sterling5842 – I think that Obi-Wan and Xan's views of the Council show a difference in philosophy, especially concerning Anakin. Obi-Wan would never have gone a round with the council right after taking Anakin as a padawan.
Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay – And I am sure that picture of Obi-Wan looking everywhere for Anakin shows what happened right at the beginning of his apprenticeship.
Kadirika7211 – Thanks, Xan is one of my favorite characters.
Lillafiore – Poor Obi-Wan doesn't know what a creature of habit he is.
Chapter 9
"You're a much better cook than Obi-Wan," Anakin said shoveling his last bite of eggs into his mouth.
Xanatos seemed to not hear, stirring the young boy's frustration. He had woke up bubbling over with excitement at having his master home and eager to attempt to dig more details of the mysterious trip out of him. Surprisingly, he had found the Jedi kneeling in his room, deep in meditation and was now uncertain whether the man had slept the previous night. Searching the pale features of his master's face, he could still see the remoteness of deep thought in unsettled blue eyes.
"I can imagine that," Xanatos replied suddenly as though there had been a lag in time and the question had finally caught up with him. "Master Qui-Gon quite enjoyed cooking so neither of his padawans got much practice at it. I learned quickly when I got out on my own. Obi-Wan will as well."
"But Obi-Wan needs a lot of practice."
"Anakin!" Xanatos said sternly, feeling the need to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "He tries." He thoughtfully took a sip of tea, and Anakin noticed his distracted gaze settling back on the wall somewhere over his shoulder. Determined to not lose the newly won attention, he reached out through their fledgling bond and brushed against Xanatos' mind, hoping to express his concern.
"I'm sorry Anakin." Xanatos chuckled lightly, finally focusing all of his attention on Anakin. "I'm a bit preoccupied with seeing the Council this morning."
"I thought you said they just wanted to hear about your trip." Anakin scrunched up his face in puzzlement. "Are you afraid of them?"
"No, not at all … but I have to tell them some things they are not going to want to hear, which is never easy." Xanatos reached across the table ruffling Anakin's hair. "It's nothing for you to worry about."
"How long will you have to be with the Council?"
Xanatos knew Anakin's motives for the question and couldn't blame him. They boy was not thrilled to be staying behind alone in their quarters. Under any other circumstances he would take Anakin with him. It would be a good experience, but today was different.
"Hopefully not long." Xanatos leaned forward, meeting the boy's eyes with a piercing stare that demanded compliance. "Anakin, I need you to promise me that you will not leave these quarters while I am gone."
Xanatos could almost see the struggle within the young mind. There was a sincere desire to obey, to please his mentor by doing what was expected of him. But his curiosity and desire to explore seemed to call out to him like the wild calls to an animal in captivity. It was this hesitancy Xanatos saw returned in crystal blue orbs … and it gave him little comfort. He opened his mouth to speak more of it when the door chimed.
He looked up smiling at who he sensed on the other side and went to answer the door. Obi-Wan stood there in casual sparring tunics. "I know you are heading for the Council chambers soon and was wondering if Anakin might like to tag along to the training rooms."
Xanatos's face twitched into a smile as his young apprentice's exuberance almost jumped out at him from behind. "If you want to go Anakin, you need to wash up and change your clothes."
The boy quickly disappeared to the refresher without being asked twice, and Xanatos looked at Obi-Wan gratefully. "I owe you."
"And, I do I intend to collect one of these days." Obi-Wan stepped in and leaned against the door frame flashing Xanatos an impish grin. "I just thought you might be a little more focused in front of the Council if you knew where your padawan was."
"It will help, but he needs to learn to stay put. You won't always be around to be a second set of eyes."
"You will get your taste of single parenthood soon enough," Obi-Wan teased. "The least I can do is help while I'm around."
Anakin nearly bounced back to the doorway, bubbling with anticipation over the new adventure at hand. He hadn't been to the training rooms yet.
"I'll find you when I'm done," Xanatos said to Obi-Wan. He smiled as he watched the two walk down the corridor together. Anakin was already starting to ask questions. An odd feeling washed over him; he hoped Obi-Wan would not show him too much. Not because Anakin wasn't ready, but because for the first time he realized he was looking forward to training him.
