Saga Never Look Back. Obi, young Ani. Drama. More author's thanks

Title: Never Look Back
Author(s): Valairy_Scot
Timeframe: less than 1 yr post-Naboo
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker.
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't believe in luck. It's one choices and training, not luck, that determines one fate. When he and his padawan are stranded in the mountains, he faces a life or death decision and Anakin Skywalker faces a lesson he never wished to learn.
Notes: Watching too many climbing movies and documentaries gave me this plot bunny.

[image=http://mtnlover.smugmug.com/photos/121717902-Ti.jpg]




Never Look Back



Don?t look down.

Down was death. Up was life. Up wasn?t that far above them, but down was infinitely further.

Obi-Wan looked down below him at Anakin?s upturned and white face, and the hand clasped securely in his own. Too close?it had been far too close. He had almost lost him to the depths. He tightened his grip.

?Anakin, climb over me! I need you to get above me.?

Qui-Gon would be proud of him, if he were there to hear his former padawan. He was focused and calm, while in imminent danger. There was something about long falls and Obi-Wan Kenobi: they seemed drawn to each other. Nearly a year ago, he had been in two mere minutes apart. Qui-Gon had seen the first, and battled on without him, trusting him to save himself. Qui-Gon had been a witness to the second, though he probably had not seen his padawan?s fall into the pit, or so Obi-Wan thought. He would never know: Qui-Gon had died just a few minutes later.

He really didn?t need to be thinking of death as he dangled above another potentially deadly fall.

Up was life, down was death. And Anakin was below him.

?Anakin! You must get above me.?

?No!? his padawan whimpered. ?You ? you?re hurt, I?ll hurt you.?

He couldn?t hurt any more than he did already, Obi-Wan thought grimly, and Anakin didn?t know just how bad his master?s injuries were. Nor did he, for that matter. How much worse could the pain get? Far above him he could sense the anchor pulling free, and with the pain clouding his mind and the bone numbing chill, he couldn?t do much about reinforcing it. Even a Force push was beyond him at the moment. It was taking all his strength just to think of how to get them out of there, or failing that, getting Anakin out of there.

He glanced down again, into the crevasse stretching deep into the mountain. They were hanging on a utility line quite a number of feet below the lip and it seemed infinity stretched below his boots. His anchor had caught and held him, allowing him to reach out and grab Anakin as he hurtled past him. He was left holding onto the cable with his bad arm, Anakin hanging from the other, and the strain was wrenching that shoulder from its socket.

Anakin had managed to wrap the line around his legs, but that did little for Obi-Wan?s arm, and the shock of catching a falling body had put even more stress on the anchor. Something was going to give, soon, if Obi-Wan interpreted the Force?s warning correctly.

They dropped a few inches. The Force was warning him all right. They didn?t have much time before the anchor gave way and both Jedi discovered just how deep the crevasse was.

He really had no wish to make this discovery. His concern was getting up and out.

Pouring all the reassurance he could into his voice, he spoke lightly.

?No, you won?t hurt me. Padawan, I?m making that an order: climb above me and keep climbing?whatever you do, just keep climbing. Focus only on that.?

?And?and the anchor?? Anakin?s voice quavered, but was otherwise strong.

?It?ll hold long enough,? he said firmly. The Force didn?t disagree.

He had never believed in luck. A Jedi made his own choices and his own chances. If he was smart enough, trained enough, and in tune with the Force enough, a Jedi could make his own luck. He had never thought about bad luck when

 

Wow! What an opening chapter! PLEASE put me on your PM list!

Don?t look down.

Down was death. Up was life. Up wasn?t that far above them, but down was infinitely further below.

Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin?s upturned and white face, and the hand clasped securely in his own. Too close?it had been far too close. He had almost lost him to the depths. He tightened his grip.

?Anakin, climb over me! I need you to get above me.?

I was hooked from the opening lines. Superbly done!

 

Wow, um...what MamaVader said. I'd definitely like to be added to the pm list!

 

Holy smokes, that was intense. I loved the way you built the tension, making sure that Anakin would be okay and knowing that Obi-Wan was determined to do what he must for the kid.

Great job. Put me on the pm list.

