Writer's Block: Possession by Jaxmari. It's a Star Wars fic, rated M, and involves Ani/Obi slash (surprise surpise. ;) ). This is a nice little oneshot that explores the feelings of our favorite pair. It's very well written, has sensational characterizations, and an ending line that I just love. It's great seeing Ankin's inner turmoil and conflict. Jaxmari is a talented writer, and it's a pleasure to read her writing.
Ahhh…well, let's see…what do I want to comment on in the last chapter? Some stuff was explained in there, especially about Threepio being Yoda's secret source of information. If you go back and reread the chapters (which is almost egotistical of me to say, since I shouldn't assume my story's good enough for a second read (although I hope it is)), you'll notice that when Obi-Wan confides in Kye I always mention Threepio in the background. That's how Yoda knew when it was or was not necessary to contact Obi-Wan. I try to be tricky like that. But don't worry! There are more plot twists, and I hope that as I reveal them more little hidden clues will become noticeable throughout the story.
I thank you for the reviews. I enjoy myself immensely by reading them. Please, if you find any mistakes, tell me and I'll fix them. It's a pretty big chapter, and more text means more of a chance of error. This chapter's a little break from the darkness that seems to be permeating my story (hence the genre 'tragedy'), so hopefully you'll enjoy this treat of something a little lighter and more humorous than normal. Tell me if I pulled it off or if this chapter flopped.
Page Amount: 11Word Count: 8,806
Started 8-5-05 (today's Justin's last Friday (party) before he moves -tear-) and finished 8-6-05 (Friday was a blast. :) )
Listening to: Billy Idol "White Wedding"
Written by Ice Dragon3
Jedi Genocide
Chapter Seventeen: Bonds
It was three standard days after that frustrating and confusing night, and Obi-Wan was still wondering what had happened. While he tried to shrug it off, he knew that his actions were futile. He had already tried everything to get his mind off the topic, but his thoughts kept veering towards it again and again. It was like trying to keep lightning from hitting the tallest tree on a hill. Something about that 'lover's spat' oddly reminded him about the day that Tarren and Skraith had died…it was just this feeling he got. He couldn't explain it, and that annoyed and worried him. Hence why he was trying to forget it, and failing.
Focusing instead on the flavor of his tea, chamomile with a hint of honey, Obi-Wan turned his thoughts toward the weather outside. Today was one of those rare rainy days that Coruscant was 'blessed' with. The atmosphere didn't have much water in it, so it took a while for the air to become saturated enough for the hydrogen gases to fall down from their own weight—of course, finding enough pollution to act as nuclei for the droplets was never a problem. The precipitation never varied, just as the heated temperature of the city-planet never did; when the water fell from the sky, it fell as rain. Period.
'Snow would be a nice change,' Obi-Wan decided, looking out the window at the gloomy gray clouds and falling rain. 'The whiteness would give this city a fresh look.' Rain made him feel dreary. Whenever he walked outside, no matter how small that time frame being, no matter how large his umbrella, the fat droplets always managed to soak into his clothes and seep into his bones. Wearing those drenched clothes made him feel like he was wearing a permanent clamminess, one that he could never rid himself of. Even the memory of it was enough to dampen his mood.
Taking another sip from his heated mug, he steeled himself for what was coming. He'd have to walk out into it, at least until he could find a taxi to take him to the Temple. He couldn't depend on Anakin for a ride since he was probably already tangled up in Imperial matters. From the empty bed he'd woken up to and the empty kitchen, Obi-Wan assumed that Anakin had gone to work early. That suited him just fine; he liked the alone time.
Cradling his navy blue mug, he watched vaporous strands of steam twist up from the amber liquid.
Sometimes, when Anakin was near, he felt like he couldn't think for himself. Anakin was always interjecting his opinion, pushing for him to believe this or that idea instead of these or those thoughts. It was like trying to swim against the tide—all he did was wear himself out and get nowhere.
He hadn't felt hungry this morning, but he'd made himself a bowl of cereal anyways. He would need the energy to teach the younglings, and he knew that his body would thank him later on. He'd left out bowls, spoons, and the twins' two boxes of favorite cereal (grossly enough, they did not eat different types of cereal but mixed the two brands together), just so they wouldn't forget to eat when they woke up. He might not be able to cook like Anakin, but he could manage on his own decently. There was something strangely—or maybe not quite so strangely—satisfying about independence.
Getting up, he rinsed out his now empty cup and put it in the dishwasher. He trooped toward the door, intent on equipping himself with his shield and sword (a waterproof jacket and umbrella) before doing battle with the rain. He was about to open the jacket-closet and grab his things when a hand leaped in front of him, holding the door shut.
"Self-sufficient today, aren't we?" Anakin asked, amused, hand still firmly placed on the closet door. "I thought you didn't like going out in the rain; you should have asked me for a ride. You know I don't mind."
Obi-Wan said, "I didn't know that you were still here. I assumed that you had already left for work…" He shrugged indifferently. "I figured I had to get to the Temple anyways, so I might as well make it there sooner than later. I was going to call down an air taxi if possible, and if not, well…walking it would be. It's not entirely horrendous out there."
"I don't see why you find the idea of walking in the rain so morbid," Anakin replied honestly. "I love the rain. I always thought of it as Nature's remedy to her problems; a period of cleansing in which she washed away the toxics on her surface with a healthy scrubbing. And if rain can do that to an entire planet, I always figured that it was a simple matter for it to let my own worries and cares trickle away. The soul needs cleaning sometimes too."
