Reposted (again. XD) 10-6-05: Wow, two lovely reviews for one chapter correcting my work! In some ways, I feel glad that I have to post this twice. It means that the little mistakes are being caught and corrected. This time I must thank alchemy dream for the suggestion. I reread that sentence, and it did seem a little repetitive, so I took your advice and deleted what was in the parenthesis. Your review was wonderful and long, and I'm amazed at how much insight you have. Yes, you were completely right about me preferring to 'show' than to explain. Oh, and for the lovely review… -hands you a banana pancake- Go nuts. ;)
Reposted 10-4-05: Thanks for the nitpicking, Vee017, it really helps. :) Yes, I did change that 'English' to 'Basic.' I want everything to fit into the futuristic theme, and I'll try to look for little slips like that from now, now that I'm aware of them. That was very intuitive of you to catch that slight mistake, I must say. I love your reviews; they always bring a smile to my face, and I hope you continue to enjoy my writing. -feels extremely happy since you called this one of your favorite stories-
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. That right belongs to George Lucas. It should be noted that some things are borrowed from Greg Bear and Jude Watson, both who write EU (Extended Universe) Star Wars books.
Writer's Block: Neopian Beauty by The Water Daemon. This is a Neopets fic (a great online game that you can play—free!—at www .neopets .com) that is rated K+. I love this fic. The characters are fleshed-out and there are many deep meanings hidden within the words. Water Daemon's writing style grabs your attention and makes it hard to stop reading. But really, the thing I can't get over is how wonderful the personalities are—some of them I couldn't decide if I hated them or felt sorry for them, and others I cheered on the entire time. The plot was intriguing, though the fic more so revolves around the people in it. I honestly think that this fic is amazing, and I find it sad that it's so under-appreciated. Beauty like this deserves respect and reviews.
I had a lot of fun writing the last chapter, and from all the lovely reviews I got (thank you, all!) I can tell that you liked it too. :) Yes, there was finally a little bit of slashiness between Obi-Wan and Anakin…despite how small it was. I'm trying to build up their relationship, and with someone like Obi-Wan that's going to take a looong time. I want everything to be realistic, and I only hope that that's what I'm doing. Anakin was trying to move in on Obi-Wan because he felt that 1) since Obi-Wan had finally accepted his offer to live with him, he figured that meant that Obi-Wan was also ready for a relationship and 2) since he caught Obi-Wan in the hologram room, he probably felt that Obi-Wan owed him one, and a kiss would be just payment. Of course, Obi-Wan knocked those silly ideas right out of his head, didn't he? ;)
Thank you for the reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Any constructive criticism is appreciated and highly valued. I love people who nitpick my work and point out the small flaws and holes in it. I know, it's odd, but that's just the way I am.
Page Amount: 12 (a big chapter, to make up for the littler chapter before. ;) )
Word Count: 9,756
Started 7-23-05 (just got back from the cruise—my first one, and it was fun. :) ), written 7-27 (I just beat Star Ocean 3! -does a happy dance- it's a good thing that I still have the extra dungeons and stuff to keep my occupied. ;) ), 7-28, and finished 7-29-05
Listening to: Shinedown: Leave a Whisper
Written by Ice Dragon3
Jedi Genocide
Chapter Eight: Mirrors
Waking up lazily from sleep, Obi-Wan pulled off the covers. Yawning, he stretched his muscles to prepare himself for the day ahead. He had to get up, make the younglings breakfast, and start planning the lesson for the day. And then he had to—
Obi-Wan's train of thought crashed when it hit reality's roadblock.
He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. Right—he wasn't staying at the Temple anymore. He was in the middle of a mission now. The younglings would just have to wake up and get breakfast on their own, Obi-Wan thought with regret. He loved them (a kinship all Jedi feel for one another) and he felt sorry that he would have to frequently leave them on their own. What if they needed him? He didn't even remember if they knew his comlink's transmission code—
He drew a deep breath and quelled his worries. He knew the answer already: he had a list of emergency numbers (his included) on a slip of paper posted on the announcement board, and that same list was saved on every computer. If there were trouble, he would be the first to know. Besides, he was going back to the Temple today to check up on them and give them lessons; he would be at the Temple nearly every day. The daily life of the Temple would hardly be interrupted by Obi-Wan's comings and goings—it was only his sleeping arrangements that changed, really.
Sighing, he acknowledged the difference that nagged at his mind: he could no longer call the Temple home.
'At least for now,' Obi-Wan corrected himself hastily. He would finish this up quickly and then everything would return to normal. It was as simple as that.
Then the rest of last night hit Obi-Wan, and another depressing sigh escaped the chasm of his lips. Because Anakin had caught him snooping around, he guessed the mission wasn't going to be 'as simple as that.' Now he had to be more careful… It was a stupid mistake, he admitted; he should have found some way to monitor Anakin's position. At the very least he should have found some way of knowing when Anakin left or entered the building-house.
Another disheartening thought struck him: breakfast was going to be a nightmare. He looked out the window and saw that the sun had fully risen—he frowned; normally he didn't sleep late—and hoped that maybe Anakin had already eaten breakfast and left. That would instantly solve one of his short-term problems.
He got up and tried to fix his appearance in the mirror; he wanted to look at least slightly presentable before setting out in this foreign environment. In between raking a hand through his hair and straightening his rumpled Jedi tunic, he muttered to his reflection, "You are a Jedi, you are not afraid of table conversations." His moss-green eyes gave him a skeptical look.
Despite the invigorating pep talk, Obi-Wan still felt unprepared when he opened the door.
Pleasant breakfast aromas wafted from the kitchen. Instead of stimulating his stomach, he felt his hunger wither away and collapse into itself. Those smells meant that Anakin was still home—Obi-Wan tried to reach out with the Force to sense Anakin, but all he felt was a void. There was simply emptiness; nothing good, nothing bad. Oblivion.
That, more than anything, convinced Obi-Wan that Anakin was in the kitchen where the void was being emitted from.
Obi-Wan didn't know if Anakin was just blocking his force signature from being detected, or if his reformation to the Dark Side had actually perverted the Force running through his veins—mutating it to this nonentity.
He didn't want to know.
Walking into the kitchen, Obi-Wan steeled himself as he sat down at the table. Anakin's back was to him as he poured batter into a pan on the stove. Obi-Wan wondered if Anakin had noticed his entrance, or if he should—although he dreaded doing so—announce his presence.
