Chapter 12 (29 BBY ~ 1.5 years later)
Obi-Wan sighed. It seemed like old wounds just kept surfacing over the past year and a half.
First Siri had left, and despite his best efforts, he'd been unable to track her down, making it feel like he had lost her all over again. Kastor had promised that he would try and keep an eye on her when he could, but he was also a very busy man, and if Siri wanted to avoid Jedi detection, as she obviously did, Kastor wouldn't be able to easily keep up with her, not without possibly burning his cover. No, he'd started to accept he'd just have to move on, though he doubted he'd ever truly give up looking for her, hoping she'd come back to the Order . . . back to him.
Next, six months ago, he and Anakin had been confronted by Kad and Vox Chan, Bruck Chan's family who had still blamed Bruck's death on Obi-Wan. The entire mission had been one miserable reminder of one of Obi-Wan's worst moments from 10 years ago, just dredging up memories that Obi-Wan had wanted to bury. It didn't help that he'd been forced to explain some of what had happened to his inquisitive Padawan who'd wanted to know why someone hated his Master so vehemently. At least that mission had allowed him to work with Garen, and it had ended with Kad Chan finally forgiving Obi-Wan for Bruck's death.
Thankfully, they'd gotten a small break from Obi-Wan's past only to find themselves in one of the strangest circumstances Obi-Wan had ever been in when they embarked on a mission to Zenoma Sekot to find a lost Jedi and purchase a specialized ship. That mission had gone pear shaped after the Republic Outland Forces turned the planet into a warzone. They barely survived that, and to do so involved the death of their living ship that they'd created, a creature Anakin had, of course, befriended before she died saving them. At the end, they had no ship and had found no trace of the missing Jedi.
Now they were back to Obi-Wan's greatest hits and about to embark on another mission that had started with Qui-Gon ten years ago, a mission Obi-Wan had known would probably be assigned to him but had hoped deep in his heart that it would be given to someone else.
Ten years had passed, which meant someone needed to attempt to get the Sith holocron that was located in the Kodaian sea. Ten years ago, Qui-Gon and he, only months after Tahl's death, had been assigned to follow Dr. Lundi, a brilliant historian who had focused his studies on the Sith. Sith Cults had been on the rise and caches of Sith artifacts and weapons had been found, the first of which had been found by Bant and her Master, Kit Fisto, on Korriban.
He and Qui-Gon had gone to one of Lundi's lectures witnessing how much power he had over his students, how much disdain he had for the Jedi, and how much he idolized the Sith before they'd been led on a chase that took them to three different systems. Obi-Wan had felt constant fear and unease, still being a bit young in his apprenticeship and it hadn't helped that they'd never uncovered all of the players involved in Lundi's mission to obtain a Sith holocron. Their force powers had been dampened on Kodai, and he'd almost died several times.
To add insult to injury, the mission had not ended all that well. On one hand, they'd captured Lundi, preventing him from getting the holocron, and seemingly preventing anyone from getting the holocron, at least at the time the ocean was rising back, but they'd gotten very little information from Lundi and since they hadn't obtained the holocron, they couldn't even confirm that nobody else could, hence his and Anakin's new mission.
It didn't help that they'd already been on a mission, one Anakin approved of, that they'd just been pulled from. Obi-Wan and Anakin had walked into the Council, Anakin showing no cares or worries about the Council, per usual, only for Obi-Wan to almost be filled with dread as the Council informed him how the Sith sects were active once again, threatening death to Jedi. Holorecordings of Jedi being murdered were being sent around, and rumblings had revealed someone was planning to retrieve the holocron on Kodai, once again.
Obi-Wan stared at Lundi, in his cell, still raving mad and filled with anger, just as Obi-Wan remembered him after the mission ten years ago. Obi-Wan had already had to stop his Padawan from losing his temper when Lundi had spit on Obi-Wan and started more of his anger-filled ravings.
Obi-Wan knew that they needed Lundi's knowledge to have a hope of completing this mission, but looking into the historian's raging, unrepentant eyes, he didn't have high hopes. It didn't help that even ten years later, the memory of the holocron filled him with dread. While he would not let his fear control him, the fact remained that they could use help, and there was only one person that Obi-Wan thought was uniquely qualified to help them.
**The Will of the Force**
Kastor observed as the two men he'd been tailing finally met up with the rest of their cult, all of them bearing the weaponry of the ancient Sith, equipment they'd scavenged. Nine members in total.
Sith Cults.
