on Coruscant, Obi-Wan."
"Hm?" Obi-Wan glanced around, distracted. "Where are our padawans?"
"They're doing a final perimeter check."
"And no one is inside with Padme," Obi-Wan finally met Siri's eyes. "By her demands. Unwise, but not unexpected."
"Her astromech is with her," Siri frowned. "She has faith that it will warn us if there's any danger. Which, by the way, she seems to be courting."
"You have to admire her spirit though," Obi-Wan grinned at Siri. "Reminds me of someone I know."
Siri sighed and rolled her eyes.
The padawans returned from their sweep and joined their masters by the couch. No one sat down, and for a moment no one spoke.
"Your idea, Anakin?" Obi-Wan finally broke the silence, rolling back onto his heels and then to his toes.
"What?"
"Artoo," Obi-Wan said by way of explanation and jerked his head in the direction of Padme's private room.
"It was her idea, master," Anakin said with a half smile. "But I did agree with her. I can sense everything that goes on in that room."
Siri turned away to hide her smile while Ferus raised a sceptical eyebrow.
"Your senses are not quite so attuned, my very young apprentice," Obi-Wan said.
"And yours are?" Anakin grinned.
"Possibly," Obi-Wan stuffed another piece of dry ration into his mouth. The action drew Anakin's attention and he looked at Obi-Wan with confusion.
"Where were you all day today, master?" Anakin asked.
Three pairs of expectant eyes turned to Obi-Wan. He chewed his dry rations thoughtfully, wishing for a cup of water to magically appear. He didn't quite want to talk about his day. He swallowed.
"A story for another. . ." Obi-Wan trailed off and frowned. He sensed two small presences moving in the next room. They exuded a single-minded desire to feed. The Force warned of danger and Obi-Wan turned towards the door the same moment Anakin turned his head sharply towards Padme's room.
"I sense it too," Siri said.
The four Jedi raced towards the room. Anakin took the lead, his lightsaber coming to life. He leaped onto the bed and neatly sliced the two venomous centipedes in half. Padme woke with a start.
Obi-Wan's attention was on the window, where he saw a seeker droid hovering by a small round hole in the transparisteel window. It took note of the Jedi and veered backwards.
Reacting on Force-born instinct Obi-Wan ran towards the window and jumped. He drew the Force around him in an arrowhead shape, and slammed into the weakened point of the window with such might that the transparisteel shattered. He latched onto the droid with both hands and held on for dear life.
Chasing down whatever bounty hunter had Padme's mark was not part of their mandate—technically Obi-Wan and Anakin weren't even on this protection detail—but after the day's events Obi-Wan was in no mood to let an opportunity like this slide. He had confidence that Siri and Ferus would stay with and protect the senator. Anakin. . . Well, Anakin was a different matter, but he truly hoped the young man's reckless instincts were still intact after the two year hiatus from Jedi training, because a warning in the Force told Obi-Wan that soon he would need help.
Obi-Wan noticed a presence on a nearby rooftop. It shone with the fear of being prey, a need to hide from the hunter tracking it. Obi-Wan's eyes landed on the figure the moment the seeker droid above him got shot and lost all power, and began plummeting.
Oh, here we go, Obi-Wan thought as he began falling through the brightly lit traffic lanes. He increased his wind-resistance by turning his belly towards the planet's surface, and further slowed his descent as much as he could with the Force. His eyes darted around for a possible anchor point for his cable launcher, should he need it.
Relief pumped through his veins when a speeder pulled in underneath him, guided downwards expertly in tune with Obi-Wan's falling velocity. He touched down gently on the back of the chassis, and quickly pulled himself into the passenger seat.
"Nice timing," Obi-Wan said with carefully measured sarcasm.
"Next time you lecture me about being reckless I'd like you to think about this moment," Anakin grinned.
"There," Obi-Wan pointed to the fleeing bounty hunter. Anakin pushed the throttle and broke about twelve traffic laws as he sped after the indicated airspeeder.
It led them on a chase towards the industrial sector. The bounty hunter was an excellent pilot, but with carefully weighed pride Obi-Wan noted that Anakin had lost none of his instinctual piloting ability. They kept pace with the bounty hunter's quick vehicle, and began to close the gap when they reached the power station that separated Coruscant's commercial and red light districts.
"Get as close as you can," Obi-Wan said as he leaned slightly forward in his seat.
Anakin gunned the accelerator, twisting and turning through the imaginary race track the bounty hunter led them through. He closed the gap to within a single speeder length, and that's when his master stretched an arm out forward.
