Chapter Three

Obi-Wan entered the cafeteria with a sigh. He had overslept this morning and had to skip first meal in order to practice his forms with a younger Padawan who had asked him for help. By this time he was very hungry and hurried to get his food before even glancing around to see who was still in the dining area.

He got his tray of food and turned to look at the students, Knights, and Masters who were busily eating their second meal. He noticed Melody standing near the table where she had been sitting with Bant and Siri. She was once again about to leave a room immediately after he entered it. It had been four days since he had dueled with Melody. He thought she would have released her anger at him to the Force by now.

He decided to join Bant and Siri for second meal. He sat down on the chair that Melody had just vacated. The seat was still warm and Obi-Wan felt the strangest sense of comfort from the warmth she had left behind.

"Hello Obi-Wan," Siri smiled at him from across the table. Obi-Wan felt guilty because he knew that Siri was expecting him to resume their relationship. After three years of having an on again off again relationship with Siri, he was ready for a change.

"Hello Siri," he glanced briefly in her direction before turning toward Bant. "Do you know why Melody is avoiding me?" He asked abruptly.

"She was summoned to the Council room to speak with them immediately before you came in. Master Windu contacted her personally over her comlink just a few minutes ago," Bant informed him, as he eagerly began to eat his tray of food.

"She's always called to the Council. I wonder what she did this time," Siri remarked. "Maybe it has something to do with her recent lack of focus. She's called to see the Council more often than the many Knights that need new mission briefings."

"What do you mean lack of focus?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Obi-Wan, she's just having a bad week. She told me that she hasn't been able to sleep the last couple of nights. I think it's probably just a coincidence that you keep missing each other. I don't think she's avoiding you," Bant smiled reassuringly at him.

He nodded his head, wishing that he could believe his Mon Calamari friend.

"Could something have happened to the family that she always talks about?" Siri asked. "This is almost how she acted after Master Qui-Gon died. She kept saying then that she couldn't sleep."

"I forgot about that. At first she took his death harder than you did. Of course you didn't want to accept it," Bant looked at him before continuing. "But she was very upset, much more than I thought that she would be."

Obi-Wan glanced back and forth between Bant and Siri. He hadn't realized she was so upset over his Master's death. He knew that she had seen his Master Qui-Gon often when he would visit with Master Garaar who was his closest friend, Barauga's daughter. He didn't realize that Melody had been that close to him. He wondered if she had had a crush on Qui-Gon. He had heard that sometimes girls developed crushes on older men that they trusted.

"If you want Obi-Wan, I can try to talk to her for you. I can ask her if she is avoiding you, although I don't know why she would," Siri told him. "Salene, Élan, Melody, and I are going out to a club tonight. I can talk to her then."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan smiled. "She hasn't spoken to me since the duel and I just wanted to apologize for underestimating her abilities."

"I'll tell her," Siri remarked between bites of her own meal.

********************

Melody stood nervously in the center of the Council chambers. She did not know why they had asked her to report to them. Master Windu had not given her any indication of the reason they had summoned her. She wondered if something had happened to her Master. Would she not have known that Master Gararr was in trouble? Was she too apprehensive about her vision of Obi- Wan's death?

She had never before been called to the Council chambers without her Master. She wondered if she would feel this nervous when she became a Knight and had to stand before the Council alone for mission assignments and briefings.

"Fine, your Master is," Master Yoda assured her. "Summoned here to discuss your vision of Padawan Kenobi, you were."

Melody suddenly felt more anxious. She didn't want to discuss her vision; she wanted to forget it. Taking a deep calming breath, Melody shuddered and tried to release her fears into the Force. "What do you want to know?" she asked hesitantly.

"Padawan," Master Sifo-Dyas began, "I have received a request for my Padawan and I to return to the Dupae system to resume our peace negotiations. I need to know exactly what happened in your vision of Obi- Wan's death."

"Padawan Kazala, you told Master Windu that the guards were in uniform. What color were these uniforms and did you recognize their species?" Ki-Adi Mundi questioned her.

Melody swallowed as she looked from Master Sifo-Dyas to Ki-Adi Mundi. She knew they were questioning her to find out whether or not they could send Obi-Wan on the mission. Melody did not want to give them answers that would help them to send her friend to his death. However, she could not lie to the six Masters awaiting her answer. "Their uniforms were red with gold stripes down the length of the pant legs and the shirt sleeves. They also wore hats made of the same colors. I have never seen their species. They were humanoid with light green tinted skin, pointy ears like yours Master Yoda, and they had long fangs that poked out of their mouths. I thought that they would have eaten us instead of using blasters to kill one of us."

"It sounds as if she's describing the Hocha," Mace said.

"The Hocha system is in the outer rim. It's nowhere near the Dupae system," Master Sifo-Dyas commented.

"Say anything to you to confirm their identity did they?" Yoda queried her.

She shook her head, no. "I think we were in a ship. In the vision, I could feel the steady vibrations of the vessel. There were no windows in the room where we were kept."

"Safe it should be to send Padawan Kenobi with you," Master Yoda fixed his eyes on Master Sifo-Dyas.

"But you can't," Melody exploded not caring whether or not she was speaking out of turn or inappropriately to the Masters. "You can't be sure they weren't looking for Obi-Wan. They could follow him there."

"Padawan Kazala, noted your concerns are. Your decision to make, this is not," Yoda said thumping his walking stick on the floor.

"Melody," Sifo-Dyas began gently. "I'm glad that you want to protect my Padawan, but I assure you that I will take good care of him.

"Go meditate you will. How to act in the presence of Masters you must learn," Yoda told her.

"Yes Masters," Melody bowed her head. She knew that they would not change their decision to send Obi-Wan on the mission no matter what she told them. Further argument would just cause her additional meditation time.

