Hi! Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I'm glad you're enjoying the
story so far. I hope that the latter part of this chapter isn't too weird.
I have to admit that I was in a rather weird mood when I wrote it. :) Next
part will be up Wednesday, August 21.
First Knight - Part Sixteen
---------------
Obi-Wan gently closed the door of the bedroom behind him. He couldn't see much of its decor or furnishings. The room was dim and filled with shadows that hunched in the corners. The drapes were drawn and only small, yellow glow lamps scattered about on tables provided any illumination. He wanted to run over, tear the drapes down and let the light in. That's what she needed, he thought. Not all this darkness and gloom as if she had already gone over to the other side.
He moved quietly over to the large bed. Onara's other aunt was sitting in a chair next to it. She was fast asleep, head lolling on her shoulder, her wrinkled face slack. Like K'lia and the others, the strain of the last few days was evidenced by her sunken cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes. Obi-Wan decided to let her rest. He turned back to the bed.
Onara's long, black hair spilled across the thick, white pillows heaped behind her. There were dark, crescent-shaped shadows under her closed eyes and her heart-shaped face was pale and drawn. She was breathing so softly Obi-Wan feared she was already gone. But he sensed her life energy through the Force, although it was terribly fragile, like the flame of a candle trying to stand against a hurricane. He leaned over and touched her cheek. Her skin was cool and soft.
He gently sat next to her on the bed. As much as he longed to take her into his arms, hear her sweet, clear voice, look into her dark, beautiful eyes, he let her rest. And, for long moments, he just sat there, drinking in the sight of her, going over the last few months, examining the days that had passed and the decisions he had made, wondering if there was anything he could have done to prevent this.
At one point, he heard the raised, angry voices of Anakin, K'lia and Lady Tsara in the sitting room, heard Tsara's confession as to what she had done to Onara, felt through the Force as Anakin ripped it from her, but none of that registered on Obi-Wan's awareness. None of that mattered. Nothing existed for him except Onara.
Then, eyelids fluttering, Onara slowly opened her eyes. They were dim and shadowed, with only a hint of the vivacity he had come to adore that night they had spent together.
"Obi-Wan?" she said softly. "Am I dreaming?"
"No dream. I'm here, love, I'm here," Obi-Wan whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead.
She smiled weakly and tried to lift her hand from the bed. He took it and raised it to his lips as he softly kissed her fingers. His heart ached as he touched them. They were so thin and fragile.
"I was so afraid...you wouldn't...want to see me," she said.
"Never, ever think such a thing again."
"Then you...don't hate me? For going with Edress?"
"Hate you? Love, I could never hate you." He stroked her cheek. "I was so proud of you at that moment, even as it tore my heart to see you go with him.
Onara smiled, then closed her eyes. Obi-Wan saw she was trying desperately to hold onto the thin filament of life that was binding her to this existence. She opened her eyes again.
"Have you seen....my son?"
"Not yet, but I'm looking forward very much to seeing our son."
Onara's eyes widened. "You know?"
Obi-Wan nodded as he kissed her hand.
"I should have been here, love. I'm so sorry. I should have known it, sensed it somehow. Forgive me."
"No, forgive me. I should have....told you. But I didn't want you...to be dishonored."
"Shhhh," Obi-Wan said as he reached over and gently stroked her hair. "None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get well."
Onara closed her eyes, her throat working. Obi-Wan held her hand tighter. Master Yoda often said he was one of the strongest, most powerful Jedi he had ever trained. Surely, Obi-Wan thought desperately, that should count for something. Onara opened her eyes again and gazed warmly up at him.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, love."
She smiled widely and, for a moment, he was reminded of how she had twirled about on the grass after he had leapt with her from the bridal chamber, her laughter as bright as the stars.
"Do you remember the Katarra...how they danced?"
"Yes, I do," Obi-Wan answered, his eyes gazing deeply into hers.
"And the valkon?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"And I remember how bravely you fought it," he said, smiling softly down at her.
"And the rain. It was so cold....so cold."
She shivered and Obi-Wan gently took her into his arms and held her close to his chest.
"Yes, and I remember how you felt in my arms in the rain. I remember everything about that night, Onara. Everything."
"I regret...nothing, Obi-Wan," she whispered as she gazed up at him, her breath soft against his face, her dark eyes full. "Nothing. These past months...have been the happiest of my life. Knowing that...inside me...a part of you, a part of that night...was with me."
