A Heart Full of Stars ★ Obi-Wan Kenobi

Chapter 5

They were awakened in the night by a suspicious noise. They had been so bored that they had almost forgotten why they were there: to guard the relic. Obi-Wan was the first to wake up when he heard the sound of footsteps. He shook Koral, who slowly sat up. She turned on the torch she kept next to her sleeping bag and pointed it at the intruder. It was a Twi'Lek disguised as a ninja who was looking at them in surprise. He didn't move an inch, as if not moving at all would make him invisible.

-What do you want," Koral asked in exasperation as Obi-Wan prepared to fight.

The Ninja sighed and finally moved.

-They didn't tell me the relic would be guarded by Jedi! Do I have to fight, or do I just walk away?

-Nah, there's three of us, including a Jedi master, you don't stand a chance.

He hesitated for a moment before saying:

-But wait... I know you! You're Koral Nova, the youngest Jedi Master in history.

-Yeah, I'm famous, I know..." she said, trying to sound modest, which was a complete failure.

Obi-Wan chuckled as he put down his lightsaber.

-Would you sign an autograph for me?

-You bet.

He handed her a crumpled piece of paper and she pulled a pen from her bag. She signed the paper and handed it back to her admirer with a smile.

-Thank you, Master Nova!" he exclaimed before leaving.

-Don't you want to sign my autograph too?" mocked Obi-Wan when the ninja had left.

-You're just jealous because you're not famous and I am," she replied, bursting into laughter.

As she was about to turn off the light and go back to sleep, she felt another presence behind her. She turned around in exasperation and said:

-What now?

This time it was a man dressed as a Jedi, but entirely in black. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, surprised to run into such an oddball here.

-Koral Nova," the man whispered.

-Present.

-I've heard a lot about you...

-But how come I'm so popular without even knowing about it?

-I've also heard that you tend not to follow the Jedi Code as you should.

-Now that's scary. Where did you hear that?" she asked, suddenly losing her smile.

-You're the talk of the town among the Dark Jedi.

-I'm pretty well known.

She looked at Obi-Wan and continued:

-Do you realize that even the Dark Jedi are talking about me?

-I'm not sure that's a good thing," he replied with a slightly worried look.

-On the dark side of the Force, you'll have no limits, no prohibitions. You'll be able to do whatever you want," the Dark Jedi suddenly exclaimed.

-No, thank you, I decline your offer," Koral replied quietly.

-Would you please leave and let us sleep?" Obi-Wan continued.

Their opponent was thrown off balance but made a new argument.

-On the dark side we have cookies.

-Cookies?!" Koral exclaimed with a shocked look.

-Why do you think it's become impossible to find them in the shops? Because we all buy them!

The cookies had indeed been gone for years. Obi-Wan was suddenly afraid that Koral would be convinced by the Dark Jedi's unbeatable arguments and turn to the dark side.

-How long has it been since you've had a cookie? Come with me and you can have as many as you like. All kinds of cookies. Even peanut butter!

-On the light side we have fancy dress parties with booze and all-you-can-eat buffets," Obi-Wan said.

-Oh yeah," said Koral, suddenly looking hungry and optimistic again. Cookies suck after all. LONG LIVE THE ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BROWNIES!

-What? All-you-can-eat brownies?" exclaimed Anakin, suddenly awakening.

-NO!" the Dark Jedi shouted. I can't fight costume parties!

He stomped off like a crab and Koral turned off the light to finally get some sleep, after all the excitement.

***

-We're going for a stroll," Koral announced.

Obi-Wan nodded. He was lying in his sleeping bag, bored with the mission the council had given them. It was late afternoon. He knew that in less than 24 hours, the Tondraks would be gone with their relic and he could return to the Jedi Temple.

Anakin and Koral turned down an adjacent corridor to the Jedi ship and Obi-Wan soon heard no sound, which was enough for him to know that they had left.

He didn't know why this mission had been given to Jedi and not just guards. It was probably because of the young age of his Padawan. The council couldn't have given them a more dangerous mission. The last time they had been on a major mission they had almost died.

But Koral was far from the best Jedi in the temple. Sure, she was well known and liked by the public, but that was only because of her age. She was the youngest Jedi Master in history. And everyone appreciated her optimism and confidence.

Obi-Wan would have thought that this tendency to take everything lightly would prevent her from making the most of her talent, but so far she had always seemed focused enough at the right times. Although she was very talented, she was very inexperienced, which led Obi-Wan to believe that she was too young to be on the council. But after all, that was not for him to judge.

He refocused his thoughts on the crossword puzzle he couldn't solve while biting into an apple.

Suddenly he felt a heavy object hit the back of his head. He would have noticed if someone had snuck up behind him! He didn't have time to turn around when a second blow hit him and he lost consciousness.