These are just little random one-shots that I will be doing about the relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They will be updated as often as I can, and if any wants me to expand on any of them or if you have a prompt for me, just say in the review :)
/words\\ = Bond speak
Please read and review :)
Prompt from Arianna Silvia: I have an idea for your next chapter if you want to use it: Maybe a szene about the Jabiim and Ratatak/Ventress arc with Qui-Gon in it? For example his reaction to the 'death' of his former student?
..."No executions Alpha…" Master Qui-Gon Jinn ordered as he moved through the battlefield with his padawan, Anakin, "… they are already injured. Show some mercy, after all, we cannot hope to end this civil war by killing half of the planet."
War was brutal.
No matter how long this war between them and the Separatists had lasted, Qui-Gon felt like he could never get used to it.
Deflecting bolts next to him, Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, "Master Jinn is right. The Jabiimi rebels will only fight harder if we teach them to hate us."
"Unless we teach them to fear us as well…" sighed the clone commander, "… but it's your call Generals."
As Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fought side by side and back to back, both using the Force to slam the opposing soldiers into one another, Anakin came bounding up to them.
"Hey Master. If you're a general, what does that make me?"
"You are still only my padawan Anakin…. The General position is only temporary after all. Now focus."
"General Kenobi! General Jinn!" called out another Clone commander, "We're over-running the main emplacement! I suggest you sent a flanking force to prevent any enemy retreat!"
Obi-Wan brought a hand up to his ear, "Kass! Your unit is closest, get around to the back of that hill now!"
/Finally! \\ came a female voice over the communicator, /We've been waiting for our orders for hours. \\
"Ah, the padawan pack to the rescue…" Alpha groaned, "… as if this mission wasn't dangerous enough."
/You're still on the comms Clone! \\
"I know."
The battle continued on for a little while longer, before Obi-Wan sighed. "There's no sign of the confederacy here. It's making me nervous…. Let's regroup."
…
At the camp, Anakin joined the two Jedi Masters and shook his head, "The prisoners are terrified of us…. One even accused me of eating children!"
"Anakin…" sighed Qui-Gon, putting on his lecture voice, "… you must remember that there are over a hundred thousand inhabited worlds in the Republic, and there are now only a few thousand of us. Billions of beings have never seen a Jedi. Millions have never even heard of our order or of the Force."
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, "Yes…. And when we do appear, we can be killers. Thank the Force we can also be healers."
If Anakin was frustrated with the peaceful words, he didn't show it (although he usually did).
After grouping up with Master Sirrus and other Commanders, they discussed the Jabiimi Separatist Commander, Alto Stratus and his bodyguards, trained commandos called The Nimbus.
"So far, we've destroyed a dozen outposts…" reported Obi-Wan, "… but we're no closer to finding Stratus, or any of his Confederacy hardware."
Alpha, the Clone Commander, frowned and crossed his arms. "We could end this quickly if you'd only listen to my advice."
"We are not killing every surviving, political leader on this planet."
"You're just going to end up killing them eventually."
Quickly seeing that Obi-Wan was going frustrated (and slightly upset with the conversation), Qui-Gon took over.
"Commander, if you're not going to give us any useful advice, then kindly back off… or you can and help the padawans."
Alpha groaned under his breath as Anakin piped up, "Why is being put with us a punishment?!"
Nobody wanted to answer him… padawan duty was the worst though.
"With all due respect Generals…" Alpha continued, clearly gritting his teeth, "… we're being strung out. Every time we 'discover' another target, the attack carries us further from the shelter base. Further from supplies and reinforcements… and the new walkers. We're at least a full day's trek away from the base. We're slowed by the rain and our equipment is all waterlogged."
Qui-Gon frowned, crossing his arms. "So, what does that mean for us?"
"The Confederacy finds our weak spot and attacks in full force, and lots of Jedi and Clones die."
…
Of course, it all turned out how Alpha said it would.
"The shelter base is under attack! We are under attack! I repeat, we are- "
The plea for help was cut off by the sounds of explosions and cries of pain, prompting Obi-Wan to increase the vehicles speed until they reached the base.
"You've found the battle Alpha." Qui-Gon stated, tense as he deflected laser bolts away from them.
"Yes General. Now all we have to do is win it."
Eagerly, Anakin glanced back at his Master and Obi-Wan. "You guys help the others, I'll deal with mud-for-brains!"
Before either of them could protest, Anakin leapt out of the speeder and raced towards the leader of the Confederacy, lightsaber at the ready.
"You have one chance to surrender!"
The leader snarled at Anakin, "Don't patronize me! I'd rather die than become your political prisoner boy!"
…
"Alpha!" Obi-Wan called out, "Watch for the Nimbus troops! They have repulsor boots! Don't let them flank you!"
"I'll ground them."
