Chapter 5 - (33 BBY ~ 7 months later)
Obi-Wan smiled as he entered the briefing room, seeing Siri, Adi, and Kastor among the many Jedi selected for the mission. It had been nearly four months since he'd seen Siri and Adi, and it had been almost seven months since he'd seen Kastor in person
Sure, they'd spoken a few times here and there over comms or through messages on holorecordings, but it was always much nicer to see your friends in person. If only this were under better circumstances. Obi-Wan knew that any mission that required the presence of fourteen Jedi was not to be taken lightly.
"As most of you have been briefed, Mayvitch 7 was attacked four days ago, and the transmission we received requested aid informed us that it was the Yinchorri who were the aggressors," Windu started briefing the group.
Obi-Wan looked around, seeing that they had six members of the council present: Masters Windu, Plo, Adi, Saesee Tiien, Eeth Koth, and Micah Giiett. They had two other Masters: Qui-Gon and Kastor, and two Knights: Tsui Choi, and Lilit Twoseas. Lastly were the four Padawans: Siri, Theen Fida, K'Kruhk, and Obi-Wan himself.
"Chancellor Valorum appealed to me to dispatch Jedi to mediate with the Yinchorri," Windu said grimly. "I dispatched two Jedi, Naeshahn, and her Padawan Ebor Taulk." Windu sighed. "Their mangled remains were sent to the Senate building yesterday."
Sorrow filled the group, hearing about the unfortunate fates of two of their brethren.
"I didn't know at the time, but the Yinchorri are immune to mind tricks, and they also have cortosis shields," Windu continued, guilt coloring his emotions, despite his face not revealing it.
"What's a cortosis shield?" Choi asked.
"Cortosis ore will cause lightsabers to fail if they come into contact with each other," Giiett explained sadly.
"They didn't stand a chance," Kastor muttered sadly, and many nodded in agreement.
"Although I am loath to use a method that's a show of force, I feel the situation requires it," Windu briefed. "We must protect the republic against the threat that the Yinchorri are becoming. There are three planets in the Yinchorri system and each team will head to one of the planets to look for the Yinchorri High Command. All teams will converge on the command center when it has been found."
Windu looked around to see if there were any questions.
"Master Jinn, Padawan Kenobi, Master Tiien, and myself will head for Yinchor, the Yinchorri homeworld. Masters Choi, Gallia, Shan, and Padawans Tachi and Fida will go to Yitheeth. Lastly, Masters Koon, Giiett, Twoseas, Koth, and Padawan K'Kruhk will go to Yibikkorror. Stay in contact and may the Force be with us all."
**The Will of the Force**
Siri couldn't deny that it was nicer being aboard the Ebon Hawk compared to one of the Consular Cruisers. The ship had been repaired quite well, and in the seven months that Kastor had been the captain, a rather homey feel had taken over the ship.
Plus, while it wasn't a very Jedi-like thought, Siri much preferred to be on a ship with weapons when they were enroute to a militant civilization that had already killed two Jedi, especially since they were going as a show of force, which often led to conflict.
"The Ebon Hawk's in great condition, Master Kastor," Siri voiced her thoughts to their pilot who was with their small group in the main hold, now that they had entered hyperspace.
"Yeah, it got a bit banged up during the Battle of Malastare Narrows, but everything's great, and I got my second crew member," Kastor said, smiling over at R2-D9 (who Kastor called Scrappy), an astromech that he'd 'acquired' in the wreckage of the Corporate Fleet that was defeated, much to the disappointment of some of his fellow Jedi who felt that scavenging was unacceptable for a Jedi, though she knew Kastor didn't care, having mentioned to her that Shadows did a lot of things like that, including taking funds from their smuggling jobs or the crime syndicates they went undercover in to finance themselves beyond the Jedi Council and outside of any Republic connection as needed for their covers.
She did have to wonder, after that reveal, what the Republic thought of Jedi Shadows taking ill gotten gains. She knew the Jedi Order often kept some of it to help support itself without Republic aid, which was as much about being partially independent from the Republic as it was about not being a possible financial burden to the Republic, but she knew much of what was seized was filtered back into the Republic as a sign of faith and a means of paying back what they were given. To know that Shadows kept a fair amount of what they stole or earned from their missions was interesting, but it also made sense to her. She supposed in the end that the Republic either didn't care or didn't know and probably didn't care to know, since if the Jedi Shadows stopped taking the funds, they'd have to request more funds from the Council and thus from the Republic.
"I heard that battle got rough for the Republic's forces," Theen said, and Siri could feel her containing her eagerness to ask about it, and to talk to the ancient Jedi Master.
Siri knew that many of her fellow Padawans and many of the initiates at the Temple were curious and eager to talk to the time-displaced Jedi whose exploits were becoming legend.
