AN: Sorry, again, to take so long. Travel is done for the next while (mostly), and kids are in school. Hopefully this will go faster now.
Ch. 11: "I'm Never Gonna Let You Down" - Ace of Base, Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry
They met that evening in a formal chamber, small but adequate. Obi-Wan stood behind Qui-Gon's chair and bowed when Halldor introduced his head of palace security and the head of city security. The Jedi and three Hanani sat around a map of the city, each of the Hanani reporting the results of their search.
Most of what they spoke of didn't really apply to Obi-Wan. He kept up with them, knowing Qui-Gon expected it, but he saw nothing that made him think someone avoided one specific part of the city. Once they finished there, they turned to him. "Most of the Gem mines are west," the city security chief said, pointing to the correct area. We hear rumors regarding kidnapped children, and they all seem to disappear into those mines. Or so the rumors claim."
"We believe it would be best to start in that direction," Kalifa said, turning to look at him. She didn't meet his eyes, and he wondered why. "You'll be able to follow the rumors that way. If they do lead you into the mountains, know that communication is iffy, and a mineral laced through our mountains has a negative effect on advanced electronics."
Obi-Wan started. "All advanced electronics?" he asked
"Yes, Padawan," Kalifa said. "You will not be able to rely on your lightsaber."
"Thank you, Master Sendar," Obi-Wan said, nodding to her. He wondered if he imagined the mocking tone behind the words, but no one else reacted to them, so he put it out of his mind.
"This will not pose a problem?" Halldor asked.
"No, Adolar," Obi-Wan said.
Halldor nodded and went back to the maps, working with Qui-Gon and the two security heads to coordinate where to search next. Obi-Wan paid attention to this, too - some because it added to his knowledge base, and some because it let him know where to find his master if something happened the next day.
They broke up before it got too late, and Obi-Won went back to his quarters with hand-held maps of the area he would visit and an order to pick up food from the kitchen before he went. He bowed his thanks, and trailed after Qui-Gon as he and Kalifa spoke.
"I am in the middle of delicate negotiations between the Adolar and some of his opposition," Kalifa said, in reply to a question Obi-Wan hadn't heard. "He, too, must be there. That is why I asked for you."
Qui-Gon nodded. "Could they be behind the kidnapping?"
Kalifa hesitated, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. At least, their reaction at the news was as valid as Halldor's, and some of the security helping search is theirs. The negotiations did come to a point where agreement might be reached, and neither side is willing to break that."
"Understood." Qui-Gon stopped next to the door to their room and bowed to Kalifa. Obi-Wan did as well, and then followed his Master into their rooms.
Obi-Wan took some time to look over the maps they'd given him and familiarize himself with them, making sure that the road was well marked. No guarantee he'd keep to it, but at least he had a baseline.
"How do you feel?" Qui-Gon asked, settling on the sleep couch on the other side of the room from the one Obi-Wan knelt next to.
Obi-Wan put the maps away. "I am ready," he said. "I'm a little nervous," he added after a moment. "But I will do what I can."
Qui-Gon smiled. "You will do well," he said. "Are you ready for sleep?"
Obi-Wan took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, releasing his doubts and insecurities into the Force. "Yes, Master," he said, and slowly got to his feet. He carefully put everything in his pack to be ready for the next day. He turned off the light and lay down.
Sleep didn't come easy, but he lay still, meditating, and by the time he finished, he felt like cement filled his limbs, and he slept almost immediately.
Qui-Gon saw him off the next morning, armed with directions on a small guidance device to get out of the city, and a grease pencil to track where he went on the map, if he deviated a lot from the route given him. He tucked that into his bag. He wore his lightsaber on his belt, with Merrick's staff hooked next to it, both covered by his cloak. They stood in the early morning light, the sun barely brushing the top of the building behind them, in the courtyard they'd driven to with Kalifa when they arrived.
"Be careful, Padawan," Qui-Gon said as they waited for one of the attendants to bring out his transport. "Although you doubtless know you should."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said.
"Contact me each night if you can, either on our links or on the communicator on the scooter."
"I will, Master," Obi-Wan said.
"May the Force be with you," Qui-Gon said as the small transport finally arrived, and with deliberate gentleness tugged on Obi-Wan's braid. Obi-Wan smiled, the friendship and love he felt flowing down the bond between them. He bowed to his Master, then mounted the old scooter and drove it back through the checkpoints Kalifa had brought them in by.
