Chapter 2 – Obi-Wan
"Elsewhere your mind is. Concentrate you must."
Obi-Wan vaguely heard Master Yoda's gravelly voice in his ears, but he was more concerned with the laser probe that was bearing down on him. He spun quickly, deflecting a laser bolt back at the probe, shattering it to pieces. He rolled along the floor as several pinging laser bolts barely missed him. Raising a hand, he sent two probes smashing into each other. A tiny prickle of warning told him to move so he leapt high and out of the way of three other probes which had somehow managed to coordinate their firing to occur at the same time.
That's a new one. Master Yoda is getting trickier in his old age.
In that moment a laser bolt grazed his left shoulder, which only produced a tiny jolt of pain and didn't slow down his cutting the probe in two. A blast to his right arm, the arm that held his lightsaber, would have been much more damaging.
He is right. My mind is elsewhere. I should have been finished with this long ago.
Obi-Wan felt danger once again, but spun too late to deflect the laser bolt from the last laser probe. It caught him square in the chest, knocking him backward and flat on his back. The probe circled over the top of him and set to fire another shot when he saw it gripped by an invisible hand and smashed against the far wall.
"Ended this exercise is. Poorly did you do. Surprised am I," Master Yoda exclaimed, moving up next to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan propped himself up on his elbow and examined the spot on his chest where the laser bolt had hit him. Good thing it was set on low power, he thought to himself, as he turned to face Yoda.
"I'm sorry Master. I have let my distraction cloud the moment. This is a fairly poor showing for someone who is considered a Jedi Master."
"Padawan, Knight, Master, bad times can they all have. Why distracted were you?"
"I wish I knew. I sense…a disturbance in the Force."
"Something to do with your Padawan it has," Yoda asked, raising a knowing eyebrow.
"Partially. But you have counseled me before about being overly concerned for Anakin. No, this is something more. I sense something pivotal is about to take place. But the feeling is elusive."
"Hmm," was the only response the diminutive Master gave to Obi-Wan's words.
"I take that to mean you don't sense anything Master," Obi-Wan responded, looking at Master Yoda with a reverence that only Qui-Gon would have received from him. It troubled Obi-Wan that Yoda and the Council apparently didn't sense what he had been sensing recently, just as it troubled him that Qui-Gon had not sensed anything at the beginning of their mission to Naboo. Obi-Wan was beginning to think the Force was simply playing tricks on him.
"Darkness, evil, confusion do I sense. Not this moment you sense. Wrong that does not mean you are. Connection to the Force must you trust. Guide you it will."
"Thank you Master," Obi-Wan replied, smiling inwardly at the fact that Yoda had anticipated his fears and gently tried to squelch them. "As always, I value our time together Master. I am especially grateful you agreed to these extra training sessions. I have needed a place to refocus my energies. A place where I could be a student again, rather than a teacher."
"Always students are we and teachers both. Whether Padawan or Master, it is so."
"Of course, Master. Still, there is learning from our experiences and then there is freedom to be taught more formally. I have appreciated that opportunity. I feel I have grown as a Jedi, but there is still much for me to learn."
"So certain are you. Perhaps underestimate yourself you do."
"Perhaps you are right, Master. But do not mistake my words for false humility or lack of confidence. I merely state what I feel to be fact."
"From a certain point of view," Yoda responded, gently teasing him with one of Obi-Wan's own favorite sayings.
"Yes, from a certain point of view," Obi-Wan responded in turn, visibly smiling at Yoda's teasing.
"And where is young Skywalker?" Yoda asked, curious.
"Getting into trouble no doubt. I tell you Master, that boy is going to be the death of me."
That young man, Obi-Wan reminded himself. Anakin was already taller than Obi-Wan and growing by leaps and bounds everyday in terms of his skills. Yet, there was something that remained very childlike about Anakin, a fact which both comforted and troubled Obi-Wan. For all his growth, Anakin still controlled his feelings like a child would, which is to say not so well. He was especially impulsive, a dangerous trait given the missions that a Jedi could be assigned to, but Anakin's skill and resourcefulness had always made up for any deficiencies he might have in emotional control. The things he did, while sometimes crazy and impulsive to Obi-Wan, seemed to work out in the end. From a teacher's perspective it was a bad trend that would never present Anakin with moments to have to suffer the consequences of his impulsiveness. Hence, it would be difficult for him to learn from those situations. Obi-Wan knew all too well that eventually things like that caught up with you. He only hoped that when that time came for Anakin it wouldn't be fatal.
