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Fate

by: Bridget

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Part Fifteen

Anakin Skywalker sat with his mother, clutching her hand a little more strongly than he had intended to. He wouldn't lie, he was frightened. He had somehow known Callisto was in danger, but just not how badly. He had only just been told recently of how she had been attacked by the Sith Lord in her quarters and had been missing for nearly a day now. The Jedi did not want to tell him for fear he would become angry or afraid, but Amidala wouldn't have it. She knew that Callisto was his friend and had the right to know.

That he could have dealt with. He knew that Callisto was a survivor, but after Obi-Wan's news, he wasn't so sure.

He saw Qui-Gon tense as Obi-wan told him of what he had found.

"She had been there, Master. I felt her all the way, but then she vanished. I'm not sure if that meant she's..." His voice trailed off.

Qui-Gon walked over to his former apprentice and placed both hands on his shoulder. "She is not dead, Obi-Wan. We both would have felt it and I have felt nothing."

"But she is hurt. There was a rather substantial amount of blood on the floor and the room had been smashed up terribly."

Anakin heard Obi-Wan's voice fade for a moment at the word "blood."

Always the calm one, Qui-Gon stepped in as the voice of reason. "Did you get the chance to look around? Were there any clues as to what she might have been looking at that made the Sith come for her?"

Obi-Wan thought to himself. "I don't know. Everything that looked like it might have contained some value looked destroyed. There was definitely something there that they did not want anyone to discover."

The Jedi Master nodded. "Then we must find out whatever that is. It may be the key that will lead us to Callisto."

*And the Sith,* Obi-Wan thought.

The two men headed for the door. Qui-Gon looked behind him once to Shmi, who was biting her lip. She was worried, not only for Callisto, but for Qui-Gon. He smiled warmly as if to say, "Don't worry, I'm coming back to you." But as he walked through the door with Obi-Wan he vaguely wondered if that would be true.

He hoped so.

They exited to the outside. It was about midday now, given the position of the sun in the sky. To the planet itself, time didn't really matter, neither did personal situation. Businesses went on, the ships, traveled, they were nothing to them.

"Master," Obi-Wan said, "just where are we going, anyway?"

Qui-Gon pressed his lips together. "I'm not completely sure. You said she had been in the building when you were there?"

"Yes, I could feel her, but after I happened upon the room..."

"Your concentration shattered. It is understandable, but we must get beyond that now. There is more at stake here."

Obi-Wan managed a small smile. "Does the council agree with you on that?"

Qui-Gon laughed shortly. "Believe it or not, yes. They see this as important enough to hold a meeting later tonight. We are supposed to be there to discuss what we have seen of the Sith so far." He paused. "Callisto is supposed to be there, too."

"All the more reason to find her," Obi-Wan said, no expression on his face.

Qui-Gon placed one hand on his shoulder. "We will find her. She can't be that far away."

*****

The world no longer seemed to exist to her.

And Callisto wanted it to stay that way. If she acknowledged that there was a universe, then that would mean she was a part of it, meaning the pain would return. So she lay there, not knowing what she was laying on, and tried to keep everything out of her mind.

Unfortunately, as consciousness returned more and more with each passing moment, it grew harder and harder to maintain.

She opened her eyes to a blurred picture. It was dark and seemed ever more vague given her foggy vision. She tried to lift her head, but changed her mind when a wave of intense dizziness came with it. Moving other part of herself, she found almost everything ached, especially her right arm, which was still recovering from the old injury. But hadn't she had that treated? Why was it still hurting?

Then she remembered. She had been attacked again in her quarters, but had escaped for a short period of time. The Sith Lord had made her angry and she had been so determined to get to the bottom of it all that she had broken into a building to raid records. The good thing had been that she had succeeded. The bad thing had been that in doing so, she had set off alarms with the Sith and they BOTH had come for her. At least that's what her memory was telling her. Before she had passed out, she had made out two figures standing above her. She had known both. It had been the man with the bad tattoo... What had his name been again? Maul. Darth Maul. She remembered it now from the Neimodian records. Then there had been another...the one with that voice... Sidious had it been? No, that wasn't right... There was something she was forgetting...

Palpatine. Yes, the chancellor, that was who it was.

A grim realization set it as all of it came together. They were the same person, Sidious and Palpatine. She had figured it out then, but before she could even move, he had come in and struck her down, dealing her a blow that result in a large blood loss. She could feel the injury even when she was completely still. Amazing the speed of that man had been. Amazing still was all that had happened. Such manipulation, such...

