Disclaimer: What belongs to Georgle Lucas belongs to
him. What's not his is mine. =)
Acknowledgements: the usual - Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, the
reviewers, my bro, my sis, my rabbit ... need I say more?
The
story? Oh, yes, the story. Okay, here it is ...
CHAPTER
3
The wooden door slid open to admit Qui-gon Jinn and
Shen Ly'an. The two Jedi strode into
the large, circular room beyond. The
Council members trained their eyes on the pair of Jedi as they walked to the
room's centre and bowed as a gesture of respect.
Jedi Master Mace Windu nodded to Qui-gon, "You
may begin your report."
Qui-gon related all that had happened after the
Republic Cruiser had landed - the fighting, Obi-wan's capture, and Shen's
actions. The Masters listened
attentively, offering neither questions nor comments. Shen stood quietly beside Qui-gon, letting the older Jedi speak.
Master Yoda nodded, deep in thought, after Qui-gon
had finished. There was a pall of
silence for a long while as the Jedi thought and analysed facts. Shen's eyes darted nervously around the
Council room. The young Bothan was
clearly uneasy, having been in the Council's presence only once or twice
before. Qui-gon's expression was
unreadable. Shen knew he was distraught
over Obi-wan's capture, but Qui-gon was keeping his emotions and thoughts to
himself. Shen understood, now, why
people often said Qui-gon Jinn was a reserved, private man. Obi-wan was lucky to have him as a Master.
Finally, Mace Windu spoke quietly, "The
situation is ... interesting, not to mention delicate. Clearly, the bounty hunter intends to use
Obi-wan in some kind of bargain to get to the Senator. We have decided to let the hunter move first
and make his demand. Master
Qui-gon," at this, Mace Windu's voice betrayed a hint of compassion and
understanding, "I know you are eager to rescue Obi-wan, but it is not
advisable ..."
Qui-gon spoke evenly, "Obi-wan is my
apprentice. I do not intend for him to
suffer and I would do all I could to help him escape."
Council Member Ki-adi-mundi nodded empathatically,
"We are aware of the situation, but we cannot allow Obi-wan's immediate
rescue. A lot is at stake."
"Master Qui-gon, you and Shen will be recalled
to the Jedi Temple immediately. Another
pair of Jedi will be sent to guard Senator Jy'are," Mace Windu continued.
"What about the bounty hunter?" Qui-gon
ventured. Clearly, he wasn't pleased
with his orders.
"We have intelligence agents who should be able
to establish an identity," Mace Windu explained. "Jedi Master Adi
Gallia will be in charge of the investigation."
"Master Qui-gon," Yoda warned in his soft,
queer voice, "go after Obi-wan, you and Shen will not."
At this, Qui-gon was obviously unhappy, and
concealed it with much difficulty.
Shen's violet eye's flickered uneasily as he spoke
for the first time, "The bounty hunter seems to have Jedi training ... as
well as a lightsabre. He is a
potentially serious threat."
"We will deal with him when he appears
again," Mace Windu ended with a not of finality in his voice. "May the Force be with you."
Qui-gon and Shen bowed respectfully, then left the
room.
"Master Qui-gon," Shen began hesitantly.
"What is it?" Qui-gon asked quietly.
The Bothan's cream and tan fur rippled nervously as
he continued, "You're not ... pleased with the Masters' decision, are
you?"
Qui-gon shrugged, "They have their
reasons."
Shen canted his head to one side thoughtfully. He didn't dare Force-probe a Master, but
Qui-gon obviously had more to say. The
Bothan was concerned about Obi-wan too, and wished he could do something to
help.
Qui-gon remained silent as they walked along the
Temple's corridors to their individual quarters. He had his own thoughts to mull over. If only he'd blocked the stun bolts better and not get hit,
Obi-wan would still be with him. Already,
Qui-gon missed the boy's light-hearted chatter and wry sense of humour. Now, the Council refused to let him pursue
the bounty hunter, and Qui-gon felt helpless. Obi-wan was in trouble and he could do nothing to help his Padawan. No, the
Jedi Master told himself firmly, there is
something I can do. I could at least
try and talk to the people in Coruscant and ask around. Shen would help. I have to try, at least.
When the two Jedi reached Shen's living quarters,
Qui-gon put a hand on the Bothan's shoulder. Shen turned and locked violet eyes with Qui-gon's bright blue eyes.
"Meet me at my quarters tomorrow morning,"
The Jedi told Shen, "We will ask around about the bounty hunter."
Shen grinned, clearly relieved to be able to do
something. Qui-gon smiled reassuringly
at the young Bothan then left as Shen slid open the door to his quarters.
