Chapter 4
Master Windu and Yoda watched the hologram of Padawan Tru flicker into view and then stabilize.
"Master Yoda and Master Windu, an hour ago I ran into some Sith warships outside the asteroid belt. I escaped without being shot at. I have a feeling that they did see me, but for some reason they didn't attempt to capture or kill me. They didn't look like they were about to enter the asteroid field, but I could be wrong. I am not sure for how long they were there for. I sent out a small probe and they are still in that same position. I contacted you as soon as I was sure it was safe to do so. According to the probe, the Sith are not scanning communications." Tru explained. "This situation is really odd Master, I don't know what to make of it."
"I admit that I don't know either. This tactic is strange." Mace responded.
Woren walked out of the shadows of the room and bowed to Yoda and Mace. "Forgive the interruption Masters, but I believe I can be of some assistance."
Mace gave Woren a hard glare as he noticed the open passageway behind Woren. He was about to make a comment, but Yoda poked his gimmer stick at Mace's leg.
"Of the actions of the Sith what think you?" Yoda asked.
Woren sat down across from Mace and Yoda, with the hologram of Tru between them. "While I was meditating earlier I sensed Obi-Wan's presence approach and then stop. I have a feeling that Obi-Wan is going to be leading the assault. From what I know of his strategies this is unusual, but I have a feeling that he is waiting for someone, or someones."
"Other Sith?" Mace asked.
Woren shook his head. "I don't believe so, Master Windu. It is possible that he is waiting for a signal, but I don't find that to be likely either even though there is a strong possibility."
Mace sighed. "Just tell us."
"I believe that Obi-Wan is waiting for Anakin and Kenshin to return." Woren finally answered.
Yoda's eyes widened in surprise.
Mace looked at Woren in disbelief. "Why would he do that?"
"I am not certain. I believe we should alert Anakin and Kenshin as soon as possible." Woren replied.
Yoda nodded in agreement. "Tru, to Honoghr you will go. Alert Anakin and Kenshin personally you must."
"Yes, Master Yoda." Tru replied and began to set the coordinates for the hyperspace jump.
Nev-Kwellen took Mikel to a small meditation room and closed and locked the door before setting Mikel down.
Mikel darted away from Nev-Kwellen as soon as he was released, but when Mikel saw that there was no other way out, he sat down on a mat, crossed his arms, and pouted.
Sitting down on a mat across from Mikel, Nev-Kwellen let Mikel pout for a few minutes before he spoke. "You know that you are supposed to stay with your group."
Mikel nodded his head and so Nev-Kwellen continued.
"Would your father be happy that you are running around the Temple and causing your instructor to have a large headache?"
"Want to play." Mikel responded.
"No, you just want to cause trouble." Nev-Kwellen responded, a hard edge to his voice.
Mikel looked down as the rug and played with the loose strands. "I don't want spanking."
"Fine." Nev-Kwellen watched as Mikel raised his head in surprise. "You can stay in here until you decide to behave." With that Nev-Kwellen stood up and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Standing outside the door, Nev-Kwellen, stretching out through the Force, could hear the faint sound of Mikel's tiny hands hitting the door. Not the least bit moved by Mikel's tantrum and banging on the door, Nev-Kwellen remained standing by the door as he waited for Mikel's tantrum to stop and for him to be quiet for at least five minutes.
In the Garden of Yoruus, Siri sat in meditation under an overhanging Taguirii tree. Her senses were stretched past the Temple, past the planet, past the surrounding asteroid belt. She could feel the gentle throbbing of the Force as she traveled its currents and felt a warm nudge that urged her senses forward.
In her meditative state, dark globs filled her vision; they were dark, cold, empty. Siri's first instinct was to draw back, but a presence caught her attention and so she stretched even further. /Obi./ She mentally whispered in surprise and curiosity.
Siri sensed Obi-Wan let down a tiny portion of his mental shielding, enough for them to communicate.
/Hello Siri./
Feeling his presence once again in her mind filled Siri with warmth and sorrow. Tears escaped her closed eyes. How she wished to be with him again. /I've missed you./
Redav gently caressed her mind and felt her inwardly shudder. /I know./
/Will you be coming home soon?/ Siri asked.
