Sharon
Part 1
The Wraith 3/7
by Sharon Nuttycombe (avalon99@telusplanet.net)
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Area51/Zone/6300
PG-13
Posted: July 19, 1999
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SUMMARY: When Qui-Gon is possessed by an alien, Obi-Wan faces both physical and emotional trials.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: To HTML Girl - Linda Campbell. If Beta Readers got medals, she'd get the silver star of gallantry...and tenacity. Without his my stories would have a *lot* more cliches...and would take a heck of a lot longer to write!
DISCLAIMER: Of course these people don't belong to me. Do I look even remotely like George Lucas or anyone associated with Lucasfilm or 20th Century Fox? Thought not.
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Obi-Wan slowly lifted his head from the shattered viewscreen, wondering vaguely if he were still alive. He shifted slightly in his seat and abruptly decided he was. He was in too much pain to be otherwise. Ignoring the throbbing in his forehead from where it had connected with the instrument panel, he turned to look at the man beside him, wincing as his neck protested the movement.
Qui-Gon's body was slumped over the console, blood trickling from a deep cut on his forehead. Obi-Wan's heart gave a painful lurch and he quickly reached out to the other's throat. Was he...? No. A pulse throbbed reassuringly beneath the skin. Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly, a shudder of relief going through him. If he had killed his Master, while trying to save him...
The Apprentice reached out shakily for his lightsabre which was hanging from Qui-Gon's belt and sighed as his fingers curled around it, instantly feeling much better. He fastened it hurriedly to his own belt then bent over to look for the other lightsabre and the Kherosian blaster.
He found them both under the co-pilot's seat. Flinching a little at the pain the movement caused, he tucked the blaster into the back of his belt and clipped his Master's sabre onto the other side. Then, feeling a little odd with all the weapons about him, he pulled himself slowly to his feet.
It hurt, but not too badly. He must have wrenched his neck during the crash, his head throbbed unmercifully and his back and right ankle complained at every movement, but overall things weren't too bad. He had felt much worse the time he had fallen from the second floor of the Jedi training room. Tentatively, Obi-Wan put his right foot down...and revised his opinion as a shaft of agony shot up his leg.
Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan reached out hastily for the Force, trying to begin a healing ritual...to no avail. The healing energies danced around him but he couldn't bend them to his will. After a moment he gave up in disgust. He was obviously not in the right frame of mind for this...
"Fine," he thought grimly, easing his foot down once more, "It's only a sprained ankle." He hoped. "And you have other things to think about, Padawan..." Swearing under his breath in several languages, he hobbled away from the crumpled pilot's chair.
The ship had come to rest at a steep angle, one side half- buried in the sand, the other leaning against a rock tower. Obi-Wan had to brace himself against the unnatural tilt of the floor as he moved toward the rear of the cabin. He shot an uneasy glance over his shoulder at the motionless Eidolon then quickened his pace. He had to be ready. The alien would not stay unconscious forever.
It seemed to take an eternity but was probably only a matter of seconds before Obi-Wan reached his destination. Leaning against the bulkhead for balance, he pulled open a maintenance access hatch, struggling for a moment with the warped metal, then peered inside. There. Several lines of fibre cables ran through the hatchway, disappearing into the rest of the ship.
Behind him, Eidolon stirred and moaned. Obi-Wan hurriedly ignited his lightsabre and cut free a handful of cables then turned and limped back to the alien, as quickly as he could. Once there though, he paused. It felt...wrong...to bind his Master's hands like this...
Obi-Wan blinked and gave himself a mental shake. If he wanted to stay alive, he had to stop thinking of this person as Qui-Gon Jinn, had to suppress the instinctive urge to obey and protect him... Not hesitating any longer, the Apprentice dragged the other man's hands behind his back and secured them tightly with the cables. Then he stepped back and surveyed his handiwork. The man groaned again but did not move. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief then turned to the main console.
* * *
The shuttle was dead. Absolutely and inexorably dead. Obi-Wan scowled at the instrument panel. There wasn't enough power left to send a distress signal, let alone leave the planet...even if pieces of the ship hadn't been lying in small pieces somewhere behind them...
Cursing inwardly, Obi-Wan turned away and checked his supplies. There weren't many. The shuttle had been almost empty when they had left Kheros, with only the standard emergency and medical kits on board. Unfortunately, both had perished when the secondary console had exploded. There was nothing else. No food, no water. Nothing. Obi- Wan unhappily added up his assets -- two lightsabres, one blaster, the Force, and a Jedi Master currently inhabited by an alien parasite. Damn.
The alien parasite stirred, his eyes flickering open. He blinked several times then focused on Obi-Wan who stared back impassively.
"You're insane," Eidolon whispered.
