Part IV
Obi-Wan Kenobi said goodbye to the old woman and her son, who were kind enough to give him a ride to the memorial service, and turned towards the stage.
�Obi-Wan wait,� the woman called after him, �would you like us to stay with you until you find your family? There is a large crowd of people here.�
�No, thank you ma�am. I�m supposed to meet them back stage. They�re expecting me. I�ll be fine, don�t worry,� the boy told her wishing he could believe it himself.
�Young man, I am the mother of five children and twelve grandchildren, worrying is what I do best,� the woman explained. Obi-Wan smiled at the old woman, and hoped that his mother was as kind and humorous as this woman.
�Take care of yourself Obi-Wan,� Tarrin told him.
�I will, and thanks again for the ride,� Obi-Wan nodded, turned back toward the stage and started to make his way toward it.
On the stage a woman sang a beautiful song about a lonely man�s journey through life. If he had not been so anxious to find the Jedi, before he ran into Hultz or Avery, he would have enjoyed listening to the beautiful music. He could smell the aroma of food being prepared in the concessions stands, and it reminded him that he had forgotten to eat today.
As he made his way to the stage, Obi-Wan looked back and forth through the crowd, watching for any sign of Avery or Hultz. He could not help but feel that he should have taken the advice of the Jedi Master that he had spoken with over the Comm. Unit and let the Jedi come to him.
Looking straight ahead he could see the entryway to the backstage area, and the security officers standing near the entrance. On opposite side of the stage from the security officers, Obi-Wan saw a tall man with a beard and long hair watching him intently. A woman with dark skin and dark hair stood just behind the tall man, also watching him. There was something very familiar about the both of them, although the man seemed the more familiar of the two.
Obi-Wan began to quicken his pace, when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, preventing him from moving forward. As he turned around to see who was behind him, he felt something hard jabbed into his back. He stiffened, knowing that it was most likely the barrel of a blaster.
�Hello, Jedi boy, we�ve been expecting you,� Avery�s unmistakable deep voice said. �Now, you are going to walk with us toward the Northern section of the building to where it is still under construction. If you cause any trouble at all, Hultz will kill your Jedi friend. I believe I heard her Master call her Siri. Hultz and Siri are waiting for us.
�I don�t remember anyone named Siri,� Obi-Wan retorted, glancing over at the man and woman who were still watching him.
�Whether you know her or not, do you want to risk killing her?� Avery asked, pushing the blaster harder into the boy�s back. Obi-Wan knew that his back would have a large bruise, assuming he survived this.
�Ok, let�s go,� Obi-Wan said as he relented and let the larger man lead him away from the stage and the waiting Jedi. Obi-Wan could only hope the man and woman watching him were Jedi Knights. He had to trust them to recognize him and come to help him.
* *** * *** *
Siri Tachi stood near the stage watching the beautiful woman sing about the journey of a lonely man�s life. She felt a lump begin to form in her throat as she realized that the man described in the song could be a Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan would never get the chance to be that man. She wondered why she had not told him that she didn�t hate him, as she had allowed him to think.
She had been with her Master, when Master Yoda informed them that Master Mace had contacted the Council. He told them that a boy, who might be Obi-Wan had made contact with him claiming to have amnesia. He told them that the boy had been having dreams that he thought might be memories of him being a Jedi. He also mentioned having a padawan braid.
Siri had sensed her Master�s hope after hearing the news. She refused to believe that he could be alive, only to find out that someone was playing a sick joke on her.
They were unable to find his body and she had refused to believe that he was dead. She knew that some Jedi could disappear without leaving a body when they died; she still could not bring herself to believe he was dead. Siri had finally accepted that she would never see the ginger haired boy again. She needed to tell him all of the things that she should have said to him before, but she refused to let herself hope or believe he might still be alive.
As Siri listened to the song, she quickly blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of Obi-Wan, that she did not sense the approaching danger until it was too late. Suddenly a large hand covered her mouth and a blaster was roughly jabbed into her lower back.