/No./
Redav's simple, one word, reply caused fresh tears to squeeze their way past Siri's eyelids and Siri let Redav sense what she was feeling through their bond. /Why not? We all miss you. We want you to come back to us./
Redav mentally caressed Siri's mind, enjoying the feel of their minds, their spirits, brushing against each other. /I can't, Siri. The path that I have chosen does not lead back home./
/Then choose the path that will lead you home, Obi-Wan./ Siri pleaded. /You can still come home./
/I'm Redav now,/ He corrected her.
Siri let a small feeling of anger travel through their bond as she replied. /No. You are Obi-Wan and will always be Obi-Wan./
Redav gave Siri's mind one last caress and then withdrew. /My name is Redav./
Anakin and Kenshin finished their meal of fresh salad, fruit, and vegetables from the garden and just sat quietly for a few seconds.
"We should get our stuff from the ship." Kenshin commented as he looked outside as the light began to wane as the sun set.
Anakin nodded in agreement, following Kenshin's gaze. "I'll go get them." Standing up, Anakin put his dishes in the sink and headed out of the kitchen.
Kenshin stood up a few seconds later and walked out into the garden where he could watch the sun set behind the trees. The sky was awashed with golden yellow, bright orange, mixed with lingering blue colors. As the sun almost disappeared from view, the sky turned a dark purple and then it was dark, and the stars could clearly be seen twinkling in the sky.
The night air was warm, and a light cool breeze would occasionally brush past. Still Kenshin stood where he was, his eyes now closed, his hands clasped together behind his back as he meditated…
Kicking Anakin back onto his stomach, Kenshin grabbed Anakin's hair and yanked his head up. "Why don't you at least defend yourself?!" Kenshin yelled. Sweat beaded and dripped down his face, his eyes were wild as he released Anakin and, using the Force, flung Anakin into the air and right into the opposite wall. Breathing heavily, Kenshin slowly made his way to Anakin's bruised and battered body.
Anakin's head impacted the wall this time, knocking him out cold.
Kenshin stormed over to Anakin, only to find himself falling, falling down into a black void. The darkness was broken by the appearance of a fiery ground below and someone directly beneath Kenshin who had jumped into the air. He slammed into the person, and they fell onto the hot, black, sand.
When Kenshin saw the person's face, he began to pummel him before the person, Anakin, could recover.
"Enough!" Someone shouted.
Kenshin froze, the voice was Anakin's and was coming from behind him. Kenshin looked down at the bloody face below him. Confused, Kenshin stood and turned to look toward where he had heard Anakin's voice. To his astonishment, Anakin stood on top of a small hill and he did not look bruised and battered like he had in the cave.
Kenshin looked back down at the Anakin that lay on the ground and his frown deepened.
"Kenshin, we need to stop this! Fighting each other is sending shockwaves through the Force!"
Still breathing heavily, Kenshin stood up on trembling legs and looked up at the Anakin that was standing on the hill. Before he could utter a word, the Anakin on the hill doubled over in pain and then vanished. Seconds later a wave of pain swept through Kenshin's body and with a cry of pain, Kenshin collapsed onto the ground.
Some hours later, Kenshin woke up and saw that he was in a small med room. He attempted to move, but the effort drained him.
"How are you feeling?" A familiar voice asked.
Kenshin opened his eyes and stared in shock. Grasping the Force, Kenshin probed the man that was standing next to him for verification and he received it. The man, was Obi-Wan, his father, or was he? A mild headache began to form as Kenshin attempted to process everything that had happened. "Tired."
"Are you up to answering a few questions?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Depends on the questions." Kenshin answered, his face a stiff mask.
Obi-Wan sat down on a stool that was beside the bed. "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. What's your name?"
"Kenshin…" He paused for a few seconds as he thought up a last name. "Kenshin Jade."…
A shift in the Force disrupted Kenshin's meditation and he opened his eyes and shivered as he noticed that the temperature had dropped a considerable amount since he had begun to meditate. Looking around, Kenshin searched for the source of the disturbance with his eyes and the Force, but whatever had created the disturbance had disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, Kenshin slowly let it out as he worked on relaxing his body that had become tense. The night had become eerily still. No wind, no animal cries, no sounds of insects, nothing, just stillness.
Searching the Force for answers, Kenshin came away empty. Even the Force was silent. Perplexed and disturbed, Kenshin headed back inside.
Orain watched in silence as Bruck and Drengin sparred together. Drengin was improving in his skills with a lightsaber, but he still had far to go. Drengin and Bruck made a good team, Orain admitted to himself. He inwardly grimaced when Drengin left his side wide open for an attack.