"I can't say that I'm very fond of it… The only kind of precipitation we get here is rain, and after experiencing it all my life it gets rather boring. The novelty wears off quickly, and then all you're left with is the wet. I like snow more; only on rare occasions do I get the chance to see it, so it's a special event every time."
Anakin smiled. "I guess it's the same for me too."
"How? You love the rain; I love the snow."
"You love the weather that you never get to see; I love the weather which I yearned for as a child. I came from a desert world…it seldom rains there. Here, rain is plentiful. Even after all these years, I still find the thought refreshing. Rejuvenating."
"At least one of us can appreciate the weather we're having. As for me, if I can't have snow, then I'd prefer a sunny day with a gentle breeze."
"We get many of those on Coruscant. Let me have my occasional rainy day, Obi. Try not to rain on my parade too much." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he tried to say that seriously.
"Ha ha. Aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?" Obi-Wan grumbled, but he couldn't completely hide his smile—Anakin's corny joke had worked, to an extent. "Just give me my ride to the Temple already, before I decide to drown myself in all this rainwater."
"Please don't joke about such a serious matter," Anakin asked gently, his face somber. "I don't like hearing you say things like that."
Obi-Wan didn't know how to respond to such a request. At last, he shrugged and said, "Alright, I won't joke like that anymore." He hadn't known that the topic was a touchy one; Anakin had never mentioned anything about it being one before. But then again, Obi-Wan couldn't remember if the topic had ever come up in the past. If it had, it slipped his memory.
They got into Anakin's speeder. Anakin started the repulsor boosters, and the craft hovered off the ground. He gently steered through traffic, knowing exactly where he was going. Droplets splattered on the windshield, drumming a merry tune only to be instantly evaporated by the mildly heated glass. Most vehicles, except the poorly built junkers, had this ability. The combined clouds of vapor rising off the plastiglass windows of speeders created a thin mist that coated everything. Buildings became hazy outlines and traffic lanes only distinguishable by the single-file lines of glaring headlights. Everything took on a washed-out hue, like watercolors diluted by too much water.
Obi-Wan looked around. Even in all this mist he knew that they were going in the opposite direction of the Temple. "Ani…I think that you've made a wrong turn. The Temple is in the other direction." He pointed the way they should be going.
"Not to worry, the younglings already know that you won't be there. I dropped by yesterday and told them. They understand that you have other engagements to keep." Anakin smiled at his hidden pun. "I thought it would be a nice surprise for you."
"…I'm feeling like there's something more to this than I know…" Obi-Wan said warily, studying Anakin's Mona Lisa smile.
"Today's our wedding," Anakin responded happily.
"And you didn't tell me?" Obi-Wan's mouth went slack for a moment, gaping like a fish's, before he regained some of his composure and shut it. He felt flustered, like he had been given a script and told that the play's final performance was tonight 'and oh yeah, by the way, you've got the leading part. Have fun.'
"What do I have to do? What do I wear? Aren't there supposed to be some—some sort of 'ritual' that we have to go over beforehand, so we don't screw up? Lines we're supposed to memorize? I'm completely unprepared." Obi-Wan ran a hand through his brown hair, and it frazzled to match his state of mind. He suddenly rounded on Anakin, green eyes flashing warningly. "Will the press be there?" he asked in a menacing voice, "If you invited the press or any of your political 'friends,' I'm un-inviting myself."
"I thought you might react this way." Anakin laughed. "That's why I didn't give you any forewarning. I didn't want you to runaway in your distress, so I took care of all the details myself. And to answer your questions in order: nothing you don't want to, what you're wearing is fine, no rituals are included, lines are a nice thought but not needed, and no press or political associates of mine will be there." Anakin juggled traffic and Obi-Wan's questions with ease.
"Then what do we need to do and where are we going?" He'd rather have them both stay at home and keep the whole affair quiet. Just say 'I do,' get the legal papers, slip on the rings, and then go on with their lives. Or better yet, they could post pone it indefinitely due to a 'rain check'—in quite the literal sense. Obi-Wan watched the melancholy clouds grumble in the sky as they rolled slowly westward. He felt like grumbling himself.
"We're getting married in an unconventional way. Call it an elopement and vacation rolled into one. Remember the rogue planet, Zonama Sekot? We're going to pay a visit there first."
"First? Then that means that there must be a 'next.' Where is it?"
"I have to keep some of my secrets." Anakin winked. "But you'll enjoy yourself, don't worry."
"Oh really…" Obi-Wan said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh really-really," Anakin mimicked jokingly, his voice convincing and relaxed. "It'll just be the two of us, and Leia and Luke, of course—and Artoo-detoo, can't forget him, now can we? In other words, it'll just be the family. We're keeping this nice, small, and simple. I already got the official legal marriage papers, so we're legally a married couple already."
"Don't we need some sort of…priest, or whatever to marry us?" Obi-Wan asked. He wasn't very knowledgeable of the steps needed to make a marriage legitimate. He just never had enough interest in it to research the facts.
"That's not necessary. It's really only used by those who are still religious. Are you a religious man, Obi?" Anakin glanced at him inquiringly, trying to keep an eye on the traffic and the Jedi's expression at the same time.
"The only omniscient presence I believe in is the Force," Obi-Wan vowed. "It is not a religion; it is an Order."
Anakin laughed lightly at him, not saying a word.
