CHAPTER X

Crime…

It was the first time in days that the Knight could sense his Padawan's presence nearby and that was not reassuring.

As he had left the Chancellor's room, Obi-Wan felt the displeasure of his Masters boring holes into the back. Masters Yoda and Windu had given him their permission to be excused very unwillingly. Yet for better or for worse, Obi-Wan's first priority was to his Padawan. He had COM'd ahead to the Temple and confirmed what he already knew – Anakin was on his way home. The erstwhile missing shuttle had been granted permission to land in the Temple.

Now Obi-Wan paced the docking bay restlessly. Anakin's shuttle would be landing soon and somehow between then and now he had to still the chaotic thoughts in his head. Experience had long-since taught him that it wouldn't do to try and lecture his errant Padawan until his own thoughts achieved some semblance of order. Somehow he finally managed to push the current situation on Raxus Prime, along with his worry for Siri and the other Jedi, to a back corner of his mind. That left plenty of room for squabbling Padawans and a hijacked shuttle.

Obi-Wan sighed, wishing he'd been surprised by the news that Anakin and Ferus were at odds again. The two had been rivals since the day they met, a strange thing in and of itself, since usually the most outgoing and gifted Padawans became fast friends. It was unfortunate, but he and Siri had long since given up hope that their apprentices would someday share a strong bond of friendship similar to their own.

Masters Yoda and Windu were rightfully upset by the tension between the two boys. Such open animosity was inappropriate between Jedi. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan found he understood the rivalry – even the darker, more violent outbursts Anakin seemed prone to. In his days as a young Padawan he'd shared a similar problem with another learner in the temple. Whenever he crossed paths with Bruck Chun Obi-Wan found himself giving in to an unreasonable anger. Later, when Bruck had been killed amidst questionable circumstance, Obi-Wan even went so far as to accept blame for the accident, though it had been in no way his fault. Thankfully Qui-Gon had been there to help him work through all of those issues.

He wanted desperately to help Anakin the same way, but none of his old master's tactics ever made a lasting impression on his own Padawan. It was almost as if Anakin didn't want to make peace. Ferus's conduct didn't help matters either. Both young men seemed to almost enjoy their enmity and the constant friction it created. Those who spent time with the two of them knew it was only a matter of time before the tension would reach a level where confrontation was inevitable. That was probably what brought them to yesterday morning's little display.

The altercation in the gym combined with the missing diplomatic shuttle had spoken volumes to Obi-Wan. It hadn't taken phenomenal Jedi powers to connect the missing craft to his missing apprentice.

Yes, his Padawan had gone to Naboo - he'd bet his lightsaber on it - and now that Anakin had returned there would be consequences.

Obi-Wan had no sooner had the thought than vector alarms sounded to apprise the docking bay of an incoming craft. Bright blue lights flashed along the landing corridor as huge durasteel doors opened to Coruscant's late afternoon sky. A warm breeze swirled into the bay, twisting Obi-Wan's cloak around him. If it weren't for the task at hand it would have seemed almost a pleasant homecoming.

"CV-4 shuttle entering docking bay 753." An automated voice rang out through the vast open area as maintenance droids took their stations along the wall.

Moments later the kappa-class diplomatic shuttle floated in along the lighted track before settling into landing position. Retrojets discharged loudly in the relative silence of the bay.

Almost reluctantly, Obi-Wan walked slowly toward the ship. Anakin's presence was now so near that even through his obvious shielding, Obi-Wan could feel the vague but disturbed eddies of emotion radiating from his Padawan's aura.

Obi-Wan moved to stand at the foot of the landing ramp as it opened. Impatiently he waited, arms crossed, for his wayward apprentice to descend. It didn't take long.

There was a flash of black; Anakin appeared; and it was even worse than Obi-Wan expected. His expression was thunderous, his black cloak billowing dramatically. Anger radiated from him in waves. He gave no pause of acknowledgement. Marching purposely down the long ramp and past Obi-Wan, he didn't even spare his master a glance as he moved towards the exit.

A lesser man, perhaps one who hadn't soothed this boy through many a childhood illness or tantrum, might have let him pass unchallenged. Obi-Wan did not. He turned to follow at a brisk pace. There was no way Anakin was going to escape without some kind of explanation.

Anakin stopped in front of the exit, waving his palm at the sensor to open the door. The portal managed to slide open a fraction before Obi-Wan raised his own hand, using the Force to halt the mechanism.

He saw Anakin's shoulders square off defiantly, as if he expected a clash. The boy leaned forward against the wall, bracing himself with one outstretched arm.

He spoke then, without looking back. His husky baritone vibrated menacingly, betraying fury and no hint of weakness.

"Master, you don't want to do this now." It was clearly meant as a warning.

Obi-Wan didn't heed it. "If, by 'this' you mean talk about where you've been and why you stole a diplomatic shuttle to get there, you are absolutely wrong. Now is exactly when I want to do this."

Anakin spun suddenly to face him and Obi-Wan found himself resisting the urge to reach for his lightsaber. He chastised himself silently. How ridiculous! This was his Padawan! Surely Anakin wouldn't draw a weapon against him in anger.

He met Anakin's eyes, surprised to see icy fire blazing in the familiar blue depths.

Anakin stared at him coldly, his mouth set in an obstinate line. "I've been to Naboo. To see Padmé."

"So I gathered." Obi-Wan responded in as calm and even a tone as he could manage. At this moment Anakin reminded him of one of the feral creatures that hunted rodents on Coruscant's lower levels. On the rare occasion they came close enough to touch, one couldn't be sure if petting them would yield a bite or an affectionate rub.

"What did you think I would do?" Anakin snapped. "Wait here for you to return?"

"Well…yes, actually." Obi-Wan responded in a bland voice. "That strikes me as a particularly reasonable thing for you to have done."

"After you left with Padmé? After you stole my assignment?"

"Stole your…" Oh, this was worse than he could've imagined. "I didn't steal your assignment."

"Then why did you take Padmé home to Naboo?" The sternness in Anakin's voice didn't waver and Obi-Wan had the feeling there was no way this argument could end well.

"I escorted the Senator home because she asked me to." It was the truth. Painful as it might be for Anakin to hear, he had to know it was Amidala who had made the choice to cut him out of the picture.

"After you spoke to her, right?" Desperation seemed to be stealing the toughness from Anakin's voice. "After you convinced her she had no business caring about me!"

"Anakin, I have no idea what you're talking about."

There was a pause and something other than cold anger flickered in Anakin's eyes. Pain? Then they turned icy again with determination and Obi-Wan instinctively steeled himself. Still when the retort he had expected came moments later, it took him by complete surprise.

It was with an effort that Obi-Wan kept his thoughts blank, feeling Anakin's mind reach out to his with chill fingers. It wasn't the comfortable touch he'd come to know during their years as master and Padawan. It was invasive. Cold. Probing. He resisted the urge to mentally push back against it.

Finally Anakin pulled away.

"You really don't, do you?" Anakin's tone was bitter and incredulous. He turned away. Through his shields, Obi-Wan could feel the distorted eddies of emotion swirling violently. They felt like pain.

It was more than Obi-Wan could bear. He had tried his best to remain stoic but failed utterly in the face of Anakin's misery. The anger was there, certainly, but he could now see that it masked a great deal of hurt. He'd never seen this boy he loved like a son so anguished. At that moment he would've done anything to absorb some of that suffering into his own body.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. I knew you'd be upset with me, but I honestly had no idea you would be hurt."

He tried to put a hand on his Padawan's shoulder only to have Anakin shake it off roughly.

"Do not pity me!" Oh but the anger was still very much there, burning brightly.

"Anakin, I know how you must –"

"You know nothing!" Anakin shouted. "Do not presume to tell me how I feel!"

Obi-Wan flinched, trying not to let the words hurt him. Anakin was angry and miserable and he was reacting like an injured animal. Obi-Wan should have known from past experience that his young apprentice was practically unreachable in his current state. The young Knight forced himself to push aside his feelings and look at the matter at hand objectively.

One thing was certain, Obi-Wan decided, Anakin had developed strong feelings for the lovely Senator from Naboo. If Amidala's condition on her own trip home was anything to go by, she reciprocated these feelings. For the first time Obi-Wan felt a wave of genuine gratitude to the young woman for her wisdom and strength. It hadn't been easy, but she had made a clean break before things went too far. Although Anakin had chased her to Naboo, it appeared his efforts had been in vain. From the state he was in Amidala must have succeeded in cutting their ties.

