"This is your apartment?"
Obi-Wan glanced down at Anakin, who'd frozen the moment they'd walked through the door. His hand, still firmly gripping Obi-Wan, had stopped the Jedi as well, and Obi-Wan smiled a little.
"This place is awesome! It's a million times better than anything on Tatooine!" Anakin exclaimed, and Obi-Wan glanced up at the room, his gaze flicking over the familiar sight and his heart constricting painfully. "You've got the nicest furniture and you've even got a balcony so you can watch the sunset!"
They did indeed, though Obi-Wan held his tongue about the furniture. It was all standard Jedi-issue, which certainly was nice, but it was a far cry from being the best. Obi-Wan had destroyed two of their previous couches through various attempts at gymnastics, both of which had landed him more kitchen duty than he cared to admit, but he still swore that it wasn't his fault. They just didn't make couches properly; surely the designers knew that the couch was going to be bounced on.
Which was exactly what Anakin happened to be doing.
"Wizard!" the boy exclaimed, flopping down at last and scanning his surroundings.
The apartment overall was small, with a common area, a small kitchen, a 'fresher unit, and two bedrooms. The 'fresher and the bedrooms could be found down a narrow hall on Obi-Wan's right, which was positioned after the entryway closet but before the bulk of the common space.
The entryway Obi-Wan stood in opened on a small landing with uncarpeted floor, allowing the occupants and visitors alike a moment to remove their boots. The rest of the apartment, save the kitchen and the 'fresher, was carpeted with a thin, dark brown material, and the walls were a simple white that easily stained. Obi-Wan remembered spending many afternoons with both Qui-Gon and later, Anakin, scrubbing at the dirt he wasn't sure how had gotten there. He usually wound up peeling the paint from the walls because the cleaner he used was too powerful.
The common area made up the larger part of their quarters, and was really one giant square of a room that had been divided up into sections with the furniture. A sitting area was a few paces away from the entry, with a large couch pressed up against the right-hand wall and flanked by two end tables. Two thickly cushioned armchairs sat across from it, partitioning the sitting area from the dining area, which was simply a large table made of a dark, rich wood that came complete with four matching chairs.
The centerpiece that sat in the middle of the table surprised all who were unfamiliar with the two Jedi: it was a large, shallow bowl of pale red clay, filled to the brim with polished river rocks. Obi-Wan had presented it to Qui-Gon as a birthday joke the year after the Jedi Master had given him his river rock, and after the laughter died down, they'd given it its place of honor.
It had been removed the day Obi-Wan had returned from Naboo, as he'd gone into a sort of cleaning daze, nearly tearing apart his late Master's room as he shoved fond memories into boxes and piled them in the darkest corner of the closet, trying desperately to forget everything.
The memories had hurt beyond anything Obi-Wan had been able to stand.
"Oh wow! You guys have an awesome kitchen! Do you think we could cook something later for evening meal? My mom was teaching me how to cook!"
Off to Obi-Wan's left sat the small kitchen, which was arranged in a stocky curve that opened towards the dining area. A bar designed for informal meals separated it from direct access from the entryway, and most of the curve was formed by countertops that stood over a multitude of cabinets and drawers. Overhead cabinets started along the wall parallel to the entry, leaving the bar with plenty of headroom, and they wrapped around the rest of the kitchen. They stopped once they reached the refrigeration unit, which stood on the boundary between the tile and the carpet, marking the end of the kitchen.
There was a large, double-basin sink that had a pile of clean dishes waiting patiently beside it in the drying rack, a small stove top that had a fan and lighting overhead, and an oven that Obi-Wan blinked at for a moment. He didn't recognize it until he realized that Anakin hadn't blown it up yet. Qui-Gon's set of professional cooking knives stood in between the sink and the stove, along with a full spice rack that Tahl had given him one birthday, and Obi-Wan shut his eyes briefly at the memories that flooded over him.
He couldn't begin to count the amount of cooking lessons he'd received, using practically every knife and spice present. Those too, had been put away, no matter how useful they'd been. Though Obi-Wan's skill in the kitchen had been made first-rate under Qui-Gon's tutelage, he couldn't bring himself to cook much after Naboo.
"Obi-Wan, these chairs are awesome! I've never seen ones that spin before!" Anakin exclaimed, breaking Obi-Wan's train of thought as he tested out the bar stools, twisting back and forth on them.
"Anakin, stop that before you break one."
