Chapter Fourteen – Kidnapped
"Does anybody have any questions?" Obi-Wan asked. He scanned the room looking for any raised arms. Obi-Wan was standing in the briefing room in the Alliance headquarters building, which was the only room situated below ground level. Master Yoda had given him the task of briefing all of the Generals in the Alliance's army of the plan to fight the Empire's fleet the Jedi Masters had put together the previous night. It had taken many hours to plan and it was nearly dawn by the time they had finished. Obi-Wan had been glad to finally get to bed, only to be disturbed an hour later at six thirty by the familiar sound of his cheap beeping alarm.
He called a meeting in the briefing room for ten o'clock sharp. To his joy, all the Generals were punctual and ready for the briefing. Obi-Wan took nothing with him but a sheet of paper to prompt him if he needed it, and his lightsaber. As Obi-Wan stood on the pedestal at the beginning of the meeting, he estimated there were about one hundred and fifty men in the room all directing their attention towards him. Had he not been so charismatic he might have got stage fright. He informed them of the plan and now was the time for questions. He found that it was easier that everyone had a summary of the plan on paper beforehand so nobody forgot anything, and he had asked Anakin to hand the summaries out. He figured that most questions would revolve around something the speaker had forgotten, and he didn't want to keep repeating himself over and over.
He breathed a silent sigh of relief as nobody raised their hand to ask a question. His mouth and throat were dry, and he desperately wanted a drink. The meeting had dragged on over an hour, and the canister of water that had been placed on the pedestal for him was empty. He also wanted to sit down and rest. He hadn't sat down since breakfast and his lower back was starting to ache. It had helped when he reached out to the Force to soothe the ache, but he knew sitting down would have been a much more ideal solution. He would have a rest and a drink as soon as he had gotten shot of the Generals.
"I see nobody has any questions. Very well, you can all leave whenever you are ready. Make all the necessary arrangements and prepare your squadrons for battle." The room was filled with the sound of chatter and movement as Obi-Wan searched desperately for an unoccupied chair.
"For the sake of the Force Obi-Wan, calm down. You'll be able to get a seat when everybody else is gone," he muttered quietly to himself.
"Who was that Master?" Anakin inquired as Yoda placed his comlink in the open patch on his belt. He made sure it was securely in the pouch and buttoned it up. He looked up at the much taller man to see he was cheerily munching on a chocolate bar. Yoda frowned slightly. He had not liked chocolate since his youth, and was constantly reprimanding his apprentice, Dooku, for eating it. Anakin shoved the rest of the bar into his mouth and swallowed it whole. He licked the traces of chocolate that lingered on his lips and grinned.
"Sorry Master. I forgot you don't like chocolate."
"Liked chocolate very much I did, until a dentist I saw. Educated me, he did. Touched chocolate since, I have not." Anakin raised a questioning eyebrow, and both tips of his mouth twitched in an amused fashion.
"Think you lie, I do," Anakin imitated the elder Jedi. He heard a chuckle from Daniel behind him.
"Imitate me without punishment you will not young Skywalker." Yoda lashed out with his stick and smacked Anakin across both of his shins. Anakin bent down to rub his shins furiously, and Daniel laughed harder.
"Bloody hell Master!" Yoda struck Anakin on the back of his thighs, causing the younger man to jump forwards. Daniel could not control his laughter and he began to have hiccups.
"Your language you will watch Master Skywalker. Children in the room we have. Scowl at me you will not!" Anakin smirked slightly before straightening himself up.
"So," he began, "who was it who contacted you on your comlink?"
"A visitor for Master Kenobi we have. Described he was by security, as a young man wearing brown robes. Something of great importance, he said he had. Wanted to show it to Master Kenobi he did. Inform him of this you will. By a speeder around the corner, he said he would wait."
"Yes Master."
"He asked for me specifically?" Obi-Wan asked. He had only just managed to get hold of a tea, and was enjoying his relaxation time. He did not want to go and see what this mysterious man had to show him, yet he knew he would have to anyway.
"Only you Obi-Wan."
"Blast. Alright then, I'll see to it immediately. Tell Master Yoda I shan't be long."
"Of course. May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan ended the transmission and clipped his comlink back onto his belt. He took one last sip of his tea before starting towards the door.