"I was always with you, Onara," he said, his chest aching. "You were always in my thoughts. Always"
Onara reached up and tried to cup his face, but there was no strength in her arm. Obi-Wan took her hand and placed it along his cheek. Her fingers moved slowly over his lips.
"I love you, Obi-Wan," she whispered. "I love you...so much."
"And I love you, Onara. I shall always love you."
Onara smiled and slowly closed her eyes. Obi-Wan felt her life force slipping away. He desperately squeezed her hand. She opened her eyes.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, love?"
"Promise me. Don't let..._her_...near our son."
"Don't worry, love. I swear that Tsara will never harm our son the way she has harmed you," he said, a sob breaking his voice, the tears flowing down his face.
Onara stroked his wet cheeks.
"I...did not know...the Jedi cried," she whispered.
Obi-Wan's throat was so tight he could hardly speak.
"They do, love. They do."
Then, as he held Onara's hand where it lay soft and cool against his cheek, he suddenly felt no pulse in her fingers. He squeezed them hard, but there was nothing, nothing.
Obi-Wan's body stiffened in shock. No! Eo had said she had a few days! He looked down into Onara's eyes. They were as black and empty as that of a doll's. And, as Obi-Wan sensed the spark that had been her life force slipping away, he felt that same black, empty coldness which had engulfed him when his master had died in his arms on Naboo.
No, not again, he wailed in his heart as he held Onara tight, his eyes so full of tears he could hardly see her. No, no, it wasn't fair! Not again, please, not again!
"Onara! Onara! No. NO!"
-----------
As Anakin held the sobbing K'lia to his chest, he heard and felt through the Force Obi-Wan's tortured howl of denial. His instinct was to run to his master, but he didn't want to leave K'lia. However, the Dynast, having heard Obi-Wan's cry, was instantly on his feet. He ran to the bedroom door and flung it open, Anakin fast on his heels.
At first Anakin couldn't make out anything in the dimly lit room. Then he saw his master. Obi-Wan was sitting on the bed, rocking Onara in his arms, her long, dark hair pooling onto the bed. As Anakin walked further into the room he saw Onara's other aunt. She was standing next to the bed, eyes wide with grief and horror, hands clutched to her mouth as she sobbed.
Anakin looked back at Obi-Wan. He had seen his master sad, irritated, frustrated, but he had never seen him like this. And, as Anakin continued to gaze sadly at his grieving master, he sensed a disturbance in the Force. Obi-Wan was calling upon the Force with all his strength, wrapping it around Onara like a blanket, trying to use it, Anakin realized with dismay, to give life back to her.
"Onara," Obi-Wan cried, his voice muffled, for his face was buried in her neck. "Please, love, come back. Come back. I promise I won't leave you this time. I promise."
Hot tears filled Anakin's eyes. _Don't, Master, don't do this. She's gone. She's gone_.
-----------------
Obi-Wan trembled wildly as he called upon the Force with all his might. Never in all his years as a Jedi had he called upon as he was doing now, with everything that he was, everything that he had been, and everything that he would be. Fueled by the horrendous realization that just as he had discovered the joy and the beauty and the strength that was love, he had lost it, Obi-Wan was filled, not only with a profound and soul-shattering grief, but with hatred and rage.
Rage at Lady Tsara, rage at Edress, rage at the universe, rage at himself. For it was his fault. Of that he had no doubt. He should never have gone through with the blessing ceremony. If he had left Ahjane without ever having held Onara in his arms, none of this would have happened, and all of Lady Tsara's scheming would have come to naught. And Onara would be alive.
Obi-Wan's anger burned in him like the sun, consuming him and leaving nothing but the power of his grief and his rage. And, even as he recognized that power, dark and terrible as it was, he did not shun it. He let it flow into him, vast and potent, cold and empty, and the dark power filled Obi- Wan and he reveled in it.
---------------
Far away on Coruscant, in his private chamber in the Jedi Temple, Jedi Master Yoda sat on his meditation cushion. He was alone, as was customary with his evening meditations. Hours before he had been in assembly with the Jedi Council to discuss, not only its customary topics of missions and assignments and the ramifications of events unfolding within the Republic, but what should be done regarding the failure of Master Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker to appear before the Council as they had been ordered. Yoda had sat quietly and listened as the Council members discussed the matter, some recommending a formal reprimand, others suggesting punishment either more lenient or more harsh.
