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…