AN: Hello again! So I guess I'm starting to get into a weekly update rhythm, so we'll stick with that for now. I know its moving slowly, but were starting to get into it now. Enjoy the chapter, thank you so much for the kind reviews. May the Force Be With You!
Disclaimer: Belongs to George Lucas.
CHAPTER 23
Charlie stood up so fast she fell over. Luckily, Obi-Wan moved fast enough to catch her. She bemusedly remembered how much she'd had to drink. She was going to have a massive headache in a couple of hours.
"Looks like you found the good stuff." Obi-Wan said with a wry smile, hoisting her up and setting her carefully back onto the couch.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to bring you back to sobriety. We have a meeting with the council." he said, leaving a still surprised Charlie and Anakin sitting on the couch, and walking over to the kitchen.
He pulled a small bag from a drawer, and two pills from the bag. He filled two tumblers with water, and walked back to the couch.
"Here, swallow this." he said. "It'll bring you down from the clouds in a few minutes."
So much for the massive headache. It was not something she'd be sad to miss.
He handed the pair the pills and water, and took a seat next to Charlie on the couch.
"So you got along famously, I assume?" Obi-Wan asked.
Charlie nodded.
"I made pasta for dinner, but then we got caught up in whatever that fantastic drink is." Charlie said by way of explanation.
Obi-Wan grinned.
"It is good, isn't it? Like pure alcoholic liquid chocolate. It's too bad you can't also enjoy the hangover that would come tomorrow morning. How are you feeling?"
Charlie could physically feel the fuzzy, heavy feeling leaving her brain and removing its weight from behind her eyes, and Anakin's face revealed the same sensations.
"Yeah, thanks." Charlie said. Taking a quick look at Anakin, she leaned forward impulsively and kissed Obi-Wan. Apparently not all of the alcohol had worked its way out of her system yet.
For a few seconds, Obi-Wan reciprocated, and Charlie could feel the pleasure and love echoing across their bond.
That was, until Anakin cleared his throat loudly.
Charlie and Obi-Wan broke apart, shooting a smile and a glare respectively in Anakin's direction. The young Knight merely grinned back impishly.
"I would assume this is you returning the favor for all those times with Padmé, Obi-Wan?" he asked.
The older man sighed and rolled his eyes, pulling himself from Charlie's embrace and standing up.
"What I wouldn't give to have a few of those encounters erased from my memory forever. But alas, I'm afraid the memory of your bare ass on Mar Cangela is burned into my eyes forever."
Anakin's face went beet red, and he couldn't come up with a retort. Charlie merely grinned.
"Now, if you're both feeling well enough, we have a meeting with the council." Obi-Wan said, trying to put on an air of brusqueness and failing.
All three stood and pulled on cloaks in preparation of leaving. The walk to the council room was quiet, but Obi-Wan and Charlie spoke over their bond.
Obi-Wan's force signature appeared serious.
"This is the first time were meeting with the council since my return from Janulik." he said to her over their bond. "Mundi and the rest have since relaxed their views on our relationship, but I still would approach with caution and keep a professional air."
Charlie sent back a mental nod.
"However," Obi-Wan continued, "I won't pretend like I don't love you. Because I do, and it is now a part of who I am. Don't think I will forsake that for appearances sake."
Charlie now had to stop the tears forming in her eyes, sending back a wave of love and understanding, appreciating the sentiment. As much as she tried to suppress it, her past and future interactions with the council still worried her. If Obi-Wan had been forced to choose, Charlie wasn't sure that he would choose her, and she couldn't allow him to throw away his Jedi status for her. It wasn't a decision she wanted him to have to make. But from the sound of it, he now didn't have to. A small balloon of hope inflated in her chest.
Their arrival at the council chamber was fairly inauspicious. The doors open and the trio walked in to bow to Yoda and Windu, and then stood facing the two masters.
All inclined their heads in reply.
"Before we begin, I would like to apologize once more on behalf of the council to both you, Master Silverstar, and you, Master Kenobi. The Code allows for your relationship, and while we have a right to express our doubts, we now realize that it was needlessly cruel to separate you during Master Kenobi's healing process."
Windu seemed genuinely apologetic, so both Charlie and Obi-Wan inclined their heads in thanks.
"As for your… outburst several days ago, Master Silverstar. It was noticed, as I assume you know, by the majority of the temple. Most now know the broad outline of your relationship and what occurred in this room. They will not ask you about it if they value their position in the temple."
Charlie nodded her thanks, glad to have dodged that particular blast.
