| Title: A Bond Of Friendship: Story 9: Silent Tears (Part Two) Author: Angel5000 * * * * * Several hours later the boy wasn�t feeling much better. The feeling in his arm was coming back, but the headache he had was just getting worse. None of the pills he had taken were helping, instead they just seemed to make it more aggravated. This was getting so bad that Obi-Wan was actually contemplating asking his Master for assistance, no matter how irked the older man was with him. With a groan the fifteen-year-old dragged himself from the bed and into the common room where he dug through the pile of papers on his Masters desk until he found his comlink. Quickly he pressed the button, summoning his Master. �Master?� He waited, but received no answer. After a couple of minutes he tried again, �Master? Qui-Gon are you there?� When there was no answer again Obi-Wan began to get a little worried. //Why isn�t he answering? He told me that communications would be turned off, but how long did he mean? Truly they couldn�t still be off! // With an exasperated sigh he tossed the comlink back onto the desk. He�d just have to try another way. Slowly he closed his eyes and centered himself, and then reached out through their Master/Padawan bond for his Master. ~Master?~ He was surprised when, instead of receiving some sort of acknowledgment or something he was met with a mind shield, a very heavy mind shield at that. Qui-Gon hardly ever shielded against him, and when he did there was always a reason. Right now there couldn�t be a reason serious enough for him to be shielding so tight. There had only been one other time that Obi-Wan had encountered a mind shield so tight, and it was a few years ago when his Master had been injected with a very strong sedative. ~Master!! Master, answer me!!~ Obi-Wan all but screamed through the bond. But for all his tries there was no reply. Obi-Wan was just about to head for the Healer�s Ward when a sudden, insistent pounding began in his head. It grew harder, and louder, and the pain grew to be so intense that he gripped his head in his hands and dropped to his knees. Soon it became so extreme that he quit fighting it and allowed himself to drift off into the painless unconsciousness. * * * * * Back on Dalon all was not well. The Planet Leaders could not find the Jedi who was supposed to have been dispatched to their planet. They had waited for several days before deciding that something had definitely gone wrong. Yet when they contacted the Jedi Temple they were told that there must have been some form of transportation problems, or something like that. And that he should be there within a day. That was two days ago, and none of the Jedi had arrived yet, at least not to their knowledge. All the Jedi were given explicit instructions not to use any form of communication when they arrived, but to head directly to the Planet Headquarters. From there they would be led to the Planet Officials. Either Jedi don�t follow instructions, or there was more of problem on this planet then anyone thought. * * * * Qui-Gon sat up with a groan and ventured a look around. At the moment he was laying on a flat, cold, metal table, in the middle of a metal room. His ankles were shackled to the table with iron clamps, clamps so tight that they felt as though they were cutting off the circulation to his feet. There were metal rings attached to the edge of the table and iron cuffs on each of Qui-Gon�s wrists. A chain, fifteen inches in length, connected the iron cuffs to the metal rings; therefore limiting Qui-Gon�s movements. His head was pounding, but from what he didn�t know. //Concentrate! What happened? How did I get here? Think!// Qui-Gon told himself, doing his best to gather his thoughts. With much effort it all began coming back to him. - - After the hooded figure had informed Qui-Gon that he was, the criminal, four other hooded figures had stepped out of the shadows. Each held a blaster in one hand, and a weapon of choice in the other. On most of the blasters the warning light flashed ominously � indicating that it was set to �disintegrate�. �I�m sorry that your welcome could not be more glamorous, but for us, time is limited.� Qui-Gon remained quiet, his face impassive. After several seconds he spoke, �Why are you doing this?� �You wouldn�t understand Jedi. Now, things will be a lot easier if you�ll just stay still.