Author's Note: Thank you for being patient with me and thank you for the reviews. :) Another chapter for your reading pleasure.

Chapter 7

Obi-wan settled his mind into the Force for a brief respite from the painful slogging. Lieutenant Sard drove them mercilessly back to the castle, allowing them no rest as they tromped through the night. Although Obi-wan could feel his exhaustion catching up with him, he willed the Force to relieve him of it. Instead, he allowed his thoughts to fret over the others. Segis was still not awake and Qui-gon was forced to carry him on his back. The older Jedi showed no strain and Obi-wan continued to feel the warmth and strength. Kail was a trained soldier and his face remained unperturbed by the hazard of their situation.

Such strong people I am with. I hope we all stay strong, whatever befalls us. I hope Commander Segis can recover from his injury, Obi-wan thought with an inward sign. As much as he tried to console himself and trust in the Force, the apprentice couldn't help but believe hope was slim for the man. Captured as they were, the boy had no doubt of what would happen to Segis. Tortured for whatever information he might possess, and then executed. I hope the Force wills that help will arrive in time.

The apprentice tried not to let his thoughts dwell on Brigan. They had not waited to see what the other soldiers in the area might find, and so Obi-wan continued to hope that the young Prince somehow eluded their grasp. Yet the boy was only eight-years-old! As little hope there was for the situation, Obi-wan clung to it as though his life depended on it.

Is there someone on this planet who would help him? I will not believe that everyone is so blinded by this ideal perfection to not consider Brigan. Oh Force, let him be safe, Obi-wan wished silently with his head bowed. When he lifted it again, he pushed his anxiety aside and allowed himself to sink into the comforts of the Force.

I am proud of you, Padawan. Try not to let our current situation weigh on you too much. Trust in the Force, Qui-gon thought to him through the Force.

Yes, Master. I do have trust everything will work out, but do you think Brigan will be all right? I worry for him in this hostile world, Obi-wan thought back. As often as Obi-wan had found himself captured and tortured, there had always been a way that saw him safely back to the Temple. Who could say the same would happen for Brigan?

I know, Padawan, but there is nothing that can be done at the moment. When we escape this situation, we will worry about it then. Understood?

Yes, Master.

After another hour trudging through the forest, they finally found themselves on the outskirts of the capital, Teruva. They were then forced to board a hovercraft and it was not until they were gliding along the streets that Obi-wan understood why. The population had gathered along the vehicle's route and as he watched from the windows he could see them screaming and shouting, their faces twisted with hate. He recoiled slightly when there was a splat against the window and egg was suddenly running down the side of it. Obi-wan almost felt ill at the raging ocean of hate outside and, again, he had to distance himself from the force to keep his stomach from churning.

"Such hate from so many people, Master. How can that be?"

"There are many conditions that allow such hate to grow. Years of oppression, subjugation, annhilation—"

"—and war," Kail finished as he looked out the other side of the window with a morose expression. Then he said, "Those who are soldiers under General Raladar—or at least were—long learned to temper their emotions. Everyone else has not been able to learn these lessons as well as we have. Too many family and friends have fallen victim to both sides of this conflict. Both want each other's blood. We tried to contain the slaughter, to stop it. But we failed."

"I am sure you did all that you could."

"Perhaps," Kail replied. "If I could have known Raladar's mind, then I could answer that. But I am not sure he did everything he could to stop it. He only tried to control it, to stem it. Not end it."

"You cannot know that. Nor can a Jedi," Qui-gon said to him. "However, if what you say is true then perhaps he did not do all that he could. Or perhaps he was taking the process to total peace step-by-step. Success might have been more probable that way."

"Yet it did not pan out." He bowed his head and frowned solemnly. To Obi-wan, he had the look of a man who had already accepted his fate at the hands of the enemy.

The apprentice quickly sent a wave of comfort from the Force to him and the pilot looked up at him with suspicious eyes. "Don't give up hope yet. There may be a way out of this situation. We are to trust in the Force."

"Well, I have no Force to trust. I merely have myself to rely on. The enemy is comprised of my former comrades and an enraged population. I can easily assess that my chances of surviving this are almost nil," he replied. "Leave me be, Jedi. I have accepted my fate."

Obi-wan frowned. Even as Qui-gon soothed him and lectured him at the same time, the apprentice could not help the irritation at the man. How can he simply give up? Help may be on the way! Master Qui-gon and I could find some way out of this. We've done so before.

Padawan, he is right. He does not know of the Force and our chance of being saved. If it is easier for him to leave for the moment and 'accept his fate,' as he says, then you should leave him be. When an opportunity presents itself, I'm sure he will have a change of heart, Qui-gon said.

"Really, it's a shame they took your light swords away. Otherwise, he and I might ask you to end our lives here right now."

The Jedi both looked to one corner of the transport to find Commander Segis had dragged himself to a wall and sat against it. His face was still ashen and his eyes sunken from lack of sleep, but he was finally awake.

"Even if we did have our lightsabers, it would be against our code to end your life. Such is the way things are," Qui-gon replied to him.

"'Tis a pity. I would much rather die here than after endless hours of pointless torture," Segis said to him.

"Why? There is still hope."

"Where, young Jedi? I cannot see it."

"You just have to believe."

"As you believe in your Force? When you take all the fancy titles away, all the structure, Captain Voron and I are merely soldiers. We must accept everything for the moment. Relying on hopes is a risk we cannot afford in any operation. It is the way we are conditioned, the way you are conditioned to rely on this Force to grant you powers no one else has. At the moment, there is nothing for either of us to believe we won't end up anything other than dead."