Once the discussion had died down, all had looked to him and Master Windu, as the senior members of the Council, for the final decision. Master Windu had, surprisingly, said nothing. Maybe he was, as many of the other Council members were, still too shaken at Obi-Wan's actions.
Never in all his years as a master to Anakin had Obi-Wan ever failed to answer a summons from the Council. In light of that, and for reasons of his own, Yoda had recommended that, for the time being, nothing be done. Once Master Obi-Wan and his padawan returned from wherever they had gone, the matter would then be taken up and appropriate punishment assigned.
Now, as Yoda continued to meditate, he sensed through the Force a great disturbance. He shivered, drawing his robe closer about him, his face twisting as darts of pain shot through his body. Then, his heart sinking, he recognized the source of the disturbance.
No, no, the little Jedi Master, wailed in his heart. Not Obi-Wan! Surely not Obi-Wan!
Yoda did not know the particulars of what was happening to the Jedi Knight, but he could sense that, as a result, Obi-Wan was allowing himself to succumb to the dark side of the Force. Shock and horror raced through Yoda. Never in all his visions of the future had he ever seen such a thing happening. Yoda had sensed Anakin's potential for such a turning. But not Obi-Wan. Never Obi-Wan.
What has happened? Yoda wondered, an icy fear flooding his veins. What could drive a Jedi Knight of such strength of will and devotion to the Jedi Order as Obi-Wan Kenobi to such a terrible and grievous act? Then, Yoda knew, and as he lowered his head, he grieved.
---------
As Anakin watched his master, shoulders hunched, clutching Onara's lifeless body to his chest, his heart stuttered. Eyes wide, he looked over at Master Eo. He saw the Jedi Healer sensed it too. Obi-Wan was calling upon the dark side of the Force. Anakin rushed over to the bed, but he was unsure as to what to do.
Obi-Wan's eyes were closed, sweat beading on his forehead, his body shaking as he continued to channel the Force into Onara, but now it was dark and cold, filled with chaos and fury and grief.
Anakin looked back at Eo. Goosebumps bubbled over his skin. The Jedi Healer had unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. Anakin knew that the Healer, as was his duty, would not hesitate to strike Obi-Wan down if his master totally succumbed to the dark side.
Anakin looked over at K'lia and Onara's aunts. They had no idea what was happening. Locked as they were in their own sorrow, they saw only a heartbroken man grieving over the body of their daughter and niece. They were totally oblivious to the wider implications of what was occurring.
His heart hammering in his chest, Anakin felt as if he was in the midst of some horrible nightmare. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. But it was. He was going to lose his master to the dark side of the Force and then have to watch as Master Eo did his duty and killed Obi-Wan before he could destroy them all.
Helpless anger surged through Anakin but, just as quickly, he suppressed it. No, that was not what was needed. If he hoped to save his master's soul and his life, he could not fight fire with fire. He calmed himself, doing as Obi-Wan had taught him over the years when Anakin had been in danger of being consumed by his anger.
Once he was in control of himself, he reached over and put his hands on Obi- Wan's shoulders. He closed his eyes and reached out towards the Force but, as he did, he filled himself, not with the darkness and anger his master was calling upon, but with light and love.
Anakin let himself imagine every moment of light and love he had ever experienced in his life. And, as he did, in his mind's eye he saw his mother, Shmi, humming softly to herself in their hovel on Tatooine as she worked on the machinery she repaired for Watto. He saw her wink and smile at him as he played on the dusty floor. Then he saw Padme, disguised as a handmaiden, covering him with a blanket when they had been on their way to Coruscant, after he had confessed how much he missed his mother, and the way she had gently comforted him, her dark eyes full of warmth.
Anakin saw all of this and more as the memories filled him and strengthened him, but not with the darkness his master was drawing unto himself, lost as he was in his grief and anger, but with the light. And Anakin channeled that light to his master, pouring it into Obi-Wan with all of his power which, Anakin knew, was considerable. No one had as strong a connection to the Force as he had. No one.
-----------
Obi-Wan was lost in the howling maelstrom of his grief and anger. He imagined he heard the voices of past Jedi crying out to him, one of them sounding eerily like Qui-Gon, shouting at him to stop, but some of them, a few of them, encouraging him and promising him that once he had given himself completely to the dark side, there would be nothing he would not be able to do. He would no longer feel as helpless and as powerless as he did now. It was those voices Obi-Wan was now heeding.
