Choices

Rating: T+
Summary: Obi-Wan has a major decision to make concerning his future either with or without the Jedi
Disclaimer: All cannon characters are owned by the Great Flanneled One, and now Disney. All others are mine. I make no money off this.
Note: This is a sequel to The Crucible

Timeline: 40BBY

Speech: " "
Training Bond communications: /
Internal thoughts: italics

Chapter Ten

Sitting in the common room, Qui-Gon looked out the windows only to see and hear the drumming of the cold rain. The weather suited his mood, though. The holovid showed updated images from one of the many weather satellites that orbited the planet. This one just happened to update twice a minute. It showed a major front moving westward over the northern hemisphere, right where he was located. He rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to ease the building tension. Obi-Wan and Eira had been missing for two days now. The problem was that he had no idea where to look, even if they were still on the planet. The colors of the room that had been vibrant when he arrived, were now irritating. Annoyingly cheerful considering where Obi-Wan might be now. At least he was still alive, that much was certain.

On your fears, focus not — your knowledge use, you must, a voice moved through Qui-Gon's head. Making a shooing gesture with his hand, he tried to send it away. If one had a green troll as a teacher, even one's subconscious was cryptic. Plus, there was no way to get out a search party in the constant downpour.

Not seeing much else he could do, he rose from his chair and sank down to his knees. He would not sleep, it might make him risk the possibility of missing Obi-Wan calling for him.

Something felt off for a moment. Qui-Gon wasn't entirely sure if what he felt was Obi-Wan's presence. "Yeah, right. By the amount of drugs that's probably in his system right now, he might as well jump off a cliff, thinking he was a big, brown bat." Instead of focusing on that, he took a deep breath. Even though padawans learned that meditation was possible under the most trying of circumstances, Qui-Gon couldn't quite calm his mind. Half an hour later, he rose to his feet and went over to fix himself a cup of sapir. He was neither thirsty nor cold. What he needed was something to do with his hands, and tea was better than nothing. Cradling the cup with both hands, making it disappear completely, he sat back down on the couch.

Without warning he felt Obi-Wan presence back in his mind, but it was infused with something, no someone else. He looked around, then closed his eyes, trying to focus on what it was that his Padawan was trying to send him, if it was anything. The only other thing that came through was a single word, wasteland.

"Obi-Wan?" he cocked his head to the side, trying to reach out to his wayward apprentice, but his presence was gone once again. When there was no answer he shook his head, "I must be losing my mind. That'll be real helpful," he mumbled to himself.

Yet…. He rose to his feet and went over to the holovid. Typing in a command, the image expanded to show the globe and then it began rotating on its axis. He watched it for a few moments before pausing it, then rewinding until he had it stop at the large desert type region, the same area they passed over before arriving at Artwe. Reaching out again, he tried to contact Obi-Wan. There was nothing, but at the same time he thought had a pretty good idea where to look for him.

Drinking the last of his tea, Qui-Gon left the rooms and delved back into the fortress's winding corridors. There were few in the building, so it didn't take long to reach Marton's office. He also wasn't all that surprised to find the Viceroy there. For the time being he remained out in the corridor until their conversation was finished. Outwardly he looked completely calm, but inside worry was already churning inside. Somehow he knew they didn't have a whole lot of time to find the two before something happened.

"Master Jedi," Tomas called from inside the office.

Taking it as permission, Qui-Gon stepped into the room. "Viceroy," he bowed in deference to the leader, then turned his attention to Marton, "I might have an idea where they're at."

The Security chief sat up. "Where?"

"I received a message from…my Padawan. I think they're somewhere here," Qui-Gon moved over to the map on the wall and pointed to the desert regions.

Tomas shook his head. "That's the worst place they could be. It's not safe there. He can't be there."

"Viceroy, Obi-Wan has never lied to me when it comes to something like this." Qui-Gon split his attention between the two men.

Eventually the Viceroy nodded. "All right, we'll go and look for them there."

"Thank you." Turning back to Marton Qui-Gon continued, "I will need to pilot the craft, and it would be in our best interest for us to bring medical personnel along with some supplies."

"It shall be done, Master Jedi."

It didn't take all that long to gather what was needed. If anything Qui-Gon wanted at least someone from the Duke's contingency to be there, that way he could see if they were involved in the kidnapping, if that's what it was, or not. The longer he thought about it, the more his thoughts leaned towards it. Obi-Wan wouldn't just up and leave without telling him where he was going. He wasn't that type of person.

