Riding the Wheel of If
Episode Five
For a moment, Obi-Wan couldn't
even tell he had transferred, aside from the usual nausea. He leaned back
against the warm marble of the
Just after noon in the
statuary garden. The fountain chuckled, the muted roar
of air traffic droned overhead, children played in the distance, their happy
cries echoing against the tall, sturdy walls. After a moment to regain his
equilibrium, Obi-Wan walked a few paces to the right and opened the gardener's
shed door, remembering with a smile how he had used it in the past. Slipping
inside, he removed his backpack and secured it under a large, very dusty tarp
that obviously hadn't been moved in years. After a moment's thought, he pulled
it back out and exchanged his 'saber for his master's, then tucked it away
again.
Pulling up his hood, he strode
confidently into the
// Well, there's the first
part, // he thought wryly, then looked up his own
name. No Obi-Wan Kenobi existed in the records. Blinking for a moment, he
checked the archives. No such name existed in the archives either. //
Hmmmm...//
The next step was Master Yoda,
whom he called. To his surprise he got a canned reply that Master Yoda was
off-planet, at a three-month retreat to Dagobah. // Damn. //
Stilling himself, he thought
for a moment. The first hour chime startled him - he hadn't realized it was
still that early. // Master always ate late at lunch, // he thought, // perhaps
I could see him? //
Quickly he strode up to the
commissary on the third level, the one both he and his Master had always
preferred. At the late hour it was only half-filled, and sitting by himself at
the end of a long table, reading a datapad, was Qui-Gon Jinn.
His stomach fluttering,
Obi-Wan got a tray with a little fruit and water, never taking his eyes from
Qui-Gon. The big man looked much like he did before dying in Obi-Wan's home
reality, silvering hair pulled back away from his (thankfully) bearded face and
prominent laugh lines outlining his eyes. He was absently nibbling at a
sandwich and drinking tea as he read.
Obi-Wan took several deep,
cleansing breaths as he carried his tray over to the long table. He set it down
in the middle of the table, on the other side of Qui-Gon, who looked up
briefly, his face neutral. "I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said, "May
I?"
"Oh,
certainly. No problem," Qui-Gon answered, then did a
slow double-take. "Forgive me, I don't recognize
you, Knight...?"
"Kenobi. Call me
Obi-Wan," the younger man said, pleased there was no tremor in his voice.
"Master Jinn," his
elder replied, reaching across the table to grasp Obi-Wan's arm firmly. The
touch was electrifying to the young Knight, and he hoped Qui-Gon wouldn't
notice. "Qui-Gon. I haven't seen you around, I
don't think. Have I?"
"No," Obi-Wan
thought frantically. "I've - I've been on Dantooine. Since
I was a senior Padawan. Just got rotated back to
Coruscant to start taking missions finally."
The explanation seemed to
satisfy the Master, for he sat back nodding. "I have vague memories of
being a young Knight, the galaxy at my feet. Wait until you're a cynical old
man like me... it won't seem so glamorous."
Smiling, Obi-Wan said,
"You don't seem that old to me, Master Jinn. Qui-Gon.
More like in the prime of life."
To his surprise, Qui-Gon's
ears reddened slightly. // He thinks I'm flirting with him! // Obi-Wan thought,
then realized, with some surprise, that he was.
"Well, tell that to my aches
and pains in the morning. I'm sorry to say I'm not a young, beautiful Knight
any longer."
Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to
blush slightly. "Well..." he paused briefly, searching for something
to say, "perhaps then an experienced, established field Master. Would you
have any words of wisdom to share with such as me?"
Qui-Gon laughed. "Let's
see. Keep your head down. Never trust a Hutt. And always pay cash!"
They chuckled together, and
Obi-Wan replied, "You forgot one; always bring soap."
Blinking at him, Qui-Gon said,
"Yes! That's what I've always told my Padawans. How did you know?"
A bit flustered at his error,
Obi-Wan said, "Th-that's funny. That's what my Master always said
too."
