Obi-Wan Kenobi sat up with a jolt. Some dream had awakened him, but he didn't know what it had been about. He clenched his eyes shut trying to remember. He had seen sand, lots of it. And two very bright suns. Two men, taking him away from a small hovel in the desert. He had looked back through the window and seen a woman, but the glare from the suns had hidden her face. As he was taken away, the glare seemed to slowly leave her face. But when Obi-Wan would have been able to see her completely, he woke up with a start.
He opened his eyes and looked about him. He was in his room at the Temple, with his two model ships flying overhead, not on some desert planet. He sighed and swung his feet over the side of his sleep-couch. Rubbing his eyes, he shuffled to the small window in his room. The sun, or whatever it was, was rising over the already busy airspace of Coruscant. He watched the airspeeders go by for a moment then turned away.
He quickly dressed in a tan tunic and pulled on his boots. He grabbed his small lightsaber from its spot on a shelf and hooked it to his belt. It wasn't even a real lightsaber. It was a special low-power lightsaber given to students to practice with. He went over to his small refresher station and splashed cold water in his face, then went out of his room to face the day.
It was still early, so most students weren't awake yet. He only had to go around two other students to get to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He like to sit here and think sometimes. He found a rock slightly overlooking the water and sat.
Why did he keep having that dream? It had been the fourth time he had had it. Each time he saw more and more of the woman's face. Would he someday be able to see it completely, he wondered. He was staring absently at a cliff the students climbed with cable launchers, when he felt something hard smack against his head. He turned and saw Bruck Chun standing behind him, another rock in his hand.
"What'cha starin' at that for, Obi? Gonna climb it?"
"No. We're not supposed to without the Masters here."
"Scared to do it without a grownup at your back?" He tossed the other rock at Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan caught it and glared at Bruck. "No. Why would I be?"
Bruck sneered. "There's nobody here now. Why don't you race me?"
Obi-Wan stared at Bruck for a moment. They had first climbed the cliff when they were eight, as part of a Force excersise. But that had been two years ago, surely he could climb it by himself now. And if he fell he would only hit water. Obi-Wan also didn't want Bruck to think he was scared; he would never hear the end of it. He threw the rock back at Bruck as he stood. "Why not? Lets go. I'm not afraid to race you!"
Bruck grinned again and the two boys made their way to the edge of the lake. "Ready, go!" Bruck said. The two boys simultaneously leapt over the water and grabbed ahold of the stone. Obi-Wan quickly found handholds and foot holds and grasped them tightly. He looked up, trying to spot more footholds and handholds for when he got to them. Bruck was climbing for the moment, finding handholds as he needed them. Obi-Wan called upon the Force to see every small dent and piece of rock sticking out that could slow him down. Then he began to climb. Very quickly he caught up to Bruck. Obi-Wan caught sight of the other boy's furious face as he passed him.
He continued climbing, but suddenly he felt something grab hold of his foot. He looked down and saw Bruck holding on to his boot. Obi-Wan kicked, but still Bruck held. Then Bruck jerked Obi-Wan's foot down and he lost grip on his rock. Obi-Wan fell five feet before he was able to shakily grab the rock again. Bruck sneered at him and kicked at Obi-Wan's extended hand. At first Obi-Wan tried to ignore the pain of Bruck's boot slamming into his fingers, but after a few moments he could stand it no longer. He let go and fell towards the water. It was a long fall, but straight into the cool water. Quickly he swam up to the surface. He glared at Bruck, who was almost to the top, and swam to the shore. He pulled himself out of the water and stomped away back to his room.
He changed his tunic and towel-dried his hair. He was fuming. He was angry that Bruck had cheated, and angrier still that he had even agreed to climb the dumb rock. He was half-way out the door when he suddenly remembered something. He rushed back to his soaked clothes and pulled his lightsaber from the belt. He thumbed it on, and was relieved that it still worked. He quickly hooked it onto his new belt and quickly made his way to meditation.
Most of the students in his class were already there, so he settled down next to his friends Reeft and Garen Muln. Garen looked at him quickly and smiled.
