Author: Chaos
Rating:
Disclaimer: Qui-gon and Obi-wan and the universe they come from, along with their vehicle and all their luggage belong to George Lucas exclusively. They are respectfully borrowed with no intent to profit thereby or infringe on the copyright thereof.



Section 6

�So, you guys can enhance your senses, strengthen your muscles, read other people�s emotions, get early warnings of danger,� Debrah took a wary taste of the boiling hot contents of the pot she was currently seasoning and tried to keep from stepping on the cat underfoot. Koshka was winding in and around the woman�s ankles, hoping for a choice tidbit to fall to the floor, but still studiously avoiding the men. �What else can you do with the Force?�

�Control pain, heal, meditate, telekinetics.� Obi-wan answered absently as he tempted fate and tested his reflexes by playing with Portia, dangling his Padawan braid just over her head.

�Telekinetics?� She paused a moment to think about that. �Really?�

�Yes,� Qui-gon answered her. �But, it seems, that while we have not lost the ability here, it is at the very least severely hampered.�

�Hmm, well, there�s been all sorts of hoaxes involving people who claimed to be able to bend spoons with the force of their minds alone, but very few. There are many more stories of mothers who heard their children cry out in distress over long distances, or men and women who felt the instant of their lover�s death. There are doctors and nurses who are said to have healing hands, and soldiers who are said to have developed inhuman sensory perception due to their combat experiences.� Debrah added a little more garlic salt to the pot and stirred it. �Perhaps your ability is handicapped here because that aspect of the Force just isn�t strong here. Of course,� she shrugged away her own theory. �I�m not all that familiar with the Force so I could be way off base. I�m only an engineer, after all.�

�No, that seems to be a sound theory. The rest of our abilities have not suffered in any way.�

The phone rang, interrupting them, and Obi-wan dropped his braid to pick it up. Portia took advantage of the situation to latch her claws firmly into the dangling plaything and began to gnaw on it vigorously. Debrah added a pinch more pepper to the simmering pot while stirring the contents and moved it to the back burner on the stove-top. She wiped her hands off on a towel and listened as the young man answered just as she had told him to.

�Hello?� There was a pause. �May I ask who is calling, please?� He held the handset out to her. �He says his name is Leigh.�

Debrah�s face lit up with a wide smile. �My oldest brother.� she responded as she took the phone from him. �Hey, dude. What�s up?�

�Who was that who picked the phone up?� The welcome and familiar deep voice held a note of suspicion in it.

�A friend.� she replied as she leaned against the counter. She suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically as Obi-wan sought to extricate his braid from Portia�s claws.

�Is he from out of town?� he asked, a strange intensity in his voice.

�Yeah, sure. It�s just a couple of mom�s cousins from Scotland. Why?� Debrah was aware that her brother knew very well that mom had no cousins in Scotland. All their Scottish blood came from their father. She�d said it deliberately as a warning. Leigh used to listen in on Russian radio signals for the military. He knew just how easily any sort of signal could be intercepted. She hoped he would get the message and was rewarded when there was a thoughtful pause before he spoke again.

�You remember that conversation we had at Christmas break about the place that doesn�t exist that my buddy from Counter Intelligence got recruited to?�

Debrah frowned thoughtfully. She and her brother talked about everything, even things he probably shouldn�t have told her. The result was there were several conversations that could have fit the bill, but only one that stuck in her mind. �Never, Never Land? Sure.�

�He got word to me just a little while ago that the Pirates are looking for Dellon.�

�Dellon? What�s he done that they�d want to talk to him about?� The blond couldn�t think of any reason why government spooks from Area 51 would want to talk to her cousin.

�I don�t know, but my friend mentioned something about a license plate.�

Debrah gasped in realization. Her eyes turned toward her two guests even as she spoke. �Leigh, I put the Nevada plates back on the car just before I came back. I figured since I was coming back through that state there was no harm in it. Leigh, someone in the DMV must not have pushed the proper papers through if they think that set of plates still belongs to Dellon.� She watched the two Jedi look at each other again. She could almost see the thoughts flying back and forth between them.

