Chapter 6: The Oncoming Storm

The Queen had a plan. What that plan was, though, was lost on Obi-Wan. Everything was. He ignored all summons on the trip to Naboo, remaining in a deep state of meditation and lost within the embrace of the Force. He could not feel the tug of Qui-Gon's consciousness upon his own, did not hear the incessant knocking upon his door, but he did feel the Force and all it's ebbing and flowing. As they came closer to Naboo, the Force became disturbed and turbulent like an arctic sea in a storm. When the ship landed on the planet, the chill in the Force snapped to a freeze so intense, it hurt Obi-Wan to breathe, pulled him out of his meditation with such force that he was momentarily disoriented.

He reached out and grabbed his heavy cloak, his hand shaking with the cold, and he pulled it around him like a blanket, trying to warm himself, but it did nothing. He didn't need to be a Master to know what this meant: the Sith Lord was here, and he was close. Kenobi pushed himself to his feet, shrugging the cloak on and pulling the hood over his head. He had to tell Qui-Gon.

When he came out of his room, the ship was empty. With a huff, he headed for the exit ramp, and was hit with a wave of humidity as he left the ship. They had landed in the swamp. Obi-Wan frowned. What was the point of this? He looked around and saw the ship crew in a clearing up ahead talking to a group of Gungans, the aquatic people clearly standoffish, nearly hostile, and the Queen and her handmaidens attempting for peace. Kenobi caught sight of his Master at the edge of the clearing, and he strode quickly to his side.

He had hardly reached the Jedi when he quietly growled, "Your absence has been noted, Obi-Wan."

"Note it all you like."

The Jedi glared, looking down at him and clearly displeased. "Is this your way of punishing me for defying the Council?"

"Do you think me a child, Qui-Gon?" He crossed his arms tightly, shivering into his cloak.

"You certainly have been acting like one."

He shrugged. "Maybe I have, but no, I wasn't spiting you, I was meditating."

"That is a poor excuse."

"You always tell me to be mindful of the present, Qui-Gon, and I am. Right now. Being mindful of the present." Obi-Wan huffed. The antagonism between them wasn't making this easy. "There is a disturbance in the Force."

"Of course there is, there's about to be a battle."

"It's freezing, Qui-Gon."

It took the Master a moment to really look at his apprentice, and after studying the boy, his hard eyes softened, and the irritation left him completely, his face suddenly concerned. "You're sure?" Obi-Wan glared at him, huddling further into his cloak, which should have been far too heavy for the hot, humid climate of Naboo's swamps. The Master bowed his head for a moment before wrapping his arms tightly around his Padawan and holding him as close as he was able. Kenobi tensed for a moment before he shivered and relaxed against him, shaking with not just the cold.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I shouldn't have been short with you."

"Master Windu talked to me about this before we left, and he sensed danger in this mission." He laid his forehead on his Master's chest and could feel the slow, even beat of his heart. "The Sith Lord is here, I can feel it. We need to be cautious."

"We will." He held his apprentice out at arm's length, carefully examining his face, reaching out with the Force to touch his Padawan's mind, and Obi-Wan let him in. Qui-Gon shuddered. "Do you feel this all the time?"

"Lately, yes. It's gotten worse since Tatooine, and landing here intensified it greatly."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Remain mindful of it, and tell me if it changes. We need to stand together on this matter if the Sith are involved."

"That won't be easy."

The Master's face looked weary for a moment before he nodded and looked the young Jedi in the eye. "Obi-Wan, about Anakin..."

Kenobi held his hand up, and the Master stopped. "I will not discuss the boy, or what has happened over the past few days. There is a rift between us, Qui-Gon, and it's not going away. I will not drag that to the forefront when we need to be in tune with each other here."

The Master nodded. "I did not mislead the Council, Obi-Wan." The younger Jedi tensed, his face getting darker, and the Master grasped the Padawan's shoulder. "Not about him, about you. You are ready for the Trials. I have taught you all I can. You will be a great Jedi Knight, and you will make me proud."

It was too much for Kenobi, and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying. He took a moment to catch his breath and calm his emotions; there were so many of them happening at once, and it was nearly too overwhelming for his little Jedi brain to take. Anger, joy, disappointment, pride, betrayal and gratitude flooded his entire being, and it was far too confusing to sort through the emotional surge. There is no emotion, there is peace...

"...that was what I wanted to talk to you about," he confessed quietly. "I don't think I'm ready, I'm conflicted and I-I need more time."

Qui-Gon started to say something, but the conflict on his Padawan's face made him bite his tongue. "When we return, you and I will sit down and discuss it, alright?"

That was enough. Obi-Wan smiled softly, looking at the ground and clutching his cloak tighter. "Thank you."

Qui-Gon smiled and pointed to the Queen and the Gungans. "She wanted to land in the swamp."

"Yes, I was going to ask."

"If you were at the meeting, you'd know her plan."

Obi-Wan gave his Master a hard look, but he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Ha ha. What's the plan?"

"She's gathering an army of Gungans to help battle the Federation forces."

"Ah." Obi-Wan huffed. "Qui-Gon?"

"Yes?"

"I really, really hate this."

