I know this has been ages in coming, but it's spring break right now, so I should be able to get this finished! Well, I'll get as much as I can done, because I have a half dozen other stories I really want to get to, but I can't until this one is over. Anyway, thank you all for your continued support, I really appreciate the reviews, so please keep them coming, and I hope you enjoy the latest developments.

Pascal: Thanks for sticking with the story, I'm so glad you like it, and I'm finally getting back to it! Hope you like it!

Michelle Erika: Yeah, but if you think about it, there's this clone walking around with about three personalities hanging out inside his head, the dead Boba, the Boba that he believes he's been for the last year and the Clone Trooper that was his training up until Maul originally messed with him to give to Jango as a Boba replacement. And you make a good point about the aging thing, but hopefully this story is moving at a speed that means it's not an issue at the moment.

Ialoga: Thanks for the review, I hope you made it further than chapter 1! If not, then this is moot, but if you are still reading I'd love to hear what you think.

"Is this really necessary?" asked Obi as his blade clashed with Anakin's, "It's starting to get warm out here." Anakin was fast, almost blindingly so and Obi's old, much abused of late body was not responding as well as he would have liked against the younger, well trained man before him.

Anakin, for his part, merely smiled as he continued to test Obi's skills with the blade. He had seen him fight, but all too briefly, and now the older man needed his abilities strengthened if he was to face either Maul or Sideous in the future. The former Jedi also needed to be fully in tune with his deepened connection to the force, now that he was no longer expending his energy in suppressing his force signature. Anakin was continuing to increase the pressure he was placing on the man and at every step, Obi would reach further, unknowingly driving his force presence deeper into its flow and Anakin couldn't help but admire the way Obi was handling his onslaught.

"Just keep your focus on the moment," Anakin intoned, making Obi flinch, remembering his old master's words, but he did his best to hide it from his assailant.

They continued in their dance of blades in the shadow of the mountain that loomed behind them, the speed of their movements becoming a blur in the heat haze. The fine sand became whipped up around them in a whirlwind, drawn in and around them as the living force almost rejoiced in the power the two were wielding against each other. At this moment, Obi suddenly realized just how much he had suddenly been able to accomplish and his sudden realization caused him to pause long enough for Anakin to get in a swing that Obi had to leap over Anakin to avoid. Anakin was ready for him and hit out with a force push that had Obi sailing across the sand. He skidded to a stop in a sand bank and quickly spun around to rise and face Anakin. But the young man was gone.

Obi spun around several times to try to see him, and then realized the new lesson was not meant for him to rely on his vision. He breathed in deeply and held his blade in front of his face, the low hum helping to shut out the sounds of the swirling sand and the rumbling desert around him. He stretched out with his feelings to the living force, and saw the ripples caused by Anakin's presence in the mists, even though Anakin was attempting to suppress his signature just as Obi had done for all those years, but Anakin had only been doing this for a matter of weeks. Obi had years of experience with this and it was no trouble at all for him to home in on Anakin's physical presence, his blade sweeping to slice at the boy's head. Anakin let out a quiet gasp, surprised at how quickly Obi-Wan had found him, but he was quickly countering the blow and dissolved back into the swirling sand. Once again, Obi stilled his mind and movements to reach out for the Jedi.

Suddenly, Anakin swept over Obi-Wan and kicked at his side as Obi tried to turn to counter the strike, but was toppled over and Anakin's blade held to his throat. Both men breathed heavily and the sand around them slowly dissipated. It was then that Obi realized Assaj and her new friend had been watching them, Assaj sitting at the creature's head, which rested on the baking sand. The heat didn't seem to bother her, but Obi could feel the sweat beading and cascading down his face, stinging his eye. She nodded over at him in acknowledgement of his presence.

"Or," he called over to her," you could help!"

She replied with a slow smile and raised her shoulders. He looked over at the dragon that had its eyes as slits, but focused on the former Jedi.

"Sick 'im!" called Obi-Wan, gesturing for the creature to attack Anakin. It merely looked to its new companion, who shook her head in a negative, so the creature looked back at Obi and made a noise not unlike a 'humph'.

"Fine," said Obi-Wan, "it seems my only option is to yield," and he raised his hand, which Anakin took and pulled Obi to his feet.

"Remind me never to fight you to the death!" said Obi-wan as he recovered and they headed for some relative shelter from the sun.

"You did very well, I thought," said Anakin openly impressed with Obi-Wan's obvious skill.