Obi-Wan drew on the Force, surrounding the bounty hunter's speeder with its power. He closed his fist and the resulting screech and tear of metal went almost unheard as the wind rushed through their ears in the open-air cockpit. With it's engine completely crushed the bounty hunter's speeder lost velocity and began gliding downwards with the emergency repulsors.
Blaster fire veered towards them from the bounty hunter's speeder, and Anakin engaged in quick evasive manoeuvres while Obi-Wan tried to keep the bounty hunter in sight. The vehicle drifted down into a swarm of people.
When Anakin touched the speeder down in the middle of the walkway, much to Obi-Wan's chagrin, he leaped out and rushed towards the club where they'd seen the figure run into.
"Wait Anakin!" Obi-Wan yelled to get his padawan's attention while he calmly climbed out of the speeder.
"We're going to lose him, master!" Anakin threw his hands in the air.
"He went in there to hide, not to run," Obi-Wan said, then calmly walked into the club. Anakin followed sullenly behind.
"Now what?" Anakin said as they walked into the loud hall. Synth music played and neon light bounced off the walls. Sentients everywhere were dancing and drinking, some shamelessly engaged in amorous behaviour.
Obi-Wan looked passed everything, focusing on neither the vibrant colours nor the moving bodies. He was centred in the Force, seeking the presence he'd felt earlier. "Find the bounty hunter," he said to Anakin, then veered off in the opposite direction.
"Well where are you going?" Anakin asked.
Obi-Wan turned around and faced Anakin with raised eyebrows. "For a drink," he said, then turned his back on Anakin again. He smiled to himself when he felt Anakin's pique echo through the Force. The young man had so much still to learn.
Upon reaching the bar Obi-Wan ordered a drink and kept his mind on the ebb and flow of the bounty hunter's presence. They were moving at a sedate pace across the vast floor of the club.
A blue fluorescent drink in a small glass was placed before him. Obi-Wan downed it in one shot and replaced the glass on the counter. As focused as he was on the presence moving closer to him, he barely tasted it.
Another drink was placed in front of Obi-Wan. He raised one eyebrow at the barman, who shrugged. Ignoring the drink Obi-Wan tightened his focus on the bounty hunter, who was coming up behind him then. He sensed the blaster being pulled free from its holster, and without any hesitation drew his lightsaber, swung around and disarmed the dangerous being. Obi-Wan was mildly surprised to find that the bounty hunter was, in fact, a woman.
He stowed his blade and helped the woman stay on her feet. Knowing defeat when it came she did not struggle. Obi-Wan guided her towards the back exit, Anakin following at their heels. The sudden hush that had fallen when the lightsaber swung loose evaporated in the aftermath, and the club-goers went back to business as usual. Only the barman seemed affected. He stared at the dismembered limb with distaste.
Outside Obi-Wan and Anakin gently set the bounty hunter down on the ground.
"Who hired you?" Anakin's voice held aggression, a promise of retribution if she didn't answer truthfully. Obi-Wan was about to reprimand Anakin, to demand he treat the being with compassion, when he caught sight of a secondary blaster holstered on her ankle.
The breath was struck from his lungs. It was the same sonic model he'd in his vision seen used to shatter Tyro's office window.
He felt it from her then. The pride of success. The fearless instinct, the satisfaction of having done her job well. He searched her mind. There was no anger, no hatred, only the dispassionate pride of a hired killer. Obi-Wan didn't know if that upset him more than if she would have turned out to be a bloodthirsty animal.
Here before him lay Tyro's killer. He was certain.
Struck speechless Obi-Wan merely stared at the bounty hunter while trying to keep his emotions in check. On the woman's opposite side Anakin was still trying to get information out of her. She seemed to be offering something up, but Obi-Wan could not hear her words over the blood rushing through his ears.
A warning in the Force then, but it came too late to save the woman. A dart hit her in the neck and she died almost instantly. Obi-Wan turned to look at the rooftop where he sensed a new presence. He saw what could only be a second bounty hunter fly away with a jetpack. The silhouette of his armour seemed familiar to Obi-Wan, but in the darkness and at the distance he couldn't be sure.
He turned back to the dead woman on the ground and pulled the dart from her neck.
"Toxic dart," he muttered.
"Great," Anakin said as he pushed himself to his feet. "A dead end."
"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said quietly, still trying to stamp down his shock.
It seemed that whoever wanted Senator Amidala dead had wanted Tyro dead. Somehow it was all connected.
Obi-Wan knew this much; A good bounty hunter didn't leave evidence. Which meant the man who just fled had been desperate to keep his secrets. And desperation gave way to carelessness, as the toxic dart in his hand proved. Perhaps that was the only link he would need to discover the truths still obscured.
After such a trying day, Obi-Wan prayed that it would be so.