Chapter XXII – The
Gathering Part I
Morning
The
doorchime sounded and Cela, who had been sleeping on
the divan, tried to ignore it by covering her head
completely with her blanket.
It
chimed again.
Mumbling something about disturbing her sleep, she
drowsily got up and answered the door.
“Good morning,” said a cheerful voice. “I’m looking
for Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Cela
groggily looked at the speaker and suddenly gawked.
Next to the man who had addressed her was another
man whose bright blue eyes captivated the teenager.
It was like looking into the ocean, they were so
clear and beautiful.
Anakin snickered at the studious gaze this girl had
planted on his son. “Excuse me, Miss…”
Without taking her eyes off Luke, Cela replied,
“He’s in the bedroom.”
With
a shake of his head, Anakin walked past the girl
followed by Senator Organa, Han, and Chewbacca.
The
sight of the mighty Wookiee hadn’t even fazed Cela
as she coyly tilted her head a little to the side.
“Hi…I’m Cela
Sinatt.”
“A
pleasure. I’m Luke Skywalker.” Luke held out his
hand.
Cela
took hold of the offered hand and dreamily replied,
“Oooo, the pleasure is mine.”
“I
hope we didn’t come at a bad time.” Luke tried to
pull his hand back but Cela had a firm grip on it.
“No…not at all.” The teenager appeared to be in a
daze.
“May
I?” Luke asked, glancing down at his hand.
“Oh,
I’m sorry.” Cela’s face quickly turned a crimson
color. “Wait… Did you say, Skywalker?”
Luke
smiled and nodded.
“Please tell me you didn’t kill the Emperor,” Cela
said with a sudden fear in her eyes.
“Why?”
“Please, just tell me.”
“Well, yes. My father and I battled him a few years
ago and the Emperor lost.”
Cela’s hand went directly to her forehead and she
emitted a groan.
“I
don’t understand,” Luke said, somewhat bewildered.
Cela
sighed and said, “You will.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Bail, Han, and Chewie made themselves comfortable in
the main area while Anakin disappeared into the
bedroom to announce his party’s arrival.
Not
finding the Jedi Master asleep, he was slightly
taken aback by the sight of Sakoya and another woman
he could only assume was Mara laying side by side on
the bed. He made his way over and reached out to
touch Sakoya’s forehead, careful to avoid the
intravenous drip that was dangling from a hook on
the metallic stand beside her. An identical setup to
Sakoya’s mirrored the other side of the bed where
Mara lay.
“Dear friend, what have you done?” he quietly
muttered. His mechanical hand picked up the hand
resting on Sakoya’s stomach and squeezed it gently.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you back – I promise.”
Anakin stood there, holding her hand, as his gaze
swept across both women, amazed by the similarities
between them. “Fiery red hair to match the
temperament – how fitting,” he said with a sigh as
he set her hand back down upon her stomach.
Anakin had already heard the sound of running water
coming from the adjacent room when a mischievous
grin began to grace his lips. He could already
envision Sakoya’s admonishment of him as he silently
crept into the fresher, poised to use the Force to
turn the water ice cold when his old mentor
surprised him.
“Don’t even think it, my old Padawan!”
“What?” Anakin feigned a shocked look as he strode
further into the steamy room and leaned against the
sink. “I was just coming to tell you we’re here.”
“Uh
huh,” Obi-Wan replied after he finished rinsing his
hair. “Innocence doesn’t become you, my friend.”
Anakin snickered as he shook his head, recalling
that his youthful innocence had been gone a long
time. “So how are you?” he asked in a more serious
tone of voice.
Obi-Wan ceased moving and stood still in the hot
water, its comforting streams racing down his body.
A smile slowly crept up his lips as he recalled
hearing his beloved’s voice and the soothing effect
it had on him.
“Must have been some dream!” Anakin teasingly
commented as he felt the surge of emotion emanating
from his friend.
“Jedi don’t dream!” Obi-Wan playfully retorted.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Anakin emerged from the master bedroom and upon
seeing everyone scattered throughout the room,
strolled over to the desk and sat down on the corner
of it.
Obi-Wan followed a few minutes later.
“Senator Organa! I didn’t realize you would be
traveling with this ragtag group,” Obi-Wan
lightheartedly commented, extending his hand in
greeting.
Bail
shrugged. “You know space travel. You have to take
what you can get.”
“Hey!” Han objected.
“Ok,
enough of the ‘pleasantries’.” Anakin winked. “Let’s
get up to date.”
“You
in a hurry to get back home already?” Obi-Wan arched
an eyebrow at his friend.
Anakin ignored the playful gesture and discreetly
replied, “Possibly…”
Obi-Wan couldn’t blame his old Padawan – he knew of
the mission Anakin and Luke had been assigned even
before his honeymoon took place. “Did you at least
get a chance to see Padmé before venturing out
here?”
“Yes. Luke and I had just returned when Padmé gave
me the abbreviated version of what was happening.
And just so you know – you owe me!” the Jedi
playfully chided.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and smiled. “Anyway…” he
began, “I’m glad to see help has arrived.” The Jedi
Master glanced at Cela and said, “If you haven’t
already introduced yourselves this is Cela Sinatt
and I think everyone knows Xar’ek.”
“Yes,” the teenager glanced appreciatively at Luke,
“we’ve met.”
Obi-Wan withheld his smirk and continued, “Let me
begin by saying that Sakoya is safe. I felt her in
my last meditation and she was vibrant and very much
alive.”
That
news brought a sigh of relief from everyone in the
room – Sakoya had a large circle of friends.
“Also, Vaarn Nurgh has approached me and offered his
assistance with the toxin.”
