Qui-Gon pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, obscuring his features. He had arrived back on Attica earlier yesterday morning, instructing the pilot to drop him off outside the capital city and then take off. Mace and Adi would be able to find him by the signal of his comlink when they arrived. It had taken the Jedi Master a day to reach the capital. He was using the force to mask his presence from the civilians. There were a few passersby that would look in his general direction but they would only have confused glances as they would see nothing. But capture was the least of Qui-Gon's worries.
When he had first arrived in the city, Qui-Gon immediately began to rifle through the thousands of force signatures trying the find the one that he had come to recognize as Padawan Kenobi's. It terrified him how easily he had become attuned to the boy's force energy. Over the years he hadn't allowed himself to become connected with anyone yet Obi-Wan had gotten through his defenses. He had only been around Obi-Wan for a matter of days, yet there was this strong pull that was drawing Qui-Gon toward the boy.
Maybe their connection hadn't just formed in the past few days but had first began at a much earlier time. That day on one of the Temple's landing platforms when Obi-Wan's surrogate mother had brought him to the Temple for the first time. When he had looked down at little Obi-Wan and felt the purity that flowed through him, something had formed between them, rooted in the back of the mind and only now blooming when he came in contact with the boy again.
He arrived at the landing platforms where they had first arrived as Jedi Mediators. It was crowded with citizens anxious to get off planet because of the impending war. Tenedos was known for it's powerful armies and while Governess Valene may be confident of Attica's chances against their enemy, it appeared that some were less assured. Qui-Gon stood to the side of the masses of people, hidden by the force and shadows and waited.
After a few moments they arrived. He saw Xanatos walking towards a transport with Obi-Wan in tow. There was something different in the boy's force signature. That purity that had first dawn Qui-Gon to him was becoming tainted by a slowly growing darkness. Xanatos' doing no doubt. But where was Jibril?
"Why can you not just leave use be?" The voice came from his right side, menacing in tone. Qui-Gon mentally berated himself for not being aware of his surroundings. He turned and saw Jibril standing several paces from him. "He is not your responsibility Qui-Gon. You are not his master. He has no one in this galaxy but me and Xanatos yet you want to take that away from him? Want to take him away from me!"
"Jibril, this is not the way it should be. You know this." Qui-Gon said trying to reason with the woman.
"All I know is that you are threatening my family." She walked away from the wall and circled to the front of him, pushing back a front flap of her cloak, revealing a lightsaber strapped to her belt. She unhooked it and activated it in the same motion. The crowd of people around them scattered to a safe distance as the deadly blade hummed to life "I have an obligation to make sure that no harm comes to them." She charged at him with the blade held up to strike.
Qui-Gon activated his own weapon just as she brought her blade down towards his neck, the two blades contacted with a loud crackle like lighting. Jibril continued to strike again and again, aiming for killing blows. Qui-Gon easily blocked each attack but made no effort to attack her in return.
In the distance the sound of engines roaring to life split the air. Jibril jumped back and chanced a look in the direction the sound emitted from. A look of shock on her face. //Xanatos wait!//
The voice she heard in her mind was cold. //It's nothing personal, darling. Just business. You served your purpose perfectly.// Her whole world seemed to collapse around her as she watched the ship rise into the air. She forgot about her battle with Qui-Gon and dashed off towards the rising transport, knocking over civilians as she ran. "Xanatos! You bastard!"
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and held her from going any further. She kicked and tried to jerk free but it was all futile. A gruff voice ordered her to sleep and she could feel the force bearing down on her, beckoning her into unconsciousness. She tried to fight it but her energy was drained from her both physically and emotionally. She succumbed to the darkness.
***
Xanatos sat at the console of the transport his fingers flying over the controls, setting the coordinates for their destination. He smiled to himself as he heard Jibril's anguished cries vibrated through his mind. He then abruptly shut her out from his mind and Obi-Wan's. The boy would have felt her pain but he wouldn't know what had caused it. Perfect set up for his next step.
At that moment Obi-Wan rushed into the cockpit. A worried expression on his face. "Where is mother? Something's wrong."
Xanatos turned around in his seat, his face somber. "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. She didn't make it on board. Master Jinn returned and attacked her."
Obi-Wan just stared at his father for a few moments, his body and mind going numb by this news. The mother that he had just come to know was taken away from him by the man that he had once revered? He tried searching for her presence in his mind. Searching for the calm peacefulness that he had come to associate with her. It was gone. He remembered the anguish that he had felt coming from her only moments ago.
The numbness he felt began to ebb as Xanatos warped his arms around him and drew him into a tight hug, whispering reassurances to him that they would avenge his mother. Obi-Wan hugged his father back, silently pleading that he would destroy Qui-Gon.
***
Qui-Gon had carried Jibril back to the apartment that she had shared with Xanatos. It was fairly easy to find. Since Xanatos and Jibril were considered such high class citizens he merely asked one of the civilians on the landing platform where he could find their dwelling. The man hurriedly gave over the information wanting nothing more then for the Jedi to be away from him. No one dared bother the Jedi Master as he walked away with the limp woman in his arms. He laid her down in the bedroom and walked out to the common room, trying to formulate a plan. He needed Jibril to tell him where Xanatos was taking Obi-Wan.
Mace and Adi arrived a few hours later and found the apartment. Their entrance had been anything but discreet. The citizens on the platform immediately recognized them as Jedi and a few of the civil guards rushed off. Most likely to tell the governess of the unwelcome arrivals. They needed to work fast.
When Jibril had awaken from her force induced sleep, she locked the door to the bed room and sealed it with the force. She refused to talk to any of them and only after several hours of negotiating through the locked door did she agree to speak with her former master, Mace.
