The Way Things Are Now: Soon In Somebody's Company
By: Alyssa
Disclaimer: I don't own Obi-Wan or any of the Star Wars characters
Summary: Obi-Wan angst. He is trying to escape the fighting ring, and at the same time Qui-Gon has come in to save him.
Comes after Book 16 of the Jedi Apprentice series, A Call to Vengeance
Obi-Wan was still beaming as he walked along with Safiya. He had the urge to run as fast as he could to meet Qui-Gon, but he knew that Safiya was tired. He was just feeling like nothing could go wrong when he saw him: Mirko.
"Look." He whispered to Safiya, casually indicating in Mirko's direction.
"Bad guy again?" She asked.
"Yes, Mirko." Obi-Wan felt the anger rise in him again, but he pushed it down and let the force engulf it.
"Don't we have to do that thing, you know, the sign said? Aren't we supposed to meet up with your master?" Safiya asked, obviously trying to sway him from doing anything. Obi-Wan had to weigh his choices: A.) He could meet up with Qui-Gon as soon as possible, tell him about Mirko, and hope that together they could foil his plan, or B.) He could go after Mirko now, and cut down the risk of Mirko carrying out his plan before Jedi could arrive.
While he desperately wanted to be reunited with Qui-Gon, he knew that he couldn't let Mirko go. It was a decision a Jedi was trained to make; the good of humanity before one's own personal interests. But Obi-Wan knew he couldn't pass up this chance to meet up with Qui-Gon. He turned towards Safiya.
"Safiya, I need you to continue on my route, and meet up with Qui-Gon. Then bring him back to the building he went into earlier. I'm sure that is where Mirko is headed." Obi-Wan's voice was serious and unwavering; Safiya knew to behave. She nodded.
"Be careful, Obi-Wan." She said before running off in the direction Obi-Wan had told her about earlier.
When Safiya was out of sight, Obi-Wan started to track Mirko. He didn't know what Mirko was up to, but he was determined to find out and foil whatever his plan was. He followed Mirko to the building he and Safiya had seen before. Mirko disappeared inside and Obi-Wan had to stop and think. He could try to find a back entrance to this building, but with all the possible streets and alleys, it could take too long. Since there were no windows, he knew he would have to enter through the front door. Without the force, he wouldn't be a match for even a couple of Mirko's henchmen; he would just have to risk it.
He opened the door as quietly as he could. When he had opened far enough to just look through, he was able to tell that at least the anteroom was empty. Why would Mirko leave the door unlocked? Was this a trap? Or maybe, was he just over confident?
Whatever the answer, Obi-Wan knew he would be going in either way. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he allowed another life force to go through what he had in just his short stay at the fighting ring.
He entered the dark room and headed for the only other door. The boxes that Safiya had seen earlier were still there, but whatever weapons had been lying around had been moved. He opened the door cautiously as he had done with the first door, and again he encountered an empty room.
~~~
Safiya continued to run down in the direction he had told her. According to his escape route, she should only have to find two more rights to find his master, Qui-Gon. Her lungs were aching and her shoulder throbbed, but she knew she had to continue as fast as she could. If Obi-Wan died, it would be like losing a brother all over again. One right: one more to go.
She could see a turn in the road up ahead of her. She dodged between shoppers and children chasing each other. She turned the corner without even stopping to check if it was clear. Luckily it was, and as she continued, she started to make out some figures next to a speeder. There were several people milling about, but two were wearing the style of robe Obi-Wan had described. She continued to run towards them, and soon they were turned in her direction.
~~~
"Who is she?" Mace asked as he and Qui-Gon continued to watch the girl running towards them.
"I have no idea." Qui-Gon answered softly.
When the girl had come close enough it was evident she was trying to talk, but no sound was coming out of her. She ran the last strides and then stopped in front of them, again she tried to talk, but she was out of breath. She moved her arms to emphasize something, but she was so distraught that even the Jedis couldn't read her. Frustrated at not being able to talk, the girl started to cry softly as she gasped for breath.
"Calm down." Qui-Gon spoke gently, touching her shoulder. The girl cringed and pulled away slightly. Then, Qui-Gon noticed the wound on her shoulder, tied off with…. Could it be? It was just a slightly dirty white cloth, but Qui-Gon recognized it as a standard Jedi tunic. "Obi-Wan? You know where Obi-Wan is?" He asked, struggling between anxiousness and Jedi calm.
The girl nodded, settling slightly under the Jedi influence.
"Take a deep breath." Mace commanded her tenderly. The girl listened, and soon was about to talk.
"Obi-Wan, going to find Mirko, at the building." She managed to get out.
Mace could sense Qui-Gon's growing impatience, and decided to talk before Qui-Gon.
