Obi-Wan decided to use this lull in his conversation with Sidious to reach out to the Force. Again, it seemed to be waiting for him to make contact. It flooded through him. Almost immediately, it gave him a warning signal.
Obi-Wan's eyes flew open as he felt a stab in his mind. He saw Sidious' eyes boring into him in concentration. He inched away, as if the distance could ease the pressure in his mind. He stopped as his back hit the wall. He tried to erect a quick mental shield to block the probe, but it didn't hold for long.
Obi-Wan felt like there was a hand digging into his mind. The hand began to sift through his memories and his thoughts. Deeper and deeper the hand pushed. His mind was screaming. He didn't even realize that he was also screaming out loud. The pain, the pressure in his mind was almost unbearable.
Padme had watched what she thought was just a lull in conversation between Obi-Wan and Sidious. But then she had seen Obi-Wan's eyes fly open in shock and him back away from Sidious. Now the screams coming from the man she loved ripped her right to the core.
Padme found herself yelling for Sidious to stop what he was doing. Obi-Wan's screams were filled with such agony! Padme started sobbing. She continued yelling, practically begging Sidious to stop.
Sidious spared Padme an irritated look. He moved his finger and thumb together in a closing motion.
Padme immediately stopped screaming as she felt something close her mouth and hold it shut. The sobs continued to well up, but were now trapped in her throat.
Obi-Wan could sense the lapse in Sidious' concentration. With the remaining reserves of strength he had left, he called on the Force to erect a mental shield. The Force responded immediately, with a strength he knew was not his own. The Force seemed to be acting of its own free will, on his behalf. The wall he and the Force hastily built was the thickest he'd ever used. He felt his consciousness fading fast. His mind and body were completely sapped of all strength. As the wall was finished, Obi-Wan felt his mind entering into blessed blackness.
As Sidious had turned back to Obi-Wan, he'd been able to sense that Obi-Wan was building a mental shield. It had already almost been complete! He had rushed in to get past it, but was effectively stymied.
Sidious now pooled his powers and pushed against the shield with all his might. Nothing. It didn't even budge! He had sensed the power of the Force in Obi-Wan as the shield was built. How could Obi-Wan be that strong with the Force in his incredibly weakened state?
Baffled, Sidious removed his mental probe. Only then did he realize that Obi-Wan was now unconscious. Well, that was certainly a shorter session than I'd hoped for! He wasn't completely disappointed, though. He had actually received quite a bit of information. He needed now to go meditate on what he'd "seen."
Sidious got up and glared at Padme, hatred in his eyes. He walked slowly over to her. "Be very glad that you may yet be of some use to me in the future. Otherwise, I'd destroy you here and now! In penalty for distracting me, you will remain locked to this wall indefinitely." As he walked out, he released his hold on her mouth.
Padme sobbed even harder as she looked at Obi-Wan's still form. Sidious obviously knew that keeping her away from Obi-Wan was the worst possible punishment for her. She wanted to go to him so badly! She wanted to hold him, comfort him. Now she couldn't even do that much for him! The physical torture had been bad enough, but this…This mental torture had obviously been harder for Obi-Wan to endure, and much harder for her to watch.
Obi-Wan's agonizing screams still echoed in her mind. Padme would give anything to keep him from having to endure that kind of pain again. How much more can Obi-Wan possibly take?
She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. She blinked away the last of her tears. She gazed at Obi-Wan's deathly pale features, his body still lying against the wall. Her heart ached, like it had never ached before. He needs me! She pulled against the binders holding her in place, wishing she could rip herself free. Frustrated and her heart breaking, the tears started to flow again.
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Sidious was trying to meditate on what he'd been able to retrieve from Obi-Wan's mind. He was having some difficulty in focusing. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. The overlying theme of the thoughts and memories he'd sifted through was guilt. Obi-Wan felt an enormous amount of guilt for the events of the last several years – centering, of course, on Anakin. Although Obi-Wan had been able to finally deal with some of those feelings of guilt, they were by no means banished.
Sidious now knew that those feelings of guilt would probably be the key to breaking Obi-Wan. He frowned at his sudden twinge of…reluctance? Normally, this kind of mental torture was very enjoyable for Sidious. He usually reveled in the agony he caused while ripping through a person's mind. He now pondered at his own very confusing reaction to Obi-Wan's pain. He had not enjoyed it. But more than that, he had felt a bit of…what? Regret? Was that possible?
Sidious sighed heavily. These were thoughts that he did not really want to contemplate. He decided to push them aside and ignore them. He focused again on quieting his mind. One by one, he started to review the memories he'd seen in Obi-Wan's mind. He relived the fateful long duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. He watched as Anakin grew sloppier in his fighting, due to his uncontrolled rage. He felt Obi-Wan's control over his emotions – the pain at Anakin's betrayal, the guilt, the anger – as he released them to the Force. Obi-Wan's steadiness and experience had won out over Anakin's uncontrolled hatred and raw power. Sidious then viewed Obi-Wan's memories of the Clone Wars – the battles he'd fought in, the strategizing he'd done as a general. He found himself even more impressed.
He saw memories of Anakin's training – the bond the two had shared, as well as the tension. Sidious smiled knowingly as he felt Obi-Wan's exasperation with Anakin's arrogance. He felt Obi-Wan's growing concern over Anakin's lack of emotional control. He saw Obi-Wan bring these concerns to the Jedi Council – several times. Each time, the Council had blown off his concerns, merely saying that they trusted in his abilities as a master. He felt Obi-Wan lock away his growing sense of foreboding from his Master/Padawan bond with Anakin. He saw Obi-Wan respond to his growing concerns by tightened his reigns on Anakin. He saw the tension between the two grow even more.
Sidious finally finished viewing and experiencing the many thoughts and memories he'd received from his probe of Obi-Wan's mind. He had a lot more insight into the man and found himself wanting to know even more. He wanted to review Obi-Wan's formative years. What was he like when he was a boy? What kind of padawan was he to Qui-Gon Jinn? What had been going on behind the eyes of the fresh-faced twenty-five-year-old who managed to kill his apprentice, Darth Maul?
Sidious knew that his curiosity would have to wait. In Obi-Wan's current condition, another mind-probe would probably kill him. The amazing mind shield Obi-Wan had erected was another issue entirely. He could always suppress Obi-Wan's use of the Force, at least temporarily, to get past that obstacle. He still wanted Obi-Wan to be able to access the Force, for the most part. He liked being able to gauge Obi-Wan's strength in the Force. He also still wanted Obi-Wan to be able to experience the incredible power in the Force that the dark side could bring. One taste of that could be intoxicating. Of course, knowing Obi-Wan, it would probably take more than one taste.
Sidious willed himself to be patient. He knew that he now had to give Obi-Wan some time to heal. He wanted him strong enough to handle another mind-probe. He was quite certain that his patience would be rewarded.