Qui-Gon let Obi-Wan sleep as he got up and strolled casually to the back wall where he had spoken to the other three JedI, earlier in the evening. He took time to take a quick glance at the guards to find them still drinking and playing cards. Two bottles of the booze were gone and the other only had maybe a third of it left. One guard looked up with drowsy unfocused eyes only to return them to his cards in his hands.
Evidently the guards were even more loose and careless in their guarding the Jedi.
One other Jedi went to speak with Jinn and that was Master Riddon.
"I was able to link with my padawan Master Jinn. They know of our impending plan. Now maybe you will let me in on what we are to do. I will go back to the other two and relay the info to them.. That way we won't draw so much attention to ourselves."
"Yes, you have an excellent idea. I think this will be pretty simple if the other two are in the same disorientated state as the one who looked up to see me. He is out of it. I think he may have been seeing four or five of me and didn't care. The alcohol has made them more sure of themselves and I hope a lot more pliable and susceptible to mind manipulation. That is what I will do first. If that doesn't work then we may have a battle on our hands. However if we do, I think it will be over quickly. I am not sure they would be able to stand up long enough to engage in any kind of battle right now. It will be just you and I who will approach them first. No sense spooking them with a hoard of Jedi."
"Yes I agree. What do you plan you have them do if your mind manipulation works?"
"I think something simple like they need to take a very long sleep. Once they are as we want them, we will remove their clothing and dress the three of you in their uniforms. Then put them under the covers as if they are Jedi and still asleep. I will meet Darth Sidious at the door as he expects and then we go from there. He doesn't want my answer until he sits down to break-fast. That is the way he explained it too me."
"What if heasks before you are to go to break-fast? What if he goes so far as to attempt the murder of one of them?"
Jinn thought for a moment. There would be a chance that Sidious would confront Master Jinn right there when he entered the common room.
"May I make a suggestion Master Jinn?"
"Yes please do. I would value your input on this. One mistake could mean the death of all of us."
"Maybe you should say you plan to give your apprentice to him instead both your other family members."
Just the thought of offering up Obi-Wan like some kind of sacrificial lamb turned Jinn's stomach. Qui-Gon had not thought this part through as clearly as the rest of the plan. He couldn't fathom why Master Riddon would suggest he give up Obi-Wan. After all he intended to save all of them.
"Just the words make my blood run cold. To offer my own son and the youngest, seems barbaric, even if it is just a charade."
Master Riddon dropped his eyes to the floor and thought a minute. He did so just to give Jinn time to let his harsh ideas sink in.
"The only reason I suggested your son is because Sidious does not plan to kill him, at least not right away. He wants Obi-Wan, quite possibly as a future apprentice because he possesses the force. If you hand your mother and Damien over, they might be killed instantly right before your eyes, even before they could leave this room. If you offer up Obi-Wan there will be time to retrieve him from Darth Sidious, if something should go wrong."
The scenario placed before him by Master Riddon was thought through more clearly this time by the head master of the temple..
"Yes, you do have a point. Also Darth Sidious is very strong in the forces of the dark. I know for a fact he can not penetrate our mental shields if we have them in place, but he could possibly crack newly formed shields like Obi-Wan's . I won't be able to tell him what we have planned for fear of Sidious intercepting it through the force. That's the worse part of the force, the dark can still penetrate it and suck knowledge from those who possess it. Sidious is strong in that ability. It is for the best that we leave Obi-Wan, Mother, and my nephew in the dark about our plans. Their thoughts might bleed through to Sidious before he got in the room. We all will keep our shields in place. I had mine opened for Obi-Wan, but he seems a little stressed with me and is shielding anyway."
"Yes, I think the poor child blames himself for being a humanitarian?"
"Excuse me?"
Jinn thought that quite possibly all the Jedi there were displeased with his son right now, yet Master Riddon stood before Qui-Gon and spoke highly of him, almost commending the child for his actions.
"You never told your son how devious this man can be. Obi did what we try to teach everyone of these padawans. He reached his hand out in kindness to find it "bitten" by Sidious. You can't blame Obi-Wan for having a kind heart now can you? How Jedi-like would it have been to turn away from a plea for food and lodging on a sub-zero night that it was? Yes he should have told us about the man in the barn, but he didn't. Obi-Wan did one wrong thing for all the right reasons"
Jinn raised his shields against his padawan and thought shamefully how judgmental he had been of his son, padawan, and an innocent child, "his" Obi.
