Silenced: Part One
Word from the authors: Well, we've done it again, and this time we're mightily proud of ourselves too. lol This one just came together nicely and without us killing each other-which we are also proud of. lol Feel free to comment. We absolutely love feedback!
Chapter One
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn frowned deeply as he tripped upon entering his and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi's, apartments. His mouth fell open as he surveyed the living room. Trash littered every single square foot of carpet. Obi-Wan was busy in the middle of a pile of what looked like trash, frantically tossing around various objects and muttering "Nope...not that one.nope.not that one either."
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said warningly.
Obi-Wan jerked his head up, his hand paused in the act of tossing another piece of trash, his eyes comically wide. "Um...yes, Master?" He asked, as if nothing was at all amiss.
"What in the Force are you doing?" His eyes strayed over the bowls of popcorn that were overturned in the living room, empty drink cans and wadded piles of datasheets scattered through out the apartment.
Obi-Wan swallowed and slowly lowered his arm. "Um...looking for...something..." He said evasively.
Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed. "What are you looking for that would possibly require the dismantling of our apartment?"
Obi-Wan scratched his head. "Oh, I'd rather not say..."
"You don't have a choice." Qui-Gon folded his arms over his chest. "What are you looking for?"
Obi-Wan sighed and folded his arms, refusing to look at his master. He mumbled something that sounded like "treaty for Parallie".
Qui-Gon stared at his apprentice. "'Treaty for Parallie'?" Comprehension dawned on him. In a remarkably calm voice he said, "You lost my datacard with the treaty on it?"
Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "'Lost' is such a broad word, Master...."
"Obi-Wan!!" Qui-Gon exploded. Taking several deep breaths he said, "Go to your room. Don't come out until I come for you. If that is a week from now stay there. Am I understood?"
Obi-Wan finally glanced up. "But, Master, don't you want me to find it?"
Qui-Gon put a hand to his head. He had to go meditate before he really did kill the boy. "How long have you been searching?"
Obi-Wan pressed his lips together but held up five fingers.
"Five what? Hours?" Qui-Gon was aghast. "Go. Now."
Obi-Wan hung his head and angrily kicked at his door as he passed through it. His door closed, but only for a moment. Suddenly, he poked his head out. "It's not like I did it on purpose, Master!"
Qui-Gon's eyes flashed as he looked up from a pile he'd started to dig through. "Where do you last remember having it? I told you strictly to come back and put it on my bed. To find that you lost it implies that you disobeyed my instructions."
"I didn't!" Obi-Wan protested as he entered two steps into the room. "I did place it on your bed. But then Bant and some others came in. We talked and...played around a little and when I glanced in your room it wasn't where I put it. I've been trying to find it ever since."
"You invited friends over without asking?" Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed.
"They just came over...I didn't invite them," Obi-Wan clarified.
"You should have told them to leave! I expect my instructions to be followed, Kenobi. When they are not things like this happen." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "If you will recall, Learner, you were already in trouble for disobedience."
Obi-Wan swallowed at his master's formal tone. "Yes, Master," he whispered. He turned again to go.
"No. Stop. You stay here and find it. I am amending my instruction. I am going out. Do not under any circumstance leave this apartment until I come back. Am I clear on this?"
Obi-Wan nodded and went into his room quietly, tears running down his cheeks, until his master left. He sat on his bed, quietly crying for a few minutes. Then, his anger surfaced. He really hadn't done anything wrong. He had put the datacard on the bed like he had been told to; he hasn't asked his friends to come over--they had just come on their own choice. Why was his master so cross with him? Well, he'd just show him for a little while. With a little effort, he blocked his master's bond with him. There.
Qui-Gon pulled his cloak on and headed out of the room. He had to get control of his temper. He headed out of the Temple not even bothering to greet anyone he passed.
Qui-Gon stopped, startled, feeling Obi-Wan's end of the bond cut off. He reached back along their link. He hated that Obi-Wan was so upset but he had to learn. His mistake with Xanatos had been with being too lenient. He had to discipline the boy so he didn't repeat this foolhardy behavior. Another unpleasant thought surfaced. The Council would have his hide if he couldn't come up with the missing datacard. The last two missions had ended with reprimands for his actions and he couldn't afford for something like that to happen again so soon.