With the dark side fueling him, Obi-Wan's consciousness ripped through the veil that separated life from death. His awareness searched frantically through the void, hunting for that tiny spark that had once been Onara. The winds of oblivion howled about Obi-Wan as his spirit cried out to Onara through that whirling tempest of nothingness.
Then, miraculously, he sensed her. She had not yet completely disappeared into the abyss. The flame of her life force, tiny and fragile, flickered just on the edge of Obi-Wan's awareness. He sped towards that tiny, golden spark but, as he drew nearer, crying out to her, Onara's life spirit darted away from him.
Horrified, Obi-Wan realized she was frightened of him, of the hate and the anger he was emanating; the very hate and anger that had given him the power to pierce the veil between life and death and find her.
Despair ripped through Obi-Wan's soul and he howled, nearly insane with the knowledge that the one thing, the power of the dark side, which, beyond all hope, had brought him to Onara, piercing the very veil of death, was now frightening her away. He watched in anguish as her spirit fled from him. Desperately, he tried to rid himself of the dark power he had taken unto himself, but he couldn't. He was too far gone in its embrace.
Then, just as Obi-Wan saw the flame of Onara's spirit beginning to fade to nothingness in the distance, he felt a rush of power. Like a river that had overflowed its banks bringing water to a drought-stricken land, like the sun streaming through cloud-shrouded skies, bringing hope to a world covered in darkness, the light side of the Force flowed through Obi-Wan.
The power sweeping through him washed away all the darkness and all the rage, leaving only light and love. And, as he recognized the source of that power, Obi-Wan's spirit was filled with both wonder and pride. It was Anakin. His padawan, the boy Qui-Gon had so passionately believed was the Chosen One, was channeling the light side of the Force into him, bringing Obi-Wan back from the darkness.
Obi-Wan's consciousness was once again filled with light, and it blazed in the darkness that was the barrier between life and death. Fueled now by his padawan's powerful connection to the Force, and the strength and the joy that was his love for Onara, Obi-Wan's awareness shone in the void like a newly-born star. With his life-force now as clear and as pure as a silver trumpet, Obi-Wan once again called out to Onara's spirit.
And she answered.
To be continued...
First Knight - Part Sixteen
---------------
Obi-Wan gently closed the door of the bedroom behind him. He couldn't see much of its decor or furnishings. The room was dim and filled with shadows that hunched in the corners. The drapes were drawn and only small, yellow glow lamps scattered about on tables provided any illumination. He wanted to run over, tear the drapes down and let the light in. That's what she needed, he thought. Not all this darkness and gloom as if she had already gone over to the other side.
He moved quietly over to the large bed. Onara's other aunt was sitting in a chair next to it. She was fast asleep, head lolling on her shoulder, her wrinkled face slack. Like K'lia and the others, the strain of the last few days was evidenced by her sunken cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes. Obi-Wan decided to let her rest. He turned back to the bed.
Onara's long, black hair spilled across the thick, white pillows heaped behind her. There were dark, crescent-shaped shadows under her closed eyes and her heart-shaped face was pale and drawn. She was breathing so softly Obi-Wan feared she was already gone. But he sensed her life energy through the Force, although it was terribly fragile, like the flame of a candle trying to stand against a hurricane. He leaned over and touched her cheek. Her skin was cool and soft.
He gently sat next to her on the bed. As much as he longed to take her into his arms, hear her sweet, clear voice, look into her dark, beautiful eyes, he let her rest. And, for long moments, he just sat there, drinking in the sight of her, going over the last few months, examining the days that had passed and the decisions he had made, wondering if there was anything he could have done to prevent this.
At one point, he heard the raised, angry voices of Anakin, K'lia and Lady Tsara in the sitting room, heard Tsara's confession as to what she had done to Onara, felt through the Force as Anakin ripped it from her, but none of that registered on Obi-Wan's awareness. None of that mattered. Nothing existed for him except Onara.
Then, eyelids fluttering, Onara slowly opened her eyes. They were dim and shadowed, with only a hint of the vivacity he had come to adore that night they had spent together.
"Obi-Wan?" she said softly. "Am I dreaming?"
"No dream. I'm here, love, I'm here," Obi-Wan whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead.
