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32 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin)
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
"Correct you were, Qui-Gon".
Mace Windu leaned forward. "His cells contain a high concentration of midi-chlorians."
"The force is strong with him," Ki-Adi added.
Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't surprised. He had felt something when he had found Anakin. This was the one who would fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the force. "He's to be trained, then."
Silence. The Council members exchanged looks before looking back at Qui-Gon. "No." Mace Windu shook his head. "He will not be trained."
"No?!" Qui-Gon couldn't understand. The boy had power. There were none that he knew of that had higher midi-chlorian count. He glanced down at the boy. Anakin's eyes shinned as tears started to fall. It had been his dream to be a Jedi. He looked back at the Council, missing the smile forming on his apprentice's face.
"He is too old. There is already too much anger in him." Mace leaned back. To him, the matter was closed but Qui-Gon wouldn't give up.
"He is the chosen one… You must see it."
"Clouded, this boy's future is. Masked by his youth."
"I will train him, then. I take Anakin as my Padawan learner." Qui-Gon put his hands on the boy's shoulder.
Obi-Wan gasped, hurt evident on his face.
"An apprentice, you have, Qui-Gon," Yoda replied. "Impossible, to take on a second."
"We forbid it." Mace straightened.
"Obi-Wan is ready." Qui-Gon nodded toward his apprentice.
"I am ready to face the trails." Still hurt, Obi-Wan stepped forward enthused.
"He is headstrong and has much to learn about the living force but he is capable." Obi-Wan frowned slightly as his master continued. "There is little more he can learn from me."
"Our own council we will keep on who is ready. More to learn, he has…" Yoda's ears twitched.
"The boy will not be trained at all." Mace looked at the other Jedi Masters before turning to face the three. "We forbid you to train him in the Jedi ways. Anakin will be taken away and reunited with his mother. The Council will pay for her release."
A mixture of emotions flashed across Anakin's face but it settled with an angry frown. "I want to be a Jedi!" He exclaimed. He looked up at Qui-Gon, pleading.
Qui-Gon gave him a sympathetic look before looking back at the Masters, face stern. "With my teaching, I can help him with his anger. I can transition him to become the one we need. The one who will fulfill the prophecy."
"Assuming, you are, the prophecy, he fulfills." Yoda shook his head. "Uncertain, this is."
"For the time being, you can keep him under your care until we can make arrangements for his mother to be freed and a new life set up for them." Qui-Gon looked toward Mace Windu. "He is your ward until then."
"Train him not," Yoda lectured sternly. "Take him with you, but train him not!"
"With me?" Qui-Gon looked up. It was evident he disagreed but he had enough respect to not push it further.
"Queen Amidala is returning home. This will put pressure on the Federation and could widen the confrontation" Mace leaned forward. "Go with the Queen to Naboo and discover the identity of the dark warrior. This is the clue we need to unravel this mystery of the Sith. Protect the Queen, but do not intercede if it comes to war. Wait until we have the Senate's approval."
"May the Force be with you." Yoda dismissed them.
"And with you." Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed. Still frowning, Anakin gave a slight bow. Rising, the three exited the chamber.
"Do you think he will listen?" Ki-Adi inquired. "Qui-Gon hasn't always followed our orders in the past."
"To the exact letter, he has not. But in this, respect us he will." Yoda looked at Mace.
Mace nodded. "I will make arrangements to have the boy's mother freed and brought here. After this business on Naboo is cleared up, we can reunite them and place them in a place we're they can be free. It is too dangerous to train the boy but we can ensure they have a bright future."
32 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin)
Theed Royal Palace, Naboo
The battle on Naboo was unsettling. Though the Viceroy had been captured and turned over to the Republic, the death of Qui-Gon Jinn and the revelation of the Sith Lord brought concern to the Council.
Obi-Wan sat in the room watching Master Yoda pace. His heart still grieved for his master. It was something he would have to let go of but the shock was still something he was coping with.
"Confer on you, the level of Jedi Knight the Council does." Yoda's voice broke into his thoughts. "But agree on you taking the boy as your Padawan learner, we do not."
