Title: Miracle

By: Cassia

Email: cassia_a@hotmail.com

Category: Story, Drama, Adventure, Angst, and um... other.

Rating:  PG

Spoilers: Minor ones for the JA books

Disclaimer: All recognizable Star Wars characters are the

exclusive property of George Lucas. 

(I don't think you could say that any of the other charecters

in this story *belong* to anybody. :D)

I have no official permission to use these characters, but

I'm not being paid for it either, so that's okay.

Feedback:  Yes Please! 

Time Frame: 8 years before TMP.  Obi-Wan is 17.

 

Things bracketed by *'s are *italic*.

 

Summary: Lost and alone, Obi-Wan is dying of an incurable desease. 

Qui-Gon is desperate to find him, but time is running out.

With death drawing near, the Padawan's only hope is... a miracle.

 

Note: This story contains religious content.  If that bothers you,

don't read.

 

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

 

Miracle

 

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi stumbled.  His vision swam and he could

barely tell which way was up.  Leaning against the wall of

a house, he felt the sun-warmed adobe heat his cold hands

and face.

 

A moment ago he had been so hot he thought he must be

on fire, but now he felt colder than a Hoth night. 

He didn't have much longer now and he knew it.  He

pushed himself onward because his mind told him he must try

to find Qui-Gon, but it was beginning to matter less and

less.  His illness was overcoming him at last and soon

nothing would matter...

 

 

 

Qui-Gon hurried along at an urgent pace.  He did not

even bother telling himself he should relax, or try to be

calm.  His Padawan was lost somewhere on this extremely

primitive, backwater planet, dying of an incurable disease. 

There was no way he could be calm or rational about that. 

 

He had to find Obi-Wan before it was too late!  Qui-

Gon stopped himself, his heart wrenching.  There was no too

late, it was already too late.  There was no cure for the

unique strain of the deadly Yukuta virus that his

apprentice had contracted. 

 

The best medical minds in the Galaxy could only shake

their heads apologetically as the disease ravaged Obi-Wan's

young body, leaving the formerly strong seventeen-year-old

frail and ailing. 

 

Qui-Gon had felt his heart broken piece by painful

piece as he watched the teenager's body fail him slowly,

watched Obi-Wan slide gradually down the long, painful hill

toward the death that waited for him. 

 

Yet Obi-Wan's spirit had remained strong, even in the

face of this cruel destiny.  As his body failed him he

turned more and more to the Force.  Qui-Gon had marveled at

how the boy had still been able to laugh, and joke with

him; even about his own impending death. 

 

When Obi-Wan's hands started trembling so badly he

could no longer hold his lightsaber steady he had told Qui-

Gon wryly, "Well, you always were trying to teach me about

searching for the peaceful solution, now I guess I really

need to learn that."  Qui-Gon had laughed with him on the

outside, but inside he cried.

 

Obi-Wan had had angry moments at first, but he had

come to accept his destiny with far more grace than Qui-Gon

was able to manage.  Somewhere deep inside, Qui-Gon was

still angry that this had happened.  Obi-Wan was so bright,

so strong, so wanting to do right!  He deserved better than

this. 

 

Obi-Wan had grown far too weak to continue training,

there was little point to that now anyway, but still Qui-

Gon stayed by his side.  He stayed by the apprentice as the

illness devoured him, stayed with him through the long,

sleepless nights of pain that neither drugs nor meditation

could seem to alleviate.  Stayed by him through the weeks

of draining examination and testing, through the

hopelessness of every doctor's diagnosis.  He would stay by

his Padawan until death did them part.  Unfortunately, Qui-

Gon knew that day was very close at hand.

 

Then this happened. 

 

Obi-Wan had resigned himself to his fate some time

ago, but Qui-Gon still refused to give up.  He supposed it

was his fault they had ended up here on this forsaken

planet in the middle of an unknown galaxy. 

Qui-Gon had taken Obi-Wan to a well-known healer on

the very fringe of the outer rim.  She had done her very

best for him, but in the end, she could do no more than all

the others. 

 

Obi-Wan was going to die. 

 

On the way back, a hyperdrive malfunction had sent

them billions of light-years in the wrong direction. 

Qui-Gon had no idea where exactly they were; it was

far beyond the reach of any star maps that had ever been

made.  They needed to get back, but they also needed fresh

supplies for the long journey.  The ship had not been

stocked for so far a side-trek.  When they found this

planet, the only one in its solar system that had life,

they put down to re-stock the ship.  That's when everything

went wrong. 

 

The people on this planet were very primitive.  They

knew nothing of space travel, worlds besides their own, or

even of technology of any sort.  Some herders saw their

ship put down and ran away in terror. 

 

Obi-Wan remained on board while Qui-Gon went for the

supplies.  However, when Qui-Gon got to the nearest town,

he found that no one here spoke Basic, or any other

language that he recognized.  The Jedi was pretty astute at

picking up new languages, but he barely got the chance to

figure this one out before the herdsmen they had frighten

showed up and the whole city turned against him in

superstitious fear. 

