Well, here's part three...I made it longer! You have no idea how hard I had to fight the urge to stop at the place with the line of *****=) Hope you enjoy!
And this part would have never been *nearly* as grammatically correct, were it not for MaraJade! She is amazing! Thank you!!!
Here's the part where I say THANK YOU to all who reviewed=): Rinaka, Yoda, Rusho100, silverrain, KenobisGirl, Susan, Dovecatcher, ewen, Korat, siri, Ginger Ninja, freakizimi...Such good little Jedi, are you=)
I forgot about this silly little thing called a disclaimer, so here it is...
Disclaimer: FANfiction...self-explanitory (That is my idea of a disclaimer...but, just in case, I don't own them=)
and personal thoughts: ~ are in these ~
Telepathic thought: // are in these //
A look of mild alarm raced across Qui-Gon's features before they turned to stone again. "What exactly do you mean, Padawan?" his voice calm, but with a definite undertone of urgency.
"The fuel cells. We have none," Obi-Wan said, then tersely tried to elaborate, seeing the confusion in his master's eyes, "The tanks ruptured. We have no power, literally. The jolt was us *dropping* out of hyperspace in the middle of Force knows where!" Obi-Wan said almost frantically. He was dangerously close to losing his stereotypical Jedi reign on his emotions, knowing full well the possibly dangerous repercussions of having an open fuel source in the middle of an unknown region of space. Any heated space debris would act as the detonator. They could be blown up at any moment!
Qui-Gon knew this as well. "Obi-Wan, this is not the time to center on your anxieties. You must focus on the moment. Come." Qui-Gon walked swiftly to the cockpit, his apprentice falling into step behind him. Looking at the panels, he silently cursed his lack of knowledge on the subject of spacecraft. He knew enough to allow him to fly most and was quite familiar with the running of some of the more modern vessels, but his grasp of the internal mechanics did not extend to those over 50 years old. Obi-Wan was the ship fanatic, giving Qui-Gon no reason nor desire to become a walking shuttle manual.
Now, he had to rely on an apprentice from which he could almost *see* the waves of anxiety pouring off. When Obi-Wan was at his best, Qui-Gon would never second guess the ability of his padawan to come through, but now, he wasn't sure if the boy was capable of thinking calmly, let alone discovering a solution to their most dire problem. But he had to be.
"Obi-Wan, listen to me," Qui-Gon said quietly, yet firmly, locking his gaze with the boy's, "I need you to center yourself. *Concentrate.* Is there any way we can get more power?"
Obi-Wan nearly screamed at the thought of how much time it would take to center himself. Seconds, but seconds during which they could become Jedi space dust. However, he knew that his knowledge of the ship would do them no good if he wasn't able to calm his mind enough to access it. Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths, clearing his mind of all but the workings of the ship. Fuel source...fuel source...The only other source of energy was that which powered the ship's navigational equipment and lights. It wasn't connected to the engines. But, maybe it could be...
Eyes flicking open, Obi-Wan wordlessly pulled the cover off of one of the panels ~Force, I hope this works!~
He hastily began to rewire the system, the effects of his efforts being shown as the consoles, one by one, began to power down. Finally, only one small area of the once fully functioning computer was still emitting light, indicating it alone was still functional. Obi-Wan went over to it, searched the screen, entered a number sequence, then returned to the wiring, fully shutting the ship's computer system down. Qui-Gon observed this act in silence.
Only when, in the now darkened shuttle, the cockpit shook with a sudden tremor, indicating the initial thrust of the engines, did Qui-Gon notice that he had been clenching his teeth, and relaxed, flexing his jaw to relieve its stiffness. He watched his padawan sink, exhausted, into the pilot's chair, and sat down in the co-pilot's chair, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Do we have enough power to get us somewhere?" The initial danger of being stranded might be gone, but there was still the possibility of being hit by space material. They needed to get out of space and repair the ship. Soon.
Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes and replied tiredly, "Yes. I had to reroute the power from the crystal generator, which feeds the electronic equipment, to the engines. But, that power source is not meant to support such a large task. We cannot travel far. There is a planet that might be able to reach. I typed in its coordinates before I started the engines. Cascalar. The identifications computer was pretty much dead from the power drain, after I started the rerouting, but I did manage to get that it *is* inhabited and that it's technology *is* somewhat modern. It should be capable of handling our repair ne-"
Obi-Wan was cut off as something impacted the moving ship, not causing much damage, but managed to jar the ship. He sighed and continued, "We should be able to repair and refuel there. I also had to take the shields offline to get the engines started. Even when up, they were so shoddy that they wouldn't have protected us from anything larger than Master Yoda's gimmer stick, but still, it was a comfort."
Qui-Gon nodded his approval of his apprentice's actions, then leaned back, eyes closed. Obi-Wan, observant enough, despite the lack of illumination and his exhaustion, to pick up on a glimmer of humor that played across his master's face.
Bewildered, Obi-Wan brought the man out of his revelry, "Master?"
Qui-Gon opened his eyes and let his gaze fall upon the shadowed outline of his padawan. "Hmmm?"
"What, *exactly*, is it that you find so amusing?"
Qui-Gon paused a moment, then replied, "That was possibly one of the best training tests I have come up with. I was just thinking about how glad I was to have thought of it," Qui-Gon smirked, "Oh, and you passed"
Obi-Wan stared at him in amazement, "Passed? *Passed*? Master, you know as well as I do that if not for me, parts of you could be floating around in space right now, making close friends with the parts of other people who were blown up because they didn't have a clue what they were doing and didn't have an apprentice to save their hide!"
Qui-Gon's smirk remained, "I knew perfectly well how to handle the situation, but thought you could use some more in the field experience. Now, go sleep. We don't know what to expect on Cascalar and I want you to be in the best condition you can be." He pointed in the direction of the bedroom, "Go."
"Insane," Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, but rose and obeyed.
***********
Three hours later, Qui-Gon was preparing to land on the desert-like terrain of Cascalar. Flying low over a small settlement, he searched for something which resembled a shuttle repair/fuel shop. The violent tremor which had, moments ago, passed through the ship served as a warning that the power supply was waning and that he had to find a service station. Now. Making another sweep above the city, he found what he was searching for. It was small and on the outskirts, but that could work to their advantage. He rather roughly touched down as close to the building as possible and stood, stretching, before he walked the short distance to the bedroom to retrieve his padawan.
Upon opening the door, Qui-Gon was none too surprised to find Obi-Wan laying on his cot, wide awake, counting the ceiling panels. The boy rose the moment he was called, and the two of them made their way to the exit.
As he stepped off the exit ramp, Qui-Gon mentally reminded his apprentice to be mindful of his surroundings before he did the same. The repair station sat secluded, some 500 yards from the nearest building, cut off by a natural, jagged wall of stone. The main structure was little more than a hut, made of sun-hardened clay and sand, complements of the desert terrain. There were two structures of similar composition, yet several times larger, each serving as a holding place, presumably for ships on which repairs were being done. Though together they could house about eight ships, only one was currently being serviced. To the side opposite the city, there were endless miles of white, scalding sand.
The attention of the two was suddenly pulled from the characteristics of the planet the Force had deemed fit for them to land upon, and placed upon the figure walking hastily towards them. The creature, an Axlexian, was about four feet tall with pinkish skin and two pairs of tan eyes, one right above the other, an elongated mouth, and lips so large that they made his appearance almost comical. His tattered, worn tunic and pants were stained with grease and so disgusting a brown color that one could only speculate at the last time the garment had been cleaned. What little hair he had was matted to his head in a mixture of sweat and sand, taking his unkempt look one step further.
The Jedi's eyes met as they both felt the ripple in the Force. Something was not right.
They met the Axlexian at the base of the ramp and waited as he introduced himself, "Greetings. I am Sa'lon. It appears that your ship is great need of my services, does it not?" The first words were spoken clearly out of habitual necessity, but his eyes lit up at as he spoke the last sentence, looking the ship up and down.
