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Title: "Shadow & Light" by Quiller
Rating: PG-13, some graphic description
Disclaimer: I am only dipping my pen in George's inkwell. No credits, Republic or otherwise, have been exchanged.
Description: Obi-Wan and Anakin are on a collision course. Only one will walk away.
"Are you sure you know what to do?" Obi-Wan asked.
The battle-hardened commander of Omega Squadron glared at the Jedi for a micron. "If the monitor flat-lines, I get our butts out of there faster than a Hutt can toss a bowl of kot-grubs down his gullet."
Obi-Wan swallowed a grimace. "Crudely, but ... effectively put, Major Rusk."
An eyebrow, cut in half by a scar that ran up into the major's hairline, arched, as a smile tugged at one corner of Rusk's mouth. Obi-Wan returned his attention to the life-systems monitor. He sensed the major's gaze tracking his fingers' movements. One more adjustment. A heartbeat sounded, strong and sure, over the thrum of the hyperspace engines. Obi-Wan brushed the sensors attached to his bare chest and nodded to himself. He met the major's quizzical gaze.
"Tell me, General," Rusk drawled nonchalantly, "do you know what you are doing?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan exhaled slowly. "I'm heading planet-side to pay someone a visit."
"While your body stays here."
Avoiding the major's hard stare, Obi-Wan shrugged. "Basically."
"Just like that." Rusk reclined in his chair. "Simple."
The Jedi's gaze snapped up. "There's nothing simple about it, Rusk. Do you think I'd use operatives to gather intelligence if this was simple?"
"Point taken. Can all Jedi do this?"
Obi-Wan hesitated as he rubbed his beard. "No. Very few, actually."
Rusk squinted as he leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Can you?"
"Would I be risking this if I couldn't?"
"No offense, General. But last time I saved your hide from Imperials, it was to watch your ship blow up. This seems a whole lot riskier than chasing Imps. I sure don't want to have to report your death, a second time, to General Organa."
"But I'm not dead, am I?" Obi-Wan attempted to soften the stony glare with a reassuring smile. "I've been practising this discipline for some time, Major. I just don't know how long I can sustain it, especially over the distance involved. How much time can you give me?"
Rusk's bronze face darkened. "We're talking Coruscant, General. I'm not sure. Thirty minutes will be a miracle. I should be able to manage twenty, for sure. Having that pirated cruiser ID should help. Word in the trade is, Kuat ships don't get scrutinized too close."
"The trade." Obi-Wan's expression turned wry. "Just who do you hang with during downtimes, Rusk?"
"A couple of smugglers that look pretty tame next to your bunch, sir. Not that I've seen 'em lately. Downtimes seem to be coming fewer and farther between."
Obi-Wan nodded. "The way I figure it, your next leave should coincide with the sighting of the Bakura comet in the skies of Dantooine."
"Didn't know it swung that far."
The Jedi cocked an eyebrow.
Rusk's gaze narrowed. "Right," he muttered. The hyperspace buzzer sounded from the cockpit. The major pushed himself to his feet. "Pleasure cruise is over, General." As Obi-Wan lay back on the bunk and clasped his hands over his stomach, Rusk paused by the cockpit door and looked over his shoulder. "So if the monitor goes off, you're not dead, right?"
Suddenly needing reassurance, Obi-Wan ran his finger along the lightsaber on the shelf near his head and nodded. "I'll just be ..."
"... in need of repairs."
"Right," Obi-Wan whispered.
A misty rain obscured the sea of lights beyond the balcony, and muffled the hum and whir of constant movement. Anakin leaned on the balustrade of his balcony and let the damp fog soak his clothing and condense along his hairline to run in rivulets down his face. What was it about this place that felt so right? Maybe it was the rain. And even that was artificially induced. The real Coruscant had long ago disappeared beneath layers of buildings and machines, so thick that the identity of the planet was completely concealed. Strip Coruscant of those centuries of technology and it would be dead, so irrevocable was the transformation. Anakin closed his eyes and lifted his face to the drizzle that, after fourteen years, was still a balm to a soul branded by the deserts of Tatooine.
As he released all thought and focused on the droplets caressing his skin, a ripple in the Force brushed his mind, whisper soft. The sense of a presence, warm, vague, yet so familiar ...
"Master?" Anakin whispered, sweeping the rain from his face. He froze as full realization crashed over him, shards of ice driving back the touch of warmth. He spun and stalked to the glass door, halting, sensing the intruder's whereabouts before his eyes had adjusted to the low light. He snarled, "Kenobi."
