Title: The Face of Shadow
Author: Rachel Clukey
Category: Adventure
Summary: Obi-wan fights for his life when he and Qui-gon are attacked by a
powerful, Force-wielding alien.
Rating: PG
Note: Takes place before TPM. Obi-wan is in his late teens. //indicates
thoughts//
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: You know the drill. They’re not mine and I’m not making any
money.
Feedback: I'd love it. This is my first fanfic.
Obi-wan felt uneasy. He could feel the Force rippling darkly around him and his master.
"You seem troubled padawan." Qui-gon slowed his steps giving the younger man’s shorter strides time to catch up.
"I still feel a disturbance here Master."
"I feel it also. Be wary, but don’t let your unease distract you." Qui-gon continued down the street.
"Yes Master." Obi-wan followed obediently. His anxiety had been present since they had first set foot on the planet of Denalos. Now that the mission was over, he should be relaxed, but every instinct he possessed was screaming warnings. He and Qui-gon were on their way to the shuttle port to catch a late night transport back to Coruscant. The city was empty at this time of night. Sparse light from shuttered windows cast dim shadows on the ground.
Obi-wan stretched out with the Force to aid his sight in the dark. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flash of movement. Turning suddenly, he drew his lightsaber preparing to defend himself, but there was nothing there. He clipped the saber back on his belt, but he kept his hands ready. //Relax. We’ve almost reached the transport, and we’re going home.// Obi-wan knew he was telling himself the truth, but somehow, it wasn’t very comforting. Looking ahead, he saw that his master had gotten ahead of him once again.
Before he could catch up, the Force rippled suddenly and something crashed into him from behind. The impact pushed most of the air out of his lungs. The rest followed as he hit the ground. His lightsaber dug into his hip. Obi-wan struggled to catch his breath. Summoning the Force, he tried to push his assailant off of his back. He was alarmed to feel it thrown backat him. He cried out as a wave of pain surged through his entire body.
Whoever this was, he was incredibly strong and could use the Force. Obi-wan silently raged at how easy it had been for the stranger to overtake him. He hadn’t even felt it coming. The Force was useless to him. Every attempt to use it was turned back against him. His own physical strength was no match against the dark figure above him. His efforts to free himself were not working. He grunted under the strain of the extra weight. Twisting his body, Obi-wan turned himself over and tried to reach his lightsaber. The attacker was quicker. His hands clamped onto Obi-wan’s wrists with painful strength.
"Master!"
Alerted by his padawan’s call, Qui-gon turned back and saw that the young man was struggling with a large figure swathed in black. His attacker held both of his wrists pinning him to the ground. Where had he come from? Aside from his feeling of unease, the Force had not warned him of anything. Qui-gon was also distressed to realize that he couldn’t feel any through the bond he shared with his padawan. He knew it was still there, but there was a barrier between him and Obi-wan. Drawing his lightsaber, he went back to help.
Sensing Qui-gon’s approach, the dark figure looked up suddenly. Hateand evil radiated from it like a dank fog. A powerful wave of the Force slammed into Qui-gon throwing him several feet away. The impact left him stunned. He sat up dizzily, his eyes meeting Obi-wan’s for a brief moment. The attacker took advantage of the distraction. Releasing the padawan’s wrists, he placed his fingers on the young man’s temples. Obi-wan’s entire body tensed suddenly and then went horribly limp. Qui-gon felt their bond wink out like a snuffed candle.
"No!" He surged to his feet ready to cut down the stranger where he stood. The attacker merely straightened and smiled, smoothing his ruffled clothing. He seemed to be fading where he stood as if he were melting into the shadows themselves. By the time Qui-gon reached Obi-wan’s side, he was gone. He watched warily for a moment, but everything was silent.
