Chapter Five
Necessary Deceptions
After visiting his Padawan, Mace escorted Qui-Gon to the meditation room that Yoda always used. Qui-Gon's mind swirled with questions. Mace had assured him he would explain everything once they reached the meditation room. He could not believe that any of this was real and he walked at a rapid pace toward the meditation room, where Master Yoda already waited.
After they reached the meditation room, the doors closed behind Mace. Qui- Gon immediately began with his first question racing out of his mouth; "What is going on?"
"Qui-Gon, calm down," Mace told him as he stood beside Yoda, who already sat on his floatation chair.
"Calm! You want me to be calm. You lied to me, and the rest of the temple. Don't tell me to be calm. You let me believe that my Padawan was dead, dead! He's not! He's lying in the healer's wing in a hibernation trance. His friends believe he's dead, because they don't know how to detect someone in a hibernation trance. Xanatos is trying to kill him. And-"
"Calm yourself you will," Master Yoda, told him sternly, thumping his walking cane on the floor. "Necessary our deceit was."
"Qui-Gon, listen to me," Mace began calmly, "It was my idea to put Obi-Wan in a hibernation trance. I thought if the person responsible believed the boy was dead, they would leave him alone. He'd be safe enough to completely heal. We also thought we could catch him without using the boy as bait." Mace paused for a moment, "What do you mean, Xanatos is trying to kill him?"
"Your reasoning would have been fine if it was not a former Jedi trying to kill him. I received a message from Xanatos. He wanted me to witness Obi- Wan's death. This was his act of revenge because I killed his father," Qui- Gon explained.
"Watch, how? You were not at the Temple during the times when the attacks took place," Mace questioned.
"The comm unit in my guest room was engineered so that I could see what was happening to Obi-Wan on a monitor. The first two incidents occurred in the middle of the night, and I thought it was dreams. Then Mace confirmed that both the lift accident and the fire actually happened. I thought that perhaps I had experienced a vision of what was happening to Obi-Wan. I was going to speak with you about it when I returned," Qui-Gon looked at Yoda, who nodded, seemingly deep in thought at hearing Qui-Gon's words.
"When you received the note from Xanatos, why didn't you report it to us immediately?" Mace asked.
"I tried, but communications on Schumson were not operational. I immediately found a transport to bring me back to Coruscant. The transport's communications had also failed."
"Do you think that Xanatos was behind the communication failure?" Mace asked.
"Yes. But we don't have time to discuss this, Obi-Wan is unprotected in the medical wing."
"Hmm, go to Obi-Wan you will, Qui-Gon. Confer with the Council, we will," Yoda told Qui-Gon as Mace's comm link buzzed.
"Mace here," he said, as Qui-Gon started to leave the room.
"Master Mace, this is Kren Tiss, I'm on my way to the hangar. Healer Wealy just reported that she found her Padawan unconscious in Padawan Kenobi's room and the boy's body was missing."
Qui-Gon looked at Mace and quickly ran out of the room, heading toward the hangar area. He could hear Mace's running footsteps following close behind him. He couldn't let Xanatos leave the temple with Obi-Wan.
As Qui-Gon raced down, seemingly endless hallways, he felt the Force screaming at him to turn left into the hallway leading to the lift tubes. He knew that Xanatos would not use a common escape route. His former Padawan always had an escape plan, a second way out in the event his first plan failed. Trusting the Force to guide him, Qui-Gon turned down the hall and followed the Force's directions, heading in the opposite direction from the hangar.
The force led Qui-Gon to the gardens, reminding him of how much the boy enjoyed meditating there, as well as swimming in the lake with his friends. Racing toward the far eastern side of the gardens where the balconies were located, Qui-Gon saw Xanatos running toward the doors that led out onto one of the Temple's many balconies. Obi-Wan's limp form hung over Xanatos' shoulder like a sack of grain. Qui- Gon assumed the boy was still in the hibernation trance.
"Xanatos," Qui-Gon called, as he ran to catch his former apprentice. The young man stopped, and before he turned around, Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan. He realized that the boy's eyes were open and he was staring at Qui-Gon, pleading for help. Xanatos held Obi-Wan in a force bubble to prevent him from moving.
