One Small Hope by SiriGalla Chapter 1 "Obi-Wan! Look out!" Obi-Wan Kenobi looked up at his Master's call, he saw the ball of fire spinning towards him, he leapt to the side. "Thanks Master," Obi-Wan said catching up to Qui-Gon Jinn. "We have to get through to the Fortress before those cannons destroy the wall." Obi-Wan knew his Master was stating the obvious, but hearing it brought his fear away. The cannons had been sending balls of fire at the Fortress, the ranks of King Ti were being pushed back with every assault. "Jedi, come this way!" Their guide Utat was making sure the Jedi made it to the Fortress. Suddenly a fire began on the Fortress wall. "We have to hurry." Utat said, her eyes blood shot with the heat. "We need to get the royal family away." Qui-Gon said as they came in through the back of the Fortes. Obi-Wan gave a sigh of relief. "We can't keep them here any longer." "There's no hope for the Queen." Utat said sadly. "She has no chance, the King and his son won't go until the battle is won." "They�re both fools." Qui-Gon murmured. "There is the princess though." Utat reasoned. "She won't be able to with stand the attack, and the king has given her the..well..the ring." "Yes I know." Qui-Gon nodded. "He is putting the girl in danger by giving her the ring." "He supposes the Jedi could take her away, somewhere safe." Utat said as they moved to the fortified chambers of the royal family. "We could take her to Coruscant." Obi-Wan suggested. "The Jedi could watch her." "I agree," Qui-Gon nodded, "but we shall have to hurry." "Yes, come." They followed Utat into the chambers. Qui-Gon gave another try at convincing King Ti to come, as well as his son, Grishm', but they would not come. "But take my daughter." Ti pleaded. "This is no place for her." "I know," Qui-Gon said patiently, "it's no place for you or your son either." "We will fight to the death or freedom." Ti said viciously. Qui-Gon shook his head, "It is your decision." A blast from outside told them it was time to go. The princess was lying asleep next to her sick mother. "What is her name?" Qui-Gon asked softly, as he lifted the sleeping girl from her mother's arms. "Meerel," the Queen whispered. "Please take care of my baby." She tried hard not to cry. "She is only five, please get her to safety." "I promise." Qui-Gon said gently. He hurried out, Obi-Wan on his heels; the last transport was ahead. "I wish we could take the Queen." Obi-Wan called. "As do I," Qui-Gon agreed. "But she is like her husband and son. She wishes to die in the place were she lived. Qui-Gon held tiny Meerel who looked even smaller in the hands of the big Jedi Master. "Hurry Master!" Obi-Wan called from the ramp of the ship. Qui-Gon rushed in, and felt the ship rising under his feet. Obi-Wan was fast, already lifting the ship from it's place in the ashes of the Fortress. As the ship rose, the battle disappeared behind them. A flash of light from a fire ball lit up the face of Meerel and reflected of the small ring on her hand. The last small hope for the planet Tirris was on the hand of a little girl. Chapter 2 Obi-Wan slumped in the co-pilot's seat with a sigh. "It's no good Master." Qui-Gon gently put a hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "How hard did you try?" "Very hard!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "She won't talk to me. I asked her what her name was, how old she was, if she was hungry, if she was thirsty, if she was tired--" Obi-Wan was abruptly silenced by a comforting squeeze on his shoulder. "I know it's hard Padawan," Qui-Gon said softly. "But she has been through a lot, and it's hard on such a little girl. Why don't you give it another try." Obi-Wan slowly rose out of his chair, he doubted that 'another try' would do any good. He walked into the room. Meerel sat, staring out of the view port, she seemed to see nothing else. Obi-Wan sat down next to her, for a while they both just sat there. Suddenly Meerel spoke. She had a small voice that sounded scared and sad. "I'm never going to see my mommy and daddy." She brushed several tears from her face. Obi-Wan turned to her. "Well, I don't know." "I miss my mommy, and I miss Daddy and Greshm'." She tried not to cry. Obi-Wan felt anger rise within him. *I hope Ti and Greshm' are satisfied*.  He thought ruefully. *If they had come with us Meerel wouldn't now be suffering from their bad deception*.  Suddenly an idea struck the teenager. "How about this," Obi-Wan suggested softly. "What if I could pretend to be your big brother, and my Master could be you father? Until we find your real family." She actually made a try at a smile through her tears. "I would like that." She said quietly. "What did Greshm' do for you?" Obi-Wan asked kindly. "Well," Meerel brushed a tear from her cheek.  "He would tell me stories before I went to bed."  Obi-Wan considered that. "What kind of story do you like?" He asked. "I like stories with little girls in it." Meerel said shyly. Obi-Wan laughed. "Well, alright, I do know a story with a little girl in it." Obi-Wan recalled the story from the time when the Temple had been under siege by Xanatos and Obi-Wan had saved ten children from a lift the Xanatos had caused to begin to crash. He gave a great amount of detail to the description of Honi-who-is-almost three, and a little girl Seleelee, and Obi-Wan had thought her name was Theleelee from the little girls lisp. He explained all the other girls and boys. By the time he had finished, Meerel was fast asleep. "The End." Obi-Wan said softly. He covered the princess with his cloak. He moved out of the room and into the cockpit. For the second time that day he sunk into the co-pilot seat. "Well," Qui-Gon asked. "Well," Obi-Wan said with an impish grin. "I hope you don't mind being adopted father to a very opininated little five-year-old." Qui-Gon threw his apprentice a look. Obi-Wan was trying not to burst out laughing at the thought of his Master being father, as well as baby sitter to a little girl he could step on, on accident. "Oh?" "Yes, well, I'm her brother, supposedly." Qui-Gon smiled. "Well, I don't suppose I mind, but I would also prefer *not* to be confused with King Ti if it is all the same to you, and Meerel." Obi-Wan laughed. "Yes the thought of being Greshm' doesn't thrill me either." Obi-Wan paused. "You know I told her a story, remember that lift that nearly crashed when Xanatos tried to take over?" "Vaguely." Qui-Gon replied. "Well, she wanted a story with a little girl in it, and there were a couple in that lift." Obi-Wan grinned. "And the Council said it was not necessary, you never know when these things might come in handy." "Yes," Qui-Gon said. "You never know." "Do you think it will be difficult trying to get Meerel to Coruscant." "Yes I do, I believe that the Raiders are not going to give up on try to get that ring. That ring is the last small hope for that planet." Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't understand, why is that ring so important?" "It is the royal ring that has been passed through the ages, it is said that whoever had the ring was the true owner of the whole planet. Many planets make their system that way, and unintentionally make wars that way." Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a serious look. "It is our job to keep her completely safe." Obi-Wan nodded. He felt that it would be simple to keep a small child safe, though something made him feel it wouldn't be quite so easy. Suddenly there was an explosion. Qui-Gon looked out the viewport in time to see three Raider Cruisers zoom past hull. Qui-Gon swung the ship down. Blaster fire erupted beneath and above them. "We're surrounded!" He called. Obi-Wan was already out of the co-pilot seat. "Bring Meerel here, Padawan, then see if you can get some shots from the Fire Turret." Obi-Wan nodded and left the room at a run. Qui-Gon glanced out at the Raider's ships again. They were in for a dangerous fight, but he knew that in the end, his duty was to his Padawan, and Meerel. Obi-Wan returned, the sleeping girl wrapped in his arms. He laid her down gently in the co-pilot's seat, then quickly ran for the Fire Turrets. Qui-Gon glanced down at Meerel. *Promise you will keep my baby safe*. The queen's leapt through him like a bolt of lightning.* I promise*. With that Qui-Gon clenched his teeth together stared determinedly out the viewport. They would win this battle. Obi-Wan watched the Raiders swing their ships in gentle arches, they obviously wanted to board, not destroy, the vessel that carried the princess and her two protectors. Obi-Wan was ready to fire down any ship that came close. His first shots were directed at one of the larger cruisers. Two shots narrowly missed, one hit its mark, and the ship was disabled in the front shields.  Being a Jedi, the youth had the certain advantage of knowing wear to strike. All the blasts coming from the Raiders were an attempt to disable the vessel; Obi-Wan had a good idea that it wouldn't take them long to seriously dismantle the craft. The boy's mind raced, Qui-Gon was in the front shooting at anything close to the hull, Obi-Wan tried to decide how they could take out all the ships at once. He realized that most of the ships circling them were small cruisers, but there was one large one that wasn't doing anything. Then an idea came to him, it was risky because they would have to use torpedoes and would probably damage their own ship, but it was better then the alternative. He hit the comm and quickly suggested it to Qui-Gon. "It's our only option," Obi-Wan said pointedly. "I'm afraid you're right." Qui-Gon sighed, "Let's do it." Qui-Gon quickly moved the ship towards the docking bay of the large ship, all the cruisers following him, looking for an opening. Qui-Gon suddenly pulled up and around. The cruisers, not ready for the maneuver, barely escaped colliding with the larger ship. As soon as Qui-Gon was leveled, Obi-Wan shot the torpedoes. Two of them. They made their mark. Hitting the large ship and giving a great explosion that took out the raiders� small cruisers. Obi-Wan felt the heat sweep over their ship. Several systems went dead, as Obi-Wan stepped into the cockpit; he saw the emergency lights flicker on. "Well that's the end of that," He said leaning against the board, his seat having been occupied by Meerel. "Actually, Padawan," Qui-Gon said studying the board. "I think it's just the beginning. See, we have so much damage that we will have to land; it should be all right, there is a planet right beneath us. I don't know what kind of planet it is, but considering our Raider friends seem to have appeared out of 'nowhere' it's a pretty safe guess that they partially inhabit the planet below us." Obi-Wan sighed. "Can't we go somewhere else?" "There is no were we can go with the damage the explosion has done to the ship. We will have to stay there for the time being." Obi-Wan nodded; leaning over Meerel he put the ship into the landing cycle. *************** It was night on the planet, the sky was dark, and the eerie moonlight settled over the ship sitting in a secluded field, but not secluded enough for Raider 17 not to see it. He smiled wickedly. "That was very foolish Jedi, very foolish." ************** "Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan." Through the grogginess of sleep, Obi-Wan heard his name being called, it sounded like Qui-Gon. "Hmm." He replied rolling over. "Obi-Wan, you need to wake up, there's some trouble." That woke the boy up; he rolled over and sat up so fast that he landed on the floor. "Ow." He said simply. He quickly got to his feet. "We need to leave now," Qui-Gon said, "the systems on the ship are all inoperative, they were disabling all last night. I need to lock a few things down, get Meerel." Obi-Wan nodded and moved over to the sleeping girl's bed. "Meerel?" He moved her softly with one hand. Her eyes blinked open and, with that uncanny ability little kids have for being wide awake when everyone else is tired, Meerel sat straight up. "What?" she asked. "We need to go for a...walk." "Oh good." She began to slide out of her bed and stopped. Obi-Wan turned on his way out of the room. "What is it?" She looked at him shyly. "Could I have