The Strength of the Jedi
Author: Laura Kenobi
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, I don't own Star Wars. I do, however, own any original characters, planets, etcetera that I created for this story.
Archive: Please contact me first!
Comments/Reviews: You can email me through my profile, and you can always leave a review!
Author's Notes: ((italics)) represents thoughts and / italics / represents communication through the Force.
This story was first published in its original version beginning on September 3, 2001. In July 2005, I decided that since four years had passed and my skills as a writer had undoubtedly improved since this story was first written and posted, it might be refreshing to return to this story and give it a fresh look and an update. For the most part the overall story remains the same - my goal has been to improve on and expand on the original, so I hope the result will prove enjoyable to all of you who are wonderful enough to read and review. The version of this story below is the updated version. Call it the "Special Edition" version of this story.
Summary: A mission to Alderaan takes a wrong turn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn must rely on their inner strength and determination to survive.
Chapter Five
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Obi-Wan Kenobi was terrified, although he showed no outward signs of fear. There were seven Tsargne surrounding him, and they looked everything but friendly. He decided his best choice was to try and negotiate with them and if all else failed... he kept his hand on his lightsaber.
"W-what do you want from me?" his voice, to his utter dismay, cracked slightly. ((Don't let them see that you're afraid, Kenobi! Think! Concentrate!))
One of the Tsargne, particularly large and purple, made a loud noise. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to squirm.
/ What do you think we want, Jedi? / the last word was snarled as if it were a curse. Obi-Wan swallowed hard.
"Please," he spoke aloud, "I mean you no harm." He noticed that the beasts did shy back slightly at the sound of his voice.
/ We don't fear you, Jedi. We're hungry, and you will make a nice meal for all of us. /
Obi-Wan contemplated his options. Should he continue to negotiate or should he fight for his life?
The Tsargne made the decision for him. One of them suddenly let out a loud cry and leapt at Obi-Wan from the right. The young Jedi barely had time to drop to the ground and avoid being trampled by rolling quickly to the left. He suddenly remembered something his animal defense instructor, Master Namala, had once told them.
(("They have to actually touch you to suck the life-force from your body. Don't let them touch you."))
The thought solidified Obi-Wan's next course of action. They must not touch him. That meant the best course of action was to run, not fight.
All of the Tsargne suddenly leapt for him from all directions. Obi-Wan pulled the Force around himself like a blanket. He had done this before...
With a giant surge in the Force, he leapt straight into the air and levitated himself over the heads of the angry Tsargne.
As soon as his booted feet hit the soft ground, Obi-Wan took off running.
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Qui-Gon Jinn felt helpless. He watched as his Padawan leapt over the heads of the charging animals and took off. Whatever was recording the ordeal must be a droid of some kind, he realized, as it flew off with his apprentice, following him as he ran.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to the Jedi Master. The woman could have lied to him.
He whirled around and hurried back to face the plump lady who was tied to the wall. Striding over to within two feet of the woman, he raised his hand and nudged her mind with the Force.
"You will tell me where my apprentice is."
"Room 1453."
Qui-Gon was startled. Was Obi-Wan in the building?
"Tell me how to get there." Qui-Gon pushed into her mind, forcing her to answer.
"Go right out of the door and go to the turbolift at the end of the hall. Floor 6 is your stop. Go left out of the lift and it is the last room on the right."
Qui-Gon felt a brief surge of hope. Obi-Wan was in the building!
"Thank you." Qui-Gon muttered sarcastically. Turning, he noticed a small gadget on the woman's table. It was a miniature screen showing Obi-Wan, who was still running for his life. Qui-Gon snatched it from the table and ran out of the room.
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Obi-Wan was running faster than he ever had before. The trees around him seemed to blur together into a big brown and green wall. He could hear the Tsargne behind him, and his heart hammered out of control. Fear built up within him but he reached into the Force and pushed the emotion away. He needed all his concentration to stay alive. He turned slightly to look over his right shoulder to look for the Tsargne...
WHAM
Obi-Wan screamed as he hit something very hard, and apparently metallic, sending his body sprawling backward. He heard the sickening cracking of bone in his left arm and felt the white-hot pain shoot throughout his body like a thousand knives. He found it suddenly hard to breathe. Gasping for air, he looked up to see what in the name of the Force he had hit.
It was a metal wall. A wall that extended out of sight. Confusion squeezed into his mind past his pain. Where were they? The sudden confusion was too much for the young Jedi and felt like he was going to lose consciousness. As the world spun around him, he heard the Tsargne behind him and knew this was the end.
/ I'm sorry...Master... /
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End Chapter 5.
Five chapters left! Thank you so much for reading – please review! - Laura