"Where?" he asked soothingly.
"Back there, left, left, straight, straight, right. There's a building at the end of an alley with no windows." She answered.
Qui-Gon was itching to just run to Obi-Wan, but he knew better, and turned and jumped into the landspeeder.
"Driver!" Mace called, "Take her." He ordered, gently pushing Safiya towards the driver. He then jumped in next to Qui-Gon, and Qui-Gon sped off.
~~~
The next room Obi-Wan tried wasn't empty. It was far from empty. No less than 20 children were in a large training room. They ranged in age from five years old to ten years old. They were fighting each other. Obi-Wan opened the door a little wider, and soon caught sight of Mirko pacing the room. He was observing each of the small fights. He stopped at each one, and would point to one boy from each pair, and one of Mirko's goons would take him away. It was soon evident that Mirko was choosing the weakest of each pair.
After the weaker boy was taken away, the victor stood at attention. When Mirko had finished, he turned towards the boys and glared down at them.
"You are far from being even acceptable. With training, one or two of you might survive your fights to come…" Mirko drawled. "Now, force exercises."
Obi-Wan's ears perked. Force exercises? Then he noticed it. Each boy had the same thing on his wrist as Obi-Wan had. Mirko was using other force sensitive children. Mirko demonstrated the exercise, by making a ball move and then thrusting it forcefully against the wall. So Mirko was force sensitive as well. Obi-Wan couldn't help but be smug; he could tell Mirko had never been formally trained. Each boy was now demonstrating his use of the force as well.
"Good." Mirko chided semi-sarcastically. "Now we must hurry, many of my betters are strangely attracted to the idea of children fighting, and the fight starts in an hour." The children started to move in the direction of the opposite door. Obi-Wan knew he couldn't wait for Qui-Gon to arrive, he had to act now.
He ignited his lightsaber and rushed into the room. "You're not going to take those children anywhere." Obi-Wan stated threateningly.
"Really?" Mirko asked with a smile. He snapped his fingers, and the children turned and started heading towards Obi-Wan.
The children weren't armed, Obi-Wan didn't have the force, and Mirko's goons were probably on the way.
A/N: Ok, so I finally updated! Ummm… I didn't proofread this chapter, so I hope it's ok. You should be happy just because I updated this story and not my ER one. Anywho, questions, comments, and suggestions welcomed.
Please Review.
By: Alyssa
Disclaimer: I don't own Obi-Wan or any of the Star Wars characters
Summary: Obi-Wan angst. He is trying to escape the fighting ring, and at the same time Qui-Gon has come in to save him.
Comes after Book 16 of the Jedi Apprentice series, A Call to Vengeance
Obi-Wan was still beaming as he walked along with Safiya. He had the urge to run as fast as he could to meet Qui-Gon, but he knew that Safiya was tired. He was just feeling like nothing could go wrong when he saw him: Mirko.
"Look." He whispered to Safiya, casually indicating in Mirko's direction.
"Bad guy again?" She asked.
"Yes, Mirko." Obi-Wan felt the anger rise in him again, but he pushed it down and let the force engulf it.
"Don't we have to do that thing, you know, the sign said? Aren't we supposed to meet up with your master?" Safiya asked, obviously trying to sway him from doing anything. Obi-Wan had to weigh his choices: A.) He could meet up with Qui-Gon as soon as possible, tell him about Mirko, and hope that together they could foil his plan, or B.) He could go after Mirko now, and cut down the risk of Mirko carrying out his plan before Jedi could arrive.
While he desperately wanted to be reunited with Qui-Gon, he knew that he couldn't let Mirko go. It was a decision a Jedi was trained to make; the good of humanity before one's own personal interests. But Obi-Wan knew he couldn't pass up this chance to meet up with Qui-Gon. He turned towards Safiya.
"Safiya, I need you to continue on my route, and meet up with Qui-Gon. Then bring him back to the building he went into earlier. I'm sure that is where Mirko is headed." Obi-Wan's voice was serious and unwavering; Safiya knew to behave. She nodded.
"Be careful, Obi-Wan." She said before running off in the direction Obi-Wan had told her about earlier.
When Safiya was out of sight, Obi-Wan started to track Mirko. He didn't know what Mirko was up to, but he was determined to find out and foil whatever his plan was. He followed Mirko to the building he and Safiya had seen before. Mirko disappeared inside and Obi-Wan had to stop and think. He could try to find a back entrance to this building, but with all the possible streets and alleys, it could take too long. Since there were no windows, he knew he would have to enter through the front door. Without the force, he wouldn't be a match for even a couple of Mirko's henchmen; he would just have to risk it.
