TITLE: MILES TO GO
AUTHOR: Cascadia
TIME: 6 years pre-TPM, Obi-Wan is 19
RATING: PG or PG-13
CATEGORY: Drama/Angst, Non-Slash
SUMMARY: Padawan Obi-Wan is kidnapped by a Force-sensitive. Can he overcome without the Force? Without Qui-Gon?
ARCHIVE: Please ask first. Sites who have previously archived any of my stories may archive any of them that they want to without asking. See bio for archived sites.
DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters are the property of Lucasfilm Limited. All the rest belong to me. I receive absolutely no profit from this.




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CHAPTER 4 - FREEDOM?



Fire mixed with ice in a mind-jolting onslaught of pain. The crash of a throbbing ache originating at the back of his head, burning and spread like a blanket - a cover of flame - encompassed his entire skull, while the ice-chilled floor beneath him sent its frozen fingers up, stroking his skin, held ever damp by clothes drenched from the numerous mists of rain the padawan had been subject to. The insensitive war of hot and cold cruelly lashed into his dawning awareness.

Suppressing a mild shiver, he slowly rocked his head to the side, wincing from the uncomfortable effect of the hard surface he lay upon, and opened his eyes - with an immediate regret of the pain that small action had caused. He weakly moaned and closed his eyes again, becoming aware of other aches and a general soreness throughout his entire body, and, finally, of a surging wave of nausea forecasting its evil intention to hold him at its mercy.

A confounding spray of questions imbued his mind in a precipitant blur. Where was he? Why did he hurt so much, feel so sick? Why were his clothes wet, and where was Master Qui-Gon?

As the confusion of twisting vapor swirled and drifted through his mind, it slowly dissipated to a faint spindrift - until it ebbed away, leaving visions of his distressing predicament growing increasingly clearer.

The murder. The kidnapping. His captor. The shipwreck. The rainforest. The thing in his hand.... It all came rushing back in flagrant, vivid detail - detail that he would prefer to forget.

In an uncertain moment of shock, as the harrowing memories of the last few days returned, the padawan hesitantly accepted them for what they were and tried to focus on how to help himself. It remained true that he felt lost without the Force, but even in the most trying of circumstances was a Jedi expected to behave as such, and he would do his best to live up to that expectancy.

He turned his thoughts back to the object he had found shortly before his loss of consciousness. Was IT still there?

Lying still, he carefully peered through his eyelashes. The chamber he was in was mostly dark, but a faint glow emanated to the side, crawling up the alabaster walls and disappearing into the near-blackness overhead. Following the light to its source, Obi-Wan ignored the pain and turned his head to find Tennosa sitting cross-legged a few feet away from him. He appeared to be entranced by something in his lap.

Slowly, the padawan looked back to his hand - where he hoped IT still was.

He gently opened his hand, seeing the small stone blade - still secretly concealed and still relatively sharp, despite however many years of lying lost within the tower. Feeling a small pain accompanying his hand's movement, he took notice of the smear of what seemed to be nearly dried blood across the blade. He traced the cut to his palm, evidently sliced from grasping the blade too tightly, just prior to passing out.

He released a relieved sigh, averse to admit that the hope he had placed in that one small blade could very well be exaggerated, but, right now, it was all he had.

But was it enough? Was it an empty hope? A flight dream?

These questions he preferred not to answer.

"You're awake," came the cold, cruel voice of the man that had made the last few days of his life miserable.

Obi-Wan inwardly cringed at the sound of that man's voice and slowly closed his hand back around the blade, avoiding any quick movements that could draw attention to his bound hands.

Tennosa shifted to kneel beside his captive still lying upon the freezing stone floor. The padawan's eyes were open, but his gaze remained transfixed on the dark ceiling.

"I'm talking to you, Padawan," said Tennosa with malice. In a ruthless gesture to gain the padawan's attention he banged his fist on Obi-Wan's boot where his wounded ankle was.