"Yes," Kastor replied softly. "We lost a lot of good men and women, but Master Kep-she came up with a great plan, and she utilized my talent with Battle Meditation to help destroy the flagship with Admiral Trench."
"Wait, you have the ability to use Battle Meditation?" Siri asked in surprise, knowing it was a very hard skill to Master, and many couldn't, and since the defeat of the Sith, few even pursued the ability.
"I"m a Shan," Kastor replied with a sly grin. "It's in my blood. My sister was better at it, and I don't think either of us were or are as powerful as Bastila Shan was, if reports of her abilities are to be believed, but I'm still quite skilled at it."
"What have you been doing since then?" Siri asked, not having seen the Shadow since he'd returned from the Battle of Malastare Narrows roughly five months ago.
"Well," Kastor said with a thoughtful look. "Truthfully, chatter has me worried about many of the trade conglomerates, specifically the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, the Banking Clan, the Corporate Alliance, and the Commerce Guild. I've been looking into their activities both legal and illicit."
"We've had run-ins with the Trade Federation," Siri said, glancing at her Master. "Also Obi-Wan and I dealt with a bounty hunter that had presumably been hired by the Corporate Alliance many years ago."
"Indeed," Adi agreed. "They've grown quite bold in recent years, and the other conglomerates aren't much better . . . just perhaps a bit subtler. You should be very careful when dealing with them. They know how to erase people in order to keep themselves clean, and in recent years, that has included some Jedi."
"Wise words indeed, Adi," Kastor responded, nodding. "I will do my best."
The rest of the journey traveled with small talk between the few Jedi, with Kastor and Scrappy periodically checking on different parts of the ship, and making sure that no issues would arise.
Finally, Kastor had made his way back to the pilot's chair with Adi as his co-pilot. They dropped out of hyperspace and then were immediately hit by blasterbolts.
"Karabast! They were waiting for us!" Kastor growled. "Siri, Tsui, get to the cannons. Theen, strap yourself in."
The two Jedi rushed to the gun ports as Kastor started putting the ship through its paces trying to evade the enemy fire and Adi used the forward cannons to engage the Yinchorri.
"Split up, take evasive action!" Windu's voice came through the comms.
Siri hopped into the top turret position, and started scanning her dashboard, looking for a target. From her window, she saw the forward cannons fire and she saw one of the Yinchorri fighters explode. On the scanners, she could see that there were another three ships chasing each of their other ships, and another two ships were attacking the Ebon Hawk.
Another fighter came into view, and she started tracking it, firing as it drew closer, finally getting a glancing blow as it flew by, having opened fire on the Ebon Hawk. The Ebon Hawk did a spin and Choi finished off the fighter from his lower port.
Several of the other fighters that had been chasing after the two consular frigates broke off to engage the Ebon Hawk, which was smart since Siri knew only their ship had weapons.
Siri and Choi both engaged the last of the original Yinchorri fighters, causing it to explode as the Ebon Hawk continued on its course to Yitheeth, now with another four aggressors on their tail.
The Ebon Hawk went into a roll, evading the enemy lasers, making it hard for Siri to track any of the enemy fighters on her screen. Finally, the Ebon Hawk broke the roll, rising and then went into a loop, coming out behind two of the Yinchorri fighters, one of which was quickly destroyed by the forward cannons, and the other was destroyed by Choi as it tried to evade below them. Siri spun her turret and engaged one of the two remaining fighters, destroying it while the remaining fighter broke off and fled back towards the Yinchorri homeworld.
Siri listened as Adi and Kastor debated turning around and going after their brethren, knowing only the Ebon Hawk had weapons before eventually deciding to continue mission and try to quickly figure out whether the High Command was on this planet.
She hoped that the others were okay, but all she could do was trust in them and trust in the Force.
Kastor and Adi piloted the craft down to the surface of Yitheeth, landing a distance away from the settlement. The planet's surface was almost completely covered in water, though much of it was only knee deep. The fauna was similar to that of tropical planets she'd been to.
As soon as they landed, Kastor unloaded the speeder that they had stashed in the garage/hangar, and engaged the defense modes, causing a concealed anti-personnel turret to lower from the ship and start scanning for hostile personnel.
"With that warm welcome we were given, I expect we'll find more violence in our future," Kastor said dryly to the group as they all hopped into the speeder.
"I mean, they saw your ship. I'm not surprised they tried to fire on it. Probably thought they were shooting at scrap metal for target practice" Siri said dryly, enjoying the gasp and mock glare she got from the Jedi Master, despite the disapproving looks she got from some of the others and the exasperated eye roll from her Master.
"Next time I'm requesting Obi-Wan be on my team," he retorted. "He'll appreciate my ship, actually has a sense of humor, and is the better Padawan."
Siri's eyes narrowed and Kastor smirked.