 

He escaped, but barely.  He could not reason with

people he could not speak with.  When he got back to the

ship, Obi-Wan was gone.  There were no signs of a struggle,

but he wasn't sure his Padawan could have put one up

anyway. 

 

He had almost nothing to guide him but trying to feel

Obi-Wan's presence and touch him through their bond, which

had become so much stronger over the course of this

illness.  Obi-Wan's pain made him easier to locate.  Qui-

Gon followed it as best he could.  That was how he ended up

here. 

 

This city was much larger than the little village he

had entered before and blending in was much easier.  The

place already seemed to be teeming with people from all

over the region.

 

Pulling his dark brown robe closed tighter around him,

the big Jedi strode quickly down the crooked, dusty

streets.  If he spoke to no one, they did not notice that

he was a foreigner. 

 

Many people were dressed much like he, in one fashion

or another.  Even his long hair and beard fit in quite

well.  Now if only he could find Obi-Wan!

He knew the boy's time was running out.  There was

nothing he could do about it, but if Obi-Wan was going to

die, he did not want it to be alone on this forsaken

planet, surrounded by people that neither knew him, nor

cared. 

 

Qui-Gon sidestepped to move out of the path of two men

who looked like soldiers, which rode on a kind of animal

that Qui-Gon was unfamiliar with.  They were wore red capes

and their shiny uniforms glinted in the sun.  Qui-Gon had

seen a lot of soldiers in this city.

*"Obi-Wan,"* he called.  *"Obi-Wan..."*

 

 

 

Obi-Wan felt alone and lost in the midst of the

teeming crowd.  He was too weak to contact the Force, too

far gone even to hear his Master's call.  His mind was

cloudy and he was unsure how he had even gotten here. 

The illness that had so far ravaged only his body had

now gone into its last stage and attacked his mind. 

 

Obi-Wan didn't know why he had left the ship.  He had

felt from a distance that Qui-Gon was in danger, but there

was no logic in his leaving, there was little the weakened

apprentice could have done to help.  But Obi-Wan was not

operating rationally anymore.  Once out of the ship he had

become lost and confused in the seemingly endless

wilderness.  He didn't know how long he had walked until he

came to this city. 

 

Everyone moved about busily, as if they were all

preparing for something, but Obi-Wan neither knew, nor

cared, what for. 

 

A few people had noticed him, or at least that he was

not looking well.  They had tried to speak to him, but he

could not understand them.  Whether that was because he

could not speak their language or because his illness had

robbed his brain of the ability to understand speech the

apprentice knew not. 

 

He wanted to find his way back to Qui-Gon, but he

realized now that he never would.  He was still enough

aware of his body to know that it was going fast.  He sank

to his knees on the edge of the street, unable to go

farther.  Darkness clouded his vision as people swirled

about him like a river.  The crowd seemed to grow thicker

and more excited but he barely noticed.  The time had come,

and he was ready. 

 

He heard someone speaking to him, but did not

understand what they said.  He couldn't see them.  He

couldn't see anything.  His world had gone dark. 

The man bent over the boy in concern.  This young man

was obviously very ill.  "He must have come to see the

Master," the man said to his friend when he could get no

response from the lad. 

 

"He'll never make it through this crowd in his

condition," the man's friend shook his head.  "Let's help

him."

 

Obi-Wan felt hands under his armpits, lifting him up,

half dragging, half carrying him.  They bore him for a

while, shouldering through the crowd and then stopped. 

There was more talking that he did not understand, but it

was sounding farther and farther away.  He was so tired, so

tired...

 

A warm hand touched his head.  Obi-Wan felt instantly

electrified by the power that came through that hand.  It

was unlike anything he had ever felt before.  It was so

strong, so fiercely bright, and so wonderful. 

He felt it enter his body in an instant, burning up

4his illness, making it evaporate like water on a hot day. 

He felt the power move through his every molecule, not only

destroying and removing the virus, but also restoring and

rebuilding all the damage it had done to him. 

 

Obi-Wan opened his eyes.  His vision was clear, his

body was strong.  He was completely healed.  The apprentice

could not understand how, or why, but it was wonderful. 

The first thing Obi-Wan saw when he opened his eyes

was the man who had touched him.  A man who must have been

in his thirties, but something about him felt timeless to

the young Jedi. 

 

Obi-Wan met the man's eyes and found himself lost in

their incredible depth.  He knew in an instant that this

was the most powerful man he had ever met, or would ever

hope to meet, yet he saw no pride, no desire for worldly

power.  It was as if this man knew he possessed a stronger,

higher power, one that had nothing to do with the things of

the galaxy, one that was better. 

 

Obi-Wan felt as if the man was looking inside him,

straight at his heart, but it was not an intrusive, or

unwelcome feeling. 

 

The Force centered around this man like nothing the

apprentice had ever seen before.  Obi-Wan could not exactly

say that the man was strong in the Force, he was beyond

that.  It was more like he controlled it, or originated it. 