"Aw! But it's fun! You should try it some time, Master!"
Obi-Wan snapped his gaze to something else so he could overcome the second horrible rush of nostalgia that filled him at the sight. His Anakin had done that too, usually when he was impatient for the morning meal Obi-Wan was making, and he never let any sort of admonishment stop him.
Obi-Wan's eyes fell on the large twin windows, each with their own cushioned window seat, which flanked the sliding transparisteel door of the balcony. It stood directly across from the entryway, flooding the common space with light, and he was forced to look away by a tightening in his throat. How many times had he and Qui-Gon or Anakin sat there, watching the sunrise or sunset, or marveling at the rain as it poured down around them? It had been his favorite retreat at times, to sit in the warmth of the sun and meditate, or to select a datapad from the multitude that stood on the shelving adjacent to the windows and read an afternoon away.
It was a mistake to come back here, even if he couldn't avoid it. This apartment held too many memories, too many ghosts that he hadn't properly put away, and he wasn't sure if he could stand to see it as he remembered, without the destruction Ana-Vader had wrought.
Of all the places in the Temple to destroy, the man had chosen this one. He had gutted the rooms, destroyed the furniture with such force they'd been unrecognizable, and shattered any memento he'd gotten his hands on. The river rock Qui-Gon had given Obi-Wan, which had been kept on Obi-Wan's desk, had been ground into the finest powder, along with any present Anakin had ever treasured.
Whether it had been done out of hatred for his former Master or simply in an attempt to rid himself of his last ties to the Jedi, Obi-Wan had no way of knowing.
"Padawan?"
He glanced up, realizing he'd been frozen in the doorway for some time, and tried to plaster a serene smile on his face for Qui-Gon.
"You've gone white as a sheet, Obi-Wan," the Jedi Master said, frowning at him in concern. "And your shields are up so high that I can't sense you. What's the matter?"
Were they, really?
Obi-Wan blinked when he realized that Qui-Gon was correct, and he strove to loosen them. "I'm sorry, Master. I was just thinking, and I didn't notice I'd pulled-"
The entry chime sounded, cutting him off, and he blinked a second time before moving to palm open the door.
"Padawan Kenobi," Mace Windu greeted warmly and Obi-Wan froze, his eyes going wide. Images of the security recording flashed to mind, when Mace had been tossed out the Chancellor's window, Sith lightning jolting through his body-
"Master Windu," Obi-Wan said, his voice barely making it above a whisper, and he coughed before bowing hastily. "Please come in."
"That's all right, padawan," the man said, and Obi-Wan could feel his scrutinizing gaze; Obi-Wan knew that his reaction to Mace's presence had made him curious. "I came to see if your Master was up for a small spar before your meeting with the Council."
"But if you're here now, Mace, why isn't the Council in session?" Qui-Gon said, stepping up beside Obi-Wan, who slid into the background. "I understood there was a reason why we couldn't be seen for five hours."
"We're waiting for several of the Masters to return from a mission," Mace said, and Obi-Wan could feel the Master's gaze following him as he tried to back away and locate Anakin, who had mysteriously vanished. "Would you like to spar or not? Your apprentice is welcome to join us, of course."
"He has another engagement I'm afraid," Qui-Gon said, glancing back at him. "But I will take you up on your offer."
Obi-Wan could sense the slight frustration that peaked in Qui-Gon; Obi-Wan had escaped close examination yet again.
"Excellent!" Mace was saying, grinning broadly, and the two Masters started to leave the apartment. Qui-Gon shot a look at Obi-Wan over his shoulder that clearly warned him that it wasn't over, but then the door slid shut between them and Obi-Wan felt someone tugging on his sleeve.
"Yes, Ani?" he asked, glancing down at the boy. "Would you like to get moving?"
"Well, yeah, but I wanted to ask if you built all those models," he said, his eyes wide, and Obi-Wan frowned a moment before he remembered. "They're really, really good, and if you did put them together…"
"Yes," he said, smiling when Anakin's eyes widened further. "I made most of them when I was about your age, and a few Qui-Gon helped me with once I moved in with him."
"Wizard," the boy whispered, and Obi-Wan laughed a little.
"Let me go get a few credit chips and then we'll head out for some sight seeing, all right?" he said, ruffling Anakin's hair as he steeled himself and stepped onto the carpet. He forced himself to concentrate on remembering where he kept the chips and to ignore any other memories that might otherwise pop up.
