Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional and I've never had a concussion, so if anything seems unfeasible. . . well. . . Obi-Wan has the Force!
RESOLVE II
9.
When the two Jedi reached their starfighters Siri guided Obi-Wan to sit down on the wing of his Delta. Concern shown in her azure eyes. He was a mess. Blood ran down the right side of his face, dripping down his beard onto his tunics where they faded to soft splotches as the already drenched fabrics soaked up the red.
"It probably looks worse than it is," Obi-Wan said. "Head wounds. . . you know."
"Head wounds are not to be taken lightly," Siri countered as she inspected the cut between his brow and hairline, near his right temple. "Were you disoriented after the blow?"
Obi-Wan wanted to say no, but he wasn't a liar. Besides, it would be woefully irresponsible to hide injuries in the field. He wouldn't simply be putting himself in danger, but Siri as well.
He just didn't want anyone to fuss over him.
"I was," Obi-Wan admitted. "I dropped like a stone and I may have been briefly unconscious. For a moment I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and when I tried to stand it was a bit of a struggle to find my centre of gravity."
"All right," Siri said, her voice soft but steady. "We need to get out of this rain so I can treat this wound."
Obi-Wan watched as Siri climbed onto the wing of her own Delta, and rummaged in the cockpit. She emerged with a medkit and then helped him stand once more. She guided him into the doorway leading off the landing platform, and helped him sit down on the floor just inside the bright hallway. She crouched down next to him.
"If the Kaminoans find us here," Obi-Wan said, his mouth already upturning into a smirk. "You got angry at me and hit me with the hilt of your lightsaber."
Siri tried not to grin, but in the end lost the battle. "It's plausible enough," she said, relieved that his sense of humour was still in tact.
She took sterilized wipes out of the medkit and gently began wiping the blood away from Obi-Wan's face, then cleaned the cut as best she could. The bleeding had slowed, but it was an ugly injury, and would certainly scar without the aid of a Force healer.
"You're not going to like this part," Siri said as she prepared the field sutures. It was a sticky, sterilizing substance that burned like fire beetle sting going onto the wound, but it stitched flesh in a flash and held firm once it dried.
"Fun," Obi-Wan deadpanned.
Siri pushed the wound together with a thumb and forefinger, then administered the suture salve. Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and frowned as the sting registered, but he kept his head still as Siri checked her work. She held the wound closed while the sutures dried. When she was satisfied that it would hold she let go and combed gentle fingers through Obi-Wan's rain-soaked hair. He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked.
"A few bruises perhaps, nothing worth fussing over," Siri said, and Obi-Wan believed her.
"Good," he said. "We need to see if we can still track Fett."
"There's no point, Obi-Wan," Siri said as she slumped down next to him, leaning slightly against his shoulder. "He'll be long gone."
Obi-Wan sighed. She was right, of course, but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing.
"Then we must return to Coruscant," Obi-Wan said.
"You're concussed," she reminded him. "I'm not sure a long hyperspace journey is a good idea right now. You need a healing trance and I need to monitor you, and I can't do that when we're in hyperspace in different ships."
"But we can't stay here," Obi-Wan said. When Siri said nothing he assumed she agreed with him.
They leaned against each other in a comfortable silence, content to rest for a few minutes before they ventured out to their starfighters. Obi-Wan found himself drifting, his eyes closing without his conscious realisation. When his head drooped against Siri's he snapped awake. Next to him Siri was instantly alert, her hands cupping his cheeks.
"Hey, I'd prefer you not fall asleep right now," Siri said, her elegant brows pinched in concern.
"I'm tired," he admitted. "Just put me in a healing trance inside my starfighter. Arfour can pilot. I don't like flying anyway."
"Stop whining," Siri admonished, having noticed the cheeky upturn of Obi-Wan's lips.
Obi-Wan was about to respond with an appropriately sarcastic remark when Siri's comlink chimed. She took it out of her belt and checked the text message on the small display.
"We've received a communication recording," Siri said. "My droid is decoding it now."
"To the starfighters," Obi-Wan announced and began pushing himself to a standing position, using the wall for support.
