Obi-wan must teach an abused padawan to trust him
AU: Pre clone war Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master, there is no Anakin, and Qui-Gon is dead
Rating: R for sexual content and mention of child molestation
Disclaimer: Naovi Redsun and Dal Bantalian are my creations. Everyone else belongs to George Lucas
krillball6-Of Course she went even though she knows it's a trap. How can she not?
Antoinette-I recently allowed my email address to be displayed so please email me the picture, I'm dying to see it.
Chapter 24
"There it is," Naovi said as the planet loomed before her. "Hoth. Twelve degrees below freezing during the day, thirty below at night." Chills went up her spine as she thought about it. R7 beeped at her questioningly.
"No I'm positive that's where Obi-Wan is being held. And no I will not change my mind about this." She felt cold as she entered the planet's atmosphere. He was here. The man she feared more then anything in the world.
"Don't let your fear control you," she whispered. "Calm, passive, let the force flow through you." She let the words she'd heard so many times repeat themselves over and over in her head as she flew the X-Wing around the planet all the while trying to determine Obi-Wan's exact location. The wind was very harsh and was making visibility difficult. R7 let out a squeal letting her know that he had picked up on something. She opened her eyes and saw a large gray mass in the distance.
"A ship," she said. "Possibly Obi-Wan's. Hang on, I'm gonna go in for a closer look." With the ease of a professional pilot she brought the ship down. Obi-Wan always let her fly whenever they were on missions. She'd learned to fly almost before she learned to walk. That's how it was on her home planet. Funny, she couldn't remember the name of her home planet, she even had difficulty remembering her parents faces, but never was there a time when she couldn't remember knowing how to fly a ship. She felt Obi-Wan's presence near the ship but she knew he wasn't there. She brought the xwing to a stopped and pushed the hangar open. The icy wind cut right through her robes and chilled her to the bone. She ignored it and fought her way through the wind to the ship. It was damaged badly, as though the entire front engine had been yanked out. No way this ship could fly. Obi-Wan had been here, of that she was sure. She stretched out and tried to lock onto his presence. He was close. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the snow and saw a large cave about twenty yards away. Obi-Wan was in there. She knew it. She turned to the droid that was trundling his way toward her.
"R7," she said. "Get on board and do an analysis of all the systems. I want to know if there's any power left in the batteries." The little droid beeped an affirmative and trundled away. Naovi sucked in a deep breath and started the long walk to the caves.
Obi-Wan gritted his teeth and tried not to scream as another blast of blue force lightning hit him. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He felt as though his insides were on fire. Suddenly it stopped. Obi-Wan lifted his head wearily from the ground. Bantalian was looking away from him into the distance.
"She is here," he said in delight. "She has come." With a swirl of his black cape he was gone.
"No," Obi-Wan whispered. "Oh no. Naovi, go back. Get away from here." He was unconscious before the words were out of his mouth.
Her chest ached as she wove her way through the jagged rocks. Obi-Wan was in pain. It was so overwhelming.
"Don't give in," she whispered to herself. "You must not give in." She kept walking using her connection to Obi-Wan to guide her way. The cave was dark and she had to feel her way. She was close.
'No,' she suddenly heard Obi-Wan's voice in her head. 'Naovi, go back. Get away from here.' The last words ran off as though his thoughts had been cut off.
"Hang on Master," she said.
'Is there any point in saving him?' another voice popped into her head. She cringed at the voice she knew all too well.
'This is between us Bantalian. Let Obi-Wan go,' she sent back.
'Sacrificing yourself for him,' he scoffed. 'A very noble thing to do. Obi-Wan has taught you well'
'I will not turn,' she sent back harshly. 'You'll have to kill me'
'Oh come now my dear, must it come to that? There are so many more easy ways.' Quick and easy, she thought, the path to the darkside.
'What can the Jedi offer you, my dear. Nothing but a life of serving others, never having anything you want, never being appreciated for what you do, never being loved. This is not what you want. You have never wanted it." Naovi felt her throat close as images filled her mind. Images of the past. She saw a little girl standing in front of the Jedi Temple, her eyes wide and fearful.
