Author's Note: I love the characters of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the thought of the adventures they may have had before the plot of Phantom Menace got ahold of them. This story was written by me starting after the release of Phantom Menace, and therefore doesn't take into consideration what I don't find particularly good or logical about the three prequels. For instance, that a Jedi cannot love- you won't find any mention of their celibacy policy in this story. Like most fanfiction, this story also involves a female character not introduced in the source material, with whom one or more characters may fall in love. If this isn't what you're looking for, feel free to skip this story. If you do decide to read, I love to hear comments. A great deal of it is already written and I will post faster or slower depending on your responses! Enjoy.

Ch. 1 Escape

The household of Korba the Hutt took to bed early the night two slave girls decided to make their bid for freedom. After all, a Jedi delegation, even one as small as two members, took up a great deal of time and resource. Korba the Hutt, a greedy and typical member of his species, would sign anything in order to widen his trade network. If the Jedi representatives of the New Republic had doubts over Korba keeping his word once he received the freedom trade agreements, they kept such notions to themselves. After all, the treaty had to be signed and ratified by the Senate before anything, good or bad, would come of it. All this was known to the two slave girls in questions- uprooted humans who Korba dressed in exotic and minimal fabrics and forced to dance in order to keep himself amused.

Kira was the elder, by only a few months in terms of age, but any one who took a close look at her eyes (and few did, distracted by supple hips and a tiny waist) could see she outstripped her companion in experience. The two girls were inseparable; this was, of course, discouraged by the slave master Bartha, but somehow the girls always managed to find a way to be together. If they thought it worth the beatings, Bartha was fond of saying, they were welcome to each other's company.

Rose was taller than her companion, with legs that set male members of any species gaping. And unlike Kira, she loved to dance. This brought Rose often to Trouble, and Kira usually found herself stepping between the two. Kira and Rose gathered together this night, down by the coolant system where no one ever came after dark, unless the chill or heat woke the fat Hutt in the middle of the night.

Rose watched as Kira paced, her blue eyes big. "I know this is it," said Rose. "It has to be. It's them." No one else would know what she was talking about, but Kira, her oldest and dearest friend had no questions.

"You think I didn't recognize them?" Kira asked angrily. "I did. I know it's them."

"Then why hesitate?" Rose cried, arms raised in question. Kira's face darkened, then fell.

"Because, Rose," she said, "I have no hope." Rose fell silent, just looking at the shorter girl. Kira continued her steps for a moment, and then slowed to a halt, frozen in place, in deep thought. "I only have doubt. Just doubt, Rose, fears! This is so hard. If he catches us we're dead. We're just vague amusements! He won't think twice about feeding us to the rancor."

"I trust you," said Rose, laying a hand on her arm. "Do you trust me?"

Kira looked up into worried blue-gray eyes. "With my life," she said softly.

"Then let me be your hope," Rose whispered. "We have to leave. We're rancor fodder if we stay anyway. Don't be afraid."

Kira grasped her arm and they shook firmly. "I won't be."

Kira and Rose hardly spared the fat Hutt a last glance as they crept by his tveranda. Rose concentrated on bending the metal of their chains with that secret, miraculous power she possessed. It took a good hour, both girls sweating from the stifling Tatooine heat and jangling nerves.

"Done," murmured Rose at last, catching Kira's chains to prevent their clang onto the floor.

"Clothes?" Kira asked as they prepared to leave.

"Here," said Rose quietly, pulling brown robes from her back. "They itch. Be prepared."

Kira grinned and flung the coarse fabric over her shoulders. "At least we're no longer half-naked."

"That's the one thing I didn't mind!" Rose whispered teasingly.

"You and your provocative ways," Kira whispered back, stifling a giggle. "Let's get to work."

Kira's clever fingers quickly undid the screws of the ventilation shaft. Kira didn't want to tire out Rose, or give the Jedi any Force "signature," per se, to trace or warn them. She needed her energy for the windy hike ahead. She made a face just thinking about it. They would need the utmost caution to reach the Jedi ship. Of course, they would need far more to actually stay aboard it.

"Are we crazy to do this?" Kira muttered.

"Yes," Rose replied, jumping into the shaft and reaching back to provide her friend with a helping hand. "But crazier still to stay." Kira hopped after her, knowing she was right.

The crawl was not long, but dark and scary, full of strange noises. It gave Kira no fear but she found herself pushing away images of them being caught and finding herself unable to protect Rose. Rose was so much more fragile than she would ever admit; Kira had sworn the first day of their captivity to stand between Rose and whatever her friend would have to face. The discussion ended there. Her success was hard to judge. Kira focused on the tunnel ahead, making no noise. Rose, swinging her long legs inside carefully, did likewise.

Finally, a breeze touched their faces, followed by a mouthful of blowing sand. "Cover your face!" Kira shouted. There was no more need for quiet out here in the desert: no one could hear them scream. Survival was the only important element now. Rose obeyed, covering her face with the burlap robe. Kira reached for her hand and Rose gripped it tightly. They were off.

The Tatooine desert is not a friendly place. It attracts no tourists. The searing days can melt the endless sand into glass at their worst. The night is cooler, but brings treacherous winds that sweep abrasive sand into the faces of anyone foolish enough to be caught out. Sandspiders inhabit the bluffs and ridges of the desert sandscape, ranging from only a few inches, where they were at their most poisonous, to ten feet in length and breadth. They were always to be taken seriously. Krayt dragons were rare, but real. Choking vines sometimes lived just beneath a layer of sand, waiting to quench their thirst on the blood of the unwary. Kira and Rose knew of these dangers and were ignorant of several others, just as fatal. Luck would have to be with them or they were lost. A painful death was never far away.

Looking back, Kira would believe it was only pure determination that brought them from that hell to relative safety. Careful to press against the wind just enough, she sought to walk the straightest line possible. To get lost would be more than unfortunate. Rose helped keep her on track, peeking out a few times, which made her eyes tear badly but kept the girls straighter than perhaps they would have been. Three long hours they walked, the howling wind their companion and billions of grains of sand their adversaries. By the light of the stars of the heavens, faint as it was, they began to see a shape. Rose grasped Kira's hand still more tightly.

Soon their hands touched cold metal and she laughed with relief. Seeking cover under the ship, the girls were protected from the desert's horrors.

"We made it," Rose said, tears streaming from her injured eyes.

"We did," said Kira, hugging her close. "Now for the hard part."