Of course the child did only good by his actions. He could not be blamed for Sidious' counter-actions of evil. Obi-Wan was guilty of expressing actions of pure goodness.
//I was just too hard on him. I was unfair in my judgment of Obi. As soon as this is over, I will tell him how stupid I have been.//
It was harder now to raise his shields against his padawan. He had kept them opened in hopes of Obi trying to contact him later. Now though, he must shield from Sidious. Every little minute detail to this attempted escape must come together for it to work. They must at all cost keep the plan a secret from Sidious.
###########Five a.m. in the morning############
The guards had abandoned their card game and stopped drinking after another bottle of Jinn's best liquor was removed from the cabinet. They were awake but Jinn wondered how. Their stamina must have been drilled into them by Sidious' threats of punishment for sleeping during sentry duty. That was the only thing Qui-Gon could think of that would cause the men to be able to be awake, some sort of threatened fear.
Master Jinn glanced at his son and painfully walked by the boy, who now was awake. He had looked up almost pleadingly to his master for something, but Jinn could not take the time to find out what the child wanted. When Obi had glanced at his master Qui-Gon could feel a slight begging nudge to his mind from the link shared with his apprentice. Obi wanted to share something with his father but he could not take the chance to here his padawan out by opening his mind to him. Sidious was most assuredly awake thus in tune to the mental messages floating through the force's aura.
The first half of Qui-Gon's plan worked exceedingly well. Better than he could have ever imagined. The three red guards were drunk to the hilt. It took nothing but a small wave of the big master's hand and a mental suggestion of sleep to cause the three to fall off their chairs in peaceful slumber.
The only other three Jedi in the room took the uniforms. They instantly transformed themselves from a drab looking Jedi in mousy brown tunic and leggings to the majestic looking red guard in their elaborate and colorful dress uniforms.
Obi-Wan was wide awake now and watched with great interest what was going on. His master had made his bed in front of the fireplace and Obi-Wan had to throw his bed covers off, as after he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his little balled up fists. He tried daringly to make a connection with his master again.
Jinn whirled on him. He placed his finger to his lips to silence the boy and walked over to him.
"Quiet child."
The tone, a little harsher than Jinn would have liked to have used. Fear had that affect on the big guy when he feared not for his life but for those he was responsible for.
Obi nudged at his master's mind. If he could not actually speak to his dad, he wanted to know what was happening, through the bond link of their minds.
"Jinn would not relent. It was very necessary right now to keep his shields up so Sidious could would not have a clue what lay in wait for him.
The Jedi-transformed red guards positioned themselves close to the door and waited.
Qui-Gon stood by the fireplace but before he did he picked his son up and put him over to the side of the mantle out of the way. A stern look and wave of his hand indicated to the boy he was to keep quiet and stay were he was.
Obi misunderstood his father. He thought the earlier harsh voice and the stern look just now was a reprimand to him. The child mistook his father's fear for him as anger over his mistakes; assumed Jinn's concern was increased disappointment in him.
Sidious opened the door to the common room and the two guards who stood outside followed him in and closed the doors.
"Did you think on it Master Jinn? Do you have your decision ready for me?"
"Yes, I will tell you at break-fast."
"I think I am the one in charge here Master Jinn and I have decided I don't have time to sit down and have a formal meal with you. Make your choice be known and we will gather ourselves together and be on our way. Of course that is not to say we won't be back again and possibly very soon. I may find that your gift today will not be enough. If you choose wisely, it might be enough to soothe my anger with you. Now what shall it be? You watch your mother and your nephew die or let me take your son. It's up to you, all up to you now. I mean you have let your brother down already and he met his death. Do you plan to allow another of your family meet their death by my hands?"
Qui-Gon would have gladly choked the man to death for his words alone. However his hurt could not come before the lives of those there. He had to be strong.
Still though for the master to get the words past his lips, that he would give up his son to Sidious to spare his mother and nephew was very difficult.
Mistakenly Qui-Gon hesitated and in that instance of indecisiveness, Sidious motioned for the red guard to his left to grab Damien and he did.
"Now Master Jinn let's see. Maybe I will kill one of them and ask you again to give me your choice. I want to hear the choice you make loud and clear."
