Obi-Wan drew his breath in sharply and held it.
*Snap!*
Pressing his forehead against the wooden post they had tied his hands to he let his air out and quickly snagged another breath before the next stroke fell.
*Snap!*
He was using all the control he could muster, but the beating still hurt terribly.
*Snap! Snap! Snap!*
The multi-tongued lash tore his back, leaving it welted and bleeding. The pain made him dizzy and he wondered how much longer it could last. The young Jedi gasped silently as the cruel strokes fell, but he allowed himself no outcry, much to the consternation of his captors.
Obi-Wan tried to reach out, beyond his pain and find Qui-Gon, or the Teacher. The Force was strangely disturbed, swelling and rippling uncontrollably and he could not harness it enough to reach his Master.
Somehow, even through the turbulence or perhaps *because* of it, in some strange way, Obi-Wan was able to feel the presence of the Healer, but the sensation of agony when the apprentice touched him was too much. Combined with the pain of the whipping he was already enduring it nearly flattened him. Obi-Wan cried out involuntarily and quickly withdrew his mind.
A lone tear traced down his cheek, but it had nothing to do with the pain of the flogging. *How could they do that to him? The Healer was so gentle, so wise, so good...*
"Keep it up," one soldier remarked to the other. "I think we're finally getting to him."
Obi-Wan staggered slightly. The amount of blood he had lost to the flogging made him a little woozy and the pain sapped his strength. The soldiers on either side of him grabbed him to keep him from falling.
Obi-Wan kept seeing the Healer in his mind's eye; he had been beaten too, worse than Obi-Wan had. *Why?* The question pounded through his head. *Why?*
The soldiers manhandled the apprentice roughly down the street. Obi-Wan did not know where they were going, but he did not care to wait and find out. What he had had to endure so far at their hand left him less than anxious to have much more to do with them.
Obi-Wan pretended to stumble again, sinking down to his knees. As the two soldiers bent to drag him up once more he rose suddenly, striking them both in the face with the back of his head.
Using the momentary distraction to leap away he made a break down the street. Only to run smack into a whole patrol of soldiers who had just turned the corner.
This place was crawling with soldiers! Obi-Wan barely had time to regret the luck of it all before he found himself sprawled face down on the dusty street with several soldiers holding him down.
"You've done that for the last time boy!" one of the soldiers growled and raised his sword over Obi-Wan's head.
Qui-Gon found the streets emptier now, most of the crowd had long ago moved out of the city. All that was left for him to do now was to get the supplies he needed and head back to the ship.
Alone.
Once he had chosen to be alone, once he had pushed away everyone who tried to come near him, including Obi- Wan, but the boy had somehow found his way into his heart despite him. Now he was alone again, but he did not want to be.
A sudden flurry of activity ahead of him drew his attention. A knot of soldiers stood around a young man, holding him to the ground. The boy had been recently beaten and Qui-Gon saw him squirm in pain as they held him down by his bleeding shoulders, pressing his bound arms against his raw back.
Qui-Gon felt sorry for the lad, no matter what he'd done to get to that point. He shook his head. The boy couldn't have been any older than Obi-Wan...
*WAIT A MINUTE!* Something inside Qui-Gon screamed in recognition. That was Obi-Wan! It was impossible, but there he was!
One soldier raised his weapon over Obi-Wan in a manner that there was no mistaking.
Dust coated Obi-Wan's nose, mouth and lungs as the soldiers held him down. Suddenly utter chaos seemed to erupt all around him. The sword flew out of his would-be executioner's hand.
A familiar hum sprung to life above Obi-Wan, and the soldiers scattered, their brave fronts shattered by the unnatural sight of the glowing sword in the tall man's hand.
Obi-Wan looked up to see his Master standing above him, lightsaber drawn.
Qui-Gon stooped to help his Padawan up and quickly rid him of the ropes that had bound his hands. Then, before he could stop himself, he drew Obi-Wan to him in a fierce hug. "Obi-Wan," he whispered, barely believing it was true.
Obi-Wan returned the hug for a moment, before the pain it caused his lacerated back and shoulders made him wince and draw his breath in sharply. Qui-Gon, suddenly aware of Obi-Wan's injuries, let go at once. "Can you walk?" he asked Obi-Wan urgently, there was no telling when the soldiers would be back, bringing more with them.
Obi-Wan had the same thought. He wanted to be clear of those soldiers once and for all. "How about running?" he answered and they beat a hasty retreat from the area. Qui-Gon watched his apprentice closely. Was this the same boy he had been with not two whole days ago? Obi-Wan had barely been able to stand when he saw him last and the illness had left his body wasted and his face drawn.
Now...
Obi-Wan was obviously in pain from the whipping he had received, but otherwise he seemed whole and well. Qui-Gon could not understand it.