a piggy-back ride?" She asked. "A what?" Obi-Wan inquired. "A piggy-back ride." Meerel responded. "See, hold on to your neck and ride on your back, and you can carry me." "Ah," Obi-Wan grinned. "Then what does that make me?" She brightened. "The piggy." Obi-Wan shook his head, as he did Meerel reached over to him. "And this can be your tail," she said laughing as she yanked on his Padawan braid. "Whatever," Obi-Wan said with a laugh. He crouched down as she climbed up on to his back. She wrapped her arms loosely about his neck, he held her under her knees so she wouldn't fall off. Meerel was very light, and Obi-Wan had no trouble keeping up with Qui-Gon's fast pace. "Master?" Obi-Wan asked in a whisper, which seemed appropriate at the time. "Yes Obi-Wan?" "Why are we leaving?" Qui-Gon glanced at him. "I think we are being watched, or followed. We will have to lose whoever is following us in the woods. They moved into the trees and made their way through the tangle of branches. Meerel kept her head low as they moved swiftly through the trees. Obi-Wan's eyes moved to every movement, his ears picked up every sound. He glanced at Qui-Gon, his master looked determined as always, but he also looked like he was coming up with a plan. Obi-Wan continued along behind his Master. Suddenly he felt the flicker of danger, and the calk of a blaster. He turned and faced a row of about five blasters. Behind them stood the hooded forms of the Raiders. Qui-Gon came up next to Obi-Wan, and the teenager could easily hear the sound of more Raiders coming up behind them. One hooded figure stepped forward. "Put the girl down, Jedi." He said motioning to Obi-Wan. "And give her to us." Chapter 3 Obi-Wan held tightly to Meerel. He made no move even remotely close to setting the princess down. "Come on, let's move it." The leader urged. "We don't have time for you slow movers." Obi-Wan still didn't move. The Raider turned is blaster to Qui-Gon. "Tell him to." He ordered the older Jedi firmly." He pointedly turned his blaster back on Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said evenly. "Put her down." Obi-Wan threw Qui-Gon a confused look. His eyes spoke plainly. *Master what are you doing?* Qui-Gon simply tossed his glance off to the side. Obi-Wan nodded, and slowly slipped Meerel down to the ground, he could sense the girl tense as he did so. "That was a smart move, boy." The Raider commended. Obi-Wan stared at him with his bright blue gaze. He could see he was unnerving the Raider. *Some leade*r. Obi-Wan thought, suddenly he realized that this Raider was not the lead of this team, he wasn't certain, but the man standing further back seemed to want the Jedi to think that the blundering Raider before them was the leader. There was no time to warn Qui-Gon about this. Suddenly Qui-Gon's plan slid into action. Meerel was firmly on the ground when suddenly two Raiders stepped forward from behind. Qui-Gon quickly swept Meerel from the ground and pitched her into some cushioning shrubs. In the same instant Obi-Wan leapt of Qui-Gon's head and land in front of Meerel. Leaving dense brush behind and around her the apprentice in front of her. Qui-Gon had counted on the Raiders� shock to cause their first volley of shots to be sloppy, and they were, all but the one that Obi-Wan suspected was the real leader. This man had chartered Obi-Wan's move carefully, and before the youth could budge an inch to defend himself, a precise blast from the Raider's blaster struck Obi-Wan in the arm. Obi-Wan felt hot pain shoot up his arm. He vaguely saw Qui-Gon fighting of the group of Raiders alone. He knew he had to help his Master. He leapt to his feet; his arm shot sparks of pain but he tried to ignore it. He fended off the volley of shots directed at him; Qui-Gon protected him from the front group. Before long the whole team was dead or stunned on the ground. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to sink his knees, the pain was hard against his arm and the wound was throbbing. "Are you alright Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan nodded. Paused, then shook his head, he hated to admit it, but he couldn't lie, and if the pain caused him to become unconscious Qui-Gon would have been skeptical. "It's not bad, I don't think." Qui-Gon examined it. "It doesn't look very bad, but bacta wouldn't hurt it either. After seeing to Obi-Wan's wound, the Jedi Master turned to Meerel. The little girl was trembling in the foliage; her eyes were full of terror. Qui-Gon leaned very close to her. "Are you alright?" Qui-Gon asked. She immediately shook her head. "I'm scared." She said softly. "Don't be scared, your highness." Qui-Gon said gently. "Obi-Wan and I won't let them hurt you." She seemed to trust him, but the fear was not quenched from her eyes. Qui-Gon lifted her out up in his arms, Obi-Wan would be tired faster than Qui-Gon would and his Padawan had an injury. Meerel wrapped her arms around Qui-Gon's chest, or as far as she could reach, and leaned her head against his shoulder. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The group set off again, unknown to them, like a mad man from a asylum, Raider 17 was tearing up the hill. "Fools, fools and idiots." Once they had lost the element of surprise and the Jedi boy had merely been injured, Raider 17 had decided he wouldn't stick around for a battle that could not be won. Jedi had to be taken by surprise, defeat one in a battle was something only a Sith could do. "I didn't become a high ranking officer by thinking I could defeat Jedi, I am not afraid to admit that Jedi are too strong for that." He continued up the hill, when he got to the top he turned, down the hill, heading towards a small town, were the two Jedi and their ward. "You think that's the end Jedi?" He spat. "Well it isn't and it won't be the end until that ring belongs to us." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The three finally made it to a civilization. Obi-Wan was tired, Qui-Gon could see, the Jedi Master attempted not to let it on, but he was fatigued himself. Meerel had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and her gentle breathing made Qui-Gon want to fall asleep. It was dark as they made there way through the small quiet town. Qui-Gon soon found them a place to stay. The man gave them a small musty smelling room. But the two Jedi didn't care, and they instantly fell asleep. Qui-Gon woke to the sound of Obi-Wan getting woken up. "Wake up! Wake up!" Meerel was wide-awake and her eyes were excited and bright, she was shaking Obi-Wan, the boy was doing his best to ignore her. "Wake up!" She yelled for the hundredth time. "Alright, alright, I'm awake." Obi-Wan finally gave up; by the time the apprentice had sat up, Qui-Gon was sitting up too. "We better feed her," Obi-Wan grumbled. "I can't think of a better way to get her to shut up." He wasn't very mad though, and he laughed when, at breakfast, she made a catapult out of her spoon and began flinging Krak'at nuts and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Despite her interest in the game, Qui-Gon soon put a stop to the exercise. "We need to find a transport." Qui-Gon said to Obi-Wan. "It should be sooner rather than later, if we do it soon, we are risking difficulties of being obvious, but I don't want to stick around for anymore Raider fights." Obi-Wan nodded. Soon the group was walking through the town, there were many people and Obi-Wan stuck close to Qui-Gon. The Jedi did there best to be inconspicuous, moving as the people did, and pretended they knew exactly where they were going. Unfortunately, Meerel was doing her best to get attention. She seemed to find it her duty as an adorable five-year-old, to wave, and say hello, to every civilian in the street. "Hi!" she called to the thirtieth person. About six different young ladies walked up and said to Qui-Gon, "What a darling daughter you have, sir." Qui-Gon would simply smile and say. "Thank you." Obi-Wan tried hard not to laugh at Qui-Gon's misfortune, until Meerel asked if one young lady thought her 'big brother' was darling too. The girl was about Obi-Wan's age. She blushed only half as much as Obi-Wan did, and it was Qui-Gon's turn not to laugh. Finally they reached the docks. "Sorry," the manager said, "I can't help ya. It's an impossibility, there's some kind of transport epidemic. The transports goin in and out have been sabotaged or something, not a ship works in the whole town. Now if you want to walk to Hiirr town, you can try, but it's at least a two day walk, and it's through the swamp lands, so I wouldn't recommend it." "Thank you for your help." Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed and walked into a small alley to talk privately. "Well this is just great!" Obi-Wan said.  Meerel began tugging on his hand, so he let her hand go. "There is no ship we can take, do you want to make the walk, Master?" "No, I admit I don't," Qui-Gon shook his head. "It's too dangerous, with the Raiders following us, on a long trip, through treacherous swamp lands, it would be hard enough, but we are also responsible for a child." Obi-Wan nodded. "You don't suppose that the Raiders missed, maybe just *one* ship, maybe one that wasn't finished in construction at the time?" "Maybe, but it would take a lot of searching time that we don't have." "Excuse me gents," the Jedi turned to see a man in an orange work suit. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, and as it happens *I* have a ship that I just got into the shop, I just finished it, and it is a beauty. Also, it needs to be certified by a offplanet government system so that I can use it for trade franchise on this planet. Are you going to a certified governing planet per chance?" "Would Coruscant do?" Qui-Gon asked. The man looked shocked. "Yes of course. You two are perfect for the job. Here are the directions to the hanger. I can't show you there now, I have other business. I will follow shortly to Coruscant, but if you could take the ship ahead that would be wonderful." "Thank you." Qui-Gon said taking the pad. The man went off into the street. "Come on Padawan, it's time to go." "Alright, Meerel?" Obi-Wan turned, his face paled suddenly. Meerel was gone. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, where is Meerel?" Obi-Wan was a little more than worried. First of all Meerel was wanted by every Raider on the planet, secondly she had a tendency to get into a lengthy conversation with everyone, and thirdly Qui-Gon only used his full name when Obi-Wan was in trouble. "I-I don't know," Obi-Wan stuttered. Searching the open street to no avail, the girl was nowhere in sight. "She was right here holding my hand--" He broke off and turned sheepish. "But you let go, didn't you Padawan?" Obi-Wan nodded, but it took a bit of effort. "We had better find her fast." Qui-Gon glanced around, if they didn't hurry to the transport, the Raiders would most certainly ruin the ship. "Obi-Wan, can you find Meerel alone, I can get to the transport." Obi-Wan quickly said he could. Qui-Gon hurried off to find the transport and Obi-Wan rushed off in the opposite direction. He resisted the urge to call Meerel's name, he knew that a Raider would hear him without a doubt. *It shouldn't be so hard to find a little kid!* Suddenly he heard a woman's scream. "Kidnappers! Kidnappers!" Obi-Wan hurried in the direction of a market stand selling fruit. Three of four pedestrians were supporting a young woman who looked on the verge of fainting. "I saw a little girl, she looked a little hungry so I gave her a muju, she said her name was Meerel, and she couldn't find her father or brother, then two cloaked men took her away! I'm sure they weren't her family, I'm sure of it!" Obi-Wan stepped forward. "Which way did they go?" He asked urgently. "That way," she pointed to the right of Obi-Wan. "Thank you," he said quickly, and tore of through the crowd. Suddenly he reached a dead end, he was confused, he had been checking every corner looking for an outlet for escape. In an instant he felt a brush of the Force warning him... he turned to face the front of three blaster pointed at there chest, behind them were Raiders, a forth Raider has his blaster pointed to Meerel's head. "You outdid yourself, Jedi," he said, "you could have been an innocent bystander like all the rest, but no, you and your Master *had* to get involved. Now, how about you tell us where that transport is." Chapter 4 Obi-Wan didn't move. In his mind he was formulating a plan, and he was hardly shaken by the four Raiders, but outwardly he showed fear. *Fear is your enemy, but it is an ally if you have the will to harness it.