Dead draigons where beginning to pile around Obi Wan. He could no longer even feel Leila, much less her pain. After a moment, he began backing away towards the mouth of the cave. He had an idea. It was a gamble but he had nothing better. If he could kill the draigons at the very mouth of the cave, the bodies would block the entrance. It enough entrances where block, they might have a chance. He had just gained the entrance when he heard a familiar laugh.

"Well done, little one!" Jemba slithered from the shadows farther back in the shadows. He held an oversized blaster rifle. "Here, let me help you. To death!" He raised his blaster and aimed.

Grelb chuckled softly. He saw his chance and squeezed the trigger on his blaster.

The bolt shot out, but to Grelb's surprise, Obi Wan dodged to the side. The bolt barely missed him.

Grelb shouted in rage and prepared to fire again. This time, he would not miss. But suddenly, he felt huge teeth rip into his tail.

He head been concentrating too hard. He had forgotten to keep a lookout. A draigon had found him.

He barely had time to cry out before the draigon yanked him from under his rock.

Obi Wan blinked in surprise. He'd felt the Force, had dodged a blaster bolt that came from nowhere and sizzled past his head. Perhaps no one felt as surprise as Jemba the Hutt.

The Hutt took the blaster bolt in the chest. For the brief moment, Jemba stared down at is wound in disbelief. "Well, ha!" he laughed in horror. His surprised eyes stared at Obi Wan for a moment, then he fell in the dirt, dead.

A draigon's cry wrenched Obi Wan's attention back to his situation. He barely had time to thrust his lightsaber at the huge attacking mouth, then jump back.

"That was a little too close, I'd say."

Obi Wan whirled. "What the hell are you doing here!" he shouted.

Qui Gon was standing behind him, his green blade glowing. "I thought you could use some help."

"But Leila…"

"Is sleeping peacefully, for the first time in a couple of days," said Qui Gon.

Suddenly, they where joined by Clat'Ha, a blaster in each hand and spares strapped to each legs.

"How is she?" asked Qui Gon as they fought madly.

"Better," said Clat'Ha. "So are the Arconans. Si Treemba and several of them are at the other entrances."

Obi Wan's plan worked. Draigon bodies piled up in the opening. They left a small square open to defend it.

Before his death, Jemba had ordered the Whiphids and the Hutts of Offworld to defend the cave where they had gathered. He instructed them to fire from the rocks outside the cave. It was a foolish strategy. Hundreds of miners had been slain. Finally, Obi Wan and Qui Gon convinced them to use the draigon bodies to cover the entrance.

The Offworld miners and Jedi worked to guard the cave entrances but the draigons dug new entrances. That's where the Arconans came in hadn't by evening, it was evident to every Hutt and Whiphid on that rock that the Arconans were not cowards. They were creatures born to caves and to darkness and when it came time to fight in their own environment, they proved themselves to be dangerous and cunning. No draigon caught an Arconan by surprise.

Near nightfall, Qui Gon and Obi Wan were still fighting at the last entrance.

Suddenly, what was left of the draigons roared and leaped into the air. They circled the island twice and then flew off in defeat.

A ragged cheer went up from the surviving Hutts and Whiphids, Obi Wan thought it was merely a cheer of relief. But when a huge Whiphid came out of the cave and gave him a rough pat on the back, and when Hutts actually began to circle him and clap, Obi Wan realized that these were not cheers of relief. Their former enemies cheered for the Jedi.

Obi Wan turned and looked at Qui Gon.

The Knight was smiling at him with a strange look in his eyes.

Obi Wan lowered and turned off his lightsaber. Then he turned and ran back into the cave. He ran through the passages until he came back to the cave where they had left Leila.

She was still lying in the same place, in the same position.

Obi Wan touched her forehead. Relief flooded through him. The fever was gone. He sat down slowly. "Leila," he said softly.

Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at him. "Obi Wan."

"It's good to see you awake. And with the color back in your eyes."

The violet lights had returned to her eyes. "Hold me."

"I don't want to hurt you more," said Obi Wan. He paced his hand over hers.

"I don't care," she said, her voice soft. "Please."

Qui Gon strode into the cave but his steps faltered and he stood still.

Obi Wan was holding Leila. They where talking but their voices where low.

Qui Gon felt like he was intruding on a private moment but still he stood there and watched.

At last Obi Wan lay her back down. And rose to his feet. He turned and blinked at the sight of Qui Gon standing there.

Qui Gon's face actually went red. "I came to see if she was awake."

"She is," said Obi Wan. "She told me to go and get the rest of the dactyl." He slipped past Qui Gon and disappeared down the cave tunnel.

Qui Gon went forward and sat down next to his daughter. He stroked her hair and simply looked at her.

Her eyes where open but she was looking at the cave ceiling. "I want to go back to Coruscant."

Qui Gon didn't say anything for a long moment. He weighed the options in his mind carefully. "You can't," he said at last.

A large tear slid slowly down her cheek. She looked at him. She didn't ask why, only looked at him.

"There's no one I can trust to take you back," Qui Gon said quietly. "And I must go to Bandomeer."

"We shouldn't go to Bandomeer," she said.

"Why?"

But Leila wouldn't say. "How many where lost?" she asked.

"Over three hundred of the Offworld miners are gone."

"And the Arconans?"

"Eighty-seven," Qui Gon said softly.

Slowly Leila sat up. She leaned against the cave wall and looked around the cave.

The Arconans where all gathered together in one corner, humming.

"Why are they humming?"

"It's their way of showing their grief."

Leila looked at her father. "It's not safe for us to go to Bandomeer."

"Why do you say that?" asked Qui Gon as he sat back against the wall next to her.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I can't say."

"you can't say or you can't see?"

"I can't see."

"Tell me what you can," said Qui Gon.

"Darkness. But not a black darkness. A sort of a mid-night blue darkness that moves constantly. It goes from the blue to black. And then back."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."