Thank you for the reviews! ^-^ I needed the boost since this is my first Star Wars spin. I believe in returning the courtesy, so if you read my stories, I'll read yours. Simple author ethics, hehe. Now, we're getting into some action! Enjoy! =)
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Obi-Wan studied several monitors closely. With the help of the Force and long flight studies, he could manage all of them at once. The small Jedi transport hovered in the air and drifted to the ground as he eased a lever down. Perfect landing. Beside him, Qui-Gon released his restraints and headed for his gear and survival pack. Although his face and motions were completely smooth, Obi-Wan sensed he was just as anxious to get to the bottom of this mystery. Quickly, the apprentice followed him and both stepped out of the ship.
Not far in the distance, impressively tall, cork-screw buildings winked at them in an array of colors while catching the reflections of two suns. The largest blazed a deep red while the other was a small soft blue. Each hung in a different direction, placing an army of doubled shadows across the lumpy landscape. For a normal vistor, it would be easy to get confused with eye-clutter. While observing all this, Obi-Wan reached out with the Force too, but all he could feel was emptiness. Nothingness, abandonment, and . . . what was that? Fear? He drew back feeling suddenly cold.
Qui-Gon, meanwhile, walked around casually studying all directions. He never mentioned his thought process to his apprentice on the first encounter with a strange planet. It would deplete the whole process of testing Obi-Wan's abilities. Although, the boy didn't appreciate being left in the dark too long.
"Master, I don't sense anything here."
"Yes, it seems the Council's sources were correct."
The young Jedi nodded and pondered why his master would even bring that up. The council was ALWAYS right, or so it seemed. Maybe he had doubted the idea of an entire civilization disappearing just as much as he had. What if it was just the planet's last effort to flee from the corruption sweeping the galaxy? It wasn't unheard of. He could hardly blame them at all for that. Sometimes Obi-Wan wished even the Jedi had their own secluded planet to escape from the politicians, traffic, and the bustling noise of Coruscant.
"Perhaps they migrated to more natural environments," Qui-Gon paused to pull out a holofile from under his cloak," We should continue more North West if . . ."
Suddenly, Obi-Wan could feel a slight vibration just under his boots. It was hardly noticeable, but panicked ripples of the force flushed the two Jedi immediatly. Nearby bushes began to quiver and a distant roar echoed closer and closer. It seemed to be coming from . . . below?
"Go!" Gui-Gon shouted as he dashed back to the ship. He Force-jumped on to the wing. Only a moment behind, his apprentice made the leap but missed. He crashed face first into the ashen dirt and rolled several times. Using the momentum, he propelled into a somersault and landed back on his feet. Blood and dust clouded his vision as the Force surged another warning. Three blood-red dorsal fins snaked through ground in his direction.
Qui-Gon leapt to his feet, nearly unfurled by a fall off the parked ship. Something colossal had impacted the craft and tipped it. He only got a brief glance of his Padawan over-shooting the wing as it tipped. After losing his balance in brief surprise, the Jedi Knight had slid across the metal and flopped on the ground below. Immediatly, a green beam fired up in the gray dust clouds as he raced towards the aggressor.
Obi-Wan also activated his lightsaber as the monster approached. Something told him he was today's special on the menu. The three vertically lined fins, nearly his height, gradually emerged from the rippling ground to reveal an enormous snake-like body sporting a long head set with thousands of fangs. The Padawan leaned into fight stance with determination, despite his inward horror of the creature. The monster's movements were smooth with craftiness, and it's black eyes blazed with hunger. With a jerk it flew out of the ground to make the kill.
Qui-Gon sprinted to his apprentice's rescue. His saber thrummed and sparked as the dust he kicked up disinagrated in it's halo. Not far in the distance, the animal burst from below in an explosion of dirt. It's body coiled and quivered as it careened through the air, mouth wide open. The sudden whack of empty jaws echoed to his ears. It missed! Then, within feet of the tail, he hopped easily into the air and arched his lightsaber high, neatly slicing a fin. Howls and screeches raked his eardrums as it reversed back into a hole. A bump in the earth sped away, the cries of agony fading with it.
.
"What was that?!" Obi-Wan accepted his master's help up.
"I'm . . . not sure. The Council nor the records mentioned any dangerous animals."
The Padawan searched for his fallen lightsaber while dusting himself off," We'd better get going while the going's good then."
"First, let's tend to our wounds."
The boy glanced at him impatiently, but his master's gaze allowed no argument. Together, they strode back to the tilted ship. With a brief climb to the enterance, they immediatly seperated. Qui-Gon pulled out some bacta in some drawers as Obi-Wan washed his face in a small sink. The mirror revealed an ugly gash across his cheek. A small healing task for a Jedi though. Gui-Gon stepped into the doorway just then.
"Sit down," he motioned his Padawan to a stool. He instantly obeyed.
"So what now?" Obi-Wan winced as the Jedi smoothed the bacta on.
"Tell me what you think we should do."
Of course, it was too difficult to get any kind of direct answer from a Jedi. As they got older and higher ranked, the worse it got.
"From now on, we'll have to travel light and high, away from the ground now that we know the primary threat. We should probably take the ship to do that."
"Good, but we should never label a threat greater than any other. Especially, when facts are still missing."
"Yes, Master."
"Let's straighten our ship out and land on the border of the city. We'll probably need somewhere high, as you say, to stay. And maybe some clues are there as well."
When he was finished, Obi-Wan glanced at the horizon through the window with a shiver tickling his skin. It was as if something whispered a warning to avoid that place, but nothing offered a better alternative. A Jedi should never be easily intimidated, he knew, but they had also emphasized trusting one's instincts. His were nearly screaming.
