| Should As Strangers We Meet |
| Escorted into a room, Danni took her time, taking a lingering glance around. Satisfied that at least for now they were alone, she allowed the guard (who'd finally deemed her safe enough to get close to) to guide her by the arm to an empty chair. Passing a counter cluttered with unrecognizable equipment, she slid her hand across its surface as though to steady herself. Stopping suddenly, she clutched at her stomach, doubling over. "Accckkkk" she retched, eliciting the exact reaction from the man she'd hoped for. Releasing his grip on her arm, he automatically danced back a step, placing himself behind the ill woman. Instantly, Danni reached for the heavy-looking, rectangular box she'd paused in front of. Grabbing the large device with both hands, she spun around, swinging the box in front of her. Sacrificing brute strength for better aim, she took the split second needed to adjust the angle of her swing to better connect. The guard, caught totally unaware, had only begun to register her sudden burst of activity. His eyes, slowly widening in alarm, were forcibly slammed shut when the device collided solidly with the side of his head. A muttered 'oomphh' escaped his lips as he crumpled to the floor. Scrambling, Danni searched the man, finding a set of binders and a commlink on his utility belt which she promptly removed. Rolling him over onto his stomach, she pulled his arms back, securing his wrists in the restraints. Lastly, plucking the blaster from its holster, she rose and headed for the door. So focused on the task at hand, Danni nearly collided with the individual that was about to enter the room as its door 'swished' open. "Oh!" the white-clad figure exclaimed, startled by their sudden encounter. Shocked into immobility, Danni's mind was at a blank as what her next course of action should be. For a moment they regarded each other in silence. Shaking off his surprise, the man spoke first. "Just who might you be?" he inquired with an air of contempt. "And why was my work interrupted…," his voice faded as his eyes passed over her, stopping at waist level. Right, she thought, remembering the extra weight in her hand. She'd forgotten about the weapon she held. Raising the blaster toward the man's face, Danni reached out with her free hand and pulled him through the doorway, to allow the door to close. "Take me to Qui-Gon," she demanded, recognizing him as the man that had been in the room when Xanatos had allowed her and Obi to see the Jedi Master. "Wh.. what...who?", the medic stammered hastily, desperately trying to keep the fear he felt from his voice. His eyes darted around the room in hopes of spotting something that might protect him from this armed madwoman. Irritated that the man's attention appeared to be on everything but her, Danni shoved the barrel of the weapon against his nose for emphasis. "I said," she repeated icily, "take me to the Jedi." He glanced at her with confusion before his gaze was yet again pulled away. "Is he dead?" the medic whispered fearfully, his eyes fixed on the prone figure that lay on the floor in an expanding pool of blood. "I wouldn't have need to restrain a dead man," she answered coldly, "and if you don't do exactly as I say you'll be joining him. Only I don't have another set of binders." He stared into her face with uncertainty and Danni could see the moment he caught her threat as his face drained of color and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Don't kill me," he pleaded, "I'll help you." "Let's go then," she maintained the edge in her voice and motioned toward the door with the blaster. Inside, she felt amazed relief that her bluff had not been called. She had never had to kill anyone. Even the injury to the guard that now lay unconscious was done out of desperation. She didn't want to think about what might have been necessary should the medic have held his ground. Once inside the room, Danni hurried the man to the Jedi’s side. “Master Jinn... Master Jinn, can you here me?” she tried to rouse the large man, making sure she kept the medic close to her, the blaster buried deep in his side. From far off the Jedi Master could hear a voice calling to him. He had no idea how long he lay there, only that there was no more pain.. no horrendous visions. Still unable to reach the Force, he simply lay there, retreating to the furthest recesses of his mind and waited as the effects of the drug ever so slowly receded. And then a voice... familiar... feminine... “Ob.. Wan.. Xanatos... danger...” his muttered response. A deep panic set in as Danni heard the barely coherent words. “Get these restraints off him!” she nearly screamed in the medic’s ear, waving the blaster about frantically. “Don’t shoot... don’t shoot!” the man cried out. Running to the foot of the cart, he blindly manipulated the control box beneath the cart, his eyes glued to the weapon aimed at his head. “Don’t do anything stupid.” Danni warned