After lunch, I was treated to a more extensive tour of the Jedi Temple than I had gotten from Obi-Wan so long ago - weeks ago! - and given a thorough explanation of how daily life in the Temple worked. It wasn't just to satisfy curiosities; I understood as I listened to Master Qui-Gon that he was basically telling me how life was going to be for me from now on. It was clear I was expected to stay here, and I accepted that, but underlying the assumption was a suggestion that of all the places existing in reality, the one place I was not going to be sent to was my home world. I tried to shove that thought to the back of my mind, noting everything Qui-Gon showed me with a dispassionate detachment. There was also a very good chance that the Jedi Council would show good reason not to keep a poor stray like me within their walls, but I studiously demanded my mind to forget that. I could handle going back home, but not being turned out of the Temple and separated from my friends.

Soon enough, it was time to get back to the business of being Jedi. The Council sent a message to quarters that they would be convening in the evening to hear Qui-Gon's report about Niall Oberanu, and possibly other things, so after dinner I found myself coasting up a lift toward the council chambers high in one spire with two unusually tense Jedi. Qui-Gon had a lot on his mind, trying to order his thoughts, but Obi-Wan was strangely also on edge, as if unsure what to expect from this meeting. It dawned on me, then, that the Jedi Council didn't sit around all day and listen to a constant stream of reports from Jedi in the field on what they did, where they went, and what they had for breakfast that day. The Council convened to conduct their lofty business, and only heard reports if they contained some important information or unusual, often dangerous, events. A battle between two Jedi resulting in the death of one was certainly cause for a meeting, as was a peculiar girl from another galaxy. As we exited the lift and strode onto the patch of hard, gray floor before the chamber doors, I started to think that my eyewitness account of Niall's attack on us wasn't the only thing they needed me for.

Qui-Gon pressed a pad by the door and waited to be summoned. In the moments we had to ourselves, I patted Obi-Wan's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, you're probably just going to be standing in the corner listening all night," I encouraged him.

"I would assume so," he said with a hesitant smile, which faded immediately. He fixed me with concern in his gray-green eyes. "Be cautious. We don't know what they will ask you."

"Obi-Wan, Stacey will be fine," Qui-Gon quietly assured. At that moment the big gray and blue-toned doors slid open, and we all hushed as Qui-Gon stepped forward. The sun was setting in a bank of clouds, casting a warm, vivid golden glow through the wide windows and over us all as we entered the circle of Jedi Masters. Qui-Gon nodded at most of them and bowed to Yoda in particular, while Obi-Wan kept his hands clasped inside his sleeves in a reverent pose. The Padawan guided me with flicks of his eyes to follow him, stand between him and Qui-Gon and a step behind, and also bow as he did out of respect for the Jedi Council. I couldn't effect a full bow without feeling stupid, so I settled for lowering my eyes and bowing my head.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Qui-Gon," Mace Windu said to begin the proceedings, his voice calm and placid, betraying no emotion. The sunset light gleamed in his dark eyes. "I know you only returned to Coruscant this morning, but we appreciate you taking the time for this."

Qui-Gon nodded, tucking his hands into his sleeves and facing the senior members, waiting for them to offer instruction. Mace continued after casting an aloof glance around the circle of his colleagues. "We are here to learn what we can about Niall Oberanu's fall. Though everyone here has heard the report of what happened on Salji, perhaps you could start by telling the story again, in your own words."

"Very well," Qui-Gon agreed, shifting in place in order to glance toward every member of the Council in turn. He told them exactly what he had reported to Masters Windu and Yoda, again leaving out the bit about my accomplishment with Obi-Wan's lightsaber. I folded my hands in front of me and listened, wondering all the while whether they were going to call on me to corroborate the Master's testimony. As I looked around, I noticed all of the councilors were giving Qui-Gon their complete attention, concealing their reactions to his description of Niall's ferocious attack behind blank, unfeeling stares. Only Adi wore any kind of expression, her eyes keen and a small smirk on her lips, since she had heard all this before and been through it as well. When Qui-Gon finished, Mace informed us that Adi had already told the Council about her part in the whole fiasco, what she observed when she first saw Niall's body in the garage and how Qui-Gon had reacted in those first moments after it happened. "Good," Master Qui-Gon said with deliberate firmness. "Then, you know already that my actions were justified."

Without acknowledging that, Mace turned to Obi-Wan. "Padawan Kenobi, what did you see?"

Obi-Wan held his gaze without squirming, his back straight. "Very little, Master. I was unconscious through most of the fight."

One of Mace's thin eyebrows quirked upward. "Oh?"

The apprentice frowned. "Was that not clear in Master Qui-Gon's account? Niall struck me - twice. I was incapacitated, I did not even know there was a battle going on until I came to and heard lightsabers."

"You saw the killing blow?" Ki-Adi Mundi wondered.

Obi-Wan glanced in his direction. "Yes. It was just as Master Qui-Gon said."

"Is there no one besides Qui-Gon who can say how the battle started?" Ki-Adi persisted.

I glanced up at Qui-Gon. He immediately told them, "Stacey saw it."

Eyes swiveled in my direction. "Master Adi did mention that," Mace muttered, tapping his fingertips together in front of him. "How did this happen, exactly?"

Qui-Gon refused to answer, looking expectantly at me. Taking a breath to steel my nerves, I told the Jedi Council how I had been minding my own business in the house when Niall arrived, and how I kept hidden until I saw that Obi-Wan was injured. I wished I could see Adi, just then, because she was the only one who knew the full story, but she was directly behind me. I addressed Mace, Yoda, and Ki-Adi mostly, though I felt strange looking at any of them. My eyes continually darted around the circle of Council members as I detailed my narrow escape and Qui-Gon's nick-of-time appearance. "And everything else, you know," I concluded, clenching my hands nervously together. "It's just like Qui-Gon said. Niall had his lightsaber powered up, and he was the one who made the first move."

