Everything belongs to Lucasfilm - all disclaimers apply
Unbroken Vow of a Jedi: Chapter 5
The Mission of Lothal
In the midst of watching over the frightened Younglings within the Temple before the next Council meeting, Obi-Wan Kenobi is regaled by legendary tales of his fellow Jedi brethren. Seeing an opportunity to give the fledgling Jedi a lesson on passivity, Obi-Wan Kenobi recalls a story he lived out on Lothal; at a time where Anakin was still his Padawan learner. As the Younglings will soon learn, this tale holds key mysteries to the bond between 'Kenobi and Skywalker.'
Weeks before this telling, back on Tattoine and before the beginning of the Clone Wars, Padmé Amidala ponders upon her regrets.
At the Temple
In the present time
Obi-Wan's eyebrows raised in mirth once again as little Freya Galina, a tiny Togruta, continued her tale of woe on the splendid exploits of Master Oppo Rancisis. It amused him greatly to hear such a larger-than-life tale… chiefly when he had been privy to the very battle that Galina so animatedly brought to life as her whisper-soft voice rose an octave throughout the Archive Room's main chamber.
Jocasta Nu would hardly have appreciated it.
Obi-Wan supposed that any reiteration of a battle could become a 'tale' from an outsider's perspective; especially from a child's perspective. The battle that Galina acted out with the flying about of her hands was the Battle of Kamino.
"-but Master Rancisis was never one to make a predictable plan, Master Kenobi."
"Oh really?" He indulged her.
"Really! The plan was simple; make the Separatists believe that Kamino was unguarded. He took his fleet outside of the Kamino system to entice those Separatists to be baited. And they were! But many people believed this to be a dubious move. After all, it left Kamino completely unguarded as the Separatists began to approach. But Master Rancisis was sure that his plan would work."
Many Younglings nodded with vigor in agreement, completely doe-eyed from the splendor with which Galina spoke.
"Indeed," Obi-Wan supported her. "There were many Clones that were nervous with the implication; Tipoca City was left without any defense as the battle ensued. However, they still maintained their faith in Master Rancisis despite this."
And with that, Obi-Wan took note of a fatal flaw as he watched the light in their faces crumple at the mention of the Clones.
But four brave Younglings didn't even bat an eye.
"They must have known that Master Rancisis was a champion tactician," Galina said with a swagger that even convinced Obi-Wan. "That's why these stories are so important, you know. It helps normal people remember who our heroes are."
"Naturally," he said with a nod.
The excitement of war. The faith behind a win. The blindness to any blunder committed. The imagination that curates scenes of noble sacrifices, of daring deeds, of carefully crafted battle plans, of loyal and committed soldiers... That was what Obi-Wan presumed made the bulk of a person's disposition towards the Clone Wars if they could tell a tale of a battle without so much as mentioning the illimitable costs. Although the Younglings were usually taught to outgrow the reverence they held for their more seasoned Jedi brethren, Obi-Wan couldn't find it within himself to snuff out their excitement as they each told their favorite tale regaling of their favorite Jedi elder. The only time he did was when they tried to tell Obi-Wan about the exploits of Kenobi and Skywalker.
'Kenobi and Skywalker,' always enunciated with the highest regard. It sounded as if the names were a prayer or even a myth that was regarded by all. Obi-Wan laughed plainly at the regard. He'd trudged through the experiences himself enough to never wish for an embellished reimagining.
"We heard many tales regarding the Clones, as well," Jarvis Vel-Nossa said with a haunted whisper. Throughout the conversation, Obi-Wan observed that Vel-Nossa was never afraid to uncover the beast in the room, always willing to speak upon the discomfort everyone else remained too afraid to vocalize. An insightful virtue that Obi-Wan would never discourage.
"I'm sure you have. And those telling's had an important place in our society. As you may know, the Clones aren't exactly seen as beings like you and I."
Vel-Nossa nodded. "They were typically seen as property or monstrosities of nature."
A lesser teacher would have shied away from the forthrightness. But Obi-Wan was no longer unequal to the task.
"Unfortunately, they were, yes. As Jedi, we all know this sentiment to be untrue, don't we?"
"All beings have value," Daami Neoia said with an unsure mumble.
"Every single one."
"Then why don't they find any value in us?" Vel-Nossa asked.
Obi-Wan paused. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
Vel-Nossa's dark black eyes lowered to his fingers that drew patterns in the silvery floor. "If their main mission is to terminate all of us, then we can assume that they find no value in the Jedi."
Oh, dear.
Oh dear indeed. For how could Obi-Wan ever hope to explain it to them when he himself didn't understand? The only thing the Council had to go on as to answering the actions of the Clones came from Anakin, and only Mace Windu had been there to hear the explanation. And, until the next Council meeting, the situations regarding Palpatine's death by Anakin's hands — and any event prior concerning the Senate Buildings lockdown — remained a mystery to them all.
Mace Windu would have a long story to tell.
Obi-Wan hadn't even thought to ask Anakin about Fives as he should have, and whatever Anakin had told the Council concerning the fallen Clone trooper after his death was shrugged off accordingly. Had Anakin done the same… Obi-Wan shuddered at the thought. They had all been there when Anakin explained Fives' death. They had been told about the chips before. They had learned long ago that it was Dooku that had commissioned Kamino to create the Clone army – not Sifo Dyas. They had learned that the enemy had supplied them with the Army of the Republic… they had known these things and they had denied it all. It had been staring at them in the face, lurking, waiting for its chance to take them, to take all of them.
'A parasite. Native to Ringo Vinda.' Palpatine had explained – had lied.
Though, to lie was the way of the Sith.
They had been fools. No, worse; they had been willing victims struggling through the web of the Sith. Their every move to avoid catastrophe only swaddled them deeper into the entanglement.
