I thought maybe some people on here might enjoy my Star Wars fanfiction, so what better way to pimp that stuff than by posting about it here on my bloggy blog.

Which I will probably never refer to again as my "bloggy blog" because looking back on that it seems to have been a mistake haha.

Anyway, the following is the first chapter from my (actually relatively popular) fanfic: Taken

You can find the full thing on ao3 here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5595058

One — Disturbance

“Jump, Obi-Wan!” Qui-Gon cried, veering closer with his speeder. If the boy didn’t jump soon, Qui-Gon would lose visual contact. With only the aid of the force, finding the boy could prove far more difficult. His captors were clearly Force-sensitive. Every time their speeder pulled away from his it was as though Obi-Wan ceased to have any affect on the Living Force. 

The boy hesitated, kneeling on the back of the enclosed speeder. His hands were bound and he was struggling to find any sort of hand hold. “Jump!” Qui-Gon hollered again, pulling right up next to the other speeder.

As Obi-Wan stood to do as he was told, the hatch by his foot hissed open. There was a single blaster shot, and Obi-Wan’s eyes widened before his entire body slackened and he fell, hitting Qui-Gon’s speeder with a sickening thud before falling through the late evening traffic.

“Obi-Wan!” he shouted, reaching after him as though it would do any good. The boy had been shot in the back of the head. It was a clean hit. He was dead before he hit the side of the speeder. 

The Jedi Master didn’t have time to mourn the loss of his Padawan. His life was still in very real danger. In the same moment that Obi-Wan’s corpse slipped out of sight, Qui-Gon was on his feet, piloting the speeder with only the Force now as he drew his lightsaber. He deflected the blaster’s second shot. A pity for the being shooting it, as it would be the last weapon they would ever be able to fire. With one rage-fueled swing of his saber, the being no longer had an arm. 

Qui-Gon leapt onto the other speeder, abandoning the one he had stolen in his pursuit of the beasts that had abducted his Padawan. He hated them and they would pay for what they had done. He slaughtered them where they sat, shutting out the sick way his stomach felt at taking lives, guilty or not. 

As he stood where his Padawan had spent the last terrifying moments of his life and observed what he had done, Qui-Gon Jinn felt two things. One of those things was fear. The other was unrelenting power. The two fed each other, consuming him.

He woke to find himself utterly drenched in sweat beside a peacefully sleeping, oblivious Obi-Wan Kenobi. It took him a long minute to remember that he and his Padawan Learner were en route back to Coruscant after an extended mission in the Outer Rim. 

It had been nearly four months since they’d last seen the Jedi Temple. Even asleep, Obi-Wan gave off an incredible amount of enthusiasm at the prospect of going home. 

Qui-Gon sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the narrow bunk the two shared, careful not to disturb the younger man’s slumber. After a nightmare of that caliber, Qui-Gon was in desperate need of a moment alone to focus and forget. 

It could be prophetic, he reminded himself as he crossed the room and entered the fresher, locking the door behind him. Though the cabins on this vessel were particularly small, they did seem to value privacy. 

“It’s nothing but a dream,” he told himself as he faced himself in the mirror. The face he saw was not one that believed his words. The nightmare had been easy enough to pass off as simply that when it had only come to him once in a great while. 

This was the fifth time he’d been woken by the same nightmare in two nights. It was only a matter of time before he would wake his Padawan and cause him to worry. 

He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time, his cobalt-blue eyes studying his every feature. It had been months since he’d had access to a proper mirror, and although he’d tamed his beard before he’d gone to sleep that night he hadn’t really looked at himself.

There was a new streak of gray hair just behind his left ear, and the bags beneath his eyes were more apparent than ever. He’d never been one to get enough sleep, but lately it was really beginning to take its toll. 

Fresh lines had sprouted around his eyes, but his laugh lines had also deepened. His mind— and his heart— went to the boy still sleeping so peacefully on the bunk, though he knew he was no longer a boy at all but a man fast approaching his twenty-second birthday. It was hard for Qui-Gon to believe that he had been training the boy for nearly nine years. At the same time, he could hardly believe that it had only been nine years. The casual familiarity of the boy was such that he felt he’d known him for all of time. 

He peeled off his nightclothes, knowing there wasn’t a chance that he would fall back asleep, and stepped into the sonic. 

When he stepped back out of the fresher, Qui-Gon Jinn was himself again. The nightmare was pushed to the back of his mind, where he forced himself not to focus on it. His face bore the casual near-smirk that served as his resting facial expression. His eyes, though tired and far away, did not bear the worry that the nightmare had stirred up in him. No, Qui-Gon simply looked properly put-together for the day, which was the exact illusion he wanted to give off.

He watched his Padawan sleep for a long moment before he sat on the floor and cleared his mind to meditate. The second his eyes were closed, he could see that speeder again, could see the hollow, empty look in Obi-Wan’s eyes as he pitched forward, falling through the evening traffic on Coruscant. 

Qui-Gon’s eyes snapped open and his breath caught in his throat. I guess that rules meditation out as a pastime, he thought with a sigh. He knew it couldn’t possibly be too much longer before they arrived on Coruscant, but even a few minutes with an idle mind could prove problematic with such thoughts plaguing him. 

I will have to ask the Masters, he thought. Perhaps Yoda or Master Windu will be able to ease my mind and tell me it’s naught but a bad dream.

