Chapter 11

The sun was just cascading over the landing pad as Alex Arieh and his padawan boarded the transport that would carry them the short trip to Alderaan. The silence between the pair was more strained than normal, and as soon as they boarded Meri found a seat by a view port and turned her face to it. To say she felt bad wouldn't even begin to explain how she felt.

Alex, with a quick glance at his apprentice, made his way to the cockpit. Meri stared after his retreating back, wishing she had the courage to stop him and tell him she was sorry. Instead she clenched her hands in her lap and turned to look back out the window.

The trip to Alderaan seemed to drag on forever to her. Her Master stayed in the cockpit for most of the trip, only coming out to tell her they were approaching the planet. He took a seat next to her and strapped in for the landing. When her slender fingers had trouble tightening her own strap, he leaned over and adjusted it for her. Glancing up, her eyes met his and he smiled encouragingly.

"I'm not angry with you, Padawan," he answered the question in her eyes.

She gave a wavering smile in return, but didn't feel any better for his words. Maybe he wasn't now, but surely he had been. Feeling the frustration build inside at her own fear, she began to nibble on her lip as she turned to glance out at the planet below.

The transport touched down with a gentle lurch, and Meri was quick to follow Alex's lead as he rose and headed for the ramp that was already lowering to the ground. Raising her hood, she followed him into the busy spaceport, her eyes taking in everything, while seeming not to look.

Stopping, Alex turned to her and spoke quietly. "We haven't far to go. We're to pick him up in one of the cantinas near here."

That piqued her curiosity. "Isn't he in danger that way?" she asked just as softly.

The tall knight shook his head. "Any attackers would be looking for him at the protection agency. He's being guarded at the cantina. Come." Without further words, they made their way to a cantina named Doomsday.

At the sight of the name on the sign, Meri's eyebrow rose. "Great," she murmured to herself. We're picking up a person who has people trying to kill him, from a place called Doomsday.

Her Master threw the words, "Stay close to me," over his shoulder before stepping into cantina. Pulling her hood farther forward to conceal her face, Meri stepped quickly after her Master. The further they went into the cantina, the thicker the smoke became. Meri held back the urge to cough and was thankful when the meeting only took a few minutes and they moved outside.

When they stepped back outside the cantina three beings followed. Two were flanking a shorter humanoid. Meri guessed he was the witness they were to escort, but her eyes were drawn to the two large beings guarding him. Something about the way their eyes shifted quickly back and forth in almost a nervous gesture disturbed her.

"The ship is this way."

Her Master's words jerked her back from her musings and she quickly fell into step as they walked swiftly towards the ship. Stupid mistake, Meri, always focus on the now, she ordered herself.

The short trip to the transport was made quickly and without any trouble. The small group had just stepped up the ramp and into the transport, when the pilot of the ship walked through the doorway ahead.

"Master Jedi, we have received an urgent message from the Jedi Temple. They requested you view it before taking off."

Alex frowned and studied the pilot for a moment, before nodding hesitantly. "Very well." He turned to Meri and the other three. "I'll be back shortly."

Meri nodded, but something inside of her was beginning to twist strangely.

She almost began to follow Alex, to tell him something was wrong, when a strong backward pull on her arm sent her careening into the wall behind her. Her head cracked sharply against the surface and the room swam before her eyes, yet she could still see what was happening.

One of the guards had grabbed the witness and was holding him in an aggressive position. The other was facing her with a sneer on his face.

"Stupid Jedi," he spat.

From the direction of the cockpit echoed the sound of blaster fire and Meri suddenly realized it had all been a set up. The pilot...the message. They had just wanted to separate the two Jedi. A sudden lurch beneath her feet alerted her to the fact the ship was taking off, and the movement tossed her off balance and dangerously near the open ramp.

The ship headed full speed for the atmosphere and within seconds, they were already hundreds of feet above the ground. Meri reached instinctively for her lightsabre, but before her hand even touched it, something sharp and metal made contact with her head.

The next thing she knew, she was falling backwards, a blinding pain exploding in her head. She fell to her side on the ramp and continued to roll right down the ramp.

Through a wave of pain induced haze, she realized what was happening and at the last second her fingers closed around the edge of the ramp. Her body jerked to a halt in its fall and she hung precariously, hundreds of feet above the planet, with the distance increasing by the moment. Her fingers bit into the metal ramp as they fought for a sturdier hold, but she only succeeded in bloodying them.

Desperately she reached for the Force to help pull herself up, but it wasn't there. With each beat of her heart, pain exploded in her head and she couldn't see. Something was running into her eyes burning them, blinding her. She couldn't see, couldn't concentrate enough to access the Force, and the increasing waves of dizziness made it impossible to pull herself up by brute strength. She felt like she was going to be sick. What scared her the most was the fuzziness creeping in, the darkness that threatened to overtake her.

Meri knew she was fighting a losing battle. It wouldn't be long before she lost the battle and consciousness. Abandoning all her previous fears about trusting, she reached for the fragile cord in her mind that tied her to Alex. Throwing her all behind it, she opened herself fully to him and sent a desperate plea for help.

Master!!

***

As Alex followed the pilot back to the front of the transport, the sense that something was about to go wrong grew stronger. He didn't know if it had to do with this so-called message, or if it was something else. He was on the verge of turning to go check on his apprentice and the witness, when they reached the cockpit.

