Note: Thank you for the reviews! Wipeout ( Blueberry milk? Never heard of it. Huh, odd. :) NP on ch 7. Well, I guess you're just going to find out soon enough... *grins because she toying with like 50 ideas*) Jacen200015 ( Wow, hold on let me make another batch! Shen, gimme the instructions!!! I can't bloody cook! (nearly burned out her home ed. class! Can you believe that?!) Thanks for the review!) Nike (heh, don't worry I kept the EVENTUALLY in mind. I promise!!! Really I am keeping it in mind! And SURE! Have a whole tub of it! *Gives a big gallon tub filled with ice cream to Nike* :) ) Freakizimi ( Here, have a Hersey's bar too then! LOL! Yes, glare, GLARE! heh) Shen Panda ( *pays her $2.95* Wow! What wonderful predictions! I can't say what's right or not because you have to read it! Lol, i'm evil! Yep, lots of different packs. Mwhahahahahaha! Pie, Pie, pie!!! *Starts a riot* PIE! lol. j/k.) Jen (Enjoy your brownies. I hurried with the chapter and it's a good length so I hope you like!!! Don't hate me for the last sentence though! *gets her civil riot protection gear on* Alright, I'm ready. lol ) Ganki (Ah! You have returned! lol. Wow, what's with my reviewers and getting into the bad bin with parents? heh, have a tissue sister. And don't fret after this chapter! I will have you in mind when THEY come back....and THEY won't be happy with a particular Jedi and accomplice. Bawhahahahahahahahahaha! I'll keep you in mind for your finals! Ekk!)
Thank you guys millions!
Sorry I didn't write very long thank you's today but I'm in a rush here. I've been restricted to 1 hour a night while Exams are going on here. I'm so glad I only have 4 classes to take them for!!! Good luck to anyone else who is in the testing season!Enjoy the chapter!
Ch. 9 Hunted
Mace opened one eye hearing moving.Suddenly his feet were shoved off the computer border and he was wide awake.
"Whoa, what are you doing?" He asked seeing how Qui-Gon was rushing around the small cockpit and the engines slowly dropping them out of lightspeed. Qui-Gon didn't answer, instead he was looking through files on the computer.
"Hello? Qui-Gon, what in Force's hell are you doing?"
"Turning us around." Qui-Gon said simply.
"What? Why?" Mace questioned sitting up straighter.
"They gave us a false map." Mace frowned.
"What?"
"Sau, she gave us a false map of the routes Obi-Wan and Jesi were taking."
He pressed a botton and the map came up.
"They didn't take this route," He said hurriedly and punched another button.
"They took this one."
Mace studied the map.
"Sau's in on all of this?" He asked.
"Yes, or I think she started out that way. Remember how she explained the entire systems inhabitants?"
Mace nodded.
"She explained that of a different system. The system of Ginveri, not Blucia. She told us just not the way we were thinking."
"So is she a good guy or a bad guy?"
"We'll figure out when we get there."
"We're going to Oismin?"
"No, Ginveri system." The ship's engines moaned as the course suddenly turned back on itself to the system they had just passed an hour ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/So how, exactly, do we do this?/ Border asked. He had become Jesi's interpreter for this little rescue mission.
"I'm not sure." Jesi said quietly.
Much quieter than she would if she were speaking to a human but with his keen hearing he could hear her well.
/Not sure? Is that how your kind operates? You just charge in?/
Jesi glanced at him. "Sometimes."
Border snorted. /Forget that, your in a Crept Hound pack now m- Lady, we plan before we hunt./
"Right, just remember you're not hunting the Jedi this time." Jesi warned.
Border's ears twitched and he bit his front teeth together slightly to make a tapping or clicking sound, then looked back out onto the beach.
/I don't see him...but I can feel him./ The leader said coming to them.
Jesi looked at him.He was a considerable amount larger than the rest but Border was near his size.
"What do you feel?" Jesi asked.
/Pain./
Jesi looked back out onto the beach.
"How many people did you say you saw?"
/ At least a dozen./ He replied. /There may be more inside that...thing./ He continued looking at the ship. Jesi caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
"I think I have a plan now." She said quietly and turned to face them fully.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Obi-Wan didn't even bother to try and get up this time. He wasn't so weak that he couldn't, he just didn't find the need to. Either way he'd end up at the bars again. Not to mention that his back felt as though it were on fire and his head felt as though it would explode with the ringing in his ears. He thought he felt water touch his face but figured he was dreaming or something. But then more of it came. It was raining.Wonderful.
"Turn the voltage off." Grifth ordered.
"Why?" A man asked almost whiningly.
"Because, you nit wit, the power might short cercit or better yet, why don't we just leave it on for a flood and fry the whole bloody lot of ya!" Grifth snapped.
The humming almost instantly stopped.Grifth squated down next to Obi-Wan.
"No fear kid, we'll be back.And no matter your help or not, we'll find Stafferi."
Obi-Wan blinked as Grifth stood walking away.
"Why do you want her so badly?" Obi-Wan asked hoarsely. Grifth stopped at the gate and turned to face him as Obi-Wan slowly sat up.
"It's not so much her...it's what she has with her."
Obi-Wan frowned.
"Everything she had is in the bottom of that sea." He said.
Grifth smiled. "It's not a worth or value young Jedi..She has a c-"
"Grifth!!" The yell tore through the air followed by a thunder...and a snarl?
Grifth turned as the men at the gate started running around to the other side of the ship.Blaster shots went off and more snarls and..barks maybe?
"Now what.." Grifth muttered opening the gate but before he could close it a blaster barrel was next to his ear.
