Oct 2002
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, all the characters (Except for Tasha) are property of Lucasfilm etc etc.
Hide Your Love Away
Chapter 16
Anakin and Obi-Wan met up shortly after Padmé had been returned to the medical lab. Agreeing they shouldn't discuss strategy until they knew exactly how recovered she'd be, they threw themselves into lightsaber training and mental exercises. Preparing for the fight that was to come, they pushed each other to their limits and beyond. For the next week, Anakin honed his reflexes and focus, vowing silently he'd never be caught unawares again. Tasha, nor anyone else, would ever get the drop on him again.
Master Yoda even took time to come down and watch their training sessions. Offering words of wisdom and advice, he helped identify the flaws in their fighting styles and overcome them. Slowly, the two sparring partners learned to immerse themselves completely in the Force and give themselves up to its guidance. Anakin already knew how to survive without it thanks to Palpatine's hunt for them. He'd been forced to fight, relying on his own skill and reflexes, and knew he could match almost any ordinary man in a saber contest.
The day before Padmé would be released, he and Obi-Wan were sparring under the watchful gaze of Master Yoda.
Anakin turned his side to his opponent, sweat glistening on his bare chest and face. Bare to the waist and clad only in form fitting half-pants, he looked half savage. Obi-Wan faced him, similarly attired, but breathing just as heavily. Their blades came together once more with the resounding clash, sparks flying everywhere as they struck. Parry. Footwork. Parry. Lunge. Defend. Footwork. Attack. Parry. Footwork.
The flow of the battled seemed almost natural as Anakin flipped over Obi-Wan's head but didn't land. He sent himself beyond the reach of his friend's saber and to the edge of their practice ring.
"Too flashy you are. Show off, you do. To whom?"
Anakin powered down the saber and consciously regulated his breathing before turning to the small Master. "I wasn't showing off, Master, I was simply getting beyond the fight."
"Unfocused your mind is. What troubles you?"
Anakin shook his head, sending droplets of sweat flying as he sat next to Yoda, Obi-Wan on the other side of him. "It's Padmé. I don't want to take her into this battle and yet, I have no choice."
"No choice?"
He nodded. "She'd never let me leave her behind. Even now they have to keep her locked in a healing trance because she'd leave if she were awake. We still don't have a plan for dealing with Palpatine."
"Impatient you are."
Anakin sighed. "Yes, Master. I want this over and done with. I want to be able to return to my children."
"Miss them, do you?"
"How can you ask that? They're the only reason I'm here. Without them to protect, without Padmé to protect, I would have simply stayed away until Palpatine died. I have no quarrel with him, but when he kidnapped my wife, he made it personal. He's determined to taint the Skywalker line with a Sith. I refuse to be that Sith. It means giving up the only person whose light and laughter are my reasons for living. I could never turn my back on her. Not again. I've said it before, I'd rather die than be his puppet again."
"Clear your mind."
Anakin struggled to do as the small Master instructed. It was so clouded with reasons and excuses, he almost missed the real reason he was going after the Chancellor. Revenge. Payback. Making the man pay for all the evils he'd had him inflict in the name of democracy. Anakin shuddered. "This isn't about revenge."
"So sure, are you?"
"Yes Master."
"Believe you, I do not."
Anakin grimaced. "Ok, maybe a little, but revenge isn't necessarily the Dark side. I simply want to make sure he's unable to destroy any more lives."
Obi-Wan finally spoke up. "Yours included. This is a revenge campaign. Your anger towards the Chancellor is strong, Anakin. I can feel it even now. Master Yoda has felt it. Don't you think you should deal with it before we face him? Before he has the chance to manipulate you into doing something you don't want to?"
Anakin bowed his head, his hands dangling between his legs as he rested his elbows on his knees. "I want to, Obi-Wan, but I can't just let it go. He tried to kill Padmé! The Tusken Raiders killed my mom and I wanted them all to suffer. If he succeeds..." he trailed off, the implication making Yoda frown.
