[Jedi Apprentice] - 15(21)

But Qui-Gon had not found that time. Obi-Wan was just as confused as when they’d started. Now Qui-Gon was violating Jedi principles by ignoring a cry for help.

He had spoken bluntly to his Master, but he did not regret his words. He was right. It was Qui-Gon’s duty as a Jedi to turn away from what he wanted in order to help those who needed him.

Obi-Wan had felt this way once before, long ago, on the planet of Melida/Daan. There he had begged Qui-Gon to stay and help the Young. They were being massacred by their own leaders and parents. That day, Qui-Gon had refused to help in the same way. And Tahl had been the reason then, too.

Something in Obi-Wan’s face prevented the argument that rose to Eritha’s lips. Instead, she pressed them together and nodded. “I’ll do what you say.”

Relieved that he had won that battle, at least, Obi-Wan signaled to Yanci.

“Qui-Gon has to go on, but I am coming with you,” he told her. “We need to find a place close to the camp to conceal Eritha.”

“I know a place,” Yanci said, nodding. She swung a leg over her swoop and waited for Obi-Wan and Eritha to mount their vehicles. Then, taking the lead, she sped off.

Obi-Wan felt his muscles tense, and his leg suddenly throbbed in protest. He had to struggle for the Jedi calm that was necessary before battle. He and Qui-Gon did not usually argue. Since their rupture when he had left the Jedi order, they had learned to honor each other’s moods and inclinations. Even when they disagreed, they had found harmony. One of them stepped back and let the other make the decision. Usually it was Obi-Wan who let Qui-Gon lead, as a Padawan should. But as he grew older, his Master often let Obi-Wan choose, just as he had allowed Obi-Wan to choose a path back on Ragoon-6 during their tracking exercise. They never separated in anger after a disagreement.

Obi-Wan was startled at how disappointed and angry he still felt about Qui-Gon’s decision. The wind was cooling his hot cheeks, but not his disquiet.

Would this disagreement shake their union    ? He didn’t know. He had felt distance between them since they arrived on New Apsolon. Perhaps this would deepen it.

He couldn’t worry about it. He had spoken the truth. But the distance he felt from his Master saddened him.

Obi-Wan turned his mind away from the disagreement and used the time to focus. He would need a sure connection to the Force. His wound would slow him down somewhat, and Qui-Gon would not be there to cover him. He would have to rely on strategy more than speed.

They were approaching the Rock Worker settlement when Yanci signaled them. She turned the swoop away and led them toward a split in a sheer wall. Eritha’s landspeeder cleared the opening with just centimeters to spare.

“They won’t find her here,” Yanci said. “I doubt they’d be looking for strays. We think their object was to steal our most advanced explosives.”

“I will contact you when the situation is safe,” Obi-Wan told Eritha.

She looked reluctant, but she nodded.

Suddenly, he felt a surge in the Force. He whipped his head around and saw nothing.

Yanci zoomed out of the crack in the canyon wall, and he followed. He quickly scanned the horizon and saw Qui-Gon’s landspeeder in the distance, gaining fast.

Obi-Wan signaled to Yanci, then headed out to meet Qui-Gon. When he caught up to the landspeeder, he hovered by Qui-Gon’s side.

Qui-Gon looked at him directly. His face showed the signs of a great internal struggle. “I was wrong, Padawan. Thank you for pointing it out to me. My duty lies here. No matter,” he said with difficulty, “what it may cost.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I’m glad you came back.”

Gunning their motors, they caught up to Yanci.

“I’m taking you around a back way,” she told them. “When I left, we had managed to hold our position surrounding the unit where we keep the supplies and explosives.”

They didn’t need the caution. They took a roundabout way, skirting the settlement. Yanci slowed her speeder as they approached a road cut through a narrow canyon.

Obi-Wan listened for the sounds of battle, but heard nothing except the wind. The quiet was eerie. He glanced over at Qui-Gon and saw his Master frown.

Something lay in the road ahead. Obi-Wan didn’t need to come closer to know what it was. The deep disturbance in the Force told him everything.

Yanci slowed to a crawl, almost stalling her swoop. “It’s a body,” she said shakily.

Suddenly, she gunned the engine and zoomed ahead. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon speeded up to catch her.

Yanci was off her swoop before it had stopped. It kept going and crashed, but she didn’t react. She raced toward the body in the road. Her cry was terrible.