A SITH AMONG THE JEDI
By Lincoln Six Echo
The sequel of "The Jedi And The Sith"
Author's Note: this AU basically follows the canon universe. Of course, Obi-Wan is a Sith and Qui-Gon survived Naboo, but the events of AOTC (not pictured in the story) and ROTS basically happened as pictured in the movies, but for one exception you will discover while reading the story.
EXCERPTS FROM THE AUDIO JOURNAL OF QUI-GON JINN, JEDI MASTER
Coruscant, Jedi Temple, 3:5:4
Curiosity is not an emotion one usually associates with the Jedi.
The Code states "there is no ignorance; there is knowledge", but there is a great difference between the desire to learn more about a serious matter or the wish to discover what is hidden behind a certain event, and mere curiosity.
This morning, when the ship carrying Obi-Wan, Anakin and myself landed on the Temple platform, I sensed only curiosity around us.
It was not difficult to understand why it was so.
The great hangar was crowded; it seemed that every padawan, knight and master not on duty was there, waiting for us.
Well, waiting for Anakin and Obi-Wan.
For the Chosen One and the first Sith ever come to live among the Jedi.
News travels fast in the Temple, as in every close environment, and I wondered if the assembled Jedi knew that Obi-Wan is my son. So far, I have yet to get a definitive answer to this question, but I think I will discover it soon enough.
As the ship completed the docking and we moved in front of the still closed hatch, I felt a wave of nervousness wash over me, coming from Obi-Wan.
I turned my head to look at him and he offered me a slight smile, before his expression hardened and he completely raised his shields.
Mace and Yoda were there waiting for us when the ramp was lowered. Their presence had brought some calm and restraint to the crowd, but I could still feel all the gazes were pointed at Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Anakin pressed more against my side, a little awed by all that attention. My son instead, after bowing in salute to the two Councillors, looked around himself, eyes hard, back ramrod-straight, head held high, trying to will everybody into submission.
He looked proud, defiant, in control of himself and the world surrounding him, ready to "lock horns" with anybody daring to come into his path.
It was not exactly an attitude I would commend, but the time we had spent together on Naboo before the doctor judged me fit enough to travel, taught me to accept my son for what he is.
I am beginning to understand he has been shaped by a life of brutal training and hard labour, which is so completely different by how I have been raised I can barely grasp the full extent of it.
I know I cannot change him—I don't even have the right to try doing it and to presume my ways are better than his.
The only thing I can do is be myself, offer him a different model of behaviour and be there for him should he decide he wishes to change.
I am in my quarters now, resting on the couch, after having been checked over by the Temple healers. I did not feel it was necessary to be examined again, but Yoda was inflexible.
The response has been good; I am recovering well and I will be soon able to start some light exercise to regain my agility and stamina.
I look forward to it.
I am tired of lying down and walking around with my back curved: it makes me feel older than I am.
I need to gain back my form and stamina soon, otherwise I will never be able to keep up with Anakin!
The boy is currently taking a tour of the Temple with the Crèche Master. He is been shown where the various facilities are located and introduced to the children of his age. Anakin is not going to live in the Crèche. He will stay here with me as my Padawan, but we all think it will be good for him to interact with his age mates.
It should make it easier for him to settle into the Temple life if he can learn certain rules from children like him instead of being taught them only by adults.
As for Obi-Wan, he is in a meeting with the Council. I hope everything is going smoothly. I sense no distress or irritation coming from the bond, but it could simply mean my son is shielding his feelings and thoughts. Obi-Wan's shields are strong and unbending like his will, and he might decide to spare me any worry should some Councillor give him a hard time.
The image of Ki-Adi-Mundi has just flashed in my mind. I cannot help but wonder how he took the news that he boy he had voted not to accept in the Temple twenty-five years ago, is now going to live here, being a Sith on top of it.
I think someone would call it poetic justice or good payback…I will refrain from doing so, for goading is unbecoming for a Jedi.
However I cannot help but feel vindicated, for the will of the Force has been accomplished.
Obi-Wan is where he has always belonged: here, at the Temple, at my side.
ADDENDUM-late afternoon
My son has finally returned from the meeting with the Council.
