His surprised eyes stared into Obi-Wan’s for a moment. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Then Jemba slumped onto the muddy ground and died.
A draigon’s cry wrenched Obi-Wan’s attention back to his situation. He barely had time the thrust his lightsaber at the huge attacking mouth, then jump back.
“That was a little to close, I’d say,” Qui-Gon remarked from behind him. His lightsaber powered up and glowed green. “I think you could use some help.”
Chapter 23
Together, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon jinn fought side by side. The Forced pulsed between them. They knew without speaking where the other would move, when the other would strike. When Qui-Gon moved forward, Obi-Wan sprang back to protect his flank. When Obi-Wan leaped to the right, Qui-Gon made sure he was covered from the left.
Clat’Ha joined them, a blaster in each hand and a spare strapped to her leg. Qui-Gon and Clat’Ha had worked quickly to administer the dactyl to the Arconans, and they had revived enough to stand together and fight. Si Treemba and a group of Arconans handled any draigons who dared breach the opening.
Obi-Wan’s plan worked. Draigon bodies piled up at the entrance, blocking it. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Clat’Ha left a small squad to protect it and raced to the next cave opening. Then the battle began all over again.
Before his death, Jemba had ordered the Whiphids and Hutts of Offworld Corporation to defend the cave where they had gathered. He instructed them to fire from the rocks outside the cave. It was a foolish strategy. Hundreds of miners had been slain. Finally, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon convinced them to fight at the cave entrance and use the draigon bodies as shields.
The Offworld miners and the Jedi worked to guard the cave entrances, but draigons dug new entrances through the rock, so that at times they broke through and came at the miners from above or behind. That’s where the Arconans came in handy. By evening, it was evident to every Hutt and Whiphid on that rock that the Arconans were not cowards. They were creatures born to caves and darkness, and when it came to time to fight in their own element, they proved themselves to be ferocious and cunning.
No draigon that tunneled through a cave’s roof caught an Arconan by surprise. Indeed, the Arconans were so fierce that the Whiphids and Hutts finally retreated and left them to finish the battle.
Near nightfall Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were still battling at the last entrance to the caves. Smoke rose from the draigons’ mouths as they let out their piercing cries in the dusky air. But the cries had changed from war cries to signals. Suddenly, what was left of the flock roared and leaped into the air. The draigons circled the island twice, then flew off in defeat.
When a ragged cheer went up from the surviving Hutts and Whiphids, Obi-Wan thought that it was merely a cheer of relief. But when a huge Whiphid came out of the cave and gave him a rough pat on the back, and when Hutts actually circled him and began to clap, Obi-Wan realized that these were not cheers of relief. Their former enemies cheered for the Jedi.
And later, when he and qui-Gon went into Jemba’s chamber of the cavern and took the rest of the dactyl back for the Arconans, no one tried to stop them.
Because of Jemba’s orders, over three hundred Offworld miners were killed in the battle. Eighty-seven Arconans had lost their lives. The caves filled with the Arconans’ hum of mourning.
Obi-Wan lingered at the cave, watching his friend grieve with his fellow Arconans. It was time for Si Treemba to be with his people. Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder and pressed gently, then walked away.
The miners’ work force was nearly cut in half. While the Arconans grieved, Clat’Ha made plans for their future. She went to one of Jemba’s chieftains, a Hutt named Aggaba, and said, “Aggaba, I want to hire you and your people.”
“Which ones?” Aggaba asked suspiciously.
“All of you,” she said. “You’re temporarily the head of these men, until you reach Bandomeer. I’ll buy out your contracts.”
“And then what?” Aggaba asked. He had a cunning look in his eyes, as if he wondered how he might make a profit.
“I’ll offer all of you an invitation to work for our mining company,” Clat’Ha said. “We share the profits, so it’s a step up for you. Think about it. When we get to Bandomeer, your bosses there will demote you, put someone else in over your head. This is your chance to escape from Offworld Mining, get decent jobs that will pay you better now, and in the long run.”
Aggaba licked his lips and stared around like a cornered Jawa. “Out contracts would not be cheap,” he said. “I would want, say, two thousand per worker.”
“Any money I give you,” Clat’Ha countered, “would just go back to your corporate headquarters. So how about I make you a better offer. I’ll give you twenty for each worker, and a personal bonus of twenty thousand just for signing with me.”
Aggaba’s eyes grew wide with delight. Clat’Ha hid her own glee. Aggaba would accept the deal out of greed. But the rest of the workers would have their freedom.
Chapter 24
Qui-Gon knew when to admit he had been wrong. He had underestimated Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The repairs were almost done. They were scheduled to leave at dawn. Qui-Gon left the ship to take a last look at the great sea. He needed a moment to consider all that has happened.
