29 Years Ago
Bekah
Endor
She gasps in pain as she comes back into consciousness, every inch of her sore and feeling beaten. "Ida?" she calls out of sheer panic. "Vader?" she calls even louder upon receiving no response. "Anyone?!" she screams, tears filling her eyes in growing terror. Someone help me! she screams into the Force, a shockwave washing over the passing vessel en route to Naboo as she falls back into unconsciousness.
The Jedi Master and Padawan aboard double over, gasping for air as the cry for help reaches them from the planet below. "Master!" the auburn haired Padawan gasps, having recovered his breath first.
"I know, we're going to investigate immediately," he answers, already making his way to the cockpit, sending back a soothing wave of the Force, finding the one in distress to be incredibly gifted with the Force, unconscious, in pain, and utterly terrified. "I don't know what to make of this person, but they are most definitely in distress." The door swishes open, and he immediately orders the pilots to land in the first clearing large enough for their ship.
The younger man's eyes glaze over as he reaches out with the Force, probing gently only to find a sturdy barrier keeping him out. No matter what he tries as the ship nears the planet's surface, he can't see even a bit of the person's mind. "Whoever it is, they know enough to hide their thoughts," he comments as he returns his focus to the physical world, finding that they had already set down on the planet's surface.
He nods in agreement as they disembark from the ship. "Yes, but they are unable to block their presence. Whoever this is can't be too far away, maybe even just over that ridge. Come along, we don't want to be here for too long."
They hike their way through the greenery, which hides the soft, fertile soil under layers of ferns, moss, and recently fallen leaves. A large, fallen tree, covered with moss and lichen that indicates it couldn't have been down for more than maybe three years, creates a bridge for them over a small stream carving its way down the slope. Topping the ridge, they see a pure, clean white fabric covering what appears to be a human form, one end with small, pale human feet, the other a tangled, drying mass of copper tinged and blonde highlighted brown hair, covering what they realize must be a girl's face as she lays face-down on the forest floor.
They hurry down the somewhat steep slope, and the Padawan reaches her first, his Master only a few steps behind. He tentatively reaches out to her, slowly prodding her to a responsive state as he carefully rolls her onto her back. His breath catches for a moment in his throat as he stares at her, taking in her unique features that could be a mix of any given people from any known star system. He takes in the delicate little freckles dusting her cheeks, a small scar on her forehead he instinctively knows was from some act of disobedience as a toddler, and the innocence of her soul just at a glance.
His Master is also taken aback by her appearance, but not for his Padawan's sudden worry for the stranger. "She can't be much more than eighteen. Why would she be out here alone?" he wonders aloud, then notes her minimal attire of the thick white robe reaching just under her knees. "Who would leave her here in such attire too?"
The Padawan starts at the sound of his Master's voice, pulling his gaze from the face of what he might call an angel. "What will we do about her? There has to be something we could do," he murmurs, turning to his Master.
He sighs. "I don't know. I was hoping she would be awake when we found her, but since she's unconscious, I'm rather hesitant to bring her with us to Naboo. Especially if negotiations with the Trade Federation don't go as planned."
"We can't just leave her here though, Master," he Padawan murmurs, just as the girl stirs. The Master kneels on her other side, resting one hand gently on a cheek to send a calming wave of the Force through her. "Hey, are you in there?" he calls out, almost teasingly.
She groans and turns her head away from the touch of the Jedi. "Wha- who are you?" she mumbles, almost unintelligible in her exhausted state.
The Master, however, finds her to be somewhat amusing. "We heard your call, and answered."
She only frowns in response. "Who… are you?" she asks again, eyes flicking nervously between the faces of the two strangers hovering over her.
They both smile slightly at her insistence. "I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my Padawan Learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi." He then frowns. "Who are you, young lady? What happened to you?"
Her frown deepens. "I'm…" she pauses for a moment, recalling the Obi-Wan Kenobi of her time, and realizing this could become a fresh start for her, where nobody knows who she is. "My name is Bekah Ree. I'm not sure what really happened, I was in the infirmary on a ship, and then I was pulled into some kind of portal again."
