Chapter Nine

Aalea's awareness slipped into Cian's mind and gazed at what symbolized the young woman's mental landscape. A harsh and desolate scene of towering snow drifts and mountains of ice lay before Aalea.

She shivered. For off on the horizon she could see the Sith's Force signature. It manifested in Cian's mind as roiling black thunderheads and ruby colored streaks of lightning that scoured the earth and sky.

Aalea quickly masked her presence from the Sith and ran across the frozen plains. Soon she saw a solitary ebony tower in the middle of the white landscape.

Aalea entered it. A staircase, caked in frost, led up toward the top. She ran up the stairs. She slipped and fell twice on the ice, but she finally made it to the top of the tower. She stopped before a huge wooden door covered in rime.

"Cian" Aalea shouted, her breath frosting in the air. "Cian" she called out again. She pushed against the door. A throbbing cold seeped into her palms and froze her hands. She gasped and quickly drew her hands away.

"Cian," she shouted again, louder.

"Who's there?" a frightened voice cried from behind the door.

"It's Aalea."

"Aalea? Qui-Gon's friend?"

"Yes. Please, open the door. I can't from this side."

"I'm afraid to. It....it hurt me. Oh, it hurt me so bad."

A wrenching sob seeped from behind the door. "It said it would be back. It said it would make me watch it kill Qui-Gon."

"Cian, please, open the door," Aalea begged. "We don't much time if we want to help Master Qui-Gon."

There was silence and then the door slowly creaked open. Aalea ran in.

Cian was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball. Tears were flowing down her face and she was humming a song which rose and fell in soft, haunting tones.

Aalea ran over to her. She placed her tiny hands against the woman's face.

"It's all right, Cian. Don't be afraid."

Cian looked up, her gray eyes dark with pain and fear.

"You're not alone," Aalea said soothingly. "I'm here. I'll protect you. But we must hurry. You must get up."

Cian nodded and struggled to sit.

"You're just as beautiful as Qui-Gon described you," she said softly as she gazed up at Aalea. "But, how did you get here? Inside my mind?"

"There's no time, Cian. We have to get out of here."

Cian nodded and, with Aalea's help, got to her feet. Aalea guided her carefully down the stairs and out of the tower. Together they stood on the ice plain.

Aalea glanced up at the sky above them and her heart lurched. The thunderhead of the Sith's Force signature was towering even higher in the sky.

"What does that mean?" Cian asked as she looked fearfully up at the massive dark cloud.

"It means the Sith is winning," Aalea said, her voice breaking. "And Master Qui-Gon doesn't have much time."

"What can we do?"

Aalea was suddenly at a loss. She was only eight years old and an initiate at that. But, she realized, she was also in Cian's mind and the woman was very strong with the Force.

She took Cian's hand and looked up at her.

"I need your help, Cian. Maybe together we can defeat him."

Cian's eyes widened in fear. "I don't know..."

Aalea squeezed her hand. "We have to try. For Master Qui-Gon's sake. He won't be able to hold much longer against the Sith. He's still so weak."

Cian nodded. Together the woman and the girl ran hand in hand toward the root of the storm.

------

Obi-Wan pressed open the door to his quarters. He had finally convinced Yoda's aide to let him speak to the Jedi Master despite the lateness of the hour. Yoda had listened attentively as Obi-Wan had described his and Aalea's forebodings concerning Qui-Gon.

The Jedi Master had then confessed he too had felt a disturbance in the Force which had troubled his meditations. He had assured Obi-Wan he would immediately contact the Chancellor and request that one of the fastest ships in the Republic fleet be sent to Dyran.

Obi-Wan had come back to share the news with Aalea but, as he entered the common area, he saw no sign of her.

He walked around to the front of the settee. Aalea was lying on the floor, the stone from Qui-Gon clutched tightly in her hand. Obi-Wan knelt quickly next to her.

He placed his fingers on her neck. There was a pulse, but it was very weak and her skin was like ice. He lifted her up and laid her gently on the settee. He called her name. Aalea did not stir. Obi-Wan activated his comlink.

"Master Yoda, come quickly! Something's happened to Aalea!"

---------------

Blocking and countering, twisting and slashing, Qui-Gon and the Sith battled across the floor of the cavern.

Suddenly the Sith parried one of Qui-Gon's strokes and his blade singed against Qui-Gon's shoulder.

Qui-Gon grunted in pain. He backed away, mindful of keeping his balance on the uneven ground.

Qui-Gon knew he was outmatched. He was still very weak from the Sith poison and, without Aalea's Force strength to supplement his own, he was unable to draw on enough of the Force to aid him. But he was determined to hang on if there was a chance he could save Cian. He would have to trust Aalea would find a way to help her.

