"What are you doing here, Kiern?" Qui-Gon asked sternly, in no mood to spend any more time with the man. He had just left them there to be arrested afterall. Kiern held his hands up defensively as he took a step closer to the two men.
"Ok, look, I can understand why you don't want to see me. But I did you a favor. Really. Besides, it seems you two got out just fine. So I'll just be on my way." He said, stepping up between them and then moved to go by. Qui-Gon, however, reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
Kiern swiftly shrugged the hand away and turned back to give a smoldering glare to the older man. "Don't touch me." He said tightly and then turned and started walking again.
'Ask him for a place to stay.' The Force told Obi-Wan. The young padawan sighed a bit, not wanting anymore to do with Kiern himself, but obeyed nonetheless. "Can you show us a place we can stay?" He asked hopefully. Qui-Gon turned and looked down at him, clearly surprised but he said nothing.
"I don't owe you anything." Kiern muttered, getting further away. Obi-Wan grabbed Qui-Gon's sleeve and jogged so they caught up with him.
"You let us get arrested." Qui-Gon spoke flatly with a frown marring his features.
"I already told you, it was a favor. Now leave me alone." Kiern insisted, picking up his pace and looking up the street anxiously, as if he was looking for someone. He scanned the crowd for a moment and then slumped and paused, apparently coming up empty handed.
"Who are you looking for?" Qui-Gon asked and earned another scowl from the man.
"No one." He said succinctly, regardless of the fact it wasn't true. However, neither of them pushed the matter. "No thanks to you…" He then muttered, apparently blaming them for losing track of whoever it was he was looking for. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan just looked at each other and sighed.
"Come on, Obi-Wan, let's go." Qui-Gon said, but Obi-Wan shook his head and continued pressing Kiern. The Force had told him to, and he wasn't going to disobey.
"Kiern, please. We're new in this area. Can you show us a place to stay?" He asked and Kiern sighed and slowly turned back to them. "We need some place that is willing to accept work as payment." He added and Kiern eyed them a bit and then rolled his eyes and waved them onward.
"Come on." Was all he said and started leading them deeper into the city. The deeper they went the more congested the city was. The walk was silent, as Kiern no longer seemed interested in talking to them.
Qui-Gon pondered why, when they were outside the wall, Kiern seemed happy to help them, but now was bothered by their presence. He gazed at the back of the man and took in his walk, confident and arrogant. He thought back to some of the comments Kiern had made about the government. The Emperor had built the wall for a reason, to stop people from not only coming in, but from leaving he assumed. Kiern had probably known the guards would be wandering outside the city.
Qui-Gon shook his head and realized he and Obi-Wan had been had. Kiern had helped them so he had a distraction for the guards, so he could slip away just as he had. He wondered if Kiern had an alternative to helping them now.
Obi-Wan looked up at the tall imperial sector that seemed to grow larger and larger as they got closer. It was imposing. "What is the Empire like?" Obi-Wan suddenly asked and Kiern barked out a laugh.
"Trouble, that's what it's like." Kiern answered as he turned so they walked parallel to the walled off sector.
"You said the Emperor came to this area suddenly. What has he been doing since getting here?" Qui-Gon asked, knowing it would be good to get some information about this strange planet they were on. The Force must want them here for a reason, so they needed to figure out why.
"Mining – mostly. Looking for talrumium probably." Kiern said with a shrug.
"What is that?" Qui-Gon asked swiftly.
"What?" Kiern asked slowly, turning back to look at him slowly. "How do you not…Where did you say you were from again?" He asked with suspicion.
"Has he been finding it?" Obi-Wan asked swiftly enough to distract Kiern who shook his head.
"No. But he's been digging up a lot of old historical sites - makes the University really angry. Not to mention the nearby provinces who are interested in those sites as well." Kiern explained and Obi-Wan stepped closer swiftly.
"But I thought you said he cut off this province from the others." The young apprentice pointed out.
"He did. But I think they've been hoping to get in at some point in the future to continue the research. Not like it matters. Who cares about all that stuff anyways? I mean, they were alive thousands of years ago." Kiern complained as they finally walked past the imperial sector into what Qui-Gon assumed to be the business district.
"People can learn much from their history." He pointed out in his 'teacher tone'.
"Yeah whatever…" Kiern murmured and then turned them into an inn. "Alia!" He called loudly immediately upon entering. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan followed him inside and scanned the empty inn. In fact, it looked like no one had been there in some time.