A brief silence followed when I fell silent, during which the councilors nodded at each other. "It will be noted, then," Master Windu declared. "Why didn't you stay upstairs, where you were, out of harm's way?"

Because I'm stupid? No, he's probably waiting for me to say that. I thought about it for a moment, deliberately scrunching up my brow in a frown to show them I was thinking. "Instinct," I answered at last, feeling that word would best explain my behavior. "I knew there was something I could do."

"But what did you do, apart from seeing to Obi-Wan?" Mace pointed out. "You stayed hidden while Qui-Gon and Niall were fighting."

I looked desperately up to Qui-Gon, whose brow furrowed in sympathy. It wasn't my place to tell them...or was it? Fortunately, neither of us needed to speak up. Yoda had been listening to the reports without speaking, idly tapping on the floor in front of his chair with his gimer stick, but he lifted his head as the discussion sank into silence. "Master Qui-Gon," he began in his raspy voice. "More there is to this. Said so you did, when we were contacted."

Qui-Gon lowered his eyes for a moment. "Yes, my Master." Pausing to collect his thoughts, he raised his head and faced the senior councilors squarely. "In the midst of my engagement with Niall, Stacey managed to call Obi-Wan's lightsaber to her, with the Force."

Several of the Jedi Council sat up straighter in their seats, and eyes widened. "Is that unusual?" Ki-Adi Mundi asked. "She had not done it before?"

"No, she has not been able to move objects at all, before or since," Master Qui-Gon replied. "At the time I was cornered, and I was not sure I could break away from Niall to save myself. I felt a movement of the Force, and looked in time to see her leap out and grab up the lightsaber from the floor. It surprised Niall as much as it did me, and gave me the opportunity to escape." He looked down at me, and I could see deep in his eyes an admiring smile. "If not for her boldness, I'm not sure how the fight would have ended."

I looked away, trying not to fidget. It was the highest compliment I could get from him, but it also brought up unpleasant reminders of his death averted. Some of the councilors were murmuring, but Mace raised a hand to quiet them so he could speak. "That's very interesting, and we will discuss it - in time," he cautioned. "It can be saved for later, right now we need to know everything you found out about Niall Oberanu."

"What more do you need?" Qui-Gon wondered. "From what Adi has told me, you have his reports and likely know more than I do."

Master Windu folded his hands patiently. "But you faced him. You were with him in his final moments. Is there nothing you can tell us of his mind, his reasons for choosing to fight you?"

"I can only make assumptions," Qui-Gon said humbly. "He tracked us down and intended to ambush us, to kill us before we could confront him. And he might have, if Stacey had not heard him in the house and contacted me immediately." Another brief, admiring glance. At least, it looked that way in the softening twilight that streamed across the circular pattern on the floor. "I didn't waste words with him, so I have no confessions from him to relate. Only this: I sensed in him anger, and desperation, and a shred of pride. Whatever happened between this Council and Niall, he was unable to let it go. He was angry, not at me personally but at what I stood for."

"If you will recall," Adi interrupted, speaking coolly from behind us, "in the days preceding his disappearance, I noticed something about Niall that gave me cause for concern. His demeanor when he made his reports, and the things he said about the conflict, the Saljans, and his work."

"Your intuition is seldom wrong," Saesee Tiin, seated beside Ki-Adi, complimented her. "It was because of your warnings that we were prepared to send someone after him."

Qui-Gon heard this and straightened up in interest, his eyes dark. "Who chose to send Taal Arvis Oe to Salji to look into the matter?"

"I recommended him," Mace answered. "I knew that if our suspicions were correct, Knight Taal could hold his own in any battle. But Adi was the one who actually sent him." He cocked his head. "He was a friend of yours, wasn't he?"

Qui-Gon kept his eyes steady on Windu's face. "When I contacted you while we were still on Chad, you didn't tell me Taal had been killed."

The cold hush to the Master's voice made me tense. Mace is in trouble now!

"I didn't want to prejudice you before you had a chance to read the reports and get acquainted with the conflict," Mace explained. "One Jedi was already dead, I didn't need another rushing in to avenge him."

The Master's eyes lowered, and his face eased into an expressionless calm.

Adi spoke up again. "I wish you would have told him, Mace. When Master Qui-Gon and his apprentice arrived on Salji, they were not prepared for what met them. More information ahead of time would have been helpful."

Mace quirked an eyebrow in her direction. I found it very hard to stifle a grin. "I understand the reasoning behind such a decision," Qui-Gon said fairly. "What's done is done. But, I can't tell you much more about Niall. I don't know what happened to him on Salji, why he chose this path of anger and hatred over his Jedi training. Only he could have answered that for you."

A soft, female voice spoke up suddenly. I swiveled my head around to see it coming from Yaddle, seated to my left just beyond where Qui-Gon stood. "Every being, regardless if they are a Jedi, a laborer, or a king, is subject to circumstances beyond their control. And every being, a breaking point has. Perhaps, in some way unknown to any of us who sent him there or even to himself, Niall Oberanu encountered the precise circumstance that would cause him to choose this path."

A contemplative silence greeted her simple remark. Yaddle blinked patiently and settled down to resume listening to the debate, as per her habit. After a moment, when the wisdom of her offered opinion had sunk into everyone's minds, Mace Windu sat forward in his chair. "Still, if there is anything I or any of us could do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, I would like to know it. In taking Taal's life, he chose the Dark Side..."

"Niall Oberanu did not fall to the Dark Side," Qui-Gon interrupted, his voice firm. I glanced up at him, to see his eyes flashing with certainty in the fading daylight. "In his last moments he allowed my intrusion into his mind. He was angry, he was determined and desperate, but I felt no darkness at all."

