Title: Always
Author: XVIII
Rating: PG13
Setting: A/U
Pairing: Obi/Ami
Summary: Obi-Wan goes on a dangerous mission…
Archive: Ask me first!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Mr. Lucas.
Chapter 2: Missions
"Happy Birthday, Obi-Wan!" Corro-Phay walked over to talk with her best friend. "How does it feel to be sixteen? Sixteen's when you get more freedom – you get to do what you want, maybe try new things?" She waggled her eyebrow suggestively.
Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh. Corro-Phay and Obi-Wan met when they were both ten. She was an energetic girl who was two months younger than Obi-Wan. She was a several inches shorter than Obi-Wan, and he remembered that when he had first met her he wondered how someone so small could have so much energy. He could even see it in her sky blue eyes, which seemed to cackle with electricity.
Her platinum blond hair completed her. At night, the moon reflected off it, giving it a tranquil look that seemed to reflect in her eyes. During the day, though, the sun made her hair look like the lightning that intensified the spark in her eyes.
Another thing about Corro-Phay was that one could always know what her mood was just by looking at her eyes. At the moment, she was hungry. When Obi-Wan heard his own stomach grumble, he could tell that he was too.
"C'mon, Cor… let's go get some cake. I'm starved!"
"Oh yeah. I forgot! You haven't eaten in a while, have you? That was pretty harsh, what Master Jinn did when you-"
"Excuse me?"
Two pairs of eyes looked up at the speaker and two feet took a step back.
"Master Jinn!" I was…uh… just wishing Obi here a happy birthday! I… um… better be going now. I think I hear my master calling!" Corro-Phay put her hand to her ear.
"Yep, that's her! Nice talking to you, gottagobye!"
And she was gone.
Obi-Wan didn't know anyone could run that fast. He turned to Qui-Gon only to see a smirk not unlike Obi-Wan's on his face. When Qui-Gon noticed Obi-Wan looking at him, his face turned somber.
"Padawan, I have news on your mission." Qui-Gon paused briefly, then continued.
"As you know, the mission you are about to embark on will be quite dangerous. You will have no one there to protect you if the need arises. You must remember, though, you will be graded on how well you do on this mission, and this will help to determine your future."
"Yes, I know already! Can you please just tell me what my mission is?!" Obi-Wan was getting impatient.
Qui-Gon sighed. The boy was too reckless and headstrong. He had let it go in the past, but now it might be too late to teach him now.
"Master!" Obi-Wan brought Qui-Gon back to reality. "My mission?"
Qui-Gon nodded.
"Well…."
~ - ~ - ~
"SURVEILLANCE?! That's my mission?! Surveillance?!"
Qui-Gon sighed. It was so difficult dealing with this boy.
"I thought you said it was supposed to be hard and… and… dangerous and I could die or something! But surveillance?! C'mon! I- I- ARGH!!!"
"Padawan, you are going to Kessel. You know what kind of creatures live in Kessel."
Obi-Wan sighed in defeat. He knew he wasn't going to win this one.
"Yes, master. When will I leave?"
"Tonight."
~ - ~ - ~
Obi-Wan looked around. The ship was boarding soon and if he was late, he would miss the mission and doom any possibility that he could be a Jedi. He had been told to wait here, but there was no sign of her anywhere. He was getting worried for both his friend and himself.
"Obi!"
Obi-Wan turned around to come face-to-face with Corro-Phay.
"I heard you were gonna leave tonight and I just wanted to… well, to say goodbye." Obi-Wan noticed a tear forming in her eye. He smiled sympathetically.
He pulled her into his arms as she started sobbing.
"Hey Cor, don't cry! I'm gonna miss you too, but I'm going to be back soon. It's just some stupid surveillance thing they're making me do! I'll be back soon! Please don't cry!"
Corro-Phay dried her tears, even though she had a chilly feeling in her stomach that she might never see Obi-Wan again.
"It's just that… well, without you, the Temple sure won't be the same!" She forced a smile to try to mask her feelings, but Obi-Wan knew better. He didn't want to pry, though, so he turned to leave.
"Bye, Cor! I'll see you in a couple of weeks, okay?"
"Obi, Wait!"
Obi-Wan turned to face her again, a puzzled look on his face.
"I just wanted to say…. Um… I…" instead of finishing her sentence, she grabbed him and kissed him passionately and fully on the lips.
