Sorry you had to wait so long for this. I had it finished over a week ago, but fanfiction.net has been down for that long - as I guess most of you probably know. I wish to thank those who have stuck it out with this story. I tried to push myself in certain areas, and still am not sure if I like some of this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. ;)
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TITLE: MILES TO GO
AUTHOR: Cascadia
TIME: 6 years pre-TPM, Obi-Wan is 19
RATING: PG-13
CATEGORY: Drama/Angst, Non-Slash
SUMMARY: Padawan Obi-Wan is kidnapped by a Force-sensitive. Can he overcome without the Force? Without Qui-Gon?
ARCHIVE: Please ask first. Sites who have previously archived any of my stories may archive any of them that they want to without asking. See bio for archived sites.
DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters are the property of Lucasfilm Limited. All the rest belong to me. I receive absolutely no profit from this.
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CHAPTER 7 - HOW FAR CAN YOU TRUST A DROID?
The irritating creak broke the silence of his room every time he moved. Even a very slight movement in his solitary chair caused it to protest loudly. The chair was comfortable, if small, and had one thin pillow for cushioning, but he liked to set it before the window and gaze at the forest.
Resting his chin on his arms upon the windowsill, he stared at the rain drenching the landscape. It was so beautiful. Even in the midst of a mighty downpour, the trees, the tropical flowers and vines - everything - beamed loveliness.
He shifted lazily back in his chair, resisting the urge to send the creaking thing across the room, and concentrated on what he should do next. If Es-Kay was telling the truth - and who knows about a droid - then Tennosa's comm unit was located on the first floor, he was on the fourth floor, and there were three droids total - Es-Kay, a maintenance droid that usually stayed outside, and another servant droid.
As it was, things did not appear very encouraging. Tennosa, with his Force-enhanced abilities, may be too powerful to overcome. If there was some way to get to the comm unit and send a transmission to the Jedi Temple, then he would try that, but still, it might incur punishment for himself if Tennosa knew that he did. But what options did he really have, anyway?
The door swishing open interrupted his thoughts, dragging him back to the present.
"You need to learn not to talk to strange droids," said Tennosa. His voice was very controlled, yet strained.
Obi-Wan quickly looked at the elder man standing at the door to the room, and his heart nearly leaped in his throat. Tennosa stood with muscles tensed, his face contorted in anger.
Slowly, the padawan stood up, keeping his eyes trained on him.
As Tennosa advanced towards Obi-Wan, he pulled out a blaster from beneath his cloak.
"I guess that means Es-Kay won't be bringing my food anymore," Obi-Wan replied sarcastically.
"It means NOBODY will be bringing you any food, Padawan," Tennosa informed him coldly.
Obi-Wan wrapped his hands around the top of the chair, gripping it tightly.
"Don't expect such nice treatment in the future," Tennosa threatened. He stepped closer, within arm's reach, aiming the blaster at his unarmed captive.
With as much force as he could put behind it, Obi-Wan swung the chair up, smashing Tennosa in the side and sending him sprawling to the floor.
The blaster flew from Tennosa's hand. Sliding clumsily across the room, it bumped against the far wall.
Diving for the weapon, the padawan was surprised when a foot connected with his stomach, and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Tennosa quickly scooped up the blaster.
Knowing that this was, in all likelihood, his last chance for survival, Obi-Wan forced himself to stand and ran out the door, just as the blaster fire exploded on the wall where he had just stood.
He raced down the hall, frantically searching for a way to the first floor. At the end of the hall, he spied a staircase and hastened toward it, ducking deadly blaster bolts.
Rushing down the stairs, he nearly tripped on the last step and emerged into another hall. The first open door appeared to be some sort of a personal study. Quickly scanning the room, he saw in the corner a box that looked like a communications unit.
He entered the room and looked for a lock for the door, his heart pounding as he heard Tennosa lumbering down the stairs.
