Chapter Ten --
In which a battle begins over Mustafar...
For the first few years that Anakin had known him, Obi-Wan had smiled very little. Anakin lived for those smiles, because it meant he'd done something right.
Now, he was beginning to understand how those moments had made Obi-Wan feel, and why they coaxed out the rare grin.
Perun was just pushing himself to his knees when Anakin came in. He handed his apprentice a cup of water, which Perun accepted one-handed, his other hand still wrapped almost reverently around the crystal. Anakin waited until he'd placed the empty cup on the floor before giving Perun the other item he carried.
"It's not perfect," Anakin said, as Perun took the 'saber hilt from him. "I had to improvise some of the parts, and I didn't have time to polish it, but it'll do the job."
Perun didn't reply. Anakin had a feeling that the boy was at a loss for words... or just plain exhausted. When Perun tried to stand up, Anakin put a hand on his shoulder, and knelt down next to him.
"The crystal goes here," he said, indicating the points of contact. "And this is the power supply. You'll need to give it an initial charge."
"With the Force?"
Anakin nodded.
"Why do I have a feeling this means more meditating?"
The Jedi chuckled as he led his apprentice to the workbench.
Republic starships were appearing in the sky over Mustafar. Grievous narrowed his eyes as he studied the formation. This was a scouting party, but he suspected that the army would not be far behind.
"Viceroy!" The Nemoidian's head snapped up. "Change of plans. No more ships will leave this base."
"But the evacuations--"
"Do you see those ships, Viceroy?" Grievous asked. "I believe you know something about blockades. Consider us officially under siege, and send a transmission through requesting backup troops from--"
"From who? We have not heard from Lord Sidious. All our directives are meant to come--"
"Sidious appointed me general!" the bio-droid roared, resisting the urge to wheeze and loose the upper hand. "If he does not contact us, then I will give orders."
For a second, the viceroy looked like he might protest, then he bowed his head respectfully. "Where shall I patch the transmission through to?"
Grievous considered. "There is a droid fleet over Noixxarb. They are closest. Yes, set up a transmission, and I shall have them send..."
He walked inside, still mumbling plans to himself.
Nute Gunrey looked up at the ships blinking one by one into existence. He gulped audibly, then hurried after the general.
Family was held in the highest regard on Naboo. In the back of her mind, Padmè was vaguely disgusted by the idea that her child would not be born on her homeworld, surrounded by his kin. In fact, she could not think of a more lonesome way to enter the world, born in secrecy, without even a father's blessing to welcome him.
As if reading her thoughts, Bail turned to her and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You know why it has to be this way."
She nodded, suddenly unable to respond as the ship gave another uncomfortable lurch and her stomach followed suit. This, among other reasons, was why she hated taking public transports. There was a green light blinking over one of the computers, and she wondered vaguely if her face was a similar shade. She certainly felt like it was.
Once again, Bail put a steadying hand on her shoulder and guided her over to one of the viewports. There wasn't much to see now that they'd entered hyperspace, but somehow just knowing that they were still moving made her feel slightly less queasy.
Someone pressed a warm cup into her hands. "It tastes a bit funny," the woman said, "but it will help with the nausea."
Padmè looked at her, half-wary of some sort of assassination attempt. But the woman was old enough to be her grandmother, and her kind expression appeared to be genuine. Despite Bail's rather obvious apprehension, Padmè took a long sip of the drink. Almost immediately, her stomach settled, and she gave the woman a relieved smile.
"Sagebrush calms the children," the woman said. "Dried, then boiled. Little boys like it especially."
"How did you know?" Padmè asked.
"Oh, a mother always knows. Good luck, deary. Those children will change your life."
Padmè nodded and watched the woman walk off again. It wasn't until much later that the weight of the word "children" actually registered in her mind.
She dropped her head into her hands, feeling decidedly queasy again.
The only thing that Anakin hated about flying was being stuck in hyperspace. He felt so... disconnected from the rest of the galaxy. It did not escape his notice either that Perun seemed perfectly comfortable, going about whatever work or exercises Anakin assigned him as though they'd never left the Temple. But the worst part was definitely the annoying habit that Perun had developed of coming into the room where Anakin was pacing and telling him calmly to "please, either sit down or find something useful to do" as though he was the Master.
So, needless to say, when the ship was finally approaching it's coordinates, Anakin was more than a little anxious. He watched the controls, waiting for the right moment to cut in the sublight engines and return to real-space. He heard the door open and shut behind him, and looked up briefly to find Perun hovering nervously around the copilot's chair.
"You might want to strap in," Anakin told him kindly.
Perun did as directed, then, without looking up, he said, "Master, I'm frightened."
Anakin was silent for a long moment before responding, "I'd be worried if you weren't. Fear is a good thing, Perun. It means you're paying attention."
The boy nodded. Another pause, and then Anakin laid his hand over the throttle. "Are you ready?"
Perun swallowed, then answered, "Yes, Master."
As if in slow motion, the stars elongated around them until they became single points of light again--
Anakin jerked the controls to avoid crashing into a Republic starfighter, and swerved around what looked like cannon fire from a droid control ship.
The Padawan spit out a stream of words he'd learned recently from Anakin, to which the Knight could only reply, "My thoughts exactly, but please keep them to yourself next time."
"Next time? You intend for there to be a "next time" we come out of hyperspace into the middle of a battle?"
"Perun!"
Anakin's warning tone finally cut through whatever shock had taken over Perun, and he gripped the trigger that controlled their own gun turrets. The weapon was terribly inadequate, but Perun was able to shoot down a few droid fighters and clear a path for Anakin to get through the chaos and head planetside.
"Now the fun begins," Anakin said, making the final adjustments as they entered the atmosphere.
"Sir, unknown craft just appeared on the scanner."
Cody had a very strong suspicion that Anakin Skywalker was in that ship. "Bring up a visual," he commanded.
The screen showed a relatively small pleasure craft performing dips and spins that the ship should not have been capable of. Having flown with General Skywalker over Cato Nemoida, Cody was now sure it was the Jedi at the controls. He watched as the ship dove toward the planet's surface, and wondered if Skywalker really had gone crazy.
A memory floated to the front of his mind... or maybe it wasn't a memory, since he couldn't recall a specific time or place, just General Kenobi's voice, advising without ever being patronizing.
"Who's the more foolish; the fool or the fool who follows him?"
Cody blinked -- had the light suddenly flashed blue? -- and turned back to his brother.
"Don't shoot, just follow it. Try to stay off their scanners."
"Yes sir."
Cody watched the decent, and wondered for the first time just what they were supposed to do when they caught up with Anakin.
Anakin pulled the Force into himself, trusting it to guide him as he landed. He extended his awareness out to his surroundings, searching...
Just before he would have sensed the clone-piloted fighter following him, Obi-Wan's voice filled his mind. "You must realize, Anakin, that I can no longer help you here."
The silence that followed seemed to stretch into eternity for both of them. "You will try to come back, right?"
He paused, as though he were waiting for something. Then he said, "Yes, I will try. May the Force be with you, Anakin."