Gon.
'No, Padawan. There has to be another way.'
'There is no other way, and you know it,' Obi-Wan said steadily. 'Now stand back.'
'No!' Qui-Gon cried. 'I will not! And I order you not to do this.'
'Qui-Gon, think of the many who will lose their lives,' Obi-Wan said urgently. 'Think of what Xanatos will win. Think of Bandomeer. Our mission was to protect it. If I don't do this, we fail.'
'This is not the way,' Qui-Gon said grimly.
Obi-Wan's face was white and still. Determination tightened every muscle. 'Yes, Qui-Gon. I can do it. I will do it.'
Chapter 18
Qui-Gon was back in the nightmare. He felt the same horror, the same despair. The same sense that he must prevent this thing, even as he admired the sheer courage of the boy who had suggested it.
'I won't allow it,' he told Obi-Wan. 'I'll use the Force to neutralize the collar.'
Obi-Wan shook hid head, a small smile on his face. 'You won't be able to. I know I can fight you and win. Maybe just this one time. But this time I'm right, are you are not.'
Qui-Gon was taken aback. He felt the Force emit form Obi-Wan like a breaking wave. The power of it astonished him. He locked his gaze with Obi-Wan. Their wills slashed silently in the dark tunnel.
Obi-Wan pressed himself against the seal, holding the transmitter against himself. 'Let me go, Qui-Gon,' he said. 'It is my time.'
Desperately, Qui-Gon looked at the seal panel. He wanted to smash it with his lightsaber. Wanted to slam his bosy against the door. He could not let this happen!
He would not let the nightmare win.
The nightmare…
He broken circle glowed at him. Why hadn't he noticed them before? The Offworld secret logo was on the seal panel.
The circle that brings the past to the future, yet does not meet. He must make the circle meet. He must bring the past forward. He must…
'Wait.' Qui-Gon quieted his mind, letting the Force fill him. He drew from Obi-Wan's power as well, concentrating on the broken circle. He envisioned the circle moving, meeting, becoming whole once more. The past would meet the future and create the present. That was what mattered. Xanatos was past. Obi-Wan was now.
Slowly, the separate strands moved, making a perfect circle.
The door slid open.
'I told you there was an easier way,' he said to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan grinned in tired relief. Perspiration streaked his face from the heat and effort. 'We'd better hurry.'
They raced back up the tunnel, following the twists and curves to the main shaft. Qui-Gon remembered an emergency siren near the south lift tube. He activated it, and pulsating sound filled the tunnels.
'Evacuate,' a voice said calmly. 'Evacuate.'
'That means us, too, Obi-Wan said, pressing the button for the lift tube.
But Qui-Gon hesitated. He glanced around the tunnel. They had been working down here to clear it. Boxes of explosives stood stacked against the walls. And one box rested on top.
'Obi-Wan,' Qui-Gon said. 'Is that the box you saw?'
Obi-Wan turned. 'Yes,' he said. 'but there's no time to find out what's in it.' The lift tube arrived with a whoosh. 'Let's go, Qui-Gon!'
Qui-Gon didn't answer. He walked over to the box. He unsheathed his lightsaber and, with great precision, cut the lock.
'He always had more than one trick,' me murmured. 'He always had a back door.' He lifted the lid carefully. Just as he'd thought. It was an ion bomb, the most destructive explosive in the galaxy.
Obi-Wan stood by his shoulder. 'He said he had mixed gases.'
'He lied,' Qui-Gon said. 'This bomb is on a timer. And my guess is that all those boxes stored around Bandomeer are set to blow at the same moment.' He turned to Obi-Wan. 'The chain reaction will be enormous. The entire planet could blow.'
Obi-Wan went pale. 'Do you know how to dismantle it?'
'The Force won't work,' Qui-Gon said, crouching. 'This is a trigger so delicate that the Force itself might set it off. I can do it, but I need time. More time than I have.' Qui-Gon bent closer. 'This appears to be the master control. Xanatos must have set it when he left. That's the good news. If we can disarm this one, none of the others will blow.'
Obi-Wan swallowed. 'What's the bad news?'
'It's set to blow in three minutes,' Qui-Gon said. 'I need fifteen.'