The padawan yelped involuntarily, flinching from the unexpected attack, and started to roll on his side away from his tormentor, but was stopped as Tennosa jerked him back and pinned his shoulders to the floor in a bruising hold.

"Look at me," Tennosa growled. "Look at me," he repeated, incensed by Obi-Wan's stubborn disobedience. He tightened his painful grip on Obi-Wan's shoulders, satisfactorily seeing the padawan's attempt to cover the increase in pain with a set jaw.

Realizing that continued rebellion might not only earn him more punishment by Tennosa's Force-enhanced strength, but also risk his chances of escaping sooner, Obi-Wan redirected his eyes to the face of the man now hovering over him. The man's face lay vaguely shadowed, but the hateful stare could not be dispelled by the darkness and almost made the padawan think twice about attempting any escape - or even thinking escape was possible. He tried to push the trembling doubt away and remember that Master Qui-Gon would not accept him surrendering so easily - and he would not allow himself to be so weak.

Tennosa stared down at his captive, gazing so innocently up at him. The glow rod sent a soft glow across the padawan's face, illuminating the blue effulgence of his eyes. He could read a trace of fear and near-hopelessness from his captive, but also a quivering determination to not give up.

The prolonged, wordless stare sent an apprehensive shudder up Obi-Wan's spine, assuredly alerting Tennosa of its presence. Fighting to keep some control, Obi-Wan unconsciously bit his lower lip to stem the growing unease, but without the aid of the Force, he found maintaining a semblance of peace in such an uncomfortable situation extremely difficult.

"Why do Jedi dread fear so much?" demanded Tennosa.

Obi-Wan stared up at him, knowing that behind all the cruelty and mistreatment lay an insatiable mind, eager to soak up anything he could tell him - which begged the question of why? Why was his captor so adamant to learn about the Force? What had sparked his interest so - or, rather, WHO had? How could a man become so obsessed with possessing knowledge?

"I asked you a question." Tennosa's hands on the padawan's shoulders pinched painfully, while his voice grew deathly malevolent.

Sucking in a deep breath to achieve a small measure of calm, Obi-Wan quietly answered, "fear leads to anger."

"But anger makes you powerful," replied Tennosa. A touch of base satisfaction flashed across his features, and he relaxed his grip on Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan sadly looked away. He should not be upset with this man. He was evidently wading in perilous seas - lost, confused, desiring the easy, selfish way. The Force was not subservient to an individual's self-indulgent bidding, or at least, it should not be, the padawan mused. To take the powers of the Force at face value and not attribute any kind of regard for it's 'will' - it's loving guidance towards fulfilling the eventual fate of the universe - was a near-blasphemy. It was this type of disrespect that the padawan found difficult to understand - especially from one who could sense its presence.

"Why does that bother you, Padawan?" the elder man implored in genuine interest.

Obi-Wan met the man's eyes again, noting the iniquitous fascination there. "It leads to the Dark Side," he replied quietly.

"And why is that wrong?" The blind sincerity of Tennosa's eyes gleamed.

"The Dark Side is evil," Obi-Wan answered. "Corruption and hatred are its ways - not love unconditional and disregard for self."

"Spoken like a true Jedi puppet," Tennosa smiled, but it was anything but friendly. The nefarious glare in his eyes held steady. "Maybe it's a good thing that the Jedi wouldn't take me, or I'd be as much of a mindless dandiprat as you are. I suppose I'm better off having not endured that kind of brainwashing."

"Who is it that you hate so much?" Obi-Wan interrupted bluntly, and Tennosa was clearly taken aback - though, he tried not to show it - by the brashness of his captive's inquiry.

Tennosa's eyes narrowed, and Obi-Wan saw that he'd struck a chord in the man's heart.

