Disclaimer: These characters, their galaxy, and all things recognizable as Star Wars belong to George Lucas. If OCs do appear, they belong to me. I make no profit from this. Thank you, Mr. Lucas, for letting us play in your sandbox, and for creating such a grand sandbox to begin with.
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Snippets
Anakin stood in the sparring room, his lightsaber held aloft. Over his eyes was a set of blinders, wrapping from his temples over the bridge of his nose, completely blocking all of his vision. His breathing was slow and deep, and he stood relaxed in this position, fingers tapping against the hilt of his lightsaber as he waited.
One of the sparring droids activated, and suddenly the Padawan's stance shifted from defensive to offensive. His blade hummed as he made a pivot turn, reaching out with his sense to find the droid behind him. The Force sang to him, and Anakin felt in complete control of its thrums and ebbs as he reached out. The blade made a satisfying hiss as it came into contact with the droids outer shell.
Three other droids activated in that instant, and Anakin swung back around, drinking in the Force. It gave him a giddy high as he blocked two blaster shots from two different droids, sending them both into the third. The deflected shots took out the droid's thrusters, and it dropped to the floor with a resounding clang.
Anakin flipped to his side, his legs spinning over his head, and as he landed, he brought a back-handed slash into another droid, finishing off the one on the floor with a flourish at the end of the motion. Then, he destroyed the final droid with a Force push which sent it careening into the wall of the room, shattering mechanical parts into the air.
The entire exercise took less time than it took for Anakin to deactivate his lightsaber.
He pulled off the blinders and left the room, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. Beside the row of sparring rooms, he found a towel bin and wiped the sweat from his hairline and neck. Throwing the towel over his shoulder, Anakin went back into the room to collect the damaged droids and clean the room for the next user. When he had taken care of that, he came out of the sparring room to find Mace Windu waiting for him.
The Jedi Master looked faintly amused, the corners of his mouth turned up just enough to alter his normally severe expression. "That was rather impressive, Anakin."
The Padawan gave a respectful bow. "Thank you, Master Windu," he responded, unsure of why he was owed this honor.
Mace gestured that he would walk with Anakin, placing his hands behind his back after the motion. "I was asked to request your presence this evening at a special convening of the Jedi Council. The Senate has just passed a bill placing the clone troopers under the authority of the Jedi; therefore, we have to see to it that the troopers have commanders and generals for the upcoming engagements."
They walked down the hall for a few moments before Anakin ventured a reply. "You don't sound very happy about that decision, Master," he said carefully.
The Jedi Master gave a small shrug. "We are supposed to be keepers of the peace. While we are trained to be warriors in a fashion, it is supposed to be based defensively. Not offensively. Jedi do not take in the same considerations as do military generals."
Anakin glanced at Mace. "Some battles need to be fought," he said quietly.
Mace gave the Padawan a rare, faint smile. "Be in the Council Chambers at 2100, and we'll discuss this more at length."
Anakin watched Mace as he walked away, unsure of what had actually just transpired. Slowly he shook his head, trying to clear it, before going back to the quarters he shared with his master.
Once there, he took a shower, washing away the grime and sweat of his latest training session. He had been spending a lot of time in the sparring rooms lately, trying to find a way to burn away his feelings through the pain he felt in his muscles as he pushed his body to its very limits.
Anakin was clean and clothed in fresh garments when he realized he still had some time before the Council meeting. He walked into his room, his booted feet silent on the plush carpet that blanketed the quarters. Once in the room, he reached into the pocket of one of the pouches on his utility belt. For a moment his fingers searched within the pouch, closing on a small object. His hand withdrew, and Anakin moved to perch on the edge of his bed.
He sat there for a moment, rolling the object in his fingers, staring at some point between his feet. The Padawan then drew a deep breath, focusing his sight onto his hands.
