Time's Arrow (JA)

Hi everyone! I'm posting the first part to one of my finished stories. I'm also opening my website (for my stories), which I've been working on for a while now and I'd love it if you guys would check it out, if you have time, and tell me what you think. There are still some problems with it (in Netscape there's extra space at the bottom of all the story pages) but I'm still hoping to solve that...someday. Also, the graphics on the website may take a while to load. The thing is that Fateback is a free web host with no ads and so it loads slower. On top of that, I have DSL so I don't know how long it takes to load on a normal modem. A friend of mine checked it out and apparently it's not too bad. If it is, however, please let me know and I'll lower the quality of the graphics more than I already have. Oh, yeah, before I forget! Right now I have a quote from Qui-Gon in one of my stories. What I want to do is replace the "Peace over anger..." stuff at the top with an Obi-Wan quote, and then put a Qui-Gon quote from JA or the movies at the bottom where the other quote is now. I've already decided what Qui-Gon quote I'm gonna use, but I can't seem to find any Obi-Wan quotes that I really like. If anyone knows any, off the top of their head, or knows sites that have quotes I'd really appreciate your letting me know! My site is called "The Sanctuary" and here's the link:

The Sanctuary

Note: the summary to my story contains spoilers for the JA books concerning Tahl.

Title: Time's Arrow

Author: Erika

Rating: PG

Summary: After Tahl's death, Obi-Wan finds himself at a loss as to how to comfort Qui-Gon, but then something happens that proves that the Force does indeed work in mysterious ways, and helps him with his dilemma.

Time Frame: Obi's 16

Spoilers: I have a different version of Tahl's death and everything, but she is dead here too. If I never write my AU, the important things to know are that she died in a completely different way, completely different things happened before and afterwards, and Qui and her were not in love. They were best friends.

Category: Angst, h/c, mystery (kind of), POV, non-slash, yadda yadda yadda...

Disclaimers: The Star Wars universe and all of its characters belong to George Lucas, I'm only borrowing them to have a little fun and I promise to return them unharmed (well, at least mostly unharmed =0). I'm making no money from this and this is written for entertainment purposes only. Any characters that are not recognizable as being part of the Star Wars universe belong to me, but you guys probably figured that out, right?

Feedback: Both positive feedback and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and will be cherished! (firedrake88@yahoo.com)

Archive: Jedi Apprentice, Early Years, Wolfie's Den, JAFD, The Guardians of Peace, The Temple Library, Telly, and any sites who have any of my other stories. Anyone else who wants this, please ask and send me a link to your site so that I can check it out. =D

Note: Just a quick, fun story, (yes, for me 24 pages is still quick!). Despite the ample amounts of angst this was just a story I wrote for fun over a few days. I didn't spend as much time on it as I normally would, so there may be some typos and inconstancies that I didn't catch. If so, please let me know! "Time's Arrow" is the name of a great (at least I like it a lot) TNG episode - I do realize that.

Things enclosed in < >'s are <telepathic> communication through the Master/Padawan bond.


Time's Arrow
~ Part One: Strange Happenings ~


Obi-Wan:

I stared at the text of the datapad without actually reading it. The day after tomorrow I had a huge test in my mechanical physics class and I knew I should be studiously reviewing the last six sections we had covered, but I could not concentrate. I would read a sentence, t

 

up so others can enjoy it too.

 

Good story... UP it...

 

For the minus five of you that are actually reading this, here's the next part! I hope you like it! (It'll become very obvious in this part why I say it's just quick, fun story!)


~ Part Two: The Reason ~

Obi-Wan:

Mace Windu stopped when he saw me, and frowned. I expected him to call his lightsaber to hand but instead he simply gazed at me curiously. Perhaps he sensed that I wasn't a threat, or perhaps he could feel my desperate confusion and the hint of fright that was beginning to creep into my veins.

"Who are you?" he questioned sleepily, "I've never seen you before."

A felt a growing warning in the Force, telling me to be cautious. Not of Mace Windu, but of what I said to him.

"I'm not surprised," I chose my words carefully; "I was taken as a Padawan when I was very little and my Master and I haven't returned to the Temple in years."

I don't know why I lied, but for some reason I felt I had to. Something was telling me that if this really was Mace Windu, if I had somehow, extraordinarily traveled back in time, I couldn't tell anyone my real identity. It didn't make sense, but I knew I couldn't.

He shot me a skeptical look but instead of pressing me, inquired, "Are you lost?"

Forcing an embarrassed laugh, I nodded. "Yes! I'm lost!" I had to hide a grimace. I had sounded way too eager to use that explanation and I had spoken extremely loudly, as if relieved to be offered a way out. Which, of course, I was.

Both of Mace Windu's eyebrows shot up, and he was gazing at me as if I was a puzzle that needed to be worked out. "Where are you trying to go?"

