Note: Clarissa is pronounced Cla-reesa and Risa is pronounced Reesa, just because I wanted to be awkward.
"I'm going to go after him." Anakin stood up, the first few hours of the night already drawing in. Obi-Wan had been gone for hours, nearly the whole day, and Anakin had finally decided to give into his impatience. "He's probably fallen down a hole and knocked himself out or something." Anakin explained, hiding his worry behind his humorous tone.
"I'll come with you general." Cody stood up with Anakin, picking his helmet of the floor and putting it back on. He switched the torch on his helmet too, scanning the forest ahead of him that was now concealed in a thick covering of darkness.
"Good. Ahsoka, you stay here. Keep trying to reach Obi-Wan's com would you?" Anakin ordered casually, though Ahsoka knew he was only trying to protect her too. They didn't know what they were going to find, or who. Ahsoka didn't disagree with him though – someone had stay with the other injured clones.
"Sure, Skyguy."
"Ok, me and Cody will be back before dawn, definitely. If we're not then-" Anakin was cut short when the noise of twigs snapping in the forest filled the company's ears, all heads turning to the direction of the sound. Footsteps could be heard, although the movement sounded sluggish and clumsy, as if the person walking had the lost energy. Everyone was soon on high alert, the clones lifting their blasters ready to fire. Anakin and Ahsoka retrieved their lightsabers but didn't activate them. Helmet torches were pointed in the direction of the sound, a figure slowly coming into view.
"Would you turn those off! I can't see a thing with you pointing them at me!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, annoyed, a hand rising to protect his eyes from the sudden onslaught of artificial light as he staggered into the clearing. Upon seeing him, everyone relaxed, the clones lowering their blasters and turning their helmet torches off.
"Obi-Wan! Where the Sith have you been?" Anakin asked, striding over to Obi-Wan as relief lit his features up, even if there was a touch of anger there. However, he stopped in his path when he noticed the state that Obi-Wan was in. "And while I'm at it, why are you soaking wet?" Anakin questioned, walking over to Obi-Wan who was, literally, soaked to the bone. His water-clogged hair that was visible over the bandages was plastered to his forehead, although it looked as if it had started to dry already, his Jedi robes in much the same state.
"I...um...fell of a cliff." Obi-Wan replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. Anakin, understandably, looked so confused at that statement.
"How did you get wet...from falling off a cliff?" Anakin slowly asked, barely managing to make sense of the statement.
"Well, there was a river at the bottom of the ravine, which I dived into." Obi-Wan tried to explain, though Anakin's perplexed expression didn't change.
"That doesn't help me understand why you fell off a cliff Obi-Wan." Anakin pointed out, blinking multiple times as he scanned Obi-Wan.
"Technically, I actually jumped." Obi-Wan corrected, ignoring Anakin's surprised look when he said it.
"You jumped? Why would you jump? Don't tell me you had a sudden urge to go swimming." Anakin mocked, his playful attitude returning as soon as he knew Obi-Wan was relatively unharmed. Obi-Wan in contrast, didn't look amused at all.
"No, Anakin, I didn't." Obi-Wan moved past Anakin, rolling his neck and stretching his muscles, showing he was probably both feeling weary and sore from the day's events. Anakin didn't notice that his former master was walking with a slight limp, though it was most likely because he was busy frowning at him, his anger returning to him when he remembered how worried he had been.
"Fine, you want to be serious? Care to explain where in the Sith Hells have you been? We've been trying to reach your com for hours!" Anakin yelled at Obi-Wan, who turned to face him.
"My com got wet. The system's completely fried." Obi-Wan tossed his broken com unit it to Anakin, who caught it with his robotic hand. Anakin looked at it for a few seconds before turning his slightly calmer gaze back to Obi-Wan when he realized his former master wasn't finished. "That complication, paired with the fact that Grievious is now jamming us, is the reason why you couldn't reach me." Obi-Wan finished explaining, his face back to his usual stoic, impassive expression.
"Wait, Grievious? Here's here?" Anakin's eyes widened, as did Ahsoka's and the clones, though Obi-Wan's expression didn't change at all.
"Yes. I managed to intercept a conversation he was having with Count Dooku before I was spotted and chased to that ravine. Turns out, they weren't here looking for us but using this planet as a base to gather troops and supplies. He's planning on attacking a planet not far from here: Selencia."