"Sleep well?" Anakin asked pleasantly as he stirred the batter. While focusing on the pan and its content, he said, "I made banana pancakes—I hope you like them. If not, I can always whip you up some regular, or anything else for that matter. Do you drink coffee in the morning?"
Obi-Wan, caught mentally unprepared, could only manage a halting, "No—no, I don't drink coffee."
"Good for you." Anakin looked over his shoulder and smiled at Obi-Wan. "It's dreadful stuff, coffee. However, I'm pretty sure that it can't do much more damage to your height." Anakin chuckled at his own joke as he poured more blobs of batter into the pan. They splattered and sizzled on the heated metal, roasting from a colorless yellow to a rich gold. "But what do you drink, then? Milk, juice, tea?"
"Tea would be fine," came the mumbled response.
"Tea it is, then." Anakin bustled around and filled a teapot with water before setting it on the stove by the pan. "Not very good for your teeth, but better than coffee. I personally don't drink either."
"Oh? Then what do you drink?" Obi-Wan's sole motive for asking the question was to gain a bit more time to recollect his thoughts and composure. When Yoda asked him to glean any information he could on Anakin, Obi-Wan was pretty sure he hadn't meant what the Sith Lord drank in the morning.
"Milk." Anakin laughed at Obi-Wan's skeptical expression. "Honestly, it's tasty, it's nutritional, and it's good for bones. What's not to like about it?" He returned his focus to the pan and stuck slices of banana into the slowly solidifying pancakes. The teapot whistled, and Anakin poured some of the steaming water into a mug. "I hope you like green tea," Anakin said as he put a bag of tea into the water, "because that's all that I have at the moment." There was a moment of silence that stretched on as Anakin stared moodily at the darkening water. His warm, bustling attitude seemed to dissolve into black as soon as he became inert.
The silence lengthened to an almost unbearable point (for Obi-Wan—Anakin didn't even seem to acknowledge it) until the tea darkened to a pitch black. Then Anakin was bustling about again as he pulled the bag out of the tea and said apologetically to Obi-Wan (picking up their former conversation almost as if there hadn't been any pause), "If I had known that you liked tea, I would have gotten more of a variety. As it is, you're lucky that I have this much. Do you like anything in your tea?"
"Honey, if you have any." Obi-Wan folded his hands in his lap, unfolded them, and finally clasped them again. He didn't know what to do with them, or himself in this strange environment with this strange-acting Anakin.
"That we have." Anakin smiled. "With two young children, sweets are a must. It's almost as if they live off sugar." He got the honey from a cabinet nailed to the wall and handed the bottle and mug to Obi-Wan. "I'll let you put in the honey yourself, since I don't know how much you like in your tea."
Obi-Wan felt nervous as he poured a small amount of honey into his tea. He put in just enough to taste a hint of honey without the sweetness overpowering the tea's natural flavor, as was his custom. He felt as if he was being scrutinized. When Obi-Wan looked up, he saw Anakin staring at him out of the corner of his icy blue eyes—it was the same dissecting look from last night. Hastily, Obi-Wan looked down again to cap the honey. When he raised his head to look up again, the eyes were gone and Anakin was back at the stove.
"Pancakes are almost ready," Anakin announced. "Well, this is actually the third batch."—Anakin waved a spatula at a stack of pancakes already on a plate on the counter—"I wanted to have enough for everyone all at once, so I held off from serving them. I hope you weren't too hungry waiting. I'll just wake up Leia and Luke, then, if you can stand another delay."
"By all means," Obi-Wan said as he blew gently on his steaming tea. He tried to take a sip and scorched his tongue a bit. Wincing, he grinned weakly at Anakin and said, "Hot."
The Sith smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes and replied, "Be careful with that."
Anakin left the kitchen to get the twins, and Obi-Wan was left nursing a heated mug and uneasy thoughts.
The room was filled with noise once again when Leia and Luke scrambled into the room and plunked down in their seats. "Pancakes!" Leia cheered. "We're having pancakes! Banana pancakes!" Anakin set out enough silverware and plates for everyone. Leia grabbed her fork and started to bang it on the table while chanting 'pancakes.' Luke's hunger was expressed in a quieter way as he gazed hungrily at the pancakes.
Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh. "Do you ever feed these children, Anakin?" He blew on his tea once again and tried another sip. This one was hot also, but in a good way. He enjoyed the way the tea burned a trail down his throat before settling in his stomach; the naturally bitter taste of the tea and the artificial sweetening of the honey combined pleasantly.
"Oh, I feed them—once in a while, whenever I get around to it. I'm joking, I'm joking!" Anakin exclaimed when he saw Obi-Wan eyes widening over the rim of his mug. "It's just that what I feed them isn't always what they want—they can't have sweets all day every day. And as you can see, this kitchen doesn't get much use… I admit, I'm usually so busy that I have to order takeout for most meals."
"But we like Daddy's food better," Leia declared. "He's the bestest cook!"
"Is that so?" Obi-Wan asked, feeling more secure now that Leia and Luke were there to act as buffers and the tea was settling warmly in his stomach. "From what I remember, when you were my Padawan you practically—or maybe 'literally' is the better word—burned water."
Anakin jerked his shoulders up in sharp shrug. "I had to find a hobby to do in my spare time, and this way my children also profit from it."
"I'm glad that Dad decided to take up cooking as a hobby. His food is very good," Luke said seriously. He clutched his fork and gazed longingly at the pancakes. "Now can we eat?"
"Trying to butter me, eh? Well, it worked." Anakin winked at Luke as he pushed two pancakes onto each plate with the spatula. There was still a healthy pile left on the serving plate when he was done, and he placed those in the center of the kitchen table. He got out butter, syrup, and glasses for himself, Leia, and Luke. He poured milk into the three glasses, ignoring Leia's protests.
"Daaaddy, you know that I don't like milk." She stared sulkily at the white liquid, sloshing it around her cup carelessly. "Why can't I have tea like Obi-Wan? You don't make him drink it, so why should I?"
"Milk's good for you. It helps your bones grow strong. You don't want any broken bones, do you?"
"No, but—"
"And being a female, you especially need a lot of calcium. Later on in life, your body will need that calcium to grow. So I don't want to hear any complaints from you." Trying to make Leia cooperate, Anakin added, "Once you drink your glass of milk I can make you a fruit smoothie if you want. But you have to drink all of it, Leia, or the deal's off."
