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Chapter 7

But I'll still take all the blame
'Cause you and me are both one and the same
And it's driving me mad
And it's driving me mad
I'll take back all the things that I said
I didn't realize I was always talking to the living dead

And I don't want you to think that I care
I never would
I never could
Again

-Muse

Obi-Wan

"Greetings."

The Jedi turned and smiled at Gannen. His forehead was still bandaged, but the wound didn't hurt. Nothing hurt; in fact, Obi-Wan had finally, completely, and totally detached himself. Nothing hurt, nothing mattered but going through the motions.

Maybe this is what it meant to be a Jedi; maybe empathy wasn't the way. It seemed easier like this. If Xanatos distracted him then the only way to continue on with the mission was to lose the distraction. If he couldn't feel anything then he couldn't be unheeding of his task.

"You came."

"Of course," Gannen walked forward so that he was only a foot from Obi-Wan. "I was surprised when you asked me to meet you here."

"Why is that?" Obi-Wan asked curiously.

Gannen glanced at the ground and hesitated. He looked up again before speaking. "I thought that you might be busy… with someone else."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan prompted. "Who else?"

"Perhaps… maybe Xanatos."

The old Obi-Wan would have been shocked. His blood would have chilled in his veins at anyone seeing the lust that might have been. He would have laughed nervously, or quickly changed the subject. The topic would have been painful. The new Obi-Wan did nothing of these things.

He smiled. "It's that obvious?"

Gannen lifted his eyebrow in the surprise that Obi-Wan should have felt before.

"Don't misunderstand – it's the past. But once I would have been very busy, I'm sure."

"I see," Gannen said calmly. "Did you love him?"

Obi-Wan tried to recall the emotions from the past. How he had felt on Tarria, and how he had felt when he first saw Xanatos again. He couldn't.

"I don't think so."

Green eyes studied Obi-Wan's face before he brushed the back of his hand against the boy's cheek. "I hope you're feeling better."

It was unclear to him whether Gannen meant his wound, or Xanatos.

"Yes, but I'm here to talk business, actually," Obi-Wan scolded.

I think I'm getting better at this.

Gannen smiled widely and spread his hands in mock surrender. "As you wish. The business is, I presume, about the prisoners?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "The first captured, they were not well-trained – clearly they had escaped by chance and luck, and they appeared to be together. But the third man, the one who dealt me this blow –" Obi-Wan touched his forehead – "he knew a little bit about fighting."

"The first two were a husband and wife from an aristocrat family," Gannen informed. "They're of little significance alone, I think that they were stolen for an opposing family to apply pressure. Their buyers will be picking them up tomorrow."

They'll be picked up tomorrow. What are we to do about all the people no longer on the Abductor? Will we ever find all the people kidnapped by Cad'ara?

"As for the lone man…" Gannen shrugged. "I'm not sure why he was taken. Ex-soldier from some militant inclined planet. Varn made the deal with our client for him, so I don't even know who put in the order. He came in about the same time that you and your partners joined us."

"How did they escape?"

Gannen looked embarrassed. "They were all in one cell, and it malfunctioned."

"Has the problem been located?"

"No," the businessman admitted. "It's almost as if the door was opened. But who would do that? Everyone on our ship is loyal, and if someone were not they would at least know that the prisoners had no way of escaping. It doesn't make any sense."

"Could someone have just wanted to start up trouble?" Obi-Wan leaned in, keeping a close eye on Gannen's face for any trace of a lie. He seemed like an honest man, as far as criminals go, but as of late Obi-Wan decided not to trust anyone.

Gannen shook his head in visible frustration. "What would they gain from that?"

"Is there anything to steal? Files, credits, jewels?"

"There is plenty to steal, but nothing was stolen."

"Perhaps the plans failed."

"Perhaps," Gannen didn't sound sure.

"What about the weapons?" Obi-Wan asked.

"They knocked out the sentry and took his blaster. After the ex-soldier was armed he was able to fight more guards and find weapons to assist his companions."

"I'll have them double the guard duties immediately," the Jedi said, not really planning to. If something happened at another time Obi-Wan could say he put in the order and that for some reason it wasn't followed. "We don't want this happening again."

"Of course," Gannen agreed. "The last thing we need is the merchandise injured."

That comment would have bothered old Obi-Wan. But new Obi-Wan brushed a kiss on Gannen's lips before leaving.