She smiled weakly and tried to lift her hand from the bed. He took it and raised it to his lips as he softly kissed her fingers. His heart ached as he touched them. They were so thin and fragile.
"I was so afraid...you wouldn't...want to see me," she said.
"Never, ever think such a thing again."
"Then you...don't hate me? For going with Edress?"
"Hate you? Love, I could never hate you." He stroked her cheek. "I was so proud of you at that moment, even as it tore my heart to see you go with him.
Onara smiled, then closed her eyes. Obi-Wan saw she was trying desperately to hold onto the thin filament of life that was binding her to this existence. She opened her eyes again.
"Have you seen....my son?"
"Not yet, but I'm looking forward very much to seeing our son."
Onara's eyes widened. "You know?"
Obi-Wan nodded as he kissed her hand.
"I should have been here, love. I'm so sorry. I should have known it, sensed it somehow. Forgive me."
"No, forgive me. I should have....told you. But I didn't want you...to be dishonored."
"Shhhh," Obi-Wan said as he reached over and gently stroked her hair. "None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get well."
Onara closed her eyes, her throat working. Obi-Wan held her hand tighter. Master Yoda often said he was one of the strongest, most powerful Jedi he had ever trained. Surely, Obi-Wan thought desperately, that should count for something. Onara opened her eyes again and gazed warmly up at him.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, love."
She smiled widely and, for a moment, he was reminded of how she had twirled about on the grass after he had leapt with her from the bridal chamber, her laughter as bright as the stars.
"Do you remember the Katarra...how they danced?"
"Yes, I do," Obi-Wan answered, his eyes gazing deeply into hers.
"And the valkon?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"And I remember how bravely you fought it," he said, smiling softly down at her.
"And the rain. It was so cold....so cold."
She shivered and Obi-Wan gently took her into his arms and held her close to his chest.
"Yes, and I remember how you felt in my arms in the rain. I remember everything about that night, Onara. Everything."
"I regret...nothing, Obi-Wan," she whispered as she gazed up at him, her breath soft against his face, her dark eyes full. "Nothing. These past months...have been the happiest of my life. Knowing that...inside me...a part of you, a part of that night...was with me."
"I was always with you, Onara," he said, his chest aching. "You were always in my thoughts. Always"
Onara reached up and tried to cup his face, but there was no strength in her arm. Obi-Wan took her hand and placed it along his cheek. Her fingers moved slowly over his lips.
"I love you, Obi-Wan," she whispered. "I love you...so much."
"And I love you, Onara. I shall always love you."
Onara smiled and slowly closed her eyes. Obi-Wan felt her life force slipping away. He desperately squeezed her hand. She opened her eyes.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, love?"
"Promise me. Don't let..._her_...near our son."
"Don't worry, love. I swear that Tsara will never harm our son the way she has harmed you," he said, a sob breaking his voice, the tears flowing down his face.
Onara stroked his wet cheeks.
"I...did not know...the Jedi cried," she whispered.
Obi-Wan's throat was so tight he could hardly speak.
"They do, love. They do."
Then, as he held Onara's hand where it lay soft and cool against his cheek, he suddenly felt no pulse in her fingers. He squeezed them hard, but there was nothing, nothing.
Obi-Wan's body stiffened in shock. No! Eo had said she had a few days! He looked down into Onara's eyes. They were as black and empty as that of a doll's. And, as Obi-Wan sensed the spark that had been her life force slipping away, he felt that same black, empty coldness which had engulfed him when his master had died in his arms on Naboo.
No, not again, he wailed in his heart as he held Onara tight, his eyes so full of tears he could hardly see her. No, no, it wasn't fair! Not again, please, not again!
"Onara! Onara! No. NO!"
-----------
As Anakin held the sobbing K'lia to his chest, he heard and felt through the Force Obi-Wan's tortured howl of denial. His instinct was to run to his master, but he didn't want to leave K'lia. However, the Dynast, having heard Obi-Wan's cry, was instantly on his feet. He ran to the bedroom door and flung it open, Anakin fast on his heels.
At first Anakin couldn't make out anything in the dimly lit room. Then he saw his master. Obi-Wan was sitting on the bed, rocking Onara in his arms, her long, dark hair pooling onto the bed. As Anakin walked further into the room he saw Onara's other aunt. She was standing next to the bed, eyes wide with grief and horror, hands clutched to her mouth as she sobbed.