Qui-Gon takes his turn to frown. "Why were you in an infirmary?"
She scrunches her eyes in concentration. "It's still kinda fuzzy, but I remember being shot, and losing an atmosphere, and… a crash in a hangar? I'm not entirely sure." She shakes her head, and pushes herself upright, favoring her left shoulder with a small grimace of pain. "Where am I?"
Obi-Wan regards her with a small, amused smile, rising to his feet and offering her a hand up. "You've found yourself on Endor, a planet uninhabited by humans."
She blinks in what they could swear to be recognition as she accepts the help, and Qui-Gon rises to his feet as well. "Well, that's… helpful." She turns on them with an almost pleading gaze. "Is there any way that you could help me out?"
"Actually, we were on our way to Naboo, to see if we could peaceably settle the dispute with the Trade Federation's blockade," Qui-Gon informs her. "I was actually hoping to take you along. If you were willing, of course."
She bites her lip and settles her gaze on the soft ground. "I have nothing and nowhere else to go. I would like to go with you."
They trade a glance, sensing her fluctuating emotions and knowing she only gave them the partial truth, and an almost complete lie. Disregarding this for the time being, Qui-Gon takes the lead back to their transport, keeping an eye on the clearly distraught girl he has a feeling will bring a great change to them in the near future. She seems to step tentatively, as though expecting to find something sharp on the forest floor, and avoids brushing against most of the plants if at all possible.
With a sigh, he stops them at the top of the ridge, turning to her with a glint of concern in his eyes. "Would you rather be carried?" At her blank expression, he clarifies. "Your steps are overly cautious, when there is nothing that will harm you with every step."
She blushes slightly and shakes her head. "I'm fine, I just haven't been on any kind of planet for months now, and the only woods I'm used to have thorns everywhere, or a bunch of other sharp things under the leaves." At his raised brow, she looks down again. "I'm sorry to be slowing you down."
Obi-Wan gazes around as the echo of horns fills the forest around them. "Master?" he asks uneasily.
However, their straggler perks up at the sound. "The ewoks, they are pretty much harmless if you don't antagonize them."
"Yes, and I would rather we leave before we do antagonize them," Qui-Gon murmurs, ushering the younger two to go ahead of him. He notices that Bekah, rather than observing the land at their level, keeps glancing up, a little smirk on her lips at one point. "What do you find so amusing at this moment, Bekah?"
She points to a specific spot up in the trees. "There's one of them up there watching us. Right there."
His gaze latches onto the confused, furry creature with scruffy brown fur just barely lighter than that of the tree it sits in, with a red hood like contraption over its head, little rounded ears sticking out from holes in the top. It carries a small horn and an extremely primitive spear, but makes no move to indicate any kind of hostility. Rather, it watches them with its head slightly tilted in curiosity.
Obi-Wan also sees the furry little creature, and picks up the pace. "Maybe we ought to hurry it up, Master."
"I would agree," he mutters, resting a hand against Bekah's back to help her pick up the pace. When they at last make it back to the shuttle, he releases a sigh of relief, glad that they had made it without getting into any kind of trouble. He then turns to the girl again. "You might want to just take one of the bunks rather than joining us in the cockpit."
She nods in thanks, though pulls the robe a bit more tightly around herself. "I don't want to come off as being needy, but there wouldn't happen to be a spare set of clothes around here, would there?"
The Jedi Master shakes his head as his Padawan goes to the cockpit to allow the pilots to lift off from the surface of the forest moon. "As Jedi, we have little in the way of belongings, and didn't anticipate finding anyone on our way to Naboo. Perhaps we could acquire something else for you there, the journey won't be more than a few more hours."
"Alright. I'll just… lay down in one of the bunks then," she murmurs, and Qui-Gon merely points out the small bunkroom for her, which she enters silently, and almost with an air of sadness. He notices her shoulders shaking slightly as the door closes on its own, without her raising her hand to use the switch.
