Qui-Gon gazed with a heavy heart at the bunk where Obi-Wan was tossing in his sleep. The two Jedi were returning to Coruscant on the Republic cruiser Alliance from Tamarii where Obi-Wan had been injured in their battle with the Tamariian war-mages.

Obi-Wan moaned softly. Turning on his side, he murmured the one word he had been repeating when Qui-Gon had finally rescued him from the war-mages' fortress: Never.

Qui-Gon shuddered. The war-mages had tried to turn Obi-Wan to the dark side, but the boy had resisted with every ounce of his strength. The memory of that struggle, however, had left Obi-Wan with recurring nightmares.

Qui-Gon rose from his chair. He walked over and gazed down at the boy. Although Obi-Wan was now fifteen standards, asleep he looked terribly young and vulnerable. Too young to have undergone what the war-mages had done to him.

Bending down, Qui-Gon gently placed his fingers along Obi-Wan's temple. Breathing slowly and deeply, he focused his awareness on the matrix of the Force. It appeared in his mind as a pulsating nexus of golden light.

Soon he saw before him the roiling black knot of nightmare the war-mages had left within Obi-Wan's unconsciousness.

Qui-Gon's awareness swept towards that pulsating knot of darkness. Gathering the Force about him like a shield, he plunged into that mass of horror. Darkness and fire, anger and hate, and pain--deep, oceanic, and powerful--surged over Qui-Gon.

He gasped and closed his eyes. His fingers trembled alongside Obi-Wan's temple as he struggled to gain control. With all the power of the Force, Qui-Gon concentrated on maintaining his focus as he siphoned all the dark side energy which was afflicting Obi-Wan into himself.

Realizing he had been holding his breath for some time, Qui-Gon released it sharply. He opened his eyes and looked down at Obi-Wan. His breathing had evened out and he had settled into a more restful, dreamless sleep. However, what Qui-Gon had done was merely a temporary reprieve. Only the Healers at the Temple could completely mend Obi-Wan's remaining mental wounds.

The sound of something hitting the floor drew Qui-Gon's eyes down. Obi-Wan's hand had slipped off his bunk. Whatever he had been clutching in it had fallen to the floor.

Qui-Gon reached down. It was the river stone he had given Obi-Wan on his thirteenth birthday. The stone was warm on his palm and pulsed with Obi-Wan's life force. Qui-Gon squeezed it for a moment. Then he carefully placed it in the alcove above Obi-Wan's head.

He looked down at Obi-Wan and, reaching down, lightly stroked the boy's hair. Recalling how close he had come to losing him to the war-mages, Qui-Gon's heart lurched in his chest.

He quickly turned back to the desk in their quarters. As he sat down, he realized with a start he was vulnerable again. He could be hurt. Again. And a name--Xanatos--flickered, then died in his mind. Yet, wasn't being vulnerable a part of being alive? A part of the Living Force he was always lecturing Obi-Wan about? To feel. To care. To suffer. Pain was as much a part of life as joy.

Qui-Gon picked up his stylus and pressed opened his journal. A part of him looked upon his writings as a conceited and foolish vanity, but another part took great comfort in writing down his reflections and meditations. Especially when he was troubled, his journal had become a welcome sanctuary.

He wrote quickly, his handwriting large and bold: Like the shadow adjusting itself to the moving body, so must the Master adapt. To change with change is the changeless state.

The holocom in the quarters beeped. Qui-Gon laid his stylus down and quickly activated it.

"Yes, Captain," he said quietly.

"Please excuse if disturbed you I have, Master Jinn," the tiny holographic image of their ship's Xionese captain said. "But incoming message for you from Chancellor Valorum there is."

"Patch it into the galley, Captain. I'll take it there."

"Yes, sir".

Qui-Gon pressed his journal closed. He rose quickly from his chair. With a last look to ensure Obi-Wan had not been awakened, he hurried down the hall to the galley. He entered the galley and sat at the long metal dining table. Pressing the control on the table's surface he activated the holocom.

