See chapter 1 for standard disclaimers.

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Chapter Two         A Duplicate's Interactions

The alarm on the console beeped loudly, waking the sleeping pilot. She stretched, rubbed her eyes and hit the button to silence the alarm and start the communication feed. A moment later a man's voice interrupts the quiet and says, "Mistress I have done as you planned. I have successfully taken the place of the Jedi. The Jedi has found a boy on the planet and plans to bring him to Coruscant.  The Jedi was impressed with the strength of the Force that flowed around the boy. He watched him the entire time he was in their living quarters.

All of the people on the ship believe I am who I appear to be including the boy. I wonder if it will be as easy to fool the Jedi Council, as it was to deceive this group.

I had a slight problem however. As the child and I approached the ship a tattooed warrior attacked us. I fought with him using my skills to the best of my ability. If it had not been for the intervention of the transport I would have lost my life. The fight worked to my advantage however because the younger Jedi noticed that something was different immediately."

I stopped speaking as I heard my Mistress slam something and yelp in pain.

"Mistress," I repeated, "It worked to my advantage, the younger Jedi felt that something was different about me. I blamed the appearance of and the battle with the warrior as the reason for my unease. The young child and his apprentice asked me what the warrior was. I was not positive that the Jedi knew of the existence of the Sith so I became vague and told them to be patient. They appeared to accept this explanation. Do I have your permission to tell them about the Sith Lord?"

"There is something else you need to be aware of Mistress," I said, pausing to make sure that I had her complete attention. "The younger Jedi ran a test on the child's blood. He is very strong in the Force due to the massive amount of midi-chlorians in his blood stream. These midi-chlorians seem to be the key to controlling the force. This child has more in his blood than even the strongest Jedi on the Council." I waited to see if my words would have the desired effect on the woman.

On the other side of the Comm. unit, the woman leans back in her chair and becomes very thoughtful. "This is going to work out better than I thought, I am changing the plan. I want you to make this boy your Padawan Learner, that way we will have complete control of the situation and then you will have the freedom to get away long enough to bring the child to me." After a short silence she heard him clear his throat, "Will that be possible since the Jedi already has a Padawan Learner?"

"Sometimes it might have been better if I had permitted him to think for himself," she muttered angrily. "I don't know" she snapped, "Tell them he doesn't need you anymore. He is ready to go off by himself. Too bad that it was not him that faced the Sith. He would be gone and our problems would be solved. Any strange behavior that you exhibited could be attributed to grief and then there would be no question about taking the brat. Yes, tell them that you think the warrior is a Sith, but be careful, its too late in the game to be taken out by our ally. Remember that Master Jinn is considered a maverick and this will give you some leeway to take the child, but don't over do it. You are still supposed to fit in as much as possible."

There was silence for a moment and then the man replied "Yes Mistress. We will be landing tomorrow and I will go before the Council. If everything goes as planned we should leave within the next few days."

"Excellent" she said "You WILL contact me again before you leave Coruscant with the boy."

The woman closed the comm. panel, a slight smile playing on her lips. Everything was proceeding on schedule with only minor variations according to her plan. She stood up yawning and stretched her arms and legs. Pulling her long hair up into a twist and repositioning it in the silver clip, she straightened her clothes. He should be close to waking up. The drug lasted 30 hours for a normal person, and he was exceptionally strong so she had planned for 22 hours. She had waited eleven long years to see his face when he discovered that she was free. She wanted him to know that she was back in control. She had controlled his destiny once and now after eleven years she had done it again. It was time for Qui-Gon Jinn to start paying for the time she had invested, and all of the problems he had caused her.

She hit the switch and waited for the cargo bay door to open. The lock on the door released with a loud clang. There, spread eagle on the floor was Qui Gon Jinn. He moved his head back and forth in an effort to see who had entered the room. She noticed that he was awake and her smile vanished. His waking up early had ruined her surprise. Oh well, she thought to herself, I'll need to make the next dosage stronger. Continuing to walk across the floor until she stood over him looking down into his face she sneered, "Well, well, if it isn't the famous Jedi Master. Tell me Jedi, who is the prisoner now?" Qui-Gon looked at the woman trying hard to understand the jumbled words without any sign of remembrance in his eyes. She watched his face realizing the drugs had impaired his thinking ability. She muttered to herself, "He is not coherent enough to comprehend his position and I don't have time for this right now." She picked up a hypo and pressed it against his neck giving the big Jedi a larger does of sedatives. 

