'Do you need me, Master?' Qui-Gon asked respectfully.
Dooku gave his apprentice a small smile. 'Yes. I need you to enjoy the trip. Mind the present moment, Padawan. We have a chance to rest and relax. We do not know when it will come again.'
Qui-Gon nodded and seated himself a short distance away. He did not stretch out as Dooku was doing, but he did look a bit more relaxed as he glanced out the window. Dooku always admired his apprentice's manner. Even at sixteen, Qui-Gon had a quiet grace. Qui-Gon also had a quality of reserve that Dooku should also have admired. Yet somehow he found it frustrating not to know what his own apprentice was thinking most of the time.
'Allow me to make up a tray for us,' Eero said, rising. 'We have some excellent pastries. The Senator's chef — ' Eero stopped abruptly as a sharp buzz came from the pilot's instruments. 'What's that?'
'Nothing to be alarmed about,' Dooku said, glancing over. 'The pilot has the warning system activated. A ship is within our airspace, that's all.' Despite his words, he kept an eye on the instruments, noting that Qui-Gon was doing so as well.
'A small cruiser,' the pilot said aloud. 'Everything seems normal… except…'
'Except?' Dooku leaned forward.
'There's no airspeed. The ship is dead in space.' Alarmed, Eero looked at Dooku. 'Is it a trick? It could be the pirate!'
'Let's not jump to conclusions, old friend,' Dooku said. 'Ships break down all the time. See if you can raise them on the comm unit,' he told the pilot.
But before the pilot had a chance, a frightened voice came over the speaker. 'Somebody help me, please!' a girl's voice cried. 'Our ship has been attacked!'
'Well now,' Dooku said, his voice unruffled as he smoothly rose to stand behind the pilot. 'It appears our relaxation time is over.'
Chapter 8
The pilot looked over at Dooku. 'Answer it,' Dooku said, smoothly coming up behind him. 'But don't identify yourself.'
'We acknowledge your transmission,' the pilot said. 'What is your situation?'
In answer, sobs came over the air. 'I… I didn't think anyone would hear me….'
The pilot looked up at Dooku again. 'This sounds genuine.'
Dooku nodded. It did sound genuine. But that didn't mean it was.
The pilot's tone was gentler now. 'Tell us what happened so we can help you.'
The intake of breath was so shaky they heard it clearly. 'We were attacked — a space pirate. Our ship was under heavy fire. The pilot is dead. My father. ' A sob shuddered, and then they could almost hear the child's effort to control herself. 'They were taking him away. But he fought back, and they killed him.'
'Identify yourself, please,' the pilot said.
'I am Joli Ti Eddawan, daughter of Senator Galim Eddawan of Tyan.' The voice quavered. 'The ship is failing. The warning system lights are all blinking. What should I do?'
'Who else is aboard?'
'They are all dead.' The voice was small.
'That attack missed us by hours,' Eero said. 'Do you know the planet Tyan?' Dooku asked.
Eero nodded. 'It's a Mid-Rim planet, I think. Part of the Vvan system.
I don't know the Senators there.'
'Can you check on the whereabouts of Senator Eddawan?' Dooku asked.
'We need to stall,' he told the pilot. 'But the systems are failing — '
Dooku turned to Eero. 'Now,' he said, as Eero hesitated. 'Go!'
Eero hurried toward the onboard computer suite. He sat down and his fingers flew over the keys.
'Hello?' the child's voice called. 'I think maybe the oxygen is failing. It's in the red level. It's getting hard for me to breathe.'
'Master Dooku!' the pilot exclaimed. 'What should I do?'
'The order is the same,' Dooku said calmly. 'Stall.' 'But she's suffocating!'
'Talk to her,' Dooku said. 'Tell her we are getting ready to save the ship.'
'Joli, hang on. We are putting together a plan,' the pilot said kindly. 'Take very slow breaths. Lie down.'
They only heard rasping breathing. 'All right,' Joli said. 'I'm so tired….'
'Oxygen deprivation,' Qui-Gon murmured.
Dooku felt a spurt of annoyance. He didn't need Qui-Gon to give him a diagnosis. 'Eero, do you have anything?' he called.
'Not yet! Hold on.'
'Stars and planets, Master Dooku, we have to do something!' the pilot cried. 'That child could die while you
