Part Eleven

Dressed as a handmaiden, Padme followed Captain Panaka's sister-in-law Mayuntha, as she escorted her through the detention center. The young queen kept a cool, neutral face as her eyes swept over the center; she had never been in one before, and she made a mental list of questions to ask her chief of security when next she saw him. After he chewed her out for sneaking off, of course.

Once at her destination, she wasted no time. "Master Kenobi," she said in soft but formal tones.

"...'Master'?" Mayuntha asked, but Padme continued.

"The queen wishes to convey a message to you."

He looked different. The last time she saw him was the day after he had gotten a job - scaring little Ani severely and explaining the horrid fact that refugees were being locked in their camps. Then, he was in Jedi robes, Padawan haircut, and missing a braid. Now, he still wore his Jedi cloak, but it was significantly more worn, strained, frayed at the edges and elbows. His Jedi clothes had been replaced with black trousers and practical spacer boots, a loose fitting off-white shirt that was as worn as his cloak. There was a thinness about him, his loose fitting clothes and in his face. His eyes were baggy - he had not been sleeping for days, perhaps even weeks, and there was a weight on his shoulders. The thin braid was still gone as was the tail, and his hair was in the process of growing out, at that awkward in-between stage where it was too short to style but too long to cut into anything resembling neat.

He had not come up in the world; he had gone down. Way, way down.

But in spite of all of that, when he opened his eyes at her words and looked at her from his cross-legged position on the floor, Padme could still see the power, the determination, the... look of the Jedi. He may have gone down in the world, but his character had not.

"Milady," he said in equally formal tones. "Does Captain Panaka know you are here?"

Padme merely smiled.

He groaned. "You are as bad as Anakin," he said slowly, rubbing his forehead. "All right. By all means, convey your queen's message."

Padme glanced at Mayuntha and the security guard disengaged the force-field, letting the handmaiden slip in and turning it back on. She gave one last puzzled glance before shaking her head and disappearing back down the corridor, still muttering "...'master'?"

Obi-Wan said, "I seem to be something of an anomaly here."

Padme slowly sat on the floor in front of him, even though there was a bed and a chair to sit. She didn't want to be above him even metaphorically. "An anomaly indeed. A Jedi living on Naboo, raising a child, working as a construction worker, starting protests and then getting arrested? I wonder if there is a word better than anomaly."

The former Jedi gave a soft smile. "So Augara was able to contact the unions. Information here is rather slow in filtering in, and your spy Shamde has been understandably busy."

Padme flushed; partly surprised she had been caught so quickly. "She's not a spy."

"But I am most certainly a pet project, and all projects need to be checked in on, and that is Shamde's role."

"I told you I would help in any way that I could."

"And I have grown to the point where I can ask for help, but I will not ask for charity." Obi-Wan's eyes hardened slightly and his voice became more authoritative. "I would not advice the queen's involvement in this, Milady. She is a public figure and any move she makes will affect her image. I already know the outcome of this, there is no need for her interference."

Padme's eyes also hardened, and her tone became much more imperial. "And what, pray tell, do you expect to be the outcome of this? How could you possibly know what is going to happen?"

Obi-Wan gave no inch. "Experience," he said. "With the unions and collective bargaining agencies contacted they will swarm my former foreman and his company with cries of renegotiation. People who belong and are firm participants in such organizations are often quick to help others who are suffering a lack of a being's rights. From there one of two things will happen. If the company is honest they will fire the foreman and replace him with one of stronger character. If so, it is a quick and simple resolution. However, if the company is as corrupt as the foreman himself, the heads will send a high priced litigator or swindler to spin circles around the unions and retain their profits. That is the long and complex resolution. If it comes to that, public media will pick up on the story and it will turn into a brushfire from there. Hopefully I will be out of here by then, and when I work my way to the negotiation table things will go exactly as I want them to. Either way, the workers will gain fair wages, support, and other basic necessities."

"And in the meantime," Padme said, her voice slightly scornful, "You will sit here in this detention center?"

"I have been in far worse detention centers, Milady," Obi-Wan said in an equally hard voice. "This is a vacation."

"And Ani?"

"He is my Padawan, he knows how to take care of himself."

"He is a boy who's missing his brother."

An eye twitched, and at last Padme found an opening. She wasted no time pressing it: "He is a child who has been ripped from the only world he's ever known to be rejected by the people who did it, and now you're sitting here in jail with no thought to his emotional well being?"

