The Other Side of Infinity

Part 5: Swords and Lightsabers

Obi-Wan's message only confirmed what Qui-Gon and Wari already knew. They had to find the boys as quickly as possible. Once the small light on Qui-Gon's transponder faded, and they were certain that the younger Jedi could not hear them, they set off, jogging in easy rhythm just a bit faster than the pace Qui-Gon had been keeping before. Qui-Gon led, following the bright beacon of Obi-Wan's spirit.

"Your apprentice has a noble heart," the Seeker said. "He can't have known Matio for more than a day, and already he appoints himself the boy's guardian and keeper."

Qui-Gon nodded. "When Obi-Wan acts on impulse, it is always to help another. Though he sometimes puts himself in undue danger, I don't have the heart to blame him much."

Wari's smile was sweet and nostalgic. He began to speak of his own boy's actions out of such impulses. It was evident to the Jedi that his companion missed his apprentice very much, and was sick with worry for him. He wanted—needed—to talk. Qui-Gon was glad to listen, and was not very surprised to learn that their two youngsters had a great deal in common.

Gradually the Seeker revealed more about his own world, and told the long story of how he had come to be here, desperate to find his apprentice before the assassin called Namágol did. As Qui-Gon gathered the differences between their two worlds, he was impressed by how quickly the other man had adjusted to this strange place. He had not seemed a bit startled or frightened by the transponder, the comlink, or the lightsaber Qui-Gon had briefly ignited to cut a path through an overgrown patch of briars. But then, there seemed to be much that was inexplicable in Wari's own world. This magic amulet, for instance.

"The amulet drew on the power of life," Wari explained softly. The horror of that moment, when his apprentice was torn from the world he knew, was plain on the Seeker's face. "My Second Sight let me see as all of the life for ten paces around was gathered to the jewel, like thick threads of dark green. From the trees, bushes, small animals, the very air—even from me. When the jewel had drawn as much as it could, the dark green changed color, to a sharp, angry red, and burst outward.

"I collapsed—some of my own life-force had been pulled into that terrible working—but quickly regained my senses. The area all around was dark and charred, nothing but parched dirt and rock. It was almost as if a forest fire had swept through, but there were no ashes, no remains of the plants and creatures that had been taken. It was a terrible sight. Life had simply been wiped away, leaving nothing behind. I staggered to the place where Matio and the Shadowhand had been standing, and there, I confess, I fell to my knees and wept like a child. I knew what that man was doing to my apprentice, irrevocably taken out of my reach.

"But the High King whispered to my heart, comforting me, and I stilled myself and listened. He told me that I could go on the same journey. The magic amulet was not necessary for me, for I am a servant of the King, and He guides me and sends me where He wills. I prayed with great fervor that His will would be to send me after my boy. And it was."

"As simple as that?" Qui-Gon asked. Who was this King, to wield such power so casually?

"Well, not quite." Wari's deep chuckle was soothing to the ear and the heart. "The amulet had left a residue of power. I was able to grasp that, offer my own life-force again, and follow the path Namágol had taken. Thus I came here, but I was unconscious for quite a long time. When I woke, I could tell that the Shadowhand no longer had my apprentice—I would have felt Matio's pain and distress through our bond, otherwise—but I did not know where they were. I wandered about in a panic for two or three days, then finally remembered to still myself and listen for my Maker's voice. He sent you to me, and here we are."

Qui-Gon looked at his companion with new concern. By this account, Wari ought be exhausted past all endurance, worn by days of unconsciousness followed by desperation and wandering without sustenance in a world completely alien to him. But the man easily kept pace as they ran, only a bit out of breath, even as he wasted breath in conversation. Wordlessly, Qui-Gon pulled the second to last ration bar from his belt and handed it over. Wari needed it more than he did.

Seeker Wari accepted the food and ate it without comment, making only a small grimace at the first taste. Obviously this wasn't the first time he'd been compelled to subsist on unpalatable fare in the middle of a mission.

"Tell me about your High King," Qui-Gon said after a long, companionable silence in which each had absorbed a great deal of information. "And this Maker. Are they gods on your world?"

