Senator Padmé Amidala refuses to admit to any knowledge regarding Anakin Skywalker. She's a good liar - of course she has to be, as a senator and before that a queen - and Obi-Wan finds that he almost believes that she really doesn't know anything. Almost.
There's the slightest reluctance about her and a slight lilt to her words and an air of deception permeating her Force presence, all of which were absent when the Council initially questioned her after Anakin left. It's subtle, though, and Obi-Wan isn't entirely certain it's worth pushing the issue. It could be simply that she'd heard the same rumors Obi-Wan is investigating, about the Zygerrian "farming colony" and come to the same conclusions. Of course, it could also be that she knows exactly where Anakin is and what he's planning and is simply quite good at hiding it.
The conversation isn't particularly pleasant, either, the shadow of their last unfortunate interaction hovering over it. Both of them are stiffly polite and she calls him "Master Kenobi" throughout, and he leaves her office with little more information than he entered with.
She knows something; that much is clear. Whether it's as innocent as the mere possibility that Anakin Skywalker attacked Zygerrian slavers or as incriminating as his current holoreciever frequency, Obi-Wan cannot tell, and until he can he feels unwilling to confront her on whatever she's hiding. In the meantime, however, she is his best lead on Anakin's current whereabouts, so he cannot simply leave well enough alone.
Breaking into her apartment at 500 Republica is shamefully easy, all things considered. Her protocol droid notices something amiss as he pulls himself over the balcony (he'd thought it safer to actually break into the apartment below hers and then enter via the balcony, so there would be minimal evidence of an intruder in Amidala's apartment), but Obi-Wan deactivates it with a wave of his hand before it can identify him.
The apartment is dark, and Obi-Wan realizes that he has only been inside it a handful of times before, and most of those several years ago. He pauses for a moment in the sitting room before moving over to her private holotransmitter and activating it, pulling up a list of recently added frequencies. There are a few new ones from the last month, but they are perfectly innocuous, with names like Saché - new work.
"There's nothing there," says a voice behind him. "Not that I expected her to add a contact for him."
Obi-Wan turns around to find Ahsoka standing behind him. She'd masked her presence in the Force masterfully, though he thinks his focus on his task contributed in no small part to his distraction. He silently shakes his head, despite the fact that he's suppressing laughter. On the one hand, Ahsoka apparently broke into someone's apartment and dug through their private holoreciever history, and that is definitely not appropriate behavior for a senior Jedi padawan. On the other hand, he's in no position to judge.
Ahsoka apparently catches onto his train of thought, because she's quick to defend herself. "I didn't break in here, Master," she says. "Senator Amidala and I are friends, so I asked if we could talk when she was free this evening and then just showed up early." She shrugs and smiles innocently.
"Then went through her holocall history," Obi-Wan points out.
Ahsoka doesn't answer. "You, on the other hand, I just watched crawl onto her balcony like a Kawakian monkey-lizard. Not bad, for a human. Did you climb all the way from the ground?"
"No," Obi-Wan says, and does not elaborate. "Well, what did you find?"
"There are no frequencies listed for Anakin and she's got no history with unknown callers. The only thing I thought was weird was that she called the Duchess of Mandalore three times the day before yesterday."
"Satine?" Obi-Wan says in surprise. "That is strange. What would she have to do with this?"
"They are friends," Ahsoka says. "It's not necessarily related."
"Still, it's a lead we'll have to follow up."
Ahsoka adopts a sly expression. "Do you say that because you think she knows something or because you want to talk to her?"
Obi-Wan shoots her what he hopes is a withering look. "I'm focusing on the job at hand, Ahsoka," he says. "I don't know where you heard that -"
"Skyguy told me," she says smugly.
"Anakin was reading into a situation that doesn't exist," Obi-Wan insists. He's lying, he knows, but he doesn't need someone else running around telling everyone who has ears (as well as many people that do not) that he's in love with the Duchess of Mandalore.
"Suuuure," Ahsoka begins, but before she can really get started they both freeze as they sense the approaching presence of Senator Amidala.
"Get out," Ahsoka says, pushing him towards the balcony. "She'll kill both of us if she finds you here."
Obi-Wan doesn't resist; he allows the padawan to direct him to the edge of the balcony and slips off the side of it, grabbing hold of the safety bar at the edge. He vanishes from sight just as the door opens. Ahsoka turns toward Padmé. "Hi," she says, and Obi-Wan barely catches the senator's tired reply. "Long day?" Ahsoka asks empathetically.
As soon as he's certain the padawan has her full attention, Obi-Wan swings himself onto the balcony below and slips back out of the lower apartment, locking the door behind him.
He meets Ahsoka the next day in the Temple dining hall. She approaches with a tray of food and sits down beside him. "So?" she says. "Did you contact the duchess?"
"No," Obi-Wan says. "I can't just call her completely out of nowhere and ask if she knows where Anakin Skywalker is."
"Yes you can," Ahsoka replies. "You just won't."
"Because I have no interest in instigating an interplanetary incident," Obi-Wan observes. "Don't you have an upcoming mission, young one?"
Ahsoka brushes it off casually. "Not until tomorrow. Which gives me plenty of time to help you investigate." She produces a datapad and slides it across the table to Obi-Wan. "I've compiled every sighting of Anakin Skywalker or the 501st fleet from the past week that I could find on the public holoNet. Most of them are rubbish, but I've pared it down to just the likely ones. This list is sorted by -"
"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan says.