* Obi-Wan showed fear well, and it didn't matter if he did, he felt no fear. "Tell us boy!" The Raider repeated, pushing his blaster pointedly against Meerel�s head, causing the small girl to flinch. She had no doubt seen weapons more often them most children should. "I don't know," Obi-Wan said truthfully; without showing it he made a scan of his surroundings. They didn't have much to offer. "Oh, you don't know?" The Raider motion to one of his men, the Raider blasted the brick wall behind Obi-Wan, sending pieces of brick flying. "Tell us!" The Raider demanded. Obi-Wan realized that it was time to quick fooling around. He had one option, but he would need a moment�s diversion. He knew it was a weak plan, but it was the only one he had. He reached out with the Force and got a hold on a small flower stand, he gently pulled it over; there were enough bronze vases on the stand to make a large crash. The Raiders turned--a basic human instinct. Obi-Wan took the moment and used it. He grabbed hold of Meerel's arm and pulled her away. Then, moving back, he jumped, the blaster fire pinging close behind him. He barely knew where he was going, but suddenly he felt the solid foundation of the wall. Without pausing to see what lay on the other side, he jumped of the wall in the other direction, holding tight to Meerel. They landed in a pile of junk. Obi-Wan recognized speeder parts, old sub level batteries, and practically antique hyperdrives. He pulled Meerel through the junk; behind him he could plainly hear the pursuit. Blaster fire shot down after him: from up on the walls the Raiders had a good aim, and Obi-Wan ducked behind half a speeder, Meerel right behind him. The Raiders� last few blasts hit the ground where they had been standing. Obi-Wan yanked out his lightsaber preparing for the next attack. The Raiders discovered their shooting position wouldn't reach the two; Obi-Wan knew they would climb down the wall: he would have to fight. Running wasn't always an option. Suddenly he felt a light tug on his tunic sleeve. "Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan?" Meerel asked in a loud whisper. "Yes?" Obi-Wan asked, readying his lightsaber. "I gotta go to the bathroom." Meerel said scrunching up her nose. Obi-Wan glanced around the speeder remnants, he spotted the group of Raiders slowly advancing on the flimsy hiding place. He turned back to the girl. "Meerel," He said only half patiently, "this is *hardly* the time." "But I *do*!" Meerel emphasized. "Well, you'll have to wait." Obi-Wan murmured. Finally, he turned, leapt from behind cover. The offensive took the Raiders by surprise. Obi-Wan held his ground. He deflected their shots, but they were advancing and he had Meerel to protect. Suddenly there was a flash of green behind him, and Qui-Gon was standing next to him. Between the two Jedi, they soon had the Raiders on the run. Qui-Gon smiled at his apprentice. "Glad to see you're staying out of trouble." He said softly. Meerel stepped out from behind the pile of rubble. She was uncomfortably swaying back and forth. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Her *highness* needs the fresher." He said none too sarcastically. Qui-Gon cocked an eyebrow. "Children do pick the oddest times." They managed to find a rest room for Meerel, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited outside. "We can make it to the ship from here." Qui-Gon said. "I was on my way, but I sensed you two were in trouble and came to help." "I'm glad you did," Obi-Wan said softly. They soon reached the ship and it was the most run down, ugly ship that Obi-Wan had ever had to fly. "Not exactly first class is it?" Obi-Wan asked. "Not really, but if it will get us off this planet, I am willing to take it." "And we had better hurry, before our friends with the blasters return." The ship soon had them in space, the hyperdrives worked fine, and starlines were zipping past the view port. "Was that too easy?" Obi-Wan inquired quietly. "It just seemed they almost *le*t us go. They had the perfect opportunity to kill us, bring on the Raider's whole team, finish us off, take the ring. Why didn't they? I mean, they are risking a lot grappling with Jedi like this, it's not like even if they *did* have the ring they would be allowed to own the planet." "I wonder if there is something about that ring, that we don't know about." Qui-Gon mused. "You may be right about it being too easy though." Just then, Meerel came in. Her eyes were still a little red rimmed from crying after the scolding she had gotten, between the group effort Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had administrated, she had been in tears after the fifth, "And never do that again!" But she seemed to have recovered, and had some sort of stuffed bag she was finding extremely interesting. "What is that Meerel?" Qui-Gon asked, a strange expression coming over his cool features. "It's a bean bag." Meerel explained. Qui-Gon examined her 'bean bag'. His gaze turned stern. "Meerel, were did you get this?" Meerel's eyes went wide, as if she realized it might get her into trouble. "I don't know.,� she said softly. Qui-Gon's expression softened slightly. "Meerel, I'm not mad at you, I just wanted know." She seemed satisfied. "There are big boxes of them, back there." She pointed back the way she had come. Qui-Gon left the room. In a few moments he returned. Obi-Wan gave him a concerned look. "What is it Master?" He asked. "Well Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said diplomatically, "it appears we are barrowing a ship from the biggest lying, illegal spice smuggler in the galaxy." Chapter 5 The Jedi didn't put up a struggle, they were innocent, why dispute the matter. However, after the galactic security arrested the two Jedi, they put them a rather crude prison on the planet Thespia, which was close to the ship's location. Qui-Gon tried to explain, but the guards wouldn't hear of it. Qui-Gon realized a little too late that the guards were being influenced�half their team (that he could see) were Raiders.  *Figures*   He should have known this was planned. Now they had perfect clearance to arrest the Jedi. The guards, however, would not be swayed by the Raiders who said that the girl should be in the cell with the Jedi. "That is against regulations." The security captain protested, "The girl is under-age, she has to go in the juvenile ward." "No!" Meerel exclaimed, gripping Obi-Wan's hand which was bound to his other hand with electro cuffs. "I won't go!" The security guard tried to pull her away, but she held Obi-Wan's hand in a death grip and wouldn't let go. "Meerel," Obi-Wan knelt down beside her. She was crying. "Shh," he soothed. "Now you should go with them, you will be safer. Go on." She shook her head, "No, I won't!" "I'll see you soon," he promised, "go with them for a little while." Her eyes were set, her expression firm. "I wanna stay with you." The little girl showed she would not be moved. Obi-Wan sighed. "Alright." He stood. "She wants to come with us." He told the captain. The Captain had obviously caught on to the fact that if Obi-Wan couldn't get her to go, she wasn't budging. "Fine." He shook his head. Soon the two Jedi and princess were alone in a dark cell. There were creaking noises everywhere, Meerel looked afraid. "You okay Meerel?" Obi-Wan asked. She shook her head. Qui-Gon's gaze was out across the cell. They were in a big mess. The Raiders had them where they wanted them: they would move soon, before the captain could contact the Jedi and work the whole thing out. On top of all that, this cell offered no escape, and he had Obi-Wan and Meerel to look after. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his leg. He turned his head in time to see Meerel finish climbing up onto his lap. She was crying; the fear in her eyes would not go away. "What are they going to do to us?" She asked, her voice quavering. Qui-Gon saw for the first time, that this girl was not just the troublesome spitfire she always seemed to be. She was little more than her dying mother had said she was, a baby. Qui-Gon held her in a warm embrace. "Now, Meerel." He said softly. "You don't need to cry, we will all do just fine. You and me and Obi-Wan will all be just fine." She continued sobbing into his sleeve but let up a little. "Okay?" "Okay." She murmured. A quick moment before hand, Qui-Gon sensed the danger. He looked up; a dark man had entered the room. He had the form and stride of a Raider, but his outfit was that of a security officer. "Oh isn't this cute. Hello, Jedi," He said sneering, "It is time to pay you two back for all the courtesy you have bestowed on me." The five Raiders behind Their Leader, Raider 1, locked the two Jedi's wrists up on a wall; Obi-Wan could barely touch the ground. It had taken three of the guards just to pull Meerel away. She had a grip that was very hard to release when she had a mind not to let go. "Leave us!" Raider 1 exclaimed. The Raiders quickly evacuated, not wanting to be in the path of their leader and his enemies. "Now Jedi," he continued, holding onto Meerel with one hand. "Before I take the girl and her ring, I wish to pay you back, for all the trouble you've caused. The boy first?" Qui-Gon moved to protest, but One didn't give him a chance. He reached over to a panel on the wall, pulling down a small lever. Obi-Wan felt the electrocution shock move down from his wrists, it wasn't very high, but he could tell it was getting, larger. He flailed suddenly as the electric shocks from his wrist bonds moved down his back getting stronger in power. Qui-Gon soon felt it moving through him too, but it seemed to be intensifying on Obi-Wan faster. The boy was soon thrashing around, resisting the urge to cry out, but the charges were getting higher, finally Obi-Wan could bare it no longer he let out a cry, and another. He couldn't stand the constant zapping. Meerel was panicking, she had never seen anyone getting electrocuted, which was probably good for her, but it was causing her to be very frightened. Obi-Wan could see her eyes grow bright, she was thinking up...something-- *Meerel don't, don't, don't* Obi-Wan try to will the little girl *not* to move. But her eyes were firm. All of sudden she started ranting uncontrollably. "Let them go, let them go, let them go, let them go, let them go, let them go, let them go, let them go!" "Quiet, brat!" One ordered. "No! Let them go, let them go!" She was screaming now, and wouldn't stop. Finally One clamped a hand over her mouth, he couldn't afford to have the *real* security guards coming in here and finding out what was going on. Obi-Wan saw a strange, satisfied, look cross Meerel's face. Then, she shocked both Jedi, with a move they would have never thought she was capable of. Using a common, *little kid* technique, she bit hard on One's hand and kicked her small, booted foot against his shin. With a cry, he released her arm she spun around and franticly grabbed his blaster. Running over to the panel she shut down both levers, and smacked a large button. The electricity powered down, the electro cuffs opened and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fell to the floor. Qui-Gon landed on his feet, but Obi-Wan stumbled. He shakily stood. Meerel walked over to the Jedi, her eyes wide with shock at her own maneuver. One was sitting on the floor, holding his finger, which was almost bleeding from the bite Meerel had given him. "Blasted, Jedi scum!" He exclaimed through clenched teeth. "Please, Raider one," Qui-Gon chided taking the blaster from Meerel and rendering useless by one smash against the concrete wall. "Not in front of the children." "It's not finished yet, Jedi." One smirked. "I'm not as naive as you think I am." Suddenly the door opened, and Raider 17 stepped in, a gleam in his pale eyes. He looked straight at Obi-Wan, his blaster pointed at the boy. "Well, well, well, this is quite a turn out. Hello Obi-Wan, I believe you remember me, we just keep meeting up don't we?" Chapter 6 Raider 17 gave Obi-Wan no time to move. The blaster fire erupted from the Raider's weapon. Obi-Wan dove easily to the side. Qui-Gon moved around behind the Raider as 17 tried yet again to shoot the apprentice "Raider 17--" One tried to warn his officer, but Qui-Gon was too close, jumping he grabbed 17 around the neck and pulled him down to the floor, knocking the Raider's blaster from his hand at the same time. Both the Jedi Master and the Raider Captain went to the floor. One, seeing an opportunity to gain a weapon, began to move twords the blaster. Suddenly something distracted his attention. *Was that something gold?