First Knight - Part Seventeen
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"Now, now, Master Jedi, you must watch his little head."
Anakin bit his lip to keep from laughing as he watched Gendra trying to help Obi-Wan hold his son. Hearing soft laughter, Anakin turned and looked over at the bed.
Onara was smiling at Obi-Wan and their baby, her face, though still pale and drawn, glowing with love. By some miracle that Anakin had yet to understand, she was alive, although still very weak. Master Eo was hovering over her, examining her with both the Force and his medical instruments.
K'lia was sitting on the bed next to Onara, holding her hand, just as he had ever since he had realized, beyond all hope, that his daughter was alive. It looked to Anakin as if the Dynast had shed years of aging. His eyes were bright and young-looking, and he also laughed as Obi-Wan nervously tried to hold the baby.
Anakin shook his head as he moved next to his master. He had seen Obi-wan face down drug-crazed terror-troops, successfully negotiate treaties between factions that had been enemies for centuries, and perform feats with the Force that still dazzled Anakin. Yet, when it came to something as simple as holding a newborn, he was as helpless as a kitten.
But, Obi-Wan had never spent any time around children. Anakin had. There had been lots of babies in the slave quarters, and Shmi had sometimes looked after them. As Anakin had been fascinated by the tiny, helpless things, his mother had taught him how to care for them.
"Here, Master, let me help you," he said, pleased he could teach Obi-Wan something instead of the other way around.
"You want to make sure you keep his head there," Anakin went on as he gently moved Obi-Wan's arm until the baby's head was lying on his master's firm bicep.
"Good. Now, you want to cushion his little body along your forearm like this. Yes, just like that. Perfect!" Anakin cried as he stepped away. "See, much better, Master."
Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin. "Thank you, Padawan."
"No, no, Master," Anakin said, shaking his head. "Don't look at me. Look at the baby. They like to see faces."
"Oh, sorry," Obi-Wan said.
He turned and looked down at his son. The baby, who had yet to be named, had Onara's glossy black hair and Obi-Wan's blue-gray eyes.
"Why, look, Master Jedi," Onara's elderly aunt, whom Anakin had learned was named Rylea, cooed. "He knows you!"
Anakin looked over and started. The baby was gazing quietly up at Obi-Wan, his eyes, so much like his father's, locked on Obi-Wan's. And, if Anakin hadn't known there was no way a newborn could do so, he could have sworn the two were sharing some private communication.
As Anakin watched Obi-Wan tenderly holding his son, he let himself note the changes in his master. Only a short time had passed since Obi-Wan's brush with the dark side of the Force, but the effects of that encounter were clearly evident, not just emotionally, but physically.
There were streaks of white in Obi-Wan's beard and along the temples of his ginger-colored hair. Fine lines emanated from his blue-gray eyes, but it was the changes within Obi-Wan that concerned Anakin the most. There was now a mark on his spirit, a remnant, so to speak, of the dark side he had called upon in the depths of his despair.
But now, as Obi-Wan gazed warmly down at his son, at least for the time being, that shadowy blemish was gone. Obi-Wan reached over and gently stroked his son's round, soft cheek, even as the baby continued to gaze up at him. Anakin smiled as he watched what his master was doing. Then, to his delight and Obi-Wan's bewilderment, the baby began rubbing the side of his tiny face against Obi-Wan's tunic, his mouth opening.
"Oh-oh, Master, you shouldn't have done that."
"What? What did I do?" Obi-Wan asked, looking worriedly over at Anakin.
"I think you'd better give him to one of the aunts."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"By stroking his cheek like that, he thinks you're getting ready to feed him. And unless, " and Anakin shrugged, smiling widely, "you've got something hidden under your tunic that I don't know about that can...."
"Oh, I see," Obi-Wan said, the embarrassment clear on his face.
Everyone laughed as he quickly handed the baby over to Gendra.
"Don't worry, Master Jedi," she said with a broad smile as she took her grand-nephew into her arms. "We have a wet-nurse for him. He'll not starve."
Gendra went over to the bed, leaning over so Onara could kiss her son goodbye. She did so, her fingers softly stroking his face. Then she looked over at Obi-Wan, and the two exchanged a look that made Anakin's heart beat madly in his chest and the blood rush through his veins.
K'lia, who was still sitting next to Onara, reached over and gently cupped his aged-spotted hand about his grandson's tiny head. Gendra rose up, and turning, left the bedroom to take the baby to nursery. Her sister, Rylea, who had assigned herself as Onara's personal nurse, remained.
