Wonderful Knight

by Kath Tate

Disclaimer: Star Wars and its characters are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd and Twentieth Century Fox. This story does not mean to infringe upon the trademarks or copyrights.

Kath's Notes:  Many many thanks to Mary for her proofing skills and her opinions! =)  Gracious apologies to Capra for shamelessly borrowing a plot device.

*****

Coruscant's setting sun cast an orange and pink glow across the sky, reflecting here and there off the continuous traffic. Obi-Wan stepped out onto the balcony, squinting slightly as the glow struck his features. Here, alone, he could let the stoic mask of Jedi knight drop and reveal his unhappy expression.

Obi-Wan felt his world had turned upside down. While no one who'd worked closely with Qui-Gon Jinn for so long could think the Jedi Council impervious to error, Obi-Wan had always felt they acted properly within the Code. He had always trusted their judgement, preferring to find fault with himself for not seeing a higher reason for some of their more unusual decisions. He'd been at odds with his master on more than one occasion, defending the Council.

Now he wondered if maybe Qui-Gon had been right all along and they were all a bunch of idealistic fools in bad need of a reality check. Obi-Wan gave a small snort of laughter at the thought. Qui-Gon would certainly be amused to hear him say that.

The Council had knighted him. A mere two days after they'd refused to acknowledge Qui-Gon's hasty assertion that Obi-Wan was ready. Obi-Wan hadn't felt ready, despite his bold declaration at the time. He still didn't feel ready.

What had he done to deserve this honour? Nothing. Anakin had destroyed the droid control ship, saving the Gungans. Amidala had captured the Trade Federation Viceroy, freeing her people. And Obi-Wan had slain a Sith, but not before that same Sith had dealt Qui-Gon a killing blow. Obi-Wan could take no pride in his feat. He'd killed to avoid death, no more. If he'd been quicker, if he'd been better, he might have been able to save Qui-Gon. He should have been able to save him.

For this monumental failure the Council deemed him worthy of a knighthood. Not only a knight but a knight responsible for a padawan of his own.

Obi-Wan sighed and leaned his head on the railing as he thought of Anakin and all the responsibility the child entailed. Anakin wasn't just a padawan, he was the "Chosen One," the one who would bring balance. All he was bringing to Obi-Wan was frustration and a killer headache.

The truth was he wasn't ready at all. He wasn't ready to lose his master. He wasn't ready to teach another. He wasn't ready to walk alone. Hadn't Qui-Gon told him on this very balcony that he still had much to learn?

Obi-Wan stretched his arms out from the rails feeling the strong winds that constantly assaulted the tall buildings of Coruscant.

'That Sith should have killed me and not Qui-Gon,' he thought miserably. 'Everything would be better if it had happened that way.'

Movement from the corner of his eye startled Obi-Wan. He could have sworn he'd been alone out here and he'd sensed no one approaching. Yet there was someone with him. A figure stood on the balcony railing, hands curled around a supporting wire. The man's Jedi robes billowed around him with the wind. Although he looked to be about Obi-Wan's age, Obi-Wan did not recognize him. There was nothing so unusual about that; Obi-Wan didn't know every knight at the Temple.

Obi-Wan was alarmed by the dangerous position of the stranger. A good gust of wind, not an unlikely occurrence, could easily cause the young man to lose his grip and fall. At that moment, the stranger turned to face Obi-Wan, his face a mirror of the misery the knight was feeling. Maybe he was looking to fall?

"Be careful," Obi-Wan said softly, stepping slowly towards the other man. When he was close enough he reached out a hand. "Why don't you step down from there?"

Surprisingly, the stranger held out his own hand and grasped Obi-Wan's strongly. There was no hesitation or fear in his grip. When Obi-Wan looked up to meet the other's eyes the strange face seemed to morph from unhappiness to hard determination.

Then the stranger let go of the wire and jumped from the rail, pulling Obi-Wan over with him. Obi-Wan made every effort to reach for the rail with his free hand but he fell faster than his mind had to react. As he reached out with the Force for something -- anything -- to break his descent to death he found himself taking note of the oddest details. Like how cold it was, for example.

