When the Storm Rises Up

by s82

A deadly predator surfaces in Obi-Wan's life. Will he, with the help of his Master, be able to survive?

Spoilers: Well, there are actually quiet a lot of spoilers in this story for the JA books. I think they are JA #2, JA #5, JA #6 and JA #9. Also, Obi-Wan is 14 in this story.

Rating: PG. A little violence, angst, and drama. However nothing like 'Tigers' and this is not a sequel to that story.

Disclaimer: There *still* are not mine. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, the Council members and anything else that at all relates to the SW universe is not mine; including places and events. The title and excerpt come from the song 'If That's What it Takes' by Celine Dion. I don't own the song and have no permission to use it.

Archive: Wolfie's Site, The Jedi Temple and the Jedi Hotline. Thank you for wanting my stories it means a lot to me!


/ / indicates Force messages
~ ~ indicates personal thoughts
* * indicates italics

So, here's the actually story!

~~~~~~

"When the storm rises up, when the shadows descend
Ev'ry beat of my heart, ev'ry day without end
I will stand like a rock, I will bend till I break
Till there's no more to give, if that's what it takes"
~
"I will risk everything, I will fight, I will bleed
I will lay down my life, if that's what you need
Ev'ry second I live, that's the promise I make
That's what I'll give, if that's what it takes"
~
"Through the wind and the rain, through the smoke and the fire
When the fear rises up, when the wave's ever higher
I will lay down my heart, my body, my soul
I will hold on all night and never let go"


~If That's What it Takes (by Celine Dion)

WHEN THE STORM RISES UP
By: Susie (Ari82@aol.com)

~~~~~~


The pounding sledgehammer was doing murder to Obi-Wan's concentration. He swore he could almost keep beat with the *thump thump thump* rhythm which it made. Obi-Wan brought his hand up to his temple. Yes sir, this headache was a nine out of ten on the pain scale. Sighing deeply, the apprentice tried to focus again on his astro-mathematics problems, but quickly lost his concentration for the twentieth time in the past five minutes.

~Sith, where's a large pain pill when you need one?~

Giving up, the young Jedi placed his homework aside and made his way to the kitchen.

~Maybe some food will help?~ Obi-Wan hoped it would help, because if it didn't then he would be in for a *very* long afternoon.

Grabbing some bread, he slowly ate it while concentrating on *not* concentrating on his headache. With the bread gone, but his headache still raging, Obi-Wan placed his head on top of his hands. Shutting his eyes, the young boy let sleep remove his headache with the regret of knowing he had undone mathematics homework.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon entered his apartment and stopped in the doorway. In front of him, at the table, sat his Padawan. Or actually there *slept* his Padawan. The Master could not help but smile at the young boy. He had his head resting on the top of his hands. At closer inspection, Qui-Gon noticed a small drool puddle just outside of Obi-Wan's mouth.

Holding back his laughter, the older Jedi moved to his apprentice's side.

Making sure not to startle his Padawan, Qui-Gon spoke quietly. "Obi-Wan, you need to wake up."

After a few seconds, the young Jedi began to move and show signs of gaining consciousness. Finally, he opened his eyes and focused on Qui-Gon.

"Oh...uh...hello Master. I'm sorry. I...ah...must have fallen asleep." Obi-Wan could feel his fae flush as he realized his Master discovered him sleeping. Qui-Gon smiled at the young boy.

"It's all right; you've been busy lately and I understand your fatigue. I guess it is better that you fell asleep here and not in some of your classes. I'd hate to get a call from Master P'ilk telling me that you needed to be woken up from his exciting lectures on the botanical differences of planets."

The apprentice gave his Master a small smirk and roll of the eyes at his comments. Qui-Gon knew that he found his 'natural resources of outer rim planets class' incredibly boring and loved to tease the boy about it.

"Very funny. But I do believe that I don't need to be tired to fall asleep in his class." The older Jedi shook his head at Obi-Wan.

"Now, be nice Padawan."

The boy lowered his head and mumbled something along the lines of 'sorry' to his Master.

Qui-Gon clasped a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, letting him know that he held no hard feelings. The youth looked up to his Master with raised eyebrows. Qui-Gon seemed to have a small twinkle in his eye.

"*You* used to fall asleep in his class, didn't you?" Obi-Wan smiled at his Master as Qui-Gon moved away from his apprentice.

"Well, I'll just say that Master P'ilk probably thinks I've taught you a thing or two about sleeping while trying to pretend to pay attention." With that said, the older man made his way into his room leaving his smiling apprentice alone at the table.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan watched his Master retreat into his room before letting his face and smile fall. Truth be told, the short nap helped his head a bit, but not as much as the young boy would have liked. Moving slowly to his feet, Obi-Wan stretched his sore limbs and waited a few moments until his Master appeared again from his room.

"Well, Padawan, shall we be on our way?" Qui-Gon moved past his apprentice towards the door. Obi-Wan stared at the older Jedi with confusion playing across his face.

"Going? Where are we going?" The young Jedi caught up to the door and stood besides his Master. The older Jedi looked at his Padawan and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I thought I told you." He smiled apologetically at the young boy. "The Council asked me this morning to meet with them. I believe we may have a mission to accomplish."

Obi-Wan smiled at his Master's words. ~A mission!~ Within moments, the boy's headache was forgotten at the prospect of another adventure with his Master. Not that a Jedi was suppose to crave adventure and excitement, but not a single Jedi, especially Obi-Wan, could deny that exhilaration of a mission. There was something that made all of Obi-Wan's muscle twinge about a mission. Perhaps it was the fact that he got to visit another world, or that he had the chance to change lives someplace. Whatever the reason, Obi-Wan already felt his body become on edge getting ready for it. His excitement was broken by his Master's voice.

"Shall we go now, Padawan, or would you like to have the Council wait on us and send us to a place like Hoth?" Obi-Wan felt his face flush with slight embarrassment, and without speaking, moved out the door with his Master.

~~~~~~


Healer Kat'in stood nervously inside the large Jedi Council room. This was *not* what she thought the Fathers meant by 'get help from other sources'. Never in a million years had she ever pictured herself in front of the famous Jedi Council. Yet now she stood here and had to request help from them. As if that was not hard enough to picture, Kat'in nearly fainted when they honored her request and called two Jedi to aid her and her planet.

On her ship over here, she had wondered again and again why the Fathers thought she, a healer, should go to ask for help. Now, however, she understood. Kat'in had stood before the Council and relayed the present condition of her planet, Vitta, in only the way a healer who had seen death could. She was able to express the pain and agony that her people had suffered; she could explain, in detail, the trails that the healers were going through.

A diplomat would never have been able to give her story the pain, and hope, that Kat'in could. It had left an impression on the Council, she was sure, for they had been quick to give her the aid she requested. If she had not remembered the state of her planet, Kat'in would have felt an overwhelming joy, but with her planet and its inhabitants slowly dying, she could feel nothing but impatience at wanting to get back and help.

The two large wooden doors to the Council opened and two Jedi came in. One, taller and obviously older, walked in with a younger Jedi following behind him. Immediately, Kat'in could tell they were a Master and Apprentice. The two newcomers bowed to the Council and faced the smallest member.

"Master Yoda, we are here on your request." Qui-Gon stated as he bowed to the small green Jedi.

"Glad you came fast. In grave need of help the Missean on Vitta are. Leave as soon as possible, you should."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Yes, Master we will be ready within the hour." The Jedi Master felt his apprentice shift a bit next to him and could tell exactly what he was thinking.

/We will learn of the mission later, Padawan./

/But Master, why not now?/

Only years of training kept Qui-Gon from smiling at the young boy's statement.

/Patience. We do not question where the Council sends us and we do not need to know why we are sent. We can learn that soon enough./

/Yes, Master./ Obi-Wan resisted the urge to sigh.

Yoda tapped his grimer stick on the ground, bringing both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan back to attention.

"Healer from Vitta is here. Speak to you about mission she will." On que, Kat'in stepped out of a shadow and bowed to the two Jedi.

/See patiences does pay off./

/I see that now, Master./ Once again, Obi-Wan had to resisted the urge to sigh.

"Master Qui-Gon and Padawan Obi-Wan." Kat'in thanked her schooling on Vitta. She had learned enough about the Jedi to get by with respect and she also thanked the Council for telling her the names of the two Jedi that had entered the room. "I come before you to ask that you aid me and my planet. We are in a terrible state right now and need all the help we can get."

Obi-Wan was only half listening as the healer introduced herself, because he was busy looking at her. She was a light green color with a slight shimmer, which reminded him of a clear sea on a sunny day. She was nearly Qui-Gon's height, but with a much smaller frame that made her look almost too thin. She had dark green hair down to her waist, which was tied into thousands of intricate braids and was held back by a clasp. Her face was simple, yet had a hidden beauty.

She had eyes of a bright blue, which stood out greatly in contrast to her light green skin. Her nose was small and barely noticeable, but left enough of impression so that one knew she could breath through it. She had very fine lips, which were a light pink color and held a small curve to them almost as if she was smiling at some hidden humor. Obi-Wan wondered what species she was; he wager a close ancestor of humanoid.

The young boy stole a glance to his Master and saw that Qui-Gon appeared to be paying close attention to every word she said, and the younger Jedi realize he should start as well.

"My name is Kat'in Sumber, and I am from the small planet Vitta. We have always kept to ourselves and never asked much of the Republic. Yet, now I come to your Council to ask of help. We are dying, Master Jedi. You may not be familiar with the planet Vitta, but we are composed of a race known as Missean. Missean are closely related with humans except for one slight change. We drink salt water instead of your water. Our body then uses the salt to keep ourselves hydrated. As you can see our skin is a green color, that is because of the nutrients which we get from out water.

"Now, everything was fine on Vittan until a band of humans came to our planet nearly four years ago. They were kind and never had a problem with us until almost six months ago. Somehow, they decided that they wanted to rule Vitta. They have taken over all our salt-water reservoirs and slowly our people dying. Everyday I have another Missean come to my hospital pale and sickly. They are dying of dehydration. Over the next couple of days, which they are in the hospital, they slowly pass on. First, they lose the ability to talk because their throat is so parched and swollen. Next, their skin on their face cracks because of the lack of moisture. Finally, they cannot breathe because their throat is closing up. And that is how they die...they suffocate to death. I can only assume that this is a scary and frightening way to die. Sadly, there is nothing we can do for them because we have no water."

Kat'in pause for a moment to collect her thoughts. "We are a peaceful civilization; we believe in the way things were thousands of years ago. We live like our ancestors. We have no technology, for example, for me to get here I used on of the human's ships, which had been abandoned. With our people dying we have nothing to save them with. Our healers can offer nothing, and neither can our government. To wage war would only prove deadly for the Missean, the humans have weapons and we have nothing but what our planet offers us."

Kat'in stopped her speech and waited to see if either Jedi had any questions. When no one spoke, the healer continued.

"All I ask is that you come to Vitta with me and try stop the humans from controlling our water. Once we have our water again, we can make a treaty with the humans."

Qui-Gon finally broke the Missean's speech. "Why do you think the humans on Vitta took over, and why do you feel that once you have your water back you can gain control again?" Obi-Wan knew exactly what his Master was getting at. "What makes you think the second time around you can stop the humans?"

Kat'in knew this question would come up and was surprised it took this long for someone to ask.

Taking a deep breath the healer began. "When the humans first came to Vitta, our people did not want them there. Our Fathers thought that they were bad omens. Yet, we allowed them to stay, on a temporary trial, of course. Four years, we lived in peace with them. Our Fathers and their leaders were very peaceful together and just let each other lead their own people. But, then their leader died and his son, Prince Tekit, was put in charge. As with many leaders, he only wanted power and knew he could get power over us. That was almost a year ago. As time went he realized that we weren't as easy to take over if we had full strength, thus he took away our water. Now without our water we are weak and easily controlled."

Qui-Gon nodded at the healer's story; it made perfect sense and he had seen it before. A new, ruthless leader wants to control a planet and takes over the weaker, or in this case, the less advanced civilization. Patiently, the Jedi Master listened to Kat'in explain the rest of her story.

"I can understand your confusion at how we could take back our planet. There is another human heir from the original leader. It is a young girl of nineteen standard years. She was the second born, so is the second in line to rule the humans. She has agreed that if we can gain some control back from her brother, she will have a coup and take over rule. She has guaranteed us the same co-existence that we had originally with the humans." Taking a break to catch her thoughts and to allow the information to sink in, Kat'in paused for a moment. "So, all we need to do is take back our water, and things will be back to the way they were originally."

Now that she had finished, the healer prayed that this Jedi Master was as understanding as the Council.

"Very well. My Padawan and I will accompany you to Vitta and help you with the humans."

Kat'in wanted to run over and give the Jedi a giant hug, but instead she remained planted and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you so much, Master Jedi. Your help is greatly appreciated by myself and my whole planet."

Qui-Gon gave the healer a small smile and turned back towards the Council. "Master Yoda, if we may be excused to get ready?"

Yoda nodded. "Yes, get ready you must. May the Force be with you both."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bowed and left the Council room. Kat'in bowed again and watched them leave. Another Council member spoke to the young lady.

"Healer Sumber, we wish you the best of luck with your planet and may the Force be with you, also."

The healer smiled and bowed deeply to all the Council Members. "I wish to thank all of you for your help. Without the Jedi my people would surely die, now we have hope of survival. Thank you ever so much." All the Council Members smiled at the healer. Her gratitude was sincere and made all the Members feel proud at being able to help out her planet.

"I'll leave you now and get the ship ready. Thank you again." Kat'in smiled and with a quick turn, left the Council room. She made her way to the ship and got it ready for her home with her two saviors.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan followed his Master out of the Council room and walked silently while Qui-Gon lead the way back to their apartment. All the while, the boy was going over the details of their newest mission. Since being Qui-Gon's apprentice, Obi-Wan learned never to try and judge a mission by just the facts. Sometimes the hardest sounding missions went the easiest and the easiest ones were the deadliest. But, as Obi-Wan entered his home he shared with his Master, he could not help but feel a pit in his stomach about this mission. He, as he often coined, had a bad feeling about this.

Of course, his Master would tell him to concentrate on the here and now and not focus on his anxiety, so Obi-Wan decided to keep his thoughts and feelings to himself for the time being. The Jedi made their way to their apartment and the younger one made his way into his room as his Master went to his.

"Padawan, how long till you'll be ready?" Qui-Gon called from the living room to his Padawan.

"Just five minutes, Master." Obi-Wan finished shoving objects in his bag for the mission and quickly looked around to make sure he did not forget something. The young Jedi bent down quickly and grab his bag, as soon as he stood up, sharp pain waves cut through his skull. Not wanting Qui-Gon to worry, Obi-Wan threw up his mental shields and began to deal with his pain.

It felt as if a knife was jabbing his head and sending pain all the way down to his toes. The young boy grabbed his head and collapsed to the ground in a fit of pain; groaning the young Jedi felt tears come to his eyes. Suddenly, as quickly as the pain had come, it stopped and Obi-Wan was left lying on the floor with tears running down his cheeks. Slowly and carefully, the boy rose to his feet and grabbed his bag again. The pain in his head was now reduced to a dull pounding as the apprentice made his way to his Master.

"Ready, Padawan?"

Obi-Wan put on a front and smiled to the older Jedi. "Yes, I am."

"Well, shall we? I believe Kat'in will be waiting." Qui-Gon grabbed his own bag and moved out of the apartment, with his apprentice in tow.

Obi-Wan swallowed hard and put the pain in his head aside; it was time to concentrate on the mission before him.

~~~~~~

Master and Padawan walked through the Jedi hallways on their way towards the docking bay where Kat'in's ship would be waiting to take them to Vitta. Obi-Wan followed his Master and again felt the anxiety of the mission
creeping through his body. He could not place where his feelings were coming from, but he felt that the Force was trying very had to alert him to some danger. No matter how hard he tried, since he had left the Council room these feelings of danger had been in his head

"Don't focus on what may happen in the mission, Obi-Wan. Just look at the facts and we will see what will happen once we get there." Qui-Gon never faltered in his step as he talked to his apprentice. The boy, on the other hand, had slowed down and cursed his bad shields and allowing his Master to read his thoughts so easily. Picking up his pace some, the apprentice got behind his Master again.

"Yes, Master, I will try to do that." Too late, the young Jedi realized what had said.

"Do or do not-" The Padawan quickly cut off his Master.

"There is no try. Thank you for that wonderful insight, Master." Obi-Wan quickly ducked the soft swing Qui-Gon playfully made at his head. "I do believe beating one's apprentice is against some Jedi Code."

For the first time since leaving the room, the older Jedi stopped and faced his apprentice. "Actually, I don't believe it is against a Code. Hmmm...I'll have to look into that, though." With that said, he started off towards the ships again, with a chuckling Obi-Wan behind him.

~~~~~~

Kat'in watched as the two Jedi came closer to her ship. It was all set for Vitta, and the healer realized she had never felt more nervous in her life. While she was with the Council she was all business; she had to save her planet. Yet, now that the Jedi had agreed to help, she felt lost. What was she suppose to do with them for the two-day journey? As a young child she had heard much about the power of the Jedi and always felt a bit fearful of them.

Now, she had two that would be in close contact with her for two days; the thought made her hands begin to shake. As she was lost in her own thoughts, the young lady did not hear the ramp open and nearly had a heart attack when she turned around and came face to face with an older man. She let out a small yelp of surprise before realizing who was standing in front of her.

"Master Jedi, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you enter. If you would get seated we will take off shortly." Kat'in tried to hide her trembling by moving around and fixing certain dials.

"That will be fine. My apprentice and I will seat ourselves and await any news you have for us."

Qui-Gon turned around to speak to his apprentice, but noticed the boy was busy stretching and twisting his neck. Obi-Wan was not paying attention to his Master, rather to the very stiff neck, which he seemed to acquired. Finally, after a few more moves he opened his eyes and saw he was being watched.

Rather than apologize, the boy decided to explain. "My neck appears to have stiffened and I was attempting to stretch it out."

The older Jedi nodded his head and patted Obi-Wan on the shoulder. " Very well Padawan, let us go to our seats. We will be taking off shortly."

Kat'in watched the backs of the Jedi move out of the cockpit and sighed a breath of relief. For a bit longer, she could avoid the Jedi and focus on the ship and getting home. The healer worked as fast as she dared to, and before long, the ship was taxing and then in the air. The exhilaration of flight was lost on Kat'in as she worried about both the long, tedious flight with the Jedi and her planet's inhabitants.

The ship soon found itself soaring through the blackness of space, and with a quick check at the coordinates, Kat'in made the ship ready for hyperdrive. Taking her seat and settling in, she quickly put the ship and its passengers into hyperspace.

After double checking everything and making sure the ship would be okay, the healer regretfully rose to her feet and made her way to the back of the ship where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were sitting.

~Come on Kat'in, they're not going to bite you~

Straightening her back, the healer moved gracefully into the passenger section.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan relished the first jolt, which the ship made when it was set into hyperdrive. It was a feeling that never lost its charm. All too quickly, the apprentice's body got use to hyperspace and soon it felt no different than normal travel in a space car. Sighing, he opened his seat restraint and stood to stretch. He noticed his Master was doing the same.

"That was enjoyable." The quote had become quite the motto of Obi-Wan when he and his Master had a comfortable take-off.

"Yes, it was. Now, why don't you stretch out a bit more and then we can meditate for our mission." The older Jedi pretended not to notice the small roll of eyes his Padawan gave him. He knew the boy did not enjoy meditation all that much, but to have him meditate before a mission was simply imperative. He needed the boy to focus on the mission and the mission alone; nothing else could distract either of them.

Obi-Wan slowly relaxed and stretched his muscles until he felt he was ready to run a marathon. In reality, he only wanted to delay meditations so that they would be shorter. After as much stalling as he dared, the Padawan sat down on what looked to be the most comfortable space on the floor. Closing his eyes, he began to focus on the mission ahead.

The Jedi Master watched his apprentice stretch and stretch...and stretch, he was just about to say something when he saw Obi-Wan begin to sit down. The young boy nimbly crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Qui-Gon regarded him for a few more moments, loving the silence, which allowed him peace. And then, moving much like his apprentice, the older man sat down and began his meditations.