They arrived at the universal transportation station, and Leia and Luke got up from their waiting seats upon seeing their speeder land. They raced over to the two men, shouting greetings and waving cheerful, chubby hands. R2-D2, their new caretaker and friend, rolled after them, beeping and flickering blue and red lights at them. What he said sounded like a baby-gurgled complaint. Leia grabbed onto Anakin's hand and wouldn't let go, swinging it gently as she hummed happily. Luke stood close to Obi-Wan and looked up to give the man a quiet smile before his gaze flickered away.
Anakin declared, "Now that everyone's here, we'll get on the small cruiser I registered and bought yesterday. Since we'll be spending a bit of time in space, I figured it'd be best to get a comfortable ship meant for traveling long periods of time—and had added measures of luxury."
"Good thinking," Luke agreed.
"Is there enough room for us to move around?" Leia demanded. "How many rooms are there and how much time are we going to be spending on it? Is it a really long time? 'Cause then I'll get hungry, and we'll need to stop to eat."
"It's not a very big ship, since otherwise I wouldn't be able to steer it all by myself, but it's decent. It's got the pilothouse, where I'll be doing the flying, three sleeping quarters, a small kitchen, a lounging room, one bathroom with a refresher, and other rooms that don't involve you—the room housing the engines and hyperdrive, a maintenance room with all the wires of the ships and the core power system, a small docking bay with enough room for two small speeders, and…" He left the word dangling dangerously.
"Sounds big enough," Leia said quickly, cutting him off. "Please don't get into the technical talk."
"And I was just going to say 'and, that's it.' " Anakin said teasingly, tweaking her nose. Giving Obi-Wan a look, he added playfully, "It seems that she takes after you, Obi. Both of you have mild cases of techno-phobia."
Obi-Wan and Leia scowled at the exact same moment. Their identical looks, given at the same time, only prolonged Anakin's laughter.
"I'd like to know more," Luke said eagerly.
"Once we're on the ship I can input the coordinates of our location and let the ship fly on autopilot. It's an hour flight, even traveling in hyperspace and using shortcuts, so we'll have plenty of time to talk then. Deal?"
"Okay." Luke looked happy with that response. He enjoyed machinery almost as much as his dad.
The four people and droid boarded the ship. Anakin went to the head of the ship and entered commands into the mainframe, starting the engines and lifting the ship out of the hanger bay. He eased them into one of the lanes of traffic leaving Coruscant, and they took that for a while before breaking away to go through one of the hyperspace lanes used for long-distance space traveling. Anakin then set the piloting system on autopilot and sat back. All he had to do was be in the room and make sure nothing went wrong. During any ship's maiden voyage, it's always considered best to keep a closer eye on her than regularly required, just to make sure she wasn't defunct or had any odd quirks to her flying.
"So what's its name?" Obi-Wan asked, taking a seat next to Anakin. The seat was very cushioned and plush, allowing his body to sink in as it took his shape and curved to fit his contours. Even he—a person who zealously tried to avoid such flying death-devices—knew that this was one expensive ship. That was saying a lot, coming from him. The ship purred around him, sleek and content as a sunning panther after a good hunt.
He didn't like flying much, but he had to admit that she was a smooth ship with flying abilities to match her graceful appearance. Cruisers were meant for comfort and long travels, but even with her smaller size she looked especially luxurious. Not to mention armed; he had noted the laser blasters and proton missile-launchers attached to the underside of her two wings. They were artistically added in a way to keep them from being a glaringly obvious addition, but any weapons that big couldn't be overlooked.
The siren ship sung 'aesthetic' on the finest high note, laced faintly with the low duet of 'dangerous'; it was a heady concoction for anyone to drink in with their eyes.
"Empress of the Stars. Finest cruiser of her class," Anakin said proudly. "I did some tinkering and modifying on her myself. I improved her engines to make her more efficient in her fuel usage and give her more speed. I also updated her defense system. Added stronger shields, weapons, the works."
"All I asked for was the name," Obi-Wan said, wondering (and dreading) if this was an introduction into a 'machinery and ships' speech. Off the top of his head he could think of several more humane torturing methods.
Luke entered the pilothouse. Anakin asked him, "Where's your sister, Luke?"
"She's in her room, playing with those dolls she brought."
"I can see why you decided to join us," Anakin said with a half-understanding, half-joking smile. "But here's a question for you: if you could dismantle one of her dolls, one of the electronic ones with tiny CPUs in them, would you do so? Just to see how it ticks?"
"…There's got to be a catch to that question," Luke said finally, a suspicious look in his eyes.
"You're quick, I'll give you that," Anakin said with a laugh. "Yes, there is: you'd have to play dolls with Leia for an hour afterwards."
Luke paused, his face scrunching up in thought. "I guess…that'd be a fair trade."
"I thought I saw you sneaking covetous glances at her robot dolls," Anakin said, satisfied with the answer. "I just had to make sure. But now that I know what you're thinking… No, you can't. Leia loves those dolls very much, and if one of them disappears under any suspicious circumstances, you'll have some major time-out and dish-duty coming your way."
"You tricked me!" Luke exclaimed heatedly, brandishing an accusing finger at Anakin.
"I'm your father, that's what I'm supposed to do," Anakin said seriously, though there was a glint of humor in his eyes. "It's the only way I can get information out of you kids."
Grumbling, Luke swung his legs as he sat in the too-high seat. He looked around the small room, at all the dials and screens. Finally, his curiosity and need for information won out against his irritation at his father's cheap trick, and he asked, "What does that button do?" as he pointed at a green button.
