Untitled
A Star Wars Short Story by Aaron Cedeno, aka Jedi Master Aaron
Pain.
It overwhelmed the heart of the young man stumbling down the gleaming corridors of the Jedi Temple, engulfing him in wave after wave of sheer desolation. Gasping to a halt when his legs wouldn't carry him anymore, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker stumbled and fell, collapsing in a boneless heap on the floor. He couldn't have seen what he just had. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. But his heart was verifying what his brain was denying. It had happened. It really had. Squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to control the fresh onslaught of tears, Anakin gasped in horror as the events of only moments ago played themselves out on the back of his eyelids, just like a holofilm. "No." he gasped through the sobbing. "No please. Not again..."
***Anakin, having been assigned a solo mission by the Jedi Council earlier that day, was roaming the halls of the Temple, searching for his former Master. He had a few questions about the planet to which he was being sent, Alderaan, having never been there but knowing that his Master had. Plus, Anakin liked to say goodbye to Obi-Wan before he went off-planet, for during the years of his training he had come to regard Obi-Wan as the father he literally never had, as well as his best and closest friend. "Well," the young Jedi thought with a smile, "nearly closest". That title belonged with Anakin's wife of less than a year, Senator Padme Naberrie from Naboo. Since their first meeting on Ani's home planet of Tatooine, the relationship had grown fast and furious, and when Anakin had reached his Knighthood, they had mutually decided to take their relationship to the next level. Anakin found happiness in his bonding with Padme that he had never expected out of life, a complete joining of souls. The two were not "two sides of the same coin", for that was too trite. Blaster and holster probably fit their relationship better, Anakin smiled ruefully.***
Curled into a fetal position on the cold hallway floor, Anakin continued to sob, his chest heaving in the intense fire of his sorrow. Tears continued to leave rivulets of ice down the flushed heat of his face.
***Stepping off the turbolift, Anakin turned down the hallway that would take him to Obi-Wan's rooms. Frowning slightly at seeing the door slightly ajar, Anakin reached out with the Force, sensing his Master's muffled presence on the other side, as if he was deliberately shielding. Reaching the door, he put his hand on the side to slide it fully open.***
"No, Force no, make it stop" Anakin whispered to himself. "How could they? How could they do this to me?!" the Jedi cried in agony. It was very late at night, or very early in the morning, and Anakin was alone in the corridor. In more ways than one....
***As he started to open the door Anakin heard voices. His frown deepened. Familiar voice and they seemed to be arguing. He easily identified his Masters' deep accented tones, but the other was unexpected. "Padme?" Anakin thought. Something in him told him not to enter yet, so he waited, stretched out with the Force, and listened.
"Padme he must be told." Obi-Wan's firm voice overrode the softly feminine voice of the former queen. "And for more reason than that of OUR obligation to do so."
"I can't!" Padme cried, tears staining her face. "Don't you see?! What have we done? How can I confess something such as this to him? I'm his WIFE! And you're his best friend!"
"I know." Obi-Wan whispered. "Don't you think I know how hard this is going to be? But he has to be told. The Force....the Force is telling me this. For some reason, this is to be part of Anakin's destiny."
"It's his DESTINY?! His destiny to have his wife sleep with his former Master?! What kind of power is this Force, that it would subject its servants to this?"
Anakin went numb with shock. It couldn't be. He'd heard them wrong. Obi-Wan couldn't have slept with Padme.
"It was a mistake, Padme. Granted, a HUGE one, but there is nothing we can do about it now. If nothing else he deserves to be told BECAUSE he is my former student and because you are his wife."
His brain finally registered it. The emotions radiating off of Anakin could have been felt on the other side of the galaxy, and Obi-Wan was merely on the other side of the door. Ben stiffened in shock, then slumped and turned towards the partially opened door. Having seen his sudden jerk upwards, Padme followed his glance to the door and gasped. Through the crack she glimpsed one booted foot. Gasping she raced to the door, flinging it open entirely, and was greeted with the blankly staring form of her husband.
