"Luke, do you have a minute?"
"Sure, Leia. For you I might even have two." Luke Skywalker smiled
as he put down the datapad he'd been reading and gave her his full attention.
"What's up?"
Leia sat down in a large cushioned lounge chair across from her brother and
kept her eyes on him while she spoke, "Luke, they've found something.
Something…big."
He paused a moment, then answered her with a puzzled look and a frown. "Who
are 'they' and what have they found?"
" 'They' are the Coruscant Under-level Restoration Team,
and as for what they've found…well, they have an idea, but were
hoping you could lend a hand in that department."
Still a little confused, Luke reached out in the Force towards Leia. It wasn't
difficult to feel how she was overwhelmed with excitement. It had to be something
pretty important, especially for her to come to him about it. "What do
you think it is?"
The former New Republic Chief-of-State took a deep breath before she answered,
"A library. Some rooms. Personal effects…"
"Then why do they need my help? Whom did these things belong to?"
"Jedi. Pre-empire."
After comprehension settled in, shock ran through Luke's body like air
through a breached hull. Could it be true? Was it possible that the Emperor
somehow missed such a large area during his purge of the Jedi? After all this
time guessing, hypothesizing and quite plainly not knowing about his heritage,
was he finally about to get some answers?
* ~ * ~ *
Leia used her influence and authority to make sure the entire area was sanctioned
off. Anyone who wanted clearance would have to go through her, and right now
Luke was the only one she was willing to admit.
He entered through the library. Looking around, he noticed that there were
data pads, terminals and holocrons everywhere. So much information it would
take more than three lifetimes to go through them all, he didn't know
where to start. Several minutes passed while he just stood there, in awe of
everything around him, before he decided to check out some of the other rooms.
The solitary Jedi Master made his way through the kitchens and dining hall,
a classroom, and a couple miscellaneous smaller-sized rooms before ending up
in a residence hall. There were several corridors to choose from, so he took
a moment to pause and stretch out with the Force. What he felt was unlike anything
he had ever experienced before. It was like hundreds of good friends all greeting
him with warm smiles. They seemed to be welcoming him and pointing him towards
one hall in particular. Feeling obliged, he followed his instincts and started
down the hall. About half way down, he suddenly stopped. Looking to his right
he noticed the placard on the door read, "Qui-Gon Jinn." Who was
he? And why did he feel compelled to enter this specific room? There was one
way to find out.
Opening the door and stepping into the forgotten Jedi's quarters, Luke
felt a sudden calmness wash over him. Right away he noticed that this Jedi must
have been like his own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi: quiet, calm, and understanding.
He could feel a strong sense of familiarity.
Glancing around the small room, he noticed there were only a few personal effects,
one of which piqued Luke's curiosity. It was a holo-image of an older
man in Jedi robes with long brown hair streaked with gray and partially held
back with a tie, standing with a decidedly younger man, not much older than
a boy, also dressed in Jedi robes. The boy had an interesting hairstyle; it
was mostly cropped short except for a short ponytail in the back and a long
thin braid that fell down to his chest. Luke was noticing the finely crafted
lightsabers clipped to their belts, when it hit him. The boy in the holo was
Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was sure of it! Then the other man had to be the Jedi Knight
Qui-Gon Jinn! But who was he? Obi-Wan's father, maybe?
Luke picked up the cube that was projecting the image and turned it over in
his hands. On the base of the object, he noticed a strange symbol. It looked
like a circle with a few degrees missing from its circumference. Unconsciously,
Luke traced the broken circle mark with his fingertip, then nearly dropped the
cube when a life size image of the man he guessed was Qui-Gon appeared before
him and started to speak.
"Greetings, Obi-Wan. I did not expect you to ever discover this message,
but it pleases me that you did. It is very difficult for me to express my emotions
and I feel I owe it to you to let you know how much you have meant to me.
My Padawan, I know you must be upset with me for what I said to the Council
this afternoon, but I do believe you are ready to be a Jedi Knight. And I hope
someday you can understand my need to train Anakin Skywalker. I realize he is
old to begin training, but with a Midichlorian count so high…I know he
is the chosen one. Yet I digress. I did not intend to record my opinions about
Anakin; I meant to record my feelings towards you.
Obi-Wan, you have filled a place in my heart that is sacred. When I lost
Xanatos to the dark side, I thought I would never take another apprentice. You
proved to me time and again that I was wrong about that. We leave for Naboo
in a matter of minutes, and I have a strong sense that I will not return with
you. This battle with the Trade Federation must end quickly; I know that you
will see to that…again I digress. What I've been meaning to say,
Obi-Wan, is that I love you and I'm so very proud of you. In my eyes you
are my Padawan, in my heart you are my son. Please remember that-"
**[There is a knock at the door and the Master looks over as the young Obi-Wan
from the holo-image steps into the room. Avoiding Qui-Gon's eyes, the
dejected Padawan clears his throat]**
"Master, the ship is ready to depart."
"Yes, of course. Obi-Wan, would you mind taking a picture with me
before we leave?"
**[Obi-Wan blinked and thought to himself for a moment before he replied]**
"No, I would not mind, Master."
**[Pride shone in the eyes of Qui-Gon, as they arranged themselves in front
of the holocube]**
The recording ended with a bright flash that faded into the original holo-image
of Master and Apprentice.
So Ben was Qui-Gon's – what did he call it – Padawan?
This message raised so many more questions than answers. He spoke of
my Father, Anakin. What did he mean by 'chosen one'? And why did
he ask him to understand about wanting to train him? Did Ben disagree? Did Ben
think my Father shouldn't have been trained? I thought that Ben
trained my Father…
Luke slipped the small cube into the satchel hanging by his side. How curious
to see Obi-Wan as a young boy. He'd always known the Jedi as an old man.
How he yearned for more information. He glanced eagerly about the room looking
for more clues, but gave up quickly and made his way back into the hallway.
Heading down the corridor further still mulling over the new questions the holo-cube
brought to mind, the pull he'd felt earlier grew stronger and stronger.
Each door he passed revealed the name of yet another Jedi Luke would never know
until he saw a name that formed a lump in his throat. Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was
in the room in a blink of an eye. The room was similar to Qui-Gon's; almost
completely empty. Carefully inspecting almost every inch of the room proved
pointless when he found no personal effects at all. Yet he was determined that
there was something here for him to find. At a loss, Luke perched on the edge
of the sleep mat and rested his head in his hands. Staring at the floor and
letting his mind wander, he noticed an odd lump under the mat he was sitting
on. Suddenly excited, the Jedi reached under his seat and pulled out a worn
hide-covered book tied closed with a string. It was rare these days to find
any kind of documentation on actual sheets of paper as opposed to a flimsiplast
or datapad, yet here it was in front of him. What looked to be a hand-written
journal from his mentor Ben Kenobi. Luke carefully untied the string and fanned
through the pages noting that there were only a few at the end which weren't
filled with Obi-Wan's neat script, and began to read...
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...that's it for part one. If you liked it (or even if you didn't!), let me know what you think by sending in a review! Thanks!
-Kiyral