Disclaimer- All recognizable character and setting belong to LucasFilms or any company from there. In short, Lucas owns all.
Dark Reflection in a Shattered Mirror
By: KrystalBlaze
Reviews at end of chapter.
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Part One
The chow hall, as usual, was filled with the noisy din of students and Knights
alike. Obi-Wan picked up his tray at the end of the food line and moved through
it, scanning the hall for any sign of friends. He would have liked to eat with
Master Qui-Gon, but he was currently being briefed by the Council for…
something. Qui-Gon did not know what. It had to be important, though: the
Council usually did not meet with anyone around the evening meal. Obi-Wan hoped
they weren't sending them on another mission; they'd just gotten back from one
two weeks ago.
Obi-Wan collected his food after thanking the cook graciously, and set about
trying to find a place to sit. He had heard Bant and Reeft were in the Temple, but he wasn't
sure. He was about to sit down next to Siri Tachi when he saw Bant jumping up and down, waving to him.
He smiled and went over, hugging her before he sat down. Reeft and Garen smiled
up at him.
"So, hey," Garen said as Obi-Wan passed Reeft his bread roll before he could be
asked. "What are you doing back here?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "I could ask the same thing of you. Unlike you, Mr. Hotshot,
I'm usually here once a month."
"Oh, be quiet," Garen said. "I'm here more than you are, and you know it."
"You are not!" Obi-Wan replied. "You're here for months at a time, and then
you have a big mission that takes months. I manage to get in here every three
weeks or so, so we even out." He purposefully turned to Bant. "And how are
you?"
"Brilliant, as usual," she said dryly. "Unfortunately, I'll be here for two
months. Master Fitso has been taken out of commission
for his two broken legs." She shrugged off their words of sympathy. "I'm hoping
the Council will send me on some form of mission while he recovers. I can't
stand being here for two months."
Ever since the death of her first master years ago, Bant had become more
restless and aggressive. Although she would always be the same Bant Eerin, something about her demeanor had changed. She was
more grown-up, more able to harmful situations. At first, Obi-Wan had been
worried about her, but he had come to understand it was her way of coping with
her grief, and he had accepted it.
"Hopefully I'll be staying a while," Reeft said. "I'm getting tired of this
running around."
Garen laughed. "But it's an adventure, Reeft! It's
fun."
"Oh, yes, it's fun," Reeft said, taking Garen's
fruit. "But it's also fun to come home."
Bant smirked. "To have fun, a Jedi must not."
"Quote Master Yoda in such a way, you should not," Obi-Wan said, picking up his
own fruit and taking a bite. "Disrespectful, it is."
"Although funny, I find it," Garen continued, surrendering his tray to Reeft.
"Honestly, Reeft, how can you eat two meals and still be as slim as a twig? I
don't understand it."
At that, Reeft only smiled and continued to eat.
There was silence as Garen watched his three friends eat. He grinned. "You, on
the other hand, Obi-Wan, seem to have grown. I believe you need a haircut." He
patted the lightsaber on his belt. "May I be of some
assistance?"
"Be quiet," Obi-Wan informed him. He looked at Bant. "A solo
mission? Isn't that usually reserved for those as Senior Level Padawans?"
She nodded. "Yes, it is. Although it wouldn't be a solo mission, not really,
maybe more a test mission…" Her face fell as she fully realized what she was
saying. "But what else can I do while my Master heals? I'm restless, Obi-Wan.
There are so many things I can do while he recovers." Uncertainty came to her
face. "I don't think I'm ready, though. I mean… I'm so used to have my Master
with me on missions. It will be… hard without him, I guess."
"Agreed," Garen said. He looked at Obi-Wan in interest. "Obi-Wan, you're
turning twenty-three in a week, aren't you?"
"Don't remind me," Obi-Wan said, shuddering. "And don't try another surprise
party, either. I couldn't go undress in my 'fresher for a week after it."
"Oh, come on, it was fun!" Reeft said.
