Title: The Death of All Hope
Author: Bonhomie/BaBaKaNuSh-13
Rating: PG
Summary: AU for "The Death of Hope." Qui-Gon leaves Obi-Wan behind with the Rock Workers after his leg is injured, and the Jedi Master must fight to not lose all hope in his life.
Genre: Action, Angst, AU (again, the three 'A's) (Age 16)
Spoilers: Minor ones for the JA books, but mainly for "The Death of Hope."
Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Wars Universe, George Lucas and Jude Watson own all the characters and concepts here. I'm just borrowing them and making no profit, so please don't sue me. I have no money. Only Neopoints. You can't have them either, though.
A/N: How quick was that update?
I know, not very, but it was quick for me!
Anyway, I was so excited because I got 95/100 for my Design for Multimedia work for Uni, and it (my Swatch Watch design) got put up on the wall! They put about 10 up on the wall, out of about 250. I'm so excited! I've never done graphics before! Anyway, enough of me bragging!
Enjoy.
Oh, IMPORTANT! Hoshine - pronounced "hoh-sheen", where hoh is as in hot. I'm working on a webpage, which I'll finish soon, which will include pronunciations of words I'm using in this story. Will be up by next chapter. Be warned: the words I use, and will use,are virtuallyunpronouncable (is that a word?) unless you know how to say them.
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Chapter 4
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Qui-Gon's commlink began to flash. He thumbed the activation button.
"Yes," he said brusquely.
"Jinn!" Unmistakably Mace. "Balog is safely on board. Did you find the twins?"
"Only Alani. Eritha has left New Apsolon. With Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon's throat tightened as he thought about it.
"Left the planet? Give me your co-ordinates. I'll meet you at the nearest spaceport."
Qui-Gon read out his position to Mace and walked to the closest hangar. It was only a block away. He waited impatiently for the other Jedi to arrive. It only took a few minutes, and soon he was striding up the spaceship's ramp. He pushed Alani into the makeshift holding cell with Balog and made sure to securely lock the door.
"Where to, Jinn?" Mace asked, swivelling in his chair to glance at Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon shook his head. "I'm not sure. I still can't feel Obi-Wan and Alani doesn't know where Eritha was headed. She said that her sister had mentioned something about a better life on one of the Middle Rim planets."
"That doesn't narrow down the search much," Mace said, frowning. He powered up the ship's engines and began the departure procedures. "I guess we have no choice at the moment but to head to the Middle Rim and work everything out from there."
Qui-Gon nodded. He waited for a moment. "Alani seems to think that Eritha didn't believe New Apsolon was worth fighting for anymore. That it was too poor a planet, and that it would be too difficult to try and rule."
"So, she'd be heading somewhere wealthy," Mace supplied, reaching up to smooth his chin. "Possibly a non-Republican planet, or one without much Republic influence."
Qui-Gon nodded. "Exactly."
"Now that does narrow down the search," Mace said. "Non-Republic planets in the Middle Rim? Not so abundant. But they are there. Some of the Middle Rim is much like the Outer Rim. They have wealthy rulers who dictate, not lead."
"Sounds exactly what Eritha would be looking for." Qui-Gon glanced over Mace's shoulder as he began making flight arrangements. "I will go find out what I can. I'll–"
he broke off. He was about to say that he'd call Tahl to see if she could help them.
But you can't. Ever again.
Qui-Gon bit the inside of his cheek so a sharp pain erupted from it. It distracted him for only a moment. But that was all that he needed.
"I'll contact the Temple. Inform them about the mission," Mace said softly. He had guessed what had upset the other Jedi.
Qui-Gon nodded and briskly whirled around. He made his way to the back of the ship. He found a corner as dark and secluded as possible, and slumped down into it.
Tahl was really gone. He would never see her again. Never speak to her. Despair welled up in Qui-Gon. It felt as if he would simply explode from the pressure. It pushed on his heart, his throat. He swallowed painfully around the lump forming there.
But the time to grieve is not now. It will come, but not yet.
The words came unbidden into his mind. Qui-Gon raised his bent head in confusion.
Who had said …?
No, it didn't matter. The words spoke truth and he needed to pull himself together. He had to find Obi-Wan. His Padawan needed him now.
Qui-Gon pushed up off the ground and straightened his tunic roughly. He lifted his chin. He would find his Padawan, and then he could grieve.