Adi sighed. "Yes, yes. You're both witty. Focus that irritability that you both exude on the Yinchorri.
Siri and Kastor both grinned, and Adi shook her head at the pair while Choi and Theen both looked at the two oddly.
"Hopefully we can confirm whether the Yinchorri High Command is here or not rather quickly, so that we can gather up with the others," Choi said, trying to put the conversation back on the mission.
The speeder continued to traverse the watery terrain, and in the distance they could see the settlement they were approaching. It was only another 10 minutes of travel before they hit the outskirts of the town and the five Jedi disembarked from the speeder.
It was an interesting design, made up of wooden boardwalks and bridges designed to keep its residents out of the water, and it built up more than it built out, though being the only town on the small world, it was a fairly large town.
"Keep on your guard," Adi whispered to the group as they walked, "but try to keep a low profile. I don't expect it to take long to figure out whether the High Command is here or not."
"JEDI!" a voice yelled from above them, and suddenly they were surrounded with three guards behind them, two on the bridge in front of them, and four more, one a Devaronian on a bridge on the next floor up. "You came all this way just to die."
"So much for keeping a low profile," Siri muttered as they all ignited their lightsabers.
"Siri, Theen, deal with the two behind us," Adi said. "Tsui, you deal with the three in front of us, while Kastor and I take the four on top."
The assignments given, the five Jedi darted out just as the Yinchorri opened fire. Siri and her partner deftly deflected the bolts back at the two they were facing, one of whom dropped as he was hit, the other just barely dodging the bolts.
He rushed the two Padawans with a savage growl and Theen ran forward and swung her blade, which the Yinchorri intercepted with his brace guard, which turned Theen's lightsaber off.
'So that's a cortosis shield,' Siri thought as she jumped in front of Theen, deflecting the bolts that had been fired at her fellow Padawan. Siri jumped and somersaulted over their aggressor and swung, her lightsaber slicing down the Yinchorri's back, and he screamed as he dropped to the ground, never to rise again.
Siri glanced at her companions to see that Choi had already dispatched two of his assailants and was in the process of dealing with the last one, while Adi and Kastor had destroyed the bridge that the other four had been on, sending three of them down to their level, all of whom had been dispatched quickly, while Kastor had used the force to wrap the Devaronian in a stasis field.
Choi dispatched the last of their assailants, and the four Jedi joined Kastor up on the second level where he'd just unfrozen the Devaronian.
"Please, don't kill me," the man whimpered pitifully.
"Where is the Yinchorri High -" Adi started to ask only to be cut off.
"Not here! I don't know where, but I know it isn't here," he said fearfully.
Adi nodded, glancing at the rest of them, letting them know he was telling the truth.
"Let's get back to the ship and contact the others," Choi said, and the five Jedi left, taking the Devaronian with them as they jumped back to the first floor and sprinted back to their speeder.
"You were right, Master," Siri said with a grin. "It didn't take us long to confirm whether the High Command was here or not."
"You've been spending too much time with Obi-Wan and Kastor," Adi muttered, as Kastor snorted and Siri grinned.
"We'll check on Master Giiett's team next," Adi said
Siri wanted to check on Obi-Wan's team, but she knew that Yibikorror was closer and that Team 3 was the logical choice to check up on.
"Mission Yibikorror, this is Mission Yitheeth, our location is all clear. What is your situation?"
"Caught between fire and a precipice about sums it up, I'd say," came Giiett's voice through the comlink, and Siri felt worry for their comrades' rise. "Can you offer any assistance, Adi?"
Adi glanced at Kastor who nodded.
"We're be there as soon as we can, Micah. Hold your position," Adi said through the comlink.
"By all means," Giiett's voice responded dryly.
**The Will of the Force**
"Hold our position, she says . . . I would say there is very little else we can do," Micah said wryly.
"At least we know that Kastor and his prized ship will be coming to our rescue," Plo responded.
Yibikorror was a gas planet, and the only settlement was a platform floating in the clouds. They had taken too many hits while trying to evade the Yinchorri fighters and it had taken all of Plo's skill to crash land their cruiser onto the platform. Unfortunately, the Yinchorri were numerous and all too eager to spill their blood, resulting in them being pinned down in the wreckage of their ship by at least fifty blasters.
It didn't help matters that they were on the lowest platform, giving many of the Yinchorri above them advantageous firing positions
"It remains to be seen whether we'll be here for them to rescue," Eeth responded, somersaulting away from several bolts that came from a strafing run from one of the Yinchorri fighters.
"I have an idea," Plo told his group, looking out at the thick gaseous atmosphere.
He reached out with the Force, and gathered the atmosphere pulling it onto the platform, obscuring them from view,
"This might actually work," Lilit muttered.
"We must move quickly and quietly if we want this to work," Plo said.