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Xanatos

And he thought Qui-Gon was frustrating.

Obi-Wan shut him out again and again. The boy wouldn't listen to Xanatos's reasoning, no matter how right he was. It wasn't as Xanatos thought it would be. He was supposed to be so relieved, so overwhelmed to find his lover alive that he wouldn't fight with him. Xanatos had never expected this.

It wasn't suppose to be a challenge.

The dark Jedi loved challenges, good ones came so rarely. He thrived on them because he always won, but this one… this one was more difficult because his emotions were on the line, and, if he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that they were also out of control.

Maybe I should just kidnap him. It would make all of this much easier.

In his stress Xanatos found himself pacing the corridors of the Abductor. That's where he ran into her.

She was pretty, pretty enough to have many of Cad'ara's employees talking about her the way young people frequently do. Many of them had been watching her very closely, either admiring her looks… or possibly judging how well she could defend herself. Xanatos doubted that she was in any real danger from them. Her smart mouth took away from anything about her that may have been tempting.

The corridor was narrow, and he glared down at her as she crossed her arms.

"Xanatos, right?" She asked with forced sweetness.

"Move," he ordered instead of responding.

"You kidnapped Obi-Wan," She accused.

"What of it?" He demanded, wondering just how much this child knew.

"What are you doing here?"

"Business."

"With your corporation and not the Jedi, correct?"

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. "What do you care? You left the order."

Siri's face flushed. "Of course, but Obi-Wan is my friend."

"So?"

"So," Siri looked up at him, her eyes dark and threatening. "I just wanted to remind you that there are three of us and one of you."

Xanatos laughed. "You seem to forget that I own one third of Cad'ara. This entire ship is full of lap hounds just waiting for a wave of master's hand."

The girl jutted her chin out in defiance. "We can handle this."

He was tired, emotionally and physically, and sick of dealing with Jedi. Especially teenage ones.

"Move," he ordered again. "Before I move you."

She continued to glared at him until, finally, he grabbed her sharply by the wrist and jerked hard. She stumbled behind him, but managed to catch her balance on the wall. The young girl cried out when her assaulted wrist hit the duracrete.

Angry, he turned around and grabbed her upperarms. "I would suggest," he said, leaning close to her, "that you worry more about yourself, and worry less about my lover."

She stared at him, her eyes first wide with fear then with shock. The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile.

So she didn't know.

He shoved her roughly to the ground and strolled off.

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Siri

Oh.

That was the only word that she could coherently form, even in her mind.

He couldn't have been talking about Obi-Wan. It didn't make any sense, he wouldn't betray the order like that. He wouldn't betray Qui-Gon like that. Xanatos had to be lying. That was the only thing that made sense.

Then why was Obi-Wan so flustered when he saw Xanatos again? It was more than fear… but lover?

Oh.

He would have told me, she tried to reassure herself as she rubbed her aching wrist. He wouldn't have kept something like this a secret.

But she knew that wasn't true. Even the idea of him having any kind of relationship with his master's enemy was shameful, if it was true he wouldn't have told anyone.

Except maybe Bant.

Anger boiled in Siri at the idea of them both knowing a secret and keeping it from her on such a vital mission. Did they think they couldn't trust her? She released the anger as best she could, and set her mind to a more important question: what did Xanatos want with Obi-Wan now?

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Obi-Wan

He entered the quarters to find Bant already there, and he filled her in on his new knowledge.

"Who would have purposely released the prisoners?" Bant pondered aloud, and Obi-Wan shrugged.

"Any number of people, I'm sure."

The doors to their room slid open and Siri walked in cradling a tightly bound wrist.

"What happened?" Bant asked, distraught.

"I fell," Siri responded flatly.

Fell? Siri?

Bant looked confused, but she didn't ask anymore questions. "Obi-Wan spoke to Gannen."

Siri suddenly looked angry. "Did he speak to his lover?"

"He's not my lover," Obi-Wan said quickly, wondering what was wrong with her.

"Maybe not him," she snapped.

It was times like these that he was happy not to be old Obi-Wan. He would hate where this conversation was heading.

"Someone released the prisoners," Bant said quickly. "On purpose."

"Why?" Siri asked, suddenly distracted.

"We don't know, but it's time we informed our masters of recent developments," Bant said as she pulled out her comlink.

