8/3/2012 c10 20Obiwan456
I finished this the other night, Ruth, and you did a wonderful job of filling in the details of that disturbing memory Obi-Wan fought with during the first Wild Space book...

He went through so much in this...you do know how to torture our poor Obi, don't you? ;) But you do it so plausibly...not gratuitiously...very nicely done.

Now, on to read "Sanctuary". :)

3/3/2012 c10 3rowen raven
very good story! It's very well written, in all aspects, plot, atmosphere, setting, balance between exposition and description, its very interesting and captivating, keeping a well developed story but not making it overly complicated not too heavy, this is a rare treat indeed.

Love all the Obi Wan torture, who doesn't? But the best about the story, apart from the Obi Wan torture that is, is the realistic view kept all through it, Obi Wan's hesitance, his frustration and the trail of managing with out Qui Gon and no lightsaber or Jedi title to help. Plus the struggle with a new and volatile technique that doesn't help his already heighten yet inaccurate sensing of the future. The merciless and most brutal side of the Force. Qui Gon's own mistakes that he is not all knowing, and that the price too pay is sometimes too high. And of curse the reality of corruption and the power of organized crime that even the Jedi can do little against.

It's very refreshing to see this kind of not so justice prevails kind of ending, not cus I think that it's cool that the bad ultimately will win, but because it shows that is more complicated and deeper than that. That it's a hard lesson that no matter how hard they try or how much they sacrifice the Jedi are not all powerful there are wrongs they can not right, and there are things they can not fix, they can only hope for a better future.

I'll stop ranting, I greatly enjoyed it, it's brilliant!

2/26/2012 c10 53pronker
Mournful and deeply felt, this story and I especially enjoyed the touch of Nature, because Ibo was out in it each day and observed its coldness, the coldness of your stars and sky 'seeing, not caring.'

2/18/2012 c10 38WildHorseFantasy
Very well done!

2/15/2012 c10 3Irene Djo
This was a fantastic resolution.

"Mercy!" Nolid cried out, dropping his blaster. "Don't kill us!"

"Please, I beg you," his brother pleaded.

"Did Mandirly beg?" Obi Wan hollered back, straining to keep the terrible weight aloft. His voice cracked. "Did he beg for mercy when you cut out his tongue? When you broke his bones? When you set him on fire alive? Did he?"

The block slipped fractionally. The brothers cowered, screamed in terror.

"Step forward and surrender," the Padawan growled, lip curling in contempt, limbs shaking with effort or difficult emotion.

Raxis and Nolid scuttled from beneath the block, dropping to their knees, hands high above their heads. The slab dropped behind them with a deafening boom, cracking the duracrete foundation and raising a cloud of choking dust. They screamed again. ObI Wan staggered backward, spent.

This scene was incredibly well done. It shows us Obi-WAn's investment in this and how the meditative visions really shook him.

*

I loved this story. There were some moments when I thought the mounting dread would never end, but you wrapped it up nicely.

2/14/2012 c10 charie01
Perfect ending to a great story! After all ObiWan endured, he appears to be holding up ok. Can't wait for the sequel:) thanks so much for the ride:)

2/14/2012 c10 42Valairy Scot
"I don't want to meditate," Obi Wan confessed, in a near whisper. "I don't…the Force showed me that. I don't want to see…things, ever again."

Ah. Here was the heart of the matter. "You feel betrayed by the Force," Qui Gon observed. "Every Jedi faces that trial at some point. You are not the only one. Take heart."

"I…master, I'm…I don't wish to meditate. I don't want to touch the Force."

Qui Gon saw the single tear sliding out of captivity. He pretended not to notice. "You are a Jedi," he replied, lightly, but firmly. "You have sworn your life to the Force. You will, I know, keep that promise unto your very death. You cannot turn away form the Force, Padawan, even should it show you such things. That is part of your path. And I am sworn to lead you on that path, and see that you do not stray from it."

Obi Wan looked up at him again, shocked and a trifle confused. A glimmer of dread lurked in his gaze, too.

"We will meditate often over the coming days. I am not giving you a choice in the matter."

But it was all his choice, ultimately. Every step on this hard, grueling, uphill path was his own choice. Qui Gon did not compel him; he merely refused to offer any deceptive, shortcut, any easier and less noble road. All he could do was to stand as a signpost pointing unremittingly, mercilessly, to the hardest route, that which led toward wisdom.

Obi Wan let out his breath in a long sigh of mingled sorrow and weariness, making the same choice he had so many other times in the past, so many times yet to come. "Yes, master," he said.

^^ The path of a Jedi is a difficult one.

Tough love on Qui-Gon's part, there, necessary, but harsh (in a way).

Lack of condemnation is going to be the /c in this, eh? (I know, I know.)

I can't imagine ANYONE doing greater justice to this plot bunny provided by Karen Miller. Magnificent job.