The Will Of The Force by Naboo Queen Obi-Wan was not going to tell the young boy the truth. The young Jedi stood in the shadows, watching the unsuspecting boy playing nearby. Obi-Wan was only vaguely aware of Naboo's lights playing off of his pale features. He was waiting for the Jedi Council to decide Anakin's fate, yet knowing that he was going to go against it, no matter what. *They all sense it, why can't you?* The scene with Qui-Gon played continually before his eyes. Obi-Wan felt a great disturbance in the Force. He knew that he was on the threshold of something important that could involve the fate of the galaxy. And it was on his shoulders. It's only a boy. *They all sense it, why can't you?* He had asked Qui-Gon. Would the Council then give in, change their minds? Out of pity? Was the Council weak? Obi-Wan banished the thought, for the possibility was too disconcerting. *They all sense it, why can't you?* They do sense it, so why are they even considering changing the verdict? *Yoda sees it, feels it. I see it. So why didn't Qui-Gon?* Obi-Wan shuddered at the disloyal thoughts he kept entertaining about his late master. *No, face the truth. Qui-Gon was wrong, and he should not have made me promise at that terrible moment. Qui-Gon was like a father. I would have promised to sell my soul to the Sith had he asked me. Instead, he asked me to train a little boy. The Council could not order me to take him. I am not bound to train the boy.* "My focus creates my reality," Obi-Wan whispered his master's instructions. *My focus, how can I focus, what point of view may I create? * Could he lie to Anakin? How did he feel about that? Feelings. Qui-Gon was always good at those. But were feelings what a Jedi followed? When he was thirteen, Obi-Wan had followed his feelings right out of the Jedi Order. That was the biggest mistake of his life, and it was something other than feelings that permitted him to return. Qui-Gon's feelings following the death of Tahl had almost cost several lives, and Qui-Gon's soul. Maybe that's why the Jedi had a Council. They needed wise, objective Jedi to mediate in matters that people too close to the situation may not be able to respond to rationally. Maybe that's why they saw something in Anakin that Qui-Gon could not, so wrapped was he in the plight of the boy and his mother. Did the final request also just come from Qui-Gon, not the Force? If that were the case, Obi-Wan should not be bound by the promise. Moreover, Obi-Wan knew that he was not ready to be a Master. He was not yet even a Jedi! Yet the Council could give in. That was to say something. They would not have done so without the Force guiding them. Then he'd have to heed their decision. Wasn't that their authority? Or, perhaps the problem lay there, too, that their authority was never really defined, something everyone expected but which was never clarified. Yet there was something about Yoda, something about him, even though he is one of the Twelve, he always seemed to stand out, as though his voice had stronger weight. But it was never anything that was discussed. Perhaps that would have been too political. And the Jedi hated to be seen as political. So the issue was authority, and with whom that authority provided. No answer was available to him from the Jedi Code. Qui-Gon's thinking on the matter was clear, had been handed on to him. The Council would not have allowed Qui-Gon to teach he, Obi-Wan, had he been wrong about the Code. Would they? So where does this leave Obi-Wan, and the Young Skywalker? Obi-wan decided to meditate, anything to get some sense of what he was to do. He was disturbed to find that it leaned towards breaking the promise. The promise he may not even be bound to. Could he mislead Anakin? Yes, this is what he would say to the boy without lying. "The Council has not told me that I can train you, Anakin." As though in a holo-drama, Obi-Wan saw the scene play out The blue eyes looked up quickly. "But Qui-Gon said . . ." "I know, but there is more to the Force than following one's instinct, there is more than one Jedi who can sense the Force. We must abide by the Council's decision." "So you can't be my master?" Anakin's face was twitching. He wanted to cry, but he wouldn't. He was not on Tatooine where his mother could wipe away the tears. He would not cry in front of Obi-Wan. "I won't be your master, Anakin," Obi-wan was careful in his wording, "but I will always be your friend." Then the Council would meet, sitting in silence, but all sharing the same thoughts. Obi-Wan had gone back on his promise, and they were satisfied. "The Force has decided," Mace Windu declared. All nodded. "And impressed I am with Obi-Wan. His discernment is unusually strong," Yoda commented. Stronger than this Council's, Yoda believed, but was too prudent to say. They all knew that there was something wrong with Anakin. Yoda was particularly vocal, yet they went ahead and gave permission for his training. Then it seemed that the Force intervened and used Obi-Wan, a new Jedi, to put the Council back on course, to prevent them from making a terrible mistake. "But the boy," Mace Windu said, "Qui-Gon took him away from his mother, for nothing." "Qui-Gon was wrong to promise something that was for the Council to decide," Depa Billaba commented. "Nevertheless, Qui-Gon was a Jedi," Mace Windu replied, "we are responsible for the boy." "Responsible we will be," Yoda replied. And what resulted from this was something wonderful Anakin was brought