For the Sake of Peace (JA and my first fan fic)

Jodiwent and P_Stotts -- Thanks!

Emma3Jane -- I'm fond of the trio, myself. I'm glad you like them. I've been trying to think of something for them to do after this story is over, but no plot bunnies have come a visitin' yet. Any ideas?

Jedi Susie -- You're not being a pest. Details are important. Although I love getting compliments (I practically purr all day after reading the compliments to my writing) Constructive criticism is good, too. I can't improve my writing unless I know where the weak spots are.

Anyway, on with the story. Not much Obi-torture in this one, but some nasty scenes to come.

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Qui-Gon had not been particularly concerned when he saw Obi-Wan and Drew take off in the speeder after the fleeing Rodian. He had faith in this Padawan?s abilities.

In a short amount of time, the surviving slavers were bound in the slave collars the children had been wearing. It was a tight fit for most of them, but somehow Qui-Gon could not bring himself to care. He had called for the authorities and child services.

Now that the more pressing matters had been attended to, he turned in annoyance to Carra and Ryss. ?What were you thinking? We were dealing with the situation. Isn?t that why you passed the information to us??

?How were we to know if you?d take what Drew told you seriously?? Carra snapped back. ?I couldn?t sense you anywhere near here.?

?That?s because we were concealing ourselves until the time was right to act,? he growled.

?What ? we were just supposed to *let* those dirtbags haul those kids off as . . . ? Carra stopped mid-sentence and got a far away look in her eye. ?Drew?? she said softly.

At the same time Qui-Gon felt his Padawan being knocked unconscious. ?They?re in trouble.?

Feeling torn, Carra looked at the children who were apprehensively huddled together. They couldn?t just leave them alone, even with the slavers restrained.

?As soon as the authorities arrive, we?ll go after them.? Qui-Gon declared.

*****************************************

The authorities, of course, were full of questions about what had happened. Qui-Gon used a mind suggestion to convince them that the security forces had rescued the children and captured the slavers when they had responded to an anonymous tip.

After taking a moment to retrieve the holocamera, Qui-Gon and the two women, with their canines, piled into another of the slaver?s vehicles and headed out after Obi-Wan and Drew.


*********************************************


Obi-Wan returned to consciousness to find his arms tied and stretched above his head, chained to a hook in the ceiling. His toes barely touched the floor. He had been stripped down to just his trousers. Even worse than the bruises from the crash, his shoulders ached from supporting the weight of his body.

A voice said, ?He?s waking up.? A sharp stinging blow hit his face. ?Open your eyes, we know you can hear us.?

Obi-Wan was in a windowless room. There was no furniture except a table and chair. The table was covered in ominous looking implements and whips. The female Rodian stood before him.

?Now, human, ? she said in a sinister voice, ? Let?s have a little chat about where your companions are and what you know about our operation.?

 

Uh oh! We all know what comes next! But, isn't that why we're reading this fic?

 

No one may care, but I finally got the real Carra to read this. Much to my relief she liked it. Still waiting to hear what Drew thinks.

Some of you may care that I'm thinking about writing a sequel to this. I've got a tenative plot mapped out. Just Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, no Carra, Drew or Ryss. Would anyone read it if I posted a sequel?


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Having pulled over at the sight of the speeder crash, Qui-Gon and the two Ytrayuit searched the area for clues to what might have happened to Obi-Wan and Drew.

Zach began to bark and paw at the earth. Wordlessly, Carra held up Obi-Wan?s lightsaber.

******************************************

WARNING: Reader discretion is advised. Several of the following sections contain graphic torture and might not be suitable for all readers.



Sometime later, Obi-Wan hung limply from his bonds, left alone in his cell for the moment. He?d hurt more before in his life, but right now he?d be hard pressed to say when. He was stripped to the waist. His chest, back and arms were covered with cuts and whip marks. Some of his ribs were bruised, perhaps broken. He breathed unevenly through swollen and split lips. One eye was swollen partially closed.