The object was a soft tan, an almost square piece of japor with a small hole bored through the top of the piece. Through the hole was threaded a piece of leather. On the snippet was a symbol, a small square with a dot in the middle with lines leading from the corners of the square to the corners of the japor itself. Carefully, Anakin rubbed the ball of his thumb over the lines leading from corner to corner, contemplating the marks the tools left in the japor, tracing the dark lines on the piece.
And then a darker spot appeared on the japor, soaking into the organic material.
Anakin found himself gasping quietly for breath. He rubbed at one of his eyes with the back of his hand, impatiently moving from that eye to the other. The Padawan resisted the impulse to smell the japor, to inhale the very scent of his home and what of Padmé's personal aroma still clung to the japor and had seeped into the leather that once hung around her neck.
In the other room, Anakin heard the portal hiss open, and he scrambled to his feet, hiding the snippet away in his utility belt and scrubbing the tears from his face before Obi-Wan came back to the bedrooms. He glanced around frantically before tumbling to the floor to kneel there, closing his eyes and focusing his attention on his breathing.
Just as Anakin affected the perfect appearance of a Jedi in deep meditation, Obi-Wan looked into his bedroom. Slowly, the Padawan opened his eyes, trying to appear as though he were coming back to the physical plane from a very deep meditation. He blinked a few times, clearing his vision, then focused on Obi-Wan.
His Master has a strange, quirked smile on his face, something deeply sentimental though distant, as though he were contemplating something he had never personally experienced. Then the expression shifted into Obi-Wan's normal, gentle smile. "It's good to see you meditating, Anakin," he said warmly.
Anakin nodded slowly, reflecting that while what he had been doing was probably accurately called "meditation," he didn't think his master would be so approving if he knew the truth. "I've been working to find my center since Geonosis," he responded, half-truthfully. The Padawan glanced down, flexing his mechanical right hand a few times, hearing the servos gently whir to make the motion possible. "I left more than my hand there."
Obi-Wan's tilted his head, moving to lean against the doorframe. He crossed his arms thoughtfully. "It serves a good lesson, though, Padawan. As a Jedi you must forgo all attachment, even that for your body. Sacrifice is critical to what you are aspiring to do."
Anakin's expression clouded for a moment but cleared up through conscious effort. "I know, Master. It is one of my more severe failings."
Anakin watched Obi-Wan look down at him for a moment before his Master shifted his weight back to his two feet. "I know that idleness is not your favorite state of being," the Jedi Knight began slowly, "but I think that's about to change. Perhaps a more… challenging environment will help you to focus."
The Padawan rose smoothly to his feet, thankful for this obvious chance to change the subject. "I have been summoned to the Council Chambers this evening. Master Windu told me that the Senate has just passed a bill placing the clone troopers directly under the command of the Jedi Order. It sounds like we may get military ranks as well as Jedi ones."
"I had wondered if that would happen," Obi-Wan responded quietly. "It would seem that there is no one in the Republic who could control of the clone army effectively."
Anakin shrugged. "The Chancellor seemed completely confident about the decision when I spoke with him this evening. He seems to have complete faith in the Order to do its sworn duty."
A grin flashed across the older man's face. "I think that war has very little to do with justice and peace, Padawan," he said, his tone lightening the words.
His Padawan was not amused. "What other option is there? Let the Separatists destroy the Republic?"
"That," Obi-Wan replied, "is a point I can't argue against."
Anakin stood in the center of the Council Chamber facing Mace Windu with the rest of the Council to his sides at back. The older Jedi Master sat in his chair, leaning forward slightly and radiating an intensity that was as familiar to the Padawan as the other man's bald pate and dark eyes and face. He had one hand rubbing his jawbone, the other on his knee.
"The Supreme Chancellor contacted us earlier this evening officially informing the Jedi Council of the powers granted to us by the Senate. He strongly recommended that we assign Jedi to command posts as soon as possible so that we may surprise the Separatists."