�Be careful, Dee. You�re the only one I�ve told about this. And we could all be in serious trouble if the Pirates found out that you have a Peter Pan with you and that my friend and I are acting like Lost Boys and helping you.�

�Who says I have a Peter Pan? I just got home from school and I�m taking some much needed vacation time before going to work full time.�

�Don�t play games.� he interrupted sharply. �We both know that you attract trouble like an industrial strength magnet. Who else but you would be in the wrong place at the right time to pick up a hitchhiking Peter Pan? You�re the only one in the world that would keep such a thing secret. Anyone else, and I do mean anyone, would have blabbed it to the National Enquirer by now. Please, be careful.�

�I will. Don�t worry, Leigh, I can take care of myself. And I don�t intend to tell a soul. About my uneventful drive across the desert or about this conversation. Anyone who asks will be told that it was you checking in on me about Mom and Dad.� She decided to play the game a little more, just for her brother�s benefit. �Of course, I don�t know why they would want to talk to me either. I haven�t done anything wrong, I�ve just got a couple of Mom�s cousins staying with me for a while, to keep me company after the funeral.�

�Okay then. Well, you take care of yourself all the same. I�ll let you know if I hear anything else.�

�Bye, dude. Take care and give the kids a hug for me.�

�Will do.�

The connection died and Debrah dropped the phone back onto the recharger stand, her eyes still riveted to the two Jedi in her kitchen. Her eyes darted to the clock display on the microwave. 8:23. Eight hours difference between California and London. Leigh was calling her at just past four in the morning his time. He felt this was important enough that he couldn�t wait another couple of hours to call her. This was just too weird. No, she wasn�t going to tell anyone because there was no one in their right mind who would believe her.

Leigh used to work for the Army, Counter Intelligence. He�d gotten an early discharge during all the mid 90's military cut-backs. A couple of his buddies had as well, but one in particular had landed back on his feet in no time at all. Recruited by Area 51 to help spread misinformation and cover the agency�s tracks, he still kept in touch with Debrah�s brother on occasion. Obviously this was one of those occasions.

�Debrah? What is wrong?� Qui-gon interrupted her preoccupied thoughts.

�Hmm? Oh,� she gazed around the room, looking for inspiration. �Um, how do I explain this?�

�Slowly and with detail is usually a good bet.� Obi-wan suggested, eyes dancing with humor.

Debrah made a face at him, but his impertinent quip had given her a second to collect her thoughts. �Ok, well,� she took a deep breath. �There are rumors that quite a few years ago a spaceship crashed in the south-western United States. There were other rumors about a secret government agency that cloaks itself in fabricated rumors and outrageous stories to hide the truth of its existence. The job of that agency is to investigate and cover up everything that has anything to do with real extra-terrestrials, that�s anyone not from Earth.� she explained for them. �Anyway, my brother has a friend who works with these people.� A sickly smile twisted her lips. �That�s how I know that they�re more than just rumors. He gave my brother a call and told him that they were looking for my cousin, Dellon. Only, it�s not really Dellon they�re looking for.� Debrah closed her eyes.

�It�s me.�

�Why?�

The blond started to pace back and forth on the kitchen�s tile floor. �I inherited my grandfather�s car, but Dellon wanted something a little heavier duty than what he had because he was going to be living in Alaska. So we traded cars. He got grandpa�s car and I got his. They probably have a satellite photo of most of the cars that passed through the area we were in yesterday and they�re probably checking into everyone, but right now they think they�re looking for my cousin instead of me which will give us a little time.� She paused in her pacing. �Maybe more than a little since Dellon�s a bush pilot. He�s gone for days, even weeks at a time flying people into remote areas for vacations and things. If we�re lucky, Ruth, his wife, went with him this time and it�ll take them a day or three to catch up with him and find out where they went wrong.�

�And when they come to talk to you?� Qui-gon asked quietly.

�We�ll just have to make sure we�ve gotten your ship fixed by then.� She sighed. �And speaking of your ship, we�ll need to plan to go out to Nevada again so that I can take a look at it and see what we can do about it.�

�No,� Qui-gon corrected her, �All we need to do is turn on the beckon-call.�

�Beckon-call?�

�Yes.� The tall man pulled a silvery cylinder from the back of his belt. �Our ship is fully slave-rigged. It will home in on the beckon and fly itself here.�

Debrah�s face took on a skeptical look. �Not that I think it won�t work, but I�m not so sure that�s a good idea. What if someone sees it? The military could follow it straight here.�

�It has full stealth capability.� Obi-wan offered. �The question is where would we put it once it got here.�

�That, at least, is an easy one.� Debrah answered as she turned and gave the pot on the stove a final stir before taking it in to the dining room and placing it on the table. �We can put it down in the canyon. I own about five acres of hillside here and I�m sure there�s a level enough spot down there where no one will see it to park your ship on.�

