Hi, everyone! Please, please, please don't send hit men after me! *Hides under desk.* I know, I haven't updated in forever! I just started high school this year, and it's way more work then I anticipated, so I've kinda let my Fanfiction account gather dust. I'm going to try to be better about updating, but no promises. If this bugs you, I'd stop reading. I will try to be better, though.
ON WITH THE STORY!
Obi-Wan Kenobi paced the floor of his cell, trying to think. He guessed it had only been a few hours since the horrible electric field had been shut off, and Litri was still out cold. He should probably be worried about her, Obi-Wan reflected, but, then again, what good would worrying do – and unconscious, Litri was blissfully quiet.
Obi-Wan allowed himself a small smile, but quickly returned to his thoughts. It was obvious that he and Litri needed to get out before Eraweb used them for his "experiment" – because Obi-Wan didn't need to be a Jedi to sense that he wouldn't like it very much. As far as he could tell, though, their cell was a metal box, and the only way in or out of it was through the strange disappearing door. The Padawan ran his hands along the smooth wall until he felt the miniscule seam. Digging his nails into the crack, he tugged in vain at the unyielding metal.
Sighing, Obi-Wan slumped against the wall. It was no use. There was no way out. He and Litri were trapped. They would probably –
Obi-Wan shook his head. He could almost her Qui-Gon's lessons now. There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it. He had to start thinking like a Jedi. Stretching out with the Force and silently rejoicing that for some reason, it had not been completely taken away from him, Obi-Wan probed beyond the cell, into the rest of the detention center. He quickly memorized the layout of the building, all the hallways and rooms.
As soon as they got out of the cell, they would have to go down a hall, turn right and sneak through some sort of laboratory, then go down a maze of corridors before they reached the hanger. From there, they could easily crack the codes to open the doors and activate one of Eraweb's transports. It was smooth sailing from there.
Of course, Obi-Wan mentally grimaced, that still left the original problem – how would they get out of the cell itself? The door seemed to be their only option, as the rest of the cell showed no flaws whatsoever. But even when Eraweb had come into the cell, the transparent metal had stayed solid.
Suddenly, Obi-Wan was jolted from his musings by Litri's voice."Obi-Wan? Obi?"
"Yes, Litri?" Obi-Wan injected a hint of annoyance into his voice to let Litri know she had interrupted his train of thought.
"Obi, I – I'm scared," Litri confessed.
Obi-Wan started, and looked at the girl next to him. When had she ever called him Obi? For once, Litri didn't seem like a nuisance, or a pain, but just a scared girl on her first mission, desperate to get back to her Master and the Temple. Awkwardly, Obi-Wan put his arm around Litri's shaking shoulders and tried to offer comfort.
"Hey, Litri, it's going to be all right," he tried. "We're going to get out of here. I have an escape route all mapped out. All we need to do is get out of the cell. Then, we can just –"
"No!" Litri jerked away from Obi-Wan and stared at him as though he had grown a second head. "Are you crazy? Don't you remember Eraweb's horrible remote? The electricity? Do you want to give him an excuse to kill us?"
"He won't kill us," Obi-Wan reassured her. "He needs us for something. Until he finishes his experiment, he can't afford to kill us."
"But what about the electricity?" Litri argued. "Do you really want to go through that again?"
"He can't hurt us if we escape," Obi-Wan explained impatiently. The moment of big-brotherly affection he had felt for Litri was over, and he once more had to stop himself from slapping her. "What do you want us to do, just wait until our Masters show up to rescue us?"
"Yes!" Litri sounded equally exasperated. "We're just Padawans! How are we supposed to get out, when Eraweb has the only remote to control the door?"
"Wait a minute…" Obi-Wan suddenly got an idea. "The remote! All we have to do is steal the remote! Then we can get out and find our Masters!"
"And just how do youintend to do that?" Litri asked skeptically.
Obi-Wan grinned. "Here's the plan…"
Back in the hotel in which the Jedi and governors were staying for the duration of the negotiations, Qui-Gon and A'ka were attempting to meditate, hoping to find their calm centers – and their apprentices. They had chosen a small garden out behind the building. It was secluded, and out of the way, making it an ideal place to focus, but ever since their arrival on Adarlon, Qui-Gon could not seem to focus.
Sighing, Qui-Gon called a nearby stone to him with the Force. He turned it over and over in his hands; the stone was warm from the afternoon sun. He flung it away in irritation as another attempt to calm himself failed miserably. The rock made a satisfying thunk as it hit a statue. I should be out there, searching for Obi-Wan! What am I doing here?
Unexpectedly, Qui-Gon and A'ka heard the crack of a branch beneath someone's foot, and the sound of voices drawing nearer. It was the governors, Drehel Zalzabar and Grupen Sage, but they didn't seem to be arguing. Qui-Gon nodded at A'ka, and the two crouched down behind a barabel bush, curious as to what was going on.
"I'm telling you, we never should have made this bargain," Sage was saying. "How long is it going to be before those two Jedi find out?"
"Let's not discuss this here," Zalzabar said pointedly. "Who knows who's listening?"
"You're not getting out of this that easy!" Sage grabbed his comrade by the arm. "No one knows about this garden. It's hidden. We're safe here. How do we get out of this deal?"
