Shattered Mission, Chapter 2
Oren's cloak billowed about his head as he fell through the hole in the floor where a moment before he had been walking beside his Master. As he slid down, the tunnel widened and twisted in several directions, causing him to lose his feet-first orientation and tumble from side to side. After what felt to him like several minutes, but was in fact only a few seconds, his fall slowed as the tunnel began to level out from its steep descent. Nearing the end of the passage, he rolled over several times until he bumped gently against the end wall.
He lay still for a moment, catching his breath and trying to orient himself in the darkness. His cloak had wrapped around his body, effectively pinning his arms to his sides. "Good grief," he muttered to himself, managing to free his arms of the restriction. Looking back where he'd come from, he noticed some light coming from where the passage turned off to the left. He thought he'd noticed a hole or two off to the side during his fall, and assumed they must be tunnels branching off from this one.
"...Oren?..." he heard faintly.
"Master? Master Kenobi?" he called back.
"Are you all right, Oren?" Obi-Wan's voice reached him, a little louder.
"Yes, Master, I am!" he replied. He began to crawl back toward the light. "I've reached the end of the tunnel! I'm going to try to get back up as far as I can! I passed some side passages and, if I can't make it all the way up, I'll take one of those and..." He paused as he thought he felt the floor sink ever so slightly below his hands and knees. "Oh, no," he muttered. Taking a deep breath, he called out, "Master, I think I may have a prob—" Just as he moved one hand and one knee to crawl further, the tunnel floor collapsed beneath him.
Looking up at the hole he'd just made in the ceiling of the cave into which he was falling, he briefly mused that this was turning out not to be one of his best days. He Force-pushed downward and managed somewhat to lessen the impact of the cave's floor on his body. Even so, he took a moment before getting to his knees and trying to get his bearings. Turning his head, he found himself staring into a rather large crescent of gleaming white, pointed fangs.
Up above, Obi-Wan called out, "Oren? Oren!" Nothing. "Oh, blast," he muttered, pulling his lightsaber from his belt and leaping into the hole. He managed to keep himself sliding feet first down the shaft as its sides flew by. Reaching out with the Force, he knew his padawan had not gone down any of the side tunnels he passed. He dug in his heels to slow his descent and managed to keep himself from sliding all the way to the end of the passage and through the hole in its floor.
Oren slowly rose to his feet. Fortunately, the creature was as startled as he was, giving him time to push himself back against the cave wall and call his lightsaber to his hand. The creature gave out a strange, singsong growl and turned its head from side to side. He could see that it was a four-legged, furred animal with a line of quills down its back and a forked tail trailing behind. More growls came from the dimness of the cave, and Oren was able to make out several more of the creatures facing him. He gulped and muttered, "Now I know why they went no further with that tunnel." Igniting his saber and seeing that the creatures reacted to it, he slowly waved it from side to side in front of himself and spoke loudly, "All right, everyone just back off! I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone!"
The creature nearest him roared and sprang at him from his right. His lightsaber flashed and the predator's headless body hit the wall next to him. Catching the scent of their packmate's blood, but uncertain what they were facing, the rest of the creatures began to roar loudly and pace the floor of the cave. Now and then one of them would approach, but would spring back just out of reach of Oren's weapon. Taking a deep, but unsteady breath, he tried to center himself in the Force and prepare for simultaneous attacks, should they come.
Sensing movement to his left, he yelled and swung his lightsaber, expecting to feel its passage through flesh and bone. Instead, his hands stung as it clashed against another of its kind. "Hold on, Oren! Don't kill your Master!" Startled, but pleased, he saw his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, standing by him, Obi-Wan's lightsaber holding his own back.
"Master!" he gasped. "Am I happy to see you!"
"Yes, I would expect so," Obi-Wan replied, facing the creatures arrayed before them. "So, decided to do a little exploring on your own, did you?"
"Oh, no, Master, I—"
"It's all right, Oren, I'm just kidding. You really must lighten up a bit, you know," Obi-Wan said, smiling. Getting a good look at the growling creatures, he sighed, "Oh, no, not these again."
"Master?"
"I've seen one of these things before; in fact, one of them attacked Senator Amidala in the arena here three years ago. Nexu, is what I believe they are called." Quickly, he looked around the cave. "This must be their den. Here, I can see what looks like an exit over there." He pointed along the wall past Oren.
"I see it, Master," Oren replied.
"Heave that carcass at them, and let's be off. Perhaps they'll take out their anger on that."