"THIS WAY!" a voice shouted before they heard the same voice cry out as whoever it was took a wrong turn in the gas and fell off the station.
"Well, this plan of yours seems to be working," Micah said dryly. "But it might still just kill us."
"Better than one of your plans that would have definitely killed us," Plo responded to his friend.
Micah chuckled.
"Adi didn't say how long it would be before her team arrived. We can't stay here, but we also have to make it easy for Adi and Kastor to find us," Micah said to the group, obviously hoping for an idea.
"Masters, I believe this will suit our needs," Lilit said, pointing above them along one of the support beams to the balloons that kept the platform in the sky.
"So it will," Micah answered with an approving nod. "If only Plo could have had that idea"
Plo sighed as he followed Micah onto the metal platform, the other three right on their tails, deflecting blaster fire as they went. Finally, the five Jedi jumped from the metal platform onto the balloon envelope, which stalled the blaster fire.
"They won't risk shooting the balloon and destroying their city with us here. Now we can make our stand," Eeth said.
"If Adi's team doesn't get here, this will be our final stand," Plo responded gravely as flying Yinchorri soldiers closed in around them.
**The Will of the Force**
Obi-Wan was quite thankful that Master Tiien was an incredible flier. He'd been concerned when they were attacked by the starfighters, seeing as their cruiser didn't have weapons, but Tiien had performed an incredible maneuver where he appeared to jump to hyperspace through the planet, while really skirting the edge of the planet's gravitational pull. The Yinchorri surely thought they had died trying to escape and they were in the clear or they at least thought they were a hyperspace jump away and not a threat.
After that it had been relatively easy to find a landing spot in which to stash the ship and then move out as a team to start doing a recon of the dark rocky terrain that Yinchor was composed of.
That's how Obi-Wan found himself in his current predicament: hanging off the ledge of a cliff with Yinchorri soldiers below, searching in the dark. Naturally, he and Qui-Gon had been the two to perform an actual recon of the Yinchorri's main base.
Obi-Wan glanced down to see three Yinchorri soldiers walking in their direction, lights on their weapons shining in the darkness. With one last pull, Obi-Wan pulled himself up onto the cliff, ducking away from the edge as the Yinchorri soldiers walked nearby.
Obi-Wan glanced at his Master who beckoned him to follow and they moved swiftly back to the camp that Windu and Tiien were still at.
"You were correct, Mace," Qui-Gon briefed. "The Yinchorri army is gathering. They are overconfident, which makes them easy to deceive, but the reports are correct in that they are immune to mind tricks. Also, while they are easy to deceive, they have large numbers present, so I don't think it will be much longer until they find us."
Windu nodded thoughtfully.
"Case in point is that they have already found our ship," Qui-Gon said as the sound of an explosion ripped through the night.
"No matter," Windu said with a wave of his hand. "Ships can be replaced, and maybe this means we'll actually get some use out of that ship that Shan spent so much time fixing up, assuming his ship hasn't been destroyed."
Obi-Wan reigned in his smirk, amused that Windu and Kastor still argued about the Ebon Hawk.
"Our current position is fairly defendable," Tiien said grimly. "We'll have to hold here until any of the other two teams arrive . . . or until we're overrun."
The night was illuminated as multiple flares flew into the sky, coming from nearly all directions.
"They've got us surrounded," Qui-Gon said. "I think it's safe to assume they've found us."
Explosions ripped through the rock near their position, clearly having come from motors as several Yinchorri came flying in with their packs, firing at the four Jedi who quickly evaded or deflected the incoming fire.
"I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume they found us, Master," Obi-Wan said wryly, wondering if this was going to be where they fell.
He moved forward with his Master to engage a trio of Yinchorri soldiers who dropped in from the north, hoping help was on the way, but also wondering if it wouldn't be better for their friends to stay away.
**The Will of the Force**
Plo parried a Yinchorri soldier's blade, jumping over the lizard-like creature, landing behind it, spinning around slicing down the soldier's back.
"We won't be able to hold out here much longer!" Lilit called as her lightsaber was once again disabled by a cortosis shield that the Yinchorri she was fighting had used to block her blade.
She was right. They were slowly being overrun, Plo knew. The only one among them that was able to counter the Yinchorri fairly efficiently was Micah, since he dual wielded lightsabers, always leaving him one blade to strike at or defend from his opponent after his other blade was disabled.
"She's right. We can't fight an army, Micah," Plo said. "We need to move."
Plo received a nod in acknowledgement, and the five Jedi started moving further up the balloon, doing their best to fend off the increasing numbers of Yinchorri soldiers.
"It seems we won't have to go anywhere," Micah said, a hint of relief in his voice as they saw one of the Yinchorri fighters explode as a familiar light freighter went flying by.
"They won't be able to land, so we'll have to get ready to jump on when we have a chance," Eeth said, and everyone used the force to push the Yinchorri back from them.