"He's beautiful, Master."
Obi-Wan turned away from Onara and looked over at Anakin, his eyes full of warmth and pride.
"Yes, like his mother."
He turned back and smiled at Onara. Anakin still couldn't believe she was alive. He had clearly sensed the absence of her life force when he had run into the room after hearing Obi-Wan's agonizing cry of despair, but here she was. Alive. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Obi-Wan walked over to the bed. K'lia smiled as the Jedi approached. Squeezing Onara's hand and kissing her forehead, the Dynast rose and let Obi-Wan take his place. The Jedi Knight sat gently next to Onara. And, from the way he was looking at her, it was clear he too could not believe she was alive.
At first Obi-Wan just gazed silently down at Onara; then, reaching up, he slowly ran his fingers through her dark hair, gingerly touched her face and her hands, and drew the tips of his fingers along her arms, as if wanting to convince himself she truly was here.
Then, totally oblivious to everyone else in the room, Obi-Wan leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Anakin blushed. He had never seen his master kiss anyone before. Onara returned his kiss. As Obi-Wan pulled away, she reached up and caressed the white in his beard and along his temples.
"My poor dear," she whispered.
Obi-Wan took her hand and kissed her fingertips. Again, Anakin felt a warmth suffusing his face. He looked away, feeling as if he should not be here, as if none of them should be here, that Onara and Obi-Wan should be left alone. Then he heard and saw Master Eo sharply clear his throat and snap shut his medical-pad.
"My patient needs her rest," he announced, the firmness of his watery- sounding voice leaving no doubt that rest was what she needed and rest was what she was going to get.
Obi-Wan leaned over and kissed Onara one more time. She smiled up at him. Rising from the bed, he continued to hold her hand until just the tips of their fingers were touching. Then, with what Anakin could see was with the greatest reluctance, he let go. Onara's dark eyes gazed longingly up at him.
"Don't worry, love," Obi-Wan told her in answer. "I'll be here when you wake. I promise."
Onara smiled up at him. Master Eo leaned over and placed his suction- fingered hands along her forehead. He looked over at K'lia.
"I'm going to use the Force," he explained, "to help her sleep."
K'lia nodded. Eo looked down at Onara, his face tentacles waving gently.
"Do not be afraid," he said to her.
"I'm not," she said as she gazed up at him.
Anakin felt the healer calling gently upon the Force. Onara's eyes slowly closed. Rylea went over and adjusted the pillows so that Onara was lying more comfortably, pulling the bedcover over her.
Eo removed his hands from Onara's forehead. Gesturing to Obi-Wan, Anakin and K'lia, he directed them out to the sitting room, leaving Rylea with Onara. Once they were in the sitting room, Eo closed the door to Onara's bedroom. Then, for a moment, he gazed quietly at the three of them.
"Is she going to be all right?" Obi-Wan asked, breaking the silence.
"Never in all my years as a Healer and as a Jedi," Eo began, the awe evident in his throaty voice, "have I witnessed such a thing as happened here today."
He stopped for a moment, his face tentacles wriggling rapidly. "It is most unprecedented," he finished softly.
"What about Onara?" Obi-Wan insisted, his voice tightening. "Is she going to be all right?"
Eo sighed. "Yes, for the moment."
Anakin frowned and saw the same expression on Obi-Wan and K'lia's faces.
"For the moment?" he blurted out.
Eo turned and looked at him. "Yes, Padawan Skywalker. For the moment."
"Master Eo," Obi-Wan said, "I don't understand."
Eo shrugged his broad shoulders as he looked over at Obi-Wan, his turquoise eyes reflecting his puzzlement.
"Neither do I. She is alive, when she should be dead. What you and Padawan Skywalker did in there---."
"Me?" Anakin cried.
"Oh, yes, you," Eo said, nodding. "Your master could not have brought her spirit back from the abyss without your help. It was the two of you together who have given her this chance."
"Chance?" K'lia interjected. "What do you mean by chance?"
"Your daughter is not out of the woods yet, Dynast K'lia. She is still deathly ill."
"What? But, she's alive," Anakin cried, staggered by the thought that all that his master had risked, his soul, his very life, was for naught.
"Yes, she's alive," Eo agreed. "But only for a short while."