The directions from the guidance device took him in the direction of the mountains, through heavy traffic that gradually thinned as he left the center of the city. He also noticed how the houses became less elaborate, poorer, and by the time they gave way to cultivated fields, the traffic had tapered off completely. He paused a moment to take a drink of water and to get his bearings, matching what the little guidance device said with the map. Done with that, he started off again at a pace that would let him stop if he needed to.
He began to see houses off the road, generally quite a distance, and after the first couple, began to look for ways to reach them. He found a side road and followed it down to where he could see a yard with equipment in it. When he reached it, a burly woman looked out the door over a wide, high porch. "What do you want?"
"A bit of your time, please," Obi-Wan said, getting off the scooter.
Reluctantly, the woman nodded, but she didn't emerge, and didn't invite him in. Obi-wan stopped at the foot of the steps. "I'm looking for a girl who disappeared from the capital," he said. "Have you heard anything?"
"No," the woman said, relaxing a fraction. "We've heard nothing about it here. Did she run away?"
Obi-Wan had expected that, if not the question. "No. They're fairly certain she was kidnapped."
"Young, then?"
"Eight cycles."
The woman pressed her hands to her mouth. "I hope she didn't end up in the mines," she said, and Obi-Wan stiffened.
"The mines?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, stepping out onto the porch. "We have heard only rumors, you know, but I do know of some who have lost a child to the mines."
"How, lost?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Kidnapped, right out of their beds, and taken. Some were even seen leaving, and didn't turn at the call from their parents." She wrung her hands. "I hope that hasn't moved into the capital."
"Where are these mines located?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You're on the right road," she said, pointing to the ribbon of road he could barely see. "It's a while farther. Be careful when you get into the mountains proper. They have a lot of rock slides."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, and turned to mount his scooter. "I will be careful."
On the way back out to the road, he recorded his thoughts and where he'd gone on the guidance device, marking the physical map as well. Then he went on.
He repeated the conversation, at least the gist of it, two more times before lunch, and four after. Each time, they gestured him on in the direction he went. Eventually, the fields of crops gave way to rockier ground, with herds of large animals. Houses grew farther apart as well. He'd gotten to the foothills by the time the sun began to go down. He spotted one last house and turned into the narrow lane toward it.
A man working on an old transport looked up, his eyes squinting against the light. He wore a one piece outfit that covered him from head to toe, and was dirty enough that Obi-Wan didn't know the original color. He set down his tools and picked up a dirty rag, wiping his hands on it. He looked pleasant enough, but his wary look and the wariness in the Force made Obi-Wan take the time to look less threatening.
"I'm looking for information," Obi-Wan said, keeping his hand clear of his robe.
"What sort?" the man asked.
Obi-Wan hesitated. "Have you heard any news from the capital?"
The man paused, his wariness increasing. "Not much," he said.
"A girl is missing, about eight cycles old."
The man shook his head. "Heard nothing," he said.
Obi-Wan nodded. "Do you know anything about the missing children around? Rumors, anything?"
The man hesitated and leaned against the transport he'd been fixing. Obi-Wan spotted the long-handled shovel the man might reach for. "There have been a few," he said, even more wary. "We hear occasionally. Not this one, though. When'd she go missing?"
"Three days ago," Obi-Wan said.
The man shook his head, but didn't relax. "Nope," he said. "Too soon for news here from there."
Obi-Wan filed that away. "The rumors of missing children," he added. "Where do they say the children go after they're taken?"
The man scratched the back of his head with the hand farther from the shovel. "Most indicate in the gem mines all deeper in the mountains."
"Why those mines, specifically?"
"The mines closer in are regulated by the capital. They're cleaner, better conditions. Not so easy to hide little ones. The mines further out are dangerous." He relaxed, standing up from the transport and out of reach of the shovel.
Obi-Wan nodded slowly, thinking that over. "Why do those miners want children?"
"Gems collect in narrow spaces in the hardest rock, and it takes too long to drill through, or so I've heard. The kids can get in and get the stuff out."
Obi-Wan could imagine, and he hid a wince at the thought of the children unable to get out of there. "Thank you," he said, and turned to mount the scooter again.
"Nargi! Dinner!"
The man waved at the woman standing on the clear and clean wrap-around porch. "Where are you staying tonight?" he asked.
"Wherever I get when it's too dark to see," Obi-Wan said.