He knelt down next to Obi-wan and touched his pale cheek. His skin felt so cold. His fingers moved to his throat to check for a pulse. Qui-gon was startled to feel it beating. Obi-wan was alive! When their bond was severed, Qui-gon was sure that his padawan had died. There was hope. If he could reach the Temple, the healers might be able to revive him. He quickly took off his cloak and wrapped it around Obi-wan. Gathering the young man in his arms he lifted him and continued on to the transport.
It was only minutes later when he walked up the ramp and signaled for the captain to take off. Qui-gon set Obi-wan down in one of the crew berths. He made him as comfortable as he could and drew a chair up beside the bed. He would sit up until they reached Coruscant if necessary. It would be more than three days. Qui-gon took one of Obi-wan’s hands. Physical contact was all that he had left.
*Obi-wan. Can you hear me?* He reached out with the Force trying to reach his padawan, but there was no answer. He gently smoothed the ginger hair. Obi-wan looked like he was sleeping. His features suddenly tightened as if in pain then softened once again. Qui-gon had no idea what was wrong. He probed the young man’s mind lightly, but something was blocking him, not allowing him to see or feel anything. All that he knew was that Obi-wan would die unless he could get help. Settling himself, he prepared himself for the long wait.
Obi-wan struggled against the large man’s grip. He couldn’t see his face. It was nothing but shadow. His gaze was suddenly drawn away by something above Obi-wan’s head. Tilting his head back, Obi-wan saw his master flung backwards down the street. //No!//
Obi-wan felt his attacker release his wrists and touch his temples. Another intense wave of pain rolled through his body, and then everything was dark.
* * *
Dark clouds overhead swirled ominously. Obi-wan didn’t remember opening his eyes. He sat up cautiously ignoring his aching muscles. The street was still empty, and Qui-gon was nowhere in sight. The dark figure was gone as well. The dark ripples were still present, but they seemed closer somehow. Standing up, he unclipped his lightsaber and hefted it’s familiar weight in his hands. He reached out for his master with the Force.
*Master? Where are you?* There was no response. It was strange. It was almost as if he could feel Qui-gon nearby, but he couldn’t tell where. Wherever he was, Obi-wan knew that he was worried. The feeling made him uncomfortable.
Getting his bearings, Obi-wan moved toward the space port to see if his Master had arrived ahead of him. He doubted that Qui-gon would have left him, but it was a place to start. The city that had seemed so friendly and inviting the day before had become dark and inhospitable. //Where are all of the people?// It was nearly midday and no one was outside. The houses looked empty as well. Obi-wan’s unease increased.
The wind began to pick up, blowing dust and debris along the ground. Obi-wan wrapped his cloak tighter about him. It was getting cold. As he looked around, he realized that he didn’t recognize any of the buildings on this street. He stopped and looked around. He thought he had been heading in the right direction. Retracing his steps, Obi-wan tried to make his way back to the street where he was attacked. After a few turns, he had to admit to himself that he was hopelessly lost.
* * *
Qui-gon sat quietly watching his unconscious padawan. After physically examining him, he was relieved to find no injuries. It bothered him to know that there was nothing else he could do. He had tried to induce healing with the Force, but like before, there was something dark in the way. Even if that hadn’t gotten in the way, he wasn’t sure that there was anything to heal. Obi-wan started shivering. Qui-gon pulled out another blanket and laid it over the other two that were already spread over the bed.
He sat back and sighed. The engines were already at full throttle and the captain had insisted that they could go no faster. If he could teleport himself and Obi-wan to the temple right now, he would. The healers were the only chance he had now, but even their knowledge was a tenuous hope at best. If Qui-gon could not reach him, who could?
* * *
The shadowed man smiled. Taking the boy had been easy. It had almost been disappointing. He had expected more of a fight. They were Jedi after all. Putting aside his musing, he again focused on the task at hand. Getting inside was only the beginning. Now he had to find the boy’s center. That was the energy source. It’s much more potent than an external power
drain. Reaching it would be more difficult than his entrance. Jedi had the
ability to set up shields and other inner defenses that normal, on-telepathic
entities were incapable of. Even the younger ones. It would be a welcome
challenge. Smiling again, he began to work on the first shield.
