A/N: What? No, it hasn't been a month! Come on, really I think you guys are mistaken! Well, in my defense, I have school and crap to deal with, and I'm in AP classes so you know… and I was going to update yesterday, but the Super Bowl was on! You can't fault me for that! The widescreen downstairs was calling to me! I skipped school today for you guys…
Chapter 2Change my mind or help me to try
Im afraid and I'm not satisfied
In this state I shall not remain
I don't want to go, but if I die young
Fill my empty room with the sun
Fill my empty room with the sun
-Marjorie Fair
Obi-Wan
He wasn't sure if he wanted to know where the Jedi got their disguises.
The black battle garb and heavy boots – heavier then his Jedi ones, at least – were all standard issue and new. His mask, however, was not. The heavy duracrete mask covered the left side of his face, decreasing to a jagged slash just above his mouth. The back was covered in a strange material that suctioned to his face the minute it touched skin. Windu had assured him that if he used water the mask would just slide off, but Obi-Wan wasn't completely convinced. The mask was scratched and had a blaster hole just below the glowing red eye cover, leaving Obi-Wan to wonder about it's previous owner's present condition. If it's previous owner had a present condition, that was.
The eye covering was really the only useful part of the mask, in Obi-Wan's opinion. With a voice command it could change to infrared and the like. He was actually given the mask to sharpen his appearance and make him look crueler, but that didn't meant that he wasn't going to use it to it's full potential.
"Look at us," Siri said, staring at the red eye of his mask and hugging her exposed midriff. "We certainly don't look like Jedi."
The three masters and their apprentices were inside Adi's quarters preparing for the mission. The masters were going to stay on a ship just out of the radar of the Abductor, in case they were needed. They held the responsibility of being their Padawans information sources.
"You can't stand like that," Adi said, calmly tugging Siri's arms away from her stomach. "You can't let them know that you're uncomfortable in your new role."
Siri's mouth became a grim line of determination. Obi-Wan knew that she wanted to demand a real shirt instead of some short, one strapped piece of cloth, but she wouldn't. She was too dedicated, and sometimes Obi-Wan envied her.
"Siri's confidence isn't the only problem," Qui-Gon spoke carefully. He touched Obi-Wan's braid. "We need to cut this."
"What?" Obi-Wan demanded, pulling out of his reach. "You can't cut my braid!"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "You know that I don't want, but no ex-Jedi would keep theirs. We can't just leave it if you want this mission to be a success."
A lump rose in Obi-Wan's throat. He hadn't thought of his braid.
If they cut it, I won't feel like a Jedi anymore.
But I'll have Siri and Bant; they'll remind me of who I really am. I can do this.
Obi-Wan nodded, swallowing down the dry lump.
The cool metal of the shears felt foreboding as they touched his skin. With a clink he felt his braid fall away, then Qui-Gon cut off his ponytail.
Qui-Gon laid the cut away hair on the table in front of him, looking as distraught as Obi-Wan when he did it.
"It will grow back," Qui-Gon said soothingly.
But it won't be the same; Obi-Wan stared at the braid in front of him. I've been growing that for years as a symbol of my dedication.
Bant touched his shoulder, a full helmet covering her salmon skin and silvery eyes. Every few minutes the mask released vapor to keep her healthy; they doubted that Cad'ara would go out of its way for her comfort.
Adi's comlink signaled and she spoke into it softly before clicking off. "Your ship is ready."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qui-Gon
I know he can do this, but I'm not sure if I can.
He watched his apprentice's ship fire-up and shoot out of the docking bay, Bant and Siri aboard with him.
The last time I was separated from him was when he needed me the most, and because I wasn't there to protect him he got wrapped in Xanatos's lies.
Qui-Gon was completely sure that they were indeed lies. Xanatos doesn't have a heart to love with, not anymore. He was using Obi-Wan to get revenge on me.
But he's dead, Qui-Gon reminded himself. A dead man can't hurt Obi-Wan anymore. The boy will recover, and everything will be alright in the end.
He knew that Obi-Wan was going to make a great knight, and the setback on Tarria wasn't going to hinder that. The young man just needed a little bit more time.
Qui-Gon had decided not to tell the council what happened between Xanatos and Obi-Wan, they didn't need to know. It was now a well-kept secret between Bant, Obi-Wan, and himself, one that was never brought up.
I won't be far, I can help him if he needs me, Qui-Gon assured himself of this as he followed Kit and Adi to their own ship.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bant
"Do you think they'll believe us?" the young Mon Calamari asked.
"With the story that we have? Yes," Siri answered. "But anyone who stares at me for more then five seconds is going to feel my ex-Jedi wrath."