The blaster from the Dark lord's belt was drawn and pointed right at the temple of the young man.
Still Qui-Gon could not say the words.
"Very well Master Jinn. I hoped to hear the very words from your mouth, to feel the pain it caused to your very soul. However I sense you incapable of making that choice. Let me warn you, the fate of all those here at the temple has been sealed by your cowardice. I don't have any more time to play games, but I do very much want to watch your reaction to me killing your nephew.. You can't save him anymore than you could save his father."
Jinn actually heard the trigger on the blaster activate before he yelled.
"STOP I have made my decision. I don't want my mother or Damien harmed. I have not been with this one very long; not even long enough to have grown close to him. Take him instead of my family. Take Obi-WanKenobi."
Jinn walked over to Obi-Wan and when his father went to grab him, Obi's fear made him struggle with his father. Although it was killing Qui-Gon he had to act out this cruel and heartless ruse. He paid no heed to the kicking and screaming child. The false proclamation of no love for his son, reverberated back through Qui-Gon's very soul as he spoke the lies.
Qui-Gon could not tell if Obi-Wan's mind opened out of a need to link with him or fear had caused them to open. That strengthened his premise that Obi-Wan could not have been told of the pending plan. It didn't make the master feel any better to know he had been correct in holding out on his son..
He felt the Obi's frantic nudging of their shared bond to be allowed to penetrate the master's shields and let him see what was truly going on. Did his father mean what he said? Was he to be forfeited for the other two Jinns? His unworthiness sunk into like a knife to the little boy. Obi-Wan's struggles eased somewhat and the assault he launched on his master's shields now stopped abruptly.; no more attempts to seek comfort from the man he thought he loved.
Just then Qui-Gon flashed a knowing look to the other Jedi. Sidious had one hand on Obi-Wan when the Jedi made their move. The attack on the guards on either side of the dark one was not a problem, now that the Jedi were armed again.. It only took the three Jedi a couple quick thrusts forward and accurate slicing toward the guards to take them down. The Jedi saber abilities far exceeded those of the Red guard.
However in the melee, Jinn had lost his grip on Obi's arm. Damien had struggled lose from his captor, but now Sidious had the other child, Obi-Wan.
"Well Master Jinn I think your little plan has backfired on you. Now you all will surely die."
Suddenly Obi-Wan kicked the leg of the dark lord then followed it with yet another kick higher and in a more delicate spot. Jinn watched as if in slow motion as Sidious pulled something from his pocket. Was it another weapon? Qui-Gon didn't know, but he wasn't going to take the chance that it was.
Sidious finally released the grip on the child as he flung him down out in the hall. Even before the other guards could respond in any way, Sidious threw a foul smelling smoke screen ball., chaos ensued.
Everyone was fighting everyone and not sure who anyone was. The Jedi quickly attacked the other two guards and the other Jedi from the dining hall ran out in the hall to assist in any way they could.
As the smoke began to clear, the Jedi realized they had been successful in foiling Darth Sidious' attempt to destroy them.
They managed to capture all the red guard. Darth Sidious though, escaped easily through the cloak of the smoke screen that hid his exist.
Obi-Wan had wandered to the steps there in the hall and leaned his head against the banister. He tried to put the memory of his father's spoken admission that he cared nothing for him out of his mind. // I have not been with this one very long; not even long enough to have grown close to him. Take him instead of my family.//
Obi-Wan unwillingly heard that statement over and over in his mind.
//HIM! He meant me. My master gave me to Sidious to save his nephew and Mom, his real family. I'm am nothing to him but his apprentice and I guess apprentices don't come before blood relatives.//
Obi-Wan was in too much shock from all this to even cry. He sat and hung to the railing as if he would be magically swept away by the tumultuous turmoil that swirled around him, if he did not cling to something.
Jinn finally got everything under control enough to look for his son. There sat Obi-Wan huddled against the banister railing with his little head hung.
Jinn thought everything would be alright once they both opened their bond and Obi-Wan could see his plan. Qui-Gon cautiously and slowly opened their shared bond so as not to startled the boy. He tried to regain access to Obi's mind but Obi's mind was still shielded; If possible by stronger shields than before. Qui-Gon was not even sure the child had felt the mental nudge as Jinn attempted unsuccessfully reentry to his son's mind.. He certainly didn't give any indication he did. Just as Jinn stepped toward Obi, his mother came running to him.