"Master Qui-Gon Jinn," Xanatos sneered, as he turned around, breaking the eye contact between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
"Put the boy down. I'm the one you want, the boy has nothing to do with it."
"But that's where you're wrong. Your padawan is exactly who I want, and this time I will not fail to kill him."
"Master," Obi-Wan's plea sounded weak.
"You are wrong," Qui-Gon spoke calmly, prepared to keep his voice and emotions in check as he lied to Xanatos and his apprentice. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is no longer my Padawan learner."
The Master's stomach twisted into knots as he felt the pain radiate from Obi-Wan after hearing his words. He wished that Obi-Wan had remained in the hibernation trance, or that their training bond was still intact so he could reassure the boy that he didn't mean what he had just said.
"I saw you in the Healer's room, Qui-Gon, before you got close enough to realize that he was in a hibernation trance. You were very sad at hearing of the boy's death," Xanatos taunted as he backed up past the doors. After bumping into the rail of the balcony, Xanatos put Obi-Wan down so that the boy was now standing facing Qui-Gon. Xanatos still restrained Obi-Wan from moving by using the Force. Obi-Wan looked into Qui-Gon's eyes, a glint of hope shimmered in the blue/green depths as though he wished that what Xanatos said was true, and that Qui-Gon really did care.
"I do not want the boy injured for something that I did long before I knew he existed," Qui-Gon took a deep breath before continuing. "Just because he's not the right Padawan for me, doesn't mean that another Master would not be better suited to train him," Qui-Gon lied. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, his breath catching in his throat. Qui-Gon had to look away from the boy's pain filled eyes; for fear that, he would not be able to continue his charade.
"Perhaps you're right," Xanatos agreed with a dubious expression. He suddenly pulled a vibroblade out of the pocket of his cloak. Qui-Gon immediately pulled out his lightsaber, and ignited it. "If he's not good enough for you, the renown Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, then he's not good enough for any one else," Xanatos retorted, holding the vibroblade to the boy's neck.
"No, that is not true," Qui-Gon disagreed, as Mace Windu rushed up behind him. He could also sense Adi Gallia and her Padawan rushing toward them. "Obi-Wan will make a great apprentice to someone else. I'm not what the boy needs."
Xanatos began to laugh, "I think you may be right after all Qui-Gon. I think the boy would make a great apprentice to my Master. After all, he drew his lightsaber on you once. My master and I will have fun teaching him. Who knows Qui-Gon maybe your former apprentice will be the greatest and the most powerful Sith the Jedi has ever seen."
Xanatos smiled, "I think he needs a scar though. Don't you agree Master Qui-Gon, a scar on his cheek to mark him as a Sith, not a Jedi," Xanatos said, and slashed Obi-Wan's left cheek with the knife. Obi-Wan gasped and before Qui-Gon could do anything, Xanatos spun around and threw Obi-Wan over the railing of the balcony. With a glance back at Qui-Gon, Xanatos leapt over the balcony after Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon shouted as he ran to the railing and looked down. Xanatos and Obi-Wan had landed on a speeder parked just below the balcony.
Qui-Gon watched as the vessel quickly sped away into the lanes of Coruscant's traffic.
*** * *** * ***
He felt the blade of the knife sear through his skin, moments before Xanatos threw him over the railing. Obi-Wan knew there was no way that he could survive falling from the balcony, even if he was not still recovering from his current injuries. The height was too great for him to survive. Just as he had the thought, he suddenly felt his back hit something several meters below the balcony. Pain erupted in his back as he landed.
He heard Qui-Gon yell his name as Xanatos threw him over the balcony railing. He wondered if he would ever see his former Master again. Seconds later Xanatos jumped over the balustrade, his booted foot landing on Obi-Wan's bruised knee. The young boy let out a strangled cry of agony as pain erupted through his injured knee. Xanatos laughed as he hopped over the seat, landing in the front of the speeder. Obi-Wan looked up at the balcony that he fallen from and saw Qui-Gon leaning over the rail looking down at him, as the speeder began to move away from the Temple.
Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon Jinn, until he could no longer see him or the Temple. The teenager wondered what the man named Xanatos had planned for him. He knew what ever it was it wouldn't be good. \Will he really try to make me a Sith? / He wondered. /I'll die before I let him turn me into a Sith. Just because Qui-Gon doesn't trust me to be his Padawan anymore, doesn't mean that I will turn. /
Xanatos made no attempt to move Obi-Wan to a more comfortable position. The speeder raced through various streets throughout the lower levels of Coruscant until they finally stopped at what Obi-Wan felt certain was the opposite side of the planet from the Jedi Temple.
When the speeder stopped, Xanatos finally took the boy out of the speeder. The tall dark haired man released his hold on the boy and Obi-Wan studied his surroundings using the Force. He discovered that he was in a large hangar with vessels of all different shapes and sizes from small speeder bikes, to large passenger transport vehicles and freighters.
Obi-Wan felt a slight glimmer of hope forming in the back of his mind. With so many beings in the hangar, perhaps one of them would notice him and tell the local authorities or the Jedi that they had seen him in the hangar. He knew that it was a slim chance, but it was still a chance that provided him with a sliver of hope.
Xanatos led Obi-Wan to the far side of the hangar. Each step that the boy took seemed more agonizing than the last as he limped toward a large freighter, where two men were loading cargo. Although Xanatos did not physically force him to walk with him, the teenager knew that if he tried to escape he wouldn't make it very far, and he would most likely receive more severe injuries than he already had.
"Are you nearly ready to leave?" Xanatos asked, as he and Obi-Wan approached the two men.
"Yes sir, we're loading the last two crates now and we can leave as soon as we're cleared by Hangar Security," the short man with a haggard looking face told him.
"Good," Xanatos replied, "I have more cargo for you."
The two men glanced at Obi-Wan then back to Xanatos. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to baby-sit a kid and besides he's dressed like a Jedi."
"He is injured and can barely walk, he won't cause you any trouble," Xanatos told the men. A young girl who couldn't be much older than himself caught Obi-Wan's eye. She was staring at him, making no attempt to hide her gaze when he looked at her. "You can keep him in the back with the rest of the cargo, for all I care."
"A kid was not part of the deal," the other man spoke up. He was younger than the short man. The stout man had a nasty looking scar covering the entire right side of his head, from his forehead down to his double chin, and spoke with a Corellian accent. /If only I could find a way to contact the Jedi, to let them know where I am/ Obi-Wan thought. /I can't just stand here and do nothing./
"I will add another 10,000 credits to your payment when you make the delivery to Geonosis, if you drop off the Jedi reject at the planet I'Balliap I. Hand him over to a man named Rodnee, who will wait for you at the South side hangar. He'll take the boy to the slavers. The kid won't give you any trouble, the injuries are far too bad for that, and if he does give you trouble, you can just kill him. If you must kill him, though, do not dispose of his body. I know someone who would enjoy seeing the his lifeless body."
The mirth in Xanatos' voice as he spoke of killing Obi-Wan, sent chills up and down the boy's sore back. /He lied, he's not taking me to become a Sith, he's going to make me a slave, in the outer rim where slavery is legal. / Obi-Wan looked back to where the girl was standing and found her still staring at him intently. He wondered if she was staring at him because of the blood that covered his face. /I must look like Bantha fodder/ he thought.
"I didn't sign up to kill children, Xanatos," the older man commented, putting his hands on his hips in a defiant stance.
"For 10,000 credits, I don't care what we have to do with him," the portly man sneered at Obi-Wan. "We'll get him to I'Balliap, or he'll die, sir."
"Good, don't forget the other cargo is still your first priority. You need to make sure that it reaches the new Offworld mining colonies on Geonosis," Xanatos told him, pushing Obi-Wan toward him, the stout man turned as Xanatos walked away.
The man with the scar grabbed Obi-Wan roughly by the arm and pushed him up the ramp and into cargo section of the vessel. Obi-Wan turned to look at the girl again and was surprised to see that she was gone. He had thought that perhaps she could help him.