He glanced to his former Padawan, who smiled briefly and took over the discussion. "We have decided that, due to your prowess and your current standing in your training, you should be one of the first Jedi assigned to a cohort of clones." Depa paused for a moment, her dark eyes boring straight into Anakin's icy blue. "Make no mistake, Padawan Skywalker, this will not be an easy task. It has also been decided that this is partially a test of the skills you've acquired thus far. No one can deny your skill with a lightsaber, but that is not the true measure of a Jedi."
"You will be sent to Dantooine." Mace straightened, and Anakin almost got the impression he would have liked to stand. "We have received reports that the Separatists hope to take over the system to prevent the Republic from strengthening her grip there. Although the planet itself has little value, it will prove to be a valuable foothold to reach to Muunilinst."
Yoda cleared his throat, and Anakin turned to regard the small, green Master. "Located there, a Jedi enclave is. Protected, it must be, as warriors they are not. Taught purely in contemplation of the Force, the inhabitants there are."
"You will have three days before you ship out. The specifics of your assignment are contained on this datacard." Master Windu handed him the card, and Anakin bowed respectfully. "May the Force be with you, Anakin."
Obi-Wan was waiting when Yoda and Mace came out of the Council Chamber. He stood, relaxed, looking at some of the ancient Jedi sculpture that flanked the doors leading into the chamber. Mace took in the other Jedi's presence wordlessly. Yoda flattened his ears against his skull and gestured back into the Council Chamber. "Discuss your meeting, we should," he said simply.
The Jedi Knight took in the Council Chamber with a sense of awe as he generally did when he entered it; he supposed it was a holdback from his days as a Padawan, often frightened and intimidated to be asked into this room. The large windows which circled the room showed Coruscant at night; darkness that was more grey than black, permeated by millions of lights shining through transparisteel windows and reflecting from the underbellies of shuttles, personal craft, and ships heading out to the waystation before making the jump to hyperspace away from the Core world. Views like these made Obi-Wan understand why Coruscant was often called the Jewel of the Republic.
Windu looked tired as he regarded Obi-Wan, who was looking absently out the transparisteel. Yoda looked slightly amused. "What did Senator Amidala have to say?" the taller Jedi asked without preamble.
Obi-Wan glanced back, his mouth set in a grim line. "Apparently my Padawan confessed his undying love to her on Naboo. Fortunately for us, she had the foresight to remind him that was out of the question for his training."
Yoda's ears rose. "Listen, did young Skywalker?"
Kenobi strolled over to the window and looked out over the cityscape before responding, "Anakin's not very good about listening to what he doesn't want to hear."
Mace's brow furrowed as he considered. "Has he tried to contact her since they returned?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. I think she would have mentioned it to me if he had."
Leaning on his gimmer stick, Yoda exhaled slowly. "Dangerous, are his emotions. Right, we are, to send him away, to make him focus on something else."
"A Jedi isn't supposed to have attachments," Mace replied. "They become an all-consuming interference."
"You can't force him to just give up this emotion," Obi-Wan said quietly. "You know Anakin, though maybe not as well as I. The harder you push him, the more he will pull away. The Senator has said that she didn't encourage him, and I doubt that she will begin any time soon. It's possible that should we just leave it alone, his emotion will die out as he realizes it is unrequited." The Jedi Knight turned from the window. Mace tipped his head slightly, shrewdly looking at Obi-Wan.
"Is that wise?"
"Skywalker's, the choice is, in the end." Yoda began to move across the Council Chamber floor. "Choose for him we cannot. Only train him, we can." He came to stand at Mace's feet, staring up into his face. "Make his decision, he will have to, when faces the Trials he does. Until then, wait, and watch, we must."
The old Master moved across the floor, his feet silent but his gimmer stick making a gentle clacking sound as he went. At the door he paused, turning around to look at both Jedi who had their eyes on him.
"Patient, a Jedi is. Listen to the currents of the Force, he does, before taking irrevocable action."