"Control, young Skywalker. You must learn control."
"I learned control, Master Yoda, I know how to keep it, but these emotions are too wild."
Yoda sighed. "Know nothing, you do. Look at me."
Anakin raised his head to look at the Master.
"Much fear in you, Skywalker. Much anger. Feel the Force, do you?"
"Yes, Master."
"Remember you the pod race on Tatooine?"
Anakin smiled rakishly. "Like yesterday."
"Remember you how you felt?"
Anakin nodded slowly, remembering the exhilarating feeling of letting go. Of letting some higher power guide his actions. "I remember being thrilled that I, out of all the humans, had a chance to do something spectacular. I was so proud to be able to help Qui-Gon and Padmé. She was beautiful even then."
Obi-Wan chuckled but quickly fell silent as Yoda looked at him.
"Remember you feeling fear?"
Anakin shook his head. "Not during the race. Mostly I was annoyed Sebulba would try and cheat to win again. But then again, it's a sport with lots of cheaters. I mostly felt... free."
Yoda nodded. "Resent your Master, did you?"
"Watto?"
Yoda nodded again.
Anakin looked out into the distance, his eyes not seeing the far wall of the practice chamber but, instead, looking back to his days as a slave. "Did I resent Watto? No, I don't think I did. He wasn't a hard task master, and he actually took really good care of my mom and I. He didn't beat me too much. Watto's shop was one of my first homes. I didn't hate Watto, but I didn't like him too much either. I hated being a slave."
"Is that not what you are now?"
Anakin came back at the sound of Yoda's voice and blinked. "Pardon?"
"Heard me, you did."
"I don't understand the question, Master. Am I what?"
"A slave. To your passions, yes?"
Anakin grimaced. "I hadn't thought of it like that. I suppose my quest to destroy Palpatine so he can't hurt anyone else has made me a slave to it... and in extension to him. He needs to be stopped, though."
"Agree I do, but not your way."
"I don't understand."
Yoda chuckled. "Say that alot, you do, Skywalker. Clouded, your judgment is. Focus on the wrong reasons, you do."
"How so, Master?"
"Why wish you to remove the Chancellor?"
"To ensure my family's safe from him."
Yoda simply looked at him.
Anakin sighed. "And for revenge. Ok, I admit it; I want a piece of him. I want to make him suffer like he made me suffer!"
"This is why you will fail."
"Are you sure Master?"
Yoda nodded. "Clear your mind. Let go of your Anger, your hate. One with the Force, you must be. Powerful you are, young Skywalker, dangerous. Learn to channel it, you must."
"How?"
"Calm you must be. Meditate for guidance. Guide you, the Force will."
Anakin sighed, leaning back as Master Yoda turned and made his way out of the practice chamber. "Meditation? I hate meditation."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Easy, my young friend. Master Yoda has the way of it. If meditation and reflection are what it will take to bring you peace, you'd better get at it. Padmé gets released in a couple of days. After that you won't have the time, nor the space, to meditate properly."
Anakin grumbled as he got to his feet. "Fine fine, I'll mediate. I don't like to though, I feel so useless when I do."
Obi-Wan walked with him out of the chamber and chuckled, slapping him on the shoulder. "It should help you find your focus, and you're in desperate need of focus my friend."
Anakin walked away from him without a word as Obi-Wan went to his quarters. Anakin sighed, stepping into the empty room he'd been given. He spent more time at Padmé's bedside than he did here, though that would change in the next few days. A smile crossed his lips. He was looking forward to having her beside him again.
Anakin stepped from the 'fresher into the living area, rubbing his head with a towel. It felt good to be clean again. Naked, he walked across the room and searched his bag for a pair of shorts. If he was going to meditate, he was going to be comfortable. Slipping on the shorts, and nothing else, he sat on the floor at the base of the bed. Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Relaxing his shoulders, he shifted them once, rolling them to release the tension. He wanted to find the peace Master Yoda said he would need. He needed to find that peace for himself and for his future.
