Obi-Wan looked tired, but happy as he brought the ship down on the landing pad high above the gray city of Coruscant. There were already two shuttles at each end waiting to take them to their destinations. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would return to the Jedi Temple while Menalu and his cabinet would travel to meet with representatives from the Senate. The Yebbi refugees would remain on board while arrangements were made and to be taken to the shelters when they were ready.
Obi-Wan could see several men dressed in blue standing on the large waiting to welcome Menalu and the Yebbi delegation to Coruscant. Menalu was still dressed in his worn gray uniform when he disembarked. There had been no time for any of them to change as they dealt en route with preparations for their arrival on Coruscant. Qui-Gon had been right; the additional refugees complicated things immensely, however Menalu was glad he had brought them. Even now, when he thought of the thousands of monks killed when the great temple at Es-Speeth was bombed, he imagined that their blood was on his hands.
Stepping onto the strange floating platform was like an assault on the senses for Menalu. The sounds of so many travelling vehicles and so many people were like a cacophony pounding his ears relentlessly. The smell of exhaust and dust and humanity was almost over powering. And what had looked like a glistening jewel from space consisted in reality of endless gray corridors stretching on forever. Menalu held his head up and tried to be brave, but his knees turned to jelly and before he knew what was happening he was on his knees covering his head with his hands. He felt so out of place on this strange world in these strange clothes. This couldn't be Coruscant. They hadn't traveled so far only to come to this horrible place. He couldn't live here.
There was rustling all around him and the worried voices of monks. Someone knelt beside him and though Menalu kept his eyes shut tightly, he knew it was Obi-Wan. Menalu waited for Obi-Wan to say something and when he didn't, he opened one eye and peeked through his fingers and found himself looking directly into Obi-Wan's eyes. For a moment it was all he could concentrate on. Obi-Wan had blue eyes. Menalu had never seen blue eyes before the Jedi had come to Rengaia. Everybody on Yebbis-Corta had dark brown or black eyes. He wondered what other color eyes he would see on Coruscant.
"It's like coming to Es-Speeth for the first time." Obi-Wan said. "The traffic is like the horns and the drums. It sounds like just noise at first, but it's not and it changes throughout the day. In the morning there are more small vehicles making deliveries so they're higher pitched and they stop and go more. And in the evening there are more large shuttles, taking people from place to place. They don't stop as much and since they have larger engines, make a deeper noise. In the afternoon, most people are busy and there is less traffic, but lots of different types of vehicles so it's more varied. What time do you think it is?"
Menalu blinked back tears and kept his eyes closed. He listened. He imagined the sound of the many shuttles and speeders was instead the buzzing of great insects all going about their insect lives. He thought of the tiny beetles that buzzed amongst the flowers in the temple gardens gathering nectar and pollen, stopping at one flower and then going on the next. Stopping and going. "It's morning." Menalu whispered.
"That's right. And on the platform there's dust. We'll step on it and make footprints. And then later, someone else will land here and they'll cover our footprints with theirs." He remembered what Qui-Gon had said to him when they walked across the sand mandalas, "Nothing is permanent here."
Menalu opened his eyes and raised his head enough to take a lot at the floor of the platform. Obi-Wan was right. There was a lot of dust settled on it. And in the dust he could see a myriad of prints. The sandals of some of the monks that had stepped off the shuttle to look at Coruscant made soft scuffs. Mixed in were the prints of what must have been Qui-Gon's boots because they were much larger and deeper. He sat up higher and looked at the worried faces around him. Obi-Wan, who had had his face pressed to the platform floor so he could look his friend in the eye also sat up.
"You just have to see the small things first." Obi-Wan said. He stood up and held out his hand. Menalu took it and was helped to his feet. He wiped his eyes and put his cap back on his head.
"Are you ready, Your High Holiness?" he heard Qui-Gon ask. Menalu shut his eyes once more and concentrated on composure and strength. He couldn't let himself fall apart like this. He had to be strong not only for himself, but for his people. He thought of the thousands still left on Yebbis-Corta; the ones who trusted him to lead them to a better life. And he thought of those who had come with him and escaped the chaos of their planet. All of them needed him.
"I am ready." He said when he felt he meant it. The representative from the Senate bowed before him.