"Done a good job of taking your mind off things this talk has not. Suggest something else I might."
"What's that Master?" Obi-Wan asked as he regarded Yoda with great curiosity.
Without saying another word, Yoda let his walking stick drop to the floor and opened his robe ever so slightly. A tiny lightsaber leapt into his hands, the green blade springing vibrantly to life. With amazing speed he lunged at Obi-Wan where his lightsaber was met with equal speed by the shimmering blue blade that was Obi-Wan Kenobi's signature. Yoda deftly tried to come up underneath Obi-Wan, using his small size as an advantage, but Obi-Wan was too quick and rolled out of the way. Yoda came up on Obi-Wan's left, fast, but Obi-Wan spun quickly to the right sending Yoda wide of his mark. Obi-Wan steadied himself in the Force, easily fixing on the immense ripple that Yoda's presence created. It had been a very long time since Obi-Wan last spared with Yoda, but already Obi-Wan could tell that his confrontation with the Sith Lord on Naboo, and the years since had made him a much better duelist. Yoda actually had to work now to get the upper hand, though Obi-Wan knew with absolute certainty that eventually Yoda would get the upper hand. He was a better swordsman than Obi-Wan, perhaps the best in the entire Order, and far more powerful. In fact, Obi-Wan had only ever seen one other Jedi that he thought could match Master Yoda in a duel. Unfortunately, Anakin tended to prefer working on some makeshift invention or flying around the lower levels of Coruscant (something Obi-Wan wasn't supposed to know that he did) over practicing his saber technique. Once again, it saddened Obi-Wan to observe his Padawan's tendencies. Obi-Wan could tell that Anakin felt him too harsh an instructor, that Anakin felt he was being held back. In reality, Obi-Wan's greatest goal was to show Anakin that he could be the most powerful, the most skilled Jedi if he was just willing to work at it. Obi-Wan believed that as surely as he believed in the Force. If Anakin wanted to, he could be almost unstoppable.
"Improved you have. The match of your Master I would say. Very proud would he be."
Obi-Wan felt a lump well up in his throat, the same lump that usually welled up whenever anyone mentioned Qui-Gon. He quickly let the sadness pass through him though, choosing to instead hold onto the warmth of the praise that Master Yoda had just given. Obi-Wan quickly shifted his wrists and in a blur had changed tactics. Normally a defensive fighter, even among the Jedi, Obi-Wan leapt into motion, taking the offensive. Yoda was pushed closer to the wall by Obi-Wan's powerful strokes, but as good as Obi-Wan was fighting he couldn't match Yoda's speed. Yoda bounced off the wall and landed on the opposite side of the room. Obi-Wan, having anticipated the move, back flipped and spun, crouching down to meet Yoda's blade at even height. They stayed that way, blue saber and green saber locked together, for what seemed like an eternity, until Yoda spoke again.
"Ended this is. Fought well you have. Cleared your mind I suspect."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, as he stood to his full height and shut off his lightsaber. "My mind does feel clearer."
"Then much we have accomplished this day," Yoda said, his lightsaber already back out of sight within the folds of his robe.
"I am grateful for your kind words during our duel Master, but the fact does not escape me that you could have won at any moment."
"Perhaps."
"You disagree," Obi-Wan stated, more closely regarding the diminutive Jedi.
"Modest you are Obi-Wan. Always quick to know your limitations. Sometimes too much so. Regard yourself less than others when perhaps you should not."
"Thank you Master. I shall consider your words," was the only response Obi-Wan could give. He wanted to say more but a tingling in the Force told him that they were about to have company.
"I'd hoped I would find you here," Obi-Wan heard the deep voice of Mace Windu say as Mace stepped into the training room. At first Obi-Wan thought Mace had been speaking to Master Yoda but it quickly dawned on him that the "you" meant both of them. "The Jedi Council has formed and is waiting for you to arrive. There is a situation which requires our attention."
"Then immediately will we come. Or, almost immediately," Yoda said as he regarded Obi-Wan for the first time since Mace's arrival. At that moment Obi-Wan knew that he needed to find Anakin.