Chapter Three

Qui-Gon turned around as he assessed the state of Professor Landru's base camp. It appeared deserted. He saw only a couple of living huts, a storage shed and some equipment he assumed was for digging.

The wind blew fiercely about him. Sand stung his eyes and dust tickled his nose and mouth. Reaching up, he pulled his goggles over his eyes and drew his hood about his head. He shrugged his haversack more firmly onto his shoulder and walked slowly through the camp.

He stopped at the larger of the two living huts. He peeled back the opening and stepped inside. It looked like no one had been inside for weeks. Sand covered everything: a sleeping cot, shelving, a small desk, datapads, food containers.

He left the hut and stepped back outside. The wind howled around him and dust skittered across the blood red sky. He gazed out across the empty, barren landscape to where a line of black mountains stretched away to the south

Qui-Gon searched through the flying dust for any sign of life. As he glanced to his right he spotted a droid. He walked over towards it. It leaned against the storage shed and sand was caked all over it.

Qui-Gon peered around it as he searched for a switch with which to turn it on. He found it at the base of its neck and pressed it. The droid wobbled to attention. Its prismatic eyes glowed as it stared back at Qui-Gon.

"Why, hello, honored sir. I am D4G4, at your service. How may I help you?"

"Where are Professor Landru and his assistant?"

"Who, sir?"

"Professor Kom Landru and his assistant, Cian Nyal. Where are they?"

"Why, I do not know, honored sir, especially since I have no idea whom you are talking about."

"Aren't you a member of their expedition?"

"I do not know anything about an expedition, honored sir, but I am assigned to the Archeological and Antiquity Consortium."

"And what do you do for them?"

"I do not remember, honored sir. Is there anything else I may assist you with?"

Qui-Gon decided something must be wrong with the droid. Looking closely he could see deep indentations alongside its head casing. This was getting him nowhere. He turned around. He would have to go back to the huts and start looking through them for any clues as to what had happened to the professor and his assistant.

He walked back through the wind towards the huts. The droid did not follow him and Qui-Gon decided to leave it where he had found it. It wasn't going to be much help to him in its present condition anyway.

Qui-Gon entered the smaller of the two huts since he had already looked in the larger one. Once inside he pulled his goggles down and pushed back his hood. He lowered his haversack to the floor and as he did so spotted a small box on the cot to his right. He knelt to open it.

Suddenly, he felt the cold kiss of a blaster muzzle against the side of his neck. His heart thudded. Not only had he not heard anyone come in, he hadn't felt anyone. His peripheral vision noted a blur of brown and black to his right. He slowly moved his hand towards the lightsaber on his belt.

"Move one more inch and I'll blow your brains out of your skull," a distorted voice growled at him.

Qui-Gon froze.

"Stand up," the voice commanded. "Slowly."

Qui-Gon slowly stood up. The blaster was still pressed against him but he noted that whoever was holding it had to reach up to keep it against his neck.

The blaster was pulled away, but Qui-Gon suspected it was probably now aimed at an even more strategic part of his anatomy.

"Now, turn around. Slowly. And keep your hands where I can see them."

Qui-Gon turned around. A small figure stood before him clothed in a black cloak, brown pants and knee high boots. A metal mask covered its face and the cloak's hood was pulled over its head. The blaster was leveled up at his face.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the figure asked. Qui-Gon couldn't tell if it was male or female. Its voice was distorted by the mask.

"My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. I'm looking for Professor Kom Landru and his assistant, Cian Nyal."

The blaster did not waver. "What do you want with them?"


"Only to see if they're all right. I was sent here by the Republic. I found the camp deserted and was hoping to discover some clue as to what happened to them."

The figure gestured towards Qui-Gon's lightsaber. "Where did you get that?"

"It's mine."

"You're a Jedi." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I am," he said quietly.

The figure finally lowered the blaster and put it in the holster on its leg. Reaching up it pulled off its mask.

A young woman stared back at Qui-Gon. A quiet oval face, rather delicate with a temptingly curved mouth. Smooth skin with pale gold undertones. Large dark gray eyes. Cian Nyal. Qui-Gon recognized her from her holoimages.

Qui-Gon bowed slightly to her. "Mistress Nyal."

She inclined her head, but her eyes were still suspicious. "How did you get here?"

"I was left here by the Republic Cruiser Alliance. The Chancellor sent me to Dyran to find out why communications from you and the professor had ceased."

Cian shrugged back her hood. Her bronze-colored hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She moved past him and picked up the box Qui-Gon had nearly opened.

"I didn't know the Jedi were so nosy," she said with a sharp glance over at him.

"I didn't mean to go through your things, Mistress Nyal. I was only looking for something that would explain why no one was here."

Cian held the box in her hands for a moment. She lifted the lid and Qui-Gon could see it was a holographic music box. The image of a Iego angel danced as a gentle, poignant tune played. Cian listened to it for a moment than closed it and slipped it inside her cloak.

"Where is Professor Landru?" Qui-Gon asked.

Cian jerked her head towards the left. "He's back at the site. I came here to get batteries for our lamps."