Obi-Wan stood beside his desk, fingers tracing a glow globe that hovered close to the obsidian desktop. He turned shadowed eyes to Anakin, apparently content to undergo harsh scrutiny. He was clad in nut brown tunic and leggings, with dark boots; no weapon that Anakin could see. Anakin stepped through the doorway, hand automatically reaching for his own lightsaber even as he realized it lay on his bed in the next room. He clenched his fist.
Still, Obi-Wan didn't move. Anakin frowned, his gaze drawn again to the Jedi's raised hand. The light almost seemed to penetrate the fingers, as if they were, somehow, translucent. Puzzled, he took another step forward.
"Are you a ghost?" Anakin asked.
Amusement flitted across the apparition's face. "No. I'm not dead, though, Force knows, you came all too close to killing me at Dakshee."
"I knew you had survived, but the Emperor called me away before I could find you." Anakin crossed his arms. "So you dare to appear before me through the Force, but not in the flesh. You are a coward, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"I have sufficient courage, Anakin. But, I'm not fool enough to walk into the draigon's lair."
"The draigon is away, though I'm sure you knew that. So what's to fear? Me? The -- what was it you called me? -- the trained pet, jumping to do his new master's bidding? But you were the one who trained me. Surely you aren't afraid of my bite?"
"That is exactly why I came to you this way. I have no wish to fight you. And, yes, I am afraid -- for you. For this path you've chosen."
The gall of the man stunned Anakin. "You think to turn me from my destiny, back to your insipid path of light, with a few weak and empty words? You don't really care for me. You are concerned for the reputation of the great Jedi warrior, Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's all this has ever been about. You don't want to admit to your own failure. Qui-Gon gave you the task of training the Chosen One, and you failed."
With a sigh, Obi-Wan glided to the mantle behind the desk. "There is truth to your words, Padawan ..."
"Don't call me that." Anakin worked his jaw, forcing his anger to remain in check.
Obi-Wan regarded him for a moment, then inclined his head. "When Palpatine declared himself Emperor, I wanted to rush to confront you. I wanted to teach you a lesson you would not forget. Perhaps the ... vanity you speak of, is what drove me. But the Force had a lesson to teach me before I was ready to face you."
"And I'm sure you are chaffing to share that wisdom."
A sad smile touched the Jedi's lips. "It's wisdom you already know, Anakin. But wisdom is useless until we take it into our hearts and make it a part of us." Obi-Wan paused. "You were even worse than I was for wanting to know the 'why' of things. There had to be a reason for everything. But there isn't, you know."
"That's your gem of wisdom? Fine. You've told me. Now go."
"Anakin. Some things just happen. We have to learn to let go. To trust in the Force."
"Did you just let go when Qui-Gon was killed?"
"No. Not for a very long time. But you don't have to repeat my mistakes. Life is about choices. You can let go of your hate. You can return to the light. Where there is life, there is hope."
"Keep your pathetic truisms to yourself, Kenobi." Anakin began to pace. Anger, icy white, frosted the edges of his mind. The man who had betrayed him, again and again, had the effrontery to speak of 'letting go'? Was this some shallow attempt at reconciliation? Absolution? Nothing could absolve Kenobi of his guilt. Nothing. His final betrayal had sealed his fate. Even death could not cleanse his soul.
A sharp gasp drew Anakin's attention back to the Jedi. Obi-Wan's hand rested on the mantle, beside a lightsaber.
Obi-Wan blinked rapidly. "This is your old lightsaber. But I saw the newsvids. Saw you destroy it when you took the name ... took the Sith ..." His gaze dropped.
Anakin sneered. "You saw me destroy a lightsaber, similar in appearance to my own. The Jedi who came to hear me speak that day were very accommodating. As requested, they all left their weapons outside the auditorium. Trusting fools."
The Jedi's gaze searched Anakin's glacial features. "You murdered defenseless --"
"Yes. Every last one of them. And with those who didn't succumb to the gas, I imagined your face as I swung my blade."
Obi-Wan winced. He whispered, "Was it their pain I felt? Or yours?"
What was the fool talking about? Anakin narrowed his eyes. Was the Jedi's figure fading to semi-transparency? Though he hadn't bothered to learn the technique, he knew that it had to be very taxing. Few were capable. Fewer still attempted to conquer the dangerous discipline. Maybe ... maybe he could draw this conversation out long enough to weaken, even kill, Kenobi. He watched the Force apparition finger the lightsaber. He could sense the echoes of anguish in that touch. For his fallen comrades, no doubt.