At that moment Obi-Wan felt as if this man controlled

everything.  And as he looked at the Padawan it seemed that

he knew everything as well.  Obi-Wan felt as if this man

knew all about him, who he was, where he was from,

everything.

 

The man reached out his hand and Obi-Wan took it,

rising slowly to his feet.  For the first time in months,

his body felt strong and sure again.  "Thank you," he said

in awe, although it seemed terribly inadequate.  "Thank

you!"

 

The man smiled.  Just looking at his smile made Obi-

Wan want to laugh with the joy that bubbled up inside him. 

The man moved on again, the crowd moving with him, but

Obi-Wan could not take his eyes off that man.  Falling in

with the crowd, he followed him. 

 

 

 

Qui-Gon stopped, stricken.  He had felt Obi-Wan's pain

rising steadily as he struggled to pinpoint him.  Suddenly,

the pain had stopped altogether and he got no reading from

his Padawan whatsoever. 

 

Qui-Gon leaned against a wall, his heart breaking.  He

was too late.  Slowly, he pushed off the wall and forced

himself onward.  He would not leave Obi-Wan's body here. 

He would find it and bring him back to Coruscant for a

proper Jedi funeral.  It was the last thing he could do for

his Padawan.

 

 

Obi-Wan spent the rest of that day, and the next

following the man who had healed him.  He did not forget

his Master, but he could not bring himself to leave the

Healer.  He knew Qui-Gon would be looking for him.  When he

found him, then Qui-Gon could meet the Healer too!  Obi-Wan

wanted that very much.

 

Sometimes crowds gathered around the Healer to listen

to his wisdom, sometimes he was accompanied by only a small

group that Obi-Wan came to regard as his apprentices from

the way they interacted. 

 

Obi-Wan loved to listen to the Healer teach.  He had

come to realize that no one here spoke any language that he

knew, but when the Teacher spoke, he understood every word

he said. 

 

Everything the Healer taught rung so true, yet there

was much that Obi-Wan did not understand.  Obi-Wan realized

that the Master's apprentices did not understand it all

either, but Obi-Wan had learned long ago that some lessons

did not make sense at first, or until the time to

understand them had come. 

 

The other apprentices loved their Master, but Obi-Wan

could feel many conflicting emotions in the group and a

hint of darkness in at least one of them.  He wondered if

the Master knew, but how could he not?  He seemed to know

everything, yet he seemed very close to the apprentice that

Obi-Wan felt the darkness in, so Obi-Wan supposed that

perhaps he was wrong. 

 

As dusk fell over the city the Master and his

followers made their way to a small, two story house on a

quiet street. 

 

Obi-Wan followed quietly, as he had been doing all

day.  He made himself unobtrusive and no one questioned him

as he followed them in.  Indeed, they hardly realized he

was there.  Obi-Wan had a feeling that the Healer knew, but

the older man made no move to keep Obi-Wan away.

 

Obi-Wan trailed up the stairs behind them, beginning

to wonder if he should be doing this.  The Padawan knew he

was probably intruding.  He just wanted to be near the

Teacher... but he respected him too deeply to want to make

a nuisance of himself.  Obi-Wan paused outside the door to

the upstairs room and did not follow them in. 

 

For a few moments he watched quietly from the doorway. 

The Master was trying to teach his pupils about having a

humble heart, made to serve.  Obi-Wan watched in

fascination.  This man was so powerful, yet he spoke of

being the servants of all.  Obi-Wan understood this concept

well, it was the Jedi purpose; but it seemed even more real

to him now, even more meaningful as the Master sought to

make his students understand. 

 

The apprentices in the room seemed to be having a much

harder time grasping the concept, but Obi-Wan was sure that

they would get it eventually.  With such a teacher, how

could they not?

 

Obi-Wan could feel that somehow, this was an important

time for the Master and his pupils, one he did not wish to

intrude upon.  Reluctantly, he tore himself away from the

door and slid quietly back down the stairs and out of the

house.  He would wait for them out here.

 

 

 

Night was falling and the stars were beginning to

twinkle.  Qui-Gon looked up at the unfamiliar firmament and

sighed heavily.

 

Millions upon millions of stars dotted the sky in a

way that one could see only in places like this where there

were no streetlights, traffic, or glowing neon signs to

overshadow and obscure the brightness of the heavens. 

High overhead, a shimmery band, like a translucent

scarf made of stars snaked its way across the raven sky. 

One never had nights like this on a huge, city-planet like

Coruscant.

 

It was a beautiful sight, but Qui-Gon's heart could

feel no wonder at it.  He could feel nothing but sorrow. 

Despite his best efforts, he had been unable to locate his

Padawan's body.  This city was huge and unfamiliar and the

Jedi was unable to communicate with the people in it. 

If nothing came of his efforts tomorrow, he would have

to accept defeat.  *"I'm sorry Obi-Wan.  I have failed

you,"* Qui-Gon thought sadly.

