Thanks for the reviews! The paragraphing surprised me - it lumped everything together. Hopefully this chapter should work better.

By the way - all your suggestions will be used in a revised version once I finish this. Thanks!

I don't own anyone but the mechanic. Unfortunately.

He awoke groggily, barely able to move his head. He was trapped in a cloud of fine grey mist that clung to everything, making his robes cumbersome and sticky. /What is this?/ he thought, struggling to remember. /Who am I? Where am I?/

His mind flashed back, frantically trying to recall the events that had led him to this place. All he could remember was pain, and sorrow, and a burning hole through his chest. The pain still radiated away from where he had been struck, eating through his body like flame. /Am I dead?/ he wondered. /It's the only answer. Oh, well . . ./ he thought as he let his mind drift away into oblivion.

* * *

Obi-Wan was shocked. Usually new Knights and their Padawans were kept close to the Jedi Temple for a while to allow them to adjust. To be given a mission immediately after being knighted and taking a Padawan learner, an untrained boy, was unheard of.

"Know you do, who Qui-Gon's Master was?" Yoda asked the young Knight.

Obi-Wan winced at the thought of his dead Master, memories pouring through his mind. The Council waited patiently for Obi-Wan to compose himself, but Anakin was not nearly so serene. He nudged his Master with a sharp elbow, forcing Obi-Wan back into the moment.

"I was told that he was trained by Master Dooku, though you were the one he always mentioned," Obi-Wan finally answered.

"Yes. Cruel, Dooku was. Abusive and dark," Yoda said. "Qui-Gon never overcame his fear of Dooku, not even after Dooku had left the Order. Paralyzed by the fear, he was. But afraid of him, Dooku was. By Qui-Gon's presence, kept safe, the Temple was."

"Now that Qui-Gon is dead, Dooku has no reason to fear the consequences of attacking the Temple. The only Jedi he took seriously was Qui-Gon," Mace Windu added.

"You believe that Dooku means to attack the Temple," Obi-Wan stated.

"Yes. Capture him, you should, and bring him here. Then may we question him and bring him to justice for the abuses of your Master," Yoda said. "Your ship leaves tomorrow morning for Aridan, his last known location. May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan bowed and mentally instructed Anakin to do the same. /I have got to teach this boy how to behave,/ he muttered internally, his side still smarting from Anakin's jab.

* * *

A bright light beckoned to him, welcoming him home. He longed to run into it and bask in its glorious warmth, to be free of the clammy mist that enveloped him. A smiling woman waved at him, though her eyes drifted away into space as though they could not see.

"Tahl?" he asked, unaware of the origins of the name. The woman heard him call, and ran to him. He swept her up into a warm embrace, lifting her small frame easily off the ground. Somehow the man knew that this woman was special to him, though he knew nothing else about his surroundings. "Where are we?" he asked, hoping she would know.

She could not answer, though. Her face was buried in his tunic, and he felt a new moisture through the dampness of the mist. /She's crying,/ he realized, tightening his hold and rocking her.

"Shh, why are you crying?" he asked soothingly. "Let me help."

Her sightless eyes stared beyond him. "You shouldn't be here. This is Death, you are dead."

"I know," he said. "I'm not crying, though. Why should you be sad, if I'm not?"

"Because if you're dead, then you can't help Obi-Wan or Anakin. They will both die now, and the galaxy will descend into chaos. They still need you, need your guidance. It was not your time," she said between sobs.

/Obi-Wan? Anakin?/ the man thought. The names were familiar, though he couldn't quite place them.

Suddenly, his memories flooded back as the dam holding them buried within his mind ruptured. A stab of sorrow more poisonous than the Sith's lightsaber stabbed through him as he realized what would become of his Padawan, his only true son.

* * *

Anakin struggled to clear his mind as he sat on the cold metal floor of the ship. /Well, not exactly a ship,/ he thought. He was traveling on board the Galaxy's Center, a luxury liner, with Obi-Wan. They were disguised as father and son, so as not to alert Dooku to their presence. /Why are we so worried about this Dooku fellow anyway?/ Anakin wondered.

"Focus, Padawan," Obi-Wan said sharply. "Clear your mind."

"I'm trying, Master," Anakin whined. "This is boring." He opened his eyes and looked at his Master. Obi-Wan's face was serene, as though the mission didn't worry him.

"It should be relaxing, Anakin."

"Relaxing?" Anakin asked incredulously. "My feet are falling asleep, my nose itches, and why do I have to meditate when I should be learning how to use the Force?"

"Meditation is the key to a Jedi's ability to use the Force," Obi-Wan answered. "You must have a clear mind to access it, or you risk turning to the Dark side. When you meditate correctly, nothing exists but the Force. It flows through you like a river, sweeping you along in the current. Before you can do anything else, you must learn how to allow the Force to guide you through the various obstacles you will find in your path."