Obi-Wan approached the speeder at a fast pace. He hoped this meeting would be quick, and whatever the man wanted to show him would be important. He would be severely annoyed if the man had been wasting his time. The man was leaning against his speeder wearing a brown robe which covered his entire body. He had his hood up, and the shadow it formed covered his entire face.
Something seems a bit off, Obi-Wan thought. It's as if the person doesn't want to be seen. I'd better keep my wits about me.
Obi-Wan smiled at the man and offered his hand.
"Hello there. Are you the person who wanted to show something to the Jedi?" The mysterious figure ignored the hand and got straight down to business.
"Are you Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi?" the figure asked. His voice was deep and gravelly, and sounded as though he was recovering from a sore throat. Obi-Wan lowered his hand awkwardly before answering.
"Yes, I am." How very…uncivilised. Not one for pleasantries at all.
"Good." There was a pause as the man reached into his speeder and brought out a long object, yet small enough to be held in both hands. "I had a feeling you would be interested in this." The man held out his hand and passed the object into Obi-Wan's palms. A lightsaber.
"Might I ask where you got it, sir?" Obi-Wan asked. He did not look up at the man. His gaze was fixed on the hilt of the lightsaber. The metallic hilt was polished so much and so well that Obi-Wan could see his reflection on it. The hilt had a glistening blade emitter shroud at the top of the blade, and the bottom of the blade was rounded off in a semi-circular fashion, with a belt ring on the very end. The handgrip took up the bottom third of the blade, and had several grooves in it. Around the top third of the hilt was a blade length adjust knob on one side, and a blade power adjust knob on the other. It was a perfect lightsaber.
As Obi-Wan touched the hilt he could feel the Dark Side radiating off it in quick and strong waves. This hilt had been used by a Dark Side user, most likely a Dark Jedi or a Sith. Obi-Wan suddenly remembered where he was, and looked up from the blade to where the mysterious contact had been standing before. He was gone.
"Sweet dreams," a voice Obi-Wan recognised as the contact's voice said. Obi-Wan did not have time to turn around before something hard and round was smashed into the back of his head. He dropped the lightsaber and slumped to his knees. He felt himself fast becoming dizzy, and his eyelids were drooping heavily. He made a futile attempt to reach out and grab the speeder to support himself but instead ended up crashing to the floor and smacking his head once more.
The contact smiled briefly. Kenobi was so focused on the lightsaber he hadn't even noticed the disappearance of the figure in front of him. It was almost too easy, yet the man knew the work was not done yet. He looked around. Nobody was looking in his direction, which meant nobody had witnessed the events of the last few minutes. He had to move quickly if he was to get Kenobi away from the Alliance. He hoisted the unconscious Jedi Master onto his shoulder and dumped him into the passenger's seat of the speeder.
He took a pair of binders from inside his robes and placed them firmly on Kenobi's wrists. He would not be able to get out of them easily. The man picked up the lightsaber, his lightsaber and clipped it onto his belt. He got into the speeder and started it up. It hummed to life and before long it was moving at a fast pace towards the outskirts of the city.
One hour had passed. Anakin had been outside looking for his Master, who was nowhere to be seen. He was beginning to get slightly worried. It wasn't like Obi-Wan to stay out of contact for long. He returned to Master Yoda who advised they wait for Obi-Wan to return or make contact. Yoda had faith Obi-Wan would make contact soon enough.
Two hours passed. Anakin was getting impatient. Obi-Wan should have returned or made contact by now. He wouldn't go off on an adventure with somebody he hardly knew without telling somebody where he would be or how long he would be. Yoda obviously possessed more patience than Anakin, who insisted Anakin wait a little while longer. Anakin reluctantly agreed. If Obi-Wan was not back by twilight, Anakin would contact him.
Three hours passed. Anakin had been pacing up and down for ten minutes before Yoda threatened to smack him on the shins again if he did not sit down. Dark thoughts entered Anakin's head. What if he had been robbed or beaten up? What if he'd been captured or worse yet, killed? Anakin began to see images of Obi-Wan's dead body lying in a heap outside the city and it drained the colour from his face. He tried to contact Obi-Wan via comlink but received nothing in reply.
