Before - Legends Mercy Day -- Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan story -- Pt 1-6 -- COMPLETE: 8-Jan-2006

Title: Mercy Day
Author: ardavenport (aka Ani-Chay Pinn, aka Anne Davenport)
Timeframe: pre-Episode I
Genre: adventure
Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Keywords Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, JA, BfTS
Summary: Our Jedi are stuck with a prisoner on ice for a holiday
Notes: also posted on The Jedi Assembly fan fiction forum. This one?s for the holidays.
And typo is my middle name, with missing words and errors that spell checkers don?t catch being my speciality ? if you see any, just post a reply with the what and where and I will hunt them down and kill them.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Lucas; I?m just playing in the SW sandbox
=====================================================================


?We would prefer a transport today.? Qui-Gon Jinn stated, his breath puffing white clouds in the chill air.

?Can?t? The space pilot wiped her hands off on a large greasy rag, black grime still filled in the crevices in her tough, pebbly skin. Qui-Gon sighed. It was the last ship in the space port with anyone around. Everything else was gone or shut down. ?Port control?s down for the holiday already. And we?re staying for it anyway.? Qui-Gon looked surprised.

?It isn?t until tomorrow.?

The pilot shrugged her broad shoulders and tossed the rag on a work bench next to the wall of the docking bay. ?People like to start early.?

?We have a prisoner.? Now the pilot looked surprised. Her co-pilot, a tall, skinny youth with a more yellowish tinge to his green hide lifted his head from the workbench and looked at them as well, his thin tail switching with curiosity. Beyond Qui-Gon, his young apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, waited, seated on an anti-grav truck. The pilot walked over and looked at the enormous block of ice on the flatbed. Its edges were smooth as if they?d been melted and re-frozen, its interior clouded. Inside was a perfectly preserved humanoid. He was fully clothed in a cold survival suit and superficially male, its tough, leathery skin gone pale gray. Some tubes and cables connected the being to equipment that the pilot didn?t recognize, but a few indicator lights glowed yellow and blue inside the ice. A life sign sensor resting on top of the block displayed affirmative squiggles and lines and text.

?Well, he?s not going anywhere.?

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

Obi-Wan followed his master on the narrow path. All the transports had been engaged, so they had to walk to their destination by a path of rough, worn ice roughened with sand for traction, but kept wary of slippery patches. The air was cool and fresh, well below the freezing point of water as it always was on this frozen world, Bovad. The path was cut deep in the ice pack and all he could see ahead was the back of his master?s dark brown hood and robe. Ahead of him were the pilot and co-pilot, Lazmat Urm and her nephew Edi Urm. The colony city, Nebo-Sun, had limited accommodations for stranded travelers and what they had were already engaged. But apparently a tradition of the holiday was that ?No one goes wanting,? according to Captain Urm. So, they followed the two spacefarers to the clan compound where they were staying.

It had taken them two hours to first find the local sheriff and then make arrangements for their prisoner, Nule Radeel. He?d used an ingenious way to hide. He?d covered his tracks well, and no lifesign sensor would have picked his frozen body out in the middle of the Bovadi tundra. And after enough time had passed his droid would have revived him from stasis to escape justice. But the Force flowed from all life, and with it, plus a few physical clues, they?d found his hideout. Then the weakness in his scheme had worked for them; once discovered, he was ridiculously easy to capture.

They continued down the deep snow path in silence. They passed a few faint speeder and generator sounds on the way, but were otherwise isolated in a continuous canyon of ice and snow. Obi-Wan might have won

 

I am actually editing and upping this, with permission, in more managable installments than the huge block o' text that I originally tried.

There is more.

 

Glad to here that there is more. Great job.

 

I also liked the details of how cold it was and how their prisoner was so easy to catch...LOL. That might have worked with non-Jedi. Loved the Papa-high and Mama-low. Indications of their status?

Good job. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

 

What a wonderful start! I'll definitely be looking for updates on this one. Amazing use of detail, it really brought the scene to life!

 

kenobiwanobi: Glad to here that there is more. Great job.

Oh, yes, definitely there's more. It's just a matter of when to post.


Healer_Leona: A drafty room and a planet where they sleep so many to a bed?? Then I suppose I can sacrifice my comfort and offer to help keep them warm....

Suggling up to Jedi...such a hardship. It's just not any fun unless you inconvenience them.


dianethx: I also liked the details of how cold it was and how their prisoner was so easy to catch...LOL. That might have worked with non-Jedi. Loved the Papa-high and Mama-low. Indications of their status?

Yes, it's more or less an indicator of status. Not absolute ruler, just organizers in charge.