"But it can't do anything if I don't know how to use my lightsaber!" Anakin protested. "How am I supposed to help you apprehend what's-his-face if I don't even know how to defend myself?"

"The Force will guide you. Have patience."

"I don't want to have patience. You don't understand. You're not like Qui- Gon. He would have understood. I hate you! I want Qui-Gon!" Anakin screamed as he stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door.

"So do I, Anakin," Obi-Wan said softly, dropping out of the meditation to watch his apprentice stalk away. "So do I."

* * *

Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's pain through the remnants of their bond. //Obi- Wan?// he called tentatively. //Where are you?//

"You can't reach out to him," Tahl said. "He must reach out to you, as he will do soon enough. My time on this plane is limited. I have been dead for far too long to still be able to affect the world of the living. You must remain here, Qui-Gon. Stay here and help them. Help them . . ."

Qui-Gon watched in horror as Tahl bled away into the mist. "No, don't leave me," he cried. "What do I need to do?"

"You will know," he heard as the last traces of Tahl disappeared.

Obi-Wan's sorrow called again, more forcefully this time. Remembering Tahl's instructions, Qui-Gon allowed himself to be dragged through space to his old Padawan.

He saw Obi-Wan curled up on a sleep couch in a ship cabin, crying. "I am here, Obi-Wan," he said, not sure that Obi-Wan could hear him.

"Master?" Obi-Wan looked up, surprised to see the ghostly form of Qui-Gon Jinn standing in the middle of the cabin.

Qui-Gon nodded. "It is really me," he said as he moved to sit next to his old apprentice. He saw through Obi-Wan's eyes what had happened between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"I never gave you this much trouble about meditation," Obi-Wan said, knowing that Qui-Gon had seen the argument.

Qui-Gon cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

"Well, except for that one time right before I became your Padawan," Obi- Wan amended. "But I was never this exasperating!"

The eyebrow didn't move.

Obi-Wan sighed. He could never win an argument against Qui-Gon. "I'm not ready for this."

"Yes, you are," Qui-Gon replied. "Training an apprentice isn't easy, but you are one of the most talented Jedi. You will do well."

"He's so old. And he's impatient."

"Impatient?"

Obi-Wan saw the parallel. "Did you come here to help me, or to taunt me?" he asked in frustration.

"All good Masters see themselves in their Padawans. You were very much like I was at your age," Qui-Gon pointed out. "When the student teaches the Master, the bond is right. By guiding Anakin, you will recognize and correct your own mistakes."

"But he's so, so . . ." Obi-Wan searched for the word.

"Aggravating?" Qui-Gon supplied.

Obi-Wan glared at the Jedi Master. "You're lucky you're dead already," he warned jokingly.

Qui-Gon laughed. "You will be fine," he reassured Obi-Wan.

* * *

Anakin walked glumly through the corridors towards the repair bay. Galaxy's Center, like all large ships, carried a squadron of fighters to ward off pirate attacks. Maybe the mechanics would let him look around or even help. People always valued his expertise at repairs.

Finally he reached the ships. They were weak, poorly constructed, and even more inadequately maintained. The most decrepit fighters that he had deconstructed for Watto could have taken out the entire squadron in five minutes, easily. He approached one of the ships being worked on and was shocked to see that the hyperdrive was nearly twice his age. "What a piece of junk!" he exclaimed impulsively.

"Git outta here, kid," the mechanic growled angrily. "Go back to yer manicures and prep school uniforms, where ye belong. We don't need yer kind gawking at us honest workers."

"But - I can -" Anakin stuttered, surprised at the gruffness.

"Ye can kiss yer arse, fer all I care. Git outta here, before I call security!"

Anakin left dejectedly. He wasn't wanted anywhere, not even by the Jedi. Tears rolled down his face as he curled up in a corner.

"What's the matter, young man?" a deep voice asked. "Are you lost?"

Anakin looked up, blinking tears out of his eyes. "I'm not lost," he said. "I'm just, just,"

The man reached out and pulled Anakin to his feet. "Now, what's the matter?" he asked kindly. "You can tell me."

The voice was so warm and welcoming that Anakin's crude mental shields dissolved. "Nobody wants me," he sobbed. "Not the mechanics, not the Jedi, not even Master Obi-Wan. I'm only his Padawan because Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan to train me. Qui-Gon was the only friend I had, except for Padme and my mom. But I can't see Padme, or Mom, and Qui-Gon's dead." Anakin, distracted by the promise of comfort, spilled the entire story to the man with the deep voice.

There is a disturbance in the Force . . . tbc

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