15
"No!" Qui-Gon cried. "I will not! And I order you not to do this."
"Qui-Gon, think of the many who will loose their lives," Obi-Wan said urgently. Think of what Xanatos will win. Think of Bandomeer. Our mission was to protect it. If I don't do this, we fail."
"This is not the way," Qui-Gon said grimly.
Obi-Wan's face was white and still. Determination tightened every muscle.
"Yes, Qui-Gon. I can do it. I will do it."
Prince Beju slowly opened his eyes and tried to clear his foggy memory. He looked at the bed he was lying in. It was drab and dirty. He then proceeded to look at his surroundings. They were drab and dirty as well. A small shaft of sunlight shone through a dirt stained window. He definitely wasn't on Gala and he did not like it. Had he been kidnapped? He rose to a sitting position and a sharp pain made him lie back down. Damn it that hurt! What the hell was that? He looked at the source of the pain with disdain. A large bandage was wrapped around his shoulder tightly. It was well done. Who would kidnap him, but treat his shoulder? Prince Beju was starting to get angry. He needed to know, damn it! He was a prince of Gala! He rose to a sitting position again and took a moment to get past the invertigo.
A sudden movement caught his eye and he tensed up. A large man entered the room and the Prince relaxed. The memories started coming back to him. He remembered the name; Qui-Gon Jinn. He was the Jedi that saved him. He must have treated his wound as well. He heard somewhere that the Jedi were healers as well.
"Good, you are up." Qui-Gon said briskly.
The prince nodded.
"Is your shoulder bothering you too much?" He asked.
"No, not that much." Beju said.
Beju didn't want to admit that it hurt a lot. He wasn't a boy. He could handle it. Besides, he was all right enough to wave a blaster around the last time he was conscious so he should be fine now. Qui-Gon smiled at the boy. He helped prince Beju to his feet.
"Come on then." Qui-Gon said. "You should be well enough to help out."
"Help what?" Prince Beju asked skeptically.
"The Phindians. They need all the help they can get trying to distribute supplies and rebuild their homes and government."
"Me? Help them?" Beju asked disbelievingly.
Qui-Gon laughed at the Prince's consternation.
"Spin it any way you want on Gala. The fact is they could really use your help." Qui-Gon said neutrally.
Beju thought for a second. He could use this to his advantage. This whole deal with the Syndicat government had blown up in his face (quite literally). This would be a good way to salvage his failure. Prince Beju the Humanitarian. He liked it.
"All right." Beju agreed.
Qui-Gon was surprised it was that easy. He ushered Beju out of the room to some Phindians who were furiously working. They stopped to greet Qui-Gon and slapped Beju on the back with camaraderie. They immediately set him to work and treated him like one of their own. They no doubt knew about his original intentions, but they also knew that he had been wounded helping them fight against the Syndicat. Qui-Gon smiled again. The Force worked mysteriously, very mysteriously.
The Jedi Master brought out his comlink and contacted the Jedi Temple. His movements were slow, but precise. The worst was over for Phindar. Now it was the hard part, rebuilding.
"Master Qui-Gon," Yoda's voice was grave. "Feared the worst we did when news came that you had not arrived on Gala."
Did Yoda already sense Obi-Wan's condition? Qui-Gon had sensed a little of it, but he was in closest proximity. He shuddered at the memory. The despair was almost too much for him to handle.
"We were hijacked to Phindar by two well-meaning brothers. The situation was dire and we discovered that it would directly affect Gala. I decided it would help our original mission and offered my aid."
Yoda's hologram nodded slowly and motioned for Qui-Gon to continue.
"The planet was being controlled by a corrupt government called the Syndicat led by a Phindian named Baftu who created false shortages and fear to rule the planet." Qui-Gon took a moment to calm himself. "He also used a machine that completely erased a person's memory. It is… horrific and cruel."
Qui-Gon pinched his brow and looked away, collecting himself.
"Resolved the situation was?" Yoda asked.
"Yes, the Syndicat was removed. Baftu escaped, but the Phindians are forming a new government. Now, all that is left is reconstruction."
Qui-Gon didn't know how he was going to report his failure. Yoda would be disappointed. They would all be disappointed. He had a startling tendency to loose apprentices.
"Glad to hear that I am," Yoda said, "On your mind something else is."
"Obi-Wan…" Qui-Gon began.
"A problem with your apprentice there is." Yoda stated.
"While helping the Phindians he was captured and renewed." Qui-Gon said without emotion.
He knew that Yoda could read his stoic face and hear beyond his cold words.
"Renewed?" Yoda asked.
"Memory wiped and taken off planet." Qui-Gon elaborated.
