Disclaimer: Refer to the first 24 chapters, I'm done putting this on here :D
The H-Type Nubian yacht moved toward the desert planet of Tatooine, the situation at hand, made everyone on-board ill at ease. Anakin steered the Senator's ship toward the eastern side of Anchorhead, entering the hot, dry atmosphere.
"Well, Anakin, it's everything you described." Ozara whispered to him, he smirked but then quickly grimaced. "Complete with the non-existent moisture."
"I told you there never was anything too spectacular about it." he replied, "Its worse once you're out there." he pointed to the outside.
"I'm sure." Ozara replied, "I wonder what made it this way... " she trailed off.
"I could tell you, but it would take quite some time." Anakin replied as the ship landed near the desert homestead. Anakin sighed as a man and woman came out of the homestead. Ozara placed a hand on his arm."Don't worry about me, Zar." he told her, standing to put on his cloak, "I'll be alright once I find Mom."
"I know." Ozara replied, "But, Anakin-" she stopped abruptly, "Never mind." she turned around, throwing her cloak on to shield her pale skin from the burning twin suns.
Anakin led the way out of the ship, descending into the suffocating heat of the planet. Ozara and Padmé followed, silently watching as Anakin stopped in front of his step-brother; Ozara immediately recognizing him from the hologram from the day before.
"Stay with the ship, R2." Padmé said as the droid attempted to follow them. At the order, the astrodroid turned around and went back into the ship – shutting the door behind him.
"Anakin." the man greeted.
"Owen." Anakin replied.
"Its nice to finally meet you in person, even though the situation isn't what I wish it could have been." Owen said, looking to the woman.
"Yes, I suppose it is." Anakin said coldly in turn, "Is Cliegg here?" he asked. Owen nodded slowly and pointed toward the igloo-shaped entrance.
"By the way, this is my girlfriend Beru." Owen introduced the woman beside him, and the newcomers nodded in greeting.
"Are you friends of Anakins?" Beru asked Ozara and Padmé, as Anakin and Owen began talking about Shmi. "Ozara, right? Owen told me about you. You're Anakin's friend." she told the Ergonian girl.
Ozara nodded, "Yes, I'm Ozara." she replied.
Beru smiled softly, "How long have you known Anakin?" she asked, trying to speak of something which wouldn't be too hard.
"Several years – eight to be exact." Ozara replied, walking into the somewhat cooler dwelling. Anakin was already inside, speaking with Cliegg – as Ozara remembered him.
". . .I think we ought to sit down, Beru was about to make lunch." Cliegg said, "Come, Anakin."
"I just want to find my mother." Anakin said in desperation.
"I know, son. But eat first, we can talk over the table." Cliegg replied, glancing at Ozara; "Ah, Miss Peregrine. I thank you for telling him." he said, holding his hand out for a cordial handshake.
"Believe me, Mister Lars, I only hope that it is not too late." Ozara responded, shaking his hand. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Padmé had come to stand beside her in expectation. "This is Senator Amidala, she too is a... friend of Anakin's." Ozara introduced, hesitating slightly at the word of 'friend'. Cliegg it seemed had noticed he slight pause at the word, but made no mention of it.
"Its my pleasure, Senator. Welcome to my humble home, I only wish you could have seen it in better times." Cliegg greeted.
"I'm sure it was quite homely, Shmi was quite a loving woman." Padmé replied with a smile.
Cliegg smiled sadly, "Yes, she was. You knew her, I take it?"
"Yes, I did." Ozara sighed, turning to follow Beru into the kitchen – where the woman was leading her.
'Anakin?' she said in her mind, he turned his eyes toward her. She could see the overwhelming sadness in the swirling seas of blue. 'I'm going to the kitchen with Beru. Will you be alright?'
'Sure, I'll see you soon. Cliegg is going to tell me what happened.' he replied, 'Ozara, I –' he stopped abruptly.
'Yes?' she asked.
'Nothing. I'll see you when you get back.' he finished, allowing Cliegg and Owen to lead him into the dining room.
