A/N: Part IV is currently under construction. Please do not read on. There will be scores of inconsistencies until I'm able to uniformly implement the intended changes across the board. New material is being added, and unnecessary elements are being removed.

If anyone wants notice of when reconstruction is complete, feel free to send me a message. I make no promises about the time frame, as it is extremely difficult to make time for writing.

~WhyMustIWrite, April 29, 2012

"Masters, do you really think Anakin and I are ready for an assignment?"

Obi Wan stood in the center of the Council chamber, caught off guard by the seemingly hasty decision. "He's only ten, and he hasn't even constructed his own lightsaber."

"This assignment is simple," Mace Windu assured. "There should be no need for lightsabers, or combat of any kind."

"Use it as an opportunity to build your master-padawan relationship," Ki-Adi Mundi added. "Didn't you say that the two of you have yet to develop a training bond?"

"I did," Obi Wan confirmed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand why it's been so difficult."

"Time away from the Temple, good it will be for you two," Yoda said. "Working together in a new environment, help it may."

The young knight felt uneasy being sent on assignment before establishing a bond with the boy, but if Master Yoda thought it would help, he wouldn't refuse.

"We get to go on a mission?" Anakin exclaimed delightedly.

"It's a simple assignment, my young padawan." Obi Wan smiled in spite of himself at the boy's exuberance. "We are flying to the planet Xiluke, where we'll pick up a Force-sensitive child for Jedi training."

It didn't sound like a very exciting assignment, Anakin thought, but at least they'd be flying to another planet. He'd told Qui Gon that he would visit them all, but lately the Padawan was beginning to doubt that the Council would let him leave the Jedi Temple at all. "What's it like on Xiluke?"

His master settled down into an armchair, interlacing his fingers in what Anakin recognized as his "lecture-mode."

"It's a rather untamed planet- full of wilderness, and very few settlements. The Xilukans are a reclusive people. Force-sensitive, every one of them. Yet, there are few Xilukans in the Order."

"Why? I mean, if they're all Force-sensitive, then couldn't they all join the Jedi?"

"Adults cannot be trained as Jedi- especially Xilukan adults. They are tightly bound to their tradition. And parents are highly unlikely to allow their children to leave the planet and be raised as Jedi. It's only in recent decades that they've allowed the Jedi to take in their orphans. The Xilukans generally disdain the idea of raising a child who is not one's own. Adoption is rare. Older children who can mostly care for themselves are placed in wards and provided with the resources they need to survive. But the very youngest, who still require active guardians to care for them full-time, are now given to the Jedi."

Anakin crinkled his nose in thought "But, then, what did the Xilukans do with those orphans before?"

It took Obi Wan a while to answer. His sightless gaze unconsciously shifted to Anakin's right. "They used to burn them," he said finally. "Generally in the fire of their parent's funeral pyre."

The boy's eyes went wide, and outrage was palpable in his voice. "They what!"

"It's a real tragedy, certainly," Obi Wan nodded.

"That's disgusting! What kind of animals are they?" Anakin almost couldn't believe that someone - not just someone, but a whole society - would throw helpless babies into a fire. Except that he could believe it, having seen his fair share of insensible brutality while living on Tatooine.

"Mind your words, Padawan, and release your anger," his master said sternly. "They are not animals, but people, who were raised and taught to think nothing of the practice. When the Jedi reached out to them in recent decades, they were willing to reconsider their ways: that is something for which that generation should be commended. It's difficult to let go of tradition, especially for the Xilukan kingdom. Changing a people's world-view is a slow process, and only very rarely, in cases like this, would a Jedi even attempt to encourage it."

The words placated Anakin long enough for his master to hand him a data disk. "We leave for Xiluke in the morning. Until then, and during our travel there, I want you to study the information on this disk."

Anakin accessed the device and found it crammed with facts about the planet and the people of Xiluke.

"Couldn't I just wait until I get there and learn it all firsthand?" Anakin asked hopefully.

"No, Padawan. I want you to be as prepared as possible before we arrive," Obi Wan said firmly. "Pay special attention to their religious practices and code of etiquette. It's quite rigid, and it wouldn't do to offend them."

"Yes, Master," Anakin sighed. It had been worth a shot.

"If most of them don't speak Basic, how are we supposed to communicate?" Anakin wondered aloud as they strode down the ramp of their spacecraft. They had found a clearing several miles outside the city, as the planet boasted no official landing strips.

"Qui Gon and I used to come here regularly, about every three or four years. Master Jinn developed a good rapport with the king long before I became his apprentice. Thus, the Council sent us to retrieve the orphan Xilukans whenever possible. I've picked up their language reasonably well. Just follow my lead, and you'll be fine."

Once they entered the canopy of trees, the Jedi Knight stopped and inhaled deeply, releasing it with a sigh. "I love the smell of this forest. As reclusive as the Xilukans are, they don't allow for much traffic on and off planet. It's retained much of its natural beauty."

Anakin was equally enthralled. Having grown up on a barren planet, he could appreciate the raw, untamed beauty of their surroundings. "This place is strong in the Force."

His master nodded. "So glad you noticed, Padawan. The Force does indeed resonate strongly here. Not just in the inhabitants, but in the planet itself." He paused, "You did read that data disk I gave you, right?"

"Sure, I did." Anakin confirmed quickly.

"So, tell me something you learned."

"Um…the Xilukans are humanoid," Anakin began. "They're biologically similar to human, but have some, um, physical-logical…

"Physiological"

"Right. Physiological differences, like longer ears, denser bone structure, and pale blue skin."