As he looked at the ring of children that sat at his sides, each of them mirroring the circular architecture of the chamber with legs crossed across its surface, Obi-Wan spared them each a glance before he spoke again. "Unless of course their main mission was orchestrated by factors outside of their control. Though I cannot say that I know all of the answers presently - truth be told, my young friends, we rarely do. And we make plenty of mistakes. Plenty. But, I must ask, must implore, really, that until all of our queries are answered, and until the mystery surrounding our fallen allies are uncovered, that you remember well of those stories of the Clones. They remind us of their value. Without the endeavors of a few too many, I would not be sitting before you today."
"If it weren't for a few too many, many Jedi would still be with us today," Vel-Nossa riposted.
Obi-Wan gave a disapproving look to the Youngling. "Which brings me to my next point; remember those stories, but at the same time, remember the experience you underwent yesterday morning. Remember that these troopers are highly specialized, and remember that they are beyond competent. Remember that, until we know more, they are dangerous. Even to Jedi, and especially for you, young ones."
A large Rodian Youngling who introduced himself as Grimlee Aelee, protested nervously. "But the Temple has been secured, Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Walls eventually fall, my young friend. And every wall has a crack, especially old ones. The Temple has been breached before, if you'll recall – unless, of course, if none of you are familiar with the stories of Cad Bane. But I digress. We must remain prepared for any and every outcome. But know this; should any of you ever feel that danger is at hand, you can be sure that I will take up arms with you. All of us will."
All of the Younglings nodded as if Obi-Wan's word was the law. This, as well as their many attempts to remind Obi-Wan of the stories circulated by every Padawan and the Holo-Net news of Obi-Wan and Anakin, concerned him.
"That's what Master Windu did!" Galina piped in with renewed energy. "He and Master Ti rescued us from the nursery and brought us here to the Archives Room."
"They protected us from a few troopers who managed to infiltrate the Temple after Master Skywalker ordered for all Clones to be evacuated. If they did it before, they can do it again," Vel-Nossa reminded Aelee. Aelee gulped. As Obi-Wan watched, Vel-Nossa's stoic expression became one of an idolization that Obi-Wan was very familiar with. "But it was Master Skywalker that secured the nursery before Master Windu and Master Ti came. He led all of us together. He led the first counter-attack against the Clones."
Sors Bandeam mumbled out in excitement, "Is it true that it was Master Skywalker that warned every Jedi there is about the Clones?"
Obi-Wan lifted a brow. "And how did you come to hear of this?"
"Master Drallig came before you did to put me here," Whie Malreaux, one of the few Padawans present, said stiffly. "I learned about it from him, and I also heard Master Skywalker's broadcast firsthand."
"Yes, it is true that Anakin warned us all. He was also the one that locked down the Temple and evacuated the Clones, as Jarvis said. But do any of you know how he knew about the Clone's turn?"
They all shook their heads.
"Somehow he knew before it happened!" Galina said.
"He did, but only because he remembered the sacrifice of one most dedicated Clone: ARC Trooper CT-5555. His name was Fives. As it turns out, his story would become one of the most important out of all the heroes-"
Galina's smile widened. "And because Master Skywalker remembered that story, we were saved."
Through the approving nods of the other Younglings, Obi-Wan could tell that he wasn't on the same page as the rest of the company. Though he was as grateful for Anakin's warning as the rest of them, the Younglings, it seemed, had no room for appreciation in their hearts for the story of Fives. Their reluctance to acknowledge the Clone trooper no doubt came from their inability as children to mix their knowledge of the enemy with their knowledge of the heroes. To them, any Clone, no matter their sacrifices throughout the Clone Wars, was now an enemy.
The blaster scars in the floor smoldered for a second, and Obi-Wan couldn't really blame them for the time being.
But when they began to speak in unison about the heroic persona that was tied to Anakin's identity – a persona that had been cultivated with an exceeding grandeur by the Holo-Net news – Obi-Wan discovered that he couldn't stand it for much longer.
"Many of you have regaled me of your favorite stories, and they were all quite epic in their own right. But now, I wish to tell you a story of my own. It is a story about myself and Anakin, who, at the time, was still my Padawan."
The exhilaration in the room seemed to peak as the Younglings became restless, each of them sporting wide grins as they began to murmur to each other.
"But I must warn you. While your exaggerated tales – all based in truth - nearly border on archetypal heroes and endeavors approaching mythic scales, this story of mine delves into the telling's of a young hero's plight, of a headstrong teacher's mistake, and of the failure they both wrought. Many stories like to focus on the near godliness of the heroes in question, but we must all remember this: in the significance that makes up the Force in its infinite entirety, we are all insignificant and wholly deficient. Unrefined. Even right rubbish, at times. It is only through the Force that we, as Jedi, can accomplish all that we do. We put our faith in its Will, meaning we allow the universe to unravel as it should. But when we fail to trust the Will of the Force, then we fail as Jedi or fail in general. And this lesson, heavy in its need for complacency and passiveness, is a lesson all fledgling Jedi must learn before being Knighted. They must learn to let the crystals pass untouched through the river rather than taking it up for themselves. In learning this, they learn how to forego attachments, how to deny the greed that all living beings desire to feed.
So, you can see this story not as the telling's of heroes and villains, but of the heroes learning this very lesson. And, I can assure you all that it's true: paralleling bland, I would say."
Three 1/2 Weeks After the First Battle of Geonosis
The Clone Wars Beginning
The only sound that accompanied Obi-Wan's passage was the scuffle of his cloak against the sea-life growth on the bar's questionable-looking salt-stone booth seats. Then came a knock as his knuckles rasped against the bar of the same material. Intentionally, as to get the barkeeps attention.
Yes, this is the one, he mused as he looked at the scarring of the barkeep's scaly upper arm. The Trandoshan male was very tall even for his species and sported deep green scales with some rugged brown stripes. Scaring was frequent throughout his person and Obi-Wan took it as a warning of the Trandoshan's questionable temperament.
