Chapter Three



Obi-Wan felt as if he had fallen ten stories from an extremely fast speeder. His brain did not want to seem to wake fully and his vision was slightly blurry. He saw people walking around him but couldn't place where he was or what he was doing there. He tried to move, but found that he was strapped down so tightly that he couldn't.

"Ah, awake at last I see, young Kenobi. Welcome back to the land of the living." The voice that addressed him sounded both cold and amused at the same time. "How are you feeling?"

Obi-Wan blinked but his vision did not clear. "I...can't see..."

"Just giving you a bit of practice for how you'll have to learn to live without eyesight," the cold voice said as it jammed a neural stimulator directly into the padawan's eyes. "Have you ever heard of a neural stimulator?"

Obi-Wan suddenly felt a chill run down his back. "No..." He didn't think he wanted to either.

"Well, live and learn," the voice said. "The Jedi are always going on about learning something, aren't they?" He flicked on the red button on the thin silver rod that he held at Obi-Wan's eyes.

It felt as if someone were melting his eyes. Obi-Wan's back arched and he screamed so loudly that he thought for sure that someone in the next ten blocks would hear him. The pain...all his world was pain... Master...oh Force....the pain the pain the pain....Master help me help me the pain the pain....

"Well, I see we learned something today, didn't we, young one? So, not so arrogant after all, are we?" The rod was jammed into Obi-Wan's stomach next and the button was flicked without a second's hesitation.

The pain moved to his stomach and he retched. It felt as if a white blossom of hot pain had struck his stomach muscles, clenching them so tightly that he was soon dry heaving with nothing left in his stomach at all.

"Pain without bodily damage," the voice said cheerfully. "Most ingenious, don't you think? Deliberate stimulation of the nervous system." The man jammed the rod this time into Obi-Wan's foot and thumbed the button, sending a wave of pain shooting up through the padawan's body.

Obi-Wan felt tears running down his face but his world was blackness. The pain hit his brain and he had just registered that it was located in his foot when he mercifully passed out.

The man sighed deeply. "Blast. I wasn't ready for you to pass out yet." He reached for a stimulant and pressed the syringe into the padawan's arm. "You won't escape that easily, Jedi."

Obi-Wan gasped as he was forced awake. "What in the Sith do you want?" was the first thing that Obi-Wan said as his addled brain told him that he had been out of it for not even ten seconds.

"Tsk tsk, Kenobi, swear a Jedi should not," the voice said mockingly.

"What do you want!" Obi-Wan bit out, almost in a shout. He felt mentally and physically exhausted, and pain radiated to him from every pore. He tried to accept it like a Jedi should, to make it part of himself, but he found he was too angry to focus properly. With an effort, he forced the anger down and away from himself.

"For you to die," the cruel voice remarked pleasantly. The neural stimulator had been replaced by a long sliver of metal which he jammed into the padawan's side.

Obi-Wan gasped as the sliver punctured his body and slid into him. "Why..." he forced out, so low that it was nearly inaudible.

"You kept me from getting something I wanted, Kenobi. You directed your Master's attention to me when he otherwise would've ignored what I was doing." The sliver went deeper in the padawan's side.

Obi-Wan cried out and tried to squirm away from the sliver, though he knew it would do nothing to help. "I don't even know who you are! Pathetic to hurt someone who doesn't even know who you are," he gasped out. He prayed to the Force that if he irritated this man then perhaps he would be able to pass out.

The man sighed, exasperated. "True indeed, young Kenobi. My name is Z'ahrien. If you don't remember me, that's too bad."

Obi-Wan felt his eyes widen, though he still could not see. Remember Z'ahrien he did indeed. He had convinced Qui-Gon to prosecute Z'ahrien for what everyone else had believed to be 'accidental' deaths that the Force had told Obi-Wan was in fact intentional. Qui-Gon, after hearing his padawan out, had agreed and Z'ahrien had been found guilty... Obi-Wan frowned. "You were sentenced to death! Why are you still alive?"

"I am not such a fool as to explain my every resource to you, young apprentice. If I gave my secrets away no doubt you would thwart me. I have no intention of letting that occur twice."

