Alarmed, the Jedi jumped up. A rather peculiar event followed, because when the Jedi jumped up, their tree-chairs obediently went down into the ground, although Kaiba's tree slapped him in the side when going down. Malik smiled at the tree, until Master Windu gave him his look that scared both Masters and apprentices. Yami had the princess by the wrist, explaining the whole situation to the Prime Minister, the princess, and Master Oodin. A comlink on his waist beeped and crackled loudly. "Yami, Yami!" a male's voice cried out. "We're taking hits by the main entrance! Threat to Treegem!" Yami hurriedly grabbed the comlink. "I've got Treegem. The Jedi are coming!" The comlink then died. Yami looked up. The Jedi were gone, and the Prime Minister was being taken by security.
He then ran off, as quickly as he could while dragging the Princess. "Slow down! Slow down!" Princess Lesha cried out. "You're hurting me!" Yami did not break his stride while telling her his mind. "We are in extreme danger, ma'am, and you'll be in more pain if we don't get to my speeder in time." Lesha stifled a gasp at her Head Of Security's replies. We must be in such great danger if he talks to me like that, she concluded.
Finally, much to relief of the two, they reach the speeder bike. Lesha is fascinated with such technology, for she has never seen these things before. "Hop on and hold tight. We're going fast." He handed her a pair of goggles. Annoyed with this, Lesha was about to point out that the Shirian kazaas were the fastest creatures on this earth, with the speed of 80 kilometers an hour. But then, when the engine revved up and they blasted through the air, but pretty close to the ground, she found herself clinging to Yami at an exhilarating speed of over 100 kilometers an hour. "Where are we going!?" she tried to shout over the turbulence, but it was so loud and noisy Yami did not even turn. Lesha clenched to him, terrified, and turned her head. She gasped in surprise at what she saw.
The Jedi cautiously entered the entranceway, using their keen Force senses to detect any movement. "Master..." Malik whispered, so softly, a droid's hearing sensors could not pick up. "No one is here except us. Look, there is no evidence of a battle." He tapped the alabaster stone pillar. There were no bodies, no scorch mark from blasters, or anything. The Jedi froze as metal clanging signaled the coming of droids. "Nice one, Malik." Kaiba sneered. Both Masters glared at their apprentices before a battalion of Battle Droids and Super Battle Droids came crashing through. Lightsabers ignited, and lasers came blasting through. "Jedi! Battle Stance now!" Master Oodin yelled. His long limbs allowed him to flow effortlessly through battle. Malik and Kaiba jumped ahead, slashing and dodging. They became a deadly duo of lightsabers, and any droid unfortunate enough to be close to them were metal scrap. Mace Windu became a whirlwind of light, devastating droids. On and on this went.
Finally the fight ended. Malik thought mournfully of his food that had been lost in battle. His stomach rumbled loudly. Master Oodin, known for his kindness, handed him a razzaberry muffin that he had saved from the firefight. "Share." Malik looked at him gratefully and split the muffin in two. He handed a piece to Kaiba, who took it without second thoughts. Both of the apprentices wolfed down their pieces at stared sadly at their empty hands. Mace Windu surveyed the broken droids. " These are no ordinary droids." He said, and walked out the hole in the wall. "Look, there are no control ships here, and these battle droids depend on them." Kaiba picked up a piece of metal. "The droids are custom-made. Whoever planned this did it well." An uncomfortable silence followed. "Didn't that security guard seem rather odd?" Malik piped up. Kaiba turned towards him. "what does that have to do with anything?" Mace Windu answered for Malik. "Once again, you need to look at the bigger picture. Think about it...didn't we get a report saying that Yami was going to Courascant with the ambassador?" The other Jedi nodded. "Courascant is very far from Shi." Oodin replied. "And Yami had been gone for at least 2 days, that would've gotten him about halfway there, even with hyperspeed. So unless he managed to get back here in no time at all, then..."
"That was not the real security guard!" The Padawans answered at the same time. Mace Windu allowed one of his rare smiles. "Good. I'm glad your perception has grown, Kaiba." Malik beamed happily at Master Oodin, who nodded. "Then who is responsible, Master?" Another uncomfortable silence followed. Kaiba looked into the sky. "It was a trap. Whoever is responsible for this did not care about us. They wanted the princess. But why? She has little or no political power." The Jedi Masters had already come to the conclusion and let their apprentices figure it out. "Duh." Malik said in contempt. "Didn't you listen to the report? The princess comes from a bloodline of the first people. Even though they have a Parliamentary democracy, she is a very important figure in the people's society. She gets a lot more respect than the Prime Minister, which makes sense why some one would..."
"Kidnap her." Kaiba said sadly. "Yes, which also would mean--"
"Invasion." Oodin finished. Several unfriendly-looking ships dotted the sky. "Quick! We must get to the landing bay and warn the people." Mace Windu urged the other Jedi. The Jedi Team broke off at breakneck speed that no human could ever hope to run.