� With those words the hooded figure set his blaster to stun and pulled the trigger. Qui-Gon started to move out of the way but was too late. As the blast hit him he fell to the ground, blackness engulfing him. - - That was all that Qui-Gon could remember. Everything after that had been black. He assumed that after being hit with the stun ray the hooded figures had brought him back here. Where was here anyway? There wasn�t a person in sight, just the four metal walls and this table. At one end of the room, against the wall, stood a small desk. There were papers on the desk, but at this distance he was too far away to read them. With what little bit of energy the Jedi Master could muster he poked at the locks on his restraints with the Force, but found that when he tried to use the Force it slipped out of his grip. He was able to feel it moving around him, very faintly, but that was all. It told him nothing, and he could not harness it or control it. At the moment Qui-Gon felt like a first year Temple student again. ~Obi-Wan�Obi-Wan answer me!~ Qui-Gon was surprised to find that there was a thick shield in place on the bond, and it didn�t appear that Obi-Wan had placed it there. It must have been erected by Qui-Gon himself, probably due to some drug that his captors had pumped into him. He was just about to try again when a hidden door, made to look like part of the wall, slid open and medium sized man, wearing a dark cloak and a hood, walked into the room. Qui-Gon recognized him as the man who had identified himself as the criminal. �Ah, I see my newest captor has woken. The sedatives must be wearing off. How are you feeling? Your head is probably aching from all those drugs, but don�t worry, it will fade to a dull ache within a few hours. And then one of my scientists will come in and re-administer them.� The man seemed to be gloating over his ability to cause the Jedi pain. �Who are you?� Qui-Gon asked, his voice quiet yet demanding. �I�m sorry Jedi, where ever are my manners? I should have introduced myself.� The man pulled the cloak from his head, revealing a very pale face. His brown hair was short, nearly as short as Obi-Wan�s, and his face was covered with a full beard. A scar, about four centimeters in length, curved out from the outer corner of his right eye. Qui-Gon made sure to study every feature so that later, when he got out, he would be able to find this man again. �My birth name is of no importance, but you may call me Aramis if you wish.� Qui-Gon rolled his eyes at the name. Aramis meant Great One, or Almighty. There was no way he was going to address this criminal with a name usually reserved for one of royal blood. �You don�t like my name?� So called Aramis asked. �I�m so deeply hurt.� He was laughing when the door slid open again and two young men, dressed in white coats, walked in. �Ah, my scientists have arrived. Jedi, I want you to meet the people who will be in charge of your health. I�m afraid that they were never trained in painless techniques, so you�ll have to forgive them if they sometimes forget to administer the painkillers...� He turned with an evil grin to his scientists, �You have your orders, follow them precisely. I want him constantly sedated, we don�t want our patient escaping now.� Without a second look at Qui-Gon Aramis stepped from the room, leaving the Jedi to the scientists. The shorter of the two scientists pulled out a syringe and filled it with a greenish liquid. After tapping the syringe a few times he motioned towards the other scientist. The taller one, which Qui-Gon silently nicked Goose due to his long neck, walked over towards Qui-Gon, �Please lie down now.� He said, his voice strangely polite. �Excuse me?� �Lie down and lie still.� Goose repeated. Qui-Gon pulled away as the shorter man headed towards him, there was no way he would let them inject that stuff into him. As he pulled away Goose pulled out a small box, about the size of his palm, and pressed a red button centered on it. Instantly Qui-Gon felt a sharp pain shoot through his entire body, mainly focused on his wrists and ankles. The shackles were apparently electrically wired, allowing his captors to shock him at their need. �Lie down Jedi, lie down and be still or I shall be forced to shock you again, this time with a higher voltage.