Lostandfound5

Title: Lost and Found (Part Five)
Author: Kat

*****

Obi-Wan let out his breath in frustration as yet another file turned up nothing. He was scanning through Gatt's communication files as fast as he could, knowing that his time was growing shorter by the second. Gatt usually worked out for a couple of hours, but Obi-Wan didn't even know for sure when he had left this morning. He could be back at any time.

His hands shaking, his body tingling with nerves, Obi-Wan pulled up yet another file and continued to search.

*****

Qui-Gon paced the bedroom, swearing under his breath. Damn the boy! He was going to get himself killed!

He had made himself check the 'fresher and the main room, but he had known even before the little astrodroid relayed Obi-Wan's message to him that the boy had gone. And he knew exactly where he had gone, too. Now he was pacing the room in agitation, see-sawing between anger at Obi-Wan and worry for him, wanting desperately to go to his aid, but knowing that would only put the boy in more danger.

/He's going to get himself killed,/ he thought angrily. /And I don't dare go charging out and try to rescue him, because if he hasn't been caught yet, that will ensure that he is!/

He turned back for another circuit of the room, feeling the Force thrill through his veins like lightning. Something was going to go wrong. He could feel it.

*****

Obi-Wan opened another file, steeling himself for disappointment. After a moment, though, his eyes widened. This was it! This was what he had been looking for!

/Communication from Senator Van-Amat of Corellia to Gan Gatt, super-high security channel, details follow of weapons shipments for the next two months! Yes! This is *it*!/

He wrenched open drawers in Gatt's desk, pushing items aside until he found a stack of disks. Grabbing one, he shoved it into the computer and saved the whole file onto the disk. Whipping the disk out again, he stuffed it deep into the pocket of his pants, turned back to the screen and began to close down the files as fast as he could.

He had almost finished when he heard the door to Gatt's suite suddenly hiss open.

*****

In his rooms, Qui-Gon suddenly stopped dead, feeling his anxiety spike up into real fear.

/Obi-Wan,/ he thought desperately, turning towards the door in an agony of indecision. /Oh, Obi-Wan. What's*happening*?/

*****

Obi-Wan whirled at the sound, turning towards the door just as Gatt strode in. The man stopped dead just inside the door, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Obi-Wan, taking in the situation at a single glance.

Obi-Wan was frozen, barely able to breathe, his eyes wide with fear.

Gatt's expression hardened into one of fury, and in one smooth movement he pulled his blaster from it's holster, pointed it straight at Obi-Wan, and fired.

*****

Qui-Gon jolted as if stung. The Force was positively screaming at him now, howling through his mind like a raging tornado. In an instant, he knew what he had to do. He dashed out into the main room, stopped in front of the little astromech droid and snapped out a command. The droid beeped, complying, and a moment later his lightsaber was smoothly ejected from the metal surface. Grabbing it, Qui-Gon stood still for a long moment, reaching for the Force and extending his senses.

/Where?/ he asked silently, urgently. /Where?/

The answer came to him in a blinding flash of insight. Whirling, Qui-Gon shouted a last order to the little droid and bolted for the door.

*****

Obi-Wan threw himself sideways as the blaster bolt came hurtling towards him. Even though he could not use the Force with the collar on, he could still feel it, and his reflexes had been honed by years of Jedi training. The bolt missed him, slamming into the wall behind him as Obi-Wan rolled to his feet.

One lightning glance around him told him that there was no way he was getting past Gatt. The only possible chance of escape was to run from him. Blocking out all the pain from his injuries, letting instinct take over, Obi-Wan spun on his heel and ran for his life.

Another blaster bolt slammed into the wall beside his head as he hit the doors to the balcony at a dead run, wrenching them open and flinging himself through onto the balcony itself. The balcony was only one storey above the little garden courtyard, but Obi-Wan knew he would still have to be careful when he jumped. Shooting one panicked glance behind him, he sent a silent prayer to the Force, scrambled up onto the railing and leapt off.

*****

Qui-Gon dashed down the corridor, dimly hearing the alarm on his door screaming behind him as he ran. He had had to cut his way out with his lightsaber, but he was no longer concerned with appearances. The only thing that mattered now was getting to Obi-Wan.

Lengthening his stride into an all-out run, he sprinted down the corridor in the direction his instincts told him to follow.

*****

Obi-Wan hit the ground and rolled, ignoring the sharp flare of pain from his lacerated back and coming swiftly to his feet again in a large flower bed. Not daring to look up at the balcony, he bolted for the door on the other side of the courtyard. Blaster bolt crackled around him as Gatt gained the balcony and continued to fire at him.