"Look at you," he said when they finally slowed down, content that they were far enough away. "What happened?"
Obi-Wan suddenly realized that Qui-Gon had not seen him since his healing. Had it really been only the day before yesterday? It seemed forever.
Healing... the Healer... they had to help!
"I wondered away from the ship, I don't know why, I think I must have been delirious," Obi-Wan explained quickly, a plan forming in his mind as he spoke. Together, he and Qui-Gon could stop the execution! "I ended up here somehow. I was dying," his voice dropped a little. "But then, then this man touched me. He just touched me and, and I was well. I've never felt anything like it, he had such power!" Obi-Wan became excited as he related the story. "Master, I don't know how, but this man is special, very special. Perhaps the most important man who ever lived! But, but," tears suddenly sprung up in the young Jedi's eyes. "This morning, something terrible happened. I don't know how, or why. Everyone seemed so very angry and I couldn't find the Healer," Obi-Wan's story became a little less coherent as he became more upset, but Qui-Gon was getting the general idea. He had felt the same unrest and anger in the people.
"Then I found him," Obi-Wan's voice cracked a little. "They had him, the soldiers. They had hurt him terribly and then they took him away, they're going to kill him! He's done nothing wrong! But they're going to kill him! We've got to stop them Master! Please! I know we are not to meddle in the affairs of others without being asked, but he saved my life Master, and," Obi-Wan didn't know how to express what he felt. "If only you could meet him Master, he's, he's wonderful!" Obi-Wan felt like he was babbling foolishly, but he was desperate to make Qui-Gon understand!
Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan. His Padawan's eyes pleaded with him for action. Qui-Gon had a nasty feeling that the man Obi-Wan spoke of was the same one he'd seen earlier, in the procession. He knew nothing of this world, or its politics, or even why the man was going to be executed. All he knew for certain was that somehow, the one that Obi- Wan called the Healer had given his Padawan his life back. To Qui-Gon, that was worth a few risks.
"All right," he agreed, much to Obi-Wan's surprise. "They took him outside the city, let's go!"
Knots of people, gathered to witness the executions, dotted the landscape. Qui-Gon could never quite comprehend what drew people to morbid occasions like this.
He had slightly outdistanced his Padawan as they ran, so he saw the hill first. His run slowed to a walk and then stopped. It was a good thing he was a Jedi, or he might have gotten sick.
He turned to meet Obi-Wan, running up behind him. "Obi-Wan," he caught the boy gently by the shoulders, halting him and half intentionally blocking his view of the hill.
For a moment Obi-Wan looked puzzled, why had they stopped? Then the look in his Master's eyes told him. Told him things he did not want to know.
"No, NO!" Obi-Wan cried out, pushing past Qui-Gon. He looked up... and stopped, transfixed with the horror of what he saw. They were too late. The execution had already begun. It was a long and painful process, and a horrible thing to witness. Obi-Wan was absolutely speechless. How could they be so cruel?
"I'm sorry Obi-Wan," his Master's soft voice came from behind him. Qui-Gon meant it. He was sorry. Sorry that this had happened, sorry they had been unable to stop it. Obi-Wan had been right. Even now, in the midst of the terrible agony he was in, there was something deeply compelling about the Healer.
Obi-Wan's throat was almost too tight for him to talk. "We can still do something, we've got to!"
"Obi-Wan, it's too late," Qui-Gon tried to reason sadly. He knew, he could feel that the Healer was almost gone.
"No!" Obi-Wan shouted vehemently. "It can't be! It can't be too late! You don't understand!" Obi-Wan himself hardly understood. He turned away. He would go by himself if he had to!
Suddenly the earth shook beneath them and the sky grew dark. The crowds milled skittishly about.
"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon grabbed the apprentice's shoulders, trying to reach him through the internal uproar that seemed to be tearing the very earth itself apart. "Don't you understand?" he said sadly. "It's over."
"NO! No!" Obi-Wan sobbed. Yet he knew Qui-Gon was right. The whole world suddenly seemed desolate and dark and as they headed mournfully back to the ship, Obi-Wan wondered if the sun would ever shine again.
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked miserably as Qui-Gon treated his injured back. "Why did he let them do it? He could have stopped them, I know he could have. He was so strong..."
"I don't know," Qui-Gon answered slowly, even though he knew that Obi-Wan's question had not really expected an answer. "Perhaps he had a reason. Sometimes Obi-Wan, there is more to be gained from dying, than from living." It did not seem enough, but it was all Qui-Gon could say.
Obi-Wan stared blankly at the far wall.
Qui-Gon shook his head. He was worried about the boy. He'd been like this ever since the execution. That was nearly two whole days ago. He was only just beginning to realize the profoundness of the effect this Healer had had upon his Padawan.
The ship's supplies were finally restocked. They had had a bear of a time trying to find any place open today for some reason.
