Part Six
Obi-Wan emitted a yell that was never heard, but Qui-Gon knew that the boy had shouted, because he had done the same thing himself. A glance at Misa showed that she was surprised and terrified as they were.
The planet twinkled below them as they hung harmlessly in space. None of the dangers of space seemed to be affecting them. Air flowed through their lungs, the heavy pressure that normally would have killed them was curiously absent, Qui-Gon noted. He calmed himself, centered his thoughts and began to wonder if Onlon had any idea what he had just done.
"You will be safe, my allies. Help is on its way," assured the alien planet below and they stopped their thrashing immediately.
Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon, terror etched on his face. No doubt the boy 's imagination was doing loops at the enormity of their situation. What if's rolled their minds: what if the creature could not sustain their bubble of safety? What if ships passing by did not see them and blew them out of range of the alien's ability to maintain their stable bubble? What if Onlonian pilots found them floating in space and decided to take pot shots at them as they floated helpless?
Questions riushed through Obi-Wan's mind, but he couldn't help but admire the view, unobstructed by windows and port holes of the various space craft he had traveled on. In an experiment, his brain disengaged from considering the danger he could place himself, Obi-Wan shifted his weight to do a flip, controlling it as much as he could through the Force. He flipped multiple times, practically giving Qui-Gon a heart attack.
From the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan begin to somersault. He grabbed for the boy, but missed. As Obi-Wan began to somersault out of arm's reach, Qui-Gon's mind screamed in fear. He couldn't lose the boy. Not this one, never! He sagged in relief as Obi-Wan bounced harmlessly off an invisible wall, concreting the idea that they were inside some sort of protective bubble.
Obi-Wan stopped his bouncing around and turned with a pleased grin to his master, only to feel the full brunt of Qui-Gon's fear and extreme anger at the risky maneuver he had just performed. The boy looked sheepish for a moment and glanced at Misa.
Qui-Gon looked to where Misa was and observed her frantic pointing. Qui-Gon glanced over his shoulder and his blue eyes widened in dismay. A ship was fast approaching their location.
Master Yoda sat still in his small lounge chair that traveled where he did. He had noticed that his ability to tap into the Force diminished the closer to Onlon the ship got. This disturbed the old master deeply.
"Master Yoda, forgive my interruption of your meditation but you have people that require your aid." The voice, soft and lulling caught Yoda off-guard.
"Help who, stranger?" Yoda telepathically responded. He felt a strong sense of rapport with whomever was speaking with him. The Force was great within whoever it was. Could this be the planet-creature Qui-Gon and Misa Econo had spoken of?
"Qui-Gon Jinn, Misa Econo and Obi-Wan Kenobi," replied the voice, a little rebuking. "You should be flying up on them any moment now. I have them encased in a protective bubble, but it will look like they are floating in space." As an afterthought the alien cheerfully told the small troll-like Jedi, "I look forward to meeting you, Master Yoda. The others have told me much about you."
Yoda blinked in shock and waddled as fast as he could to the ship captain, who began scanning for the floating Jedi and woman. A small pod craft was sent to recover them. The bubble allowed the rescue pod in without destroying any of the encased atmosphere. The two Jedi boarded, Obi-Wan reluctantly as he had begun to enjoy his temporary environment. Misa followed them into the pod, collapsing on the pod's floor as soon as she was able.
"I never," she panted, trying to calm her stammering heart, "want to do that again."
Qui-Gon bowed to Yoda before turning to Obi-Wan. He grabbed the boy's shoulder, halting the boy's half-executed bow to Yoda. "Don't you ever do something like that again, Obi-Wan Kenobi!" he ground out angrily. "You put all of us in immense danger, more than we were already! What happened if that bubble collapsed or you went somersaulting out of the protective shield? That maneuver was ill-timed and not well thought out. I'm very disappointed in you with that stunt!"
