DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
The atmosphere on the ship was grim. The council had sent a team of twenty Jedi knights along with Qui-Gon and Obi- Wan. Everyone appeared calm but emotions ran sigh. To the older Jedi knights, the young iniates were like their children. And any harm to them would be like harm to themselves. The only talk on the flight had been quiet murmurs between the knights. Obi-Wan had joined in once or twice but most of the time watched his master worriedly as he again meditated in a corner.
Now as the captain announced they were approaching the rebel’s base, the murmurs ceased. Obi-Wan broke off mid-sentence and glanced at Qui-Gon who was still silently meditating.
Just as Obi-Wan opened his mouth to summon him, Qui-Gon turned around.
“Getting into their base will be easy,” said Qui-Gon. “We have someone already on the base and he has told us that they don’t have very good sensor equipment. What we have to worry about though is once we get in there because they do have very good weapons.”
Qui-Gon moved to the group of knights and seated himself next to Obi-Wan. He looked calm but his eyes looked distant and sad, like he had an image in his mind and looking at it caused him great sorrow.
“Master,” said Obi-Wan.
“It is time, my young Padawan,” said Qui-Gon. “I must not leave you in the darkness. Just in case.”
Obi-Wan waited patiently as Qui-Gon collected his thoughts.
“This situation brings back a memory,” said Qui-Gon. “One I have shared with very few.”
Obi-Wan just nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. For Qui-Gon to trust him, a fifteen year old Padawan, with this kind of information was surprising.
“About nine years ago, I was on Corusant, when I met a woman by the name of Kaila,” he began. “She was working in the senate offices of the Malastare officials.”
Obi-Wan sensed where the story was going but didn’t interrupt. Usually when one of his friends described a romance, he’d come up with some sly comment. But he sensed the seriousness in Qui-Gon’s voice and remained silent.
“I knew she was different somehow, the first time I met her,” he continued. “So, I wasn’t too surprised to find that she was trained in the force.”
“Then why was she working in the senate office?”
“Because she decided early on that becoming a Jedi was not her destiny,” said Qui-Gon, giving Obi-Wan a look telling him not to interrupt. “We became very good friends and I visited her whenever I was on Corusant.”
Qui-Gon glanced out the window and seeing that they were not yet at the base continued. “Three years later she was moved to Malastare to work there. I didn’t get to visit her as much then.”
“Did you think about her a lot,” asked Obi-Wan.
“Every day,” said Qui-Gon. “By that time I knew I loved her. After about a year I managed to visit her and I asked her to marry me.”
“So, you’re married,” asked Obi-Wan, but then bit his lip. He knew he was getting ahead again because he didn’t even know if she’d accepted his proposal.
“Patience, my young apprentice,” said Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan thought he’d be annoyed at his interruption but instead his voice seemed sad. “I talked to her over the next couple of months but never got back there.”
“Must’ve been hard,” said Obi-Wan, not sure of what to say.
“Yes,” said Qui-Gon, his mind seemingly elsewhere. “Then one day I was sent to Malastare. Some trouble between the people and the government.”
“And she was there.”
“Yes, she was,” said Qui-Gon, a small smile appearing on his face. “And she looked as beautiful as ever. But I was surprised at one thing as I looked at her across the room.”
“What was that,” asked Obi-Wan, as he was jolted out of his seat. He glanced around and saw the other Jedi were standing up. He looked over at his Master and saw that he was looking straight ahead, lost in his thoughts. Then suddenly he rose and looked down at the still seated Obi-Wan.
“Story time’s over,” he said.
“Will you finish later, Master?”
“I might not have to,” he replied as Obi-Wan got to his feet.
“What do you mean by that,” asked Obi-Wan, frustrated that when he got so close to the answers, the truth was yanked away from him.
“You will see, my young Padawan.”
The group of knights slipped stealthy into a lightly guarded side of the base. Qui-Gon was in the lead and they followed him through twisting corners and hark halls. Obi-Wan thought he kept hearing a baby crying but he knew that the rogues had not taken any infants. Besides, the crying seemed close by and there was no rooms in this particular hall. He chalked it up to his imagination and continued on.
As they came to an intersection, Qui-Gon held up his hand. The parade behind him stopped and waited, as he looked around the corner. After a moment, he turned around and pointed to his left.
“It’s this way,” he said. “A room, three doors down. Seven guards in front of the door and several inside guarding the children and teachers.”
“We’re ready,” piped up a Jedi knight.
Qui-Gon nodded and motioned for them to follow. The guards saw them coming before they’d even gotten past the first door. The knights ignited their lightsabers and deflected the phaser fire.
As they got closer it became increasingly difficult to block their fire but the Jedi managed to destroy most of the guards weapons.
Instead of giving up, the guards pulled out their own lightsabers and began fierce hand to hand combat. Half of the Jedi knights took on the aggressors while Qui-Gon led the other’s into the room.
Inside the guards watching their captives had already readied themselves for combat. Qui-Gon quickly came up with a tactic that would keep the fighting away from the children. Obi- Wan watched as his master took on the fiercest of the combatants. Qui-Gon deflected each strike easily, he was, after all the greatest swordsman the knights had seen in many years. But there was something different about the way he fought, something so slight only a padawan could notice. His concentration didn’t seem to be in “the here and now” like Qui-Gon always instructed him. Despite his distraction, though, he was able to stun the guard unconscious.
After all the guards had been stunned or unarmed, the knights quickly moved to the captives. Qui-Gon began counting the children and teachers while the rest of the knights surveyed the situation for themselves. Obi-Wan noticed that Qui-Gon looked slightly worried as he scanned the crowd of captives again but Obi-Wan didn’t pay much attention to that. Several of the youngest children were crying which caused Obi-Wan to pause. He wasn’t all that fond of the youngest children, especially when he was assigned to help them in his free time. Fifteen year old padawans had more important stuff to do then teach a bunch of four year olds to swim. But now as the knights moved to comfort the children and herd them out of the room, Obi-Wan hurried to help. This wasn’t like assisting in the children’s classes, he was here to rescue them. They needed him and Obi-Wan felt a sense of duty to bring the children home safely.
Obi-Wan found a group of children who appeared to be around four years old, huddled together. He kneeled down next to them and began to speak to them encouragingly, telling them that they’d be out of here soon.
As he did this, he saw Qui-Gon talking to one of the teachers. He thought maybe she was the reason Qui-Gon was so upset but when Qui-Gon turned and ran out of the room, his theory was destroyed. But worse then that, Qui-Gon was now separated from the group which worried Obi-Wan.
Calmly, he herded the children in his care into another group that was being consoled by a Jedi Master. Once the children were absorbed into that group Obi-Wan found the teacher that his master was talking to.
“Where did Qui-Gon Jinn go,” he asked her.
“They took one of us to another part of the base,” she said. “He went to go look for her.”
Obi-Wan didn’t have to hear anymore. He turned and headed out into the hallway,his hand touching his lightsaber. Qui-Gon’s mystery was about to be solved but right now all he could think about was getting to him before the rebels did.