He drew a deep breath before palming open the door to his room, the one he'd kept after becoming Anakin's master despite the smaller size. He couldn't bring himself to move into Qui-Gon's old room, and even Anakin had been reluctant at first, sleeping on the couch for the first few nights instead of moving in properly.
It was the same as he remembered, with models hanging from the ceiling and the dresser that appeared to have thrown up all over the place. Qui-Gon had given up trying to get him to clean it every day, instead settling for once a week, with the promise that the mess never encroached upon any other area. The rest of the apartment was kept freakishly clean, a tradition Obi-Wan had grown so used to that he couldn't let it go even after Qui-Gon's death. After all, he could handle a disorganized room easily, seeing as how he used to live in one.
A filthy 'fresher, however, was a whole different story.
"I never thought you'd be a messy person, Obi-Wan," Anakin said as he stood in the doorway, watching the Jedi shift around under piles of clothes and dirty towels, throwing most of it on his sleep couch to get it out of the way.
"Even the most straight-forward of people have hidden sides," he replied absently, hunting through the stacks of flimsies and datapads on his desk. He realized several of them belonged to the Archive library and winced; they'd been overdue for a week now. Not that he'd been able to return them, as he'd been on a mission, but he still should've had the foresight to drop them off before he left.
"Anakin, could you take these for a minute? I need to return them before we can go out," he said, handing the boy an entire stack of datapads. What had he been doing? Researching something for a mission? Unfortunately, he couldn't remember, and he didn't have the time to scan through the datapads' entire contents to figure it out.
"Ah-ha!"
He'd found his pile of unused credit chips, saved up over the years as he'd had little use for the small monthly allowance the Temple afforded all Jedi. Even though Jedi weren't allowed possessions, they weren't so foolish as to forget that credits were an essential part of the galaxy. Obi-Wan had a sneaking suspicion that every time a Knight or a Master received some kind of thank-you present from a grateful society and was forced to turn it over to the Order, the object was surreptitiously sold to generate the credits that went into those monthly allowances.
"Now, Ani, would you like to eat first, or would you prefer to sight-see?" he asked as he tucked a few chips into the small pouch on his utility belt, and took the stack of datapads from the boy.
"How about we eat later? We did just eat on the ship, after all," Anakin said as they made their way out of the apartment. "I'd rather see as much of Coruscant as we can."
"All right," Obi-Wan said, and blinked a little when he felt Anakin grasp his free hand tightly. He glanced down at the boy for a second and found Anakin was trying to see everything, his head whipping left and right as they walked towards the banks of lifts.
"Then here's another decision for you: which would you rather see first, a technology exhibit at the Coruscant museum or a few historic buildings?"
Anakin seemed to pause a moment as he thought while they waited for a lift. "I dunno, you choose. I'd like to see everything, but…"
"We only have a few hours," he finished for the boy. A faint chime sounded and the door opened before them.
"Main floor, please," he said and the lift began to move, humming around them. Anakin gasped a little, clutching him with both hands, and Obi-Wan gave the boy a reassuring smile. It had taken his Anakin a while to get used to lifts as well.
"Is there anywhere that you absolutely must see?" he asked, trying to think of a way to divert Anakin's attention. It seemed to work, as the death grip loosened ever so slightly.
"The Senate building?" Anakin asked hopefully. "It and the Jedi Temple were the only two buildings anyone ever told me about, and since I've seen the Temple, that leaves the Senate. Padmé talked a lot about it, and I'd like to see it, if I could."
"We'll start with that one, then," he said, and another chime sounded when the lift slid to a halt.
"Main floor," a pleasant, feminine voice announced, and Anakin tugged Obi-Wan off the lift quickly.
"The Archive library is to the left, Ani," Obi-Wan said with a small smile, when it became clear that the boy wanted to get as far from the lifts as possible. Anakin slowed sheepishly, letting Obi-Wan take the lead, and soon they stood before the wide doorway that opened up to the expansive, shelf-lined main hallway of the Archives.
"Wizard," Anakin whispered as Obi-Wan tugged him onwards, heading towards the main desk.
A prim, aging female Jedi sat at an archive console, her white hair pulled up into a tight bun, which was secured with two black hair sticks. She finished scanning a hidden screen and turned back to the small group of Initiates, who were waiting in relative patience. Some looked like they wanted to be hopping from foot to foot and were clearly restraining themselves.
