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"It's good to see you again, Master."
"And you, Obi-Wan."
"We've just come back from Dagobah. Master Yoda was troubled by a disturbance in the Force. He took us to a cave--have you been there?"
"Yes. Several times."
"He insisted we each go in alone. He went in, too. It was . . . disturbing."
"What did you see?"
Amidala
I felt cold as I entered the dripping hollow under the tree, though Dagobah is a warm, muggy place. I remember wondering if this was how Anakin had felt when he left Tattooine. Then an odd feeling came over me, and I looked up to see someone else in the cave with me. It was the Sith warrior who had killed Qui-Gon; the Trade Federation Viceroy had told us he was called Darth Maul. He put back the hood of his dark robe and his flame-colored eyes blazed in the dimness. I remember thinking, "this is a Sith. He was nearly able to defeat two Jedi at once. There's nothing I can do to stop him or even slow him down." Then I found myself stepping towards him. He didn't move as I raised my hand and touched his cheek, but I saw surprise in his eyes as they met mine.
I am not usually Force-sensitive, but I could feel his power humming in my brain as our gazes locked. Part of me was horrified, but another part exulted as he bent his head and kissed me. It seemed to last forever, but then both of us started as we heard the sound of a lightsaber being kindled.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion. The Sith lord pushed me behind him as he turned and drew his lightsaber, as if he meant to defend me, but before he could turn completely around I saw the end of a blue lightsaber punch through his robe as it cut him down. I saw his magnificent eyes go wide with shock--and betrayal?--before he fell to the ground, and I looked up to meet Obi-Wan's triumphant gaze as he switched off his lightsaber. He was laughing.
Obi-Wan
Ever since I can remember, I have dreaded Master Yoda's many lectures on fear. This time I resolved to profit from them. I left my lightsaber outside the cave and took time to center myself in meditation before I entered. It was not easy. The malice of the place was as obvious as the moisture that dripped from the walls. Still, I felt calm as I entered and the trance took me.
I was holding something in my arms. I looked down at it and discovered a newborn baby wrapped in a tattered blanket. The child was sleeping peacefully, but at once I felt anxious for its safety. Then I felt a dark presence and looked up. A menacing form robed and hooded in black stood before me. Though I could see nothing of its face, it was obvious that this was a Sith. The same power and arrogance I had felt from the Sith on Naboo filled the cave.
In spite of my resolution to master my fear, I felt a stab of terror for the helpless child, and a momentary impulse of anger for having come in this place unarmed. I set the infant on the floor and stood over him, ready to protect him with my life--but if I died, what would become of him? With a sick feeling of inevitability I heard the dark warrior's lightsaber ignite. Then there was a flurry of dodging, ducking, leaping, deflecting his blows with the Force, knowing that in a matter of moments it would be over, that I would fail in my attempt to guard this helpless baby. Then something happened. A wave of calm washed over me. It made no sense, but something told me I must stop fighting. I stepped over the still-sleeping child and stood still, facing the Sith.
When his lightsaber cut through me, I felt agony that I had never imagined possible, as if every cell in my body, not just the damaged ones, was screaming in protest at my annihilation. I lost all physical sensation then, but the vision continued. From a vantage point near the low ceiling of the cave I watched what happened next.
My robe fell to the floor, empty. The Sith warrior extinguished his lightsaber. The bundled infant--no, it was larger now, a toddler--sat up. The child--no, he was still growing, a young man--bent to pick up my empty robe. His back was to me so I couldn't see his face, but I think I glimpsed a padawan braid as he put the robe on and put up the hood. As he straightened up to face the dark lord I saw that he had grown to full adult stature.
The Sith lord stretched out his hand to the young padawan, an urgent gesture, pleading and commanding at the same time. The padawan's own hand flew up, palm out, Force-repelling the dark one into the wall. But instead of striking the wall with the thump of a solid body, the Sith's black robe also billowed, empty. It did not drift to the floor but collapsed on itself, growing smaller and thinner until it dissipated in a cloud of black smoke. And as the vision faded I could taste that smoke in the back of my throat--the bitter smoke of your funeral pyre, my Master.
Yoda
Many times have I entered that place, but seldom have I been called to it so urgently. The trance slipped over me as I entered, as familiar and comfortable as the Jedi robes I have worn for these hundreds of years. Lifting my eyes, I saw the Thousand-branched Tree that has appeared in so many Jedi visions. Some of our Masters have said it represents the Jedi; some say the Force; others say it is Life itself.
The tree's beauty soothed these old eyes. Old but lush and vigorous, it filled the cave, its branches twisting and weaving in complex rhythms. Its leaves rustled in a breeze that it could feel, though I could not. Scattered among them were its fruits, small drops that shone with light in every color that could ever be. Some of those colors I cannot see with the body's eyes.
My delight did not last long, as delight often does not. Something amiss I sensed, and the Tree sensed it too. A tremor passed through it. Its leaves began to wither and to fall, dissolving into mist before they could touch the ground. When the branches were bare the fruits began to fall, dimming into drops of water that rained down like tears on the cave's already wet floor. Then the branches began to wither and smoke, like a green twig placed on hot coals. I found I could not move. The tree writhed and blackened until it was as dark and dry as charcoal.
My heart grieved when I saw that there were two gem-like fruit remaining on the dead tree; one green, one blue. I knew them to be myself and Obi-Wan. Then at last those two fruit also dimmed and fell, and the tree collapsed into ashes.
When I could move again, I stepped forward into the ashes and picked up something that caught my eye. It was a seedpod, glossy and brown, with the whisper of the Force that seeds use to tell us they are alive. As the trance left me, through the pod's smooth coat I could feel the outline of two small seeds.
"And Anakin? What did he see?"
"He refused to tell us. All the way back he was silent and troubled. He has grown so strong, Master. I've always sensed the Force in him, but now it beats on me like a Tattooine sandstorm. I am very worried about him."
"I wish I could bring you comfort, Obi-Wan, but what I have to tell you is so ominous that even Master Yoda's vision, that seems so bleak to you, gives me the only hope I have to cling to. I have learned the identity of the Sith lord--Darth Maul's master. And I fear it is already too late to stop him from destroying the Jedi forever. The one the Trade Viceroy called Darth Sidious is Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Republic; the most powerful man in the galaxy."