Under Lock and Key (Obi/Qui Angst, AU) Author's note and summary change1/6

All right. I know that I'm in the middle of another story, but this plot bunny would not leave me. Don't worry, I will still be updating Time for Change



Title: Under Lock and Key
Author: RingThane
Timeframe: JA, pre-TPM
Characters: Qui-Gon, Qbi-Wan
Age: 20
Summary: The Jedi council is beginning to make some bad decisions when other events unstabalizes Obi-Wan's place in the Order. Angst insues. (Of course )




Under Lock and Key


The corridors of the Jedi Temple were empty, save for the few restless padawan?s who dared to sneak out of their apartment this late at night. The cleaning droids were finally shutting down for the night, their jobs long since finished and young crèche children were sound asleep. Only the few members of the Jedi community were up at all.

In his room, Obi-Wan stared out at Corusant, its bright lights dancing across his face, highlighting his hair with blues and greens. Dressed in light sleep pants, and a long, over sized sleep shirt that hung down near his knees, the young padawan sighed and looked down at the stone he held in his hand.

Obi-Wan tightened his hold on his most treasured possession and closed his eyes. One by one images of the day left his mind as he drew on the Force to meditate. That is, almost everything. One event stubbornly hung on making it impossible for the young apprentice to drop any deeper into meditation.

Frustrated, Obi-Wan opened his eyes to slits. He knew that the missions that he and his master were assigned were not suppose to be as hazardous as they almost always were. Somehow he always managed to get a visit to the healers after nearly every mission. So why would the council, all of a sudden, become protective of him when this sort of thing happened all of the time? It was not the first time that his life had hung in the balance.

Not to say that he was not appreciative of the protection at first, but after a week of the cloying treatment he received he was ready to leave for another mission, just to get away from the Temple.

Resigned to the fact that he would not be able to meditate, Obi-Wan opened his eyes completely. He took a deep breath of the recycled air that circulated through his room. Sliding off his bed, he stood on the tile floor, his bare feet making little nose in the silent room. Even without the room lights on he could see enough to make out everything in his room. His closet door was ajar with some of his civilian clothing hanging out of the side. Several pieces of his art work hung precariously on the wall, slightly tilted to one side. On the far side of his room, near the door, was his desk, data pads askew on the side from an over enthusiastic padawan?s attempt to please his master. Over the data pads was a lone desk lamp that put out a pathetic amount of light. The old wooden chair that went with the desk was slightly pulled out from the desk. His master had purposefully given him a hard wooden chair instead of a more comfortable one. Obi-Wan could still hear Qui-Gon saying it?s for your own good Padawan.

With purposeful strides, Obi-Wan moved to his desk. Taking the back of his chair he pulled it out far enough for him to sit. As he sat, the wood creaked under his weight, protesting that it was too old to be sat in.

Once situated, Obi-Wan reached out to his data pads. Carefully sifting through the large pile, he picked out his journal. It was true that Jedi were not supposed to have many possessions that were from their families. Many of the masters scorned them as being distractions from their ultimate goal. Thankfully Qui-Gon had over looked this particular item. Small in size, the journal was all he had left of his mother and one of the few things that was not computerized.

Opening the front flap, the pages crackled. Obi-Wan stared at the journal. Dog eared pages were no where to be found in this book, mainly because the owner of said journal did not

 

Continue, I want to know why the council is acting like that.

Qui-Gon begins to open to him just now?
7 years after he took Obi as Padawan, are you sure Obi is 20?

Vadey

 

Please, please continue! I'm very interested to find out why the Council is acting that way.

And of course its well-written.

More please.

 

This is interesting! Can't wait to find out why the Council is behaving so strangely about keeping Obi-Wan so protected. Please continue!

 

OOOOhhhhhhhhhhh, this looks like it's gonna be good!

 

Oh! You've started another great fic! Just don't forget about your other one!


IT's not crap!!!

 

VaderyFan2002 Thanks! I will continue.

Well you know Qui-Gon. He's as dumb as a box of rocks.

obaona Thanks for the complement. Coming from you it means alot!

Beka_K Thanks! I hope you will continue to be interested!

LuvEwan I hope it will be!

R_R are you folloing me around or something my friend? In almost every thread I've gone to you've shown up.




Thanks for hte interest in this. I was hesitant in posting this.

