Hi Hikari No Kaze – They story could go many places as this point. I think I like where I am taking it. As for Anakin messing things up, he might show a bit more restraint than you think.
Star the Foxhound – Thanks for reading.
Kamai6 – Obi-Wan is a big puzzle to him right now. He senses something is up, but just can't quite put his finger on it.
Lightsaber Dancer – I somehow think it would have been better for Anakin to trail little Obi-Wan from the beginning.
Evarne – The changes in the future have been set in motion. What remains to be seen is how much more things might change. Our boys usually manage to get themselves in lots of trouble.
charliebrown1234 – Qui-Gon is an odd person. He is probably not weirded out because he senses something on an instinctual level and is one to follow instinct over fact and logic at this point.
Hikari Urania – Saturday, my time, seems to be the best update time for me.
Chapter 7
It had been two days and two nights since young Obi-Wan had been taken to the mining platform, but it seemed like an eternity to Anakin. Ignoring the cruel treatment of the slave miners by the guards had taken every ounce of willpower. It was difficult to stand by idly when even simple cries for water were met with the unforgiving end of an electrojabber. No one spoke, no one faltered. All knew the penalty for being unproductive, and the basic instinct to survive pushed them beyond what should have been possible.
The events of this night had left Anakin terrified. It only made sense that the miners would need to blow off steam, and the fights that had broken out among several slaves were brutal. The guards did nothing to stop their entertainment. Besides, a couple of lives that would likely be gone in a few months anyhow mattered very little them. Though he had been very young, Anakin remembered similar fights among the slaves when he and his mother had been owned by Gardulla the Hutt. As with everything on Tatooine, credits had flowed freely between Gardulla and her guests over the nightly events. Anakin was glad that Obi-Wan had wisely chosen to keep a low profile.
And then the boy did something that made Anakin wonder how Qui-Gon had managed to keep him alive long enough to
"Do you think you could get me into the explosives room?"
He wished young Obi-Wan had had the sense to listen to the tall, gangly alien known as Guerra, but this was his master they were dealing with after all, with the added bonus of the reckless abandonment of youth.
Anakin repeated the mantra of only interfering if Obi-Wan's life was in danger as he trailed the pair to the explosives room. He observed with disbelief as the boy used a Force suggestion on the Imbat guard, already calculating up how much trouble he would have been in by this point. Of course there had to be a silent alarm on the door as they entered, and of course Obi-Wan had to trigger it. Anakin winced in a shadowed corner of the corridor as he heard the distinctive sound of an electro-jabber delivering its charge.
"Penalty for stealing is being thrown overboard," one of the guards said.
Anakin placed a hand on his saber. Finally, there was something that fell under the category of threatening the boy's life. It was time to get his master and leave.
"My shift is over," the other guard replied with a yawn. "Tomorrow morning is soon enough."
The Jedi padawan slumped over. Apparently, the Force had loved Obi-Wan even as a child. Anakin had lost count of how many near misses his master had lived through over the past few years. Some would consider it luck, but Anakin knew better. He trailed the guards carrying Obi-Wan to the lockup, waiting outside the door after they had left.
Through weak shields, Anakin could sense an internal war beginning as the boy struggled with his fear and despair, and prepared to face death like a Jedi. Where was Qui-Gon?
Sensing no one nearby, Anakin pulled out his comlink. "Master," he snapped in an impatient whisper.
"Yes, Anakin?"
"Can you talk now?"
"Just a moment." There was a pause before he heard his master's voice again. "Okay, I'm out of Qui-Gon's earshot."
"I need to get Obi-Wan off of this platform now," Anakin said, infusing his voice with every ounce of determination he felt.
"What has happened?"
"He was caught poking around in an explosives room and accused of stealing. They are going to throw him over the side of the platform first thing in the morning."
"Has he encountered an alien named Guerra yet?"
"No," Anakin said. He could hear his master's frustrated sigh and quickly added. "Not so, I lie, Obawan."