"What?" Obi-Wan whispered.
"Bruck just got caught trying to climb that cliff in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He had gotten up to the top when Master Windu came in and caught him."
"What will they do to him?"
"Problably just give him more homework or things to do." Reeft, a Dresselian, answered.
Obi-Wan did not reply to that. He simply stared at the wall. So, Bruck had gotten caught. Maybe it was a good thing that Obi-Wan had fallen, or else he would have gotten caught too. Then a realization hit him: would Bruck tell on him? Bruck could do that to make sure that Obi-Wan didn't get off scott-free.
After meditation, Obi-Wan split up with his friends and went to his lightsaber training class. Because he was skilled, the Masters had put him in a class with older students. They had laughed at him at first, but had now come to respect him. Obi-Wan had also seen a few of his older friends be chosen as Padawans. He stepped inside and returned a wave.
"Hey, Kenobi! Isn't tommorrow Exhibition Day for you?" one of the girls asked.
"Yeah, it is."
The girl smiled. "Neat. I remember doing that. It was very fun."
No more was said to Obi-Wan for the rest of his class. They were all too busy concentrating on what they were doing. But as Obi-Wan was preparing to go to the dining hall, one boy stepped up to him.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Obi. But, somehow, I don't think you'll be attending Exhibition Day."
Obi-Wan paled. Had Bruck told on him and gotten him punished too? "Why's that?"
The boy shrugged. "I don't know. But it feels like danger." With that, the boy turned and walked away. Obi-Wan stared after him for a moment, and then continued his way to the dining hall. He grabbed a tray of food and sat at his usual table, waiting for his friends. Slowly, one by one, they got out of their class and joined him. His best friend, eight year-old Bant, a Mon Calamari, sat next to him.
She stared at him with concerned eyes. "Obi-Wan? What's wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." He poked at his food. He couldn't eat. Not after what that boy had told him. He knew it was probably nothing, but he couldn't get it out of his head.
"I don't mean to sound greedy, but are you going to eat your pastry Obi-Wan?" Reeft asked him.
"No. Here." Obi-Wan handed the food to Reeft. Catching Bant's eye he added, "I'm not hungry today."
"That's not like you, Obi-Wan." Garen said, shoving his own food into his mouth. "Usually you eat it all, then take some of Bant's."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just not hungry today."
"Is this about Bruck?"
Bant's question caught him off-guard. "Bruck? What about Bruck?"
"How you guys were climbing that cliff and only he got caught."
Obi-Wan's mouth hung open. "How do you guys know I was climbing it too?"
Bant shrugged. "All the Masters know you were there too. They are waiting to see if you turn yourself in. Or if you will let Bruck be the only one to be punished."
Obi-Wan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. The he abruptly stood and grabbed his tray.
"Obi-Wan!" Bant cried. "Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? I'm going to tell the Masters I was there too." Obi-Wan began to walk away, but caught Reeft's eye. He set his tray down and let Reeft grab the food from it. Bant smiled as she watched.
"You're a good person, Obi-Wan. I believe you will make a great Jedi."
Obi-Wan only smiled at her words as he turned and dropped his tray in its slot. He began the long trek to the very top level of the Temple, to the Council Room. He finally reached the doors, and by then he was very shaky. He was told by another Jedi that he would have to wait; another Master was already in there. He sighed again and went outside to the balcony overlooking the airspace of Coruscant. He propped his elbows up on the railing and watched as ship after ship passed by.
Then one airspeeder caught his eye. A huge, sleek craft, it was zig-zagging through traffic. The open roof allowed Obi-Wan to see the occupants. Three humans, senators or aristocrats by their clothes. They all had panic on their faces and one turned and looked behind him. That's when Obi-Wan saw the other airspeeder. A small, one-man craft was chasing them. As the young Jedi watched, the smaller craft shot at and hit the senator's craft. Smoke began to billow from the engines and they suddenly changed course. Right at Obi-Wan!