Drengin quickly realized his mistake when Bruck's lightsaber lightly grazed his left side and attempted to recover from it, but in moments Drengin's lightsaber was knocked from his grip and Bruck's lightsaber was at his throat.
"You left your left side open again." Orain corrected, walking up to the pair.
Drengin sighed and Force pulled his lightsaber back to him. "I'm sorry Master, I just can't seem to make myself not do it."
Bruck put a hand on Drengin's right shoulder. "You'll get it right eventually, Drengin. You just need more practice. Don't rush to much in trying to get it right, take your time at it, relax."
"I need to get it right." Drengin protested. "The Sith can come at any time."
Orain gave a soft smile. "Drengin, you and the other children will be far away from here when that time comes. You won't have to fight."
"Orain's correct." Bruck confirmed.
Sighing loudly, Drengin walked away from them to one of the benches and grabbed a towel to dry the sweat from his face. "Perhaps." Drengin looked back at his two Masters and continued. "I just have this feeling, like something is going to go very wrong."
"Don't worry about it, Drengin." Orain answered. "Don't forget to meditate before bed tonight."
"Yes, Master." Drengin replied and hurried off to the refresher for a quick shower.
As soon as Drengin was out of the room, Bruck began to speak. "I've heard reports that some of the initiates and padawans have been feeling uneasy lately."
Orain nodded and threw Bruck a towel. "I've heard the same. I'm not sure what to make of it. I have talked to the Council and they have assured me that everything is fine."
Bruck snorted and dried his face and neck. "Fine as in the Council's meaning of fine. I'm sure Anakin and Kenshin would have a different answer if they were here."
"Probably." Orain agreed. "I guess we won't know for sure until they get back. I have meditated on this matter, but could find no indication that anything is wrong."
"Let's just hope that nothing is wrong." Bruck finally said after a long pause.
Drengin felt like banging his head into a wall a number of times. Mikel had run off, again. He couldn't understand why in the Force Mikel kept running off and why, the people who were supposed to watch him, couldn't keep track of him.
He followed Mikel's presence until he came upon the meditation rooms and found Nev-Kwellen sitting by one of the doors.
Nev-Kwellen looked up at Drengin, a sour expression on his face. "Finally." Nev-Kwellen grumbled. "You can get the little scamp out of my hair now."
"Why didn't you bring Mikel back to his group?" Drengin asked, slowly approaching.
Nev-Kwellen snorted. "They can't keep an eye on him for one minute. You seem to be one of the only ones able to keep an eye on the scamp."
Drengin drew in a deep calming breath and stood a few feet away from Nev-Kwellen. "His name is Mikel. Now can I go get him?"
Standing up, Nev-Kwellen stared at Drengin before turning and unlocking the door. "Keep him out of my way." Nev-Kwellen told Drengin firmly and strode quickly away.
Slowly shaking his head, Drengin walked into the meditation room and found Mikel curled up on one of the cushions fast asleep. "Can you stay with your group and out of trouble for at least one day?" Drengin asked quietly, bending down to scoop Mikel into his arms.
Nev-Kwellen left the Temple and walked a good distance away before finding a spot to sit and enjoy the quiet. Sitting down, facing the slowly setting sun, Nev-Kwellen closed his eyes and let himself relax only to have the silence around him broken a few hours later.
"Evy!" A familiar voice cried.
What is it with kids? Nev-Kwellen opened his eyes and managed a small smile as Asha sat down on his lap. "You're supposed to be with your group." He admonished her gently.
Asha shook her head. "Nope. I want you to take me to the waterfall again."
"It's getting late and it's to dark to see the waterfall right now." Nev-Kwellen tried to reason with her. "Raven's back at the Temple, why don't you ask her to take you tomorrow?" He suggested.
Frowning, Asha was about to respond but stopped when she sensed a familiar presence approaching. Leaving Nev-Kwellen's lap, she ran toward the familiar presence. "Ray Ray!"
Raven picked Asha up and gave her a hug. "Hello little one. Why are you out here so late?"
"I want to see the waterfall." Asha answered.
"In the dark?" Raven responded as she wrapped her cloak around Asha to ward off the night chill.
Asha thought about that for a little while before responding. "I can hear it."
