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Chapter 7
The Ruler of Zephyrann narrowed his convex eyes as he watched the wounded-eyes general come into the hall and knelt before him once again.
"I would be pleased if you could give me a satisfying explanation concerning the wound of your eyes, Roga."
"Your Majesty," Roga hissed painfully, "Qui-Gon Jinn had used the dirt from the ground to attack my eyes."
The Ruler nodded with compassion, "And the other nine soldiers?"
"They were all defeated." Roga sadly bowed his head, "The Jedi are far more dangerous than we assumed – especially Qui-Gon Jinn."
"Perhaps it is because of the experience he has gained over the years." The Ruler mused, "But," his mouth twisted into a cold smile, "capturing them is only a matter of time, since we have never lost track of them. Am I right, my ally?" he turned to the hooded man standing beside him.
"Undoubtedly." The man laughed, "I see that you aren't so eager to kill them anymore."
"Death is only an escape." The Ruler smiled, "I would rather have the pleasure to know them suffering to be destroyed slowly and smoothly," he emphasized each word, his glassy eyes were narrowed again, "after they have done something so unforgivable to my soldiers."
Qui-Gon took Virgille's small hand as he'd sensed the little girl's growing fear of the darkness ahead of them.
He and Obi-Wan both reached out into the Force to sense the surroundings, but there seemed to be a constant danger around them: not near enough to specify, yet not far, either.
"Do you think they know our position, Master?" Obi-Wan looked around nervously.
"I'm not certain, Padawan." Qui-Gon sighed heavily, "There are too many of them – I don't know if that danger is their following us or just their existence above the ground."
"That would be a problem." Obi-Wan said to himself, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Could you ever stop saying those ridiculous words?" Virgille scolded, "Of course ALL of us have a very, VERY bad feeling about this!"
Obi-Wan sneered coldly, "And you're not keeping saying the same words? You keep doing that even with the same stupid grandma-tone!"
"Why, how rude!" Virgille grandma-glared at him angrily.
"All right, you two." Qui-Gon interrupted the war, "We don't need any fight here."
"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan ducked his head.
"Sorry, Master Qui-Gon." Virgille apologized in a whisper, like a grandma.
Qui-Gon couldn't suppress a smile as the young ones ended their war so fast.
"Well," he finally stopped his footsteps, "the good news is we may have a rest now."
"Finally." Obi-Wan collapsed onto the ground in relief, his back against the damp wall.
"I almost began to think that we'd never stop." Virgille grandma-sighed happily and sat down beside Obi-Wan.
"We'll rest for some hours." Qui-Gon stated as he sat cross-legged at the other side of the yawning youngling.
Virgille yawned again and soon drifted off to sleep with her chin rested on her chest.
"Erm, Master?" Obi-Wan asked tentatively as he noticed the older man's eyes closed again.
"Yes, Obi-Wan?" came the gentle reply.
"How did you know to attack their eyes?"
Qui-Gon answered serenely with his eyes still shut, "If you had studied beforehand, Padawan, you would have known that Zephyrenes could see in the dark as clearly as they could in the light, with the help of their special eyes."
"You mean those glass-like eyeballs?"
"Yes. Their eyes are glass-like and convex, which also make the eyes more vulnerable than other beings."
"Okay…" Obi-Wan contemplated, "But why don't they put something in front of their big eyes to protect them?"
"Because that would make their eyes lose contact with the environment, for their eyes are also the detectors of their surroundings – they use their eyes to feel the changes around them."
"Like a snake's tongue?"
"Exactly." Qui-Gon nodded briefly, "Unfortunately, that general didn't feel the sands gathering in my hand, maybe he was too confident at that moment that he loosed guard."
"But what about the other Zephyrenes? Why didn't they warn him?"
"They were too far from us, so they couldn't feel it."
"Lucky for us." Obi-Wan smiled to himself.
"But we'll need more luck than we thought soon." Qui-Gon opened his eyes, "Things are getting nastier around here."
"I think so, too." Obi-Wan hesitated a moment when he was ready to ask an unpleasant question. "How…did you know that roar was a signal, Master?" He winced a little as Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow at him, "Well, see…it can't be from your remained memory since your report showed Zephyrann wasn't a hostile planet, so they couldn't have let you remember that they'd once gathered to attack you." He swallowed hardly, "Th-Then I guess it must be from your wiped memory."
