Jedi Go Home
Part 4
The next night, Ben and Rixi waited until there had been silence from the master bedroom for a good hour, then met in the hall and moved as quietly down the stairs as they could. No one seemed to notice as they slipped out of the house and removed their bicycles from the shed, making as little noise as possible. The night air was crisp and the wind blew the fallen leaves along the streets."We should ride on the sidewalks,�Rixi suggested.�If we see a Getter patrol coming, we can dump the bikes in somebody�s garden and hide in the shadows.�
Ben nodded agreement, and they set off, the rubber tires making almost no sound at all on the smooth paving stones. That evening, Rixi had covered the reflectors of each bicycle with tape, so that a stray beam of light would not be enough to give them away, and they were both wearing the darkest clothes that they owned. There was only the one busy street that they had to cross, where the Getter patrols were most likely to be, and Rixi had already marked the dark place between two streetlamps which would afford them the most cover. It had been quite fun, that afternoon, riding up and down the streets until he was familiar enough with them to find his way back alone. They�d stopped at the corner opposite the mayor�s estate, close enough for him to get a good look at it, and yet not so close as to attract attention. While they�d been there, Ben had spotted a Getter patrol coming towards them from the left hand side of the estate, and instictively, he had leaned over and kissed Rixi, locking lips with her until the three Getters had gone by, saying only,�Move along, little lovers.�
Reluctantly releasing him from the kiss, Rixi had giggled,�Come on, little lover, let�s do as they say.�
Laughing together, they�d got on their bicycles and ridden down the street the Getters had just come up, turning at the next corner.
"Lead the way home, Ben,�Rixi had commanded, still smiling, and Ben had done just that, feeling extraordinarily pleased with himself, not only for being able to do so, but especially for thinking of the kiss in time to deflect suspicion from them and for the fact that Rixi had enjoyed kissing as much as he had. It had been a wonderful afternoon.
It was a heady feeling, to be out after curfew, riding along in the dark, knowing that he was going to do something to help convince the Getters to leave the planet. It was only a small thing, but it was a first step in the right direction, and the knowledge left inside of Ben a conviction of doing something right and good. He smiled to himself as he pedalled, thinking of the day before, when the Getters had forced him to stand with his hands against the wall and call himself an idiot. One day soon, he told himself, there wouldn�t be any more of that. There wouldn�t be any Getter patrols in the city, or any curfew, and people could walk around without having to worry about being harassed. He was helping it come about.
They reached the estate without incident, and stopped on the same corner where they had paused in the afternoon. Ben glanced up and down the street. No one was visible, and except for the light wind, there was no sound.
"You stay here,�he said to Rixi.�Keep watch. If you see someone coming, get my attention. Here, find a rock and throw it at me. Whatever you do, don�t call out.�
Rixi nodded, and began glancing around for a small stone. As she parked her bike and walked back to the garden of the nearest house, Ben took another look at the street, then pedalled across it and pulled the can of paint from the back of his belt. Removing the lid and shaking it, he began to spray large letters on the wall that surrounded the estate. GETTERS GO HOME. When he�d finished, he looked around again. It had begun to rain in the meantime, but other than that, there was no change, and he turned back to the wall, determined to add his own, personal message to the others who were looking for him.
He�d just finished the M in JEDI GO HOME when something hit him in the back. Turning around quickly, he glanced over to Rixi, who was gesturing to her right. There! A Getter patrol was coming slowly down the street. They were still far away and on foot, and Ben did not hesitate. Stuffing the paint can back into his belt, he leaped onto the bicycle and began to pedal madly up the street, away from both the patrol and Rixi. There was a shout from behind, and an energy bolt flew past him just before he turned the corner.
Moving as fast as he could, Ben turned the next corner to the right, then left again, crossing the busy street at a point much farther away than where they had gone over earlier. From here, Ben chose a route that would take him home, but have him arrive from the opposite direction, silently thanking Rixi for her foresight in showing him the area. He had just pulled up in front of the shed when Rixi arrived as well, panting slightly from the exertion and the excitement.
"Did you have to write �Jedi go home� too?�she asked caustically, opening the shed as quietly as she could.�We could have been long gone before that patrol came.�
"Yes,�he said,�I had to.�
"Did you know they were shooting at you? What if they�d hit you?�
"Then I�d be dead,�he shrugged.
