by Jude Watson
the lab.
As soon as she was gone, Obi-Wan hurried over to Qui-Gon. He knew now
that if he let Qui-Gon remain in that chamber, his Master would die. He
activated his lightsaber and cut a hole in the chamber. The vapor escaped,
and Qui-Gon began to fall. Obi-Wan reached in to help support him. Qui-Gon
half fell and Obi-Wan half dragged him to the floor.
"Master," Obi-Wan murmured brokenly. It was shocking to see Qui-Gon
so weak. He always counted on his Master's strength.
"You... must... help me, Padawan," Qui-Gon said, his white lips
barely moving. His face was very pale. He held up his hands, palms out.
Obi-Wan pressed his own palms against Qui-Gon's.
He felt his Master's power flicker and reach out toward him. The
Force moved between them. Obi-Wan gathered it around him. He felt the Force
grow with their combined effort, felt it flow from his fingers into Qui-
Gon.
After a moment, the cloudiness in Qui-Gon's eyes vanished. "I can
walk now," he said.
He rose to his feet. Obi-Wan rose with him.
Qui-Gon glanced at Astri's outfit. "I see you have a new profession."
"Yes," she said with a shaky grin. "Saving you."
"We must hurry," Qui-Gon said. "There is at least one other prisoner
here. I felt a presence. It is Force-sensitive."
"Didi is dying," Astri blurted. "Zan Arbor has withheld the antitoxin
that could save him."
"Then that will be our first priority," Qui-Gon told her. "Come. I
think I know where to find it."
Qui-Gon did not move as quickly or gracefully as he usually did. But
he gathered strength as he went. They quickly jumped through the half-open
door and ran down the hallway. Qui-Gon led them to the supply room he had
stumbled upon earlier. He accessed the door and they rushed inside.
"Do you know the name of the antitoxin?" Qui-Gon asked, indicating
the shelves.
Astri tore off her helmet and scanned the labels. She placed her hand
on a shelf. "Here." She removed several vials and filled a pouch on her
utility belt with them. She then filled her pockets with as many other
vials as she could. Obi-Wan took handfuls of medicines and tucked them in
his tunic.
"What now?" Qui-Gon asked. "Do you have a way out?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "We've tied up one guard. Are there other
guards?"
"I don't think so," Qui-Gon said. "She relies on Nil and the security
system. Between the three of us we should have no difficulty. Zan Arbor
does not yet know she has been invaded. Our odds are excellent."
The intercom crackled, and they turned to watch the screen. Ona Nobis
appeared.
"I have arrived," she said. "Nil, give me access. Nil!"
"It appears our odds have changed," Qui-Gon said.
CHAPTER 19
Qui-Gon looked over at Astri's panicked face. He could not imagine
what it had taken for this young woman to come this far. She had cooked and
run a caf©, and now she was facing death on a dangerous mission to save her
father.
"Do not worry," he said softly.
"But now Zan Arbor will realize she's been tricked," Astri said.
"We'll all be trapped. What should we do?"
"Leave," Qui-Gon said, opening the door. "We'll have to come back for
the other prisoner. Zan Arbor will discover that she has been invaded. But
she won't know where we are."
They raced down the hallway. Qui-Gon felt the weakness in his legs as
he ran. Strength was returning, but he knew he would have trouble if he had
to fight the bounty hunter. He wished he had his lightsaber.
Before they turned the corner toward the double doors, Qui-Gon
stopped and peered around. Jenna Zan Arbor had left the doors ajar. She had
her back to them. Ona Nobis stepped into the building.
"There's been a security breach," Jenna Zan Arbor said breathlessly.
"I can't find Nil. I think someone is here, trying to rescue Qui-Gon. Two
people, one of them a Jedi. Maybe both of them. You must find them."
"My mission has been completed," Ona Nobis said in a flat tone. "I
came for my payment."
"What are you talking about?" Zan Arbor's voice rose. "I'm telling
you I'm in trouble!"
"I am telling you it is not my concern," Ona Nobis said in the same
emotionless tone. "You sent me after that friend of Ren S'orn on Simpla-12.