"Bu—"

"Padawan, I said let it go."

Obi-wan allowed the argument to drop and he heaved a pained sigh. He did not understand how anyone could possibly function with such certainty of their own death. To even give a thought to it made Obi-wan's heart quail and want to sink in despair. To combat these debilitating feelings, he let himself go into the Force and honestly believed that they could find their way out.

Suddenly the transport ground to a shuddering halt, and then the door opened with several soldiers sweeping in with blasters trained at them. When one saw Segis conscious, he called for cuffs and soon the Commander was walking along side them quietly, his back rigid from years of training. Despite what the man had said earlier about looking forward to torture for the remainder of his time alive, there was no fear or dread in his eye that Obi-wan could see. There was still that same spark of amusement and courage that he had seen when they had met…Force, was it only yesterday? He shook his head in admiration for the man.

"Ah, Commander Segis. Awake at last. I can't imagine you would have any idea where the late General Raladar's son is," Sard said when he stood toe to toe with him and peered down at the short Commander.

However Segis gave him a look of perpetual boredom and disinterest in the Lieutenant and he said, "No, I have no idea where he is." He wouldn't even look him in the eye.

Crack! Instead of a slap, Sard punched Segis and he fell hard to the ground. Segis winced and when he looked up Obi-wan could see blood seeping out of his lip.

"You will look me in the eye when speaking to me," Sard said with a malicious smile.

Two guards hauled Segis to his feet but he only smirked back at the Lieutenant. "And why should I do that, you sneaky, underhanded, traitorous, fiend?"

"Who knows? If you are nice to me, I might let you free."

Segis rolled his eyes upward. "I think Phiranus will experience total peace before that day comes."

"For once the commander is right about something," Lord Galin said as he walked out of the castle with several papers in his hand. His face was flushed with excitement and his jowls jiggled as he moved and smiled. "Commander Segis, how nice it is to see you. I apologize for yesterday. Our encounter was so abrupt I was unable to tell you that you have been charged for crimes against humanity, high treason, and the murder of General Wyler Raladar."

"How very predictable," Segis replied, peering at Galin with narrowed eyes and smiled much like a supremely satisfied cat. "Why do you not just shoot me now and get it over with?"

"You know the law as well as we do. You must be allowed the right to defend yourself in trial against a judge or a jury. We are all slaves to law." Obi-wan saw Segis give Galin an exasperated look and he felt his heart go out to the man. They were merely dragging this out to satisfy their rapacious desire to see the commander suffer.

"Now, allow me to escort you to your cell," Lieutenant Sard said, jabbing a blaster into Segis' back.

Commander Segis looked over his shoulder at Sard and said, "It is so satisfying to see that despite the upheaval you remain where you are. I bet you'll die a Lieutenant as well."

Obi-wan saw Sard's face twist in rage and Segis was slapped again. This time across the face with the blaster and the apprentice could not keep from flinching. The commander bent over in pain, and he could see the blood now pouring out of his nose as well as from the rest of his mouth.

Master, I fear we may not be able to save the commander in time.

Have faith, Padawan. Everything will work out.

But Obi-wan could not help but feel that that was the last time he'd ever see Segis again.

All that Brigan could hear was the roar of the waterfall. He had squeezed himself into a small alcove almost behind the stream and there he waited as the he could feel the presence of enemies hover above him. For the last four hours he had been crammed into that place, praying diligently never to be found. His heart pounded at such a frantic beat he thought it would burst right out of his chest.

How could I be so stupid? What of the Jedi? Did they get away? Are they now captured? I should have stayed with them. I should have warned them the men were coming, he berated himself. He so desperately wished to bash his head against the rock here for his foolishness. He had sensed them an hour before he'd made his run, yet he paid no heed to them until he realized how close they were. They were already standing above the cave the others had taken refuge in and he had instead run further ahead in hopes that he might escape them.

Running blindly through the forest it was fortunate for him that he focused the Force when he did or he would have run right off the top of the waterfall. His panic had been so consuming he hadn't even heard its roar before he was nearly on top of it. For one wild moment, he wavered at the top, flailing his arms wildly to regain his balance and when he did he felt around with the tendrils of the Force to find an adequate hiding spot and spotted this alcove tucked into the rock.

Brigan breathed a sigh of relief when the soldiers started fading from his head. He did not extricate himself from the rock until they were completely gone and when he did, he shook his head and stretched his body. Gods, that hurt, he grumbled to himself as he massaged the soreness in his muscles. I hope the others are all right.

It took a minute to reorient himself to where the cave was and then he began walking toward it, constantly feeling around with his mind to detect any other enemies in the area. "Ouch," he hissed when he felt a thorn dig into his outstretched hand as he struggled to find trees before he walked into them. "Why did I have to be born without eyes? I need to see."

He felt his heart tug as he continued to walk and felt nothing. I just haven't reached them yet. They'll be there when I get there, Brigan told himself, but as he continued to walk doubt began to grow in his mind. Finally he felt he reached it. When he felt around, he could tell the bushes had been almost entirely sheared from a weapon of some sort. No, he thought desperately. No, they have to be here. When he crawled into the cave though he felt his heart sink.

What am I gonna do? I can't do anything without them. We're all gonna die. He curled up into a ball in the cave and hugged himself.

"Well, what do we have here?"

He started and then screamed when a hand fastened onto his leg and pulled him from the cave.