(A/N: Just wanted to do a bit of shameless self promotion. I'm starting a series of short stories featuring Qui Gon and Obi Wan in his Padawan days. The first of these can be read on my website, or on ff.n, here:

http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=962055

Ifya read it, please let me know what you think! It's a humor story primarily, but I wouldn't say it's ONLY humor . . . It also is an attempt at seeing how Qui and Obi interact, and their characters in general. Oh and for those of you who enjoy reading fics on homepages, my writing page is

http://www.tarynsjunkyard.com/Writings.html

And thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great!! I really appreciate it!!!)



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Chapter 8: Silence is Golden

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Darth Talon found his Master pacing the length of his office as he entered and closed the door quietly. Knowing better than to interrupt Sideous' agitated musings, the young Sith stood unmoving, awaiting an invitation to venture further into the dimly lit room.

Stopping suddenly, the older man clasped his hands behind his back and snarled, "Something is going on between Kenobi and that boy."

Talon did not respond. He knew better than to offer opinions without being asked.

Sideous turned to him, a sneer on his face. "I will have to visit him again. The man was too drugged up to get anything useful out of him." His severe expression eased a bit. "I do think I managed to influence him into visiting me, however, so it was not a total waste."

Talon merely nodded, still hesitant to speak.

Sideous motioned toward the chair with his hand, and his apprentice slowly moved across the room and sat.

His Master leaned against the desk, arms folded, staring at him with those calculating eyes of his. "You seem to have gained the boy's affection with your berries and such. When you take Skywalker to lunch, try to find out the nature of his relationship with Kenobi. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel there is something . . . " His voice trailed off as he gazed vaguely into empty air.

"Yes, my Master. I will see what I can get from the boy." Talon replied.

~~ More for myself, than for you. ~~

"See that you do." Sideous' look was cold. "I will work on Kenobi, although I don't expect to get much. The man's shielding is impeccable, and he strikes me as someone who does not give information freely." His brow creased in agitation. "But the boy . . . He enjoys talking about himself, and I imagine he would be more than happy to tell you all about his newfound friend. I've known that he idolizes the young Jedi for quite some time, but it seemed more of a far off adoration than a personal relationship, after all the man has been absent for the past three years. Something has changed in the past seven-day, something that has brought them together in a more . . . intimate way."

Talon nodded. "Yes, I believe he will want to babble about his great new friendship with Kenobi." A look of uncertainty. "But, Master, you know the boy much better than I. Perhaps he would talk to you more candidly . . . ?"

Sideous smirked. "Possibly. But it is my idea that he will speak even more to you about it, precisely because he does not know you as well. In an effort to make a good impression on you, to brag, if you will. The boy has a certain vanity not typical of Jedi. They haven't managed to discipline that out of him yet. He will want you to be awed by his close relationship with the illustrious Obi Wan Kenobi . . . Assuming I am correct and there is a friendship there. If there is, I have no doubt Skywalker will be more than happy to enlighten you." The Chancellor smiled, an unpleasant, mocking expression.

"Yes my Master." Talon bowed his head in a show of obedience. "If there is anything to glean, I will do so."

"Very good. Keep me posted and let me know as soon as Kenobi is released from the fish woman's clutches." Sideous retreated to the large chair behind the imposing black desk. He turned his attention to some reports, waving his hand in the direction of the door. "That is all. You may go."

Talon hid his look of disgust until his back was to Sideous, and quickly exited the office.

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"And then, well, the men on the other side of the fence started running away from the factory. I thought maybe they were just in a hurry to get lunch or something, but that's when I saw this huge lunta bounding out after them, slavering and snarling really loudly. I had never seen a lunta before, but let me tell you, it was one angry looking animal, six legs and these really strange ears that kind of reminded me of Master Yoda. And it was pretty fast, too. Master Jinn just stared at it and yelled something to it, I don't remember what, I may have known at the time, but if I did, well, it escapes me . . . "

Obi Wan took a breath then plunged ahead, talking as he paced around the room like a caged nexu. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter what he said. But it was really amazing, the animal stopped and looked at him, then I swear it started to purr at him . . . PURR at him . . . Like some kind of pet or something, and Qui Gon went over and touched the damn thing, crooning to it and patting it, and the lunta looked like it was smiling at him, even though just a few minutes before it was having some factory workers for breakfast."


