4. In the Half-Light
Obi-Wan should have known things were too good to be true. Sooner or later, his abysmal luck demanded that something go horribly, terribly wrong.
"Master Jedi, are we going to die?"
Already, Obi-Wan had given up on telling the kid that he wasn't the master of anything. "We'll be fine, Your Highness. My master will rescue us soon," Obi-Wan said instead, no matter how much it pained him to do so. But the reality was that he saw no easy way out of this. Nonetheless, he continued to meditate, studying the mechanisms of the control panel to their cell, and the lifeforms of the various guards scattered throughout the dungeon of the lunar fortress.
Obi-Wan and his master had been mandated to help negotiations in the midst of a civil war amongst the planetary and lunar citizens of Codia. Instead, the governor of one of the Codian moons had seen it fit to kidnap the prince, unhappy with the motion for peace, and in his effort to protect the child ruler, Obi-Wan had been taken along with him. They were supposed to be bargaining chips, but the governor's bloodthirst left Obi-Wan feeling uneasy.
There was certain possibility that if someone didn't help them, they could very well die.
"How do you know?"
Obi-Wan opened his single working eye with a wince and turned to the seven-year-old prince, running through the many ways he could answer that. In the end, he was able to say, "Because he is already here."
Their bond in the Force sparked with barely-controlled emotion at the closing proximity of Master Skywalker.
"Come, Your Highness," Obi-Wan said, unfolding his legs from beneath him and standing to his feet, resolutely ignoring the sharp pain climbing up his right ankle. The next guard change would be occurring soon and there was no time to waste.
"I thought your master was rescuing us," the child said, but stood as well, moving to stand close and slipping his small hand into Obi-Wan's.
"We'll meet him halfway," Obi-Wan said, unwilling to remain a sitting duck any longer. He was more capable than this. "Now, I need you to be quiet while I concentrate."
"Yes, Master Jedi."
As soon as their current guard vanished, Obi-Wan lifted his hand in the direction of the control panel, manipulating it to deactivate the ray shield entrapping them. Once the shield dropped, Obi-Wan moved them out of the cell and through the labyrinth of the prison, dodging the patrol routes he had carefully memorized during his time here.
White puffs of air materialized with every breath, stone slippery beneath them amongst the creeping ice, glow panels along the floor flickering eerily against the reflective surface. Even the inside of the castle could not escape the violent winter ravaging the surface of the moon.
Unfortunately, it wasn't long before a guard came upon their empty cell and sounded the alarm.
"Run," Obi-Wan hissed, shoving the stabbing pain of his damaged ankle into the Force and dragging his charge along with him, sirens blaring in their ears as they sprinted for the stairway that would lead them out of the dungeon.
As expected, this was where they met the most opposition.
Obi-Wan slid to a halt with a pained gasp, pausing just around the corner and eyeing the three guards barring the exit. He extended his hand once more, and in the distance, the transparisteel of the glow panels shattered spectacularly, sparks shooting up and smoke billowing.
With a shout, two of the guards ran in the opposite direction, hoping to intercept the escaped prisoners. The last guard turned at their approach, but Obi-Wan gave him no time to call for backup.
"You will let us pass." The words were not a suggestion; there was nothing persuasive about them. It was a command dealt with blunted daggers, as subtle as a jackhammer, piercing the man's psyche and tearing his will into ragged ribbons.
"I will let you pass."
Obi-Wan was bypassing him before he could even finish speaking, the prince still at his heels, darting up the narrow stairway towards groundlevel. From there, Obi-Wan allowed the Force to guide his steps, drawing closer to the brilliant, scorching presence of his master.
Unfortunately, the lunar militia had the same idea. Obi-Wan could only dodge them for so long across the expanse of the sprawling fortress, before they were intercepted and swiftly trapped from all sides, the sheer number of them overwhelming the lone padawan and child planetary ruler.
Obi-Wan glared darkly, eyes darting every which way, but keeping deathly still, using his body to shield the kid at his back.
"Hands behind your head!" one of the soldiers barked, shooting off a warning blaster shot that skimmed hotly against Obi-Wan's side and shattered across the wall behind him, the thick material of his robes melting along his skin.
Obi-Wan hissed and slowly lifted his hands, folding them behind his head.
"Now move aside!"
The whimper behind him was audible to only his ears. "His Highness is unarmed," Obi-Wan stalled.
Another warning shot. "I said, move."
For a second, Obi-Wan was unable to reply, the heat of red plasma having grazed close enough to burn flesh. Once again, he released the physical agony into the Force with gasp and met the unforgiving eyes of his assaulter. And when Obi-Wan remained frozen in place, stubbornly shielding the child he was meant to protect, the lunar soldier aimed his blaster a third time―
The blaster was wrenched away, delicate bones snapping with an audible echo, the weapon flying and slamming into the grip of his master's right palm. As one, the soldiers turned, reaiming their blasters at the threat of Master Skywalker, his approach barely visible in the shadowed hall.
Obi-Wan held himself stiffly, eyes shifting as he searched for a way to take the child to safety, until the voice of his master cut through the silence.
