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MISSION OF JUSTICE:Part Five

By MasterHawke, 1999

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DISCLAIMER: As we all know Jedi Master Lucas owns Star Wars, I'm just borrowing the characters, I promise I won't hurt them......much......

RATING: PG-13 for violence.

STAR PRIDE--Transport Ship heading for Mlori 5

Jesson and Anakin sat watching as Obi-Wan and Jareth ran through a practice duel in the cargo bay. At first Obi-Wan pressed his attack and the older Master let the younger Knight expend his excess energy. Obi-Wan dueled with passion and fire as he moved gracefully around the room, relentlessly attacking.

Master Jareth smiled softly at the younger man's energy and waited patiently for his chance to attack. He noticed a slight drop in Obi-Wan's left guard, he patiently waited for the opening again and when it did he quickly flicked his wrist. The tip of his lightsaber flicked sideways and turned Obi-Wan's blade up and away, moving quickly Jareth stepped inside Obi-Wan's guard and had his saber at Obi-Wan's throat.

Laughing, Obi-Wan powered down his blade, "I concede, Master Jareth." he bowed and hung his hilt on his belt. "Where did you learn that move?"

"Qui-Gon taught me that one. Shan-Dowe taught me a few others. Between the two of them I learned a great deal." Jareth powered down his saber and returned it to his belt. "Qui-Gon is the greatest Sword Master that the Jedi have seen in four hundred years, but Shan-Dowe is the greatest Weapons Master that we've seen in over seven hundred years." Jareth smiled as he sat down next to Jesson, "I was fortunate to have learned from both of them."

Obi-Wan dropped into the seat next to Anakin as he grinned, "Master Qui-Gon was a hard teacher at times, but he always made sure that I understood the basics of even the most difficult stances and defenses." He stretched his arms above his head as his face took on a grim look, "I hope we reach them in time."

"So do I, Obi-Wan." Jareth agreed with the younger man. "So do I."

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Location: Unknown

The hallway was empty as the four Jedi moved slowly down the corridor. The only light available was the glowing blade of the lightsaber held in the steady hands of Padawan Deain Caliterra as Qui-Gon supported and half-carried Shan-Dowe, her leg was not able to support any weight at all. The corridor branched and they stayed to the left branch hoping that the darkness would cease. Suddenly the corridor opened into a large cavernous room, the light of the saber seemed insignificant in the vast area. Deain looked around the entrance and found a switch which she flipped and instantly a soft yellow light illuminated the room.

Shan gasped as she quickly recognized the fur-scaled creature that sat on a tree branch not more than ten feet in front of her, "Ysalamiri!" she spoke softly, "I should have known."

"What are they, Master Kwai?" Keira asked from beside her.

"Creatures with the ability to create Force-repelling bubbles around themselves." She looked around the room and spotted two more near one of the other exits. "They're the reason that we can't feel the Force." Shan glanced up at Qui-Gon and nodded slightly, "We have to do something about that, Qui-Gon."

He nodded back and helped Shan lean against the wall for support. He walked over to Deain and took the lightsaber from her hand, "Stay with your Master." His voice was quiet but the command was clear.

Deain nodded as the Jedi Master walked away, she turned and was walking back to Shan-Dowe's side when she caught a glimmer of metal in a niche in the wall. Curiosity prompted her to walk over and look in the small area. Deain grinned when she found the four missing lightsabers, she walked back over to her Master, "Master, I found our sabers." Having already secured hers at her side, she passed her Master's saber back to her, and turned to assist Keira as the injured Padawan struggled to fasten her saber to her belt.

Shan-Dowe smiled and nodded as she hung her saber hilt on her belt hook. She glanced across the room toward Qui-Gon and shuddered abruptly as a surge of awareness vibrated her senses. Strength flowed through her body as the Force returned to the room around her. Shan ran through a quick mental discipline to reinforce her injured leg, she knew that she would have a difficult time when she saw the healers next, but she needed her leg working now. "Let's go." She walked as fast as she could across the room to join Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon nodded as she approached, "Which doorway do you think we should take?"

"The left one." Shan nodded toward the door that they stood near.

The four Jedi walked through the door and into a brightly lit corridor. As they walked down the hallway Shan and Qui-Gon extended their senses, alert for any dangers. They soon noticed that the floor rose slightly as if they were climbing uphill at a gradual incline. The corridor was nondescript and bordered with blank grey walls, no doors led off from it even though it curved slightly to the right. Shan couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap, but the other alternatives were slim and none.

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MLORI 7 Mining Colony -- Landing Bay

"Commander Tunai, there's a Republic Transport requesting docking clearance." The young woman's voice was calm and sure as she called out for her commanding officer's attention.

Commander Xave Tunai nodded at the traffic controller, "Granted. Have them land in Bay 67." The ruggedly handsome young man turned to leave the control area but he paused momentarily, "Did they say why they were landing here, Ensign Yonnek?"

"No, sir. They just requested landing clearance." She glanced back at her terminal quickly, "They are requesting a meeting with security personnel, sir." Her eyes widened slightly, "They say that there are Jedi on board, sir."

"Jedi?" Tunai frowned, "Weren't there some Jedi on Mlori 5 a few days ago?"

"Yes, sir. In fact the Jedi's transport, the Starhawke, is still in orbit around Mlori 5."

"Very well, Ensign, inform the transport that I'll meet them at the docking bay." Commander Tunai left the office and strode across the vast docking area as the Republic transport came through the magnetic shield and set down with a graceful transition from space to gravity. By the time Tunai reached the transport the landing ramp was already down and he could see four figures moving swiftly down the extended section.