Qui-Gon and A'ka shared a look, and Qui-Gon flicked on a small recording device. This was getting interesting.
"The Jedi will never suspect a thing," Zalzabar told Sage. "They're powerless here, without their precious Force."
"Well, what if they get their powers back and then –"
"They won't. Adarlon's core is around 88 percent Carnota, remember?"
A'ka's breath came out in a hiss. Carnota! Of course! The metal was widely feared among Jedi because it made them unable to access the Force. That explained everything – how Obi-Wan and Litri had been captured so easily, how she and Qui-Gon had been fooled, and how they were unable to find their calm centers.
"Look," Zalzabar explained slowly. "Elisha doesn't suspect a thing. The real Zalzabar and Sage have been disposed of, and we look exactly like them, after taking the transformation injections. And the Jedi will never find out. Eraweb's paying us big for this one, and I won't have you mess it up for us!"
'Sage,' nodded curtly. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong, Eraweb'll have our heads. Just remember that."
As the two criminals headed back towards the main hotel building, Qui-Gon and A'ka went searching for Elisha.
The human woman shook her head. "I – I can't believe it," she murmured. "I'll arrest the impostors immediately, using my power as emergency governor. But you Jedi should leave immediately. I have heard rumors about Eraweb. He's a madman, and if he's the one who has your Padawans…" Elisha trailed off. "I'm so sorry, honored Jedi. I din't realize our Carnota core would dull your powers."
A'ka nodded and pressed the data chip with the evidence into Elisha's small hand.
"Could we borrow one of your ships, please, Miss Iyr?" A'ka struggled to maintain her composure. Litri and Obi-Wan had been in the hands of a madman for two days? Force help them.
"One is already prepared. I suggest you leave now," Elisha directed Qui-Gon and A'ka to the hanger. The Jedi bowed hastily, and hurried off. At this point, every second counted.
Cainam Eraweb once more stepped through the door to the cell of his Jedi pets. He didn't want to wait any longer before carrying out his experiment, in case the Jedi Masters discovered his plan. At the press of a button on his remote, he door glowed bright white and turned transparent, allowing him to enter. What he saw shocked him.
The boy Jedi was lying on the floor, arms and legs sprawled across the cold metal floor. The girl crouched next to him, crying and calling to him. "Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan, wake up! You can't be dead, you just can't be!"
Eraweb felt a surge of fear. He hadn't meant to kill one of the Jedi! He needed them! He kicked the girl out of his way and stood over the boy – Obi-Wan, was it? It didn't matter. The scientist leaned forward, trying to get a closer look…
And suddenly, the boy was in motion, one leg hooking around Eraweb's knee, and the other leg pressed against his ankle. The Jedi boy twisted sharply to his left, and the conflicting pressures on his leg sent Eraweb crashing to the floor. The boy jumped up, snatched the remote, and was out of there, the girl hot on his heels. They tried o shut the door behind them, but Eraweb was too fast for them, and slipped through the opening just in time. Finding he couldn't run on his weakened leg, Eraweb summoned droids. They would catch those Jedi!
Obi-Wan and Litri ran through the maze of corridors, gaining more hope with every step. The hanger was in sight! They were going to make it! Obi-Wan easily bypassed the security code, and the hanger doors opened, revealing at least a hundred super battle droids.
Obi-Wan sorely missed his lightsaber at this point. "Litri! You've got to bypass the security code for the hanger door and the security code for the ship itself. I'll hold the droids off!"
"But, Obi-Wan –"
"JUST DO IT!" the teenager shouted, and Litri hurried to comply. She easily hacked the combination for the door, but the ship was far more advanced technology. Sparing only a second to glance over at Obi-Wan, Litri set to work.
Obi-Wan was not doing well. He had aced Master Bear's hand to hand fighting class, but the droids had blasters, and he didn't have his Force telekinesis, giving them a huge advantage. The best he could do was try to draw their attention away from Litri and evade their fire.
The Padawan spun and leapt, caught up in a deadly dance. Just one wrong move and I'm toast .How long does Litri need, anyway? Spotting a cable hanging from a catwalk maybe fifty feet above the ground, Obi-Wan leapt. He flipped in midair, and caught the rope about thirty feet up. He quickly scrambled up the last twenty feet to the metal walkway.
His relief was short-lived, as he turned to see ten more droids advancing towards him. "LITRI! HURRY UP!" he shouted, fear building in him, although he tried to squash it down and center himself.
A roundhouse kick caught one of the droids in the side, sweeping it over the railing and down to the concrete hanger floor. However, it also left Obi-Wan off balance. A shot from one of the droids hit him in the knee as he attempted to flip backwards and regain his footing. Obi-Wan's leg collapsed under him and he landed, teetering, dangerously near the edge of the catwalk. Another bolt caught him in the arm, and the force of impact sent him flying over the edge.
Obi-Wan's skull cracked against the floor as he made impact. Feeling his consciousness swiftly fading, he called to Litri. "Go without me! Get the Masters! I'll be fine…" And then the pain and blackness overtook him and he knew no more.
Sorry, I don't think I write fight scenes very well. I'm practicing.
I've always hated stories where Obi-Wan just sits around an waits for Qui-Gon to rescue him. He has to at least try to escape! Plus, escape attempts are a great place to injure my poor Obi! Hee, hee! Sadism!