 

He was weary, but sleep was not possible for him so he

let his feet take him out of the crowded city.  Passing out

of the city gates, he wound his way aimlessly across the

countryside. 

 

Avoiding a small knot of sleeping people who must have

been camping out, he slowly ascended a hill, overlooking

the slumbering city below. 

 

The night was dark, and it was more than the lack of

physical light that made it feel so.  Something about the

night felt sad and heavy, just like his heart. 

 

Qui-Gon leaned against one of the many trees that were

scattered across the hill.  In his mind he recalled

everything he and Obi-Wan had been through together.  The

good times, the bad.  Bandomeer, pirates, Xanatos, Phindar,

Gala, Melida/Dann, the Reliant, Vu Kaa, Driosnia, the camps,

Vtol Prime, the Voths, the spiders... and so much more. 

They had spent a lifetime in their mere four years together,

and now Obi-Wan was gone. 

 

Qui-Gon leaned his head back, the soft, warm breeze

ruffling gently through his hair.  He knew he should be

stronger than this.  He had told Obi-Wan more than once

that death was part of life.  But none of that helped him

now.  Alone on this backward planet, light years from

anywhere and anyone he knew, his heart was breaking. 

Somewhere, not far away, he became aware of another

heart that was also breaking.  He could not see the person

in the darkness, but he could feel them.  Somewhere close

by on this hill. 

 

The emotion was incredibly strong, so strong it nearly

knocked Qui-Gon off his feet.  The pain, the struggle, the

heartbreak, it was as if one heart was baring the weight of

the whole world this night.  Yet, under-riding it all was a

strange sense of peace, an acceptance, and a goal. 

 

Qui-Gon pressed his himself hard against the tree,

making its bark dig into his back.  In his current state

the overwhelmingness of this other sorrow was too much for

him to handle. 

 

He turned and left the hill quickly.  He wished there

was something he could do for whoever was up there, but he

had the strange feeling that whatever was going on was not

something he could interfere with, or even understand. 

 

As he headed back toward the city he passed a large

group of people bearing torches, heading for the direction

from which he had just come.  The emotions in their group

were disturbed, angry and fearful. 

 

Qui-Gon quickened his step.  This whole place was

swamped in a tense soup of emotions that seemed about to

bubble over at any time.  It seemed this city, this

country, and even this whole world was standing on the

brink of something important, something that seemed to

reach even beyond the confines of this planet.  Everywhere

he went he felt it, but he didn't understand what it meant. 

 

All he could understand was that somewhere in this city, he

had lost his apprentice, he had lost his friend.

 

 

 

Obi-Wan shook himself awake.  It was dark and the moon

and the stars shone down on him from above, seeming to

scowl disapprovingly at him for having dozed off. 

 

He sprang to his feet.  He had not meant to fall

asleep.  He had only meant to sit down quietly in the

shadow of the alley across from the house where the Healer

was, but weariness had crept up on him and he guessed it

must be nearly morning now. 

 

He looked to the house, but there were no lights in

the windows and the entire street was swamped in shadowy

darkness.  Everyone must be asleep.  The Master and his

followers as well. 

 

The young Jedi scolded himself for dozing off without

meaning to, but no real harm had been done, so he settled

down once more with his back against the wall.  He might as

well go back to sleep now; there was nothing to do until

morning.

 

 

Morning.  The light woke Obi-Wan once more.  He rubbed

his eyes and got to his feet.  It was still very early and

the last shadows of night were just beginning to melt under

the bright rays of the sun. 

 

He made his way across the street to the house to see

if anyone was up yet.  However, when he checked it out, he

found that no one was there.  Not the Master, not his

apprentices, not even the owners of the house.  They must

have all left earlier still, and Obi-Wan reprimanded

himself once more for sleeping so much that he missed them. 

 

He did not know why, but he felt uneasy.  The air

seemed to crackle with tension around him and when he

reached out to the Force he found that it was disturbed and

turbulent. 

 

The street was nearly empty, so he made his way

towards the center of town, hoping to find the Healer along

the way. 

 

The closer he got, the more crowded and noisy the

streets became.  Anger and fear mingled and clashed in the

air, so strong that they seemed almost audible to his

perceptive senses. 

 

Something was going on, something very wrong.  Anger

pulsed in the air like the hum of a lightsaber, filling

Obi-Wan's body with urgency.  Without understanding why,

Obi-Wan broke into a run.

 

 

 

Qui-Gon battled his way through the crowd.  They were

angry, upset about something, that much was clear, but he

did not know what had caused this outbreak of hostility, or

what it was about.  They all seemed to be heading towards

one of the gates, out of the city.

 

As he struggled to make a path for himself through the

turbulent sea of people he glimpsed a procession making

it's way slowly down the street.

 

Qui-Gon averted his eyes, overcome by a sorrow he

could not explain.  The sooner he left this place, the

better.

 

 

 

"No!  You can't do this!  You can't!" Obi-Wan shouted,

even though he knew they could not understand him. 

