Part 12: Future Vows.
For a time the Viceroy stood silent, as his mind attempted to realise the enormity of his defeat, and that of the victory which this young woman staring at him now had achieved. Outside his droid forces fired uselessly at the doors, jammed against any entry, even from the Nubian force which carried the decoy that had fooled him into this position. Even if she had been defeated, he could not bargain with the sovereign, who would listen to nothing but the new treaty she insisted he must sign.
Then everything fell into an abrupt silence, as all the sharp noise of blaster fire echoing beyond the jammed doors ceased.
Captain Panaka turned to his Queen with a worried look. "What's going on?"
"Try communications," Padmé ordered. "Activate the viewscreens."
He went to the crescent shaped table which the chairs and throne encircled, pressing the button to bring the communications into life. Before them the holoscreen displayed the various views of Naboo, showing the defenceless droid forces amidst thousands of cheering Gungan soldiers, and the exploding control ship in orbit above the planet.
Padmé allowed her smile to show. "Viceroy, take a seat. We shall discuss the new treaty which I have in mind."
"Your Highness," Panaka called out, causing her to turn midroute to her throne.
"What is it, Captain?" She asked him.
"I think the medics will be needed in the melting room of the power station," he said, his voice heavy with the gravity of the situation.
She turned her gaze to where his was directed, at a section of the holoscreen where surveillance for that room of the Palace was located. Quietly she focused on the figures positioned on the ringed catwalk which surrounded the melting shaft. Concern rose within her as she identified the Jedi robes.
"Reopen the doors!" she ordered her soldiers. "Call the medics to the melting pit!" she added before hurrying towards the exit.
"Your Majesty!" Panaka called out in an attempt to call her back.
But Padmé would not be deterred. "We will have time to deal with them later, Captain," she replied, before directing him to assign her forces to guard the Viceroy and his underling in the throne room.
She didn't stop running until she had reached the two figures on the catwalk. One crouched over the other, gathering the prostrate form into his embrace, tears falling from his face. Motioning her escort and medics to pause, Padmé darted forward, gracefully falling to her knees before the grieving Padawan.
He looked up, his blue grey eyes meeting her brown ones as soon as she sought his out. "I put him in a healing trance."
Padmé breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you need the medics?"
"They would prove useful," he replied, and she turned, beckoning them forward. With infinite care he lowered Qui-Gon to the ground, allowing them to encircle and treat him, before rising slowly to his feet.
She rose to, watching him as he seemed to tear his gaze from his Master to her form, intuitively realising his need for distraction. "A pilot managed to knock out the control ship, deactivating the droid army. I have the Viceroy and Rune Haako in my throne room, ready, if not necessarily willing to sign a treaty of my own divining."
"Good," he murmured, his Coruscanti accent deep under the weight of emotion he was still enduring. "Where is Anakin?"
She bestowed upon him a puzzled expression. "I thought he was in the hanger bay."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I believed he powered up the ship he was in and fired on the destroyer droids which barred your exit," he explained. "After that, I think the ship went into autopilot."
Padmé nodded as she understood the direction of his concern. "I'll have the pilots commed and asked to land." She looked at him carefully, studying the burnt clothes, trying to descry if he carried any injuries.
He answered her unspoken query. "I just need some rest."
"I'll have one of the apartments aired for you and Master Jinn," she informed him.
Despite the weight, from somewhere inside himself he managed to muster a graceful bow, and smile, if a little small. "Thank you, milady."
"And you, Master Jedi," she returned, before leading the way out of the melting pit.
Obi-Wan stood before the window of the room in Theed Palace's healer's wing assigned to his Master. Qui-Gon lay on the bed behind him, deep in a trance which somehow he had mustered the energy and the Force for after defeating the Sith. A strange sense of calm had settled over him awhile ago, which he could only ascribe as a numbness, his Jedi training managing to detach a part of himself from the trauma he had undergone, allowing him to examine and reflect.
Most of his actions during the duel he could not recall, no easy feat for a Jedi, who learned to pull their memories from the Force with vivid detail. Vague flashes penetrated his mind; the first view of the Sith as he appeared to him in the hanger bay, occasional moves he had managed to use to his advantage, ones which were not anticipated by the Sith, the long moment he spent hanging inside the melting pit, the thrust of Qui-Gon's lightsaber as he used the weapon to kill the creature.