Obi-Wan stood alone in one of the many clearings by the ship, running a quick diagnostic of the vessel and maintaining on his own equipment. The Gungans had agreed to aid the Naboo in the fight, and they were now discussing the battle strategy. Obi-Wan excused himself from that particular discussion, which he saw as a waste of his time. Qui-Gon was there, and it seemed redundant to have two Jedi there when the Master would make the decisions anyway.

Of course, the big thing to come out of the truce between the Naboo and the Gungans was Padmé's revelation that she was, in fact, the Queen, and one of her handmaidens had been standing in as a decoy. What surprised Obi-Wan the most about this was how little he was actually surprised. It just...seemed to make sense to him.

With a deep breath, he activated his lightsaber, the glowing blue bade humming with energy and casting a faint blue glow around the area, the metallic ship reflecting the saber brilliantly. He sighed, feeling the blade in his hand and swung it gently, practicing his lightsaber forms, seamlessly flowing from one to another. There was a Sith Lord out there, and he'd need to be at his best. Obi-Wan disliked lightsaber combat, but he was told that he was quite good at it. He hoped it was true, or this fight would go very badly.

Light applause made the man swiftly retract the blade and turn toward the noise, face flushed and feeling as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "I told you. It's all laser swords and fruit floating," Padmé laughed.

Obi-Wan put his hands in the air. "You got me. Who am I to deny a Queen?"

She smiled, creeping closer, but seemingly very uncertain of herself. "Are you...angry? I'm sorry I deceived you."

"I'm not angry." He shrugged. "I suspected something was off."

At that, she looked surprised. "You did? How?"

"The Queen was too uncertain, and you were far too strong. I didn't know what it was until today, but..."

"You Jedi are far too clever."

"Well, some of us are."

She smiled at that, inching closer, more confident now that she knew the Jedi was not angry. "What were you doing?"

"Practicing." He tossed the lightsaber from hand to hand. "Trying to balance myself. The Force has been...I have been unbalanced lately. I need to correct this before the fight."

"You really think the Federation has a chance against the Jedi?"

"I'm not an actual Jedi yet, not really, I'm still a Padawan..." He huffed, plunking down into a seated position on the soft, brown leaves. Padmé quietly sat before him. "There's something here, something dark."

"Is it that thing from the desert?" Obi-Wan nodded, and the young queen's face became grim. "What will we do?"

"We will do nothing, he is no concern of yours. He is Sith, and that makes him the concern of Qui-Gon and I." He smiled. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe."

"And you'll be using that?" She lightly touched the lightsaber in his hand.

Obi-Wan nodded. "I wouldn't if I didn't have to, but...well, it's going to come down to that."

They were silent for a long while, the Padawan quietly contemplating what it was he must do, and the Queen understanding how dangerous the fight would be for all of them. The silence was making her restless, and finally Padmé managed to laugh softly. "Well, what would you do? I mean, if you could fight the way you wanted to?"

"I'd just tell him to leave." Obi-Wan smiled sadly as the girl began to laugh. "What, I mean it."

"You can't just tell someone to go away!"

"I could."

"You couldn't!"

It was a challenge now. His Master always said he was headstrong. "I can. With the Force."

Her brown eyes lit up. "You're trying to tell me that the Force can just make someone go away?"

"Or anything I want." He smirked, eyes flashing mischievously as he leaned toward her. "I have spent a great deal of time learning this...mind trick. I can use the Force to compel someone to do something I want. It usually only works on the weak willed, but...if you insist with enough force, you can get even the highly intelligent and strong willed to comply."

Her mouth hung open in amazement and she was silent for a long while before she said softly, "Show me."

He smiled. "I don't think my Master would approve in the situation. Using it just because is...not exactly the Jedi way. It's mostly used to avoid conflict."

"Oh please, you have to!"

"I can't."

"Please! Obi-Wan, please!"

This time he looked at her intently, his hand waiving subtly before him. "You don't want to see my powers."

She leaned back and relaxed, the excitement leaving her face and replaced with boredom. "I don't want to see your powers." Silence fell between them, Obi-Wan smirking, his eyes watching her carefully, and after a moment, she gasped and reeled on him, grasping his arm excitedly. "You just did it!"

He laughed as her tiny fist hit his chest. "Ow, stop, you're too strong!"

"Do all Jedi have this power?"

"Well, in theory, yes, but not all practice it. I do." He shrugged. "You're too strong willed for the suggestion to last, though."

"That's a dangerous power in the wrong hands."

"It is." He looked down at the lightsaber in his hands, and slowly looked to the girl that was pressed close to him. He felt the cold in the Force, it hadn't left or eased since they landed, but now he felt the chill in the back of his mind. It felt like...apprehension? A warning, maybe. "Padmé."

"Obi-Wan."

"...I feel this is the last time we will see each other."

The young queen looked at him with wide, brown eyes. "Don't say that. We'll be fine, both of us. All of us."

"I pray you are right," he said softly, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Feeling his distance, Padmé scooted closer to him to sit right beside the young Jedi, her little hands gripping his heavy cloak. They didn't say anything else. They didn't need to. Obi-Wan knew he was right, and he didn't need the Force to know that after this battle, everything would be different.