"Funny how easy a person can sneak on the sand." Jesi said quietly but angrily.
"Ms.Stafferi, how nice of you to join us." Grifth said. The rain started down harder and colder.
"Pleasure's mine." She retorted and looked at Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan, can you walk?" She asked gently. The Jedi nodded standing, though wobbly and made his way to the gate.
"Back up." She ordered pushing the barrel into Grifth's head. He tensed and backed away from the open gate. Another howl filled the air.
"What do you have attacking my men?"
Jesi smiled."Some wonderful creatures known as Crept Hounds."
Grifth's eyes widened.Obi-Wan stepped out of the cage and Jesi looked at the Force collar, it had a lock on it.
"Where the keycard?" She asked.
"What?"
"The keycard damnit." Jesi spat.
"I don't have it."
Jesi glared. "You-"
/Lady, we must go back.We are now outnumbered./ Border's out of breath voice said. Jesi just thought 'go' and was answered by a howl.
"Come on." Jesi said. "Get in the cage."
Grifth looked at her unbelievingly.
"In." She demanded charging the blaster.
Grifth obeyed and she took the key chain from his belt closing the gate while still aiming at him.
"Have fun." Obi-Wan said. Jesi smiled and shook the keys then turned with Obi-Wan and fled as she heard men starting to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're certain about this?" Mace asked looking at the planet they were nearing.
Qui-Gon nodded. He knew they were there.Obi-Wan's side of the bond was still silent but Jesi had just as bright as a signature as Qui-Gon himself did and he could feel her near if he searched for the familar signature....even if that near was about 80 miles away.
"Alright." Mace started setting in the landing sequence.
"Wait," He paused, "How do we know were to land? There could be continents on that planet, we may land on the wrong one."
Qui-Gon paused then was about to say something when he noticed something off to the side of the greenish blue planet. He squinted leaning forward on the computer boards.
"What's that?"
Mace shot a glance towards what he was looking at."A meteor."
He said simply looking back down then did a double take. "Maybe not."
"No, it has no tail to it." Qui-Gon said. Mace looked to the tracking screen to the right of him.
"It's not showing up here."
"It's a ship." Qui-Gon stated nearly certainly.
"I think so too."
"So that's how we land." Qui-Gon said with a bit of triumph in his voice. Mace frowned shaking his head.
"How do you figure? If we can see them, they can see us. I think it may be a little obvious if they land and we follow them in."
"We don't follow them physically." Qui-Gon replied moving to the tracker and punching in a few characters. A small bleep on the screen appeared. Mace looked at it, then to the ship, then back.
"How'd you do that?"
"Small tactic I picked up from Obi-Wan, boy's a genius when it come to technology."
"Well damn, next time my speeder's auto monitor breaks, I'm not calling you, I'll call your boy."
Qui-Gon smiled making a memory brand of 'your boy' and he turned to watch the other ship, which was really just a small dot from it's engines in the dark space, start to enter the atmosphere of the planet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain had only gotten harder over the small time it had been since they left the beach, and Jesi was fairly certain it'd continue that way. Once a fair distance from the beach she placed a hand on the young Jedi's shoulder telling him it was ok to stop. He did and turned to her catching his breath.
"You ok?" She asked catching her own.
He nodded then winced.
"Yeah, whatever you say." She said sarcastically. She motioned to keep moving and placed a hand over his wrist leading.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Alright, we received their status and location. How far away should we be?"
"As far as possible but so we can still be able to get to Obi-Wan and Jesi if they're near them." Qui-Gon replied.
"Oh, yeah, that should be easy." Mace said shaking his head.
"There's huge parcipitation amounts where they are, we may be able to keep to the clouds so they can't see us."
"But they'll hear us." Mace informed him.
"But with this piece of sheet metal, they may mistake the engines for thunder if we power them low enough."
Mace had to agree with that one. "Alright, I think that'll do."
Qui-Gon glanced at him.
"Of course it will do, it's all we have."
Mace nodded after quickly sending some information to the Council about their location, destination, and time expectency.
"Strap in; could be bumpy with the storm." Mace said strapping himself in tightly. Qui-Gon did the same and watched as the space around them began to fade into a gray fog of clouds and percipitation. 'Hold on Obi-Wan...almost there.'
~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, no offense to you or anything Obi-wan, but I think I'm like bad luck to you.Every time I've been with you off Courusant you've gotten beat to shreads."
"Oh, trust me.." Obi-Wan said running a hand through his soaked hair. "It happens with or without you."
Jesi glanced back at him.
"Should I take that as a good thing for me or a bad thing for you?"
He shrugged, then regretted it and Jesi stopped.
"What hurts so much?" She asked.
"Nothing."
"Hey kiddo, I may have impostered as something as a healer but don't forget it comes with the knowledge of one.What is it?"
Obi-Wan sighed.
"I would guess electrical burns on my back." He said as it thundered.
Jesi nodded and stepped to get behind him. As she did so something screamed at her to stop, deep within her in the semi tamed area of her untamed, untrained, gift. She looked up only for a moment before she closed her eyes and waited for only a split second.
Tbc...
Ah HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The return of the cliffy! I'm SO.....So....I don't know. You fill in that blank. heh. Update asap! Don't forget to review! Does anyone like popcorn or nachos???? If not, I have candy bars...* waves candy bars infront of everyone.*
Btw, all you Obi/torture lovers, have no fear! I promise, that's not the end of 'it'. Think of it this way-- What's more dangerous, a bounty hunter trying to use bait, or a very angry semi powerful person who isn't happy with you? *laughs evilly again*
Til then,
Elli