Frowning slightly as he feels her presence almost completely vanish behind even more shielding, only noticeable because he knows she is there, he makes his way to the cockpit once more. "Obi-Wan," he whispers, catching the younger man's attention. "What do you make of her?"
He notes with vague amusement that his Padawan is slightly flustered. "She's quite a mystery. It would be a waste of time to guess at her origins, based on what little we can know and see of her." He then raises a brow at his Master. "Why the interest in her?"
Qui-Gon shakes his head. "Something tells me that she could be dangerous, although not for us. But rather… someone, or something else."
"But she doesn't seem as though she could possibly be a threat. I mean, no disrespect, Master, but she seems to have no ill will towards us."
"Yet she is keeping a secret, one that could pose a threat in the long run," he shoots back, making his Padawan lower his gaze to the floor. "Nevertheless, if she poses no threat to us, we have no reason to question her further."
Obi-Wan only then notices the absence of the subject of their discussion. "Is she alright, Master?"
Qui-Gon only sighs. "I believe it would be best to leave her be for the moment. She seemed upset when I left her at the bunkroom."
"If you are sure, Master," Obi-Wan murmurs as they both raise their hoods once more, though not before glancing back towards the cockpit entrance once more.
They remain in their places for the next hours, watching the blur of hyperspace pass them by, preparing their minds for the possibilities of their reception upon arrival. "We're coming out of hyperspace, Master Jedi," the captain intones monotonously as she hails the control ship. "With all due respect, the ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately."
On the screen, he nods in affirmation. "Yes, of course," he replies respectfully. "As you know, our blockade is perfectly legal." As they make their final approach to the control ship, he continues with his pleasantries, which Obi-Wan ignores at his Master's look.
"Go and let the girl know we ought to be back shortly, once we have boarded their ship. She would do well to remain on board during the negotiations," Qui-Gon orders him, to which he leaves the small cockpit at once.
He knocks on the door to the bunkroom quietly before he opens the door, finding Bekah to be seated, legs crossed, on the cold floor in front of the bunks. Her hazel eyes flutter open, and he notices with some concern that they are slightly bloodshot. "Are we there?" she asks, her voice soft and slightly breathless.
He lowers his hood for the moment, and kneels to bring himself to her level. "We have arrived at the blockade. Master Jinn wishes for you to remain in here while we go and take care of the negotiations, which he seems to believe will not take very long."
She nods in reply, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "You know where I'll be when you're finished here, then."
Twenty minutes later
The white robed girl slips out of the ship with no one the wiser, just in time for the guns to be lowered and aimed at the vessel she just disembarked. With a careless wave, she forces the barrel to crush itself, effectively jamming it and creating a spectacular explosion.
"Hey!" a battledroid captain shouts, spotting her and raising its blaster. Another careless wave of her hand, it crumples into barely more than a ball of scrap metal, and she summons the blaster to her own hand.
She shouts back up into the ship, "Leave! Now! Warn the queen of the impending attack!" She jumps from the ramp just as it raises, and blasts out of the hangar before any more threats can be made against them. Assured of the escape of their transport, Bekah blasts several more of them, before dashing from the hangar with the aid of the Force, following her instincts to the bridge. "Damn," she whispers to herself, spotting the door closing from around a blast door track. "This just couldn't be easy, could it?" she asks herself pointlessly, before taking a more careful look at her surroundings. Spotting a ventilation grate just behind her, she shoots it away, and climbs in, staying as quiet as she can.
At the end, she finds another grate, and peers out. Her eyes widen at the sight laid out before her: transport ships, and a massive droid army preparing to fold into the transport racks. Surprisingly enough, she finds no sentient being watching over them, just sees endless numbers of droid soldiers. Carefully, she uses the Force to lower the grate to the floor far below her, and slips out, landing crouched without a sound. Spying one of the nearest ships, she runs as fast as the Force can assist her, jumping to the highest spot she can fit herself into, folding her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself, shivering from the cold of space with her minimal covering.
