*****

Three Years Later

Qui-Gon hurried to the Main Council chambers, barely nodding to anyone he passed. He had just received a summons and it was marked *URGENT*, so he ran. He approached the doors and was waved right in.

He took his place in the center of the circle of Masters. There were four other Masters, and three Padawans waiting as well. He noticed that two of the Masters were also skilled Healers. He bowed formally. "Master Jinn, reporting as ordered." He was a bit out of breath from his rush, and with a bit of the Force, he calmed is breathing.

Mace Windu was the first to speak. "We have called you all here because there has been an accident on Prima Artician."

Qui-Gon mentally ran through what he had heard of that world. It was almost as cold as Hoth, and uninhabited. It was a Core world and not too far from Coruscant. The Temple had a small base on that world, used mainly for survival training of students. His eyes went wide. This had to have something to do with a training mission.

He saw the same realization dawn on the other Masters, and a few of the Padawans. Mace was still speaking.

"Fourteen hours ago, we sent out a group of level three initiates for their first survival mission. Two hours ago we lost contact. Thirty minutes ago we received an automated emergency signal from the shuttle." He paused to take a breath. "There are two Teachers and fourteen students missing. It is almost night on the side they are on. The temperature is dropping fast. I don't think I need to tell you that once night falls, survival chances will be less than zero." He nodded, dismissing the group. "You will take three shuttles, and return as soon as you can. May the Force be with you."

Qui-Gon led the way out of the room and down to the hangar bay. The Masters split up, Qui-Gon found himself with Healer Beth'An. She was very skilled and Qui-Gon was glad she was chosen for this mission. They lifted off quickly and within the hour were dropping out of lightspeed to land on the planet. The shuttles had already been stocked for a rescue mission, and all the Masters and Padawans quickly suited up in cold weather gear, complete with heavy coats, goggles and gloves.

Once they exited the shuttles the first thing to greet them was a biting cold and an icy wind. Qui-Gon was glad for the heavy coat, but he knew the children wouldn't be so dressed. They would have some protection, but the point of this training exercise would be to survive with much less.

The groups split up at the landing site, searching the base where the first shuttle had landed. The survival mission usually included exploring the small caves that dotted the landscapes. Qui-Gon reached out with the Force to try to locate any Force signatures. He could feel some faintly to his left, he motioned for the Healer to follow.

It wasn't long before he reached the first set of caves. They broke off into four different directions and he could feel life signs in all of them. He brought the Healer closer and removed his mask to order, "We need to split apart. You check this one and I'll go in the first one." She nodded, and stepped away.

He entered the cave and was surprised to find that the normally stable walls had caved in, blocking the way. He considered using his lightsaber to melt the snow but if someone was on the other side digging he could accidentally impale them on the blade.

Thinking fast, he took a small shovel out of the pack he carried and began to move the snow away.

*****

Nine year old Obi-Wan Kenobi had never felt this cold in his life. He was trapped with one of the other students, a boy named Tarin. The boy was about the same age as Obi-Wan but his body was much smaller, not yet having his growth spurt. The boy had shivered wildly, the cold affecting his smaller physique much more than Obi-Wan's more protected body. He had given the boy his coat to place over the one he already wore. It had helped some, but they were both cold, and it was getting worse by the moment.

The cave in had come unexpectedly, trapping them in this small air pocket, and away from the other Masters. Obi-Wan had tried calling but no one had answered. They each had a small survival pack on them, but they refused to use the few glow rods unless it became absolutely necessary. Obi-Wan had tried digging his way out, but soon was exhausted from the amount of snow piled between them and the exit. The training sabers they all had didn't generate enough heat to melt the snow fast enough, nor did he want to exhaust the power on his trying.

So he sat in the dark, occasionally checking on Tarin, or trying to reach out through the Force to call for help. Someone had to notice they were missing, right? This couldn't possibly be part of the mission, could it? If it was, he was failing badly. They had been prepared to deal with the cold weather and trek through it, maybe even learn how to set up a camp, but to stay overnight? He didn't think that was part of the directive.

