Jedi Apprentice – Skywalker's Rescue
Chapter 10
With Anakin in a light healing trance, Obi-Wan didn't want to put him fully under since he was still a youngling and Obi-Wan had only practiced the technique on older, more experienced Jedi, Obi-Wan took his turn in the refresher. The mirror showed a dark bruise forming around his eye, which was starting to feel painfully swollen. He dabbed some cooling bacta paste, careful not to get any into his eye. With any luck, the bruise would be gone by the next day.
Obi-Wan lowered himself to the couch in the common area with a sigh. His commlink showed a missed message from Master Windu. He tapped play, secretly relieved it was only a recording.
"Knight Kenobi, I'll keep this brief. Master Unduli told me about your plan to take young Skywalker on a meditation retreat. I think this is a wise decision. I hope the Force will bring you both some peace and clarity," Windu's voice was solemn, pausing for a second before adding, "You can pick up Skywalker's practice saber from the Padawan's Storage Office when you're ready."
Obi-Wan had almost forgotten about Anakin's lightsaber fighting incident. He would have to talk to him about it soon. That's what Qui-Gon would have done. Have his apprentice tell him everything that happened, then reflect on what he'd done wrong and what he would do in the future. A painful exercise, maybe, but it would help him learn.
At the same time, Obi-Wan strangely felt that he'd been let off easy. And it had been several months now but he still wasn't used to being addressed as "Knight" instead of "Padawan". And what was this about a meditation retreat?
He sent a connection request to Luminara and, after a moment, instead of accepting him comm, she simply sent her location. One of the study rooms near the Archives. Obi-Wan decided to take a walk.
As he stepped outside his quarters and the door closed softly behind him, Obi-Wan hesitated. He tapped on his datapad and, after some searching, pulled up the security settings for the door. Most Jedi never bothered with such things, since stealing was practically unheard of in the Temple. But then again, so was runaway Padawans, and that had happened. Obi-Wan set the door to ping him any time that someone other than himself opened it. He suspected that this would quickly become a nuisance, but for the time being, it put his mind at ease.
He found Luminara in one of the small study rooms, surrounded by piles of data disks, probably research for an upcoming mission.
"Hello, Kenobi," she greeted him, opening the door. As usual, it was difficult to read her expression. She seemed to notice his eye, but didn't say anything.
"Did you lie for me?" Obi-Wan blurted out.
"I would never lie," she said coolly. Obi-Wan froze. For a Jedi, lying was a serious accusation.
"But…did you tell Master Windu that I was taking Anakin on a mediation retreat?" he asked, more confused than before.
"Yes, I did," she replied.
"But…" Obi-Wan trailed off.
"And that's what you're doing, isn't it?" Luminara asked. She looked at him expectantly.
"…Yes. Of course. That's what I'm doing."
"Good," Luminara nodded, the faintest hint of a smile crossing her face. "Enjoy your retreat then. May the Force be with you."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. She turned to go back to her work and Obi-Wan walked away, replaying the unusual conversation in his mind. He'd always assumed that Qui-Gon was the only Jedi who bent the rules. Maybe he needed to reevaluate that assumption.
For the next week, Obi-Wan and Anakin set up camp in the Temple's Botanical Gardens. They found a quiet spot beneath a massive Weeping Tree to lay their bed rolls, where the long drooping leaves created a canopy. The trees in that section of the gardens were so old and tall that it almost felt like a real forest. There were birds and small mammals that had lived in the Gardens for generations.
In the mornings, they practiced stretching and strengthening exercises. Obi-Wan taught Anakin basic Force techniques for concentration, for balance, for memory. Each lesson was like a step into the past, the way Obi-Wan repeated, sometimes word for word, the same things that Qui-Gon had told him when he was a new Padawan.
In the afternoons he had Anakin sit down for meditation and pretended not to notice when Anakin inevitably opened his eyes and began playing with the grass or watching a colorful insect flitter by. Eventually, Anakin would ask if he could go explore. Obi-Wan would think that he probably should give him another lesson, or finally talk over everything that had happened, but instead nodded and said, "Be back before dark."
Anakin would smile, "Yes, Master!" and run off to poke around under rocks or climb trees. After all, having grown up on Tatooine, it was his first time in a forest.
In the following weeks, Obi-Wan adjusted Anakin's schedule. He still attended class with the other younglings his age, who mostly had not yet been chosen as Padawans, for his academic subjects. Obi-Wan began reserving long hours in the lightsaber training gyms and private study rooms. He made careful lists of what he would teach Anakin, from lightsaber forms to Force techniques to the Jedi Code, but more often than not he decided in the moment what they would work on. A memory would surface, of Qui-Gon correcting his form, or telling him about the origins of Kyber crystals, or any of a thousand other things, and he would find himself repeating it for Anakin.
On the weekends, he took Anakin out into the city. They visited museums, cultural festivals, debates at the Galactic Senate, and all of the street markets and tiny, greasy diners that Qui-Gon had loved. Then the last day of the week, he gave Anakin the whole day off. He hoped that Anakin would spend time making friends, and he did occasionally join the games of Capture the Flag that the other younglings always set up, but mostly Anakin spent his free time hanging around the robotics labs and the hangar bay, bugging the mechanics and pilots to let him help out.
All of this meant Obi-Wan had much less time to spend in the Archives researching the possible origins of the Sith who he had fought on Naboo. Who had killed Qui-Gon. The Security Team on Naboo had been unable to recover the body and, considering the chaos of the battle with the Trade Federation, it was not surprising that no other evidence was found. Too much security footage was lost, too much confusion on the air traffic records.