Obi-Wan gave a backward glance over his shoulder as they disappeared around the corner. His expression seemed almost to tease the older Jedi for lingering in the corridor.
Coruscant's morning traffic drifted through lightly clouded airways outside the windows of the Council chambers as Xanatos looked past the twelve beings seated in front of him. He had already made eye contact with several of them, and although they were supposed to be masters at masking their emotions, he could tell they were not pleased.
"I trust you know why we have called you here," Mace began. "We understand that you made a trip to Tatooine."
"Yes, I did," Xanatos stated confidently. There was no reason to hide anything. It was best to get the truth out in the open from the beginning. "I went to see Anakin's mother."
Silence once again settled over the room and he almost expected a collective gasp with the varied expressions. It was as though that was not what the masters were suspecting or perhaps they were merely shocked to have it confirmed.
"Not approved by the Council was that sort of trip," Master Yoda began. "Explain the purpose of your visit?"
"I was not aware I needed permission, Masters, to make a trip I felt was critical to the training of my padawan." He paused, clasping his hands lightly behind his back as he continued. "Master Qui-Gon had firsthand knowledge of Anakin's background from his time on Tatooine that I did not possess and that I believe is invaluable to understanding the boy. In a few hours with his mother I was able to learn what might otherwise have taken years, even with a training bond."
"That is understandable." It was Xanatos's turn to be shocked, and he waited for the disclaimer on Mace's tentative words of approval. "We trust contact will end there then." The question was posed more as an ultimatum.
Xanatos dropped his gaze to the tips of his boots, taking a deep breath before looking back to the Council. There was no turning back now. "I believe Anakin should be allowed to remain in contact with his mother."
The members of the Council began to look casually to one another, no doubt in a frenzy of telepathic communication. Xanatos remained silent, waiting until their collective gaze once again rested on him.
"Agree with this we do not," Master Yoda simple stated.
"I am the boy's master, and I intend to allow it with or without the Council's approval." It was a potentially career ending challenge, but he had a great deal of peace about it having given up sleep the previous night to assure he was in tune with the Force. Master would be proud. And strangely, as he made his stand on his own in front of the Council, he did not feel alone at all.
"Should the Council remind you of your own experience when you had contact with your father and where that led?" Xanatos shot a venom-filled glance at Saesee Tinn. The Jedi master was trying to provoke him and he closed his eyes momentarily to stifle a flash of anger.
"This is not about my experiences," he stated boldly.
"Yet, you cannot deny the situations are similar."
"Having not met Shmi Skywalker, you would not know that she is a sweet, tender spirit and I believe Anakin could benefit greatly from her gentleness." And if he were willing to admit it, so could he. "She has a selfless desire for what is best for Anakin, which makes her very different from Crion Marojni."
"Fears losing her the boy does." Yoda broke into the debate solemnly. "Dangerous fear is, and much of it he has. Clouds his future this fear."
"And surely the Council sees this is a battle we will face whether she has a place in his life or not. I believe it will calm these fears to be able to communicate with her."
"It is an attachment."
"Of course, it comes back to strict adherence," Xanatos spat out. "You fear the unknown so you hide behind the blasted Code."
"Please remember your place," Mace admonished.
Xanatos began to pace slightly. "Perhaps you should go to the Healer's ward and inform any master sitting at an injured padawan's side that it is improper because someone might believe him to have an unhealthy attachment …"
"That is different."
"After all," Xanatos continued, ignoring Mace's remark, "they should just be able to shut that person off and continue on with duty … even if they die."
"Expect that the Council does not." Yoda pinned Xanatos down with wide green orbs.
"Then why do you expect a nine year old boy raised by his mother to forget she exists," Xanatos challenged.
Silence fell on the room once again as he waited for a reply.
"The Jedi way this is not."
"But Anakin is not Jedi, not yet. He doesn't have the benefit of growing up knowing nothing else. Did the Council ever for once stop to consider that the reason Qui-Gon entrusted Anakin to me is because I would not train him in the Jedi way?" Xanatos asked.
"This Council has been quite tolerant of your behavior this morning, but we are not on trial."