"I told you son. Your brother Amos would have been proud of you today. I knew that one could never replace Damien in our lives. You have vindicated your brother's death by saving his son."
Master Jinn did not have to the time to get into it with his mother. He only wanted to explain things to his apprentice, his son, his life. Somewhere though in the back of his mind he stored his mother's words to later bring them to the forefront of his memory later.. Myra, caught in the moment, would later regret her own words to her son.
Qui-Gon ignored his mother and stepped toward his son again. Obi-Wan raised himself up.
"Obi, please let me speak to you or open your side of the bond, so you can see my true intent as to what happened here."
Obi-Wan stood in fear of his own father. If he could give him to the sith what else would this cruel and evil master do to him if he ever made another mistake.
"I will never open that stupid bond again. You will just put lies there so I will believe some bizarre excuse. Jedi masters can do that I bet. You don't love me and you never did. I don't know why you ever wanted me, except maybe to be some dumb ole Jedi that I'm not going to be, no matter what you say."
Obi-Wan screamed uncontrollably at his master. Tears streamed down his face, as he surveyed the entire hall with his father and the others assembled there.
Master Riddon instructed the others to continue tying up the red guard captives and he ushered the padawans in the common room. He attempted to make this catastrophic confrontation Master Jinn and his son were saddled with, a little more private.
Myra and Damien looked on, satisfied that all the mayhem Obi-Wan created would once and for all put an end to the nonsense idea of Qui-Gon to keep the child with him. Even Bruck was pleased that Obi-Wan got his just rewards and he didn't have to lift a finger to do it. He actually had to be physically pushed through the common room doors by Master Riddon to stop his persistent observation at the two.
Just as Qui-Gon tried to pull the boy to him in a loving embrace, the hysterical-crying Obi-Wan pulled from his father's grasp and ran upstairs.
The last words spoken by is son as he ran up the stairs would stay in Qui-Gon's mind for a long time. Obi-Wan's voice seemed to echo through the large anteroom and hall of the temple. They bounced off every wall and resonated from every corner until they reached and settled on Qui-Gon Jinn seemingly exclusively.
"I HATE YOU FATHER. Do you hear me? I hate you, with all that I thought I loved you with, my heart and soul."
PEACE ewen
….
Evidently the guards were even more loose and careless in their guarding the Jedi.
One other Jedi went to speak with Jinn and that was Master Riddon.
"I was able to link with my padawan Master Jinn. They know of our impending plan. Now maybe you will let me in on what we are to do. I will go back to the other two and relay the info to them.. That way we won't draw so much attention to ourselves."
"Yes, you have an excellent idea. I think this will be pretty simple if the other two are in the same disorientated state as the one who looked up to see me. He is out of it. I think he may have been seeing four or five of me and didn't care. The alcohol has made them more sure of themselves and I hope a lot more pliable and susceptible to mind manipulation. That is what I will do first. If that doesn't work then we may have a battle on our hands. However if we do, I think it will be over quickly. I am not sure they would be able to stand up long enough to engage in any kind of battle right now. It will be just you and I who will approach them first. No sense spooking them with a hoard of Jedi."
"Yes I agree. What do you plan you have them do if your mind manipulation works?"
"I think something simple like they need to take a very long sleep. Once they are as we want them, we will remove their clothing and dress the three of you in their uniforms. Then put them under the covers as if they are Jedi and still asleep. I will meet Darth Sidious at the door as he expects and then we go from there. He doesn't want my answer until he sits down to break-fast. That is the way he explained it too me."
"What if heasks before you are to go to break-fast? What if he goes so far as to attempt the murder of one of them?"
Jinn thought for a moment. There would be a chance that Sidious would confront Master Jinn right there when he entered the common room.
"May I make a suggestion Master Jinn?"
"Yes please do. I would value your input on this. One mistake could mean the death of all of us."
"Maybe you should say you plan to give your apprentice to him instead both your other family members."
Just the thought of offering up Obi-Wan like some kind of sacrificial lamb turned Jinn's stomach. Qui-Gon had not thought this part through as clearly as the rest of the plan. He couldn't fathom why Master Riddon would suggest he give up Obi-Wan. After all he intended to save all of them.
