Jemmiah blinked up at Qui-Gon. �Are we at the hill yet?� She asked, disoriented.

�We passed the hill some time ago.� Qui-Gon replied.

�Oh. Better put me down, then.� She began to squirm in his arms, but he held on to her for a while longer.

�It�s been a good few years since I did this.� The Jedi muttered.

�What?� Jemmiah tried a smile. �Held a beautiful girl in your arms.�

Despite the dig at his age, Qui-Gon returned the smile. �No, I meant this particular girl in my arms. The last time must have been when you were eleven or so.�

The happy expression faded somewhat. It was not a good memory. �The transport accident.� She stated. �I�m lucky. I have no real memories of it.�

�None?� Qui-Gon asked in astonishment.

She shook her head. �The last thing I remember thinking was very selfish, I�m afraid. Strapping myself in and wondering what Gods had cursed me enough to want to kill me along with fifteen padawans. I never wanted to go on that trip. It was only because Ambianca was going that I was forced to go too.�

�Obi-Wan still has nightmares about it.� Confessed Qui-Gon. �Probably because he remembers it all too well.�

�You saved my life again, Master Jinn.� She laughed, before closing her eyes at the pain in her head. �Sith! I�ll never drink anything again as long as I live.�

�Don�t make promises you can�t keep.�

She pulled a face. �This zoo trip has to rank really high on my all time top ten least favorite moments in my life. I�d put it at joint second, that�s how much I hate today.�

�What�s number one?� Qui-Gon asked conversationally.

�Being born.�

He gave a short bark of laughter. �And what would be on your top ten favorite things, or should I not enquire?�

�Well,� Jemmiah pondered, �I enjoyed the temple sports day when you and Obi-Wan got disqualified for cheating. That was funny.�

�Was it?� Snorted Qui-Gon.

�And that time when I got to strip all the hair off both yours and Obi-Wan�s chests.�

�Hilarious.� Agreed Jinn sarcastically.

�But I think I really liked it best when we set you up on that blind date with Master Windu.�

�Do you want me to drop you?�

She sniffed. �You wouldn�t!�

�Is that a challenge?� He asked and made as if he were going to carry out his threat. When she looked sufficiently worried, he relented. �No, you�re right. I wouldn�t. Especially not in your present condition.�

Condition, she wondered? Oh, right, she was drunk. That was kind of him.

�I�m sorry,� she said carefully. �You must think I�m depriving a village somewhere in the galaxy of an idiot.�

�It had occurred, yes. You should be taking more care of yourself. And frankly, I�m worried to see the effect Simeon�s alcohol is having on you, if you had as little as you say you did. That�s why you�re seeing An-Paj when we go back.� He cut off her protests. �Not because of some tyrannical wish to extract revenge. I�m worried about you, and you will do as you�re told. Understand?�

�Were you always this argumentative?� She asked.

�All the time.� Qui-Gon confessed. �Yoda despaired of me, frequently and loudly.�

�Did he hit you with his stick?� Jemmy asked.

Qui-Gon paused before giving her his answer.

�Yes. Frequently and loudly!�

*******

The women had chased Abran out of the fresher room and twice round the nearest enclosure before the heel of his leading pursuer snapped off in a rut. He found himself thanking the force for the impracticalities of ladies fashion. Glancing from side to side, making sure the cost was clear of any females who may well be after his blood, Abran walked a few hesitant paces in reverse before turning round, to see himself face to face with �

His group of initiates.

Sith! Sith! Sith! Sith! SITH!!!

He didn�t stop to make conversation this time. He just ran.

And so did they.

*******

Kylenn�s body was beginning to ache with the concentration of keeping as still as she possibly could. She was managing reasonably well, she thought, but the initiates were beginning to get impatient.

�When can we move?� Asked a little boy.

�Shhh!� Replied Kylenn fearfully.

�I need to go to the fresher.� Said another boy.

�No you don�t. You only think you do.�

�I�m bored.� Grumbled the Wookie.

�Statues don�t get bored.� Replied Kylenn a little more waspishly than she meant.

�I don�t wanna be a statue. I want to play at Corellian Pirates.�

�Yeah!�

�Me too!�

�And me!�

�No you DON�T.� Kylenn insisted. She had to keep them quiet just a little longer. She could sense Master Jinn somewhere nearby. He�d certainly taken his time�

And then almost immediately she sensed someone else familiar. Her friend Jay Abran!

