We're officially halfway through the story! Yay! Thankyou for sticking with it so far; I promise it's not going to suddenly start going downhill from here.
I just wanted to give a big thankyou to Tipear, who is going to translate this story into German for a German fanfiction site. How awesome is that? Good luck with your translating, Tipear! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, plotlines or settings from Star Wars. I also don't own Desperate Housewives. I seem to make references to that show quite a lot in my stories.
The day had arrived for Obi-Wan to leave for Utapau. After being briefed one final time by the Council, he walked down to the landing platform, where his ship was waiting. Unbeknownst to him, Anakin was following him at a safe distance, hiding behind pillars and creeping forwards when the time was right. The young Jedi was refusing to give up the chance to confront General Grievous himself; so, he planned to stow away on Obi-Wan's ship. As Obi-Wan stepped onto the landing platform, Anakin broke his cover and ran in his direction. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan turned around at the sound of Anakin's footsteps. He smiled, waved, and walked back towards his friend.
Dammit! I nearly had that, Anakin thought, frustrated. He decided to resort to Plan B: excessive praise.
"Hi, Anakin," Obi-Wan called.
"Hello, Master," Anakin replied. He initiated his puppydog eyes. "I should be going with you."
Obi-Wan was completely unmoved. "Ha! Nice try. This is my mission."
"Hey, I'm sorry I haven't been very appreciative of your teachings," Anakin said slyly.
"Huh?" Obi-Wan frowned. "Is this a tactic to get on my good side?"
"No! Of course not!" Anakin waited for a few moments, then launched into a full-scale attack. "Have I ever told you what an honour it is to be taught by you? You are very wise and powerful."
"Damn straight I am!" Obi-Wan said fervently.
"I should listen to you more," Anakin added.
"Yeah, you should," Obi-Wan agreed. "Well, I'm glad we had this little talk, Anakin. May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan turned and walked up the landing ramp into his transport. Anakin raced after him, but the door slid shut in his face.
"Aw, man!"
Several hours later, Obi-Wan's transport (without Anakin on board) was in orbit of Utapau. Inside the ship was an army of clones, ready to begin an assault on the Separatist droid armies. While the clones prepared for battle, Obi-Wan and Commander Cody Mark Two were examining a hologram of the planet.
"Grievous is hiding in this city, here," Cody told Obi-Wan, pointing to a flashing red dot on the hologram.
"Okay, thanks. I'll meet you down on the planet. After I take care of Grievous, you guys can finish off the droid armies."
"Yes, sir. Here is your ship." Cody indicated a Jedi starfighter which was parked nearby. "Oh, and I'm sorry about that scratch just there," he added, pointing to a long scrape on the side of the fighter.
Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head. "If you were a more cautious pilot, you would never have died during that battle a few weeks ago."
Cody spluttered with outrage. "Master Kenobi, that wasn't me! That was a completely different person!"
"Oh." Obi-Wan looked thoughtfully at Cody. "Well, that explains a lot."
With that, the Jedi strode over to his ship and jumped in, leaving a very confused clone behind him.
Despite his initial disappointment at missing out on the Utapau mission, Anakin soon got over it. There was a 40% off sale at Coruscant's biggest hardware store, and he wanted to be first in line. To kill some time before the store opened, he went to visit Padmé. Anakin was feeling uncharacteristically pensive, and he wanted someone to share his thoughts with. Padmé was the ideal candidate for this, since she never had any thoughts of her own.
"I feel lost," Anakin remarked, as he watched his wife prepare for the afternoon session in the Senate.
"What do you mean?" Padmé asked. "Do you want me to find you?"
Anakin frowned at Padmé, wondering just how many of her brain cells were still active. "Uh, no. Obi-Wan and the Council don't trust me."
"Maybe it's because you always borrow their pens and then don't give them back,' Padmé suggested.
"Something tells me that isn't it. I want more."
"More pens?"
"No!" Anakin snapped. "I want more than I have as a Jedi."
Padmé looked shocked, as if she couldn't imagine what else Anakin could possibly want. "Why would you want more?" she laughed. "You have me."
Anakin was silent for a moment, staring out the window in the direction of the Senate. "I've found a way to save you from my nightmare. You know, the one where you eloped with Obi-Wan."
Padmé sighed wearily. "Not the dream again. I seriously doubt it is going to come true."
Anakin's face darkened with anger. "I wouldn't put it past Obi-Wan."
When Obi-Wan touched down on a landing platform in the capital city of Utapau, he immediately noticed that the city was made up of many different levels. That will make it a lot more difficult to find Grievous, he thought gloomily. I probably won't be home in time to watch Desperate Housewives, then.
Obi-Wan jumped out of his ship and walked to the other side of the platform, where the leader of the planet and his advisors were waiting for him. The natives of Utapau were very tall and thin, with pale, ridged faces and pointed teeth.
"Greetings, great Jedi," the alien said, bowing. "My name is Tion Medon."
"Now that's how people should greet me," Obi-Wan grinned. "I like you already. So, how's the war going?"
"There is no war here. Unless you brought it with you," Tion replied.
"No, but I did bring these excellent onion sandwiches." Obi-Wan reached into his pocket and pulled out his lunch, wrapped in tin foil.
Tion glared at him, insulted. "I'm allergic to onion."
"Oh... well, never mind then. I'm looking for General Grievous."
Leaning forward so that his face was only centimetres from Obi-Wan's, Tion dropped his voice to a whisper. "He's here. We are being held hostage."
"Don't worry," Obi-Wan replied, smiling in a way that was supposed to be soothing, but was actually kind of creepy. "I'll take care of him for you."
"Thank you," Tion muttered, backing away so that he was out of the range of Obi-Wan's fists. "Enjoy your stay on Utapau. Make sure you visit our national library, and-"
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "If I have any spare time in between fighting a maniacal cyborg, I'll make sure I do that."
They bowed to each other, and Obi-Wan returned to his ship. He stood and watched grimly as his astromech droid, R4, piloted the ship up and away from the capital city, leaving him behind to face the murderous General Grievous.
Next chapter: Obi-Wan gets a new pet! And guess what his name is?
Please review and tell me how you like the story so far.