Coruscant's skyways were growing crowded with the morning's traffic by the time they left the Temple. It was by unspoken agreement that they headed not for the Temple's own docking bays, but for the public transit station at the opposite side of the Temple plaza. A Jedi shuttle using priority lanes could have taken them to their destination in minutes, but it seemed to both of them that this rare morning off should be an unhurried one.

The station, used mostly by tourists, was not yet busy, and their footsteps echoed as they passed through the lofty, marble-floored entrance hall. The looming golden side of a departing city cruiser filled all the windows to one side of the long, curved concourse just beyond. The vessel angled slowly round, revealing the glow of massive repulsor drive exhausts. The sunlight caught the side of the ship and revealed for a moment its name, the 'Zenith', in subtle burnished letters across the matt gold side. They stood and watched for a moment as the vast ship drifted away silently between the heights of Coruscant's soaring towers. Obi-Wan looked up at his Master in silent query, and Qui-Gon nodded in response.

It was a matter of just minutes before their compact little air-taxi dropped from beneath the transit station and sped after the great golden cruiser. The larger ship had moved only about a kilometre or so further in that time. It was one of a number of pleasure vessels that drifted soundlessly through the highest, slowest shipping lanes. Each one covered no more than a few hundred kilometres in a standard day, endlessly travelling a circuit that covered most of the attractions in Coruscant's central administrative district. It took only a short time for their craft to catch up with the cruiser, and to dock at one of a cluster of taxi ports in its side.

They boarded and walked together in silence past the covered gardens, the mostly empty shops and the still shuttered bars and casinos. Qui-Gon led the way unhesitatingly to a small, unoccupied viewing deck to one side of the cruiser's sharp prow. The telltale haze of shielding shimmered three or four feet out from the balcony. Otherwise it seemed that the narrow rail was all that separated them from the mile deep drop to the city floor. Beyond the rail the towers of the Temple slowly fell away into the distance. There was barely any wind, only the heat of the sun.

Qui-Gon engaged the privacy indicator on the bulkhead door. He turned to find his padawan standing at the rail, looking out onto the city with a tiny, preoccupied frown. 'You seem distracted, Obi-Wan,' he said.

Obi-Wan managed a faint smile, and reached down to touch his belt pouch. 'I have a lot to think about this morning, Master.'

'The letter?'

Obi-Wan nodded. A brief side-trip to the communications centre just before leaving the Temple had yielded a blank money order made out and signed by Yoda two days before, a small package and a letter. He took the last out now. The writing on the source/destination tag was his mother's. There was a sense of some disturbance or unhappiness about the letter, strong enough that Qui-Gon could not have failed to sense it too. He fingered the stiff paper absently, reluctant to open it but also unwilling to leave it any longer.

Qui-Gon lay a hand on his shoulder. 'I'll go and find us some breakfast.'

Obi-Wan nodded gratefully. 'Thank you, Master.'

Qui-Gon did not hurry about his task. When he finally returned with tea and pastries ten minutes later, it was to find his Padawan seated cross-legged on the synth-wood floor, the letter refolded in his lap.

'Owen left home, Master,' Obi-Wan said. 'A week or so ago. He took a position on a merchant freighter.'

'Was that expected?' Qui-Gon asked, sitting down beside him and passing him a bowl of tea.

Obi-Wan took the bowl and shook his head. 'He was supposed to be going to college. He didn't tell anyone he was leaving.' He looked down unhappily at the bowl in his hands.

Qui-Gon took up his own tea. 'Do you know what happened?'

'Owen argued with my father about his responsibilities to our family,' Obi-Wan said. 'My parents have always expected him to remain and take over the farm.' He looked up at Qui-Gon. 'Master, he was always angry that I never chose to return. He has always believed that I abandoned our family and that he was being forced to take on duties that I should have shared. I'm afraid that he's left because of me.'

Qui-Gon seemed to consider that for a moment. 'Maybe you were one of the reasons, Padawan, but I don't believe this was your fault. It's more likely your brother is simply seeking his independence. It's an uncomfortable feeling, to believe that your future has already been planned for you.'

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to attain some semblance of composure. 'To go off-planet when you've barely been further than the regional capitol... I am afraid for him, Master.'

Qui-Gon clasped his shoulder in a brief, comforting gesture. 'It's natural that you should be, Padawan. What do your feelings tell you?'

Obi-Wan reached out to the Force around him. 'That... the future is clouded,' he said, after a moment. 'That everything is changing. But I sense no immediate danger for Owen.'

Qui-Gon nodded. 'Then trust in the Force, and in your brother. If there's still no word from him I can request a trace on your behalf from the Communications Centre.'

'I'll consider that, Master. Thank you.'

The massive Senate complex, miles wide, filled the horizon before them. Qui-Gon chose a pastry from the tray. 'Was the parcel from your parents too?'

Obi-Wan took the little package from his pouch, grateful for the change of subject. 'I haven't opened it yet, Master.' He examined the label. 'The source marker is Selos Prime. It must be from Ca'narn.' He tore off the opening tag, only to find that the parcel contained nothing more than a smooth, pale blue stone, not much bigger than the last joint of his thumb. Obi-Wan smiled faintly. 'A pebble. He must have sent it as a joke.'

'Well it seems that you're intended to have a stone for your birthday after all, Padawan,' Qui-Gon said. The dryness in his voice softened a little. 'It was a kind thought.'

