Hey guys! So an extra long chapter here, written especially for those who've been keeping up. I found on my computer some chapters to use, so I'll probably be updating tomorrow as well. I'm going away for a couple of days, so then when I return, I'll update even more. Yay, it's Christmas!... Haha, no... Anyways, I hope you enjoy!


Keetho returned to the barn, a plate of food in his hand. He had eaten his own dinner pretty quickly after he returned from visiting Colette, and only stayed a few minutes later to swipe any scraps left over.

Pushing open the door slightly, he slid through the small crack, then quickly closed it behind him.

"Hey, jedi, so I was able to swipe some food for you." He said, still facing the door. He turned around, and found the man sitting on an upturned bucket in the center of the room.

"Thanks, kid." Anakin said, standing up and stretching. The two moved closer together, and the jedi made to grab the plate, but the boy quickly pulled away.

"If you tell me your name first."

Anakin chuckled. Reaching his hand out, he force-levitated a piece of fruit away from the plate, and caught it mid-air.

"That's so not fair." Keetho complained as the man took a bite and smirked.

Anakin swallowed. "Anakin Skywalker." He said, right before stuffing his mouth with another bite. "Jedi Knight, Chosen One, General of the Grand Army of the-"

"Yeah, yeah, you have a bunch of titles; I got it." Keetho said, waving his hand dismissively. He shoved the plate of food in Anakin's direction. "Here you go oh-force-controlling-one."

"That's Mr. Oh-force-controlling-one to you." He quipped back, but gratefully took the food and sat back down on the bucket.

Keetho snorted, then grabbed another bucket and turned it upside down in front of him. Plopping down, he rested his chin on his palms, his green eyes watching the man unblinkingly.

"Are you just gonna sit there?" Anakin asked between bites.

"Yup." Keetho replied, popping his p. "I was thinking you could tell me something about your travels now." He said hopefully.

Anakin's lips upturned in a smile. "Whatever, kid."

Keetho smiled, his green eyes sparkling as he watched the man in front of him with interest. "So where are you from?" He asked.

"Do you want me to tell you a story, or are you just going to ask me question?" Anakin asked with laugh.

Keetho looked thoughtful for a moment. "Probably the second, but if you have any extra input, be my guest."

Anakin nodded. He finished the plate, and put it on the floor next to him. "I'm from Coruscant." He said, wiping his hands on his robes then linking his fingers together in his lap.

"Nooo." He replied, exasperated. "Where were you born?"

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "What-"

"I know all the Jedi live on Coruscant, but you can't all be born there. So where are you from?

"The Outer Rim. Tatooine." He replied dryly, his eyes still narrowed somewhat.

"Really?" Keetho asked. "The jedi collect people all the way out in the Outer Rim? I didn't know that…"

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest and his blue eyes hardened as the boy spoke lowly to himself. How would he know anything about the Jedi? Sure, the boy recognized him as one when they first met, but how would he know anything specific.

"People talk." Keetho supplied. "There're storytellers. We don't live under rocks, ya know."

Anakin nodded. That seemed logical. The Clone Wars were occurring in the same galaxy, after all. And word did spread through traders. And merchants. And slavers...

"So as a general, do you have your own squad? Are they really all clones?"

Anakin nodded. "They're very good men. Good soldiers. I'm proud to be leading them."

"Cool." Keetho said. His expressions betrayed his excitement, and more and more qestions kept forming in his head. During the first few weeks he had known her, she had told him non-stop stories about her experiences and lessons. But as time moved on, she had began to close down, and Keetho could barely fish anything out of her.

"And you all have your own ship?" He continued. "What's it called? Where is it?"

"I do." Anakin chuckled. Despite his predicament, he found the boy's company almost… comforting. He finally met someone who truly wanted to hear what he had to say. And as the Chosen One, he naturally liked all the attention. "It's called the Resolute." He added. "And it's floating around a couple of systems away. My friend and I came here in a couple of starfighters."

"Wow." Keetho said, sounding overdramatic. "I wish I could leave here in a starfighter. But I don't know how to fly one, so I can't. Besides, I could never leave Colette."

"Who?" The name instantly caught Anakin's attention. Wasn't that name on the datapad Obi-wan had given him?