"Go?" I repeated stupidly, before quickly adding, "I...um, I was actually looking for Master Yoda. My Master told me to...go see him."

Mace Windu was clearly unconvinced, "At two-thirty in the morning?"

Well, at least that explained why the Temple had been deserted. It was too early for anyone to be wondering about. Anyone, that is, except befuddled Obi-Wan Kenobis who had inexplicably awoken in a garden, instead of at home, and then come face to face with a teenaged Mace Windu.

"We just arrived a few minutes ago and Master Yoda is expecting me," I lied, beginning to wish that I could either figure out why I couldn't tell him the truth, or be swallowed up by some merciful hole in the Force so that I wouldn't have to finish this conversation.

Either the Force was telling him to cut me some slack, or he was too sleepy to care that some strange Padawan had waltzed into his quarters in the middle of the night, because he apparently decided not to question me as to what was really going on.

"Master Yoda's quarters are in the Masters' living section. You're in the Master/Padawan section. Taking a right outside these rooms, you want to follow the hallway until you pass the gardens. The first quarters after the gardens belong to Master Yoda."

"Thank you," I smiled, and then made a hasty retreat from his quarters.

Force, but this was the beginning to what was undoubtedly going to be a very strange day!
Once I was back in the hallway, I leaned back against the wall and rubbed my hands over my face. What in the Sith was going on? Had that really been Mace Windu? Was I really in the past? If I was, how in the universe had I gotten here? I hadn't done anything! I had just gone to sleep!

Of course, in the face of any other alternatives, which at the moment I couldn't even come up with, that could be a good thing. It meant that I could go talk to Master Yoda. He would surely help me sort this whole situation out and... No, I couldn't do that. I didn't know why, but I could feel, in the mysterious depths of the Force, that that was not the right thing to do. Just as I had felt that I had to lie to Mace Windu.