The pilot flew the craft only mere feet from where Obi-Wan stood, and the other two men jumped out. Onto the balcony Obi-Wan was on. In surprise Obi-Wan jumped backwards a few feet, falling to the ground. The pilot then took off, expecting the pursuer to follow. But he didn't. Instead, he too headed for the Temple. The man then jumped from his air speeder onto the balcony's ledge. He then took out a blaster and shot twice at the senators' running forms. Both fell and he rushed to retrieve the bodies. He caught sight of Obi-Wan as he prepared to take off, his face twisted in fury and he readied himself to go after the boy. Obi-Wan shrank back into the shadows, but the sound of voices shouting stopped the other man. He snarled once at Obi-Wan then took off, throttle full-open.
Obi-Wan sat there, stunned as the members of the Council rushed out onto the balcony. Many of them leaned past the railing to see if they could catch a glimpse of the perpetraitor. Then they began speaking among themselves, which Obi-Wan could not hear. He remained in the shadows until someone noticed him. It was a large Jedi, not one of the Council members but a powerful Jedi nonetheless. His long graying hair was pulled back and his blue eyes studied Obi-Wan as he squatted down.
"All right there, young one?" he asked. Obi-Wan could only nod. "You saw it happen?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan said, but in a weak voice.
The Jedi nodded. "And what is your name?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master sir." What was he going to do, Obi-Wan wondered.
The Jedi stood up and extended his hand to the boy. Obi-Wan took it and the Jedi pulled him up. For the first time the other Jedi Masters noticed his presense.
"Obi-Wan! What are you doing here?" Mace Windu asked.
"Waiting to speak with us he was." Yoda answered. He turned his heavy-lidded eyes to Obi-Wan. "Saw anything, did you?"
"I saw everything, Master." Obi-Wan answered in a very shaky voice.
Yoda nodded slowly. "Tell us what you saw, you must. But not now." Mace Windu began to protest, but Yoda held up a hand. "Much for a young mind to see, I think. Give him time to sort it out, we must." Yoda turned slowly to the spot where the two men had fallen, leaving a small splatter of blood on the shiny floor. "Qui-Gon, take the boy to his room, will you?"
The large Jedi who had found Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, my Master." He turned to Obi-Wan and took hold of his shoulder. Gently he got the boy to move in the direction of the hoverlift. Obi-Wan shuffled into the lift and Qui-Gon pushed the button to go to the dormitory floor. The young Jedi didn't speak, but when to hoverlift slowed to a stop, he looked up at Qui-Gon.
"He killed them. He killed them and he'll kill me too! He saw me and was going to come after me."
Qui-Gon frowned. Something really had this child scared. "Well Obi, you will be able to tell the Council all about it when they call on you. For now just try to get some rest."
The boy stared at him steadily. "My name is Obi-Wan."
"Okay, Obi-Wan. Try to get some rest. You're safe here."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm not safe anywhere. He'll get me. I saw what he did and he knows." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and began to shiver.
Qui-Gon stopped at Obi-Wan's room. He placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "No one can get to you. No one is going to kill you." he said forcefully.
Obi-Wan nodded, but his eyes showed no relief. Turning quickly from the large Jedi's grasp, he opened his door and stepped inside. The door shutting behind him told him that Qui-Gon had not followed. He lay on his bed on his back and stared at the ceiling. He must have fallen asleep, because before he knew it, someone was knocking on his door. He groggily got up and went to the door. Mace Windu was standing outside.
"Okay there, Kenobi?" Obi-Wan nodded. "Good, good. Will you come with me to the Council Room?"
Obi-Wan nodded again. How could he say no? He followed Master Windu as they silently made their way to where the Council was waiting. Once at the door to the meeting room, Mace turned to the boy. "Don't be nervous when you're in there. You're not in trouble, we're just going to ask you some questions."
Despite Mace's words, Obi-Wan couldn't shake the feeling that if he told the Council, the man would come after him. But Mace opened the door and they both stepped inside. Mace took his seat in the circular room while Obi-Wan stood in the middle and bowed.
"Welcome, young initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi." Yoda said, for those Masters who did not know his name or what he was. "Brought here now to tell us what was done outside, you were. Ask questions to you, we will. Answer them as best you can, you shall."
