AN: "aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond
I apologize in advance if my portrayal of the fight scene between Jango and Obi-Wan seems a little off. I'm not that good at writing fight scenes, starfighter combat scenes or even lightsaber combat scenes like you'll see in the later chapters. I tried to keep it as accurate to the movie as I could.
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 10
It was still raining on Kamino. It had been raining when the Knight had arrived and it appeared that it would still be raining as he prepared to leave. Maybe that was the reason no one came to the planet.
Obi-Wan and Taun We walked down the hallway side by side, coming to a stop at the same door where they had met when the Jedi had first arrived on the water planet.
"Tell your Council that the first battalions are ready to be deployed," Taun We told him. "And do not forget to tell them that if they need more troops in the future, it will take time to grow them."
"I won't forget," Obi-Wan said. "Thank you for your hospitality and for the tour." He gave a small bow to the female.
"Thank you for taking the time to come visit our planet," Taun We replied as she too bowed her head.
Obi-Wan smiled as he turned around and headed for the door which opened as he approached. He pulled his hood over his head and stepped out into the pouring rain. He knew that he was going to be soaking wet by the time that he made it to his fighter. As he walked away from the building, he heard the door close behind him. Once the Knight had reached his fighter, he turned around and saw that Taun We had left her spot by the door. He knew that it wouldn't do the Jedi any good if the Kaminoans knew that the Council was very much in the opposite direction of this clone army. They were as much in the dark as Obi-Wan himself had been. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Obi-Wan turned to R4, shouting so that he would be heard over the rain. "R4, scramble code four to Coruscant, care of the old folk's home," he said.
R4 beeped and did as Obi-Wan had requested, popping open the small communications array that was built into every Jedi starfighter.
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It was almost nighttime on Coruscant as Masters Yoda, Mace and Qui-Gon sat upon their cushions in Master Yoda's quarters. They were waiting to hear back from Obi-Wan. All three Masters had been quietly talking to one another when the small blue, flickering image of Obi-Wan appeared above the caster in the middle of the semi-darkened room after being carefully decrypted by Temple security.
"Masters, I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino," Obi-Wan said as he made his report. "It appears that they are using a bounty hunter who goes by the name of Jango Fett to create a clone army. I have a strong feeling that this bounty hunter is the one who hired the female to assassinate Senator Amidala."
"Do you think these cloners are involved in the plot to silence the Senator?" Mace asked.
"No Master, I don't believe that they are," Obi-Wan replied. "In fact, I don't think they even know where Jango went. There appears to be no motive or at least no hard feelings that I could sense from either of the Kaminoans that I spoke to."
"Do not assume anything, Obi-Wan," Yoda tells him. "Clear your mind must be if you are to discover the real villains who are behind this plot."
"Yes Master," Obi-Wan replied. "The Kaminoans have asked me to tell you that the first battalions of clones are ready to be deployed. If we are in need of more, it will take time to grow them."
"Did the Kaminoans tell you who placed this order for the clone army Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked.
Obi-Wan nodded. "They told me that it was Master Sifo Dyas who placed the order for the clone army and he had been told that the Senate requested it be done almost ten years ago," he told them.
All three Masters glanced at each other. This was troubling as the council had not been told at the time that such a request had been made of the Jedi Master who had once been a member of their Council before he had been removed.
"I was under the impression that Master Sifo Dyas had been killed before that," Obi-Wan said. "Did the Council ever authorize or even approve of the creation of a clone army?"
"No," Mace immediately answered as he knew what both Master Yoda and Qui-Gon were thinking. The creation of such an army went against every fiber of the Order's core beliefs of using diplomacy first and leaving violence until the very end. Every Jedi, including Anakin, had been taught only to use their lightsaber as a last resort. "Whoever placed that order did not have the Council's authorization."
"Take this Jango Fett into custody at once, you must Obi-Wan," Yoda told him. "Bring him here. Question him we will."
"Yes Master," Obi-Wan responded. "I will contact you again when I have him with me."
There was a soft crackle of static as the hologram faded.
"Blind we have been if the creation of this clone army we could not see," Master Yoda said as he glanced at both Mace and Qui-Gon.
Mace sighed and lowered his head before raising it again. "I think we may have to inform the Senate that our ability to use the Force has diminished," he said.
"Only the Dark Lord of the Sith knows of our weakness," Yoda responded. "If informed the Senate is, multiply our adversaries will."
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The next day after waking up and greeting each other, both Padmè and Anakin went down to the kitchen where they had breakfast together. After that, Padmè went to go change out of her nightgown and robe. She wasn't sure what she and Anakin were going to do today, but wanted to dress appropriately since according to the weather forecast, it was supposed to be hot outside. Because of that, she had chosen to change into her very light blue midriff dress that was decorated with silver embroidery.
