Obi-Wan was almost unconscious, kept alert only because Vu Kaa refused to let him go. Yet even so, Obi-Wan could feel himself slipping away as his will to live ebbed dangerously. Not even Vu Kaa could keep him from dying if he let go.
As Qui-Gon stepped cautiously through the hatch, he felt
Obi-Wan's presence flicker ominously.
"No!" he called out to him, hoping desperately to be able to reach his Padawan around whatever had been blocking them for so long. "No, Obi-Wan! Don't let go! I'm coming, hold on!"
From somewhere in the haze that surrounded him, Obi-Wan
felt Qui-Gon's mind touch his.
"I must be dying." The thought brought no fear, only relief. He would join Qui-Gon, he would leave this pain and become one with the Force...
"No, Obi-Wan, don't let go! I'm coming..."
Obi-Wan felt confused. Coming? That was not possible, but-
Vu Kaa felt Qui-Gon's presence and realized too late that with all his energy focused on Obi-Wan he had been neglecting everything else. He pulled his lightsaber, leveling its colorless blade with Obi-Wan's throat. "Choose now forever Kenobi. Follow me!" he threw all his strength behind a last effort.
"Never," Obi-Wan refused resolutely.
Vu Kaa drew his blade up and brought it down in a sweeping arch, intending to take the boy's head off.
Obi-Wan saw the blade descend towards him and knew he was powerless to move in time...
Suddenly, there was a flash of green fire and another blade caught Vu Kaa's before it could deliver its intended blow. A powerful blast sent Vu Kaa flying back, away from Obi-Wan.
"Touch that boy again and so help me I'll kill you!" Qui-Gon promised through clenched teeth.
Obi-Wan looked up to see Qui-Gon standing protectively over him. "Master!" he cried in surprise and joy.
Vu Kaa lunged Qui-Gon, but Qui-Gon had his blade up to meet the blow in an instant, turning it aside.
For several intense moments they battled back and forth. All at once, the duel was interrupted by a violent jolt. The ship jerked, throwing the fighting Jedi off-balance and bringing them down.
Qui-Gon's lightsaber flew from his hand as the jolt knocked him against the wall with great force. For a moment, the blow left him dazed.
"Master!" he heard Obi-Wan cry warning and rolled quickly to the left as Vu Kaa's blade burnt the deck where his head had been a moment ago.
Obi-Wan forced himself to his knees. He had to help!
Qui-Gon rolled away from another blow, springing back to his feet.
Vu Kaa swung at him and he jumped back, only narrowly staying clear of the glowing blade.
"Master, catch!" Obi-Wan had found Qui-Gon's lightsaber and tossed it to him now. Qui-Gon caught it, igniting its green blade once more.
Vu Kaa snarled and sent a blast in Obi-Wan's direction that sent the weakened young Jedi crumpling to the ground.
Qui-Gon looked to see if he was all right and Vu Kaa used the distraction to land a glancing stroke across the top of his opponent's right arm.
Qui-Gon felt the fleeting touch of the lightsaber scorch the flesh near his shoulder. He pushed the pain away, once more taking the defensive.
The ship jerked again and this time a loud crunching sound was audible from somewhere outside. Another sudden jolt set the cabin listing sharply to the left. Objects and furniture that was not bolted down went skittering past the Jedi as they struggled to not become part of the pile.
"Master Jinn!" Mal'ah's alarmed voice sounded form the comlink on his belt. "The meteor showers are intensifying at an alarming rate! And the weather outside is getting worse! If the current patterns continue, then the ship you're on is directly in the path of an oncoming shower. You must get out of there at once! Do you copy Master Jinn? Master Jinn, do you copy?"
"I copy Mal'ah," Qui-Gon took a brief moment to respond, jamming his thumb against the button without removing the unit from his belt and hoping she heard.
All that came across on Mal'ah's end was a mangled burst of static.
"What was that? I can't read you. Master Jinn? Come in Master Jinn!" she tried desperately to raise him, but Qui-Gon dare not take his attention off Vu Kaa again.
"Did you hear that Vu Kaa?" he had to raise his voice a little to be heard over the sound of the storm that was picking up outside. "We only have moments left here!"