"Yes, Master."
The Masters nodded their heads. Now the questioning would begin. Mace started. "Tell us, Obi-Wan. What were you doing out on that balcony?"
"I had come to see the Council, but a Master was already meeting with you. I was told to wait. I got tired of waiting inside, so I walked out onto the balcony to watch the airspeeders go by."
"What were you coming to see the Council for?" asked one gray-haired human Master.
"I had heard that Bruck Chun had gotten into trouble for climbing the cliff in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I was told that you knew I was there too, and were waiting for me to own up to it. So I came to confess to you." Obi-Wan stared at his feet for a moment, then looked back up at the Masters will renewed strength in his young eyes.
Yoda nodded. "Good of you to do that, it is."
"What happened after you went outside?" Mace asked.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "I was watching the airspeeders go by and one caught my eye. It was--"
"Why did it catch your attention?" the gray-hair Master interrupted.
"It was weaving in and out of traffic, like they were running from something. They got real close to the Temple and I could see that they were dressed very richly, like senators."
"Who was in it?" a smaller creature like Yoda, Yaddle, asked.
"Three humans. One was the pilot, the other two were probably the senators. One had very dark hair, a beard and mustache. The other one had no hair at all. He had a scar right here," Obi-Wan said, pointing to his forehead. "It ran all the way down to his mouth. One turned around and looked behind him, and I saw their pursuer. He was in a black, one-man airspeeder and he shot their craft. They were going to lose power, so the pilot headed toward the Temple where I was. The two men jumped out onto the balcony and started to run inside."
"Into the hall?" Mace asked.
"Yes, Master Windu. That's when the guy chasing them also pulled up to the Temple and jumped onto it. He took out a blaster and shot both of them in the back, one shot each. Then he ran and got their bodies and put the in the cargo area of his speeder. He was about to go when he saw me. I think he was about to come after me, but he heard someone shouting, so he sped off."
"He put two bodies on a one-man speeder?" Mace asked skeptically.
"Yes. He slung them over the back. I don't know how he was able to go anymore. I thought one of the men was going to fall off."
"Did you get a good look at the murderer?" asked a large Barabel Jedi.
"Yes. He was human, with very short black hair. His eyes were also very dark, but one was covered with some kind of computer. A scanner, I think. He had scars all over his face, and a large chunk of his nose was missing on the left side. He had very sharp and jagged teeth, too. He was wearing a black jumpsuit and black gloves."
"Is that all you can remember about him?" a small blue Jedi asked.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and searched his mind. His eyes snapped open. "No. He had a small patch on his jumpsuit. It was a red square with a blue circle in the middle of it. It had words written under it, but I couldn't read that language."
"Could you remember it enough to write it for us?" Mace inquired. Obi-Wan nodded. Mace turned to a Jedi Padawan who had been standing near the door. "Go find us some durasheets and something for Obi-Wan to write with." The Padawan nodded and rushed out the door. He returned moments later and handed the supplies to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan searched his memory again and focused on the writing. Once he could see it clearly in his memory, he scribbled it down the best he could. Then he handed it to Mace Windu.
It read Spacecom in Basic. Mace read it and passed it on. Once everyone had seen, Yoda peered up at the boy.
"Remember anything else, can you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "That's everything."
The Masters nodded. "Very well, then. To your room, you may return." Yoda bowed his head slightly to Obi-Wan, and the young Jedi returned the respectful gesture. Then he turned and walked out of the Council room and returned to his dormitory. When he had left, the Masters began speaking among themselves.
"SpaceCom is an industry that involves mining and building, on its legal side." Mace commented. "For its other jobs, it deals with slaves and spice."
"Why would a criminal openly wear something with that logo on it?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.
"Either he didn't expect to be seen that close up, or he has nothing to do with SpaceCom at all." Plo Koon answered. Then he turned to Mace and Yoda. "What will we do?"
"Tell the Coruscant Security what he saw, Obi-Wan must. Do it for him, we cannot. Ask questions we did not, they will."
"Tommorrow we will have a Knight accompany Obi-Wan to the Security Headquarters. The boy fears for his life, so maybe he will be more comfortable with someone there beside him." Mace Windu sighed.