"Anakin! Anakin how much did you hear? Anakin it was a mistake! I'm sorry, please forgive me! I'm so sorry!"
The Jedi merely looked at her, his eyes still emotionless.
"Ani, please say something." She clutched at his tunic, sobbing into his chest. "Please Ani forgive me, I'm so sorry." His arms moved and for a moment Padme thought they would envelop her in his comforting embrace. Only for a moment, however. Strong hands gripped her arms and pushed her firmly away from him. At last his eyes revealed his emotions, as the naked hurt blazing forth from them caused her to flinch back. Turning his head, he glanced at the stricken form of his Master. Obi-Wan reached out a hand to Anakin and started to walk towards him, but Anakin let go of Padme, turned on his hell, and ran.
Suddenly without support, her legs gave way and Padme crumpled on the floor, her tears and her agony her only companions.***
Anakin's voice had finally given out, after yet another replay of his betrayal. Sobbing silently into the wall that supported him, Padme's face flashed briefly into his vision. Anakin stumbled to his feet, reaching out a terrified hand as if to ward off the apparition. "NO!" he screamed hoarsely. "GO! Leave me alone!" Anakin's legs again went boneless, and he fell to his knees on the floor. Another image flashed before his eyes, that of his wife, a dreamy and contented expression on her face, lying in the bed of his Master, wrapped in his embrace.
Something within him snapped. The Force whispered to him anew, but this was not the calm serenity of the Force that he knew. This was the raging inferno of emotion that was the Dark Side. Not having the strength to fight it, Anakin gave in. Raising his tear-streaked face skyward, Anakin screamed in hurt and in sheer murderous rage. The power detonated around him with the impact of a small bomb, enveloping him in an aura of pure Dark Side energy.
Obi-Wan, running to find his apprentice from the moment he had turn and fled, felt the severing of their bond. Horrified, Obi-Wan rounded a corner when he was knocked back by the force of a small explosion. Dazedly he raised himself up and looked around, only to see the kneeling form of his apprentice not 50 paces from him. Relief coursed through Obi-Wan as he realized Anakin hadn't killed himself, but then dawning horror overrode that relief, as he sensed the incredible power emanating off of the young Jedi. The Dark Side. Obi-Wan clambered to his feet.
"Anakin, I..." his words were cut short as his throat tightened at the look in his apprentice's eyes. Wordlessly Anakin levitated to his feet, his power increasing as his hate and his agony fueled the Dark Side of the Force. Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, he ignited the shimmering blue blade, and advanced on Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master reached for and ignited his own green blade. "Anakin please..." but that was all he got out before the young Knight was upon him. Whistling through the air, and with more power than Obi-Wan had ever encountered, Anakin's blade crashed again and again into Obi-Wan's, constantly pressuring him, putting him on the defensive. The two forms seemed to blur together, moving with Force-enhanced speed and grace. Student vs. Master. Friend vs. Friend. Light vs. Dark.
Hammering down implacably at Obi-Wan's head, Anakin sensed an opening. Sweeping his leg out, Anakin caught Ben's legs behind the knees, sending the Master tumbling to the ground. Reaching out with the Force, Anakin ripped Ben's lightsaber from his grip, hearing the crack of several fingers in the process. Holding the weapon in his right hand, he directed his new power at it, and in a crackle of lightning the lightsaber exploded into dust. Glancing down at his defeated foe, he lowered his lightsaber to Obi-Wan's throat. Ben closed his eyes, prepared to become one with the Force if this was his time. After a few seconds the blow never came, and he opened one eye. Anakin was standing over him, one foot on his chest, but with a faraway expression in his eyes, as if he was listening to a voice only he could hear. Nodding, he looked again at Obi-Wan, and deactivated his blade. "Not yet." He whispered, his eyes chips of blue ice. "Not now, and not here. But soon." Dropping the hilt onto Obi-Wan's chest, he turned, and stalked out of the Temple. The prophecy was one step closer to fulfillment. Balance one step closer to being achieved, and the galaxy was changed forever.
