Crimes Between Us

Chapter Three

Rating: PG

Furry was waiting for me on the landing pad at Coruscant, and I was so excited I nearly tripped

down the ramp and into his long, hairy arms. Obi-Wan, apparently speaking to me

again, had never seen a Wookie and was fascinated with the creature. I, on the

other hand, was fascinated with Courscant.

I'd never seen a place so crowded! The entire planet was easily there times the size

of Correlia, and one giant city. There wasn't one speck of greenery to be seen. It

was completely concrete, with highways and byways lining the sky in criss cross

patterns, carrying speeders, ships and airbuses of all sizes.

The Jedi Temple was at the center of it all, a magnificent building both in decor and

magnitude. Obi-Wan pointed out the Academy to it's left and told me he'd take me

there one day, and show me the one green haven in all of Courscant--it's hanging

gardens. Marble columns lined every hallway, and huge statues stood at every

entrance. Qui-Gon told me they all had meaning, but unless I was on a museum

tour, I probably would never be in the company of someone who could name them

all. There were four wings to the Temple, not including it's main chambers where

the Jedi Council sat. The west wings were where Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's rooms

were situated. The east wings were where the guest rooms were, however, Qui-Gon

explained that he'd set me and Furry up in Obi-Wan's room while his Padawan

bunked with him. I protested, but he didn't want us too far away in case something

happened. He warned me not to forget that while I was in the safest haven on

Courscant, I was still considered a spy by the Correlian government, and there was

a price worth more than all the money invested in the Jedi Academy on my head.

He made it sound so grim.

Almost as soon as Furry and I got settled in Obi-Wan's room, the Jedi were called to

the Council. They left me with explicit instructions to stay put, and to call on the

comlink if anything suspicious happened.

If I wasn't scared before, I was now.

**

The Council sent two pairs of Jedi to Correlia on a peace keeping mission. Qui-Gon

and Obi-Wan were not two of the four. I could tell Obi-Wan was disappointed, and

I had a feeling Qui-Gon was too, although one couldn't ever tell it from his stoic

expression. Instead, we all stayed behind and they watched me like a hawk and kept

up transmissions with the peace keepers. They informed us of the conditions on my

home planet, and I informed them on how to get more seratin for those Macedonians

still free. I managed to set up the contacts without revealing where the seratin was,

and again, Qui-Gon seemed proud.

It wasn't until several weeks later, when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were informed that

they were to escort me to wherever the seratin supply was to pick it up and return it

to Correlia for renewed planting, that all hell broke loose.

I'd hidden the seratin on Endor. It's conditions were perfect for growing the stuff,

save for the non-Correlian soil. But soil hadn't been too hard to smuggle out of

there, when I had the chance. So it was still being produced, little by little, for those

who needed it. It seemed that the situation on Correlia was under control, or they

wouldn't have asked me to retrieve the only usable supply of seratin left to renew the

crops. The little seratin I had could be used to grow a little more, and that could be

used to grow more, and it would eventually square itself to it's previous amounts.

We arrived on Endor with only a minor scuffle from a couple of Correlian ships that

had escaped the Republic infiltration. Qui-Gon was mad when I took over one of the

guns and started blasting ships out of the sky, but I wasn't of the mindset to just fly

in circles until they got tired.

I got a lecture on killing in haste. Obi-Wan laughed at

me. I resisted the urge to punch him. I assumed that was my practice in Jedi

restraint, since I was becoming a surrogate Jedi Padawan, apparently.

Obi-Wan and I managed to get ourselves separated from Qui-Gon while we were

deep in the forests of Endor, on our way to retrieve the seratin. My life has not been

the same since.

I was happy to see Obi-Wan, don't get me wrong. I'd slipped and fallen, my leg

getting caught under a heavy log and twisting at the ankle. I was wondering if

either Jedi would ever find me until Obi-Wan appeared.

"Kalla? Is that you?"

"Obi-Wan?" I was practically whimpering by now. "I need your help!"

The young Jedi kneeled down and lifted the log with both hands. He realized,

however, that he didn't have any hands left to untangle my leg so he regretfully put

the log back down. I howled in pain, but he only shot me an annoyed look.

Frowning in concentration, he used the Force to lift the log a second time and used

both his hands to gently pull my leg out. "Got it. Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded but winced in pain. With the most tender touch I'd ever felt, Obi-Wan sent

a healing tendril of the Force into my ankle. It felt better instantly. I looked at him

gratefully, resisting the urge to kiss those lips. Those lips...

Instead, I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm alright. Lets get out of here, it's getting

dark."

Obi-Wan fiddled with the comlink on his wrist, then swore under his breath.

"Damn it!"

I stopped, looking behind me. "What?"

"My comlink. It's dead."

I slipped my hands on my hips and didn't resist the urge to mock him and his Jedi-

ness. "Can't you call Qui-Gon in your mind?" I knew it was mean but didn't care,

after all, he'd taking cheap shot after cheap shot at me since the day we met.

God, that had been two long months ago.

"We're closed off." Obi-Wan revealed.

"What?"

"Closed off," he repeated.

Ever the helpful one. Why was it so hard for people to distinguish between 'what I

didn't hear you' and 'what I don't get it'?

I sighed. "Closed off?" I said, exasperated.

He snipped again. "That's what I said."

"Hey, Padawan," I warned, using the nickname he hated me to call him worse than

the way I sneered *Jedi*, "don't--you know--start acting like *you*."

Obi-Wan cocked his head and smiled. "Would you rather I didn't look for you? I

could have left you stranded you know. It would have been a real pleasant night for

you." He looked around the rapidly darkening woods.

I looked around as well. "More pleasant than spending it with you."

"Oh come on now, Kalla," Obi-Wan berated. I felt a shiver go up my spine as I did

every time he said my name. I was trying desperately to ignore the fact that I was

rapidly falling for this idiot, but it was hard. Very hard. Especially when he smiled

at me like that. "You barely give a guy a chance."

As usual, I got out of the uncomfortable situation--the one where I wanted to jump

into his arms and never let go--with sarcasm. I was such a good example of a Solo.

"Do you mind explaining to me why you can't call Qui-Gon through that mental link

you share?"

"Sometimes, in battle, we close it off. It's a mutual decision for safety reasons."

"Safety reasons?" I repeated, cocking my head just like his was.

"Less distraction," Obi-Wan explained. "Opening your mind to the Force is great

and all but everything amplifies. Every single sense you have. So if you're trying to

concentrate real hard on one thing, it can be distracting. Plus, when you're in the

presence of other beings, sometimes it's best to close yourself off from their

dangerous thoughts."

"Dangerous thoughts." I repeated again, and wondered vaguely how annoying that

must be.

Obi-Wan didn't seem annoyed. He simply continued. "Aggression, hatred, fear--

they all lead to the Dark Side."

"Hmm. Well I'm pretty mad and I'm pretty afraid right now."

"Don't be." Accompanied by a maddening smile. "Our camp is this way."

**