Author's Notes: Thank you, Lady Evenstar, Allana, and Thrawn's Girl. Hope
you continue to enjoy the story, and hopefully this chapter will explain
what happened to Leia and the padawans.
And, Once Again, if you're reading this, thank you, too! It's wonderful to know someone is reading and enjoying my stories.
Fear Part 18
"Tera, wake up. Please wake up. We're stuck down at the bottom of the lake, and the Vice-Chancellor's hurt. I don't know what to do. Wake up."
Elissa's voice sounded small and nervous. Tera didn't want to wake up and face the problems she knew would be waiting for her when she did. She wanted to sleep a while longer, just drift back into pleasant unconsciousness and put off reality for a time. She couldn't remember exactly what was so wrong with reality, but she somehow sensed that there were some daunting obstacles to be reckoned with upon awaking.
But Elissa sounded frightened so Tera slowly opened her eyes and squinted at her friend. Something was wrong with the sub's interior lighting system. Except for a couple of lanterns sitting on the floor casting an orangish glow around them, it was very dark. Still there was enough light for Tera to see Elissa kneeling beside her, and to notice several bruises and cuts on her friend's face.
Suddenly more alert, she sat up and winced as her aching body protested against the movement. "What happened?" she moaned, her tongue feeling thick and unbearably dry. But even as she spoke, the memories flooded over her, and she gasped in horror and sudden fear.
As the sub had rapidly descended under the waters of the lake, she, Elissa, and the Vice-Chancellor had all abruptly sensed danger and had seen their driver pull a detonator from his jacket pocket. Quicker than Tera would have thought possible, Leia had a small blaster in her hand and she dropped their would-be assassin with perfect aim. As he'd slumped over the console, though, the detonator had dropped to the floor and the fall had somehow triggered the timing mechanism. They'd been lucky that they'd had those few extra seconds. The detonator could just have easily blown up then and they wouldn't have had a chance.
As it was, there had been barely enough time for Elissa to open the exhaust port and for Leia to throw the detonator out into the water. Tera had lunged for the controls, knocking the dead gungan's body out of the way, and trying to get them as far away from the detonator as possible, but there just hadn't been enough time. The detonator had exploded with a deafening crack, the sub had lurched violently, and that was the last Tera could remember.
She held up her hand as Elissa began explaining it all again. "Yes, mesa remembers now." She looked around. "Where's the Vice-Chancellor?"
"Lying down back there," Elissa picked up one of the lanterns and motioned towards the back of the sub. "I think a console hit her on the head-it was lying on the floor beside her-and she's been unconscious ever since I woke up. She's breathing all right and her pulse is steady, but she won't wake up. I found some blankets and tried to make her comfortable, but I don't know what else to do."
"I think mesa hit my head on something, too," Tera grumbled as she stood up, rubbing her forehead.
"I think we all did. We've been unconscious for two days, according to the sub's chronometer if it's still working properly," Elissa told her. "I came to about an hour ago, or maybe it's been longer. It's hard to tell."
Tera glanced down at the dark floor and cautiously felt about with her foot. "Where's, um, the body?"
"Out there," Elissa pointed at the window. "The smell almost made me sick when I woke up so I dragged the body back to the airlock and ejected it out into the lake. I was coming back when I tripped over Vice-Chancellor Solo."
"It still smells pretty bad in here. Maybe she's lucky to be unconscious," Tera remarked.
The two padawans picked up the lanterns and shakily made their way to the back of the sub. Both of them moved slowly and uncertainly on wobbly legs. As they knelt beside Leia's still form, Tera could see that Elissa was correct. Leia's breathing was steady and her pulse strong, but there was a dark bruise on her temple and a trickle of dried blood had run down the side of her face. A heavy console lying nearby probably was to blame. Most likely it had fallen when the detonator had gone off, and it was close to the place where Leia had been standing.