There was a loud crash as a meteor crushed some part of the ship, opening it to the wind, which whistled in to tug at their hair and clothes and whirl about their ears. The sound of the storm rose with the added exposure, making shouting a must.
"This ship cannot take off in its current condition, come with us to our ship, we can help you!" Qui-Gon urged the Knight.
"I don't need your help!" Vu Kaa shouted, louder than was necessary. "I have touched more power than you can even imagine! I have more control than a hundred Jedi put together! But I can see your heart Qui-Gon Jinn; you condemn me, just like all the others. You cannot, or will not, look at anything that does not fit with your narrow view of things.
But the galaxy is much bigger than you and I and there is so much out there that even the Jedi do not know! Surely you must realize this. Not all that we do not yet know or understand is evil, and not all that the Jedi have not yet discovered is of the Dark Side! If we are not willing to discover new things, then the order is doomed!
After all, how did the first Jedi start to learn about the Force? If they had stopped, content with where they were, afraid to look farther, to explore new ways and ideas, then where would we be now?" Vu Kaa argued convincingly.
Qui-Gon viewed the young man with more respect, if not more trust. He was capable of sounding so earnest, so innocent. It was no wonder the Council had been unable to bring themselves to discharge him. Qui-Gon marveled that Obi-Wan had been able to resist Vu Kaa's wily persuasion skills for so long. However, Vu Kaa could not so quickly switch persona's on him. Qui-Gon could see what he had done to Obi-Wan, and that alone was enough to dispel any doubt from his mind.
"You cannot go so quickly from trying to kill me to trying to enlist me Vu Kaa," Qui-Gon almost laughed in spite of himself. "We are not closed to new ideas, they deserve careful consideration and exploration, just as the first Jedi did. Some are kept, some are tossed away," Qui-Gon became serious again. "But there are things we knew to be wrong. Anger, fear, hatred, lust for power, disregard for others, cruelty, these things we know to be of the Dark Side, and all of those attributes have I seen in you." Qui-Gon was blunt, but time was short and absolute truth the only answer to Vu Kaa's twisted half-truths and lies.
The two Jedi had never taken their eyes off each other. They circled warily, blades extended before them while they talked.
Obi-Wan saw the whole exchange. He was conscious, but totally unable to move. Whether that was because of Vu Kaa's abuse, or because of some lingering traces of him in his mind Obi-Wan could not tell.
It felt so good to hear the truth he knew come out of his teacher's mouth, to see the lies repelled and the darkness unveiled.
The ship writhed and shook as it was pounded by the fringe of another meteor shower. The showers were getting closer; the ship would not withstand another assault like that.
"Times up," Qui-Gon said softly, backing towards where Obi-Wan lay. "We're leaving. Come with us!"
"No!" Vu Kaa leapt to put himself between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and the door. "I don't think so. You're not going anywhere!" He blocked the entryway, holding his lightsaber tightly.
"Vu Kaa! Are you insane?!" Qui-Gon shouted at him. The earthshaking thuds of the meteors were getting closer... "We'll all die here if we stay!"
"Then we'll die!" Vu Kaa laughed, his blond braids whipping about his head, his Jedi robes flailing. "If what you say is true, I've got nothing left to lose," he said, his voice sinking softer.
"Master Jinn, Master Jinn!" Mal'ah called urgently from the comlink.
"Qui-Gon," Depa's voice broke in, no less concerned. "Can you hear us? The meteors... close... heading right for you... respond!" The transmission broke up, disrupted by the storm, which had worked itself up into a positive frenzy by now.
A moment later three or four meteors tore through the ship's hull with a terrific tearing and crashing.
Qui-Gon jumped out of the way of one, hitting the slanted deck on one shoulder and rolling down the slope.
The wind howled into the ship, throwing debris and loose objects about like chaff.
Qui-Gon looked around, but did not see Vu Kaa. Fighting his way to his Padawan's side, he took Obi-Wan's hand. "Obi-Wan, can you stand? We have to get out of here."