"It's apparent that something happened to you," the padawan went on saucily, finding a weakness unseen before. "And you clearly did not like it." The impetuous nature of Obi-Wan's argument fanned the brooding storm in Tennosa's eyes. "Was being discovered too late such a disappointment to you? Is that why there's so much hate in you? Do you wish you were a Jedi so badly that it drives you to murder?"

"Enough," Tennosa yelled.

"And how do you know who I am?" Obi-Wan rashly demanded.

"I said that's enough," Tennosa repeated harshly, his shifting emotions at war.

"You expect me to answer all of your questions, but you won't answer mine." Obi-Wan knew he was pushing his captor, but he simply refused to let him intimidate him further. Although, in the very back of his mind, he heard a warning beckon telling him to stave off the attack. An escape attempt may not come again so easily. It would be foolish to throw it away now.

Meanwhile, Tennosa had tightened his grip on the padawan's shoulders once again, this time, much more painful than before, and - if Obi-Wan could read a man's face at all - he knew that Tennosa was nearing a burning rage.

Obi-Wan closed his mouth, stopping himself from saying anything more, and dropped the defiant glare that he had so unknowingly adopted, replacing it with a more placative expression and allowing his eyes to show the slightly quivering resolve that he felt deep inside.

Tennosa held his vehement temper at bay, preferring not to display any inclemency at the moment. He would not let this padawan control his behavior. No, he would not let anyone control him.

Abruptly, his tense posture relaxed, and he remarked coolly, "that's the way it goes, Padawan. Your life is at my mercy, and you will do as I say. Oh, and I'm so sorry you missed evening meal... again," he mocked. "It's too bad you were... out," added Tennosa, trying to keep straight a malicious smile that threatened to form.

Brusquely, he seized Obi-Wan, pulling him to his feet, and shoved him over to the stone altar in the middle of the room.

Obi-Wan decided to not struggle - not that he could have much, as weak as he felt - but to wait for the right moment for escape. As he clasped his hand tightly around the hidden blade, he felt the sharp edge sink into his flesh, and subsequently grit his teeth in an attempt to keep his sanity intact.

Tennosa pushed Obi-Wan upon the stone slab, forcing him to lie down. Then he pulled the leather-bound hands of his captive above his head and used a rope to bind them to an upraised loop at one end of the slab. Walking to the other end, he used a second rope to tie his captive's feet to the loop at the opposite end.

Tennosa chuckled, stepping back to admire his handy-work, and murmured, "all prepared for sacrifice."

The twisted levity did little to calm the padawan, and, fortunately - much to Obi-Wan's relief - Tennosa was only joking. The man turned and sauntered over to the wall.

The padawan discreetly watched Tennosa settle down on the floor and waited until he were still for a few minutes. Taking a few slow, deep breaths to gain a sense of serenity - no matter how small a fraction he could muster - Obi-Wan laid still on the altar to make sure Tennosa was asleep.

Obi-Wan was sure that Tennosa would in some way tie him up overnight - since he had every night they had been on this planet. Evidently, Tennosa had no grasp of Force-inducing sleep, which was a good thing in this case - for his plan depended on it.

If his scheme didn't work, then the padawan felt sure another chance would - in all likelihood - never come, or in the least, not come soon enough.

Now that he had a blessed chance to make a clean escape, he silently thanked the Force for the token of fortune it had patently thrown to him out of mercy or destiny, or for whatever reason. But he knew that true freedom lay inflexibly distant, and - if finding a way back to Coruscant were even possible on this strange, little beautiful planet - there would need be many more blessings beyond this present darkness to wake again in a world of certainty and security.

Don't get your hopes up yet, Obi-Wan reminded himself.

After waiting what he assumed should be sufficient time for his captor to be asleep, Obi-Wan bent his head back, peering at his wrists secured to the altar. Twisting and stretching to reach the rope as well as he could, he carefully placed the blade against the rope and began sawing across its strong fibers, periodically stopping to peek at Tennosa and rest his fingers.

