Since there was no point in delaying, Obi-Wan had decided they would set off as soon as it was light the next day. Anakin saw no real reason for waiting in the first place, as it would be dark again once they entered deep space, but in this case he deferred to his mentor. There would be plenty of opportunities for argument down the road.
Consequently, dawn of the following day found master and apprentice gathering the few items they would need during the assignment. Their lightsabers were, of course, essential, as were comlinks and medical kits containing small bacta packs for minor injuries. Though he did not mention it, Anakin also privately suspected that Obi-Wan had been supplied with (or taken) a significant amount of Republic credits. This definitely met with the Padawan's approval. Credits could be used for any number of things, including the bribing of less-cooperative (for lack of a better word) acquaintances. Anakin was, however, slightly resentful that Obi-Wan had failed to mention it to him. No doubt his mentor would come up with some sort of reasonable excuse.
Anakin had just pulled on his outer dark brown robe and secured his lightsaber hilt to his belt (double-checking this — Obi-Wan would murder him if he lost another one) when an ebon-haired, tousled head popped in the doorway.
"Hey, Anakin!" it greeted him brightly, grinning at him.
"I should've known you'd show up," Anakin groaned half-heartedly, but a small smile formed on his face. Linka Akil was one of his closest friends at the Temple. He was a rather erratic personality, sort of like a bouncing comlink at times, but he cheerfully accompanied Anakin on his many escapades. At the moment, his hazel eyes were gleaming brightly from his slightly tanned face.
The rest of Linka popped into the room, and, had Anakin possessed his friend's imagination, he would have sworn the door closed with a faint sigh of relief after staying open for so long.
"You might have told me you were leaving." Linka's tone was accusatory.
"What? Oh, well, Obi-Wan didn't really give me time. We only got the assignment yesterday afternoon."
"Uh-huh." The other apprentice looked skeptical. "So what is it this time?"
"What's what?" Anakin asked, enjoying himself immensely. He loved baiting his friend.
"The mission!" Linka yelled in exasperation.
Anakin shrugged, heading for the door and no longer smiling. "Obi-Wan told me not to talk about it. But if we're lucky, we'll have something to show for it when we get back." Despite his friend's protests, he refused to say any more. This in itself surprised him. There were very few circumstances in which he declined to confide in Linka. Something had stopped him from telling his fellow apprentice about the mission, it seemed. Not that it was anything important, but it was still a bit odd. "Listen, I've got to get going. Obi-Wan told me to meet him in the hangar in half an hour, and by the looks of things, I'm already late.
"All right, all right," Linka grumbled good-naturedly. "Have fun and take care of yourself."
"I always do. Sometimes it just gets a little… well, whatever. See you."
With a swift nod, Anakin hurried out of the room, walking quickly in the direction of the main hangar bay. He had just turned the corner when he spotted Obi-Wan coming towards him from the opposite direction, a frown on the master's face.
"I was just coming to look for you, Anakin," the older Jedi told him pointedly. "What took you so long?"
"I got held up," Anakin answered truthfully. "Linka decided to come in for a last-minute talk about who-knows-what and it took a little persuading to shake him off. I think he was irritated that I forgot to mention we were going on an assignment today."
"I see," Obi-Wan replied shortly as they turned and headed back in the direction he had come from. Glancing over at his mentor's profile, Anakin thought he seemed rather tense. "Did you tell him what we're doing?"
The Padawan was surprised. "Of course not, Master. You told me not to. Though I have to admit, I can't see your reasoning behind it. It's not like this is some sort of top-secret mission or something. Heck, it hasn't even got the delicacy of politics to complicate things, so why bother?"
"I'm not sure, but I am very uneasy about it. There is more to this than you might think, Anakin. Can you not sense it? I get the feeling we don't know all the facts."
"But the Council told us everything they have, didn't they?"
"Exactly. I don't believe the Council, or anyone, knows the whole story."
As the two Jedi approached the large bay doors, Anakin's attention was distracted by the sight of another master — Cin Drallig, who also happened to have been Anakin's lightsaber combat instructor during his early years as a Temple Padawan when Obi-Wan was engaged elsewhere. Cin was regarded as a high authority on lightsaber form, and it was he, Anakin remembered suddenly, who had mentored the very person they were searching for — Ranil Starwing.
A vague suspicion was forming in Anakin's mind. It certainly looked as though Cin had been waiting for them, and Obi-Wan had shown no sign of surprise at seeing him. The apprentice silently confirmed his guess as Master Drallig stepped forward to greet them. Obi-Wan glanced at his protégé.
