Disclaimer: Disney owns Star Wars, not me. All the characters and places (except for my OC Analise Joy) belong to them.
"aaaa"-talking out loud."aaaa"-talking through a holo. 'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. aaaaa-talking through a Bond
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Chapter Six
It wasn't a ship that inspired confidence. If those attending this Gathering was an unorthodox group with their own ideas about how Jedi should operate, Mace Windu wanted the other aspects to remain the same. Including the transport that was to be used. The ship he had selected had been used for Gatherings for generations. It was large and bronze. Old and rusting. Traditional.
Analise stared at the ship with a weary eye and clung to Qui-Gon's arm. She didn't care if it was immature or even babyish to be acting so, but that ship made her nervous. It certainly didn't look like it would make it past blast-off, let alone two standard days of travel in hyperspace to and from Illum.
I don't think I want to do this anymore...The thoughts drifting over their Bond were so quiet that he had to strain to hear them. When he did Qui-Gon chuckled and ran his free hand over Analise's head to smooth any fly-away hairs. She had been excited by the prospect of her first ride in a spaceship and off planet, but now it was clear that Analise wasn't so sure.
Trust in the Force Ana. Millions of beings use ships to travel between systems all the time, every day. Look at Ani, he's not scared.
I'm not scared Da...besides Ani's never scared. Sky-blue eyes watched as Obi-Wan struggled to keep her twin from climbing all over the outside of the ship and inspect every inch of it. Qui-Gon had to bite his lip to say nothing. Anakin certainly acted as though he had no fear when approaching something new or plunging headlong into a dangerous situation, but he knew his adopted son better.
Anakin could get scared. He was just good at hiding it. 'Obi-Wan's influence I guess' he thought to himself. 'Mine too.'
You've ridden in speeders and air-cars.
Yes, but we weren't blasting off into deep space.
It's not deep space sweet Ana. This ship is only a bigger version of a speeder or air-car. Analise's face took on a stern cast that had Qui-Gon doing a double-take before laughing quietly to himself. He recognized that look. It was the look he normally wore when being forced to something he didn't particularly want to do.
"Hey Kenobi! Hey Master Jinn!" All four turned at the large, cheerful greeting. Quinlan Vos strode onto the platform, a cocky grin on his face. The Kiffer was another Jedi Maverick only a more wild one than the famous Grey Jedi Master. What always made Qui-Gon shake his head was how the rebel Jedi was friends with his more traditional Obi-Wan.
It was never clear how Obi-Wan and Quinlan became friends, only that they did. They and Kit had formed themselves into a adventure-seeking, rule-bending, and talking-themselves-out-of-trouble trio that had filled some of the Masters with dread and other Masters with laughter. Kit would come up with ideas, Quinlan would get them around the rules, and Obi-Wan would try to talk their way out of or into a lesser punishment when they had eventually gotten caught.
"MASTER VOS!" Anakin's excited shout carried across the platform. He dashed over to Quinlan, leaving behind the ship in favor of his idol and example of proper Jedi misbehavior. Analise slipped from Qui-Gon's side, a bright smile on her face. She wasn't as inclined towards pranking as her brother, but she too enjoyed spending time with Quinlan. The Knight while wild was always gentle and coaxing with the shyer Skywalker.
"There are my gundarks" as he braced himself for Anakin's tackling greeting. The boy did indeed barrel into him only to be spun around and dumped dizzy on the floor. Analise giggled as she bowed to the Knight.
"I'm not a gundark Master Vos." The Kiffer laughed and ruffled her hair, knowing that Qui-Gon disliked it when her hair was mussed. He could already feel the dark look from the Master in fact and ruffled her hair again.
"No Analise, you're an absolute sweetheart. How about I adopt you and you come live me? I'll let you do whatever you want and spoil you." He slipped a hand into his belt pouch and pulled out a sweet. "Don't tell Master Jinn okay?" He whispered as he slipped it to her. "If you eat all your dinner tonight, I'll give you some more." Analise giggled.
"Hey, what about me Master Vos?" Anakin jumped onto his back. "Don't I get a treat too? Am I sweetheart?" Quinlan sighed before handing Anakin a sweet too.
"No Skywalker, you are still a gundark!" Without warning Quinlan gently flipped the boy over his shoulder and set him on the ground. Both twins burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" The accented voice, different from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's was quick to silence the twins. Quinlan's Padawan, Aayla Secura. The Twi'lek Padawan had been fetching one last thing from her room before meeting up with her Master and the others in the hanger.
