The Death of Hope by Jude Watson
center of the group and began to march her off. "I will get each of your
names and you will be hearing from us!"
"She certainly didn't show fear," Obi-Wan said admiringly.
"Yes, she handled it well," Qui-Gon said as he stepped out from the
shelter of the tunnel wall. "Unfortunately, now we have two to rescue."
CHAPTER 15
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited a moment, then slipped out of the tunnel.
Obi-Wan could see that his Master was disturbed by this turn of events.
They kept a good distance between themselves and Eritha and her guards, but
kept her in sight. The guards marched her farther inside the cave until
they came to another high-security entrance to a tunnel. One of the guards
accessed the security panel and punched in a code, then pressed his eye
against the sensor. When the sensor cleared him, they half-carried Eritha
through the opening and down the tunnel.
"They could be keeping Tahl there," Obi-Wan said. "No doubt it's
where they take prisoners."
"Most likely," Qui-Gon said. He studied the tunnel entrance. "But
this time we are not so lucky. The sensors are well placed. We won't be
able to get in without attracting attention. When those sensors go off, we
could be putting Eritha's and Tahl's lives in danger. And the Absolutes
aren't stupid. They probably suspect that Eritha wasn't alone when she
infiltrated the cave."
"Any other ideas?"
"I think there's only one thing to do," Qui-Gon said. "We need a
diversion."
They retraced their steps back to the weapons tunnel. Using the same
method, they propelled themselves past the sensors and safely into the
tunnel. Then they ran back to the room where the explosives were kept.
Qui-Gon quickly read the labels on the various bins. "We must be
careful," he warned. "Too much, and we risk collapsing the cave. But there
has to be enough to cause confusion and chaos."
Obi-Wan was not an expert on explosives. He let Qui-Gon choose what
they needed. Qui-Gon handed him a supply of small explosives.
"We'll have to set these up away from here," Qui-Gon said. "If we're
too close, it could cause a chain reaction."
He tucked more explosives inside his tunic along with timing devices.
"This should do it. No one should get hurt, but there will be confusion.
That's all we'll need. As soon as we get Tahl and Eritha, we'll head to the
cave entrance."
"What if we're spotted?" Obi-Wan asked. "No doubt everyone will be
heading there."
"We'll have to get a tech jacket for Tahl. We'll just have to count
on the smoke and confusion."
Obi-Wan remembered what Lenz and Irini had said about the drug that
was used to paralyze subjects inside the deprivation device. He was
prepared for the fact that Tahl might not be able to walk or move. Qui-Gon
did not seem to want to deal with that possibility.
"Hurry, Obi-Wan. We need to get to Eritha before they do something to
her."
Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon back to the cave. They set a small amount of
explosives farther down the cave, toward the entrance, then a second at the
entrance to the tech-control tunnel. Then they hurried back toward the
transport pen.
"We'll set these to go off later," Qui-Gon said. "It will be a small
explosion, but it should destroy most of the transports. Just in case we're
followed." He grabbed another tech jacket and rolled it up, shoving it
inside his own. "Now let's get back to where they took Eritha."
Obi-Wan had seen his Master focused before. This was different. His
gaze was intent, his every movement economical. Although Obi-Wan could feel
Qui-Gon's anxiety, there was no trace of it in his speech or his actions.
He appeared completely calm. Where did the desperation go? Obi-Wan admired
how his Master had taken his emotion and given it discipline and purpose.
It was a supreme example of how a Jedi should act.
They were steps away from the first tunnel offshoot when the initial
explosion went off. The cave seemed to rock for a moment, the walls and
rocks shuddering. A siren wailed, and suddenly Absolutes appeared in the
cave halls, running out from the various branches and tunnels.
"It's back that way!" Qui-Gon shouted. He feinted a move in that
direction and he and Obi-Wan ran a few steps. They let themselves be
overtaken before turning back the way they were headed.
Smoke began to drift back toward them. Obi-Wan saw a figure appear
and disappear ahead of them amid the drifting smoke.
"I think it's Balog," he said to Qui-Gon. "He's headed toward the
explosives tunnel."
They melted back against the cave wall and watched as Balog went
through the retinal scan and hurried back toward the tunnel.
"Should we follow?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Let's wait here. We know Tahl isn't back there. When he returns,
we'll follow him," Qui-Gon said.
Another explosion split the air. Smoke rolled back toward them.