Even more vague was the moment he held his Master in his arms, promising faithfully to do what he asked, knowing that he would agree to anything in that space of seconds in which he summoned the Force and called upon the healing techniques those at the Temple had taught him. He didn't think they would work. After all, they were acquired for treating the disease, not a fourth degree burn from a lightsaber. Yet they had, for the proof lay behind him, in the form of his sleeping Master. And now that Qui-Gon was in that healing trance, Obi-Wan had time to think about what he had promised his Master.
To train Anakin. Something he had found himself promising Shmi so easily on Tatooine, yet now as he stood here, Obi-Wan found the oath difficult even in theoretical terms. He could simply forget it; afterall, Qui-Gon believed he was dying, he would never have made him agree to such a promise otherwise. But there was no ignoring the request now it had been aired, and from a certain point of view, it made sense.
Despite the healing trance, his Master would not be completely well when he woke, the illness would still take its toll on his body, until he would be grounded at the Temple permanently. If the Order accepted Anakin, Qui-Gon would be in no condition to take him into the field when he was ready, and Obi-Wan doubted that there would be few Masters or Knights willing to consider training a boy accepted at nine from a life of slavery. Despite all his Master's efforts, there were still very few unconventional Jedi in the Order, and Anakin would need an unconventional Master, to whom emotions were not alien.
Yet, Obi-Wan hesitated to take that role himself. He might consider himself ready for the Trials, Yoda considered him ready, but not to take on a Padawan. Knights were suppose to have a few years solo in the field, a few years teaching at the Temple before they could take a Padawan. Learning as such was one thing, but teaching such was entirely another.
Perhaps an unconventional approach was called for here, he mused. Both he and Qui-Gon would train Anakin. Two Masters training the same Padawan was as rare as two Padawans under one Master, but one could argue that a Padawan had many Masters while they learned at the Temple, only one in the field. Assuming the Order agreed to accept the boy for training.
Obi-Wan had sent the Council a detailed report of Anakin's brave actions during the attack on the Trade Federations' control ship, which he had learned through an interview with the boy while Qui-Gon was attended to by the Palace healers. Though Anakin had claimed to possess no plan for destroying the ship, it was clear to Obi-Wan that the Force had guided his actions, saving the lives of the Gungans and the Naboo. He had also included a less thorough report of his and Qui-Gon's actions, which the Council would have to be satisfied with for now, as he was experiencing a certain difficulty recalling every moment of the duel with the Sith.
If he paused his thoughts for a moment to consider the view below him, he would notice the aid crews working across the capital, beginning the restoration of the city to the beauty which the armies of the Trade Federation had destroyed by their invasion, and the Nubians in determination to take back the planet. He would join them tomorrow, along with most of the Palace's occupants, including Queen Amidala. The young sovereign was still in talks with the Viceroy, awaiting communications from the Senate and the new Chancellor of the Republic, whom they had yet to learn the identity of. She had returned to her throne room after escorting him and his Master to the healer's ward, somewhat reluctantly, her concern for him clear upon her face and in her thoughts.
It was time to consider and reflect on those too, as much as he hated to do so. But he could no longer ignore their positions in the Republic. He was still a Padawan, she was Queen of her world. Their relationship would be viewed as a political alliance in the eyes of the Republic, and the backlash from that would inevitably damage them as they tried to cope with leading a personal life under the public spotlight. Of course, their love for each other should be strong enough to ignore this, but there was no denying their responsibilities and their duties. The burden on her would be heavy, perhaps too heavy, for she still had her youth to contend with.
Only one option seemed sensible to him. That they should wait. Not just until he had passed his trials when such a relationship was permitted, but until her term as Queen came to an end. After that, only the unconventionality of a Jedi forming an attachment would incur a backlash.
Apart from her it was easy to contemplate this, to plan for such a time, to be rational. But as Obi-Wan prepared to meditate over the events of the duel, it occurred to him that it might not be as easy when she was with him.
Padmé stepped into her private apartments in Theed Palace and uttered a relieved sigh. After many hours spent locked in talks in the throne room, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation could finally be sent back Coruscant for his trial. The treaty that he signed was in fact a confession relaying all his actions concerning the blockade of her planet. It was not as detailed as she would like, there were certain glaring gaps which convinced her that the Trade Federation had not acted alone, but the Viceroy was too terrified to tell her who ordered him to invade her world, protesting that the mysterious person would kill them. Despite all that he had done to her people, her generous nature resisted pressing him further.
