Lostandfound6

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

*****

Obi-Wan slumped back in his seat, drenched in sweat, his head spinning. His muscles burned with fatigue, his lacerated back throbbed painfully. He was trembling with reaction and felt close to tears.

A sudden shrill beeping from the control console jerked his mind away from his exhaustion. Qui-Gon was scowling, his fingers flying over the controls."They've sent fighters after us," he said grimly. "Strap yourself in, Obi-Wan, this is going to get rough."

The ship banked sharply as two small fighters came screaming in from above, laser cannons blazing. Qui-Gon executed a graceful maneuver which took them out of range of the blasts, then went into a dizzying series of barrel rolls, deftly evading the fire from several more fighters which suddenly appeared on their starboard side. Obi-Wan heard the pulse of laser cannons beneath him as Qui-Gon returned fire, and a powerful concussion rocked the ship as a nearby fighter exploded.

"Obi-Wan, I need you to take the gun controls," Qui-Gon said urgently, avoiding another barrage of fire from the fighters.

Suddenly galvanised into action, Obi-Wan leaned forward, quickly assessing the controls. He gripped the fire lever in both hands, focusing on his targeting screen, blocking out everything else. As Qui-Gon spun the ship through a tight series of turns, he concentrated on the small shapes on the screen that were the fighters, waiting for one to come within range of his guns...

There! One fighter strayed too close and he targeted it, jerking the fire lever downwards. The ship's laser cannon sent a bright pulse of energy towards the little fighter and it exploded, debris flying in all directions.

As Qui-Gon continued to evade the barrage of fire, Obi-Wan destroyed two more fighters, and now only two remained, still doggedly pursuing them as they wheeled and spun, looping and diving over the mountains in an attempt to avoid the laser blasts.

Another fighter exploded to their left as the ship came out of a steep dive to abruptly streak back upwards. Qui-Gon had looped around in an attempt to evade the pursuit and they were now almost back where they had started, wheeling above the peak that sheltered Gatt's compound. The last fighter shot past them and Obi-Wan fired at it, the guns sending bright bolts of energy into the sky mere metres from the fleeing fighter, which went into a spectacular dive and vanished beneath them. A moment later it was back, coming at them from the other side, guns blazing.

Qui-Gon threw the ship into another series of rolls as Obi-Wan returned fire, again missing the little craft. The pilot was skilled, Obi-Wan thought grimly, his eyes locked on his targeting screen. He prepared to fire again as it came back into range.

The ship rocked suddenly as a blast made contact, and Qui-Gon swore. There was a loud detonation as another blast shook the ship, and a shower of sparks came from the control console in front of Qui-Gon.

"It's those blasted anti-aircraft guns," Qui-Gon said. "Hold on, Obi-Wan, we need to get some distance."

The ship streaked away, smoke pouring from its hull, and the little fighter doggedly gave chase. Qui-Gon glanced at Obi-Wan as another burst of sparks shot from the control console. "We're hit, and badly," he said. "We're going to have to take her down somewhere or she'll do it for us."

Obi-Wan nodded, his knuckles white as he gripped the fire controls. Qui-Gon took the ship into a dive, flattening out their trajectory as they came nearer to the ground. They were speeding over mountain peaks as Qui-Gon scanned ahead, looking for a place to set the ship down.

The last fighter suddenly soared in above them, firing, and the ship rocked once again as one of the blasts found its mark. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth as the smaller craft zipped out of range again, following its progress on his targeting screen.

/That's about enough from you,/ he thought grimly. He waited, tracking the fighter's moves. If it followed its previous attack pattern, he thought, it would now come at them from the side and try to escape away underneath them. He did not plan to let that happen.

The fighter roared in again, and Obi-Wan watched, hisworld narrowing to the tiny moving shape on the screen before him. Loop, spin, fire, closer...

Targeted.

He yanked on the fire control lever and a laser bolt shot from the cannon on the underside of the ship, clipping the little fighter. It did not explode but careened away to one side, out of control, and Obi-Wan lost sight of it behind another peak.

"Well done," Qui-Gon muttered. "I've found a spot to take us in, so hold on tight."

Obi-Wan gripped the arms of his seat as the ship banked sharply. He heard the engines scream in protest as Qui-Gon tried to slow their descent. Too badly damaged to comply with the commands, the ship jerked slightly in the air and Qui-Gon swore and took it though a series of sharp downward turns to try to distill some of their momentum. They hovered above the ground, then the engines seemed to stutter suddenly and the ship lurched sideways, smoke pouring from the damaged hull as Qui-Gon extended the landing gear and they came to a shuddering halt in a small, flat clearing, halfway up one of the peaks.