"Are you finished, Master?"

Anakin's voice was soft, almost calm. It was a deceit. It was the calm of repressed anger and it was very disrespectful. Obi-Wan bit back his instinctive retort. He would have to let it go for now. Perhaps Anakin would talk to him about it later, when the pain wasn't so raw. There was still another matter…

"About that shuttle you stole…" Obi-Wan motioned back over his shoulder to the ship.

"I borrowed it Master." Disdain laced his Padawan's words. "I brought it back in good condition."

Obi-Wan raised a brow dubiously. "I'm not sure the council understands the subtle distinction."

"I don't care what the council understands!" Anakin's temper exploded once more. "Right now I don't care about anything!"

That was the final straw! Good intentions be damned. "You'd better start to care, Anakin, and quickly! There are matters going on right now that require my attention and I don't have time to deal with a sullen child!" His voice had been quiet at first, but by the time he spoke the last word he was shouting. Obi-Wan's reservoir of patience had finally run out.

"Well then," Anakin replied coldly. "I will solve your problem by removing myself from your presence." He turned quickly, flashing his hand across the door panel. This time it opened easily and Anakin started off down the corridor without a backward glance.

Obi-Wan was about to call him back when his com-link buzzed insistently.

"Anakin!" He shouted after his Padawan's retreating form while pulling the com device from his belt. "This conversation isn't finished!"

Anakin gave no indication that he heard as he continued down the hallway.

Obi-Wan gave a long-suffering sigh before activating the com-link.

"Kenobi."

"Obi-Wan." It was Master Windu. "Your presence is requested in the Council Chambers immediately."

Ferus strode quickly through the hallways. Had anyone stopped him to question his destination he would've been hard pressed to come up with an answer. He had no idea where he was going, but forward motion seemed essential. His head spun with a combination of concern, puzzlement and regret. Worry for Siri's safety, confusion over the secrecy of her mission and repentance that he had not taken the time to listen to her explanation.

Adding to the chaos of swirling thoughts about his master was a wave of pure frustration at Barriss Offee for playing superior during their exchange in the library. Barriss was without a doubt the most perceptive Padawan he knew. From their earliest days in the crèche she had a way of cutting through any façade he projected right to the core of what he was feeling. Oftentimes she would bring things to light that were a complete revelation even to him, but no less true for his ignorance. It was a trait that never failed to prick his ire and lead to verbal sparring. Conversations between them always turned into arguments even when they didn't disagree.

In fact, it was Barriss's exceptional perceptiveness that made her close friendship with Anakin Skywalker so puzzling. Skywalker was a mass of contradictions. Just being near him was like drowning in a Force thunderstorm. Surely Barriss could feel it!

Despite Barriss's exasperating traits and her poor taste in friends, Ferus was forced to admit that he respected her almost as much as he respected his own master. She reminded him so much of himself. Not in proficiency – though she was extremely skilled – but rather in her respect for Jedi ways and traditions. She believed as he did, that the Jedi were peace keepers and that conflicts should be avoided or settled without violence whenever possible. More than any other Padawan Barriss understood what it meant to be a Jedi. Though he'd never tell her, Ferus considered her a shining jewel of the Order. She would make an outstanding Knight – someone he looked forward to serving beside.

It was true, what she'd said to him earlier. He did want the approval of the council, but he wanted her approval as well – perhaps even more – and it was the very thing that always eluded him. When the other Padawans offered congratulations over his latest victory or success, Barriss just looked the other way. When she did bother to speak to him it was usually only to point out where he'd fallen short in the effort.

Then, today she'd called him a hypocrite! He wasn't the one cloaking himself to sneak around, having visions, and second-guessing the council's decisions! She really had been hanging around Anakin too long! It was obvious that the Chosen One's flaws were now rubbing off on Barriss and the knowledge filled Ferus with inexplicable fury. If Barriss, someone he'd always considered incorruptible, could be changed, what would come next?

His blood turned cold as he imagined Master Windu turning to the dark side or Master Yoda renouncing the Jedi Order. Extreme possibilities? Yes, but those were the kinds of changes he most feared. They were the very things that made Anakin Skywalker a danger to himself and to all Jedi. He definitely was not the one burying his head in the sand!

