Wow, it's been almost two months since the last chapter. I kinda got stuck on this chapter, then burnt myself out on other fics I was writing and some I'm still planning out. I hope this one was worth the wait! The next one will be coming soon as well. I got a new netbook for Christmas so my mojo has come back now that I have a new toy and don't have be chained to my desktop anymore :)
Obi-Wan felt a disturbance in the Force as he stepped outside his room. It was gone as quick as it had come, but he couldn't shake the feeling even when he greeted Anakin outside the younger man's quarters. "Is everything alright, Anakin?"
"Just fine. Why do you ask?"
He said it almost too plainly. Obi-Wan gave him a look, but said nothing about it. "Nothing. No reason."
"Is everything alright with you, Master?"
"Perfectly. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." They walked in awkward silence for several moments, Anakin purposefully calm, Obi-Wan growing more anxious by the second. "Master, if there were anything troubling you, you'd tell me, right?"
Obi-Wan halted in his tracks and turned to face Anakin directly. "Of course. You know that."
Anakin kept walking, forcing Obi-Wan to follow. "It's just that you seemed a little upset about something a couple months ago, and now something's on your mind again. I just want you to know that I'm here if you ever want to talk."
Obi-Wan chuckled lightly. "Since when have you become more like a teacher than a student, Anakin? It's a bit unnerving."
"I have my moments, Master." He kept his voice light and controlled, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by his former teacher. Something was off0balance here, but Obi-Wan couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"I'll keep that in mind, Anakin."
The awkwardness began to resurface the longer they walked. Obi-Wan was puzzled by Anakin's sudden maturity and concern for his feelings while Anakin was frustrated with his Master's evasion. It had to have been a side effect of whatever poison the Sith witch had used on him. Was she controlling him even now? Was that even possible?
Both men were thankful when Rex caught up with them on the Temple's landing pad and kept the focus away from each other. The anticipation of the upcoming mission helped rebuild the façade of "old times". When they were on assignment, things were much simpler. Everything was as it should be when the only things to worry about were battle droids.
Asajj kept to the shadows as she crept through the bowels of the Works. Every bit of information she had gathered over the past weeks had led her to this abandoned warehouse in the heart of the Coruscant slums. Shadowy figures skulking around in the dead of night. Mysterious starfighters flying low over the underbelly of the Jewel of the Core and disappearing in the same spot every time. True, the majority of her intel had come from less than reliable sources (constantly-inebriated barflies, half-crazed miscreants, amoral mercenaries), but there was no mistaking the fear that had radiated from every one of them as they talked, eager to purge themselves of the unwanted knowledge (or boast to feed their own senses of worth to an exotic female such as Asajj Ventress). Fear she had learned to read long ago, a skill that had served her well in surviving her employ with the Sith. Learning to differentiate between a prisoner telling the truth and one who would say anything to save his own life had spared her unspeakable punishment on more than one occasion. Fear was a most powerful motivator in her experience.
She shook her head clear of those intrusive thoughts. She had a job to do and lingering on the past wouldn't do her the slightest bit of good. She needed all of her wits about her before she entered the warehouse. Even without the lingering stink of the Dark Side surrounding the building she knew something was not right with this place. People avoided the area even if it meant going blocks out of their way to get to their destinations. Animals, including the near-fearless spire falcons she so admired, were nowhere to be seen or heard. An eerie silence enshrouded the entire facility as if it were holding its breath, waiting for someone or something to pop the bubble that had formed around it. All that would have been enough to unnerve her if she were a weaker woman.
But she wasn't some cowering damsel afraid of every disembodied sound or passing shadow.
Asajj took a quick glance around to be sure she was indeed alone before lifting the metal grate at the base of the warehouse and slipping inside. The air became thicker and heavier the further she traveled into the depths of the cavernous building. Many storage facilities and factories housed the bulk of their floor plans below street level as a way of protecting their contents, making them perfect for clandestine and sinister meetings once the original owners cleared out. If the building were no longer in operation, so much the better for those who didn't want their activities seen by hapless passersby. Seems the Sith have more in common with everyday lowlifes than they want to believe.
The darkness seemed to become more suffocating the deeper Asajj went. She closed the visor on her helmet and switched to night vision. At least she could breathe a bit easier now even if the skin on the back of her neck refused to stop tingling. Visually, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The floors and walls were bare of anything of use, probably scavenged long ago. The thin layer of fine dust bore no traces of prints of any kind. Infrared, thermal imaging, visible and UV light. Nothing showed anything worth her notice. The only thing that kept her from calling the trip a waste of time was the overwhelming feeling that she was meant to be here, that someone else extremely powerful in the Dark Side of the Force had been here recently, and frequently.
