This is being co-written by me and my cousin and has yet to be completed, but here's the first chapter!
I sighed, gazing at the city around me. Hopefully Cody will have secured a transport for us to get back to Corasant on. Our own ship had a broken hyperdrive, and not many were eager to transport a Jedi with a squad of six clones.
The city was peaceful and prosperous, mixed beings of all forms going about their business. I glad to be back in my Jedi robes; they got little use in this time of war. I was looking forward to a time of quiet reflection and meditation, during the lull in the war. My comlink flashed.
“General Kenobi,” came Cody’s voice.
“Yes, commander,” I answered, touching the button.
“We’ve found a transport willing to take us in a quarter of an hour,” he reported.
“All right, I’ll be there,” I told him. “Good work.” I turned and headed back towards the docking bay. Jedi Temple, here I come, I thought.
Blaster fire rang out, soon droned out by the screams of terror of the city folk as everyone stampeded to get away. All except me, of course; I was fighting to get to the shooting. The Force led me to a back alleyway. There stood two humanoid people, one with blue skin.
The lady with blue skin was holding a blaster towards a red-haired human, who was panting for breath. Black scars on the concrete behind him gave proof to the fired shots.
“You can not leave now,” the blue lady said in a soft voice. “You can not let word of the KIF get out- the Jedi must never find out about us.”
“I-” the man started, but never finished. The blue lady leveled the gun at him and fired. I sneaked up quietly. The guy was undoubtedly dead. I frowned. K-I-F. Probably an abbreviation- for something so secret it was worth killing over. If they didn’t want the Jedi to know, it couldn’t be legal.
Laser bolts lanced out at me. I ducked easily; dodging fire was something I did a great deal of these days. In a second I had my lightsaber lit and sent three bolts into the concrete. There was a shocked gasp and the firing stopped. I hurried toward the sound just in time to see a small figure turn the next corner.
She wasn’t easy to follow, but thanks to my agility and the Force, I managed to track her without her knowing it. The blue lady stopped in a corner. I couldn’t see without being seen, but waiting around the corner gave me a perfect listening post. There was a knocking sound, then,
“Is he taken care of?” A deep voice asked. A watchman, I guessed.
“Yes,” the blue lady said softly. “But… a Jedi found the body. I think I gave him the slip a while back, though.”
“Good. If the Jedi ever found out what we’re doing with those crystals…” the man left the end unsaid, and there was a tense pause.
“He could not have followed,” she assured him.
“Very well. This is unfortunate, but not bad. I think it is time to retreat to Mentol,” the deep voice rumbled. A door opened and closed, and I heard a lock sliding shut.
I didn’t move, thinking. This didn’t sound good, and my instinct told me it was much worse than what it appeared. I could try to follow them further, but odds were that I would only have to fight my way out and learn nothing. But, if they were clearing out, I could follow them to Mentol, wherever that was…
Slow down, I told myself. This wasn’t my mission. I was supposed to be headed to the Temple for a break away from missions. Frowning, I decided to contact Yoda.
“Trouble this is,” Yoda agreed. “Found a plot you have, Kenobi. Follow this you must,” he instructed, then cut the communication.
“Drat,” I said to myself. A Jedi’s work is never done.
Our pilot was not eager to take us to the outer rim instead of the capital, but agreed. Within a few hours we were landing on the forest and swamp-covered surface of a small planet named Mentol. Satisfied we’d be able to breathe outdoors, we left the docking bay and headed into the city.
At first sight, I thought it was just a small town. Then I realized that there was no man-made clearing for the city- it was built right into the brown trees themselves. After noticing this, I realized it was quite a large establishment. The natives were Tortonians- beings I had only heard of, but never seen. Mostly human-looking, they had chocolate brown skin and dark or black hair, shorter in height than the average human. Short, twisted horns poked through their hair above their ears, and they had small, black eyes.
But luckily there were enough humans and others for us not to be noticed. The clones and I poked about the city for a while, getting our bearings. Just when I was about to give up hope, I felt a sudden urge from the Force to return to the docking bay.
“Wait here,” I told Cody, then slipped back to the bay. Inside, I heard voices. Heading for them, I caught sight of a dark-skinned man in a blue mechanic’s uniform shutting the door to a cargo hold. Talking to him was…
The blue lady!
“Get this shipment to Hoth immediately,” she told him quietly. “Just in case anyone decides to look too closely at us.”
“Like that Jedi you tried to kill?” the man sneered, then jumped up the ramp and took off. I sighed. The plot thickened yet again. Time to enlist help.
I pushed the button on my hologram. Ashoka appeared, a tired look on her face. “Ashoka, I half expected you to be locked up by now,” I told her, smiling slightly as I said it. “Is Anakin there? I need to speak to you two.”
“Just a minute, Master Kenobi,” she said, then disappeared. It was several minutes before Anakin and his padawan reappeared in my hologram.
“Good thing it wasn’t an emergency,” I commented dryly. “Anakin, you two are near Hoth, aren’t you?”
“Eh, yes Master,” my former padawan answered, a wary look crossing his face.
“I need you to go there. There’s some sort of undercover crime ring-”
“Must you always stumble over these, Master?” Anakin asked in exasperation.
“At least I can keep my nose out of trouble for five minutes,” I pointed out. “Anyway, these people are willing to kill rather than be found out by the Jedi. I was hoping you to could poke around Hoth a bit, and see if you could find anything out about the K-I-F.”
“Alright, Master, we’ll look into it,” Anakin agreed.
“Thank you. But for once, Anakin, keep it discreet. I can’t come running if you two get yourselves in a tangled mess,” I warned them. “May the Force be with you, my former padawan.”
“May the Force be with you, too, Master,” Anakin returned. I cut the communication and headed for the inn.
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