Star Wars: Dark Empress
A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! You guys rock. ^^
Chapter 4
Tahl Jinn took a deep breath as the door to the Room of a Thousand Fountains slid shut. The moist, cool atmosphere of it usually was enough to soothe her when she was upset about something. Yet today, it had little effect.
The brief talk she had had with Obi-Wan was disappointing to say the least. He had shielded himself off so tightly that it was difficult to even sense his presence anymore. Tahl sighed. It had been nearly seven months since the Naboo mission. Still, Obi-Wan didn't want anything to do with his former Master or her. A part of her felt guilty. She felt that she had played a part in Obi-Wan's gradual alienation from his Master.
"Master Tahl?" a soft voice said from nowhere.
Startled from her thoughts, Tahl whirled and then felt a familiar presence. A warm smile flooded her face. "Hello Bant."
Although she couldn't see the girl from Mon Calamari, Tahl could picture the girl's radiant smile. Once, Bant Eerin had been her apprentice. After the disastrous mission to New Apsolon, it had been diagnosed that Tahl's body was far too fragile now to go on any active missions as she had before. That also decreed that she would no longer be able keep a Padawan.
Bant had been reassigned to Master Kit Fisto. At first both Tahl and Bant raged against the decision, but in the end the Council's logic prevailed and Bant became Kit Fisto's new Padawan. He was a kind Jedi Master and Tahl couldn't have been happier for the gentle Calamarian girl to be assigned to such a Jedi. Even now, Tahl and Bant still shared a special bond.
"How are you, Master Tahl? It's been so long!" Bant asked, hugging her old Master quickly.
"I've been good. It's good to see you," Tahl replied smiling.
"And I you," Bant replied sweetly. "So, how is Qui-Gon and his new apprentice?"
"He and Anakin are just fine. Anakin's actually starting to make some friends," Tahl told her.
She felt apprehension suddenly build up in Bant. "Um…have you been able to talk to Obi-Wan? Or are they still…"
Tahl shook her head. "A few words here and there, but you know him."
"He's stubborn."
"Precisely."
Bant took Tahl's hand and pressed it in between her hands. "Don't worry, Master Tahl. He'll come around. He's just…getting used to things."
"Have you been able to talk to him?"
"No, I haven't seen him lately. Every time I have, he usually just chats for a little bit and leaves."
Tahl sighed again. Was Obi-Wan turning away from Bant as well? She felt the guilt deepen. As if sensing it, Bant squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Don't do this, Master Tahl. It isn't your fault. Obi-Wan just has some things he still needs to figure out. Do not blame yourself."
Tahl nodded. An authoritative caught her attention as Bant's name was called. Immediately, Tahl recognized the unique tenor. Kit Fisto.
"Coming, Master," Bant replied. "I must go, Master Tahl. It was good to see you again."
They embraced swiftly and then Bant was off. As soon as she heard the door slide shut Tahl wandered over to the spot she favored and knew by heart of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She sat down on the smooth bench and faced the gushing water that she could not see. Questions still nagged at her, but Tahl felt more optimistic. Something still bothered her, though. Why did she have the feeling that Obi-Wan was in great danger?
Even as Wengle finished shouting his warning, Nya was already activating her lightsaber. The soothing white blade shot to life and glowed expectantly. Its familiar hum brought her a moment of comfort before a volley of blaster fire quickly speeding towards her caught her attention. Twirling her lightsaber, she easily deflected the shots but dodged left and curled into a roll to escape another wave of shots.
In front of them stood a fairly large group of battle droids. They were arranged in a complete semi-circle around the ramp and firing their weapons fast and furiously. Out of the corner of her eye, Nya watched as her Padawan sliced through one droid and neatly whirled to dispatched another even before the first one dismembered.
Nya parried another vault of shots. Then she spun and lashed out with her foot to knock one droid down. Another two slowly shuffled towards her as they unleashed a steady stream of fire. Grimly, she moved to deflect the deadly neon red blasts.
A bit farther ahead of her, Obi-Wan fought fast and efficiently. Heaps of twisted metal lay scattered all around his feet. His ice blue lightsaber sailed gracefully through the air and cleanly sliced through his mechanized adversaries. The handsome Knight's face was twisted into a determined expression as he dodged a shot fired at point blank range.
There was a surge in the Force. Nya looked over just in time to see a trio of droids flying backwards through the air before crashing into a stack of crates. Wengle waved his orange lightsaber, in a motion that created the illusion of a fan, to smoothly avert blaster fire away from him. Then he climbed onto a crate and picked off droids by hitting them with shots deflected from their own blasters.
Through out the entire battle, Nya kept a close eye on Honi. Her young Padawan was making good use of her skills and holding her own quite well. Robes flying, thoughts focused, Honi moved agilely through the endless hoards of battle droids. The green blade of her lightsaber moved like in a blaze and dropped droids left and right.
It felt as if the Force were its own presence in the room. It flowed through them and allowed Nya instant awareness of her surroundings, warning her of possible dangers and where her fellow Jedi were to move next. The four of them fell into a rhythmic fighting routine. Slowly but surely, the droids began lessening in their great numbers and the Jedi were advancing.
Still, something felt wrong. Nya frowned as she easily destroyed another droid and watched it crumple. This almost seems too simple.
No sooner had she thought it, a sharp wailing sensation of danger flashed through her mind from the Force. Suddenly, they were being surrounded again. This time, several objects resembling metallic wheels rolled into a curve around them and then unfurled into insect like legs and stubby arms with laser weapons built into place. A translucent blue shield appeared in front of each one as they scuttled into attack mode. Nya gritted her teeth in frustration. Droidekas.