Necessary Deceptions
After visiting his Padawan, Mace escorted Qui-Gon to the meditation room that Yoda always used. Qui-Gon's mind swirled with questions. Mace had assured him he would explain everything once they reached the meditation room. He could not believe that any of this was real and he walked at a rapid pace toward the meditation room, where Master Yoda already waited.
After they reached the meditation room, the doors closed behind Mace. Qui- Gon immediately began with his first question racing out of his mouth; "What is going on?"
"Qui-Gon, calm down," Mace told him as he stood beside Yoda, who already sat on his floatation chair.
"Calm! You want me to be calm. You lied to me, and the rest of the temple. Don't tell me to be calm. You let me believe that my Padawan was dead, dead! He's not! He's lying in the healer's wing in a hibernation trance. His friends believe he's dead, because they don't know how to detect someone in a hibernation trance. Xanatos is trying to kill him. And-"
"Calm yourself you will," Master Yoda, told him sternly, thumping his walking cane on the floor. "Necessary our deceit was."
"Qui-Gon, listen to me," Mace began calmly, "It was my idea to put Obi-Wan in a hibernation trance. I thought if the person responsible believed the boy was dead, they would leave him alone. He'd be safe enough to completely heal. We also thought we could catch him without using the boy as bait." Mace paused for a moment, "What do you mean, Xanatos is trying to kill him?"
"Your reasoning would have been fine if it was not a former Jedi trying to kill him. I received a message from Xanatos. He wanted me to witness Obi- Wan's death. This was his act of revenge because I killed his father," Qui- Gon explained.
"Watch, how? You were not at the Temple during the times when the attacks took place," Mace questioned.
"The comm unit in my guest room was engineered so that I could see what was happening to Obi-Wan on a monitor. The first two incidents occurred in the middle of the night, and I thought it was dreams. Then Mace confirmed that both the lift accident and the fire actually happened. I thought that perhaps I had experienced a vision of what was happening to Obi-Wan. I was going to speak with you about it when I returned," Qui-Gon looked at Yoda, who nodded, seemingly deep in thought at hearing Qui-Gon's words.
"When you received the note from Xanatos, why didn't you report it to us immediately?" Mace asked.
"I tried, but communications on Schumson were not operational. I immediately found a transport to bring me back to Coruscant. The transport's communications had also failed."
"Do you think that Xanatos was behind the communication failure?" Mace asked.
"Yes. But we don't have time to discuss this, Obi-Wan is unprotected in the medical wing."
"Hmm, go to Obi-Wan you will, Qui-Gon. Confer with the Council, we will," Yoda told Qui-Gon as Mace's comm link buzzed.
"Mace here," he said, as Qui-Gon started to leave the room.
"Master Mace, this is Kren Tiss, I'm on my way to the hangar. Healer Wealy just reported that she found her Padawan unconscious in Padawan Kenobi's room and the boy's body was missing."
Qui-Gon looked at Mace and quickly ran out of the room, heading toward the hangar area. He could hear Mace's running footsteps following close behind him. He couldn't let Xanatos leave the temple with Obi-Wan.
As Qui-Gon raced down, seemingly endless hallways, he felt the Force screaming at him to turn left into the hallway leading to the lift tubes. He knew that Xanatos would not use a common escape route. His former Padawan always had an escape plan, a second way out in the event his first plan failed. Trusting the Force to guide him, Qui-Gon turned down the hall and followed the Force's directions, heading in the opposite direction from the hangar.
The force led Qui-Gon to the gardens, reminding him of how much the boy enjoyed meditating there, as well as swimming in the lake with his friends. Racing toward the far eastern side of the gardens where the balconies were located, Qui-Gon saw Xanatos running toward the doors that led out onto one of the Temple's many balconies. Obi-Wan's limp form hung over Xanatos' shoulder like a sack of grain. Qui- Gon assumed the boy was still in the hibernation trance.
"Xanatos," Qui-Gon called, as he ran to catch his former apprentice. The young man stopped, and before he turned around, Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan. He realized that the boy's eyes were open and he was staring at Qui-Gon, pleading for help. Xanatos held Obi-Wan in a force bubble to prevent him from moving.