"I have to meditate," I whispered to myself, "maybe then I'll be able to figure some of this out, including why the Force had turned me into a liar."

~~~~~~~~~~


Gracefully, I rose from my kneeling position, satisfied at what I had found in my meditation. Wi

 

Darn, sorry I missed this.

Great story! I can't wait for more.

 

This is really getting good- can't wait for more

 

Hi! I meant to post this earlier but I got caught up doing stuff for my website. With a little info from a great guy named Adam, I figured out how to work a floating frame into my site. It basically looks the same as it did before, except now the text and everything else, other than the border images, is in a frame. This solves the problem I was having in Netscape and now the only thing that looks different in Netscape and IE is the fact that Netscape doesn't load different colored scrollbars, so the frame's scrollbar clashes with the rest of the site. Anyway, if some of you have time and actually want to, I'd really appreciate it if you'd check out the new version of my site and tell me what you think.

The Sanctuary

Thanks for reading!

I hope this next part isn't too boring and that you all like it!


~ Part Three: Loneliness Shared ~

Obi-Wan:


Both of us stood completely still as we reached out and found our centers. Then we drew the Force in and threw our senses outward within it. By using it as an extra sense, we would be able to 'see' the probes actions quickly enough to use our super-fast reflexes to defend ourselves. Also, just as importantly, we would be able to sense each other's movements and operate as a team, working together and defending one another to defeat the probes.

Activating our lightsabers at almost the same instant, we quickly shifted our positions so that we were back to back. We both knew that we would have to destroy as many probes as we could simultaneously so that we could get a good number of them before they had time to adapt.

As we moved, half the probes immediately began to fire, half targeting me, and half targeting Tahl. The rest pulled back slightly. It was a classic attempt to draw our attention to the ones that were a threat so that the rest could collect input and modify their attack pattern.

With quick, easy, swerving passes of my humming lightsaber, I deflected two blaster shots from separate probes so that they would fly back on themselves. Then I leapt into the air and somersaulted outside of the circle of firing probes so that I could I swerve and slice my blade through another one.

The probe sputtered loudly as it came apart in two even halves and crashed to the floor with a loud, resonating clash. As intended, the high-level blaster shots that I had blocked hit their targets and, with a small explosion and wave of heat, destroyed the two probes that had fired them.

Seconds later, I heard a dull bang as the emergency doors, activated by weapons fire, slid shut.

Without looking, I knew that Tahl had somehow managed to destroy four of the probes and was now defending herself against the remaining five, which had all acquired her as a target and had formed a circle around her. Firing without rest, they had her rapidly spinning and swerving her weapon about. Her whirring lightsaber, a constant blur of green, was dancing about her with easy grace.

Unfortunately, the probes had programmed in a defense against the methods we had used to destroy the first seven. Whenever a blaster shot was deflected back at them, they would use their impressive mobility to veer out of the way in a random direction. Likewise, when she tried to spin forward and cut them to pieces with her lightsaber, the other probes would all fire at once in rapid succession, forcing Tahl to break off and block their shots.

"A little help, please!" Tahl called out a little breathlessly.

Smiling, I quickly jogged forward to the circle of probes. One of the blaster shots that Tahl had already deflected towards a probe that had avoided it was flying directly at me. Through the Force, I sensed that a probe currently attacking Tahl was going to fire and then zoom behind her to fire again, so I blocked the approaching blaster shot in such a manner that the little probe flew directly into it.

"Nice," Tahl breathed, as the probe went up in a small ball of flames.

Using the Force as a link between u

 

Wow, wonderful story so far! Post more!

 

Up

 

Wow. The length of these posts is great and so is the story. I enjoy the first person perspective of Obi-Wan. It's quite refreshing as is your detailed style.

UP soon and May the Force be with you.

 

Great story! I've been enjoying it on one of our many lists. Here's a little 'up' for you.

 

Well everyone! *Waves to Cascadia* Hi! Here's the last part. Thanks bunches for the FB and I hope you guys like it! Please tell me what you think!

~ Part Four: Healing ~

Obi-Wan:


I fixed my gaze on a tree behind Tahl. Now I understood why Qui-Gon had always spoken of Master Dooku with respect and gratitude, but never with affection. He had trained for years under Master Camad, with whom he shared a special bond, until it was ripped from him. Doubtlessly, it was Master Dooku who would pick up Qui-Gon's training from this point, but they would never be anything more than Mater and Padawan, never good friends.

A stab of sadness shot across my heart. Qui-Gon had known so much grief in his life. First losing Master Camad, then losing an apprentice to the Darkside, and now losing Tahl. Between those three horrible things were spread countless missions where my Master had no doubt witnessed dreadful suffering and pain. No wonder he was taking the loss of his best friend so terribly. He had already been through so much; he'd lost and been hurt more than he could stand.

"Since then," Tahl's own saddened voice cut into my thoughts, "I've seen him aimlessly wandering about the Temple, or kneeling and meditating in one of the gardens. Always alone. I can feel his grief every time I'm near him."

"Doesn't he have any friends?" I asked, still gazing at the white branches and blue leaves of the rema tree.

"No," she whispered, "I don't think so. Even before he was Master Camad's Padawan, I would see him alone in the gardens. It was different than this, though. I could feel his peace then, and I knew he was admiring the beauty of nature, not trying to find solace for his sorrow."

There were so many things I didn't know about Qui-Gon, I realized with regret. I had always imagined him having countless friends and flying through his training with little to no problems. I had seen him becoming more and more fascinated with the Living Force as he grew and learned more about the Force in general, but in truth he had been drawn to it even as a young Initiate. Even after three years, and even after growing constantly closer and closer day by day, he was still a mystery to me.

I didn't want him to be a relative stranger to me though. We were friends, but I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted to know more about him, about his life and dreams. I felt that I could tell him everything without fear of being judged or ridiculed, and I wanted him to feel the same in return. I wanted him to trust me with more than just his life, but in the way he had trusted Tahl: with his hopes and sorrows. Most of all, I wanted to be able to help him through this loss.

I shifted my gaze from the rema tree and glanced first at Qui-Gon, and then at Tahl. The Force was drawing them together. It was swirling around them in a dance and song built of sensations, feelings, and colors that washed over my mind like sunset stretching out over the sky. They were meant to be friends.

Grinning, I suddenly understood. This was it. This was the reason I was here. Tahl and Qui-Gon were supposed to be friends, had become the best of friends, and yet they had barely ever spoken to each other. Even though Qui-Gon was in so much pain because he had lost her, he still needed to meet her. After all, it was better to have been able to know and love her then to have never been friends, wasn't it? My 'task' in the past was to make sure they became friends!

"Tahl!" I couldn't help but sound excited, "You should go talk to him."

Tahl was clearly confused, "Why?"

"Because, no one should ever be alone at a time like this."

Tahl looked as if she would argue, and maybe ask me what she should say to him, but then she sighed and shot me a frustrated look, "I don't know why I'm doing this," she muttered, "I don't even know you!"

Then she turned and slowly walked up to where Qui-Gon was kneeling.

I lingered behind her, staying far enough away to not be obtrusive but close enough to hear them talk. It se

 

The end when Qui-GOn told him that he knew about the time travel was beautiful. I loved the story

 

Beautiful end!

up to the top!

 

Up

Just found this and read it all the way through and as always it was a wonderfully enjoyable piece from start to finish.

 

Beautiful. Absolutely terrific.

 

Hi everyone!!! I'm sorry I never got back to this but last week was kinda hectic for me (and that's an understatement). I just wanted to thank you all for your FB and I'm sooooo glad you liked the story!! THANKS!