Shattered Mission, Chapter 12
The two padawans had moved away from the clean, shiny buildings of the corporate part of Harnaidan and into a less well-kept area of the city as they continued their search for someone who may have information about Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Oren didn't like the look of the place, particularly as the day's light waned and the shadows grew longer. He found himself asking fewer questions of passersby, and keeping more of an eye on Sikka, who was on the other side of the street, which was now unpaved and apparently not maintained. The denizens of this part of the city also appeared to be "not maintained" very well, either. Most wasted no time going from one place to another, as if they were in a hurry or possibly... afraid? Finally, he put away his datapad in a pocket of his tunic and walked across the street to gather up his friend.
Scanning the immediate area with his eyes, he touched her arm and spoke. "It's time to go, Cee. Let's get out of here." She turned and protested, "But Oren, there are still plenty of people about. We have to keep going." Now he bent over and looked right into her eyes. "I don't like the look of this place, or the people. I fear this is the time of day when the unwary are taken advantage of... or killed. Come on." As he turned to go, she said, "Oren, there is still a little light. Let's just do these last two blocks to the end of the street. See it down there? Then we'll be finished with this part of the city." He gave her a hard look and then peered around her up the street. There were just a few pedestrians on this side and practically none on the other. Holding her arm and closing his eyes, he reached out but could not sense any danger in the immediate area. "All right. You talk to these people right up here," he said, indicating two small groups of citizens just ahead. They looked fairly harmless. "I'll go on to the dead end and get the rest. Just be careful." She smiled and nodded and approached the first group.
Oren hurried on ahead, constantly looking back at her. He made sure to face in her direction when he showed his datapad to anyone. "Here, what have you got there?" As a hand touched his shoulder, he turned around and saw a being he recognized as a Nikto, who was staring at his pad. "I see you asking everyone questions. What is it?" The Nikto still had hold of his cloak, so Oren reached up to pull his cloak free. As he did so, he held the pad out and said, "Here, you can look at it. We are—" He caught a glint of reflected light off a small, slender object in the Nikto's hand, and reacted instinctively. Dropping the pad, he grabbed his attacker's wrist with both of his hands and forced its arm down and up behind the back. As the Nikto went down, groaning in pain, Oren jammed his foot in its back, pinning it to the ground. He bent to retrieve the needle that had fallen from the Nikto's hand, and demanded, "What is this? What were you trying to do?" Then he heard a yelp from Sikka's direction.
Sikka had just left the first group of pedestrians when someone grabbed her arm. "What do you want?" she asked loudly, turning her head in that direction. "You're coming with me, pretty girl," the Nikto said, grinning into her face. "Oh, no I'm not," she replied, jamming her datapad into its midsection and then kicking high and landing a good one with her boot right onto its cheekbone. Her attacker staggered backward, releasing her. She pulled out her lightsaber, but before she could ignite it, another Nikto knocked it from her grip and pinned both of her arms roughly behind her back. She let out a yelp of pain.
Oren wasted no more time and smashed his prisoner's head against the ground, rendering him unconscious. As he ran, he saw Sikka's attacker move his hand to her neck and then saw her slump into its arms. The Nikto pointed to Oren and his accomplice turned to intercept the young Jedi as the other carried Sikka to a speeder and dropped her onto the back seat. Oren's lightsaber made short work of the attacker in his way, but the other was already pulling away in the speeder. Adrenaline pumping, Oren leaped as far as he could and landed on the rear of the vehicle as it sped down the street. The driver turned its head, expecting to see the Jedi helplessly falling behind; its eyes widened as it saw Oren pulling himself closer along the body of the speeder. The Nikto grabbed a blaster from the front seat and brought it to bear on the young human, but Oren was already on him and knocked the blaster away and onto the floor.
The two grappled in the close confines of the speeder's front seat, while the vehicle itself veered wildly left and right, bouncing off buildings and other speeders until it finally crashed head on into large delivery truck. Oren was thrown forward against the side of the truck and then fell onto the speeder's crumpled hood. He lifted his head and shook it briefly, then leaped into the speeder to continue the battle. But the Nikto was not moving. Oren instantly looked over the back of the seat, praying that his friend was there and had not been thrown from the vehicle. She was there on the floor, but she, too, was still.
"Oh, no," he muttered, crawling over the seat and leaning down to touch her neck, his heart in his throat. Sighing with relief, he felt a pulse under his fingers, a steady one. Gently, he lifted her off the floor and onto his lap, where he held her close. A crowd of onlookers had gathered and one human female approached the wreck and asked, "Is she all right?" He looked at her and replied, "I don't know, she's unconscious. Is there a hospital or medical facility nearby?" Even as he asked, he pulled out his link and sent a signal to Anakin.
