He stretched out his legs impatiently.
He was anxious to arrive on the planet and
start the mission. It had been a long
journey from Coruscant; his muscles felt
cramped and he longed for fresh air.
Their small starship, on loan from the Senate,
had needed repairs, which had added
a full day to their journey.
Noting his restless movement, his Master,
Qui-Gon Jinn, glanced at him. "Control
your impatience, Obi-Wan," he remarked.
"The mission begins before it starts, when
we can prepare for what lies ahead."
Obi-Wan suppressed a sigh. Qui-Gon was
a Jedi Master, and his wisdom was
legendary. His advice usually made
sense after Obi-Wan thought about it a moment.
But sometimes it could be difficult
to follow. Especially when he had been sitting in a
transport for three days, waiting to
get somewhere.
Qui-Gon gave him a short smile. The
good thing about Obi-Wan's Master was that
even while he chided Obi-Wan's impatience,
he understood it as well.
"So let us review what we know about
the mission ahead," Qui-Go suggested.
"Information is preparation. What do
we know about the history of Rutan and
Senali?"
"Senali is an orbiting satellite of
Rutan," Obi-Wan recited, remembering the
information Jedi Master Yoda had provided
them back on Coruscant. "Now it is a
separate world with its own government,
but it was a colony of Rutan for many years.
Two worlds fought a long and difficult
war that took its toll on both populations. The
war was won by the satellite Senali
in a surprising upset."
Obi-Wan stopped as his attention swerved
and memory took over. Months ago, he
had been involved in a civil war on
the planet of Melida/Daan. In that conflict, the side
with fewer weapons and lesser power
had won, surprising not only the other side, but
the galaxy. He knew firsthand how resolve
and cunning could win out over superior
forces.
"And what happened after that?" Qui-Gon prompted, breaking into his thoughts.
"Since the war was devastating to both
worlds, a unique peace agreement was
decided upon. The firstborn children
of the rulers of both Rutan and Senali are
exchanged when each child reaches seven
years of age. The child is brought up on
the neighboring planet, but is allowed
to receive visitors and go for short visits to his
or her home planet, as well as be in
contact with the royal family. This is so that he or
she does not forget his or her birth
family or duty."
"And what happens when the child is sixteen?" Qui-Gon prompted.
"The child is allowed to return to his
or her home planet in order to be groomed for
leadership," the thirteen-year-old
Padawan answered. "Another member of the ruling
family takes his or her place until
the next generation is born."
"It's an interesting solution to the
problem of maintaining peace between two old
enemies," Qui-Gon mused. "The thinking
is that the leader of each world will not
attack a planet where his or her child
is residing. But the plan has a flaw that the
rulers didn't take into account."
"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Feelings," Qui-Gon answered. "Loyalties
are formed in your heart, not born in you.
Emotion can't be ruled. Both leaders
thought that if their children were with them for
their first seven years, that would
ensure their loyalty. But one can be loyal to one's
home planet and yet want a different
life."
"Like Prince Leed," Obi-Wan said. "He
has lived on Senali for almost ten years. He
does not want to return to Rutan."
Again, Obi-Wan thought back to his experience
on Melida/Daan. He had wanted to
join that society and live there. But
even though he had made the choice to do so, he
had not given up his loyalty to the
Temple. Others had not seen it that way. He
sensed that he would understand the
torn feelings of Prince Leed.
"Or at least Leed claims he wants to
stay on Senali," Qui-Gon amended. "That's
what we're here to find out. His father
believes the Senali are forcing him to stay.
That's why the Senate fears that the
two worlds will go to war again."
The mist began to break into patches of cloud. A large city appeared beneath them.
"That must be Testa, the capital city,"
Qui-Gon said. "The royal guards of the king
are on the outskirts."
Suddenly a warning light flashed on the control panel.
"I was afraid of this," Qui-Gon murmured. "Thanks to our detour, our fuel is very low."
He guided the craft closer to the planet's
surface. They left the city behind and began
to glide above a field of stubby, straw-colored
grass. A warning alarm pinged.
"We're losing fuel fast. I can't make
it to the royal landing platform," Qui-gon said. He
checked the coordinates. "If we land
on this field, we won't be far from the palace.
We're close enough to walk."
Obi-Wan flicked the controls that would
prepare the ship for landing. Qui-Gon
headed for level ground and guided
the transport to a smooth stop.
"Let's just take our survival packs,"
Qui-Gon suggested. "No doubt King Frane will
refuel the transport for us and we
can fly it to the landing platform later."
Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon down the ramp.
Together they struck out across the field.
Obi-Wan enjoyed the sensation of being
outside again. He inhaled the fresh scent of
the grass and tilted his head back
to catch the faint rays of the sun that managed to
filter through the clouds and mist.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon stopped. "Do you feel it?" he asked.
Obi-Wan felt nothing. But he waited
before answering. Qui-Gon's perceptions were
usually sharper than his. His Master
had a deep connection to the Force that united
all things.
Then he felt it, too Ð a vibration in the dirt beneath his feet.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure," Qui-Gon said. He crouched
and put a hand on the ground. "Not
equipment. Animals."
Obi-Wan peered through the mist. Far
away he thought he saw a cloud of dust rise
from the field. The dry grass rippled,
but there was no breeze. Then he picked out
shapes through the mist. Galloping
animals were heading toward them.
"They are running scared. It's a stampede,"
Qui-Gan said. He whipped his head
around. "There's no time to find shelter,
and we're too far from the trees. Run with
them, Padawan. Do not let yourself
fall or you'll get trampled.
"Run with what?" Now Obi-Wan could hear the pounding noise. "What are they?"
"Kudana," Qui-Gon said tersely. He scanned
the air overhead. Dots that Obi-Wan
had thought were birds suddenly dived
and twisted like no birds Obi-Wan had ever
seen. One of the dots zoomed toward
them. It was a seeker droid. Obi-Wan saw an
indicator light flash.
"A hunt," Qui-Gon corrected as in one
smooth movement he withdrew his lightsaber
and activated it. "And now we are the
prey."