VaderLVR64: What a wonderful start! I'll definitely be looking for updates on this one. Amazing use of detail, it really brought the scene to life!

I like detail. It makes the story more real when I write it and I'm so glad so many noticed.



Now for the next bit...

====================================================== part 2 ===

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan made their way across an open field in the midst of the jumble of compound buildings. They still had some time before people began gathering for dinner, so they enjoyed a pleasant stroll on the grounds. Obi-Wan breathed in the cold air. It smelled fresh and....alive. He didn?t quite know what to make of this impression. But it was a living world with animals and predators that the Jedi had needed to be wary of when they had gone into the wastelands after their fugitive. Bovad was far from desolate. But it had no seasons to alter its endless winter.

Obi-Wan suddenly stepped aside; at the same time Qui-Gon stopped, his master?s hand going up and catching the snowball that would have hit his shoulder. A second snowball flew past, just missing Obi-Wan?s head. They both turned to their left.

Two Zonim children, nearly danced with anticipation, a pile of fat snowballs between them. Obi-Wan looked at his master who dropped the snowball he?d caught and raised both hands to decline the offer. They?d seen the game played as they walked about the field. It was just a variant of many similar such children?s games played on many worlds. Players on either side of a line scored points by either hitting their opponents or forcing them to step out of their lane. This version was played by pairs of players with snowballs in marked out lanes in the snow. The snowballs were thrown simultaneously, first by one team, then the other, so the pair dodging the snowballs couldn?t be sure of who they were aimed at.

The Jedi had seen the piled snowballs and empty lanes and had been crossing them to get to another walkway. Apparently simply entering the field of play was enough to initiate a challenge. The two children wore snow suits, one brown, the other purple, and they ignored Qui-Gon?s gestures and picked up more snowballs from their pile, inviting the Jedi to take their turn. A large group of children of varying ages watched from behind their lane.

Obi-Wan grinned as he saw his master sigh. They looked down at prymid of snowballs in their lane and each picked one. The Jedi exchanged a look, turned and threw.

The two children nearly ran into each other trying to duck. Each succeeded in dodging the snowball aimed at them, but were caught by the other one.

?Whoa!? They took their loss with great excitement, sprang up and before the Jedi could politely move on, two more, slightly older children took their place. A line was forming among the crowd.

In every bout the children missed them, but the Jedi would hit both their opponents, except for one young boy who threw himself under Qui-Gon?s snowball and out of his lane, which still counted as a score for the Jedi. Obi-Wan enjoyed the activity and even Qui-Gon looked amused after the first few matches. The children threw their snowballs and took their hits with equal enthusiasm. No one seemed to be keeping score.

Then two older

 

Hmmmm, seems like a good day to add a little more...


===================================================== part 3 ===

At one end of the room a large, rotund, blue-haired woman in an enormous floral dress stood on a table and banged two big metal cups together for silence. As co-mayor of Nebo-Sun she wished everyone a Happy Gyseer. The crowd enthusiastically replied. She gave a short and civic minded speech about how everyone would be inspired to volunteer more time to the city?s library and museums after they had unburdened themselves tomorrow. The row of Obi-Wan?s admirers at the table opposite theirs briefly directed some unflattering gestures and whispering toward the co-mayor.

As soon as the woman started to climb down from her impromptu podium the droids began moving up and down the tables with plates of salad and cups of water and drinks.

The food was excellent, savory and well prepared, but the meal progressed through soup and entree more swiftly than Qui-Gon preferred to eat. The droids snatched up any empty dishes or utensils as soon as they were laid down. They seemed to be running on their own tight schedule. Both Jedi kept their spoons firmly in hand after the salad course was whisked away. If anyone lingered over their meal the droids would begin to hover in that area politely inquiring if the diner needed anything. Obi-Wan had no trouble keeping up, especially since the men next to him stubbornly refused to notice any of his attempts at conversation.

Qui-Gon had to agree with Azlu and Yude next to him. The table arrangements were not very good for social occasions. She laughed when Qui-Gon suggested that the droids might have designed them since everything was laid out for serving and eating and very little else.

Once the main course was finished people began to get up and leave. After dinner refreshments were to be served in the courtyards and indoor garden areas where the evening entertainments would be. The girls across the table seemed to linger, glancing their way, but they had fleeting patience and went off in a flurry of capes and skirts. The family next to them invited the Jedi to come to the holo-entertainment that their son was looking forward to, but Qui-Gon politely declined, saying that they preferred to stroll about after eating. Their son exchanged a few words with Obi-Wan, apparently about the girls across the table from them. He was a plain, square-faced young man with short hair and heavy, dark eyebrows and not much older than Obi-Wan. The girls hadn?t paid him any attention at all, except for a few critical sneers. Whatever he said, Obi-Wan seemed to appreciate it and they waved as they parted.