"Why did you keep it?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin strolled over to lean on the mantle, barely two meters away from Kenobi. "A bit of foolish sentimentality, you could say. I had hoped, one day, to have a son to pass the weapon on to. I envisioned that, along with training the boy, as a way to honor the only man who ever truly believed in me."
"Qui-Gon."
Anakin snorted softly. "At least you don't have the audacity to claim that honor for yourself, Kenobi."
"I made so many mistakes. I know you don't believe me, but I agonized over every one of them." Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "At first you were simply my charge, and then a little brother, and, finally, a friend." Their gazes met. Obi-Wan said, "I ... I love you, Anakin."
Anger flashed red across Anakin's vision. He seized a chair and threw it at Kenobi's ghostly figure. "Don't you dare speak to me of love!" He swept objects from the mantle, and they clattered across the floor. "You think I didn't love you? I worshipped you! Every time you failed in teaching me how to control the burning power within, every time you failed to defend me before the Council, meant nothing, because I loved you. I lived for the tiniest crumb of compassion or understanding. But this time ..." Anakin faltered, rage stealing his words.
"This time? I don't understand."
Anakin struck out at the Jedi's vaporous figure. His fist passed through a swath of heat. "Blast you to oblivion, Kenobi! Don't pretend with me. You stole Padme from me. Turned her against me." Anakin overturned his desk, then halted as he struggled to quell his wrath a measure. Hatred chilled his voice. "Did you come straight from her bed to taunt me?"
"What?"
"Did you seduce her with your own touch, or did you have to caress her mind with the Force and trick her into your embrace?"
"Anakin! What are you saying? I would never ... We would never ..."
"Don't lie to me!" Fury exploded outwards through the Force. Obi-Wan stepped back as if struck. His image wavered slightly.
"We both love you, Anakin. How could you think ... ?"
"No! She may have loved me. But now you've stolen even that." Anakin hammered at his old master through the Force. Hurt and anger mixed together and lashed outwards. "You let Qui-Gon die." The venom that was drowning his innermost being poured forth. "You killed my love for you." Hatred, pure and absolute, froze the Jedi's image. "And now you've destroyed the only thing in my life that was good and undefiled."
The Force apparition was fading. Were those tears? Let him cry. He had only begun to suffer.
"I swear," Anakin ground out, "by all the powers of Light and Dark, that I will destroy you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. If it's the last thing I do."
Anakin dove into the Force. He wrapped his essence around that of the Jedi as it struggled to return to its body. He let himself be carried to a ship in orbit above Coruscant. He fought to keep Kenobi's being away from his body even as he reached through the Force to wrap invisible fingers around the bare throat. The body started to thrash. As Anakin tightened his grip on flesh, the spirit flung off his own presence and slammed back into the body. A flat buzzing filled his knowing, and the ship began to move. Reluctantly, Anakin released his hold and dropped away, returning to his own body in an eyeblink.
He found himself lying on the floor, his fingers curled tightly around his old lightsaber. He flung it across the room and draped his arm across his eyes. What powers of darkness had he unleashed with that oath? Already, he could feel a potent stirring deep within. Seductive whispers stirred through his mind, repulsing him even as they lured him deeper into the shadows. He listened to the promises and slowly, slowly, a smile stole over his lips. Revenge would be the sweetest ambrosia.
Anakin slipped into a heavy, unsettled sleep.
Why had a percussion band taken up residence inside his skull? Obi-Wan moaned and turned his head a micron. The drum section began a thundering solo.
"He's comin' round."
The words ricocheted through his mind like stray blaster bolts. Force, he wished they'd puncture one of those drums. Obi-Wan opened his eyes a crack and let the face hovering above him swim into focus. He tried to speak, swallowed, tried again. His voice creaked. "Can't be dead. Not if your ugly mug is the first thing I see."
Major Rusk's loud guffaw made Obi-Wan wince and squeeze his eyes shut. The sound cut off sharply. In the void, a quiet huffing punctuated by regular taps could be heard. Obi-Wan smiled wanly; Yoda's very presence acted as a balm.
"Quiet, our patient needs, Major. Not your mynock squawking." Yoda settled beside Obi-Wan with a sigh. "Leave us."
Obi-Wan listened to Rusk's disgruntled muttering fade away, then slowly reopened his eyes, glad of the low lighting and peaceful silence. He stared at the rough frame and flimsiplast sheeting indicative of pre-fab housing. Standard military fare, which meant they were probably at a rebel base. Since when did they have a base only a short hop from Coruscant?