~~~~~~

Kat'in entered the section of the ship where the Jedi would be. She looked around and found the Master and Apprentice sitting on the floor; both in the same manner. Their legs were crossed and they had their eyes closed. Kat'in thought they looked to be asleep.

~They're meditating, you idiot~ She smiled to herself and her thoughts. ~Of *course* they're meditating~

Moving inwards, the healer took a seat and closed her eyes. She felt herself drift into sleep as the ship slowly cut through the vastness of space.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan slowly came out of his meditation when his Master silently told him he could. As much as he hated to admit it, and never would to his Master (he would get too much satisfaction), he did feel better and more focused on the mission. He opened his eyes and came back to the world in the ship. His Master was also opening his eyes.

"Hello." The young boy smiled impishly at the older Jedi, and Qui-Gon smiled back.

"Hello, Padawan. How were your meditations?"

"They went well, Master. How were yours?"

Qui-Gon rose to his feet as he spoke and also offered a hand to help Obi-Wan up. "They went very well."

Both Jedi were now standing and suddenly became aware of Kat'in's presence. The Missean healer was sleeping lazily in a chair with her head tilted back. Her long, braided hair was sweeping on the floor and she had drawn her long legs drawn up to her chest. The Jedi Master slowly bent down to her and gently woke her.

"Healer Sumber." His voice was little over a whisper, but the Missean was brought out of her nap by it.

At first, Kat'in had forgotten where she was, yet, once she laid eyes on Qui-Gon it all came back to her. She straightened her legs and rose to her feet as quickly as her still half-asleep body would allow her.

"I am terribly sorry, Master Jedi. I must have dozed off." The healer bowed in respect to the older Jedi.

Qui-Gon quickly spoke to the her. "Please do not apologize, Healer Sumber."

The women smiled at the Jedi. "Call me Kat'in, it sounds less impersonal."

"Then you must call me Qui-Gon." The healer and older Jedi smiled at one another, Obi-Wan stood silently off to the side.

After a few moments of waiting, the young Padawan decided to take it upon his self to start conversation. "Healer Kat'in, you said in the Council Room something about your Fathers. I was curious, what are the Fathers?"

Kat'in took a deep breath before she started telling them about her Fathers.

"The Missean of Vitta are governed by the Fathers. The Fathers are the eldest and more intelligent beings on Vitta. Every ten years a new group of Fathers are voted in so that they keep new ideas and new views circulating. As of now we have seven Fathers, however you can have up to ten at a given time."

Qui-Gon interrupted the healer. "It sounds almost more of a dictatorship."

Kat'in nodded at the comment made by the Jedi. It would take hours to explain the finer points of the Father's government. A thought came to the healer; she *did* have hours to spare. With a deep breath, Kat'in plunged ahead with information about her home planet.

"When Vitta was first discovered, no one knew what to do with the planet. There was no water that was not salt water. Yet, slowly more people began to come to the planet. Some would stay; others would leave. It depended on the tenacity and the determination of the person who landed on Vitta. Some stayed and tried to change the salt water into fresh water; some even tried to drink just the salt water. However, it was not until Atsal Undi found the planet that finally someone could live there with the salt water. Atsal was a Missean and thus could drink the salt water. He was so surprised to find a planet, which he could fit in perfectly that he went and gathered his friends and family.

"Over time Vitta became highly populated and the Missean were flourishing. The only problem was that there were no leaders; no one to control them. The peace, which was on Vitta, soon became violence with mobs and others gangs. Even though, Atsal was an old man by this time and he quickly began to come up with ideas to get Vitta organized. Sadly, Atsal died before he could make any progress. His son, Arsal, continued his father's work. After years and years of working and striving to get peace back on Vitta, he had a break through."

At this point, Kat'in was well aware that she was going on and on in monotone. She prayed that the Jedi either were kind enough to not fall asleep or that (much too her surprise) she was entertaining them. She caught Obi-Wan's eye and the young boy nodded in encouragement for her to continue. She smiled back and did continue.

"The break through, which he had, was because of Atsal. He had found a hidden note and plans for a government, which consisted of five to ten men, who ran Vitta by a democracy. Arsal quickly put his father's plan into action and within a few months the Fathers had been formed. Over the years there were problems. Some did not want others leading them, whereas others felt assured by the Fathers. Yet, time after time the Father prevailed and helped the Misseans through their hardest times.

"Now, the Fathers are more of a reassurance than leaders. We have votes to elect who will be a Father. Anytime we want a new law or a law changed; we have a vote. The people do, indeed, get their say." Kat'in paused for a moment and licked her lips before continuing. "I know it may sound like we are being ruled or cajoled into things we don't want. I can assure you we are nothing like Kegan. I have heard what that planet was like, and I give you my word the Fathers are nothing like that. And soon, you will be able to see out government for yourselves."

The Missean healer stopped speaking and swallowed hard to get moisture back to her dry throat. Neither Jedi made a move to speak or to question, and Kat'in hoped that she had explained her planet's government well enough.

Qui-Gon sat still and absorbed all the Vittan information he had received. The type of government reminded the young boy a bit of the Jedi Council. The Master sincerely hoped that the healer's claim that the planet was nothing like Kegan was true. He didn't know if he could handle another Kegan or if Obi-Wan could handle another Learning Center.

"Your government sounds very well formed, and I do hope it is as you say." The healer decided not to reply to the Jedi Master and instead just nodded.

The younger Jedi, however, was not aware of the silence, he was simply aware of another headache . For some reason, he had been able to block out the pain (or maybe it had not existed) while the healer had been speaking. But now, he could only concentrate on the pain. His head felt like it was on fire, and all the young boy wanted was to sit in a nice dark room with a nice warm bed. Right now, though, he could have neither.

He didn't noticed when the healer had excused herself to check on the coordinates, or when his Master went to get some dinner. All Obi-Wan was aware of was the dull throbbing which had seem to take over his whole head. More importantly though, he was not aware of the fact that this headache was more than a headache. It was a sign, a premonition, of danger that was to come for the young Padawan.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan continued to stare at the ceiling in his small sleeping room. It had to be close to one in the morning and he had been lying in bed for close to three hours now. After both his Master and the Missean healer had returned they all sat down for a nice dinner. They ate in a comfortable silence and just enjoyed the calming noises of the ship. After dinner, Kat'in had gone back to the cockpit to make sure all was set for the night, while Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had gone through some short exercises. After a few hours of soothing katas, the younger Jedi had excused himself for bed.

That was at close to ten o'clock.

The apprentice heard his Master come to bed and pretended to be sleeping; that was close to two hours ago. The young boy had been trying to fall asleep, but his head had been such a bother that he had *yet* to fall into a restful sleep. He had nodded off for a few minutes here and there, but each time he was awakened by the pain in his head. Now things were getting ridiculous; he had to be up in less than five hours and *needed* his sleep.

Throwing the covers off of him, Obi-Wan fluffed his pillow and laid back down. Closing his eyes, the young boy tried yet *again* to fall asleep...

...and quickly woke up again. Groaning a little too loudly, Obi-Wan grabbed his blanket again and tried another position. He shut his eyes and prayed sleep would find him.

Qui-Gon watched his apprentice as the boy moved around in his bed. It was obvious the young Jedi could not fall asleep, and the Jedi Master wondered why his Padawan was having such trouble.

~Certainly he can't be worried about the mission~ Qui-Gon knew Obi-Wan would be excited about a mission, but he had never known the boy to be worried enough about a mission that it kept him awake. The older man waited a few moments as his apprentice appeared to fall sleep, but the Master soon realized Obi-Wan was, in fact, not asleep, rather he was just not fidgeting about.

Moving quietly, Qui-Gon removed himself from his bed and moved to the younger Jedi's bed.

"Padawan?" He kept his voice soft and attempted not to scare his apprentice.

It did not work, and Obi-Wan jumped nearly off his bed. Obviously he was *not* aware that his Master had gotten out of his bed.

"Master! I'm sorry; you startled me." The young boy had caught his breath and was now looking up at the older Jedi.

"Are you okay? You seem to have difficulty falling asleep." Obi-Wan felt like smacking himself in the forehead; he had awaken his Master.

"I'm terribly sorry, I just don't seem able to fall asleep."

Qui-Gon regarded his Padawan in the dark room. He had no reason not to believe his apprentice, yet he had a nagging feeling there was more of a reason why the boy could not fall asleep.

"Why can you not fall asleep?"

"Uh...'m not completely sure." The young Jedi rationalized, it was not a complete lie, just not the complete truth. He knew why he could not fall sleep, but in truth he did not know why he had his headache. Obi-Wan realized that was a terribly lame conviction, but he went with it anyway.

Qui-Gon nodded and moved a bit away from his apprentice's bed. "Well, try to get some sleep, Padawan."

Obi-Wan listened until his Master was back in his bed before he placed a hand over his eyes and rubbed his tired face. All he wanted was to sleep and be rid of this headache that had plagued him all day.

Closing his eyes, the young Jedi took deep, calming breaths and began to center himself in the Force. After close to fifteen minutes, Obi-Wan felt himself begin to drift asleep and by two o'clock the young boy was *finally* sleeping peacefully.

Across the room, however, his Master was now wide-awake and worried about his apprentice. The older Jedi could not help but shake the feeling that he was over looking something with his Padawan and his behavior.

~~~~~~

Kat'in rose early in the morning and took the ship out of hyperdrive. In a few hours they would be on her home planet speaking with the Fathers. The healer made everything set and exited the cockpit to let the two Jedi know they would be landing soon.

Qui-Gon sat on the chair and rested his head on his hands. He was exhausted after the night he had. After his apprentice had awakened him and spoke with him, he never fell back asleep. The rest of the night he spent worrying about his Padawan. Of course he had no real idea *why* he was so worried for the boy; he just *was*.

The Jedi Master did not hear Kat'in come in until she sat down in the chair by his. She looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Rough night?" Qui-Gon almost snorted at the healer's understandment.

"I guess you could say that. How was your night?"

Kat'in shrugged her shoulders. "As well as can be expected given the condition." The Missean healer waved her hands indicating the ship. "I could never get use to having to live on a ship."

Qui-Gon nodded his head in near agreement. "Well, you get use to it."

The conversation lapsed into silence when Obi-Wan came out of the cabin he shared with his Master. The young boy looked almost identical to his Master in regards to the pale skin and bags under the eyes. Kat'in quickly gathered that whatever had kept the Master up at night had done the same for the apprentice or vice versa.

Obi-Wan slowly made his way into the room and said his good mornings to those present. In a state of, Qui-Gon rationalized, near unconsciousness, the young boy made his way to a wall and leaned against it. Slowly, he slid down the wall and ended up sitting on the floor.

"Sleep well?" Kat'in realized her attempt on humor was not welcomed as she receive an 'are you crazy' look from the young Jedi.

Qui-Gon stood and stretched. "In a few moments we're going to begin practice, Padawan."

The Jedi Master then made his way out of the room and into the cabin to get changed.

Obi-Wan sighed and rose to his feet. He mimicked his Master in the stretches and turned to Kat'in.

"If you'll excuse me." T he young Jedi began to move away.

"Do you enjoy it?" The Missean healer had not meant to blurt anything out, but somehow her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

Obi-Wan turned around to face the young women with a questioning expression on his face. "Enjoy what?"

"Being a Jedi and everything that goes along with it." Kat'in watched as the Padawan walked back into the room and took the seat once occupied by his Master. Obi-Wan smiled at the healer as he collected his thoughts. He had been asked this question many times before and found it rather easy to answer.

"Yes, I enjoy it very much." He took a breath before he began to speak again, but he suddenly heard his name being called by his Master.

The young Jedi gave the healer a crooked smile and stood up. "I'm sorry, I must be going, but perhaps I may speak with you later." Obi-Wan moved out of the room while Kat'in stayed seated. The young healer sighed deeply and moved back to the cockpit while the Jedi did their thing.

~~~~~~

It was the loud crash and the grunt that followed which brought the Missean healer out of the cockpit and into the body of the ship. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. The Jedi apprentice was picking himself off the ground while parrying the blows his Master aimed at him. Finally, the boy got completely to his feet and faced off against the older man. Kat'in watched, mesmerized by the sight of these two graceful fighters.

The Jedi would attack and defend each other with such ease, the healer thought she could be witnessing a ballet. Qui-Gon made an attempt to knock his Padawan's feet out from under him, but the younger Jedi, sensing the attack a second before it happened, jumped safety out of harm's way. Obi-Wan then tried his own attacked on the Jedi Master with a fake to his left and then a quick jab to his right. The attack missed Qui-Gon, but did give the apprentice a bit more space to deal with.

Kat'in stood in the doorway and continued to watch. She held her breath everytime it looked someone was going to lose, and she would let the air out in a sigh when the said Jedi moved and continued to fight. However, the younger Jedi got himself pinned against the wall and his Master tried to jab him on the right side, Obi-Wan moved, but that was what Qui-Gon expected. He grabbed the apprentice's left shoulder and soon the older Jedi had his Padawan on the ground with his green lightsaber at his throat.

The older man flicked off his lightsaber and held out his hand to his grounded apprentice. The boy took the offered hand and pulled himself off the floor of the ship.

"You did well, Padawan. You just assumed that I would have continued with my attack. You need to think of others options before you choose the right one." The Jedi Master clapped Obi-Wan on the shoulder.

"Yes, Master." Neither Jedi noticed Kat'in until they had turned around and saw her watching from the doorway. She stepped into the room with a polite smile on her face.

"I heard the noise and wanted to see what was going on. I must say that's the most intriguing thing I've seen in a long time." Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon both smiled at her and shared a quick look with each other.

The Missean healer witnessed the exchanged of glances and could not help the amused smile. The Jedi, though they would never admit it, found her comment very welcomed.

"But I hadn't come back to watched you to spare, I wanted to inform you we will be landing on Vitta in a few hours."

"Thank you for that information. Now if you'll excuse us, we must get ready for our departure." Kat'in nodded and left the room while the Master and Apprentice went to clean up.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan finished cleaning up and came out to the ship's cockpit where he found his Master and Kat'in. The boy smiled as he walked and was tempted to hum a song due to the fact that he had yet to experience a headache. On top of that, he spared with his Master and felt good about how well he had kept up with the older Jedi.

Now, they would be landing on Vitta and the apprentice felt a little better about the mission before him.

Kat'in slowly descended the ship to the planet which loomed in front of her. The healer navigated the aircraft past the planet's atmosphere and finally landed on a small strip of land.

Wasting no time, all three occupants exited the craft and made their way further onto Vitta. Kat'in walked a ways in front of the two Jedi, whom had fallen into the standard position with Qui-Gon in front and Obi-Wan behind and to the left. The young women continued her fast pace, knowing the Jedi could keep up and also knowing that she was running short on time.

The Jedi Master followed the healer keeping his eyes forward, yet absorbing any important information about the planet Vitta. His eyes darted around swiftly as he would make a mental image of his surroundings.

His apprentice, however, was not quite as discreet as his Master. Obi-Wan's head was moving from side to side as he took in Vitta . The planet was simple looking. The ground, which he walked on, consisted of sand that was a light yellow color. Around him, stood trees, but none were on the path that the three of them were walking.

The sky above was much paler than the one that Obi-Wan had grown up under on Coruscant, but it was peaceful and bright nonetheless.

The young Jedi was busy trying to look for water that he almost did not stop in time and had to hold himself upright as to not crash into his Master. Qui-Gon slowly turned around and gave Obi-Wan a squint of his eyes. The look told the Padawan enough, he could almost hear his Master- 'pay attention and be aware, Obi-Wan'.

The younger Jedi took a step back so not to be right on his Master back and waited to see why they had stopped. His wait was not long and he soon saw seven very tall, and large, men advance towards them.

The seven men were the same color as Kat'in, however they lacked the dark green hair she had. The all wore long, lose robes of a pale tan color.

Their faces were expressionless, but had the same delicate features as Kat'in. They held no emotion as they made their way towards the three companions. Kat'in was the first to move as she walked closer to the men. Once she was in front of the men she moved to her knees and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for meeting us my Fathers. We are honored by your presence."

Both Jedi also bowed to the Fathers and waited for the healer to speak next.

Kat'in turned around and beckoned the Jedi forward, once they were beside her she introduced them. "Fathers, this is Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. They are the help from the Jedi Council that we requested." The Missean healer continued her introductions. "And these are our Fathers."

The two groups nodded to each other in a sort of acknowledgment.

"We are very glad to be of service to the Missean and hope we can help." Qui-Gon spoke to the Fathers as the group began walked.

One of the Fathers spoke. "We hope that you Jedi can help us, also. Our planet is in grave danger and each day, more and more people are coming into our hospitals dying."

Another Father spoke up. "While Healer Kat'in was reaching the Council, we have tried to speak with the humans again. However, our efforts not only didn't work, but proved to be disastrous for us."

"The human have now began to form an army and are threatening to advance on our homes. We fear that if you do not act soon, they will attack us."

"We will request to speak with the Prince as soon as we are settled." Qui-Gon turned to his apprentice and smiled down at the young boy. Obi-Wan matched his Master's eyes and could see the hidden meaning behind the deep blue eyes.

They need not to share any words with theirs mouths or even through the Force; they both knew what the other was thinking.

There was danger ahead on this mission and the Jedi needed to be cautious.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan followed behind his Master and the Missean as they made their way towards, what he thought to be the palace. Slowly, he began to notice that their were more Missean around and concluded they were getting closer to a town. After a few more minutes of walking, the young Jedi saw the first Missean building. It was much like the buildings he had see in old books around the Temple.

The houses were made of bricks and wood. Their structure was a simple design; there was a square base and a triangular roof. Obi-Wan became fascinated as he walked further into a town; it was like he was stepping into the past. Everywhere he looked it reminded him of pictures he had seen from a time long ago. There were wood gates, which separated houses. There were old buildings, which were all constructed like the first house he had seen. However, the most prominent feature, Obi-Wan noticed, was that there were no transports of any type. Every Missean was walking around the town.

Suddenly, the apprentice looked up and saw the one building that stood out from the older ones around. The building rose off of the ground nearly five stories and each story was a different pale color. There were green vines, which framed each level. Out in front of the building was a large fountain, and spray jets of a pink liquid flew into the air out of its base. All around the building, there were bright flowers that complemented the pale building perfectly.

Obi-Wan continued to follow and soon he found himself at the door of this large building. A Father turned to the Jedi.

"This is our place of residence. You can see it appears younger than the buildings around it. That is because nearly seven years ago our old home burnt down. This is what was built." e used a hand to gesture the palace. "It may seem a bit extravagant for us, but, in truth, we haven't had the heart to tear it down."

The Father turned back around and opened the large doors into their home.

The inside of the Father's home was quite the opposite from the outside. The inside was *plain*. The walls were a sickly tan color and the floors were a dark gray color. Obi-Wan felt as if he, in his brown robes, stood out like
he was wearing bright yellow. The young Padawan did not have time focus much on his surroundings, as he was lead into a small meeting room.

The room held only a large round table with chairs around it. The Fathers all moved and took seats next to each other. Kat'in, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan all took seats across from the Fathers. For a few moments no one spoke, but simply looked at one another. The Fathers all shared a sideways glance and then one spoke.

"As we had said, the humans have begun to form an army and we fear they made be planning an attack on us."