"That should be the tech center," Qui-Gon said.
Suddenly Balog appeared, darting out of the side tunnel. Obi-Wan
recognized his squat, muscular body and powerful stride. Ignoring those who
were rushing toward the cave entrance, he headed in the opposite direction.
Qui-Gon nodded grimly. "When one's home is burning, one goes for the
most valuable item."
"He's heading for Tahl," Obi-Wan agreed.
The two Jedi followed him. Obi-Wan expected Balog to turn toward the
tunnel where Eritha was being held, but he kept going. Another explosion
rocked the cave. This time it was followed by another, smaller boom.
"The fuel tanks of the vehicles," Qui-Gon said.
They passed a side tunnel with a readout sign: UW BASE ENTRANCE. Obi-
Wan took note of it as he passed. It had to be the entrance to the
underwater part of the secret complex.
Balog abruptly turned into a small tunnel without security sensors.
They plunged into the tunnel behind him. The glow rods were not
operational, and the darkness was almost complete. They could only see the
gleam of a durasteel door just ahead.
Balog paused outside the door to access it. Obi-Wan hesitated, unsure
of what to do. But beside him, Qui-Gon was already moving. His Master put
on a burst of speed as Balog slipped through the door. With a mighty leap,
Qui-Gon followed him, and the door slid shut.
CHAPTER 16
Qui-Gon landed with his lightsaber already activated. Behind him, he
heard the door close.
Balog stood in the center of the room between Qui-Gon and Tahl. The
sensory deprivation device was leaning against the cave wall with Tahl
inside. He could only see her eyes through a small viewscreen. He knew she
was alive. Her eyelids fluttered. She could still feel his presence, as she
always had. A slight tremor in the Force told him that she was trying to
reach out to him.
Obi-Wan began to cut through the durasteel with his lightsaber. Qui-
Gon could smell the melting metal. He kept his gaze steady on Balog, who
was smiling faintly.
Then Balog laughed.
"You think you can thr
friend can frighten me? What you don't know is that I have all the power
here." He held up a small transmitter. "I can take away her life."
Obi-Wan burst through the hole in the door and stopped short, his
lightsaber ready.
"Don't move, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said steadily.
"Do you see this?" Balog asked, holding the transmitter aloft. "I can
give your friend a last, lethal dose. She is very weak. I wanted to keep
her alive, but I've come to realize that there is no need."
"What do you want?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Nothing from you," Balog said contemptuously. "You've done enough
already. You found this place. Well, your Worker allies won't find anything
here when they arrive. No records. Nothing to spy on, nothing to steal."
"You set the weapons room to detonate," Qui-Gon guessed.
"I'll be gone before that happens. We have plenty of support in the
city. We don't need these followers to accomplish what we need to."
"You don't care what lives are lost."
"I care about Apsolon. My Apsolon," Balog said fiercely. "Not the
Apsolon the Workers want. You Jedi are in my way." He stepped back and
accessed a door behind him. A tiny space contained a small transport with a
bubble-shaped top. Another door was cut into the far wall. No doubt it was
to allow the exit of the transport into the lake. The interior door would
close, allowing the compartment to flood.
"Now I'm leaving. You may make it out of here when the explosives
room goes, but I doubt it - especially when you have to drag your friend
along." Balog pointed to Tahl with his chin. "And believe me, she's in no
shape to walk. I made sure of that."
Qui-Gon tensed, then relaxed. It took an effort of will to absorb his
anger and continue to wait for his opening.
"I leave you to your fate," Balog said, stepping back toward the
transport. His small, dark eyes glinted. "Don't move, either of you. You
see my finger near this button? If you try to stop me and are a fraction
off, if you stumble, if you give me only a split second, I can press it. If
you move toward me, I could flinch and press it. If, in short, one of the
thousand things that could go wrong does go wrong, Tahl will die."
Qui-Gon sprang. He had never moved faster or more surely. He knew
that Balog did not see him, that one moment he was standing meters away and
the next he was in the air next to him. With careful precision, Qui-Gon
brought his lightsaber down, neatly slicing off Balog's finger. The
transmitter fell to the floor.
"I guess you didn't flinch," Qui-Gon said. Howling with pain and
rage, Balog backed up toward the transport as he fumbled for his blaster
with his good hand. Obi-Wan sprang forward as Qui-Gon headed for Tahl.
