Disclaimer and Such in Part 1
Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter posted. I've been really busy with work and school and an oddly addicting computer game. :-P Anyways, I'd really like to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me feedback on this story. It really helps me to get motivated to write when I know that at least some people are reading and enjoying this. Again, thank you sooo much!
Now, onto Chapter 7...
They had walked for almost another standard time mark when they realized that it was starting to get rather dark. Night was beginning to fall and they still had no shelter. Not to mention, because of their wounds, the remaining members of the flight crew were completely exhausted. All of the Jedi were concerned especially for Lt. Zared, and, with each falter he made, their concern grew. Obi-wan, after observing the Lieutenant for quite some time, decided to speak his worries to his Master. He swiftly made his way to the front of the group.
"I'm not sure if Lt. Zared will make it much further, Master," He spoke in a hushed tone so as not to be overheard by the subject of his conversation, "He has stumbled more than once since our last rest. Perhaps it is time we find a place to make camp for the night."
"I am very well aware of that Padawan," Rohhe responded, "However, you know just as well as I that we need to travel as far away from the crash site as we possibly can."
Obi-wan frowned. Of course he knew the logistics of them being as far away from the ship as possible, but he couldn't bear watching Zared suffer anymore. He hoped that he and his Master could come to a compromise.
"Maybe we could travel just a few kilometers more and then..." His words were interrupted, though, when the overwhelming presence of hundreds of life forms flooded his mind.
"Master..." Obi-wan started.
"I sense it too Padawan."
The group came to a halt. Rohhe and Obi-wan looked to Qui-gon and Padme, instantly knowing that they too had shared similar sensations.
"Is there something wrong?" Canton questioned, completely unaware of the reasons as to why they had stopped.
Padme, who was nearest to him, gently placed a hand on his forearm and, pressing her index finger against her lips, motioned for him to keep silent.
~Padawans~ Qui-gon's voice entered Obi-wan's and Padme's minds ~Stay back here in the shadows and protect Zared and Canton if anything happens.~
Both Padawans nodded their consent and escorted the two lieutenants into the shadows of the large Iagonian trees. Rohhe and Qui-gon, on the other hand, crept forward stealthily, as only Master Jedi of their caliber could, and nestled themselves behind some rather dense bushes. Readying himself for whatever lay beyond them, Qui-gon gently parted the plants in the direction from which the life form readings were coming. To his an Rohhe's puzzlement, when they peered out into the large clearing, they saw and sensed nothing.
~That's strange.~ Qui-gon spoke to Rohhe through his mind.
~I still sense them, too, Qui-gon, but I cannot see them.~ Rohhe replied, just as confused.
The two Masters communicated back to their Padawans what they were seeing. Padme's brow furrowed in surprise. Never before had they been wrong in their inclinations from the Force, and she was sure they weren't now, but the images and feelings the two were sending back to her and Obi-wan were indeed puzzling because she could still feel the life forms heavily. She was about to turn to Obi-wan and ask him what his thoughts were when something above her caught her eye. Looking up she let out an audible gasp.
~Masters!~ She sent to them mentally.
Both Rohhe and Qui-gon looked back to Padme with inquiring eyes. She simply answered their unspoken questions by pointing up. Following the direction of her finger to treetops, their eyes widened in shock.
Approximately two hundred meters above them was a huge tree-top city, consisting of thousands of platforms and houses made out of wood and leaves, all connected by long swinging bridges. From where they were situated, they couldn't make out what the inhabitants looked like, but they could see that there were by far over three hundred of them.
Qui-gon turned to the group. Looking around, he immediately noticed that he was the least injured. With that in mind, he knew that he was the one best suited to examine closer the village above them.
"I'm going to climb up to get a better look." He whispered and looked towards the nearest tree to find a good place to start his ascent.
~Master,~ Padme started in his mind, ~please be careful.~ Inferring from the way the creatures of the planet had attacked their ship, she didn't even want to think about what would happen if any one of the group were to be captured. Although she had complete faith in Qui-gon and his abilities, she worried about the fact that they knew absolutely nothing about the Iagonian race including how Force-sensitive they were; therefore, she was a bit hesitant of him getting any closer to them than they already were.
~Do not worry so much Padawan.~
Qui-gon smiled to her and made a force-induced jump to a branch fifty meters above them. From there his continued his journey in a similar pattern until he reached his final destination: a branch just above what appeared to be the city's town square.
Settling himself as comfortably as he could, Qui-gon opened his mind to the three Jedi he had left below him and allowed them to see what he was seeing.
Qui-gon was a bit surprised when he finally got a good look at the inhabitants of the village. They were shaped similarly to any humanoid race, but to the average onlooker they would look like giant cats walking upright on their hind legs. There was definitely a large distinction between the males and females of the species (the males being at least a head taller and much huskier and of a inky black color and the females possessing a petite frame with a speckled coat of various browns, yellows, and blacks), but they all dressed alike in long green robes that extended just past their knees.