"She may have a concussion," Elissa said. "I only hope it's nothing more serious. There's a first aid kit, but no real medical equipment."
"Where's the kit?" Tera reached for a wet cloth as Elissa picked up a small first-aid kit from the floor and handed it over. She gently washed away the dried blood and then asked. "Any more blankets? Wesa need to keep her warm so she doesn't go into shock."
"I think she'd already be in shock if she were going to," Elissa remarked. Nevertheless she got up and rummaged around through some compartments in the walls of the sub until she found another blanket and laid it over Leia, tucking it around her shoulders. "Oh, she needs water. We all do. It's been two days." She looked at Tera. "Please tell me there's some fresh drinking water here somewhere."
Tera nodded. "There should be water and food supplies in one of those compartments. All gungan subs are supposed to be equipped with emergency rations."
Elissa went back over to hunt for the supplies, sighing in relief when she found the food and water. They carefully gave Leia some water to drink, trying to move her as little as possible, then quickly opened their own bottles and gulped them down.
"Whew, that tasted good," Elissa said. "I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was, but we couldn't have lasted much longer without something to drink. I'm glad these subs have rations."
"Yes, they're well-made, but just in case one happened to break down a long way from a city, they all have enough food and drink to last a week at least," Tera answered. She suddenly looked concerned. "How much do wesa have, do you think?"
The girls counted out the rations and decided that there was enough food for week, if they ate sparingly, and enough water for them all to have a bottle a day for ten days.
"It's enough for the time being, but we still need to get out of here," Elissa spoke quietly. "I looked at the communications system, but it's broken too badly for me to fix."
"Let mesa see." They returned to the front of the sub, but after seeing the crumpled mess that had been the communications panel, Tera had to admit that repairing it seemed hopeless.
"I guess wesa are lucky that the sub didn't come completely apart," she remarked soberly. "At least, we're dry and have air to breathe."
"But for how long?" Elissa worried. "There are three of us. Won't we use up all the air soon? And then we'll suffocate."
Tera held up a lantern and studied a small device on a side wall. "Wesa are in luck. This-" she motioned to the device. "pulls oxygen from the surrounding water and converts it to breathable air, and also ejects carbon dioxide from the sub. It's still working, so wesa shouldn't run out of air. Thank the Force."
Elissa gave her a shaky smile. "Thank the Force that gungans are so well- prepared. If this sub hadn't been so well-built, we'd be in even more trouble."
A soft groan from the back of the sub interrupted them. Elissa and Tera hurried back to find Leia blinking her eyes and reaching to gingerly feel the side of her head.
"How do yousa feel, Vice-Chancellor?" Tera asked anxiously as they knelt beside their injured comrade.
"M' head hurts," Leia whispered.
"We think you may have a concussion," Elissa said softly. "Just lie still and rest."
"Kay," Leia murmured, closing her eyes and sinking back into unconsciousness.
Tera and Elissa exchanged glances. "I think it's a good sign that she regained consciousness, even if it was only for a moment," Elissa whispered. "Maybe she's getting better."
"It's too bad Master Luke isn't here," Tera remarked. "He could heal her right away."
"Why don't we try calling him and Master Anakin through the Force?" Elissa suggested.
So they closed their eyes and entered into a meditative state. //Master Luke, Master Anakin, we're alive. Can you hear us? We need you.// They called again and again, but there was no response.
Finally Tera opened her eyes with a sigh. "Mesa doesn't think it's working, Elissa."
"So what do we do now?" her friend asked in a tired voice.
"I wonder if wesa could heal the Vice-Chancellor," Tera said slowly.
"We don't know anything about healing, Tera. And it was supposed to be a rare talent even when there were lots of Jedi. I don't think we're going to be able to help her that way," Elissa argued.
"Well, what do you think wesa should do?"
"I don't know," Elissa's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I think we're going to die down here, Tera."