Obi-wan felt as if he had been wandering for hours. No matter how far he traveled, the buildings looked the same. He stopped and sat on the edge of a fountain. //Where are all of the people?// He sighed. Worrying would not help him. Qui-gon had spent a lot of time trying to teach him that. "Don’t center on your anxieties Obi-wan," his master would say. But his master wasn’t here. Nobody was here.
Something at the back of his mind warned him of the presence of another. Obi-wan looked around, but there was no one there. He wasn’t convinced that he was alone. Standing, he called out into the empty street.
"Who’s there?" he demanded. Silence. "Answer me." Again, there was no answer. Obi-wan suddenly felt very exposed for some reason. He felt. . .vulnerable. Not physically, but inside somehow. Surrounding himself with the Force, he drew his shields up protectively around his mind. He was distressed to find that he couldn’t create as tight a shield as usual. There were spaces where there should have been seamless energy. It was almost as if there was something in the way. The thought made him shiver.
Obi-wan couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being hunted. That whatever was attacking his shields was looking for him. Despite that fact that he was lost, he started walking again. A moving target was more difficult to find. Obi-wan desperately wished his master were here. Qui-gon wouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place. //Stop acting like an initiate.// He headed in the direction of the capitol building. It was large and hard to miss. From there, he could get his bearings and find the space port. He hoped that he could find his master along the way.
As Obi-wan walked, the feeling of vulnerability increased. It was getting closer. He kept his lightsaber in his hand at all times just in case, but he wasn’t sure that it would be enough. With his other hand, he held his cloak close. The wind was still blowing.
Just as he rounded the next corner, the wind picked up with incredible strength. It took nearly all of his concentration just to stay on his feet. Obi-wan looked up through the blinding sheets of dust. To his amazement, the clouds were steadily swirling downward like a large cyclone in the middle of the street. This was no natural phenomenon. Obi-wan held his lightsaber up before him. A powerful gust knocked him off of his feet, sending his weapon clattering across the pavement. It was whirled up into the cyclone leaving him defenseless.
Realizing that he had no way to fight this, Obi-wan tried to retreat. The wind seemed to know what he was thinking. It came at him from behind, forcing him to keep low to the ground. He inched forward, but he wasn’t making much progress. The wind picked up speed again. It was pushing him toward the cyclone! He found himself sliding across the ground. Obi-wan tried to catch hold of something, anything to stop his momentum, but the surface of the street was smooth and he wasn’t close enough to any of the buildings to get his fingers around a doorway.
Pushing away his rising panic, he reached out with the Force. Laying flat on his back, he created a bubble of energy around himself. His forward movement stopped. The wind whipped harmlessly over the surface of the shield. In response, the cyclone grew stronger and started moving toward him. Obi-wan extended the shield to allow the space to stand. He put all of his concentration into protecting himself. The cyclone reached the edge of the bubble and stopped. It tried repeatedly to cross the threshold, but at least for the moment, it couldn’t pass. With one last lash of wind, it dissipated into nothing as quickly as it had formed leaving the street empty again.
Obi-wan sighed and sat heavily. That had taken a lot of energy. He wasn’t sure he could do something like that again. Forcing himself to stand, he started off again. He didn’t want to be around when and if that thing came back. He knew one thing for certain. Whatever that was, it had meant him harm. He could feel it. It reminded Obi-wan of the man who had attacked him earlier. He had to find Qui-gon. Keeping his guard up, he moved on.
* * *
Qui-gon was meditating when one of the crew entered with a tray of food. By now, everyone on the ship knew that there were Jedi onboard and that one of them was injured. To them, that was unheard of. In this region of space, the Jedi were revered, almost mythical. It shook their beliefs a little to realize that they were as human as the crew.