He glanced quickly at Bant, knowing her sensitive nature. "Sorry if that sounds crude, but that's what it was doing. So anyway, Master Jinn led the thing some distance from the factory, and the local authorities stunned it and took it away. I imagine they killed it, since it had eaten a few of the workers, but we never really found out, I mean, it really wasn't our business what they did with it, we were just there to deal with it and get it out of their hair."

His monologue stopped long enough to reflect for a split second, a pensive look on his face. "I kinda hope they didn't kill it, I mean, it was just doing what luntas do, right? It was just minding it's own business, getting some food, maybe wanting to take something back to its little baby luntas back at home, just doing what animals do, only in the wrong place and with people instead of other animals, so I don't know that it should have been killed for that, maybe just relocate it or something, Right . . . ?"

Anakin's smile had not left his face for what seemed like forever. He sat on the bed, listening to Obi Wan talk . . . and talk . . . and talk. The man was not fully healed, but Bant had finally given up on trying to keep him in bed. Kenobi prowled the room, poking into drawers, examining the medical equipment, running his hands along the textures of the sheets, the table, the chair . . . Babbling on all the while.

The elegant voice continued, a recording played back at double speed. His tone softened, however, and his face took on a wistful look. "I miss him terribly, you know, Master Qui Gon, not the lunta, of course, I don't even know that the lunta was a 'he,' I mean, how could I know that, it isn't like we checked. But, anyway, Master Jinn . . . " Obi Wan's expression was introspective. "He was a good Master, a gifted teacher, and a dear friend, though I doubt he would say the same of me, after all I couldn't even fulfill his dying wish. 'Train the boy,' he said . . . No 'I love you, Obi Wan,' no 'You've been like a son to me, Obi Wan' . . . Just 'Promise me you'll train him, HE is the Chosen One'"

Kenobi ceased his pacing and stood facing the wall, drawing patterns on the surface with his fingers, always moving, moving, moving. His voice was heavy with emotion, thicker than usual. "I don't know why that surprised me, he had already dumped me in front of the whole Council, replaced me in his mind with Anakin, dismissed me entirely, no matter that I could have been thrown out into the streets, a Masterless Padawan Apprentice, too old to find a new Master, not ready to become a Knight, an object of ridicule, or worse, pity, to my fellow Jedi, because to be dumped at twenty-five, well there must be some defect in me, a Master would not do that to a worthy Padawan, so just what IS horribly wrong with Kenobi, anyway, because there must be SOMETHING, and it must be bad indeed for Qui Gon to dismiss him." Obi Wan's voice was rising, not quite a shout but definitely above his normal speaking voice. His words came rapidly, his accent deepening.

A deep, unsteadily ragged breath. "Oh, not to mention just how much it hurt for him to do that, to tell me I was just a replaceable commodity, secure in my place only until a superior and more promising product came along, no matter that the thought of him leaving me like that ripped my heart out and stomped on it, made me want to go crawl into a hole and die somewhere, partially just to not feel anymore, and partially just to get him back, make him hurt like he hurt me, just to know that he cared at all once I was replaced . . . No, his thoughts obviously weren't being bothered with me during that time, not once he found ANAKIN" On the last word, Obi Wan pounded his fist against the wall with terrific Force, leaving an impression where his hand had hit it.

"HOW COULD HE DO THAT TO ME, BANT? A father doesn't just REPLACE his SON!" Obi Wan yelled, an anguished sob ripping into the utter quiet of the room.

Anakin held his breath, afraid to make any sound that might draw the distraught man's attention. Bant, tears escaping her, walked to her friend and put her arms around him. He clung to her like a drowning man clutching his rescuer. Great heaving sobs took him over for a few moments, and the healer patted his back gently, mindful of his still sore injury. Obi Wan was shaking as if he were cold, although the room was a comfortable temperature. Bant crooned soft words to him, comforting him in his turmoil, desperately hoping to ease his acute emotional pain.

