DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
“Impetuous.”
Qui-Gon’s deep voice rumbled through the cave like thunder heralding a storm. His long legs were carrying his frame from one end of the small area to the other. The other men in the cave eyed him is trepidation and remained where they were. The Jedi looked like a lion on the prowl. His cloak billowed behind him, his long mane rippled in the air currents made by his pacing.
Mace sat watching his friend and scowled. He had expected the man to be perturbed, but not to this degree. Yes, the young healer had disobeyed him. Yes, the woman had placed herself in bodily as well as psychological harm. But it was being done for the right reasons. Mace Windu knew that. It was the way of the Jedi to accomplish a mission even when it risked life and limb. Acceptance of the Force’s will was ingrained in even the youngest baby in the crèche. If the Force called you to give your life, you did. It was accepted.
Qui-Gon, however, was not accepting.
“Head strong and impetuous, Mace. She’ll die out there, or go into a coma.” Qui-Gon swept by Mace in a flurry of cloak and tunic and hair. Mace watched him go, his eyes turned to watch the form. He then met gazes with Ha'run.
“She can accomplish this, Qui-Gon. It is not a question of her ability, but our timing in getting out of here that will determine her surviving. We do not know if they will kill her or not. They might just restrain her.”
Obi-Wan watched his as his Master slowed for a minute and took a deep breath. The apprentice knew that his Master was very upset with Larina going against his orders and for taking his Padawan’s lightsaber with her. “This is a war, though, Master Mace.”
“True, true.” Mace nodded to the Padawan Learner and smiled. “But I think that she will be relatively fine, if we move quickly. “
“How will we know if the invisible wall is down, Master?” Obi-Wan stretched on his legs.
“Guesswork, Padawan.” Qui-Gon growled, turning to look at his apprentice. “When we can walk through it, it is down.”
Mace raised his eyebrows at the terseness in Qui-Gon’s voice. However, as sarcastic as the idea sounded, it was correct. Without the Force to guide them, this was the only way that they knew to test that possibility. “He is right, Padawan. We must test the wall continually until it is dropped. Then we must remove the men from here.”
Qui-Gon turned his head to stare at Mace. Their eyes met and Mace felt like he had years ago when he used to face the other Master off in tests of ability. “You and I will get the women, Qui-Gon.”
The other master nodded his head slowly, some of the tenseness of his shoulders easing away. Mace rose and laid his hand on Qui-Gon’s shoulder to ground him. “Rest for a moment, Qui-Gon, you will need to be focused for this.”
Qui-Gon nodded dumbly and clenched his fists. He listened as his friend moved away from him to approach his apprentice. Obi-Wan listened as Mace gave him a series of instructions and nodded. The boy then moved off to the back entrance of the cave from which they had entered. Wait indeed, he thought. It was the most logical answer that a Jedi could ever hope to hear- wait and it will be revealed to you.
His breathing evened out as he lightly meditated. The meditation was hard and long in coming. His emotions were too raw and too on the surface to catalogue and lose. He slid down the wall to kneel. Qui-Gon was quiet as he allowed the rush of emotion to crash over him. It had been years since he had allowed this much passion to flow through him, but without the Force to give the feelings to, he had to mentally work through them. He could taste the anger, the anguish and the feeling of impotence at not being able to protect Larina. Abandonment was another feeling he felt acutely. He thought of the tragedies of war – of the evil that can befall women at those times, such as rape or torture. His heart went cold as he thought of Larina being held down by men larger than herself, being held open, being violated….his eyes shut against the image.
Deep breaths brought his emotions under a restraint if not under control. Qui-Gon felt the loss of the Force acutely. With the Force, they might have been able to trip the lock from the inside, might have been able to cloak themselves, and might have been able to remove the prisoners from this place quickly and without sacrifice. But as it was, they were regulated to the course of action that those persons not Force-sensitive would normally follow. And he felt….helpless. His eyes opened to look at his friend, a short distance away.
“We will succeed, Qui-Gon,” Mace answered. “Our warrior education goes beyond Force manipulation, my friend.”
Qui-Gon found his voice was low and gritty in the cave when he answered. “I was thinking of what might befall Larina, and how I am unable to stop it…”
Mace frowned at the pain on his friend’s face. “You cannot always protect a fellow Jedi. The Force might call you to do otherwise.”
“The Force is not calling me now at all, my friend.” Qui-Gon answered with a wry half-grin. “I know,” he added.
Mace laid his large hand on Qui-Gon’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “You have always protected her. From the moment that you brought her to the Temple, Qui-Gon, you have always followed her…kept up on her education, on what she was doing.”
“She was so small when her parents turned her over to me, Mace.” Qui-Gon closed his eyes awash in the memory. “It felt like I was her protector then, and the feeling has never faded.”
“She is not a babe, a child, any longer…nor has she been for a long, long time, Qui-Gon,” Mace answered.
Qui-Gon nodded solemnly and looked to his apprentice. Obi-Wan faced the far side of the cave, near the entrance that they had stumbled through. Occasionally he would reach out his hand to test to see if the wall remained intact. Each time, he drew his hand back, a frown on his young face. The boy was more than capable of leading the troop of men out by himself, Qui-Gon thought. Obi-Wan had charisma and charm that often drew others to follow him without question. It was only his lack of grounding in the living Force that prevented his complete success in many areas. But, the Master thought with a quirk to his lips, that was a mute point at that time.