Obi-Wan let his breath out in a long, shuddering sigh, slowly releasing his death-grip on the chair arms. He leaned back against the padded headrest and closed his eyes, trying to get control of himself. After a long moment, he opened his eyes again and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand. He looked over at Qui-Gon, who was still sitting in the pilot's seat, checking the damage to the ship's systems.

"How does it look?" he asked. His voice shook slightly, and Qui-Gon shot him a look of concern.

"Not the best, but it's repairable, I think - and *if* my droid made it onto the ship, it will be a damn sight easier to do." He got up from his seat, heading for the door. "I'd better go and check and take a look outside, see where exactly we are."

Obi-Wan got shakily to his feet and trotted after Qui-Gon as he made his way down through the ship. They entered a cabin at the stern and Qui-Gon let out a sigh of relief to see a small astromech droid standing by the door.

"So you made it here in one piece, then?" he said, and the droid chirped brightly at him. "Well, good. We're going to need you for the repairs." He turned to Obi-Wan. "I'm going to go and have a quick scout around outside, make sure the area's clear. Why don't you have a rest for a few minutes, and when I get back we'll see how the damage looks."

Obi-Wan nodded dumbly as Qui-Gon turned and strode from the room, his boot heels ringing on the metal flooring. He stood motionless for long moments, staring blindly around the room as his mind struggled to process what had just happened. His head throbbed.

A sudden wave of nausea made him gasp and he barely managed to make it into the 'fresher before falling to his knees in front of the sanitation unit and being violently sick.
The heaving left him breathless and trembling, his body drenched in cold sweat. But every time he felt the nausea start to subside, Darvala's face would flash before his eyes and he would be racked with another series of painful heaves. He was still crouched on the floor when he felt a comforting handon his forehead and another on his shoulder, steadying him.

"All right, you need to calm down, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said softly, crouching behind the boy. "Just breathe, take deep breaths. I doubt you've got anything left to throw up now, so just breathe and it will pass."

Obi-Wan tried to obey, his breath coming in harsh pants.

"No, no, not so fast or you'll hyperventilate. Slowly. Deep breaths."

Gradually, Obi-Wan's breathing slowed to a normal pace, and the iron fist clenching his gut seemed to relax a little. He took a deep, shaky breath and sat back, closing his eyes against the light which suddenly seemed far too bright. He felt Qui-Gon move away and heard the sound of running water, then a glass was pressed into his hand. "Drink some, it'll help."

He took a couple of small sips, grateful to be able to rinse his mouth out. After a few minutes, the dizzy feeling began to fade, and he opened his eyes. The sickness had passed now, and with Qui-Gon's help he was able to get to his feet.

"All right now?" Qui-Gon asked, looking deeply concerned.

"I think so," Obi-Wan said, wiping his hand over his sweaty forehead.

There was a long pause, then Qui-Gon spoke again, softly. "She was a friend of yours?"

Qui-Gon's voice was soothing, compassionate, and Obi-Wan sensed his deep regret over the deaths they had left behind them. "Yes," he said, thickly. "She was."

Qui-Gon looked at him for a long moment, then put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Just remember that there is no death, Obi-Wan. She is free now, at least."

"Yes." Obi-Wan tried to accept that, and it rang true, even though a part of his mind was screaming that it didn't matter if she was free now, she was still dead. His friend. The only friend he had had in that place.

But...she had hated being a slave, hated her life there...so perhaps...perhaps it was better that she be free, however it had happened.

His eyes burned with sudden tears and he blinked them away. The hand on his shoulder squeezed once, gently, and Obi-Wan looked up at Qui-Gon, struggling for control. "I got the information."

"What?" Qui-Gon looked startled.

"The information you needed about Gatt's informant. I got it. I have it on disk." He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the precious disk, handing it to Qui-Gon with fingers that felt suddenly numb. "Gatt caught me just after I saved it. The informant's a Corellian Senator, Van-Amat."

"Senator Van-Amat is Gatt's informant? Are you sure?"

"There were communications from him. Information about weapons shipments. All on high-security channels."

"By the Force. Suddenly things begin to make all kinds of sense." Qui-Gon shook his head, looking down at Obi-Wan again, his gaze suddenly growing stern. "Obi-Wan, you did a very dangerous thing when you went to get this. You could have been killed."