An explosion from the right indicated that Alpha had taken the more destructive route of shooting the repulsor booster on the boot.
Effective.
"Generals! We have at least one walker on the move!"
Qui-Gon quickly took charge, "Protect it! Use it to lock down our right flank! We're pulling out!" He turned to his ex-padawan, "Take some men and take down that walker! Plant your charges!"
"Yes Master!"
Minutes later, the legs of the walker exploded, and the giant machine fell to the ground.
"Obi-Wan! Evacuate the troops! Hurry!"
Obi-Wan nodded, racing into the walker, "Everyone out! Before it all explodes!"
Over the comms unit, Anakin reported in. "Master. We've secured this section of the base."
"Excellent work Anakin…" Qui-Gon praised, "… make your way over to the AT-AT, Obi-Wan will need some assistance."
"We're on our wa- "
Anakin was interrupted as a loud explosion almost shattered Qui-Gon's ear-drums and the force of the blast flung him onto his back.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, a high-pitched ringing in his ears as he glanced around. His eyes instantly focused on the aftermath of the explosion, the smoke rising up into the air as fire burned.
The walker was gone.
"Obi-Wan…" he whispered, barely managing to get the words out as he stumbled forwards, "… Obi-Wan!"
No reply, either verbally or mentally.
"OBI-WAN!"
…..
Everything felt numb.
Qui-Gon knew that he was now the most senior Jedi on the planet, and he vaguely remembered sending the padawans away from the main battle, bot wanting anyone else to…. Not wanting anyone die like Obi-Wan had.
It was day thirty-two of the battle.
Whilst Qui-Gon was struggling with the death of his old padawan, often retreating away in order to grieve, Anakin acted with anger, appearing cold and unforgiving as he sliced through both droid and living rebel alike.
After taking out a platoon of droids together, Qui-Gon turned to his padawan. "Good work Anakin."
"Battle droids are single-minded…. Give them an obvious target and they'll attack it without watching their rear quarters. Easy ambush."
"… That sounds like an Obi-Wan tactic."
Bowing his head in grief, Anakin nodded, "Yes… is it strange that I miss him?"
"No… not it's not."
….
It was now day forty-two, and tensions were beginning to grow.
The Republics forces were stretched thin, and it was decided that the clones would be evacuated… which their supporters of this planet didn't appreciate.
The General of the supporters even started to blame the Jedi for all the problems that had be-fallen their planet…. Which was the final straw.
Anakin's anger and frustration had been growing ever since Obi-Wan's death… which led to him using the Force to choke the General.
"ANAKIN, STOP!" Qui-Gon ordered, pulling Anakin away and shaking him harshly, "STOP!"
It took a few moments, but eventually Anakin calmed down and turned away.
"Let's just go…" the teen muttered, "… I've had enough of this planet."
As they headed onto the transport, the General as his army started to jeer and yell at them as they took off, which only seemed to anger Anakin further, especially when they started to throw rocks at the transport.
Once they were far enough away, a clone came up to Qui-Gon, "Now that we're far away from the blocking signal, we've received a message from the Chancellor. He wants an update on the situation."
It took a few moments, but eventually, Qui-Gon sighed wearily. "Tell him it's over… The Battle of Jabiim is over. We lost… we've all lost."
…
Once they were back on Coruscant, Qui-Gon found himself standing in front of the memorial that the people of New Holstice created eons ago, to honour all Jedi killed since the birth of the Republic. It was made up of memory moths, each one representing a fallen Jedi.
The monument was growing brighter every day.
Quietly, Qui-Gon released his own memorial moth, taking deep breaths as he resisted the urge to cry. "…Goodbye Obi-Wan."
…
Meanwhile, on another planet, a limp figure was hanging in chains, clothes torn and burnt.
"You vowed to kill me the last time we met…"
"Patience…" crooned a female voice, "… it wouldn't do to kill your body, before I've destroyed your spirit. I came to give you more news of the war… the Republic has been beaten back on all fronts. The Confederacy is on the verge of winning."
"We shall see."
"The Republic has already been crushed on Jabiim… Even sweeter, we slaughtered all of the Padawans and Masters… including yours."
"LIAR!"
The female chuckled, a red lightsaber glowing in the room, "You were easier to break than I expected… Welcome to your 'Dark Side' Obi-Wan Kenobi."
….
"Troubles, you are having." Master Yoda sighed, as he watched Qui-Gon from the apartment doorway, "Speak to someone, you should."
Wearily, Qui-Gon shook his head, his eyes focused on an old holo-picture of Obi-Wan. "I almost lost him before… when Maul came after us… I thought it hurt then. This is so much worse."
"A clone, taken as well I believe?"
"Yes…. Alpha. I have informed his brothers. They rest easy in the knowledge that it was a quick death."
