His comlink signaled, and he groaned. He knew who it was.

"Where are you?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin looked around. He was still quite a few levels away from the Temple. At least a few hundred. If he told his Master that, Obi-Wan would know where he'd been, and why.

Tru suddenly stepped up closer. "Master Kenobi, it is Tru Veld. Anakin is with me. I asked his help on… a personal matter. We are returning to the Temple now."

"All right." Obi-Wan sounded surprised. "Come and see me, Anakin, as soon as you arrive."

Anakin turned off his comlink. "Thanks," he said to Tru.

"Obi-Wan wouldn't be happy if he knew where I'd been."

"Neither would Ry-Gaul," Tru said.

"If you're not so good at fixing droids, why were you there?" Anakin asked.

"I'm helping out Ali Alann," Tru said. "He has a droid helper in the nursery now. It needs a new motivator and the tech service department is running low. I thought j I'd surprise him."

Anakin felt ashamed. Here he had fought for the part for himself, and Tru was doing a good deed. He sighed. It was times such as this he wondered if he'd ever become a Jedi.

Students like Tru had a dedication he feared he lacked.

They hurried back to the Temple. It was dark and quiet as they checked in. They headed for the lift tube.

Obi-Wan came around the corner. He frowned when he saw Anakin's stained tunic and dirty face.

"Where have you been?" he asked sternly.

Tru and Anakin looked at each other, then began to speak at once.

"You see, Ali Alann — " Tru began.

"The tech service department has shortages — Anakin started.

Obi-Wan held up a hand. "I don't want to know.

Good night, Tru."

Tru nodded respectfully and hurried off to his quarters.

Obi-Wan turned back to Anakin.

"Anakin, these late hours will do you no good if you have to leave early on a mission the next day."

"But I don't have a mission tomorrow," Anakin said.

"Ah. Are you so certain of that, young Padawan? Do you see into the minds of the Jedi Council?"

"The Jedi Council wants to see us," Anakin guessed, excitement rising in him. "You mean we have a mission?"

"We shall see," Obi-Wan said neutrally. "They've asked for our presence before dawn tomorrow. So get some sleep. If I see one yawn tomorrow, I'll forbid you to go outside the Temple grounds at all."

The next morning, Obi-Wan headed for Anakin's quarters. He knew that Anakin would be ready at the precise time he had been told. Anakin might push the rules, but he knew when to toe the line.

Anakin was waiting outside his door in a fresh tunic, his face bright with eagerness in the dim light. The glow rods were kept low at this hour to keep a meditative hush in the Temple halls. Most Jedi were asleep or meditating.

Anakin swung into step beside him. Obi-Wan knew that his Padawan was waiting for an admonishment about the night before, but Obi-Wan had already moved on. The sight of Anakin with Tru had stirred him. The two young Padawans had exchanged a conspiratorial glance, and rather than being nettled by it, Obi-Wan had enjoyed it — though he would never let Anakin know it. Perhaps Anakin had made a friend.

Obi-Wan was also glad that Anakin had an independent spirit. It would serve him well as a Jedi Knight the years to come. What his Padawan needed was training in cooperation and dedication to the greater good, upheld by the Jedi Order. He did not know how to suppress his own needs and desires in order to serve. How does one teach loyalty and self-sacrifice? Obi-Wan wondered. Was it something that could be taught?

The mission teaches when I cannot.

Qui-Gon's words again. Obi-Wan had come to realize that in addition to preparing him to be a Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon had prepared him to be a Master as well. He had often let him in on his thought processes, even on his own struggles to be a good Master. Qui-Gon's advice often rose in his mind, centering and calming him, much as Qui-Gon himself had done.

Over the years since Qui-Gon's tragic death, Obi-Wan had come to know how even searing grief could leave behind not only sorrow, but peace. It had been one of the great lessons of his life.

"You are thinking of Qui-Gon." Anakin's voice was soft.

Startled, Obi-Wan turned to his Padawan. "How did you know?"

"Your face. It changes." Anakin shrugged. "Sorry knot inside you loosens. Something smooths out. I it happening."

"Stop being so perceptive," Obi-Wan chided gently.

"Now you are not thinking of him at all," Anakin replied, mischief in his eyes. "The knot is back."

"And you have tied it," Obi-Wan answered, accessing the Council room door.

The full Council had not yet assembled. Only Yoda and Mace Windu were present, speaking quietly by the window. The lights of Coruscant still sparkled outside. The sun had not yet risen. A few air taxis made their way down the space lanes. In only an hour or so those lanes would be crammed with traffic.

Obi-Wan was surprised to see two other Jedi Knights in the room with their Padawans. Obviously this mission was going to be a big one. He gave short bows to Ry-Gaul and Soara Antana. Ry-Gaul's Padawan was: Tru Veld, Anakin's companion of the night before. The tall, elegant Master towered over his Padawan. Obi-Wan did not know Ry-Gaul very well, though he knew his reputation. He was a grave, silent Jedi who did not speak much but was widely respected for the depth of his knowledge of the galaxy. Soara Antana was a legend. Her lightsaber skills had set her apart even as a young girl.

Like Obi-Wan, she had recently become a Jedi Knight. Her Padawan, Darra Thel-Tanis, was the same age as Anakin.

Darra, a slender girl with lively eyes, took her place next to the sturdy, muscular Soara.

The Jedi Council members filed in and took their laces.

Yoda and Mace Windu came away from the window and sat. They exchanged a glance but did not start the proceedings. What were they waiting for?

The doors hissed open again, and Siri strode in. Obi-Wan hid his smile. He should have known. When he had known Siri as a young Padawan, she had been strict about rules and regulations. But ever since she had gone undercover to trap the slave pirate Krayn, he had noticed a difference in her.