Faster than a blink of the eye, the milk was gone. Leia gazed up at Anakin with puppy-dog-eyes. "Smoothie please," she said politely, dabbing the tip of her mouth with her napkin daintily.
Anakin chuckled and got out the blender and started mixing fruits and vanilla ice cream. "It's not the healthiest, with the vanilla ice cream, but it's better than some of the alternatives," Anakin chatted to Obi-Wan over the noisy grumblings of the blender as it shredded fruit. "And it gets her to drink her milk." When the contents of the blender were thoroughly chewed up by the metal blades, Anakin got out four more glasses and split the smoothie evenly between them. "Plus, it gives me an excuse to have some myself." Anakin winked at Obi-Wan as he placed the glasses down by everyone.
Obi-Wan took a sip of the smoothie and commented, "This is really good."
Leia rolled her eyes, "Duh, Daddy made it."
"Ouch," Obi-Wan joked as he fake-winced. "Rebuked."
"By a four year old," Luke added helpfully, grinning impishly.
Obi-Wan didn't respond to that; there wasn't really any way to do so and still keep his dignity. They fell to eating, and once again Obi-Wan was surprised with the excellency of the meal. The twins weren't lying—their dad really did know how to cook. Obi-Wan enjoyed his banana pancakes, listening to Leia and Luke banter as they stuffed their faces full. Occasionally he would add a comment here or there, but for the most part he just listened. Once in a while he got an itching feeling in the back of his neck—a feeling he normally got when he was being stared at or in a soon-to-be dangerous situation (but he doubted that the latter would occur here)—but every time he looked up Anakin was always focusing on his pancakes or milk or children. Obi-Wan dismissed the feeling as him being unused to the unfamiliar setting and tried to enjoy his tea. But somehow, the once-enjoyed taste went bitter in his mouth.
Breakfast wrapped up in a lazy way, the food and conversation slowly dwindling down as stuffed bellies sedated people. Companionable silence and the scrapping of forks on plates took the place of talk.
Leia patted her stuffed, slightly puffed out belly. "My tummy's gonna burst," she groaned, although she sounded happy about the fact.
" It's 'going to,' Leia," Anakin corrected her gently but firmly. "That's proper Basic. 'Gonna' is not a real word." Leia stuck her tongue out at him and didn't respond.
"Thanks for the meal, Dad, it was great." Luke smiled happily at Anakin.
"Thank you for the compliment." Anakin ruffled Luke's hair. "I'm glad you liked it. It means a lot to me to hear that you enjoyed it. In fact, I was thinking that I should start cooking breakfast more often—it keeps my cooking skills from getting rusty. Besides, I like us spending family time together in the morning. Your compliment just made me all the more certain that I should." Luke gave an exultant shout, before looking a little embarrassed of his outburst. Anakin laughed and said, "Yes, I think I should most definitely make breakfast more often."
Luke nodded his head, before being tugged out of the room by Leia. Obi-Wan listened to their conversation echo down the hallway, and heard snippets of 'Molly and Polly' and 'tea party.' He grinned; poor Luke.
"Obi-Wan…?" The voice broke gently through his thoughts.
Turning towards Anakin, Obi-Wan hummed questioningly.
"Are you finished with breakfast? I've got something that I want to show you." Anakin was already getting up, waiting expectantly for him.
"What about the dishes?" Obi-Wan asked. He didn't want to abandon the dirty dishes; he still couldn't think of this as 'home' and it didn't feel right to leave a mess lying around. It made his stay here seem more…permanent.
"Don't worry about them, Threepio will take care of it. I bet he's in the greenhouse, so let's go find him first. He's usually up there this time of the morning," Anakin explained as they walked up the two stories of stairs to the greenhouse. "He tries to get most of the gardening out of the way before Leia and Luke trample up there and start bugging him. He may act worried and annoyed about the interruption, but I know that, deep down, he really likes their company. It's just buried really deep down there in that metal chest of his."
"Yes, that seems like typical Threepio behavior." Obi-Wan smiled fondly. If ever there was a robot that was both sillier and more human than any other, it was Threepio. "I have to hand it to you, when you build him…"—he shook his head in amazement—"it's like you built a person. He has a larger range of emotions than any robot I've ever known—or more specifically his predominant emotion is 'worry,' and that is unique for a machine. Well, come to think about it, Artoo and him are probably tied with originality. But I know that you've done some tinkering with Artoo also."
"I just fiddled with their personalities a bit, tweaking them to what felt right. The program systems were a bit difficult, but I managed to create, and then install, in both of them a program that lets them build up their reactions and knowledge through past experiences. Environments, people's expressions and reactions; just about every single detail they observe are saved in the memory bank. So in some ways they can metaphorically 'mature' on their own. In other ways, I made sure that their programming always remained the same—that the fundamentals remain constant. But I won't get into the technicalities, since you won't understand a word of it anyways." Anakin smiled to show that his comment wasn't meant to be taken as spiteful.
"To put it in idiot-terms, a whole bunch of zeros and ones, eh?"
"In it's roughest form, yes. Though I like to think that a little more creativity is involved."
Obi-Wan grinned. "Ever throw a two into the mix?"
Anakin looked confused and asked, "No…why would I do that?"
"Then I don't think you've really been creative enough." Anakin scowled as Obi-Wan laughed. "Just a joke, I'm sorry," Obi-Wan apologized. "It's the best that someone with my technological understanding can make." Anakin looked somewhat mollified by the peace offering.
Entering the greenhouse for the second time, Obi-Wan decided the experience was just as breathtaking as the first. Coruscant was a thriving world full of machinery and buildings, the emblem of advancing technology. This being so, nature was choked out of existence by the masses of concrete and metal. A new sort of jungle took its place, one of steel instead of green. To witness so much living plant life all at once… It made Obi-Wan feel peaceful. Plants lived quiet lives of contentment and died equally quietly. They accepted the natural cycle of life and death. He always envied and admired them for their gentle demeanor, tolerance, and will to survive in even the rockiest terrain. They were everything that a good Jedi aspired to be.
C-3PO tottered over to them and questioned, "Good day, Master Anakin! How may I be of service to you?"
"I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to do the dishes for us. I want to show Obi-Wan something…it did arrive, didn't it?" The question was casually thrown onto the end of Anakin's speech, yet Obi-Wan instantly latched onto it.
