TITLE: Dark Sacrifice  27/36

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 27

Canyon of Sorrows

Sahmly Savannah

The next thing Remii knew, someone shook him by the shoulder. "Master?" he said as he opened his eyes. "Is it time for practice?"

The Jedi ignored him. "Come with me, Padawan. I need your healing abilities. Muat cut himself repairing the ship."

Remii jumped to his feet, eager to have something familiar to do. The food restored his balance a bit, he felt able to heal- if the wound wasn't serious. He had to trot to keep up with the master, the Jedi turned the corner around a boulder, and Remii followed. He found himself in a small bowl at the very end of the canyon. Sheer rock walls towered at least 5-6 meters overhead.

The Jedi master Force leapt to the top of the wall, then turned and looked down. "Come along!"

Remii swallowed. He hadn't worked much on Force leaps with Dushiko. Not yet. He didn't feel strong enough to leap that far, even if he wasn't still exhausted and hungry. He doubted all of his abilities right now. Remii stared up to where the Jedi stood on top of the wall.

"Hurry up, Padawan!" the Jedi called down.

"I... I don't think I can leap that far, Master."

"You were never taught?"

"Not that high, Master."

"No matter. I will help you. Jump, and I will bring you the rest of the way."

Remii swallowed again, then gathered his senses and leapt. He felt something pull at him, then he was standing alongside the Jedi Master on the wall. He didn't even get a chance to marvel at the leap, or wonder at the energy surge he'd felt, because the master grabbed him by the elbow.

"Let's go."

Remii followed the man a few hundred meters to a level spot cleared out on the very base of the mountain foothills. A Naigulyt Cruiser hunkered in the clearing, shade tent erected over its angular top. Muat sat by an assortment of duriplas crates and clutched his arm, disgruntled expression on his face. Blood dripped steadily from between his fingers to form spots in the dust on the ground.

"What happened?" Remii rushed over to the apprentice and reached for the arm.

"It's cut. Can you fix it?"

"I need to see," Remii said. He pried Muat's fingers away from the wound and examined the gash. Blood welled up and rolled down the man's arm, the wound was deep, but narrow, and not too long. Remii clamped both hands over the wound and closed his eyes.  It felt like a knife wound, with metal tanged edges where the cells were cut. Muat must have hurt himself on the ship's hull. Remii took a deep breath, then began to concentrate, trying to feel the wound with his senses and determine how to direct the Force energy to heal it. Muat's physiology was… different. It wasn't anything Remii knew, but it was close enough to humanoid that Remii felt confident he could start the healing process. He tried to draw Light energy and channel it to bind the wound, grasping a Dark thread to weave around it. To his surprise, the wound refused to cooperate and his hold on the Light slipped away. Remii tried again with the same results. It felt like the wound pushed back at his efforts.

Remii shook his head and glanced up to find the master watching him.

"Well?"

"I...I…" Remii stammered. "I cannot make it work! I do not understand."

"Hmm," the master said. "Try again, and let me 'watch' with my senses."

Remii did as he was told, with the same negative results.

Muat shot a glare at his master.

"I see the problem, Padawan. You need to adjust your balance of Light and Dark. You are not using enough Dark energy to bind the wound. Did Dushiko never train you in the details of healing?"

"No," Remii said. "He did not teach me to heal."

The master's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I cannot believe he did nothing to help you learn, Padawan. You have a tremendous talent, to leave it dormant is a crime."

"He... he taught me a lot about weapons arts," Remii said, strangely motivated to defend Dushiko.

"Weapons are fine, Padawan, but with someone as talented as you at healing, you'll never have to really use your weapon arts. You will be with other Jedi who will protect you." His eyes darted to Muat. "Now, let's get my apprentice healed up. This time use Dark energy to seal the wound."

"But to use so much Dark energy-"

"You are using it for a good cause," the master interrupted, "so it will not harm you. If you are worried, I will help." He came forward and placed his hands over Remii's on Muat's arm. "Do it!"