Just as it seems as though the hiding will last forever, a rustling and a small grunt from below catches her attention. Carefully, she unfolds herself and peers down from her precarious perch. She catches sight of a very familiar head with short hair and a thin braid, and smirks a little to herself. With a nudge from the Force, she catches his attention. "You'll be able to hide up here better, Obi-Wan," she whispers as he looks up.
To say he is shocked would be an understatement. Once he has settled down beside her, he stares at her with slightly widened eyes. "I thought you were staying with the ship," he whispers hotly, a little irritated that she blatantly disobeyed him and his Master.
She shrugs nonchalantly. "I felt a warning, and managed to save your transport from being blown to dust. I sent them to warn the Queen that trouble was brewing up here."
He breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, that must have been the disturbance we felt earlier. But why didn't you go with them?"
"Uh… I wanted to see what was happening for myself…?" she answers, scooting slightly away from the frustrated Padawan. "In my defense-"
He raises his hand for her to be quiet. "I won't even question it right now." She nods, and shivers again, which catches his attention. He sighs and lays his arm over her shoulders, pulling her close against himself to try warming her up. "Are you alright? Master Qui-Gon said you seemed upset earlier."
She sighs and leans into him reluctantly. "I couldn't feel my friend or her father. They went through a portal at the same time I did in the infirmary, and I was hoping that I could at least feel them." She shakes her head. "I was just so scared when I woke up in the middle of nowhere all alone."
"That is understandable, I must say." He hesitates before continuing. "Listen, we'll be having to run as soon as this ship lands. Are you up for that?"
She chuckles a bit at the query. "You underestimate me, Obi-Wan." She gestures to his lightsaber. "If I still had mine, I might have tried getting onto the bridge."
The racks suddenly pull the folded, deactivated battle droids into the ship, making the previously overly spacious transport a little cramped. The two resettle themselves as the ship lifts off, and he holds her more securely against himself. "So you are a Jedi? A lost Padawan?"
"I'm no Jedi, Obi-Wan. And I will tell you what I told my teacher, I don't ever plan to be any closer to being Jedi, now that I can take care of myself well enough," she explains hastily.
"Does that make you a Sith?"
She flinches ever so slightly. "I've… met one Sith, and one highly unwilling apprentice," she answers vaguely. "Suffice to say, I'm in the neutral category, if there is one."
The ship jerks around unexpectedly quickly, and they both fall to the bottom of the vessel. At the last possible second, Obi-Wan flips them so that Bekah doesn't bear the brunt of the fall. His back screams in protest as the breath is driven from his lungs. She scrambles off of him as fast as she can, and he finds that his breath returns much faster than he had expected it to without her surprisingly heavy body on top of his.
"I'm sorry!" she whispers, pulling him to sit up and rubbing his back soothingly. "Are you alright?"
He nods and coughs. "I'm fine, there's no lasting damage. But are you alright?"
"Yeah… I'm fine, thanks," she replies quietly, before scooting away from him, once his coughing has died down. "I think we'd better get ready to run," she intones cautiously, feeling the vibrations of the ship steady to a gentle rumble as she readies her blaster once more.
Obi-Wan also grabs his lightsaber. "Can you keep up?" he asks with a smirk.
"You're gonna eat my dust, Jedi," she taunts him, just before the transport thunks onto the ground. And she seemingly vanishes the second the door is open wide enough, blaster shots taking out some of the already released droids. "Go, Obi-Wan!" she shouts as he leaves the transport.
"Not without you," he growls, throwing her over his shoulder before charging away. He feels the strange sensation of something… almost evil that sweeps the area, droids being crushed before he can even think to do anything about them, even the ones behind him that he senses his passenger to have previously been shooting at while he ran.
A tall, black cloaked figure wielding a blood red lightsaber appears in his path, and throws them down without even waving his hand. Bekah is thrown from his grip, and his lightsaber torn away before he can even try to fight back. "Jedi scum," the figure snarls, walking closer to the Padawan.
"No! Vader, don't!" Bekah cries out suddenly, somehow appearing between them, a small gash bleeding sluggishly on the side of her head.