This
last statement generated a multitude of stares.
“Who?” Bail inquired, puzzled.
“If
I recall correctly he’s an agent of Sindre’s,”
Anakin replied.
“That’s correct. The only obstacle is that Mr. Nurgh
was involved in an accident –”
“There was a fire at the Maquisic Inn,” Cela
interjected. “I heard about it on the holonews.”
“Yes, the Clawdite’s hotel,” the Jedi Master
answered. “I don’t know the reasoning behind why he
wants to help us, but nevertheless he does.”
“A
Clawdite? Can you trust him?” Han queried as
Chewbacca roared his own assessment.
“Yes, I believe we can,” Obi-Wan replied with
confidence.
“Then let’s get this party started!” Xar’ek stated
with more enthusiasm then he felt. I don’t need
all these people bogging me down. I should be saving
Sakoya myself…and I just may do that, he smugly
thought to himself.
“First,” Obi-Wan glared at Xar’ek out of the corner
of his eye, “we need to get more information from
Mr. Nurgh. As one of Reynard’s agents he’ll have
valuable information that will help us navigate this
mission.”
“And
we have one of the invitations, correct?” Bail
inquired.
“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied.
“I’ll get the info from the Clawdite,” Xar’ek
volunteered.
The
Jedi Master shook his head. “He doesn’t know you. He
won’t divulge anything. And you wouldn’t make it
past security.”
“Try me,”
Xar’ek grumbled to himself.
“Anakin and I will go to the hospital and get an
update on Mr. Nurgh’s condition. We’re at a
stalemate until then.”
“What about Sakoya?” Xar’ek tried to disguise the
annoyance in his voice.
Not
to be fooled, Obi-Wan said, “Patience. She’s better
now than before, which tells me she’s healing.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Anakin and Obi-Wan stepped off the turbolift and
onto the 6th floor of Wing B, inside KCMH,
Kuyrn’s prestigious medical facility. Not only was
the hospital elegant from the outside, but the
inside boasted of color and warmth from the walls to
indigenous plants. The staff was friendly and
greeted the two Jedi with bright smiles as they
traversed the corridors. An enormous amount of
credits built the facility – donated mainly in part
by generous benefactors who frequented Kuryn’s
paradise regularly. Patrons who wanted nothing but
the finest care available should they need it.
As
the duo rounded the next corner and proceeded to the
end of the hallway, Obi-Wan espied the security
guard standing at Vaarn’s door and was satisfied his
request had been taken in earnest.
“I’m
sorry – only authorized personnel may see this
patient,” the security guard politely said as he
held out a hand to stop them from coming any closer.
“I
am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am the one who
assigned security to this task.”
“Identification please.”
The
Jedi withdrew his ID chip and handed it to the guard
who immediately scanned it with the decoder attached
to his hip.
“Thank you, Jedi Master Kenobi,” the guard said as
he handed the chip back to its owner.
Anakin fell in step behind Obi-Wan as they started
to walk by only to be stopped by the guard’s
outstretched arm.
“Not
you,” he barked at Anakin. “You’re not authorized.”
“This man is with me,” Obi-Wan stated
authoritatively.
The
guard glanced distrustfully at Obi-Wan and then back
to Anakin. “Sorry, Master Jedi. You stated the
rules.”
Obi-Wan looked at the man as if he were mentally
unbalanced. “And…as such…there should be no
impedance of others that I escort in.”
The
guard flashed them an impertinent stare and then
gruffly demanded, “I’ll need to see your
identification.”
Anakin smirked and then waved his hand in front of
the guard’s face, telling him, “You don’t need to
see my identification.”
The
guards eyes suddenly glossed over as he said, “I
don’t need to see your identification.”
“I
can go about my business,” Anakin further coerced.
“You
can go about your business.”
Anakin chuckled lightly and walked by the mesmerized
guard.
As
soon as they had entered Vaarn’s room, Obi-Wan
turned and came face to face with his friend. “That
was hardly necessary,” he chastised, keeping his
voice low and glaring at Anakin.
“Maybe not, but he was derogatory and abusing his
authority. Besides, I didn’t feel we had time to
waste arguing with him,” Anakin rebuked just above a
whisper, his earlier humor now tainted.
Although he agreed in part with his friend’s
appraisal, Obi-Wan knew this wasn’t the appropriate
place to hold this discussion and opted to continue
it later. “Let’s talk to Vaarn,” he irritably
retorted.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
“What do you mean she’s offline?” Reynard’s
voice boomed throughout his office.
Zula
had been more than apprehensive to deliver this
particular news to his master whose tolerance for
failure was notorious. He had tried several times to
bring the cyborg back online but each attempt
failed. The technicians had fervently checked the
systems for proper functionality, but they couldn’t
locate any glitches.
The
long walk to Reynard’s office proved to be even
longer as Zula knew what lay ahead. He recalled
helping his master construct the cyborg and the
labor of love it had been for the scientist. Zula
had hoped that the transformed woman would be a
suitable companion for his master and he had been
right. Indeed, Reynard had found satisfaction with
her as his mood elevated and his composure was more
at ease.
Now
that Regan was missing, Zula knew Reynard would be
furious.
“When did this happen?” Reynard seethed as he bolted
up from his chair.
Zula
kept his head bowed to his chest, to look his master
in the eye would not be favorable, as he would view
it as a sign of disrespect. “We’re estimating 60
hours,” he quietly replied.
Reynard wordlessly scowled at his servant. One
moment Zula had been subserviently awaiting his
master’s rebuke and the next found him writhing on
the floor, clutching his neck.
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