 

The Padawan struggled fiercely with the soldiers who

attempted to subdue him.  Had he had his lightsaber with

him he would have made a fairly easy escape, but he had

left that back on the ship when he had wandered off in

delirium the day before yesterday.  As it was, he held his

own just fine anyway. 

 

Flipping away from his assailants, Obi-Wan landed by

an archway and swung himself up.  Leaping off the other

side he landed on the ground twelve meters away from them. 

More soldiers were appearing, attempting to box him in. 

 

He had to get out of this, he had to get by them and

stop what was happening!  He had to!  Obi-Wan had almost

never felt so desperate before.  This was all so wrong!  He

didn't understand why it was happening, but he had to stop

it!  He dodged a blow from one of the soldiers' sharp

weapons, twisting around to-

 

Sharp, horrible pain shot through him.  Stabbing agony

lanced through his hands and feet, but no one had touched

him.  The shock of it sent him to his knees, stunned.  He

knew the pain was not his. 

 

He felt the soldiers' blades press sharply against his

throat as they bound his hands tightly behind his back. 

His head spun and his heart ached fiercely.  He couldn't

believe this was happening. 

 

"What have you done?" he whispered in shocked horror

as the soldiers pulled him to his feet.  "How could you do

this?  How could you be so blind!  What have you done?" 

But the soldiers understood him no more than he understood

them.

 

A soldier whom Obi-Wan guessed to be higher ranking

than the others because of his more elaborate uniform came

upon the scene.

 

"What do we have here?" he demanded of his men,

looking Obi-Wan over from head to toe.

 

"An insurgent sir, tried to disturb the proceedings. 

When we attempted to arrest him he resisted capture," the

soldier on Obi-Wan's left reported.

 

"Trouble maker hmm?  What do you have to say for

yourself boy?" the head officer said, tipping Obi-Wan's

chin up on the point of his knife.  He slapped Obi-Wan

across the face when the young Jedi did not answer. 

"Insolent scum!" he scowled.  "Give him a flogging to

teach him better manners," he stared into Obi-Wan's icy

blue eyes. He saw no trace of fear in them. "And do not be

gentle about it," he added contemptuously. 

 

Obi-Wan had not understood a word of the exchange.  He

knew the soldier was angry when he slapped him, and knew he

was probably in trouble.  Yet all that kept going through

his head was the absolute shock and horror of what he had

seen that morning.  How could these people do this thing? 

What was it all about?  He did not understand.

 

The soldiers dragged him away.

 

 

 

Obi-Wan drew his breath in sharply and held it. 

 

*Snap!*

 

Pressing his forehead against the wooden post they had

tied his hands to he let his air out and quickly snagged

another breath before the next stroke fell.

 

*Snap!*

 

He was using all the control he could muster, but the

beating still hurt terribly. 

 

*Snap!  Snap!  Snap!*

 

The multi-tongued lash tore his back, leaving it

welted and bleeding.  The pain made him dizzy and he

wondered how much longer it could last.  The young Jedi

gasped silently as the cruel strokes fell, but he allowed

himself no outcry, much to the consternation of his

captors. 

 

Obi-Wan tried to reach out, beyond his pain and find

Qui-Gon, or the Teacher.  The Force was strangely

disturbed, swelling and rippling uncontrollably and he

could not harness it enough to reach his Master. 

 

Somehow, even through the turbulence or perhaps

*because* of it, in some strange way, Obi-Wan was able to

feel the presence of the Healer, but the sensation of agony

when the apprentice touched him was too much.  Combined

with the pain of the whipping he was already enduring it

nearly flattened him.  Obi-Wan cried out involuntarily and

quickly withdrew his mind. 

 

A lone tear traced down his cheek, but it had nothing

to do with the pain of the flogging.  *How could they do

that to him?  The Healer was so gentle, so wise, so

good...*

 

"Keep it up," one soldier remarked to the other.  "I

think we're finally getting to him."

 

 

 

Obi-Wan staggered slightly.  The amount of blood he

had lost to the flogging made him a little woozy and the

pain sapped his strength.  The soldiers on either side of

him grabbed him to keep him from falling. 

 

Obi-Wan kept seeing the Healer in his mind's eye; he

had been beaten too, worse than Obi-Wan had.  *Why?*  The

question pounded through his head.  *Why?*

 

The soldiers manhandled the apprentice roughly down

the street.  Obi-Wan did not know where they were going,

but he did not care to wait and find out.  What he had had

to endure so far at their hand left him less than anxious

to have much more to do with them. 

 

Obi-Wan pretended to stumble again, sinking down to

his knees.  As the two soldiers bent to drag him up once

more he rose suddenly, striking them both in the face with

the back of his head. 

 

Using the momentary distraction to leap away he made a

break down the street.  Only to run smack into a whole

patrol of soldiers who had just turned the corner.

 

This place was crawling with soldiers!  Obi-Wan barely

had time to regret the luck of it all before he found

himself sprawled face down on the dusty street with several

soldiers holding him down. 

