Precipice by shadowsong26
Homecoming: Chapter 4
Obi-Wan wasn't used to working alone.
He'd done it on occasion, of course. He'd gone on a few solo missions as a senior Padawan of course, as well as several the first year or two after he was Knighted, when Anakin was too young to join him in the field. And, more recently, there had been the Rako Hardeen mess, and his last-his last trip to Mandalore.
But, with the exception of that last, he'd at least had the resources of the Temple to call on, even if he was technically alone in the moment.
This...this was another situation entirely. No resources, no backup-not until Anakin was back on his feet, or Obi-Wan managed to cobble together some sort of network of active field agents. Regrettably, he hadn't yet made much progress on that front, though he had a few potential allies he could try to contact.
That was, in fact, what he'd been doing on this planet in the first place-at last on a mission that wasn't merely sabotaging or destroying a half-built Imperial installation but seeking out potential supply routes and intelligence sources. Eventually, he'd have a network of sorts to fall back on, one that he would link to the above-ground one Padmẻ and Senator Organa were starting in the Senate.
But that was still a very long time ahead of him, with a great deal of hard work between now and then. Particularly since this particular trip hadn't exactly yielded the results he'd been hoping for.
All of that probably went a long way to explaining how he'd managed to find himself in such trouble now. He'd been-not expecting nothing so conscious as that, but on a reflexive level, it seemed that it hadn't quite hit him how alone he was. And he'd made a mistake, one that was easily covered by having a partner (or a squad of soldiers) at his back, or a safe place to retreat to. A mistake that, two months ago, would have been an embarrassing story for Anakin to mercilessly tease him about after extracting him; but in the new world had landed him trapped and under guard in a half-demolished building of uncertain provenance, at the edge of a somewhat disreputable town in the Outer Rim.
With no help coming.
I'll have to be better than this, he told himself. I am better than this. This was just... sloppy.
He didn't think they'd identified him as a Jedi, at least. Thank the Force for small favors. As soon as he'd realized how much trouble he was in, he'd stashed his lightsaber in a convenient hedgerow; a trick he'd remembered Lorana Jinzler pulling off what felt like an eternity ago.
I know we decided not to look for survivors, but would that group count? Something to consider, perhaps. Although it would tie up resources best used elsewhere for an unknown but lengthy amount of time, assuming they found Outbound Flight at all. Besides, the downsides to bringing Master C'Baoth, in particular, back might outweigh the potential benefits. Much like having Pong Krell back from the dead would.
Pleasant thought, that. General Jorus C'Baoth.
He found himself, shamefully, more than a little grateful that Master C'Baoth had left the galaxy half a decade before the War had started.
Focus, he reminded himself. The solitude was, perhaps, wearing on him more than he'd been willing to admit. Until now, when it had tripped him up and he had no other choice. Something to watch for, in the future. But first, I have to get to that future.
And he wouldn't manage that if he didn't solve his immediate problem.
He settled in to clear his mind of his anxieties, and his annoyance at himself, and sort through his options. His objective, at least, was simple enough-get out of this building with minimal fuss, get to his ship, get offplanet without acquiring any tails or trackers.
Step three would be the easy part. He might not be the pilot or mechanic Anakin was, but he had several tricks of his own.
Step two would be moderately more difficult, especially considering that he'd hidden his lightsaber in the opposite direction but shouldn't be too much trouble.
So. The hard part. Getting out.
He closed his eyes and breathed, counting the potential adversaries. Fortunately, there were no other potential hostages to complicate matters. He had only himself to worry about.
Six. Not as bad as I thought. Three stationery, three moving. All solitary, but I don't have time to study the movement patterns. I'll have to chance it. All right. Disable the closest guard, acquire their weapon, just in case. But first, the door.
He stood up and examined it closely-not a ray shield, fortunately, so he could brute force his way through it if he was unable to pick the lock.
Time consuming, and not exactly discreet. He pondered for a moment, then closed his eyes and felt for the guard's mind. "You aren't going to hear anything from this end of the passage," he murmured. "If anyone contacts you, all is well. All is-"
Perfectly timed to contradict him, an explosion somewhere above them rocked the entire building, and Obi-Wan lost his grip on her thoughts.
"What the kriff-" He heard her fumble for her comm, but missed what she said in the noise of a second explosion, followed by rapid blaster fire.
He took advantage of the opportunity, using the Force to shove the door off its hinges. The chaos upstairs wasn't quite enough to cover the noise, but it took the guard a split second to bring her attention back to him, and he was already moving.
Obi-Wan slammed into her full-tilt, intending to tackle her to the ground and subdue her as quickly as possible. She kept her footing better than he'd been expecting, throwing an elbow at his face, which connected, and a knee that just missed him. She was good.
He was better.
He dropped his weight, throwing her off-balance long enough to get behind her and establish a choke hold. "Don't fight it," he murmured, throwing a bit of a suggestion behind it. "Sleep."