Qui-Gon placed his palms on the table in front of him and leaned forward to speak. "As soon as we are settled, my apprentice and I will go to the humans and speak with the Prince to see if we cannot put an end to this."

The Fathers all nodded, and one spoke. "I feel that tomorrow may be the best time for you to go, since it is getting late."

Obi-Wan glanced at his Master as the man nodded and then looked at the Fathers. It was odd how the Fathers all seemed to act as one person. Once one had finished speaking, another took over where that one left off. They all appeared to share the same point of view also. The Jedi Padawan realized that perhaps this was a very adequate way to run a planet. It seemed that if the Fathers did not agree on something they would debate until they did.

"Padawan?" Obi-Wan rushed back to reality when he heard his name being called. His eyes focused and he saw that his Master was standing up from his chair and that the Fathers had left. Blushing slightly, the young Jedi rose to his feet.

"Where are we going, Master?"

The boy knew if he had been paying attention he would know, but since he had not been, he had to ask.

"To our rooms." The response was short and curt. It left Obi-Wan knowing that his Master was disappointed in his failure to pay attention.

"I'm sorry for my inability to pay attention during the last part of the meeting." Obi-Wan kept his head a bit lower as he apologized to his Master . Qui-Gon stopped walking out of the room to face his ashen-faced apprentice.

"That's quite all right, Padawan. Just in the future try to be a little more aware." The young Jedi looked up to his Master and smiled. The older Jedi placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

"Let's get settled in our room, now." Qui-Gon turned and headed back out of the meeting room.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan placed his bag next to his bed in the room which he was sharing with his Master. The quarters, were much the same as the ones they had at the Temple. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen. By the table, which was close to the kitchen, there were two other chairs. The room was a light blue color and all else in the room was a shade of blue.

The young boy finished taking things out of his bag and placed them in their correct spot when his Master called for him. The young Jedi left his room to see why Qui-Gon had asked for him.

He found the older Jedi sitting on the floor, and instantly knew what he was called for. The boy sighed and moved next to his Master.

"Meditations, Master?" Qui-Gon smiled at his Padawan.

"Don't sound too thrilled." The apprentice bit his lower lip to suppress a sheepish grin. "However, as excited as you may have been for meditations, I really just wanted to speak to you about our mission."

Obi-Wan sat down in front of his Master. "What would you like to talk about, Master?"

"Well, how do you feel about this mission?"

The young Jedi cast his eyebrows downward in concentration before replying. "I'm not sure. I feel that there is perhaps trouble ahead, but I am uncertain as to where it's coming from."

Qui-Gon nodded at Obi-Wan's assessment of the situation. "That is what I feel also, Padawan."

Both Jedi fell into a thoughtful silence as they tried to gain some insight as to where their feelings were coming from. A knock at the door made them both move to their feet and to the door.

Qui-Gon opened the door and came face to face with Kat'in. The Missean healer smiled warmly and without a word held out a tray. Obi-Wan had made his way next to his Master and noticed the healer.

"Hello, Healer Kat'in." Qui-Gon moved aside and allowed the young woman entrance to their quarters. Kat'in moved in and placed the tray on a table.

"I realized you hadn't had dinner yet, so I've brought you some." The healer pulled off the top and revealed the Jedi's dinner. "I hope you enjoy our native dish, humono."

Both Jedi bent down and observed the odd dish on the plate before them. Humono look like little brown cubes with a green sauce over them. Obi-Wan looked to his Master and swallowed deeply.

/Do you think it's safe, Master?/

/Don't be ridiculous, of course's it's safe. Try some/

The young Padawan looked up to his Master and gave him a look that said 'are you crazy?'

/You first. You're supposed to guide me and be my teacher. Teach me what's in *this*/

Qui-Gon stared sideways at his apprentice before taking a piece of the humono. He chewed it and swallowed the strange meal.

/Well?/ Obi-Wan wanted to wait until he had his Master's okay before he tried it.

/It's surprisingly good/

Wanting to over-come his hunger, the younger Jedi took a piece of the humono and ate it much like his Master. The older Jedi was correct, it did taste *really* good. The strange cube had a taste unlike anything Obi-Wan had ever had. It was impossible to explain exactly what it tasted like, so he did not try and instead helped himself to some more.

Qui-Gon shook his head at his Padawan's appetite as he took another piece of the humono.

/Save some for someone else/

Obi-Wan stopped his hand in mid-reach for another piece and backed away from the meal, leaving the last piece for his Master. The older Jedi smiled at his apprentice and ate the last piece of humono.

All the while, Kat'in stood off to the side and witnessed the Jedi's exchange. She knew they had to be communicating in some way and wish she understood them a little better. However, even without vast knowledge, she did understand one important fact about the Master and Padawan before her. She knew, beyond any doubt, that they were the most important people in each other's lives.

She could sense the deep love and devotion that they had for each other and found she was envious of them. She had a wonderful childhood, with parents who loved her deeply, but she never experienced anything like the Jedi in front of her. She wished that she could have someone in her life that knew everything about her and loved her for that it.

Kat'in sighed and smiled as she watch Obi-Wan give his Master the last pieces of humono. Yes, she truly knew they were closer than anyone else she knew.

The two Jedi finished their meal and thanked the Missean healer for it. All three moved further into the room and Qui-Gon offered Kat'in one of the two chairs not at the table. She took the offered chair and Qui-Gon took the other one. Obi-Wan grabbed a chair from the table and join the other two adults.

The young Jedi waited patiently for someone to speak and when no one decided to break the ice, he took it upon himself to do so.

"Healer Sumber, how did your family get to Vitta?" Kat'in smiled warmly at the boy.

"Well, when I was a young child my parents separated and I lived with my father. He had an okay job, but he always had to move from place to place to keep it. One day, a friend of ours offered my father a job on Vitta as an engineer. We had never heard of Vitta before and thought we would give it a try." Kat'in felt her face break into a smile. "We were very surprised when we got here, of course. I mean, it was a whole civilization of Missean. Needless to say, my father and I made a home here and I have stayed ever since."

The Missean healer gave a small mournful smile. "After living here for ten years my father died in an explosion when I was twenty."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both gave the Healer a small smile. Judging by her looks, she could not be over twenty-five years of age, so her father's death still had to be hard.

Qui-Gon suddenly seemed to gain some interest in Kat'in. "Why did you become a healer?"

The young lady clasped her hands in front of her and began to tap her thumbs together. "Well, I really can't place my love for healing people on a single experience. I guess the real reason why I wanted to be a healer is because of the joy I see in others' eyes when I help a loved one. It makes everything worthwhile to know I helped to keep that family together."

Obi-Wan smiled at the healer's short speech. She gave it such emotion and he knew she truly loved her job.

"Why do you stay on Vitta with such limited healing ability?" Qui-Gon interrupted his Padawan's private thoughts with his question. However, he turned to Kat'in and listened for her answer.

She bit her bottom lip in thought and finally spoke. "I really think that it is because I know I can make a difference here. On someplace like Coruscant there's so much technology that it's all machines which save someone. I guess I enjoy the challenge of having to use my own resources to save someone." Kat'in paused for a moment, apparently thinking. "Yet, that doesn't mean that I would rather people die because I enjoy a challenge. My main goal is to save people and I would have to say that if I am unable to do so here, then I would gladly send them someplace with technology.

"The only thing you have to realize is that Missean are relatively healthy people. The worst that I have ever gotten is a flu. We have very few accidents because we have limited transportation. T he most dangerous things on Vitta are our explosions, which we use to mine coal for the few machines we do have."

Obi-Wan did not realize he was yawning until he received a sideways look from his Master. The boy blushed.

"I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness, Healer Sumber." K at'in merely smiled in response.

Qui-Gon stood and spoke to the healer. "I do fear that we may be a little tired from the trip here and should get some sleep, so we are rested for tomorrow."

"Of course, I'll let you rest and see you tomorrow." Kat'in rose to her feet and moved towards the door, bidding both Jedi a goodnight.

"Thank you for dinner." Obi-Wan called to the retreating form of the healer.

"You're welcome." With that, Kat'in left the Master and Apprentices' quarters.

The younger Jedi stretched out his neck and heading in the direction of the room he was staying in. "I'm just going to get ready for bed, Master."

Qui-Gon nodded and turned off a light, leaving only the bedroom lights on. "Have a nice night, Padawan, and I will wake you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Master."

Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon shut his bedroom door and then made his way into his room. The young boy did his deeds in the 'fresher and made his way to get changed for bed. He had just pulled his nightshirt over his head when the intense pain hit him. Much like back on Coruscant, Obi-Wan felt a searing pain go from the back of his head down his whole body. He also remembered to throw up his shields as quickly as possible and he hoped his Master had not received any of his pain through the Bond.

He collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball until the pain went away. Once it was gone, he rose to his feet just in time to see his Master rush into his room. T hinking quickly, Obi-Wan grabbed his foot and balanced on his other one.

"Padawan, what's wrong?" Qui-Gon had just laid down when he felt a small trickle pain radiate from his bond with his apprentice.

The young Jedi hated to do it, but he refused to let his Master worry, so he lied. "I rammed my foot into the door. I'll be fine, I'm sorry I startled you. I didn't think to block it, Master."

The older Jedi let out a breath of relief at finding his Padawan, though probably bruise, still fine. "Very well. If you are okay, I'll be going back to bed now." Obi-Wan watched as his Master left his room.

The apprentice put his foot back on the ground and crawled into his bed. He hated lying to the man he loved as a father, but he did not want him to worry at all. They had a mission to concentrate on Qui-Gon and did not need to be worrying about Obi-Wan's headaches.

Before he knew what he was doing, the Padawan felt tears run down his face. As to covering the sounds, he placed his head into his pillow. In truth, *he* was worried that something was wrong with him.

If he was even more truthful with himself, he was afraid that something *was* wrong. Obi-Wan felt his tears come to a stop as sleep slowly fell upon him. Before long, the young boy had drifted into a dreamless and content sleep.

However, deep in the recess of his brain, all was not content. A deadly predator was slowly gaining strength and killing the young, unaware Jedi.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and quickly closed them at the flash of bright, white light. Although he felt his head throbbing, he forced his eyes to open. The white flash came before his eyes again, but he made his eyes stay open. The bright light finally past and Obi-Wan laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. His head ached worse than he had ever known it to.

The apprentice rolled over and looked at the chrono by his bed. It was close to six in the morning and Qui-Gon would be waking him up any minute now. As if he was awaiting his apprentice's thought, his Master entered the room, expecting to find his Padawan in a deep sleep.

He was surprised to see Obi-Wan already rising to his feet, up, and (dare he think it) alert. The young Jedi turned and smiled at the older Jedi.

"Good morning, Master. I hope you slept well."

Qui-Gon returned the smile. "Good morning, also. Yes, I slept well. I hope you did, also."

"Yes, I did." ~Until I woke up with a blinding headache~ Obi-Wan decided to keep the last thought to himself. He moved around his room and gathered all the necessities for the 'fresher. Qui-Gon left his Padawan's room and began to get a breakfast ready.

The apprentice tried to forget his headache as he washed and got dressed. Once he was ready, he moved out to join his Master for breakfast. There was a small cup of juice and a few slices of toast waiting for the young Jedi. Obi-Wan moved and took a seat at the table across from his Master. The Jedi ate their food in silence and thought about the upcoming meeting with the Prince.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan followed his Master as he lead the way out of the residence of the Fathers. They had just exited the large building when Qui-Gon heard the call.

"Master Qui-Gon, please wait!" Both Jedi turned around and saw Kat'in rushing out of the doors. As she ran, her long hair trailed behind her and the light purple robes she was wearing also flowed. The healer stood next to Obi-Wan and struggled to catch her breath. Obviously, she had been running quiet a distance to meet up with the Jedi. Finally, she had calmed herself enough to speak.

"The Fathers and myself wanted to wish you the best of luck, today." Kat'in paused a moment. "I hope all goes well today. Early this morning we had another seven Vittans come to the hospital. I don't want to pressure you,
but please try your best."

Kat'in quickly bowed and left the two Jedi. Both of them suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger ahead. Not for the Vittans, but for their own safety. Neither spoke about the warnings they were receiving through the Force. They had a long walk before them and the time would come.

Obi-Wan continued to center himself in the Force, trying to read into the messages he was getting. Yet, each time he became focus enough he would lose all concentration because of the blinding pain in his head.

He suddenly wished he was back on Coruscant, and back in his home.

The young boy stopped his depressing thoughts and began to center himself on meeting the prince. Next to him, his Master had been thinking over Kat'in words.

Now, the Jedi were imperative to the Missean on Vitta. The longer the prince was in control, the less chance the Misseans had of survival.

Qui-Gon just hoped that the prince would listen to reason and allow the planet to live in peace again.

~~~~~~

Prince Tekit paced around his throne room with his large, expressive robes flying behind him. His sister, Princess Telian, sat quietly in her seat watching her brother wear a hole in the floor. The prince kept glancing nervously at the doors to the throne room as if waiting for them to be pushed in any moment.

"Where are they? They should be here anytime now. You'd think Jedi of all people could be on time for such an important meeting."

Princess Telian could barely hold in the 'humph' she felt in her throat. Her brother really sounded like he owned the world.

"Brother, they'll be here soon enough. Sit down and take a break before you pass out or something worse." Telian rose to her feet and slowly pushed her brother into his, slightly larger, throne chair. "Sit here and I can go see what is taking so long."

Tekit sat in his seat and watched his sister leave the room. Once she was gone, he jumped back out of the chair and began walking again. His nerves were way too high-strung right now to be able to sit and relax, he needed to be doing something; anything.

~~~~~~

The Master and Apprentice finally entered the human establishment on Vitta. It was nothing like where the Misseans lived. The houses all were at least three times larger then where the Misseans lived. They all expressed the wealth that the humans had to have to live in such a place . Obi-Wan suddenly looked up and saw the only place that he knew without ever seeing.

In front of him stood a large, gold covered, palace. There were huge sculptures in front of the massive building which depicted different moments and people in history. All the sculptures were made of either gold or silver and the Jedi apprentice guess that they cost more than the whole home where the Fathers lived.

Walking behind Qui-Gon, he followed his Master as they entered the palace gates (which were also gold). T he two Jedi soon found themselves standing in front of two large doors. Upon closer inspection, the doors had hundreds of tiny carvings in them, that were all hand painted. Once again, Obi-Wan realized that these doors probably cost as much as three Misseans houses.

The older Jedi went to knock on the door when it swooshed open. Qui-Gon glanced down at his Padawan and finally decided it was safe to enter. Once inside, the outside of the palace looked almost run down. Obi-Wan turned his head in every direction to take in all that was around him. Everywhere he turned, there were hand painted pictures of battles or other events in history. On the floor, were huge pots that held even larger flowers.

A young lady suddenly took the young Jedi out of his sightseeing. The girl approached both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan wearing a long, colorful dress. On her head, she had a small silver crown and instantly Obi-Wan realized she had to be the princess. The princess walked to the Jedi and smiled warmly at them.

The Padawan stood silently as he looked at the young lady. She had shoulder length red hair, pulled back slightly by her crown. She had dark emerald eyes and a freckled face. Obi-Wan realized that she looked a lot younger than her nineteen years, yet she still held an aura our power.

The young lady bowed to the Jedi and spoke. "Jedi, my name is Princess Telian and I want to thank you for coming here to speak with my brother on behalf of the Missean." Telian looked around swiftly as if making sure no one was listening.

"I'm afraid I must be brief, because my brother is waiting for you; however, I wish to speak with you later. After my brother sees you, please meet me back here, and we can come to an understanding."

