A guard across the room lowered his comlink slowly. "The arrest order has come through," he said. "I am to detain you, Lorian Nod, by order of Minister Ciran Ern."
The color slowly drained from Lorian's face. He tried to smile, but it looked as though it cost him a great deal of effort.
Looking at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, he shrugged. "How strange life is," he said. "The galaxy is so immense, but I can't get away from the Jedi.
They have destroyed my life once again."
Chapter 19
Lorian Nod was in prison, awaiting trial. Cilia was no longer an underground hero, but a public one, able to walk the streets with her husband. The Guardians had fallen into disarray and the minister had promised to disband them.
It was time for the Jedi to leave.
Qui-Gon waited at the landing platform with Obi-Wan. He remembered arriving on this planet while worrying about what was to come with his apprentice. It was true that he missed that pure trust, that lack of shadows between them. He had seen the flaws in Obi-Wan, and the flaws in himself. He had seen where their flaws could rub up against each other and create fissures in their relations, cracking them open like a groundquake could split the very core of a planet.
Yet there was something to be gained from that, Qui-Gon thought. Now their relationship could truly begin, for they had seen the worst of it and they had both decided that what they wanted, the most important thing, was to go on. There had been no betrayal. Qui-Gon knew Dooku was wrong — he was not alone.
"The idea to leave the audio feed open was a good one," he told Obi-Wan. "Lorian was trapped by his denials."
"I thought he might say something incriminating," Obi-Wan said.
"You ordered Stephin to do it," Qui-Gon said. "You did not check with me. You did not even look at me." "I am sorry, Master — "
"It was the right thing to do."
Qui-Gon saw the flash of pleasure in Obi-Wan's eyes. He is no longer afraid of displeasing me, Qui-Gon thought. Good.
"Shall we board?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Of course, Master." Obi-Wan paused and looked longingly at a food court. "But can we eat first?" He grinned. "I'm still thinking about that turnover."
Qui-Gon laughed. Yes, his Padawan was back. And the boy was back, too.
Now they could begin again.
He had not known the Jedi cruiser to Naboo was taking him on what would turn out to be his final mission with Qui-Gon. Yet they both had understood that the time was coming when Qui-Gon would recommend him for the trials. Obi-Wan knew he was ready, but he was not yet prepared to leave his Master. He was anxious to be independent, but he was reluctant to come out from the protection of his alliance with Qui-Gon. It was not apprehension that kept him there, but loyalty.
Friendship. Love. They had spoken more on that trip than they had ever spoken before. Qui-Gon had been in a rare talkative mood, and they had remembered old missions, old acquaintances. They had laughed over the exploits of Didi Oddo, the friend who was always in trouble. They had remembered the loyal brothers, Guerra and Paxxi, now heads of large families on their homeworld of Phindar.
From time to time a shadow would cross Qui-Gon's face and Obi-Wan knew he was thinking of Tahl, who he had loved. Tahl had been killed during a mission to New Apsolon despite their intense efforts to find and save her. The pilot dimmed the lights for sleep. Still Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did not move. They sat on their chairs, reluctant to move to the sleep area. A silence fell between them, as companionable as always. In the dark silence, Obi-Wan had asked the question that had been in his mind for months.
"Master, can you tell me something I am lacking? Something I cannot see that I need to work on?"
He could not see Qui-Gon's face clearly now. "Do you mean a flaw, Padawan?"
"Yes. You have told me that I worry too much, and I've tried to work on that."
"Ah. You mean you've worried about worrying too much?" Qui-Gon's voice was light. He was teasing him.
"I can be impatient with living beings, too. I know that. And sometimes, I'm a little too confident of my abilities, perhaps."
Now Qui-Gon's tone was serious. "These things are true, Obi-Wan, but they are not flaws. I have seen how hard you have worked. I've seen what you can accomplish."
"Then what is my flaw?" Obi-Wan asked.
There came a silence so long that Obi-Wan wondered if Qui-Gon had fallen asleep. Then his voice rose out of the darkness, soft and deep.
"You will be a great Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I know that with every breath, with every beat of my heart. You will make me proud I was there at your beginnings. If you do have a flaw, perhaps it is simply this: You wish to please me too much."
Twenty-three Years Later
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker
Chapter 20
Obi-Wan had never understood the meaning of Qui-Gon's words. He had meant to ask him after the mission was over. He had puzzled over the words, forgotten them, remembered them again, pushed them away only to have them reappear in his mind.
And now, they haunted him.
The Clone Wars had begun. The galaxy had fractured and the Republic was threatening to split apart. They had discovered that the former Jedi, Count Dooku, was leading the Separatists. Many Jedi had lost their lives on Geonosis six months earlier. The tragedy of that battle infused the Temple, made every Jedi walk with a heavy step. Their vision had been clouded for so long. They realized this, yet their vision did not clear. It was as though a dark curtain was draped over the Temple.
And something had changed within Anakin Skywalker. Something that made Obi-Wan uneasy. And now a worry had been pushed to the forefront of his mind — had his love for Qui-Gon blinded him to the faults in Anakin for too long?
The uneasiness he felt about Anakin, the sense of dull dread that had the power to wake him up from a deep sleep, now had a partner: the conviction that it was too late to do anything about it.
His Master could not have foreseen all that had taken place. Yet he had placed a sure finger on the spot that was most vulnerable in Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had opened his heart to Anakin because of Qui-Gon's belief that Anakin was the chosen one. Had he tried too hard? Had he overlooked what he should not have overlooked?
Love had never blinded Qui-Gon. But it has blinded me.