Chapter XXX – A Disturbance in the Force – Part I
Luke
sat next to Cela and immersed himself into the
Force, hoping to guide Sakoya to him so she might
heal their friend. He didn’t know how much time had
elapsed but he continued his pilgrimage, hoping she
would make it to them soon.
“It’s up to you, Luke,”
a voice softly whispered into the Jedi’s ear.
Luke’s eyes remained closed, but the voice was
inimitable. “I’m not a healer, Father,” he
remorsefully admitted.
“You don’t need to be,”
Anakin gently replied. “Use the Force and bring
her to the water.”
Luke’s puzzlement spread across his face. “Water?”
he asked.
“There is water here that can help her. It will
cleanse her wound and begin the healing process.”
Luke
opened his eyes and stared at the apparition of his
father standing before him, a bluish glow outlining
his near opaque body. “Water that heals? I can’t
believe it!” Luke couldn’t help relaying his
skepticism. “Why haven’t I heard of it before?”
“It won’t heal her, but it will help her.”
The
puzzled look on Luke’s face reminded his father of
when his son was a child and learning about life.
There are many things in the galaxy we don’t know of
or understand, son. Trust in the will of the Force,”
Anakin further stated.
Luke
watched as his father began to fade and blurted out,
“How do I find it?”
“The Force is your guide…”
Alone again with Cela, Luke stood up, a quiet kind
of determination etched on his face. His father told
him to trust the Force, which he already did
unequivocally, but this was different. He was to
find something he found incredulous to exist, but
then many had said that of the Force until they had
witnessed it firsthand. There was also the testament
from his father and he could hardly deny that. “I
won’t fail you, Cela. I’ll find what you need.” Luke
took a deep breath and relaxed his body. The Force
was with him, he could feel the familiar tingling
sensation as it coursed through his body.
Effortlessly, he levitated Cela off the ground and
her body hovered beside him. He began walking and
allowed the mystical energy to lead them both
through the cavern.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
“I
don’t see an entrance,” Bail commented, gazing at
the variations of jutted rock wall in front of them.
“But according to the map, Vaarn indicates there is
one…”
Obi-Wan used the Force to guide his hands as they
slid over the stone, searching for the activator
that would open, what they surmised to be, a
concealed entry.
At
nearly the same moment Obi-Wan sensed a disturbance
in the Force, alarms began blaring all around them.
Unfortunately, he had no time to delve further into
it as he concentrated on finding the opening he
needed.
Bail
had every confidence in his friend but even he was
beginning to grow disconcerted. He too ran his hands
over the rock, hoping to find something – anything –
that would get them out of the cavern and out of
sight of any guards. “I found something!” Bail
exclaimed as his fingers dug into a small crevice
and pressed against a piece of metal.
Slowly, the rock wall opened up, revealing an area
just over half a meter wide. It was enough as Bail
entered first, followed by Obi-Wan. Just as the Jedi
Master crossed the threshold, the door began to
close, quickly sealing them in darkness.
With
a snap hiss, an emerald blade pierced the dark,
lighting up the two faces of the men.
“Looks like you go first,” Obi-Wan lightheartedly
stated.
“There’s,” the Senator grunted, “hardly,” and tried
to turn, “any room in here.”
“Vaarn has gotten us this far. We must continue to
trust him.”
“Trust isn’t the issue right now – breathing is,”
Bail quipped.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Luke
couldn’t help hearing the alarms as they blared
throughout the cavern. He hurried his steps, trying
not to worry about his unconscious friend who,
through the Force, floated along beside him. He
further stretched out his senses, searching for the
miraculous water through the convoluted cavern.
However, it didn’t take the Jedi long to realize
that the many footfalls he heard were now coming
toward him.
Not
only did tunnel upon tunnel riddle the cavern,
constantly twisting and turning, but also relentless
security measures were everywhere. “There are so
many security cams, perhaps I missed disabling one
as we passed,” Luke said to himself in dismay.