When she had finished, she quickly glanced at herself in the mirror. She loved the way that the top wrapped around her, with the wide loose sleeves that formed a cape behind her. The hem of the cape was decorated with silver motifs and the lower half of the dress was accessorized with a tightly drawn sash-like top at the waist that was decorated in the center with a silver beaded pendant. The pants were wide and loose. She wore her hair in two buns on the side of her head, with an intricate, silver, delicate metal headpiece helping keep her hair out of her face. The rest of her hair had been done in waves and trailed down her back.
Then an idea came to her. After getting a quick update from Jar-Jar, she headed out of her room and rejoined Anakin, who was waiting for her downstairs.
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Anakin looked up as Padmè entered the room. His jaw almost dropped as he saw her outfit and he felt that it suited her well since it was hot outside. He then realized that he was staring and averted his gaze while clearing his throat. "Is everything alright Senator?" He asked, once he felt comfortable enough to look at her again. "You were upstairs for a long time."
"Everything is fine Anakin," Padmè responded. "I was just checking in with Jar-Jar."
"How's he doing?" Anakin asked.
"He's fine," she replied. "Just a little stressed with having to attend all those meetings and appointments that I have on my schedule. He's hoping that I'll be back in time to cast my vote on the Military Creation Act."
"I'm sure that Obi-Wan will have this mystery cleared up in no time and we will be on our way back soon," Anakin told her.
"I hope so," Padmè softly said. Then she smiled. "Hey, how about we go see your mother while we're here."
Anakin looked at Padme in surprise as that was something he hadn't been expecting her to say. "Are you sure?" He asked.
She nodded. "Or you could invite her over to the house, if that makes you feel better," Padmè responded.
"I'd rather invite her over here," Anakin responded.
"Go ahead," Padmè told him, smiling as she directed him to the communication room that had been built into the house.
Anakin nodded in thanks as he proceeded to contact his mother. After explaining the reasoning for being on the planet, he told her that Padmè was letting him invite her over so they could see each other as they were going to be limited to holocommunications once the war arrived.
Shimi said that she would love to come see him and Padmè again, but probably wouldn't arrive until after lunch as she had some things that she needed to take care of around her house.
Anakin told her that was fine. After they both said goodbye and hung up, he softly smiled to himself, then returned to Padmè and told her the news.
She was delighted to hear that Shmi would be paying them a visit and asked if they could head down to the private beach to wait by the water until she arrived.
Anakin agreed to that and walked over to the door that led to the balcony and the beach beyond it. He opened it, then turned back to Padmè and gestured outside. "After you milady," he said.
Padmè smiled at him and headed outside into the hot bright sun, with Anakin following her.
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After Jango had told his son to pack his things because they were leaving Kamino, he made his way into his room and come back out dressed in his armor. Boba was a little excited for this trip as this was the first and possibly only time that he was going to be allowed to leave the watery planet as he always had to stay behind when his father left on his business trips.
As soon as they were ready, they picked up their things and left their apartment, making their way to another landing platform where Slave 1 was parked. Once they were outside in the pouring rain, Jango and Boba made their way to their ship.
The rain soaked the young boy and he hastened to get their gear into the ship as quickly as he could. As he reappeared at the top of the ramp and began to carefully make his way down to where his father was making sure their last few boxes were ready to go, he heard the doors to the facility open. He looked up and saw the Jedi who had come to meet his father come running out into the rain. "Dad, look!" Boba yelled, pointing behind him.
Jango turned around and saw the Jedi racing towards him. "Boba, get inside the ship!" He ordered.
Obi-Wan smoothly unclipped his lightsaber off his belt and held it in both of his hands. Then he ignited it.
Jango swiftly drew both of his blasters from their holsters and began to fire at Obi-Wan, while Boba turned around and carefully made his way inside the ship. The Knight immediately began deflecting the bolts that Jango was sending his way, while making his way towards the bounty hunter at the same time.
Jango then activated his jetpack and took off while continuing to fire at the Jedi below him. Obi-Wan managed to deflect most of the blasts, but was forced to drop to the ground and roll out of the way, deactivating his lightsaber in the process as a few of the blasts hit the ground where he had been standing. Jango stopped firing and flew behind one of the towers that dotted the floating city.
Obi-Wan came up out of his duck and roll maneuver and reignited his lightsaber. He twirled his blade around and kept his gaze sharp as he looked for the bounty hunter whom he had been tasked with capturing.
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Inside Slave 1, Boba was sitting in the pilot's seat, with his hands on the control yoke. He took his left hand off the steering mechanism and pressed a few buttons, powering up the ship.
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Obi-Wan watched as the ship began to move with the door that led to the inside still open.
