Author: Chaos
Rating: PG (other sections will have higher ratings for violence)
Disclaimer: Qui-gon and Obi-wan and the universe they come from, along with their vehicle and all their luggage belong to George Lucas exclusively. They are respectfully borrowed with no intent to profit thereby or infringe on the copyright thereof.



Section 10

The two agents found screwdriver and reversed the knob on the master bedroom, putting the locking mechanism on the outside. The three captives were hustled inside and the door was secured. Immediately they turned their thoughts to escape.

�Obi-wan, help me spring the mechanism on the manacles.� The two men bent both their wills toward the cuffs. The Force moved slowly in responce. Even if we can get just one opened, Qui-gon thought. That would help. Padawan and Master together strained to make the delicate manipulation they needed and were finally rewarded with a soft click. The tall man pulled his hand out of the single cuff they had managed to open and ignored the other one.

Qui-gon sat on the edge of the bed next to �Maeve.� She lay face down among the covers, her shackled wrists resting meekly upon her back. Her eyes, though, they showed a glint, a spark of defiance. She would not forget this.

He hesitated a moment as he debated how to address her. �Maeve. I am going to put you in a healing trance. I am going you help you purge the drug from your body. We need you to help us escape.�

�Yess,� her words were slurred still. � �Ow can I pretect you, pretect Debrah, if I am drugged? I must pretect those in me charge. Where is Debrah?� Those golden orbs latched onto him and held fast. �Where is she?�

She does not know that she is not alone in the body, he thought. �She is waiting for us to escape here. You must help us.�

�Aye.� She forced her voice to be firm. �Help me purge the evil from me body.�

The tall man laid a hand on her head. �Close your eyes,� he instructed. He reached out to the Force and this time it responded instantly to his request. Perhaps Debrah had been more correct in her theory about Force use in this galaxy than she knew. Any Force ability not related to telekinesis worked as well if not better than before, but telekinesis worked only grudgingly. The woman next to him relaxed even further, and he helped her slip into the proper trance. He guided her through the process she needed and could sense it the moment the cleansing began. The bruises and swelling on her face began to subside as well.

�Master.� Obi-wan�s voice cut through his concentration. �Someone is coming.� Qui-gon hitched himself further onto the bed and shoved his hands behind his back. He schooled his features into a look of concern. His apprentice sat on the large overstuffed recliner at the foot of the bed and let his head hang, a picture of hopeless dejection.

The lock snicked and the door slammed open. Lark�s gun preceded the man into the room as he cautiously eased in. He kept a wary eye on Obi-wan and glanced sideways at Qui-gon and Maeve. No one said a thing. The silence was absolute except for the blond woman�s barely audible breathing. The agent bent a worried gaze on Maeve before backing out of the room and locking it behind him.

�Find a bobby pin or sometheng else long end thin from tha dressing table in there end get me out of these thengs.� Her voice and the venom in it warned Qui-gon before he even turned to see her blue eyes staring up at him. That lilting accent, not dissimilar to his own, could only have been Morgan�s.

�How do you feel?� Obi-wan asked as Qui-gon went in search of something to pick the locks with.

�Mad enough ta tear their arms off end beat them ta death with tha wet end,� she replied in a deadpan manner. �I hurt still end I remember a long needle.�

�If you still hurt, you didn�t stay in the trance long enough.�

�Oh, t�was plenty long enough.� Morgan craned her neck to look at the young man over her shoulder. �The drug is gone. That�s what was needful. Ya can show me how ta take care of tha rest later. Right now we need ta get outta here.�

Qui-gon returned with a bobby pin and began to work on her manacles, using what he remembered from exploring his own cuffs with the Force. Soon she was free and he went on to release Obi-wan. Morgan chaffed at her wrists and paced back and forth beside the bed. �This is all so damnably frustrating,� she muttered under her breath. She moved over to the door and examined the knob. Qui-gon and Obi-wan joined her shortly.

�They reversed the knob.� Obi-wan told her.

�I can see that, boy.� She straightened. �Those bilge crawlers need ta learn never tangle with someone on their home turf. They are at once smarter end dumber than they have enna right ta be. They chose tha only lockable knob in tha entire house that I can�t pick due ta lack of proper tools. But they put us a room with access ta tha lower roof.�

�Roof?�

�Aye. And there�s several places with easy access back ta tha ground. Debrah will want her house back end Maeve will want a little of her own back.� The dire look in those frosty blue eyes would have made a Hutt envious.