Obi-Wan nodded bravely. Rolling to his hands and knees he tried to force his legs under him, but it was no good. He was too drained; he could not make it to his feet. His arms would not even hold him and his elbows buckled. His chin hit the floor with a painful click, but in his state he hardly felt it. His lack of strength frustrated him, but he was too tired and too worked-over to even feel truly upset with himself.
Qui-Gon scooped Obi-Wan up in his strong arms like he was nothing.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan murmured. "I'm so sorry."
"Shh, it's okay," Qui-Gon squeezed him close, carefully picking his way towards where a meteor had punched the new nearest exit.
Without warning, something heavy dropped on Qui-Gon from behind. It was Vu Kaa. Qui-Gon fell forward, dropping Obi-Wan and hitting the debris strewn deck hard on his hands and knees.
Vu Kaa tried to catch Qui-Gon's neck in a strangle hold. Qui-Gon pulled away, only to realize too late that that was what Vu Kaa wanted him to do and he had fallen for a feint. Vu Kaa caught him across the side of the head with something hard, stunning him. Vu Kaa's lightsaber glowed in his hand. He laughed. "We all die now Master Jinn." The rumble of a new wave of meteors sweeping towards them emphasized his point. "But maybe you first."
Time seemed to stop and Obi-Wan saw the deadly white energy of Vu Kaa's blade sweeping down, once more intent on a kill. Only this time it was his Master's blood it sought.
Obi-Wan's heart cried out, but his body refused to respond. Right now, not even tapping the Force could give him what he needed to break free of Vu Kaa's hold on his body.
Yet somewhere, deep inside him, he felt another power, one that Vu Kaa did not understand and could not tamper with. It was warm and fierce, like a bright light. Obi-Wan let it fill him, because he knew it was not evil. It was good, and it was strong. It was the power that gives a mother the strength to lift a speeder when her children are trapped underneath, for a man to do what would normally be impossible in order to save a friend. It was a power born out of deep caring, out of love.
Groping next to him, Obi-Wan found a hard, fist-sized object. Flinging it at Vu Kaa and knocking his lightsaber aside, the apprentice threw himself after it. Catching Vu Kaa in the chest he propelled him back, off of Qui-Gon. They rolled over and over until an upturned table halted them, with Obi-Wan on the bottom.
Vu Kaa tried to get his hands around the boy's neck. Obi-Wan could feel him in his mind, trying to paralyze him again, as he had before. It felt like a cold, wet blanket, attempting to suffocate him, but he refused to succumb.
The air filled with the sound of the impacting meteors and the earth shook as they got closer and closer.
Vu Kaa tried, but Obi-Wan was no longer operating the way Vu Kaa knew, the way he had been when Vu Kaa learned how to control him. Shock covered Vu Kaa's face as he felt Obi-Wan's mind slip out of his grasp.
Balling his legs, Obi-Wan kicked up hard; throwing Vu Kaa off just as the approaching shower reached them. There was a terrible crashing and rending as the meteors tore through the ship, pulverizing it like hail through rice paper.
For a moment, Obi-Wan saw Vu Kaa on his feet, howling with rage because Obi-Wan had been able to resist him. Then a meteor crashed through the hull directly above him and he disappeared under the wreckage. Obi-Wan clapped his hands over his ears as Vu Kaa's last, dreadful cry rang in his mind and then, fell silent.
The roaring wind whipped around Obi-Wan, stealing his breath before he could breathe it, but he didn't care. For the first time in weeks the voices in his head were silent. He was free. He knew who he was, and what he believed.
Obi-Wan looked up when he felt Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder. Qui-Gon said nothing, but he didn't need to, his eyes said it all. How proud he was, how concerned he'd been, everything.
Pulling himself to his feet, Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon as they climbed out of the wreckage. Once outside, the winds slammed into them full force, buffeting them like rag dolls, blowing dust in their eyes and stealing their breath. Qui-Gon had lost the breathing mask he had brought somewhere during the fight.
Obi-Wan staggered drunkenly, throwing up his arms in an attempt to shield his eyes. He was no longer being paralyzed by Vu Kaa's grip on his mind, but his body was still terribly weak from his ordeal. He had been denied food and water and beaten repeatedly for nearly three days and that took a heavy toll on his strength.