The Sith unleashed a deadly series of strokes with his blade. Qui-Gon focused on defending himself against them.

-----------------

Obi-Wan stood next to the bed Aalea was lying in. They were in the Healer's Wing of the Temple. Aalea was hooked up to a life support system which was sustaining her bodily functions. Healer Sklar had determined the child was in a deep coma, but could find no explanation as to what had caused it.

Obi-Wan's stomach clenched with fear as he looked at Aalea. What could have happened? He had only been gone a short while.

He turned at the sound of Yoda's staff clicking on the floor as he entered the room. The Jedi Master wasn't alone however. Yarael Poof was with him. Yarael Poof was a Quermian and Obi-Wan knew him to be a Master of the Living Force.

Obi-Wan bowed to them both and Yarael's long neck bobbled as he returned Obi-Wan's bow.

"Master Yarael have I asked to be here. He the child will examine," Yoda said to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan stepped aside as the Quermian walked over to Aalea's bed. He placed his thin long-fingered hands alongside her head and closed his large pink eyes.

As Yarael examined Aalea, Obi-Wan turned to Yoda.

"Master, there's nothing I can do here," he said quietly. "I would like your permission to go to Dyran."

Yoda shook his head. "Here you will remain. Master Windu will go to Dyran."

"But, Master, even you sensed that Master Qui-Gon is in danger. He needs me."

"Even with fastest ship, three days will it take to reach Qui-Gon. Here you will better serve him I think. Permission is denied."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms in frustration. But before he could think of some other argument to offer Yoda, Yarael drew his hands away from Aalea. He turned back to Obi-Wan and Yoda.

"The Force matrix this young one travels," he said in his high-pitched sing-song voice.

"The Force matrix?" Obi-Wan said. He shook his head. That wasn't possible. Aalea was too young to even know how to visualize it, much less traverse it.

Yoda, however, nodded in agreement.

"Notice the stone in her hand she holds," he said to Yarael, pointing to Aalea's hand.

Yarael's long neck coiled down as he examined it.

He turned to Obi-Wan. "What is the importance of this?"

"It's from Master Qui-Gon," he replied. "He asked me to give it to Aalea. He brings her a stone from every world he visits."

Yarael nodded. His large eyes blinked slowly.

"Then to Master Qui-Gon it would appear she has gone. She is using the residue of his Force signature from the stone to guide her."

Obi-Wan shook his head in disbelief. "You're saying Aalea's consciousness has gone in search of my Master? But, she's only a child. How could she even know how to do such a thing?

"Qui-Gon's doing I suspect in this," Yoda said.

Yarael nodded in agreement. "Yes, Master Qui-Gon is one of few Jedi who has mastered this aspect of the Living Force."

"And only Qui-Gon," Yoda added, "is reckless enough to a child to teach it."

Obi-Wan turned to Yoda.

"I'm sure if my Master taught her to do it, there was a good reason for it," he said hotly before he could stop himself.

Yoda's eyes widened at Obi-Wan's outburst.

Obi-Wan bit his lip, but he couldn't believe his Master would ever do anything which would deliberately put anyone in danger, especially someone he cared for as much as Aalea.

Yarael laid a gentle hand on Obi-Wan's arm.

"I agree, young Obi-Wan. Master Qui-Gon would never have taught her to do this if he thought she would attempt it on her own." Yarael gazed back at Aalea. "She must care for him very much to do such a dangerous thing."

"What will happen to her, Master?" Obi-Wan asked.

"If her consciousness does not return to her body soon, she will die," Yarael said simply.

Obi-Wan stared in shock at Yarael.

"Die?" he repeated. He couldn't believe this was happening. Qui-Gon was in danger and now Aalea was near death. Obi-Wan had never felt so helpless.

"But there must be something we can do?" he appealed to Yarael.

Yarael slowly shook his head, his large pink eyes regarding Obi-Wan with a deep sadness.

Yoda suddenly moved closer to Obi-Wan and grabbed his arm.

"Assist her you can," he said fiercely. "Important to you she will be.

"What?" Obi-Wan said, startled by Yoda's words. "I hardly know her."

Yoda stared up at him, his large eyes bright and hard.

"Know or not know. Doesn't matter. You in your heart can see what needs to be done."

Obi-Wan looked down at Yoda for a long moment. He then nodded. Yoda released his arm.

Obi-Wan walked over to Aalea's bed. He gazed down at her. She was such a little thing, but in that big bed, with all the tubes and wires hooked up to her, she seemed even tinier. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and looked at her hand which was still clutching the stone.