Siri gathered up the medkit and took hold of Obi-Wan's arm. They walked back into the downpour and with minimal help from Siri, Obi-Wan made it into the cockpit of his starfighter. He closed the canopy immediately once seated and sighed in relief. Rain ran down the transparisteel in waterfalls. Through the haze he saw Siri enter her own starfighter, and a moment later her voice chimed over coms.
"It's from Ferus," Siri said. She sounded concerned to Obi-Wan's ears.
"Well, loop me in and let's hear it," Obi-Wan said.
The sound of static transmitted over the frequency, then it cleared up and Ferus' voice came through strong.
Master I'm sorry to trouble you during your mission, but I need guidance. I don't have all the information, but it appears as though Anakin has been having nightmares or Force-visions about his mother. It has deeply unsettled him. In response to his distress over not being able to aid her, Senator Amidala has decided to travel to Tatooine. It is obviously a ploy so that Anakin can seek out his mother, but our mandate dictates we protect the Senator. I cannot take away her free will, and if she chooses to go—which she does—we must follow.
I fear this detour could have disastrous results. Please, I need your guidance.
Obi-Wan dropped his face into his hands. He had told Anakin they would discuss his nightmares, but then the Senator came to Coruscant and Tyro was assassinated. During the chaos he had completely forgotten about his Padawan's turmoil, because he'd seemed just fine. Padme had been a bandaid for Anakin's distress, Obi-Wan realised. And now she was enabling him to disobey his mandate without technically disobeying it.
This is my fault, Obi-Wan thought.
"Disturbing news," Siri's stern voice breached his thoughts.
"We must head for Tatooine immediately," Obi-Wan said as he began the ignition sequence of his starfighter. "Send Ferus a coded text response that we're coming."
"Obi-Wan I still don't think it wise for you to travel quite yet."
"Unfortunately wisdom has no bearing here," Obi-Wan said. "If something has happened to Anakin's mother I need to be there to anchor him. Ferus will not be able to handle the fallout himself."
"On that point we agree," Siri said.
The ion engines of Obi-Wan's starfighter screamed to life. A moment later Siri's starfighter echoed the sound and both shot away from the platform. They pushed the small craft to their limits and broke out of Kamino's gravitational pull in record time. Side by side they docked with their respective hyperdrive rings, and after their astromechs programmed in the navigation data they wasted no time in aligning their ships with the path ahead.
"Promise me, Obi-Wan," Siri's voice abruptly chimed over the comm.
"Promise what?" He asked, half startled by the vehemence of her tone, half impatient to enter hyperspace.
"Take care of that concussion," she said. "If you're non-responsive when we reach Tatooine. . ." She trailed off.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice soft, hoping that she wasn't about to say something they would both regret.
"Nevermind," Siri sighed. "Just take care. May the Force be with you."
"I'll be all right, Siri. You have my word," Obi-Wan said. He had a pounding headache, but he'd properly assess himself after jumping to hyperspace. There was no need to worry his mission partner now. Besides, they were Jedi, and they both needed to master and balance themselves for what lay ahead.
"We'll speak more when we reach Tatooine," Obi-Wan said. "May the Force be with you."
Siri's only response was to make the jump to the ethereal realm of hyperspace. Obi-Wan quickly followed suit, the stars and empty space distorting into the warping shapes that fascinated him so.
Obi-Wan began a healing meditation, and was careful to stay lucid throughout the Force's gentle thrumming through his being as he directed its flow to his injuries. He would keep his promise to Siri. Not only for her sake, but for Anakin's as well.
Tatooine struck Ferus as the most desolate planet he'd ever visited. The heat was unbearable, and he could scarcely believe that life thrived on it. But the bustling Mos Espa proved that not only could life thrive there, it could trample you beneath its robustness and exuberance. They'd been in the city for ten minutes and already Ferus had seen more species in that one place than anywhere else he'd ever been. Except for Coruscant, perhaps.
An eopie trader tried to get their attention when they entered the commerce district on foot. Dusty, rust-covered speeders swooped past them in the streets, caring little for organised traffic. Pedestrians pushed and shoved as they travelled the busy streets, and Ferus was convinced someone would try to pickpocket him at any moment. He stayed close to the Senator and Anakin, somehow doubting that Obi-Wan's advice—of keeping one Jedi close and one in the crowd—would apply in the current situation.