The rest of the Council nodded. It was agreed, tommorrow Obi-Wan Kenobi would travel across Coruscant to tell authorites what he saw.
He opened his eyes and looked about him. He was in his room at the Temple, with his two model ships flying overhead, not on some desert planet. He sighed and swung his feet over the side of his sleep-couch. Rubbing his eyes, he shuffled to the small window in his room. The sun, or whatever it was, was rising over the already busy airspace of Coruscant. He watched the airspeeders go by for a moment then turned away.
He quickly dressed in a tan tunic and pulled on his boots. He grabbed his small lightsaber from its spot on a shelf and hooked it to his belt. It wasn't even a real lightsaber. It was a special low-power lightsaber given to students to practice with. He went over to his small refresher station and splashed cold water in his face, then went out of his room to face the day.
It was still early, so most students weren't awake yet. He only had to go around two other students to get to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He like to sit here and think sometimes. He found a rock slightly overlooking the water and sat.
Why did he keep having that dream? It had been the fourth time he had had it. Each time he saw more and more of the woman's face. Would he someday be able to see it completely, he wondered. He was staring absently at a cliff the students climbed with cable launchers, when he felt something hard smack against his head. He turned and saw Bruck Chun standing behind him, another rock in his hand.
"What'cha starin' at that for, Obi? Gonna climb it?"
"No. We're not supposed to without the Masters here."
"Scared to do it without a grownup at your back?" He tossed the other rock at Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan caught it and glared at Bruck. "No. Why would I be?"
Bruck sneered. "There's nobody here now. Why don't you race me?"
Obi-Wan stared at Bruck for a moment. They had first climbed the cliff when they were eight, as part of a Force excersise. But that had been two years ago, surely he could climb it by himself now. And if he fell he would only hit water. Obi-Wan also didn't want Bruck to think he was scared; he would never hear the end of it. He threw the rock back at Bruck as he stood. "Why not? Lets go. I'm not afraid to race you!"
Bruck grinned again and the two boys made their way to the edge of the lake. "Ready, go!" Bruck said. The two boys simultaneously leapt over the water and grabbed ahold of the stone. Obi-Wan quickly found handholds and foot holds and grasped them tightly. He looked up, trying to spot more footholds and handholds for when he got to them. Bruck was climbing for the moment, finding handholds as he needed them. Obi-Wan called upon the Force to see every small dent and piece of rock sticking out that could slow him down. Then he began to climb. Very quickly he caught up to Bruck. Obi-Wan caught sight of the other boy's furious face as he passed him.
He continued climbing, but suddenly he felt something grab hold of his foot. He looked down and saw Bruck holding on to his boot. Obi-Wan kicked, but still Bruck held. Then Bruck jerked Obi-Wan's foot down and he lost grip on his rock. Obi-Wan fell five feet before he was able to shakily grab the rock again. Bruck sneered at him and kicked at Obi-Wan's extended hand. At first Obi-Wan tried to ignore the pain of Bruck's boot slamming into his fingers, but after a few moments he could stand it no longer. He let go and fell towards the water. It was a long fall, but straight into the cool water. Quickly he swam up to the surface. He glared at Bruck, who was almost to the top, and swam to the shore. He pulled himself out of the water and stomped away back to his room.
He changed his tunic and towel-dried his hair. He was fuming. He was angry that Bruck had cheated, and angrier still that he had even agreed to climb the dumb rock. He was half-way out the door when he suddenly remembered something. He rushed back to his soaked clothes and pulled his lightsaber from the belt. He thumbed it on, and was relieved that it still worked. He quickly hooked it onto his new belt and quickly made his way to meditation.
Most of the students in his class were already there, so he settled down next to his friends Reeft and Garen Muln. Garen looked at him quickly and smiled.
"What?" Obi-Wan whispered.
"Bruck just got caught trying to climb that cliff in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He had gotten up to the top when Master Windu came in and caught him."
"What will they do to him?"
"Problably just give him more homework or things to do." Reeft, a Dresselian, answered.
