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Obi-Wan walked quickly back out into the rain to make connection with the Jedi Council. He had Arfour scramble the code to Coruscant. On the other end, Mace Windu and Yoda stared intently at the holoimage of Obi-Wan, as they listened to what he had discovered on Kamino.
"Apparently, a clone army was ordered by Count Dooku. Did the Council authorize the order?" Obi-Wan asked.
Mace glanced at Yoda, "Count Dooku? The Council never authorized any such army."
"It was ordered ten years ago, I thought that he had left the Order before that, but the Kaminoans assure me that this army is indeed for the Republic. It wouldn't make sense for him to have done that if he had already been plotting to join the Separatists."
Mace and Yoda shared a glance, it did not make sense to them either.
Obi-Wan continued, "But I am positive that this Jango Fett is the man who is trying to assassinate Senator Amidala."
"Bring him hear, you must," Yoda said, "question this bounty hunter we will."
Obi-Wan nodded as the rain continued to pound even harder all around him. He pulled his robe tighter around him, "I will Masters." He cut the transmission.
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At the Jedi Temple, Mace and Yoda were disturbed by Obi-Wan's news. "I do not understand why Dooku would order the clones," Mace said. "This turn of events is unnerving."
Yoda turned his large eyes to the other Jedi Master and spoke, "Understand, I do not think we will, until probe the Force do we." Mace raised his eyebrows at the diminutive Jedi Master.
Yoda took a short breath and said, "Dangerous it is, to search the dark side. Careful I must be."
Mace looked worried, "How long will you do it, Master?"
"Until clear, an answer is made." Was Yoda's response.
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The blaring sun once again beat down on Anakin and Sarah as they approached the Lars family's moisture farm. Sarah could sense that Anakin was nervous. Before they went any further, she put a hand on his arm, "Anakin, whatever happens, know that I will always be there for you. No matter what."
He did not need to reply, his grateful look was enough. He managed a small smile, and they made their way up to the homestead. As they approached, they saw a young man working outside. He could not be much older than Anakin or Sarah, and when the Jedi approached, he looked entirely confused.
The young man eyed their Jedi robes, and when his eyes fell upon their lightsabers, his eyes seemed to register some sense of recognition. "You must be Anakin," he said shyly.
All that Anakin could do was nod in response. "I'm Owen. I'm Cliegg Lars' son. Its good to finally meet you." He held out his hand, and Anakin shook it, and seeming to find words again, he motioned to Sarah, "This is Sarah Walterr."
"Nice to meet you," Owen said kindly.
"I'm here to see my mother," Anakin said.
When he spoke these words, Owen's eyes darkened. He had gathered himself to speak when Cliegg Lars came out on his hoverchair. Owen turned to his father, "Dad, this is Anakin Skywalker and Sarah Walterr."
Cliegg's eyes passed over Sarah briefly and settled on Anakin. "I'm here to see my mother," Anakin said again, this time with a bit more irritation.
"You might want to come inside," Cliegg said sadly. Owen glanced again at the Jedi and then spoke to Anakin, "So, I guess I'm your stepbrother," he said. Anakin did not reply.
Inside the small home was a young woman. Owen put his arm around her and said, "This is Beru...my girlfriend." Beru smiled at the Jedi.
Cliegg glanced again at Anakin. "Maybe we should sit."
Beru went to get some drinks, and Cliegg began his tale of how Shmi had gone out like she always did in the mornings to pick the mushrooms off the vaporators, "And then the Tusken Raiders came."
Anakin flinched slightly, and there was obvious anger coming from him. Cliegg finished his story, "If it weren't for my leg, I'd still be out there looking for her."
Anakin stood suddenly. "Where are you going?" Owen asked.
"To find my mother."
"Listen son," Cliegg said, "She's been gone for a month. She could be anywhere on Tatooine."
Anakin ignored the comment and went outside into the heat. He stood outside for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. His mother was still alive, he could feel her. He knew that he had to find her. At that point, Sarah came out of the small home, "Let's go," she said.
Anakin looked at her, and she said, "Cliegg has some swoops that we can borrow."