The one who gave them the description of this particular barkeep, a woman, who Obi-Wan would describe with an increasing conviction as 'shady,' went by the name of Alta Umba, and who just so happened to be the 'misplaced ally' that they were on the lookout for. She had made the mistake of making small talk about her first outing on Lothal in which she actually escaped from Republic forces who were making sure she stayed put on Lothal. And she had described a foul-mouthed bartender who had a fish-net scar on his pectorals who helped her out on something, though by that point in the conversation she had wised up to her blabbering and closed house so that 'something' remained a mystery.
Though Obi-Wan wouldn't have known since it was Anakin who had been present for the impromptu conversation. He supposed that his Padawan was an easier being to trust at first glance. The appearance of shrewdness never invited cordial conversations.
The Trandoshan flicked his tongue at one of his fangs as a show of removing refuse, but Obi-Wan knew well enough to take it as a casual threat without showing the acknowledgment.
"Hm?" Came the gruff snort in answer.
"Hello, Bendi, was it? A friend of yours is my friend," he explained, putting a loose annunciation on 'friend' in both instances. "I'd like a drink if you wouldn't mind. Doesn't matter what."
"Strong?" Bendi asked after appraising Obi-Wan's face.
"Of course," Obi-Wan replied as he slung his cache of credits between them. The drink was more of an offering of business towards Bendi than it was an actual desire for a beverage on Obi-Wan's part.
Not that he couldn't handle his drinks, including the fermented ones.
"A friend of my friend, you say?" Bendi asked as he poured the contents of an amber bottle into a cloudy-looking glass.
"Goes by the name of Alta Umba, said that you helped her out about two weeks prior."
"Does our business concern you?" Bendi asked with a strained jaw.
Obi-Wan took note of his souring mood to remember the notion.
"No, not at all. The woman herself does, though. We need her guidance if you will, and she has failed to meet at our rendezvous. Two days tardy, now. I imagine that you knew she was under our protection since she landed on Lothal three weeks ago, yes?"
"That wasn't the word she used."
"'Restriction', if you like. Surely if you know that much about her then you are able to see her as an ally, yes?"
"Wouldn't go that far," Bendi said, completely comfortable with the conversation now.
"Can I go as far as saying that you know where she is now?"
"Depends on how long you wish to stay in my good graces."
Obi-Wan shrugged with good humor. "I didn't realize you had good graces, what with your very obvious choice of a career."
At that, Bendi tensed.
"Beg pardon?" He asked in an animalistic mumble.
"Go ahead and beg then."
Bendi choked a bit as he stumbled over his negation. "You're some scummy dross, ya know that? Waltzing in and pointing fingers. I know your game, Jedi, and I'd say it's no different than my own."
Obi-Wan's eyebrows made an impressive arc. "Participating in rings where children are stolen from their homes to be 'adopted' into individual workforces as cheap labor. Can't say I'm familiar with that line of work. Tell me, when was the last time you fed that Bothan child that tried to pickpocket from me?" In truth, the child hadn't tried (and hadn't tried on Obi-Wan, either), for it was a successful pickpocket. But Anakin had been unwilling to stop the child, and Obi-Wan hadn't failed to notice even without an explanation from his Padawan.
Anakin rarely spoke to him since before his capture on Geonosis. Since Anakin's little adventure to his home planet.
Bendi's face fell. "You talking about Lema? She… didn't mean no harm. It's just that the food she wants to eat is something her body's not willin' to digest… but she don't have no appetite for anything else. She gets sick often because of it. Look, I'd understand if you have a bone to pinch against my more… questionable business. But leave the children out of it. I'll pay what was stolen, as soon as I ask her what value is owed. I always keep tabs on the kids once I find an employer for them, and if I ever even saw one iota of a scrape on them I'd-"
"I understand," Obi-Wan offered stiffly. When considering the man with a higher form of scrutiny, Obi-Wan could detect no duplicity; when it came to the children in question at least.
"Alta Umba simply gave me Republic rations she stole in return for giving her some lodging and for keeping my mouth shut. But, since those rations are running out soon, I guess I see no reason for not giving her up now."
"So you do know her whereabouts?"
Bendi nodded and resumed his former mannerism by casually leaning against the bar. Obi-Wan's drink remained untouched as Bendi's cat-eyes dilated upon it.
"Sure, I'll tell you… as soon as your little friend joins us."
Obi-Wan smiled. "What little friend?"
"Don't play cute. Your choice of attire can stick out like a sore thumb for those in the know, and he was just over-" but he stopped short as he turned to search for the promised ally that had made himself scarce from his previous post by the entrance of the bar. "What-"
"Don't mind me," a voice came from the hooded figure that suddenly appeared behind Bendi. "Just stopping by for the drink."
"What the-!" Bendi sounded out as he instinctually swung his hand about him in the direction of the voice only to thread air as the figure dodged backward.
"A friend of a friend to your friend," the voice reminded Bendi. "Or should I not go as far as saying that?" The voice asked sweetly before taking Obi-Wan's drink and downing it swiftly, dislodging the hood of his cloak from his face as he did.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan said heavily, reprimanding the younger man for the show. "Mind not scaring our 'friend'?"
"Not at all, Master," Anakin said with muted enthusiasm as he lately reverted to when addressing Obi-Wan. "Here, for your troubles," he added after adding a mild sum of credits to the table before Bendi.
The reptilian relaxed at the sight of the money. "Keep givin' me creds and I'd tell you not to worry about it."
Anakin smiled. "Would it make us your friend too?"
"I don't think you have that much on you."
Anakin paused for a second and looked towards the doorway. "Not after that little one picked my pocket."
