13/01/06 - Edited version

Thanks to the-writer1988 for the beta!

Chapter 6

Padme rose early the next morning, but even she hadn't been able to talk to Obi-Wan before he had left for the arena. The Knight must have gone long before sunrise, and it made Padme sad to know that she hadn't had the chance to tell him once more how much she appreciated what he was doing for her. She knew that her friend didn't believe in such a thing as luck, however, she had longed to wish him the best. She was still impressed that he would sacrifice his own freedom just to help her and her planet.

Sure that she was the only one already awake, she was surprised to hear Qui-Gon's voice coming from the terrace. She couldn't help but listen in on his conversation over comlink. "No, Mace, he wasn't sent by the Council. He actually defied them. However, he seems to be our only hope," she heard the Jedi Master almost whisper.

She felt her heart beating faster. After all these years of knowing Obi-Wan Kenobi, she never had heard of him defying any decisions the Jedi Council had made. In his letters he would always emphasize the wisdom of Master Yoda and the other Masters. What would make him do such a thing now?

"Mace, he knows this mission. He isn't ready to stand by and watch everything happening again." She looked out of the window and saw a flicker of intense pain in the Jedi Master's eyes. "He thinks I am going to die. You know that he is very protective when it comes to me."

She held her breath, how could Obi-Wan know the mission? Was this some kind of Jedi trait? Did he have a vision in which he had foreseen what was going to happen?

"I think we should use his knowledge, Mace. I am sure there is a reason why he is here, and it is not for him to learn about the danger of attachment. He is overprotective but I don't think it's out of attachment. He wants to change the outcome of events, and it seems that he thinks I could be important to achieve that."

She gasped involuntarily and Qui-Gon looked up, realizing that he was being watched. She glanced back at him, trying to look innocent. He smiled faintly with an unsurprised expression in his eyes.

"Sorry Mace, there is someone waiting for me. I am going to inform you about the outcome of the fight later." Without waiting for Master Windu's response, he shut off his comlink. "So, your Highness, did you hear enough?" Qui-Gon asked with an amused tone.

She shook her head. "Don't call me that, Master Jinn. You know that there is a reason, why. . . ." Before she could elaborate, he held up his hands to interrupt her.

"Yes, I know, I know, Padme. However, Queen or not, you shouldn't eavesdrop on conversations, which are not supposed for you to hear."

She nodded, a blush on her face. "I know, I shouldn't, but you were just too loud to overhear, I'm sorry. Are you going to explain it to me?"

He shook his head. "I can't, Padme," and she could see the sorrow in his eyes. "Perhaps Obi-Wan is going to tell you everything one day. However, as you must have already realized, my former Padawan has special abilities, which are not that easy to explain."

She sighed and her expression became thoughtful. "I've already been aware of that, Qui-Gon. We can only hope that he will succeed today, or we are going to lose his freedom here."

She saw the Master swallowing nervously and was surprised that the prospect of Obi-Wan losing this fight seemed to make him even more anxious than her. "He won't lose, Padme. Obi-Wan knows what he is doing," he said and Padme wasn't sure whom he was trying to reassure more, him or her.

When Obi-Wan saw the fighters with their metal swords, some of his self-assurance left him. It seemed to be a completely different thing to fight with a heavy sword like they used than battling with a lightsaber. His elegant motions wouldn't fit at all. He was relieved about his decision to come into the training hall long before the fight actually took place to get accustomed to this weapon.

One of the fighters handed him a sword, and he tried not to cringe when he felt its considerable weight in his hands. With great awe, he scrutinized the fine work the blacksmith had accomplished with it. The hilt was beautifully decorated with ornaments, and it was obvious that the signs engraved in it were symbols, which should give its owner enough strength to handle it. Obi-Wan only hoped that he would be able to live up to these expectations.

When he tried to make a few moves, he felt the amusement of the experienced fighters through the Force and had to admit that this wasn't going well. Even now with having the Force to help him, he wasn't able to produce anything other than a few clumsy maneuvers. He examined the other fighters and their movements closely. They seemed to use not only one arm but both, and they were even able to change sides. He swallowed deeply. He should prepare himself for a longer stay on Tatooine as the possibility of him winning the challenge diminished by the minute. Through the Force, he reached out for one of the better fighters and set himself into his place. Carefully, he took in every single move to remember it by heart. Then he changed to another fighter doing the same. After having observed five of them through the Force, he felt confident enough to give it another try and suddenly the weapon began to follow his will. That wasn't as bad as actually expected. At least he would be able to fight a few rounds and not embarrass himself.