"I’ve brought you some food."
Not taking his eyes off of his apprentice, he told him to leave it on the table.
"How is he?" the young man asked tentatively.
"Not well." Out of the necessity of politeness, Qui-gon answered, but only just. He was concentrating on Obi-wan. He didn't dare let his focus stray to anything else. The crewman could see that the injured Jedi was suffering from a fever. He struggled to think of something else to say, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He left the reticent master alone with his padawan.
So far, the young man’s vital signs had been fairly normal, but Qui-gon was taking no chances. He kept in constant contact with Obi-wan’s mind, or at least as close as he could get. As soon as the boy showed signs that he couldn’t maintain his vitals by himself, Qui-gon would be instantly ready to step in. For now, he tended Obi-wan’s fever. Aside from that, there didn’t seem to be anything else wrong. He rubbed his eyes.
The few times that Qui-gon had slept had been short and light. Some part of him was always aware of his surroundings and Obi-wan. He knew that he couldn’t keep himself going much less his padawan unless he kept his own strength up. Moving over to the tray, he picked up a piece of fruit. Obi-wan cried out softly in his sleep. A moment later, he relaxed again. Qui-gon knew there was nothing he could do.
"What are you fighting Padawan?"
* * *
The dark figure was close to dissolving the first shield. The boy suspected something was being done to him. The figure had no thought that he would. The work being done was very subtle. It must be the Jedi training he had received. More shields slammed into place but not before the entity got his foot in the door. There were weak places in the energy. He could feel it. He was close now.
Moving in and out through the cracked defenses, he made his way toward the energy center. Again, despite the challenges, he marveled at how easy this had been. Maybe I was too easy. This was no time to get overconfident and make a mistake. Unless he could harness the energy in this being, he would dissipate until he would be utterly helpless. He had spent a long time tracking this one. Once he was finished here, he wouldn’t have to find a new source for a long time. It would be well worth the risk.
He could feel the center nearby. Pooling his resources, he manifested himself in the boy’s mind. The young man was so close. Intensifying his efforts, he began to pull him in. He fought and struggled, but he was no match for his stronger opponent. In a last desperate effort, he harnessed an energy of his own. The shadowed figure had experienced this before. It had been easy to reflect it back to its source, but this time it was used in defense. His quarry’s forward movement stopped. Angered, he moved in for an attack, but there was something in the way. There was a barrier blocking him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not pass. He would have to find another way. He whirled out in a burst of energy. There was a way, and he would find it.
The capital building loomed up before Obi-wan as he crossed the small plaza. For some reason, coming here didn’t sound as good as it had earlier. There were still no people, and he hadn’t seen any sign of his master. He knew that he couldn’t stay here long. Whatever it was that was looking for him would find him again. Obi-wan couldn’t afford to stay in one place too long. Then again, he had been traveling when it almost caught him before.
He glanced about warily just to make sure it wasn’t nearby. He thought he could feel the dark ripples getting stronger, but he didn’t see anything nearby. He quickened his pace just the same. The next thing he planned to do was go up to one of the tower windows. From there, he would be able to see the space port. There had to be some sort of ship that he could use to get off the planet. It couldn’t be this empty everywhere.
The huge front doors swung open easily. Half way up the long staircase, Obi-wan had to take a break. Normally, he wouldn’t have had to rest. Jedi training was strenuous, but he felt inordinately tired for some reason. Maybe the battle had drained him more than he thought. Taking a deep breath, he resumed his climb.
From the balcony that ringed the large dome, he could see the whole city. He spotted the space port easily. As the wind started to pick up again, he made a hasty retreat from the balcony. Before he could reach the door that led inside, his path was blocked. Out of the shadows, the dark figure emerged. As before, his face was all shadow. It made it nearly impossible to gauge any emotion from him.