" 'There is no emotion, there is peace.' "

Padme scoffed. "Tell that to the child who splashed your story all over the media to try and get someone to release you. Why do you think I'm here?"

Obi-Wan's eyes widened, and his Jedi exterior suddenly disappeared like a wisp of smoke. The unnaturally straight back hunched forward and a hand lifted to rub his face - a hand that was shaking, Padme realized belatedly. This wasn't a Jedi sitting in front of her; it was an overwhelmed man. The queen quickly found herself rethinking her initial impressions of why Obi-Wan had done what he had. Perhaps he had run out of rope, had no more options.

"What will I do with that boy?" he muttered to himself. He looked up through the curtain of his fingers and asked, "Did he at least keep my name out of it?"

Padme pursed her lips together, and Obi-Wan went back to hiding behind his hand.

"He loves you very much, you know," Padme said, her voice much softer now.

"No," Obi-Wan corrected, "He wants my presence. He's attached to me, he thinks of me as an object of his and he doesn't want to let go. He is viciously protective over what he thinks is his. That is not love."

"Isn't it?" Padme asked. "Would Master Qui-Gon have been any less protective over you?"

The other hand came up and hid his face completely, and Padme knew she had pushed too far. "I'm sorry," she said gently, reaching out and putting a hand on Obi-Wan's knee. "I know the Jedi see things very differently than others. I can only imagine. But..." She hesitated. She had not expected to be having this kind of conversation with Obi-Wan, only beat him over the head for his stupidity. Only now was she coming to realize that even after eight, almost nine months after the fact he was still grieving over the loss of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn. He was as lost as he was the night of the victory, when an excited Anakin had leapt into his devastating report of the dark creature. She did not want him to run away as he had that night, but she could not let him run himself so ragged, either.

"Obi-Wan," she tried again, determined for this to be said, "You are no longer a Jedi. No matter how hard you try, the home you make for Ani won't be the Temple. It won't be its environment or culture or structure. You can mimic it as closely as you wish, but it will never be the Temple. Wouldn't it be better, then, to not hold Ani to the Temple's every code of conduct? To be more understanding that there will be things he simply can't learn because he's not at the Temple?"

The former Jedi lifted himself up from his hands, back once more unnaturally straight, his eyes powerful and determined. "You have no idea what you are asking," he said quietly.

Padme knew she had lost him. Regretfully, she sighed and slowly stood up. "I will inform the Queen not to involve herself with the dispute. However, a reward for a job well done, if things go as you say, would not be remiss... Should the situation call for it." She turned away and looked to the force-field. Mayuntha, likely watching from the security cameras, quickly arrived let her out.

A thought occurred to her. "Master Kenobi," she said, turning quickly. " 'May the Force be with you.' You taught that to a child once, and asked him why the saying was redundant for a Jedi." Mayuntha's eyes doubled in size as she stared at her captive. "In honor of your current position, I will instead say: 'the Force will be with you.' "

Obi-Wan blinked, but said nothing, once more closing his eyes for meditation. Padme hope she gave him some food for thought. As Mayuntha escorted her out, the dark skinned security guard asked, "Milady, does that mean that man's a Jedi?"

Padme knew it was probably spiteful, but she wanted the galaxy to know just what a good man this was. "That is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi," she said, "Padawan learner of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He was instrumental in keeping the queen safe on her escape to Corscant and fought with his master to free Naboo from the Viceroy's occupation."

"... Then what in the galaxy is he doing in there?" she demanded.

"He is once more fighting for what it right."

"I'm all set."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. All the filework had been done."

"You're sure."

"Yes."

"Absolutely?"

"Of course."

"Ooof!"

Obi-Wan grunted as Anakin, finally deeming that he was well and truly out of jail, jumped up, wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan's neck and legs around Obi-Wan's waist and held on tight. Apparently Anakin had missed him. A lot.

Not that Obi-Wan could completely blame him. He'd missed this boy as well. But this was a sign of attachment and Obi-Wan didn't particularly want to think about at the moment. Padme had been correct. Anakin had had enough upheaval in his life. Trying to address this now would likely be more prudent. It would nip it in the bud. But it would hurt Anakin and Obi-Wan had seen this child hurt enough. He didn't particularly want to do so again, and this time intentionally. He'd discuss it with Anakin once things were settled.