There was a low chuckling in the room with her.

"Yes, it is amazing, isn't it? Sometimes I can't quite believe it myself, but I don't allow it to result in overconfidence. If I had then you would be with the Jedi right now, wouldn't you?"

Callisto pulled herself off the ground, ignoring every pain receptor in her body.

"I suppose I would be," she said softly.

Sidious laughed again and stepped closer. He peered at her closely, then shook his head and laughed again. "You are quite interesting, you know that, don't you? Impressive how you escaped my apprentice on two occasions. Of course the first time had been pure luck. If the Jedi hadn't appeared you would be dead right now."

Callisto lowered her eye lids at him. "That would be a waste, wouldn't it?" she seethed.

He smiled again, that politician's fake grin that probably won him hearts in the Senate. "Yes, it would be. I must say, I am quite impressed with your work...such anger, such determination... a pity it failed you in the end."

"Not necessarily," she said.

"Oh?"

"They know I'm missing. They'll look for me."

He circled her, stopping directly behind her. "Yes, I know this...but they won't find you and if they do, it will be because I have allowed it...and you have allowed it."

Callisto arched an eyebrow. She also decided to try and change the subject, not liking the turn the conversation was taking. "So which is it, Sidious or Palpatine?"

Again he laughed. "Both, my dear. Interesting trick, isn't it? When I was the apprentice, it had been cultured...planned that I would take this role so that I might control all of this. As you see, it is working. Now I am the master," he said proudly.

"Well, congratulations," she said with sarcasm.

"Thank you. Can I leave now?"

"I'm afraid not. I had expected you would seek us out eventually, just not quite this soon, but it is of no consequence. You can be of service now as you would be later."

"You assume a lot."

"Do I? You know very well that you do not belong with them. You have no place among the Jedi or with their friends. You have no place with the boy or his mother. They know how angry you are..how full of hate you are. In time they would push you away."

Callisto bit her lip. That had been pretty much the story of her entire life. Every place she had ever gone she had been asked to leave.

"Not this time."

"Really? You are strong and I can see you remaining in place, but if you did not leave, then they would leave you. I would welcome you and so would my apprentice. We appreciate rage, the hate. You don't know the power it holds, but you will."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid, I must respectively decline."

Sidious was still behind her. "You say that now. In time, you will change your mind. I can wait. The Sith have waited hundreds of years for revenge. I can wait for you to break down, especially when you will be going no where. And if you, through some miracle managed escape, you will have no where to go. The Jedi that you hold so dear will be dead. "

"We'll see."

"You think I am kidding? No, I'm afraid this has been in the works for some time and I have been given the perfect opportunity to go forth. That meeting of the council will be their last."

"They'll catch it."

"Will they? If they do realize it, it will be too late to do anything about it. They are soon to fall."

"It will be stopped," she said, but this time, she couldn't keep the inkling of fear out of her voice."

He laughed, and pulled back a lock of hair off her shoulders. "You're determined, I'll give you that, but there is no escape. The only way you leave, is if you die. It is your choice."

"If I die, I'm taking you with me."

"We'll see."

And with that, he left the room. The darkness returned as Callisto still stood in the darkened room, clutching her slashed arm, alone with her thoughts.

*****

Darth Maul stood in the shadows beside the Jedi Temple. He watched as people entered and exited with a dark smile. Soon many of them would die. Good riddance.

No one had seen him enter the building. So one had seen him set up the explosives with the help of the droids. And no one had seen him leave.

He felt a fire rise within his chest. He would wait here and watch as the building erupted into the flames, wiping out the heads of his enemies. He would listen to the screams of agony of that great blow. There would be no stopping it once it started and they would have won a great victory. Soon, his master would control the galaxy once the Jedi were all taken care of. Then, after Sidious had passed on, it would be his turn. He could wait, there was still much to learn. Power would come.

*Soon.*

Part Sixteen

Mace Windu stood upon the balcony of the Jedi Temple, overlooking the vast, industrialized landscape of Corsucant. He knew that far below him was land, but he had never personally seen any of it. The surface of the planet had not been touched by sentient life in centuries, although droids did go down there for land surveys, but that hardly counted. It was so far down, that from where he stood, it was dark and he could see nothing.

Much like the Sith menace. He knew it was there, like the planet below him, but he could not see it, still it existed.

