Chapter 4

Raven put a hand out to the wall to steady herself. She was 90% sure she didn't recognise this man, or that name, but she had that feeling of oncoming memory, like fingers crawling up her spine. He stepped closer to her, and she moved backwards automatically. He reeked of danger.

"What's wrong?" he grinned. "Don't remember me?"

Raven swallowed, trying to maintain control of herself. She couldn't afford to go into another fainting fit like before. "Sorry," she said quietly. "You've mistaken me for someone else."

He frowned at her, impatiently. "Shit, you're far gone this time. Come on Eris, cut the crap. It's me, Drake." He clicked his fingers in her face sharply. She stepped backwards again, blinking quickly. Something was making her eyes water, and it wasn't the sand. The feeling built up while the man stood there grinning unpleasantly, and within the space of five seconds it felt like something in her head was splitting open, and she clapped her hands to her forehead, doubling over.

The man was speaking… Or perhaps he was laughing. Her eyes closed, and opened… squinting through her eyelids, everything was suddenly inverted, and she realised she was on the ground. The man leaned down to speak loudly right into her ear, the sound piercing her brain.

"The Chief says you've got a week. Don't-"

He cut off. His eyes rolled back. He fell sideways. Obi-Wan stood behind him, holding the hilt of his weapon, the bottom edge slightly bloodied from where it had struck the back of the man's head. He watched long enough to make sure Drake was out cold, then hurried over to where she lay.

"Raven…" he breathed. He didn't touch her, but she could feel his energy swirling around her, testing, carefully brushing past her own energy. "Something has happened," he said in a soft voice, lowering his head right to the sand so he could see into her eyes. "What did he do? Did he touch you?"

"He said he knew me. He called me… Eris. Something about… a Chief …" she groaned, covering her head with both her arms. "My head…"

"Raven," he said, "I'm sorry, I know you don't like it, but I need to touch you. We have to get out of here now. Whoever this man is, he's not alone."

He didn't wait for her reply. He grasped her under the arms and pulled her to her feet. One hand around her waist tightly, he manoeuvred her the few steps to the speeder and lifted her on. He swung his leg over the seat behind her and powered it up. The little bike hummed to life, and he grasped the handlebars, wedging her in between his arms. She could feel danger descending on them like a bird of prey, brushing at their heels as he put his foot down and they sped away. Down the street, around a few corners, then it was the outskirts of the city, then they were clear of it. Obi-Wan accelerated hard, and she was pushed back against his chest.

The darkness swirled around her, she felt her vision darkening, her consciousness fading, but it didn't quite penetrate. Obi-Wan surrounded her, and he was so bright that the darkness couldn't get through. The further away they got from the city, the less the black tendrils pressed at her. Soon, they faded enough for her to come back into her body. She opened her eyes, and immediately squeezed them shut as sand flew into them. She brought her hands up to her eyes and rubbed furiously, as they started to tear up.

"Are you alright?" His voice was right in her ear, deep enough that she felt it against her back, against his chest.

She nodded, becoming aware of all the places they were touching. It wasn't just her back – her hips were wedged between his thighs, and his biceps pressed against her arms. Her first reaction, as always, was that she wanted to move, but there was nowhere to go. After the initial shock, however, she found that it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. The night air whipping at them was cold, but he was warm. She liked it how solid he was. And, above all, there was the fact that he had somehow saved her again. She wasn't sure what it was that had chased them out of the city, and she didn't know how he'd been able to shield her from it, but there was no doubt that it was gone now. It wasn't just his body that had been a barrier to whatever was trying to get her, it was also something about his essence, his energy, his signature in her mind. It burned brightly, and it was more powerful than the creeping darkness. It was swamping her own murky, unstable presence, and she liked how it felt as darkness dripped away from her, like sunlight banishing the water from drying clothes.

She turned her head to the right, and felt his moustache tickle her ear.

"How far?" she asked, her voice snatched away in the wind.

"We'll be home soon," he said, rumbling through her back again. She liked that feeling – she wanted him to keep talking, so she could feel the rumble of his chest, the movement of his mouth against her ear. She wanted it in a way that she didn't understand, a way that came from her chest and not her head.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"A little tired," he replied. "I think my injuries were more severe than I first realised… How did you heal them so well?"

"Not that well," she corrected. "Only enough for you to walk by yourself."

"In less than a day, and after spinal damage?" He hesitated. "Did you take me to a surgeon?"

"No."

"Did you operate yourself?"

"No," she giggled at the note of concern in his voice. "I just… I don't know. I just fixed it. I used my energy."

Obi-Wan was silent for a long time. They were approaching the large rocky formation that held his home. He turned the speeder towards the East, circling around to the rough road cut through the rocks. Finally, he spoke again. "Raven… You knew my name when we met. But do you know who I am?"

She frowned, but was reluctant to push her memory at all after she'd come so close to losing it all completely.

"You're my friend," she said. "That's all I know."

"I'm a Jedi Knight," he said, although it sounded like he struggled to say it.
Raven was drawing a blank. "A what?"

"I was a member of an order of peacekeepers, dedicated to the Republic. We…" he broke off, and she felt him inhale before continuing. "We drew our power from the Force, which is the energy that binds the world together. I think that's what you mean, when you talk about energy."

"The 'Force'?" Raven crinkled her nose, then shrugged. "Alright. What does it matter what it's called?"

He chuckled, reverberating deeply into her back, and slowed the speeder as they approached his home, pulling up right outside.

"It matters because it's a very rare gift, to be able to manipulate it at all. And the extent of control that you seem to have, well… that's extraordinary."

"I know. I mean, that's why I was chosen for the Academy. But there were lots of others there with much more talent than me."

He slid off the seat behind her and then offered his hand to help her down. Automatically, she put her arm around his waist as they walked up to the front door. He was moving very slowly. She wished she could take more of his pain away, wished she could do everything to help this man who had now saved her life three times, but she was exhausted too. Her healing energy – or Force, as he'd called it – was completely drained.

"You need to lie down," she commented, concerned, and he raised an eyebrow.

"You were unconscious more recently than I."

"Irrelevant."

They went through the front door, and found the place exactly as they had left it. Raven helped him into the bedroom, tugging the blankets back before he sat down, trying to minimise his movements.

He toed his boots off, and she fished in her inner pocket for the painkillers, passing him another dose.

"Thank you," he said quietly as he took them, and their fingers touched, and again she felt hot in a way that had nothing to do with the desert, and again she was conscious of his eyes, watching her intensely. She wanted to stay with him, hold him tightly while he slept, but instead she backed up, suddenly awkward. Thoughts like that were inappropriate.

"Well, I'll let you rest, then."

She turned to go, but he spoke again. "I don't want to press your memory too much, but you don't happen to remember what planet the Academy was on, do you?"

"Of course," she said, pausing in the doorway to look back at him. "It was Korriban."

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