Perhaps if she waited around long enough she would be able to identify the unknown person or persons...
There. A sense of dreaded familiarity descended on her without warning. She recognized that residual Force signature. Every trauma, every memory of torture and punishment flooded back to her in that instant. Of course, she thought as she raced back through the warehouse until she was once more out in the street in the fading light of day. How could I not have seen this before? How could I be so stupid!
She took a moment to catch her breath and calm her mind before reaching out through the Force to Obi-Wan. He didn't respond. He must have been focused on his current mission; she tended to close herself off as well when she was busy. Of course. The one time I have something critical and he's too busy to answer. She bit back a snort of mild irritation at herself (and a little at Obi-Wan) and reached for her comlink.
The small device beeped just as her fingers closed around it. She had a text message. She walked quickly as she read it on her portable datapad, eager to put that Force signature and the sickly stench of the Dark Side behind her as fast as possible.
Heading back to the Temple soon, it read. Will you meet me there?
Odd. Why was he messaging her instead of simply using their bond? Still shaken by her excursion she didn't linger on the question too long. Yes, ASAP. I have something important to tell you. She wanted to tell him now, but she couldn't risk the message being intercepted, especially before she confirmed anything of substance.
Same. Tomorrow morning?
Perfect.
That gave her just enough time to gather her courage and go back to that subterranean room. She had to try to find more evidence of whom Dooku was meeting and why. If she could, then maybe this war would be one step closer to over.
"Looks like that takes care of that." Rex fired one more blaster bolt just to be sure the battle droid at his feet wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. "We're done over here, sir," he said into his helmet comm. "Heading over to the southern flank to take out the rest."
"Understood, Captain," Obi-Wan replied from the command ship orbiting Adriana, an Outer Rim world neighboring Tatooine. "Try to leave a few for Anakin and myself when we get down there."
"No promises, sir," Rex responded with what sounded like a smile. "The boys are having too much fun turning these clankers into scrap."
Obi-Wan allowed himself a small grin at the Captain's remark before turning to the commanding officer of the Destroyer-class vessel. "Admiral Tencho, I believe our work is almost done. You can send your men back home while we finishing the clean-up here."
"With respect, Master Jedi," the older man said, "I believe we'll stay until every Separatist and CIS droid is confirmed dead or out of the system."
The Jedi shrugged. "As you wish, Admiral."
"Master, if you've got everything under control I'd like to return to the Temple."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened in surprise. "Whatever for, Anakin? I thought this was one of your favorite parts of these missions."
"There's never enough fun left between you and Rex. Sometimes I think you two mow down more droids than usual just to spite me." He offered a smile to show he wasn't serious, but something about the expression seemed off to Obi-Wan. "Besides," he added in an almost-shameful whisper, "I hear there's a new starfighter model being unveiled tomorrow. And you know how bad the lag from the Core is all the way out here."
Obi-Wan eyed his former student with exaggerated suspicion. "Are you absolutely sure you're the same Anakin Skywalker I've known for years and not some kind of replicant droid?" He chuckled at the startled look on Anakin's face. "I'm joking. If you'd rather look at a new flying death trap than leave your personal calling card on this Separatist contingent, by all means."
"Thank you, Master," Anakin said with a nod. He turned to leave the bridge but just as quickly turned back. "Oh, by the way, I think this is your comlink. You must have dropped it."
Obi-Wan blinked in mild confusion as he took it from the younger man's hand. "I didn't even realize it was missing."
"I'm telling you, Obi-Wan. You're getting forgetful in your old age."
Both smiled. "There's the Anakin I know, much as I hate to admit it."
One Jedi entered Adriana's gravity well while the other sped away from the newly-freed planet. The former focused himself in the Force as he landed, explaining his comrade's absence to Captain Rex with a simple, "Something else came up". The latter focused on his new plan for justice for his Master. He wouldn't be able to help Obi-Wan directly; he was still too ensnared in the witch's scheme. He'd have to go to the source…or bring the source to him.
The trap was set. The bait was laid. All that was left was to make it to Coruscant by local morning and make sure Obi-Wan remained distracted on Adriana just long enough to put Ventress in chains. Anakin hoped he would be allowed to relieve her of her head before she could harm Obi-Wan any further.
With that thought in mind, he allowed himself a self-satisfied smile as his starfighter jumped into hyperspace.
Admiral Tencho is not a canon character. I just needed someone to fill that role and I didn't feel like using Yularen. Adriana is a canon planet neighboring Tatooine in the Outer Rim.