FALLENFUTURE2

[Probation]

Jedi Kay-Kenobi -XD, 'fraid so.

Holly-Batali - Yes, it was rather violent, wasn't it? Unfortunately, I decided that I really didn't like the Lawrence character (being as he was a shameless self insert) and I realised early on in the planning, that the bad guys never actually succeed with anything is this story; so I decided that I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and bump him off. It's actually 1 of the better scenes I've done IMO, I really should have given it some proper time rather than shoehorning it in here at the end, but such is life.

Well, only 2 reviews for the last chapter. Can't say I'm not disappointed, but, what can you do?

-Probation-

EPILOGUE

And There After

-"Obi-Wan Kenobi, you are henceforth officially recognised by this council as master to Padawan Darra Thel-Tanis." —Master Mace Windu

⁂

The Jedi Temple mourns the loss of another one of its members inside its own walls. Though regrettably, Jedi dying on missions is not as rare an event as everyone would like, much rarer is the death of a Jedi—a padawan no less— within the temple walls.

And yet six Jedi have been killed inside the temple within the last year, a number not seen since the terrorist Bhan Kreller smuggled a bomb into the temple some five hundred years before.

Following the second invasion of the temple within six months, the Jedi Council quickly announces sweeping changes to the security setup in the temple, introducing extra security checks and posting extra personal to all of the temple's entrances. The council also applies to the senate for a grant to spend five hundred million credits on upgrading the Temple's camera surveillance, and exterior defence equipment, it is the largest application for money that the council has made in generations, and it takes the senate four years for the application to be processed.

The Jedi council is surprised when Obi-Wan steps forward after his debriefing, and claims Darra as a padawan. In fact, the whole temple is shocked. Both the padawan and the master are interviewed separately, and both are in agreement that it feels like the will of the Force.

Darra tells the council of seeing Obi-Wan's mind clearly for the first time, and for the first time realises that any real blame that she had given Obi-Wan had long since vanished, and that only the poison dregs of self regret had remained.

Obi-Wan for his part, had informes the council, that though he had never considered taking an apprentice until directly before the mission—and even then not seriously—feels that it is the will of the Force that Darra be trained, and that he was the only one who had been willing to see past the darkness that had clouded her.

If the council had any objections, they keep them to themselves, and the official ceremony is held to cement Darra Thel-Tanis as Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawan. It is a solemn moment, held the same day as Lawrence 'Sandy' Ger'whit's funeral, but neither have any regrets. Obi-Wan knows that the times will be hard, that she will test him even as he had tested his own master, but that she will become a fine Jedi, and he will be proud to see the day she is knighted.

On Sor'udeina, Ohreithyn Kenobi looks at the stars, wondering which one of them is the Coruscant system. Her encounter with her brother has sparked something within herself; once again the flame, the wish to try to make the planet a better place is alight, and she remembers with a smile, that she had surprised her superiors by turning up early for work for the first time in almost six months and proceeding to accomplish more today, than she had in the previous week. Already her baring has changed, she knows that she holds herself with the same enthusiasm that she had had before the attack on Nar Shaddar, and her eyes appear brighter.

She has much to be thankful for—thankful to her brother.

And yet, she feels a sense of loss that her older brother who she had wanted to meet from the as long as she could remember, the brother who she had crossed paths with by chance, and who had left just as suddenly. Who knew how long it would be before they crossed paths again.

Her eyes lock into one star which seems to call to her more than any of the others in the sky. Against all reason, she is sure that it is Coruscant. Where her brother is.

Where she is certain once again that her political career is destined to take her.

⁂

A young padawan shivers in bed.

Never had Anakin feared for his life more than today. Not even while facing Obi-Wan as Ken. The droids' firepower, speed and accuracy had never allowed to him go on the offensive; his preferred method for fighting. And the ease with which they had mown down Lawrence right in front of him had been a sobering revelation of just how dangerous they were.

Many knights and masters have come forward, saying that his victory over the droids was a testament to his training; but he knows the truth.

He has failed.

He failed to ascertain the danger until too late, and then, failed to protect Sandy, failed to keep his fear and anger under check.

Because he wasn't strong enough… wasn't fast enough…

Wasn't good enough.

In the dark of his sleeping chamber, he makes a promise to himself that he'll never let anyone down by not being good enough again. There will not be another Sandy Ger'Whit, not while he has any say in the matter.

It's the first of many, many promises of a similar kind.

He will not fail again.

⁂

In a space shuttle drifting in deep space, Granta Omega snarls as he reads the report from Coruscant Holo News. His highly modified, very deadly, and very expensive rescue droids had only managed to kill one puny padawan.

The idea had come to him over a year ago for the seemingly innocuous, but secretly deadly recovery droids. It had been elementary for someone with his connections to locate a droid mechanic with a familiarity with the particular model in question, and even easier to convince him to make the necessary modifications; people with debts were so depressingly easy to manipulate. It was such a pity that the man had been involved in a speeder accident not long after finishing his work.

Omega's plans rarely worked so seamlessly, and he'd been waiting for an opportunity to deploy them ever since. The event of Sor'udeina had been too good an opportunity to miss.

And yet miss it he had!

But infuriating as it was—not only that the droids had failed, but that he'd also failed to empower himself with the gift of the Force—it was not all bad. He had managed to escape capture by the Jedi despite their best efforts, and he had used only one of his plans.

Omega has many plans. Plans within plans, plans straightforward, and downright complicated. Schemes that require millions of credits, and those involving the unwitting assistance of people he's never even met! His quest to avenge his father's death is far from realised. Nor will it be until every single Jedi is dead and buried.

Oh yes, Omega has many plans...

And even as he gazes out the view port, other plans are afoot: his comlink rings shrilly.

"Granta Omega." Says the being at the other end of the call, not even waiting to him to confirm that that is indeed the one speaking. "I was most impressed by your plan to infiltrate the Jedi Temple. It's a shame for you that it did not succeed." The voice is calm and silky, but with a murky undertone of venom that would send anyone with self preservation instincts to run screaming for the hills. Omega knows instantly and instinctively that this is a man used to getting what he wants, and someone who would be extremely dangerous to cross.

But then, he is dangerous in his own way.

"Who is this?" He demands harshly, not giving the mysterious being the satisfaction of even the slightest fear.

"A friend." Dismisses the caller, and Omega can almost hear the lurid smile, "One with whom there would be sincere advantage in cooperating with. You and I have many... views of which we share. I am not one to skirt around the Sarlaac, and I sense that neither are you, so I'll be direct. How would you like to do some serious damage to the Jedi?"

Omega's eyes narrow. He's not a fool; he knows exactly what the seemingly straight forward question is, and he's more than willing to rise to the challenge.

"Tell me more." He says.

The End

For now?

And once again we finish with an introspection from the bad guys, I'll bet you ten bucks you can't guess who he's talking to... er, actually on second thoughts: no I won't. That's a tad obvious.

I'm keen to start on the next book, however, I think I will wait until I've written a bit before I start posting it, instead of the way I've done the last two where I'm constantly pushing myself to have to scrape the chapter together to get it posted; even when the qualities not there. Hopefully this way I can just skip a few chapters and come back later, and still have plenty of time.

The next part will take part during Attack of the Clones, and I get to try a hand at something that I'm always really picky about with other authors: how do you do an AU which follows the same general story line but isn't just a rewrite with characters having dialogue swapped around randomly and characters behaving like other ones just for the sake of the circumstances (I can't see Qui-Gon leaping out a window, sorry). We'll see how I go... see if I can avoid being a