Back on the transport to Coruscant

Obi-Wan lay on his sleep couch thinking about the strange events of the day and the sudden changes in his Master. He didn't need to draw on the force to know that something had changed and everything felt wrong. At first he wanted to chalk it up to jealousy but that wasn't it either. His master had temporally adopted other pathetic life forms and he had never felt that something was amiss before. First the fight with the warrior was unusual. Qui-Gon was never that sloppy with his saber and he didn't seem focused during the battle.

When he came aboard the transport Obi-Wan had the feeling that this was not the man he had grown up with. He had tried to ask his Master if he was Ok, but the Master's newest project succeeded in asking it first. His Master stood up, brushed himself off and replied, "Yes I'm ok, but that was a surprise that I won't soon forget". I was able to ask him, "What sort of creature was it?" It had attacked us and I wanted to finish what Qui-Gon had started. He evaded, "I'm not sure, it was after the Queen, and it was well trained in the Jedi arts." Then he said, "We must be patient". It is not unusual that my Master stressed patience, but he was withholding information from me. He sidestepped all other questions by introducing me to his new pet project. I shook the child's hand because Master Qui-Gon would expect it, but what I really wanted to do was shake my Master, to make him tell me what was wrong.

Obi-Wan attempted to understand what was wrong with his master, by communicating privately though the bond.  {Master?} His effort was met with silence. Trying to reason why his master would not use the mind speech, he came up with the idea that Qui-Gon had been wounded in the struggle and did not want his Padawan to know. "Padawan," said Master Jinn, noticing the youth staring at him, "Please see that Anakin finishes his dinner. I find myself unable to focus since the battle and I feel extra meditation time is needed." {Yes Master} Obi-Wan tried the bond again.

 He waited, surely this time he would be answered, but again he felt nothing. Giving in for the moment, Obi turned away from Qui-Gon and headed to the kitchen when he heard faintly in his mind the words {Thank You}. This also bewildered him because the words were not spoken though the bond. Turning back he noticed the uncertainty on the other man's face, and wondered what had caused this confusion?

With all the changes that the day brought, Obi-Wan had decided he would bunk in with his Master to make sure the older Jedi was all right. "Master, Padmé has put the boy to bed in my bed so I'll just bunk in with you tonight." "Go on to bed Padawan; I am going to stay up in the flight area for a while yet" Qui-Gon said watching the young man. "But Master," Obi-Wan started and was cut off when Qui-Gon gave him a look that would allow for no arguments. Obi- Wan sighed, "Yes Master," as he laid down on the sleep couch across from the door the older Jedi had just vanished through.

Sleep was not long in coming to the young man, but it was not to be peaceful. In his sleep, he felt a wave of something cold passing though the force. ~~~ Then he heard his Master calling to him. Standing up, he tried to follow the voice. He tripped over something on the foggy floor. Standing back up he saw him. It was his master shackled to the floor in a bright room. The walls of the room were made of glass, so he could see the man but he couldn't help him. Obi-Wan began to beat on the walls trying to reach his Master. "Padawan help me please. Padawan I need...." The voice went dead. Fog had surrounded his Master and he was now completely alone. ~~~ Obi-Wan bolted upright in bed, sleep garments plastered to his body. He attempted to get his breathing under control, thinking it must have been a nightmare.

Then something else occurred to him maybe it was a Force vision of the future. His Master was being held captive and he had no idea of how, when or even where this was to happen. Obi-Wan checked the bond to see if he had disturbed his Master, the strange feelings were still present but nothing else was amiss. Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his legs and hugged them tight to his body, he knew something was very wrong. Maybe if he talked with Master Yoda when he got back to Coruscant he could better understand how to protect his Master. So until then he would watch over Qui-Gon very diligently, and that way nothing could happen to him. The decision made, he lay down and slipped back into a dreamless sleep.

Obi-Wan was completely unaware that he was being scrutinized by his Master's duplicate. I am going to have to watch this young man he is beginning to become suspicious and we are only on our first day of the journey to Coruscant. I will need to evade him or he will know that I am not his Master. The Jedi gets love and I get the only what they are offering to him. One of these days I will be my own person not just a shadow of that Jedi.