Chapter Fourteen

Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He would talk with him later regarding his Force bond with Aalea. He was curious about the anxiety he had sensed from Obi-Wan regarding it. But first they had to find Aalea. Ke-Ondra had been a good master to her and Qui-Gon knew he had taught her well. She would survive. She had to survive.

Suddenly Obi-Wan cried out and fell to his knees. He lifted his hands to his neck.

Qui-Gon and Dr. Malica rushed over to him.

"Obi-Wan, what is it?" Qui-Gon cried.

Obi-Wan's face twisted in pain. His hands clawed at his neck as if he were trying to remove something.

"Aalea," he gasped.

Dr. Malica reached towards a belt on her tunic and pulled out a small orange patch. Qui-Gon recognized it as an pain reducer. He grabbed her arm.

Her head snapped up at him, her eyes questioning.

"No, that won't help," he said quickly. "Something must have happened to Aalea. Obi-Wan is feeling her pain."

Obi-Wan dug desperately at his neck, his face contorted in agony. Qui-Gon grabbed his hands to keep him from scratching the skin. Then Obi-Wan exhaled a deep shuddering breath and slumped to the floor.

Qui-Gon knelt next to him as Dr. Malica quickly checked his vital signs.

She looked over at Qui-Gon. "His vitals are all right."

Obi-Wan's eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Qui-Gon.

"I found her, Master," he gasped, his eyes glistening with tears from the pain he had experienced through the bond.

"What happened, Obi-Wan?"

"I wasn't prepared, Master. Forgive me." Obi-Wan took a deep, cleansing breath. "It was strange, Master. Even with her mental shields up, I should have sensed something from Aalea, but at first there was nothing. It was almost as if she no longer existed. Then, suddenly, there was pain. Terrible pain. Then nothing again."

"Is she dead?" Qui-Gon asked, fearing the answer.

Obi-Wan shook his head, his expression grim. "I don't know, Master."

"Did you get a fix on her location?"

"Yes, I believe so."

Qui-Gon helped Obi-Wan to his feet. He swayed slightly.

Qui-Gon reached out to him, but Obi-Wan raised his hand. "I'm fine, Master."

"Are you sure?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "Yes. But we must hurry."

Qui-Gon nodded. He quickly thanked the doctor for her help. Then he and Obi-Wan ran out of the infirmary.

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Obi-Wan looked out the window of the Star Guard ship as it skimmed over the dusty surface of Faronta. Long brown mountains stretched along the horizon. Bare twisted iron trees dotted the landscape and thin slivers of rust-colored streamlets trickled through murky gorges.

What a desolate place, he thought. He wondered how Aalea had felt being stationed here. He looked behind him and saw the other Star Guard ships kept tight formation behind them.

When Qui-Gon had informed Colonel Deaus that Obi-Wan had found Aalea, the colonel had slammed his fist on his desk. His lips beneath his thick black mustache had stretched into a fierce grin.

"I've got that bastard Hutt!" he crowed. He had immediately marshaled together a strike force.

Obi-Wan turned back towards the interior of the ship. He and Qui-Gon were sitting in the passenger seats behind the pilot and Colonel Deaus.

Obi-Wan looked over at Qui-Gon. The sun was just rising over the horizon and it lit up his master's head so that a golden nimbus appeared to surround it. Qui-Gon had been silent and tense all through their flight. Obi-Wan wished he could give him some news about Aalea that would ease his fears, but Obi-Wan had sensed nothing else from her. He didn't know if she was dead, unconscious or if his access to her was being blocked in some way.

Obi-Wan looked towards the cockpit as Colonel Deaus barked orders to his squadron over the ship's comlink. Peering through the front windows, he saw they were fast approaching a mining compound. From a distance it didn't look any different from the dozens of other mining compounds they had passed. But Obi-Wan knew this was the one where Aalea was being held. Their ship, along with the rest of the squadron, sped towards it.

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Luba was in his quarters wolfing down his customary daybreak meal of Odorian snarklings. They were especially fresh that morning, wriggling and squealing most delightfully as he popped them into his mouth. Suddenly the compound's alarms blared.