Whether by luck or skill or merely coincidence he was suddenly gripping a thin beam that jutted out from the smooth Temple walls as part of a support structure. Curling his leg up until he was lying on the narrow metal lifeline Obi-Wan didn't move for several moments as he calmed his heart.

The stranger was gone. Obi-Wan could no longer see him and assumed he'd continued the plummet to the ground. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, wondering if he'd ever know the reasons for the man's suicide and his desire for company in the act.

Slowly the cold wind marked an impression on Obi-Wan's thoughts. He needed to get off this beam and back indoors. He pushed up on his knees slowly. Glancing up towards the building he got such a shock he nearly fell again.

Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed watching Obi-Wan was the stranger. Before Obi-Wan's mind could come up with any theories on how this was possible, the other man grinned and spoke for the first time.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, sounding far too cheerful to be sincere in his regret. "I misunderstood you completely. You didn't want to kill yourself. You wanted the Sith to have done that for you."

Obi-Wan gaped at the man and wondered if maybe he was having some kind of stress induced hallucination. Then the stranger's brown robes deepened into black and a darkness washed over his features, morphing them again like some kind of mask.

"That can be arranged." It was the stranger who spoke but his voice had changed. It was deeper, more menacing, practically dripping with threat.

The stranger stood on the beam with confidence as though he had firm ground to support him. Obi-Wan came to his feet unsteadily, his balance off kilter with the gusts of wind. He could see that behind the stranger was an open window so if he could just make it past...

"Will you defend yourself or merely die?" asked the stranger in that new growly voice as he ignited a red lightsaber.

Instinct was stronger than feeling for Obi-Wan who blocked the downward strike with a lightsaber he couldn't remember drawing. It was a battle of weapons and balance for Obi-Wan as the stranger forced him back ever closer to the end of the beam.

Was this the other Sith? Despite his menacing attack Obi-Wan could sense none of the darkness he'd felt from the creature on Naboo. That being had oozed hatred and anger and taken a vindictive pleasure in causing pain. This man was much calmer, more amused than angry. 'So why is he trying to kill me?' Obi-Wan wondered desperately.

It was too much to handle.

"Tell me something," said the stranger in his normal voice, pausing a moment in his attack. Obi-Wan remained poised for defense. "If you had died instead of Qui-Gon, how do you think your master would be dealing with it now?"

Obi-Wan hadn't meant to answer but his mouth opened all on its own.

"He'd deal with it better than I."

"You think?" The stranger seemed to ponder this.

"He was a better man, a better Jedi, than I'll ever be," continued Obi-Wan bitterly.

"He didn't think so," the stranger said softly. "In fact, didn't he say that you were much wiser than he was?"

"How could you know that?" gasped Obi-Wan, shocked.

"I suspect," continued the stranger, ignoring Obi-Wan's question, "that your master would have been very upset to see you cut down by that Sith. Are you certain you want him to suffer that grief?"

"He is one with the Force," Obi-Wan said coldly. "He feels no grief."

The stranger gave a light tap to Obi-Wan's saber, keeping the knight from attempting to move around him but did not attack as he had before. Obi-Wan gave a bitter laugh.

"Perhaps it would be better if I'd never even been born. Then I wouldn't cause anyone any grief and I wouldn't break any promises. And I wouldn't..."

"...have to think about whether or not you can cope with your newly earned responsibilities," finished the stranger for him with another grin. "That is the best idea you've had in a long time!"

Without warning the winds stopped. Their absence nearly knocked Obi-Wan off balance again and he struggled to keep his footing. The stranger deactivated his lightsaber and turned to walk towards the window.

"Well come on!" he snapped back at Obi-Wan. "We haven't got all day you know!"

Warily Obi-Wan followed him through the window. He was so relieved to be back inside that he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Trying to get his bearings Obi-Wan saw the stranger standing perfectly still, arms outstretched and eyes closed.

"What are you...?"

"Quiet! This temporal distortion stuff is harder than it looks," was the cryptic response.