 

Are you complaining? I would take it as a complament to your taste in liturature.

 

::raises hand::

Excuse me...crap?

With all due respect...

ARE YOU INSANE?????

SIT YOUR BUTT DOWN AT YOUR KEYBOARD AND GIVE US MORE!!!!

 

Looks most interesting...

 

R_R Is that what you call it?

sabercrazy I wasn't sure you know if it was or not...*Ducks behind the door * But now that you said it's not I know it is not!

Jedi_Suzuran Thanks, I hope so!


I'll have a new post up later today. I've got to baby-sit my cousins.

 

Two weeks earlier




?Master?? Obi-Wan looked up from his astrophysics project to see Qui-Gon enter the room. The master stalked over to the couch, and in a flurry of movement he tossed his cloak over the back. His face was drawn in tightly controlled anger. Without speaking to his padawan, Qui-Gon sat down heavily on the couch. Using his hands he rubbed his eyes to relieve the tension that had risen within him.

Quietly, Obi-Wan slipped away from the table into the kitchen. Opening the closest cabinet he pulled out Qui-Gon?s favorite tea package out. Moving as quickly as he could he set about making the tea.

Obi-Wan looked in at his master?s prone form on the couch. The master had stretched out, his long legs dangling over the cushioned side. Qui-Gon was staring at the ceiling, his midnight blue eyes glazed over with an indefinable emotion. His hands hung limply at his side like string, his fingers occasionally twitching.

Silently, Obi-Wan withdrew back into the kitchen, concern etched into his forehead. /What has the council done this time to make master look like he had been trampled by a herd of banthas? / Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he retrieved a cup and poured a generous amount of the cinnamon smelling liquid into it.

Setting the cup on a plain wooden tray, Obi-Wan glided into the living room to his master. Placing the tray on the in table, he knelt next to his master. He picked up the tea cup and held it in his hands waiting for the master to stir.

When Qui-Gon did not move, Obi-Wan whispered softly. ?Master??

His voice seemed to bring his master back to reality for the man moved slightly to look over at his apprentice. ?Obi-Wan??

Sighing in relief, Obi-Wan nodded. ?Yes master.? He held up the tea to where Qui-Gon could see it. ?I brought you some tea master.?

Qui-Gon blew out a breath and sat up, the couch conforming to his form. He smiled slightly as he took the cup from Obi-Wan. ?Thank you padawan. What would I ever do without you??

They sat there in silence for several minutes while Qui-Gon sipped on the tea. Slowly the tension in his limbs began to leave him, the soothing properties of the brew working their way through his system.

When Obi-Wan was about to ask what had happened in the meeting with the council, his master began to speak. ?We have another mission.?

Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly. They had been on a continuous stream of mission for the majority of the year. They had barely stayed at the temple long enough to catch up with friends. Obi-Wan had missed so many classes that he had to make up all of the class projects soon before the next quarter.

Opening his eyes, Obi-Wan stifled a sigh. ?Yes master.? He sat there for a while waiting for Qui-Gon to continue with his explanation for his earlier behavior. When no such explanation was forthcoming, he made to get up to leave his master in peace.

Instead a hand on his shoulder stopped him before he got far. Obi-Wan stilled his movements and faced his master. The pain that he could see on his master?s face shocked him and further concerned him. ?What?s wrong master??

?I told the council that we would not accept this mission due to the limited amount of time we have had at the temple. We are both tired and you need to get back to classes.? Qui-Gon said hesitantly, his large calloused hands resting on his knees tensed.

Obi-Wan waited patiently knowing that there was more to the story than the amount of missions we have taken over the year.

?The council felt that it was necessary that we were the ones to go on the particular mission, because of my?previous experience with the group of petitioners.? He looked down at his empty cup a little forlornly. Seeing the expression, Obi-Wan reached behind him and retrieved the kettle from the tray. Slowly he poured the tea into Qui-Gon?s empty cup.

Smiling his thanks, Qui-Gon took a sip from the now full cup. Clearing his throat, he continued. ?We leave in an hour. I?

 

Interesting....

MORE!!!!

 

You posted!

Please, I want some more!!

 

Wow. Methinks that he is being kept under lock and key has something to do with that note.

Great post, I am extremely interested to see what happens next.