He turned his attention back to the young man who was still asleep, still facing away from him, still blissfully unaware of his Master’s plight. Qui-Gon found himself envious of the boy’s ability to sleep so soundly in just about any situation. He reached out with Force just to peek at the boy’s dreams. 

The boy’s dreams were serene, if a bit confusing. This wasn’t the first time that Qui-Gon had taken a peek into his apprentice’s dreams, nor did he imagine it would be his last. The boy never seemed to mind much, though Qui-Gon suspected that was because he’d peeked into his Master’s dreams once or twice as well. 

Not that he minded, of course. Unless Obi-Wan were to venture into his consciousness at just the wrong time and catch that nightmare… He shook his head again, pulling back into himself as he felt the first stirrings of his Padawan as he began to wake. 

He closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate and meditate. It was another fifteen minutes before the boy finally rolled over and sat up. Qui-Gon felt the boy’s eyes appraise him as he debated his first moves. 

Eventually he decided that it couldn’t hurt to take a shower. As the door hissed shut behind the younger man, Qui-Gon stood and strode over to the bunk. He tucked the blanket that Obi-Wan had been using back into the mattress and smoothed out the pillow the boy had used. He resisted the urge to stick his face in the faded linen of the pillowcase and breathe in the familiar scent of his Padawan. 

The door to the fresher hissed open and Obi-Wan stepped out into the main of the cabin clad only in his pants and one of his boots. Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow when he noticed the missing boot. Obi-Wan looked about half-asleep yet as he searched the floor of the cabin for his missing boot. 

“Rough night?” Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan’s eyes snapped fully open and he looked up at his Master. He shook his head vigorously.

“No, Master. I slept quite well. I wish you could say the same,” he said. Qui-Gon wasn’t sure his eyebrow could go any higher, but boy did it ever try. “I woke briefly when you got up. Did you have another nightmare?”

He could see in the boy’s eyes that he wasn’t able to hide his surprise at the boy’s nonchalance. Of course he’s aware of what’s going on, Qui-Gon thought. Even if he doesn’t know what the nightmare is about, he’s well aware that something’s the matter.

“You are most observant, Obi-Wan.”

A small smile played on the younger man’s lips. “Only because I’ve learned from the best.” His face turned serious again, though his eyes retained a hint of that smile. “I know you’re hiding something from me in order to protect me, Master. Whatever it is, you know I can handle it.”

Qui-Gon closed his eyes and sighed. If only you knew, Obi-Wan. If only you knew how wrong you are about that. 

“It is nothing for you to concern yourself with, Obi-Wan. Each of us has our own internal struggles. They are ours and ours alone to bear.”

Obi-Wan cocked his head and gave his Master a look.

“If they’re our struggles, as you said, doesn’t that imply we should share them?” Qui-Gon was struck by the wisdom of his Padawan’s words. He’d given little thought to the way he’d worded his reply, but the wording had been deliberate. He looked away. 

“Master?” Obi-Wan asked. “Am I wrong?” 

As the Master opened his mouth to reply, an announcement played through all the corridors and cabins on the ship, alerting all passengers that they were approaching Coruscant. 

Qui-Gon did not relax, did not seem to even breathe until the two of them crossed the threshold into the safety of the Jedi Temple. From the moment his boots hit the landing pad until he practically shoved his Padawan through the door to the Temple he was on high alert. Even once inside, he was less-than-willing to allow his Padawan out of his sight for even a moment.

Though obviously still quite tired, Obi-Wan dutifully walked alongside his Master to the Council Chamber, where he would wait just outside as his Master spoke about their mission and its successes. When Qui-Gon beckoned for him to accompany him inside, Obi-Wan was all too eager to join him. 

“Master Qui-Gon, so good to see you again, it is,” Master Yoda said, leaning forward in his chair.

“I trust the conflict on Rinn has been resolved,” Plo Koon said. Qui-Gon nodded once and sighed. 

“Our presence on Rinn was welcome, but not necessary,” he reported. “We were merely observers. Given time and space to figure out  their own solutions, the locals were able to resolve their problems.” Master Windu raised an eyebrow. “Though we were sought out for minor advice, in the end it was a local girl named Yasha that managed to bring peace. We remained to observe for an additional month, and the peace seems to be lasting.”

Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably at his side. After spending so long in a place where his presence was hardly noticed it was strange to have so many eyes fixed on him. He glanced up at his Master. If Qui-Gon was uncomfortable, he did not show it. Oh, how Obi-Wan wanted to emulate his Master! 

“If you’ll excuse us now, it has been a very long journey and we are in need of rest.”

“Of course,” Master Windu said, nodding. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bowed to the Masters before turning and exiting the room. 

“Master?” Obi-Wan asked after they’d put a reasonable distance between themselves and the Council Chamber. Qui-Gon glanced down at him expectantly. “You never answered my question.” 

“Which question was that?” Qui-Gon asked placidly. 

“You said that we each have our own problems that are ours to bear. If they are ours to bear, does that not mean we should share them?”

Qui-Gon shook his head, chuckling dryly. “You’re really going to argue a matter of phrasing. You understood what I meant, Obi-Wan.”

“Qui-Gon.” 

“It is nothing to concern yourself with, Obi-Wan. I’ve dealt with nightmares many times in the past and I’m sure these will not be my last. I appreciate your worry, but it is misplaced. Focus on your studies, my young Padawan.”