They all turned to look at the door, one of them sporting a slightly confused look before the child, Lema, came through the entrance of the bar inconspicuously and with her head low. She flinched at what Obi-Wan guessed was her recognition of them. It had only been about an hour before when the child had stolen from them, and not too far from Bendi's quaint establishment at that. But Lema, smooth in the ways of running the streets, did not falter after her initial hesitation in the doorway, but began to make her way towards the back of the bar.
"Ah ah — over here, girlie," Bendi said with a rumble.
Lema didn't hesitate as she altered her course. Rather, she came right up to Anakin — who she recognized by the color of his cloak — and held out her hand filled to the fist with credits. She looked high up into Anakin's eyes without reservation, and Obi-Wan predicted that this show of courage would please Anakin.
He wasn't wrong. Anakin chuckled and kneeled before her.
"Keep it, keep it… just don't ever do it again."
She didn't need to be told twice and quickly stuffed the money into her pants as if Anakin would've ripped them from her despite his reassurance. "I could tell you noticed me as I did it. You knew, didn't you?" She asked. Anakin seemed to be impressed by her.
"Yes, I did. That's why you shouldn't do it, you get me? You might pickpocket from someone who needs the money for necessities, or even worse, who would be malevolent about the one-sided exchange. Even towards a child."
"Don't bother," Bendi piped in. "I've been singing that note for years to her an' she never caught a rhyme."
"He's easier to take seriously than you-" Lema started to say before Anakin shoved a supply bar into her mouth to keep her out of trouble. "And I wasn't going to do it anymore. But that lady — the one that gave the food to us — she said she would give me nutri-bars if I rounded up some money for her and she even gave me some money-"
"Lady? Is her name Alta Umba?" Obi-Wan asked.
Lema shrugged. "I guess-"
Bendi let out a nasty curse. "Of course she did! I deny her help and so she leeches off my kids! Cheeskar nok!"
Obi-Wan could remember the most popular sayings from the languages spoken on Lothal besides Galactic Basic; Aqualish, Huttese, and Ithorese. From the accent of his tongue – and from Anakin's unimpressed scowl – Obi-Wan could tell that it was a lousy strain of Huttese.
Anakin shifted to get her attention. "Lema, do you know where Alta is now?"
Lema brushed her fingers through her tan fur. "She made it clear that she needed to stay out of the way — or out of sight, as she said. "
Obi-Wan tried to calm down the reptile as his claws scratched at his green jaw. "Why did you deny Umba help?"
"I jus' had a feeling, that's all."
"And?"
Bendi leaned closer to Obi-Wan and he could smell the exact breed of fish on his breath. Hardly necessary; there was a scarce presence of people in the musky bar. "I had a feeling that she needed money for something nefarious. She had that look in her eyes. I've seen them before. I always go out of my way to help immigrants make a way when first coming here because it keeps them from resorting to child labor out of desperation. Port towns breed desperation. But my help can only go so far. There are lines I can't cross if I want to stay underground."
Lema's eyes widened as she listened in. "Did I help a bad person?" she whispered to Anakin.
"We don't know that yet. Don't worry about it for now. And if you did, don't fret; you couldn't have possibly known. We didn't either."
"Anyone that asks for a child to do dubious acts for them is not a good person," Obi-Wan advised her.
This seemed to upset the child, and Anakin gave a frustrated glance in Obi-Wan's direction. There was more in the look that Obi-Wan could barely decipher, but he wasn't willing to decode it.
"Have some tact, Master."
"I have tact, but you shouldn't sugar coat teachings."
"That explains it," Anakin said, and Obi-Wan could barely taste the young man's remorse.
Obi-Wan could admit it to himself ever since Geonosis; he had failed Anakin that day, in that fateful, pleading, and desperate transmission from Tatooine.
But, even worse to him and especially to Anakin, he had failed Shmi Skywalker.
"And you-!" Bendi growled as he turned swiftly to face the malnourished Bothan, "You could've exposed us! You can't trust troublemakers like that rat! For how smart some of ya maybe, you sure as fink slip up too much to not pose a risk to them all!"
But when his huge appendage — with a hand the size of Lema's torso — began to hurtle towards her at a damaging speed, Obi-Wan instinctively halted the hand with nothing more than a firm grip around air. Anakin merely glared at the outstretched hand as it struggled against an invisible restriction, and Obi-Wan wondered if Anakin had been intending to dismember it.
Anakin was not above the act.
Lema stood her ground as Bendi pulled his entire body against the solid weight that held his arm through the Force. His growls were nearly fierce — if it weren't for the entertaining show. "Let me go!"
"I don't think so, 'friend'," Obi-Wan spoke as if he politely declined someone who had asked him for a spot of tea.
Bendi was frothing in Obi-Wan's face. "E chu ta an do padda-mames!"
"A pitiful insult to give a Jedi," Anakin observed. All Obi-Wan knew was that he said something about a mother.
After a few moments of struggling on Bendi's part, he became slightly winded and gave up with a slacking of his arms. Obi-Wan released his grasp immediately. The Trandoshan had to pick at the cloth of his covering to get a capsule to chew on which calmed him down rather considerably.
"Ah, it's not worth it," he wheezed. "Look, I'll tell you everything I know in exchange for never comin' near my establishment again. Wadusha?"
Anakin crossed his arms over his chest but ignored Obi-Wan's glance. "Deal."
Lema looked as if she were about to grab onto Anakin's robe but hesitated as she thought better of it. "I can tell you all I know as well."
Before either of them could respond, Bendi straightened up and motioned for all of them to follow him behind the bar to the back alleyways; the major connection of the slums in Lothal's port city of Galof. The alleyway was deserted by this time in the early afternoon. The colors of a polluted atmosphere and the mist of the depleting longshore filtered the dilapidation of the slums.
"As I said, I'm usually the guy immigrants come to see when gettin' set up in Galof. I have the connections and resources they need to start their miserable lives. And we get a lot of em'. The new industry that makes up the mining facilities just beyond the shores has been prospering for, I'd say, about two years now. Quandanium, Merozanian, and Flavian alloy mixes are some rich stuff. People flock all around for them. Especially to the places where the alloys are refined, but that takes place off-planet from here.