It was a long, monotonous process, but the longer he worked, the more relief sprouted in his thoughts. Thoughts of Coruscant and the Temple, Qui-Gon, all the other Jedi, sent waves of contentment through him.

He continued working feverishly until the sudden popping of the rope drew a light sigh of satisfaction from him. That much closer to freedom, he paused for a moment, breathing in deeply, to bask in the first victory.

Now with his hands free of the altar, he set to work on cutting the leather cord around his wrists by placing the blade tightly between his teeth. It was so tight and had been there so long, that it was extremely difficult to keep the blade held tight enough to effectively saw across the cord.

A few accidental cuts later, the thick leather split, and Obi-Wan slowly unwrapped it, bearing the pain it caused to his bruised and slightly bloodied slender wrists.

After a quick glance again at Tennosa, the padawan was frantically wrestling with the rope restraining his feet to the altar, his tired fingers fumbling in frustration. The older man stirred gently in his sleep, but gave no sign of waking, but even so, Obi-Wan hurried to complete his task.

When the rope dropped to the floor, with just the slightest of sounds, Obi-Wan slid his legs over the edge of the altar and carefully tested his weight on his ankle. He felt surprised that it now appeared to be a steady, dull ache, but perhaps he had just gotten used to its constant pain.

Then he limped toward Tennosa with his heart violently beating. The pale light from the single glow rod painted the man's features in dark shadows, his face a mask of peace in slumber. With a trembling hand, the padawan reached for the satchel at the elder man's feet.

Just as his hand wrapped around the handle, something smashed into his side, and he fell sprawling back on the cold stone floor with his ribs screaming in pain.

Tennosa sprang to his feet and leaped towards the padawan.

Obi-Wan rolled away and stood, swinging the satchel still in his hand at the older man. It struck Tennosa across the back of his head, knocking him to his knees.

Taking advantage of the moment of confusion, the padawan raced towards the hallway, ignoring the shooting pains from his ankle. He emerged from the tower structure into the moonlit clearing. Surreal shades lay spread across the ruins, dark and sinister. The soft moonlight latched on to the stone forms, bathing them in deep blue pools of light, while the sultry air pushed away the coolness, as now a humid night settled in.

He could hear the panting breaths of Tennosa behind him, but there was no time to worry about that. Quickly, he darted towards the dilapidated stone dwellings, as fast as his limp would carry him over the rock-strewn ground.

Ducking inside a small chamber, he slid to the floor, then jumped up to peer out one small crumbled window. He saw Tennosa cautiously walking amidst the clearing with the blaster held in hand, glancing all around, no doubt searching for him.

Sinking to his knees, the padawan continued watching warily as Tennosa came nearer.

Oh please, go away, he silently pleaded.

Praying the wild fluttering of his pounding heart would stop, the padawan tried to still his shallow panting for fear of being heard. A sudden gush of nausea washed over him, and he nervously swallowed the bile blossoming at the back of his throat. He suddenly realized how terrible he felt. The sick stomach, the dizziness, exhaustion - repercussions of the last several days. Fatigue from the relentless traveling and the lack of sufficient food - combined with the Force-suppressant's ill effects - had apparently taken their toll on him.

"I can sense you near, Padawan," said Tennosa.

No, please, please, Obi-Wan pleaded again.

Tennosa stopped, turning in a circle.

Obi-Wan opened the satchel and began searching for anything useful, while he simultaneously watched Tennosa through the window.

"Padawan. You won't last long out here. This forest is dangerous." Tennosa's voice was emotionless. "There's no way you could make it alive. Be sensible and surrender."

Nothing. There was nothing he could use against Tennosa in the satchel.

I should have run into the forest, the padawan thought desperately.

Now he was trapped in this small dwelling, with a violent, unpredictable man intending him harm outside.

"Think, Padawan," he said. "Give up, and I won't hurt you. You wanted to know how I know you. I'll tell you." He whirled around now facing the direction where Obi-Wan hid. "I saw you years ago with your master. You've changed so much, but I knew you must be the same child." Tennosa paused, walking closer.

