"Lost Light" - A New FanFic by Cassia

Oh please post. I need to find out what happened.

 

Yes! More posts!
(Winces when thinking about Qui-Gon's injuries. )

 

Obi-Wan clutched his knees to his chest and shivered, whether from actual chill or just loneliness, even he didn?t really know. He sat on the barracks floor wrapped in the shadows of night. Even for sighted people it was dark now. Obi-Wan leaned against the rough panel of the bed-frame behind him. He supposed he could have gotten in the bed if he had tried. It wasn?t so crowded now that Qui-Gon was gone... Obi-Wan hugged his knees a little tighter. He probably could have even managed the climb up on his own if he had to, but he didn?t really care. He?d just as soon be here, where he and Qui-Gon had spent so many nights together...

The barracks creaked and groaned in the gusty winds and from outside he could hear the faint warning hum of the electric fencing that cut the camp off from the outside world. But that was not all the young Jedi could hear. Misery, fear, hatred and despair saturated the air of the camp like the clouds of smog that billowed from the tall, wicked looking smokestacks at the far end of the compound. Obi-Wan could feel it around him, cold and dark. He could hear the swirling emotions like voices, shrieking, screaming, pleading...

The Padawan pressed his hands to his ears in an ineffectual attempt to block the voices out. Unfortunately it was not those ears that he was hearing with.

"Where are you Master?" Obi-Wan pleaded with the silence around him. He felt utterly cut off and alone. Deserted. "I don?t care what?s happening, please Master, I don?t want to be alone here!"

There was no answer. Obi-Wan wondered with a shiver if that was because Qui-Gon could not answer him. With their bond severed this way, Obi-Wan wondered if he would even be able to tell if Qui-Gon died. Was that what he had felt earlier? "Please Master, if you?re out there, answer me! Answer me!"

Nothing. Only darkness and the screaming shriek of the despair that enshrouded the camp like a cerecloth.

Obi-Wan slumped further down, wrapping his arms around his chest. There was nothing he could do, no way he could help these people or change this place. No way he could help Qui-Gon or himself. He was so weary. He didn?t want to hear anymore, he wanted quiet. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and put up shields around his mind, just as impassible as the electric fences outside. Qui-Gon was out of reach, had made himself out of reach, Obi-Wan thought with a twinge of bitterness. Anyway, there was no one else he cared to leave his mind open to, so he drew up his barriers and withdrew inside himself. He could still reach out and feel through the Force, he could hardly function if he did not, but nothing could reach him unless he opened up to let it.

With the voices at last stilled, he leaned his aching head on his knees and drifted off into a troubled, dreamless sleep.
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Comments?

 

Heavy Sigh--poor, poor Obi.sniff, sniff
Now that Qui-Gon seems to be getting help I hope he manages to aid his padawan.
Great post, really touches the heart.

 

You are making me nervous! Keep it up.

 

Yay! There's more story! Thank you! I'm glad to see Qui-Gon finally got a break. But poor, poor Obi-Wan!

 

Qui-Gon lost track of how many times he phased in and out of reality, or how long his semi-delirium lasted. Finally, he awoke and found the cobwebs were gone from his brain.

When the Nurse droid checked on her patient, she found him sitting up and talking coherently. "Good," she approved. "You?re on the mend." But she stopped him when he attempted to get out of bed. "I?m sorry, but I must insist that you remain immobile for the time being. Please comply with me willingly, I do not wish to have to sedate you."

The truth was, Qui-Gon may have been awake, but he felt far from strong, so he gave in to the droid?s threat. For now. Settling back, he examined his surroundings. Apparently the Administrator was a powerful man, at least powerful enough to get him out of the camps, although how long that would last Qui-Gon did not know. Would he be sent back when he was well? He didn?t intend to wait to find out, but there was nothing he could do about it right now, he was still too weak. Anyway, there was no way they could send him back in his current condition, it would be a pointless waste of their effort to heal him. He was going to have to bide his time as he regained his strength.

"But what about Obi-Wan?" his heart cried. What might be happening to his Padawan while he was stuck here?

The Jedi Master closed his eyes, searching for Obi-Wan.



Obi-Wan stood at attention with the other prisoners from his barracks. He felt the restlessness and heard the shuffling and swaying of the people around him during the longer than usual roll call. This at least, was not a problem for him. If there was one thing being a Jedi taught it was patience. Although that was hardly his favorite subject, Obi-Wan could call on it when he needed to. Being able to stand still for very long times without fidgeting or showing visible impatience was an essential skill considering how many long and boring negotiations Jedi were doomed to attend during their lives. At least here, Obi-Wan did not have to feign interest or keep track of what was being said. Besides, the less attention he drew to himself, the better he liked it.

This morning however, his calm, composed stance and civil attitude had the opposite effect. It actually attracted attention to him.