Eyes twinkling, Qui-Gon said,
"Your Master is wise indeed, then."
"Yes," Obi-Wan
agreed, somewhat sadly, "he was."
"Ah." Qui-Gon could
hear the sadness and change in tense clearly. This handsome young Knight had
lost someone dear to him not that long ago. Now that he knew that, he could see
the lines of stress and sadness that aged the young man prematurely. He cocked
his head. "Did I perhaps know your Master?"
"No, I'm sure not,"
Obi-Wan said, a faint smile on his face as he studied his tray. "We were
often off-planet, on one mission or another."
"One of those,"
Qui-Gon said, nodding. "Like me. Only had time for two Padawans, I was
off-planet so much. Of course, that didn't prevent the Council from nagging
me..."
"Qui!" the jolly,
familiar voice came from the doorway, and Qui-Gon looked up over Obi-Wan's
shoulder. The sudden smile that bloomed on the older man's face - a combination
of happiness and love - just about made the young Knight melt in his pants. He
turned, both eager and dreading to see who could make his beloved Master look
like that...
Xanatos was rapidly
approaching their table.
Obi-Wan caught his breath and
froze. The last time he had seen Xanatos he had been quite insane, literally
frothing at the mouth as he tried desperately to kill the man he both loved and
hated. Now, he wore the cream and brown of the Jedi, and walked with a smile
and easy assurance to Qui-Gon, who was standing to greet him. They kissed,
briefly but deeply, as Obi-Wan watched in fascinated horror.
"Thought I'd find you
still here, lazybones," Xanatos was laughing gently.
"Oh Force, Xani, am I
that late?" Qui-Gon asked, looking at the chrono on the wall.
"No, love, no, just
teasing," the dark-haired man grinned, then glanced down to the younger
man seated at the table who was watching them with a strange expression on his
face.
"Oh, here," Qui-Gon
said, motioning towards Obi-Wan. "Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is Knight
Xanatos duTelos, my lifemate."
Even as he stood to take
Xanatos' hand, even as he mouthed greetings and pleasantries, somewhere deep
inside of Obi-Wan he was screaming, crying. This monster was his Qui-Gon's
LIFEMATE? It couldn't be...
"Actually, Qui,"
Xanatos was saying, turning back to Qui-Gon, "I needed to tell you I can't
make it. Knight Borget sprained her ankle last night and she's asked me to
cover for her in Initiate hall this afternoon. Can you find someone else to
spar with?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can,
Xani-love," Qui-Gon said easily. "Do you need help with the little
monsters?"
Laughing, Xanatos said,
"Oh, I'll be all right. I've got my whip and my chair. They don't scare
me!"
Pulling the man in for another
kiss, Qui-Gon said, "Very well.. make sure they know where to send the remains. Have fun,
love. I'll see you later this afternoon." With a jaunty wave, Xanatos left
the room, and left his lifemate with a happy smile on his face as he looked
down at Obi-Wan. "Seem's I've been abandoned by my lover, Obi-Wan,"
Qui-Gon said. "And I've got a spot in the Little Gym for three hours. Would
you care to spar?"
Obi-Wan's brain was completely
fried. The last time he had seen Xanatos... and now he was Qui-Gon's lifemate. This
was not something he could tolerate for long, he thought. Time
- and past - to leave this reality. Then he realized what Qui-Gon had
said.
"Spar?" Qui-Gon cocked his
head and gave the younger man a puzzled look. "Oh. Well. Yes, I would be
delighted, Master Jinn."
The beautiful young man looked
quite green around the gills all of a sudden, Qui-Gon thought, and he glanced
down at his tray and the lack of food thereon. "Are you up to it,
Obi-Wan?" he asked. "You... look a bit upset."
"No... no.
I do have an appointment in a few hours, but I would love to spar with the
great Qui-Gon Jinn," he said, swallowing his vast disappointment. He would
indulge himself in a couple of hours with his beloved Master, then escape this reality. What could it hurt?