Obi-Wan ducked further to the side of the window, attempting to stay hidden from Tennosa's sight. The nervous pounding of his heart increased the closer the man came.

"My name is Merrik Tennosa. Jinn never told you about me, did he?" Tennosa guessed. "But maybe he wouldn't want you to know."

Obi-Wan remained quiet. He knew he could not believe anything Tennosa said, but nevertheless, he wondered how this man knew Qui-Gon.

"Qui-Gon Jinn is not the perfect little Jedi, you know," Tennosa continued, his voice became passionate. "He doesn't bow to the Council and lick their boots. I met him years ago, and he didn't mind teaching me a few things. Why does it bother you?" he paused for effect. "Perhaps it's the will of the Force to cooperate with me. The Force didn't stop Jinn. Are you going to disobey the Force now that your master isn't here with you? Just what do you think Qui-Gon would think of you for doing that?"

Closing his eyes, the padawan tried to push away the conflicting emotions of disappointing Qui-Gon. His master would not freely give out instruction, would he? No, the Temple kept Force knowledge safely locked away from those who would want to use it wrongly - those like Tennosa.

Tennosa stopped in front of the dwelling where Obi-Wan was. "Come out and I won't hurt you." His voice was lower this time, as he stared at the window.

No, no, Obi-Wan begged in silence.

No, he would not give in. He gathered his remaining courage, set his determination to escape, and crept to the side of the open doorway.

Tennosa stepped closer to the door with the blaster readied. "I know where you are, Padawan." He took a tentative step towards the door, waiting, listening.

As Tennosa stepped again closer, Obi-Wan threw the satchel in the man's face, and - seeing him fall backward to the ground - jumped over him, dashing toward the cover of vegetation. He knew running was his only chance since he felt much too tired to fight.

He fled as quickly as he could, nearly tripping over the rocky ground, and as he broke into the dense vegetation, he didn't slow, never looked back for fear of seeing Tennosa there following.

He ran on, sweeping past leaves, slapped and scratched by limbs, and staggered from the toll his exhaustion was taking on his body.

Dark silhouettes flew by, long and curved, thick or delicate. The choking humidity seemed to steal his breath, but he drove himself on, without thought of where he was heading. But it didn't really matter right now. All he saw was getting away from that man who had kidnapped him and brought him here. All his thoughts were funneled into one basic instinct to be free.

Finally - after a time that seemed to be entirely too short - his legs gave out, and he fell to his hands and knees, panting heavily.

"Please, Force," he whispered between labored breaths. "Please."

A soft rainmist began to fall around him, and the sultry air turned cool - a blanket of ice seemed to descend upon the landscape.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes to survey where he was, but the darkness of the deep forest blocked out almost all light. He rubbed his face with his hands, and pushed himself to his feet.

Where would he go now? What would he do? He knew not where he was and knew very little about this place, and he had left Tennosa's satchel back at the ruins, so he had no food.

Slowly, the padawan limped to a tree, resting his hand on the truck for balance. Now that he had stopped running, the pain from his ankle flared up with sharp pains.

A soft sound drew his attention, a hushed shifting of blades of grass. Casting his gaze to find what had caused it in the near-blackness, he spied - something - moving through the moist grass, headed directly towards him.

Obi-Wan backed away - slowly at first - but it kept coming, quickening its pace, relentless in pursuit. Turning away to run, the padawan tripped over a log or something in his path and fell. Then, the 'log' moved, coiling back towards his pursuer in a sinuous glide.

Just as Obi-Wan sat up and faced whatever it was, the ophidian head of the creature elegantly rose, hovering towards the fallen padawan, its serpentine body sliding gently closer. With a soft hiss, it moved within arm's length, in a subtle threat. Obi-Wan stopped inching away and froze.


TBC