The Order had originally told him that these cults weren't much of a danger to the galaxy, and Kastor did believe that they were not in league with whoever the current Sith were, at least most of them, but regardless, he didn't believe that they should remain unchecked and simply watched. It only took one find by some tenacious cultists to turn a minor annoyance into a big problem.
No, his original duty as a Shadow was to destroy the Sith and all information about them, or at least to lock it away where nobody could find it. The dark side itself wasn't inherently bad, but it was rare that Sith didn't try to conquer and destroy, so while Kastor wouldn't necessarily hunt down dark side users simply for existing, he wasn't as lenient with Sith or their followers. Jedi generally didn't believe in provoking violence, but Kastor wasn't a typical Jedi. No, he was willing to walk the edge of the darkness so that others didn't have to. Besides, if these were truly Sith Cultists, he wouldn't even have to provoke the violence.
Kastor moved out into the open, revealing himself to the Sith cultists, and he ignited both of his lightsabers, the white blades bright in the darkness that the cultists were meeting under.
"Jedi!" one yelled, predictably, and all nine of them opened fire on him.
Kastor leapt into the air, landing behind all nine, all of whom were turning to get to him, but he didn't wait, moving back and slashing through two of them in quick succession, deflecting two bolts back at their sources, killing another two. The remaining five started looking a bit panicked and started moving away from Kastor, firing rapidly, but he wasn't going to give them the time. He dodged a few bolts and then deflected a few more, dropping another cultist before he rushed forward, using the Force to give him speed that the cultists couldn't hope to match as he weaved around the blaster bolts, and finally reached the cultists and cut all four remaining down, not giving any of them time to react.
He glanced around at the corpses, regretting the death. This wasn't work he enjoyed whatsoever, but he did believe it was important. The Sith were a blight, and the destruction of their cults could only be a good thing. Besides, he may have drawn his weapon first, but they attacked, which cleared his conscience. If they hadn't, he wouldn't have followed through. He would have just confiscated the Sith items and moved on.
It had been eight months since Siri or 'Zora' had left his 'smuggling operation,' if you could really call it that, and started working for Krayn. She was still alive, and every coded transmission he got from her or their occasional meetings revealed more and more of Krayn's operation as she continued to move up in the organization. It certainly helped her that Kastor did his best to uncover plans or jobs that others in Krayn's organization led, things Siri couldn't know about. Then he'd do his best to mess it up, removing the key players from favor and helping Siri to move up, but Siri was also a natural at undercover work and was doing incredibly well on her own without Kastor's assistance even if he knew that some of her actions were killing her on the inside.
Still, Siri had been undercover now for almost a year and a half, eleven months of that had been in the eye of Krayn, the first two months having been with Kastor smuggling spice for the organization before she 'jumped ship' in order to gain more wealth and power. The fact she was still alive was an achievement in its own sense. A happy coincidence was that Kastor's reputation as a smuggler and mercenary was good enough that Krayn wanted to recruit him, often using 'Zora' as his emissary to try and persuade him to join. This gave Kastor guaranteed time to look for his 'daughter's' wellbeing, while Siri could also physically drop information to him.
Truthfully, he honestly missed having her with him on his ship, not just because he cared for her and enjoyed having her around, but also because an extra body really did help his cover as a smuggler trying to make his way in the galaxy. An extra body or two would allow him to take bigger jobs as well as provide him more muscle so that he would avoid hostilities more often, though every time he fought off someone trying to screw him, it did add to his reputation.
Sometimes he did hire a temporary crew to help with jobs, especially some of the actually legal jobs he did now and then to help really develop his cover, but he couldn't afford to hire someone permanently unless it was someone in on his secret and even when he did hire a temporary crew, he always had to be on high alert in case they tried anything.
Not pleasant.
Kastor sighed. The simple fix would be returning to the Temple and looking at the up-and-coming apprentices that showed aptitude for undercover work and had an interest in it. Kastor could then take a Padawan, help develop them into a Jedi, like a Master of his age should be doing, while providing him a semi-permanent crew member outside of Scrappy and his newer medical droid, Doc.
Kastor just didn't want to take a Padawan at this time, nor did he feel the Force directing him towards that path. He had too much on his plate, and while he was always happy to pass on his knowledge, he already had two young Jedi he was on call for, with a third one in the form of Obi-Wan's Padawan, Anakin. Besides, some of the missions Kastor went on were no place for a younger Padawan, and then Kastor would also have to start hiding some of his activities from his new Padawan, something that was not conducive to forming and growing a Master-Padawan bond.
No, it wouldn't be fair to the Padawan at all. A Padawan wasn't the answer. Kastor just didn't know what might be.