"Well, I don't know about
'great'," Qui-Gon laughed, carrying his tray to the return slot. "But
I know I could use the exercise. Shall we?"
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They made their way through
the
"Qui-Gon!" he said,
hurrying up to the bigger man. "We've just got confirmation that the talks
broke down on Luvon. Can you leave first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Certainly, Mace,"
Qui-Gon said. "Go on, Obi-Wan, I'll meet you there in a moment," he
added, smiling at the Knight. Obi-Wan was too caught
up in his own reflections to notice the frown Mace Windu shot him as he walked
away.
He entered the Little Gym,
noting on the sign up sheet which salle Qui-Gon had reserved, then began his warm-ups. // This is
ridiculous, // he thought, // I should just leave now. It's obvious this
reality is not going to be for me. // After a moment,
he sadly added to himself, // I wish I had had a chance to make him smile like
that. //
At that moment, Qui-Gon strode
into the gym, nodding and smiling to those who greeted him, and Obi-Wan was caught. Qui-Gon looked so happy, so content, that he
actually looked younger. // Perhaps this Xanatos is
good for him, // Obi-Wan thought, forcing a smile on his face as he greeted the
big man.
Obi-Wan was
soon lost in sparring. He had always enjoyed moving with his Master, and this
time was no different. He found himself losing himself in the moment, grinning
fiercely as the advantage in their mock battle moved back and forth. Twice they
battled to a standstill; the first time to Obi-Wan's favor, the second to
Qui-Gon's. Two hours flew by, before Qui-Gon called a halt. He threw one towel
to Obi-Wan and used another on himself, wiping off sweat.
"Well fought, young
Knight," Qui-Gon said, smiling broadly. "Your Master was a formidable
teacher. You've done proud by him."
Using the towel to hide his
expression, Obi-Wan let out a muffled "Thank you."
"You're sure I wouldn't
know him?" Qui-Gon was asking, and Obi-Wan had a moment of panic before
hearing Xanatos' voice again.
"Qui? Could you come
here for a moment?" The cultured voice was soft and concerned, and Obi-Wan
dropped the towel to see why.
The Little Gym was empty
except for them, Xanatos, Mace Windu and four Knights wearing the red armbands
of
"Xani? I thought you were
with the initiates," Qui-Gon said, wrapping the towel around his neck.
"I was. Master Windu came
and got me to find out where you were. I guess there's a problem."
"What...?" Qui-Gon
looked from Xanatos to Windu, confusion and puzzlement on his face.
"Who is this you're
sparring with, Qui-Gon?" Windu asked, his voice
low and menacing.
"It's Obi-Wan. Knight
Kenobi. Why?"
Nodding at the security men,
who immediately bracketed Obi-Wan, their 'sabers drawn, Windu said, "There
is no such Knight. I know everyone in the
"Now wait just a minute,
Mace," Qui-Gon said, puzzlement and a bit of
anger touching his voice. "I just spent two hours sparring with this young
man and I can assure you, he's a Jedi."
"Trained as a Jedi,
maybe," Mace conceded, not taking his hard stare off the young Knight. "But not a Jedi. Not one of ours. Please surrender your
lightsaber."
Finally finding his voice,
Obi-Wan said, "Look. I can explain. I am a Knight. Master Yoda can confirm
it..."
"Master Yoda is
off-planet for three months," Windu said harshly. "Now surrender your
'saber or be disarmed. I place you in custody of
"What? Mace, he's a
Jedi..." Qui-Gon was appalled as he watched Obi-Wan reluctantly surrender
his 'saber to one of the security guards, who secured his hands behind his back
with Force binders.
"Qui-Gon, this is none of
your concern. You know we've had hints the Sith are
active again. This young man could easily have been plotting to wipe out the
"Oh, please,"
Qui-Gon argued scornfully. "If he had wanted to kill me, he had ample
opportunity over the last two hours. At least let him explain!"
"He'll have his chance.