Yoda was silent and Qui-Gon looked away to hide the pain he could not keep from his face. He breathed a few even breaths and called upon the Force for calm. If he thought too much about Obi-Wan it felt like he was being ripped apart on the inside. He looked back at Yoda.
"Know you where young Obi-Wan is?" Yoda asked.
"No Master Yoda, I request permission to have another Jedi team sent in my place at Gala so I can search for my padawan."
Padawan. He still couldn't get used to that word. Yoda stroked his chin with a green claw and his wise eyes narrowed.
"Wise that is. Sent another team shall be. For Obi-Wan you will look, but benefit everyone a stabilized Phindar would."
"I agree." Qui-Gon said.
Qui-Gon could have sworn Yoda looked weary. Perhaps the news of Obi-Wan had hit him harder than he let on.
"May the Force be with you." Yoda said.
"And you." Qui-Gon concluded and shut off the comlink.
Qui-Gon quietly put the comlink away and stared off at the walls of the empty room. His hand strayed to his belt. His fingers brushed Obi-Wan's lightsaber. A Jedi was never supposed to be parted from his lightsaber. It was as much apart of a Jedi as the Force was. It was not only a weapon, but a symbol. It was the light in the darkness. It was designed to defend and to kill. Obi-Wan was out in the vast galaxy without it. The galaxy was dangerous enough as it was with his heightened abilities. Obi-Wan was just a boy and he was alone.
The Jedi Master knew he did not have time to stand here and worry. He had to find the boy. He had hoped Duenna could help, but she was dead. Terra had sulked off somewhere after finding the treasury empty. She would turn up one day. She had no where else to go. Guerra and Paxxi were just as ardent in rebuilding their planet as they were in saving it. They along with Kaadi were held in the highest honor. They were heroes among their people.
There were casualties. All battles had casualties. Many rebels had given their life. Duenna was gone. The renewed were still lost to them… Obi-Wan was gone. He knew it was very unjedi-like of him, but the loss of his padawan was more important to him than the lives of the others. It was the right thing to do. If Qui-Gon was placed in the same situation he would have done the same thing. To not would deny everything he believed in. Obi-Wan had acted like the Jedi he was bound to become. He had acted the same way Qui-Gon would have.
But it wasn't fair! Qui-Gon was back in the tunnel on Bandomeer. Obi-Wan was ready to die for Bandomeer-- for him. If his idea had taken him just a few more seconds to think of Obi-Wan would have already been dead. The boy was ready to die. Is that what the Jedi were teaching their students; to die? Qui-Gon's thoughts turned to the Jedi temple. Were all the young children there only future sacrifices for the sake of a peace that never lasted? No matter how hard the Jedi strove they could not eradicate evil from the galaxy. There was darkness inside of everyone. His former padawan had taught him that.
A familiar and sickening twist in his gut made Qui-Gon wince. Seeing Xanatos again was like a punch in the face. The past wouldn't let go so easily—especially when it kept popping up to remind him. Xanatos was his greatest failure.
'Soon to be replaced by Obi-Wan.'
Xanatos probably wouldn't like that. He liked being the best, even if it was the best of the worst. He had a feeling that he would see Xanatos again. His former apprentice needed the last word and wouldn't be content until he got it. Why was he still thinking of Xanatos when Obi-Wan was no closer to being found? He was a Jedi. He should let go of the hurt of his betrayal, but he still could not. Yoda had to practically force him to take a Padawan and Obi-Wan had to prove himself countless times.
Kaadi walked through the door and Qui-Gon immediately turned to her. She smiled and her green-gold eyes spoke her happiness. Qui-Gon bowed his head once and smiled lightly at her.
"How is it going?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Very well," Kaadi answered. "We've almost got all food and supplies out to the people. We have several teams working on repairing the damage of the battle. Baftu's treasury was vast and I'm sure with a lot of efficient planning we'll able to keep the economy up till the new government is back on it's feet."
"That is good." Qui-Gon approved.
Kaadi's shoulders slumped slightly.
"It is a lot of work Master Qui-Gon." She stated seriously.
"But there are many willing to help; even Prince Beju is helping. This is not your burden alone Kaadi." He reassured.
"I know—believe me Qui-Gon, I know. It's just… Sometimes I don't know what to do. More and more people look to be for the answers. What if I can't give them? There are some things that can't be made better. They're just lost."
Qui-Gon caught the hidden meaning behind Kaadi's words. The Renewed. There was no way to get their memories back. It was the first question he had asked. Their memory was gone like information not saved to a holopad.
Hope. He must have hope. With the Force there was always a way.
"We'll get your father back Kaadi." Qui-Gon said, thinking of Obi-Wan.
"Even if it's just a body?" Kaadi whispered.