The top turret on the forward cannon continued to unload, blasting another Yinchorri fighter out of the sky as the Ebon Hawk pulled near them and its boarding ramp lowered.
Plo glanced up to see Kastor and there, his eyes closed in concentration while Adi was focusing on their group below.
"K'Kruhk, you first," Plo said, as he, Lilit, Eeth, and Micah all formed a circle to protect the Padawan as he made the jump.
K'Kruhk drew in the force and leapt up onto the ramp, Adi quickly grabbing him and bringing him into the ship. Lilit followed and then Eeth, leaving just Plo and Micah down below, now struggling to hold off the Yinchorri who were swarming over the platform. Thankfully, the Ebon Hawk was holding back anything trying to come by air, otherwise they would already be done for.
"Get up there, Plo, I'll follow," his friend said.
Knowing there was no use arguing, he gathered the force and jumped up to the ship looking down at Micah who had just struck down two more Yinchorri soldiers, and was about to be overrun, now that he was all alone.
Suddenly, three more Jedi just materialized near Micah, and one strong gust of Force wind created some space between Micah and the Yinchorri soldiers, many of whom had faltered at the appearance of the other three Jedi. Plo felt the strain of the illusion and the Force wind come off of Kastor and the Jedi's face was beaded in sweat at having worked the Force in a complicated way at a large distance
Using the distraction, Micah quickly jumped up to the craft, landing next to Plo.
"Everyone's on board, let's get out of here," Adi said into her comlink, and Ebon Hawk pulled away as the three Jedi illusions faded in front of the Yinchorri's eyes.
"Most impressive, Master Shan," Micah said, looking at Kastor as they all moved into the ship and the boarding ramp closed up.
"Thank you, Master Giiett," Kastor said, his voice a bit strained.
Plo walked with their group into the interior to see a Devaronian locked up behind a ray shield in the storage compartment of the main hold.
"Who's your new friend?" he asked Kastor and Adi.
"He was commanding a squad of Yinchorri soldiers on Yitheeth," Adi answered. "We haven't had time to interrogate him, but we believe he knows more than he has revealed."
"We'll have to talk to him after we rendezvous with Master Windu, and according to the last comm, we're heading into another fight," Kastor said.
**The Will of the Force**
Obi-Wan slashed through another Yinchorri soldier before he used the Force to jump back, avoiding a large blast from a Yinchorri tank.
'This is not going well,' he thought as he saw Windu and Tiien doing their best to hold the wave of jetpack wearing Yinchorri at bay.
Then he felt a connection come through a specific bond and a familiar freighter came flying in, the lower cannons opening up and destroying one of the Yinchorri tanks while the upper cannon blasted a Yinchorri fighter out of the sky.
The boarding ramp lowered and out of it jumping to the ground was Plo, Giiett, Koth, Kastor, Lilit, K'Kruhk, and Siri.
Siri and Kastor joined Qui-Gon and him along with Plo, while the other four gathered near Windu and Tiien and together, the eleven Jedi started pushing back the Yinchorri offensive, with the Ebon Hawk firing down on Yinchorri tanks and blasting any fighters bold enough to come close, out of the sky.
"Move back to the ship!" Windu called out as the Ebon Hawk came down and landed a hundred meters behind them in one of the few clear landing areas available.
Obi-Wan felt the signal he was looking for through his bond with Siri, and the two of them melded together, weaving back through blaster fire, shielding each other and their other comrades.
Three Yinchorri with full Cortosis shields raised started rushing at them when Kastor stepped forward and threw three air punches which to Obi-Wan's surprise staggered the three Yinchorri, who dropped as if they had taken Kastor's strikes to their ribs, despite him not touching them.
"Master!" a voice cried out in anguish.
Obi-wan glanced over at the other group to see that Knight Lilit had intercepted a vibroblade meant for K'Kruhk, saving him, but ending with the blade in her chest instead as a cortosis shield disabled her lightsaber. K'Kruhk leapt forward in determination and beheaded both Yinchorri soldiers facing him, grabbing his Master and starting to rush back with Koth, Giiett, Tiien, and Windu providing shielding.
"I'll assist them!" Plo said, and then rushed off to provide further cover for their injured member, while Obi-Wan, Siri, Kastor, and Qui-Gon continued to move back towards the Ebon Hawk."
"Qui-Gon," Giiett called over. "Plo and I are going to provide cover while you all get Lilit back to the ship.
Qui-Gon shook his head, knowing that leaving only two Jedi would spell defeat.
"Obi-Wan and I will stay as well," he said before glancing at the rest of their group. "Get back to the ship and we'll join you shortly."
Nodding swiftly, their compatriots broke contact and started moving swiftly back to the Ebon Hawk, which was still nearly a hundred meters away, while Plo, Giiett, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan condensed and made a wall between their brethren and the Yinchorri combatants.