During this respite from his captors, Obi-Wan tried to gather his concentration to send healing energies through his body. Just when he?d finally managed to find his focus through the pain, the door to his cell flew open.

Drew was thrown forward into the room, landing hard on the floor. From the looks of it, their captors had used the same method of questioning on him. The guards pulled him up and roughly tied him to the chair. One of his arms was tied to the side of the chair. The other was strapped palm up into a contraption that held his hand open and immobile.

Making sure the two prisoners were watching, the Rodian female held up a ball of cotton. She placed it in a saucer and poured oil over it, soaking it thoroughly. Next she lit a candle. ?Your stubbornness is most regrettable. If you tell me what I want to know, I won?t have to use more unpleasant methods.?

Obi-Wan and Drew silently glared at her.

?Very well. Remember ? the pain stops as soon as you tell me what I want to know.? She gently placed the oil soaked cotton ball in Drew?s open palm. Slowly she brought the lit candle close until the cotton exploded into a miniature fireball. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Drew screamed curses at the woman for the first minute. Then he just screamed.


************************************************


The Rodian backhanded Drew across the face in frustration. The filthy human had passed out before telling them anything. She pulled the smoldering remains of the cotton ball off his hand, ripping away bits of flesh along with it. Throwing the gruesome mass at Obi-Wan she said, ?Study him well, scum. You?re next if you don?t talk.?

Motioning to the guards, she stormed out. The two prisoners were left alone. In their condition and with guards stationed outside of the door, she wasn?t concerned about their escaping. What she was concerned about was getting results before her employer arrived.

Give the wretched creatures some time to think, she decided. Seeing the mangled hand, smelling the reek of burnt flesh. Let the one contemplate what it would be like when it was his own hand, his own flesh. Sometimes the prisoner?s own mind would do the work for her. If not, well, she would begin the physical torture again.

 

Qui-Gon! Find those boys fast! Great post, greencat336! You do Obi-torture well!

 

I am so behind. Mmmmm... Obi torture, what more can I say? Well, I suppose I could say that I'm enjoying this story a lot and look forward to Qui-Gon and calvary to come to the rescue.

A sequel you say? Why yes, thankyou. I would love some.

 

Oh man... *Squirms* You have me on the edge of my seat.

 

Sorry to keep you all waiting, but its a bit hectic at work right now. It's right in the middle of IEP season and everyone's a little crazed. I'll get a post by Saturday, promise promise promise.

 

Letting the tears he?d held back now flow, Obi-Wan once more attempted to gather the Force to him. When he?d found his focus, he sent the healing energy towards the figure slumped in the chair across from him. It wasn?t much, grief and pain made holding his concentration difficult, but it was something.

Obi-Wan wasn?t sure how much time had passed when Drew began to stir. When he finally opened his eyes and saw the ruin of his hand, he retched. White bone showed through the blackened flesh. The reek of his own burned flesh filled his nostrils.

?My master and your friends will find us,? Obi-Wan tried to reassure Drew. His voice sounded weak and hoarse, even to his own ears.

?Too late,? Drew wheezed, his own voice a broken whisper. ?Can?t last . . . much longer.? Looking at the Jedi with a determined, intense expression he said, ?Kill me.?

?What? I can?t kill you!? Obi-Wan said in shocked reply.

?Dead anyway. . . They?ll kill . . . no matter what. . . This way. . . my choice. . . ? Drew paused, struggling for the physical strength to continue. ?Use Force. . . stop heart . . . break brain vessel . . . can?t take . . . I don?t . . . want to. . . betray . . . ? Drew?s voice trailed off.

?Hold on, ? Obi-Wan whispered urgently. ?They?ll find us soon.?

Shaking his head weakly, Drew forced the words out a throat made raw from agonized screams, ?Not . . . soon . . . enough . . . Do it . . . owe me. . . Sorry to leave . . . you alone. . . ?