When the medical supplies were mentioned, even more wanted to come. Qui-Gon, though wanted the fewer the better, with the exception of medical personnel. He found over the years that it was better to be oversupplied, than to not have enough if people were possibly injured.

Settling into the pilot's seat, Qui-Gon looked over the controls for a moment before closing his eyes and casting out his senses once again. /I got your message, Padawan. Don't worry, I'm coming./ He infused the message with paternal warmth.

Not hearing anything, Qui-Gon sighed as he opened his eyes and then began the initial sequence to start the engines. "Is everyone seated, and strapped in?" he asked over his shoulder. Most of the passenger seats were in the cockpit.

"Yes, Master Jedi."

Qui-Gon nodded as he directed the ship to rise up on its thrusters. Pushing the throttle forward, the craft moved out of the hanger and into the open space before them. Rain pelted the screen, though technically it wasn't needed. It was more for convenience than anything else. Qui-Gon didn't need it to see where he was going. To get there quickly, he directed the ship into the upper atmosphere, and almost immediately they descended towards the desolate regions.

It was at this point when Qui-Gon reached out and was directed solely by Force alone. Obi-Wan's presence was growing. It was then he realized that his Padawan had placed an anchor between the two of them. Clever. You never cease to amaze me with what you can do, Padawan.

That anchor made his job so much easier. Qui-Gon landed the ship amongst twisted, stunted trees and scrub brush. A large outcropping was nearby. That's not what worried him. The land was pockmarked with craters that had smoke wafting from them. With a hiss the ship unsealed and they could all smell something rotten. That was not good at all. Qui-Gon stood at the entrance of the ship and looked down the ramp to the ground beyond. "Be careful where you step. Follow my footsteps."

With careful movements, and reaching out with the Force once again, he slowly worked his way to the rocky crag. Stepping inside, there was movement from the far wall and a thin figure in brown emerged out of an alcove. It was Eira, and she looked exhausted.

"Papa?" Relief spread across her face as she came over to the Viceroy.

As the two embraced, Qui-Gon turned back to where she came from. He knew Obi-Wan was back there, but something was wrong. He would have been the first out to make sure that all was safe. With a frown now on his face, he slipped through the opening and found himself in a much larger chamber. Beside the remnants of a fire, Obi-Wan lay curled up in a fetal position and not moving.

"Padawan?" Qui-Gon knelt down beside him. "Obi-Wan?" With a gentle touch, he rolled his Padawan onto his back only to sit back. From what he could see Obi-Wan's skin was covered in a rash. By the Force. /Obi-Wan I'm here. What happened?/

The answer was faint, but there, /Leave me, Master./

"Padawan, I will not leave you until I know for certain that you have passed into the Force." With gentle hands, Qui-Gon made sure to not touch Obi-Wan's rash covered skin as he picked him up so he could carry him out and back to the fortress and much better medical care. Even through the tunic Qui-Gon could feel the fever that ravaged Obi-Wan's body.

/Too…late…./

"It is never too late, Padawan." The alcove was just wide enough for Qui-Gon to fit through with his burden. When the emerged into the front area he paused and sent Obi-Wan some of his own energy through their bond. Obi-Wan let out a groan and shuddered, but his labored breathing eased a little bit.

Following the footsteps he made when they first arrived, Qui-Gon was the last to make it back into the ship. Eira was sitting next to her father while the others were waiting impatiently, though at least they weren't showing it. The lead medic stood and came over as Qui-Gon placed Obi-Wan onto one of the makeshift beds.

"How long has he been like this?"

Qui-Gon looked over to Eira to see her answer.

"I don't know, a few hours, a day? I was so tired that I slept." She paused, "How long have we been missing?"

It was the Viceroy that answered, "Three days, child."

She nodded, "Then I would think a few hours, I think. Why? What's wrong with him?" Concern flashed across her face.

The medic ran a device down Obi-Wan's body and waited for the readout. "I don't know. Did he say anything?"

She looked down, "I think he mentioned that they did something to him before we escaped."

Qui-Gon felt a faint stirring that began to grow in the Force. He turned back and placed a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Padawan?"

/So tired…. It's time….May…./

"No, it is not your time yet, Padawan." Qui-Gon lowered his voice, "Hold fast to me, Obi-Wan."

/I…cannot…./ His presence began fading again.

"Then I will hold onto you, Padawan." Lowering down to his knees, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and reached out for what was left of Obi-Wan's essence then wrapped his signature up with his own. The anchor was the perfect thing, for it kept Obi-Wan's presence from fading away entirely.

TBC….