 

Master that was great. It was a cool cliffy and everything.
please put me on the PM list and update soon.

 

Wow, that was intense. One of the best story openings I have ever read, everything a drama should be: gripping and gritty. The imagery here was simple but so powerful, and the intensity just keeps building.

Qui-Gon would be proud of him...

I liked that entire paragraph. It gives the reader a break from all the suspense [pardon the pun] without weakening the story and it's a good little look into Obi-Wan's head at this early stage of Anakin's apprenticeship, with Naboo so fresh and all. Obi-Wan is perfectly in character?I hesitate to use that adjective too often, but really, the chraracterisation was exquisite I see a lot of shades of ANH in this story so far, the paragraph that opens He had never believed in luck being the most obvious.

Anakin?s innate abilities and lack of training when young had made Anakin?s use of the Force less one of listening to it as opposed to using it. However it was more than a tool, it was a guide: a lesson he was still trying to teach his padawan.

I really liked that line. It makes a lot to sense to me. That's always been one of Anakin's biggest issues, to my view.

That last bit where Obi-Wan decides I?do only what I must again brought the OT to mind. Decieving Anakin in order to save his life sadly reminded me of his 'point of view' lecture to poor Luke. [So I'm guessing he didn't learn from this episode? ]

Survival trumped truth any day

and especially there.

Could I please have a PM when this is updated? I can't get enough of early Obi//Ani, and I really admire all your work.

 

Oh dear... evil cliffhanger (in the truest sense of the word!)
I hope you update soon!

 

Tell me Anakin is going to somehow save Obi......what an ending!

If you have a PM list, please add me.

I'm eagerly looking forward to more

 

Whoa.

Excellent story, marvelously written, and I loved Obi-Wan's internal monologue throughout the scene.

And then that cliffhanger! (Literally, this time.)

Please add me on to the PM list, I can't wait to see where you go from here.

 

I hope this wil be as good as A Good place to Die. That one I have just read and it was fantastic.
Nice pictures by me to accompany jour stories can be found at http://galactic-voyage.com/Galactic%20Art-Fan%20Art%20Page%204.htm and
http://www.heartstars.net/sw/art.html

earlybird-obi-wan

 

Hooray! Another Valairy_Scot story! And wow, does this one ever have an intense opener! Between you and Anakin_Heartbreaker, I'm going to need a tranquilizer! Whew!

Please put me on the PM list for this! I don't want to miss a single moment - I love your stories!

 

This is an intriguing beginning.

PM me when you post the next part.

I hope he doesn't die. I Obi-Wan!

 

Oh dear. That's about all I have to say about that.

What a tense opening! Obi-Wan cut the rope?!? I must find out what happens now!

*too shocked to say much else*

Beautiful language as always, but... but whoooooa.

Please pm me!

 

*insert cliffhanger joke here*

In all seriousness, wow! What a beginning! Coincidentally, I've been reading about Everest lately, and this is reminding me of some of those stories. I hope this is one of the ones with a happy ending!

Could you PM me when you update, please?

 

Wow! I?m astounded at the response to a little something I put together in two nights, (then spent another 3 weeks polishing and expanding) and nearly 100% readership asking for PMs. I am honored and grateful. (Should I do a Sally Field here?)

I?ve been watching the Everest series on Discovery Channel and recently watched Vertical Limit , and went (flat) X-C skiing for the first time this winter, so I?m in a snowy mood.

VaderLVR64: I?m rather proud of that opening chapter myself?one of my best, I think. [grin]Not-so-bashful grin[/grin]

Luminara_Kenobi: Of course I?ll PM you.

Dianethx: Holy smokes, that was intense. It was supposed to be intense, so I'm glad it delivered.

Healer_Leona: Brilliant start. Actually, those first couple lines had me hooked. Thanks ? sometimes I have trouble finding an opening, and sometimes the muse is working on octane.

Dralksakrak: Thanks padawan ? and I?m publicly applauding your growth in the way of the Force ? er ? writing style. Your master is proud of you.

Cael-Fenton: Wow, that was intense. One of the best story openings I have ever read, everything a drama should be: gripping and gritty. The imagery here was simple but so powerful, and the intensity just keeps building. I?m melting here ? my heart is all aflutter. That?s what I call enthusiasm and encouragement.

