Well, I figure that a normal hello won't excuse the fact that I haven't updated in Millions of months. I'm not even sure what I can say in order to gain any apologies. For those of you who do forgive me, thank you. For those who don't, I guess you'll have to read, and I hope you'll enjoy.
Chapter 9: A Friendly Rescue?
Anakin grabbed his cloak and fastened it around his shoulders. He grabbed a spare blaster out of his wife's storage which he told himself is just in case. He walked into the family room to say goodbye to his family. Luke hugged Anakin, and told him to bring back a souvenir. Leia, on the other hand, was already crying. She looked up at her father with a tearful look as if pleading him to stay.
Anakin picked her up and set her down on his lap. "Don't cry, Leia. I'll be back before you know it. " He kissed her head, and set her back on the floor. Leia reluctantly nodded her head, and tried to wipe away her tears. Anakin turned towards his wife.
"Anakin, please be careful. You never know what or who is on this planet." Padme said with caution in her voice.
"There are eight Jedi going, four of which are Masters, so don't worry Padme. I'll give you an update as soon as I can." Anakin kissed his wife, and then with a last goodbye, headed out the door.
Shaak Ti hooked her lightsaber to her belt, and adjusted her cloak around her shoulders. She walked into the hanger bay, and noticed Aayla carrying a box up the ramp of their ship. Shaak moved towards her friend, and picked up the last box, which was full of medpacs, and took it on board.
"Where are we leaving these boxes?"
"I could have easily taken one more box, but thanks anyways." Aayla glanced inside the box. " You should stow that in the medical bay."
Plo Koon joined the two females from the cockpit. Shaak looked at him in shock. " You are the pilot? I would have expected Anakin to be flying the ship...."
Plo laughed. "Anakin? He can fly this ship the day that he gnaws on Master Rancisis' fingernails."
"THAT is a revolting idea. I think that I will let you fly this ship." Anakin had a disgusted look on his face. Shaak and Aayla both roared with laughter. All four Jedi knew that the dead Jedi Master had had the longest fingernails out of the Jedi, yet he still had been a very accomplished fighter.
Plo grinned at Anakin. "I knew I would find a way to stop you from flying."
"Stop me... You could have just asked politely, but you had to give me a nasty taste in my mouth. Do you know how bad those nails taste?"
There was a long pause during which Anakin smacked himself. "No, Anakin, I have no idea what those taste like, nor would I ever like to find out." Plo said slowly while Aayla and Shaak tried unsuccessfully to hide their laughter.
"All right, let's get this show on the road," Anakin said. "Where are those Knights?"
"They are taking fighters and flying next to us." Aayla said, but on seeing Anakin's face she continued. "I told them it was alright, so don't go spoil their fun."
Anakin rolled his eyes, and then joined Plo in the cockpit. Plo started the engine, and soon five ships were leaving Dantooine on a rescue mission.
The attack came before an organization of defense could be made. Ships poured out of hyperspace, and started landing on Dantooine. Luckily, Luke and his friend, Colin, were outside the academy when a ship landed not far way. Luke froze when he saw the emblem on the ship, but Colin screamed at him, "Run, Luke, Run! Tell the Masters to prepare to fight back." Luke started sprinting, and when he reached the doorway, he glanced back to see Colin fall lifeless to the ground. Luke gave a moment for his friend before running inside the academy.
"There is an attack! The Academy is under attack!" Luke yelled as he ran down the hallway. Jedi Knights jerked in surprise, and one walked forward.
"False rumors are not a good idea to spread, Luke. Your father would be disappointed."
Luke was in shock. How could the Jedi not believe him? Was it because he was a child?
"Yes, he would be disappointed, but not with Luke. Just because he is a child does not mean he is lying. Now get yourselves prepared for battle! " Luke turned around to see Jedi Master Garen Muln walking towards him. Garen was put in charge of the academy while most of the Council was away. He was being considered for joining the Council according to many rumors. He smiled at Luke and gestured. " Luke come with me."
Garen and Luke walked quickly down the hallway while other Jedi ran past them. They turned the corner, and ran straight into Padme, who was in the process of holstering her gun.
Padme breathed a sigh of relief. "Luke, thank the stars you're alright! They were just able to bring Colin's body in, and I feared the worst for you." She turned to Garen. "Thank you, Garen! I was sure that he had been captured."
Garen offered a smile. "I have a duty to protect the academy. Don't worry about it, Padme."
Suddenly, two Jedi ran around the corner, well one did while the other was holding on for support. and came towards Garen. "Master Muln, the enemy has started an attack. However, these troops are not with the Empire. You best come and look."
Garen's smile vanished very quickly, and he and Padme followed the two at a jog with Luke lagging behind.
