Chapter 9
Obi-Wan did not allow himself to think about the man he was leaving behind as he piloted the small, but fast, ship out of Coruscant's atmosphere. Even after he had set his course and entered hyperspace, his thoughts did not dwell on his beloved left behind. Instead, he read Master Jorsa's mission briefing and the files on the planet Zana'ut. He read them until he was satisfied that they would not offer any more insight into his current mission. And it was only then that he settled himself in the pilot's chair and entered a light meditation.
Within his mind he relived the morning before and bathed in the love he had found with his master. It was during this time that Qui-Gon discovered the training bond he shared with Anakin. Had he not already been immersed in the bond he may not have felt Qui-Gon's curiosity and surprise at his discovery, such was the distance between them.
The brief contact between their minds was enough to cause Obi-Wan's sorrow to surge forward. The Shadow was strong and composed, but the man who lay at his heart grieved for the way their lives must be lived; apart, with the chance of reunions uncertain.
The vessel sped towards Goren and the Shadow of the Jedi was forced to abandon all thoughts of others, except the one life he had been given the opportunity to save.
"Knight Kenobi?"
"What is it, Mace?" Obi-Wan knew that Mace would not contact him without good cause, however he was annoyed at the master's interruption.
"We have just received word from Jorsa. She completed her mission on Goren earlier than expected and she is already on her way to Zana."
"Damn."
"Will you make it in time?"
"I will try."
"There is no try."
"Go away, Mace."
"May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan changed his course, hoping that he would reach Jorsa in time.
From space, Zana'ut looked peaceful enough. Obi-Wan was not deceived by its appearance, though, he knew war raged upon its surface, scarring the planet and its people. Prepared for his task, Obi-Wan took the ship down, heading to a military base on the northern continent, knowing that was where the threat to Jorsa's life came from and where the other Jedi master had already landed. She had beaten him there, although not by much. Obi-Wan prayed to the Force that he was in time to prevent the fate Zana'ut had in store for Jedi Master Jorsa.
"I don't know why I continue to be surprised by it, Qui-Gon: the callus nature of humans. I've seen it so many times, in countless species," Obi-Wan said, breaking from his story suddenly.
Qui-Gon did not interrupt Obi-Wan's thoughts, knowing these, too, were an important part of the tale.
"The Jedi are no longer respected, but feared, and it seems we are here to be used. The Jedi are called and instead of accepting our aid they use us as scapegoats for crimes we had no part in or, like Jorsa, as an anonymous sacrifice to a war that will not end. They wanted Jorsa, not for her skills as a negotiator and mediator, but for the powerful blood in her veins so that they could shed it in the name of their war god."
"Try not to focus on the negative, beloved," Qui-Gon suggested, not liking the distain he heard in Obi-Wan's words. "Maybe there is a positive side, my own."
"Positive side, Qui-Gon? Positive side to the part of humanity's nature that needs to murder?"
"The Zana government has not stooped to murder their own citizens yet, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon pointed out, knowing that it was little or no consolation.
Obi-Wan snarled in contempt.
"No, they do not, they slaughter them in battle instead and we get sucked into the middle."
"It is our duty, Obi-Wan, to protect the innocent."
"You need not remind me, Master, I know a Jedi's duty. But it is not my sole duty any longer. I know my duty; I now protect the protectors, as well."
"I understand your frustration, beloved and sometimes share it." Qui-Gon held Obi-Wan tighter. "Tell me the rest."
Obi-Wan thought for a moment and then returned to his narrative.
Obi-Wan had not been in time to prevent Jorsa's capture. He had entered the planet's atmosphere on the dark side of the planet, hoping to avoid detection. Zana'ut was not a primitive world, however their incessant war kept their technology from advancing as it might have. Obi-Wan flew in low, skimming the treetops. Close to the compound where the Jedi master was being held, he landed and continued his journey on foot.
He had reached the stronghold while the sun still shone, so now he knelt, hidden in the foliage, waiting for the night to catch up with him. As he waited, watching the patrolling guards, he reached out with his senses to Master Jorsa. She was safe enough now, but she had been injured when the Zanas had first captured her. Her injuries may slow her down when the opportunity to escape came, he thought. However, Obi-Wan was confident that the chance of life his influence offered would be enough.