"Probably," Obi-Wan agreed. "But it worked." He lifted the blaster so the other man could see it.
Eidolon tensed then frowned as he realized his hands were bound. An expression of rage crossed his face. "Damn you..."
"You can swear at me all you want later," Obi-Wan said calmly, "but now that our situations are reversed, I think it's time for some answers." He leaned against the doorway, keeping the blaster aimed on the alien.
Eidolon sat up carefully, blinking a little as blood oozed slowly from the cut over his eye. "Or what?" he asked, the mocking tone back in his voice. "Will you shoot me, Padawan? If you're so certain that your Master is still in here somewhere, will you really risk hurting this body?"
Obi-Wan did not pause. "I don't have to. All I have to do is wait for the Kherosians. Then I'll take you back to Coruscant where the Council *will* find a way to..." His voice broke off as Eidolon's eyes went dark. Suddenly something was clawing at the Apprentice's mind, looking for a way in.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Eidolon was trying to take his body, as he had taken his Master's. The Padawan gasped as the feelings increased. It was like hot brands raking across his mind. With a muffled gasp he crashed to his knees...
* * *
When his eyes had opened, Qui-Gon's first reaction had been astonishment that they were still alive. After his Apprentice's flying demonstration he had fully expected to awaken in the next world. Instead, he found himself firmly lodged in this one. His respect for Obi-Wan went up another notch. He hadn't known he could fly like that...
When the Jedi had realized that his hands were tied and that Obi-Wan held all the weapons, Qui-Gon had been relieved. Immensely relieved. A distant part of him smiled at the thought that, for probably the only time in his life, he was pleased to wake up bound...but the amusement vanished as he felt the iron fetters around his mind weaken.
Instantly he threw himself at them, struggling to hurl the invader from his mind. And he was winning...the chains were melting away like snow. He could almost reach out and take control of his body again... And then he saw Obi-Wan. The boy was on his knees, pain evident on his face, fighting against...something. Abruptly Qui-Gon realized what the alien was doing. He was trying to take Obi-Wan. No! At the speed of thought Qui-Gon reversed his efforts, now trying desperately to hold on to the struggling alien.
It was like wrestling an eel. Eidolon twisted and arced, each time almost breaking the Jedi's mental grip, but Qui- Gon hung on grimly, long past the moment when he thought he must surely let go. Finally, after a lifetime or two, he could feel the parasite begin to weaken. With one last effort Qui-Gon dragged Eidolon backward through his mind... and abruptly found himself once more in his now-familiar prison. Ignoring this, his thoughts turned instantly to Obi-Wan. *Padawan?*
* * *
It hurt. Hurt as if the memory of every pain he had ever experienced had been ripped from his mind, then been doubled, tripled, and doubled again. There was no defence, no way to retreat... Obi-Wan had felt his mental shields beginning to crumble. And then...something...had happened. It was as if Eidolon had been pulled backward at the very moment of triumph... "Master," he wondered raggedly. "Was that you?" Whatever it was, Obi-Wan had no illusions that he had managed to fend off the alien by the power of his mind alone. Eidolon was too strong. *Much* too strong.
The Apprentice blinked tiredly, realizing that he was on his knees, swaying slightly...and that Qui-Gon's body was gathering itself to rise. Fog swirled through the corners of Obi-Wan's mind but one thought shot through him like an arrow. The blaster. With leaden arms he managed to raise the weapon in both hands, noting idly that they were shaking badly.
"Stop." His voice sounded odd, Obi-Wan noted. Eidolon halted. The Apprentice felt distantly surprised that the alien had obeyed him, then relieved. He still wasn't sure he *could* shoot Eidolon. Not in *that* body, at any rate. With an effort Obi-Wan dragged his mind back to the present. "Get up," he thought to himself. "You must look ridiculous on your knees." The sheer idiocy of this remark helped clear some of the cobwebs from his mind and, using the bulkhead, he climbed slowly to his feet, keeping the blaster aimed carefully on his companion.
* * *
Qui-Gon watched Obi-Wan rise and felt relief sweep over him, followed closely by concern. His Apprentice looked as if a strong wind would blow him over. But some inner core of resiliency was obviously keeping him going. Qui-Gon's regard for the boy increased.
* * *
Obi-Wan felt a little of his strength begin to return and he straightened his shoulders, ignoring the headache that was threatening to blind him. "OK, Padawan," he told himself, "do something..." His hands had finally stopped shaking and he now held the blaster with some degree of certainty. "Sit down," he said out loud, indicating the co-pilot's seat.
Wordlessly the alien obeyed then stared back at him. "Now what?" he asked tiredly, echoing Obi-Wan's earlier question.
"Now we wait for the Kherosians and you give me some answers."