The thought of something that terrible stalking them, and doing such horrific damage filled the Jedi master with a very unsettling feeling. Especially since none of them had seen it coming. They had ignored Qui-Gon Jinn's early warnings. At first, Mace mused, he had thought it to be just too impossible for the Sith to exist still. He had read the old texts about them, how they were wiped from the galaxy after the dark warriors had begun to destroy themselves. After the crises, no live Sith had been found. They were dead and if they were alive, they would have known. Slowly, though, it dawned on Mace that it had been arrogance on his part and on the part of the entire council. They were so confident in their own abilities, wisdom, and power that they failed to see the wolf hiding in the bushes. Now it sat on their front steps. Yet, they had not seen the darkness until one of their own had almost died.

Inside, Mace was disappointed in himself. He should not be making such mistakes, not with so much potentially at stake.

Ada Gallia stepped out onto the balcony, her arms folded across her chest. She walked and stood beside him.

"There has been no word yet from Qui-Gon and his former apprentice," she said softly.

Mace lowered his head. That was not a good sign. He had recently developed a very strong faith in the somewhat renegade Jedi. If they were having difficulties, it could only be interpreted as a very bad thing. Either they had found nothing, or they had run into trouble. He preferred neither.

"We should have seen this," Ada said.

"I know," Mace replied.

"But we did not."

"I know."

The woman looked once at him, then out across the planet before returning in, the slight breeze billowing her robes as she walked. Mace's eyes never strayed from the horizon. Dusk was approaching. The skies were ablaze with red and orange light. It was a beautiful sight, but it filled him with dread. The quickly approaching night filled him with a sense of foreboding. With the coming evening, he felt the dark times coming with it.

So many things hung in the balance, in the wait for news. The two Jedi might encounter the Sith, or something at all. they might find Callisto alive, dead, or not at all.

Truly, this was a night for fate.

*****

The door felt like it was welded shut. It didn't budge, but that made sense since Callisto didn't have any kind of a lever to try and pry it open. However, she had an excellent sense of hearing and was experienced into getting into places she shouldn't be and escaping the ones she was meant to be kept in. When she banged on it, there was not an echo, it sounded as if she was banging on a rock. It was becoming quickly obvious to her that this was definitely created to make escape completely improbable...but not impossible. There was always a solution to everything, she just needed to figure it out and fast. She had no idea when that snake would return.

She really wanted to be miles away before that happened.

Callisto felt another wave of dizziness envelop her and she fell back onto the floor, palms on the ground. She held on as the room felt as if it were spinning. She must has lost more blood than she had originally suspected. This was not boding well.

She pulled herself up again. Sidious was right about her in one respect. she was determined. She was VERY determined to escape and warn the Jedi about whatever the hell it was he had planned for them. People were going to die tonight if she didn't. Anakin might be at that temple and his mother for all she knew. Not to mention that nice older Jedi, Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan could be there.

That thought was enough to make her claw at the door with a refreshed fury, but nothing happened. she hit the door hard with her hand, the held onto her hand. That really hurt. A small sob escaped her lips, angering her further.

"Damnit," she said, the sob still fresh in her voice. She had to get out of there! She had to get out, she had to find Obi-Wan and make sure he was safe.

Wait a minute, why did she care so much. Her last two thoughts had dwelled completely on him. Why did it matter? Why did it...

*It just does,* she thought. She cared, a lot. For the first time in her life, she cared completely about someone else. For someone she barely knew and had no previous direct connection in her life.

And if she didn't find him, the connection that had now developed would be severed forever.

*Obi-Wan,* she thought, sinking back down on the floor.

*Obi-Wan.*

*****

Obi-Wan stopped dead in his tracks.

Qui-Gon, who was still semi-sprinting ahead, also stopped and turned.

"What is it, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked.

Obi-Wan stood there silently, his brow furrowed.

"I heard my name," he said simply. He didn't know what it meant, only that it felt very familiar...

*****

Callisto leaned against the wall, her knees up against her chest. She rested her head on her knees, trying desperately to fight back the tears. She wouldn't get upset, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

*Obi-Wan,* she thought again, feverently.

*****

Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I heard it again," he said, looking at his old master for some sort of explanation. Before Qui-Gon could give one, the young Jedi's eyes widened in clear realization.

*Callisto?*

*****

Callisto brought her head up sharply, putting a strain on her already battered neck. Someone had called her name. Where? No one was there! It was dark in there, but she could sense nothing, no presence of a living creature in the room with her.

