Chapter Ten: The Massacre of Rioka City

The trip from Tatooine to Telos IV via public shuttle was a slow but necessary one. In fact, Obi-Wan and Cal switched transports several times throughout the trip just to make sure they couldn't be tracked back to the desert planet if they somehow got captured here. They hadn't spoken much throughout the trip other than making arrangements for their next steps but, Obi-Wan didn't mind it. He had to come up with a fast way to train the force sensitives how to hide their presence from others. Cal on the other hand was still processing Baylan Skoll's betrayal as well as discovering the truth about Anakin. Obi-Wan could guess Cal was closer than he should have been with Baylan's Padawan Bode from the way he danced around the topic yet, Obi-Wan saw no reason to pry. The Jedi Order was gone meaning the rules that once bound them together were also no more.

A feminine synthetic voice spoke from the comm above them, "Next stop Rioka City, Polar Regions. Estimated time of arrival, ten minutes."

Cal yawned stretching his arms out wide ready to get up, "Guess we better get our stuff huh?"

Obi-Wan noticed Cal rolling his right shoulder for the third time on the trip as he got up, "Already missing your droid?"

Cal chuckled slinging a bag over his opposite shoulder, "That obvious huh? BD's been sitting up there for the majority of the past six months but, it's probably good we didn't take him. He kinda makes me recognizable among the authorities."

"Do you have your transponder code with you in case he tries to make contact?" Obi-Wan asked just to make sure they weren't going to miss an emergency if there was one.

Cal fished the device out from under one of his sleeves, "I have it right here. I'm more worried about how we're going to get inside the facility to meet the force sensitives. I doubt they're going to let us right in to start an underground hiding from the Empire club."

Obi-Wan gathered his own bag from the ceiling compartment thinking about how he was going to formulate a plan. If this was in the time of the Clone Wars, he probably would've followed Anakin rushing into the facility to save as many force sensitives as possible and hope reinforcements came changing in behind them. Unfortunately, Anakin wasn't here, and he didn't have an army to support him anymore. How could he plan an infiltration without any resources? It didn't help that he spent ten years on Tatooine, so he had no idea what an Outer Rim Imperial garrison looked like. That said, telling Cal the truth that he had no idea what to do was unacceptable. This Padawan came to him for help, Obi-Wan needed to show him leadership even if he didn't feel like he had it in him anymore. He had to go back to his days on Mandalore listening to Clan Kryze as they planned assaults on Keldabe with Qui Gon. The information was decades old and in a different context but, he had to hope it was still relevant.

He did his best to make the speech sound natural as possible even though he was merely reciting it mostly from memory, "We need a base of operations to be able to observe the facility. See patrol patterns, look for weak points, and then find any exits we can use to get the kids out. We're probably only going to have a single night to get all of the force sensitives without being noticed."

"So, what about a hotel room? This is a mining facility, but the officials have to stay here to on a temporary basis." Cal suggested bouncing on his heels ready to get out of the shuttle as soon as possible.

Obi-Wan stood in front of the shuttle door looking over the city as they slowly started to land, "It won't be large enough to house all of the force sensitives though it would be a good place to start. We should find somewhere to stay before we investigate anything."

Rioka City sat at the base of a tall, jagged mountain that sported small golden lights all across its surface. The Imperial Mine was larger than he could've possibly imagined stretching a mile in each direction in a large square. A long zig zagging path trailed down from the top of the mountain all the way to the bottom to an industrial dig site center. Tiny dots of people or machine equipment seemed to be constantly going up and down the path with the mining focused on the top of the mountain. The confidence he had exuded a few moments ago died in his throat fully understanding the sheer scale of the problem before them. How was he and a single Padawan supposed to get inside to rescue potentially hundreds of force sensitives by themselves? Obi-Wan decided the only bright side was that in a town with a population of twenty thousand the two of them would be able to blend in well enough.

Obi-Wan noticed Cal's surprise and discomfort at the size of the base meeting it with a smirk, "I'll take it then you didn't know much about this base before crash landing next to my home?"

Cal shook his head rubbing the back of his neck with a free hand, "I only heard about it from some Stormtroopers on Mustafar if I'm honest. Looks like we're going to have our hands full though."

"The entire mine can't be only manned by force sensitives; the base is too large for that to make sense. We'll just have to figure out some way to separate them from the rest of the population." Obi-Wan explained wishing he still had access to midichlorian testing on a massive scale.

The shuttle transport landed prompting the synthetic announcer to declare, "We have arrived in Rioka City. Please exit the transport so that we can depart in an orderly fashion. Next stop Kijimi."

Obi-Wan motioned for Cal to follow him as the sliding door opened, "Let's get closer to the mine to see if there's somewhere we can stay."

