Chapter Eleven
There was a moment of tension as Obi-Wan and Anakin stepped forward, weapons in hand, though not igniting them.
"I would like to speak with the leader of your group," Obi-Wan declared after noticing the Gaw who had translated for him earlier was part of the insurgents.
His words were passed onto a rather young, but robust-appearing Linhytian who was donning fur. After words were exchanged, an explanation was given, though it was not what he'd hoped for.
"The Esteemed Lon-Cro will only speak using the native, sacred tongue of Lin-Hyt."
"Damn," Obi-Wan muttered to himself. "Dun nol tul, uni jed Kenobi," he began, only to be interrupted by the translator.
"He knows who you are."
Obi-Wan sent his irritability into the Force and focused upon the words he sought. He was standing at the crossroads of what would determine peace or war, safety or bloodshed, and his limited knowledge of their language would be responsible.
"Dey het sun phi, tol una Cro, tol una Gaw. Ter arn set phi."
He had tried his best to promote peace; of not resorting to violence, of coming together as Cro and Gaw and talk things out instead of destroying one another. At least, that what he hoped he'd said.
"Non phi, una jed!" the leader shouted back, bringing forth a DH-17 blaster, very much like the ones they had stored on board their vessel. "Non phi! Kru tet bin Gaw, Kru tet bin Cro! Ard orn eta sun, tuu phi!"
Obi-Wan quickly deciphered the words in his mind and spoke them to his Padawan. "He says no peace until all the old Gaw and the old Cro are dead. Only then, will there be peace."
Obi-Wan had no choice but to step out a limb and warn them if they did not cease their acts of terrorism, he would be forced to take them into custody as a representative of the Galactic Republic.
To this, the leader revealed a toothy grin and repeated his threat, causing a ripple of laughter to move through the whole rebellious lot.
"It didn't work, did it?" Anakin quietly asked him from the right.
"Be ready, Padawan."
His warning immediately followed a gathering of the Force about the two Jedi. Obi-Wan was always amazed at how strongly Anakin wielded it. Together, they stepped forth, glowing lightsabers brought to the forefront in preparation. Once again, there was a moment of coiled tension, wound as tightly as a spring, anxiously awaiting release.
The first shot came from the left near the back of the crowd, and then it seemed as if the entire group opened fire at once. Anakin deflected the shots toward his right, while Obi-Wan focused on the opposite side of the crowd, many of whom were now scrambling for cover as their own blaster fire was repelled back at them.
He would do the best he could to not use his weapon to take a life. However, he would not allow any harm to come to women behind him. Their safety far outweighed that of these young rebels who had defied their elders and murdered so many already.
Two, three, five of them had fallen, suffering from deflected plasma burns to their limbs or shoulders, when a loud voice boomed above the cacophony of battle.
"Tuu het!"
Obi-Wan paused to turn slightly, although not lowering his defense, and catch sight of the Cro Chieftan approaching from behind. Surrounding the Cro clan leader were at least fifty able-bodied warriors, brandishing pistols, vibrospears, and plasma shields. They had come to fight. Obi-Wan would do all he could to prevent that from happening.
An exchange of words began with the leaders of the two groups. Obi-Wan tried to keep up with the conversation, though accusations were being tossed back and forth at a rapid pace. Anakin stepped up to his side and once again Obi-Wan tried to explain what was going on.
"Apparently, the leader of the rebellion is Bon-Cro's brother. He's grown tired of being second best, under the Cro chieftan, as well as Gaw manufacturing."
More angry words were exchanged.
"Bon-Cro is actually trying to maintain peace, and came to help us but…" Obi-Wan paused when the rebel leader produced a jagged rock from the pockets of his fur cloak. "Wait here."
Obi-Wan boldly stepped out and approached the rebels, his weapon lowered and shut down, although the group still pointed their rifles directly at his head.
"May I see?" he asked Lon-Cro, his words translated.
Somewhat reluctantly, the rebel leader placed the item onto Obi-Wan's outstretched palm. It was as he thought, and should change the course of this uprising.
He directed his findings to the young translator. "Are you aware of what you have here?"
"It is a substance with explosive properties. We have used it to create a most effective weapon," the young Gaw answered.
Obi-Wain visibly winced. Padmé lay unconscious due to the misuse of their discovery. "Agrocite," he explained, "is a rare ore used in the manufacturing of fuel; the most powerful fuel source in the galaxy."
The translator passed along Obi-Wan's words, and followed up with a question from the leader. "The Esteemed One would like to know if it is valuable."
"That all depends on the source," Obi-Wan explained. "Where did you get this?"
"That is none of jed Kenobi's business," the Linhytian announced following his instructions.
Obi-Wan sighed. "I do not wish to take it from you. But, if you have discovered an abundance of agrocite in those mountains, you will have enough funds to purchase anything you can possibly imagine. And I can tell you how to do it."
When the rebel leader heard this, his large eyes widened, and his weapon dropped. Obi-Wan rejoiced inside. "However," he continued, "Unless you lay down your arms and stop this attack, I will leave this planet and not share my knowledge, and you can continue to just use this to blow things up,' he said, indicating the ore in his hand.
"Tell us." Lon-Cro spoke directly to him although with a heavy accent.
"Stop this attack," Obi-Wan countered.
The leader of the rebellion thought hard and long, his tusked mouth twitching before he finally spoke. "Don tuu fet, Gaw."
Having agreed to a cease fire, Obi-Wan took advantage of this opportunity. "You must help rebuild this village," he confirmed, adding just a bit of Force persuasion to his suggestion.
The words were repeated to his satisfaction and Obi-Wan motioned for the Cro Chieftan to approach.
The Linhytians were a proud and stubborn race, and even with an agreement on the table, there was much healing still to be done. But it was a good start.
And now, he could focus on healing the one person who mattered the most in his life.