"She's just a friend of mine. Maybe you could meet her later. So," Keetho continued. "Do you have a padawan learner?"

Anakin was distracted as he tried to wrack his brain. Surely, that was the name that was on the datapad.

"Huh?" He asked, as the boy called his name to get his attention.

"I asked whether or not you have a padawan learner."

"I do, actually." He responded, though his eyes were distant as he spoke. "Her name's Ahsoka. She learns very quickly. Obi-wan says that she's just like me."

"Who's Obi-wan?"

Anakin drew his eyes back to the boy. He'd have to worry about the name later. It was too hard to focus with the kid blurting questions out to him every few seconds.

"Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi. He's my old master. He's stuck somewhere on this planet as well."

"And you don't know where he is?"

Anakin scoffed darkly. "If I did, I wouldn't be here."

"What happened to your starfighter? I mean, how did you crash? And how did the two of you get separated?"

"I honestly don't know, kid." Anakin replied truthfully. "Something's going on with this planet. We were brought down by these satellite things, and everything became… out of hand. The Separatists are doing something dark here."

"So your here to stop the Separatists." Keetho confirmed.

"Well, Obi-wan says that we aren't, though now, I'm not so sure. If we have to defeat the Separatists in order to get of the planet, then yes, I suppose we are here to stop them."

Keetho looked thoughtful, and he bit his lower lip anxiously.

"There's a factory out in the mountains. Colette told me about it. I've never been there, but neither has anyone else. Colette only saw it when she was at the Slaver's Camp…" He broke off, his voice solemn.

Anakin picked up on his suddenly down mood. "I think you've asked enough questions for tonight, kid. I need to rest, so maybe I can actually scrape up some story tomorrow morning."

Keetho nodded and slowly stood up. He grabbed the bucket, flipped it right side up, and placed it back in its usual spot beside Bessi's stall.

"Good night then, cause I probably won't see you later; My mom's got me doing chores around the house." Keetho moved towards the door and pulled it open slightly, pausing as he turned around. He bit his lip, debating whether he should say what's on his mind. "Just- just be careful out there, jedi. Everything's not what they seem. This planet may seem beautiful at first glance, but there's crazy ominous things hiding out there. I don't want you to get involved."

Keetho nodded at his last statement, not even caring that Anakin had no response to it, then slipped quietly out of the door.


"Sit, sit." The old man ushered. He closed the door the the teepee-like hut he lived in, cutting out the late afternoon light. A small fire flickered in the center of the circular room, it's smoke flowing up to the ceiling before funneling out through a small hole. It was the only source of light in the shadowed room, and Obi-wan couldn't help but hold out his hands as he walked blindly towards it. He hoped he wouldn't trip over anything.

"It's very… charming." He said, once his foot made contact with a cushion laying on the ground a few feet away from the fire pit. He sat down, waiting several moments for his eyes to adjust to the gloom around him.

The old man flashed his white smile. "Thank you." He said. He shuffled to sit on a rolled out mat on the floor across the fire. Laying his staff across his lap, he linked his fingers together in front of him as he watched the younger man in front of him with amusement.

Obi-wan's gaze came back to rest on the old man staring at him over the fire. He cleared his throat at the awkward silence, and lowered his eyes.

"Can I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Obi-wan asked.

The old man chuckled. "Your very polite. And straightforward. I like those characteristics. My name is Jhar Minduon."

"Obi-wan Kenobi." Obi-wan replied. "And it seems that I've…" He glanced around the darkly lit hut. "Lost my sense of direction." his eyes came to rest again on the man.

"That you have, my friend." The old man said. He chuckled again.

Obi-wan's blue-green eyes scanned over the contents of the packed hut. He spotted bookshelves and tables, trunks and crates. A cot was off to one side, with a chest sitting at it's foot. A few decorations hung from the mud wall that circled around them. "Where are we?" Obi-wan asked. "And you wouldn't happen to have a map I could borrow, would you?"

The old man pulled a scroll from a pile of items next to him. He tossed it over the fire, and Obi-wan caught it before unraveling it and laying it down on the ground in front of him.

"We are in the town closest to the White River. Near, Hanging Rock Bridge."

Obi-wan found the location with his index finger. He drew upward, in the direction where he assumed his ship had crashed. Looking up, he opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he noticed that Jhar was looking down at him with an all-knowing smile.