"What in the name of the seven hells of Gol is going on?" he roared.

His aide, a Bith by the name of Gsun, rushed in, his lidless black eyes wide with terror.

"My lord! We're being attacked," he gibbered.

"Attacked? By whom?"

"The Star Guard, my lord."

Luba's three hearts lurched in his chest. Blast those meddling do-gooders, he thought angrily. Would they ever leave him in peace? He wondered how they had found his back-up hideout so quickly.

He slid past the hysterical Gsun into the hallway. Chaos reigned as his men rushed past him.

"Gsun!" Luba shouted. "Find Titon. Tell him to ready another salvo of plasma bombs."

"But my lord, the Trade Federation is expecting this consignment. We already used up half of it when the Star Guard attacked the other hideout. If we use these, we'll have nothing to deliver."

Luba turned and struck Gsun across the face. The Bith slammed against the wall and slid down.

"Do as I say you farking idiot!" Luba bellowed. "We'll have nothing to deliver if the thrice-damned Star Guard take over the compound."

"Yes, my lord," Gsun whimpered. He stood up, his hand clutching his face as he scurried down the hallway.

Luba watched Gsun run off. Then something else his Uncle Jabba had once told him popped into his head: know when it's time to cut and run. Luba's intuition told him this was one of those times. He slid back into his quarters, grabbed the pouch with the Force collar key and his credit-chit in it and hurried toward the landing field.

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As soon as the Star Guard ship landed, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan leapt out and activated their lightsabers.

Colonel Deaus ran off to the right, shouting orders to his men as the rest of his squadron landed.

Qui-Gon looked around quickly. To his left he saw a transport ship, its engines revving. Then he saw a Hutt gliding up a ramp into the ship.

"Obi-Wan" Qui-Gon shouted. "This way."

He ran towards the ship, Obi-Wan behind him.

Three smugglers ran around a building, blasters firing. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon quickly deflected the shots. Obi-Wan then swung his lightsaber at one of the smugglers, singeing him on his wrist. The smuggler yowled and dropped his blaster.

The other two continued firing at Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon's lightsaber was a green blur as he deflected their shots. He quickly disarmed one of the smugglers, then noted out of the corner of his eye Obi-Wan leaping to his side, his lightsaber a blue flame. The other smuggler dropped his blaster and raised his arms in surrender.

The transport ship engines roared.

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon cried. "We have to stop that ship. Luba's on it. Aalea is probably with him."

Obi-Wan nodded. A Star Guard ran past the Jedi. Obi-Wan grabbed him and quickly turned their prisoner over to him. Then he followed his master who was already running towards the transport.

Qui-Gon slid to a stop in front of the ship.

The pilot peered angrily out the cockpit window at him.

Calling upon the Force, Qui-Gon reached out his hand and gestured toward the pilot.

"Power down the engines" he said softly. The pilot grimaced as he felt Qui-Gon touch his mind. Then his face went slack and suddenly the engines died.

Qui-Gon ran to the side of the ship, Obi-Wan beside him. They punched their lightsabers through the side, quickly carving an opening. Hot metal fell sizzling to the ground.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon leapt through the opening. Blaster fire arched towards them. They deflected the blasts.

Obi-Wan flipped through the air and landed behind two smugglers who were crouched behind a wall of cases. They scrambled to turn around, their blasters tracking him. Obi-Wan kicked one of them in the face, knocking him unconscious. He then swung his lightsaber and sliced the hand off the other. The smuggler screamed and clutched his arm to his chest.

Meanwhile Qui-Gon had taken care of the remaining smugglers. He ran down the passageway. He turned a corner and stopped before a huge metal door. He placed his hand on it and let the Force flow through him. The Hutt was behind the locked door. Stepping back, Qui-Gon thrust his lightsaber through the door.

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Luba felt as if his three hearts were going to burst through his chest when he saw the lightsaber burning through the door.

He looked frantically around. He had no weapons, nothing with which to defend himself. Then he glanced over to where Aalea lay unconscious on a bunk.