Qui-Gon swallowed hard.
"Yes, even then. At least you will know that his suffering had ended and he would be proud that you helped free your planet." Qui-Gon reassured.
Kaadi's eyes were starting to get shiny and she wiped at them. Qui-Gon was struck by how young she looked now. The rebellion had forced her to grow up early. She was probably as young as Guerra and Paxxi. Qui-Gon took Kaadi's hands in his own and squeezed them once, looking into her eyes.
"It will get better Kaadi. You will see." Qui-Gon said warmly.
Kaadi shook her head, but her face had become resolved again. Good. Kaadi had proved that she could do just about anything if she had enough determination.
"You'll get Obi-Wan back as well," Kaadi said. "In time."
"Yes, I will." Qui-Gon said, almost not believing his words.
"That's what I came to ask you," Kaadi started pacing around. "I was hoping to form a team of Phindians to deal specifically with finding those who had been renewed and bringing them back to their original families. I was hoping you would want to be apart of this. It is the best thing you can do for Obi-Wan. Perhaps you'll find where they sent him."
Qui-Gon nodded, but the outcome seemed grim. When faced with destruction or imprisonment people tended to destroy evidence. Those responsible for Obi-Wan's memory wipe had either fled or destroyed all knowledge of his existence. It wouldn't be that hard. Obi-Wan had come from off-world. They could easily claim that they hadn't renewed anyone but Phindians. The Jedi Master knew he should expect that the files were erased, but perhaps someone had stuck around and would be willing (or unwilling) to tell him anything.
"Good, I was counting on it. This might be the hardest part of bringing Phindar back together." Kaadi said.
That wasn't totally true. Finding the renewed would be very difficult, but living with them and hoping that they might remember something would be infinitely worse. It wasn't something they could just fix. Obi-Wan couldn't just be fixed. Qui-Gon didn't even think the Jedi Healers could do much.
"Qui-Gon? Are you all right?" Kaadi asked with concern.
Qui-Gon smiled reassuringly.
"Yes." He lied.
Kaadi led Qui-Gon outside and they were met with Guerra, Paxxi, and three other Phindians.
"Jedi-Gon!" Guerra and Paxxi exclaimed and immediately gave Qui-Gon a traditional Phindian hug, squeezing three times.
"How did you do it?" Guerra asked.
"We just saw Prince Beju picking up stray debris near the spaceport!" Paxxi explained.
All the Phindians laughed.
"Dasda is trying to give him the grossest and most boring things to do." One of the other Phindians commented.
"It's so!" Guerra chortled.
Qui-Gon smiled lightly again. This would be good for Prince Beju. A little lesson in humility never hurt.
"He used the Force brother!" Paxxi said.
"So, so!" Guerra agreed.
"Not so." Qui-Gon said and the brother's mouths dropped.
"But… how?" Paxxi stammered.
"I asked, he said yes." Qui-Gon said with mild amusement.
"Not so!" Guerra denied.
"It must be so, brother, Jedi do not lie."
The team began their trek towards former Syndicat Headquarters. The building had blaster burns all over it and it looked as if it had seen better days. It was eerily quiet and not a Phindian was in sight. The team paused for a minute simply to look at the building that had been a source of terror for them all.
"I am not afraid," Paxxi said. "Not so." He added to himself.
Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan's face in his mind again. He was back on Bandomeer and about to be thrown off the mining platform. The face was peaceful and ready to accept that the next breath may be his last. Did he have the same face when he was memory wiped? Qui-Gon took a step forward and the Phindians followed.
The inside of the Headquarters was just as bare and dismal as the outside. There were no guards or anyone in sight. They had either fled or were hiding. Qui-Gon closed his eyes and listened to the Force. If anyone was hiding they might decide to attack them. He had to keep his senses alert. His hand crept to where his lightsaber rested on his belt. The silence was long and uncomfortable and Qui-Gon could hear the separate breathing patterns of each of the Phindians. Two of the Phindians were slightly injured and so their breathing was slightly hitched. Guerra and Paxxi's breath were oddly in sync. The last Phindian's breath was a half a second behind the brother's and made an odd syncopated rhythm when his fear got the better of him. Qui-Gon's own breath was barely discernable.
The team walked for five more minutes when Qui-Gon stopped them abruptly. Something was not right. The Force was not screaming any warnings at him, but he felt extremely uneasy.
"Keep your eyes peeled." Qui-Gon cautioned.
The Phindians's eyes widened and their breathing sped up a notch. They had just fought a battle, but they were a far cry from warriors. They were strong because there were so many to rise up against injustice, but in the former Syndicat Headquarters they were few. The team continued on again led by Qui-Gon. Something was not right, but his attention was being severely distracted by the sinister voice in his head.