"Yes, it has. Quite a rude fellow the delivery droid was—no help at all. I nearly had to do all the work myself of moving it. And that droid spoke such a dreadfully old and outdated dialect of beeps and boops that it was nearly incomprehensible! Oh, but the dishes! I will do them immediately. Excuse me, Master Anakin, Master Obi-Wan." With a jerky bow, C-3PO exited via the stairs the two men had just used.
"I am utterly intrigued now. I hope that you're not intending to keep me in suspense for much longer." Obi-Wan lifted an eyebrow, as if to say 'all right, you got my attention—now what is it?'
"All in good time," Anakin said with a smirk. "I think I like this feeling. You've placed me in a very powerful position, you know, with that raised eyebrow of yours giving you away. What if I suddenly don't feel like sharing?"
"I'd think of something," Obi-Wan countered smoothly.
Anakin looked at him sidelong. "I don't know if you're joking or serious."
"Neither do I; care to test the theory?"
Anakin chuckled. "Maybe another day. Well, if you're that impatient, we can go looking for her—instead of waiting for her to come to us when she feels ready, which was what I was trying to do." Anakin set off at an easy pace, scanning the foliage.
Obi-Wan matched his pace, mimicking Anakin's action of looking though he had no clue of just what it was he was searching for. Basically, it was a wasted effort on Obi-Wan's part. " 'She'? May I ask what 'she' would be doing here, of all places? And being transported?"
"If I told you, that would be ruining the surprise," Anakin said lightly, humor coloring his eyes sky-blue.
Suddenly, a musical animal cry echoed out of the foliage. 'This whole place feels more like a forest than anything else,' Obi-Wan thought as trees and plants blocked him from seeing what creature had made the cry. But the sound was so familiar, and he had a sneaking idea of what it was…
A veractyl skidded into view, chirping once again. It—no, she, Obi-Wan corrected himself—shook her head and her mane of feathers swayed gently. The lizard-like head titled side-to-side as she viewed the two men standing before her. She let out a softer chirp and butted her head against Obi-Wan. The veractyl closed her eyes in happiness when he petted her leathery head.
Obi-Wan grinned hugely, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this." The hand never stopped petting the veractyl.
"I thought you would like her." Anakin smiled knowingly. "After I learned about your attachment to that veractyl from Utapau, I knew that you'd enjoy the company of another one of its species."
Saddening a bit, Obi-Wan reminisced out loud. "Boga was an amazing creature…she saved my life, you know. On Utapau." The veractyl tilted her head and chirped questioningly, sensing Obi-Wan's grief. He smiled at her and patted her head reassuringly. "Thank you, Anakin, this means a lot to me."
"I'm glad it does, Obi."
Obi-Wan noted the use of his nickname, and while it irritated him to hear it he was glad nonetheless. It meant that Anakin was forgiving him for last night…or so he hoped. "I wonder what I should name her…" Obi-Wan mused.
Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "It's entirely up to you. She's yours, now." Anakin patted the veractyl's head affectionately. While she enjoyed the petting, it was easily discernable that she preferred Obi-Wan by the way she shuffled a little closer to him and butted her head up against his chest.
Obi-Wan saw Anakin's jaw clench slightly and became slightly worried. He hoped Anakin understood that veractyls mentally bonded with their owner, and there wasn't really room in their heart for two people. "I think I'll call her Kye."
" 'Kee'? Sounds pretty…is there a meaning behind the word?" Anakin questioned.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "None at all." He grinned at Anakin, who returned the smile. "You hear that, Kye? That's your official name—like it?" Kye chirped happily and pranced a bit on her taloned feet. Veractyls were energetic creatures in nature, and Obi-Wan wasn't surprised when she raced off after giving him one last affectionate head butt.
Anakin watched the dragonmount depart. "That's why I had to go so abruptly, yesterday," Anakin said conversationally. "I wanted to get you a veractyl, and of course I had to be there myself to pick it out… I see that it was well worth the time and effort."
"Not to mention money," Obi-Wan pointed out, his features taking on a more jaded tone. "How much did she cost? Is the number even in the digits that I can afford?"
"I've told you before, and I'll tell you now; don't worry about money, Obi. I've taken care of everything, and you don't have to pay a cent. My job pays me well and I have access to many other benefits. Because of that, money is hardly ever an issue for me. So just relax. Think of this like a very long vacation where you don't have to worry about being billed afterwards."
"I'm sorry, but… I just can't change my habits so quickly. It's not as easy as you make it seem, although I wish it were. But thank you once again; you have my undying gratitude." Before Anakin could respond, Obi-Wan frowned and asked, "What time is it?"
Pulling out his comlink, Anakin read on the device, "11:42. Why?"
"Stars, I have to go now." Obi-Wan started towards the stairs at a brisk pace.
Anakin caught up to him quickly and blocked the exit with an extended arm. He asked pointedly (and a bit forcefully), "Why?"
Refraining from rolling his eyes at Anakin's childish antics, Obi-Wan answered calmly, "I need to be at the Temple to teach the younglings. We usually have meditation around noon, before eating lunch. They still expect me to teach them, and I don't plan on disappointing them. I'm sorry if my departure seems rude and abrupt, but well—some things can't be helped. I do sincerely love your surprise…I just can't stay to fully express my appreciation." Obi-Wan bid Anakin farewell and tried to go around him, but once again he was halted by Anakin's words.
"Wait, Obi—do you need a ride? I can give you a lift to the Temple; it's not far out of my way and I need to get going myself."
Not knowing a way to politely decline, and figuring he'd rather just save the time and money than argue with Anakin and lose anyways, Obi-Wan gritted his teeth into a smile and said, "That would be great. Thanks."
The ride to the Temple went along smoothly. Anakin and Obi-Wan didn't talk, but music played softly out of the speakers so the hovercraft didn't seem quite so empty or the atmosphere quite so tense. Obi-Wan thanked Anakin for the ride once he was dropped off. As the hovercraft faded away into the traffic, Obi-Wan felt a small weight lift from his chest. It was as if he could breathe freer, now.
Walking into the Temple, Obi-Wan decided that he was very glad to be home.
The quiet spirit and reserved nature of the Temple calmed him. The building held so many good memories…along with the bad, yes, but it was the good that stood out stronger in his mind. So many past generations of Jedi had walked these halls. The walls had, in some ways, soaked up their presences. An all-encompassing calm and Jedi wisdom seemed to emanate from the walls. The air was faintly warm, like the hand of a best friend ghosting over his shoulder.