Night descended on the fortress and so did a Shadow.
Gaining access to the outer courtyard and training area was particularly easy, the outer wall was low enough and narrow enough that the Shadow Warrior could jump it with a Force assisted jump.
Obi-Wan landed without a sound. He stayed where he had landed, crouched, and waited. He could feel the life presence of two guards. They were close, but moving away from his position. Seconds passed and then he was moving again. Running across the grounds, heading straight for the door he had guessed led to the guards' break room.
He entered without hesitation and immediately came face to face with a surprised guard. Obi-Wan, acting on pure instinct, lashed out with his fist, striking the other man on his larynx, silencing any cry that the guard may have been about to make. With his other hand he grabbed a fistful of hair and rammed the guard's head into the solid stone wall. The other two guards in the room went down just as quickly and just as silently.
Obi-Wan knew he did not have much time before his victims were discovered. He hastened from the room, leaving by the rear door. It led into a long, narrow corridor that ran around the inner circuit of the second wall. He did not pause to look in either direction; instead he leapt at the delicate window directly in front of him. It shattered on impact. The ground on the other side of the second defence wall was considerably lower than the one that was on the outer side and all that lay between the second and third walls was a wide, empty trench, filled with camouflaged pike heads.
What might have been an adequate form of defence against a Zana, was no obstacle for a Jedi. Obi-Wan sprinted though the minefield, sure-footed, trusting the Force not to let him step wrong. He crossed the wide trench at an angle, aiming for the place on the wall where, thirty feet above, was an observation balcony. Just as he had done with the outer wall, Obi-Wan leapt and landed on the viewing platform. Jorsa was held in the keep at the centre of the structure, however what Obi-Wan sought was here, within the third wall.
He found it quickly and easily: the generator; the source of all the hold's power. It was a simple matter to disable. Just as Obi-Wan raised his lightsabre, he felt a ripple in the Force; the guards had been discovered. He plunged the blade down, through metal and circuitry. The 'sabre melted all that it touched and suddenly all was silent and dark. The hum of electricity coursing through wires was deadened. Not waiting to be discovered, Obi-Wan was once again running down corridors, seeking the door that led to the inner courtyard. The loss of power would open the cell doors, the electronic locks would spring open, but Obi-Wan wanted to be as Jorsa's shadow until she had found a way to a ship and off planet.
Obi-Wan's sense of the Jedi master was changing. She was on the move. He would find her and guard her back if necessary. Obi-Wan reached the courtyard, but he had not been prepared for what he found.
The smell of death engulfed him. Old and new blood splattered the ground, creating a carpet of sticky red. An altar sat at the centre of the great square, made of stone, but not one path of stone was visible beneath the blood. Pikes lined the square and upon each was the remains of those sacrificed to the war god of Zana'ut, all manner of species, old, new and all rotting.
Obi-Wan felt the Force rush from him. Here was the place of Jorsa's death. He stood where she was to meet her end, yet other than his horror, the Shadow felt nothing. The vision that was visited upon him only days before on Coruscant, deserted his sight; the feel of battle left his veins and the presence of guards, soldiers and Jedi alike left his mind. Only Obi-Wan Kenobi remained; Jedi knight.
The loss was only momentary and in the instant that Obi-Wan felt his senses desert him, they returned to him. He continued forward, knowing he still had a duty to perform, to protect Jorsa, but now he proceeded with more caution, not knowing if the lapse in his abilities would repeat itself.
He caught up with the other Jedi as she was liberating her confiscated lightsabre. She was bleeding from numerous wounds, however Obi-Wan could sense she had the strength to continue on. He fought at her back, fighting soldiers and guards that would have attacked her from behind. He protected her, unseen, as she made her way deeper into the centre of the fortress. Not towards the freedom of the walls, but to the small landing bay on the roof.
The fighting on the roof was fierce, but brief. Now, free and with an unseen Shadow, Jorsa was unstoppable. She boarded one of the ships standing ready for take off and prepared to leave the planet that was almost her grave.
Obi-Wan watched her as she ran up the ramp into the belly of the ship. He sensed her reach the cockpit and heard the ship's engines power up. He saw the boarding ramp begin to close and prepared to run the small distance to the ship and stow away.
