Italics are flash-forward in time.

TPM Tatooine Rewrite: Through Glass

By: Syntyche

chapter three: I'm not crazy … or anything

It had seemed so simple. Easy.

Do this, and everything would be fine. "In exchange for specified mechanical parts for a Nubian vessel, I hereby submit the person of Obi-Wan Kenobi as recompense until full payment can be made…" A rough paraphrase, but that was about how the deal had gone.

A weak laugh rasped through split, dry lips.

So easy.

So black and white.

Truthfully, he'd almost felt the tiniest twinge of self-righteousness when he'd uttered the words, "You just did," for he'd solved the problem and saved the day.

At least, he hoped so.

He wasn't really sure.

Qui-Gon Jinn hadn't come back.

He had stopped counting the days as they passed some time ago. Now he just waited – for his master, for death, for whatever or whoever came to claim him.

Except Marjhan.

Force, please, not the Lady. He didn't have the strength to oppose her, but he wasn't far gone enough to ignore her, her tiny, roving, touching, stroking hands, her cooing murmurings, her cruel caresses.

Force, please, please, not the Lady.

From his supine position on the hard-packed dirt floor, he pulled himself into as tight a ball as possible, ignoring all other pains in the futile hope of protecting himself against the fiery agony that was to come, that always came, with the arrival of the Lady.

He heard her enter and offered another silent entreaty for protection. He had come to hate Qui-Gon for leaving him here.

A whisper of air and she was kneeling beside him, her dark tresses falling into his face and obscuring the already dim light. Her cold fingers touched his arm, probing, searching, walking cheerily up his bicep until she found what she was looking for. Tapping the hypo in her hand almost playfully to force the air out, she slid the needle along his vein and giggled delightedly when he shuddered.

"Please … " His eyes were mere slits of blue, shining in the watery moonlight that barely forced its way through the barred and slatted windows of the dark, dirty outbuilding that was used as the slaves' punishment quarters. "Please don't," he whispered.

Marjhan tsked sadly, shaking her head in mock sorrow. "But Obi's been a bad boy again. Obi needs to do better, okay, honey? Obi needs to do better," she repeated softly, cooing, mocking him in a sugary singsong tone suggestive of one reserved for an unrepentantly disobedient child. Leaning across his shaking, coiled body, she tilted his bleeding chin toward her so she could look into his eyes and savor the fear and dread reflected there. "This will make Obi be a good boy."

She thumbed the depressor, injecting the hypo's contents through his skin, and immediately he felt the icy sensation of the drug sliding through his system. Just before his eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness, he reached out desperately and snagged the thought he'd been holding onto before Marjhan had entered, his last remaining tie to his former life: his own voice, patiently serious, unyielding, and perfectly reasonable as he looked his former Jedi Master in the eye and dutifully sold himself into a life of hell.

You just did.

OOOOOOOOOO

Obi-Wan smiled humorlessly. "You just did."

Qui-Gon's piercing stare, frank in its defiance of the veracity of Obi-Wan's calmly voiced statement, sheared through the young Padawan with all the command that the powerful Jedi Master could bring about. The only thing that kept Obi-Wan from backing down under that hard gaze was his utter – albeit suddenly and blindly instituted – complacency in what he had actually done, and the tiny flame of anger within him that refused to be quenched.

"What?"

Qui-Gon's voice was very, very soft and composed, but Obi-Wan knew better than to trust that tone. "Padawan … Obi-Wan." Each word was enunciated slowly and carefully, as though Qui-Gon somehow felt that his apprentice had abruptly lost the ability to reason intelligently, "What. Did. You. Do?"

"I did," Obi-Wan replied, just as slowly and clearly, "what was necessary, Master Jinn," and if Qui-Gon's title was slightly stressed it was certainly unintentional, but the frustrations that had been running high between the two for some time were touched off by that simple phrase, by two different definitions of duty and the prices that had been proffered for each.

Qui-Gon's temper, sorely tested by the frustrations and failings of the past few days, exploded in a fury.