The Jedi beat me there. That was my last task for you. I have taken on
another job. And I have my own plans for that Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Listen to me," Jenna Zan Arbor spat out. "There are intruders in
this lab. You must search the premises and destroy them."
Ona Nobis did not answer. She held out her hand for payment.
"But Obi-Wan Kenobi could be here right now!"
"I will meet him on my terms. Not yours. Not here."
"If you think I'm going to pay you, you are mistaken," Zan Arbor
hissed.
Ona Nobis stared at Zan Arbor with a flat, neutral gaze. "If you
think you can threaten me, you are mistaken. Keep in mind who I am. Do you
want to pay me what you owe me, or do you want to die?"
Jenna Zan Arbor seemed to shrink. She was no match for Ona Nobis, and
she knew it. She reached inside her robe and withdrew an envelope. She
slapped it in the bounty hunter's open palm.
"You will never work for me again," she said furiously.
"How that crushes me," Ona Nobis said coldly. She tucked the envelope
into her belt, turned, and left.
The door hissed shut behind her. Qui-Gon quickly herded the others
back to the storage room. With any luck, Zan Arbor would hurry back to her
lab to try to find Nil. They would use the opportunity to escape.
She walked by them, her face flushed and furious.
"At last," Astri breathed.
They moved out into the hall and accessed the double door. They were
steps away from the entrance when the speaker buzzed. The monitor at the
front door suddenly filled with Jenna Zan Arbor's face.
"Greetings to my unwelcome guests, and to Qui-Gon," she said
smoothly. "I assume you are on your way to my door to escape. Perhaps you
should pause for a moment and consider this. Do you really think I would be
so foolish as to rely on one stupid guard and one basic security system to
protect what is mine?"
Qui-Gon stopped.
"I did not merely withdraw your blood, Qui-Gon," she continued. "I
also injected a device into your system. Not only does it measure your
vital signs - by the way, your heart is beating quite rapidly right now -
but it also contains a transmitter. If you cross the threshold of this
building, that transmitter will set off another. There is another subject
in my lab. If you leave, a poison will be released into his system. He will
be dead in thirty seconds. You do not know him, but you are close to him.
There is a riddle for you. And a choice." She gave a bland smile. "Perhaps
you will accept my hospitality for a little while longer."
The screen went black. Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Gon.
"She could be bluffing." Qui-Gon shook his head. "She is not."
"But you have no real evidence that someone else is here," Obi-Wan
<
br /> said desperately.
"But I know someone is," Qui-Gon said. He turned to Obi-Wan. He saw
the desperation and dread in his Padawan's eyes. "You know what you must
do, Padawan."
"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head violently. "I will not leave
you."
"You must." Qui-Gon put his hand on Obi-Wan's arm. "You did well. You
released me from the chamber. But I cannot leave this building, and you
must bring those medicines back. Didi's life, and other lives, hang in the
balance."
"I can go," Astri said. "I will take the antitoxins."
"You have acted bravely, Astri," Qui-Gon told her. "But we cannot let
that much responsibility rest with you. Those vaccines and antitoxins must
be duplicated. Both of you must go."
"I can't leave you," Obi-Wan repeated, his voice shaking.
"You must, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "Getting those medicines back to
the Temple is a Jedi mission. A Jedi must complete it."
"There is a Jedi team on the way here," Obi-Wan said. "But now that
she knows we have found her. She'll fortify this place. She'll devise ways
to keep us out..."
"She cannot keep the Jedi out," Qui-Gon said firmly. "Give me your
comlink."
Obi-Wan handed Qui-Gon his comlink. Then he gave him his lightsaber.
It was the greatest gift one Jedi could give another. Qui-Gon placed his
hand on the hilt.
"I will keep it safe until you return for it," he said. "Now go."
Astri hurried forward. She pressed the button to access the door.
Fresh air rushed in with the scent of coming rain.
Obi-Wan looked back at Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon saw anguish and heartbreak on
his Padawan's face. "I will return."
He nodded. "I will be here."
Obi-Wan and Astri left. The door hissed shut behind them. Qui-Gon
stood in the doorway, Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his hand. The stale air of
the lab soon chased away the fresh scent of rain. He had seen freedom only
meters away. Now it was gone.
He turned back toward the lab and his new enemy. And now the game
would begin.