Kastor returned to the Ebon Hawk, thinking about his next step. Perhaps another spice smuggling job for Krayn? A legitimate transportation job? Blaster running? Hell, it had been a while since he'd taken a mercenary job. Maybe he'd see if Vana or Nym had a job, something that didn't cross the line of the Code too much and gave him a peek at some of the new talent in the mercenary field. It really was the best way to keep tabs on the up and comers.
Kastor was about to take off and let the Force guide him to his next destination when Scrappy alerted him to a signal on the secure holocommunicator, the channel he only gave out to certain people. Kastor accepted the call and smiled to see Obi-Wan.
"Hey, Obi-Wan," Kastor greeted with a grin. "It's been a while. How can I help you?"
"I could use your help, Master," Obi-Wan said, cutting straight to the point.
"You've got it," Kastor said with a frown, knowing this had to be serious.
Obi-Wan explained to him the mission to retrieve a Sith holocron, and while Kastor would have been eager to help Obi-Wan simply because he asked for help, now he knew that this is where he needed to be. Recoverable Sith holocrons were not common. Kastor and the Order knew of some in the galaxy that would be near impossible to recover, and generally left them as they were, knowing they were out of others' control. Sith holocrons were not to be taken lightly, and even worse, they would have someone who was mad with power and determined to betray them and take the holocron for himself with them. Combined with a small time-window and a shifting ocean, this was looking to be just the type of mission Kastor absolutely hated.
Kastor agreed to pick up Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the insane Dr. Lundi on Coruscant before they took the Ebon Hawk to Kodai. He was just about to have Scrappy load the coordinates into the navicomputer when Scrappy alerted him to another call on the secure comms.
He certainly felt popular on this day.
He answered the call, unsure who could be trying to contact him, and he was shocked, but pleased to see the face of an old friend.
"Rhys Dallows, it's great to hear from you," Kastor said with a smile, not having heard from the young ace since the Naboo Crisis almost two years earlier.
"Master Shan," Rhys greeted with a grin, and Kastor noticed that the young man seemed a bit more filled out, much rougher looking and strong, and less slender pilot, and he seemed to be wearing a uniform, though not the one of Bravo Flight, nor one Kastor recognized. It wasn't even really a uniform, but it kind of gave off that vibe.
"Kastor, please," Kastor returned. "No need for formalities between old friends. I'd love to catch up, but I suspect you're calling me for a reason, and I do have a mission that I need to get going towards, so we'll have to save the catch up for later."
"Straight to the point. I can work with that," Rhys replied, his grin fading and a slightly nervous look taking over. "I'm sure you've followed, but the Trade Federation barely received much of a punishment for their actions against my planet. For Kriffs sake, Nute Gunray is still the Viceroy."
Kastor grimaced, he too annoyed at how little the Senate did to the Federation, especially with the destruction and loss he'd seen on Naboo. "While I agree that they deserved a greater punishment, I'm not sure how I can help."
"Well, the thing is that while I was proud to be a member of Bravo Flight, the fact remains that I wasn't doing much other than occasionally providing escort for my queen or our Senator," Rhys said with a sigh. "I wanted to do more to bring groups like the Federation to justice, even if it's not the Federation itself . . . and I remembered what drew you to us and I remember how you and the other Jedi helped my people. Well, an easy way to serve the Jedi while also acting in a capacity to counter the illicit activities of conglomerates like the Trade Federation was to join up with the Antarian Rangers."
Kastor's eyes widened. The Antarian Rangers were a security force that actively served and assisted the Jedi Order. They were made up of mostly non-Force sensitives or more accurately those with low Force sensitivity, and full Rangers were some of the most elite soldiers in the galaxy, trained in combat, reconnaissance, and covert operations. They were around to make a Jedi's job easier and to be prepared to do the dirty work that a Jedi might be unwilling or unable to do, or at least that's how Rangers described themselves.
There were members of the corps that were simply support staff or explorers, not specially trained in combat, but simply around to help in any capacity they could since the life of a Ranger was difficult, and it was extremely difficult to pass the training and qualifications that the Corps required.
Kastor had never worked with a Ranger, but he knew of others that had, and all of them spoke quite highly of those that they worked with. Some Rangers were assigned to sectors or placed on call for if the Order needed them, but others followed or were assigned semi-permanently to specific Jedi.
"I officially became a Ranger in full, and I was hoping that I might be able to be your aide, your companion, rather than be assigned to a sector, likely the same sector my home planet is in," Rhys said, and now Kastor knew why Rhys looked nervous. For all intents and purposes, this was a job interview. "You know I'm a fair pilot, and I was gifted my N-1 starfighter by Queen Amidala, so I have my own ship from which to provide escort or support to your ship, and now thanks to my training I'm also capable of acting in whatever capacity you would require of me."