Slowly, his breathing dropped down to a calm, even level. Focusing on his heartbeat, he slowed it before stretching out to the Force. The energy of life surrounded him, sliding through his body like light, replenishing his spirit. He searched his mind and slowly began to unravel his greatest fears and anger.
He didn't know how long he meditated for, all sense of time sliding away as he searched himself for his flaws, acknowledged them, and moved onto the next one. Searching himself was something he'd been afraid to be before. Now, with the time closing fast to his final conflict with the Chancellor, a time where he'd have to be strong and sure of his convictions, he had no choice. To succeed, he'd have to know himself as never before.
Obi-Wan wandered the halls towards the medical wing two days later. Anakin was in deep meditation, and had been since their conversation with Master Yoda, his Force signature very faint. Master Yoda had assured him Anakin was fine, however, he was waging a very personal battle inside his meditative state. Obi-Wan wasn't sure when Anakin would come out of his meditations, so he'd taken it upon himself to see to Padmé.
"Obi-Wan."
He froze, the soft, pitiful call coming from his left. His brows came together as he turned to look down one of the darker hallways on the lower level. "Pearl?"
"Help me!"
He took a step in the direction of her voice before stopping. Every instinct warned him this was a trap, but why would she want to harm him now? She'd already done enough damage, hadn't she? Yet, even as he sensed the trap, he felt that the danger wasn't oriented towards him. Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, he took a step down the corridor, his senses stretched out in front of him.
He picked up his pace as he realized Tasha's call wasn't in the immediate vicinity, but somewhere outside the temple. Using the Force to enhance his speed, he raced from the temple and onto the platform that held his fighter. He stopped, eyes widening in surprise even as his lightsaber ignited and came up to deflect the blaster bolt aimed at his head.
"Pearl!"
Tasha was struggling with a man barely her size, one claw-like hand locked around her throat, the other bending her arm back at an alarming angle. Dressed in a torn body suit, she was kicking and clawing for all she was worth. Obi-Wan felt his heart freeze in his chest. She was also hanging over the side of the platform, ready to plummet from the building. As he watched horrified, her struggling slowed, her eyes slowly closing. Obi-Wan didn't think, he immersed himself in the Force and went into action. Spinning through two hired thugs, he cut them both down before they could blink.
The man holding Tasha moved as he came forward, lightsaber leading, dropping Tasha from the edge. "No!"
Obi-Wan stretched his Force powers for all they were worth, allowing the man to escape as he caught the unconscious Tasha in a telekinetic grip and lowered her to a platform below. Seeing her safe, he turned and searched for the Force trace of her attacker. Nothing. He frowned then smiled grimly. Palpatine must have a new apprentice, someone willing to dispose of Tasha by any means possible.
He took a good look around the landing pad and the carnage slowly registered. The blood splashed on the skids of his fighter, the three bodies slashed in half with a lightsaber, the two against the wall, their necks at impossible angles. From the look of it, he'd say she put up one heck of a fight. Her lightsaber wasn't on the pad, but there were two other men writhing on the ground, clutching their throats. Blood covered their fingers and Obi-Wan knew they were beyond help. Their thrashing was erratic and weak. Still, he thumbed his commlink and called for an emergency medical team to come to the landing pad.
Returning inside, he took the lift to the pad below, searching for Tasha. She lay silent where he'd put her to rest, her blonde hair plastered to her face and slightly crimson. Carefully approaching her, he knelt. "Pearl?"
She didn't move, didn't so much as bat an eyelash at his soft inquiry. His hands were gentle as he checked her body for injuries. There was too much blood on her head, he knew that much. His eyes dark with concern, he gathered the young woman in his arms and walked back into the Temple. Code be damned, he wasn't going to let her die!
Padmé was waiting for him when he strode into the medical lab, her eyes widening in surprise. "Obi-Wan?"