Slowly she stripped off her gown, glad to be out of the combat clothes she had worn ever since they returned to the planet. Letting the swathes of material fall to the floor, she stepped over the crumpled heap and moved towards the large wardrobes containing her vast collection of robes, majestic and simple. Her hands moved instinctively towards the latter, before her mind reluctantly moved them to the official wear expected of Queen Amidala.
The ship carrying the new Supreme Chancellor and members of the Jedi Council would be arriving shortly, and she was no longer in such danger which demanded that she could hide behind her decoy in handmaiden cowl and gown. The irony of her feelings now compared to the last time she had stood here did not escape her. She no longer doubted the faith of her people in choosing her for their Queen, but this time she wanted to be herself and to meet with Obi-Wan. She had not seen him since she bade him farewell at the healer's ward. Padmé did not want the last time she saw him other than official moments to be in the melting pit. The image of his vulnerable form, tears falling down his face even as he worked through the Force to save his Master would haunt her forever.
Perhaps it was selfish of her but she wanted to see if she could make him happy, if he still felt for her what they had realised on Tatooine. If he was willing to listen to a proposal she had decided to make, in view of the present restrictions placed on them. She loved him. To offworlders that concept was extraordinary, wrong almost, but they did not know that the maturity which young Nubians reached for was matched by their education.
Despite her youth she loved the Padawan, and she was fully aware of all the implications which accompanied that love. Her heart ached to be with him, to make a life with him, but her head was still rational. Her mind knew that they had responsibilities and commitments; he to the Jedi Order, she to the Naboo, both of them to a peaceful Republic. There was a reason why they found comfort in the knowledge that their beliefs, their ideals were the same. To love someone without loosing those ideals which were your foundations, that was true intimacy. She had realised that when he showed her the Force on Tatooine. Just as she realised that now was not the time to savour that attachment, still technically forbidden.
But that time would come.
They could not look at each other, but they knew instinctively where their thoughts lay, and it was not with the Neimoidians who stood before them, their heads bowed in remorse. Nor was it with the handmaidens, Anakin, Panaka, Governor Bibble, or any other Nubian official who stood with them. Neither was it with the sleek metallic craft which was the Chancellor's transport, that just touched down behind the Viceroy.
Padmé looked to him and reminded him of his duty. "Now, Viceroy, you are going to have to go back to the Senate and explain all this."
"I think you can kiss your Trade franchise goodbye," Panaka remarked.
The Neimoidians turned round to begin the arduous walk to the transport, as the ramp lowered to reveal the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Escorted by his guards, he walked towards the Queen with a proud smile.
"Congratulations on your election, Chancellor," Padmé acknowledged the new title with appropriate surprise. Only later would her mind question as to whether she truly felt any. "It is so good to see you again."
"It's good to be home," Palpatine replied. "Your boldness has saved our people, Your Majesty. It is you who should be congratulated. Together we shall bring peace and prosperity to the Republic."
The Chancellor turned to the robed figure nearby. "And to you, Jedi Kenobi, I give thanks, as well to your Master. Our people are in your debt." His eyes lowered to the small boy standing beside him. "And to you, young Skywalker. We shall watch your career with great interest."
Obi-Wan bowed his head in acknowledgement of the Chancellor's praise, then met the slight glance she directed towards him, before walking over to the members of the Jedi Council who had also arrived. He ushered Anakin in front of him, then into a bow, a courtesy which he also performed.
"Proved myself and Qui-Gon right you have, Obi-Wan," Yoda began. "Much to discuss have we. But see Master Jinn first, I wish."
"Of course, Master," Obi-Wan replied, before stepping back to let the Council members walk across the plaza once more.
Later, as the sun lowered slowly to meet the waterfall horizon of Theed, in a large reception room not far the quarters assigned to him and his Master, Obi-Wan dropped gracefully on to one knee before the diminutive Master Yoda, whose size was nothing when compared to the power and wisdom of the Force he carried inside him. Having seen and talked with Qui-Gon, then seen and talked with Anakin, the Jedi now wished to talk with the brave Padawan who had done his duty and so much more in the Relief of Naboo.
"Confer on you, the level of Jedi Knight the Council does," Yoda said. "But agree on you taking this boy as your Padawan learner, I do not."
Obi-Wan remained on bended knee before the Grand Master of the Order. He answered in a calm, composed voice, leaving the heart to process that one of his life long dreams had been granted. "Qui-Gon believes in him. I believe in Qui-Gon."