After a moment the stranger snapped out of his trance and offered Obi-Wan a hand up off the floor. Considering what had happened the last time they'd clasped hands Obi-Wan rose to his feet on his own.

"Right then, let's go," said the stranger turning away. Obi-Wan didn't move.

"Who ARE you?" he asked, his bewilderment giving way to frustration.

The stranger half turned back towards him with another of those annoying grins.

"If I said I came from the moons of Iego would that be a hint?" He laughed at Obi-Wan's confused expression. "Your apprentice would know. Now don't dawdle, we're on a schedule here."

Obi-Wan hesitated and then followed, motivated more by curiosity than anything else.

*****

He caught up with the mysterious man heading down a corridor towards the part of the Temple where the younger children lived. The stranger was moving so quickly Obi-Wan had to nearly jog to keep up. In a strange way it reminded him of being a teenager and trotting to stay in stride with Qui-Gon.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

The man clamped a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder so hard the young knight winced.

"We are going to take a walk through your life as it played out without you in it."

"What are you talking about?" Obi-Wan was starting to get annoyed. When he thought about it, it was a long overdue emotion.

"No, we don't need to talk, just walk," the stranger replied. "Watch and learn, young Knight."

He opened the door into one of the children's rooms. Curled up in a tight ball of misery was a little girl, caught in the terror of a nightmare. Obi-Wan immediately went towards her, intending to ease her fears, but stopped when he realized who she was.

"This can't be right," he whispered to the stranger. "Shari is only a few years younger than I am."

"Than you would be, if you existed," corrected the stranger. Obi-Wan glared at him but he didn't seem to notice. He looked down at the child with compassion. "Poor little thing. She always suffered from terrible dreams. Prophetic ones too, you know."

"I know," agreed Obi-Wan. "I used to come in and..." His voice died off as he looked around. There was no one else in the room.

"...and offer comfort," finished the stranger. "But you're not here because you were never born."

"She could have gone to someone else," mumbled Obi-Wan.

"Ah! But that would only work if she sought out your comfort. She did not. You were the one who sensed her distress and came to help."

The stranger turned away but Obi-Wan hovered over the little girl. He reached out to touch her head and was startled to find his hand pass through her as though she had no form. Or maybe he was the one without any substance. He looked at the stranger with alarm.

"Kenobi, don't sweat the small stuff. We've got to keep going."

Feeling as unbalanced as he'd been on the beam earlier, Obi-Wan left the room.

*****

To his surprise, just outside the door they were no longer in the children's section but closer to the main dining hall.

"Oops, watch your step," directed the stranger, steering Obi-Wan away from a puddle of water on the marble floor.

"That's funny. I haven't seen anything like that since Overn was on kitchen duty. He used to slosh the water jugs so much it's a wonder any made it to the tables." Obi-Wan seemed lost in a memory. The stranger eyed him shrewdly.

"Who cleaned it up?"

"Well, I did usually since I was also on duty." Obi-Wan laughed a little. "I used to follow him around with a mop most of the time."

"Mmm hmm," was the stranger's thought on that.

Obi-Wan's attention was drawn to the sound of someone running. It was a peculiar sound, very rare in the Temple. Then a young student came around the corner at full speed.

"Look out!" cried Obi-Wan quite uselessly and too late anyway as the young girl hit the puddle and slid out of control. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force to break her fall, to cushion the impact, to give her some balance but found he could not. She went crashing through a glass door on the far side of the corridor. Within seconds she was surrounded by other students and a master was calling for some medical aid.

"Ahhh!" Obi-Wan brought fists up to his face not wanting to see her injuries or hear the bad news. He whirled on the stranger who had watched the scene without emotion. "Who was that?"

"I believe her name is Vazu L'il."

"Vazu," whispered Obi-Wan. "She and her master negotiated the peace on Bylol."

"The first peace in 250 years," agreed the stranger. "Of course, it won't happen now."

"What do you mean?" demanded Obi-Wan. He looked back over at the crowd around Vazu.

