The Way Things Are Now: To Deaden the Pain
By: Alyssa
Disclaimer: I don't own Obi-Wan or any of the Star Wars characters
Summary: Obi-Wan angst. He is being stifled by Qui-Gon's grief and goes out on his own only to find trouble.
Comes after Book 16 of the Jedi Apprentice series, A Call to Vengeance
Obi-Wan was beyond rational thought, but this also helped propel him. He needed to act irrationally for once, instead of always being the sensible one. He reached the lower levels of Coruscant easily, but soon realized he didn't fit in. Everyone was dark and dirty, all of them looked like they had something to hide. He quickly shed his Jedi robe, not worrying about being reprimanded for losing it. He did his best to hide his light saber, and smudged some dirt on his sterling tunic. It was as grimy as he had expected it to be, and as dangerous as he had hoped. His mind was alert and grateful to have something new to think about. He felt his adrenalin flare whenever someone looked at him.
Obi-Wan had to stop and ask a dubious looking female Pho Ph'eahian. It had taken 10 credits and a quick glance at his lightsaber for the Pho Ph'eahain to point a finger and give ambiguous directions. It took Obi-Wan only 10 minutes to find the place.
As he walked into the dingy building every head turned towards him. He found himself a seat at a sabacc table. He was immediately approached by a tall, hairy Abyssin. "You have to have physical credits here, no computer transactions." He spoke gruffly. Obi-Wan stood to reach into his pocket, once again revealing his lightsaber, and pulled out and great handful of credits he had been saving. The Abyssin grunted and moved away discontentedly.
Obi-Wan noticed that the other players and the dealer were motionless and looking at him. "Are you just stupid or are you planning to play?" He spat quietly. His viciousness had surprised even him, but he chose not to show it. The Human dealer grunted, then pressed the button that sent the electric pulses to the sabacc card-chips. Obi-Wan felt the thrill of the game early on. He began to bluff and bet, all the time using his Jedi powers. The first round he got an "idiot's array" and won. He felt the power he had over the others, never feeling guilt over his use of the force. Winning made him feel like he was in control of at least one thing in his life.
Three "idiot's arrays" and two "pure sabacc" wins later, and a stocky human player threw down his card-chips. "He's cheating!" The human yelled, "He must have a skifter!"
"I'm not cheating." Obi-Wan defended himself, while also stuffing his new won money into his pocket.
"Yeah? Well, me and Marmetto say you are!" a Gotal backed up the human. Obi-Wan knew this was trouble. Every force-warning he had was telling him to retreat. Obi-Wan merely held his head high.
"You are only saying that because you can't stand being beaten by a child." Obi-Wan sneered, deliberately exaggerating his age. The two stood up and glared down at him.
"I was cheated!" The human insisted. The Gotal started for Obi-Wan's side of the table, and the human did the same on the other side. Obi-Wan saw the glint in their eyes. A glint of a being ready to kill. He pulled out his lightsaber. Igniting it, he started to retreat backwards.
The pair were temporarily thrown off, but soon regained composure; after pulling out a pair of blasters. The other occupants in the room quickly moved out of the way, too seasoned to be excited by a fight. Obi-Wan slowly started his way towards the door.
"Don't think you'll get away with our money!" The human yelled. Obi-Wan was soon back onto the soiled, shady street. He continued to walk backwards and saw the pair follow him out the door. "Stop there or we will shoot!" the human smiled, as if he didn't really want Obi-Wan to stop. Obi-Wan smiled back, and soon blasts were raining around him.
~~~
Qui-Gon sat next to the calm waters in one of the temple's simulated rooms. The tranquility of the waters helped to ease his pain, if only temporarily. Abruptly, he forgot about the water and his mind interpreted a call from the force. Something was wrong. Qui-Gon was frustrated with his inability to place it, when suddenly it hit him; Obi-Wan. He dashed to Obi-Wan's room, but he wasn't there. He tried the cafeteria and several of Obi-Wan's favorite rooms. Finally, in a desperate last resort, he burst into a council meeting in session. All the Jedi masters and Bant, who stood before them, turned questioningly to Qui-Gon.
"Obi-Wan is gone." He responded, his voice painful and forced. "And he's in trouble."
~~~
Obi-Wan blocked the blasts with lightning speed. He even pushed some towards the pair, though he didn't want to hurt them. He did all this while walking backwards and navigating the streets.
"Give us the money!" The Gotal yelled, beginning to realize Obi-Wan wouldn't be that easy to defeat. Obi-Wan continued on silently, focusing all his energy on the force. He almost tripped over a strewn box, but regained balance, allowing only one blast to dart just above his shoulder. He saw an opening to his right: an alleyway. He quickly jumped to the side, blocked one last blast, and ran full speed down the narrow alley.