"Isn't that a neutral planet? The one which has a close alliance with Mandalore?" Ahsoka asked Obi-Wan, who was making his way over to R2. Meanwhile, Anakin was frowning at the familiarity of the planet's name. He seemed to recognize it, though he couldn't remember from where.
"It is, although the Queen of Selencia, Clarissa Rackhof, has been involved with the peace talks and negotiations between the Separatists and the Republic." Obi-Wan explained, though he kept his eyes focused on R2 as he strode over to the small astromech.
"Risa isn't short for Clarissa is it? If so, I think Pa-Senator Amidala has mentioned her. I think they're good friends." Anakin commented, wincing internally as he nearly slipped up as he thought of Padme. He remembered now: Padme had fondly mentioned the Queen before, explaining to him how she was having dinner with her tomorrow, or how they were going to work on their speeches together. Or whatever. Anakin tended to zone out when Padme started talking about boring things like that, especially when it was to do with politics. Force, he hated politics.
"Probably are, Risa has never been fond of violence unless absolutely necessary. I expect her and Senator Amidala share each others views." Obi-Wan agreed, not noticing he'd used the Queen's nickname.
"Since when do you call senators by their nicknames?" Anakin asked suggestively, raising an eyebrow. Realizing he'd let something slip, Obi-Wan tensed, something that didn't go unnoticed by Anakin and Ahsoka, before shrugging it off.
"I know the King and Queen personally." Was all he replied with, standing over R2.
"Uh-huh. Don't tell me, she's an ex isn't she, this Queen." Anakin suggested, grinning as Obi-Wan sent his former padawan a very annoyed glare. Oh, how he loved to get under Obi-Wan's skin.
"Anakin, believe it or not, not every woman I know is an ex." Obi-Wan retorted, trying to ignore Anakin's infuriating effort to tease him. Anakin never had let go of his meeting with Satine and sometimes, Obi-Wan realy questioned why he hadn't punched Anakin in the face already.
"I disagree. In fact, I think you're in denial." Anakin smirked, crossing his arms across his chest. Obi-Wan sighed in response.
"We kissed once." At his words, the most triumphant smile Obi-Wan had ever seen spread over Anakin's face, Ahsoka next to him gaping like a goldfish. Obi-Wan though, quickly went on the defense. "Though before you two get any wrong ideas, I was fourteen at the time and she only kissed me to prove Giac wrong and make him jealous. In fact," Obi-Wan paused, a chuckle escaping his lips before continuing, "Giac's face was so priceless afterwards me and Risa burst out laughing. We flirted quite a lot after that, an inside joke in an effort to get on Giac's nerves. We even used to compete to see who could tip Giac off first." Obi-Wan finished, his joy filled eyes now turning stern. "So don't get any ideas, ok? Risa married Giac over a decade ago – me and her are friends and nothing more." Obi-Wan turned away again, leaving quite a shocked Anakin in his wake. However, that didn't last too long.
"So Satine is just a friend too, eh?" Anakin asked, that infuriating smirk returning to its rightful place. Obi-Wan groaned, his shoulders sagging in defeat.
"Anakin please, for the sake of my sanity, hold your tongue!"
"I'm not hearing you deny it." Obi-Wan didn't bother retorting back to that one. Anakin was right after all.
"R2, I need you to contact the call center on Selencia." The R2 unit beeped in reply to Obi-Wan (who was obviously changing the subject) a small satellite lifting up from inside his head and rotating.
"You got it little guy?" Ahsoka asked, crouching down next to R2, the droid instantly replying with beeps and chirps. "He's got it." Ahsoka confirmed.
"Good. R2 put me through." Obi-Wan ordered, a hologram of a figure flickering into view soon afterwards. It was young man, no older than nineteen, with scruffy, dark hair.
"Hello, sir. How can I help you? I don't recognize your caller ID."
"I need to speak with the King." The youth frowned at that.
"I'm afraid the King is in an important council meeting. Even if he wasn't, you'd have to give me the pass code to talk to him."
"I don't care if he's in a meeting, young one, you need to get a hold of him now." The youth in question narrowed his eyes at Obi-Wan's tone.
