The door to Leia's quarters was shut.
Most people who passed by would think nothing of what lay behind the closed door. A more inquisitive person might perhaps pause and wonder at the frustrated noises coming from inside. A Force user didn't even need to listen to know of the anger found on the other side of the door—Leia was broadcasting her annoyance through the Force so strongly that any Force sensitive in a five mile radius could feel it.
Staring at the door, Chinnatah guessed his sister had been in another fight with Han. Was this odd cycle of anger and forgiveness some strange human mating ritual? He made a mental note to ask Opakwa about it later.
He glanced at his father and Obi-Wan briefly, wondering what their thoughts were. Leia soon seemed to sense their presences, as she put up a barrier to block some of her anger. However, Chinnatah didn't think his two companions were fooled by the effort any more than he was.
At last, the young brunette woman opened the door and gazed out questioningly. "Yes?" Her hair—which was on top of her head in a bun—wasn't nearly as immaculate as usual, looking instead as if it had been picked at several times by an annoyed hand.
"We were hoping to have a word with you," Obi-Wan said quietly with a slight gesture of his hand.
Her frustration made a brief crack in her peaceful facade, but then calm spread back over her face and covered up all visible signs of frustration. "Come in," she invited with false warmth, stepping aside.
Chinnatah hesitated before finally moving forward into the small room. He was the first one through the door, and he soon found himself pausing to look at a colorful picture on the wall next to the bed. He was unsure why, but the sight had a calming effect on him.
"That's an Alderaanian field painted by an artist I once knew," Leia told him in a low voice. "One day, I'll have to show you around Alderaan...It's like nothing you've ever seen."
Chinnatah didn't reply; he just continued gazing at the painting. So, this was Alderaan...It was nothing like Tatooine or Coruscant—instead, it reminded him a little of Yavin IV. He reconsidered the thought. Actually, Alderaan looked as if it might be a little more peaceful than Yavin—there were so many different creatures on Yavin that at times it felt nearly as busy as Coruscant. Well, Chinnatah amended to himself, maybe not quite as busy as Coruscant...
"Leia, you know that you are not yet a Jedi Knight," Obi-Wan began slowly, taking Chinnatah's attention away from the painting.
"Yes, I know," Leia replied, sounding impatient as she flopped down onto her bed. She crossed her arms with an expression of annoyance and looked up at the Jedi Master, trying to calm herself before allowing herself to speak again. "Obi-Wan, what is this about?"
He inclined his head. "I would like for you to spend some time with Master Yoda."
"Who?" the woman queried blankly.
"Yoda is a Jedi Master who is living on Dagobah—"
"You can't expect me to leave right now, Obi-Wan," Leia interrupted, standing up, dismissing his idea immediately. "More planetary representatives arrive by the day, and—"
Obi-Wan interrupted, "Bail and the other Alliance leaders can handle them, Leia."
The princess shook her head adamantly. "I need to be here. I need to help—"
"You need to learn to control your anger," Obi-Wan interrupted firmly. "Being around diplomats all day will not help you in that area." The humor in his statement was not matched by his expression, which was utterly serious.
Protests prepared themselves to launch from Leia's lips, but the determination she saw in Obi-Wan's eyes surprisingly surpassed her own. She could see he was prepared to do anything to get her to go—except for perhaps dragging her kicking and screaming to a ship. Jedi were too dignified for that sort of thing. The mental image nearly brought a smile to her face, but the almost-smile was quashed by the renewed thought of leaving the planet.
She sighed and pursed her lips. "Have you talked to my father?"
"No," Obi-Wan replied, "but I am sure he will agree with me."
Leia surreptitiously studied Anakin. The pale-skinned man seemed resigned yet...apprehensive. That did it for her. She steeled her resolve. If he were facing personal demons on account of this meeting—for she somehow knew Obi-Wan wanted all the people crowding in her room to go to Dagobah—then she wouldn't show weakness by refusing to go herself.
"If it is all right with my father, I'll come," Leia said grudgingly. It wasn't as if she really had a choice in the matter anyway.
After Obi-Wan had calmly and briefly presented his well-thought-out proposal for Leia's departure, Bail exhaled in surrender. He'd been defeated before even having the chance to ready an argument. "You're right, of course."
Anakin could see the man's great reluctance even without touching the Force. He certainly couldn't condemn Bail for it. There was no reason to expect for him to be ecstatic about the idea of his adopted daughter traveling about the galaxy with her formerly murderous father.
He winced at the thought. Brushing it away from his mind, he said quietly, "She will be safe." He met Bail Organa's gaze with his own.