"Obi-Wan, are you okay?"
The words jolted through him and his eyes darted back towards his master, whose ice-cold gaze remained locked on the regiment before him.
"I'm fine."
But whatever appeasement Master Skywalker was searching for in his voice was not found, and he risked a glance in Obi-Wan's direction. His master froze. And Obi-Wan knew exactly what his master was looking at―his face swollen and bruised, greasy hair matted with dried blood, robes burnt black from every warning shot he'd been unable to dodge.
The frigid temperatures of the stone fortress abruptly dropped and bore down on them with unnatural ferocity, liquid nitrogen crawling violently through his veins, drenching straight into the marrow of his bones and plunging through every vital organ. But Master Skywalker did not release his anger into the Force as Obi-Wan expected. Instead, it thrummed like a caged beast on the verge of escape, crystallizing sharply inside the delicate flesh of his lungs.
The faces around him turned gray with dread, hands trembling, but none shifted their aim.
The blaster in Master Skywalker's mechno-hand suddenly sizzled and sparked, durasteel fingers pressing down and crushing the weapon into a twist of dedlanite and plasteel. It hit the stone floor with a clang, to be replaced by the pulsating thrum of blue plasma, the glow of Master Skywalker's lightsaber casting sharply across his face, disfigured with murderous temper.
"Release my padawan," he commanded, voice hard as flint, "or die."
The fear of the lunar regiment practically throbbed in the Force, the temptation of the Dark so powerful, it clogged in Obi-Wan's airways and blazed through his optic nerves, crackling with palpable energy―
Blaster fire broke out in one sudden eruption, red plasma hailing viciously upon his master. With the focus removed from him, Obi-Wan reached back and gripped the arm of the young prince, gradually backing them away along the wall. The turn to the next corridor was not far behind and if they could find cover, Obi-Wan was sure he could get them to the safety of his master's ship―
Obi-Wan froze when he sensed the aim of a blaster deviate, the barrel now trained directly at his head.
"Not another step," the soldier snarled, drawing closer, until the scalding end of his blaster dug painfully into Obi-Wan's temple.
Obi-Wan breathed, exhale a visible cloud, as he carefully released his panic into the Force. Against one opponent, he could surely succeed. And he reached further down, until he grasped the deep stillness within, tendrils of Light that reached back and promised to aid him.
Obi-Wan's eyes flicked open and he met the hateful gaze of the soldier―
Hate veered wildly into alarm and then hysteria. The blaster dropped and clattered to the ground as the man clawed at his own neck.
Obi-Wan jerked to face his master, who, with a single Force blast, swatted aside every remaining soldier, bodies colliding brutally against stone walls, blunt force trauma and shattered bones. The lone soldier, still standing, turned blue, and then purple, as he asphyxiated before Obi-Wan's very eyes.
"Master."
The one word from Obi-Wan's mouth was all it took. The man dropped like a marionette with its strings cut off, strangled breaths wracking his body, Master Skywalker's outstretched hand falling down a beat later. The swirl of hate convulsed and shuddered, beating against his master in an effort to be weaponized and redirected. But to Obi-Wan's relief, his master remained a motionless statue, neither surrendering his anger, nor submitting to it.
"Obi-Wan," Master Skywalker said, eyes narrowed and lost somewhere past Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Come here."
Obi-Wan cast a furtive glance over the collapsed men littering the hall, before gently grabbing hold of the prince and guiding him to his master's side, unable to fully conceal his limp. The darkness pulsed harder. And then, another company of soldiers approached from the next corridor over, this time, the governor marching at their head.
"I thought," the governor spoke acidically, pausing at the sight of the decimated army before him, "that the Jedi were supposed to be keepers of the peace."
In a show of power, Master Skywalker flicked his lightsaber back on, lifting the crackling blade before him and shielding Obi-Wan. "Oh? Is that not what I'm doing?"
Through his teeth, the governor spat, "What you have done here is unlawful!"
"No more unlawful than torturing a Jedi of the Galactic Republic. Now," his master said darkly, barely-contained wrath thundering in his voice, "pay attention, Obi-Wan. This is what we like to call aggressive negotiations."
Obi-Wan grimaced, the pulsing agony in his ankle threatening to topple him over. "Yes, Master."
Obi-Wan awoke with a reluctant groan, bruising pain throbbing across the entirety of his body. And for a moment, he stayed in place, single working eye blearily staring up at the durasteel roof of the bunk embedded into the wall of his cabin.
He didn't need to peek through the viewport to know that they were still traveling through hyperspace, on course to Coruscant. His master had made it all too clear that under no circumstances would they be staying to complete their mission. And the shame of that burned worse than any injury he could've received, pulsating hotly in tandem with every beat of his heart―because he had failed.
He had failed when he had disobeyed Master Skywalker and ran off on his own. He had failed when he'd been unable to keep the young ruler from being taken. He had failed when he had gone from protector to victim. And he had failed when he couldn't remain standing long enough to complete their assigned mandate. And Obi-Wan wondered, if he drowned in the memory of his failures long enough, would the hot shame of it burn out every thought, until only a haze of ashes remained?