The planet of Maridun looked very quiet as it floated there in the Outer Rim. The planet mostly consisted of grassy savannah with a few sparse rain-forests. There were also a few cities which were occupied by the natives, the Amani.
The five ships blasted out of hyperspace into the quiet system.
"Does anyone see any enemy fighters nearby?" Plo Koon's voice radioed in.
"Negative, Master Koon." Jedi Knight Byron Hill returned.
"Alright, then we can head in and land. Stay in guard formation." Anakin commed as the ships started their descent.
After the ships landed, Anakin stepped out and looked around. "Why would anyone want to hide here? It's flat and grassy."
I assume that the cities here are probably found in or near those rain-forests we spotted." Aayla said as she rolled her eyes at Anakin.
"How close is the nearest one?" Anakin asked with a glare.
"Well, I would guess about a day, so we should stop goofing off and get a move on." Plo commented.
The eight Jedi made it to the outskirts of the nearest rain-forest after twenty two hours of walking and they quickly set up camp. In the morning, they set out to greet the local people. As they approached the village, it seemed as though the surroundings were silenced.
"Something is wrong here. Why did all the noise suddenly stop?" Anakin asked wearily.
"It is possible that we just changed from hunting to being hunted." Aayla said quietly so no-one nearby would overhear.
Laughter boomed out all around the Jedi surprising them. "So, these ones are smarter than most visitors." A voice said in hissed tones.
Out of the surrounding appeared approximately 100 creatures. They were tall with wrinkled deep yellow skin at the front and a dark green rear hood that ran from the neck to their feet and tail. Their arms and fingers were long and thin, while their legs were comparatively short and thick with large feet. They had small red eyes and a small mouth that widened to engulf raw game and contained numerous sharp teeth and a long tongue. Each one carried a wicked looking spear which Shaak noted warily was dipped in poison. Two of the Amanin stepped forward and gestured with their spears.
The four masters looked at each other cautiously and slowly nodded. However, one of the Knights, Sora Banquin, hurried forward and picked up a stick. She jabbed it into the ground and took a knee with her head bowed.
The Amanin looked very impressed and started whispering amongst each other. The two out front looked at each other and they chuckled and lowered their spears. "Follow us, we shall take you to the village leader."
As they moved, Anakin touched Sora's shoulder, "What did you do?" he asked incredulously.
She gave him a rare smile. "An ancient peace greeting. I studied this planet before we came and luckily for us I did."
"Yeah, it was lucky." Plo said. "Now, where are we going?"
"You heard it. We are going to see the leader, though I don't know if that's a good thing." Aayla whispered from his other side.
The eight Jedi were taken to a village that looked far more impressive than the abandoned one. The houses were woven from leaves and bark and the lights were made by a strange insect who would randomly glow different colors depending on who walked by them. The largest house was in the center and had two brightly glowing purple rocks next to the doorway. The lead Amanin walked up to the doorway and spoke a few words in what Sora identified as Amanese. The rocks immediately changed to a greenish hue and the doorway seemed to light up as if it were open. The Amanin gestured towards the glowing doorway, but when Byron took a step forward they lowered the spears. Byron quickly backtracked and held up his hands.
The Amanin turned to face the Jedi and spoke, "You had best be polite or our leader may use his sword of blue light against you."
" What is that? Some new torture device?" Shaak asked.
"No, it is the weapon that he wields. The sword beam glows with a blue light"
" The sword beam?" Plo asked. " You mean like a ligh-" Plo was cut off by a jab to the side from Anakin. Plo glanced at his friend who shook his head slightly. The Amanin did not look perturbed by the abrupt end of Plo's sentence, but merely turned to the doorway.
Someone was coming through the doorway and when they moved closer, Anakin saw that it was a woman. She was dressed as if she belonged in the jungle and her hair was in some sort of leaf net and mud was lightly applied to her face. Behind her walked a man who had the same look, but instead of a leaf net he wore a leaf cap.
The man stopped and looked at the Jedi and then spoke in a voice close to a hiss. "Give me one good reason as to why I should not order your death."
" A good reason? We are trying to find someone and warn you that your planet might be in danger from the Empire." Aayla exclaimed.
"The Empire?!?" the man asked in disbelief. "They are not here. Why do I have the feeling YOU will be the death of me?"
Anakin almost choked in horror at those words as he remembered a few years back.
7 years ago.
"Why do I think you're going to be the death of me?" Obi-Wan commented.
"Don't say that, Master," Anakin replied. "You're the closest thing I have to a father."
End Flashback.
Anakin looked at the man in disbelief while wondering whether this was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Could this be the man they were searching for? If this was him, then why was he leading a jungle tribe?
"Obi-Wan? That is you, isn't it, Master?" Anakin asked hesitantly.
The other Jedi jerked in surprise and immediately looked at the man. He narrowed his eyes at Anakin and remained silent. The woman next to him was studying the Jedi as though they were on fire.