Kenobi seemed to realize he was losing it, and his sobs turned into sniffles, then stopped entirely. His tight grip on his friend eased, and he wiped his face on Bant's shoulder. Shaking subsided, and the two friends stood together, still and quiet.

Obi Wan suddenly pulled away from Bant. He turned and dashed to the counter, hopping up onto it, feet thrumming against the cabinet under him, fingers nervously tapping the hard cabinet top. His head hanging low, the Jedi gazed at the floor. Small drops of moisture fell steadily from his face, making darker splotches on his green med-unit sleep pants. Bant and Anakin stared at him, inscrutable looks on both of their faces.

Anakin felt something telling him he didn't want to hear anymore, see anymore, he had heard and seen enough of this raw emotional display, but he stayed put, riveted by the thought of Obi Wan spilling his guts in a way the man would surely never do if he was not under the influence. Bant considered telling her friend to lie down and be quiet, but it had not worked before, and the man was seriously out of control, so ultimately the healer decided to let him talk. Besides, Obi Wan obviously felt a need to get these feelings out, and this may be his only chance to do so. He hardly needed an audience, however. Most especially the particular audience member seated stock still on the bed.

Bant turned to Anakin, a worried look on her face. "Anakin, why don't you go see what Orick is up to?"

The boy ignored her. Totally. He stared at Obi Wan, transfixed by the sight of this man he had nearly worshiped, sitting on a cabinet crying . . . Because of HIM.

~~ I guess if he wants to hear this, that's his decision. Might do something for his attitude, who knows? ~~

Kenobi shook his head slightly, running a hand through his sweat dampened hair. He had gained control of himself, but evidently had not finished speaking to this particular subject. His feelings for his late master ran deep, and he clung to the subject like a starving dog attacking a hunk of nerf steak. Obi Wan sniffed, wiped his face with his hand. His feelings of unworthiness firmly in place, the speech continued as if there had been no outburst at all. When the Knight resumed, his voice was softer and a fraction more measured than before.

"Some Padawan I turned out to be, couldn't save him, fell down in the middle of a life and death fight, couldn't catch up to them when they went to the pit room. My clumsiness and slowness killed him. He asked a favor of me with his dying breath, and I couldn't even keep my word, the Council wouldn't even consider it, I'm too young, not ready, why should they grant my request when I had just gotten my Master killed?" He drew a shuddering breath. "I'm sure they were right. But I am still ashamed that I let Qui Gon down. Again. I wonder if he spared a moment of his dying thoughts to reflect on what a disappointment I must have been to him, how he had wasted the last thirteen years of his life on me . . . "

Kenobi slid off the counter and resumed his prowl around the room. His face was clear of tears now, but the redness of his eyes betrayed their past existence. He turned to face Anakin, and found the boy staring at him with an expression a combination of awe, disgust, and fear. " Then he died, and I was alone, with you, wanting to train you, not being allowed to, knowing in my heart that the Council was right, but still, it was my Master's last wish. I mean in all honesty I can't say I WANTED to train you, and at that time I still had inappropriate feelings of resentment toward you, and I knew then you deserved better than I could do, and it's surely to your advantage that I was denied my repeated requests to Master Yoda. After a the first year or so I just stopped asking, I always got the same answer."

Obi Wan shifted his stance a bit, feet unable to stay still for more than a few seconds. "So anyway, the day after Qui Gon's death, Yoda tells me I'm a Knight now, then sends me off to Force knows where, just to get me and my taint of incompetence away from the Temple. And what's worse, Anakin, is I couldn't even explain to you why I just left suddenly, abandoning you. I know we had just met but I was the only person you knew here and Qui Gon told you to trust me as well as him, and when you're at your lowest, missing your mother and mourning for Master Jinn, I just take off, the Council commanding me to not contact you, they wouldn't even let me tell you goodbye, let you know I was leaving, and I doubt highly that they bothered to tell you any of this, either." Obi Wan placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder and squeezed affectionately. The Jedi didn't notice the boy flinch slightly at the contact.