"Still lost, didn't I," said Obi sadly, "can't seem to get past that."

"You're still holding back, Obi-Wan," said Anakin, sitting beside Obi who had broken out the iced Leaph juice, "so tell me, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid," said Obi suddenly snapping enough to have Assaj and the dragon sitting up and staring over at them. He realized his over reaction when he felt the subtle reassurance Anakin sent to them both through the force and their less subtle reaction to his calming influence, the two settling back onto the sand. Obi looked down at the sand covering his Naboo issue boots. They really did make those things to last didn't they!

"I'm not afraid," he said more quietly and deliberately, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself more than the Jedi in his company. Anakin laid a hand on his shoulder and Obi-Wan looked up into the young man's face. He suddenly felt like he was transported back to the temple and seeing Qui-Gonn resting his hands on Anakin, the boys shoulders. Feeling a little embarrassed to have that boy comforting him now, he slipped from Anakin's hold.

"I'm sorry Obi-Wan, I'm not trying to be Qui-Gonn."

Obi-Wan smiled at the mention of his old master.

"You would have made him proud."

"You still do."

"I don't know about that! Whenever we 'meet' it just gets so frustrating, I feel he's constantly testing me, like I'm still not quite worthy of whatever it is he wants me to become."

"And what is that, do you think?"

"I have no idea!" said Obi shaking his head and chuckling a little to himself, "something between a Sith and a Jedi, something to bring the force back to balance. What is that? I mean, let's face it, we all thought that was what he thought you, or the chosen one at least, was for. What a burden to land on you when you were a child, I don't think that's something I'll ever be able to forgive Qui-Gonn for."

"Why not?" asked Anakin equally quietly, wanting to keep the man talking. This was the most he had spoken since they had met and it was good for him to finally open up about his feelings now that he was heading down that road. The more he got to know Obi-Wan, the more he liked his company, it reminded him of his old master and the teachings of Qui-Gonn were also quite clearly present, but there was also the refreshing point of view that he displayed in his interactions with the force, something honed by his years in Padme's service no doubt. Also, the man had a wicked sense of humor, something Anakin had never really picked up despite his old master's best efforts.

"Anakin, you were a recently freed child slave, less than universe wise, and he thrust you into a world of Jedi and Sith, no less! He should have taken more care with you, quite frankly, treated you with a little more respect, rather than laid the fate of the Jedi on your shoulders. If he had his suspicions he should have spoken them to the council in private, without either you or I present."

"And yet he praised you openly in front of them, he said you were ready for the trials. As I see it, he was respecting us both by presenting his feelings openly to us all, rather than going behind our backs and having our fates decided without our knowledge."

"I wasn't ready for the trials," he could sense Anakin was about to speak, so he quickly continued, "I know what I said at the time, but I was shocked by Qui-Gonn's decision, I thought I was being left behind, so of course I agreed with him, what else could I do? Later he told me he foresaw me becoming a great Jedi knight! Yeah, I turned out just 'great' didn't I!"

"Yes, you did," said Anakin, nodding slowly, and for a moment Obi smiled thinking Anakin was also being sarcastic, but it was quickly obvious there was no sarcasm to the young man's response, so he looked surprised at his young companion.

Now it was Anakin's turn to smile.

"Obi-Wan, perhaps you never became a Jedi Knight, but you have proved again and again that you are a good man, the best man to have in a fight, or on a rescue mission, or to take care of a wayward clone child! Take some credit for your actions for a change. Would Qui-Gonn keep coming back if he didn't think you could pull this all off?"

"Oh, dear," said Obi, sadly.

"What's wrong?" asked Anakin, concerned, but Obi was chuckling again.

"First Padme, and now you!" he said looking up at Anakin again, with the sparkle returning to his eye, "I'll have to be careful, or Assaj will be over to comfort me next, and I'm not sure how I would handle that! Maybe her Krayt can give me a foot massage, I've been feeling a little drained lately, I'm sure that would perk me right up!"

Both men fell silent, however, as a sense of immense change washed over all the force sensitives present. An instant later and Anakin's communicator was bleeping at him.

"You have to watch this, both of you," came Padme's voice over the comm.

Anakin tapped on the holo to reveal a news announcement that Dooku had been elected the political leader of the separatist regime. A crowd had gathered outside the Seprartist capitol building on Raxus and Dooku was addressing his supporters.