"She never recovered fully from this. She was taken as a padawan to a healer master but things didn't work out and she left the Temple at the age of 17."

"And then?" asked Obi-Wan weakly.

"She settled on her home planet and got married. I believe she has four children."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Obi-Wan conceded, swallowing hard.

"Hmph! Tell that to the Bylolians!" retorted the stranger with a sniff. "But let's not dwell on that."

"Somebody else could have mopped up that water," Obi-Wan said firmly, following the stranger from the hall.

"Obi-Wan!" he said sternly. "Are you not getting it? Sure somebody else could have. Somebody else could have been you. But no one did."

*****

Despite the distance between the hall and the hangar Obi-Wan realized they had approached the main docking port for the Temple. A boy, perhaps 10 years old, stood awaiting one of the public transports. He had a strong determined expression.

"Bruck Chun," Obi-Wan said, recognizing his old rival immediately. "Where's he going?"

They followed Bruck onto the shuttle and sat opposite the boy.

"He's been given the boot, I'm afraid," stated the stranger airly. Obi-Wan frowned.

"But he's too young. He should have at least a couple more years before reaching the age limit."

"Oh he's not being thrown on his hide because he failed to capture a master," corrected the stranger. "He's just been a naughty boy."

Bruck's stoic brave face crumbled into wretchedness as they got further from the Temple. He lowered his head into his hands and cried.

"How is this in any way related to me?" Obi-Wan asked quietly.

"You and Bruck never really got on very well, did you?"

"No."

"In fact, didn't he have a pet name for you? Something about being awkward," mused the stranger. "Clumsy, wasn't it?"

"Oafy," Obi-Wan supplied shortly.

"Ah yes." The stranger smiled. "Funny you didn't have more sympathy for Jar Jar Binks really, all things considered."

Obi-Wan fixed the stranger with an icy stared. He coughed.

"Ahem, yes, anyway, without you as a rival Bruck just couldn't seem to keep things together. He lacked the drive that your healthy competition gave him."

Obi-Wan snorted with disbelief. Healthy competition indeed! There had been nothing healthy about the physical battles he and Bruck had tormented each other with during their childhood. Bruck was a bully who had nearly cost him his apprenticeship.

"What happens to him?" Obi-Wan asked abruptly.

"He was a drug dealer on the outer rim. Did a brisk business too, by all accounts," supplied the stranger.

"Was?" Obi-Wan felt his blood run cold.

"Yes. His entrepreneurial triumph was cut short by a knife in the ribs from someone less than impressed with Bruck's mixing the Force with business." The stranger stood. "Here is our stop."

"I'm not responsible for this." Obi-Wan gestured at the crying boy. "I'm not to blame because Bruck failed at being a Jedi."

"Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan," the stranger soothed, taking the knight by the shoulders and guiding him to the door. "No one is sitting in judgement on you. We are merely observers of the tapestry of life. Just remove one thread and see what changes." They exited the shuttle. "And see what falls to pieces," he added cheerfully.

*****

Amazingly enough Obi-Wan discovered they were back at the Temple, in the arena. The sound of students cheering filled the room. Two students were engaged in a blind battle for some members of the Council and...

"Qui-Gon," breathed Obi-Wan with wonder. He left the stranger's side to cross over to his master.

Qui-Gon looked decidedly different from the master in Obi-Wan's memory. His expression was hard and cold and filled with unhappiness. He was also not paying a lot of attention to the battle being waged on his behalf. Obi-Wan sat next to him, barely noticing that the stranger had perched himself behind. They watched the fight for a few minutes.

"He doesn't pick one," stated Obi-Wan. The stranger said nothing. "That should be me out there," Obi-Wan added, as he noticed that one of the boys fighting looked to be approaching thirteen. He could almost see the sense of desperation in the boy’s movements. Obi-Wan remembered all too well how desperate he'd been to be chosen and how crushed he'd felt when he was not.

"It seems to me that Master Jinn needed a bit of convincing to take you on," murmured the stranger.