"It was a stun beam, so you wouldn�t be dead. Well, not unless you�d broken your neck when you crashed your bike.�
"Then I�d be in prison now, I guess.�
Rixi kicked him in the ankle.�I don�t want you to go to prison, Ben!�
"Neither do I, and thanks to you, I�m not, so there.�
"What do you mean?�
"Your plan for helping me know the streets. It worked. I got home all right. If I hadn�t known where to go, I probably would have gone around in a circle and run right into them again. So, thanks.�
"You�re welcome,�Rixi scowled.�Come on, let�s get inside before they come by and see us arguing out here.�
"Who�s arguing?�Ben followed her into the house.
"I�m not,�said Dr. Maethum, looming up suddenly ahead of them. Rixi gave a small shriek of surprise.
"And neither are you,�the doctor continued, glaring at them.�Rixi, get to bed. You are grounded for the next two weeks. After school, you will come straight home and here you will stay. No going out, and no friends in. And Ben will not bring you ice cream from the shop, either.�
"But, Dad, he needed my help!�
"I don�t want to hear it, Rixi! As for you, Ben, you�re old enough to make your own decisions about joining the Resistance, but Rixi is not, and will not be until she�s turned twenty one.�
"Twenty, Dad.�
"I say twenty one. This little escapade to-night has scared ten years off my life, lying there wondering if you�re going to get arrested and interrogated. The least you can do is give me back one year of it. As for you, Ben--�
"I apologise, Uncle Fulk. It won�t happen again.�Ben spoke quickly, wanting to appease the man�s anger before the doctor decided to throw him out, or worse.�She insisted on coming with me, and then she did warn me of the patrol in time--�
"Patrol!�the man roared.�You ran into a patrol?�
Ben and Rixi exchanged guilty glances and then Rixi said,�He ran away from them, Dad, not into them. I�ve never seen anybody pedal a bicycle as fast as Ben was going. It was like he had legs of lightning, Dad! Rugged! They never even saw me, they were gaping at him so much! So don�t worry! Anyway, they�re probably still back there by the estate, wondering which way he went.�
"I ought to take my belt to both of you,�Dr. Maethum growled.�Except that I know it wouldn�t work on Rixi, and you�re too old for it, Ben.�
"Uncle Fulk, how old do you think I am?�Ben asked, seized by sudden curiosity.
Dr. Maethum frowned at the change of subject.�Older than eighteen, but younger than twenty one, I�d guess.�
"Let�s say he�s nineteen, Dad, and we could celebrate his twentieth birthday next week,�Rixi suggested. �You�d have to let me out to buy him a birthday present, though.�
"Celebrate?�the doctor roared.�You two sneak off in the middle of the night, run into a Getter patrol, almost get yourselves arrested, and you expect me to think about letting you off being grounded so that you can buy birthday presents and have a party? Rixiar Maethum, you are trying my patience with a vengeance!�
"Sorry, Dad. I was just trying to think of doing something nice for Ben. Just think how awful it would be if you woke up and didn�t know when your birthday was, and nobody would know when to give you any presents!�
"Just think how awful it would be if you woke up in a Getter prison, Rixi!�Dr. Maethum almost shouted.�Think how awful it would be if the Jedi got their hands on you! The Getters wouldn�t have to interrogate you then, the Jedi would just read your thoughts and know everything you know, including the fact that I�m in the Resistance, too! Then they�d come and arrest me, and your poor mother would be here alone for the rest of her life! Think how awful it would be to wake up every morning and know that it�s all your fault because you snuck out one night when your parents told you not to! Or think how awful it would be never to wake up again because you�ve been executed! You�re just too young for this sort of thing, Rixi.�
Subdued at last, Rixi glanced at the floor, one hand agitatedly twisting her braid.�Sorry, Dad.�
"And Ben, the next time you want to do something for the Resistance, tell me in advance, don�t just sneak out. Then I can get up and make sure that Rixi is still in bed, or at least in her room.�
"Yes, Uncle Fulk. I really am sorry, and it won�t happen again.�
"All right, go to bed, you two. We�ll talk about birthdays in the morning.�
As they went up the stairs, Ben asked,�Rixi, what�s a birthday present?�
She turned around to stare at him.�You honestly don�t remember birthday presents? Not even the basic concept?�
"No.�
"Well, you do remember what a birthday is, don�t you?�
"The day of the year that marks the anniversary of when you were born,�Ben said slowly, half remembering and half figuring it out from the word itself.
"Right. Well, on your birthday, you usually have a party, with a special birthday cake and ice cream, and the members of your family and your friends give you presents, things you want or need. Dad and Mum gave me a new bicycle when I turned fourteen, for instance, but you�ve got a bike already, so we can�t give you that.�
"Rixi, do we have to discuss this at two in the morning?�asked Dr. Maethum, coming up the stairs behind them.
"I�ll tell you more to-morrow, all right, Ben? Good night, everyone.�Rixi disappeared into her room.