Obi-Wan straightened. He had inhibitions to train the boy but loyalty to his former master caused him to speak up. "Qui-Gon believed in him. I believe in Qui-Gon."
"The full story, knew he not. Much fear, the boy has. A proper Jedi, he would never become."
"So we should just leave him be without his powers?" Obi-Wan rose. "Is that right?"
"Train him, we will not. Provide for him, the Council has. Reunite with his mother, he will."
"But what about the prophecy? What about him bringing balance to the force?"
Yoda stopped and looked at Obi-Wan. "Unknown, the individual is. Few, there are that it could refer to. Chosen one, we doubt he is. Either way, not trained, he will be."
Obi-Wan nodded. There was nothing he could do. As Qui-Gon had lay dying he started to make Obi-Wan promise to train Anakin. However, he had stopped mid-sentence and changed it to if possible. Something had changed in his eyes as he lay there. It was as if he had seen something else. Either way, Obi-Wan still had to try to see if he could train Anakin, if only for his loyalty to his master.
"I will obey, Master." Obi-Wan bowed his head. "But what if he is the chosen one as Qui-Gon thought?"
"In time, we will see." Yoda turned and left the room.
Obi-Wan stood there for a few minutes taking it in. The boy would not be trained. Part of him was relieved. He was not ready for a Padawan. Not to mention, he didn't completely agree with his master about the boy. He was old and he had some baggage. He sighed, letting it roll of him. He had tried. Part of him felt like he should argue more. However, he felt a peace. The Council's decision will stand.
He reached up to run his hand through his hair. Touching the Padawan braid, he brought it around. He was no longer a Padawan. He was a knight. A real Jedi knight. Joy mixed with sorrow. Peace replacing the guilt.
Turning, he followed headed toward the door. He was a Jedi knight.
32 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin)
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
"I thought I would find you here." Jaycen Arden moved around the piller and hunched down next to where his younger sister, by fifteen minutes, was sitting, knees against her chest.
Jacalyn looked up, her eyes glistening, her face streaked.
"You've been crying." Though he put on a brave face, Jaycen knew exactly what his sister was feeling. Their lives as younglings had come to a close. Both had progressed to the point where they would be assigned to a master, or assuming no master wanted them, assigned a duty in the Jedi temple.
Jaycen sat down beside his sister. "You know attachment is not the Jedi way."
Jacalyn put on a brave face. "I know." She sighed. "It's just I'm going to miss everything. The temple, you."
"You mean you're going to miss your books." Jaycen laughed and then quickly dodged as Jacalyn attempted to hit him. "Just think though, you get to travel the galaxy, righting the wrong. Bringing peace and stability." He smiled at the thought. "It is the Jedi way. You don't want to be assigned to the temple your entire life right?"
Jacalyn shook her head. Her love for this place and the temple archives did not damper the slight excitement of finally leaving Coruscant. For as long as she remembered she had been in the Jedi temple. Unlike her brother, who wanted to leave for adventures of grandeur, she wanted to go to see the cultures, architecture, cultures, and people from around the galaxy. Reading was one thing, experiencing was something she longed for. However, it meant leaving. Leaving the only home she knew and most importantly, leaving her brother, her twin.
"No." She leaned her head against her brother's shoulder. "Though I'm going to miss it."
"Don't get all mushy," Jaycen teased. "I can't have you blubbering all over me."
His remark earned him a hard knuckled fist in the shoulder but he took it in good humor. "Don't worry. Soon we'll be Jedi knights, working back to back, bringing peace to the galaxy."
"Assuming you ever pass the trials." Jacalyn lifted her head and gave him a look. "I'll probably be a knight long before you."
"You wish." Jaycen grinned. "It's a race then. First one to become Jedi knight. Try not to lose so badly, again."
Jacalyn frowned. "It was fifteen minutes," she complained. Would he ever quit bringing up the fact he was born first by a "good" margin.
The smiles faded. Sitting down, side by side the twins leaned against the pillar. Silent, they both took solace the other's company both knowing that it was very likely that they would not see each other again for a long time.