Chapter Ten

Aalea gave way under the Sith's attack. It was too much. She couldn't hold against it. She felt herself fragmenting into nothingness as the Sith methodically obliterated her consciousness.

I'm dying, she thought, and the Sith will kill Master Qui-Gon. And that thought saddened Aalea more than her own impending death.

Suddenly the Sith's assault against Aalea weakened. The Sith was being attacked, but not by her.

Aalea glanced over at Cian. The woman's arms were lifted over her head and bolts of Force lightning, silver and bright, leapt from her hands toward the towering thunderhead.

At the same time Aalea felt a fresh fount of power surging through her; it was from far away and it was also familiar to her. Someone she knew....yes, it was Obi-Wan!

Aalea could feel him. He was connected to her somehow and was helping her, strengthening her, giving her some of his life energy.

Aalea took a deep breath and, with Obi-Wan's life force supporting her, renewed her attack upon the Sith.

Together she and Cian flung their power against the darkness which roiled above them. The thunderhead boiled and churned and roared; streaks of red lightening lashed about them both, but neither Cian nor Aalea relented for both knew what was at stake if they failed.

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Qui-Gon watched in amazement as Cian's body slumped to the ground. He picked up the lightsaber where the Sith had dropped it.

"No! Impossible!" the Sith howled. "Impossible!"

Qui-Gon raised the lightsaber, prepared to strike if the Sith attacked again.

-------

The black thunderhead slowly dissipated. Soon nothing remained of it. A sky, as blue and as clear as hope, arched overhead. Downy white clouds floated slowly across it.

Cian fell to her side on the ground. She took a shuddering breath. A soft warm wind, sweet with the scent of Jaharan roses, ruffled her hair. Blue Alderaanian grass tickled her cheek.

She pushed herself up and gazed around in wonder at the flower sprinkled meadow upon which she lay.

Cian reached out with the Force. There was no trace of the Sith. He was gone, destroyed. She then touched her cheek.

The Force. How effortlessly she had called upon it. It was a part of her now. And she knew, somehow, it would always be with her.

She turned towards Aalea to share with someone, anyone, this wonderful revelation.

Aalea was sprawled on the ground. Cian went over to her and took the little girl into her arms.

"Aalea," she cried.

Aalea opened her beautiful eyes and gazed up at Cian.

"Is the dark one gone?" she whispered.

"Yes, Aalea."

"Master Qui-Gon is safe?"

"Yes, my dove, he's safe."

"Cian....don't tell anyone...what I did...," Aalea murmured. And then, as Cian watched in horror, Aalea melted away to nothingness in her arms.

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Qui-Gon stared down at Cian. She hadn't moved for the last few moments. He took a chance. He lowered the lightsaber and knelt next to her.

He placed his fingers on her neck. There was a pulse, weak, but steady. Her eyes fluttered open. They were as soft and gray as dawn.

"Qui-Gon," she murmured.

"Are you all right, Cian?."

Cian gazed up at him, then her eyes widened. She grasped his hand and clung to it.

"Aalea. Where is she?"

Qui-Gon reached out with the Force. He couldn't feel Aalea at all. She was gone.

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Qui-Gon was resting in the Healer's wing in the Jedi Temple. He and Cian had been rescued from Dyran nearly a week ago. The Healers had rid his body of the remainder of the Sith poison, but he had suffered some damage to his heart and liver so the Healers had ordered him to remain in bed. There was also a bacta bandage around his upper left arm where the Sith's blade had burned him.

Obi-Wan sat in a chair next to him. He had a datapad in his lap and his fingers were flying across it, his brow furrowed. Qui-Gon knew he was taking advantage of the free time they had, as they both recuperated, to catch up on their mission reports for the last year, a task both he and Obi-Wan were notorious for neglecting.

Qui-Gon glanced over at Aalea who was on the other side of him, her tiny hand in his, her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she was softly humming a song which rose and fell in soft, haunting tones.

Yoda had told Qui-Gon what had happened regarding Aalea; how she had come out of her coma with apparently no serious side effects. However, Yoda had also warned Qui-Gon that for him there were sure to be grave repercussions for his having taught Aalea how to traverse the Force matrix. And that very morning Qui-Gon had received a summons to appear before the Jedi Council after he had fully recuperated.

Qui-Gon sighed. He had spent a lot of time over the years appearing before the Council.

But, he thought, he had no regrets. Because of his teachings, Aalea had saved Cian. But he would also have a long talk with her later about disobeying his directives. Not that it would do any good.

