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The training floor was largely deserted. Most of the Padawans had various lectures in the morning hours, and nearly every available, able-bodied Jedi who was not a teacher was away assisting the military in the ongoing war against the Separatists.
Master Fisto was waiting for Obi-Wan and Anakin, polishing the handles of his stock. Half a dozen other beings stood in a semi-circle as the Jedi Master spoke of the difference of grips, handles and blades. The others listened, all seemingly interested in Fisto's exposition. Next to the rack, Master Yoda nodded sagely as Fisto explained that there was no one true lightsaber design, but that a Jedi's bond to the Force led him or her to build a blade that best fit his or her style of swordsmanship.
Across the main chamber, Jedi Master Mace Windu, who deferred only to Yoda on the Jedi Council, was programming two dozen remotes to help him showcase the incredible reflexes and agility a Jedi could command against multiple attackers.
On the other side of Master Fisto stood Chancellor Palpatine, robed in cobalt blue attire and flanked by two of his red-clad, visored Royal Guards, nodding his head at Fisto's key points and turning to ascertain the reaction of the alien who Anakin knew must surely be President Nupro.
Nupro was not really what Anakin had expected - his idea of a industrial leader was that of a stern elder, not the almost spritely turquoise-hued alien who stood excitedly in front of him, wagging his head atop a long, slender neck back and forth between Fisto's presentation and Windu's preparations.
Nupro's species was unknown to Anakin, whether that was from a lack of interest in the archives pronounced sociological and anthropoloical sections or simply that he was a rare breed, but at the moment, Anakin did not care, his attention focused solely and amazingly on the person standing to Palpatine's immediate left, a person who was staring directly back into his face in wonder and astonishment.
Senator Padme Amidala had been taken by surprise when the Supreme Chancellor had suggested that both she and Bail Organa of Alderaan join him and President Nupro on the tour of the Jedi Temple. For a long moment she suspected her secret was out, and that Palpatine might try to sway her vote on key issues under the threat of revealing she and Anakin's forbidden union.
But even as she stood in front of the viewscreen in silence, the Chancellor had begun to speak again, saying that Nupro had mentioned her as an impressive person he would be interested in meeting, and that she might enjoy the tour of the Temple, giving how often crossing paths with the Jedi had been fortuitous for her.
Padme could not deny her curiosity to see the inside of the famous Temple. Anakin very rarely gave details of his life inside his walls, always focusing his energy and attention on her, and what she was doing as she strove to make the lives of the masses better. She had accepted Palpatine's request, reasoning that the Temple was a massive structure, and the likelihood of encountering Anakin, who she had not seen in an official or public capacity in more than a year, were slim.
And yet, there he was, handsome and tall, failing miserably in his attempts to not stare at her as he came a step behind Master Kenobi, whose smile for her was earnest and honest, little did he know of his Padawan's nightly deceptions. She smiled back, striving to address Anakin with only the same pleasantries she gave Obi-Wan as they filled in the semi-circle around Fisto. Organa exchanged a firm handshake with Obi-Wan and nodded respectfully to Anakin, perhaps a bit uneasy of gripping the other's cybernetic hand.
When Fisto concluded his presentation, Nupro lightly applauded and Fisto gave the industrialist a small bow. Palpatine swung his attention to Windu and spoke in his calm, polite manner.
"Master Windu, are you ready to demonstrate your prowess to our new friend?"
Windu looked up, a bit of tightness in his face.
"There appears to be a malfunction in the slave rig on the remotes, Chancellor. A few more moments and I should be able to repair them. Perhaps the fencing demonstration should take place first."
Obi-Wan watched Nupro's face light up at the idea of seeing the sabers lit, and Palpatine nodded.
"Excellent, but perhaps we should watch from the observation blister above. From what Master Fisto has told me, trainees tend to use this entire facility when they engage in a full workout, and I would hate for us to get in the way."
Nupro looked slightly dismayed that he would not get to watch the display at point-blank range, but Organa pointed out that the view from above would be superior given the Jedi penchanct for acrobatics and movement at great speed.
Fisto escorted the civillains out the entry way and up the spiral staircase to the observation window, while Anakin and Obi-Wan took their over-robes off, while Yoda appraised the pair in silence.
Obi-Wan casaully walked to the rack of lightsabers as if he was perfectly in the right to do so when Yoda's voice piped up from behind and below him.
"Master Obi-Wan? Where is your lightsaber?"
Obi-Wan turned, forcing himself not to look at Anakin as he did and exhaled slowly. To stand before the greatest Master he had ever known and lie, even if were to protect Anakin, still felt very wrong.
"I am sorry, Master, but with the strategy and planning sessions, I seem to have lost track of time as of late. Anakin had to proceed without me, but I promise I will finish my new sword soon."
Yoda stared hard at Obi-Wan for a moment, then emitted a disappointed sigh.
"Too much to do? Not enough time? Master Obi-Wan, a Jedi without his blade is not complete, without harmony he is. Even your Padawan, recovering from his strife on Geonosis has fashioned a new blade for himself."
Anakin blanched at that "even", once again he felt belittled by one of his teachers. Yoda might be reprimanding Obi-Wan, but it was Anakin who felt as though Yoda was directing the disappointment toward him for his rashness in attacking Count Dooku alone.
Upon his return from Naboo to the Jedi Temple following his wedding to Padme, Anakin had idolized by most of the Temple's Padawan residents, even by a few of the younger Knights, for daring to confront the dark-side strengthened Dooku. His Masters however, had thought differently, sometimes caught in discussion speculating if the war would already be over if Anakin had heeded Obi-Wan's advice and attacked the Separatist leader in tandem.