Come along." As he was pulled from the room, Obi-Wan shot Qui-Gon a look
of pure anguish and helplessness, which caused the big man to almost speak
again. Xanatos' hand on his arm restrained him.
"Qui, don't," the
younger man murmured. "You'll only antagonize Windu more. Let's go see if
we can find out what's going on."
Nodding, Qui-Gon took his
lifemate's hand in his and together they left the gym.
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They were not allowed into the
hearing room. They spent a few frustrating hours trying to breach
Qui-Gon was in bed, going over
the mission briefing when his lifemate entered the apartment. It was a subdued,
puzzled Xanatos that stripped down and climbed into bed next to him. Qui-Gon
could sense he would talk when he was ready, so just held him, setting the
datapad aside as he snuggled under the covers.
"This is very odd,
Qui," he finally said, obviously still going over the situation in his
mind.
"What did you find out,
my heart?" Qui-Gon asked, kissing the wealth of
dark hair that was becoming lightly frosted with silver.
"Well, I talked to Sanfa,
you remember, he was a yearmate," Xanatos started. "He's been
assigned to Security for the last rotation... he loves it for some reason. He
said the first thing the guy asked for was Yoda, that Yoda would be able to
vouchsafe him. Then, he just kept claiming to be a Knight, and here's the weird
thing, a Knight from a different dimension. He said he's been traveling among
the dimensions, and that in his world, you were his Master."
"What?" Qui-Gon was
incredulous. "He sounds... I mean. Xani, do they think he's insane? He
certainly didn't act it!"
"They've remanded him
over to the healers, but put a Force collar on him. I caught a glimpse of him,
Qui. He looked so... defeated. Broken." Xanatos
shuddered. "Did he seem deranged at all to you? Did he mention any of that
to you while you were sparring?"
Frowning, Qui-Gon thought
back. "I-I didn't talk to him very long, actually. He said he was from the
"You silly old man,"
Xanatos said fondly. "How many times do I have to tell you how gorgeous
you are?"
Smiling slyly, Qui-Gon said,
"You could show me..."
Temporarily shoving his
concerns and worry over the young Knight aside, Xanatos laughed, heaved up and
managed to pin Qui-Gon under him. "And how would I do that, my ancient,
doddering, antique, decrepit, beautiful love?" he asked, punctuating each
word with a kiss, a lick or a nip until Qui-Gon was gasping.
"Oh, I'm sure...Ah!... you could find a way..." His words degenerated
into inarticulate moans as Xanatos dove under the covers, his hot mouth
swallowing Qui-Gon whole.
They proceeded to make love for
hours before Qui-Gon finally fell asleep in his lover's arms. Xanatos, however,
remained awake a while longer, something about the look of despair on the
alleged Jedi Knight's face haunting him.
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Qui-Gon left for Luvon early
the next morning, his lifemate seeing him off with a kiss and a reminder to be
careful. Then Xanatos turned and went directly to the healer's ward, to put in
a petition to see the so-called Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was referred to the Council,
specifically Mace Windu.
It took most of the day to get
an appointment with Windu, who was not receptive to the Knight's request.
"Out of the
question," was his initial answer. "The man could be a Sith. He could be insane. I will not put any Jedi's life in
danger just to satisfy a whim of curiosity."
Fighting to maintain his
control, Xanatos continued to speak in a reasonable tone of voice. "It's
not just a whim, Master Windu. The man spent two hours with my lifemate
yesterday, and not only did he not harm him, but he
sought to make friends with him. I'd like to know why. I'd like to... to talk
to him. To listen to what he has to say. Perhaps a friendly ear could find out
more about him."
Windu sat back and frowned at
the younger man. Absurdly, Xanatos suddenly recalled all the times Qui-Gon had
made fun of that very expression, and had to bite back a laugh. That would
definitely NOT have furthered his request.
"I don't like it,"
the dark man finally said, reluctantly. "But your point is valid. He won't
allow a mind probe without Yoda present, and anyway, Plo
Koon isn't here either. I'd hate to have someone less adept try and possibly
ruin any information we could use."