Oren shifted his saber to his left hand and slowly bent over the dead animal, keeping his eyes on the live ones milling around. Slipping his right arm under its body, he tossed it over their heads so that it landed in the middle of the pack. As Obi-Wan had hoped, the creatures attacked their dead packmate's body eagerly. He and Oren slid along the wall to their right and slipped into what appeared to be the opening of another tunnel.
"Well," Obi-Wan observed, "now all we have to do is figure out where we are and then try to find that blasted map room again." Turning to his apprentice, he asked, "Are you all right?"
Hanging his head, Oren replied, "Yes, Master. I'm...sorry I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
Laying his hand on Oren's shoulder, Obi-Wan said, "Yes, you must learn to be more aware of your surroundings, even when you're listening to me. Now, come on and let's see where we are."
They walked for a good five minutes before the darkness in the tunnel began to give way to light ahead of them. As they rounded a corner, they could see a gate shutting off the tunnel from a chamber beyond. At the far end of that chamber was another large gate leading to an open area that looked familiar to Obi-Wan.
"Oh, I know where we are," he said. "That is the arena where Master Skywalker, Senator Amidala and I were to be killed...and, where we lost many of our Order," he ended, somberly. "Come on," he said, heading for the gate. Inspecting the gate's locking mechanism, he turned to his padawan and said, "Oren, I want you to unlock this gate. Have you done this type of thing before?"
"Yes, Master. My first master had me practice this during my training." While Obi-Wan kept watch on the passage behind them, Oren closed his eyes, touched the lock and, after a few seconds, sensed how the mechanism worked. In short order, the lock disengaged and the gate drifted open.
"Very good, my young friend," Obi-Wan complimented him as they walked through the entrance to the chamber. "Now, lock it behind us and we'll see what we have here." A scan of the chamber revealed scattered bones, chains and lances on the floor, and a closed door in the wall off to their right. Obi-Wan made short work of that door lock and together they climbed the ascending floor of the tunnel within. As they arrived at the first level surrounding the arena, they met another Clone trooper, who directed them to the map room.
With a sidelong look at his padawan, Obi-Wan admonished him, "Please remember to watch where you're going this time, Padawan." Abashed, Oren lowered his eyes and muttered, "Yes, Master." Sensing the boy's feelings and remembering how his previous padawan had been, Obi-Wan took his arm and said, "Oren, don't take it to heart so. I'm just reminding you to be more careful. I'm very pleased with your progress, and I like you." Oren's face brightened visibly, and with a smile he replied, "Th-thank you, Master." Obi-Wan chuckled as they continued walking.
As they approached what they believed to be the map room, they saw two Clone troopers stationed on either side of the room's entrance. Recognizing Obi-Wan, the troopers came to attention; one of them saluted and said, "General Kenobi, we have been expecting you. We were told you were coming here to inspect the security around and in this chamber."
"Really?" Obi-Wan replied, surprised. "Actually, we are looking for information, but we are pleased with the security we have seen here on Geonosis thus far. Please tell your commander."
"Thank you, General," the Clone responded as the two Knights walked past him.
Obi-Wan paused just inside the entrance and gazed around, taking in the chamber's layout, its furnishings and technology. Dominating the room was a grand circle of electronic displays and computer stations all along the outer wall; diagrams, charts, specifications and system condition screens were displayed, allowing the Geonosians to maintain control of their droid factories and other planetary systems. Most stations were attended by the natives, who were busily twittering and scanning the screens, although there were several humans coming and going from the room. In the center of the chamber was a circular table containing a large, glowing area where any of hundreds of maps could be shown.
One creature, larger than the others in the room, marched up to Obi-Wan and Oren and chattered at them in unintelligible sounds. "Do you understand what it's saying, Master?" Oren asked, while the creature continued chittering and gesturing. "Not a word," Obi-Wan replied. "Here, do you have a translator?" he asked the winged native.
It stopped and stared at him for a moment, and then huffed and chattered its way over to the map table where it grabbed something and returned, its wings fluttering behind. "This must be a translator," Obi-Wan said, as he took it from the creature and turned it over in his hands, looking for a switch or a button or something to turn it on. Apparently exasperated, the creature threw its hands up and jabbered loudly at him.
"Speakintoit!" came from the instrument in a toneless, electronic voice.
"Oh! Thank you very much," Obi-Wan replied, holding the device out in front of him. "We are looking for information on the humanoids that were here three years ago, just before the Clone Wars started." The instrument emitted noises very much like the native language.