The heavily-modified cargo ship settled down in the
middle of the large, red circle that marked out the landing pad. In the cockpit, Keyn powered down his ship's
systems then leaned back and rubbed his temples. He seriously needed to sleep, but even that could wait. The bounty hunter walked to the cargo hold
where Obi-wan had been kept.
Obi-wan stiffened as Keyn strode in. Keyn noticed the Jedi looked tired and
frustrated. To a Jedi, the Force was
like an extra sense that they couldn't do without. Hving the Force blocked off was like being blind and deaf, and
Keyn knew it. The Jedi relied too much
on the Force, Keyn had drawn that conclusion a long time ago, way before he'd
left.
"Where are we?" Obi-wan got shakily to his
feet.
"Tatooine," Keyn's reply was curt.
Obi-wan had heard of the planet, but knew next to
nothing about it. He decided to keep
his cool and toy around with the bounty hunter. Who knew? Keyn might just
let something slip/
"You realise you can't hide me forever,"
Obi-wan observed.
Keyn shrugged. "I don't have to. The Jedi
will have difficulty finding us, I'm sure."
What does he mean by that? Obi-wan wondered. He took a deep breath, "What happens
now?"
The bounty hunter grinned, almost playfully,
"Well, you talk. Or I torture and
interrogate you."
Obi-wan shook his head. "You'll never get anything out of me."
"We'll see. The Yslamari are useful." Keyn left the cargo hold and retired to his bunk. Sleep came easily and he welcomed it. His hand needed to heal and he was dead
tired.
The nightmare invaded his sub-conscious like a knife thrust to kill. Except Keyn knew that it was true. Everything that had happened was vividly
stamped in his mind, as sharp and clear as the day he'd seen it happen. The bounty hunter remembered the grief and
pain, remembered his own cries as the person he'd treasured as his best friend
was killed. And he'd been injured and
unable to save his friend ...
Keyn woke with a start, his heart hammering
wildly. A glance at the panel opposite
him told him he'd been asleep for nearly six hours. He ran a hand through his tousled black hair, smoothing it
out. No matter where he seemed to go,
Keyn's past haunted him relentlessly. The bounty hunter clenched his fists tightly, fighting back tears. When he'd joined the trade, he'd promised
himself never to cry again. He was
definitely not going to break that promise now.
He sighed and pushed his thoughts away. Keyn knew he had to focus on the job he had,
or risk getting killed by his distraction.
A light flashed on the console opposite him, and
Keyn got to his feet. He changed then
walked out of his ship to pick up a small package tied with a length of cord.
Keyn opened the package and removed a black
holocube. There was nothing else in the
package - he'd expected that - so he held the cube in his hand and activated
it.
The slight form of a cloaked figure shimmered and
hovered in the air. The figure moved
then spoke in a low, husky voice, "Bounty hunter, you have scared the
senator and for that, we are pleased. We will handle her kidnapping ourselves, but you have been paid the
required sum. Your assignment with us
is over."
The message ended and Keyn dumped the holocube, as
well as its package, into the bin. Well, he thought to himself, I still have a Jedi to get rid of. But that wouldn't be hard, after I've gotten
the information I need out of him.
Obi-wan closed his eyes in dispair. He was truly in a fix now. Locked up with a couple of Forceless
creatures and facing interrogation at the hands of a bounty hunter wasn't very
welcoming or conducive to his existence.
The Padawan sighed. The Yslamari sapped his strength so that he was near exhaustion. Clearly, Keyn was using them to wear him
out, and Obi-wan knew the bounty hunter was succeeding. Qui-gon would rescue him, or at least
Obi-wan was sure his master would try. But the bounty hunter seemed to be right. It would be difficult for Qui-gon to even guess where Obi-wan
was, since the Bond they shared was broken. Obi-wan felt dismay creeping into his mind. He pushed it aside. He couldn't
lose hope.
"Will you talk now?" Keyn strode into the
cargo hold, hands shoved in his pockets.
Obi-wan looked up, his eyes defiant. He had to be strong and resist the bounty
hunter's interrogation.
Keyn noticed Obi-wan's expression but didn't
react. He shrugged, "Suit
yourself." The bounty hunter keyed
in a password and the holding cage's door swung open with a sharp clang.
Obi-wan sprang to his feet and tensed his muscles,
anticipating Keyn's actions. The bounty
hunter eyed Obi-wan cautiously with his dark brown eyes, appraising the boy's
physical strengths and weaknesses.
The Jedi noticed the lightsabre hanging from Keyn's
utility belt and asked boldly, "Where'd you get the lightsabre?"
"Made it," Keyn replied shortly. Obi-wan gave a start of surprise. Could Keyn be a Jedi? Only Jedi made lightsabres.
