Disclaimer: In no way at all do I own any of the original character, locations, ships, or anything else mentioned in Star Wars. They are all owned by George Lucas. I only own my OC. Any similarities between this story and another are purely accidental.
CAUTION! Slight Obi-Wan OOC-ness.
xXxArwenxXx: Thanks!
jedimasterobi-wankenobi: Hi Trish! Nice to hear from you again. You weren't online for a long time…
Masked Masquerader: I know! Dex is really a "colorful" person, isn't he? I wonder how he and Obi-Wan met…
randomness: Hey there! I like the nickname "Mave". No worries about me quitting this story, because I've actually already written chapters up to the beginning of ROTS.
Liz: Yay! A new reviewer! I'm glad you like it. Stick around for more, kay?
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A bronze bust of Count Dooku stood among a line of other busts of Jedi in the Archive Library. Obi-Wan and Lyra stood in front of it, studying the striking features of the chiseled face. Madame Jocasta Nu, the Jedi Archivist, approached the two.
"Did you call for assistance?" the elderly woman asked.
"Yes…" Obi-Wan answered, lost in thought.
"He has a powerful face, doesn't he?" the Archivist asked, seeing the cause for the two Jedi's distraction. "He was one of the most brilliant Jedi I have had the privilege of knowing."
"I never understood why he quit," said Lyra. "Only twenty Jedi have ever left the Order."
"The Lost Twenty…" Jocasta trailed off with a sigh. "Count Dooku was the most recent and the most painful. No one likes to talk about it. His leaving was a great loss to the Order."
Obi-Wan looked down at her. "What happened?"
"Well," Jocasta answered, "Count Dooku was always a bit out of step with the decisions of the Council…much like your old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn." She nodded at Obi-Wan.
"Really?" he asked, surprised.
"Oh yes," Jocasta replied. "They were alike in many ways. Very individual thinkers…idealists…" She trailed off, gazing at the bust in admiration. He was always striving to become a more powerful Jedi. He wanted to be the best. With a lightsaber, in the old style of fencing, he had no match. His knowledge of the Force was…unique."
She paused for a while before continuing again. "In the end, I think he left because he lost faith in the Republic. He believed that politics were corrupt, and he felt the Jedi betrayed themselves by serving the politicians. He always had very high expectations of government. He disappeared for nine or ten years, then just showed up recently as the head of the Separatist movement."
"It's very interesting. But I'm not sure I completely understand," Obi-Wan admitted.
Jocasta smiled. "Well, I'm sure you didn't call me over here for a history lesson. Are you having a problem?"
"Yes," answered Obi-Wan. "I'm trying to find a planet system called Kamino. It doesn't seem to show up on any of the archive charts."
"Kamino…it's not a system I'm familiar with. Let me see." She leaned around Lyra's shoulder, looking at the screen. "Are you sure you have the right coordinates?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "According to my information," he said, "it should be in this quadrant somewhere, just south of the Rishi Maze."
Jocasta tapped the keyboard and frowned. "No coordinates?" she asked. "It sounds like the sort of directions you'd get from a street tour, some old miner, or Furbog trader."
Obi-Wan smiled. "All three, actually."
"Are you sure it exists?"
"Absolutely."
"Let me do a gravitational scan," said Jocasta. The three of them leaned forward to study the star map. "There are some inconsistencies here. Maybe the planet you're seeking was destroyed."
"Wouldn't that be on record?" asked Lyra, studying the inconsistency.
"It ought to be, unless it was very recent." Jocasta shook her head. "I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you're searching for doesn't exist."
"That's impossible," said Lyra, frowning. "Perhaps the archives are incomplete."
"The archives are comprehensive and totally secure, my young Jedi," stated Jocasta indignantly. "One thing you may be absolutely sure of—if an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!" With that, she stalked away to a youngling waiting for her.
Obi-Wan restrained a smile at the expression on Lyra's face at Jocasta's outburst. "Perhaps we should speak to Master Yoda about this," he said.
Lyra nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
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Lyra and Obi-Wan found Yoda on a veranda in the Temple, supervising twenty or so four-year-olds doing training exercises. The two Masters quietly watched the young Padawans wave their mini-lightsabers around, before Yoda spotted them.
"Younglings, enough," he called. "Visitors, we have."
"We are sorry to disturb you, Master," said Obi-Wan, "but we're looking for a planet described to us by an old friend. I trust him, but the system doesn't show on the archive maps"
"Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has. How embarrassing, how embarrassing," Yoda joked amidst the giggles of the younglings. He turned to one in particular, saying, "Liam, the shades," before turning back to the others. "Gather around. Clear your minds, and find Obi-Wan's and Lyra's wayward planet we will."