Obi-Wan was rapidly becoming a man as Larina had rapidly became a woman- almost before his very eyes. Neither needed his protection; one needed his guidance, the other needed his support. That was all, but he still felt as though he was responsible for their safety and well being. With a sigh, he looked to Mace. “As soon as we are able, then….”
“Master!” Obi-Wan’s loud shout from across the cavern startled many, but had his Master leaping to his feet in battle readiness. A dart of the eyes to his Padawan had Qui-Gon reaching for his lightsaber and charging through the front of the cavern with Mace at his heels. The door was down.
Qui-Gon sprinted through the unfamiliar territory of the cave with a pounding heart and equally fast feet. His lightsaber remained unlit, and his eyes swept the area in front of him for danger. He trusted his keen senses to pick out what was needed, as the Force could not send him messages. Mace followed a step behind him, running at equal speed. They both knew that if the door was down at that point - it meant that either Larina had succeeded, or another woman had, in bringing down the defenses. It could also mean that those responsible for that action would be in trouble.
Qui-Gon rounded a corner to see women gathered as far as his eye could see – until a turn in the cavern placed the rest out of sight. Mace trailed behind him, stepping around the corner and sweeping wider than his friend did. Instantaneously the two men ignited their sabers – one glowing an emerald green, the other a sunset violet. Mace continued his trek to the right and deflected bolts as they came at him. He missed several but kept himself from bodily harm. Qui-Gon continued on a straight path, heading directly for the women.
“Qui-Gon!”
The younger Master ducked as a shot was fired behind him and moved in a pivot to sweep his saber at the person who fired. Qui-Gon had reached the outskirts of the women and began to shout orders as he and Mace engaged the surrounding guards. “Run. Go. Back this way, out the back of the cave. Do not look back! Your men await you!”
Mace swept his saber down in an arc, cutting the end of a blaster off and dismembering the owner. His hand turned and brought the saber around for another pass. Qui-Gon passed Mace and swung around. No Force to draw upon, no ability to tap into the future flow to predetermine blaster shots. It was pure skill that kept the two warriors alive as they moved deeper into the cavern. Mace’s mouth and eyes were firmly set, intent on the business at hand, as was his friend.
As they began to round the corner, Mace’s eyes fell upon Larina, lying prone across Uglara’s lap. The younger woman had her hand pressed into the healer’s thigh. Larina herself was twitching in emotion induced tremors as the feelings rolled through the cave. More women were breaking free and the relief was ebbing away the despair of the last day in Larina’s body. Crimson blood seeped around the younger girl’s hand.
Mace tried to reach Larina before Qui-Gon could see her condition in an effort to delay the reaction. He was too late.
He could almost feel the hesitation in Qui-Gon’s battle. The sharp intake of breath and the quick exhalation were all that Mace heard from his friend. He nodded to the girl as his saber swung for another pass. “Get her, Qui-Gon, I will cover your back.”
Qui-Gon did not argue, extinguishing his lightsaber and reaching Larina in the same heartbeat. He scooped his charge up out of Uglara’s lap and let the other woman stand. Uglara, instead of running, went to the nearest fallen guard and grabbed the blaster from his still hand. With a nod, she indicated that she would cover the Jedi as he carried Larina out of the cave.
With a grunt and the whirl of his cloak, Qui-Gon turned and began to make his way out of the cave. Most, if not all, of the women were moving toward the cavern and their freedom. That part of the mission was done. It only remained that they needed to get out of the cave and it would be over. Mace was close behind him, running at full tilt towards the cavern from which they had come. The Jedi Master would turn and swing his violet blade every once in a while when he heard the shot of a blaster behind him. Qui-Gon sprinted, Uglara hugging his heels.
As they rounded the final corner before the cavern, two guards bore down on them. Without thinking, Qui-Gon dropped Larina’s legs, pulling her roughly to his chest and ignited his lightsaber. His right hand gripped the hilt, and he swung it as he saw the approaching blasts. Uglara threw herself to the ground and took aim carefully, hitting one of the guards but missing the other. Qui-Gon cupped the young healer in one arm and moved forward, deflecting what bolts came near and finally was close enough to swing his blade to silence the battle.
He spared not a glance as he yelled for Mace and Uglara, dousing his lightsaber and sweeping Larina up into his arms again. They charged through the final stretch of the cavern, and exited out the back of the large subterranean passage. It was only a short distance of outright sprinting until they could see the daylight from the door at the end of the passage.
Uglara barreled through the door with Mace not far behind her. Qui-Gon walked the last few paces and looked over his shoulder to determine the approach of guards. There were none following them. His gaze swept over Larina as he turned ahead once more and he frowned at the pain etched on her face.
“The people, or the bond,” was all he gritted out to her.
“The bond,” she whispered back, gasping in pain. “It was too long separated and when the emotional tide of the women changed…”
He silenced her smartly by leaning his head down and sighing. Slowly turning his head, he did the only thing that he could think of to help her, and to ease his ache at the same time. He kissed her.