Destined to Pretend

Author's notes: For purposes of clarity, here's a general year breakdown of timeline in relation to the movies, so you don't have to look it up and can mostly track along:

32 BBY: A Phantom Menace

22 BBY: Attack of the Clones

22-19 BBY: Clone Wars

19 BBY: Revenge of the Sith

0 BBY: A New Hope

Chapter 2: Across the Universe

19 BBY

Thwack, thwack, thwack…

Thick raindrops fell heavy on her dark brown cloak. Hood pulled to conceal her face, the rare Coruscant rain was loud against her ears as it hit the fabric. Kade Draen ducked through the shadows, keeping herself hidden as best as she could on the surface level of the industrial planet. While normally the streets were crowded with pedestrians, the rain drove them to seek shelter—if the commotion at the Temple hadn't already spooked them into scattering from the open streets for the last few days.

Kade looked up under the drooping, soaked hood to double-check the bright neon sign of the specialty droid shop. Reaching out with the Force, she made sure there were no Clones nearby before making the decision to risk walking inside.

She was thankful for the momentary reprieve from the downpour, but the rain had stifled and freshened the planet's odor of industry and ozone; walking through the shop's threshold was like walking into a cloud of vaporized oil. The difference in atmosphere was almost choking.

Ignoring the urge to cough, she pushed her hood back and glanced around, blinking to her allow her eyes to adjust to the low, flickering light. The entire shop was crammed with deactivated droids of all models, random detached droid parts, and scrap metal casually tossed in piles. Tangled messes of loose wires and filled wire spools were strewn around the room and practically falling off of makeshift shelves. A desk sat in the back corner, buried in various tiny metal pieces, tools, and electrical parts. Only a small cleared squared-off section was left to be scrutinized under a bright desk lamp.

The shop owner, a large Abednedos, with cream-colored skin and long mouth tendrils, looked up from his cluttered desk. He wore a pair of goggles that fit the eyes on the opposite side of his face, an extra-large lens sitting on his left eye, which was clearly used for magnifying. He had been working on what looked to be a delicate piece of electronic board.

"What can I help you with, miss?" He asked in perfect Basic, pulling the goggles down from his eyes to rest around his neck.

She felt a little trapped in the shop, having only one visible exit, but she knew it was worth the risk to find what she needed. Kade walked forward towards him and forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. "Good evening," she started, keeping her voice level and low. "I'm in the market for an HK unit. I was told, that of all the repair shops in this sector, you might have one."

A breathy noise came from his thin pursed lips. "I appreciate the referral, but HK units are hard to come by, nowadays. I am afraid I don't have any in stock, not since the beginning of the Wars," he looked her up and down, eyeing her closed brown cloak that had long been soaked through by the rain. She was dripping on the floor.

His gaze at her wet feet and the trail of water she had brought in with her made her feel a little sheepish. She crossed her hands in the sleeve of her cloak and tried to remember her confidence.

"But perhaps you might be a little more interested in a protocol droid? We have a few different models—"

"—I need something with a little more…" Kade interrupted, watching as the owner stood up from his seat and made his way around his desk. "…pep in their step, if you catch my drift." She started to glance around the shop once more when a rusty, browned metal figure in the corner against a far wall caught her eye. She had almost missed it amongst the immense piles of scrap. It was heavily hunched over at the waist, but its figure was still clearly distinguishable. It had an oval-shaped head, thick limbs, and broad shoulders.

A BX-series droid—exactly like the few she'd seen in battle around the galaxy during the Wars. They were advanced battle droids, prized for their stealth. While they were rarely encountered, they always gave her and her troops a run for their money. Formidable opponents, they were often programmed to hunt Jedi and they were good at it.

Her heart started racing, both at the prospect of having one alongside on this journey and, at the same time, the intense memories of the War that the mere shell of a droid was conjuring in her.

Kade gestured to it, nonchalantly, and made her way around the junk nearby. "What about this one?"