�If you want to see Kenobi alive and unhurt, you won�t try any of your Jedi tricks,� an unfamiliar voice growled in her ear.
Siri nodded her head and allowed the unknown man to lead her away from the stage, the blaster still digging into her back. She took a deep breath and used the padawan training bond to contact her Master.
//�Master Adi,� she began, �A man is leading me away from the stage toward the part of the building that is still under construction. He told me that if I try anything that they would hurt Obi-Wan.�//
//�We are on our way, Siri don�t try to fight him,� her Master told her through the bond.//
//�I won�t Master,� Siri agreed, hoping that contacting Master Adi was the right thing to do.//
* *** * *** *
Qui-Gon�s heart began to race as he looked at his former apprentice for the first time in over six months. The boy looked taller than he last remembered. Obi-Wan wore civilian clothing. He had a force suppressor around his neck and he held his left arm against his chest. The Jedi Master took notice of the bruise that covered the right side of his face. Qui-Gon could see the padawan braid hanging over his right shoulder. He allowed relief to wash over him at the sight of the boy, despite the obvious injuries.
As he and Adi watched, Obi-Wan made his way towards the security officers. The boy�s eyes met his, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable as the boy�s eyes lingered on him and Adi.
Qui-Gon was about to walk over to the security officers and meet his former Padawan there, when suddenly he saw a large man put a hand on the boy�s shoulder. He saw Obi-Wan stiffen, and the man began to speak to him. They spoke for a few seconds before the man began to lead Obi-Wan away in the other direction.
Qui-Gon started to follow Obi-Wan when he noticed that Adi�s attention was elsewhere. She abruptly looked at Qui-Gon and told him that her Padawan had just contacted her through their shared bond.
Qui-Gon and Adi immediately headed toward the northern section of the building behind Obi-Wan and Siri.
* *** * *** *
Siri stood, her hands chained to the back of a pole, in the abandoned section of the Cities Musical Center. This area of the building was under construction and therefore, without the crowd of people that filled the other section of the building. The man that had forced her here and chained her arms to the pole sat on a nearby chair alternating between looking at her and watching the entryway across the room. She sensed the man�s anxiety and wondered why he was afraid. She used the Force to begin picking at the lock on the chains that bound her hands.
She stopped her attempt to free herself as she heard a noise indicating someone was approaching them. The large man the man who had brought her here walked through the entryway, his arm resting on the shoulder of the one person that Siri thought she would never see again.
At first she thought it was a trick, that it was just a boy made to look like Obi-Wan, but as they came closer, she could see the boys features more clearly.
�Obi-Wan,� she gasped. Her words caused the boy to look up into her eyes. There was no recognition in the beautiful eyes that had always seemed to change colors. She noticed that he wore civilian clothes, but he still had his padawan braid. He also wore a force suppressor around his neck. Siri was glad that he did not remember who he was. She knew that he would not be able to bear the loss of his access to the Force.
�You know me?� Obi-Wan asked.
�Of course she knows you, Jedi boy,� Avery told him as he roughly pushed him to the ground. Obi-Wan�s knee cracked as he landed on the hard floor and he gasped, covering his right knee with his hand. Siri could see the pain in his eyes as he looked up at the man who had pushed him. She also noticed the bruise that covered his right cheek, and the blood stains on his shirtsleeve.
Siri began to use the Force again to unlock the chains around her hands. Avery sneered, �I would like to thank you little girl, for your assistance in getting Jedi boy to come here with me.� Avery aimed his blaster at Obi-Wan and said, �Now you can watch him die.�
�No!� Siri screamed, as she finally unlocked the chains. They clattered to the floor noisily drawing the man�s attention away from Obi-Wan.
* *** * *** *
Obi-Wan could feel his heart begin to race as he stared into the barrel of the blaster that Avery held. At least he would know who he was before he died, he reassured himself. He was Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Padawan that was thought to have died in an explosion.