 

This looks like it is going to be a very intriguing story. I like it very much so far and look forward to more!

 

sabercrazy I'm going as fast as I can! The evil research paper is catching up to me!

R_R Like I said, I will try. Oh, and by the way, Do you have hte book Ms. Jones let people use? I kinda need it for my paper.

Obaona Methink you are on the right track...

sheila Thank you!

 

Now that note is very interesting.

Hmm, still intrigued. More?

 

UP!


Which one do you need? I have the one on Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson.

 

Jedi_Suzuran More on the way!

R_R The one on Emily Dickinson.

 

Hours later, while Obi-Wan sat on the transport, he had long since forgotten about the mysterious message, all of his attention focused on the mission profile his master had given him. He was seated in one of the more comfortable seats in the passenger cabin, his legs pulled underneath him, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

Qui-Gon had not spoken a word to him since they had left the Temple. He had only handed him the data pad with the mission information on it and left his apprentice to fend for himself. Obi-Wan assumed that his master had gone to meditate in the hold.
Turning the data pad off, Obi-Wan frowned, his lips pressed into a thin line. In his reading, he had found out that the planet they were heading to, D?ara, was a planet split almost right in half by technology.

The Almorites were a people dependant on agriculture. They were not very technologically developed; their farming equipment was the majority of their technological capabilities. The group suffered through the brutal winters, their storage of food usually running out before the thaw came.

The Slamorites were completely opposite their counterparts. Their cities almost rivaled Corusant?s in the sheer amount of buildings. Trade was their main source of capital, but they were also known for their shady dealings and underhanded business tricks.

There was one more group that lived on D?ara. The Litomorites were a nomadic people who lived in the middle of the boarder of the two great populations. Unlike the Slamorites and Almorites, the nomads were human. It was said that they were refuges from another planet that crash landed on D?ara after being kicked off their home planet for dealings with ?wizardry?.

The Almorites were beginning to complain that the Litomorites were encroaching on their territory, and taking advantage of the crops that they could find on the outskirts of the boarder. The Slamorites had a similar complaint, only they just wanted them off the planet because they ?contaminated the pure race?.

But the Litomoites wanted nothing but their fair share. But the other groups said they had no rights to any of the land. So the Jedi were called in to settle the dispute before it turned ugly.

Obi-Wan understood why his master was not too keen about being told it is necessary for them to go on this particular mission. Even if he didn?t know all of the specifics about his previous experiences with the groups, there really was no reason for them to be called there because Qui-Gon knew them. Any Jedi could have been called on for the mission and have the same results.
Placing the information on the table, Obi-Wan stood up and stretched, his shoulder joints popping after sitting in the same position for more than an hour. He folded the blanket and placed it on the chair.
Palming the door open, he walked to the cockpit. Seeing that they only had about ten minutes before they left hyperspace, Obi-Wan went to find his master.

The big master was in the hold as Obi-Wan had suspected, but he was not meditating. He was curled up in a chair, not unlike Obi-Wan had himself, reading a small book that looked like its pages were about to fall out.

?Master, we?re almost there.? Obi-Wan said as he stopped at the door hatch.

Qui-Gon started somewhat, but then relaxed. ?Oh, thank you padawan. I?ll be out in a minute.?

Obi-Wan paused at the door before he went back to the cockpit.

When they emerged from hyperspace, Qui-Gon was seated across from Obi-Wan in the co-pilot?s seat.

Moments later they were receiving a call from the planet. An image of a stick like human appeared on the screen, his eyes a disturbing red color that glowed with a fierce intensity. ?Ambassadors, I am R?laten, the Litomitie representative. Welcome to D?ara.?

Qui-Gon leaned forward. Obi-Wan could feel his master?s hold on his tumultuous feelings as the master spoke. ?Thanks you. I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and this,? he gestured to Obi-Wan, ?Is my padawan learner Obi-Wan Kenobi.?

The Litomitie repres

 

What was that about indeed?! And why is Qui-Gon acting so strange? I do love a mystery so I am looking forward to more.

 

*is intensely interested and curious*

Hmmm.

More please?

 

Very puzzling indeed! I can't wait for more!


I'll bring it to History tomorrow. Just give it back to me on Tuesday. Ms. Stone wall will kill me if I don't have it with me.

 

O O
o
\___/


More!