Her initial feeling of joy very quickly gave way to terror.

He tore towards her at a furious rate, darting and weaving from right to left as if pursued. She found herself screaming at him, �Keep still!� as both he and his group of initiates mixed in amongst her group. From out the corner of her eye she saw Master Jinn and Jemmiah Gleshan standing, bewildered at the mixture of mayhem and madness, as cannoids and statues came together in an unconventional meeting.

�KEEP STILL!� She yelled again, and she turned and saw the ever-watchful eye staring down from behind the trees.

There was a low-pitched grumble from the creature�s throat.

And then all hell broke loose.

�What in the name of all things sacred is THAT?!�

The voice was that of Jay Abran. A VERY scared Jay Abran, who found himself transfixed with fear.

Staring directly at him, studying him with intense scrutiny was a creature of the like he�d never come across before. Smooth, well-muscled skin, sleek and shiny like that of a snake stretched from the tip of its nose to the base of its considerably long tale. It was indeed as tall as a Rancour, with similar prehensile arms hanging uselessly by its chest, finished off with long, retractable claws, which Abran hoped was more for show than for actual use. Vaguely chameleon like, it flushed suddenly with a tinge of dark red right across its body. If that was indicative of the creature�s mood, Jay Abran felt that they might very well be in for a rough time.

Most impressive, however, was the gaping, hinge-like jaw. There were no visible teeth, but Abran�s force sense warned him that it was no less dangerous for all that. A forked, reptilian tongue darted forth from its mouth to taste the air, scenting the potential prey that stood terrified in its presence.

The tail twitched in warning, swinging angrily from side to side, almost flexing like a fist.

�When I said Tramp-Freighter sized mandibles, I was only joking!� Jemmiah shivered.

The sheer scale of the creature momentarily took Qui-Gon�s breath away. �Big, isn�t it?� He remarked.

�You�ve really got the hang of this understatement business, haven�t you?� She swallowed, watching as the creature�s gaze alighted briefly on them both before switching its attention back to Abran and the initiates.

�I really have no wish to get further acquainted with it.�

Qui-Gon made up his mind quickly as another throaty growl vibrated from the creature�s throat. �I�m going to distract it with the force.�

�You can�t try that mind-trick rubbish, it NEVER works for you!� She hissed. �Anyhow, look at the size of that thing, it�ll have a brain the size of a corn husk rattling about inside that overgrown skull. It won�t have a mind to trick!�

�Just stay back and keep out of sight.� Qui-Gon bundled her behind a nearby shrub, regretting that he�d brought her into danger. If anything were to happen to her..

�You are MAD!� Retorted Jemmy as he walked directly over to the creature, his body swamped by the huge shadow cast by the enormous being. Jemmiah found herself shaking her head. If there was one possible fault in Master Jinn�s overly noble personality, it was arrogance. Or extreme self-belief; she could never make up her mind as to which it was.

Except that she was sure that it would get him killed one day.

Fool, she thought to herself, digging her nails into the palm of her hands. Couldn�t he see that walking up and introducing himself was not the way to do this? What was he going to say anyway? Something along the lines of, �Hello, I�m a Jedi. Mind if I just fiddle around with your mind for a bit?� He just couldn�t manipulate minds the way that Ben could. Probably not devious enough, she thought.

It may not be a desirable trait in a person, but here and now it was a positive survival asset.

It took a little time for the snake-creature to realize Qui-Gon was standing behind it. The flickering tongue caught the taste of him on the air. He could see the initiates frozen in shocked silence, whilst Abran and Kylenn exchanged frightened glances. It whipped its body round with such speed that Qui-Gon suddenly found himself staring directly into the gaping maw.

Forgetting her own advice, Kylenn screamed. She saw the rapid advance that it made towards the Jedi Master and realized that whatever it was he was trying to do with the force just was not working. Panic welled within her. �Master Jinn, look out!� She shrilled.

Just as quickly as it had swung to face Qui-Gon, the huge tail whipped round and batted her heavily in the face, swatting her as if she were some kind of insignificant insect. The impact sent her flying a good many yards, leaving her dazed and unable to defend herself, and Abran found himself yelling as he ran to her aid. The children scattered in terror. Qui-Gon was very tempted to draw his lightsabre, but felt that distracting it with the force was a preferable option.