Obi Wan nodded, relieved to know that he had actually done his reading.

Anakin eyed the dense foliage around them. "The disk also says that the forest is filled with poisonous snakes and dangerous animals."

"Indeed."

The knight already had his perceptions trained on several of those wild animals within a 50 meter perimeter. As close as four meters away lay a particularly large poisonous viper, but it seemed to have just finished a meal and would not bother them if they kept their distance. "Just make sure you stay close to me, padawan."

"All right," Anakin assured him. "I'll let you know if I see anything dangerous."

Obi Wan's lips thinned. It bothered him that Anakin somehow felt that he was the one in need of protection. But he held his tongue. Pride was unbecoming for a Jedi. And in any case, for all the advantages of Force sight, it was true that there were certain things, like lasers, that seeing eyes could perceive which he as yet could not.

The journey went without incident. At the gates, they were met by blue-skinned guards who escorted them on to the palace.

As they entered the city, Anakin noticed that Xilukans used little "high" technology. It felt like stepping back in time. Their buildings were crafted mainly with stone and lumber, rather than durasteel and plastoids. While the roads were dotted with a few outdated landspeeders, the traffic mainly consisted of beast-driven carts.

The people dressed mostly in greens and yellows, and their clothes were intricately designed. Anakin recognized symbols on the back of their robes and outer garments. These were the family crests he'd read about on the data disk. Family lineage was important in determining social status. Both guards leading them had the same crest on their jackets, showing that they hailed from the same clan. They each carried a heavy sword at their side.

The palace was also made from stone and, though four stories in height and considerably larger than any of the other edifices, it was rather modest in size when compared to the sprawling Theed palace. Inside was nowhere near as elegant as the Theed palace either, but it was pretty all the same. The halls were lined with colorful tapestries and the floor with hand-woven rugs.

When they entered the main chamber, King Rueyen rose from his finely carved mahogany throne to greet them. Obi Wan greeted him in Xilukan and bowed deepily, Anakin watching and following his lead.

The padawn almost straightened again, before remembering that he was not to raise his head from a bow until he'd been properly acknowledged.

King Rueyen, a Xilukan with ivory-colored hair, and skin an aristocratically paler blue than the peasants, placed his hand briefly upon Obi Wan's head before removing it. His master rose from his bow.

The King did not touch Anakin's head. Instead he began speaking to Obi Wan.

The boy wondered if maybe he'd missed his cue to stand. At the first hint of his rising, though, Obi Wan casually placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, keeping him in place.

Anakin's back began to feel achy as the men conversed in a language he could not understand. The king's tone was grave, and sounded like he was rebuking them. At one point, the monarch said the name "Jinn," and Obi Wan's response was solemn enough for Anakin to assume he was informing him of the Jedi Master's death.

The Xilukan exclaimed and, gestured wildly with his hands. He sounded genuinely distressed.

Finally, after some long minutes, the name "Anakin Skywalker" came up, as Obi Wan introduced him. At long last, the boy felt the king's hand on his head. Anakin straightened, only barely restraining a soft sigh of relief.

The king resumed his place on the throne and the conversation continued, with the King sounding no friendlier than he'd been at the start, but Obi Wan's responses were reassuring calm.

Finally, the Jedi Knight bowed low once more and, with a silent gesture to the boy, led his Padawan out of the throne room. Once they were out of the palace, the Jedi Knight grasped his apprentice's shoulder.

"Good job back there. It was an uncomfortable encounter. You conducted yourself well, despite the disrespect."

Anakin arched his back and sighed. "Disrespect?"

"To not be acknowledged within the first five or six seconds of a bow is considered rude. Although, the slight was directed more to me than you. King Rueyen was very fond of Qui Gon. He wasn't pleased that I came without him."

"But that's not your fault!" Anakin exclaimed. "He's not still upset with you, is he?"

"I'm afraid he is," Obi Wan sighed, leading the way quickly along cobbled streets. "The Xilukans considered me to be Qui Gon's Nij-dhar-ana, his son-in-spirit, because we were unrelated by blood and yet Force-bound. Such Spirit Pacts are rare for Xilukans, and steeped in sacred traditions. They say that those bound by Spirit Pacts can never be separated, not even by death. We did not consider that so different from our own code- there is no death; there is the Force."

For a long moment, the only sound from the Jedi Knight came from the stride of his boots against the cobblestone. Anakin hurried to keep up with his master's pace.

Finally he continued, "The Jedi Council had hoped that as Qui Gon's Nij-dhar-ana, I would be accepted despite his absence. We misunderstood the nature of Xilukan Spirit Pacts. They don't persist beyond death. Rather, our fates are intertwined, and I was expected to follow Qui Gon in death. Now that he is gone, and the Force-bond between us broken, our Spirit Pact is void."

"Does that mean we have to leave?"

"Not yet. I don't like to think of what would happen to the youngling if we left without him. And King Rueyen would rather see the boy leave as well. It was, after all, he and Qui Gon who established the arrangement years ago. Rueyen is giving me a chance to prove myself. It will involve the completion of some task, I'm sure. I just don't know what it is yet… and probably neither do they. But if the gods show their favor, I'll have established my own rapport with the Xilukans, and we'll be allowed to leave with the orphan." Obi Wan smiled a bit apologetically. "This was unexpected but, until they assign the task, all we can do is wait."

Normally, those words would cause Anakin to groan. But since in this case "waiting" meant staying on an exotic, force-strong planet with the prospect for adventure in completing a task to prove themselves to the native population, the boy took it rather well. "So where are we going now?"

"To meet the orphans."