Obi-Wan could feel Drew?s seriousness, how he was holding on to his control by the barest threads. Drawing on the Force as best as he could, Obi-Wan once more sent it flowing towards Drew. Instead of the killing blow Drew had asked for, Obi-Wan pushed him into a deep state of unconsciousness. Deep enough, Obi-Wan hoped, that their captors would be unable to wake him for a few days. By then, his master would have rescued them. Please, Obi-Wan begged the Force, let his master rescue them by then.

 

Oooo, I liked how Obi-Wan used what little control he had to help Drew instead of himself, and Obi-Wan's decision to push Drew into unconsciousness instead of killing him. Will Qui-Gon reach them soon?

 

Define 'soon'

 

Okay, I guess 'soon' is defined as almost there, but not until we get through a couple more Obi-toture scenes.

I do want to thank again those of you who have read this story and offered your kind support of my first foray into writing fanfic. I've got the first couple of scenes of the sequel mapped out, but the ending is eluding me still. It seems that's the hardest part. I can get them started down the road, but getting them to their destination is a challenge.

Enough with the rambling, on with the show.

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Qui-Gon, Carra and Ryss concealed themselves on a hill overlooking the camp. The canines had been left with their vehicle, about a kilometer back. It had taken them about a day to find the place where Obi-Wan and Drew were being held. During that time Qui-Gon had felt his Padawan?s agony over their bond. Even as it filled him with worry, it also was a way to help locate him. How could I have let him take off like that, he chided himself.

Carra, he noticed, looked pale and tense, hunching her shoulders forward. Ryss hovered close to her friend, with look that was a cross of worry and anger on her face.

The camp appeared to be a mining operation, with child slaves doing most of the work. Other children, better fed and dressed, practiced military maneuvers under the supervision of uniformed adults. There seemed to be one main building, with the barracks and supply huts scattered about it. As they watched a limo arrived. A cloaked figure emerged. The figure was met with a great deal of groveling on the part of the uniformed adults and escorted into the main building.

Whispering, Ryss began to say, ?I wonder who . . . ? When Carra suddenly gave a muffled scream, curling up into a fetal position, her hand clenched against her. Ryss knelt by her side, trying to see what was wrong.

After several seconds Carra regained control of herself. ?We have to get them out of there. Now.?

Qui-Gon looked at the sun?s position in the sky. ?We?ll wait until nightfall, then make our way into the building where they are holding them. There?s too many of them to make a frontal assault.?

Reluctantly, but knowing he was right, Carra and Ryss nodded their agreement.

 

Great suspense greencat336! Good post! Can't wait for the rescue, though! And the comfort and mush!

 

Please post more soon! I don't know if you'll take this as a compliment, but you're really good at writing Obi-Torture!

 

You had me really worried for Drew!

Keep it coming.

 

Thank you for your positive feedback. I could get addicted to that rush that I feel when reading nice things about my humble story.

It does worry me a little that I seem to have a knack for Obi-torture . . . He really is one of my favorite characters. Maybe its true you always hurt the ones you love
More Obi-torture to come.

SPOILER ---> and this post shows that the Force was with SiriGallia back on the first page. Sigh, I was so depressed when I read her guess. I thought I'd thrown everyone off the track by having her be the one to tell Alden about the corruption. Oh well.

Rescuers will arrive soon!

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Time passed. Drew was still unconscious, slumped in the chair where he?d been tied. Obi-Wan drifted in and out of consciousness. He had tried to put himself into a healing trance, but the last burst of Force activity seemed to have completely drained him. He couldn?t concentrate long enough to summon the Force. His body?s pains shouted at him, his shoulders? screamed. He couldn?t quiet them long enough to focus.

He felt a wave of despair wash over him as the door to his cell opened again.

A cloaked figure strode through, followed by the Rodian and the guards. Pausing by Drew, the cloaked figure said in a cold, uncaring voice, ?Is he dead??

Where, Obi-Wan wondered dully, have I heard that woman?s voice before?