A shadow slipped along the wall behind him, unnoticed.
Qui-Gon continued to fume about the missing datacard, wondering where it could be in his room. He had a sudden idea as to a possible location and turned to go back to the Temple to check.
The shadow, its glowing red eyes malevolent, slid up to Qui-Gon and a growling voice said, "Stop, Jedi. You're surrounded."
Qui-Gon tensed as he looked around for a voice and his gaze narrowed as he saw a pair of glowing eyes penetrating the darkness. He put a hand to the saber at his belt. //Obi-Wan?//
The shadow pointed a blaster at him. "Freeze that hand, Jedi. If I don't get you, then one of the other ten that are around you will."
Qui-Gon looked at him coolly. "Are you sure about that?"
The wraith smiled, showing a row of sharp and pointed teeth. "Yes, very sure."
Qui-Gon ignited his saber. "Sorry, but I think not. I have a previous engagement back at the Temple."
The wraith barked an odd laugh. "Not anymore. We will take care of it for you." A sound of two blasters whined through the air.
Qui-Gon crouched, presenting himself a smaller target and he deflected several stunbeams. He winced as one he missed hit him full in the back and he fell forward flat on his face, the saber rolling from his grip. As he fought for consciousness he reached out pushing desperately at Obi-Wan's shields, trying to get him to reply. //OBI-WAN!!!!//
The wraith smiled as the Jedi crumpled. He produced a comlink. "He's down. The other can go into place now. We'll be at the building in less than half an hour."
~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~
Qui-Gon Jinn frowned as he came in the door to see Obi-Wan, upset, in the middle of the living room floor, hunting for something. "Padawan? What's the matter?"
Obi-Wan spun around, startled. He stood. "Master! I wanted to prove to you that I hadn't lost it."
"Lost what? What are you on about?" Qui-Gon frowned, staring at him.
Obi-Wan swallowed, then frowned. "The datacard. You've only been gone two hours. Don't you remember?" He brightened. "Does that mean you're not mad at me any longer?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, now thoroughly confused.
Obi-Wan blinked. "The...datacard..." He said, becoming increasingly confused. What was wrong with his master? "I lost it...you got mad. Remember?"
"What datacard? What are you talking about? I thought I told you to work on a homework assignment."
Obi-Wan frowned more deeply. "That was yesterday."
"Oh, you're right. So it was. Well have you found the missing datacard yet?"
Obi-Wan sighed. "No, Master. I put it on your bed. I just...don't know where it could be."
"Perhaps it slipped under the bed. Let's take a look shall we?"
Obi-Wan, highly confused at his master's behavior but shrugging, bent down to help his master look. Sure enough, hidden in the darkest shadows, was the datacard. "Wow. I've been looking everywhere and it was right here all the time!"
Qui-Gon smiled indulgently. "Well, I suppose all that remains now is that you clean up this mess in the apartment."
Obi-Wan nodded eagerly. "Yes, Master. I'll do it right now." He turned to go.
Qui-Gon relaxed on his bed and tucked the datacard into the tunic of his robes. He wondered what it was that they had found and then shrugged, realizing it must be of some importance but resolving to look at it later. He stretched out to take a nice, relaxing nap.
Obi-Wan stood, speechless, for a few moments in the living area of their quarters. His Master had looked ready to kill him just two hours earlier and now it was if he didn't even remember the whole incident. He blinked. Maybe Qui-Gon was just having a rough day. His master had been called in to speak with the Jedi Council earlier...maybe he had been reprimanded again. Whatever it was, it would pass. Sighing, Obi-Wan bent down and started to pick up the trash on the floor.
~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~
Qui-Gon groaned as he slowly came to, feeling like he'd been kicked from the back of a speeder and dragged down several flights of stairs. His head was throbbing as were his shoulders. Wherever he was it was as cold as a night on Hoth, he thought. His eyes slowly fluttered open. He discovered as he came more awake the reason his arms hurt so badly was they were chained, spread eagled, above his head. His feet had also been chained to the floor in the same manner. He glanced down at himself and sighed as he discovered he was wearing nothing but a loose cloth of coarse material around his middle.