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Jango, who had turned off his jetpack when he landed on the rear of the tower, had placed a rocket in the specially designed socket that had been built into the top of the pack. He slowly made his way around the side and fired at the Jedi, whose attention was divided between the ship and him.
The rocket was the last thing Obi-Wan had been expecting. It struck the platform and exploded, sending Obi-Wan flying backwards, his lightsaber automatically deactivating.
Then Boba lowered Slave 1's laser cannons so that they were facing the Jedi who had yet to make contact with the metal platform.
As the Knight landed on the ground, he sensed that his lightsaber was not in his hand anymore as he had been forced to let go of it. The cylindrical metal handle landed in a puddle of water a few feet away from him.
As soon as Boba was ready, he reached over and pressed a button next to the controls. Lasers spewed forth from both of the cannons, causing the Jedi to once again fly into the air and land on the metal ground.
Boba climbed down from the pilot's seat and pulled himself up to the window, peering out at the rain and the Jedi who was attacking his father.
Obi-Wan managed to get up and leap into the air, delivering a swift force assisted kick to Jango's chest area as the bounty hunter came flying in on his jet pack.
The bounty hunter went flying to the ground, losing his grip on his blaster that he had removed from one of his holsters. As Jango managed to get up, he saw Obi-Wan come flying at him again, managing to land another swift kick on the bounty hunter's chest. It worked and as Obi-Wan was about to make contact with the metal ground again, he lashed out again, kicking Jango in his helmeted face, sending him flying through the air as the silver clad bounty hunter landed on his back as he hit the ground.
As Boba continued to watch from inside the ship, he could see that both his father and the Jedi had made it to their feet and were now engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Obi-Wan lunged forward with a right cross to Jango's stomach that forced the man to take a few steps back, with Obi-Wan still holding on to his shoulder. Jango threw his head forward, aiming for Obi-Wan's head, but the Knight swerved and took the blow on his shoulder instead. The bounty hunter pushed hard and sent Obi-Wan sprawling towards the ground.
The Knight looked to his right and saw his lightsaber laying on the ground in the rain. Getting to his feet, Obi-Wan turned around and thrust out his hand, attempting to summon his lightsaber to him with the force.
Jango saw what the Jedi was attempting to do and activated his jetpack, flying into the air. As he flew towards the Knight, he thrust out his right hand and fired a thin, flexible, and hard to break cable from the gauntlet that was attached to his armor.
As Obi-Wan saw his lightsaber flying towards him, he felt a thin cord wrap around his wrists, bounding them together and the next thing he knew, he was being dragged along the wet ground as his lightsaber flew past him and landed in a small trench that went around the edge of the platform. While he was being dragged along the wet ground, he saw one of the towers that dotted the platform. Suddenly getting an idea, Obi-Wan rolled along the ground, getting to his feet as he landed behind the tower. Gripping the cord as it tightened around the metal structure, he waited until it was tight in his hand and then pulled.
Jango fell from the sky and slammed onto the platform, sliding a few feet until his back hit the edge, causing his jet pack to brake free. The pack flew off, slamming into a nearby grouping of control towers and exploding in a fiery blaze. The bounty hunter scrambled to his feet, slipping a little on the wet platform as he managed to pick up the blaster that he had dropped earlier. As he got to his feet and turned around, he was surprised to see the Jedi Knight charging towards him. Jango managed to raise the gun in the air and fire off one blast, watching as the Jedi dodged it and leapt in the air, kicking him in his chest. Jango felt himself fly off the edge of the platform.
As Obi-Wan watched Jango free fall towards the sloped dome, he realized that the wire was still wrapped around his wrists and the end of it was still attached to Jango's wrist gauntlet. "Oh, this is not good," he said as he was yanked off his feet. He tumbled head over heels as he landed on the wet dome and began to slide down the slippery slope.
As the Jedi Knight slid after the bounty hunter, he saw Jango activate one of his wrist gauntlets, producing a spiky ridge, which he slammed into the side of the building, ignoring the water that he was heading towards. The metal sparked bright and hot as the spikes dug into the dome.
The bounty hunter managed to slow down long enough to turn himself around so he was no longer sliding headfirst towards the water. Obi-Wan saw that he was about to slam into him and jerked himself to the side.
Jango watched as the Jedi slid past him and fell over the edge of the dome. The cord still kept him attached to the bounty hunter so that at least he wasn't free-falling.
It was a struggle as Jango fought to keep his balance on the edge of the slippery dome since the Jedi was swinging back and forth below him. He slowly was able to bring his left arm towards him and pressed one of the buttons, releasing the cord and freeing him from the dangling Jedi. Then he fell back against the slanting wall and took a deep breath as the heavy weight was suddenly gone.