"In time, though, he would have ceased to be a Jedi and allowed the Dark Side to overtake him," Mace argued placidly.

"In time, yes. We are fortunate that I took his life before it got to that point." There was no mistaking the strained patience in Qui-Gon's voice, and the irritability. But, he took a breath, and it passed like a cloud drifting over the sun. "There was nothing that we could have done. Taal attempted to spare Niall's life and lost his as a result. Niall was not going to let us take him in. That much was clear."

"And as I said to this Council earlier, I did give Qui-Gon my consent that deadly force was within his right, if it became necessary," Adi said. She spoke loud enough for all to hear, and deliberate in her tone. Her voice echoed among the arches stretching over us to form the ceiling of the chamber.

The various members of the Jedi Council shared glances and nods at that. I glanced back at Adi, relieved that she had already told them about that, because I had been wondering if she would keep it to herself and let some of the Council assume the worst about Qui-Gon's motives. Master Adi responded to my look with a quick nod of assurance, so I smiled at her before turning back to the senior members.

Yoda ceased tapping on the floor with his cane and looked up, fixing his eyes on Master Qui-Gon. "Then, closed this matter shall be. No more will we speak of it." Qui-Gon nodded his agreement, and I heard Obi-Wan sigh in relief. "But, other matters there are."

"Yes, there is a matter outstanding with you, Master Qui-Gon," Mace reminded us. "We are all very interested to hear your conclusions about this girl's sensitivity to the Force, now that you have had a few more weeks than expected to observe her."

"As long as we are convened," Ki-Adi Mundi added in his lilting voice, "we can hear your report now, if you are prepared."

Qui-Gon took a deep breath and let it out slowly, keeping his shoulders thrown back and his hands hidden in his robe sleeves in his usual authoritative posture. "Yes, I am prepared. There is much to share, though. We could be here a while."

"We will take a short recess, then," Mace decided. "Ten minutes, and we will re-convene to hear what you have to say."

Qui-Gon nodded, and the Councilors all stirred, some of them getting up and stretching or going over to talk to one another. Only Yoda remained where he was, deep in thought, gazing distantly past us out one broad window to the pale, painted sky left over from the sunset. I stayed standing in my place just to the right of the center of the circle, unsure what to do with myself or how to act among recessed Jedi Councilors. Qui-Gon turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Would you mind if I asked you to step out for this? I would like to be able to talk about what I know of you without having the Jedi Council staring straight at you," he said, his voice low and warm. "I'm sure you already know basically what I'm going to say, as it is."

"But, I don't," I said concernedly. "You never really shared your conclusions with me."

Master Qui-Gon's eyes met mine, and he searched them for a moment before smiling. "I suppose you are right. It's your choice, but I think you would not be comfortable standing here while I go through my report." He glanced past me at his apprentice, who stood behind me. "Obi-Wan can go with you back to quarters, or where you like. I will likely be here a long time, the meeting may go late, but I will tell you what is said when we're done and I return to quarters."

"Okay," I consented, having no quarrel with his argument. He did have a point, I didn't expect to feel very comfortable with twelve pairs of eyes scrutinizing me. "The Council won't mind if I leave?"

"If you are not here, they won't have to hold back on anything they might want to say to me." Qui-Gon smiled sweetly, but I could tell he was hiding some secret concern. Maybe someone did want to blast him for his handling of my situation. I didn't want to be around to see that. "Go on," the Master encouraged. "Sit and relax, and don't worry about what goes on here. I will let you know how it goes."

"Okay," I agreed again, stepping reluctantly away from him.

"Obi-Wan," his Master ordered, "take her back to quarters. And don't wait up for me, this may run very late."

"Yes, Master," the Padawan nodded, glancing briefly at the windows. Night was drawing on, and beyond the streaming lines of ship traffic, a star or two poked from behind clouds. "Be mindful."

"I will," Qui-Gon assured, his eyes twinkling at the advice he so often gave his apprentice being turned back on him. At that moment, the mysterious Master Plo Koon intruded on our conversation, so Obi-Wan backed away and bowed, and then placed a hand on my shoulder to guide me out. I nodded to Master Koon and followed Obi-Wan willingly through the double doors that hissed out of our way.

I heard the doors close with a firm, satisfying thunk, and Obi-Wan's hand was suddenly grasping mine from beneath the too-long sleeve of his robe. "Do you want to just go back to quarters?" he wondered airily as he turned toward the lift.

I couldn't help but grin at him, even as a pang of excitement stabbed my heart at the feel of his soft fingers, his hesitant grip. It felt delightful. "Umm...why?"

"Because I have an idea." Obi-Wan pressed a button to summon the lift and turned to face me, dropping my hand as abruptly as he had taken it. "You're not tired, are you?"

"No. I'm wide awake. Obi-Wan, you're being suspicious. What are you up to?"

He grinned shyly. "Nothing, nothing. It's not anything bad..."

"Well, what, then?" I begged impatiently.

The lift door hummed open, and Obi-Wan stepped inside, beckoning me to follow. "Do you like to look at stars?"

"Ooh, yes!" I squealed, a little too excitedly. "I mean...looking at stars here would be a whole new experience. They're not even the same ones I look at from home - nowhere near the same! That would be so cool..."

Obi-Wan smirked at my enthusiasm. "Well, there is an observatory at the top of the Temple Spire. It's getting dark, we should be able to see the stars well."

"Cool!" I gushed. Apart from locating the nine moons of Chad during the haridi celebration, I hadn't taken the time to look up at the sky on any of the planets I had visited so far, forgetting that they were completely foreign to my previously-held conceptions of the universe. The suggestion awakened a thrill in me that had to be explored.