Qui-Gon's comlink squealed with static. "Qui... there? Meteors... bad... can't... in the path... must raise ship... hear me?... Gon!!" Depa's urgent voice was broken by the static and the wind.
Qui-Gon yanked the comlink off his belt, thumbing it on to talk. "We're coming Depa, we're on our way. Wait for us. Can you hear me Depa?" he shouted into the comlink over the roar of the wind, but only static answered him. "Wait Depa, we're coming!" he tried to send a mental message since a physical one could not be done. They were not especially connected and he could only hope she had heard him.
The pair topped the hill above the ship. A strong gust made Obi-Wan stumble. Losing his footing on the loose, rocky terrain, he fell, and ended up rolling down the hill. The tumble loosed a small avalanche and a good part of the hill came down with him. One of the larger stones struck him on the back of the head and everything went dark.
Qui-Gon half scrambled, half slid down the hill after his Padawan. Obi-Wan was not moving. "Obi-Wan!" he cried, shaking him by the shoulder, but the wind stole his words away. Obi-Wan was out cold and Qui-Gon did not have the time to rouse him. Pulling the boy from under the rocks, Qui-Gon once again picked him up. The wind whipped his hair about and the dust was so thick he could barely see the ship only fifty meters away.
The ground shook and above the scream of the wind another sound was heard. Looking over his shoulder Qui-Gon saw a wave of meteors sweeping straight towards them.
Depa stood at the top of the extended boarding ramp,
buffeted by the wind. Hanging on to a strut to avoid being
blown away, she strained to see through the billowing dust.
"That meteor wave is headed right for us Master!" Mal'ah's concerned voice came over her comlink. "We must raise ship!"
"Have the engines ready, prepare for liftoff on my command," Depa ordered, desperately scanning the opaque horizon. "We have to wait, just a few more moments."
"Yes, Master," Mal'ah's uncertain voice replied.
"Come on Qui-Gon! Where are you?!" Depa knew very well that when they took off, that was it. They could not put down again in this kind of storm and if Qui-Gon and his apprentice were still alive out there, they would not be by the time the storm cleared enough for them to put down again. A sound like bombs dropping shook the air and earth together, getting closer.
"Master!" Mal'ah was far past being concerned, or even alarmed; now she was downright terrified.
Depa sighed inside. "All right Mal'ah, take us... wait! Wait! Belay that order!" she shouted quickly. Out in the swirling dust, something moved. The something tore itself out of the blinding curtain, revealing it to be a man, carrying a teenage boy in his arms and heading their way at a dead run.
"I see them! They're coming!" Depa shouted. In the time it took her to do so, Qui-Gon closed the gap between them to a few yards. He saw Depa standing at the top of the ramp, hanging on and motioning wildly for them to hurry.
"We've got them! We've got them! Take off now!" Depa yelled as soon as Qui-Gon set foot on the bottom of the ramp, only two steps ahead of the approaching disaster.
Mal'ah did not need to be told twice. Jamming the lever all the way forward she rocketed the ship upward, just as a meteor half the size of the ship itself slammed down right were they had been.
Qui-Gon grabbed for a ramp strut, trying to get to the hatch as the ship gained altitude.
Depa grabbed his hand, pulling and helping him in. The hatch clicked shut behind them and Qui-Gon half collapsed, letting Obi-Wan sink to the deck.
"Are you all right?" Depa asked, tucking a stray lock of his wind-blown hair behind his ear and gently touching the bloody gash on his temple.
"Fine," he said absently, all his attention on his Padawan. He took the young Jedi's shoulders into his lap. "Obi-Wan," he whispered softly, running a large, but gentle hand over the boy's bruised and bloodied face.
"Master?" Obi-Wan opened his eyes slowly. Even his eyelids hurt.
"Yes, yes Padawan, it's me," Qui-Gon gently traced the cruel welts on the boy's cheek, brushing over his split and swollen lips and settling his apprentices braid over his shoulder.
Obi-Wan actually saw tears in Qui-Gon's weathered blue eyes.