He nodded curtly to her and barked a short order for a tech. The tech who'd tended Padmé was quick to appear, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw his burden. Ushering him into the main medical bay, she directed him to lay Tasha on a bed and then shooed him out. Obi-Wan watched through the Force as the tech quickly stripped the young woman and prepared her for the bacta tank. Within a minute, Tasha was floating in the healing liquid and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Force she'd be alright in a few hours, a day at most.
Padmé appeared in the hallway. "Obi-Wan? Are you alright?"
He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry Padmé, I didn't mean to be late."
"It would seem like you had a good excuse. Is she going to be alright?"
"I think so."
"A pity."
"Padmé!"
"I'm sorry Obi-Wan but I can't find it in me to forgive her attack on Anakin. She tried to kill him!"
"I know." His voice was soft as he looked at her searchingly. "The you know how I felt watching some maniac try to strangle her."
Padmé's eyes widened. "Oh! Obi-Wan, I'm sorry, I didn't know."
His smile was slight. "Neither did I until I saw that. I've never been so scared in my life. It took a lot of energy to fight it off and react with that vaunted Jedi calm."
Padmé stepped up to him, placing a hand on his arm. "She'll be fine I'm sure. I just hope she doesn't try to kill my husband again. Speaking of Anakin, have you seen him?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not for two days. He's in deep meditation, Padmé, preparing for the fight with Palpatine. If he's to win, he's got to be completely at peace with himself."
Her expression was horrified. "You left him alone to battle his demons? Are you insane? He's strong but he hasn't even accepted the death of his mother yet!"
"I know. It's necessary, Padmé. Otherwise Palpatine will know exactly what to say to get him to react without thinking. He has to be in control otherwise he'll fail."
Padmé was silent, thinking, for a few moments. "Can I see him?"
"It's probably better if you don't just yet. Master Yoda would like to speak with you when you have the chance though. If you don't mind."
She smiled. "Never. Are you going to stay here?"
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll find my way to the council hall by myself. She'll be fine, Obi-Wan. Don't worry."
Obi-Wan's gaze was fixed on the door leading to the bacta lab. "I hope so," came his soft reply, "I most certainly hope so."
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, all the characters (Except for Tasha) are property of Lucasfilm etc etc.
Hide Your Love Away
Chapter 16
Anakin and Obi-Wan met up shortly after Padmé had been returned to the medical lab. Agreeing they shouldn't discuss strategy until they knew exactly how recovered she'd be, they threw themselves into lightsaber training and mental exercises. Preparing for the fight that was to come, they pushed each other to their limits and beyond. For the next week, Anakin honed his reflexes and focus, vowing silently he'd never be caught unawares again. Tasha, nor anyone else, would ever get the drop on him again.
Master Yoda even took time to come down and watch their training sessions. Offering words of wisdom and advice, he helped identify the flaws in their fighting styles and overcome them. Slowly, the two sparring partners learned to immerse themselves completely in the Force and give themselves up to its guidance. Anakin already knew how to survive without it thanks to Palpatine's hunt for them. He'd been forced to fight, relying on his own skill and reflexes, and knew he could match almost any ordinary man in a saber contest.
The day before Padmé would be released, he and Obi-Wan were sparring under the watchful gaze of Master Yoda.
Anakin turned his side to his opponent, sweat glistening on his bare chest and face. Bare to the waist and clad only in form fitting half-pants, he looked half savage. Obi-Wan faced him, similarly attired, but breathing just as heavily. Their blades came together once more with the resounding clash, sparks flying everywhere as they struck. Parry. Footwork. Parry. Lunge. Defend. Footwork. Attack. Parry. Footwork.
The flow of the battled seemed almost natural as Anakin flipped over Obi-Wan's head but didn't land. He sent himself beyond the reach of his friend's saber and to the edge of their practice ring.
"Too flashy you are. Show off, you do. To whom?"
Anakin powered down the saber and consciously regulated his breathing before turning to the small Master. "I wasn't showing off, Master, I was simply getting beyond the fight."
"Unfocused your mind is. What troubles you?"
