Part II
When he awoke in the morning, Anakin was alone. Reaching out with the Force he couldn’t sense Obi-Wan anywhere in their quarters, or in the Jedi Temple itself. Through their training bond he could still feel his master's presence, though at a great distance. He was likely already nearing Ranth'fer.
Rolling onto his stomach, Anakin hugged Obi-Wan's pillow to him, inhaling his master's scent. He had no desire to get up yet. It was not very Jedi-like to sulk, but Anakin did not feel much like a Jedi at the moment. As long as he remained still and silent he could sense Obi-Wan more clearly.
He was a Jedi, though, and he had responsibilities that eventually drove him from the comfort of Obi-Wan's bed. He rolled off the mattress, landing crouched next to the bed. Stretching his arms over his head, Anakin rose up to his full height as he allowed the limbs to drop back down to his sides. It felt strange to be in Obi-Wan's room without the older man being there. He never would have considered entering his master's quarters unless Obi-Wan himself was in the room. The two men respected one another's privacy which Anakin was grateful for. As his master, Obi-Wan would have had every right to enter Anakin's room without permission.
As he brought a hand up to cover a yawn, Anakin noticed a datapad lying on the floor just in front of the door. Knowing that Obi-Wan would not leave one lying about, Anakin hurried over to see what message his master had left for him. It was a voice recording rather than the schedule Anakin had expected it to be.
**"I thought it would be best if I left before you awoke in order to us further arguments. The will of the Council is its own and I would not have you act against it. I am fully aware of the dangers on Ranth'fer and will not place myself in danger unnecessarily. On this you have my sworn word. Attend to your studies and do not fret overmuch. I will return as soon as I am able. May the Force be with you, Anakin."**
"And with you as well, my master," Anakin murmured once the recording had finished.
~*~*~
Obi-Wan relaxed when his shuttle set down on the desert landscape of Ranth'fer. There was still a great deal of danger involved in this mission, but Obi-Wan was simply relieved to once again be on solid ground. After giving instructions to his flight crew to wait for his return, Obi-Wan disembarked, heading directly to the nearby settlement. According to new intelligence, the Council had received the leaders of the Trade Federation and other separatist supporters had been meeting on the obscure planet. And while there had been no open conflict between the two factions, the Jedi Council was concerned nonetheless.
What had Obi-Wan the most concerned was that Anakin had not been permitted to accompany him on this mission. From what he understood it was the Senate that had thought it best to send a single Jedi rather than a master and padawan pair. The Council had agreed, deciding that subtlety was the best course. Obi-Wan had to trust that the Council was acting of its own accord and not merely following the directives of the Senate.
In the course of the past year Obi-Wan had made himself a very powerful enemy in the Senate. He was the one who had unmasked the Supreme Chancellor's intentions for Anakin. Palpatine would have made Anakin his unwitting spy. The boy could be far too trusting to those he believed his friends and Palpatine had made sure to gain Anakin's friendship long ago. The Chancellor had then used that bond to his advantage, coaxing information out of Anakin under the guise of friendship.
**"Palpatine is my friend, master. He would not ask me to betray the Order," Anakin insisted hotly, stalking about the common room of their quarters.
"Not outright, no," Obi-Wan conceded. "The Chancellor is a politician, though, and not all things that they do are meant to be obvious. At least not among the successful of their trade."**
It was Palpatine himself who had ultimately revealed his deceptions. The aging politician had been far too confident of his hold over Anakin and tried to turn him against Obi-Wan. Palpatine had claimed that Obi-Wan was holding him back from achieving his full potential so that he would not be outdone by a mere upstart of a boy. He then suggested that Anakin bring his case before the Council and request a new master.
**"Obi-Wan loves me."
"Obi-Wan uses you. You are the Chosen One, my dear boy, and his prestige is enhanced by his position as your master. It is a role that he fears to lose and so he keeps you bound to him as a padawan when you are clearly more powerful than any other Jedi on the Council. It is a conspiracy against you, Anakin," Palpatine attempted to convince the younger man.
"If you had any concept of the Jedi Code or Obi-Wan you would realize just how false that statement is. Obi-Wan treats me as an equal in almost all things."
"Almost," Palpatine stressed.
"I'm a student. There is much that I still need to learn and I would not choose to learn from anyone but Obi-Wan."**
Obi-Wan learned about this all afterwards, Anakin confessing it to him later that night. Anakin had been frantic, needing to prove to himself that Palpatine had been mistaken. That night had been the first in many years that Anakin had slept in Obi-Wan's bed, seeking comfort from his master in the wake of uneasy dreams. It was not in him to deny Anakin when the boy asked for so little.
Eager to return to Coruscant, Obi-Wan hurried towards the settlement. As it was nearing dusk it was safer to be within the settlement walls once the sun set. There was a sudden chill wind that slammed into Obi-Wan's face. He pulled the hood of his cloak down over his forehead and wrapped it more tightly around his body. There was something ominous about the wind; a foulness that seemed to surround Obi-Wan. It had no source that he could discern and that worried the Jedi most.