"No, wesa are not," Tera said fiercely. "Wesa are Jedi. Master Anakin and Master Luke have taught us better than that. We'll think of something."
All at once the sub was lifted off the lake bed, and then shaken from side to side. "What is it?" Elissa yelled.
Tera grabbed a lantern and hurried to the front of the sub as fast as she could move. It was very hard to see out the window. They were so deep that the water just looked black, and even holding the lantern up didn't do much to illuminate the view, but Tera thought she caught a glimpse of an enormous, sleek creature outside the portal window. It was enough to cause her heart to skip a beat.
"Sando aqua monster!" she shouted. "It's trying to eat us."
Elissa was beside her in an instant. "Quick! Use the Force. Make it think we taste bad."
Desperately they sent the message to the creature's brain. It was odd, touching a non-sentient mind, but they must have succeeded because the sea monster abruptly dropped the sub and as they floated back down to the lake floor, they thought they saw the dark form swimming away.
For several long minutes afterwards, the two girls stared at each other in wide-eyed silence. Then they fell into each other's arms, laughing almost hysterically.
"We did it. I can't believe we did it," Elissa gasped.
Tera took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It occurred to her that Jedi probably didn't collapse in hysterics, no matter if they had had a close brush with death or not. And suddenly she knew what to do.
"Elissa, that's the answer," she said. "Wesa can use the Force to levitate the sub to the surface."
Elissa stared at her for a moment. "Do you think we can? We've never lifted anything so big before."
"Size matters not," Tera reminded her.
Slowly Elissa nodded. "I suppose so. And it does seem to be our only option. Let's do it."
They tried to imagine the sub rising through the waters. For a long time they tried. But if the sub moved at all, it was minimal.
"It's not working," Elissa whispered finally. She sounded close to tears again.
Tera was quiet a moment, considering. "Maybe wesa are too tired and weak now. Let's eat a bit and sleep a while, and then we'll try again."
So they ate several ration bars, drank a little more water, and then settled down to sleep in shifts-one resting, and the other keeping alert to any further signs of trouble that might befall them in the deeps on Lake Paonga.
TBC
And, Once Again, if you're reading this, thank you, too! It's wonderful to know someone is reading and enjoying my stories.
Fear Part 18
"Tera, wake up. Please wake up. We're stuck down at the bottom of the lake, and the Vice-Chancellor's hurt. I don't know what to do. Wake up."
Elissa's voice sounded small and nervous. Tera didn't want to wake up and face the problems she knew would be waiting for her when she did. She wanted to sleep a while longer, just drift back into pleasant unconsciousness and put off reality for a time. She couldn't remember exactly what was so wrong with reality, but she somehow sensed that there were some daunting obstacles to be reckoned with upon awaking.
But Elissa sounded frightened so Tera slowly opened her eyes and squinted at her friend. Something was wrong with the sub's interior lighting system. Except for a couple of lanterns sitting on the floor casting an orangish glow around them, it was very dark. Still there was enough light for Tera to see Elissa kneeling beside her, and to notice several bruises and cuts on her friend's face.
Suddenly more alert, she sat up and winced as her aching body protested against the movement. "What happened?" she moaned, her tongue feeling thick and unbearably dry. But even as she spoke, the memories flooded over her, and she gasped in horror and sudden fear.
As the sub had rapidly descended under the waters of the lake, she, Elissa, and the Vice-Chancellor had all abruptly sensed danger and had seen their driver pull a detonator from his jacket pocket. Quicker than Tera would have thought possible, Leia had a small blaster in her hand and she dropped their would-be assassin with perfect aim. As he'd slumped over the console, though, the detonator had dropped to the floor and the fall had somehow triggered the timing mechanism. They'd been lucky that they'd had those few extra seconds. The detonator could just have easily blown up then and they wouldn't have had a chance.