We descended in the lift to the topmost level of the Jedi Temple, a place of wide walkways overshadowed by skylights, which criss-crossed each other in orderly square blocks to connect the four corner spires with the central Temple Spire. Quite a few Jedi were milling about the level at this time of night, taking walks or meeting each other to chat, but we passed swiftly through them and headed for the center. Obi-Wan nodded respectfully to nearly every Jedi we passed, as most of them were Knights or Masters, but didn't stop to say hello to any of them, even the few who knew his name and greeted him warmly. He was on a determined mission, I guess. We had an empty lift all the way to the top of the spire, which rushed up so fast that it made my ears pop. The doors hummed open to reveal a small alcove quite similar to the one in the High Council spire, without windows, and massive gray doors concealed in shadow which would open on the chamber at the spire's peak. It was fairly dark up here, with few lights around the rim of the small entry bay. After a reverent pause, Obi-Wan pressed the door panel, and a dark opening appeared before us, permitting our entrance into a circular chamber lit only by the light from without.

It was structured similarly to the corner spires' top chamber, but the columns supporting the frame reached up to a high ceiling, with much taller windows and skylights to permit optimum viewing in all directions. Instead of low walls with windows set in them, the chamber was ringed by pure transparisteel, with a slender rail-bar about waist-high around the circumference. I sighed in wonder, for the dark room exposed breathtaking views of the sparkling city far below us and the bustling sky all around us. There were silhouettes standing along the rail all around the chamber, some alone, some in pairs or threes, all of them looking out the windows. Two young girls, not yet apprenticed, whispered head-to-head on one side. A lone Jedi Knight of some unusual species leaned heavily on the rail-bar to the other side, his face still and reflective as he gazed down at the glittering gridwork of the lower levels of Coruscant beyond the sloped sides of the Temple. A boy sat in the center of the chamber, head thrown back to see the stars above him, and I guessed he was doing lessons of some sort, for he had a datapad in his hand and kept rapidly shifting his eyes from it to the upper windows and back. Obi-Wan had explained to me on the ride up in the lift that this center spire was the most sacred place in the Temple, and just a level below the observatory, ancient Jedi writings were housed and cared for. The room at the top had become a place for Jedi of all stations to come and meditate on the tranquility of space. Nearly everyone glanced in our direction as we entered, so we smiled back to put them at ease and chose a spot along the rail far from anyone so as not to disturb conversations or meditation.

The dark dome of the sky was incredible at this height. Coruscant's light pollution was a thousand times that of any Earth city, but the spires of the Jedi Temple rose more than a half mile above the worst of it and lifted us closer to the edge of the atmosphere and the purity of space. The ubiquitous air traffic continued to criss-cross the sky, but the highest lanes were starting to thin out, so it wasn't hard to see the brightest stars as they awakened in the midnight-blue depths above us. I looked up through the triangular upper panels, gasping in awe as my mind instinctively tried to reckon familiar patterns out of the stars and found it to be utterly impossible. I couldn't find any of the constellations I had learned when I was very young, which was to be expected, but it wasn't until I looked up and saw the stars in their places that it struck me just how far away from home I was. "Oh my gosh," I whispered, feeling my knees weaken and leaning back against the railing to catch myself. "I'm in another galaxy."

"I thought you knew that already," Obi-Wan chided with a little laugh.

I didn't drop my eyes from the starry field overhead. "I've gotten so used to being around you, and seeing alien species and stuff, it was starting to feel natural. Like I've always been here. But...wow. This isn't my world. It's not even my galaxy. I'm in a totally other place."

Obi-Wan placed his hands on the railing and leaned forward, gazing out at the landscape. "It does make you stop and think, doesn't it?" I felt his eyes turn back towards me, even though I was still scanning the overhead view for anything remotely familiar, trying to force patterns into the stars that weren't there. He nudged me, then, so I dropped my gaze and looked at him instead. He pointed to a star glittering in the open, well above the horizon. "See that?"

"Yeah..."

"That is the star for the Alderaan system. And there..." Obi-Wan looked around, scrutinizing the view, and then pointed up through the ceiling to a faint yellow star just peeking into the corner of a skylight. "...through the haze, that's Corellia. Just to give an example of a few of the Core worlds." He smiled at me, as I recognized the names he threw out and grinned in excitement. "I checked the navigation charts. Salji's system is far out near the Outer Rim in that direction." He gestured. "We can't see its star in the night sky at this time of year."

"That's just so cool," I breathed, still staring towards Alderaan. After a long silence, I managed to break myself away from the view and turn to lean on the railing next to Obi-Wan. The door hissed behind us, as one pair of Jedi left and a few others arrived, eager initiates who found it a lot more interesting to look down on Coruscant from our position and loudly exclaim about it. Trying to ignore their noisy intrusion, I scanned as much of the sky as I could, identifying ships by their lights as they came in and settled into the traffic streams, peering beyond their movement to the steady, unflinching stars hanging in the sky. "You've been to a lot of them, haven't you?" I asked my companion.

"Some," Obi-Wan answered lightly, sighing and lowering his eyes from contemplating the stars. He blinked and glanced my way, his face serious. "There are thousands of worlds in our galaxy. I couldn't hope to see even half of them in my lifetime."

"That's still way more than I could ever hope to see." I lifted my eyes, hunting for more stars through the light-haze. "It's just so weird."

"What is?"