Mace silently walked up to the door, he glanced back at his two comrades briefly. Qui-Gon had taken a seat on one of the couches and was looking down at his big hands. Adi nodded reassurance to her fellow council member. Mace lifted his hand and pressed it to the panel beside the door. The door opened with soundless ease and the dark skinned Jedi master walked through. When the door had closed behind him, Qui-Gon looked up at Adi. Apprehension was like a weight on his chest. If Jibril didn't tell them where Xanatos would be heading the consequences would be great. Adi met his gaze and by the look in her eyes he knew that she was thinking the same thing.
The lights were out in the inner room, the only illumination came from the balcony that gave a beautiful view of the sun setting behind the buildings casting, colors of deep reds, pinks, oranges, purples and blues that swirled across the sky. The dim twilight cast shadows in the room, giving it a surreal quality.
Jibril sat in an arm chair just inside the entrance to the balcony. She didn't turn to acknowledge him. She only sat there staring out the balcony, one arm resting lightly across her midsection and the other on one of the armrests. Mace knew that she was aware of his presence. They had been master and padawan for 8 years before this whole situation began and despite the fall out between them, a small thread of what they once had as a team was still there.
Mace walked up to her side and kneeled down beside the chair to be at eye level with her. Nether of them said anything at first. After a few moments Mace cleared his throat, preparing to speak but Jibril cut him off. "It's going to be a beautiful night." The statement had come out of now where and caught the Jedi master off guard, something not easily done.
Jibril continued, "The stars will be bright tonight. Unlike Coruscant, this city actually turns off it's lights on occasion so you can see them. After Xanatos came to me at Agri-crops and brought me here I just stayed up for a the first few nights just staring up at the stars and thinking about Obi-Wan. I wanted to hold him again so badly." Her tone was dreamy. Mace began to question whether his former Padawan's sanity was intact. The post-partum depression that she had suffered from after her son had first been taken from her was serve. Maybe this time it had pushed her over the edge.
She turned her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes were flat and shined like glass. They revealed nothing to him. As she stared at him a strange sense of déjà vu. He was taken back to a day twelve years ago, when she had kneeled before him and revealed to him about her relationship with Xanatos. What irony that their first meeting after all these years should be a reverse of that moment.
"I still felt him in my mind. In my heart." The dreamy quality of her voice was gone, replaced by bitter truth. "I could feel everything that he went through. The joy of his first steps and words. The anxiety and fierce determination of going through his training at the temple. The thrill at being chosen as a Padawan learner. I missed so much. I didn't even get to name him." She turned back the view, the dreaminess coming back to her. "Obi-Wan is a nice name though. It is certainly original but I suppose that's the basis of it's appeal."
"Jibril, I need you to tell me where Xanatos is taking Obi-Wan."
Mace wasn't sure that she had hear him because she remained silent for a long moment. The more time it took to get this information the longer it would to get to the boy and all the much harder to undo that damage that Xanatos and Jibril had caused. He was about to ask her again but she once again cut him off. "I followed him so blindly. He told me that the rumors about his turning were lies made up by the Council. I hated you. All of you. I wanted to believe that the council was corrupt. I needed to justify what he was asking me to do."
"If you knew he was wrong, why would you follow him?"
"I love him." The statement was a so simple yet it spoke volumes. "And I believe at one time he loved me in return." She looked to her former master again. "I never wanted to hurt you, Master." She reached out and grasped his hand that rested on his knee. "I missed you, Master."
Mace was stunned by the action. The times that he tried to reconcile with Jibril over the years she had turned him away. Claiming to what nothing to do with the Jedi. Yet here she was sitting before him and confessing that she made a mistake. "I missed you too, Padawan."
Jibril offered a small smile at Mace's use of her former title but she knew that she would never be able to regain it. She pulled her hand away from his and placed it across her midsection again. "Would you please leave now?"
"Jibril—"
"Leave." She turned away from him. As much as he hated to admit it to himself the abrupt dismissal hurt. He stood up and walked towards the door. "Master, Could you please thank Almena and Conor for taking care of my son for me." Mace looked back at her for a moment and uneasy feeling rising in him but he walked out the door and let it close silently behind. After he was gone she finally let the tears slide down her cheeks. Everything was coming back to her in a rush. Ever awful thing that she had done. She had lost so many things that she so dearly loved. Her pride. Her soul.
She stood up from the cushioned chair and walked over to closet at the other end of the room. After pushing the panel that opened the doors she pushed all the clothes that Xanatos had bought for her over the years to the side and reached in the back to a set of clothing that she had not worn in years, her Jedi robes.
Slowly she began to change into the old uniform. She hadn't gown in height since the last time that she had worn the tan clothing but they were slightly snugger then she remembered. After she was fully clothed again, she walked over to the full length mirror and stared at her reflection.
Her hand drifted up to her braided hair. She began to take out the tiny gemstones that held the braided strands together and undo the tightly braided locks of ginger hair. Once her hair hung loosely to the middle of her back she hurried over to the bed and retrieved a virbo-blade that she kept hidden under the mattress for emergencies. Qui-Gon had taken hr lightsaber away from her. She went back over to the mirror and began cutting off the long strands of hair till it was shoulder length. She took a strand from behind her right ear and braided it down to the length that she guessed it was back when she was a padawan.
She stared at her reflection for a long moment, happy memories of the time she spent at the temple coming back to her. She had never been happy outside of the order. She walked over to the bed and sat down beside the night stand. She opened the draw of the night stand and took out a data-pad, typing something on it before placing it on the stand and laying down on the bed. She folded her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes, focusing on the beating of her own heart and using the force to slow it.