"Promise me you'll come back." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Obi-Wan was backing away slowly, still trying to comprehend what just happened. When he heard the sound of the ship readying its engines, he smiled at Corro-Phay briefly before running off to the shuttle.
I promise.
~ - ~ - ~
Obi-Wan was bored.
Every day for the past week he had been going to the same cantina keeping a subtle watch on the same guy for the same reason. Unfortunately, that reason was unbeknownst to him, which made this mission all the more boring. And plus, he was underage, so he couldn't drink anything because it was all alcohol, or eat anything because all the food items were loaded with alcohol.
If only he could be back on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple. Master Yoda would be there, most likely talking with Master Windu or Qui-Gon. The other Jedi would be there, talking with their padawans or with other Jedi. A few padawans would be dueling for practice in the field or training with remotes. All his friends would be there, and he would be there, and Cor would be there.
Cor.
Had the kiss even meant anything? Was Cor just-A sudden movement from the table in front of him interrupted his thoughts. A man was angrily banging his mug on the wooden table. He could barely make out what the man was yelling.
"I told you not to harm the princess! We have to-"
Then, remembering that he was in a cantina filled with people, his loud voice turned into a whisper. But Obi-Wan was intrigued. He knew he wasn't supposed to eavesdrop using the Force, but this might have turned out important.
"Do you know how much she is worth?! The Nubian government would make us rich just to get the princess back! If they find her harmed, what do you think they're going to do to us? Now, when we get back there, if you harm even ONE hair, you'll be dead so fast you won't even have time to scream."
Obi-Wan recoiled in shock. The Nubian princess?! The Nubian princess was kidnapped last week after the Jedi Knighthood ceremony! Obi-Wan thought quickly. What would he do? The princess needed rescuing, but he couldn't forget the mission he had already, could he?
Well, Obi-Wan reasoned, is the princess more important than this Jango guy I'm supposed to be watching? Of course! And besides, this guy isn't doing anything important and the princess is! Well, once she gets rescued she will be doing important stuff again.
These reasons were good enough for him. He waited until he sensed the men were going to leave, then got up himself and followed them into their ship. He stowed away in the cargo bay of the surprisingly large transport, hoping that nobody or nothing would sense him. He closed his eyes and meditated the rest of the way there.
~ - ~ - ~
The ship lurched, causing Obi-Wan to wake from his peaceful slumber. He heard voices all the way from the cockpit.
"Damn, Broar! How can you overheat the engines after you land?!"
"Sorry, Boss, but I don't know what happened either! I think it just happened by itself maybe!"
"Whatever! Just go out there and fix it! We need the ship tomorrow for the-"
BAM!
"Dammit!"
"Okay, Boss, I'll go…"
Obi-Wan heard the sound of the hatch hissing open, then carefully made his way toward the exit. Once he sensed that Broar had left the ship and started repairs on the engines, he carefully made his way out and into the middle of nowhere. The wind blew his hair askew and the sand gusts constantly slammed into his face.
He protected himself using his sleeve and made his way to the only building visible in this wasteland. It wasn't very large, in fact, it was only a small hut, and so Obi-Wan decided that probably only the princess was held in there.
He slowly made his way over to the door and opened it. He gazed around the contents of the small house and was surprised that there was no princess. He double-checked and discovered a door handle on the floor, and as he trotted over slowly he could sense a life form under the boards. Of course.
He carefully strode over to the board and lifted the handle. He promptly recoiled in shock from what, or rather who he saw.
"YOU'RE the princess?!"
~ - ~ - ~
A resilient Amidala stared back at him.
"Of course I'm the princess! Who did you think…I…was?" Her sentence trailed off as she recognized the boy standing above her. It was him. The boy from the ceremony. She had ached to be with him then, and she felt some of that ache returning. At the moment, though, she knew she had to contain the ache and focus on the situation at hand.
She took his hand and was lifted out of the cellar with a little help from what she suspected was the Force.
~ - ~ - ~
Obi-Wan lifted her up from the mucky cellar, and at once he could feel a disturbance in the Force. He released her hand from his grip and ignited his lightsaber. The electric-blue blade shimmered to life with a snap-hiss, and the princess stared in awe of the padawan's weapon.
"Shh!" Obi-Wan quieted the girl standing beside him. "I sense danger!"
"Heh…" The sound of malicious laughter filled the room.
Obi-Wan could hear a blaster being cocked and loaded and wondered how he always managed to get himself in trouble so often.
"Danger is right."