He was aware when the two turned the corner after him, and he was aware the blasts restarted their persistent hammering, but he couldn't turn around; he didn't have time. If he tried to turn and defend himself, they could cut him down before his lightsaber was ready. Obi-Wan forgot his former depression, and recognized how very stupid he had been; very, very stupid. Silently, he begged his master to forgive him, he hadn't meant to end up this way.
~~~
*I'm sorry Master. I was stupid. I didn't mean for it to be like this.*
"No!" Qui-Gon yelled aloud before he could think, "Don't give up on me!" then, *I can't lose you too*.
The rest of the Jedi Masters stared at him. They were still working out a solution when Qui-Gon had burst out loud.
"What happened?" Mace Windu questioned.
"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon answered. "Obi-Wan is being attacked."
~~~
His Master's encouragement gave him strength, but it was too little too late. Obi-Wan did a back-flip, desperately trying to avoid the blast he knew was coming for his head. As he landed on one knee he felt a pain slice through his other leg. Without lagging, he reactivated his lightsaber and jumped up. He twisted in mid-air and landed behind his pursuers. He kicked the human down, then landed on top of him while simultaneously hitting the blaster out of the Gotal's hand.
"Don't even try to get it." Obi-Wan advised.
A red glint caught his eye, his leg was bleeding onto the human. He slowly stood and backed off the human. He kept his lightsaber and his eyes steadily on the two.
"I want you to leave your blasters, and leave the alley." Obi-Wan commanded, not allowing his voice to waver. The Gotal and human turned to hide their indignity, and walked slowly out of the alley. Obi-Wan waited for several minutes, watching the alley entrance. When he was sure they wouldn't be returning he collapsed on a pile of cloth and examined his leg. It was bad, but bacta should be able to clear it up if he got immediate attention. He tied off the wound tightly with and shred of dirty cloth, being sure the cloth didn't touch the wound, only his tunic. He stood and tested the leg; it would hold long enough to reach the temple.
"Yes, you'll do quite fine." A voice came from behind him. He turned to find a tall human with sandy, blond curls and dark, piercing eyes smiling at him. "You'll do just fine."
TBC….
a/n
Lots of trouble for Obi-Wan in the future! Just stay tuned! There will also be a lot of Qui-Gon and Mace Windu searching for him!
There is much in the future for our young Obi-Wan! Please keep reading and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review!!!
e-mail suggestions to yellowbrick_1@hotmail.com
By: Alyssa
Disclaimer: I don't own Obi-Wan or any of the Star Wars characters
Summary: Obi-Wan angst. He is being stifled by Qui-Gon's grief and goes out on his own only to find trouble.
Comes after Book 16 of the Jedi Apprentice series, A Call to Vengeance
Obi-Wan was beyond rational thought, but this also helped propel him. He needed to act irrationally for once, instead of always being the sensible one. He reached the lower levels of Coruscant easily, but soon realized he didn't fit in. Everyone was dark and dirty, all of them looked like they had something to hide. He quickly shed his Jedi robe, not worrying about being reprimanded for losing it. He did his best to hide his light saber, and smudged some dirt on his sterling tunic. It was as grimy as he had expected it to be, and as dangerous as he had hoped. His mind was alert and grateful to have something new to think about. He felt his adrenalin flare whenever someone looked at him.
Obi-Wan had to stop and ask a dubious looking female Pho Ph'eahian. It had taken 10 credits and a quick glance at his lightsaber for the Pho Ph'eahain to point a finger and give ambiguous directions. It took Obi-Wan only 10 minutes to find the place.
As he walked into the dingy building every head turned towards him. He found himself a seat at a sabacc table. He was immediately approached by a tall, hairy Abyssin. "You have to have physical credits here, no computer transactions." He spoke gruffly. Obi-Wan stood to reach into his pocket, once again revealing his lightsaber, and pulled out and great handful of credits he had been saving. The Abyssin grunted and moved away discontentedly.
Obi-Wan noticed that the other players and the dealer were motionless and looking at him. "Are you just stupid or are you planning to play?" He spat quietly. His viciousness had surprised even him, but he chose not to show it. The Human dealer grunted, then pressed the button that sent the electric pulses to the sabacc card-chips. Obi-Wan felt the thrill of the game early on. He began to bluff and bet, all the time using his Jedi powers. The first round he got an "idiot's array" and won. He felt the power he had over the others, never feeling guilt over his use of the force. Winning made him feel like he was in control of at least one thing in his life.
Three "idiot's arrays" and two "pure sabacc" wins later, and a stocky human player threw down his card-chips. "He's cheating!" The human yelled, "He must have a skifter!"
"I'm not cheating." Obi-Wan defended himself, while also stuffing his new won money into his pocket.
