Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Star Wars universe, nor do I own the Jedi Apprentice series or any of its characters. I am not making money off of this; if I were I would not be a poor college student.

Author's Note: Italics equals speaking over the Master-Apprentice bond unless otherwise noted.

Prologue:

They had not counted on pirates. The mission itself had been causing enough tension - both Master and Padawan resented the suggestion that Xanatos was unready to become a Knight, and wanted nothing more than to get in, complete their objective, and return to the Temple. The first pirate attack had left the ship reeling - the second came out of nowhere and occurred while the pilot was still attempting to fix the shield generator. The Corellian, a human by the name of Stieg Wa, had been captured and they had perhaps five minutes before they were boarded in Xanatos's estimation. The pirates would have to secure Stieg Wa, give the order to cease firing, and then they would be up to their ears in furry, stinking, noisy Togorians. They had five minutes to vacate the ship. Five minutes. The sirens were blaring as Xanatos dragged his master toward the escape pod, cursing fluently under his breath the whole way. They could not afford to delay, not for anything; every second lost was a second closer to destruction.

"Hurry!" Xanatos urged as the floor shook beneath their feet.

"Xanatos, what…?"

"I've programmed the escape pod to take us to Telos; if we can get there…"

"Why?" The question stopped Xanatos in his tracks for just a moment; he turned to look at his Master with a grim smile on his face.

"I always have a back door," he answered, then turned and led them deeper into the ship.

They had just barely reached the escape pods when another explosion rocked the ship. Xanatos watched in shock and horror as the lights on the escape pods changed from green to red without his ever pressing a button. A cursory examination told him all he needed to know; they were doomed.

"Master…"

"I see. We'll have to fight them off."

"In this bucket of bolts?!"

"You were not so dubious a few hours ago, Padawan. We shall have to convince them that we're not worth the trouble." Xanatos nodded; they truly had no other option.

"I'll try and make my way to the cockpit," he said, anticipating his Master's plans. Qui-Gon nodded.

"May the Force be with you," he said. Xanatos nodded in return, not wasting time to return the sentiment.

The noise was incredible; Qui-Gon could feel a raging headache building as he fought off one pirate after another, their war cries echoing in his ears. He had managed to force them into a tight corridor at last; their only option was to approach him one by one, making his job much easier than it might have been. That said, he was beginning to wonder what had happened to Xanatos; he had heard the boom of the forward guns up to a point, but then the haze of battle had taken over and now he could not tell if he felt only his own concern or his Padawan's as well as he took on the towering bandits.

"Jedi scum!!" The cry came from his newest adversary, a black-furred, fearsome looking Togorian whose belt was adorned with what looked suspiciously like skulls. If asked to guess, the Jedi Master might have said that this one was the Captain or at least the First Mate; the scars he glimpsed through the thick fur of the Felinoid spoke of many battles waged. He approached with a roar and then the battle was on, blow matching blow. The Jedi Master, however, had seen just as many battles as the Togorian, and had gained more skill over the years; he was slowly but surely gaining ground, backing the Togorian down the corridor until…

Agony flared across the training bond he still shared with Xanatos. Surprise, fear, and not a little anger all mingled into a strangled cry and then the connection went blank. Qui-Gon staggered for a moment, nearly overwhelmed by the strength of his Padawan's emotions; he barely managed to block the next stroke from the pirate Captain.

"Xanatos? Xanatos!" The shout should have been nearly audible to non-Force users, let alone a gifted Jedi such as Xanatos, but there was no response, and Qui-Gon realized with a sick feeling that wherever he was, Xanatos was unconscious. The next attack put him on the defensive, and he was all but defeated when a deafening roar echoed across the ship. With a snarl, the pirate was gone, leaving Qui-Gon weak and clutching a bleeding shoulder wound. The ship was listing as he made his way out of the corridor but he did not care; the pirates were gone and Xanatos…

Was nowhere to be found. Cables hung, sparking, from the ceilings and the lights flickered in the corridors but there was no sign of the Jedi Padawan. The bond was useless; the young man was evidently well and truly knocked out, and on the floor….

"No…" He could see scorch marks on the walls along with blaster points, but the only sign of Xanatos present on the entire ship was a lightsaber, still ignited, lying on the floor in a pool of coolant fluid.

"NO!!"