Anakin couldn't believe it. What had seemed a miracle had turned out to be nothing more than a horrible deception. Onara was still going to die. He looked over at Obi-Wan and K'lia. The Dynast was shaking his white-haired head, his gaze fastened on the floor. His master, however, was gazing somberly at Eo.
"Is it my doing? Was it because I channeled the dark---?"
Eo held up one of his suctioned hands. "No, Master Kenobi. It is not your doing. However, as a result of what she did experience, she may have some residual nightmares, but there are medicines I can give her for that. But, no, rest assured, it was not your fault."
"But I don't understand----."
"All you and Padawan Skywalker did, miraculous and extraordinary as it was, was give her some time."
Obi-Wan's face twisted with pain. "How long does she have?"
"A month."
Anakin's jaw dropped. A month! Then, as if Eo had read his mind, the Healer looked over at him.
"Yes, a month, Padawan Skywalker. However, it may be enough time for perhaps one more miracle. I did not speak of this before because she had so little time left to her then. But, with this month that has been given her by you and your master, there just may be a way to save her."
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Chancellor Palpatine stood before the huge window of his office, his hands folded before him, as Sly Moore, his staff aide, recited her report to him. The woman was an Umbaran. Her pallid skin and pale gray eyes matched her seemingly colorless shadowcloak. But he knew her cloak was actually adorned with intricate patterns visible only to her and others who could see in the ultraviolet range.
As her sibilant voice continued to speak softly to him, the Chancellor, as he gazed out at the ordered chaos that was Coruscant, was almost lulled to sleep by her seemingly endless recitation of what was going on in the Senate, on Coruscant, and out in the galaxy. Most of it he was aware of, but he listened anyway, pleased with her thoroughness. Then, when he heard a certain name, his attention focused sharply back on her.
"What was that about Skywalker?" he asked.
"The ship you loaned him, Chancellor. A tracking device was placed on it as you requested."
"And where did young Skywalker take the ship?"
"To Ahjane, Chancellor."
Palpatine frowned. He wasn't familiar with that system.
"I want all information regarding Ahjane prepared and ready for me in an hour."
"Yes, Chancellor."
The Umbaran turned and glided out of the office, leaving Palpatine gazing thoughtfully out the window.
To be continued....
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"Now, now, Master Jedi, you must watch his little head."
Anakin bit his lip to keep from laughing as he watched Gendra trying to help Obi-Wan hold his son. Hearing soft laughter, Anakin turned and looked over at the bed.
Onara was smiling at Obi-Wan and their baby, her face, though still pale and drawn, glowing with love. By some miracle that Anakin had yet to understand, she was alive, although still very weak. Master Eo was hovering over her, examining her with both the Force and his medical instruments.
K'lia was sitting on the bed next to Onara, holding her hand, just as he had ever since he had realized, beyond all hope, that his daughter was alive. It looked to Anakin as if the Dynast had shed years of aging. His eyes were bright and young-looking, and he also laughed as Obi-Wan nervously tried to hold the baby.
Anakin shook his head as he moved next to his master. He had seen Obi-wan face down drug-crazed terror-troops, successfully negotiate treaties between factions that had been enemies for centuries, and perform feats with the Force that still dazzled Anakin. Yet, when it came to something as simple as holding a newborn, he was as helpless as a kitten.
But, Obi-Wan had never spent any time around children. Anakin had. There had been lots of babies in the slave quarters, and Shmi had sometimes looked after them. As Anakin had been fascinated by the tiny, helpless things, his mother had taught him how to care for them.
"Here, Master, let me help you," he said, pleased he could teach Obi-Wan something instead of the other way around.
"You want to make sure you keep his head there," Anakin went on as he gently moved Obi-Wan's arm until the baby's head was lying on his master's firm bicep.
"Good. Now, you want to cushion his little body along your forearm like this. Yes, just like that. Perfect!" Anakin cried as he stepped away. "See, much better, Master."
Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin. "Thank you, Padawan."
"No, no, Master," Anakin said, shaking his head. "Don't look at me. Look at the baby. They like to see faces."
"Oh, sorry," Obi-Wan said.
He turned and looked down at his son. The baby, who had yet to be named, had Onara's glossy black hair and Obi-Wan's blue-gray eyes.
"Why, look, Master Jedi," Onara's elderly aunt, whom Anakin had learned was named Rylea, cooed. "He knows you!"