He squinted at first, trying to discern what she was referring to, then followed after her. "Oh, that's a war droid. We got him in two weeks ago from some scrappers on Aleen. He's been hit a few too many times and we're working on refurbishing him."

Kade frowned as she stepped up to the droid, reaching out and running her fingers over the indents of laser fire that had ricocheted off its armor. It did not look too badly damaged on the outside, but it had definitely seen better days. Having a war droid around would at least be an improvement of her current situation. "Does he turn on?"

"Oh yeah, he works alright. But he does have a wonky walk and a smart mouth." The Abednedos slid past her, stepping over some wires on the floor. He flicked a switch under the droid's chin. "We were able to deprogram him for the most part, and wipe his memory, but his previous owner wired in a sarcasm chip that we can't quite pull out without damaging him, so please forgive his mouthiness."

Kade was never great at droid repair, but she knew the basic mechanics of it. If his eccentricities proved to be an encumbrance, she was confident she could figure it out.

The droid hummed to life, red eyes flickering to a solid glow. He stretched slowly to his full height, mechanics that had not been used in a while, whirring with the movement. He was at least two heads taller than Kade.

She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of anxiety as it turned its head to stare at her. Her experience with docile BX-series droids was nil to none. This would be a new one for the books.

"Well, go on, say hello." The Abednedos ordered, swinging an open palm towards Kade.

The droid stared at her a moment longer. "Hello, meat bag."

The shop owner laughed, nervously. "See what I mean? He listens fairly well, though."

Kade pursed her lips and scrutinized him. The droid sounded vastly different from the ones that she and her troops encountered in the field. She guessed he must have had an aftermarket vocabulator installed. Oddly, that notion was more unnerving than just the sight of him. Two custom installations, the sarcasm chip, and the vocabulator, meant there were likely more quirks with his wiring than perhaps even the shop owner was aware of, and this made him potentially far more dangerous—particularly in the wrong hands.

Squinting at him, she questioned her own sanity for even thinking about investing in him. "I am looking for a companion to attend to some very specific needs." She told him, gauging for a reaction.

The BX droid didn't even skip a beat. "I am not a sex droid."

The Abednedos recoiled, wheezing out a rebuke, "I oughta permanently disconnect—"

"—I will take him." Kade interrupted, turning to the shop owner. He looked like he could have throttled the droid if she hadn't said something to stop him.

Her offer took him aback. "You-you will? But… but he's just a pile of scraps with a sarcasm chip!"

She shrugged. Dealing with sassy attitudes always seemed to be a constant in her life, and she needed something better than a protocol droid. While the purchase would perhaps be against her better judgment, she was running out of time. She would take the droid and figure out his idiosyncrasies later. "How much for the scraps?"

Raising his hand to pull at his mouth tendrils, he thought for a long while. "Six thousand credits."

With a sigh, Kade took one more glance at the BX droid, who hadn't moved a joint other than turning his head to glance around and track the conversation between the two. "Expensive pile of scraps, but you have a deal." It was far more than what she had wanted to pay, but she was also getting a much more expensive piece of equipment than what she had originally been seeking out. If the droid behaved, he would be far more useful, too.

Kade stepped back towards the desk, where she assumed the payment processing was located, and pulled her credits card from her utility belt.

The shop owner followed her, reaching out a hairy hand to take her card. "Well, even being a sarcastic pain in the butt and the cosmetic scratches, he's still a BX series…" The shop owner trailed off his tangent of trying to justify his price and instead stared at the card he had in his hand. His eyes glinted and he started to visibly sweat.

"Is there a problem?" Kade raised her eyebrow, feeling a twinge of concern at his hesitation.

His eyes flicked nervously to hers. "These are jedi credits…" He whispered.

"And?" Kade did her best to maintain composure. One wrong word from her and he might panic and signal for help. Which was exactly the kind of attention that Kade didn't want. The card purchase would be a big enough flag, but it at least would give a greater head start than a call to the Clones.