From the fold of his robe, he produced Obi-wan’s stolen lightsaber. Activating it, he moved forward. Obi-wan moved back. Without the use of the Force as a weapon against this thing, he was virtually helpless. He turned and ran for the door on the other side of the dome. The figure was back in front of him in moments. Obi-wan had no idea how he moved that fast. He barely had time to think as his own lightsaber came arcing in his direction. He dodged the blow and rolled to the left, but he was restricted by the narrow walkway. He nearly caught the blade across his back.
Obi-wan kicked out at his attacker’s legs. He jumped back giving Obi-wan precious seconds in which to run back to the other door. As he passed through the arch into the interior, the figure tackled him from behind. He pitched forward falling painfully down the first flight of stairs. The impact sent a flurry of black spots across his vision. Through the blur, he could see the shadowed figure advancing down the stairs. Obi-wan didn’t have time to get away.
Kneeling down next to the fallen padawan, he again placed his fingers on Obi-wan’s temples. He tried to push the other man away, but he felt his energy being drained away slowly, leaving him weak. He could feel shadowed figure inside his head. His presence grew until it seemed that nothing else existed. //This isn’t right,// he thought. //I have to stop him.// Obi-wan gathered the remainder of his diminished strength. With one last effort, he pushed the shadowed face out of his head.
* * *
Qui-gon wiped Obi-wan’s forehead with a cool cloth that was already beginning to warm with his fever. His condition was still growing worse. Getting up, he went over to the fresher to wet the cloth again. As he bent over the sink, he looked at his reflection. His face was lined from lack of sleep. An unbidden thought came to mind. //I’m going to lose him.// He had never even considered it before. It was one of those distant possibilities that was pushed aside instantly.
But now, it was a frightening reality. The last thing he had said to Obi-wan was not to let unease distract him. Qui-gon felt completely ill at ease now. So much for a master’s advice. Wringing most of the water out of the cloth, he went back into the other room. He would stay by Obi-wan’s side until the very end. He would not die alone.
He suddenly felt the Force stir in Obi-wan and stopped in the doorway. It was the first flicker he had felt since their bond had been severed. A dark shadow appeared in the room before him. It was Obi-wan’s attacker! It moved toward the bed where his apprentice lay.
Obi-wan’s eyes flew open. When he saw the figure moving toward him, he rolled away off the bed, landing on the floor in a pile of blankets. He untangled himself and stood. Before the shadow could move any closer, Qui-gon dropped the cloth and pulled out his lightsaber. He thrust it forward hoping that there was some physical form in the figure before him. The lightsaber plunged through the intruder’s back.
Obi-wan saw the shadows covering the face disappear. The figure looked surprised. He had forgotten all about Qui-gon. He remembered the emerald glow too late. It now protruded from his chest. Letting out a strangled cry, he fell across the bed. Obi-wan took and involuntary step back. As they watched, it slowly faded before their eyes until there was nothing left. The dark feeling that they had experienced since landing on Denalose faded with it.
Seeing Obi-wan sway where he stood, Qui-gon rushed over and put his arms around his apprentice to steady him. Obi-wan felt a rush of joy and relief through their bond. He returned the feeling and relaxed in his master’s arms resting his head on Qui-gon’s chest. They stood silent for a moment just glad to be reunited.
*Are you all right Obi-wan?* Qui-gon asked. Obi-wan answered aloud.
"Yes, I’m just a little tired. That thing. . ." He hesitated for a moment. "It was inside my head."
"It’s gone now." The way Qui-gon said it made Obi-wan feel like he was a kid again, needing comfort and reassurance after having a nightmare. The strange part was that he didn’t mind at all. He did need a little reassurance after all of that. He could feel that Qui-gon did too. His master had been really worried. Obi-wan looked around the room for the first time.
"Where are we?"
"On a ship headed for Coruscant. We should arrive in a couple of hours." Obi-wan turned. Their eyes locked and they watched each other for a moment. Qui-gon smiled. Obi-wan had never been so happy to see his master’s face.
The End
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