Okay, the story behind this story. As I said in the description, this is my first Star Wars fic. I've always been an Obi-Wan fan, and rather resented the fate Lucas provided for Padmé. So this is how I imagined them. Also the reason for the unorthodox paragraph breaks: This entire story is what I call a lyrical acrostic. Down each parahraph is a word from the song "Love Song Requiem" by Trading Yesterday. For example:
Even
make
It
learn
yet
It spells the first word of the song: Emily. The frequent breaks are to bracket a new word, since each individual paragraph is one letter of one word.
Like I said, I'm a big fan of the Obidala pairing, and this fanvid was what inspired me to tell my own version. I highly recommend you check it out. It's incredibly well done, and in my opinion, simply beautiful. http : / / www . youtube . com / watch ? v = yF0Zu3NHH5k (no spaces)
Before I begin, this wouldn't be possible with out my betas Agent Jaid and Halcyon. And my saint of a boyfriend, who put up with my ranting and giddiness at all hours of the day or night. Thank you guys.
Verse I
Even this would try Master Yoda's patience. Obi-Wan Kenobi commented softly to Qui-Gon Jinn as they waited for the queen to
make herself ready for their escape off her hostage planet of Naboo. How many clothes does one person need when being rescued?
It didn't matter what reason his master gave him. He was still impatient and nervous. In his head, he heard "You still have much to
learn, young Padawan." Obi-Wan almost rolled his eyes. Qui-Gon on many occasions had told him this. He knew for a fact he had
yet to even begin to master the ways of the Force like his masters before him. But against his will, he found himself getting bored
with all this mess concerning Naboo and its young queen. And who could handle a life like hers? Guarded at every moment by copy
images of herself. Finally the queen made her descent. Obi-Wan winced at the outrageous get up. Black headdress with an array of
leaf-like feathers shooting up from her head. Queen Amidala paused to confer with her handmaidens about the danger they most
likely faced, and one of them quietly affirmed their resolution to follow her no matter the circumstances.
Finding the hanger bay was no trouble. Freeing the guarded pilots from the rather ineffective droids was even easier that he had
imagined. After escaping the planet, many things began to progress very quickly. The landing on Tatooine. The discovery of the
nobody Qui-Gon was so convinced was the key to an old prophecy about the Force. The discovery of a Sith Lord and the tragic
death of Obi-Wan's beloved master. And the promotion to Jedi Knight with this Anakin Skywalker as his own Padawan.
Anakin had been his Padawan for ten years now. And the tension he radiated was not unlike Obi-Wan's own at the mission that was
before them. Obi-Wan felt slightly hypocritical at chastising Anakin for his lack of concentration. The boy was clearly on
edge; openly admitting his frequent thoughts of the woman to whom they both felt strong attachments to. To think that both of
them would be guarding the former queen, now Senator Amidala made Obi-Wan's heart skip a beat. But after Anakin's clumsy
try at complimenting Padmé, Obi-Wan was left with a sole desire of smacking his apprentice upside the head. And if that wasn't
enough, Anakin then proceeded to add a ridiculous promise of finding the assassin behind the attempt on her life on her
return to Coruscant to be a part of an important vote in the Senate, in addition to the Council's order to keep watch over her.
Performing such a task was clearly overstepping their responsibilities as Jedi. But even as Obi-Wan quietly argued his point as
lightly as possible in front of their audience, he couldn't help but desire the same thing. Still, he was the leader. "We will not do
anything beyond our mandate, and you will learn your place, my young apprentice." That seemed to shut him up. He didn't need any
crazy actions by Anakin trying to impress Padmé. It was then that Obi-Wan felt a strange urge in his soul to just take Padmé from
every dark event that clouded her presence. He didn't know where or how, just a subtle determination to save her from this life.
