Chapter 11

For the next hour, Leo watched the twin suns disappearing over the edge of the horizon, while Ranzel visited the rest of the Jedi Masters. It was a short visit, definitely, but the very prospect of coming back to such a place, to fight someone who had a power that Leo was only just beginning to understand… Well, it was both terrifying, and exciting, all at once.

Leo looked quietly at his hands, then up at the disappearing corona of the second sun. Such an enormous universe, with so many things that seemed incomprehensible…

He rose to his feet and stopped to look at a pair of students, who appeared to be testing each other. Ranzel had said they would be leaving at sunset, but Leo wanted to know what the children were doing before he left, so he began to make his way over to them.

Stopping above them, Leo could finally see what they were doing. They smiled up at him warmly and then went back to playing. One of the children held a card, with a mark written on it – the other had to identify what was on the card.

It was only a simple game, but the children seemed to be getting most of them right. At least he only suspected they were, since they spoke in another tongue.

"Would you like to play?" one of them suddenly asked, very clearly.

Leo shook his head. "I shouldn't. Ranzel will be waiting for me."

"Of course…D'Kar," the other child said it significantly, eyeing his sister.

They giggled together for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Normally, a younger Jedi will call his elders by the name their last name. It's more respectful. You ought to call him D'Kar, but you don't," explained the girl, with a bright smile on her face.

So that was what he'd been doing wrong? Why hadn't Ranzel explained that? Leo straightened up a little. "That's just how we do things where I come from."

"And where do you come from?"

"I hardly know what it's called here, do I?" Leo said sternly, raising one eyebrow at the two children. "Now I really must go."

"Wait!" said the boy, standing up and stepping towards Leo. "We didn't mean to offend you. Please…take this gift to remember us by."

Leo frowned and took the card that the boy was offering him. On one side it was blank, while the other had a picture of a large brightly coloured bird.

"It's a GanGan bird. It resembles friendship," said the girl, without looking at the card herself. "Consider it a gift from all the Apprentices here."

"I will remember it," Leo said softly, looking down at the two and smiling warmly. "Ah…D'Kar returns. I ought to go. Good luck with your training."

He stepped away, and the children giggled again, watching him go to the dark figure of Ranzel.

"Are you ready to leave?" Ranzel asked, giving a quick look to the card which Leo was holding gently in his fingertips.

"Yes," Leo replied, glancing up at the Jedi Knight quietly. His gaze returned to the card for a moment, the vision of the odd bird becoming imprinted on his mind as he wandered unconsciously after Ranzel.

As soon as they were up again, they darted forwards, rising up into the atmosphere in a sleek movement. Within moments they were back in the brilliant glare of those twin suns, although now they were in the deep black vacuum of space.

"We'll just get into hyperspace. It's not so long a trip to Pentusar from here," Ranzel remarked, activating the navi-computer when they were on the right course.

It wasn't long, certainly. The trip to Pentusar can't have taken more than five minutes after the hyper drive was activated, and the ship began its arcing curve towards a planet that looked desolate and uninhabitable.

The planet seemed to be mostly formed of a thick black rock, and a single ocean seemed to cover a good half of its surface. Of what was visible, at least, since the dull light of the enormous red giant nearby currently cast the planet in a burning glow on one side, and pitch night on the other.

"Pentusar isn't exactly a good holiday location, Leo. The surface is inhospitable, the air toxic to almost all life forms. You'd die within seconds of breathing it in."

Leo swallowed and looked down, but Ranzel wasn't finished yet with his negative explanation. "The settlement itself is contained within the boundaries of the old mining colony, underneath the surface. It's a dangerous in there as it is outside, but the kinds of people we need to contact for information are there."

"I see," Leo replied, feeling a lump in his throat. Barely twenty minutes ago, he had been watching a beautiful sunset on a tranquil planet at one with the Force, but here he was, approaching a planet that made the feeling of total calmness slither away from him, like a snake seeking a rock.

The ship plunged through the icy clear atmosphere, and Leo remembered learning that the most deadly poisons are invisible. Leo could barely tell the colony apart from the rock, but he knew it was there. A set of flashing, dull red lights announced its presence on the surface, but he could already feel it, in an odd new way. The existence of so much evilness had never struck him before.