"My point," Garen said. "Is that you're going to be a Senior Level Padawan, and
that means solo missions."
Obi-Wan, who had been expecting this to come up sooner or later, merely nodded.
He did not feel the need to say anymore. His feelings matched Bant's: he was scared of going on a mission alone. Even
though Qui-Gon had been letting him have the run of missions lately, he still
didn't feel completely safe going out without him. It would be… in Bant's words, hard. Qui-Gon was always such a wonderful
presence at his back, and he wasn't sure if he could manage without him.
Bant seemed to understand the effect that Garen's
words had on him and reached out to touch his arm. "Obi-Wan, I'm sure when the
time comes, you'll be ready. The Council would not send you if they don't think
you're ready."
Her words comforted him, and he took pleasure in that. He winked at her,
acknowledging her kindness. Reeft and Garen had quickly gone onto another
tangent, and were talking about fighters. Garen, it seemed, had recently had a
run in with a Class A model that chased them through
many, many galaxies before running out of fuel and almost crashing into Garen's fighter. He was just getting into the story when
Qui-Gon appeared at the entrance to the mess.
Immediately Obi-Wan stood. Garen looked at him, annoyed at first, but when he
saw Qui-Gon he smirked. "Oh, Obi-Wan, you're in trouble. Master Qui-Gon knows
how much you love to eat, and he wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important."
Obi-Wan picked up his tray and told him politely to shut up. After saying
good-bye to his friends and arranging to meet with them the next day, he made
his way over to his Master, dumping his tray in the garbage. Qui-Gon looked…
apprehensive. If Obi-Wan was honest with himself, he
looked worried.
"Hello, Master," he greeted him neutrally.
Qui-Gon smiled at him, and he looked even more worried then. "I'm sorry to take
you from your friends, Obi-Wan," he said, "but this is extremely important. We
have much to talk about before next week."
Obi-Wan's heart dropped a notch. Qui-Gon looked so
worried, and he sounded so grave…
He only hoped the news Qui-Gon carried wouldn't be too bad.
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He was, as usual, wrong.
It was worst.
"A solo mission? But… I'm not
twenty-three yet! They can't send me when I'm underage, Master. I'm not ready
for a solo mission!"
Despite his worry for his Padawan, Qui-Gon had to smile at his rants. Obi-Wan was sitting on couch in the front room of their living
quarters, his head clenched in his hands. However, when the apprentice made a
move to pull his hair out was when Qui-Gon decided he needed to step in.
Gently, he placed his hand over one of Obi-Wan's and
guided it away from his ginger locks. Obi-Wan looked up, startled.
"Master… you put them up to it, didn't you?"
At that Qui-Gon laughed out loud and sat next to Obi-Wan on the couch.
"Obi-Wan… never would I think to even suggest for you to go on a solo
mission because I knew you would act like this. However, the Council has faith
in your abilities, as do I. Yes, you are not yet twenty-three. However, you
will turn that age next week, which I think is close enough in letting you go."
"But, Master… I don't know anything!"
"Oh, Obi-Wan, I'm sure you'll do fine," Qui-Gon said. He patted his apprentice
on the back. "Never, Obi-Wan, would the Council send you out if they did not
think you were ready. You need to have faith in your abilities, in the Force.
You can't go wrong there."
"Yes, but only there," Obi-Wan breathed. He stood abruptly and looked at
Qui-Gon, abashed. "Master, I apologize for my behavior. It is not becoming of a
Jedi, and I apologize for it."
Qui-Gon smiled at him. "Padawan, it's all right. A first mission, if I remember
correctly, can be extremely difficult. However, there is no need to pull out
your hair with worry. Everything will be fine if you listen to the Force. Now,
would you like to know the details of the mission, or do I need to strap you
down before you hyperventilate again?"
Obi-Wan laughed easily, sliding back into his spot by Qui-Gon's
side. He willed himself to be still, to keep his mind on the present. His
insides were somersaulting over each other in a much disorganized kata. They were sending him on his first solo mission.