He tried his voice again. "Where?" Yoda touched a straw to his lips and he took a sip of stale water. He repeated his question.
Yoda replied, "Garos IV."
"What?" Obi-Wan tried to sit up, but the pounding in his head dropped him back onto the cot. He took a moment to let the Force soothe the pulsing pain. He spoke very quietly. "Garos is almost four days out from Coruscant. How long have I been unconscious?"
"Lain on this cot for two days, you have. Far too long, it seems to me, for the small hurt your body suffered. I think that hiding from something, your mind was. But what? Hmm?" Turning his head ever so slowly, Obi-Wan met Yoda's concerned gaze. Yoda continued, "Threw you into a deep hibernation trance, something did. Very traumatic. Dangerous, even. Yet, tell me nothing, Major Rusk would. He said only that 'the General's blasted idea', it was, so tell me himself, the General could."
Obi-Wan's hand floated unconsciously to his throat. It was still tender. Sadness swept over him, and he cringed inwardly as he remembered the hate that had filled that choke hold. Days? Had it really taken so long for his mind to accept his failure? No, not failure. Loss. Obi-Wan let out a slow breath. "I paid Anakin a visit in bodily form."
Yoda's eyes widened. "In spirit appearing as body? Deceit, some call that. Some would say that dabble in the shadows, you do, when you travel outside your body in such a manner."
"It's not a dark art. Just a dangerous one."
"Hmmm." Yoda paused. "Asked me, you should have."
"I'm not a padawan needing to seek his master's approval for every move I make."
"Perhaps not. But, headstrong, you still are. And foolish, sometimes, it appears. What did you hope to gain?"
Steeling himself, Obi-Wan pushed to a sitting position and swung his legs over the edge of the cot. The light blanket fell away, and he reached for his tunic, slipping it on with deliberate slowness, leaving it hanging open. He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands as he cycled the Force through his body and mind. The throbbing in his head shrank to nothing more than a loud heartbeat. He dropped his hands and stared at his open palms. "I had to see if there was any chance that he could be encouraged to return to the Light. I knew it wasn't likely, but I still had to try."
"Was it as you thought?" The question was gentle.
"It's worse. So much worse. His hatred for me runs so pure, so deep, that I will never be able to connect with him. Never." A shudder ran down Obi-Wan's spine. "He thinks ... " Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to say it. And the way he felt only made it worse. He may have given up his love for Padme, but he couldn't deny it had existed. Even so, how could Anakin think he'd betray him in such a way?
"Hates the Council, too, he does," Yoda said. "Enough to hunt us down one by one."
A sigh slipped past Obi-Wan's lips. "This is different, Master. Personal. As personal as it gets."
"Hmmm. Then concern his wife's disappearance, it must."
"More than that." Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "He thinks I've ... seduced Padme." The silence was thick with understanding. Obi-Wan met Yoda's green gaze. His voice was soft and pleading. "How could he think that?"
Yoda pursed his lips, then said, "Stand beside a master of lies, he does. Know, you must, where this untruth comes from."
"Oh, I know the source. It's Anakin's believing of the deceit that pains me. And the virulence of the poison spewing from him is frightening, more than most Jedi will be able to shield against. You said I had to confront him, and that's why I went to him. I hoped that our meeting without violence could tip the balance. But it tipped the wrong way. And now I know that one of us will not walk away from that final confrontation."
"Are you afraid?"
"No. This path is the will of the Force."
Ears level and eyes narrowed, Yoda nodded thoughtfully. "Our strongest knight, you are. Trained by the best warrior in many generations. The Force has chosen you for this moment."
"A fact that would be easier to accept if I did not have to face my own Padawan." Obi-Wan stopped Yoda's reply with a wry smile. "Not to worry, Master. I am ready to follow the Force's leading in this."
"Worry, I do not. Sense your peace, I do. Glad, I am, that you have finally set aside your feelings of guilt." Quietly, Yoda added, "Wish, I do, that you did not have to face this trial."
Without answering, Obi-Wan stood. He padded around the cramped quarters, stretching his stiff muscles. He hesitated by a table on the far side of the room, then sat down and helped himself to a plate of sandwiches that were beginning to dry out. He reached for a full cup of caf sitting to the side and downed the cold drink. He set the cup down with a grimace.
Yoda joined him, levitating himself up to sit on a chair across from Obi-Wan.