just as the paristeel binders on the Jedi’s wrists and ankles opened with a metallic ‘click’, then retracted smoothly into the cart. One moment there was nothing.. only an emptiness pitted with silence were once there was strength, serenity and a connection to all living things. Then in an instant with an audible flip of a switch, the Jedi Master’s bond with the Force was restored. It rushed at him, through him, a wave of energy and power filling his being. His senses expanding tenfold, as if a deaf and blind man given sight and sound. The physical tug on his body expressing a startled ‘ohh’ out of him. “Help me!” Danni directed at the medic, seeing the massive Jedi struggling to sit up. The medic hesitated, briefly worrying what the Jedi may do to him once aware that he was the instrument of his miseries. “Now!” Danni demanded, setting the skitterish man into action. From her side of the cart Danni, using one hand ( no way was she about to put down her only means of command), she pulled his long legs toward her, swinging them over the side of the cart. From behind, the medic struggled hand over hand on the massive back, pushing the man up. “Master Jinn...?” Danni tried to keep the anxiousness out of her voice. She was pinning her hopes on a man who at the moment was unable to sit up by himself, much less battle his way out of an enemy’s ship, which was exactly what she was expecting him to do. Head handing down, long hair loose and falling over his face, the Jedi weakly raised his hand. “A moment… please...” he pleaded softly. Gathering the Force, immersing himself, Qui-Gon drew on its power. Replenishing both mind and body with that which seemed so long deprived. As its raw, white energies filled him he could sense the minds of those in the room with him. The man, whose self-absorbed thoughts centered on the preservation of his own wretched hide. His presence in the Force, that of one governed by selfish desires, could be seen as a dull blight in the clean, white web of the light side. The woman... Danian, his befuddled memory provided her name, shimmered harmoniously with all he strove to connect with. Instinctively reaching out, he tapped into the comforting energies of her signature, drawing a small amount of strength from her. Sensing her surprise at his touch, he sent forth calming waves in return. Basking in the healing properties of their joint signatures, he became aware of a secondary, soft glow within her, yet not her own. Drawn to its pulsing impression, he reach out to it, locating its origins. There nestled within the young woman was a small growing presence, one inherently gifted with the Force by its parents. Embarrassed at his intrusion, Qui-Gon quickly withdrew from the Force. Helping the Jedi up, Danni could feel as the man pulled the Force around him, its power reverberating throughout the room. Inhaling sharply at his sudden touch in her mind, she relaxed when she felt the familiar waves of comfort he offered. Accepting his gift, she could sense his sudden revelation and abrupt withdrawal. “Forgive my intrusion,” Qui-Gon raised his head, apologizing for his invasion to her privacy. *He knows.* Danni’s free hand automatically flew to her belly. She herself had only recently became aware of her ‘delicate’ condition and hadn’t even told Obi-Wan yet. Not that their present circumstances had allowed appropriate time or opportunity to do so. I can only pray I still get the chance, she thought shrugging in response. “Are you able to move?” she asked him, noting the remarkable improvement in his appearance as opposed to only minutes before. His response was to close his eyes. And watching with interest as his head moved ever so slightly, she could sense the energy of the Force again prickled lightly against her skin. “Where are they?” he inquired sedately, his eyes already focused on hers as they opened. A ripple of trepidation ran through Danni. Though she sensed no animosity from the Jedi she remembered the incident aboard their shuttle. “I know what Obi did seems unconscionable... but he‘s nothing like that... he‘s a good man…,” her voice was stricken with tension. In her impulsive rush to free the Jedi, she hadn’t taken into consideration what his thoughts may be of a man who shot and drugged him, in effect causing his capture by a sworn enemy. She shuddered to think what Xanatos had done to him, the memory of his tortured appearance and frantic outburst playing heavily on her guilt. She ‘had’ to convince him to help her, it was her only chance to rescue her mate from the abhorrent visions of the future she had seen. Instead of the debate to Obi’s moral character she half-expected, the Jedi took her hand in his, a kind smile lighting in his eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said and immediately she felt a flood of relief enter her, “we’ll find him.” Turning her head, looking past the Jedi’s shoulder at the medic who was trying desperately to shrink