"Okay, Beru, lead on." Ozara told the other girl, looking once more at her friend. His depression was obvious, she only hoped it would not be too bad. 'I only hope that his mother is alive, I don't think he'll be able to handle it if she isn't.' she hoped that Providence would be a friend to him.
With that thought, she helped Beru make lunch.
The hologram of Qui-Gon was fuzzy at best, "I have sent the bounty hunter, Jango Fett, to Coruscant on my ship." the recording informed Obi-Wan, "The Jedi Order will interrogate him to find out who was trying to kill the Senator." he said. Obi-Wan nodded, knowing he was unable to reply to his former Master, "I am going to follow the boy, as my tracking device is still attached to his ships' hull. I will send another transmission when I have the chance. I want you to report to the Jedi Council, make sure that the bounty hunter is the right one, Obi-Wan." the hologram Qui-Gon turned around to the doors of the Kaminoan city, "I think the danger is relatively over, let Anakin know of the updated situation." and with that, his image faded and quickly disappeared from sight.
Obi-Wan sighed, he'd contact Anakin in the morning, after he contacted the Council. He turned the hologram device off, looking toward the door where Dormé slept – hopefully this entire business would be over soon. Leiana came around the corner, placing some datapads back on the shelf and turning to fold the blanket on the couch.
"What did it say?" she asked, gaining Obi-Wan's attention. He looked confused so she spoke much more concise, "The hologram, what did it say?"
"Qui-Gon found the bounty hunter, and is sending him back to Coruscant. He's going on to find the boy, apparently he is somewhere else – left when the father got arrested by Qui-Gon." Obi-Wan replied as she picked up one of the vases and emptying the flowers from it.
"Where is he going?" she asked.
"I don't know, he sent the holo before he left Kamino. He wants me to report to the council, and then tell Anakin of our most recent development." the Jedi replied, standing and walking toward her.
She turned, almost knocking him over as he was only about six inches away. She stepped back to avoid colliding with him, but he grabbed her arm to catch her. In the end, she wound up against his chest, looking up at him in tense anticipation.
Neither said anything, as they both had wound up in an awkward situation. A blush began to creep up her cheeks, "Th-thank you." she stuttered out, noticing that their height difference wasn't all that great – perhaps only four inches. Her hazel eyes looked up at him, her breathing quickening. He could practically see every detail in the hazel orbs, as she could count the colors in his eyes.
They slowly began to close the distance –
Obi-Wan straightened up quickly, stepping away from her as if he'd been burned. Her face was bright crimson, her eyes glued to the floor. "Leiana, I can't – I can't, you must understand." stuttering, he began to make excuses: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – I mean – the Order, Leiana. I have made vows which are not to be broken – you must understand – I - "
"Stop, Obi-Wan." Leiana said in a weak, pleading voice. "I know." he snapped his head around.
"Leiana, you must understand. I – care for you deeply. You are a dear friend. But I cannot be what you desire. I am a Jedi, we are not –"
"Allowed attachments." Leiana finished for him, "I know, Obi-Wan." her hazel eyes were beginning to brim with tears, "I'm sorry – I just – I'm sorry." she quickly hurried out of the apartment, leaving him by himself and alone.
Obi-Wan collapsed on the couch, holding his head in his hands. He always knew this would happen, he knew eight years ago. Yet, he had still grown closer to her than he should have. 'Cared for her deeply?' What a load of rubbish! He more than cared for her deeply. He knew everything there was to know about her, she was the one he went to to simply vent; as he was the one that she went to – even the day before she had come to him complaining about her time with the Chancellor.
He had broken the rules. What was he going to do now? He decided to wait until Qui-Gon returned, he would know what to do.
Anakin stood outside the Lars homestead, watching the sunset. He was still mulling over the information which Cliegg had just told him not fifteen minutes before. His mother had been taken by Tusken Raiders a month before, which meant that her survival was slim – but Anakin could sense that she was still alive.
Ozara came outside, watching Anakin from the entrance of the homestead. Anakin turned around, his eyes pleadingly looking toward her. Ozara went toward him, placing a hand on his arm.
