Alarmed by Anakin's yell, he spun around and saw a huge, horrenduous creature flying towards him, already mid-air with its maw gaping. Swiftly jumping back, the Jedi narrowly avoided being swallowed whole. The beast had six legs, an insectoid by the looks of its plating, and terrible looking horns all over its body. And it had company. An enormous cloud of black dust had formed out of nowhere, rapidly growing denser and obscuring the view. Within a few moments, it had engulfed the two men completely. Anakin activated his lightsaber and wildly slashed to all sides. In vain. The black fog extinguished all light and obscured the view. The Force was his only guidance. His lightsaber didn't do anything against the beasts pressing in on him. He could as well have hit them with a stick. Another huge maw opened above his head. It was filled with rows of jagged, sharp teeth. The maw closed and missed Anakin's head by a hair before the entire head dropped to the ground right next to Anakin, separated from the body, and dark liquid, like odd-coloured blood, drippled off Kenshin's metal blade.
The next attack came, and the next, and the next. Anakin identified the creatures as Sithspawn warbeasts, remembering long forgotten history lessons that had mentioned phenomena of the sort. Why did his lightsaber not cut through their armouring?
Unlike the plasma blade, Kenshin's metal blade was more effective against their nightmarish opponents, but even his ardent bladework could only do so much against the sheer pressure of the attacks. Sight became poorer by the minute and the Padawan felt tendrils of pure dark side energy beginning to wrap around his limbs. He cried out in pain as the first vine pulled tight. He felt a sharp pang race through both his body and mind. There was a fear like he had never felt before. Visions of his mother appeared before his inner eye, swirling and changing in a devilish dance. In some of these visions, she was dead, and it was himself who had killed her. In others, she was raped by crooked figures and she screamed like he had never heard a living being scream. Utter horror consumed him, his head ablaze with images even his worst nightmares had never brought. Anakin felt like he was suffocating, black tendrils travelled up his body and smothered his face. The dark side vergence. He drowned in sheer horror. A muffled voice yelled. The voice became clearer and more demanding.
"FIGHT! COME BACK" Kenshin yelled.
"HOW!?"
"USE THE FORCE. YOU ARE THE FORCE!"
Purple flames blazed around him. And lightning. There was this presence again., the presence from his dream, the same he had felt in the meditation circle. It was like an embrace, protectively encasing him.
The Force is with me Anakin thought.
The Force is with me and I am the Force. The Force is with me and I am the Force.
Anakin gave it his all, and he fought again. Kenshins blade was everywhere at once.
Then he slowed, white flames appearing at his fingertips and growing into a glowing sphere of Force energy, enveloping both Jedi in its inside.
The attacks slowed. The energy barrier Kenshin had risen was keeping the monstrous creatures at bay, but for how long? Sweat was dripping off his face, his handsome traits distorted with pain.
The group of monsters circled around the Jedi, then suddenly they seemed unsettled, afraid.
The strange fogg lifted gradually and an entire pack of eight or ten demonic, dragon-like creatures, with purple glowing eyes and scaled bodies appeared from it. Their shoulder height reached the height of an average human male. They looked exactly like the dragon sculpted from marble he had seen in Karimaoru, exactly like the creature from his dream. Yashkaru. Altough smaller in size than , they went against the Sithspawn beasts and were wrecking havoc amongst the monstrous, immense creatures, tearing them down until none was left. The black fumes dissolved, and everything was as before, safe for the corpses of the horrors that had fallen around them, and the pack of Yashkaru now gathering around the Jedi, curiously eyeing them.
"The demons" Anakin said incredulously
"The what?"
"The Yashkaru, that's what they're called, right? I've seen one before, in a dream. It saved me in that dream. Just like they saved us now. You summoned them, Master, didn't you. You control them. It was you I saw in my dream. It was you!"
"What are you talking about?"