 

"You've done that for the last time boy!" one of the

soldiers growled and raised his sword over Obi-Wan's head. 

 

 

 

Qui-Gon found the streets emptier now, most of the

crowd had long ago moved out of the city.  All that was

left for him to do now was to get the supplies he needed

and head back to the ship. 

 

Alone. 

 

Once he had chosen to be alone, once he had pushed

away everyone who tried to come near him, including Obi-

Wan, but the boy had somehow found his way into his heart

despite him.  Now he was alone again, but he did not want

to be.

 

A sudden flurry of activity ahead of him drew his

attention.  A knot of soldiers stood around a young man,

holding him to the ground.  The boy had been recently

beaten and Qui-Gon saw him squirm in pain as they held him

down by his bleeding shoulders, pressing his bound arms

against his raw back. 

 

Qui-Gon felt sorry for the lad, no matter what he'd

done to get to that point.  He shook his head.  The boy

couldn't have been any older than Obi-Wan...

 

*WAIT A MINUTE!*  Something inside Qui-Gon screamed in

recognition.  That was Obi-Wan!  It was impossible, but

there he was!

 

One soldier raised his weapon over Obi-Wan in a manner

that there was no mistaking. 

 

 

 

Dust coated Obi-Wan's nose, mouth and lungs as the

soldiers held him down.  Suddenly utter chaos seemed to

erupt all around him.  The sword flew out of his would-be

executioner's hand.

 

A familiar hum sprung to life above Obi-Wan, and the

soldiers scattered, their brave fronts shattered by the

unnatural sight of the glowing sword in the tall man's

hand. 

 

Obi-Wan looked up to see his Master standing above

him, lightsaber drawn. 

 

Qui-Gon stooped to help his Padawan up and quickly rid

him of the ropes that had bound his hands.  Then, before he

could stop himself, he drew Obi-Wan to him in a fierce hug. 

"Obi-Wan," he whispered, barely believing it was true.

 

Obi-Wan returned the hug for a moment, before the pain

it caused his lacerated back and shoulders made him wince

and draw his breath in sharply.  Qui-Gon, suddenly aware of

Obi-Wan's injuries, let go at once.

"Can you walk?" he asked Obi-Wan urgently, there was

no telling when the soldiers would be back, bringing more

with them. 

 

Obi-Wan had the same thought.  He wanted to be clear

of those soldiers once and for all.  "How about running?"

he answered and they beat a hasty retreat from the area.

Qui-Gon watched his apprentice closely.  Was this the

same boy he had been with not two whole days ago?  Obi-Wan

had barely been able to stand when he saw him last and the

illness had left his body wasted and his face drawn.

 

Now... 

 

Obi-Wan was obviously in pain from the whipping he had

received, but otherwise he seemed whole and well.  Qui-Gon

could not understand it.

 

"Look at you," he said when they finally slowed down,

content that they were far enough away.  "What happened?"

 

Obi-Wan suddenly realized that Qui-Gon had not seen

him since his healing.  Had it really been only the day

before yesterday?  It seemed forever. 

 

Healing... the Healer... they had to help!

 

"I wondered away from the ship, I don't know why, I

think I must have been delirious," Obi-Wan explained

quickly, a plan forming in his mind as he spoke.  Together,

he and Qui-Gon could stop the execution!  "I ended up here

somehow.  I was dying," his voice dropped a little.  "But

then, then this man touched me.  He just touched me and,

and I was well.  I've never felt anything like it, he had

such power!" Obi-Wan became excited as he related the

story.  "Master, I don't know how, but this man is special,

very special.  Perhaps the most important man who ever

lived!  But, but," tears suddenly sprung up in the young

Jedi's eyes.  "This morning, something terrible happened. 

I don't know how, or why.  Everyone seemed so very angry

and I couldn't find the Healer," Obi-Wan's story became a

little less coherent as he became more upset, but Qui-Gon

was getting the general idea.  He had felt the same unrest

and anger in the people. 

 

"Then I found him," Obi-Wan's voice cracked a little. 

"They had him, the soldiers.  They had hurt him terribly

and then they took him away, they're going to kill him! 

He's done nothing wrong!  But they're going to kill him! 

We've got to stop them Master!  Please!  I know we are not

to meddle in the affairs of others without being asked, but

he saved my life Master, and," Obi-Wan didn't know how to

express what he felt.  "If only you could meet him Master,

he's, he's wonderful!"  Obi-Wan felt like he was babbling

foolishly, but he was desperate to make Qui-Gon understand!

 

Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan.  His Padawan's eyes pleaded

with him for action.  Qui-Gon had a nasty feeling that the

man Obi-Wan spoke of was the same one he'd seen earlier, in

the procession.  He knew nothing of this world, or its

politics, or even why the man was going to be executed. 

All he knew for certain was that somehow, the one that Obi-

Wan called the Healer had given his Padawan his life back. 

To Qui-Gon, that was worth a few risks. 

 

"All right," he agreed, much to Obi-Wan's surprise. 