************************

Garen Muln sat on the edge of the pond; letting the warm temperature in the Room of a Thousand Fountains dry his wet skin. He had just finished swimming, a habit that he had adopted from his friend Bant Eerin. He could sense Melody Kazala's presence as she walked toward him. He turned and watched his friend as she sat down on the soft green grass beside him.

"Are you alright?" Garen asked as he noticed the girl's beautiful eyes had changed from their usual lavender to a deep violet. Melody's eyes changed with her emotions and it was the only way to tell how she was feeling or if something was bothering her. Garen had watched her become more quiet and withdrawn and he worried about his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Melody assured him.

"Melody, I know that's not true. Your eyes are darker, you have barely spoken to anyone all day, and you only come here alone if something is bothering you. Does this have anything to do with the reason Council called you? Or is this why you're avoiding Obi-Wan?" he inquired. Bant had told him of her conversation with Obi-Wan during second meal in which he admitted that he thought Melody was avoiding him. Garen had noticed the way she seemed to find a way to leave the room every time Obi-Wan entered, but he hadn't thought anything about it until Bant mentioned it to him.

Melody's head quickly snapped up from staring at the grass. "Why would you think that I was avoiding Obi-Wan?" she asked as she began to twirl a blade of grass around her finger.

"He told me that he believes you have been avoiding him ever since you beat him in the duel," he informed her.

"That's ridiculous," Melody told him and looked down at the blade of grass between her fingers.

"That's what I thought too. Obi-Wan seemed certain of it though. He's in the archives right now, why don't you go and talk to him. Let him know that you're not avoiding him and that he was imagining things." Garen suggested scrutinizing his friend's reaction. He had dated Melody for nearly a year, but he had known that she had feelings for Obi-Wan. Lately he had noticed that Obi-Wan seemed to have feelings for her as well.

Melody's head again rose to look into Garen's hazel eyes. "I can't talk to him," she admitted quietly. He was barely able to hear her confession and stared at her momentarily surprised by it.

"You can't talk to him or you won't," he prodded her.

"I can't," Melody said.

"Is it because of the duel?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why? I could tell that it's really bothering him. He at least deserves to know why you're mad at him."

"I'm not mad at him," Melody said running her fingers through her long hair.

"Then why are you avoiding him," Garen demanded.

"I can't tell you that," Melody sighed.

"You can't tell me, you can't tell Obi-Wan. You're obviously upset. It's affecting your class work, your sleep, and your attitude in general. You need to talk to someone."

A single pink tear slid smoothly down Melody's cheek. Garen watched her clench her hands into fists tearing the blade of grass loose from the dirt where it was planted. "I'm sorry, I want to tell you. I'm not allowed to explain to you or anyone else other than my Master or the Masters on the Council."

"What do you mean you're not allowed," Garen questioned. He gently wiped the tear away from her cheek with his thumb. He let his hand linger on her cheek a moment longer than necessary. "I can't believe that the Council would want you to suffer like this. Whatever is wrong is eating you slowly from the inside like the Great Pit of Carckoon that I read about. Besides since when do you listen to the Council and follow their instructions so precisely?"

Melody looked up at him and for the first time all week, she smiled. It was a pathetic attempt at a smile; her lips barely moved and her dimples did not appear, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Since when do you encourage not following the Council's instructions precisely?"

Garen smiled. "Perhaps even I have learned that some rules need to be thrown out an airlock at times."

"I think I have finally begun to rub off on you," Melody commented.

"So tell me what is wrong."

Melody sighed and called on the Force to heal the blade of grass, reattaching it to its roots. "Ever since I was very small, barely even old enough to speak, I've had visions."

"Visions, like Master Yoda's visions of the future?"

"No, not exactly, they are visions of the future, but they are more vivid than Master Yoda's and they're more frequent. In my visions I can hear everything that happens. I can smell, touch, see, and even in taste everything in the vision. I knew ahead of time that Reeft was going to trip and fall down in the middle of a duel last week. I know that tomorrow Salene will be grumpy because of the hangover she will get when we go out tonight."

"That's solar, do you know if I'll pass my exam tomorrow?"

"Garen," Melody sighed, "It's not solar. I don't get a vision whenever I want to, they just happen and you can't tell anyone that I told you."

"Why? I admit that visions of the future are not common among the Jedi, but they're not so unheard of that they would need to be kept secret."

"They are when the Jedi having them has anywhere from as little as 3 to as many as 50 a day. And it's been confirmed that they have all come true aside from preventable tragedies except for one. I saw Xanatos kill Master Yoda. Master Mace was able to prevent that by not allowing Master Yoda in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, until Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon had neutralized the threat."

"You had a vision of Master Yoda's death," He repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, that was one of the worst visions. I was so glad that it was prevented."

Suddenly, realization slammed into him like an out of control ship crashing into the hard unforgiving ground. "Obi-Wan. You had a vision concerning Obi- Wan didn't you? Something terrible is going to happen to him."

Tears began to drop one after the other out of Melody's violet eyes, sliding down her pale cheeks until they splashed onto her skirt. "I saw his death Garen. Every time I look at him I see his lifeless blue eyes staring at the ceiling. It's not right; I've seen other visions of his future. He's not supposed to die so young. He's supposed to be one of the greatest Jedi Knights that we've ever known."

Not knowing what he could say to Melody, Garen wrapped his arms around the distraught teenager and let her cry on his already wet shoulder. He understood now why Melody could not face Obi-Wan and imagined that he would find it just as difficult to face his friend after such a vision. He rubbed his hand in a circular motion on her back. "It's ok, I'm sure the Council will do everything they can to prevent it from happening."

To Be Continued...