� Qui-Gon reluctantly lay down. It would do him no good to resist. He would only end up weaker, and have less ability to fight whatever this dangerous liquid was. Once he was completely down Goose tightened the chains, restricting the movements of his arms to nearly zero. Then clipped a Force Restrictor collar on his neck. This way they wouldn�t have to keep injecting him with Force Repellents. The shorter man walked up and injected the liquid from the syringe into Qui-Gon�s arm. As the green liquid started to course through Qui-Gon�s veins he could feel it burning the entire way through. Three more shots were injected into the Jedi�s body, at random injection sites, to make sure that all the veins were filled with the liquid. Qui-Gon writhed on the table, even as he fought to remain still. As the liquid reached his heart, Qui-Gon found he could no longer remain quiet, even as much as he wanted to, and he began to scream. * * * * * Kari�Aun was walking down the corridor of the ship when the blast came. The strength of the blast threw her into the wall and she ground her teeth against the pain. She could hear other passengers screaming, and through their bond, Kari�Aun knew her Master was worried about her. ~Master! Are you all right?~ She asked, while fighting her own pain away. ~I�m fine my Apprentice. Where are you?~ Christe could feel the pain, no matter how hard the twelve-year old tried to shield it. ~I'm in the corridor outside our quarters. But don�t come for me Master, get to the other passengers first, my injuries aren�t dangerous. ~ Christe had to smile at the way her young Apprentice put others before herself. Truly Jedi qualities. She didn�t have a chance to reply before Kari�Aun continued with a question. ~What hit us Master? ~ ~The pilot said something about a Togorian pirate ship. I�m going to get details later. Right now the staff and I are concentrating on evacuating all the passengers.~ Christe stepped some more debris and picked up a young human child, about four years old. The child�s hair was matted with blood, and he kept mumbling for his mother. She was placing the boy into an evacuation pod when Kari�Aun�s shields went up, a sign of trouble. Without another thought she hurried from the area, and headed for her Apprentice, ignoring the shouts of other workers. �Christe! Where are you going?� One of the staff shouted after her. �There are injured in the hall with personal quarters. I�m going over there to get them out.� She called back, without bothering to stop. �Wait! I�ll come with you!� Christe shook her head, stopped and turned with a fierce determination in her eyes, a look that many had learned to recognize as a �don�t mess with me� look. �You stay here and evacuate everyone in this area. The hall outside passenger quarters is unstable, I�m positive. If things get out of control I�ll contact you on the comlink. Right now you need to focus on these passengers.� She fell against the wall as another blast shook the large transport. �If I�m not back by the time the rest of the hall�s evacuated get out of here.� The man shook his head, �I can�t let you do that Jedi Eleison. The galaxy needs you more than it needs me. Let me go � please!� Christe gave him a sad smile, �You don�t understand. My Apprentice is trapped in there and I�ve got to get to her. She�s only twelve, and if I can�t get her out alive�well, then I don�t want her to be alone as she dies. Go, take care of the other passengers, and send word to the Jedi Temple of the accident if I can�t do so.� As she turned and hurried down the hall she heard the staff member whisper quietly, �May the Force be with you�� * * * * Kari�Aun couldn�t move. Her head was bleeding and her ribs were on fire, but that wasn�t the worst of her problems. Her left ankle was trapped under a large piece of debris that had fallen during the second blast. She knew that if she didn�t get out she�d die, but without the ability to move�well things weren�t looking very good� * * * * Christe ran through the corridors, occasionally stopping to give directions to a lost passenger. She expected to see some damage to the hall, but when she rounded the corner she wasn�t prepared for what lay before her. Wires hung from the ceiling and pieces from the walls and ceiling scattered the floor. Her Apprentice was nowhere in sight, but several other passengers were. There would be no way for Christe to evacuate them all, and so she deliberately pulled out her comlink and punched in the code for the staff member she had been speaking to earlier. �Draes here.� Came the short reply. �Draes? Christe here. I need you down here pronto. There are several seriously injured passengers, but they�re still alive. Grab another staff member if you can, volunteer only! It�s dangerous down here.� She ducked as another wire fell from the ceiling tiles, �I�m going farther down the hall to find Kari�Aun.� �I understand; I�ll be there right away. The pilot says there are only a few minutes before the Togorians begin boarding Christe; we�ve got to get out before then. Being a Togorian slave can be worse than death at times.� �Fine. Take five minutes to evacuate people, and then get out of here. Don�t worry about me I�ll be fine. Christe Out.