What the Heart Hides. Obi, Ani, Siri - drama, humor, comfort. Complete as of 090208.

Such a beautiful and moving memorial service. I especially liked Padme's tributes from Naboo--they were really fitting and touching to think about, considering how Obi-Wan and Padme first met. I also love how Anakin refuses to participate in any of it because he has such faith.

Absolutely stunning as always, with your gorgeous mastery of words. Much , VS--but now we must lose the beauty to think about Obi-Wan's torture, and that makes me nervous. I can't imagine what all has been done to him, but I can't wait for more.

 

Gkilkenny: Sure, the trick is to write it as if it were real, because to them it is. Just like I write Palpy as a concerned, grandfatherly type ? because that is how he presents himself.

Dianethx: It?s so much fun to write Obi-Wan?s ?death? and/or ?funeral? when it?s not the real thing. All the angst without the pain.

Fifilla: Aw, here?s a towel to sop up those tears.

Aabbccdd: Welcome to the PM list. I really like playing with the characters.

VaderLVR64: My favorite kind of Obi-Wan funeral ? in which the honoree is not dead. Funny you cited that passage ? I didn?t like the lead-in to that section and thought I needed to add something, so I added it not long before posting.

Earlybird-obi-wan: All the friends were there. I don?t have a handle on Reeft, so he?s usually silent or absent. Since this is at least partially a Siriwan, I am emphasizing Siri more than usual, and Bant/Garen less than usual. Under other circumstances (as I said, this was inspired by a plot bunny of how Siri would react to Jabiim) I would go a slightly different direction in this story, especially the ending.

Corellian-Jedi: This was a beautiful chapter. The reactions of Obi-Wan's non-Jedi friends were so well written.
Thanks, that part was fun to write.

JediMasterJessica: Loved the chapter, It's so Anakin not to go to Obi-Wan's funeral because he doesn't believe. Great use of character there. I feel for Siri, so sad Thanks, I was a bit afraid that section was a little too long.

Ascal_Elassar: Great chapter, the memorial service was very moving. I tried to be moving without being maudlin.

Alley_Skywalker: I've been waiting for a story like this for a long time! (At least the Obi-Wan and Anakin aspect of it). There will be more of them together later on. Much later on.

Darth_Drachonus: another to the PM list!


Hananiah: just wanted to say that I really like this story, and it was both hilarious and really sad to hear Dex talk about the life Siri and Obi Wan could have had and Siri trying to tell him he is dead. I like to mix humor, drama and tragedy.

Noelie: Anakin still believes. What can the young man do to get them all to listen? Nothing, unfortunately. They all have their reasons for thinking they're right.

It was a beautifully written service Thanks.

J_Ro: The service was absolutely beautiful, but I cried so hard... Aw...at least you didn't laugh.

obsessedwithSW: I really enjoyed your use of wordsYou know how to reach my heart, thanks.

Luna: Such a beautiful and moving memorial service. I especially liked Padme's tributes from Naboo--they were really fitting and touching to think about, considering how Obi-Wan and Padme first met. Yeah, I could have made this several pages but restrained myself. It's not an Obidala.

Absolutely stunning as always, with your gorgeous mastery of words. Much , VS--but now we must lose the beauty to think about Obi-Wan's torture, and that makes me nervous. I can't imagine what all has been done to him, but I can't wait for more

Well, your mind will make his treatment as gentle or as brutal as your own imagination. I don't want to even imagine what a torturer can really do to a person, so there's no pulling nails out with pliers type, stuff, rather, the emphasis is on Obi-Wan trying to cope with the pain and horror of the situation. I am trying really really hard to avoid she did this to him and she did that to him aspect. On the other hand, think of real life torture and brutality - he undergoes it. She really wants to break Obi-Wan and doesn't care if he dies during it.

 

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Chapter Five. There Is No Hell Yet I Have Found It



Fortuitous timing saved Obi-Wan and Alpha.

Fortuitous timing gave them both to Asajj Ventress.

Obi-Wan didn?t believe in luck, but it was pure coincidence that Asajj recognized him and saved him just at the very moment that kept him alive, just when he had carried some of the wounded to the periphery of the blast. He had drawn heavily on the Force to shield himself from the pain of the wounded, to give him added strength and speed to rescue as many as he could while there was time.