"I didn't thwart you! You were guilty of thirty-five people burning to death!" Obi-Wan yelled, losing his temper.

"So I shall add one more to the list," the man replied with sudden venom in his voice.

Obi-Wan felt the Force prickling around him. Master!!He tried to brace himself, not knowing what was coming.

"Time for you to die," Z'aherin said. The man pushed a button and the table Obi-Wan was strapped to began to heat underneath him.

Obi-Wan involuntarily flinched away from the source of heat. He yelled until he was hoarse as he felt the flesh on his backside begin to blister and burn. Idly, his brain thought, I was just healed for burns on my chest...Healer Anya will not be happy about this... Then his yells became a silent scream of pain that blocked all thought and left him in a cage of misery until he sank so deeply into unconsciousness that he was aware of nothing.

Z'aherin sighed. He didn't want to kill the apprentice yet. He still had too much left to do. It was regrettable that the apprentice had passed out so soon. He barked a harsh order and two servants quickly unstrapped Obi-Wan from the table and carried him off.

Obi-Wan's mental scream sliced through her mind. Lana winced and staggered, noticing vaguely that Kyran had staggered as well. They were both back at the Temple, having just parked the speeders. She glanced at her husband. As one, they said, "Qui-Gon." They raced through the Temple, ignoring the stares they were drawing in their unJedilike apparel. Finally, they skidded to a halt outside Qui-Gon's room.

"Un...lock..." Lana panted as Anya came up to them. Glancing at them, without saying a word, she obeyed. Lana and Kyran ran into Qui-Gon's room and to their un-complete surprise saw him awake.

Qui-Gon's jaw was set and his arms folded across his chest in a very stubborn manner. He didn't look in their direction as they came in the room. He was struggling to control his anger at being sedated against his will and rendered helpless while his padawan was in so much pain.

Lana glanced at her friend. "Qui-Gon, we..."

"I don't want to hear it," he said coldly, in a voice that sounded like he was recovering quite nicely but still had a little farther to go.

Lana was scared at the look on his face so she quieted.
Kyran, however, plowed on. "Qui-Gon, the healers did what was needed. We didn't find Obi-Wan, but we think that his captors..."

"They're killing him," Qui-Gon replied in the same cold tone. "And I am forcefully being imprisoned against my will while my padawan requires my assistance. 'The healers do what is best', do they? " He laughed humorlessly. "I fail to see how letting my Obi-Wan get killed is for 'the best'."

"You need rest," Lana started to say, a firm tone to her voice, gaining her confidence again.

"And exactly how am I supposed to get any rest while my padawan's pain is so strong it can disrupt even the medications that I was given?" he shot back darkly.

Lana swallowed, unable to come up with an answer. If even she felt Obi-Wan's pain with having little talent or training then it spoke volumes to what the poor boy was going through...and what Qui-Gon had felt.
Kyran, though, felt the stirrings of anger. "Look," he told his best friend, "we went to where he went last to try to find him. All we found was blood and a syringe. Nothing can be done right now..."

"I'm not interested, Josel," Qui-Gon said flatly. "If you don't trust me enough to include me in this investigation then you don't need to be telling me anything, obviously. You kept me under, forcefully preventing me from assisting my padawan into a healing trance, or any other sort of assistance at all."

Kyran folded his arms. "I did not know that Obi-Wan was in that much danger. Usually padawans are not harmed, or not by much, while the master is contacted by the captors. It was not done on purpose or against you, Qui- Gon. You're acting childish."

"Is that so, Jedi Josel? Well, maybe it might surprise you, but as his Master I have a link with the boy. I can get a fix on his location, as well as feel his pain. You did not have the knowledge because you did not request, or want, my assistance," Qui-Gon snapped.

"You're taking this the wrong way," Kyran snapped back, his face heating. "You were really injured and needed the rest. And if left to your own, irresponsible self you would have neglected yourself. Again! You cannot sit there and tell me that your body did not need it!"

"Kyran..." Lana said, trying to calm him down, but when he glared at her, she quieted once more.