Qui-Gon took a moment to glance at the ship. He was sincerely grateful that nothing larger than Master Yoda's gimmer stick *had* hit them, because if anything had, judging from the fairly small but incredibly deep gashes which were scattered along the ship's outer frame, they would be dead right now.
Obi-Wan fielded the question, which was more like as statement, "We need replacement fuel cells and a new crystal generator," glancing up at the relatively large gash on which Sa'lon's eyes rested. It was unsightly, true, but not anything that would pose an immediate problem and not something they would need to get taken care of right away. Plus, Obi-Wan did not trust this Axlexian to be entirely *fair* in regards to pricing, "The impact holes are not a priority at the moment. We will not need them repaired."
Sa'lon's face fell, but he quickly recovered, "You have the means of paying, do you not?" he said, mentally deciding how to jack up the small amount fuel cells and a power generator for such a primitive ship would cost. Perhaps they would be talked into some new lighting equipment...
// Padawan, can you handle the repairs?//
Obi-Wan didn't glance away from his haggling with the diminutive creature, but acknowledge his master's question, // Yes Master. They are simple installations and will be done as soon as I get him down to a moderately outrageous price. I will be fine.//
Mentally nodding, Qui-Gon slowly walked away from the ship and his apprentice to further explore the surroundings, always keeping on his guard. Something was not right.
His wanderings led him to the stone wall protecting the repair station. Taking the walk to the end of it slowly, he stopped before turning the corner. Feeling the tug in the Force again, he rested his hand on his lightsaber before cautiously continuing. Fully expecting the possibility of coming face to face with some horrible demon, he was fairly surprised, and relieved, when his eyes fell upon, not a group of monsters, but a small gathering of humanoids.
Qui-Gon felt a stab of pity as he looked upon their dirt-streaked faces and sun-reddened skin. Their thin, tattered clothes appearing ready to fall apart. They were attempting to take shelter in the shadow of the wall, but, due to the planet's three suns, the shade given was barely enough for two, let alone twenty. One, a male, slightly shorter and a little bulkier than Qui-Gon with black hair and eyes so dark that the pupil was barely distinguishable, was the first to notice the Jedi. He approached Qui-Gon circumspectly, not sure what to make of the stranger.
Qui-Gon allowed the man to size him up, waiting for him to initiate any type of conversation.
"Who are you?" The man asked finally, after circling Qui-Gon several times, his voice brimming with authority.
"I am merely a traveler whose ship is being serviced," Qui-Gon replied calmly, not giving any information away.
"Your not from this planet," the man said, tugging on Qui-Gon's robes. At the moment the man made contact with his clothes, Qui-Gon felt the Force screaming at him. He knew he must get away, this is what the Force was warning him about! This man...
"No, I am not." He replied, his eyes darting past the man in front of him. The rest of the members of the group were now slowly surrounding him. They did not appear to be armed, but nearly everything could be concealed. The Force was now invading his mind with frantic signs of warning Sith! How could he have been so stupid?! Why had he approached the group? Had he learned nothing during his entire time as a Jedi?!
// Padawan?// He reached out to his apprentice through the bond.
//Yes, Master?//
//Are the repairs nearly finished?// He asked urgently
//Yes, Master, almost...Is everything all right?// The boy asked as he picked up on the urgency in his master's thoughts.
//I need you to ready the ship.//
//It's not yet ready-Is everything okay?//
"I must be going now," Qui-Gon said calmly as he looked into the black eyes, challenging them to contradict him. When no response came, he turned on his heel and walked through a gap in the human circle.
//Master, I'm coming.//
//No, Obi-Wan, everything is-// He was cut off by the sound of several blasters charging up.
"Stay where you are, *Jedi*."
~Anyone notice that I like ending parts with dialogue? =)
As always, any good little Jedi who wants to review this fic and give me whatever it is you think I have coming...comments, criticism, whatever...I will be eternally grateful AND, get this, you get your name up in the next chapter=) Who could ask for more lol...