"Anakin, go get the hyperdrive warmed up," he instructed meaningfully. "I'll be along in a moment."
Anakin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded and left. If Obi-Wan wanted to keep secrets, that was fine by him. He would find some way to figure out what was going on, even if his master felt no compulsion to tell him.
Obi-Wan waited until his apprentice was out of earshot before speaking. "You wanted to see me?"
Cin nodded. "I'll get straight to the point. Anakin is — close — to Senator Amidala, is he not?"
The other suspected the relationship was more than that, but he nodded slowly. "Yes."
"I thought so. To be honest, I am worried about her safety."
"Her safety?" Obi-Wan repeated questioningly. "You think our assignment could endanger the Senator in some way?"
"It is a… likely possibility. There are few who knew Ranil Starwing as I did and I understand, to some extent, how she reasons. If she realizes who is seeking her, she may attempt to strike through the use of others. And," he added seriously, "I have no doubt she will somehow learn of your apprentice's caring for Senator Amidala."
Obi-Wan cursed silently. Why the blazes was Anakin always making things so difficult? His attachments were dangerous and creating complications they shouldn't have to deal with. "Thank you," he said aloud. "Can you have someone keep an eye on her for me?"
"Of course. And… Obi-Wan?"
The other waited expectantly.
"If you have the opportunity, tell Ranil she is not forgotten. There are still some who remember her as she once was."
Nodding, Obi-Wan placed a friendly hand on Cin's shoulder. "I will."
"What took so long?" Anakin demanded irritably as his master strode quickly into the cockpit and settled himself in the co-pilot's chair. "I'll bet the hyperdrive's warm enough to get us to Tatooine and back."
"Let's get going," Obi-Wan ordered, ignoring the question.
"All right, all right." Anakin swiveled his chair around. "R2, set the coordinates for Dantooine."
Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan as the little astrodroid beeped in response and inserted one of its many appendages into the control panel. "Anakin, what is R2 doing here? I wasn't planning on taking him along."
"Neither was I, but I guess he just assumed he was going. I don't object, really. It can be pretty useful to have him around." In the background, R2-D2 whistled happily with a few high-pitched beeps in between and rolled over to them, signaling that their destination had been successfully plotted in the ship's computer.
Obi-Wan gave in. "As long as you don't countermand my orders," he added pointedly.
"Fair enough. All right, let's get out of here."
The engines ignited, spurring the ship to life, and they lifted off, zooming smoothly through the hangar bay doors and out into a stream of Coruscant traffic. Ignoring the magnetically-controlled lines of speeders, freighters, and air taxis, Anakin accelerated and sent the cruiser speeding, almost vertically, through the swirling atmospheric clouds. A feeling of exhilaration filled his head, the call so enticing that he couldn't resist performing a tight spiral upwards in midair.
When Obi-Wan bluntly told him to stop showing off, Anakin reluctantly resumed the ship's original course, and when he glanced back, Coruscant had faded to a large, purplish orb, criss-crossed with geometric patterns of buildings and traffic and shrinking rapidly as the cruiser pulled away from the tug of gravity.
Both Jedi strapped themselves in. "Prepare for the jump to hyperspace," muttered Anakin, more out of habit than any real need.
R2-D2 switched the lightspeed control.
With a loud, echoing boom, the sleek ship slid into hyperspace.
"There," Obi-Wan said firmly, pointing to a good-sized settlement on the ship's monitor. "She was last seen in this area. Unfortunately," he added with a grim look, "our informant hasn't been heard from since."
The Padawan shook his head. "She really doesn't want to be found, does she?" he remarked as he studied the spot his master had indicated. "I supposed we can assume she — disposed — of this informant?"
"Most likely," the other agreed. "So we're going to have to be very careful."
"Obviously." Behind them, the astrodroid beeped in a rather depressed manner, causing Anakin to smile. "It's ok, R2. We'll be fine out there."
Obi-Wan, however, looked dubious. "We'll see," he muttered under his breath. "All right. Don't land too close to the settlement. Let's try to remain inconspicuous. I don't want her realizing too soon that we're here."
"How can she possibly find out? You've been ridiculously secretive about the whole thing, Master, and it's starting to make me wonder whether you've found out something and you're not telling me."