* "The ring!" One cried out. He leapt for it, but Obi-Wan saw it at the same time and jumped from the other dircetion, after pushing Meerel out of the way of both fights. Obi-Wan and One were tussling over the ring, but it kept sliding around, and the teenager only knew were it was half the time. Qui-Gon was having his own troubles with 17. Suddenly Obi-Wan saw it. The ring was sitting just a couple feet away from him. He jumped for it and grabbed it up from the floor. "I've got it!" He called to his Master. At practically the same time, One leapt up from the ground something in his hand. "I have the ring!" he proclaimed. Suddenly Raider 17 and Qui-Gon stopped their fight. Obi-Wan stared at the Raider leader in confusion, then down at the 'ring' in his hand. It wasn't a ring at all! It was a-- "Bio connector?!" One exclaimed in shock, looking down at his 'ring'. It was true, both Obi-Wan and One had a small, gold bio connector in his hand. Simultaneously the two enemies turned their gaze to Meerel. Meerel was used to people staring at her by now. She smiled. "Meerel," Obi-Wan said carefully. "Where did this come from." He held out the bio connector for the girl to see. Her smile brightened. "Oh! My beads!"* her beads?*  "Don't you remember?" She asked, "On the big ship, you gave me those beads." Suddenly Obi-Wan *did* remember. He had given her the 'beads' on the ship before they had been picked up by the Security Police, she had been frightened by the two Jedi's conversation about probably being arrested, and what the punishment would most likely be... **************** "Here Meerel." Obi-Wan said pleasantly, handing her a toolbox, inside were all sorts of bio connecters and link brackets in all shapes and in gold and silver also a lot of circuit cables. Meerel smiled happily. Soon she had all of, what she called her beads, sorted and made them people. She started playing with them like they were dolls. Then she had found a new way of playing with them. "Hello Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon greeted from his place at the cockpit. Obi-Wan nodded to his Master. "Uh, Obi-Wan, what is that?" Qui-Gon pointed to Obi-Wan's chest. Obi-Wan glanced down at the thing around his neck. It was a circuit cable with around ten small bio connectors strung on it. "Oh," He rolled his eyes, and touched the necklace. "Meerel made it for me. She said, oh what did she say? Oh yeah, she said it would make me look 'all pretty'" He grinned, "I don't think it exactly worked." Qui-Gon smiled, "Not exactly," **************** Obi-Wan gingerly touched the necklace, still around his neck. Then he looked at the bio connector in his hand. "Yes," He said to Meerel, "I remember." "Well," Meerel said shoving her hand down into her pocket. "I wanted to save some for later, but I got a hole in my pocket. See?" She shoved her index finger through the hole and moved it around so Obi-Wan could see. Obi-Wan shook his head, he would *never* be able to get used to little kids. "Well, as much as I hate to break this up." A hard voice spoke behind Obi-Wan, "I believe it's time for you to give us that ring, your highness." Obi-Wan turned. One had the blaster in his hand. In the moment of the ring confusion, neither of the Jedi hand noticed One slipping past them and grabbing up the blaster. "I wanted to take her back with me, but it has been too difficult, I suppose I don't need her anymore." Obi-Wan caught what he meant only a moment soon enough to jump in front of Meerel. There was a bright flash of blaster fire as Obi-Wan pushed Meerel out of the way. However the blaster fire caught him on the leg. He let out a cry and rolled away from Meerel. "Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon called, releasing his hold on Raider 17 and rushing to his Padawan�s side. Suddenly a group of Security Guards burst in. The Security Captain was obviously taken aback at the sight. "All right, Raiders 1 and 17 you're under arrest for a very long line of charges. Far too many to go into. It appears your most recent crime is deliberately shooting a Jedi ambassador." The Captain turned to the Jedi. Qui-Gon was holding Obi-Wan, who appeared to be out cold, from his wound or from hitting the hard concrete floor. "Are you alright Master Jedi?" The Captain asked as his men took the two Raider leaders away. "I'm fine sir, but my Padawan will need some medical attention, and princess Meerel has a bad cut on her head." "Ah yes, princess Meerel. We only just found out about that." The Captain looked at Obi-Wan. "But we can discuss that later. Let's get this boy and girl a healer." ************************************ Obi-Wan slid off the table. He winced slightly at the pain in his leg, it felt much better than it looked though, and at least it felt much better than it had. He had immediately been treated, he had regained consciousness near the time when they began dressing the wound; it had been painful. He was filled in on what had happened after he had been knocked unconscious. Meerel's head was doing better too, though she said she had a headache. "Am I interrupting?" The Security Captain, Dris, came in behind them two Jedi and Princess. "No," Qui-Gon replied, taking Meerel onto his lap. "Not at