THE END
A Star Wars Short Story by Aaron Cedeno, aka Jedi Master Aaron
Pain.
It overwhelmed the heart of the young man stumbling down the gleaming corridors of the Jedi Temple, engulfing him in wave after wave of sheer desolation. Gasping to a halt when his legs wouldn't carry him anymore, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker stumbled and fell, collapsing in a boneless heap on the floor. He couldn't have seen what he just had. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. But his heart was verifying what his brain was denying. It had happened. It really had. Squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to control the fresh onslaught of tears, Anakin gasped in horror as the events of only moments ago played themselves out on the back of his eyelids, just like a holofilm. "No." he gasped through the sobbing. "No please. Not again..."
***Anakin, having been assigned a solo mission by the Jedi Council earlier that day, was roaming the halls of the Temple, searching for his former Master. He had a few questions about the planet to which he was being sent, Alderaan, having never been there but knowing that his Master had. Plus, Anakin liked to say goodbye to Obi-Wan before he went off-planet, for during the years of his training he had come to regard Obi-Wan as the father he literally never had, as well as his best and closest friend. "Well," the young Jedi thought with a smile, "nearly closest". That title belonged with Anakin's wife of less than a year, Senator Padme Naberrie from Naboo. Since their first meeting on Ani's home planet of Tatooine, the relationship had grown fast and furious, and when Anakin had reached his Knighthood, they had mutually decided to take their relationship to the next level. Anakin found happiness in his bonding with Padme that he had never expected out of life, a complete joining of souls. The two were not "two sides of the same coin", for that was too trite. Blaster and holster probably fit their relationship better, Anakin smiled ruefully.***
Curled into a fetal position on the cold hallway floor, Anakin continued to sob, his chest heaving in the intense fire of his sorrow. Tears continued to leave rivulets of ice down the flushed heat of his face.
***Stepping off the turbolift, Anakin turned down the hallway that would take him to Obi-Wan's rooms. Frowning slightly at seeing the door slightly ajar, Anakin reached out with the Force, sensing his Master's muffled presence on the other side, as if he was deliberately shielding. Reaching the door, he put his hand on the side to slide it fully open.***
"No, Force no, make it stop" Anakin whispered to himself. "How could they? How could they do this to me?!" the Jedi cried in agony. It was very late at night, or very early in the morning, and Anakin was alone in the corridor. In more ways than one....
***As he started to open the door Anakin heard voices. His frown deepened. Familiar voice and they seemed to be arguing. He easily identified his Masters' deep accented tones, but the other was unexpected. "Padme?" Anakin thought. Something in him told him not to enter yet, so he waited, stretched out with the Force, and listened.
"Padme he must be told." Obi-Wan's firm voice overrode the softly feminine voice of the former queen. "And for more reason than that of OUR obligation to do so."
"I can't!" Padme cried, tears staining her face. "Don't you see?! What have we done? How can I confess something such as this to him? I'm his WIFE! And you're his best friend!"
"I know." Obi-Wan whispered. "Don't you think I know how hard this is going to be? But he has to be told. The Force....the Force is telling me this. For some reason, this is to be part of Anakin's destiny."
"It's his DESTINY?! His destiny to have his wife sleep with his former Master?! What kind of power is this Force, that it would subject its servants to this?"
Anakin went numb with shock. It couldn't be. He'd heard them wrong. Obi-Wan couldn't have slept with Padme.
"It was a mistake, Padme. Granted, a HUGE one, but there is nothing we can do about it now. If nothing else he deserves to be told BECAUSE he is my former student and because you are his wife."
His brain finally registered it. The emotions radiating off of Anakin could have been felt on the other side of the galaxy, and Obi-Wan was merely on the other side of the door. Ben stiffened in shock, then slumped and turned towards the partially opened door. Having seen his sudden jerk upwards, Padme followed his glance to the door and gasped. Through the crack she glimpsed one booted foot. Gasping she raced to the door, flinging it open entirely, and was greeted with the blankly staring form of her husband.