A distressed look came over Obi Wan, and he looked directly into Skywalker's eyes. "I don't know why they did that, Anakin, it seemed then to be a cruel thing to do, and I still think it so. But the All-Mighty Council decrees, and we just . . . Obey . . . Obey . . . Obey . . . " His arms spread wide at the last three words in a gesture of futility.

Obi Wan ripped his eyes from the boy, turned to the wall and began to lightly bang his head against it in frustration, his palms flat against the white sterile surface. A few unusually non vocal moments of this and then he was off again, trolling the room, bouncing on his toes, fists clenching and unclenching. He began to shake his head, a smirk on his face. His tone returned to a normal conversational pitch.

"Then two years ago they in their infinite wisdom send me to Solinia, a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there, ha ha ha, where I have to have my eyes changed and my hair this ridiculous color," at this he ran his hands through his hair, clenching it a bit at the ends. "They give me a new name, a new identity, tell me that the people in on the negotiations are the only ones who can know I am Jedi, so I have to do all this blasted research into Solinian culture just to know if its ok to blow my nose in public or if that would create an intergalactic incident."

He stopped, mid-stride, and grinned at Bant. "It wouldn't, by the way, but they do look down on physical contact, they're a very formal people, stodgy even to ME, and you know that's saying a lot!" Pacing resumed, he ran his hands along the counters as he walked, fidgeting with the different instruments and containers he encountered.

"But, anyway, so I'm there, for TWO BLASTED YEARS, acting like a fisherman from this little island when the talks are not in session, which I actually have to DO, mind you, to keep up my 'cover', I have to actually go out, and FISH. I don't even LIKE to EAT fish, let alone catch the nasty little creatures, but I was told to do it, so I do. And the talks, you know they dwindled after three months, and I only get called to sit in maybe once every seven-day, but the Council says 'Stay there, the situation is fragile' so I stay. And I FISH!"

The last word was yelled out in indignation. Obi Wan's face was an unattractive red color, made all the more strange by the heavy dark blotches under his eyes that had not yet faded from his dire illness. When he resumed his diatribe, his voice was louder and more snappish than before.

"I trained my whole life, and the last year and a half has been spent largely by me sitting on a little stupid boat in the middle of a big stupid ocean, hauling a stupid net in and out of the stupid water, and selling these stupid things to stupid distributors and stupid townspeople! No using the Force other than my solitary exercises to keep shape, no nothing, I trained and meditated alone in my little hut, couldn't let anyone in or get to know anyone too well, because that would mean expanding the lie and I don't enjoy deceiving people. I couldn't even make acquaintances really, so I had to pretend to be an asshole on top of everything else just to get them to stop trying to be my friend."

Obi Wan shot Bant a warning look. "Don't say it Bant . . . Just don't even say it!" He pointed his finger in her direction.

She grinned wickedly, "Oh my dear Ballea, I was not going to say a word."

It seemed he was incapable of stillness. The past hour he had paced, fidgeted, hopped, bounced, twirled his hands around, and just basically stayed in constant state of movement. When Obi Wan prowled the room, he generally kept his hands clasped behind his back when they weren't busy gesticulating wildly to emphasize an Especially Important Point in his diatribe.

Her friend smiled knowingly and winked. "So ANYWAY, two years, and no real progress. The ruling houses are still in turmoil, threatening each other with war almost constantly. I'd go in, talk 'em down, then go back to my fishing. There were a couple of assassination attempts on the Governor, but those were solved, at least basically, I got the assassins but never did find out who was behind it, with all their infighting it could have been anyone. And then there was Velon . . . "

A strange look came over Obi Wan's face. "But I'm not even going to get into talking about HER . . . Bottom line, I failed the mission, wasn't able to settle anything. Humiliating really, the Council didn't call me back, I was SENT HOME by the Solinian government. I think the Council would have been happy for me to take up fishing full time and just . . . Never come home . . . " Kenobi sat by Anakin on the bed and sighed again, a heavy, despair filled sound. He looked dejected, defeated, and utterly alone. His hands pressed to his temples then slid down to rest in his lap.