When Umba first came to me, I had assumed she was just another flocking immigrant, but when she asked for certain connections… I knew that couldn't have been the case."
Anakin sighed. "What connections?"
Bendi licked at his front teeth with a slithering effect. "Whereabouts for those who work in the spice refineries. Sansanna spice, specifically. The good stuff. Then that had me wondering if she was an addict for the more… questionable uses for the spice. So I told her in exchange for the Republic rations. When I asked her why she wanted to go there she told me it was because she was an addict like I guessed."
"Get to the point. We're short on time," Anakin urged.
Obi-Wan had to agree. Whatever war-profiteer that was behind the shipment of Quandanium alloy from Lothal to Geonosis may or may not have already been informed of the Republic's capture of the planet. If they were, they would understand that it was only a matter of time before the shipments led back to their source. And then their mission would become a wild chase once they evaded from answering to their smuggling.
The first mission dealt by the second wave of reinforcements of Clones coming to aid Republic occupation on Geonosis after the first battle was their interception of an entire formation of heavy-class freighters – all filled to the stern with Quandanium alloy. All from the planet Riosa with its metal-refineries, and all with the same objective (still unknown beyond a simple delivery) and employer (who some of the pilots knew resided in Lothal). Of the smuggler pilots that claimed to know any information about the war-profiteer that employed them, Alta Umba was easily the most vocal.
The mission to find the employer to discover the reason for such a large shipment had already been put off for weeks as the Republic strengthened its grip on Geonosis. The Council had nearly decided to overlook the proposition altogether as it was assumed that it was a simple supply for the droid factories. But Obi-Wan protested that the cost of the impregnable and highly valuable alloy would suggest an even more momentous Separatist project was in the works. Making a countless number of droids with such a price would be unsustainable, and the Council then agreed.
But there was more to Obi-Wan's protest. As more and more conflicts broke out from under the Separatist influence, Obi-Wan petitioned to refrain from joining the battlefront for the time being under the pretense that this mission called for delicate negotiation and maneuverability: Obi-Wan's expertise. The Council agreed and they had left from Geonosis to Lothal a week ago (particularly urged on by the news that their imprisoned informant had made an escape). However, Obi-Wan was slow to admit that he claimed the mission primarily due to the rift he felt between himself and Anakin. Yoda understood that a raging battle was hardly the place to mend a tottering bond between Master and Padawan. Obi-Wan knew there was prudence in that judgment when he remembered the events for their failed execution on Geonosis.
Although Obi-Wan couldn't deny one puzzling quirk that Anakin had picked up recently in that he was nauseatingly obedient and conforming. Almost robotic. Reclusive in the ingenuity that Obi-Wan knew very well that he possessed. And Obi-Wan had not a clue as to why, nor the appetite to ask.
Bendi ignored Anakin and continued. "I got the impression that she was planning on staying near the refinery for a while."
"What sector are these refineries in?" Obi-Wan asked after noticing a connection.
"Sector 1.00.2 A few nocks away from the sea."
"Interesting… the Clone force that retrieved her after her first aversion reported that she was caught in sector 1.00.4."
"Ah, that's only a nock or two away. So my story checks out, you see?" Bendi assured.
"So far it does, yes." Whatever a 'nock' meant, Obi-Wan couldn't say. "Is that all she asked about?"
"The first time she came to me at least. When I made it clear to her that I was wise about her situation with official business, and hinted that if she did me wrong that I would turn her in to the authorities after her, she booked it. It sounded as if she was going to ask me about something else before that but I didn't learn what it was until she came back to me early yesterday morning."
Anakin hadn't made the same mistake when he shared a conversation with Alta about Bendi, and had remained silent as she spoke about it, but Alta must have wised up to speaking without regard when Bendi threatened to turn her in. Though it was more likely due to her not wanting to admit to having an addiction, but Obi-Wan knew from spending the last few days with her that she was a very blunt woman who hardly cared about hurting others' feelings – or her own feelings as well.
"She came to you yesterday? That leaves hardly any time between her latest absence and her coming back to you. What did she come to you about this time?"
Bendi bared his teeth and Lema started to fidget gingerly in response. "She asked me for a gutsy loan of 8,000 wupiupis at whatever interest rate caught my fancy. That's how I knew she never intended to pay it back. That was when I reasoned that she was up to somethin' no good. She had a wild, 'break all take all' look that I see in the same people that kidnap the kids around here. A look that was no good, not at all. And now that I'm thinking about it…"
"What is it?" Anakin asked with little patience.
Bendi gave Anakin a wicked smile through his stained fangs. "The tax information she talked about when she discussed the specific value she needed is veeery similar to the number crunchin' that is caught in the artillery business around here – and by that I mean the one that deals with the mining facilities as of late."
"And?"
"Their recent cash cow has been explosives for the mines."
This did not make sense to Obi-Wan as far as their mission went; all they had been doing under Umba's shoddy guidance was finding the people who worked in the mining facilities that Umba declared were actually working for her employer in order to decrease the prices of raw Quandanium metals. A hamstrung effort, as it turned out. All of the suspected employees never said a word and were let go after a lack of evidence against their simplicity. After Anakin openly questioned the legitimacy of Umba's intel, she had promised them a huge break. She was supposed to have told them about this aforementioned intel when they met up at the designated rendezvous before she failed to show up.
Anakin spared a cautious glance to Obi-Wan for a moment.
Lema tripped over a hasty exclamation. "You mean I helped her buy bombs?!"
"Unless she has an army of children pickpocketing for her, I'd say the odds of that were low, Lema," Anakin answered gently. Then something seemed to occur to him. "Were you intending to give Umba the money you pickpocketed? Why did you still have the money when you returned to the bar?"