� The Jedi Healer-Knight turned off her comlink and shoved it into her cloak, before continuing down the corridor. She knew that Draes would be upset at her for being so willing to sacrifice her life, but if Kari�Aun wasn�t getting out than neither was she. ~Kari�Aun! Apprentice, where are you?~ ~I�m outside cabin numbers B32 and B34. Master, I can feel bad people coming�~Kari�Aun was getting weaker and Christe knew that she didn�t have much time to get her out. At least she wasn�t too far away, that was a plus. ~What do you mean the bad people? Explain to me.~ ~Bad people Master�I don�t know who they are, I�ve never felt this type of people before, but they are about to get on the ship. They want�money Master, money and�and slaves�~ Kari�Aun began to grow weak and she closed her eyes. It felt so good to close them� ~Kari�Aun! Don�t go to sleep dear. Keep talking. I need you to wish for me! Wish hard that these bad people won�t get here.~ Christe begged the girl, trying to keep her awake. ~Okay Master�I�ll wish if it�ll help. They�re going to get us you know.~ The words, so confident, shocked Christe. She was rounding the last bend of the hall as she replied, ~what are you talking about Kari? We�ll be fine.~ ~No we won�t Master. Even if I keep wishing they�ll still get us. Can�t you tell?~ Christe reached the twelve-year old at that instant, and without pausing began to pull the debris off her. It only took a moment before the girl was free, and Christe swept Kari�Aun into her arms. �Don�t worry Apprentice mine, we�ll be fine.� Kari�Aun only nodded her head, and leaned against Christe. She was shivering, //probably from shock,// Christe noticed. With out a word she pulled her cloak around the two and they headed back the way Christe had come. The two had only gone a few feet before another jolt shook the entire transport. This jolt was different from the other two that had occurred, and Christe recognized it as another ship connecting and preparing to board. �They�re here Master.� Kari�Aun mumbled quietly. �Shh, my Apprentice. Don�t speak. We need to get out of here, so you must stay quiet.� Christe contemplated putting the girl to sleep with a Force suggestion but decided against it. It was too dangerous. If Kari�Aun had a concussion it would be best for her to stay awake. She slipped down a different hall, hoping that the large amount of wreckage would discourage anyone from following them. Unfortunately for her, the Togorians had already entered this passage, and she found herself face to face with one in a matter of minutes. The large Togorian had a vibro-axe in one hand, and a blaster set to �disintegrate� in the other. To resist them, without proper defence means, would be fatal. With Kari�Aun in her arms, and no way to reach her lightsaber, she had no choice but to allow them to take her� * * * * * When Obi-Wan opened his eyes he was momentarily confused. This wasn�t his room, or his quarters, that was for sure. It took him a couple minutes to realize he was in the Healer�s Ward. //How�d I get here?// �You were found in your quarters, unconscious, and for no apparent reason. Healers were sent for immediately, considering your past problems with fading into unconsciousness. How are you feeling?� Obi-Wan recognized the voice as one belonging to Bash�ta, an experienced Healer, and one who had been assigned to Obi-Wan during his previous ailments. She knew all too well how quickly a simple symptom could turn dangerous. �Healer Bash�ta, what happened? And who discovered me?� Bash�ta shook her head, her eyes sad, �We don�t know Obi-Wan. We had hoped you could fill us in. Padawan Kami found you a few hours ago. What happened before you passed out?� She asked quietly. �I woke up from a terrible dream, it was a nightmare worse than any other. I don�t remember it now, just that it was horrible. When I woke up my head hurt really bad, and I felt as though I�d caught the Correlian flu, only ten times worse. Later, when the nausea and headache didn�t go away I tried to contact Qui-Gon with the comlink. He didn�t answer, and I tried with out bond, only to discover there a very thick mind shield there. I had just decided to head over here for some painkillers for my head when the pounding grew worse and worse, until it felt as though my head would explode. I remember falling to the ground, my hands clutching my head, and then nothing. After that it�s all black.