"That." I nodded with my head toward the stars. "I used to stand and look up at the sky, at night, and just...gasp in awe at how beautiful the stars were. I felt like I was looking into eternity. But, they were always so far away." I was half whispering, hushed and wistful as I remembered the yard of the house where I grew up and the spangled skies of my childhood. "No matter what went on in my imagination, or what the fiction writers of my world came up with, the stars were always so far away, and there was no way I was ever going to get to them. I never even wished to. They were part of something...I don't know. Bigger than me. It was a great reach just to think of going to the next planet over," I added with a derisive snort. "We couldn't even accomplish that. The stars? Forget it." I sighed, and dropped my voice even more. "But you go to them, you know them as suns for planets whose people you serve and protect. You can just pick up and go, like I would take a trip across the country."

In the following silence, Obi-Wan's hand nudged closer to mine on the rail and touched it gently. "It's unsettling?"

"A little, yeah." I smirked at myself and shook my head. "I'll get used to it, though. I guess. I just have to expand my cosmos." I gentled my voice again, whispering soothingly as if it would help Obi-Wan understand how I felt. "Up until now, my whole universe existed on a single planet. Everything I knew, every person that ever lived, every historical event, all the art and music and everything that's ever been created was confined to just one little planet. The stars and all that...I mean, they were real, but distant, removed. Now...a planet is nothing. Your cosmos is galaxy-sized."

The Padawan's eyes searched my face for a moment, and I felt a trickle of the Force teasing at my mind. "I've been brought up to think of the entire galaxy as my... 'cosmos,' to use your term," he softly explained. "I would just say you'll get used to it, but I wouldn't know that for sure, since I've never understood anything less than that. My world has never been confined to merely Coruscant."

"It's okay, Obi-Wan," I assured him, setting my hand on his and squeezing it. "I rather like the way it makes me feel, to look out at these stars and think of going to them. A sense of wonder isn't a bad thing."

He smiled in return and looked away, back to the sky. I did, too, and for a long time neither of us said anything, content to just enjoy the view and the peace of each others' company. The boys had stopped yelping about how high up they were and how the city looked and were murmuring thoughtfully amongst themselves now. A couple I had not noticed before, entwined in each others' arms as they watched the stars, quietly withdrew and passed us on their way out of the observatory. The two girls who had been gossiping near the entrance when we came in inched closer to where Obi-Wan and I stood, and I thought I heard one hiss, "Maybe he is. You ask him."

I glanced at Obi-Wan and found him drawn, his outward gaze hardly focused on the stars or the ships or anything. I repaid him for his searching tendril of the Force by prodding at him with my own mind, and felt that he was conflicted, his mind turned inward to something that bothered him. I leaned a little closer to him and whispered, "What'cha thinking about?"

He dropped his gaze for a moment, and then fixed me with wise, soulful blue eyes. "What you said made me think about how I was raised, here, and what I know. What comprises my world." The eyes drifted away again, to the emotionless stars. "I couldn't understand how Niall Oberanu could choose to abandon the Jedi Order. It's all I've ever known, yes, but since Master Qui-Gon took me as his apprentice and showed me the galaxy for what it really is..." Obi-Wan shook his head slowly, the ponytail at the back of his head swinging. "I've been given more than enough opportunities to make my own choices. And I still choose the Jedi, because as a Padawan I've come to understand what being a Jedi means."

I gave him a sympathetic smile, and leaned my hip on the rail so I could face him. "Master Yaddle had it right, I think. Something about his mission and Salji changed Niall, he reached his breaking point somehow."

"Yes, but it still comes down to a choice," Obi-Wan argued, his voice soft and throaty. "Everyone can be tempted, I agree with that. But in the end, a choice must be made. And sometimes people make the wrong one."

"Even if they think it's the right one," I added.

A breath that could barely be called a chuckle escaped from the Padawan. "Yes, you have a point there. We may never know why, but I would think Niall made the wrong choice. It was the quicker, easier way, the way he chose to deal with his problem."

That sounded too much like Yoda. I intoned, "And that is the way to the Dark Side."

Obi-Wan's eyes flicked in my direction, his face solemn. "You do understand."

"I'm trying to." I brushed his arm with my hand. He pushed himself away from the railing and turned to me, loosely wrapping his arms around himself. "So, Qui-Gon's not the only one who's been trying to deal with what happened to Niall," I went on as I observed him.

"You might say that," Obi-Wan said, his voice hushed to that decadent purr that made me melt. "It made me think about what I would do if I ever faced a situation like the one Niall was caught in."

I cocked my head to one side and looked up into his face. "Have you ever been tempted to leave the Jedi Order?"

A distressed frown darkened Obi-Wan's face for a moment as he thought. "Tempted? Well, certainly. Many people, either with good intentions or bad, have offered me great things if only I would leave the Order and join them. But...faced the choice to do so?" Another frown, studious and fervent, which creased his youthful brow. "Hmm. No, I don't think so. At least, not to such a point where I really didn't know which road to choose. It has been easy to turn down any offer to leave the Jedi. Though...there was one time...a long time ago." His voice dropped to nothing more than a whisper, and his eyes nearly closed as he averted them from my face. "I was very young, and had only been Master Qui-Gon's apprentice for a few months. The mission we were on involved some people my age, who were caught in a terrible civil war that we had no hope of bringing to an end. Without boring you with too many details...well, there was a moment when I was tempted to leave my path as a Jedi in order to help these young people. But once I sat down and viewed the conflict objectively, I realized that taking sides and fighting the war for these people was the wrong solution. Master Qui-Gon was incredibly patient with me," he added with a self-deprecating chuckle. "I argued with him, but he remained firm and didn't let me run off to try and be a hero in my own eyes. At the time I was angry with him, but his approval and my position as his apprentice were too precious to me, so I relented and obeyed him regardless of how I felt. In the end, it proved the right course," he concluded with a heavy sigh. "We completed our mission and I discovered that I was wrong. Amazing, no?"

"You, wrong?" I chuckled gently. "Perish the thought."

