THE EVERGAOL TRAGEDY

Qui-Gon and Shasta walked into the cockpit and looked out the window. They had already left Naboo's atmosphere and were now in open space with the hundreds of Trade Federation battleships blocking them from going any further.

Shasta clicked her tongue and walked up behind the pilot, Ric Olie. "Well…that's not good."

Olie shook his head but kept the ship steady as they approached the blockade. "No, ma'am. It is not."

Obi-Wan entered the cockpit just as the battleships began to open fire on them. The sounds of blaring alarms filled the room as the whole ship rocked back and forth, reflecting the bolts that tried to pierce them. Qui-Gon gave a worried glance over to Shasta and could see her growing paler and paler with every jolt.

"The shield generator's been hit!" Olie reported.

"Get those…" Shasta said between rough, gasping coughs. "Get those Astro mechs out there!" She weakly walked over to the live video screen as the four droids deployed outside the chrome ship. They tried to fix the shield generator, but they were all getting blasted away until only one little blue droid remained.

"We're losing droids fast," Obi-Wan reported back.

"If we can't get the shield generators fixed, we'll be sitting ducks!" Captain Panaka said.

The cockpit suddenly rattled once again, but this one was different. The scanners went wild, and the alarms now had a more urgent sound.

"The shields are gone," Olie said. He looked up to the window just as the battleship fired all at once at them. "Watch out!"

Shasta suddenly rushed ahead and shot her hands out in front of her, instantly making the bolts stop dead still. They stayed stagnant in the hollowness of space, vibrating and fighting against the Force Shasta was using to hold them back. No one said a word and stared in shock and awe at what this Eve woman had just done. The only sound right now was Shasta's strained wheezing as she struggled to breathe. Her hands trembled, and her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare.

Shasta grunted out her words. "It's alright… I got this…I've got…all of you." She moved one of her hands back and suddenly pushed it forward again, launching the blasts right back to the federation battleship.

Olie was so in shock that he nearly overlooked the sound of the alarms. He snapped out of it and looked down at his scanners as they blared. "Powers back! That little droid did it... bypassed the main power drive. Deflector shield up, at maximum."

Shasta slowly lowered her trembling hands and stumbled back. The color was draining from her skin fast, and dark circles appeared under her eyes. Regardless, she smiled as the ship flew past the blockade and headed into the safety of deep space. No one was following them, so they were fine for the time being, but the look on Olie's face was concerning.

"There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant... the hyperdrive is leaking," he informed the crew.

Qui-Gon frowned. "We'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship."

"Here, Master." Obi-Wan spoke up and pointed to the navigation screen. "Tatooine... It's small, out of the way, poor. The Trade Federation has no presence there."

"How can you be sure?" Captain Panaka asked.

"It's controlled by the Hutts," Qui-Gon answered

Panaka looked taken aback. "You can't take Her Royal Highness there! The Hutts are gangsters ... If they discovered her..."

"It would be no different than if we landed on a system controlled by the Federation ... except the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us an advantage."

"Truth be told…" Shasta spoke up while coughing. "We don't really have a lot of options right now." As she continued, her coughing became more intense until she couldn't speak anymore. Her face began to turn red as her throat started to close up. Shasta hunched over and slapped her hand over her mouth. She coughed frantically as blood slithered up her throat and oozed through her fingers.

Obi-Wan tensed up when he saw the color drain from her face. "Shasta?"

Shasta started to stumble towards the door while clawing at her throat. "Qui-Gon…help…" she wheezed out.

Qui-Gon was already moving even before she could ask. He grabbed Shasta by her shoulders and guided her to the back of the ship. "Is there an oxygen tank on this ship," he asked a handmaiden.

"There should be one with the medical supplies," Padme said, understanding the urgency in the Jedi's voice.

"Find it. Fast!" Qui-Gon sat Shasta beside that wall and stood close as she coughed up more and more blood. He patted her on the back to try and clear her airway, but her fits only worsened. Shasta was pale as a sheet, and her eyes were wide with dread.

"I can't…breath," she choked out.

At that time, Padme came back over with an oxygen mask. "Thank you," Qui-Gon said and opened his hand to take it. He pressed the mask to Shasta's face and said to breathe into it. After a couple seconds of rough breathing, Qui-Gon could tell that the coughing fit was starting to end and not be so intense. "Is there anything here that can help with the pain?"

Padme nodded and began to search around the ship for medical supplies. She shuffled through the cabinets for only a minute before returning with an injector. Qui-Gon took it and injects it into the side of Shasta's neck. Waiting for a moment for the pain to subside, Shasta started to relax and calm down. She took a deep breath and slumped against the wall, the color returning.

"Will you be alright?" Qui-Gon asked.

Shasta cleared her throat. "Yeah… Sorry that you had to see me like that. I'm fine now…" she said with a rough voice.

Qui-Gon nodded and sighed. "I told you not to overexert yourself. I did warn you."

"Yeah…I know," she said in a small voice before putting the mask back on.

"Master…" Obi-Wan called out while stepping into the room, his face riddled with mixed emotions. He was relaxed to see Shasta doing alright now, but he was still wildly confused about what had happened. "I'm sorry, but…what is going on?"

Qui-Gon stood up slowly and crossed his arms over his chest. He stepped aside and let Padme watch over Shasta. "What you've seen…was the effects of the Evergaol plant."

Obi-Wan swallowed hard and felt his throat close up. He glanced nervously at Shasta, pale as death itself only moments ago. Yet, there wasn't any concern or fear on her face. Just acceptance. To Shasta, this wasn't even bad news. It was just a fact she had lived with for years.

"Shasta's poisoned, too? " Obi-Wan questioned.

Qui-Gon nodded. "That is correct."

"But…the massacre was 27 years ago. Shasta is not that old. She's only-"

"19, I know," Qui-Gon said solemnly. "She wasn't even born yet, which is why Evergaol poisoning is so unforgiving."

This still made absolutely no sense. Obi-Wan was afraid to ask, but he persisted anyway. "Then how can she…?"

Qui-Gon didn't answer at first and even looked somewhat hesitant. He glanced at Shasta, which she just closed her eyes and nodded. "The one responsible for killing the Eve clan…could've use any fast-acting poison. Yet, they chose Evergaol for one particular effect. When one becomes effected by Evergaol, in a way, it becomes a part of them…something that can be passed down from offspring to offspring. Jillian Eve was already poisoned when she became pregnant. Which resulted in Shasta being born with Evergaol already in her veins," he finished.

It was like someone had doused him in cold water from an icy planet. Obi-Wan never knew the extent of the damage, but now he could see it. The attack on the Eve clan was more deliberate and planned than he initially thought it was. To use such a devastating poison just to make sure no one got out alive. An inevitable death.

Shasta stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes. She walked over to him and dropped her hand on his shoulder. "Quit whispering like it's a big, devastating secret," she said with a groan, making everyone turn their head to look at her. "Look, I have known this since I was really young. My mother didn't sugar-coat it for me when she said…that I wasn't gonna live a long life."

"But there has to be a-"

Shasta immediately cut him off by raising her voice. "My dear Obi-Wan, If you say 'cure', I might just hit you. There had never been one…and I had accepted that fact a long, long time ago. I can't even get upset about it. If you have any respect for me…you would just drop the subject all together. Can you do that?" She asked, speaking firmly and making sure he understood every word.

Her harsh words immediately made him clam up. Obi-Wan looked away from her heavy blue gaze and nodded his head slowly. "I…If…if that's what you want," he said, accepting her wish reluctantly.