He opened the door as quietly as he could. When he had opened far enough to just look through, he was able to tell that at least the anteroom was empty. Why would Mirko leave the door unlocked? Was this a trap? Or maybe, was he just over confident?
Whatever the answer, Obi-Wan knew he would be going in either way. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he allowed another life force to go through what he had in just his short stay at the fighting ring.
He entered the dark room and headed for the only other door. The boxes that Safiya had seen earlier were still there, but whatever weapons had been lying around had been moved. He opened the door cautiously as he had done with the first door, and again he encountered an empty room.
~~~
Safiya continued to run down in the direction he had told her. According to his escape route, she should only have to find two more rights to find his master, Qui-Gon. Her lungs were aching and her shoulder throbbed, but she knew she had to continue as fast as she could. If Obi-Wan died, it would be like losing a brother all over again. One right: one more to go.
She could see a turn in the road up ahead of her. She dodged between shoppers and children chasing each other. She turned the corner without even stopping to check if it was clear. Luckily it was, and as she continued, she started to make out some figures next to a speeder. There were several people milling about, but two were wearing the style of robe Obi-Wan had described. She continued to run towards them, and soon they were turned in her direction.
~~~
"Who is she?" Mace asked as he and Qui-Gon continued to watch the girl running towards them.
"I have no idea." Qui-Gon answered softly.
When the girl had come close enough it was evident she was trying to talk, but no sound was coming out of her. She ran the last strides and then stopped in front of them, again she tried to talk, but she was out of breath. She moved her arms to emphasize something, but she was so distraught that even the Jedis couldn't read her. Frustrated at not being able to talk, the girl started to cry softly as she gasped for breath.
"Calm down." Qui-Gon spoke gently, touching her shoulder. The girl cringed and pulled away slightly. Then, Qui-Gon noticed the wound on her shoulder, tied off with…. Could it be? It was just a slightly dirty white cloth, but Qui-Gon recognized it as a standard Jedi tunic. "Obi-Wan? You know where Obi-Wan is?" He asked, struggling between anxiousness and Jedi calm.
The girl nodded, settling slightly under the Jedi influence.
"Take a deep breath." Mace commanded her tenderly. The girl listened, and soon was about to talk.
"Obi-Wan, going to find Mirko, at the building." She managed to get out.
Mace could sense Qui-Gon's growing impatience, and decided to talk before Qui-Gon.
"Where?" he asked soothingly.
"Back there, left, left, straight, straight, right. There's a building at the end of an alley with no windows." She answered.
Qui-Gon was itching to just run to Obi-Wan, but he knew better, and turned and jumped into the landspeeder.
"Driver!" Mace called, "Take her." He ordered, gently pushing Safiya towards the driver. He then jumped in next to Qui-Gon, and Qui-Gon sped off.
~~~
The next room Obi-Wan tried wasn't empty. It was far from empty. No less than 20 children were in a large training room. They ranged in age from five years old to ten years old. They were fighting each other. Obi-Wan opened the door a little wider, and soon caught sight of Mirko pacing the room. He was observing each of the small fights. He stopped at each one, and would point to one boy from each pair, and one of Mirko's goons would take him away. It was soon evident that Mirko was choosing the weakest of each pair.
After the weaker boy was taken away, the victor stood at attention. When Mirko had finished, he turned towards the boys and glared down at them.
"You are far from being even acceptable. With training, one or two of you might survive your fights to come…" Mirko drawled. "Now, force exercises."
Obi-Wan's ears perked. Force exercises? Then he noticed it. Each boy had the same thing on his wrist as Obi-Wan had. Mirko was using other force sensitive children. Mirko demonstrated the exercise, by making a ball move and then thrusting it forcefully against the wall. So Mirko was force sensitive as well. Obi-Wan couldn't help but be smug; he could tell Mirko had never been formally trained. Each boy was now demonstrating his use of the force as well.
"Good." Mirko chided semi-sarcastically. "Now we must hurry, many of my betters are strangely attracted to the idea of children fighting, and the fight starts in an hour." The children started to move in the direction of the opposite door. Obi-Wan knew he couldn't wait for Qui-Gon to arrive, he had to act now.
He ignited his lightsaber and rushed into the room. "You're not going to take those children anywhere." Obi-Wan stated threateningly.
"Really?" Mirko asked with a smile. He snapped his fingers, and the children turned and started heading towards Obi-Wan.
The children weren't armed, Obi-Wan didn't have the force, and Mirko's goons were probably on the way.
A/N: Ok, so I finally updated! Ummm… I didn't proofread this chapter, so I hope it's ok. You should be happy just because I updated this story and not my ER one. Anywho, questions, comments, and suggestions welcomed.
Please Review.