Qui-gon and Obi-wan followed as Morgan lead them to the dressing room where she pushed everything to one side to make room for feet on the counter. She pulled up the blinds and slid open the window. Giving the screen a stiff shove, she popped it right out of the window frame and it settled with a tinny clatter on the roof. One by one, they climbed out. Morgan turned her face to the sun as it burned off the clouds and morning drizzle. The spot of light that she stood in made everything seem better. She pulled herself away with an effort.

�I suggest thet two of us get off tha roof end come in from tha ground. Tha best bet would be fer one of us ta go in tha garage door end one tha second sliding-glass door on tha far side of tha deck. Tha third should go back in through that window,� she jerked a thumb to her left, �end come down tha stairs.�

Obi-wan reached out with the Force and sensed the two men in the family room. Yes, that was the best plan they were going to get. With someone coming in from almost every entrance to that room, it should give them the surprise they would need to overcome the two agents.

The young man moved to the left toward the other window, while Morgan lead Qui-gon to the nearest drainpipe for the gutters. They really weren�t that far off the ground and shouldn�t have needed any aid in jumping down because the roof stretched out over the front yard, the surface of which was a good three feet higher than the porch under the roof, making it a drop of less than five feet. Morgan, Debrah and Maeve all had a healthy respect for any sort of drop, however, and the woman used the nearest sturdy pipe to make her descent. The Jedi Master followed her down.

The two split up and each circled the opposite direction around the house. Debrah turned left, circling to the far side of the garage and went in through the woodshed door. She whispered softly to the fluffy grey cat that met her there. �Hush, Hairy,� she admonished him. She shooed the feline on his way and set herself by the door, waiting.

Qui-gon turned right and proceeded around the house toward the deck. He stopped short of where the practice mats were still laid out and glanced through the sliding-glass door there, through the dining room and kitchen to the family room beyond. The men were looking out a window, their backs to him. One was talking on the comlink- no phone, he corrected himself. He eased slowly past the door, knowing that movement draws attention and on around the corner. He crouched over and crept silently down the long length of the L-shaped deck toward the other sliding-glass door. He stopped, out of sight, and waited.

Obi-wan eased the window open as his master and their Terran friend moved away from him. He slipped a leg through the window and placed his foot on the counter. Carefully, he shifted his weight and ducked his head through the frame. Bringing his other leg through the window he placed it on the floor and shifted his weight back. The house was old and he�d noticed that any sudden weight tended to cause creakings best avoided right now. He slid the window shut again and crept to the stairwell. From there he proceeded down the stairs to the single switch-back landing and waited, out of sight of the Area 51 agents.

Morgan pressed herself against the door and reached out through the Force to sense the Jedi. Both were waiting patiently for the right moment, so she stretched her senses toward the Never, Never Land pirates. It was harder than she�d expected, but they�d hurt her, they�d put a needle in her arm, and she wasn�t going to let something like lack of experience keep her from doing this right. She relaxed into it and let the Force flow through her. Suddenly it came into focus. They were talking on the phone. She needed to wait a moment or two more.

The instant their sense changed she pushed out a pulse through the Force to the Jedi and leapt through the door. She grabbed up the box of laundry detergent as she moved. Obi-wan was racing around the corner even as Qui-gon was stepping through the sliding-glass door and Morgan flung the weighty box at the nearest Pirate. It worked perfectly. The man�s gun hand had been coming up with the weapon to aim at Obi-wan, but knee-jerk reaction had made him fling up both arms to fend off the box of detergent. Ed stumbled and bumped into Lark and then the Jedi were upon them and there was no time for them to defend themselves adequately. In mere moments it was all over.

*******

Debrah quickly stuffed clothing into bags while Obi-wan stood off to one side keeping her company, his hair still damp from a shower. Qui-gon was downstairs watching the Area 51 agents. She didn�t have a clue how they had over powered the two spooks, but she was grateful that the Jedi had done it before she�d been hit too much more. She could feel the stiffness in her face shoulder and reminded herself to get the Jedi to show her the healing techniques they had talked about. She couldn�t very well walk around in public looking like an abused wife. Someone would start asking questions.

Garb, she would need garb. If she was going to show up at Lisa�s claiming to be there for the Renaissance Faire, she would need medieval garb. She grabbed all three of her bodices and several blouses and skirts off hangers and shoved them into the bag along with her regular clothing. Then she grabbed up her boots and accessories. She would need to be convincing. Besides, if she succeeded in throwing the government spooks off her trail for a while, she might just go to the Faire for a day anyway.

She grabbed a few more items and jammed them into bags, then snatched her bean-bag hippopotamus off her bed and handed it to Obi. �Here, hold this.�

�What is it?� he asked dubiously.