Obi-Wan did not reply to that. He simply stared at the wall. So, Bruck had gotten caught. Maybe it was a good thing that Obi-Wan had fallen, or else he would have gotten caught too. Then a realization hit him: would Bruck tell on him? Bruck could do that to make sure that Obi-Wan didn't get off scott-free.
After meditation, Obi-Wan split up with his friends and went to his lightsaber training class. Because he was skilled, the Masters had put him in a class with older students. They had laughed at him at first, but had now come to respect him. Obi-Wan had also seen a few of his older friends be chosen as Padawans. He stepped inside and returned a wave.
"Hey, Kenobi! Isn't tommorrow Exhibition Day for you?" one of the girls asked.
"Yeah, it is."
The girl smiled. "Neat. I remember doing that. It was very fun."
No more was said to Obi-Wan for the rest of his class. They were all too busy concentrating on what they were doing. But as Obi-Wan was preparing to go to the dining hall, one boy stepped up to him.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Obi. But, somehow, I don't think you'll be attending Exhibition Day."
Obi-Wan paled. Had Bruck told on him and gotten him punished too? "Why's that?"
The boy shrugged. "I don't know. But it feels like danger." With that, the boy turned and walked away. Obi-Wan stared after him for a moment, and then continued his way to the dining hall. He grabbed a tray of food and sat at his usual table, waiting for his friends. Slowly, one by one, they got out of their class and joined him. His best friend, eight year-old Bant, a Mon Calamari, sat next to him.
She stared at him with concerned eyes. "Obi-Wan? What's wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." He poked at his food. He couldn't eat. Not after what that boy had told him. He knew it was probably nothing, but he couldn't get it out of his head.
"I don't mean to sound greedy, but are you going to eat your pastry Obi-Wan?" Reeft asked him.
"No. Here." Obi-Wan handed the food to Reeft. Catching Bant's eye he added, "I'm not hungry today."
"That's not like you, Obi-Wan." Garen said, shoving his own food into his mouth. "Usually you eat it all, then take some of Bant's."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just not hungry today."
"Is this about Bruck?"
Bant's question caught him off-guard. "Bruck? What about Bruck?"
"How you guys were climbing that cliff and only he got caught."
Obi-Wan's mouth hung open. "How do you guys know I was climbing it too?"
Bant shrugged. "All the Masters know you were there too. They are waiting to see if you turn yourself in. Or if you will let Bruck be the only one to be punished."
Obi-Wan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. The he abruptly stood and grabbed his tray.
"Obi-Wan!" Bant cried. "Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? I'm going to tell the Masters I was there too." Obi-Wan began to walk away, but caught Reeft's eye. He set his tray down and let Reeft grab the food from it. Bant smiled as she watched.
"You're a good person, Obi-Wan. I believe you will make a great Jedi."
Obi-Wan only smiled at her words as he turned and dropped his tray in its slot. He began the long trek to the very top level of the Temple, to the Council Room. He finally reached the doors, and by then he was very shaky. He was told by another Jedi that he would have to wait; another Master was already in there. He sighed again and went outside to the balcony overlooking the airspace of Coruscant. He propped his elbows up on the railing and watched as ship after ship passed by.
Then one airspeeder caught his eye. A huge, sleek craft, it was zig-zagging through traffic. The open roof allowed Obi-Wan to see the occupants. Three humans, senators or aristocrats by their clothes. They all had panic on their faces and one turned and looked behind him. That's when Obi-Wan saw the other airspeeder. A small, one-man craft was chasing them. As the young Jedi watched, the smaller craft shot at and hit the senator's craft. Smoke began to billow from the engines and they suddenly changed course. Right at Obi-Wan!
The pilot flew the craft only mere feet from where Obi-Wan stood, and the other two men jumped out. Onto the balcony Obi-Wan was on. In surprise Obi-Wan jumped backwards a few feet, falling to the ground. The pilot then took off, expecting the pursuer to follow. But he didn't. Instead, he too headed for the Temple. The man then jumped from his air speeder onto the balcony's ledge. He then took out a blaster and shot twice at the senators' running forms. Both fell and he rushed to retrieve the bodies. He caught sight of Obi-Wan as he prepared to take off, his face twisted in fury and he readied himself to go after the boy. Obi-Wan shrank back into the shadows, but the sound of voices shouting stopped the other man. He snarled once at Obi-Wan then took off, throttle full-open.
