Sorry for the long wait! I had some crazy weeks and then I was hit with a wave of writer's block. Hopefully you're still with me!


Chapter 26

"How trustworthy is this information?" asked Padme, her fingers curling nervously around the edge of the seat. The small freighter they had acquired rumbled ungently under her feet.

Dex grumbled under his breath. "Hard to say. But it's the only lead we have," he rubbed one of his meaty hands through his face, "At least the statement is true that a ship left port at the time in question - I checked the logs."

The senator nodded stiffly and pinned her gaze on the viewport in front of her, watching as Coruscant grew smaller and smaller beneath them. "How long will it take us to get to Vanqor?"

"If there are no complications, about two days," the Besalisk looked at her seriously, "We should think about how we want to proceed and what we will do if we do find Obi-Wan."

That was her main concern. There were only two of them, and it was impossible to tell what to really expect. They had a small but well-equipped medbay in the back of the ship, but somewhere Padme still feared it wouldn't be nearly enough for what was to come.

Her fingers twitched nervously. "...I'd prefer it if we had more support."

Dex huffed. "...I am all you have, senator," he turned serious again, "but yes, our chances are not favorable." The Besalisk looked at her. "How good a shot are you?"

„I know my way around," responded Padme solemnly. Her guards – and Anakin - had made sure that she knew how to defend herself.

"Good," Dex answered, "If it comes to me having to carry Obi-Wan out, you'll have to shoot our way out."

She shifted her gaze to him. "Do you think it will be that bad?"

"I know Obi-Wan," the Besalisk breathed, "...and his luck."

"Anakin always said he was as stubborn as Gundark... and at least as strong."

"That's insulting," Dex grumbled, unimpressed, "...to Obi-Wan. The man could single-handedly burn down entire cities if he put his mind to it."

He caught her gaze. "But fortunately, he's too kind-hearted."

"I have a feeling you know him a hell of a lot better than I do," Padme muttered.

Something shifted on Dex's face as he returned his gaze to the viewport. "... he's like a brother to me."

That was all he offered to her and somehow she didn't dare to push him even though she knew that he wasn't telling her everything. They lapsed into silence after that, the hours dragging on painfully slowly.

After five hours Padme could stand it no longer and excused herself to the back of the ship, keeping herself busy with checking their supplies and then finally getting some needed rest.

She was awoken hours later by Dex's voice blaring through the ship's speakers.

"Senator, I need you here in the cockpit. Now!"

Without thinking Padme scrambled to her feet, barging into the cockpit not a second later.

"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously as she sat down in the co-pilot's seat.

Dex only motioned towards the viewport and as she followed his hand, she caught sight of a small ship floating around in the distance.

„Our scanners picked up three lifeforms on board. They've been trying to hail us for the last few minutes."

Padme frowned. "Should we answer?"

He leaned back in his chair. "It's maybe an hour until we reach Vanqor - if you know what I mean."

"They could know something," Padme concluded.

"Exactly."

Waiting no longer, she contacted the ship in the distance, waiting with anticipation as the link was established.

The connection was poor, but a male voice was clearly audible after a short time. "Hello, can you hear me?"

"Yes, we can," Padme answered.

"Thank the maker...," she heard him mutter and their was commotion in the background, "...we could really use your help, our engine is not working properly."

Padme let that information sink in for a moment. "How about you tell me your name first? I'm Padme and with me is my companion Dex."

The man on the other end almost stumbled over his words as if he was still reeling from a shock. "Yes, of course... sorry. The name's Arrik. Also with me are Lyn and her son."

Dex shot her a surprised look. "You have a kid with you?" she voiced his thought.

"Yes."

"How old is he?"

"Nine," came the answer, "...and he is not doing well. We think he might have caught an infection."

Padme cursed under her breath. "Okay, listen. We are here because we are searching for our friend. He has probably been taken to Vanqor. Auburn hair, beard and a scar over his eyes. Have you met someone who fits that description?"

Silence. The senator furrowed her brows. „…hello? Arrik?", she tried.

It took them another moment to answer. „…I… I – yes, we have…", he stuttered.

Anxiety spiked up inside Padme and a glance at Dex told her that he was feeling the same. „Can you tell us where he is?," she pressed on, „Is he alright?"

There was a bustling noise on the end of the line. „Padme?", a female voice spoke up, „It's Lyn. We have seen your friend. His name is Obi-Wan, right?"