The man - Nargi - watched him for a while longer. "You'll never reach Kaniv's place before it gets too dark to see, and it's hard to see homesteads from the road." He rubbed his chin. "If you'll help me with the animals after, you're welcome to dinner and a bed in the barn."
"Thank you." Obi-Wan parked his scooter off to the side, and followed the man up to the porch built of mud and bricks. Nargi introduced the woman as Saren, his life partner. She looked about Nargi's age, graying hair pulled back in a bun. Her wrinkled face showed signs of laughter and smiles and hard work, and she moved with the grace of some Jedi.
Obi-Wan introduced himself, and bowed, thanking her for her hospitality. She smiled and invited him in, and he washed up while she set up another place at the small table. Conversation waited until they'd eaten most of the delicious food, beginning over a dessert Obi-Wan wished they had at the Temple. It centered around the news he'd brought, Saren's face going sad at the mention of the missing daughter (although he didn't say who's daughter he searched for), and included the news he'd gotten from the other homesteads he'd stopped at. The news of a garden going well from a close friend brightened Seren again. He answered as many questions as he could.
In return, as he helped bed down four legged beasts and some large birds, Saren supplemented what Nargi had told him about the rumors.
"Children who have vanished are small, but no younger than eight cycles," she told him, slapping away the beak of a bird that tried to bite her. "One or two were spotted deep in the mountains, but I have never heard of any recovered."
"Do you know how many have disappeared?"
She shook her head. "I don't."
"When did this start happening?"
"About five cycles ago," Nargi said, hefting a bale of fodder off a pile. Obi-Won took it when Nargi handed it to him, and set it down near Saren, who deftly slit the rope binding it together and tossing part to the birds. "Our neighbor's child."
"It nearly destroyed her," Saren said quietly. "She's still not quite the same."
Obi-Wan took another slab of the fodder and dropped it in the manger for one of the four legged beasts. "Does the Capital not send help?"
"They try," Nargi said, bitterness lacing his words. "But they don't know the area, don't know where to look, and the mines close up when they get close. They're too obvious, with all the soldiers."
Saren brushed her hands off. "I'll see to the dishes," she said, and let herself out of the barn.
"Up the ladder is a pile of hay you can bed down on," Nargi said. "Thanks for your help."
"Thank you," Obi-wan said. He climbed up the ladder. A short time after he heard Nargi shut and lock the heavy door, Obi-Wan took out his comm unit and contacted Qui-Gon.
"I am here, Padawan," Qui-Gon said through static, but still clear enough. "Any progress?"
"I'm getting closer," Obi-Wan said. "I should be in the middle of the mountains tomorrow, if the directions holds true. It's dark here," he added ruefully. "Very different from Coruscant."
"Yes," Qui-Gon said, his amusement at the comment coming down the bond between them. "All our leads here so far have turned into dead ends, but we will start again tomorrow. Sleep well, Padawan. May the force be with you."
"The force with you, too," Obi-Wan said through static that had increased, so that he had no idea if Qui-Gon had even heard him. Obi-wan tucked his comm unit away, and nestled into the hay. He slept immediately.
Obi-Wan stood next to a pillar, from which a dim light emanated. About a meter beyond the pillar in front of him he could see a wall, although he couldn't see more than that. It stretched past the pillar to his right, disappearing into the dimness. Something moved against the wall - no, on the other side of the wall - and he stepped past the pillar, trying to see. The light didn't increase, but he could see now that the wall was transparent, holding water. He could see walls going off into the water, dividing it into at least three chambers, but he didn't know how far they went back. It reminded him of an underwater menagerie he'd seen on Velian, although empty, even though he knew he'd seen something.
When nothing moved again, he looked around, turning to see the rest of the room. Across from where he'd stood, he could see a wide doorway, and he went through it. Dim light came from recessed lights in the wall and ceiling, and some in the water, making it glow eerily. The water stretched away into the dark, past the lights both inside and outside it. The large room he stood in reinforced his image of the menagerie. Ahead of him, the floor sloped shallowly into the water, extending a fair distance before dropping off sharply into darkness. The menagerie on Velain had pool like this, the shallows there for the sea creatures to flop onto without leaving the water and hurting themselves. Nothing moved in the lights, nothing disturbed the surface of the pool. This place seemed as empty as the one he'd just left. What was he doing here?
"What are you doing here?"
