Obi-Wan awoke in agony. Something deep inside of him was screaming with pain and fear. It was like being burned alive - his very nerves on fire. And the feeling of fear was overwhelming. Worse than it had been the day before when he realized he was lost. This was the raw base emotion of fear and it seemed to devour him. Unable to do anything about it Obi-Wan curled up into a fetal position and waited for it to subside.
And it did. Slowly the torment of it, whatever it was, subsided and exposed an emotion much subtler than the first: sadness. He sat up and looked around, momentarily disoriented. Then he remembered, he hadn't meant to fall asleep. He had spent most of the night in sort of a combination of a vigil and a trance.
If Menalu's leg were more healed, he could walk on his own for short distances. Obi-Wan had put most of his energy into various Jedi healing techniques. He'd also kept watch to make sure they stayed safe as they rested in the shelter of the tree roots. He could see the sun drawing long shadows on the forest floor. They'd made it through the night.
Menalu was sitting up, staring out through the roots as though they were the bars of a cage. He turned to Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan saw a deep hurt in his eyes. "My temple", was all Menalu said and turned back away.
Obi-Wan stared at him in horror, but he knew Menalu was right. The agony he'd felt was the shared emotions of the monks of the Yebbi Temple as they were attacked during their morning rites. He knew Jedi to be sensitive to such events, but as nothing so catastrophic had occurred in Obi-Wan's lifetime, he had never felt it. It was an experience he did not wish to repeat, ever.
"Then it's all for nothing." Obi-Wan said.
Menalu turned around to face him again. "No. It is now more important then ever that I appear in Talus."
"But why?"
"There were never any scheduled negotiations." Menalu said. "I needed to leave Es-Speeth. The longer I stayed there, the more endangered my people were. I thought to leave as I did, would protect them longer. I was wrong."
Obi-Wan's head spun. "Then why face them?" Clearly politics was not his strength. He struggled to understand the meaning behind Menalu's words.
"They think that we are weak because we do not fight back." Menalu pointed to his chest for emphasis; "they see me as an easy target because I am young. Even my own people believe this. But they are wrong. And now we must show them this."
Obi-Wan nodded in understanding. He knew very well how Menalu felt.
Menalu continued. "Yesterday you told me that it was your desire to get us both out of this forest, yes? Now it is our shared desire."
* * *
Qui-Gon was already awake when he felt the destruction of the temple. He had gone immediately to find Dash-te and found him in his tent with his head in his hands. He looked at Qui-Gon for a moment and looked away shaking his head.
"The temple. They've done it." He said, "This is all my fault."
Qui-Gon knelt beside the monk. "Tell me how." He said, gently.
Dash-te turned once again and this time looked into Qui-Gon's eyes. He couldn't lie anymore. He told Qui-Gon everything that had happened over the last year. How with the gathering threat from Astrid Stovall's movement it had become less and less safe to remain at the temple. He told Qui-Gon about the failed attempts to escape with the Divine Prince, how they had always been driven back by General Ruusk's army. Finally, in desperation, Dash-te had fabricated a rumor of negotiations and contacted the Jedi council who had dispatched he and Obi-Wan for reasons Qui-Gon still couldn't fathom. Until then only Sheniko had known of his ruse. He hadn't even told the Divine Prince about his plan.
Qui-Gon was angry despite himself.
"How could you?" he nearly growled. And then taking a moment to compose his thoughts, he continued, "You've lied to the Divine Prince, whom you are pledged to protect. You've lied to the Jedi Council. You've endangered your people. And to make things worse by requesting the help of strangers you've endangering me as well as my apprentice who is somewhere in the jungle doing what you asked him to do. Your carelessness has cost lives and may yet cost more."
Dash-te hung his head for a moment like a scolded child. "Yes," he said standing up, "You are right of course. I must resign this position at once. I am undeserving." He stepped out of the tent and Qui-Gon pulled him back in.
"You will do no such thing. To resign now is a coward's way out and if there is one thing I've learned about you and your people is that you are not cowards. You must finish what you've begun."
Dash-te looked again into Qui-Gon's eyes and he knew that Qui-Gon was right.
* * *
To prepare for the day's trek through the woods, Obi-Wan made a mental checklist. Menalu seemed better; despite Obi-Wan's jostling the day before and so the first item on his list was seeing if Menalu could hobble along with the aid of a stick for balance. That would certainly make the journey a little easier. Then he wanted to check the wound on Menalu's leg. After that he had a plan to figure out a way to use his tattered cloak to tie Menalu on to his back when he got too tired from walking. He was looking forward to better progress despite the morning's confusion. He could see their destination clearly in his mind - a tall outcropping of rocks rising up above the highest canopy. It was there that Qui-Gon and the others would see them and pluck them from the jungle.
Obi-Wan leaned over Menalu's leg and slowly began unwrapping the white scarf he had tied there the day before. The dried blood made the scarf brittle and the delicate material began to crumble.
"Do you have another one of these?" Obi-Wan asked.
Menalu drew a similar scarf from his robe without a word. This one was a pale cream color. Obi-Wan took it and continued to unwrap the first.
"How many do you have?" he asked. These scarves were fairly useful and if Menalu had more of them he wanted to know.
"One for each of the Kallas." Menalu replied proudly.
"How many Kallas" Obi-Wan asked having no idea what a Kalla was.
"5 Kallas. Morning, mid morning, afternoon, mid afternoon, evening, and night."