�That is my hippo of course and she goes with me everywhere. If Pip doesn�t go, I don�t go.�

�What�s it for?�

Debrah grabbed the toy by one end and let all the stuffing slide to the opposite end, then gave the young man a whack across the shoulder with it. �It�s for whacking impudent young Jedi who don�t know when to shut their mouths and stop asking stupid questions.� she replied before handing it back to him. �Now, make sure you guys have all your new clothes packed and haul these down to the ship.� She pointed to the trio of bags sitting on the floor. �Oh, and grab my box of music and my boom box, too.�

�Yes, Master.� he mumbled teasingly.

�Yeesh! You sound just like my little brother, you brat,� she replied. �Now hop.� With that she strode out of the room and headed back downstairs. The two spooks were handcuffed to the stair railing and she gave them each a smack on the back of the head as she passed by. �Jim?�

�I am in the kitchen.� She rounded the corner and saw that he was retrieving the lightsabres from their hiding place. It had worked perfectly as a hiding place, even if the Area 51 agents hadn�t known to look for the exotic weapons.

�Ben�s taking my stuff out. Make sure that you�ve got everything you need. We should leave in the next half hour at the latest.� Debrah grabbed up the phone and punched in a number. It was picked up by an answering machine. �Yeah, Diane? This is Debrah. Look, something�s come up and I have to leave again. I�d really appreciate it if you could feed the cats for a while longer. The food is in the garage and the pans are still on the porch. Make sure to keep the garage door closed so that the racoons don�t eat all the food. If I don�t call you in about three weeks to let you know I�m back, call Justin and tell him to come get the cats and that the house is his, but I don�t want him to sell it.� She recited her little brother�s number for the machine and hung up.

Quickly she dialed another number. �Hi, Sara. Yeah, remember how you were complaining that I never visit? Uh huh. Yeah. Care if I bring a few friends? Cool. See ya.� Debrah dropped the phone back onto the stand. Glancing up and catching Qui-gon�s eye, she nodded.

She stepped back around the corner and looked at her two unwanted guests. �Well, boys, I expect that someone ought to come looking for you in less than twenty-four hours, so until then,� she placed a squeeze bottle of water on the book shelf in front of them where they could reach it if they stretched, �have a nice stay and try not to make too big a mess while I�m gone.�

�Ok, let�s go.� Debrah grabbed up a couple of the bags that Obi had brought down the stairs. The woman took one last look around her house and sighed. I may never get to come back to it, she thought. I may have to hide out forever after this. She straightened her back and resolutely marched out the garage door, Qui-gon right behind her.

In the garage, Debrah turned left and exited through the woodshed, bringing her to the huge old fallen log that lay alongside the house. On the other side of that log the property was almost entirely downhill slope. She hopped up on top of the log and down again on the other side. After that she picked and skidded her way down into the canyon and then along the bottom to where the spaceship had been parked.

It was a sleek looking craft with back-swept wings and a bluish silvery finish. Obi-wan had the landing ramp down and had already started taking stuff inside. �Do you really need all this, Debrah?� he asked, sticking his head out the hatch upon hearing their approach.

�Yes. I may not ever be able to come back. In fact, I may have to go into hiding in a foreign country. I don�t particularly like the idea, but there it is.� The woman shrugged. �Ignoring the truth won�t make it go away, no matter how we wish it would.�

They moved the rest of her stuff into an empty room and strapped it down. Debrah then joined the two men in the cockpit. The controls were marked with alien symbols. What did you expect, Reimers? English? Spanish? Welsh even? Obi-wan started up the engines and she could hear their faint hum through the floor of the ship. Slowly, gently, the transport began to rise. With a deft touch, the young man eased them up out of the surrounding forest into the gathering gloom of twilight.

�Where are we going, Debrah?�

�North.� She pulled out a map and showed Obi-wan where to go. �Her�s is the only place around for miles. Lisa�s got well over five hundred acres out there. Plenty of space to hide this ship till I can get a look at it and give you my professional opinion.�

�Very well. Obi-wan, bring us about to the correct heading and engage the stealth systems.�

*******

Apache Helo 5-Bravo-Niner out of Fort Ord was on routine training maneuvers in the small valleys and canyons of the Santa Cruz mountains when the strange silvery craft lifted out of the trees and hung for a moment over the hills, silhouetted against the darkening sky.

