"A Jedi's Dream: Part Four"
And now for the continuation:
"Of course," Qui-Gon said, and he headed up the boarding ramp. Anie followed him, a little uneasy. Something about this pilot didn't seem quite right to her.
As the transport jumped into hyperspace, Anie was suddenly hit with a pang of homesickness. The Temple was her home. It always had been.
"Homesick already?" Qui-Gon asked from behind her. Anie jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.
"A little," she replied, gazing out at the garish blue-and-white finger painting that was hyperspace.
"Well, to get your mind off your homesickness, I thought that we could do a little bit of lightsaber dueling." Qui-Gon smiled at the sight of Anie's eyes lighting up.
"Really??" she managed to squeak out through her surprise and delight.
"Yes, really." Qui-Gon replied. "I thought that we might use the cargo hold for our dueling session."
"Great!' Anie exclaimed. "Just let me go and get my 'saber." And with that, Anie turned and ran toward her closet of a cabin.
Qui-Gon waited until she returned, and they headed aft toward the cargo bay.
* * * * *
Analyse and Qui-Gon battled blindfolded. Anie had requested that they duel like this so that way, her Master's size and skill wouldn't overwhelm her. Both Master and Padawan had turned their lightsabers power on low, so as not to mortally injure someone.
For a time, it seemed as if Qui-Gon would win, hands-down. But as if sensing that losing this first battle would not be the best thing in the galaxy for her, Anie not only strengthened her defenses, she also started probing Qui-Gon's, looking for a weakness she could exploit.
Presently, she found one. Thrusting suddenly with all her strength, Anie dove at Qui-Gon's legs. As she hit the ground, Qui-Gon brought his lightsaber down to block her blow. He wasn't fast enough. Anie rolled and struck his left thigh with her 'saber. Qui-Gon's leg collapsed, and he hit the ground on one knee while Anie kept rolling. As Anie regained her footing, she expected to hear the steady hum of her Master's lightsaber advance toward her. To her astonishment, she heard him close it down.
"Very good," Qui-Gon said as Anie closed down her lightsaber and pushed up her blindfold.
"Master?" Anie inquired, panting. They had been dueling for about 25 standard minutes.
"I didn't realize that I had left myself so open to attack." Qui-Gon answered. "Thank you for pointing that out to me, however painfully." he continued, rubbing his thigh.
"Oh, sorry," Anie said, a little sheepishly.
"No apology necessary." Qui-Gon stood up and walked over to her. "Shall we call it quits?"
Anie nodded vigorously. Right now, all she wanted to do was take a nice, hot shower and head for her cabin's resident bunk.
"Believe me, Analyse, I know how you feel." Qui-Gon said. Anie looked at him in surprise and dismay. "Know, I didn't 'read your mind', as the saying goes. Your feelings were quite evident on your face. I didn't need the Force to verify my suspicions."
"Oh, good." Anie said, relived She hated to think that she couldn't trust her Master.
* * * * *
After a quick session in the transport's refresher, Anie felt quite a bit better.
Suddenly, the transport jumped out of hyperspace with a jolt that told Anie that the pilot hadn't pulled them out. She turned and ran for the cockpit.
"What the-" Anie said, as she burst in and fell silent before she could finish the thought.
* * * * *
To Be Continued . . .