"Master Qui-Gon Jinn," Xanatos sneered, as he turned around, breaking the eye contact between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
"Put the boy down. I'm the one you want, the boy has nothing to do with it."
"But that's where you're wrong. Your padawan is exactly who I want, and this time I will not fail to kill him."
"Master," Obi-Wan's plea sounded weak.
"You are wrong," Qui-Gon spoke calmly, prepared to keep his voice and emotions in check as he lied to Xanatos and his apprentice. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is no longer my Padawan learner."
The Master's stomach twisted into knots as he felt the pain radiate from Obi-Wan after hearing his words. He wished that Obi-Wan had remained in the hibernation trance, or that their training bond was still intact so he could reassure the boy that he didn't mean what he had just said.
"I saw you in the Healer's room, Qui-Gon, before you got close enough to realize that he was in a hibernation trance. You were very sad at hearing of the boy's death," Xanatos taunted as he backed up past the doors. After bumping into the rail of the balcony, Xanatos put Obi-Wan down so that the boy was now standing facing Qui-Gon. Xanatos still restrained Obi-Wan from moving by using the Force. Obi-Wan looked into Qui-Gon's eyes, a glint of hope shimmered in the blue/green depths as though he wished that what Xanatos said was true, and that Qui-Gon really did care.
"I do not want the boy injured for something that I did long before I knew he existed," Qui-Gon took a deep breath before continuing. "Just because he's not the right Padawan for me, doesn't mean that another Master would not be better suited to train him," Qui-Gon lied. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, his breath catching in his throat. Qui-Gon had to look away from the boy's pain filled eyes; for fear that, he would not be able to continue his charade.
"Perhaps you're right," Xanatos agreed with a dubious expression. He suddenly pulled a vibroblade out of the pocket of his cloak. Qui-Gon immediately pulled out his lightsaber, and ignited it. "If he's not good enough for you, the renown Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, then he's not good enough for any one else," Xanatos retorted, holding the vibroblade to the boy's neck.
"No, that is not true," Qui-Gon disagreed, as Mace Windu rushed up behind him. He could also sense Adi Gallia and her Padawan rushing toward them. "Obi-Wan will make a great apprentice to someone else. I'm not what the boy needs."
Xanatos began to laugh, "I think you may be right after all Qui-Gon. I think the boy would make a great apprentice to my Master. After all, he drew his lightsaber on you once. My master and I will have fun teaching him. Who knows Qui-Gon maybe your former apprentice will be the greatest and the most powerful Sith the Jedi has ever seen."
Xanatos smiled, "I think he needs a scar though. Don't you agree Master Qui-Gon, a scar on his cheek to mark him as a Sith, not a Jedi," Xanatos said, and slashed Obi-Wan's left cheek with the knife. Obi-Wan gasped and before Qui-Gon could do anything, Xanatos spun around and threw Obi-Wan over the railing of the balcony. With a glance back at Qui-Gon, Xanatos leapt over the balcony after Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon shouted as he ran to the railing and looked down. Xanatos and Obi-Wan had landed on a speeder parked just below the balcony.
Qui-Gon watched as the vessel quickly sped away into the lanes of Coruscant's traffic.
*** * *** * ***
He felt the blade of the knife sear through his skin, moments before Xanatos threw him over the railing. Obi-Wan knew there was no way that he could survive falling from the balcony, even if he was not still recovering from his current injuries. The height was too great for him to survive. Just as he had the thought, he suddenly felt his back hit something several meters below the balcony. Pain erupted in his back as he landed.
He heard Qui-Gon yell his name as Xanatos threw him over the balcony railing. He wondered if he would ever see his former Master again. Seconds later Xanatos jumped over the balustrade, his booted foot landing on Obi-Wan's bruised knee. The young boy let out a strangled cry of agony as pain erupted through his injured knee. Xanatos laughed as he hopped over the seat, landing in the front of the speeder. Obi-Wan looked up at the balcony that he fallen from and saw Qui-Gon leaning over the rail looking down at him, as the speeder began to move away from the Temple.
Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon Jinn, until he could no longer see him or the Temple. The teenager wondered what the man named Xanatos had planned for him. He knew what ever it was it wouldn't be good. \Will he really try to make me a Sith? / He wondered. /I'll die before I let him turn me into a Sith. Just because Qui-Gon doesn't trust me to be his Padawan anymore, doesn't mean that I will turn. /
Xanatos made no attempt to move Obi-Wan to a more comfortable position. The speeder raced through various streets throughout the lower levels of Coruscant until they finally stopped at what Obi-Wan felt certain was the opposite side of the planet from the Jedi Temple.
When the speeder stopped, Xanatos finally took the boy out of the speeder. The tall dark haired man released his hold on the boy and Obi-Wan studied his surroundings using the Force. He discovered that he was in a large hangar with vessels of all different shapes and sizes from small speeder bikes, to large passenger transport vehicles and freighters.
Obi-Wan felt a slight glimmer of hope forming in the back of his mind. With so many beings in the hangar, perhaps one of them would notice him and tell the local authorities or the Jedi that they had seen him in the hangar. He knew that it was a slim chance, but it was still a chance that provided him with a sliver of hope.
Xanatos led Obi-Wan to the far side of the hangar. Each step that the boy took seemed more agonizing than the last as he limped toward a large freighter, where two men were loading cargo. Although Xanatos did not physically force him to walk with him, the teenager knew that if he tried to escape he wouldn't make it very far, and he would most likely receive more severe injuries than he already had.
"Are you nearly ready to leave?" Xanatos asked, as he and Obi-Wan approached the two men.
"Yes sir, we're loading the last two crates now and we can leave as soon as we're cleared by Hangar Security," the short man with a haggard looking face told him.
"Good," Xanatos replied, "I have more cargo for you."
The two men glanced at Obi-Wan then back to Xanatos. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to baby-sit a kid and besides he's dressed like a Jedi."
"He is injured and can barely walk, he won't cause you any trouble," Xanatos told the men. A young girl who couldn't be much older than himself caught Obi-Wan's eye. She was staring at him, making no attempt to hide her gaze when he looked at her. "You can keep him in the back with the rest of the cargo, for all I care."
"A kid was not part of the deal," the other man spoke up. He was younger than the short man. The stout man had a nasty looking scar covering the entire right side of his head, from his forehead down to his double chin, and spoke with a Corellian accent. /If only I could find a way to contact the Jedi, to let them know where I am/ Obi-Wan thought. /I can't just stand here and do nothing./
"I will add another 10,000 credits to your payment when you make the delivery to Geonosis, if you drop off the Jedi reject at the planet I'Balliap I. Hand him over to a man named Rodnee, who will wait for you at the South side hangar. He'll take the boy to the slavers. The kid won't give you any trouble, the injuries are far too bad for that, and if he does give you trouble, you can just kill him. If you must kill him, though, do not dispose of his body. I know someone who would enjoy seeing the his lifeless body."
The mirth in Xanatos' voice as he spoke of killing Obi-Wan, sent chills up and down the boy's sore back. /He lied, he's not taking me to become a Sith, he's going to make me a slave, in the outer rim where slavery is legal. / Obi-Wan looked back to where the girl was standing and found her still staring at him intently. He wondered if she was staring at him because of the blood that covered his face. /I must look like Bantha fodder/ he thought.
"I didn't sign up to kill children, Xanatos," the older man commented, putting his hands on his hips in a defiant stance.
"For 10,000 credits, I don't care what we have to do with him," the portly man sneered at Obi-Wan. "We'll get him to I'Balliap, or he'll die, sir."
"Good, don't forget the other cargo is still your first priority. You need to make sure that it reaches the new Offworld mining colonies on Geonosis," Xanatos told him, pushing Obi-Wan toward him, the stout man turned as Xanatos walked away.
The man with the scar grabbed Obi-Wan roughly by the arm and pushed him up the ramp and into cargo section of the vessel. Obi-Wan turned to look at the girl again and was surprised to see that she was gone. He had thought that perhaps she could help him.