�What the crap is that?�

Lieutenant Steward pulled his attention off trying to skim at just above the tree tops to see what had caused his co-pilot�s outburst. �Damn!� That was all he had time for at the moment, though. He was fighting an updraft from the valley behind them and had to struggle with the stick and pedals for a few frantic seconds to keep the narrow bodied helicopter stable and out of sight of the other aircraft. When he looked back, the silvery thing had come about in a graceful arc. It leveled out and then seemed to fade right into the darkened sky.

�Banks, get on the horn and ask the radar guys if they got any kind of reading on that thing. Did you see which way it was pointed before it disappeared?�

�Yeah, sorta. It looked like it was headed north.�

*******

It was tricky, and they had to set the transport down in a small valley just over the Oregon border to wait for Monday morning to arrive, but eventually Debrah found her friend Lisa�s house. It was much harder, she discovered, following road directions from the air. The blond had Obi-wan set the transport down about half a mile into the woods behind her friend�s house, then they circled around and walked in from the front.

The doorbell was answered quickly by a short, dark-haired woman. �Debrah?�

�Hi, Lisa.� The blond woman smiled her most charming smile. �I hope you don�t mind me dropping in unannounced this way, but you did say that if I found myself with some time on my hands that I should come on up.�

Lisa wasn�t looking at Debrah anymore though. She was looking past her friend at the two Jedi. The blond smiled even wider. She knew what her friend was thinking. She�d been thinking it herself only a few days ago. How can any two men in the same place be that good looking?

�I hope you don�t mind me bringing a couple of relatives along. This is my uncle, Jim Maben, and that�s my cousin, Ben. Guys, this is my friend, Lisa Hilton.�

�Hello, Lisa.� Qui-gon offered his hand to the shorter woman and she gave it a firm shake.

�Hi.� Obi-wan waved from that back of the group.

�No,� Lisa finally replied, still staring past Debrah�s shoulder. �No problem at all.� She shook herself and seemed to remember that staring wasn�t exactly polite. �Please, come in. Make yourselves at home. The Faire doesn�t start till this weekend, but I could use the company.� Lisa told them as they followed her into the house. �Let me show you to the guest rooms.�

The brunette had no sooner ushered them into the house, than they were under attack. At least that�s the way it seemed to Obi-wan, because it was focused on him. Three dogs, two of them quite large came bounding around a corner toward Lisa and her visitors. Lisa was calling them, shouting really, for them to slow down, relax, but it had little effect. Obi-wan went down under a trio of over enthusiastic canine greetings. The young man winced away from the slobbery, wet tongues that seemed determined to lick his face off his skull.

Lisa and Qui-gon hauled them off Obi-wan while Debrah stood back and laughed quietly into her hands. �They seem to like you, Ben,� Debrah grinned unrepentantly. �I�m a cat person myself and they know it, so they know better than to greet me this way.� She extended a hand down and helped him back to his feet.

�Now the you�ve been officially welcomed,� Lisa said with a smile, �let�s finish getting you settled in.�

Leading them through the long, rambling house toward the rooms at the back, dogs following on their heels, Lisa pointed out various features as they passed them. �There�s the office, I�ve got a DSL hook-up if you want internet access. I really miss the Q-and-Sers from school. You�re the first one I�ve seen since graduation, Debrah.�

�Yeah, I miss the group, too. Pirating is still fun, but I miss Isolda and Erich and Joanna and the rest of the crew. I even miss Reina on occasion.�

�You miss Reina?� she asked, laughing. �Boy, you are suffering from withdrawal. Even I�m not that bad yet. There�s the guest bathroom. I�ve got two water heaters so hot water is not a problem. Take as long as you like in the shower. So, are you planning on being Maeve this weekend, or Morgan?�

�Morgan, of course. She has more fun. Speaking of this weekend, could you whip up some garb for Jim and Ben for me? They�ll want to come along, but I don�t have anything for them and I remember what a wizard you are with a sewing machine.�

Lisa practically rubbed her hands together with glee. �What do you want for them? And here�s the bedrooms. Pick whichever ones you want, doesn�t matter to me.�

Debrah looked at the Jedi and shrugged then just tossed her bag into the closest room. �Whatever you feel like. You can do pirates or swordsmen or monks or galley slaves. Whatever you want or have the material for. I can pay you.�

�No, no,� Lisa waved her hand in dismissal of the very idea. �I like doing this stuff. Let me think.� Her brown eyes took on a calculating look as she sized up the two men. �I haven�t got swords to loan them, and as I recall, neither do you?� Her friend nodded and she continued. �So that means that swordsmen are out.� The Jedi stood impassively, waiting for the verdict. Debrah had explained in detail what Faire was all about on the trip north. Qui-gon had looked apprehensive and Obi-wan had looked eager. It would be interesting to see what Lisa finally settled on for the two men.