Obi-Wan sat there, stunned as the members of the Council rushed out onto the balcony. Many of them leaned past the railing to see if they could catch a glimpse of the perpetraitor. Then they began speaking among themselves, which Obi-Wan could not hear. He remained in the shadows until someone noticed him. It was a large Jedi, not one of the Council members but a powerful Jedi nonetheless. His long graying hair was pulled back and his blue eyes studied Obi-Wan as he squatted down.
"All right there, young one?" he asked. Obi-Wan could only nod. "You saw it happen?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan said, but in a weak voice.
The Jedi nodded. "And what is your name?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master sir." What was he going to do, Obi-Wan wondered.
The Jedi stood up and extended his hand to the boy. Obi-Wan took it and the Jedi pulled him up. For the first time the other Jedi Masters noticed his presense.
"Obi-Wan! What are you doing here?" Mace Windu asked.
"Waiting to speak with us he was." Yoda answered. He turned his heavy-lidded eyes to Obi-Wan. "Saw anything, did you?"
"I saw everything, Master." Obi-Wan answered in a very shaky voice.
Yoda nodded slowly. "Tell us what you saw, you must. But not now." Mace Windu began to protest, but Yoda held up a hand. "Much for a young mind to see, I think. Give him time to sort it out, we must." Yoda turned slowly to the spot where the two men had fallen, leaving a small splatter of blood on the shiny floor. "Qui-Gon, take the boy to his room, will you?"
The large Jedi who had found Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, my Master." He turned to Obi-Wan and took hold of his shoulder. Gently he got the boy to move in the direction of the hoverlift. Obi-Wan shuffled into the lift and Qui-Gon pushed the button to go to the dormitory floor. The young Jedi didn't speak, but when to hoverlift slowed to a stop, he looked up at Qui-Gon.
"He killed them. He killed them and he'll kill me too! He saw me and was going to come after me."
Qui-Gon frowned. Something really had this child scared. "Well Obi, you will be able to tell the Council all about it when they call on you. For now just try to get some rest."
The boy stared at him steadily. "My name is Obi-Wan."
"Okay, Obi-Wan. Try to get some rest. You're safe here."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm not safe anywhere. He'll get me. I saw what he did and he knows." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and began to shiver.
Qui-Gon stopped at Obi-Wan's room. He placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "No one can get to you. No one is going to kill you." he said forcefully.
Obi-Wan nodded, but his eyes showed no relief. Turning quickly from the large Jedi's grasp, he opened his door and stepped inside. The door shutting behind him told him that Qui-Gon had not followed. He lay on his bed on his back and stared at the ceiling. He must have fallen asleep, because before he knew it, someone was knocking on his door. He groggily got up and went to the door. Mace Windu was standing outside.
"Okay there, Kenobi?" Obi-Wan nodded. "Good, good. Will you come with me to the Council Room?"
Obi-Wan nodded again. How could he say no? He followed Master Windu as they silently made their way to where the Council was waiting. Once at the door to the meeting room, Mace turned to the boy. "Don't be nervous when you're in there. You're not in trouble, we're just going to ask you some questions."
Despite Mace's words, Obi-Wan couldn't shake the feeling that if he told the Council, the man would come after him. But Mace opened the door and they both stepped inside. Mace took his seat in the circular room while Obi-Wan stood in the middle and bowed.
"Welcome, young initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi." Yoda said, for those Masters who did not know his name or what he was. "Brought here now to tell us what was done outside, you were. Ask questions to you, we will. Answer them as best you can, you shall."
"Yes, Master."
The Masters nodded their heads. Now the questioning would begin. Mace started. "Tell us, Obi-Wan. What were you doing out on that balcony?"
