I don't think I've ever updated this quickly! Haha! Thank you for all your wonderful comments on the last chapter- they really got me back into writing :) Thanks to Dudeette- I couldn't reply to yours but thank you!
This chapter is actually longer than I thought it was going to be...so I had to edit it a bit more :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Star Wars. Except Raidon in this story. And Viza. And the many rebels :D
Edit: 7/2/2011: Made a minor change to some parts to make it fit better with next chapter :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 7- Infiltration
(With Obi-Wan- rebel base)
"How does infiltrating…the Palace get you…anything?" Obi-Wan asked Kol, fighting to keep himself standing. He felt stronger; the drug in his system was not as potent as it had been half an hour ago. The pain in his head was dulling by a fraction. That, or Obi-Wan thought grimly- he was just growing accustomed to it.
Concentrate Kenobi. If you want to find out anything focus! Your focus determines your reality…the old saying gave him some comfort.
"We will hold the Government hostage and demand they give up office," Zariya said.
Obi-Wan could not help but raise an eyebrow at the incredulously foolhardy and ambitious plan. "Then?" He immediately regretted his bold question as two guards stepped up threateningly behind him. To his surprise, Kol waved them back, as though interested to hear what the young Jedi had to say on the matter.
"By storming the Palace…many will die," Obi-Wan began slowly. "There has to be a way to avoid…bloodshed."
Kol laughed, though the action did not reach his eyes. "There is no way to stop the bloodshed. They have brought it upon themselves when they slaughtered the peaceful protestors before us. This is our revenge for our fallen brethren."
"Getting in will be… impossible," Obi-Wan said. He blinked. They weren't going to torture him for information on the Palace layout were they? He really knew nothing about that. He took a calming breath. Don't get ahead of yourself…one step at a time now…
Jago snorted. "We have insiders in the Palace. Do you think we were so foolish little Jedi to have not planned this? This has been in preparation for months. Since before the Government thought to bring in Jedi to protect themselves. You have been a nuisance but we must continue."
"What… of me then?" Obi-Wan asked cautiously.
"You are coming with us," Kol said coldly. "We have decided it most likely your Master will want you back. He will want you back at any cost."
"Not…not at a cost… to his mission," Obi-Wan replied without hesitating. Qui-Gon would first be true to the mission. And Obi-Wan, though afraid, would not have asked his Master for anything else. Now their mission was complex Obi-Wan didn't know what to think.
"I'm sure we can persuade him," Zariya smirked. "After all- nobody likes to see a child in pain."
Obi-Wan nearly bristled at being called a child. He was a Jedi Padawan- and thirteen! That wasn't a child. However, he was trapped between a rock and a hard place here. Qui-Gon would put the mission first and the rebels would simply do away with Obi-Wan when they found out his uselessness.
"Let me talk to… my Master," Obi-Wan suggested suddenly. He cursed inwardly as the Force slipped from his grasp yet again as he attempted to strengthen his proposition. "If you have evidence for this deceit…the Galactic Senate-"
"-Won't have anything to do with us!" Jago laughed grimly. "You are too idealistic boy. And why would we let you run back to your Master-to tell them of our position no doubt."
Obi-Wan shook his head to protest- wincing at the increased throbbing in his skull as he did so.
Before he could speak Kol began. "Take him away- we've important preparations to make for tomorrow." Kol snapped his fingers and two rebel guards immediately flanked Obi-Wan before leading him out of the chamber. Karsten followed a few steps behind and the doors to the rebel command room slid shut with a hiss behind them.
(With Qui-Gon and Raidon)
"Master Jinn!"
Qui-Gon recognized the voice that hailed him as he and Raidon marched through one of the extravagantly embellished corridors of the Imperial Palace. With white marble columns on either side, streaked with black minerals, stretching to support the enormous high ceiling above them, large floor to ceiling windows and beautiful works of art on the wall; this corridor and the others were the height of decadence. A stark contrast to the houses in the city outside.
"Chief Advisor Klone," Qui-Gon acknowledged, with a nod of his head. Raidon beside him saluted stiffly. Klone indicated that they keep walking, the pace slower this time as the Advisor revelled in the splendour around them, pointing out his favourite tapestries and artworks.
"I hear you went out into the city with a patrol," Klone said at last as they entered his office a few minutes later.
Qui-Gon nodded. "I wished to assess for myself the nature of the rebels you talk about. I found very little in your data banks." He folded his hands serenely into the sleeves of his dark brown Jedi cloak.
Klone seated himself behind his desk. "I also hear Captain Raidon that you overstepped your jurisdiction in allowing the prisoner to go free." His tone towards the Imperial Captain was now biting, as it had been civil towards the Jedi Master before.