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Obi-Wan was rudely roused from his healing trance with a hard push to his back from a booted foot. He pitched forward to hit the dura-steel floor of the holding-cell. His thigh wound throbbed dully in protest. Yanci's shrill objections echoed throughout the room. He rolled over.
A heavy-set guard lowered his face down to Obi-Wan's. Putrid hot breath passed over the young Jedi's face, and he fought back an involuntary shudder. "Get up, Jedi scum. You're coming with me."
The man drug Obi-Wan up by one arm. Although his shoulder wound was nearly completely healed, with only a partially-healed scar remaining, it screamed at the abuse. The guard must have known what he was doing, because in the next moment, Obi-Wan's arm was twisted painfully behind his back. He drew in a quick breath.
Yanci's protests became louder. "Get off him, you disgusting bantha-brain!" she screamed. She launched herself at the guard.
He seemed to merely shrug her off, but she went flying across the room to crash into the wall and slump in a heap at the base of it.
"Yanci," he unintentionally yelled out loud. She didn't respond, but Obi-Wan felt relief wash over him as he saw the still-steady rise and fall of her chest with each breath she took. She was okay.
The young Jedi refocussed his attention. He readied himself to Force-push the guard off him, but one of his colleagues entered at that moment. The guard holding him took a swipe at his head. Obi-Wan sensed the move through the Force, however, and he ducked. The guard looked furious. He struck out again, but once more Obi-Wan evaded the blow. In this second of distraction, however, the guard's colleague leapt forward. He swiftly clipped a collar around the young man's neck. Obi-Wan's connection to the Force was immediately cut off.
That had been their aim all along, and he had not seen it.
His heart sank in disappointment.
He felt somehow lost – helpless without the Force.
The guards shoved him roughly out of the room and locked the door behind them. They led him down twisting corridors until they reached a lavishly painted door. They pressed the door-comm and waited for permission to enter. It came immediately.
Obi-Wan was shoved across the threshold.
"Ah, here's my little Jedi. I hear you've been healing yourself … such a good Jedi pet."
"Eritha." Obi-Wan said. His face remained neutral, though his insides roiled with the injustice of the fact that this – this monster was sitting in front of him after so many had been killed because of her.
Eritha grinned. She turned to a young twi'lek handmaiden surrounded by four more servant girls. "Get him cleaned up."
The guards holding Obi-Wan clipped tight restraining cuffs on his wrists, binding them together. They released their fierce grip on him and stood back, giving the servants room. A plan began to from in the young Jedi's mind.
As if she could read his thoughts, Eritha snapped her attention to Obi-Wan, eyes narrowing. "If you even try to escape Jedi, I'll kill the medic. At this very moment she is being implanted with a microchip which, upon my command, will send electro-waves into her brain if you so much as even step out of line. Enough, and …" Eritha made a crude sizzling noise, then laughed uproariously as Obi-Wan winced.
He furrowed his brow. That made escaping a little harder, he thought.
Eritha grinned. The servant girls timidly walked up to Obi-Wan and pulled him next to the awaiting bath. To his embarrassment they stripped him of his clothes and pushed him into the warm water. He made to protest, but Eritha gave him a warning glare and he shut his mouth.
Confusion tugged at the back of his mind. What was happening? Instead of being beaten or abused, he was being … cleaned.
"What do you want with me?" asked Eritha suspiciously.
"You are to be my pet, of course," she said. She pushed herself out of her reclined chair and stepped up next to the bath where the servants were washing and rinsing his dusty hair. She held up her hand and they stopped, shuffling back to give Eritha room. She knelt down next to Obi-Wan and motioned to his bound wrists. He lifted them reluctantly out of the water. She grabbed his upper arm and leaned close to inspect his wounds.
"Healed," she said incredulously. "Nearly completely gone. I knew you would make the best gift."
Obi-Wan's attention was piqued. "Gift?"
Eritha pursed her lips, but her eyes shone. "Well, part-gift, I suppose. You will make a perfect addition to my fiancé's collection. As my pet, naturally – you are too precious to simply give away. I put too much hard work into getting you." She flicked the water from her fingers into Obi-Wan's face. "You will be the most valuable one there," she added with pride. She stepped back and, once again, the servants surrounded Obi-Wan.
Pet? Obi-Wan wondered. He suppressed a shudder. He supposed he'd find out exactly what that meant soon enough. Probably all too well. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, leaving his worry for the future.
"Fiancé?" Obi-Wan asked instead.