Anakin kept his lightsaber in his hand. The Yashkaru might have helped fend off the strange menace, but the Padawan was not so sure how to feel about them. Or what to think of the other Jedi and the strange things he did. Kenshin had saved his life on the scrap yard. This presence he felt, a presence that had saved him when he believed he was done for.
"They're force-sensitive beings, just like you and me. When I fought in the resistance, entire packs of them would often appear where I was, just like they did now. I could link my mind to theirs and see with their eyes when they scoured the jungle hunting. That way I found enemy positions and hidden paths to reach their posts, I would even know how big and how tightly defended the posts were. I don't know why it is this way, or how it works. I just did it."
"When I got attacked on the scrap yard, after that I had a dream. The morgukai were hunting and attacking me again, but one of these beasts appeared. I didn't know what it was, another demon chasing me, and I tried to fight it, but I couldn't do anything against it. Then it protected me and fought the Morgukai, it saved me, just like you saved Kyle and me in ...in the real world."
"Anakin, I cannot explain it."
"But you're a Jedi Master. A powerful one at that. How can you not explain this?"
"The Force has many different ways in which it manifests, even the greatest Jedi don't understand everything about it. And I am far from great."
Kenshin paused, he seemed absent and zoned out all of a sudden. Then he looked around, snapping out of the thoughts he had been lost in.
"We have to find that temple. The Yashkaru can help us get there!"
To Anakins surprise and big dismay, Kenshin mounted onto the back of one of them, and grudgingly, Anakin did the same. Flying lizards, now demons. He wondered what would come next, then again – it was probably better not to know. Maybe Vanquor's gundarks and the rocky desolate surface of the wasteland planet weren't that bad after all, it didn't harbour as many strange creatures as the dense forests of Nanta did.
Within a moment, Kenshin had linked his mind to the Yashkaru underneath him. He could sense its spirit, as the animal could sense his, and he could see his thoughts, see through its eyes. They were animals, but in the Force, the human and the Yashkaru were as one, of the same world, the same Force.
The Jedi saw images of hunting in the vast jungles, leaves and vines rushing by, he sensed the excitement, fear and exhilaration of catching prey. The reaction of his mount and its pack to an urge in the Force that had driven the entire pack to come to this place and face the Sith warbeasts that had survived in the jungle for so long, feeding on the dark side energies, the spirits of fear and suffering that still emanated from the ancient battlefield. The ancient Sith had had gruesome, devastating battle rituals and Force knew what had gone down centuries before in that war that ended a civilization.
He directed the Yashkaru's mind towards lighter emotions, vaguely suggested an image of buildings. The answer followed promptly. Brushy, and overgrown with vines but it was there. The ancient Nanta temple. The Yashkaru rocketed off, the rest of the pack followed. The chase went on for a short while only, the Yashkaru swiftly moving through vines and over moss-covered logs like birds through the air, faster and more elegantly than any human ever could have. Finally, the pack of Yashkaru stopped. Underneath the thick green coat of fauna, shapes were recognizable, remnants of stone buildings that reached above bushes and trees in some places, and the two Jedi slid off their mounts.
"Be careful where you set your feet. This temple was – is – most likely protected with all kinds of traps. Force traps, explosives and other."
Kenshin pointed to a spot on the ground only a few meters away. A crater. The bumpy terrain was dominated by a pointy, overgrown hill – the temple structure, and a small grassy opening surrounding it, full of craters of various sizes, many of them hundreds of years old and equally overgrown with grass and bushes so Anakin had not taken note of them. Night began to fall, so Kenshin decided they should set up camp and examine the temple the next day. Unlike the looming feeling of the ancient battle site, the feel of this place was light and serene. This really was a Jedi temple. This close to a focal point of the Light, the Jedi Master saw little reason for concern of attacks by the evil spirits that haunted the planet two thousand years ago.
He lit a small fire and settled down next to it, after tossing Anakin his cloak. He was more than ready to get some rest.