Yoda almost sighed in the face of such Jedi implacability. "The Chosen One the boy may be," he conceded, "nevertheless, grave danger I fear in his training."
"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word," Obi-Wan reminded him. "I will help him train Anakin. Without the approval of the Council if I must."
"Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you," Yoda remarked irascibly. "Need that, you do not. Agree, the council does. Yours and Qui-Gon's apprentice, young Skywalker will be."
"Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan replied. He watched the revered Jedi come to a halt in his pacing, observing his mood in the Force before he asked his question. "Master Yoda, before that happens, will you grant me something else?"
Yoda regarded him curiously. "Name your request."
Obi-Wan met his gaze. "I ask to under go the Trials, Master, as other Padawans have done before me."
"And what trial should we give you?" Yoda asked. "Equal the test you have already undergone, no trial of our making would."
"Master, I have no desire to be known as the former Padawan who killed a Sith to become a Knight," Obi-Wan confessed. "Not only does it set a precedent for other Initiates, it lends an allusion of aggression to an Order which prides itself on peace and compassion."
There was a moment of silence as Yoda considered this. "Your point you make well, Obi-Wan. Wisdom and maturity have you gained, not only because of this mission."
Obi-Wan bowed his head, knowing Yoda referred to Qui-Gon's illness. His Master was still healing in the quarters assigned to them within the Palace. Padmé had called for Naboo's most learned physicians to assess him and offer what they treatments they could. Obi-Wan appreciated the gesture, even though he doubted they would reveal anything new or hopeful in the nature of his Master's health.
"Grant this request we shall," Yoda said, surprising Obi-Wan, for he did not think Yoda would. "A more peaceful matter of diplomacy we shall seek for you to negotiate."
Obi-Wan bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you, Master."
He watched the Head of the Order turned to leave the room, his walking stick tapping rhythmically against the floor. As he reached the darkness which cloaked the threshold of the chamber, he stopped and performed a slight yet graceful bow.
"Queen Amidala, for your hospitality, we thank you," he said.
"You will always be welcome here, Master Yoda," Amidala replied, before stepping aside to let the diminutive Grand Master leave.
Obi-Wan rose from his knees as the Queen came into view, his Jedi training only just saving him from letting loose a slack jaw. Since their brief reunion during the aftermath of his fight with the Sith, when he feared his Master was about to become one with the Force, he had only seen Padmé once, in her official ceremonial robes for welcoming the new Supreme Chancellor, her old Senator to Naboo, along with the Jedi Masters of the Council who chose to accompany Yoda.
Now she came towards him not in her formal wardrobe, but in simple clothing, almost as simple as his own, yet made somehow beautiful by her beauty, both within and without. A yellow dress embroidered with flowers, reminding him of the images he had seen in her mind when he showed her the Force. He wondered where that place was, he never had the chance to ask her. It harked him back to their conversations in Mos Espa, when he could forget she was the Queen, because they had other concerns.
Since their return to Naboo he had tried to press upon himself that she was a Queen and above him, beyond his dreams, for now at least. Her formal wear during the greeting had helped him remember that, but now as he saw her, recalling what Anakin had called her, he wanted to forget that duty would part them soon, that her youth parted them anyway, in favour of staying with her here.
"Congratulations, Knight Kenobi," she greeted him with, coming to a halt directly before him, the light from the window streaming upon her ensemble, adding extra jewels of colour to the needlework and mesh, catching within the necklace he brought her, which hung around her neck.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Obi-Wan replied in the same formal tone, as he smiled at how once again she had been watching over him by listening to his conversation with Master Yoda.
"I think you will pass this trial easily, though I understand why you want to do so," she added, causing him to smile.
"It shall be different," he allowed, "but nonetheless I shall be glad to undergo the proper, traditional trial and ceremony after all. It is a comfort in the face of the approaching storm." He paused before asking, "How is Master Qui-Gon?"
"His healers say he is recovering well," Padmé answered. "Aside from his other condition, he should be well enough to leave in a few days."
"I would ask if you make sure that condition does not become public knowledge," Obi-Wan uttered. "It is a tragic truth known only to members of the Council, and myself."
"Hence why he asked for you to help him train Anakin," Padmé realised.
Obi-Wan nodded, and for a moment they allowed a silence to settle between them. Then she stepped a fraction closer to him.
"Do you think we shall ever see each other again?" She asked softly.
"If the Force wills it," he replied.
"Our duties force us to part in a few days," she added.
