He was finding it rather difficult to secure transport all the way to Tatooine, but there were many who were traveling shorter distances who were more than willing to help a Jedi.
"I hear there's a trader going as far as Malastare. It's a little out of the way for you, Master Jedi, but it will bring you far closer than any of us can," he was told by a Corellian who was only willing to go as far as Cato Nemoidia. This piqued Qui-Gon's interest.
"Who is it?" he asked. The Corellian thought a moment.
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know her name. I'm almost certain she's on platform twenty-seven, though. If you hurry, you might still catch her."
"Thank you, my friend," Qui-Gon said, patting the man on the shoulder before hurrying along.
Platform twenty-seven was not terribly far from platform eight, but the spaceport was crowded and Qui-Gon couldn't very well just go plowing through the crowd without regards for those around him. He hadn't been quite prepared for quite how thick the crowd was, however. With every person who refused to move as he politely said, "excuse me," he grew more and more frustrated.
"Yo, make way for the Jedi! Get moving, get moving, we got us an important Jedi Master here!" Someone shouted from roughly the level of Qui-Gon's knee. He was stunned to see the crowd part. He looked down and found himself looking at a strange, cat-like species he had never seen before. It stood on its hind legs and barely reached the man's knee. It was staring at him.
"Well?" it asked. "What are you waiting for! Go!"
"Thank you, my friend," he said before turning his attention back to the task at hand. He was only vaguely aware of the creature following him.
When he reached platform twenty-seven, he found that there was a ship there, but its pilot was nowhere to be found.
"Can Kitmoi help you?" The strange creature that had helped him through the crowd asked. Qui-Gon blinked hard.
"Do you know the pilot of this vessel?"
The creature smiled up at him. "Kitmoi Piel's the name, my good Jedi sir."
"You're the pilot?" Qui-Gon asked, barely able to contain his disbelief. The creature only smiled wider.
"Fastest pilot in the galaxy," Kitmoi replied. The statement wasn't boastful, rather stated as though it were fact. Qui-Gon was almost inclined to believe the tiny creature.
"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," he said, "and I heard you're going to Malastare."
"That's right," Kitmoi replied.
"Would you be willing to take me with you?" Before the question was fully past the Jedi's lips, Kitmoi was nodding enthusiastically.
"Of course! Kitmoi is always pleased to help the Jedi! Why is a Jedi going to Malastare, if you don't mind Kitmoi asking?"
"I'm trying to get to Tatooine, actually. A friend of mine is in dire trouble, but Malastare is the farthest—"
"Say no more, dear Jedi Qui-Gon friend," said Kitmoi. "If is necessary for you to reach Tatooine, Kitmoi will take you to Tatooine."
))((
Obi-Wan cowered in the fresher as he heard heavy footsteps approaching in the corridor outside of the flat in which he was being held. He could feel that same terrible cold presence approaching. He knew he was too weak to withstand another day of slow torture at the hands of the one called Maul.
He locked the fresher door as he heard the door to the flat hiss open. Someone entered and the door hissed closed behind them. Obi-Wan held his breath as the person walked slowly through the flat, lazily searching for him as if they didn't already know precisely where he was.
Many of the bruises he'd suffered the night before were already beginning to fade, but the deeper injuries remained and throbbed painfully. They made it incredibly difficult for him to move.
The door to the fresher hissed open then and Obi-Wan pressed himself further down into the corner of the sonic as a robed figure approached.
As the robed figure opened the door to the sonic, Obi-Wan expected to see Sidious. Instead he found himself facing an old man who looked to stand shorter than he did with fluffy white hair in a horseshoe around the sides and back of his head. He looked down at Obi-Wan with concern in his eyes, but his presence felt just as foreboding and cold as Sidious.
"You poor thing, you look like a dog that's just been beaten by its master," the man said. There was something terribly familiar about his voice, but Obi-Wan couldn't quite place it. It did, however, make him distrust the man from the start, even when he was offered a hand. He pulled himself to his feet on his own, careful not to touch the man's outstretched hand in any way as he did so.
There was kindness in the man's eyes, mixed with something else that Obi-Wan didn't recognize. "Come now," the man continued. "I won't bring you any harm. I've been instructed to feed you and see if we can't find a way to get you talking again."
Obi-Wan didn't understand. Why would Sidious want him to be able to speak? None of this made any sense to him.
His confusion must've been plain on his face because the man chuckled and shook his head.