„Yes, that's him," she quickly answered, „Where is he?"

"He's being held in some kind of experimental lab run by a female scientist. I think her name was... Arbor?"

Beside her, Dex screwed up his face. "...Not her," he muttered under his breath, anger etched deeply into his face.

Padme didn't have time to respond to his reaction, but an uneasy feeling spread inside her. "... You escaped from there, didn't you?"

Again, a moment of silence stretched out.

"...yes," Lyn finally confessed, "...but we couldn't take him with us - we're terribly sorry."

Swallowing hard, Padme leaned back in her seat, fighting to keep her composure.

They had left him behind.

"...It's...alright," she finally forced out after collecting herself a bit, "You said your son is sick?"

"He has been for a week now," Lyn explained in concern, "His fever is getting worse and we have no medication for him."

Padme muted the call for a moment. "We can't just let the child die," she said, turning to Dex.

The Besalisk continued to stare out the viewport, eyes steely. "I know," he growled, "...but we don't have time to waste either."

„Then what should we do?"

He finally met her gaze. „It's your call, senator. I'll follow your lead."

Spoken like a soldier.

She turned back and reactivated the microphone. „Okay, we will dock at your ship and give you some medicine for your kid. But- ," she stopped for a second, „If you try anything funny, there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

„Yes, of course," came the curt reply, „… thank you."

With that Padme ended the call and Dex wordlessly began to move their ship towards their destination. Even though he kept his quiet she could see how his fingers unconsciously tightened every now and then.

„We'll be fast," she offered quietly but her words fell on deaf ears.

As they approached the other ship she got up from her seat. „I will gather the supplies. Will you meet me as soon as we dock?"

Dex's face was hardly readable as he nodded shortly and she wasn't sure if it was sorely anger that was plaguing him or also something else.

With brisk steps Padme left the cockpit and approached their small medbay tucked away in the corner of the storage room of their freighter. She had packed enough supplies to last them for at least a week – if they had to handle one injured person.

The child was an unaccounted factor but also one she couldn't ignore.

Making up her mind, she began to gather a spare blanket, some antibiotics and fever reducers. That was all she could give them until now.

Collecting the supplies in her arms, she went back to where the ships had docked to each other. Dex was already waiting at the still closed airlock, a blaster at his hip.

Padme decided not to comment on it. „Are we ready?", she asked instead.

„Yes," the man answered and let the airlock open with a hiss, revealing three distraught and emancipated fugitives. A woman with brown curly hair – Lyn – stood near the airlock hovering protectively in front of her son who lay bundled up on one of the bunk beds behind her.

On the other end of the room stood Arrik, a human with short black hair. He was watching them with hawk eyes even though his fingers didn't reach for the blaster that hung from his belt.

Padme noticed Dex tense as he noticed the weapon as well.

„We brought the medication," Padme stated gently holding out the bundle, „It's not much but that should help at least a bit."

Lyn began to move forward and took the package from her hands with shaking arms. As she did so Padme again noticed how thin all of them were as the skin stretched tightly over their bones. Cuts and bruises littered the pale skin but what caught Padme's attention was the number which had been crudely carved into Lyn's forearm.

Ten.

A glance towards Arrik revealed that he was wearing a similar branding just with a different number.

Twelve.

„Thank you," said Lyn quietly, throwing them a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

„You're welcome."

It was then that Arrik finally approached them, clutching a datapad to his chest. Guilt was written all over his face. „You are going down to the surface now?", he asked, tiredness lacing every word.

Before Padme could say anything, Dex stepped in, building himself up in front of the other man. "You have something to tell us?" he bristled.

"Dex!" hissed Padme sharply, but the Besalisk continued to stare down the poor man.

"I... yes," stuttered Arrik intimidated, shoving the datapad forward as if his life depended on it, "I - I tried to sketch a location and plan of the lab... at least as far as I remember."

Dex took it from his hands with far more gentleness now, accessing the drawing which had been scribbled on it. "In which cell do they keep him?"

Arrik pointed at one room he had marked with a cross. "There...," he stopped short and shifted his finger, "But sometimes they took us to the... to the test chambers."

Padme watched how a shiver wrecked the man's body.

I don't even want to know what they did to them. But she also knew that there was no running away from the truth either.

"Thank you, Arrik," she breathed gently, taking the datapad from Dex's hands, "This is valuable information." She glanced at Dex. "We will continue on our way to Vanqor. As soon as-," she faltered, "-as soon as we retrieve Obi-Wan we will return for you and then take you with us."

