Chapter Eleven

Luke stared at Aalea. "You and Ben shared a Force bond?"

Aalea nodded, a small smile crinkling her scarred lips. "Yes, we did."

Luke shook his head. "But, from what I know about Force bonds, it's unusual for one to be formed between people as young as you and Ben were."

"That is true. But Obi-Wan instinctively knew it was the only way he could transfer some of his life force to me when I was dying since my awareness was so far away along the Force matrix."

"And it was years before either of you ever spoke about your bond?"

Aalea nodded. "Obi-Wan was often away with Qui-Gon on missions, so I didn't really see much of him after Qui-Gon and Cian were rescued from Dyran. And, since we were both shielding against each other, I often forgot about the bond more than I thought about it."

Aalea shrugged slightly as she gazed over at Luke. "The bond made us both uncomfortable for we knew it was usually only forged between individuals who were very close and, during that time, Obi-Wan and I were not close at all. Actually, we didn't even get along very well."

"What happened to change that?" Then Luke smiled. "It did change, didn't it?"

Aalea laughed. "Oh yes, it did. But, to answer your question, a lot happened, young Luke. A lot."

Luke moved closer. "I'd like to hear about it, if you don't mind."

Aalea smiled. "No, I don't mind." She took a deep breath. "The year when things changed between me and Obi-Wan was also the year when everything around us changed. Forever."

Aalea sighed softly. "Ten years had passed since Qui-Gon's mission to Dyran. Obi-Wan was now twenty five and I was eighteen. I had been padawan to the Jedi Knight Ke-Ondra for the past five years. My master and I had been stationed on Faronta, one of the outpost worlds along the Frontier....."

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At least nothing was broken.

Aalea was grateful for that. She lay, her hands bound behind her, on a cot in a cell in the smuggler's compound on Faronta. Her captors had worked her over pretty good however.

As they had questioned her, they had tortured her with metal rods that left no bruises or cuts, but inflicted a great deal of pain. But she had not cried out. She had bit her lip until blood ran down her chin for she had swore she would not give them any information nor the satisfaction of hearing her scream.


Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Aalea lost consciousness from the pain. But that was not the worst. When she awoke, she found she was wearing a thin metal collar about her neck. To her horror she discovered it blocked her access to the Force. If anything that had happened to her so far made her want to scream, it was that. She felt as helpless as a newborn.

Aalea shifted uncomfortably on her cot. She could hear the distant clanging of doors, muffled shouts and an occasional curse. She wondered if the young Star Guard officer who had been captured with her was still alive. She had heard him screaming earlier in his cell down the hall. But that had been hours ago and she had heard nothing since.

Aalea then thought of her master, the Jedi Knight Ke-Ondra. The last she had seen of him he had been running across the landing field at the smuggler's hideout. He had been with the main contingent of the Star Guard forces, she with a flanking arm.

When the smugglers had launched plasma bombs at the Star Guard, the explosion had knocked Aalea unconscious. When she'd regained consciousness she'd found herself a prisoner in this cell. She did not know if her master was dead or alive.

The door to her cell slid open. Her captors were back. Aalea swallowed heavily and repeated under her breath the Litany of Courage that Master Qui-Gon had taught her years ago.

The big one, Titon, stopped in front of her. He pulled her up by her arm and his red piggish eyes raked over her body as if he was wondering what part of her he had neglected to torment the last time he'd questioned her. He tapped his pain rod against his thick thigh.

Aalea noted he still had her lightsaber clipped to the belt about his broad waist.

"These Jedi ain't so tough," he said to his companion, a short, slack-jawed man named Vol. "This one was easy enough to catch."

Aalea stared defiantly back at him.

"Take off this collar and undo these bonds, if you're man enough. Then I'll show you how easy I am."

Titon's nostrils flared. He lifted the pain rod and struck Aalea hard across the face with it.

"Shut up, Jedi bitch!" he snarled.

Aalea slammed back onto the cot. Her teeth lashed against the inside of her jaw. Blood pooled in her mouth.

"Hey! Careful, Titon!" Vol grabbed his arm. "Remember what the Hutt said. We could have our fun with her, but no marks."

Titon jerked his arm away.

"I don't care what that big blob of pus says! You're a sniveling scrag, Vol."

Vol glared back at Titon.

"You'd better watch yourself. The Hutt wants to sell this one at the slave market on Ohnazee."

Titon only grunted at Vol's words, his piggish eyes staring at Aalea with such hatred she found herself trembling.

Vol sidled next to Aalea. He yanked her off the cot and grabbed her chin with his thick, sweaty fingers.

"A beauty like this will fetch a first-rate price," he said to Titon. "And her being a Jedi will sweeten the pot. But not if she's all banged up."

Aalea tried to jerk her face away from Vol's fingers.

Titon guffawed. "I don't think she likes you, Vol."

Vol smirked at Aalea and caressed her skin. His fingers felt like worms crawling on her flesh. She shuddered.

"But I like her," Vol murmured, his eyes roaming over her body.


Titon pushed at Vol. "Hey! No marks."

Vol ignored Titon as he leered at Aalea. He lifted his hand and moved it through her hair. Aalea wanted to vomit.

He leaned close to her.

"Ah, my lovely one, what I'd do to you wouldn't leave any marks. Unless you wanted them. You might even like it."

"I doubt that," Aalea said as she stared coldly back at him.

Vol snickered and drew his hand away. He pushed Aalea roughly back onto the cot. He then turned to Titon.

"The Hutt says he's gonna move her off planet when the next transport ship arrives."

"When's that?" Titon rumbled.

"Two hours."

Fear pulsed through Aalea. She didn't have much time. If any of the Star Guard who had been with her and her master had escaped the plasma bombs, there wouldn't be much time for them to stage a rescue.

As Titon and Vol turned away, Aalea called out to them.

"What happened to the man who was with me?"

Titon turned back. A wet grin slashed across his thick red face.

"You talking 'bout that high and mighty Star Guard officer, little Jedi? Well, I tell you one thing," he sneered. "You lasted a lot longer than he did. And at the end he screamed. He screamed real nice, just like a Tarkasian bull at the slaughter. So don't you worry your pretty little head 'bout him no more."

He howled at that, then slid the cell door closed behind him.


Tears welled in Aalea's eyes as she lay on the cot.

No, he couldn't be dead. She should have protected him. She was a Jedi after all. That was what she had been trained to do. To protect and to serve. But she hadn't and now the Star Guard officer was dead. She had failed. And without access to the Force, she doubted she would be able to find a way to free herself. Never had she felt so helpless and alone.

She closed her eyes. And, as always, whenever Aalea felt terribly frightened, she thought of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. For as long as Aalea could remember the tall Jedi Master had been a strong and gentle presence in her life. He was the one who had found her as an orphan and taken her to the Jedi Temple. He was the one who, when she was a child, had brought her stones from every world he visited on his missions. And he was the one she cried out for whenever she was afraid. And, although she hadn't seen Qui-Gon in nearly five years and didn't even know where in the galaxy he was, she called out to him anyway with her heart.

Master Qui-Gon. Help me.

To be continued....