Kastor gazed at his old friend thinking it through. This was a very tempting offer. Kastor had room for Rhys's N-1 in the garage, meaning that he'd have a support craft if needed, but also a co-pilot or gunner for his 'crew.' He knew he could trust Rhys, especially now that he'd survived the strenuous vetting of the Antarian Rangers. He'd have to trust Rhys with most if not all his secrets for this to work, but if this wasn't the Force giving him what he wanted, he surely didn't know what else it could be. It truly did work far beyond his understanding.
Kastor looked at the eager face of his friend and finally nodded. "I'd be honored to work with you again and have you with me, though I'll warn you that I tend to get in trouble . . . a lot, and I also spend an inordinate amount of time undercover."
Rhys smiled. "Sounds exactly like what I was looking for. Action and a chance to help and truly work with the Jedi. "
Kastor chuckled. "We'll see if you think that after this mission I'm about to embark on. Can you rendezvous with me in the Kuat System? We can link up before heading to Coruscant to pick up the rest of the team we'll be working with."
"I'll be there," Rhys assured Kastor, and he smiled, nodding before they cut communication.
'The Force truly did work in mysterious ways,' Kastor thought, but he had to admit it had definitely come through for him this time, finding an answer to his dilemma that he hadn't even considered.
**The Will of the Force**
It hadn't taken long to get Lundi remanded into Obi-Wan's custody, though Obi-Wan hated doing so, and from there it was a quick trip to the landing pad that Kastor was meeting them at.
Anakin was watching Dr. Lundi out of the corner of his mind, unnerved by the raving Quermian when they saw the Ebon Hawk come in for the landing. Almost as soon as it landed, the ramp lowered and Kastor came out, his grin fading as he took in Dr. Lundi.
"Master, it's good to see you," Obi-Wan said as Kastor approached them, and then he smiled, trying to hide his fear and unease lest the Master sense it. "You must have run from the cockpit to the ramp to greet us. Did you really miss me that much? You know we aren't supposed to have that type of attachment."
Kastor rolled his eyes as Anakin smiled, and Obi-Wan felt amusement from the boy.
"For your information, you impertinent brat, I let my new co-pilot land the ship," Kastor responded, "though I am at least willing to concede that it is good to see you . . . though that's more because you bring young Anakin with you."
Anakin laughed as he got his hair ruffled. Obi-Wan felt some of the fear recede just with Kastor's presence. Yes, he'd made the right decision to bring him in.
"Wait, co-pilot?" Obi-Wan said, realizing what Kastor had said.
"Yes, someone you both are probably somewhat familiar with," Kastor said with a sly grin. "He's just officially been assigned to me."
"Assigned to you?" Anakin asked in confusion.
"Let's get Dr. Lundi into the cell and then we'll cover some reintroductions," Kastor said, and Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded, guiding Lundi up into the ship. As they were about to turn towards the hold though, both Obi-Wan and Anakin spotted an N-1 Starfighter parked in the garage/hangar.
"Master Kastor, when did you get one of these?" Anakin asked, amazed, looking eager to jump back behind the controls of the first real starfighter he'd ever flown. "In fact, how did you get one of these?
"Please tell me you didn't buy this," Obi-Wan groaned, already thinking about how much complaining Master Windu would do and how much trouble Kastor would be in if he had bought the ship.
"No, it's my new co-pilot's craft," Kastor said, his sly grin still present.
Anakin marveled at the ship while Obi-Wan frowned thoughtfully, wondering who Kastor trusted enough to bring him on knowing his real identity and fake covers, let alone go undercover with him. They moved into the main hold and placed Dr. Lundi in the compartment in the main hold that was the refectory but could also be a holding cell if needed. Once the ray shields were in place, Obi-Wan relaxed a little bit, though he'd noticed Kastor glancing at both him and Dr. Lundi thoughtfully.
"I don't know what modifications you've done to her, but she flies like a dream, and I'm going to love getting to explore this ship more," a voice came from the cockpit and Obi-Wan turned in surprise to see a familiar face, though a person he didn't know all that well
"Rhys Dallows?" Anakin said, though Obi-Wan wasn't surprised that his Padawan was more familiar with the Bravo Flight pilot. Neither had known it at the time, but they'd been wing mates and been the only two members of the battle to get inside the Lucrehulk, and following the battle, Anakin had spent some time with the pilots, all of whom had been happy to take the fledgling apprentice under their wings.