Yoda looked surprised at the rebuke and Obi-Wan dropped his eyes in shame. Everything Qui-Gon said was true. He hadn't thought out what he was doing until it was too late to stop himself. It was made worse, however, by the fact that he had been chastised in front of Master Yoda. "I am so very sorry, Master," Obi-Wan murmured dejectedly.
"You have learned to think before acting?" demanded Qui-Gon, giving no quarter. Yoda stood back with Misa; this was Qui-Gon's duty, distasteful though it was.
Obi-Wan's eyes shimmered in shame as he answered truthfully. "Yes, Master."
Qui-Gon patted the boy's shoulder. "I am relieved, however, that all was well. To lose you would have been unbearable." Obi-Wan glowed at the words of affection. Qui-Gon turned to Yoda. "Forgive me, Master, but that rebuke could not wait. Obi-Wan endangered us needlessly and I felt he should be aware of what he could have done."
Yoda waved away the explanation. "Padawans make mistakes as do masters, Qui-Gon." He then turned to Misa, frowning at the lightsaber hanging on her belt. "Necessary was it?"
"I have the two Jedi to back me up on this." Misa looked at the two Jedi, who nodded their agreement.
"Very well," Yoda responded. "Speak with planet I may."
"His name is Onlon, Master Yoda. I have no idea his exact age, but he says he can remember Jedi from many centuries ago." Yoda blinked, his ears twitching in surprise at this bit of news. Misa continued to update Yoda on the planet creature while Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon regarded each other in silence.
Obi-Wan tuned out the explanation, instead concentrating on his own actions earlier. He dwelt on it so much that Qui-Gon pulled him aside and began to speak in low tones to him. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon soothed, "your experiment was well-intentioned but dangerous. Maybe I should have rebuked you elsewhere but it had to be done while you understood the danger we had been in."
Obi-Wan frowned thoughtfully and nodded, still hurt at the reproval.
Qui-Gon sighed heavily. "Give me your pack. We have some models to get spruced up for diversionary tactics and recognizance." Obi-Wan's eyes lit up and the two Jedi disappeared down the corridor into a small room where they could work.
Yoda and Misa joined them moments later. "Land soon we will," Yoda informed them unnecessarily, looking curiously at the small space models twirling around the room on their own power, controlled only by Obi-Wan's small visual remotes.
"Clever," marveled Misa as a Nubian cruiser dive bombed past her ear. "Another distraction I take it?"
"I was thinking more recognizance myself," said Qui-Gon. "Being able to see what is around the models will help us see the enemy."
"If they let them fly around long enough," observed Misa as a side note. Yoda hurrumphed at the oddness of it all and settled down for a bumpy landing.
The ship landed about two miles from the communications temple that they previously "visited". Flashes of light and thunderous booming signaled that fighting was either still going on or had errupted. Misa looked worried, hesitating in following the Jedi toward the Temple. It was clear she wanted to help her friends, but knew she must put the Jedi and Onlon first.
Guards surrounded the Temple again. There was no way to distract that many guards. Qui-Gon estimated a small platoon of soldiers also guarded the entrance. "There has to be another way in!" hissed Obi-Wan fiercely.
Yoda grunted, getting their attention. Obi-Wan turned to see Yoda's eyes tightly closed, the Force growing within him in great waves. "Help us, he will," murmured Yoda disjointedly. "Onlon will show us the way."
Qui-Gon gently picked up the slow moving Jedi master and, following the instructions Yoda received, they made their way around to the backside of the Temple. There a natural cave was slightly revealed to their Jedi senses, covered in centuries of trees, shrubs, brush and deadwood. Qui-Gon put the old master down, took out his lightsaber and began to cut away the obstacle. Obi-Wan joined while Misa protected their position in case of attack.
No one knew they were there.
Once the brush was cut away, Yoda and Misa began to make their way inside. Misa hesitated when she noticed that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did not follow. "We'll stay and protect the entrance." Qui-Gon motioned them to continue on. Misa nodded, swept up the small Yoda and made her way inside.
Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, who was already pulling out his modified flying models. Qui-Gon nodded in approval. "Let's get these things in the air and doing our work for us."