As it was, there had been barely enough time for Elissa to open the exhaust port and for Leia to throw the detonator out into the water. Tera had lunged for the controls, knocking the dead gungan's body out of the way, and trying to get them as far away from the detonator as possible, but there just hadn't been enough time. The detonator had exploded with a deafening crack, the sub had lurched violently, and that was the last Tera could remember.
She held up her hand as Elissa began explaining it all again. "Yes, mesa remembers now." She looked around. "Where's the Vice-Chancellor?"
"Lying down back there," Elissa picked up one of the lanterns and motioned towards the back of the sub. "I think a console hit her on the head-it was lying on the floor beside her-and she's been unconscious ever since I woke up. She's breathing all right and her pulse is steady, but she won't wake up. I found some blankets and tried to make her comfortable, but I don't know what else to do."
"I think mesa hit my head on something, too," Tera grumbled as she stood up, rubbing her forehead.
"I think we all did. We've been unconscious for two days, according to the sub's chronometer if it's still working properly," Elissa told her. "I came to about an hour ago, or maybe it's been longer. It's hard to tell."
Tera glanced down at the dark floor and cautiously felt about with her foot. "Where's, um, the body?"
"Out there," Elissa pointed at the window. "The smell almost made me sick when I woke up so I dragged the body back to the airlock and ejected it out into the lake. I was coming back when I tripped over Vice-Chancellor Solo."
"It still smells pretty bad in here. Maybe she's lucky to be unconscious," Tera remarked.
The two padawans picked up the lanterns and shakily made their way to the back of the sub. Both of them moved slowly and uncertainly on wobbly legs. As they knelt beside Leia's still form, Tera could see that Elissa was correct. Leia's breathing was steady and her pulse strong, but there was a dark bruise on her temple and a trickle of dried blood had run down the side of her face. A heavy console lying nearby probably was to blame. Most likely it had fallen when the detonator had gone off, and it was close to the place where Leia had been standing.
"She may have a concussion," Elissa said. "I only hope it's nothing more serious. There's a first aid kit, but no real medical equipment."
"Where's the kit?" Tera reached for a wet cloth as Elissa picked up a small first-aid kit from the floor and handed it over. She gently washed away the dried blood and then asked. "Any more blankets? Wesa need to keep her warm so she doesn't go into shock."
"I think she'd already be in shock if she were going to," Elissa remarked. Nevertheless she got up and rummaged around through some compartments in the walls of the sub until she found another blanket and laid it over Leia, tucking it around her shoulders. "Oh, she needs water. We all do. It's been two days." She looked at Tera. "Please tell me there's some fresh drinking water here somewhere."
Tera nodded. "There should be water and food supplies in one of those compartments. All gungan subs are supposed to be equipped with emergency rations."
Elissa went back over to hunt for the supplies, sighing in relief when she found the food and water. They carefully gave Leia some water to drink, trying to move her as little as possible, then quickly opened their own bottles and gulped them down.
"Whew, that tasted good," Elissa said. "I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was, but we couldn't have lasted much longer without something to drink. I'm glad these subs have rations."
"Yes, they're well-made, but just in case one happened to break down a long way from a city, they all have enough food and drink to last a week at least," Tera answered. She suddenly looked concerned. "How much do wesa have, do you think?"
The girls counted out the rations and decided that there was enough food for week, if they ate sparingly, and enough water for them all to have a bottle a day for ten days.
"It's enough for the time being, but we still need to get out of here," Elissa spoke quietly. "I looked at the communications system, but it's broken too badly for me to fix."
"Let mesa see." They returned to the front of the sub, but after seeing the crumpled mess that had been the communications panel, Tera had to admit that repairing it seemed hopeless.
"I guess wesa are lucky that the sub didn't come completely apart," she remarked soberly. "At least, we're dry and have air to breathe."
"But for how long?" Elissa worried. "There are three of us. Won't we use up all the air soon? And then we'll suffocate."
