(A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I was busy with the theater program I was in, and didn't have much time. But now, I'm out of it, and should be able to update regularly again:) Hope you like the chapter!)

Chapter Four: Let the Race Begin!

The next morning, Obi-Wan was up even before Qui-Gon came to wake him. He snuck stealthily over to his door. There was a chance that he could escape before anything happened, and just…lay low for a day or two. Carefully and quietly, Obi-Wan reached out and grasped the door handle. He began to slowly twist his hand… only to find that the door knob wouldn't budge. It was locked.

Obi-Wan stared at it for a moment, and then closed his eyes. He tried to use the force to unlock it, but something was preventing him from doing it. Trust Qui-Gon to come up with force-proof door locks.

Biting back a groan, Obi-Wan backed away and tried to think of something else. Suddenly, he remembered the window. The young padawan rushed over to it, opened the latch, and lifted it up. He stuck his head out—and then quickly drew it back inside. His stomach gurgled nauseously. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep breath… he couldn't be afraid of heights—he was going to be a Jedi! Slowly he stuck his head back out of the window. The world spun dizzyingly, and Obi-Wan had to back away quickly before he threw-up.

Obi-Wan finally realized that there was no way to escape his fate. Sighing, he fell back onto his bed. A split second later he jumped back to his feet. He could cut through the wall with the lightsaber!

Obi-Wan grabbed his lightsaber and ran over to the wall. He crossed his fingers that the walls wouldn't be lightsaber-proof. A smile lit his face when the lightsaber went through… apparently Qui-Gon hadn't thought about this.

xxxxx

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow as the end of a lightsaber began burning its way through his bedroom wall. It seemed that the young padawan had no sense of direction. He smirked, and then leaned on the wall next to the lightsaber, waiting for Obi-Wan to appear. Briefly, he considered stopping the young padawan, but then decided against it. This was just too much fun.

Obi-Wan must have been desperate to try this…

xxxxx

Obi-Wan smiled in triumph as the lightsaber efficiently cut a hole in the wall big enough for him to crawl through. He deactivated the lightsaber and quietly got down onto his hands and knees. Stealthily, he began to creep through the hole. It wouldn't do any good if he woke Qui-Gon up. Obi-Wan held his breath, and finished pulling himself through the hole.

He'd done it! He'd—

Run right into Qui-Gon's room.

Obi-Wan gulped and looked up into the Jedi's face. Oops. "Um… sorry, sir, for ruining your wall… the, uh, lightsaber slipped."

But apparently, Qui-Gon was laughing too hard to care at the moment. Obi-Wan bit his lip and shifted his feet, waiting for Qui-Gon to say something. After a moment, the Jedi regained his breath and said, "Young Kenobi, did I not tell you that I would not tolerate permanent damage done to my apprentice's room? But never mind now; we'll discuss the punishment for that later. At the moment, we have to get ready to go racing." Qui-Gon's eyes sparkled mischievously as Obi-Wan gave him a sulky look. "Come now, young padawan, don't tell me that you're not excited?"

"I can't wait." Obi-Wan said miserably.

"That's the spirit." Qui-Gon seemingly magically produced the helmet that he had given Obi-Wan the night before, (the helmet that Obi-Wan had tried to hide), from behind his back and handed it to him. "Now, let's go."

Obi-Wan stared at him. "Already?"

"Yes, the race begins as soon as everyone is ready, and as far as I know everyone else is there except us."

"Yay." Obi-Wan stared dismally down at the helmet in his hands as he slowly followed Qui-Gon out of the room.

As they made their way down to the area where the race was taking place, Qui-Gon started explaining the rules. "Now, the objective of this race is to crash every other ship. The race isn't over until all of them are crashed but the winner's… if your ship crashes, you're immediately disqualified. Does this sound familiar?"

Obi-Wan stared at Qui-Gon as if he had grown five extra heads. "But…but that's dangerous! Someone could get hurt!"

"Every day you practice with that lightsaber. You could get hurt, right?"

"Well… yes."

"But you still do it, right?"

"Of course, but—"

"It's the same thing with this."

"No, it isn't! I mean… there's … well, I…"

"Besides, you won't be driving… I will be."

Obi-Wan came to an abrupt halt. "W-what?"

Qui-Gon turned back to the young padawan and patiently explained, "Each ship needs two people to control it. One person flies the ship; the other person controls the guns. I'll be flying, you'll be shooting. Any questions?"

Obi-Wan made the best pleading eyes he could and looked tearfully up at Qui-Gon. "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"But what if—"

"Ah, we're here."

Obi-Wan frowned at him, and then looked around. They had only just stepped out of the Jedi temple. "But, sir—" he began, and then stopped. Obviously, nothing was going to stop Qui-Gon. He tried a different tactic. "So… where's the race track?"

"Well, there isn't technically a race track. We're flying in circles around the temple." Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan calmly. Obi-Wan gaped at him, mouthing wordlessly.

"Even though no one on the Jedi council knows about it, and we weren't given permission, and there's a high chance of damage being done because of a crashing ship… all I know is that I'm not going to be the one to explain to Master Yoda why exactly his meditation chamber suddenly went up in flames."

Qui-Gon hid a smile. "I'm glad you showed up, Kit. Who else is here?"

Kit Fisto listed other names that Obi-Wan thought he vaguely recognized, but he wasn't quite sure. The thing that he was sure about, however, was that they were all Jedi. "Did you put this together all by yourself?" he asked Qui-Gon after a moment.

"Of course I did. It wasn't very hard… now, Kit, did Wuh'lin show up?"

"No, he couldn't make it. Some further business with the Estéril project. Apparently he's still adamant that he should go with you on your mission." Kit almost smiled, "He sends his best wishes, however, and wanted me to tell you, and I quote, 'scare the crap out of the little squirt.' Not exactly Jedi-like sentiments."

Qui-Gon chuckled, but Obi-Wan just glared downat the ground. It didn't sound like this Wuh'lin person was someone he'd get along with very well. Suddenly, a thought struck him. When Kit left to head back to his ship, he spoke up. "What did he mean, your mission? Are you going somewhere? Do I get to go?"

Qui-Gon glanced over at the young padawan, perfectly serious now. "Yes, I'm going on a mission. The less you know about it, the better… and no, you don't get to go. Now, why don't we go get our ship prepared?"

Without another word, Qui-Gon turned and headed towards a ship that was parked nearby. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, thinking. If Qui-Gon didn't want him to know about whatever mission he was going on…

Then I'd better learn all I can about it!

xxxxx

When Qui-Gon finished showing Obi-Wan how to work the guns, he motioned for the young padawan to strap himself in and put his helmet on. When he did so, Qui-Gon called for the others to line up on the makeshift starting line that he had constructed. When everyone was lined up, he reached for his speaking device and asked, "Is everyone ready?"

There was a chorus of 'yes's as everyone answered. Qui-Gon ignored the one weak-sounding, 'no' that he heard from behind him, and continued, "Then everyone, on your mark!"

Obi-Wan gripped the sides of his seat nervously, his hands shaking.

"Get set,"

He only hoped that he didn't pass out…

"GO!"

(A/N: Hmm, I thought that the race would be in this chapter, but there was too much stuff to be taken care of beforehand. The race will be in the next chapter, though, and that chapter should be up in a day or two. Please review, and tell me what you think!)

: Hilary :