"I know," Obi-Wan mused, the barest hint of a smile awakening his dimples. "I let my emotions sway me, and a sense of right which was dependent on what I wanted rather than what was best for everyone involved. Fortunately, I had learned to step back and distance myself, and it saved me. Master Qui-Gon saved me, for as long as I obeyed him and the Jedi Code, even if I didn't understand it at the moment, I didn't start down any wrong paths."

"That's good," I encouraged him with an approving smile. "I think I would be shocked to find out that Obi-Wan Kenobi ever did something like defy Qui-Gon and quit the Jedi."

"Oh, no, I would never do that!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, aghast. "Master Qui-Gon and I may disagree on some fine points, but I hold him in the highest esteem, I always have. I've never disagreed to such a point as to want to leave him. He is the best Master a Jedi apprentice could ask for." He looked down at the dark hulk of the Temple disappearing below us into the mists of night, a horrified look on his face. "I have never desired to leave the Order, not when I've made it my life's goal to become a Jedi Knight," he mused sadly, shaking his head. "That is why it troubles me to think that someone could - someone did. It seems to me Niall faced the choice, but instead of stepping back and regaining his focus, he chose what he wanted instead and it was the wrong choice. And it led to his destruction."

I started to feel bad about bringing up such troubling subjects, and reached out to give Obi-Wan's arm a comforting caress. "Maybe there's something to learn, here," I offered, as he turned his head to regard me and smiled faintly at my touch. "Don't think you're invincible. Maybe someday you'll face choices like this, so make sure you don't choose wrong." I smiled admiringly, then, and softened my tone to match it. "You're going to be a great Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan. I don't doubt you for a minute."

"Thank you," he murmured bashfully. The dim blue light of night from the windows couldn't hide the blush that crept into his cheeks. He straightened up and turned toward me again, clasping his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry to burden you with my thoughts like this."

"It's okay," I reassured. "It's what I'm here for."

"You were right. I have been thinking about this, all through our journey back." Obi-Wan gave the night sky one more glance before stepping away from the railing, toward the center of the observatory. "Perhaps I should talk to Master Qui-Gon about it."

"Mmm, yes. You should get his perspective." I patted Obi-Wan on the back as he started away, and I followed. "But, for what it's worth, I think you're doing okay. You've kind of got it all figured out already. As much as anyone can, anyway."

"I suppose. But I will still share my thoughts with my Master."

The observatory doors hummed open to let us through, and I glanced back over my shoulder one last time to fix the image of the stars in my mind. It was a lovely night, indeed. There were still a few Jedi making use of the observatory, though all of the youngsters had gone away as it was getting late. Then the doors closed, and I was left in the stillness of the entry bay with Obi-Wan. He summoned the lift and then stood facing me, hands shyly tucked into his sleeves. "What?" I asked when he smiled at me.

"Thank you for letting me speak my mind," the Padawan answered. "I do feel better letting it out."

"No problem," I said, beaming. "It's the least I can do for a friend."

"Thank you," he said again. The lift doors hissed open before us. "Well, I suppose we should be getting to quarters, and see if Master Qui-Gon is back yet."

Master Qui-Gon was not back yet, as a matter of fact, so Obi-Wan and I settled down to relax and wait for him, even though he had told us not to. I made up my bed with the fresh blankets that temple service had brought up for us, and not long after I had finished and flopped down on the couch to chat with Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon returned. His face was slack and weary, but as the door closed behind him and he looked toward me and Obi-Wan, a smile worked its way to the surface. "Hi, Master," I greeted him. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Qui-Gon answered blandly. He moved slowly through the room, shrugging his robe from his broad shoulders and meticulously hanging it on the back of a chair before coming over to us and sitting down.

I looked up at him, annoyed when I realized that was all he had to say. "Just...fine?" I prodded.

"What did they say?" Obi-Wan asked more specifically.

Qui-Gon looked at him, taking a deep breath, and then gave a weary chuckle as he lost the words he needed. "Nothing, really," he finally answered. "I did most of the talking. But...it's fair to say the report will spark much discussion and debate." He shifted his gaze to me. "And, the Council wishes to see you in the morning. They would like to hear your perspective on what's happened to you."

I cringed. "Me? They want to talk to me? Oh great."

"Don't worry. I'm sure all they'll do is ask you to tell them about the major changes to your sensitivity, such as when you slipped out of Obi-Wan's attack, moved the lightsaber, and the like. Just answer any question they ask you, and you'll be fine."

"Will you be there?" I asked timidly.

His face twitched uncomfortably. "If I can. But I think the Council will send me out of the room, in order to get an objective statement from you."

"Aww." I fidgeted with my hands in my lap, but he didn't seem too troubled by the idea of me facing the Council, so I let my objections drop. "So, what did you tell them? Anything I should know?"

Qui-Gon leaned back and propped an elbow on the arm of his chair. "Well, the main thing I discussed with them is something you already know: that your sensitivity to the Force is tied to my own, and your ability to use it increases when either myself or Obi-Wan are also using it. Master Yoda claims he expected as much, but that was all he said about it. Perhaps he will say more after he's heard from you."

"Oh dear," I worried.

"Whatever else was discussed, it is not for your hearing. Now. It's late," the Master reminded us. "The Council will be convening in the morning to meet with you, so you should get some rest."