Anakin looked back at Obi-Wan. He had seen his master sad, irritated, frustrated, but he had never seen him like this. And, as Anakin continued to gaze sadly at his grieving master, he sensed a disturbance in the Force. Obi-Wan was calling upon the Force with all his strength, wrapping it around Onara like a blanket, trying to use it, Anakin realized with dismay, to give life back to her.
"Onara," Obi-Wan cried, his voice muffled, for his face was buried in her neck. "Please, love, come back. Come back. I promise I won't leave you this time. I promise."
Hot tears filled Anakin's eyes. _Don't, Master, don't do this. She's gone. She's gone_.
-----------------
Obi-Wan trembled wildly as he called upon the Force with all his might. Never in all his years as a Jedi had he called upon as he was doing now, with everything that he was, everything that he had been, and everything that he would be. Fueled by the horrendous realization that just as he had discovered the joy and the beauty and the strength that was love, he had lost it, Obi-Wan was filled, not only with a profound and soul-shattering grief, but with hatred and rage.
Rage at Lady Tsara, rage at Edress, rage at the universe, rage at himself. For it was his fault. Of that he had no doubt. He should never have gone through with the blessing ceremony. If he had left Ahjane without ever having held Onara in his arms, none of this would have happened, and all of Lady Tsara's scheming would have come to naught. And Onara would be alive.
Obi-Wan's anger burned in him like the sun, consuming him and leaving nothing but the power of his grief and his rage. And, even as he recognized that power, dark and terrible as it was, he did not shun it. He let it flow into him, vast and potent, cold and empty, and the dark power filled Obi- Wan and he reveled in it.
---------------
Far away on Coruscant, in his private chamber in the Jedi Temple, Jedi Master Yoda sat on his meditation cushion. He was alone, as was customary with his evening meditations. Hours before he had been in assembly with the Jedi Council to discuss, not only its customary topics of missions and assignments and the ramifications of events unfolding within the Republic, but what should be done regarding the failure of Master Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker to appear before the Council as they had been ordered. Yoda had sat quietly and listened as the Council members discussed the matter, some recommending a formal reprimand, others suggesting punishment either more lenient or more harsh.
Once the discussion had died down, all had looked to him and Master Windu, as the senior members of the Council, for the final decision. Master Windu had, surprisingly, said nothing. Maybe he was, as many of the other Council members were, still too shaken at Obi-Wan's actions.
Never in all his years as a master to Anakin had Obi-Wan ever failed to answer a summons from the Council. In light of that, and for reasons of his own, Yoda had recommended that, for the time being, nothing be done. Once Master Obi-Wan and his padawan returned from wherever they had gone, the matter would then be taken up and appropriate punishment assigned.
Now, as Yoda continued to meditate, he sensed through the Force a great disturbance. He shivered, drawing his robe closer about him, his face twisting as darts of pain shot through his body. Then, his heart sinking, he recognized the source of the disturbance.
No, no, the little Jedi Master, wailed in his heart. Not Obi-Wan! Surely not Obi-Wan!
Yoda did not know the particulars of what was happening to the Jedi Knight, but he could sense that, as a result, Obi-Wan was allowing himself to succumb to the dark side of the Force. Shock and horror raced through Yoda. Never in all his visions of the future had he ever seen such a thing happening. Yoda had sensed Anakin's potential for such a turning. But not Obi-Wan. Never Obi-Wan.
What has happened? Yoda wondered, an icy fear flooding his veins. What could drive a Jedi Knight of such strength of will and devotion to the Jedi Order as Obi-Wan Kenobi to such a terrible and grievous act? Then, Yoda knew, and as he lowered his head, he grieved.
---------
As Anakin watched his master, shoulders hunched, clutching Onara's lifeless body to his chest, his heart stuttered. Eyes wide, he looked over at Master Eo. He saw the Jedi Healer sensed it too. Obi-Wan was calling upon the dark side of the Force. Anakin rushed over to the bed, but he was unsure as to what to do.
Obi-Wan's eyes were closed, sweat beading on his forehead, his body shaking as he continued to channel the Force into Onara, but now it was dark and cold, filled with chaos and fury and grief.
Anakin looked back at Eo. Goosebumps bubbled over his skin. The Jedi Healer had unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. Anakin knew that the Healer, as was his duty, would not hesitate to strike Obi-Wan down if his master totally succumbed to the dark side.
