Obi-Wan Kenobi stood perfectly still. He sensed no movement in the darkened room, yet his muscles were tensed, ready for attack. The only light came from the glowing blue blade of his lightsaber. The only discernible sounds were the hum of the blade and the Jedi's almost undetectable breathing. Obi-Wan had been standing in the same position, balanced on a thin rail, for nearly an hour. Still, he waited.

Suddenly Qui-Gon's voice penetrated the silence, breaking Obi-Wan's concentration. A message from his Master over the comlink was not what Obi- Wan had expected. Momentarily distracted, he almost missed the stealth- training probe moving rapidly toward his head. That was what he had been waiting for.

Obi-Wan turned awkwardly on the slim rail and sliced the probe out of the air. Leaping high to another unseen rail, he knocked out two more probes. A moment later the lights in the room came on and the young Jedi deactivated his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan shook his head. The exercise was complete, but the seventeen- year-old Jedi was not pleased with his performance.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan replied to Qui-Gon over the comlink.

"We've been summoned by the Council. Meet me there."

"Of course," Obi-Wan replied. Hope sprang within him. Perhaps the Council had at last summoned them for a mission. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had spent the last two months at the Temple. It was always a relief to come home when a mission was complete, but Obi-Wan did not like to stay too long.

Being a Jedi was constant work. And somehow the dedication, energy, and patience it required seemed to intensify when Obi-Wan was at the Temple, when he wasn't working toward a mission's specific objective.