It was mid-afternoon when Obi-Wan felt, for the briefest of moments the familiar presence in his mind. Fleeting but undeniable. There was no doubt that it had originated from Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan’s heart filled with joy. There was life in his Master yet. He studied Qui-Gon closely. He could see no change, but he could feel the Force, he was sure of it. It gave him new hope and revived him. Using this new-found energy he sent another, even stronger wave of the Force to Qui-Gon. Together they would succeed.
Although he had hardly moved a muscle since arriving at Aurian, Obi-Wan was mentally drained and physically exhausted. He was suddenly aware that he was hungry. He needed to eat, to keep his energy levels up. He needed it as much, if not more, for Qui-Gon as for himself. He sent for some food which was delivered to the room and ate without leaving Qui-Gon’s side.
The Force emitting from Qui-Gon was growing stronger by the minute. Obi-Wan pushed aside his fatigue and willed his mind to concentrate on working with Qui-Gon to continue the healing process.
Later in the afternoon Fred KaMenna examined Qui-Gon. He never previously observed the legendary Jedi healing powers and so he was amazed by the progress and was at a loss the explain it. Never in his professional life had he seen such swift healing. There was no sign of infection and the bones and wounds were healing at a remarkable rate. Despite all this he was reluctant to remove any of the support machines until he was sure the recovery was sustainable. Even so, Obi-Wan took heart at the healer’s progress-report.
Soon afterwards Qui-Gon had another visitor, Thom RosAntu. The Laydian had returned from his official engagements and came to enquire after Qui-Gon’s condition. Obi-Wan was curious to see him arrive with a tray. But Thom soon explained that the droid delivering the supper trays was just outside the door when he arrived and he offered to take Obi-Wan’s supper into him. Obi-Wan was touched. This simple action reflected the types of things that Qui-Gon had said about Thom, he was down to earth with no airs nor graces. Obi-Wan politely accepted the tray but put it to one side for later. It was not long since he had eaten.
Thom had heard that Qui-Gon was making remarkable progress and he was interested to know if he had regained consciousness at any time. Obi-Wan shook his head. Thom explained that he was due to leave for home the following morning and begged Obi-Wan to let him know if Qui-Gon did regain consciousness. He was very keen to thank Qui-Gon personally for saving his life.
RosAntu sounded genuinely concerned. So much so that Obi-Wan wondered if he been wrong about him previously. Perhaps RosAntu abrupt manner previously had been due to him still being in shock from his near-death experience. Relenting slightly from his earlier intention, Obi-Wan promised that he would inform Thom of any significant change.
Some time later, to Obi-Wan’s relief, Qui-Gon did regain consciousness. His relief, however, was short lived as Qui-Gon was incoherent and extremely agitated. He would not lie still and attempted to get up several times. Fred KaMenna finally decided to sedated him after the Jedi Master succeeded in disconnecting one of his life support machines. Peace returned to the room.
Almost immediately Obi-Wan’s com link buzzed. It was Thom RosAntu. He heard that Qui-Gon had regained consciousness and wanted to come to see him. Obi-Wan told him what had happened and said it would be a wasted journey as Qui-Gon was sedated. Thom expressed disappointment and signed off.
It had grown dark outside. Obi-Wan hadn’t really noticed the darkness creeping up so he hadn’t thought to power up the lights The only light in the room came from the street lamps outside the windows. It had been a very exhausting day and Obi-Wan could feel himself drifting. Although Qui-Gon was making good progress, Obi-Wan knew he had to stay alert to continue sending healing energy to his Master. To fight the fatigue he stood up and walked about the room thinking that a little exercise would revive him.
Obi-Wan was standing in a darkened corner of the room, stretching, when the door opened softly. He froze in mid-exercise, his hands still above his head and watched two Aurians dressed in healers uniforms come into the room. He did not recognise them as any of the healers that had attended Qui-Gon earlier in the day. And he was so well hidden in his darkened corner that they did not notice him at first.
Obi-Wan’s heart inexplicably pounded in his chest. His every muscle was on alert. He couldn’t fathom why he was so uneasy. He watched the healers moved towards Qui-Gon’s bed. They hadn’t powered up the lights and Obi-Wan wondered what they could do or see in the dark.
"Are you going to remove some of the machines?" Obi-Wan asked.
The two swung around to face him. The look of total shock on their faces clearly indicated that they had not expected to find anybody other than Qui-Gon in the room. Nonetheless, even as they turned they were reaching inside their uniforms.
Obi-Wan didn’t wait to see what they were reaching for. In a flash he had activated his lightsabre. He felt the surge of Force generated energy rush through his body suspending his fatigue. The bright blue light from his lightsabre lit the room as he dodged and weaved from the first wave of Blaster bolts.
