Chapter 3: Just Being Around Her
Laughter erupted from Anakin at the blindfolded nine-year-olds that were trying their hardest to catch up with Cherrz. Ben had used him the other day in his class, and had told Anakin of the effectiveness of having an actual Yuuzhan Vong in the room to quicken the ability to learn to feel the extragalactic travelers in the Force. Several times, Anakin could feel the wild tugs on the Force as the children tried to connect to the energy field in a different way than they had been taught. On Anakin's part, it was like teaching a foreign language after just attaining the knowledge yourself. There were still parts of this remarkable ability that he did not understand, even after long discussion with Ben, mulling over how it was that they had picked up on it so easily.
One Bothan boy, baring his teeth in concentration, waved his shaggy arms as if to catch Cherrz, but instead only whipped the air around him. Anakin spotted his niece, Aunecah; she was getting close to actually connecting to Cherrz, but was still flickering in her attempts. Anakin had not expected them to grasp it all in one day, but in the meantime they could have fun stretching their experience and using their other abilities in the Force to find Cherrz.
Before Anakin's death and rebirth, the Jedi had resorted to picking up on Yuuzhan Vong warriors by their absence in the Force rather than their presence, vacuums in the midst of an ebullient life. Now that the Jedi could feel their allies in the Force, Anakin's worry had switched to the black clad warriors that had attacked Bellalt under the direction of Lord Nefarion.
[i]A Sith,[/i] Anakin whispered in his mind. He had fought against dark Jedi, against invaders of the galaxy, but never had he been forced to face off against the Jedi's ultimate enemy. The stories that his mother and Uncle Luke had told were enough to convince Anakin that he had never wanted to face such a creature of the darkness, someone who would embody evil so fully and readily. Now it appeared as though he had no choice.
Luke had begged him to continue Ben's training and in a less verbal way, to make sure the younger Jedi remained safe and out of the hands of the Sith who wanted him. This Lord Nefarion would not stop even after his ruined attempt on Bellalt to capture Ben, it was only a matter of time before Ben and Anakin would have to face the Dark Lord again.
The sound of giggling pulled Anakin back to his task at hand. There were several kids who were so close to Cherrz that he might not be able to dodge the young ones in time before they found him. Anakin didn't want them to win this easily. Reaching out to the Force, he put an invisible grasp on the separatist Yuuzhan Vong, raising Cherrz above the head of the nearest children as they swiped at the air in the space the Vong Jedi had previously been. Cherrz eyed him as if to say he was not playing fair, eliciting another chuckle from the reborn Jedi.
This wasn't the only class that Anakin had accepted for the time being since the death of his uncle, but it certainly was one of his favorites, and he was not ashamed to admit that it had to do with the fact that his young niece was a member of it. Auni's long dark hair and dark eyes mimicked that of her mother's, although her personality tended to reflect that of her father rather than the Solo charm that her younger brother Tadeo possessed. Anakin had found being an uncle an experience he had always dreamt about, having always had a high opinion of his uncle Luke, and wanted to be everything that Luke had been to him.
Anakin frowned at the thought of his deceased uncle. It seemed impossible that Luke Skywalker could die, that he could be defeated. Anakin had always thought that he would live forever, in that childhood fashion of idolizing heros. But Luke had fallen; to save his son he had given his life, leaving Ben an orphan and an Order that mourned his death.
[i]Ben,[/i] Anakin thought mournfully. His cousin was making a stoic attempt to hide the anger and guilt that still resided within him, having forewitnessed and then witnessed the death of both his parents. Of course, Ben pretended that everything was just as it had been before, but Anakin had felt the energies swirling around his cousin. Ben did not understand why he had been left to fight the darkness alone, especially since his visions promised that the darkness would encompass him.
Anakin had vowed even before Uncle Luke had given his life that he would fight the darkness beside Ben, that his cousin would not be lost as their grandfather had been. Still, he lacked the knowledge to help Ben; the boy held himself in so tightly that it was hard to break the shell of protection that he had placed around himself. Anakin had always been an open boy, if not a very talkative one, as opposed to Ben's reserve and partially self-inflicted isolation.
Gently, Anakin set Cherrz down, the Yuuzhan Vong not wavering as he suddenly found the ground beneath him. The Council had accepted Cherrz's training, with heavy bullying from Ben, Anakin, and Luke before he died. There were some amongst the Order who did not like the idea of training Yuuzhan Vong in the Force, thinking that because they could not feel them they were an abomination to the energy field of life. A considerable effort had gone to showing that Ben and Anakin, and Analsa minutely, could connect on a Force level with the Yuuzhan Vong Separatist.
As Cherrz was about to dodge some of the children that were coming at him blindly from the front, a little boy with red hair that stuck up in even tufts smacked his child hands into the Yuuzhan Vong's unsuspecting back.
"Very good, Keel," Anakin said from his resting spot, knowing that the boy had used his instincts in the Force to catch Cherrz. "You may remove your blindfolds," he offered.
Instantly the children tugged at the swatches of cloth, only to then use them as makeshift vibrowhips. Anakin felt the tug of a memory floating to the surface when he and his siblings had done the same thing under the watchful eye of their Master. At that age, Anakin had never thought that the situation would ever be reversed.
Reaching out a hand, he snatched the blindfolds into his hands; nostalgia was all well and good, but he was the teacher and he must make them see that. The kids giggled and tried to catch the blindfolds as they soared through the air. It was a trick of his skill and control to keep the flapping ends from being caught by the tiny grubby hands, but he managed, even to keep the smile from flittering to his face.
He held up his other hand to gather their attention, and waited as the paired eyes came to center on him. "How did Keel find Dorsca Cherrz without seeing him?"