*Callisto?* It came again. The sound, if you even wanted to call it that, filled her senses again. She knew it, there was a kind of familiarity to it...

*Obi-Wan?* she thought again.

*It's me. I am here.*

Suddenly, Callisto scrambled back up to her feet again, filled with a new sense of hope.

*Where are you?* Obi-Wan's thoughts said.

*I don't know. It's dark. I'm alone right now, but I don't know where they are. I know one of them is around here somewhere, but one of them is away, I don't... Obi-Wan, you've got to warn them. You need to tell that council of yours...*

*They believe there is a threat now. Don't worry about that. We're here. We're here and we're going to...*

*No, you don't understand! People are going to die tonight!*

*What do you mean, how do you know?*

*Something he said. The master, Sidious. He said he was going to "deal" with them tonight. You need to get back to the temple, tell everyone, get them OUT of there! He's sent his apprentice, Maul, to do something, I don't know what it is, but they have to be warned.*

*****

"What is it?" Qui-Gon asked anxiously.

Obi-Wan looked at him. "I don't know," he said. "She says that the Sith Master is going to have people at the Temple killed tonight. Maul, the apprentice, is being sent to do something."

Qui-Gon bit his lip. This was unexpected. He knew with certainty that eventually the Sith would strike at them directly, but he hadn't foreseen it to be this soon.

"We should go back, do as she says. He could be there already," Qui-Gon said.

"No, Callisto..." He paused. A sudden image flashed through his mind, brought to him by the Force. It came in a wave of light and color. His vision faded for a second as a flash of light came to his eyes, followed by a barrage of images. then as quickly as it came, it was gone. "I know where she is!"

Qui-Gon paused, as did Obi-Wan. They were at a cross roads, not knowing what to do. Qui-Gon had caught the worried anticipation from Qui-Gon that Callisto had sent through her thoughts. The council was in danger and they might not have any idea whatsoever as to what could happen to them. If the council was lost, not only would it be a personally heavy blow, but also a serious blow to the Jedi. They would be without leadership. Although if such a thing were ever to happen it would be for a short time, but until it was remedied, the Jedi would be in a sort of chaos that the Sith would pounce on and wreak horrific vengeance...

"I'll find her," Obi-Wan said.

Qui-Gon nodded. "And I will warn the council." He placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Be careful, old friend," he said, smiling through worry. "The master could be there, making it already more dangerous than it is now. Go with your instincts, they will be your best defense."

Obi-Wan nodded.

"May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan Kenobi." With that, the aging Jedi master broke out into a swift run.

Obi-Wan only looked after him for not more than a second, the headed out with a matched rapid pace.

*****

Callisto tried her best to keep her hopes in check. She was a pessimist by nature and knew that nothing was ever that easy. Had it been easy, or just chance? She had no idea whatsoever how she had managed to contact Obi-Wan in that fashion. When he got her she would have to remember to ask him how they had managed that trick. And he would get there, she knew that now. It was all just a matter or time.

She could no longer hold in the joy, no matter how dangerous it felt to be happy. She had managed a message out. No one was going to die now! They were saved!

The door opened and for a moment Callisto was blinded by the light coming in from the hall. Squinting, she could make out the figure of Darth Sidious there.

And he was smiling.

*****

The people that Qui-Gon passed were a blur. He didn't even acknowledge them, even the ones he knocked over as he ran forth to carry out his mission. He had to get to the Temple and fast, before it was too late.

He didn't know what was going to happen, but he did feel the disturbance in the Force, deepening. Something was going to happen and soon, but what? He didn't doubt Callisto's message through Obi-Wan for a moment. He knew that she was special, that she had powers that he understood, but she did not. She was a Force user without even knowing it. That in itself had put her in danger, but it might have saved the council.

He hoped they would remember that when the time came to talk once again.

In the mean time, he had to make sure there was a next time.

The Jedi Temple was just ahead of him. As fast as he could move, he ran up the stairs.

But a flash of black and red moved in front of him, crashing into him, and forcing him off the stairs and onto the ground. Qui-Gon flipped up to his feet, lightsaber activated and immediately meeting a familiar red blade.

*****

Obi-Wan could almost taste the tension in the air. It couldn't be just his own anticipation and worry. There was something else. There was something happening somewhere, but he couldn't see it. He was too much in this place to be able to see anything else. He focus was on Callisto, where it should be.

