Obi-Wan struggled to breathe, struggled to speak, but Vu Kaa did not give him the opportunity to do either. Nailing him to the wall with one hand he punched the boy repeatedly, making Obi-Wan cry out. Obi-Wan couldn't breathe and thought he would black out, but Vu Kaa did not let him.
"How dare you!" Vu Kaa was screaming. "How dare you disobey me like this! How dare you!" He flung Obi-Wan to the floor. "Take off your shirt Kenobi," he ordered. "Take it off!" he screamed when Obi-Wan did not move. "I am your Master and you will do as I say!"
"No!" Obi-Wan pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, moving away from Vu Kaa. "No, you're not! You're not my Master!" Obi-Wan clung to this new piece of truth, using it as a light to examine all that confused him. He knew it was true, he could tell from his brief conversation with Yoda. The pieces were beginning to fit together. "You lied to me! They never gave you permission to train me! All these weeks, you've been lying to me! You're not my Master and you never will be!" Obi-Wan backed away slowly as he talked.
"You're wrong Kenobi, and that will cost you a terrible price!" Vu Kaa threatened darkly, reaching for him.
"No! Stay away from me! You've got no right!" It was as if a veil had been pulled away from the young Jedi's eyes and he saw beyond the calm, collected exterior that Vu Kaa presented to the world and saw the seething mass of emotions behind it. Anger, fear, contempt, desire... the intensity of it made the apprentice's head swim.
Vu Kaa could tell the moment he was revealed to the boy. He saw all his hard work falling to pieces around him and it made him furious. With nothing more to hide and nothing left to lose he let his rage take over him at last. He sent a powerful wave through the Force, throwing Obi-Wan across the cabin and slamming him against the wall. Grabbing the boy by the arm he nearly tore his tunic off.
Obi-Wan fought back, struggling both physically and mentally.
"Hold still!" Vu Kaa commanded him.
Obi-Wan felt the older Jedi forcing himself into his mind and tried to fight him, but he could not, Vu Kaa knew his mind too well. He could no longer fool the boy's thoughts, but he could still control his body.
Vu Kaa held him still with an iron grip and laid into him with a fury that gave no quarter.
"Three days? So long?" Qui-Gon asked unhappily.
Depa, who had volunteered to play chauffeur for him again, nodded. "That's who long it takes. The transmission was traced back to the Syrasece system, it is remote and only one planet, Syridan, is inhabited, so at least that narrows down where they are. Unfortunately, it is also quite far away."
"But they could be anywhere in three days!" Qui-Gon protested. It was useless and he knew it, but it felt better to let his frustration out.
Depa put her hands on her hips. "What exactly do you want me to do about it?" She asked dryly.
Qui-Gon sighed. Of course there was nothing they could do about it. "I'm sorry Depa, You've been very patient with me. I appreciate your volunteering to help."
"It's quite all right," Depa assured. "I understand how you must feel. I just keep thinking, what if the situation were reversed and that was Mal'ah out there..." she shuddered involuntarily. "We will find him Qui-Gon, no matter how long and how hard we have to search, we will find him."
Obi-Wan was in a living nightmare, one that he could not
awake from. He had no grasp on the passage of time. One
moment blended into the next in a blur of pain and fear.
Having given up hope of persuading the boy to see things his way, Vu Kaa was now determined to break Obi-Wan, so that he could then remold him into what he wanted him to be. He thought it was a pity really, a broken spirit was never quite as strong as one who had never been broken, but it was the only way.
The ship dropped out of hyperspace. Vu Kaa knew he dare not stay on Syridan in case someone had traced Obi-Wan's call. Before him, the speckled face of an asteroid belt drifted. The perfect place to hide until Kenobi was safely in his power.
The door scraped open and Obi-Wan unconsciously tried to press himself back into a corner, but there was nowhere to hide. His mind was in constant agony from the unceasing struggle between them and every so often, Vu Kaa would drag him out and beat him in an attempt to weaken him and more quickly crush his resistance.
Obi-Wan wished Vu Kaa would kill him, or at least allow him unconsciousness. However, neither escape was permitted him. He knew what Vu Kaa was trying to do. He could feel himself weakening under the sustained abuse, but he knew he would never, never give in to the darkness. He would die first.
