The Captive Temple

18

Qui-Gon moved fast. He leaped out the broken window after Xanatos. He knew the same thing Xanatos did—that outside, a narrow ledge ran underneath the windows.

He used the Force to propel his leap and guide him to the ledge.

Xanatos was already moving away from him. Qui-Gon guessed he was heading around to the south, where the landing platform was, fifteen stories below.

Qui-Gon could see the spires and towers of Coruscant. Airspeeders and air transports buzzed above and below him. An air taxi sailed by. One of its passengers looked out, then did a double take when he saw the two men on the ledge hundreds of kilometers in the air.

The wind was powerful up there, rising in gusts that were strong enough to make Qui-Gon stagger. He hung onto the sill above his head until a gust passed, then pressed on.

Xanatos was moving quickly, but Qui-Gon knew he could catch up to him.

Xanatos looked back and grinned. The wind whipped his black hair, and his blazing blue eyes looked deranged. The wind was dying down. Qui-Gon moved quickly, almost running.

He caught up to Xanatos before they were above the landing platform. He could not let Xanatos move much farther in that direction.

Qui-Gon activated his lightsaber and attacked. This was the moment.

This was his stand. He would kill Xanatos here. Not from anger. From the certainty that this evil had to be stopped.

They fought with concentrated ferocity, each blow designed to cause the other to stagger and fall. Balance was tricky on the narrow ledge. Wide blows could only come from one side. Follow-through was difficult. Still Qui-Gon adapted his style to fit the area. He used short jabs, sometimes falling on one knee to come at Xanatos from below. He felt the Force swirl around him, strong and sure, aiding his instincts, telling him where Xanatos would move next and how. He blocked each blow and came back stronger. He sensed that Xanatos was on the edge of desperation, though his former apprentice would never let him see it.

“Haven’t you forgotten something, Qui-Gon?” Xanatos called to him over the screaming wind. “The last part of that takeover equation. Devastation.”

“You must be tiring, Xanatos,” Qui-Gon said. “That’s when you begin your taunts.” He gritted his teeth as he slammed a blow toward Xanatos’ shoulder.

Xanatos blocked it. “Your precious Temple is doomed!” he shouted. “When that idiot Miro Daroon powers up the last link in the system, the whole fusion furnace will blow. The Temple will implode. Did you really think I’d allow the Jedi to follow me?”

Qui-Gon staggered both from surprise and an unexpected short strike from Xanatos’ left. Was he telling the truth? Desperately, Qui-Gon realized there was no way for him to know.

He attacked furiously, delivering a wide arm sweep from the left. The two lightsabers tangled. For an instant, their faces were very close.

Xanatos’ eyes burned with a strange light. The pale half-circle scar on his cheek gleamed.

“What you revere can destroy you.” His voice was soft, yet Qui-Gon caught every word. “Haven’t you learned that yet?”

Above him, Qui-Gon saw the lights of the Council room flicker. After the lights, Miro would power up the communications system. Then the repulsorlift engines for the turbolifts throughout the complex. The air circulation would be last.

Qui-Gon calculated that he had only three minutes before the explosion.

Maybe four. If Xanatos was telling the truth..

“You can’t be sure, can you, Qui-Gon?” Xanatos sneered. “Will you allow your precious Padawan to die just to kill me? He tried to get away from you once. Why don’t you get rid of him for good?”

Qui-Gon hesitated, his lightsaber held in attack position. He knew he could defeat Xanatos. But how long would it take?

In that split second, Xanatos glanced below. An air taxi flew twenty meters underneath the ledge. Qui-Gon sprang forward, but Xanatos stepped off the ledge. He landed on the air taxi. Qui-Gon saw the surprised driver’s look of panic as Xanatos calmly lifted him out of the seat and pushed him out into midair.

Qui-Gon had less than a second to decide. He could make the jump. He could land on the taxi. He could grapple with Xanatos. He could end this once and for all.

The second passed. Xanatos roared away. Helpless rage surged in Qui-Gon even as he deactivated his lightsaber and raced for the opening in the window.

Qui-Gon jumped inside and ran, accessing his comlink as he moved. He tried to reach Miro, but the communication fields weren’t fully functioning.

He was halfway to the turbolift before he realized that it wouldn’t be operating. Qui-Gon’s frustration was turning to panic. How could he reach the tech center in time?

Suddenly, Obi-Wan burst into the hallway from the stairs.

“He’s rigged the Temple to implode,” Qui-Gon told him. “We have to get to the tech center.”

Obi-Wan was already moving. “Follow me.”