"Just the words make my blood run cold. To offer my own son and the youngest, seems barbaric, even if it is just a charade."
Master Riddon dropped his eyes to the floor and thought a minute. He did so just to give Jinn time to let his harsh ideas sink in.
"The only reason I suggested your son is because Sidious does not plan to kill him, at least not right away. He wants Obi-Wan, quite possibly as a future apprentice because he possesses the force. If you hand your mother and Damien over, they might be killed instantly right before your eyes, even before they could leave this room. If you offer up Obi-Wan there will be time to retrieve him from Darth Sidious, if something should go wrong."
The scenario placed before him by Master Riddon was thought through more clearly this time by the head master of the temple..
"Yes, you do have a point. Also Darth Sidious is very strong in the forces of the dark. I know for a fact he can not penetrate our mental shields if we have them in place, but he could possibly crack newly formed shields like Obi-Wan's . I won't be able to tell him what we have planned for fear of Sidious intercepting it through the force. That's the worse part of the force, the dark can still penetrate it and suck knowledge from those who possess it. Sidious is strong in that ability. It is for the best that we leave Obi-Wan, Mother, and my nephew in the dark about our plans. Their thoughts might bleed through to Sidious before he got in the room. We all will keep our shields in place. I had mine opened for Obi-Wan, but he seems a little stressed with me and is shielding anyway."
"Yes, I think the poor child blames himself for being a humanitarian?"
"Excuse me?"
Jinn thought that quite possibly all the Jedi there were displeased with his son right now, yet Master Riddon stood before Qui-Gon and spoke highly of him, almost commending the child for his actions.
"You never told your son how devious this man can be. Obi did what we try to teach everyone of these padawans. He reached his hand out in kindness to find it "bitten" by Sidious. You can't blame Obi-Wan for having a kind heart now can you? How Jedi-like would it have been to turn away from a plea for food and lodging on a sub-zero night that it was? Yes he should have told us about the man in the barn, but he didn't. Obi-Wan did one wrong thing for all the right reasons"
Jinn raised his shields against his padawan and thought shamefully how judgmental he had been of his son, padawan, and an innocent child, "his" Obi.
Of course the child did only good by his actions. He could not be blamed for Sidious' counter-actions of evil. Obi-Wan was guilty of expressing actions of pure goodness.
//I was just too hard on him. I was unfair in my judgment of Obi. As soon as this is over, I will tell him how stupid I have been.//
It was harder now to raise his shields against his padawan. He had kept them opened in hopes of Obi trying to contact him later. Now though, he must shield from Sidious. Every little minute detail to this attempted escape must come together for it to work. They must at all cost keep the plan a secret from Sidious.
###########Five a.m. in the morning############
The guards had abandoned their card game and stopped drinking after another bottle of Jinn's best liquor was removed from the cabinet. They were awake but Jinn wondered how. Their stamina must have been drilled into them by Sidious' threats of punishment for sleeping during sentry duty. That was the only thing Qui-Gon could think of that would cause the men to be able to be awake, some sort of threatened fear.
Master Jinn glanced at his son and painfully walked by the boy, who now was awake. He had looked up almost pleadingly to his master for something, but Jinn could not take the time to find out what the child wanted. When Obi had glanced at his master Qui-Gon could feel a slight begging nudge to his mind from the link shared with his apprentice. Obi wanted to share something with his father but he could not take the chance to here his padawan out by opening his mind to him. Sidious was most assuredly awake thus in tune to the mental messages floating through the force's aura.
The first half of Qui-Gon's plan worked exceedingly well. Better than he could have ever imagined. The three red guards were drunk to the hilt. It took nothing but a small wave of the big master's hand and a mental suggestion of sleep to cause the three to fall off their chairs in peaceful slumber.
The only other three Jedi in the room took the uniforms. They instantly transformed themselves from a drab looking Jedi in mousy brown tunic and leggings to the majestic looking red guard in their elaborate and colorful dress uniforms.
Obi-Wan was wide awake now and watched with great interest what was going on. His master had made his bed in front of the fireplace and Obi-Wan had to throw his bed covers off, as after he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his little balled up fists. He tried daringly to make a connection with his master again.
Jinn whirled on him. He placed his finger to his lips to silence the boy and walked over to him.
"Quiet child."