The Rodian checked for a pulse at the throat, then slapped Drew across the face several times. ?No, passed out. Do you wish me to awaken him??

?Perhaps later.? The cloaked figure said. Walking towards Obi-Wan, she said, ?Foolish boy. Why do you resist? You will tell us what we want to know. All you are doing is causing yourself unnecessary pain. Where are your companions? What have you discovered about our operation??

?Tari Genoveev . . . ? Obi-Wan whispered.

?So you recognized me.? Genoveev smiled as she pulled down the hood of her cloak. ?It doesn?t matter. You will still tell me what I want to know.?

?Why are you doing this? Secretary Alden . . . ? Obi-Wan asked.

Interrupting him angrily, ?Alden is a fool. All this peace can do is weaken the Dneistian, then the cursed Gdansk will overrun us.?

?Tholiel is a Gdansk, yet he?s working with you isn?t he?? Obi-Wan asked. He really didn?t believe what he?d said, but he was hoping to draw out the truth from Genoveev.

Genoveev slapped Obi-Wan across the face, rocking his head back. ?Do not insult me. Tholiel is nothing. A convenient scapegoat. After his initial hesitation, Tholiel now supports this peace almost as stupidly as Alden.?

?Then why would you accuse him of corruption?? Obi-Wan played dumb, trying to learn more.

?We are ready to move against the Gdanskians. If we can force them to strike first, to appear to strike first, we will gain the sympathy of the rest of the galaxy and their support. If Alden had made the accusations against Tholiel . . . but no matter. The confession of a Jedi, one of those who are secretly manipulating the corrupt government they forced us to put into place. That will stir our people to war. This time we will wipe the Gdansk plague from the face of Ptedesh.? Genoveev paused in her rant. ?Now it is your turn. You will confess everything about your secret attempts to manipulate the Dneistian. Tell my people who let you Jedi come to Ptedesh, what you evils you have done here.? At her signal, one of the guards brought forward an audio recording device.

Obi ? wan shook his head, refusing to speak.

The Rodian moved forward, a pair of pliers in her hand.

 

Rescue that boy, Qui-Gon! Do it now! Pliers are not a good sign!

 

Pliers?!? Never thought of those as an instrument of torture before! Keep it coming, Greencat!

 

Ask and you shall receive.

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Qui-Gon, Carra, and Ryss had managed to get into the main building unnoticed. They had made it about halfway down the main hallway when the alarms sounded. Guards poured into the hall like angry hornets.

?Go find Obi-Wan and Drew,? Qui-Gon ordered the others. ?I?ll hold them off. If we don?t find each other, I?ll meet you back at the speeder.?

As the two women rushed down the hall, Qui-Gon drew his lightsaber. He was much more effective with it than with a blaster. It didn?t matter if it identified him as a Jedi. Obi-Wan?s life was far more important to him than any mission.


****************************************************

Obi-Wan now understood why Drew would ask for death. He wondered how much longer he could hold out. After what seemed like an eternity of pain and demands for him to confess to illegally manipulating the Ptedesh government, they unchained him from where he?d been hanging.

For a brief moment, hope filled him. Was this another respite from the torture?

His hopes died as he saw them untie Drew?s unconscious form. They bound Drew?s arms and threw his limp body in the corner. Obi-Wan was tied in his place.

Once more the pliers were brought into use. Starting with the end and working towards the hand, each of his fingers was crushed. Nothing existed anymore for Obi-
Wan. Nothing except the pain and the voices demanding he say certain things. He struggled to remember why he was refusing to do as they wanted. The voices promised to end the pain when he obeyed them.

 

Hurry up and find Obi! Hurry! Hurry! Uh...er...*looks around in embarrassment*...sorry about that...forgot where I was for a moment. More soon, greencat336!

 

Oh ouch! Poor Obi! Actually when she asked for the pliers I was sure she was going to start pulling out fingernals, still whether she's pulling out nails or crushing fingers it's gotta hurt! Hope Qui-Gon finds him soon.

