Redemption

CHAPTER TWO:

 Opal groaned as they continued waiting for any news of her uncle in silence. The only thing they'd been informed of to that point was that getting the parts for their ship was proving difficult, and that they were running out of time. "I'm intrigued about this boy my uncle is talking about." She called out, drawing Obi Wan's attention away from the communicator in his hand. "He must be strong in the Force. Otherwise he wouldn't be so interested in him."

Obi Wan nodded, sitting down beside his friend. He had grown to admire Opal deeply since they met, but hearing her story of everything that had happened to her after they split only furthered his strong desire to protect her. "I have confidence in my Master, Opal. But I also feel that something is going to happen. Something bad."

It wasn't long before dusk fell on the horizon spread before them, and Opal found herself curled up at Obi's side. Her fingers were wrapped around the cold metal of the key that had been fastened around hern neck since she was a child. "Obi Wan, Opal, I need an analysis of this blood sample I'm sending you." The blonde yawned as she sat up, pressing her fingers into the buttons on the keypad in front of her. "I need a midichlorian count."

Her grogginess instantly faded when the data from Qui Gon came through with the boys blood. Her jaw dropped at the sight in front of her on the screen. Obi Wan leaned over her shoulder, his chest barely brushing her back and his breaths sending shiver down her spine. "The readings are off the charts, Uncle." She responded softly. "Over 20,000. I haven't seen a midichlorian count off the scale like this since Master Yoda, and even his aren't that high."

"No Jedi has."

"What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure. I'll get back to you in the morning."

Opal yawned again as the communications cut out, and she curled up in the chair opposite of Obi Wan. Her eyes had just fluttered shut when she felt a new presence enter the Force. Obi Wan sensed her discomfort and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder as she slowly sat up to survey the horizon. "Opal," He whispered softly. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes widened as she lifted her head to meet his pale blue eyes. "There's a new presence on Tatooine." She said cautiously, sitting up fully and squinting out the glass windows into the darkness of the night. "A bad presence. I believe it's a Sith."

***

Opal wiped away the tears in her eyes as she entered the apartment she'd grown up in on Coruscant, coughing as the dust that had settled into the furniture entered her lungs. "Stay long, we should not." Yoda spoke softly behind her. "Get only what you need, then go we shall."

The 11 year old quickly scurried into her bedroom, retrieving her journal from underneath her bed and her mothers wedding ring that she kept hidden from the Jedi until she had fallen pregnant and everything went down hill. The only reason why she had been allowed to stay on the Council was because of the respect that Master Windu and Yoda held for her and Parker.

Opal shook her head as the memory surfaced in her mind, sending a chill of discomfort through her body. "Are you alright?" Obi Wan said softly, his finger tips grazing the skin of her hand which hung limply over the chair. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She straightened her posture despite the stiffness in her neck and forced a smile to try to hide her fear.

"I'm alright, Obi Wan."

The Jedi Knight snorted at his friend as she kept her eyes trained on the horizon. "You're still a terrible liar, Opal." Her body relaxed as his fingers grazed the inner skin of her wrist, just like he'd used to do whenever she needed comforted. He knew so much about her, more then anyone else, and it only made her stomach flutter every time he touched her so intimately. "Please don't push me out."

The fact that he still wanted to be a part of her life baffled her because no one cared about the girl with the dead parents. "It's not you." She murmured in response, lifting her eyes to meet his own. "Believe me, Obi Wan, it's not you. It's been a habit of mine for years, pushing people out of my life. I'm just grateful that you and my Uncle are still here."

Both of them knew for a fact that Jedi weren't allowed to love. It was against the Code of everything they stood for to feel such strong emotion for another because normally, it clouded their judgement and got them killed.

Opal had made herself a promise the day her parents had died that she would never allow herself to fall in love with a Jedi. So far, she had managed to keep to that promise. The only issue with her promise was that every single time she had been in Obi Wans presence, Opal felt he had the capability to make her break it. He had shaken her word with a smile and a flash of blue eyes, with the way he touched her like he wanted to memorize every scar, every crack of her existence.