TITLE: Dark Sacrifice  17/36

AUTHOR: Cara & Quintus

E-MAIL:  [email protected]

RATING: PG-13

CATEGORY: Pre-TPM, Jedi Apprentice, Original Characters

ARCHIVE: Yes. Please keep headers intact.

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. No copyright infringement intended, no profit is being made from this fiction. All original characters and story belong to the authors. 

FEEDBACK: Constructive feedback appreciated.

TIME FRAME:  Pre-TPM @ 1-2 years

SUMMARY:  When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan join a diplomatic mission to the planet Sahmly II, they uncover a strange vergence in the Force, centered around a young padawan whose actions may determine far-reaching changes in the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan’s decisions about the padawan could save the boy's life, or drive him to the power of the Dark Side.

DARK SACRIFICE

By Cara & Quintus

Chapter 17

Remii bolted out the side door of the Diplomat Residence and ran for the gardens. It wasn't until he was well inside the hedges that he noticed how silent the area was at night- and how dark. He ran down the path and made a turn, and another, then realized he had no idea where he was. The hedges towered above him, black and ominous. Remii stopped. He cast out his Force senses. The thread that ran back to his master was still there, and Remii shut it as far away as he knew how. Something else rose to tug at his consciousness. Remii followed the urge through the twists and turns of the hedge paths. He came to an opening in the hedges he never saw before- and a gate.

Remii moved to the gate and attempted to open it. There were larger outer gates and a smaller, human sized gate inset into the larger ones. The smaller gate was still big, and awkward, and totally impervious to Remii’s tugging. A quick search found an announcing plate like the one outside his rooms. Remii let his hand hover over the plate a long moment before pressing his palm to the slick metal. He expected an alarm, or lights, or some warning. Nothing happened. Disappointed, he stepped back.

The inner gate swung silently on unseen hinges and opened outward. Beyond lay an open area, and the streets of Sahmly City. The buildings glowed ocher under the phosphorous streetlights. Sounds drifted up the hill, unique to Sahmly and mostly unidentifiable to Remii. Two dark shapes moved up the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill, they seemed to float in the shadows of the Sahmlian night. They stopped and looked directly at Remii. He felt the tug on his mind, a goad to step out the gate into the city. The tug became an urge, then a compulsion. Remii stepped through the opening. He swallowed as the night stilled to silence.

Another tug on his mind brought up the image of Adin-Duanath. Remii hesitated. The conflict in his head intensified. Sounds on the path leading to the gate broke his concentration, after a moment’s indecision, Remii stepped back, turned and ran down a side path to throw himself on the ground beneath a towering hedge. Several Sahmlians walked down the path to the gate, talking quietly to each other. They walked in a curious formation, loosely surrounding the Sahmlian in the middle.

At the sight of the open gate, one Sahmlian squeaked in alarm, and the procession stopped. The center Sahmlian detached from the group and stood, head up, rills flaring, and turned in a circle until it faced the hedge where Remii lay. The Sahmlians came forward as a group. Remii tried to scrabble backwards under the hedge, but the underbrush was too dense. The Sahmlians grabbed and dragged him out, then dropped their hands as if burned when they saw who it was. One dropped to the ground and covered his face. The others stepped back until Remii was alone on the walkway. They surrounded the one who had pointed him out in a loose half circle. 

Remii almost burst into tears when he stood and found himself face to face with Ga-Ree-Jen. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, much to her companion's discomfort.

“You should not be out here, Master Jedi. It is dangerous at night.” Her six-fingered hand touched his face, over the bruise, and her rills fluttered. The Sahmlians muttered and shifted their feet.

“I... I got lost...” Remii rubbed a fist across his eyes. "It's no problem."

“Do not go out the back gate, Jedi,” Ga-Ree-Jen said sternly. “It leads to a bad part of the city.”

“You were going out,” Remii said. He tried to peer around her bulk.

“We have business there. You do not.” Ga-Ree-Jen released him and stepped back. She pointed down the wide path. “Go back to Residence, Master Jedi. You are protected there.” The Sahmlians chattered among themselves. One reached out to tap insistently on Ga-Ree-Jen’s arm and gesture. “I must leave,” she said, “We'll be late. Go, now, kit. Outside is not safe for the likes of you.” She leaned and stared out the gate a long moment before turning back to him.