He stops suddenly, and deactivates his lightsaber. "Bekah?" he asks, almost in astonishment. "How did you fall in line with a Jedi?"
"Things aren't as simple as that, Vader, and you know it. He and his Master heard my call, and picked me up from Endor on their way here." He raises his deactivated blade, and she growls in frustration. "Think about it! You can fix everything, if things are how I think they are!"
He blinks, and what Obi-Wan could have sworn to be a yellow glow in this 'Vader's' eyes vanishes. "How can you be so sure about that?"
Her stance loosens. "Because I know you love what's left of your family, deep down." She steps closer to him. "Give him back the lightsaber."
With great reluctance, he throws the blue blade back to its owner, who catches it as he rises to his feet. "You two know each other?" he asks incredulously.
"Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi," the man practically spits. "This girl just so happens to be my daughter's best friend."
"Wait," he nearly chokes, "You came through a portal with a Sith?!"
Amazingly, Vader produces a blue and black back pack and another gleaming lightsaber hilt from under his cape. Ignoring the younger version of his former Master, Vader offers the items to Bekah. "Take these things back, before I lose them. Your clothes are still in here, but that might just have to wait until we reach Theed."
Qui-Gon only then runs into the clearing, followed closely by a tall, talkative Gungan. "You have got to be kidding me," Vader grumbles under his breath, staring only at the aquatic being.
"What?" she whispers back, feeling the waves of irritated amusement rolling off of the much taller man.
"Jar-Jar Binks, a local I remember my time with quite well," he informs her. He raises his voice to address the group of them. "I have transportation that will get us to Theed without a problem, if you will follow me."
His cape swirls around in an arc as he turns to lead them through the forest, taking them to a large speeder, but still barely big enough to count as more than an oversized taxi. "How did you get ahold of one of these things?" Bekah asks with a raised brow, almost automatically taking the far right seat in the back of the speeder, rooting through the clothes stuffed in the top of the bag by the time the males have seated themselves, Vader in the driver's seat.
He doesn't even bother to look back at her as he replies, "I landed in Theed several hours ago, and I had enough credits to rent this for a while." She nods in understanding, before finding his cape landing on her face. "We're short enough on time, change under that if you want."
She rolls her eyes and pulls the cape over her head, completely hiding her from the eyes of the others. "So, what's the plan? Go in there respective weapons blazing?" she calls as she removes her white robe, pulling on her underclothes quickly before pulling on a tight-fitting pair of leggings. "Or do you have another hare-brained idea like your daughter would?"
She pulls on a tightly fitted sleeveless shirt, before finally revealing herself from underneath the heavy cloak. "I had been hoping these Jedi would have some ideas, since it is their mission, after all."
She rolls her eyes at his childishness as she digs out a belt from her bag, with a pouch, holster, and clip, wrapping it around her hips, and securing the empty holster to her right thigh. "And you couldn't be bothered to help out, could you?"
"Don't tempt me to carry out-" he starts, before she interrupts him.
"You wouldn't dare, not if you still want your daughter on your side," she growls, clipping her lightsaber to her belt. She then turns to Qui-Gon, leaning on the back of his seat in front of her. "So, do you have a plan? Or are we making things up as we go along?"
"We have a goal, and we aren't entirely sure of the situation in the city," he replies slowly, before turning to Vader. "Perhaps you could inform us of the happenings in the city?"
His shoulders stiffen slightly, but he does sigh. "It's not too good. There are food shortages no matter which way you look. The queen has been in constant communications with the Federation, the Senator, or the Chancellor, when she's not in a council meeting. That's just off of the rumors I've heard. The people mostly stay at home now, to try and make the food last as long as they can."
Obi-Wan leans forward to join the conversation. "It's as bad as we feared, Master. We'll have to get an audience with the queen, if we can beat the droids invading the city." The speeder suddenly speeds up, pressing them all back into their seats. "What are you doing?"
"Picking up the pace, Kenobi," Vader growls simply, the only one unaffected by the increased speed. Sighing, Bekah digs out a folded up pair of ankle high boots from the bottom of her bag.
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