Suddenly he heard the girl scream, �No!� as the chains that had held her to the pole clattered to the ground, she took a step away from the pole, and Avery turned his blaster aiming it at the girl.
�No,� Obi-Wan whispered, quickly getting to his feet ignoring the pain that the movement caused him. He leaped forward grabbing Avery�s arm as the blaster went off. To Obi-Wan�s relief the girl had quickly used her lightsaber to deflect the bolt.
The deflected bolt hit Hultz in the stomach. The large man cried out, falling to the ground holding his hand over the wound.
Obi-Wan was still struggling with Avery when he heard running footsteps and the same hissing sounds that the girl�s lightsaber had made when she had ignited it.
�You fool,� Avery said turning the weapon back toward Obi-Wan.
�Drop your weapon,� a man�s voice ordered from behind Avery.
�Siri, are you alright?� A woman�s voice asked. Out of the corner of his eye Obi-Wan could see the girl nod her head.
�No,� Avery said, as he wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan�s neck, and pressed his blaster to the boy�s head. He forced Obi-Wan to stand and said, �If you try anything at all, I will kill him.� As they stood, Obi-Wan got a good look at the man and woman. The voices he had heard seemed to belong to them. They were the man and woman who had watched him from the other side of the stage. They both held ignited lightsabers ready for anything. Obi-Wan�s eyes were drawn to the man with the long hair and beard. He knew this man somehow, he was sure of it.
�You can�t run forever,� the bearded man said to Avery.
�But I can get away from here. If you try anything the boy will be dead before you can prevent it from happening. The question here folks is, would three Jedi, who could easily overpower the likes of me, risk trying anything and most likely getting Jedi boy here killed?� Avery taunted.
�Let the boy walk away and you won�t be hurt,� replied the man with the beard.
�Do you think I�m stupid?� Avery asked. Obi-Wan had to bite his tongue to keep from answering the question.
�No,� the woman said.
�I am a Vardelli. We are not weak minded people that you can force us to do what you want by using your jedi mind tricks.� To illustrate his point, Avery hit Obi-Wan with the butt of the blaster in the stomach. Obi-Wan doubled over as far as he could with Avery�s arm around his neck.
He desperately tried to catch his breath as Avery forced him to walk toward Hultz, who sat leaning his back heavily against the wall. �Can you get up?� Avery asked glancing behind him to make sure that the jedi were not doing anything.
�Yeah,� Hultz said, as he slowly got to his feet still using his hand to cover the wound.
Obi-Wan knew that the two Jedi Masters and the female Padawan were behind them as Avery led him and Hultz to the back of the building. Up ahead of them he could see a door that he assumed led to the outside of the building. He thought that it was most likely Avery�s escape route.
Obi-Wan wondered if the man had seen him in the crowds of people, or if he somehow knew where Obi-Wan was going to be. Suddenly he remembered Azia; if she had somehow gotten herself untied, she may have contacted Avery. He should have sent the local authorities to get her.
Obi-Wan silently berated himself, as they reached the door. Hultz hit the control button to open the door, causing the large doors to slide open. Avery pulled Obi-Wan through the doorway behind Hultz. Punching the control to close the doors, Avery blasted the control panel, and again pointed it at Obi-Wan�s head.
Obi-Wan was sure the Jedi would be able to get through the door; but he knew that Avery and Hultz now had the opportunity they needed to escape.
A freighter sat on the ground a few meters in front of them. The engines were running and the ramp was down. �Hultz, get in the ship,� Avery ordered the injured man, whose pace had begun to slow considerably. Hultz nodded and slowly climbed up the ramp, as a crackling sound could be heard behind them.
Avery turned around, and Obi-Wan saw the Jedi Knights cutting through the door with their lightsabers. Avery quickly pulled Obi-Wan up the ramp with him. They reached the top of the ramp as the jedi finally broke through the doors. Avery suddenly pushed Obi-wan, causing him to roll down the ramp. Obi-Wan moaned in pain as he looked up at Avery in time to see him aim the blaster at him and pull the trigger.
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