[Jedi Quest] - 06(2)

“It’s Anakin. I need to speak to you about something. I don’t wish to interrupt you, but - “

“I’m in the Room of the Thousand Fountains.” “I’ll be there in a few minutes, then.”

Anakin shoved his comlink back into his belt. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt free to tease his Master, or the last time Obi-Wan had made a joke. Lately he’d begun to wonder if Obi-Wan still wanted him as his Padawan at all. It was not unheard of for a Master to step away. Unusual, yes, but not every pairing was the right one. It was considered no shame on the Padawan if a more appropriate Master was needed. But Anakin would feel the shame.

The Room of the Thousand Fountains wasn’t far from the lake. He hurried down the wooded trail. Illumination banks overhead created an impression of sunlight streaming through the green leaves. Anakin wished he could enjoy the peace that the Jedi found on these shores.

His Master was sitting on a favorite bench, his eyes closed. No doubt he was meditating or listening to the fountains that were often compared to the delicate chiming of bells.

Without opening his eyes, his Master spoke. “You sounded disturbed.”

Anakin sat next to him. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and sent him a penetrating glance. “I’ve had a vision,” Anakin said. “It’s come three times, and I need to make sense of it.”

“Visions do not always make sense.” Obi-Wan swung around to face Anakin. “Tell me about it.”

Anakin outlined the vision. It was still so clear in his head that he had no trouble remembering the details.

“The One Below remains below,” Obi-Wan murmured.

“Do you know what that means?”

Obi-Wan didn’t answer. “Yoda should hear about this.”

“Hear about what, I wonder,” Yoda called, heading toward them and leaning on his gimer stick. “To find you, I come, Obi-Wan. Expecting a problem, I was not.”

Obi-Wan smiled as he rose. “Not a problem. A vision has been troubling Anakin.”

“A vision, you say?” Yoda swiveled to fix Anakin with a curious look. He settled himself on a rock and rested his hands on top of his stick, his posture for listening.

Once again, Anakin related the vision, leaving out his feelings about it. He knew that Yoda would want to know only the details.

Strangely, Yoda repeated the same thing that Obi-Wan had. “The One Below remains below,” he murmured.

“Do you know who that is, Master Yoda?” Anakin asked.

Yoda nodded slowly. “Know her well, I do. Master Yaddle, it is.”

“Master Yaddle was imprisoned for centuries on the world of Koda,” Obi-Wan explained. “The Kodans gave her that name, The One Below.”

Anakin nodded. He had known about Yaddle’s long imprisonment, but he had never heard that name. Yaddle was the same species as Yoda, and sat on the Jedi Council. She was a revered Jedi Master. He was surprised that she’d been a part of his vision.

“About to leave on a mission to Mawan, she is,” Yoda said. “A troubling one, I fear. Debated, we have, which Jedi team to send with her. The answer, perhaps your vision is.”

Anakin felt a rush of disappointment. He realized at that moment that he had been hoping that the vision meant he needed to travel to Tatooine. He had imagined that he would be able to step out of his dreams and free his mother in reality. “I thought perhaps the vision meant I could somehow help the slaves on Tatooine,” he said hesitantly.

Yoda and Obi-Wan both shook their heads.

“Careful you must be. Difficult to interpret, visions are,” Yoda said. “A map, a vision is not.”

Anakin hid his impatience. Wasn’t Yoda interpreting his vision for him, and telling him where he needed to go?

Obi-Wan sensed his confusion. “Visions of freeing slaves are not surprising,” he told Anakin. “That desire rests deep within you. It is natural that it would rise up in some form. To follow a vision literally is often a mistake.”

“But isn’t following Yaddle also literal?” Anakin asked.

Yoda made a slight gesture with his gimer stick, an acknowledgment of Anakin’s point. “A warning, the vision is.” He turned to Obi-Wan. “Grave, the situation on Mawan has become.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “It is a sad situation. I knew the planet when it was thriving.”

“Open now, this world is,” Yoda said.

“Open?” Anakin asked.

“Mawan was torn apart by a civil war ten years ago,” Obi-Wan explained. “The planet was decimated by the conflict and was never able to set up a government afterward. The capital city completely lost its infrastructure - its roads deteriorated, its space lanes went unmonitored, and finally its power grid went down completely. Much of the housing was destroyed, too. A majority of the citizens were left jobless and homeless. Many moved to the country, but a famine devastated the population there. The absence of government, security, and hope left a void that criminal elements rushed in to fill. It’s now an open world, where anything can happen without fear of the law. Criminals from throughout the galaxy have set up operations there. There is no safety for the citizens.”