Another explosion rocked the cave, this one larger than before. The force
of the blast almost knocked Obi-Wan to the ground. The sensory deprivation
device began to slide. Qui-Gon threw himself toward it and caught it in his
arms. He laid it down gently.
Instead of attacking Obi-Wan, Balog aimed his fire at the sensory
deprivation device. Qui-Gon ignored the ping of blaster fire around his
head; he knew his Padawan would deflect it. A chain of explosions went off
and dirt began to rain down from the cave ceiling. Obi-Wan sprang into the
tiny holding room as Balog scrambled into the transport.
"Leave him, Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon shouted. He put his lightsaber to work,
cutting away at the deprivation device.
Balog accessed the exit. Water poured into the tiny room, knocking
Obi-Wan off his feet. His lightsaber shorted out.
Qui-Gon had a bigger worry: Soon the room would be flooded.
"Obi-Wan!"
Balog's transport took off underwater, bouncing wildly as it fought
against the impact of the water gushing toward the opening.
"Let him go!" Qui-Gon bellowed. "Tahl will drown!" The deprivation
device was now floating. Qui-Gon held his lightsaber aloft. If it touched
the water, it would short out, too. Qui-Gon could feel Tahl's life force
flickering. They had to get her out of here.
Obi-Wan struggled to his feet. The water was now up to his knees. He
felt his leg ache as he pushed toward Qui-Gon, who had opened a seam in the
side of the device.
"That sounded like the main weapons room," Qui-Gon said tersely. "The
cave could collapse. Let's get Tahl out of here."
Water was now almost to their waists. Qui-Gon deactivated his
lightsaber and quickly tucked it into his belt. Desperately, he lifted Tahl
out of the device. She said nothing, her head flopping against his chest as
though she couldn't support it. To see her so weak sent agony ripping
through him. They struggled through the water toward the opening Obi-Wan
had cut in the door.
Once they were through the opening, they were able to stand. Water
was pouring through the opening, and the door was starting to strain
against its bolts, but the water in the tunnel was only ankle deep. They
ran, splashing through the flooding, and reached the dry area of the cave.
The smoke was thick and acrid now, burning their lungs. The cave area was
deserted.
Qui-Gon allowed Tahl to slide down his body so that she was on her
feet. Her legs immediately gave way. He picked her up again and cradled her
against him. He had to control his anger against Balog for her sake. What
she needed from him was calm.
"Tahl," he said gently. "We're going to get you out of here."
One hand curled around his neck. He felt the gesture, her cold hand
against his neck, and it curdled his blood. It was the same gesture she had
made in the vision, the gesture that had told him how close to death she
was.
She managed to smile up at him. "It is too late for me, dear friend,"
she said softly.
CHAPTER 17
They knew the Jedi Masters were watching. They were only ten years
old, too young yet to be chosen as Padawans. But they knew the choice was
coming soon. Some Jedi students had been chosen as young as eleven.
It was called Exhibition Day, and they had performed exercises while
the Jedi Masters watched. Force exercises, balance, endurance, climbing,
jumping, swimming. Sometimes they split into teams of two or four. It was
play, but it was also serious.
The last exercise was a series of training lightsaber matches. Some
were done blindfolded. Some pitted one student against two attackers. Qui-
Gon won all his matches. It came down to him and Clee Rhara and Tahl. Then
Tahl beat Clee Rhara.
"Guess that leaves us," she whispered as she bowed to him at the
start of the final match. "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you."
They had been matched many times before. He knew how fast she was.
She knew how strong he was. Knowing each other's strengths made the match
more interesting. Qui-Gon found fighting Tahl to be both exhausting and
exhilarating. It brought out his best skills.
They whirled around the space, using every inch of wall and floor.
All the Jedi students admired Tahl's gymnastic abilities. She could run up
a wall, twist, and come at you with a sweeping backhand twist that left you
dizzy.
Tahl fought hard. Qui-Gon admired how just when he thought she was
tiring, she would find fresh strength. He could not match her agility, but
he was able to surprise her with strategy. He saw her eyes flash with
astonishment and her teeth grit in determination as she parried his blows
and came at him with a series of twists and reversals.
The match was not timed. It would only end when one of them scored a
blow. Exhaustion began to slow their moves, but they did not stop or make
mistakes. He could hear the murmur among the spectators, wondering how long