Luke
felt as though they were in a prison – and in a way,
they were. When Reynard had discovered the naturally
made cavern, he knew it would make a perfect
addition to his fortress. He had spent countless
hours learning every tunnel in every conceivable
direction and had made new ones in the process.
There were tunnels that only he knew and a few he
had shown Zula, his trusted advisor. Nearly all of
them had security measures in place via vidcams,
heat sensors, or intrusion detectors, although some
had been left to their natural state. These obscure
tunnels, some of which sheltered the troublesome
stalagmites and stalactites that no one would have
the inclination to discover were Reynard’s
surreptitious escape routes. It was within those
walls that security didn’t exist and it would take
only one Clawdite to unravel the scientist’s
mystery.
Reynard underestimated no one – or so he thought.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Bail
ran his hands all over the wall in front of him,
searching for some mechanism that would trigger the
door.
“There has to be one,”
he muttered to himself.
“I’m
sorry, did you say something?” Obi-Wan casually
asked, not at all bothered by the cramped quarters.
Bail
didn’t answer his colleague and continued his
search. There were times that the Jedi Order’s sense
of aloofness could irritate the staunchest person,
and this happened to be one of those times.
A
moment later and much to the Senator’s relief, his
efforts were rewarded and the doorway opened.
Cautiously, Bail Organa stepped into the room and
away from the archive case that served as the secret
entry to their little passageway. Obi-Wan quickly
followed, deactivating his lightsaber with a
snap-hiss. His eyes quickly scanned the room for any
kind of surveillance equipment and called upon the
Force to deactivate the vidcams mounted in each
corner.
“We
haven’t much time before someone notices the
security malfunction,” Obi-Wan warned, taking notice
that their hidden doorway had begun to close on its
own.
Their eyes surveyed the room, which was in line with
Reynard’s sense of style – sterile and immaculate.
Two, long transparisteel tables stood adjacent to
each other in the center of the chamber, their sheen
reflecting back from the white walls in an almost
blinding way. Neatly placed or sorted on the tables
were a variety of scientific equipment and a
computer terminal on each, everything in its precise
location. On the far end of the chamber stood a
large cooler, which made the two men glance at each
other and wonder about its contents. Obi-Wan nodded
and Bail walked toward the cooler while the Jedi
turned the opposite way to examine the other end of
the room.
No
pictures graced the walls, no decorations of any
kind were displayed and it gave the room a very
phlegmatic feeling. A couple of archive cases –
filled with electronic and holographic data – that
had been built into the walls radiated the only real
color in the room. Obi-Wan stopped at the lone desk
where a computer terminal sat upon it and
immediately thought of Xar’ek.
“His
skills would be helpful in obtaining the information
from this computer,” the Jedi mused, not attempting
to touch anything that may trigger an alarm.
A
rush of frigid air greeted Senator Organa as he
opened the cooler. It was much colder than what he
was accustomed to in his own home. However, this
cooler was not the type used for food, rather for
experimental objects and samples. It didn’t take
long for Bail’s eyes to glaze over a few items
within and wish he hadn’t seen them. In addition,
there were numerous vials and beakers of different
sizes and shapes, not to mention colors, but he
couldn’t be certain if any of them were specifically
what he was looking for.
“Any
luck?” Bail loudly asked as he half turned away from
the cooler.
Deep
in thought as he stared at the computer, Obi-Wan
didn’t answer. Slowly, he turned his head back
toward the archive case where they had entered and
then quickly strode over to it.
“Obi-Wan?” Bail said in confusion and walked over to
join his friend.
“Yes…it would make sense…” the Jedi speculated out
loud.
“What would?” Bail asked as he stopped alongside his
counterpart.
Stroking his goatee the Master Jedi replied, “That
the toxin wouldn’t be in here. It would be not only
in a safe location, but also in one where access
would be easy for Reynard. Yes…” His voice trailed
off and Obi-Wan reached for the archive case to open
it back up.