"Meditation times." Obi-Wan guessed as he removed the last of the disintegrating white scarf.
"Yes. Very good guess Obi-Wan."
Menalu's leg looked better and judging from his higher spirits, it felt better as well. The wound was still open and the bone still broken, but healing was taking place and the pain was diminished. As he wrapped the new scarf around the splint, Obi-Wan was fairly sure that Menalu would be able to limp behind him without much trouble. It had been worth staying up well into the night. The healers back at the temple that had told him, "It might be better if you didn't let anyone get hurt" would be proud.
* * *
It felt good to be moving. After completing his chores Obi-Wan had allowed them each one small sip of water from their diminishing ration and they'd begun the day's march. Menalu hopped along behind using a stick Obi-Wan had found with a perfect crook for a handhold. Now Menalu used it for balance as he navigated carefully through the densely wooded trail. Without having to carry someone the going was much easier Obi-Wan found and his hands, now protected with left over scraps of his cloak weren't as tender as he pushed the brush aside.
The sun was high in the sky now and though Menalu showed a few signs of tiring, things were going well enough. Obi-Wan had hopes of reaching the outcropping by evening.
"We should consider a mantra to pass the time." Menalu said from behind them. "It's like a wise saying and by considering the meaning, you come closer to the knowledge it imparts."
"Give me an example."
Menalu thought for a moment and then spoke. "We shall consider 'we entrust the spirit to the love advocated'."
Obi-Wan stopped and turned around. "That's a mantra? What does it mean?"
"Only what you think it means matters."
"It doesn't sound like it means anything."
"Perhaps that is what you should consider." Menalu said, leaning heavily on is stick. "You should consider whether or not it has meaning."
"Do you want me to carry you?" Obi-Wan asked.
Menalu thought for a moment about the throbbing in his leg. "Maybe for a little while." Obi-Wan nodded and they worked for a moment to tie together the pieces of Obi-Wan's cloak that he'd arranged for the purpose. The design worked and Obi-Wan could hardly felt Menalu's weight on his back with it distributed better and he could use the walking stick to batter the branches away. And has he returned to hiking the phrase "we entrust the spirit to the love advocated" ran through his head.
* * *
The Yebbi communication device was crude, but it was strong enough to contact Talus with an audio signal. Qui-Gon leaned in to hear the transmission better. In between bursts of static, he could hear the near frantic voice of a Talusian official.
"It's unlike anything we've seen…. Taken over large portions of the outer territories…. Supporters are rioting in the streets…" For a moment he was drowned out completely by static.
Qui-Gon frowned. The situation was rapidly spiraling out of his ability to control it. He was no longer sure that they would be safe in anywhere in Talus and was considering advising leaving the planet altogether.
"Is the ship on its way?" Dash-te shouted into the microphone.
Static, and then, "Yes, it should reach your position within 6 hours."
This was good news. Once they were aboard, they could begin the search for Obi-Wan and the Divine Prince. Qui-Gon could sense that Obi-Wan was still alive, but little else. The forest was so alive that it was difficult for him latch on to any single life form, even one as closely bonded to him as his own padawan.
Qui-Gon once again had the urge to leave the group and search for Obi-Wan. If he could be found and returned to the camp before the ship arrived, they could simply leave. But he couldn't. Given Dash-te's poor handling of the politics of the situation Qui-Gon was now tied to his duties as a diplomat. He needed to remain to insure the continued smooth operation of the plan.
He sat down to wait with a sigh. He knew that patience is one of the strongest allies a Jedi has, but there were times when he hated to wait.
* * *
Obi-Wan was beginning to get a handle on it. If you broke it down, it wasn't so hard after all. He assumed by "we", Menalu meant the Yebbi. But it could also mean many individuals speaking as in a group. "Entrust the spirit" was the first part to figure out. Perhaps that was a way of saying "I give up ownership of my own will" or perhaps simply saying "I trust you". And then the next part "to the love advocated". He thought that maybe that meant that you could have love that was merely a fondness for a thing and then you could have a greater love, a love that was actively supported by someone's actions. Like a mother loves a child and shows that love by caring for the child and protecting the child as well. Advocated love. He thought of Qui-Gon. We entrust the spirit to the love advocated. He trusted Qui-Gon. And now he missed him.
"I could eat just about anything." Menalu said from somewhere behind him. After only an hour, Menalu had declined Obi-Wan's offer to continue carrying him and was once again hopping behind.
"Don't talk about food. I'm starving." Obi-Wan said. They hadn't eaten for a day and a half. He ignited his lightsabre and slashed at a particularly nasty branch.
"You know what I want? Pingos. They're nuts that grow on trees in Rengaia and even though they're very tiny, they have the best flavor. I could eat a million of them."
Obi-Wan considered. "I'd want a whole Cask Melon to myself." He said.
"Where do they grow?"
"I don't know where they come from. But they had them in the gardens at the Jedi Temple. They taste like a whole fruit tree."
The thought of cask melons and food in general was making Obi-Wan's mouth water. He slashed at a vine and heard a sound he didn't recognize. He turned to Menalu to say something, but stopped in surprise, his mouth open.
The sound he had heard was the power cell of a blaster rifle coming to a full charge. Now that rifle was aimed at Menalu's head. The soldier, who held it there, grinned.
"What are you going to do about it, little Jedi?" he asked.
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