As the two of them walked onto the surface of Telos IV for the first time, Obi-Wan was struck by how cold everything was. And not just the temperature which was admittedly the exact opposite of Tatooine's twin suns. The people of Rioka hardly acknowledged them, going about their business in hurried movements. While Mos Eisley didn't have a lot of smiles, civilians would talk about the sports games or Tuskan raids on moisture farms. Obi-Wan assumed all planets under direct Imperial occupation had a similar atmosphere of despair. The two Jedi drifted through an apparent thickening crowd as they got closer to the mine. At first it was hard to tell what was going on until they heard a chant rolling back towards them from a few blocks ahead. The increasingly loud cry was making a single unrelenting demand, 'No more Empire!' Although Tatooine wasn't the best parameter for measuring sentiments on Imperial authority, Obi-Wan was certain this kind of display of disobedience was rare.

He made sure to pull his hood up over his face as several phase two Clone Troopers rushed past him, "C'mon get to the front of the crowd. Move! Move! Move!"

"Are those Clones?" Cal whispered questioningly in his ear for some reason.

Obi-Wan glanced back at him raising a skeptical eyebrow, "Why wouldn't they be?"

Cal looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, "The Emperor was phasing out the use of the Clones around five years ago in exchange for Human conscripts. If old Clones are what we're dealing with the garrison is barebones."

Obi-Wan hadn't heard about such a radical military change within the Imperial ranks though he shouldn't be that surprised. Tatooine sat in control of Jabba and as a result would never submit to Imperial conscription demands. He wondered why Telos IV was different though Obi-Wan assumed it had to do with galactic geography more than anything else. Telos was in the northern edge of the Outer Rim, far away from the luxuries of the Core. Security could be weaker out here and no one of importance would know the difference. He assumed that if the Empire wasn't mining something on that mountain, they might not have a garrison here at all. A part of the reason the Empire was able to keep control of the galaxy was that they were able to make most citizens feel normal. Extended occupations like the one on Telos IV went against that philosophy. Still, Clones shouldn't be underestimated since they were responsible for the death of the Order on a practical level.

As another trooper squad pushed past them to get to the front of the rally, Cal tapped his shoulder and tilted his head towards a sign that had caught his attention. Following his gaze, Obi-Wan spotted an advertisement for an extended stay hotel down a side street. They wouldn't have the best view of everything unless they went to the roof which wasn't ideal. However, with the protest crowd getting rowdy it would be a good idea for the two of them to get away before Clones associated then with the mob. The hotel definitely wasn't going to be the best place he had ever slept through it probably wasn't the worst either. A cheap durasteel exterior gave him the impression that the hotel could collapse at any moment. The Empire must've built Rioka City as quickly as possible to house those working on the mine. He just hoped they were used to seeing strangers or this might be a quick end to the mission.

When the two of them entered, a young Twi'lek on his datapad was sitting at the front desk, "Welcome to the Kenobi Inn... I'm Zarteen, what do you want?"

Obi-Wan's first reaction was to flinch at the revelation he had been recognized, except he hadn't been. The Twi'lek still had his gaze on his datapad while speaking in a dull rehearsed tone as though he said it quite often. Obi-Wan came to the understanding that this hotel must've belonged to his birth family, no matter how much of a coincidence that seemed. Since he was brought to the Temple on Coruscant when he was three months old, Obi-Wan knew nothing about where he came from or their beliefs. It was forbidden for a Padawan to even ask questions about them so, he couldn't blame himself for wandering in here without knowing. That said, the fact that the Kenobi family were allowed to operate a business on Telos meant they were loyal to the Empire. Vader would have killed them otherwise feeling it was justified after Padmè's death. The two of them needed to get out of here in case he was recognized, there was surely somewhere else they could sleep.

Unfortunately, Cal felt like he had to fill the silence to hide Obi-Wan's shock, "One room, two beds, three months. Got anything like that?"

Zarteen spoke before Obi-Wan could come up with an excuse as to why they couldn't stay here, "Yeah, I think we've got what you need. It's on the top floor though so you might be stuck listening to Imperial kyber haulers all night long though."

"We work night shift on the mine so that won't be a problem, how much?" Cal spoke with such confidence that Obi-Wan almost believed they somehow already secured work.

Zarteen ran the tip of his lekku through his fingers trying to come up with a number on the fly, "Three months?" When Cal bowed his head in the affirmative the man continued, "Five thousand credits flat."

Obi-Wan took this as his opportunity to step in, "Pfft, five thousand? As members of the Empire, we should receive a bigger discount than that. Let's look around for somewhere cheaper."

Cal glanced back at him with a serious expression, "I got it." He placed a five thousand credit chit down on the table as though it was nothing, "Can I get keys to the room?"

Zarteen groaned reluctantly getting up from his seat to grab the keys, "Like I said top floor. And don't go complaining to me if the sound is too much, I did warn ya." Before they could head to the turbolift he raised a finger, "Gonna need names to put on the registration, so I don't book the room twice."

Once again Cal spoke with the ease of a natural liar, "I'm Bode Akuna, that's my older brother Dar."