"Makes sense,"
Xanatos smiled outwardly while inwardly he seethed. The man was so COLD. He
never had liked the big Councilor, and this did nothing to change his mind. "Let
me talk to him for a while. He's got a Force collar on, I'm sure he wouldn't be
able to hurt me."
Very, very reluctantly, Windu
finally acquiesced, stipulating that the interaction be monitored
electronically and by witness. Xanatos readily agreed, and finally was escorted
to the small room where Obi-Wan Kenobi was being held.
The
When the door hissed open, he
turned with dim curiosity, to be faced with the one man he didn't want to see -
Xanatos. He sighed and turned back away.
"Um, Knight
Kenobi?" Xanatos said haltingly.
"You're one I didn't
expect," Obi-Wan murmured. "I was hoping Qui-Gon would come,
though..."
"He's off-planet. Called away this morning. I'm sorry," Xanatos
continued, as he saw the younger man's shoulders slump. He stood just inside
the door, one of the
"I don't see how I could
stop you," Obi-Wan replied dully. He flicked his fingernail over the metal
of the collar he wore. "Can't even sense you with this
on. Or anything else for that matter."
Frowning, Xanatos pulled a
chair away from the wall and sat, straddling it from behind. "That's...
I'm sorry. I think what they've done is ridiculously barbaric. We're Jedi, for
Force's sake... not animals."
Clasping his hands behind his
back, Obi-Wan remained at the window. "Ah. But I'm an unknown quantity...
someone with Jedi training who is not a Jedi. Not here, anyhow," he
finished, muttering.
Xanatos cocked his head to one
side. "I-I heard about that. Something about you being a Jedi in another
dimension. What's that all about anyway?"
Snorting, Obi-Wan said,
"Ah, that. It's just a delusion, you see. I'm quite mad."
"I find that hard to
believe," Xanatos said wryly. "Not that I've met many madmen, you
understand. But you aren't one."
Obi-Wan shook his head.
Xanatos sighed and tried again. "I'm willing to listen. Doesn't that count
for anything?"
Slowly the sandy-haired young
man turned. He leaned against the window's bars and folded his arms across his
chest, his face enigmatic. "I don't know. Are you? It's a long tale."
Indicating the other chair in
the room, Xanatos said, "So tell me a story. Make me believe you."
Almost reluctantly, Obi-Wan
sat, and began to speak, slowly. "It all began with Naboo..."
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Xanatos finally left over an
hour later, chased out by the healers who wanted to run more tests. He went to
his apartment and fixed himself a small dinner, his head whirling. The young
Knight's tale was strangely compelling, and he found himself wanting more of
it, to learn more about Obi-Wan's world, his Qui-Gon, and why he, Xanatos, was
not there. The idea that Qui-Gon had been killed by a Sith,
that someone could travel across realities to others where things had happened
differently... it was all a bit much. But he wanted to hear more; Obi-Wan
indicated he had been to other realities before coming to this one, and had the
healers not interrupted them, they might have talked all night.
As he was cleaning up and
preparing for bed, his dataset chimed, Mace Windu calling him.
"Thank you for allowing
me to talk with him, Master Windu," Xanatos said, after putting on his
'game-face'. "If I might, I'd like to talk to him some more. He was really
opening up at the end."
"I've read the transcript
of your conversation," Windu said brusquely. "You don't seem to have
found out anything new or useful."
"Well, no," Xanatos
reluctantly agreed. "Not yet anyway. But we didn't have that long to talk.
May I have permission to continue to visit him? I-I feel sorry for him."
Frowning thunderously ( // Doesn't he have any other expression? // Xanatos
wondered), Windu agreed unenthusiastically. "Very well.
The healers tell me he'll be available after tenth hour. Try to get something
useful out of him."
Xanatos inclined his head,
cutting the transmission before letting loose with a string of curse words that
would have made his lifemate raise both eyebrows. // Cold, heartless, noisome,
vicious, slimy bastard, // he finished up, pacing to drain the tension he felt.