Rich laughter flowed over the comlink before Obi-Wan quieted. "Guerra made a sling and caught me. Qui-Gon saw the whole thing on his way to rescue me. We will be there."
"You don't understand, Master!" Anakin protested. "He's terrified. He thinks he is going to die, alone, in the morning."
"No, I do understand, Anakin. That is me. I was there," Obi-Wan replied softly.
Anakin was struck silent. It was easy to watch the desperate boy sitting in the other room and separate him from a master who at times seemed invincible. It was the voice of that master that calmed him. "Trust the Force, Padawan. Only interfere if it is necessary to safeguard his life."
"Yes, Master."
Anakin leaned his head against the door as he shut off the transmission. He could sense that young Obi-Wan's exhaustion had finally overtaken him. Reaching out through the Force, he sensed no alarm in the lockup and opened the door. As he had done the previous night, he did what he could to heal Obi-Wan's wounds, but more importantly, made sure the boy was not alone.
"Is anything wrong?" Qui-Gon asked as Obi-Wan approached his position.
They had spent the night staking out the entrance to the Home Planet mine. Unless Xanatos had changed his plan, he would have to make his move sometime soon.
"It was Anakin, just updating me on his situation."
"I've been meaning to ask about your apprentice," Qui-Gon said. "He seems unusually ..."
The Jedi master paused, no doubt searching for a diplomatic word. A smirk twisted Obi-Wan's face.
"Difficult … impulsive … emotional?" Obi-Wan suggested. It was quite easy to recite a list of adjective that had been used to describe his apprentice over the years. "He came to the Temple late, at nine years of age."
"Apparently, the Council didn't learn from my experience with Xanatos," Qui-Gon said, allowing the sentence to trail off as he glanced away.
"I've been told that he will give me wisdom beyond my years, and I believe it," Obi-Wan replied. "That is, if I survive training him."
"Did you know he would be so challenging when you chose him?" Qui-Gon asked. "Did you have concerns about him then?"
Visions of the mission to Naboo rose in Obi-Wan's mind as he decided how to answer. The tension between him and Qui-Gon concerning Anakin, and the danger that seemed to shroud the small boy, the fight with the Sith, his master's last words to him and so much both had left unsaid, and his determination to honor that last request, even if it meant giving up what he had worked for so long to achieve.
"I did not choose him, per say," Obi-Wan finally said, taking a calming breath and releasing a cascade of emotion into the Force before continuing. "My master planned to train him after I was knighted. He passed into the Force and was unable to proceed."
"I'm so sorry," Qui-Gon said softly. "I was once told that losing a master is the hardest trial an apprentice can face. You must have been close to him to honor him by continuing his work."
The conversation was too painful for Obi-Wan to continue while face to face with the master he had lost.
"We were," he said simply before turning away and changing the subject. "Obi-Wan is in trouble."
"Where is he?" Qui-Gon asked.
"A deepsea mining platform on the Great Sea of Bandomeer."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Do you know what could happen to him somewhere like that?"
"Anakin has been keeping an eye on him." A slight smile curved Obi-Wan's lips. "But, he was snooping around the explosives room looking for one of the same boxes we have been looking for and was caught. His penalty is to be thrown off the platform."
"The fall could kill him."
"Which is why we should go …"
"Can your apprentice get him off the platform safely?"
"Why do you ask?" Turning back to Qui-Gon, he saw the Jedi master looking through a pair of electrobinoculars.
"There is activity at the mine entrance. A speeder just pulled up," Qui-Gon said. "It would be unwise for us to leave this position unattended."
"I think Anakin can get them both safely off the platform," Obi-Wan murmured, accepting that stopping Xanatos was still the priority. "The boy is wearing a collar that can be detonated. He will have to go to Offworld security to try to remove it. There will be lots of guards, and we have Obi-Wan's lightsaber. They will need help there."