Bant smiled. Siri was beautiful, and she hated it; the outfit that the master's had given Siri only accented her good looks, leaving her something to gawk at. Bant just hoped that she didn't actually beat up any employees aboard the Abductor.
They both seem so calm, Bant wondered silently. They're so much more experienced then me.
The youngest of the group, though not by much, Bant had never been on a mission alone. She hadn't been Kit's apprentice all that long, and before that her master had been Tahl. Tahl had continuously left her behind when she went on missions, and sometimes Bant wondered if, had she been there, she could have saved her master's life on New Apsolon.
No, Bant silently chided herself. I must not dwell.
But it was hard to keep one's mind from becoming wrapped in past what ifs.
She glanced at Obi-Wan and silently wondered if he was really as strong emotionally as he'd like her and Siri to believe.
He was once, she thought sadly. But a part of him died with Xanatos. He may not realize it, but he's only a fragile shadow of what he once was.
Sorrow was not an emotion that Bant allowed herself to be accustomed to, but she felt it frequently nonetheless. And never as greatly as when she contemplated how much her best friend had lost.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obi-Wan
The Abductor stank.
And it wasn't the usual stench that accompanied those kinds of barges. It was sterile, like a surgeon's operating room. It reeked of alcohol and antiseptic. It was the unnerving, emotionless place of a doctor whose patients expected to leave missing valuable organs and limbs. There was no comfort in the cleanliness, and it left Obi-Wan feeling cold and alone.
I shouldn't have expected any different, it's a business that caters to the rich and powerful by selling them slaves.
They stepped off their traveling vessel and into a shining hangar. At the far end of the room sat a long, duracrete desk with a strict, thin woman behind it. Obi-Wan, Siri, and Bant approached her with carefully measured saunters.
"You're the new bounty hunters?" The woman asked in a clipped tone without looking up from her datapad.
It wasn't really a question, but Obi-Wan nodded once curtly anyway.
The attendant smoothed back some invisible ruffle in her brown bun and finally looked at them. "I'll take you to see Gannen S'ara and Varn Cad'ack. They've been expecting you."
Obi-Wan recognized the names, they were the Corellian owners of Cad'ara, the sons of rich businessmen who knew how to grease palms and call on favors. A rumor said that there was a third owner, but the Jedi couldn't find any substantial evidence of this.
"My name is Salma, feel free to ask me for anything you may require." The disguised Jedi followed Salma's brisk walk out of the hangar.
Nothing really changed as they moved through the ship; every hallway had the same tidy look to it. There were no open doors and every room appeared to be locked up tightly.
"I assume the three of you know the description for the job that we've hired you?" Salma asked, but continued without waiting for an answer. "You won't be assisting in captures, but rather in keeping the prisoners here aboard the Abductor. We've had two escapees in the last month, which cost us not only a customer refund but also a fee for breaking the contract. We couldn't find them again, you see."
"So we'll be security guards?" Siri asked, adding a layer of disgust into her voice. "That doesn't sound very… exciting."
Salma turned to them and lifted her mouth in what appeared to be a smile, but it was stiff and didn't suit her. "Our prisoners are either one of two people, the first being the rich, diplomatic type who are too scared to even breathe while in their cells, and the second being the smart people who fought their own way to the power they have achieved. Those are the ones that we need to worry about, and enough of them come aboard that it's a problem."
"And you can't have them escaping," Siri nodded in agreement. "They could tell the galaxy about your company."
Salma waved her hand dismissively. "Let them, they can't prove anything. Important people have tried, but we have a powerful backing."
Obi-Wan mentally applauded Siri, she had gotten them necessary information while still keeping their cover strong. Two things were clear now: They'd need more then a few freed prisoners to shut down Cad'ara, and Cad'ara had an unknown benefactor that they needed to worry about.
"No," Salma continued, turning and walking once again. "It's not fear for our company, it's the loss of profits that have convinced us to hire you."
It was only a few minutes longer before they all stood outside a set of large doors. Salma reached forward and pressed a buzzer, and the doors slid open a moment later.
The room wasn't the lavish office that Obi-Wan was expecting, but the cold and precise set-up of the rest of the ship. There were still sofas on one end of the large room, and two duracrete desks on the other end. There were no pictures and no unnecessary comforts.
Sitting on one sofa was, presumably, the owners, a man with dark brown hair and a blonde.
"We're glad you could make it," the dark haired man said.
This doesn't seem right, Obi-Wan warned himself internally. 'We're glad you could make it'? There's something wrong here…
Obi-Wan felt Siri and Bant looking at each other. They felt it too.