"This way Your High Holiness. It is our honor." He gestured to the larger of the two shuttles. And surrounded by his cabinet, Menalu walked slowly to the shuttle. Before he boarded he turned took a last glance at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan standing side by side. Obi-Wan waved and he waved back and then stepped through the hatch to the start of his new life.
* * *
Obi-Wan had expected the temple to feel like home and was surprised by how strange it was. He was staying in the knights quarters with Qui-Gon and the quiet was unnerving. Even their minds, which Obi-Wan could feel through the force, were so quiet, so orderly. Though studying to be a Jedi was supposed to be a most serious activity, the lower floors where he had grown up surrounded by the other young pupils had been anything but serene. With everyone so untrained in the ways of the force, there had been messiness to it; the place had been filled with noise and activity; he had been so accustomed to it that he hadn't realized until now that he associated it with being in the temple. Here there was none of that familiarity, only a sterility and silence that seemed foreign to him.
Qui-Gon was elsewhere in the temple, no doubt meeting with the other masters and perhaps even reporting on his padawan's performance over the last few months. Obi-Wan wandered the halls feeling a little lonely. He had gotten used to having Qui-Gon to himself and it was strange having to share him. And even though Qui-Gon had always called it training, Obi-Wan missed the games they'd played during the down time on the ships as they traveled. He wouldn't have minded even Qui-Gon's horrible tickling trick right about now.
He found himself on the lower floors. It was strange to return after such a long absence. It seemed smaller somehow and the children who studied there seemed younger. Standing in front of his old room he hesitated. It wasn't his anymore. He wanted to knock, but he suddenly realized there was no reason to. It was someone else's room, with someone else's things inside. Why should he bother them? He was about to turn away when the door opened and a boy of about 11 stepped out.
"Can I help you?" He asked. He looked so bright and hopeful in the simple temple clothes that Obi-Wan had grown up wearing. It made him think about the years he'd spent here. How carefree they had been and he hadn't even realized it.
"No. I, I used to live here, that's all." Obi-Wan said.
"Oh," the boy shifted on his feet for a moment looking Obi-Wan up and down. His eyes rested on his braid with a flicker of envy. "Well, I gotta go." He said. "I'm late." And then he turned and ran down the hallway. Obi-Wan began walking in the same direction only slower, taking it all in. He passed the classrooms, the library, and the star map room and then lingered for awhile in the gardens. He'd always been indifferent about the temple garden with it's many plants and waterfalls, but now he found it relaxing. Perhaps Qui-Gon and all of his lecturing about the living force was getting to him after all. He lay against the rocks and shut his eyes and listened to the water and soon found that he was dreaming, pushing leaves out of the way and then seeing endless blue sky.
* * *
Menalu had never really felt like an adult before. Or at least, not like he did now. There had been times when he had met with his cabinet and struggled to grasp the meaning behind their discussions of land rights and laws of the land, but he had only been an observer. And when he studied the scriptures with his tutors and discussed the deeper meanings behind the word, he felt like he was getting a glimpse of his life to come. But now he had been thrown headfirst into the pool and he wasn't sure if he could really swim or if he had only dreamed he could.
In the days following their escape from Yebbis-Corta he'd been busier than he'd ever been in his life. Though the cabinet was patient with him, he was at fourteen, struggling with the duties of leadership normally reserved for the Divine Prince's 18th year. The progression followed by his predecessors had been enthronement at 16 and full capacity as leader at 18. But with Dash-te Dey remaining on Yebbis-Corta and with the current state of affairs the way they were, he had been compelled to take on his full duties even before his enthronement.
And the issues were complex. First, he needed to prepare homes and find meaningful work for the refugee families that had come to Coruscant. He also needed to provide a monastery for the monks who had come. And then once he had established a working government in exile on Coruscant, he needed to worry about the specifics of their problems at home. He did not yet understand the motives behind Astrid Stovall. She was fanatical to her cause, but why? He had much work to do there. And what of this General Ruusk who had lead such ruthless attacks on the capital city? Menalu feared him and yet had never seen him or spoken to him. Finding ways to protect his people from attack was his first priority, but how could he do so and leave their spiritually intact. Surely protection from General Ruusk meant counter-offensive, but how could he order such a thing. Many lives would be lost on both sides. It was very tricky indeed and he would need to work with the senate to consider all the sides and options.