He pushed a door open, then cautiously looked inside. The halls were dark, but empty. Slowly, he moved inside, his hand lingering at his lightsaber. He strongly resisted the urge to say out loud, "I have a bad feeling about this." No matter how true it was. it just felt too easy, that he found her so quickly. She was strong with the Force, he believed that now. It had probably been sheer chance that she was able to reach out with her mind, but to give such an exact location? He had doubts about that ability.

He honestly hoped it was just paranoia. He also hoped Qui-Gon had gotten to the council.

Walking softly, he moved in deeper...

There! He saw Callisto through a doorway. She was standing, no holding onto the corner of a doorway. From his first glimpse, he could tell she had been hurt badly. Old injuries had been made worse and the new ones were not pleasant. He could only imagine what things were like internally. No matter, he would take her to a doctor.

Suddenly, she was thrown to the other side of the wide doorway. Now he could see that she was barely conscious. Someone had been holding her up, to make it look like she had made it out as far as she had...

A hooded, robed figure stepped out to where Callisto had been "leaning." It spoke to him in a voice he knew, and suspected had somehow known all along...

"Welcome, young Jedi," Sidious said.

Obi-Wan said nothing, only reached for his lightsaber. The other man withdrew his own, activating it to show a brilliant red blade.

For a moment, the two adversaries looked at each other, six\zing up one another.

Then, they clashed.

*****

Part Seventeen

Obi-Wan Kenobi had learned many things in a very short space of time. He had learned to never ignore it when he had a bad feeling about something. Only a few weeks ago, he had made the mistake of blowing off the premonition he had while standing on the Trade Federation cruiser with Qui-Gon. The moment he had stepped off the Republic cruiser, he knew things were going to quickly go out the window, but he had misinterpreted his master's advice to keep his concentration on the here and now. He had been mindful of the present as Qui-Gon had instructed, but then it became at the expense of the big picture. Perhaps if he had listened to that feeling, things might have gone a little bit differently.

He had also learned that very little was what it had appeared to be. He had thought Jar Jar to be nothing more than an annoying, clumsy creature and Anakin Skywalker to be a very irritating little boy. He had been wrong there. Jar Jar, while not being the most graceful being in creation, turned out to be a very kind, and extremely lucky Gungan. Anakin had turned out to be much more than he had thought, bringing the Trade Federations machinations down to its collective knees by his piloting and trigger finger. He had also been quite wrong about Callisto. He had thought her to be nothing more than an unsavory, but very beautiful, character. She cursed, was rude, and could be downright frightening when she felt like it. but there was also a softness there for Anakin and for everyone else on a whole. She genuinely cared about the outcome, even if she faked apathy most of the time. And that whole time had had just ignored it, perhaps afraid to admit that he had been wrong again.

But the most vital thing he had learned was that things come up very unexpectedly. Like the boot of the Sith Master against his face.

Obi-Wan was flung across the wall and hard into the wall. He was sure a crack had been left by the impact. He didn't have the time to recover from the blow. Instead, he rolled to the side, narrowly missing death by lightsaber. The red blade of his opponent came down from above, slicing into the wall instead of his flesh.

He heard Sidious growl slightly from inside the confines of his shadowy hood. He wondered why the man even bothered to keep it up. Obi-Wan knew who he was now, thanks to Callisto. Perhaps for effect.

That was the other thing that he wondered about. The surprise that a politician was in league with the dark side of the Force had yet to set it. It probably never would.

Obi-Wan was back on his feet again just as the Sith Lord was upon him. Obi-Wan blocked an incoming blow, just barely. The fight had only been a few minutes, but already Obi-Wan was feeling the beginnings of fatigue in his muscles. It was too soon for that. Even when he battled with Darth Maul, he didn't feel this tired this soon. Perhaps it was because Sidious was more determined whereas Maul was more energetic. Plus, there was no other distraction for him, nothing else to worry about besides a single Jedi Knight. Then there was Obi-Wan, who could see Callisto on the floor and worried at the same time that Qui-Gon might not make it in time.

How he hoped he had made it in time!

*****

Qui-Gon Jinn barely parried the blow in time. The Sith Lord caught him off guard for not more than a half second, but that was enough for him to slide to the left and strike.

Now Qui-Gon was one of the more accomplished swordsmen of the Jedi order, but age and a lack of serious sword battles had left him with a lack of edge. Blocking blaster fire with his blade was one thing, but another lightsaber was another matter all together. One slip...well, no need to think of what ifs. He knew he thought too much about his last encounter with red and blacked faced mad man.