Aunecah raised her hand almost immediately. Anakin nodded her forward. "Because he could sense him through the Force."
"That's correct. How many of you caught the glimmerings of where he was?"
Several hands came up, dividing the students. Anakin wasn't surprised when Aunecah didn't raise her hand. His niece and namesake was such a linear thinker that outside the bar was often hard for her. With time and patience she would grasp it as well as she did anything else, it was time that would give her what she needed.
"Very good," Anakin acknowledged those who had succeeded. For those who hadn't he added, "Don't be worried if you do not grasp it right away, sometimes it takes even a Jedi Knight time to fully understand the workings of the Force. I do, however, suggest that all of you walk through the Fasha tree forest and practice your technique." With that Anakin dismissed the class, waving a hand at Aunecah as she followed her classmates out.
Cherrz came to stand next to him. "Thank you for your help, Cherrz," Anakin said with the ease of old friends. "Has anyone given you a schedule yet?"
"Master Horn told me to 'just wander around,' and 'soak in the atmosphere'" Cherrz said as if he found the instructions both amusing and perplexing.
Anakin snorted. "That's Corran alright." He paused long enough to stuff the swatches of cloth into his satchel. "I've convinced Ben to take a break from the classes he's teaching this afternoon, his own training is going to suffer if he doesn't keep up his studies, but after that I'm free. I've had experience in wandering."
"How is he?" Cherrz asked, solemnly despite Anakin's attempt to lighten the mood.
Anakin shrugged. He was having a hard enough time sorting out his own thoughts and feelings since he had woken from the oombassl and then losing Uncle Luke so soon afterwards that he could barely pretend to understand Ben's.
"He's strong," the Jedi Knight answered simply. "He had already lost his mother not so long ago," this time Anakin paused to keep control of his tightly conflicting emotions when he thought of his beautiful strong aunt falling under the onslaught of Vronians. "Ben's a fighter, Cherrz. Don't worry, he'll come out alright."
Even as he said it, Anakin thought it sounded lame in his ears. Ben was strong, but everyone had their vulnerabilities, and Anakin feared that there would be someone who could play on Ben's weaknesses easily. Anakin repressed a shudder. Lord Nefarion would probably be the one to exploit his young cousin, and the consequences of Ben's actions could be disastrous.
Anakin believed that Ben was the 'Chosen One' for this generation, just as their grandfather had been back when the Republic had fallen and the Empire had risen from its ashes. The reborn Jedi had a feeling that Ben's choices, whether to fall under the pressure of so much loss or to rise above the Dark Side just as his father had, would define the turn of the galaxy. Again, Anakin was at a loss as to how to help his young cousin. In the end it came down to Ben.
"I must be going, my friend," Anakin said to Cherrz, drawing his mind away from future possible events and into the present.
"Of course, Jedi Solo," Cherrz said respectfully, and Anakin smiled at his formality.
They separated outside of the training room, each heading in their own directions. As Anakin walked down the sparsely inhabited corridors of the Temple, he could still feel the shockwave that had encompassed everyone since Luke's death. It was a bittersweet reminder of how beloved his uncle really was.
Coming around the corner, his thoughts lost in the torrent his life had become since his supposed death and then rebirth, Anakin backpedaled as he saw Jacen and Tahiri next to their suite door. Jacen had one hand on Tahiri's enlarged stomach, where their unborn child resided, and he leaned down to give her a quick kiss. Anakin slammed himself against the adjacent wall, hiding his presence from the two lovers, smashing his eyes closed.
His breath caught in his chest and he molded to the wall as if he were a part of it. Why did the Force hate him?
He could remember a time, not so long ago in his mind, when it had been his lips that Tahiri had sought out, the warmth of his smile, and the grasp of his hand. He knew that for her and Jacen it had been nearly sixteen years since he had passed away on Myrkr, but for Anakin it was little less then a season. It felt all very much like a betrayal to Anakin, in his heart if not in his mind, and he wished he could just push away the feelings he held inside of him for his brother's wife. It certainly wasn't going to help their splintered relationship if he didn't.
The sound of bootsteps walking away told Anakin that Jacen was walking away, Anakin could feel that Tahiri was lingering as if afraid to return to their quarters until Jacen faded out of sight.
"You can come out now, Anakin," Tahiri said in a quiet voice that in the serene silence of the Temple traveled to him.
Chagrined and with a tremor of unfathomable anger, Anakin took a deep steadying breath before stepping away from the wall. She was dressed in a large deep green robe that set off her eyes. Her golden hair, loose and tousled by sleep lay in tufts on her shoulders, and from the hem of the robe Anakin caught the warm glow of slightly swollen pink toes.
"Tahiri, you look lovely this morning," Anakin said in greeting, trying to keep the warmth and love he had for her out of his voice. And failing miserably.
"It was never your custom to spy on me or your brother, Anakin," she chastised him as though he was no older than Tadeo.
Anakin's face hardened. "Would you have me interrupting you, Jedi Veila- Solo?"
She stepped forward, coming toe to toe with him, her neck kinking so that her eyes could stare up into his as if reading his soul. "Can we no longer be civil, my friend?"
In the next moment Anakin wasn't sure exactly what had come over him. Tahiri did look lovely, the glow of pregnancy setting off her natural olive complexioned skin, her emerald green eyes studying him with such depth and perception. He moved, without his mind fully comprehending what he was doing. His head came down, bringing his lips down to brush against hers.
For a moment Tahiri was too surprised to do anything, then abruptly she pulled away from him. "Anakin," she said in quiet admonishment.
His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to shatter. "Do you not care for me as well, Tahiri?"
