Rating: PG Spoilers: None Feedback: Yes, send it to Star_wars16@hotmail.com Written By: Chiron (Me) and Kate
Disclaimer: I think everybody knows I do not own any of the SW characters, right? Chiron and Kate own Anquilus, Othion and Gamine, though
Gamine awakened in a gasp, tears running down her face. "Master Othion! He's killing him!" She said in a near scream, her voice choked full with emotion. "It's all right, Gamine," A comforting voice softly whispered from behind her, It was Obi-Wan. "It was just a dream." He said softly. "Obi-wan. Listen to me! My father is alive and he will not stop until he gets what he wants... whatever that may be." She tried to explain.
Qui-Gon came into the room also. "What is wrong?" He demanded in a hushed voice.
"Master Othion, he's going to kill him! Can't you sense it!?!" She wasn't sure of what her father was doing to her master, but all she could sense was the pain that filled him. It was almost unbearable, to know that he was in so much pain.
"Yes, I feel it. He wants you, Gamine," Qui-Gon sighed then sat down beside her on the bed resting his broad hand on her shoulder. "He wants you for some reason, and he is torturing Othion to find you." Qui-Gon could sense the shock that overwhelmed her now.
Then why didn't he take me when he had the chance? Why? Tell me why he had to take Othion! She demanded, her voice quivering with tears. Through the moonlight both men saw water fill her beautiful hazel eyes.
I don't think he recognized you, He said, trying to answer the same question he had been wondering about all night. "Don't Worry, We will find him." He said in a comforting voice. "Now rest, you are going to need it." Qui-Gon rose and left the room.
***
Othion felt like he his body was on fire and there was nothing to do about it. The pain ripped through his body like lightening. "Had enough?" Aquilus asked then raised his hand and slapped Othion across the face, leaving a bloody mark.
"Leave... her... alone..." Othion managed to stammer, Blood all the while ran from his nose and almost every other part of his body. "She will... never fo-" He was cut short by another slap to the face.
"You fool! She is my daughter, of course she will come with me!" He yelled at the older man "Now, tell me!" He demanded. You're making this so much more difficult than it has to be, Othion! He said as he kicked the Jedi master in the stomach. Tell me now! He raged.
***
The next morning Gamine rose before anybody else. The sky was slowly becoming the rosy color of predawn. She and Her master never slept past the waking dawn. "I will find you, Master," She promised him quietly to herself. She dressed and walked to the window and looked out at the sun slowly coming into view.
"You are already up?" Qui-Gon walked in fully dressed. "I forgot you've been with Othion since you were 12." Gamine couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Well, you usually pick up some habits of your Master," She added trying not to show the emotions that were ripping through her.
Obi-Wan walked in, like Qui-Gon he was already dressed. "Where are we suppose to start today, Master?" Obi-wan asked as he sat down by Qui-Gon.
"Well, we'll begin the search for Gamine's father, I guess we should look around the place we were attacked to see if there are any clues." Qui-Gon said calmly trying not to stir up anymore emotions in the young girl.
Every time she used to hear anybody speak of her father it made her cry, but this time she didn't. " And I suppose we should be asking around, somebody would have had to of seen him at some point, right?" She asked Qui-Gon as she swallowed part of her breakfast.
He looked at her in surprise at her calm response and said, "You would think so, but he has been trained in the ways of the Jedi and he knows mind tricks, as well as any master."
Obi-wan looked at Gamine... She wore cloths similar to his and Qui-Gon's, she stood at a medium height, Her sandy brown hair barely coming to her shoulders, and her hazel eyes showed worry for her Master, instead of the tears from last night. "He will be all right." He tried to consul her.
"I am not so sure of that. Aquilus, my father, isn't the kind that gives mercy after he gets what he wants," Gamine sighed.
"That is the reason why we must find him as quickly as possible... we mustn't give up hope," Qui-Gon said in a low, but stern voice. We must never give up hope, He said looking out the window into the rising sun.
***
Othion couldn't feel anything but pain. He was sure at least half his bones were broken. Or at least they sure felt like it. He groaned. Then he realized that he was alone. Where was Aquilus? He wasn't the type to lighten up.
The Jedi Master wondered if he could stand up long enough to get to the door. He lifted his body slowly, bracing himself against a wave of nausea. Heavily limping he staggered toward the door, his only hope of escape. Just as he reached it his leg gave out, his body came tumbling down to the cold hard ground. Pain slamming through every part of his body. He reached out with his hand towards the door.