Their eyes were locked for a few moments before Bail finally looked away. After he did, he inquired of Obi-Wan in a sad voice, "How long will you be gone?"
"I do not know, Bail," the Jedi replied with a slight shrug. "The Force surpasses rather than follows the flow of time. I will make no promises."
Bail let out an unexpected bark of laughter, his eyes glimmering with humor. "Never expect a straight answer out of a Jedi."
Anakin had been walking aimlessly down Massassi corridors for nearly ten minutes. He was supposed to meet with his children and Obi-Wan in an hour, so he was simply wandering around with only his thoughts to keep him company.
Suddenly, his knees bumped against something hard and loud.
Blinking in confusion, he looked down. A torrent of beeps from a very familiar astromech droid greeted him.
Anakin's face lit up with a smile before a strong feeling of guilt slammed into him. He had been avoiding the little droid, and he suspected Artoo was well aware of that fact. He felt conflicted—he enjoyed seeing the astromech unit, but that very machine knew his story almost as well as he did. Artoo had been with him in the Battle of Naboo and the Battle of Coruscant…He had been present on both the best day of Anakin's life—his wedding to Padmé—and the worst day of his life—the incident on Mustafar.
Anakin didn't know what to say to the droid...How could he talk about anything that had happened since he'd last truly talked with Artoo? That time was filled with death, with hatred, with anger, and with sorrow. Even now, it was hard to look past those things he had lived with for so long...He felt as if he were still surrounded by them, as if they were still choking him with their dark hands and he could only weakly pull at them with his own feeble fingers.
"Artoo—" he tentatively began, not quite certain what to say.
The astromech whistled gently, telling Anakin matter-of-factly that he understood everything and that Anakin didn't need to give him a long explanation. He was back, and that was what mattered.
Anakin stared at the droid for a few seconds, before whispering, "Thanks, Artoo." He was touched by the droid's understanding. He should've known Artoo wouldn't hold a grudge against him—the droid remembered his more innocent days along with the darker times…They had been good companions once.
Anakin tried to smile as he pushed past the pain brought on by those good memories. "I see you've been taking care of Threepio."
The R2 unit blatted something sarcastic.
"Well, even if he is annoying, thank you...You need to continue taking care of him. Soon, I will be going off-planet to visit Master Yoda."
Artoo paused for a brief moment before whistling insistently.
"No, you should stay here with Threepio."
The droid's dome twisted back and forth in a negative fashion. He wanted to go, and Threepio could come, too.
"Artoo, I don't think—"
The droid moved forward with his arc welder held out threateningly. He would use it if necessary, he told his former master in no uncertain terms.
Anakin couldn't help but chuckle and hold his hands up in surrender to the droid who thought he could take on the former Darth Vader and survive. How he missed that droid's spirit!
"All right, Artoo. I do not mind if you and Threepio come."
Artoo-Detoo beeped in satisfaction and rotated his dome.
Chinnatah was sitting on his bed in his quarters fumbling with a datapad he had taken apart. Meanwhile, Opakwa was rambling.
"—doesn't make sense. Master Sun, I do not know understand why you have been avoiding me. You may be progressing quickly in your language studies, but there is still much for you to l—"
"Will you...come with me to Dagobah?" Chinnatah interrupted. He had wondered if the droid's string of words would stop, but they hadn't yet, and seeing as they probably wouldn't ever cease without intervention, he'd thought it incumbent on himself to intervene before Opakwa's circuits overloaded. It was going to happen one of these days—he just knew it.
Opakwa looked somewhat taken aback at the question. "Excuse me, Master Sun?"
Chinnatah knew Opakwa had heard him. The droid was programmed to act like a human, though, and humans were often strange in their conversational habits, hence Opakwa's pointless query. "We're going to Dagobah...Will you come, too?"
"Why, I suppose I will, Master Sun," the mechanical being said, sounding both surprised and pleased. "Thank you for asking me."
Chinnatah gave him a small smile. Strange though it was, he felt attached to the protocol droid. Maybe it was because the droid would always remain constant—annoyingly talkative, perhaps, but constant...The thought was a strange source of comfort that he pulled to himself. As full of changes as his life was, there wasn't much that could comfort him, and it was surprising that the presence of a machine could do it.
A new thought occurred to him, and he said hesitantly, "Opakwa?"
"Yes, Master Sun?" the droid queried. His voice sounded weary—while he was somewhat resigned to the nickname Chinnatah had given him, he still did not like it for obvious reasons. The Jawaese term for "spare parts" wasn't exactly a sought-after droid nickname.
"I was wondering about human mating rituals..."
