Star Wars: Not Quite A Shadow (WIP)

Chapter 2

Stass learned more about Petra's character in two days of training than she had in several months. Petra was adaptable to different methods, eager to please but often becoming frustrated when she failed or didn't succeed at a task. Stass learned that gently pushing instead of forcing it was the key to keeping Petra motivated and focused. Though she had a temper that would sometimes ignite with little or no provocation, Petra was surprisingly even-tempered the majority of the time. Funny, Stass thought. I figured she would be a little more volatile. Once she knew what she needed to do, she would zero in on it and very little could distract her from accomplishing her tasks. She was the most concentrated Padawan Stass had ever trained. Yet, Stass felt that she was hiding something emotionally. It hindered her in a way that Stass could not describe. She wondered how to approach Petra about it, not wanting to appear nosy but also concerned it would cause an issue in her training. Stass was on the verge of approaching her one day about it when Stass received a message and relayed it to Petra.

"They're on their way back to Coruscant", Stass said as she walked with Petra to the meditation room. "He said they would be back by tomorrow morning." Petra nodded but didn't say anything, though Stass could tell by her altered body language that she was pleased with the news. "Is there anything wrong, Padawan?" Stass asked.

Petra shook her head. "Not really. Why?"

"You seem quieter than usual today" Stass answered. "I just wondered if something was wrong. You realize you can confide in me?"

Petra nodded again. "Of course I know. I'm sorry, Master Allie. I don't trust people easily...as you might imagine. I've learned to be guarded with others and I suppose it's a hard habit to break."

Stass smiled. "I understand, Padawan. And I understand your reasoning. But might I give you some advice? Others will always let you down and hurt you. It's an unfortunate but normal part of living. Don't allow it to block any compassion or caring for others."

"I suppose I'm just not good at handling being let down by others" Petra said quietly. "Or I get close to someone and they leave. Or...they die...like Qui-Gon." At this, Petra's eyes welled with tears and she wiped them away before they could fall down her cheeks. Stass gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it was hard to lose him. Have you discussed this with Obi-Wan?" Stass asked hesitantly. Petra shook her head and said, "I didn't want to bother him. I know he was even closer to Qui-Gon. I didn't want him to feel worse because of me."

"Petra, I know Obi-Wan. He would want to know this, that you're struggling with Qui-Gon's death. Yes, he was very close to Qui-Gon but he would welcome knowing you cared about him as well. When they get back, tell him. He will understand, I promise." Stass squeezed her shoulder then stepped away. "Now, we need to get started."

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Obi-Wan sighed as they neared Coruscant's atmosphere. He meant to sigh quietly, but realized he did so a little too loudly, drawing a glance from Anakin. He shook his head and Anakin shrugged. The exhaustion of the past few weeks was settling into Obi-Wan's very body; he never slept well off-world, and especially now with his emotions in such conflict with his common sense. Sleep had eluded him the past few days completely and he was running entirely on adrenaline, gav, and the Force. He didn't care much for gav, a caffeinated beverage native to Mon Calamari, but the jolt of energy it gave a person was useful in times like this. He had resorted to gav a few hours ago, not longer after they'd left Aria Prime, and he supposed that the pounding of his heart coupled with the jittery way he felt was due to the drink. However, as they neared Coruscant, and he knew the gav had to have worn off, the pounding of his heart and the jitters remained. He could only conclude this was due to the anticipation of seeing Petra once again.

"Look! Coruscant!" Anakin exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. Obi-Wan smiled. Even though he had seen Coruscant many times over, the view of the planet never got old. He expected Anakin to be as eager as he to be home, though for a completely different reason. Obi-Wan guided their ship to one of the many landing platforms outside of the Jedi Temple. They disembarked, and Anakin's feet had hardly touched the ground before he broke out into a run. "Padawan!" Obi-Wan shouted, stopping Anakin abruptly. "I understand your excitement to be back on Coruscant, but you must restrain yourself. You must walk with me for now."

Anakin hung his head. "I'm sorry, Master."

Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "I'm glad to be home too. Don't think that I'm not. Now, we must report officially to the Council, then we can find your sister and let her know we're back, all right?"

Anakin's eyes lit up at the mention of Petra and he nodded, smiling. Truthfully, Obi-Wan would have rather waited until later to report to the Council because doing so now would mean a longer wait before seeing Petra. Yet, he reasoned, I haven't seen her in several weeks. What are a few more hours?

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"Pleased we are, Obi-Wan, with how you handled the situation on Aria Prime," Master Yoda said. "Proud of you, Qui-Gon would be." Obi-Wan and Anakin had had to wait over an hour before being admitted to the Council chambers. Other Jedi were reporting on their own missions to the Council, which gave Obi-Wan a chance to journal his own thoughts regarding the completion of his first mission.

Obi-Wan nodded and bowed slightly, suppressing a smile. His first mission alone as a Knight was successful, yet he worked to keep himself from becoming prideful. He knew Aria Prime was a test, and while somewhat easy, he would face much harder challenges in the days to come. His goal was to become a Jedi Master, and he knew one didn't achieve that rank easily. "Performed well, your Padawan did?" Yoda asked, glancing at Anakin.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding. "For his first mission, he did very well. I was pleased."

The Council nodded in agreement and Obi-Wan and Anakin dismissed themselves. "Now, can we go see Petra?" Anakin asked impatiently.

Obi-Wan laughed softly. "Yes, now we can go see her." And not a moment too soon, either.