Darth Maul lowered his saber, only one side ignited, and viciously sent out his foot in a roundhouse kick. Qui-Gon took it to the chin and was sent back sprawling, landing in a position that wasn't exactly dignified for a Jedi master. His composer was regained quickly, and he again began his retreat to inside the temple. He did not have the time for an offensive on the Sith Lord. not now. He had to get in and warn them.

But his opponent would not have it. The Sith apprentice did all he could to keep Qui-Gon from advancing up the steps. Qui-Gon struck out with his lightsaber, hoping to at least delay him enough, but the other was far too smart to fall for any of it. Maul struck out in a series of swipes designed to cut the Jedi down...and was doing well. Qui-Gon could block the blows, but he was quite weary and was quickly losing energy.

Qui-Gon parried a downstroke and feigned an attack to the left, the struck out at the right. This time it was Maul who barely blocked in time, the Jedi's lightsaber scorching his black robes. Maul growled back in anger, then dropped down to the ground, his left leg kicking out Qui-Gon's feet from under him. The Jedi Master fell to the ground, losing his grip on his weapon. Maul brought down his saber for the kill.

The hum of an activated lightsaber filled the air and a flash of blue whizzed past Qui-Gon's face. He heard Maul's cry of outrage and grinned.

Mace Windu had joined the fight.

*****

Callisto opened her eyes to hazy vision. The back of her head hurt badly. Slowly and very painfully, she pulled herself up off the floor, but wavered a moment.

The last thing she remembered was a door opening, then a sharp blow to the back of the head. She had been... Yes, now she remembered, she had managed a message to Obi-Wan. Just as she was beginning to feel some sense of hope, the Sith had entered the room. He had to have knocked her out again. the question was, where was she now?

Her vision was beginning to clear. At the end of the hall, she could make out the figures of Sidious and Obi-Wan locked in deadly combat.

"Oh no," she whispered, trying to fight back the pain and dizziness to get up.

*****

Both ends of Maul's lightsaber were on now, and in constant contact with Mace Windu's lightsaber. Mace, while around the same age as Qui-Gon, had not been in this particular fight as long as the other two combatants, and as a result, was not as exhausted. His vigor equaled the Sith Lord's at this point. He would be able to handle this, Qui-Gon was sure of it.

"I have to warn them," Qui-Gon said simply, fighting off the guilt at not jumping to the immediate aid of his friend. He sensed mace's agreement. He sensed that there was something afoot. He would hold off the Sith as best he could.

Qui-Gon ran up the stairs...

*****

Obi-Wan was tossed backwards by a vicious slap of the Force across his face. He tumbled back and landed on his feet.

"Impressive, young Jedi," Sidious said. "But simply, not enough," Sidious propelled himself forward, then dipping to the side with a backward lunge. Obi-wan was caught off guard. the Sith master seized the opportunity, knocking the blade out of Obi-Wan's hands.

He then closed his hand, exerting the Force on Obi-Wan's windpipe, forcing it to close. Obi-wan tried to break it, but found his energies failing as he began to slump downward.

*****

Qui-Gon did not have the time for explanations. He knew without a single fathomable doubt that he had to get everyone out of there...immediately.

He burst into the Council chambers.

"We have to leave. Now," Qui-Gon said aloud and out of breath.

"Qui-Gon," Oppo Rancsis began.

"Now," he insisted. The rest fell silent, sensing the urgency in his words. Yoda stood and quickly hurried out the door, for the first time, appearing to believe the maverick Jedi. The rest quickly followed the senior member's lead.

Qui-Gon began running through the rest of the building, ushering out everyone he came in contact with while sending messages mentally to the rest that he did not. Within moments, the halls were a sea of fleeing people. Confident that everyone was on their way out, he joined them.

Outside, the Council and a number of various ranks of Jedi stood, transfixed by the sight of Mace Windu battling a Sith Lord. Many of them were dumbfounded, especially the ones who did not truly believe that the Sith were alive.

He reached for his saber to return into the fray. He was about to ignite it when a rumbling shook the ground, forcing some people to lose balance and fall.

Above them, a great ball of fire erupted at the top of the Temple, exactly where the Council had just been only moments ago. Smaller balls exploded in each spire and raced down, making the night sky roar with the sound. Ships flying above them swerved to avoid becoming engulfed in the raging flames.