"Skywalker. Is that you, Oren?"
"Yes, Master Skywalker. Sikka's been hurt, or tranquilized. She's unconscious. Three Niktos tried to take her. But I've got her. We need to get her—"
"Stay there, Oren, and keep your link active so I can find you. I'm on my way. Skywalker out."
Oren closed his eyes and pocketed the link. He looked down at the young girl he held and worried. Some tranquilizers were fatal, depending on the species. He hoped Master Skywalker would get there soon. Remembering that his lightsaber had fallen from his hand in the front of the speeder, he called the weapon to him. There were some audible gasps from the crowd and some moved further away. He didn't care; it was just as well. He didn't like so many people being so close anyway. He looked around at them briefly and then returned his attention back to his friend. "Come on, Cee, hang in there," he spoke quietly to her. "You're going to be all right. Your master is on his way." I knew we should have left! I let her talk me into staying longer. We shouldn't have split up again. He took a hitching breath as tears threatened to spill over from his eyes. He looked up startled as a screeching sound filled the air. The crowd parted to let an emergency vehicle approach. Anakin jumped from its side and hurried to the wrecked speeder. Oren just looked at him as Anakin bent over and touched her forehead.
"She's just unconscious," Anakin said, turning his face toward Oren's. "I don't think she's been hurt." As he pulled her up and laid her on a stretcher, he said, "Come on, Oren. We'll ride along and you can tell me what happened."
They seated themselves behind the front seat of the emergency vehicle. "So?" Anakin asked. Watching the medical droid work on his friend, Oren called out, "Watch what you're doing! She's human! Don't give her anything that—" Anakin touched his arm. "It's all right, Oren. The emdee knows what it's doing. It knows she is human." He saw fear in Oren's eyes and knew he would not get a coherent tale of what had happened. "Now just sit here and relax. Lay your head back and close your eyes." He placed his flesh hand on Oren's forehead. "Remember what happened. You don't have to speak; I should be able to see it. Go ahead."
Oren took a few deep breaths and started remembering at the point where he had joined Sikka on her side of the street. Anakin saw everything as if he were looking through the young Jedi's eyes... Sikka convincing Oren to stay... talking to the first group of people... the Nikto's hand on Oren's cloak... the light glinting off the needle, the Nikto's back with Oren's foot in the middle... Sikka collapsing into the arms of another Nikto... the first Nikto's head smashing into the ground and another being cut down by Oren's lightsaber, the third placing Sikka into the speeder and driving off... flying through the air and landing with a thud on the speeder... moving closer to and grabbing the driver, then seeing the driver's face as the two grappled, the background spinning, swinging wildly back and forth, and then seeing the street behind them, followed by a hard knock and a fall to the speeder's hood, now crumpled beyond recognition... finally, a glance at the dead or unconscious driver and then Oren's hand checking Sikka's pulse and pulling her up to his lap. When Anakin saw the link appear, he sat back.
"Do you have the needle, Oren? The one you took from your attacker?" The young man opened his eyes and looked at him in confusion. "The what?" he asked. "Oh, yes, I do. Here it is." He reached into his tunic pocket carefully and pulled out the slender object. Anakin took it, just as carefully, and said, "I hope this is the same stuff they used on Sikka." He held it out to the medical droid and informed it, "This may be the same serum used on her." "Thank you," the droid mechanically responded, as it inserted the needle into a machine.
Anakin turned back to the young man beside him. "You did very well, Oren. You may have saved her life."
Oren lowered his head and said, "We should have stayed together. I shouldn't have let her be alone."
"You may be right about that. But it looks like they had a plan in place to get you out of the way and to take her, and all it took was one moment of distraction for them to pull it off. But they did not succeed because of your skills and quick reaction." Oren briefly glanced at Sikka's master. "Oren, you did watch over her, and for that I thank you." Oren nodded and dropped his head again.
"Well, there is one thing you did that wasn't such a good idea," Anakin said. Oren looked up at him, questioningly. "You let Sikka talk you out of what you knew was the right thing to do." Anakin was smiling, so Oren knew he wasn't angry about it. "Always trust your feelings and your instincts, Oren."
"Yes, Master Skywalker," he replied, one side of his mouth curling up. "I will."
Anakin sat back, sighed, and said, "Now you can see why it takes so long to become a Knight; there's always something new to learn."
