Chapter 22 - Revelations

"Come over here Anakin," Obi-Wan summoned. It was getting late and the youngling was about to get ready for bed. "I want to try something, and this is kinda new. I'm going to try and see your dreams tonight, if that's okay."

"You can do that?" Anakin said in disbelief.

"I'm gonna try with the Force, but it'll be something new, so I'm not sure what will happen." Obi-Wan wanted to be honest with Anakin, even though he'd be asleep when he did it.

"That sounds cool. What do I gotta do?"

"You're going to take some medicine, then go to bed tonight. I'll be there and I'll use the Force to merge our senses. I should be able to see what you see in your dreams. Do you want to try it?"

Anakin quickly nodded. "Do you think you'll recognize her, the girl from my dreams?"

"Well, I guess we'll see. Come on out when you are dressed, and I'll have the medicine ready for you."

"Okay!" Anakin ran off down the hall to his bedroom.

Obi-Wan turned back to the kitchenette and poured the alcohol and the sweet Muja Juice into a cup. He never imagined he'd be serving his under-aged initiate an alcoholic beverage, but he did go to the healers after he talked with Dooku. It took a long time to explain why he was considering drugging a minor, and Obi-Wan was sure Anakin would've been removed from his care if not for an open-minded healer named Vokara Che. Master Che listened to him describe the experiment, after which she agreed that it was a safer idea than the alternatives. The Force Meld could be dangerous, should he fail to keep their consciousnesses apart. She also confirmed the dosage that Dooku had written down and even added a second pill for Anakin to take: a mild Force Suppressant, usually reserved for treating Force Fatigue related headaches.

"Here, Anakin. This may taste funny, but I want you to swallow these pills and finish this drink." Obi-Wan handed the boy the glass and the pills. "It's going to make your head feel funny, but that's the point. If you're too wide awake, you'll naturally kick me out of your head."

"Is this Alcohol?" Anakin asked after taking a taste.

"Yes. But it's okay, just this once." Obi-Wan confirmed. He'd forgotten, in the slave communities on Tatooine, parents had to use whatever medicines they could get their hands on. And sometimes, when their supply of drinking water ran out, his mother had to keep her boy hydrated no matter what.

Anakin swallowed the pills and then gulped the last of the cup down. "I'm not sleepy yet." Anakin said.

Obi-Wan could detect a slight lilt to the boy's head. "Don't worry about that. I'm sure if you go to bed, you'll feel tired soon." He reached out to help Anakin off of the barstool so he wouldn't fall over, then followed him to his bedroom.

Anakin got into the bed, and Obi-Wan sat on the floor, his arms and legs in a meditative posture. As soon as he felt Anakin fall asleep, Obi-Wan reached out, using his training bond as a pathway.

Obi-Wan felt a pillow under his face, which was odd because he was still sitting up. Then he felt a push from Anakin's natural defenses. It felt like a punch to the gut, and Obi-Wan was sure, had the boy been at his full strength, he would not have been able to hold on. Winded as he was, he grabbed onto the nearest thing he could, and found himself clutching a bantha. It was a childhood memory and the animal had been ridden into the city of Mos Espa. Nearby a young slave boy held his mother's hand as he marveled at the beast.

Feeling it was safe, Obi-Wan let go of the memory, and reached out to Anakin again. 'Show me the Dream.' He used their bond to suggest.

This time Obi-Wan was looking out a window as a golden bird sang it's morning song. Outside it was a jungle planet, though which one he didn't recognize. The room he was in was small. Brightly lit, though only by the sun outside.

Across the room there was a door. Obi-Wan could hear sounds coming from the other side of it. He walked up, in the dream, and pressed his ear to the door.

There were scraping sounds, as if someone were trying to pick a lock. Then there were whispers.

"Two minutes," said a man.

"I'm almost done." Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose. He knew that voice. It was Siri Tachi. Only Anakin didn't know her. This cemented it in his mind. These dreams were from the Force. Just, what were they saying?

