Chapter Two: Achilles' Heel

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When the ship finally pulled out of hyperspace near the bustling planet of Coruscant, Qui-gon and Obi-wan had grown so irritated at each other that they did not speak at all. The young Padawan felt only contempt for his master and his slow, deliberately patient ways, as though he were to never get anything done. And Qui-gon was unbelievably frustrated. It had been nearly nineteen years, and still his Padawan could not understand patience; Obi-wan was all too eager to spring into battle.

Qui-gon shook his head and sighed resignedly as the ship pulled into the Coruscant space port. Obi-wan would have to learn patience from another training session in the Jedi Temple. Of all the Padawan learners, of all the potential Jedi, I, of course, get Obi-wan Kenobi. The most fearless, overly ambitious, and impatient, Qui-gon thought with a sardonic smile. But even with all of Obi-wan's aggravating attributes, he was still an incipient learner. Obi-wan learned at a furiously fast pace, and he was a good companion: ruthless, tireless, and usually lively—a good complement for the older Jedi.

The metallic click of footsteps rang out behind Qui-gon and he knew without turning that Obi-wan was descending the ship's ramp behind his master.

Qui-gon was waiting to hear an apology from the adolescent, but this time Obi-wan did not utter a word. Even his mind barrier was up, and Obi-wan was not looking at Qui-gon nor avoiding him. The Jedi master led the way into the temple and from there, into the chamber where the Council sat. The metal doors slid open, and he walked into the center and bowed.

"The Karitoans have matters under control--"

"Something that troubles you there is," Yoda interrupted calmly, "speak of it you will to the Council."

Qui-gon hesitated, looking out of the corner of his eye at the figure to his side. Obi-wan's jaw was clenched but otherwise he appeared perfectly calm.

The Jedi knight seated to the right of Yoda, Ki-Adi-Mundi, quickly sensed Qui-gon's hesitance and gave an imperceptible nod. "Perhaps, if it is something you feel you cannot disclose in the presence of the young Padawan…" Qui-gon's gaze was front and center but his mind was probing his pupil's.

Obi-wan's eyes narrowed the slightest bit as he looked to his master. "Master, what would you have me do?"

"Your exercises, Obi-wan. Clear your mind of questions and I will join you later in the corridor."

Obi-wan bit back a frustrated comment and bowed before the Jedi masters before stepping out.

He looked around in the corridor, and noticed that nearly no one was about. There was a quiet, small droid making its way along the floor, and Obi-wan, for lack of activity, decided to follow it. He trudged behind it slowly, attempting to clear his mind to no avail. Qui-gon is frustrated with me. What else is new? What am I supposed to do? I did what I felt I was supposed to do…he always tells me to be one with the Force, to be mindful of my feelings, but I felt a stirring and a danger then, and I had to act upon it. What else could I have done?

Obi-wan's thoughts reeled angrily in his mind and he did not notice when he had lost track of the chirping droid. He looked about, finding that he had stopped directly in front of the entrance to the Jedi Archives. Pulling upon the Force for strength to push his thoughts away, he walked through the open doors.

There were only a handful of Jedi roaming the Archives, most of which, no doubt from their age, were Padawans. Obi-wan saw a group of small children intermingled with a handful of alien races, giggling happily as they pored through book after book, and at the same time chasing after each other like children do. He smiled as he looked at them and began to stroll through the rows of records.

Staring at the labels of the records and books on the nearby wall, Obi-wan suddenly crashed into something, which brought his attention out of his reverie. "Ouch!" he exclaimed angrily, but then he looked up. He realized he had clumsily collided with a Jedi Padawan who had just emerged from an adjoining aisle.

"Oh, excuse me," the girl muttered in slightly accented voice.

Obi-wan was startled by the young Padawan who had just ventured into his path. His eyes searched her face, finding that there was something captivating about her. Perhaps it was the startling shrewdness in her nearly black eyes. He perceived a haughtiness and arrogance in her expression that reminded him, he noted with an inward smile, of himself. Wait, what am I doing? he thought furiously, tearing his gaze away from her face, instead staring at the shelf a little behind her.

Obviously, he had been looking at her for far too long than is acceptable, and she cocked her head to the side, shooting an odd glance at him. "Who are you?" she asked unexpectedly.

"Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Oh. Qui-gon is your master, is he not?"

