Chapter Two

A/N : Hello, all! I hope there are one or two of you still left around. It seem in my absence this fandom has become a bit quiet. I hope you will forgive my long hiatus, given the fact that life has been very busy lately. I graduated, got a job offer, moved, and took my state boards over the past few months, so writing has taken a back seat to other concerns. But my muse is still going strong, so I hope this short chapter will regain your interest. If you are still reading, I'd love to hear from you. So as always, read and review!


Space, Coruscant System

19:00 CT

The large military cruiser ripped through space, the stars mere ribbons of silver out its windows as it spiraled toward the Core through hyperspace.

Sabe stepped from the turbolift at the rear of the ship and walked into the cockpit. She smiled to herself as she saw the pilot leaning hazardously far back in his chair, his feet on the empty co-pilot's seat beside him. He guided the ship with barely more than one finger, but when he saw her watching him he sat up quickly, jerking his feet down.

He had treated her with remarkable deference during the trip. Apparently he thought she was some kind of high-ranking dignitary. Sabe hadn't bothered to correct his assumption.

"How much longer?" Sabe asked, bending to peer through the windows. Some distance away, she saw the gray planet peppered liberally with light.

"Little more than an hour, my Lady," the pilot said stiffly.

"Have you encountered much traffic?"

Pirates had been extremely active lately, taking the opportunity of the war to turn navigation of even this well-traveled route into an adventure.

"No, my Lady. Only a few merchant vessels and pleasure cruisers, all with valid registration."

"Very well," Sabe said. "Alert me when we are about to enter atmosphere."

"Yes, My Lady."

She turned to leave the way she had come, and then looked over her shoulder, smirking. "As you were, Captain."

Seventy-five minutes later, she watched from the window of the main hold as they finally descended, the ship angling slowly over the five spires of the Jedi Temple. Below their precipices, she saw the lush green of a large courtyard, small figures in brown coming and going over it. The temple landing pad for visitors was placed in the very front of the massive ziggurat, before the hundred steps leading to the main hall. Two 30-foot statues guarded the steps, their stone faces impassive as the Naboovian cruiser landed gently and shut down. As the exit ramp lowered in front of her, Sabe saw a female Jedi waiting for them.

The Jedi had the look of some exotic species of poisonous orchid. From her head grew two massive curved horns, whose bases were hung with dangling tentacles boldly striped with blue and white. Her face was crimson with bone white patches around each brilliant black eye. The ramp came to rest on the composite material of the landing pad, and the Jedi began walking forward slowly, the tentacles moving animatedly as if they had a mind all their own. Her robes swung gracefully around her trim figure, making her seem to float over the pavement. She extended a bright red hand cordially. "Agent Naberrie, I am Shaak Ti."

"I remember you, Master," Sabe said, taking her hand.

As soon as their palms met, one of Master Ti's eyebrows lifted, and she nodded slightly. "Forgive me. It has been many years since we last met."

"Yes," Sabe said. "And I was a bit…shorter at the time."

Master Ti smiled. "Yes." She turned her head slowly toward one of the spires, every movement controlled, flowing, nothing superfluous. "The council is expecting you. They will see you within a half hour."

"I appreciate their haste," Sabe said, clasping her hands together to stop their fidgeting.

"Please, allow me to escort you to a place where you can wait." Master Ti turned and began climbing the hundred steps. Despite her grace, Sabe was surprised at the speed at which she moved and trotted awkwardly to keep up. As they entered the temple, Sabe glanced at the monuments that seemed to carefully watch her entrance. Surely this was the reasoning behind the landing pad being built here. It would be difficult for anyone to misbehave themselves beneath the stern gaze of the massive stone figures. Sabe knew she'd been taught their names and histories once, but she had long forgotten them.

Together they proceeded down the main hallway, and she noticed the curious glances directed at her by knights and younglings alike. Was it the infrequency of visitors or her force sensitivity that fascinated them? She could certainly sense theirs. It made the Temple itself seem alive, like a massive crouching beast with this hall as a central blood vessel. The sensory overload disoriented her, and when Master Ti halted in front of her, she almost stumbled into her back.

After peering around her guide, Sabe could not entirely suppress her gasp. If the Temple was alive from certain point of view, they now stood in the chambers of its heart. For a quarter kilometer in front of her, two perfectly straight lines of fountains extended, down the center of a oblong pool. Along the walls were many Jedi immortalized in stone, some in the fierce postures of battle, others in the serene attitudes of meditation. Around the feet of the statues water ran in carefully directed channels through the stone floor to join the waters of the pool. The fountains' synchronized, musical splashing echoed throughout the entire room and here and there between the channels were round enclosures of earth covered in lush grass and Hylaian Marsh Bamboo. The room itself was like a work of art, using the symbols of the water, the plants, and the statues to show the nature of the Force. Sabe released her breath, and Master Ti looked at her with a small smile. Certainly this place was not on the usual tour for visitors. It was as if Master Ti had brought her here deliberately, as if she felt that this was a sight she ought to see.

Sabe flushed a little, and Master Ti's smile widened. "I must ask you to remain here for a time. I will go and inform the Council of your arrival."

"Of course. Thank you, Master," Sabe said, bowing and watching as Shaak Ti glided away. When she was gone, Sabe took another look around, and then caught sight of the ceiling. It was covered in an incredibly intricate fresco, apparently of some ancient battle. She studied the paintings of Jedi lightsaber-to-lightsaber with dark, insect-like creatures in black, their yellow eyes showing fiercely from beneath oversized hoods.

"Excuse me," she said, turning to a young, nervous-looking padawan walking by and pointing upward. "The painting? What does it depict?"

The padawan gave only a cursory glance at the fresco, and spoke in a rather bored tone. "The first Sith Wars, my Lady."


"Change is constant. Time is irrelevant. There is only the Force," Obi-Wan Kenobi muttered between his teeth.

The chrono read two after the mid hour, normally something that would not require much of his attention. But now the time piece on the wall of his quarters was telling him with irritating frankness that he was an hour late for the Council's summons, and because the summons were for both him and Anakin, he could do nothing about it until his padawan arrived.

Qui-Gon had taught him at a very young age that in times of stress, it was sometimes helpful to use visual metaphors to connect with the Living Force and quiet the mind. After all, the Force was many things; a tree, a ship, a bird, a raindrop. But at the moment Obi-Wan could visualize nothing as appropriate as a dancing prankster, laughing hysterically at him.

His padawan had fallen into…infatuation. All the signs were glaring; his shortened attention span, his decreased appetite, his constant, grating whistle, his secretive trips into the heart of the city and late returns with flushed cheeks and poor excuses. These brief flings were not encouraged, but they were expected. It was even considered healthy for a padawan to have a short foray into the perils of love and then, through strength of will, turn back to duty and the Code. At least, that was what Yoda had said when Obi-Wan had sought out his council on the matter.

But Anakin's activities were increasingly interfering with his responsibilities, and if his encounters were with the person Obi-Wan suspected, he was much less inclined to be tolerant.

At last he heard the hurried steps in the hall that stopped just outside the door of their quarters. He waited quietly as Anakin stealthily keyed in the entry code and crept inside, probably hoping he was deep in meditation and wouldn't notice his arrival. Anakin should have sensed his alertness, and that alone was enough to tip Obi-Wan into an almost-temper. He flipped on the 'luminator as Anakin turned around. "This is becoming ridiculous."

To his credit, Anakin did not jump. He smirked sheepishly. "I don't know what you mean, Master."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Anakin," Obi-Wan said sternly. "You did receive my message? Over an hour ago?"

Anakin schooled his features into respectful impassivity. "Yes, Master. Forgive me. I was…detained."

Obi-Wan looked him over. His short-cropped hair was sticking up in all directions. There was a high color in his cheeks and a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. His clothing was disheveled. "Tuck in your shirt," Obi-Wan said coldly. "We must hurry to the Council chambers."

Anakin complied, blushing. Obi-Wan rose from his seat and walked past him out of their quarters. "Master—" Anakin began as he passed.

"Enough," Obi-Wan interrupted. An appeal to the padawan's sense of duty would be useless at this point. He decided on a different tactic. "To wave your distraction before the Masters' faces in this manner will certainly not hasten your trials."

Obi-Wan felt the tension running over his apprentice then, and his eyes darkened into the resentment that seemed ever-present in them lately. "Yes, Master."

Obi-Wan sighed. A rift had started between them some time before the Battle of Geonosis, and it was growing. It was necessary to bridge it before it became too wide to reach across. "Despite what you may think, Anakin, I do understand your struggles. But you belong here, in the Temple. You have known that since you were a boy."

Anakin heaved a sigh and looked down the corridor, avoiding his eyes. Obi-Wan felt him trying to shield his anger from him. He reached out and gripped Anakin's shoulder firmly. "Do not hide your feelings…release them, padawan. Let them go."

"Yes, Master," Anakin said dully.

Obi-Wan folded his hands within his robe sleeves. "Well, then. Let us go and see what the Council wants."

When they finally entered the chambers, the Masters' combined auras struck Obi-Wan as solidly as ever, and their disapproval was as palpable as the floor beneath his feet. He bowed a bit more deeply than usual. "Masters, we have no appropriate excuse. We can only beg your apologies."

Master Yoda only nodded and rested his chin on his folded hands, but Mace Windu's eyes were like vibroblades. "You have made our guest wait," He said.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply and glanced at the woman he had only half-noticed as a Force sensitive. It was only then that he noticed her brilliant red hair, the bewildering liquid darkness of her eyes, and the dagger-sharp lines of her face. The moment she turned her face toward him, all his thoughts of guilt and the concerns about his padawan left his mind entirely. Her eyes narrowed, and then widened in recognition, and he felt the welcoming brush of her consciousness. The apologetic words died on his lips.

He was seeing a ghost.


P.S. : Hooray, line break problem solved!