Qui-Gon's gaze hardened in anger. "So, that's the root of the issue is it? I am irresponsible and need to be looked after. I see. Perhaps you don't see this, Jedi Josel, but I did earn my title of Master and I am one for a reason. I am fully capable of looking after myself and I don't appreciate being treated like a padawan. What my personal choices are are mine own. Obi-Wan is young and has his whole life to live. Mine is insignificant in comparison. I would rather see him live a full life. Mine has been full enough." He winced suddenly at the pain in his throat. He'd been talking for a good while.

Kyran fairly boiled. In a deadly quiet voice, he said, "So, you are saying that I do not have my title of master yet because I have not earned it? I have not risked life and death for others? I have not lived the Jedi Code? Is that what you are insinuating?"

Lana stepped in front of Qui-Gon. "Look, you two..."

"No, Lana," Qui-Gon said coldly. He directed his next comment to Kyran. "That is not what I'm insinuating at all. You took it out of context. I think you know perfectly well what I meant. And in case you missed it, what I meant was that it should be obvious to you that I don't need a babysitter. I can make my own personal choices."

Kyran pointed a finger at his friend and it shook with repressed anger. "You make your choices then, and the next time that you end up dead because of them, I won't mourn you." His commlink buzzed and he barked into it, "What?!"

Qui-Gon's jaw dropped for a second, startled at what his friend had just said to him. Then he ruthlessly pushed his deeply hurt feelings behind his iron mental shields. His face smoothed out and became an unreadable mask. Kyran's sharp words had hurt him deeply. He reached out to the Force, blocking Kyran out of his mind: something he hadn't done since he was a very young knight.

Kyran glared at him as he waited for the person on the comlink to respond. He felt what his friend had done.
Lana was in shock. She had seen them upset before, but never like this.

"Rude that was," Yoda's voice finally said on the other end of the comm. "Rein in your anger you will."

Kyran groaned inwardly. Of all the Jedi Masters to call... "Apologies, Master Yoda," he said contritely. "I was trying to explain to Qui-Gon about personal responsibility. As usual he hasn't seemed to learn. I need to see you, and preferably the whole Council," he changed tracks. "Obi-Wan is missing."

"Aware of that I am. Danger Obi-Wan is in. Seen it, I have."

Kyran was nodding. "Did you see...the outcome?" Despite his anger at his friend, he glanced at Qui-Gon in concern.

"Clouded Obi-Wan's future is...but his death I saw," Yoda said in a worried voice.

Lana gasped; she couldn't help herself. Obi-Wan was a sweet boy who tried hard not to anger anyone or make enemies. "Who...who would kill him? Why?" she whispered, half in shock.

Qui-Gon grabbed the comlink from Kyran, determined not to be left out of the conversation. "I request permission to be allowed to look for my apprentice, Master Yoda. Especially under these circumstances where my services are needed."

There was a pause. Finally, Yoda said, "Come to the Council all of you should. Discuss this more we will."

Qui-Gon frowned a little at that. "You'll have to get Healer Anya to unlock the door," he said, a trifle irritated.

Anya, forgotten at the door, smiled weakly. "It will be locked no longer."

"I will be there as soon as I can get out of these horrible clothes, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon promptly said.

The aged Jedi Master gave a soft sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Delay, you should not. Waiting for you we will be." Then the comlink was off.

Kyran turned to face his friend. "We'll be waiting outside," he said stiffly. He grabbed Lana's arm and guided her out of the room.

Qui-Gon nodded curtly and changed back into his own clothes, grateful that the small Master had agreed with him. He headed out where he found Lana and Kyran waiting for him.

Lana walked between the two silent Jedi as they got in a turbolift to the Council chambers. It was a tense silence all the ride up. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She jabbed the emergency stop button and they bounced to a halt. Ignoring the two men's surprised looks, she rounded on them and said, "Look, both of you have been friends since you were very little. You've been through a lot together—you've nearly died for each other in time's past. Now you are both acting more childish than I've ever seen you! "Kyran!" She pointed at her husband. "While some of what you said needed to be said, it should not have been said in your tone of voice and manner. And your last comment was entirely unnecessary.
"Qui-Gon!" Now she pointed at him. "Search your feelings and not your anger when you think of the concern of your friends and the healers. It was a mistake: we've learned that now, but did not know it then. Can't you two just forgive each other? Obi-Wan would want you to be united to find him." A tear coursed down her cheek, but she did not back down.

