Bounty (Alex Rider/Star Wars Crossover) (BOOK 2)

Chapter Fifteen

Obi-Wan wandered off by himself back to the gardens. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shuttle landing on the platform high above him, but thought nothing of it, since it was a somewhat normal occurrence. He wandered among the blooming plants and vegetation around him, admiring them. It was very rare that he saw any kind of plant on Tatooine, since it was an arid desert where nothing grew. He reached out with the Force, to draw on the strength of the living things around him. He felt himself strengthening in the Force, but it suddenly died down as a dark feeling crept closer. He reached farther to see what it was. It was not a feeling, no. It was a presence; a dark presence.

Vader spoke, not startling Obi-Wan at all, since he had felt him. "I have waited a long time for this," he said darkly, hate dripping from his voice.

Obi-Wan could feel the anger from where he stood. "What?" Obi-Wan asked. "Are you afraid to challenge me with honor? Or do you prefer to sneak up on people?"

"I do no sneak up on anybody," Vader replied, keeping his voice level.

"Oh, so it's just me you sneak up on," Obi-Wan answered for him. "Hiding behind the dark side is not the way of courage. It is the way of cowardice."

"I am not the one who is a coward," Vader said. The anger was beginning to show in his voice now. "You are a coward from hiding from me for the paste years, afraid of how strong I have become in the Force."

"It is the way of a Jedi to know when to fight, and when not to. Have you forgotten the teachings already? Master Yoda would not be pleased," Obi-Wan chided him.

"Even now, I feel your fear," the Sith said. "You hide behind petty jokes to hide it, just like your apprentice."

"What can I say, he learned from the best," Obi-Wan chuckled. Honestly, it was a good point. They both tended to make jokes at the worst times. Obi-Wan guessed it was a family characteristic. John used to do the same thing. Like father, like son, apparently.

Vader began to move closer. "My eyes have been opened, but you are still blinded by the false views of the Jedi."

"False, some of them were, yes," Obi-Wan agreed. "But you are the only one here who is blinded. You are blinded by your quest for power, and your hate. Do not try to tell me that you turned to the dark side to save Padme. You turned only for selfishness, and in your quest for power, you killed her. I admit now, the Jedi were wrong in their beliefs that attachments weaken us. They make us stronger, as you yourself proved. And as I have learned,"

"Because of Alex?" Vader questioned.

"So, you do know about him," Obi-Wan said. "I knew you would find out sooner or later."

"You cannot hide forever," Vader said, "And now is the time to see who is more powerful, now that I have grown even stronger. I will beat you, and make you watch as I kill off the only thing you love: your precious nephew."

"Not today, Darth," Obi-Wan disagreed. "Or any other day for that matter," he added.

"We shall see," Vader said, igniting his lightsaber. The red glowing blade was perfectly balanced, and Vader was eager to use it on someone except helpless rebels and incompetent Imperial officers. He was eager to use it on someone that would fight back, and maybe even give him a challenge.

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The silver medical droid approached Alex where he lay on the medical table. His eyes fluttered open. Looking around, all he could see was white. His first thought was that he had died and gone to heaven, but he dismissed it when he saw the face of the droid. That brought him back to reality. He now remembered what had happened. All the events of recent weeks came flooding back, including the recent operation to remove the Force-limiter device.

Alex tested it out, to make sure it had worked. He concentrated deeply, his skills coming back to him quickly. He felt the Force around him, drinking it all in. Then, he felt something, dark and cold, taking all of the light and warmth out of the surrounding area. The feeling crept over him not slowly, but quickly, like a bucket of ice water being dumped on him. There was trouble. Now he just had to find out what.

Quickly, he scanned the room, and saw a pile of fresh clothes neatly folded on the table. They were his. He changed speedily and exited the room. He ran down the hall, trying to find someone, anyone. He ran into the senator again.

"Alex!" the senator smiled. "You're awake! Are you all right?"

Alex nodded. "No time," he said hurriedly. "There's trouble."

"If there's trouble, then you might need this."

Alex looked at the senator's hand and saw the hilt of his lightsaber. He grabbed it gratefully.

"Follow me. I'll take you to the others."

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Ferus and Damar were sitting with Ahsoka in the kitchen. Damar and Ahsoka had been catching up on what had happened since they last saw each other, and Ferus was simply sitting there, listening. They had already told the senator everything that happened over the past weeks, leaving out some of the bad parts, none of them wishing to relive any of it.

Suddenly, Alex and the senator ran into the room.

Ferus looked up. "What is it?"

"There's trouble. I think Vader is here," Alex said, catching his breath for a moment. "We have to find Obi-Wan."

"He went out to the gardens. That's probably where Vader is," Damar said, jumping up. "Let's go!"

"Anyone have a spare lightsaber?" Ahsoka asked, remembering that hers had been taken.

"I have just the thing, Ahsoka." The senator went to a table nearby and reached under it, and pressed a hidden button. A compartment on the wall opened and a drawer slid out. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a lightsaber.

As he drew near with the saber in hand, Ahsoka immediately recognized it. It was Anakin's! "Where did you get that?"

"It was left on my ship," the senator replied, "Through some...odd...circumstances."

"That was my master's," Ahsoka said sadly.

While Ahsoka was looking over the old lightsaber, Damar took hold of Ferus' arm. "She doesn't know about Anakin, does she?"

Ferus shook his head. "I don't this so. But she has to find out sometime, preferably before she faces him in battle." He put his hand on Ahsoka's crestfallen shoulder. "There will be time for mourning and remembering those we've lost later. Now, we have to help Obi-Wan."

"How practiced are you on your Ataru level four?" Damar questioned nervously, referring to one of the advance fighting techniques.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, always ready for a fight. "Never better. But, there's one thing I don't understand: why would Vader go for Obi-Wan first? Why would he single him out like that? What makes him so special?"

Damar stopped suddenly on her way out the door. "This will probably surprise you and most likely hurt you," she said, her eyes dark, looking directly into her friend's.

Ahsoka was a little afraid of what she would say next. "What?" she asked. "Tell me."

Damar took a breath. "Darth Vader is a fallen Jedi. You were one of the closest people to him."

The young Jedi thought about who it could be. Then she remembered that Darth Vader had something out for Obi-Wan as well. "Anakin," she whispered. In her heart, she told herself that it was not true. But her Jedi senses told her that it was indeed true. She leveled her senses and looked back at Damar, her gaze unwavering. She was now more determined than ever. "Let's go."

Ferus continued out the door, the others following. They could all feel the darkness as they drew near. They started running down the stairs. At the bottom, Ferus stopped. The others halted behind him.

"He's just ahead.  I can feel him," Damar said. "Come on!"

They ran out into the sunlight and into the garden. On the far edge, they could see Obi-Wan reach for his lightsaber and ignite it, Vader doing the same.