"That is you, Obi-Wan!" Plo exclaimed. "You must return with us to the Jedi temple."
"This planet is my home and these around you are my people." Obi-Wan said dangerously.
"This is not your home, Obi-Wan," Anakin said seriously. "We are here to bring you and Siri home."
"The Amanin are not in danger from the Empire. They are in danger from you because you threaten them." Obi-Wan said.
"Have you gone mad?" Aalya erupted. "What have these people done to you?"
In reponse, Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber and moved to strike Aayla with the blue blade, but was stopped by a bright green blade.
"Your fight is with me, Obi-Wan." Anakin said.
Anakin reached into the Force and sent Obi-Wan flying back into a tree. Then he force-leaped and attacked high. Obi-Wan recovered from the fall and blocked Anakin's thrust. Anakin tried again only to have Obi-Wan do a back-flip and land in the trees where he started moving away. Anakin jumped after him and soon the two Jedi were lost in the dense forest.
Plo Koon, who had been watching the fight, did not notice Siri charging him until Shaak Ti blocked her attack. Siri then jumped into the leafy treetops only to be followed by Shaak.
The remaining Jedi drew their weapons and activated them as the Amanin warriors prepared to defend their village. Plo and Aayla took defensive positions and concentrated on disarming their opponents. Byron and Sora stood back-to-back and fought off the oncoming Amanin warriors while defending each other. The other two Knights, Semaj Rendar and Marah Arbiter, went on the offensive and leaped into the fray.
Plo ducked another spear aimed at his head and used the Force to knock the Amanin backwards. Aayla blocked another attack and threw her weight against the Amanin which knocked it down, but it curled into a ball and rolled back at her. Byron jumped over and stabbed at the Amanin. "It's not knocking them down that's the hard part. It's getting them to stay down." he said. Aayla grinned and nodded.
Suddenly, a tremor in the Force caused the Jedi to whirl around and see Marah go down with two spears through her stomach. Plo jumped in and pulled Semaj back to the rest of the group, who had formed a circle and was blocking the Amanin attempts.
Semaj used the Force to grab Marah's lightsaber and turned to his fellow Jedi. " I will hold them off. You need to get out of here now!"
Aayla looked at him in shock. " We aren't going to leave you behind. We won't let you fight alone." She struck down another Amanin to prove her point.
"Master Secura, your lives are very important," Semaj said. "Let me make my sacrifice. You have to bring Masters Kenobi and Tachi back."
Aayla opened her mouth to protest noticing Byron about to do the same, but Plo quickly stepped in. "May the Force be with you, Semaj. We'll try to provide a distraction, so you have time to get ready."
Semaj nodded at Plo and then clasped hands with Byron as they shoulder hit. He gave a hug to Sora and Aayla and then turned to face the oncoming Amanin with a lightsaber in both hands.
As the other Jedi ran, Plo yelled back, "Thank you for making this sacrafice, Semaj. We shall never let you be forgotten." The Amanin turned towards Plo and moved towards him.
Semaj flashed a grin and threw a thumbs-up to Byron. Then he released all his force energy and targeted the Amanin, who evaporated and then he died. Plo and Aayla bowed their heads and then headed towards the ships hoping to catch a glimpse of Anakin or Shaak.
The four Jedi ran through the woods and into a clearing where Shaak and Siri stood opposite each other with a little girl in between them. The girl was glaring at Siri. "Mother, these are the Jedi! I know that you have some anger towards them for not coming to find you quickly, but they are your friends and they are here now. I don't care what you or Dad does, but I'm going with them."
Siri looked as if she had been slapped across the face and her eyes started tearing up. She deactivated her lightsaber and hugged her daughter. Shaak came over and patted Siri on the back. "You made the right choice, my friend. I'm sorry we didn't come sooner."
Siri shook her head. "It's fine. I'm sorry I made such a fool of myself."
Plo laughed as he walked over. "Everybody makes mistakes, Siri. Now, let's go find Obi-Wan and Anakin."
As the Jedi started running, Siri indicated her daughter. "This is my daughter, Jennifer Kenobi though she prefers Jenna. Obi-Wan and I were married four years ago."
Byron rolled his eyes. "Perfect, we have two more Kenobis in the galaxy. I thought one was bad enough."
Siri flashed him a roughish grin. "Be quiet you little rip."
Sora burst out laughing. "She already knows you personally, Byron." Byron glared at her in reply. Plo, Shaak, and Aayla were trying to hold in the laughter at the conversation between Siri and the two Knights.