In the past many people he loved had walked these paths, his cherished younglings sought guidance in this sanctuary, and Obi-Wan was sure that future generations would come and go as well. And their spirits and hopes would all, sooner or later, come to reside in these walls, in this home. He could only hope that part of his spirit, too, would be left in the Jedi Temple when he departed. He wished to join the Temple's harmony and help other Jedi find balance within themselves. The Force was a living, breathing entity here. The Force was alive everywhere, but here it was like a flaming cardinal singing gaily; in some places it was no more than the faint rustle of moth wings.
"Master Obi-Wan!" Tarren raced up to meet him. His face split into a huge grin. "I'm glad that you decided to come back."
"Someone has to keep you younglings from wrecking the Temple," Obi-Wan replied mildly, amused at Tarren's breathlessness. "Honestly, I thought it'd take more than a day for you to appreciate me for what I do. Perhaps I should leave more often if I get such enthusiastic welcomes on my return."
"Well…" Tarren shifted slightly on the balls of his feet. "It's just that some of the others were skeptical—not me, of course," Tarren said quickly, too quickly. "But others. They said you weren't coming back…that the Empire finally got you, that you were fed up with us…that you were dead."
Obi-Wan frowned. "I would have thought that you'd have more faith in my abilities and motives." Obi-Wan saw Tarren wince, his cheeks and ears growing faintly red. Obi-Wan corrected himself, "I don't mean 'you,' Tarren. I just mean the younglings in general."
"…Oh." If anything, Tarren's cheeks only got redder.
Obi-Wan wondered if Tarren had been as steadfast in his belief as he claimed, but voiced none of his thoughts. There would be no purpose in doing so.
"If they question you again tell me, and I will converse with them face-to-face. They might just need me to reassure them myself as I did with you. I can understand why they might have been worried and skeptical about me returning, since the information came from you—meaning second-hand—and not me personally." Obi-Wan's frown deepened. "That was a hindsight on my part." It disturbed him that he hadn't thought of this possible outcome and prepared against it.
"But now that you're back, they'll all be okay." Tarren looked relieved himself.
"That is good to know. Now, I would like for the younglings to gather in meditation room number six. I will be with you shortly; I have something I need to take care of by myself."
"Of course, Master Obi-Wan." Tarren bowed respectfully to his mentor. "I'll get the others."
"Thank you." Obi-Wan smiled and waited until Tarren was out of view before going in a different direction. He leisurely walked down the hall until he came to one of the many empty, private rooms of the Temple. Rooms with soundproofed walls and no cameras. Closing and locking the door, Obi-Wan pulled his vibrating comlink from his belt and clicked it on. "Yes?" he asked urgently.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Yoda greeted him formally. He bowed his head, his large ears swaying with the motion. "Contacted you I have to confirm our sources. You have infiltrated Anakin's home, hmmm?"
"My, you do have good sources," Obi-Wan stated, impressed. "Yes, I have managed to get myself into his household. Which, conveniently, Anakin also uses as his work place."
Yoda tapped his gimer stick, satisfied. "Thought this I did, though proof I had not. Beneficial this can be, if prudently you work. Of these actions, what is your first impression?"
Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out how to word his thoughts. "I find it…odd," he answered truthfully. "It's as if he doesn't trust the Emperor and feels a need to hide his work."
Yoda nodded his head wisely, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Obi-Wan got the distinct impression that Yoda had already come to this conclusion, and had simply been waiting for Obi-Wan to catch up to his thinking. "Suspect this I do. Suspicions and secrets divide the Empire. Fragile, they are. However"—Yoda rapped his gimer stick commandingly, his eyes becoming solemn once again—"this also makes them alert. They expect the worse, and the worse they find. Proceed with caution, Obi-Wan."
"Yes, well… I think I already ran into that predicament." Obi-Wan felt the back of his neck and ears heat up. His gaze fell to his shuffling feet. Instantly he was transformed back into the awkward, young Padawan Learner who had just messed up his footwork in lightsaber practice, and who Yoda had corrected in front of the entire class.
Yoda's wise eyes snapped towards him, sharp focus replacing good humor. "Know this I did not."
"I was looking up information in a storage room full of holograms when Anakin found me."
Rapping his cane on the ground, Yoda halted Obi-Wan's speech. "Young Kenobi, the difference between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader I hope you know. What once was is not always as it is. Give not the enemy friendly names."
Flustered, Obi-Wan didn't know how to respond. Part of him knew that Yoda was right—that Anakin was gone, consumed by Darth Vader—but part of Obi-Wan still saw the Sith Lord as Anakin Skywalker. Could he really connect the murderer and the Padawan as one man? Did he want to?
"Meditate on this you will, I see," Yoda said solemnly. "Guidance in the Force you will find. Now, to the matters at hand we must attend."
"Yes…" Obi-Wan tried to pick up where he left off. He couldn't bring himself to call Anakin Darth Vader, so he found a neutral in-between: "Skywalker found me watching a hologram. But I hadn't been viewing anything of real importance—only a recording of one of our missions, the peace-letter one for the Queen of Naboo to be exact—so he hadn't reacted too severely. He was very firm in the fact that the consequences would be dire if I entered any more locked doors, but other than that I was very fortunate." Obi-Wan paused, thinking. "Things could have gone a lot worse."
"Careful you must be." Yoda's face was grave, the wrinkles etching into his green skin. "Much more difficult your assignment will be, now that Vader is aware of your intentions."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I think he only has a vague idea of what I'm doing. I played off our past friendship, saying that I only wanted to know him better—which is a partial truth. That makes detecting the lie harder. I think he knew something was off, but wasn't able to pin-point it exactly."
"The Force is not a truth detector, only a guider," Yoda said wisely.
"This is probably the first time I'm thankful that it's not. If it was, I doubt I'd be living"—an unsettling thought—"and my mission would have been unsuccessful. As it is, I have few solid facts and many speculations."
"Any information, even seemingly insignificant, can play an important role in the bigger picture. Listen carefully I will to what you say."