Obi-Wan could tell something was going on even before he felt the people moving towards him. Roll call was always long, but never this long. Everyone had been accounted for already, but the order to dismiss them to work had not yet been given.

The young Jedi kept his eyes downcast as he felt the people stop right in front of him. He guessed there were about five of them. A hand caught his arm and pulled him forward a little, out of the line. "What about this one, he seems a respectful, quiet sort," Obi-Wan heard a voice say. He wondered what exactly they were looking for. A hundred nasty explanations rushed into his head, but he forced them right back out again. Borrowing trouble did him no good.

The short Droisian man that had pulled Obi-Wan out of line examined the young man with brusque, but efficient thoroughness.

Obi-Wan forced himself to remain impassive as unseen hands poked, prodded and generally looked him over like an animal at market.

"He?ll do," the short man said at last. "Not too much of a trouble-maker I hope?" he asked, glancing askance at the torn and stained back of Obi-Wan?s prison tunic. "He doesn?t really look like it."

"No, sir," the Duty Officer replied. "I?m sure whatever rebellious tendencies he has, you?ll train out of him soon enough," the malicious grin was apparent in the Officer?s voice and Obi-Wan repressed the urge to shudder. What was he getting into? He couldn?t imagine anything worse than this place, but then, he didn?t want to imagine too hard.

Obi-Wan found himself taken out aside and lined up with a small group of other prisoners who had also been chosen for, for what? Obi-Wan did not know.

Heavy metal collars were placed around their necks, linking them together in a single-file line by the chains that connected the collars. The sharp snap of a

 

Hmm, out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh? This is really cool.

Someone go get Jane Jinn, she'd love this too.

 

Volts jolt but mills kill.
Okay, so the electrical current in the collar is apparently AC. Unfortunately, from the information given, I can't figure out the angular frequency. I don't suppose I could find out the period, linear frequency, or amplitude in the next post.
Twinkle, twinkle little star
V is equal to IR.
Up above the sky so high,
P is equal to VI.

 

Hiroko has a hearty laugh, then quickly scribbles the rhymes down for future reference.

Hold the phone- we actually use all that angular motion crap in electricity!? Oh no... We just started electrostatics over here and I'm very scared now...

Ah yes. Go Cassia! I'm getting a little impatient though... WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN HERE? It's all working up to something but it's very slow in coming about...

 

Thank you, Gryph, I've been here all the time. I always suspected that being patient could be hazardous to your health, which is why I never bother, and now here's the proof!

Another great post, Cassia! I can't find the right words to describe how true, how human you make everything. How being still in an unruly crowd can draw attention to yourself is such a subtle point that most of us never think of it, but you do, along with a host of other things. I'm sighing with jealousy and admiration every time I read.

 

One this afternoon, I promise.

 

Uh oh, Obi-Wan is in trouble now. Maybe. Anyway, I love this story!!!

 

oh man, I just found this thread and I must say in HOOKED!! Where's Obi-Wan being sent now?!?!?

 

After two frustrating hours of searching, Qui-Gon had nothing to show for his effort. He knew Obi-Wan was out there somewhere, but he could not reach the boy. Apparently, when he had terminated their connection Obi-Wan had also closed off on his end, creating an impasse that neither of them could get through unless they both happened to open up at the same time. But wherever he was, Obi-Wan had shut himself off from everything and Qui-Gon could not reach him. Qui-Gon did not want to even think about the kind of distress and pain that Obi-Wan must have been experiencing to make him shut himself up so well that not even his Master could find him. Qui-Gon tried to find a little comfort in the fact that perhaps he could not find his apprentice because he was still too weak, and that as he grew stronger, he would be able to find Obi-Wan no matter how much shielding the Padawan had encased himself in. Deep down inside however, he was not sure. Obi-Wan was strong. Only once, back on Bandomeer had he truly clashed wills and powers with Obi-Wan. He had found an alternative to letting the boy blow himself up, but despite what he said to Obi-Wan, he was not at all sure he could have stopped him had Obi-Wan chosen to make the sacrifice. That was over two years ago, Obi-Wan was much more advanced than he had been then...

"Don?t hide so well that even I can?t find you Padawan," Qui-Gon appealed to the silence that met his calls, but it did no good.

The door to his room swished open, taking the Jedi?s mind off these troubling thoughts. He was mildly surprised to find that it was Administrator Owskar, and not the Nurse droid who stood in the doorway. The Administrator was slender and wiry, standing about a half a head shorter than the Jedi. He looked to be in his early thirties, although his dark eyes were the eyes of a man who has seen too much. Qui-Gon nodded his head in a gesture of respect. "Administrator," he greeted calmly. "I understand I have you to thank for my care. You have my gratitude." Qui-Gon?s voice was courteous and respectful, but he addressed Verjl as an equal. Jedi always acted with diplomacy, but there was something in them that knew the truth that no position, no title put any one being above another.

