funeral and to speak again with Anakin. They were doing so now, close by, making a final assessment based on what had transpired since their last session with the boy. Obi-Wan thought the outcome of their deliberations must be a foregone conclusion. He could not imagine now that it wouldn't be.
He stopped his pacing and stared momentarily at nothing, thinking of Qui- Gon Jinn, his Master, his teacher, his friend. He had failed Qui-Gon in life. But he would carry on his work now, honoring him in death by fulfilling his promise to train the boy, no matter what.
Listen to me, he thought, smiling ruefully. I sound like him.
The door opened, and Yoda appeared. He entered the room In a slow shuffle, leaning on his walking stick, his wizened face sleepy-eyed and contemplative.
'Master Yoda,' Obi-Wan greeted, hurrying forward to meet him, bowing deferentially.
The Jedi Master nodded. 'Confer on you the level of Jedi Knight, the Council does. Decided about the boy, the Council is, Obi-Wan,' he advised solemnly.
'He is to be trained?'
The big ears cocked forward, and the lids to those sleepy eyes widened. 'So impatient, you are. So sure of what has been decided? '
Obi-Wan bit his tongue and kept his silence, waiting dutifully on the other. Yoda studied him carefully. 'A great warrior, was Qui-Gon Jinn,' he gargled softly, his strange voice sad. 'But so much more he could have been, if not so fast he had run. More slowly, you must proceed, Obi-Wan.'
Obi-Wan stood his ground. 'He understood what the rest of us did not about the boy.'
But Yoda shook his head. 'Be not so quick to judge. Not everything, is understanding. Not all at once, is it revealed. Years, it takes, to become a Jedi Knight. Years more, to become one with the Force.'
He moved over to a place where the fading light shone in through a window, soft and golden. Sunset approached, the appointed time for their farewell to Qui-Gon.
Yoda's gaze was distant when he spoke. 'Decided, the Council is,' he repeated. 'Trained, the boy shall be.'
Obi-Wan felt a surge of relief and joy flood through him, and a grateful smile escaped him.
Yoda saw the smile. 'Pleased, you are? So certain this is right?' The wrinkled face tightened. 'Clouded, this boy's future remains, Obi-Wan. A mistake to train him, it is.'
'But the Council-'
'Yes, decided.' The sleepy eyes lifted. 'Disagree with that decision, I must.'
There was a long silence as the two faced each other, listening to the sounds of the funeral preparations taking place without. Obi-Wan did not know what to say. Clearly the Council had decided against the advice of Yoda. That in itself was unusual. That the Jedi Master chose to make a point of it here emphasized the extent of his concerns about Anakin Skywalker.
Obi-Wan spoke carefully. 'I will take this boy as my Padawan, Master. I will train him in the best way I can. But I will bear in mind what you have told me here. I will go carefully. I will heed your warnings. I will keep close watch over his progress.'
Yoda studied him a moment, then nodded. 'Your promise, then, remember well, young Jedi,' he said softly. 'Sufficient, it is, if you do.'
Obi-Wan bowed in acknowledgment. 'I will remember.' Together, they went out into a blaze of light.
The funeral pyre was lit, the fire building steadily around the body of Qui-Gon Jinn, the flames slowly beginning to envelop and consume him. Those who had been chosen to honor him encircled the pyre. Queen Amidala stood with her handmaidens, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Governor Sio Bibble, Captain Panaka, and an honor guard of one hundred Naboo soldiers. Boss Nass, Jar Jar Binks, and twenty Gungan warriors stood across from them. Linking them together were the members of the Jedi Council, including Yoda and Mace Windu. Another clutch of Jedi Knights, those who had known Qui-Gon longest and best, completed the circle.
Anakin Skywalker stood with Obi-Wan, his young face intense as he fought to hold back his tears.
A long, sustained drum roll traced the passage of the flames as they reduced Qui-Gon to spirit and ash. When the fire had taken him away, a flight of snowy doves was released into a crimson sunset. The birds rose in a flutter of wings and a splash of pale brilliance, winging swiftly away.
Obi-Wan found himself remembering. For his entire life, he had studied under the Jedi, and Qui-Gon Jinn, in particular. Now Qui-Gon was gone, and Obi- Wan had passed out of an old life and into a new. Now he was a Jedi Knight, not a Padawan. Everything that had gone before was behind a door that had closed on him forever. It was hard to accept, and at the same time, it gave him an odd sense of release.
He looked down at Anakin. The boy was staring at the ashes of the funeral bier, crying softly.
He put his hand on one slim shoulder. 'He is one with the Force, Anakin. You must let him go.'
The boy shook his head. 'I miss him.'
Obi-Wan nodded. 'I miss him, too. And I will remember him always. But he is gone.'
Anakin wiped the tears from his face. 'What will happen to me now?'
The hand tightened on the boy's shoulder. 'I will train you, just as Qui- Gon would have done,' Obi-Wan Kenobi said softly.
'I am your new Master, Anakin. You will study with me, and you will become a Jedi Knight, I promise you.'
The boy straightened, a barely perceptible act. Obi-Wan nodded to himself. Somewhere, he thought, Qui- Gon Jinn would be smiling.
Across the way, Mace Windu stood with Yoda, his strong dark face contemplative as he watched Obi-Wan