'I hope Mace doesn't mind the loss of my ship.'
He was about to leave his place of shelter when once again the Force around him rippled and contracted, and for the second time he stood bare, without his sense of battle playing in his ears and through his soul.
His loss once again froze him and it was that moment that the ship launched itself into the air, taking with it any chance the Shadow had of escaping with Jorsa.
Obi-Wan watched the ship go, knowing Master Jorsa was aboard, but no longer able to sense her, or any other Jedi, that he could normally find through the web within the Force. Obi-Wan did not know what made him do it, it certainly did not come through a warning within the Force. The Jedi turned and saw an anti-aircraft gun preparing to fire on the rapidly escaping vessel.
Obi-Wan did not think; he acted.
It was not the Shadow that leapt forward or a push from the Force that only the Warrior could feel that caused him to act; it was his training as a Jedi. More than twenty years of training took over Obi-Wan as he jumped onto the gun turret and sank his 'sabre into the firing mechanism. He heard, more than felt, the weapon backfire. He had barely jumped down when the explosion lifted him off his feet and propelled him across the landing platform and over the edge of the keep.
He fell and fell and had he been only a man, the fall would have killed him. However, Obi-Wan was not just a man and even without his added abilities as the Jedi protector, he was still a Jedi knight. Using the Force, he slowed his descent and landed, heavily, on his feet in one of the gardens that, with the sacrifice square, circled the inner keep. His fall had shortened his route out of the stronghold, but he still had the three outer wall defences to get through.
'I just hope that Jorsa's escape will have caused enough disruption that they won't be expecting someone to be trying to escape out the front door.'
Getting through the third and second defences was simple enough; Obi-Wan barely saw any soldiers. He discovered the reason for this when he reached the second wall and the courtyard between it and the outer wall: rows and rows of solders stood, waiting for an attack, the commander of the fort believing their loss of power to be a prelude to an attack by their enemy. Obi-Wan had not sensed them, the Force had not warned him of the danger his chosen escape route possessed. His senses were silent; all he felt were the currents in the Force that all Jedi could feel.
'It's too late now,' Obi-Wan thought, hearing the commotion of guards in the corridor behind him. 'I can only go forward.'
Evan without his Warrior capabilities, Obi-Wan still had one advantage; they were expecting an attack from without, not within. Centring himself, and releasing all concern for his partial loss of the Force, Obi-Wan threw himself into battle. With Force assistance he ran across out into the courtyard. He was a third of the way through when the surprised shout to attack went up.
Immediately, Obi-Wan was surrounded by blasters all aimed at him and all firing.
He did not pause. He ignited his lightsabre, deflected bolts of blaster fire with it, but he did not stop his forward momentum. He was forced to slow his pace, becoming a more tangible target for his foes, however his blade moved constantly and kept him from harm. As he continued forward, Obi-Wan felt something building.
He hoped he knew what it was. He stopped his progression forwards; he waited in the centre of a storm of blaster fire. He deflected only shots that would cause him harm, otherwise he was still. With a deep, calming breath he closed his eyes and allowed whatever it was building within him loose.
The man who opened his eyes was once more the most dangerous man in the galaxy. Every soldier in the square came into his awareness and he fought through them with ease. He jumped and somersaulted over the wall, killing the two sentries that stood on its narrow walkway and as soon as his feet touched the ground he was running into the jungle. The soldiers of Zana'ut tried to give chase, but failed to once again catch sight of the fleeing Shadow.
The Warrior, without pause, boarded his craft and took to the skies, exiting the planet's atmosphere with not another weapon fired.
"Then it is not the mission itself that bothers you, is it, beloved?" Qui-Gon asked when Obi-Wan had finished his tale.
"No, in comparison, Jorsa's fate would not have been the worst I have been witness to," Obi-Wan said, remembering the vision of another's death that had almost destroyed his whole world. "My loss of control frightens me, for I've never felt that before; I've never been that afraid."
If Obi-Wan had been less distracted, his next words may never have been said.
"I did not feel that kind of fear, not even on Naboo when I fought the Sith and saw you die."