As if the pressing issues weren't enough there was also the subject of the future growth of the Yebbi. Even before the civil war broke out he saw the need for change. His people had become too set in their ways. The bickering that had undermined the harmony of the monastic orders over force sensitivity needed to be brought into the open once and for all. To that end he planned on meeting the Jedi Council to talk about their futures. They could learn from one another.
Finally there was the subject of his enthronement. A date had been set for the ceremony. Besides being the youngest, he would be the first Divine Prince of Enlightenment to be enthroned outside of Rengaia. To this end he had invited Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They would be the first non-Yebbi to view the ceremony. And yet he felt a pang of guilt when he saw that the trunks containing the ceremonial regalia that he was to wear had somehow made it all this way when there were people still suffering on his planet.
* * *
Walking through the familiar halls with Mace Windu, Qui-Gon mused about how he should report on Obi-Wan's performance. He had survived despite the odds against it and that was something. And he had also succeeded in the goal of protecting the Divine Prince. And yet the operation had been anything but smooth.
Qui-Gon had realized long ago that all students had their way of doing things and no matter how much you trained them, that way, whatever it was, remained a part of their actions for the rest of their lives. Perhaps this was Obi-Wan's way, to come rushing in at the last minute beyond everyone's expectations of his training and abilities. It was hard to imagine how he'd survived in the forest without food or water for so long. He had overcome the hurdles the forest had put before him. Perhaps it would be his way to appear to fail and yet in the end succeed beyond measure.
Qui-Gon told Mace Windu everything. At first he concentrated on his duties as a teacher and they discussed Obi-Wan. And then the conversation turned to the Yebbi. The news that it was this culture from which the Jedi had formed was very important. The council had already agreed to meet with the Yebbi regularly to discuss the subject.
Finally the subject turned to Mace Windu's family.
"It was a shock when I realized who Dash-te Dey was." Mace said. "Very few human Jedi meet their families or even know of their origins."
"Yes, I have wondered on occasion." Qui-Gon said.
"I think we all have." Mace turned away. "And now I know."
"Have you met Sheniko yet? Your mother?"
"No. I have not."
"She's a strong woman and very brave. I'm sorry that Dash-te Dey could not come. He would have been a very powerful Jedi had been born into a different life." Qui-Gon said.
"Perhaps. But perhaps not." Mace Windu sighed. It was such a difficult thing to see.
"That is why you sent me isn't it? It wasn't because Obi-Wan and I were close to the planet. You diverted us on purpose."
"That much is true. I may disagree with you at times, but you often show wisdom and compassion where no one else would. I knew that if I sent you, you would follow your heart and do what is right; not what the code tells you is right."
Qui-Gon laughed. "You sent us because in the end you knew I would choose to bring several hundred refugees to Coruscant at the request of two boys."
"No Qui-Gon Jinn, I sent you because I know you would recognize their importance when no one else would. The universe is better with them in it. The council may not always agree with you, but never forget that you are a good man. That is more important than being a good Jedi."
Qui-Gon bowed. "Thank you, my Master."
* * *
The Jedi had agreed to allow the Yebbi the use of one of their halls for the ceremony and so only a few hours before, Menalu found himself pacing a small room wearing his stiff ceremonial robes. He was nervous, though he wasn't sure why. He'd been required to fast for a day, but he didn't think that that was the reason for the butterflies in his chest. Perhaps it was because of the finality of the act. After tonight he could no longer be a boy.
As he took another lap up the hallway and back Sheniko followed him like a worried hen. "Please rest." She implored. He thought of the night on rooftop, and how he'd fought for their freedom in earnest. Part of him wanted to go back there with more people who were better trained and put an end to this destruction of his people on Yebbis-Corta. And there was another part of him that still struggled to understand what had happened, what he had so briefly become. "Your High Holiness, please sit down." Sheniko said.
Menalu turned around. "Why? I'll be sitting for hours." He said petulantly. Sheniko gave him a look and he found a seat as quickly as possible and sat down. The stiff scratchy fabric was annoying and he fidgeted until he couldn't stand it anymore and popped back up to resume pacing. He was glad to see Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon arrive. He quit his circling and ran to embrace Obi-Wan and then Qui-Gon.