�Mr. Maben could pull off a monk fairly easily,� Lisa murmured, half to herself, and Debrah smirked at Qui-gon. That�s what she�d thought they were when she�d first laid eyes on them. �But Ben�s a bit young for that.�

�A pirate sounds fun.� Obi-wan hinted.

Lisa folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the wall. �Hmm. Yes, I could see that for you. I can even make you a match for Morgan�s outfit. I think I�ve still got the right colored scraps for that.� Her head cocked to one side. �Mr. Maben, I�m not sure what to do with you, though. Have you any preference?�

�Please, call me,� Debrah caught his eye and made a �be careful� face, backing it up with a strong surge of worry through the Force. �Jim,� he finished smoothly. The blond had no idea if that had been his intention all along or not, but she was glad he�d remembered his new name. �I�ve never been to a fair before, so I don�t know what I should be.�

�Hmm, well. Wait!� Lisa�s eyes lit up and a curious smile crossed her face. Debrah knew that look well. Lisa was up to something. �I just remembered. I have a ton of black fabric. It was really cheap on the internet. And I forgot to return that big old ax to Rob last time I visited him. An executioner, that�s the ticket. It�ll be even better because you�re so tall.�

Qui-gon looked mildly worried. Debrah had warned them that a stoneface was all well and good for a Jedi, but on Earth there was no such thing and he needed to let more emotion show or people were going to think he was weird. �Are you sure that�s a good . . .�

�Oh, it�ll be wonderful, just you wait.� she cut him off. �Hmm, I�ll need my measuring tape and a sketch pad and some chalk and, oh, Deb, were you going to wear the skirts or the leggings for Morgan?�

�Neither, I actually got myself a pair of baggy pants that I can tuck into my boots. They�re black.�

�Of course they�re black. Black and green, the Emerald�s colors, that�s what we all wore. Ok, so Ben�s gonna need pants, Ooo, nice boots, won�t need footgear, shirt or just a vest, Deb?�

�Oh, just a vest, I think, Lisa.� She threw the young man a saucy wink. �We want as many women drooling after him as possible. And make the pants fitted, not loose.�

�Aye, aye ma�am.� Lisa replied, a broad grin stretching her lips. �This is gonna be fun. I better get started.�

Debrah tipped her head toward the rooms. �You guys go ahead and get settled. I wanna talk to Lisa for a bit.� The men nodded and selected rooms for themselves as the two women began to wander off.

�Go ahead a look around or whatever.� Lisa told them. �If you get bored, give a holler. We�ll find something for you to do.�

Qui-gon nodded to her in that half-bow way of his. �Thank you for your hospitality.�

Debrah fell in beside her friend and the two walked away chatting amiably. �She is going to tell her friend the story she made up for us.� Obi-wan concluded.

�Yes. She is going to lie to her friend and she doesn�t want anyone else to see it.�

�I can tell that she doesn�t like it. Somehow it doesn�t seem right to ask her to do this for us, Master.�

Qui-gon sighed. �I do not like it either, but this way protects Lisa. The less she knows, the safer she will be.�

*******

�So what�s the story behind your two gorgeous relatives, Deb? You never mentioned anything about them before.� Lisa sat down at a table in her sewing room, her sketch pad in front of her, a wry grin on her face. �It�s not like you to not share.�

�Well, our family�s never had much contact with anybody outside the States. When my folks died they practically crawled out of the woodwork.� Debrah sank to the floor and leaned back against a table leg, her hands playing in her hair. �Jim and Ben did come out for the funeral and to see the rest of the family, but there�s more to it than that.�

Lisa waited quietly for her friend to continue, her pencil scratching softly across the paper.

�You know how Megan was always talking about her psycho uncle? The one in the IRA with the mob connections?� Lisa nodded. �Well, Jim�s brother is in the IRA and the cops there think that he is, too. He wanted to get away from it, so he came out here and brought Ben with him. They want to emigrate, but we�re not sure that it�ll be allowed, so.� Debrah shrugged. �We�re kinda hiding out right now.� Her green eyes lifted and met Lisa�s. �We�ll leave if you�re uncomfortable with that. I don�t want to put you in any danger or anything.�

�Family is important, Deb. Stick by them and I�ll stick by you. The Q-and-Sers are about the closest thing to family I have now, so I understand. You three are welcome to stay here as long as you haven�t broken any laws.�

The blond�s reply was soft, her gratitude evident in her voice. �Thank you, Lisa. We really appreciate it.�




Section 11