"Care to explain, Master?"
"Explain what? Let me sleep!"
"The dark vergence. It had a devastating effect on me, but not on you."
"The Sith spawn attacked your mind, projecting images of your greatest fears, making you see nightmares as a reality. You are powerful but you haven not understood your powers yet. You need to learn to believe in yourself."
"I felt your presence in the Force, Master. I can never sense it, only in a life and death situation. Only when you save me. Why? Why can I never sense you like I can sense other Jedi or even normal people?"
"Force stealth."
"So you mask your presence all the time? Why?"
"To hide. I'm a spy and a tracker, remember? On most of my missions I will get killed the moment I let my guard down. So I never do."
"Even at the temple? No one would kill you there!"
"The Jedi...very few accept or understand what I am. It's easier to just...not be seen."
This wasn't the answer Anakin wanted.
"What about me? Why do you shield yourself from me then? You still don't trust me, that's it!" the Padawan complained. "Why, Master, why do you never let me see who you are? You don't take me seriously. You don't trust me. You should, but you don't"
Kenshin gave him a hurt look. But it was true. He didn't feel like he was trusted. Even Kenshin still treated him like a child. A child he cared about, but still a child, not an equal. He pouted and distinctly looked the other way. Then the Padawan felt something gently touch his mind. Something...someone in the Force was communicating with him. First Anakin hesitated - being too close in touch with the Force and the strange currents it flowed in on this planet was a scary endeavour to say the least. At last he decided to want to know what was calling to him and reached out. And then he sensed it!
It was the very presence he had sensed a few times before but that had always been blurry, covered, concealed. Now it was clear and strong. He could feel the signature that grew stronger and more prominent as Kenshin lowered his shields. For the first time, he could feel it! There was a bond between him and Kenshin! Anakin gasped. It hit him like a gust in a sandstorm. The Force signature that was now revealed was intense and imposing. Intimidating, even. It had been very few times that he had felt signatures of such magnitude. Yoda and Mace Windu were the most powerful force users he knew, and this was something else entirely. Intense and powerful, but while the two revered Jedi Masters' presences were steady and composed, Kenshin's force signature had a raw, feral quality to it. Yoda was the very image of light and righteousness. Master Windu was a mountain. Severe, stern and unshakeable. Anakin himself was a bright supernova. Kenshin was the raging storm and the shadows. Both light and dark and that gave it a powerful and dangerous feel.
Anakin steadied himself and started to open himself more, first hesitantly, then curiously probing the other Jedi's mind. He began to see feelings and emotions. At the surface, there was an eternal restlessness, awareness of an elusive threat, the sense of a predator ready to jump. Frustration about not being able to identify and attack the menace yet. Resolve. Defiance. Dominantly present, strength. And deep kindness and caring. Anakin felt how Kenshin deeply cared about him, and for the people on this planet. Even for the Jedi Order that he claimed to dislike. Fortitude, and Loyalty.
He probed further, desperately wishing to get to know the man who was his Master, wishing to grow their bond. Then, hidden beneath the seemingly unshakeable strength and power, he started to see pain. Deep wounds that were old but far from having healed. The pain was contained and controlled, but its sharpness had lost nothing of its edge, it was as searing as it had been on the first day. Anakin went on, he wanted to know what it was, he wanted to help, to soothe, to heal. Before he could see more, he felt was violently shut off. As if from a different realm, muffled, distorted sounds reached his ears. The sharp, metallic rasp of a sword being unsheathed and the snap-hiss of a lightsaber blazing to life. Anakin jerked his eyes open and saw Kenshin had jumped to his feet, both his blades in a defensive stance held in front of him. The Padawan made an attempt to move closer, holding his open palms up.
"Master..."
"Stay away from me!" Kenshin commanded from between clenched teeth. Anakin saw something in Kenshin's eyes he had never seen there before. Fear.
"I didn't want to hurt you! I don't understand! I'm sorry! Master, please!"