Anakin stormed through the corridors of the temple in search of a quiet place to gather his thoughts. His quarters? No. It would be far too likely he would end up dealing with Obi-Wan again and he wasn't ready for that.

The Council would be calling him soon to answer for his temporary desertion. He had very little time to marshal his thoughts and bring his anger under control. He'd thought he had a rein on his temper when he left the ship, but finding Obi-Wan waiting for him had sent fury boiling through him anew. Even now that he knew his master had no part in convincing Padmé to push him aside, he still couldn't shake the anger. He had felt anger before but not like this. It enflamed him like a raging forest fire, threatening to blaze and destroy every thing in its part.

And he embraced it.

Better rage than crippling, killing agony. Even now he found himself seized with the absurd desire to shatter the lamps illuminating the hallways. It would be so easy, to reach out with his mind and explode the small bulbs as he passed them…

He turned a corner and found himself suddenly face to face with Ferus Olin. Only the lightning Jedi reflexes of both men kept them from colliding. They stopped inches from each other and glared. It was a narrow corridor and an even narrower turn. Wordlessly each seemed to indicate the other should be the one to move aside.

"Out of my way Olin!" Anakin snarled, his voice low. He was very short on patience right now and had none to spare for the man he considered his rival.

An uncharacteristic fire flared in Ferus's eyes and with surprise Anakin realized Ferus was struggling with his own wrath. It poured from him in waves so strong Anakin could almost taste it. The rush of satisfaction he felt at the knowledge caught him off guard.

For a split second Anakin wondered what had happened to put the usually unflappable Ferus in such a base emotional state, but his curiosity paled as his adrenaline surged.

He repeated his demand in a low voice. "I said get out of my way!"

Ferus didn't move. "That" he growled in response "is your problem, Skywalker. You think the entire galaxy should move aside for you!"

"Not the galaxy, Olin. Just you." Anakin's eyes were cold and icy blue, his mouth set in a sneer.

Ferus set his own in an uncompromising line. "It isn't going to happen this time." He folded his arms across his chest and refused to budge.

Like a too-tight cable, Anakin's temper snapped. Without a thought he drew back his arm and sent his fist flying towards Ferus.

A Force attack would have been expected, but not this blatant physical onslaught. The punch caught the older boy on the chin with a loud crack, sending him sprawling backwards. He staggered, but managed to regain his footing. He raised his eyes to Anakin.

All the poisonous anger and hatred Anakin had been carrying in his soul was concentrated in a single glare at the other boy; and from the look in Ferus' eyes, the identical feeling was reflected back at him.

Come on, boy, Anakin goaded silently. Just give me a reason.

Ferus did. He appeared to think for only a split second before launching himself back at Anakin.

Anakin had a micro-fraction of a second to register his gratifying surprise. Ferus was going to fight back! Anakin had finally smacked his insufferable rival: finally succeeded in pushing Ferus beyond the boundaries of his Jedi discipline.

Then the moment passed. Anakin met Ferus halfway and both went down in a tangle of swinging fists and kicks.

Ferus' fist flew out at once, cutting Anakin sharply across the jaw. In response, Anakin grabbed the arm of that punch, bent on one knee, twisted hard and sent Ferus flying over his shoulder. Ferus was on his feet and on top of Anakin almost at once. Both were skilled combatants, seeking and finding vulnerable targets, trading blows furiously. Though Anakin knew Ferus was giving as well as he was getting, he wasn't conscious of the pain from his injuries. In place of the pain was a satisfaction so intense it bordered on joy. The feeling rushed through him, blinding him to all else. The sheer release of all the emotions he had been carrying in him since Naboo, since Geonosis, since Tatooine… It was like Tatooine again but without the Dark Side… Hit. Hit. Punch. Slash. Twist. Sheer uncomplicated violence numbing out the pain, the ache… And it was no longer Ferus' limbs hitting at him, no longer Ferus' face he was seeing but Dooku's, Nute Gunray's… and yes, Obi-Wan's face… the faces of the Council members…

It wasn't until a strong burst of Force energy sent them both flying in opposite directions that Anakin regained any sense of where he was.

As he felt himself slam into a wall opposite Ferus he heard a strong voice ring out. "Enough!"