Anakin shook his head, sending droplets of sweat flying as he sat next to Yoda, Obi-Wan on the other side of him. "It's Padmé. I don't want to take her into this battle and yet, I have no choice."
"No choice?"
He nodded. "She'd never let me leave her behind. Even now they have to keep her locked in a healing trance because she'd leave if she were awake. We still don't have a plan for dealing with Palpatine."
"Impatient you are."
Anakin sighed. "Yes, Master. I want this over and done with. I want to be able to return to my children."
"Miss them, do you?"
"How can you ask that? They're the only reason I'm here. Without them to protect, without Padmé to protect, I would have simply stayed away until Palpatine died. I have no quarrel with him, but when he kidnapped my wife, he made it personal. He's determined to taint the Skywalker line with a Sith. I refuse to be that Sith. It means giving up the only person whose light and laughter are my reasons for living. I could never turn my back on her. Not again. I've said it before, I'd rather die than be his puppet again."
"Clear your mind."
Anakin struggled to do as the small Master instructed. It was so clouded with reasons and excuses, he almost missed the real reason he was going after the Chancellor. Revenge. Payback. Making the man pay for all the evils he'd had him inflict in the name of democracy. Anakin shuddered. "This isn't about revenge."
"So sure, are you?"
"Yes Master."
"Believe you, I do not."
Anakin grimaced. "Ok, maybe a little, but revenge isn't necessarily the Dark side. I simply want to make sure he's unable to destroy any more lives."
Obi-Wan finally spoke up. "Yours included. This is a revenge campaign. Your anger towards the Chancellor is strong, Anakin. I can feel it even now. Master Yoda has felt it. Don't you think you should deal with it before we face him? Before he has the chance to manipulate you into doing something you don't want to?"
Anakin bowed his head, his hands dangling between his legs as he rested his elbows on his knees. "I want to, Obi-Wan, but I can't just let it go. He tried to kill Padmé! The Tusken Raiders killed my mom and I wanted them all to suffer. If he succeeds..." he trailed off, the implication making Yoda frown.
"Control, young Skywalker. You must learn control."
"I learned control, Master Yoda, I know how to keep it, but these emotions are too wild."
Yoda sighed. "Know nothing, you do. Look at me."
Anakin raised his head to look at the Master.
"Much fear in you, Skywalker. Much anger. Feel the Force, do you?"
"Yes, Master."
"Remember you the pod race on Tatooine?"
Anakin smiled rakishly. "Like yesterday."
"Remember you how you felt?"
Anakin nodded slowly, remembering the exhilarating feeling of letting go. Of letting some higher power guide his actions. "I remember being thrilled that I, out of all the humans, had a chance to do something spectacular. I was so proud to be able to help Qui-Gon and Padmé. She was beautiful even then."
Obi-Wan chuckled but quickly fell silent as Yoda looked at him.
"Remember you feeling fear?"
Anakin shook his head. "Not during the race. Mostly I was annoyed Sebulba would try and cheat to win again. But then again, it's a sport with lots of cheaters. I mostly felt... free."
Yoda nodded. "Resent your Master, did you?"
"Watto?"
Yoda nodded again.
Anakin looked out into the distance, his eyes not seeing the far wall of the practice chamber but, instead, looking back to his days as a slave. "Did I resent Watto? No, I don't think I did. He wasn't a hard task master, and he actually took really good care of my mom and I. He didn't beat me too much. Watto's shop was one of my first homes. I didn't hate Watto, but I didn't like him too much either. I hated being a slave."
"Is that not what you are now?"
Anakin came back at the sound of Yoda's voice and blinked. "Pardon?"
"Heard me, you did."
"I don't understand the question, Master. Am I what?"
"A slave. To your passions, yes?"
Anakin grimaced. "I hadn't thought of it like that. I suppose my quest to destroy Palpatine so he can't hurt anyone else has made me a slave to it... and in extension to him. He needs to be stopped, though."
"Agree I do, but not your way."
"I don't understand."
Yoda chuckled. "Say that alot, you do, Skywalker. Clouded, your judgment is. Focus on the wrong reasons, you do."