With that said, the princess left the two Jedi alone and on their way to meet the prince.

~~~~~~

Princess Telian moved away from the Jedi and sat down on a nearby bench. The whole situation on Vitta was becoming worse and worse. She wanted to help the Missean, but had to be so discrete that getting anything done was difficult. Finally, she resolved that she had to act if she was to keep her promise to the Fathers on the edge of Vitta.

Taking a deep breath, Princess Telian made her way to speak with the small army she had begun to form.

The princess muttered a small apology to the one person she was going to betray the most. "I'm sorry, brother."

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon came to a halt outside the throne room waiting for someone to let them in. A young boy, no older than ten, came around a corner and stood before the Jedi.

"Prince Tekit will see you now. Please follow me." The boy lead the Jedi through large doors and into the throne room.

Once again, Obi-Wan was floored by the extravagant decor. Large tapestries covered the walls, and beautiful rugs hid the wooden floor beneath. A young man slowly approached the Jedi.

Prince Tekit looked the taller Jedi over from head to foot, obviously sizing the man up He quickly looked to the smaller Jedi and gave the boy a very loud scoff.

Qui-Gon had dealt with stuck-up royalty before and did not allow the young prince's rudeness to phase him. He bowed to the prince and introduced himself and his apprentice.

"Hello, Prince Tekit, my name is Qui-Gon Jinn and this is my Apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi." Knowing he had to be respectful, the boy bowed when his introduction was complete.

The prince stayed silent for a moment. Before the Jedi had entered his throne room, he was a nervous reck. Yet now, he had to show the Jedi who was in charge on the plant.

"My name may be Prince Tekit, however you will refer to me as Your Highness or Revered One." Obi-Wan suppressed a groan as Prince Tekit told the Jedi to refer to him as 'Revered One'.

~How full of himself can one person be?~ The prince had to be no more than a year older than Princess Telian, and, yet, he looked the complete opposite. The prince had dark brown hair that was cut shorter than Obi-Wan's. He had brown eyes that were dull and nowhere near as bright as Telian's green eyes. The prince was also just about an inch taller than the younger Jedi, however he had to weigh almost twenty pounds more.

Obi-Wan thought he looked like a chubby two year-old. However, the young boy kept the thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the prince.

"Now, I believe you came here to speak with me about the Misseans on Vitta. I must say I am less than thrilled to have to listen to you, but I will. So speak." The prince moved back by his large, decortive chair and sat in it.

If Qui-Gon was shocked by the prince's behavior he hid it well. "Your Highness, I feel I must explain to you how in need the Misseans are of their water. They're dying from dehydration."

Prince Tekit threw up a hand to stop the older Jedi. "Stop about the suffering of the Missean. I do not care for them."

Obi-Wan found he could no longer keep silent. "Please, Your Highness, how can you allow innocent people to die?"

The prince stared at the younger Jedi for a few moments before he stood and moved closer to him. Soon, he was standing not a foot in front of the apprentice. Qui-Gon knew it was not his place to do anything, but more than anything, he wanted to smack the insensitive, spoiled prince.

"Listen, Jedi boy, I am the ruler here. You listen to me and only me." To emphasize his point, the slightly taller boy pushed his index finger into Obi-Wan's chest. "You are nothing here. I rule; other's obey."

The young Jedi met the older boy's stare head on and never faltered even when the prince began to lean down closer. Before long, Prince Tekit had his nose only a few inches away from Obi-Wan's, yet the Jedi refused to be intimidated by him.

"I want you to leave now and if I ever see you here again I will personally see that you need your Master to carry you back home." Finally, Prince Tekit moved away from Obi-Wan and knowing he was not welcomed, the boy bowed to the prince.

"Very well, Your Highness. I will wait for my Master outside." The apprentice turned and left his Master, all the while muttering swear words in every language he knew under his breath.

Qui-Gon watched his Padawan leave and knew that the prince would be harder to convince than he had ever thought. He was not angry at Obi-Wan's small input, in fact he was going to say the same thing. He was also not angry at how his Padawan handled the Prince. Moreover, he was growing angry at the stuck-up prince before him.

Tekit turned to the older Jedi. "I hope that you will discipline your apprentice for his outrageous behavior. Severely punish him, if I might add." The prince took a seat back in his chair and threw his leg over the edge.

"I will deal with Obi-Wan how I see fit." The answer seemed to please the young prince for he stayed silent. "Now, Your Highness, may I ask what it would take for you to give the Misseans back their water?"

"I want their land and control over them. After that, they will get their water back. I promise." Prince Tekit began examine and pick at his fingernails.

"I'm afraid that cannot be done, Your Highness. The Missean do not want to be ruled by another. And in fairness they were here first." Qui-Gon could have kicked himself for that last comment.

"Are you siding with those people? How dare you even be in my presence! I know see where your apprentice gets his appalling behavior from." Tekit jumped out of his chair and strolled past Qui-Gon to the door. "You leave. NOW!"

The Jedi Master knew it was over. He bowed to the prince and walked out the door to find his Padawan.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan stood up when his Master exited the throne room, and could instantly tell he had been unsuccessful with the prince. Since, the young Jedi had left the throne room, he meditated to release his feelings into the Force. When he left the stuck-up man, Obi-Wan felt overwhelmed amounts of frustration and anger. Now, although he still felt slightly frustrated towards the prince, he had calmed himself greatly.

His Master approached him and by the look of disgust on his face, the boy knew Qui-Gon would have to do lots of meditations, also.

Obi-Wan began to walk with his Master as they headed towards the front doors of the palace. Before they reached the door, however, Princess Telian stepped out of one of the many corridors.

Telian had waited until she saw the older man leave before she moved towards the two Jedi. She knew her brother had not listened to reason and that he was fuming over what had happened in the throne room. She would attend to him later, now she had to speak with the two people before her.

"Princess Telian." Both Jedi bowed to the young lady before them. The princess graced them with a quick nod of her head.

"Please you must follow me, I need to speak with you in private." Obi-Wan realized that whatever the princess had to say must be important because of her hushed tones.

Qui-Gon motioned for the young lady to go in front of them and soon, both Jedi were following her.

Princess Telian made sure she kept the Jedi hidden as she weaved through her palace. Finally, she came upon the one room she knew they could talk in and not be overheard. Telian entered and soon all three people stood in a small, dark room.

"I am sorry for the secrecy of this meeting, but as you have noticed, my brother is not going to listen to reason."

~That's an understandment. Not going to listen to anyone, but himself is more like it~ Obi-Wan decided to keep the thought to himself and listen to the princess.

"However, I believe what he is doing to the poor Misseans is horrible. My father would never condone what he has done and I feel it is my place to stop him before he does more damage. I had told the Fathers of the Missean that I will help them get their water back and I will.

"I have already gotten a small army ready and plan to over throw my brother in a few days. I know I told the Missean that they would have to gain control back from my brother before I would help, but I feel that the time to act is now." The princess sighed deeply, Qui-Gon considered she was realizing what she was going to be doing against her brother.

"All I want you to know is that in a few days the Missean will have their water back and I will control the humans here. If you could please tell this to the Fathers, I would be grateful. Let them know that I am terribly sorry for what my brother has done and hope that one day the Missean and Humans can live in peace again."

Qui-Gon spoke up for the first time since entering the small space. "We will do that, You Highness, and I wish you the best of luck. You are doing the right thing and I know the Missean are very grateful for your help."

Princess Telian nodded to the older Jedi. "I know this must be done, but I cannot help but worry about what this will do to my brother. However, I have already made the choice and it is final. Now, you must go before anyone wonders where you are. Also, I must go and speak with my brother. Thank you again for your help in coming here."

Princess Telian moved so the two Jedi could exited the room and after a few moments she followed.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon out of the palace, neither Jedi had spoken about the unscheduled meeting with the princess for fear someone could over hear. However, now they were outside of the palace and could speak freely.

"I believe that the princess will be successful in her plan." Obi-Wan felt the Force telling him the same thing his Master had just said.

"I agree, Master. She seems like a very reasonable person. Unlike her brother." The young Jedi really had not meant to say the last comment, but had.

"Obi-Wan, just because the prince does not agree with our views does not make him unreasonable."

The apprentice sighed at his Master. "Yes, I understand that, however he does seem to be very self-centered. I am simply glad that the princess will gain control."

"I agree with you about the princess, Padawan, she will make a strong leader." The Jedi fell into silence as they continued the walk back to the Missean area of the planet.

~~~~~~

Princess Telian entered the room where her brother was. She knew he would be angry over the meeting with the Jedi and hoped she could calm him down some. When she entered the throne room she could see her brother pacing once again. However his stance was different from his nervous pacing earlier. He turned quickly on his feet and his hands were clented in fists by his side.

"Brother, are you well?" Prince Tekit turned and faced his sister. She could see the anger in his eyes and knew that her choice to act soon was correct. Her brother was getting out of control.

"Te, how can I be all right when I was forced to speak with those...those pathetic Jedi. They dare to question me and what I was doing." Tekit began to angrily pace again. "Get me Ven and Xin." Princess Telian obeyed her brother and called in the two bodyguards.

Ven and Xin were the prince's personal bodyguards who had also helped his father. They were, also, two massive humans. Twin brothers who were almost six and a half feet tall. The twins entered and stood by the prince. Next to the tall, large humans, the prince was dwarfed greatly, however he still held his power of authority.

"There are two Jedi walking back to the Missean area. I don't want them to make it back there alive. Understand?"

Ven and Xin both nodded and left the prince and princess alone. Telian had remind calm while her brother spoke to the large bodyguards, but she wanted to scream at her brother for his attempt to kill the Jedi. She knew, however, she had to remind silent and trust that the Jedi were as great of warriors as everyone had heard.

"If you don't mind I'm feeling a little better now and am going to rest." Tekit moved past his sister and out towards his room.

The young lady sighed as her brother left. She had to wait until the moment was right to strike, and when it came she would gain control and try to bring peace back to Vitta.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon continued their walk towards the Missean. The walk was rather boring being that there were a only a few house this far out and even fewer people. The young apprentice had noticed his head was hurting again and, on top of that, he had begun to shake a little from exhaustion . All he wanted was to get back to the palace and lay down to rest. After a bit longer, the Jedi began to see more buildings and knew they were only a few minutes away from the main part of the Missean establishment.

Suddenly, a large speeder came out of nowhere and aimed straight for the two Jedi. Moving out of the way, the Master and Apprentice quickly turned to face the speeder as it came around again. This time, though, two forms jumped off the speeder and charged towards the Jedi with vibro axes aimed above their heads. Leaving the speeder to crash to the ground some meters away.

Obi-Wan saw the largest human he had ever seen running for him and barely gave another thought as his ignited his lightsaber. He was dimly aware that his Master had done the same.

The two Jedi quickly moved back to back to cover each other. The large men went in to attack with vibro axes. However, the men were no match against two well-trained Jedi and soon realized there was no way they could ever beat them. As if they were sharing a thought, Ven and Xin both charged the Jedi simultaneously. T hey ran straight for the middle of the Jedi, so that they would have to turn towards each other to fight the men.

The result was that neither Jedi could block the men without fear of hitting each other. Qui-Gon had jumped over the head of Ven and began to spar with him, while Obi-Wan began to spar with Xin. Using the strength of their much larger bodies, the twins slowly pushed the Jedi further and further away from each other until they were unable to see one another.

Now, the two men could slowly work down the one Jedi they were fighting with.

~~~~~~

The blue lightsaber clashed against the vibro ax and Obi-Wan felt the tremor of the contact through his body, yet he managed to keep a hold on his 'saber. The large man swung his ax again, hoping to decapitate the young Jedi.

However, Obi-Wan ducked safely out of the way and brought his lightsaber up in defense as the man retaliated and brought the vibro ax down towards Obi-Wan's chest. The young boy pushed the man's ax up and away from him and took the few moments of peace to regain his footing and get ready for another attack.

The two fighters continued their deadly dance.

A few times, Obi-Wan got lucky, singeing the man, but nothing to immobilize him. As much as the young Jedi tried, fatigue was beginning to catch up to him. Not only that, but the constant banging in his head, was making the battle even more dangerous than it already was.

In the nick of time, Obi-Wan back flipped out of the way of the man's ax, however he miscalculated and landed on a rock which was behind him. T he young boy's left ankle twisted sideways, leaving Obi-Wan to fall hard on his right foot. The apprentice knew he was in trouble when his right leg collapsed from the complete weight of his body. Obi-Wan landed hard on his bottom and all to quickly realized what a terrible position he was in. The larger man was quick to attack the young Jedi now that the boy was indisposed and unable to gain his footing. The man rushed at Obi-Wan with his vibro ax raised in an arc and ready to kill.

Obi-Wan knew he would not have enough time to get to his feet before the vibro ax made its deadly contact, but the young boy was not going to sit and let his head be taken off. With precise timing, the Jedi waiting until the vibro ax was being swung down in an arc towards his neck and he fell back so he was lying on the ground. The vibro ax past, closely over his head and he could hear the swoosh it made. The man had been expecting to make contact with the boy's neck and when he failed to, the momentum, which he placed behind the ax, made him nearly spin in a circle.

In the time it took for the man to gain his center, Obi-Wan was at his feet ready for the next round. Both of the fighters looked worn and tired, but both knew that the first to show their weakness would be the first one dead. Wasting no time, the large man attacked the Jedi again, with as much vigor as he had before. Obi-Wan parried the man's attacks, but was aware that it was becoming harder and harder to focus.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon struck out with his lightsaber and finally made the contact he had been striving for. His attacker dropped the vibro ax in response to the stinging kiss of the lightsaber. The Jedi Master moved and quickly knocked the man unconscious. Taking a few moments to catch his breath, Qui-Gon looked around the street and attempted to find his apprentice. They had been separated when the two men attacked and now he hoped to find Obi-Wan and see how he was doing.

With Jedi eyesight, Qui-Gon spotted the glow of a blue lightsaber and took off in that direction. Once, he had come close enough he assessed the situation with his Padawan and the attacker.

Obi-Wan was breathing hard and had sweat running down his face, yet he still held the larger man at bay. Not waiting his apprentice to become unfocused due to his exhaustion, Qui-Gon moved in and began to join the fight.

The younger Jedi looked briefly at his Master and smiled a thankful smile, as the two of them joined forces against the single attacker. With fluid motions, perfected with experience, the Jedi fought like a single person. Each covering the other's back, each knowing where to strike when the other was not there. Obi-Wan felt the Force surge between them as the drove the man back.

Xin knew he was done the moment the Jedi Master had joined the fight. The young apprentice could have been over taken with time, but now, he knew he was doomed. Defeated he made the decision to at least get rid of one of the Jedi. With a war cry the man plunged at Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon had realized the man's plan a millisecond too late and only had time to yell a warning to his apprentice.

"Obi-Wan!!!"

Obi-Wan heard his Master yell and saw the man attack. With his Jedi reaction, the boy brought his lightsaber up in a defensive stance as he waited for the man to bring his ax down on him. The man had not failed and brought his ax down with such force, that Obi-Wan felt his lightsaber being thrown from his hands. Looking up, Obi-Wan meet the backhand of the large man. The hit, took the boy by surprise and he was still trying to regain his thought when he saw the man fall to the ground. His Master, had taken the man's momentary concentration on his Padawan to knock him out. Qui-Gon looked to his apprentice and gave a small smile.

"Be sure to get your lightsaber." Not wanting his Padawan to think he was angry at his performance, Qui-Gon added his small word of wisdom. "You did well and I was taken by surprise from the man's attack on you, also."

Obi-Wan continued to stare and soon began to feel himself waver on his feet. The pounding of his headache was now intensified since his focus was off the fight. He noticed his Master was beginning to go out of focus in front of him. Qui-Gon also noticed the boy's wavering and became concerned.

"Are you all right, Padawan?" The Jedi Master began to move towards his apprentice.

Obi-Wan tried to form the words, 'I'll be all right', but as he opened his mouth the world around him blacken and he felt himself fall towards the ground.

Qui-Gon watched his apprentice fell and jumped to catch the young boy before he knocked his head on the hard ground. He caught the boy, and saw he had fell completely unconscious. With his concern mounting, the older Jedi picked up Obi-Wan, went to get his lightsaber, and began to move down the street in the direction of a hospital.

~~~~~~

Kat'in was cleaning up her work place when the front door was thrown open. She was about to yell at the intruder when she realized who it was.

Qui-Gon Jinn was holding his young apprentice in his arms as he struggle to catch his breath. He was grateful to see that he had somehow pick the very hospital that Kat'in ran. Right now though, he pushed the thought aside and made his way to the healer.

"Kat'in, please help." The Jedi Master followed the Missean healer as she wordlessly led him to an empty room. Careful not to hurt his Padawan, Qui-Gon laid the boy down on a bed. Kat'in made sure that Obi-Wan was comfortable before speaking.

"What happened to him?" The young women began to cover the young boy with a blanket and looked over him in a general physical assessment.

Qui-Gon rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm not sure. One minute he was fighting a man, whom I believe to be one of the prince's body guards, and then we finished the fight. I looked at him and he just fell unconscious." The Jedi Master grabbed a chair next to Obi-Wan's bed and took a seat. "Can you tell me anything about him?"

Kat'in finished her quick look over of Obi-Wan. With the lack of technology, she could only guess at the young boy's condition. "I am afraid that because of our lack of...uh...equipment we cannot help you any."

Qui-Gon shook his head at the healer. "I mean no disrespect, but I have a feeling, perhaps it is the Force, but I have a feeling telling me this is something more. Something more dangerous."

Almost as if on que, Obi-Wan's body began to go into convulsions. The Jedi Master and healer moved quickly to make sure the boy was on the bed and not going to fall off. The seizure lasted another few moments, all the while Qui-Gon felt completely helpless. He had to stand by as his apprentice trashed about on the small bed. The Jedi Master felt sick to his stomach as Obi-Wan's seizure continued. The young Jedi's body continued to convulse and Qui-Gon could only watch as the boy's eyes opened briefly and then rolled back in his head.

Finally, the movements stopped and the Padawan laid still on the bed again. Neither the Jedi Master or Kat'in moved for a long moment.

"I'll get the Fathers." With that, the Missean healer left Qui-Gon with his apprentice.

The older man sat down in the chair he got and grabbed his Padawan's hand. He now *knew* something was dangerously wrong with his apprentice.

"What is wrong with you, my Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon left the unanswered question to the Force and hoped the solution would present itself soon.

~~~~~~

The older Jedi spent the night next to his Padawan; waiting for the boy to wake up. When the early morning rays slowly descended on Qui-Gon's prone apprentice, he knew that Obi-Wan was in bad shape.

Kat'in made her way into the room, where she had left the Jedi last night. She was not surprised to see Qui-Gon still sitting by his Padawan's side. It pained her to know there was nothing she could do to help either of them. More than anything she wished she could help; the Jedi had been more than grateful when it came to helping her planet.

She soon found herself next to the bed where Obi-Wan was laying. The boy looked peaceful with his eyes closed and his lips barely parted. However, the healer knew nothing inside of the young Jedi was peaceful.

"He never woke up last night. I'm not sure what could be wrong." Qui-Gon hated the desperation that flooded his voice, but he knew he was powerless to hold it back. His Padawan was sitting before him, possible dying, and he did not care who knew that he was desperate.

Kat'in regarded the once stoic Jedi with sympathy. The worry, for his apprentice, was evident on his face.

"I am terribly sorry that I can offer nothing. I did speak with the Fathers and they will be stopping by later on this evening. Unfortunately, that was the only free time they could find." Kat'in placed her hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "I wish there was more I could do."

The older man smiled to young women. "Thank you for your concern."

The healer shifted on her feet uncomfortably. She felt almost out of place, like the two Jedi should have their moments with each other. Making up her mind she spoke to the Master.

"I am going to go see to the other patients. Please come and get me if there is anything you need." She waited until she saw the older Jedi nod before she left.

Once Kat'in had left, Qui-Gon went back to focusing on his apprentice. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. He was not sure where he had heard of it, or why, for that matter, he had thought of it. However, he quickly stopped questioning his idea and decided to put the plan into action.

He moved slightly closer to Obi-Wan and placed both his hands on the boy's temple . He heard once about how, since Master and Padawan's held such a close bond, they could enter each other's mind and read the other's Force signature. He realized that if he could enter Obi-Wan's mind, perhaps he could find the center of the problem which was afflicting his apprentice.

Taking a deep breath, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and slowly began to concentrate on his bond with the younger Jedi. Soon, he found himself completely at peace and with the Force. Centering himself, Qui-Gon took the deciding move and advanced towards his Padawan's Force signature. He was overwhelmed with the power by which the Force assaulted him. He knew Obi-Wan was strong in the Force, but this was...amazing. Placing his astonishment aside, Qui-Gon focused on his mission.

He soon found himself traveling within Obi-Wan's signature. All at once he felt a sharp pain invade his head. It took all his concentration to keep his hold on his Padawan's Force signature. Finally, the pain subsided and Qui-Gon gained his center back. Once he was calm again, he examined his apprentice's signature closer. Suddenly, a large black void filled a place in his Padawan's Force essences. Carefully, Qui-Gon moved closer to the large black mass and was horrified by its power. He looked into the void and tried to find its origin and the reason why it was in his apprentice.

Suddenly, he got his answer. He found the signature of the intruder and once he did he lost all his concentration. He came quickly out of his meditation and found himself still in the Healing Ward. He gasped as he looked down at his apprentice and realized that he *was* dying.

The mysterious ailment which plagued his Padawan, was no longer a mystery. Qui-Gon took his seat next to Obi-Wan and placed his chin on top of the young Jedi's hands. How in the Force was he suppose to tell his apprentice about his illness?

How was he suppose to tell the young boy about the deadly tumor, which was slowly claiming control of Obi-Wan's body and taking away his life?

~~~~~~

Kat'in followed the Fathers as they entered the room where the Jedi were sitting. The Fathers came to a halt at the bedside of Obi-Wan and one bent down to wake the now resting Jedi Master.

Qui-Gon awoke with a start, yet quickly regained his composure as he noticed the Fathers and Kat'in standing around him.

"Hello, Fathers." All though he had just woken up, The Jedi Master rose to his feet and bowed to the Fathers.

"We are all very troubled to hear that there could be something wrong with your apprentice."

Another Father jumped in. "We are also sorry to say that we will be of little help to you now. We have learned that Princess Telian has begun her uprising against her brother."

Although, the older man had a heavy heart due to his Padawan's illness, he still felt some joy and relief at the fact that perhaps things on Vitta would begin to sort out. He made a mental note to speak with Kat'in and learn more details.

"Uh, Qui-Gon I know this may sound odd, considering you have no medical training, however..." Kat'in was cut off by a raise from the Jedi Master's hand.

"I know what is wrong with him, Healer Kat'in. I was able to enter Obi-Wan's unconscious and read his Force signature." Qui-Gon sighed deeply. "I have found a large brain tumor on his temporal lobe."

The Fathers all shared a quick glance and Kat'in place a hand over her mouth.

"We are terribly sorry that there is nothing that we can do for you and your apprentice. You know of our technology and we have nothing that could deal with this situation."

The Jedi Master nodded knowingly . He had been cursing their bad luck at being on a planet where their was very limited medical supplies ever since he had found out about Obi-Wan.

"We feel awful, however we must be going and try to bring peace to our planet." Qui-Gon began to rise. He felt some anger rise in him due to the Fathers lack of compassion but their mission was to bring peace to Vitta. He felt his anger leave him and understanding entered his thoughts.

"Be with Obi-Wan now, and we will let you know of all that happens here."

The older man respectfully bowed his head. Kat'in bowed to the Fathers, yet remind behind to speak with Qui-Gon.

After a few moments of silence, Kat'in spoke. "I am so...so sorry Qui-Gon."

"I know. I am also." The Jedi Master grabbed a hold of his Padawan's hand since he had let go when the Fathers had arrived.