� Obi-Wan shook his head, trying to remember more, but finding it impossible. �That must be when you fell into the unconscious state. I don�t know what to think of this. Your brain scans show that a large amount of electrons were being used before hand, and it looks as though someone was trying to contact you telepathically. But that could have been a number of things.� �The pain is gone now Bash�ta. Can I go back to my quarters? I have several assignments from my Master that I must complete and send back. Being late wouldn�t make him very pleased. Besides, if he tries to contact me I want to be there.� Obi-Wan didn�t like the Healer�s Ward and he would be glad to get out. �In a little bit Obi-Wan. I�m going to talk to Master Yoda about this first. We don�t want to take extra risks now. I think what I want to do is put you into a drug-induced sleep, a deep trance of sorts and then have Master Yoda do a mind check. The reason for your pain may reveal itself then.� Bash�ta explained. Obi-Wan just sighed. There was no use arguing with Bash�ta when she was looking for a cure, or at anytime for that matter. �Whatever you say Bash�ta.� �That�s my good patient. Now, I�m going to discuss this with Master Yoda. Don�t go anywhere.� Bash�ta summoned one of the Healer Apprentices from the hall, �Stay here, and keep an eye on this patient. I don�t want him leaving this room until I give leave. Understood?� Bash�ta�s orders were justifiable. Obi-Wan had snuck out of the Healer�s Ward many a time in the past. She wasn�t taking any chances this time. The Apprentice nodded, wide eyes. That was a very unusual order! �Bash�ta! I told you I�d stay!� Obi-Wan protested. �All the same, I�d like to make sure. No use wasting time having to hunt all over the Temple for you. Now, I�ll be back in an hour. Stay put.� With a grin Bash�ta went in search of Yoda, leaving an awed Healer Apprentice, and a very annoyed Obi-Wan in her wake. * * * * * Christe found herself, and her Apprentice, chained in a small room deep in the heart of the Togorian transport. After being caught Christe had convinced them to allow her to keep both Kari�Aun, and their lightsabers, with a little help from the Force. Kari�Aun was getting worse, Christe could tell through their bond, and Christe knew that soon Kari�Aun would be getting delirious unless she got some medical attention. She was just about to send some healing energy toward the girl when a cough from the corner of the room caught her attention. She turned, and was very surprised to see Draes there, along with a couple other staff members. �What are you doing here Draes? I told you to get out!� Christe exclaimed. �I couldn�t leave behind passengers, and I couldn�t leave you behind.� He said, coughing again, this time blood trickled from his mouth. �What happened? You look awful!� Christe asked, her voice full of concern. �Thanks.� Draes said dryly, �I resisted a bit, tried to defend the injured passenger behind me. They hit her with the vibro-axe and she didn�t survive. They proceeded to beat me pretty bad. I�m lucky though; I�ll probably die before going into slavery. Togorian pirates are the worst slave owners. I�m lucky.� The long sentence caused him to start coughing again, and Christe sent some healing energy towards him. �You can�t die Draes. You�re strong enough to make it! I know you are!� The Jedi countered, hoping to give him strength. �You�re right, I am strong enough to survive this beating. But Christe, you don�t understand, I don�t want to survive. My sister was killed after being taken as a slave by Togorians, and I won�t let them take me too.� With these words Draes laid his head onto his knees and took another breath, this one shallower, �Please, do something for me.� �Anything Draes.� �Stop my heart. Slow my breathing and allow me to die. It is the kindest thing you could do for me.� �I won�t do that, Draes! I won�t commit murder!� Christe said frantically. She wouldn�t kill him! He had befriended her on this mission and she wouldn�t kill him! �Christe, my friend, let me die now rather than die at the whip of a Togorian Pirate. I won�t serve the beasts, I won�t. Either I die now, a freeman, or I die by the whip, as a slave. Help me my friend.� Tears began to stream down Christe�s face, despite her strong reserve. Slowly she nodded, �Alright, I�ll do it. Goodbye my friend.� Carefully she slowed his heartbeat, a little at a time, until it stopped all at once. Draes gave one great shudder, took one last breath, before he finally died. With that final breath Christe lost any reserve she had, and pulling Kari�Aun close to her for comfort, she let herself cry quietly. Even Jedi Healer-Knights must cry sometime�even adults must cry. ***End Part Two*** |
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