"Chief Advisor- the man was innocent," Raidon began to make his case.
"How do you know? You doubt the painstaking intelligence collected on this man? How do you think we are going to be able to defeat these rebels if you let them off free like that?" Klone barked.
"The man was innocent," Qui-Gon repeated, feeling the silent thanks that the Captain beside him sent him. "He had no interactions with your rebel group."
"How do you know?" Klone asked, leaning forwards. "I'm sure they all say they are innocent."
"The Force told me," Qui-Gon answered simply. "The man did not lie."
Surprised at the answer, Klone leant back in his seat, pondering his next move carefully. The Jedi and Captain stood tall and straight in front of his desk, their expressions revealing nothing. Klone tapped his fingers lightly on the arm of his chair. Jedi weren't supposed to lie- he knew this from his reading. And the Jedi did not know anything.
"Then it is as you say," Klone smiled, spreading his hands. "We must have made a mistake with this one. I will be sure to send an apology to this man and his family for the…inconvenience caused by the soldiers." The Advisor watched as the Captain's shoulders slumped slightly in relief. The Jedi revealed no emotion. "But Captain- I would appreciate it if you spent more time guarding this Palace then gallivanting out in the city. Perhaps then we wouldn't lose any more guests to these rebels. How goes the search for the missing Padawan? You have still not found any insider in the Palace have you?"
The insult was thinly disguised and Qui-Gon sensed the indignation and embarrassment rolling off the Captain in waves. "Please allow me to step up the search," Raidon said, reigning in his anger. "I will find this intruder- and the Padawan."
Qui-Gon felt the conviction behind the last part of Raidon's words more directed at himself and nodded discreetly at the Captain. Obi-Wan…In any spare moment he could, Qui-Gon had spent it in deep meditation in order to reign in his impatience at the lack of leads as to his Padawan's whereabouts. He had not woken refreshed. Now his emotions were stretched taught. He wanted to be out searching for his Padawan. He felt somehow he was letting the boy down.
And who knew what the rebels would do to a young boy when they were able to blow up Imperial taxis without a second thought?
Klone waved a hand standoffishly. "Go Captain. I want that insider found. And when they are- they will pay."
Raidon nodded tightly, saluted once and pivoted on his heel, striding out of the embellished office, leaving Qui-Gon alone with the Chief Advisor. Klone offered a smile. "I would like to thank you Master Jinn -for your help with matters today."
"It was my duty," Qui-Gon replied smoothly. There was something not right- Qui-Gon didn't need the Force for that judgement.
Klone pulled a stack of data files towards himself, bringing their meeting to an end. "Master Jinn- the First Minister would like to extend an invitation for our celebratory feast tomorrow night - I hope you will find time to attend. It's in the Main Hall. Many delegates will be there, we would be most pleased for you to join us."
A celebratory feast? What could there be to celebrate? Qui-Gon thought, resisting the urge to reveal his thoughts out loud. "I would be honoured," the Master said instead, complementing it with a short bow. "Now if you will excuse me, I must continue the search for my Padawan."
"By all means," Klone agreed. "By all means."
Qui-Gon had just left Klone's ostentatious quarters when he spotted the Advisor's assistant Viza approaching him. He was intent on just giving a small nod of recognition as she passed when she reached out to stop his stride.
"Master Jinn- I think I've found something," she said quietly, checking behind the large Jedi to make sure no one had overheard her.
Qui-Gon's brow furrowed. "Found what?" he prompted just as discreetly. "You have news of Obi-Wan?"
Viza looked worried for a moment, shook her head but beckoned the Jedi Master to follow her. Qui-Gon felt his heart sink slightly, but found no warning from the Force, so he followed, his cloak flapping around his ankles as he kept up with her. Viza led the Jedi Master to the Imperial Palace's grand library. They walked down the rows of holo-books and recordings, past a few officials quietly talking. They arrived at an empty area near the older archives.
Quickly, Viza accessed a free terminal, typing in her authorisation codes and scanned her fingerprints. Once in, she began to move things across the holo-screen, accessing documents and files. She drew one up and allowed Qui-Gon to look at it.
The Jedi Master peered closer, keen eyes easily picking out the details. The document was the recordings of the current election poll leads by the various people running against the Government. Qui-Gon scanned the rows of numbers and percentages.
"The Government have a clear majority," he said, standing back.
Viza nodded.
"Is that unusual?" Qui-Gon asked.
"This region is unusual," Viza said, pointing out the area on a map of Malrion she brought up on the holo screen. "I was looking at it earlier. Here the Government has virtually no support from the people- they support the opposition leader. Yet still the Government won this area's votes by quite a margin. I cannot think that those people would suddenly all vote for the First Minister when they made their case so strongly against him."