Kat'in grabbed a chair and sat across from Qui-Gon. The two adults remind in silence as they watched Obi-Wan's chest rise and fall.

The young boy continued to stay in his unconscious state; completely unaware of the man who silently prayed that his son would be all right.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon was still sitting by his Padawan's side when Kat'in left the room momentarily.

He was waiting patiently for his apprentice to wake up. He had to tell the boy about his disease.

~More about his upcoming death, Jinn~ The Jedi Master tried, in vain, to block out the unwelcome thoughts, but they were true. Once his apprentice awoke, Qui-Gon had to inform him that he had a deadly tumor growing in his head.

~How will the boy handle it?~

The question had plagued Qui-Gon's mind for the last couple of hours. He knew that Obi-Wan would try to be brave and take death like a Jedi; like he was trained. Yet, deep inside, the older man wanted his Padawan to let loose his emotions. The boy deserved that much. He deserved a chance to grieve for the life that would not be . He did not want to rush into the news he had to give Obi-Wan. He knew he wanted to chose his words and allow the idea to fully sink into his Padawan's head.

When Qui-Gon had sat down by his apprentice after he grabbed a bit of food (for the first time since Obi-Wan had passed out), Kat'in had been kind enough to leave. She, of course, said she had to clean up her office, but the Jedi Master knew that she was simply giving him time alone with Obi-Wan. Over the last couple hours, the Missean healer had been so caring and understanding. She was there when the older man need someone just to sit with him and for that Qui-Gon was eternally grateful. The Jedi Master knew that she had also taken the news of Obi-Wan's sickness hard. Granted, she had only know the boy for a few days, but somehow the young Jedi had a way of working himself into your heart.

Qui-Gon knew of how easy is was to learn to love the boy as a son. He could not believe that the boy who strived so hard to be noticed by the Jedi Master was know lying in a hospital bed with a deadly visitor in his body. The boy who had practically begged the older man, *twice*, to take him as his apprentice, was now slowly fading from existence. Qui-Gon rubbed a weary hand over his face as he took in his Padawan's appearance. The young man was already paler than normal and appeared to have a small shiver, even though the room was heated comfortably. The Jedi Master knew that things would only get worse with time; both physically and mentally. Here was a boy who was not even fourteen yet but he would be faced with his own mortality. A prospect that send chills down Qui-Gon's back.

~This was not suppose to be~

Qui-Gon was not suppose to be sitting next to his Padawan as he waited for the boy to awake up. His apprentice was not suppose to die before him. He was the Master, he was older, he had lived a life and had experienced joy and heartache. Obi-Wan was suppose to grow up, become a Knight, protect the universe, become a Master and have a Padawan. All the while, Qui-Gon would be there helping the boy through his troubles. He would be there to be someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to spend some time with. He was suppose to help him with his Padawan and give him tips on raising a younger child. The Jedi Master was not suppose to lose his apprentice at fourteen from an enemy that they could not see.

Qui-Gon tighten his hold on Obi-Wan's hand and softly moved a stray piece of amber hair off his forehead. Leaning down, he placed a small kiss on his forehead and whispered gently into his apprentice's ear.

"I know you may not be able to hear me, but I just need someone to talk to right now. I already miss you and you're right here. I miss your voice, your smile and just your presence. The prospect of losing you makes my whole world turn upside down. I 'm not sure what I'll do with myself, Obi-Wan, if you don't come back to me." Qui-Gon paused for a moment. "I *will* not lose you, Padawan. I am not going to give you up without a fight and I want you to know that. If you want to leave me, you sure as hell will have to fight me to the death."

Qui-Gon stopped speaking as Obi-Wan shifted in his sleep. He felt the small hand he held tighten around his and soon Obi-Wan's bluish/green eyes opened and fell on the older Jedi.

"Hello Master, how are you?" Qui-Gon blinked back tears at his apprentice's concern for *his* well being, even while he sat in a hospital bed wondering about his own health.

"I am doing well, how do you feel?"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and gave a small chuckle at his Master's inquiry.

"As good can be expected, Master, considering I'm sitting in a hospital bed on Vitta. In all seriousness I do believe that me and hospital may have some sort of Force connection."

Even in spite of what was happening, Qui-Gon could not help but give a small chuckle at his apprentice's odd sense of humor. His humor had always been welcomed and the Jedi Master had been grateful for it during long and tedious missions.

The older Jedi realized; ~Just one more thing I will lose if I lose him~

"Well, Padawan, I do not believe you have a Force connection with the healers, but perhaps the Council could look into it for you." Obi-Wan smiled at his Master's small joke.

Soon, silence fell on the small and the Jedi Master looked around the room trying to find the words to tell Obi-Wan about his condition.

The young boy looked at his Master and noticed something in his eyes. Whether it was from living with this man for close two years or perhaps it was something in the Force telling him. It did not matter where the idea had come from, but instantly Obi-Wan knew that something was not right at all.

"Something's wrong isn't it, Master?" Qui-Gon shifted his eyes back to his Padawan, not hiding the surprise that he felt.

Somehow, his apprentice knew that something was wrong. He knew his Padawan had a strong connection with the Force, but to realize the uncertainty and concern from his Master took power of the Living Force. Something that the young boy had trouble grasping. At that moment, Qui-Gon realized what a strong Jedi his apprentice would be.

Quickly, he corrected that thought.

~What a strong Jedi he *could* be. If he can beat this illness~ As soon as the idea of Obi-Wan *not* beating this disease came to him, Qui-Gon pushed it out of his. His Padawan would live and he would grow to be a great Knight and a wonderful Master with a strong Padawan.

"Master?" The older man realized he had not answered Obi-Wan's question and knew he had to be straight with him. Taking the boy's hand again he began.

"Yes, Obi-Wan, there is something not right with your health." His Padawan nodded and intently listened to his Master.

"After you had collapsed I took you here to Kat'in hospital. You were still unconscious and Kat'in began to look you over. Because the Vittan medicine is so...uh..primitive, there was nothing that she could conclude other than the fact you had fainted.

"However, I did not believe that you merely fainted and so I...um..entered your Force signature to see if I could sense any problems." Qui-Gon took a deep breath. He felt the words he needed to say get caught in his throat, but before he could speak his Padawan interrupted him.

"Am I dying?" The question came out barely a whisper, but it hit the older man with such force he felt his air be drawn from his lungs. The boy suddenly look so young and helpless, and the Jedi Master suddenly felt so alone and so lost with the prospect of losing his apprentice. Instead of answering his Padawan right away, the Jedi Master, bent down and gave Obi-Wan a hug.

In place of giving him an outright answer, Qui-Gon continued his story.

"I...ah..soon found that there is something wrong inside of you." T he Jedi Master looked at his Padawan and saw the boy was staring at him intently. He saw no fear in the young eyes and that made his next statement all the more harder.

"Padawan, you have a large brain tumor which is quickly spreading through the temporal lobe of your brain. I want you to be honest with me, in the past days have you had any headaches?"

The young Jedi pasted his eyes downwards. Guilt washed over him in huge waves. ~I should have told him. How could I be so stupid?~ The boy kept his eyes on his hands in front of him and quietly answered his Master's question. "Yes." Qui-Gon placed a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Than the tumor explains these headaches."

Before Obi-Wan knew it he was blurting out his apology to Qui-Gon. "I am so sorry, Master, If I had told you..."

"Then we only would have been worried longer. There was nothing we could do and we should not center on the past." Obi-Wan looked up to his Master's eyes. The older man saw the guilt and uncertainly in his apprentice's eyes. "I do not blame you for not telling me of the heada ches. We had a mission and I was concentrated on it. If you had told me I may not have even paid attention."

The Padawan blinked his eyes before casting them down again.

"I am going to die?" Qui-Gon hated the question the first time his apprentice had asked him and no there was no way he could avoid it.

"I'm not sure..." Obi-Wan cut his Master off in the most respectable way.

"Master, please tell my honestly. If I do not receive medical attention, will I die?"

The older man grasped his Padawan's hand and gently caressed the top of it.

"I'm afraid that, if you do not receive medical attention, then yes, you will die. I'm sorry." The truth hit the young Jedi hard. However, he kept his face serene and tried to remain calm.

He would not lose his calm composer in front of his Master. Qui-Gon had enough to deal with and he did not need an emotional Padawan.

"Obi-Wan, it's all right for you to cry or be angry." The older Jedi wanted his apprentice to do anything, but stare at him looking so calm. The young boy, looked to his Master and smiled.

"You've probably not slept, Master. Please lay down and rest. I can talk to you later. I'm still here and that's all that matters." Obi-Wan saw the older man was about to argue, but the young boy held up a hand.

"Please, if you want to make me happy, go and rest for a few hours." Defeated by his Padawan's plead to have him rest, Qui-Gon rose and stretched.

"I will rest for two hours and be back here. If you need anything at all, tell Kat'in and she will get me. I am here for you, Padawan, and we *will* get through this. Believe me." The Jedi Master bent down and gave Obi-Wan a small kiss on his forehead.

Qui-Gon slowly turned and left his apprentice as the boy got comfortable. Obi-Wan laid back against his pillow.

"I *do* believe you, Master. I just hope you're right."

~~~~~~

The young Jedi had just barely fallen asleep when he woke up in a jolt. He had been having a nightmare about his Master telling him that he was dying...and realized it was not a dream. His Master *had* told him he was dying.

~Oh, Sith!~ Obi-Wan felt himself begin to hyperventilate as the truth of his condition began to sink in.

~I'm dying!~ The boy suddenly felt that impact of that statement.

He *was* dying and there was nothing he or his master could do while they were on Vitta. He would never be able to see the Temple again. Never see his friends or the other Masters. He would never be a Knight.

He would never be with his Master again. Before the boy realized it, he felt tears run down his face.

~I don't want to die~ He placed a hand over his mouth to make sure he did not make any noise. The last thing he needed was his Master walking in and seeing him crying like a baby. He was a Jedi and he would face death like he was taught.

Obi-Wan rolled onto his stomach and tried to cover his sobs in his pillow. However, soon he felt a warm hand rubbing soft circle on his back. He did not know who it was, but he welcomed the soft touch and lost himself in his tears. Finally, he realized what a sight he must be making and rolled over to his back. He wiped the tears out of his eyes and met the dark blue eyes of his Master.

"I'm sorry for waking you, Master." Obi-Wan turned his head to avoid Qui-Gon's eyes.

"Shh, Padawan, it's all right to cry." It took all of the young Jedi's restraints not to start sobbing again. The older Jedi grasped the boy's chin and made him look him in the eyes. "It *is* all right to let your emotion goes."

Obi-Wan felt his eyes fill up with tears as he looked into his Master's eyes. They held such love and, yet, such misery.

"I don't want to die." The statement made Obi-Wan's tears fall down his cheeks. Qui-Gon opened his arms and his apprentice fell into the welcomed embrace. The boy buried his face into his Master's shoulder and sobbed. The older man held his Padawan close and his own tears fell from his eyes.

Kat'in slowly entered the room where she expected to find a resting Padawan and Master. Instead she found a heartbreaking scene. Obi-Wan was sitting up in his bed and crying into Qui-Gon's shoulder. The older Jedi was holding his Padawan close as tears silently fell from his eyes.

The Missean healer stood for a few more moments before she made a hasty retreat to leave the Jedi to their privacy.

Kat'in made her way to her office and sat down in her small chair. Once seated she ran her hand over her face and slowly brushed away a stray tear which ran down her cheek.

~Crying won't help anyone!~ Resolving that her train of thought was correct, Kat'in made her way out of the office and went in search of the Fathers.

They may not have the technology to save Obi-Wan, but she was determined to get the boy off the planet and get him the help that he did need.

~~~~~~

The young Jedi fell asleep against his Master after he spent all his tears. Qui-Gon lowered his Padawan back into his bed and covered the boy up. As much as the older Jedi wanted to sit and be with his apprentice, he knew that if he was to get the boy the help he needed, he must speak with the Fathers.

Stretching his sore muscles, Qui-Gon double checked Obi-Wan to make sure he was comfortable, and then left in search of Kat'in and the Fathers.

As soon as he left the room where his apprentice was staying he could hear voices coming from down the hall. Moving silently, the Jedi Master made his way to the source of the voices.

He could see that he was standing outside of Kat'in's office and the healer appeared to be speaking into a small hand-held device. Curious, Qui-Gon moved a bit inside the room to listen.

"...You must understand that you are the boy's only hope. We need a ship to get him off our planet. Without one, he'll die here."

It did not take a genius to know that the boy Kat'in was speaking about was Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon smiled at the young lady who seemed to be working so hard to help his Padawan.

A muffled voice came from the other end of the communication device, but even with the Jedi hearing, Qui-Gon could not make out what was said.

"Yes...yes, I will be in touch." Kat'in turned off the device and fell down into a chair nearby.

The older man slowly stepped completely into the healer's office and cleared his throat. The Missean healer turned around and stared at the Jedi Master for a long moment before speaking.

"Hello, Qui-Gon. How is Obi-Wan?" Kat'in hoped her voice did not portray the despair she was feeling for the young boy.

"He is resting right now. Um...the news was taken a bit...ah...hard." The healer did not dare say she had seen the Jedi earlier, but instead nodded her head.

Another long moment past before Kat'in glanced down at her hand and at the communication device she was holding. She looked to the large Jedi and began to explain.

"Um...when we began to speak with Princess Telian about what her plans were, we realized that things would get dangerous if anyone overhead our conversations. So, she gave us this communication device which would only go to a similar device which Princess Telian would have at all times." Kat'in paused for a moment as she played with the device in her hands. "I spoke with the Fathers today to see what we could do for Obi-Wan and um...well...there's nothing which the healers here can do.

"However, they gave me this to contact the Princess with and to see if she could not do something. I spoke with her just a moment ago." Kat'in turned and placed the communication device on her desk and face Qui-Gon once again. "She informs me that her troops are doing well and it will be a week, at most, before she gains control. Well, I asked her if there was any chance that either her healers could come here or Obi-Wan could go over there. She told me that things are still too dangerous to risk people's lives.

"I also asked her if we could get a ship to take Obi-Wan off planet so that he could get the medical attention he needs." Kat'in sighed deeply. "However, her brother has now placed his army in the Humans space port so that no ships can enter or leave. And we have no ships because a group of Vittans stole the one, which we came on planet with. I am *so* sorry, Qui-Gon, but as of now there is nothing that we can do. I have tried and frankly wish there was more I could do."

The young Missean blinked her eyes to clear tears which threatened to fall. "However, I can tell you I won't stop trying to get your apprentice the help he needs."

All the while, which Kat'in was speaking Qui-Gon kept himself calm as each new idea was somehow shot down. The only chance, which Obi-Wan had now, was if someone from another planet could come and land on the Missean side of the planet. He decided to propose the idea to the Healer.

"What if we were to send out a transmission to another planet and get help from there?" The Jedi Master watched as Kat'in lowered her eyes.

"I'm afraid to say that Prince Tekit has band any transmission off planet. The only reason I was able to contact the princess was because we are both on planet. Apparently, the prince cut off communication right when Princess Telian's army first attacked and she has been trying to get them up since, but is unable to. I'm sorry."

Qui-Gon felt his heart fall as the last hope for his Padawan faded from existence. He mumbled a brief thank you to Kat'in before turning and making his way back to Obi-Wan. For the first time that he could recall, Qui-Gon felt at a loss as to what to do. Being stuck on Vitta now proved to be his Padawan's death warrant.

He entered the room and found the young boy still sleeping and was thankful for the time to think. Informing the boy that he was deathly ill was hard enough. Now, though, he had to tell the young Jedi that any hope he had for beating the tumor were all but shattered.

Qui-Gon sat down in the chair and took a hold of Obi-Wan's small hand. He knew that he could only have a few more precious days with his 'son' and decided he would spend all his time with him. He wanted his apprentice to know that he loved him and that he would always be by his side.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon felt his head fall down as he almost fell asleep. He quickly caught himself and shook his head so he was, once again, awake. Regaining his senses, The Jedi Master glanced at a chrono by his Padawan's bed. It was early morning.

The older man stood up for a moment to stretch before he sat down again. He realized that he would soon fall asleep again and that was the last thing he wanted. So, he decided to mediate and rest his mind and body for a bit. He felt himself relax and soon became in tune with the Force.

After a few moments of meditation, Qui-Gon became aware of another presence in his mind. Soon, he became interested with the new visitor and worked towards it. He then saw a figure, bathed in a light blue light, heading towards him. The figure came into focus and Qui-Gon knew his mouth dropped open.

Before him was Obi-Wan, smiling. The Jedi Master took an unconscious step towards his Padawan and reached out a hand.

"Obi-Wan?" The figure stared at Qui-Gon and then he watched as the boy's grin faded away and was replaced by an evil sneer.

The older man gasped as Obi-Wan's eyes glowed evilly and then turned a shade of light blue. However, Qui-Gon realized that was the least of his surprises.

Soon, Obi-Wan's image began to fad and blur with another. Within moments, where his young, ash blond, smiling apprentice once stood, another had taken his place. Qui-Gon felt himself take in a sharp breath as he stared. Not face to face with his Padawan, but face to face with Xanatos.

"Xanatos?" His ex-apprentice did a dramatic bow and grinned back at the Jedi Master.

"Yes, *Master*. I decided to grace your presence with mine. So, how are things?" Xanatos laughed a short, evil laugh. "Oh, that's right. Your Padawan's dying, isn't he? Hmmm, that's *too* bad."

Qui-Gon felt his fist tighten as he stared at blue glowing ex-Jedi.

~Why is he here?~ The older man knew sometimes Jedi could see others in their mediations, but why would he be seeing Xanatos?

"You're probably wondering why I'm here. Well, I have a message for you." Qui-Gon watched as his ex-apprentice paused for dramatic effect. "I am sent here to tell you your apprentice is already dead."

The older man felt Xanatos' words cut through his heart. "No! You're wrong, he is *not* dead and he *will* not die."

The dark Jedi threw a hand up in the air. "Fine...fine, don't believe me." Xanatos took a step closer to Qui-Gon. "But you know I'm right. You know that nothing on that worthless planet can save him. It's only time till that tumor wins. Give it up, Qui-Gon. He's as good as dead now."

With that, Xanatos turned and his figure slowly faded away.

Without his ex-Padawan, Qui-Gon was only left with his mocking words. Why did Xanatos visit him in his mediations? Just to tell him about Obi-Wan? I t had been close to a six months since Xanatos had killed himself and why would he visit the Master now?

Suddenly, the older Jedi figured out what happened. It was as if the Force was screaming at him. Obi-Wan was in trouble and somehow that warning had come in the form of Xanatos.

The Jedi Master quickly pulled himself out of his mediations and focused on his apprentice. The young boy was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Master?" Qui-Gon smiled and nodded to the young Jedi.

"Yes, Obi-Wan, it is me." Obi-Wan returned the smile.

What happened next was the turning point in Obi-Wan's health. The Padawan locked his eyes with his Master took a deep breath.

"Master, I feel really tired still. Can I sleep?" The question, although simply enough, held a different meaning for Qui-Gon. His warning from the Force now came back full fledge.

He knew the meaning behind Obi-Wan's question. The boy, although unaware, was asking for permission to let himself go into the unconscious which was no doubt trying to over run him. Qui-Gon placed a hand on his Padawan's forehead and smiled to him.

"Of course you may."

"Thank you, Master. I'll see you in the morning." The older man watched as his apprentice's eyes rolled in the back of his head.

He knew Obi-Wan was not going to wake up in the morning. The older Jedi sighed as he covered Obi-Wan with another blanket. He, however, wished he knew whether or not his apprentice was going to ever wake up again.

