Chapter 7:
All was dark in the Jedi Temple, the only light coming from the luminescent bulbs shining dimly in the halls. Anakin crept along silently, his footsteps making no sound on the tile floors. Master Garen was out for a few hours, a meeting with Master Yoda, and Willow had succumbed to Anakin's Force induced sleep easily.
"Garen overestimates the ability of his Padawan." Anakin murmured to himself. "She was out in an instant. Weak minded child. They're all weak minded at that age. Innocent and naïve." His thoughts wandered back to when he was Willow's age. At the age of eleven Anakin had only been at the Temple for two years, having spent the first nine years of his life as a slave. These children knew nothing of pain or harm, and many times Anakin found that innocence only made a mind easier to overpower.
Garen would be out until late this evening, and Willow wouldn't come out of the Force sleep for several hours, leaving Anakin free to sneak into the hanger without anyone noticing. There were always ships available, it wouldn't be hard for the mechanic that he was to hijack a ship and get out. The difficult part would be to find Obi-Wan when he got to where he was going.
The fifteen year old had done his research on Xanatos and hadn't been able to find much. The public archives held very little information, only that he was a previous student who had left the Order, along with a few other tidbits of personal information. Very little else was available, and so Anakin had resorted to searching through the flight plans filed on the day his Master left. There were only two ships that had left that day. One to Kashyyyk, and the other to Telos. It wasn't hard for Anakin to decipher that, since public record listed Xanatos' home planet as Telos, it would be the more likely of the two places for Obi-Wan to be going.
As Anakin entered the hanger he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. It should be easy from here. He chose a quick ship and started the ignition sequence. Just as the ship started to power up, there was a strange sound, and the engines suddenly died. With frustration he climbed out and chose the next ship over, unwilling to waste time trying to fix it. Only to discover that this one was faulty also. He was just about to try another when he heard a voice from the shadows.
He turned to see Garen Muln stepping out into the dim light. "Need some help kid?"
Anakin sighed, frustration welling up inside him, "How'd you know?"
"I told you, I'm teaching Willow to resist a Force-induced sleep. Your lovely job only lasted a few minutes before she recovered and called my com. Gave me just enough time while you were checking the flight records to disable these ships." Garen's teasing smile disappeared, "I promised your Master you would be here when he got back and I don't plan on breaking that promise."
"He's in trouble Master Garen, I can feel it, and you should know this! He's your best friend, aren't you even worried at all? It's been months. Months! And no contact either. Not even a message saying he arrived. Am I the only one in this damn temple who cares?" Anakin couldn't decide whether he wanted to scream or cry he was so frustrated.
Aren't you even worried at all? The words struck Garen with such force he had to pause for a moment to recollect himself, "Yes, I'm worried about him, but this is Obi-Wan's battle. And what he wants is for you to remain safe, which is exactly why you're staying here. If something does happen to Obi-Wan, I'm not going to be the one responsible for the death of his Padawan too. Obi-Wan would never forgive me if I let you leave and something happened to you."
"You don't want to be responsible for my death, but you'll leave him to fight this man by himself? So you won't be responsible for me, but you will be the one to allow him to not only die, but die alone?" Anakin spat the words out with anger lacing each word.
Garen's calm façade suddenly disappeared as he faced the irate youth. "Do not hold me accountable for your master's decisions. Obi-Wan is a grown man, he can make his own choices. You, however, are still under his tutelage, and until you are knighted you must abide by his wishes. And currently his wish is for you to stay here, out of danger's way, and in my charge." He looked at Anakin hard, "Now, let's return to our quarters and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," Garen glanced at the cruisers Anakin had unsuccessfully tried to take and his impish grin appeared for a moment, "I believe some extra lessons on hotwiring starships are necessary. If you're going to steal a ship, you've got to know what you're doing."
Anakin sighed again and followed Garen from the hanger, still fuming over their conversation, as well as Garen's ability to tease about the situation. While Anakin followed Garen back to their quarters his mind raced, already working on another plan to escape the Temple and save his Master.