"How so, Master?"
"Why wish you to remove the Chancellor?"
"To ensure my family's safe from him."
Yoda simply looked at him.
Anakin sighed. "And for revenge. Ok, I admit it; I want a piece of him. I want to make him suffer like he made me suffer!"
"This is why you will fail."
"Are you sure Master?"
Yoda nodded. "Clear your mind. Let go of your Anger, your hate. One with the Force, you must be. Powerful you are, young Skywalker, dangerous. Learn to channel it, you must."
"How?"
"Calm you must be. Meditate for guidance. Guide you, the Force will."
Anakin sighed, leaning back as Master Yoda turned and made his way out of the practice chamber. "Meditation? I hate meditation."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Easy, my young friend. Master Yoda has the way of it. If meditation and reflection are what it will take to bring you peace, you'd better get at it. Padmé gets released in a couple of days. After that you won't have the time, nor the space, to meditate properly."
Anakin grumbled as he got to his feet. "Fine fine, I'll mediate. I don't like to though, I feel so useless when I do."
Obi-Wan walked with him out of the chamber and chuckled, slapping him on the shoulder. "It should help you find your focus, and you're in desperate need of focus my friend."
Anakin walked away from him without a word as Obi-Wan went to his quarters. Anakin sighed, stepping into the empty room he'd been given. He spent more time at Padmé's bedside than he did here, though that would change in the next few days. A smile crossed his lips. He was looking forward to having her beside him again.
Anakin stepped from the 'fresher into the living area, rubbing his head with a towel. It felt good to be clean again. Naked, he walked across the room and searched his bag for a pair of shorts. If he was going to meditate, he was going to be comfortable. Slipping on the shorts, and nothing else, he sat on the floor at the base of the bed. Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Relaxing his shoulders, he shifted them once, rolling them to release the tension. He wanted to find the peace Master Yoda said he would need. He needed to find that peace for himself and for his future.
Slowly, his breathing dropped down to a calm, even level. Focusing on his heartbeat, he slowed it before stretching out to the Force. The energy of life surrounded him, sliding through his body like light, replenishing his spirit. He searched his mind and slowly began to unravel his greatest fears and anger.
He didn't know how long he meditated for, all sense of time sliding away as he searched himself for his flaws, acknowledged them, and moved onto the next one. Searching himself was something he'd been afraid to be before. Now, with the time closing fast to his final conflict with the Chancellor, a time where he'd have to be strong and sure of his convictions, he had no choice. To succeed, he'd have to know himself as never before.
Obi-Wan wandered the halls towards the medical wing two days later. Anakin was in deep meditation, and had been since their conversation with Master Yoda, his Force signature very faint. Master Yoda had assured him Anakin was fine, however, he was waging a very personal battle inside his meditative state. Obi-Wan wasn't sure when Anakin would come out of his meditations, so he'd taken it upon himself to see to Padmé.
"Obi-Wan."
He froze, the soft, pitiful call coming from his left. His brows came together as he turned to look down one of the darker hallways on the lower level. "Pearl?"
"Help me!"
He took a step in the direction of her voice before stopping. Every instinct warned him this was a trap, but why would she want to harm him now? She'd already done enough damage, hadn't she? Yet, even as he sensed the trap, he felt that the danger wasn't oriented towards him. Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, he took a step down the corridor, his senses stretched out in front of him.
He picked up his pace as he realized Tasha's call wasn't in the immediate vicinity, but somewhere outside the temple. Using the Force to enhance his speed, he raced from the temple and onto the platform that held his fighter. He stopped, eyes widening in surprise even as his lightsaber ignited and came up to deflect the blaster bolt aimed at his head.
"Pearl!"
Tasha was struggling with a man barely her size, one claw-like hand locked around her throat, the other bending her arm back at an alarming angle. Dressed in a torn body suit, she was kicking and clawing for all she was worth. Obi-Wan felt his heart freeze in his chest. She was also hanging over the side of the platform, ready to plummet from the building. As he watched horrified, her struggling slowed, her eyes slowly closing. Obi-Wan didn't think, he immersed himself in the Force and went into action. Spinning through two hired thugs, he cut them both down before they could blink.