People began to run as debris began to rain down on them. Qui-Gon jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a large rock.

Mace looked up, surprised by the sudden change of events. A mistake to be sure. Maul lunged at him.

But Qui, while he had been avoiding being crushed by a rock, recognized the danger Mace had fallen into. He turned his jump into a series of forward flips, sending himself rocketing into the Sith Lord's midsection.

Maul was sent flying backwards towards the falling rubble. Qui-Gon released him and angled himself to roll away from the cascading destruction. He rolled over a number of times before stopping. the Sith, however, kept going, until he was in the heart of his own handiwork. A large portion of what used to be a balcony came falling from the sky. Maul looked up, seeing the danger, and began to run. He was too late, and it fell in front of him, blocking his escape. Before he could find another route, more debris fell. Qui-Gon could see nothing of him, but he did hear a terror filled scream.

He looked off to the side, seeing the other Jedi looking up at the destroyed temple. All of them, he thought, were probably contemplating their own mortality, just as he had been.

A shadow fell over him. Qui-Gon turned to see Mace's outstretched hand. He took it gladly and was pulled up to his feet. He sighed once, wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead.

He only hoped Obi-Wan was doing as well as he was.

*****

Never did Obi-Wan imagine he would die like this. Once he dreamed he was a very old man and died in combat, many, many years from where he was now. Perhaps he had misinterpreted. Perhaps it was combat WITH an older man. It didn't strike him as right, he shouldn't be dying, not now.

Sidious grinned sadistically, closing his grip on the Jedi's windpipe.

"Did you think you had found her through your own talents?" Sidious asked, laughing. "No, boy. It was I who sent you this location. You are here now, dying, because I chose it to be."

The was a sudden hum, and the Sidious' body jerked, his eyes wide with surprise. His hold on Obi-Wan was broken and he dropped him. Obi-wan fell down, clutching his throat. He looked up to see the edge of a lightsaber peeking through the stomach of Darth Sidious.

"Thanks for giving him direction," Callisto said, standing behind Sidious, holding Obi-Wan's weapon in her hand.

Sidious only let out a guttural moan and slid forward off the blade and onto the ground, motionless.

Callisto stood there, shakily, still holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber in her hand. He pulled himself up off the ground, rubbing his throat gingerly. He reached out and took the weapon out of her hand.

She only looked down at the fallen Sith.

"I guess we're even now," Callisto said.

"It would appear so, "Obi-Wan said, in about as much shock as she was in.

"Well, now that all of that is settled, I think I'm going to pass out again." With that, consciousness fled her body.

This time, she was in Obi-Wan's arms before her form even began to fall.

*****

Part Eighteen

"Another celebration," Obi-Wan muttered. He shook his head wistfully.

It didn't seem all that long ago that he had stood in the city square of Theed, watching the confetti and ticker tape rain down from above in the midst of a jubilant crowd. Actually, it wasn't that long ago, barely a few weeks.

In retrospect, it was nothing short of amazing how much could happen in such a short space of time.

He knew Qui-Gon understood that. His former teacher sat across the great hall from him at a small table, his arm around Shmi Skywalker, both looking quite at ease as if they had always meant to be where they were now. Perhaps it was so, that fate had brought them together to that place. Not even Qui-Gon, with the strong attunement he had to the Force could have foreseen it. If he had, then that expression of happy surprise whenever he looked down at her wouldn't flit across his features so much.

Not far away was Anakin, who spoke to another apprentice about his own age. The young boy would glance over his shoulder at his new mentor and his mother, and smirk like he knew a secret. He was clearly pleased to see the two together, and why shouldn't he be? Obi-Wan was content with it, to see his master happy. Also, Anakin had the pleasure of seeing his mother free and with a smile on her face. If there had been any fear in his heart, it had to have disappeared instantly at that sight.

Obi-Wan smiled, turning his head away from the crowded room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Queen Amidala walking into the room with her cadre of handmaidens. As he stepped out, he heard the quick, unmistakable sound of Anakin scampering up to greet her. Obi-Wan chuckled. He was beginning to think the little apprentice had a crush on the young queen.

Breathing in the cool night air, Obi-Wan sighed and squinted in the direction on the far east, where what remained of the temple stood. The last of the burning embers had long since expired, but he could still imagine the flaming wreckage he had seen when he had come there with Callisto. He had been told it had looked a lot worse earlier. How any of that could have looked worse was beyond his imagination. That place had been his home as far back as he could recall. He had grown up in the building which had been half reduced to cinders.