"What?!" A woman snapped as she came out of a back door. "You just left what are you doing back so-?" She stopped suddenly when she saw the two men behind Kiern. "Oh. Hi." She spoke awkwardly and nervously ran invisible wrinkles out of her dress.
"Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan. They're staying here now." Kiern said, motioning to each as he introduced them. He ended with a sickly sweet smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. Alia looked to him sharply with a bit of surprise, but then she smiled kindly and motioned them inside.
"Well alright them. I have some spare beds." She said and held out her hand. "My name is Alia. I'm sure I need to apologize for Kiern." She added with a scowl to the man. Kiern rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter.
"Don't concern yourself. And thank you, for your generosity." Qui-Gon said as he took her hand and shook it firmly. She didn't look much younger than Kiern, she was attractive, with light hair and tan skin. She had a kind smile and looked welcoming. She shook Obi-Wan's hand after Qui-Gon's and then started walking them to the door she had emerged from.
"So, how did you meet Kiern?" She asked, leading them down a hallway and to the back of the inn. She opened a door and revealed a room with two beds inside.
"Outside of the province wall." Obi-Wan said absently as he walked into the room. It wasn't glamorous, but it was more than enough, and far better than they'd had in the past.
"Oh?" She asked, sounding nervously surprised. "Outside the wall?" She turned back and gave an angry look to Kiern. "Not many people go out of the wall."
"We are from another province. Kiern was kind enough to show us a way inside." Qui-Gon explained, taking his pack off of his shoulders and setting it on one of the beds.
"Well he does have random bouts of altruism." Alia teased and Kiern playfully slapped her shoulder.
"What were you smuggling into the city?" Obi-Wan asked plainly and the playfulness disappeared.
Kiern and Alia both looked at them as if they were afraid they were about to be handed over to the police.
"I'm just curious." Obi-Wan added with a shrug. "You were going to sell it on the black market, weren't you?" He asked, looking between them. "You're smugglers, criminals." He added and Qui-Gon cringed, wishing Obi-Wan had a bit more tact but the teen didn't often talk to strangers and so he didn't have a filter.
"We don't mind, of course. We'll keep to ourselves. Besides, without you we'd be sleeping in the street." Qui-Gon said and put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder to get him to stop talking.
Alia and Kiern looked at each other for a moment and then back at them and nodded. "Thanks." Alia murmured softly. The Jedi just nodded a bit and then Alia awkwardly motioned behind her. "There is a bathing room across the hall. The water will be cold, but it's better than nothing. Make yourselves comfortable. If you're hungry, help yourself in the kitchen." She said and then gave them a small wave and turned out of the room.
Kiern lingered and eyed them a bit. "Truce?" He suddenly asked and Qui-Gon nodded silently. "Good." The man said and then spun out of the room without another word.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked at each other and then started chuckling. "Interesting day." Obi-Wan commented and the master nodded in agreement. Obi-Wan finally took off his pack and set it on the floor next to his bed, and then collapsed on the mattress, tired. "What do you think?" He asked curiously.
Qui-Gon pondered for a moment and sat on his bed and faced Obi-Wan. "Well, we're here for a reason. I'm sure the Force will make it clear to us soon. For now, I believe we should try to get established as best we can. We'll need papers so we can travel, we'll need to find a way to earn some money." Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, but then suddenly yawned.
They had walked most of the day, then been apprehended by the guards, so Qui-Gon wasn't surprised he was tired. He smiled softly and shook his head. "Get some sleep. Do you want to wash up?" He asked and Obi-Wan shrugged.
"I'll do it tomorrow." Obi-Wan said and stripped out of his outer robes before sliding back into the bed. Qui-Gon glanced over at him as he shrugged out of his outer robes as well and began slipping backwards to rest as well.
He could definitely sympathize as he felt particularly tired. The day hadn't even been exhausting, in his extensive career as a Jedi it was among one of the more mundane days. However, he still felt the need to fall into bed; perhaps it was the feeling that something monumental was about to happen.
He pondered on that feeling briefly. He and Obi-Wan had certainly had interesting time these last few years wandering the Unknown Regions. They'd encountered civilizations all across the spectrum. Some were technologically advanced and were even aware of the Republic, others were even less advanced than this planet. At least on this planet it looked like there was some kind of steam power.
And on each of those planets something interesting had ended up happening. They'd stopped political coups, aided others, discovered new species and made some dear friends. However, Qui-Gon knew that all of that would pale in comparison to what happened here. Whatever it was, it was going to be big.