"Of course I do," she answered, flustered and more than a little angry. "As a friend I have always loved you." Her green eyes fired with conviction. "But I'm in love with Jacen."
That's when Tahiri changed before him, not physically or mentally, but in his mind's eye. This wasn't his boyhood friend who had surprisingly but joyously become so much more, but a stranger. Always before, Tahiri had been pumped full of nervous energy that had once come out in rushed sentences that even a protocol droid would find hard to keep up on. This Tahiri was calm, like a limpid pool, even in her frustration with him and their predicament.
He had loved the girl, but this woman was unknown to him.
"I'm sorry," he apologized softly, the memory of her yielding lips against his enforcing his new revelation.
Whether she saw the devastation in his features or put it together in her quick mind, Tahiri's previous anger melted into sympathy. "Anakin...," she tried.
He shook his head. "You're right. Tahiri Veila died - I mistook you for her. Excuse me, Jedi Solo, for my stupidity."
Tears glimmered in those heart-seizing eyes. "We're not your enemies, Anakin."
"No you're not," Anakin agreed. "But are you my allies? That remains to be seen."
Tahiri's mouth opened in preparation to assert that she and Jacen were indeed on his side, but a voice interrupted her. "Let it lie, Tahiri," Ben said, appearing from the corner that Anakin had previously.
He stepped past his cousin and approached Tahiri. "You need to rest," he admonished her.
A fond smile crossed Tahiri's heart-shaped face, mixed with the sorrow she felt for the boy who had so recently lost his father. "Since when did you become a medic?" she gently teased, purposefully avoiding Anakin's eyes.
"It's growing close Tahiri, she'll be arriving soon," Ben said.
Anakin jerked. It wasn't so much what Ben had said but the way he said it. Had the Jedi's greatest seer witnessed the birth of Anakin's next niece?
"Have you and Jacen decided on a name yet?" Ben asked.
Tahiri shook her head. "Not yet, Ben."
"She's going to be beautiful, Tahiri," Ben continued as if now possessed. "I know how much you've been worried about her."
Tahiri nodded now, looking gratefully upon the young Jedi apprentice. "Thank you, Ben."
He smiled at her, the first real one that Anakin had seen on the young Jedi's face since Bellalt. "Now will you listen to me?"
Chuckling and rolling her eyes, Tahiri nodded. "Yes, Master," she said, before walking awkwardly through the door to her quarters, leaving Ben and Anakin alone.
For a long time the seer and the reborn Jedi stared each other down, neither wavering. Ben broke the eerie silence first. "What was all that about?" he asked.
"Contrary to what you may believe, Ben, you are my apprentice, and I would like to be respected," Anakin retorted.
"Do you hope to seek respect by bullying Tahiri?" Ben questioned.
Anakin blinked in astonishment. "I wasn't bullying her."
Ben scoffed. "What do you call that emotional baggage you just laid on her? It is not her fault that you were taken and hidden from us."
"There doesn't have to be fault to be pain, Ben," Anakin said, jilted.
"Do you mean to add hers to yours?" Ben asked, gently this time.
Anakin saw the opportunity to turn this away from him and onto his unsuspecting cousin. "Is that what you're doing, Ben? Keeping all your pain inside so that no one else has to feel it?"
Ben's blue-green eyes suddenly flared with liquid metal. "This isn't about me," he argued weakly.
Now it was Anakin's turn to soften towards his cousin. Ben looked everywhere first before looking at himself. He had such a giving heart that he often forgot that he had to work on his own problems before helping others with theirs. Anakin was ashamed of the way he had just compromised Tahiri needlessly; he hadn't really noticed until Ben had pointed it out, but Ben should not have had to point it out.
"It never is, is it Ben?" Anakin asked. Ben turned and started down the hall, Anakin hurried to catch up with him. "I answered you honestly. Don't I get the same consideration?"
Ben sighed, but it came out sounding more like a growl through his clenched teeth. "What does everyone expect me to do? Crawl up in the corner, cry myself to sleep every night, and never come out? I'm an orphan, Anakin. As were my parents. My grandparents left my parents, why should I be any different, Anakin?"
That left the older Jedi without a ready answer. It was true. Anakin Skywalker had left his wife, who then had been forced to separate and hide from her children. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ben's other grandfather, had little choice but to protect the son and daughter of his traitorous apprentice, perhaps never knowing of the existence of his own child. Luke and Mara had each given their lives to protect those who had been unable to protect themselves. Mara for the surrounded Yuuzhan Vong on Vrona, Luke to protect his failing son, each made to help secure the stability of the galaxy around their son, each pushing Ben one step closer to breaking.
"Ben you're not alone," Anakin assured him.
Ben appeared as though he wanted to argue, but after a long moment just nodded as if too tired to keep up with the arguing. "You said something about picking up on my training?"
"Sure," Anakin answered, picking up on Ben's diversion of the subject and grateful to get on a topic that would be easier to discuss. "You in the mood for some lightsaber training?"
Shrugging, Ben said, "I could use the workout."
Anakin knew what he meant. Nervous energy was thrumming through both Jedi, leaping between them as static electricity did when you dragged your boots too long on the carpet. Physical activity would help to relieve some of that pent-up energy that either Jedi could use less of and help them to get their minds off the possible present and future events.
All Anakin had to do was look at Ben's darkly ringed eyes and know that his young cousin had not been sleeping, or in the miraculous event that he did get a bit it was nothing more than a few hours. Ben had not fully healed from the head injury the Sith Lord had given him in his attempt to escape Bellalt, and the medics had assigned strict bed rest to the boy.
Surreptitiously, Anakin leaned back ever so slightly to see how the wound was healing. No easy task considering the amount of ruddy brown hair Ben sported. It was perhaps the only thing that gave Ben a slightly wild look, where everything else was so polished and trim, from his standard work boots to the lay of his tunics.