And this part would have never been *nearly* as grammatically correct, were it not for MaraJade! She is amazing! Thank you!!!
Here's the part where I say THANK YOU to all who reviewed=): Rinaka, Yoda, Rusho100, silverrain, KenobisGirl, Susan, Dovecatcher, ewen, Korat, siri, Ginger Ninja, freakizimi...Such good little Jedi, are you=)
I forgot about this silly little thing called a disclaimer, so here it is...
Disclaimer: FANfiction...self-explanitory (That is my idea of a disclaimer...but, just in case, I don't own them=)
and personal thoughts: ~ are in these ~
Telepathic thought: // are in these //
A look of mild alarm raced across Qui-Gon's features before they turned to stone again. "What exactly do you mean, Padawan?" his voice calm, but with a definite undertone of urgency.
"The fuel cells. We have none," Obi-Wan said, then tersely tried to elaborate, seeing the confusion in his master's eyes, "The tanks ruptured. We have no power, literally. The jolt was us *dropping* out of hyperspace in the middle of Force knows where!" Obi-Wan said almost frantically. He was dangerously close to losing his stereotypical Jedi reign on his emotions, knowing full well the possibly dangerous repercussions of having an open fuel source in the middle of an unknown region of space. Any heated space debris would act as the detonator. They could be blown up at any moment!
Qui-Gon knew this as well. "Obi-Wan, this is not the time to center on your anxieties. You must focus on the moment. Come." Qui-Gon walked swiftly to the cockpit, his apprentice falling into step behind him. Looking at the panels, he silently cursed his lack of knowledge on the subject of spacecraft. He knew enough to allow him to fly most and was quite familiar with the running of some of the more modern vessels, but his grasp of the internal mechanics did not extend to those over 50 years old. Obi-Wan was the ship fanatic, giving Qui-Gon no reason nor desire to become a walking shuttle manual.
Now, he had to rely on an apprentice from which he could almost *see* the waves of anxiety pouring off. When Obi-Wan was at his best, Qui-Gon would never second guess the ability of his padawan to come through, but now, he wasn't sure if the boy was capable of thinking calmly, let alone discovering a solution to their most dire problem. But he had to be.
"Obi-Wan, listen to me," Qui-Gon said quietly, yet firmly, locking his gaze with the boy's, "I need you to center yourself. *Concentrate.* Is there any way we can get more power?"
Obi-Wan nearly screamed at the thought of how much time it would take to center himself. Seconds, but seconds during which they could become Jedi space dust. However, he knew that his knowledge of the ship would do them no good if he wasn't able to calm his mind enough to access it. Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths, clearing his mind of all but the workings of the ship. Fuel source...fuel source...The only other source of energy was that which powered the ship's navigational equipment and lights. It wasn't connected to the engines. But, maybe it could be...
Eyes flicking open, Obi-Wan wordlessly pulled the cover off of one of the panels ~Force, I hope this works!~
He hastily began to rewire the system, the effects of his efforts being shown as the consoles, one by one, began to power down. Finally, only one small area of the once fully functioning computer was still emitting light, indicating it alone was still functional. Obi-Wan went over to it, searched the screen, entered a number sequence, then returned to the wiring, fully shutting the ship's computer system down. Qui-Gon observed this act in silence.
Only when, in the now darkened shuttle, the cockpit shook with a sudden tremor, indicating the initial thrust of the engines, did Qui-Gon notice that he had been clenching his teeth, and relaxed, flexing his jaw to relieve its stiffness. He watched his padawan sink, exhausted, into the pilot's chair, and sat down in the co-pilot's chair, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Do we have enough power to get us somewhere?" The initial danger of being stranded might be gone, but there was still the possibility of being hit by space material. They needed to get out of space and repair the ship. Soon.
Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes and replied tiredly, "Yes. I had to reroute the power from the crystal generator, which feeds the electronic equipment, to the engines. But, that power source is not meant to support such a large task. We cannot travel far. There is a planet that might be able to reach. I typed in its coordinates before I started the engines. Cascalar. The identifications computer was pretty much dead from the power drain, after I started the rerouting, but I did manage to get that it *is* inhabited and that it's technology *is* somewhat modern. It should be capable of handling our repair ne-"
Obi-Wan was cut off as something impacted the moving ship, not causing much damage, but managed to jar the ship. He sighed and continued, "We should be able to repair and refuel there. I also had to take the shields offline to get the engines started. Even when up, they were so shoddy that they wouldn't have protected us from anything larger than Master Yoda's gimmer stick, but still, it was a comfort."
Qui-Gon nodded his approval of his apprentice's actions, then leaned back, eyes closed. Obi-Wan, observant enough, despite the lack of illumination and his exhaustion, to pick up on a glimmer of humor that played across his master's face.
Bewildered, Obi-Wan brought the man out of his revelry, "Master?"
Qui-Gon opened his eyes and let his gaze fall upon the shadowed outline of his padawan. "Hmmm?"
"What, *exactly*, is it that you find so amusing?"
Qui-Gon paused a moment, then replied, "That was possibly one of the best training tests I have come up with. I was just thinking about how glad I was to have thought of it," Qui-Gon smirked, "Oh, and you passed"
Obi-Wan stared at him in amazement, "Passed? *Passed*? Master, you know as well as I do that if not for me, parts of you could be floating around in space right now, making close friends with the parts of other people who were blown up because they didn't have a clue what they were doing and didn't have an apprentice to save their hide!"
Qui-Gon's smirk remained, "I knew perfectly well how to handle the situation, but thought you could use some more in the field experience. Now, go sleep. We don't know what to expect on Cascalar and I want you to be in the best condition you can be." He pointed in the direction of the bedroom, "Go."
"Insane," Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, but rose and obeyed.
***********
Three hours later, Qui-Gon was preparing to land on the desert-like terrain of Cascalar. Flying low over a small settlement, he searched for something which resembled a shuttle repair/fuel shop. The violent tremor which had, moments ago, passed through the ship served as a warning that the power supply was waning and that he had to find a service station. Now. Making another sweep above the city, he found what he was searching for. It was small and on the outskirts, but that could work to their advantage. He rather roughly touched down as close to the building as possible and stood, stretching, before he walked the short distance to the bedroom to retrieve his padawan.
Upon opening the door, Qui-Gon was none too surprised to find Obi-Wan laying on his cot, wide awake, counting the ceiling panels. The boy rose the moment he was called, and the two of them made their way to the exit.
As he stepped off the exit ramp, Qui-Gon mentally reminded his apprentice to be mindful of his surroundings before he did the same. The repair station sat secluded, some 500 yards from the nearest building, cut off by a natural, jagged wall of stone. The main structure was little more than a hut, made of sun-hardened clay and sand, complements of the desert terrain. There were two structures of similar composition, yet several times larger, each serving as a holding place, presumably for ships on which repairs were being done. Though together they could house about eight ships, only one was currently being serviced. To the side opposite the city, there were endless miles of white, scalding sand.
The attention of the two was suddenly pulled from the characteristics of the planet the Force had deemed fit for them to land upon, and placed upon the figure walking hastily towards them. The creature, an Axlexian, was about four feet tall with pinkish skin and two pairs of tan eyes, one right above the other, an elongated mouth, and lips so large that they made his appearance almost comical. His tattered, worn tunic and pants were stained with grease and so disgusting a brown color that one could only speculate at the last time the garment had been cleaned. What little hair he had was matted to his head in a mixture of sweat and sand, taking his unkempt look one step further.
The Jedi's eyes met as they both felt the ripple in the Force. Something was not right.
They met the Axlexian at the base of the ramp and waited as he introduced himself, "Greetings. I am Sa'lon. It appears that your ship is great need of my services, does it not?" The first words were spoken clearly out of habitual necessity, but his eyes lit up at as he spoke the last sentence, looking the ship up and down.