Nervous, Remii did as he was told and tentatively reached for the Dark energy. It came to him eagerly, more than he knew what to do with. Remii concentrated, gathering the Dark energy to the wound and grasping minute strands of Light to bind it all together. He could feel the power of the Dark energy as it flowed through him into the wound, and bounced back. The wound did not resist this time; if anything it accepted the Dark eagerly.

The master let go of Remii's hands and stepped back to watch as Remii continued to channel Dark energy into the thirsty wound. He tried to separate out the pain, and attached it to the excess strands of Dark he sent away. To his surprise, it worked. It had never worked before, not with the Light.

After a short interval, Remii sat back on his heels and let go of Muat's arm. The apprentice flexed it gingerly.

"Do not use it too much for the next day or so," Remii cautioned as he stood. "While my healing bound the wound closed, I think it still needs to heal more on the inside. How does it feel?"

"Fine." Muat looked at him with something akin to respect. "It aches, but that is all."

The master stepped forward to pull Remii into a hug. "You did it, Padawan. I am proud of you. That was a fine job of healing. With my help, you will be a powerful healer in no time."

"Yeah, good job, kid," Muat said after looking at his master. "You'll be a big help."

"Did you feel it, Padawan? Did you feel the power as you healed?"

"Y-yes…"

"It is a wondrous feeling, isn't it? You will learn to feel it more and more." The master gave Remii a last hug and moved away. "Muat, finish repairing the ship and lock the tools away. I need to pay a visit to the City and check up on things.  Keep an eye on our new apprentice."

Muat nodded. "Yes, Master."

The Jedi looked at Remii. "You are almost there, Padawan. I just have a few details to work out." He reached and stroked Remii's cheek with cold fingers. "Then you will be mine, Padawan. All mine." The master dropped his hand and whirled away to disappear behind the ship.

Remii flushed. If he'd done such a good job, and this master wanted him so much, why did he feel so awful at the prospect?

A surly Muat ordered him to do the cleanup, then ordered him back to the canyon. Remii did as he was told, and a scant twenty minutes later stood on the rock wall above the bowl of the canyon and peered downwards. It looked much further than he expected. Remii walked back and forth on the edge a few times.

It was a long way down.

Muat appeared behind him. "Hurry up! Get back down to camp."

"I don't know if I can Force jump down that far," Remii confessed.

"Jump, or I'll push you over."

Remii turned and stared at the apprentice, wide eyed.

After a minute Muat gave a short laugh. "Just kidding. I'll help you." He grabbed Remii under one arm and leapt before giving the younger boy a chance to prepare himself.

Remii threw his senses outward in a panic, and used Force energy to push away from the rapidly approaching ground. His arm jerked as Muat did the same, but with more finesse. Remii's panicked push left them a few feet above the ground. They fell the rest of the way and landed awkwardly. Remii rolled and came to his feet, shaken.

Muat climbed to his feet and snarled at Remii. He clutched his injured arm and stalked over to the boy, violent intent plain on his face.

Remii backed away and found himself up against a wall. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to-"

"Shut up!" Muat said. He raised a fist as if to strike Remii, then froze. With a sigh, he lowered it and turned away. "Get back to the campsite. Now!"

Remii slid past the apprentice, took a few steps, and broke into a run. He dodged around the boulder and soon found himself back in camp. He waited nervously for the apprentice to appear, but after a good twenty minutes, Remii crept back past the boulder and peered around. Muat was nowhere in sight. The only way out was up. He must have gone back to the ship. Remii returned to the campsite again and paced.

As much as he wanted to just stay here, he couldn't. He had to talk with Master Dushiko, face to face. Dushiko had a sense of duty, and responsibility that Remii greatly admired. He would expect the same from Remii.

"I have to tell him."  Remii jumped as the rocks soaked up his spoken words. There was no echo.  This master wants to teach me to heal. Dushiko never wanted me anyways. I am not a Guardian; he should have padawans that want to learn weapons. "But I still have to tell him," Remii repeated. He looked down the dark canyon to the distant savannah and swallowed. An attempt to contact Dushiko through their bond was short lived. The intense headache it brought was not worth it. Something blocked communication with his master.