Nev-Kwellen rolled his eyes. "Do you always have to have an answer for everything?"
Raven ignored Nev-Kwellen and kissed Asha's forehead. "You can and you can hear it from your memories."
"It's not the same." Asha responded.
"No, but it's better than coming out here at night and getting sick because you were out in the cold." Raven told her. "Now, why don't you close your eyes and think back to the last time you saw the waterfall."
Asha closed her eyes as she did as she was told, smiling as she remembered the sight of the roaring water."
Nev-Kwellen watched in amazement as Raven kept any arguments from coming up and soon had Asha falling asleep.
Raven sensed Nev-Kwellen's eyes on her and looked at him. "I hear that you have been helping the crèche workers watch Asha. Thank you. She can be a handful sometimes."
Nev-Kwellen looked away from her and gazed up at the full moon.
Raven walked over to him and placed her right hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to come back inside now?"
"I guess so." Nev-Kwellen responded and stood up.
Together they walked back to the Temple and stopped by the crèche to put Asha to bed. After putting Asha to bed, Raven and Nev-Kwellen left the crèche and walked together down the silent corridors.
"Asha's grown quite attached to you." Raven commented.
Nev-Kwellen shrugged his shoulders and kept his eyes looking straight ahead. "She makes poor choices in who she wants to be friend's with."
"If she were any other young child, I would say that she's to young to understand that there are people they should be careful of." Raven responded. "However, Asha is different. She is very discerning for a child her age and tends to be shy around those that she is friends with except for those she has bonded with."
Nev-Kwellen stopped walking and looked at Raven. "Are you saying that she has bonded with me?" Blast it. Could this get any worse?
Raven looked up into Nev-Kwellen's eyes. "She has."
"Why would she do that? Is she to young to actually do that?" Nev-Kwellen asked, irritation bubbling inside him.
"Her kind develops in a rare way in their early childhood. We don't understand why, but somehow their development depends strongly on bonds. During their first ten years, the bonds they have with their own kind ensures that they'll survive those critical years." Raven explained.
"Should she be with her kind then instead of bonding with people who don't want to be bonded with her?" Nev-Kwellen responded in a sharp tone."
Raven's eyes narrowed, "She is the last of her kind. The bonds that she has formed are what are keeping her alive and even with those bonds, each year is a struggle for her."
Nev-Kwellen shook his head. "She has a lot of people here she could bond with, why not them?"
"As I told you before," Raven began to explain again as she fought the urge to snap at him. "She is very selective. Just because there are a lot of people around who would be glad to bond with her doesn't mean that those bonds will insure her survival. The Master Crèche worker, you, and I are the only ones she has developed bonds with."
Cursing mentally to himself, Nev-Kwellen continued down the corridor. "I didn't ask for this." He hissed as Raven caught up with him. If you think this will make me stay then you're wrong."
"I'm not forcing you to do anything!" Raven responded indignantly. "I'm just telling you why Asha is attached to you."
Nev-Kwellen snarled and swiftly turned around and pointed an accusing finger at Raven as she recovered her balance from the abrupt stop. "No, that's not it. You're using Asha as a way of keeping me here."
Raven glared at him. "You know what you're problem is? You don't want to accept the truth. When the truth doesn't suit you, you try to change the truth to what suits you."
Nev-Kwellen's eyes flashed yellow momentarily and then he turned around and walked at a fast pace away from Raven.
By the time Drengin and Mikel reached their quarters, Mikel began to stir and open his eyes sleepily. Drengin opened the door and walked inside to hear Threepio fussing over the fact that Padme should be in bed and not walking around. "Mom, we're home!" Drengin called and walked into the kitchen where Padme was preparing a light snack for them.
Padme placed the two bowls of shurbo on the table and looked at the boys. "How were your classes today?"
"They were good." Drengin answered as he placed Mikel into his chair and then sat down on the chair next to him.
Padme placed the small bowl of shurbo near Mikel and handed him a spoon. "Did you stay with your group today?" She asked.
Mikel nodded, but when he caught Drengin's look from the corner of his eye, Mikel looked down at his shurbo and mumbled a no.
Padme sat down in a chair and massaged her forehead. "Mikel, you know you are supposed to stay with your group.
Mikel smiled as he put a large spoonful of shurbo into his mouth.
"Maybe his instructor is to boring for him." Drengin suggested as he scooped up another spoonful of the green shurbo.
