Master Apprentice
Archive
Necessary Deceit 3
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Qui-Gon Jinn sat in a hard wooden chair and watched the young blonde boy sleeping on the smaller of the two beds. It had been nearly 6 hours since Mace Windu had delivered Anakin into his care, and still he had not awakened.
The Jedi master sat back with a soft sigh. While he understood the necessity of what he was doing, the reality of it was difficult to deal with. He had faked his own death with the help of a young knight named Valeere, who had dressed himself up and painted his face with black and red tattoos in order to resemble the Sith Qui-Gon had encountered on Naboo . The deception had worked. Obi-Wan thought him dead, had watched a soulless, cloned body being burned, and had taken Anakin as his apprentice. Then, within a ten-day of their return to Coruscant, there had been another fake death, this time Anakin's.
He could only imagine what agony Obi-Wan was going through. That was the worst part of this whole thing - knowing that his beloved former padawan was suffering, believing himself responsible for two deaths, first his master's and then his own apprentice's. It was the one thing that had made Qui-Gon argue long and hard with the Council, had made him fight to the very end, until the plans were set in stone and could not - would not - be changed.
He had begged Yoda to be allowed to tell Obi-Wan the truth. He trusted Obi-Wan to go to his grave, if necessary, with the knowledge that the Chosen One had to be protected from the Sith, hidden away until he was fully trained and strong with the Force. Until he couldn't be tempted away by the Dark Side.
Yoda had forbidden it.
As Qui-Gon watched Anakin stir in his sleep, perhaps preparing to awaken, he thought back to that one night when Mace had helped him slip into the Coruscant temple. He had stood next to Obi-Wan's bedside, mourning what he had lost, what he had been forced to give up, and wondering if they would ever meet again on this mortal plane. Finally, unable to bear the pain on Obi-Wan's face, Qui-Gon had implanted a few words into his troubled dreams.
"I am alive. Remember that I love you, and wait for me."
Did Obi-Wan recall those words when he awakened? Did he believe them to be merely wishful thinking on his part? Or somewhere, in the deep recesses of his mind, did he know the truth? And, if he did, had he reasoned out the rest? Did he know that Anakin was alive as well, and had been spirited away from the temple to live in seclusion on Yoda's home world?
Qui-Gon could only hope that to be the case. The alternative was unthinkable.
"Master Qui-Gon?" a small, sleepy voice said from nearby. Then, more loudly, "Master Qui-Gon! You're alive!"
A blonde-headed torpedo disguised as a Jedi padawan launched itself into Qui-Gon's lap, wrapping short but strong arms around his neck.
"I knew you were alive," Anakin said, his voice muffled by the fabric of the man's tunic. "They said you died, but I knew better. I never believed it."
Fascinated, Qui-Gon took Anakin 's slender shoulders in his hands and eased the boy off his lap. He held him at arms' length and looked deeply into his eyes. "How did you know?" The shoulders moved in a quick shrug.
"I don't know. I just sensed it, I guess. I told Master Obi-Wan that you were alive, but he didn't believe me. He was really sad." He took a quick look around the small pre-fab shelter. "Where is Master Obi-Wan?"
Qui-Gon suppressed the urge to sigh again. This was going to be difficult. "He's still on Coruscant. Anakin, there was a reason everyone was told that I died. The Council feels that the Sith may come after you, and they wish to protect you at all costs. I have been given permission to train you."
"But, I thought Obi-Wan was going to train me," Anakin interrupted.
"That's true, but only until such time as they were able to bring you to me. It will be safer for you here than at the Jedi temple. We are on a planet known as Dagobah, and no one but the Council knows where we are."
"Not even my master?"
"No, Anakin. Not even your master. In fact -" He drew a deep breath. "In fact, Obi-Wan believes that you are dead, as well."
"Dead?" Anakin looked puzzled. Then, his eyes widened. "The fall! I fell off the balance beam, and hit my head! I felt Master try to catch me with the Force, but it didn't work."
"He was prevented from helping you. Master Windu carried you away and onto a ship, and Master Yoda broke your training bond."
Anakin pulled away, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"He thinks I'm dead," he said softly. Then, he looked up, his expression almost challenging. "Do you know that he thinks it's his fault that you were killed? Now, he'll think this is his fault, too. We have to tell him the truth, Master Qui-Gon! We have to!"
Qui-Gon shook his head sadly. "We can't tell him, not yet. In time, all will be revealed."
"When?" Anakin demanded.
"When your training is complete. When you're strong with the Force, and more than a match for the Sith. Then, we'll return to Coruscant, and to Obi-Wan."
"That'll be a long time, though, won't it?"
The Jedi master closed his eyes briefly as a bright pang of guilt sliced through his stomach. "Yes, I'm afraid it will be."
Anakin stood silently, considering all he had heard. Finally, he drew his shoulders back. "Well, what do we work on first? The sooner we get started, the sooner we can go home."
Qui-Gon nodded and got to his feet, holding out his hand for Anakin to clasp as he led him outside into the steamy swamp. The Force around him seemed to glow at the contact, as if declaring the rightness of this pairing. The boy would be an astonishing padawan, and was indeed the Chosen One. Any slight doubt the master might have had was gone now.
For Anakin had sensed that Qui-Gon was alive. And Obi-Wan hadn't.
The End.