Verjl gave a curious smile. There it was again, that strange mix of contradictions that made this fellow so intriguing to him. "You?re welcome," he said, entering the room and seating himself in a chair across from Qui-Gon?s bed. The Administrator crossed his legs and leaned one arm on the chair?s polished hand-rest. "I see you?re recovery is going well," he observed. Aside from the medical attention, Verjl guessed that the regular meals weren?t doing his unexpected guest any harm either.

Qui-Gon nodded. "Your droid is quite capable." He paused, considering the man in the chair across from him. "I will admit to being surprised at your visit Administrator. To what do I owe this honor?" Qui-Gon knew that a man as busy and as influential as Verjl Owskar surely had hundreds of better ways to spend his time than checking up on recovering inmates from his Party?s prison camps. The Jedi wanted to know more about this man, there was something more about him then met the eye.

Verjl was actually thinking the same thing about Qui-Gon. "Insanity perhaps," the Administrator said casually. "Or perhaps I am a little bored today. I thought I would amuse myself by coming down here and finding answers to impossible questions."

Verjl spoke in riddles and Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "Questions?"

"Yes," Verjl repeated. "Questions. Questions such as how a simple fall down the hill like we took could break your arms and do so much damage to them?" Verjl?s dark brown eyes studied Qui-Gon intently. "The droid told me that she estimated they must have been broken for at least a week. I sent her to be recalibrated. That?s not possible, is it?"

Verjl continued to eye Qui-Gon and the Jedi Master wondered just how much he should admit. Finally he decided that full honesty was the best policy. It could do no harm now. "Your droid?s readi

 

Oh man, I hope the admininstrator can find Obi-Wan where he's been taken. What will the administrator do when he finds out that he's blind. I doubt don't know if Obi-Wan can accomplish what the admin wants if he can't see to help him pack or whatever eek.gif Please write soon!!!!

 

Evil basketball players, interesting concept.
Sounds like Obi-Wan may be getting a little respite from the work camp, that boy really needs it.
Great post, as always.

 

I'm glad you managed to escape the evil basketball players. This story is awesome!

 

Obi-Wan pushed the automated polishing machine back and forth across the huge, tiled floor. The situation had actually not turned out as bad as he had feared. Apparently he and the others had been taken from the Camps to be the house-slaves of some wealthy official. The work was often more involved, but overall less grueling than what he had been made to do in the Camps.

"You missed a spot," another slave who was busy cleaning the ceiling-to-floor windows of the huge hall pointed out, trying to be helpful. Obi-Wan placed the voice as female and tried to adjust to get whatever he had missed, but he could neither see it, nor where the other slave was pointing.

"No, over there," Sheena said, patiently pointing to the largish dull patch on the otherwise gleaming tile. When the young man continued to miss the spot, Sheena ran a hand through her through her short black and copper hair and sighed. Hanging her washrag on a rung of the ladder she perched on, she climbed down and pointed right at the spot. "Here."

Obi-Wan ran the machine in her general direction. He got most of it, but it was still streaky.

"Oh, give me that!" Sheena said, losing patience and snatching the polisher from him. He could have at least looked at where she was pointing... She fixed the spot and shoved the handle back into his hands. "You don?t want to be sloppy about this," she warned him. "They?ll beat you if you don?t do it right. The Master?s a fair man, but these overseers are devils with flesh," Sheena spoke her mind as Obi-Wan would find she was apt to do.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan thanked her for the help. "I?ll get the hang of this," he promised, sensing her irritation with him. The last thing he needed was more enemies.

Sheena cocked her eyebrow and quirked a half-smile. She had meant to be upset with him, but she just couldn?t stay that way. "Forget it," she dismissed, climbing back up the ladder. "New here, huh?" She decided the young man was probably at least seven years her junior, if not more.

"Yes."

"My name?s Sheena, and yours?" Sheena prodded while she scrubbed. Obi-Wan found that here, the guards were not always around, and the slaves could talk-semi freely.

"Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan replied, concentrating on trying to not miss any more spots.

Sheena gave a short laugh. "Definitely not the talkative type," she thought to herself.

"Well Obi-Wan Obi-Wan Kenobi," she said. "Welcome to limbo. It?s not quite hell, but it sure isn?t heaven," she said, mockingly both airy and grim at the same time.

"You have been here a long time?" Obi-Wan said. It was more of a guess than a question.

Sheena nodded, then paused and shook her head. "Not here exactly, I?ve only been here long enough to know that I hate it," her voice was tinged with bitterness. "But if you mean that I?ve been a slave for a long time, you?re right. Four years. Nearly since the beginning of the occupation," she finished without emotion. "And you? Where did you come from?"

"The camps," Obi-Wan said softly.

