Chapter 10

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan marched across the grassy plains making towards a group of high hills. Qui-Gon could feel a pull in the Force, leading him in that direction. The mists hung about their ankles. High slopes rose up all around them, while rocky peaks tipped out of the top of the clouds in the sky.

"I sense danger," Obi-Wan informed his master, "An awareness, almost. Like we're being watched, or hunted."
"Yes, I'm afraid you're probably right," Qui-Gon nodded, "I feel it too. Stay sharp. I believe we're getting closer."

Qui-Gon continued straight ahead to the foggy horizon while Obi-Wan constantly checked back over his shoulders, looking out for the pilot of their attacking ship.

Dane stood underneath his ship as he tinkered with one of the control panels. It appeared as though many of the panels themselves were charred or damaged, but most of the circuitry was still intact.

"Looks like we were pretty lucky there Bee-Zed," he said to his droid who was working on another panel nearby.

"Yes sir."

Dane shook his head at the skinny metal figure. "Such a conversationalist."

Suddenly they heard a large crashing sound nearby. Dane ducked down under the ship, yanking the droid down with him.

"What was that?" he looked around, but couldn't see anything with the fog thickening, "Something's out there. Back in the ship.

Dane and BZ-9 quietly made their way back to the ramp door and inside the Comet. Dane hurried to the view screen in the cockpit to take a look.

"Sir, there is a thermal reading moving towards us."

"I bet it's the pilot of that ship," Dane said peering out, "A bounty hunter, no doubt."

"Sir, it's stopped moving."

Dane looked on the thermal scanner and saw a large, human-shaped red mass. Everything went still for a moment. Then suddenly the mass made a quick movement and the ship was rocked by a blaster.

"He's shooting at us! Damn! Get the guns ready! If you can get him in sight, shoot!"

Dane grabbed his own blaster from his belt and ran to the ship's entrance. That bounty hunter wasn't going to get in here.

But Barge was already at the door the moment Dane got there. Dane paused for a moment in front of the large bulk of a man who had just walked into his ship. Before he could make any more movements, Barge grabbed Dane by the throat with his solid, white gauntlet.

"Where are the Jedi?" he asked in a deep and threatening voice.

"There are no Jedis here," Dane choked.

Liar," he replied coldly, "Where are they?"

"Get off my ship," Dane said weakly. Barge simply laughed at him.

"Tell me where they went!" he suddenly burst out in anger, tossing Dane against the wall. Dane collapsed on the ground wheezing. He looked up at the menacing bounty hunter standing over him. He feared for himself and his ship, and he feared for his friends. But he would not betray them.

The two Jedis marched up the slopes of the foothills. Qui-Gon was following his instincts. The orb in his pockets was of no use now. It was just constantly glowing. He knew he was close, but only with connection with the Force would lead him now.

Far to the right of the two hikers, high in the hills already, a dark figure looked down on them. Darth Maul watch Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice make their way through the hills of Iago. He peered with his frightening yellow eyes out from under his black hood. His cloak was wrapped around his body like a shadow.

Darth Maul moved quickly across the grassy hilltops. He moved so fast and smooth that it almost looked like he was floating. He knew he had to keep his distance, but his master had told him that he needed not to worry about them sensing his presence. Lord Sidious would tend to that. The Jedi Order was failing, the old Sith lord had told his apprentice. Their sense of the Force was waning. And this Galen knew the answers why, and how to change it. It was up to Maul to make sure that the Jedi would never learn this.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were now quite high in the hills, being secretly pursued by the cloaked Sith away to the east. But suddenly they heard a noise from far off back to where they came from.

Darth maul grinned. His bounty hunter looked to finally be doing his job. He stared down at the two Jedis who also stopped to turn and look.

"What was that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Dane must be in trouble," Qui-Gon deduced. He looked back to the direction of his destination and pondered. "That bounty hunter or whoever he is, he's here to prevent us from finding this man, I am sure. I must keep going. But I must go alone. Obi-Wan, go back to the ship and help out Dane."

"Yes Master. Good luck."

"You too. May the Force be with you."

And with that they parted. Obi-Wan turned back town the hill, with Qui-Gon continued trekking up.

Obi-Wan watched his master wander further up the slope before he turned back the opposite direction. Then he turned the other way and began on the downward slope. Obi-Wan concentrated on keeping his senses alert, staying on watch for any threat. That threat was now coming straight in his direction. Down below, Obi-Wan glimpsed the figure of Barge marching on the plains towards the very hill he was now on.
Obi-Wan crouched down in the fog, watching his pursuer make his way up the slope. Obi-Wan never gave much thought to bounty hunters before. They were just one of those unfortunate parts of the universe. He had never had one on his trail before, but surely a bounty hunter would be no match for a Jedi.

Barge thought the opposite however. He knew he was more than a match for any Jedi. He gripped his heavy blaster in both his hands as be stomped up the hill, trampling the grass underneath his boots.

Barge saw the Jedi ahead, higher up on the knoll. But for now he acted as though he saw nothing, luring his prey into a false sense of security. He could see Obi-Wan as a red mass through his heat-vision visor installed in his helmet. Then, with a shift motion, he took aim and fired.

Obi-Wan leaped out of the way of the blast, sensing it coming a split second before. The laser made a huge divot in the ground where Obi-Wan was crouching, sending dirt flying into the air.

Barge was now running to the top of the hill like a wild bantha. Obiwan had found refuge behind a buried boulder for the time being. He drew his lightsaber from his belt and turned on the blue blade.

Barge was now at Obi-wan's height and making his way straight towards the boulder. Obi-Wan leapt over the rock, sailing towards Barge. Barge, lifted his blaster cannon up again, but Obi-Wan kicked it out of his arms as he landed. Obi-wan took a swing with his saber, but Barge managed to duck and roll away.

As he rolled, Barge grabbed a smaller blaster pistol from his belt and began firing at Obi-Wan who merely deflected the shots away.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Obi-Wan tried to get the bounty hunter to answer. But Barge was in no talking mood.

Barge took aim at Obi-Wan's hands and blasted the lightsaber right out of them. Obi-wan threw his hands back as he felt the heat of the blaster. Before he could recover his lightsaber, Barge was tackling him. They both tumbled down and wrestled on the ground.

From high above, Darth Maul looked down on the fight, very disappointed with his hired help. He was supposed to distract both of the Jedi, not just one. The other was now well on his way to the target. But Darth Maul couldn't do anything to hinder him. He was given strict orders by Lord Sidious not to reveal himself to the Jedi. Not yet.

He gritted his teeth. He would have to think of something, before the older Jedi reached the old man at the top of the hill. He ran off, leaving the bounty hunter and the padawan to their skirmish. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

Obi-Wan still rolled on the ground with the bounty hunter. They were now rolling dangerously close to the cliff edge of the hill. Obi-Wan tried to get untangled but Barge kept grabbing him back, always reaching for his throat.

Obi-Wan tried desperately to use the Force to summon his lightsaber, but he wasn't even sure whereabouts it was laying now. Yet just as he caught it out of the corner of his eye and reach his hand around, barge and thrown him over the edge.

The cliff-face was a sheer wall downwards, but there was the occasional jut of rock here and there, and luckily Obi-Wan landed on the nearest one, not far from the top. He landed in a stooping position on the ledge and quickly caught his breath. He tried meditating as his master had taught him to do in the past, but he just couldn't do it. He didn't have to look up to know that the bounty hunter was right over top of him, ready to make his final blow.