"Can I ask you a question?" Anakin said, straightening once he was sure that the wound was healing nicely.
"As long as it has nothing to do with my father or my mother," Ben said in his best deadpan.
"What you told Tahiri about the baby, was that based on a vision or just gut instinct?" Anakin said in a rush, the very feel of Tahiri's name on his lips filling him with the torrent of mixed emotions.
Ben did not hesitate in answering. "Vision," he stated tersely.
"Have you received any others?" Anakin continued.
It was impossible to miss the trepidation in Ben's face and thoughts, the mixture of fear and longing under the hesitancy. "There have been others," Ben answered slowly. "More than there have ever been before. I can stop them now, thanks to Dad, but I wish...," Ben trailed off.
Anakin didn't need him to finish the thought, he knew what Ben wished for. You just wish that he was here with you. He winced at the pain buried in one so young.
Ben must have misunderstood the wince, for he quickly continued. "It's not that I think you won't do a good job, Anakin, I know you'll do your best with my training."
"Never apologize for wishing that you had your father back, Ben. I will never blame you for that," Anakin was just as quick to assure his distraught cousin. "As much as I look forward to training you, Ben, I know that he would have done it better."
"There's a new one that's just started to come. It's elusive, like a wraith moving from shadow to shadow. I can't follow it, but I think something terrible is about to happen."
[/hr]
"This is so frustrating," Luke Skywalker said between ground teeth.
Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled at his former apprentice, the boy he had watched over for so long now a man before his eyes, but showing that still some things never changed. "Tell me about it."
The two Jedi no longer existed on the plane of the living, nor were their bodies like those of the two young Jedi that were so dear to Luke that he found it hard to cope with the separation between them. It was barely over a week since Luke had departed the plane that Ben and Anakin existed on and had joined the pantheon of Jedi that had gone before him, and he felt as though he was a stranger in a strange land that could see the curved line of his home world against the star dusted sky but could not reach it.
His guide in death, as often times in life, was Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose self- proclaimed failure with Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, had brought the Jedi Knight to be exiled on the sand dunes of Tatooine. At that time, Luke had only known him as Ben Kenobi, a crazy old hermit as defined by his Uncle Owen, and someone not to get involved with. The fateful arrival of two droids had catapulted Luke into events that would leave his life very different from the farm boy he had been raised to be.
That boy would have laughed at anyone who had told him he would one day revive the Jedi Order and remove the Sith from the galaxy. Except the Sith weren't all gone, somehow one had remained, one that could possibly be as cunning and cruel as Palpatine himself, and wanted Luke's son.
"I've got to go to him," Luke announced.
Obi-Wan's smile flipped down into a frown. "No, you do not," the older Jedi countered smoothly. "It is too early for you to make any sort of appearance."
"But you did," Luke switched the tables.
"That was necessary, to prevent you from getting yourself killed aboard the Death Star. If you hadn't run when you did, you would have died then and there, and the weight of the Jedi would have fallen on your sister's shoulders," Obi-Wan explained.
Luke felt old impatience rise, something that he hadn't felt since his younger days. "But Ben needs me, they both need me."
"Need I remind you to be patient?" Obi-Wan asked as though it was the basis of all knowledge.
Luke took the chastisement, and instantly took a shuddering breath to calm the worry that filled him. "But he's my son," Luke said, calmly but forlornly.
"And my grandson," Obi-Wan added. "Do you think I love him so little? But to interfere now would cost you, believe me."
Luke's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"When I came to you on Dagobah to explain further about Vader, and reveal Leia's true identity I was strictly forbidden," Obi-Wan answered. "It was thought that my presence was not necessary. I disagreed. I felt that I owed you an explanation, especially after what Master Yoda had just told you, so I went against my orders."
The younger Jedi Master's eyes widened in surprise. He had never imagined that there were rules to follow after death. As much as he wanted to ask Obi-Wan what had happened after his disobedience, Luke did not. He could tell that Obi-Wan was uncomfortable with the remembrance, and thus it must not have been that pleasant. He shook his head.
"There still so much for me to learn," Luke mused softly to himself.
"Many believe that learning stops after death, but you soon find out that your greatest wisdom and knowledge come afterwards," Obi-Wan told him in a soothing voice. "It's how I learned about Mara."
Luke looked to his former mentor and father-in-law. "You did not know of her existence before?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Is that what you meant by allies I would never have suspected when you said goodbye on Coruscant?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I couldn't overtly tell you, that would raise too many questions." A smile played upon the aged features that Luke had remembered so long with fondness. "The Force told me of the good you two would do together, despite the mess that Palpatine had made of her life."
"I was afraid that you would object. Considering that the old Order forbade such connections to be formed," Luke said, relieved if confused.
Obi-Wan cocked a greyed eyebrow. "How do you suppose Mara came into existence, Luke?"
A chuckle burst from the two Jedi, each thankful for the levity that it afforded them. Too much was happening to the ones they loved, and it seemed as for now they were helpless to stop it. "I won't ask you to share the details," Luke said in between breaths.
Ben's smile remained. "You named your son after me, or so I assume. I always wondered why?"
Shrugging, Luke peeled his eyes away from his son and nephew walking off to their practice session. "You gave so much for me, Ben, it was a way to remember you; and also my Ben reacted to the name, reaching out to it as if I had called him." Luke looked at his old mentor steadily. "So you are my judge, what do you say?"
"Does it matter?" Obi-Wan asked.
"From you it does," Luke stated. "I want to make sure that your sacrifice does not feel in vain."
Obi-Wan rested a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Never fear my feelings toward you, Luke Skywalker. You have done well."