*****
The next morning after breakfast, Qui-Gon Jinn went out with Mayor Ech-to-tha to survey the graffiti.
"Getters go home. Jedi go home,�he read aloud, his brain automatically supplying the missing E.
"Not very original, but then I�d hardly expect a sixteen line sonnet,�the mayor snorted.�And purple paint. Interesting.�
Qui-Gon stared at the letters. The J in particular reminded him of Obi-Wan. His apprentice drew his J�s in exactly the same way, with the end of the curve coming back around to point to the right, instead of straight up. Stop it, he told himself firmly. It was a coincidence, nothing more, a similarity caused by the paint can. Obi-Wan had not painted this message. Why should he? He was a Jedi, too.
But where was he? His apprentice had been missing for almost two weeks now, and there was still no sign of him, no word, no loosening of his mental shields. Qui-Gon had taken to walking the streets in the evenings after the negotiations, stopping in the pubs and other public places, asking if anybody had seen the boy. Nobody admitted to it. There�d been a brief flicker of hope a few days ago when the guards had told him they�d found someone without an identity disc, trying to steal a car, but although that boy had been close to Obi-Wan in height and colouring, it hadn�t been his Padawan. He�d laid his hand on the young man�s head, intending to use the Force to help heal the injuries he�d got while �resisting arrest�, but the surge of sheer terror that the young man had unintentionally broadcast had made him remove his hand very quickly, and then the guards had dragged the boy away.
So the Theosnens were afraid of him, a Jedi. No doubt they�d only heard the worst of the rumours flying around the galaxy, distorted out of all proportion. Qui-Gon guessed that the Get-tro-wens kept them isolated as much as possible, but there was always room for a rumour to slip through. Although the Theosnens had managed to smuggle out an appeal for help to the Galactic Senate, and the Chancellor had personally sent the Jedi to investigate, the Get-tro-wens used every tactic they could think of to stall the negotiations without seeming to do so. They also managed to make it appear, at least to the Theosnens, as though they had invited the Jedi here and that the Jedi were working for them, even though Qui-Gon was daily trying his best to negotiate a treaty that would at least pave the way for another, one that would hopefully be more fair for the Theosnens. It was extremely difficult to keep his focus on the talks and not to worry about Obi-Wan while he was there, and the Getters had refused his request to bring in other Jedi to help.
"The Nens are getting bolder,�Ech-to-tha said.�This is the second time I�ve found graffiti on my wall. My Internal Security Forces saw the boy on their cameras and informed the nearest patrol, but he saw them coming and managed to get away on his bicycle.�
Qui-Gon had already noted that the Mayor�s bodyguards, which he referred to as the Internal Security Force, did not leave the estate unless they were guarding the Mayor on official business. They did regular patrols of the house and grounds and otherwise relied on the surveillance screens. It all seemed fairly lax to the Jedi, who had seen tighter and much more complicated security systems on a dozen different worlds, but if the Mayor was content with their work, there was no need to say anything. Ech-to-tha probably had no reason to believe that anything more was necessary. Qui-Gon hoped he never did.
"Speaking of boys, have you heard anything of your apprentice?�Ech-to-tha had grown used to Qui-Gon�s absences each evening until curfew.
Qui-Gon shook his head. He could feel through the Force that he would find the boy eventually, but he hadn�t yet.
"Some of my advisors have wondered--this is not my personal opinion, of course--but they have wondered if he hasn�t secretly joined one of the little resistance movements,�Ech-to-tha said.
"He wouldn�t have gone without telling me,�Qui-Gon refuted him, as though stating it flatly would turn it from hope into truth.
"I have another advisor,�Ech-to-tha remarked.�He told me this morning that he truly believes the Nens have kidnapped your apprentice for the sole reason of brainwashing him into helping them fight against us. I hadn�t thought the Nens were that organised, let alone capable of such a thing, but he really seems to believe that they could be a threat to us.�
Qui-Gon glanced sharply at him. Catching his gaze, Ech-to-tha said disbelievingly,�You think it�s possible, don�t you?�
"It would not be impossible,�Qui-Gon mused slowly.�It would require a great deal of time and probably technology or drugs which the Theosnens do not have. However, we cannot rule out the fact that they might be attempting it anyway.�
"That would explain why he disappeared without a word and why there�s been no ransom note,�Ech-to-tha exclaimed.�I�ll inform the guards to keep a closer eye on the Nens and be alert for anything that even looks suspicious.�
Qui-Gon nodded acknowledgement. Although it was tempting to believe this theory, he had the sinking feeling that it would not stand up to detailed consideration. It was better if he did not believe anything, if he simply waited until he found Obi-Wan and heard what his apprentice had to say for himself, but it was hard--so hard--not to think of betrayal.
