Chapter 1: Naboo – The River
The great, calm River of the Force had changed once more. Moments ago it had felt like a roaring stream, whipped up by anger and darkness, swirling about the presence that was him, but he had managed to withstand. Had managed to fight off the darkness. And yet, even with the presence of the zabrac gone, the River still seemed to be racing, taking with it what was in its path, threatening to tear away the one presence that had been close to his very own for as many years now as it had not.
"Master!" Obi-Wan could feel his voice constricted with the threat of tears as he cradled the older man´s head, leaning over his face, his heart racing madly from exhaustion, anger and fear. He had almost no memory of when he had ever felt so afraid. With his voice echoing off the walls of the reactor room he felt lost in an almost void, alone, so alone. The only one that his master could count on now. He mustn´t disappoint him. But Qui Gon Jinn´s eyes were breaking. His heartbeat was fading, uneven. He could sense it through their Bond. And it terrified him, more than anything.
"It´s…it´s too late. It´s…" Just as disturbing as it was to feel the bright, powerful Force presence of his master reduced to an uneven, dying flicker, it was almost worse to hear that his voice had been reduced to nothing much more than a whisper. "No!" he insisted, shaking his head, feeling tears well up. His hands moved uncertainly over his master´s tunic as if trying to find the right way to hold him, the best way to reduce the pain. He knew that wasn´t possible. He could smell the awful, singed scent of burned flesh of the fresh lightsaber wound. He didn´t dare look, but he had seen the red blade enter his master´s body at an angle that would be hard to survive. And yet there was a stubbornness in Obi-Wan Kenobi that made him defy that. Deny that. "No!" Not a firm protest, more of a desperate Youngling´s plea faced with the impossible.
"Obi-Wan…" Even as a whisper he could tell that his master was being insistent, that he was trying to tell him something. Something important. Something that couldn´t wait because this was the last moment he thought he could utter it, before… Obi-Wan shook his head again. "No." he whispered again. "Don´t talk master. Lay still. Don´t…"
The River was roaring, tearing at the Bond between his master and him. Beckoning. Let him go. Let him become one with the Force. Let him go… And Obi-Wan closed his eyes and centred himself in that River, affirming his position in the Living Force, centring himself. And clung on to the tiny flame that was threatening to be extinct. Carefully held on to it. Gently…gently... It was impossible to hold on to that flame. That life. Not with the River in his mind so wild and roaring and dangerous, threatening to make him stumble. Obi-Wan forced himself to breathe slowly, evenly. He had to calm that River. He needed that serenity he had so often found and struggled to find. He knew he had to let go of his negative, destructive feelings to stand at least a chance. But it was so difficult. So much fear. So much anger. But the cause of his anger was dead. Maybe he could let go of that…The River lapped at his mind, beckoning his master again. But with every breath, while he could not find a way to silence the torrents of his fear, he let go of his anger. Keep your thoughts in the here and now, where they belong, Obi-Wan. He breathed. Calmly. Slowly. Keeping the panic at bay as best as he could. His master had stopped moving, but somwehere deep in the older man´s mind there was still a small, small light that refused to go out. A light Obi-Wan protected. But it was hard to do…so hard to do…
They brought them into the palace´s med bay on a single large hoverstretcher. Master and padawan, the younger collapsed half on top of the older, his hand near the older man´s heart. For Russoc Carvin, the medic who examined them there had been signs of what had happened, but he could not tell for certain. The dark hole in the master´s tunic told its own tale and the red devil was nowhere to be found, but why had he left the other alive they wondered?
When they had found them in the reactor room, the guards had not dared move either of them. Who knew what else could happen if they did? Because quite to their astonishment they had found two beating pulses. Kenobi was unconscious and deeply so, but it was much more surprising that Jinn was alive as well. Barely so, hardly more than the flicker of a pulse, but there. And just in case his apprentice was holding on to another wound, they had not parted them. Only now and on the Russoc´s insistence they slowly separated the two, putting them on beds next to one another. A med droid came whirling closer, instantly starting to monitor the older man´s vital signs. The medic frowned. "Get him on life support immediately. Prepare for scan." He had to know which organs were affected by that dreadful stab wound and whether there was any chance. That Jinn was still alive was nothing short of a miracle.
When the droid carefully removed the man´s tunic, Russoc saw that the wound had punctured Jinn´s body just below the ribcage, just a little to the left. Had it been off by a mere inch he would not have stood a chance, that much was clear. But even that did not fully explain how the man was still alive, even if barely so. But then again, there was a lot the medic didn´t know about jedi and their magic.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, obviously. I just took them out for a spin and will put them back later. I´ll try to be gentle…
Author´s note: Even though I have always been a prequels kid this is my first attempt at prequels era fanfiction. The ideas for the plot have been simmering in my mind for a while now, let´s hope I can get them across the way I want them to. And I hope you guys enjoy. :)