"I know," Obi-Wan said. "But it was the only way."

"Be that as it may, I gave the orders I did to protect you. It was foolish of you to disobey me."

"Yes." Obi-Wan felt numb and cold, barely able to take in what Qui-Gon was saying. "No. It wasn't. I had to."

There was a long pause. Obi-Wan looked up at Qui-Gon and saw the Jedi studying him carefully, his brow creased with concern. After a moment, Qui-Gon spoke again, more gently. "I think you should get some rest, Obi-Wan. I will see to the repairs for now."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, I want to help."

"You're injured, and exhausted. You need treatment, and then you need some sleep."

"I'm all right. I want to help. You need to get back to the Council with that disk."

Qui-Gon sighed heavily. "There's no reasoning with you, is there? All right, all right. But you *will* take it easy."

"Yes." Obi-Wan wasn't sure why he needed to help so much. Perhaps it was just so he could hold on a little longer to the feeling that he had a mission, a purpose.

Or perhaps he just didn't want to risk dreaming right now.

"Come on then, let's see how the damage looks in the engine room," Qui-Gon said tiredly. He led the way from the cabin, and Obi-Wan and the little astrodroid trailed after him.

*****

Qui-Gon kept a watchful eye on Obi-Wan as he worked on the repairs. The boy was clearly in a state of shock, and Qui-Gon was more than a little worried about him.

When they had first landed, he had gone outside to take a look at their surroundings, finding them to be barren and completely deserted. After a quick look around, he had felt a faint stirring in the Force and returned to the ship, only to find Obi-Wan being violently ill in the 'fresher. Not surprising really, considering what the boy had just been through. He had managed to calm Obi-Wan down and tried to convince him to get some rest, but the boy was adamant that he wanted to help repair the ship and Qui-Gon had been simply too tired to argue with him.

The ship was going to take a couple of days to repair, even with the droid, but it was repairable, much to Qui-Gon's relief. The long-range communication systems had completely shorted out, so he could not contact the Council, but so long as they could get airborne again, he had decided that it could wait until hereached Coruscant.

The information about Gatt's informant was startling. Senator Van-Amat had not even been on the list of possible suspects, but now that Qui-Gon knew, it madeperfect sense. He was amazed that no one had thought of it before now.

The communications that Obi-Wan had found were concrete evidence that Van-Amat was the one responsible. After reading them, Qui-Gon was positive that they would stand up in front of the Senate, no matter how hard Van-Amat tried to cover his tracks. The Senator was going down, Qui-Gon thought grimly. And not in a blaze of glory, either.

And he had Obi-Wan to thank for that. Qui-Gon cast another glance at the boy, frowning. Obi-Wan's demeanor worried him more that he liked to admit.

Qui-Gon had finally convinced the boy to let him treat his injuries, but he had still stubbornly refused to rest. The ship needed to be repaired, Obi-Wan insisted. They needed to get off this planet. Qui-Gon needed to get back to Coruscant with the information about the Senator. "You need to rest," Qui-Gon had said firmly. "I want to help," Obi-Wan had replied, just as firmly. It had gone on like that for several minutes before Qui-Gon had finally given up.

And so here they were, all three of them, up to their elbows - figurative elbows in the case of the droid - in wires and circuits and panels that shouldn't be sparking like that but were anyway.

Qui-Gon had tried to engage Obi-Wan in conversation, hoping to take the boy's mind off what had happened and focus his thoughts on his now much brighter future. "You have your freedom back," he had said. "Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

Obi-Wan had looked at him blankly. "Do?"

Qui-Gon was a little nonplussed by the response."Well, you have a future to think about, after all."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It's not like I had any choice in it anyway."

Qui-Gon winced at the hopeless tone, realising that he must have just reminded Obi-Wan about the Agri-Corps, which he had never really wanted to join in the first place. He tried another tack. "I'm sure your friends will be very happy to see you. They must have been very distressed to hear about your disappearance."

Another shrug. "I guess."

"Obi-Wan." The boy looked up at him dully. "Don't you want to go home?"

Obi-Wan held his gaze for a moment, then looked away. His eyes were dark with pain. "I don't have a home."

After that, he had lapsed into near silence, meeting Qui-Gon's further attempts at conversation with monosyllabic answers, and eventually Qui-Gon had given up, deeply concerned for the boy's state of mind but not really knowing what to do. The look of despair on Obi-Wan's face when the boy had said he had no home had cut him to the quick. And he had felt that despair, too, rippling through the Force like a heavy grey wave, engulfing everything it touched.