He swallowed loudly, "Last I looked the jedi temple was still in smoking embers." His mouth tendrils twitched. "I'm not looking for trouble, now."

Kade held his nervous gaze, stepping forward and raising a hand in defense. "If you accept my credit, you can run it for double, just for your trouble. You can even report me after I leave. Might make for an extra reward." She tempted him. While she hated to engage in bribery, it would save her time, and it wasn't as if she had to worry about justifying her expense reports to the council anymore.

"Double?!" He wheezed, shifting his feet, "Err, well, yes, I suppose I can make an exception then…"

While he worked to run the payment, Kade glanced back at the droid. The BX droid was looking down at the floor and had taken a step forward, easing its way out of the junk tangled around its feet.

The shop owner cleared his throat, bringing Kade's gaze back to him. He held the card out for her to take back, signaling he was finished with the transaction.

"Keep it." She whispered, gently waved it away. Even half the purchase amount would have been flagged immediately, and the card would do her no good in a few hours. She was lucky the Temple accounts hadn't already been shut down—they would be soon enough.

Kade turned back towards the droid, once more. "Come on, scraps, we have a long road ahead." Reluctant to head back out into the rain and to the danger that lurked outside, she pulled the hood over her head and made her way out of the shop.

The droid shifted in jerky movements towards her and the door. "How undignifying. I do have a name, my new Master."

The unusual Coruscant rain had seemingly begun to come down in harder sheets. Once outside, Kade waited for the droid to emerge before she ducked back into the alley that had initially led her to the droid shop. She weaved in and out of the shadows, turning down several side streets to keep from the view of the main thoroughfare. She knew exactly where she needed to go from here.

Scraps made his way, limping along behind her, not taking to the shadows but instead following at a fair distance, enough so that she didn't worry he was giving away her position or making it known that he was following someone. She made note that she would need to try to repair his hip mechanisms before they got into any precarious situations—he was not nearly as fast as he had the potential to be.

It wasn't long before she came to her target: the main terminal garage for the lower Coruscant levels. Several Clone Troopers were posted outside the hanger doors, preventing her from attempting to enter. She knew she would need to wait them out, so Kade hung back in the alley and crouched out of sight behind a large cargo container.

Slowly making his way, Scraps joined her, crouching down beside her. He gazed around at the surroundings, before finally asking, "What is our objective?"

Chewing on her lips, she pulled out her round, holo communicator from her belt. "We have a few errands first, but ultimately we're tracking a jedi."

"Ah, my expertise!" Scraps replied, perhaps a little too cheerfully. His eyes seemed a little brighter—but it could have also been the darkness of the alleyway accentuating them. "Any jedi in particular?"

Frowning at his apparent excitement, she engaged the message that she had watched at least a dozen times already. "Just one."

"This is Master Obi-wan Kenobi…."

As his image flickered to life in the palm of her hand, she paid little attention to the words he spoke and instead, she ran her eyes over his blue holographic face, the lock of hair that always seemed to be out of place, and the sadness that was written all over his expression.

"…I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged. Our trust… our faith… our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force with you… always."

The image flickered, disappearing in her palm, and Kade felt an intense feeling of sorrow wash over her—no different from the other times she had watched his message. She had been at the Temple when the Clones turned on the jedi, and in the middle of the skirmish and narrow escape, Obi-wan's recording had suddenly appeared in the Temple Archives, broadcasting on an encrypted channel.

She had barely missed him, somewhere in passing, and by the time she discovered the broadcast, it was as if he had vanished into thin air, as fleeting as the image in her hand. Obi-wan could be literally anywhere in the universe by now, but she knew he was alive, and she was determined to find him.

"We are tracking this jedi?" Scraps clarified, his head tilting as he regarded her.

Kade nodded and let out a sigh. The rain continued to fall, and she let it drip onto her face as she looked up to the sky. The rain clouds and the eternally bright lights of the city-planet obstructed the stars. "Where are you, my very old friend?"

No matter how far she tried to reach out into the universe, her force signature was met with silence.