Suddenly it opened and Aquilus walked through the very same door. He looked down at the barley conscience form on the ground and wondered how much more the old man could take. It's about time you woke up, now you still haven't answered my question. He asked in a cold ruthless manner.
Never, I'll never tell you! He said, blood seeping into his eyes.
Wrong answer, old fool! The younger man snapped and kicked him squarely in the mouth.
Othion looked up at his former pupil, blood pouring from the wound he had just sustained, their eyes meeting for a split second, before the Jedi Master passed out again.
***
Even through the distance between them Gamine could sense her master's desperation, and pain. She had been forced to build mental shields just to block out the shear magnitude of the grinding pain. If only she could help him, but they hadn't gotten any closer. She began to slowly rub her temples in a desperate attempt to clear her thinking and stop a headache.
Everything had been a dead end, every time they had gotten a break it would lead them no where. Some one should have seen her father some were along the line. Why did this have to be so difficult?
Are you all right, Gamine? Obi-Wan's voice came slicing through her concentration. Slowly she turned and looked in to his eyes. They showed genuine concern for her, something that she had never seen much of in her life.
Yes, yes I'm fine, It's just so hard feeling his pain like this and not being able to help him. She said softly trying not to betray emotion in front of the young apprentice. She continued to look about to see Master Qui-Gon trying to get information from another scheming low life. The man shook his head quickly and walked away.
Another dead end I'm afraid. The Jedi Master said as he walked over to them. They all knew that their chances of finding the Anquilis with Othion alive were getting slim. Gamine looked up into the sky as the sun slowly sank below the tree line. We must rest now, we can continue our search tomorrow he said motioning for the two padawans to follow him.
As they headed back to their rooms they passed through the shopping square, but something was wrong, very wrong about it. No one was there. Not a single soul was about. Qui-Gon came to an abrupt halt quickly motioning for them to be quiet. He looked around, reaching out with his senses to find something. But he was too late, shots rang out through the abandon square, one striking Gamine squarely in the chest.
As she fell, she couldn't help herself from saying in a whisper, I'm sorry I failed you, Master. And then the whole world fell into a void of darkness.
"Gamine!" Obi-wan screamed in a shocked voice. He pulled out his lightsaber to block the shots as he raced toward the limp body of the young girl. But stopped when a speeder pulled up between them.
In one graceful movement he somersaulted onto the vechicle, knocking the weapon out of the drivers hand and then him off the speeder. Obi-wan jumped off the speeder and laned near the source of the blaster fire. He saw a few men shooting and another man who was running away, and jumping on a nearby speeder. He had no time to explain to his Master or try and convince him that that was Gamine's father. Instead, he ran top speed after the speeder.
"Obi-wan! Get back here!" Qui-gon screamed in shock as he saw his apprentice running away.
*
Obi-wan tried desperately to keep up but the speeder was just going too fast. He finally yelled out, "Stop and face me! You know you just killed your daughter!" Obi-wan wasn't even sure if she was dead, but the chances weren't good. All of a sudden the speeder screeched to a halt and Obi-wan grabbed his lightsaber and held it, ready to fight.
"Are you trying to fight me, boy? I could snap your neck easily, fool!" The man said in a harsh voice filled with anger. "And that wasn't my daughter, young fool."No, it couldn't be. He asked himself, "Was it really my daughter?" He turned on his lightsaber.
"Yes! You killed your daughter, Gamine, you just took her life, Aquilus!" Obi-wan yelled anger raging through him. Suddenly Obi-wan attacked the hooded figure.
"You lie, boy!" he said then slashed him, hitting the young man in the stomach and quickly jumped back on the speeder and raced away. He had only burnt Obi-wan, but the shock wasn't from that... it was from how he was so cold, so evil. It made him sick. How could somebody do that to his daughter, he wondered?
"Obi-wan!" Qui-gon yelled in a sharp voice that he rarely used with anyone. As he approached him at a full run. The Jedi Master stopped and knelt down beside his apprentice but at once saw he was injured. "It... was him, Master," Obi-wan managed to stammer through the pain and his gasping for breaths of air. It was more than just a burn Qui-gon noticed. "Why didn't you tell me, Obi-wan?" He asked in a soft voice.
"Gamine, she was injured.... She would have been killed if..." He was cut off when he saw the look in his Master's eyes. He has never seen it before. A pain so deep, it was almost unbearable.
"No. Master. It can't be. You're wrong," Obi-wan said in a voice filled with denial. It just couldn't be, he thought, not Gamine. He looked up at his Master with questioning eyes, but all Qui-gon could do was lower his head, as his eyes filled with tears of mourning.
To Be Continued