Chapter 3: Dreams

Jedi Temple, Coruscant, 39 BBY

-I'm dead.-groaned Bant as she collapsed onto her bunk without even bothering to take her boots off.-Dead.

Behind her, Obi-Wan Kenobi let himself fall heavily on the armchair in the other side of the room, groaning as his sore muscles complained for the movement.

-This has been the hardest lightsaber class I've had in my life.-he groaned as he let his head fall on the back of the armchair, too tired to hold it in its place.-Three hours of sparring with Soara Antana? That's enough to keep me in bed for five days.

Bant sighed tiredly and closed her eyes, mumbling something about "that damned stupid Master Drallig". Obi-Wan just smiled and let his eyes drift closed, too tired to say any smart retort. They stayed like that, in silence, for a while, with the muffled humming of Coruscant's dense air traffic being the only sound around them.

-I'm too tired to go to my quarters.-mumbled Obi-Wan when Coruscant's sun finally set behind the high buildings of the Galactic City.-D'you mind if I sleep here tonight?

-Fine by me.-Bant mumbled back sleepily as she tossed him a blanket and a pillow over her arm.

-Thanks.-and that was the last thing Padawan Kenobi did before his conscience drifted away.

A small planet floated in the middle of space, dark as a moonless night. He could see three suns shining in the distance, but their light didn't seem able to go through the thick mass of clouds that covered the higher layers of the planet's atmosphere. The massive storms that threatened to tear the planet apart were visible even from space, thousands of lightning drawing rivers of light in the sky, making the planet look like a piece of Alderaanian black marble. He saw some coordinates. E-15, sector 3, written on a screen in front of him.

And then, the planet started to move closer, at first slowly, then lightning-fast, until everything around him turned into a blur of light and darkness as lightning and thunder whirled around him. He wanted to cry, but he had no voice, no eyes to close to avoid seeing the hard rock thousands of meters below him coming closer each second, no arms to cover his head with when he finally hit the surface.

But the pain he may had feel was nothing compared with his shock when he saw the planet's surface and realized what he seeing: he was in the middle of a giant plain of grey, wasted stone which seemed to expand in every direction, its limits disappearing over the horizon, its surface plain as a mirror, with no mountains, valleys, hills, canyons or plateaus. There was no sunlight, either, and the only light that bathed the wasteland was the dim, silver gleam coming from the storm thousands of meters abouve his head. There was no water around him, and no wind, or animals or plants, just hard, dry and arid rock below his soles. The death around him echoed in the Force; not only the planet's surface was dead, its depths were dead too.

He was weak, thirsty and cold. He could almost see the dark tentacles of Death stealing his energy and transforming it into tiredness, weakness and confusion. He could sense the planet feeding from him, punishing him for daring to enter a place reserved only for death. He was like a candle in the middle of a storm, a dot of light in the middle of a universe of darkness. He started to feel his eyes drifting close, and he could do nothing but to wait until darkness claimed him.

And then, everything exploded around him. Light, light around him, so much light he had to close his eyes. And wind, whirling around him with the fury of a thousand hurricanes. The fresh smell of water in his nostrils as it ran over his body, calming his thirst, strengthening his mind. The warmth of fire as the world turned into lava. And then the wave-like rippling in the Force as a billion souls cried in joy and life surrounded him, his soul raising as he died and revived at the same time.

And then, in the middle of the light, in the eye of the hurricane, with the Force whirling around him like a wild tornado, he saw a pair of big eyes of all the colors of the rainbow. And in those big eyes he saw war and peace, happiness and grief, endless days and endless nights, Light and Darkness, love and hate. He saw the Jedi Temple, laughs and peace echoing in its corridors. He saw many different planets and people, some of them familiar, others unknown to him. He saw a rainy planet covered in water, an army of white-armored men. He saw an arena, an infinite army of droids, fellow Jedi lying dead on the ground. He saw dead, so much dead and pain, battlefields all across the Galaxy. White-armored men against metal droids, liberty against oppression, death against life, the never ending fight between Light and Darkness. He saw a hooded figure, Darkness whirling around him. He saw another other, lighting the Force like a bonfire at night. He smelled dead, and blood and pain in the air, but the reach aroma of happiness, life and peace sang at the same time in his nostrils, too. The essence of the Force, of universe, of life concentrated in a second, in a pair of eyes: balance.

And he heard a voice made of all the voices been and to be, whispering to him in a language of life and death that he still understood.

The time has come.

He woke up screaming, with his face covered in sweat and his heart pounding wildly on his chest. He sat up on the armchair, panting and confused, terror burning him from the inside out like acid in his veins. It wasn't until some minutes later that he noticed the comforting hand on his shoulder and the soft voice speaking quietly in his ear. His eyes focused in the young Mon Calamari that was standing besides him, a spark of recognition in his eyes as he identified her.