It had been a week, Obi-Wan reflected. One full and solid week in jail. Obi-Wan's opinion of the penitentiary system here on Naboo was that it was one of the finest he'd ever been held in. It had been a long week with many visits from Anakin, Shamde, and Augara. Anakin more or less lived in his cell with him after school, going over the Force, what it could do, meditation, even a few variations of forms that he could do with his healing shoulder and wrist. Shamde was there with all sorts of filework to be done to get him on welfare and ensure that he didn't lose their tiny apartment due to his illegal termination. And Augara seemed to have appointed himself as go-between for Obi-Wan and the full-scale protest that seemed to be going on at the jobsite.

Indeed, things were moving along faster than Obi-Wan had anticipated in that front. Once the various construction unions had caught wind of Obi-Wan's coworkers - displaced by the invasion and desperate to get work, no matter what it was - being hired without even knowledge that construction unions existed, they'd quickly gone about surveying every construction site in Theed, checking to ensure that all workers were part of the various trade unions and debriefing them on what their rights were.

To say that there were some disparities between what various laborers were supposed to be paid and have available and what was actually doled out was something of an understatement. Protests and strikes were spreading throughout the city. And, at Obi-Wan's constant insistence through Augara, it was kept peaceful. Naboo Security Officers went to every protest and strike, but since Naboo allowed for collective bargaining, all they did was ensure peacefulness.

It was rather refreshing for Obi-Wan to see things not explode into violence.

Anakin's jump on the media had helped move things along, though Obi-Wan really didn't care to be the focus, he couldn't deny that the collection that went around almost every trade union had been what he needed to make bail.

And now he was free.

Without his express permission, his arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they squeezed Anakin close.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Obi-Wan asked as he walked down the street.

"I told my teachers that I wouldn't be in today because you were being released. They were all understanding." Anakin smiled. "My diplomacy teacher gave me extra credit for 'practical application of media usage'."

Obi-Wan couldn't stop the sigh.

"We'll worry about the ramifications of your 'practical application of media usage' tomorrow. Today, I'd like to spend the day with you at home and work on meditation. I understand you still have nightmares, and meditation will help."

Anakin frowned, but then shrugged and hugged him again, squeezing tightly.

"It will help, Anakin. I was thinking about this during the week. I think we'll start with a particular sutra that Qui-Gon taught me when-"

"Obi! Ani!"

Obi-Wan paused, turning. Augara was rushing from a side street they were passing. Running up, the brown Gungan waved his arms frantically. "Wesa needin' yousa now! Yosa comin'!" He reached out to grab Obi-Wan's arm and start pulling, but Obi-Wan was far better at evading.

"Augara? What in the world is going on?"

"Yousa free now, yesa? So wesa goin'!"

Obi-Wan evaded another grab. He put on his firm face and voice and addressed his friend and coworker again. "Augara. I was just let out of jail. I would like to spend the day with Anakin. Certainly, I can be there tomorrow to deal with whatever the problem is."

"Nosa!" Augara said quickly. Finally, the Gungan took a calming breath. "Looky, theresa some mui nutsen Hisen at the strikin'. Wesa been keepin' calm and coolin', but the nutsen keep heatin' and hollerin'. Theysa almost fightin'! Theysa no listenin' to anyone! Wesa needin' yousa to makin' themsa with the sleepin'!"

Obi-Wan sighed. Deeply. They had all been working diligently towards settling this peacefully, but if any hotheads started a fight and got arrested, high-priced litigators would swoop in and cut away the progress they'd made.

Right.

While he wouldn't put them to sleep, he did need to talk to any dissenters who could become violent and ensure their cooperation or ensure that they left.

"Negotiation has always been a strong point of yours, Padawan mine."

That didn't change the fact that Anakin remained his only priority. Stars, Obi-Wan hadn't even had a chance to get home to change clothes...

He looked to his Padawan. "I suppose this counts as more instruction for you in 'practical application'. Though this time I'll be the one applying the application. You watch and learn." Obi-Wan smiled. "I'll be most interested to see what comparisons you can draw from what I'm doing with what you've been learning in your diplomacy classes."

Anakin was frowning. "But I have lunch all ready and I saved from some of my cash-for-chores work and got you a new shirt. And I had it all planned out!"