"I'm afraid that volume of the archives has been checked out by a Master on the Council, children," she said, her voice crisp with authority, yet still warm. "But there are other resources available to you, and if you are unable to locate any, please come back and see me."
Her gaze fell on Obi-Wan then, and she smiled. "Padawan Kenobi, good to see you," she said, and Obi-Wan ignored the whispers of surprise as the Initiates noticed him. "Are you in need of some assistance?"
"No, I just need to return these," he said, handing over the pile of datapads. "I'm afraid they're overdue."
She took them, smiling kindly. "We were informed of your mission's delayed status, so there is no penalty, padawan," she said as she took them. "Thank you for returning them so promptly."
He bowed politely in response and turned, tugging on Anakin's hand gently, and the two made there way towards the exit.
"Thank you for coming with me, Ani," he said once they were out of the archivist's hearing range.
"'Sall right," the boy said, slightly distracted as he continued to try and see everything around him. "It means I get to see more of the Temple, which is really cool."
"I'm glad you like it," he replied.
"Obi-Wan!"
He started at the female voice that rang out behind them, and he turned to see a very familiar Mon Calamari running towards them, waving and grinning broadly. Obi-Wan felt a powerful wave of relief fill him, feeling happier than he ever thought possible to see the Bant he remembered and not the one he'd left behind. She'd been drawn with exhaustion most of the time, hardened by the wars and the heavy losses of many of their close friends, and her skin had darkened to the color of a Mon Calamari twice her age.
She hadn't survived the attack on the Temple, and he'd barely recognized her corpse. From what he'd been able to ascertain, she'd been defending a group of younglings under her care, and Ana-Vader had…
Blinking back the tears that had formed and roughly pushing those memories away, helet go of Anakin when she neared so that he could return her familiar embrace, surprising himself with a happy laugh.
"Obi-Wan, it's good to see you! When'd you get back? I heard that you'd been attacked and then delayed!" Bant asked as he released her, his hand unconsciously returning to Anakin's as the boy stared at her with wide eyes.
"Just a little bit ago," he replied. "I haven't had time to send any messages."
"I wouldn't have gotten it anyway," she said, her gaze flicking to Anakin curiously. "I had morning shift at the Healers, and we had one of the worst waves of injured I've ever seen. So are you going to introduce me to your friend, Obi-Wan? Or are you going to make us stare at each other forever?" she teased, giving Anakin a conspiratorial smile, which he returned with a grin.
"Oh! Forgive me. Bant, meet Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, this is one of my best friends, Bant Eerin. She works at the Temple Healers, and has patched me up after more than one dreadful mission," he said as the two shook hands.
"I bet you want to know what I am, huh?" Bant said to Anakin, still smiling. "I'm a Mon Calamari. I was born on a planet that's mostly water."
"Really?" Anakin asked, his eyes going wide for the umpteenth time.
"Anakin is from a planet with very little water," Obi-Wan told her, and she blinked down at the boy in a vague imitation of shock.
Anakin nodded when he saw her expression. "Yeah," he said. "It's mostly sand and rock, and it's really hot."
"I can't even imagine such a place!" Bant exclaimed good-naturedly, clasping a flipper over her mouth. "You must be awfully strong to survive on a planet like that; I know I would die without the ability to go swimming every day!"
Anakin beamed at the compliment and Obi-Wan blinked at the mentioning of swimming. "Say, Bant," he began, and watched her gaze flick up to him. "What are you doing in about five hours?"
She gave him a look he knew from past experience meant she was suspicious. "I'm off-duty then. Why?"
"Well, I've been put in charge of looking after Anakin, but I've got a meeting with the Council in five hours," he began, feeling both Bant and Anakin watching him curiously. "And you know how those meetings are. It could go on for hours, if they really start questioning, and I don't want to leave Anakin sitting around with nothing to do. It wouldn't be fair."
Bant smiled, catching on. "I'll look after him during that time," she said, glancing back down to Anakin. "If that's all right with you?" she asked, addressing the boy, who nodded again. "Then I know just what we'll do, Anakin. Since you come from a desert, I bet you never learned to swim, did you?"
"Swim, as in, water-swim?" he said, his tone breathless, and Obi-Wan smiled; Bant had suggested the very thing he'd been hoping for. "No, no I didn't. There wasn't any water that I would dare use for anything but drinking."
