Chapter Three:
THE FIRST MISSION
PART ONE
Disclaimer: I still do not own this. Although many of the characters and the plot are original, I don't own any Jedi and I never will. George Lucas does.
Only a few days had passed before Master Qui Gon and I were called into the Jedi council again, but in those few days, we had each learned much about the other. The members of the council must have sensed this bond, for otherwise they would not have acted in the manner which they did. We stood in the center of the circle, just as we had three days previous. This time, however, there was a mystery surrounding our summons.
"Heard, we have, that attacked the planet Ganed Five has been," said Master Yoda. "A team of Jedi send there, we must."
"You have both been selected to be members of this team," Master Windu informed us.
"With all due respect, Masters, Tahiri Kiera is very young. Though I have no doubt of her abilities, it would be against my better judgement to send this innocent child into the ugliness of battle." Master Yoda closed his eyes, but I felt as if he was still staring at me.
"Young and innocent she is, Qui Gon, but younger children than she have known such danger."
"We understand your concern, Qui Gon, and expected it, but this is the life Tahiri is destined to live. No one can shield her from it," Master Windu said.
"When are we to leave?"
You and the rest of the team will meet here at sundown tonight. May the force be with you." We bowed and I followed my master from the room. It was obvious he was not pleased with the situation. Little did we know then, how great an effect this mission would have on my life, as well as his.
Qui Gon spent most of the remainder of the day in meditation. I tried to, but found it difficult to focus. I found my mind wandering to this planet engulfed in war, this world I had never seen. I seemed to form a picture of it in my mind, a once beautiful, ocean providence, with an enormous mountain peering out over the crests of the ocean. the mountains, once green and fertile, were now racked with fire. Boats encircled them in the water and ships closed in from the sky. I could hear screams: screams of children. I opened my eyes to find Qui Gon beside me his blue eyes fixed on mine.
"Don't worry, Tahiri. I won't let anything happen to you," he assured me. I nodded. His eyes darted to the window. The sun was preparing to set. "It's time."
The journey to the Jedi Temple was a silent one. Qui Gon's hand was firmly secure on my shoulder. When we entered the temple, only Master Yoda and Master Windu were present. We bowed to them and stood respectfully to await the others. They arrived soon enough. Master Windu's Padawan, Kavai, came first. Then three other pairs of Masters and apprentices entered. All the apprentices were obviously much older than I and their surprise at seeing me was not hidden in the least bit. They said nothing, however. Kavai, at ten years old the closest to my age, smiled at me.
"Simple your mission is not," Master Yoda addressed the assembly. "Resolve, you must, the conflict on Ganed Five. Negotiations, first, you must attempt. Hope to resolve this conflict peacefully, we do. However, violent people these Vetamians seem to be. If fail negotiations do, to defend the Ganedians, ready you must be. Destroy the main vessels of the attackers you must."
"Are there any questions?" Master Windu inquired. There were none.
"May the force be with you," Master Yoda dismissed us. The team bowed and Master Yoda escorted us to the platform where our transport awaited us. It was a large vessel and seemed quite overwhelming to a six year old. Master Windu said a final farewell to Master Yoda and joined Kavai to lead us in.
"We will arrive at Ganed five with their sunrise. That gives us about three hours to rest," Qui Gon whispered to me. "Believe me, Tahiri, you will need it before the day is out. Sleep." I went to a cot near the window. As I began to doze, I heard the enormous engines start. I glanced out the window a few seconds later to see Coruscant shrinking into the starry background. The stars dissolved into darkness as I slipped into the sweet repose of sleep.
"We're coming up on Ganed Five," Master Windu's voice awakened me from a distance.
"There is the Vetamian ship."
"We will send Master Qui Gon, Mistress Cruvi, her apprentice and Master Sipherdias to conduct negotiations. Keep in contact with us. Qui Gon, your apprentice will go as well, but she will sneak into the ship. We need her and Kavai to sense out these people's true intentions. They are well known for their ability to hide the truth, but I doubt they can hide it from children." Even from my cot, I could sense my Master's reluctance to place me in this danger. "She'll be with Kavai. He has experience."
"Tahiri, come here," Qui Gon summoned me. He must have sensed that I was no longer asleep. I rose and came to his side. Master Windu had gone to awaken Kavai, but he was resisting. Finally, he groaned and groggily sat up, his sandy brown hair all but covering his tanned face.