Obi-Wan set Anakin down and knelt in front of him. "I had something similar happen with my Master. He'd gone on a mission I wasn't old enough to handle yet, and I had everything laid out for when he returned. Yet no sooner had he landed then the High Council called us to be sent to another mission. I understand how you feel. But those things are just materials. I am still here and I'm not being whisked off somewhere else."

Anakin stood there, thinking about it, but not a moment later, he offered a bright smile and nodded. Obi-Wan nodded as well and stood. Anakin snaked his hand into Obi-Wan's and together, they followed Augara.

It didn't remove all of Anakin's issues with attachments, but it might help with some of Anakin's attachments to items. The attachment to Obi-Wan himself, would have to come later.

Anakin noted that his brother looked rather impressed when he saw just how many people were at the jobsite. Over the past week, the buildsite that Obi-Wan and his coworkers had been working at had become the center of a flood of people from all over the city. The only time Anakin had ever seen so many people in one place before here on Naboo was at the parade celebration and funeral right after they'd won against the Trade Federation. Protesters were peacefully marching, singing, holding up signs, chanting, and organizing. Workers from almost every trade union had gathered as well, and Anakin saw many of Obi-Wan's coworkers holding signs and chanting as well for the strike they were on now that they were part of the unions.

"This is..." Obi-Wan murmured, taking a moment to just stand and stare.

"All 'cause of yousa," Augara said proudly with a smile.

Obi-Wan dipped his head and shrugged. "Well, it's sooner than I anticipated, but we can work with this." He turned to the Gungan. "Now, were are these hotheads you've mentioned?"

Augara started leading them through the throngs of people, many of whom recognized Obi-Wan (thanks to Anakin's appeal to the media!) and were slapping him on the back, shaking his hand, and exclaiming that it was about time he'd been let out of jail. Anakin couldn't help but smile. After all, he was the one responsible for this, and even though his time with Obi-Wan had been cut off to come here, Anakin was kinda glad that he could show off what he'd been able to accomplish.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan mumbled so softly Anakin was amazed that he heard it at all. "Isn't that..."

"Yup. Kohse's mom. She's the reporter I talked to. She was real upset that you were in jail for just wanting to get better pay."

"And that's..."

"Yup. My diplomacy class. My teacher thought this would be a good field trip."

Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin smiled.

"Disa way," Augara said, pulling them to a set of awnings that had come up over where many of the union leaders were organizing their protests and strikes.

Many introductions were made and Anakin watched Obi-Wan study each face and listen carefully to each name, no doubt committing everything to memory. Anakin tried to as well, but was soon lost as the sea of faces who came up to greet his brother just got more and more vast.

"The Force, Anakin. Open up to it and it will help your focus," Obi-Wan once again whispered so quietly Anakin wondered how in the galaxy he could hear that.

"Because you're having an easier time reaching for the Force. It's staring to come subconsciously on certain things. Like your senses."

Well that was just wizard!

"Focus, Padawan."

"You bet!"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, the hero approacheth!" an olive-skinned Human greeted, vigorously shaking Obi-Wan's hand. "Name's Narmle, head of the Naboo Duracrete Union. It's good ta see ya outta the pen."

"It's good to be out," Obi-Wan replied. "This is my... little brother, Anakin Skywalker."

Narmle nodded to Anakin and was about to say something when another Human, this one very pale, stepped up. "Hey. I'm Oerba and I run the Chommell Wiring Association."

"Chommell?" Obi-Wan blinked. "I wasn't aware our local plight was getting so much attention."

"Oh your little story is quite wide spread in the sector. We've been watching Naboo piece itself back together. Most of our esteemed leaders were too scared to go against the Trade Feds, but an average guy trying to get by? We can get behind that."

"No kidding," Narmle nodded. "We got folks coming in from all over Naboo and some from Karlinus, Ryndellia, the Chommell minor, all here to oppose the kriffin' morons who thought they could break Naboo law and not let you unionize."

"Oh my," Obi-Wan blinked.

Anakin grinned. His brother had resources now. And support which the Jedi hadn't given. His brother would always have him by his side, but now he had others as well. Anakin couldn't have dreamed things would go so well.