"Well, you see, that button links to the…"
Anakin went on to explain something that went right over Obi-Wan's head. It honestly sounded like he was speaking a different language—some freakish tongue that enjoyed using the sounds 'hydraulics' and 'modulators' and 'watts' far too much. Then Luke's eyes brightened, and he responded with the same esoteric gibberish Anakin sprouted. Soon they were talking animatedly, using words that Obi-Wan had never heard before, much less thought were the reasons why the craft under his feet didn't fall out of the sky and burn into many little pieces. It was terrifying.
As Obi-Wan left (a polite way to say 'made a speedy retreat'), Anakin paused in his techno-babble to ask Obi-Wan, "Where are you going?"
Obi-Wan called over his shoulder, "To play dolls with Leia. I think my chances of survival are better."
Zonama Sekot took its time coming, Obi-Wan thought, a little weary after forty-five arduous and taxing minutes of teatime. Leia and Molly and Polly were ecstatic to see him, and he could hardly endure their excitement. Leia was still trying to get him to 'hookup,' as she was fond of calling it, with Molly and Polly. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ward off Leia and her dolls' attempts; he was finding that the dolls—err…he meant Leia—really were persuasive…or at least persistent. Definitely persistent.
Finally, Luke came into their room and told them that they would be leaving hyperspace in the next few minutes. They all went up to the pilothouse and watched the streaking lines of lights slow down to pinpoint stars as the ship slowed down.
"And there, lady and gentlemen and droid, is Zonama Sekot, the one and only rogue planet of the galaxy," Anakin announced, pointing at the nearing planet. "It has hyperdrive engines wired into the surface, huge ones, and that's how the entire planet is able to move through its own volition. Obi and I saw it disappear into hyperspace on its maiden voyage."
"Was it incredible?" Leia asked, eyes wide at the thought of a planet moving itself. She pushed her nose against the plastiglass of the ship's main window and stared at the planet as if she expected it to jump any minute.
"It was incredible." Anakin grinned, ruffling her curly brown hair. "Like something out of a wild dream."
For the second time in his life, Obi-Wan found himself on that strange, mystical planet. It was a unique planet, not only because of the hyperdrive engines built into it, but because it actually knew that it existed. Somehow, sometime, it had gained a conscious. It was simply a phenomenon. Zonama was the planet itself; Sekot was the living world, the part that had slowly grown in awareness until it had become a sentient being. Sekot was a very old and very young being at the same time.
"So what are we going to be doing here?"
"We are going to build a ship," Anakin replied readily.
"That's impossible; the inhabitants of the planet refused to build ships for strangers after that Trade Federation fleet fired on them." Obi-Wan and Anakin, during the time when they had been Master and Padawan, had witness the entire planet flee the armed fleet by using its hyperdrive engines. "I didn't even realize that it had settled down; last time I'd heard of it, it was still jumping around the galaxy, never stopping long enough to be found."
"I was able to confer telepathically with Sekot, and it agreed to make an exception for us. It recognized me, since we had talked before. I knew that I wanted to do something unforgettable today to mark our wedding day, and this was the best I could think of."
"This is plenty good for me," Obi-Wan said humorously. "If you thought up a surprise any larger, you might accidentally give me a heart attack."
"We'll be building one ship with all the seed-partners that choose us—meaning you, me, Leia, and Luke. I told them already an estimate of how many seed-disks they're going to have to work with, and they said that they were prepared for and welcomed the challenge. Sekot will especially be attentive with our ship's making." Anakin grinned. "She's going to make the Empress of the Stars look like a disposal-freighter once she's done."
A native representative greeted them when they got off the ship (R2-D2 stayed behind because he would be a hindrance during the building process). They were quickly escorted to a chamber, where the proper rituals were done before they had the chance to choose their seed-partners—or more exactly, for their seed partners to choose them. When they entered the cavity holding the seed-partners, the spiky balls all bristled. Leia and Luke huddled close to their father, intimidated by their bristles. The pods fell from the ceiling, rolling over to them and inspecting them. The first time Obi-Wan and Anakin had come here, all the seed-partners had toppled on top of them in their excitement to get to Anakin; Obi-Wan was glad not to repeat that experience.
Anakin had learned restraint in the Force, and now his powers did not escape his control. While the seed-partners could feel his strength in the Force, they were not overexcited like last time. Twelve clung to Anakin like the previous time, three came to Obi-Wan, and Leia and Luke each had two attached to their small bodies when they left the chamber.
Next came the planning of the ship, in which they tried to figure out the details of what they wanted the final product to look like. While these sketches were in no way the final copy, they would give the builders an idea of what to do. Sekot and the seed-partners would be the ones with the final say in how the ship formed. The ship was not built from binding blueprints, but from the loose flow of creativity and letting things happen as they did. Rather than trying to suppress the unplanned, they welcomed it and gently molded it to fit smoothly into everything else.
After that the seed-partners were heated, cooked until they jumped and shivered and finally cracked, transforming into disks. These disks were then used to make the ship. They had to sit in the skeletal frame of the ship as they went down the manufacturing line. The seeds asking them questions of how the ship should be formed as it was being built around them. The making of the ship was a blur to Obi-Wan, one of those experiences where one remembered the feeling but forgot the details. His mind was in sensory overload and just sort of 'shut down' from the overwhelming rush of information. Before he knew it, they were all sitting in a complete ship.
Sekot ships were a very rare and special kind of ship, valued and treasured across the galaxy. Part of its uniqueness came from its connection to its owner, for it could only have one pilot, and if that pilot should die the ship would begin to decompose instantly. Sekot ships were, in fact, alive. The ships were organic, made of living pieces of Sekot, and could heal minor wounds to the hull. Since it was made from the seeds that had chosen all four of them, it could 'speak'—not quite through words alone, but through a mixture of simple words and feelings and mental pictures—to them all.