out of sight she asked, “What do we do with him?” “You know,” Xanatos said while Obi-Wan landed the transport at the coordinates provided. “I could use a man of your abilities at my side.” A faint chill of caution whispered to the young man, not one he felt over the Force but a learned response at the elder man’s words. There had been acquaintances of past that had sought out liaisons with him because they had seen some self-serving benefit in his ‘abilities’. He had found out yet still a boy not to tempt those he met with the knowledge of his Jedi training. It had infuriated him the first time asked to use his limited powers in a manner he still believed contrary to his upbringing in the temple. Though still stinging from the slight he felt at the hands of the Jedi, he nevertheless regarded those unscrupulous requests an insult to the tenets he still believed in. It was difficult, those first years on his own, not to grow disillusioned with past teachings of the inherent good of the galaxy. It seemed even the most ethical of people weren’t averse to utilizing his Force abilities in effort to line their own pockets. He had seen many an eye gleam with the dark shine of greed at the prospect. It was only falling in with the wandering band of Terrians that his faith in the goodness of beings had been restored. Here was a people who appeared to have little. No home planet to speak of, all they’re valued possessions simple and portable. Living on the fringe of societies, being considered little more then transients and usually worse by the inhabitants of the planets they visited. It was these people that opened their home and heart to the displaced youth, taking him in as their own. The disclosure of being a failed Jedi was met with compassion and perhaps mild awe, but not once did these people press him to use his skills in any way that would conflict with his beliefs. Even his misuse of the Force during the dice game the Jedi had interrupted was of his own doing, a decision bourn out of desperation. Xanatos statement had reminded him of those particularly unsavory beings that saw not a boy, but the opportunity to pay service to themselves. “Abilities?” Obi-Wan repeated innocently, a shroud of suspicion stirring. “You’re obviously of superior intellect and principles with a natural gift for mechanics and I’ve seen your piloting skills first hand.” Xanatos casually counted off praise, carefully to shield any hint of his true interest in him. That being the extraordinary Force-presence he possessed. Here was a wellspring of power, just waiting to be tapped and exploited. He would have to be very careful in bringing Obi-Wan to his way of thinking. “I sense there’s so much more you could be...so much more you should’ve been,” the Lord added sadly with a shake of his head. He watched as a dark shadow of remembrance crossed the young man’s face. This was going to be fun, he thought gleefully, mentally rubbing his hands together. Holding on to the arm of an officer in the employ of their host, Danni followed the Jedi at a casual pace across the docking bay to the shuttle they had left Nestor Sade in. It had been a simple matter to maintain the silence Qui-Gon had suggested. Somewhere along their journey she had lost her voice to wonderment at what the Jedi Master had accomplished thus far. In the med lab, only the softly uttered word ‘sleep’ from the Jedi had brought the med tech down like a stone. Picking him up and placing him on the cart he had so recently occupied, Qui-Gon found the switch that operated the binders and locked the man to the cart. “Wouldn’t want him to accidentally fall off,” he’d told her in a muted voice that gave her cause to wonder at the nature of his humor. A quick scan of the room netted Qui-Gon’s clothes found in a trash receptacle. His lightsaber, located with a bit more searching and a nudge of the Force was retrieved from a locked drawer. Before leaving the room, he’d directed her to remain close and not speak a word, no matter what may transpire. Though puzzled, she nodded her understanding. As they traversed the corridor, they could hear the sound of voices approaching them. Frightened by the thought of capture, Danni had cowered behind the Jedi as three men came around an adjacent corridor. The men, tough and ugly looking, dressed in military garb, swaggered down the hall in their path. A variable wall between them and freedom. Nonplussed, Qui-Gon kept walking, his steps confident yet silent, no hint of deviation in his intentions. Danni watched in amazement as the trio descended upon them. Deep in animate discussion but closing rapidly, the men never once glanced up at the obvious interlopers. She noted the man on their end unconsciously step aside, ever so slightly, as they passed. Lowering her head, afraid to make eye contact, she could hear snippets of their conversation. “...got a Jedi on board...” “...just gimme a chance at a Jedi, I’ll show him what for...” Bursting