42 BBY

Thwack, thwack, thwack...

The rain was so damned loud against the tarp that they had fashioned into a tent on Alistan Nor's lush jungle floor. Kade watched as the large raindrops reverberated against the canvas material, following the droplets as their indent slid down the curve of the top to the far edge and disappeared into the damp ground beneath them. She wondered if it ever stopped raining here. Everything they brought on this 'recreational hike' was soaked—including them.

Kade drew her lips into a straight line and yanked her cloak a little tighter around her, trying not to let her teeth chatter. She had no idea what time it was or when dawn was going to be, but it felt like days waiting for the sun to rise.

Her master, Mace Windu, was snoring loudly beside her. He had kept her awake for nearly the entire night. They'd all be lucky if he hadn't woken the whole jungle with his nightly rumbling.

Kade squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine the warm and quiet meditation rooms back home on Coruscant…

Warm puff cakes…

Her dry, cozy bed…

Letting go of the breath she was holding, she sat straight up and scowled at the door of her tent. It was no use. The thoughts of home only made her shiver more.

Yanking on her damp boots, she quietly made her way out of the tent, carefully stepping over Mace on her way out. Once she was standing in the chilly open-air, she stretched her chest, feeling her spine crackle with the movement. The bedroll they had laid out for themselves was not soft enough for the hard and twisted, endless roots on the jungle floor.

It was a little brighter outside than when they had retired for the evening, but the day had not yet broken into the early morning hours. Little, unseen creatures cooed in the darkness around her, their jingle of voices eerie in the thick jungle.

She rewrapped her cloak tightly around her and took the opportunity to glance around for Obi-wan Kenobi. It didn't take her long to locate him. He was nestled inside a large root of the massive tropical tree they had chosen to make camp around. His closeness to the tree was providing him some reprieve from the rain, but his cloak was also wrapped tightly around him. As he breathed, little tuffs of steam rose from his lips and nose.

For being on watch for the evening, he was drooping a little more than he should have been. His head looked too heavy for his body as he struggled to keep himself upright and his eyes from closing.

Kade shuffled over to him, thick raindrops steadily wetting her hair. She knew she was going to have a head full of a frizzy, tangled mess in the morning. "I'm surprised you can sleep with all this racket." She announced, her arms tight around herself.

"I'm not sleeping…" Kenobi retorted, jerking up a little straighter, half-heartedly defensive at the accusation. He yawned, widely, before his eyes lit up. "Oh, is it time for your watch?"

"No," Kade shook her head and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "But I figured I'd come keep you company, until then. I'm really cold and Mace's snoring is keeping me awake."

He gave her a sympathetic smile and then scooted to one side of the root. Opening his cloak, he exposed his dry, tan tunic and silently invited her to join him. It was a tight fit and it took a bit of adjusting, but she was able to squeeze into the alcove beside him. They were all arms for a few minutes while they figured out a comfortable position sharing their cloaks.

"By the stars, you're warm." Obi-wan commented. She could feel his force presence radiate happiness for the slight bit of extra heat.

"Speak for yourself," Kade whispered, contentedly, already feeling like she was no longer at risk of losing all her teeth to violent chattering. She rested her head back against the tree and allowed the tension from the evening to fade.

It had been a few years since she had been quite this intimate with a close friend, but as creche-mates, their tight-knit group had gotten accustomed to comforting one another this way when one of them had a nightmare or were still learning to deal with tough emotions. Over the years, it had kept them bounded as younglings. Even though they had all started to grow apart, padawans on their own unique journey to knighthood, being near her close friends still seemed to improve even the worst situations.

From this vantage point, Obi-wan and her had full view of their two tents and the small camp they had created only hours prior. Kade's eyes trailed to the boots sticking out of the door of Kenobi and Jinn's lean-to. The boots twitched ever so slightly, their tall owner shifting in his sleep.