By the door was a small panel with one button - a simple lock. Tennosa wouldn't need a fancy lock for his personal study, like he had for the room he had been keeping Obi-Wan in. He pushed the button, heaving a relieved sigh as the door swished closed and the locking bolt slid in place.
Dashing to the comm unit, he was surprised to see that it appeared to be a design he was not familiar with.
To his side, a small, round droid rolled to stand next to him, while it beeped a series of tones to him.
"How does this thing work?" he asked desperately, hoping the droid would cooperate.
In answer, the droid extended a long arm and worked at the controls.
Explosions erupted outside the door, as Tennosa blanketed the door with his blaster, trying to get in.
A message appeared on the screen, asking for the transmission destination. The droid pointed to a keyboard.
Obi-Wan quickly entered the coordinates for the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Then a prompting appeared for him to record the message.
"You mean I can't talk directly to anyone?" Obi-Wan said, exasperated. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi," he began in a rush. "I've been kidnapped by Merrik Tennosa. I don't know what planet I'm on, but hopefully you can track the transmission signal and find out. I need help now. Please send help as soon as possible."
His heart jumped as the door slid open, grating against the floor.
"End transmission and send," he shouted to the droid.
The droid touched several buttons, and as Tennosa entered the room, Obi-Wan ducked behind a desk.
Blaster fire strafed across the top of the desk, leaving a trail of sizzling, burnt wood.
To the side of the desk, Obi-Wan saw Es-Kay inanimate and propped against the wall, and elaborately along the wall was a display of weaponry. Knives, swords, pikes - all archaic, and with metal blades polished.
Tennosa turned his blaster on the droid at the comm unit and fired. The droid whistled a low sigh before it froze with puffs of smoke spewing from it.
Taking advantage of Tennosa's momentary distraction by the droid, Obi-Wan darted to the weapons display and pulled a long dagger from its mounting. Then the padawan grabbed a small statue off the top of the desk and threw it at Tennosa.
The elder man dodged to the side, avoiding the flying statue, and in his hastiness, fell to the floor.
Obi-Wan ran to Tennosa and kicked the blaster from his hand, but the elder man swung his leg, tripping the padawan. Falling on top of Tennosa, Obi-Wan swung the knife up, slashing the other man's chest.
Tennosa grabbed the padawan, twisting him over and came out on top of the younger man.
Something wet and slick covered Obi-Wan's hands. He glanced down, frightened to see the bright red blood dripping down from Tennosa. The man's black clothing disguised any wound that there may be, but the evidence from the wound looked to be serious.
With a strength that had to be Force-enhanced, Tennosa grabbed Obi-Wan's wrist and pinned his hand with the knife to the floor. Then he backhanded the trapped padawan repeatedly until the young man was nearly unconscious.
In a state of vague consciousness, Obi-Wan felt himself drop the knife, and then being lifted and carried.
He could hear Tennosa's ragged breathing as he was taken up the steps and dumped to the floor of his room. At that moment, as he heard the door swish shut, imprisoning him in his cell again, he allowed himself to loose consciousness.
~*~
He hurt... again. As he reluctantly opened his eyes, he pushed himself to his knees and skittered his gaze over himself, checking for any wounds.
The front of his bright white sleep clothes was deeply stained with patches of red, still damp, and his hands were similarly covered in blood.
Was all of this blood from Tennosa, or was he bleeding as well? he wondered.
He pulled off his shirt and checked himself for any cuts, relieved to find he was not bleeding anywhere except his mouth where Tennosa had hit him, and other than that had only bruises and various pains and soreness.
Leaving his stained shirt off, he crawled to his bed and collapsed, relieved - to some extent - that he was still alive. He tried to forget about his aches and the smell of blood. Even though he had tried to escape, Tennosa had not killed him... yet. But perhaps he was tending to his own wounds first. In desperation, he tried to put that thought out of his mind.
Remembering the attempted transmission to the Jedi Temple, he wondered if it had gone through. He recalled that Tennosa had blasted the droid helping him. Did the droid have enough time to send it or was it all a futile attempt? And even if it did get through, would Tennosa take him and leave this place before any help arrived? It seemed that nothing could go smoothly, the way he wanted it. There was always something there in the way - something denying him passage.