Remii wanted to argue, but the woman crossed her arms over her chest just as Master Dushiko did when he was angry. Remii began to walk down the wide main path along the hedgerows. A glance behind showed Ga-Ree-Jen still watched. A few dozen meters and he looked again. The Sahmlians were gone, the gate closed. There was nothing but shadow. His steps slowed. The call of the city sang to him. The summons tapped the disquiet in his head. Sahmlians could not tell him what to do. Technically, Ga-Ree-Jen shouldn’t even speak to him unless he spoke to her first. And Master Dushiko did not care what he did, Dushiko did not want him. He could see what had been denied to him since they arrived. The city, the people. He hesitated.

“Remii?”

The distant voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi came to him over the hedges. Remii scowled. A whisper tickled the edge of his consciousness. Come to me now. The city waits... The tall hedges threw complex shadows across the stone paths. Rustling sounded from beneath the hedges and bushes that lined the walkway.

“Remii! Answer me! I know you’re out here.”

Come out the gate. The music in his head held jewel tones the flute-pipe never reached. It fascinated Remii, and frightened him at the same time. Deep and resonate, the tone masked the Force sense in his head. Remii turned around, started down the path, turned again, unnerved by his inability to find his way. In the darkness, the paths all looked the same. He sensed rather than heard the gate to the city open, spilling darkness into the gardens.

“Remii?”

Remii began to run toward the sound of Obi-Wan’s voice. He turned down a path. The harder he ran, the more distant Obi-Wan's voice got. In the shadows Remii lost sight of the main path. He veered off, followed a spiraling stone walk, and found himself inside one of the hedge-enclosed gardens. The trickle of a fountain was a roar in the dark and the heady smell of flowers overwhelmed his senses. Tiny yellow eyes watched him from the shrouded branches of the shrubs, dozens of them. Ominous three tone notes sounded. Remii whirled, bolted for the opening, and collided squarely with a solid figure. The figure reached and grabbed him by the upper arms. Remii kicked out. His blow never landed, deflected by the Force.

“Careful, kid. That’s not a polite spot to be kicking your friends.”

Adin. The relief Remii felt caused him to go limp. He let himself be drawn against the knight’s cloak, let the Explorer wrap strong arms around him. Remii swallowed a sob. The Jedi smelled of the kitchens, and other, more exotic scents. The dust of Sahmlian streets surrounded him. Remii clung to the knight so hard he felt the rigid shape of the blaster Adin carried under his robes. Blasters exist only to destroy, an inelegant solution, Master Dushiko commented in his memory. It is a mark of discipline to carry a light saber- and know how to use it well.

Remii felt the brush of Adin's mind against his, and the voice of Master Dushiko faded into the shadows. Adin's thoughts were divided, although he tried to hide it. Remii sensed a tinge of frustration in the knight, then it was gone, the Jedi projected only caring and concern. Adin was a pillar of Light Remii could ground himself against.

“What are you doing out here in the dark, kid?”

Dark? Remii opened his eyes with a start. The night slammed back. He was in the Sahmlian gardens, he was inside the knight's head, the Light was gone and he felt the division Adin tried so hard to disguise. Was that irritation at him the knight felt? Anger? Remii pulled back from the Jedi's grasp. “I... I...”

“You ran off from your master, didn’t you?" Adin sighed. "Remii..." The knight rubbed his bearded face with a hand. "Tell me what happened.”

“What are you doing out here?” Remii challenged. He took a step backwards.

“I was out in the city, working. I came in through the gate, saw you take off like a blaster singed bantha, and thought I better see what was wrong.”

“You... you came in through the back gate? Alone?”

“Just me and my shadow, kid. What’s wrong?”

Remii backed up again. “Obi-Wan is looking for me. I better go find him.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Adin said. He stepped forward and grasped Remii’s arm. “It's dark out there. Let’s wait here for him. He'll find us.”

"Don't tell me what to do!" Remii tried to wrench his arm away. When he couldn't, he turned on the knight and began to punch and kick at him. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Easy, Remii. I'm not going to hurt you." Adin grabbed at the flailing arms. "Calm down!"

"Let… me…go!" Remii attempted to punch the arm that held him. "You're hurting me!" Desperate, Remii began to gather Force energy from Adin, channeled it into himself, and tried to send it back. The knight deflected his efforts with some formidable shielding.