"And who, exactly, should I say is requesting to speak with him?" He asked, mimicking Obi-Wan's threatening tone as he raised an eyebrow. In response, Obi-Wan swallowed. He had been hoping he would let him through to a secure call with Giac but it seemed the force refused to be on his side. Plan B then. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, knowing if he said this, he would have no choice but tell Anakin and Ahsoka about his past. Here goes nothing he thought.
"His brother." Obi-Wan replied bluntly, standing up straighter, the youth turning as white as a sheet in response. Behind him, Anakin wasn't fairing much better.
"WHAT?"
Obi-Wan ignored him, deciding to focus on the youth first, who for his part, looked quite sheepish and apologetic.
"My apologies, Prince Obi-Wan, I will contact him immediately."
"Make sure you do." The kid gulped, putting the call on hold quite quickly. Obi-Wan almost let out a sigh of relief, before realizing Anakin and Ahsoka were right behind him. Turning, he was met by a very angry looking Anakin, his arms crossed across his chest. Ahsoka looked more shell-shocked than anything, staring up at Obi-Wan with wide eyes and he guessed, if the clones didn't have their helmets on, they wouldn't look much different to Ahsoka. Time to face the music he thought.
The messenger boy ran through the intricate corridors, spiraling stone arches passing above him, servants and guards in deep blue and silver uniform dodging out of his path. He himself wore the traditional, blue and silver uniform, the intricate crest of the Kenobi royal household visibly sewn into his shirt; wings sprouting from a silver sword in dancing silver flames, all sealed in a shining silver ring that was backed on a sea blue background.
The messenger, still only a boy, ran with speed only a Selencian could achieve, jumping over droids and any other obstacles without so much of a second glance. He didn't tire easily, too focused on the task at hand. Finally, he reached his destination and after exchanging a few words with the guards, he burst through the expertly carved wooden double doors.
Inside he was met with the sight of the council in session: men and women all stood or seated at a long, rectangular table. The council table was a wonder itself, the history of Selencia carved in silver images across its glass surface. Pillars of stone rose up on either side of the room, holding up intricate stone arches. The King himself stood at the head of the table, his brown eyes scanning a hologram report in front of him, the only person in the room who had not turned his attention to the newcomer in the room.
"I thought I gave strict instructions not to be disturbed in this meeting." King Giac Kenobi commented, his gaze not leaving the hologram in front of him.
"Indeed. You should not be here boy. Leave, now and the King won't punish you." A grey haired council member commented, his harsh and disapproving gaze boring into the boy with such force he could have burnt holes threw him. Now, although the boy's entrance had not sparked a reaction in the King, the councilor's comment however, did. And an angry one at that.
"You do not make threats on my behalf Lord Tainian. I am perfectly cable of doing that myself." The King spoke calmly, a tone that didn't match his raging eyes. The fiery gaze didn't even disturb the council member though, the old, ignorant man standing his ground. The King clenched his jaw but ignored the clearly annoying Lord for the moment, instead turning to look at the boy messenger. It was obvious Lord Tainian had been aggravating him lately. "What news do you bring young one? Surely something important to disturb our meeting?" The King asked, a more kind tone within his thickly accented voice.
"It is important sire. Prince Obi-Wan contacted the call centre sire – he demands to speak with you." The boy answered, standing up straight and bowing his head in respect before delivering his information. The news didn't seem to shock the King; instead he looked oddly accepting, an 'I should of known' expression crossing his features. He even let out an exhausted sigh.
"What's he done now?" The King asked in an exasperated tone.
"He didn't exactly state his situation sire." The light-haired boy replied, surprised by the question. This time, the King brought a hand to his clean-shaven face to rub his eyes, his dark hair falling across his eyes.
"Of course he didn't." The King responded, muttering something like 'always having to save his ass' under his breath. "We'll carry this meeting on tomorrow. You are all dismissed." There were several cries of protest, particularly from Lord Tainian but he just silenced them with a raised hand. "As you are all perfectly aware, I have other matters to deal with." And with that, the King walked out of the vast room before the other people could protest, closely followed by the messenger boy. However, as the boy escorted his King to the call centre, he couldn't help but smile as he listened to his King complain about how incompetent his little brother was under his breath.