He could feel his hands and toes becoming numb, even the gloves he still wore were not helping. Tarin was curled into a ball, his head resting on his pack as he struggled to keep warm. Obi-Wan came up behind him and took out one of the glow rods. With a single snap, he activated the chemicals inside to provide light and a bit of warmth.

Tarin started to protest, that they needed to save them, but Obi-Wan shushed him with a look. "We need the light and some heat, Tarin." He could hear his voice becoming numb from the cold. The smaller boy simply nodded and tried not to cry. The tears would only freeze on his face, and leave cold tracks.

Obi-Wan motioned for the smaller boy to come closer. "We need to share body heat," he explained. "Its our best chance for survival at this point."

With that, the youngster crawled up into Obi-Wan's outstretched arms. They huddled down in front of the glowstick and prayed for a rescue to come soon.

*****

He had been shoveling snow for what seemed like hours but was in fact only about twenty minutes when he finally broke through. The faint glow of the remains of a used up glow stick on it's last minutes was his first clue. Hope surged through him as he widened the hole.

Inside he found two boys, both wrapped around each other, barely alive, both covered in snow. One boy was wearing two jackets, the other one was wearing nothing. Qui-Gon realized that the larger boy had sacrificed his own comfort to help his friend survive.

He pulled a thermal sheet out of his pack and prepared to wrap the smaller boy in it. The child was so cold, that for a moment, Qui-Gon feared he might have been too late, but the boy howled once in protest of the sudden movement. Qui-Gon breathed a sigh of relief.

He pulled out a second sheet and wrapped it around the other boy, the one with no coat. The child opened his eyes briefly to see the stranger reaching for him. Teeth chattering, and nearly frozen lips managed to speak a single word. "Tarin?"

He must be asking about the other boy, Qui-Gon thought. "He's fine. Your friend is safe. Now come here, young man, and lets get you warmed up as well."

He couldn't see the face behind the mask but for a brief second, Obi-Wan thought that he recognized the voice that spoke to him. Either way it didn't matter if he knew this stranger or not, what mattered was that he was offering a way out and warmth, both of which Obi-Wan was happy to take.

The boy allowed himself to be wrapped in the sheet and carried out by the big man. As soon as he was out of the cave, and saw that Tarin was also being carried by the big man, Obi-Wan mercifully passed out.

*****

The rest of the rescue was carried out without the loss of a single life. As the shuttles lifted off with their nearly frozen cargo, Qui-Gon finally allowed himself to relax. He was on one of the shuttles that had the Teachers, as his shuttle was the largest, and they were the most critically wounded. His shuttle was also the fastest, and they immediately hit lightspeed once they were clear.

The children were being brought back on the other shuttles, all of them none the worse for the wear. All had found ways of surviving the cave in, with nothing more than some frostbitten toes, fingers and tentacles. This was one of the heartiest groups Qui-Gon had ever seen, and he was very proud of them.

Unlike his now missing Padawan. Xanatos had turned to the Dark Side and had vanished. He felt a slight pang at the thought of that bright boy, now full of hate and anger. He blamed himself for failing his Padawan. He vowed to never take another Padawan again. He couldn't risk turning another bright soul to the Dark.

The thoughts of boys, brought Qui-Gon's troubled mind back to the children he rescued today. The smaller boy, Tarin, he knew he had never seen before, but the larger one, he was sure he knew. He set the shuttle on autopilot and concentrated on the young face. Where had he seen that bright boy before?

He tried to imagine that boy, without the snow covering his ginger hair, his face a more natural shade, and those greenish-blue eyes, not swollen nearly shut with cold. He could almost place the face, it was right there in front of him, mocking him in jest when the autopilot went off and he had to return the shuttle to manual control. They had arrived on Coruscant, and it was time to have the Teachers unloaded for care.

He would have to meditate on it, of this he was sure. He was so certain he had seen that child before that he was ready to stake his life on it. It was just bugging him that he didn't know where or when he had met that boy before. Right now was neither the time or place. Once the other shuttles came, he would at least find out that boy's name.

What he didn't know was that he would never get that chance. Before the other shuttles arrived, he was called away by the Council on another emergency mission. When he returned to Coruscant weeks later the cold weather mission had all but slipped his mind.

*****

~TBC