Qui-Gon gazed at him for a moment, and eventually spoke, "Your guess is correct, Obi-Wan. Yes, I did have a flash of wiped memory in my mind back there. But it's only a flash." He sighed with depression, "I can't remember anything more."
Obi-Wan couldn't hold the impulse to take his Master's hand, "Don't worry, Master. You've pushed yourself too much, things have already become much better than before now."
"They have?"
"Of course!" Obi-Wan said excitedly, "That's the stimulation we need, Master – the Zephyrene warriors. They can remind you of your lost memory, especially that general, he seems to know you already."
"I have the same feeling." Qui-Gon smiled, absently stroking the back of his Padawan's hand, which was holding his, with his free hand.
Obi-Wan shivered slightly at the caress, glad to know that Qui-Gon didn't pay much attention to that small shiver.
"But the problem is, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, still smiling, "even though they're the stimulation we've been looking for, all they could stimulated from me was nothing more than that roar."
Obi-Wan's face fell instantly, "I almost forget. Then they're only the stimulation of that roar." He sighed in frustration, "We need something to stimulate the scheme you've overheard." He let go of Qui-Gon's hand and retrieved his own. "I'm sorry, Master. I though I'd found the answer, but then I realize, I've just pointed out the obvious."
Qui-Gon shook his head and smiled, patting the younger man's shoulder gently, "No need to apologize, Padawan. It was my fault, not yours. If only I could have chosen the path of death that time, then things would be a lot easier now."
Obi-Wan looked up at his Master with horror, "Please don't say that, Master. If you'd died, the situation wouldn't be improved much, and…" he trailed off and breathed, "I wouldn't have the chance to be your Padawan." He bowed his head slowly, feeling selfish and foolish.
Qui-Gon studied him silently for a while, then tilted up his chin gently to make the younger man look at his Master in the eyes. "I am blessed to be your Master, Obi-Wan." He whispered softly with a heart-warming smile.
Obi-Wan looked away to hide his reddened face, "So…Master, would you like to tell me what was the mission like, as you recall? That might give us some clue."
Qui-Gon nodded and began: "There were rumors about the mysterious energy on Zephyrann, so the Council sent me to investigate it. After I landed in the forest, I sensed there was a hidden hole nearby."
"This one?"
"Precisely. Then I found the hole and went through the tunnel beneath it," he gestured the tunnel they were now in, "then I found the way was blocked by collapsed rocks. I reached out to sense those barriers. Along with the help of the Force, I managed to find a way through them.
"After I passed through, there was a rusty metal gate before me. The lock had been broken long ago, so I pushed it open."
"Don't tell me it was their fortress behind that gate." Obi-Wan grinned brightly.
"It was." Qui-Gon smiled back, but his expression turned solemn again as he continued, "Then I sneaked around to investigate and look for the source of that energy mentioned in the rumors – I could feel the power of it was strong the moment I got into the fortress."
"Did you find it?"
"Fortunately. But it was merely a small crystal."
"Typical."
"That's right. It was a Reine Crystal, which is a kind of purplish transparent stones only found on Zephyrann. And the Zephyrenes were using its energy to…" Qui-Gon frowned, "heat up the engines of their constructing machines faster."
"Were they building something?"
"An unarmed star cruiser."
"Hmm…" Obi-Wan folded his arms as he mused, "Sounds like that crystal was used only as a heater."
"That's what I thought. But still, I checked the entire place, and came to the conclusion that there was no hostility in their using the energy. In the end, I left the planet, being unnoticed." Qui-Gon sighed, "And that was the end of the mission. The noticeable part was that I've once lost conscious for a while in the investigation because the accidental explosion in the manufacturing chamber."
"So…" Obi-Wan looked at his Master, "you must've been caught somewhere during the investigation, after the explosion. And they've wiped all your memory about the things after the explosion and placed you back to the spot where you once lied unconscious. And when you awaked, you thought you were just lying there all the time before you regained your awareness."
"Apparently." Qui-Gon nodded.
"There's still one thing I don't understand, Master. Aren't they afraid that we might report to the Council about their attacking us if we get back to our ship?"
"I'm afraid no. They first made sure that our ship was destroyed, then attacked."
"Oh…" Obi-Wan mused, "W-What? What do you mean by our ship was destroyed!" he asked in terror.