Once they arrived at a medical facility, more droids hurriedly carried the unconscious girl away. As Oren started to follow, Anakin stopped him. "Oren, I don't want to leave our captives alone on the ship for too long," he began. He paused, seeing the look on the young man's face. He had intended to finish his sentence by telling the padawan to go back to the ship, but now... "I'll return and keep an eye on them. You stay here." Surprised, Oren said, "But Master Skywalker, you should be here with her. She is your padawan. And you can help her if, if what they can do is not enough." So mature at seventeen, Anakin thought. "Of course, Padawan Kendrel. You are correct. Keep an eye on them and make sure the hold is secure. And don't let anyone on board." As Oren turned to leave, Anakin said, "I will contact you as soon as I know anything." He watched as the young Jedi squared his shoulders and strode away. Then he entered the facility and watched through a window as the medical staff of Muuns and droids conferred and hovered over his padawan. After a time, one of the Muuns looked up and saw him, and then came out to speak to him.
"I am Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker; she is my padawan learner, Sikka Doron," he stated, looking up into the female Muun's eyes.
"Master Skywalker, we have identified the substance used on her and it is a tranquilizer, but it can be lethal to humans, especially to one as small as she. We have started the antidote and an enhanced plasma solution to help her fight off the drug. All we can do now is monitor her vital signs and wait. Would you like to go to the visitor's waiting room?"
"I will stay here," he replied, turning to the window again. The Muun nodded and walked away. Anakin stared at Sikka's face; she looked so peaceful. He reached out to her. Sikka, can you hear me? He felt a stirring within the Force. Sikka, it's Master Skywalker. Can you hear me?
Yes, master. I can hear you. Where are you?
Not far. I am watching you through a window at a medical facility. You were injected with a tranquilizer. Do you remember?
I remember someone grabbing me, and... I kicked him, I think, and then I..., I...
How do you feel, Padawan?
Fuzzy... sleepy... I want to sleep now, Master...
Sikka! You have to stay awake! You have to fight the drug! Sikka?
Hmmm? Master...?
Sikka! When he got no response from her, he rushed into the room. Several of the medical staff tried to bar his way, but he Force-pushed them against the wall, medical equipment falling to the floor. One medical droid loudly said, "Sir! You cannot be in here! You are not sterile!"
As he reached her side, he placed his flesh hand on her forehead and glared back at the droid. "You're damn right I'm not, but I am the only one here who can save her! Now, back off! If any of you have a problem with that, you can contact the Jedi Council on Coruscant."
"Very well, but this facility will no longer be responsible for what happens here," the droid replied, but Anakin was not listening. He closed his eyes and lowered his head until it was touching hers and slid his flesh hand under her tunic and shirt until it was resting over her heart, and then he called upon the Force for help. The incredible power of the Force flowed into him and he felt it pass through to her. Come on, Sikka, feel the power I am sending you. Take it and help me find the drug.
?...? He had a faint sense of her that grew the tiniest bit stronger. Let's work together, Padawan. Help me. Anakin was hopeful as he felt her presence a little more, but it was still so very faint. He could feel the warm light of the Force within her, and within that a small, cold dark area. That's it, he thought. He imagined his hand covering the darkness and squeezing and squeezing until he had crushed the life out of it. The hand in his mind opened and the darkness was gone.
Master?
Padawan. You can rest now. Sleep if you want to.
Yes. Goodnight, Master.
Anakin slowly opened his eyes and raised his head, noting that Sikka's hair was wet. He stared at it in puzzlement until he realized that he was dripping sweat onto her head. He felt a hand on his shoulder and sat upright. "Are you all right, sir?" one of the Muun medical staff inquired of him. He blinked his eyes and answered in the affirmative as he looked around the room. The other Muuns nearby were staring at a monitor screen, which displayed Sikka's vital signs. "What happened? Is she all right?" he asked, wearily. "The drug is gone from her system, somehow. Whatever you did to help her, it worked. We tried to reach you after some time, but you would not respond."
"How much time?" Anakin asked. The Muun answered, "Almost an hour. You should lie down; you look exhausted."
"I am staying with her," he said.
"Very well. We can have a reclining chair set up in her room. Will that be sufficient?"
Anakin nodded, and followed the gurney that bore his padawan down the hall. Once inside a room, he asked of the medical droid attending Sikka, "She will be all right now?"
"Yes, she is out of danger." The droid made sure everything was in order and then left the room.
Anakin watched over her for a few minutes and then dropped into the chair next to her bed. As the chair reclined under him, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then, he remembered Oren. He pulled out his link and contacted the ship.
"Master Skywalker?" Oren answered worriedly.
"Oren, Sikka is fine." He could hear a sigh of relief over the link. "We are staying the night here. Keep everything locked up there. We will see you tomorrow."
"Yes, Master. Thank you for letting me know."
"Goodnight, Oren." Anakin was already drifting off to sleep and missed Oren's reply.