Qui-Gon and Padme arrived at the arena just in time to see the end of the traditional podrace. Shmi and Cliegg were with them, as were Jar Jar Binks and R2D2. The moment Watto spotted Shmi, he flew over to the group and began to cry out in Huttese. Qui-Gon saw Shmi blushing furiously and cursed himself silently for having persuaded her to accompany them. He should have known that it would get her into problems with her Master. He interfered with the tirade. "Stop it; it was me who told her to come."

His natural authority evoked a short silence from Watto, but then the Toyderian looked at him and began anew, "She isn't your property yet. It's me who gives orders to her. Your boy won't win and all of you will have to remain here. I am really looking forward to ordering around this little Jedi of yours." With this he flew away leaving Qui-Gon with his companions.

Shmi's look could be described as stunned as she took in the meaning of Watto's words, while Padme already had made the conclusion and opened her mouth to speak. However, before she could utter a word Qui-Gon silenced them all with a wave of his hand. "Don't try to lecture me, Padme. I won't have it. Jedi follow the will of the Force, and it isn't its will that Shmi has to remain a slave any longer. I had to take every chance to change that."

He tried to usher them out to find their seats but was not prepared for Padme, who wasn't silenced this easily. "You made a bet on Shmi's freedom?" she asked incredulously. "You acted against Obi-Wan's instructions?"

He knew that her fury was justified, he shouldn't have done this, but at this moment, he wasn't able to admit that to her. "I am not someone to be ordered around by my former Padawan, Padme. I am a Master and I follow the will of the Force. I am quite capable of judging things on my own." He saw her swallow at his harsh tone.

"You took on a great risk with that, Master Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan was willing to sacrifice his freedom to help us. Force or not, you shouldn't have done that. If he doesn't win this fight, he will be completely devastated to learn that our mission has failed, too. You should know him better than that." With that she stormed away and the group followed her silently to their seats.

Deep in his heart Qui-Gon was well aware of the fact that she had a point. He should have found another solution for Shmi, or at least he should have talked with his former Padawan about his plans. It had been Obi-Wan's responsibility to decide the settings of this plan, and he had interfered with it. And suddenly he could imagine that he would be able to do everything the Qui-Gon in Obi-Wan's former life had done. This Qui-Gon was him, and if he didn't want to destroy his relationship with Obi-Wan, he had to change.

The cheering crowd that they found in the arena when they took their seats overwhelmed Padme. She tried to concentrate on the upcoming fight and forget what she just had learned. It was Obi-Wan's place to discuss this issue with his former Master, and she knew all too well that her friend didn't want her to interfere in his relationships. She already had seen the shimmer of remorse in the Jedi Master's eyes when she had pointed out how Obi-Wan would feel about what he had done. Now all of them had to stick together and hope that their young Knight would be able to defeat his opponent.

The speaker raised his voice and Padme's heart began to beat faster, when she realized that the fight was about to begin. "For all your enjoyment we have the traditional sword fight now!" The crowd made an overwhelming noise of excitement at this. "An outlander has the courage to challenge our champion Duggada. Greet with me Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi fighting with a collar to suppress his access to the Force!"

The crowd cheered and clapped and Padme saw smug expressions all over their faces. It must give them some sort of satisfaction to see a Jedi fighting without the Force. She swallowed deeply as she saw the young man enter the arena, a heavy sword in his hand and a collar around his neck. She couldn't help but feeling sorrow for him. When she turned around to see Qui-Gon, she saw tears glistening in the Master's eyes and her anger faded instantly. She reached out to take his hand, and he smiled weakly at her.

"Being cut off from the Force is one of the worst things you can do to a Jedi. It's as if your only life source disappears within a moment. However, my former Padawan has an ability to deal with it, as if he was fully trained to endure this constantly. Nevertheless, it makes me sad to see him like this," he explained.

