Times of the Past

Draboon

     Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long it was before they landed, but it did take some time until he felt the ship being lowered down to the surface of some unknown planet. Satine and himself had spent the majority of the ride in silence, waiting and resting up for whatever was to come, with the exception of a very short conversation of whether or not Obi-Wan could use the Force to get them off of this "blasted ship". The ropes had, unfortunately, been tied too tightly, and there was nothing around to help them undo the bindings either.

      When they felt the ship touch some sort of ground, the masked woman reappeared from the cockpit, along with her two associates, who were wearing other masks as well. They approached Obi-Wan and Satine, untying them and yanking them to their feet before they began pushing them towards the ramp that was already opening to reveal a strange sort of darkness outside.

     As Obi-Wan took his first step onto a wide area of deep purple gravel, he found himself turning to look at Satine, whose face was mostly hidden since there was not even a nearby moon to illuminate them, though the light from the ship cast an odd shadow on her and the surrounding ground.

     "I have a bad feeling about this," he informed her.

     She chuckled slightly, already feeling done with whatever situation they were now in. "You have a bad feeling now? This day just keeps becoming worse."

      Their captors continued to make them move down what appeared to be a narrow pathway in an expansive wooded area. They walked for almost half a mile in eerie silence before they came upon a clearing that was quite unusual.

     Satine twisted to look at the three masked beings, specifically, the woman who was holding her hands behind her back. "Are those things... alive?"

      As expected, not one of the three beings answered her, so Obi-Wan spoke instead.

     "They appear to be, though I've never seen anything like them. It's just the bioluminescence that makes them look strange."

      Before them in the clearing stood what seemed to be a large warehouse that was taking in crates of round, medium-sized, glowing creatures with multiple sets of eyes.

     A few droids were doing the brunt of the work, loading and unloading the crates onto a conveyor belt where the creatures then disappeared into the factory, while a few other humans stood around as overseers.

     As soon as they approached the nearest one, he began making his way over towards them with a clipboard in one hand and the other hand settled on the hilt of a blaster at his side.

     "Who's there?" he called out in a muffled voice, as no one was able to see clearly enough to discern each other's appearance.

     "The ones who stand with the dead," one of the masked men answered ominously in reply.

     Satine glanced at Obi-Wan, and he could imagine that she was raising an eyebrow at him, asking him what they should do.

     He found himself shrugging for the moment even though he wasn't sure she could see his movement, as he was still trying to understand exactly what was about to happen.

     The unmasked human relaxed his grip on his blaster and made a mark on his clipboard. "Follow me," he told them, before turning back to the building and walking to an open door.

     The closer they got to the warehouse, or maybe factory was a better term, the more they were able to see. Satine and Obi-Wan both saw that there were probably hundreds of the glowing creatures being loaded into the building from the outside, and when they reached the door, they found themselves growing sick as an awful smell filled their noses. 

     Obi-Wan felt very lucky when the part of the building that they entered had no creatures in sight, since he understood through the Force that the creatures were all reaching their demise on the other side of the wall to their left. The stench was terrible despite the separation, and he felt the need to gag. 

     Satine felt the same way, and she soon realized in the increasing light of the building that the human man leading the way was wearing some sort of respirator that must have filtered the smell, and the masks that the others were wearing must have been for more than just looks as well. 

      They were led farther through the halls of the factory until they were brought to what was apparently an unused storage room where the smell was slightly more bearable.

     The man gestured with his clipboard to a location where Satine and Obi-Wan could be placed, and then he left them alone.

     The two seemingly male masked beings used stretches of chain to hook the two of them to the wall, and then they began to walk away.

     Satine couldn't prevent herself from calling out after them.

     "Wait! So, you rescue us from the ridge and now you're going to leave us here?!"

     The two men continued walking out the door, but the woman paused, sending one last masked look their way.

     "Who are you?" Satine asked in a smaller voice. "Why are you doing this? What did I do?"

     There was a brief silence, and together Obi-Wan and Satine stared at this unknown figure.

     "Aliit ori'shya tal'din," she replied finally, and then she, too, was gone.

*****

     Qui-Gon would have cursed, if he was the type to use curses, when he found his way back among the general populace of Mandalore. He had been so close to Obi-Wan, and now he was out of reach once more.

     He had heard few things of Draboon in his time as a Jedi Master, and none of them had been good. For the most part, it was uninhabited by intelligent life forms, but it was crawling with nasty creatures from rawls like those on Mandalore to its uniquely horrible venom-mites. The few parts that were inhabited were home to crime syndicates, makeshift stops for nearby scum, and the occasional sketchy trading post that surely wasn't legal.

     Qui-Gon would have to rely greatly on the Force to guide him once he got to the planet, or if he got to the planet. Right now, he knew he was going to have a difficult time finding someone willing to transport him there, but he'd use whatever means necessary to get offworld. He could tell Obi-Wan and the Duchess were still in need of assistance, and he would do what he could to help.

*****

Hi readers,

     "Aliit ori'shya tal'din" is Mando'a for "Family is more than blood." Any guesses as to who might say that to Satine, or why she might have said it? 

     Stay tuned for the next chapter to see if Qui-Gon Jinn will make it to Obi-Wan and the Duchess in time to save them from what awaits.

-zap427