"Yes… she gave me very specific instructions when it came to Galactic Credit Standards. She told me that when I came across them that I should store them under a loose plank she found in the bar."
Bendi snorted contemptuously at the prospect but Anakin ignored him.
"How many people around here use Republic credits?"
Bendi shook his head with a shrug. "Not many at all – Republic credits are a lot harder for the impoverished to circulate. Poverty brings with it its own culture and language of transaction, and this sector of Galof is the most impoverished by far because of the immigrants that come in. The, er, economic damages caused by the use of cheap child labor also don't help none too much either, and credits are more easily traceable due to their 'official' nature. Not good for businesses that use the free labor of missing children. You two bozos gave me the first glimpse of credits in minor transactions that I've seen in a long time."
Obi-Wan's fingers found themselves within his beard as he pored over the issue. "So that begs the question… why did she need to separate the credits from the wupiupis? And why would she keep them here?" After a moment of silence brought no answer, Obi-Wan turned to the girl. "Lema, what instructions did you have concerning the wupiupis you gathered?"
She shrugged and gave a mischievous smile. "She said I could keep them."
"So she just needed credits? Does the facility that supplies the explosives to the mines only deal in credits?" Anakin asked. Bendi shook his head.
"They deal in wupiupis or the occasional peggats. It's a family business."
"Did Alta give you any other strange instructions?" Obi-Wan asked her.
She nodded excitedly, glad to be in the know. "She told me to stay within the vicinity of Bendi's Cantina as I combed passerby's. And when I asked her when I would get my supply bar she just told me that she would know when I succeeded, whatever that means."
"Ah, I see her angle," Bendi said with a small note of appreciation.
"Pray tell."
"It wasn't about the money at all; it was about you two," he said with two jabs of a pointed claw at Anakin and Obi-Wan. "Incredible plan if I might add. If she knew that you would be around this area somehow – which I'm assuming is about right since she must have told you about me and because she must know that you're looking for her - and if she figured out that you two would be the only nimrods to carry around Galactic creds, then it really wasn't about credits. It was about pinpointing exactly how close you two are on her tail."
Anakin visibly stiffened while Obi-Wan looked calmer than an old lady who was crocheting a hoodie for her Pikk Mukmuk.
"Lema, do show us where you were supposed to drop off the credits please."
Bendi growled at the remaining customers still in the bar to leave the vicinity as Lema attempted to yank the tiled plank free. A cold feeling passed down Obi-Wan's spine before she could work it out. Anakin nodded as he felt it too and immediately grasped the girl around her dreadfully bony ribcage to hold her back from freeing the tile completely.
"I've got it handled, back off!" she whined as Anakin gently lifted her away.
"It's staying exactly where it is for now. Umba may have left a nasty surprise and we can't assume to disturb it if that's the case."
"Then again," Obi-Wan ruminated, "that tile doesn't look particularly loose to you, does it?"
Lema shrugged. "It's a lighter color than the rest so I assumed it was the one she was talking about… honestly she didn't really tell me how to find it."
Bendi's throat crackled as his voice broke in what Obi-Wan knew to be aggravation towards Lema. "That means that whatever she needs n' order to pinpoint these Jedi wermo is on you! Did she give you anything before she sent you off to pickpocket?!"
Lema looked faint as she nodded. "She gave me a couple of wupiupis b-but-"
"Give!" he demanded in a rage, and Lema shrank behind Obi-Wan in response. Lema hastily emptied her pockets and shoved them towards Obi-Wan. As he searched through the pile of metal coins he noticed that a certain 'coin' seemed to be missing its center of identification.
"This is not a coin," he said as he showed Anakin the outsider.
Lema tried to grab Obi-Wan's hand to get a good look. "What is it-?"
"A transponder ring. And," Anakin said before dipping his hand into the pile in Obi-Wan's grasp, "a broken mini-transmitter part. Part of the vocabulator and the external transmit port."
"Could she understand our dialogue from this?"
Anakin scrutinized it. "If it's functional, then from a fair distance and with basic code, yes. She can. But with the ring that means-"
"She knows exactly where we are and what we've been talking about."
Before Obi-Wan could coordinate himself with Anakin to ask if his Padawan could decipher the transponder ring to seek the relaying circuit location, he suddenly found himself lying horizontal high within the air with two powerful clamps against his throat and left knee.
"Oh." Was all Obi-Wan could say before he was slammed against the nearest table as common folk do their wet laundry on the floor as to ring out the water. Exploding points of light jarred Obi-Wan's sense of sight as he felt the full impact of the salt stone table unmercifully slap his entire left side without giving way. The two clamps grasped him and raised him in the air once more. Before he sailed through the air as a flimsy dart would towards the nearest wall, he turned his head down towards Anakin who looked surprised but unperturbed. "Anakin, be a dear and get Lema out of here-" And then Anakin's face was replaced by a whirling tour of the bar and then by a river of alcohol running down Obi-Wan's face from a busted bottle (which Obi-Wan thought was a shame since he thought it tasted rather subtle for such a shamelessly virile bar).
Obi-Wan felt Anakin's hand begin to summon for his lightsaber defensively but stopped him as he wiped off the alcohol from his face. "Do not harm him, Anakin," he could almost hear Anakin's teeth grit as he immediately complied.
From Obi-Wan's upside-down view of the entire scene from the floor of the bar (and while discovering exciting new smells that emanated from the paneling), he could see Anakin put Lema on his hip as Bendi rushed towards them. Anakin easily dodged his throes with the practiced footwork of any professional hand-to-hand combatant. Obi-Wan could feel Anakin's presence throughout the room heighten as he reached out for sturdy objects around him to hurl at Bendi as to slow down the enraged reptile.
"You're wasting our time by trying to fight us out of anger," Anakin warned as Bendi sustained a disorienting swipe at the neck.
