The ghostly apparition stared wide-eyed at the youth who emerged from the lift. Of all the Jedi to be his contact! Obi-Wan groaned to the Force.
"Is somebody there?" Once more, Anakin sent out his query along with a mental sweep of the area, his brow creased in focused concentration.
Obi-Wan leaned toward the apprentice's ear and teased, grinning mischievously. "Win any podraces lately?"
He immediately dodged purely from instinct when the young man activated his lightsaber.
"Who's there?" The apprentice persisted more loudly.
Obi-Wan reached out and playfully swept his hand through the deadly blue blade that could now do him no harm.
"For Force sake, man! Put that thing away before you hurt someone!" Hecontinued to tease.
The confused-appearing youth hesitantly replaced his 'saber to his belt and squinted, as his eyes moved up and down the hallway. "Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
"In person." The deceased Jedi quipped on the other side of the young man before moving to stand directly in front of him. "I probably shouldn't say that since I'm actually quite dead." He added with a grin.
"Yes, you are." Anakin agreed in amazement. "Why are you here?" The young man reached out blindly with his own hand in the general direction of where the distinctive voice had originated from.
"That's a good question." The Jedi apparition admitted. He had thought he knew the answer, but now, he was no longer sure.
"Why can't I see you? And where are you?"
"I'm not certain, to answer your first question, and for your second – I'm nearly standing on your boots."
Anakin immediately backed up a step, looking quite uncomfortable as his blue eyes squinted once more in discernment, almost as if the apprentice thought the gesture would enhance his vision through the Force. "That's not exactly what I meant."
"Ah." Obi-Wan sighed. "Somewhere between this life and the next, I've been told."
"Fascinating." The young man's eyes brightened. "I didn't think Jedi had a choice! Master Pell told us in initiation class that when a Jedi dies, they automatically become One with the Force. That is – if they haven't…" The apprentice stopped mid sentence as he noticed a trio of delegates walking along the adjoining corridor eyeing him suspiciously.
Anakin then leaned slightly forward to where he thought the Force ghost would be and whispered. "Can we take this some place else?"
"Sure." Obi-Wan replied with a smile.
They entered the turbolift and did not speak again until boarding the speeder the young man had parked outside.
Anakin quickly merged into the streams of Coruscant traffic.
"Where are we going?" The bodiless voice startled the young man, who recovered quickly and maneuvered around a bulky public transport.
"To the Temple, of course." He stated simply before a broad smile lit his features. "I can't wait to tell Master Qui-Gon about this!"
Without thought, Obi-Wan reached out to secure his grip upon the door. He then silently chuckled as it occurred to him he didn't need to hold on. It wasn't like a wreck was going to kill him or anything.
Relaxing on the plastisteel seat as Anakin continued to dodge slower traffic, which included nearly every vehicle they encountered, Obi-Wan focused on their destination. He would much rather be going to see Padmé. In fact, he could barely contain his excitement in seeing her again. To see how well she had aged. Certainly, the years had been kind to her and he imagined she was still a very beautiful woman. Possibly even more so.
Also intriguing, however, was imaging how his Master would look ten years later. He pictured the regal-appearing face creased with even more character-defining wrinkles and the long brown hair streaked more heavily with silver.
"How is Qui-Gon?" He finally asked the young driver, breaking their companionable silence.
"Fine." Replied the youth simply, as he pulled into the Temple hangar and jumped from the vehicle.
Obi-Wan's eyebrows shot up. That wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for. He quickly caught up to the long-legged stride of the young Jedi.
"How was he after…" Obi-Wan argued with himself over the question he wanted to ask. It's not like it made any difference, but still he had to know. "After I was killed?"
"Basically the same." Anakin replied matter-of-factly before he apparently realized what he had said and stopped to turn around and face where he thought Obi-Wan would be standing. "He might have been upset, but it was hard to tell. He's Qui-Gon Jinn, you know? And I'm afraid he hasn't talked about you since."
Obi-Wan shook his head ruefully. He believed it. If anything else, Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi Master, completely in tune with the Living Force, and in complete control of his emotions. If anyone else had spouted the "there is no death" mantra more than Master Yoda, it was Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan wasn't surprised that his Master hadn't grieved for him. It would explain why he couldn't hear him now.
Was that why Anakin could?
"What about you Anakin? How did you react?" He asked as they entered the Temple and boarded a lift leading them to the living quarters.
The young man paused as he accessed the distant memory. "I was upset." He answered quietly. "But I think I was more upset that no one else seemed to be. Except Padmé, of course." He quickly corrected himself with a grin that disappeared as fast as it had appeared. "I expected Master Qui-Gon to grieve. He didn't though. Padmé seemed to be the only one other than myself who felt the loss."
Obi-Wan watched the youth closely as he spoke. Underlying the tough Jedi Apprentice exterior, he could sense an array of strong emotions. Pride, sorrow, worry, eagerness and a stream of underlying fear. All of those things that Master Yoda had warned Qui-Gon about. He was a young man of deep feeling. No wonder the Chancellor had sought him out. He could be easily manipulated.
They had reached Qui-Gon and Anakin's quarters, but Obi-Wan was disappointed to find the rooms empty. He looked around the once familiar space and immediately noticed the changes. There was not one trace of his past life to be seen. No holo images, no mementos of their missions, none of the numerous models he had built. Nothing. Not that he had expected his Master to hold onto any of his things for pure sentiment, but he had been hoping that there might be something left of his.
Something in particular.
"Looks like he's gone out with Master Windu." Anakin noted upon reading a message left for him on the datacom.
"Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, drawing the young man's attention toward the general direction of his old bedroom. "Where did Qui-Gon store all of my things?"
"Uh." The youth stammered, trying to be more careful about his words. His previous ones had been too blunt, and he wasn't sure if Force apparitions had feelings or not. "My Master gave most of your things back to the Temple to be recycled."
So much for that idea, he thought hopelessly before Anakin stepped through him and into the bedroom, opened up his storage unit and removed a small leather encased box.
"Except for these things. I decided to keep them."
Obi-Wan peered over his shoulder as the young man opened the box lid, revealing the contents inside. As he viewed the various items, a bright smile appeared on the deceased Jedi's face and he breathed his gratefulness to the Force.