Obi-wan's lightsabre hung from Keyn's belt as
well. Obi-wan knew Keyn would use it to
prove to Qui-gon that he held the Jedi Master's apprentice.
Keyn grabbed Obi-wan's wrists in one swift movement
and twisted them behind his back. Obi-wan bit his lip and tried not to cry out in pain. The bounty hunter removed a length of cord
from his pocked and then bound Obi-wan's wrists tightly with it. The cord cut painfully into his wrists until
they bled.
"Don't worry Jedi," Keyn snarled,
"that's not all. Let's see what
you can take without the Force to help you."
Obi-wan gritted his teeth as Keyn landed him a hefty
blow to his shoulder. He staggered and
fell with the shock of the blow. Pain
ripped through his shoulder, threatening to plunge him into
unconsciousness. Obi-wan reached out
instinctively for the Force, but the Yslamari repelled it, leaving a blank void
where he used to draw his strength from.
Keyn grinned lopsidedly, but his expression was
grim. He said nothing at all, just
stood and watched his captive writhe in pain on the cold, metal floor. Then, he took a step towards Obi-wan and
kicked the boy in his side. Keyn
grabbed Obi-wan's shoulders and slammed the Apprentice to the ground. He put one foot on Obi-wan's back, forcing
him to lie face-down.
By now, Obi-wan was badly bruised. His wrists were bleeding profusely and his
shoulder felt as though it had been dislocated. The pain was intense, but subsided a little when Keyn took his
foot off Obi-wan's back.
Obi-wan heaved a sigh of relief. He was sure he would black out from the pain
if Keyn hadn't taken off his foot.
The bounty hunter studied Obi-wan quietly, his arms
folded. He made no move towards the
Jedi, just stood a metre away and watched Obi-wan grapple with his pain.
"Tell me," Keyn began, "the access
codes to the Jedi Temple's computers."
Access codes? What does he want with computer access
codes? Obi-wan shook his head
numbly. He didn't dare to speak - it
hurt just to move his head.
Keyn stared cynically at his captive, calculating
the Apprentice's pain threshold. Obi-wan would probably lose consciousness in a while because of the
pain.
"Your master left a Jedi to die once,"
Keyn told Obi-wan coldly.
No, it wasn't, couldn't be
true, Obi-wan
told himself , trying to keep calm. Qui-gon wouldn't have done such a thing, or would he? Obi-wan brushed the thought aside. Keyn was probably trying to make him doubt
Qui-gon. But Obi-wan could hear
sincerity ringing in every one of Keyn's words. He knew they were true, or at least, partly true. They weren't total lies.
"You don't believe me, but it's true,"
Keyn said softly. "Qui-gon was a
coward. He made a terrible mistake,
then abandoned his partner to die."
"It's not true!" Obi-wan choked out the
words. Deep inside, though, Obi-wan
knew it was true. All of it. He was angry at himself for believing what a
bounty hunter said. Keyn didn't even
know Qui-gon! Or did he? Obi-wan couldn't drive out the doubt Keyn
had planted. Obi-wan had heard people
lie before, and he'd heard people telling the truth. He knew that Keyn wasn't lying. Obi-wan cried out, but his head began spinning. Bright spots flashed before him, and he
lapsed into unconsciousness.
Keyn watched Obi-wan for a long while, deep in
thought. Then, he retrieved a needle
and a srying, and dumped the Interrogation Drugs into the Apprentice's
bloodstream. Let Qui-gon worry about his Padawan, Keyn thought, he deserves it. The bounty hunter moved the Yslamari away from the holding
cage for a few minutes, then replaced them.
Master ... help ... don't
abandon me ...
Qui-gon awoke with a start. Obi-wan! He felt his Apprentice's pain for a brief moment, then he couldn't feel
anything. Qui-gon put his head in his
hands. Obi-wan was suffering, blocked
off from the Force. Something told Qui-gon that the
bounty hunter who had Obi-wan was a far more dangerous adversary than it seemed
... perhaps someone connected with Qui-gon's past and who sought revenge ...
That's
it. Next chapter should come up in
about five days ... plenty of time for you to bug me, I guess. But here's a
short preview anyway:
Qui-gon ... help me ... it hurts ... so much ... pain ...
Master ... please ... where are you? You never ... told me. What did
you do? Keyn ... Keyn said something
... you killed ... someone ... I don't know. I thought ... we knew ... each
other. I ... don't know you ... do
I? Why? Why ... would you? Master
... please don't ... don't leave me ... like you ... abandoned ... your partner
... Master, please ... it hurts ... a lot.
The Bond wasn't there, but Obi-wan,
unconscious and injured, reached for it, hoping ...