Qui-Gon glanced at Viza. "That isn't enough to prove anything," he said gently. "It's one case."
"That's happening everywhere," Viza said. "Look at all the records. Anywhere where the opposition have strong support- they have barely registered in the polls. It doesn't make sense."
Qui-Gon's brow furrowed as he looked again. The Advisor's aid was right. None of the opposition parties were anywhere close to rivalling the amount of support the Government was amassing. Virtually the whole planet was voting for the First Minister to stay in power. Something struck Qui-Gon as being a little suspicious.
"And this," Viza began, her tone hushed. "I'm not supposed to see this but I stumbled across it on Klone's desk a week back. It's some of the accounts for Malrion."
Qui-Gon looked over her shoulder as she brought up the spread sheets, flicking across the screen rapidly. "There are gaps in the records," Viza began to explain. "Money is coming in- but it doesn't say where from. Money that is funding the First Minister's campaign that is coming from nowhere- it just appears."
"What's that?" Qui-Gon asked pointing to something that caught his eye.
"A planet-wide company based on Malrion, called IntraGral," Viza said, accessing the specifics. "It takes in a large amount of Malrion's resources." She typed in a command. "…Nothing comes up for it," she said, puzzled. "There's no central warehouse, no details, nothing…" Her long fingers flew across the keys, inserting more commands. The computer came up empty.
Qui-Gon scrolled over the data. Much of the planet's wealth seemed to be heading towards this company. He glanced back across at the funds incoming to the First Minister's campaign. Viza followed his search, her eyes narrowing.
"They are taking IntraGral's income to fund their campaign?" Viza whispered.
"Not just that," Qui-Gon said. "I've seen this before. Something tells me IntraGral isn't a company at all. It's a façade for the real company. I doubt this company even exists on Malrion. We're most likely dealing with an off-world conglomerate."
Viza's jaw nearly dropped. "But everyone's heard of IntraGral," she began. "They manufacture products and buy in shares. The company is everywhere here on Malrion. They do advertisements, sponsorships…"
"When was this company set up?" Qui-Gon asked.
"About fifteen years or so ago," Viza said. Her face suddenly went very pale, drawing Qui-Gon's concern. She took a deep breath. "Master Jinn…" she looked around, double checking there was no one around to overhear them. "This now isn't the first uprising we've had here on Malrion with the rebels," she began.
Qui-Gon could see where this was leading.
"About twelve years ago there was an uprising, led by a man called Zane. He said there was something not right with the way the planet's wealth was being distributed. We were producing vast amounts of raw materials at the time but the people never seemed to get much back. The Government grew richer. However- the uprising was brutally put down…"
Qui-Gon nodded. "He must have realised what was going on here."
"So this Government is taking the people's work…funnelling it through a fake company and taking the profits for themselves?" Viza surmised. "And Zane knew…"
(The next day- Obi-Wan's cell)
Grimacing, his back aching, Obi-Wan stretched his arms above his head as much as his bound hands allowed him to. He was not comfortable. Sleeping on a thin mat in his rocky cell, Obi-Wan had been given very little to eat and his stomach growled in protest as it rubbed it soothingly. Without a chrono the Padawan simply didn't know how much time had passed since he'd been locked in. He'd had no contact with anyone since being led back to his cell after the interrogation with the rebel leaders. It could have been hours or even days- being underground with very little light it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. Karsten had been in to deliver a meagre meal and water but apart from that Obi-Wan had been left alone.
He'd never been this alone before. With the Force you were never alone. Obi-Wan was without and therefore utterly alone. He wondered how long it would take before he went mad. He'd heard the stories, the nightmarish stories where terrible-
Stop it Kenobi! Mentally Obi-Wan shook himself. He couldn't just frighten himself on the possibilities of what might happen. He could be rescued still before any of this. He trusted his Master. Qui-Gon would come for him. Unless the Master thought he was dead and there was no point-
Obi-Wan sighed. All his thoughts at the moment were leading down dark negative ends he really didn't want to explore.
A loud scraping sound made Obi-Wan jump. Disgusted at his lack of awareness he watched as the door to his cell opened and Karsten peered round.
"I thought you might be hungry again," Karsten explained, bringing in food. "You'll need your strength- they're attacking the Palace in a couple of hours." At least that gave Obi-Wan a rough idea of what time it was. The rebels were to attack the Palace at night the day after he'd spoken to them. That was a long time being alone in the cell.
He ate the food without talking. Karsten seemed to understand the Padawan's mood. "I'm sure it will go well," he tried.