The tone, a little harsher than Jinn would have liked to have used. Fear had that affect on the big guy when he feared not for his life but for those he was responsible for.
Obi nudged at his master's mind. If he could not actually speak to his dad, he wanted to know what was happening, through the bond link of their minds.
"Jinn would not relent. It was very necessary right now to keep his shields up so Sidious could would not have a clue what lay in wait for him.
The Jedi-transformed red guards positioned themselves close to the door and waited.
Qui-Gon stood by the fireplace but before he did he picked his son up and put him over to the side of the mantle out of the way. A stern look and wave of his hand indicated to the boy he was to keep quiet and stay were he was.
Obi misunderstood his father. He thought the earlier harsh voice and the stern look just now was a reprimand to him. The child mistook his father's fear for him as anger over his mistakes; assumed Jinn's concern was increased disappointment in him.
Sidious opened the door to the common room and the two guards who stood outside followed him in and closed the doors.
"Did you think on it Master Jinn? Do you have your decision ready for me?"
"Yes, I will tell you at break-fast."
"I think I am the one in charge here Master Jinn and I have decided I don't have time to sit down and have a formal meal with you. Make your choice be known and we will gather ourselves together and be on our way. Of course that is not to say we won't be back again and possibly very soon. I may find that your gift today will not be enough. If you choose wisely, it might be enough to soothe my anger with you. Now what shall it be? You watch your mother and your nephew die or let me take your son. It's up to you, all up to you now. I mean you have let your brother down already and he met his death. Do you plan to allow another of your family meet their death by my hands?"
Qui-Gon would have gladly choked the man to death for his words alone. However his hurt could not come before the lives of those there. He had to be strong.
Still though for the master to get the words past his lips, that he would give up his son to Sidious to spare his mother and nephew was very difficult.
Mistakenly Qui-Gon hesitated and in that instance of indecisiveness, Sidious motioned for the red guard to his left to grab Damien and he did.
"Now Master Jinn let's see. Maybe I will kill one of them and ask you again to give me your choice. I want to hear the choice you make loud and clear."
The blaster from the Dark lord's belt was drawn and pointed right at the temple of the young man.
Still Qui-Gon could not say the words.
"Very well Master Jinn. I hoped to hear the very words from your mouth, to feel the pain it caused to your very soul. However I sense you incapable of making that choice. Let me warn you, the fate of all those here at the temple has been sealed by your cowardice. I don't have any more time to play games, but I do very much want to watch your reaction to me killing your nephew.. You can't save him anymore than you could save his father."
Jinn actually heard the trigger on the blaster activate before he yelled.
"STOP I have made my decision. I don't want my mother or Damien harmed. I have not been with this one very long; not even long enough to have grown close to him. Take him instead of my family. Take Obi-WanKenobi."
Jinn walked over to Obi-Wan and when his father went to grab him, Obi's fear made him struggle with his father. Although it was killing Qui-Gon he had to act out this cruel and heartless ruse. He paid no heed to the kicking and screaming child. The false proclamation of no love for his son, reverberated back through Qui-Gon's very soul as he spoke the lies.
Qui-Gon could not tell if Obi-Wan's mind opened out of a need to link with him or fear had caused them to open. That strengthened his premise that Obi-Wan could not have been told of the pending plan. It didn't make the master feel any better to know he had been correct in holding out on his son..
He felt the Obi's frantic nudging of their shared bond to be allowed to penetrate the master's shields and let him see what was truly going on. Did his father mean what he said? Was he to be forfeited for the other two Jinns? His unworthiness sunk into like a knife to the little boy. Obi-Wan's struggles eased somewhat and the assault he launched on his master's shields now stopped abruptly.; no more attempts to seek comfort from the man he thought he loved.
Just then Qui-Gon flashed a knowing look to the other Jedi. Sidious had one hand on Obi-Wan when the Jedi made their move. The attack on the guards on either side of the dark one was not a problem, now that the Jedi were armed again.. It only took the three Jedi a couple quick thrusts forward and accurate slicing toward the guards to take them down. The Jedi saber abilities far exceeded those of the Red guard.
However in the melee, Jinn had lost his grip on Obi's arm. Damien had struggled lose from his captor, but now Sidious had the other child, Obi-Wan.
"Well Master Jinn I think your little plan has backfired on you. Now you all will surely die."