Arrik only offered a sharp nod as a response and quickly stepped back, his eyes flitting over Dex with anxiety.

"Good luck," Lyn offered sincerely, now cradling her son, "- and thank you."

„You're welcome," Padme mumbled with a quick bow before ushering Dex from the ship and closing the airlock behind her.

"You were unnecessarily aggressive with him," she murmured to Dex as they walked together back to the cockpit.

Grumbling, the addressed settled into the pilot's seat, busying himself with disengaging their ships and setting course for the surface.

"Didn't you see the look on his face?" he finally growled, not looking her in the eye, "Guilt. He did something to Obi-Wan and he didn't tell us."

Padme shook her head. "You're jumping to conclusions."

Huffing, the Besalisk leaned back and crossed her arms. "Whatever. I don't trust him."

"That doesn't justify your behavior."

He screwed up his face. "Are you going to lecture me, senator?" he snarled coolly.

Blowing out a breath, Padme fixed her gaze on the planet that lay before them. "No...," she paused, "- just remember that they've been through hell too."

Dex didn't respond to her words and instead proceeded to steer the ship toward the location Arrik had given them. Indeed some kind of complex appeared - nestled into the stony ground like a fortress.

"Land the ship over there," she suggested, pointing to a spot behind a small cliff. The freighter would be hidden from view there and it was still close enough to the lab so that they hopefully could make a fast escape.

Not a minute later the ship sat down on the ground with a thud. Dex turned off the engines and wasted no time with jumping up from his seat, grabbing the blaster he had left beside the control panels and stomping out of the door into the storage hold.

Anxiety fluttering in her chest, Padme followed him on deft feet. As she caught up to him Dex had already shouldered her pre-packed bag with supplies they might need for getting Obi-Wan out and wordlessly held out another blaster for her.

Picking it from his hands, she strapped it to her belt. „Before we go…," she stared at Dex's back as he opened the ship's ramp, „… is there anything you want to tell me?"

A gust of wind passed through the now open storage room and she watched as he clenched his jaw. With heavy steps he walked halfway down the ramp, only to stop. It seemed like he was thinking about something which made him hesitate, but finally he shook his head. "... No."

He walked down the rest of the ramp, waiting for Padme at its end, his expression unreadable. Unconvinced, Padme also exited the ship, watching Dex closely.

"Then let's go," she said as if offering him another chance to tell her something, but he didn't take it.

Cautiously they approached the complex until they arrived at one of the heavily armored doors, always watching out for surveillance cameras and patrols.

They were lucky though and they were able to reach the door undetected. Without much fanfare, Dex removed the covering of the control panel and began to fiddle with the wires until the door opened with a hiss.

With blasters at the ready, they entered the room beyond, where there was a ladder leading vertically down into the depths. Padme cursed under her breath. "We'll never get Obi-Wan up here."

"We don't have time to look for a more suitable exit," argued Dex intently, peering down the shaft, "We'll have to carry him up... somehow."

She knew he was right, but didn't like it at all. Not that they could change anything about their situation.

"I'll go down first," she stated determinedly, holstering the blaster and stepping onto the ladder to start her descent. Dex kept his eyes trained on their exit until she reached the bottom and was able to check if the hallway was safe. Only after she signaled for him to follow did he descend the ladder as well.

"Still nothing here," she whispered as she carefully looked around the corner.

Strange.

"I don't like it," mused Dex, pressing himself flat against the wall, "Why leave the majority of the complex unguarded?"

Padme stopped short in her tracks, dread creeping up inside her. "... because she knows we're here," she muttered, suddenly whirling around, "Dex, this is a trap!"

As if on cue a group of droids entered the hallway in front of them and another one came up behind them, effectively cornering them.

The droids didn't open fire as they approached, but kept their blasters trained at them.

"If I had known you were coming, I would have at least prepared tea," a female voice purred through the speakers, giggling, "- but instead you barge in uninvited. Don't you think that's rude?"

Padme bared her teeth. "The only thing rude here is you, Arbor. You know exactly why we're here."

"Senator, you hurt me," it sounded like she was turning away from the mic, "...don't you agree, Kenobi?"


Had to divide this chapter into two since it would have gotten too long otherwise. But now I need to decide if I should write the next part from Obi-Wan's or Padme's/ Dex's POV. Let me hear your thoughts! :)