"Any sign of the tivreu basilisks?" She asked after a moment, remember the reason why their master's had placed them on a rotating nightly watch. The locals had warned the four of them before they departed into the jungle, of the massive, slithering creatures that had a large appetite and a lethal stinger on the end of their tails.

Obi-wan shook his head and suppressed another yawn. "No, it's been really quiet."

Mace suddenly let out a large snore that rattled the canvas tent.

"Other than that." Obi-wan clarified with a toothy grin.

"It's probably scaring them away." Kade chuckled, "You're lucky Jinn is a quiet sleeper."

Obi-wan nodded in agreement and reached up to rub at his red, tired eyes. "Can you hear him in your apartment?"

It was not unusual for padawans and their masters to share a two-bedroom apartment, particularly if they were of the same species and required similar environmental conditions. Both Kade and Obi-wan resided with their masters.

"Most nights," Kade shrugged, feeling a yawn pull at her jaw. She closed her eyes and adjusted to rest her head against Obi-wan's shoulder. She was finally warming up to a comfortable temperature. "But never quite this loud."

She felt him sigh after another yawn, and as much as she tried to open her eyes, she couldn't seem to find the strength. It was just so pleasant to finally have a moment where she wasn't thinking constantly about how cold she felt. Relishing in the cozy position, she let her mind wander and reminded herself that in a few hours she would take over for Obi-wan and be responsible for the rest of the nights watch.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, Obi-wan shifted and gently pushed her off his shoulder.

Her head dropped with the lack of support, and she pulled her head upright, a slight muscle cramp shooting down her spine from the prolonged position. Her mouth felt dry and there was a sticky spot on her cheek. Taking an unexpectedly sharp breath in and feeling the urge to stretch, she opened her eyes. It was incredibly bright, however, and she had to blink to adjust to the daylight.

Daylight!

Kade shot upright, quickly using the back of her sleeve to wipe the dried drool from the corner of her mouth. But it was already too late.

"And what do we have here?" Raising his eyebrow, Qui-gon Jinn loomed over them, his arms crossed in front of his body.

She felt the embarrassment creep a rosy color across her nose, and she automatically turned her head to her tent. There was movement inside, but it looked like Mace hadn't yet emerged. Kade felt the pleading in her eyes when she flicked her gaze back to meet with Jinn's. If Mace found out she had fallen asleep, through both Kenobi's watch and her own, he would have her running through lightsaber forms for days.

Mace was a powerful jedi. Wise and knowledgeable in the ways of the force—she felt eternally lucky to have been chosen by him. But he had a penchant for punishment in the form of strenuous, repetitive form drills.

Obi-wan cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry, Master, it was my fault—"

Kade shook her head, "—No, I was the one that—"

Qui-gon's hand shot out from his sleeve, stopping them from their panicked babbling.

Feeling the shift in energy from Obi-wan beside her, she knew it wasn't just her that was bracing for a firm scolding.

However, Qui-gon merely frowned and continued to scrutinize them. "I'm glad you two weren't eaten." He leaned closer and spoke in a low tone that was almost a whisper, "let this be a lesson and don't let it happen again."

"Yes, Master," they both replied together.

"Obi-wan," He addressed, standing straight, and starting back towards their lean-to. "Let's start breaking down camp, then we'll leave Master Windu and Padawan Draen to figure out a morning meal before we continue for the day."

As Qui-gon turn his back on the two, Kade and Obi-wan exchanged an embarrassed, but thankful glance. Kade exaggerated a wipe across her brow and made a face at him. They might have just gotten off easy.

He repressed a smile, and stood, untangling himself from their cloaks. Extending his hand, Obi-wan pulled Kade up to stand from the burrow they had been nestled into.

Mouthing out a 'thank you', she brushed the dirt and leaves from her trousers. The butt of her pants was still damp from the ground, but the rest of her clothes and cloak were fairly dry. It had stopped raining sometime in the night, and the air smelled like fresh morning dew. Warm morning light came in streams through the breaks in the trees, casting pink and yellow beams on their clearing. It was a much prettier campsite, she noted, than it had appeared to have been when they had arrived last night.