Hadn't his friends just been talking about this at evening meal? It was beyond
weird, it was downright creepy.
"This is Level One clearance, Padawan," Qui-Gon said seriously, all traces of
joking erased from his features. His clear eyes were sharp and stern. Obi-Wan
knew what Level One clearance was: undercover work. He felt his breath catch in
his throat. "You cannot, in small terms, discuss this with anyone outside the
Council and myself. This request comes directly from
the Supreme Chancellor himself."
Obi-Wan's insides pushed the ante a little.
"Okay, then. The world you will be sent to is called Yanari; it's in the Middle
Rim. The Republic is very concerned with the happenings on Yanari. Although the planet is officially part of the Republic, they have not
elected Senators, nor have they had any contact with Coruscant for quite some
time. The Republic was concerned, naturally, and sent an emissary to meet with
the world leaders. However, the emissary never returned, and when the Republic
sent an inquiry committee, the two people never returned. Yanari denied they
even showed up.
"The Republic is very concerned. They do not wish to send any more people to
Yanari under the Republic name because they are afraid of losing them. They
sent their own undercover force, but when they returned, they were on the brink
of madness. It seemed the Yanarians do not take
kindly to undercover people, nor do they care of Republic meddling."
"But they are part of the Republic," Obi-Wan said in question. "Why would they
not welcome the Republic?"
"In short," Qui-Gon said grimly, "they are threatening to break away from the
Republic. The Senate fears this greatly. There are worlds, of course, who
refuse to be part of the Republic, and the Senate is fine with that. However, a
planet breaking away is something they cannot tolerate. Do you know why?"
Obi-Wan thought a moment. "Yes. If Yanari breaks away, what's to say no other
world will do the same? Yanari will set off a chain reaction that could very
possibly result in war. What if the separate world were to form their own coalition? They could match the Republic's strength."
"Exactly," Qui-Gon confirmed. "And the Senate cannot allow that. Supreme
Chancellor Valorum wants to know what happened to the
emissary and the inquiry committee. They had comlinks
with them. Why not contact the Republic? Yanari does not have regular contact
with outside world, thus they have not shown any threat of war. However, this
is an act of aggression by sending a Republic task force home on the brink of
madness and giving no indication they even received the first three officials."
Obi-Wan didn't want to ask the question he was about to, but unease tightened
his chest. "How could the task force come back on the brink of madness? What
happened to them?"
At that, Qui-Gon reached out and grasped Obi-Wan's
shoulder hard. His piercing eyes intensified. "They were discovered and
tortured."
Obi-Wan didn't want to shrink back from the news, but it broke over him like a
wave. He opened his mouth to say something, to roll back the comment, but
Qui-Gon interrupted him. "There is another thing you must be aware of: Yanari
does not look kindly upon Force-sensitives. In their
eyes, the worst thing of all is a Jedi. They believe them to be the
abominations of spirit, and the only Force-sensitive believed to come from that
world has since vanished."
Obi-Wan's breath seemed caught in his throat. How
could the Jedi send him to a world that had taken three Republic officials and
tortured an entire squad to the edge of madness? For his first solo mission!
How could they send him to that world, a world that hated Jedi? He broke away
from Qui-Gon's grip, shaking his head as he did so.
No. He needed to get a grip on himself. He was a Jedi. He reached inward
through the Force, reaching out and firmly grasping his calm center. He needed
to stay focused. Qui-Gon was right. If he trusted in the Force and listened to
it, he would be fine.
Qui-Gon was surprised to see his grim smile. "Master… please don't
look so worried. I seem to have enough to worry about. Now what, exactly, am I
going to be doing?"
Qui-Gon grinned at him, although he did not look happy in the slightest. Once
again, worry had come into his eyes. He forced cheeriness into his voice. "Your
undercover position should be easy enough to maintain. You will have an
identity created for you, one with high esteem. The man you are impersonating
has a high security record, one you will use to find work on the security
squad. Once you are hired by the security squad, you will gather information
about the three missing officials. The Chancellor is concerned for them. Their
families are worried, and the Republic will sever ties on its own with Yanari
once they have been found."