A cackle sounded in the room. "Good, good! My subject is awake! Wonderfuuuuuul!"
Qui-Gon rolled his eyes at the cheerfulness in the voice. Wonderful, sure. He wondered if the speaker had his voice altered to be so annoying or if it was just natural.
A middle aged man with brown hair starting to grey around the edges walked into the room with a bounce in his step. The most notable thing about him was the Jedi robes that he wore. "Qui-Gon!" He greeted in his cheerful voice. "How nice to see you again, my friend! I'll let you out of those chains after you answer just a few questions for me." He smiled.
Qui-Gon's eyes widened in surprise. "Syfo Dias? What are you doing here? Where is here anyway?"
Syfo bowed, still grinning widely. "'Here' is my new humble home since the Council found my methods...disagreeable. Now, before you can get lose, I have to make sure you won't interfere with my plans, my friend. If you oblige me with answers to a few questions...You're smart, Qui-Gon. I've always admired how you spit in the face of the Council when it suits your purposes. I have here a little...operation that I have made you the first test subject of. Would you like to know what you have the honor of being?"
Qui-Gon twisted in his chains, wincing as his muscles protested. His blood ran cold at the idea of him being a test subject of anything. "Test subject? I'm sorry old friend, but my contract with Zan Arbor ran out years ago and I never signed the reenlistment bonus."
Syfo chuckled. "Yes, my friend, I heard about that unfortunate mishap with that insane woman. I'm so glad you survived. But, you see, my test will not harm you at all...unless you threaten to tell anyone of it. You see, I cloned you." He grinned, pleased with himself.
Qui-Gon gaped, staring at his friend uncertain as to whether or not he heard correctly. "What?! But that's supposed to be impossible."
Syfo giggled and twirled in place. "Oh, but it isn't! You have a 'twin' of sorts now walking around pretending to be you. This is a wonderful experiment to see how well the clone can adapt and learn. I'm monitoring him very carefully, but first I had to...invite you here to get you out of the way for a while. Now, if you promise to behave, I will let you free and we'll go to the main lab and observe the clone together."
"No. The Council needs to know about this experiment immediately. The whole reason the Cloning project was banned was due to irrational behavior of the first subjects. If that clone starts acting rashly he could harm my apprentice." Qui-Gon tried to free himself from the chains suspending him as he talked.
Syfo frowned. "Qui-Gon, I'm surprised at you. I thought out of all the Jedi you would appreciate what I'm doing with this experiment." He walked over to his friend. "Why can't you just be happy and share in this with me? We can watch the clone's behavior to make sure that nothing goes wrong. What is the problem with that?"
Qui-Gon looked at the man like he was insane. "The problem with this," he said irritably, "is that the clone can access my bond with my apprentice. If he starts behaving rashly he could mentally harm him, causing irreparable damage." He snapped, "Weren't you paying attention back then when the testing was going on?"
Syfo sighed and leaned against the wall next to Qui-Gon. "Yes, but I fixed all that mental instability. Or at least I think I did. We should find out with this test experiment. Your padawan is resourceful. He'll be okay."
"'You think you did'?" Qui-Gon echoed. "I will not subject my apprentice to this test," he stated firmly.
Syfo sighed again and then walked a few paces away from Qui-Gon. "I'm sorry you feel that way, my friend, but the wheels are turning and I will not stop them now. If I can prove that my clone is perfectly fine, then I can get a contract with a highly successful creature cloning company off of Kamino. There are millions of credits in it for me and nothing you can do or say will stop me. So, my friend, I suppose you'll be staying chained for a while. By the way, the chains are made with a high grade of cortosis ore. You can't cut it and you can't manipulate it with the Force. Have a nice day. I must keep up with my clone."
Qui-Gon cursed silently as Syfo Dias left. Cortosis ore. He struggled with the chains anyway, trying to get loose. He had to get to Obi-Wan. Who knew what damage that clone might inflict on his apprentice? He gritted his teeth as another unpleasant thought surfaced. Obi-Wan had been shielding against him when he left...no one would even know he was missing. He swallowed hard at that thought.