Anakin looked over and started. The baby was gazing quietly up at Obi-Wan, his eyes, so much like his father's, locked on Obi-Wan's. And, if Anakin hadn't known there was no way a newborn could do so, he could have sworn the two were sharing some private communication.
As Anakin watched Obi-Wan tenderly holding his son, he let himself note the changes in his master. Only a short time had passed since Obi-Wan's brush with the dark side of the Force, but the effects of that encounter were clearly evident, not just emotionally, but physically.
There were streaks of white in Obi-Wan's beard and along the temples of his ginger-colored hair. Fine lines emanated from his blue-gray eyes, but it was the changes within Obi-Wan that concerned Anakin the most. There was now a mark on his spirit, a remnant, so to speak, of the dark side he had called upon in the depths of his despair.
But now, as Obi-Wan gazed warmly down at his son, at least for the time being, that shadowy blemish was gone. Obi-Wan reached over and gently stroked his son's round, soft cheek, even as the baby continued to gaze up at him. Anakin smiled as he watched what his master was doing. Then, to his delight and Obi-Wan's bewilderment, the baby began rubbing the side of his tiny face against Obi-Wan's tunic, his mouth opening.
"Oh-oh, Master, you shouldn't have done that."
"What? What did I do?" Obi-Wan asked, looking worriedly over at Anakin.
"I think you'd better give him to one of the aunts."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"By stroking his cheek like that, he thinks you're getting ready to feed him. And unless, " and Anakin shrugged, smiling widely, "you've got something hidden under your tunic that I don't know about that can...."
"Oh, I see," Obi-Wan said, the embarrassment clear on his face.
Everyone laughed as he quickly handed the baby over to Gendra.
"Don't worry, Master Jedi," she said with a broad smile as she took her grand-nephew into her arms. "We have a wet-nurse for him. He'll not starve."
Gendra went over to the bed, leaning over so Onara could kiss her son goodbye. She did so, her fingers softly stroking his face. Then she looked over at Obi-Wan, and the two exchanged a look that made Anakin's heart beat madly in his chest and the blood rush through his veins.
K'lia, who was still sitting next to Onara, reached over and gently cupped his aged-spotted hand about his grandson's tiny head. Gendra rose up, and turning, left the bedroom to take the baby to nursery. Her sister, Rylea, who had assigned herself as Onara's personal nurse, remained.
"He's beautiful, Master."
Obi-Wan turned away from Onara and looked over at Anakin, his eyes full of warmth and pride.
"Yes, like his mother."
He turned back and smiled at Onara. Anakin still couldn't believe she was alive. He had clearly sensed the absence of her life force when he had run into the room after hearing Obi-Wan's agonizing cry of despair, but here she was. Alive. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Obi-Wan walked over to the bed. K'lia smiled as the Jedi approached. Squeezing Onara's hand and kissing her forehead, the Dynast rose and let Obi-Wan take his place. The Jedi Knight sat gently next to Onara. And, from the way he was looking at her, it was clear he too could not believe she was alive.
At first Obi-Wan just gazed silently down at Onara; then, reaching up, he slowly ran his fingers through her dark hair, gingerly touched her face and her hands, and drew the tips of his fingers along her arms, as if wanting to convince himself she truly was here.
Then, totally oblivious to everyone else in the room, Obi-Wan leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Anakin blushed. He had never seen his master kiss anyone before. Onara returned his kiss. As Obi-Wan pulled away, she reached up and caressed the white in his beard and along his temples.
"My poor dear," she whispered.
Obi-Wan took her hand and kissed her fingertips. Again, Anakin felt a warmth suffusing his face. He looked away, feeling as if he should not be here, as if none of them should be here, that Onara and Obi-Wan should be left alone. Then he heard and saw Master Eo sharply clear his throat and snap shut his medical-pad.
"My patient needs her rest," he announced, the firmness of his watery- sounding voice leaving no doubt that rest was what she needed and rest was what she was going to get.
Obi-Wan leaned over and kissed Onara one more time. She smiled up at him. Rising from the bed, he continued to hold her hand until just the tips of their fingers were touching. Then, with what Anakin could see was with the greatest reluctance, he let go. Onara's dark eyes gazed longingly up at him.
"Don't worry, love," Obi-Wan told her in answer. "I'll be here when you wake. I promise."
Onara smiled up at him. Master Eo leaned over and placed his suction- fingered hands along her forehead. He looked over at K'lia.