"They took him outside the city, let's go!"

 

 

 

Knots of people, gathered to witness the executions,

dotted the landscape.  Qui-Gon could never quite comprehend

what drew people to morbid occasions like this. 

 

He had slightly outdistanced his Padawan as they ran,

so he saw the hill first.  His run slowed to a walk and

then stopped.  It was a good thing he was a Jedi, or he

might have gotten sick.

 

He turned to meet Obi-Wan, running up behind him. 

"Obi-Wan," he caught the boy gently by the shoulders,

halting him and half intentionally blocking his view of the

hill.

 

For a moment Obi-Wan looked puzzled, why had they

stopped?  Then the look in his Master's eyes told him. 

Told him things he did not want to know. 

 

"No, NO!" Obi-Wan cried out, pushing past Qui-Gon.  He

looked up... and stopped, transfixed with the horror of

what he saw.  They were too late.  The execution had

already begun.  It was a long and painful process, and a

horrible thing to witness.  Obi-Wan was absolutely

speechless.  How could they be so cruel?

 

"I'm sorry Obi-Wan," his Master's soft voice came from

behind him.  Qui-Gon meant it.  He was sorry.  Sorry that

this had happened, sorry they had been unable to stop it. 

Obi-Wan had been right.  Even now, in the midst of the

terrible agony he was in, there was something deeply

compelling about the Healer. 

 

Obi-Wan's throat was almost too tight for him to talk. 

"We can still do something, we've got to!"

 

"Obi-Wan, it's too late," Qui-Gon tried to reason

sadly.  He knew, he could feel that the Healer was almost

gone.

 

"No!" Obi-Wan shouted vehemently.  "It can't be!  It

can't be too late!  You don't understand!"  Obi-Wan himself

hardly understood.  He turned away.  He would go by himself

if he had to!

 

Suddenly the earth shook beneath them and the sky grew

dark.  The crowds milled skittishly about.

 

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon grabbed the apprentice's shoulders,

trying to reach him through the internal uproar that seemed

to be tearing the very earth itself apart.  "Don't you

understand?" he said sadly.  "It's over."

 

"NO! No!" Obi-Wan sobbed.  Yet he knew Qui-Gon was

right.  The whole world suddenly seemed desolate and dark

and as they headed mournfully back to the ship, Obi-Wan

wondered if the sun would ever shine again.

 

 

 

"Why?" Obi-Wan asked miserably as Qui-Gon treated his

injured back.  "Why did he let them do it?  He could have

stopped them, I know he could have.  He was so strong..."

 

"I don't know," Qui-Gon answered slowly, even though

he knew that Obi-Wan's question had not really expected an

answer.  "Perhaps he had a reason.  Sometimes Obi-Wan,

there is more to be gained from dying, than from living." 

It did not seem enough, but it was all Qui-Gon could say.  

 

 

 

Obi-Wan stared blankly at the far wall.

 

Qui-Gon shook his head.  He was worried about the boy. 

He'd been like this ever since the execution.  That was

nearly two whole days ago.  He was only just beginning to

realize the profoundness of the effect this Healer had had

upon his Padawan.

 

The ship's supplies were finally restocked.  They had

had a bear of a time trying to find any place open today

for some reason. 

 

They planned to leave in the morning and Qui-Gon hoped

that when they left, Obi-Wan would start to become himself

again.  "Why don't you get some rest?" he suggested, lying

down himself.

 

Obi-Wan lay down, but he couldn't get to sleep, and

when he did finally get to sleep, it was filled with

troubled dreams.  Scenes from the execution kept playing

over and over again in his head, tormenting him and leaving

him no peace, no rest in his uneasy slumber. 

 

The Padawan awoke early, long before the first grey

streaks of dawn had begun to break the hold of night. 

Not far away, in the darkness to his right he could

hear Qui-Gon's steady breathing.  His Master was still

asleep. 

 

Obi-Wan could not sleep anymore.  He tried rolling

over, but that didn't help.  He was restless.  It was as if

something were calling to him from a distance, what he did

not know. 

 

Rising quietly he found his clothes and boots by feel

and dressed in the dark, trying to make no more noise than

a whisper.  Silently he slipped out of the ship, leaving

Qui-Gon still asleep. 

 

He felt unresolved, and unsettled, but he fully

intended to be back before his Master woke up.  All he

wanted to do was say a last good-bye. 

 

 

 

Obi-Wan walked swiftly and quietly across the darkened

landscape.  It had taken a little longer than he had

anticipated and the first tendrils of dawn were taking root

in the sky above him. 

 

He knew where the Healer had been buried, and he made

his way there now. 

 

Slipping quickly through the garden around it, he

found the tomb where he thought the Healer had been laid. 

Several paces away from its mouth, he stopped. 

 

Obi-Wan ran his hand through his short hair in

frustration.  After all this, he had the wrong place.  He

had been nearly certain that they taken the Teacher here,

but he must have been mistaken, for this tomb was open and

empty. 