From Obi-Wan's hours of work searching through the Archives, the only potential lead he'd found was mention of a world called Dathomir, which was said to be home to powerful warriors and an unlikely proportion of people who were Force sensitive. And a tradition of striking facial tattoos. But Dathomir was not on good terms with the Republic, something to do with a failed attempt by the Jedi several generations ago to recruit younglings.
Obi-Wan had considered travelling to Dathomir to investigate but he had a sinking feeling that it would be another dead end. Also, Anakin was not ready for a mission that dangerous, and Obi-Wan didn't want to leave Anakin alone. So he pushed it aside and tried to focus on the present.
When Obi-Wan requested a private counseling session, he was relieved to be assigned to Master Plo Koon. Out of all the senior Masters, Plo Koon had a reputation for having a soft spot for younglings.
They met in one of the small rooms in the tower below the Council Chambers and the late afternoon sun filled the room with golden light. Obi-Wan sat on a cushion and waited for Master Plo to speak first.
"Kenobi, I hear your Padawan is doing well in his classes," Plo Koon said.
"Yes, he is, Master."
"But you are worried," Plo said.
"I am," Obi-Wan admitted. He took a moment, then said, "It's been hard for him to adjust. He's very gifted, and he learns so quickly, but… I'm worried."
Plo nodded. "It's to be expected. Young Skywalker started his training so late, and considering his difficult background, it will take some time for him to fully adjust."
Obi-Wan let out a breath, releasing a tension he hadn't been fully aware of. It was a relief to hear a sympathetic voice.
"The most important lesson a Jedi must learn when teaching an apprentice for the first time is to trust their own instincts. You know your Padawan better than anyone. The Force will guide you," Plo said.
"But that's the problem. Sometimes I feel like I don't know him well at all. I'm with him every day, and I can see him learning, but there are times when…" Obi-Wan paused, trying to pick his words carefully, "There are times I can't read him at all. As if he's about to say something but then stops. As if he's hiding his emotions. I can't tell if he's actually happy, or if he's pretending that he's happy."
Plo Koon nodded thoughtfully, "It is a good thing to learn to shield one's emotions. This is part of learning to control your feelings, so that they don't rule your actions. Shielding your emotions in the Force is part of this process."
The Master's words were encouraging, but Obi-Wan wasn't sure they answered his question. Was Anakin actually doing better? Or was he simply better at hiding his emotions, when he was still troubled? Was what had caused him to run away still there? That's what he really wanted to know.
"The bond between a Master and Apprentice takes time to grow. Be patient, Obi-Wan."
"I will. Thank you, Master."
They spoke for a while longer, until Master Plo had to leave for his next appointment. Obi-Wan left with somewhat mixed feelings. Master Plo's encouragement was a very welcome change from the disapproval that he usually got from the Council.
That night, when Obi-Wan turned off his lights and lay down to sleep, Plo's reassuring words had dissolved. The scene from that morning kept replaying in his mind instead.
Anakin had slept through his alarm, again, prompting Obi-Wan to knock on his door. He finally came to the table for breakfast, minutes before he had to be out the door for his first class.
"Did you have trouble sleeping?" Obi-Wan asked, handing him a muffin.
"No, Master," Anakin said, taking a large bite of muffin. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were a little puffy.
Anakin looked up from his breakfast and noticed Obi-Wan watching him. Anakin's presence in the Force seemed to flicker and harden. It was only for a second, but Obi-Wan was suddenly reminded of their trip to the Republic Aquarium a few weeks ago, when one of the small sea creatures, startled by something in the water, retracted into its shell.
Mental shielding is an important part of learning to control your emotions. It is a natural part of maturing. So why couldn't Obi-Wan let it go?
He tossed aside his blanket and stood up. His room was dark and, letting his senses stretch out into the rest of the small apartment, everything was still, aside from the quiet hum of the air recycler. Obi-Wan sat down on the floor, crossing his legs. He wished more than anything that Qui-Gon was sleeping in the other room. He would know what to do.
"Master, why do I feel like I'm failing?" Obi-Wan asked out loud. He hadn't planned to speak, but as soon as he did, absurdly, it felt like Qui-Gon was listening. So he asked the questions he hadn't been able to ask Master Plo, that he hadn't been able to ask himself.
"Why haven't I talked to Anakin about what happened? Why can't I ask him why he ran away?"
But what good would it do to have that conversation? If Obi-Wan started down that path, then he'd have to listen to Anakin say that he didn't want to be a Jedi, that he wanted to go back to Tatooine to be with his mom, that it wasn't fair to leave her behind. Then Obi-Wan would have to explain why the Council wouldn't allow them to rescue her, because the Jedi renounce all connections to anyone or anything outside the Order.
'It's best if you try to forget about the past. Try not to think about it.' It was easy to imagine the words he should say, that he was expected to say, but he couldn't do it.
All along, he'd been thinking of Anakin leaving his mother behind as being the same as him losing Qui-Gon.
'There's your problem, my Padawan,' he imagined Qui-Gon saying, in the same light tone he used when debating with Obi-Wan.
It wasn't the same at all. Qui-Gon was dead and there was nothing he could do to change that. All he could do was accept what had happened and do his job. Anakin's mother had raised him for ten years. There's no way he could will himself to forget about her, any more than Obi-Wan could forget about Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan wished there was a way to change things. Suddenly talking to an empty room felt too lonely. Again, he wished that Qui-Gon was there so he could ask him what he would do.
Then Obi-Wan opened his eyes. He knew exactly what Qui-Gon would do.
….
Preview: What is Obi-Wan about to do, inspired by Qui-Gon? A) start growing a beard, B) grow out his hair, C) defy the Council, or D) all of the above