Anakin, moved by the Knight's distress, feeling his combination of sadness and nervous energy through the bond, inched closer to the man and tentatively put his arms around him and squeezed gently. A bolt of uncertainty ran from Obi Wan into the boy's mind, but it was quickly followed by an even stronger wave of gratitude and affection. Obi Wan extricated his arms and returned the embrace, settling his chin on the top of Anakin's head, Anakin's face nuzzling into Kenobi's chest.

Hesitantly, Anakin spoke to Obi Wan. ** I'm sorry, Master. I didn't know you felt that way . . . About Master Jinn and me and the whole thing. I never really looked at it from your side, that would have made me feel bad, too. **

Obi Wan opened his eyes and glanced down at the boy, the view consisting of Anakin's pale blonde hair. ~~ I waste all those words and the boy sums it up quite nicely in five. It made me feel bad. ~~

He hugged the boy tighter and smiled. ** Anakin, when we talk like this . . . Call me Obi Wan. **

Anakin smiled, and a feeling of hope for the future ran through him, brushing his soul like a fragrant summer breeze. His happiness coursed through the bond, bringing with it serenity and contentment.

Kenobi seemed spent by his experience. His euphoric energy had not diminished, but the comfort of his current situation was too great to intrude upon. Obi Wan compensated by drumming his legs against the side of the healing center bed. His hands patted Anakin's back in little rhythms, producing a giggle from the boy that did wonders for his pensive mood. Obi Wan sighed, allowing the comfort of the boy's attention to soothe his weariness.

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Bant took this as her cue to retreat to her desk. As much as she liked to hear Obi Wan speak, even HIS voice became grating after the first couple of hours. She knew his throat would be sore later. He was talking and just couldn't shut up. The recent lull was just that. A lull. She knew the man would be back up, pacing and babbling, within a few minutes.

One symptom Bant had not foreseen was her friends' heightened emotional state. He was not just hyper. He was unstable. It was not like her Obi Wan to lose his composure like he had. They had had some emotional conversations over the years, and a handful of them had reduced the Jedi to tears, but not like THAT, and Bant had never seen him act that way in front of anyone else. He was going from angry, to sad, to indignant, to devastated, to affable, then back to angry again with stunning rapidity.

~~ This too shall pass, ~~ She thought. ~~ I just hope he isn't too embarrassed when he realizes he bared his soul like that in front of Anakin. ~~

The healer gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. In retrospect, she decided she preferred Obi Wan loopy to Obi Wan hyper and emotional. With a heavy sigh, she saw that she had been gone a half hour, and got up from her reports to check her loquacious patient's vitals.

Entering the room, Bant was unsurprised and yet dismayed to see Obi Wan standing on his head, demonstrating some kind of exercise to Anakin, who was giggling wildly. Kenobi supported himself with one hand, the other arm outstretched, his legs bent as if he were about to spring upwards into a back flip.

"Obi Wan! Don't you even THINK about it!" She pointed a warning finger and frowned fantastically at her friend.

He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Gracefully he lowered his arm and slid into a sitting position on the floor. "Ok, ok, geez. I was just trying to show Anakin how -- "

"I don't CARE what you were JUST trying to do. I WILL strap you down in the bed if I have to. I'm sick of changing your bandages and if you rip the wound open I'll have to start this all over again." She held her hand out to him and pulled him up gently. "Get on the bed. I have to get your stats again."

Sullenly, Obi Wan sulked over to the bed, sitting with a groan. "SOMEBODY took a grumpy pill while she was gone." He smiled and winked at Anakin, who bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Oh, man, I'm so sick of being in here, Bant, when can I get out of here? There's nothing to do, you're being inhospitable, I want to be back in my own rooms where I have all my books and all my other stuff, I've been here forever and --"

Bant glared at him, cutting him off. "Shut up, please!"

~~ So much for not resorting to that anymore! ~~ Walking around him, the healer began peeling the bandages back to inspect the wound.