Suddenly Obi-Wan kicked the leg of the dark lord then followed it with yet another kick higher and in a more delicate spot. Jinn watched as if in slow motion as Sidious pulled something from his pocket. Was it another weapon? Qui-Gon didn't know, but he wasn't going to take the chance that it was.
Sidious finally released the grip on the child as he flung him down out in the hall. Even before the other guards could respond in any way, Sidious threw a foul smelling smoke screen ball., chaos ensued.
Everyone was fighting everyone and not sure who anyone was. The Jedi quickly attacked the other two guards and the other Jedi from the dining hall ran out in the hall to assist in any way they could.
As the smoke began to clear, the Jedi realized they had been successful in foiling Darth Sidious' attempt to destroy them.
They managed to capture all the red guard. Darth Sidious though, escaped easily through the cloak of the smoke screen that hid his exist.
Obi-Wan had wandered to the steps there in the hall and leaned his head against the banister. He tried to put the memory of his father's spoken admission that he cared nothing for him out of his mind. // I have not been with this one very long; not even long enough to have grown close to him. Take him instead of my family.//
Obi-Wan unwillingly heard that statement over and over in his mind.
//HIM! He meant me. My master gave me to Sidious to save his nephew and Mom, his real family. I'm am nothing to him but his apprentice and I guess apprentices don't come before blood relatives.//
Obi-Wan was in too much shock from all this to even cry. He sat and hung to the railing as if he would be magically swept away by the tumultuous turmoil that swirled around him, if he did not cling to something.
Jinn finally got everything under control enough to look for his son. There sat Obi-Wan huddled against the banister railing with his little head hung.
Jinn thought everything would be alright once they both opened their bond and Obi-Wan could see his plan. Qui-Gon cautiously and slowly opened their shared bond so as not to startled the boy. He tried to regain access to Obi's mind but Obi's mind was still shielded; If possible by stronger shields than before. Qui-Gon was not even sure the child had felt the mental nudge as Jinn attempted unsuccessfully reentry to his son's mind.. He certainly didn't give any indication he did. Just as Jinn stepped toward Obi, his mother came running to him.
"I told you son. Your brother Amos would have been proud of you today. I knew that one could never replace Damien in our lives. You have vindicated your brother's death by saving his son."
Master Jinn did not have to the time to get into it with his mother. He only wanted to explain things to his apprentice, his son, his life. Somewhere though in the back of his mind he stored his mother's words to later bring them to the forefront of his memory later.. Myra, caught in the moment, would later regret her own words to her son.
Qui-Gon ignored his mother and stepped toward his son again. Obi-Wan raised himself up.
"Obi, please let me speak to you or open your side of the bond, so you can see my true intent as to what happened here."
Obi-Wan stood in fear of his own father. If he could give him to the sith what else would this cruel and evil master do to him if he ever made another mistake.
"I will never open that stupid bond again. You will just put lies there so I will believe some bizarre excuse. Jedi masters can do that I bet. You don't love me and you never did. I don't know why you ever wanted me, except maybe to be some dumb ole Jedi that I'm not going to be, no matter what you say."
Obi-Wan screamed uncontrollably at his master. Tears streamed down his face, as he surveyed the entire hall with his father and the others assembled there.
Master Riddon instructed the others to continue tying up the red guard captives and he ushered the padawans in the common room. He attempted to make this catastrophic confrontation Master Jinn and his son were saddled with, a little more private.
Myra and Damien looked on, satisfied that all the mayhem Obi-Wan created would once and for all put an end to the nonsense idea of Qui-Gon to keep the child with him. Even Bruck was pleased that Obi-Wan got his just rewards and he didn't have to lift a finger to do it. He actually had to be physically pushed through the common room doors by Master Riddon to stop his persistent observation at the two.
Just as Qui-Gon tried to pull the boy to him in a loving embrace, the hysterical-crying Obi-Wan pulled from his father's grasp and ran upstairs.
The last words spoken by is son as he ran up the stairs would stay in Qui-Gon's mind for a long time. Obi-Wan's voice seemed to echo through the large anteroom and hall of the temple. They bounced off every wall and resonated from every corner until they reached and settled on Qui-Gon Jinn seemingly exclusively.
"I HATE YOU FATHER. Do you hear me? I hate you, with all that I thought I loved you with, my heart and soul."
PEACE ewen
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