In the beginning, when he'd first arrived at the Temple, he could call up her voice and smile so easily. He could repeat her soft words to him: The greatest gift you can give me, Annie, is to take your freedom.

But her voice was growing fainter, and her smile growing dim.

Sometimes he had to struggle to recall the living reality of her face, the texture of her skin. He had not seen her in four years. He had been so young when he left. His greatest fear was that one day she would leave him completely. That he would lose her like a dream. Then he would be hollow inside.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had been raised in the Temple since he was a baby. He could not truly know how a childhood could be one of terror and shame mixed with comfort and love. He only knew this through his intellect, not his experience. It is one thing to see the effects of a terrible childhood. It is another to live them every day. So when his beloved Master told him he must accept his anger and let it move through him, a small, mean voice in Anakin whispered that his Master did not know what he was talking about. He did not truly know anger.

How could he let such rage move through him? Obi-Wan could never understand how it beat inside him, threatening never to leave. It had the power to consume him. It frightened him, and Anakin did not want to accept fear, either. Did this mean he could never be a Jedi Knight?

When he thought of his fears, his thoughts circled in just this way, bringing a spark of panic deep in his belly. It was better to pretend the anger wasn't there. Wasn't being a Jedi all about control? He had to find his own way to control his feelings. That would be the best way.

Suddenly, Anakin felt a tremor in the ship. It caused him to stumble slightly. The tremor was followed by a blast that sent him flying into the corridor wall. Alarm signals began to sound.

Anakin took off through the maze of twisting corridors toward his quarters to find Obi-Wan. The ship was hit again by another blast, and began to practice defensive maneuvers. Anakin knew the ship was too large to outmaneuver most crafts.

He was halfway there when he saw Obi-Wan running toward him.

"We're under attack. It's Krayn," Obi-Wan said tersely. "Let's head for the bridge."

The two raced into the gloom of the bridge. The crew sat tensely at the controls while a few officers raced from one station to another.

Outside the view-port, they could see vapor trails of proton torpedoes and showers of explosives. The ship shook with every nearby blast. It was an ambush — Krayn must have known where they would appear.

Captain Anf Dec stood, his hands gripping the arms of his control chair. "Where is the ship?" he screamed. "Where is the ship?"

"It dived below us, Captain," one of the crew members shouted.

"Full speed ahead! Full speed! No, left engines full!" Captain Anf Dec shouted, his voice on the edge of hysteria. "Where is the ship now?"

The ship lurched to one side as the crew struggled to reconcile the captain's contradictory orders. This lurch was followed by another blast that sent everyone on the bridge staggering.

"Krayn is off to our port, sir," one of the crew members said. "We've taken a blow to the fuel driver."

"What is he doing!" Captain Anf Dec shouted. "Doesn't he know who we are?"

"Yes, Captain. We informed the ship that we were a Colicoid ship with a Jedi observation team aboard. As per your instructions," the crew member added pointedly.

"Port-side deflector shield is down," another crew member shouted.

"What?" the captain asked, scuttling over to stare at the readout.

"How could that be?"

"We didn't get it fully operational in time — "

"Idiots!" Captain Anf Dec nearly fell over as another blast shook the ship. "It's an ambush — they must have reset the coordinates of our nav computer."

Anakin and Obi-Wan stared out the view port as the pirate ship shot into view. It was smaller than the Colicoid transport, but highly maneuverable. By the look of the orbital gun platforms and laser cannons, they were also vastly outgunned.

Because of his acute connection to the Force, Anakin knew his ability to read situations was far-ranging. He didn't need the Force now to tell him that with a failing ship and a panicked captain, they were in trouble.

If they couldn't outmaneuver Krayn or outrun him, what options were left?

He looked at his Master. When it came to strategic thinking, he depended on Obi-Wan. His Master could not only process all aspects of difficult situations, he could come up with several strategies and hone in on the best one — all within seconds.

"Our only hope is to get a small transport off this ship and infiltrate Krayn's ship," Obi-Wan said. "If we can get aboard, we could disable the weapons system."

"What's that?" The Colicoid captain turned his long head. "What did you say?"

"Will you authorize release of one of your transports to us?" Obi-Wan asked.

"What for?"

"To infiltrate Krayn's ship," Obi-Wan repeated. "It's the only way we'll escape destruction or capture."

"Do what you want. I don't care." Captain Anf Dec clutched the arms of his chair as the ship lurched from another blow. "Just do something!"

"We'll need you to create a diversion."

"Fine!"

Without another word, Obi-Wan turned and ran off the bridge. Anakin followed, his heart racing. He admired how his Master had sized up the situation and chosen a course of action within seconds. It was a daring move, but it could be their only hope.

They reached the cargo bay doors, where a number of small transports sat. They were used to ferry passengers or cargo to and from the surface while the large ship orbited a planet.

Obi-Wan stopped and turned to Anakin. "Choose."

Gratified by his Master's trust, Anakin turned to the ships. He surveyed them with a pilot's eye, but also drew in the Force to help with the decision. He needed to go on instinct now. He trusted that it would tell him the right ship to choose.

"The G-class shuttle," he said to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan hesitated. "The lighter could be faster." Anakin grinned. "Not the way I fly."

Obi-Wan nodded. They ran toward the three-winged shuttle. Anakin activated the hatch and swung himself up into the cockpit. Obi-Wan followed.

Quickly, Anakin familiarized himself with the controls. There wasn't a ship made that he couldn't fly. He contacted the crew who operated the bay doors and quickly instructed them that they had Captain Anf Dec's permission to leave. After a moment, the doors opened slightly, and Anakin activated the two lower wings, which lifted into flight mode. They blasted off into space.