Kenshin took another two steps back. Moments, then minutes passed. The deep, steady buzz of his lightsaber was the only sound to be heard. Only slowly, his eyes became softer, the fury and terror in them replaced by deep sadness. At last, he shut his lightsaber off and hung his head.
"Let the past die..." he murmured. "I have to let the past die!"
Anakin didn't speak. Twice within the course of only a few days, diving into the Force had terrified him in one way or the other. As for his Master...the more he learned about Kenshin, the less he understood. Things had happened that he didn't comprehend in the slightest. For all his life, the Force had always accompanied him, sometimes as a steady, nurturing hand holding him, most of the time a burning fire powering it had burnt him. What he had felt, seen today, had first scared him and then he had, without intending it, hurt Kenshin. He didn't even understand how or what he had done. And there was no one to turn to, no one he could talk to about it. Who would he come to with something like that? His friends? Kyle was the only one he would really trust but his fellow Padawan was on Coruscant, half a galaxy away and probably would be as clueless as he was. Qui-Gon had cared, but he was dead. Ranakos maybe, but he didn't know him well enough to confide in them. Certainly not Yoda or Windu, they both hated him, he was sure of it. The only other Jedi who gave a damn about him was Kenshin, a frustrating idiot and what little trust there had been, Anakin felt he had now blown it.
"No one has ever seen what you saw. No one. No one has ever seen that I am weak." Kenshin finally said.
"I don't understand. I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I just...I saw so much pain and...I just wanted to help!" Anakin pleaded. The other Jedi shirked from his look.
"No one can help me." he said bleakly.
Anakin walked up to him. Kenshin flinched as Anakin laid his hand on his shoulder, but he didn't try to shy away from the gesture. Finally, Anakin hugged the other Jedi and held him until the shivering stopped.
They settled down next to their fire again and Anakin said "A Jedi Master once gave me an advice. He's an idiot for the most part, but he has his good moments. And he told me, strength is not the absence of weakness. Strength is when we acknowledge that we are weak."
Kenshin gave a weak smile. "Since when do you listen to me?"
"I do listen! Sometimes at least. I am trying!
"Yaru ka yaranu ka. Tameshi nado nai!"
"What does that mean?"
"Do or do not. There is no try!"
"Really, you're giving me that Yoda stuff now?"
"Sometimes, sense he makes. Trying, he is!"
That, finally, made Anakin smile.
The morning Anakin woke up to was foggy, but peaceful. The birds of the jungle were singing, but no trace of the Yashkaru, or anything else for that matter. Just him, and Kenshin, who was curled up in a ball next to the now defunct campfire and still deeply asleep.
Anakin scoffed. For someone who was such a demanding taskmaster in the dojo, the young Master sure loved sleeping in. The Padawan rose and wandered around. He remembered Kenshin's warning about traps, but couldn't sense any danger. The place was humming with life, there was nothing sinister or evil. The events from the day before seemed like a distant nightmare long past.
With vines and thick leaves everywhere, Anakin wondered how they were supposed to identify or find anything in this green mass. The jungle was dense, but the place had a peaceful feel about it, birds filled the air with their melodic songs, nothing hinted at the horrors the two Jedi had had to pass through. Eventually, Kenshin appeared next to him, and with him, a few Yashkaru that had apparently decided to keep them company. Aiko had described them as nocturnal creatures, yet even now in the daylight, there were three or four of them around. They seemed to be drawn to Kenshin as if forming a part of his spirit. Which they maybe did. Strange beasts. Anakin was still a bit wary of them and was glad they kept a comfortable distance from him. Thinking back to the day before, Anakin felt ashamed. Ashamed about just how much fear he had felt facing the Sith spawn, ashamed how easily he had succumbed to the pull when the dark side had called to him. He was the Chosen One. He was supposed to be strong and powerful. He was supposed to be better. Maybe he was still a slave, after all. A slave to his emotions. 'Believe in yourself'. Kenshin had said that more than once to him. Of course he believed in himself. It was just that somehow things never worked his way. A new sensation the rattled him out of his thoughts. There. He felt it. Overgrown by a bush bearing white, delicate blossoms, there was an entrance. Anakin and Kenshin exchanged a glance and nodded. Anakin didn't know how they knew but they knew. With both Master and apprentice locking in on it, a panel lifted itself and vines moved to the side, revealing a shadowy entrance.