Padme relaxed her back against the chair and shook her head. "What are we going to do with you, Mikel?"
"Threepio could watch him." Drengin suggested as he finished the last of his shurbo.
Padme shook her head and got up to get a wet rang to clean Mikel up while Threepio gathered up the bowls and spoons. "Mikel, you need to stay with your group." Padme told him as she cleaned him up. "You know that."
"Dey no pway." Mikel said with a pout on his face. "Dey no fun."
Padme awkwardly lifted Mikel out of his chair and placed him on the floor. "You still need to stay with your group."
"Okay mommy. I be good." Mikel responded, his small face full of innocence as he smiled up at her.
Drengin rolled his eyes and mumbled, yeah right, under his breath. "I'm going to get some homework done. Loreana will be coming over in a half hour. We have a test to study for." He said as he left the table.
Mikel popped his thumb into his mouth and followed after Drengin.
"Mikel, why don't you get a book and I'll read to you?" Padme suggested.
"Okay," Mikel responded and ran off to get a book from his room.
Padme shook her head in amusement and went over to the couch to sit down. She laid her left hand on her increasingly round stomach and closed her eyes. She had never been this tired before when she had carried Mikel. But she was carrying more then one this time, so it made sense that she was twice as tired.
She felt Mikel climb up onto the couch and cuddle into her side.
"I got book." Mikel told her, placing it on her stomach.
Padme opened her eyes and took the book. "Are you ready to listen?"
Mikel nodded eagerly, his eyes fastened on the book.
Padme laughed and then began to read.
Drengin and Loreana finished up their studying a half hour before midnight and then quietly snuck out of the apartment. Checking with the Force that no one was around, they slipped down the corridor.
"It's a good thing that we really had a test to study for or we wouldn't have been able to pull this off." Drengin commented.
Loreana snorted. "You would have, not me. No one, not even my dad, can slip past my mom, even when she's asleep. Plus, she always catches me in a lie."
"Maybe it's because you're to much like her." Drengin replied, laughing as he avoided being swatted on the arm.
"Nerf." A giggle escaped her lips, revealing that she was not as annoyed as she had sounded.
They reached the turbolifts, took one to the unused level of the temple, and then made their way into a large cavern where Yentuwa, Kalen, Salanda, and Kabbacca were waiting for them.
Drengin and Loreana each found a free stool and took their seats.
"Alright, we are all here." Yentuwa began. "Has anyone found out who it was who wanted us to assemble here tonight?"
Everyone shook their heads no.
"Well we're here, so where is this person?" Kalen asked, fighting the urge to yawn, but wound up yawing anyway.
Footsteps were heard in the hall that led into the chamber and a brown, hooded person appeared and walked into the center of the circle of chairs.
The person flipped back his hood, revealing his identity. "I see that you all received my message." Woren said in satisfaction. "Now, you're all probably wondering why I'm keeping you guys away from bedtime."
"No, I think we're all curious as to what you have to say that's so important that we have to lose a couple of hours of sleep to meet with you." Salanda responded.
"There have been reports that there is a growing unease among the younger padawans and initiates. Do any of you know the reason why?"
Yentuwa nodded. "Phantom dreams."
Drengin continued. "We call them phantom dreams because even though those who had the dream can't remember what the dream was about, they find theirselves feeling like something is lurking nearby and that they're trapped."
"The Sith are approaching, is that it?" Loreana asked.
Woren ignored the question and asked one of his own. "Could the dreams simply be flashbacks to what happened a few years ago?"
We are not certain. Kabbacca barked out, his little droid that was hooked on his belt faithfully translating what he said.
"I see." Woren paused for a few seconds before continuing. "I don't need to remind you all that what has been said here remains here." When they all nodded, Woren continued. "The Sith are at this moment outside the asteroid belt and we are preparing to evacuate. We need you all to suppress any rumors that might start circulating and help keep the initiates calm. The reason why we ask this of you is that we believe that they will be put more at ease by those near their age group then by adults. This will also help the adults as they prepare for the arrival of the Sith."
Drengin looked at his friends who looked at him in return and then he looked at Woren. "We can do that."
"Good." Woren smiled. "Now I believe it's past your bedtimes."
Drengin and his friends laughed and then they all headed back to their quarters.
A/N: So where is everyone? Did i lose my readers from the long wait or is everyone rereading from the beginning? I enjoy feedback :)