Eidolon shook his head. "It won't do any good. How long do you think it will take them to find us? Days probably. And even if all your precious Jedi Knights come looking for us, it will still take them time. This planet isn't exactly at the hub of the galaxy..."
That much was true. Obi-Wan frowned. They were far from the main trade routes. The closest system was Kheros, which itself was fairly remote. Any rescue would take time. Too much time...
"And how long do you think you can fight me off?" Eidolon was saying. "I'll just keep trying to take your mind until you grow too weak to fight me. And then I'll be free. And you'll be dead."
Obi-Wan lowered himself into the passenger seat, carefully keeping his distance from the alien. Eidolon was right. He wouldn't be able to stay alert long enough, even with the Force to aid him. Not the way he was feeling now... And he couldn't stand against the power of Eidolon's mind. Not again. Obi-Wan swallowed and tried another tack. "If you try to take me over, I'll shoot you."
Eidolon smiled. "That's Qui-Gon's smile," Obi-Wan thought in annoyance. "Stop that."
"I thought we had already covered this," the alien was saying, "You can't kill this body in case Qui-Gon is still alive. So any threats you make aren't terribly effective. Why don't you just let me go?"
Obi-Wan gave him a measuring look. "I don't have to kill you..."
Eidolon gave a short bark of laughter. "So you'll...what? Shoot me in the leg, maybe? I don't think so. You don't have the courage, Padawan."
That did it. In an instant, adrenaline was sweeping through Obi-Wan, banishing the fatigue and pain. For one glorious moment, he allowed his temper free rein. Shoving the blaster into his belt, he hauled Eidolon to his feet with both hands and shoved him back against the bulkhead. "Let's get something straight, shall we?" Obi-Wan said in a quiet voice, staring unblinkingly into Eidolon's eyes. "I will do whatever it takes to get my Master back, and if that involves shooting *him* in the leg in order to make *you* obey me, then that's what I will do. I'll apologize to *him* later. Furthermore, if you try that little mind trick again, I *will* shoot you. Guaranteed. And one more thing...stop calling me Padawan." He punctuated this with a final shove, released the other man, then stepped back and watched him through narrowed eyes. "Now...do we understand each other?"
Eidolon met his gaze for a long moment, hesitated, then glanced away. "Yes."
"Good." Obi-Wan retrieved the blaster from his belt and aimed it once more at the other man. "The ship's sensors picked up a power source about a day's travel away," he said, more calmly now. "What is it?"
Eidolon hesitated, then replied. "I'm not sure."
"Wrong answer. Try again."
"I don't know. Really. This planet has...changed."
"In what way?"
Eidolon shifted his weight. "It used to be greener. Less...deserted. I...think I've been away longer than I thought."
The ship's sensors didn't pick up any signs of higher lifeforms."
"My people don't always show up on *sensors*."
"Your people?"
Eidolon looked away and did not answer. Obi-Wan gave him a minute, then levelled the blaster at him. "Right leg or left?"
The alien looked back at him. "What?"
"Which leg?" The blaster was aimed unwaveringly at Qui- Gon's right kneecap.
Eidolon swallowed. Their gazes clashed for a long moment, then the alien's eyelids flickered. "Neither," he said.
Obi-Wan allowed himself a chilly smile. "Good. Let's start again, shall we?" He leaned one hip against the chair, easing the weight from his right ankle. "Why exactly did you bring us here? Be precise."
Eidolon sank back into the co-pilot's chair and sighed. "I was looking for some trace of my people."
Obi-Wan cast him a dangerous look as he stopped, and Eidolon continued hastily. "We are...I suppose you would call us Wraiths. We live by entering another body...a corporeal form...and sharing our existence with that person."
"Sharing...?"
Eidolon's poise was slowly returning. "Don't sound so hopeful, Pada...Obi-Wan. I do not subscribe to my people's beliefs of peaceful coexistence. I do not 'share'. Ever. This body is mine."
"Wrong. It doesn't belong to you. And the rightful owner is going to get it back."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Eidolon asked, the assurance now firmly back in his voice.
Obi-Wan didn't answer. He glanced at the shattered console and the broken sensors, useless now. There had definitely been some sort of power source out there but he hadn't had time to make out any detail. Still, it was beginning to look like his only option. He couldn't stay here and rescue, if it was coming, would take too long. He couldn't risk it. Abruptly he stood, balancing himself against the tilt of the deck.
Eidolon cocked his head to one side. "Well?" he said. "How do you plan to return this body to the dear, departed Qui-Gon Jinn?"
"By any means necessary. Now get up."
Eidolon didn't move. "Why?"
Obi-Wan gave him a cold smile. "Because we're going to do what you came here for. We're going to go find your people."
END OF PART 3