Author Note: Apologies for this chapter taking so long. All of this has been finished for a while now, but I have been unable to find the time to concentrate on betaing. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
Obi-Wan yawned and stretched from his nap. They had been traveling at point twelve past lightspeed to get to Jayla, but it would still take two days. Good thing they had one day behind them. He was about to walk to the cockpit when he thought he felt a familiar presence aboard the ship...someone that shouldn't be there. He groaned. "Master Kyran!" He called from his place near the engine room.
Qui-Gon cursed as he heard Obi-Wan shout, waking him from sleep. He tightened his mental grip on his end of the bond. He'd been cooped up in the engine compartment for 24 hours and sweat was pouring off him in waves. He opened one of the ration bars he'd brought with him and munched on it.
Not the best idea you've ever had, Jinn, he said to himself.
Obi-Wan frowned as Kyran raced to him. "Master Qui-Gon is here," he announced.
"What are you talking about? He's supposed to be in the Healer's Wing." Kyran said, frowning.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I felt him on the ship. He's here." He pointed to the engine room.
"Felt him? Are you sure?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
Kyran scowled. "For his sake, he better not be." He shoved the door open...and he and Obi-Wan stared at a squatting Qui-Gon, munching on a ration bar. "Qui-Gon!" Kyran thundered.
Qui-Gon arched a brow. "You called?" He finished up the last of his bar and brushed the crumbs aside. How he longed for a drink of water. It was so hot in this room.
"Devin!!!!!!!!!" Kyran yelled at the top of his lungs, his chest heaving with ire.
Devin ran into the hall way, wondering what was up. He skidded to a stop and his jaw dropped at seeing Qui-Gon, still in his hospital gown, in the engine room. He put a hand over his eyes. "What…?"
Kyran pointed a trembling finger at Qui-Gon, so upset that he dared not trust himself to speak at the moment.
Obi-Wan piped up, "We have a stow-away."
Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Padawan," he said sardonically. "Well, if nobody minds now that you've discovered me, I'm going to get a drink. I've had nothing since the day before." He stomped past them into the kitchen area of the ship.
Kyran sputtered at Devin, and Devin nodded, understanding what his friend was trying to say. As one, the three Jedi turned and followed Qui-Gon into the galley.
They stared at him.
Qui-Gon downed a mug of water in less than five seconds and he stared back over the rim of his glass. He knew he would be in trouble when he left... but he hadn't expected quite this reaction from his friends.
Devin, the calmest of the three, sat across from Qui-Gon and steppled his fingers together. "Qui," he began very calmly. "Can you possibly tell us what it was in the galaxy that possessed you to do something this stupid, even from you?" Kyran nodded, his face beet red with suppressed anger. Obi-Wan didn't look happy either.
Qui-Gon sighed and suddenly he looked exhausted. "I don't know," he said, rubbing his face in his hands trying to get the sweat off his brow. "Lots of reasons. I didn't want to be left behind, for one. You said Yoda warned you about how dangerous this mission would be. I figured you could use all the extra help. And," he leveled a stare at Kyran. "Jayla is like a padawan to me also. I wanted to do something to help. I couldn't in good conscience sit on my hands and do nothing."
Kyran sputtered some more and when no words came out, threw his hands in the air and stomped off.
Obi-Wan frowned. "Master..." He stopped and shook his head, clearly upset.
Devin sighed. "Qui-Gon, for now, leave Kyran alone. Maybe by the time we land he'll be able to talk to you...but don't count on it." He stood up.
Qui-Gon frowned at Obi-Wan as Devin left. "You're abandoning me too?"
Obi-Wan sighed, and then sat down. "No, Master. I just...You always tell me not to do things rashly and to concentrate on the Force, but what you just did seems to contradict everything you've taught me. I guess I'm just confused."
Qui-Gon looked away at Obi-Wan's words and sighed deeply. His Padawan's words were a knife through his heart. "Loyalty is precious, Obi-Wan. Sometimes you break the rules to do what you think is right to help your friends, even if they don't agree. It's tough love."
Obi-Wan thought about that for a moment. He tilted his head to the side. "I understand, Master," he said, starting to smile a little.
His master smiled slightly but his face was dark. "Go on. Master Kyran is in charge for this trip. I'm not here."
Obi-Wan frowned. "You are still my master. And your bandages need changing. I take it you brought more with you?" he asked.
Qui-Gon nodded a little. "Some." He sighed, wishing he had had time to grab something more decent to wear than what he had on.