The surf pounded the rocks around him as he gazed at the planet’s five multi-colored moons, already beginning to dim with the rising light. He thought about Yoda’s words, spoken only three says ago: “By chance alone we do not live our lives. If take an apprentice you will not, then, in time, perhaps fate will choose.”
Qui-Gon still wasn’t sure if fate had appointed Obi-Wan as his Padawan, or if it had just thrown them together for one odd adventure. He’d thought it coincidence that both he and Obi-Wan Kenobi were going to Bandomeer. After all, Yoda had sent the boy to Bandomeer, while Qui-Gon’s orders come from the Senate — from the Supreme Chancellor himself! There was no way that Yoda and the Supreme Chancellor could have plotted this together.
But here it was.
Both of them were going to Bandomeer, and Qui-Gon had an uneasy feeling about this assignment.
And there was a further matter. It was not a simple thing for one Jedi to touch the mind of another. It was an intimate thing, the kind of thing usually only done between the closest friends. Or between a Knight and his Padawan.
For the first time in a long while, Qui-Gon didn’t know what to do.
“When the path is unsure, better to wait, it is,” Yoda had told him many times. Now he would use Yoda’s advice, even though he suspected Yoda would want him to take the opposite position. He would not ask Obi-Wan to be his Padawan. He would wait.
And he would watch. They had separate missions on Bandomeer, but he would keep any eyes on Obi-Wan. One mission was not enough to test the boy. There would be more to come. Only then would Qui-Gon be able to tell how true Obi-Wan was to his Jedi purpose. Bandomeer would test him, for Obi-Wan was unhappy with the mission he’d received.
Qui-Gon smiled. He had to admit, the boy was no farmer. He was meant for different things. But whether his path would intersect with Qui-Gon’s, he still didn’t know.
Until he did, he would not choose. The boy would have to be strong to dispel the shadow of the one who had come before. And Xanatos cast a long, deep shadow.
Qui-Gon turned away from the rocky shore and headed back to the ship. Yes, he would keep an eye on young Obi-Wan.
And besides, he had a feeling the fate would give him no other choice.
Qui-Gon walked through the labyrinth of the ship’s corridors until he reached Obi-Wan’s cabin. He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Obi-Wan called.
The boy was sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring out at the mountain crags.
“I’ll be glad to leave this place,” Obi-Wan said by way of greeting. “I saw too much death here.”
“You did well,” Qui-Gon said. “I felt the Force move in you.”
“It was… asto
nishing,” Obi-wan said quietly. “I thought I understood its power. But I see that I had only glimpsed one corner of what it could do. For years, I thought myself worthy of it. But it was not until I recognized my own unworthiness that the power began to fill me.” Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Gon. His eyes searched his face. “Do you know what I mean?”
Qui-Gon smiled. “You are learning. And yes, I know what you mean.”
Silence grew between them, but it was a comfortable silence. Always before, Qui-Gon could almost hear the pleading Obi-Wan was holding back. Now he felt only acceptance of Qui-Gon’s feelings, and his own fate. Another victory for the boy. He was impressed.
“We should reach our destination tomorrow,” Qui-Gon remarked. “I fear there will be nasty business on Bandomeer.”
Obi-Wan met his gaze. The look in his dark eyes was troubled. Yet underneath it, Qui-Gon sensed his strength.
“I know,” Obi-Wan said. “I feel it, too.”
Afterword
Obi-Wan Kenobi had been raised in the Jedi Temple at Coruscant, a world teeming with people, a world whose every piece of land was covered by skyscrapers.
When the Monument dropped through the atmosphere of Bandomeer, he marveled at the jungles and plains, the broad expanses of empty land and wide sea. He’d never imagined that there could be so much wilderness on one planet.
The port on Bandomeer was a small building, a hanger that could barely hold a freighter the size of the Monument. Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon cautiously from the ship.
A planetary police officer was waiting. When he saw Qui-Gon, he hurried over. “Welcome. My offices will of course be at you disposal.
Qui-Gon nodded. “Can you tell me what this is all about? The Supreme Chancellor said that you requested my help — mine specifically.”
"Perhaps this will explain,” the officer said.
He handed an envelope to Qui-Gon, who tore it open and pulled out a folded note. As he read, Qui-Gon’s face paled, and his breath caught.
Obi-Wan read over Qui-Gon’s shoulder. It said only, "I have been looking forward to this day."
The note was signed by someone named Xanatos.
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Jedi Apprentice 1: The Rising Force (звёздные войны) Page 11