He let his eyes run over her body, remembering the many occasions during their time together that he had held her in his arms. Even though he just comforted her, he had been unable to deny to himself how much he loved her. And even though he knew she felt the same way, he still could not let her throw away all she had worked so hard for. "You're so young," he whispered. "You still have all your life to live."
She met his gaze with her own. "So do you," she uttered softly. "Which is why I have a proposal to make."
Obi-Wan stilled. "I'm listening."
"I promised my people I and those elected after me would reign by terms. One of my first acts as Queen was to amend the constitution to include this rule. If after my reign we meet again and still feel the same, who is to prevent us from exploring the possibility?"
"No one," he answered, before he was even aware of doing so.
"Good," she smiled. "Now, my healers have an idea as to how help Master Qui-Gon. While it cannot cure him, it will help prolong his life, without putting a strain on himself, as I am sure his use of the Force to do so does."
"What did they have in mind?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Placing himself in stasis for certain periods," Padmé replied.
Obi-Wan considered the idea. "They believe he can do this without risk to his life?" He asked her.
"Yes, they have developed a technique which is similar to hibernation," she explained. "Without the risks similar treatments such as Carbon Freezing include."
"I take it you asked him if he would consent to this," he remarked.
Padmé nodded. "I did and he replied that it should be the will of the Force."
The new Knight smiled. "Perhaps it is selfish of me to urge that the healers prepare this technique. But I fear I shall need his help in training Anakin. It is unusual for a Knight to take on a Padawan so soon after their trials. Then Anakin is an unusual case. A special case."
"Do not forget that," Padmé urged softly. "A part of me fears that he has little idea of the trials he will face to become a Jedi. What sacrifices will be called on him."
"So do I," Obi-Wan replied. "I will do all I can. To keep that promise and the other, Your Highness."
She smiled at the emphasis he placed on her title, the same he had placed in her chambers aboard the ship before her boldness saved Naboo. "See that you do, Master Jedi."
As the dawn of a new Nubian day eclipsed across Theed, crowds flocked to the plaza which held the entrance to the Palace, where a great parade of the brave Gungan army came to present themselves before their new allies. In columns they rode and marched down the paved street, amidst cheers and waves of ribbons, falling all around them.
Upon the steps before the grand entrance of the Palace stood the Nubian government, joined by the Supreme Chancellor and members of the Jedi Council. In the front row Queen Amidala awaited Boss Nass, looking at her most beautiful. She was wearing a white pink silk gown which clung to her form, bodice cut, with two thin straps placed on the shoulders, hidden by a floor length cloak which was adorned with countless pink petals. Her hair was in another of those incredibly intricate styles, behind which lay a white lace halo attached to the cloak. The sun made the colours shine and sparkle, as did her smile, which she bestowed on every creature present, and in particular the brave Padawan, now almost Knight of the Jedi Order who graced a row to the left of her.
Beside him stood Anakin Skywalker, decked in the new robes of a Jedi Padawan, thoughts full of everything which had happened to him since he had met Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine.
That Jedi stood beside Master Yoda, his outward appearance seemingly much restored, so convincingly that few were aware of the reality which lay behind his eyes. Qui-Gon did not much care for celebrations such as these, but he understood the need for them, just as he understood why Obi-Wan had chosen to heal him in the melting pit. He knew the Knight was a great Jedi, capable of becoming renowned in his own right, and he held no doubt that had Obi-Wan left him to become one with the Force, he would have found the ability within himself to train Anakin as well as any Master in the Order.
But he also realised that Force intended another purpose for his pupil, just as it intended another for him, else it would not have let Obi-Wan's healing trance work. Clearly there was a reason for Qui-Gon to live, just as there was a reason for this parade. Whether the end was the same for both, only the future could tell.
The Gungans came to a halt before the stairs, and Boss Nass descended from his Kaadu, Jar Jar clumsily following, to ascend the stairs and meet Queen Amidala. Fellow sovereigns stood facing each other before the Palace doors, smiling as Amidala presented Nass with the Globe of Peace. The Gungan raised the sphere high so all those gathered might view the swirling lights inside, and a great cry rose towards the sky.
Amidala glanced around her once more amidst the cheers, her brown eyes meeting the blue gaze of her faithful Knight. He returned her smile, his pupils full of future promise, aware how fragile things were, how only time would tell if their vows would hold.
Beside him stood another who thought the angel gaze down upon him, and bestowed upon him not just her smile, but her heart and her hand as well.
End of Episode I.