…
"I'm impressed. I thought you would be easier to break…" the female frowned, holding up a bloodied knife, "… I have cut you once for each of my questions you have failed to answer. Where shall I cut you next? An eye? An ear? Your throat?!"
The muscular man smirked at her, "Might as well take my tongue too. I'm not trained to answer questions."
"You're trained to be fodder! Trained to die for the false Jedi and the Republic…. In fact, you're only alive now because of me. Just tell me what I want to know, and you'll go free, perhaps to start a life of your own… where are the Republic's primary medical facilities?!"
"I am advanced Recon Commando A-17, Republic Army, under the command of General Obi-Wan Kenobi. That is all I am authorised to reveal."
"Where are the Republic Founderies?!"
"I am advanced recon commando A-17- "
"- You've consigned yourself to a painful death clone. I'll be back tomorrow… to gut you."
….
That didn't happen however;
Obi-Wan barely glanced up when he heard someone else being thrown into the room. When he did glance up, he frowned at the sight. "Alpha?" he whispered, "You're alive?"
"Not yet…" grunted the clone, "… though, I don't expect to survive my next interrogation. But you've been in here for three weeks. I assume you've devised an escape plan?"
"… This mask has kept me from concentrating enough to rip the door down…" Obi-Wan whispered weakly, "… but not enough to stop me from pushing on water pipes for twenty days straight."
Up above, the water pipe shattered, and water spurted out, soon starting to fill the room.
Alpha was not impressed.
"Great. So now, we either drown, or get electrocuted?!"
"…Or the water shorts out your manacles."
There was a buzzing sound as Alphas cuffs did exactly what Obi-Wan predicted, shorting out and falling off of the clones' wrists.
"Okay…" Alpha reached up to free Obi-Wan, "… now I'll drown with my hands free."
"Just get this mask off of me."
Once Alpha removed the mask, he winced at the intense bruising and bleeding nose, "You looked better with the mask on."
As Obi-Wan was helped to his feet, he smirked at the clone, "Next time, we're going to find a Clone Commander with a better sense of humour. Now let me concentrate on the door."
It took a few moments, but eventually, the door shattered and was thrown away from the frame, allowing them to leave the small, cramped room.
"Now we'll see who breaks!" growled Alpha.
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, fingers brushing over his over-grown beard (his mind flashing to his Master almost immediately). "We need to free the rest of the prisoners."
"Good idea… cause a prison break and cause chaos. With all those prisoners on the loose, there'll be a lot of confusion."
"And it's the right thing to do… these people will rot if we just leave them here."
Alpha simply shrugged, helping Obi-Wan free all the prisoners… all of the really big prisoners.
"Ummmm General, I think some of these prisoners were kept here for a reason."
"That's Ventress's problem now… there are more direct problems we have to face."
Here, Obi-Wan was referring to the armed guards who were racing towards them, all shouting orders at one another.
"They don't have any weapons! Kill them!"
Obi-Wan smirked at this, "You think I'm unarmed…" Even with his weakened muscles, he found it easy to leap at the men, "… Even without my lightsaber, I'm still a Jedi!"
Now that they were in control, they started to head out of the facility.
"Ventress was telling me that there were maggots eating you from the inside out…" Alpha began cautiously, "… are we going to need to call for some healers when we get out of here?"
Obi-Wan winced at the memory… all the creatures wriggling as they buried inside of him. "Judging by your limp and how my nose is aching, we'll need the healers anyway…. But no, I used the Force to kill the last of the grubs days ago. But it was useful to let Ventress think I was helpless."
"I'll never make that mistake. But, even we can't defeat Ventress's entire army… we should slip away while we still have the chance!"
Nodding in agreement, the pair slipped into a side corridor, remaining tense as they went.
…..
As Obi-Wan retrieved his lightsaber (plus a spare one just as case), him and Alpha headed out to where the ships were kept, hoping to steal one and make their way off the planet.
"Alpha! Prime the engines on that ship!" Obi-Wan ordered, desperately pushing himself despite the pain spreading throughout his entire body, "We need to get out of here before she finds us."
"Too late…" Ventress smirked at the pair, "… I'm surprised you're fleeing. I would have thought you'd want revenge?"
She and Obi-Wan leapt at each other, their lightsabers crackling with the force of being struck against one another, "The first goal of any war is survival…" Obi-Wan growled through his teeth, "… you should know that!"
Ventress, as usual, was delighted by the banter. "All too well, false Jedi."
"I'm the false Jedi? You are the one who's a pawn of the Dark Side."
The pair fought ferociously for what seemed like hours, until Ventress finally growled. "Surrender Master Kenobi… or I'll take your arm."
"You have my pity, Ventress. You could have been a great Jedi Master…" He backflipped onto the leaving hip right behind him, "… one of the Order's brightest maybe?"