Obi-Wan nodded. "I'll go get them and get you fixed up. Then I'll fix you something on here better than ration bars. We'll let Master Devin calm Master Kyran off some." He offered a smile to his master and then went to the engine room for the supplies.
Qui-Gon buried his face in his arms and lay his head down on the table top as he waited for Obi-Wan to come back. At least somebody was calm enough to talk to him on this ship.
Kyran landed the ship softly and gazed out of the viewports. He didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean anything. "Get Obi-Wan...and Qui-Gon," he told Devin. "We need to start looking for Jayla." He reopened the training bond he and Jayla had shared, hoping that he could get a fix on her location. As soon as he opened the bond, he was overwhelmed with pain from Jayla.
"Kyran?" Qui-Gon said, startled, as he saw Kyran doubled over. Kyran didn't answer, and he remembered that his friend still wasn't speaking to him. He sighed deeply and stood off to the side apprehensively.
Kyran managed to gain control of the emotions he was getting from Jayla and glanced over at Qui-Gon. Curtly, he stated, "She's in intense pain." He glanced at Obi-Wan and Devin. "Be prepared for anything. Keep your eyes open for anything that they could keep her contained in."
Qui-Gon headed away from the group once they walked down the ramp onto the soft grass of the planet. He knew he wasn't really welcomed on this mission so he decided to hunt for her alone.
Obi-Wan glanced at the three Jedi, split on what he wanted to do. Sighing, he motioned to Kyran and Devin to follow him and he went after his master. "Master!" He whispered loudly. "Wait up for us!"
"We'll cover more ground if we split up," his master answered curtly in reply.
Obi-Wan frowned. He had never seen his master and Master Kyran so upset with each other. He glanced behind his shoulder to make sure that the other two Jedi were following and kept after his master. He thought he saw a dark...something...on the ground in front of his master but couldn't tell exactly what it was.
Qui-Gon suddenly stumbled and fell, tripping over the something that was in his path. He went down hard, wincing as the breath was knocked from his lungs. Groaning, he tried to push himself up. He peered at what he had tripped over—a small pipe sticking out of the ground. With a gasp, he realized what it was and waved the other three Jedi towards him as he began digging in the dirt with his hands.
Kyran and Devin hurried up. "What is it?" Kyran asked excitedly, his anger at his friend forgotten.
"Underground bunker," Qui-Gon said tersely. "This is where she is. Reach out and you can feel several lifeforms down below us...right where we are standing."
All three Jedi paused around Qui-Gon and felt in the Force.
Devin smiled. "Yes, I think there are about six of them down there. Perhaps Jayla is one of them."
Kyran doubled over again in pain as he reached out, trying to pinpoint Jayla's location. He gasped and nodded, his face tight. "She's here."
Obi-Wan began digging along with his master and Devin. Within moments they had uncovered a large square metal door with a ventilation pipe sticking out of it...the thing that Qui-Gon had tripped over.
Kyran slowly managed to straighten up and opened the door that he saw cleverly hidden in the ground. "I'll go in first. Devin, you follow, then Obi-Wan and…" he narrowed his gaze at Qui-Gon and just shook his head as he scrambled through the door.
Obi-Wan sighed but lit his lightsaber and, after Devin went in, followed. It was a long dark drop but he landed safely and quickly scrambled out of the way so that his master could land without smashing him. A light was lit at the far end of a tunnel. He could barely make out the other three around him in the darkness.
Qui-Gon frowned deeply as he followed, last through the door. This was going to be one very long mission if Kyran continued to have an attitude with him...
Kyran cautiously walked down the tunnel, his lightsaber at the ready. Everyone else was behind him, following his lead as he slowly approached a stone door that was slightly open. With his toe, he slowly eased the door open, afraid that it would squeak and betray them, but it did not. The very large inside room was very well lit and very cold. It was round with only one thing in it that he could immediately see: Jayla. She was semi-conscious, her hands tied above her head and fastened to a chain on the stone wall. She wore a very light shift that did nothing to protect her from the cold and she had very obviously been beaten severally. Black and blue and green bruises decorated her body and both of her eyes were swollen almost shut. Her lips were cracked and bleeding and blood was smeared all over her from being beaten. His heart broke and he dashed in to the room...
Only to step into a trap where a cage closed in around him, cutting him off from his former padawan and the other Jedi.