into rough laughter, the three continued on, now drawing miraculously away. Danni had resisted the urge to turn and observe them in fear it would break whatever spell the Jedi used. Stopping at the T-juncture, Qui-Gon peered down one end then the other. “Stay there,” he commanded softly, raising a hand in her direction. Complying immediately, she heard the clatter of footsteps from down the unseen corridor that Qui-Gon faced. “Hey!” a voice hard and terse directed at the Jedi. “Who are you and what are you doing on this level?” Holding her breath, waiting for the large man’s reaction, she saw him extend his arms, showing himself unarmed. “We’re looking for the transport hanger.” Qui-Gon stated calmly, his hand gesturing a wave. After a disquieting number of seconds a voice replied. “Well, you’re four levels and two sections away,” it responded with such open friendliness Danni had been sure it must have been two different individuals with who the Jedi spoke. As the man began rattling off rather long, complicated direction to their destination, Qui-Gon motioned her to his side. Stepping around the corner, Danni came into view of a solitary man. Another military type, only this one much older and of higher rank, she guessed by the number of shiny badges that adorned his uniform. “Ma’am,” the man offered a curt bow to her. “We could use a guide..,.” Qui-Gon suggested, again his hand moving. “Of course...where are my manners,” the man looked positively abashed. “Let me offer myself as escort,” he held out his arm to Danni. Her eyes darting to Qui-Gon for approval, she encircled the proffered arm. On their journey, Qui-Gon questioned the man, then before departing company, suggested to the officer that he take care of the necessary flight plan arrangements as they were in a hurry and their mission was one of utmost importance. “I don’t know how you did that but I thank the gods,” Danni expressed with thunderstruck gratitude, having finally found her voice. “I’d like you to remain in the shuttle after we land.” Qui-Gon said, standing in the open doorway to the cockpit. Danni’s lips pursed in agitation and she bit back the automatic, fiery response that came to mind. Did he really think she’d done all she did only to sit idly back? Taking a calming breath she paused before answering in a determined voice, “No. I’m coming with you. You’ll need my help.” “Danian, Xanatos is not a man to be underestimated and if, as you suspect, he ‘is’ influencing Obi-Wan, it will make a confrontation all the more dangerous.” “I’m not a child,” she replied, without bothering to turn and face him, “and let me remind you it was ‘I’ who rescued you.” “Of which I’m very grateful,” he smiled at her audacity, “but I have no intention of putting you and your child in harm’s way.” “It’s imperative for you to have specifically Obi’s help?” she asked, turning away from the shuttle’s controls and locking eyes. He answered with a single nod. “Then you may have forgotten what happened last time we were on this shuttle. Even before the appearance of Xanatos, Obi was suspicious of you. I hardly think you’ll find him very willing to assist you. Now, unless you plan on extracting that help with your Jedi magic, which may or may not work, you are going to need me with you.” Leveling a hard look at the Jedi Master, that dared him to deny these facts, she watched his face as he digested the displeasing truth of her statements. Qui-Gon frowned with discomfort at his dilemma. As much as he detested the idea of the young woman accompanying him, he could not dispute her logic. Obi-Wan’s previous actions aboard the shuttle, though extreme and painful, were understandable considering his knowledge of this dimension’s Qui-Gon. And with Xanatos now filling his head with Force knows what, it seemed very unlikely the young man considered they’re original agreement binding. It may very well take a combination of Force exertion and the presence of his mate to gain Obi-Wan’s compliance. “You’re familiar with shielding your thoughts?” Qui-Gon inquired, disregarding the triumphant smile that blossomed on her face.. His decision, however uncomfortable, was made. Once again he’d entrust his life and that of another to the Force. “Our only advantage may be the element of surprise. You must shield your mind tightly and attempt no contact with Obi-Wan.” Qui-Gon’s penetrating blue eyes focused on her and she could feel him in her head, pressing at her mind, testing her shields. She couldn’t quite repress the twinge of guilt she felt at completely closing herself off to Obi, though she understood the necessity of it. It would be perceived as an act of anger by him, something he constantly admonished her for. I can live with that, she thought, brushing her concerns aside. I’m trying to save him from himself as much as from the dark future Xanatos heralded. "It should be in a cave just ahead,” Xanatos continued up the step incline, navigating with