"And neither am I," Xanatos bit back quickly, earning a highly arched eyebrow and stern expression. It was no small task to make Mace Windu begin to lose his composure, and although the reprimand stung, Xanatos, for the second time, composed himself.
"Have you even considered the distraction this could be to his training?" Mace asked, seemingly content with the Jedi master's composure.
"I would hope the Council has more faith in my judgment than that. Anakin does not know I have been to see his mother and he will not know until I feel he is ready. I am well aware he is behind his agemates, and that we have much ground to cover in order to catch up. But this Council must allow me to train Anakin differently, uniquely. It took one failure for Qui-Gon to understand that the Jedi way does not always work. Does the Council really require a second?"
Anakin for some reason expected the training rooms to be empty. Instead, he was dismayed to see a small class was gathered in one of the corners. The children which seemed to be not more than his age were spaced apart going through motions that looked like some sort of dance.
Obi-Wan settled down to a cross-legged position on the mat out of the way and motioned for Anakin to sit next to him. They watched together as the group move through the synchronized movements, some more gracefully than others.
"What are they doing Obi-Wan?" Anakin whispered. He wasn't sure why he automatically used a quiet voice, but he was sure he would mess something up if he spoke too loudly.
"Katas." Before Anakin could form his next question, Obi-Wan elaborated. "A sequence of movements that teach technique. This is a new one they are learning."
"How can you tell?"
"They are making a lot of mistakes." Obi-Wan chuckled lightly. "But they will learn. We all make mistakes."
"It looks like they are dancing, except there is no music."
"Some would say the Force is their music." Obi-Wan smiled at the multitude of questions surfacing in Anakin's eyes and stopped him before he asked any. "Xanatos will teach you all you need to know when it is time. That is something I don't want to take away from him."
The dance stopped and the children began to break away from the group, for the first time turning to see their guests. There were giggles and whispers and a little bit of discomfort. Having observers was an added excitement to lessons.
"They will break up into small groups now to practice sparring while the saber master observes," Obi-Wan said, fondly remembering times with Garen, Reeft, and Bant. From the way the younglings were pairing, he could tell that they had been allowed to choose their groups today. It wasn't always that way. Obi-Wan had dreaded being paired without choice, especially when it was with Bruck. He swallowed hard, surprised at how quickly those memories led to Qui-Gon.
A group of three boys hesitantly approached, stopping for they reached Obi-Wan and Anakin. Two pushed a boy with dark brown curls and deep chocolate eyes forward. He look back at them as a blush crept into his cheeks.
"Good morning Knight Kenobi." He bowed stiffly and politely before turning to Anakin. "We are … well one short and were wondering if you might like to join."
Anakin shot Obi-Wan a worried glance, clearly embarrassed at the prospect of informing the boy that he didn't know how.
"It is a very kind offer, but I'm afraid we will be going to meet Anakin's master soon." Obi-Wan gave Anakin a quick wink and was rewarded with a lopsided smile.
"Some other time then?" the boy asked Anakin.
"Yeah, thanks."
As he returned to his friends, walking away laughing and chatting, Obi-Wan saw Anakin look longingly at the group of younglings.
"Will I ever be able to practice with them? You know, be in this class?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan reassured him. "Xanatos will teach you what is necessary to catch up. You will have to work hard, but I believe you will learn quickly."
"I will work hard," Anakin said eagerly. "I'll be the best."
Obi-Wan thought to correct the slight arrogance he heard creeping into Anakin's voice, but was stopped by another question.
"Will you be there to help, too?"
"I'm afraid I will be leaving soon."
"What?!" Anakin snapped back.
"I was planning to tell Xanatos later." It was a burden he hadn't wanted to place on the older knight before the Council meeting. He suspected the news would not be a surprise, but Xan was not going to take it well. "I spoke with Master Yoda very early this morning and asked for a mission."
"But, you said you would never be far away." The words and their whining tone stabbed right into Obi-Wan's heart. Leaving … the thought of being on his own without Qui-Gon at his side wasn't easy for him either.
"I wish I could stay with you both all the time. I will see you when I can and will stay in constant contact. I want to know everything. But, I am a knight now and it's time for me to go find out what that means."