"Of course it's being rebuilt," Mace Windu said. Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder to see the Jedi master leaning against the wall, half obscured by shadow.

"I figured as much," Obi-Wan said.

"Other facilities are being used. It's a bit of a strain, but it is manageable. It's also the hard way of showing us that we've become a little too dependent on things which are never completely permanently. It is something that will have to be worked on."

Obi-Wan nodded. He then noticed a burn on Mace's cheek. "From the battle?"

Mace nodded. "I count myself lucky. I haven't kept up my practice with the saver. Now I know better." He shook his head sadly. "Why must everything be learned the hard way?"

"I suppose that sometimes that is the only way a lesson can be learned."

"Yes, Sad, but true. You did well, Obi-Wan Kenobi. If it hadn't been for you and Qui-Gon, we would all have been lost."

Obi-Wan lowered his head in a display of mild modesty. He tried to change the subject. "Has a successor to the chancellor be named yet?" He couldn't keep the disdain out of his voice at the reference to the Sith's day job.

"A brief meeting was taken by the Senate and Bail Antilles has been named. He had come in second the last time so it really came as no surprise."

"We've had a few too many of those lately."

There was a long pause.

"All this time, he was right here, walking among us," Obi-Wan said, stating the fact that no one had said outloud since Palpatine's true identity had been revealed.

"I had tea with him," Mace said.

"We should count ourselves lucky. I sense the outcome could have been much worse."

"Do you Jedi always dwell on what ifs? Or is this just to pass time?" A third voice said. Callisto limped out onto the balcony with them.

"You shouldn't even be out of bed," Obi-wan said with almost a laugh. Trying to offer Callisto helpful advice was like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

"You should get your hair...oh, you did," Callisto said.

Obi-Wan patted his hair. "I'm no longer a padawan so the braid is no longer required." He noted Mace's subtle retreat back to the inside. "After knighthood, it's optional, though most cut if off right after the trials."

She leaned against the wall for support. "Why did you keep it for so long then?"

"I was too busy for a proper hair cut."

"The truth, Obi-Wan."

He sighed and leaned against the railing, remaining facing her. "I..I just didn't feel I was ready. I know that my training was complete and I had passed the trials, but it felt like it had all happened too fast. I just didn't feel...complete."

"And now you do?"

This time he didn't answer. He just smiled.

Callisto returned it, but it faded in a moment. "I received some interesting news I thought I might share. Apparently there will be no burial for our older Sith acquaintance. A cleanup droid, I was told, took his body as garbage and brought him to the trash incinerator pile."

"A fitting end," Obi-Wan said bitterly.

"I agree. Any word on our *other* friend?"

"It's too difficult to tell. They did find a few bodies in the wreckage, unfortunately. Most of them were too...damaged...to make identification yet. As soon as we know, you'll be told. Provided of course, we can find you."

Callisto walked farther out to him. "Who said I was going anywhere?"

"I assumed..."

"You assume too much," and with that, she kissed him, surprising both him and herself. She pulled away, shocked by her own actions as much as Obi-wan was. they stood there, just looking at each other, not sure what the next move should be.

Then their lips met again, Obi-Wan's arms, wrapping carefully around her, the cool night air blanketing the two, sharing their embrace.

From inside, Qui-Gon looked up outside at them from where he sat with Shmi.

And he smiled.

*****

The wreckage smoked still, even a days after the fiery explosion that had rocked that part of the city planet.

Above it, the ships had long since resumed their passages through that sector of space. The temple's destruction was little more than something to look at from the business point of view. It cause some gaper's delay, but little else. From high in the sky, it was a black smear and was quickly ignored. The people inside the transports, groaned at the idea of the reconstruction it was sure to cause delays, but it was something that had to be done.

Someone had to lift the rocks. Someone had to clear away the wreckage.

At the base of the structure, someone was.

Rocks tumbled down, smashing into one another, causing tiny avalanches.

A bird paused to watch, curious at this new movement. It heard some grunts and a few pained moans, but then the tiny rockslides began. It hopped closer for further inspection.

A hand rose out of the charred shrapnel, covered in dust and grime. The sudden motion frightened the bird back into the sky.

Slowly and methodically, the hand worked its way out of the fallen temple and back into the world.

There were things that had to be done.

To Be Continued...

**************