Stars, he did not like this detour.
"It's up ahead," Anakin said.
Ferus was quite tall, and he used that to his advantage as he looked where Anakin was gesturing. Over the heads of the street-goers he saw what appeared to be a shop of some kind. He didn't read Huttese and there were no Aurebesh signage on the walls of this particular establishment. Outside he saw the hunched figure of a Toydarian sitting on a chair, tinkering with a droid of some kind. There was junk everywhere. A junk dealer then, maybe.
Anakin came to a stop in front of the Toydarian and said something in Huttese. Ferus turned his back to the conversation and kept an eye on the crowds. He wouldn't understand a thing they said anyway.
Then they switched to basic, and Ferus' ears perked up, even as he continued to scan the sentients going about their business.
"Ani? Little Ani?" The toydarian's rough voice said. "It is you!"
In the distance Ferus saw a Trandoshan punch a Twi'lek in the face. A human and another Twi'lek joined in and it quickly became a street brawl.
"Where's my mother?" Anakin asked.
"I-uh, I sold her. Some years back," the Toydarian said. "The shop wasn't doing so great, and it was just business, you understand?"
Ferus took a deep, silent breath. So this was the being who once owned Anakin. He turned his head to get another glimpse of the Toydarian. It seemed strange to him that such a small, unkempt creature could ever have owned someone like Anakin.
The realities of slavery never hit him until that moment. He glanced around him and wondered how many of the beings working in the shops and streets in Mos Espa were slaves. A pang of sympathy shot through Ferus. This is where Anakin grew up before Qui-Gon Jinn freed him.
"Who did you sell her to?" Anakin asked. Ferus was impressed by how calm he sounded. Perhaps he shouldn't have been. After all, this was once normal for Anakin. Human trafficking had been something that was normal for him to see and experience. The thought dropped a stone into Ferus' stomach, and he found himself suddenly feeling disgusted with the planet.
"Lars I think his name was," the Toydarian said. "Moisture farmer. Heard he freed and married her, can you believe that?"
"Where?" Anakin asked, his voice insistent, almost aggressive.
The Toydarian seemed to pick up on the young Jedi's mood, because for a moment he was silent. Then he said, "Let's go check my records, ok?"
Anakin and the Senator followed the Toydarian inside. Ferus hesitated, then decided to remain underneath the awning of the shop to keep an eye on the crowds. The street brawl appeared to have ended with an unconscious Trandoshan, a Twi'lek nursing a nasty bite to one of his lekku, and a human sporting a bloody nose. The other Twi'lek stood over the Trandoshan, kicking him repeatedly in the ribs. Ferus shook his head and looked away.
This was a savage place.
When Anakin and the Senator emerged from the shop Ferus followed them back towards the outskirts where they had left the Nubian cruiser. Sweat poured down his back and he was relieved to be inside the cool interior of the starship again.
The journey to the moisture farm would have been long by land, but with the starship they reached it in minutes. Anakin set the ship down a short distance from the home. Its white dome shape reminded Ferus of a tribal clan he'd had a run in with alongside his master, years before. It may have looked primitive, but Ferus was certain it provided the best possible protection from the heat.
Anakin exited the ship first, followed closely by the Senator. Ferus walked down the ramp at a more sedate pace. He saw a young man and woman exit the dome to greet the newcomers.
"I'm Owen Lars, and this is my girlfriend Beru," Ferus heard the young man say as he walked up behind the Senator.
"I'm Anakin Skywalker."
There was silence for a moment. Ferus watched as recognition lit Owen's face.
"I guess that makes us step-brothers," Owen said. "I had a feeling I might meet you someday."
"I'm looking for my mother," Anakin said. Ferus noted how tense the younger padawan's shoulders were, and could sense his distress in the Force.
"You better come inside," Owen said.
He led them down the stairs of the dome. Beneath the ground it was cool, and the hallway opened up into a wide room that led to the inset courtyard he'd seen from outside. A table sat neatly arranged in the large room. Owen offered them seats while Beru disappeared somewhere. She came back with a large container of water and several glasses. She served them all a drink, and Ferus sipped it gratefully.