Such was Obi-Wan's concern for the Jedi that even after revealing the terrible truth of Naboo, he did not even realise what he had just confessed. Obi-Wan had not admitted to Qui-Gon the contents of his vision. Qui-Gon had suspected, had guessed the extent to which his life had been in peril; the Force had called Obi-Wan to him for a reason, but hearing it now, spoken aloud for the first time, sent chills through the master's body and for a fleeting moment he was sure he felt a searing, burning pain pierce his chest.
But that fate had not been his.
Qui-Gon tried to let go of the threatening vision that clouded his eyes. Later he could meditate on what he now knew for certain, for now he had greater concerns than those of a past that was unchangeable, a concern that affected not only him, but all Jedi.
"You believe it is the bond that had caused this lapse in your skills."
"What else could it be, Qui-Gon? If you can think of an alternative I'd gladly listen. I could not."
Obi-Wan fell silent and Qui-Gon did not break the quiet. Both Jedi became lost in thoughts of the possible consequences of their bonding.
"Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan finally said, his voice more sure now, although it still held a trace of the fear he had felt only moments before as he had told his story. "Even if it is the case and the bond is to blame, it was the will of the Force."
"Is that a comfort to you, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked quietly, brushing the pad of his thumb along Obi-Wan's cheek in a gentle, comforting caress as the other Jedi looked up at him.
"It relieves my guilt," Obi-Wan admitted. "But not my fear for the Jedi, if they were to lose their protector. I am needed."
"Let's not borrow trouble now, Obi-Wan. Live in the moment," Qui-Gon reminded with some humour.
"I have found the comfort and value of embracing the moment, Master," the younger Jedi told his lover. "But it is my connection to the future that guides me."
Qui-Gon could not argue against that, even if he was a Jedi master, for no one, except the Jedi Warrior truly knew or understood his senses that were unique to him. However, even to the outside observer, it was clear that in order to protect the Jedi, his sense of the Force relied on forewarnings. Qui-Gon felt frustrated with his inability to soothe his bondmate's concerns or to lighten the burden or responsibility.
"You have, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said, catching a whisper of his lover's thoughts through the bond.
'Just by being here,' Obi-Wan brushed his own temple as he spoke to Qui-Gon through the bond. 'You have helped.'
"I'm not alone anymore, Qui-Gon."
"I'm glad."
Obi-Wan broke eye contact and once again laid his head on Qui-Gon's chest, hearing the steady beating of his master's heart.
"We have not finished talking yet," Qui-Gon reluctantly said and felt Obi-Wan tense a little in his arms. He stroked small circles on his lover's back. "What I am about to ask may change your mind about my presence being a comfort."
'Nothing could do that, beloved.'
Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's fierce love for him as he spoke into his mind.
"Ask your question, Qui-Gon."
Obi-Wan believed he knew what it was that Qui-Gon wanted to ask.
'The explanation will be less difficult now, now that I have told him of his death,' Obi-Wan thought. Qui-Gon now knew he had narrowly escaped death on Naboo, but to share such a painful fate, unfulfilled though it was, 'Is almost unbearable.'
"Why do you have a training bond with Anakin?"
"I don't."
"Obi-Wan…"
"It's not a bond, not really." Obi-Wan tried to explain. "What you felt… there would have been a bond if you had not stopped the Sith apprentice on Naboo."
"Then why did you feel such grief when I discovered the bond." Suddenly, a memory rose up in Qui-Gon's mind, a memory of their journey back from Naboo. "Why will you not let Anakin call you Master?"
"It is complicated."
"Will you tell me what you saw?"
Obi-Wan did not speak, but Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's head shift against his chest as he nodded.
Obi-Wan did not look up as he recounted his vision, but instead he stayed safely in Qui-Gon's arms, needing to hear the reassuring beat of a heart that would have stopped beating on a planet lightyears away. With that comforting sound echoing though his mind, Obi-Wan began to speak.
"I can not tell you it all, but I can tell you some of what I felt and what I saw…" Obi-Wan took a breath before plunging into his story. "I was on my way back to Coruscant when I felt the danger to you, there was no vision, no sound, just the feeling that told me that it was you that was in danger and the strand of the web that links me to all Jedi that leads to you was being tugged on. So I changed course and headed to Tyron."
And so saying, Obi-Wan told Qui-Gon his perspective of the mission on the planet Tyron, the master's last mission before he had been sent to Naboo.