[Episode 1 Adventure](10)

In every cell, Master Adi appeared in the same position. She was slumped on a metal bed with her multi-tailed headdress spread out under her. Her eyes were closed. Her heavy brown robe prevented Qui-Gon from being able to see whether or not she was breathing. He yelled her name; trying to wake her. But it was no use. A command console was located within the middle of the detention center. Qui-Gon eyed the ten unmarked switches on the command console, guessing that one of them should deactivate the cells energy shields. He cautiously selected a switch and threw it. Without realizing it, he had deactivated the holo projectors built into each cell; Suddenly, all of the holograms vanished, and only the real Adi Gallia remained. But the energy shield remained activated. There were nine switches left and Qui-Gon gave them a quick study. He suspected the switches next to the holoprojector switch might trigger a trap, so he reached for the fifth switch. After throwing the switch, Qui-Gon heard a clicking sound from behind him. He spun to see a: hid - n door slide back fast from the black metal wall. tall guard droid stepped out from a compartment, within the wall. It was humanoid in design, but droid’s two arms ended in menacing, double barreled blaster rifles; At the sight of the human intruder, the droid’s photoreceptors glowed red. The guard droid lurched forward. Qui-Gon’s hand flew to his belt and his lightsaber was suddenly ablaze. The droid rapidly squeezed off a double burst of blaster fire from its arms, but the Jedi Master’s blade struck each blast, hammering them back at the droid. The bolts pounded at the guard droid’s armor and tore through its neck and joints. The droid’s head exploded as its shattered body toppled to the floor, causing a crash that echoed through the detention center. Qui-Gon deactivated his lightsaber and turned his attention back to the remaining switches. Normally, he enjoyed solving puzzles to keep his mind sharp. But with Adi Gallia’s life at stake, he knew this wasn’t any game. Taking a chance, Qui-Gon threw both the seventh and eighth switch at the same time. He didn’t know which switch had done the job, but all ten energy shields dropped. He ran into Adi Gallia’s. cell, bent down, and checked her vital signs. She was unconscious and her pulse was weak. But she was alive. Barely alive. Realizing she required medical attention, Qui - Gon moved past to the main terminal of the control room. He hoped to transmit an overriding command signal to the droids, stopping them in their tracks before they could assault the tower.

After entering the commands into the computer, Qui-Gon ran to the window. Outside, the droids advanced closer to the tower. Soon, they would arrive.

The saboteurs must have tampered with the computer. Qui-Gon wondered what to do next. Looking out the window, he could see the alien skyhopper was still parked on the outer deck that jutted out from the tower. Qui-Gon decided to make a run for the skyhopper, but not before he did something to stop the droids. Unless the droids were terminated, they might escape the factory and cause even more harm. Turning back to the control room, Qui-Gon spied a red-and-yellow-striped emergency cabinet. Popping the cabinet open, Qui-Gon found it contained an autodestruct initiator. Qui-Gon thought it was a dramatic bit of security for Trinkatts to have installed; but the device appeared to be the only way to destroy the droids. Wasting no time, Qui-Gon threw the initiator switch. The countdown began at three minutes.. Evacuation warnings sounded. Hopefully, the other Jedi would heed them. Gathering Adi Gallia from the floor, Qui-Gon carried her up an access stairway to the tower’s upper deck.

Exiting the stairwell, he noticed the exit door had been kicked in from the outside. Proceeding through the damaged doorway, Qui-Gon.wondered where the saboteurs had gone; Reaching the upper deck, Qui-Gon Jinn carried Adi Gallia toward the parked skyhopper. Without warning, two tall insectoid aliens stepped out from behind the skyhopper.: With their black body armor and segmented movements, Qui-Gon recognized the aliens at once; They were Bartokks.

A race of bloodthirsty mercenaries, the Bartokks were notorious throughout the galaxy for their assassin squads. With their hive mind, they worked together to kill their assigned targets; Their intelligence was distributed through nerve centers throughout their bodies, so cutting off their heads would not stop. them, since the severed pieces would continue to attack. Each Bartokk stood on two powerful legs and had four arms, two manipulatory arms extended from their waists while their upper arms ended in long hooked claws. Before Qui-Gon could address the Bartokks the two insectoid aliens raised their claws and stepped forward. Quickly placing Adi Gallia on the floor of the deck, Qui-Gon drew his lightsaber and extended its blade; Like all Jedi, Qui-Gon did. not believe in killing unless it was absolutely necessary; But he knew the Bartokks were professional killers who wouldn’t hesitate to slice him from head to toe; Seeing Qui-Gon’s activated lightsaber, the Bartokks took a step back. The Jedi Master’s eyes fixed on both of them as he warned; “This encounter doesn’t have to end in your deaths.” The Bartokks exchanged a chittering communication; then sprang through the air. Gon-Gon. Jinn’s lightsaber came up fast;]n a single sweep, Qui-Gon cut one. Bartokk in half while relieving the other of an arm. The Bsrtokks screeched, and their severed parts clattered across the deck, reacting independently. Cutting down the upright Bsrtokk, Qui-Gon saw the insectoid body fragments scramble toward Adi Gailia’s prone form. Qui-Gon leaped to Adi Gallia’s side. His boats. landed on one of the Bartokks’ writhing arms with an ugly squish. His lightsaber crackled as he brought it down again and again, hacking at the insectoid pieces. Qui-Gon knew he was running out of time. Since activating the. autodestruct mechanism; he knew he only had less than a minute to escape the tower; Switching off his lightsaber to lift Adi Gallia, Qui-Gon was nearly snagged by one of the Bartokks dismembered claws. The Bartokks’ body parts pursued Qui-Gon as he ran for the skyhopper. Placing Adi Galiia into the cockpit, Qui-Gon jumped in beside her and punched the controls. Although the skyhopper was designed: for the Bartokks, it reacted to Qui-Gon’s touch. As the skyhopper lifted off the deck, a thunderous explosion erupted from below. The force of the blast pushed the skyhopper forward, nearly knocking the vehicle out of the sky. Gripping the controls, Qui-Gon banked hard to the left and came around to. see 1ire and smoke streaming out from the top of the tower. Glancing down to the spaceport below, Qui-Gon saw that the droids had all frozen most were knocked down by the explosion. By destroying the central droid control room, Qui-Gon had prevented the droids from wreaking more havoc. Landing the skyhopper outside the barricades surrounding Trinkatta Starships, Qui-Gen saw Obi-Wan Kenobi running from the factory’s security checkpoint. Vel Ardox and Noro Zak were several steps behind him. “Master Qui-Gon!” Obi-Wan called out as he approached the skyhopper; “We saw the tower explode! We couldn’t even get into the factory; The droids held us back and…”