"Shall we?"
"Yes, Master."
[|||||||||||o||]:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Obi-Wan studied several monitors closely. With the help of the Force and long flight studies, he could manage all of them at once. The small Jedi transport hovered in the air and drifted to the ground as he eased a lever down. Perfect landing. Beside him, Qui-Gon released his restraints and headed for his gear and survival pack. Although his face and motions were completely smooth, Obi-Wan sensed he was just as anxious to get to the bottom of this mystery. Quickly, the apprentice followed him and both stepped out of the ship.
Not far in the distance, impressively tall, cork-screw buildings winked at them in an array of colors while catching the reflections of two suns. The largest blazed a deep red while the other was a small soft blue. Each hung in a different direction, placing an army of doubled shadows across the lumpy landscape. For a normal vistor, it would be easy to get confused with eye-clutter. While observing all this, Obi-Wan reached out with the Force too, but all he could feel was emptiness. Nothingness, abandonment, and . . . what was that? Fear? He drew back feeling suddenly cold.
Qui-Gon, meanwhile, walked around casually studying all directions. He never mentioned his thought process to his apprentice on the first encounter with a strange planet. It would deplete the whole process of testing Obi-Wan's abilities. Although, the boy didn't appreciate being left in the dark too long.
"Master, I don't sense anything here."
"Yes, it seems the Council's sources were correct."
The young Jedi nodded and pondered why his master would even bring that up. The council was ALWAYS right, or so it seemed. Maybe he had doubted the idea of an entire civilization disappearing just as much as he had. What if it was just the planet's last effort to flee from the corruption sweeping the galaxy? It wasn't unheard of. He could hardly blame them at all for that. Sometimes Obi-Wan wished even the Jedi had their own secluded planet to escape from the politicians, traffic, and the bustling noise of Coruscant.
"Perhaps they migrated to more natural environments," Qui-Gon paused to pull out a holofile from under his cloak," We should continue more North West if . . ."
Suddenly, Obi-Wan could feel a slight vibration just under his boots. It was hardly noticeable, but panicked ripples of the force flushed the two Jedi immediatly. Nearby bushes began to quiver and a distant roar echoed closer and closer. It seemed to be coming from . . . below?
"Go!" Gui-Gon shouted as he dashed back to the ship. He Force-jumped on to the wing. Only a moment behind, his apprentice made the leap but missed. He crashed face first into the ashen dirt and rolled several times. Using the momentum, he propelled into a somersault and landed back on his feet. Blood and dust clouded his vision as the Force surged another warning. Three blood-red dorsal fins snaked through ground in his direction.
Qui-Gon leapt to his feet, nearly unfurled by a fall off the parked ship. Something colossal had impacted the craft and tipped it. He only got a brief glance of his Padawan over-shooting the wing as it tipped. After losing his balance in brief surprise, the Jedi Knight had slid across the metal and flopped on the ground below. Immediatly, a green beam fired up in the gray dust clouds as he raced towards the aggressor.
Obi-Wan also activated his lightsaber as the monster approached. Something told him he was today's special on the menu. The three vertically lined fins, nearly his height, gradually emerged from the rippling ground to reveal an enormous snake-like body sporting a long head set with thousands of fangs. The Padawan leaned into fight stance with determination, despite his inward horror of the creature. The monster's movements were smooth with craftiness, and it's black eyes blazed with hunger. With a jerk it flew out of the ground to make the kill.
Qui-Gon sprinted to his apprentice's rescue. His saber thrummed and sparked as the dust he kicked up disinagrated in it's halo. Not far in the distance, the animal burst from below in an explosion of dirt. It's body coiled and quivered as it careened through the air, mouth wide open. The sudden whack of empty jaws echoed to his ears. It missed! Then, within feet of the tail, he hopped easily into the air and arched his lightsaber high, neatly slicing a fin. Howls and screeches raked his eardrums as it reversed back into a hole. A bump in the earth sped away, the cries of agony fading with it.
.
"What was that?!" Obi-Wan accepted his master's help up.
"I'm . . . not sure. The Council nor the records mentioned any dangerous animals."
The Padawan searched for his fallen lightsaber while dusting himself off," We'd better get going while the going's good then."
"First, let's tend to our wounds."
The boy glanced at him impatiently, but his master's gaze allowed no argument. Together, they strode back to the tilted ship. With a brief climb to the enterance, they immediatly seperated. Qui-Gon pulled out some bacta in some drawers as Obi-Wan washed his face in a small sink. The mirror revealed an ugly gash across his cheek. A small healing task for a Jedi though. Gui-Gon stepped into the doorway just then.
"Sit down," he motioned his Padawan to a stool. He instantly obeyed.
"So what now?" Obi-Wan winced as the Jedi smoothed the bacta on.
"Tell me what you think we should do."
Of course, it was too difficult to get any kind of direct answer from a Jedi. As they got older and higher ranked, the worse it got.
"From now on, we'll have to travel light and high, away from the ground now that we know the primary threat. We should probably take the ship to do that."
"Good, but we should never label a threat greater than any other. Especially, when facts are still missing."
"Yes, Master."
"Let's straighten our ship out and land on the border of the city. We'll probably need somewhere high, as you say, to stay. And maybe some clues are there as well."
When he was finished, Obi-Wan glanced at the horizon through the window with a shiver tickling his skin. It was as if something whispered a warning to avoid that place, but nothing offered a better alternative. A Jedi should never be easily intimidated, he knew, but they had also emphasized trusting one's instincts. His were nearly screaming.
"Shall we?"
"Yes, Master."