"It's all right, Obi-Wan. I know that life is harsh and confusing for you right now. With a little time and patience, I believe we can ease some of that for you. Now, I've brought dinner. You must be quite famished, as I understand it you've been without food for at least two days. That's just positively inhumane. I shall have to speak to Sidious about your conditions." Obi-Wan thought he detected the slightest hint of a smirk on the man's face as he spoke of Sidious. He didn't trust that, either.
His stomach betrayed him though, gurgling loudly as he stood there, indecisive. The man smirked.
"Come, Obi-Wan. I will not harm you. You'll like the food I've brought, I promise you." I know you will, Sheev Palpatine thought, because I've done my research on you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I know everything about you. I know just how to break you over and over again.
Obi-Wan relented, following him out of the fresher and into the tiny dining area where he'd sat and bandaged the worst of his wounds when he'd finally had the strength to move. There was a large amount of food sitting on the table now, arranged in multiple small bowls meant for the two to share. It smelled positively divine.
Obi-Wan's mouth was watering as he approached the table. It took all of his self control to keep himself from launching himself at the table and eating all of it. Palpatine chuckled as he gestured for Obi-Wan to take a seat.
"Please," he said, "tuck in, young Kenobi."
Obi-Wan hesitated as he reached for a bowl filled with what appeared to be some kind of spicy meat and rice. What if it's poisoned? He pulled back his hand and looked away.
Oh, delightful, positively delightful! The boy fears that I've put something in the food, thought Palpatine. He reached forward then and took the bowl Obi-Wan had been reaching for. He scooped a small portion onto his plate before setting the bowl back in front of the boy. He made a big show of taking a bite.
When nothing seemed to happen, Obi-Wan hungrily reached for the meat and rice, scooping nearly all of it onto his plate before devouring it in three large bites. He proceeded to do the same to two more strange spicy meat dishes before managing to find even a small amount of self control.
His stomach was beginning to ache, but he was still so hungry. Across the table from him, Palpatine was slowly eating a strange blue and purple salad as he watched him intently. The way he was staring made Obi-Wan feel dirty.
))((
"Fuel her up and check the hyperdrive," Jango told the droids that were attending to his ship while he sought out Qui-Gon Jinn. If he was on Tatooine, Jango would find him. "I expect it to be ready when I get back."
He was wearing his armor once more; he couldn't risk showing his face in Mos Eisley. He wondered if Mut had made it away from his shop yet. He wondered if Mut had survived. He found, with very little thought, that he didn't much care on either matter. He calmed his mind and took in his surroundings. He didn't immediately sense the Jedi, but that didn't mean anything.
He would start by just walking through the settlement and paying close attention to those he passed. If he didn't find Qui-Gon here, there were two other reasonably close settlements he could search before having to search elsewhere.
There was a strange silence to the crowds through which he passed. He wondered what had happened in the time since he'd gone to alert Qui-Gon at the Jedi Temple to frighten the people there, but that was all he could infer from the faces of the people he passed. They were afraid.
Only a few were afraid of him. He could tell by the way their posture changed as he approached. Most didn't seem to notice him or care.
He looked up as another ship passed overhead, coming in for a landing.
Qui-Gon, he thought. It's gotta be him. He didn't know how but he knew that the aging Jedi was aboard that ship. He hurried to the hangar where it landed, eager to tell his friend the news he had.
He waited for the Jedi to notice him and waited for him to do the approaching. He knew he wasn't particularly someone Qui-Gon honestly wanted to see. The slight jog the man did on his way over to the bounty hunter was a nice surprise.
"Jango," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I was hoping to find you, actually." The Jedi raised an eyebrow. "I have information that will be important if you want to find Obi-Wan. And you're going to want to find Obi-Wan."
"I already want to find Obi-Wan," the Jedi said. There was an unusual amount of guilt apparent in his eyes as he spoke. He avoided looking the bounty hunter straight in the eye.
"The man Mut sold Obi-Wan to goes by the name of Darth Sidious," Jango said, his voice barely a whisper. He knew he had to be careful who heard him speak of the Sith.
The color drained from Qui-Gon's face and Jango found himself having to grab him by the arm to keep him upright.
"No," Qui-Gon said. "That can't be. A Sith?"
Jango nodded, sighing deeply.
"I don't know how much help I will really be, but you're not going to be enough to take this Sidious guy alone."
"You're no match for a Sith either, dear friend," Qui-Gon said as Jango helped him over to a bench so he could sit. "This rescue will be far more complicated than I had previously imagined."