His recovery was short-lived. "You!" Bendi thundered with an outstretched hand whose thick clawed digits pointed directly at Lema. "You brought a trigger-happy sociopath into our business!"
Anakin continued to dodge and held the back of Lema's head to get a better grip on her. "Hold on." She obeyed by tightened her arms around his neck.
"Now she knows that I know too much and who do ya think she'll go after?!"
"Who do you think will get away from us because of this distraction your causing?" Obi-Wan replied in Lema's stead as he dusted himself off and tried to tinker with the transponder ring to find the circuit signature's source.
Bendi didn't seem to hear him through the snarls in his chest. "She might go after all of you now an' get me to shut up!"
"I know she won't," Anakin said as he danced around the Trandoshan's barreling fists. Obi-Wan wondered why he would think that.
Bendi hoisted a stone chair in the air and it came smashing against Anakin's right shoulder with a force that made Obi-Wan quickly worried for his Padawan's well-being. "You don't know anything-! You don't know what we have to do! What I have to do to protect them!"
By the way Anakin moved, Obi-Wan could tell that he was mostly fine. "Any suggestions on how to find the location of the transmitter's owner, Anakin?"
"Of course Master, but you're going to need to open it up first."
Bendi continued with his relentless attacks, and Obi-Wan knew from the increasingly aggressive swipes Anakin made at Bendi's neck that his Padawan was becoming fed-up. "Only to have a stupid and selfish little runt have us outed-!"
But then Anakin grabbed the reptile's lower jaw with his free hand and tore it down towards the ground to throw him off balance before driving his right shoulder into Bendi's ribcage for good measure. Now it was Bendi's turn to lay dazed on the ground. Anakin quickly let go of Lema who, instead of putting as much distance between herself and Bendi, decided that curling herself into the nearest corner was a bright idea.
Bendi's attention was turned on Anakin. With fisted hands braced in front of his face, Anakin waited for Bendi to make the next move as he picked himself off the ground. Bendi wasted no time in his attack and charged like a bull towards the barrel of Anakin's waist to forcefully keel him over. Instead of dodging the frontal attack like Obi-Wan thought he would, Anakin braced himself and crouched just as Bendi reached him. As a result, Bendi's grip around Anakin was too bottom-heavy, leaving him unable to get Anakin onto his shoulder. And although Bendi possessed what Obi-Wan knew to be goliath strength, he had no such ally as the Force.
With hardly any physical effort expended on Anakin's part, Bendi toppled forward as Anakin curled in on himself and dropped so that his back was against the floor and Bendi was against his feet. With a mighty heave, Bendi was launched over Anakin and into the wall opposite of the wall Bendi sent Obi-Wan into.
Before Anakin could properly scramble to his feet, Bendi did so quicker and launched a blow that sent him into the corner where Lema was cowering. As a frightened Lema and a befuddled Anakin watched Bendi curse and spit as he tripped over the hardy furniture, Lema looked at Anakin in amazement.
"I've never seen someone take him on, but I'm not exactly sure if you're winning or just delaying what's comin'."
"Your faith in me warms my heart," he said as he stopped an airborne chair from giving him a nice peck on the face. He wasn't too terribly worried about it as he had the best stamina out of everyone in the room and he knew that the Trandoshan was expending much more energy than he was with his sloppy and direct attacks.
But then he didn't have three-inch claws that could make one's insides mimic jelly with a nice swipe.
"The trick is to use his attacks against him," he said before taking the chair that was hurled at them to clobber it over Bendi's skull. "If you were wondering."
"I was not," Lema mused as her eyes followed Anakin's flying lesson across the establishment. "You know I once slapped at a blood-sucking bug and it slapped me back? I learned a long time ago how to pick my fights: or in other words to never pick them."
"It isn't all up to size," Anakin insisted as he hooked his leg behind Bendi's knee to cast him back towards the ground.
Lema nodded very seriously. "I'm sure if I put enough force behind my elbow that I would be able to stab someone with it," she said after considering her terribly bony arm.
Anakin gave a quick double-take towards her in bemusement. "What-?" But was then cut off as Bendi got Anakin with a good shoulder-lock.
Throughout this time Obi-Wan had been somewhat ignoring the grappling contest behind him as he studied the transponder ring deep in thought.
"Master you're going to have to locate the data chip that'll tell you the circuits it's logged into-" Obi-Wan suddenly heard the deep thud of a well-placed punch. "…it s-should look like a small metal disk-"
"This is pointless. Because it's still functional Alta Umba must already know that we are trying to find her location. If she was smart she would have already abandoned whatever twin transponder is sharing the same circuit. We will simply have to accept that she knows our location and retrace our steps," he replied with a pointed look towards Anakin to tell him that there was more to his words but Anakin missed the memo as he drove his elbow into Bendi's ribcage. The Trandoshan gave a pained snarl.
"Don't tell her that!" Anakin contended just before he lost the ability to speak as Bendi managed to get a hold on his throat with his elbow.
Obi-Wan sighed. They had already lost enough time as it was dallying in this bar far longer than necessary, and that was before the Trandoshan completely lost his head.
"Until you finish playing around with him we will continue to go around in circles."
Anakin gave a sound between a choke and a snort. "Can I at least get some cheers of encouragement, Master?"
Obi-Wan was startled to hear Anakin's teasing after having rarely heard it since Geonosis but smiled easily at it. "Would you like me to get some pom-poms and give a little dance?"
Bendi gave out a curse at their banter.
"I concur a hearty jig would do nicely," Anakin answered as his face started to turn a bit pale. "But I've had enough of this as well."