"Well, since you're no longer on your planet, swimming is a skill that could very well save your life. You wouldn't want to go to, oh say, my planet, if you didn't know how to do so," she said, and Anakin nodded, suddenly looking eager.
"Then it's settled," Obi-Wan said. "Bant, we'll meet you in front of our apartment in five hours, and then you can take Anakin for some swimming lessons."
She smiled. "Glad to be of service, Obi-Wan. Now if you'll excuse me, my break is almost up, and I'll do you another favor and tell the others you're back, since I get the feeling you two are heading out for some sight-seeing. It was nice meeting you, Anakin, and Obi-Wan, be sure to tell Dex 'hi' for me, would you?"
Obi-Wan laughed and waved as she hurried towards the lifts. "Thank you, Bant! And I will!"
"Who's Dex, Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, looking up at him curiously.
Obi-Wan merely smiled down at him. "You'll see. Shall we try finding an air taxi?"
Qui-Gon sighed a little as he followed Mace down the hall towards the lifts. He'd meant to be meditating on the problem he kept having with Obi-Wan, but he'd never refused a spar with Mace before, and he didn't want to deal with his friend ribbing him over something so petty. His nerves had been fraying quickly these days, and with the shock he'd received on the way to the Temple, he doubted his ability not to snap at Mace, should the man start anything.
"I see what you meant in your message to Yoda," Mace said, and Qui-Gon blinked stupidly at him.
"What?"
Mace gave him a knowing smile as they reached the lift, the door opening instantly for them. "You didn't really think we'd have time for a sparring session, did you? Yoda sent me to collect you and to examine your padawan as best I could, considering the situation."
"What?" he asked again, feeling like a broken voice chip, and he watched Mace roll his eyes as they entered the lift.
"For Force sakes, man, do I have to spell it out for you?" Mace asked as the doors slid closed. "Main floor, by the way."
A chime sounded, and the lift began moving.
"Yoda showed me the message you sent him regarding your request to speak with him about Obi-Wan. You know, the one where you mentioned his collapse over a vision? Well, since we've got a bit of free time before our actual meeting with you, Yoda sent me to get you so we could discuss things in private."
"And you couldn't have said so earlier?" Qui-Gon snapped, earning a surprised look from Mace.
"You said 'off the record' in your message, Qui-Gon," Mace said, his tone turning serious. "And when Yoda told me to examine your padawan without letting him know I was doing so, I assumed it would be better if he didn't know you were being called to a private meeting about him."
Qui-Gon sighed, shutting his eyes. "Forgive me, Mace. But this whole thing has me on edge; I'd been planning to meditate on it, but I think talking to Master Yoda will help just as much."
He opened his eyes when the lift slowed and the doors opened to reveal the main hall of the temple.
"So did you find anything worth noting?" he asked as they made their way towards a smaller hallway and boarding another lift. "I'm curious to as what you gleaned, if anything."
"You sound like you already know the answer," Mace said and Qui-Gon gave a little shrug as the lift began moving upwards rapidly. "Well, if you were implying that I'd found nothing, then you were correct. You've taught your apprentice some of the strongest shields I've ever encountered. No normal probe, trying to go unnoticed, could've gotten through."
Qui-Gon smirked a little, his ears popping as they ascended one of the Temple spires. "And you know what the funny thing is? Those aren't even his best. He threw them up in under a second, and I've come to recognize them as his careless shields."
"What?"
He could feel Mace's incredulous stare burning into his profile, but he refused to meet the man's gaze.
"Qui-Gon, that's ridiculous. I know many Masters who can't shield like that, and a few of them are on the Council. It should be impossible for any padawan, even if he is practically ready to be knighted."
"Exactly, Mace; it should be impossible," Qui-Gon said, finally looking at his friend.
"And with that statement lies the problem, the very one I have been struggling with ever since I first noticed it," he continued as the lift slowed, his stomach flipping a little. "Do you see my dilemma?"
"You mean you didn't teach him how to shield like that?" Mace said, his voice dropping to a whisper, and his face knit into a worried frown. "But then… where else would he learn it?"
"Ah, Mace, Qui-Gon," a new voice croaked as the lift doors slid open. "Beginning to worry, I was."
"Master Yoda," Qui-Gon said, tearing his gaze from Mace so that he could bow, and the two men stepped from the lift. "I am grateful that you chose to see me so quickly upon receiving my message."
"Sensed its urgency, I did," Yoda said, smiling up at him. "Now come, come, talk we must, but away from here. To my meditation chambers, we shall go."