"All right, Captain, I"m here."

The image which appeared over the table's surface morphed from that of the ship's captain to the aristocratic features of Chancellor Valorum.

"Qui-Gon. You are well?" he asked.

"As well as can be expected, Chancellor. If you read my reports, you know Tamarii was no picnic."

A frown of concern flickered across Valorum's face. "Yes. I'm very sorry about Obi-Wan. How is he?"

"The Tamarii physicians were able to heal most of his physical wounds," Qui-Gon replied, "but he will need some time to recuperate fully."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Valorum said. "Our intelligence concerning the war-mages had not indicated they had achieved that level of mind control."

Qui-Gon paused as a spasm of anger pierced through him. He quickly stilled his mind. It was not the Chancellor's fault he and Obi-Wan had not been adequately prepared for their mission

"A great deal of mental damage was done to him by the war-mages," Qui-Gon continued. "He'll insist he's fine, but I know better."

Chancellor Valorum cleared his throat. "Then I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Qui-Gon, but I have another mission for you."

Qui-Gon shook his head. "We're not ready for another mission, Chancellor. Not this soon."

Valorum wearily rubbed the side of his nose. He looked no better than Obi-Wan.

"If there were some other way to deal with this, Qui-Gon", Valorum said, "I can assure you I would have explored that. However, your ship will pass near the Dyran system. Your captain tells me he can have you there in two days."

Qui-Gon took a deep breath, released it slowly. "Chancellor, it's imperative Obi-Wan return to the Jedi Temple."

"I understand, Qui-Gon, but my request is an urgent one. A historian from Alderaan University is on an archeological dig on Dyran. You may have heard of him. Professor Kom Landru."

Qui-Gon nodded. Professor Landru was one of the most noted historians in the galaxy. His books on the Old Republic and the Great Sith War were required reading at the Temple.

"The professor and his assistant have not been heard from for nearly three weeks now," Valorum continued. "Because Professor Landru is very protective of his privacy, at first nothing was thought to be amiss when communications ceased from the planet. However, I'm worried. I have just learned Professor Landru was recently diagnosed with Alvron's Syndrome. A bit of information he managed to keep secret from the Republic foundation which is funding his dig. If they had known he was ill, they would never have approved this expedition. I want you to go to Dyran and ascertain the situation."

Qui-Gon said nothing for a moment. He knew it was wrong for him to even consider balancing the lives of Republic citizens against that of his padawan, but he also knew Obi-Wan could not handle another mission.

"You mentioned an assistant?" he asked.

"Yes. Cian Nyal. You remember her, Qui-Gon. Her father was Senator Sydalli Nyal. After he and his wife were killed, Cian came to live in my household for a time, before she went off to University."

Valorum hesitated for a moment and a look of anguish appeared on his normally stoic face.

"Cian is like a daughter to me, Qui-Gon. I was vehemently against her going on this dig with Professor Landru. But she's headstrong. And she's deeply devoted to him."

Qui-Gon quickly made the only decision he knew he could under the circumstances. "Very well, Chancellor, but I will go alone on the mission. Obi-Wan will continue on to Coruscant."

"If you think that's best."

"I do."

"I'm forwarding Professor Landru's last reports to you. And Qui-Gon?"

"Yes, Chancellor?"

"Thank you."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Don't worry, Chancellor. I'm sure they're fine."

"I hope you're right. Good luck." Valorum's image faded away.

Qui-Gon quickly downloaded the reports from the holocom into his personal datapad. Once that was done, he folded his arms and sat back in the chair. Although he was deeply aware of Valorum's concern that something terrible had already befallen Professor Landru and his assistant, Qui-Gon had learned over the years people usually expected the worse.

No, Qui-Gon thought ruefully, the difficult part of this mission was not going to be finding an ailing professor and his young assistant on a desolate planet. It was going to be telling Obi-Wan he was not coming along.

To be continued....