An old man in a mobile chair emerged from the opposite end of the courtyard. Ferus listened intently as he explained how Anakin's mother had been taken by Tusken raiders nearly a month ago. He kept his attention centred on Anakin as the old man urged him to let go of his mother, that she was dead.
Ferus wanted to say something to comfort Anakin, but words failed him. Somehow he doubted that reminding him he was a Jedi was going to be any comfort to him.
Anakin stood abruptly and began walking away from the table.
"Where are you going?" Owen asked.
"To find my mother," Anakin said, a grimace on his face. Ferus could tell Anakin was trying to stay calm, but the emotions warred on his face and an anger was settling in his heart. Ferus could sense it.
"You shouldn't go alone," Ferus stood. He was torn. Wisdom was screaming at him that he shouldn't allow Anakin to isolate himself and go chasing after a band of raiders who kidnapped and may have killed his mother. But he still had his mandate to protect the Senator.
Anakin stopped and turned to meet Ferus' eyes. "I don't need your permission," he said.
"This isn't about permission," Ferus said. "We have already disobeyed the council by leaving Naboo. In that regard the damage is done. Anakin, what I am saying is that you shouldn't be alone right now."
"Feel free to come with me," Anakin said, spreading his arms wide in a mocking gesture. "That is, if you're willing to disobey our mandate and leave the Senator without protection."
The triumphant glint in Anakin's eyes told Ferus all he needed to know. Anakin knew he'd won. Ferus could not disobey his mandate.
"Be careful, Anakin," Ferus said. He could only watch as the rigid lines of Anakin's back disappeared around the corner.
For a long time no one said anything. They listened to the sound of a speederbike starting up and racing away. The noise lasted only moments, and then all was silent again.
With sudden frustration Ferus walked away from the table, down the hallway, up the stairs, and out into the scorching heat once more. He stared off into the distance, where he could sense Anakin's anger going. In the heat haze he saw a dust trail, and watched it until it, too, disappeared.
Eyes still focussed on the distant horizon, Ferus took out his comlink and activated the relay signal that would lead Masters Siri and Obi-Wan straight to the Lars farmstead. He then dropped to his knees and rested his hands on his thighs. A few deep breaths later he'd regained control of himself, but. . .
. . . He had never before felt so utterly helpless.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes when he heard the tell-tale sound of a hyperspace reversion. Arfour had done a stellar job bringing them to Tatooine. The planet loomed large in front of them, its twin suns hid behind the planet and cast a large shadow over the tiny starfighter. Obi-Wan checked his navigation display and found the steady dot that indicated Siri's starfighter, and opened coms with her.
"I'm here," he greeted. He hadn't slept and his head still ached along with the beat of his heart, but Obi-Wan was sure his meditations had done the job. His vision was clear, his senses untainted by lingering concussion. A temple healer might have had him take it easy still, but Anakin needed him. He could feel it.
"Good," Siri said. Obi-Wan could hear the relief in her voice. It vanished quickly as she got down to business. "Ferus activated the coded homing signal of his comlink. I'll send you the coordinates. They're in the south-eastern region of the Jundland Wastes, near Anchorhead. That region in particular appears to be home to many moisture farms."
"All right, let's head there," Obi-Wan released the docking mechanism of his ship and left his hyperdrive ring to orbit Tatooine.
Side by side the two starfighters sped towards the planet. Heat and friction created an orange haze around the tiny craft as they broke into the planet's atmosphere. Obi-Wan wasn't worried about the rough entry. Both Arfour and the Force would alert him if things became dangerous.
The orange haze faded and they sped high above the vast desert towards their destination. The suns were just disappearing over the horizon, the last glows of twilight fading. Small lights in the distance drew Obi-Wan's attention. They were staggered in a pattern, indicating a settlement. He checked his navigation console one last time, then descended further to the farm below. He spotted the chromatic hull of a Nubian cruiser and wasted no time in setting down beside it. From his periphery he noticed Siri landing on his opposite side.
Both Jedi quickly left their cockpits and made for the white dome of the home. Ferus emerged, most likely having both sensed his Master's approach as well as heard the scream of the starfighters' ion engines. Senator Amidala came up the stairs behind the padawan.