Such a pull on the Force was draining, especially for a man who had had little sleep in the last week. It had quickly become apparent, within a day or two of arrival, that the Republic forces would be fighting in conditions they were not equipped for, their heavy equipment likely to get stuck in the soggy ground. With atmospheric conditions limiting air support, Obi-Wan had known this was a battlefield the Republic was poorly prepared for. He had expressed his concerns rather vocally and been told to do his best with the equipment he had.

Do your best. He had pressed his lips together to avoid saying something he would regret and let his anger drain into the Force. Do your best would take more lives than necessary. Do your best doomed many who might otherwise live.

So Obi-Wan had spent subsequent nights alone and with his commanders, trying to come up with adaptations to equipment and tactics, each long evening following wearying days spent in actual battle. Before collapsing onto his bed long past the midnight hour, almost too weary to sleep, he still took a few precious minutes away from a well-earned rest to mourn the daily loss of life. There was no other time, certainly not during actual battle to do so.

The general, the Jedi and the man - all that which combined to make Obi-Wan Kenobi ? found refuge in meditation: let the Force soothe the grief for having both taking and seeing the taking of life. No Jedi liked dealing in death, yet as tacticians and warriors, they were directly responsible for the deaths of many, on both sides. Jedi were not meant for war, Obi-Wan had realized early on. Jedi had no choice; their duty commanded them to protect the Republic, but he wondered what would be the ultimate cost to the Order. Only time would tell.

In only a week?s time, Coruscant was already another lifetime away, leave but a distant memory, and a good night?s sleep something from a dim past.

Not unexpectedly, the terrain and a mechanical break down stranded one of their AT-ATs. Before it could be repaired and recovered, or destroyed to keep it out of the hands of the other side, it was repaired and being used against them. Republic fire had finally brought it down and lives hung in the balance: its occupants no longer combatants, but victims about to be incinerated. General Kenobi had not hesitated.

?Follow me!? Those few near him ran with him, right into the heart of what would soon be an inferno. The Force ripped open the twisted and half-melted hatch and Obi-Wan was the first to clamber in. He threw injured into waiting arms, grabbed two and threw one over each shoulder with a prodigious pull on the Force and staggered a fair distance away.

?There?s more injured,? he shouted, sliding the men to the ground and straightening up.

When the Force had shrilled with sudden alarm Obi-Wan had thought the warning was of the imminent explosion, and he meant to plunge back into the wreckage one last time.

At that moment Alpha tackled him, his armor striking Obi-Wan in the back of the head as the shock wave hit, his armor partially shielding him from the debris that rained down on them.

 

First post

It had finally happened. After all the miserable planets they?d been on and the awful conditions they faced, some parasite or bacterium must have gotten to him. Some rain slug or microbe was trying to kill Jedi, and doing a pretty good job of killing this one, as far Obi-Wan was concerned.
I'm glad that Obi-Wan is still able to joke about the situation!

Ventress! ?Your poor injured leg,? mock sympathy on that hard face as her sharp-pointed boot smashed the shrapnel deeper into his flesh?before it turned against even more tender flesh?and then the blow he didn?t see coming?
Poor Obi!!!

A touch of ice tingled up the Jedi?s spine and tried to take root in his brain.
The whole chapter was incredible good - the descriptions, the emotions... just WOW!!!

 

So Obi-Wan had spent subsequent nights alone and with his commanders, trying to come up with adaptations to equipment and tactics, each long evening following wearying days spent in actual battle. Before collapsing onto his bed long past the midnight hour, almost too weary to sleep, he still took a few precious minutes away from a well-earned rest to mourn the daily loss of life. There was no other time, certainly not during actual battle to do so.

The general, the Jedi and the man - all that which combined to make Obi-Wan Kenobi ? found refuge in meditation: let the Force soothe the grief for having both taking and seeing the taking of life. No Jedi liked dealing in death, yet as tacticians and warriors, they were directly responsible for the deaths of many, on both sides. Jedi were not meant for war, Obi-Wan had realized early on. Jedi had no choice; their duty commanded them to protect the Republic, but he wondered what would be the ultimate cost to the Order. Only time would tell.

I loved hese paragraphs, Obi-Wan ws right there was a huge toll on the order. Paragraphs like these make me respect Obi-Wan even more.

What was the kissing about? Details more details!

 

Wow they are sure in hell this time. Ohma-d'un and Queyta were less than hell. Great description of it. Thanks again

 

I just read this story, and omg u have me going here

Please please add me to ur pm list, i cant wait to read what happens next!