 

The apprentice was just turning away when he sensed

someone else close by.  He heard the person too, weeping

softly.  Looking around he recognized one of the women who

had been close to the Healer. 

 

She was bent over, crying as if her heart would break,

or was already broken.  Obi-Wan knew exactly how she felt. 

He started to move towards her.  He knew she would not

understand him, but he wanted only to comfort her, and

perhaps, himself.

 

Suddenly, he stopped.  The air seemed to have become

charged and his breathing caught, he hardly knew why.

 

A man that Obi-Wan had neither seen, nor sensed

approach, touched the woman gently on the arm. 

 

"Woman," he asked softly, in a rich, mellow voice. 

"Why are you crying?"

 

"Where is he?" the woman sobbed, without looking up. 

"Oh please sir, if you have taken his body, tell me where

it is that I may go and tend him!" she pleaded.

 

Obi-Wan stared intently at the man.  He seemed so

familiar, and yet...

 

"Mary," the man said softly.

 

The woman looked up, surprise and joy mingling on her

tearstained face.  "Rabbi!  Teacher!" she exclaimed in

sheer joy.

 

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide as he too recognized the man. 

It was the Healer!  That was impossible.  Obi-Wan had seen

him die.  But there he was anyway!  He was alive again!  He

was risen!

 

Mary left, beaming joy, but Jesus remained, seeming to

Obi-Wan to illuminate the entire garden with his presence. 

 

Jesus turned, and his eyes met Obi-Wan's for a moment. 

Once again, Obi-Wan felt as if He knew everything

about him, but it was even more so now.  As if whatever

limitations the Healer had accepted to accomplish the task

He had come to perform were now gone and He was revealed in

His utter power and majesty. 

 

The contact was held only for an instant, but it could

have been a lifetime.

 

Jesus smiled at Obi-Wan, then his gaze flickered

upward, as if to catch the eyes of someone standing behind

the apprentice. 

 

Obi-Wan turned and found Qui-Gon standing quietly

behind him, his eyes fixed on the man who was no longer

dead.  When Obi-Wan turned back, Jesus was gone, but the

light in the garden lingered, brightening the garden,

brightening the world.

 

Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder.  "Did you

see Him Master?" Obi-Wan asked, still a little awed.

 

Qui-Gon nodded slowly.  "Yes, Obi-Wan, I saw Him." 

The Jedi Master understood now what his Padawan had been

trying to explain to him.  "He is everything you said He

was, and more." 

 

 

 

The next day found them in their ship, heading back

towards the galaxy that they knew. 

 

"I know we have to get back, but I almost hate to go

Master," Obi-Wan confided as they sat together in the

cockpit. 

 

Qui-Gon just nodded.  He understood how the boy felt. 

Yet he knew that they must return to their lives, their

place...

 

"What do you suppose it all means?" Obi-Wan ventured.

 

"I don't know Padawan.  I don't know," Qui-Gon

admitted.  "Yet, I feel that we have witnessed something of

vital importance, not only to that planet, but to the

entire galaxy."  Qui-Gon was silent and reflective for a

moment. 

 

"But why should something of that significance happen

in such an out-of-the-way, backward place?" Obi-Wan was

puzzled.

 

Qui-Gon smiled softly.  "I don't have the answers

Padawan, but we must remember that not everything that is

supposed to happen happens in a way that we would consider

logical.  Sometimes, there is a better way, and we just

don't understand.  This is not an end," Qui-Gon slipped

into quiet prediction.  "This is a beginning.  That planet

knows something special, and perhaps, someday, when the

time is right, the whole galaxy will know it too."

 

 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-

Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not

parish, but have Everlasting Life!

 

 

Oookaaay... I know this story is a little different,

but I hope you enjoyed it.  A little weird, yes, but after

all, Star Wars did happen A LONG time ago, in a Galaxy far,

far away...

 

This story is really almost not mine.  I dreamed a

good part of it, or at least, the general idea, and then

got up at 4:00 a.m. and wrote it all down in an hour.  So,

once again, please excuse the choppyness.

 

I know I walk a double-edged knife with this story. 

Non-Christians may think I am being preachy and Christians

may think I am being blasphemous, but neither is my

intention.  So, take it for what it is, a good reason to

stick two of my favorite fictional characters into the most

important event in history and give them a chance to meet

the Savior.

 

Although the Star Wars characters and universe are

fictional, Jesus, and His story are very real. If you don't

know His story, this story probably won't make any sense. 

You can read the whole thing in the Bible, but in brief,

 

(if I may be allowed to get on my soapbox for a moment)...

 

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He died on a cross

so that we could live.  Giving His life in atonement for

our sins so that we could be made clean in God's sight and

have eternal life in Heaven with God the Father when we

die. 

 

If this sounds cheesy, than forgive me, because it

must be the way I am laying it out, because the Message is

anything but. 

 

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.  Thank you for baring

with me and if you don't know Jesus, I hope you think about

this a little bit.  He can work His Miracles in your life

too.