It was beyond Qui Gon how she could make jokes at a time like this.
Obi Wan moved to the far end of the door and Leila to the other door. They where both holding their transmitters.
"Do you think we'll be remembered in the archives?" asked Leila.
"Probably," scoffed Obi Wan. He glanced at Qui Gon. "Stand as far back as you can," he instructed.
"No, Padawan," said Qui Gon. "There has to be another way."
Leila turned and looked at him, a peaceful look on her face. "There is no other way and you know it, Father.
"Stand back, Qui Gon," said Obi Wan.
"No!" cried Qui Gon. "Leila, I can't let you do this!"
"You can't stop me," said Leila. "
"Stand back. We need you in one piece," said Obi Wan
"No! I will not! And I order you not to do this!"
Obi Wan's eyes danced with amusement. "You're not my Master, Qui Gon."
"And I'll never get to be if…"
"Qui Gon, think of the may who will lose their lives," said Obi Wan. "Think of what Xanatos will win. Think of Bandomeer. Our mission was to protect it."
"We don't do this, we fail," said Leila.
"This is not the way," said Qui Gon grimly.
"Obi Wan's face was white but determination tightened every muscle. "Yes, Qui Gon. I can do it. I will do it."
Qui Gon was back in the nightmare. He held the same horror, the same overwhelming despair. The same sense that he must prevent this thing, even as he admire the sheer courage of the children that where in front of him.
"We're wasting valuable time," said Leila softly.
"I won't allow," said Qui Gon. "I'll use the Force to neutralize the collar."
Obi Wan shook his head, a small smile on his face. "You won't be able to. I know I can fight you and win. Maybe just this one time. But this time I'm right and you are not." He looked over at Leila. "And Leila will help me.
Qui Gon was taken aback. He felt the Force emitting from the two of them like a breaking wave. The sheer power of it astonished him. He locked his gaze first with Leila and then Obi Wan. Their wills clashed silently in the dark tunnel.
Leila had her back pressed against the door and was holding the transmitter.
Obi Wan pressed himself against the seal, holding his transmitter against himself.
"Let me go, Father," whispered Leila, holding her Father's desperate gaze.
Desperate didn't even begin to describe Qui Gon at that moment. He looked at the seal panel Leila had found. He wanted to smash it with his lightsaber. He wanted to smash his body against the door. He could not let this happen! He would not let the nightmare win. The nightmare…The broken circles glowed at him. Why hadn't he seen them before? His eyes narrowed The Offworld secret logo was on the seal panel.
The circle that brings the past to the future, yet does not meet. He must make the circle meet. He must bring the past forward. He must…before he lost everything.
"Wait."
There was something about the tone of his voice that made Leila and Obi Wan look at him.
Qui Gon quieted his mind. He watched as the circle moved, met and became whole again. The past would meet the future and create the present. Or in this case….Xanatos was past. Obi Wan was now.
The door slid open.
Leila fell into the tunnel outside.
Qui Gon smiled from sheer relief. He grabbed Leila and pressed her to his chest, holding her tightly.
She was shaking slightly.
"I told you there was an easier way," he said to Obi Wan. He pressed a kiss on the top of Leila's head.
Obi Wan grinned from tired relief. "We'd better hurry."
Qui Gon hauled Leila to her feet and they raced back up the tunnel, following the twists and turns to the main shaft. Qui Gon remembered the emergency siren near the south lift tube. He activated it.
"Evacuate," a voice thundered through the tunnels. "Evacuate."
"That means us too," said Obi Wan, pressing a button for the lift tube.
"No," said Leila.
Qui Gon and Obi Wan turned to her. She was looking around the tunnel. They had been working down here to clear it. Boxes of explosives stood stacked against the walls. And one box rested on top.
"There." Leila pointed at it.
Qui Gon stepped closer to it and peered at it. "Is that the box you saw, Obi Wan?"
Obi Wan glanced at it. "Yes," he said. He grabbed Leila's hand. "But there's no time to find out what's in it." The lift tube arrived. "Let's go, Qui Gon!"
Leila tugged her hand free. She climbed up the stacks of explosives and picked the box up. She carefully climbed back down and set it on the ground. She studied it for a moment. Then she unsheathed her lightsaber and carefully cut the lock.
Qui Gon watched over her shoulder. "He always had more than one trick," he murmured. "He always had a back door."
Leila carefully lifted the lid. And gasped. It was an ion bomb, the most destructive in the galaxy.
Now they had Obi Wan's attention. "He said he had mixed gases."
"He lied," said Leila.
"This bomb is on a timer," said Qui Gon.
"And the others around Bandomeer?" asked Obi Wan.
Leila was studying the bomb carefully.
"All those are set to blow at the same moment." Qui Gon actually went pale. "The chain reaction will be enormous. The entire planet will blow."
"Now Obi Wan was pale. "Can you dismantle it?"
"I couldn't," said Qui Gon. "My hands are too large to be playing with some like that." He looked at Leila. "Can you?"
"The Force won't work," she said. "The trigger is so delicate the Force itself could set it off."
"Can you do it?" asked Qui Gon.
"I could. I need time. More than I have."
"Then what are we going to do?" asked Obi Wan.
"I have good news," said Leila.
"I need some," said Qui Gon.
"This appears to be the master control. Xanatos set it when he left. If I can dismantle it, none of the other bombs will blow."
"Is there bad news?" asked Obi Wan.
"Yes," said Leila.
Obi Wan swallowed. "What is it?"
"It's set to blow in three minuets," said Leila. She looked up. "I need fifteen."