**The Will of the Force**
The seven Jedi quickly made their way back to the Ebon Hawk, growing slightly concerned when they saw a mass of Yinchorri fallen soldiers around the ship, with Adi, Theen, and Tsui outside the ship, Tsuii holding Padawan Theen in his arms.
"What happened?" Mace demanded, as their group approached the three Jedi, K'Kruhk still carrying Knight Lilit in his arms, though she was fading fast.
Even with the medical supplies in the med bay on the Ebon Hawk, Kastor didn't believe they would be able to save her, and inside he mourned her loss.
"Yinchorri swarmed us after we landed. The Ebon Hawk's anti-personnel turret lowered and greatly helped, but Padawan Theen was injured in the skirmish," Adi said gravely. "We were just about to get into the medical wing. With treatment, he should survive."
Mace nodded and as a group, they quickly moved onto the Ebon Hawk, putting Theen in the medical wing to get treated, but sadly, Lilit passed soon after they boarded, sharing her last words with her Padawan, K'Kruhk, which he did not share with the group, not that Kastor would expect him to. They put her in the cargo bay with a sheet over her, ready to commit her to the Force as soon as they were able.
"Master Tiien, Master Shan, ready the ship for immediate take off," Mace ordered. "Master Gallia, see if you can reach Master Yoda on Coruscant."
Kastor and Tiien rushed to the cockpit, knowing that the quicker they were ready to leave, the quicker their four compatriots could return to them.
**The Will of the Force**
Obi-Wan sighed, feeling the fatigue from the prolonged combat. They'd just defeated another wave of Yinchorri soldiers, but they seemed never ending.
"The Yinchorri are regrouping for another attack," Plo said evenly.
"Again? I've never seen a species so set on violence," Giiett responded, a bit sorrowful, a bit exasperated. "Let's take advantage of this respite to -"
Suddenly Obi-Wan felt the warning from the Force.
"Master Giiett! Master Koon!" Obi-Wan called out in warning as a volley of blaster shots came as several Yinchorri soldiers flew by them, but Obi-Wan's warning was too late as one of the bolts went right into Giiett's back and came out the center of chest.
"Micah!" Plo shouted in alarm and worry as Giiett let out a gasp of pain while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan quickly dispatched the Yinchorri soldiers.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon converged on Giiett who was being held in Plo's arms.
"Micah . . . are you . . .?" Plo asked almost fearfully.
"Alright? No, I don't believe I am," Giiett gasped out painfully.
"Lean on us, Master Giett. We'll get you back to the ship," Qui-Gon said.
"No," Giiett said with a weak shake of his head. "No. I won't make it. Lay me over there . ." he gasped out, "against that tank."
"Master Giiett . . ." Obi-Wan said sadly, shocked that such a powerful Master was fading in front of his eyes.
"No tears now, young Obi-Wan. And no sudden expressions of sentiment from you either, Plo," Giiett said kindly. "And silence those thoughts of revenge Qui-Gon Jinn. Remember your training."
"Yes Master, but . . ." Qui-Gon started to say.
"Listen," Giiett cut him off. "Every one of us . . . knew the risks involved with this mission, yet we all chose to come. The Yinchorri must be stopped . . . one way or another, but use lethal force only to preserve your own life or the lives of others."
Giiett coughed, and blood spewed from his mouth and he winced in pain.
"Watch over your Padawan, Master Jinn. I don't have the gift of foresight as some of the council, but I know in my heart you are both destined to be Jedi of some renown. And you, Plo, my life-long friend . . . funny, I can't think of a fitting insult. I'll miss going into danger with you, though . . ."
"Micah, I cherish the memories of our adventures together," Plo said solemnly, as Obi-Wan watched on helplessly.
'If only any of them present had any skill with Force healing . . . though very few if any would have had the power to heal Giiett's injury,' Obi-Wan thought.
"Enough," Giiett said with a weak grin. "Let us part without sorrow. Take this," he said, handing his second lightsaber over to Plo. "Hang it in the temple if you deem it worthy."
He coughed again, and then Obi-Wan saw Giiett's eyes focus, the rest of his will focused on achieving one last thing.
"I'll hang on to this one," he said, holding his other lightsaber. "This power cell is still full," he said, putting his blade against the side of the tank. "I think I can use it to delay the Yinchorri long enough for you to get to the ship."
Obi-Wan shook his head, not ready to admit defeat.
"There must be another way, Master. Let us carry you," he protested, thinking that maybe Kastor might know of some way to help.
"Be at peace. I'm in the Force now. All will be well," Giiett said with a smile. "Go."
"May the Force be with you," Plo said solemnly, and with heavy hearts, the three Jedi started running off in the direction of the ship.