The fight ended and Obi-Wan looked at the victor with a pang of irrational jealousy. Was this the boy that Qui-Gon eventually took under his wing to teach and train? Was this the boy who grew to love the master like a father? Something twisted in Obi-Wan's stomach. Was this the boy who would save Qui-Gon from the Sith's blade? Who would succeed where he, Obi-Wan, had failed so miserably?

"Do they go to Bandomeer together then?" he asked the stranger as the arena cleared.

"Yes and no," was the cryptic reply.

Wanting to remain near his master, even in this bizarre circumstance, Obi-Wan followed him from the room. It was funny, in a sad way, to watch Qui-Gon school his steps to stay by Master Yoda's side. Yoda was trying to convince Qui-Gon to take one of the students as a padawan but Qui-Gon was having none of it. Respectful to the last he would only agree to consider the matter further, even when his tone made it clear that the matter was already closed.

Obi-Wan was suddenly sure he wanted to see no more of this charade. He could not bare to watch another break down Qui-Gon's rigid defenses and make his way into the master's heart. It had taken time, but Obi-Wan had done it during their misadventures on Bandomeer.

"What makes you so sure the boy succeeds the way you did?" asked the stranger taunting him.

"Does he?" demanded Obi-Wan, not thinking about the stranger’s uncanny ability to read his mind.

"He never got the chance," replied the stranger. "The boy was killed when the pirates boarded the ship."

*****

The floor beneath his feet shifted and Obi-Wan looked around to see they were now on board the Monument, the transport that Qui-Gon had taken to Bandomeer. Pirates had attacked and boarded the ship leaving utter and complete pandemonium in their wake. Obi-Wan was powerless to get involved and he hated that feeling. The stranger casually stepped over and around carnage like he was walking in a flower garden.

Obi-Wan came across the body of the Jedi student and knelt beside the boy. He hung his head, ashamed of his prior feelings of jealousy.

"Tell me he takes another apprentice," Obi-Wan said, his voice low. The stranger looked down at him not unkindly but said nothing. "Tell me!" ordered Obi-Wan looking up with a fierce expression.

"I can tell you many things," the stranger agreed calmly. "And I can show them to you as well. Over there, for example," he gestured with a casual wave, "you can see the Arconans submitting themselves to slavery for the sake of some stolen dactyl."

"Si Treemba!" called Obi-Wan to his friend, forgetting for a moment that he could not be heard by the group of defeated miners. They were shuffling towards the malicious Hutt who had taken their dactyl, a substance without which they could not live. Obi-Wan had convinced his friend to resist the Hutt as long as possible to see if they could find another way. Another way that would not be found in this reality, without Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan stood to look helplessly at the stranger.

"Then there's the matter of the explosive devices that Xanatos set on Bandomeer." The stranger frowned. "Well, perhaps I can't show you that. The planet is an environmental disaster even now."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes to the thought of all those on Bandomeer who had died because of Xanatos’s all consuming hatred of his former master, Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan had stopped the timing device on the master switch with ionite, giving Qui-Gon the necessary time to diffuse the bombs.

"Qui-Gon?" he asked softly.

"He got out, barely, with a handful of survivors. Including Guerra." The stranger grinned evilly. "Not so! I lie. Guerra died on the mining platform when the bombs blew."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath turning away. As he stepped back from the stranger and all his news he saw that the scene had changed once again. They were on Phindar, the home planet of his friend Guerra. Guerra, who had been so fond of saying the exact opposite to what he really meant. Sadly Obi-Wan noticed the faces of most of the people were blank, expressionless, or fearful and confused. They had had their memories erased by a cruel and evil governor.

"After Bandomeer, Qui-Gon was sent to Gala to oversee the elections. He was not sidetracked to Phindar and so he never learned of Baftu's treachery here and it continued unchecked."

"Not so?" Obi-Wan tried weakly. After a moment he whispered, "Please stop."

"But I thought you wanted to know of Qui-Gon?" asked the stranger. "He pursued Xanatos, to no avail, for years, never quite able to break his sense of failure there. And he did the Council's bidding, locking horns with them occasionally. One thing he refused to do despite their constant demands was to take another apprentice."