After a moment, he went to his mat, knelt and meditated, trying to release the
inappropriate feelings into the Force before sleeping.
The next morning, that's how
he found Obi-Wan Kenobi: meditating in a stream of
light from the window. He didn't appear to be having much success. His eyes
were sunken and bruised shadows in his pale face, eyes that opened when Xanatos
came into the room.
"You came back," he
said softly, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Well, yes," Xanatos
said, once again sitting in the same chair. "I had to get permission, but
Master Windu said it would be fine."
"He's... crueler
here," Obi-Wan said softly. "In the third reality, he was a very nice
man, and I liked him. He and Yoda helped me."
"Is that why you asked
for Yoda?" Xanatos wondered.
"Well, partially. In the
last one, Yoda told me to seek him out first, that he
would probably be the one to understand where others might not. Just my luck that he's gone. I guess I'm stuck here for
another few months until he gets back."
"Tell me about your
journeys, Obi-Wan," Xanatos invited, settling back to listen.
For most of the day, Obi-Wan
described his adventures to Xanatos. They spent a lot of time on the
"Wait," Obi-Wan
interrupted, raising a hand. "Qui-Gon wasn't your Master?"
Blinking, Xanatos said,
"Of course not! We're lifemates. That would have been forbidden." After
examining the stunned expression on Obi-Wan's face, he continued. "I take
it... we WERE... where you come from?"
"And more..." Obi-Wan
whispered. He stood and began pacing by the bed - three steps to the wall,
three steps to the chair. "You were Qui-Gon's Padawan before me, you see.
You - you turned. To the dark. And Qui-Gon had to kill
you. It made him swear off taking a Padawan for a while, and he almost didn't
choose me because of it."
Now it was Xanatos' turn to
blanch. "That's... that's incredible," he whispered.
"Oh, it gets
better," Obi-Wan almost snarled, finally coming back to rest in his chair.
He began to tell Xanatos the story of the fourth reality he had visited, and who
had been responsible for the destruction of the
"Oh Force," he
whispered, his hand over his mouth and tears in his eyes. "Poor
Qui." Then he looked up to Obi-Wan, who sat across from him,
breathing hard, his eyes focused on the floor. "And you... finally finding
the one you love only to lose him again. I'm so sorry."
Obi-Wan's eyes snapped up in
shock. "You... you feel sorry... for me?" He blinked several times to
clear his vision.
Greatly daring, Xanatos
reached across and took Obi-Wan's hand. "I love Qui-Gon Jinn. I can only
imagine what it would be like to love someone as special as him.. and to lose him. And worse, not to know whether he loved me back." Obi-Wan's
throat was closed from a rising lump and his chin was quivering with the strain
of holding back tears. "I'm so sorry, Obi-Wan. You've... you've been
through a lot."
"You believe me
then," Obi-Wan whispered harshly, and Xanatos slowly nodded.
"I'm beginning to,"
the dark-eyed man murmured in reply. "I find it hard to believe someone
could make something like this up."
Snorting in derisive laughter,
Obi-Wan gently removed his hand from Xanatos' and said, "Oh, I haven't
told you about all of them yet."
Xanatos spread his hands.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Then he stretched in his chair, his
hand on the small of his back. "Though perhaps I should.
Would..." he looked somewhat shyly across at the other man. "Would
you like to do some katas? Work the kinks out?"
Touching the band at his
throat self-consciously, Obi-Wan said, "I-I don't know how well... but
yes. It would be welcome."
They cleared the chairs out of
the way, and under the watchful eye of the guard, stood and stretched, then
bowed to each other. "Which one?" Xanatos
asked diffidently. "The twelfth?"
"I could use a little
serenity," Obi-Wan agreed, sadly, and moved into the beginning pose. They
proceeded from the twelfth into a few others, Obi-Wan's movements stiff since
he could not touch the Force, but nonetheless graceful for all that. He had
obviously been performing katas for a long, long time, Xanatos thought to himself,
allowing this fact to convince him more of the man's sincerity.