Obi-Wan glanced back, getting one last look at Giiett, and he could just barely hear the man answer Plo's words, "And with you."
They'd had just cleared the initial battleground when Obi-Wan heard a voice yell, "The Jedi are escaping! After them!"
Obi-Wan glanced back.
"The Yinchorri are charging. We should . . ." Obi Wan started to say, when he was cut off by Plo.
"No. Allow Master Giiett his farewell."
Obi-Wan nodded glumly and the three Jedi continued to run off, reaching the ship within a couple minutes and finding Windu waiting for them.
"We just got in contact with the Council and Master Yaddle managed to locate the Yinchorri Base. It's inside a lifeless fourth planet, near the Yinchorri sun," Windu briefed, before he frowned. "Where's Master Giiett?"
Not ten seconds later while they were all struggling to answer did they hear an explosion and feel through the Force, Giiett's passing. His death was felt by Jedi throughout the galaxy, and even two Sith, and a Sith Agent who believed himself an apprentice, felt his passing, all smiling at the loss of the powerful Council member as their plans continued to progress and affect an unsuspecting galaxy.
After a moment where all the Jedi present mourned Giiett's passing, they quickly made their way onto the Ebon Hawk and sent a signal up to Kastor and Adi, and within moments the ship was airborne, blasting away from the planet that now only reminded them of their lost comrades.
Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon went to talk to Windu in the main hold, while Plo was being comforted by Adi and Koth in the starboard dormitory. Obi-Wan had just been told about Knight Lilit's loss and Theen's injuries, which had only compounded Obi-Wan's sorrow after Giiett's loss. K'Kruhk was meditating in the cargo hold, near his Master's body. Obi-Wan figured he was trying to come to terms with his grief, and did not want to hinder him in any way. He knew of the Padawan, but they certainly did not know each other well, but after this mission, Obi-Wan was determined to seek his fellow Padawan just to be there if needed. Choi was, unsurprisingly, by Theen's bedside in the infirmary, leaving the only really free place the Port Dormitories or the Garage.
Knowing it wouldn't be long before they were back in battle, Obi-Wan went to the Port Dormitory to find a little bit of quiet to meditate and try and calm his emotions. It wasn't long into his meditation when he sensed her enter the room and he opened his eyes to see Siri looking at him sadly.
She walked over and sat on the floor next to him and leaned up against his side. He sighed, breathing in her scent, opening up their bond, and reveling in the comfort of having her close.
"I'm going to miss Master Giiett," Siri said after a moment and Obi-Wan nodded.
Giiett was a staple in the Temple, one who's friendly and boisterous attitude made people smile, and he always made time to chat with Padawans and younglings or tell stories. That didn't count the arguments he'd get in with other Council members in the Halls of the temple, usually about the most random of things. Those who really knew Giiett got into it, and some of the arguments would be comedic and rather heated, while others would just be baffled at Giiett's words and then he would leave them stuttering and bewildered as those in the know did their best to avoid laughing.
Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around Siri and pulled her into a side embrace and she leaned her head against his shoulder as they did their best to release their feelings into the Force.
"Obi, Siri, get to the guns," Kastor's voice came over the ship comm systems. "We'll be coming out of Hyperspace in the next two minutes."
Knowing that it was time for duty, they separated and rushed over to the gun ports, Siri climbing into the top port as Obi-Wan claimed the bottom port.
Obi-Wan scanned his display, and waited, focusing on the Force.
"Exiting hyperspace in 3, 2, 1 . . ." Kastor's voice came through the ship's comms.
The Ebon Hawk came out of hyperspace and Obi-Wan wanted to groan as almost immediately they were set upon by Yinchorri forces. The Ebon Hawk went into a steep climb and then rolled as Obi-Wan and Siri opened up with the cannons, causing several of the Yinchorri fighters to scatter, while one took a glancing blow.
"How come these kriffing Yinchorri are always waiting for us?" Kastor cursed over the comms, as he and Tiien did their best to avoid blaster fire, taking a few glancing blows.
"We might have to jump out of here," Kastor's voice continued to come through the comms.
"Bold of you to assume we survive long enough for Scrappy to calculate new coordinates," Tiien's voice responded.
Obi-Wan felt the ship take another hit to the shields.
"Adi, come take the controls from me," Kastor's voice came through, and Obi-Wan sensed Adi running through the ship to take over as copilot, though Obi-Wan wasn't sure why Kastor would need her to take over.
Obi-Wan fired the upper cannon again, taking out another Yinchorri fighter as Tiien took the ship through another roll before they took another hit. Just as Obi-Wan was starting to think they were done for, a dozen cruisers came out of hyperspace and immediately started firing upon the Yinchorri spacecraft.
"It looks like we'll live through this now that the navy is here," Choi's voice came through the comms and Obi-Wan felt relief as the Ebon Hawk joined the navy's offensive.