He knew Qui-Gon would be devastated, never finding his padawan, never knowing what had happened.
"I'm sorry, Master," he whispered in the empty room.
The sun passed over the sky outside the window, directing shadows from one side of the horizon to the other.
Obi-Wan lay in his bed, curled up in the thin sheet, and thought of what could happen next. Even if Tennosa did not kill him, there would still be changes. Tennosa had already promised that. He should expect rougher treatment from now on. His captor was not a nice person - anger and hate drove him.
The padawan drifted in and out of sleep, his weariness overcoming him, and his fear over what would happen next biting at his crumbling resolve.
Hours past into oblivion.
Another morning sun appeared, but no one came to his room. What was Tennosa doing?
Hunger began to gnaw at him, but... still no one came.
Tennosa was starving him. That was it, he realized in horror. His captor had said that no one would be bringing him any food anymore. Now he was destined to waste away, dying helplessly from famine. What a cruel torture. What a cruel and terrifying way to die.
Shuddering at that uneasy thought, he wrapped the sheet around him tighter, willing for some kind of protection from the dreadful fate that had been chosen for him.
If this was how it was to be, how he was to die, then he would not beg Tennosa for food. He was a Jedi, so he would accept it without complaint.
When the light disappeared and the moon danced brightly in the heavens, he was still in bed, and his hunger increased with every hour lost.
How could a man be so cruel? he wondered.
Fighting back an urge to dry-heave, he buried his face in his pillow, gritting his teeth on the end of his sheet.
He fell asleep with fleeting thoughts of food pecking at the fringes of his consciousness.
~*~
"Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "If you're going to go to the Republic Day carnival, I suggest you clean up this room first."
Obi-Wan glanced innocently around his bedroom. It was littered with datapads, a plate of half-eaten cake, and discarded clothes. With an impish grin, he organized the datapads, tossed the abandoned clothes in drawers, and stuffed the remaining bit of cake in one large bite in his mouth, swallowing the huge piece with difficulty.
Chuckling, Qui-Gon left the room. "I hope you save room for a Zuacian funnel pastry," he called from the other room.
A Zuacian funnel pastry....
He jerked awake. He was alone... in the room Tennosa kept him in.
It had all been a dream - a mercilessly torturous dream.
Qui-Gon was not here, he was being held prisoner, he was starving to death literally, and he had to dream about a Zuacian funnel pastry.
With one last despairing thought, he reached for his fraying hope and fell asleep again.
~*~
He awoke to another day - another day of starvation, he reminded himself. The sun burned outside his window, sending in a warm greeting to accept that his time was coming near an end.
Rolling over on his side, the padawan suddenly realized his waning strength. He lightly trembled from the lack of bodily sustenance and felt a wave of faintness. Frustrated by his own weakness, he punched his pillow with his remaining dwindling strength, and quietly sobbed, his cries muffled by the pillow.
How much longer could he survive?
The reality of his fate crashed into him, and his despondency rode forth. Closing his eyes, for what he hoped to be the last time, he succumbed to the call of blissful sleep.
Distressed thoughts and dreams of the growing horror of death pranced and played unabashedly through his mind. He slipped in and out of consciousness, giving himself to the idea of never waking again - hoping, praying for it.
There was a soft swoosh and a padding of boots. Then the bed dipped gently with an extra weight.
He remotely pushed thoughts away, wishing he would just die.
A tender touch to his cheek stirred him, but he ignored any urge to open his eyes. He was dying and wanted to die in his sleep, not facing Tennosa. But another hand touched the other side of his face. Together, the hands held his face with caring gentility.
"Padawan," said a calm, serene voice.
No. Not again. He was asleep again - dreaming or hallucinating.
"Padawan," it said again. One hand left his cheek and gently stroked his hair.
"No," Obi-Wan protested. His voice was broken, hoarse. "Please, let me die in peace."