"Well, the building that he lives in has fifty-three floors. The top three are for living—the fifty-third a greenhouse and the other two acting as a sort of 'two-story' house. The next two are empty, and then after that…everything's business. I was investigating the forty-ninth floor—topmost business floor—when Skywalker found me, so I can't say if all the other levels hold information or if some levels are empty. The stairway can access all of the floors, I'm pretty positive. The lock on the forty-ninth floor was easy to open up, not even computerized, but I'm not sure if it'll stay that way after what happened last night. Like the stairs, the elevator has access to all floors. However, security was tight even on the house levels, so I'm sure that the business floors are practically impenetrable.
"Another interesting fact…an assassin attempted to kill someone yesterday. I'm can't say who the target was with a hundred percent confidence, since his 'weapon' was a reek—meaning that he had very little control over it—but I believe his target was Leia. Someone is unhappy with Skywalker, that's for sure. I don't know if that someone could be a potential ally or not, but its something that I'll try to look into further, if possible."
" 'If possible,' you say. Elaborate on this, you will?"
"This is where we enter theory. I have an abundance of that." Obi-Wan grinned wearily, although the smile felt unsuited for the words and his mood. "I don't know it for a fact, but I assume that Skywalker will try to keep tabs on me. He seems to like to collect holograms, so it's logical to conclude that he constantly uses cameras. He likes digital proof of everything; I'm sure that my activities are no exception. I believe the Temple is the only place I can safely contact you."
Yoda nodded in agreement. "Even the most microscopic spy droid will fail to enter here. In strange ways the Temple's defenses work. Unexplained, except to the Force."
Obi-Wan's opinion paralleled Yoda's; the Temple almost had a mind of its own at times, it seemed. But this only showed in subtle, coincidental ways. He sensed that since the Temple was the focus point for such an enormous amount of Force, not only physical walls but invisible barriers sheltered the Jedi inside.
"Skywalker is a puzzling person. I haven't been able to grasp his ulterior motives yet—on anything he does. An example is how he altered the Coruscant educational system to better it, yet seemed to not care if he ruined lives in the process. He's the reason why thousands of people have lost their jobs, but he feels no pity for them. His laws are meant to help society, but at the same time he's destroying it. He contradicts himself. I honestly don't know if he understands what he's doing, or if he's so cunning in his methods that this outward carelessness hides a more complex plan.
"Consequences seem to matter little to him. Or at least that's what I've come to believe. He's reckless—he always has been."
"Information on his children you have?" Yoda questioned, leaning forward on his gimer stick.
"There's that also… From what I can tell—and this is from the recollections of all the times I've spent with them, not just yesterday—I don't believe he's even attempted to teach them how to control the Force. They seem neither influenced by the light or dark side. In fact, I'm not sure if they even know the power they hold in themselves. They are exceptionally intelligent and mature for their age, and I have a feeling that their connection to the Force plays a part in that. I've been trying to exert a good influence over them whenever possible. Just little mentions when I can slip them casually into a conversation; a Jedi Code here, advice there, an admonishing when necessary."
Yoda was silent for a minute, closing his eyes. Finally, he opened his eyes and announced, "For the best this is. Because of Vader's disregard for training, untainted by the Dark Side Luke and Leia will remain."
"I have a question about the Dark Side…" Obi-Wan said hesitantly.
"Hmmm?" Yoda watched Obi-Wan with his intelligent eyes, his face carefully neutral.
"Can the Dark Side alter a person's life force?"
" 'Can'? Anything is possible for the Force. Can, yes. Possible, perhaps. However, heard of this before I have not. Omniscient the Force is. Reasons there are for the force signature given to us. No purpose there is to alter what is already in-tune to the past, present, and future."
Obi-Wan felt relieved. "So when I couldn't feel Anakin's force signature—you think he's only shielding it?"
"Yes."
"But why? It wasn't like he was in a dangerous situation and needed to keep his identity hidden…"
"Know that you did not."
Obi-Wan didn't know what to make of that, so he didn't say anything. Yoda had insights he could hardly imagine, and Obi-Wan accepted that sometimes he would be unintentionally left in the dark. Some things were hard to explain. Obi-Wan believed that Yoda talked the way he did because his mind thought so far in advance that everything became jumbled when he verbalized it. His mind saw everything with such clarity that he simply forgot the beginning of the sentence and spoke what needed to be said first. The mind overwhelmed the mouth. The rest was added as an afterthought, in an attempt to form a complete sentence and make coherent to others what he instantly understood. Transcending to nearly incomprehensible spiritual depths with the Force could make a person lose touches of realism, like common speech patterns.
But that was all only speculation of Obi-Wan's part.
"Another occurrence yesterday caught my attention. Once he dropped us—meaning myself, Leia, and Luke—off at the building, Skywalker left abruptly. He has an excuse—he got me a veractyl, and told me that was why he left so quickly yesterday—but I don't think that's the sole reason of his departure. He had to have left to do something important or meet with someone of importance. The veractyl was a cover-up for something. I'm not sure if this means the Empire is about to set some big plans in motion or not, but you might want to be careful all the same. Although, from the way Leia and Luke reacted, Skywalker leaving unexpectedly is a common incident."
"Always in motion the Empire is," Yoda agreed. He glanced at Obi-Wan, infinite wisdom in his eyes. "I sense more you have to tell. A weakness you have found, hmmm?"
"…I believe I may be a weakness of his," Obi-Wan confessed. Very little of this made sense to him, and he hoped that by confiding in Yoda he could gain some insight on Anakin.
"Because punished you were not for sneaking around?"
"Well…yes…he didn't punish me for looking at the holograms. But there's more…" Obi-Wan fell silent. He didn't feel comfortable trying to explain what had happened last night.
Yoda seemed to understand. "Friendship leaves marks seen by none, not even their owner. Subtle, this power is that you have over him. Subtly you must use it." Yoda smiled comfortingly, the many wrinkles crinkling up in the corners of his eyes. "Patience. Find your answers you will, in good time."
"Thank you for the guidance, Yoda." Obi-Wan smiled at his mentor. Yoda's generic answers somehow held more meaning than normal because it was him saying them. Yoda had simple solutions for complex problems. Simple answers made solving the problem easier; not everything had to be complicated and Yoda's advice reminded him of that constantly. That this all came from a very complex, yet somehow simple, being made Obi-Wan smile all the more. Life was full of little ironies like that.
The green in Yoda's eyes twinkled, as if he knew what Obi-Wan was thinking; perhaps he did. "For the information, thank you, Obi-Wan. Take care. May the Unifying and Living Force guide you." The blue holographic image disappeared, and Obi-Wan turned off his comlink.