Qui-Gon ran his hand over Obi-Wan's closely cropped hair and took the Padawan's blistered hands in his. The Jedi Master felt it better to initiate physical contact before mental. Indeed, he hesitated to touch Obi-Wan through the Force at all. The boy had suffered severe abuse through the Master-Padawan connection, how might he respond to being touched that way again?
Qui-Gon's fears were alleviated a moment later when Obi-Wan reached out and found him through the Force. The connect was a little tentative, but Obi-Wan definitely wanted it; in fact, he actually seemed to ache for the contact. He had been so lonely for what seemed so long.
"Oh, Obi-Wan, I am so sorry this happened! You don't have to be afraid," he assured, taking Obi-Wan's hesitancy to be an understandable reluctance to trust. "I promise I will never, never hurt you the way you have been hurt." Qui-Gon held his eyes.
Obi-Wan's response was warm, open and not at all fearful. "Oh, Master! I'm not afraid, not of you. You are my true Master and I know you would never hurt me." Obi-Wan reached up; placing his hand on the side of Qui-Gon's face, just to assure himself that he was really there. "It's just..."
"You've been hurt, I know, it takes time..."
"No, no, you don't understand. It's not you Master, it's me," Obi-Wan admitted quietly. "When I was with Vu Kaa I felt things, I did things..." he couldn't finish the thought, it hurt too much.
"You're afraid that you've become tainted in some way that you don't know," Qui-Gon realized.
Obi-Wan nodded, a necessarily small motion because of the pain any movement caused him.
"Oh, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon smiled and shook his head. "Would you have fought so hard and endured so much to avoid the Dark Side if it already had its claws in you?" he set the boy's mind at rest. Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's body relax in his arms as if a great weight had been removed.
Depa observed the silent conversation quietly. She could not hear what they said to each other through their private bond, but she could tell that they were more deeply connected than many teachers and pupils ever became. Perhaps even more than she and Mal'ah were.
Mal'ah entered and looked as if she were about to say something. Depa silenced her with a look. Taking her arm, she led her Padawan quietly back to the cockpit. "I think we should leave them alone for a little while," she explained.
When Depa and Mal'ah came back in, an hour or so later,
they found Obi-Wan reclining on the couch, propped into an
almost sitting position by a heap of pillows.
Qui-Gon sat in a chair next to him. The worst of Obi-Wan's injuries were dressed, as was Qui-Gon's head and arm. They made quite a pair, all done up in bandages and Depa couldn't help smiling when she saw them. She got the funny feeling that they had treated each other; Qui-Gon dressing Obi-Wan's wounds and visa-versa.
Obi-Wan's bandaged hands were cupped loosely around a glass of blue juice and the remains of a meal lay nearby. The pair was laughing softly at some private joke, but looked up when the other two Jedi entered.
"It's good to see you feeling better Obi-Wan," Depa greeted.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan paused, waiting for a name to be supplied; the lady Jedi obviously had the edge on him on that one.
"Obi-Wan, this is Jedi Knight Depa Billaba and her Padawan Mal'ah Rurr," Qui-Gon introduced. "I think both of you ladies already know, or at least know about, my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi." Qui-Gon smiled, and, for the first time since Depa had run into him on the pirate ship, he looked like himself, like the man she used to know.
"Both Depa and Mal'ah have been very helpful and very patient with me," Qui-Gon continued. "Thank you is not enough, but it is all I can offer," he added, turning back to the two ladies.
"It was our pleasure," Depa assured. Just looking in young Kenobi's eyes was enough thanks for her. She had seen them in the holo-image in the Council room, haunted and full of pain. Now, they were full of life and light once more and a bright glow was returning to them.
Mal'ah laughed a little ruefully. "Yeah, it was great fun," she teased. "You must let us know the next time you want to play chicken with an approaching meteor storm; I'd hate to miss it."
"I'll keep that in mind," Qui-Gon agreed, and for just a moment, Mal'ah wondered if he were serious. Then they all laughed.
Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon; he liked watching the big man laugh. He was so glad to be here where he felt safe, happy, and home. It would take time for his body to heal, and more time still before Vu Kaa's presence ceased to haunt his darkest nightmares, but his spirit was unbroken and his light undimmed.
He and Qui-Gon were together again and they had all the time in the galaxy.
THE END