Obi-Wan raised the little stone to the rising sun, turned it and watched as the light shining through it refracted to a brilliant core. 'It looks like some kind of silicate but I don't recall seeing one this colour before.'

'I don't recognise it either,' Qui-Gon noted. 'But it's attractive. If you want to keep it you should have it scanned and valued.'

'Yes, Master.'

They sat in silence for a little while and ate their breakfast as the Senate passed slowly beneath them. It was a little while before Qui-Gon spoke again. 'Perhaps this would be a good time to meditate on your reasons for wishing to delay the ritual of mourning.'

'It is difficult for me to find clarity within the Force this morning.' Obi-Wan confessed. He bowed his head slightly. 'I think I'll need to use a focus, Master.' It was a painful admission of his unsettled state of mind. Little children needed a focus for meditation.

'This isn't a test of your abilities, Padawan,' Qui-Gon said, as he rested his hands on his knees in preparation. His eyes closed. 'Do whatever you need to centre yourself.

'Yes, Master.'

The little blue pebble seemed as good a focus as anything. He balanced it in his palm and attempted to focus on the light caught in the pale blue depths. Mentally he sounded the words of the first meditation. 'The Force holds us and surrounds us. We surrender ourselves to the Force. Within the Force we find our centre.'

Usually the words calmed and centred him. This morning they did nothing. He fought down his frustration and moved on, focussing his thoughts on the words of the meditation of mourning.

'As a Jedi I was chosen and as a Jedi I have chosen to remain. Loss I have faced, and loss I will face again. But all that I have lost I will find again in the Force, for all is one within the Force. There is no emotion, there is only serenity. There is no sorrow, there is only acceptance. There is no death...'

...and suddenly it was impossibly easy, like diving into clear blue water. His fears faded from his mind like clinging fog swept away by a keen, fresh wind. All that remained was a pure and nameless joy, a joy in the warmth of this perfect morning, in the feel of the sunlight on his face and the breeze on his skin. The feeling made him shiver involuntarily. And then a memory came to him unbidden; of his arrival on Coruscant as a tiny child. Of sitting in the creche mistress's arms with tears drying on his face, looking out of the transport's window, transfixed in wonder at the sight of dawn over a city that stretched to the edges of the world.

Here, again, the city drifted past silently beneath. Only the faintest vibration of the deck beneath them betrayed the fact that they were on a vessel. He did not know how long he sat there, his mind focussed so easily on the beauty of the city around them and on a memory he had long thought lost. Eventually, reluctantly, he let himself return, calmed and serene.

'We should do this again, Master,' he said softly.

'Yes,' Qui-Gon murmured.

Obi-Wan glanced sideways to find that his Master's eyes were still closed, his face composed. 'Master?' he asked.

Qui-Gon opened his eyes and stretched his broad shoulders. 'Forgive me. I was enjoying the ride. I imagine that so were most of the other passengers.'

Obi-Wan blinked. 'I was broadcasting?'

Qui-Gon nodded; he sounded faintly amused. 'Very strongly, Padawan.'

Obi-Wan flushed slightly as he realised that other than the faint sounds of machinery the ship had fallen silent around them. 'I'm sorry, Master. I'm not sure what happened. I usually have more control than this.'

Qui-Gon shook his head. 'Do not be ashamed of sharing your joy in life, Padawan. These people will feel happier and more content today, although most of them will have no idea why. I see no reason to deny them such a gift.'

Obi-Wan frowned. 'The code tells us there is no emotion...'

'Master Alheira wrote that emotion and serenity are not always opposed,' Qui-Gon disagreed. 'We may permit ourselves joy and love, he wrote, for these are the greatest rewards of what we do. Joy is the best and purest of all emotions; it is greater than love, for it is love without fear. Such moments of peace and clarity will be rare. Enjoy them to their fullest. There will be times of darkness in your life and these moments will be a strength to you.'

Obi-Wan digested that thoughtfully. 'I have not heard of Alheira before, Master.'

Qui-Gon's mouth quirked wryly. 'He's not a recommended text, Padawan. His views have always been considered controversial.'

'I can imagine,' Obi-Wan murmured. He turned the little pebble over in his hand and then offered it to his Master. 'This is an unusually powerful tool for meditation, Master.'

Qui-Gon took it in his own broad palm. 'I sense nothing out of the ordinary about it, Padawan. If there's a trigger it's likely to be in your own mind. It may be as simple as the association with your friend Ca'narn. Is he particularly skilled or enlightened?'

Obi-Wan took the pebble back, replaced it in his pouch. 'Not especially. Just good Force-compulsion skills and a talent for finding sefood bars.' A sense of wrongness touched him suddenly, so slight that it was barely there. He glanced uncertainly at Qui-Gon, but his Master seemed to have noticed nothing.

'Perhaps it's just this location then,' Qui-Gon guessed. He rose, straightened. 'But that's something we will have to explore later, Padawan. We should prepare to leave now.'

Obi-Wan frowned. 'Already, Master?'

Qui-Gon looked at him strangely. 'Padawan, we have been here for more than three hours.'

'That's not possible...' Obi-Wan began, but even as he said it he saw that Qui-Gon's words were true. Beneath their ship loomed the blackened and ancient building that housed their destination; Coruscant's Dark Markets.

They stood to leave in silence as the hushed ship began to descent. On the deck outside, a woman's voice rose in sudden, joyful song.