CHAPTER 12
Qui-Gon saw a figure standing above them at the top of the chasm. It leaned over the edge for a split second, then was gone. A moment later Obi-Wan’s launcher cord went slack and his Padawan fell past him with alarming speed.
Qui-Gon immediately anchored himself to the cliff and reached out to the Force to try and stop the fall. But the dark energy in the giant crevasse worked against him. He felt oddly exhausted and had little ability to concentrate.
Quickly, Qui-Gon pushed past his weakness and focused harder. He willed his apprentice to do the same.
The sound of Obi-Wan’s launcher anchor scraping against the side of the crevasse was music to Qui-Gon’s ears. After a few seemingly endless seconds it caught, jerking Obi-Wan to an abrupt halt. He dangled in the air somewhere below Qui-Gon.
“Are you all right, Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon called down. His voice echoed off the chasm walls.
“I’m fine,” Obi-Wan replied. “And I can see the bottom of the crevasse.”
Qui-Gon tested his line. It was still secure. Then he rappelled the rest of the way as quickly as he could. By the time he got to the crevasse floor, Obi-Wan had stowed his cable launcher and was searching the area by the light of a glow rod. The crevasse floor was rocky and covered by slippery vegetation. They would have to tread carefully.
“I don’t see anything,” Obi-Wan said. His voice sounded strangely hollow, and Qui-Gon wasn’t sure if it was because of the chasm, his fall, or because they were so close to the Holocron. The concentration of dark knowledge could tap one’s strength. He certainly weakened himself. But the strange hollow feeling also let Qui-Gon know they were on the right track. He felt at once repelled and drawn closer.
Qui-Gon ignited a second glow rod and the Jedi searched the area until they came across a series of footprints. With the wet vegetation covering the chasm floor, it was impossible to tell if there was more than one set of marks.
As they moved farther away from their decension point, Qui-Gon heard a low rumble. It sounded as though a storm was picking up. Or was the sea rising? It was now well past the time of the lowest tide and the water should be coming back up.
A flash of lightning split the sky above. In the blast of light, Qui-Gon thought he saw a figure struggling toward them. But before he could be certain, a plume of water began to gush up through a large gap in the rocky shelf they were standing on. Shooting meters above his head, it completely blocked Qui-Gon’s view and nearly knocked both Jedi off their feet. As it rained down on them and seeped into his boots, Qui-Gon was surprised to find that the water was hot.
With a sudden sense of dread Qui-Gon realized that they were at the bottom of one crevasse, but that there were probably several just like it below. The seafloor was a honeycomb. They were by no means on solid ground.
Water continued to push out of the hole with remarkable force. There was no question that the tide was turning. When the gush finally subsided, they were up to their ankles in hot seawater. Several meters ahead of him, on the other side of the gap, Qui-Gon could see a crumpled form lying on the crevasse floor.
Qui-Gon ran blindly toward the figure. Was it Murk Lundi?
It was. The Quermian lay limply on the crevasse floor with his face partially in the water. The apparatus that normally covered one of his eyes was gone, revealing an empty socket.
Qui-Gon was almost upon the professor when he lashed out. “You can’t stop me!” he cried, lifting his head. One of his gangly arms fumbled for something under his robe, and he shakily pulled out a blaster. The weapon wobbled in his hand, and he fired recklessly.
Qui-Gon quickly dodged, escaping the blast in spite of the close range. Behind him, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. The blue blade cut through the air, deflecting the bolt and knocking Lundi’s blaster out of his hand. The weapon skittered across the crevasse floor and fell into the geyser gap.
“No!” Lundi cried. He struggled to get to his feet, then collapsed in the water.
“Where is the Holocron?” Obi-Wan demanded, pulling the Quermian to his feet.
“In my hand! In my hand! I held it in my hand!” Lundi screeched, jabbing at Obi-Wan with his pointed fingers.
“Where is it now?” Obi-Wan asked through gritted teeth, binding as many of the professor’s skinny wrists together as he could catch.
“Let me go. Let me get it. It’s not for you!” Lundi spat in Obi-Wan’s face and flailed wildly but he did not have the strength to break free. “I should be the one!”
Qui-Gon’s mind reeled. He could feel that they were close to the Holocron. Very close. He tried to focus, to find its location, but the dark side was playing tricks with his mind. It was so near and still beyond his mental vision. There was so much he didn’t understand. If Lundi had held the Holocron, where was it now? Did someone else have it? Had he been unable to handle the power?