Fifilla: Oh dear... evil cliffhanger. Yup ? that was the plot bunny that started it all.

KELIA: Now, now, my dear ? I rarely kill Obi-Wan off, but I have done so more than once and didn?t I say in the summary: ?Anakin Skywalker faces a lesson he never wished to learn?? I don?t like to kill Obi-Wan, but if the story demands it, I will, and I have to do so often enough that none of my readers can know for sure if he lives or not in any one story.

mari4212: can't wait to see where you go from here. Well, I can truthfully say, for Obi-Wan at least, it goes DOWN from there. It?s a long fall and I do not kid when I say he does fall, in case you think otherwise. The cable is cut and the Jedi falls, and Anakin is left to mourn.

earlybird-obi-wan: You?re very talented ? I can?t draw worth a darn, don?t have the eye for perspective. My creative talents are with words and photos.

VA_Parky: Oops ? have I missed another author?s story (it?s a busy time of year)? I love your stories! Right back at ya!

Laine_Snowtrekker: I Obi-Wan! Me, too.


Luna_Nightshade: What a tense opening! Obi-Wan cut the rope?!? I must find out what happens now. Oh, that?s easy. He falls?and falls?and falls some more until he goes splat. Or impaled. Dead is dead, right, (author waves hand). Problem is Anakin doesn?t want to accept his death.

Amidalachick: In all seriousness, wow! What a beginning! Coincidentally, I've been reading about Everest lately, and this is reminding me of some of those stories. I hope this is one of the ones with a happy ending. Have you read Jon Krakuaer?s Into Thin Air about the big disaster years ago? I also recommend the Discovery Channel?s Everest documentaries ? fantastic mountain scenery. I love mountains ? just don?t hang me on a rope above nothing. I?ll stick to trails, thank you very much.

 

Do you have any idea how relieved I was to see "to be continued" at the end of this? I'd've cried if this had been a oneshot.

Wonderful opening chapter. Really gripping. Could I be added to the PM list at all?

 

Oh no! Obi-Wan can't die!

 

He falls?and falls?and falls some more until he goes splat. Or impaled. Dead is dead, right, (author waves hand).

...Wh-wha..? No...no, no it's not, right? I mean...Obi...*sigh*. Please update soon!

 

Note to readers: the powerful windstorm that hit the Pacific NW has left me - still, here on Monday, without power since Thursday night (and nighttime temperatures below freezing). I have no internet access, and I'm sorry - no PMs will go out. There was no power at work Friday, either, and I work in an insurance agency - we are getting hammered with claims and I barely have time to take a break and post this update. I am safe and warm, but missing the internet.



Chapter 2. In the Silences, We Hear Our Hearts


Fingers scrabbled for the edge; fingers clawed and pressed deep as boots kicked for purchase. Shards of snow and ice cascaded down; a fingernail broke under pressure. Up, he had to get up and over. Up and over, he would be safe. Up and over, he could assure that his master was safe. Anakin swallowed hard and slithered over the edge, kicking and squirming though the snow and ice, to collapse on his stomach and do his best not to throw up.

Hurry! The Force screamed through him. The anchor was pulling free and Anakin fought back his panic. He couldn?t lose his master, not now, not ever. He had lost his mother to his new life, he had lost the man who had taken him away from his old life to death ? and he would not lose Obi-Wan, who guided him in this new life.

He and Obi-Wan had gotten stuck with each other to neither one?s joy or satisfaction, or so he had thought; he had quickly come to learn the truth was entirely different. The two of them might not have chosen each other but they chose to make it work. Obi-Wan opened his heart to him with one look, and he with a hug.

He would not lose Obi-Wan. He needed his master ?.

He turned to look over his shoulder, but the Force slammed through him demanding he turn his attention away from the edge and forward to the anchor.

Slipping ? the anchor was slipping ? Force, it was slipping! Anakin launched himself in a full body dive, threw himself across the anchor and jammed it into the snow with all the weight of his body upon it; he spat out a mouthful of snow. He was in time. He panted, a wide grin plastered in white spread across his face. In just a moment Obi-Wan would be beside him, rubbing his padawan?s bruised stomach, an apologetic grin on his youthful face for the pain incurred on his behalf.