They made their way in, at first the air was musty. A few more steps in, the walls and ground of the became dry and dusty. The corridor widened and they reached another portal, this one intricately decorated with runes that Anakin couldn't read.
"What are those, what does it say?"
"It's a very old tongue, I can only make out a few words..."
"It doesn't say how we open it? "
"No" Kenshin replied and continued studying the portal.
"I have a way" Anakin said and ignited his lightsaber.
"Wait!" Kenshin commanded. His fingers found a small opening, a narrow slot less than a centimeter wide and only a few centimeters high. The Padawan had absolutely missed it.
With a swift move, Kenshin unsheathed his curved sword and gently pushed the blade into the slot. Gears that had not turned in hundreds of years, began to move and a portal opened. The Jedi were now standing in a small round chamber, with several aisles leading away from it in a radial pattern. Kenshin chose one, and in lack of a better idea, Anakin followed. They found more, larger chambers, aisles were becoming larger, one door led to a dojo where a range of different, ancient weapons was still neatly fixed to the walls. There also was what seemed like ceremonial and council chambers and meditation rooms. Unlike its outside, inside the temple everything looked to be intact. Deserted, but nothing was destroyed or vandalized. Kenshin paced restlessly through the rooms and corridors.
A small symbol gave it away. Hidden at the back of a column, how Kenshin had known it was there was a mystery to the younger Jedi. The Master pressed on the slightly protruding stone and another column moved, opening a small entrance. Both of them slipped in and there it was, a small chamber filled with manuscripts, books and holocrons of different shapes, some of them the shape of a pyramid.
"Triangles, pyramids...aren't those Sith symbols?
"Yes"
"But ...wait, this was a Jedi temple?"
"It was, but the ancient Jedi did not condemn knowledge. They studied both sides of the Force."
The two consecrated a great deal of time studying what they found in this ancient library. Most of it's contents rested orderly on wooden and stone shelves. Others scattered all over the room, on the ground and on tables, as if someone had tried to leave a message and then hastily left...or rather, fled.
What they learned by deciphering the message was unsettling.
Written testimonials confirmed what Kenshin's Master had spoken about in her holocron. Jedi had once arrived and settled on the planet, making friends and living in a fruitful coexistence with the native civilization. Eventually a temple was constructed, in the remains of which they now stood. The Jedi and the Dunari had created a Force medaillon together, they called a 'key' that could channel the Force energy of the entire planet and enable the wielder to influence life itself on their world. An elected council of wise elders and also youths held administration of the 'key' to help cure disease, help bad harvests to prevent famines and administer justice. The powers of this key were immense and for a long time, peace and prosperity made Nanta a paradise like there was no other in the galaxy. There was no conflict, no disease, no suffering.
But it was not meant to last. New strangers – Sith - arrived with sinister intentions and brought forth war and great destruction within a short amount of time. It culminated in an enormous battle in which the Sith performed a dark magic ritual that devastated a huge portion of the land and distorted flora and fauna that it touched. "The Sithspawn we encountered" Anakin commented. The strangers wanted possession of the key. The council of the key debated using the key as a weapon, and the first attempt of one selected warrior carrying it into battle killed both the Sith and Jedi armies on the battlefield that day, by its wielder forming the mere thought of their enemies' death. Realizing the terrible destructive potential it would have in the wrong hands, the Dunari and Jedi tried to destroy it. The destruction was not successful, they could only break the artefact into three parts. A key bearer was designated with the task of separating and hiding the fragments in different places. Protective measures were taken, traps were put into place to keep out intruders and the departure of the key bearer was prepared. And then, reports became fragmentary and hastily written. The Sith attacked again, and the key bearer fled, while the rest of the remaining Dunari and Jedi held the enemy back as long as they could.