Laughter erupted from Anakin at the blindfolded nine-year-olds that were trying their hardest to catch up with Cherrz. Ben had used him the other day in his class, and had told Anakin of the effectiveness of having an actual Yuuzhan Vong in the room to quicken the ability to learn to feel the extragalactic travelers in the Force. Several times, Anakin could feel the wild tugs on the Force as the children tried to connect to the energy field in a different way than they had been taught. On Anakin's part, it was like teaching a foreign language after just attaining the knowledge yourself. There were still parts of this remarkable ability that he did not understand, even after long discussion with Ben, mulling over how it was that they had picked up on it so easily.
One Bothan boy, baring his teeth in concentration, waved his shaggy arms as if to catch Cherrz, but instead only whipped the air around him. Anakin spotted his niece, Aunecah; she was getting close to actually connecting to Cherrz, but was still flickering in her attempts. Anakin had not expected them to grasp it all in one day, but in the meantime they could have fun stretching their experience and using their other abilities in the Force to find Cherrz.
Before Anakin's death and rebirth, the Jedi had resorted to picking up on Yuuzhan Vong warriors by their absence in the Force rather than their presence, vacuums in the midst of an ebullient life. Now that the Jedi could feel their allies in the Force, Anakin's worry had switched to the black clad warriors that had attacked Bellalt under the direction of Lord Nefarion.
[i]A Sith,[/i] Anakin whispered in his mind. He had fought against dark Jedi, against invaders of the galaxy, but never had he been forced to face off against the Jedi's ultimate enemy. The stories that his mother and Uncle Luke had told were enough to convince Anakin that he had never wanted to face such a creature of the darkness, someone who would embody evil so fully and readily. Now it appeared as though he had no choice.
Luke had begged him to continue Ben's training and in a less verbal way, to make sure the younger Jedi remained safe and out of the hands of the Sith who wanted him. This Lord Nefarion would not stop even after his ruined attempt on Bellalt to capture Ben, it was only a matter of time before Ben and Anakin would have to face the Dark Lord again.
The sound of giggling pulled Anakin back to his task at hand. There were several kids who were so close to Cherrz that he might not be able to dodge the young ones in time before they found him. Anakin didn't want them to win this easily. Reaching out to the Force, he put an invisible grasp on the separatist Yuuzhan Vong, raising Cherrz above the head of the nearest children as they swiped at the air in the space the Vong Jedi had previously been. Cherrz eyed him as if to say he was not playing fair, eliciting another chuckle from the reborn Jedi.
This wasn't the only class that Anakin had accepted for the time being since the death of his uncle, but it certainly was one of his favorites, and he was not ashamed to admit that it had to do with the fact that his young niece was a member of it. Auni's long dark hair and dark eyes mimicked that of her mother's, although her personality tended to reflect that of her father rather than the Solo charm that her younger brother Tadeo possessed. Anakin had found being an uncle an experience he had always dreamt about, having always had a high opinion of his uncle Luke, and wanted to be everything that Luke had been to him.
Anakin frowned at the thought of his deceased uncle. It seemed impossible that Luke Skywalker could die, that he could be defeated. Anakin had always thought that he would live forever, in that childhood fashion of idolizing heros. But Luke had fallen; to save his son he had given his life, leaving Ben an orphan and an Order that mourned his death.
[i]Ben,[/i] Anakin thought mournfully. His cousin was making a stoic attempt to hide the anger and guilt that still resided within him, having forewitnessed and then witnessed the death of both his parents. Of course, Ben pretended that everything was just as it had been before, but Anakin had felt the energies swirling around his cousin. Ben did not understand why he had been left to fight the darkness alone, especially since his visions promised that the darkness would encompass him.
Anakin had vowed even before Uncle Luke had given his life that he would fight the darkness beside Ben, that his cousin would not be lost as their grandfather had been. Still, he lacked the knowledge to help Ben; the boy held himself in so tightly that it was hard to break the shell of protection that he had placed around himself. Anakin had always been an open boy, if not a very talkative one, as opposed to Ben's reserve and partially self-inflicted isolation.
Gently, Anakin set Cherrz down, the Yuuzhan Vong not wavering as he suddenly found the ground beneath him. The Council had accepted Cherrz's training, with heavy bullying from Ben, Anakin, and Luke before he died. There were some amongst the Order who did not like the idea of training Yuuzhan Vong in the Force, thinking that because they could not feel them they were an abomination to the energy field of life. A considerable effort had gone to showing that Ben and Anakin, and Analsa minutely, could connect on a Force level with the Yuuzhan Vong Separatist.
As Cherrz was about to dodge some of the children that were coming at him blindly from the front, a little boy with red hair that stuck up in even tufts smacked his child hands into the Yuuzhan Vong's unsuspecting back.
"Very good, Keel," Anakin said from his resting spot, knowing that the boy had used his instincts in the Force to catch Cherrz. "You may remove your blindfolds," he offered.
Instantly the children tugged at the swatches of cloth, only to then use them as makeshift vibrowhips. Anakin felt the tug of a memory floating to the surface when he and his siblings had done the same thing under the watchful eye of their Master. At that age, Anakin had never thought that the situation would ever be reversed.
Reaching out a hand, he snatched the blindfolds into his hands; nostalgia was all well and good, but he was the teacher and he must make them see that. The kids giggled and tried to catch the blindfolds as they soared through the air. It was a trick of his skill and control to keep the flapping ends from being caught by the tiny grubby hands, but he managed, even to keep the smile from flittering to his face.
He held up his other hand to gather their attention, and waited as the paired eyes came to center on him. "How did Keel find Dorsca Cherrz without seeing him?"