"Obi-Wan. You're not going to die," the voice replied with a hint of worry. "Please wake up, Padawan."
"Master?" Obi-Wan frowned, not sure if he was hearing right.
"Yes, Obi-Wan. It's me," answered the calm, soothing voice of his Jedi master.
Opening his eyes to ensure he was not dreaming, Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon sitting on the edge of the bed, hovering over him. His face was lined in worry, but relief gleamed in his eyes.
"Are you ok, Padawan? Are you hurt anywhere?" asked Qui-Gon. He pulled back the sheet, and his eyes searched Obi-Wan for any trace of injury.
"I'm not hurt," Obi-Wan answered in a weak voice. "I'm... I'm just hungry, Master," Obi-Wan said with a small smile.
Nodding, Qui-Gon noted the evidence of his padawan's captivity. He had lost some weight, that much was evident, as his ribs were clearly visible and his face thin.
"Let me get you something to drink first," Qui-Gon suggested. "I saw a 'fresher just outside in the hall."
The Jedi master left the room and returned a short time later with a glass of water. He held it up to Obi-Wan's lips as he drank it.
"Drink slowly," Qui-Gon advised.
After drinking the glass down, Obi-Wan turned his attention back to his master. "What about Tennosa? Did you find him? Did he get away?" he asked.
Qui-Gon briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were filled with somberness. "I found him, Obi-Wan."
"What's wrong, Master?" the padawan asked, uncertain of what was wrong.
When their gazes met again, Qui-Gon continued. "When the Temple received your distress call, they contacted me and sent me the coordinates of its origination. I was already near this sector, so I came immediately. When I arrived, I found Tennosa downstairs.... He's dead. He bled to death."
"I killed him," Obi-Wan whispered, looking away.
"I'm sure you had a good reason, Padawan," Qui-Gon said in all sincerity. "He looked to be dead for a couple of days. There is no one else here but a maintenance droid outside. So I guess there was no one to help him."
"I've been locked in here for two days, without any food," Obi-Wan said. "And the two servant droids are either turned off or damaged. That's why no one came," he added quietly, as he realized what had happened.
Nodding, Qui-Gon inhaled deeply. "I think I need to tell you what I didn't the night you were kidnapped. I know it must have hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, but I felt that Yoda needed to know first, since he already knew some of the background. I had planned on telling you later," he paused, uncomfortably shifting his weight on the mattress.
Obi-Wan remained still, waiting patiently.
When Qui-Gon continued, his eyes were haunted. "Years ago, when Xanatos was my apprentice, we ran into Merrik Tennosa. He knew he was Force-sensitive, and had sought in vain for instruction. I could see that he wanted it for selfish reasons, so I denied any help to him. Well, Xanatos decided to help him anyway. I'm not sure what all he taught him, but it was evidently enough to be dangerous. Apparently, the Council got wind of it after we returned to the Temple. I... didn't want them to think that I was wrong about Xanatos, so I took the blame for it myself. Then the night you disappeared, a friend of mine told me that Tennosa had been spotted on Coruscant. So I wanted to tell Yoda and confess what had happened years ago... that I was wrong then, as I was so often wrong about Xanatos."
The pain and shame from years ago crept into the Jedi master's face - hurt from the betrayal of an apprentice he trusted and the shame of his own pride blinding him to the boy's evil intentions.
"Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan said softly, "for telling me." He knew it could not make up for the hurt that Qui-Gon felt, but wanted him to know that he stood beside him, not against him.
Eyes tainted with pain turned once again to the padawan. "There are things that we wish never happened, but when we refuse to acknowledge that they did, then we have truly failed."
Obi-Wan nodded, always amazed at the depth of his Jedi master.
"Stay here," Qui-Gon said, clearing his throat as he stood. "I'll find you something to eat," he added with a kind smile.
"Master," the padawan smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Don't forget the Zuacian funnel pastry."
A perplexed expression passed over Qui-Gon's face. He nodded slowly and left the room, but not before sparing one last confused glance at Obi-Wan.