*****

As they stranger spoke the scene around them changed; the street market of Phindar faded away and the entranceway to the Jedi Council chamber came into focus.

"So he never took another apprentice," Obi-Wan said wearily. "Stubborn old fool."

"Did I say never?" questioned the stranger with exaggerated innocence.

Through the open doors Obi-Wan could hear his master's voice address the Council. He stepped into the chamber somehow already knowing what he would see.

"Very well. I will train him then. I take Anakin Skywalker as my Padawan apprentice." Qui-Gon spoke boldly, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. Obi-Wan circled the pair noting Anakin's hopeful expression and Qui-Gon's determination. He turned to look at the members of the Council as they silently digested this declaration. This time there was no Obi-Wan Kenobi standing in the way of Anakin's apprenticeship.

"Skywalker your apprentice will be," pronounced Yoda.

Obi-Wan turned a triumphant gaze on the stranger, who had been watching with a barely concealed trace of amusement.

"You see! Finally something good that comes from me not being here," Obi-Wan declared. For the first time he felt as though things might actually work.

"Stay at the Temple until you return he will," continued Yoda.

"Go with the Queen to Naboo and discover the identity of this dark warrior who attacked you," Mace Windu ordered Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon had bowed and taken Anakin from the chamber before the meaning of the words fully hit Obi-Wan.

"No wait!" he cried, whirling on all the seated Council members. "Anakin must go to Naboo as well! He must go!"

Of course the Council didn't acknowledge him, they couldn't even hear him. Obi-Wan went over to the stranger whose expression was more like pity now.

"He goes. He must go. Tell me he goes to Naboo!" Obi-Wan begged.

"Alas, I cannot," the stranger admitted. "Anakin remained at the Temple while Qui-Gon journeyed back to Naboo with the Queen."

*****

As they walked through the chamber doors they came to the plains of Naboo. Evidence of a battle marked the otherwise idyllic setting. The only things moving were the droids as they regrouped. Obi-Wan felt ill.

"In the words of General Binks, the Gungans got pasted," the stranger observed.

Somehow this carnage was worse than anything Obi-Wan had seen with the stranger so far. Perhaps because the victory on Naboo was still fresh in his mind; he could still see the parade outside the palace in Theed. There would be no such celebration in this reality. 'Was this price too high to ensure Anakin's training?' he wondered sadly.

The stranger pulled Obi-Wan from the battle scene.

"We're running out of time and there is still much to see," he urged.

But when the lush green hills faded into the metallic grey of the central hangar walls Obi-Wan froze.

"No," he whispered. "Not here. Not this."

The hangar was empty, the pilots not yet back from their failed attempt to disable the droid control ship. Amidala and her escort were making their way to the throne room. And Qui-Gon Jinn was battling the Sith warrior -- alone.

Obi-Wan knew every move, every clash of the sabers, every duck, every evasive motion, every defense, every attack. Yet he could not help but watch with a fascinated horror as his master and the Sith performed their deadly dance. They followed the battle as it moved from the hangar into the power station, along the catwalks above the generators and into the service corridor for the melting pit. Obi-Wan felt absurdly like laughing as he and the stranger walked through the red force fields as though they weren't even active. If only it had been so easy!

Every bone in his body ached, every muscle clenched, to be able to warn Qui-Gon or be able to help him. But just as he'd been helpless locked behind the energy field, so was he helpless to intervene now. Qui-Gon was struck through by the Sith's red blade.

Obi-Wan didn't cry out this time. He sank to his knees by his fallen master, his trembling hands hovering just over the wound. Around them the Sith paced, satisfaction lacing the barbs of anger which seethed from the dark creature.

"Die Jedi!" the Sith growled as he stabbed Qui-Gon again, hastening the man's death.

Obi-Wan flung himself at the Sith in a rage only to stumble right through him. His momentum caused him to crash into the wall. The Sith, not even aware of Obi-Wan's distress, turned and ran from the melting pit.

Obi-Wan walked over to Qui-Gon's body and looked down.