"The Order FAILED my Master!"
"And you have failed yourself Let go of your hatred and fear! It will not bring him back!"
Before Ventress could say anything more, the ship shot away, quickly leaving the planet before anything more could be done.
….
Qui-Gon hated politics… scratch that.
He hated politics that had Chancellor Palpatine involved.
The man had an unhealthy attachment to Anakin, and after… after what happened with Obi-Wan, the boy was eager for a little bit of attention.
After the most recent Council meeting, where the Chancellor refused to talk about Jabiim, Qui-Gon and Anakin were asked to see the Chancellor in his office…. Qui-Gon tried to find an excuse as to why they couldn't go… but to no avail.
"And what will you be doing next young Skywalker?" Palpatine asked, his lecherous gaze focused on Anakin, despite his Master standing right next to him.
Before Anakin could even think of answering, Qui-Gon spoke up. "We will be looking into reported increases in pirate activity, such as the one encountered by Senator Organa, whilst our troops are re-outfitted for their next mission."
Palpatine briefly looked annoyed that he was interrupted before giving Qui-Gon a concerned look, "So soon after your old student's death? Such a terrible loss for you…. And how terrible for you Anakin, you must miss him a great deal."
There was a short moment of silence, before Anakin bowed his head in grief. "Yes."
Qui-Gon had to force down his own feelings of guilt, as he spoke up once again, "The Order has a strong belief that there is no death… only the Force."
"It's all very easy for the Jedi Order, I understand…. But for everyone else, such a loss is… difficult to comprehend. For us, death is very real, very painful." Palpatine sighed, "I admire your detachment Master Jinn, I only wished I could do the same sometimes."
Sensing that they were being given permission to leave, the two Jedi headed out of the door. Once they were far enough away from any listening ears, Anakin turned to his Master.
"He's right you know… why can't we feel grief like everyone else?"
"You believe we don't feel grief…" Qui-Gon turned to Anakin and frowned at him, "… you believe that I don't feel grief? I have felt nothing but grief since losing Obi-Wan, but I have to put these feeling to one side because we are still in the middle of a crisis. If I lose myself to my grief, and wallow in my pain, then lives may be lost… and I will not allow that."
Without giving Anakin a chance to answer, Qui-Gon picked up the pace and headed down the corridor, refusing to show any weakness.
There were eyes everywhere nowadays.
Days later, a freighter containing an ex-senator exploded with him in it, just as he was preparing to leave the planet.
…
"AAAAHHHH!"
Qui-Gon was startled out of his meditation by the sound of Anakin's screams, his face twisting in concern as fear and alarm echoed through the bond between them.
He'd been having these dreams more and more recently… unsurprising with Obi-Wan's death.
As Anakin stumbled into the room, Qui-Gon got to his feet. "You are distressed… I felt it in the Force. I suspect they could have felt it on Coruscant."
"… I'm fine."
"Obi-Wan's death is a tragedy, I do understand, but- "
"- but that's the problem Master." Anakin shook his head, "I don't feel like Obi-Wan is dead, don't you feel it. A nagging sense of doubt?"
He had…. The bond between him and his old padawan may have been weakened due to the years spent apart, but Qui-Gon was sure that he should have felt it snapped…. And yet he felt nothing.
But it was impossible for Obi-Wan to have survived.
"If Obi-Wan were truly alive, wouldn't he have revealed himself by now?" he asked reasonably.
"…. We didn't recover a body on Jabiim."
"There may have been nothing to recover…. I am sorry Anakin, but we need to focus on the present. Come, we are approaching Riflor and Ventress's ship has been spotted."
….
"Shield's are gone, the hyperdrive is about shot and the comm is out." Alpha sighed, as they were fired upon, "Great escape we have going here."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, "I never assumed Ventress would give up and let us go. This is her ship after all, she must have a way to track it! We might want to find the nearest planet where it would be safe to land."
"Great idea. I'll do that in my spare time… nearest planet is Riflor. Barely habitable… volcanic. The problem is that we're not in Republic controlled space, and one of the three suns in this system is having sunspot activity. Going to make it difficult getting word to our side."
"Do we have any other options?"
"No…. and believe me, I looked."
Obi-Wan sighed, "Then Riflor it is. We'll have to find a comm when we get planet-side. I trust you to get us safely there Alpha."
"You're a trusting man General Kenobi."
…..
Back with Anakin and Qui-Gon, the pair were launching an attack on the Separatists… and Qui-Gon was finding it difficult to concentrate.
All he could here was Obi-Wan's voice in his head, pleading with him, practically yelling in his ear.
"-er…..ter….ster….aster…..MASTER!"
Qui-Gon was startled out of his thoughts, spinning around to face Anakin, "Obi-Wan…" he whispered, "… Obi-Wan's alive."