Unable to get Qui-Gon's reaction out of his mind, Obi-Wan burst into laughter.
END
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TITLE: MILES TO GO
AUTHOR: Cascadia
TIME: 6 years pre-TPM, Obi-Wan is 19
RATING: PG-13
CATEGORY: Drama/Angst, Non-Slash
SUMMARY: Padawan Obi-Wan is kidnapped by a Force-sensitive. Can he overcome without the Force? Without Qui-Gon?
ARCHIVE: Please ask first. Sites who have previously archived any of my stories may archive any of them that they want to without asking. See bio for archived sites.
DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters are the property of Lucasfilm Limited. All the rest belong to me. I receive absolutely no profit from this.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CHAPTER 7 - HOW FAR CAN YOU TRUST A DROID?
The irritating creak broke the silence of his room every time he moved. Even a very slight movement in his solitary chair caused it to protest loudly. The chair was comfortable, if small, and had one thin pillow for cushioning, but he liked to set it before the window and gaze at the forest.
Resting his chin on his arms upon the windowsill, he stared at the rain drenching the landscape. It was so beautiful. Even in the midst of a mighty downpour, the trees, the tropical flowers and vines - everything - beamed loveliness.
He shifted lazily back in his chair, resisting the urge to send the creaking thing across the room, and concentrated on what he should do next. If Es-Kay was telling the truth - and who knows about a droid - then Tennosa's comm unit was located on the first floor, he was on the fourth floor, and there were three droids total - Es-Kay, a maintenance droid that usually stayed outside, and another servant droid.
As it was, things did not appear very encouraging. Tennosa, with his Force-enhanced abilities, may be too powerful to overcome. If there was some way to get to the comm unit and send a transmission to the Jedi Temple, then he would try that, but still, it might incur punishment for himself if Tennosa knew that he did. But what options did he really have, anyway?
The door swishing open interrupted his thoughts, dragging him back to the present.
"You need to learn not to talk to strange droids," said Tennosa. His voice was very controlled, yet strained.
Obi-Wan quickly looked at the elder man standing at the door to the room, and his heart nearly leaped in his throat. Tennosa stood with muscles tensed, his face contorted in anger.
Slowly, the padawan stood up, keeping his eyes trained on him.
As Tennosa advanced towards Obi-Wan, he pulled out a blaster from beneath his cloak.
"I guess that means Es-Kay won't be bringing my food anymore," Obi-Wan replied sarcastically.
"It means NOBODY will be bringing you any food, Padawan," Tennosa informed him coldly.
Obi-Wan wrapped his hands around the top of the chair, gripping it tightly.
"Don't expect such nice treatment in the future," Tennosa threatened. He stepped closer, within arm's reach, aiming the blaster at his unarmed captive.
With as much force as he could put behind it, Obi-Wan swung the chair up, smashing Tennosa in the side and sending him sprawling to the floor.
The blaster flew from Tennosa's hand. Sliding clumsily across the room, it bumped against the far wall.
Diving for the weapon, the padawan was surprised when a foot connected with his stomach, and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Tennosa quickly scooped up the blaster.
Knowing that this was, in all likelihood, his last chance for survival, Obi-Wan forced himself to stand and ran out the door, just as the blaster fire exploded on the wall where he had just stood.
He raced down the hall, frantically searching for a way to the first floor. At the end of the hall, he spied a staircase and hastened toward it, ducking deadly blaster bolts.
Rushing down the stairs, he nearly tripped on the last step and emerged into another hall. The first open door appeared to be some sort of a personal study. Quickly scanning the room, he saw in the corner a box that looked like a communications unit.
He entered the room and looked for a lock for the door, his heart pounding as he heard Tennosa lumbering down the stairs.
By the door was a small panel with one button - a simple lock. Tennosa wouldn't need a fancy lock for his personal study, like he had for the room he had been keeping Obi-Wan in. He pushed the button, heaving a relieved sigh as the door swished closed and the locking bolt slid in place.