"Well, what can I say?" Qui-Gon was obviously amused by Obi-Wan's reaction, "That means our ship were exploded into tiny pieces; it won't be able to fly anymore and –"
"Of course I know what does 'destroy' mean! But our ship was destroyed!" he gasped horrifiedly, "Then how are we going to ever leave here, Master?"
"Well…" Qui-Gon smiled with composure, "There's always another ship."
"Yeah, right." Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes skeptically, "I doubt they'd let us borrow theirs."
"You never know, Padawan." Qui-Gon was even more amused.
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at his Master's confidence. "But do you think they'd wipe our memory again if we were captured?"
"No, I'm afraid." Qui-Gon said quietly, "From their action of blowing up our ship, I suppose they don't expect us to leave. And it seems they don't mind if our deaths stir the Order – they 're quite confident this time."
"You mean their plan is going to be completed soon, so they don't care if others discover their intentions?"
"It appears so." Qui-Gon stood up, "We'd better be going now – I have a feeling that we don't have much time left."
"So do I." Obi-Wan nodded and got up.
"Me too." A sleepy voice responded.
"And I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan replied absently.
"Stop saying those insane words, Mister!" The sleepy voice suddenly became sober, "Of course we ALL have a very, VERY –"
"Hold it," Obi-Wan snapped, finally realized who he'd been talking to, "why are you awake, Virgule?"
"It's Virgille!"
"Whatever."
"How rude!" she scolded, "And what can you expect from an always easy-to-wake tired child after you have spoken so loudly and been so noisy and not concerned with other people's rest and slumber!"
Obi-Wan moaned helplessly, "Oh, Force, why me…why ME?"
Although Qui-Gon thought the two young ones' quarrel was really a pleasure to watch, he knew they must leave as soon as possible – the tunnel wasn't as safe as it used to be anymore. Instincts told him the Zephyrene who'd attacked them while they were on the way here didn't find them in coincidence.
"We must go, now." He urged, and suddenly, he sensed the fast approaching danger. "They're here." He gasped at the familiar feeling from the forgotten past.
Obi-Wan and Virgille watched the Master in confusion. Before they could ask anything, Qui-Gon rapidly grabbed their hands and started to dash.
"What's the matter, Master?" Obi-Wan asked hurriedly.
"He has sensed a disturbance in the Force, idiot!" Virgille grandma-yelled impatiently.
"Of course I KNOW he has sensed a disturbance in the Force, moron!" Obi-Wan shouted back, "But what did he sense? I didn't sense anything. The danger's always been there, even from the moment we got in here –"
He cut off himself abruptly as the sound reached his ear – the sound of thousands of pairs of wings flapping.
The sound was far, but was getting closer in high speed.
They ran with Force-enhanced speed for some time, then they reached the blocked point Qui-Gon had mentioned in his telling.
Qui-Gon reached out his sense and found the rift that once allowed him to pass through the obstacles.
He picked Virgille up and pushed her into the rift, then prompted Obi-Wan to crawl in as well.
When they all crawled through the collapsed rocks, the rusty metal gate appeared right in front of them. Qui-Gon pushed the gate immediately, and though the metal protested with a sharp squeal, it opened reluctantly.
But at the moment Qui-Gon opened the gate, a laser bolt was shot directly into his right thigh.
The sudden pain forced him to kneel down instantly.
"Master!" Obi-Wan rushed to his side with Virgille.
"Qui-Gon Jinn, what a pleasant…reunion." A cold voice spoke up, and when they looked up, thousands of blasters were pointed at them.
Roga emerged from the soldiers, with a triumphant smile on his face, his wounded glassy eyes sparkled dangerously with coldness. "We've been expecting you for a while now, but you Jedi seem to be…not very punctual."
Qui-Gon gritted his teeth yet remained silent, and put a comforting hand on the now trembling youngling's back.
Obi-Wan gave up the idea of turning back when the collapsed rocks behind them exploded all of a sudden, revealing the arrived pursuing enemies.
"Please forgive our impolite way of making you a little faster to arrive," Roga bowed sarcastically, "but we felt it might be necessary since we have other schedules ahead. And I believe you have enjoyed your journey in the deserted emergency passage built by our ancestors."
His convex eyes narrowed, "There seems to be an old friend of yours waiting in the throne hall. Let's not keep him await, shall we?"
To be continued…
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