The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Shadows of the Ancient Sith: Call of the Dead

Kenobi blinked his eyes open. Light was peeking in through the slim windows fitted into the top of the wall. A blanket had been draped over his legs at some point in the night.

The former Jedi stretched before turning his head. Shan was gone. The only indication she had ever been there being an imprint in the mattress and flipped back sheets.

He must have fallen asleep during his brainstorming of how they were to handle Sadow. This was no mere spirit nor was this any mere Sith. This was a Sith Lord, one of the first. Dueling him would be no easy task. He laid there for a moment longer before pushing himself off the bed.

Obi-Wan walked out into his kitchen, yawning as he did. Shan was there, dressed in her own no-longer-bloody clothes and sitting on the floor. A panel on the top of Ender's body was open and she was fiddling in the space with a tool.

"Good morning General Kenobi." she greeted warmly, not looking up from her droid. "Good morning Sahrea. May I ask what you're doing?" he questioned as a metallic sound rang from the panel.

"Ender got some sand in his internal mechanisms, so I was trying to get it out." she told him, flicking some grains onto a napkin next to her knee as she did. Ender beeped irritably.

"You don't like sand, I know." she replied, tucking a lock of her white-gold hair behind her ear. She put down her tool and swapped it for a canister of compressed air.

"Ender worked on a Republic Flagship
for a long time, so he's not exactly built for the elements." Shan explained as she blew a puff of air through his gears. Satisfied with her work, the Gray stood up, wiping her hands together.

"Well I got most of it out. Better?" Ender beeped happily and rolled in a circle. "Good." she said. She turned to Obi-Wan.

"I have a ship docked in Mos Eisley. We can take that to Korriban." Kenobi rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright. Let's get ready and eat before we head out."

- - -

Obi-Wan returned to the kitchen after a shower. A bowl of oatmeal was waiting for him, along with a glass of blue milk and a dish full of cane sugar.

Sahrea was sitting cross legged at the table, a spoon in one hand, a holotablet in the other. She absentmindedly took a bite of her breakfast, eyes skimming over the text. It took her a moment to realize he had returned.

"Oh hey." she greeted before putting the another spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth. "Oh hey." he mimicked as he crossed the kitchen. He pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Thank you." he told her. Shan looked up from her tablet again. "Of course. It's the least I could do." she replied warmly. Kenobi sprinkled some sugar into his oatmeal.

"What are you reading?" he asked. She lifted her glass to her lips. "Its a novel on the murder of Heiritty Wisk." Kenobi recognized the name, even though he had been a just child when it happened.

Heiritty Wisk had been a big time lawyer at the time. Handsome, rich, charming, he had represented some high profile clients for some big credits. Then his wife found him dead in their apartment on Canto Byte, a knife in his back.

After a large tach chase, it turns out his wife murdered him so she could get the insurance money and run off with another man. It was a huge scandal that got painfully blown up and over romanticized.

"Ahh interesting." he replied, not surprised. Shan had had an interest in crime stories as long as he had known her. Disappearances, murders, bank heists. She loved reading about them. She always came to some interesting conclusions. She would have made a good detective. He looked up again. Shan was studying him with a pensive look on her face.

"What?" he asked.  Shan placed her tablet onto the tabletop. "Nothing." she replied dismissively, looking back down to her bowl. That wasn't a nothing expression. He took a sip of his milk, eyeing her unconvincingly.

"You're looking better rested this morning." he stated, changing the topic. She nodded slowly at him. "Yeah. I feel a little better too." she admitted.

"How does it work? The dreams?" he asked as he poured some more sugar onto his oatmeal. "Like what happens if you fall back asleep?" She swallowed her oatmeal and finally looked back up to him.

"Nothing." she answered. "Literally. It's either I dream of Sadow or dream nothing at all." she said, sighing. They were silent for a long moment before she chuckled to herself.

"Remember when Anakin had to rescue me from that lake creature on Taris?" she mused with a small snicker. Kenobi cracked a smile.

"I do. Then we had to hear him complain about his soaked clothing for the next three miles." Shan gave a strong laugh. He was glad to hear it. She leaned back in her chair as she caught her breath.

"I would occasionally wonder what would happen after the war was over." she said, done with her breakfast. The mirth began to slip from her face.

"I assumed I would go back to Iveria and lead my order. I never would have thought this." she finished grimly. She tapped her fingers on the table slowly and one at a time. Kenobi sighed.

"Nor would I. I never imagined my life outside the temple. Never had any need." he admitted. "But here we are." A topic popped into his brain and danced dangerously across his tongue, but he couldn't ask her, wouldn't ask her. He didn't want to know what she planned on doing after they returned from Korriban. That was one answer he wasn't ready to face. Instead he stood up.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Shan stretched in her seat. "Well I'm ready to head out. Think you can hold down the fort here buddy?" she asked her droid. Ender beeped back at her confidently. "Good. I full confidence in you little friend." she said, reaching down to pat his back.

"One moment." Kenobi said as turned back into the bedroom. To the left of his bed was an unsuspiciously blank piece of wall. He reached his hand out towards it and tapped into the Force. He concentrated, sensing all the mechanisms behind it. There was a thud and shift before a square chunk of the wall sunk in and slid to the side, revealing the hidden safe he had installed.

Inside was a number of things: Jedi texts, his lightsaber, some relics from the war, a few holocrons. There was also a box containing the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker.

None of these things were what he come to find, however. He was looking for something specific. After a moment, he found it, tucked behind the box. It was a comm link.

Obi-Wan stepped back to close it, but hesitated. He thought for a long moment before deciding to grab his saber. He locked the safe up again and went back into the kitchen.

"Take this." Kenobi said, kneeling down to the droid. He handed the MSE the comm link. "If it should go off, contact me immediately." the former general told him. Ender beeped in understanding. A panel on his side opened up. A mechanical arm emerged and took the comm, tucking it into Ender's body a moment later.

"Take care little friend." Shan told her droid. Ender booped sadly at her.

"I know, but you have to stay. It's safer and we need you here. You have a mission." she told him. He gave a low woo. "I'll be back." Sahrea picked up a pack. Her sabers glinted at him beneath her cloak. Her eyes met Kenobi's. "To Mos Eisley."