Anakin drove their new ship around the planet, testing it out. He smiled at Obi-Wan and asked, "A memorable experience?"
"One that I'll never forget, even if the details escape me," Obi-Wan assured him. "It was even more hectic with nineteen seeds-partners, wasn't it?"
"And the ship is even more amazing because of it." The ship was like a sleek, miniature speeder. It had the distinctive shape of a swallow: graceful with long, pointed wings and a long, forked tail. It had its own hyperdrive engine, though it was a snug fit due to its petite frame. There were no weapons on the ship, as the natives of Sekot were unwilling to put them on because it went against their pacifist nature. The ship's defense shields, along with its speed, agile maneuverability and slight regeneration capabilities, were enough to let it escape a fight unscathed. The ship's seats conformed to each of their body shapes; the entire ship was comfortable and gave off the warm feeling of home. Even the welcome it gave to its creators had a familiar feel to it.
"What are we going to call it?" Leia asked happily from the backseat of the ship. Once she had gotten over the fright of the seed-partners' appearance, she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Everyone had.
Anakin thought for a moment, before finally saying, "Trance. I like that name, and for such a beauty…anyone who sees her will have to go into a trance unless they're completely oblivious to a good ship." Anakin smiled fondly at the ship and patted its wall. "And I don't think even Obi-Wan is that oblivious. He'd have to have the IQ of a goldfish."
Asking for the consent of his family, he said, "That is, if no one minds that name. She belongs to all of us, and we should all have equal says in her name."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "You're the pilot; I'll go with any name you pick, unless it's really dorky. Or if the name starts getting technical." He grinned to show he was teasing Anakin.
Leia and Luke conferred among themselves, hushed whispers exchanged back and forth behind concealing hands. Finally, Leia, as their representative, chirped, "Trance works for us!"
"Now that we've christened the ship, I have something else that I want to say…" Anakin landed the ship down on a patch of land not covered by trees or brush—a difficult thing to do due to the lush jungle-foliage. He shifted in his seat so he faced Obi-Wan. He said seriously while taking off Obi-Wan's ring from his left ring finger, "Our love is like this ship; it can only grow stronger as long as we nurture it"—a smile flickered over his lips, and he couldn't help but add—"and do maintenance work."
Obi-Wan snorted internally; of course Anakin couldn't help but work the ship into his speech. On the outside he looked serene, loving, and happy. Obi-Wan was the acme of 'self control.'
Anakin clasped their hands together. The ring was pressed into both of their palms, and the gentle pressure indented his skin. He smiled happily at Obi-Wan. "I'm not saying that it'll be easy married to me, but I want you to know that I'll do everything in my power to make it a loving, unforgettable experience. I want to spend eternity with you. Marriage helps open that doorway."
Obi-Wan responded with, "Many opportunities will come from this and I'm sure that many doorways will open. We'll only have to hope that they're the ones we want, and meet them one by one. Together." He smiled back at Anakin. He leaned forward and whispered, "I love you."
Anakin slipped the ring on his right hand and said back, "I love you too." He kissed Obi-Wan gently on the lips. It was a chaste, warm kiss that spoke of spiritual love that transcended the physical.
"Ewww!" Leia shrieked. "Daddy's kissing Obi-Wan!"
"…I'm a bit disturbed myself," Luke admitted reluctantly, not one to be insulting or assertive in his opinions but feeling the need to express them nonetheless.
"They're like, twenty years too old to be doing that!" Leia shuddered, covering her eyes with cupped hands. For a four-year-old they were old, old men. Doll romance fascinated her much more.
Anakin chuckled, saying quietly, "I was wondering how far we could press our luck before the peanut-gallery got rowdy. Couldn't have this day without them, though." He looked lovingly at his children, who were now making fun of them; they both had on kissy faces, looking like puckered up fish. Leia made a loud, wet smacking noise; Luke had his eyes crossed.
"Just one more thing we have to do…" He pulled out another ring from his pocket. It was identical to the one on Obi-Wan's finger. "I can finally put this on. I've been carrying it around in my pocket for days—for good luck." He smiled happily as he slipped the ring on; somehow, the simple action conveyed a completion of something beyond intellectual understanding, a fulfillment of a magnitude too large to grasp all at once. The gold of the ring contrasted with the polished silver of his mechanical hand, though both gleamed brightly in the sunlight.
Turning to the twins, Anakin said, "Okay, kids, settle down. We're behaving now, so your teasing is unmerited."
"I dunno that word." Leia shrugged. She swung her legs back and forth as they dangled off the edge of the seat.
"The proper way to say that is 'I don't know,' " Anakin corrected her automatically. "And 'unmerited' means undeserved. Since we've stopped kissing, your ridicule of us is undeserved."
"Whatever," Leia said, crossing her small, dainty hands over her chest defensively. "It's still gross."
Anakin laughed. "Then you won't mind me returning the favor later on. So when I'm making those faces and noises in the background when you bring home a date, just remember that you earned it."
"Molly, Polly, and I are perfectly fine with being dateless!" Leia declared.
Obi-Wan muttered quietly to Anakin so that only he could hear, "I wouldn't be so sure of what she's saying; on the trip up to here she was trying to hook me up with Molly and Polly."
Quirking his eyebrows and lips, Anakin whispered back, "Should I be jealous?"
"No; I declined them politely." More like fended them off. But he didn't say that.
