as though blaster fire had ripped through his body. He had been torn in two. Everything he'dknown, everything he'd thought was important had been shattered. His Jedi training lay in pieces at his feet. It meant nothing compared to what was going on around him now.
He flinched as a proton torpedo exploded. Dirt sprayed into the air, raining down on their heads.
'Obi-Wan!' Nield shouted. 'You must choose!'
Tears snaked down through the grime on Cerasi's face. She didn't speak. Her shoulders shook as a child screamed in pain.
Obi-Wan realized he had already chosen. He couldn't turn his back on this suffering. He couldn't turn his back on his friends. Even if it cost him everything. He would give that, and more.
'I'll be back,' Obi-Wan promised, and took off.
Obi-Wan ran without stopping. He had to get to the ship before Qui-Gon. He did not want a confrontation. If Qui-Gon tried to stop him, what would he do? He pushed aside the thought. He would just have to get there first. Tahl would slow Qui-Gon down.
But he had underestimated the determination and speed of two Jedi Knights. As he ran down the canyon path, Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon lifting off the last of the camouflaging branches. Tahl must already be aboard.
His steps slowed as Qui-Gon caught sight of him. Obi-Wan saw the relief on his Master's face. Qui-Gon thought he was coming to return with him to the Temple. The Jedi Knight stood by the entrance ramp, waiting.
Obi-Wan didn't give Qui-Gon a chance to speak. He could not bear to hear words of welcome.
'I'm not here to go with you,' he said. 'I came for the starfighter.'
Qui-Gon's look of quiet welcome faded. His features froze into a mask. 'Tahl is aboard,' Qui-Gon said. 'I am taking her to Coruscant.'
'I'll bring the ship back,' Obi-Wan tried. 'I need it now. If you could wait here — '
'No,' Qui-Gon said angrily. 'No, Padawan. I will not make your betrayal easy for you. If you try to take this step, know what a hard one it is.'
Neither had moved a muscle. Yet Obi-Wan knew that Qui-Gon was just as prepared as he was to fight. The Force swirled around him, but it was a disturbed Force, neither dark nor light. He tried to tap into it and could not. It was like trying to squeeze a handful of fine sand as it streamed out through the cracks in his fingers.
He had no choice. The world around him was dying. He had to save it. He had to fight Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan went for his lightsaber. Qui-Gon moved only a fraction of an instant later. Because of his quickness, his lightsaber activated at the same time as Obi-Wan's.
Qui-Gon's green beam shot up, glowing in the gray light. Obi-Wan felt his own lightsaber pulse in his hand. Qui-Gon kept his eyes on Obi-Wan.
Here was the moment. He had only to step forward and challenge his Master. He had only to move one muscle for it to be taken as an offensive move. Then the battle would begin. Obi-Wan met Qui-Gon's gaze and saw the same anguish he felt. He felt something within him crack, and his resolve slowly drained away. He could not do this.
Simultaneously, they both lowered their weapons. The lightsabers deactivated with a faint buzzing sound. For a moment, all Obi-Wan heardwas the lonesome wind, howling through the canyon.
'You must choose, Obi-Wan,' Qui-Gon told him quietly. 'You can go with me now, or stay. Know that if you stay, you are no longer a Jedi.'
No longer a Jedi. Was he prepared to take that step? Is this what he had come to?
The moment spun out, became timeless to Obi-Wan. Time meant nothing. The confrontation with the man he had pledged to study under, learn from, defend and support suddenly felt unreal. How did he get here? What was he doing?
But through his confusion he saw Cerasi's fierce glowing eyes, heard Nield's fervent words. He still smelled the smoke of battle, heard the desperate cries. He saw barricaded streets and Elders too blind with hatred to notice that they were killing their planet, piece by bloody piece. He saw them killing their own children.
He could tell Qui-Gon about the battle he had seen. He could try. But he had tried before. Qui-Gon was right. He must make his choice.
Obi-Wan grasped the rock of his conviction and felt his confusion drop away. Here on Melida/Daan he had met a reality that was stronger than anything he'd known.
'I have found something here more important than the Jedi code,' Obi-Wan said slowly. 'Something not only worth fighting for, but worth dying for.'
Obi-Wan handed his lightsaber to Qui-Gon. 'You may go, Qui-Gon Jinn. But I will stay.'
It was as though the words hit Qui-Gon in the face, for he flinched. He stared down at Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his hand, not speaking. A great struggle seem to go on within the Jedi Knight's powerful body.
Obi-Wan had hurt him. He longed to take the words back. He could not. They had been said. He had meant them.
Qui-Gon did not look at him. He did not say a word. He turned and strode up the ramp, into the starfighter.
Obi-Wan stood back as the engines powered up. The starfighter rose cleanly from the canyon and shot off into the upper atmosphere. He stood watching until it was out of sight. Then Obi-Wan turned his back. He hurried down the path, back to Zehava and his new life.
Cerasi and Nield were waiting.