Aunecah raised her hand almost immediately. Anakin nodded her forward. "Because he could sense him through the Force."
"That's correct. How many of you caught the glimmerings of where he was?"
Several hands came up, dividing the students. Anakin wasn't surprised when Aunecah didn't raise her hand. His niece and namesake was such a linear thinker that outside the bar was often hard for her. With time and patience she would grasp it as well as she did anything else, it was time that would give her what she needed.
"Very good," Anakin acknowledged those who had succeeded. For those who hadn't he added, "Don't be worried if you do not grasp it right away, sometimes it takes even a Jedi Knight time to fully understand the workings of the Force. I do, however, suggest that all of you walk through the Fasha tree forest and practice your technique." With that Anakin dismissed the class, waving a hand at Aunecah as she followed her classmates out.
Cherrz came to stand next to him. "Thank you for your help, Cherrz," Anakin said with the ease of old friends. "Has anyone given you a schedule yet?"
"Master Horn told me to 'just wander around,' and 'soak in the atmosphere'" Cherrz said as if he found the instructions both amusing and perplexing.
Anakin snorted. "That's Corran alright." He paused long enough to stuff the swatches of cloth into his satchel. "I've convinced Ben to take a break from the classes he's teaching this afternoon, his own training is going to suffer if he doesn't keep up his studies, but after that I'm free. I've had experience in wandering."
"How is he?" Cherrz asked, solemnly despite Anakin's attempt to lighten the mood.
Anakin shrugged. He was having a hard enough time sorting out his own thoughts and feelings since he had woken from the oombassl and then losing Uncle Luke so soon afterwards that he could barely pretend to understand Ben's.
"He's strong," the Jedi Knight answered simply. "He had already lost his mother not so long ago," this time Anakin paused to keep control of his tightly conflicting emotions when he thought of his beautiful strong aunt falling under the onslaught of Vronians. "Ben's a fighter, Cherrz. Don't worry, he'll come out alright."
Even as he said it, Anakin thought it sounded lame in his ears. Ben was strong, but everyone had their vulnerabilities, and Anakin feared that there would be someone who could play on Ben's weaknesses easily. Anakin repressed a shudder. Lord Nefarion would probably be the one to exploit his young cousin, and the consequences of Ben's actions could be disastrous.
Anakin believed that Ben was the 'Chosen One' for this generation, just as their grandfather had been back when the Republic had fallen and the Empire had risen from its ashes. The reborn Jedi had a feeling that Ben's choices, whether to fall under the pressure of so much loss or to rise above the Dark Side just as his father had, would define the turn of the galaxy. Again, Anakin was at a loss as to how to help his young cousin. In the end it came down to Ben.
"I must be going, my friend," Anakin said to Cherrz, drawing his mind away from future possible events and into the present.
"Of course, Jedi Solo," Cherrz said respectfully, and Anakin smiled at his formality.
They separated outside of the training room, each heading in their own directions. As Anakin walked down the sparsely inhabited corridors of the Temple, he could still feel the shockwave that had encompassed everyone since Luke's death. It was a bittersweet reminder of how beloved his uncle really was.
Coming around the corner, his thoughts lost in the torrent his life had become since his supposed death and then rebirth, Anakin backpedaled as he saw Jacen and Tahiri next to their suite door. Jacen had one hand on Tahiri's enlarged stomach, where their unborn child resided, and he leaned down to give her a quick kiss. Anakin slammed himself against the adjacent wall, hiding his presence from the two lovers, smashing his eyes closed.
His breath caught in his chest and he molded to the wall as if he were a part of it. Why did the Force hate him?
He could remember a time, not so long ago in his mind, when it had been his lips that Tahiri had sought out, the warmth of his smile, and the grasp of his hand. He knew that for her and Jacen it had been nearly sixteen years since he had passed away on Myrkr, but for Anakin it was little less then a season. It felt all very much like a betrayal to Anakin, in his heart if not in his mind, and he wished he could just push away the feelings he held inside of him for his brother's wife. It certainly wasn't going to help their splintered relationship if he didn't.
The sound of bootsteps walking away told Anakin that Jacen was walking away, Anakin could feel that Tahiri was lingering as if afraid to return to their quarters until Jacen faded out of sight.
"You can come out now, Anakin," Tahiri said in a quiet voice that in the serene silence of the Temple traveled to him.
Chagrined and with a tremor of unfathomable anger, Anakin took a deep steadying breath before stepping away from the wall. She was dressed in a large deep green robe that set off her eyes. Her golden hair, loose and tousled by sleep lay in tufts on her shoulders, and from the hem of the robe Anakin caught the warm glow of slightly swollen pink toes.
"Tahiri, you look lovely this morning," Anakin said in greeting, trying to keep the warmth and love he had for her out of his voice. And failing miserably.
"It was never your custom to spy on me or your brother, Anakin," she chastised him as though he was no older than Tadeo.
Anakin's face hardened. "Would you have me interrupting you, Jedi Veila- Solo?"
She stepped forward, coming toe to toe with him, her neck kinking so that her eyes could stare up into his as if reading his soul. "Can we no longer be civil, my friend?"
In the next moment Anakin wasn't sure exactly what had come over him. Tahiri did look lovely, the glow of pregnancy setting off her natural olive complexioned skin, her emerald green eyes studying him with such depth and perception. He moved, without his mind fully comprehending what he was doing. His head came down, bringing his lips down to brush against hers.
For a moment Tahiri was too surprised to do anything, then abruptly she pulled away from him. "Anakin," she said in quiet admonishment.
His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to shatter. "Do you not care for me as well, Tahiri?"
"Of course I do," she answered, flustered and more than a little angry. "As a friend I have always loved you." Her green eyes fired with conviction. "But I'm in love with Jacen."