Anakin kissed Obi-Wan lightly on the cheek, ignoring the shrieks and protests from the back. "Good. I wouldn't want any competition. Especially from such fine ladies as Molly and Polly."
"They're just stupid dolls," Luke snorted. "Who'd want to play with them?" Leia gasped in horror, her previous targets (Anakin and Obi-Wan) already forgotten at the new affront.
"Do you really mean that, or are you just saying that because I told you that you couldn't dissect one of her mechanic ones?" Anakin asked slyly. As Leia's gasp became a shriek, Anakin added sweetly, "Just returning the favor, my dear boy."
"You wanted to do what to Rosemary?"
Luke said defensively, "I'd be able to put her back afterwards…"
"What, with only three out of four limbs intact?"
"I am a very capable mechanic! She would be returned with all limbs attached, and in their proper sockets!"
"I bet you'd get oil on her dress."
"I would remove it first, dummy."
"You'd take off her clothes! Sicko!"
"You're the one who was complaining about it!"
"On that note, let's get going to part two of the surprise," Anakin said with a wicked grin. He started the engine again and headed back to their cruiser, Empress of the Stars.
"You really are evil, aren't you?" Obi-Wan commented mildly, watching the twins bicker back and forth. Anakin laughed and wouldn't say a word. They returned to Empress of the Stars and put the Sekot ship in the small hanger bay built into the cruiser.
As they left Zonama Sekot, Anakin closed his eyes to say goodbye to Sekot personally. Whatever was said in that goodbye must have both comforted him and troubled him, because his forehead drew down before flattening out completely, turning into a peaceful expression. It was like watching wax being smoothed out by expert fingers. He smiled at Obi-Wan when he saw that the other man was watching him.
Anakin and Obi-Wan sat in companionable silence as they traveled through hyperspace, not talking. However, the ship was not quiet at all. The twins argued the entire time, their voices getting louder and their fight more heated as time passed by. Before they reached the stage of pushing, Anakin stopped them by saying, "We're coming close to our destination, so I suggest that you two stop bickering. Or else I might make you stay on the ship while Obi-Wan and I have all the fun."
They quieted quickly, becoming cherubs with large, expectant, innocent eyes.
"Next stop, Naboo," Anakin declared, taking the ship out of hyperspace.
They landed on a remote docking station surrounding by rolling, green plains, so much like gentle green sea waves. The grass swung back and forth in the mild breeze, graceful and supple as ballerinas. They sung shhh shhh sweetly as they rubbed together. A few puffy white clouds speckled the sky, drifting lazily towards no destination in particular. The sun was bright, but not glaring, and the temperature perfect.
Obi-Wan said in a voice that arched, "This is quite the surprise." He had assumed that Anakin wouldn't have liked to come back here, since his dead wife had been a native of this planet. This was where they had first met and this was where her final resting place laid.
"This place is soothing," Anakin responded. "Not to mention that the terrain is perfect for what I have planned."
Obi-Wan tried to coerce Anakin into telling him what he had in mind, but Anakin wouldn't say a thing; the Negotiator tried all the tactics he could think of and still gained nothing. "Strictly confidential," was Anakin's response to all of his questions. The man truly was better at keeping secrets than he was during his Padawan days.
Obi-Wan looked around, trying to find clues to help him find the answer on his own; but it appeared that they were the only sentient beings around for miles. What could they be doing in such an isolated place? The scenery was beautiful, but he didn't think that would keep Leia and Luke occupied for long. Maybe if he and Anakin were alone he would think that they were here to enjoy the sights, but the twins needed active entertainment to remain happy.
Anakin came out of the hanger of Empress of the Stars driving a small podracer. He gunned the engine, grinning broadly as he casually tossed Obi-Wan an extra helmet in a way that made the action seem effortless. His grin implied everything that wasn't said.
"Oh no, I won't humor you in this," Obi-Wan said firmly. He juggled the helmet between hands, as if he feared too much contact with it or was playing a game of hot potato by himself.
"Come on," Anakin said persuasively. "I built this one myself from scratch; I know the ins and outs of this machine like the back of my hand. She's the safest podracer you'll ever see."
"No podracers are safe to drive. The words 'high fatality rate' should be its definition."
"I built her with an extra seat for just this purpose." He patted the seat right behind him, his smile growing wider. "It's like a hovermotorcycle, only bigger and faster. And it has seatbelts…that's got to count for something."
"For you being insane," Obi-Wan retorted.
"Just ride in it already!" Leia pouted, trying to push him, with no luck, towards the podracer. "The faster Daddy gives you a ride, the faster our turns will come. So stop wasting time—it's fun, okay?"
Obi-Wan gaped at Anakin. "You let your children on that thing?" He pointed accusingly at the monster of a machine in front of him. It purred like a well-scratched, well-fed kitten as Anakin revved the engine.
"What did I tell you? She's as safe as a kitten—and purrs just like one too. You'll be in good hands. Trust me?" He extended his hand to Obi-Wan, giving him a look.
Obi-Wan reluctantly took it, allowing himself to be pulled up into the passenger seat right behind Anakin's driver seat (like with a hovermotorcycle, the two seats were actually one long one, with ridges in it to make it fit two comfortably). He jammed the helmet on his head and clicked the seatbelt in, with all the grimness of a soldier locking on a parachute right before a jump. "Fine, but if I die I want you to know that it's your fault."
Anakin grinned roguishly. "I'll keep that in mind."