~*~*~
"It has been reported that Master Kenobi has reached Ranth'fer, my lord," Palpatine's secretary announced as he entered the Chancellor's office.
Palpatine looked up from his work, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "Very good. I trust that you have informed our contacts there."
"Yes, my lord. They are searching out Master Kenobi at this very instant."
~*~*~
"Uneasy, you are, young Skywalker."
Anakin turned away from the fountain, his fingers still dipped into the pool at the fountain's base. He didn't deny Yoda's claim, pursing his lips instead as he glanced down at the floor. He had come to the meditation room in hopes of clearing his mind enough to better focus on his bond with Obi-Wan.
"Worry for you master, you do."
"Why did the Council send him to the Ranth'fer system alone?" Anakin demanded of the minute Jedi master. "I should have been allowed to accompany him. That's the nature of a master/padawan relationship."
"Correct in this, you are. And you with Obi-Wan, we should have," Yoda admitted, taking hold of his walking stick with both hands and leaning his weight on it.
Rather than feeling relieved to have himself vindicated, Anakin only became more worried about his master. Someone had purposely made the decision to place Obi-Wan in danger. The Jedi Council had consented to place one of their own in a dangerous situation without any immediate support.
"Why wasn't I sent with him?"
"Order of the Senate, it was," Yoda informed the young man. "Less chance of discovery with only one Jedi, there is. Unfortunately, dangerous to the single Jedi."
Anakin shot to his feet, water from the fountain splashing against his leg. "The Senate ordered this? Since when does the Senate have such control over the Jedi?"
"Control yourself, young Skywalker, you must. To give into such anger is to give into the Dark Side. A danger this is, with power as great as yours," Yoda cautioned, stepping into the path of Anakin's restless pacing. "Be calm, center yourself. Fine Obi-Wan will be. Strong with the Force, he is. Worry not, return to us your master will."
While others may have been reassured by the Jedi Master's words, Anakin could find no comfort in them. They were only words. Hollow words at that because they would not protect Obi-Wan from the dangers that awaited him in the Outer Rim.
"If you will excuse me, Master, I have lessons to attend to," Anakin murmured, bowing to the smaller being.
"Attend to your lessons, you should. Expect it, Obi-Wan would."
A brief smile flickered across Anakin's lips at the truth of Yoda's words. Obi-Wan was a very strict taskmaster and would be upset if Anakin fell behind in his lessons. Already he could envision the lecture he would receive if he didn't follow the schedule his master had set up for him in his usual meticulous manner.
~*~*~
Obi-Wan strode through the merchant sector of the settlement in search of the one belonging to Shinda Ma'ha, a spice trader he had met on a previous visit to Ranth'fer. Shinda was quite adept at discovering what politicians and aristocrats would rather keep from the general public. Obi-Wan hoped that she would have the information that would save him much unnecessary time in the Ranth'fer system. Like many other systems in the Outer Rim, Ranth'fer was a haven for criminals and rather unsavory business practices.
"And here I was hoping that the Republic had forgotten about us."
Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks, a smile curving his lips. Rotating on his heel, he turned towards the blue-haired humanoid. What confused him was not that her hair was not deep shade of violet, but that she was holding a blaster aimed at his mid-section.
"I was not aware that we had parted on such poor terms," Obi-Wan mused, holding his hands at his sides so as not to provoke her. "I myself quite enjoyed our time together."
"You cost me a lot of customers," Shinda hissed, advancing a step towards the Jedi.
"Oh."
"I feel that it is only right that I return the favour," she informed him, her aim shifting upwards so that the blaster was now aimed roughly at Obi-Wan's forehead.
Obi-Wan smiled genially, his right hand twitching a fraction of an inch towards his lightsaber. "Unfortunately, in my line of work I am without customers. I merely aid those in need of my services. However, since there is no fee, I hardly think they count as customers."
The comment, and a second movement of his hand, caused Shinda to redirect her blaster once again. She fired that time, the bolt of energy striking Obi-Wan across the top of his hand. Forcing aside the pain, he reached quietly for his lightsaber which he had out and ignited a moment later. Obi-Wan blocked the two subsequent shots fired on him, the third catching him off guard as it was fired from behind him. Once again it was his right hand that bore the brunt of the energy blast, momentarily loosening his hold on his lightsaber. Obi-Wan tightened his grip reflexively and jumped upwards, landing on the roof of the stall behind him. From that position he was able to see the ones who were firing on him.
Unsure of what was going on, Obi-Wan was reluctant to mount any type of offensive. If it became necessary he would, but until then he would continue to block the blasts Shinda and her companion were firing at him. However, Shinda was smarter than he had given her credit for. Realizing that she couldn't get a clean shot at him, she shot out one of the stall's supports. Obi-Wan predicted her intentions in time, flipping up backwards to land on the edge of the roof behind him.
So intent on holding his balance on the slim ledge, Obi-Wan was not able to react in time as one bolt struck him in the left shoulder, throwing him off balance. A second grazed his hip and he started to fall. Whatever type of landing he made, Obi-Wan didn't know. Something impacted against his temple and his vision went black.