Rather annoyed at Anakin's persistence, Obi-Wan ignored the hint. If he even vaguely remarked that Senator Amidala was in potential danger, his hot-headed protégé would want to turn the ship around and go racing back to Coruscant. He needed Anakin focused at the moment, not dashing off to rescue someone who was not his concern.
"Never mind." His tone brooked no argument.
Frowning, Anakin turned back to the controls, switched off the auto-pilot, and began the slow, smooth descent to Dantooine's lush surface. It was a planet primarily consisting of hills and grassy plains, with a few trees dotting the landscape. During the time of the old Republic, it had been the site of many heated skirmishes between the local residents and mercenary bands seeking profit. To the Jedi, however, Dantooine also represented a part of their very history. Hundreds of years ago, the Jedi Enclave had been situated here, a training school for potential Knights much like the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Now, the Enclave lay in ruins, long since stripped of valuables by plunderers eager to lay hands on what they has assumed to be "Jedi treasure."
Was it a coincidence that Ranil had come so close to the Enclave?
Since he was unable to come up with a conclusive answer, Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair, relaxing comfortably as they continued the descent. His eyes were on his young apprentice, and it was almost with a feeling of admiration that he watched his Padawan manipulate the controls. Anakin's cool confidence always surfaced foremost when he was in the pilot's seat, in an unhesitating manner Obi-Wan had never quite achieved when he was the one flying whatever craft they happened to be in at the time.
So if Anakin wanted to pilot, that was perfectly fine by him.
By the time they landed several minutes later, the Jedi Knight was already planning ahead. He was unsure as to how the duration of their stay would prove, so it would be expedient to find accommodations somewhere near or in the settlement. A ship, even a well-furnished cruiser, was not the most comfortable place to spend a few weeks if it turned out they had to remain on Dantooine for that long a stretch. As for explaining why they were there in the first place, Obi-Wan would reveal that only to the person of highest authority, and only if he deemed him of her trustworthy enough to keep their identities a secret. One slip or careless word could cost the Jedi the entire success of the mission.
"R2, stay with the ship," Anakin ordered as they prepared to disembark. "We'll come back if we need you."
The astrodroid swiveled its dome to face Anakin and beep-booped in response.
"Are you ready, Anakin?" Obi-Wan inquired.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. Let's go."
The two Jedi stepped off the ramp, their eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight. They had entered a roofless spaceport constructed of a light-colored stone and housing several other ships. A row of landspeeders lined one wall to their right, with various durasteel doors leading off to other parts of the facility. Judging by the slanting ramp leading to the surface, the port was below ground level. Obi-Wan was pleased to note that there was only a scattering of beings around the area; he didn't want to have to wade through crowds if they needed to get to the ship in a hurry.
Strolling over to a man repairing one of the speeders against the wall, Obi-Wan asked politely, "Excuse me, but could you possibly tell me where I could find Aersa Mun?"
The man looked up, wiping oil-covered hands on his shirt. "Aersa Mun? Sure. She'd probably be in the central complex, where all the official types are. Go straight up that ramp and follow the signs to the Market Square. Take a left and you should come out on the east side." He studied them for a moment, as if noting their non-native appearances. "You'll probably have to answer some questions, though — security's pretty tight over there."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Thanks for the information."
"No problem," the man replied. "My name's Jorman, by the way. And if you don't mind my asking, what brings you two to Dantooine?"
Anakin shot a raised-eyebrow look at him mentor, but Obi-Wan had anticipated this and was prepared. "We thought we'd take a look around the old Jedi Enclave," he replied easily. "I've heard there are some interesting things down there."
Jorman grinned at them. "Oh, it's interesting all right. Twists and turns in every direction, not to mention laigreks swarming all over the place. You'd better be a pretty accomplished fighter if you want to make it out alive. Now that you bring it up, though," he added, frowning, "there's something funny going on over there. I've heard rumors… experienced salvagers who've been in there before disappearing. And it doesn't seem like the laigreks would be able to finish them off so easily." He shrugged. "Ask around. You'll find I'm not the only one who thinks something odd's going around."
"I will," Obi-Wan agreed, looking thoughtful. "Thank you for your time."
"My pleasure," Jorman replied, but there was a frown on his face as watched their receding backs. "Interesting," he muttered, ducking around the side of the landspeeder and reaching for another part. "Those two are up to something…"
He reached for his comlink.
Finally have this chapter up! Sorry it took so long. I'd still appreciate reviews! I want to know what everyone thinks.