Duggada, the champion, was a humanoid of considerable height and weight. One could see that he was used to fighting with the heavy metal swords and Padme felt her heart sinking when she saw him in comparison to Obi-Wan, who seemed to be even smaller beside his opponent. Both fighters were dressed in traditional armor. She hadn't been aware of the fact that they would fight without shields and she looked questioningly into Qui-Gon's direction. The Master gave her a reassuring squeeze with his hand. "It doesn't make any difference for Obi-Wan. He is well-prepared for the fight," he said and she nodded, hoping that he was right.

The speaker left the arena and Jabba the Hutt gave the signal to start. Without hesitance Duggada fell into a fighter's stance, side-on to his opponent, sword-arm bent with the blade at the ready, back arm raised in a graceful arc. Obi-Wan's blade crossed Duggada's, the metal meeting with the whisper of a clash.

Padme gasped involuntarily as Duggada's sword shot out in a lunging flash. However, Obi-Wan had seen the motion start, and by the time the blade crossed the place where he had been standing, he was no longer there.

A quick beat of the blade, and a counter-lunge that brought the blades screeching together along their lengths, then the two swords held fast together at the hilt for only a second, the swordsmen broke, stepped back, circled and returned to the attack.

With a clash and a beat Obi-Wan came within an inch of Duggada's hip. His opponent dodged and with a quick upward beat that knocked the pressing blade aside, he stepped forward, forcing Obi-Wan back a pace.

Duggada pressed his advantage with a double lunge, forcing Obi-Wan back toward the edge of the arena. Obi-Wan stepped quickly to one side, struck Duggada's blade away with one beat, then slashed back the other way, with a speed that sent the blade of his sword through the cloth of his adversary's right sleeve.

Obi-Wan dropped halfway to one knee, with a murderous jab upward that brought his blade whizzing past Duggada's ear. His adversary jerked back, looking startled for a moment, then grinned with a flash of white teeth, and banged his blade flat on top of Obi-Wan's head.

Padme heard the sound of applause from across the arena. Fighting against the panic rising within her, she turned towards Qui-Gon, who only shook his head and squeezed her hand in an attempt to calm her.

Without acknowledging the obvious pain the blow must have caused, Obi-Wan attacked anew, driving his blade towards his opponents rips, but Duggada spun away with a taunting laugh. Padme shivered when she heard his cruel voice saying, "Wake up, boy, before I salt that sword and feed it to you."

"He's getting too confident, this should be offering enough possibilities for Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said calmly and she felt his tension beginning to fade.

As in confirmation to his words Padme saw Obi-Wan drawing a deep breath as if to gather his strength. Then he attacked, driving hard in a flurry of strikes that kept Duggada too busy parrying to make any counters of his own. The Knight kept going until he was almost chest-to-chest with his adversary, until Duggada's arms were straining to hold off his simultaneous attacks with the two blades. Pausing for the blink of an eye, Obi-Wan's stroke went into the ribs of Duggada, bringing him down to his knees.

Padme gasped at seeing Obi-Wan overwhelming his opponent and the crowd began to cheer, but this time in favor of the young Knight, who would be able to end this fight now.

"Yield!" the Knight said panting heavily and Padme felt his exhaustion. Duggada was struggling to get up, but the injury Obi-Wan had caused was too grave. With his last energy, the former champion bent his head in defeat and spared Obi-Wan the duty to kill him. She heard a sigh of relief coming from Qui-Gon and turned towards him. "I can't believe it, he actually won," she said with awe in her voice.

Qui-Gon smiled and she could see the pride in his eyes. "He did and he wasn't forced to take an innocent life."

The cheering and the applause were overwhelming and everyone seemed to leave their seats to get down to either take their winnings from the bets or congratulate the young Jedi to his victory. Qui-Gon took Padme's hand and waved the rest of the group to follow him. "We have a winner to celebrate," he said and Padme felt the relief and joy in his voice.

"You did what?" Obi-Wan almost exclaimed after they had returned to Shmi's house and Qui-Gon had told him about his bet for Anakin's mother and her freedom. Qui-Gon cringed at the young man's reaction. He had known this would be difficult and Padme already had made him aware of his mistake. However, he wasn't able to admit it that easily.