Anakin looked over at K'lia and Onara's aunts. They had no idea what was happening. Locked as they were in their own sorrow, they saw only a heartbroken man grieving over the body of their daughter and niece. They were totally oblivious to the wider implications of what was occurring.
His heart hammering in his chest, Anakin felt as if he was in the midst of some horrible nightmare. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. But it was. He was going to lose his master to the dark side of the Force and then have to watch as Master Eo did his duty and killed Obi-Wan before he could destroy them all.
Helpless anger surged through Anakin but, just as quickly, he suppressed it. No, that was not what was needed. If he hoped to save his master's soul and his life, he could not fight fire with fire. He calmed himself, doing as Obi-Wan had taught him over the years when Anakin had been in danger of being consumed by his anger.
Once he was in control of himself, he reached over and put his hands on Obi- Wan's shoulders. He closed his eyes and reached out towards the Force but, as he did, he filled himself, not with the darkness and anger his master was calling upon, but with light and love.
Anakin let himself imagine every moment of light and love he had ever experienced in his life. And, as he did, in his mind's eye he saw his mother, Shmi, humming softly to herself in their hovel on Tatooine as she worked on the machinery she repaired for Watto. He saw her wink and smile at him as he played on the dusty floor. Then he saw Padme, disguised as a handmaiden, covering him with a blanket when they had been on their way to Coruscant, after he had confessed how much he missed his mother, and the way she had gently comforted him, her dark eyes full of warmth.
Anakin saw all of this and more as the memories filled him and strengthened him, but not with the darkness his master was drawing unto himself, lost as he was in his grief and anger, but with the light. And Anakin channeled that light to his master, pouring it into Obi-Wan with all of his power which, Anakin knew, was considerable. No one had as strong a connection to the Force as he had. No one.
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Obi-Wan was lost in the howling maelstrom of his grief and anger. He imagined he heard the voices of past Jedi crying out to him, one of them sounding eerily like Qui-Gon, shouting at him to stop, but some of them, a few of them, encouraging him and promising him that once he had given himself completely to the dark side, there would be nothing he would not be able to do. He would no longer feel as helpless and as powerless as he did now. It was those voices Obi-Wan was now heeding.
With the dark side fueling him, Obi-Wan's consciousness ripped through the veil that separated life from death. His awareness searched frantically through the void, hunting for that tiny spark that had once been Onara. The winds of oblivion howled about Obi-Wan as his spirit cried out to Onara through that whirling tempest of nothingness.
Then, miraculously, he sensed her. She had not yet completely disappeared into the abyss. The flame of her life force, tiny and fragile, flickered just on the edge of Obi-Wan's awareness. He sped towards that tiny, golden spark but, as he drew nearer, crying out to her, Onara's life spirit darted away from him.
Horrified, Obi-Wan realized she was frightened of him, of the hate and the anger he was emanating; the very hate and anger that had given him the power to pierce the veil between life and death and find her.
Despair ripped through Obi-Wan's soul and he howled, nearly insane with the knowledge that the one thing, the power of the dark side, which, beyond all hope, had brought him to Onara, piercing the very veil of death, was now frightening her away. He watched in anguish as her spirit fled from him. Desperately, he tried to rid himself of the dark power he had taken unto himself, but he couldn't. He was too far gone in its embrace.
Then, just as Obi-Wan saw the flame of Onara's spirit beginning to fade to nothingness in the distance, he felt a rush of power. Like a river that had overflowed its banks bringing water to a drought-stricken land, like the sun streaming through cloud-shrouded skies, bringing hope to a world covered in darkness, the light side of the Force flowed through Obi-Wan.
The power sweeping through him washed away all the darkness and all the rage, leaving only light and love. And, as he recognized the source of that power, Obi-Wan's spirit was filled with both wonder and pride. It was Anakin. His padawan, the boy Qui-Gon had so passionately believed was the Chosen One, was channeling the light side of the Force into him, bringing Obi-Wan back from the darkness.
Obi-Wan's consciousness was once again filled with light, and it blazed in the darkness that was the barrier between life and death. Fueled now by his padawan's powerful connection to the Force, and the strength and the joy that was his love for Onara, Obi-Wan's awareness shone in the void like a newly-born star. With his life-force now as clear and as pure as a silver trumpet, Obi-Wan once again called out to Onara's spirit.
And she answered.
To be continued...