"Master! Look!" Honi cried abruptly, jerking her head towards the other end of the spaceport. When Nya glanced over tersely her eyes widened in surprise and another waning insistence of danger nearby reasserted itself in her brain. Across the spaceport sat a massive weapon of some sort that Nya could only identify as an illegal mechanism that she had thought had gone out of circulation years ago. A particle laser ray, if Nya had identified it correctly. And it was aimed at the Crimson Saber.
"Obi-Wan! Wengle!" Nya yelled at the same time that the Droidekas opened fire. "The ship-"
Obi-Wan cut her off before she finished. "Let's clear a path then."
He fiercely spun his lightsaber in an intricate circle and parried the neon blue blasts the Droidekas were delivering with perfect order and deadliness. They harmlessly absorbed into the shields protectively covering the Jedi's new opponents.
"And how do we do that?" Wengle asked as he joined Obi-Wan's defense.
Nya saw the ray begin charging, thin threads of light slowly gathering to the middle into a flaming blood red center. "It's charging!"
Beside her, Honi struggled to hold off a band of Droidekas that were gradually gaining ground on them. Nya helped her but became increasingly aware of how much more dangerous that their situation was becoming by the second.
Her eyes scanned the spaceport rashly for something-anything- that could help them. Briefly, they rested on the silver container crates that Wengle had been using earlier in their fight against the battle droids. They were stacked up rather high and loomed over them almost mockingly. And a plan fueled by sheer desperation formed swiftly in her head.
"The crates!" Nya called to the others. She threw a quick glance back in the direction where the laser ray was. The young Jedi Master noted the burning crimson sphere that had formed in the center of the cannon on the ray and the ominous red glow that had started engulfing the spaceport. They were about to run out of time.
"Honi!" She called to her apprentice who was still gallantly fighting the Droidekas. "Distract them!"
"Not like I have much of a choice!" Honi jibed and pressed forward slightly. Her small but noticeable maneuver had caused a minor distraction for the Droidekas that had focused on attacking Nya. That short expanse of time was all she needed.
Reaching out to the elusive power of the Force, Nya concentrated her will on two of the crates. They were a bit heavier than she had expected but with a flick of her wrist, she heaved them towards the line of Droidekas mercilessly firing on her Padawan. The heavy crates crashed into the droids and started a domino effect on three of them. The first one was completely crushed by one of the crate and it, along with the crate, barreled into another two that were side by side. The second crate tumbled over their remains, causing more damage.
On the other side, Obi-Wan and Wengle had devised a similar strategy. Wengle drew the fire towards him as Obi-Wan crushed them with the large crates. It hadn't destroyed all the Droidekas but it had opened a hole in the oppressing line. The remaining Droidekas were trying to overcome the confusion that had suddenly fallen upon their unit.
"That's our cue," Obi-Wan said. Without a word, the four Jedi sprinted towards the far wall. The red glow had spread throughout the entire spaceport and now the dull gray walls seemed afire with the eerie red light. Nya felt the temperature significantly rise as well.
"We're running out of time," Wengle gasped as he fled. Behind them, the remaining Droidekas had reassembled and were already attacking once more.
"Blast!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as a sizzling blue beam soared centimeters past his cheek. The shots coming from the Droidekas ricocheted off the walls, some nearly hitting the Jedi running towards it. As they reached the wall, Obi-Wan plunged his lightsaber into it and yelled, "Cover me!"
"Help him, Padawan!" Nya ordered Honi. The girl rushed past her to comply. Nya and Wengle stood next to each other, protecting Obi-Wan and Honi from the Droidekas as they worked together to create an escape route.
"Just like old times, huh?" Wengle grunted and swept his lightsaber low.
"Unfortunately in this case," Nya wryly replied almost missing a blast.
The Force suddenly went into a frenzy of alarm. Full of dread, Nya looked over in time to see the harsh red beam explode out of the cannon, roaring its way towards the helpless ship. The noise was deafening and the heat becoming unbearable.
"Got it! Come on!" Obi-Wan screamed authoritatively over the incredibly loud sounds. Nya whirled and ran without hesitation. Honi and Obi-Wan had already disappeared out the large makeshift exit they had made.
Bright, yet welcoming sunlight, hit Nya's eyes as soon as she made it out of the spaceport. At the same time, the red beam had collided with the Crimson Saber. Nya felt a colossal wave of heat assault her back and the force of the thunderous explosion sent her flailing forward through the air.
With a painful grunt, the young Jedi Master landed in a soft patch of grass, her cheek grazing a small, sharp rock. For a moment, she lay dazed. Then a familiar voice brought her out of her stupor.
"Master? Master!" Honi yelled and dropped to her knees beside Nya. "Master, are you okay?"
Sucking in a deep breath, Nya pushed herself into a sitting position. "I'm fine. Oww…where's Obi-Wan and Wengle?"
"Right here," Obi-Wan's crisp accented voice stated as he and Wengle appeared from their left. They were bruised and dirty but other than that fine as well.
"Well, everyone's here," Wengle said looking around at the others. "What now?"
Before either Nya or Obi-Wan could open their mouth to reply, a gruff voice filled the air.
"Not one move, Jedi."
A/N: Whoo boy! It's been such a long time since I've written. I'm kind of out of practice, but watching Episode 2 helped encourage me. That is one kickass movie! Anyway, tell me what you think. Yay or nay? Read and Review!