"You're going to find her, aren't you?" she asked quietly, even though she already knew the answer.
Anakin nodded, "Yes, I am. You and Padmé must stay here, they're good people and you'll both be safe." he said, hugging her. She pulled away first, sighing.
"Anakin," she began, "Please be careful. If your mother could be taken, then you must be–"
"Shh, I'll be fine, I promise." Anakin silenced her. "I'll come back, Zar, don't worry. She'll love to meet you. Don't stay out too long, when things get dark they get dangerous." he said, kissing her on the forehead. She nodded,"I'll be back soon." he said as he climbed on the speeder, and with one last look, he went off.
Ozara stared where he left for quite some time, hoping he would find her, and that she would be alright. When she finally turned to go back in, she saw Padmé standing still at the threshold. They met gazes, Ozara noticing a strange glint to Padmé's chocolate eyes – but before she could pinpoint the look, Padmé turned around and retreated back inside.
'Odd, I wonder how long she was there?' Ozara wondered, once more looking wistfully back where Anakin had disappeared.
She then walked inside, remembering Anakin's warning.
The Firespray-31 transport: Slave I, entered the Geonosian atmosphere, entering one of the docking bays under the ground. Boba had been afraid of being tracked, and had landed on one of the planets between Geonosis and Kamino – at which he found out that he wasn't being followed and went on safely. He was still enraged at the Jedi's persistence, and therefore, ability to catch his father. How was he going to face Tyranus?
Slowly, he unbuckled the belt which fastened him into the ships' piloting seat; still figuring out what he was going to do. It wasn't as if he was his father, he was only a boy! But his father would expect him to take his place – and he would do the best of his ability. With that newfound courage, he exited the ship.
Darth Tyranus was waiting for him at the landing, "Ah, Boba my dear boy." the white-haired Sith greeted, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Where is your father?" he asked, looking toward the ramp.
"Dad couldn't get away. It turns out we were tracked by a Jedi, he got Dad before he could get aboard." the boy answered, "Cut off his arm, and arrested him. My orders were to come here if something like that happened." Tyranus sighed, nodding solemnly in return.
"That's bad news indeed, my boy. It's a pity, for I was looking forward to seeing him, we had so much to talk about." Tyranus said, "What did you say the Jedi's name was?" he asked.
"Qui-Gon Jinn." Boba replied, "He said he was coming to check on the Clone Army. That the Jedi Council had sent him." but his last sentence was on deaf ears, as Darth Tyranus' mind was on the first sentence.
"Qui-Gon eh?" he said, for confirmation, "Do you know if he followed you here?"
"No, I checked. I stopped on Rishi to make sure, but no ships came following me. So, no. I wasn't followed." Boba answered proudly.
But Tyranus' eyes were glazed over, "Good, Boba, you did well." he said distantly, "But Qui-Gon Jinn is not to be underestimated." Boba frowned, "Don't worry, if he did follow you – then he will make a very interesting prisoner." Tyranus replied, turning around and giving an order to one of the Geonosians.
"Lord Tyranus?" Boba asked when the man was done, "What do you want me to do?"
Tyranus smiled, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Just go to your father's quarters, when I wish to see you, I will send for you." he said, ushering the boy out of his presence.
Boba did as instructed, and went to his father's quarters.
Lord Tyranus went to the holoroom immediately, "Send a transmission to Lord Sidious. Now!" he barked.
"Right away, Lord Tyranus." the technician replied, quickly doing as ordered.
"Well Qui-Gon, you have found out my little secret." Tyranus said quietly as he waited for the transmission to be sent, "My dear padawan, you still have much to learn."
"Transmission ready, sir." the robotic voice said from the speaker, showing the holo of Lord Sidious.
"Yes, Lord Tyranus?" he said.
"My lord," Tyranus replied, bowing deeply out of respect, "The Jedi know of the Clone Army, milord, and it is very possible they will be here soon." he informed.
"Indeed, Lord Tyranus?" Sidious replied, "And what is your plan when they arrive?"
Tyranus smiled maliciously, beginning to tell his Lord his plan.