The Renzucon gave an angry shudder as it came over the top of the flashing lights, and suddenly an enormous, gaping brightness appeared from below them.

"It's an automated system," Ranzel offered, when the ship began to descend slowly. "It's your responsibility not to be too impatient, or you'll find yourself dead."

"Another Jedi rule...?" Leo asked, with a wry smile coming to his lips. It certainly was a good lesson, even if it wasn't a rule as such.

Ranzel smiled, watching Leo's face for a moment. "No, I don't believe I need to explain that to you," he said cryptically. "You understand quite well on your own."

Leo rolled his eyes and studied the empty docking bay as they descended. The covering slipped shut over the top of the Renzucon, blocking off the bay from the poisonous atmosphere above, and the ship settled on the ground, resting for a moment before Ranzel began to shut off the engines.

"Now what…?" Leo asked when the ship was in complete silence.

"Now we wait until they pump oxygen in to replace the toxic gases. Be patient."

Leo leant back in his seat, waiting for something to happen. After a moment or so, the lights suddenly turned blue and a massive hissing sounded around them as the oxygen was pumped in violently to replace the poisonous gas. When the light turned off, Ranzel rose to his feet.

"And now, my Padawan, it is time to continue our mission. Hurry now."

The hatch opened with the sigh of escaping air, and Leo held his breath for a moment instinctively. When he realised that Ranzel was still breathing easily he relaxed, and looked around. The docking area was blank and empty, the walls the same pale grey colour of the floor, and the brownish colour of the Renzucon was the only thing that stood out.

"Come," Ranzel repeated to the distracted youth, stepping in the direction of a single black line painted on the wall. The black line parted as they approached, allowing them to enter a dimly lit, cavernous hall.

"Pentusar Spaceport," the Jedi went on, with a glance back at the other man. "If you thought it was terrifying to be lost on Xircamede, then you must be even more wary here. There are aliens who would tempt you from your safety at my side, and agents of the Empire, who would seek to tell of your presence to their masters."

Ranzel lead the attentive Leo slowly through the thick mass of bodies. There were aliens of every type here, and they got more than a few intense glances.

"Jedi are not as often seen as you may imagine. We have been fading in recent times, and rarely pass without garnering some interest. The Sith are more difficult to fool than the Council. They will find out that you are with me, and they will know that you are my Padawan, and remain completely unquestioning of it."

Leo nodded silently to himself. The Masters themselves had certainly been very wary of whether Leo was Ranzel's Padawan or not. From what he had seen they were very suspicious of such an event. The Sith were used to trickery, so it made sense that they would know by default.

Keeping close to Ranzel, Leo allowed himself to be led deeper into the complex. It was certainly a warren of activity. After a few moments Ranzel stopped them both and looked keenly at Leo.

"Do you know the way back to the ship from here?"

Leo frowned and closed his eyes, thinking intently. "…Back up this corridor, second left, then the first right."

"Then…?" Ranzel pushed, a dark blue creature stepping between them as it passed.

"First right again, and then along to docking bay…forty nine."

"You missed a turning," Ranzel admonished, firmly. "Another left before you search for the docking bay."

Leo lowered his eyes, feeling as though he'd been slapped. He had lost concentration when the alien had passed the Jedi. He didn't feel like apologising to Ranzel though; or at least, he didn't need to. Leo knew after all, that if he couldn't learn, it would be his life on the line soon enough.

Ranzel turned away and began to lead the other deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels. Now he knew that Leo would be paying total attention to where he was going. The youth might even eventually notice the dark figure that was following them, two toed feet making little noise on the cavern floor.

Leo couldn't use the Force very well so far. Yes, so he could deflect an attack while he had his eyes shut, but beyond feeling the odd prickle of being watched, perhaps even being followed. He didn't know, nor could he pick out exactly which person was following them.

None the less, they were being followed, and Ranzel used every trick he could to lose their tracker. At one point he did, but another alien took up where the first had lost them, and the other found returned to the scent shortly afterwards.

