"Daan!" the first guard hissed. "The girl was right! They're attacking!"
Qui-Gon was out the door, lightsaber in hand, before the guards could turn and react. Obi-Wan raced alongside him.
The guards fired their blasters rapidly as soon as they saw the Jedi. But they were too late. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon deflected the fire with their lightsabers without missing a step.
Moving in synch, they jumped the last few meters to the guards, feet first. Deflecting blaster fire with their lightsabers, they hit the guards in the chest with a powerful kick. The guards flew back, their blasters flying out of their hands.
"Cover me," Qui-Gon instructed Obi-Wan crisply. He moved to the door. As he began to slice through the lock with his lightsaber, the guards recovered and reached for the electro-jabbers on their belts.
Obi-Wan didn't wait for them to rise. He leaped over them so that they would need to turn and twist to attack. He knocked the electro-jabber out of one guard's hand with a kick and sliced down with his lightsaber toward the other. The guard howled and dropped his weapon.
"Don't move," Obi-Wan warned them, keeping his lightsaber over their heads.
The lock gave, and Qui-Gon pushed open the door. He stopped, stricken at the heart by Tahl's appearance. She had gone throughTemple training with him. She had always been beautiful, a tall woman from the planet Noori, with eyes striped gold and green and skin the color of dark honey.
Now she appeared thin and wasted. Her beautiful skin was marred by a white scar that ran from one eye and curved around her chin. The other eye was covered with a patch.
"Tahl," he said, keeping his voice steady. "It's Qui-Gon."
"Ah, rescue at last," she said in the gently mocking tone that had always made him smile. "Do I look that bad, old friend?"
He realized then that she could not see.
"You look as lovely as ever," he said. "But can you wait on the compliments? My hands are full at the moment."
"I'm afraid I'm a little weak," Tahl confessed.
"I'll carry you." Qui-Gon scooped up Tahl in his arms. She felt as light as a child. "Can you hang onto my neck?" he asked.
He felt her nod as her arms tightened around him. "Just get me out of here," she said. "I've had better food in a Hutt cantina."
Just then Qui-Gon heard the sound he'd hoped he wouldn't: rapid blaster fire. Reinforcements had arrived. Obi-Wanwas in trouble. His time had run out.
He proceeded cautiously to the door. He peered out.
Six soldiers had charged out of their quarters and were shooting at Obi-Wan from the end of the hall. Obi-Wan had flung open a door andwas using it for cover. The soldiers had rearmed the two on the ground, so there were now eight soldiers to fight.
"What's the bad news?" Tahl asked.
"Eight so far," Qui-Gon said."Maybe more coming."
"Piece of cake for you," she said weakly.
"Just what I was about to say."
Blaster fire rebounded off the door that Obi-Wan crouched behind. The doors were armored, Obi-Wan realized. They could use that to their advantage.
Qui-Gon flung his own door wide open and stepped out behind it, making a quick calculation. Obi-Wan had held off the soldiers so far by periodically deflecting blaster fire back at them with his lightsaber, but they would soon realize that he wasn't armed with a blaster.
Then they would rush him.
Qui-Gon looked over at Obi-Wan. It was time to take the offensive again. But he couldn't endanger Tahl, and she was too weak to walk. They were stuck. He would not leave Tahl. He didn't even want to put her down again. If he was separated from her, he might not be able to get to her again.
"Leave me, Qui-Gon," Tahl murmured to him. "I'll be no worse off than I was before. Do not let them capture you, too."
"Have a little faith, will you?" Qui-Gon countered gently.
Suddenly, blaster fire erupted from the opposite end of the hall. Now they were surrounded!
But after a moment Qui-Gon realized that the blaster fire was directed at the soldiers.
Or, he realized suddenly, at least it sounded like blaster fire. Cerasi hadn't left after creating a diversion, as she'd promised.
The soldiers dived around the corner for cover. Qui-Gon glanced back down the other end just in time to see Cerasi fire another laser-ball. It hit the wall, and blaster fire echoed down the hall.
The guards now fired blindly, unwilling to risk exposure by coming around the corner. Obi-Wan stepped out. He was easily able to deflect the wild shots with his lightsaber. Holding Tahl against his chest with one arm, Qui-Gon raised his lightsaber to catch any blaster fire that Obi-Wanwas unable to deflect. Together they moved backward down the hallway toward the storage room.
As they moved, Obi-Wan flung open door after door. They swung outward, helping to block blaster fire. The soldiers kept up a steady stream of fire, but Cerasi loaded and shot laser-balls just as fast, and the soldiers were convinced they were under attack.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan reached the safety of the storage room. Cerasi dashed forward.
"Hurry," she urged. "I'm running low."
She continued shooting as Obi-Wan slid back the grate and Qui-Gon climbed down one-handed, Tahl hugging his neck.
"Now!" Obi-Wan yelled.
Cerasi hurried down after Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan followed, setting the grate back in place.
"Thank you, Cerasi." Qui-Gon spoke quietly.
"We could not have done this without your bravery."
"Obi-Wan helped us this morning," Cerasi replied carelessly, as if risking her life were nothing. "I just returned the favor."
"Why did you think of claiming to be Wehutti's daughter?" Obi-Wan asked her as she led the way back.
"Because I am," Cerasi answered.
"But you said your father was dead," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"He is dead to me," Cerasi replied with a shrug. "But occasionally he comes in handy. Just like most Elders."
She looked over her shoulder at Obi-Wan and flashed him a grin. Obi-Wan's eyes shone back.
Qui-Gon saw in the moment of their exchange that something had deepened between them. They were intimates now, communicating without words. The adventure they had shared that morning had united them.