As he glanced between Aalea and Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon suspected it was going to be his lot in life to have to watch over young people who never did as they were told. Which reminded him of something else Yoda had told him regarding Obi-Wan's actions during the crisis.

"Force bond there is between the two," Yoda had told him as he described what Obi-Wan had done when Aalea had almost died.

However, if there was a bond between Aalea and Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon had seen no evidence of it. Since he had returned from Dyran the two of them had been acting as if the other didn't even exist.

He looked towards the door as Cian entered the room. Another mystery, he thought, as he watched her walk towards his bed.

When he had asked her what had happened during his duel with the Sith, when Aalea had been inside her mind, Cian had claimed to remember nothing. But Qui-Gon suspected she was not being truthful.

Cian smiled at Qui-Gon. He smiled back at her. He saw her hand was still bandaged from where the Sith had placed the amulet. He also saw she was carrying a small package awkwardly in the crook of her arm.

Obi-Wan looked up as Cian entered. He quickly laid his datapad down and stood.

"Let me get that for you." He took the package from Cian's arm.

"Thank you," she said to him.

She turned towards Qui-Gon.

"Master Jinn, you're looking much better than the last time I saw you."

"As are you. And, considering all we've been through together, I think we're past such formalities, Mistress Nyal," he said teasingly.

She laughed. "Fair enough, Qui-Gon."

She turned towards Obi-Wan.

"You must be Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon's told me quite a lot about you."


Qui-Gon shot her a warning look, but Cian just smiled. She gestured towards the package in Obi-Wan's hands.

"He told me about your passion for Professor Landru's work. Some time ago the professor signed a very special edition of one of his histories. Go ahead, open it. It's for you."

Obi-Wan opened the package. He drew out a heavy bound book with gilt pages and maroon leather binding.

"It's a real book," he said reverently. He gently touched the pages and stroked the binding.

"It's the complete collection of the Jedi/Sith Pentad," Cian said. "The professor was feeling nostalgic one day and decided to have the entire Pentad printed up as actual books; binding, paper, everything. Cost him a small fortune, but he felt it was worth it. He signed only a few. That is the last one."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep it for yourself?" Obi-Wan asked.

Ciann shook her head. "From what Qui-Gon has told me of you, it's in the best possible hands."

Obi-Wan's eyes shone. He bowed to Cian.

She pointed toward the front of the book.

"If you look there on the flyleaf, you'll find his signature."

Obi-Wan opened the page and read aloud.

"To a fellow journeyer on the road to knowledge and wisdom. May your journey last a lifetime. Kom Landru."

Obi-Wan looked over at Qui-Gon. His eyes were brimming with sadness and Qui-Gon shared his padawan's grief over the tragic death of the professor.

Obi-Wan turned back to Cian.

"Professor Landru was a great man, Mistress Nyal. The entire galaxy mourns his loss."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan. Yes, he was a great man. And, though many didn't know it, he was also a good man. That book, and others like it, will ensure he'll never be forgotten."

Cian turned to Aalea. "I also have something for you, Aalea."

Cian reached into a pocket on her jacket and pulled out a small box. She handed it to Aalea.

"My parents gave it to me when I was about your age. I would like for you to have it."

Aalea took the box and opened it. Her eyes widened as she watched the tiny holographic image of an Iego angel dance to the soft, gentle music. She looked up at Cian and smiled.

"It's pretty. Thank you, Cian."

As he listened to the music, Qui-Gon realized with a start the song from the music box was the same one Aalea had been humming just before Cian entered the room.

"No, thank you, Aalea," Cian said and a look passed between the girl and the woman that Qui-Gon could not identify but which spoke volumes.

Aalea gently closed the music box and put it into a pocket on her tunic.

Cian turned back to Qui-Gon.

"I'm afraid I can't stay long. I'm on my way back to Dyran with a team of Jedi Investigators to complete the excavation. They're going to let me finish the treatise Professor Landru was going to write about the Sith temple. It will be his final legacy. I just wanted to check in on you and say goodbye. I hope someday we'll meet again."

"As do I, Cian." And Qui-Gon realized he was not just being polite. He truly hoped he would see her again. Her dark gray eyes were warm as she looked back at him and he wondered if she felt the same way.

"Thanks so much for the book, Mistress Nyal," Obi-Wan said. "I'll treasure it always."

"Professor Landru would have liked that."

Cian turned to leave and then stopped. She looked back at Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Aalea.

"May the Force be with you," she said softly to them. She then turned and walked quickly out the door.

Obi-Wan looked over at Qui-Gon, puzzlement clearly in his eyes at Cian's words. Qui-Gon, however, said nothing. He settled back on his pillows and decided right then that, yes, he was definitely going to make it a point to see Cian again someday.

The bells in the Temple announcing the start of the day's classes began to toll.

Qui-Gon looked over at Aalea.

"You're going to be late for classes, Aalea."

She nodded at his words but didn't move.

"Now, Aalea," Qui-Gon said quietly, but firmly. "You can come back and visit me later."

"All right, Master." She reached up and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

She then glanced over at Obi-Wan. Out of the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan wink at her.

Aalea blushed, then turned and ran out of the room, her long black braid flying behind her.

Qui-Gon's brows raised at this quick, but silent exchange between the two. He noted that Obi-Wan continued to stare at the door through which Aalea had gone, a thoughtful look on his face. He then turned back to Qui-Gon.

"Master, did you ever find out what really happened with the Sith spirit?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "Both Aalea and Cian were strangely vague when questioned by the Council. They said only that they couldn't remember exactly what happened."

"And the Council accepted that as an explanation?"

"I'm sure the Council was as skeptical of their convenient lapses of memory as you are, Obi-Wan. But, Aalea is only a child and Cian is not a Jedi. It's not as if ordering them to tell what really happened would serve any purpose."

"But surely the Council will...."


Qui-Gon laid a hand on Obi-Wan's arm.

"Leave it to the Council to decide what action to take, Padawan."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. He looked down and slowly paged through the thick book he held in his hands.

"Are you planning on reading it again?" Qui-Gon asked as he eyed the book. It looked like it contained about a thousand pages.

"Well, you're not going anywhere for awhile," Obi-Wan said.

"Oh, I doubt that, Obi-Wan. I feel perfectly fine. I should be out of here by tomorrow."

"Ummm, I don't think so, Master. I talked to Healer Sklar and she told me you needed to rest for at least another week. That means no missions, no teaching of Master classes, and no attending any of those boring colloquiums you're so fond of. You're supposed to just relax."

Obi-Wan paused, then fixed Qui-Gon with a teasing glance.

"You still know how to do that, don't you, Master?"

At first Qui-Gon just frowned at Obi-Wan but, when he realized his apprentice had just turned the tables on him, he laughed so loudly one of the Healer's assistants scurried over and asked the two to please keep it down.

Qui-Gon immediately closed his mouth, but his eyes, as they looked over at Obi-Wan, were still sparking with laughter.

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As Aalea ran down the corridor away from the Healer's Wing, she could hear Master Qui-Gon laughing. For a moment she envied Obi-Wan's sharing such a moment with him, but then her heart swelled with happiness at the joy she heard in the Jedi Master's voice.

She smiled. He was alive. Master Qui-Gon was alive and, as long as he was, no matter what pain or grief or disappointment Aalea experienced in her life, the fact that he was a part of the universe she inhabited meant that nothing could every really touch her or hurt her or defeat her. He was her sun and her moon and her stars.

Then, as she turned a corner and made her way toward the initiate's training annex, she thought about Obi-Wan and the bond he had forged with her.

She frowned slightly. When she had come out of her coma she had, at first, not understood what had happened to her, for suddenly she could hear thoughts that were not her own and feel sensations that did not come from her body.

Then Healer Sklar and Master Yoda had explained that in order to save her life, Obi-Wan had forged a Force bond with her; a life-long bond that bound them together, body and spirit, forever.

Aalea shivered. It had frightened her, the bond, so Master Yoda had taught her how to build shields against it in her mind that would not only keep her from hearing or sensing Obi-Wan's thoughts or feelings, but him from experiencing hers.

She had asked Master Yoda if it was all right for her to shield against Obi-Wan and Yoda had said that since most Force bonds were created with the full consent of both parties involved, he did not think Obi-Wan would be offended if she chose to shield against him.

So she had begun shielding against the bond shortly after regaining consciousness. And so had Obi-Wan, Aalea suspected, for neither of them had spoken about the bond to each other since Obi-Wan had forged it.

Aalea stopped running and quickly composed herself before going into the classroom for her morning instructions. She took a deep breath, made certain her mental shields were in place, then entered the room, not realizing at the time that it would be many years before she or Obi-Wan ever spoke of or used the bond they now shared.

To be continued....