They all sat down at a folding table to start discussing what had been going on. Anakin watched intently as Narmle and Oerba both took the lead in explaining what had been going on. The protests had started the day the news had been learned, courtesy of Kohse's mother. The following day, union representatives were making their runs around every construction site in Theed to ensure that everyone was either unionized, or getting a fair contract if someone had opted not to join the union. Once the tally had been made, many started to come and mediate on Obi-Wan'd behalf with his foreman to no success. While the unions had been organizing, Augara had lead many of their coworkers to a strike since they were all getting nowhere with said foreman. At least the man had been smart enough to not fire them all like he had with Obi-Wan.

However, the foreman was no fool. He was easily overwhelmed as more and more people started to show up and had quickly called his bosses who had sent backup, hired muscle, and an extremely high-priced litigator.

The company had also decided that it was cheaper to just bring in fresh labor from out of the sector, rather than bargain with the unions.

"It's the strike breakers who are the issue," Narmle said. "The idiots just keep going on working for squat under a tyrant."

Oerba shook his head. "Regardless, now that you're here, Kenobi, we can do some morale uplifting. Have you walk through the crowds, maybe talk to the press about-"

Obi-Wan stood abruptly. Anakin looked up surprised.

"I thank you for all the effort that you've put into this and what you have done is amazing. But I will not be used as such."

"Used?" Anakin echoed.

Obi-Wan looked to him and smiled. "Yes, Anakin, used. Though it would be with the best of intentions, I am just an object that they can use to garner favor and sympathy. While I do agree with public appeals when necessary, in this circumstance, I have far better ideas on what needs to be done."

"Now hold on," Oerba said, smiling awkwardly. "It'd be helping you get the fair wages and medical compensation you asked for at the start of all this."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It would. Eventually. What I have in mind will be far more expedient. I thank you for the information, gentlemen, but I have other people to see."

He walked briskly away, Anakin racing at his heals, glancing back at the confused union leaders.

"But Obi-Wan, don't you need them? Aren't they trying to help?"

"Indeed they are. But unions, understandably, tend to be rather biased. Just as biased as the corporations they mediate with. It very much becomes an us-or-them mentality as both sides work to get exactly what they want. It's a long and tedious process."

"But if you compromise with the foreman or who he works for, aren't you giving up what you wanted in the first place?"

"Not at all," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "I have a vested interest in this, that is true. I want my job back so that we aren't out on the streets. And I want to be able to save. If for no other reason than we need to make a trip at some point to have you make a lightsaber."

Anakin blinked. "Just how far ahead are you looking? That won't happen for, what, years?"

"If we get the pay I'm planning for, about five years of saving."

"...wizard..."

"Indeed." Obi-Wan threw him a smile. "Assuming you don't end up in another fight requiring medcenter bills."

"I get it, I get it!"

They continued to weave through the crowds milling around. "Obi-Wan, how d'you know where to go?"

"The Force."

"It's pulling you?"

"No, the Force is rarely so obvious. I am merely an open being, letting the feel of all these people flow over me. There is a group that is a great deal angrier than anyone else here. I daresay almost violently angry. That is where I'm going."

Anakin grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and yanked, making him stop. "And you're going straight towards people who will be violent? What if they get violent towards you?" He'd already been without Obi-Wan for a week. He couldn't stand if it was permanent.

Obi-Wan knelt down and smiled gently. "Anakin, take a moment to think. The people who are angry, they are average beings, just like you were before we started your training. Do you really think that an average person could actually hurt me?"

Anakin scowled. "That doesn't matter! You're still putting yourself in danger!"

"I am not. Because it will not get violent."

"But you just said-"

Obi-Wan reached out and ruffled his hair. "Your concern for me and your caring does you much credit, Anakin. Your open heart gives you great empathy for your fellow beings. But just because you know a situation can possibly go bad doesn't mean you avoid it. You don't miss a race just because you know Sebulba was going to cheat and injure other racers. You go ahead and do it anyway. A Jedi does this because a Jedi will always do what a Jedi must. Because a Jedi can do things no one else can and if we don't, then who will? These people are angry and upset. A spark will set them off, but I'm not going there to light a fuse. I'm there to defuse."

Anakin was still worried. "But what if..."

"Focus on the here and now, as Qui-Gon would say. But I am adept at the Unifying Force and I sense no danger to myself or you or anyone else for today. As long as I ensure it by defusing these 'hotheads'."

Anakin was sure his head was aching. "This here and now and future stuff is all so confusing..."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "With time and training, Anakin. This will not happen overnight."