?C?mon, Master ? I hurt myself for you!? he shouted as he twisted around and looked for Obi-Wan?s bright eyes and red cheeks. ?Master ? please, you ? you?re coming, aren?t you??

Only the sigh of the wind flapping his cloak could be heard.

?M?master?? Anakin cried, but only the echo of his cry returned. Obi-Wan was saving his breath as he saved himself, Anakin reasoned, desperate to hold onto hope.

Obi-Wan was coming ? had to be coming, any second now ? first a hand, then the second, and then his master would be heaving himself over the edge and flopping onto his stomach. He would pant heavily, grin at Anakin, and clasp his arm as his eyes twinkled and he would make some ridiculous joke that was totally stupid and they would both laugh themselves silly from pure relief and he would throw snow in his master?s face and Obi-Wan would frown at him and tell him they needed to get a move on and would offer him a hand up and then dump him in the snow and they?d have a snowball fight before moving on?.

He wanted to laugh with Obi-Wan at his side, in wet and cold clothes, happy inside even if miserable outside.

Where was Obi-Wan?

He frowned.

He needed Obi-Wan.

Urgent need made him grasp onto the rope ? and flinch, for the rope was slack and weightless? he opened his mouth to scream, ?Obi-Wan!? before his mind turned the ?O? into ?Of course!? A slack line meant that his master was even now coming over the edge. Anakin slithered forward to fall into his arms ? peered over the edge ? and screamed.

Obi-Wan was gone ? out of sight. Disappeared without a sound, died without a scream.

?Master!? he screamed into the depths ? but there was no reply. Just silence. O

 

Valairy! I'm so glad you are okay. I didn't realize you were in the middle of that mess. How awful!

I can't believe you still managed to wander in here and post an update for us - and what an update it was! Anakin is absolutely ripping my heart to shreds. His loyalty is unsurpassed - and you have done a fantastic job of bringing that to the forefront. You always do have a way of capturing the Ani / Obi relationship. I have totally fallen in love with the way you write them.

Best wishes to you and your family for a joyous holiday season. At this point, the best gift for you would probably be electricity, huh? Aww, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, hon!

 

Chasms, whether of poisonous fangs or dangerous depths; jaws with teeth of ivory or caverns of stalactites and stalagmites: everywhere treachery abounded alongside beauty. Treat it all with respect and watch for the bite. Obi-Wan?s words: he remembered them well.

I loved your description here, very eloquent.

Sorry that you've been left with no power. Hope everything's sorted out for you soon.

 

I hope you get your power back very soon, Valairy. It sounds just awful. It's amazing that you posted at all.

You've set the scene so vividly, with the cold and fear and isolation. I love how Anakin is characterized. Not too child-like, but not grown up, either. The way you've presented Anakin and Obi-Wan's fledgling relationship is both beautiful and realistic.

In all the chaos since Jedi first arrived in his life, Obi-Wan was the one constant that Anakin could count on. From family to strangers, from old routine to new, from old life with nothing but hope to a new life with plenty of hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi had been beside him.

So sweet. Great job, which is not surprising.

 

Anakin would trade it all for his master ? his soft laugh arriving with the wind, his mirth-filled eyes in the stars already twinkling faintly above.

Beautiful. There is so much going on in this fic, how can i choose just one thing to quote? Not only the physical danger they are in but also their relationship is portrayed so well. Obi-Wan's last lesson for Anakin was so appropriate. Fantastic work.

edit When your power problems clear up and you have a PM list, could you add me?

 

I am sorry to hear about the power outage and the work overload. Thank you for posting despite everything.

Excellent use of Anakin's POV here, and you characterised him very well. Not too childish, but in every way recognisable as the blonde [Padme]little boy I knew on Tatooine[/Padme]. I love the little flashbacks; I think they really strengthened the chapter. The way Anakin kept remembering Obi-Wan's lessons echoed how Obi-Wan remembered Qui-Gon's lessons in the earlier chapter.

Great update.