Джуд Уотсон - Jedi Apprentice 2 - The Dark Rival

K-7, Core 8. Core 7. Core 6. Core 5. Narrow. Pressure. Trapped.

"Yes, Qui-Gon. I can do it. I will do it."

He knows it is wrong. He must stop it. But he can't fight this power. He sees the broken circle. The circle that brings the past to the future, yet does not meet. He must make the circle meet. He must…

Qui-Gon Jinn woke with a start. As always, he knew exactly where he was as soon as he awakened. Dreams never hung on him, clouding his mind.

Even a nightmare had only served to sharpen his senses. The room was dark, but he could make out the edges of the window in the darkness. Dawn was near. He could hear Obi-Wan Kenobi's quiet breathing on the sleep-couch next to him.

They were quartered in the guest chamber of the Bandomeer governor's official residence. He had some to the planet on a routine mission that had suddenly turned non-routine, all because of a single line written on a piece of paper.

The message had brought the nightmare. He'd had the same one for three nights running.

Qui-Gon's hand fell to his lightsaber, placed so that it was in easy reach in case of intruders. Within the blink of an eye, he would be standing, ready to fight.

But how could one fight a dream?

K-7, Core 5. What could the words and numbers mean? K-7 could be a charted but uninhabited planet, or a star system. But why did he have the sensation of being trapped? Who had said, "I can do it"? And why did he feel helpless rage against the words, why did he feel helpless despair as he heard them?

The only think that was familiar to him was the image of the broken circle. It filled him with dread.

He thought it was in the past. All of it. Then, upon his arrival on Bandomeer, he was handed a note. It had welcomed him to the planet, and it had been signed Xanatos.

Jedi are taught to value dreams, but not to trust them. Dreams can confuse as well as illuminate. A Jedi should test a dream much as he tests unstable ground. Only when he's sure of his footing should he move on. Dreams can be random energy, nothing more. Some Jedi see things in dreams and others do not.

Qui-Gon rarely had the gift and preferred not to dwell on dreams. He managed to push dreams away in the daylight. But at night, it was harder. If only he could ban his nightmares, and memories. Then they would not be able to haunt him so.

He had been all over the galaxy, from the Galactic Core to the Outer Rim Territories. He had seen many things that pained him, and many things he wished he could forget.

Now his worst pain, his worst regret, had caught up with him at last.

Qui-Gon was the one who discovered Xanatos, the one who took the midi-chlorian count and brought the child back to the Jedi Temple.

He remembered the look on Cion's face as his only son was taken from his home planet of Telos. Crion was the wealthiest man on Telos, but he knew, despite all his riches, he could not offer Xanatos what Qui-Gon could. He could not deny his son. Qui-Gon saw the heartbreak on the man's face, and he hesitated. He asked on last time if Crion was sure of his decision. Slowly, Crion nodded. The decision was final. Qui-Gon would take Xanatos to be trained as a Jedi.

If only Qui-Gon has listened more closely to his own hesitation. The decision the take the child would have been different. All of their lives would be so different…

Qui-Gon swung his legs over the side of the sleep-couch. He crossed to the window and pushed aside the heavy curtain. He could just make out the mine towers in the gray light. The Great Sea of Bandomeer was a black void in the distance.

Bandomeer consisted of one huge landmass and one enormous sea, which divided the planet in half. All of it was owned by mining companies. There was only one city — Bandor, where the government's quarters were located. But even the city was dotted with mining operations. The air was a sheet of dull gray, filled with drifting black specks.

It was a desolate world. The majority of Bandomeer's mines were controlled off-planet. None of the enormous riches made it back to the native Meerians. Even the official residence of the governor was shabby and ill-furnished. Qui-Gon's fingers ran along the edge of the curtain. The fabric was beginning to fray.

Obi-Wan stirred in his sleep. Qui-Gon turned to watch the boy, but Obi-Wan slept on. Qui-Gon let him. Today would mark the start of their separate missions on Bandomeer. Although Obi-Wan's mission wasn't dangerous, it would test the boy. All missions tested Jedi skills, even the ones that appeared easy. Qui-Gon had learned that long ago.

He and the boy had just been through a dangerous and unexpected journey together. They had fought side by side and stared death in the face. Yet he couldn't feel close to Obi-Wan. There was still a part of him that hoped Yoda would call the boy back to the Temple for reassignment.

Qui-Gon forced himself to be honest. The reason he couldn't feel close the Obi-Wan was because he wouldn't allow himself to. Certainly, the boy had impressed him on the journey here. It had been a rough transport, filled with tensions. Obi-Wan had learned to hold his tongue and his temper in situations where Qui-Gon had been certain he would lose his calm.

But Qui-Gon knew that Obi-Wan was still too blindly guided by ambition and anger. Those were the two qualities that had led to Xanatos' undoing. Qui-Gon couldn't get involved in such a situation again. He knew how treacherous it could be to rely on an apprentice.

So he would keep his distance from young Kenobi. Soon Obi-Wan would be sent to observe the Agricultural Corps work on the planet. Thanks to mining, Bandomeer had been stripped of many natural resources. The great mines took up many square kilometers; when the land was depleted, the mine was closed and left the area barren. It was no longer useful for farming. Food was shipped in from other worlds.

It was a precarious situation that the local government was working to change. It had plans to restore and reclaim the land and vast ocean. The Agri-Corps was helping in the endeavor by replanting large areas and enclosing them to form what the government called "Enrichment Zones." Obi-Wan would be sent to the largest zone to help.

Qui-Gon's mission was less clear-cut. He had been called on by the Jedi Council to act as a Guardian of Peace at the local government's request. Qui-Gon still wasn't certain of the specifics. Most of the people on Bandomeer were imported to work the mines. They worked, saving as much as they could in order to transport off-planet as soon as possible. That was why the government on Bandomeer had such trouble instituting change. Everyone, even the natives, wanted to leave the planet as soon as they were able. No one truly cared what happened the Bandomeer.

But recently, that had begun the change. The Meerians had become partners with the immigrant Arconans. The two groups had formed a cooperative mine. All of the profits were shared equally.

Some miners had already switched over from the main mines, owned by the mighty Offworld Corporation. Qui-Gon had a feeling that the reason he'd been called by the Bandomeer government was because of this. Offworld never took well to those who encroached on its turf.

The landscape outside was lighter now. Streaks of deep orange sun licked at the tall mining towers like tongues of flame. Still fighting the grip of his nightmare, Qui-Gon watched Bandor come to life. Lights came on in the narrow streets. Workers headed for the mines. Night workers wearily trudged home. Qui-Gon's thoughts returned to Xanatos' surprise message: