CHAPTER TWO: DEATH OF A TRUE HERO
Ghaf, Nute Gunray's office
Then, as if it had to cross the entire planet instead of just a few meters, the feeling, with it the knowledge, reached Eyan.
He turned around.
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin shouted and dashed past Eyan, who gasped for breath and searched desperately for his voice.
"Master!" Eyan rushed towards his Master.
He kneeled down next to Obi-Wan's dying body and checked for vital signs: they were all faint and losing strength with the second.
"Obi-Wan, damn it, you should've let Gunray go!" Anakin shouted and Obi-Wan returned a weak smile.
"I should have, yes…" Eyan looked him in the eye as Obi-Wan said it, he looked fearful and worried.
"Master?" he said and Obi-Wan looked at him, he had regarded Anakin as his brother, and Eyan as his son ever since he'd come to know them, and there was so much he needed to tell them right now, and Obi-Wan wanted to tell them that he'd be okay, that he'd be up in a few days, but in the Force he knew that it would be a lie.
"No Eyan, my time has come." Obi-Wan eventually said, regretting it already, Eyan and Anakin's faces said it all.
"There's no death, there's the Force, remember?" Obi-Wan tried as Ahsoka kneeled down too, "We're going to get you to the medbay, and you are going to live, Master." Eyan said stubborn and knew that would never happen.
"My time with you guys was great, and I'll never forget you, just be strong and follow the Force, Anakin, you too, and be careful, try not to fall to the dark side after all I did to prevent that…" he said with again a faint smile, holding both the hand of Eyan and Anakin.
"I'm going to get a medic, he's seeing things…" Anakin said and ran off, at all cost denying that Obi-Wan wouldn't survive either way.
After a short silence, Obi-Wan asked: "Eyan, keep an eye on him for me, okay?" Eyan nodded and Ahsoka put her arm around him, not only could Togrutas sense their surroundings very well, they could also sense peoples emotions very well, and this was pretty hefty.
"In many ways, you're more adult than him, Eyan…" Obi-Wan's voice dropped lower and more silent, he had mere seconds left…
"One last thing… Eyan, use your ability on me…" Ahsoka glanced at Eyan, what ability?
"But-" "My nerves are already gone from the explosion, I won't feel a bit of it, bye Eyan, take…" Obi-Wan stopped and waited for Eyan to rise and touch Obi-Wan's and his forehead, but in that split second Obi-Wan also put something in Eyan's pocket, though none saw.
"…Care…" Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed out his last breath.
"I'm sorry, Master…" Eyan said with tears seeping down over his cheeks, then he stretched his hands and closed his eyes, Ahsoka stood up confused, what is he doing?
"Just relax…" Eyan said with the exhale and blue sparkles floated out of Obi-Wan's body, these looked like miniature crystal orbs, sky-blue on the inside, glimmering, and emanating white sparkly light.
They were the most peaceful, and the most Obi-Wan-like thing Ahsoka had ever seen, they resembled the pure light that was Obi-Wan, these orbs floated up towards Eyan's stretched out hands and gathered in the hand palm.
After a few seconds, Eyan closed his hands and opened his eyes, gasped once and stared emptily at Obi-Wan's body.
"You…" a deep dark voice said from behind and Eyan and Ahsoka turned around, in the blown open door, stood Anakin.
"You killed him!" Fearfully Eyan looked back at Obi-Wan's body, which disappeared in thin air.
"You- no… I must not let my emotions get the best of me."
Coruscant, the Jedi temple, Council chamber
"So you took his strength, because he asked you to?" Mace Windu repeats, making sure he understood this right, Obi-Wan had died, a council member had died in that relatively small explosion, more than that, a Master had died in that small explosion, leaving his padawan without guidance.
"Indeed, disturbing news this is…" Grand Master of the Jedi Order Yoda said looking downward, Obi-Wan had been the one person who had as much as managed to bring a joyous bounce in the treads of the council members, an important link that had kept the council sharp.
"Padawan, don't grief, you must know, that your Master died in service of the Order, and that the death of viceroy- rude as it sounds- is a great victory for the republic." Mace Windu said, sad attempt to cheer Eyan up… Ahsoka thought, not even trying to raise her mental shields because even if the other Jedi Masters were reading her mind they would probably agree.
But then again, they were Jedi, and showed no emotions, and Mace Windu, had none, as many younglings said after a run in with the Master of the Order.
"Hmm, a new current I sense…" Yoda said and his long pointy ears raised a bit.
"Yes." Shaak Ti said with a warm voice that was natural with the Togrutas in the Jedi Order, Eyan reflected with a glance at Ahsoka.
"I agree too." Saesee Tiin nodded and all of the other Masters except for Mace Windu nodded in agreement.
"Sense it, you do not, my old padawan?" Yoda asked Mace, who seemed deep in thought, looking as if he was trying very hard to sense that what the others had sensed.
"Both of them." Kit Fisto said and again all the council members except for Mace nodded.
"Fine, you have my vote." Mace said, finally agreeing.
"Eyan, Ahsoka, normally, pass the trials here in the Temple you would have to. But this time, an exception we make. The war, enough trial it has been for you." Yoda said and looked at Shaak Ti to continue.
"Both of you have gone through extreme experiences many of the Order have not gone through, most recently the death of our fellow Master Kenobi. In a way, you have passed each trial the war could throw at you, each challenge, for example: you passed the trial of Courage with simply going on the undercover mission to capture Gunray, the trial of Skill when defeating Asajj Ventress, and the trial of Flesh when you lost Obi-Wan, we know how close you were.".
Saesee Tiin continued "You have surely passed the trial of Insight with the idea of the undercover mission, and throughout the mission of acquiring the data for it, I was there, and even I had it difficult with those fake programs, and you have faced the trial of Spirit with your Masters, as you both started out reckless and unaware at the beginning, but you have grown considerably during your hard time.".
After a short silence, Plo Koon ensued "Both of you have worked hard, and suffered losses, and all that hard working, all that acquired knowledge and wisdom, we need it, and you have deserved the reward for it, this is the day, the point on which you will indeed be strong in memory of Obi-Wan Kenobi, it is the day you joined us and we became friends." He said.
"Step forward padawans." Yoda said and stood up in his chair, making the green alien a little bit higher.
Ahsoka and Eyan looked at each other, where had this come from? And why of all times now?
Then they did, and kneeled before Master Yoda.
"In name of our eternal Order." Yoda said and ignited his forest green lightsaber, then let it come down just above Ahsoka and Eyan's shoulders.
"I grant you the title of…" Yoda slashed the padawan braids off and smiled faintly, indeed the padawans had grown, "Jedi Knight!".
Ahsoka and Eyan looked at each other confused.
"Rise, take up your lightsaber and join our order!" Master Mace Windu said and so they did.
Yoda could see the sadness and grief in Eyan's eyes and reacted to it.
"Grief not, rejoice we should, for joined with the Force our friend has, and Knights you have become." The reply was obvious, and so not said.
Downstairs, in an empty room
As soon as they closed the door behind them and no one could hear them Eyan burst.
"Okay, I'm not gonna grief, I'm gonna kill them!" he said loudly, but refrained from shouting.
"Eyan, please." Ahsoka said warning, but in all reality she agreed with what Eyan was thinking: how could they be so ignorant?
"I'm sorry Ahsoka, I didn't mean that,, and I didn't mean to take it out on you, I just can't believe that they expect us to go on like nothing happened…" for some reason it was always Ahsoka who could calm Eyan down, because they were close friends of course.
"I know, and don't expect that I will go on like they want either, I just can't, I've known Obi-wan for so long…" Ahsoka said and put her hand on Eyan's shoulder, feeling him slowly turn more relaxed, all the way from Ghaf to Coruscant he'd been in the quarters, and when she'd gone there to tell him that they'd arrived, she had seen clearly that he'd cried.
But what would you expect if the person you see as your father has just died, and then on top of that a friend lashes out at you falsely accusing you from killing that person?
"Why did Anakin lash out at me back then, even after I explained what I really did?" Eyan asked Ahsoka, who responded with a shrug.
"I don't know, I think he's just upset about Obi-Wan, but I hope he's all right, I haven't seen him since we arrived at the Temple actually…" she said and looked downward, a frown on her face alerting Eyan.
"Look, he's the Chosen One, plus he has promised Obi-Wan not to fall to the dark side, what could possibly happen?" Eyan said and put an arm around her, walking towards the computer in the middle of the room.
"He could jump." Ahsoka replied harshly.
"Yeah, funny Ahsoka, he won't fall to the dark side but he will jump, I should use that one once." Eyan said with a smile.
"Well, it's my joke." "I'll tell them." Sometimes a little joking would get the two back to business.
With a soft skidding the door behind them opened again, it Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, hope for all, Ahsoka already brightened by the fact Anakin was back, just… he didn't look like that at all, more like some vagabond that hadn't slept very well.
"You!" he pushed Ahsoka aside and headed straight for Eyan, thunder in his voice and its echo surrounding Eyan.
"Sk-Anakin!" Eyan gasped startled and backed away.
"You killed Obi-Wan, and they rewarded you for it, you liar, I know what you did wasn't because he wanted it, I just know it!" Eyan backed away further and quickly slid over the table in the way.
"Anakin, c'mon, I didn't kill Obi-Wan, he's my Master, c'mon, why don't you believe me?" Eyan said and Anakin brought out his saber, lunging forward and almost hitting Eyan if he had not so very graciously jumped out of the way.
When he landed, he looked up surprised.
"Anakin! What are you doing! I'm a Jedi, I could never kill anyone innocent! Least of all Obi-Wan!" Eyan shouted back and brought out his own sky-colored blade and blocked the next slash of Anakin, a slash that he caught surprisingly efficient and turned against Anakin himself.
"Stop it!" Ahsoka shouted and planted herself in front of Eyan.
"AAHHH!"
An agonized scream pierced the frigid air and unleashed what you could call death on Eyan, Ahsoka fell down in front of him and Eyan caught her.
"No…" Anakin stumbled back as he looked upon what he had done to his own padawan.
"Ahsoka!" Eyan put her down in a chair and looked angry at Anakin, who seemed even more confused and startled than Eyan.
"Look what you did!" he cried and Anakin looked at Ahsoka and back to his lightsaber, had he really done that.
On Ahsoka's belly was a horizontal stripe of ripped open cauterized flesh, a non-bleeding gush.
"Ahsoka, are you okay?" Eyan asked and Ahsoka nodded in pain, her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes closed shut.
"C'mon, don't just stand there, get Shaak Ti here, she's the medic!" he shouted at Anakin, he considered his options for a second and then ran off to find Shaak Ti.
"I'm sorry, Eyan, I thought he would stop if I got in the way…" Ahsoka said biting her lip and Eyan frowned, "Yes, well, you don't have to apologize, he on the other hand, should.".
"Well, he didn't fall nor jump to the dark side, so I guess I was right." Eyan said with a smile and Ahsoka returned the smile through her pain, "You're not getting away that easy, Eyan, I'll get you back someday, you just watch.".
Eyan smiled and lay his hand on the wound to heal it, after the wound started glowing with the thought, he sighed, that was just the distraction Ahsoka needed.
A/N: So guys, you all hating me now? Don't worry, you've probably seen the movies and know me a bit.
Please tell me what you think in a nice Review and of course don't forget to Enjoy this and my other stories!