Suddenly Obi-Wan felt the Force surge, giving him focus. He felt his energy rise and hope come to him, and he couldn't help but notice that the republic cruisers suddenly started firing even more accurately, while the Yinchorri fighters started flying a bit more erratically and the Yinchorri cruisers started moving away from each other.
"So, this is battle meditation," Obi-Wan murmured, as he located the source to be Kastor who was now in the navigation room of the ship in a meditative position.
"It's incredible," Siri's voice responded as the Yinchorri forces were now easily being routed, disabled, or destroyed.
"We're moving into the planet," Tiien's voice came through the comms. "Padawan Kenobi, Padawan Tachi, keep providing cover."
"Understood, Master," both of them replied as they continued to scan for Yinchorri craft, though most of them were being routed by the Republic Navy.
The Ebon Hawk cruised through a vent in the planet's surface and continued along a tunnel that carried them into the Yinchorri base. Obi-Wan fired on cannons and turrets that he could see on the sides whenever he saw them as they flew, clearing the area of anything that would harm them as Adi fired the concussion rockets, blasting apart a set of blast doors that were closing.
Tiien gunned through the opening the rockets created before pulling the ship hard around and lowering the boarding ramp, where Obi-Wan knew Windu, Choi, Koth, Qui-Gon, and K'Kruhk were jumping down to apprehend the Yinchorri High Command.
It was over.
**The Will of the Force**
Following the capture, the Yinchorri surrendered and the Republic placed the Yinchorri system under quarantine, something, which Obi-Wan later learned, they had been strangely opposed to. It had been Chancellor Valorum that on Yoda's urging had been trying to get the Republic to interfere, and it had cost him all his favors in order to get the Judiciary navy to come to their aid.
Knight Ki Adi Mundi was promoted to the rank of Master and replaced Giiett on the Council, and while most agreed with the Cerulean Jedi's appointment, the vast majority missed the boisterous attitude that Giiett had brought to the council.
The Devaronian they had captured, whose name was Omar Grahrk, revealed that he worked for his cousin, Vilmarh Grahrk, but the man in question along with the rest of his family had gone into hiding. The hunt for them was now out of the Jedi Order's hands.
The Jedi team returned to the temple with the bodies of their fallen, and they held a service where the bodies were committed to the Force. Obi-Wan took comfort being around many of his friends, Bant, Reeft, Garen, and even Quinlan, who were at the Temple for the service.
Obi-Wan found himself on the roof of the Temple after the funeral, enjoying the quiet night as he finally managed to release his feelings from the mission.
"Figured I'd find you here, Kenobi," a soft voice said, and Obi-Wan smiled over at Siri as she came and sat down next to him and leaned into him, just like she had done on the Ebon Hawk.
"One more night of peace before Master Qui-Gon and I head out for Arkanis tomorrow," Obi-Wan responded.
"Adi and I are heading to Cato Neimoidia tomorrow," Siri responded.
"A Jedi's life is sacrifice," another voice said, and they turned to see Kastor grinning at them.
"Master Kastor," Siri greeted warmly. "What brings you here tonight?"
"Well, I heard you were both heading out, and I too am also heading out so I wanted to see you before we all parted ways," the Jedi answered. "I'm going to be focusing myself on the Trade Federation, getting at them from the side of the Underworld. Pirates, mercenaries, and smugglers are going to be the majority of my company for the near future."
"Do you think you'll find anything?" Obi-Wan asked.
"The Force is telling me that they need to be checked out," Kastor responded with a frown. "Groups like them are great at hiding from bureaucrats and officials, but it's nearly impossible to do anything illegal or shifty without mercenaries, bounty hunters, smugglers, and pirates knowing what's going on."
"So, back undercover?" Siri asked with interest.
Kastor nodded. "Yes. You'll be able to contact me if needed, but my cover name is Calo Jurgens, so if you comm me, refer to me as such, just in case, and be prepared to roll with whatever I might have to say about or to you to avoid suspicion."
For some reason, he gave a much more stern look at Obi-Wan which had him raising an eyebrow.
"What's with that look?" Obi-Wan protested.
"I'm confident that Siri isn't going to out me . . . you on the other hand, less sure," Kastor responded, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Master, whenever I comm, I'll just refer to you as Grandpa. That'll fix the issue," Obi-Wan replied, and Siri laughed as Kastor's eyes narrowed, though Obi-Wan could see him fighting a grin.
Kastor shook his head and let out a chuckle. "May the Force be with you both, you impertinent brats. Enjoy your night."
"You as well, Master," Siri answered and Obi-Wan echoed.
Kastor smiled and then he left.
Obi-Wan turned his gaze back out to the quickly darkening sky and Siri leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around her as they enjoyed a night of peace before another separation.