Obi-Wan slammed his hand down on the ID pad beside the door and it hissed open. He ducked through it, dimly hearing Gatt's furious shouts for his guards from the balcony above, and knew that very soon every guard in the compound would be after his blood.

/Don't think,/ he told himself. /Just run./

The door opened onto the main kitchen, and Obi-Wan sprinted through it, hearing startled cries from the slaves working there as he dashed between them. From above, he heard the general alarm begin to sound.

*****

Qui-Gon turned the corner into the next corridor just as two guards came running down it towards him, weapons drawn. Both immediately started firing at him, and Qui-Gon ignited his lightsaber and deflected the bolts back at them. A bolt clipped one of the guards in the shoulder and he fell with a cry, his blaster skittering away across the floor. The other man took a shot to the chest and collapsed backwards a moment later.

Qui-Gon upped his pace to a Force-aided run and swept by the next two guards who had arrived in a blur of motion.

*****

Obi-Wan pelted through the corridors, keeping to the least well-guarded ones he knew, away from the central areas of the house. Once out of the kitchen, he cut through into the slaves quarters first, gaining startled looks from the people within. No one tried to stop him, though, and he made it through the long dormitory and out the other side. Coherent thought had ceased; his mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: escape.

He turned a corner into another corridor and had to quickly change direction when several guards came out of a nearby room with their weapons drawn, summoned by the alarm. If he had had more presence of mind, he might have tried to just walk past them and fake confusion; he was just a slave after all. But the fight-or-flight response had well and truly kicked in, and as soon as he saw them he simply wheeled about and ran the other way.

It took a moment for the guards to realize that he must be what was all the fuss was about, but when he turned and ran from them they promptly gave chase. Blaster bolts whizzed over his head and he ducked reflexively, stumbling a little, then picked up his pace.

He skidded around a corner and realized he had come upon the start of the back staircase. Gatt had a fondness for staircases, so as well as the turbolifts there were stairwells from top to bottom on each side of the house. The stairwells were not as well guarded as some areas of the house because of their infrequency of use. The back staircase, which was close to the slaves quarters, was probably the least used of them all.

It took a mere split second for Obi-Wan to realize this, and then he was pelting up it as fast as he could go.

He could hear the guards behind him giving chase, and knew that before long one of them would think to use their communicator and get backup to come and head him off. He tried to increase his pace, but his abused body was now starting to tire rapidly. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.

As he came to the next floor, he saw a chair sitting by the door and snatched it up, flinging it back down the stairs behind him, barely even slowing his pace. He heard a series of crashes as it fell and a curse from one of the guards. Another blaster bolt hit the wall beside him and he tried to move faster, cursing the injuries that were slowing him down.

He was panting now, sweat pouring down his face, frantically trying to pull in enough air to fuel his straining lungs. If only he could use the Force to help him! He was used to having it to rely on in times of exertion, and a mere four months had not been able to break him of the lifetime habit. Even now he was instinctively reaching out, trying to grasp the Force and use it to aid him.

But the collar did its job; although he could feel the Force, it seemed fuzzy and muted, and slipped away from him no matter how hard he tried to catch it. He had only his own strength, and that was waning fast.

He dashed up a last flight of stairs and came to the top of the staircase, where a door led out into the roof gardens. Gasping for breath, Obi-Wan slammed his hand onto the ID pad and the door swished open. He shot through it, wishing fiercely that he had something to disable the door controls with so that his pursuers could not get through after him. Unfortunately, the only guns around belonged to the ones who were chasing him, and he couldn't see them offering to lend him one.

He dashed off into the gardens, sprinting along the winding corridors, past greenhouses and flowerbeds and rows of small trees. He passed through several small uncovered areas, but he was running so fast that each went by in a momentary flash of sudden brightness, and then he was under cover again.
He ran down a last stretch of corridor and suddenly came out into the main center park. The sunlight dazzled him for a moment, making him falter, but he regained his footing quickly and hared off among the trees, trying to stay in the most shadowed areas.

An angry shout from his right drew his attention and he looked up, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Gatt coming out of a doorway, followed by half a dozen armed guards. Blaster bolts began to scorch the grass around him and Obi-Wan swerved in the opposite direction, his already pounding heart suddenly threatening to erupt from his chest. He tore off across the grass and through another doorway, back into the roofed areas of the garden, blaster fire ringing in his ears. He could hear Gatt's furious shouts behind him as he ran headlong down the corridor, all trace of rational thought lost, knowing only that he *must* keep going, that he could not, *dare* not stop...

Until he rounded a last corner, and came up against a dead end.

The wall loomed ahead of him; he was in one of the open areas and it led up onto the real roof, which might have held an escape route - but it was a jump of perhaps two and a half meters. If he had had the Force, he could have made it, but without it, and in his current state...he didn't have a chance.