They planned to leave in the morning and Qui-Gon hoped that when they left, Obi-Wan would start to become himself again. "Why don't you get some rest?" he suggested, lying down himself.
Obi-Wan lay down, but he couldn't get to sleep, and when he did finally get to sleep, it was filled with troubled dreams. Scenes from the execution kept playing over and over again in his head, tormenting him and leaving him no peace, no rest in his uneasy slumber.
The Padawan awoke early, long before the first grey streaks of dawn had begun to break the hold of night. Not far away, in the darkness to his right he could hear Qui-Gon's steady breathing. His Master was still asleep.
Obi-Wan could not sleep anymore. He tried rolling over, but that didn't help. He was restless. It was as if something were calling to him from a distance, what he did not know.
Rising quietly he found his clothes and boots by feel and dressed in the dark, trying to make no more noise than a whisper. Silently he slipped out of the ship, leaving Qui-Gon still asleep.
He felt unresolved, and unsettled, but he fully intended to be back before his Master woke up. All he wanted to do was say a last good-bye.
Obi-Wan walked swiftly and quietly across the darkened landscape. It had taken a little longer than he had anticipated and the first tendrils of dawn were taking root in the sky above him.
He knew where the Healer had been buried, and he made his way there now.
Slipping quickly through the garden around it, he found the tomb where he thought the Healer had been laid. Several paces away from its mouth, he stopped.
Obi-Wan ran his hand through his short hair in frustration. After all this, he had the wrong place. He had been nearly certain that they taken the Teacher here, but he must have been mistaken, for this tomb was open and empty.
The apprentice was just turning away when he sensed someone else close by. He heard the person too, weeping softly. Looking around he recognized one of the women who had been close to the Healer.
She was bent over, crying as if her heart would break, or was already broken. Obi-Wan knew exactly how she felt. He started to move towards her. He knew she would not understand him, but he wanted only to comfort her, and perhaps, himself.
Suddenly, he stopped. The air seemed to have become charged and his breathing caught, he hardly knew why.
A man that Obi-Wan had neither seen, nor sensed approach, touched the woman gently on the arm.
"Woman," he asked softly, in a rich, mellow voice. "Why are you crying?"
"Where is he?" the woman sobbed, without looking up. "Oh please sir, if you have taken his body, tell me where it is that I may go and tend him!" she pleaded.
Obi-Wan stared intently at the man. He seemed so familiar, and yet...
"Mary," the man said softly.
The woman looked up, surprise and joy mingling on her tearstained face. "Rabbi! Teacher!" she exclaimed in sheer joy.
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide as he too recognized the man. It was the Healer! That was impossible. Obi-Wan had seen him die. But there he was anyway! He was alive again! He was risen!
Mary left, beaming joy, but Jesus remained, seeming to Obi-Wan to illuminate the entire garden with his presence.
Jesus turned, and his eyes met Obi-Wan's for a moment. Once again, Obi-Wan felt as if He knew everything about him, but it was even more so now. As if whatever limitations the Healer had accepted to accomplish the task He had come to perform were now gone and He was revealed in His utter power and majesty.
The contact was held only for an instant, but it could have been a lifetime.
Jesus smiled at Obi-Wan, then his gaze flickered upward, as if to catch the eyes of someone standing behind the apprentice.
Obi-Wan turned and found Qui-Gon standing quietly behind him, his eyes fixed on the man who was no longer dead. When Obi-Wan turned back, Jesus was gone, but the light in the garden lingered, brightening the garden, brightening the world.
Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder. "Did you see Him Master?" Obi-Wan asked, still a little awed.
Qui-Gon nodded slowly. "Yes, Obi-Wan, I saw Him." The Jedi Master understood now what his Padawan had been trying to explain to him. "He is everything you said He was, and more."
The next day found them in their ship, heading back towards the galaxy that they knew.
"I know we have to get back, but I almost hate to go Master," Obi-Wan confided as they sat together in the cockpit.
Qui-Gon just nodded. He understood how the boy felt. Yet he knew that they must return to their lives, their place...
"What do you suppose it all means?" Obi-Wan ventured.
"I don't know Padawan. I don't know," Qui-Gon admitted. "Yet, I feel that we have witnessed something of vital importance, not only to that planet, but to the entire galaxy." Qui-Gon was silent and reflective for a moment.
"But why should something of that significance happen in such an out-of-the-way, backward place?" Obi-Wan was puzzled.
Qui-Gon smiled softly. "I don't have the answers Padawan, but we must remember that not everything that is supposed to happen happens in a way that we would consider logical. Sometimes, there is a better way, and we just don't understand. This is not an end," Qui-Gon slipped into quiet prediction. "This is a beginning. That planet knows something special, and perhaps, someday, when the time is right, the whole galaxy will know it too."
THE END
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