I grumbled but agreed with his assessment, prying myself off the couch and going to change. My sleep clothes were still in the bag, but so was most of what I could claim to own in this galaxy, so living out of a suitcase seemed to be my lot in life, at least temporarily. While I changed in Qui-Gon's room, I looked around some more and mused about the eerie displaced feeling I had. Though the two Jedi had quarters that were obviously theirs, they spent most of their lives living under someone else's roof, never taking more than what they could carry on their person and sometimes nothing more than the tunics on their backs. Yet, they seemed comfortable with the lifestyle. Myself, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong, that there was nowhere in existence that I could refer to as home, no place to keep stuff that I could call mine. Then again, I supposed as I gathered up my clothes and opened the bedroom door, maybe the Jedi Temple would start feeling like a home once I had a bed and maybe even a room, and started to infuse it with my presence. Qui-Gon swept past me with a smile, and Obi-Wan had already gone to his room, so I was left alone in the sitting room. Stuffing my clothes back into the bag, I took a moment to dig out the little box painted with bright colors and intricate native designs from Chad. It had survived the cold and chaos of Salji intact, and as I sat down on the end of the cot and cradled the box in my lap, the scent of the wood transported me back to the sunny forests and crowded haridi streets, and I remembered Kazik and Shassa and the other delightful Chadra-Fan. Maybe in the morning, after the meeting, I'll ask Qui-Gon to find out how they're doing in Kalinda, I thought. It had been a couple weeks since we left the quake-ravaged village, I hoped everyone was all right. After a few thoughtful minutes staring at the small, shiny whistle nestled in velvety green cloth, I closed the lid and went to set the box safely on the nearest table, on top of my journal. It wasn't hard after that to quiet myself and lay down to sleep.

In the morning, I woke at the sound of activity, and found Qui-Gon already dressed and getting a small breakfast set out on the table. The bag and all my possessions had been moved somewhere. Then Obi-Wan drifted out from his room, also dressed and ready to go. I felt sheepish for being the last to rise and so far behind them, but no one scolded me as I flipped back the blanket and pushed myself to my feet. In fact, Qui-Gon gave me a bright, "Good morning."

"Am I running late?" I groaned, combing my unruly hair back from my face with my fingers.

"No, not at all. We have plenty of time." The Master held out a hand toward me to invite me to the table, so I sat down still in my pajamas and took a hot mug of tea into my hands. Obi-Wan grinned at me as he sat down on my right and immediately reached for a pastry. The small, delicate pastries baked with fruit inside were a favorite of his, and among the Jedi in particular, for they were simple and unobtrusive, easy to make and all-natural. There was also fresh fruit, in wild hues and shapes entirely unlike anything on Earth, but I was already familiar with most of it and knew exactly what I wanted. Qui-Gon waited until I had served myself before eating. "This meeting may not take very long," he began with an aloof air. "I will take you up there myself. Obi-Wan has some errands to run."

"Okay." I sipped at the tea, mellow and sweet with a taste almost like apples. "What then? You don't have another mission already, do you?"

"No," Qui-Gon answered immediately. "We will stay here on Coruscant for a few days while this business of your status is cleared up. I'm not sure what we will do the rest of today, it depends on what happens with the Council. We shall see."

I nodded my acknowledgement of his plans and left it at that. I was still apprehensive about meeting the Council, but there was no way to get out of it, so I had pretty much resigned myself to it. After all, if I didn't speak with them, maybe decisions would be harder to make. There were a few small things I wanted to make the Jedi Masters understand about me, and preferred to do it directly rather than let someone else speak for me. Mostly, if I had the chance I wanted to make sure Mace Windu no longer thought of me as an agent of the Dark Side. I couldn't say anything directly about it, since I guessed that information was supposed to be between himself and Qui-Gon and not given to me, but I could conduct myself so as to give every impression that I was not Dark Side material. And if he still didn't trust me after that, then it would be a lost cause.

As breakfast wrapped up, I flippantly wondered of my companions, "Okay, so. Where are my clothes?"

Both of them chuckled. "I moved the bag with your things into Obi-Wan's room for the time being," Qui-Gon replied. "There should be a little room in there if you want to keep your things there. At least, until we decide what to do with you."

"Do whatever you want with me," I said cheekily. "I've got no place I need to be. Just here." I finished off my tea and made to get up. "Do I have a couple minutes to unpack? Otherwise, I'll just leave my stuff where it is and get dressed, and take care of it later."

"There is time, yet," Obi-Wan said, shifting his chair back. "I can show you where you can store your things."

I followed the Padawan into his room and paused to look around in interest. It was very similar to Qui-Gon's room, a bit smaller but having the same color walls and floor and the same set of furniture, but the essence of Obi-Wan permeated this room. A picture, or poster rather, on one wall displayed a simplified coordinate map of key systems in the galaxy, with sectors and quadrants marked and planets labeled. A couple of dusty starship models he had built as a child rested on the top of his bureau, and a crate in one corner held datapads and bound books. Here met Obi-Wan the student with Obi-Wan the reckless young man, balancing his love of flying and mechanics with the intellectual growth of a Jedi apprentice. It was also much more cluttered than Qui-Gon's ascetic room, I noted. The bag that had carried our spare clothing from Salji perched on the end of the bed. "Ah, there it is," I said triumphantly. "Good, I think the Council would like it if I were clothed when I met with them."

Obi-Wan chuckled as he moved around the room, clearing things from the bureau and straightening up his bed-sheets. "Yes, I don't think you would want to scare them so early in the day."

I made an offended noise. "Obi-Wan! Scare them?"

"No, not like that!" he laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. Here," he quickly covered himself, "this drawer is empty. You may keep your extra clothes in here, for now."

I stepped over beside him and pulled out the drawer, peering into it. "You don't need it?"

"No." He was standing very close to me, and I felt the soft brush of his tunic sleeve against my arm. After a moment just standing there, he turned away. "Go ahead. I'm sure you won't need the warm things from Salji anymore. Ours will be stored until such a time as we need them again."