"Well, if it isn't Lucrehulk's Bane," Dallows said, his face breaking into a smile. "It's good to see you, kid, or I guess I should call you Padawan Skywalker."
"Anakin's fine," Anakin replied, probably eager to escape both monikers. "What are you doing here?"
"You're Master Kastor's new crew member?" Obi-Wan asked in surprise.
"That I am, Knight Kenobi," Dallows replied with a respectful nod. "After the occupation . . . well, I decided I wanted to do more, so I joined up with the Antarian Rangers."
Obi-Wan felt surprised at that statement. The Antarian Rangers were not an easy organization to become a full member of and that also implied that Kastor had accepted Dallows being assigned to him, likely semi-permanently, since it was unlikely that Kastor had requested Dallows just for this assignment.
"Well, that's quite the accomplishment," Obi-Wan said, "and please, just call me Obi-Wan. Your family must be proud. The Antarians are very selective in who they take."
Dallows shrugged slightly. "I don't have any family to impress. My dad was a ship captain and he and his ship went missing when I was really young. I never really knew him. It was always assumed they were taken by pirates. My mom died when I was a teen. She got sick . . . and well there was nothing that could be done."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Obi-Wan replied softly, and Dallows nodded before turning to Kastor.
"I'll get the ship ready for liftoff and have Scrappy set course for Kodai."
"Thanks, Rhys," Kastor said, and the ex-Bravo pilot headed back towards the cockpit, with Anakin eagerly following, always ready to get another look into Kastor's ship, but Obi-Wan noticed that Rhys had given one last appraising look at Dr. Lundi before he left..
Obi-Wan could tell that Rhys had sized them all up and then already decided that Lundi was a real threat. It seemed the training of the Antarian Rangers was as thorough as he'd heard.
Kastor gave him a look and gestured for him to follow, guiding Obi-Wan towards the starboard dormitories.
"So, a co-pilot?" Obi-Wan asked, honestly wanting to put off whatever discussion Kastor wanted to have since he was pulling him into private.
"Yes, I really could use another person on this ship to help with my cover, and to help watch my back," Kastor admitted. "Hiring temporary crews helps sometimes, but it's risky, but I trust Rhys. He's a good man and a great pilot. That would be all I really need but his training makes him more than qualified to assist me, but now that's not why I led you back here."
"I suspected," Obi-Wan admitted dryly.
"First we'll start with how you are doing," Kastor said, taking a seat on one of the bunks, surprising Obi-Wan.
"Me?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, you. You're doing a marvelous job of concealing it, but I can sense your fear. I can tell you're nervous, so I want to hear about why. I want to know what it is about this mission that worries you," Kastor said firmly.
Obi-Wan sighed, staring into the grey piercing eyes that apparently Obi-Wan still couldn't hide anything from. He just hoped his Padawan hadn't noticed.
"Back- back when Qui-Gon and I first started this mission," Obi-Wan said softly, "nothing seemed to go right. Even from our first sighting of Dr. Lundi, things just seemed to go wrong. I struggled to focus, and I had a hard time controlling my anger. In fact, I had trouble controlling my anger nearly the entire mission, when I wasn't filled with fear that is. Looking back, I can tell that even Qui-Gon was frustrated, though he did a much better job of hiding it. We had no idea who we could trust, and at every corner it seemed we were finding new enemies, but we didn't even know if many of those encounters had anything to do with our mission, whether they were Lundi's followers, members of Sith Cults, or simply thugs with a grudge against us."
"At the time, what did you know of the Sith?" Kastor asked.
"The stories that got passed around the Temple, and what little history I'd studied of them," Obi-Wan admitted.
"So, am I right in assuming they were like ghost stories meant to frighten young initiates?" Kastor asked knowingly.
"Pretty close," Obi-Wan said with a nod.
"Thinking of that probably didn't help with all the mystery, confusion, and fear," Kastor commented.
"No, it didn't," Obi-Wan agreed glumly. "The problem is that this mission still makes me uneasy and now . . . well now I know that the Sith still exist and have an idea of what they are capable of."
"It makes it more real, and it makes the concept of the Sith getting the holocron much more terrifying," Kastor said, seeing the heart of Obi-Wan's worries.
"Yes," Obi-Wan whispered, "but it also makes me worry for my Padawan. The holocron scares me, but Anakin seems more interested in finding it. He wants to understand it, to figure out what could turn Dr. Lundi into what he's become. I worry about his anger . . . I don't know what to say to teach him the lesson about letting it go."