They entered the public courtyards and corridors with the milling crowd. Night showed through the clear panes above the sparkling lights and decorations. There seemed to be no specific theme to the ornaments other than bright, shiny, cheerful colors and shapes. After-dinner refreshments had been laid out on a cluster of central tables where people gathered. Many were Zonims from the colony with a few Humans, Zolets and other species mixed in. Qui-Gon took some hot, red tea which the serving droid insisted on garnishing with a glittery slice of fruit and a flower. Obi-Wan took tea and a small plate of tiny puff pastries. There were no empty tables in the large courtyard and they wandered through the crowd and recognized no one from the Tilplens Compound. Only pedestrian traffic seemed to be allowed in the enclosed commerce area of the city with an occasional anti-grav lift cart going by.

Obi-Wan enjoyed looking at the activity, the people, but he wondered why Qui-Gon had stayed. His master was not in the least bit interested in parties. Or desserts; Obi-Wan ate another pastry, enjoying the sweet creamy filling. He knew that Qui-Gon intended for him to ?do better? at finding his way. Was this part of that lesson? Obi-Wan had paid very close attention to where they were, where they?d come from, the crowds, the exits. He did not intend to falter

 

Oh, poor Obi-Wan. So inexperienced in the ways of women and he can only feel embarrassed and rather confused about the whole thing. Qui-Gon needs to explain a few things to him.

 

AT least obi-Wan ewcognized the trap for what it was. It could have been worse for him.

 

I'm not sure where you're going with this, but that makes it all the more utterly fascinating. And your descriptions paint a wonderfully vivid picture in my head. Thanks for this, and I look forward to your next update.

 

dianethx: Oh, poor Obi-Wan. So inexperienced in the ways of women and he can only feel embarrassed and rather confused about the whole thing. Qui-Gon needs to explain a few things to him.

Oh yes, Qui-Gon does explain a few things.

PadawanKitara: AT least obi-Wan ewcognized the trap for what it was. It could have been worse for him.

Obi-Wan's always been cautious. His instincts work for him, even though he's inexperienced.

Dragonlady: I'm not sure where you're going with this, but that makes it all the more utterly fascinating.

Thanks for reading. It does wander a little bit, but it's going somewhere, I promise.


================================================= part 4 ===

His master turned away from them, silently got up and handed him his robe. Obi-Wan took it, found the sleeves in the folds of fabric and put it on, lifting the hood up over his head. Qui-Gon?s face was expressionless and Obi-Wan couldn?t possibly fathom what he was thinking and thankfully he couldn?t really find the energy in himself to wonder about it. Qui-Gon put the hood of his robe on as well and they left together.

Qui-Gon said nothing as they made their way back to the transport area. His Padawan was quite thoroughly miserable. He?d witnessed some of it, but he refused to speculate about the rest; he would not add his own prejudices to Obi-Wan?s obvious pain. Obi-Wan would have to find his own words to tell him and a crowded promenade was not a good place for such a conversation.

Knots of people, many of them with small children, gathered around the platform, waiting for the next transport; it apparently went to several compounds, once of which was the Tilplens?s. Soon one arrived and they got on. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sat by themselves. No one seemed to want to sit near the two robed and hooded passengers. One little girl repeatedly asked her father in a high pitched voice why they couldn?t stay while a mother tried to shush a squalling infant.

?Qui-Gon,? Obi-Wan said very quietly. Qui-Gon turned to head, but Obi-Wan continued to stare straight ahead, his face hidden in the brown hood. There was a long pause. The baby wailing got louder in the car.

?I think I am in need of your guidance, Master,? he finally finished.

?Ah.? Qui-Gon settled back in his seat. Now it was his turn to search for the right words. ?I can only offer what I know and what I have done.? Unfortunately, Qui-Gon regretted that he had more to say about what NOT to do than any real wisdom. But Obi-Wan seemed reassured by this.

Their transport slowed and then stopped at the compound platform. They waited for all the other passengers to leave first before climbing out. But instead of going into the warm entry building, they strolled out onto a darkened path amidst the snow and squat dark shapes of trees and shrubs.

Obi-Wan told him what happened. Or rather, what DIDN?T happen. Qui-Gon privately marveled that Obi-Wan had managed to fall into all the embarrassment and awkwardness of a youthful encounter without actually having done anything. But his story gave him only facts; it lacked substance.

