A Test of Faith

Chapter 13 - The Plan

Captain forced Dooku ahead into a compound, deep within the heart of the Sohta Nest. It's huge, metallic walls and high-tech appliances looked completely out of place in the termite-like environment, yet it was at this kind of technologically advanced trade that the Colicoids thrived and made their name in the galaxy, despite their isolationist nature…

"Move!" Captain growled, giving the tall Jedi a shove in the back.

Serenn nearly stumbled over his feet, the tranquillising solution still present in his body and causing him to become most unbalanced. But he heeded the Colicoid's wishes and stepped on across the doorway into the compound.

He was guided through a maze of hallways lined with ominous, blank doors; they were all a clinical white in colour, and after just a few minutes, he knew he was already lost, unable to remember from which way he had come. Plus, to make matters even better, the closer he found himself to the structure's heart, the more he felt a dark cloud dampen his Force-attuned mind - something was not right down here, not right at all…

Finally, his journey came to an end, and Captain opened a door that looked slightly different to the others, one with a symbol on it that Dooku couldn't interpret, though he guessed it meant enough to a trained, Colicoid eye.

He was given another push in the back, and he unsteadily stepped across the entryway, looking in horror at the chamber beyond; huge, ugly appliances littered the pallid walls, appliances hinged with various wires, tubes and long, sharp needles. Through a transparasteel window ahead, one that stretched the length of the room, lines and lines of eggs could be seen resting across the walls and floor of the cavern beyond - it was the nest of the Queen itself! The eggs themselves were also part of this huge, twisted machination, wired up and monitored by the consoles all about the room.

"Move!" Captain hissed again, urging Serenn across the chamber toward a wall to his left. And there Dooku saw the worst sight if them all - a pile of mutilated bodies on the floor, his fallen Jedi comrades, the ones whom he'd been sent to save…

He stopped in his tracks, arms held out to his sides, "You lied to me…" he growled.

"I had to lie to get you here, human…" Captain returned - if he had a proper mouth, Dooku was certain he'd be grinning now. He raised his claws up against the Jedi, protecting himself from any assault Serenn may choose to throw against him. "You schee, their blood waschn't schtrong enough…"

" 'Blood?'" Dooku asked, suddenly reminded of the weird hallucinating messages he'd heard earlier, "All this for my blood…?"

"Yesch," Captain nodded, slowly stepping toward the Jedi and forcing him backward toward the left-hand wall, "You are a schtrong Jedi, and the one we've been hoping to draw here for a long time now. The Queen'sch brood will grow schtrong from you…"

He shook his head, "You're insane."

"That'sch what they all schay."

Captain shoved him backwards even more harshly than before, "Against the wall!" he ordered.

Serenn didn't really have a choice and smashed back into the wall anyway, grunting as he hit it; "The Force doesn't work that way," he protested, continuing with their dispute, believing that he knew what was going on now "Your efforts aren't working with any Jedi because the Force doesn't work how you think it does - life isn't all science and technology, like you believe!"

Captain ignored him for the most part, "Jedi have Midichloriansch, do they not? A high Midichlorian count of the blood isch analogousch to a creature having a schenschitivity to the Force. You cannot tell me it isch not genetic."

"It's not - it can be, but not always…"

"You make me laugh…"

"I'm glad I can amuse someone."

"Schut up!"

Serenn did, for once, and glared at the tall beetle before him. It gestured to either side of it with its claws, "Raische your armsch," it ordered.

Dooku hesitated a moment before he slowly rose his arms out to either side of himself, mimicking the Colicoid and following its wishes.

Captain nodded, and attended to a machine to his right, "Have you ever heard of a device which - what'sch the word? - 'holdsch back' the Force…?"

Serenn blinked, "Represses it, you mean?" he murmured.

"Yesch! That'sch the word! Represschesch!" Captain nodded, "Well, have you?"

Suddenly, two metallic arms clamped down on both of Dooku's wrists, pinning him to the wall with large, metal bonds. He ground his teeth together, shaking his head as he tested the strength of the manacles and found them to be immovable, "No, I can't say I have…" he countered.

The Colicoid seemed to snigger, and tore Serenn's robes from his chest, turning to another device, this time on his left, as he continued to set up his operations, "Well, I hope you enjoy the experience…We can't have you playing about with thisch 'Force' whilscht you're in here."

For the first in a long time, Dooku felt truly scared and beheld the Captain with utter disbelief, unable to find a response to throw back at him; the Force couldn't be repressed, could it?

Captain took hold of a lever with his sharp claws and fixed his beady eyes on the Jedi Master before he hurled the lever down; Serenn felt a massive jolt run through the cuffs and across his body and he yelled out in agony. His mind immediately fell dark - the connection he'd always felt to the Force drained away in an instant and left him alone, feeling naked in the void. It was as if all the colour had been drained from his sight, and everything had become a dull monochrome. He breathed in ruggedly, panic taking hold… He couldn't feel the Force.

Captain chortled in his bizarre tone as he watched the Jedi rendered helpless, "And now we can have our way with you," he grimaced, and brought his tubes and needles into play…

* * * *

Qui-Gon and Allyaah both gasped at once and turned to look at each other.

"What was that?" Qui whispered, his mind unable to pinpoint the disturbance.

Allyaah shook her head, "I don't know… I just… can't feel Serenn anymore…"

Jinn paled in panic, "Oh no!" he gasped.

Jiao put a hand onto his arm, "It's not that kind of feeling, Qui… it's just like… well, if he was a blip on a radar screen, it's as though he just disappeared without reason… you get my point?"

Qui nodded, "I think so…"

They were stood outside the temporary base of the Simara Nest's Queen, a base that was surprisingly close to the Sohta Nest. It seemed that they had been spying on the Sohta Nest intensely as of late, and deemed themselves much safer the closer they were to them. Either reverse psychology or stupidity, Allyaah theorised…

They sat and waited patiently, the disturbance making Jinn, in particular, fidgety and impatient.

Eventually, the female Colicoid emerged from a tunnel ahead, and nodded to the two Jedi, "My Queen indeed findsch your obschtinacy irritating, and feelsch that you are, in a way, being moscht dischreschpectful."

Jinn kicked a stone about, sighing edgily.

"However," she continued, "Sche hasch agreed to schupport your causche and believesch that we all may be able to knock the Schohta Nest down scheveral pegsch through thisch effort. We need a victory of thisch type in our quescht againscht them and their engineering schcams…"

"Yes!" Qui shouted, leaping into the air, and punching it with his fist, "When do we start?"

"We need a plan, young Jedi," the Colicoid continued, "Before we take another schtep."

Jinn sighed, flopping down onto the floor, crossing his legs, "Awww…"

Allyaah nodded, "Don't run before you can walk," Allyaah reminded him.

"That's just what my Master says," he replied dully, head leant onto his hand.

TBC…