Some Other Future's Past - AU: Jedi refuse to train Anakin. Tagged. Updated finally on 3/16.

I should not be doing this. I really should not let the plot bunnies do this. I am coming up on the end of 'Symmetry and Imperfection' and this bunny has been nibbling...

Whatthehell, I'll do it anyway.

~

The late afternoon sunlight came at a shallow angle through the windows of the Guest's Hall in the Great Palace. On the horizon, anvil shaped thunderheads boiled over the tops of the hills visible from the ten-meter high stained glass windows. In the middle of the Guest's Hall, twelve chairs of Nubian greel wood had been arranged in a semi-circle on the rose marble floor.

A small green being stood before a tall, somewhat haggard young man who waited with an air of deepest patience to hear what his superiors had to say.

"Trained the boy will not be."

It was one of the few times that Obi-Wan understood just why his master had bucked the Council's edicts so many times. He would have given anything for Qui-Gon's presence and his ability to push the buttons of the younger members of the 'Old Folks home.' Unfortunately, Gui-Gon was comatose in a tank of bacta, recovering from the injuries sustained in his duel with the tattooed Sith.

"But masters, the boy's potential?" He might not have his master's facility with words, but he was determined to make the Council see the facts.

Mace Windu cut him off with a brusque gesture. "If that potential is never developed, so much the better. We will return the boy to his mother on Tattooine, from where he never should have been taken."

"You can't send him back there! The Trade Federation will put a price on his head with all the publicity he's received! If the Sith get hold of him they could?"

"Do you really believe, Knight Kenobi, that the Sith are concerned at all with a nine-year-old child?" This time it was Ki-Adi-Mundi who interrupted, more mildly than Master Windu, but firmly nonetheless. "Master Jinn is led more by his love of ancient prophecy than of reality.

"No more argument will we hear! " Yoda's cane struck a sharp report that echoed down the throat of the Hall. "The Council has spoken. You will convey our edict to the boy."

Even as he bowed, Obi-Wan gritted his teeth. He had to speak with Qui-Gon!

"I believe that Anakin is with the Queen for the morning meal, but I will seek him out after I see my mas? I mean, Master Jinn."

The young Knight once thought it impossible to discomfit the entire Council, but not a one of them could meet his gaze.

"Taken back to Coruscant, Qui-Gon Jinn has been. Healers will see to him during his retreat." Yoda folded his hands on the knob of his cane, fixing Obi-Wan with a gimlet stare. "Unbalanced has he become, his judgement clouded. In need of solitude and meditation he is so that he might know the will of the Force."

Obi-Wan's knees nearly unhinged in shock. Enforced retreat was a punishment second only to expulsion. To even think about his life-loving master in such straits was even more distressing than seeing him struck by the Sith's blade.

"You are dismissed, Knight Kenobi. Make arrangements for the boy's return to his homeworld." Mace Windu stood, wrapping himself in his robes and finality. "We will speak with you at length upon your return to Coruscant."

The Council filed out, leaving Obi-Wan Kenobi staring at a crescent of empty chairs and wondering why he was so worried at what the young Nubian Queen was going to do when she heard of the Council's edict.


~

Continue?

 

Continue? Oh yes. Do so.

If you don't I'll be forced to hunt you down and tie you to your computer.

 

I see loads of potential with one. But hopefully unlike Anakin in this story it will be fully developed.

 

Yes, continue, Chaos Rose. This looks like it does have some potential. I've never gotten a chance to jump onto the very beginning of stories where the Council declines training Anakin, so I would really like to watch this one develop all the way through.

 

yes

 

This is great! Loads of potential. I can't wait to see where it goes!

 

The potential of the story is grand, my Lady.

-- Chews on pencil --

Write on...

 

obaona, padawan3, Knight-Ander, Sketkh, PhoenixMage, and my own dear apprentice Darth Puffs, thanks for the replies! I'm glad that you are enjoying the tale so far.

I'm at work on another post, subject only to the whims of the Sith Council. I might have it ready late tonight.

 

this is cool so far. I'll be watching for the next post.

 

I believe I just might be hooked from that 1st post. 7

 

Continue? What kind of question is that? It's right up there with Was Star Wars a good concept? *shakes her head* Like there was any doubt...