"So when were you planning on telling us you had a brother? Or were a prince for that matter?" Anakin asked, his frustration at being kept out of the loop evident on his face. Thinking fast, Obi-Wan molded his features into an impassive expression, thinking of one last lie to keep them from learning of the truth.
"Anakin, I only told him I was Giac's brother so that he would let me speak to him." Anakin narrowed his eyes at Obi-Wan's obvious lie.
"Oh really? Then how did he know your name?" Sithspit. Obi-Wan had not thought of that. Why was he so bad at lying all of a sudden? He blamed it on his lack of sleep or from running from Grievious for half the day. Maybe it was both. "Don't lie to me Obi-Wan." Anakin added, his gaze intensifying.
"What do you want me to say Anakin? You never asked so I never told."
"I never asked? What did you expect me to say? Oh, hello master. By the way, you don't by any chance have a brother do you? Or I don't know, are a kriffing PRINCE!" Anakin exclaimed, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"Language, Anakin." Obi-Wan scolded, meeting Anakin's cold gaze that flared with anger at Obi-Wan's comment. Eventually, Obi-Wan looked away, not being able to bear the intensity of Anakin's glare. "You don't have to know every secret I have Anakin. I am sure I don't know all of yours." Obi-Wan paused, crossing his arms across his chest. He still refused to look at Anakin's accusing eyes. "Everyone has secrets Anakin. I'm sorry if I have more than most." Obi-Wan replied, his voice a lot more harsh and cold than Ahsoka and Anakin had ever heard it before. A long silence followed. It was only broken when the holographic call flickered back to life, a richly dressed figure coming into view. All heads turned at once, Obi-Wan striding over to face the hologram directly. Just as King Giac Kenobi appeared, which was a sight that Obi-Wan was very relieved to see.
"I hope this is important Obi. The council members are biting my head off at the moment, especially Lord Tainian. You remember him right? Of course you do. Bitter fellow. Pointy nose. I'd fire him if he weren't so well respected and valued on the council. Anyway, although I enjoy a break from those pensioners and critics, the meetings are still important. And that's before I even get started on this blasted war – do you have any idea how much it costs? Selencia may not be involved, but the amount of money I have had to pay for imported produce! Then, of course, there's the rations, the restricted transport and the fact I have to convince everyone to stop themselves from getting trigger happy. I mean, I never realised how alike we are to the old mandalorians until now! I tell you one day I'll-" Giac stopped mid rant, finally noticing the state his younger brother was in. Soaked to bone and with that bandage still fastened around his forehead, Obi-Wan could only imagine how bad he looked. However, he couldn't help but smirk at his brother's confused expression.
"You finished?" Obi-Wan asked, his smirk only widening when Giac's mouth stayed hung open.
"W-Why are you wet? And why is there a bandage round your head?" Giac demanded, finally recovering. Of course, Anakin chose that exact moment to lean over.
"In answer to your first question, your highness, apparently he fell of a cliff." That statement only confused Giac even more, Obi-Wan sending Anakin a glare.
"I jumped off a cliff and dived into a river, trying to shake some separatists of my trail. I would have escaped in a ship but someone crashed it." Obi-Wan pointedly looked at Anakin this time, who glared back.
"I didn't crash it. I landed it."
"Anakin, the ship exploded."
"That wasn't my fault! It was the ship's!"
"You always say it's the ship's fault!"
"Although this is incredibly amusing," Obi-Wan glared at Giac when he said that. "It doesn't explain why you have a bandage around your head, Obes." Giac finished, making Anakin raise an eyebrow at the nickname he had used for Obi-Wan.
"Actually, it does. You see, I hit my head when somebody crashed the ship." Obi-Wan explained, deliberately looking at Anakin when he said it.
"You're not hurt are you?" Giac asked, his face creasing with worry. Obi-Wan looked quite caught off guard at the question.
"What? No. It wasn't bad enough to cause anything as serious as brain damage, if that's what you're asking." Giac seemed to relax at that, but a familiar sly smile that crawled over his face told Obi-Wan he wasn't finished with him yet.