"And the rest of this story, we know. The woman Quinlan saw in his psychometric analysis. It was her memories he saw. She was the key bearer. It was her who hid the parts. The structures he saw through her memories, that was this temple. Then another planet. Then Vanquor, where she hid the holocron we found. We don't know why she went to Vanquor, but she did. If what Quinlan saw is correct then it means, at least one piece of what we are looking for is hidden in this temple"
"Now, something tells me it won't be easy to find. All I understand is that this 'key' must be some kind of superweapon."
"A triad menace that could destroy entire worlds. We have to find and destroy it"
"Or we could use it for good!"
"And how would you make sure not to become corrupted? No being should wield such power. No one, no matter how pure their intentions, could withstand the draw to power forever. And then terror would swallow the galaxy!"
"And how do you think we can destroy this key when they couldn't?"
"I don't know Anakin! I don't know. But we have to try!"
"How can we try if we don't know how, Master!"
"We will find a way. Just because you don't already know the solution to a problem doesn't mean you should not try solving it. There will be battles you cannot win. But you still have to do your best to solve what you can, because giving up would be even worse!"
The Force, and intuition, were their only guides as the Master-padawan pair scoured corridor after corridor, tunnel after tunnel without result and eventually ended up back in the small library room again. Kenshin was as exhausted as Anakin was bored and frustrated and leaned against a column. His mind elsewhere, he didn't quite realize how the column slowly moved and he suddenly fell through the aperture that had appeared. One level deeper, it was first dark, then illuminated by Anakin's lightsaber. Of course! The Padawan had followed his Master's drop without hesitation.
"Uhm, maybe it wasn't so clever to follow me? I don't know the way out. Yet"
"I have faith in you, Master!"
The dark, dusty cavern was small and only one tunnel led away that the Jedi followed until they arrived at yet another stone door. First Kenshin, then Anakin tried to move it, with and without the Force but either case in vain.
Unlike Anakin, Kenshin had brought a small light which revealed runes engraved next to the locked door.
"Shadow and light, night and day, teacher and student"
"Don't be so specific, Master!"
For a longer while, certainly too long for Anakin's taste, the older Jedi remained still and silent.
"Master...if you want to contemplate your life choices, maybe this is not the time?!"
"Teacher and student...we have to do it together!" Kenshin exclaimed.
Together, they placed their hands on the portal and it moved. It opened to another dark tunnel. A series of tunnel openings, actually
"It's a maze" Kenshin said
"And how will we find our way through it?"
"Trust the Force!" he said drily.
Kenshin chose a first opening and searched through them, one by one.
And finally, in the last dungeon that was left, there it was, hidden away in a hole underneath a column. Anakin marveled at how unspectacular the hiding spot was.
"That's the entire point of a hideout. You don't want it to attract attention." Kenshin commented.
A faint, nondescript energy emanated from the object. The strange vibrancy was what had enabled Kenshin to detect it, it grew stronger and more palpable as the Jedi placed his hand on it.
With a curved edge on one side and jagged edges on the others it did indeed look like a piece having belonged to a round disk that had been broken into parts. The artefact was roughly the size of Anakin's hand.
The two Jedi began to make their way out of the darkness of the maze and eventually found a way back to the upper levels. Both were relieved as they neared the exit, seeing sunlight and hearing birds sing again.
"Be careful, Anakin! We're not out if this yet!"
"You're being overcautious, Master. After what we've encountered on the old battle site and the countless tunnels we crawled through, what else is there to come!" the teenager replied. He was so happy to be finally breathe fresh air again, he shook his head and carelessly strode out. The small sound underneath his feet was barely audible. Only a faint click. Anakin stopped dead in his tracks as the Force sent him a warning.