"Must you repeat everything I say?" Eritha snapped. Obi-Wan merely gazed at her patiently. She finally sighed and continued. "Yes, fiancé. You heard what I said, Pet." She grinned.
"But what about New Apsolon? Surely your sister–"
"Alani is a fool," Eritha said coolly. "She thinks that there is any hope for that planet. I tried to persuade her to come with me … my fiancé has a younger brother, but she wouldn't listen. Her ties to New Apsolon are too strong for her to see past her own stupidity. It will be her downfall, I am sure."
Eritha's face was disfigured with scorn, but her eyes seemed saddened.
She regrets leaving her sister behind, Obi-Wan thought. She's not as detached as she likes to seem, after all.
"It does not matter," Eritha finally said. She flicked her long braid back over her shoulder in a nonchalant manner. "I shall rule Hoshine as Queen. A planet which at least has promise."
The servants now had Obi-Wan wrapped up in a large towel, and were quickly and efficiently drying his hair.
The twi'lek scuttled forward and bowed low to Eritha. She held a pair of vibro-shears in her hands. "Does my lady wish for her pet's braid and hair-tail to be cut off?"
Obi-Wan's heart beat urgently against his ribs. No. Not his braid.
Eritha pursed her lips. She tilted her head to one side, then the other gazing at him. After several long moments she shook her head.
"No, he is more valuable with them. Just trim the rest of his hair. I still want him to look like a Jedi Padawan."
"As you wish, my lady."
Obi-Wan felt several hands hold his head still. Deft snips of sharp scissors sent tufts of ginger-brown hair floating around his face. To Obi-Wan it didn't matter. Relief made him weak. They wouldn't cut off his braid. He knew it was silly to worry over something so materialistic, but it meant so much to him. It was a sign of his apprenticeship under Qui-Gon Jinn, of his commitment to his Master and the Force.
Basking in relief, Obi-Wan nearly missed Eritha's curious question.
"What's this?"
His head snapped up.
Eritha was going through a container of his confiscated belongings. She seemed to be peering closely at something deep in the palm of her hand. She noticed Obi-Wan watching her intently and grinned. She rolled the object round so he could see it, held between two perfectly-manicured fingers.
The relief that he'd felt was pushed to the back of his mind as nervousness pitted in his stomach. He was glad to now know where the rock Qui-Gon had given him for his thirteenth birthday was, but what would Eritha do with it?
"Hmm," she mused. She rolled the rock around in the palm of her hand. "What to do with it … I think I'll cut it for the centre stone of a necklace. What do you think?" she held it up at the base of her throat.
Obi-Wan kept his face blank, but sickness roiled in his gut.
No, she couldn't.
"Yes, that is what I'll do," she said decisively.
"No!" Obi-Wan cried, making the servant girls jump back for a moment. He bit his lip. He hadn't meant for that to slip out. Eritha looked to him curiously. "No, you can't. It's a –"
Obi-Wan paused. He had to tell her. He reckoned that she would prize it even more if he did. Which meant she would not cut it.
"The stone is Force-sensitive. If you cut it you will destroy its properties," Obi-Wan said. He wasn't actually sure that everything he was saying was true, but he felt vulnerable admitting it, nevertheless, and he waited on baited breath for Eritha's reaction.
"Force-sensitive?" she thought for a moment. "What does it do? Show me." She placed it in his bound hands and he closed his fingers around its shiny surface.
Even though he could not feel the Force flowing through it, the weight of the smooth stone in his grasp still comforted him. It was almost as if he had his Master there with him. Qui-Gon would have known what to do.
Eritha pulled out two small transmitters. She waved one in front of his face. "Just remember Pet, if you try anything, your friend will be electro-shocked. Enough shocks and she will die."
Obi-Wan nodded solemnly.
"Good." She pressed a button on the other transmitter. At once Obi-Wan could feel the Force flowing through him again. He closed his eyes for a moment and revelled in its soothing flow. "Show me now!" Eritha barked. Her eyes were wary.
Obi-Wan was startled back to attention. He reached out to the Force. One part of him concentrated on sending out gentle waves to the river stone, while the other searched for his Master. He sent a tendril through the bond with Qui-Gon.
A moment later it was returned to him. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief. Qui-Gon was okay.
The river stone began to glow.
Obi-Wan sent out an idea, an impression of where he was. Jedi could not talk through mind speech, but could communicate feelings, images and often a few words.