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Obi-Wan felt himself free falling through the air as he managed to quickly untangle the cord from around his wrists. Then he used the Force to slow down just enough to toss the end of the cord onto a part of another walkway that was below the platform that he and Jango had been fighting on. The cord wrapped itself around the post and Obi-Wan felt himself jerk to a stop as he hung onto the cord.
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Jango got up and slowly made his way to the edge of the platform. Then he peered over the edge and saw nothing. The Jedi was gone. He knew there was no time to waste as he rolled over and began the slow climb back up to the platform. He was pretty sure that the Jedi would have been able to survive that fall and would be coming after him. He needed to get up to his ship and get himself and Boba off the planet.
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Obi-Wan hung on to the wire tightly, while reaching out with the Force to get a sense of where Jango was and what he was doing. As soon as Obi-Wan got the impression that Jango was heading back to his ship and that he thought that the Jedi was no more, the Knight knew that he still had a chance to catch him.
Obi-Wan eyed the distance to a walkway that was below him and flipped to it. Then he used the Force to open the door and ran into the facility.
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At last, Jango made it back to the platform where Slave 1 was waiting for him. As he climbed over the edge, he got to his feet and headed towards the ship. Boba saw him and climbed down from the viewport. He got back into the pilot's seat and started up the ship again.
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Obi-Wan burst out onto the landing platform, only to see that Jango was boarding his ship as it was slowly taking off. Summoning his lightsaber to him, he activated it, while taking out a tracking beacon from his belt. Activating the device, he hurled it at the ship, using the Force to help guide it into place.
The device attached itself onto the hull of Slave I and opened up, emitting its signal that was ready to be traced. Obi-Wan watched as the ship fired its engines and flew away into the clouds. Then he deactivated his lightsaber and took a deep breath, hoping that it would be easy to catch up with the bounty hunter.
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As they walked across the balcony and down the stairs towards the private beach that was a part of the villa that Padmè's family owned, Padmè glanced over at Anakin. She knew that she still hadn't given him her answer yet, but had the feeling that he wouldn't mind a few more days of waiting.
Once they reached the beach and were walking across the sand, the water lapping at their feet, her mind drifted back to the conversation that they had shared the previous night before heading to bed. She knew that she had a tough decision to make. Yes, she was beginning to fall for Anakin, but she honestly asked herself if it was only his appearance that she was falling for. She then thought about how Anakin looked since they had met on Coruscant. The boy that she had known since her teenage years had now become a fine and honorable man.
As Anakin walked beside Padmè, he could tell that she was thinking about their talk last night. He knew it was a tough decision to make and didn't wish to push her into anything she didn't want to do.
Once they came to the end of the beach, both Padmè and Anakin turned to face the water and just stood there. Each were lost in their own thoughts.
The Senator glanced at her Jedi protector and knew that she was safe with him, even though his hands were clasped behind his back. She looked out over the water and knew that if she and Anakin did fall in love and eventually get married, they would have to keep it a secret. She didn't know if she was ready to keep that kind of secret from most of her friends in the Senate, let alone some members of her family.
Anakin was meditating with his eyes closed. While immersed in the Force, as well as keeping an eye on his surroundings, he got the impression that Padmè was indeed the person that he was to fall in love with. Now, all he needed to do was let her figure that out for herself. He knew that even if they did fall in love, he would still have to get the Council's permission before they could get married. Then he had another vision regarding Rosella. In it, he could see that he was in front of the Council and was asking for permission to… adopt her?
As he withdrew from his meditation, he kept his eyes closed as he loved the feeling of the sun on his face and the sound of the water in his ears. Then he frowned as he went over the prophecy again in his head. While it didn't mention just who this Star was, he, as well as the Council, knew that it was a female.
Knowing that the vision was important, he decided to discuss it with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan when his current assignment was over and he was back at the Temple.
"Anakin?" Padmè asked, not sure if she was disturbing his meditation.
"Yes?" Anakin asked in response.
"What would happen if the Sith were to find the person who is part of the prophecy that you told me about last night?" Padmè inquired as she was curious and wanted to hear more.
"Well, according to the prophecy, if the Dark Lord were to find whoever this person is, he would stop at nothing to get rid of her," Anakin responded as he opened his eyes. "If that happened, then the rest of the Order and myself would be unable to stop the Sith from taking over the galaxy since we would have no clue to his or her identity."
"I hope that doesn't come true Ani," Padmè said as she turned around and started walking back towards the house.
"So do I," Anakin softly said as he trailed behind her.
AN: Yes, Shmi will be making appearances in the next two chapters. Originally, I was going to briefly mention her in the prologue and chapter 4. But then I realized that Anakin and Padmè have to acquire C-3PO from her somehow.
UP NEXT: Obi-Wan goes after Jango and Boba, while Anakin is reunited with his mother.
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