The creature's eyes and mouth opened wide as it stared at the Jedi Master. Then it chittered back a long stream of clicks and sounds. "Humanoids? What humanoids? Three years ago? Expect me to remember?" Oren had to stifle a laugh. Obi-Wan sighed and continued, "The Separatist leaders, the aliens who were here with Count Dooku and your Archduke, Poggle the Lesser! Do you have any data on where they are now?"
It drew its head back and tilted it to one side. Jabbering continuously, it headed toward a dark station on the outer wall of the chamber and manipulated its controls. "Dooku! Come here. All data found for Dooku was moved here." The screen above the station came to life as the system booted. Their helper simply walked away.
Obi-Wan watched it curiously and remarked, "Strange creature, isn't it, Oren? Not afraid of us like most of them. It looks a bit like Poggle the Lesser. I wonder if they are related." He shook his head and turned to watch the screen. "Oren, why don't you wander around in here and see if you can dig up anything?" As his padawan turned to leave, Obi-Wan held out the translator. "Oh! And take this with you, in case anyone feels like talking."
As the young man strolled around the chamber, Obi-Wan read slowly through the information on the display in front of him. There wasn't really very much, mostly basic information on Dooku and the other Separatists and a likeness of each one, along with images of their homeworlds. He supposed it must have been compiled by the Archduke or one of his staff for administrative purposes.
"Hello, are you a Jedi?"
Obi-Wan swung around and found a human child standing near him. "I beg your pardon?" he inquired.
"I said, are you a Jedi? You look like one," the child replied.
Smiling, Obi-Wan said, "Well, I most certainly am. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. And who are you?"
"My name is Dallin. My father works here."
"He does? What does your father do here on Geonosis?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I don't know," the boy replied, moving over to peer at the screen. "We came here with the soldiers and my father works with them. What is this stuff?"
"Some information that's stored in the computer here. I'm looking for someone and I thought this might help me find her. You may read along, too, if you wish." The child said nothing, but continued to look at the screen. Both were quiet for awhile, until Dallin pointed to the likeness of Shu Mai and said, "I know her. I saw her a couple of weeks ago."
Looking down at the boy, Obi-Wan said, "You did? Do you know where she is now?"
Dallin thought for a moment. "No. But she was talking to one of these termites that live here." Obi-Wan smiled at the boy's apt description of the Geonosians. "Like that one over there." Dallin pointed to the creature that had helped Obi-Wan and Oren.
"Was it that one over there?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No, the one she was talking to looked really old and walked with a stick."
"Do you know what they talked about?" Obi-Wan prodded the boy.
"Well, I couldn't understand the termite, but I could understand her. I guess she knew what he was saying. Um, I think she asked if she could go with him somewhere."
"And do you remember where he was going?" Obi-Wan asked, patiently.
Dallin thought and thought and finally said, "No, I can't remember. I'm sorry."
"That's all right, my young friend," Obi-Wan said, patting him on the shoulder. "That was good information. Perhaps I'll find what I need to know in the computer." He continued scrolling the information on the screen, and Dallin continued watching. When San Hill's information appeared, Dallin yelled, "That's it! That's the planet they were talking about!"
Quickly, Obi-wan turned to the boy. "Are you sure? Are you certain it was this one?"
"Yes! I remember it because it's like a big green and white marble!" He grinned up at the Jedi Master.
"Well, Dallin, you've been very helpful. That is just the information I needed. Thank you, very much!" Obi-Wan shook the boy's hand and looked around for Oren. "Oren!" he called out to his padawan. When Oren arrived, Obi-Wan said, "This young man's name is Dallin, and he has helped me to find what we needed." Oren looked down at the boy and said, "Thank you, Dallin. You must be very smart." Dallin blushed and mumbled, "You're welcome."
"We have to go now, but you tell your father you helped us today," Obi-Wan said. "I'm sure he'll be very proud of you." As the boy ran out of the room, Oren asked, "What did he do, Master?"
"He saw Shu Mai and and one who was most likely Poggle the Lesser talking about her leaving Geonosis with him, in front of a computer display of Muunilinst. I'm sure that's where they went. It makes sense and it feels right; after all, the capital city is quite large with millions of people there of all species. I'm sure they believe they can hide easily. I think we can be on our way."
[End of flashback]
..."Excellent, Master Kenobi," Windu remarked. "I agree, they are most likely on Muunilinst right now. Please keep us informed of your progress."
"Of course, Master Windu," Obi-Wan replied, nodding to the image of the dark-skinned Master.
"Good luck to you and your apprentice."
"Thank you, Master Yoda. Kenobi out." He turned to Oren and said, "I thought the Council would agree with us." He checked the nav-computer and announced, "We should be there shortly. I think we're closing in, Oren."