Obi Wan began laughing wholeheartedly, shaking his head, strange blackish hair flying. "Shut up, PLEASE? Oh, that's really good, that's brilliant, I'll have to remember that one. Nothing like following a rude command with a word of politeness. Almost makes the shut up seem like a friendly request, doesn't it, Ani?" His chuckling continued.

Anakin continued to smile, and nodded his head in agreement. The boy had not gotten a word in edgewise for more than ten minutes. Ostensibly, Obi Wan was talking to him, but Anakin got the feeling that Kenobi's behavior would have been identical even if the man had been totally alone in the room.

Bant, satisfied with the injury's progress, closed the bandage and returned to stand in from of Obi Wan. "Look, Ballea, I know you can't help it, but really, you're driving me crazy. You know I love you, and it's wonderful to see you in such high spirits after all the misery of the past few days, or hours . . . " She patted his cheek and sighed. "I guess I should just deal with it. You'll be back to your old taciturn self soon enough." A small smile as she took his blood pressure and listened to his heart.

Kenobi seemed affronted by his friends' comment. His brow knitted, a small line forming between his eyes. "I'm not taciturn! Am I?" He gazed around Bant to look at Anakin. "I'm not taciturn, am I Ani? I'm a friendly enough guy, aren't I? I don't put people off, do I?"

Anakin squirmed, a pained expression on his face. "Wellllll . . . You can be a little . . . uhh . . . hard to talk to sometimes. Preoccupied. Uninterested . . . Grumpy . . . Serious "

Obi Wan pouted. "Ok, ok, ok, I get the picture, you don't have to write me a book about how unappealing I am when I'm not hopped up on goofballs . . . "

Bant grinned. "Oh, come on, Obi Wan, self pity is not becoming on you at all. It ruins the effect of that devastating face you have and just turns you into a schmuck."

Obi Wan's mouth dropped open in shock. "A SCHMUCK! What kind of thing is that to call a friend, Bant, I mean really, that's not a very nice thing to say." He pouted again, an expression that had been perfected early on in his initiate years.

"Quit pouting, you big baby." She finished with his vitals and moved to put her instruments away. "And as far as the 'schmuck' label goes, if the shoe fits, wear it, buddy."

Obi Wan shook his head in mock disgust. "Unbelievable. Totally unbelievable. You're friends with someone your whole life, and they turn on you with their nasty words like that," he snapped his fingers, "Just like that! How treacherous, nay, how vile, how despicable . . . " Obi Wan was smiling widely now, a total 180 degree turn from the mess he had been an hour before.

Bant gazed at Obi Wan, hands on her hips, enjoying his little melodramatic soliloquy, while Anakin just laughed happily.

As Bant watched, an amazing thing happened. Something that filled her with joy and gave her hope to carry on.

Obi Wan yawned.

A big, hearty, full throated yawn, complete with little yawny noises as he breathed out.

He blinked his eyes slowly and looked at Anakin in amazement. "Anakin, I'm getting sleepy." The boy just looked at him, wondering why this was news worthy of speaking aloud.

"YES!" Bant cried. She walked to the bed and fluffed the pillows. "Your vitals are spot-on normal, the back wound is almost healed, although it will be tender for a couple more days, and your body has done you the wonderful favor of burning all those stims out of your system, and that hard work has made you tired, my friend, yes, very sleeeeepy." Bant was giddy.

Obi Wan and Anakin looked at each other.

** She sounds like you did earlier, talking all fast and excited like that. ** Anakin observed.

Obi Wan pursed his lips. ** Yes, she does. I must have really annoyed her, for her to be so happy that it's over. **

Anakin looked thoughtful. "Yes, I'm sure you did annoy her, but mostly I just think she's worried about you."

Bant turned her gaze to Anakin. "Yes I was worried . . . And yes, he annoyed me greatly." Her face softened and she came to stand by Obi Wan, taking his hand affectionately. "You did scare me, my friend. You worked yourself up pretty badly there . . . I hate to see you upset like that."