Dashing to the comm unit, he was surprised to see that it appeared to be a design he was not familiar with.
To his side, a small, round droid rolled to stand next to him, while it beeped a series of tones to him.
"How does this thing work?" he asked desperately, hoping the droid would cooperate.
In answer, the droid extended a long arm and worked at the controls.
Explosions erupted outside the door, as Tennosa blanketed the door with his blaster, trying to get in.
A message appeared on the screen, asking for the transmission destination. The droid pointed to a keyboard.
Obi-Wan quickly entered the coordinates for the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Then a prompting appeared for him to record the message.
"You mean I can't talk directly to anyone?" Obi-Wan said, exasperated. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi," he began in a rush. "I've been kidnapped by Merrik Tennosa. I don't know what planet I'm on, but hopefully you can track the transmission signal and find out. I need help now. Please send help as soon as possible."
His heart jumped as the door slid open, grating against the floor.
"End transmission and send," he shouted to the droid.
The droid touched several buttons, and as Tennosa entered the room, Obi-Wan ducked behind a desk.
Blaster fire strafed across the top of the desk, leaving a trail of sizzling, burnt wood.
To the side of the desk, Obi-Wan saw Es-Kay inanimate and propped against the wall, and elaborately along the wall was a display of weaponry. Knives, swords, pikes - all archaic, and with metal blades polished.
Tennosa turned his blaster on the droid at the comm unit and fired. The droid whistled a low sigh before it froze with puffs of smoke spewing from it.
Taking advantage of Tennosa's momentary distraction by the droid, Obi-Wan darted to the weapons display and pulled a long dagger from its mounting. Then the padawan grabbed a small statue off the top of the desk and threw it at Tennosa.
The elder man dodged to the side, avoiding the flying statue, and in his hastiness, fell to the floor.
Obi-Wan ran to Tennosa and kicked the blaster from his hand, but the elder man swung his leg, tripping the padawan. Falling on top of Tennosa, Obi-Wan swung the knife up, slashing the other man's chest.
Tennosa grabbed the padawan, twisting him over and came out on top of the younger man.
Something wet and slick covered Obi-Wan's hands. He glanced down, frightened to see the bright red blood dripping down from Tennosa. The man's black clothing disguised any wound that there may be, but the evidence from the wound looked to be serious.
With a strength that had to be Force-enhanced, Tennosa grabbed Obi-Wan's wrist and pinned his hand with the knife to the floor. Then he backhanded the trapped padawan repeatedly until the young man was nearly unconscious.
In a state of vague consciousness, Obi-Wan felt himself drop the knife, and then being lifted and carried.
He could hear Tennosa's ragged breathing as he was taken up the steps and dumped to the floor of his room. At that moment, as he heard the door swish shut, imprisoning him in his cell again, he allowed himself to loose consciousness.
~*~
He hurt... again. As he reluctantly opened his eyes, he pushed himself to his knees and skittered his gaze over himself, checking for any wounds.
The front of his bright white sleep clothes was deeply stained with patches of red, still damp, and his hands were similarly covered in blood.
Was all of this blood from Tennosa, or was he bleeding as well? he wondered.
He pulled off his shirt and checked himself for any cuts, relieved to find he was not bleeding anywhere except his mouth where Tennosa had hit him, and other than that had only bruises and various pains and soreness.
Leaving his stained shirt off, he crawled to his bed and collapsed, relieved - to some extent - that he was still alive. He tried to forget about his aches and the smell of blood. Even though he had tried to escape, Tennosa had not killed him... yet. But perhaps he was tending to his own wounds first. In desperation, he tried to put that thought out of his mind.
Remembering the attempted transmission to the Jedi Temple, he wondered if it had gone through. He recalled that Tennosa had blasted the droid helping him. Did the droid have enough time to send it or was it all a futile attempt? And even if it did get through, would Tennosa take him and leave this place before any help arrived? It seemed that nothing could go smoothly, the way he wanted it. There was always something there in the way - something denying him passage.