Qui-Gon sat in *his* chair next to his Padawan and began to keep the long vigil over the, now, unconscious Jedi.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon sat next to his apprentice for the fourth day in a row. There was no change in the young boy's condition. Since his Padawan had slipped in unconsciousness healer's had come and gone by request of Kat'in. Although, they never had any new news for the older Jedi. They simply told him that because of their lack in technology and the ongoing war on the Humans' side of Vitta, there was nothing to do for Obi-Wan but wait.

Qui-Gon told the healers that he understood, but in reality he did not. How could a civilization still use century old techniques to cure their ill? It was as if Vitta had been in a time lapse for the past 2,000 years. They still used remedies with herbs and ancient chants. Qui-Gon had cursed his bad luck every time a healer came into the hospital room to give aid to Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master knew that some fresh herbs and chants were not going to save his apprentice. The boy needed technology to cure the cancer in his body. As it was, time was short to save the Padawan, and being stuck on Vitta was taking away precise seconds.

He knew he was acting as if the whole world should revolve around him, but he did not care. Right now, the only thing that mattered at all was curing his Padawan and as the days rolled on it seemed that the chances of the young boy surviving were less and less.

Qui-Gon grabbed his Padawan's hand and held it tightly, as if physical contact would make everything all right. The older man, knew that only removing the deadly visitor in Obi-Wan's head would save the boy, but he refused to give up without a fight.

Suddenly, the young boy on the bed moved in a jerking motion. At first, the older Jedi was startled. It was the first movement the young Jedi had made in over four days. But then, he realized his apprentice was moving around viciously and he knew he had to stop him before he hurt himself. Thus, Qui-Gon stood next to his apprentice's body and held him by the shoulders as Obi-Wan continued to seize under the other Jedi's hold. Finally, the motions stopped and Obi-Wan's green eyes stared intently at blue eyes. Yet, as soon as they had focused on Qui-Gon's eyes, they unfocused and appeared to stare off at something only the apprentice could see. The Jedi Master sat back down in his seat and held the young boy's hand as he spoke to an imaginary person.

"I have the transmitter. I can reactivate it. If I push myself up against the door, the explosion should open it. You might have time to evacuate the mine." Qui-Gon held onto the young boy's hand as he lived in the past. The Jedi Master all too clearly remembered the scene Obi-Wan was imagining in his head. It was the mines on Bandomeer. The apprentice continued to struggle on the bed and Qui-Gon could see the same fierce determination in his eyes as he had seen over a year ago in the mine.

"There is no other way and you know it. Now stand back." Qui-Gon's hand was ripped viciously from Obi-Wan's as the boy became more involved in his dream-like state.

The young Jedi had begun to twist and turn violently and the Jedi Master had to stand up again and hold the boy's body on the bed. He had considered calling for a healer to help him hold the Jedi and stop him from causing more pain to himself, but as soon as Qui-Gon opened his mouth to yell the boy stopped moving . Obi-Wan looked up and appeared to meet Qui-Gon's eyes.

"Yes, Qui-Gon. I can do it. I *will* do it." The boy's eyes had a bright glint of determination and defiance, yet before the Jedi Master could say anything to Obi-Wan, the young boy's eyes rolled back in his head and he was, again, unconscious.

For a moment, the older man, did not move from his spot and waited to see if his Padawan would awake or remain asleep. When Obi-Wan did move The Jedi Master released his hold and stared at the young boy again from his seat.

Obi-Wan had a small layer of sweat on his forehead and affectionately Qui-Gon placed his hand on the boy's forehead and removed the sweat. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully and unaware of the scene he had just played out.

Qui-Gon kept his glaze on the pale boy and was hardly aware of a tear which slipped down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry for this Obi-Wan. I promise you, you will get better."

Silently, the Jedi Master laid his head down next to his Padawan's and closed his eyes; sleeping next to his prone apprentice for the fourth night.

~~~~~~

Healer Kat'in slowly entered the hospital ward. Before she opened the door she knew the site that she would find. A young boy, pale and sickly, would be resting on the bed. His Master would either be awake, watching the young Jedi or asleep beside him. Kat'in opened the door and was not disappointed . The image she had in her head was right before her eyes.

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was asleep with his head resting on his companion's arm. Kat'in moved to the older man's side and gently woke him. True to his Jedi training, he awoke aware and ready for action. When he saw the Kat'in had woken him, he relaxed and smiled at her.

"Good Morning, Kat'in. I hope you are doing well." The Jedi Master rose to his feet and prepared to bow. Kat'in cut in.

"As well as can be expected." Qui-Gon nodded; knowingly.

"I guess you are right. I know it may be furtive, but do you have any news?" Within the first days that Obi-Wan was diagnosed Qui-Gon realized that no news was not necessarily good news and had always asked the healers any information. Unfortunately, most information he received was either that there was no change, that his apprentice had gone further downhill or that the Humans were still fighting and they could not get the young Jedi the help he need.

"I am sorry, but we haven't learned anything new yet. I have been trying to contact the Princess again, however she is not answering us. I only hope that this is a good sign that the battle is almost over." Kat'in paused for a moment; looking for the right words. "However, there is no easy way to say this, Qui-Gon, but from what I can tell, Obi-Wan has only a few days left, unless he can receive treatment that we cannot offer."

Qui-Gon nodded at Kat'in. She had been the most helpful through the whole crisis. She had never out right said anything, but the older man could tell she felt awful about the lack of treatment the healers on Vitta could offer.

Now, the only thing that could save his Padawan would be the healers on Corusant. The Jedi Temple's healers were well known for their advance healing skills and Qui-Gon had faith that if Obi-Wan could make it to Corusant then he had a fighting chance at survival. However, as the hours and days past, the chance of the young boy getting to Corusant were diminished greatly.

Qui-Gon was never one to look on the pessimistic side of a situation, as a matter of experience he always was one to look to the optimistic side of events. But now, as he watched his apprentice, *his son*, slowly die from a disease that the healers on Corusant could have cured within a week; he only saw the pessimistic side of this battle. Now, he only saw the boy who had come to be so much to him, slowly and painfully, waste away in front of him. It was killing him on the inside, much like the tumor inside Obi-Wan.

"Master Jinn?" Kat'in had noticed the Jedi Master seemed to daze off.

Qui-Gon brought his attention back to the Missean healer. "I'm sorry, what had you said Kat'in?"

"I was just saying I will go and get you something to eat."

The older man smiled politely at the younger healer . "Thank you, Kat'in." With the Jedi Master turned back to his Padawan and Kat'in left in a respectable silence.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan saw the scene from Bandomeer disappear around him and was replaced by a soft blue color. The confusion that the young boy felt at the repeat scene of Bandomeer disappeared and soon the very memory of the scene he was just involved in was removed and placed with a soft, calming emptiness.

Obi-Wan felt like he was floating; weightless and out of control. The feeling was blissful and beautiful. All around him, there was a soft blue glow which he swore he could almost feel. The young boy, could look in any direction and see a white glow out in the distance. When he had first come to this odd world he walked towards the light, but as he continued to moved towards it; it seemed to move further away. Finally, Obi-Wan gave up and just enjoyed the peace around him.

Sighing deeply, the young Jedi laid down on the soft ground beneath him. Here he had forgotten all that was wrong with him. Here he had no pain and no worries. It was Heaven!

As soon as Obi-Wan had closed his eyes something had startled him awake. When he looked at the scenery around him; everything had changed. There was no longer the soft blue atmosphere, there was no longer that soft music, which had calm the boy so. Instead of the light blue, there was a dark gray, and there was no music, just an errie silence.

Slowly, the apprentice rose to his feet and began to look around. There was no white light in the distance; it was as if someone had put a dark blanket over his new world. As soon as Obi-Wan was to his feet his gray surrounding changed with a heartbeat. Suddenly, he found himself in all too familiar surroundings.

He saw himself staring at his Master at the base of a spacecraft. Qui-Gon had a stern look of determination on his face and finally the older man spoke.

"You must chose now, Obi-Wan. You can go with me now, or stay. Know that if you stay, you will no longer be a Jedi." Obi-Wan stared at his Master as he remembered this scene from Melida/Daan all to well. He remembered the choice he made. He remembered the hurt statement in his Master, then ex-Master's, face . Suddenly, it was as if something took control of the young boy's body and Obi-Wan noticed words were leaving his mouth even though he attempted to hold them in.

"I have found something here more important than the Jedi code." Obi-Wan could not believe he was saying these things, *again*! His mind was screaming 'NO', but his mouth continued to say what happened in the past.

"Something not only worth fighting for, but worth dying for." The Padawan struggled to not let the next words come out of his mouth, but he knew it was useless as were his actions he was going to perform. The young Jedi, knew this scene all to well, as it had been one he played over and over again in his head.

Obi-Wan felt himself hand Qui-Gon his lightsaber. "You may go, Qui-Gon Jinn. But I will stay." Obi-Wan felt his world crash down inside of him. Why did he have to relive this scene? The painful memories only intensified as he saw Qui-Gon's face fall and as he watched his Master turn and leave him on Melida/Daan.

"NO!" The young boy felt the scream being ripped from his mouth as the world around him slowly faded from Melida/Daan back to the peaceful blue. Slowly, Obi-Wan's pain from the memory faded. Soon it was forgotten all together and he was back in his peaceful world.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon Jinn caught his breath as the boy before him settled down. He had another fit of hallucinations. This time bringing back painful memories of Melida/Daan. The boy had said exactly what he had he said on that fateful day. Qui-Gon caught himself. He had not said exactly the same thing, actually. At the very end of the young Jedi's fit, he had scream 'NO' at the top of his lungs. The scream had shook The Jedi Master to his soul with the intensity at which Obi-Wan had said it.

As soon as the word exited his mouth, the boy went limp again and back into his unconscious state. Qui-Gon hated what was happening to his apprentice.

The memories, which Obi-Wan seemed to be experiencing, all had to do with him and different missions they had been on. The older man wondered what else the boy had been going through in his mind.

Kat'in ran headfirst into the ward where Obi-Wan Kenobi was. "Master Jinn, what happened?" She took deep breath, obviously having ran a fairly good distance at a fairly fast pace. "Gods, I heard him from down the hall."

Qui-Gon sighed sadly. "He appears to been having hallucinations about past event. That one was...ah..a bit more painful, I believe." Kat'in looked at the older man and nodded her head.

"I see, well I will be back in the other hospital wing. Please come and get me if you need anything." Kat'in began to walk out and then turned back to the two Jedi. "Silly me, I forgot you food. Let me go get it for you."

Before Qui-Gon could protest Kat'in was out the door, obviously on her way to get food. The Jedi Master sighed and turned back to his apprentice, as soon as he had the boy began to stir again.

"Cerasi!" With no warning, Obi-Wan nearly jumped off his bed. Qui-Gon luckily was there and held the boy down for the third time that day.

The Jedi Master had not been with his Padawan on Melida/Daan when Cerasi had been killed, but now the boy was reliving the whole experience and once again Qui-Gon was unable to help his apprentice.

"Cerasi!" The boy yelled her name again, but this time he reaction was not as violent. I nstead the Obi-Wan almost looked defeated and began to sag in the bed. Qui-Gon was only dimly aware that Kat'in had returned and was witnessing Obi-Wan's hallucination.

Words tumbled out of the young Jedi's mouth and Kat'in could almost feel the pain and depression from the younger boy.

"You'll be okay. Can you hear me? You don't need luck. Cerasi!" O bi-Wan, with his eyes wide, look around as if he was trying to find someone's face. Then he let out another bloody curtailing scream.

"NO!" The power of the apprentice's voice made Kat'in drop Qui-Gon's lunch.

The Jedi Master began to say calming words to his Padawan as the boy began to sob angry tears of agony. Kat'in watched as slowly, Obi-Wan slipped back into his sleep.

No one in the room spoke for a few tense moments.

"It's been like that every time he comes around. He seems to wake up and relive the experience, then he falls unconscious again." The Jedi Master placed his head in his hands and Kat'in stepped forward.

Without saying anything, she placed her small hand on Qui-Gon's back and bent down to pull him into a hug. The contact was welcomed and the Jedi Master fell into the healer's embrace.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you and him, but you know there is nothing I can do. I am sorry." The Missean healer felt a tear slide down her face as the Jedi Master pulled out of the hug. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"I know there is nothing you can do and I don't ask that of you. It's just that, he's so young; too young. And to lose him...well...I don't even want to think about it." Kat'in stood and began to pick up the food she had dropped.

"I suggest we pray for young Obi-Wan." Kat'in finished picking up her mess and placed the undamaged food in front of Qui-Gon. "Please eat something. I will be back later to check on both of you."

The older man picked at a few scraps of food on the tray before him. Almost at once, he felt nauseous at the idea of eating, and instead relaxed in his chair. His eyes fell on Obi-Wan's frail, pale body and he realized that maybe the Missean did have some idea of healing techniques. With nothing else to save Obi-Wan but prayer, Qui-Gon decided that was what he would do.

He bowed his head next to his dying Padawan, and prayed for his life.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan was sitting on the ground, tears running down his face, as he mourned Cerasi death, *again*. Even in his grief, he could not shake the questions that were in his mind.

~Where am I? Why is this happening?~

Back in the furthest area of his subconscious being , Obi-Wan knew something was wrong here. He knew he did not belong in this strange world, but as quickly as the thought came, it left him along with the scene of Cerasi's death. Replacing the dramatic scene was the calm blue again, keeping any thoughts besides thoughts of joy and peace out of the young boy's head.

~I could stay here forever~ The thought had a very appealing impression on Obi-Wan as he laid back on the ground and closed his eyes in a restful sleep.

~~~~~~

Kat'in skidded around a corner, nearly falling on her back as her shoesfailed to make proper traction. However, the healer quickly recovered andbegan her flight towards a certain hospital room. She saw the door andpicked up her fast pace ever so slightly. Finally, she busted in the door and made her way to the one member of the room that was still awake.

"Master...Qui-Gon...I...have...news." Kat'in desperately tried to catch her breathto get her whole statement out without *passing* out.

The Jedi Master turned his head towards the out-of-breath Missean healer and waited for her to catch her breath. Finally, Kat'in had calmed down enough to continue her message.

"I waited to let you know that Princess Telian finally contacted us." The young lady smiled. "She finally defeated her brother and gained control ofthe humans."

The older man stood and held out his hand. Kat'in took the offered hand and shook it. "I want to be the first to say congratulations."

The young lady suddenly pulled the Jedi Master into a hug. "I know this may not seem like much of a condolence in light of recent events." Qui-Gon knew Kat'in was speaking about his apprentice. "But, I also want to let you know
that the Princess is coming by later today to try and figure out how to help Obi-Wan."

The young healer pushed the Jedi out of her hug and looked him in the eyes. "I *know* she can help him!" Kat'in eyes sparkled with a new force of determination.

Qui-Gon released his hold on Kat'in. "I hope you're right. My Padawan's time seems to be...um...running out."

The Missean healer looked over the tall Jedi's shoulder at his still ward. The young boy was fighting an uphill battle. Kat'in pushed the negative thought out of her head and looked back at Qui-Gon.

"He will live, Qui-Gon. He is strong and I believe in him."

The older man turned back and faced Obi-Wan. "I know he is strong, but I fear that this tumor could be stronger."

Kat'in moved further away from the Jedi and headed towards the door. "I am going to meet the Princess and send her here. Have faith in your apprentice." The healer left with her last words of advice.

"I *do* have faith in him." Qui-Gon muttered his response to himself as he took his ever-close vigil next to his Padawan.

~~~~~~

Princess Telian ran off of the small transport and rushed into the small palace. She was smiling as she caught sight of the Fathers.

"Fathers!" Princess Telian made her way next to the taller Missean leaders. "The war is finally over and I had now gained control of the Humans!" The young lady moved to one knee with her head bowed. "I want to express my
sincerest apologies for the lost of life here. It is a terrible loss which has happened to your people and I pray, in time, we can put my brother's doing behind us."

A Father stepped forward and placed a hand on the princess' shoulder. "Please rise, Princess Telian." The young lady rose and looked at the Father's.

Another one spoke up. "We know that your brother's doing is not yours. We hold nothing against you and hope we can restore peace to our planet . Thank you for keeping your promise to us."

Princess Telian shook the hand of each Father before she spoke again. "Your water is now yours again and our people will allow you what ever you want on *your* planet. Thank you for letting us live here." The Fathers nodded to Telian.

"I ask only one thing. Could you please tell me where the Jedi are?"

"The Jedi are in the hospital with Healer Kat'in. We can show you the way." Telian raised a hand.

"No thank you, I know the place you speak of." The princess bowed again before turning away from the Fathers.

~~~~~~

The young princess walked into the hospital and felt all the joy of her victory leave her. She had spoken with a healer briefly about the condition of the youngest Jedi and felt awful at the fact she could give him no assistance. However, as she walked through the sterile hospital, she pledged to herself that she would do anything in her power to help Obi-Wan now. There had already been enough deaths on Vitta and she would not add the young boy's to her conscience.

Telian moved past an office in search of the room where the Jedi would be. As soon as she had past, she heard her name being yelled. Curious, the princess turned around and saw the healer, who she had spoken to, walking towards her.

"I suppose you are looking for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan." Telian nodded her head. "Well, let me show you where they are." Kat'in walked past the princess and pointed to a door in front of her.

"I want to thank you for all you have done for my people and I hope there is something you can do for the young Jedi, as well." The princess smiled at the healer.

"I will try my best to help him. Thank you for showing me the way." Telian walked towards the door and gently opened it. She felt her jaw drop at the sight before her.

When she originally met the Master and Padawan they were both calm and powerful presence, but now she looked at the Jedi and saw the human side of them. Qui-Gon was sitting next to his apprentice like a *very* concern parent and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked like the young boy that he was. The princess walked closer to the pair and got an even better look at the young Jedi. She realized how sick he really was.

The Padawan was an ashen color, yet his cheeks were pink with fever. His breathing was coming in short gasps and sounded congested in his lungs. She now realized how dangerous his situation was and knew the time to act was upon them.

"Master Qui-Gon?" Princess Telian bit her lip when she saw the older Master's face. The Jedi looked as though he had not slept in close to a week. Telian realized that he probably had not gotten much sleep since his Padawan had fallen sick. His eyes were also red rimmed and the young lady knew he had been crying over his companion.

"Princess Telian. I am happy to hear that you are now leading the humans. I believe they have a wonderful leader, now." Qui-Gon rose to his feet and gave the Princess a small nod of his head.

Telian moved next to his apprentice. "How long has he been like this?"

The older man ran a hand over his face. "He fell ill a little less than a week ago and almost five days ago was the last time he regained consciousness."

The princess went to the top of Obi-Wan's bed and place a hand on his head. He felt too warm and had a small layer of sweat over his head. "How old is he, Master Qui-Gon?"

The Jedi stared at the young lady before responding. "He is just a little over fourteen."

The young lady sighed deeply and faced the Jedi Master. "He's too young to go through this. Please can you get his ready to be transporter over to my palace as soon as possible. I am going to alert my healers and see what they can do."

It took a moment for Qui-Gon to collect his thoughts before he spoke. "Your Highness, perhaps we should move him off the planet. I know the healers at the Jedi Temple have the technology to save him."

Telian turned and face the older man. "I understand your thoughts and concerns, however I must insist he seek medical attention as soon as he can. A trip to Corusant would take two days and that is two days too long. If he can begin a sort of treatment today, that's one more day less he has to fight this on his own."

The Jedi Master regarded the princess carefully . She had made a very logical point and he found no error in her idea. "I understand and I am very thankful that you are going to help my apprentice."

The young leader faintly smiled and moved away from the younger Jedi. "It is the least I can to. I need to start undoing my brother's errors and I intend to start with Obi-Wan."