The pilot crossed the short space to the control board and Alex watched closely as he hit the switches to autopilot.

Suddenly something clicked in the Jedi's mind and he whipped his lightsabre off his belt and ignited it, just in time to deflect the first blaster shots from the pilot. He had to be careful not to direct any of the blaster fire at sensitive parts of the ship and at the same time, he was careful not to hurt his attacker. He knew he could disarm the traitor given a few minutes, but he was about to discover time was a commodity he did not have.

The pilot had ducked behind the bulkhead and was firing sporadically at the Jedi knight. It only took Alex a moment to realize this was designed to be a distraction and knew he had to move quickly. Already he had felt the ship lurch and realized the autopilot was taking them off Alderaan at a rapid pace. His concern for his apprentice had grown as he realized that this had all been a design to separate the two. He could only hope she was all right.

Another red blaster bolt winged its way across the short distance, and Alex swatted it away with his sabre like a bothersome insect. He was just beginning to plan his strategy to reach the pilot, when an explosion of Force flared into his mind. The presence that was his apprentice grew from the faintest essence and exploded into a brightness that flooded his mind. At that exact moment, he could sense her well-being and his heart seemed to skip a beat.

Master!

The desperate plea that surged over their now open bond changed Alex's approach to the whole situation. He didn't know what was wrong back there, he just knew whatever it was, it had gone horribly wrong.

Twirling his sabre with a flick of his wrist, he sent the next blaster bolt slamming into the wall directly in front of the pilot. At this point hurting the man before him was less of a concern when his padawan was in danger. The urgency to go and help his apprentice was building by the minute.

The next blaster bolt Alex returned hit its intended target, and the man howled out with an angry cry as the bolt singed his leg. Taking advantage of the situation, the Jedi darted across the open space and disarmed the pilot with a quick sweep of his humming lightsabre. The two pieces of the blaster fell harmlessly to the floor and without hesitating; Alex jerked the injured man from the floor and dragged him to one of the small cargo holds. "Get in," he commanded, steel underlying his tone. Without waiting for the man to answer, Alex shoved him in, and locked the small hold.

Turning, Alex had to hold himself back from running to the back of the ship. He didn't know what was awaiting him. Carefully he approached and peered cautiously around the corner. Both of the guards had their attention elsewhere, and that was what bothered him, that and his apprentice was nowhere to be seen. One guard stood with his back to Alex and held the witness captive and the other... Looking closer, he noticed that particular guard standing at the head of the ramp holding a long metal pipe in one hand--The ramp; it should have closed by now. It was made to automatically close when the ship took off; the atmosphere was getting dangerously thin, why then was it still open...?

With horror, Alex realized what was happening and why Meri had called him so frantically. Without pausing, he snuck quietly up behind the guard holding the witness and using the butt of his lightsabre, cracked it down on the back of the being's head. He dropped like a rock at Alex's feet and the captive scurried quickly out of the way as the remaining guard turned to face Alex with surprise etched on his face.

"Surprised?" Alex growled. "Jedi aren't that easy to get rid of."

The guard reached quickly for his blaster, but Alex was faster. Lifting his hand, he waved it in a downward motion that sent the guard flying sidewise and into the wall. The force of the push knocked him promptly unconscious and Alex rushed for the ramp.

Dropping to his knees, his momentum slid him down to the edge of the ramp. Even as he did so, he found he had trouble breathing in the thin air. Looking over the edge his heart almost stopped. "Meri," he breathed, then grabbed her wrist and pulled her upwards. Pulling her into his lap, he backed up until he was fully in the hold of the ship. The minute his weight was off the ramp, it rose and shut with a click.

Alex didn't even pay attention to it, but instead began looking his apprentice over. A large gash began high on her forehead and continued into her hairline, making it a bloody mass of hair. The blood had also run down into her eyes and he could see it must have been blinding her. It was the size of the knot on her head that worried him and he didn't see how she had held on for so long. She must have fainted the moment he pulled her up. Pausing he looked over at the witness, who still sat warily in the corner. "You, can you put those two in that other small cargo hold?"

The man nodded and moved to do as asked.

Alex gently cradled Meri in his arms and headed for the cockpit to reset the coordinates for Coruscant first, and foremost. Secondly, he retrieved the med-pack and placed a bacta patch on the still oozing wound of his apprentice. As he did, so he contemplated the difference he felt in their bond and marveled at the light side of the Force her presence exuded. He only hoped she wouldn't withdraw that presence when she awoke.

At the sound of footsteps, he turned to see the witness entering the cockpit.

"Thank you," Alex murmured. "I know I'm not supposed to ask your name, but thank you."

With cocky smile, the humanoid smiled. "S'alright. You can just call me Tek." Looking down on the pale form in the Knight's lap, Tek frowned. "Will she be all right? They hit her pretty hard."

Alex sighed heavily and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. "I hope so, Tek. She will get the best of care at the Jedi Temple, though. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to stop there first and someone else will have to take you on to the Senate building."

Tek waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "No problem, Jedi."

Alex dropped his bright blue eyes back to his apprentice's face and trailed a finger lightly down the dark bruise forming on her face, using an age-old Jedi technique of healing. It would ease the swelling at best; An-Paj would have to see to the rest.