He knew Qui-Gon would be devastated, never finding his padawan, never knowing what had happened.
"I'm sorry, Master," he whispered in the empty room.
The sun passed over the sky outside the window, directing shadows from one side of the horizon to the other.
Obi-Wan lay in his bed, curled up in the thin sheet, and thought of what could happen next. Even if Tennosa did not kill him, there would still be changes. Tennosa had already promised that. He should expect rougher treatment from now on. His captor was not a nice person - anger and hate drove him.
The padawan drifted in and out of sleep, his weariness overcoming him, and his fear over what would happen next biting at his crumbling resolve.
Hours past into oblivion.
Another morning sun appeared, but no one came to his room. What was Tennosa doing?
Hunger began to gnaw at him, but... still no one came.
Tennosa was starving him. That was it, he realized in horror. His captor had said that no one would be bringing him any food anymore. Now he was destined to waste away, dying helplessly from famine. What a cruel torture. What a cruel and terrifying way to die.
Shuddering at that uneasy thought, he wrapped the sheet around him tighter, willing for some kind of protection from the dreadful fate that had been chosen for him.
If this was how it was to be, how he was to die, then he would not beg Tennosa for food. He was a Jedi, so he would accept it without complaint.
When the light disappeared and the moon danced brightly in the heavens, he was still in bed, and his hunger increased with every hour lost.
How could a man be so cruel? he wondered.
Fighting back an urge to dry-heave, he buried his face in his pillow, gritting his teeth on the end of his sheet.
He fell asleep with fleeting thoughts of food pecking at the fringes of his consciousness.
~*~
"Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "If you're going to go to the Republic Day carnival, I suggest you clean up this room first."
Obi-Wan glanced innocently around his bedroom. It was littered with datapads, a plate of half-eaten cake, and discarded clothes. With an impish grin, he organized the datapads, tossed the abandoned clothes in drawers, and stuffed the remaining bit of cake in one large bite in his mouth, swallowing the huge piece with difficulty.
Chuckling, Qui-Gon left the room. "I hope you save room for a Zuacian funnel pastry," he called from the other room.
A Zuacian funnel pastry....
He jerked awake. He was alone... in the room Tennosa kept him in.
It had all been a dream - a mercilessly torturous dream.
Qui-Gon was not here, he was being held prisoner, he was starving to death literally, and he had to dream about a Zuacian funnel pastry.
With one last despairing thought, he reached for his fraying hope and fell asleep again.
~*~
He awoke to another day - another day of starvation, he reminded himself. The sun burned outside his window, sending in a warm greeting to accept that his time was coming near an end.
Rolling over on his side, the padawan suddenly realized his waning strength. He lightly trembled from the lack of bodily sustenance and felt a wave of faintness. Frustrated by his own weakness, he punched his pillow with his remaining dwindling strength, and quietly sobbed, his cries muffled by the pillow.
How much longer could he survive?
The reality of his fate crashed into him, and his despondency rode forth. Closing his eyes, for what he hoped to be the last time, he succumbed to the call of blissful sleep.
Distressed thoughts and dreams of the growing horror of death pranced and played unabashedly through his mind. He slipped in and out of consciousness, giving himself to the idea of never waking again - hoping, praying for it.
There was a soft swoosh and a padding of boots. Then the bed dipped gently with an extra weight.
He remotely pushed thoughts away, wishing he would just die.
A tender touch to his cheek stirred him, but he ignored any urge to open his eyes. He was dying and wanted to die in his sleep, not facing Tennosa. But another hand touched the other side of his face. Together, the hands held his face with caring gentility.
"Padawan," said a calm, serene voice.
No. Not again. He was asleep again - dreaming or hallucinating.
"Padawan," it said again. One hand left his cheek and gently stroked his hair.
"No," Obi-Wan protested. His voice was broken, hoarse. "Please, let me die in peace."
"Obi-Wan. You're not going to die," the voice replied with a hint of worry. "Please wake up, Padawan."