She was a Jedi and a Jedi was coming through the door. Maybe he could use her as a bargaining chip. He reached into his pouch and pulled out the key to the Force collar. Then holding the key in front of him like a weapon, he waited as the Jedi continued to force his way into the room.

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Obi-Wan joined Qui-Gon. He thrust his lightsaber through the door and the two quickly carved an entrance into the room. They ran through the opening and stopped. Luba was pointing a small metal box at them.

"S-s-stand back, I'm warning you," Luba shouted.

Qui-Gon was about to advance on the Hutt, when Obi-Wan grabbed his arm.

"Master. Over there."

Qui-Gon turned to where Obi-Wan was pointing. It was Aalea. She was lying in a heap on a bunk. Qui-Gon could sense she was alive, but unconscious. There was a strange looking collar about her neck and he surmised it was the source of the pain Obi-Wan had felt when he had found her along their bond.

He turned back to the Hutt.

"Remove that thing from her," he said, his blue eyes like ice.

"No! And if you don't get off my ship, I'll kill her," Luba cried. He raised the box, his thumb hovering over a red stud.

Obi-Wan moved towards Luba, his face grim. Qui-Gon reached out and pulled him back.

"Remove that thing from her," Qui-Gon repeated.

"Oh, I really hope you're not trying to use that Jedi mind trick on me," Luba sneered, "because it won't work."

Qui-Gon looked up at the Hutt. "I won't have to use it on you, Luba, because you will remove that device from her."

"Really? Well, if you don't get off this ship it will come off her, but by then she'll be dead."

Qui-Gon felt his anger building inside him. From what he had seen of Obi-Wan's torment, he could only imagine what Aalea had experienced. And now this Hutt dared to bargain for his own pitiful existence with her life.

He glared at the Hutt and noted with satisfaction the fear flickering within his bulbous eyes. From outside the ship, Qui-Gon heard blasting and shouting as the Star Guard moved through the compound.

"You can't escape, Luba," Qui-Gon said. "Even if I let you go, the Star Guard will not."

"They will if you tell them to," Luba cried. He was trembling, his grip on the box wavering.

Qui-Gon noted Obi-Wan was moving slowly to the side of the Hutt.

"That I will not do," he said.

"Not even to save her?" Luba shouted as he gestured towards Aalea with the box.

"She is a Jedi. The Jedi are always prepared to die in service to others."

"I don't believe you," Luba cried and he pressed down on the red stud.

Aalea's body convulsed on the bunk.

Obi-Wan launched himself at the Hutt, his lightsaber raised.

Luba screamed as the young Jedi soared towards him. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber down.

Luba shrieked. His hand, cleanly severed from the arm, dropped to the floor still clutching the box.

Qui-Gon ran and picked up the still twitching hand. He snatched the box from the thick fingers and pushed the green stud. The collar fell from about Aalea's neck.

Qui-Gon ran over to her. Her body had stopped jerking, but she was still unconscious. Qui-Gon picked up the collar with distaste and tossed it to the side.

He gently lifted Aalea up. He gazed down at her, noting how much she had grown in the last five years. No longer was she the little girl who used to run to hug his neck. A young woman now lay in his arms.

Luba howled like a flock of Odulvian sundevils as he clutched his arm to his chest, his thick tail thrashing on the floor. He glared at Obi-Wan who stood guard over him.

The sound of running boots drew Qui-Gon's glance to the door.

Colonel Deaus ran in, a squad of Star Guard behind him. He quickly took in the scene and a broad white grin split his dark face.

"You're under arrest, you son of a scrag!" he shouted at the Hutt.

Luba's only response was to scream even louder.

Obi-Wan went over to Qui-Gon as the Star Guard took Luba into custody. He looked down at Aalea as she lay unconscious in his master's arms. Even with her dark hair in disarray, shadows under her eyes, and bruises on her face and neck, Obi-Wan was amazed at how beautiful she was.

"Is she all right, Master?" he asked.

Qui-Gon looked over at him.

"Yes, she'll be all right now. Thanks to you, Padawan."

Obi-Wan's heart warmed at his master's words.

"Let's get her out of here, Master" he said softly.

To be continued....