Mace Windu emerged from the lean-to and immediately caught Kade's gaze.

"Good morning, Master," She greeted, pulling off her cloak and shaking out the organic debris that stuck to the fibers, "Sleep well?"

He considered her question for a moment and then nodded, "Quite."

Kade carefully studied his face as he moved to greet Qui-gon Jinn and discuss the morning's agenda. If he had heard any of the commotion from the wake-up call earlier, his expression and interaction with Jinn didn't show it. Mace was a stoic person, though, and he was often difficult to read. She was learning, through the last couple of years under his study, to pay attention to the subtle shifts of tone in his voice or the faint changes in his eyes.

He was far more reserved than most jedi, taking a very old-school approach to teaching the ways of the force—at a double arm's length and coming down hard with the discipline when Kade did something wrong. It had made their relationship feel awkward, at times. Kade had seen the way other masters interacted with their padawans in a warm familial manner. Mace was not built like that and all too often she felt like she was constantly disappointing him because of it.

"Kade," Mace beckoned, interrupting her train of thought.

Realizing that she had been staring down at the hairbrush in her hand, Kade looked up. She must have retrieved it from their tent while her mind wandered, but the memory was fuzzy.

Mace had started a small fire in a hollowed-out pit of rocks and was prepping rations to break their fast. He patted the ground next to him. "You were letting your thoughts drift again, Padawan. You must be mindful of your control."

Before she was able to sit down beside him, he gestured for her to give him the brush and to turn her back to him. "Yes, Master," He wasn't wrong, she had zoned out, letting herself get carried away with a concern of not meeting expectations. Kade positioned herself facing away from him and crossed her legs beneath her, feeling the warmth of the fire on one side of her body.

"Let's run through a mindfulness meditation while we wait on our rations," While it sounded like a suggestion, she knew it was more of a demand. Mace took the end of her frizzy braid in uncharacteristically gentle fingers, sliding the elastic band loose, and releasing the locks from their simple bound pattern.

This wasn't the first time Mace had insisted on fixing her hair, and while Kade enjoyed the physical act, it always seemed so clinical coming from him—an inconvenience he would bear in order to efficiently carry out a teaching moment. She could sense his furrowed brow and concentrated stare bear into the back of her head.

Movement in her peripheral caught her attention and she watched Qui-gon coil some rope between his elbow and hand.

"If you must let your mind relax," Mace continued, drawing her attention back with his low and steady voice, "you need to first direct the unconscious path."

Rubbing at her knees and straightening her posture, she took a deep inhale and closed her eyes. Kade focused on the feeling of him combing through her hair. Little tingles ran down her spine with each pull, and it almost startled her when her brush touched the side of her head, sharp bristles drawing back to smooth down the frizz.

Mace continued to speak and to work with her hair, but his voice faded into the singing of birds above them, and the breeze hitting the high branches of the surrounding trees. She could track the small six-legged creatures grouped together nearby, swinging from thick vines, and she could feel the vibration in the air from the wings of passing beetles.

Kade felt the force in the ground beneath her, pulsing into her body like it was doing through roots on the trees. Drawing her focus back to her smaller area of the clearing, she concentrated on sensing the lifeforce of Mace behind her. Reaching out she brushed against the familiar lifeforce of Qui-gon and then Obi-wan's.

Obi-wan's lifeforce shuddered and brightened as she connected with it—a reaction she had not experienced before, and it strangely warmed her to the core. She sluggishly opened her eyes, Mace's voice still directing her meditation behind her. But she was distracted for another reason, this time.

Obi-wan was leaning down to set his stuffed hiking pack on the ground a few feet in front of her. He turned his head and locked eyes with her. His long padawan braid flipped from his shoulder, gently swinging with the momentum of the turn. A genuine smile slowly formed on his thin lips at their shared gaze.

She didn't know why, but she felt a blush rise in her cheeks and averted her eyes.