"That's enough!" Adin wrapped his arms tightly around Remii. "I'm not hurting you! Stop this!"

Remii felt resentment blossom behind his eyes and throb in his head. "Let me go!"

"Calm down, Remii!"

"I can't! You'll hurt me!"

"I won't. I just want to help you. Let's find Master Dushiko and-"

"No, he hates me! You hate me!" Remii hardly recognized his own voice, tinged with panic and rage. He threw the words at the Jedi with every ounce of Force effort he had, they slipped past the shielding and struck home. He felt Adin's pain at his words, and latched onto it, twisted it… "See, you do! You hate me!"

"I do not!" The pain reflecting from the Jedi intensified. "I could never hate you!"

"You do! You hate me!" Remii sensed the knight's upset growing to match his own. The knight hated him, hated the way Remii wouldn't listen, hated the disobedience that flared up under pressure. Remii kicked again, sobbing. "Let me go!"

"I will not!"

"Let him go, Knight Yeriamman." Qui-Gon Jinn appeared out of the blackness; a tall form wrapped in dark Jedi robes and stiff composure. He pushed the hood away from his face. "Release him, Adin," Qui-Gon said more softly.

"Not until he calms down."

"He won't calm down until you free him. Trust me, Adin-Duanath."

The words from Qui-Gon came on a wave of tranquil surety. Remii wanted to fight it, to stay in control, but as the knight's arms released him, anger and fear receded also. Remii gulped. In the vacuum where his fury hid, Qui-Gon's serenity rushed in. The world tipped, and Remii had to swallow the nausea that threatened to choke him. Qui-Gon walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Calm, padawan. Center yourself. Warmth and the peacefulness of the Force flowed into him. Remii stared at the Jedi Master, wide eyed.

"Calm, Padawan" Qui-Gon repeated out loud. "If you are calm, others will be calm. Channel your calmness, not their upset. Do you understand?"

"No, Master," Remii said miserably.

Adin started forward and stopped at the raise of Qui-Gon's free hand.

"We will have to work on it, then." Qui-Gon looked up as Obi-Wan rushed through the opening. "Calm yourself, Obi-Wan."

Remii felt Obi-Wan's nervous anxiety and immediately tensed in return. Master Dushiko would be angry with him. He should be like Obi-Wan, and worried, not calm as if nothing had happened. He shrugged out from under Master Jinn's hand and choked back the sobs that threatened to burst out of him.

Qui-Gon made no move. "Come, Remii. Let's get you back. We will discuss all this in the light of the morning." Obi-Wan moved to stand directly behind his master, a smaller shadow of the Jedi.

The bond that held them shimmered in Remii's mind, a transparisteel thread veiled gossamer. It ran between the two men and flowed with Force energy. He closed his eyes and felt himself caught in the Force, linking threads that ran in opposite directions. Remii opened his eyes and turned around. "Adin? Will you come with me?"

"It is better if he did not, Padawan." Qui-Gon said.

"Please?" Remii stared at the tall knight. All he knew was that the Jedi Explorer made him feel safe. It wasn't Adin that was bad, it was him. The events of the past few minutes washed away with his need of the knight, and his worry over what his master would say. Or do. "Adin… please. I need you."

The knight looked torn. "I can't, Remii. Master Jinn is right. It could only make things worse. You must return to Dushiko." He stepped forward and gave a tug on Remii's padawan braid, then a small smile. "No harm will come to you, my young padawan. I promise you that."

"Be wary, Knight," Qui-Gon said, "Do not make rash assurances."

"I have every intention of making sure of my promises, Master Jinn," Adin replied. 

"You interfere where you do not belong, Knight Yeriamman. This is still a matter between master and padawan. It is none of our concern," Qui-Gon said.

"Another time, maybe, I could be forced to agree with you. But not anymore." Yeriamman gave another smile and shrug. "I cannot. It is no longer my choice."

"Obi-Wan, take Remii and start back," Qui-Gon ordered. He waited until the padawans headed out the opening before he stepped close to the Jedi Knight. "I sense what is happening between you and the boy. Sever it now. Do not let it grow. You add undue complications to an already fragile situation you yourself warned us about." Qui-Gon pursed his lips as he studied the resolute face of the man in front of him. "End this, Yeriamman. For everyone's sake."

"I cannot," Adin said. "It is the will of the Force."

--Continued in Chapter 18--