Near 900 years, I am. And come to this, it has.

All gone, all. Adi Gallia, she of the sparkling smile and eyes that saw beyond. Beautiful. Sad, I am that told her this I did not. Mace, Jedi warrior and great friend. The Force gains much with their coming.

Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon. Began with you, it did. Tried to repair it, you would have, probably. Yes. The boy...the Chosen One. Signs, there were. Too old, he was, too unsettled. Known, we should have. Blind I was, deaf and blind. Clouding my vision the Dark Side was. But blind, I was.

Everything, lost. Ah, thinking I am not. There are still the twins.

Soon, Kenobi will be here. Know, I do, that he would prefer to fight, but greater responsibilities he has. Off to Tatooine, Obi-Wan must go, to the aunt, and the uncle. Good people, raise the boy right, they will. The last hope for the Jedi. A dry, desiccated planet, Tatooine is, of no consequence. Safe, Force grant he will be!

And then there is the other. Survive, she must. She will be strong. Believe in Bail Organa, I do. I foresee...no, silent, I must be. In case taken, I am. Cleanse my mind of the children, or doomed, they are.

Seen, I have, the darkness coming. One part of me says stay and join my fellow Jedi, the other says go, and hide, and wait. Wait for the one to survive and lead us out of the darkness. Be there, I must.

The future is closed to me. The Sith Lord is strong. Count Dooku, you are cursed forever!! Palpatine, the Light Side will you face, someday. There, I have said it. The less I am for it, but too strong my feelings are. I will meditate, and repair this defect within myself.

The Force is calling me to Dagobah. A swampy world, forbidding. Wild creatures, plenty, but of cities there are none. I will build my hut, and wait. If Obi-Wan, no, Ben Kenobi survives, and the boy survives, all will be well. Foresee I can that he will find me. This I can say.

But if the Jedi do not return...on that, think I will not. Our greatest test, this is. Otherwise the darkness wins. Fail, we cannot.

Obi-Wan comes. Weary, he is. And something else. Doubly betrayed, he has been. But determined, as always. Organa has claimed the girl child, he says. Pity. Welcome it, I would, to see her one last time. Not to be, it was.

Pulls the blanket back, he does, and I look upon the future.

Afraid, I was, that my great ears and green skin would prove too frightening. But, this little one smiles, and reaches up, and takes my hand. More time, I would like, to tell him what has been sacrificed. Too dangerous, it is, to tarry. Go, we all must.

I will see you soon, little one. When you are further grown, and can understand. What are a few more years, to one so old? The Force will be with us, I feel this. The Jedi will survive. When ready, we are.

The End

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