"Anakin! Anakin how much did you hear? Anakin it was a mistake! I'm sorry, please forgive me! I'm so sorry!"
The Jedi merely looked at her, his eyes still emotionless.
"Ani, please say something." She clutched at his tunic, sobbing into his chest. "Please Ani forgive me, I'm so sorry." His arms moved and for a moment Padme thought they would envelop her in his comforting embrace. Only for a moment, however. Strong hands gripped her arms and pushed her firmly away from him. At last his eyes revealed his emotions, as the naked hurt blazing forth from them caused her to flinch back. Turning his head, he glanced at the stricken form of his Master. Obi-Wan reached out a hand to Anakin and started to walk towards him, but Anakin let go of Padme, turned on his hell, and ran.
Suddenly without support, her legs gave way and Padme crumpled on the floor, her tears and her agony her only companions.***
Anakin's voice had finally given out, after yet another replay of his betrayal. Sobbing silently into the wall that supported him, Padme's face flashed briefly into his vision. Anakin stumbled to his feet, reaching out a terrified hand as if to ward off the apparition. "NO!" he screamed hoarsely. "GO! Leave me alone!" Anakin's legs again went boneless, and he fell to his knees on the floor. Another image flashed before his eyes, that of his wife, a dreamy and contented expression on her face, lying in the bed of his Master, wrapped in his embrace.
Something within him snapped. The Force whispered to him anew, but this was not the calm serenity of the Force that he knew. This was the raging inferno of emotion that was the Dark Side. Not having the strength to fight it, Anakin gave in. Raising his tear-streaked face skyward, Anakin screamed in hurt and in sheer murderous rage. The power detonated around him with the impact of a small bomb, enveloping him in an aura of pure Dark Side energy.
Obi-Wan, running to find his apprentice from the moment he had turn and fled, felt the severing of their bond. Horrified, Obi-Wan rounded a corner when he was knocked back by the force of a small explosion. Dazedly he raised himself up and looked around, only to see the kneeling form of his apprentice not 50 paces from him. Relief coursed through Obi-Wan as he realized Anakin hadn't killed himself, but then dawning horror overrode that relief, as he sensed the incredible power emanating off of the young Jedi. The Dark Side. Obi-Wan clambered to his feet.
"Anakin, I..." his words were cut short as his throat tightened at the look in his apprentice's eyes. Wordlessly Anakin levitated to his feet, his power increasing as his hate and his agony fueled the Dark Side of the Force. Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, he ignited the shimmering blue blade, and advanced on Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master reached for and ignited his own green blade. "Anakin please..." but that was all he got out before the young Knight was upon him. Whistling through the air, and with more power than Obi-Wan had ever encountered, Anakin's blade crashed again and again into Obi-Wan's, constantly pressuring him, putting him on the defensive. The two forms seemed to blur together, moving with Force-enhanced speed and grace. Student vs. Master. Friend vs. Friend. Light vs. Dark.
Hammering down implacably at Obi-Wan's head, Anakin sensed an opening. Sweeping his leg out, Anakin caught Ben's legs behind the knees, sending the Master tumbling to the ground. Reaching out with the Force, Anakin ripped Ben's lightsaber from his grip, hearing the crack of several fingers in the process. Holding the weapon in his right hand, he directed his new power at it, and in a crackle of lightning the lightsaber exploded into dust. Glancing down at his defeated foe, he lowered his lightsaber to Obi-Wan's throat. Ben closed his eyes, prepared to become one with the Force if this was his time. After a few seconds the blow never came, and he opened one eye. Anakin was standing over him, one foot on his chest, but with a faraway expression in his eyes, as if he was listening to a voice only he could hear. Nodding, he looked again at Obi-Wan, and deactivated his blade. "Not yet." He whispered, his eyes chips of blue ice. "Not now, and not here. But soon." Dropping the hilt onto Obi-Wan's chest, he turned, and stalked out of the Temple. The prophecy was one step closer to fulfillment. Balance one step closer to being achieved, and the galaxy was changed forever.
THE END