He looked over at Obi-Wan who already looked like he was asleep. He smiled a bit and wished things had been easier for the boy. He was a bit better now that they were away from the Temple, but he was still different and still knew it.
He shook his head and then closed his eyes, wondering what tomorrow would bring.
When Qui-Gon woke it was still dark outside. He pushed himself up slowly, feeling as if his body was heavy. He slowly kicked his feet off the side of the bed and rubbed his face to try and help wake himself up, but it did no good. He felt as if sleep was clinging to him.
As he opened his eyes and looked across the bedroom for Obi-Wan he was confused to find his apprentice's bed empty. "Padawan?" He asked, his voice seeming to echo in the room.
He slowly stood and walked to the door leading out to the rest of the inn. As he pulled it open he was surprised to see fire light coming from the common room down the hall. It was loud and there were boisterous noises.
Uncaring for his appearance he stepped out of the hall barefoot and followed the noises. When he came into the common room he looked around at the crowd of rowdy men, all drinking and singing loudly. He couldn't understand what they were saying, though. He scanned the room for Obi-Wan but the teenager was nowhere to be seen.
Kiern suddenly walked by him, not even addressing him as he passed. Qui-Gon reached out and grabbed his arm to pull him back, though. "Have you seen Obi-Wan? I can't find him." Qui-Gon said, feeling powerless for some reason.
In the back of his mind he knew he had resources to find his Padawan, but he couldn't seem to think of any way to utilize them. Kiern seemed like the only option. So when Kiern brushed him off and walked away to settle down next to Alia, Qui-Gon felt as if he was never going to find Obi-Wan.
Panicking he rushed out of the inn and into the street, or what he expected to be the street. Instead, he was greeted by a large dark dome, with a light shining down to a cloaked figure in the middle. Confused, Qui-Gon turned to go back into the inn, but when he looked for the door it was gone. "What?" He murmured, is voice echoing again.
He turned back to the light and stepped towards the figure. "Obi-Wan?" He asked, but the person didn't move or respond to him. He heard a shuddering of breath and looked at the figure and realized it was crying. Concerned he walked a bit faster until he looped around to the other side of the person.
He came to an immediate stop.
In the figures arms lay Obi-Wan, dead, with what looked like a lightsaber wound in his stomach. Qui-Gon covered his mouth and knelt by the body of his Padawan, but then looked at the figure holding him. Slowly he pulled back the hood of the man and stumbled away when he saw himself.
"No…" He murmured and looked around his surroundings.
"This isn't real." He told himself and stood. He took a few more steps back for good measure and then called on the Force and dispelled the nightmare.
Qui-Gon jerked awake and immediately turned his head to Obi-Wan who was tossing and turning in his sleep.
He threw the blankets off of him and quickly crossed the gap between their beds to settle his apprentice. He placed his palm over Obi-Wan's temple and tried to redirect the nightmare, when he realized that Obi-Wan was dreaming the same thing. 'Force…That wasn't my nightmare. It was his.' Qui-Gon thought fearfully.
He'd been sucked into Obi-Wan's dream. But it had felt so real!
Concerned, Qui-Gon bent and placed a kiss on Obi-Wan's forehead as the boy settled. He then shifted from the bed to the floor in order to meditate. This was unnerving. He would have to make sure he was more aware in order to prevent it from happening again.
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he reached out for the Force. He felt Its calming presence settle over him and then fell into meditation.
Another chapter done! Thanks for sticking with this as I begin building up...As you can see, it's a lot different than the first one. But hopefully it will be just as good and set up the ground work for the third. Anyways, let me know what you think of this installment. I love hearing from you!
Book girl Fan: It would be stressful. And you'll see that Obi-Wan will begin to lose his patience. Thanks for letting me know what you think!
Kungfukittykat: I'm glad you're so excited for it! XD Also, I hope you liked seeing one in action. I know they're strange but there's a reason for everything. I swear. Lol Thank you!
'Guest': Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear it!
Mystery99: Well I'm glad you did to, and found this worth reading! Thank you! Also, there'll be more descriptions about the planet and empire to come, so I hope by then you'll be able to. If not...Well then I guess I know what I need to work on lol. Thanks for letting me know what you think. Oh and Obi-Wan is 18. He was 8 when he and Qui-Gon met in the first part. When this one started he was fifteen, and now they've been in the Unknown Regions for three years.
ErinKenobi2893: Thank you so much! It's always good to know that it is being enjoyed. It's the only reason I post it in the first place! Hahaha. Hope you continue to like it.