His body screamed for an end to the pain, telling him he couldn't take much more. He bit his lip hard, but nothing could keep him from crying out anymore, it just hurt too badly.
"You want me to stop? Make me!" Vu Kaa's mind taunted him. "You have the power, all you have to do is use it, reach out to it..."
"No!" Obi-Wan cried aloud. "No, no, no, never!" he moaned. As much as his hurting body cried out for relief, he knew that that was too high a price to pay. To fight Vu Kaa with his own weapons was tempting, but he knew it would be to touch the Dark Side, and once touched, he could never pull away again. Instead, he called upon the Light Side, trying to fill his mind with that. He could not keep Vu Kaa out of his mind, so he stopped trying to block, and reached into Vu Kaa's mind with the Light Side instead.
"You have so much strength, but you use it in the wrong ways! You could do so much good with your power!" Obi-Wan reasoned, trying to reach the other Jedi. "Let me help you."
For a brief instant, Vu Kaa actually paused, a yearning, haunted look coming over his face. But the darkness in him was strong, and he had given too much of himself over to it. He lashed out, throwing Obi-Wan backwards. Obi-Wan fell against a sharp table corner, opening a long cut across the back of his bare shoulders, but the pain barely registered. He came to rest sprawled on his back on the deck.
Vu Kaa stepped on his wrists, pinning him down and standing over him. "Don't think you can change my mind!" he growled.
Obi-Wan clenched his eyes and grit his teeth.
They were still about a day's travel from Syridan when it
happened. Qui-Gon, Depa and Mal'ah were sharing a meal
together, when Qui-Gon's cup slid suddenly from his grasp,
shattering on the deck.
"Master Jinn, what is it?" Depa asked in alarm. "You're as pale as a wraith!"
Qui-Gon took his head in his hands as if it actually, physically pained him. "Obi-Wan is screaming," he said hoarsely. His head popped up and he rose to his feet. "Stop the ship," he commanded.
"But we're not-" Mal'ah started to say.
"I don't care! Stop the ship!" Qui-Gon repeated, leaving no room for questions.
Depa hurried to comply, followed more reluctantly by her Padawan.
"Is he always so-" Mal'ah began to ask once they were in the cockpit.
"Abrupt?" Depa finished for her. "No, which is why this must be important." She pulled a lever back and they returned to normal space, the star-streaks resolving themselves into single points of light once more. Away to their left hung an asteroid belt.
Qui-Gon joined them. He could feel Obi-Wan's presence very strongly here. "In there," he pointed to the asteroid field. "Scan for-"
"Already on it," Depa confirmed. "There's a ship in there all right!" she reported, scanning the readouts.
Qui-Gon's hand tightened on the back of her seat. "That's the one we want. Let's go!"
Once inside the belt, the asteroids interfered with their
scanners, rendering them unable to pick up the ship anymore,
but they already had the coordinates.
They found Vu Kaa's vessel clinging to the side of a huge, moon-sized asteroid and put down just out of sight. Apparently, the belt was interfering with Vu Kaa's instruments as well, because he seemed totally unaware of their presence.
The asteroid had a thin, unstable atmosphere. It was breathable, but just to be safe; Qui-Gon slipped a breath mask on over his mouth and nose as he prepared to cross the distance between the two ships on foot.
"I'll go with you," Depa volunteered.
Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, Depa, you and Mal'ah must stay with the ship. This asteroid is not stable," as if to prove his point, a hailstorm of deadly meteors pulverized the surface not fifty meters away. "Or safe," he added. "Stay here and be ready for action. Monitor the weather, I feel it is taking a turn for the worse. I'll have my comlink on." Qui-Gon could feel great danger building here. Not from Vu Kaa, but from the asteroid itself. The sooner they could leave the better.
Making his way down the ramp, he shielded his eyes from the whirling dust of the place with his hand.
When he reached it, he found the hatch of Vu Kaa's vessel shut, but unlocked. Un-belting his lightsaber, he took a deep breath and palmed the door open.