"I don't like this place," she whimpered to the tall woman standing beside her.
"Now, now Naovi, you mustn't be emotional," her father said to her. "It is a great honor for you to be here. To learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi. A guardian of the galaxy"
"Don't leave me," she begged.
"Hush," her father said harshly. "Do not act like a child. You dishonor the Redsun name with your antics. Now you will stay here and you will learn all there is to know. You will bring honor to us." Her mother bent down and kissed her cheek.
"Learn all there is to know, my daughter," she said. Then letting go of her hands her parents turned away and got into their speeder. Naovi felt tears running from her eyes as she watched the child that used to be her running after the speeder crying and begging them not to leave her.
'It was never what you wanted. They didn't even aske what you wanted, they simply made the choice and left you'
'It wasn't what I wanted then, but I changed'
'You think the Jedi will let you be together? Master and Padawan. You've given them so much already, do you really want to give up the man you love?' She felt herself be swept away though this time she was not merely an observer. She was no longer in an icy frozen cave. She could feel the warm sun on her bare arms and she was standing on a balcony staring out at a lake. She knew that lake. She was back on Java Cruz, only not at a room at an inn. She was in a house. Her house. She took a step inside and stared around. It was beautiful. Cream colored sofas and a deep brown wood tables with bright flowers on them. A fire crackled in the fireplace. A cool breeze blew in from the window ruffling the curtains.
"My love, it's getting chilly out," he said behind her. Her heart leapt in her chest as she saw him come from another room and hurry to close the windows. He looked different. His hair was shorter, and he was clean shaven. Instead of Jedi robes he wore a dark green tunic and gray trousers. And on his left hand there was a ring. A plain gold band. With a start she looked down at her left hand and saw a matching band. "We're married," Naovi thought to herself in wonderment. Glancing at the mantle above the fireplace she saw a portrait. She was standing next to Obi-Wan and she wore a long white dress. Both persons in the portrait looked so happy. Suddenly she could remember the wedding as though it had happened yesterday. She'd been so happy and so in love. And he had looked at her with so much love in his eyes.
"My darling you are trembling," he said to her coming over and wrapping her in his arms. She felt so loved and so safe there.
"You mustn't get chilled," he said. "You or the little one." Little one! her thoughts jumped as Obi-Wan's hands ran down her arms to touch her swollen belly.
'I'm pregnant,' she thought touching her abdomen, feeling the life inside her.
"Daddy," a sleepy voice said from behind them. Obi-Wan released her and turned toward the voice. Tears threated to choke her as she stared at the child. He was so beautiful. Unruly gold hair covered his head, and he giggled as Obi-Wan swept him into his arms. He turned and stared at her and Naovi gasped as her own dark eyes looked back at her.
'He's mine,' she thought. 'This is my son. Mine and Obi-Wan's.' Tears fell from her eyes as she watched her husband and her son.
'You can have all of this. The man, the home, the children. It can be yours'
'But at what cost?' she asked herself. This world was a dream. A wonderful dream but it wasn't real.
'It could be real.' She felt her heart ache as she placed her hands over her belly. It could all be hers if she simply gave in. If she wasn't a Jedi.
"No," she said out loud. "I'll never join you. I am a Jedi." The images disappeared and she was back in the cave. Feeling as though she'd suddenly been released for a trap she hurried forward. She saw a bit of light ahead of her and hurried toward it. She squinted against the light. When her eyes had adjusted she scanned the cave and found her master. "Obi-Wan," she gasped hurrying toward his side. He was badly injured. Blood gushed from a cut on his forehead, and his left arm appeared to be broken. But that was not the worst of it. He was covered with burns that could only have come from Force lightning and he was absolutuely freezing.
"Obi-Wan, wake up," she said running her fingers down his face.
"Well, well, well," his voice said behind her. Her shoulders tensed as she rose and turned to face her old master.
"We meet again my young apprentice. You are as lovely as ever"
"Indeed," Naovi said. "And the mere sight of you makes me ill"
"Now now. Let us be civil"
"Let's not," Naovi said igniting her lightsaber.