"'Kay." I rummaged through the bag, setting aside my journal and the whistle box on the bed before taking the bag with me to the dresser to unpack. I put aside the clothes I wanted to wear today and stowed the rest in the drawer, re-folding and arranging as I went. The warm spare clothing the Jedi had requisitioned for Salji was still in the bag as well, so I separated it from my things carefully, though one sweater-like undershirt tumbled into my hands. I held it up, remembering that Obi-Wan had worn it while traveling in Thara. "This is yours, right?" I asked him.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, it is," the apprentice answered distractedly. "I guess."

I glanced at him, finding him seated on the bed directly behind me. "What do you mean, you guess?"

"Well, I don't need it. Not unless we are sent on another mission to a cold planet."

I perked up at that, holding the shirt out again to look at it. It was a plain color, darker than his tunics, and had hugged his body to keep it warm. I remembered it very well. "Can I have it?"

Obi-Wan's brow furrowed in confusion. "You want my shirt?"

"Well, if you don't need it. I could always use another shirt. I only have...what, three or four to my name as it is?" I turned my back on him again, holding the shirt at arm's length and admiring it.

"Very well," came the answer behind me. "You can have it if you like."

"Cool, thanks Obi-Wan!" I folded it and stored it neatly on one side of the drawer. Two pairs of socks followed it, one borrowed, one from home, as I had decided to go back to not wearing socks like I had on Chad. They had been necessary on Salji because of the cold, but here in the climate-controlled Temple, I could get away with no socks. "Oh, that reminds me," I mused aloud as I worked. "I have to talk to Adi today. She said she was going to help me with some things."

"What things?" Obi-Wan wondered behind me.

"Girl things," I retorted smartly. "You don't want to know."

"Girl things?" he repeated with some amazement. "Like what? What are girl things?"

"Do not tell me you're that naïve, Obi-Wan," I taunted him as I shook out my favorite t-shirt, which I had been wearing upon my arrival, and lovingly folded it.

"Well, I'm not a girl, in case you hadn't noticed. Really. What do you need Adi to help you with that Master Qui-Gon and I can't?"

"Uh...do I need to explain it, or can I leave it up to your imagination?"

"I don't know if you want to do that. I have a fairly powerful imagination."

I cackled at that. "No! Just trust me, Obi-Wan. It's girl stuff. You're better off not knowing." I bent over to secretly stash an item of personal clothing deep in the back corner of the drawer, so he wouldn't see it. "Or didn't you have basic biology classes in the Temple?"

"Ohh, that," Obi-Wan dryly remarked. "I don't know why you have to be so mysterious about it, it's perfectly..."

His voice trailed off, then, and he went completely still and silent. Just as I started to wonder what he was up to, and considered turning around to find out, he spoke in a voice low and hesitant. "Are these the flowers I gave you?"

I whipped around immediately, my eyes wide. My journal lay on the bed next to him where I had put it, and it seemed he had been paging through it while we bantered. The back pages were open to the place where I had pressed the spray of white star-flowers Obi-Wan had picked for me on Chad, and his fingertips rested lightly on the corner of the page as if afraid to touch them. He stared at them, his face a mask of conflicting emotions - surprise, delight, uncertainty - and I was frozen in place, staring at him. After a moment he looked up at me, his blue-green eyes questioning and shy. I found myself blushing hotly. "Um...yeah. They are."

"You kept them."

"Yeah."

Obi-Wan's gaze dropped back down to the flowers, and after a moment returned to my face, still stunned. "Why?"

"Because you gave them to me," I explained, trying not to make it sound obvious. "They were a gift."

"Do you keep everything someone gives you?" he wondered, looking down at the dried stem and four flattened blossoms again.

"If they mean something to me, yeah. Of course." The Padawan's head jerked upwards in surprise, his eyes warm and dancing. Though serious at first, after a bit his lips curved slightly and a dimple perked into his cheek. I gave him an embarrassed smile in return. "Why wouldn't I keep them?"

"Well...it's just..." he stammered. His hand slid from the edge of the page to the flowers and gingerly picked them up, so he could turn over the stem and look at it to be sure it was in fact the one he had picked. "I don't know of anyone who's kept something merely because I gave it to them. Aside from my closest friends, when I was still an initiate, that is," he added thoughtfully. "But that was long ago. Anyway, it's not like it's a valuable gift. It's just a flower."

"Well, I kept them anyway, because you gave them to me," I said as firmly as I could. "And I wanted to."

"That's...nice." Obi-Wan gently placed the flowers back down and smoothed out the crinkled petals with his fingertips. There was no mistaking the pink hue creeping into his cheeks. "Very nice. I...I don't know what to say." He smiled shyly, touching the flowers once more before drawing his hand back. "What are you going to do with them?"

"I don't know. They're kind of falling apart, I need to do something to preserve them. I'll think of something," I shrugged, picking up the journal and carefully folding the pages back over to hide the flowers once again. Obi-Wan's eyes followed my every movement. I peeked over the edge of the journal at him, wanting to say so much but instead completely changing the subject without warning. "Can I get dressed now? I don't want to be late."

"Oh! Of course." The young apprentice hustled to his feet and swept out of the way, pausing at the door but not saying whatever had occurred to him at the last minute. The door shut automatically behind him, and I hugged my journal to my chest before hiding it in the drawer with my clothes. I hurried to get ready to meet the Jedi Council, changing and brushing out my hair, hoping that this moment of flustered excitement would not prove a distraction later. It was probably for the best that Obi-Wan was not going to be with me at the meeting, if not for my sake, then for his. I would hate to sabotage his promising career by getting in the way of his training - it could prove a disaster for the entire galaxy. Tying my brown hair back into a ponytail, noticing how long it had grown since arriving there, I mustered my most focused and placid face as I opened the door to go with Qui-Gon up to the Council chamber.

On to part 29

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