Chapter 2 Upon landing on the lush planet of Tyn-Dearal, Obi-Wan and Anakin were greeted by two humanoid creatures in rich brown and green robes. They were as tall as Anakin, and glided, more than walked. "We are indeed pleased." ".to be visited by the Jedi." "The rumors of one Force sensitive." ".confuses and worries our citizens." Their circular, brown eyes blinked rapidly. "Forgive us, we are not used." ".to contact with the Jedi." Anakins' head spun with the broken conversations of the Dearalians, but Obi- Wan seemed to have no troubles keeping it straight. Anakin focused as hard as he could, then gave up and switched his attention in searching to get a location of the child. "Yes, Anakin and I would be happy to." Obi-Wan answered, shaking the hands of the welcomers. He discreetly motioned for Anakin to follow, and they headed away from the hanger, down a hill to a building of sorts. "Amusing yourself?" Obi-Wan murmered for only Anakin to hear. Anakin nodded. "I've been attempting to locate the child." "Min-tai, and Suni are taking us to the nursery and school. During recess, the older children take the young children outside for a time, then they take them back in, and the remainder of the time is spent for their own amusement. An early form of a child-care class, really. We have limited time, so stay alert." Anakin nodded again, and followed Min-tai, and Suni to a small table with built in benches. "You may sit here, and do what." ".you need to locate the child." "We have." ".work to attend to." With a bow, Min-tai and Suni left the playground, and the Jedi. A bell tolled, and within moments, children emerged from doors, carrying babies, and other young children towards the playground, and playing with them. "Sense anything?" muttered Anakin Obi-Wan indiscriminately pointing towards a tall girl and her care. 'What do you sense from that?" asked Obi-Wan quietly. Anakin stretched out with the Force, and was met with a void. "Nothing, master, I sense absolutely nothing! It's as if there is nothing but empty space there. No life, no grass, no trees, just - nothing." Obi-Wan nodded solemnly. "I believe we have found our child." Anakin stared at Obi-Wan, "Is it a dark child? I've never felt a, a void in the Force before!" "No, it's a block. Sometimes Jedi, good or dark, can shut the Force out, or away. It leaves a void that is less easily detected- unless you're specifically looking for it ." Anakin looked stunned. "How could a baby learn to do that? They must be a more powerful Jedi than Master Yoda!" Obi-Wan smiled. "It cannot be the baby, Anakin. Look with the Force." Anakin complied, and was surprised at what he found. "But she's as old as me!" He whispered, "Can the temple take her in?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Technically, not for Jedi Training, but they will want to at least study her - to be certain she cannot cause any harm," Obi- Wan hesitated. "But that's not what would have happened with me," Anakin interjected. "I would have been sent back to Tatooine! Why?" Obi-Wan looked at the table. "Anakin, you did not understand, or control the Force. You merely accepted and allowed it to control you, subconsciously. If this girl truly can block, she knows of our presence, and the presence of the Force. She could become a potential threat to herself, or to anyone she comes in contact with." "What can we do?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Approach her when the young-ones go back inside, I suppose." Anakin nodded. "I supp-" Obi-Wan looked up sharply An explosion shook the ground, and the mushroom cloud billowed on the horizon. Alarms shrieked, and adults raced from the building to collect the babies, and usher the older children inside. The caretaker that collected the girls' care seemed not to notice her, and she ran towards the explosion. "Anakin, come on!" Obi-Wan yelled over the screams. Anakin watched the girl run into the woods bordering the plaground, and followed his master. "Master, the girl-" "Never mind that now, Anakin. She will have to wait." As the Jedi topped the hill, they saw where the explosion had come from- the Jedi's ship. Surrounding it, was a SD-BC battle cruiser, and a relatively small army of battle droids of all types. "Master- there are almost a thousand droids. Why are they here? Did they follow us?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know Anakin- It's a scout ship- perhaps they got lost from their battalion. It may be Federation, but." Anakin wasn't listening. "Master, we have to shut them down. The manual override is inside the ship- we need to get there." Obi-Wan nodded. "I agree Anakin," He concentrated, and snapped a dry twig off of a tree opposite them. All the droid heads turned in unison towards the noise and movement. "What was that." The mechanical voice of the droid commander demanded. "Corporal, take a squad and check it out." "Roger that." "Go," whispered Obi-Wan. The Jedi dashed for the hatch, and slipped inside undetected.