"What about the words that Qui-Gon said to you?" Kastor offered up.
"I can try," Obi-Wan admitted, "but I feel like more and more Anakin just shrugs off what I try to say to him."
"He's in the rebellious teenager phase, which combined with his upbringing, natural talent, and abilities makes him difficult," Kastor said, smiling softly. "He might shrug off what you say, but you'd be surprised what words do stick, and even if he doesn't utilize your teachings now, someday they will come back to him. Trust me on that."
Obi-Wan nodded, releasing some of his stress and unease into the Force. "Thank you, Master."
"Anytime, Obi-Wan. Anytime," Kastor said warmly.
The two Jedi moved back to the main hold, where Dr. Lundi continued to yell insults, though he did give an appraising look at Kastor before deciding he was another 'weak Jedi.'
Obi-Wan knew he needed to get some rest but thinking of Qui-Gon had stirred an old piece of advice, so he guided Kastor up to the cockpit where Anakin and Rhys were discussing the Ebon Hawk.
"I know we were setting a course for Kodai, but I just thought of a place where we might be able to get some information that will help us, since Dr. Lundi isn't being overly cooperative," Obi-Wan said, and his three teammates all looked at him with interest. "Let me contact Madam Jocasta and see if she can get a location for where some of the other known players from last time Qui-Gon and I went for the holocron are."
**The Will of the Force**
It didn't take long for Jocasta Nu to find two out of three of Dr. Lundi's prized students. Thankfully, both were on the same planet, making it easy for Rhys to shift course, and they reached it the next day, giving them several days before they needed to get to Kodai for low tide.
Rhys stayed with the ship to make sure nothing happened to it and watch over Lundi while Kastor, Rhys, and Anakin made their way to Omal's apartment.
"Omal was one of Lundi's brightest students," Obi-Wan explained to Anakin and Kastor. "One of his most devoted followers. I'm hoping he can give us information we can use to move forward."
Kastor was more than content to let Obi-Wan take the lead. He was familiar with the mission and the students, and he was the actual Knight assigned to the mission, unlike Kastor who was just helping out.
Once Omal opened the door, however, Kastor knew that not only would Omar likely not be very helpful, but they also didn't have to worry about him possibly being a threat. His clothing was dirty and disheveled. His shoulders were drooped, and his eyes were constantly darting about, as if looking at any one thing for too long was incredibly painful. Most importantly, it appeared as if Omal's mind was as scrambled as Lundi's.
"What do you want?" Omal asked, glancing at the Jedi's robes and his hands beginning to shake.
Kastor felt sadness radiate off of Obi-Wan and remembering Obi-Wan's description of Omal as having been one of Lundi's brightest students he could understand Obi-Wan's sorrow. Kastor could almost picture this shell of a man as a bright-eyed boy. This suggested to Kastor that Omal must have been near the holocron at some point, but did that mean the holocron was still on Kodai or was it long gone?
"We just want to talk with you, Omal," Obi-Wan said softly. "May we come in?"
Omal didn't say anything, but he turned away, leaving the door open for the Jedi to follow. The small living room had garbage strewn across the floor, and the furniture looked as if it would collapse at any moment. The air was stale and rank. Anakin waved a hand in front of his nose, but a sharp look from both Kastor and Obi-Wan put a stop to that real quick.
"We are Jedi on an important mission," Obi-Wan said softly. "We are trying to recover the Sith Holocron so that it can be kept safely. Did Professor Lundi ever mention the artifact to you?"
At the mention of the Holocron Omal began to moan softly, rocking back and forth on his heels. Kastor stepped forward, a concerned look on his face as the front door opened and Dedra, the second of Lundi's students came in with a bag of groceries. Kastor stopped his movements as they all looked at her.
Kastor felt Obi-Wan's relief at the sight of her, and a quick mental message from him confirmed that she was Dedra, the second of Lundi's old students. Kastor figured Obi-Wan's relief stemmed from the fact that Dedra seemed to be sane, though older and looking worn. Resting the bag of food on her hip, she gestured to them to follow her into the kitchen.
"We'll be right back," Obi-Wan said, excusing the three of them from Omal, and following Dedra into the kitchen.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan introduced. "This is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, and this Kastor Shan."
"Your names are unimportant," Dedra said with a sigh. "I know that you are a Jedi and suspect that you are looking for the Sith Holocron."
Obi-Wan nodded. "We wish to put it safely away - for good," he explained.
A look of sadness spread across Dedra's face. "That would be nice," she said. "It has already done so much damage to so many," She glanced towards the living room. "Omal's mental state is fragile," she explained. "It's best not to mention Lundi or the Holocron in his presence.