"You're looking for your friend, yes?"

Obi-wan's brow furrowed. "Yes, but-"

"I saw two ships crashing today. Starfighters, am I correct?" -a nod from Obi-wan- "I assumed the two of you were together."

Obi-wan paused. If Jhar had seen them crash, who knows who else. The Separatists might already know that they were on the planet; they could attack at any moment!

But Jhar Minduon held up a hand, and Obi-wan's thoughts froze.

"There is no need for worry." He began, his voice calm. "The Separatists may have all the power here, but years of dictatorship has left them blind. It has also left them ignorant. You do not need to fear them coming after you. The people, though, are an entirely different matter."

Obi-wan straightened from the map. "How do you mean?"

"The Separatist pose no threat to you, but there are the Slavers. The people fear them, and they would do anything in order to protect themselves. They want to survive, even if it means turning in their own friends. You are an outsider to this world, so you are particularly vulnerable. The people would not spare a moment to turn you in."

"Then they shouldn't know." Obi-wan said. "The people'll never find out."

Jhar smiled and nodded. "You must be careful."

Obi-wan paused as his mind took in this new information. Well, it wasn't like he hasn't been in situations like this before. He's been on undercover missions before, and no one ever found out his secret then.

Then another thought struck him.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Jhar's smile grew wider. "I am old." He said, holding out his arms. Multiple strands of beaded necklaces shone in the firelight. "I have nothing to lose. Death is the only thing that has hold over me."

Obi-wan nodded his understanding. The man could be trusted, he thought slowly. There's no motivation, no incentive.

"Now, for your friend!" Jhar exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He abruptly stood up, his staff clanking to the ground. A long, dark purple cloak billowed around him as he gathered things from around the hut. He grabbed some scrolls from a table, a bowl from a shelf, and a cracked, leather bag from atop the chest at the end of his cot. Sitting back down, he dumped the bag's contents into his left hand.

"What are you doing?" Obi-wan asked, the curiosity getting the better of him. He glanced at the powder in the man's wrinkled hand, then up at his face.

Jhar smiled yet again, his white teeth flashing yellow against the fire's light. "We are going to find you friend, of course."

"Oh, of course." Obi-wan said, though skeptically.

Jhar let out a harsh laugh, and the next thing he knew, there was a cloud of blue smoke in front of Obi-wan's face. He coughed, sputtering, as he leaned back to try and move away from the thick fog created by the old man.

Jhar wiped his hands together, the last of the black, oracle bone powder raining into the fire. He chuckled at the younger man's response.

"The war brings you here, does it not?" Jhar asked coolly as the smoke swirled around in front of them.

"Yes, it-it does." Obi-wan replied between coughs. "My friend and I, we-" He waved a hand in front of his face, "we were assigned to check out the Separatist threat."

"Mmm, I'm sure." He pursed his lips together. "But that's not the only reason, is it."

"Yes, it is actually-"

The old man leaned back on his palms. "You're lying." Jhar casually stated, then he added more quietly, "You jedi have such problems with telling the truth."

"What?" Obi-wan asked, well, more have squawked due to the still thick amount of smoke in front of his face.

Jhar chuckled. "You have more personal reasons, right?"

"Yes, I do. But how- how'd you know I was a jedi?"

"I didn't." Jhar said smugly. "Until you said so now."

"But I- I didn't mean-"

Jhar waved his hand dismissively, the blue smoke smoke curling around his long fingers. "You do not have to explain yourself. Tell me though, why you are here."

"I thought we were looking for my friend!" Obi-wan exclaimed. He waved his hand in front of his face again, but the thick smoke was still present, and the man was forced to breath through it, despite the unpleasant coating it was leaving on the back of his throat.

"We are." Jhar confirmed with a nod. "But we have time before the smoke settles. So tell me, Obi-wan Kenobi, why are you here?"

"I'm looking for someone I once knew." He said at last.

"An old jedi friend, yes?" He asked, urging the younger man to go on.

"Yes, actually, I am."

"He crashed here a couple years ago, am I right?" Excited, Jhar bent forward, his forearms pressing against his thighs. He waited for the response, even though he already knew it.