Menalu had met with the council for the second time earlier that day and told Qui-Gon of the progress they'd made. There would be a regular exchange of information between the Jedi and the Yebbi. In particular, the older force sensitive monks would be allowed to learn some of the Jedi meditation techniques if they were interested. At Qui-Gon's request, Sheniko would meet with the Jedi healers and impart some of the Yebbi teachings to them. And more importantly, Yebbi children born on Coruscant who displayed force sensitivity could become Jedi if their parents so choose.
He was pleased with the Jedi's interest in his people and hoped an alliance might form. He knew they would never be rejoined, but an open communication would be a start.
"How do you like it here now?" Obi-Wan asked.
It was a hard question to answer. Menalu was grateful for the help of the Jedi and the Senate. They'd done so much for them and yet he still found Coruscant a little bit frightening. The billions of inhabitants from so many far off planets and the constant crisscrossing river of vehicles all in motion all the time. The sights, the sounds, and the smells were all so different from home. He didn't think he'd ever become accustomed to them.
And yet he didn't want to complain. The large apartment complex that had been provided for him and the refugees was spacious and though a little run down, was more than adequate. But he couldn't deny that he felt the pull of his homeland. The constant distraction of noise and activity made meditation and study difficult for him. Indeed all the monks had complained of similar problems. And he couldn't get used to the homogeneity of the place. All his life he had looked out from high rocky peaks down onto endless green canopies of trees. And while the endless gray grid of buildings was similar in visual effect, it lacked the life and spontaneity of the jungles below Es-Speeth.
He'd felt the best he had since arriving on Coruscant in the relative calm of the Jedi Temple. He wondered if Obi-Wan, coming to his temple after such a long journey had felt the same way. He tried to answer Obi-Wan's question and instead he felt hot tears running down his cheeks.
"I miss my home." Menalu said at last. He didn't try to wipe the tears that dripped onto his robes, the salt water spreading darkly on the embroidery.
Obi-Wan sat down beside him. "It's okay." He said, "I missed this place when I first left it. You'll get used it."
Menalu bit his lower lip. "But I don't want to get used to it." He cried. "If I get used to it then Yebbis-Corta is lost forever." He buried his face in his hands for a moment, unable to continue. When he was composed, he looked at Qui-Gon. "There's so much to do." He said, "I can't even imagine it sometimes. My people need a secular leader now, not a monk. I only know how to be a monk."
"With your compassion and spirit, you'll become the leader your people need." Qui-Gon said.
Menalu was silent. Maybe Qui-Gon was right. Then Obi-Wan spoke up, "I finally figured out your mantra." He said.
"Which mantra?"
"The one from the forest. 'We entrust the spirit to the love advocated.' I figured it out. It means 'Have Faith'."
Through the tears Menalu felt himself suddenly smiling. "Yes, Obi-Wan." He said, impressed, "That is exactly what it means. And it is a good mantra for me here. I will have faith Obi-Wan."
* * *
The enthronement ceremony was long, but Obi-Wan had no trouble staying awake. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. The Yebbi custom of intricacy and impermanence in all things was represented in nearly every movement and word. The air was filled with incense and the light of oil lamps. All around them great horns played and drums of metal and skin clashed. What had sounded like a cacophony to Obi-Wan the first time he heard it entering Es-Speeth was finally beginning to sound like real music. He decided he liked the Yebbi music, once he'd gotten used to it.
Lying face down with his arms stretched over his head on a mandala of intricately poured sand in the pattern of the many eyed protector of the Divine Prince, Menalu tried to clear his mind of the future and think only of now. He felt the monks of the cabinet sweeping the sand away from him so that only the sand underneath his body remained. Once the sweeping was over, the monks put their hands under him and carefully lifted him from the sand. He opened his eyes and saw his own silhouette now made in the smudged remains of the mandala.
This was the final stage of the ceremony and when the monks were done brushing off the sand that stuck to him, Menalu was lifted on a high platform and a large headdress was placed on his head. He waited there while the sand remains were swept up and placed into a wooden box and sealed with wax. Then the monk leading the ceremony turned to the assembly.
"The undisputed leader of Rengaia, the 111th Divine Prince of Enlightenment has come of age." He said.