Tera held up a lantern and studied a small device on a side wall. "Wesa are in luck. This-" she motioned to the device. "pulls oxygen from the surrounding water and converts it to breathable air, and also ejects carbon dioxide from the sub. It's still working, so wesa shouldn't run out of air. Thank the Force."
Elissa gave her a shaky smile. "Thank the Force that gungans are so well- prepared. If this sub hadn't been so well-built, we'd be in even more trouble."
A soft groan from the back of the sub interrupted them. Elissa and Tera hurried back to find Leia blinking her eyes and reaching to gingerly feel the side of her head.
"How do yousa feel, Vice-Chancellor?" Tera asked anxiously as they knelt beside their injured comrade.
"M' head hurts," Leia whispered.
"We think you may have a concussion," Elissa said softly. "Just lie still and rest."
"Kay," Leia murmured, closing her eyes and sinking back into unconsciousness.
Tera and Elissa exchanged glances. "I think it's a good sign that she regained consciousness, even if it was only for a moment," Elissa whispered. "Maybe she's getting better."
"It's too bad Master Luke isn't here," Tera remarked. "He could heal her right away."
"Why don't we try calling him and Master Anakin through the Force?" Elissa suggested.
So they closed their eyes and entered into a meditative state. //Master Luke, Master Anakin, we're alive. Can you hear us? We need you.// They called again and again, but there was no response.
Finally Tera opened her eyes with a sigh. "Mesa doesn't think it's working, Elissa."
"So what do we do now?" her friend asked in a tired voice.
"I wonder if wesa could heal the Vice-Chancellor," Tera said slowly.
"We don't know anything about healing, Tera. And it was supposed to be a rare talent even when there were lots of Jedi. I don't think we're going to be able to help her that way," Elissa argued.
"Well, what do you think wesa should do?"
"I don't know," Elissa's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I think we're going to die down here, Tera."
"No, wesa are not," Tera said fiercely. "Wesa are Jedi. Master Anakin and Master Luke have taught us better than that. We'll think of something."
All at once the sub was lifted off the lake bed, and then shaken from side to side. "What is it?" Elissa yelled.
Tera grabbed a lantern and hurried to the front of the sub as fast as she could move. It was very hard to see out the window. They were so deep that the water just looked black, and even holding the lantern up didn't do much to illuminate the view, but Tera thought she caught a glimpse of an enormous, sleek creature outside the portal window. It was enough to cause her heart to skip a beat.
"Sando aqua monster!" she shouted. "It's trying to eat us."
Elissa was beside her in an instant. "Quick! Use the Force. Make it think we taste bad."
Desperately they sent the message to the creature's brain. It was odd, touching a non-sentient mind, but they must have succeeded because the sea monster abruptly dropped the sub and as they floated back down to the lake floor, they thought they saw the dark form swimming away.
For several long minutes afterwards, the two girls stared at each other in wide-eyed silence. Then they fell into each other's arms, laughing almost hysterically.
"We did it. I can't believe we did it," Elissa gasped.
Tera took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It occurred to her that Jedi probably didn't collapse in hysterics, no matter if they had had a close brush with death or not. And suddenly she knew what to do.
"Elissa, that's the answer," she said. "Wesa can use the Force to levitate the sub to the surface."
Elissa stared at her for a moment. "Do you think we can? We've never lifted anything so big before."
"Size matters not," Tera reminded her.
Slowly Elissa nodded. "I suppose so. And it does seem to be our only option. Let's do it."
They tried to imagine the sub rising through the waters. For a long time they tried. But if the sub moved at all, it was minimal.
"It's not working," Elissa whispered finally. She sounded close to tears again.
Tera was quiet a moment, considering. "Maybe wesa are too tired and weak now. Let's eat a bit and sleep a while, and then we'll try again."
So they ate several ration bars, drank a little more water, and then settled down to sleep in shifts-one resting, and the other keeping alert to any further signs of trouble that might befall them in the deeps on Lake Paonga.
TBC
