Heya, everybody! I'm still alive and writing stories… I hope you've read my other ones.
This is a sequel to my previous story. It is not necessary to read it first, but it might help understand the relationship.
Nineteen-year old Obi-wan Kenobi barely woke when he heard the knock on his door. When the knock repeated itself, he grumbled and rolled over. The third time was accompanied with a warning. "Padawan! If I have to ask again, I will personally come in and pull you out of bed!" at that, the teenager sat up and sleepily got out of bed, stumbling down the hall toward the 'fresher. Five minutes later, he walked into the kitchen, only to be greeted by a billow of smoke accompanied by the smell of burned gukk eggs and topatoes. He giggled.
"Breakfast in the commissary again?" the cook, his Master Qui-gon, growled. The Padawan giggled again. This was a common thing. He may be an accomplished Jedi Master, but an accomplished cook he was not. Suddenly, Obi-wan had to duck as a pillow from the couch in the living area sailed through the air toward the back of his head, propelled by the Force. Obi-wan ducked, and the pillow sailed onward, impacting cleanly with Qui-gon's face. Very quickly, a second pillow followed the first, this time propelled by the Apprentice's Force. The Master reflected it back at its sender, who ducked and escaped into the living quarters. With a playful chuckle, Qui-gon followed, sending a throw blanket around the youth's ankles, pinning him down on the floor. He then began tickling the boy mercilessly, making him laugh so hard, he could barely catch his breath. Finally, the Obi-wan was able to disengage himself from the large figure and escape into the hallway, only to smack into a solid object blocking his path.
He rebounded and ended up sprawled on his back at the feet of Jedi Master Mace Windu. Qui-gon followed his Apprentice, his intent being to suggest they go to Didi's diner for breakfast, since the chefs at the commissary couldn't cook any better than Qui-gon, but ended up leaning on the door frame and laughing at the look on the boy's face when he realized just who he had run into. The dark-skinned Master transferred his calm gaze from the downed Apprentice to the laughing Master and informed them, in a tone that clearly told the pair that he was barely holding in his own laughter, that their presence was required at the Council chamber in one hour.
"Perfect!" The youth exclaimed. "Just enough time for breakfast!" Qui-gon, with a smile of his own, slapped him on the back affectionately and the two strolled in companionable silence down the exalted halls of the Jedi Temple. Even if they were late for their meeting with the Council, Qui-gon was determined his Apprentice would have edible food for breakfast and he never broke a promise.
The most accomplished Master-Padawan team in the Temple bowed before the twelve Council members as the door swished closed behind them. Mater Windu began without preamble. The team would be going after a bounty hunter that preyed on star liners, kidnapping random passengers and torturing them for a week, then returning the dead body to the family. There was never any ransom; he just seemed to enjoy it for his own sadistic pleasure. The Jedi team would go undercover as a rich man
and his son in the hopes that they could then trap and arrest the bounty hunter. They would leave that night at 1900 hours on a transport headed for the resort world of Yelsa. Dismissed with a bow, the two partners returned to their apartment to change into their disguises and rest. The Master had a feeling this mission would be a very difficult one, and they would need all the energy they could muster.
At promptly 1855, Obi-wan and Qui-gon were putting their decoy luggage away in their plush quarters. They had a three-room suite; the largest and most opulent suite on the cruiser, garnered from favors owed the Jedi Order. After a late dinner of nerf steaks in ginn sauce and whipped muja smoothies, the two humans laid down to sleep, both keeping half their attention tuned for danger. Halfway through the night, Obi-wan was rudely awoken by a warning screaming its way through the Force, telling him that the bounty hunter was approaching. Before he could reach the central room, the front door was blown open and both Jedi were knocked off their feet by the blast. It took Obi-wan less time than his Master to jump to his feet, but in that split second, the bounty hunter had secured the larger man with electro-cuffs.
As Obi-wan stepped forward to apprehend the hunter, said man leveled a blaster at Qui-gon's head. "One more step, and I'll kill him." the hunter growled. The Padawan obeyed, seeing no reason not to believe this man. He was afraid—truly afraid for the first time in years—that this man would kill Qui-gon. With a wicked grin, the hunter brought the handle of the blaster down hard on the Master's head, knocking him out cold.
"No!!" Obi-wan yelled his denial. "Take me instead!" The hunter paused, considering, then affixed a pair of binders to the student's wrists. He let the teenager to his ship, where he was stripped of everything but his leggings and thrown roughly into a cell with an order to be silent or suffer.
Qui-gon was awoken by the captain of the star liner. His first thought was to his charge. Finding him not in the immediate vicinity, he questioned the pilot who informed him that the teen was last seen being led onto the bounty hunter's ship. With a far-off look in his eyes, Qui-gon looked out at the stars and sent a message through the silent training bond, hoping his missing Apprentice would hear. Hold on, Obi. I'll find you, you just have to hold on until I get there. He didn't know if Obi-wan heard, but he immediately set to work locating his lost child.
So…… what'dya think? –begs readers with a cute puppy face – please review, it makes me happy.