The after effects of the second attempt on the Senator's life made Anakin's goal come true. It was now their mission to not
only protect Padmé, but to discover the identity of the person behind the attacks. He and Anakin were to separate to
follow this through. Much to Obi-Wan's dismay, the Council's decision was for him to track this bounty hunter down, and Anakin to
accompany Padmé back to Naboo for safekeeping. This was too much, he couldn't have these feelings in the way of
looking for answers. It wouldn't do either of them any good. "Focus." He told himself. He knew he couldn't be with Padmé, but felt a
longing for her that he could barely contain. Obi-Wan set out to find his old friend Dexter Jettsetter. After a friendly greeting, he
asked Dex about the dart he had obtained from the dead assassin. The Jedi archives had no record of such a weapon. He was
surprised when Dex chuckled. He then proceeded to identify the dart by its markings instead of symbols. It originated from a planet
legendary for its cloning, Kamino. This piqued Obi-Wan's curiosity. He returned to the Jedi archives to look for the planet. The results
examined the coordinates that Dex had provided, but nothing appeared. He called for an assistant and explained his problem. "It does not
exist." was the sharp reply from the assistant as she turned on her heel and walked away. This troubled Obi-Wan greatly. Yoda was with the
padawans when Obi-Wan found him. Yoda gently joked to the younglings that "Lost a planet Master Kenobi has." Never the less, when the
Star chart appeared in the darkened classroom, Obi-Wan pointed out where Kamino should be. Oddly, instead of Yoda giving a direct answer,
he turned to the children and asked them to offer an explanation. "Someone has erased it from the records." One boy offered. While the
explanation made the most sense, Obi-Wan and Yoda exchanged worried looks. Who had the ability to do such an act? Yoda warned him to
be careful in his journey for answers and Obi-Wan boarded a ship to take him to where Kamino must be. And as the child predicted, there the
enormous planet loomed. As he approached, he saw that most of the planet was water, the skies stormy, the seas crashing against the
long supports of the buildings that rose high above the waves. He landed his ship in the port and entered the building, the doors whooshing
open to receive him. There waiting by him, smiling down from a great height, was what must be a Kaminoan. To his puzzlement, she welcomed him,
noting how they had been wondering if he was ever going to come. Hiding his surprise, he accompanied the tall creature to where another,
gracefully seated Kaminoan welcomed him. It was then that Obi-Wan discovered why they were expecting him. A Jedi had come years ago,
submitting an order for a staggering number of clones to be produced for an army! The Prime Minister led him on a tour of the facility,
telling him of their process, and the improvements made in their development. There were so many men, some were still children. He was
overwhelmed at how much he would have to relay to the Council once he returned to his ship's communicator.
Finding the clones to be "fascinating", Obi-Wan inquired about who was the man whose face all these men wore. He was told that the man
apparently was a resident in the very same building that housed the cloning facility. Maybe this was the bounty hunter. "Could you possibly
introduce me to him?" He asked, smiling politely up at the tall Kaminoan. She smiled in reply and led him down another corridor to a set of
rooms. A boy answered the door. He looked to be about twelve and wore a rather surly expression. "Boba, may we see your father?" The boy
yelled over his shoulder "Dad, Taun We's here." He stalked away into the apartment as if that was the "yes" in response to their request.
Turning around the corner, they met the all too familiar figure. "Jango Fett, this is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." Taun We said gracefully.
"Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi." Jango gripped Obi-Wan's hand firmly but not with any trace of malice. Obi-Wan conversed for a while,
learning what he could from this enigmatic man. He could feel it in the back of his skull. Something was hiding under Fett's casual
exterior and he wanted to know what it was. "Ever been as far as Coruscant?" He interjected. "Once or twice." Fett replied. "Recently?" His
smile stayed right where it was. Obi-Wan didn't want to scare this guy off. "Possibly." There was the look he was waiting for. The look that
told him volumes more that Fett could have said out loud. This was the bounty hunter. "How do you like your army?" Fett asked with a little
hint of pride in his voice. Obi-Wan smiled again. "I look forward to seeing them in action." This concluded the end of the conversation, he
and Taun We left the apartments and headed back to where his ship was docked. He bid the Kaminoan goodbye and hurried to report all
the information he had gathered. From the mysterious clones to the bounty hunter hired to assassinate the Senator. Finding a frequency, he
initialized communication with the Jedi Council, asking if indeed, the Jedi Council had ordered for an army to be made. The answer was no. The
Council then advised that he should return to Coruscant immediately. He was eager to comply. The wind and rain beat against his robe, in the
open air. Hoping into the cockpit, he called R4 to make sure they were ready to take off. The little astromech droid warbled affirmative. He fired
up the engines and almost left when across the way, he noticed the boy Boba running towards a ship. Powering down the interceptor, Obi-Wan
looked through the rain smattered glass to see he was right. There was Jango Fett, wearing the Mandalorian armor! He jumped out but
deliberated for a moment. He didn't have time to engage the two by the time they left, but he couldn't let them slip away. Pulling out one of the
new tracking devices, he took a shot at the ship and prayed the Force guide his aim. A far off blink of red was his answer. They could monitor
every place the bounty hunter went, and he was relieved that he wouldn't be the one tasked with that mission. All of a sudden, his heart felt
very heavy. He sank to the ground as a wave of anguish overcame him. He could hear her. She was afraid. He could feel her fear. He weakly
extended his hand out, as if he could reach out across space with the Force and save her. Obi-Wan couldn't bear it any longer. He
ran to his ship and revving the engines, streaked up and above the cloudy skies for space. He fought to concentrate on making it
back in one piece. Where on earth was Anakin? Why wasn't he protecting her? His one mission was to protect the Senator... Padmé... Fear
enveloped him though he tried to fight it off. He refused to believe she was in extreme danger. Wouldn't he have sensed it in Anakin as well?
What do you think, like it, hate it? I know it's mostly back story, but it was necessary to get me where I wanted to go. Please write me comments so I know if I'm doing well! ~Verite.