Soon, the Jedi reached the edge of the woods and looked around for any sign of Obi-Wan or Anakin. Suddenly, the two Jedi jumped out of the trees and landed near the others. However, they were still locked in combat. Plo noted that Anakin had a nasty looking gash across his torso and Obi-wan had numerous scars across his arms and legs. Obi-Wan moved in to strike Anakin's chest, but at the last second, Jenna ran forward and yelled, "Stop!" Obi-Wan came to a dead halt and Anakin stepped back to examine the girl. He noticed that Jenna reminded him of his own daughter Leia and how much he missed his family.
Anakin turned towards Obi-Wan and gestured, "Your daughter, I assume?"
Obi-Wan looked ashamed as he nodded. "I was a fool, Anakin. I'm sorry that we never contacted you, but I let my emotions get the better of me."
Anakin smiled and put his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, my friend. Everyone has moments like that. Now, let's get you and your family out of here."
The nine companions headed towards the ships, but when they reached them, they found the ships surrounded by a group of Amnin.
"Somehow, I don't think that peace greeting will work this time." Anakin whispered to Sora.
Sora gave him a grimace. "I wonder what they want."
"I can give you a guess, but I'm hoping you won't agree to their terms." Obi-Wan said.
"Well, if they want you, I didn't get this for nothing." Shaak commented as she pointed to a gash on her leg and Siri quickly apologized.
Anakin walked up to the lead Amanin and bowed. "We mean you no harm and just wish to leave you in peace."
The Amanin warrior said nothing, so Anakin tried to board the ship and as he did nothing happened. The others looked at each other and the Byron ran up the ship as well. Obi-Wan stepped forward, but as soon as he did the Amanin crossed their spears and glared at him.
Obi-Wan stopped and turned to the others. " They only want Siri and me, so you all can go."
Aayla narrowed her eyes. "We aren't leaving another Jedi behind." The others all nodded their agreement.
Anakin started up the engines as fast as he could and with the least amount of noise possible. He commed Byron, who had gotten into one of the side cannons. "Let's get off the grasspile and get back to the Temple."
"Of course, but Master Skywalker, I never want to go to another planet with mad snakish people ever again."
Anakin laughed. "I'll keep it in mind, though if I need a veteran..."
"That sentence better end with: then I'll ask Obi-Wan." Byron warned.
Anakin grinned to himself and then hit the engines to the max and readied the weapons.
Meanwhile, the Jedi all shifted to defensive battle positions around Jenna and were watching the Amanin warriors. Plo noticed the ship start to move and muttered under his breath. "Anakin is a dead man for touching my ship. He better start looking for Master Rancisis." Aayla snorted and grinned at him.
The Amanin start inching forward and tightened their hold on their spears when the Jedi's ship took to the air and started blasting the Amanin, who were startled by this move. The other Jedi ran towards the ship and force-leaped onto the ramp and ran on board.
Siri made sure to strap her daughter in. "I know you don't fear much, Jenna, but safety comes first." Jenna gave a reluctant nod.
As soon as Plo got on, he stormed towards the cockpit and started yelling, "Anakin, you better start searching for Master Rancisis if you want to live!"
Byron climbed out of the gunner seat, exchanged glances with Sora and they both started laughing. Aayla and Shaak both rolled their eyes and smiled. Obi-Wan and Siri traded confused glances and he opened his mouth to speak, but Sora interrupted, "It's better if you don't ask what this is about. Byron and I already made that mistake." Siri rolled her eyes then headed to go and lie down and Obi-Wan soon followed. From the cockpit, Anakin and Plo prepared to make the jump into hyperspace when they got a message from Luke.
Anakin's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Luke, is everything alright?"
The young boy kept flicking his glance from his father to something off the screen. "Dad, the Temple is under attack!"
The ship gave a huge jerk as Plo looked up in shock at Luke and Anakin was speechless. "The Temple is under attack? Who is attacking?"
"I'm not sure yet, but the battle isn't going well since we were not prepared." Luke said with a hint of fear.
"Luke, you have to stay calm. Where is your mother?" Plo asked seeing the worry in Anakin's eyes.
Luke looked up again. "She's here with Leia and Master Muln. They are holding off the enemies while I talk to you."
Obi-Wan laughed and Plo and Anakin jumped not having heard him arrive, while Luke looked at Obi-Wan in confusion. "Good old Garen, he was one to never give up."
Anakin looked at his son. "Tell Garen and your mother that help is on the way. May the Force be with you, my son." Luke nodded and cut the transmission.
Plo keyed the ship's comm. "Alright, hold on back there. We are in for a fast ride since the Temple is under attack." Plo quickly sent the ship into hyperspace with the coordinates for Dantooine.
Alright, so the chapter was extra long as a huge apology! I'm not sure when the next one will be up since I'm really busy this summer, but we'll find out! Hope some of you recognize the line from the old Transformers movie from 1986! By the way, any of you who wish to see an Amanin can go to the Star Wars wiki and search Amani.