Deep within the structure, lights continued to burn, albeit far dimmer than normal as the last of the power from the auxiliary systems drained. Soon a permanent darkness would fall, as there was no one left to maintain the equipment or effect repairs to all the damage that had been wrought upon it.
Obi-Wan paused, casting his gaze along the bluish stone wall. Carbon scoring marred the surface where a battle had raged. Where Clonetroopers had stormed in and killed all who had resisted and many more who had not. The lingering memory of those deaths floated absently past the Jedi, his attention focused on the narrow corridor that lay ahead.
At the edge of his mind's eye the ghost of the now dormant capacitors engaged and the glowing laser walls sealed him from the circular room just ahead. His heart pounded with eagerness and desperation to pass into the waiting chamber.
The sound of shifting debris shattered the illusion and drew the Jedi's silent attention toward the shadows as he listened to the distant echo of falling stone. The walls all around him were veined with cracks that rose up from the foundations reaching toward the ceiling.
It would all come down soon.
But not today.
Returning to the reverie, he folded his arms across his chest in a well-worn fashion before stepping into the once laser protected corridor.
Midway through, Obi-Wan paused. As crisp as the day it had happened, he memories brought the click-clack-swoosh of the security system back to life. Everything was awash in red and the air vibrated with the menacing buzz. A few cells ahead, the Jedi conjured up the image of his master kneeling in quiet meditation as the tattooed Sith stalked before him impatiently awaiting the continuation of their battle.
His pulse thundered in his ears as he too shifted, ready to break and race ahead the instant the lasers disengaged.
Raising a battle scarred hand; he stared at it for a moment as if astounded by the existence of actual flesh and blood. Within the dream, he pressed callused fingers into the memory of the laser wall. The beams did not burn him for they no longer exited. Pulling his hand back in surprise, Obi-Wan stared into the round chamber that lay unguarded before him. The silent voice of the Force beckoned, tugging at his weary spirit and pulling the reluctant figure toward the room where everything changed.
At the entrance, he turned back, his boots leaving prints on the dust-laden stonework. The gentle currents of the Force guided him forward.
His heart ached as a heavy sigh left him but it did little to lift the invisible weight he bore. Yet, something moved in his mind, a soft voice whispering into his thoughts.
All would be over soon, one way or another.
Inside the generator room, Obi-Wan paced along the outer wall. His fingers grazed the cool surface, grounding him to this place. The fading lights fluctuated, intensifying before dimming once more as if threatening to abandon him to the complete darkness that loomed ever so close.
Retreating from the safety of the wall, stone crushing under each footfall, Obi-Wan approached the edge of the melting pit. The abyss gazed back.
Closing his eyes, he allowed the gentle crests and falls of the eternal currents of the Force to brush against his still form. Within the waves lingered the faint memories of the terror that had befallen the bucolic world.
For all the agony of this world, it could not drown out the faintest remembrance of his master. Qui-Gon Jinn's death, as much as his life, had left an indelible imprint on all that he had touched. His Force signature remained embedded among the structures of the chamber.
Homing in on the mark, the ginger haired man offered up a small smile as he sank to his knees before the very place his master's flame had been extinguished.
Brushing wayward strands of hair from his face with a rough hand, he searched the gentle patterns in the pale gray powder that dulled the once glossy floor.
"I am here. What do you want of me now?" he demanded of the dusty air.
Midnight blue eyes stared up at him.
It is too late for me.
In dream, Obi-Wan moved to touch the image of his master but the ghost faded sending searching fingers passing through emptiness.
Train the boy.
A pang of regret shook the Jedi. "I cannot." The words had been spoken too late to change anything.
The silence refused answer to the declaration.
"I failed you. I failed Anakin. I failed the Order–"
A crash echoed through the dead structure before the hush commanded once more.
The straight line of his shoulders collapsed, unable to bear the burden anymore. Weariness like he had never known before consumed him. He wished only for a respite from the battles, the wars, the running, desperation and duty.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was exhausted.
Seeking not only the memory of his master, he sought the familiar Force signature of the man himself but it remained elusive. All he wanted was to know that he was not alone.
"Even now you will not speak to me," he said flatly, wishing the silence did not wound him so.
The Force twisted about; its formerly gentle currents grew agitated. Light and dark battled for dominance.
A part of him wanted to remain oblivious to the growing disturbance but he could not. The time had come.
Resigning himself to the fate that awaited, the Jedi drew the Force to him. Hoping only to exude the calm and possess the strength his master had before the laser walls opened so long ago.
He would face his fate with the same serenity the older Jedi had. And by doing so, he would make amends in the only way he knew how.