And just as Anakin wrenched Bendi's arms from his neck and brought his fist down upon the side of the scaly elbow, a devastating crunch sounded throughout the room. As Bendi clawed at his awkwardly bent left arm, Anakin was already moving in a tight circle to swish his cloak about him to get a firm grasp on it and gave a quick reverse maneuver so that the tail of the cloak wrapped around the clamping jaws of the Trandoshan. A sharp tug sent Bendi's head down far enough so that Anakin's elbow could leave a hard blow on the back of the neck. Anakin gave no pause to assess the damage before he dealt a powerful kick to his ribcage once more. With Bendi bowed before him, Anakin was able to give a clean clobbering against Bendi's back.
It was only after Bendi finally faltered to the floor that Obi-Wan noticed the figure in the doorway.
The figure in the doorway that had just unclasped the engagement lock on a hand-held explosive.
"Anakin, bomb behind!" Obi-Wan yelled just as the bomb reached the floor and began to beep in a warning. But much to the surprise of the unknown assailant, the bomb had somehow reversed its momentum within the air to sail back towards them.
All the while accompanied by some high-pitched beeps before the inevitable combustion. There was a silence of panic before all of the sounds roared about them.
Many weeks prior on Tattoine
Forty hours before Shmi Skywalker's Death
Padmé hadn't moved since she saw the speck that was Anakin Skywalker disappear in the midst of Tatooine's shifting horizon. She stood, standing under the unmerciful punishment lotted to her by the twin suns, allowing her regrets to keep her frozen.
But it was her guilt that kept her eyes on the horizon.
It had been her that had forced the people serving under her slave-recovery mission on Tattoine to stop their service after the attack set against Versé, after all. At the time she had reasoned that the local population of slavers in Mos Espa had slowly become suspicious of their activities and knew to recognize them as Republic citizens. And although she knew in her heart that any one of her handmaidens would have gladly continued the search for the missing Shmi Skywalker even in the face of being beaten half to death by slavers, Padmé didn't have the selfishness within herself to ask it of them.
Sabé especially had claimed that she didn't care, and Padmé knew it. Sabé had more will to carry out than Tattoine had grains of sand and Padmé would be set in the grave before the honor she felt at having such a friend as Sabé ran out.
But Padmé most assuredly did care because she had the selfishness to give up on the search entirely in fear for the safety of the people who she swore she would look out for. For they gave their life to always have her back, after all. How else could she repay her handmaidens and closest confidants? But, in return, she forgot about the debt she owed to Shmi herself. The knowledge of that ate her up inside as the grit and grime of Tattoine's earth bit at every surface of her it could reach.
And what had she been able to contribute throughout the recovery mission? She had been unwilling to relieve herself of her post to make the mission on Tattoine her number one priority. So instead, she had to leave it to the unfailing loyalties of her most valued friends to serve in the midst of a barren desert planet that was as hot as it was ruthless in the ways of slavery. She had left it to her Senatorial handmaidens who, in the midst of their own dreams and desires had instead complied to Padmé's own dream that lied in direct conflict with the institution of slavery while she herself continued to serve on Coruscant where none of those harsh realities truly existed.
While their mission had acquired the freed lives of exactly 21 families from Tattoine - in addition to their relocation and altered status as legal citizens of Karlinus - Padmé couldn't deny that the mission was a failure in that their main directive had never been achieved. Although it had been a relief to learn of Shmi's fate years after Padmé's final term as Queen had ended, it still did not forgive the fact that Shmi Skywalker was gone.
And now Anakin was gone along with her as he searched for her, hoping for her life to once again be lived out with his own.
Because Padmé had called the search off all those years ago.
In the self-imposed charge that she set against herself, Padmé remained still within the plain of the desert stretched out before her.
Until she heard a voice that was sweet with its hesitance.
"Miss Padmé?" the feminine voice called out.
A soft smile graced Padmé's lips in response as the brown of her eyes finally left the bleaching horizon. "Miss Beru."
"Is it alright for me to join you? Or perhaps persuade you to make yourself comfortable inside?"
Padmé tried very hard not to grimace.
Just as I had made myself comfortable on Coruscant? She felt green at the thought and then shook her head in self-disappointment. She knew very well that now was not the time to dwell on her misgivings. Now was not about her at all. This was about Anakin and Shmi and their well-being. Padmé wouldn't have Beru worrying about her when she had so much more to worry about.
"Yes, of course. I apologize for not coming in sooner."
"It's not a problem at all, Miss Padmé. We just thought it strange for someone to admire the scenery so much," she said with a light giggle that melted the chill Padmé had been feeling since Anakin's departure.
Padmé couldn't help but to chuckle in turn.
"I'm just very frightened for him. For them both." But before she could begin her trek back to the Lars compound after Beru started to lead her over, Padmé stopped short as she remembered something.
"Oh, I just remembered that I need to contact someone."
Beru didn't let go of her gentle grasp on her arm. "Come and speak to them inside, at least. It can be dangerous to be exposed to the light for too long at this time of day."
After Beru had graciously done everything she could to assure that Padmé was comfortable within the living quarters of the compound and made an exit to give Padmé the privacy she needed for her conversation, Padmé immediately took out her holo-transmitter and contacted Artoo at her ship to juice a more proper transmission that would span light-years.
Sabé - the only one of her handmaidens that served her as Queen that remained to officially serve under her Senatorial duties - more than deserved to know about Shmi's fate. She knew all too well about the types of things that haunted Sabé.
But before that, Padmé needed to make sure that her meddling informant, Jamboe, was returning to Bestine as ordered.
Istg the story Obi-Wan is telling is relevant and only occurs in this EU but COULD have been a total possibility within the Canon Universe. I hope I made that clear. It should better show how the events Anakin underwent on Tattoine traumatized him better (because we don't feel the impact of the event like we should have in canon, or that's just how I felt). The plot of it was just to tie it back into everything else (but I won't say how) and to entertain myself. This mini-story should be concluded in the next chapter. (Though honestly all you would have to do is look up Quadanium steel in Star Wars in order to know how it fits into the bigger picture imma be honest)