My Two Jedi

Part VIII

As unbelievable as it may seem, I missed my hood. As heavy, and hot,
and itchy at it had been, it had at least been familiar, a buffer
against the rest of the world. Without it, in this strange new place,
surrounded by so many new people, I felt exposed. I could not have
made it from the transport to Obi-Wan’s quarters without his constant
soothing presence. His continuous, slightly bemused mental stroking as
I shied away from each passing Jedi as though they could see right
through me was all that kept me from falling into complete, paralyzing
paranoia. Only after we had encountered dozens of passers-by, and not
one had made the slightest attempt to scan me or broadcast to me, did I
begin to relax even a little. Keeping my link to Obi-Wan open while at
the same time closing myself to everyone else took intense
concentration, but he assured me it would become second nature in time,
and as he seemed to do it effortlessly, I could only hope that time
would come soon.

When we arrived at his quarters, I was all too ready to relax my mental
muscles and had already broadcast who knows what unintentionally, when
I realized we were not alone.

“Obi-Wan, you’re back!” called a man happily as he stepped into the
living area from a side room. He headed straight for Obi-Wan, clasping
the younger man’s shoulder familiarly. “Oh, hello,” he added with a
touch of surprise as he saw me.

“Master Jinn,” I said, bowing, as I snapped my blocks back into place,
for I recognized him easily from the memories Obi-Wan had shared.
Perhaps my perceptions were colored by those memories, but he seemed to
exude wisdom and kindness and trustworthiness. And he wasn’t at all
hard on the eyes, either.

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage, my dear lady,” he replied,
looking pointedly at his Padawan.

“Master, this is Meera G’Nal, formerly telepathic advisor to the Alton
of Alpha,” Obi-Wan dutifully replied.

“Formerly?”

“I will explain…later,” Obi-Wan replied, and his Master nodded his
grudging understanding.

That must have been when he reached out to link with his Padawan, for I
did the same thing, and when I could sense Obi-Wan’s mind again, it was
different. Crowded. His Master’s presence was there alongside his,
and mine. It was very strange. How was this going to work?

By the way Master Jinn looked at me, he was wondering the same thing.
I could feel his anger bubbling up inside him, heading towards Obi-Wan.

“Why don’t I just…” I gestured vaguely in the direction from which
Master Jinn had emerged, and Obi-Wan helpfully sent me directions to
his room. As quickly as I could, I turned and left the room, severing
our link as I went.

I have no idea what was said while I was gone, as I – just barely – was
able to keep myself from eavesdropping. I also refrained from poking
about Obi-Wan’s room, but only by sitting on my hands and counting
backwards from a thousand. My will power might have given out if Obi-
Wan hadn’t come to get me just as I was about to run out of numbers.

“We need to talk,” he said from the doorway. He didn’t look very
happy.

“Then sit, and let’s talk.” I pulled my hands from underneath me and
patted the mattress beside where I perched on the bed.

“No, I mean…the three of us.”

“Oh.” The poor thing looked so uncomfortable, I longed to reach out
with my thoughts and sooth him, but I dared not, sensing that our link
was the very thing causing the problem. So I simply followed him back
to the living area, where Master Jinn sat waiting for us.

“Please, sit down,” he said quietly, gesturing to two chairs set apart
from him so that, together, we formed a triangle. I looked to Obi-Wan,
but shut off from each other as we were, he offered me no clue. So I
meekly took a seat to Master Jinn’s left, and Obi-Wan took the other.
“Miss G’Nal,” the Master began when we were settled, “my Padawan
informs me that you have formed some sort of…link with him. Would you
agree that this is so?”

“Yes,” I answered easily, seeing no possible reason to deny it. I
couldn’t help smiling a bit smugly as I said it. Master Jinn cocked an
intrigued eyebrow at this. Obi-Wan started to blush.

“Have you ever…linked with anyone else before?”

“No. It is forbidden.”

Master Jinn made a thoughtful sound, rubbed his bearded chin with one
hand. “Have you ever heard of bonds? Force-bonds, life-bonds?”

“Sorry, no. I am not familiar with the ways of the Jedi.” For a
moment I wished I had looked around a bit more when I had been in Obi-
Wan’s mind. But then, snooping was rude, and I had been busy with
other things.

“Of course,” Master Jinn replied. “When two Jedi become…close to each
other, close enough to open their minds to one another, they form what
we call a bond. Obi-Wan and I share a Master-Padawan bond, as is
necessary for his training. But any two Jedi that wish to may form a
Force-bond, which allows them some limited form of what you call
telepathy – the ability to sense each other’s whereabouts, feelings.
The ultimate bond is a life-bond, which virtually creates one mind out
of two, connecting its members so completely as to transcend death
itself.”

“And what sort of bond do Obi-Wan and I share?”

“That’s just it,” Master Jinn sighed, sitting back in his chair. “I’m
not sure. It is exceedingly rare for a Jedi to bond with someone
outside of our Order. The possibilities are…unknown.”

“Does it matter? I mean, is it forbidden?” I asked, trying to keep the
worry out of my voice. The last thing I wanted to do was get Obi-Wan
into trouble on my account.

“No, not in principle,” Master Jinn answered vaguely, his brow
furrowing as he tried to explain. “It’s just that… A bond is not
something to be entered into lightly. Bonds can do great damage if
they are not well-handled, and that takes training and discipline.
They carry with them responsibility, commitment. And-” This part
seemed to be particularly hard for him. “Certain bonds prevent the
participants from bonding with…others.”

“You mean, like, you can’t form two separate life-bonds?”

“Correct.”

I mulled this information for a while. I tried to look to Obi-Wan, to
see what he thought, but his eyes kept skittering from me to his Master
nervously. “So…”

“So,” Master Jinn responded, “it is very important that we know what
sort of bond you two have formed, so that we can determine what
training might be required, and what…repercussions the bond may have.”

“And how can you tell what sort of bond it is?” I still wasn’t quite
getting the point.

“It must be examined,” Master Jinn stated. It sounded like a judge
passing sentence.

“Master,” Obi-Wan suddenly spoke up for the first time, his voice
betraying his worry. “I really think it is no more than a Force-bond,
if even that. We can’t-”

“We won’t know that until it is examined, Padawan,” Master Jinn
ordered, giving Obi-Wan a stern look.

I wondered at Obi-Wan’s reluctance, especially as I knew how he felt
about Master Jinn. Perhaps, I thought, he was only trying to protect
me. Then there was a simple way to alleviate his concerns.

“I am willing,” I said, interrupting the two glaring men. “I will open
my mind to you, Master Jinn.” They both turned to me with expressions
of surprise. “Obi-Wan loves and trusts you,” I explained, “and that is
enough for me.”

Master Jinn smiled abruptly and turned back to his apprentice. “Now
will you agree?”

“Yes, Master,” the Padawan said reluctantly.

Obi-Wan looked as though he had lost an argument, and I wondered if I
had just made a terrible mistake. But I saw no way to back gracefully
out of it now. When Master Jinn said “Then let us begin,” and I felt
his mind wash up against my shields, I let him in.