"They—or He, rather—are the same Person," Wari said. He did not seem offended by the question. "He is God, yes. We have many names for Him, but only because He is far too vast to be comprehended with only a single word. He is Maker, King, Father, Refuge, and many, many others. Redeemer, Friend, Only God, Highest God, strength and help, comfort . . . Ah, but I see I am confusing you. Have you no concept of this Person here?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "I'm afraid not. There is only the Force." And he did his best, which was considerable, to explain.

"I see," Wari said when the long tale was told. "You do not have a Person here, only an idea that might someday be a Person. This universe has not been liberated yet. Your time will come, I have no doubt. For now, you must walk in the Light that has been given to you."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Yes. We do that."

They continued into the woods, talking, sharing, comprehending as much as they were able. The hours passed quickly, and every step took them closer to their missing apprentices.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you saw water flowing in this direction, huh?"

Matio nodded, eyes wide and sparkling. "The stream was a bit smaller down where I saw it, though."

"No kidding."

The two apprentices stood at the top of an abrupt cliff, looking down the length of a waterfall to the deep pool below. It wasn't a very high cliff, maybe even a little smaller than the waterfall in the Jedi Temple's gardens, but it still made Obi-Wan just a bit nervous. He couldn't help but remember a very bad experience he'd had at that waterfall in the Temple . . . .

"Isn't it beautiful?" Matio asked quietly. "I've never seen one this big, just quiet little ones in the Mingled Forest, back home. We didn't have hills enough to get cliffs this big, not there. The water looks wonderful, misting up like that. Is that a rainbow?"

"It's misting because it's hitting rocks down there," Obi-Wan said. "Looks a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

"Oh, nonsense."

And without another word, Matio got a running start and jumped from the cliff, yelling delightedly as he plummeted toward the water below. In midair he curled himself into a ball, still whooping in exhilaration. He hit the surface of the pool with a resounding splash which sent water flying up much higher than the mist at the foot of the falls.

Obi-Wan jerked back involuntarily, then leaned forward to look over, searching the water for a sign of his friend. After only a moment Matio bobbed up, laughing, golden-brown curls darkened by the water and hanging in his eyes. "Come in, Obi-Wan! It's as wonderful as it looks!"

The young Jedi sat back on his heels, chuckling a little in relief and wonder. He'd never heard Matio laugh before, not a genuine laugh of pleasure. It was a bright, child-like sound.

Matio paddled to the edge of the pool and set his bow and arrows, knife, and cloak up on the grassy bank. Then he pushed away from the edge and floated on his back, still cheerfully calling up to Obi-Wan. "Come in! Just don't jump too far, that's all. As strong as you are, you're liable to miss the rocks and the pool as well!"

Obi-Wan hesitated a moment longer, then gave a mental shrug. "Watch out!" he yelled, then backed up a bit, ran, and jumped.

Hitting the water was like a shock of liquid ice, coolness flowing over and through him. He surfaced with a gasp, laughing as Matio had. Then he turned his face away as the smaller boy splashed him, pushing two handfuls of water into his face. Still he laughed, and splashed back, which of course led to an all-out water fight.

When both were breathless and gasping, Obi-Wan pulled away and swam to the bank to deposit the supplies, his boots, robe, and lightsaber, after checking the laser sword to make sure it was all right. They were technically waterproof, but he couldn't take a chance. This was his only weapon, his only means of protection for both himself and Matio. Satisfied, he pushed back into the pool to thoroughly enjoy the water, as Matio was already doing.

Later they sprawled on the bank, resting, having skinned out of their tunics but left their trousers on in unspoken agreement. They were close friends already, but not that close. Obi-Wan checked over the supplies, reflecting ruefully that he should have remembered that the med kit wasn't waterproof.

"Any damage?" asked Matio, as he draped his tunic and cloak over a few low branches to dry. He stooped over Obi-Wan's garments, his hand hovering, and waited for the Jedi's nod before scooping those up as well and spreading them out to dry in the late afternoon sunlight.

"The self-sealing bandages are soaked," Obi-Wan said. "How's the one on your shoulder? It looks all right."

Matio ran his fingers over it lightly. "It still feels as if it is part of my skin. Self-sealing, you said? A marvelous thing."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I hope we don't need to replace it. These are useless now."