Obi-Wan rose and quickly scanned the room for bugs. It came up blank.

"We're safe," he told Bant, sitting down next to her and motioning to Siri. The girl hesitated a moment before joining them stiffly.

Old Obi-Wan would be worried, but new Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to care enough.

"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked smoothly. He sounded calm, but he had answered the comlink a little too quickly. "Are you alright?"

Obi-Wan held back a sigh. Qui-Gon clearly hadn't learned the art of apathy. "I'm fine."

"And Xanatos?"

"I'm sure he's fine too."

The release of Qui-Gon's breath caused a wave of static. "This isn't a joke."

"I know, I'm sorry," something else he couldn't bring himself to really feel. "I'm dealing with him just fine."

Qui-Gon was silent for a moment. "You don't have to stay there, you know. This isn't an official mission."

Obi-Wan shook his head, though he knew Qui-Gon couldn't see him. "I'm going to finish the job."

The silence was deafening, but eventually Qui-Gon responded. "How is the mission going?"

His voice was strained.

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For a moment Obi-Wan thought the beeping was another prisoner escape, but it was just his comlink.

He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and fumbled for the machine around his sleepcouch. His hand closed around it and he answered groggily.

"Hello?"

"Obi-Wan!" Gannen's cheerful voice filled the dark room, causing Siri and Bant to move a little in their sleep.

"Gannen?" Obi-Wan asked. "It's the middle of the night."

"We're in space," Gannen sounded ecstatic. "What do night and day mean when there is no sunset or sunrise?"

"It means sleeptime," Obi-Wan said.

Gannen laughed. "Come to the prison."

"Why?"

"I have something to show you, a surprise."

Obi-Wan sighed and climbed off his sleepcouch.

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"This had better be a great surprise. I mean a dinko beating a herd of kath hounds great."

Gannen smiled at him. "That would be impressive."

"Somehow I'm not reassured."

They entered the prison together and Gannen approached an empty cell with laser bars up.

"We have a new system," he said gleefully.

Obi-Wan blinked. "What?"

Gannen nodded. "It used to be that you put in a key in that box –" he pointed to a small rectangle jutting out of the wall on the right side of the cell – "and the cell would open. But now…" Gannen turned and smiled at Obi-Wan. "Now you need three keys, one for the first box, and then the other too." He pointed to an identical box on the left side, and another directly across from the cell.

Obi-Wan blinked again. "So?"

The other man seemed confused. "So you have to turn the locks at the same time, otherwise the cell won't happen. There would have to be three saboteurs."

"Gannen," Obi-Wan said, running a hand across his bandage. "What if there are three?"

His face fell. "Oh."

Obi-Wan sighed. "And if there is only one I'm sure that he could recruit more help."

"That's true," Gannen agreed, turning speculatively toward the cage. "Well then, I see that it wasn't a dinko beating a kath hound."

"A herd of kath hounds."

"Right."

Obi-Wan leaned against the wall. "I can't believe you dragged me out of bed for this."

Gannen watched him for a moment before walking forward and resting his hand on Obi-Wan's cheek. "I wouldn't mind dragging you out of bed for more."

Obi-Wan leaned into Gannen's kiss. His eyes began to shutter before he saw a black cloak in his peripheral vision. It was turning a corner sharply.

His eyes shot open and he pulled himself from Gannen, but the black cloak was gone.

"Obi-Wan?" Gannen questioned as the boy rounded the corner and followed. Down the hall he could see Xanatos walking away, his back to him. He ran down the corridor the catch up before things became even more twisted.

What a hassle.

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A/N: Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter, and please don't kill me (I'm saying that a lot lately) over apathetic Obi-Wan. Oh, and for those of you who just can't get their SW boy love fix, I have some links to SW slash archives, all with at least one good story, some more. I obviously haven't read them all, but the ones I've read have been entertaining. There aren't many Xanatos/Obi-Wan fics, but there are a lot of Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan fics (a pairing I don't particularly like, but I know some of you might). Also, the JAJQ livejournal community link on there has some great Anakin/Ferus, my second favorite SW slash pairing. I guess I just have a thing for people who hate each other... Anyway, the links are at the very bottom of my profile, so you should check them out! ...So long as you still love Shattered Love the best ;p

Please review! And remember, we only use kind words.