"You stay here since you better know what we are looking for. I will meet your apprentice and Obi-Wan when they get to shore."
"What do you mean he's not coming?" Anakin asked harshly over the comlink as he paced back and forth in the corridor, restless like a caged animal.
"Qui-Gon will be meeting you at the dock …"
"But … you said yourself that he rescued you …"
"And now you will," Obi-Wan countered with determination.
"You have told me about the events in the mine, how it directly led to him finally choosing you … what about the timeline?" the padawan asked, throwing his master's preoccupation back in his face.
"It was my destiny to be Qui-Gon's apprentice, and we will have to trust the Force, that it can work through the change in events."
Anakin muffled a groan as the transmission ended, stamping his foot hard against the ground. Qui-Gon should be charging in valiantly to rescue Obi-Wan. At least he was here, and he wouldn't fail his master. Anakin slipped through the door again to where the boy was sleeping. Reaching out, he gently shook him. Obi-Wan opened his eyes, the bluish gray orbs widening in surprise. Anakin put a finger to his own lips.
"I am Anakin Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you. Let's get out of here."
Obi-Wan nodded and began to follow before stopping abruptly and tugging on the Jedi padawan's tunics.
"Wait! Guerra."
"It's going to be sunrise soon, and when they find you missing, every guard in this place will be looking for you," Anakin scolded. "You're unarmed, and I don't know how well I can hold all of them off."
"Guerra helped me, and I owe him."
Anakin couldn't find an argument, especially staring into his master's determined eyes. Experience told him that Obi-Wan wasn't going to budge.
"Okay, let's find him."
They made their way to a lower level of the platform, Anakin following the Force signature he recognized as belonging to Guerra. They found the long-limbed alien sitting by an open window, gaze fixed upward as the sun rose over the ocean. He clutched a sling made of tarps in his hands.
"Guerra!" Obi-Wan called.
The alien jumped. "Obawan. How did you escape?"
"A friend," the boy said with a smile. "Now come on. We're leaving."
Guerra reached his hands up to his collar in panic. "I can't leave. Neither can you, Obawan."
Obi-Wan looked up at Anakin. "I forgot. It's an electrocollar. It will blow us up if we leave."
"Wouldn't want that to happen." Anakin flashed a bright white smile as he concentrated the Force on the transmitter in Obi-Wan's collar.
"The buzzing is gone," Obi-Wan said.
"We can remove it when we get to shore."
"Yes, the guards in the security office on the Bandor loading dock carry the transmitter," Guerra explained.
"We will just have to pay them a visit," Anakin said.
The lights dimmed suddenly and an alarm, complete with flashing lights, began to sound.
"That's our cue to exit," Anakin breathed out. Why was nothing ever easy? Obi-Wan hesitated. "Come on," Anakin said more forcefully.
"Go to the upper levels and hide," Obi-Wan said to Guerra. "In an hour, your collar will be deactivated for good. Trust me."
"I trust no one," Guerra said as he started for a nearby stairwell. He paused, looking back over his shoulder. "Not so, Obawan! I trust you."
They could hear footsteps in the corridor now. Anakin jumped up into the open window. He reached out and grabbed Obi-Wan's arm, jerking the boy to his side. They climbed out on the railing. Anakin sensed the blaster fire before it erupted, pushing Obi-Wan to hydrocraft below as he ignited his saber.
"Start the engine," he yelled as he jumped down to join the youth. Determination gleamed in his eyes as he began to deflect the blaster fire raining down on them. He finally allowed himself to relax as they zoomed out of weapon's range.
"Where's Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan asked almost immediately.
"Waiting for us on shore."
Disengaging his weapon, he turned to find Obi-Wan looking out across the sea. "I had hoped he would come for me."
The boy turned back to face him, gray eyes churning like the turbulent sea. He had been on the other side of that look more times than he could count. It was filled with questions, and Anakin hoped there might be a few he could actually answer.