Kyran continued to stare at Jayla, wondering who in the Force could be so cruel as to beat her, then he shook his head. He still had the Force. He ignited his saber and began to cut through the bars.
An electrical backlash erupted from his lightsaber blade and traveled up his arm before he could turn his saber off.
Kyran cried out in surprise more than pain as the shock traveled up his arm and he inhaled sharply. He touched the bar gently with his finger and found himself in seconds thrown backwards hard, landing flat on the floor. Well, this wasn't working out the way he wanted.
Qui-Gon, Devin and Obi-Wan all skidded to a halt when they saw, first Jayla, and then Kyran, both captured in one way or another. Devin took a better look around and noticed five shadows against the wall. "Hello?" He called out.
Qui-Gon glanced at Devin, then at the shadows. He stepped forward. "We're ambassadors for the Republic. You will release the Jedi you are holding hostage." He stated in a calm, cold, voice, using the Force to try to influence the minds of the beings in the shadows.
Kyran, trapped in his small cage rolled his eyes. "Brilliant negotiating, Genius."
A shadow stepped from the wall and materialized into a gray, furred being who were widely known for their violence and handling in the slave trade. In a gruff voice, the lead spokesman growled, "We are here for these two Jedi. We have them. You three are free to leave."
Obi-Wan glanced at his master, wondering what was going on.
Qui-Gon and Kyran exchanged a look.
"We will not leave. We have come to take them back with us," Qui-Gon said firmly.
The furred alien shook all over and then snapped, "No! Leave now before we make you regret your decision to stay. Our concern lies with Jedi Josel and Padawan Bro'ak. Leave now!"
Qui-Gon narrowed his gaze and informed the alien coolly, "Padawan Bro'ak was knighted years ago. We will not leave without them." He glanced to Devin and the older knight nodded in agreement, his face hard and tight with determination to get his friends out of this mess.
Obi-Wan swallowed, feeling a shiver of dread tingle through him from the Force. He had a feeling that things were going to get messy soon.
Kyran, standing in the cage, suddenly felt a weak mental connection. Tell them to leave...save them...He glanced at Jayla. One of her eyes barely flicked upward.
It won't do any good, my brave young knight. Qui-Gon is too stubborn to leave.He sent back to her.
Qui-Gon and Devin started forward, lightsabers drawn, determined to do what they could and get the shadows to release their friends.
"Let them go or we will be forced to fight for them," Devin warned.
The other shadows detached from the wall to materialize in the light. Some held blasters and others held Force whips. The leader held just a simple device. "Fight it is then," he growled. He pushed a button on the device, sending vicious lightening bolts zigzagging between the cage's bars...and through Kyran.
Kyran gasped in pain as lightening was sent through him and fell to the floor. He wondered dimly who was holding them and what they wanted with him.
Devin gasped seeing his friend fall to the ground and started forward, but Qui-Gon put a hand on his shoulder and held him back. He shook his head. We can't do anything from here. We've got to fight them to get him out.
Devin pressed his lips together, recognizing the truth in Qui-Gon's words. He began to walk backwards, pressing a hand to Obi-Wan's chest to make him do the same.
Obi-Wan was confused. Were they retreating to leave their friends in the hands of these monsters? Master?
We're not retreating. We just have to find another way, Padawan.Qui-Gon sent through their link. His gaze narrowed, seeing the aliens raise blasters and electrowhips. He arched a brow said in a cool voice, "You are holding ambassadors for the republic against their will. You will be brought to justice and the Republic will be brought in."
The spokesalien scowled. "We do not fear the Republic. Leave now...last warning."
"You will," Qui-Gon promised. "We do not deal in warnings." He glared at the alien who had spoken.
Jayla forced an eye open against the pain and stared at Qui-Gon, her message clear: Go now. He looked at Jayla and shook his head slightly.
"If you continue to refuse to release them," Devin warned, "the republic will be back in numbers so great you won't be able to withstand them."
The alien chuckled, clearly unconcerned. The other four raised their weapons as the fifth sent another lightening jolt through the cage. "Leave. Or we will begin firing."
Obi-Wan felt Devin give him a hard push out of the door. He stumbled backwards slightly, very upset at leaving their friends.
Very slowly, Qui-Gon backed out, arching a brow and frowning as Obi-Wan and Devin preceded him. "You have been warned," he said in a cold voice.
The doors suddenly slammed shut and loudly locked into place. Obi-Wan stared at his master. "Now how do we get in?"
Qui-Gon smiled tightly. "We'll create our own way in."