The man holding Tasha moved as he came forward, lightsaber leading, dropping Tasha from the edge. "No!"
Obi-Wan stretched his Force powers for all they were worth, allowing the man to escape as he caught the unconscious Tasha in a telekinetic grip and lowered her to a platform below. Seeing her safe, he turned and searched for the Force trace of her attacker. Nothing. He frowned then smiled grimly. Palpatine must have a new apprentice, someone willing to dispose of Tasha by any means possible.
He took a good look around the landing pad and the carnage slowly registered. The blood splashed on the skids of his fighter, the three bodies slashed in half with a lightsaber, the two against the wall, their necks at impossible angles. From the look of it, he'd say she put up one heck of a fight. Her lightsaber wasn't on the pad, but there were two other men writhing on the ground, clutching their throats. Blood covered their fingers and Obi-Wan knew they were beyond help. Their thrashing was erratic and weak. Still, he thumbed his commlink and called for an emergency medical team to come to the landing pad.
Returning inside, he took the lift to the pad below, searching for Tasha. She lay silent where he'd put her to rest, her blonde hair plastered to her face and slightly crimson. Carefully approaching her, he knelt. "Pearl?"
She didn't move, didn't so much as bat an eyelash at his soft inquiry. His hands were gentle as he checked her body for injuries. There was too much blood on her head, he knew that much. His eyes dark with concern, he gathered the young woman in his arms and walked back into the Temple. Code be damned, he wasn't going to let her die!
Padmé was waiting for him when he strode into the medical lab, her eyes widening in surprise. "Obi-Wan?"
He nodded curtly to her and barked a short order for a tech. The tech who'd tended Padmé was quick to appear, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw his burden. Ushering him into the main medical bay, she directed him to lay Tasha on a bed and then shooed him out. Obi-Wan watched through the Force as the tech quickly stripped the young woman and prepared her for the bacta tank. Within a minute, Tasha was floating in the healing liquid and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Force she'd be alright in a few hours, a day at most.
Padmé appeared in the hallway. "Obi-Wan? Are you alright?"
He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry Padmé, I didn't mean to be late."
"It would seem like you had a good excuse. Is she going to be alright?"
"I think so."
"A pity."
"Padmé!"
"I'm sorry Obi-Wan but I can't find it in me to forgive her attack on Anakin. She tried to kill him!"
"I know." His voice was soft as he looked at her searchingly. "The you know how I felt watching some maniac try to strangle her."
Padmé's eyes widened. "Oh! Obi-Wan, I'm sorry, I didn't know."
His smile was slight. "Neither did I until I saw that. I've never been so scared in my life. It took a lot of energy to fight it off and react with that vaunted Jedi calm."
Padmé stepped up to him, placing a hand on his arm. "She'll be fine I'm sure. I just hope she doesn't try to kill my husband again. Speaking of Anakin, have you seen him?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not for two days. He's in deep meditation, Padmé, preparing for the fight with Palpatine. If he's to win, he's got to be completely at peace with himself."
Her expression was horrified. "You left him alone to battle his demons? Are you insane? He's strong but he hasn't even accepted the death of his mother yet!"
"I know. It's necessary, Padmé. Otherwise Palpatine will know exactly what to say to get him to react without thinking. He has to be in control otherwise he'll fail."
Padmé was silent, thinking, for a few moments. "Can I see him?"
"It's probably better if you don't just yet. Master Yoda would like to speak with you when you have the chance though. If you don't mind."
She smiled. "Never. Are you going to stay here?"
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll find my way to the council hall by myself. She'll be fine, Obi-Wan. Don't worry."
Obi-Wan's gaze was fixed on the door leading to the bacta lab. "I hope so," came his soft reply, "I most certainly hope so."