Leo wasn't blind to the avoidance techniques that his Master was trying. Because he was spending a lot of his effort trying to remember which path they had taken. He recognised instantly where they were when they passed a particular point again. At first he thought they were lost, but soon he forgot about trying to remember the way back, and concentrated on exactly who was tailing them.

As soon as he had begun to concentrate it was easier. He picked out the alien's form as they turned corners, and if he reached out with his feelings...

"Why is he following us?" He asked Ranzel after a few moments.

"Information on any Jedi visiting the Pentusar Spaceport is no doubt priceless to the Empire. However…that particular alien is a Glimaldri. They are very loyal to their families, and most of the Glimaldri are unsupportive of the Empire."

Leo shook his head. "I have a lot to learn," he said, after a moment. "Even if I could use the Force like you could, I still don't know as much as you about what's beyond my own little planet."

"You will learn in time. You can only take in information by being told it or by extensive study."

"I hope so…" Leo replied softly. "But there are things you only learn with experience." He knew that much from horse riding alone.

"And things that you know, without learning about them. Come, we will stop for a drink, and see what our friends are up to."

They turned another corner without trying to avoid their pursuers, slipping into a dark, musty bar, which smelt of sweat and vomit.

"What seek you here, Jedi?" gasped a wet eyed alien, coming up to stand in front of Ranzel. His smaller friend stood in front of Leo, who narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. The big, stupid eyes didn't return the motion.

"We are here on reconnaissance, Sembolikar. Surely you can understand the necessity of such things?"

"Do not," gasped the fish faced creature, "Think you that anyone will give what wants you after last time."

Ranzel looked amused, but calm, Leo considered, as he glanced at the other man. Whatever it was the Jedi had done last time, it had certainly made this Sembolikar angry.

"They would not consider such a little thing as a Cromellian's tail worth bothering with. Accidents happen when people threaten Jedi. You know that, don't you?" Ranzel gave Sembolikar a withering look, and then stepped between him and his smaller friend. Leo moved forwards as close to his wake as he could manage, so he might pass before the two fish like creatures could stop him.

It didn't work.

The two closed tightly behind Ranzel, stopping Leo from coming past, and instantly Leo took up the defensive, putting enough room between his body and these strange hostile creatures. He couldn't see Ranzel, but he knew the Jedi would have noticed what was happening.

Leo took a step back defensively, slid his lightsaber into his palm but didn't activate it.

"I will not warn you again," Ranzel's voice interrupted the dark sounds that surrounded them. The silence was more ringing than anything else. The buzz of Ranzel's lightsaber was the only noticeable noise.

Sembolikar turned away, looking towards the elder Jedi, and remained shoulder to shoulder with the younger creature.

"Have no trouble with you, Ranzel. With little one, yes."

That was enough to convince Leo he was in danger, and turned his lightsaber on as Ranzel replied, "If you have trouble with him, you have trouble with me. Leave him be, or suffer the consequences."

"Leave him be we will not," Sembolikar said, his hand sweeping for his blaster. Ranzel moved instantly, sweeping forwards in a motion that sliced the creature's fin like hand away. As he did this, the younger did the same, and Leo whirled in an equal reaction.

It was over in seconds. The two aliens stumbled back, regretting their words, and the instant decisions of the two Jedi. Ranzel placed a hand on Leo's shoulder, and led him deeper into the bar, as the muffled noises began once more.

They took a seat at a small dark table, where anyone might be able to approach them without too much trouble. Once they were settled, Ranzel slid off towards the bar in search of someone he might know to seek information from.

Leo didn't even notice himself losing the elder Jedi. One moment he was there at the bar, talking to an almost black alien, with dark red battle armour – the next he was gone. Leo remembered that the new creature had pointed in the direction of the door, but that was all he could remember, really.

Now he was faced with two options. He could stay here, in this bar, or he could leave, and potentially get lost.

Well, he had no choice but to stay, then. He could only get himself in trouble by going after the Jedi Knight. Best to stay put where Ranzel might be able to find him.

He was to regret the decision, of course, when a creature in reddish brown robes approached him, sitting down at the seat opposite him, and effectively blocking his retreat.