A few moments later and the three Jedi Masters were situating themselves on the cushions that lay strewn about the room. Qui-Gon looked around curiously for a moment. He'd never really been up to Yoda's private meditation chamber, as he'd always gone to Yoda's actual quarters, which were only a few floors away from his own. The afternoon sun filled the room with a warmth Qui-Gon found did little to lessen the coiling unease in the depths of his heart.
There was a sickening flash of grief along the bond, so deep that Qui-Gon found himself gasping, his body involuntarily jerking. His vision swam before him and suddenly he was in a hall he knew from the Healer's wing of the Temple…
Then there was a rush of happiness, and the sound of mixing laughter, and Qui-Gon slammed his shields up, blocking out the rest of the emotions that had come pouring through the bond.
"Qui-Gon?"
He looked up at Mace, who had touched his shoulder, the man's gaze heavy with concern, and then glanced at Master Yoda, whose green eyes held a scrutinizing gleam.
"Saw something, did you?" he asked, lacing his claw-like fingers together, and his ears lifted slightly, along with his bushy grey eyebrows. "From your padawan, I sense it was. Through the bond it came?"
Qui-Gon swallowed, but nodded. "This has happened a few times, when Obi-Wan's shields slip. Once I was in a jungle, leading troops to battle, and the second time I was in my quarters, which had been utterly destroyed. Just now, I was at the Healers, and I sense that someone was dead."
"Those don't make any sense," Mace said, frowning.
"If visions they are, then mere flashes they will be," Yoda said, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Begin at the beginning, you must, Qui-Gon. Sense a great shift in your padawan, I do."
"And you'd be right, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon said, sighing as he sat back, and he began tugging on his beard gently. "In the air taxi on our way here-"
"The beginning, I said," Yoda interrupted, quirking an eyebrow. "The beginning of your tale, that is not."
Qui-Gon sighed again. "Very well. It started about a week ago, when we were finally leaving Tatooine, the planet we were forced to land on. We'd barely made it off the surface when Obi-Wan collapsed and the bond went utterly silent, which was because of the shields that snapped up around him. I was able to break through them only once, during which I sensed great pain…"
He shut his eyes for a moment. "I felt like I was burning, from the inside out."
"You sensed Obi-Wan's pain?" Mace asked, and he nodded.
"I believe so. Wherever his consciousness was, he was suffering a great deal," Qui-Gon said and heard Yoda utter a soft 'hm'.
"Continue. Curious, this tale becomes."
"Obi-Wan finally fainted, but his shields remained in place, and I could do nothing but wait until he decided to wake, which wasn't for a few hours. When he finally woke, he reacted strangely. He didn't know where he was and he kept insisting I couldn't be Qui-Gon, because Qui-Gon was dead," he said, watching Mace raise his eyebrows and glance at Yoda, who looked at Qui-Gon intently. "He finally snapped out of it, coming back to himself, but he reacted with shock to everything and everyone around him, which I assumed was because of the depths of his vision."
"A distinct possibility," Yoda said. "Thrown him off-balance, it seems to have done."
"My thoughts exactly," Qui-Gon replied before continuing. "I decided to give him some time to sort out his feelings, to regain his footing, but the next morning when I went to wake him, I noticed a distinct change in him."
"What happened?" Mace asked, tilting his head to one side, and frowning.
Qui-Gon smirked a little. "At first I couldn't find him, because he'd moved his bed some time during the night, and then erected the strongest shield the Temple can teach."
Mace gasped loudly and Yoda seemed to blink in shock. "Kinas-shielding, you mean?" the old Master asked, his voice dropping in volume, and Qui-Gon nodded once, which made Mace shake his head.
"But it wasn't the same as I'd been taught. It didn't deteriorate when I found him, and it had been mixed with a Force-suggestion that came very close to convincing me there was nothing in front of me. If he hadn't moved slightly, I don't think I would've been able to ignore it," Qui-Gon said quietly, watching as Yoda's expression darkened.
"Impossible, that should be," he said.
"But there it was, staring me in the face," Qui-Gon said. "And when I nudged at his shields with a command of my own, I found myself on the floor with my own lightsaber held at my throat."
"Your own padawan attacked you?" Mace breathed. "How… how could that be? Why weren't you able to react?"
"Moved too quickly, he did," Yoda answered, still watching Qui-Gon.