The group stood and then in unison dropped to the floor in supplication. As Obi-Wan picked himself off the floor and prepared to drop down again, he caught Menalu's eye and saw him wink. Obi-Wan was proud of his friend, but also knew that this was the beginning of a difficult time for him. At the same time it also made him think of the day when knighthood would be conferred upon him. He tried to picture it, after the trials, with Qui-Gon at his side, but he couldn't; it was too far in the future.
When Obi-Wan stood up again, the ceremony was over and the monks were filing out of the room, rolling up a silk sash on the ground slowly after Menalu as he lead the procession out of the hall.
Menalu didn't bother to change into his informal robes before he performed his first official duty as his people's sovereign. He dissolved the regency and chose two Prime Ministers. The first was Sheniko, newly reinstated as a monk and called again by her true name, Dorjing Morgay. The second was Yoshang Rinoché, the youngest and most outspoken member of his cabinet. Together the three of them would form the center of the new Rengaian government in exile.
* * *
With the ceremony over, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stood over looking the city as the setting sun glinted off the windows and stained the gray walls red.
"It will not be easy for him." Qui-Gon said. "The situation on Yebbis-Corta is complicated. It will take a lot of strength to solve."
"He's strong." Obi-Wan said.
Qui-Gon smiled. "You would know." He said.
"He saved my life." Obi-Wan said. "I don't know how he did it. But, he used the force and then I could move again."
"Sheniko wondered how you climbed the rock." Qui-Gon said.
"That was how."
"Do you remember when I first brought you into the sick bay?"
"Yes."
"Sheniko whispered something to you."
"It was a deal she made with me. I said the Divine Prince's real name aloud. It is forbidden and is punishable by death. Lying to the Divine Prince is also punishable by death. She agreed to spare my life if I promised not to die because were I to die, she would be forced to lie to the Divine Prince about my death and thus face execution. I didn't want to die and so I agreed."
"A wise choice." Qui-Gon said.
"I thought so."
"And now?"
"What do you mean?"
"These last few months, I've felt that you've had doubts."
"I have Master."
"There is no shame in leaving. This life is not for everyone."
"I know Master. I had doubts, but I don't now. I will be a Jedi. It's what I want more than anything."
"Good." Qui-Gon said, "I would miss having you as my Padawan."
"Even though I made a mess of everything? I almost lost the Divine Prince in the woods and then I was careless and almost got us both killed."
"You know Obi-Wan, sometimes our greatest accomplishments start out looking like failures. And there are times where we might not attain our goal and still succeed."
"How could that be?"
"Well think about it. You may have gotten lost, but you survived in the Jungle for two days. And you may gotten careless when you went looking for the shuttle, but you lived through a very serious illness that could have easily killed you. I don't know of many apprentices your age that would have survived such an ordeal. You surprised all of us Obi-Wan and I'm proud of you."
Obi-Wan had been looking out across the endless cityscape as the red reflection darkened to a deep bronze. With the city's details hidden in the deepening shadow, it wasn't hard to imagine it was an infinite mountain range stretching forever to the horizon. Obi-Wan looked away now and turned to face his Master beaming.
"You've done well." Qui-Gon said as though to confirm his feelings.
The door to the hall where the ceremony had taken place swung open and Menalu stepped out. Obi-Wan noticed that though his new Prime Minister Yoshang Rinoché walked at his side, Sheniko was nowhere to be seen.
"I wanted to say goodbye." Menalu said. "And thank you. You may have saved my people. You will not be forgotten by us."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing.
"And to you Obi-Wan. It was a hard journey, but we are better because we survived it are we not?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "I suppose we are." He said.
"My people will always remember the Jedi who helped us, but I will always remember you Obi-Wan, as a friend." Menalu took Obi-Wan's hands in his own and bowed low, pressing his forehead against Obi-Wan's hands. "You have my respect always." He said.
"And you mine."
The four of them stood together and looked out as the last light of the setting sun diminished behind the silhouettes of buildings bringing with it a curtain of night sky. For a moment even the constant rushing of the transports above and below seemed to fade into the background. And in that instant of complete serenity, for the first time in so many days, they were at peace.
* * *
On a balcony below Mace Windu stood alone. He heard the rustle of cloth and
turned from the spectacle of the Coruscant sunset to see Sheniko standing
behind him. He held out his hand to her and for the first time since he was
an infant, felt the embrace of his mother.
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