"Finally, I wish this to be an important lesson for all of us. It is clear that we caused more pain by trying to stop the relationship than working with it will cause. It is why we changed the code in the first place. We do not wish to end our partnership, and the offer of attempting the trials remains open if you wish to join our ranks."
Charlie inclined her head yet again.
"Thank you, Master Windu. And thanks to the rest of the council as well. It was not my intention to start a relationship or cause any strife when I came here. It is still not my intention. Our partnership will continue. I am here to bring peace to the galaxy side by side with the Jedi, until death or success stop me."
She didn't specifically mention their invitation for her to join their ranks, and she was sure most if not all of the council members noticed, but none said anything.
Windu nodded.
"Very well then." he said. "We summoned you here to talk about your discoveries on Janulik and your research and try to come to consensus on where the Master Silverstar's family is being held." Windu said, motioning to the two Jedi and then to Charlie in turn.
Charlie's mind jumped, quickly flashing back to the memory she'd had. She'd completely neglected to tell anyone about it in the activity of the past week. Obi-Wan's injury had been more important than a strange memory, but perhaps the council could shed some light on it.
"Masters, I have something." Charlie said. "Well actually, I shouldn't say that. I'm not sure if it's anything. Nonetheless, just a few days ago I was meditating and I stumbled upon a memory that I hadn't seen before. I suspect that it was placed there by the force, but for what reason I cannot tell."
Charlie took a breath, recollecting back to the minutes she'd spent meditating in the archives.
"I couldn't where I was, but it was dirty and brown, dotted with sinkholes and a maybe a few stubby trees. I couldn't move. There was a creature that didn't have a living force signature, made completely of metal and machinery, and clothed in black. It stood with its back to me. In front of it floated a girl, no older than thirteen, maybe fourteen. I couldn't see her face either, but she had long black hair. She was… destitute. All I could feel from her was abject pain and despair. It was like she was afraid she would never see the light of day again. But I don't see what relationship this could have to my family, but nonetheless that it everything."
Over her bond with Obi-Wan, she shared the memory as she had seen and felt it, and she could feel his concern in return. She noted absently that the council had not seemed to know about their bond, but directed her thoughts back to the matter at hand.
"Worrisome, this is." Yoda said. "Found what, you have?" he asked Obi-Wan.
"Nothing much, unfortunately." Obi-Wan replied. "We had hoped to gain entrance to the fortress on Janulik, but the explosion was the result of that mission. There are several places where they could be kept: Mustafar, Felucia, Quetya, Christophsis, Utapau, and Orto Plutonia."
Charlie went rigid.
Obi-Wan looked at her, sensing her distress over their bond, and the council copied his move.
Her moss green eyes were wide, a few strands of her dark hair that had escaped from her braid framing her face.
"Utapau." she said, voice barely a whisper.
"I can't believe I didn't make the connection before." she said, voice steadily gaining in confidence. "That's where I was taken to, that's where I trained, it has headquarters for the Sith, it even has the kriffing sinkholes! How did I miss it!?"
Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder, clearly wanting to comfort her further, but not wanting to make a scene in front of the still hesitant council.
Charlie took a deep, calming breath.
"I apologize. I should have recognized it, and that fact that I wasted more than a week because I wanted to suppress the memory is frustrating. It was clearly the force trying to send me a message. Utapau is where my family is, and the girl in the memory is my sister."
Charlie, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and council spent the next few hours planning their mission.
"So." Windu said, attempting to sum up the past few hours of planning. "Skywalker, you will stay here and go about your duties with Senator Amidala. General Kenobi, it will be your job to travel to Utapau. Your foe is one you have already met. General Grievous. Do not take this mission lightly. Rescue the family, destroy as much of the separatist efforts as you can, and return here to Coruscant. I sense that this war will come to its conclusion soon."
Obi-Wan inclined his head. Windu turned to Charlie next.
"And what of you, Master Silverstar?" he asked her.
"I must go with General Kenobi." she said, trying to inject as much certainty into her statement as possible. "I am, at the very least, indirectly responsible for my family's predicament, and so I must be responsible for their rescue. You will not convince me otherwise."
Immediately, she could feel the displeasure across her and Obi-Wan's bond. He didn't turn to her, but spoke through their bond, trying to hide their communication from the council.
"Charlie, as much as I would appreciate your help, you are emotionally involved in this mission. More than would normally be allowed. It will be dangerous, and you are liable to make a fatal mistake. I do not want to see you injured." he said, the words echoing through her head.