Hurrying out of the empty room, Obi-Wan headed to meditation room number six at a brisk pace. He had kept his youngling waiting long enough, and if he delayed any longer they'd probably be too frustrated to meditate by the time he arrived.
When he entered the meditation room he was instantly ambushed.
"See!" Tarren said triumphantly. The Coruscanti human boy grinned hugely. "I told you guys that he was coming! Why didn't you believe me?"
An eleven-year-old Annoodat blinked his four eyes as his lizard tongue flicked out of the corner of his mouth. His scaly features couldn't hold human expressions, but the tongue-flick expressed his annoyance. "How could we know that?" he hissed in Galactic Basic to the smaller boy. While his speech was grammatically unflawed, his lizard tongue and mouth gave his pronunciation an underlying, raspy hiss. Turning to Obi-Wan, the Annoodat bowed deeply and said respectfully, "We are glad to have you back, Massster Kenobi. I apologizzze for the doubt I disssplayed."
"I accept your apology, Skraith. It's understandable, the way you reacted." Obi-Wan clasped one of Skraith's scaly claws in friendship before turning to the rest of the group. Skraith was the oldest of the group and mature beyond his years. The Annoodat had been forced to grow up at too early an age.
Skraith, while only six when he first came to the Temple, had already gotten more than a taste of what the outside world was like. In normal circumstances, Skraith would have been declined. He was simple too old, already molded by outside forces both good and bad. But because the Jedi Order was diminished to such proportions Obi-Wan no longer had the luxury of being selective.
The Annoodat went over to his meditation pad and sat on it, giving the others more room to crowd around Obi-Wan. Darrien, a seven-year-old Coruscanti with a head full of short brown hair and intelligence, sat to his left. Skraith nodded to him, and Darrien nodded back to the reptilian. Theirs was an odd friendship, but Obi-Wan was glad that they found solace in each other's silence.
A Bothan sprung into Obi-Wan's range of vision. Her humanoid face had faint whisker marks painted on the cheeks, and the pupils of her golden eyes were slits. Despite the facial markings and the eyes, her appearance was mostly human. The only other differences were that her ears were longer and much more pointed at the end (like Elvin ears), and her hands were graced with thinner fingers and curved, claw-like nails. The way she carried herself expressed the flexibility and agility of a cat; there was a sense of perfect balance in her movements. "Do you have to leave again soon?" she questioned. "Can you tell us the reasons why? Or are they confidential? Personal?"
Carra always asked many questions so Obi-Wan didn't feel too bad about brushing them off. "I'm here for your meditation lesson, but then yes, I must be leaving again."
Her pointed ears twitched, in either irritation or interest, but she said didn't press for more information. Carra was notorious in the Temple for digging around in personal business that didn't involve her; Obi-Wan would have to watch out for her. Like all his younglings she had a good nature, but she might accidentally ruin his mission with her favorite pastime.
"Messa happy to see yousa, Massa Obi-Wan!" A small Gungan boy tackled Obi-Wan with a flying hug, managing to smack Obi-Wan in the face with his dangly ears. His expressive bill pulled up at the corners in a smile. He was gangly, even at the age of five. Obi-Wan first met him on Naboo when he had gone to Padmé's funeral. Jar Jar Binks had seen some of the odd powers the boy displayed (Jar Jar was a distant cousin of Jarg's, and had stopped by to visit), and had known to show him to Obi-Wan. Jarg was fortunate that Jar Jar knew the signs of a Force wielder: a Gungan being Force-sensitive was unheard of, and the boy's parents were becoming thoroughly frightened of the invisible powers he displayed. If Obi-Wan hadn't stepped in and explained that Jarg's 'sorcery' was nothing more than untrained Force powers, he might have been ostracize from the clan.
Due to the small nature of the group, all the younglings were closer to Obi-Wan than was normally permitted. The lines between Padawan and Master blurred. However, Jarg usually found a way to completely crash over those careful drawn lines. Hugging him was one of those ways. Obi-Wan always wondered if part of Jar Jar's friendly nature had been genetically handed down to Jarg. He noted many similarities to the two distant cousins.
Obi-Wan sighed and pulled Jarg off of him. "I see that you still need to learn to contain your excitement," he commented in an amused, if exasperated, voice.
"Yessa, messa have! Messa been practicing, but messa not very good yet," Jarg said happily.
Obi-Wan smiled, and mentally berated himself for even trying.
"I am glad to see that you are well, Master Obi-Wan." A female Twi'lek bowed respectfully to him, before allowing herself to grin happily. Her white teeth contrasted with her deep blue skin. She was six, the same age as Carra, and the two got along well. The calm, thoughtful nature of Ki'lya grounded Carra, and she kept her wayward friend from getting into too much trouble or accidentally hurting someone's feelings. Likewise, Carra stood up for Ki'lya when her shy friend would not stand up for herself.
"As much as it warms my heart to see that you all missed me, we must return to the normal schedule. My new living arrangement doesn't change the fact that we are continuing all lessons." A groan spread throughout the room, and although Obi-Wan gazed at his grumbling students sternly, he had to hide the smile threatening to show itself.
All the younglings settled down on their pads and waited for him to speak. Ki'lya and Darrien already had calm looks on their faces, while Tarren, Jarg, and Carra fidgeted impatiently. Skraith simply look impassive, neither near the state of mediation nor far from it.
The others, who hadn't had a chance to greet him personally, had arrived at the Temple more recently. Since they were new arrivals, they didn't have such a comfortable bond with Obi-Wan yet and weren't as enthusiastic at displaying their feelings or speaking out of turn. The five that had personally greeted him, and Darrien, had been the founding six that made up his first pupils. The other seven had come along at different times over the last three standard years. By that time, he had made the Jedi Temple his permanent home, and could no longer travel because of his younglings as well as other circumstances. All the newer additions were Coruscanti, a natural occurrence since the Temple was located on Coruscant.
The newer pupils, Obi-Wan admitted to himself with reluctance, fit the Jedi requirements better than the other six.
While he loved the first batch of younglings very much, they all had within themselves a personality flaw of some sort. Jarg impractical; Skraith proud; Carra prying; Ki'lya subservient; Tarren impatient; Darrien uncommunicative. Yet, when he saw them all together, he knew that they covered each other's flaws. As a team, they became far stronger than otherwise thought. And the true power of Jedi lied not in their individual strengths but in the potency of their teamwork. The goal of a Jedi was to gain camaraderie and harmony between themselves and others, Jedi or otherwise.
