"Sir, there is a communication for you from the Jedi Temple,"
Lazira, Chancellor Palpatine's personal secretary, announced.
"I will take it in my office," the Chancellor replied, keeping his voice calmly
modulated, though he felt an ecstatic wave of elation. His plans were already
falling into place, years earlier than he had predicted they would. Moving
swiftly, yet evenly, the dark-cloaked man entered his private offices and
sealed the door. Sitting stiffly behind his Appleton desk, he activated the
comm. unit within and silently viewed the message. There was no visual, no
sound and it was merely two lines of text, but it was enough to strongly pique
his curiosity.
Leaning back in his chair, in a casual pose he would never have affected in
front of any of his subordinates, legal or no, he peaked his hands in front of
him and considered the cryptic communication. Although he knew who the message
was not from, and was relatively certain of whom it was from, he was not
one to normally take risks, but in this case he was willing to make an
exception. The communication was too intriguing, and possibly too dangerous, to
ignore. Studying the message once more, the Chancellor leaned forward and
responded to the non-visual, non-audio message in kind, with a one-word
response. "Agreed."
*********************************************
"I'm really not certain how to go about this," Obi-Wan admitted with a rueful
grin that was quickly replaced with a more sober expression. "I guess the best
place to begin would be with the battle on Naboo."
"Padawan," Qui-Gon interrupted, leaning forward toward his apprentice, "I think
it might be best if you start before Naboo. It is apparent that you received
training from someone besides me, and I wish to know who it is."
"Master, I know this is going to be difficult," Obi-Wan sighed, " but I would
appreciate it if you would simply reserve judgment and hear me out."
"Obi-Wan, I have allowed you much latitude in your training," Master Jinn
replied, his blue eyes fixed on his Padawan's own sober gaze, "but you are
still my apprentice. You will answer me when I ask you who trained you to fight
a Sith."
"Master Jinn," the younger Jedi stated, knowing that the more formal address
was sure to get Qui-Gon's attention, "as a Padawan I would be expected to
answer you in a forthright manner, but I am afraid that I cannot explain unless
you are willing to suspend your disbelief and simply listen."
"Obi-Wan…" Qui-Gon began, before hesitating and beginning again. "Padawan, I
will listen to whatever it is you wish to tell me, but there is much you do not
know. The Council fears that you have been training with the Sith, and might be
contaminated by the Darkside."
To Qui-Gon's surprise, Obi-Wan laughed at his Master's declaration. "I assure
you, Master, the Council could not be closer to the truth, yet so far away at
the same time."
Leaning back on the sofa and bringing a hand up to rub at the bridge of his
nose, Qui-Gon sighed. "Very well, perhaps you should simply explain to me as
best you can then."
Accepting his Master's capitulation with a mere nod, Obi-Wan began his tale of
tragedy, despair and, finally, hope.
*********************************************
The story was too incredible not to believe, and he had witnessed the evidence
of it himself, yet Qui-Gon's first thought was to take his Padawan to the
Healer's ward for a psych evaluation. It was impossible that the young man who
sat before him had lived such a life of hardship and sorrow, and yet the
shadows that danced in the stormy eyes convinced him. The boy who sat before
him was not the one he had trained for the past decade, but instead was a Jedi
Master in his own right. Although he was confused, and saddened by his own part
in Obi-Wan's horrible previous existence, Master Jinn found he could not be
more proud of his Padawan's actions and determination.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon began at the end of the long and tragic tale, "or should I
call you Master Kenobi?" he added, wishing to again see the sparkle of humor
within the eyes that had seen too much. When Obi-Wan responded with a slight
smile, he continued. "We must take this information to the Council at once.
They need to know of the Sith uprising."
"And Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, though he already knew the answer. The choked
expression on his Master's face spoke quite elegantly.
"Anakin is the Chosen One," Qui-Gon stated, missing the slight flinch his words
brought to the other man. "He must be trained, he is too dangerous otherwise."
"Anakin is dangerous whether he is trained or not!" Obi-Wan erupted, jumping to
his feet and moving to pace the small apartment. Though he enjoyed the benefits
of his return to youth, he found the excess energy somewhat trying to deal
with. "You must see that. I watched as he destroyed everything and everyone I
ever loved, leaving the Galaxy a dangerous and deadly pit of despair."
"But he did bring balance to the Force," Qui-Gon replied calmly, as he watched
Obi-Wan pace in front of him. "He did what he was required to do, and you
cannot fault him for that. It is his duty, his place within prophecy, to do
so."
"You are defending his actions?" the younger Jedi exclaimed, his shock and
amazement apparent in the sudden halting of all his movement. "You are honestly
going to sit there and tell me that he was right to slaughter the Jedi Order,
and to destroy the very Republic that you have sworn to protect!"
"The Jedi Order has become complacent, and the Senate is more and more
inefficient each day," Master Jinn explained. "There is a great need for
change, and entropy is a fact of all systems, whether they are the government
or the Jedi Order. Anakin Skywalker is merely the agent of such change."
Shutting his eyes briefly and releasing his anger and frustration to the Force,
Obi-Wan sighed. "All of those years on Tatooine, I used to dream of the day
when I could finally see you again, and explain to you all that had happened in
my life. I used to pretend that you were with me, and I'd talk to you each and
every day during my exile. I knew, I knew, that you would understand and
that you would admit you had been wrong to cause the one person who had loved
you unconditionally so much pain."
Opening his eyes again, and revealing the haunted gaze, Obi-Wan continued. "I
know that it was selfish to wish you would ever apologize for what you had done
to me, to the Order, and to the galaxy at large, but I could not help it. I
needed to forgive you, and that was the only way that I could do so."
Rising to his feet, Qui-Gon attempted to reach for his apprentice. He could
feel the agony and desolation that rolled off of the young man before him, and
his compassionate nature could not allow him to let it pass without an attempt
to console. Instead, Obi-Wan stepped back and turned his back on him.
"Padawan, I…" Qui-Gon started, only to be cut off by the curt voice of a Master
Jedi that issued forth from the young man before him.
"I am not your Padawan, and you will not address me as such," Obi-Wan replied
coldly. "I can see that my efforts here are wasted, and I still have much work
to do." Moving toward the doorway, without even turning to face his former
Master, the younger Jedi exited the room.