"Yami! Where are we going?!" Lesha asked for the thousandth time. Yami refused to answer her until he landed next to an old and battered looking starship. "Hush, milady. I'll tell you when we are safely in hyperspace." Grumpily, Lesha grabbed her skirts and walked up the ramp. "Such an old-looking thing. Are you sure it will run?" Yami snorted in disbelief and followed her.
"Where do I sit?" she asked, eyeing the rather sparse interior. Yami pulled out a black chair. "Hey! This is made from that one metal here...."
"it is Shirian black crystal. One of the hardest elements in the galaxy. Sorry I couldn't do any better for you..." Yami paused for a second. "Buckle up." He added. There were three soft knocks and three hard knocks on the side of the ship. Lesha gulped as she wondered who that was. This was tense! She thought, watching Yami pull out a blaster.
"It's OK. It's just the rest of the gang." He said loudly. Lesha breathed a sigh of relief as some tall people dressed in black with a large bag over their shoulders. The ramp closed and suddenly Lesha got that creepy feeling you get when something was not right. Cautiously, she placed her hand on the armrest and observed her environment. She jumped as the ship rattled and shook while taking off. There was no sign of the royal embalm anywhere. A split second later, handcuffs appeared over her small wrists. "What?!" She cried out. A collar chained her to the back of the chair, as well as a belt at the waist. "Yami! What is going on here?!" Yami stepped out of the cockpit area, smiling.
Lesha gasped as his red and black spiky hair lost its color and turned brown, he started shrinking a little bit, and most of all what shocked her-he became a girl. "Hello, princess..." the woman smiled. Lesha shuddered. "Who are you!?" she demanded. "Welcome to my ship, the Firebird. I am your host today, Cat. Please enjoy your stay, for you will be here for quite a while."
The grounds shook, and even the mighty trees quivered. Terrified, much of the population has run into the great forests to seek shelter from the bombings. Trying their best to fight the frightened mob of people, the Jedi managed to get to Shi's one and only landing bay. Much to their dismay, only a tiny Shi transport ship was left, and working. After a quick examination, they concluded that only two could go in such tight quarters. There were many debates as to who should go. Finally, Mace Windu decided that the two Padawans should go and warn the Jedi Council and the Senate. The Masters would stay and defend the terrorized citizens of Shi.
Reluctantly, Kaiba and Malik left their masters and entered the ship. Taking command immediately, Kaiba went into the small cockpit and fired up the thrusters, and since it was too cramped in the cockpit for a co-pilot, Malik situated himself behind Kaiba.
The Masters waited until their apprentices left the atmosphere. "May the Force be with you!" Oodin called out. Mace Windu signaled to him and they left.
Videl stared out of the spaceport dreamily. It was all so beautiful, she thought. The black depths of space filled with millions of stars and planets. A touch on her shoulder jerked her awake. "Hmm...what?" She said quite testily. "Sorry, ambassador, but I'd thought that you'd like to know that we're almost there." Yami said coolly. Videl glanced upward and blushed. "No, I'm sorry, Yami. I guess I'm just tense..."
"And bored beyond all words." He finished. Videl blushed again, cursing her light skin to be so revealing. "Umm...yeah. I guess so." Yami grinned at her. They were the only two on board. He leaned closer to her, and said, "I can change that." Surprised for a moment, Videl stared at him. "Yami!" She protested as he brushed his hands against her face. Her voice was cut off when she felt his arms wrapped around her face. She glanced at him breathlessly, her brown eyes widening. "Videl..." Yami whispered in her ear, as she made no attempt to push him off. "What? Yami, I don't think that it is a good id--" Her protests died on her lips when she felt his touching hers. The two broke off a moment, blushing madly. Videl stared into Yami's eyes. He looked almost apologetic glancing back at her. "Yami," she said softly. "What?" Yami asked eagerly. He got his answer when he felt her kissing him again.
"Who are you?! And how dare you do this to me!!" Lesha demanded. "I am the princess!! Unhand me now!" Cat rolled her eyes at the princess's pathetic spiel. "Shut up." She ordered with quiet authority. Lesha actually stopped whining for a few minutes, astounded that someone spoke to her this way. Her mouth dropped, forming a little O. "I will answer your questions one at a time." Lesha seemed relieved at that and kept quiet. "One, I am Cat. Two, I did this two you, because I am a bounty hunter, and three, I won't 'unhand you', so you can end you senseless babbling and shut the hell up!" Lesha glared at her enemy in disgust. "I know who you are...Catharine of the Dark Forest." Cat turned around angrily. "Yes, princess. You should know me well by now." Sensing a weak spot, Lesha continued. "So what was it that that threw you out? Let me see...now, did it have to do with breaking one of your ancient laws--" Her voice was cut off as Cat grabbed her by the neck collar. "It is not wise to taunt your captors, foolish princess. It is a great pity that my boss wants you alive...so shut the fuck up and if you ever mention that again, I will forget my orders and kill you!!! Is that clear?" Lesha nodded, too scared to answer and wondered when the silence rule started. She winced as Cat slapped her cruelly in the face before leaving.