Nonetheless, they had a charade to keep up, so Obi-Wan proffered his hand. "We never miss a good business opportunity."
The man stood and reached for Obi-Wan's hand, a wide smile on his face. "Nor do we."
Obi-Wan felt the man's movement before he saw it. A blaster flipped into the dark haired stranger's hand, and Obi-Wan grabbed his lightsaber. From the corner of his eye he saw the blonde man leap at Siri and Bant, and Salma slip out of the room.
The man fired his blaster with perfect precision, but not perfect enough for a Jedi. Obi-Wan twirled his lightsaber and deflected the bolts easily. The attacker went to shift positions for a better angle and Obi-Wan used his distraction to fall to the ground and kick out. The heel of his boot landed firmly against the man's knee, and he tumbled to the ground. On his way down Obi-Wan smacked his temple, rendering him unconscious.
He turned to look at Siri and Bant, but they didn't need his help. The blonde was already pinned to the ground, Siri's knee in the small of his back.
"Why did you attack us?" Obi-Wan demanded.
"Because we paid them too."
Obi-Wan turned around in time to see the wall slide open and two distinguished looking men step out.
"You'd be shocked what people would do for money," A brown haired man with sea-green eyes said. "But then again, maybe you wouldn't. You are, after all, a Jedi abandoner turned bounty hunter. My name is Gannen S'ara."
"Which would make me Varn Cad'ack," the light-haired man next to him said. "And the man you have pinned to the ground is my bodyguard."
Siri didn't release her grip on their attacker. "And?" She demanded.
Varn smiled widely at her. "We only had them attack you because we wanted a demonstration of your skills. Please, let him go." There was no pleading in his voice, but no demand either. He sounded as cheerful as if he was making a lunch date.
"Yes," Gannen agreed. "We now see that your skills are acceptable for the positions we're offering you. No further tests are necessary."
Siri glared at them a moment longer before letting go of the man and standing. He stumbled to his feet and went to stand next to his employers, trying to scrape up some dignity.
"There there," Gannen said, slapping the bodyguard on the back. "Nothing to feel bad about, we didn't expect you to beat them."
"Enough," Obi-Wan snapped in a harsh voice, hoping that he sounded like a bounty hunter. "We don't like games."
Gannen studied him with his piercing green eyes, and then lifted one side of his mouth wryly. "But I so love games. I think that you could learn to love them too, with some help."
Obi-Wan stiffened and could have sworn that he heard Siri bite back a laugh.
Is he flirting with me?
Varn and Gannen glanced at each other, and then Varn spoke. "If you insist, we'll get straight down to salaries and assignments."
"We'll have plenty of time later to play," Gannen added, still smiling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wow Obi-Wan," Siri said sweetly when the three of them were alone. "I had no idea you were so… appealing."
Obi-Wan glared at her. Throughout the entire meeting Gannen had made comments to him that sounded innocent, but his tone implied otherwise.
"Drop it," he ordered.
She smiled at him. "But I so love games."
Bant giggled softly through her helmet.
"Whose side are you on?" He demanded, looking at Bant.
"Right now?" Bant asked. "I'm a neutral party."
"She saw it to," Siri laughed. "She saw that look he gave you."
"It had nothing to do with me," Obi-Wan defended. "You know those types of people."
"Oh I do," Siri agreed. "But that look."
She and Bant burst into laughter and Obi-Wan stood and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Bant asked.
"To get some fresh air," Obi-Wan answered, glaring at them.
"That's what he wants us to think," Siri said in a conspiratorial whisper that she wanted Obi-Wan to hear. "Secretly he's meeting up with Gannen and they're going to confess their undying love for each other."
Bant giggled again and Obi-Wan stormed out.
His boots clicked on the metallic floor of the Abductor. He silently hoped that they were leaving scuffmarks, anything to desecrate the immaculate ship.
Then it hit him.
A familiar rush in the force. It rolled across him like a tidal wave on Manaan, and for a moment he couldn't breathe.
A figure appeared at the end of the hallway, then quickly turned and hurried off.
"Hey!" Obi-Wan shouted, running after him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Dun dun dun. I had some trouble writing this chapter, Siri refuses to remain IC. (Glares) WHY DO YOU HATE ME? I'm still not sure if I got her right. I'm not a huge Siri fan, as some of you might already know. I don't really hate her, it's more I hate the relationship that she and Obi-Wan have in Secrets of the Jedi. It just seemed so clichéd to me, very Pride and Prejudice, if that makes sense to any of you. I actually like her character, she reminds me of Tahl. Anyway, if anyone has any advise for how I can make her better please let me know. Please review, thanks!