Anakin nodded and followed along as they headed toward whatever it was Obi-Wan was seeing. They arrived at another set of awnings, these where the Naboo Security Guard were keep a close eye on a group of easily fifty people who were all shouting angrily and holding various things threateningly. Anakin looked around nervously before following Obi-Wan right into the center of the throng and sitting down peacefully, waiting.

"Obi-Wan?"

"Patience, my dear Padawan. Watch and learn."

They sat there quietly for a while as people shouted epitaphs and curses (Anakin took note of the ones he hadn't heard before...) and acting much more aggressive than all the other protesters and strikers that they had seen previously. It was almost a half hour before someone sat down in front of them.

"Mr. Kenobi? Is that you?"

Anakin's brother opened his eyes and smiled. "Hello there. Yes, I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. I must say, things have certainly been progressing while I was away."

The woman blinked. "I'll say," she said gruffly. "And when protesting started we," she gestured to the angered people around her, "were soon separated out so that we wouldn't be a 'bad influence' on all the others who kept showing up."

"Really?"

"We're angry!" she shouted. "And we have every damn right to be angry! Who wouldn't be after everything that's happened. And even though we're going after what's right, those damnable strike breakers keep going in! And the cheap labor they brought from off planet! Oh, if I could get my hands on one of them!"

Thus started a long litany of grievances that other angry protesters were soon sitting with them to expound upon. Anakin watched, amazed, as the people who had been so aggressive and threatening sat around Obi-Wan, taking turns to air out their grievances in a heated fashion. Obi-Wan listened to each one of them, asking clarifying questions, offering sympathies and anecdotes, and just giving a reassuring smile.

The woman who had first started explaining things eventually broke down and cried, since her husband had died as a result of an injury incurred on the jobsite. Everyone was still angry, and after what Anakin had heard, he was angry to, but they weren't aggressive or threatening. They were just united in fury.

Obi-Wan spoke with each of them, quietly and calmly, until everyone was just as calm as he was.

Wizard.

"We all have a right to be angry," Obi-Wan said, and Anakin felt something in the Force, kinda like projecting, since he assumed that Obi-Wan wanted everyone to hear him. "What the foreman did to me was deplorable and it has become a rallying point for many, many people who have come to suffer the injustices that happen after violent conflict. Invariably, no matter where in the galaxy you go, someone will take advantage of a bad situation."

"And we're going to do something about it," a man said heatedly.

"Indeed. And we already are. The company cannot stand bad press and will have to sit down with us for mediation. For now, in order to make themselves look good, they bring in other workers to show that they are committed to the job and will get it done. They believe it to be good press."

"But it's not!" someone farther away shouted.

"Of course it isn't. It's a public show of what they want. But as long as both sides keeps peaceable, the media can't paint either side as a villain. This company will avoid a bad light with anything they can. Which means they won't stiff us once we're all seated at the table."

"And the strikebreakers?" the woman demanded. "They're all cowards."

Obi-Wan gave a small sigh. "No. They are fraught with indecision, so they make no decision. They know they are not being treated fairly. But with no resources and strikes equating to no wages, they dare not stop working. To do so would likely mean that families would go hungry, so they chose to put their children first and not get involved."

"But it won't do no good in the long run!" a man yelled.

"No, and they know that. But with the way things are now, by going in to work, they know what to expect. That provides stability. Our lack of pay and care gives us instability, so we protest for something better. They can only go with what they know."

Obi-Wan leaned back. "We have a right to how we feel. We've been treated poorly and are understandably upset by it. But just because we are does not mean we should deny the strikebreakers the right to feel trapped and do only what they know. It does not mean that we should deny the company a chance to try and put themselves in a good light, because it ensures that when we sit at the mediation table, we will get what we want."

Anakin was impressed. Obi-Wan had started out sounding like he was completely on their side, calmed them down, and was now successfully convincing them that there shouldn't be any violence without stating anything outright.

Was this how diplomacy worked? He'd have to pay more attention in class...

Once things were all calm, Obi-Wan pointed out that the security guard were no longer keeping an eye on them so stringently and were looking much more relaxed. "How interesting. Once we are calm, they are calm." Anakin couldn't quite bite back the chuckle.

"Do you see now, Anakin, why it is that reacting in anger makes things worse, but working calmly resolves things to everyone's benefit?"

Anakin looked down, remember his argument and fight with Horace that had, in a way, led to all of this. "Yeah."

