Leaving his Master's, former Master's he corrected,
chambers, Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to find a nice quite place to
meditate and release his anger and frustration into the Force. Instead he
continued on, as he always had and he always would. There was still work to be
done, and somehow he knew that time was running out.
Heading toward the archives, where he could access a terminal, Obi-Wan drew his
hastily grabbed robe on and pulled the hood up over his face. Normally a Jedi
would not wear his hood in the Temple, and to do so signaled that he did not
wish to be spoken to. Rounding the last corner that stood between him and the
data terminals, he was stopped cold by a familiar voice just ahead that sent
chills down his spine.
"I don't know what happened," the soft toned voice complained, "I've tried to
contact him, but its almost as if he is avoiding me."
"Perhaps something happened on his last mission that he isn't yet ready to
discuss," another voice interjected, the familiarity of it almost bringing
tears to Obi-Wan's eyes. Somehow in all of his planning and plotting and
dreaming, he had forgotten that there were so many others who he had dearly
missed. To hear their voices, and to again know that they were alive without
being able to see them or speak to them was gut-wrenching.
"Master Jinn must have done something then," the first voice declared. "Obi
wouldn't have ever done anything that would make him ashamed enough to avoid
his friends. He just isn't like that."
"Bant, I'm sure that if Obi wanted to talk to us, he would," the masculine
voice stated calmly, though the tones were far more distraught than what
Obi-Wan remembered ever hearing before. "I think you are jumping to conclusions
about what you overheard. It is simply inconceivable to believe that the
Council would ever put their prize Padawan under house arrest or accuse him of
training in the Darkside."
Until the last sentence, Obi-Wan had almost decided that his reservations were
ridiculous, and that he deserved the chance to see his old friends again.
N'erak's last comment, however, reminded him that time was running out, and
that as much as he wanted to spend time with Bant and N'erak, the opportunity
just wasn't there. Drawing his cloak even tighter around his face, and
concealing his Force-signature as he had learned to do during the long days of
evading Imperial scouts, Obi-Wan brushed past those he had once considered to
be his best friends without them even realizing he had been there.
*********************************************
Within his quarters, Qui-Gon again knelt in meditation, this time on the sturdy
mat that his apprentice had bought for him on his last naming day. Actually,
I guess from his perspective, he bought it for me several decades ago, he
realized inanely as he tried to focus and center his churning thoughts. The
story was fantastic, and the Master could tell that Obi-Wan was leaving out
details, but he had seen the proof with his own eyes, and the Force itself told
him that his Padawan was speaking the truth.
Is Anakin really a danger, or was it simply because he was not trained well?
Although he had the utmost faith in his Padawan's abilities, he knew first
hand how difficult it was to become a Master to a difficult Padawan, and as he,
himself, had failed so miserably with Xanatos, he could not discount that
Obi-Wan may have done the same with Anakin. Anakin Skywalker is the Chosen
One, and he will bring balance to the Force, but at what cost?
As his certainty of the necessity of training Anakin and his belief in his
Padawan's utter conviction that the boy was dangerous warred with each other
within his mind, the Jedi Master was interrupted from his meditations by an
incessant chiming. Opening his eyes and releasing a disgusted sigh, he rose
gracefully to his feet and moved to take a seat in front of the disruptive
comm. unit. Entering his passcode, he awaited the urgent message that was
chiming so diligently. When his message account opened and revealed an empty
folder, he frowned. The only messages that can be coded as urgent must come
from the Jedi Council or directly from the Galactic Senate. Why would either
send a message to Obi-Wan?
Briefly considering the ramifications of his actions, but deciding that the
truth was too important to ignore, Qui-Gon used his override to access his
Padawan's account. As he waited for the message to open on the screen, he began
to feel a faint tingling in the Force. It was almost as if it were warning him
to be prepared for whatever might lie ahead. After closing his eyes briefly to
release his increasing tension, Qui-Gon reopened his eyes to focus on the short
message on the screen before him. Frowning, he advanced the screen so that he
could view the message that was being replied to. As the two short lines of
text played across the screen he gasped in a sudden realization.
Moving from the comm. unit so quickly that he knocked the chair over backwards,
Qui-Gon hesitated only long enough to grab his robe and lightsaber from the
hook by the door before barreling out into the Temple halls, again in search of
his errant apprentice.
*********************************************
Reading the message, Obi-Wan released a pent breath he hadn't even realized he
had been holding. So this is it… everything I have worked for my entire…
lives… comes down to this moment. Stretching over the back of the hard wood
chair in front of the archive terminal, he brought his hands up to rub almost
painfully across his eyes. After only a moment, he again leaned forward,
lowering his hands to erase the message from the terminal before rising to his
feet and exiting the archives.
*********************************************
After ringing the door chime several times with no answer, Anakin began to grow
impatient. He knew that Master Jinn had to be in his quarters; since that is
the only place he hadn't looked. All right, if you aren't going to come out,
I'm going to come in he grumbled as he surreptitiously studied the
surrounding hallway before going to work in overriding the door lock. It was an
easy task for a boy who had built an entire pod racer on his own, and in a
matter of minutes he was safely ensconced in the homey-feeling environment.
Taking a moment to just soak up the atmosphere of the well lived in rooms,
Anakin closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He missed his mother more than he
ever would have thought possible, and even this slight reminder of a friendly
atmosphere was enough to bring tears to his eyes. His quarters in the initiate
dorms were cold and sterile, much like the rest of the Jedi Temple, and to be
accurate, the Jedi in general. Only Master Qui-Gon seemed to be more than just
a cold-hearted authoritarian, and Anakin was desperate to see him.
Reopening his eyes, he quickly searched the apartments, realizing immediately
that Master Jinn was not there. "Great, now what am I supposed to do," he
muttered, before his gaze fell on the overturned chair before the comm. unit.
His curiosity overcoming whatever caution he may have felt, the young boy set
to work immediately on the terminal, bringing up the last few messages and
programs that had been viewed. He scanned quickly through some odd data about
the Chancellor before an outgoing message caught his attention. It had been
sent from Obi-Wan's account, and the message itself was quite cryptic.
I know who you are.
Level 16, 18:00
Though he stared at the message for several moments, Anakin could not discern
what the meaning was behind it. All he could tell was that it had been sent to
someone in the Galactic Senate. Deciding that the message wasn't important,
Anakin continued to scan through the rest of the saved pathways until he came
to the last one. Studying the message, he immediately discerned that the sender
was Chancellor Palpatine, and again it was only a small cryptic message.
Agreed.
Though he had no idea what the messages meant, it was apparent that Master
Qui-Gon had been strongly affected by them. It was easy to deduce that the Jedi
Master must have opened the messages and read them, causing him to leave the
room so quickly that he didn't even bother to right the tipped chair. Sighing,
Anakin studied the chrono on the wall. Bringing up a map of Coruscant on the
terminal, the young boy studied the layout of the Jedi Temple in relation to
the only open area of Level 16. Quickly logging off of the system, Anakin
jumped to his feet and raced from the apartments as quickly as his short legs
would carry him. If he hurried, he would make it just in time…