"I had come to see the Council, but a Master was already meeting with you. I was told to wait. I got tired of waiting inside, so I walked out onto the balcony to watch the airspeeders go by."
"What were you coming to see the Council for?" asked one gray-haired human Master.
"I had heard that Bruck Chun had gotten into trouble for climbing the cliff in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I was told that you knew I was there too, and were waiting for me to own up to it. So I came to confess to you." Obi-Wan stared at his feet for a moment, then looked back up at the Masters will renewed strength in his young eyes.
Yoda nodded. "Good of you to do that, it is."
"What happened after you went outside?" Mace asked.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "I was watching the airspeeders go by and one caught my eye. It was--"
"Why did it catch your attention?" the gray-hair Master interrupted.
"It was weaving in and out of traffic, like they were running from something. They got real close to the Temple and I could see that they were dressed very richly, like senators."
"Who was in it?" a smaller creature like Yoda, Yaddle, asked.
"Three humans. One was the pilot, the other two were probably the senators. One had very dark hair, a beard and mustache. The other one had no hair at all. He had a scar right here," Obi-Wan said, pointing to his forehead. "It ran all the way down to his mouth. One turned around and looked behind him, and I saw their pursuer. He was in a black, one-man airspeeder and he shot their craft. They were going to lose power, so the pilot headed toward the Temple where I was. The two men jumped out onto the balcony and started to run inside."
"Into the hall?" Mace asked.
"Yes, Master Windu. That's when the guy chasing them also pulled up to the Temple and jumped onto it. He took out a blaster and shot both of them in the back, one shot each. Then he ran and got their bodies and put the in the cargo area of his speeder. He was about to go when he saw me. I think he was about to come after me, but he heard someone shouting, so he sped off."
"He put two bodies on a one-man speeder?" Mace asked skeptically.
"Yes. He slung them over the back. I don't know how he was able to go anymore. I thought one of the men was going to fall off."
"Did you get a good look at the murderer?" asked a large Barabel Jedi.
"Yes. He was human, with very short black hair. His eyes were also very dark, but one was covered with some kind of computer. A scanner, I think. He had scars all over his face, and a large chunk of his nose was missing on the left side. He had very sharp and jagged teeth, too. He was wearing a black jumpsuit and black gloves."
"Is that all you can remember about him?" a small blue Jedi asked.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and searched his mind. His eyes snapped open. "No. He had a small patch on his jumpsuit. It was a red square with a blue circle in the middle of it. It had words written under it, but I couldn't read that language."
"Could you remember it enough to write it for us?" Mace inquired. Obi-Wan nodded. Mace turned to a Jedi Padawan who had been standing near the door. "Go find us some durasheets and something for Obi-Wan to write with." The Padawan nodded and rushed out the door. He returned moments later and handed the supplies to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan searched his memory again and focused on the writing. Once he could see it clearly in his memory, he scribbled it down the best he could. Then he handed it to Mace Windu.
It read Spacecom in Basic. Mace read it and passed it on. Once everyone had seen, Yoda peered up at the boy.
"Remember anything else, can you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "That's everything."
The Masters nodded. "Very well, then. To your room, you may return." Yoda bowed his head slightly to Obi-Wan, and the young Jedi returned the respectful gesture. Then he turned and walked out of the Council room and returned to his dormitory. When he had left, the Masters began speaking among themselves.
"SpaceCom is an industry that involves mining and building, on its legal side." Mace commented. "For its other jobs, it deals with slaves and spice."
"Why would a criminal openly wear something with that logo on it?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.
"Either he didn't expect to be seen that close up, or he has nothing to do with SpaceCom at all." Plo Koon answered. Then he turned to Mace and Yoda. "What will we do?"
"Tell the Coruscant Security what he saw, Obi-Wan must. Do it for him, we cannot. Ask questions we did not, they will."
"Tommorrow we will have a Knight accompany Obi-Wan to the Security Headquarters. The boy fears for his life, so maybe he will be more comfortable with someone there beside him." Mace Windu sighed.
The rest of the Council nodded. It was agreed, tommorrow Obi-Wan Kenobi would travel across Coruscant to tell authorites what he saw.