"I do not say this to belittle you. Merely to show you that your tendency to anger will harm you in the long run. You will likely have a right to get angry. It's what you do with that anger. Holding onto it, releasing it through shouting or violence, it does no good. Things will remain the same or get worse."

"Yeah," Anakin mumbled. "I can see that now."

"Excellent."

"Excellent indeed," said a different voice and both Obi-Wan and Anakin turned to see Oerba looking thoughtfully at them. "Mr. Kenobi, would like to join us and observe when we get to the negotiation table?"

"I think that's a good idea," Obi-Wan replied, smiling softly. Anakin got the distinct impression that that was what Obi-Wan had wanted all along.

Author's Notes: A reader brought up a very good point in a review last chapter that we thought we'd address. Some of you may have been wondering why the average Nabooan isn't recognizing Obi-Wan as Sith Slayer. That actually takes some explanation that basically boils down to the fact that the average person DOESN'T know the Sith are back. Remember, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Anakin first encountered was when they were leaving Tatooine in a hurry. Qui-Gon has suspicions, but we never heard him voice them until he spoke to the Council.

However the Jedi were skeptical (rightly so, Sith hadn't been around for a VERY long time...) and Obi-Wan's opinion on if Maul was a Sith or not was never revealed. Then it was them rushing off to Naboo where Padme was more concerned about finding and uniting with Gungans. Plus Sith have always been a Jedi concern so it seems doubtful that Padme would have been told that "Oh yeah, the random chance we see that guy who fought Qui-Gon on Tatooine was really a Sith, just so you know."

Of course then Padme, Panaka and various Royal Guards see Maul, but all they know is that Qui/Obi went off to deal with them. Cut to the beginning of the fic when Anakin interrupts Obi-Wan giving his report to Padme and we don't really know if Padme knows about the Sit or not. Remember the Sith are a Jedi thing. It's open to debate on whether or not Obi-Wan even mentione it, if he even got that far.

So no, the average Nabooan doesn't know about Obi-Wan killing a Sith. They just know that Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jin died saving their people.

Poor Padme. Every time she shows up she just pushes Obi-Wan a little too far. She means well, though, and all of her constant reminders to pay off. Eventually. She had every intention of batting Obi-Wan on the head for stupidity. She's just too compassionate. ^_^

Obi-Wan, outside of the Jedi, is, in some ways, dealing with Anakin's attachment more easily. This lesson firmly sets it in Anakin's mind that attachment to things doesn't matter. They're just things. Too bad it'll make Ani even more attached to Obi. ^_^ Obi-Wan is, of course, aware of this, but either puts off the discussion or is interrupted. Obi-Wan's assessment that Ani sees him as an object is at least partly correct. Ani is latched to Obi so strongly that if anything bad happens to Obi (and catastrophically so) Ani will go over the edge. This is bad attachment. Obi-Wan will take care of it... eventually. These things won't happen over night. Or in the span of this fic. Being away from the Jedi will help. Anakin will eventually start seeing various types of "love", including the selfish kind and the results of that. But that's way off outside of this fic.

This arc was finished (finally) just days before the Wisconsin Strikes in February 2011. If you don't live in America or were asleep when this happened, Wisconsin's governor tried to pass a bill that forbade unions from asking for fair pay (basically), freezing salaries if contracts were in conflict (and they would be often since each contract would only be a year) and a lot of really bad things. This in Wisconsin, which had some of the most violent union protests back in the 1930s. Well, every union and collective bargaining organization in the known universe showed up to protest; teachers and firefighters and cops and constructions workers and, well, everyone. There were protests held in all fifty states. Fourteen democrat members of Wisconsin congress left the state in an attempt to prevent the bill from passing. It was just huge.

Oh, and this little thing called the Arab Spring was going on, including Egypt getting overthrown (Mubarak saying he'd step down Feb 11). (We're still cheering the Arab Spring on! Get independence! Listen to your own people!) Oh, and this other little thing called Occupy Wall Street happened a few months in September.

And that was all after we wrote this.

0.o

*ahem*

Anyone notice the nod to a quote Obi-Wan made to Luke? ^_^

And, at last, the lesson on No Anger is finally banged into Anakin's head. He'll still go to anger first for a reaction, but he'll understand that it won't do him any good. Not to say he won't backslide from time to time, but he's got a better understanding of it than he would at the Temple.

*phew* Enough author's notes.

Next Chapter: A sign. Of what we don't know.