Hoshine. He concentrated on the word. But it was too late. Eritha had slammed on the Force-suppressor button. The Force left him abruptly again, making him feel thin and deflated. He watched as the deep red streaks running through the shiny blackness of the stone faded without the touch of the Force.
Obi-Wan felt the same.
"That is enough," Eritha said. She snatched the stone out of his hands.
Obi-Wan's fingers curled up around the empty space of his palms helplessly.
Eritha stowed the river stone in an inner pocket. She seemed pleased. He couldn't be sure, but he had the feeling she wouldn't cut the present from his Master.
He hoped.
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Hope you all liked. I know, it was a bit slow, but hopefully it'll pick up soon.
Hmm, I think everyone gets sick of me blabbing on, so I'll get straight to it.
To replies:
Masterarcher: Thankyou for your sympathies … I just like whingeing. :) You made me feel much better, though. And yes, I do HATE having Writer's Block. Hope you can get over yours too! It sucks, huh? Thanks for your wonderful review! I'm glad you liked the update. Hope you like this one, too. And may the Force be with you, too! Don't worry, I NEVER get sick of saying it, either. Lol! Thanks a million for reviewing!
Writer of all: Hmm, plot-wise … well, Obi-Wan – no, sorry. I'm afraid even you can't know that. Lol! And you know I'd tell you almost anything. :) Sorry. Thanks for your constant support and reviews, and I hope you liked this chapter. Keep up the excellent work, yourself:D Talk to you soon!
Delcy: Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! I was giving Obi-Wan three cheers if you didn't understand what my crazy self was doing :). Well, I really hope you liked the update … which was really fast by my recent standards. I promise I'll improve on that. And, aw, I'm blushing. The plot exciting? Thanks:D
Fifilla: Sorry about how long I'm taking. I promise I'll try to be faster, though. :) Just for you. Thankyou for all the wonderful support you've given me, over both of my fics. I really appreciate that. I hope you liked the ending to The Quandary. Anyway, thanks for the awesome review, and I'll update soon. Promise. :D
Calliope: I've been making my updates longer, but to keep updating as quickly as possible, I'm afraid that means under my favoured five thousand words, with my busy schedule. Plus the fact that my stories would have absolutely no chapters to them, since they're so short ;D Actually, this one seems like it's going to turn out quite a bit longer than The Quandary. Anyway, waffling again. Thanks for your awesome review! And thanks – I hoped you'd all like Obi-Wan's fighting. I see him as someone who just puts his all in … valiantly – I like it:D
Child-of-the-Dawn: YAY! Alive Obi-Wan! I love your enthusiasm. And who said he was a slave?. :Shifty eyes: And I totally agree with you … Come on Jinn! Get your butt into gear! He's hopeless, isn't he? I just wanna go out there and find Obi-Wan myself. :D Anyway, thanks for the awesome reviews, as always! Oh, and I'm glad you thought the ending to The Quandary was mushy enough:D I tried my best, really:D Thanks!
Lulu: LOL! I know … If I had the chance, I'd keep Obi-Wan for myself, too! I guess that's why I like writing him – because then he kinda feels like mine! I'm just dreaming, I guess! Heheh. And thanks for the comment about Yanci's line … I actually did some research … "tooth face" is what everyone calls whipids behind their backs. :) I read it on the Star Wars website. I used it in The Quandary, too, when Xanatos calls the whipids tooth faces. Wow, me … research! Weird. Anyway, thanks for your review, it really made me smile.
Master Kenobi's Apprentice: Kiss my feet and bow to me? Aww, thanks! I'm blushing:) Hope my update was quick enough to you. And I'll keep writing … if you tell me where Master Kenobi is … :shifty eyes:. Thanks:D Thanks for your awesome review! Much appreciated.
Master Kaym: Yay! I LOVE your enthusiasm! Well, Yanci and Obi-Wan haven't gotten out of there, yet … and things just got more complicated. Poor Obi-Wan … I'm so mean to him. :Regretful look: Oh, I can't keep that up any longer … I love doing it to Obi-Wan, I have to admit! Anyway, thanks for your excellent review, and I hope you liked this chapter.
Okay, so see you all next chapter.
And PLEASE REVIEW! I really need the feedback and support.
Well, okay, I don't need it, but I'd really like it :D It gives me confidence to keep going.
Thanks, and have a great rest-of-the-week!
BaBaKaNuSh-13