Obi Wan squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I don't ever remember feeling that upset or out of control. Not since the day on Naboo, when . . . " He shook his head. "Well, I feel okay now, and it's over." He looked pointedly at Anakin. "If you need to talk to me about any of the things I said, we can do that, but not right now, ok?" Anakin nodded, an understanding look on his face.

"Oh and Anakin, you spilled the beans again with the bond communication." Kenobi smiled warmly at the boy. "Not that it matters this time, you can say about anything in front of Bant. We don't have secrets. But it could be disastrous in certain situations."

Anakin looked down, chagrined. ** I'm sorry, Master **

** Master? ** Obi Wan stared at him expectantly.

** Oh! Uh, I mean, I'm sorry, Obi Wan, I'll try to remember. Maybe we can practice it so it becomes more natural to me. And calling you Obi Wan is totally weird, but I will try to remember that, too. ** He hopped off the bed and stood next to Bant.

** Now why don't you get some rest? ** Anakin said, simultaneously with Bant's "Ok, it's time for you to rest, Obi Wan."

Kenobi looked from Bant to Anakin and back again as he lay back carefully on the bed. He rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, now there's TWO of them!"

Anakin and Bant looked at each other quizzically as Obi Wan snuggled into the pillow and closed his eyes.

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The door chime on Mace Windu's quarters buzzed briefly. Mace Felt the space just outside his door, and recognized the signature at once. Yoda. He palmed the door open and ushered the small Master inside.

Yoda made a beeline to the living room, helping himself to a cookie out of a jar that Mace kept on his jaffa table.

Windu followed, sitting across from Yoda, and waited. He didn't have to wait long.

"A problem, there is." The wizened Master said, munching.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" Mace drawled.

Yoda nodded, swallowed. "Send Kenobi back to Solinia, we must."

Windu looked confused. "Send him back? Why? They are the ones that said he was no longer needed. And now, with all these strange events of late, we have to send him away?" Yoda nodded. "No, Master Yoda, we can send someone else." His tone was firm.

Yoda shook his head. "Only Kenobi, they said. They will not deal with another. He was there two years, knows them. A reasonable request, it is."

Windu was flabbergasted. "But, the wound, the attempts on his life, this bond with Skywalker . . . Kenobi isn't even healed yet, he simply can't go."

Yoda snagged another cookie. "Go, he must. Send someone with him, we will, but Kenobi must go or the Solinians will not let any Jedi on planet."

Windu let an angry expression slip by. "Then they can do without our aid, we are not bound to send in a team that is not at full capabilities."

"Five days it takes to reach Solinia. By then, almost back to normal, Obi Wan will be. And this time we will send Jedi, not fishermen. Make our presence known, we must, if we are to have any impact on the situation. No more hiding among the population. If a member of the Republic they are, then reconcile to Jedi involvement, the people must be." Yoda's mind was obviously made up. Mace realized there must be reasons for the decision, and if Yoda did not offer them, then he would never know what they were. "Kenobi is the best person for this job. To send anyone else, would be negligent. Strong the boy is, handle this, he can. Simple mission, it should be."

Windu sighed. "Those words are the kiss of death, my friend." He smiled ruefully. "No Jedi mission is, by definition, a simple mission. When do we tell Kenobi about this?"

Yoda stood. "Right away, we must go. An incident, there has been, time is of the essence or war will surely break out." The small green hand grabbed another cookie, and Yoda began to walk toward the door.

Mace strode out, quickly outdistancing the small Master. The two friends walked down the corridor, the gap between them growing larger.

Mace turned back, smiling wickedly at Yoda. "Come on, Lil Fella, we haven't got all day!" Then, inconceivably, Windu giggled.

A group of Padawans turned as one to stare at the unnatural sight of Mace Windu snickering.

Yoda scowled and rasped at the insolent man, "When I catch up with you, thwack you with my stick, I WILL!"

Mace shrieked in mock horror and jogged around the corner, leaving a muttering

Yoda to complain about 'these humans' and how 'never grow up, they do.' The moment of Mace's thwacking would be sweet, indeed.