"I don't sense Anakin. Where is he?" Obi-Wan asked as he and Siri reached Ferus. Behind them Obi-Wan noticed another young man emerge from the dome, but decided introductions could wait.
"He went to find his mother. She was taken by Tusken raiders almost a month ago," Padme said, a look of worry creasing her brow.
"When did he leave, which direction, and by what mode of transport?" Obi-Wan asked. Urgency thrummed through him, but he kept himself and his voice calm. He took out his comlink and tried a trace route to Anakin's device, and with minor annoyance found that his padawan had left it at the farm.
"He left nearly two hours ago on a speederbike, that way," Ferus said and pointed in the direction he'd watched Anakin's dust trail disappear. "Forgive me master, I wanted to go with him, bu—"
"You did your duty, Ferus," Siri said, glancing briefly at the Senator.
"Yes, it's not your fault, Ferus," Obi-Wan said. "Anakin remains headstrong, but under these circumstances I fear he might be a danger to everyone around him. I need to find him immediately. What can you tell me about the Tusken raiders?"
Obi-Wan directed his question at the young man standing quietly a few meters away. Having been addressed by the Jedi Master he walked forward to join the conversation.
"They're a nomadic people," he said. "They come to these flats to raid our water stores and destroy our machinery, mostly, but they'll kill or kidnap anyone they come across. They're savages. Rumours has it that they have a settlement south of here."
Obi-Wan turned towards the south, the direction Ferus had indicated. He sank down to his knees in meditation posture and closed his eyes. Opening himself to the Force he allowed it to flow through him, to show him the ebb and flow of Tatooine. It was all connected, and even if Anakin was attempting to shield himself Obi-Wan was confident that he would find him.
Around him small grains of sand began to lift and swirl, as though the world itself was responding to his call. And it was, because Obi-Wan could sense the Force in the very air around him. He could sense the presence of something enormous to the west, possibly a krayt dragon, and he could sense the clumped and vibrant pinpricks that indicated a large and bustling settlement, probably Anchorhead. He narrowed his focus to the south region and sensed only the dull presences of non-sentients for what seemed like miles. But traces of Anakin lingered. Traces of his desperation flowed to Obi-Wan, and like a bloodhound following a scent Obi-Wan continued to follow Anakin's path in his mind's eye. Desperation, anger, and determination collided with one another, fighting. There, that swell and crashing of turbulent emotions could only be Anakin. He was no longer travelling. His presence was so clear to Obi-Wan, so overwhelming that he almost crumpled forward where he a sat.
"Obi-Wan?" Siri asked, sensing how her fellow Jedi tightened the control he had over himself.
Obi-Wan stood and dusted off his knees. "I know where he is," he said. "Siri, stay here with Ferus and Senator Amidala."
"Very well," Siri said, understanding and respecting that this was Obi-Wan's duty as Anakin's master.
The Jedi Master ran to his starfighter without a backwards glance and fired up the ion engines. A whirlwind of dust blew out from under the ship as it raised off the sturdy surface of the flats. Obi-Wan shot away at a speed exponentially faster than Anakin would have been able to travel at on the speederbike. He kept his mind and heart open to Anakin as he traversed the distance, staying low to the ground.
Pain lanced through him like a blade, and he stifled a cry. It took him a moment to realise that it wasn't his own pain he had felt, but Anakin's.
"Oh no," Obi-Wan whispered, and accepted his padawan's pain before releasing it into the Force. He did the same with the intense anger that followed.
A small settlement beneath a cliff face emerged from the darkness of the night, lit only by the fires that burned in pits outside primitive domiciles. Obi-Wan cared not for subtlety and landed his starfighter beside a hut on the outskirts. He opened his cockpit and jumped out, only to immediately stagger as the throbbing in his temple was joined by the chaos around him.
The Force was screaming, howling with fear, rage, vengeance. With hatred.
Obi-Wan steadied himself and drew the hilt of his lightsaber into his hand, but did not yet ignite it.
He stood, trapped in his own disbelief as he watched Anakin's blue lightsaber snuff out the life of a Tusken child.
A/N: TheBlackShadow1210 and SpencerBrown, I have replied to your reviews in private messages. Thanks for reaching out!