"Yes." He couldn't help but focus his gaze onto her again for fear of being disrespectful. He was, after all, the one who hadn't been watching where he was going… Obi-wan was too busy studying the slender features of her face and the completely black hair that was pulled to the back of her head to pay attention to their casual conversation. She was saying something in her accented voice about his Master…

"You think so, of course?" she was asking for the second time. He suddenly looked at her as though he hadn't been seeing her for the past few minutes.

"Oh…um…what?"

She shook her head and a slightly annoyed look on her face. "You do think…no. Nothing. Good day."

She was about to walk past him when he suddenly found himself asking, "You are a Padawan here?"

The girl looked down at her white tunic and held up her arms as if to show him the brown sleeves of her Jedi robe. "No, of course not," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Obi-wan grinned. "I meant, to ask you who you, well, study under."

"Master Yoda. I am one of the many pupils he takes under his wing to train…"

"Oh." A thought suddenly occurred to him to ask her name. "Wait, before you go, you forgot to tell me what your name is. I told you mine, it is only common courtesy that you return the favor."

"Oh, I did, didn't I?" With that, she smiled, an unusual glint in her eyes as she turned away and strided down the aisle to turn the corner and disappear. Obi-wan watched after her, a strange stirring in his head. His chest felt constricted, tight, and he felt the sudden urge to go to the sparring room to loosen his strained muscles.

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Obi-wan shook off the cloak that clung to his sleeves, and then hung the brown robe up before reaching into a metal box that contained many small objects. He pulled out a circular mechanism and then unhooked his belt, taking only his lightsaber with him.

He stepped into the sparring room, a large room covered with mats with thin wooden walls surrounding it. The place was reminiscent of an ancient Japanese sparring dojo. Obi-wan stepped out, took the metal device and thumbed it on. He took a stance and ignited his lightsaber as soon as the device began to swivel back and forth in the air.

His lightsaber followed every move of the object, and he relaxed his muscles. His movements were languid and easy, almost cat-like. He had done this way too many times to be unfamiliar with it. The dome shot bolts of green light at him occasionally, which he deflected almost effortlessly. It began to become harder as he progressed, the shots fired more rapidly as time passed.

After a time, his mind and body were so absorbed in it that he failed to recognize the presence of another in the room.

"Now I see," the voice rang out suddenly, startling him so that he missed a shot. It hit the flesh of his right shoulder, and he cried out softly with the shock of the pain. He thumbed off the lightsaber and, simultaneously, the device switched to the static mode, hovering lifelessly in the air.

Obi-wan turned to the figure standing near the door. "What in hell do you--" he began before he had set eyes upon the person. But when he finally did, he cut his words off and stared at the girl he had seen just an hour ago in the archives.

"What do I think I'm doing?" she asked quietly. The twinge of a strange alien accent in her soft voice was beginning to irritate him like no other.

"No…I…" Obi-wan was annoyed to find that he could not speak, for his throat was parched. He swallowed and winced at the pain of his dry throat cracking. "What did you say? You see? See what?"

She didn't answer, just regarded him coldly with a slight smile flickering on her lips. He noticed her lightsaber was in hand and she also had a small practicing device like his. So she was here to practice, and she had stumbled upon him. Obi-wan was beginning to really dislike the fact that this girl kept on ending up coincidentally in the same place at the same time with him. He shifted his stance just enough to feel a slight pain in his shoulder where the orb had shot him, and he grimaced.

Her eyes were glittering. She smiled even further. "Do you remember what I asked you earlier?" Knowing she would not get an answer, she continued, "I was asking you if you would think Qui-gon was becoming…how should I put it…irked, wearied, irritated." Her emphasis on the last word was almost a sneer.

"What?" His dislike of her was growing by the second.

"You know what I'm talking about. Everyone knows. You're the most hotheaded, arrogant, foolishly brazen Padawan in the whole of the temple. And you know that, because everything you do, you always make a mistake: plunge headfirst into a battle, fight someone you should not fight, start something where it should not have happened. Qui-gon should be fed up with you. And he is, but, being the kind Jedi master he his, he puts up with you. He has a startling amount of patience. Just now it's getting to him." Her voice was still annoyingly calm and composed.

"How can you say this to me?! Who are you to say that? Who are you to judge me? You don't even know me…" Obi-wan's voice was cracking with anger.