The voice echoed through the room, distorting the tone. Obi-Wan turned, and his eyes widened in surprise at the boy standing in the doorway he'd just walked through. "Bruck? Where did you come from?" he stammered. You're dead, his thoughts added, his mouth too stunned to add it. I saw you die.
"I was invited." His old nemesis smirked faintly. He looked exactly as he had the day he'd fallen off the falls in the Room of Ten Thousand Fountains, although without the blood in his long, white-blond hair.
"Invited by whom?" Obi-Wan demanded. But even as he asked, Obi-wan knew he should try to wake up. What had started as a dream had turned into a nightmare.
Bruck waved him off. "That isn't important. There's something you ought to see," he added before Obi-Wan could protest, and beckoned imperiously.
"Why should I follow you?" He really didn't want to ask that question. He groped at his belt for his lightsaber, and came up empty. He felt like he had back when Bruck had called him Oafy-Wan, especially at Bruck's knowing smile.
"Because if you don't, bad things will happen," Bruck snapped. "You haven't changed much, have you, Oafy-Wan?" He turned and walked back into the room with the pillar, leaving Obi-Wan to wonder if Bruck could read his mind. "There's no way out," Bruck mocked him, his voice echoing from the other room.
Something propelled Obi-Wan forward and he stumbled before catching his balance and resisting. It did him no good. The movement stopped when he stood next to Bruck, facing the chambers he'd first seen. He strengthened his shields and prepared himself for a fight of some kind.
"Look," Bruck said, indicating the chamber directly in front of them. Obi-Wan didn't take his eyes off the other boy. Bruck rolled his eyes and backed away, pointing at the chamber again.
Obi-Wan moved forward to where he'd pointed, careful to keep his attention on Bruck, expecting an attack from the back, squinting into the darkness. "Look at what?" he demanded.
With a suddenness he didn't expect, someone pressed him to the glass, a hand between his shoulder blades. He knew it wasn't Bruck. Obi-Wan could still see him out of the corner of his eye, smirking at him.
The chamber in front of him suddenly became clear, even if the light didn't increase, and he turned his attention back to it. To his horror, he could see his friend Bant, chained to the bottom of the pool as she had been in the room of Ten Thousand Fountains the day Bruck had died.
Then he realized - remembered - this was all a dream. "Let me go," he said. "You can't hurt her. She's safe."
"She will never be safe," a familiar, sibilant voice hissed directly behind him, a voice Obi-Wan hadn't heard since the day Xanatos had fallen into the pool on Telos. The air around him froze, an all too familiar feeling. Obi-Wan gasped for breath, suddenly feeling like he drowned, and struggled to get free.
Obi-Wan started awake in alarm, gasping for breath, but his alarm gave way to confusion. Bruck and Xanatos? And some danger to Bant? He sat up and tried to gather his thoughts, but his mind felt clouded, slow. It felt uncomfortably like the first time he'd woken up on Arioch after his collapse at the temple. He closed his eyes to meditate, but it took a while for his thoughts to settle enough. He hadn't had to work to meditate in years. But eventually he reached the comfort he'd wanted.
Both his enemies in one dream? This was not like most of the other dreams he had. Those starred his former masters, or a Jedi he didn't know. Others that starred his Padawan, or the Knight he didn't know the name of but considered his good friend, he thought might be glimpses of the future. But while Xanatos and Bruck had chained Bant to the bottom of the pool in the Room of Ten Thousand Fountains, none of the rest of it fit the events. It didn't even make any sense! And what did Bruck mean? He was invited? That only added to the confusion of the dream.
It was close to part of his past, a part he hadn't forgotten, his memories, but every other time the memory dreams had recreated the events exactly. This one didn't fit the pattern. It reminded him of the dream where Master Sorin had spoken with Master Jinn's voice. And there was no way for him to see the bottom of that pool where Bant was chained in the temple without swimming all the way down. Besides, both Bruck and Xanatos were dead. There was no question of Xanatos surviving the acid of the pool he'd thrown himself into, and Obi-Wan had heard the crack when Bruck's head hit the rocks. The sound had given him nightmares for weeks, and the trial that followed had only made the nightmares worse.
Concern came down his bond, and he realized he must have woken his Master. He took a deep breath and let it out, surprised to hear it shudder. He released his confusion and anxiety into the Force with the next exhale. Feeling much better, he sent reassurance down the bond, and when he felt the concern ease, he lay down, and although it took him a while, fell back to sleep.