Aayla hadn't been at all surprised to see her Master acting so playful with the slightly younger twins. He might be the wild Jedi of the Jedi Order, but Quinlan had the same loving and compassionate heart of any Jedi, maybe more. He had taken Aayla as his Padawan when no one else had seemed to want her. Even now she often found herself touching her beaded chain that hung from her headdress to make sure that it was still there. That it wasn't a dream.
What did suprise Aayla was the twins' reaction to her appearance. Both stepped a few feet away from Vos, their playful attitude fading. Analise shuffled to the side, hiding behind Anakin a little as the boy stood almost protectively in front of her. The smiles were still there, only now they were more restrained and shy.
"I don't believe you've met my Padawan yet you two. Anakin, Analise this Aayla Secura. Aayla these are the Skywalker twins Anakin and Analise." Quinlan smiled then staged whispered. "Anakin's my partner in crime sometimes while Analise gets out us out of trouble."
"I only get Anakin out of trouble Master Vos. You're too big to need my help."
"Ouch. That was cold Analise." Quinlan reached out ruffle Analise's already mussed hair. The girl smiled a little before bowing to Aayla.
"It is nice to meet you Padawan Secura. Master Vos has told Ani and I a lot about you."
"It is nice to meet you too..." Aayla was unsure. Part of her wanted to press the twins, to push them for a reaction other than lukewarm. The other half though told her to let them be.
"Quinlan, I've told you many times not to ruffle Analise's hair. Adi is very particular when it comes to it." Qui-Gon had joined them, Obi-Wan by his side. Large hands smoothed and patted blonde hairs back into place. Quinlan just waved a hand. "It is good to see you again Aayla."
"You as well Master Jinn, Master Kenobi."
"You're just as fussy as Adi when it comes to Analise's hair. What's wrong if it gets a little messy?"
"If she's not in the middle of a battle there is no need for it to be less then tidy...besides Adi would duel me to the death if she thought I wasn't making sure Ana was growing up to be somewhat of a lady." Analise giggled.
"I'm no lady. I'm a Jedi." The girl stood, feet apart and hands on her hips. Qui-Gon laughed and tugged her braid.
"You can be both Ana. Shall we board?"
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"Master..." Quinlan looked up from his datapad and frowned. Aayla was playing with her beads and looking down. She shuffled from side to side. All signs pointed to his Padawan having a question that she thought might push the boundaries.
"What is it Aayla?" He set the pad down on his bunk. He was sharing with Qui-Gon while Obi-Wan and Anakin bunked together. Analise and Aayla would be taking the third room.
She kicked at the ground and gripped her arms tightly. "Do Anakin and Analise not like me?" Her hazel eyes peeked up him, welling a little with tears. So that was it. Aayla was worried that the twins didn't like her. "It's just that they would rather be together and really don't want anything to do with me..."
"Aayla come here." She needed no other words and rushed into the Rebel Jedi's arms for a hug. He held her tight and soothed her trouble spirit. "It's not just you Aayla. The twins are like that with others as well. They isolate themselves from others."
"Why Master?"
"I will tell you, but you must promise not to tell anyone else unless the twins, Master Jinn, or Master Kenobi say you can. Master Jinn has already told me I may tell you if they ask."
"I promise." Quinlan took a deep breath.
"Do you remember last year when I was put on alert about a kidnapping?" Aayla nodded.
"They wanted you on standby just in case they needed you to use your psychometry for a clue."
"Well...the child who was kidnapped was from the Temple. It was Analise." He paused before plowing on. "A Sith took her and tortured her nearly to the point of death. Master Jinn, Master Kenobi, and Anakin broke orders given to them by the Council to say put and used the Bonds they had with her to find her. It wasn't good. Anakin was traumatized. They both were." Quinlan hugged Aayla tightly. "It was made worse by the fact that the twins were parted from each other when they were just little babies, hours old and never saw each other in person again until Analise came to the Temple. Since the kidnapping, they haven't wanted to be parted."
"That's so sad." Aayla wiped away tears from her eyes. "But I still don't understand why they don't like me?" He chuckled.
"The twins do like Aayla. They are just worried that if they let you in, then let others in that they will start spending time apart from each other and their Masters. If they do that they fear that Analise will be taken again and won't be found alive if she is."
"So the twins do like me." Aayla tried to sound confident. Quinlan nodded.
"They do and they would like to get to know you, they are just afraid of opening that bubble they've made for themselves. Since I am close to the twins, the Council is hoping that as my Padawan the twins will let you in. That you will slowly help pop the bubble."
She pushed free from her Master's arms and stood. A firece look was upon her face. "I will do this. I can do this. I will be Anakin and Analise's friend."