"How would I know what my padawan would want? I'm just his Master," Qui-Gon said grumpily, wincing as his throat started bothering him. He hoped silently that it wouldn't embarrass him in front of the Council.

Lana narrowed her eyes, yet her tone was gentle. "Oh, Qui, don't do this to yourself or us. You know Obi-Wan better than any of us because of your bond. Can you two please forgive each other?"

"Perhaps after we rescue my apprentice," he said, trying to figure out how to start the lift tube again. "Right now every minute we are delayed endangers his life. I will be happy to discuss things at a later date."

Lana sighed, but knew that for now that was as good as she'd get. Easily, she punched the turbolift controls and they started sliding smoothly up again. "At least act civil toward each other," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"I am being civil," Qui-Gon said dryly. "We haven't killed each other, have we?"

Lana snickered in spit of herself, and she noticed Kyran hiding a smile as the doors opened.

Qui-Gon tucked his arms into the sleeves of his robe as he stood in the center of the Council room a little distance away from Lana and Kyran. He bowed deeply to the Council.

Master Yoda noticed the distance but refrained from commenting. "Great danger we sense. Time to waste we have not. Find you anything, Knight Josel?"

Kyran stepped forward and shook his head. "We discovered he was not in the warehouse that we had hoped he would be in. There was an echo of his pain where we discovered a syringe and a bloodstain."

Lana promptly took the syringe out of her pocket and held it up for the Masters to see. She felt a slight tug in the Force and released it as Mace Windu called it to him to examine it.
After a moment, the dark-skinned Jedi breathed, "I know where these are made."

Qui-Gon frowned curiously at Mace. "Where? Do you think he was taken where those were made?"

"Difficult to see it is," Yoda said. The three Jedi standing in the middle of the room turned to see him, his chin pointed up slightly, his eyes closed, as he shifted through the future of the Force. "Certain nothing is."

"I request to go immediately and look for him," Qui-Gon said, ignoring the fact that he was still technically supposed to remain in the Healer's wing and not authorized for release outside of the Temple.

Yoda's eyes snapped open. "Released you are not," the little troll pointed out.

Kyran took a step forward. "Masters, I believe that Qui-Gon..." he glanced at his friend "...that he should go. He's the only one that really help find Obi-Wan. If we go to where the syringes are made and Obi-Wan is on planet, Qui-Gon would know. I ask that he accompany us."

"He still has healing to do." Mace frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I sense that you had a discussion about this before you arrived. He is to stay behind."

Now Lana stepped beside her husband and her eyes were fierce. "Obi- Wan could die in the time it would take for us to find him!" She cried bluntly. "Qui-Gon needs to come, Masters. Obi-Wan will need him."
After a moment, Mace sighed deeply. "Very well. You are authorized to go look for your apprentice. We require you check in with the Healers every twelve hours, and with us."

Kyran and Lana bowed. "Thank you, Masters," they chorused in relief. Neither wanted to think of Qui-Gon breaking out of the healers again.

Qui-Gon bowed to the Council and headed out. He was very irritated at the need to check in every few hours like he was an initiate incapable of taking care of himself. Kyran speaking up on his behalf had surprised him, especially considering the animosity that had happened between them before the Council meeting.

"Qui! Wait up!" Lana shouted as she and Kyran left the Council as well. "When you left, Mace told us to go to the planet Dangree. We are cleared to leave as soon as we are able."

"Good," he said shortly. "I suppose I'll check in with the Healers before I leave." He clenched his teeth at the idea.

"Well, the Jedi Council gave you permission to leave so they can't make you stay, right?" Lana tried to cheer him up, smiling uncertainly.

He half-smiled in return, appreciating her positive outlook. "Yes. I'll go get my things together. I'll be ready in twenty minutes."

Lana seemed relieved that he wasn't going to yell at her. "Kyran will get us a ship while I run and get our things together." She glanced at Kyran and he nodded.

Qui-Gon nodded and headed for his quarters to pack his things.