"The princess is held captive. If you are caught, a year of shadow work and three other agents go down with you. It isn't always worth it," the male voice lectured.

"The princess is counting on me, Mast… Poison Spitter." Siri corrected herself.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and muttered, 'Spider.' Really, he was glad. He didn't think he could stand a dream about a real spider. Then, he turned his mind away from the hope that he might learn something here about where Siri went after she left the order. It was too dangerous to have those thoughts. He focused back on the dream. 'But who was the fat girl? The Princess?'

"One minute," Poison said.

Then the door clicked. "I'm in." Siri whispered triumphantly.

Obi-Wan stepped back from the door as it opened. Siri walked in. She was glowing with life, and her belly was round. Pregnant.

The sight brought that whisper of jealousy to Obi-Wan's mind. 'Whose baby is she having? Is it his? He's old enough to be her Grandmaster!'

"You're in the office of the leader. You have minutes. What do you do?" He quizzed her.

Siri thought. "I don't have the time to read everything, so I use my holo-camera to photograph as much as I can."

"Starting with…?"

"Starting with the trash can, because what's been processed already is active data."

"Good," Poison Spitter smiled proudly. "The slaving pirate scum don't know what's coming."

Siri smiled proudly.

Poison rubbed his head nervously. "You know, I heard what they were planning for your little one. Even the Creches aren't impenetrable. I could arrange another training exercise, if you want.

Siri closed her eyes and laughed, but there were tears in her eyes, and Obi-Wan knew she was near crying. "Thanks, but after she's born I'm going to take the longest assignment they'll give me." Siri put her arm over her belly. "Besides, this little one will be a butt kicking Jedi Knight. She doesn't need an overly attached mother hanging around."

Obi-Wan squinted in confusion. 'If Siri left the order, what was this talk about a mission? And why would he offer to help her kidnap her child from the Jedi Temple? The Jedi would never take a youngling without parental consent. How far into the future is this? It can't be too far.'

As Obi-Wan was questioning these things, the scene changed. He was in another room, and Siri was there again. She was lying in a bed, wiping her eyes with a tissue. Her pregnancy looked farther along, though Obi-Wan was by no means prepared to speculate on such things. Seeing her so sad made him want to hold her. He couldn't bear it anymore…

"Oh Siri," another familiar voice cut through the moment.

'Bant?' It was Bant. His Moncalamari friend walked in. Siri moved to hide her tissue, and schooled any trace of tears off her face.

"Siri, you have to see this. The outfits the Temple sent for the baby just arrived." Bant excitedly held up a little outfit. "They're like ours but so-ooo much tinier."

Obi-Wan didn't see the big deal. They were just clothes. Much more impressive with a little one actually inside them.

Siri's face cracked in a smile filled with tears. "That's nice. You know what? I think I've finally decided on a name."

Bant ran in and sat on the side of the bed. An eager expression was on her face. "She'll be little Gail, or Abi, depending on how she shortens it."

"Abigail Kenob…" Siri changed her expression and Bant corrected herself. "Tachi. What a perfect name."

Obi-Wan stood up as he left Anakin's dream. It was clear to him that these visions were not of the future, as he initially expected. His head started to spin with memories. He remembered one of his last memories of Siri. He called out to her in the refectory, but Master Gallia didn't approve. She was mad at her for something. Siri looked over at him with such a sad look, then she yelled at her Master and stormed out. It wasn't long after that, Bant tried to reassure him that Siri and Master Gallia made peace with one another. And that Siri would be going away for a time, a respite retreat, they called it. But Bant wouldn't ever let her friend go off alone, would she? No. Bant was going to Devaron, a secret assignment, she claimed.

"How long will you be gone?" Obi-Wan had asked, when it was clear he'd be getting nothing else from her.

"Ohhhh" Bant had drawled. "I don't know, maybe nine months." Then she smiled at her own private joke.

'Nine Months, how could I have been so stupid.'