"How is the professor?"

Cian's eyes hardened at the question.

"He's fine," she said firmly.

"I'd like to see that for myself."

She stared at him for a long moment, her gray eyes narrowed. She finally came to some decision, and not a pleasant one, for she shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"I don't think there's anything I can do to stop you," she said. "Well, you can at least help me carry the batteries back to the site."

She turned and went out of the hut. Qui-Gon followed her as she walked towards the supply shed where the droid was still leaning against the side. Before they went into the shed, Qui-Gon gestured towards the droid.

"What happened to your droid?"

Cian stopped and glanced over at it. A strange expression came over her face.

"It was damaged."

Qui-Gon tried to keep his annoyance at the obviousness of her observation out of his voice.

"I can see it was damaged. How was it damaged? There are indentations alongside the head casing." He pointed to them.

Cian shook her head. "I don't know."

At the sound of Cian's voice the droid swiveled its head towards her. Before it could say a word, Cian reached over and turned it off. It sagged back against the shed.

Cian glanced at Qui-Gon as if waiting for some sign of objection from him. He decided to offer none for the time being. She nodded.

"Now, come on, Master Jinn. I want to get back to the site before nightfall."

She went into the storage shed. Qui-Gon gazed thoughtfully after her. She was lying about the droid. He could feel it. He rubbed his beard. What was going on here? He followed her into the shed.

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Qui-Gon hefted the pack with the batteries onto his shoulders. Since the batteries were heavier than his haversack, he had given that to Cian to carry. She had put her mask back on. She waited while he adjusted the straps.

He nodded at her. "I'm ready."

"We'll have to hurry," Cian said, her eyes bright with what Qui-Gon could see was fear. "We don't want to be caught outside after dark."

Before he could ask her why, she was already walking swiftly away from him. He glanced one more time at the droid where it lay against the storage shed, then quickly followed Cian towards the darkening line of mountains south of the camp.

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The wind ripped at Cian's cloak and blasted against her mask. She glanced back. The big Jedi was right behind her, the wind whipping his robe about him, his long strides keeping pace with her hurried ones. She couldn't see his face for he had put his goggles back on and had wrapped a scarf she had given him about his mouth.

But she remembered it clearly, for it had been a striking face: a wide, strong brow, piercing blue eyes, brown shoulder-length hair, slightly graying beard and the small knot of bone which interrupted the straight line of his nose. Broken, definitely, but then he was a Jedi. He had probably been in many battles.

A small smile crinkled Cian's lips as she recalled how she had surprised him when she had caught him riffling through her belongings. She hadn't known he was a Jedi when she had discovered him in her hut. She had thought he was just some thief who had stumbled onto their camp. Her little trick of masking her presence was something which always worked with ordinary beings, so she had used it when she had entered the hut. But that it had also worked on a Jedi was very interesting to her.

She glanced back at him again and her thoughts returned as to why he was on Dyran. He'd been sent to check up on them. Sent by that meddling Consortium, she imagined. She frowned. Professor Landru was not going to be happy about this Qui-Gon Jinn person at all. Not one bit.

Cian swallowed heavily and a wave of apprehension swept through her. She was not looking forward to arriving at the site with their uninvited guest. The Jedi was already suspicious and, short of shooting him with her blaster, there wasn't much she could have done to prevent him from coming to the site.

She just prayed that Professor Landru behaved himself. Once the Jedi was satisfied everything was all right, he would then leave--she hoped--and she and the professor could continue their work undisturbed. Please let Professor Landru be all right when we arrive, she thought.

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Qui-Gon followed the slight figure of Cian as she quickly made her way toward the dark line of mountains. He was still mulling over how she had surprised him in the hut. It was as if she had thrown a shield about her person which had voided her presence. And what was most intriguing was that her little trick was one only someone who was Jedi-trained could have done. Yet, he knew she had not been trained. Or at least not at the Temple. So where had she learned to do it?

He looked ahead and saw that Cian was making her way towards a series of caves in the mountain's side. She veered towards one of the smaller ones. The sun had not yet set, but Qui-Gon could see that only a thin sliver of light remained along the horizon.

Suddenly, Cian suddenly started running towards the cave's entrance. Qui-Gon increased his speed and caught up with her. They entered the cave together. Cian stopped just short of the entrance. She quickly reached towards a tall silver rod at the side of the wall. A force shield shimmered across the entrance.

Qui-Gon pulled his scarf from his mouth.

"What were you afraid of? What's out there?" he asked.

Cian only shook her head at him, her face still hidden behind the mask. She quickly turned away and walked deeper into the cave. Qui-Gon saw a line of glow rods had been inserted at intervals alongside the walls of the tunnel she was entering. He followed her.

He would be patient for now, he decided, but he was determined to get some answers to his questions. Something was not right here. And it wasn't just that Cian was obviously lying about how their droid had come to be damaged or that she was deliberately avoiding his questions about Professor Landru's condition. He could feel a faint, but definite, disturbance in the Force and it sent a shiver of unease through him.

To be continued...