*****
"Those twice-blasted Getters!�Wylan said, glancing around the group of men gathered in the pub ten days later. They had pushed two tables together for this emergency meeting after the details of the treaty had been released that morning, and there were two look-outs at the door.�We appeal to the Galactic Senate for help, we think we�re getting somewhere, but what happens? The Getters bring in the Jedi! The negotiations are a sham! We want freedom, we want the occupation to end, and they only reduce it. Reduce! What does it matter how many troops they have here! They�re still here, that�s the problem! We�re not free, we�re not independent! And whose fault is it? The Jedi�s. Them and their mind tricks. They influenced our representatives, made them give in and accept it. They�re as bad as the Getters. Worse!�
"We�ve got to do something,�said one of the other men.�As long as those Getters are here, they�ll walk all over us.�
"Treat us like animals.�
"We�ve got to hit them where it hurts, really hurts.�
"Kill �em all,�one man muttered darkly.�Especially the Jedi.�
"You can�t kill a Jedi,�said Wylan.�And killing is not the answer. But maybe kidnapping is.�
"Who? The Mayor? The Getters have got dozens just like him. They�ll write him off and replace him, and nobody will know the difference.�
"His son,�Wylan said, and there was silence in the group.
"His son?�Ben asked quietly after a moment.
"He�s four years old,�said Dr. Maethum.
"Just the right age.�
"We�ll lose sympathy among the people if we kill a child that young.�
"We don�t have a choice, men! They�ve got our backs against the wall! They might reduce their troops here--I say, might. But they�re still controlling us. We only have a shadow government, and no say in what happens to us. All we can do is vote for representatives, who then go off and achieve nothing, because the Getters won�t let them. We�ve seen that they�ll even bring in the Jedi to help control us, manipulate our minds, so that we�ll be content with less. I say, we kidnap the mayor�s son and threaten to kill him if they don�t send the Jedi away and re-open the negotiations. Then mybe we can get them off our planet forever!�
"I don�t like this,�said Dr. Maethum.�I have a feeling this would not be good.�
"You don�t have to go along with it,�Wylan said.
"There must be something else we can do besides kidnap and kill an innocent child!�
"Killing grown Getters wouldn�t get us anywhere! We have to do this.�
"I�m not going along with it, then.�Dr. Maethum stood up, and Ben, feeling similarly horrified, went to follow him. Wylan caught his arm as he went by.�Ben, may I speak to you in private for a moment? Don�t leave yet, people, this won�t take long.�
They went to the office and Wylan said,�Ben, you shoot better than anybody else I�ve ever seen. We need you to take out the security cameras and the guards.�
"I won�t,�said Ben.�Wylan, it�s a little boy we�re talking about!�
"No, we�re talking about our freedom, Ben. If you don�t help us, we won�t be successful. We�ll be caught, tortured, and executed, and nothing will change. The Getters will still be here. You�re fast with a blaster and you never miss. Now, I don�t want to do this to you, but if you don�t come along, I might just remember that you had a braid when I first saw you, and I might just mention this to an acquaintance that I have, who unfortunately has the reputation of being a Getter informer.�
Ben stared at him.�You�d turn me in? You�d hand me over to the Getters?�
"All you have to do is come along and practise your marksmanship a little. I have four children, Ben. I know that I would do anything to get them back if the Getters kidnapped them, and that�s how I know that Mayor Ech-to-tha will do anything to get his son back. We will be successful, Ben, and nobody will get killed. It�s going to work!�
"What do you mean, nobody will get killed? If I shot the guards, then they�d be dead, wouldn�t they?�
"Oh, Ben, don�t be daft. Do you really think that the Getters would allow us to have an arsenal of lethal weapons? All the blasters we have on the police force are permanently set for stun. The guards will wake up with a headache, but no damage done.�
"But it�s a child, Wylan.�
"The Jedi are looking for you, Ben.�
"You promise you won�t hurt him?�
"Ben, I promise. I�ll treat him like one of my own. Ech-to-tha will do anything! We�ll give him back alive and kicking.�
Feeling sick to his stomach, but seeing no way out, Ben nodded slowly.�I guess I don�t have a choice, do I?�
"You�ll be the hero of the revolution, Ben.�
Dr. Maethum was waiting in the entrance to the pub as they came down the corridor.�Ben?�
He hadn�t thought it was possible to feel any worse, but now he did, knowing that the doctor was going to be very disappointed with him.�I�m sorry, Uncle Fulk, I--I have to stay. I�ll explain later.