The medic droid headed for the door at the first sign of trouble. It was hit by a bolt before it got half way across the room and exploded into smithereens. Pieces of metal cascaded down around the room like exploding fireworks. Obi-Wan was showered with the lethal hailstones. He used his lightsabre to protect himself from the flying debris. The smaller pieces were too numerous for him to avoid and they peppered him, leaving him with tiny red patches which would no doubt turn into bruises by morning. His managed to avoid most of the bigger pieces. Dodging to avoid one large piece he moved into the path of a smaller one which lodged itself in his side just beneath his ribcage.
Despite the stinging pain he continued to defend himself but he was growing tired and loosing his grip on the Force. He felt anger rise in him. He knew he had to fight this, he had to clear his mind and use the white light of the Force. He found it almost impossible to fight his anger, his fatigue and two assailants at the same time.
Instantly, he understood why Qui-Gon always left the hardest exercises until he so physically exhausted that he could hardly stand. It was at times like this that he needed to be able to rise above the limitations of his body and reach out for the Force. This was hardly the time to gain insights into his Master’s training methods but strangely it helped him call the living Force.
Once again in harmony with the Force, a sense of calm came over him. He was exhilarated as the power and energy of the Force charged through his body. The two attackers had also been busy avoiding the falling debris but once the danger had passed one of them turned towards Qui-Gon, Blaster pointed at him. The other continued firing at Obi-Wan forcing him to stay away. Calmly, Obi-Wan deflected the next bolt so that it hit Qui-Gon’s attacker in the hand causing him to drop his weapon. Before it hit the floor Obi-Wan had reached out with the Force and called the Blaster to him. He deposited it behind him.
Qui-Gon’s attacker was not easily dissuaded from his task. Unarmed, injured but still standing the he moved quickly towards Qui-Gon. In an instance, Obi-Wan realised that he intended to unplug Qui-Gon’s life supporting machines.
Obi-Wan focused on the other attacker. He shot his hand out in a Jedi movement and sent the second Aurian hurdling across the room. As he landed, the attacker hit his head full force against the wall and was disoriented. Releasing his weapon, he clutched his head in his two hands and slid down the wall to the floor, collapsing in a heap. The Blaster shot across the room into Obi-Wan’s hand as the young Jedi launched himself towards Qui-Gon's bed.
With feline elegance, Obi-Wan leaped onto the foot of the bed and using the momentum from his jump he somersaulted high in the air and with a half twist he landed gracefully between the remaining Aurian and Qui-Gon's vital machines. His lightsabre blazing in one hand. The Blaster in the other.
Obi-Wan looked calm and composed. An aura of confidence surrounded him. He was in command and he knew it. The attacker quickly glanced at his companion and seeing that there was no help there, he looked back at the young Jedi and considered his options. He quickly realised the hopelessness of his situation and threw up his arms and surrendered. Obi-Wan backed him across to his partner and called for centre security, who were, in any event, on the way.
While the guards took the two Aurians away, a medic droid treated Obi-Wan’s injury. He had lost a lot of blood. But the damage wasn’t too bad. Nothing that some flesh glue and a night’s rest wouldn’t fix. However, now that the danger had passed, Obi-Wan felt the energy he had generated from the force drain from his body, leaving him more fatigued than he ever thought possible. He was overcome with weariness and almost passed out.
Fred KaMenna threw his hands up in despair at the sight that met his eyes when he arrived at the door. The place was a mess. It looked like a battlefield. He prided himself on running a perfect Medical Centre -where people could recover from their illnesses in a peaceful and tranquil environment. He muttered to himself, as he picked his way through the debris, that he thought that the Jedi were suppose to be _Guardian’s of the Peace_ not _Creator’s of the Chaos_.
Throughout the entire incident Qui-Gon, being heavily sedated, hadn’t moved a muscle. He was totally oblivious to the chaos surrounding him. The Chief Healer noted with interest that the battle hadn’t hindered Qui-Gon’s progress in any way. In fact, his recovery was sufficiently impressive for him to order the removal of all the life-supporting machines except the ventilator.
When he had finished his examination of Qui-Gon, Fred turned his attention to Obi-Wan. He checked his injury and taking one look at Obi-Wan ashen face and general weakness, he barked orders for another room, with _two_ beds to be prepared.
"I am moving you both to another room." Fred said to Obi-Wan. "I will arrange for guards to protect you so you will be perfectly safe. Obi-Wan, you need to rest. You cannot go on like this. Master Jinn is doing better than anybody could have imagined. I don’t fully understand yet your role in his recovery, but it has taken its toll on you. The Master would not thank me to find _you_ in a coma when he wakes up. I will give you something to help you sleep."
Obi-Wan started to protest but Fred held up his hand and continued. "No more commands from the Jedi today. In this Centre, I am in charge and you will take the medication even if we have to tie you down to administer it." Although KaMenna smiled, Obi-Wan could hear the seriousness in his voice. In any case, he was too weak to argue. Obi-Wan knew when he was beaten. So he nodded meekly and said "Thank you, Healer."
TBC
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