 

Wow, I just discovered this fic, and I have to be PMed! This is stunningly amazing! So in character and just like the two of them. It's amazing Very nice descriptions too. Poor Obi, being stuck there And poor Siri too

Anyway, this is really great, and I look forward to more

 

Awwww! Poor Obi-Wan. Great writing, I felt like you wrote him in character very well

 

A touch of ice tingled up the Jedi?s spine and tried to take root in his brain. He had just realized where he was.

Hell.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had found Hell. Jedi didn?t believe in such concepts, for them there was only the Force. Hell in myths was a place for the damned after death. This Hell, however, was for the still living.

He had only just arrived here; only fought the echoes of others? pain. Soon, he knew, his pain, Alpha?s pain, would just be added to that which lay heavy and thick there already. Whatever pain he felt now was nothing; it would only get worse.

Poor Obi!

But I loved the post. I'm cruel that way.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, buckle your seat belts and here we go!



Wonderful update! Really gave my blearly Wednesday morning some spark!

I do have a fave line...its probbly obvious which one it is.

 

whoo... great chapter. loved the descriptions and obi's slow realization of where he and alpha are being kept. can't wait to read what's coming next.

 

That was an amazing entry Valairy. It was so full of despair and bitter truth.

To say "poor" Obi-Wan is to minimize, or not even state the fullness of emotion you started with and then had us go right up and end with. He is in Hell. He hears the torture of other souls.

Truly Chilling.

Great job

 

I had to read it a couple of time, just to savor the language. Then I read it again for the plotline. It's a beautiful thing when you can take something so horrible for Obi-Wan and turn it into something I want to read again and again.

Loved this
Pain?despair?depravity?the air breathed of his predecessors in that place. The place stank and his blood slowed within his veins, thick with frost and chunks of ice formed by old and unseen horrors, haunted by tormented ghosts of the past.

A chill hung in the air, and it was more than the chill of cool temperatures. It was the chill of living death, of suffering without hope, of knowledge that the only peace a prisoner would find would be in the quickness of one?s death.

Gorgeous language for something so terrible.

Brilliant. Loved it.

 

Oh, my god, Obi-Wan! I fear for you, even though you are just words on my computer screen. I honestly am terrified of what Ventress will do to you and Alpha. Please, get back to Siri in once piece!

J_Ro

 

Oh dear...

*shivers*

Such incredible darkness and beautiful language to describe it. I love how you made us feel as confused as Obi-Wan is by making his thoughts disconnected and shaky. And poor Alpha, too...

Wonderful as always, VS--very much like the idea of shadows on the wall. You know what's going on, you're terrified, but you're not looking directly at it. Very great way to treat this. Perfectly chilling. Loved it as always!

 

Awesome piece of writing, can't wait for the next update. Thanks for the PM.

 

I just found this story and i absolutley love it, , keep up the good job.

 

Oh no Obi torture, at least he isn't on his own, he has alpha. Can't wait for next post

 

Fifilla: I'm glad that Obi-Wan is still able to joke about the situation! ? Always!

The whole chapter was incredible good - the descriptions, the emotions... just WOW!!! ? Thanks, I was all over the place on this ? cutting 2 or 3 chapters apart and pasting together ? I struggled to get what I wanted without jumping ahead to where I?m going. This is just the beginning?yes, it?ll get a bit *more* graphic but it?ll be written much like this chapter was.

obsessedwithSW: What was the kissing about? Details more details! ? the goodbye kiss he gave Siri in chapter 1. He?s really confused and his timeline and details are fuzzy.

Earlybird-Obi-Wan: Wow they are sure in hell this time. ? it?ll get a lot worse. Ventress hasn?t sunk her claws into either one yet. Just a taste of it on the ship.

Veloz: You?re on the PM list.

General_Kenobi_66: Wow, I just discovered this fic, and I have to be PMed! This is stunningly amazing! So in character and just like the two of them. It's amazing Thank you.

JediMasterJessica: Yeah, poor Obi-Wan and Alpha, too.

VaderLVR64: But I loved the post. I'm cruel that way. ? Then you?ll be really pleased with later chapters.

Alley_Skywalker: I do have a fave line...its probbly obvious which one it is. ? uh, no, not actually unless it?s Obi-Wan asking Anakin for help.

Aabbccdd: obi's slow realization of where he and alpha are being kept. can't wait to read what's coming next. ? He?ll get to experience it shortly.

Noelie: To say "poor" Obi-Wan is to minimize, or not even state the fullness of emotion you started with and then had us go right up and end with. He is in Hell. He -hears the torture of other souls. ? I tried to remember the atmosphere in Dachau when I visited it. Anyone who has ever visited such a place will know that the very air breathes of the past.