"Master?" Obi-Wan frowned, not sure if he was hearing right.
"Yes, Obi-Wan. It's me," answered the calm, soothing voice of his Jedi master.
Opening his eyes to ensure he was not dreaming, Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon sitting on the edge of the bed, hovering over him. His face was lined in worry, but relief gleamed in his eyes.
"Are you ok, Padawan? Are you hurt anywhere?" asked Qui-Gon. He pulled back the sheet, and his eyes searched Obi-Wan for any trace of injury.
"I'm not hurt," Obi-Wan answered in a weak voice. "I'm... I'm just hungry, Master," Obi-Wan said with a small smile.
Nodding, Qui-Gon noted the evidence of his padawan's captivity. He had lost some weight, that much was evident, as his ribs were clearly visible and his face thin.
"Let me get you something to drink first," Qui-Gon suggested. "I saw a 'fresher just outside in the hall."
The Jedi master left the room and returned a short time later with a glass of water. He held it up to Obi-Wan's lips as he drank it.
"Drink slowly," Qui-Gon advised.
After drinking the glass down, Obi-Wan turned his attention back to his master. "What about Tennosa? Did you find him? Did he get away?" he asked.
Qui-Gon briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were filled with somberness. "I found him, Obi-Wan."
"What's wrong, Master?" the padawan asked, uncertain of what was wrong.
When their gazes met again, Qui-Gon continued. "When the Temple received your distress call, they contacted me and sent me the coordinates of its origination. I was already near this sector, so I came immediately. When I arrived, I found Tennosa downstairs.... He's dead. He bled to death."
"I killed him," Obi-Wan whispered, looking away.
"I'm sure you had a good reason, Padawan," Qui-Gon said in all sincerity. "He looked to be dead for a couple of days. There is no one else here but a maintenance droid outside. So I guess there was no one to help him."
"I've been locked in here for two days, without any food," Obi-Wan said. "And the two servant droids are either turned off or damaged. That's why no one came," he added quietly, as he realized what had happened.
Nodding, Qui-Gon inhaled deeply. "I think I need to tell you what I didn't the night you were kidnapped. I know it must have hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, but I felt that Yoda needed to know first, since he already knew some of the background. I had planned on telling you later," he paused, uncomfortably shifting his weight on the mattress.
Obi-Wan remained still, waiting patiently.
When Qui-Gon continued, his eyes were haunted. "Years ago, when Xanatos was my apprentice, we ran into Merrik Tennosa. He knew he was Force-sensitive, and had sought in vain for instruction. I could see that he wanted it for selfish reasons, so I denied any help to him. Well, Xanatos decided to help him anyway. I'm not sure what all he taught him, but it was evidently enough to be dangerous. Apparently, the Council got wind of it after we returned to the Temple. I... didn't want them to think that I was wrong about Xanatos, so I took the blame for it myself. Then the night you disappeared, a friend of mine told me that Tennosa had been spotted on Coruscant. So I wanted to tell Yoda and confess what had happened years ago... that I was wrong then, as I was so often wrong about Xanatos."
The pain and shame from years ago crept into the Jedi master's face - hurt from the betrayal of an apprentice he trusted and the shame of his own pride blinding him to the boy's evil intentions.
"Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan said softly, "for telling me." He knew it could not make up for the hurt that Qui-Gon felt, but wanted him to know that he stood beside him, not against him.
Eyes tainted with pain turned once again to the padawan. "There are things that we wish never happened, but when we refuse to acknowledge that they did, then we have truly failed."
Obi-Wan nodded, always amazed at the depth of his Jedi master.
"Stay here," Qui-Gon said, clearing his throat as he stood. "I'll find you something to eat," he added with a kind smile.
"Master," the padawan smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Don't forget the Zuacian funnel pastry."
A perplexed expression passed over Qui-Gon's face. He nodded slowly and left the room, but not before sparing one last confused glance at Obi-Wan.
Unable to get Qui-Gon's reaction out of his mind, Obi-Wan burst into laughter.
END