He lifted her hand. It was so small and so cold. Obi-Wan also noted she was holding the stone so tightly that the nails on her fingers were digging into the skin. As Obi-Wan stared at the stone, he suddenly realized that Qui-Gon's request he give it to her was his Master's way of asking him to watch over her in case something happened to him on the mission. Obi-Wan leaned close to Aalea's ear.

"Don't worry, Aalea," he whispered. "I'm here. I'll protect you."

-------

Aalea and Cian were buffeted by the wind. Cold rain lashed against them. They stood in the very center of the Sith's presence in Cian's mind. Aalea held on to Cian's hand. She could sense the woman's fear.

"What can we do?" Cian shouted. The wind howled around them and black streaks of icy rain plummeted them. Blood red lightening lashed the ground around them.

Aalea shook her head. She didn't know. She concentrated and reached out to Qui-Gon. He was holding on, but just barely. The Sith would soon detect Aalea's presence in Cian's mind. She knew they didn't have much time.

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Qui-Gon was weakening. The Sith, using Cian's body, unleashed stroke after stroke against him but, because Qui-Gon was also trying to keep from killing his opponent, fearful that not only would he destroy Cian, but possibly Aalea, he was using only defensive tactics against the Sith.

Suddenly the Sith parried and knocked Qui-Gon's lightsaber from his hand. He held the blade to Qui-Gon's throat.

"See," the Sith said. "How easy it is to kill the Jedi."

Qui-Gon lifted his head and stared defiantly back.

--------

"NO!" Aalea shouted.

Cian looked down, her eyes wide with fear.

"Aalea, what's wrong? What's happened?"

But Aalea wasn't looking at her. She was staring up at the massive thunderhead above them. Her violet eyes were wide and blazing.

"I won't let you hurt him!" she shouted.

She let go of Cian's hand and raised up her arms. Cian backed away, for Aalea had transformed. Her small body was glowing with power. Suddenly two bolts of violet lightning arched from her hands. They leapt upward and struck the thunderhead towering above her.

Aalea felt her Force power surging through her. It had come unbidden from deep inside her when she had sensed the Sith was about to strike down her beloved Qui-Gon, the one person in the entire universe whom she knew without a doubt loved her. The power had leapt from within her like some wild animal suddenly uncaged and all her love and fear and terror fed it. The power tore through her like a volcanic eruption and she threw all of its might against the darkness which seethed above her.

-----

Malus held the lightsaber at the Jedi's throat. He reveled in the sweetness of his victory over his ancient enemy. Too bad the Jedi refused to show fear, but no matter.

Suddenly, pain exploded in Malus' head. He dropped his lightsaber and fell to his knees. What? How?

He focused his inner vision on the mental landscape of Cian's mind and saw the source of the attack.

It was a child. A Jedi child! Inside the female's mind with him! And what power she possessed! He shifted his awareness from the Jedi and turned inward towards the child. Screaming murderous fury, he unleashed the full might of his wrath against her.

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Blood red bolts of Force lightening rained down on Aalea. Her arms trembled above her. She felt herself buckling under the attack.

"No!" she cried.

She struggled to match the Sith's power with her own, but he was a master of the dark side and she was still only a child. The Sith battered against her defenses. She could feel them crumbling about her. Even her deep and powerful love for Qui-Gon wasn't enough to stand against him. Aalea sobbed as the Sith's dark power beat mercilessly against her.

-------

Obi-Wan was still holding Aalea's hand when the life monitors around her suddenly stared to wail loudly.

Healer Sklar rushed in from her office and Yoda and Yarael, who had been sitting in a corner of the room talking quietly, hurried over.

"What's happening?" Obi-Wan asked.

Sklar didn't answer him. She was occupied with manipulating a series of instruments next to Aalea's bed. The monitors continued to sound their alarms.

Obi-Wan turned to Yoda and Yarael. "Masters, what's going on?"

"She is dying," Yarael said quietly.

"No, she can't be," Obi-Wan cried.

He turned back to Aalea and squeezed her hand.

The monitors kept beeping and out of the corner of his eye Obi-Wan could see Sklar working frantically to save Aalea's life. There had to be something he could do.

He looked down at Aalea. She had not been afraid when she had thrust her fragile identity into the vastness of the Force. She was risking her life to try and help his Master and if she was willing to give so much, Obi-Wan thought, surely he could give something of himself to help her.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He drew on the Force and, reaching out with it, forged a Force bond with Aalea. He did so without thought, without awareness of the consequences. All he knew was that she needed him and, he suddenly sensed, though he did not know how or why, someday he would in turn need her. But, even as Obi-Wan forged the bond he feared it was already too late.

To be continued....