'What makes you think that he's still alive? Even if you do find where they sent him and by some miracle he's still alive, he can never come back. He can never be a Jedi.'
The Jedi Master ignored the voice. The Force was trying to tell him something. There was danger everywhere. They could be surrounded. He had led them right into a trap…
'Good job Master Jinn. Loosing your touch? You drove a gifted Jedi Apprentice to the dark side. You couldn't even keep a thirteen year old boy safe.'
A strange pressure was building inside of Qui-Gon. Someone was here in this room with them and that someone didn't have good intentions. Where was he? The Force was screaming at him now.
'He probably wondered why you didn't save him. You sent him to his death! You didn't want another padawan and so you sent a young boy to his death. Coward! You didn't deserve him as your padawan. You deserved to be betrayed by Xanatos. You deserved—'
"GET DOWN!" Qui-Gon roared and activated his lightsaber.
A green light shot to life in the dim building as blaster bolts rang out from a corner in the dim room. By the Force, it was an ambush and he had walked right into it. Qui-Gon deflected blaster bolts and tried to cover the Phindians who were searching for their own cover. They crawled around the floor and finally made it to relative safety behind a large wrecked floater. They began to shoot their own weapons and provided Qui-Gon some cover-fire. Qui-Gon dashed to where Guerra, Paxxi, and the others were hiding. Their attackers were yelling at each other.
A small object flew from across the room and exploded five feet in front of the fallen floater. The Phindians covered their head and face with their long arms and waited for the ringing in their ears to stop. The shooting ceased for a second. It was a standoff.
"You don't have to do this!" Guerra yelled. "The Syndicat is gone!"
"You fool! Do you think I don't know what they'll do to me if I surrender?" A harsh voice bellowed.
"How do you know? They don't even know yet!" Guerra countered.
There was a murmuring of voices. Perhaps Guerra was getting through to them.
"No! I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in prison!" The harsh voice said and shot at the floater.
"Listen to them Weutta!" A subdued voice called out.
There was more murmuring which escalated into full scale arguing.
"If you help us we'll make sure you'll be given leniency!" Guerra shouted.
Qui-Gon was surprised at Guerra's boldness and his unusual eloquence. He might actually get through to the others with his speech. Weutta might be a different story though. He was right. There was no way the Phindians were going to let him go free.
"Baftu has left you! He fled at the first sign of danger! You can go back to your families!" Guerra said.
Guerra knew he had no chance of reaching Weutta, but if he could get to the others then they could get through this alive. He waited patiently and then heard a weapon clang to the ground. He peered over the floater and saw a Phindian with his hands up walking towards them. Two more joined him.
"What are you doing you slugs?" Weutta screeched. "Come back here!"
The Phindians ignored their superior and walked towards the fallen floater. Weutta's face became a mask of rage.
"NO! I AM NOT GOING TO PRISON!" Weutta screamed and fired his weapon at his comrades. The first bolt hit one in the back and he fell to the ground with a cry of surprise.
"No!" Guerra cried as Weutta aimed and fired at another one of his comrades.
Paxxi had his own blaster up and ready and a red lance of energy shot out straight at Weutta. Weutta was aiming for the last of his comrades when the blaster bolt hit him straight in the chest. Weutta looked down at the gaping wound in his chest with shock. He smiled at them sickly and then fell to the ground. The remaining guard had his hands still up and was looking at his fallen comrades and cursing. Paxxi dropped his weapon like it had burned him. Guerra was clenching his hands and shaking his head. He reached into his pocket and he seemed to calm down.
Qui-Gon stood up and deactivated his lightsaber. The rest of the Phindians did so hesitantly. The remaining guard was trembling all over. He was the one who had stood up first. He looked extremely pale and his orangish eyes were wide and darting all over the place. Qui-Gon made his way over to the fallen guards and confirmed that they were dead. He closed his eyes; more death.
"Th-They're dead aren't they?" The surviving guard asked.
Qui-Gon nodded solemnly and the guard wrung his hands anxiously.
"What's your name?" Qui-Gon asked.
"M-mali." The guard choked out.
Mali's eyes wandered to the object Qui-Gon was carrying and was overcome by a wave of familiarity. He looked closer at Qui-Gon. Oh no, he was human.
"Oh hells, you're his dad aren't you?" He asked in a shaky voice.
"What?" Qui-Gon asked, his heart beating faster.
"The boy!" Mali cried out. "He was renewed yesterday. You're his dad aren't you?"
Qui-Gon's heart stopped. Obi-Wan.
A/N: Finally! I didn't even go as far as I wanted to on this chapter, but I had to post it! Onward to Gala!