"No worries." Matio plopped down in the mist-wet grass with a contented sigh. "It feels wonderful to be clean again. Your sword was not damaged? I noticed you check it earlier."

"No." Obi-Wan lifted the cylinder to his eye, checked it over critically, dried it on a clump of nearby leaves. "I could swim to the bottom of a lake and it would still be functional. But if the activated blade touches water, it shorts out, and it's useless until I can repair it."

Matio's eyes were still fastened to the lightsaber handle as Obi-Wan rolled it lazily over his fingers. "May . . . may I hold it?" he asked hesitantly. His eyes flicked to the Jedi's face, and he immediately recanted. "No, never mind, I can see that it is most precious to you. It must be a great measure of trust, for a Jedi to allow another to touch his sword."

Obi-Wan's hand had instinctively tightened around his lightsaber at the original question, but he made himself relax. "You're right. A Jedi's lightsaber is his or her most prized possession, the only one we carry with us wherever we go, and feel lost without. I made this 'saber in my twelfth year, while I was waiting to be chosen as a Padawan. It is a long process, making a lightsaber, and a Jedi has to pour a lot of concentration and will into the task. Each one is unique."

Matio nodded thoughtfully. "I have not yet received my own sword. When Seeker Wari and I finally return to the city, to present me to the Seekers' council and get their official confirmation of my apprenticeship, we will visit Wari's friend, Okan Cerno, a renowned smith. I will help in the making of a tibian sword, and be the first to touch its hilt, and when I lift it for the first time, I will know its name." He blinked and smiled slightly, coming out of the reverie. "For now though, I have my bow and arrows."

"And you use them very well indeed," Obi-Wan said earnestly. He looked at the lightsaber in his hand for a moment longer, then gently laid it in Matio's smaller hand. "The button by your thumb," he said, pointing. "Press it once to activate, twice to deactivate."

"So you won't accidentally lose the blade in battle." Matio did not see Obi-Wan's nod, staring at the blue blade as it snap-hissed into existence, humming low with power. The light reflected strangely in his forest-hazel eyes as he turned it this way and that, and swept it very carefully through the air. His smile was broad but quiet, delighted and awed.

He deactivated the lightsaber and placed it reverently in Obi-Wan's hand. "That was amazing. Thank you."

"You didn't seem amazed before," Obi-Wan said. "I mean, when I first met you. From what you've told me about your world, I would expect you to be surprised by the technology here. But you accept everything as a matter of course."

Matio shrugged, then winced a little as the movement sent a twinge through the injured shoulder. "We have swords that glow of their own light in my world, too. And jewels that allow those with a strong connection to communicate across distances. My talent is not the only one—some have talents of healing, or fighting, or moving as you do. But these things are much more rare on Madra. Are they common in this universe?"

"Well, the technology is. But Jedi . . . Jedi are fairly rare. There are not enough of us to mend all the troubles of this galaxy."

"Pity." Matio smiled suddenly, his eyes lighting from within. "I'm glad I met you, Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"And I'm glad I met you, Matio, apprentice to Seeker Wari."

Matio suddenly scrambled to his feet, his eyes widening. "Oh, fewmets," he breathed. "We're in trouble, Obi-Wan. Something's coming this way."

Obi-Wan jumped up, clutching the lightsaber in his fist. He could feel the threat, too, and it turned the inside of his chest to ice. "What is it?"

"Something big. Something really big. And we've invaded its territory. It's not at all happy."

Sith. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, turning in a slow circle to pinpoint the source of the danger. There, from the west, rapidly approaching—and big, really big. The Jedi could hear wood cracking as the approaching creature shoved through.

"Fewmets. I hope we don't have to kill it." Matio had already slung his quiver over his shoulder. He held his bow in his teeth and leaped for a tree, climbing rapidly. Ten meters up the trunk he straddled a thick branch, stringing the bow in one quick motion. "I can see it, Obi-Wan!" he called. "It's not very smart. I don't think I'll be able to ward it off with trickery."

Obi-Wan faced the coming threat, lightsaber held ready in both hands. In just another moment he could see it, too. "Sith! What's a rancor doing on this planet?" Grimly, he quelled his rising panic. He would need all the control and strength he had for this battle.

And then the enraged, slavering creature was upon them.