But predictably, Master Skywalker refused to let him wallow for long.
The blast door swished open and his master called, "Obi-Wan? C'mon buddy, we need to change your bandages."
"Master, I'm fine," Obi-Wan bit out, voice rough with sleep. Nonetheless, he pressed his palms flat against the mattress, pushing himself up with a wince.
Master Skywalker moved to sit beside him on the bunk, setting the medpac down between them and flicking it open. "Let me be the judge of that," he said, voice light and teasing, an antithesis to Obi-Wan's every dark thought.
Obi-Wan grimaced, but allowed Master Skywalker to carefully maneuver his face, the pads of his flesh fingers warm against his skin as he held his head still, mechno-hand gently peeling away the bacta patch sealed over his eye. Obi-Wan blinked, finally able to see from his left eye now that the swelling had been considerably reduced. "Hm, you won't need another patch, but let me apply some anti-inflammatory gel," his master decided, expression decidedly grim as he unsealed an antiseptic towelette to clean up the residue of bacta gumming the edges of Obi-Wan's injured eye.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Is this really necessary, Master? I can take care of myself."
"You are very capable, Obi-Wan," Master Skywalker said agreeably while he gently wiped clean the skin around Obi-Wan's eye. "I just need to see for myself that you're okay."
Warmth flooded his chest at his master's words and Obi-Wan found that he had nothing to counteract that. So, he remained still, patiently allowing Master Skywalker to check over every scratch and bruise, first across his face and arms, and then, under his tunic. Obi-Wan was glad to see that the plasma burns along his torso were beginning to look less gruesome, but the jolt of anger that flashed across his master's Force presence made that relief short-lived.
With a severe expression, Master Skywalker delicately replaced the bacta bandages along Obi-Wan's side, careful to keep his hands from brushing up against the gleaming, raw red skin. Once they were secured, Master Skywalker finally moved to inspect his injured ankle, pulling Obi-Wan's right calf over his lap and folding back the fabric of his pant leg. Obi-Wan twitched, unable to fully conceal his pain as Master Skywalker balanced the fractured ankle in his mechno-hand, flesh fingers tugging away the bandages and gently prodding at the swollen and bruised skin.
"It doesn't look any worse," he decided, voiced layered with resentment. "But the sooner we can get you into a bacta tank, the better."
"It's not that bad," Obi-Wan grumbled.
This time, Master Skywalker shot him a dark look. "You're right. You could be dead."
Obi-Wan paled. "That's not…I…"
"Obi-Wan," his master said, voice strained with something that felt like deep-seeded exasperation, "I am your master. It's my job to protect you. But I can't do that if you refuse to listen to me."
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said miserably, "I didn't mean to make things worse. I didn't mean to fail the mission."
A wave of fond affection abruptly assaulted his senses, briefly shocking Obi-Wan out of his own anguish.
"You didn't ruin anything and you didn't fail the mission," Master Skywalker said sternly, gently rewrapping the bandages around Obi-Wan's tender ankle. "We were given faulty information. We were supposed to oversee the signing of a treaty, not go to war on behalf of an entire planet. We're peacekeepers, not soldiers."
"Didn't seem like it," Obi-Wan muttered.
"What was that?"
Obi-Wan lifted his head and tentatively met Master Skywalker's gaze. But when he realized his master didn't appear offended by the accusation, Obi-Wan cautiously said, "The governor wasn't wrong, Master. You didn't act like a Jedi. You acted like…a soldier. I…I thought you were going to kill him."
A shadow fell across his master's expression. "I certainly would have liked to."
After everything he had witnessed, the confession did not shock Obi-Wan as much as it should have.
Master Skywalker heaved a tired sigh. "Listen, Obi-Wan," he began, "when my master taught me―"
"You mean, Master Yoda?"
His master smiled sardonically, but neither confirmed nor denied his guess. Instead, he continued to speak as though Obi-Wan hadn't interrupted him, "―we were keepers of the peace. And then, we went to war."
Obi-Wan gaped. "But why…?"
"My time as a Jedi Knight is unlike anything you have ever known at the temple," Master Skywalker said, simple words that continued to keep his past veiled in mystery. "I'm sorry that I cannot train you like Qui-Gon would have―"
"But I don't care about Qui-Gon―" Obi-Wan cut himself short at the sharp look Master Skywalker sent his way. "What I mean to say, is that Master Jinn didn't want a padawan. He didn't want me. But you did. Whatever it is that you have to teach me, I will learn it, I swear."
His master's expression grew pained as he answered, "That's what I'm afraid of."
"There is no fear," Obi-Wan gently reminded him. It all seemed so obvious now and Obi-Wan felt foolish that Master Skywalker had had to spell it out for him. The Dark didn't simply haunt one's steps; not unless the Light had been so effectively snuffed out. And Obi-Wan imagined that in a place where war raged, it would be all too easy. "Master…I think you've been away from home for too long."
Master Skywalker smiled sadly. "Yes, Obi-Wan, I think you're right."
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the update! And as always, reviews are much appreciated :)