That's when Tahiri changed before him, not physically or mentally, but in his mind's eye. This wasn't his boyhood friend who had surprisingly but joyously become so much more, but a stranger. Always before, Tahiri had been pumped full of nervous energy that had once come out in rushed sentences that even a protocol droid would find hard to keep up on. This Tahiri was calm, like a limpid pool, even in her frustration with him and their predicament.
He had loved the girl, but this woman was unknown to him.
"I'm sorry," he apologized softly, the memory of her yielding lips against his enforcing his new revelation.
Whether she saw the devastation in his features or put it together in her quick mind, Tahiri's previous anger melted into sympathy. "Anakin...," she tried.
He shook his head. "You're right. Tahiri Veila died - I mistook you for her. Excuse me, Jedi Solo, for my stupidity."
Tears glimmered in those heart-seizing eyes. "We're not your enemies, Anakin."
"No you're not," Anakin agreed. "But are you my allies? That remains to be seen."
Tahiri's mouth opened in preparation to assert that she and Jacen were indeed on his side, but a voice interrupted her. "Let it lie, Tahiri," Ben said, appearing from the corner that Anakin had previously.
He stepped past his cousin and approached Tahiri. "You need to rest," he admonished her.
A fond smile crossed Tahiri's heart-shaped face, mixed with the sorrow she felt for the boy who had so recently lost his father. "Since when did you become a medic?" she gently teased, purposefully avoiding Anakin's eyes.
"It's growing close Tahiri, she'll be arriving soon," Ben said.
Anakin jerked. It wasn't so much what Ben had said but the way he said it. Had the Jedi's greatest seer witnessed the birth of Anakin's next niece?
"Have you and Jacen decided on a name yet?" Ben asked.
Tahiri shook her head. "Not yet, Ben."
"She's going to be beautiful, Tahiri," Ben continued as if now possessed. "I know how much you've been worried about her."
Tahiri nodded now, looking gratefully upon the young Jedi apprentice. "Thank you, Ben."
He smiled at her, the first real one that Anakin had seen on the young Jedi's face since Bellalt. "Now will you listen to me?"
Chuckling and rolling her eyes, Tahiri nodded. "Yes, Master," she said, before walking awkwardly through the door to her quarters, leaving Ben and Anakin alone.
For a long time the seer and the reborn Jedi stared each other down, neither wavering. Ben broke the eerie silence first. "What was all that about?" he asked.
"Contrary to what you may believe, Ben, you are my apprentice, and I would like to be respected," Anakin retorted.
"Do you hope to seek respect by bullying Tahiri?" Ben questioned.
Anakin blinked in astonishment. "I wasn't bullying her."
Ben scoffed. "What do you call that emotional baggage you just laid on her? It is not her fault that you were taken and hidden from us."
"There doesn't have to be fault to be pain, Ben," Anakin said, jilted.
"Do you mean to add hers to yours?" Ben asked, gently this time.
Anakin saw the opportunity to turn this away from him and onto his unsuspecting cousin. "Is that what you're doing, Ben? Keeping all your pain inside so that no one else has to feel it?"
Ben's blue-green eyes suddenly flared with liquid metal. "This isn't about me," he argued weakly.
Now it was Anakin's turn to soften towards his cousin. Ben looked everywhere first before looking at himself. He had such a giving heart that he often forgot that he had to work on his own problems before helping others with theirs. Anakin was ashamed of the way he had just compromised Tahiri needlessly; he hadn't really noticed until Ben had pointed it out, but Ben should not have had to point it out.
"It never is, is it Ben?" Anakin asked. Ben turned and started down the hall, Anakin hurried to catch up with him. "I answered you honestly. Don't I get the same consideration?"
Ben sighed, but it came out sounding more like a growl through his clenched teeth. "What does everyone expect me to do? Crawl up in the corner, cry myself to sleep every night, and never come out? I'm an orphan, Anakin. As were my parents. My grandparents left my parents, why should I be any different, Anakin?"
That left the older Jedi without a ready answer. It was true. Anakin Skywalker had left his wife, who then had been forced to separate and hide from her children. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ben's other grandfather, had little choice but to protect the son and daughter of his traitorous apprentice, perhaps never knowing of the existence of his own child. Luke and Mara had each given their lives to protect those who had been unable to protect themselves. Mara for the surrounded Yuuzhan Vong on Vrona, Luke to protect his failing son, each made to help secure the stability of the galaxy around their son, each pushing Ben one step closer to breaking.
"Ben you're not alone," Anakin assured him.
Ben appeared as though he wanted to argue, but after a long moment just nodded as if too tired to keep up with the arguing. "You said something about picking up on my training?"
"Sure," Anakin answered, picking up on Ben's diversion of the subject and grateful to get on a topic that would be easier to discuss. "You in the mood for some lightsaber training?"
Shrugging, Ben said, "I could use the workout."
Anakin knew what he meant. Nervous energy was thrumming through both Jedi, leaping between them as static electricity did when you dragged your boots too long on the carpet. Physical activity would help to relieve some of that pent-up energy that either Jedi could use less of and help them to get their minds off the possible present and future events.
All Anakin had to do was look at Ben's darkly ringed eyes and know that his young cousin had not been sleeping, or in the miraculous event that he did get a bit it was nothing more than a few hours. Ben had not fully healed from the head injury the Sith Lord had given him in his attempt to escape Bellalt, and the medics had assigned strict bed rest to the boy.
Surreptitiously, Anakin leaned back ever so slightly to see how the wound was healing. No easy task considering the amount of ruddy brown hair Ben sported. It was perhaps the only thing that gave Ben a slightly wild look, where everything else was so polished and trim, from his standard work boots to the lay of his tunics.