all, Captain." Dris sat down across from the three. "I have come to tell you about this whole situation from beginning to end." "Thank you," Qui-Gon said, "we are wondering a bit about it our selves." "Alright, then here it is. The King of Thisis was a wealthy one, though on most accounts he seemed rather poor and meager, he actually had an amassed collections of foreign and native jewels and gems in his possession, some of which were extremely valuable. He found that keeping this knowledge out in the open was dangerous; he made up a story that a resistance group that still had not been discovered had stolen them. Only a few top officials and the King and Queen knew that the truth was that all those precious stones, were in a secret place in the mountainous regions." Dris paused and turned to Meerel. "Your highness, may I see your ring?" He asked, she nodded and slipped it into his hand. "You know that many kingdoms have a ring to certify who the *true* ruler is, well this one had a specific difference." Dris pointed to the inside of the ring, Obi-Wan squinted at it, and he could barely make out some tiny scratches. "These scratches you see are the directions to the vault were all those stones are hidden, to read them you would need a very powerful magnification device." The Captain handed it back to Meerel, who slipped it back onto her finger. "So that explains the reason that Raider One wanted the ring so much." Qui-Gon nodded. "But it *doesn't* explain how you found out that we were innocent." "Well," Dris continued. "After we captured you, we contacted the Jedi, they told us about your mission. I told them what you were being accused of. Apparently you Jedi have more intuition then normal people because a young woman, Tahl, immediately suspected the Raiders were up to something, she quickly began searching the Raiders files, and the files of the planet Thisis. Jedi Tahl found out about the vault because of an apparent obligation of rich deposits that the senate was entitled to know. King Ti couldn't hide that from the Jedi if he couldn't hide it from the senate. That immediately explained the Raider's want for the ring." "But how did you know that Raiders were following us, how did you follow their trail?" Obi-Wan asked. "Tahl had an easy time by getting a hold of people who could testify against the Raiders. Including a woman who said that Meerel had been kidnapped, and a man who was very mad about a flower stand of his that had been knocked over." Obi-Wan colored slightly, Qui-Gon was staring at him, and the boy knew that he would have to explain how he and Meerel had escaped in the first place. "She also did tracking on the ship," Dris continued. "She found out that it belonged to an illegal owner, and on top of that he didn't leave a very hidden trail, she followed the evidence right to him." Dris sighed and shook his head. "The whole thing was quite a mess, and all for a little girl and her ring. Really though, you should thank me, you should thank Tahl, if it wasn't for her we wouldn't known about this, she saved your life." Qui-Gon smiled to Obi-Wan. "It wouldn't be the first time." Chapter 7 The Jedi didn't stay long, after they regained their lightsabers they were ready to go. "What's the news from Thessis?" Obi-Wan asked. "The war was fought and broken off," Qui-Gon concluded as he powered up the engines to their newly acquired cruiser. "The Queen died of the illness, the King was killed in battle." Qui-Gon paused and frowned. "And their son disappeared, there was no trace of him anywhere, and they haven�t been able to contact him." "War is a nasty business that always bares loss." Obi-Wan sighed. "Where is Meerel?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan frowned. "Well, she's asleep, Master, but I don't know, maybe I should tie her down. I mean, it would be just our luck to discover that she sleep walks and she takes off in an escape pod to who knows were." Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, it wouldn�t be a big surprise." "Well," Obi-Wan said standing from his seat. "I'm going to go sit on her, make sure she doesn't go anywhere." "Fine," Qui-Gon said and smiled. "After all, you are the baby sitter." ***************************** The group finally reached Coruscant. Obi-Wan held Meerel's hand, but really she was more holding his, and very tightly. When they reached the Jedi Temple Obi-Wan took her to the Cr�che' to meet the other little children. He turned down to her. "Now maybe you can find some peace and quiet for a little while. Do you think.� She shook her head. "No." Obi-Wan could hardly argue. "Hey, Meerel, look. There is someone I want you to meet. Honi?" A small six-year-old with red hair turned and saw the two. "Hi Obi-Wan!" she called. Obi-Wan ruffled her hair when she walked up to them. He had been fond of the little girl since their adventure half a year ago with the Royal Stone of Estrious. "Honi, this is Meerel. Meerel this is the real Honi." Meerel's eyes went wide. "The *real* Honi from your story?" "Yes," Obi-Wan smiled. "Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon called. "We have a report to give to the council." Obi-Wan nodded. He knelt down and gave Meerel a hug. "I hope to see you again Meerel." "Me too," Meerel nodded. "Bye-bye." "Good-bye." Obi-Wan waved. He came up to Qui-Gon. "Well let's go Padawan." Qui-Gon said. As they started out of the room, they heard Meerel's voice loudly behind them. "Bye Obi-Wan! Bye Daddy!" Obi-Wan turned to wave again. Soon they were walking down the hall, he desperately wanted to say something. He grinned and looked at his Master. "Don't say it Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon warned, in reference to Meerel's name for the Jedi. "I'm not, I'm not!" Obi-Wan said quickly. Just then the two Jedi passed, Adi Gallia and her apprentice, Siri, in the hall. "Hi Siri." Obi-Wan greeted. "Hello Obi-Wan." Adi smiled. "Hey Obi-Wan," Siri replied. "You just got back from a mission?" She asked. "Yes," Obi-Wan grinned. "Qui-Gon's a daddy." "Obi-Wan Kenobi!" THE END

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