Thanks to all of you who have written to me already about the first two chapters. I will do my best to finish posting what I have and to finish it soon so that you are not left waiting long. Enjoy!!
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Obi-Wan fingered the grip on the lightsaber that the man had had dangling from his belt. The sleek cylinder that revealed its bright, clean green light was indeed the weapon of a Jedi, though it did little to reveal anything else about the strange man. Though he still felt the strange disturbance in the Force every time he got too near the man, he was learning how to push it to the back of his mind.
"Master Jinn?"
Obi-Wan turned around at the same time Qui-Gon did to see a small, short man in a doctor's professional white jacket enter the observation room that was adjacent to the room with a bacta tank. Tangoria had limited supplies and resources and a very small medical facility but when the doctor had seen the extent of the young man's injuries, he had whisked him immediately off to be worked on.
"Yes? How is he?" Qui-Gon asked politely. The doctor had been so preoccupied with his new patient two hours earlier that he hadn't even stopped to introduce himself to the Jedi. Evidently, all the colonists knew that they were here and who they were.
The balding doctor wiped his hands off on the corner of his jacket before reaching out to shake Qui-Gon's hand. "Sorry about the rush back there," he quickly apologized, his voice high-pitched and fast. "Had to get him in bacta pronto, right? How do you do? I'm Dreb Monta, Head Physician of Tangoria's Medical Facility. I need to know the patient's name for when we call him out of bacta. Got some amazing injuries; looked to be in a bad accident—what was it?"
Obi-Wan's head was spinning with the rapid change of subjects but Qui-Gon simply smiled.
"I'm fine, Doctor Monta," the Jedi Master responded. "I don't know his name; we happened upon him as we were coming in to land. He seemed to be in some kind of explosion but that is all I know. What can you tell me about his injuries?"
The bouncy doctor turned to gaze through the plexiglass at where the man bobbed slowly up and down in the single vat of bacta tank that the medical facility owned. For the first time, the doctor's face frowned and his speech slowed down. "He's in a bad way, Master Jinn. Broken putella, internal bleeding, severe head injury; your Jedi healing techniques sealed up the internal and saved his life but much more healing needs to be done."
Qui-Gon was silent a moment, regarding the battered body of the man they had saved in the pinkish fluid who had more questions than answers. Finally, he inquired, "When can he come out?"
Doctor Monta shook his head swiftly. "Don't know. Maybe tomorrow; maybe longer. It all depends on how long it takes him to heal. Come back tomorrow and see for yourself."
"Thank you, Doctor," Qui-Gon murmured after him as he left.
"What do you think, Master?" Obi-Wan asked quietly as he and Qui-Gon left the medical building to walk into the deepening evening of the Tangorian night. Cool breezes lifted the Jedi Master's long hair as the two Jedi walked toward the small cottage where they were supposed to sleep while they were on the planet.
Qui-Gon gazed up at the sky filled with stars and noted the absence of craft entering or leaving the atmosphere. Filled with peace, he sighed. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow. If this man is a truly a Jedi, then I suspect that he'll be recovered enough to talk to us for a little while. We'll go in-between breaks with our hosts."
Obi-Wan found himself thinking of his reaction when he first encountered the man as the Jedi entered the cottage. Throwing himself down on the couch in the central room that served as the living area, he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Padawan? Are you still thinking of earlier?" Qui-Gon asked softly as he took a seat in a chair across from the couch.
Grimacing, Obi-Wan nodded. "It was such a strange reaction! I've never felt that before. It was…no, it's too…never mind." He let out a frustrated sigh.
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "Try me, Padawan."
Biting his lip, Obi-Wan finally whispered, "It was like I was displaced in time."
The only answer he received from Qui-Gon was a nod. Tired and needing to mediate on his feelings, Obi-Wan stood and retreated to his room off of the left of the living room. Maybe when he got to talk to the stranger things would clarify themselves; he could only hope so.