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Xanatos spent the next two
days in Obi-Wan's company, telling him about life in this
Then one afternoon, while they
were doing slow katas, there was a commotion outside. A transport had crashed
and injured survivors were being shuttled everywhere, including the
Obi-Wan pivoted gracefully
until his back was to the monitoring device. "The gardener's shed,"
he murmured.
Not changing his expression
Xanatos let his eyes drift over to the younger man. "Hmmm."
"Statuary
garden. Know it?" Obi-Wan's voice was so soft, Xanatos almost didn't hear
him.
"Hmmm."
"Under a tarp. Don't turn on the
'saber."
The only thing that showed
Xanatos' sudden comprehension was a slight widening of his eyes. They finished
the kata and bowed, and Xanatos looked Obi-Wan directly in his eyes and smiled.
"I think I'd best go see if they need more help. It doesn't sound too good
out there."
Smiling ruefully, Obi-Wan
agreed. "I'd love to help too, but somehow I don't think I'd be
allowed."
Xanatos was careful to lock
the door after him, then sought out the guard and explained he was leaving. Hurrying
to the statuary garden, he quickly made his way to the gardener's shed, lifted
the dusty tarp and retrieved a backpack. Tucking it under his robe, he strode
back to his apartment.
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Late that night, Obi-Wan sat
up on his bed and tried to meditate. He was jittery; not only was he not sure
what he had done was right, he wasn't even sure Xanatos would understand. If the older man turned on his 'saber...
Unexpectedly, the door hissed
open. Framed against the dim lighting of the hallway, Xanatos stood, holding
his backpack and his - rather, Qui-Gon's - 'saber. Obi-Wan shot a look at the
surveillance device on the wall, not speaking.
Xanatos motioned to him, not
coming into the room, waving to Obi-Wan to come to him, then
pressed his lips to the other man's ear. "The monitor is asleep. Let's
go," he whispered. Obi-Wan didn't hesitate.
The hurried out of
the healers' section, down smaller corridors, towards the outside of the
That brought Obi-Wan up short.
"You're not angry? You understand and you're not angry?" he gasped.
"Of course not," Xanatos
said, then, looking both ways, pressed Obi-Wan into an alcove. "Let's get
this damn thing off you here," he said, igniting his 'saber and dialing it
down to a smaller blade. "Hold still."
The collar came off abruptly
and Obi-Wan caught it before it could hit the floor. He gasped and staggered as
the Force suddenly flooded back into his head. Xanatos steadied him for a
moment, then urged him on. "It's not like you
were after MY Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan," Xanatos said, reasonably. "You said
it yourself, you just wanted to get out, but wanted a few minutes with your
Master before you left. How could I begrudge you that?"
"You-you're so
different," Obi-Wan murmured, his voice thick. "If only Qui-Gon
hadn't taken you as his Padawan..."
"Then the Force was with
me in this reality, wasn't it?" Xanatos smiled. They hurried on.
"Are you going to get
into trouble for this?" Obi-Wan asked suddenly.
Xanatos shrugged. "Qui
comes home tomorrow. I think I'll be all right. And they won't be able to find
you at all, so..." There was a sudden shout from behind them and the thud
of footsteps. "Force. I thought I could get you
outside... The 'saber is the key, right?"
"Yes." Roughly,
Obi-Wan embraced Xanatos, squeezing him tightly. "Take care of Qui."
"But of course,"
Xanatos grinned.
"And don't forget what I
told you about the Sith."
"Obi..."
"I know." The
younger man grinned and pulled his 'saber. "Thank you, Xanatos. Stand
clear."
Just then, Mace Windu
thundered around the bend, six Knights with him, calling out to the Knight to
halt. Obi-Wan saluted Xanatos, grinning, and ignited his 'saber.
With a bang, he disappeared.
MrsHamill