Obi-Wan remembered the little one named Abigail Tachi in the creche. 'She was so small. She looked just like Siri and...' Of course it didn't take a math wizard to determine his chances at being the father. 'And holding her, it felt natural. The Force was practically singing in my ears and I didn't listen.'

Then he remembered the look of worry on his Master's face as he picked the youngling up. He thought Qui-Gon was just worried he'd drop her or something, but… 'Did he know? No. How could Qui-Gon have known?'

Before Obi-Wan realized it, he was stomping out of his apartment in the Jedi Temple.

Qui-Gon meditated. The note his Padawan wrote him said Dooku had left a message "the secret way," and it took a lo-ooong meditation to read one of Dooku's secret messages. All night in fact.

It was almost morning when all of a sudden the Force shook with unrest. It felt like a gong going off in his head.

'This isn't from my meditation. What's going on?'

Instinctively, Qui-Gon touched the bond with his former Padawan to check on him. He then pulled back as if it burned him. Anger, betrayal, guilt, and shock flushed through from Obi-Wan's side, along with the words, 'You knew!'

'Padawan, I'm sorry.' he tried to say, but again, touching the bond hurt like burning flame. Like a wound that had been stroked. Qui-Gon hung his head in defeat. He feared this would be the cost of his deceit. The bond, which for the last twelve years had been his life, was damaged. Would it ever recover? This not even the Greatest Masters would know.

Qui-Gon didn't think Yoda would have changed his mind and told him. 'Not without warning a guy first.' He assumed it must have been one of the other Council members, trying something to cause them grief, or to stop their plans. 'But what else do they have planned? I can find Obi-Wan and beg for his forgiveness tomorrow. Yoda needs to be warned NOW!'

Qui-Gon ran out his door, and used the Force to locate the Grandmaster. 'Hmm, he's in the Council Chambers. At this hour! I do hope I'm not too late.'

Qui-Gon didn't spare a moment. He threw open the chamber doors. "Master, he knows!"

All eyes immediately turned to Qui-Gon, who glared accusingly at the full Council, not missing a single member who was gathered earlier that day.

"We know." Mace held out a hand for Qui-Gon to join them where he sat before. "Your Padawan has caused quite a disturbance in the Force, but that's not important now. Master Don commed the emergency line. I shall let him explain."

The blue Holo of the Creche Master was projected in the center of the room. "Thank you, Master Windu. I must report a missing youngling." He threw his arms up to keep everyone's attention. "Though neither I, nor Master Windu are afraid for her safety. I will start from the beginning. Tonight, just a little while ago, I received an unexpected visit from Knight Kenobi. He was very bothered and requested to see one youngling in particular. I didn't see a reason to keep him away, so I allowed him to hold her while I sat with him. He told me that Initiate Skywalker had been having dreams that he thought were Force Visions. And he used a rather ingenious Force Trick to see the dreams as the boy was having them. Apparently Anakin dreamed of Initiate Tachi's mother, and this revealed her true parentage." Don took a few deep breaths. "At this point I must confess. I broke protocol, but I didn't see what it could hurt. I pulled out my datapad to read Obi-Wan what little there was in the Youngling's file. It confirmed his relation to her, and that it was her mother's will she be raised as a Jedi. The file mentioned choices offered to Siri, and they seemed to make him feel better."

At this point Don's expression became guilty. "The file also mentioned this Council's decision to keep Obi-Wan from knowing any of this, and that it had the full support of Master Jinn, here. I did not read him those parts, although I was called away by a youngling who needed to use the refresher, and I left the datapad on the floor when I went to go help her. It seems that, in my absence, Obi-Wan read on. I was gone for just a few minutes, and when I returned, both Knight Kenobi and youngling Abigail were gone."

Qui-Gon straightened his back. Worry leaked off him to the Force.

Mace nodded and turned to address the group. "I do not believe Knight Kenobi will harm the little one. It's why I did not send anyone after him right away. Obi-Wan is reacting to news we all would have preferred to share more gently."