"My friends, a great opportunity has been afforded us today. With this vote of confidence in my leadership, I feel we can move past the petty conflict we can find ourselves in this day. As such, I have contacted the leaders of our armed forces and called for an immediate cessation to all aggression perpetrated by our movement to Republic forces. Furthermore, I have submitted a request to address the Republic Senate to begin formal negotiations on behalf of our cause. I have just heard word that the Chancellor himself has welcomed this move and will make a joint statement at the beginning of the next senate session. I truly believe this will be the turning point in the war that we can surely head off before it has done its worst to us all. Please join me in affording the Chancellor the credit he deserves in bringing about these events," and with that he began applauding as the crowd erupted in cheers and chants of anti-war sentiment, obviously relishing the Counts calls for an end to the conflict and the Republics response, the emphasis in his last sentence not lost on Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"But, my friends," called Dooku, raising his hands to cool the crowd, "we must be vigilante. There are still those who would see this grasp for peace slip through our fingers."

Great calls from the crowd of "No!" erupted from the gathering and Dooku had to raise his hands again to quiet them.

"There are, my friends, there are," he continued sadly. "And we must hope that calmer, more open minds prevail, and I would hope they would join us at the Republic capitol to see that the plans of those who would try to thwart us are prevented from doing so."

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other, realizing Dooku was addressing Obi-Wan specifically.

"It's the vision, isn't it?" said Obi quietly to Anakin, noting that Assaj was moving to join them. Her attention was transfixed by the shaking image of the man in the holo-projector.

"Keep watching," said Anakin, still quietly at Obi-Wan, as he stood and placed himself in front of Ventress to block her view. She moved to get passed him, but he placed his hands on her shoulders and moved to catch her glance.

"Assaj?" he asked, soothingly, "Assaj, everything is alright."

She looked up at him with horrified eyes, the swirling purple orbs showing a mixture of fear, rage and confusion. He smoothed over her emotions with a force blanket similar to the one Obi-Wan had used when they had met in Jabba's palace and the pained expression relaxed somewhat and he noticed the Krayt, who had been hunched as if ready to spring to rescue his friend, also relaxed to a less aggressive stance.

"I'll not let him near you ever again, I promise you that, OK?"

Her expression didn't change, but her force communication, which was much more coherent than her verbal communication since the assault, showed him that she did understand him and was even grateful for his presence. She raised her hands and placed them on his arms to confirm her feelings on the matter. An intensity to her eyes changed the expression of her face and Obi knew that look, he had felt that emotion directed at his own person from her only recently, but it was clear that now he was not the target of her emotional response.

Anakin shook his head slightly, not losing her gaze.

"No, Assaj, not revenge. We will seek justice for what was done to you, I promise you that, but not vengeance." He reached up and brushed her cheek as a tear slowly fell down her agitated face.

"Ky taught you better than that, and you know it," his smile returned, if a little more sad this time, but he saw the obvious internal struggle his words had caused and it gave him hope. She nodded gently and broke off from his hold on her, the Krayt already approaching her, head bowed to receive her leap to his head. Once aboard, the creature quickly turned and bounded off across the desert floor. Kenobi watched her leave, part of him wishing he could join her on her race across the planet's surface, finding her absent force presence leaving a gap in his own.

Anakin turned back to him, and saw the thought of exacting revenge on Dooku actually very much in the forefront of Obi's mind, but Obi knew better than to harbor such thoughts and released them out into the force. Anakin looked back to the broadcast, feeling the intensity of Obi's feelings, nodding in sympathy and turned to look at the former security chief.

"We're going to need him, though, as much as he needs us, of course, don't you think?" came Anakin's conclusion.

Now it was Obi's turn to nod.

"It pains me to say it, but, yes, this is what Dooku's been driving for all along, a chance for peace. And I think he knows who Sideous is."

"Palpatine," said Anakin, hunching over as he sat next to Obi-Wan, "it's so simple, so easy to see once you know. How could we all have been so blind?"

"Hey, I did manage to hide from the entire Jedi order for ten years. Apparently it's not that hard!"

Anakin gave Obi a sideways glare with a half smile, the former Naboo security chief's whimsical grin impossible to withstand for long.

"I wonder how Padme is taking this," said Obi, serious again.

"Not well, I can sense it. We should head back and plan our next move. Things are rushing in at us again. And contact Boba, we have a delivery system for his message."

"His what?" asked Obi-wan, rather puzzled by Anakin's response.