"You try my patience my young padawan. Do you really think you can defeat me"
"I'm not your padawan anymore," she said harshly.
"I could hurt you, Redsun. I could hurt you very badly"
"There is nothing you can do to me that you have not already done. Let's finish this once and for all"
"You don't have to die. I will give you one last chance. Join me"
"Go to hell." She fell backwards as the lightning bore down on her. She caught most of it on her lightsaber but she was still going to have a nasty burn on her forearm. She dug her feet into the ground as he shot his force lightning at her. Finally it stopped, but it started again and she struggled agasint the pressure. Her arms were burning from the exertion. She fell backwards onto the ground but she held her lightsaber in front of her. She sighed with releif as the attack abated.
"Seems appropriate somehow," Bantalian said pulling his lightsaber from his belt. Naovi got to her feet. Last time she had fought him she'd barely escaped with her life.
'That's not who you are anymore,' she reminded herself. She watched as the bright red blade popped out with a hiss. He lunged at her and she blocked him. He drove her backwards she attacked back.
'No anger,' she thought. He knocked her lightsaber out of her hand and she rolled away to seize it before he could. She ducked out of the way as he slashed his blade toward her throat. He lifted his blade high to strike and she raised her arms to block him. Suddenly a blast of lightning hit her in the chest. She flew through the air and landed hard on the rock. She did a quick inventory of her injuries, and found none of them fatal. As Batalian approached her she realized her lightsaber was missing. She spotted it several feet away. She started to crawl toward it but stopped as Bantalian sent a kick to her ribs the knocking the wind out of her. He kicked her shoulder so that she rolled over onto her back.
"You could have joined me," he said. "Instead you chose death. Goodbye young Redsun." As he raised his saber to strike her her lightsaber flew into her hand and she stabbed upward running him through his chest. Bantalian's eyes widened in shock and his arms dropped lifelessly to his sides. Naovi let out a gasp of relief as her former master's body crumpled. She rolled over and got to her feet. She drug herself over to Obi-Wan's unconscious form. Summoning a strength she did not know she possesed she lifted his body and half dragged, half carried him from the caves. It felt like forever until they reached the ship.
"R7," she shouted. She heard a beep.
"What's the status of the ship." The little droid went into a series of beeps and trills. The ship couldn't fly, as she'd suspected but all other systems were working just fine.
"Get the heaters going, full blast," she ordered as she laid Obi-Wan down on a cot. She would have to send the Council a message to come get them, but she needed to take care of Obi-Wan first. She stripped him of his wet clothes and wrapped him in every blanket she could find. She applied a bandage to the cut on his forehead and splinted his broken arm. Then she rubbed a salve on his numerous burns. Once the heaters kicked in and she had tended to his injuries she summoned the droid again.
"I need to send a transmission to Coruscant." There was another series of beeps and trills and finally she saw a holo of Master Yoda.
"Felt the death of Bantalian we did," the Master told her.
"Yes, master," she said. "Bantalian is dead. Obi-Wan is badly injured. Unfortunately the flying circuits of his ship have been damaged. My X-Wing is far to small to carry both of us. I won't leave him. I cannot"
"Send someone to retrieve you we will"
"Thank you master. We are on the fourth planet of the Hoth system"
"Be there in five hours, we should," Yoda said. "To the best of your abilities, tend to obi-Wan until then"
"Yes Master," she said. The comm switched off and she sat back in her chair. Five hours was a long time, but she would have to do the best she could. She stood up and went back to Obi-Wan. He slept peacefully, cocooned in his blankets. She gently ran her hands over his face. How could she not love this man? There was no law that could prevent her from feeling what she felt. But what she did with these feelings was another matter entirely. She trembled as she remember the image that Bantalian had put into her head. She had wanted it so much. But to give into her desires would have cost her dearly. Qui-Gonn had asked her if she would be able to sacrifice Obi-Wan. If this wasn't the sacrifice she was supposed to make, to become a full Jedi then she didn't want to know what was. For giving up the man she loved had been the most painful thing she'd ever had to do.
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