Sheena actually stopped scrubbing. She shot the boy another look. Her copper eyes softened a little. She hadn?t realized he was from the camps. "Sorry about what I said," she mumbled, realizing that her younger companion had experienced true hell.

"No need to apologize," Obi-Wan said with a shrug.

Sheena decided she liked the boy, even if he was a little on the quiet side. Of course, compared to her, most people could be considered quiet.

"I?ve never been to the camps," she admitted. "But I?ve heard they?re terrible."

Obi-Wan was not quite sure what Sheena expected him to say. "You heard correctly," was all ended up replying.

"Who?d you lose?" Sheen probed curiously, moving to the next window. Everyone from the camps had lost someone, besides, she could tell from the way his voice got softer when he spoke that he had carried some deep pain away from the camps with him.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips into a tight line and considered not replying at all. What right did she have to ask so many questions? To pry so deep into such a painful subject?

For s

 

Obi-Wan's found a friend, maybe someone new to be his eyes til he's reunited with Qui-Gon?

 

I can't wait to find out what will happen next.

 

I can't wait to find out what will happen next.

 

Truly awesome. I hope that Sheena person will help Obi-Wan out. And now I need more story!

 

"I see you?re up and about already," Verjl observed a trifle latently when Qui-Gon met him at the door to the Jedi?s room. "Sorry about the security measures, but I can?t be too careful," Verjl said, referring to the lock on Qui-Gon?s door.

Qui-Gon just nodded. Verjl couldn?t know, but that lock would hardly stop him when he decided to leave.

"I?ve bad news for you I?m afraid," Verjl informed him. "The boy?s gone. He?s no longer at that camp."

Qui-Gon tensed. "Gone? Where? What happened?"

"I don?t know," Verjl shrugged off the Jedi?s concern. "They are not notorious for their record-keeping down there. All I could learn is that he is no longer in the camp."

"What does that mean?" Qui-Gon asked, not at all sure he wanted to know. Obi-Wan...

"It could mean anything," Verjl responded calmly. "He could have been transferred, he could have been sent out on a separate work detail like you were, he could have been released," Verjl doubted that one, "Or he could be dead." Verjl studied Qui-Gon?s face for a moment. The Jedi remained composed, just like always, but in his eyes Verjl could see that this Obi-Wan had meant a lot to the big man in front of him.

"I probably have the connections to find out which of those is true, and perhaps, barring the chance that he is dead, which I must warn you is a good possibility," Verjl said pointedly, "Bring him here. But I need something of you in return." Too late to turn back now, Verjl plunged ahead with the plan he had been mulling over since he found out that Qui-Gon was a Jedi.

The administrator closed the door and pushed a hidden button on the collar of his shirt that would disrupt anyone trying to eavesdrop electronically. "I spent all last night reading every resource I could find about Jedi. What I read has led me to believe that your kind are trustworthy, are they? Are you?" Verjl was deadly earnest.

Qui-Gon nodded, equally as sincere. "They are, and I am."

Verjl sighed silently. "I hope so Jinn, because what I am about to tell you signs my death warrant if not. You were right about me yesterday. I first joined the Drojans because I believed in what I thought was their goal, the unity of all of Driosnia. When I realized what was really going on, it was too late. I love my planet but the Krallnorn is destroying it, killing our people, brainwashing our youth, it must be stopped. In one week I am going to be on a ship, supposedly flying to arrange a meeting with a chem&bio weapons dealer for the Krallnorn, he seems obsessed with obtaining weapons capable of even greater destruction," Verjl shook his head in disgust. "But the true purpose of my trip is to meet with a Republic representative. I must convince them that the Republic has to step in, or Driosnia will destroy itself, and its destruction will reach out to engulf other planets and systems nearby. Ruling Driosnia is not enough for the Krallnorn, even now he has his sights set on the surrounding system. This must be stopped now." Verjl knew the great risk he took in revealing this to anyone, but it was a chance he had to take. "Unfortunately, the Krallnorn trusts no one, especially not those like me, who are considered second only to him. I fear I may already have a traitor in my inner circle. I do not foresee disaster, but I will not do my planet any good if I am betrayed before I can get on that ship. I am going to make you one of my aides; you will accompany me everywhere. This will enable you to help me search for your missing friend, and it will enable me to draw on those keen observation skills you used on me yesterday. I ask nothing of you but that you stay with me and watch the people I interact with, search their souls like you did mine, and tell me if they are traitors or not."

Qui-Gon considered this proposition. It did not require very much of him, and he was desperate to find Obi-Wan... "I cannot promise that I will be able to see as much as you hope I can. It is not always so easy to tell what is in someone?s heart right away, especially if they are good at concealing it. But if I sense any traces of

 

Will he find Obi-Wan in time? Please, don't leave us hanging long!!!!!!!!!!