He spun, his eyes wide and panicked, looking for another way out. But in his frantic dash to escape, he had run down a blind alley in the maze that was the gardens. The only way out was back the way he had come.

He could hear the sound of running feet and blaster fire coming closer, and realised with sudden, sickening clarity that he was caught.

*****

Qui-Gon dashed across the rooftop; the real rooftop this time, not just the garden area. The Force had urged him up, and he had come up as far as he could go. Dimly, he could hear shouts in the distance, and turned in that direction.

*****

Obi-Wan backed up against the wall, trembling from head to toe, as Gatt rounded the last corner, followed by his guards. Gatt stopped when he saw Obi-Wan and bared his teeth in a savage grin.

"End of the line, boy," he said, breathing hard and looking utterly insane. "You've led me a merry little chase, but this is where it ends." He raised his blaster, aiming it directly at Obi-Wan's head.

/So this is it,/ Obi-Wan thought dully. /This is the end. I'm going to die here./

With that thought, the fear seemed to drain out of him, leaving him strangely calm. He looked across at Gatt; staring into the muzzle of the blaster that was about to end his life, and time seemed to slow.

He saw Gatt pull the trigger of the blaster.
He saw the flare of light at the muzzle as the gun fired.

He had a split second to think longingly of the Temple, of his friends, of his life...

And then, so suddenly that it was almost a blur, a figure dropped from the roof above his head, and Qui-Gon landed squarely between Obi-Wan and Gatt, his lightsaber drawn and blazing.

Time resumed its normal pace.

The laser bolt Gatt had fired ricocheted off the glowing blade and flew back over Gatt's head, slamming into the wall of the corridor in an explosion of sparks. For a long moment they all stood frozen in a bizarre tableau, staring at each other. Then Qui-Gon moved ever so slightly, tightening his shoulders into a battle stance, ready to fight.

Instantly, all hell broke loose.

With a roar of rage, Gatt threw himself backwards, behind his guards, just as the whole group of them started to fire. Qui-Gon deflected the bolts, moving so fast that Obi-Wan could barely follow it. Laser bolts bounced off the green blade, shooting back they way they had come. Two of Gatt's men cried out in pain and fell as the bolts found their mark.

"Back!" Gatt roared, retreating down the corridor. "Back, you fools, before he kills us all!"

Two of the guards followed him, while another two kept firing. Qui-Gon sent the bolts skittering back to them, and another man fell, howling in pain. Sending a final quick volley of shots, the last guard turned abruptly and fled after Gatt.

Extinguishing his lightsaber, Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, who was still leaning against the wall, wide-eyed and panting. "Come on," he said urgently. "We haven't much time."

Back along the corridor, Obi-Wan could dimly hear Gatt screaming for backup, calling for more guards. In moments, they would be overrun. He looked up at Qui-Gon. "Which way?"

"Across the top," Qui-Gon said. He glanced down at Obi-Wan, then held out a hand. "Trust me."

His gaze steady, Obi-Wan nodded, extending his hand to Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon took it, then pulled the boy close to him, holding him around the waist. Obi-Wan sensed a sudden stirring in the Force and felt Qui-Gon's muscles bunch as he leapt, using the Force to propel them both onto the top of the wall. They landed neatly and Qui-Gon released him, glancing around to get his bearings. "Let's go," he said, and led the way off across the roof at a dead run.

They sprinted across the roof, Qui-Gon in the lead and Obi-Wan scrambling to keep up, gasping for breath. Qui-Gon took them all the way to the side of the house and they careened along the very edge, some six storeys above the ground. Obi-Wan wondered dimly where they were going, trying to keep his eyes off the sheer drop to his right. He was exhausted, his lungs burning, his lacerated back on fire. He couldn't keep this up much longer, and he knew it.

Suddenly Qui-Gon stopped dead, so quickly that Obi-Wan nearly slammed into the back of him. "Fire escape," Qui-Gon said shortly, looking down over the side. "Come on, quickly."
Leaning over the side, Obi-Wan saw a slim, winding metal staircase extending down the side of the building. Qui-Gon easily jumped the few meters down to the first landing and held out his hand, gesturing for Obi-Wan to join him. Obi-Wan jumped after him and felt Qui-Gon catch him and support him with the Force, cushioning his landing. Then Qui-Gon was off, racing down the stairs, and Obi-Wan scrambled after him, calling on every last vestige of strength to try to keep up.

Down and down they went, haring down the metal stairs, feet flying. They remained unmolested until they were only one level above the ground, when a guard suddenly appeared from a doorway just below them, blaster drawn.