steady, sure-footed strides, though the hard scrabble of the mountainside crumbled and slid beneath his boots. “I’m surprised you managed to extract the location of the transport from the Jedi,” Obi-Wan followed, trying to engage the man in conversation. Ever since politely declining his offer of joining him, the Telosian Lord had grown quiet and distant. A remarkable difference from the overly warm demeanor he had displayed before. And though he couldn’t explain why, this change made him quite uncomfortable. “It only takes the right form of persuasion,” Xanatos answered curtly, leaving him to ponder at his meaning. Only a few meters above him, the entrance to the cave loomed like a dark, yawning maw of some great, stone beast. Using a Force-assisted jump, Xanatos leapt to the cave mouth, landing with nimble grace. It annoyed him, being unable to convince Obi-Wan to join him...for more than just the apparent Force skills he exhibited. There would’ve been enormous satisfaction derived from the allegiance of the former initiate. And the terrible blow it would have dealt to the ever noble Qui-Gon Jinn... knowing it was his own appearance in this world that occasioned the young man’s descent to the dark side. That would have been worth keeping the Jedi Master around...just to rub his face in that solitary failure. Now it would be necessary to resort to a more aggressive approach. If flattery and friendly persuasion failed, so be it. He wasn’t adverse to coercing Obi-Wan’s cooperation by means of threats and demands... he did, after all, still hold an ace... the young man’s woman. A less skillful tactic, lacking finesse perhaps, but most effective nevertheless. Tucking those thoughts away, the dark lord turned, a smile now lighting his face as his companion climbed over the ledge. Stepping into the cave, next to Xanatos, Obi-Wan squinted into the darkness. As his eyes adjusted, his mind registered a soft glow from deep within a long tunnel. “I think I see light,” he commented. In the silent blackness he heard the rustle of fabric, a soft ’click’ then the electric hum as a bright, crimson saber extended from Xanatos’ hand, overpowering whatever light lay ahead. “We must be wary, young Kenobi,” Xanatos warned, the red blade casting a menacing glow on the man’s face, “no telling what surprises may await us.” With Xanatos in the lead, his lightsaber held high to illuminate their path, the duo cautiously made their way through the cave’s dank tunnel. Dressed all in black, the Telosian would have blended into the darkness if not for his weapon that highlighted his striking form with a fiery halo. The recent warning foremost in his mind, Obi-Wan felt his sense of self-preservation awaken. If there was some hidden peril laid by the Jedi Master he wasn’t about to follow blindly into it. Hence, he intentionally slowed his pace, allowing Xanatos to pull ahead a number a paces. He was no fool, he’d easily concede the man’s superior Force abilities and if there was any danger, the elder man would be more adept at sensing it beforehand. Thoughts of danger quickly brought Danni to mind and Obi-Wan instantly reached for the mental bond they shared. His brow creased with irritation at what he found. Due to the great distance that separated them he had expected a weak link, perhaps only being able to read a vague sense of her emotional state. What he didn’t expect was the barrier that encircled her mind. With an inward frown he applied more pressure, then receded...a mental ’knock’ on the wall between them. He was more than a little surprised when she countered with an amplification of her Force-shield so intense that he first feared their bond had been severed. She had now effectively and quite intentionally cut her off from him...something she had attempted but never succeeded in before. *Dammit* he thought, *what did I do now?* So deep in his efforts to contact Danni, Obi-Wan hadn’t noticed that Xanatos had stopped until he’d nearly collided with him. Stepping around the tall, slender man, Obi-Wan’s eyes at first widened with surprise then narrowed. The tunnel opened to a large chamber beneath the mountain and in it stood the source of the mysterious glow...a large capsule-shaped structure. “What is it?” the younger asked, staring with some suspicion. “That, my young friend I’d wager is the very transport the Jedi desired your assistance with.” Xanatos tone held a cautionary ring yet what Obi-Wan sensed from the man was neither trepidation nor astonishment with the device. What Obi-Wan felt radiating from Xanatos could only be expressed, strangely enough, as a guarded sense of elation...as though discovering some anticipated treasure. Powering down his lightsaber, Xanatos began walking with bold, confident strides to the device, irregardless of any danger he had previously warned of. “Are you sure it’s safe?” Obi-Wan called after him. “Only one way to find out. |
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