Title: Jediya Quest
Author: Nissa
Warnings: PG
Summary: Two years before Episode II, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, arrive on the divided planet of Eloyl, only to find it teeming with hostility and lethal attacks at every turn.
Feedback: Yes please! Either e-mail me at secondstar1@hotmail.com or post your reviews right here on ff.net.
Disclaimer: All right folks, you know the drill. Star Wars and all characters created by George Lucas are his property as well as that of Lucasfilm Ltd. and all its affiliates. This story is simply a labor of love and I do not intend to make any profit off of it. However, I created the characters of Cotar, Sekiro, Suriyama, and Makono, as well as the planet of Eloyl and the Arling and Trian races. Please don't use them without my permission. Thanks :-)
Category: 2 years before Ep. II - Attack of the Clones
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"How much longer till we're at the village, Master?"
"It's still a ways off, Anakin. We have at least a good day's travel ahead of us." Obi-Wan widened his stride to step over a log that was covering the path.
"A long ways off," Anakin muttered under his breath. He quickly ducked a tree branch that his Master's head had just managed to clear. "So tell me again the logic in not landing closer."
Obi-Wan stopped walking. His hair had long since grown out of his Padawan haircut, and he brushed a few loose strands out of his eyes. A sigh and the movement of his shoulders told Anakin that his Master was probably rolling his eyes at him again.
Obi-Wan flung his arm out in front of him with a tired gesture, pointing in the general direction of their travels. "There is no room in the refugees' village for our ship. Besides, we did not want to scare them into firing on us. What if they had mistaken us for a Trian ship?"
The refugees that Obi-Wan spoke of were the Arlings. Both the Trians and the Arlings were a tribe of humanoids native to the planet Eloyl. Relatively similar in appearance to humans, they had long limbs and their pale skin had a bluish tint to it. Their hands had only four fingers each, unlike the five found on human hands. The only way to tell an Arling apart from a Trian was to look at their eyes. Where an Arling's eyes were usually light and clear, a Trian's eyes were dark, causing the pupils to disappear into the iris.
Recently, the Trians had begun to persecute the Arlings. Many of the Arlings had fled the cities and set up safe havens in the vast jungles that covered the planet. The villages were really nothing more than organized refugee camps. The Jedi Council had directed Obi-Wan and Anakin to go to the largest of the villages with hopes that they may be able to negotiate an end to the senseless genocide that was being committed by the Trians.
Anakin conceded to his Master's point with a slight bow and the two Jedi continued on their way. After traveling several more kilometers, Obi-Wan declared that they should stop and rest.
"Master, shouldn't we keep going? We need to reach the Arling village as soon as possible."
"Yes, I know we do," Obi-Wan answered as he sat down on a moss-covered log. "But the sun will be setting soon and I don't want to be putting up camp in the dark. Besides," he reasoned, "it looks as if it may rain."
The sky did indeed seem to be gathering dark clouds overhead. Too tired from hiking through the jungle to argue, Anakin slid his knapsack off his shoulders and began pulling out the supplies for the tent and for dinner. Obi-Wan stood up from the log with a yawn and stretched his arms over his head before he began looking about for firewood.
"I don't know about you, Ani, but I am dealing with a serious case of space lag."
Anakin laughed and was about to answer when a noise in the bushes caught his attention. The tent pole still in his hands, he stood up and peered into the dense brush.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Anakin dropped the tent pole and turned his head again as the noise moved to his left. "There! There it is again!"
Obi-Wan gave a brief look towards the woods and then spoke while trying to cover another yawn. "It's probably just your imagination. Space lag, remember?" he added with a smile. "I wouldn't worry about it."
Anakin was still uneasy, though, as he walked back to the half-assembled tent. He cast a wary glance over his shoulder. "Are you sure, Mast-"
A growl and a blur of reddish-brown fur shot out of the bushes towards the towheaded Padawan. Before Anakin had time to react, the tigra knocked him to the ground.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan yelled. The firewood scattered as his lightsaber sprung to life in his hands. He ran over to his struggling apprentice and slashed at the tigra, but it jumped off of Anakin and whirled around to face the older Jedi. Obi-Wan had only singed its fur, but the growling animal now had a new target in its sight. Anakin scrambled to his knees and pulled his saber out of the dirt.
Obi-Wan and the tigra continued to circle each other. He raised the green blade of his saber to lunge at the growling animal, when he heard Anakin's cry.
"Obi-Wan!"
He brought his head up to look at the Padawan, but it snapped back as a heavy mass flew into his back, knocking the wind out of him. The lightsaber flew out of his hand to land just out of his view. Obi-Wan managed to get his breath back just in time to let out a cry as fangs sank into his shoulder.
Anakin rushed at the two tigras with a yell, swinging his saber viciously. He managed to catch one tigra in the neck. The animal let out a snarl and turned on the younger Jedi. Anakin slashed at it with the saber again and the tigra fell lifeless to the ground.