?You haven?t told me how you feel, Obi-Wan.? There was a long pause in the darkness.

?I don?t know what I feel, Master.?

?Do you regret what happened??

?I...I think I should have done better.?

But ?better? was a relative term and Qui-Gon questioned him about it as their footsteps crunched on the frozen path. Obi-Wan took some time to circle around the shame and deception, but Qui-Gon was very proud to sense no anger or bitterness. But there was a lot of self-doubt and worry.

?You think that you were wrong to respond to the girl yourself??

There was a long pause. ?I think it would have been wrong for me to use her.? He hadn?t answered the question and Qui-Gon pressed him on it.

?I...I do wonder, Master. I know things but...I don?t think it?s enough,? he admitted. But Obi-Wan then asked the question that Qui-Gon knew was inevitable. ?Have

 

I enjoyed all of this chapter, but your description of Qui-Gon's past was what intrigued me most. Somehow, it fits him. I don't see Lucas' Qui-Gon as attached, but I don't see him as a monk either, and I think you found a wonderful balance there.

 

I also enjoyed the background with Qui-Gon's history and how it was helping Obi-Wan with his dilemma. Loved the idea of Qui-Gon slipping into the snow and all the people sleeping in one big bed. LOL. I wonder why they are there at the prison if the prisoner isn't awake.

 

Thanks to all for reading...

Dragonlady: I enjoyed all of this chapter, but your description of Qui-Gon's past was what intrigued me most. Somehow, it fits him. I don't see Lucas' Qui-Gon as attached, but I don't see him as a monk either, and I think you found a wonderful balance there.

Yes, I think that if the Jedi can make any claim to wisdom then they must acknowledge the psychologies of all the species of their order along with their various urges and inclinations. While their Code may be severe, I think it developed from experience rather than dogma.

dianethx: I also enjoyed the background with Qui-Gon's history and how it was helping Obi-Wan with his dilemma. Loved the idea of Qui-Gon slipping into the snow and all the people sleeping in one big bed. LOL. I wonder why they are there at the prison if the prisoner isn't awake.

Aaah, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are so much more fun when they're on a really interesting planet. And read on....Qui-Gon has his motives for going back to the prison.



=============================================== part 5 ===

There was no furniture in the cell, just hygiene facilities inset in the wall and some rolled up sleeping mats in a corner. Obi-Wan looked at his master curiously as he took one mat from the corner and unrolled it on the metal floor. He had no idea what they could gain from their frozen prisoner, but he sat down on the mat next to Qui-Gon. Outside, more deputies and others soundlessly passed by; the room was completely isolated from the noise outside.

?Do you sense anything from him, my Padawan??

Obi-Wan looked carefully at the body in the ice, hardly recognizable as the angry man they?d last seen ordering battle droids to attack while he retreated. He closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force. ?No, Master,? he finally answered.

?Not even that he?s alive?? Qui-Gon prodded.

Obi-Wan grimaced, knowing that he?d jumped to the conclusion that Qui-Gon has sensed something unusual. Qui-Gon had simply meant literally anything. He closed his eyes and tried again. The Force flowed from all life; it bound all things, living and non-living together. A Jedi used it to draw strength from and sense the life around them. Obi-Wan felt it flow strongly through him, in the room around him, very strongly through Qui-Gon next to him, and through the block of ice before him. He opened his eyes. He felt the connection between himself and the ice and the being in it. Nule Radeel hovered in a weird non-death, but still alive. It wasn?t living in any way that Obi-Wan had ever sensed before; less than sleep, less than near-death, less than the tiny creatures of the microscopic world. He sat for a long time; Nule Radeel felt more like an expectation of life, than life itself, not waiting to be born, but to simply exist. He finally lowered his gaze and told his master what he?d sensed.

But the look of expectation vanished from Qui-Gon?s expression and he sighed. That confused him; he?d felt the Force so strongly, with less effort than he usually needed. He was sure he couldn?t have missed anything. He turned back to the ice to try again. But Qui-Gon laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

?No, Obi-Wan. You have seen something that you have not seen before and you have done well.? But Obi-Wan knew from his tone that he had not seen everything he could have. He stopped himself from asking. Qui-Gon could simply tell him what it was, but he knew his master wanted him to find it. But what??

Obi-Wan jerked his head around to the window. Qui-Gon leapt to his feet. They were being watched. Qui-Gon went to the com to call the guard while Obi-Wan jumped to the window. He saw nothing that hadn?t been there before, the corridor, other cells with languishing prisoners. No one paid them any attention. The sense of being watched was gone. Whoever it was had retreated. Qui-Gon looked up at the security cameras. It could have been someone at the monitor.