 

Great start here. I would love to see more of this.

 

Kathryn, jedi7, Musical Jedi, and Abbi_Cee - welcome and thank you for reading. I'm glad to know that this is off to a good start.

Can any of you help me come up with a name for this plot bunny?

And lest I forget:

FEEEEEEEDBAAAAAACK!

~

The Great Palace was one of a half dozen in what the Nubians called the Palace Complex. Along with office buildings, the planetary and system legislatures, archives, libraries, and a handful of different educational institutions, the ceremonial center of the Nubian government took up the larger part of the Theed plateau.

It was also pure hell for a newcomer to navigate.

The Nubian love of architecture and landscape blended with their passion for ornament to produce buildings and gardens of startling beauty. Pocket-sized parks and grottoes presented themselves at every opportunity. The wood and stone used to make the buildings, roads, and pathways was designed to draw the eye and invite admiring inspection.

Obi-Wan was reduced to asking passers-by and cleaning crews how to find Padmé Amidala's private residence. He could not withhold this information from young Anakin, he felt it would be a betrayal of trust.

A grimace crossed his face and something inside him stung sharply. Anakin did not have much trust to be placed in anyone - his mother, Master Jinn, Ric Ollie and Padmé seemed to constitute the whole list. The boy had been deeply distressed at Qui-Gon's injuries, and to a lesser extent by Obi-Wan's. The child thought that Jedi were invincible ? it had been a terrible shock for him to see graphic evidence otherwise.

The courtesy of the Nubian people made him vaguely ashamed of the Council. The Nubians were so proud that their 'small protector' was to be trained as a Jedi and that the Jedi had sacrificed so much to protect Naboo. All of them asked after Master Jinn and congratulated him on his Knighting. They commented that perhaps a Knighting feast was in order, all the while eyeing his loosened clothing. Some speculated in firm voices that Knight Kenobi might find the Water Garden a soothing place to rest.

He must have lost his Jedi serenity somewhere between the Garden of Sands and the dizzily mosaic-covered steps of the Nubian Hall of the People. A small, elderly man in elaborate scarlet and saffron robes pulled him aside and pressed a flattened oval of some heavy, glassy substance into Obi-Wan's palm.

"Just tell it where you want to go. Nubian or Basic, the locator will understand."

The man patted Obi-Wan's cheek at his thanks and moved off down the winding brick pathway.

"The Queen's Palace." Obi-Wan felt his ears heat as he carefully enunciated the words. The thing in his hand ticked and then? tugged? to the left. Obi-Wan moved to the left and the object vibrated as long as he moved to the left.

With trial and error, the young Knight found himself at the waterfall-carved steps of the Queen's Palace just as the threatened storm broke loose overhead. It was as if someone had decided to overturn a moon-sized bucket of water onto Theed. Even with the speed with which he ascended the steps ? now a waterfall in truth ? Obi-Wan was still drenched to the skin. Once inside, he used the Force to separate the excess water from his robes and settled for finger-combing his short auburn hair.

His finger found his padawan braid and he blinked back tears rose to his eyes. He was tired, he hadn't even had time to eat or meditate, and on top of it all he missed his master.

A guardsman approached and when asked, told him that the queen was in her rooms with her handmaidens and young Skywalker had last been seen in the Courtyard of the Fishes. A gesture and smile from Obi-Wan met the guardsman's offer of escort and they set off though the halls of the castle.

Smaller and more intimate than the Great Palace, the Queen's Palace was colorful, decorated with murals and frescoes of Nubian Queens and their deeds. Soft carpets muffled footsteps and the sinuous curves of wood and stonework bespoke both femininity and strength

 

Whoa! I wonder what happen there? Does it have something to do with Obi-Wan's drenching? Hmmm....

Keep it coming, C R.

 

Chaos, struck by entertaining plot-bunnies is only a benefit for us readers Good work, so far. I'm curious, very curious.

Am

 

Another great post Chaos! I can't wait to see where this fic goes.

 

Let's see... I like the friendliness of your Nubians, how they all inquired after Qui-Gon, congratulated Obi-Wan, and were proud of Anakin. I like your descriptions of the arcitecture, espeically the water elements. I also like how Anakin is enjoying the storm. Amazing what you take for granted, isn't it?