 

YOW! Poor Obi! I sure hope Qui-Gon finds him soon!

 

The shriek of the alarm filled the room. Irritated, Tari Genoveev contacted the Guard Station over her comlink. It had better not be some kind of drill, she thought. The Jedi brat was close to breaking. ?What?s going on! Why are the alarms going off??

?Intruders in the building, Ma?am. One of them has a lightsaber. It may be a Jedi.?

Cursing, Genoveev turned to the guards in the room. ?Bring him to my limo, ? pointing to Obi-Wan.

At that moment, the door burst open. Carra and Ryss rushed into the room, blasters drawn. ?No one move,? Ryss shouted.

Carra?s eyes took in the sight of Drew crumpled unmoving on the floor, a bloody Obi-Wan tied to a chair, and the Rodian standing next to him, pliers still in her hand. Without saying a word, Carra shot the Rodian in the chest.

?Unless you want to be next, you?ll do as we tell you,? said Ryss, harshly. She was surprised Carra had dealt the woman such a quick, relatively painless death. Oh well, she thought. We are in a hurry.

?You three,? Ryss said to the guards,? Throw your weapons over there. Now help them up ? gently! Carry them in front of us to the nearest exit of this building.?

Carra grabbed Genoveev?s arm and dug her blaster into the woman?s side. Noticing the commlink in her hand, she ordered, ?Tell the rest of the guards to clear the way.? Seeing Genoveev hesitate, she warned, ?We have any trouble getting out of here and you?ll be the next to die.?

Glaring at the woman, Genoveev complied.

As the strange parade made its way out of the building, they encountered Qui-Gon. Having dealt with his opposition he had sought out the others.

?Obi-Wan,? he said in concern, moving to take his injured Padawan from the guard.

?Wait, Master Jinn,? called out Carra. ?Let the guard carry him while you make sure the way is clear.? It was then that Qui-Gon noticed whom Carra was holding hostage.

?Genoveev, you?re involved in this? You would betray the Peace and the trust Secretary Alden put in you??

?Don?t speak to me of betrayal. It?s Alden who is the traitor. He betrayed our people to this false peace . . . ? Genoveev?s tirade was cut short as Carra jammed the blaster harder into her ribs and in a curt voice suggested she, ?Shut up.?

In accordance with the instructions Carra had Genoveev give over the commlink, there was no interference as they made their way out of the building.

Seeing the limo parked out front, Ryss quipped , ?If you?re going to make a rescue, why not do it in style??

The guards were ordered to put Drew and Ob-Wan in the back of the limo, then lay face down on the ground. Ryss slid into the driver?s seat. Qui-Gon and Carra got into the back, with Carra pulling Genoveev in with her. When Genoveev began to struggle to get away, Carra brutally hit her across the head, knocking her out. She dumped the limp body onto the floor with a vicious kick, before moving to care for Drew.


Qui-Gon looked up from his examination of Obi-Wan?s injuries. Revenge was not the way of the Jedi, but who was he to interfere in the traditions of other cultures.


Ryss pushed the limo to its top speed, as they headed away from the camp.


Stopping only to pick up the canines, they headed for the Ytrayuits? ship. Ryss piloted the ship on a surface to surface hop from Sjateratin City to the Capital. Qui-Gon had called Alden to tell him they were on their way, with the evidence Alden needed. Alden was also told to have med teams standing by when they landed. Genoveev was restrained and locked in a closet. Both canines guarded the door to the closet.

Carra and Qui-Gon had given Drew and Obi-Wan as much of the standard medical treatments as the facilities on the ship provided. Qui-Gon then knelt next to Obi-Wan in a mediation pose, preparing to send the Force?s healing energy into him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Carra doing the same for Drew.

Pausing, he asked, ?Shaman??

?Not yet. I?ll do my main studies when we return from our Journey. Mind healing more

 

Yay! *The crowd gives a standing ovation* Don't make us wait, greencat336! Bring on the comfort and mush, now!