Obi-Wan in the meantime, was struggling to get out from underneath the snarling tigra. It had its full weight on him and he could only squirm around in a vain attempt to avoid the dripping fangs. He slammed his fist into the side of the animal's head, but this only angered the tigra further. It whipped its head to the side and grabbed onto Obi-Wan's arm, biting down hard. Tears sprung to Obi-Wan's eyes as he heard a snap and he screamed for help.
"ANAKIN!"
The tigra opened its mouth to bite again when a blue light came arcing through the air. Obi-Wan closed his eyes as the tigra collapsed into two pieces.
Anakin hurriedly stooped down next to his stricken Master. Obi-Wan lay in the dirt with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. His face was pale, and he was splattered with dirt as well as blood from his own wounds and those of the fallen tigra.
"Master!"
Obi-Wan groaned and opened his eyes. He was visibly shaken and appeared much weaker than Anakin would have expected. Obi-Wan was a Jedi Knight, and while he would not be immune to such an attack, he should have come out in better shape than he did. He tried to use his uninjured arm to rise up to his knees, but Anakin had to help him. The Padawan put Obi-Wan's good arm across his shoulders and helped Obi-Wan over to a tree. Obi-Wan slid to the ground and leaned back against the trunk with another groan.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Thank you, Anakin," he answered, his eyes fixing steadily on the worried face. His respect for his Padawan's abilities had just gone up a few notches.
Anakin smiled at the praise and the unspoken faith. "We need to get those wounds cleaned up." He wandered over to the scattered camp supplies and pulled out a med pack, retrieving Obi-Wan's lightsaber along the way.
"Master, what were those animals?" he asked as he wiped dirt away from the gashes in Obi-Wan's right shoulder and arm.
"Those lovely little furballs would be tigras. Although - ah! Careful Ani!" he broke off with a sharp intake of air as the antibiotic stung one of the cuts.
"Sorry."
"As I was saying, I've never seen tigras of that color before. I have only heard of their fur having a reddish tint to it like that when . . ." Obi-Wan trailed off as something that he had read about Eloyl's fauna during his mission briefing rose to mind.
"What is it, Master?"
Obi-Wan had paled quite visibly. He grabbed the cloth from Anakin and pressed it tightly against his shoulder. "Anakin, go cut off one of the tigra's large fangs right now and bring it here. Be careful not to cut yourself on it."
Anakin noted the urgency in Obi-Wan's voice and ran to carry out the task. He wrapped the severed fang in a fold of his cloak and brought it back to his Master. Obi-Wan reached out and touched it with his finger, then brought the tip of his finger to his tongue. He quickly spit the taste back out.
"It's venom," he said to answer Anakin's puzzled look. He found himself turning his face away as Anakin's eyes grew wide with panic. If he was going to make it through this he couldn't let Anakin see that he was scared as well. "We need to get to the village now.
"Venom?" Anakin croaked incredulously.
Obi-Wan was already binding his injuries in an attempt to stop the poison from spreading through his body. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his fingers were trembling as he tied the bandages.
"Anakin, I need you to gather what you can of the food and water. Grab a couple of blankets if you can, but leave everything else." Obi-Wan took hold of a low tree limb and pulled himself to his feet while Anakin filled the knapsack. Just as Anakin shouldered the pack and came back to Obi-Wan, a resounding clap came from the gray clouds that had been looming overhead. Drops of water started to fall through the trees.
Is this a jungle or a rainforest? Anakin thought sarcastically. We really don't need this right now.
Obi-Wan had let go of the tree by now and managed to walk a few feet on his own, but soon spots were starting to twinkle in front of his eyes. He didn't even realize that he was falling until Anakin caught him.
"I'll help you, Master," Anakin said as he stooped under the older Jedi's arm to support him. It was somewhat awkward, with Anakin being taller than Obi-Wan, but it worked.
"Thanks. That's two I owe you for now."
Anakin smiled. "Let's call it even. I would have been tigra food if you hadn't jumped in. Watch your step there."
Obi-Wan stepped over a branch and then shook his head to clear the rainwater out of his eyes. "That's just it though, Ani. I should have been playing closer attention to what you noticed. I should have recognized that danger." Qui-Gon did always tell me to be mindful of the living Force, he mentally continued his self-admonition.
"Don't worry about it. You should stop berating yourself and concentrate on healing instead."
"Hey," Obi-Wan tried to joke. "I thought I was the Master here."
Anakin helped him around a fallen log before answering. "I stand corrected. Berate yourself all you want, oh noble one."
Obi-Wan smiled, but his face was strained with concentration. "That's enough out of you. Let's get moving."
Another crash of thunder sounded overhead and the grim reality of the situation set in. Before Anakin had just wanted to reach the village because he was bored. Now he needed to get there to save his Master's life.