Qui-Gon watched as the princess left him. He turned back to the young Jedi and patted the young boy's hand. "You're going to get the help you need. All you have to do is hang on a while longer, Obi-Wan. That's all I ask,
now. Please just hang on."

~~~~~~

Kat'in helped moved Obi-Wan into the bed aboard the transport. She was glad to see the boy on his way to receive help and she only prayed that the help would come in time. The Jedi Master had been beside his apprentice as the healers made him situated for the trip across the planet. However, he now left momentarily to say a goodbye to Kat'in.

He wanted to thank the young Missean for all she had done for him and his Padawan through this terrible time. She had been understanding when Qui-Gon needed time to himself to think, and she had given him caring words when he needed them. He also knew that she was worried about Obi-Wan and wanted to try and ease some of her worry.

~Better try to ease some of mine first~ The older Jedi had never been more nervous in his life than he was at the thought that the Princess's healers were his Padawan's only hope. Yet, he was willing to try and calm Kat'in some no matter how on edge he was.

"Kat'in." The young lady turned around as her name was called and met the glaze of Qui-Gon. "We are getting ready to leave."

Although the healer had promised herself she would *not* cry no matter what, she felt tears spring to her eyes. "I wish you and your apprentice the best." A stray tear escaped and ran down her cheek. "I would like you to please tell me what happens."

Qui-Gon never felt he was a very emotional man, but in the past week he had changed. So much, that he paused for only a brief moment before pulling Kat'in into a hug. It amazed him that this person was someone whom less than two weeks ago he had not even known. Now, she was one of the few people with whom he felt comfortable expressing his feelings to.

Kat'in held the older man until he pulled back.

"I want to thank you for everything you did." Qui-Gon looked back to the transport. "I'm afraid I must be going. I promise I will let you know about the outcome." The Jedi Master felt his throat constrict as he considered the fact that Obi-Wan *may* not survive his tumor.

"Everything will be fine. I know it." The Missean healer pushed the older man towards the ship. "Be with him and remember how important he is to you."

Qui-Gon turned and walked up to the transport. He moved into a chair by the wall; just in reach of his Padawan as he felt the ship take off and begin to hover over the land. The older man shut his eyes; enjoy the calming motion of the ship as they lulled him almost to sleep.

Abruptly, the Master's eyes shoot open as he received a loud warning through the Force. Pausing only to let his eyes focus, he rushed to Obi-Wan's side trying to find why the warning had come.

He looked at his ward's body and noticed immediately what had happened.

"I need a healer, now!" The Jedi Master's voice screamed through the ship and he prayed a healer was rushing to Obi-Wan's side.

Qui-Gon looked down at his Padawan as he waited a precious seconds it took the healers to reach the Master and Padawan. The older man could not believe that this was happening. Especially after they had come so close to getting Obi-Wan help.

He could not believe that his Padawan had stopped breathing and stopped fighting.

~~~~~~

"Help!" The older Jedi screamed his plea before turning all his focus back to the young Jedi. Reacting out of instinct he began to apply C.P.R, in order to restore life back to Obi-Wan. He was dimly aware that healers had poured into the room until they had pulled him off his Padawan. He stood against the wall with his hands clasped against his mouth as people rushed all around his apprentice.

He barely heard them calling out different warnings as he focused completely on the young boy's face. It was peaceful and tranquil. His face showed no notice of the vicious struggle for life that was happening inside of him.

"He's in arrest!"

"Charging 300."

"Clear!"

"Nothing."

"Charge 350."

"Clear!"

"We've got a pulse."

The last statement was the one that caught Qui-Gon's attention. His Padawan was back and breathing again. He released the air which he had not been aware he was holding. A young male healer moved up to the older Jedi and spoke with him.

"We lost him for a while, however, he is back with us now thankfully." The Jedi Master was aware that there had to be a 'but' to the healer's story.

He was not disappointed.

"But, we worry that his tumor may be so advanced that we will not be able to remove it without killing him or damage his brain beyond repair. I am sorry to give you this rather depressing news."

The news hit Qui-Gon like a herd of banthas, but he was glad that he had been giving the truth and not false hope. The young man bowed and moved back to the other Healers to speak about the apprentice away from his Master.

Qui-Gon fell back into his chair and placed his hands in his head. He would be *so* thankful when this ordeal was over and when he and his Padawan could go on with their lives.

Somewhere in the very recess of his mind however, there was still the lingering thought of, what if his Padawan did not survive? How would life even return to normal for the Jedi Master? Qui-Gon hated to think with such negativity, but the reality was that his apprentice had a higher chance of passing away than surviving. No matter how he looked at the odds they were all stacked against him and his Padawan.

With a dejected sigh, Qui-Gon lifted his head and gazed at his resting ward. The boy still looked peaceful like he was sleeping and would awake any moment. The older Jedi could not even imagine how much joy he would get if his Padawan did just wake up like any morning. But nothing of the sort happened and Obi-Wan stayed in his coma.

~~~~~~

The transport came to a halt and the Jedi Master rose with the healers as they moved Obi-Wan off the ship. He, must to his distaste, followed behind everyone and was unable to be next to his apprentice, due to the number of healers who had joined from the palace.

Off in the crowd, Qui-Gon caught sight of the Princess and, once she saw him, she moved towards him.

"He is in good hands now, Master Jinn. My healers will do all they can to help him."

The older man nodded. "May I see him briefly before he leaves for his treatment?"

Telian smiled. "Of course. Followed me." Princess Telian lead the Jedi Master to the healers and Obi-Wan.

"Master Jinn would like a moment alone with his apprentice." No questions were asked and the healers moved out of hearing distance in respect for the Jedi. Qui-Gon clasped his Padawan's hand in the same fashion he had for over a week. The older man bent down close to Obi-Wan's face and spoke gently.

"I hope that you can hear me, and understand what I am saying to you. I wish that this never happen and that I could change everything, but I can't. I can't do anything, but sit hear as you slowly fad away from me. Do you know how helpless this makes me feel? I feel like I'm losing my better half. You were always my inspiration to wake up and to get on with my day." The Jedi Master felt a tear run down his face.

"I know I may not have always shown it, but I care more for you than I have ever care for anyone in my life. I love you with all my heart and I beg you with all my soul not to leave me alone in this universe. I cannot bare that thought of having to face a mission, the Council or even a day without you. Everything will be empty if you leave me."

"You came into my life and saved me from my darkness, but now I can't save you from yours. I can only give you my word that I will not allow you to leave me without a fight. I *know* you've been fighting this whole time, but all I ask is for a bit longer you continue." Qui-Gon noticed the healers were coming slightly closer and realized his time was over.

"Please come back to me. I love you, my son." The older Jedi gave the younger on a small kiss on his forehead before faced a healer.

"All I ask is you do what you can to save him. Also, that you keep his braid on his head." It seemed like such an odd request yet no one questioned it. Obviously, the Jedi master had his reasons for keeping the braid and the healers decided to respect his wishes.

"We will do all we can for him and will keep the braid." The healer turned to the others and moved Obi-Wan inside the palace.

Princess Telian moved next to the Jedi Master and lead him to another entrance into the palace. "You need to get sleep and food. My healers will see to your Padawan now. You need to keep yourself healthily for when he wakes up."

Qui-Gon followed the princess and soon found himself in a small bedroom. Suddenly, the overwhelming need to sleep came upon the older man. He moved closer to the bed and Telian shut the door behind her, allowing the Master privacy to sleep.

The Jedi moved to the bathroom and quickly rinsed himself off in the shower. With the towel draped around his form, he moved out to the main bedroom and notice a pair of sleeping clothes on the bed. Grateful for the princess's kindness, he put the clothes on and crawled into the bed. It was the first time in too long, that he slept in an actual bed.

The moment his head hit the pillow the Jedi Master was in a deep sleep which was only disturb with visions of his Padawan.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon was having a wonderful dream about the sparring tournament last year when his Padawan had won in his age group. He had just walked up to his apprentice after the event to congratulate him when he heard his name being called. In his dream he glanced around trying to find whom it was calling him, until his subconscious kicked in and brought him out of his dream. T he person stood over the Jedi Master as he opened his eyes.

"Master Qui-Gon?" The older man blinked his eyes to get moisture in them and finally focused on the person above him. The young male healer, whom he had spoken to when Obi-Wan had gone into arrest, was standing next to the Jedi's bed waiting for him to acknowledge him.

"Yes?" The question came out in a cracked, horsed and impatience voice. However, Qui-Gon did not even try apologizing for his behavior. He was awakened out of a wonderful memory of his once very active apprentice.

"My name is Healer Nejji and I was the one who worked on Obi-Wan Kenobi." The mention of his Padawan brought the Jedi Master to complete awareness and he sat up to meet the healer's eyes.

"Do you have any news?" Qui-Gon mentally tried to calm his nerves as he waited for Nejji to speak. Ever since the young boy had fallen ill and he found out about the tumor, the older man had seen different possibilities played out in his mind. He had seen the wonderful outcome where a healer tells him his apprentice would be fine in a few days. He had also seen the horrendous outcome where someone tells him his Padawan had died.

Now, the pinnacle moment was upon him, and the Jedi Master could not keep the sick feeling from rising in his stomach.

"I do have news on your apprentice. When Padawan Kenobi came to use his tumor was in stage seven. How the stages work are a stage one to three turmor is easily removed and leave no real damage. A tumor in the stages four through six is roughly an inch wide and when removed it can cause more damage, such as memory loss, inability to properly communicating and other basic skills. Now, a tumor in the stages seven through nine are almost three inches wide and the chances of effecting basic skills in one in five. The chances of surviving one of these tumors is one in ten. A tumor is stage ten is automatically deadly.

"As you can see, your apprentice's tumor was in a very dangerous stage. We did remove it, however, we fear that Obi-Wan may never recover properly. I am sorry to be so blunt with such a sensitive subject, but I don't want to get you hopes up. Padawan Kenobi's tumor was located in the right lobe of his brain, I am not certain how much you know of anatomy, but the right side is what controls your more natural functions. Such as logic, reading, speaking etc. The left side would be more artistic elements. Because of the location we are concerned about the damage that has been done to his brain and what he will be able to do if he wakes up."

Up until that point, Qui-Gon had remind in silence, taking in all the news the healer was giving him. However, once he heard the word *if*; his silence could no longer be kept.

"What do you mean *if* he wakes up? T here's a chance that my Padawan will always be in a coma?" The older man did not bother to try and keep his voice from cracking.

Nejji began to educate the older Jedi once again. "As I said earlier, there is a one in ten chance of surviving the tumor at a stage seven level. Thus, the chances of him waking up are not very high. Even more disturbing is the fact that even if he wakes up the chance of him being back to normal is even lower. He may always have the intelligence of a ten year old, or he may never be able to speak or even walk."

Qui-Gon felt the room around him begin to spin. How could his apprentice *not* be okay? He had struggled for so long back with the Missean and now, once he had the medical attention he needed, he *should* be okay. The older man realized he was not okay or at least not yet. Although, his Padawan had already put up such a fight, he still had a long way to come.

"May I see him?" The question came out of the Jedi Master's mouth even before he formed the idea in his head, but he knew more than anything he needed to see Obi-Wan.

He needed to be with him now.

"Yes you may. The other healers have moved him into a room so that he can have some privacy. Although, I must warn you of two things. First, the healers will be in and out to check up on him and run tests, so please try to allow them to do there work. And the second is, he does not look well now at all. We had to, of course, shave his head so that we could get to the tumor, although, we did keep his braid by request of the princess. He is pale and has many machines hooked up to him to monitor different items. Please try not to be too alarmed."

The older man did not like the fact that Nejji was trying to tell him to remain calm.

~That can't be good~ T he thought remained with Qui-Gon as the male healer left and while he got dressed. The older Jedi was pleasantly surprised to find his tunic and pants folded nicely and sitting on his bed. He made a quick mental note to thank the princess for her remarkable hospitality.

Finally, the Master was ready and exited the room where he had napped. Once outside, he saw Nejji waiting for him a few paces ahead. Qui-Gon walked to the healer.

"I realized you may not know you way around the palace and decided to wait for you to show you the way." Both men turned and the younger lead the Jedi towards his apprentice.

~~~~~~

Nejji stopped outside the door where Obi-Wan Kenobi was residing. He waited a few seconds before he pushed open the door and allowed the Jedi Master to see his Padawan.

Qui-Gon walked through the opened door and stopped breathing. Though the healer had warned him about his apprentice and his condition, he was not prepared for the sight before him.

On a bed, amidst machines and tubes, the young boy laid. He was paler the Jedi Master ever remembered him being. As the older man stepped closer he got a better look at his Padawan.

The boy's head was, indeed, as the healer had said, shaved. Without hair, Obi-Wan looked even younger and sicker than he had back with the Missean. His braid was still hanging off his head and looked highly out of place on the otherwise bald Jedi. Qui-Gon could barely make out a piece of white gauze, which covered a section on Obi-Wan's head where the tumor had been.

The older Jedi moved even closer to his apprentice and soon found himself standing next to the boy. Being so close to the sick child, Qui-Gon realized even more things about his Padawan. The young Jedi's cheeks were sunken in from lack of nutrients while being ill and his eyes had dark rings around them. Even the boy's lips were pale and hardly stood out against his near white face.

Wasting no time, the older Jedi grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and held onto it. He was careful of the many tubes, which entered and left his apprentice's body in all different direction. He did not know what half of them monitored or what they did, and he realize, he did not care. All that mattered was getting Obi-Wan well and if all those tubes and whatnot helped, then the older man was not one to question them.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan was drifting down a wonderfully peace river of light. The peace around him was so welcoming that the young boy was content to stay this way forever. There were no loud noises, no bright lights...just peace. He loved the little droplets of light, that would dance in front of his eyes before sailing on their way. He loved the soft rocking of the small craft he was laying in. Yet, moreover, he loved the beauty of the sights around him.

Large, drooping trees sprung out of a light green ground. Blue skies stretched as far as Obi-Wan could see and a light blue river, which he was on top of, ran through it all. He loved this dream; although it seemed he had been having it for quiet some time.

The thought that he had been in this serene land for a good amount of time had crossed the young Jedi's mind once or twice. He had dreamt before, but never in this clarity or longevity. However, he brushed the thought away and just focused on the wonder around him.

~~~~~~

~Thirteen days have passed since we left Coruscant, twelve days have passed since Obi-Wan passed out, eight days have passed since he fell unconscious and now three days have passed since the operation~

Qui-Gon replayed the same thought through his head over and over again.

~It is amazing what can happen in less than two weeks~

Even more amazing to him though, was the fact that not even fourteen days ago; his apprentice had been an active teenager. Now, that active teenager, was a dying young boy.

~He's not dying, Jinn, he'll be fine!~

Although the Jedi Master had been working on keeping his thoughts positive, time was slowly wearing away at his optimism.

Over the past three days he had talked to his Padawan about anything and everything he could think of. Now, his throat was parched, he was tried and the young Jedi was still unconscious. Even worst yet, was the fact that the healers had yet to find any real brain activity.

Nejji said that after another few days the Jedi Master may want to think about removing the young boy from the machines which were keeping him stable and even alive. Qui-Gon outright refused to do anything that could result in his apprentice's death and told the healer that Obi-Wan would wake up.

However, now he was beginning to doubt if the boy would.

The older man opened his mouth to speak again and found he had lost his voice. After trying to squeak out a few sentences, Qui-Gon resigned and gave up to speaking through the Force.

/Padawan, it's me again. I know you're in there somewhere I just need you to wake up and come back to me, please. You've been gone too long and I need to see you smile again. I need to hear you voice/

/I promised you once, when you were sick with that Homic fever after our mission, that I would do whatever it took to keep you safe. I failed you and I am so sorry for that. I failed to protect you. But I want you to know I will never do that again/

/I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe from now on . I just need you to come back to me, please, Obi-Wan/

/I love you and cannot even think of this world without you/

The Jedi Master felt a tears course down his face, but he let it fall on to his apprentice's hand.

/Please, my son, I need you/

~~~~~~
Obi-Wan was still drifting peacefully down his wondrous river, when he heard the voice. It started out barely a whisper and the young boy strained to hear it.

"...I need to see you smile again..."

The voice slowly gained in volume and soon, the young Jedi heard it speaking to him as if the person was right next to him.

"...I promised you once..."

The young boy's curiosity was peaked as he listened, trying to understand who the voice belong to and who it was talking about.

"...to keep you safe..."

Obi-Wan realized that the voice had a quality to it that was somewhat familiar, however he still could not concentrate and who *exactly* owned the voice.

"...I failed you and I am so sorry for that..."

The young boy jumped to his feet once he recognized the voice. "MASTER!"

He yelled as loud as he could, but his Master did not pause speaking.

"...I failed to protect you. But I want you to know I will never do that again. I will do whatever it take to keep you safe from now on..."

"I am here, Master!" Now, the young Jedi had jumped off of the small raft and was running in the general direction of the voice. He ran with all his strength and felt his lungs burn at the intensity of his breathing.

For some reason, the voice of his Master had entered his dreamlike state, and at once, Obi-Wan knew he had to leave. There was no message from the Force; it was a gut feeling.

He needed to see his Master again.

"...I just need you to come back to me, please, Obi-Wan..."

"I'm coming, Master!"

Suddenly, the apprentice tripped on an unseen rock and hit his head on the ground. The last thing he heard before his dream turned black was Qui-Gon's final message.

"...Please, my son, I need you..."

~~~~~~

The Jedi Master did not notice the movement at first. It was so discrete, that he could have sworn the wind had cause it.

*If* there was wind in the room.

With that thought, Qui-Gon turned his attention back to his Padawan's pinkie finger and looked for any movement. Within seconds, the finger twitched, and the older Jedi felt his heart jump to his throat.

"Padawan, I'm here, please you're almost home." The Master gripped his apprentice's hand tightly. "Please come back to me."

As if the young boy had heard his Master's plea, his eyelids fluttered for a moment before a pair of greenish/blue eyes met dark blues ones. Instantly, tears came to Qui-Gon's eyes and he fell into the young Jedi giving him a hug.

Obi-Wan kept his eyes wide open as he looked around the room where he was. He realized he hadn't the faintest clue where he was. The young boy opened his mouth to speak and found he could not.

"There is a tube in your throat that has been making sure your airway stay clear. I wager that in a few hours you'll be able to have it removed."

The young boy nodded his head. /Where am I?/

Qui-Gon placed a hand on the young Jedi's head and patted his shaved skull gently. /You are in a hospital on Princess Telian's establishment/

A rush of memories came back to Obi-Wan, along with a mountain of questions. /What happened to the Prince? What happened to the Misseans? What about the tumor? Am I okay? Am I.../

The older Jedi threw up a hand to silence his apprentice's thoughts. "Everything will be answered in time. For now, all you need to know is that the healers here have removed the tumor."

The young boy mentally sighed. The tumor was gone and he was back in the land of the living with his Master. Suddenly, tiredness crept up to Obi-Wan and he could feel his eyelids start to drop. Qui-Gon ran a hand over his ward's forehead.

"Padawan, you need to stay awake until the healers look you over. I know you must be tried, but please just stay awake a little longer." While speaking the older man pushed a button beside Obi-Wan's bed.

/Yes, Master/

The older Jedi held his apprentice's hand. "Thank you."

Confusion crossed Obi-Wan's face. /For what?/

"For coming back to me." The love, which the young boy saw in his Master's eyes, brought tears to his own eyes.

/I am *so* sorry/ The tears that had welled up in his eyes, now fell down the boy's cheeks.

"Whatever for, Padawan?" Qui-Gon wiped a few stray tears off of Obi-Wan's cheek.

/For doing this to you. Not telling you about the headaches. Making you worry. Leaving you on your own for the mission. Take your pick!/ The young Jedi turned his face away, as much as the machines would allow, from his Master. Tears now silently ran down into his pillow.

"Look at me, Obi-Wan." Slowly, the boy obeyed and met the older man's eyes. "There is nothing for you to be sorry for. There was nothing you could do to stop this. Never think that any of this is your fault. Can I help it when I get sick?" The young Jedi shook his head. "And neither can you."

/Thank you/ The response came immediately after Qui-Gon finished speaking. /Thank you for being with me/

"And thank you for coming back to me." The Master and Padawan waited in a peaceful silence until the healers came.