"Please, don't make such a fuss about it, Obi-Wan, I did what the Force told me to do," he snapped and Obi-Wan inhaled sharply at hearing his tone. He knew it all too well. His former Master had used it often when he wasn't ready to discuss his actions. Yes, here he was, the Qui-Gon Jinn he had known, brushing everything aside if it came to his understanding of the Force's will. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan wouldn't give in this time.

"And it was worth risking our mission? To jeopardize Padme's security? To destroy my plan to rescue you? Don't you think I would have been able to come up with an idea to free Shmi myself after we've secured the parts for Padme's ship?" He said with an icy tone. Qui-Gon had to understand that he wasn't a Padawan anymore.

"What is it that upsets you so, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked in return. "That I acted like I did, or that it wasn't you who came up with the plan? Everything worked out, why do you bother with it?"

"What do you mean, Qui?" Obi-Wan was almost speechless at the hidden accusation in his former Master's words.

"I mean that you seem to think you have to solve all the problems alone. You don't leave any room for me to do things my way. You are so convinced that you know what will happen next that you forget to concentrate on the here and now. You, my Padawan," he emphasized his following words, "are beginning to have delusions of grandeur. Where is the team player whom I have come to know before this mission started?"

Obi-Wan looked at him with a stunned expression in his eyes. Why wasn't Qui-Gon able to understand that there was more at stake than he thought? He of all people should be aware of the fact that Obi-Wan knew what was to come. Wasn't he able to trust him? Frustrated he sank onto the bench before him. Was his former Master right? Was there something in him that urged him to take control?

"Obi-Wan, you don't have to do this alone," Qui-Gon tried to reassure him sitting down at his side and placing one arm around the younger man's shoulders. "We are in this together. The Force urged me to help Shmi. It wouldn't have if there had been any risk you'd lose the fight. You have to trust the Force."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I can't, Qui," he replied in a subdued voice. "I did before, and it took away everything that was dear to me."

Qui-Gon swallowed at the obvious despair in Obi-Wan's voice. "But it has given you another chance. Don't let your fear destroy it."

The young Knight's expression became distant. Qui-Gon was right; he had let fear lead his actions. The fear to lose his Master one more time had made him prepare everything before Qui-Gon had been able to come up with solutions. "You should have told me," he said with acceptance in his voice, however, the pain that Qui-Gon didn't trust him to include him in his plans was evident.

Qui-Gon smiled, knowing it was his turn to make amends. "Yes, I should have. This is a lesson I have to learn. I wasn't honest with you and all the more I wasn't honest with my partner. I only told Mace about you before this morning. It's not what Jedi do. Perhaps we will be able to learn our lessons together then?"

Obi-Wan had to chuckle then. "I would be honored to teach you my Master," he said and Qui-Gon gave him a companionable pat on the back.

Then the Master stood up. "We have to leave this planet as soon as possible," he stated and received a nod of assent from the young Knight.

"I am going to bring Padme, R2 and Jar Jar to the ship and take the parts to repair it with me. Mace and I should be able to get everything ready for when you arrive. You should meet Watto because of Shmi. We should take her to Coruscant with us. The Council should be able to provide a solution for her future. . . ."

Before Obi-Wan could continue Qui-Gon interrupted him. "Stop, Obi-Wan, you're taking control again," he said smiling. "However, in this case you're right. I made the deal with Watto, and it's me who needs to tell Shmi then. I am going to offer her to come with us. However, in the end it's her decision. You've already realized that she likes Cliegg. Perhaps she wants to stay with him."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, perhaps she wants to stay here. Nevertheless, it would be better for her to come with us at first. Watto wouldn't let her live here any longer and her relationship with Cliegg has to grow first. You can offer her to come with us to find a solution for her situation and meet her son. She won't deny that."

Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon's surprise at his words. "You would support Anakin in seeing his mother? That's against the code. I can't believe that you of all people would encourage that."

"Qui, the boy still has nightmares about his mother. He has integrated himself well in the temple, but he still has visions. I can't see any harm in reassuring him that his mother is well and free. And. . ." he paused and Qui-Gon saw a hint of sorrow in the young man's eyes. "After all he is a special child, and we have to make exceptions from time to time. I don't want him to suffer any longer if there is another solution."

Qui-Gon nodded, realizing that there was something else but Obi-Wan wasn't ready to share. He stood up. "Let's get started then, Obi-Wan."