"Yes. I had no warning from the Force, no sense of what was happening until it was too late, and when I reached for the bond to prove to him that I wasn't a threat, I received that first vision, the one about the jungle," he said, watching Mace sit back in astonishment. "He snapped out of it then, and I demanded that he share what he saw the day before, but he refused, asking for more time."
"And you gave it to him?" Mace interjected, looking scandalized. "Qui-Gon, what were you thinking?"
"Thinking of his padawan, he was," Yoda once again answered. "Fell back on the trust they share, he did, letting it guide his decision."
"Yes, and now I'm beginning to regret it," Qui-Gon grumbled, but Yoda shook his head gravely.
"Regret it you should not," he said, making Qui-Gon raise his eyebrows. "Had you forced through Obi-Wan's shields then, made things much worse, it would have."
Qui-Gon heaved a sigh and Yoda made a small gesture with his hand. "Continue, you must."
"Well, the rest of our return went smoothly, with no repeats of that first day," Qui-Gon said. "It was only when we landed did the problem resurface. Upon seeing the chancellor and Senator Palpatine, an anger unlike any I've ever sensed before raged through him. I was afraid he was going to actually attack them, but as quickly as it came, it vanished into the Force."
"A level of control you've not seen before, he showed?" Yoda asked, and Qui-Gon nodded.
"Part of me was pleased to see how well he controlled the emotion, but most of me was alarmed by its appearance in the first place," he said. "When I questioned him about it, he dodged the issue, telling me to study his Force-presence."
"What'd you find?" Mace asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Do you remember anything about Obi-Wan's presence from before we left?" he asked, earning a confused look from Mace, but a thoughtful one from Yoda.
"Great potential, it had," Yoda said. "Always growing, it was, and sensed he could become one of the greatest Knights in the Temple I did."
"And I think he has somehow managed to do just that," Qui-Gon said, sensing the surprise from both of the Masters. "If you want to know the real reason I haven't already found out about the vision that Obi-Wan had, it's because I don't think I'd be able to break through his shields. I barely managed to once, and I was thrown right back out the moment he realized I was there."
"You're kidding," Mace said, and Qui-Gon shook his head sadly.
"Somehow his skills have leapt far beyond mine, Mace," he said, turning back to Yoda. "When he told me to study his Force-presence, I thought he was just avoiding my questions, but what I felt should be impossible. He has the presence of a highly skilled Master, possibly equal to any on the Council."
"And you think that vision is responsible?" Mace asked, looking from Qui-Gon to Yoda. "Could something like that even happen?"
"Unheard of it is," Yoda said, his eyes still thoughtful. "But understand the ways of the Force fully, no one does. Possible, I sense that it is."
"Then what do I do, Master Yoda?" Qui-Gon asked, trying to keep the helplessness he felt from his tone. "I have nothing to teach him. In fact, from the abilities I've seen, he should be teaching me."
"Always learning, we are. Something more to teach him you have, or your padawan he would not be," Yoda replied. "Told you nothing of the vision, has he?"
"He's told me a little, but I don't think it was his intention," Qui-Gon said. "He's trying to keep as much of it from me as possible."
"What did you find out?" Mace asked, but Yoda silenced him with a wave of his hand.
"For us to know now, it is not," Yoda said and Qui-Gon started. "Sense, I do, that something very powerful, during the vision happened. More than a simple vision this seems, and wait we must for the proper time to ask young Kenobi to share."
"But how will I know when that time is?" Qui-Gon asked, feeling more than a little frustrated. "Even if he has somehow managed to become stronger than me, he is still my padawan, and I don't appreciate that he is keeping secrets from me."
"Patience," Yoda said, cracking a smile. "Know you will when the time comes."
Qui-Gon sat back, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. A typical Yoda response, one that never failed in frustrating him further.
"So what do we do until then?" Mace asked. "Do we bring this up in front of the Council?"
A flash of alarm flickered through Qui-Gon, which apparently Yoda shared, as he glanced at Mace sharply. "Demand, they would, for young Kenobi's shields to be broken. Cause more harm that would, than good."
"It would destroy his mind," Qui-Gon said, shaking his head, and Mace fell back, looking slightly chagrined.
"Yes," Yoda said with a nod, his expression once more grave. "Want that, we do not. Speak of this with the others, we cannot. Sense a gathering dark, I do, but a light remains, and inside your padawan, it is. The secrets young Kenobi guards may save us all, so protect him from further discovery we must."