Pawn of Darkness

Chapter 2

The hustle of the space port filled the tiny viewport on the door of the shuttle. Qui-Gon Jinn stood with one arm propped against the still raised door, ice blue eyes stared out the tiny hole. Impatience showed on his mature, yet strikingly handsome face. The moment he had received the news that another Jedi had spotted Arianna he had made hasty plans to depart for the planet she was last on. He had no intention of losing her trail. He did not want her to slip through his fingers without at least a chance to talk to her. He needed to see her again. He needed to see for himself that she was all right. If he managed to talk her into coming back to the temple as well, it was all the better. She had occupied his thoughts many times over the years. It was a part of his life he had never been able to put an end to, and he was not a man who liked loose ends.
He shifted his stance as he felt the ship settle onto it's landing platform and began to tap his fingers impatiently against the bulkhead, waiting for the door to open.

Obi-Wan Kenobi sat at the ship's controls staring at the man he called Master and pulling on his tight, sandy colored braid. It was a nervous habit he had developed long ago. Under times of extreme stress he had been known to pull on the trail of hair to the point of pain. Now he was just tugging it slightly. He was worried about Qui-Gon. He had never seen him act the way he had since leaving Corescant. It was uncharacteristic of the man to be impulsive at all, but even more unusual was his refusal to tell Obi-Wan anything about why they were where here. He had simply g him him the coordinates of the planet where he had wanted to go and told him to take him there. There had been no explanation. He had not said more than a couple of sentences on the long ride. In fact Obi-Wan had barely seen him since taking off. He mostly stayed in his quarters, staring out the viewport. It was not hard at all to see that something was troubling him. Anytime he asked about it he was told it was none of his concern.
A beep from the vast console in front of him brought his mind back to the task at hand. He adjusted a few levers and pushed a few buttons. Then he stood hastily from his seat, ignoring the stiffness in his legs from sitting so long. He moved quickly to Qui-Gon as he heard the mechanism for the door beginning to whine, partly because he was anxious to find out what was going on and partly because he felt that if he didn't, Qui-Gon might very well leave him behind.
Both men shifted from foot to foot as the door slowly descended, creating a ramp. Once outside, Obi-Wan was left with securing the ship as he felt Qui-Gon opening himself to the force. " This way. " he muttered over his shoulder, and took off without waiting to see if his Padawan was following or not. Obi-Wan looked after him for a second, his concern growing rapidly.
He made his way quickly through the throng of people. Qui-Gon seemed not to notice the massive crowd buzzing around him as he made his way out of the space port. Once outside, the crowd seemed to spread out more and he was able to catch the tall man. He walked along oblivious to everything around him, as if he was letting the force guide his steps. Obi-Wan continued to struggle to keep pace with him, but his strides were quite longer than his and keeping up was difficult until he finally slowed and came to a stop outside of a nightclub.
Qui-Gon stared into the windows of the building intently. Obi-Wan stared too, trying to make out clear images in the tinted, dirty glass. When finally, his eyes hurting from squinting, he saw Qui-Gon's image move and enter the building through a door to the side of the window.

Arianna knew the moment his ship landed. She opened herself to the force, making her force sense like a beacon to guide him to her. A smile crossed her soft, delicate features as she felt him enter her building. His presence was warm, familiar. She let herself indulge in the comfort of it for several seconds as she waited in a small hallway beside a tiny stage in the back room of the cramped nightclub.
Qui-Gon Jinn was in the audience waiting for her. How long had it been since she had felt him ? Ten years. Surely not, she thought to herself. It couldn't possibly have been that long ago that she boarded a small shuttle and left the temple behind her forever. His presence was the last she had sought as her ship had moved beyond her force sense. It was the last contact she had had with the temple at all.
Now here he was, waiting for her. As good as it felt to know she was so close to him, fear gripped her as well. She didn't know exactly why she was afraid, but somehow she felt like she wasn't ready to resume her connection to the Jedi. She wasn't ready to see him again. She felt him probing the building, his presence seeking hers and she sent reassurances to him that he had indeed found her.
Anna ? His voice rang in her head.
Her breath caught in her throat. She had somehow forgotten the nickname he and Master Windu had developed for her.
Yes, Master. I'm here. She answered through their old training bond.
At that moment she saw a small, blue skinned alien with a long trunk-like nose take the stage. She squared her shoulders and closed her eyes. Qui-Gon would have to wait a bit. Right then she had work to do.