"What?" she asks, tense and almost angry.
"I can take care of this. Focus on your upcoming mission to Ilum."
Ahsoka sits tensely for a moment. Finally, she deflates. "He's my master," she says. "I just… it feels wrong to to not be helping him."
Obi-wan sighs. He understands. But he can't have Ahsoka on this mission. Taking a padawan on a mission, especially a padawan not his own, requires certain paperwork and approval that would compromise the secrecy of the mission and the Council's own supposed ignorance of it. And his faith in Ahsoka's ability to be subtle is not particularly strong. But he's not willing to turn her away entirely, not when he understands not only her devotion to Anakin as himself, but her devotion to him as her master. He picks up the datapad.
"If you hear anything else, let me know," Obi-Wan says. "But don't let your duties slip. The Council gave you a mission. Focus on it."
"They gave me a mission to distract me," Ahsoka complains.
"They gave you a mission because the initiates need someone experienced enough to guide them on their Gatherings but young enough to be approachable," Obi-Wan corrects her.
Ahsoka reluctantly accepts the correction and leaves after finishing her meal. Obi-Wan activates the datapad and begins to examine the list. It's with little surprise and a flash of unexpected pride that he notices the Zygerrian incident at the top of the list, highlighted in bright aquamarine. Out of curiosity, he expands the entry and begins to page through it. It's an abbreviated account, with less than even the scant information the Council was given. Ahsoka has notes filled with speculation and observations, but it doesn't amount to more than Obi-Wan already knew or suspected. He switches back to the full list and scrolls through it. She's marked the ones she thinks are likely, but even when he finds himself in full agreement (which is often), Obi-Wan doesn't learn much, aside from possibly the general drift of Anakin's travels. He's avoided major hyperspace lanes and large concentrations of Republic armed forces, which is unsurprising.
Obi-Wan considers investigating one or two of the other rumors Ahsoka had highlighted - Anakin has to refuel his cruisers somewhere, after all. But that particular lead is almost a week old. He marks it to pursue later if his current clues lead to a dead end.
He finds Ahsoka again at dinner. This time it is he who sits down across from her and produces the datapad. "What would Mandalore have to do with Anakin?" he asks.
"What?" Ahsoka asks.
"Let's suppose Senator Amidala's calls to the Duchess of Mandalore are relevant," Obi-Wan explains. "What would the connection be? What would Anakin want with Mandalore? He hasn't been anywhere near it, or if he has he's gained a penchant for stealth he's never possessed."
Ahsoka looks thoughtful. "The clone template was Mandalorian, right?" she asks.
"The Mandalorians had disowned him long before he took that job," Obi-Wan says.
Ahsoka chews silently for a moment. "It could be that he hopes Mandalore will shelter him because of the clones, though."
Obi-Wan shakes his head. "The duchess would never agree to it. It would be interpreted as an act of aggression against the Republic and she knows it. Not to mention how the Separatists would react."
"Well, maybe he's looking for something else. Fuel? Supplies?"
Obi-Wan strokes his beard thoughtfully. "You have friends on Mandalore, don't you?" he asks. "Cadet Korkie and his friends? Maybe you should arrange a visit."
"I have a mission, remember, Master?" Ahsoka says. Her voice is a mix of insolence and practical observation. "Don't you have friends on Mandalore? Visit yourself."
"I'm afraid too much political scrutiny would surround a member of the Jedi Council visiting an independent system," Obi-Wan says. "We have to be careful. If we draw Republic attention to Anakin's dealings, they'll move in to arrest him."
"Master Kenobi," Ahsoka says in mock surprise. "Going against the Republic and the Council?" She takes a bite and chews thoughtfully. "You'll have to call the duchess, then. There's no other way."
"Call the duchess?" Obi-Wan asks, confused. "I can't just accuse Mandalore of harboring a fugitive."
"Not Mandalore," Ahsoka says through a full mouth. "The duchess. You have some sort of unofficial relationship, don't you?"
"Some sort, yes," Obi-Wan admits. They finish their meal in silence.
In the end, Obi-Wan is saved the trouble of contacting Satine with no evidence at all. The next day he tunes into a local Mandalorian HoloNet news broadcast to discover that Mandalore has opened their moon to refugees of the war and have taken in five hundred former slaves.
I had meant to post this at the end of April, but during the last days of that month I realized I was in an extremely abusive situation and needed to leave. This came as rather a shock to me and I spent the last month moving, settling in, and trying to come to terms with myself and my life. Nobody ever wants to think of themselves as a victim.
Anyhow, this chapter was pretty much finished and ready to go, so I'm posting it. However, at this point I will be going on a (hopefully brief) hiatus from Recondition. During this time I will in all likelihood be picking up my MCU AU Insight World again. I can't say for how long. If you need your Star Wars AU fix in the meantime, might I recommend Asylum by Spongyllama? It's one of my favorites and was recently updated!
Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Padmé are three idiots who would actually get a lot done if they just talked to each other, but unfortunately all Star Wars protagonists share a single brain cell and amazingly Anakin is in possession of it at the moment.
Do I think Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would break into someone's apartment and go through their call history? Uh. Yes. Towards the end the Republic was very much a dystopian police state, sooooo...