"I gathered that," Obi-Wan said guiltily. "Do you know what happened to him?"
Dedra turned away and began to unpack some of the groceries. It looked as though she was going to feed Omal a meal. "I only know that he hasn't been the same since Professor Lundi's sabbatical ten years ago," she said.
"And that is all you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at her pointedly.
Dedra sighed and her hands dropped into the water basin. "No, not all," she admitted.
The three Jedi waited patiently.
"Ten years ago, Omal followed Norval, another of Professor Lundi's star pupils, to Kodai. Norval was fixated on the Holocron and had secretly joined one of the sects obsessed with obtaining it. He figured out that Lundi was going after it, and decided the professor needed his help. Omal wanted to stop Norval from interfering with Dr. Lundi's attempt. He thought that the kind of power Lundi was talking about would be too much for Norval to handle."
Dedra switched off the water and turned toward Obi-Wan. "I don't know what happened, but it was obviously too much for Omal," she said in a whisper. "And since Lundi has been institutionalized ever since, I guess it was too much for him as well."
Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment. "Do you know what happened to Norval?" he finally asked.
A tortured look came into Dedra's eyes. "I don't know," she said mournfully. "But the best I can hope for is that he is dead."
Kastor felt shock emanate from Anakin at those words, and while Kastor didn't like hearing that type of outlook, he knew that there were far worse fates than death. It wasn't too surprising that Anakin didn't quite agree with that though. He was still young.
"We didn't know then that Norval had been obsessively studying Dr. Lundi's texts," Dedra explained. "He'd developed a taste for power, and he desperately wanted it. The teachings had changed him."
Kastor understood all too well what Dedra was talking about. He'd seen it firsthand himself both among his fellow Jedi and among the Sith while he was undercover.
The silence that followed Dedra's words was broken by the sound of whimpering and mumbling from Omal in the next room. His words were unclear, but his tone was desperate. Dedra looked concerned and was starting to move to the room when Anakin interjected, telling her that he'd check on him.
"Do you live here with him?" Kastor asked. "Is he normally able to function enough to survive on his own?"
Dedra's shoulders slumped as her face grew sad. "Yes, I live here, he and I . . . well, we fell in love while in Dr. Lundi's class. Just about the only good thing to come from that class," she muttered. "After he returned . . . well, I couldn't leave him, not like this," she finished with a whisper. "Yes, normally he's able to function more than this, at least enough to work a menial job. Recently, he's taken a turn for the worse. I just assumed it was because of the holocron."
Kastor nodded thoughtfully, taking a look at the woman who was going above and beyond to help the one she loved. If she was as brilliant as Obi-Wan implied, then she probably could have had a pretty good career and done much better than how she was living now.
"I can't make any promises, but if you'd like, I could see if I could help his mind," Kastor offered. "I don't know what the holocron did to him, but I might be able to apply a Force shield onto parts of his mind, which could possibly help him focus more.
Dedra's face morphed, looking a mixture of hopeful and dejected. She obviously wanted this more than anything, but she also didn't want to get her hopes up, already assuming it wouldn't work.
"What will it cost me?" she asked with a sigh.
"Nothing," Kastor said firmly, and her eyes widened in surprise. "If you wish, I can give it a try right now."
Dedra looked at him, assessing him before she finally nodded tersely. Kastor gave her an encouraging smile and then led Obi-Wan and Dedra back into the living room where Anakin was looking haunted by something while Omal had started shaking and almost crying, muttering much more rapidly.
Kastor approached Omal, who's face ducked away, seeming unable to look at Kastor for more than a moment. Kastor knelt by the man and then reached out with the Force, feeling the man's damaged presence.
Kastor pushed into the man's mind, feeling the madness and fear that was overwhelming the man's intelligence and normal functions. Following the fear to the source, he could feel where it emanated from his memories. Kastor started creating Force barriers around the contaminated memories, walling them off and then reinforcing the barriers. It wouldn't hold forever, but he could already feel Omal's mind starting to organize itself better as he pulled out.
Kastor realized that Omal had stopped muttered and crying and was now blinking, looking far more in control. Kastor could see that he still struggled to look at one thing for more than a few moments, until his eyes went to Dedra and then he didn't look away, his eyes softening, the fear mostly leaving his face.
"Om?" Dedra gasped, her hands over her mouth, tears at the corners of her eyes.
Omal nodded hesitantly before rising shakily only to get hugged fiercely by Dedra.