Opakwa tilted his head, obviously glad to be of service. "What is it you wish to know, Master Sun?"
"Do humans have—" Chinnatah paused to search for the word, and then he gave up and ventured, "people to decide who they are...to mate with?"
Fortunately, the droid seemed to know what he meant. "On some planets, they do use matchmakers to set up marriages, particularly in royal families, but humans usually prefer to choose who they will marry."
Chinnatah nodded, but he didn't really understand. What exactly did it mean to marry—was it like Ghorfa bonding ceremonies? Somehow, he didn't think Opakwa would have all the answers about human mating rituals. The droid knew a lot, but when it came to human emotions, the droid wasn't the best source.
Still, Opakwa knew more than he did, so he pushed forward a little more. "Do humans talk to each other about mating?"
The droid gave a small shrug. "Some humans will talk about it frequently; other humans are embarrassed by the mere mention of it. However, it is certainly discussed more frequently among humans than Tusken Raiders."
Chinnatah looked at Opakwa pensively for a moment before telling him, "I will return soon." He would ask his father a few questions.
Anakin was talking to Artoo when Luke walked up. The former Sith Lord turned to look at his son, who was smiling down at the R2 unit.
"Luke," Anakin said, lowering his head in greeting. "It will still be a few minutes before we leave."
The boy nodded. "I know. I wanted to ask you something." He paused for several seconds to formulate his question. "When...when a male and a female human want to mate, do they...get angry at each other?"
"W-what?" Anakin sputtered, taken aback on multiple levels. What in the blazes was Luke talking about?
"Han and Leia fight a lot," the young man noted seriously, seeing his father's confusion, "but they seem to be...attracted to each other...Since humans don't usually use matchmakers, wouldn't it be easier for them to just...marry and mate?"
"With humans, it is not quite so simple..." Anakin paused. The words he was searching for were eluding him...How in the krethin' galaxy was he supposed to give an explanation of human romantic relations on the spot? Was fatherhood filled with moments like this, moments of shock and unease? He felt a pang of anger at himself. He would never know.
He took in a deep breath as he tried to recall his Tusken Raider history...
"Marriage is binding," he told his son finally, "like the Tusken Raider bonding ceremonies you are familiar with...We—humans—are allowed to choose who to marry, but that decision is usually made for life. Often, humans fight with those they care for because they are the ones who can upset them most...Humans in romantic situations are faced with a difficult decision—can their love triumph over all the troubles before them?"
Luke's face indicated he wanted to ask something else, but he seemed to change questions, asking simply, "Can Opakwa come to Dagobah?"
Anakin smiled. "I intend to take Threepio and Artoo, so I am certain one more droid will not hurt."
Apparently, Han didn't agree with Anakin. Taking one droid was painful enough—taking three was the equivalent of having a severed leg reattached without pain-suppressing meds. Loudly, he told everyone just what he thought of the idea. Quietly, Leia gave him a glare that would have turned Hoth into Tatooine. Immediately, Han lowered his voice and grumbled to himself about droids and women and the audacity of passengers who thought they could bring either one on board his ship.
Having to deal with four men, a Wookiee, and three droids wasn't exactly a picnic for Leia either. But she was willing and able to take care of herself, even if it meant taking brief breaks in her cabin periodically to get away from all the testosterone, fur, and mechanical voices.
Needless to say, everyone was relieved when the Millennium Falcon reentered normal space and Dagobah hovered ahead in space. Minutes later, however, they were experiencing enough turbulence to make a priest swear.
"Oh, my!" Threepio exclaimed, flailing his arms about. Artoo beeped a few choice words that soon brought on a scolding from Threepio. "Artoo, watch your language!"
"What's happening?" Leia exclaimed, ignoring the droids. She prayed inwardly that her safety belt would hold; then she clutched it to herself, trying to make herself feel even the slightest bit more secure.
Han didn't reply—he simply muttered an expletive beneath his breath that made even Chewie tilt his head in surprise.
"We should remain calm," Obi-Wan advised, unfazed by the rocking of the ship. To the Force users, he instructed, "Reach out to the Force."
"You and your hokey religion," Han muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. His hands were busy flying over the console in front of him in a desperate attempt to land his ship in one piece.
Anakin frowned, looking as if he had a question poised on his lips, but he didn't voice it, instead closing his eyes and simply accepting what his former Jedi Master had said.
Luke and Leia soon followed, shutting their eyes to concentrate on the Force.