"Of course you haven't got brain damage Obi, that would imply you had a brain in the first place." Giac commented, his trademark smirk spreading wide across his face. Meanwhile, Ahsoka snorted with laughter to Obi-Wan's left, Anakin who was on his right didn't even try to hide it. He practically howled with laughter, the clones chuckling too. Obi-Wan, however, wasn't as amused and chose to scowl at Giac instead.
"Hilarious. Real mature, Giac." Obi-Wan glared at his older brother, who was for his part, was smiling triumphantly.
"You got to admit, general, you kind of did walk straight into that one." Cody stated between chuckles, Obi-Wan sending him a glare that made him quickly gain his composure.
"You see, this is funny because the way I remember it, I had to advise you on politics when you first became King, Giac. In fact, I'm not even sure you knew anything about the topic because when we were younger, you were the one who knew how to shoot a blaster and swing a sword, not how to use that hollow brain of yours." Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to smile triumphantly while Giac's smug smile slid off his face, Anakin and Ahsoka laughing even harder in the background.
"Ok, I get it. What do you want this time?" Giac asked, trying to change the subject that had quickly backfired on him.
"I, uh, need a favor." Giac narrowed his eyes at Obi-Wan's response, crossing his arms as he did so.
"Ok, what have you done now?" Giac asked, eyes narrowing in accusation.
"Why do you instantly jump to the conclusion this is my fault?" Obi-Wan looked quite offended (whatever Anakin said, it was still his fault they were in this mess). Giac only gave him an exasperated look in response.
"Seriously? You're asking that question? I mean, you complain about Skywalker's reckless attitude a lot when to be honest, he had to learn it from somewhere. Remember Mandalore?"
"That was one time. ONE TIME GIAC! You weren't even there!"
"And I will forever use it against you as blackmail, thanks to some handy alcohol and a thoroughly intoxicated Qui-Gon Jinn." Giac smiled innocently. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to grab his holographic throat and strangle him. After all, he was a Jedi. He chose to sigh in defeat instead.
"Like I explained earlier, our ship crashed. We're too far out of range to contact the Republic and our supplies are low. To top it all off, the Separatists are here and it won't be long before they find us." Obi-Wan explained, trying to redirect the conversation. He left out the part about why the Separatists were on Clufus deliberately - he could explain that to Giac later. Why the Separatists had decided to attack a neutral system Obi-Wan had no idea, but it definitely didn't mean anything good. Obi-Wan didn't want to worry Giac too much - his brother had enough on his plate as it was.
"What planet are you on?" Giac asked, gesturing for someone to record whatever Obi-Wan said off screen.
"Clufus." Obi-Wan answered immediately, watching as Giac's gaze turned to the person standing off screen, exchanging a few words with them. Then, after a few minutes, he turned back to Obi-Wan, his expression back to being serious.
"Send me your co-ordinates and I'll come and pick you up." Giac pinched the bridge of his nose, now eyeing his brother more carefully. "Just, try not to get injured any more than you already are."
"Giac, I told you, I'm fine." Obi-Wan reassured, though Giac didn't look convinced.
"Really? Because you've been leaning heavily on your right side throughout this whole conversation, which makes me believe you must of injured your leg when you fell into the river. Your knuckles on your right hand are bruised and bloodied, and you look like you haven't had a good night's rest in weeks. And that's not including what I can't see." Giac looked concerned now, his pleading gaze locking with his younger brother. Mentally, Obi-Wan was thinking of some quite colorful language, cursing his brother for noticing everything. He couldn't exactly blame him though – their past had made him quite untrustworthy, which made Giac able to see every detail about everyone. Obi-Wan, himself, wasn't much different. "Look, I'll get there as soon as I can. In the meantime, at least promise me to get some rest." Giac pleaded, openly concerned. Obi-Wan never could say no to that face.
"I promise."
"Good. Don't do anything stupid either." Giac wagged a finger at him this time, his voice developing a more playful tone.
"I won't. Goodbye Giac." Obi-Wan confirmed, smiling at Giac's tone.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at Giac's childlike response.
"You are so immature." Giac laughed at Obi-Wan's comment, the hologram of him flickering off. Obi-Wan told R2 to send their co-ordinates to Giac and was about to walk off and get some rest, when Anakin chose to ask that dreaded question.
"What happened on Mandalore?" Obi-Wan knew it was going to be a long night.