"Go and find a hiding place in the shuttle. You, too, Tahiri," Master Windu commanded. Kavai sprinted off and I followed him as quickly as my small legs would carry me. He ducked around a corner and banged into the button to open the shuttle door. I jumped into the small ship seconds after him. Following a quick scan of the area, we hid ourselves in barrels, easy enough to open from the inside with the use of the force, but completely devoid of anything suspicious. In a few minutes, the team of negotiators entered and the shuttle whirred to life. The short journey to the Vetamian ship was rough and rattled my brain against my skull. I felt as if I would be thrown into space. Only then did it occur to me, on that dark trip, that I had no weapon. I had no way of communicating this to anyone at the moment, either. All I could do was hope that I would have no need of one.
The shuttle jolted to a halt and I inferred that we had docked with the Vetamian vessel. The shuttle doors whirred open once more and I heard a voice welcoming the negotiators. The footsteps seemed to echo as the team left us in the shuttle and the doors whirred shut. We were along. Cautiously, I used to force to inch the lid off my cage and floated it silently to the floor. Kavai had done the same thing. I could see his silhouette in the light provided through small cracks in the shuttle, or so I supposed. We landed, simultaneously, as silent as cats.
"Are we supposed to have weapons?" I whispered.
"No, we're only here to listen," he replied. Suddenly the doors whirred open and light streamed in. We flattened ourselves on opposite sides of the shuttle, our hearts beating so loud I was certain they would give us away. A spider like creature about two meters high slunk into the shuttle. It held its middle two arms out to the sides. It was scanning the room, somehow. It had eyes on its legs. Kavai held his hand out in the darkness, focusing on the creature's mind. Suddenly, I had an idea. I focused on a barrel in the very rear of the shuttle and collapsed it. As I had hoped, the creature dashed forward towards the sound and Kavai and I sped out of the sliding door. He grabbed my hand and we dashed into the docking bay next door.
"Good thinking," he whispered to me, but we couldn't rest long. Within seconds, the docking berth had been opened and we were being sucked into the vacuum of space. We clung to the walls with all our strength, but we knew we could only cling on for a limited time, even with he use of the Force. Kavai fiddled around for a millisecond and found a small compartment. We ducked into it, just as a ship pulled into the dock. The doors of the shuttle bay closed and we heard voices and footsteps above us. I was too overwhelmed, though, to be able to tell what was being said. The footsteps eventually died off in the distance.
"Come on," Kavai whispered. We slunk out past the great propellers. "We'll climb into the air ducts." We crawled in and put the vent firmly back into place. It was dark inside the air duct, but I didn't mind. I just stayed close behind Kavai. "Turn your communicator on so the masters can hear whatever we can," he whispered directly into my ear. He must have turned around. I flipped it on, making sure to keep it hidden close to my suit beneath my Jedi robes. Soon we heard familiar voices. The team was in the room beneath us. That meant we wouldn't have to go far to reach our destination. After a few meters, Kavai halted. We were in the center of the ship, where all the vents came together. It was exceptionally loud from all the air and machinery, so we had to listen extra carefully. I pressed my ear against the lower surface of the vent.
"The Jedi are here only as a diversion. They have two of the surface people with them, planning to destroy us."
"This must not be allowed."
"Obviously it will not be. The Jedi will be terminated and the surface people held for hostage until their people surrender to us." I could understand the language clearly through the Force. Ordinarily, since Kavai had said nothing, I would have second guessed myself, but I had no time to do so. I switched my communicator to Qui Gon's frequency.
"Code 1," I whispered, meaning he was in danger and he should prepare to fight. I nudged Kavai and headed in the direction of the negotiations room. My communicator beeped on and Master Windu's clear voice came through.
"Tahiri, Kavai, this is a race filled with fear. We don't know why. Get to their main computer and access their historical data. Perhaps we can use it against them." Below me I heard blasters fire and light sabers being drawn. Master Windu sensed my hesitation. "Go, Tahiri." I tried not to think as I followed Kavai to the nearest air vent. Qui Gon, my master, was fighting for his life, surely I could be of more use than to access historical records. I tried to put it out of my mind as the cover of the air vent flew off. We shot up, met by a surprisingly empty corridor. I relaxed a bit, but far too soon. As soon as the vent was closed, we fell down into a dark abyss. A cold feeling swept over me. Then we hit the floor.