"Everything is so hazy," Omal muttered, holding on to Dedra like a lifeline.
"I blocked off a large group of memories that were overwhelming your mind," Kastor explained and Omal's eyes met Kastor's for a moment before he looked away. "It won't completely cure you, and it will only last a decade or two at the most, but I hope that you can at least enjoy life and each other a little bit more. If it starts waning, you can come to the Jedi and we will do what we can to repeat our work, and perhaps one of our Healers can do more."
"T-thank you," Dedra said with a sniffle while Omal nodded, his face a mixture of sadness and determination.
Before any more words could be exchanged, Kastor's comlink started going off, showing that Rhys was calling, so Kastor answered it.
"Someone tried to sabotage the Ebon Hawk," Rhys said without preamble, and Kastor exchanged startled looks with Obi-Wan and Anakin. "I managed to gun down two men, both of whom had Sith symbols tattooed into their arms, but another one got away, and one of the ones I gunned down dropped a bomb that went off. I don't know how much longer we're going to be welcome on this planet. In addition, Lundi seems prepared to talk."
"We'll be right there," Kastor responded, getting a nod from Obi-Wan.
**The Will of the Force**
The three Jedi rushed back to the landing bay where the Ebon Hawk was parked, finding the authorities there removing two bodies and talking to Rhys. There was a large crater in the pavement near where one of the bodies was being removed.
Rhys smiled tightly at them. "Lundi has been raving for the past half hour, talking about tides and an ancient object. I was about to comm you when I noticed three men approaching. When I exited the craft, they immediately engaged me, trying to keep me pinned while they attached the bomb they had to the hull."
"Thanks for not letting my ship get blown up," Kastor said with a sigh before he turned to Obi-Wan. "I'll stay here with Rhys and deal with the authorities. You go try and get some information out of Lundi."
"I'll check the exterior of the ship to make sure Rhys didn't miss anything," Anakin said, and Obi-Wan nodded before he boarded the ship and hurried over to where Lundi was still behind the ray shield in his cell.
Obi-Wan wanted this meeting to go well . . . no he needed it to go well.
"I've just been to see Dedra and Omal," Obi-Wan said calmly, watching Lundi closely for any sort of reaction to their names, but unfortunately not finding one. Lundi simply glared at him through the dark slit that was his visible eye.
Disappointed, Obi-Wan pushed on. "They had some interesting things to say about Norval."
This time, Obi-Wan got a reaction, but it wasn't what Obi-Wan had been expecting. The professor smiled evilly, his yellow decaying teeth showing. His face appeared frozen, and no matter what Obi-Wan did, he couldn't get that face to change, nor could he discern its meaning, not even with the Force.
Obi-Wan felt frustrated again. Lundi was like a blank wall. Though he was weaker than when Obi-Wan had first seen him ten years ago on Coruscant his mind was a puzzle. Obi-Wan could not access his thoughts, even with the Force. How could he figure out who was going after the holocron if the Quermian wouldn't cooperate.
"Norval was on Kodai with you," Obi-Wan said in a loud voice which echoed in the hold surprising both himself and Lundi. "As was Omal. You were all after the Holocron together."
Lundi leaned forward, as if about to speak. His face was pressed against the ray shield, but a moment later he sat back again, smiling smugly.
"You had the knowledge, but you needed these children to do your dirty work. To actually get it for you. You didn't think you could dive that deep alone. . ."
Obi-Wan desperately waited for Lundi to pick up the story, but he continued to refuse to do so. Obi-Wan suddenly felt the urge to break through the ray shield and rip the sneer right off of Lundi's face.
"We need to know if the Holocron is still in the crater!" Obi-Wan shouted. "We need to get to it before-"
Obi-Wan stopped himself. In his anger, he'd almost blurted out dangerous information. Lundi wouldn't know that since he'd been imprisoned that the Sith had actually returned.
Lundi's tiny head tilted to one side. "You are afraid, boy . . . but not of my students," he said leaning forward again. "No, there's something more. Something much bigger, much more horrifying." He spoke slowly, as if he wanted to make sure Obi-Wan caught every word. "The Sith," he said, sitting back again. His eye widened and Obi-Wan could see his large, black pupil. "You are afraid of the Sith, of their return."
Lundi sat back and cackled loudly. "You should be," he said.
Obi-Wan gazed steadily at Lundi. He knew the professor wanted him to say something, to acknowledge his fear. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. It was a couple minutes of silence before Lundi finaly spoke.
"I can tell you where the Holocron is," he said, sounding remarkably lucid. "I can even tell you how to get it. The question is, what can you do for me in return?"