He
frowned when it refused to budge and began searching
for another way to open it.
“You
think he put the toxin in there?” Bail asked in
disbelief.
“It’s possible,” Obi-Wan replied while he searched.
“It’s a secure location that I’m sure only Reynard
has access to. If he had to leave quickly, he could
use this passage, grab the toxin, and be on his way
without any difficulty.”
“What about the other lab?” Bail inquired.
“I
believe Vaarn sent us this way for a reason. This
has to be the right one.”
“Obi-Wan?” Bail nervously said as he watched a white
mist begin to pool out from the vents and into the
chamber.
The
Jedi looked up and knew their situation had just
taken a dire turn.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Luke
listened through the Force for the footfalls,
silently trying to determine when their greeting
party would arrive. At the same time, he focused on
his task to get Cela to safety. Time was a precious
commodity that he didn’t have much of and he knew
it. Hoping to avoid the guards, Luke trusted in the
Force and turned down another tunnel and then
another, abruptly finding himself in complete
darkness.
“Now
where?” he wondered aloud. Oddly enough, the quiet
darkness felt soothing amid his physical and mental
exertion from levitating Cela all this time.
Listening intently, Luke couldn’t hear the footfalls
of the guards and it brought a sense of relief to
him. Not daring to break his concentration on his
young friend, the Jedi was about to activate his
lightsaber, hoping he could set Cela down, when he
noticed a glow out of the corner of his eye. Slowly
turning, Luke saw a light at the end of their
tunnel. Breathing in deeply, he picked up the scent
of water and a smile began to form on his lips.
Luke’s eyes filled with wonder as he entered the
grotto, the sheer beauty and serenity emitting from
it put the young Jedi instantly at ease. As Cela
floated unconscious by his side, he walked over to
the edge of the pool of water where he could gently
set her down.
Fatigued from having to keep Cela suspended, Luke
was more than happy to sit at last. Although,
looking down at his friend’s pallor hardly gave him
a reason to rejoice. “Maybe this water will help me
also,” he said to himself. Striping down to his
shorts, Luke then partially removed Cela’s clothing,
keeping her covered as much as possible. He
certainly didn’t want the girl to wake up and think
he was taking advantage of her.
Grabbing his Jedi robe, he shrugged with
indifference and tore off one of the sleeves.
Tucking it slightly into the waistband of his
shorts, he picked Cela up. Luke carefully stepped
into the water, allowing his senses to reinvigorate
from this tranquil surrounding. As he walked
farther, he had to suppress the tickling sensation
he was beginning to experience. It was almost as if
the water were electrically charged.
Although he had gone a short distance, the pool
remained just below the level of his waist.
Carefully, he sat down; tucking Cela’s immersed
injured side close to him where he could view it
easily. Finding the sparkling water intriguing, he
placed one hand beneath the surface and stared at
it. After a few moments, Luke shook himself from his
reverie and placed his attention back to his friend.
A look of caution graced his face and he couldn’t
help being hesitant to remove the large stone
embedded in Cela’s side.
“If
I don’t it may cause an infection – if it hasn’t
already,” he said to himself. Taking the sleeve of
his robe from his waistband, Luke swished the fabric
around in the water, rung it out, and then repeated
the action. “It’s all I can do to make it clean
enough to place in her wound.” He gazed at her face,
so drained of color. “Don’t give up, Cela. Please
don’t give up.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Obi-Wan drew upon the Force and held his breath
against the vapor as he vainly looked for a way to
open the archive case. It was only a matter of
moments before he heard Bail Organa’s body slip to
the floor behind him. Whether he was unconscious or
worse, the Jedi didn’t know, nor did he have time to
check as muffled shouts began to resound in the
room.
Obi-Wan spun around and activated his lightsaber,
the emerald blade silhouetted against the white
mist.
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