�Debrah?� Obi-wan asked carefully. �If you knew about this agency and its purpose, why did you find it so hard to accept that our story might be true?�

Debrah sighed deeply. �Obi-wan, if you spend any time here, and pray very hard that you won�t, you will learn that the majority of Americans are very cynical about our government. For some reason, only sleazy shysters want the job of running the country and so we are often forced to pick the lesser of the evils when election time rolls around. As a result we are very familiar with the stupid things a government can do. Knowing that the government spends vast amounts of money on a project and believing that there might be a logical reason behind that project are two entirely different, and often mutually exclusive, things.�

*******

After dinner, Qui-gon wandered outside to take a walk through the wooded back yard. The sun was setting through the trees and cast a warm pinkish glow on everything. Debrah warned him to watch his footing and asked that he get back before it started really getting dark. Then she turned on one of her celtic CDs and sat herself on the family room floor, her back against the couch. Obi-wan finished drying and putting away the dishes, then wandered in and sat down next to her on the couch.

�This is lovely music.�

�Yes, I find that it can be either soothing or energizing,� she grinned up at him, �depending on my mood.�

�And how do you find it now?�

�Soothing. Right now, I need soothing.�

�I can imagine. It has been an unusual day.�

�No kidding.� she sighed. �I keep expecting to wake up from this dream in my school apartment, or from this delusion in a hospital bed. It�s all so hard to believe, and yet it�s true.� Debrah reached her right hand across to rub at her left shoulder while she rolled it experimentally, trying to ease the ache that seemed to have lodged there permanently.

�You hit the mat pretty hard this morning.� The young man�s tone made it more of a question than a statement.

�That�s only a minor part of the problem.� Debrah explained. �I fell on it a couple of years ago, hurt it pretty bad. It never quite healed properly.�

The Padawan swung one leg over her head and slid over behind her. �Allow me.� His hands brushed her hair to one side and his fingers began to gently knead the muscles of her neck and shoulders.

�Oh. My. Goodness.� Debrah let her head loll limply on her neck, her chin resting on her chest. �Do you have any idea just how good that feels?� she asked.

The Force swirled briefly and she felt a soft touch brush her mind. His smile was evident in his voice as he answered. �Yes.�

She couldn�t help but smile back. �You are a cheeky punk, Obi-wan Kenobi. But, I like you. No matter what anybody else says about you.� His talented fingers found a troublesome knot and gently massaged it away. Debrah gave a low moan of pleasure and sighed.

�Are you usually in this much pain?� the Jedi inquired.

�No, but I confess, this has been a most unusual day.�

�True, it has indeed.�

�Where did you learn how to do that so well?�

�My friend Bant is a healer. She taught Garen and myself how to do this so that we could all minster to each other after a hard day of training. I must admit that we got a lot of practice.�

�Sparring with Qui-gon? I�ll just bet you did.� A quiet chuckled welled up from her. �I saw you hit the mat a couple of times yourself, today. You and your friends must have taken quite a lot of falls when you first started training.�

�Yes, we did. And took great pleasure in regaling each other with all the embarrassing details.�

�And playing one-upmanship about who�s master was hardest on who, I�d wager.�

�That�s about the way it went.�

When Qui-gon returned from his walk, Debrah showed the two Jedi where they could set their ship down in the bottom of the canyon. �Once it gets really dark, there shouldn�t be any problem in moving it. How long will it take to get here?�

�An hour or so at most.� Obi-wan replied. �It might take a little while to get it through the trees and set it down quietly, but it will not be a problem.�

�Well, in that case, I�m going to bed. Try not to slam the door when you come in.� Debrah handed Qui-gon the flashlight and picked her way back up the slope.

*******

�Sir,� the worker fidgeting in front of the desk was glad that it wasn�t the suited man he was reporting this news to. �We tracked this one down and there�s been some sort of mixup. Those plates are supposed to be retired. They did belong to the guy we thought, but he traded cars with his cousin a little over two years ago. She lives in California at last report.�

�Two years? We�ve got to do something about the blasted DMV. They can�t get anything right anymore.� Bradley took off his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose in weariness. �Ok, find the cousin and check her out. It�s probably just another wild goose chase, but we have to follow every single one of these leads though to the end.� He sighed the deep sigh of the put-upon. �Dismissed.�

�Yes, sir.�




Section 7