The Force pulsed around Dagobah, calling out to them like a yuneukian ray bird looking for a mate. It sang a song of the present, past, and future, a song of love and hate, joy and sorrow, hope and despair...Leia felt its song fill her, and she guided it toward the ship, molding it into a smooth flight for the Falcon with the help of the other Force users in the cockpit.
When the ship finally touched ground, it did so in a way so gentle that Han couldn't believe his senses. "What in space just happened?" he gaped, staring out at the swampy Dagobah as if it were a mirage.
Obi-Wan gave the smuggler a knowing smile. "The Force is not just some hokey religion, Captain Solo...It is the very energy field that just saved your life."
Not willing to give in so easily, Han murmured something unintelligible and scanned the monitors in front of him repeatedly. "No, s'gotta be something else," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
Peering over at the monitors, Leia noted, "There doesn't seem to be any signs of civilization, Obi-Wan...Do you know where Master Yoda is?"
Obi-Wan spread his hands. "We should split up into groups to look for him, each group taking a droid for navigational purposes...Leia, Luke, take Artoo and head south. If possible, return to the ship in five or six hours."
The two siblings looked at the Jedi Master and then at each other before reluctantly leaving. Artoo trailed behind them, whistling to himself.
Han began to step forward, but Obi-Wan made no move to leave. The smuggler raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling you don't intend to go anywhere for a while?"
The Jedi hid a smile with his hand. "Perhaps it's because you're a rather perceptive man at times, Captain Solo."
They had been walking for a long time. Leia was tired of trudging through swampland, tired of being bitten by ravenous insects, and tired of looking for some Jedi Master who had probably died years ago out of sheer frustration at his residence of choice. When she was just about ready to turn around and call it quits, something inexplicable caused her to pause. Pensively, she murmured to her brother, "I feel something strange..."
He slowly nodded in agreement. "It feels like—"
"Feels like what?" a voice inquired from behind them.
Swiveling and bringing her lightsaber to bear, Leia finished, "—like we're being watched."
Luke, who had also twisted around with weapon up, slowly lowered the blaster Han had given him. He gazed curiously at the strange creature before them.
The being was small and green, with large ears protruding from its head, rags covering its body, and a seemingly harmless disposition radiating from its person. Its small limbs were held up in front of its face, as if to ward off an attack from them, and fearfully, it said, "Away put your weapons—I mean you no harm..."
Leia reluctantly extinguished her lightsaber, though she still held the handle up warily. After learning of the heritage behind the lightsaber, she had almost returned it to Obi-Wan with the instruction that it should be given back to its former owner. But then she had decided to keep it, not quite wanting to let it go for reasons not consciously known to her. Now, she was glad she had. There was something comforting about having a lightsaber.
"I am wondering," the creature continued timidly in his strange dialect, "why are you here?"
"We're looking for someone," Leia said warily. Artoo gave a muted beep, and she glanced briefly at him in curiosity.
The creature came closer and poked at the unsuspecting young woman's shoes with a stick. "Looking? Found someone, you have, I would say, hmm?" The being chuckled to himself in amusement.
Leia rolled her eyes. Great. Just what they needed—an ancient creature who had reverted back to childhood. "Yes, I suppose we have."
Luke smiled at the creature warmly. "Do you have a name?"
"Heh, everyone has a name, yes. This girl here," the stranger poked at Leia, "a name she has, hmm?"
"I'm Leia," the perturbed Alderaanian said, clipping her saber to her belt and giving her brother a look that said, Don't encourage him.
"And what name have you?" the creature queried, tilting his head at Luke.
"I have a lot of names..." the former Tusken answered hesitantly.
"He's my brother, and he goes by 'Luke,'" Leia stated flatly. She didn't want to talk to this creature any more than she had to.
The alien turned to gaze at her. "So certain are you? Asked him his name, have you?"
"What?" Leia blinked in confusion, feeling an unexplainable sense of guilt. "What do you mean?"
"Perhaps, on his name, he has not decided. Very important are names...Yes, very important!"
Whatever had made her feel guilty had passed, however, and all that remained was fatigue and frustration. She was tired of dealing with this stranger. "Look, we're low on time, and unless you know where the Jedi Master we're looking for is, then—"
"Oohhh, Jedi Master...Yoda. You seek Yoda!" the being exclaimed. His declaration was strangely earnest.
"You know Master Yoda?" Leia asked in surprise.
"Mmm. Take you to him, I will. Come, come!" the stranger began toddling off on his stick.
"But—" Leia tried to get his attention but then sighed as he ignored her. She looked at Luke. "We'll probably be a little late, but I guess we don't have much of a choice."
Her brother nodded in acknowledgment and moved to follow the little green being, Artoo humming at his heels in amusement.