"Obi-Wan, what in hell were you thinking?" he demanded hotly, finally giving in to the often resisted urge to lay a hand on his Padawan's shoulder. The grip he positioned on the strong shoulder, however, was anything but the one of comfort and pride Obi-Wan had always craved: Qui-Gon shook his Padawan harshly, snapping Obi-Wan's teeth together sharply and catching his breath in his throat. Rage kindled in the Jedi Master's eyes until he saw the pain in Obi-Wan's own and quickly he released his Padawan; spinning, he stalked back toward Watto's shop as he tried to control his shame over his loss of temper and the burning knowledge that he had just physically assaulted his Padawan.

"The deal can still be nullified," he murmured determinedly, trying very hard to ignore the winded breathing of the young man behind him.

"Just because you didn't read the fine print doesn't make it any less binding, Master," Obi-Wan interrupted frostily between deeply drawn breaths as he straightened rigidly. The wall that had been building between them suddenly doubled in size, and though in reality Obi-Wan stood only a short distance from him, Qui-Gon could almost see a wide chasm stretching and separating them on the dusty street.

"It's done," Obi-Wan continued, his sharp eyes hard and his tone cold. "Will you take what was offered to salvage what we can of this mission?"

Qui-Gon's jaw tightened grimly as he resentfully conceded the argument to his Padawan – for now. Angrily, he shifted his line of questioning, giving in to the desire to upset Obi-Wan's unflappably calm front with a pointed query.

"What about the boy, Anakin? Does your 'exchange' permit his freedom? Can I take him with me, at least?"

Before a stunned Obi-Wan could form a reply, a patter of feet from inside the shop announced arrival of Watto's young assistant, the dirty boy with an unruly mop of sandy hair that almost obscured his bright eyes. Focusing on Obi-Wan, the boy proffered a small, bound package of engine parts to the waiting Padawan with, "Here – Watto says these are the parts for your ship, sir."

Obi-Wan accepted the package with a resigned smile of thanks and wordlessly passed it on to his Master, directing Anakin's attention toward the other man waiting outside the shop.

"Qui-Gon!" Anakin exclaimed delightedly. "I didn't think I'd see you again after … after what happened." The boy drew a deep breath. "I'm really sorry about the race," he began, and immediately launched into his defense: "If Sebulba hadn't – "

Surprisingly – or perhaps not so – it was Obi-Wan who interrupted the child's apology. He tamped down the initial sting of Qui-Gon's bitter query and tried also to mask his incredulity: this was Anakin Skywalker, this little bedraggled scruff of a child? While Obi-Wan had been instructed all his life that size nor age mattered not, somehow it seemed to him so incredibly unfair that this boy – no matter how gifted he may be – should have tried to carry their disrupted mission upon his shoulders. This little moppet of bright – and dark, Obi-Wan recalled from earlier – energy was not at all what the Padawan had come to expect from Qui-Gon's comm calls. He was too young to shoulder such a burden to make up for the faults of others.

The Padawan knelt before the boy, sinking his knee into the dusty street. "There's no need to apologize, young one. You did your best." He smiled warmly at Anakin, conveying as much calm assurance as he could muster. "Anyway, there's no cause to worry any further. Everything's been taken care of."

Anakin hesitated, unsure of this stranger and his connection to Qui-Gon. At his bewildered glance, Qui-Gon pushed aside for the moment his anger at Obi-Wan and crossed the short distance to his Padawan and Anakin.

"This is my Padawan – my apprentice, Anakin," he explained. He laid a gentle hand on Anakin's shoulder and just caught Obi-Wan's pained expression before the young Jedi hastily schooled his features into a tight smile. Qui-Gon ignored his reaction, but couldn't suppress the stab of chagrin that suffused him. He forged on, "Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Anakin's face brightened immediately as he surveyed Obi-Wan again, this time in a new light of automatic hero-worship. "Wow! You're a Jedi, too?" he asked Obi-Wan excitedly, grabbing the kneeling Jedi's hand and shaking it vigorously. "Pleased to meet you!"

Obi-Wan's reply was a fleeting grin, but there was a hint of familiar sparkle in his blue-grey eyes as he regarded Anakin's exuberance solemnly. The Jedi lifted his gaze to meet Qui-Gon's. "Master, we need to get the parts installed so you can be on your way," he prodded in a murmur.