"Yeah? Well, me and Marmetto say you are!" a Gotal backed up the human. Obi-Wan knew this was trouble. Every force-warning he had was telling him to retreat. Obi-Wan merely held his head high.
"You are only saying that because you can't stand being beaten by a child." Obi-Wan sneered, deliberately exaggerating his age. The two stood up and glared down at him.
"I was cheated!" The human insisted. The Gotal started for Obi-Wan's side of the table, and the human did the same on the other side. Obi-Wan saw the glint in their eyes. A glint of a being ready to kill. He pulled out his lightsaber. Igniting it, he started to retreat backwards.
The pair were temporarily thrown off, but soon regained composure; after pulling out a pair of blasters. The other occupants in the room quickly moved out of the way, too seasoned to be excited by a fight. Obi-Wan slowly started his way towards the door.
"Don't think you'll get away with our money!" The human yelled. Obi-Wan was soon back onto the soiled, shady street. He continued to walk backwards and saw the pair follow him out the door. "Stop there or we will shoot!" the human smiled, as if he didn't really want Obi-Wan to stop. Obi-Wan smiled back, and soon blasts were raining around him.
~~~
Qui-Gon sat next to the calm waters in one of the temple's simulated rooms. The tranquility of the waters helped to ease his pain, if only temporarily. Abruptly, he forgot about the water and his mind interpreted a call from the force. Something was wrong. Qui-Gon was frustrated with his inability to place it, when suddenly it hit him; Obi-Wan. He dashed to Obi-Wan's room, but he wasn't there. He tried the cafeteria and several of Obi-Wan's favorite rooms. Finally, in a desperate last resort, he burst into a council meeting in session. All the Jedi masters and Bant, who stood before them, turned questioningly to Qui-Gon.
"Obi-Wan is gone." He responded, his voice painful and forced. "And he's in trouble."
~~~
Obi-Wan blocked the blasts with lightning speed. He even pushed some towards the pair, though he didn't want to hurt them. He did all this while walking backwards and navigating the streets.
"Give us the money!" The Gotal yelled, beginning to realize Obi-Wan wouldn't be that easy to defeat. Obi-Wan continued on silently, focusing all his energy on the force. He almost tripped over a strewn box, but regained balance, allowing only one blast to dart just above his shoulder. He saw an opening to his right: an alleyway. He quickly jumped to the side, blocked one last blast, and ran full speed down the narrow alley.
He was aware when the two turned the corner after him, and he was aware the blasts restarted their persistent hammering, but he couldn't turn around; he didn't have time. If he tried to turn and defend himself, they could cut him down before his lightsaber was ready. Obi-Wan forgot his former depression, and recognized how very stupid he had been; very, very stupid. Silently, he begged his master to forgive him, he hadn't meant to end up this way.
~~~
*I'm sorry Master. I was stupid. I didn't mean for it to be like this.*
"No!" Qui-Gon yelled aloud before he could think, "Don't give up on me!" then, *I can't lose you too*.
The rest of the Jedi Masters stared at him. They were still working out a solution when Qui-Gon had burst out loud.
"What happened?" Mace Windu questioned.
"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon answered. "Obi-Wan is being attacked."
~~~
His Master's encouragement gave him strength, but it was too little too late. Obi-Wan did a back-flip, desperately trying to avoid the blast he knew was coming for his head. As he landed on one knee he felt a pain slice through his other leg. Without lagging, he reactivated his lightsaber and jumped up. He twisted in mid-air and landed behind his pursuers. He kicked the human down, then landed on top of him while simultaneously hitting the blaster out of the Gotal's hand.
"Don't even try to get it." Obi-Wan advised.
A red glint caught his eye, his leg was bleeding onto the human. He slowly stood and backed off the human. He kept his lightsaber and his eyes steadily on the two.
"I want you to leave your blasters, and leave the alley." Obi-Wan commanded, not allowing his voice to waver. The Gotal and human turned to hide their indignity, and walked slowly out of the alley. Obi-Wan waited for several minutes, watching the alley entrance. When he was sure they wouldn't be returning he collapsed on a pile of cloth and examined his leg. It was bad, but bacta should be able to clear it up if he got immediate attention. He tied off the wound tightly with and shred of dirty cloth, being sure the cloth didn't touch the wound, only his tunic. He stood and tested the leg; it would hold long enough to reach the temple.
"Yes, you'll do quite fine." A voice came from behind him. He turned to find a tall human with sandy, blond curls and dark, piercing eyes smiling at him. "You'll do just fine."
TBC….
a/n
Lots of trouble for Obi-Wan in the future! Just stay tuned! There will also be a lot of Qui-Gon and Mace Windu searching for him!
There is much in the future for our young Obi-Wan! Please keep reading and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review!!!
e-mail suggestions to yellowbrick_1@hotmail.com