Obi-Wan still didn't love staying on a property that apparently belonged to his family. Ten years in the Tatooine suns may have added a few more wrinkles but, he was still the same person. If any of his family members watched vids during the Clone Wars, they would know who he was if they crossed paths. He was also concerned this could be a trap given their proximity to the force sensitives. It wouldn't be the first time Vader used his name to lure Jedi to their deaths. However, Cal had taken the initiative from him, so it was too late back out now. He considered chastising the Padawan for taking the lead though he ultimately decided against it. Cal was clearly smart enough to think on his feet in a crisis. Qui Gon always told him to trust in the force, this was his opportunity to do so for once.

When the turbolift door closed, Obi-Wan regarded him with a raised brow, "I assume Bode Akuna is the same Bode you were forced to kill on Tatooine? Did he teach you to lie so well?"

Cal rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed by something, "He worked for Republic Intelligence during the war, at least that's what he told me anyway. I think everything he told me during those six months was a lie except for that. His superior always told him to have an exit strategy if things got rough and I took that to heart. Stole a good twenty thousand credits from his cabin on Baylan's ship before it crashed. We'll be set for a while if we're careful."

Obi-Wan was surprised to hear a Jedi had been part of the Republic Intelligence Services, though the war had called for desperate measures. It was his understanding that Jedi were prohibited from the RIS since it forced Jedi to be deceitful and go against the Jedi Code in a variety of ways. Back in the earliest days of Anakin's training, Obi-Wan remembered a scandal involving a Jedi medic falling for a Mandalorian as part of her mission to infiltrate the group. The Jedi Council had been willing to hear her case out, at least before they discovered she was pregnant and determined to start a family on Mandalore. Needless to say, she was exiled and stripped of her abilities but, Obi-Wan wondered what happened to her since then. He also wondered what would convince the Council to allow someone else to join the agency though in the end it didn't matter. They had a job to do now.

The room they were staying in certainly wasn't worth the five thousand credit admission fee. Obnoxiously green paint was peeling off the rusting durasteel walls. The only window in the room had been shattered at some point leaving the two of them exposed to the elements of the Polar Region. Every step he took inside the room created a strange creaking sound as though the floor was threatening to give way at any moment. The 'beds' were merely two stone slabs without any pillows and a single brown blanket on top of them. He didn't want to even begin to contemplate the smell coming from the fresher. All told, Obi-Wan was used to sleeping in far worse conditions during the Clone Wars though he felt sorry for any poor soul who paid so many credits in exchange for terrible accommodations.

Cal put his bag on one of the stone slabs with a shrug, "Good thing neither of us intends on spending the rest of our lives here."

Obi-Wan was about to respond when an ear drum shattering explosion shook the building to its foundations. Without a word, both of them rushed up the stairs to get to the roof access. His heart pounding with every step he took not anticipating something so drastic happening as soon as they got here. A heavy black plume of smoke drifted over the gate to the industrial center in front of the mine itself. The protest they tried to avoid a few minutes ago must've turned violent. Throughout the cries of pain in the streets Obi-Wan swore he could still hear the chant, 'No more Empire!' To his surprise, a young Human male with incredibly short black hair seemed to be leading the protest. What was even more shocking was the fact that he was using the force to wave the flag of Telos far above protesters heads.

"Tonight, we save the lost!" The late teen shouted marching towards the front entrance of the mine.

Cal started to make a move to jump off of the hotel roof, "We've gotta help them!"

Obi-Wan quickly placed a hand on his chest to stop him from jumping, "Wait, wait, wait! We can't rush in there without a plan. Let this play out a little more first."

Just as he suspected a squad of heavily armed Clone Troopers emerged from the lower door of the mine, "Open fire!"

Since none of the protesters appeared to be armed, Obi-Wan was prepared to see a slaughter play out in front of his eyes. He had seen many innocent beings be killed by Battle Droids throughout the Clone Wars. What he wasn't prepared for was to see each blue blaster bolt stopped in midair by the leader of the protests. It was as if an invisible wall stopped each blaster bolt in its tracks to leave it hovering in the middle of the air. He was groaning on his knees with both arms outstretched to create a wall between him and the other civilians. Who could've taught this force sensitive boy to catch at least a hundred shots coming towards him? Master Yoda wasn't even capable of something so extraordinary. The crowd decided this was their chance to charge forward knowing they outnumbered the Clones.

Obi-Wan was about to let Cal go when he saw a Clone he recognized take the front of the pack. His golden visor and miniature jetpack made him stand out from the rest of the crowd. Cody was here and in charge of the garrison. Obi-Wan almost ducked down from the rooftop though it was clear the Commander had his eye on a single target. He lifted his pistol and fired a stun bolt straight at the force sensitive teenager. It was a genius attack seeing as the teen didn't register the stun blast as a threat. When he went down, all of the other bolts were free to zip to their marks in a single flash. Cal clapped a hand to his mouth in horror, at least a hundred civilians were dead on the street.

It was a bloody massacre, and it was partially their fault...