Her voice softened, as did her gaze, as if to apologize for her harsh words. "I'm sorry, it's just that, when I found you here I couldn't help but watch you. You have excellent technique, you can get as far into the 'game' as the masters. The ball doesn't move that fast for any other Padawans. And I have never seen such capabilities of concentration, of physical aptness. But it hit you."

"Yes, because you distracted me!"

"A Jedi should be wary of all around him," she intoned, "just think, if you were in a battle, say, with an enemy who was as good as you were. And someone crept up behind you as I did. Quietly, unnoticeably…what would happen then?"

He could see her point, and it exasperated him even further. He was silent a long time. "Why do you tell me this?" he asked after calming himself.

"Sometimes the plebeian has to give advice to the adept."

"What?" Obi-wan was struggling to avoid shouting at her.

"The best of the best have their faults. Sometimes the commoners have to point out weakness to them. Then the good can become the greatest and talent can aspire to virtue. It all depends on whether or not they will deign to admit that a blemish exists on an unblemished surface."

Obi-wan was thoroughly astonished, and his irritation was beginning to dissipate. He found himself once again admiring the sharp intelligence that showed in her eyes. He realized his scrutinizing was making her uncomfortable again because she looked at him, puzzled. Obi-wan began to speak, but hesitated, then heard himself ask, "Why do you do it? It doesn't matter to you if I'm…arrogant. Why does it matter to you if I, or another Jedi, is killed because they had a deadly fault?"

"Because I…I don't know," she admitted. He was surprised to find that her eyes were downcast and she looked flustered.

"You don't know?" Obi-wan's felt anger rising in him again.

"I just do that," she sighed, "it's something I do. Point out the weaknesses of other people. I don't know whether it's to annoy them or some subconscious way of helping them out…I just do it."

Obi-wan was surprised into silence. After a few moments, he said, "…I think it's a little of both." Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he knew she had hit a verity and, as she had pointed out, it was his fatal weakness. He sighed. I've always been like this. Qui-gon has told me and reprimanded me before, but never like this. To have a complete stranger recognize your deadliest fault…what does that mean?

She looked up at him curiously. He sensed her astonishment at his agreement. Wordlessly he smiled at her and reached into the air to take the device down and switch it off. He brushed past her to the doorway, and just as the metal doors slid open, she asked, "I did, didn't I?"

"Did what?" he asked, bewildered. He turned his head to look at her.

"Forget to tell you my name."

"Oh."

"Akura Parell."

Obi-wan nodded and shot a smile at her despite the reeling feelings running rampant through him. She returned his smile, and he noticed she flushed a bit. He watched as she stepped further out into the empty room and switched the metal orb on in her hand before letting it float up in the air, before he stepped through the doors and let them slide shut behind him.

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"Obi-wan," a stern voice said from behind him. He turned around to find Qui-gon standing in the corridor, just emerged from the Council chambers.

"There you are, master." Obi-wan was so absorbed in his thoughts that he forgot his former feelings of displeasure towards the older Jedi.

And Qui-gon noticed it, with much perplexity. "Where have you been? I asked you to wait in the corridor for me." He noticed the flushed look on Obi-wan's face that revealed he had been physically exercising.

"Yes, master. I was practicing…my exercises, you said, remember?"

Qui-gon sighed. "No, that is not what I meant…"

"I know," Obi-wan admitted, the guilt showing on his face. "I just felt the need to stretch and loosen out the tension in my body."

"Obi-wan, you need to learn patience. Lessons of the mind, my apprentice, not of the body. Physical capabilities are useful, yes, but they are not needed if one has enough control over his mind, enough control to blend in unity with the Force…"

"Yes, master," Obi-wan intoned.

Qui-gon shook his head. He does not understand. He never will. No…I must give him a chance. It takes time. "Obi-wan, I have spoken to the Council about your actions on Karitoa. Yoda does not feel you can be a danger to others--"

"You mean, turn to the dark side of the Force? Because I'm…arrogant?"

His master chuckled. "No, no, Obi-wan, you cannot turn to the dark side. I do not believe it. Your intentions are upright. It is your eagerness that hinders you. You must learn to control that, and you will be fully on your way towards knighthood."

Obi-wan looked down and clasped his hands in the sleeves of his robe.

"As long as there is nothing that calls to us, Yoda instructs that you undergo another session of training." He smiled at his apprentice's barely audible groan. "Yes…you will join the other Padawans tomorrow."

Obi-wan smiled haplessly. "I suppose I was in for it no matter what I did to make it worse on Karitoa."

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