He has told me everything went well and that he was explained to in detail what the Councillors would like him to do.
Obi-Wan will be to be a sort of Liaison Officer between the Jedi and the Sith. Basically, my son has the task to ensure a greater collaboration between the two orders to best face the common threat the Dark Lords' return poses for all of us. He will have to sort out problems, ask for information, push for more joint missions. Hardest of all, he will have to convince the Grey Order to trust the Jedi. Obi-Wan is not sure he will be able to accomplish it, mostly because the Sith no longer completely trust him due to the bond he shares with me.
However, my son does not seem too concerned. He says he has good friends among the Sith and he plans to start his "convincing campaign", as he called it with a smile, with them.
I am somehow amazed by how committed he is to his new job. He is a Sith, trained to distrust the Jedi since early infancy, and yet he is ready to go against everything taught to him — but perhaps I should not be so surprised. Obi-Wan is everything but stupid and close-minded. He has fought and killed the Dark Lord and he knows what a danger looms over the galaxy. He is aware the Sith and the Jedi will have more chances in finding the Dark Master by combining their strength instead than trying to hamper each other. I can only hope his superiors in the Grey Order will understand this too.
Returning to the meeting with the Council, Obi-Wan told me not everything went smoothly. There had been some tension when the talk covered my son's marital status and the place where his wife should be lodged when she comes to visit her husband.
Obi-Wan's wife, Lianne Shinko Kenobi, is a commercial captain, working mostly in the Outer and Middle Rims. She is not home often, but some members of the Council suggested she would not be allowed to stay with her husband the rare times she is on Coruscant.
Obi-Wan did not like it at all and pointed out that if his wife is not welcome to stay in the Temple, then he too was not and threatened to return to the Sith Temple.
His statement was followed by a heated discussion, for while Councillors want to keep the Dark Lord Slayer here at the Temple, where they can keep an eye on him, some of them are afraid of the bad example Obi-Wan could give to our knights should he be seen being affectionate with his wife in public.
Obi-Wan almost snorted when he told me this.
"As if the Jedi have never seen some couple kiss and caress!" He exclaimed, as he paced back and forth the room. "What are they afraid of? The Jedi are drilled from the Crèche not to form attachments and the teachings of a whole life are not going to be endangered by me kissing my wife. On the contrary, their convictions might be strengthened by it because I am a Sith and thus most of what I do is, by definition, wrong," he finished with his usual sarcasm.
"How did it end?" I asked him.
"With a compromise. When I am here alone, I will live in the rooms they assigned to me on this floor. Instead, when Lianne is on Coruscant, we will live in a small apartment in the Guest Hall.
In this way we will not corrupt any little Jedi should we decide to make love against the corridor's wall," my son concluded with a smirk.
"Obi-Wan!" I exclaimed, shocked. "Don't tell me you did that in Sith Temple!"
"I did much worse, Father, but I will refrain to tell you now, you are still too weak…"
I was about to explode in an outraged comment when I saw the corner of his mouth twitch and I realized he had been joking.
"Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan," I murmured, shaking my head and he laughed loudly.
The mere thought of my son's laugh makes me smile. I am so happy he feels comfortable enough with me to try a joke. We have known each other for just a month and yet, thanks to our bond, we have already established a close connection.
I close my eyes, and there, resounding in the Living Force around me, I hear someone laugh.
I smile for I recognize the laugh.
I have heard it only once, on Hoth, when a scouting ship appeared at the horizon, marking the end of our sojourn on that inhospitable planet.
Somewhere, here in the Force, Lydah Kenobi is laughing.
ADDDENDUM- late evening
The first day back at the Temple is almost ended; I am exhausted but content.
Anakin has been tested by the Crèche Master to check the level of his education and it has been decided he will be given private tutoring until he catches up enough to be inserted into a normal class.
The boy has never received a formal education. What he knows is what was taught to him by his mother and by his life experiences. I have no doubt he picked up most of his skills thanks to his strong connection with the Force, and I am confident he will soon fill any gaps.
As soon as I feel a little better, I will start teaching him the basic principles of meditation. I suspect it will not be easy to rein Anakin's natural exuberance, but control and restraint are something he must learn, and we sooner we start, the better it will be.