And that in itself was even more disturbing; the fact that the fledgling bond he had formed with Obi-Wan during their adventures on Bandomeer was still intact. He had sensed the danger Obi-Wan had been in through the Force, had felt his distress when he was being sick in the 'fresher, and he could feel the boy's unhappiness even now. But how could it be that a bond he had fought so hard against had somehow survived despite all that had happened?

He could still recall with nerve-wracking clarity the desperation he had felt on realising that Obi-Wan was in danger. Nothing had mattered except getting to the boy. Not Gatt, not his informant, nothing. And as it turned out, Obi-Wan had accomplished that particular mission for him. The boy's courage was outstanding...but then Qui-Gon had known that already.

However, Obi-Wan had suffered greatly over the last four months, and it showed. Qui-Gon could see it in his eyes, could feel it in the aura of defeat that hung about the boy like a cloak. It worried him, and he was battling an undeniable feeling of guilt that Obi-Wan should have been through so much, and that he might have been able to prevent it and hadn't.

/If I had taken him as my Padawan, it all would have been different. Better./

He shook his head, half angrily. Regrets would get him nowhere. And yet...

/What is happening to us here?/ he asked himself distractedly. /It cannot be mere coincidence that we have been thrown together *again*. Nothing happens by chance, especially not something of this magnitude./

He glanced over at Obi-Wan again, working on a damaged panel, and it suddenly struck him that the boy was still wearing the slave collars. He bit back a curse, realising that he himself was so tired that the collars had not even registered on him until this moment. "Obi-Wan," he said, and the boy turned to face him, his eyes questioning. "Come here for a minute. Let me see if I can get those collars off you."

Obi-Wan looked a little surprised, but came over willingly. "Do you think you can?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll try. I'm sorry it didn't even occur to me to try until now. It looks like I'm more tired that I thought," Qui-Gon said with a sigh.

"That's all right," Obi-Wan said, shrugging. "I don't really notice them much anymore, unless I'm trying to use the Force."

"Hmm." Qui-Gon was examining the black collar, looking for a catch or seam. He found nothing. He put his hands around it and tugged experimentally on both sides, but there was no give. With a grunt of irritation, he drew his lightsaber and set it to low power. "Let's try this." He touched the 'saber to the side of the black collar and it hissed and began to melt. "Well, that looks like it'll work. Hold still for a minute."

Qui-Gon melted the collar as much as he dared without letting the hot metal get too close to Obi-Wan's skin. When there was only a thin layer holding the collar on, he took a small cutting tool and sliced through the rest. Moments later, the collar was lying in a dismantled heap on the floor.

Obi-Wan's hands flew to his neck. "Oh!" He took a deep breath, his eyes closing, letting his head fall back. A small smile touched the corners of his mouth. A moment later he looked back up at Qui-Gon, and his eyes seemed to carry a hint of their old brightness. "Thank you," he said softly. "It was awful, not being able to touch it properly."

"I'm sure it was," Qui-Gon said grimly. "What about the other one?"

"Decoration, ID, and a tracking device. The range isn't very good though. It won't make much difference out here."

"Hold on, I'll see if I can get it off."

Qui-Gon repeated his actions with the other collar, and soon it too lay on the floor. Obi-Wan rubbed his neck vigorously for a moment, then sighed. "Thank you." He looked around briefly. "I guess we should get back to work."

"Actually, I think it would be a good idea if we started taking it in turns to keep watch outside. I don't want anything sneaking up on us while we're doing the repairs. If you want to take the first watch, I'll keep working here, and we can swap later." Qui-Gon was rather hoping that a bit of fresh air would make Obi-Wan realise just how exhausted he was. Perhaps then he could convince the boy to get some rest.

Obi-Wan looked at him dubiously for a moment, as if he knew quite well what Qui-Gon was intending, then nodded. "All right, if you think it's a good idea."

"I do. Better to be safe."

"Won't it be quicker with two of us working though?"

"Perhaps, but we really don't want anyone catching us unaware when we're grounded like this. I'd just like to keep an eye out. Don't go too far, though, just stay around the ship."

"All right." Obi-Wan turned and headed slowly for the door. He walked stiffly, clearly still in pain, and Qui-Gon frowned. The boy got full marks for stubbornness, that was for sure. With a sigh, Qui-Gon turned back to the repairs.

***End Part Six***