"Greetings, Jedi. I am Commander Xave Tunai, chief security officer for the Mlori 7 mining colony. How may I be of service to you?" Tunia bowed slightly.

"Thank you for greeting us so promptly, Commander, if only every one on Mlori 5 had been as punctual." Master Jareth returned the slight bow, he quickly introduced the other Jedi. "We have reason to believe that four Jedi are being held against their will here." Jareth watched as the commander's eyes widened in surprise.

"Jedi imprisoned here? I can assure you, Master Jedi, that there are no prisoners on Mlori 7 at this time, much less any Jedi being held here."

"Do you mind if we ask you to prove that, Commander?" Obi-Wan spoke softly.

"Of course not, Jedi Kenobi, I'll be happy to show you anything you want to inspect." Commander Tunai turned and started walking back across the bay with the Jedi following him, "I'll show you our security control room. We have security cams in every area of this colony so if anyone is here illegally I can find them."

"It sounds like you have problems with keeping this colony secure, Commander?" Obi-Wan matched his strides to those of the security officer.

"We have had some problems in the past, the ionite mines here are the most valuable in the mining collective. We take a lot of preventative steps to insure that no one tries stealing any of the processed ore." Tunai stopped at a door, he opened it and motioned for the Jedi to enter, "This is our main security office and control room. The young lady at the control panel is Ensign Adel Yonnek, my assistant." Tunai nodded toward the massive screen, "That our mine, docking bay, and living quarters. From here I can inspect every inch of hallway, corridor and cavern in this facility." He sat down at the desk and ran through a command series with different views flashing by on the monitors.

"Stop." Jareth commanded, "I saw something."

Tunai stopped the monitors and slowly flashed back a few screens to a lit cavern, "That's the secondary sorting chamber, the lights aren't supposed to be on in that section, it was closed down six days ago for repairs." He spotted a flash of metal on another screen and quickly enhanced the image. "Where did those come from?" he muttered quietly.

"They look like security droids." Obi-Wan muttered softly.

"They are, but we don't have any on this colony." Tunai frowned, "What are they doing?"

"That's an ambush." Jareth's voice was quiet and cold with fear.

"I think you're right, Master Tra'ske." Obi-Wan pointed to another screen, "Look, what's that?"

Tunai enlarged the image that the young Knight had pointed to, "There isn't supposed to be anyone down there, that area is scheduled for metri cleansing this afternoon."

"Why don't I like the sound of that, Commander?" Jareth glanced at the officer.

"Because it's deadly to humans. We only do metri cleansing after we repair the enviromental systems, it destroys any living flesh, bacteria or virus left in the system."

"Master?" Obi-Wan pointed to the faint figures moving across the screen, "Enhance that!"

As the image drew into focus the faces could be seen clearly. It was Shan-Dowe, Qui-Gon, Keira and Deain.

"How do we stop the cleansing?" Jareth asked quickly.

Tunai shook his head, "We can't. It's an automatic function that starts ten hours after repairs are finished."

"How much time is left?"

Tunai glanced at the wall clock, "It starts in twenty-five minutes." He stood and strode quickly to a door in the wall, "Come on." He motioned to the Jedi.

The group walked down a short corridor to an open lift.

"Can we reach them in time, Commander?" Obi-Wan's voice was laced with concern.

"This lift is the only one that leads to that area, the only problem is that the computer system won't allow us to use to get to them. It stops on Level G Section 54 because of the repairs."

"Are there stairs that we can use instead?" Jareth asked calmly as the lift descended.

Tunai nodded, "Yes, there are. But where your friends are is eight levels below and twenty sections away from where this lift stops." He glanced at Jareth, "It'll be close."

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LEVEL O - SECTION 74

Shan and Qui-Gon entered the room cautiously, Keira and Deain stayed behind the two Masters as the group walked slowly across the floor toward the only other door in the room. Qui-Gon stopped suddenly, "It's a trap!" His lightsaber flew into his hand as a hail of blaster shots came towards them.

"Let's get out of here." Shan-Dowe shouted above the whine of ricochets.

They backed up, slowly heading back to where they had entered the room, only to discover that the door was locked. Shan glanced around the room and spotted a corner that offered some protection. <Qui-Gon, to my left.> The four Jedi were moving quickly towards that little bit of safety when Keira was struck from behind.

"Master!" Deain shouted as she grabbed her sister, "Behind us!" Her lightsaber flashed as she blocked the blaster bolts aimed at her.

Shan turned and deflected two bolts back at the droids who had fired them, felling them both in a burst of sparks.

The Jedi fought bravely but all too soon Shan-Dowe's injured leg gave out on her and she stumbled slightly trying to regain her balance.

Qui-Gon cast a concerned look in her direction and blaster bolt hit him in the shoulder.

<Qui-Gon, are you okay?> Shan asked as she felt his startled gasp.

<I'm fine, Shan, how are you doing?>

<I've been better.> Shan's leg twisted as she tried to block a high shot and as she regained her balance once again a ricochet glanced off her saber and tore into her chest. Shan-Dowe collapsed as Qui-Gon was also hit again.

The firing ceased momentarily as Shan reached out for Qui-Gon's hand, "Qui-Gon," she gasped painfully, "promise me you'll......you'll take care of the girls."

"Shan, hang on, help is coming." Qui-Gon had felt the mindtouch of Obi-Wan, alerting the Jedi Master that help was indeed on the way.

"It's too late, Qui, promise me......"

Qui-Gon nodded, "I promise, Shan, I'll take care of them."

Shan smiled faintly as the strength ebbed from her body, she closed her eyes tiredly as her body relaxed in death...................

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