Qui-Gon took a moment to glance at the ship. He was sincerely grateful that nothing larger than Master Yoda's gimmer stick *had* hit them, because if anything had, judging from the fairly small but incredibly deep gashes which were scattered along the ship's outer frame, they would be dead right now.
Obi-Wan fielded the question, which was more like as statement, "We need replacement fuel cells and a new crystal generator," glancing up at the relatively large gash on which Sa'lon's eyes rested. It was unsightly, true, but not anything that would pose an immediate problem and not something they would need to get taken care of right away. Plus, Obi-Wan did not trust this Axlexian to be entirely *fair* in regards to pricing, "The impact holes are not a priority at the moment. We will not need them repaired."
Sa'lon's face fell, but he quickly recovered, "You have the means of paying, do you not?" he said, mentally deciding how to jack up the small amount fuel cells and a power generator for such a primitive ship would cost. Perhaps they would be talked into some new lighting equipment...
// Padawan, can you handle the repairs?//
Obi-Wan didn't glance away from his haggling with the diminutive creature, but acknowledge his master's question, // Yes Master. They are simple installations and will be done as soon as I get him down to a moderately outrageous price. I will be fine.//
Mentally nodding, Qui-Gon slowly walked away from the ship and his apprentice to further explore the surroundings, always keeping on his guard. Something was not right.
His wanderings led him to the stone wall protecting the repair station. Taking the walk to the end of it slowly, he stopped before turning the corner. Feeling the tug in the Force again, he rested his hand on his lightsaber before cautiously continuing. Fully expecting the possibility of coming face to face with some horrible demon, he was fairly surprised, and relieved, when his eyes fell upon, not a group of monsters, but a small gathering of humanoids.
Qui-Gon felt a stab of pity as he looked upon their dirt-streaked faces and sun-reddened skin. Their thin, tattered clothes appearing ready to fall apart. They were attempting to take shelter in the shadow of the wall, but, due to the planet's three suns, the shade given was barely enough for two, let alone twenty. One, a male, slightly shorter and a little bulkier than Qui-Gon with black hair and eyes so dark that the pupil was barely distinguishable, was the first to notice the Jedi. He approached Qui-Gon circumspectly, not sure what to make of the stranger.
Qui-Gon allowed the man to size him up, waiting for him to initiate any type of conversation.
"Who are you?" The man asked finally, after circling Qui-Gon several times, his voice brimming with authority.
"I am merely a traveler whose ship is being serviced," Qui-Gon replied calmly, not giving any information away.
"Your not from this planet," the man said, tugging on Qui-Gon's robes. At the moment the man made contact with his clothes, Qui-Gon felt the Force screaming at him. He knew he must get away, this is what the Force was warning him about! This man...
"No, I am not." He replied, his eyes darting past the man in front of him. The rest of the members of the group were now slowly surrounding him. They did not appear to be armed, but nearly everything could be concealed. The Force was now invading his mind with frantic signs of warning Sith! How could he have been so stupid?! Why had he approached the group? Had he learned nothing during his entire time as a Jedi?!
// Padawan?// He reached out to his apprentice through the bond.
//Yes, Master?//
//Are the repairs nearly finished?// He asked urgently
//Yes, Master, almost...Is everything all right?// The boy asked as he picked up on the urgency in his master's thoughts.
//I need you to ready the ship.//
//It's not yet ready-Is everything okay?//
"I must be going now," Qui-Gon said calmly as he looked into the black eyes, challenging them to contradict him. When no response came, he turned on his heel and walked through a gap in the human circle.
//Master, I'm coming.//
//No, Obi-Wan, everything is-// He was cut off by the sound of several blasters charging up.
"Stay where you are, *Jedi*."
~Anyone notice that I like ending parts with dialogue? =)
As always, any good little Jedi who wants to review this fic and give me whatever it is you think I have coming...comments, criticism, whatever...I will be eternally grateful AND, get this, you get your name up in the next chapter=) Who could ask for more lol...