Charlie bristled and allowed him to sense her anger, but controlled the emotion nonetheless.
"Appreciate?" she said, as scathingly as she could manage over their bond. "As you remember quite well, General Kenobi, I know the feeling that comes with fatal mistakes. It's my family, I am responsible in no small way for their predicament. I will be accompanying you, emotions be damned."
And with that, she shut their bond down to the barest of threads and turned her focus back to the council.
"I will go." she said, erasing any doubt they might have.
"Very well." Windu said. "Your transport ship is being prepared as we speak. May the Force Be With You." he said, dismissing them.
The trio bowed and walked slowly out of the council room. As soon as the doors had closed behind them, Obi-Wan grabbed Charlie's arm and turned her to face him.
"Darling." he said, hoping the endearment would get him off to a good start.
"No, Obi-Wan, let me stop you right there." Charlie replied. "I'm coming, and there is nothing you can do to talk me out of it. I will not see you risk your life alone against a dangerous foe for my family. You have done it once already, even if it was under the guise of a council mission. You may call it pride, stupidity, whatever you'd like. But I will not sit idly by while you fight my battles for me. I am no helpless padawan or untrained politician for you to coddle. I am not made of glass!"
Charlie tore her arm from his grip, and marched down the hallway, putting up her mental shields. She walked as quickly and she could and boarded a lift without looking back. Luckily, Obi-Wan and Anakin had not followed her.
She knew Obi-Wan was just looking out for her safety, and she knew this same situation would come up again and again before the end of the war, but he needed to realize that she was first and foremost a Silverstar, and that meant facing her problems head on. She was a strong warrior and a good partner in battle, and right now, that came first.
Charlie stood at her door, dressed in her normal outfit, wraps and Silverstar cloak on. She had her blaster, knives, and lightsaber, as well as a fully stocked utility belt. Her pack had everything that she would need, and she'd sent a message to the hanger to have the clones load her extra weapons from Star Burst onto her and Obi-Wan's transport.
She took one last look around the room, checking mentally over her list of things. She was as ready as she would ever be.
"Shall we, R4?" she asked the droid that had been her faithful companion on their many journeys.
It beeped in affirmation, and together they left the room with the horrible feeling that they might never return.
The walk across the temple was long and dotted with people stopping her every few seconds to wish her luck and safety.
She struggled through the maze of the temple, stopping when propriety required it and simply nodding when she was able.
Charlie, despite her urgent movements, dreaded her arrival at the hangar. She could feel, even through the tiny sliver of bond, that Obi-Wan was still angry with her decision. There was definitely going to be a 'discussion' once they had safely departed Coruscant, and Charlie was not looking forward to it.
Consumed in her thoughts, the rest of the walk to the hangar went quickly, and before she knew it the lift doors were opening in front of a large transport ship.
The ship was much slower than the star fighter that Charlie was used to, and it would take them probably a day and a half to get to Utapau. It was slow, but Charlie knew that the council wouldn't allow her to fly alone, and while she could've fit two people into her small starfighter, the transport would allow them to bring back her family, assuming they were successful.
She walked through the cavernous hangar, her bootsteps echoing off the floor, chatting quietly to R4. She boarded the transport, two clones stepping aside to allow her entrance and R4 rolling up the ramp beside her.
The ship was more than serviceable. There was a bunk room with six beds total, a fresher, and even a small kitchen in the back. The cockpit sat two in front, two behind, with room for R4. Finally, there was a room with seating as well as a large computer bank. The ship would work just fine, Charlie decided, and walked back to the bunk room.
She stored her pack, keeping her weapons on her, and walked back into the computer room. Off to the side was a cabinet that served to house their extra weapons. It seemed the clones had gotten her message, because her two extra blasters and knives had been placed on their respective racks. A new addition was an extra lightsaber. Praying lightly to the stars that she would never need it, Charlie shut the cabinet.
"Does everything look serviceable?" a voice said from behind her.
Charlie jumped and turned. It was Obi-Wan that had spoken, and it was a testament to how limited Charlie had made their bond that she didn't know he was right behind her.
"Yes." she replied after a pause. Obi-Wan nodded and turned to leave.
"Obi-Wan…" Charlie started to say, but was stopped by a hand from him.
"Not here Charlie. Not yet. Wait until we've left. We have hours to talk." he said, and all that Charlie could think was how tired he sounded.
He left for the cockpit, and Charlie waited a few moments, frozen in place. Eventually, she followed him in.