Qui-Gon's reactions were so fast as to be almost a blur. His lightsaber was instantly ignited, and the flurry of blaster bolts from the guard's weapon were sent ricocheting off in all directions. Still deflecting bolts, Qui-Gon reached around behind him, grabbing Obi-Wan with one hand and pulling him close. Holding the boy tightly around the waist, he propelled them both over the staircase railing to land with a jolt on the ground. Pushing Obi-Wan behind him, still continuing to defend against blaster fire, Qui-Gon started backing up, lightsaber humming.

"Go!" he shouted to Obi-Wan. "The landing field!"

Obi-Wan didn't argue, just began to run, hearing Qui-Gon's footsteps behind him over the hiss and crackle of blaster fire. He tore around the side of the house and started across the open stretch of ground that led to the landing field. Blaster fire crackled over his head and he ducked, faltering, but managed to regain his footing before Qui-Gon collided with him. Qui-Gon shoved him, hard, and Obi-Wan felt himself propelled with a Force-aided push into the protective shadow of the buildings that surrounded the landing field.

Under cover now, he darted between the buildings, hearing angry shouts and gunfire coming from behind him. He rounded a corner onto the landing field itself, looking wildly about him, wondering which of the ships there was Qui-Gon's. He darted under the cover of the first ship he came to, risked a quick glance over his shoulder and saw Qui-Gon sprinting after him, in full retreat now, taking advantage of the cover to widen his lead...

And then he was colliding hard with something, the impact sending him sprawling across the ground, scraping knees and hands and face painfully and making his wounded back scream. Gasping, the breath knocked out of him, he cast a frenzied glance around to see what he had hit -

- and saw Darvala sprawled on the ground beside him, clearly stunned by the impact. She looked over at him, her eyes wide and frightened. "Obi-Wan," she managed to say. "What - ?"

Obi-Wan cut her off, waving a frantic hand at her. "Darvi, run!" he choked out desperately. "Go!"

Shouts from behind him and the crackle of blaster fire made him glance back in horror, just in time to see Qui-Gon halt his forward momentum to deflect another round of bolts. He turned back to Darvala, scrambling clumsily to his feet and yanking her up with him. "You have to run! Go! Now!"

"But what's going on - ?"

"*Go*!" He was almost crying with frustration. "*Now*!"

She stared at him, uncomprehending; he shoved her hard to get her moving, then suddenly reversed the action, grabbing her arm and pulling hard, flinging them both sideways as another flurry of laser bolts came winging in from a different direction. He landed on top of her and heard her cry out in pain as they both rolled, coming to a stop in the shadow of another ship.

Obi-Wan struggled to disentangle himself from Darvala, pulling at her arm frantically to try to make her get up. She didn't move, and he glanced down at her, nearly frantic now...

And froze.

Her eyes were open, her face slack. Her head lolled sideways as he jerked himself up and off her, and a strangled cry broke from him as he saw the smoldering wound in her chest. A blaster bolt had hit her from behind.

He stared, his eyes growing wider and wider as sheer horror took the place of fear. Darvi, his friend, the only person in this whole accursed place who had been kind to him...oh, Force, no...

He heard the hiss of laser bolts and the crackling hum of a lightsaber. Someone screamed, off to his left, and he flinched, his vision blurring. Hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and yanked him to his feet, and he was spun roughly about to face Qui-Gon, who was breathing hard and soaked with sweat. He shot a quick, regretful glance at Darvala's body, then looked Obi-Wan straight in the eyes. "Grieve later. Run now. My ship. That one."

He gestured to a battered cargo ship a little way across the landing field from them, the ramp already beginning to open. Looking up at Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan managed to shove aside his anguish and take a deep breath.

"Run," Qui-Gon said urgently. "Go!"

Obi-Wan ran.

Blaster bolts exploded into the ground on either side of him as he sprinted for the ramp. His feet hit the metal flooring of the ramp and he pelted up it, flinging himself through the hatch into the dim interior of the ship. A blur of motion was briefly visible in the doorway and suddenly Qui-Gon was beside him, having used Force-enhanced speed to follow as soon as Obi-Wan was safely inside. The ramp whirred and began to close again, blaster bolts pinging off the edges as their pursuers fired after them.

Qui-Gon raced for the cockpit and Obi-Wan ran after him, throwing himself into the copilot's chair beside Qui-Gon. He heard the familiar whine of engines as Qui-Gon powered the ship up and activated the shields.

"Here we go," Qui-Gon muttered, and Obi-Wan felt the pull of G-forces as Qui-Gon poured full power into the thrusters and the ship lurched sharply upwards, leaving the ground behind with dizzying speed. A moment later they were airborne, heading away over the mountains.

***End Part Five***