Qui-Gon tore his attention from Anakin and nodded shortly. As Obi-Wan rose, Qui-Gon bent to look at the boy directly. "I need to leave for awhile – to Coruscant – but I'll return soon, okay, Ani?" He couldn't help but glance at his apprentice as he uttered the words, but Obi-Wan's back was turned as he scanned the horizon. "All right?"

"Okay," Anakin agreed quietly, disappointment and shame in his loss still evident on his face. "I – I'd like to see Padmé again, too, if that's all right."

The Jedi Master smiled. "We'll see, Ani. But I'll come back, I promise." Glancing again at the rigid stance of his Padawan, Qui-Gon added in a soft sigh, "I promise."

OOOOOOOOOO

Obi-Wan's white shirt was dirty and stained with grease and engine fluids, and the Padawan was mumbling, cursing, and growling in several different languages as he wrestled with installing the hyperdrive generator aboard the queen's ship. His long fingers, slick with grease, slipped on a casing as he tugged at it futilely and opened a long, thin gash across his palm.

"Damn it!"

There had to be someone else who could do this job; Obi-Wan himself was in no mood to grapple with the stubborn generator. Gingerly he sucked on the bleeding edges of the cut as he sifted awkwardly through the toolbox that had been placed at his disposal. He picked through its contents until he found a semi-clean rag to bind his hand with and wrapped it tightly around the wound, tightening the trailing end of the knot with a frustrated yank of his teeth.

Agitated now, Obi-Wan ran through some calming exercises as he worked, but he was too wound up over the abrupt turn his life had taken. He would only be left behind for a few days, certainly, but he had just given up his freedom, his habits and routines, to a master he didn't even know, to be subsequently bound to his will.

To Obi-Wan Kenobi, it was a terrifying thought – though not, he realized with a self-placating, sardonic smirk - one that was totally foreign. He hadn't known Qui-Gon for years.

A little more work and a little more swearing and he was through, replacing the generator housing and wiping greasy fingers on his shirt. Now that his responsibilities aboard the ship were completed, he was released to fulfill his obligation to the contract he'd submitted himself to. Obi-Wan stopped by his assigned quarters to clean up and retrieve what little he had – mostly the things granted him by the queen – and quietly let himself out with a few murmured words of parting and thanks to the queen for her kindness.

He was a couple meters out from the ship when a realization stung him. He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to his Master. They hadn't spoken on their return from Mos Espa, and he knew it would be considered disrespectful to leave without at least acknowledging the fact of his departure – if nothing else, so that Qui-Gon knew they were free to lift off.

"What about the boy, Anakin? Does your 'exchange' permit his freedom?"

Obi-Wan's lips twisted in a half-smile. Sorry, Master. I'm not worth that much.

The young Jedi considered. Simply leaving would be better than an awkward goodbye or worse, a renewed argument. Still, he couldn't help a pang of guilt. His Master really was like a father to him – albeit a distant, sometimes cold one, but Obi-Wan had for the most part adapted to a lack of verbal praise and visible affection and instead learned over time the gestures that signified his Master's approval – or displeasure, if such was the case.

An abrupt turnaround to return to the ship was halted when Obi-Wan bumped directly into his Master's broad chest. Apparently Qui-Gon had noticed his Padawan's departure and had a few words of his own to say.

"Obi-Wan, this is completely intolerable … "

But Obi-Wan wouldn't hear him – couldn't hear him. Didn't want to rehash the same argument they'd had earlier.

"Master," the Padawan strove to inject a note of calm into his voice, but for Sith's sake, he wasn't a child any longer. "Please. It's not much, really. Just until you get the queen to Coruscant; then you can buy me back." He added with a slight, cagey grin, "if you want to."

Qui-Gon smiled at that; despite his weariness he was grateful for the tiny reprieve Obi-Wan had offered. "I don't know, young one. After this little escapade, I may just leave you here." His expression abruptly hardened as he whirled around, his staccato pacing a testimony to the depths of his agitation. "Obi-Wan, this is simply unacceptable. I won't leave you behind."

"You don't have a choice," Obi-Wan pointed out quietly. "You signed the contract, Master. A contract that Idesigned with the express purpose of paying off our debt and seeing the queen safely off planet."