And then they were racing over gentle hills of Naboo, the wind whistling in their ears. Anakin said something more, but the rushing air ripped his voice from him and Obi-Wan couldn't hear.
The wind stole the breath from Obi-Wan's lungs. But something took the place of oxygen in him, a mixture of terror and exhilaration that he had never felt before—a draught only found when the life is put to risk on senseless danger in the name of fun. Needing to grip onto something, and finding no other holds, Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around Anakin's stomach and held on tightly. The wind was reduced as he tucked his head closer to Anakin's back, going from an earsplitting roar to a muffled flapping, but the fury and speed of it all still overwhelmed him. They went over dips and twists and turns (all of it making his stomach do equally impressive loops), only getting faster and faster. The machine was already screaming and the speedometer needle only jumped higher. The grass blurred into green blobs, the sky and clouds flew past in a disorderly fashion, and phantom formations of rocks and trees disappeared in a blink of an eye as their speeding devil whipped past everything. Obi-Wan felt like it was never going to end, and this idea was met with equal horror and joy. He strengthened his hold on Anakin as the needle shot up another ten, wind roaring in his ears—.
It was over.
The machine rumbled a bit, as if checking to see that everything was still attached to its proper place inside, before settling down. Obi-Wan took a shaky breath and relinquished his white-knuckled grip on Anakin to take off his helmet and seatbelt. He got off the podracer and stumbled a bit when he tried to steady himself on wobbly legs.
Anakin chuckled warmly and asked, "So how was your first time on a podracer?"
"Scary, but fun," he said truthfully. Anakin smiled happily at that. Obi-Wan tried to swallow, but the wind had made his mouth unbearably dry and there was no saliva in it. Instead, he shakily returned Anakin's grin. Leia raced past him, hopping onto the back of the podracer and buckling up. In seconds the two were gone, and Obi-Wan was left trying to catch his breath.
He turned to Luke, who was sitting down on the grass and waiting patiently for his turn. His hands were listlessly plucking up blades of grass and tossing them into the wind. The thin green stalks twirled in the air briefly before settling down a few feet away. Obi-Wan told him gently, "You shouldn't do that. Grass is a living thing, just like you and me. While you can't hear its silent scream, you are killing it when you unearth it."
"Sorry." Luke stilled his hands. "It's a habit I picked up to pass the time." His mind was not at all on the conversation; he was watching the podracer wistfully as it zoomed over hills and snaked through the shallow valleys similar to narrow, winding roads. "Our Dad takes us here sometimes, on special occasions, just for this purpose. I love the feeling of riding a podracer. I don't think I'd be able to control one myself, even on such easy terrain as these hills, but…I would like to try anyways. When I'm a little older."
"I have a feeling that you'd do just fine." Obi-Wan smiled kindly.
Luke glanced at him. "You really think so?"
"I do. You have many of your father's redeeming qualities; I'm sure that you gained his podracing skills also."
Luke showed his appreciation of Obi-Wan's comment with a small smile and saying, "Thanks." After a small pocket of silence in the conversation, Luke said admiringly, "Dad says that it's the best feeling, riding a podracer in a competition when it's just you 'against the whole world, it seems,' he said. Told me that there wasn't ever a time he felt more alive than when he was nine and up against the best podracers in the Outer Rim."
Luke stopped talking when he saw that Anakin had stopped the podracer by them. Leia hopped off the machine with a wild whoop. It was Luke's turn, and his excitement was evident on his face as he got onto the machine and tugged the helmet securely on his head.
After a few more rounds of everyone riding the podracer, Anakin declared that he needed a break. Luke and Leia scampered off to a nearby alcove of rocks that they wanted to climb. Anakin and Obi-Wan sat on the soft, warm grass, watching them to make sure they didn't accidentally injure themselves or one another.
After some time (he didn't know how long a lapse it had been, since the warm sun dulled his mind), Obi-Wan said laconically, for the sun was making him less keen for long, complex conversations, "Luke tells me that you've never felt more alive than when you were racing podracers."
"He did, now did he?" Anakin smiled.
"Mmmhmm."
"I'll admit, it is the most freeing experience I've ever had." Anakin closed his eyes, letting the sun soak into his lids and warm his eyes. "Beyond racing, I've never had such a heady rush of speed and excitement. It's like you're invincible; not because you are, but because the race takes you beyond caring if you are or aren't. You travel so fast that thoughts get left behind, and all you're left with are feelings—these wild, amazing feelings. There's no time for doubt, for questioning, for anything beyond reacting."
"Best experience ever?"
"Nope." Anakin smiled.
"Care to share?"
"Nope." The smile turned enigmatic.
"Any particular reason why?"
"Let's just say…that there are greater, more profound feelings than those of satisfying animalistic needs; feelings that free not just the body but the mind and soul."
The conversation died down, and for a long time only the grass's soft whisper could be heard along with Leia and Luke's distant shrieks of laughter. And even though the peace between them felt good, Obi-Wan couldn't help but let the words slip from his mouth…
"I didn't think that you would ever want to return to here."
"What gave you that idea?" Anakin languidly asked as he kept an eye on Luke and Leia as they played make-believe games on the pile of rocks.
"When you didn't turn up for Padmé's funeral, I figured that you just never wanted to come back here. That by returning here, you'd be bringing back too many bad memories…or more exactly, good memories that you could never repeat."
"I was busy that day," Anakin said quietly. "And I didn't think that many people would welcome my presence, even if I did decide to come."
"Did you visit her grave on some later date?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I never got around to it." Anakin shrugged apathetically. "A convenient time never came up."