"I failed him," he said softly.

The stranger, standing close by, reached over and smacked Obi-Wan hard across the back of his head. Obi-Wan glared at him, nearly at the end of his rope.

"You still don't get it, Kenobi?" The stranger sounded amazed. "After all I've shown you today, how dare you feel unworthy! How dare you!" The stranger knelt beside Qui-Gon and pointed at him. "You see this man? Your importance to him had nothing to do with his death, Obi-Wan, and everything to do with his life. He died at the Sith's hand with or without you here. The difference between the two is in how he lived the last 12 years."

The stranger stood now and poked Obi-Wan's chest with two fingers, pushing him back.

"If you want to measure your worthiness, Knight, then think on that a bit. Think about what you gave to Qui-Gon Jinn." Poke. "Think about comfort you brought those in fear. Think about small tasks you did without knowing the far reaching consequences. Think about rivalry and friendship." Poke, poke. "About courage," Poke. "and trust. Think about countless lives saved, about numerous disasters averted. Think about the smile on a child's face. About hope for the future." Poke, poke, poke. "Think about showing an empty man that he could love without fear of betrayal."

With one final shove of the stranger's hand Obi-Wan fell backwards into the pit. He reached out instinctively and caught hold of the metal rung. Dangling precariously he looked up. No Sith there, only the stranger who was regarding him with as stern a look as he'd ever received from any master.

"Large or small, Obi-Wan Kenobi, your actions have always been directed for the greater good. Consciously or unconsciously you brought peace to many people, not the least of whom was your master! In your reality he died knowing you would take up his task. In this one, there is no one for Ani."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and suddenly had a very clear vision of Anakin back at the Temple, alone and without a master, without a future.

"The Council certainly makes mistakes, but you are not one of them, Obi-Wan. Do you understand that now? Do you, Knight?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan forced out the word from between clenched teeth.

"What was that?" The stranger cocked his head, cupping his ear.

"Yes," declared Obi-Wan louder this time. His arms were aching; he wouldn't be able to hold much longer.

"Yes, what?" demanded the stranger.

"Yes, I see that I am worthy of my knighthood."

"Why?" barked the stranger.

"For all that I've done," gasped Obi-Wan, his fingers slipping. "And not just for killing the Sith."

"Well, not that killing him wasn't handy too," conceded the stranger with a bit of a smirk.

Obi-Wan lost his grip and fell backwards into the pit. He remembered thinking that he also meant to say he felt worthy for loving his master and being loved by him. But the only word that came out was "Master" which echoed around him in the long drop down.

*****

"Master? Master? Obi-Wan!" A small voice was breaking through Obi-Wan's darkness. "Master Obi-Wan?" Small hands were shaking his shoulders.

With a gasp Obi-Wan came awake, alert instantly even as he felt the aftermath of vertigo throw him off balance. Not for the first time today.

He was on the balcony but the sun had long set, leaving a night sky that was never completely dark due to the many lights of the city. Anakin was by his side looking both concerned and frustrated.

"Ani, what...?" The question died as Obi-Wan sprang to his feet searching for the stranger. He was not all that surprised to find they were alone. "Was anyone else here?" he asked his confused padawan.

"No, just you," Anakin told him. "I got worried when you didn't come back." His tone revealed much to Obi-Wan who sensed Anakin's great fear of abandonment. Something to work on, he decided and found to his astonishment that he was looking forward to the challenge. Anakin was not a burden, but a legacy, a prophecy, and first and foremost a little boy.

"I'm sorry, Ani," Obi-Wan said, putting his arm around his apprentice. "I must have fallen asleep."

They walked into the Temple together. The turmoil that Obi-Wan had felt earlier was gone leaving only peace. He still ached with the loss of his master but somehow he didn't have the same sense of despair as before.

As they went down the corridor Obi-Wan asked casually, "Do you know who comes from the moons of Iego?"

"I think so," responded Anakin, wondering if this was some kind of test.

"Who then?" Obi-Wan asked softly.

"Angels," Anakin told him simply.

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