Seconds later, she went limp. He set her down carefully, propped against a doorway he was certain would remain stable even if there were more explosions, and grabbed her weapon and comlink before making his way towards the end of the passage.
He inched along, stretching his senses out ahead of him to identify the threat before he had to actually deal with it. Not the Empire, he decided, after a few seconds. I'm in danger, but not quite that much. Some third party then. Rival smugglers, most likely, or-
The door at the other end of the passage slid open, and Obi-Wan pressed himself as tight against the wall as he could.
"...prob'ly nothing worth nothing down here, anyway," a voice grumbled.
A vaguely familiar voice.
"Captain still said check, so we'll check," another responded, sounding bored.
And then it clicked.
Well. This could be...very, very bad. Or it could not. He made sure the blaster was set for stun and waited.
Two Weequay pirates at last came into view, and stopped, immediately turning their blasters on him.
Wait, the Force whispered.
He didn't move.
"Wait a bit-I know you," one of them said.
"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said, leaving his borrowed weapon pointed at the ground.
The pirates exchanged a long look. "Come with us," the second said.
He inclined his head. "Lead the way."
"Hand over the gun first."
He hesitated for half a second, then complied. If he did this right, he wouldn't need it. If he did it wrong, it wouldn't do much good. "There's no reason we can't be civilized about this," he said.
"Shut up," the first pirate said, taking the gun. "Come on then, move."
He followed them back towards the still-open door, up a short flight of stairs, and into a slightly charred room where Captain Hondo Ohnaka was directing his crew in looting the place.
The pirate turned, and paused, visibly surprised. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Obi-Wan smiled a little and bowed. "Hondo. I must say, I wasn't expecting to find you here."
Hondo waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, you know me-always running about. But you, my friend." He eyed Obi-Wan. "I heard you were dead."
"Oh, I'm not dead," he said, releasing the pain of those memories into the Force as best he could. He considered for half a second, then amended, "Not...not yet anyway."
"So I see, so I see," he replied. His pet Kowakian monkey-lizard leapt from the table to its usual place on his shoulder, eyeing Obi-Wan with considerable suspicion. "Well, I cannot deny it's good to see you, Kenobi. You do always make things so interesting."
"Yes, well," he said. "As I'm sure you can imagine, I am trying to...avoid that, at present."
"Ah, yes, the Empire." Hondo tutted faintly. "One hears such terrible things about them. But this was true of the Separatists, yes? And Black Sun, and Death Watch, and the Hutts...there will always be terrible people doing terrible things, my friend."
"I think you'll find the Empire is worse than anything you've faced before," he said mildly.
Hondo considered that for a moment, then waved a hand dismissively. "Bah, what do I know of politics, anyway? I am just a simple businessman, trying to make his way in a cruel, uncaring galaxy," the pirate said, turning with a flourish and stroking the monkey-lizard.
You know more than you claim, my clever friend, Obi-Wan thought. You always have.
And, sure enough, the pirate continued, his voice going harder. "But-in these troubled times, it is bad business, being friends with Jedi."
Ah. Obi-Wan shifted his stance slightly, considering the two pirates closest to him, estimating how quickly he could get his hands on a blaster again. I was hoping this wouldn't turn ugly.
He wasn't in a very good position; at the entrance of a corridor that only went deeper into the complex, so far as he knew, facing an extremely clever adversary who knew him and his tactics, outnumbered, without his lightsaber.
Still, he could fight through them. It would be a bloodbath for the pirates, and he most likely not escape unscathed himself, but he could do it.
"Of course," Hondo said, "it has never been good business to be a Jedi's enemy, either."
Some of the tension in the room lightened, but Obi-Wan didn't relax. Not yet. "I have no interest in being your enemy, Hondo."
"No, no, I imagine you don't." Another pause. "A good thing, then, that my unfortunate friends here had no interesting hostages in the basement, yes?"
Now he relaxed and smiled again. "Indeed, it is."
The pirate on Obi-Wan's left stiffened a little. "Captain-"
"No hostages, I said," Hondo repeated, sharply.
Obi-Wan stepped out from between the two pirates, bowing politely. "Thank you, my friend," he said. "I'll be on my way."
He sighed. "Such a pity," he said, stroking his monkey-lizard again. "Another time, perhaps, I might have liked to see my poor, dead friend Kenobi again."
He nodded. "Perhaps," he agreed, then pulled his hood up to hide his face and headed for the exit.
Some of the pirates glowered at him, but none attempted to stop him.
Maybe this trip hadn't been quite as unproductive as he'd thought. Hondo was-if not on their side, at least no friend to the Empire.
Or he simply realizes that handing me over would get his crew wiped out as likely as rewarded, a small, cynical voice at the back of his head thought.
Either way, he would remember this. And someday, the next time the two of them met-
Well. Perhaps by then, he'd have the infrastructure he needed to bargain with the pirate. Hondo Ohnaka had been a surprisingly valuable ally in the past, after all.
The door was open, when the time came. There were few enough of those. Obi-Wan was glad to have found and unlocked this one again.