More?

 

Knight-Ander, Amidala_Skywalker, PhoenixMage, and MJ:

Your wish is my command. Another post by tonight or tomorrow - if I can hide from the Darths long enough...

< fades back into the shadows with cordless keyboard >

 

I can't wait to see where this is leading to.

 

I like this, Chaos_Rose. Please, keep going.

 

Oooh! MOREMOREMOREMOREMORE!!

 

Just got home a little bit ago and will post something tonight.

Promise.

 

Just found this and i love it so far. I find good fics when i stalk Master Puffs.

 

Wonderful so far, I can't wait to find out what going to happen to Ani.

 

Hi, all. This is the latest shortie post. Sorry it took so long but the Sith Council kicked my sorry butt.

My Apprentice, Darth Puffs: Don't worry, you know how I get...

anakin_girl, vader_incarnate, pokey, and Darth Kodak - welcome!

Thanks again for reading and...

FEEEEEDBAAAACK!


~

"Anakin!" What was the boy thinking?

Obi-Wan's shout was met with a grin of astounding brilliance and a whoop of utter joy.

"Water falling from the sky, Obi-Wan! I knew about rain but there's so much of it!" Anakin threw back his head to let the rain fall right into his mouth, with an expression that suggested he was drinking the nectar of gods.

The irritation softened somewhat. The desert child had only heard of rain and this might well be his first and last experience with it. Let him have his joy.

Something inside Obi-Wan balked at that thought. Part of him protested that the boy could no more go back to Tatooine than he could go back to the womb. The boy's principal skills were racing and fixing things. If the child survived the prices even now being put on his head, it was likely that he would die in a racetrack crash.

There had to be another way. Qui-Gon would find one, and Obi-Wan was determined to make one.

"Anakin, come out of the rain. We've got some things to talk about." Something in his voice must have tripped the boy's warning system. Obi-Wan thought that a child should not be capable of such a sharp-eyed look.

"Couldn't I just stay until the shower is over?" There was no real hope in his voice, but he obviously felt that he had to try on principle.

"Anakin, the rain will probably last for hours, if not all night. It will rain tomorrow, the day after and every evening for the rest of the season." Anakin's eyes went wider with each word and he stared at the Jedi as if Obi-Wan had predicted that he would grow another head. "Now, come in and get dry."

Hopping off the bench, the youngling splashed gleefully up to the passageway and squished to a stop in front of Obi-Wan. An impudent light gleamed in his blue eyes and his hair was plastered darkly against his head as he regarded the knight with an air of challenge.

Obi-Wan made a pass with one hand and the water that had been in Anakin's clothing splashed around his feet.

"I need to see Her Majesty, as well," Obi-Wan could not quite mask the solemn tone in his voice. "The events I must relate will be of concern to her."

Once again, the sharp-eyed stare, this time with a subtle stiffening of the boy's usually mobile features. It was the face he had seen on Coruscant as the boy dealt with the rejection of the Council. Anakin was readying himself for another blow, even the muscles in his body seemed to tighten in anticipation.

Anakin did not speak, but instead gestured for Obi-Wan to follow him. As they passed down exquisite hallways, Obi-Wan could feel the child's pain and misery increase. Attempts at conversation were met with monosyllabic responses or more penetrating gazes. Anakin did not trust Obi-Wan any more than he would a complete stranger, and that hurt the Jedi deeply. Still, that pain had been placed in the child's heart by the very people he had idolized ? and Obi-Wan pledged to himself that he would heal that pain.

"In here. It's almost dinner time." Anakin's voice was suspiciously rough. "Padmé will want you to join us."

'Here' was a set of four-meter-high doors carved with fruit and flowers that opened into a sizable circular room with a view of the Lesser Falls. The floor of colored stone was intricately worked in flower-colors to resemble a garden, and the central supporting column was a stylized tree with countless curving branches.

"Ani? I was going to come looking for you," the young queen came toward them, smiling. Her elaborate robes were nowhere in evidence, she was dressed instead in a slightly richer version of the tunic and leggings she had worn on Tattooine. "Where were? oh! Knight Kenobi, welcome."

Anakin wrapped his arms around the young woman and hugge