But the creature didn�t seem to care for either option. Glaring down in open defiance of the Jedi, it growled warningly.

And then it spat on him.

Qui-Gon didn�t know what was in the saliva, but it was incredibly sticky. It soaked into his robes and cloak, making it very difficult for him to move. Within seconds, he was stuck like a fly parceled up in a spider�s web.

Jemmiah had seen everything from her hiding place. A sudden high had resulted in a surge in her energy, and with it a return of courage. No way was she going to let some over sized asp make a meal of her friends. She looked around for a suitable weapon�

Qui-Gon struggled to free himself from his cocoon. He watched in alarm as the snake-creature advanced once more, with the intent of swallowing him. Calm, he thought. Must stay calm. The Force� if he could just free his lightsabre.

The creature stopped in mid-lunge. It looked almost surprised.

Qui-Gon couldn�t see at first what had halted its murderous designs upon him, and then he heard a familiar, infuriated voice: �WHY-DON�T-MEN-EVER-LISTEN!�

The words were punctuated by a thumping noise, and Jinn caught sight of Jemmiah attacking the creature with a broken tree branch.

�I-AM-SOOOOOOO-ANGRY!� She yelled, as she continued the beating.

Qui-Gon�s struggling became more pronounced as he listened to her physical and verbal attack against the large reptile. What did she think she was playing at? For the second time that day he wondered if she were trying to commit suicide.

�DON�T-YOU-EVER-PICK-ON-MY-FRIENDS-AGAIN-YOU-WALKING-HANDBAG!!!�

Sith, thought Qui-Gon. He�d never seen her that angry before. He desperately tried to call on the force to help him free himself, and slowly the sticky substance began to peel away from his hands. He hoped it would be in time�

�THIS,� Jemmiah continued with the thrashing, �IS FOR KYLENN.� The branch came smartly into contact with the creature�s side.

�THIS IS FOR MASTER JINN.� She repeated the move. �AND THIS IS FOR ME, BEN, SIMEON AND HIS DAMNED BOOTS!!!� She yelped, striking the creature across the face.

Her anger failed her suddenly as her body rapidly experienced another low and her legs buckled beneath her. Qui-Gon saw what was happening but was powerless to do anything about it. The stunned creature recovered quickly but instead of rounding on her as he expected it snaked out its strong tail in a lightening-fast stroke and coiled itself around her, constricting very, very slowly.

For one of the few times in his life, Qui-Gon nearly gave way to panic.

She stared in annoyance at the Jedi knight.

�Great help you turned out to be!� She gasped as the tail began to squeeze tighter in retaliation for her struggles.

�Jemmiah!� He called out to her, his voice muffled by the blanket of spit he was coated in, �You have to stop struggling. Pretend to be dead.�

�Pretend?� She squawked, her ribs compressed, �Who�s pretending.� She took a big gasp of air. �And you�can tell Obi-Wan�that�his�temper management class� was� useless!�

*******

Yoda looked down in distaste at the unconscious form of Obi-Wan Kenobi. There was still a lot of residual foam in his long ears that he couldn�t quite shift, no matter how hard he tried, and it was making conversation between himself, An-Paj and the hyperactive initiates extremely difficult. His annoyance at the two padawans had abated somewhat. Punishment could wait. Besides, it appeared that this was proving to be a most valuable lesson for everyone, and Yoda did not think that either Cates or Kenobi would be in a hurry to repeat their mistakes.

What he was going to say to the two missing masters when he located them was ENTIRELY different.

He prodded Obi-Wan in the ribs with his stick.

�Do something for this one you can, hmmm?� He asked An-Paj, who was checking Kenobi�s pulse.

�Yes, Master Yoda. I�m going to take him back to the healers in the temple and insert a large tube into his stomach and suck out the entire contents.� He flushed guiltily. Dimallie had said she used three spoonfuls to dose the alcohol. More like thirty-three�

Yoda frowned. �Pardon me, you will. Hear well I cannot.� He put his hand to his right ear.

�I said that we will have to insert�oh, nevermind.� An-Paj grumbled. �As for that one,� he pointed at the sleeping Simeon; �I�m going to use the biggest tube I�ve got.�

�Yes,� Yoda agreed sagely, �getting hot it is.� He tipped his head to one side, allowing some of the foam to fall out of his ear.

An-Paj sighed. �I never said it was getting hot. I said�Master Yoda, can you understand a word I�m saying?�

�No. Staying we shall not be.� He waved his trusty stick in the air. �Move we shall.�

The healer closed his eyes. �We have to find Master Jinn. He wouldn�t just run away like that without a good reason.�

�Yes,� replied Yoda. �Very hot for the season. But find Master Jinn, we should.�

�He�s with young Jemmiah, according to Cates.� He still refused to believe what the apprentice healer had told him. Qui-Gon was far too sensible to get mixed up with a teenage girl, not to mention that the girl in question was involved with Jinn�s padawan. And then there was that other unexpected piece of news that Simeon had let slip�

�Speak up you must!� Yoda prodded him hard in the leg.

I won�t believe it until I hear Qui-Gon confirm it for himself, An-Paj thought silently. He�d known the Jedi for years. Mind you, Jemmiah had many admirers within the temple, not just Kenobi. An-Paj looked at his com-link.

�I could try and get him on this.�

Yoda nodded. �Go to them we shall.� He glanced at the initiates, appraising them all. He needed the strongest and oldest to help.

�You.� He pointed at the little group. �Girl with strange hair.�

Isadora pouted. �Yes, Master Yoda.� She replied dutifully, fingering the step in her hair that had been caused by Toms scissors.

�Come. Need you, we shall.� Yoda proceeded to choose from the seven and eight year olds. �Help us carry the padawans you will. Good exercise it will be.�

There was a groan that even Yoda could make out. He regarded them mischievously.

�Carry the padawans you will, or extra helpings of temple gruel will there be.�

Yoda noted with pleasure that even after well over eight hundred years, he still knew how children�s minds worked. Nothing changed.

And sadly, neither did the food.

*******

The stunned Kylenn had never seen anything so brave. Or stupid.

By attacking the creature with the branch, Jemmiah had almost certainly saved Qui-Gon�s life, except that her heroics had now placed her in the direst of situations. She�d finally stopped struggling as Qui-Gon had instructed her, but Kylenn thought that had more to do with prolonged constriction rather than obedience. From what she knew of Jemmiah, it wasn�t in her nature to give up, and her compliance worried Kylenn. She was breathing, but could get little in the way of oxygen, and Kylenn thought she could see her lips taking on a purplish tint.

She watched Qui-Gon as he worked to release himself from his bondage. If something were to be done, it would have to be done now. They needed a distraction to take the creature�s mind away from Master Jinn and Jemmiah.

It would have to be herself.

Her head was spinning, and she realized that she probably had sustained a mild concussion with the blow from the creature�s tail, but she forced herself away from Abran�s protective grasp.

�Go see if you can�t help Master Jinn free himself,� she instructed Abran, her padawan braid almost hitting him in the face, �and I�ll try and persuade it to leave Jemmiah alone.�

�How?� yelled Abran as he started to run towards Qui-Gon.

�You want details at a time like this?� She asked as she unhooked her lightsabre and began to move forwards.

The creature stopped its strangulation of the prey in its grasp momentarily. It saw out the corner of its eye a gleam of electric blue, and heard the accompanying hum of the lightsabre held aloft by the foolhardy Kylenn.

She didn�t know what she was going to do, only that she had to make the giant snake drop Obi-Wan�s friend, and wondered what the hell Jemmiah would have done in her place if the situation was reversed.

Bravado.

Kylenn wondered if she could �do� bravado, but decided that now would be a very good time to find out. Think Corellian, she told herself, and proceeded to swing her blade round in every direction, carrying out at high speed as many lightsabre drills as she could remember.

The snake creature tasted the air with its tongue once more, sizing up it�s opponent. When one or two of the thrusts came too close for it�s liking, it reeled backwards, but still it did not release its hold on Jemmiah. After a minute of this display, the creature decided that Kylenn was of little threat and continued to squeeze its victim even harder.