Four hours passed. It was now dark outside, and the night sky on Telos was lighted only by the lights in the buildings that gave Telos its high skyline. Anakin was fully clothed and determined to look for Obi-Wan. He would disobey a direct order from Yoda himself if that's what it took to find Obi-Wan. Thankfully, Yoda had given him permission to leave, and Anakin didn't waste any time. He practically stormed out of the building, robes flailing in his wake. He would follow the Force, for he knew it would guide him directly to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan's eyes flickered open slowly. His sight was blurred, and he felt terrible. He looked around and found he was no longer outside Alliance Headquarters, but in a room of some sort. He was boxed in with four plain white walls with only one entrance and exit. He was sitting quite comfortably in a chair right in the centre of the room. He tried to get up, but something yanked him back into the seat. His wrists were chained to the chair, and the chairs legs were fixed to the marble floor.
He had been kidnapped. And there was no escape. Questions raced through his mind. Where was he? How long had he been here? Who was that mysterious man? Why had he been kidnapped?
Blast! Obi-Wan looked to his belt, where his lightsaber usually hung. It was gone. He had no food and no water. He had no lightsaber, and he was unable to move from his position. There wasn't anything he could do except wait. Wait for his kidnapper to come to him. He might be able to negotiate his release, although it wasn't likely. He decided to try and reach Anakin through their bond.
Help me Anakin. Find me.
Help me Anakin. Find me. Anakin's hopes rose. Obi-Wan! He was still alive and conscious, and Anakin took that as a positive sign. He had taken a two seated speeder from the Alliance's hangers and had been following the Force for a while now. He could feel Obi-Wan's Force signature getting stronger, which meant he was getting closer. Obi-Wan's Force signature had changed slightly. It was now a bit darker than before, as if he was distressed mentally.
It looked more and more like Obi-Wan had been captured and was now unable to escape or fight back. Anakin did not know what he would find when he did find Obi-Wan, but he would be ready. He would bring his friend home whatever the cost. He couldn't waste any time. He reached out with the Force and followed it. The Force was his homing beacon and he would find Obi-Wan.
The door to Obi-Wan's holding cell opened, and he looked up to see the man he had met by the speeder walk in. His captor. He dragged a chair in behind him and placed it about a metre in front of Obi-Wan. He took his seat and folded his arms. Obi-Wan suddenly felt the urge to rip his wrists from the shackles that bound him and beat the man. He tried to bury those feelings, yet couldn't resist clenching his hands into fists. This amused his captor.
"You can't escape. It would take more than the Force to free you from those chains, I can assure you," the man mused. Obi-Wan sighed, realising he was right. He outstretched his hands and let them hang as if limp.
"Who are you?" he asked bemused. If he could somehow learn more about his captor, it might aid him in his escape. He could feel Anakin getting closer. He knew Anakin only deal in aggressive negotiations, and he wanted to avoid bloodshed.
"Who I am is of no concern of yours. You are Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, member of the old Jedi Council and one of the only known survivors of the Jedi Purges. If I were to bring you to the Emperor, I would be rewarded with more riches than you could possibly imagine."
"So this is about credits?" Obi-Wan probed. The man laughed.
"No Kenobi. Credits are nothing to me. What I want I take. If anyone stands in my way, well, you saw the lightsaber for yourself. I'm sure you can work out what happens in that situation."
"You're a Sith Lord?"
"Wrong again Kenobi. If I were a Sith Lord I would have arrived at the head of a vast army and destroyed Alliance HQ."
"So what do you want with me then?"
"With you? Nothing. I have no need for broken down old Jedi Masters such as yourself. The only thing I need you for now, is to keep you alive."
"Why would you need me alive if you have no need for me? It doesn't make sense." The captor laughed once more.
"Think Kenobi, think. Use that brain of yours. I have heard you're quite the clever Jedi. What do you have that I could possibly want?"
"Food, water, clothes, transport –"
"No, no, no! Stop thinking of possessions and necessities Kenobi. Think closer to the heart. More specifically, your heart."
Obi-Wan froze. He knew exactly what his captor was talking about. Anakin. And he was going to get him. It was a trap, a trap with the aim of luring Anakin right where the man wanted him. A trap that Anakin would walk into whatever the cost. The captor laughed.
"There you are. You have it Kenobi! Seems you do have a brain after all. I shall have Skywalker tonight."
"What do you want with him?" Obi-Wan asked.
"A duel," the man replied simply.