"But, Obi-Wan … "

Qui-Gon was still struggling with the ramifications of what his Padawan had done. To willingly submit oneself to another, to give them the express authority to rule and instruct, to punish at will, to withhold things necessary to one's very survival if they deemed it so …

Oh, Force, Qui-Gon realized with a shock. Maybe it really wasn't so very different at all …

He hadn't seen it so much before, but throughout the past decade he'd treated his Padawan nearly as badly and sometimes as coldly – perhaps more so because he was the one who was expected to mentor, to love, to nurture and teach this young one, Obi-Wan: kind, beautiful, precious Obi-Wan, who lived for the warmth of his Master's praise, who was grateful even for the scraps of affection his Master threw at him if it was convenient … who bore his Master's occasional wrath calmly and without censure … who was always there, a quiet, reliable presence even if Qui-Gon pushed him as far away as possible; never complaining, simply waiting, ready to do his Master's bidding.

And Qui-Gon had ignored him. Qui-Gon's knees felt weak and he almost stumbled; as it was, he stopped his pacing abruptly and stared at his Padawan with growing horror in his eyes. "Why?" he half-whispered, half-demanded of himself.

"Why?" Obi-Wan returned frostily, mistaking his Master's pained words as being addressed to him. "Because I believe in duty, Master." His anger fleeing suddenly, Obi-Wan sighed. "I feel the Force differently than you, Master. You've always known – and rued – this. I have to follow my path, too. Leave me to do my duty."

Shaking himself from his sorrow, Qui-Gon smiled, just a little, but the sadness undercutting it pulled any mirth from the gesture. Then I must do my duty as well and return the queen to Coruscant. There will be time for apologies later, he decided.

Gently, he reached out and brushed Obi-Wan's jawline with his strong fingers, letting affection shine in his eyes, and regret for any harsh words he may have uttered earlier. "My dear Obi-Wan," he said tenderly, nearly choking on the words, "You've never done anything less. I am so very proud of you, Padawan. So very proud."

Obi-Wan's ice eyes looked into his Master's and the young Jedi was startled and touched by the love and honesty he found there. It was as if years of heartache and pain had rolled away from Qui-Gon's gaze and his Master was staring at him now with pride, finally understanding. Obi-Wan had to drop his stare to hide the sudden vulnerability that crested nakedly in his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, feeling inadequate and exposed. To his intense surprise, Qui-Gon reached out and pulled him into a rare, quick hug.

"Be extremely careful, Obi-Wan. I'll be back very soon."

Please don't be long, Obi-Wan thought.

OOOOOOOOOO

On one of the upper dunes, Darth Maul scanned the resting ship and the two figures standing outside. Jinn and Kenobi, he was certain of it, but why then was Jinn returning to the ship and leaving the apprentice? Why would Kenobi remain behind?

Maul considered briefly, charting out his next move. He would follow the queen to Coruscant; now that their vessel's hyperdrive had been restored, Maul had little chance of catching them before they reached the Senate – though there would be little need for that if the time-delay bombs the Sith apprentice had had implanted on the hull by one of his droids during the Jedi's earlier absence did its job. He would follow the vessel and be ready when the bombs blew them out of hyperspace: no sense in leaving any part of a job this sensitive to chance.

However …

Maul's eyes drifted back to the Jedi warriors. Obi-Wan Kenobi was well reputed as being a highly skilled, powerful Jedi – and carefully and keenly watched by Maul's own master, Lord Sidious. Perhaps, out of respect for his Master, Maul should carefully reveal Kenobi's new vulnerability to Sidious first …

… unless, he determined with a sharp, satisfied smile, he could take Kenobi on as his own apprentice …

Maul was fully trained and certainly didn't need to beg at Sidious' table any longer. Kenobi could be taken. The thought of being master to the Jedi Padawan and harnessing Kenobi's ample power was … tantalizing. Invigorating. And nearly irresistible.

Maul watched as Kenobi turned his back on the queen's ship as her engines warmed, watched as he simply walked away without looking back, headed for the settlement. Maul watched him hungrily until he had disappeared from sight.

And wondered what it would be like to possess that which was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

OOOOOOOOOO