"Don't move!" Kenshin warned. "Just stay where you are."
Kenshin took a leap and landed softly right next to Anakin. Without a warning, Anakin was abruptly lifted and swept into the air and then everything happened at once. The surroundings exploded with a deafening sound. The Padawan landed on thankfully soft, grassy ground about twenty standard meters from where he had stood just a split-second before. He shook his head to reorder his senses and took a look around, getting back onto his feet. A fresh crater had appeared and shrapnel stuck in the trees next to him. Miraculously he hadn't gotten hurt and nothing had hit him. What the blazes had that been? He continued to scan the destroyed terrain and then he saw it and froze in shock as he understood. He had walked onto a trap, the exact thing his Master had warned him about, but he had still not sensed the could he have been so stupid, how could he fail like this! And where was Kenshin?
The time it took him to discover Kenshin's form on the ground felt tediously, awfully long. With great relief he noticed he was still breathing. He couldn't detect any visible injuries either, safe some scratches and bruises. He gently shook his Master, but he didn't react, and the Padawan grew anxious. He had drawn a force wall around Anakin that had protected him - a feat that the Padawan marveled at, an astonishing display of mastery of the Force - but it had not helped himself so he had taken the full force of the blow. It had left him dazzled and he had not been able to ward off the debris and beam of fire coming at him.
The Jedi Master finally opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused and he didn't seem to recognize who Anakin was. When he finally fixed his eyes on Anakin, he tried to speak but only coughed up blood. Anakin was not a medic, yet he knew that this was not good. Not good at all. Panic creeped in. No, this wasn't ...how could this have happened. One moment, they had stood side by side, the next he was kneeling on the ground, cupping his Master's head in his hands, and sensing that something was very, very wrong.
He coughed again, more blood. "Go...Coruscant...tell Quin..."
Kenshin's face had now become pale, he started bleeding out of his nose as well and Anakin realized he was about to loose consciousness again. No, this was going wrong, it was happening too fast, it coulnd't be! Where he had been furious at himself, now Anakin felt growing despair.
"Master! No! You're not allowed to die! I won't let you! I'll get you out of here! I'll save you!"
"Too...late...you have to leave!"
Kenshin struggled to get the words out, he became weaker with every moment. "No!" Anakin protested. "I'm not leaving without you, Master!"
Kenshin smiled weakly.
"Believe in yourself, Anakin. May the Force be with you, always."
Then his eyes closed. Silently, tears began to roll down Anakin's face and he wrapped his arms around Kenshin's body. There still was a pallible heartbeat. He wasn't dead yet. Soon however he would be, unless Anakin could find a way to get him out of here and to medical attention. But how? He would do everything to save his Master, to at least once make something right. If only he had an idea as to how to do that. He didn't know where they were, only that it was two days worth of travel deep in the jungles, if one traveled by air. By foot? Probably weeks and that would be if one was healthy and able to walk, and would know the direction. His Master needed help and medical attention Anakin couldn't provide. And there was no way he'd be able to carry the other Jedi. Kenshin was short, but his heavily muscled frame seemed to weigh more than a grown gundark. Anakin was scared. He thought hard, and had an idea, but it scared him as much as doing nothing. Kenshin was the one who was good with animals, not him. And they were predatory animals, dangerous and unpredictable.
Finally, centering himself deep into the Force, he searched the now nearly familiar feel of their spirits, and soon they came. The first Yashkaru kept still as Anakin heaved Kenshin onto its back and with shivering hands he secured him with the cable from his cable launcher. Then he sat onto the back of a second one. He forced his focus now onto the mental image of a flying arashi. Maybe he could get his demonic mounts to carry him and his Master to a more open territory, grassy plane where he'd hope to attract the arashi they had left near the battlefield.