Obi-wan blinked through the smoke. Opposite him, he could just make out the old man's angled face, wiry hair, and long beard. Everything below his chest was obscured by the blue fog. His brown eyes stared expectantly back at him, and that smile was still playing at his lips.

"Yes, he did."

Jhar clapped his hands together, startling Obi-wan. "Now we're getting somewhere!" He exclaimed.

"His name was Kib Rowane." The jedi said. "He was with a young girl. She was twelve, I believe. No one has heard from them since. I was wondering… well, if there was a possibility that they're still alive."

Jhar looked thoughtful. "A possibility, yes." He said, "Though it's slim that the both of them are alive."

"What do you mean?" Asked Obi-wan, the fog momentarily forgotten.

"I visited the crash site after it happened." The old man confessed. "Someone forced their way out of the ship, no doubt with one of those lightsabers you jedi are so hell-bent on carrying. But there was a lot of blood lost, from the looks of wreckage and blood stains and whatnot."

"But you found no body?"

"None other than the Clones'." Jhar confirmed. "So perhaps…"

He looked distracted for a few minutes, but his eyes cleared when he looked down at the fire and shouted, "Aha!"

"What is it?" He asked quickly.

"I found you're friend!"

"But, how could you possibly-"

"Does he wear black robes?" Jhar asked, excited. "Does he have a scar over his right eye?"

"Well yes,-"

"Then I found him! And that is all that matters."

Obi-wan looked over at the old man skeptically. He found Anakin just by staring into blue smoke? Choking-hazardous blue smoke to be exact? That was just impossible. The man was certainly crazy...

"Oh," His breath became choked in his throat, and he coughed again. "And, h-how did you do that?"

"I am a witch doctor!" He said dramatically. "I specialize in things such as this." He pointed over the fire to the map still sitting before Obi-wan. "He is in the town fifteen clicks north. Do you see it?"

Obi-wan nodded. One hand was still waving away the smoke, which had sunk down to settle over the map. He had to bend down to make out the 'X' drawn out in black ink. From what he could see, the town didn't look too far. At least there were no mountains or rivers separating them.

"Good." Jhar said. "Now do you see that black speck next to it?"

"Yes." Obi-wan replied. He narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"

"That is the crash site from a few years ago. You might want to inspect that if you have the chance."

"Thank you." said Obi-wan. He rolled up the map. "It was very nice to meet you, and I don't know how to repay you for your hospitality..." He handed the map back to him, but Jhar pushed it back.

"I feel you will need it more than I will." He said, his white teeth exposed in his smile.

Obi-wan slowly nodded, and laid it down next to him. To be honest, he was still skeptical about what the old man had been telling him. But it was still a lead, and now he had something to work off of. When he looked back up, Jhar was staring at him with an air of interest.

"You think I have skills with the Force." Jhar stated more than asked.

Obi-wan opened his mouth to say something, but instead shook his head and closed it. A smile played on his lips, and he just nodded.

"I do not link myself to your ways." He said. "I keep an open mind." With a long, curled finger, he tapped his temple. "It has helped me over the years. Kept me alive. Keep an open mind, Obi-wan Kenobi, you do not know when you might need it."

Obi-wan smiled. He was completely and utterly confused about the man before him. It was strange how he could be completely amused one moment, then dark and cautious the next. In a way, he was reminded of Master Yoda back at the Temple, who would give out advice whenever needed. Jhar, however, had more… unique methods. And he had a completely different personality. He was an interesting man, and Obi-wan suddenly hated the idea of leaving him after knowing him for so little time.

Jhar grabbed his staff and stood up. After a moment, he looked down at Obi-wan, who was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't moved. "Don't just sit there!" He chided quite loudly. Obi-wan flinched, and he looked up. Help me prepare dinner!"

Oh yeah, Obi-wan was definitely confused about the man.


Hmm, so how was that. I was totally channeling Yoda that entire part between Jhar and Obi-wan. :) Anyways, I hope you guys liked all of Keetho's annoying questions as well as his almost slip-up. As well as Obi-wan's experience with the strange witch doctor. :) Oooh, mysterious... Soooo, leave your replies! I need feedback, criticism, yada yada. And if your confused with anything, pm me, so I know to put that info in later. :D Thanks guys, -Love from Jay