Dianethx: It's a beautiful thing when you can take something so horrible for Obi-Wan and turn it into something I want to read again and again. ? That is a true compliment ? thank you.

J_Ro: Oh, my god, Obi-Wan! I fear for you, even though you are just words on my computer screen. I honestly am terrified of what Ventress will do to you and Alpha. ? ah, you?re like me. Characters on a page/screen ARE real and you suffer right along with them.

Luna: Such incredible darkness and beautiful language to describe it. I love how you made us feel as confused as Obi-Wan is by making his thoughts disconnected and shaky. And poor Alpha, too... Funny thing is, he really hasn't been put through much yet. He got a little worked over by Asajj, but she won't get her fangs into him yet - well, except for the cliffie ending of this chapter.

Ascal_Elessar: Awesome piece of writing, can't wait for the next update Here you are.

Erikawr05: Aw, glad you love it.

Hananiah: yes, Obi-torture lies ahead. Several chapters worth unless I can make myself cut them down. Siri and Anakin will have their parts to play, but less so in these middle chapters.

Note: Aidus is another character from the Dark Horse comic; he is not mine.


Chapter Six. Take My Point, Kenobi?


Hell, his general had told him. Alpha found it hard to reconcile the common notion of Hell with this cell, but then clones didn?t have much imagination. Compared to Jabiim, it was a dry haven with no water pouring from above, which was a pleasant change. Food was irregular, but meals were erratic during battle, too, and the slop they were given was little different other than in texture from field rations.

Jabiim, though, offered cots and warm blankets to ward off the damp chill, while here there was nothing but stone floors to sit or lay on, nothing to warm their bones or cushion their heads.

Hell, Alpha decided, must be what the Jedi sensed was ahead for them, for this was certainly not Hell,

 

?Pull him upright,? she commanded Aidus, and the man hauled the unresisting Obi-Wan to his feet in one smooth jerk, one hand clenched on the Jedi?s shoulder as he swayed in Aidus? grip with a slow blink of his eyes the only reaction. ?I want him to suffer at my hands, not the whims of fate. He is no good to me sick.?

Oh no what is she going to do!!!

With a wicked grin of anticipation on her face, Ventress moved behind the Jedi and threw a look at Aidus that brought an answering grin in return. ?I shall enjoy this. Take this as a token of my regard, Obi-Wan.?


Alpha tensed as a gurgled scream broke the air. Ventress stepped back with a triumphant smile and a knife held aloft, dripping.
Oh she's stabbed him

The Jedi?s body hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Ventress your dead meat if I catch you!!

Oh now I cannot wait until I find out what she did
Please dont kill him

I just love Cliffies

 

Loved that you did that scene from Alpha's POV. It gave us insight into Obi-Wan's time as a general and allowed us some distance to what he would have to go through.

Loved this.

In the months they had served together, Alpha had developed a respect for the Jedi general he felt for few others. Kenobi was no fool. He could act quickly when required by circumstance but he never acted rashly or without thought of the consequences. He did not hesitate to order a squad or platoon onto a suicidal mission while calmly taking advantage of the diversion to wrest victory, yet all the while grieving those whose deaths lay heavy on his conscience.

It was not mere safeguarding of his troops, Alpha had discovered, it was genuine regret for the waste of life. His men, clones or not, were not mere pawns to him, pieces to be sacrificed without thought for the goal of securing victory. Kenobi valued life, and mourned whenever it was lost or sacrificed.

So like Obi-Wan!

Great job. I can see that it's not an AU so I believe he will survive. But at what cost? We shall see. Looking forward to more.

 

Anakin Skywalker was deeply troubled.

Part of him wanted to cry, let great tears of pain and anger slid down his cheeks in rhythm with the fall of sheeting rain the other side of the tent, and to let his unleashed tears pool in the hands supporting his face as the rain pooled in depressions outside.

Part of him wanted to scream in frustration and anger. I know you need me, Master. I want to come after you, but I cannot. I ? cannot.

Part of him wanted just to be numb. To forget everything and to no longer feel anything, so he would know peace.

And I must say that now you've got me REALLY worried! I have a feeling that the trouble has only started.

But a great story!

 

Oh no! ... Assaj is just evil

Poor Obi Wan will suffer a heck of a lot more before someone can get to him, i'm afraid

Fantastic story though, i'm totally hooked

Tnx a lot for the pm

 

What a great update. What did she do to him with that knife?