Finally it's done!! I'm sorry it took so long, but I wasn't really sure
how I wanted to end this. I'm still not completely happy with it, so any
suggestions are welcome. If you missed the beginning parts, they're
archived at
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/4155/writings/impresssions1.html.

Part 5

As Qui-Gon approached the guards, they drew their weapons, but didn't
shoot. "Where d'ya think you're goin'?" one of them sneered.

"We are going to leave," Qui-Gon said calmly, waving his hand almost
imperceptibly.

"You're going to leave," the guard replied.

"You are going to go give us clearance to take off. No one will fire on
us."

"I'm going to go give you clearance to take off," the guard intoned. "No
one will fire on you." Both watchmen turned as one and walked toward the
control booth on the far side of the landing platform.

Qui-Gon and I half-carried the barely-conscious Padawan up the ramp and
into the transport's tiny medbay. After we laid him down in the small
bunk, Qui-Gon turned to me. "Thank you for your help, Eloy. You should
leave now."

I shook my head. "No, I'm too involved. I killed the ambassador...do you
think I'll be able to live here now?"

He nodded in understanding. "Then can you pilot this ship?"

"No, I've never flown in my life."

"All right," he sighed. "Stay with Obi-Wan while I take off." He lay his
hand on his apprentice's shoulder for a moment, then turned to leave.
"Try to keep him conscious," he said as he walked out the door.

*Easier said than done,* I thought, kneeling down by the bunk. "Hey,
c'mon, stay with me," I whispered as the first tremors of the engines
igniting rumbled through the room.

"I'm so tired,"Obi-Wan moaned. "Want to sleep."

"Just stay awake a little while longer, OK?" I pulled a blanket over his
shivering body, then brushed my hand lightly across his hot forehead. I
chuckled softly. "Hey, this seems like a familiar situation, doesn't
it?"

He managed a weak smile. "Great way to make a first impression..." His
sentence trailed off into a fit of coughing. "Can't... breathe..." he
gasped, a small trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
I quickly jumped up and rummaged through the medbay's cabinet until I
found an oxygen mask. I placed it over his nose and mouth as his eyes
slipped shut again. I shook him, trying to be gentle.

"You can't die on me now!" I cried. "Not after we've made it this far."
Frustrated, I pounded my fist on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, I saw a
tear fall onto the pillow next to Obi-Wan. Angrily, I swiped my hand
across my eyes, surprised at the wetness there. I stood up and paced the
floor restlessly as I felt the acceleration of the ship entering
hyperspace. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, then
Qui-Gon burst in the door and rushed to his Padawan's side.

"Where are we going?" I asked the Jedi Master as he knelt by the bunk.

"To Coruscant," he replied. "The healers at the temple will be able to
help him more than I can."

"How long till we get there?"

"About ten hours."

"Ten hours?" I exclaimed in shock. "He'll never make it. The ambassador
said the poison would kill him within a day."

Qui-Gon sighed. "I'm going to try to put him in a healing trance, but
he's so weak I don't know if it'll do much good."

"Is there anything I can do?"

The Jedi gave me an odd look, then opened his mouth as if to say
something, but he seemed to change his mind. He shook his head. "No,
there is nothing more you can do."

Something was nagging at the back of my mind... something I'd read, or
heard... suddenly I remembered. "There is something I can do," I said,
moving back toward the bunk. "I've read about it. You can link me to him
in a trance and he'll share my strength–or something like that. I know
it works better with two Jedi, but I know you can do this even though
I'm not one."

He shook his head again. "It's too dangerous. I couldn't ask you..."

"You know this is the only way," I interrupted. "You've got to pilot
this ship–what if something goes wrong? I don't know anything about
starships. And once we reach Coruscant you've got to land this thing.
You can't be tied up back here, and Obi-Wan can't survive on his own. I
got him all the way here and I'm not going to give up and let him die! I
won't quit, not when there's something I can do." I squeezed into the
small bunk beside Obi-Wan, my back to the wall. "Now, are you gonna do
this or not?"

With a look of resignation, Qui-Gon placed his hand on his Padawan's
forehead. "There is great risk in this for you," he said. "I may not be
able to break the bond if his condition worsens much more. If he dies
while the two of you are linked, you'll die as well."

I stared at the ceiling for a moment. *Why are you doing this?* I asked
myself yet again. *You don't have to risk your life for someone you've
just met. There is something about him, though...something that makes
you not want to give up on him.* I looked back up at the Jedi Master.
"Go for it."

I closed my eyes as I felt the pressure of his large hand on my hair. I
felt sleepy, then a sensation of falling, an intense flash of pain,
then–nothing.

Faint voices, murmuring in my ears. The quiet bip...bip...bip of some
sort of medical equipment. Soft pillows under my head, a warm blanket
over my body. I woke up slowly in what I assumed was the medical center
of the Jedi temple. Turning my head, I saw Qui-Gon sitting by my bed.

"We made it?" I asked, my throat hoarse.

"Yes, we did," the Jedi replied, handing me a small glass.

I sat up and took a sip of the water. "Obi-Wan–how is he?"

Qui-Gon smiled for the first time since I'd met him. "He's going to be
fine–thanks to you. He's sleeping in the next room. I was just going
back to see him, but I thought I'd check on you first." He stood up to
leave. "Is there anything you want me to tell him?"

I lay back down on the bed. "Tell him... that he owes me one." The tall
Jedi smiled once more before leaving the room. As I drifted back off to
sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that although one adventure had just
ended, it was only the beginning of something that would change my life
forever.

The End?

-Jedi Padawan Eloy Brightdreamer

"I believe that's the dance of the brave little toaster."
-Xander

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Han Solo Clone #15

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