"I'm going to use the Force," he explained, "to help her sleep."
K'lia nodded. Eo looked down at Onara, his face tentacles waving gently.
"Do not be afraid," he said to her.
"I'm not," she said as she gazed up at him.
Anakin felt the healer calling gently upon the Force. Onara's eyes slowly closed. Rylea went over and adjusted the pillows so that Onara was lying more comfortably, pulling the bedcover over her.
Eo removed his hands from Onara's forehead. Gesturing to Obi-Wan, Anakin and K'lia, he directed them out to the sitting room, leaving Rylea with Onara. Once they were in the sitting room, Eo closed the door to Onara's bedroom. Then, for a moment, he gazed quietly at the three of them.
"Is she going to be all right?" Obi-Wan asked, breaking the silence.
"Never in all my years as a Healer and as a Jedi," Eo began, the awe evident in his throaty voice, "have I witnessed such a thing as happened here today."
He stopped for a moment, his face tentacles wriggling rapidly. "It is most unprecedented," he finished softly.
"What about Onara?" Obi-Wan insisted, his voice tightening. "Is she going to be all right?"
Eo sighed. "Yes, for the moment."
Anakin frowned and saw the same expression on Obi-Wan and K'lia's faces.
"For the moment?" he blurted out.
Eo turned and looked at him. "Yes, Padawan Skywalker. For the moment."
"Master Eo," Obi-Wan said, "I don't understand."
Eo shrugged his broad shoulders as he looked over at Obi-Wan, his turquoise eyes reflecting his puzzlement.
"Neither do I. She is alive, when she should be dead. What you and Padawan Skywalker did in there---."
"Me?" Anakin cried.
"Oh, yes, you," Eo said, nodding. "Your master could not have brought her spirit back from the abyss without your help. It was the two of you together who have given her this chance."
"Chance?" K'lia interjected. "What do you mean by chance?"
"Your daughter is not out of the woods yet, Dynast K'lia. She is still deathly ill."
"What? But, she's alive," Anakin cried, staggered by the thought that all that his master had risked, his soul, his very life, was for naught.
"Yes, she's alive," Eo agreed. "But only for a short while."
Anakin couldn't believe it. What had seemed a miracle had turned out to be nothing more than a horrible deception. Onara was still going to die. He looked over at Obi-Wan and K'lia. The Dynast was shaking his white-haired head, his gaze fastened on the floor. His master, however, was gazing somberly at Eo.
"Is it my doing? Was it because I channeled the dark---?"
Eo held up one of his suctioned hands. "No, Master Kenobi. It is not your doing. However, as a result of what she did experience, she may have some residual nightmares, but there are medicines I can give her for that. But, no, rest assured, it was not your fault."
"But I don't understand----."
"All you and Padawan Skywalker did, miraculous and extraordinary as it was, was give her some time."
Obi-Wan's face twisted with pain. "How long does she have?"
"A month."
Anakin's jaw dropped. A month! Then, as if Eo had read his mind, the Healer looked over at him.
"Yes, a month, Padawan Skywalker. However, it may be enough time for perhaps one more miracle. I did not speak of this before because she had so little time left to her then. But, with this month that has been given her by you and your master, there just may be a way to save her."
---------------------
Chancellor Palpatine stood before the huge window of his office, his hands folded before him, as Sly Moore, his staff aide, recited her report to him. The woman was an Umbaran. Her pallid skin and pale gray eyes matched her seemingly colorless shadowcloak. But he knew her cloak was actually adorned with intricate patterns visible only to her and others who could see in the ultraviolet range.
As her sibilant voice continued to speak softly to him, the Chancellor, as he gazed out at the ordered chaos that was Coruscant, was almost lulled to sleep by her seemingly endless recitation of what was going on in the Senate, on Coruscant, and out in the galaxy. Most of it he was aware of, but he listened anyway, pleased with her thoroughness. Then, when he heard a certain name, his attention focused sharply back on her.
"What was that about Skywalker?" he asked.
"The ship you loaned him, Chancellor. A tracking device was placed on it as you requested."
"And where did young Skywalker take the ship?"
"To Ahjane, Chancellor."
Palpatine frowned. He wasn't familiar with that system.
"I want all information regarding Ahjane prepared and ready for me in an hour."
"Yes, Chancellor."
The Umbaran turned and glided out of the office, leaving Palpatine gazing thoughtfully out the window.
To be continued....