-Bant...-he mumbled, shaking.-What... What happened? Where am I?

-I don't know.-she said, confusion and worry in her eyes.-You... you woke up screaming. And you are in the Jedi Temple, in my quarters.

Confusion spread across his face. What was he doing in her quarters? He looked around him, trying to put his thoughts together. And then, he remembered.

Ah...

A relieved smile spread across Bant's face as she saw the spark of recognition in her friend's eyes.

-Nightmare?-she asked softly, a warm arm on his shoulders.

He shook his head.

-I don't know...-he said, unable to supress the fearful tone of his voice as a nagging feeling positioned itself in the bottom of his stomach.-Just a very disturbing dream.

-Disturbing? What do you mean?-she whispered as the noticed the fear in his voice.

-I don't know how to describe it...-he took a deep breath and summoned the Force around him, trying to let go of his feelings as he had been taught. When he opened his eyes, he was feeling much better.-But I need to talk to Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon had arrived to Bant's room just minutes after they had ended their conversation, with his tunic full of wrinkles and his hair messy, as if he had just woken up and had run from his quarters to the young Mon Calamari's, as Obi-Wan later discovered he had actually had. He had opened the door and run towards Obi-Wan, distress visible in his eyes, without even bothering to knock at the door.

-Padawan.-he had said, his voice full of worry.-Are you all right?

-I don't know...-had whispered Obi-Wan.-Master, I've had a dream, and I have a very bad feeling about it.-he confessed.

Qui-Gon hadn't say anything. He had just looked at his Padawan, and then at Bant. Then, he had taken a deep breath and patted Obi-Wan's shoulder gently.

-This is not my area of expertise.-he had said softly.-You must speak to Master Yoda.

That morning, a very confused and worried Padawan and an even more confused and worried Master knocked at Yoda's door. The little Jed had opened it immediately, a wide smile spreading across his face as he recognized his guests. And then, he had invited them to a tea.

Obi-Wan was shocked when he saw Yoda had already prepared the tea, like if somehow he had already known they were going to visit him, as he probably did. He had seated in one of the three comfortable meditation pads spread across the room and he and his Master had waited until Yoda served the tea and gave each one of them a steaming cup before he served himself another one. Only then, when they were all seated and with a cup of tea between their hands did Yoda begin their meeting.

-Padawan Kenobi.-he said after taking a sip of tea.-Confusion and fear I feel in you. Believe I do that something to tell me you have.

Obi-Wan swallowed hard and taken a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calmer than he actually was.

-Yes, Master.-he said, concentrating his gaze in the cup of steaming tea between his hands.

-Help you, I could, if tell me what happened, you do.-Yoda said, encouragingly.

Obi-Wan swallowed another time before explaining himself.

-I had a... dream.-he said softly.

-A dream, you say?-Yoda asked, his ears rising with interest.

-Yes, Master.-Obi-Wan answered quietly.

-A nightmare, it was?-helped Yoda.

-No, Master, it wasn't exactly a nightmare.-said Obi-Wan, shaking his head.-I... I don't even know if it was a dream... It is difficult to describe, Master.-he finished.

-Appreciate I will if tell me your dream you do.-Yoda said kindly as he drank another sip of tea. Suddenly, Obi-Wan realized that he was the only one who hadn't tried his tea yet, so he took a sip himself. He was pleased to discover than, unlike the rest of Yoda's concoctions, the tea was actually delicious, with a warm, earthy taste that gave him security and cleared his mind. The Force swirled around him, like if it was giving him encouragement, and, after taking his zillionth deep breath, he began his story.

He talked for a long time, describing as in much detail as he could everything that had happened, felt and seen during the last night. It wasn't difficult to describe the facts. The difficult part was to describe the strong and complex feelings he had felt, the amazing sensation of the Force swirling and whirling around him, or how realist the cold and the feeling of death had been, how he had really felt the cool of the wind and the warmth of sunlight in his skin, the rich aroma of wet earth in his nostrils. What he had felt when life blossomed around him.

When he finished, there was only silence. He dropped his gaze, awkward, and finished his cup of tea. Qui-Gon was looking at him with an strange look in his eyes, something Obi-Wan couldn't exactly identify.

Awe? Pride? Surprise?

Yoda was staring at him, too, an indecipherable spark in his eyes. After some seconds, he closed his eyes and sighed. He took a deep breath and sank into the Force until his presence in the physical realm was almost imperceptible. The silence was so pure that Obi-Wan was almost afraid of breathing, because even that seemed to be able to break it. When Yoda finally spoke, his eyes still closed, he almost jumped on his place.

-Padawan Kenobi.-he said.-Anything there is about this dream that different makes it from other you have had?

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to deny it, but he suddenly identified the strange feeling that had been disturbing him since the moment he woke up.Anticipation.

-Yes.-he said softly.-The feeling that everything I saw is meant to happen.