The majority of the village was gathered in the middle of the town on the largest of its platforms. They were listening to another large cat who looked remarkably different from them with his much larger build, tan color, and giant black mane. Dressed a bit differently than the rest, in military armor, he stood on a tall platform and spoke in a loud voice to the Iagonians around him.
By some miracle of the Force, Qui-gon recognized and understood the language the man was speaking.
"Citizens," The large cat boomed with his arms raised above his head in an attempt to hush the crowd, "Some of you may have heard the rumors that strange attackers have landed here." He paused to let the murmur of agreement move through the crowd.
"Well," He continued, "King Aurlytis has sent me to inform you that these rumors are true."
Gasps of fear arose from the unsettled villagers.
"Calm...Calm," He roared, " There is no need to fear these people. They are most likely injured and running from all of our civilizations. We have already dispatched many troops to locate them and bring them to court; however, His Majesty still needs your help and participation in the capture effort. All he asks is that if any one of you sees one of these invaders that you tell the authorities immediately. There will be a great reward in store for everyone who helps us in this. If you have any further questions there will be guards located in every village from here to the capital. Thank you for your attention."
When the gathering started to disperse, Qui-gon made his way back to the forest floor below. Completely in shock by what she had seen through her Master's mind, Padme watched as he made his descent from the treetops. She never expected such hostility from the people here, but, in a way, she understood it. She knew that Iagonians had never before seen a race other than their own, at least as far as the council knew, and could not have possibly known the intentions of her and her fellow Jedi.
The soft thudding of Qui-gon's boots brought everyone out of their stunned states. Taking a quick sigh, Qui-gon took a moment to digest all that he had just witnessed. Turning to the group, he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I suggest we leave here as soon as possible."
Everyone nodded their agreement to this, and, with one last tentative look up to the village aloft, they headed out.
After the group had walked for only a couple more kilometers, the sun had disappeared and night was officially upon them. One thing that they had not expected, was the chill that had come with the setting of the sun. As they walked on in the dark, they noticed that, while the day had been extremely hot, the night was equally as extreme in the direction of freezing weather.
Padme wrapped her cloak around her as best she could to keep out the bite of the icy wind, but, no matter how hard she tried, the cold still ran straight to her bones. She silently wondered about the state of the other members of the group in relation to the temperature, because if she, someone who had grown up with the freezing cold winters of Naboo, was having such a hard time keeping warm, she couldn't imagine how the others were fairing. She knew that if they didn't find some sort of shelter soon then they were going to be in for a really rough night.
Padme's silent prayers must have been heard, for no less than two minutes after her thoughts turned from the weather to shelter, Rohhe sent the group a telepathic message saying that he had possibly found a suitable place for them stay for the duration of their time on the beautiful jungle planet.
When they reached the spot, a hundred meters in front of them, where Master Antol was standing, the group looked up a to see a lone tree house perched among some of the highest branches the Iagonian trees could offer.
Qui-gon looked the tree, that was supporting the house, up and down and spoke to the group.
"I'll climb up to make sure everything is clear." He made another force-induced jump up the tall tree trunk and onto the wrap-around balcony of the house.
It was obvious to Qui-gon as soon as he stepped onto the premise that no one had been living there for quite some time. Dust covered everything in sight. He entered through tattered curtains into the main room of the household. Glancing around, he took note of the fanciful trappings of the house, but quickly moved towards the main entrance to find some sort of contraption that would allow the group below access to the home in which he was standing.
Qui-gon felt a strange yearning from the Force to press a large, flat button situated to the left of the entryway doors. Pushing it, he looked outside to watch its effect. A slight creaking sound verberated through the treetops. Slowly, wide wooden planks emerged from the tree to form a spiral staircase down its trunk. With some trepidation the group below started the long ascent up to what they hoped would be their "home" while they waited for the rescuing Jedi to arrive.
As soon as the group reached the balcony surrounding the house, Qui-gon again pressed the large, flat button and the planks retracted themselves, showing no evidence of even being there in the first place.
With all of its members gathered, the group finally took a good look at the interior of their home. The room they were currently standing in spanned across a good portion of the house's area as a sunken living room. The couches and chairs at the center of the room were all draped with white cloths that, due to the dust and grime, were now almost black. To the right of the living room, on the slightly raised level of the house, was the kitchen and dining table. Although the dust clouded all of the intricacies of the designs on both the table and the cabinets and counters in the kitchen, one could easily tell that if they got polished up a bit, they would be extravagant. This house was obviously some sort of summer retreat for a considerably rich noble or politician. Finally, to the left of the the kitchen was a small hallway that connected two rather spacious bedrooms (one with one large bed and the other with two smaller ones) and one modest refresher.
Looking around, Master Antol and Master Jinn grimaced at how much work they would have to do to get the house in working order, but, they figured, that was why they had Padawans.
With a sigh, Rohhe addressed the group.
"Okay, everyone, let's start cleaning."