Looking up, Obi-Wan said, "I hope Rusk found something fresher to eat than what he left behind."
"A scrounger, he is. Worry about him, I would not."
"Who's worried?" Obi-Wan reached for another sandwich. His hand stopped half-way to his mouth when Yoda spoke.
"Does Anakin know of the pregnancy?"
Squeezing his hand shut, Obi-Wan said, "Don't you mean, does he know he has a son? The answer is 'no'."
"Be sure of this, you must, Obi-Wan. On this, all depends."
"It is an absolute certainty." He opened his hand and stared at the balled up sandwich for a few seconds, then dropped it back on the plate.
Obi-Wan stilled. Something was coming. He could sense it. He saw the same knowledge mirrored on Yoda's face. Obi-Wan stood suddenly, strode to the door and swung it open. He braced his hands on the frame and leaned into the night. His danger sense tingled.
Retrieving his belt, he fastened it as he met Yoda's stare. "Do something for me, Master." Yoda nodded and Obi-Wan picked up his lightsaber as he continued, "Get your palace mole to recover Anakin's old lightsaber for me. He keeps it on the mantle behind his desk."
Yoda's eyes narrowed. Obi-Wan smiled grimly. No one was supposed to know about that spy. The Jedi Master's wing-like ears twitched. "Dangerous, but possible. Why?"
"Because Anakin would want his son to have it."
Their gazes met as the Force rippled between them. Yoda looked away and nodded.
Rusk burst into the room. "We're on comm silence. A Star Destroyer has just entered the system and we're scrambling all fighters. Are you feeling up to a scrap, General?"
"Lead the way, Major."
The vector on which Anakin had entered the system was a well-used shipping lane, and 75 degrees off the Star Destroyer's approach -- more than enough distance to allow him to penetrate planetary security unnoticed. He switched on the fake transponder that identified his ship as a personal craft from Obroa-Skai, then scanned the Infiltrator's instrument panel and ran a weapons check.
It wasn't many minutes before a ship winked into realspace barely 500 kilometers further in-system than Anakin. He increased speed until he caught up to the huge Corellian transport, then slipped into its dead zone -- that shadow cast by a ship that failed to register anything on most security scans. Keeping pace with the ship meant setting the throttle a fraction above minimum. He could feel the Infiltrator throbbing beneath his touch, wanting, as much as he, to burst out of hiding and attack the situation at full throttle, lasers blasting. But wisdom dictated otherwise.
Anakin sighed. Now came the hard part. Waiting. Never his strong suit. When he set a goal, he moved quickly to achieve it. He moved just as quickly to solve problems. He scowled. Kenobi was definitely a problem. It had shaken him more than he was willing to admit when his old master had appeared before him in spirit. So much so that he hadn't mentioned the incident to the Emperor.
Kenobi's effrontery was amazing. The Jedi had stood before him and glibly denied the affair, acting the innocent when the truth was so clear to see. It was more than Jedi deceitfulness. It was betrayal in its basest form. He didn't even have the courage to admit his treachery.
The thought of Kenobi touching Padme was sickening. Anakin remembered running his fingers down her limbs and over her curves, and watching desire flare in her eyes as his touch teased and tempted her. In his mind, his fingers became Kenobi's, then Obi-Wan's lips began to trace the same trail. Anakin's stomach roiled. Fury simmered through his thoughts. He clutched his thigh and squeezed, letting the pain temper the anger and bring it under control. He would have bruises again.
The ship's chrono beeped, drawing Anakin's glance. The captain of the Star Destroyer would now be ordering all planetary defenses to stand down and prepare for inspection, along with a tech scan. It was a routine procedure, unless the locals were hiding something. Or someone. Anakin narrowed his eyes and stared out the viewscreeen.
The transport he was shadowing was nearing its destination. Half the planet was visible below the ship's hulking prow. In less than an hour the transport would begin its landing cycle, but he would be groundside well before that. Anakin smiled. After today, the rebels would be one step closer to complete annihilation.
The private comm channel chimed. He toggled it open.
"Lord Vader." The voice of the Star Destroyer's commander loud voice filled the cockpit. "We have unauthorized movement in sector seven."
"Then check it out," Anakin replied. "I'm heading to the capital, now. Don't contact me again unless it's an emergency." He cut the link with an irritated flick of his finger. New commanders couldn't seem to go to the head without permission.
As atmosphere enveloped the two ships, the Infiltrator broke away and banked steeply to the right. It leapt away from the transport with a sonic boom that shook the larger ship.