Relief hit Obi-Wan's heart. He knew the mission would
still be a tough one, but it could be worst. "So, we're just looking at info gathering?
I can handle that."
His Master looked at him sternly. "I know you will be adequate in that area,
Padawan, but the most important thing is keeping your cover. If they find out
who are a Jedi sent by the Republic to spy on them… I don't know what they will
do to you."
Although the words were spoken seriously and without a trace of emotion,
Obi-Wan felt the fear in his Master's voice, and he
felt it in his heart. He was afraid. He had to push it away, though. He had to
be a Jedi, now. Jedi did not feel fear. He cleared his throat.
"Master, I think I can manage blending in for two weeks or so," Obi-Wan said,
flashing a smile. "I have so much charm it'll be impossible to resist."
Qui-Gon laughed genuinely this time. "Obi-Wan, it is your charm that will be
your downfall. Do not get too friendly with the locals. I know you have this
impossible knack for attracting friends."
"I'm just a friendly person," Obi-Wan said. He could feel the tension under the
surface of his words, and when they both felt silent, Obi-Wan knew what his
Master was thinking of. He didn't know what to say, or how to prepare himself.
He could feel Qui-Gon struggling to search for something to say, and that
alarmed him. Qui-Gon always knew what to say.
His Master was worried for him.
Obi-Wan knew his Master loved him, and he loved Qui-Gon, but it scared him when
Qui-Gon worried. Qui-Gon rarely thought of danger; rather he knew Obi-Wan's nature and let him delve into it. He had never for
one second thought his Master ever pondered the meaning of Obi-Wan in danger.
They were companions and partners, and that position did not require thought on
Qui-Gon's part of Obi-Wan in danger.
Oh, Obi-Wan, you idiot. Of course he cared for you.
Warmth rushed through his body. His Master did care for him. He didn't know why
he would think of such a thing now, but he did, and he loved the feeling it
gave him, even if it was to be expected.
Qui-Gon had finally found words. "Padawan, I know this will be a hard mission,
which is why the Council requested my presence this evening. They asked if you
were ready in my eyes, and I told them yes, no matter my worry for you. I know
you can do this, Obi-Wan. You have proved to me time and time again your
abilities and I have no doubt in them."
Obi-Wan smiled at him. "Thank you, Master. Your confidence means so much to me.
I will not let you down."
The Master smiled. "I never thought you would."
Obi-Wan stood. "So, when do I leave?"
"Next week," Qui-Gon said. "There are arrangements yet to be made. Do you have
questions right now, though?"
Obi-Wan recalled Qui-Gon's words, going over them in
his mind. He could not think of anything. Qui-Gon had been frank in the way
only Qui-Gon had been frank, and there was no need for questions. He knew what need
to be done, and that was enough. Still, his mind lingered on something Qui-Gon
had said, something that shouldn't have been important…
"Who was the Jedi from Yanari that vanished?" he asked, wondering why the
question was so important him. He felt the Force flowing through him, warning
him of things that would come. Something was important in that question, he
knew.
Qui-Gon looked surprised, but did not ask questions. His answer was short and
simple, and made Obi-Wan's urging on the question no
clearer.
"Master Sifo-Dyas."
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Thank you for the reviews! Sorry if that was too winded for you. It had a lot of info in a little space. Thank you for reading this far!
Kenobisagt- Well, hello and welcome to the fic. Interesting, I daresay? says Drat…
LuvEwan- Hello again. ;) I'm glad you liked Xanatos. I never used to like him… but now I do! "Breathe" bugs me. I just cannot understand why people like it. I started it when I was thirteen, and I really think that shows in the writing, which makes it, in my POV, a bad fic. Blah. Anyhow, thank you for the review on THIS story and I hope you stick with it.
Stranded Stargazer – First off, love the name. And secondly, thank you for staying with the story. J