Lyra stepped forward, taking a little glass ball from her pocket. She placed it on the map reader, a small shaft with a hollow opening at the top. The reader lit up, projecting a hologram of the star map into the room.
Obi-Wan joined her inside the hologram. "This is where it ought to be," he said, pointing to a blank expanse. "Gravity is pulling all the stars in this area inward to this spot. There should be a star here…but there isn't."
"Most interesting," said Yoda. "Gravity's silhouette remains. But the star and all its planets, disappeared they have. How can this be?" He paused. "A thought? Anyone?"
A male human child raised his hand. "Because someone erased from the archive memory," he answered. The children echoed him with shouts of "That's right!" and "Yes, that's what happened! Someone erased it!"
A female child raised her hand this time. "If the planet blew up, the gravity would go away."
Lyra chuckled at Obi-Wan's flabbergasted stare. "Isn't it interesting that four-year-old Padawans answered what you couldn't?" she whispered.
Obi-Wan playfully glared at her. "You couldn't figure it out too, you know."
Their banter was interrupted by Yoda's voice. "Truly wonderful," he said, "the mind of a child is. That Padawan is right. Go to the center of the gravity's pull, and find your planet you will."
The three Jedi moved away from the children, Lyra calling back the small glass ball from the map reader as they walked into the adjoining room.
"But Master Yoda, who could have erased information from the archives?" asked Obi-Wan in a worried tone. "That's impossible, isn't it?"
Yoda frowned. "Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is," he said. "Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will."
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The door to a small training room slid open, and Lyra walked in, not bothering to turn on any of the lights. She stopped in the middle of the room, shrugging off her Jedi robe.
She took a few deep breaths, allowing the Force to enter her body and mind. In a sudden and quick move, she ignited her green lightsaber and rushed forward at an unseen enemy.
Sparring alone was something she did often, to release the tension that had come with the previous day's events. And since no one was with her, she was free to experiment with her moves. Often, her movements while sparring seemed more like a dance (not something a sparring partner would approve of had she practiced with one).
Lyra took her thoughts off Kamino and everything else, concentrating on her motions. She raised her arm up high, sweeping it to the side, her green lightsaber suddenly coming into contact with a blue one.
She didn't need to look to know it was Obi-Wan. A close friendship had taught both to sense each other's presence, even from far away.
"I didn't know you sparred by yourself," said Obi-Wan as he backed away.
Lyra charged towards him, a small smirk on her face. "Every night since I was six," she said, swinging her lightsaber towards Obi-Wan, who blocked it.
Minutes passed by, with only the humming of the blades and Obi-Wan's and Lyra's heavy breathing being heard. Eventually, Lyra had tired of defending herself from Obi-Wan's blade and had begun to advance, her lightsaber mercilessly battering his.
Obi-Wan slipped past Lyra's defenses, his lightsaber coming dangerously close to her throat. She jumped over him, managing to block Obi-Wan's blade as he tried to skim her back.
She landed behind him, and he spun around and begun to attack with more fervor. Likewise, Lyra responded with much more zeal. Finally, she dropped to the ground and swept her leg in an arc, kicking Obi-Wan's legs and making him fall.
As he hit the floor, his lightsaber dropped to the ground as well. Before he could grab it, Lyra called it to her with the Force, igniting it as well. She moved forward, straddling Obi-Wan to pin him to the ground, and crossed the two lightsabers over his neck.
"This is the first time you've won," said Obi-Wan breathing heavily. "When you spar with me, I mean."
Lyra smiled slightly. "Believe me; it isn't as exhilarating as you make it out to be."
"I'll have to take your word for it," said Obi-Wan, chuckling, "since I can hardly spar with myself, can I?"
The two old friends watched it other quietly, chests heaving from the strain of the fight. Obi-Wan suddenly raised his hand, bringing it to her cheek, exactly the way he did back on Naboo, more then ten years ago.
Lyra suddenly felt uncomfortable. She stood up, helping Obi-Wan up as well. She handed him his lightsaber, before turning round.
"Lyra, I—" began Obi-Wan apologetically.
"—I need to prepare for the trip to Kamino," she muttered, pulling on her discarded robe. "I'll see you tomorrow." She walked towards the exit, disappearing through the slide door and leaving Obi-Wan in the room.
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A/N: Okay, you can tell me how crappy, cheesy, sappy, sucky, disgusting, cliché, unoriginal, or disgusting that was. Or you could tell me you loved it!