Chapter One
From deep space, the planet Ragoon-6 lay concealed by a bluemist shimmering in the midst broke into sparkling particlesthat swirled around the viewscreen. The ship broke throughinto a planetary atmosphere so clear it seemed astransparent as water. Glinting below was a planet as greenas a flashing jewel.
Anakin Skywalker’s breath caught as he leaned forward. Hehad never seen such a beautiful approach to a planet.
Obi-Wan Kenobi put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder as he, too,leaned forward. “I had forgotten how beautiful it is.”
Anakin glanced at his Master. Despite his beard, his face suddenly looked young, even younger than when Anakin had methim five years before, when Anakin was nine years old. Obi-Wan had been a Padawan then, just like Anakin was now. Nodoubt Obi-Wan was remembering his other trips to the planet,the ones he had taken with his own Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.
Wren Honoran, their Jedi pilot, nodded. “I always forgetuntil next time I see it. It takes your breath away everytime.”
“It’s amazing that it hasn’t been colonized,” Anakin said.
“It was given in trust to the Senate by it own government,”Obi-Wan explained. “Only small tribes of natives stillinhabit it. A Senate committee handles request to visit.Only the Jedi and small groups of beings can visit at anyone time. Access is strictly controlled. That was Ragoon-6will remain unspoiled, as the government wanted. The are noair lanes, no factories, no cities.”
“The Ragoons never allowed colonizers to settle,” Wren said.Their own population sickened and dwindles until finallythere was only a handful left. They could no longer keepout all those who wanted to come. They knew they would haveto give up what they loved most in order to save it.”
“But if they’d just allowed colonizers to come, they couldhave kept their planet,” Anakin pointed out.
“Yes, but they chose not to. The beauties of their worldwere too important to them,” Obi-Wan explained. “To keepthe planet unspoiled was their first goal.”
“They sound selfish to me,” Anakin said. “They wanted tokeep their planet beautiful for themselves and a fewothers,”
“Or perhaps they were wise,” Obi-Wan said. “It is not forus to say.”
Anakin turned his gaze back to the planets surface andsighed under his breath. One of the hardest things he foundabout becoming a Jedi was suspending judgement. To Anakin,things were good or bad, smart or stupid. Obi-Was had thismaddening way of not taking a stance on things.
“If I had a planet that was truly my homeworld, I wouldn’tgive it away. I’d want to be able to come back whenever Iwanted,” Anakin said. He had spent his early years onTatooine, but he had been a slave. He did not feel asthought the planet was his home, even though his motherstill lived there.
“The Temple is your home,” Obi-Wan said gently.
Anakin nodded, but he knew in his heart he did not feel that way. He loved the Temple and was always glad to return there. He loved its order and its grace. He loved the beauty within it, the Room of a Thousand Fountains and the deep green lake. But it did not feel like home.
Unlike other Jedi students, Anakin had once had a home. Unlike them, he remembered his mother. He remembered running home through the heat and bursting through the door to be met with cool and shade and open arms. He remembered his warm cheek against her cool one… .
No, his home had not been a planet. It had been smaller, and humbler, and much more precious.
Life in that home had not been easy. There had been times of food shortages, times when they had shivered at night forwent of fuel.
The Temple was never short of food or fuel. The temperature was maintained at the optimum degree for the various beings who lived within. It was warmer and safer than the slave quarters on Tatooine.
But it still didn’t feel like home. Home will always be where Mom is. No matter how old I get. No matter how long its been since I’ve seen her.
“There are the Rost Mountains,” Wren said. “We’ll land and Ill say goodbye there.” He grinned over his shoulder at Anakin. “And then you’ll try to catch me. Wren was an older Jedi with a graying beard who had chosen to teach at the Temple rather than continue to go on missions. Anakin had studied the politics of governments with Wren, and he knew the Jedi Master had a wide-ranging grasp of political philosophies in the galaxy. As part of his Jedi service, Wren also volunteered to take part in training missions for Jedi teams.
Anakin and Obi-Wan would try to track Wren through the wilderness. The exercise was designed to strengthen the bond of trust between Master and Padawan. On Raqgoon-6, they would have only each other to depend on as they tracked Wren through rugged terrain.