"I'm not going to put you into danger like that," Anakin said stubbornly.
Sarah glared back, just as resolutely. "You don't have a choice," she said, and gave him the smallest of smiles. They hopped onto the swoops and took off into the Tatooine sunset, relying on nothing but the Force to get them there.
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Obi-Wan had turned to make his way quickly back inside, when he felt a tremor in the Force. Fear...Obi-Wan thought to himself. He ran inside as fast as he could and took the turbolift to the level of Jango's apartment. He used the Force to manipulate the locks on the door, and when he stepped inside, he knew immediately that Jango and his young son had fled.
Drawers were flung open, clothes were strewn everywhere, and the armor that Obi-Wan had glimpsed earlier in the closet was gone. Obi-Wan shook his head as he ran outside into the rain. He saw Jango (at least, he assumed it was Jango in the armor), and his son running towards a ship.
Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and went running towards the two. When Jango heard the hum of the lightsaber, he spun around. He told Boba to run and prepare the ship, while he engaged Obi-Wan in a fight. Their punches were furious, and it became immediately apparent to Obi-Wan that this man was an exceptional fighter.
Obi-Wan did not know how it happened, but with a well-placed kick from Jango, and a little bit of help from the ship's blasters, Obi-Wan's lightsaber went flying out of his hand. Thank the Force Anakin isn't here. Jango managed to wrap his cable launcher around Obi-Wan's wrists, and before Obi-Wan knew what had happened, he went flying through the air. "Oh, not good," was all he could mutter as he was thrown over the rim of the building.
Jango managed to cut into the slick material and hold, but Obi-Wan continued to slide until he was hanging perilously off of the side of the building. He felt the cable release, and before he knew it, he was falling.
Using the Force to help elongate the seconds, he untangled the cable from his wrists, and he managed to swing himself back onto the platform, but he knew that he had lost precious time. He ran back through the corridors to the level that he had been on, but when he finally returned, the ship was already powering up. Obi-Wan called his lightsaber to his hand, but it was no good, Jango had escaped.
Obi-Wan pulled a tracking device out of his belt, and he threw it onto the ship, where it latched on. He sighed, but at least he would be able to find out where Jango had gone.
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On Naboo, a Senator was in danger. A dark figure had slipped in, silent as a ghost, as she slept. She felt a hand slip over her mouth, and she tried to scream, but no sound came. She found herself being tied up and carried out to a large ship. She never managed to glimpse the identity of the person, but all of the sudden, she wished that the Jedi had not left her...all of the sudden, she was afraid.
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Anakin and Sarah raced across the night of Tatooine, pushing their swoops perhaps harder than they should have. Anakin could feel his mother's presence in the Force getting stronger. They stopped once to ask the Jawas if they knew the way that the Tusken Raiders had gone, and they pointed the Jedi towards the right direction.
They took off again, through winding cliffs and canyons, until they reached a small clearing amidst the rocks. Anakin felt the Force hit him in a crashing wave. "She's here," he whispered to Sarah, and she nodded in response.
They left the swoops on top of a high cliff, and leapt down gracefully. Anakin's heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He knew that his mother was here, he could feel her presence more clearly than ever. He and Sarah wove carefully through the rocks to reach the camp.
They made their way, using the shadows, moving with the wind, not making a sound. When they reached the dimly lit camp, Anakin quickly scanned the low tents, trying to locate the right one. When he felt that he knew where she was, he motioned to Sarah.
"You go," Sarah whispered as she pulled out her lightsaber, ready to ignite it at the smallest of disturbances. "I'll keep lookout."
Anakin nodded and pulled out his lightsaber as well. He took a deep breath, ignited it, and began to cut silently through the thin walls of the structure.
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A/N: All right, not to put pressure on anybody, but just a small poll, happy, sad, or kind of both ending? I'm just curious to see what the general feeling is, as I have many ideas... We're definitely not at the end, as I hope to take this through ROTS, but it would be better I think to have some kind of direction. So just let me know what you think...and thanks for reading! I can't believe that this is chapter 30...this is my first major story, and it's kind of exciting to get this far!