"Many will die," Obi-Wan disagreed. "There are better methods than this fighting."
Karsten's eyes widened at the words of wisdom coming from this boy not much older than him. "But there is nothing else that can be done," he said sadly. "The Government will not listen – they are too powerful."
The door to the cell opened again and the broad figure of Jago appeared. "Get him ready," he instructed Karsten brusquely.
"Can I come too?" Karsten asked.
Jago frowned. "I've explained already little brother. It's not the place for you. You are to stay here-understand me?"
Karsten's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Now- five minutes and the group will be leaving," Jago turned to leave.
Obi-Wan had straightened to look with interest between the two brothers when Jago had revealed the connection between him and Karsten. He had never noticed the similar facial structure or dark coloured hair that they both shared.
Karsten grumbled to himself as Obi-Wan finished eating. "I bought a spare tunic for you to change," he said at length, bringing it out for Obi-Wan. He deactivated the cuffs on Obi-Wan's wrists whilst the Padawan changed and flexed his hands, allowing the blood to circulate more easily, the pin pricking sensation in his fingers distracting.
"Come- they'll be waiting," Karsten said, helping Obi-Wan to his feet. They exited the cell, Obi-Wan's eyes moving quickly around the tunnel. It was one of the few times he had not been blindfolded whilst being moved around the rebel base. Up ahead there were two people talking quietly, both hooded and cloaked. As they passed Obi-Wan saw a woman's face underneath one of the hoods. His eyes widened.
He recognized her from the Imperial Palace.
Being pulled along and unable to linger, Obi-Wan was forced onwards to where the small hovercrafts were waiting to take the infiltrating team to the Imperial Palace. Hands tightly bound to prevent anything, Obi-Wan was roughly pushed on board, Jago keeping a close eye on him, blaster pointed directly at the Padawan.
"One wrong move…" he warned as he slipped a blindfold over the young boy's eyes plunging him into darkness.
Obi-Wan took the message to heart. At least he was heading towards the Imperial Palace- where his Master was. If he could somehow use all his energy, cry out across their bond some sort of warning…perhaps he wouldn't be such a failure after all.
Quietly, the engines softly thrumming the group took off, the tension and supressed energy quivering in the air.
"Up now, get up," Jago was nudging him hard in the ribs. Carefully, Obi-Wan rose, grateful when the blindfold was tugged off of his head. It was twilight; the sun was setting beyond the taller buildings surrounding the Imperial Palace. Obi-Wan was impressed the rebels had gotten this far. They were more prepared than he had given them credit.
Obi-Wan watched as Kol moved past him, blaster strapped to his hip. All the rebels wore the same clothing to identify each other. Quiet whisperings were stamped out as Zariya snapped out at two younger rebels.
They had landed at one of the back entrances to the Imperial Palace. Obi-Wan was herded up a flight of stairs, Jago right behind him. The rebels moved in closely, the ones at the back forming a rear guard as the front ones peered cautiously around corners before waving the rest of the group forward.
Suddenly, something tugged at Obi-Wan's mind, like an echo of a Force warning. Without further thought he pushed the rebel to the ground in front of him. The man fell in surprise with a grunt just as a blaster bolt whipped over their heads, smashing into the wall beside them.
"What are you-" Jago had hissed as Obi-Wan had reacted immediately but the rebel soon realised what was going on. They had been ambushed from the side. A group of guards had spotted the rebel group.
"Get moving- down the next corridor!" Kol ordered- firing and hitting a guard with a stun bolt. Their aim was to silence the guards and move on quickly. Zariya took out two guards with impressive skill the Padawan noted as she ran crouched down past her leader.
Obi-Wan ducked again as another bolt sailed over his head. What he would do to have his lightsaber and the Force back with him! The rebels methodically fired and retreated to a safer location. Jago took his chance and moved around the corner as Kol fired again.
There it was again- That odd tugging sensation! Maybe the Force was coming back to him- however slowly. Obi-Wan looked around- trying to ascertain the Force's warning. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a Palace guard creeping up on them, take aim and fire.
It was a split second decision. Obi-Wan knew who the blaster bolt was flying towards. He also knew it would be very un- Jedi-like to allow it to hit its target when he could prevent it. With that thought ringing through his mind, Obi-Wan shoved Kol down and out of the way as bright, hot, white pain flared through Obi-Wan's body: a harsh cry escaping his lips as the Jedi Padawan tumbled to the ground.
There's another very evil cliffhanger...sorry people! You're going to have to review to find out what happened to poor Obi! Anyways- hope you guys enjoyed- the next chapter should be up in a couple of days- after Tuesday when my lab report is due in...which I haven't yet finished. The things I do...haha!
AldabaranFox