So while they were either too old, or too impatient, or too world-weary to become Jedi when thought of as individuals, when viewed as a unit Obi-Wan knew that they would make great Knights.
His younger students, the 'Coruscanti crowd' as he liked to call them in his mind, were all young. The oldest, Quinn, was three. He had been the first of the Coruscanti crowd to arrive. He came to the Temple three standard years ago, so he had lived almost all his life here. He had dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes. This contrasted greatly with his light nature. Quinn was one of those cases where his physical appearance contradicted his personality.
A mother had turned up at the Temple next, handing over her twin girls to Obi-Wan in hopes that they could find a better life than that of the middle-lower working class. The weary mother told them that their names were Rei and Sei, and that she loved them very much but could not take care of them, and to please help them grow up to be strong. They were currently two standard years old. They would have looked identical but for the fact that Rei had brown hair and light-hazel eyes, and Sei had honey-gold hair and brown eyes. They were calm, and shared a deep bond with each other. Sometimes they would end each other's sentences, or do something for one another without even being asked. Often Obi-Wan wondered if they had telekinetic conversations together; twins in nature had a close connection, and coupled with their ability to use the Force that bond could only become more powerful. Perhaps even strong enough, Obi-Wan thought, to let them speak to each other mentally. An intriguing thought.
Huo had entered the Temple nearly right after the twins. He was a quiet, observant child. For being so young, he had an enormous aptitude for thinking. He questioned everything, not because he didn't believe in it, but because he wanted to know why. Why this machine worked, or this meditation stance was best, or why the code was written this way instead of that way. He was inquisitive, but he also had the natural ability to know when to stop pushing for answers (unlike Carra). He had a large vocabulary for someone his age. Part of this Obi-Wan knew was because he often asked Obi-Wan to read to him at night when he couldn't fall asleep. While Huo couldn't read himself, he loved listening to the Jedi talk and would follow along as Obi-Wan underlined each word, as he read it, with his finger.
Lilitaa was his most recent student and the youngest. She was only one and half. She had short, uncontrollable bright-red hair and pale blue eyes. She was advance with her motor skills (she could walk well, had a good sense of balance, and could manipulate her fingers with precision), but she had yet to learn speech. She wouldn't even exclaim in baby babble. Her mode of communication was through pointing and other hand or body gestures. She was silent and shy, choosing to stay close to Obi-Wan whenever possible.
If there had been more Jedi Masters to help train the students, Lilitaa would have been placed in a younger age group where she could have matured with students her own age. As it was, Obi-Wan had to teach her with all the other students, and he only hoped that she could grasp the more complex commands. Since she didn't speak, and was far too young to write, Obi-Wan had no way of knowing if she did in fact understand him.
Obi-Wan looked around at his motley crew, and knew that he was just like them: different, not quite fitting in to the society around them.
"Now, can anyone recite to me the Jedi Code?" Obi-Wan asked the younglings, keeping his voice low and level. He wanted his students to be in the right state of mind when they began meditation, and speaking evenly had the effect of calming them.
"There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no chaos; there is harmony. There is no death; there is the Force." Ki'lya spoke in a voice just as serene as his. It was like a gentle spring frothing over smooth pebbles, drifting them farther along on the stream of serenity.
"Well spoken, Ki'lya," he complimented her. "I am sure that all of you have memorize the Jedi Code." Every single youngling nodded, even Lilitaa. "But can any of you tell me just what those words mean?" The group was silent for a long moment. "Come now, surely one of you must have the answer. Anyone can memorize; only the deep can understand."
" 'What they mean'? They say exactly what they mean, don't they?" Tarren's voice rose from the group. "We live in the Force. We should not limit our view to our individuality, but look to the Force and its infinity. We are merely a small part of the whole. Despite what we feel and think, what situations we are in, overall the galaxy, and the Force, stay the same. Thus, no chaos; only harmony resides in the Force. No death, only the Force."
"You are correct. We live in the Force, and the Force lives in all of us. As long as the Force lives in beings, we can never die within it. Only the material, our bodies, can be lost. However, not all can discern the Jedi Code with such clarity as you do."
"Why?" Huo asked, leaning forward on his meditation mat to better hear the answer.
"Some simply don't want to believe. Others cannot compare the words to their life; they see no connection. Some who aren't sensitive to the flow of the Force believe that the Jedi Code passes over them and doesn't affect them, so they don't care and don't bother to try to understand. But the Force works and lives in us all, even those who choose to ignore it."
"How can they ignore this?" Carra motioned with a clawed hand to the air around them. "Don't they want to find out the answers? How can they live so blindly? Knowing there's something out there and just sitting around watching Holonet as if it doesn't matter—" she stopped, biting the inside of her cheek. Her aggravation was shown through the darkening of the marks on her cheeks.
"Some may ask you why you seek the answers so much," Obi-Wan countered, and the frustrated look on her face transformed into an incredulous one. "While you hunt out the truth, some fear it. The truth is not a comfort; it will not bend to your will. Some ignore the truth because, in accepting the Force and its meaning, they would be accepting that their life is not almighty. We do not have complete control of our destiny. Some refuse to acknowledge this."
"Sounds bleak to messa," Jarg said, subdued for once.
"Not always," Obi-Wan smiled reassuringly. "The Force is a guider, not a dictator."
"You contradict," Darrien said, speaking for the first time. His eyes were closed and body relaxed, as if he was already meditating, but his voice was clear and firm. He said no more.
"Not exactly," Obi-Wan gently admonished. "There are times when we must both lead and follow. The Force guides our lives, but in the end it is our choice the path we take. And as for not having complete control—there are always outside circumstances…people, events, objects…that alter our lives in ways unforeseen. Not one person can see into all the possible futures and know exactly what will come to pass, or where their lives will take them at any given moment."
No more questions or statements forthcoming, Obi-Wan said, "Now let us meditate."
As the students settled down to meditate, Obi-Wan tried to follow their lead. Yet thoughts kept bubbling up in his mind, hindering him from melding his mind with the Force. Why did Anakin act as if nothing had happened between them last night? Where had he gone yesterday? Why was he hiding his force signature?
What was he doing right now?
Obi-Wan sighed; the Force was a guide, not an answer.