Before - Legends FIC: Fear *New 2/23/04 - Complete Story*

Please forgive any typos in this story. I?ve been trying to find time to give it one last proof read before I posted it, but there?s just not enough hours in the day lately. So, here ya go!

TITLE: Fear
AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Pre-TPM. Non-slash. The repercussions of a mission gone wrong, causes Qui-Gon to lose trust in the Force.
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.
ARCHIVE: Ask me first.
MY WEBSITE: http://www.angelfire.com/movies/obithekid/
DISCLAIMER: The characters and venue of Star Wars are copyrighted to Lucas Films Limited. The characters not recognizable from this venue are copyrighted to Tracy C. Knight. The story is the intellectual property of Tracy C. Knight and is copyrighted to her. She makes no profit from the writing or distribution of this story.

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Fear
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I found Obi-Wan sitting in the common area of the apartment that he and his master shared. He was quiet and alone. He sat silently watching the still figure on the balcony as he had done for the past three evenings. Patiently he waited for some sign that things would return to what they had been before the mission to Dalon IV. The mission that had destroyed his master's will and his trust in turning to the Force when all else was lost.

My heart went out to them both. I hadn't seen the official reports from the mission briefing, but Obi-Wan had spoken with me for two hours the day they'd returned and provided every detail he could remember. All the while, Qui-Gon had positioned himself just out of hearing range in the next room. Few words he'd spoken, although we asked the questions. The apprentice told me of the mind torture that the Dalonians had forced Qui-Gon to bear. The physical torture that accompanied it, although painful initially, was causing him few problems now. But his mind was and is a much more difficult recovery. They had used the Force against him. Manipulating it until they could control his every thought and feeling. In his mind, Qui-Gon witnessed the brutal beating and death of his apprentice at hands of the Dalon renegades. In his mind, he watched as I became the next victim. The torture laid on my body lasting over a day until finally I took my last breath. These images were replayed over and over in Qui-Gon's mind until the enemy had satisfied their hate towards the Jedi.

Obi-Wan told me that when they finally released Qui-Gon, the horrific images that he had lived with in the week he was held captive, were thrust through their shared bond. Obi-Wan was witness to everything that Qui-Gon had been a victim of. It took several hours on the transport home for Qui-Gon to realize that Obi-Wan was indeed alive and had not been slaughtered as in his visions. When I saw Qui-Gon for the first time after he returned, the look of relief on his face was immediate. I was alive and unhurt. A brief embrace and he touched my face gently with his fingers. After that he withdrew. And now he sits alone on the balcony for hours at a time. Afraid to reach for the Force. Afraid to ask for help. Afraid of the torment that was reaped on his mind.

I sat down next to Obi-Wan and put my hand on his knee.

"Has he said anything to you today?" I asked, motioning towards the balcony.

"Just a few words. I tried to talk to him...about anything. But he just walks away. I did manage to convince him to eat. But I had to promise him that I wouldn't ask him any more questions today." Obi-Wan paused to take several deep breaths. I could tell that this was upsetting him. He wasn't used to being shut out completely by his mentor. It made him uneasy. And it scared him. "He's afraid to reach out to the Force. I haven't been able to feel him since those first hours on our way home. I keep telling myself that this will get better. That he just needs time to get past this. But with each hour, I'm not so sure. I talked to Healer Terran today. He wants Master Qui-Gon to come and talk to him. I don't think I should mention that to him though. It's liabl

 

Amazing story. I absolutely loved it Trust you to write something so simply beautiful and touching. Great writing OTK, as always

 

I really enjoyed this one. You were able to give us a really good reason for Qui-Gon to be afraid, for the people around him to fear for his sanity and the slow steps needed to bring him back.

I liked very much how this flowed. It was a relatively simple plot but rich, complex relationships made this something to read more than once.

Very good job.

 

Ginger and Diane, thanks so much for your comments. I wrote this story so long ago, I've been trying to finally get around to posting it. But it's one of my personal favorites of recent stories I've written. And I've always wanted to do a story where Qui-Gon had to deal with painful issues like this one. To see how he would react to it, and how those closest to him would react to help him. I think it turned out ok.

Thanks again!

Obi

 

Lovely job, OTK! I really enjoyed it - thanks for sharing it with us.

Shaindl

 

obi,

very good job! While i'm in recovery from a minor surgery this gave me something very interesting to read. It flowed very well and I enjoyed seeing the story from a first person point of view.

 

Thanks for all the comments! So glad you guys have enjoyed this one.

Obi

 

Fantastic Obi, as always.