Kenobi had avoided one patrol after another, slowly working his way back

toward the docking bay holding the freighter. Just another two turns and he should

be at the hangar. What he would do then would be determined by how

inconspicuous his charges had been.

That young Luke, the adventurous Corellian and his partner, and the two robots

had been involved in something other than quiet napping he already suspected from

the amount of activity he had observed while making his way back from the power

trench. Surely all those troops hadn't been out hunting just for him!

But something else was troubling them, judging from the reference he had

overheard concerning a certain important prisoner, now escaped. That discovery had

puzzled him, until he considered the restless nature of both Luke and Han Solo.

Undoubtedly they were involved in some fashion.

Ben sensed something directly ahead and slowed cautiously. It had a most

familiar feel to it, a half-remembered metal odor he could not quite place.

Then the figure stepped out in front of him, blocking his entry to the hangar not

five meters away. The outline and size of the figure completed the momentary

puzzle. It was the maturity of the mind he had sensed that had temporarily confused

him. His hand moved naturally to the hilt of his deactivated saber.

"I have been waiting a long time, Obi-wan Kenobi," Darth Vader intoned

solemnly. "We meet again at last. The circle has been completed." Kenobi

sensed satisfaction beneath the hideous mask. "The presence I sensed earlier could

only have been you."

Kenobi regarded the great form blocking his retreat and nodded slowly. He

gave the impression of being more curious than impressed. "You still have much to

learn."

"You were once my teacher," Vader admitted, "and I learned much from you.

But the time of learning has long passed, and I am the master now."

The logic that had constituted the missing link in his brilliant pupil remained as

absent as before. There would be no reasoning here, Kenobi knew. Igniting his

saber, he assumed the pose of warrior-ready, a movement accomplished with the ease

and elegance of a dancer.

Rather roughly, Vader imitated the movement. Several minutes followed

without motion as the two men remained staring at each other, as if waiting for some

proper, as yet unspoken signal.

Kenobi blinked once, shook his head, and tried to clear his eyes, which had

begun to water slightly. Sweat beaded up on his forehead, and his eyelids fluttered

again.

"You powers are weak," Vader noted emotionlessly. "Old man, you should

never have come back. It will make your end less peaceful than you might have

wished."
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