"Can I ask you a question?" Anakin said, straightening once he was sure that the wound was healing nicely.
"As long as it has nothing to do with my father or my mother," Ben said in his best deadpan.
"What you told Tahiri about the baby, was that based on a vision or just gut instinct?" Anakin said in a rush, the very feel of Tahiri's name on his lips filling him with the torrent of mixed emotions.
Ben did not hesitate in answering. "Vision," he stated tersely.
"Have you received any others?" Anakin continued.
It was impossible to miss the trepidation in Ben's face and thoughts, the mixture of fear and longing under the hesitancy. "There have been others," Ben answered slowly. "More than there have ever been before. I can stop them now, thanks to Dad, but I wish...," Ben trailed off.
Anakin didn't need him to finish the thought, he knew what Ben wished for. You just wish that he was here with you. He winced at the pain buried in one so young.
Ben must have misunderstood the wince, for he quickly continued. "It's not that I think you won't do a good job, Anakin, I know you'll do your best with my training."
"Never apologize for wishing that you had your father back, Ben. I will never blame you for that," Anakin was just as quick to assure his distraught cousin. "As much as I look forward to training you, Ben, I know that he would have done it better."
"There's a new one that's just started to come. It's elusive, like a wraith moving from shadow to shadow. I can't follow it, but I think something terrible is about to happen."
[/hr]
"This is so frustrating," Luke Skywalker said between ground teeth.
Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled at his former apprentice, the boy he had watched over for so long now a man before his eyes, but showing that still some things never changed. "Tell me about it."
The two Jedi no longer existed on the plane of the living, nor were their bodies like those of the two young Jedi that were so dear to Luke that he found it hard to cope with the separation between them. It was barely over a week since Luke had departed the plane that Ben and Anakin existed on and had joined the pantheon of Jedi that had gone before him, and he felt as though he was a stranger in a strange land that could see the curved line of his home world against the star dusted sky but could not reach it.
His guide in death, as often times in life, was Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose self- proclaimed failure with Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, had brought the Jedi Knight to be exiled on the sand dunes of Tatooine. At that time, Luke had only known him as Ben Kenobi, a crazy old hermit as defined by his Uncle Owen, and someone not to get involved with. The fateful arrival of two droids had catapulted Luke into events that would leave his life very different from the farm boy he had been raised to be.
That boy would have laughed at anyone who had told him he would one day revive the Jedi Order and remove the Sith from the galaxy. Except the Sith weren't all gone, somehow one had remained, one that could possibly be as cunning and cruel as Palpatine himself, and wanted Luke's son.
"I've got to go to him," Luke announced.
Obi-Wan's smile flipped down into a frown. "No, you do not," the older Jedi countered smoothly. "It is too early for you to make any sort of appearance."
"But you did," Luke switched the tables.
"That was necessary, to prevent you from getting yourself killed aboard the Death Star. If you hadn't run when you did, you would have died then and there, and the weight of the Jedi would have fallen on your sister's shoulders," Obi-Wan explained.
Luke felt old impatience rise, something that he hadn't felt since his younger days. "But Ben needs me, they both need me."
"Need I remind you to be patient?" Obi-Wan asked as though it was the basis of all knowledge.
Luke took the chastisement, and instantly took a shuddering breath to calm the worry that filled him. "But he's my son," Luke said, calmly but forlornly.
"And my grandson," Obi-Wan added. "Do you think I love him so little? But to interfere now would cost you, believe me."
Luke's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"When I came to you on Dagobah to explain further about Vader, and reveal Leia's true identity I was strictly forbidden," Obi-Wan answered. "It was thought that my presence was not necessary. I disagreed. I felt that I owed you an explanation, especially after what Master Yoda had just told you, so I went against my orders."
The younger Jedi Master's eyes widened in surprise. He had never imagined that there were rules to follow after death. As much as he wanted to ask Obi-Wan what had happened after his disobedience, Luke did not. He could tell that Obi-Wan was uncomfortable with the remembrance, and thus it must not have been that pleasant. He shook his head.
"There still so much for me to learn," Luke mused softly to himself.
"Many believe that learning stops after death, but you soon find out that your greatest wisdom and knowledge come afterwards," Obi-Wan told him in a soothing voice. "It's how I learned about Mara."
Luke looked to his former mentor and father-in-law. "You did not know of her existence before?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Is that what you meant by allies I would never have suspected when you said goodbye on Coruscant?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I couldn't overtly tell you, that would raise too many questions." A smile played upon the aged features that Luke had remembered so long with fondness. "The Force told me of the good you two would do together, despite the mess that Palpatine had made of her life."
"I was afraid that you would object. Considering that the old Order forbade such connections to be formed," Luke said, relieved if confused.
Obi-Wan cocked a greyed eyebrow. "How do you suppose Mara came into existence, Luke?"
A chuckle burst from the two Jedi, each thankful for the levity that it afforded them. Too much was happening to the ones they loved, and it seemed as for now they were helpless to stop it. "I won't ask you to share the details," Luke said in between breaths.
Ben's smile remained. "You named your son after me, or so I assume. I always wondered why?"
Shrugging, Luke peeled his eyes away from his son and nephew walking off to their practice session. "You gave so much for me, Ben, it was a way to remember you; and also my Ben reacted to the name, reaching out to it as if I had called him." Luke looked at his old mentor steadily. "So you are my judge, what do you say?"
"Does it matter?" Obi-Wan asked.
"From you it does," Luke stated. "I want to make sure that your sacrifice does not feel in vain."
Obi-Wan rested a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Never fear my feelings toward you, Luke Skywalker. You have done well."