?Was anyone else here just now?? Qui

 

Being watched, hmm? Now that's not ominous at all...

I don't have time for a constructive review at the moment (my apologies), but I just wanted to say that I loved the scene with the kids. The image of Obi-Wan surrounded and pinned by sleeping children is rather endearing.

 

Dragonlady: Glad you've been enjoying the story. Y'know you almost can't go wrong with Jedi and kids. This is the last part.


============================================= part 6 ===

Qui-Gon sat back from the rows of shifting images on the monitors.

?No. Nothing.?

Obi-Wan looked disappointed, but not surprised. It had only been a faint hope. Qui-Gon keyed off the security tapes from earlier in the day, when they?d sensed the presence of an observer.

After their rest and a very basic meal, they had returned to the constabulary to pursue a hunch. The city prison was quiet now; all the minor troublemakers had been moved out. The deputy didn?t mind letting Qui-Gon look through the tapes when there weren?t three people at her desk demanding things. He?d queued the tapes, cleared his mind and watched the images cycle through all the cameras in the building. Sometimes a current in the Force would give a Jedi direction when nothing else was available. But Qui-Gon sensed absolutely nothing. This was not where they should be looking.

?Do you think that the person watching us is not on the tapes?? Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon shook his head. ?I don?t know.?

Obi-Wan looked at the monitors, then back at Qui-Gon. ?Perhaps I could try?? he suggested.

Qui-Gon smiled. ?No,? he replied emphatically. ?You are strong with the Force, my young Padawan, but this is a task of subtlety and experience that you do not have.? Qui-Gon spoke kindly, but he inwardly shuddered to think of what kind of false trails and mistakes the boy could take them to if he tried it. And Obi-Wan had yet to accomplish that one lesson in subtlety that he was hoping he would.

They?d sat before Nule Radeel?s block of ice again, but this time Qui-Gon had Obi-Wan use Radeel as his mediation focus and not just use the Force to sense him. Obi-Wan had paled at the suggestion that he lift something so large but Qui-Gon had been firm about it. He had the ability, but all Jedi Padawans seemed to make the same mistake. The size of an object didn?t matter with the Force. Unfortunately, the size of their worry, about what would happen if they lost their concentration and dropped it, did.

Obi-Wan?s concentration had been steady and strong. But he had again failed to recognize the underlying point about the Force itself. And Obi-Wan knew that something else was expected from him. The problem was that he couldn?t see it because it was all around him.

The deputy returned from the lavatory and noticed the darkened screens.

?No go?? she asked.

?No.?

Qui-Gon got up from his chair and confirming that they would be taking Radeel away on Lazmat Urm?s ship in the morning, they left.

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

?You were a student of Yall Nant?s?? Pimas asked the newcomer. She was very well dressed in purple and yellow, about his own height with smooth blue skin with a just a hint of green about the eyes and mouth and a very shapely head.

?Oh yes, I think maybe a class a few years before yours.? She smiled at him.

?I was in his class the first year he taught.?

?I meant after,? she amended without expression.

?Yes, well.? She?d arrived that afternoon, on a heavy speeder bike, the kind that hikers and campers liked to use for going out into the wilderness on. She certainly looked fit. But Pimas didn?t know her, and he didn?t know anyone who knew here. And it was odd, almost rude of her not to arrive earlier to help with the cleaning. And that could mean only one thing...

?You?ve got a Gys to beg, haven?t you??

?Sort of obvious, isn?t it?? she asked, dropping all pretense of friendliness. They stood out by the hangar, near her speeder. She?d told Mama-Low that she was looking for fellow classmates and asked if she could stay for the holiday with any of their guests. Mama-Low had called Pimas, apparently deciding that he would be guest-control for this season.

?It?s someone here??

She just looked at him. Now he was verging on rude. It was always bad luck to talk about a Gys be

 

That was quite sad. Poor woman, She tried to help her brother but he made the wrong choices. Now she doesn't even know if his children are alive and where they are. At least, she knows now.

Good job.

 

dianethx: That was quite sad. Poor woman, She tried to help her brother but he made the wrong choices. Now she doesn't even know if his children are alive and where they are. At least, she knows now.

Yes, the bad guys sometimes leave behind people who care about them. And accomplices aren't always a threat to the Jedi, but they can still be a challenge.

Healer_Leona: Part4: I'm glad that Qui-Gon was able to confess his own past in helping his apprentice.

?I prefer to be in control. But even as you gain control, you still give something up.? Wow, that line just really grabs me. Superb!

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, sharing has to be part of being a good master/teacher, I think.