"Maybe if I get to the savannah, I can contact him. These walls must be the problem." Remii looked around. His light saber was nowhere to be seen, nor was any other weapon. "I'll be fine. It's just a long walk, that's all." He took a last check around the boulder to see if Muat was coming. There was no one.

Remii set off down the canyon, carefully picking his way across the rock-strewn ground.

He couldn't have been more than half a kilometer from the campsite when he became aware of something following him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he smelled a faint musky scent. Remii whirled around. He saw nothing. But the presence was still there, dark and ominous. He looked down the long canyon to where the savannah waited, bathed in sunshine. He wasn't going to make it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shape slip around a boulder and attempt to flank him. Another shape did the same on the opposite side.  Remii took another step down the canyon, then whirled and started to run back the way he'd come.

From atop a boulder the biggest cat Remii had ever seen blocked his passage. The animal was black as sin, tall as Remii, with a small head, tiny nose, undershot jaw, and three bright yellow-green eyes set in the middle of a broad forehead capped by huge, triangular ears. It snarled, and leapt.

Remii dove forward under the outstretched paws, much to the cat's surprise. He could hear the snarl change to a questioning yowl as its prey disappeared beneath it. Ak'ra Dushiko's relentless training paid off again, as Remii rolled, came to his feet, and threw himself sideways, just in time to miss being clobbered by the other cat. Remii dove under a twisted shrub and crawled around the corner into the hollow under a rock and watched the two cats untangled themselves. After snarling and swiping at each other, the big cats turned their attention to finding their prey. Remii froze in place.  If the cats depended on smell, he was a goner. If their hunting depended on sight and sound, as the triple eyes and huge ears indicated, he had a chance. When no claws sunk into his back, he relaxed a fraction, racking his brain to recall the information on the brochure in his rooms at the Diplomatic Residence. There was something about the big cats… but these ones didn't look like the ones in the brochures.

"Remii!"

At the sound of Muat's distant voice, the cat's heads shot up and their attention turned up the canyon. They headed that way in a silent lope. Remii didn't move, a ripple in the Force warned him to stay put.

After a couple of minutes, one of the cats moved back into sight, three eyes sweeping the area in an attempt to find Remii. The zing of a light saber sounded, a yowl sounded, and the cat watching for Remii snarled and disappeared into the rocks. Another Arrcat moved out from behind the rock across from Remii and melted away down the canyon. Remii listened to his inner voice again, scrambled out of the undergrowth, and ran up the canyon towards Muat.

Muat said nothing as Remii came towards him. The apprentice just pointed back toward the camp while his flat yellow eyes scanned the terrain, light saber clenched in one hand. He didn't relax until they got to the ring of boulders that marked the outermost point of the camp. Remii ran past them back into the security rocks and only stopped when he got to the wall. He stood, panting. Muat Force leapt to the top of a tall boulder and stood a long while, watching the canyon. Finally he leapt down and strode over.

"Stupid, little-" Muat struck Remii in the face with the back of his hand.

Remii reeled from the blow, stumbling back until he came up against the rock wall. He could taste the blood pouring from a split lip.

Muat advanced on him, rage written all over the spotted face. He hit Remii several more times until Remii dropped to the ground and curled up with his arms over his head, too stunned to try and defend himself. Just when his head felt ready to split from the blows, Muat stopped. When nothing happened for the next several minutes, Remii cautiously raised his head and looked around. Muat was gone.

Remii got to his feet, and bit back a whimper. Master Dushiko's voice echoed in his head. Jedi need not feel pain, Padawan… Remii concentrated on eliminating the pain, and healing the injuries. He needed to be strong for whatever came next. He got the feeling it was not going to be good. But the Light wouldn't come to him, it was elusive. The Dark waited, eager to swoop in and offer assistance. "No!" Remii choked down a sob. Suddenly, the appeal of Dushiko's protection was far greater than the unknown master's promise of teaching him to heal.

Master?

Adin?

Help me…

--Continued in Chapter 28--