~~~~~~

Nejji was the first one to the room and nearly fell over when he saw that Patient Kenobi was awake. When he heard the buzzing and realized it was for the young Jedi's room; he feared the worst. He guessed that the boy might have stopped breathing or even worse.

However, he now saw how wrong he really was.

"Master Jinn? Padawan Kenobi?" Both Jedi turned and regarded the male
healer.

"He woke up about five minutes ago." Nejji looked over the bed at the young apprentice. Sure enough, the boy's eyes were open and he appeared to be aware of his surroundings.

"I don't mean to sound negative here, but I am surprised. *Very* surprised. I must be honest with you two. With three days of no brain readable activity, I feared that you may have left us." Nejji smiled. "I am glad to see I was wrong in my assumption. I need to look you over to make sure we can remove all these machines. It will take only about ten minutes."

The male healer looked at Qui-Gon. "Master Jinn, why don't you grab yourself something to eat, whilst I look over your apprentice."

The older man looked at his Padawan and when the boy nodded his head; he agreed.

The older Jedi rose to his feet and stretched his stiff joints. With one last look at Obi-Wan, he left the healer to tend to his work.

~~~~~~

Qui-Gon was barely out of the hospital room when someone nearly ran him over. Thinking quickly, the Jedi Master stabilized himself and then helped the other person stay on their feet.

"I am so sorry, I should been watching where I was going. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The two people finally got a look at each other and almost laughed in recognition.

"Master Jinn! I was coming to see, although I was not planning on literally running into you." Princess Telian self-consciously straightened the red dress she was wearing. "I saw the Nejji rush to Obi-Wan's room and I was coming to see what was happening."

The young lady finally pulled her eyes off of her dress and looked at the older man. Qui-Gon could see only deep concern in her bright green eyes.

~She's worried for my Padawan~ The Master could not help but inwardly smile. Somehow, in the course of less than two weeks, his apprentice had managed to get at least two people's hearts. First there was the overwhelming concern from Kat'in and now the same concern and worry from Princess Telian. Before he gave the princess the wrong idea about Obi-Wan's condition he decided to put her mind to rest.

"Obi-Wan woke up about ten minutes ago and now Healer Nejji is with him. I was on my way to get something to eat." Relief visibly crossed Telian's face.

"Oh thank goodness. I feared the worse when I saw him leave. Why don't I join you while you eat?"

Qui-Gon smiled at the princess. "That would be fine. Although, I am going to be brief and get back to my Padawan as soon as possible."

Telian nodded and walked with the older man. After a few steps, the princess spoke up. " My brother is being sent before the Senate to face charges of murder." The spark that had been in the young leader's voice, left once she mentioned her brother's name and his crimes.

"I am sorry to hear that you have lost your brother, but you did the right thing. The choices we must make are not always easy, but we must do what we must for the greater good." Qui-Gon heard Telian sigh next to him.

"I know. But I still feel somewhat guilty about Tekit. He was a good person. Power and leadership just changed him."

The older man opened the door to a small dining room and allowed the princess to enter. "Perhaps in time, he will become that person you remember. All is not loss."

The princess smiled at the older Jedi as he grabbed a few pieces of fruit and sat down at the nearest table. Within minutes the Jedi had devoured the fruit and was standing.

"I'm sorry to be so brief, but I really would like to get back to my apprentice." Telian stood also.

"Of course. I will stop by later to see him. Tell him hello from me." Qui-Gon bowed to the young princess and turned to head back to the hospital room.

~~~~~~

Obi-Wan sat still as the healer examined different read outs and looked at different charts. He was getting anxious for his Master to return and for the healer to leave. He always felt uncomfortable in hospitals and worried whenever he saw a healer. Healers normally brought shots, or bandages or worse things for the young Jedi.

The door opened to his room and Obi-Wan smiled when he saw his Master heading over to him.

"Mas-ter." After almost a week of not using his voice, the young apprentice's throat had closed some. Thus, allowing the Padawan to only croak out words.

"Hello, how do you feel?" Obi-Wan raised a hand and dipped it right and left indicating 'so-so'. Not completely satisfied with the young boy's assessment of his health, Qui-Gon turned to Nejji. "Have you learn anything new?"

The young male healer turned and faced the Jedi Master. "Well, the readouts still say the same. He had no brain activity since the operation until he woke up. I just don't understand it. It's almost as if he was in such a deep unconscious state that he brain had stopped functioning." Nejji shook his head. "However, it's still too early to tell if he has lost any of his basic functions, although he does appear to be able to speak."

The young boy heard Nejji mention losing functions and he instantly had a thousand more questions running through his head.

/Master, what does he mean by, lost any basic functions? What functions? Will I be able to walk? What about sparring? And classes? And missions? Am I going to be okay?/ Qui-Gon turned his head and looked at his young apprentice.

/Shh, Padawan. Nejji informed me that because of the size and intensity of your tumor, you could have lost some function such as you ability to speak, or read or write./

Obi-Wan's eyes grew large. /I may not be able to be normal, then?/

The older Jedi placed a hand over his Padawan's hand. /We'll get through this; don't you worry/

His Master's positive words, eased his worries some, but the young boy still felt apprehension at the fact that he may never operate the same again.

~~~~~~

FOUR DAYS LATER

"Again, Obi-Wan."

The young boy sighed a resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His Master knew what he was doing; regardless of how much the apprentice hated it.

"Coruscant; C-O-R-U-S-C-A-N-T. Republic; R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C. Jedi; J-E-D-I. Obi-Wan Kenobi; O-B-I..." Finally the young Jedi could take it no more and stopped.

"Master, I think I know how to spell my own name. Can't we do something else?" For over the last hour, Qui-Gon had given him over two hundred words to memorize and spell. Now, it was just getting annoying.

"Padawan, we are testing your memory and thinking ability. Now, spell Chancellor."

The young boy took a deep breath and began. "Chancellor; I A-M B-O-R-E-D." Obi-Wan placed a smug look on his face as Qui-Gon spelled the words in his head.

"Fine, I get the idea. Let's try..." The older Jedi never got the words out of his mouth, before his over excited apprentice spoke.

"Can I please get out of this bed? It's been four days already and even the healers can't find anything wrong. Please!" His Master licked his lips and regarded his Padawan. The boy did have a point. He had been stuck in the bed for a long time and they did have to look over his coordination.

"Fine. However, you will do what I say and nothing more. Understood." The boy shook his head vigorously before pulling his legs to the side of his bed. Slowly and carefully, he lowered himself to the floor. Once, his feet made contact he placed his weight on his legs.

The effect of not being active for over two weeks made the Padawan weak and caused his legs to wobbled beneath him. Nonetheless, he held himself up right with the bed until he found some balance. Once, he was able to stand without the assistance, he shot his Master a quirky smile.

"Very good. Now I just want you to take it easy and try to walk to me." Qui-Gon stood back about six steps and Obi-Wan took a deep breath. Slowly he picked his foot up and placed it on the ground. He continued this motion until he did reach his Master.

"I did it!" The joy in the boy's voice made the older Jedi smile. I really did it!"

"You did well, Padawan. Now, I want you to get back into bed and we'll get you something to eat." The young Jedi turned and made his way, slowly, back to his bed. Qui-Gon helped pick him up into the bed.

"Master, how long do you think it'll be until I am back to normal physically?" The older Jedi placed a hand on Obi-Wan's head. Under his hand he could fell the beginnings of hair, yet overall his Padawan was still bald with a little peach fuzz.

"Have some patience. You are lucky to be completely well. I don't want to push yourself." Qui-Gon hoped, in time, the young Jedi would realize how lucky he really was to be completely well. From the beginning, Nejji had stated the chances of a complete recovery was one in five. Somehow, Obi-Wan was one of those five.

Ever night, Qui-Gon thanked the Force for that special gift.

"I won't, Master."

"Good, I'm going to hold you to your word." The older man rose to his feet. "I'm going to get some dinner."

Qui-Gon turned and left his Padawan. Obi-Wan yawned and allowed his eyes to shut. T he past four days had been tiring. A series of one test after another to make sure all was well inside the young Jedi. Each night, the young boy fell asleep before dinner and Qui-Gon had to wake him to make sure he ate.

Tonight was no different.

Within moments, Obi-Wan was in a deep sleep. He never heard the door open, or heard the person slowly move next to his bed. He did however hear the person when the broke into a soft sob.

The young Jedi opened his eyes quickly and found himself face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes. A small yelp escaped his throat.

"Oh my Gods, you're awake!" The voice suddenly triggered a memory in the apprentice's mind.

~I know that voice!~

"Kat'in?" The young healer moved closer to Obi-Wan and placed a soft hand on his forehead.

"Yes. Oh my, I thought you were dead or something." When Kat'in had entered the quiet hospital room, the first sight she saw was Obi-Wan laying and barely breathing with his eyes closed.

Instantly the young healer thought the worst had happened and he had passed on. To make her worst fear even more realistic was that fact that she had received no word from Qui-Gon. Now, she realized, the boy was not dead; although scared close to it.

"Why are you here?" Obi-Wan did not want to sound rude, but he was curious as to why the healer had come all the way here to see him.

"I thought that perhaps something horrible had happened because I never got any word from your Master." As if on que, Qui-Gon walked into the small room.

"Kat'in?" The surprise in his voice, matched his Padawan's almost exactly. "What are you doing here?"

The tall Missean marched her way to the Jedi Master and stood less than six inches in front of her. She used her height to stare the older man directly in the eyes. "You..." She pushed her index finger into his chest to emphasize her point. "...never contacted me and I thought that your apprentice may have died or something. I came here to see what was happening."

Qui-Gon ran his hand free of food over his face.

~I forgot to call Kat'in. How can I be so stupid!~

"I am *so* sorry I forgot to contact you, but things have been fairly busy lately. I am terribly sorry if I worried you."

The healer smiled at the Jedi and stepped back. "It's okay. I can understand how you would forget to call me. I am just glad to see he is okay." Kat'in paused for a moment. "He *is* going to be okay won't he?"

Qui-Gon nodded his head. "Yes, in time he will be back to his old self, again."

Both adult looked at the young Jedi as he had, once again, drifted off to sleep.

"I better get him his dinner. If you stay, I can tell you all that happened."

Kat'in nodded her head. "That would be fine. I'll wait out here."

The young healer left the two Jedi. Qui-Gon went beside his apprentice and woke the boy up. Although, groggy, Obi-Wan still managed to eat the food his Master brought for him.

"Sleep well, Obi-Wan."

"Good night, Master."

As soon as his head hit the pillow, the young boy was asleep. Qui-Gon smiled at his Padawan. The boy looked almost healthy again. He had gained back some of the weight he had lost, although, it would take time and big meals to gain it all back. He also lost the darkness under his eyes and gained back some of his color to his once almost white face.

Qui-Gon ran a hand over his apprentice's head. His head still felt odd in comparison to the once spiky Padawan cut the boy had, although having no hair was, in Qui-Gon's opinion, a small price to pay to have Obi-Wan back. The older man leaned down and kissed the boy on his forehead.

"I love you, my Padawan."

The older Jedi turned off a nearby light and made his way out of the room. He went in search of Kat'in to share with her all that had occurred in the past week.

~~~~~

THREE DAYS LATER

"Master, *I'm* fine! I can walk." Obi-Wan trying to wriggle out of Qui-Gon's arms. The older man had been more than insistent that his Padawan not over exert himself. The young boy had agreed at first, if it meant they could get home sooner. Now, that his Master had carried him through the hospital doors, he saw nearly twenty people in the hallway, and now *he* was being insistent that his Master put him down.

"I told you, I am going to carry you to the ship. His Padawan still continued to struggle in his arms and the older man tightened his grip. "You are not in good enough shape to walk all the way to the ship. If you want I'll turn right back around and you can recover here."

Instantly, Obi-Wan stopped moving. "Yes, Master."

"Good." The older Jedi took a breath to say something more. "You know, I never realized how much I missed you annoying whining."

"I DO NOT whine!" The young boy said in a whining voice.

"Yeah, sure you don't." Obi-Wan let out a noise like 'humph'.

"You know Master, if you want I can just go back to my unconscious silent self."

Instantly, the young boy realized his mistake when Qui-Gon's body tightened. He came to a halt and placed the young Jedi on the ground. Bending at the knees, he matched the boy's height.

"I never, *ever* want to hear you say that again. Don't joke about that." Obi-Wan's faced flush with shame. "I almost lost you and I never want to think of that again. You are the most important thing in my life and I realize that now. If I lost you...I...I don't know what I'd do." Qui-Gon took in a deep breath. "I love you like my son and I never want to go through what these past weeks have been like, *again*."

"I'm sorry, Master."

The older man pulled the young boy into a hug. "I'm not mad, I just don't want you to joke around like that. I never want to come close to losing you like that."

"I love you, too. And I never want to go through that experience again."

Qui-Gon smiled and stood up . "Now, I do believe the ship is only a little ways. Can you walk?"

The apprentice nodded his head and both Jedi began to walk slowly to the ship.

~~~~~~

The two Jedi entered the ship port and found the ship they were to fly home on. They also found Kat'in and the princess waiting. Both ladies were smiling as Obi-Wan entered.

"Obi-Wan it is so good to see you looking so well." Kat'in walked up to the Padawan and gave the young boy a hug.

Princess Telian also stepped forward and gave him a hug. "I agree with Healer Kat'in. You had us all very worried, especially your Master. You must promise not to do anything like that again."

Obi-Wan blushed. "I'll try."

Qui-Gon moved next to his Padawan and bowed to the two women. "Thank you so much for everything you two did. I never can repay my debate to you. You both saved my Padawan's life."

Kat'in smiled. "We are just happy to see that you both made it off our planet safely."

"I agree. Besides without you, it could have taken time, which we did not have, to get my brother off of his throne."

Both Jedi returned a shy smile.

"I am afraid to say it, but we must be going and get back to Coruscant."

"We understand." Princess Telian bowed to the Jedi. "Thank you again for your help here and I am sorry for what did happen."

Obi-Wan moved a step forward from his Master and a bit closer to two ladies. "Kat'in and Princess Telian, I just want to say thank you for everything you did for me and my Master. You have been wonderful to us and I do believe Vitta is in capable hands."

Qui-Gon could not have felt prouder at his apprentice's honest words. "I believe my Padawan has said exactly what we both feel."

Princess Telian moved behind the Jedi and slowly pushed them forward. "You must get to your ship if you want to get home soon."

The Master and Padawan walked beside the healer and princess to their ship. At the base of the ship the four people faced each other one last time. No words were said as they pulled each other into a hug.

The four strangers had been through more than families sometimes go through. Because of that, they had formed a bond that would remain through time.

The two Jedi boarded the ship that slowly took off, leaving Kat'in and Telian alone in the ship port. Princess Telian turned to the healer.

"They were good people." Kat'in nodded her head in agreement. "Um...I know this may seem sudden, but would you like to join my staff of healers?"

The Missean turned to the young Princess astonished. "I don't know what to say."

"Perhaps yes?"

Kat'in let out a small laugh. "I would love to help you, but perhaps instead, you could help out the Missean with our technology."

The two women turned and walked back towards the palace. "I believe we can figure something out."

~~~~~~

E-p-i-l-o-g-u-e

ONE MONTH LATER

The lightsaber blocked two more balls of light. Its operator felt another warning through the Force and quickly ducked into a tight somersault to avoid getting hit by a blaster. The fighter quickly sprung to their feet and avoided another three bolts.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath as he watch Bant practice with the training 'saber. She was a natural with it and he could easily feel the Force flowing through her; helping her hit the bolts. After another fifteen minutes of practice the young girl switched off the droids and her 'saber. She walked over to Obi-Wan.

"You did really well. I can see you've been practicing."

"Yeah, I've been concentrating on practice more. The lightsaber is definitely my weak point." Bant grabbed a towel and began to wipe off her face. "So, how have you been feeling?"

Every since his return from Vitta the young boy had been answering questions left and right about the mission, and about what happened and how he felt. He always gave the same answer.

'Yes, I feel fine.'

'No, I no problems.'

'Thank you for your concern, but really I'm feeling just fine.'

'Yes, it was a terrible ordeal.'

However, with Bant and his Master he could be honest with himself and them. He was lonely. He was tired of not being able to practice with his 'saber, he was tired of everyone being afraid to push him and he was tired of being...tired.

"I'm sick of everyone acting like I'm going to break. I mean I'm not going to break. I *feel* fine!" Obi-Wan sighed and placed his chin in his hands.

"Everyone just is concerned for you. In time they will realize you are fine."

The apprentice ran a hand over his head. His hair had slowly grown back and now he had a nice little layer of hair. Although, it was not nearly as long as it would be, but better than when he had none.

"I guess I just want to be a normal Padawan again."

"In that case...catch." The warning came early enough that Obi-Wan looked up and saw his lightsaber heading straight towards his face. He reacted quickly and caught the 'saber.

Once, he had a hold of his trusty 'saber, he looked up and saw his Master grinning at him.

"Well?" Qui-Gon ignited his blue blade in a challenge for his Padawan. The apprentice grinned and stood up.

He lit his 'saber and joined the older Jedi on the floor. Qui-Gon made the first strike at his Padawan and the boy blocked it with ease.

Within minutes, the two Jedi had full-fledged battle.

Obi-Wan back-flipped out of his Master's attack and brought his 'saber up in defense of the older Jedi's. The young boy took a low swipe at Qui-Gon's feet, and the older man front flipped over his Padawan. Knowing that his Master had the advantage by being behind him, Obi-Wan did the only thing he could think of.

Dropping to his feet, the young boy rolled himself up into a tight ball and rolled out of the way. Now the two Jedi were face to face. Although, he was tired, sweating and hurting, the young Jedi refused to give up until someone score the 'killing' blow.

Qui-Gon dove for his Padawan and in a split second decision, Obi-Wan fell flat to his stomach. Taken by such surprise, the older Jedi stopped his attack and looked at his apprentice.

"Obi-Wan, are you okay?" The boy suddenly sprung to life and knocked his Master's feet out from under him. Before he knew what happen, the older Jedi found himself on his back with his Padawan's 'saber at his throat.

"Gotcha!" The smile on the young apprentice's face made the older Jedi smile too.

"Perhaps you did, but you know that would not have worked on anyone else."

Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders. "But it worked on you."

Qui-Gon rose to his feet with the help of his Padawan. "Maybe, but next time it won't."

"Well, then next time I'll just have to think of another way to trick you." The older Jedi laughed out loud.

"I don't think you're that clever, Padawan."

The young Jedi put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Master! That's just mean."

The older Jedi threw an arm over the young boy and pulled him close. "Well, you'll just have to see how clever you are, won't we?"

Obi-Wan smiled. Things were finally back to normal. He knew that, in time, everyone else would realize that the young boy was not a fragile piece of glass that could break at any second, but rather, a Jedi who had overcome terrific odds to survive.

Obi-Wan smiled up to Qui-Gon. But until that time, he knew he had his Master.

And that was all he needed.


**THE END**

Well, after FOUR months of writing and editing...it's done! Yeah! Love feedback and would love to get some ^_^

I have another story in the works, however it is far from even being close to done. I'll try to work on it more and get at least a prologue out there sometime.