"I suggest we comm Master Gallia. She will need to hear about this. And we should bring in the Mental Healers," Oppo suggested.

"Yes, I have already commed Master Gallia. And we can bring Obi-Wan to the healers later today," Mace confirmed. "After we allow a few hours for the realities to sink in. He may even bring her back on his own."

"Something else, you wish to say?" Yoda confronted.

Oppo squirmed nervously, and Qui-Gon repressed a smirk. It was rewarding to see the other Masters were not immune to the Grandmaster's unnatural intuition, especially when you've got something to hide.

"Well…" Oppo looked away. "After the meeting today we were upset. It felt like everything we stand for as Jedi was about to go up in smoke. So a few of us..." He looked around the room, but no one returned his eye contact. "We divided up a list and were going to get signatures. I gathered mine easily. None of them thought they were signing up for a dance class with Master Yaddle. Thank you Master Poof for that suggestion." Oppo's eyes went back to Yoda. He pulled out a stack of flimsy from his robe. "I still think that the Grandmaster has Dementia, suggesting something like this, but it seems apparent tonight that the Force also has Dementia. As my Master once said to me, Fight against the will of the Force, we cannot. As pointless as standing against the wind, it is." Oppo reached up holding his flimsy and tore the sheet in two, letting them fall to the ground. He looked over to Master Yaddle and she gave him a proud nod.

Elsewhere in the room the rest of the council pulled out sheets of flimsy and ripped them in half.

Qui-Gon smiled. "How wonderful. Now that everyone is on board with Yoda's plans, I think it's time I present my own suggestion to you." He reached up his sleeve and pulled out a remote. Pressing it his first slide was displayed in the center of the room.

"Wha! Who gave him the projector remote?" Mace glared accusingly at his fellow Masters.

Qui-Gon ignored the interruption. "A Jedi Holiday. I know what you're going to say. Jedi don't do holidays. Why would one day mean more than the rest? Now, I've been doing research, and many communities have holidays, not just to celebrate, but to remind them of things that they shouldn't forget. Things like to respect their elders and to remember their history. That is why I suggest…" Qui-Gon pushed the button to drop down the next slide. He wished he had added the drumroll sound effects. "Lineage Day."

Mace gave Yoda a rather unimpressed look.

"To respect the day, Padawans will visit their Grandmasters, and we can suggest activities to build up that relationship. But what, do you ask, about initiates? They don't have a Master yet, or a GrandMaster. Do we forget about them? No." Qui-Gon answered the unspoken question. "Initiates will go down to the archives where we have the records of every apprenticeship ever made. They will create a model. Master Nu was partial to the web design, but I think I like the Tree design better." He clicked a slide and two model graphs were displayed. "These can be displayed in the Refectory, and when put together they will show how connected we all are."

Qui-Gon stepped back and waited for them to comment.

"I'm for it." Plo Koon said.

Mace rolled his eyes. "Of course you like it"

"Now, Master Koon has a point." Depa spoke up. "It is a very well thought out plan."

"Educational it will be." Yaddle hummed.

"I have no objections," Oppo stated.

"Very well, all for it." Mace called everyone to a vote. Every hand except his own raised up. Even Master Yoda's. Mace sighed. "Very well, I won't stand against it." He threw his hand up. "Motion passed. Pick a day and we'll have our first ever holiday."

Hello Everyone,

I considered breaking this chapter up in two and just giving you Obi-Wan's halves, but it seems to feel best in one chunk. Next week we'll travel to see Siri's side of things, then bring you back to Obi-Wan and Anakin's reaction to this whole thing. I just hope I get all of the little ideas to flow in a proper order.

Thanks for reading, and commenting/ Kudos-ing and the like. If there's anything that needs clarifying, go ahead and ask, but I think everything is self explanatory.

If you remember chapter 10, Yoda used a slight fib of Let's make a Holiday to get Qui-Gon to talk to the other Grandmasters. No one expected Qui-Gon to be the one to get it to go through. I guess Yoda's going to have to figure something else out for the other Grandmasters.