"Why? Why would you want to fight Anakin?"
"For old times sake Kenobi."
"Old times sake? You knew Anakin?" The man flashed Obi-Wan a sly smile.
"He didn't tell you, did he?" Obi-Wan furrowed his brow.
"Tell me what?" he asked impatiently. The man laughed, amused by the fact that Anakin had not been entirely honest with Obi-Wan.
"You will find out soon enough Kenobi. Your former apprentice is coming, his resolve strengthened by his fear of losing you. His fierce determination clouds his thoughts. He would annihilate an entire army if it meant you would live, driven by his fear and his anger. That is what you're afraid of Kenobi, isn't it?"
Obi-Wan did not humour the man with a response, instead opting to stare at his lap.
"I have five heavily armed men guarding the entrance to this place. They know Skywalker is coming, and they won't let him through." Obi-Wan's head snapped up.
"He will kill them if they don't let him in! They need not die. Please, let me speak to him through comlink. I can calm him down, make him –"
"No. He is no good to me calm and rational. I want to unlock the dragon Skywalker has trapped in his heart. I want him to be so angry I can feel it through the Force. I want to fear him as his eyes burn a sickly yellow, as his lightsaber crashes against mine with great strength. I want him to be blinded by unprecedented fury as we fight toe to toe. Only then shall we see who the stronger man is. Only then shall we see who the true Sith Apprentice is."
"Anakin renounced the ways of the Sith long ago. He has learnt better emotional control and now he is a Jedi Master. He won't fight you while feeding on the emotions you described. He knows better."
"Not if he thinks you're dead."
Obi-Wan's heart sank as he came to realise that his captor had planned the whole thing to perfection. He knew Anakin's weak spots, and he was willing to exploit them as he saw fit. I have a bad feeling about this.
Long time, no updates. I am terrible. I hope my rate of updating will get faster, not slower. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter fourteen of Redemption!
I must say thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their schedule to read Redemption. I must also thank all of you who have added this story to your favourites list or your alerts list. I must thank everyone who has added my to your author alerts list. And finally, a massive thank you to everyone who has submitted a review. It really is appreciated. Please keep reading, please keep adding this story or me to your lists and please keep the reviews coming.
And now I will reply to all the reviews I received from that last chapter.
jojotheorange: It's here at last! I hope you enjoy this chapter more than you enjoyed the last. Thanks for your comments.
AliuIce0814: I enjoyed reading the Jedi Apprentice books, and Siri was one of my favourite characters so the idea of her featuring in this fic sounded awesome to me. Plus it's AU, so I can do whatever I want, haha. Thanks for your comments.
Teeeooop43: Well, Wookiepedia helped lots. Thanks for your comments.
Jedi Knight 13: I felt he deserved to be a Master after returning to the Light and proving he can be a role model Jedi. I'm glad you like the idea too. Thanks for your comments.
PadawanMom: Don't worry; I have plans for Obi-Wan and Siri. I'll try and limit it so it doesn't clash with the main storyline, but there will be some SiriWan elements along the way. Thanks for your comments.
DarthKenObi-Wan: Fear not, the next chapter I dedicate to the Anakin versus captor duel! It will be my first proper lightsaber duel sequence, so I'll have to read some other duel sequences to get some ideas about how I should write it. Thanks for your comments.
ILDV: Thanks for your comments.
Jazzyone: I will keep going with this story. I like it much more than my other one actually. Glad you like the story. Thanks for your comments.
Alien Roxi: To be honest, I have only thought about one Jedi coming back but it seems unlikely. Plus, if he (hint) does come back, there will definitely be some hostilities, haha. Thanks for your comments.
General-joseph-dickson: I'm glad I brought Siri back now. She's proving to be quite the popular character. Thanks for your comments.
Delta Knight: I have to say, I haven't read any of those books. I'm not really a fan of the New Jedi Order era. I'm glad you like my writing. It's really nice when somebody compliments you on your writing, so thank you. And I will be working on some action for the next chapter, I promise. Thanks for your comments.
Leiasfan: I'm ashamed to say I can't answer your first question because I honestly have lost track. I'll try and find out for you for the next chapter. Padme died I childbirth, the same way she died in RotS. Luke and Leia are living on Alderaan with Senator Organa and his wife as their adoptive parents. Thanks for your comments.