Even as he began his training anew with Master Fisto, Anakin knew others were doubting his ability to ever overcome his aggressiveness and rash tendencies. Not to mention he was now fighting with one real arm and one largely made of steel and wiring.
He had proven his skill with the sword to Master Fisto, but he suspected others, Obi-Wan included, doubted he would ever be as promising with the blade as he had been in the months leading up to the Battle of Geonosis. He decided that this opportunity, sparring with his own Master, would be a perfect opportunity to show those who still doubted. He was also thrilled to be showing off for Padme. While she had seen him do battle in the droid foundries as well as the arena on Geonosis, he knew her last vision of him in combat was lying broken and battered by Dooku's superior swordsmanship and mastery of the Force. He was determined to show Padme that he was not destined to be a crippled veteran of the Clone Wars.
Yoda had now worked his way slowly up the staircase and as Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up, saw his wizened face nod, signalling them to begin the demonstration. President Nupro, Anakin noticed was dangerously close to scalding the top of his head on the light fixtures at the top of the observation deck, so eagerly was he bobbing his neck up and down in anticipation.
Obi-Wan had selected a simplistic hilt from Fisto's rack of blades and now he and Anakin stood some 10 feet apart from each other. They bowed in the classic repose and lit their blades at the same time, Obi-Wan's humming brilliant blue, Anakin's, although he still thought of it as his Master's blade, a pristine blue-white glow.
Respecting the rules of engagement, Anakin held his blade in a purely defensive pose. Intensive instruction from Master Koon had taught Anakin and every other Padawan learner that one always defers the first offensive to one's superior.
While Anakin might have believed he was a better overall swordsman than his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was the only Jedi of thousands in the galaxy who had defeated a Lord of the Sith in single combat.
As brash as Anakin may have been, he knew when to show respect. So he stood patiently as Obi-Wan, adjusting to the different feel of the blue-bladed saber, approached him. Obi-Wan went through the first basic set of attacks, with Anakin meeting each with precision and ease. Clearly Obi-Wan was as uninterested in this showcase as Anakin had been upon first hearing of it.
But when Obi-Wan finished his offensive, Anakin surprised his Master by launching into an aggresive response, pushing Obi-Wan back across the chamber with a combination of upper cuts and spinning manuevers. When they finally locked blades near the far wall, Obi-Wan locked eyes with Anakin, and the younger man saw the confusion and surprise in his Master's eyes.
Whether Obi-Wan had realized that Anakin was attempting to prove himself as a swordsman, or he just assumed the Padawan wanted to make the show as spectacular as possible for Nupro, Obi-Wan proved he was up for the challenge.
Assuming the offensive, Obi-Wan faked a lunge, then cartwheeled over Anakin, whirling around with a one-handed swipe that the Padawan blocked with a two-handed manuever.
The duel intensified as both Jedi left their feet, soaring through the air in a display that at times was as much an exhibition of gymnastics as it was of sword play.
As Obi-Wan's endurance waned a bit, Anakin waded in, with hard combinations that forced his Master to backpedal to keep his feet. Obi-Wan bumped against the rack of hilts and lost his concentration momentarily. Anakin seized the opportunity to deliver a massive down cut which Obi-Wan barely blocked, but lost his footing.
As he rolled back to his feet, Anakin used the Force to wrench the blade from his Master's hands, sending it careening across the chamber to bounce off one of the walls.
Reacting on pure instinct, Obi-Wan executed a forward flip over his Padawan, then cartwheeled and called his saber back to his hand, barely beating Anakin's next flurry of cuts and slices.
Driven backwards again, Obi-Wan resorted to parrying Anakin's blows, then counter-attacked, but felt his strength ebbing from the long hours he had been keeping, and his growing exhaustion from the spirited duel. Feinting with one move, Anakin again ripped the blade from Kenobi's grip and threw it against a weapons table.
Obi-Wan ducked under an attack and flipped himself up onto the table, whirling again. Anakin had not followed him this time, and from his raised vantage point, Obi-Wan found himself looking up at the occupants of the observation booth. Nupro, not surprisingly, was beside himself with glee, obviously believing himself a witness to an exhibition that would make any HoloDoc on legends of the Jedi Order pale in comparison.
Padme and Master Yoda shared a look that mixed disbelief, concern and a slight touch of hopeful humor, as if neither could quite believe what they were seeing was real, and were sure that the Master and Padawan were about to throw down their swords and embrace to celebrate a well-orchestrated performance.
The look on Chancellor Palpatine's face was one Obi-Wan would remember to his dying day. The former senator from Naboo was staring directly at Anakin, his eyes wide and blazing, and his look, Obi-Wan had no other word to accurately depict it, predatorial.
All of these thoughts burned barely 10 seconds of time however, as Anakin attacked again, pursuing Obi-Wan up onto the table, then back down off it. Feeling they had done more than enough, Obi-Wan parried anothew barrage of attacks, then lifted his saber parallel to his body and bowed his head, symbolizing his deference to a superior effort, and calling for an end to the duel.
With his head down and eyes closed for a brief meditation on his inferior performance, Obi-Wan never saw what happened next. With the overwhelming surge of energy coursing through his body as Anakin sought to best his Master and prove wrong anyone who had doubted him, all the Padawan's eyes saw in this moment was an opening in his opponent's defenses.
Sensing victory, feeling another immense surge of power wash over him, Anakin stepped forward and swung his blade to end the duel ...