Kylenn heard Jemmiah give a strained gasp as the pressure was reapplied, and decided that enough was enough. She really hadn�t wanted to use her lightsabre on the creature, but it was slowly killing Jemmiah, and she knew that Kenobi would never speak to her again if she let that happen. She yelled, lightsabre held above her head �

Only to feel a sudden shower of sticky rain descend upon her hands.

Sith, it had spat at her! Her lightsabre had shorted with the contact of the moisture and was now completely useless. And if the creature hadn�t forgotten about Jemmiah, it most certainly had its attention fixed upon Kylenn. It reared back as if preparing to strike.

Jemmiah decided that she was quite glad that her life was not flashing before her, as the tail wound tighter and tighter around her arms and body, cutting off the circulation and compressing her internally. She didn�t think she could take a lot more of it, when she saw that Kylenn had lost her lightsabre.

Oh, hell.

Think of something, Jemmy, she thought desperately. If you don�t, Kylenn�s going to become the appetizer in a three course Jedi banquet. And she would be the after dinner mint.

Funny, all she could think of was Simeon and his boots. Why this should be, she could not begin to imagine. Hang on a moment�boots!

If her struggles had ceased before, she now renewed them with vigor aplenty. She kicked ferociously with her high-heeled boots, driving them deeper and deeper into the snake-like skin. She realized that all she was doing was maddening the thing, but it might be enough of an irritation to let Kylenn escape.

Kylenn thought she almost heard one of Jemmiah�s ribs crack. There wasn�t very much else she could do�

And then suddenly Qui-Gon was free, and both he and Jay Abran ran to join the battle.

�Concentrate!� Qui-Gon shouted. �One Jedi might not be enough, but it won�t be able to resist three!�

�What do we do?� Kylenn asked, confused.

�Put it into a deep sleep.� Jinn replied, watching as Jemmiah pleaded at him with her eyes to hurry with whatever he was doing.

He hoped she was OK.

The three of them faced up to the creature, probing its tiny mind with the force, trying to implant the idea of sleep into its brain. At first, it seemed as if nothing was happening. It eyed them with suspicion, waiting for another assault. And then gradually it began to sway, rocking from side to side in a last gasp effort to stay awake. Qui-Gon did not let up his concentration for a moment, but allowed some relief to filter through when he saw the snake-creature�s hold of Jemmiah slacken just a fraction. She gasped for breath.

�It�s going to fall!� Yelled Jinn in warning, urging his padawan companions out of the way. Just moments later the huge head toppled forwards, the hinged jaw connecting with the ground accompanied by a powerful thud. It lay unmoving, a gentle snore emanating from its mouth.

Qui-Gon had already rushed towards Jemmiah, trying to extricate her from the now loosely coiled tail. She winced as he scooped her up once more and carried her to safety.

�Why,� she gasped, �do you never listen to me.�

�Shush!� He silenced her, trying to locate his com-link. �It worked didn�t it?�

�Barely.�

�Don�t move. I�m going to call for a medic.�

�I�ll be fine.� Her lungs were still straining for breath. �I�m putting this at the top of my worst day list.�

�I thought I asked you to hush up?� Qui-Gon admonished gently. He looked over at Kylenn and Abran. �Well done both of you. That was very impressive teamwork.�

They didn�t seem to register the praise. �I never want to do that again!� Abran shook his head.

�Nor me.� Kylenn shivered. �Is Jemmiah going to be all right?�

�I�m fine.� Jemmy replied, �although I think my ribs are cracked.�

Qui-Gon nodded. �It looks that way.� He smiled at her. �It seems we owe you our lives.�

�It seems,� she panted, �that I owe Kylenn mine.� She studied the padawan a moment before stretching out an enfeebled hand, which Kylenn was happy to take.

Smiling, Qui-Gon watched the scene with interest. So much for the loner routine.

�I thought you didn�t have any friends other than Obi-wan.� He teased, noticing with relief that the purplish color was gradually beginning to drain away.

�It looks as if I was wrong.� She felt her ribs tenderly. �SITH!�

�Don�t move.� Jinn repeated, trying to channel healing energy into her body.

�Master Jinn.�

�What?�

�You don�t think that thing has a mate somewhere do you?�

Qui-Gon scanned the area. �Point taken.� He carefully lifted her again; wary of her cracked ribs.

�This is a first.�

�What is?�

�You�re actually listening to something I�ve said!