up on Naboo. The planet, grateful for all he did for their protection, sponsored his education and freed his mother. Anakin was able to train as a pilot, and remain friends with Obi-Wan and Padme. He never got over his crush on her, and she eventually saw him as a man, not a little boy. They were married and soon after had twins, during a devastating war, one in which Anakin played a part but was able to defeat, with the Old Republic, the evils that plagued the society. Palpatine committed suicide at this time, and Padme also nearly died from a disease. Mercifully, her life was spared but she was always infertile after that. While this was a difficult time, having lost their future children made them appreciate the ones they had all the more. Only occasionally, Anakin would wake up after dreadful nightmares. In them he had wanted something so much that he gave up Padme, and their children. He hurt them, too. Mentally and physically. He would repeat the dream to Padme every time he had it, haunted, terrified by the fact that he would become the kind of man to leave his wife and children, and abuse them all. Then Padme would calm him, reminding him that nothing would ever occur to make that happen, make him that kind of man. She would soothe him in her arms chanting after each horrified exclamation that it was all only a dream. Padme was right. It was only a nightmare, for by being true to themselves in their lives, their loves, their vocations, they were able to live their lives in harmony with the Force and the good that it offers. While their lives were not free of pain, they were never free of peace. And people always noticed about Padme that she was always very beautiful, kind, and . . . happy. Obi-Wan woke up. Was that a vision? *No, it was too happy, too right. Life is never like that.* Yes it was a vision. But only one. Always in motion was the future. Obi-Wan, almost against his will began to justify his master. Qui-Gon's confidence had been so strong. He so believed in the Will of the Force. If Qui-Gon had been wrong about the boy, could he have been wrong about everything else he taught? Then how would Obi-Wan know if anything he learned had been valid? And maybe if the Council was wrong about Anakin, they could be wrong about making he, Obi-Wan, a Jedi? Was that a door Obi-Wan could open? Could he survive the ramifications of the latter supposition? Could he survive the foundations of his life to be shaken like that? He shook his head. No, Obi-Wan was too frightened to go there. Instead of facing the possible truth head--on, it was easier to just go with what he had promised Qui-Gon. He had given Qui-Gon his word. That decided it, and the responsibility left him. Obi-Wan sighed with relief. He felt a whispering then. A confirmation? A feeling . . . Qui-Gon had always told him to trust his feelings. So Obi-Wan focused on the living Force, not yet strong enough to discern that the diabolical can disguise itself as the Light. "My focus creates my reality," Obi-Wan whispered his master's instructions. My focus, *my* focus. Once that decision was made there would not be any turning back. He needed to be resolute before he spoke with Yoda. Obi-Wan would do what he must. To question now would mean to go back to the uncertainty of before. The door opened, and Obi-Wan walked through ready to defy the master. "Come, Anakin," Obi-Wan's voice woke Anakin out the his reverie. "It's time for you to get your hair cut." "Yes, Master," Anakin obediently replied, but inside he was thinking how he could show Obi-Wan how he could be a Jedi. He would show the Council. He would show them all . . . Palpatine sat smugly in his dimly lit room, thinking of the events of the past few days. Obi-Wan had been there at every moment, thwarting his plans. Killing Darth Maul. If Darth Maul were to have survived, Palatine would have preferred Qui-Gon alive. That Jedi's weakness in his plans now! Qui-Gon's pride in his own judgment had clouded his reason, made him lose objectivity, and thereby unity with the Council. Palpatine wanted that. The Jedi out alone, confused, mistrustful of each other. A man must divide, before he can conquer. And how Palpatine wanted to divide and conquer the Jedi! The only way he saw to do so was to weaken the Council. Yet Obi-Wan was still promising. His misguided compassion tempted him into action against his conscience, to ignore Yoda, he whom the Jedi suspected, but Palpatine somehow knew, had a special gift above the other Council Members. Yoda could have rightly overruled that Council's decision. Obi-Wan had felt it. His small act of obedience could have set Palpatine's plans back for years . . . perhaps permanently. Palpatine smiled then. Because that hadn't happened and now he had the promising Young Skywalker. It was this child, so strong in the Force, who would be a powerful ally in building his Empire once he defeated the Jedi. He did not need to confront Skywalker, not yet at least, but little by little, as he grew up, he would find opportunities to chip away the good that was in the boy, damage his discernment, and then bring him over to the Dark Side. Yes, despite Darth Maul's defeat, all turned out right in the end. These pawns in his power play continued to move elusively, but surely in his direction. Power. Palpatine sighed. It never comes cheap, but a Sith makes sure that the price is paid by somebody else. He grinned and turned out the light.

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