"Run," Kavai yelled to me. "Follow me." Then he whispered, "Split up. They'll be less likely to find both of us if we do." He ran loudly in place for a few seconds, then snuck off in one direction and I in the other. I could see nothing and my sense of direction was askew from all the twists and turns of the fall. I let the Force guide me, focusing on my destination: wherever this species kept their historical memories. I bumped into something furry and all of a sudden, one thought filled my mind, the need to prove my power. I stepped back and the thought became just that-a thought- no longer an overwhelming beast as it had been. Was this it, I asked myself. It had to be.
"Master Windu, I think their motivation is to prove that they are powerful. They are very doubtful of themselves, but I'm not certain if this will help."
"It will if we can get to their leader," he replied.
"Wasn't the team just negotiating with him?"
"No, he sent an envoy. Where's Kavai?"
"We were separated."
"Find him quickly, Tahiri, he's in danger." I dashed off in the direction from which I had come, hoping to somehow catch up to Kavai. I saw a flash of light from overhead in the distance of the vast darkness ahead. A long limb extended upward and a limp body passed into the light: Kavai. I ran as fast as I could, but arrived too late. The grate closed and Kavai disappeared into the light. My instincts warned my not to use my communicator, lest the enemy hear me. I would have to rescue Kavai alone. Yet, I could not allow myself to be seen, I knew this too. I creamed, thinking to distract Kavai's captor. He turned his spidery head and rushed in my direction. Then a clank came from the opposite direction and he reversed. I screamed again and he started for me. The moment he turned his head, he was propelled into the wall and rendered unconscious. I jumped out of the vent to see Qui Gon uncurling the spider-creature's arm from Kavai.
"To the shuttle," he whispered, his eyes smiling at me. Had we not been in such a hurry, I would have embraced him from sheer gratitude. We dashed down the stairs and to the shuttle to find the rest of the negotiations team there, unharmed. Only after we had escaped the Vetamian ship with the use of the Force did Kavai speak. He moved his arm to reveal a sleeping infant.
"The Vetamians captured him too. I think they were holding him hostage." Qui Gon took the baby and held him secure until we reached our vessel.
"We were able to get some historical information on the Vetamians both from Tahiri and from a neighboring system. Long ago, the Vetamians were enslaved by a massive government system. When the system eventually crumbled, the Vetamians wanted to become powerful. They feared being dominated or dependent on others who might take advantage of them. So they set out for power in the wrong ways. Instead of establishing allies, they built up their war machines. They set out for power by conquest," Master Windu explained. "They were driven by fear. Their main leaders, fearing for their lies, are on their home world, a planet not a great distance from here. It is a small, remote planet called Veta. We sent a message to them, requesting an audience with them to vouch for peace. If they agree, I suggest we send Master Owen and myself to the planet."
"What do we do with the child?" Qui Gon asked, indicating the infant in his arms.
"He'll have to stay with us for the time being. He will be returned to his family when this matter is settled."
"Incoming message from Veta," Master Owen informed us. A spidery hologram drifted into view.
"Alien persons, we agree to your visitations on these conditions. First, you will use our transportation to come land on our planet. Second, you will bring nothing from your vessel, no weapons, no communications device, nothing. Finally, a visual tracking device will be placed on you for our purposes. You shall not remove it or render it dysfunctional from the moment you leave your ship until the moment you set foot in it again to return to your home. Also, your vessel will leave orbit of our planet while you are on the surface. We will send you a transmission when the negotiations are finished. We will transport your landing team to the surface, as we have said. If you agree with these conditions, we will meet your ship in orbit at eighteen hundred hours." The transmission ended.
"Much ado about nothing," commented Master Owen.
"Send a transmission saying we agree to their terms and are leaving the planet Ganed Five to rendezvous. Expect us at the requested time," Master Windu directed. Qui Gon put the infant in a cot and I lay down in the cot beside it. This was certainly a difficult first mission, and it wasn't over yet. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but found I could not. I tried turning over to face the ceiling, but it didn't help.
"Master, was your first mission this difficult?" I asked sensing that Qui Gon was near.
"Goodness, no, Tahiri," he laughed kindly. "My first assignment with my master was to monitor the elections on Dandooine. One of the candidates had threatened to assassinate the others and we were sent to keep the peace. Fortunately, it came to nothing. I was nine years old, then, a full three years older than you are now." He paused. "You did very well," he said, smiling.
"Thank you, Master," I said, and drifted off to sleep.