They were already on Naboo, and Luke had told him that they had visited here before; a 'convenient time' was right now. The unsaid statement was that Anakin didn't visit her grave because he didn't want to. "She's dead," Obi-Wan said softly. "You can't keep denying the fact."
"I'm not," Anakin said tersely in a brutally simplistic manner. "She's dead. But you're not, and I'm not." His hand wrapped around Obi-Wan's, fingers intertwining. "So there's nothing more to talk about."
"There is still much more to talk about," Obi-Wan said, trying to be firm but gentle at the same time. "There's nothing wrong with grieving. You can do that and still be strong. You need to let go."
Anakin abruptly looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "I'm sorry Obi, but I've got to get going. I scheduled a private conference meeting for later on today, and I have to leave now if I want to get there on time. It's a very pressing matter that can't wait. I'll take Trance back to Coruscant, and then you and the kids can come back whenever you feel like it using Empress of the Stars." He kissed Obi-Wan affectionately on the lips. "Sound good?"
Obi-Wan sighed; there was no getting through to Anakin. "Fine. I can steer a cruiser, though I won't enjoy the experience. You should say goodbye to the kids before you go; I'm sure they'd be disappointed if you left without telling them."
"Wouldn't dream of doing so," Anakin said with a smile, clearly much more at ease now that the plague-like topic of Padmé had been dropped without a fight. After Anakin had left on the small Sekot ship, Leia and Luke hurried over to him. It was as if they had planned all along to meet up with Obi-Wan after Anakin left.
Leia said, in her blunt nature, "I guess you really are our Mom. Daddy always told us, and Luke believed it too, but I always held my doubts…" She shrugged. "But now it's official or something, I guess."
"I told you he was our Mother," Luke said, wanting to rub it in that he was correct. "You were just too stubborn to believe it."
Leia ignored his jibe, asking Obi-Wan imploringly, "I'm sorry I didn't believe, Mom. Can you forgive me?"
"It's already been forgiven and forgotten." Obi-Wan smiled kindly at her, although his heart was breaking. Anakin was forcing them all to live lies because he wasn't willing to accept the truth.
Later on that night in his own room, Obi-Wan was reading some minor articles on the Holonet when something caught his attention. Since he was now more involved in the affairs of the Empire, he tried to keep himself updated. And one never knew what little hints of the real going-ons of the Empire would be buried among the mass of useless words. That was why he paid special attention to the small articles, since truth was often well covered and off to the side.
But the intentions of the article he was currently reading were disturbingly obvious:
Emperor Vader and Kenobi Become More Than Just Advisor and LeaderApparently Emperor Vader, being such a current man as he is, is in the habit of reading the Holonet. For he has taken me up on my offer (which I had previously extended in one of my other articles) and gave me an exclusive interview on the wedding. He said that he enjoyed reading my other article on this matter, and wished to help me write another one. I am touched by this simple but profound statement. Never have I received a compliment of higher stature. But on with the reason you are reading this:
Emperor Vader and Kenobi are now officially married. They did not have the traditional marriage ceremonies, but instead chose to go to Zonama Sekot, more commonly known by its nickname 'the Rogue Planet,' to celebrate by making a Sekot ship with their two children to mark the occasion. There they exchanged rings and vows. After that they went to Naboo to enjoy the wonderful countryside with their twins.
Emperor Vader spoke very fondly of all this, and it is obvious to tell that he cares very much for Kenobi. After my last interview with Emperor Vader I had become curious of just what their past relationship was. I did some research, and the results surprised me. Emperor Vader and Kenobi were once Padawan and Master (respectively). They were both part of the Jedi Order, which was disbanded due to its disloyalty to the Empire.
Of course, all know of how Emperor Vader learned of this treachery and gave this information to the predecessor emperor. In fact, he was the one to disband the Order himself.
But I had no idea that Kenobi had been a Jedi. I was shocked—a former Jedi now being the Main Advisor? How would the Empire fair under such a person? I asked Emperor Vader of this, and he was considerate enough to explain to me:
"Obi is now a part of the Empire. While he might have been—and was—on the wrong side before, he has seen the errors of his ways. I can assure you, his loyalties are to the Empire and me, and no longer to the faulty, egregious Jedi Order. You can expect to see greats things from Obi, and from the Empire."
The Empire has served us without fail before; I trust that their decisions are wise. If Emperor Vader says that great things will happen, then they will happen. I only hope that we are privileged enough to witness them. I asked what political issues Kenobi was dealing with currently, and Emperor Vader informed me that Kenobi is at present trying to pass a bill in the Imperial Senate that will make slaves illegal on Tatooine. Emperor Vader supports this avidly, as well as does Holonet: this is a worthy cause. It is more proof of the good the Empire is performing in our galaxy.
–This Holonet article was written by Garle Upit
Obi-Wan stared at it for a second in shock, before deleting the downloaded article off his comlink and throwing the tiny, innocent machine onto his bed angrily. It bounced thrice on the mattress with a muffled noise before lying there quietly and inconspicuously.
He finally saw the hidden strategy: Anakin was trying to put chains on him. Emotional ones, physical ones, legal ones, and now political ones. Their marriage was no longer a personal matter, but an intergalactic one. When the time came for him to back out of it, people would protest. He'd have supporters of the Empire, people he didn't even know personally, hating him for getting a divorce that didn't even affect them in the slightest way.
Slowly, artfully, he was being tied down. And only now that the ropes were becoming tighter, heavier, and stronger was he realizing their confining existence.
Soon, he feared that movement would be impossible, and his mission failed.