Anakin didn't know what he should do. He felt hurt, but also ashamed, because a Jedi shouldn't feel this way. But when he tried to release his feelings into the Force, they always came back soon. He sighed, but then realized that his feet had walked him to the hangar. A small smile came to his face. Maybe he could tinker a little bit. That would be a good idea.

He entered the hangar and looked around. A trooper looked up and saluted. "Can I help you, Commander?"

"Yes, don't call me Commander. I told Commander Cody and Captain Rex that I need to earn this title," Anakin requested.

The trooper hesitated, but then nodded. "Ok…" he answered uncertainly.

"Call me what you like. Captain Rex called me kid," Anakin added.

"Ok, kid. So?"

"Oh… I wanted to ask if I could help you fix something, or if there are things I could tinker with. I'm pretty good at mechanics," Anakin answered.

"You could help me upgrade the ship I fly," the clone offered.

"Sure!" Anakin answered, smiling.

"Then let's get to work," the trooper said.

At the beginning, Anakin was only allowed to pass the things the trooper needed, but he gave ideas and tips. Some of them were things even the trooper didn't know, so he let Anakin show him what he meant. He quickly realized that Anakin was surprisingly skilled, especially for someone his age. In the end, Anakin was the one tinkering and the trooper passed him the tools.

"What's your name? And please spare me your number, unless you want me to call you by your number rather than your name," Anakin asked, looking the trooper in the eyes.

The trooper smiled, then held out his hand. "Hawk is the name," he introduced himself, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

Anakin took his hand and shook it. "Anakin Skywalker. Nice to meet you, too."

They continued with their work.

"So you're a pilot?" Anakin asked while working.

"I'm one of the pilots here, yes. Flying is the best thing I ever did and do in my life," Hawk answered. "You?"

Anakin smiled as he thought of flying. "I know how you feel. When I'm flying, I feel free."

"Oh yes, ad'ika," Hawk answered.

"Addikar?" Anakin asked, confused, and Hawk chuckled at the wrong pronunciation.

"Ad'ika," he repeated clearly. "It means kid, boy and so on. It's Mando'a, our native language."

"I thought your native language would be Kaminoan," Anakin said.

"Well, we're no Kaminoans. Technically, we're Mandalorians, so we speak Mando'a," Hawk answered.

"Ah. That sounds logical," Anakin said, nodding. "Is there something else you want to upgrade?" he added.

"What? Did you finish it already?" Hawk asked.

Anakin grinned. "Yes, look," he answered, and moved aside to let Hawk see his finished work.

Hawk inspected the ship and nodded, impressed. "Let's run the tests," he said, and grabbed the testing equipment.

"That looks pretty good," Hawk admitted once the tests were finished. "It should work while flying. Maybe we could do a test flight after Jedha."

"We?" Anakin asked, "We, like in you and me?"

"Of course. You did the most of the work after all," Hawk answered, smiling widely.

"Wizard," Anakin said. "What do we do now?" he asked, then hesitated. In the Temple, nobody liked it when he was pushy. "O-only if you want to do something else with me," he added quietly.

"Why not, ad'ika? You're nice company. But it's late, so we should go to the mess hall before it closes," Hawk answered

"Ok, then let me clean up quickly," Anakin said happily, and jumped to his feet.

"Let me help." Hawk helped without listening to Anakin's protests. Together, they cleaned up quickly and headed to the mess hall.

The mess hall was relatively empty. Only a few clone troopers were still eating. Among them was Captain Rex, who waved them towards himself. Hawk saluted before his captain.

"At ease," Captain Rex answered and then said to Anakin, "It's good that you came. General Kenobi was starting to worry that you got lost."

Anakin looked at the ground. "Sorry, I didn't want anybody to worry. I was at the hangar with Hawk all the time."

Rex sighed. "It's alright, ad'ika… kid."

Anakin looked up thankfully. "Thanks. And you don't have to translate ad'ika. Hawk already told me what it means."

"Well, then. You two should get the last rations of today and then I'll comm the General and tell him that you're with me," Rex said and waved them off.

After getting their meals, Hawk and Anakin returned to Rex to sit with him.

"General Kenobi says that he'd like to speak with you tomorrow, if you don't want to talk about the incident today," Rex said as they began to eat.

"That's good. Thanks," Anakin answered.

Hawk didn't ask what incident he meant, but sighed. "Every day the same rations," he muttered.

"Don't complain, trooper. Take an example at the ad'ika next to you," Rex said sternly and pointed at Anakin, who ate his ration almost enthusiastically.

"How can you eat this plain food with such a happy face?" Hawk asked Anakin.

Anakin only shrugged, swallowed and then said, "I don't care how it tastes. I'm only happy to have something to eat."

"Is that a Jedi thing? À la 'Be happy with what you have'?" he asked.

"You could say so," Anakin mumbled, finishing his meal.

"Since you sleep with us in the sleeping cabins, I think it would be good for you to finally go to bed," Captain Rex said and was about to stand up, when he noticed Anakin's bewildered look.

"But Hawk isn't finished with his dinner," Anakin said.

"What does that have to do with going to bed?" Rex asked, as bewildered as Anakin.

"I have to wait. When you eat with someone, you have to wait until everybody's finished before you leave," Anakin explained.

"Why?" Hawk asked curiously, but didn't admit that he felt a little bit flattered due to the fact that someone looked after him.

"That's polite. Have you ever heard of table manners?" Anakin asked. They both shook their heads. "What did you learn as children?" Anakin asked further.

"How to shoot, how to take the enemy down. We're soldiers, not diplomats," Rex answered truthfully.

Anakin pondered a little bit and then nodded. "Sounds logical. But I'll wait and if Hawk also wants to go to the sleeping cabins after finishing his meal, we can go together."

Rex nodded and decided to wait, too.

"So, you're a Jedi child?" Hawk asked while eating.

"I'm a Padawan," Anakin answered.

Hawk nodded. "That was mentioned. And that you Padawans have the rank of a Commander. But what is your job as a Padawan?"

"I'm learning from my Master how to be a Jedi," Anakin said.

"Cody said it's like a Jedi cadet," Rex said. Hawk made an understanding face.

While finishing the meal, Hawk asked some more questions on the topic Padawanship. Anakin answered, having no problems with talking to an ordinary trooper. Rex first felt unsure if he should interfere. It wasn't a trooper's place to question their superior. But the little Jedi didn't seem to care, and Rex was curious himself.

After dinner, they went to the sleeping cabins. Anakin got the bed above Rex's. It was obvious that the clone troopers in the sleeping cabins still felt a bit unsure about the little Jedi in their room, but Anakin was too tired to deal with it and Hawk and Rex glared at the rest, so everybody just accepted it and went to bed.

The next morning, Hawk showed Anakin the way to Obi-Wan's room.

"When you have spare time and want to tinker, you're always welcome to come to the hangar," Hawk said as he waved his goodbye.

"Thanks, Hawk," Anakin answered, then knocked at his Master's door.

Obi-Wan opened the door.

"Anakin, come in," he greeted, and let his Padawan in the room. "I hope you slept well."

Anakin made a defiant face. He didn't like it when his Master acted as if nothing happened. "You wanted to talk about yesterday?" he asked.

Obi-Wan sighed. "You're really bad at having a conversation," he said.

"Well, I'm here to become a Jedi and not a diplomat," Anakin responded.

"As a Jedi, you will have diplomatic missions," Obi-Wan said.

"We're at war. I think the Council will see that I'm better off on the battlefield," his Padawan answered.

"First, I hope the war is long over by the time you become a Knight. Second, don't underestimate the war and the battlefield," Obi-Wan said sternly.

Anakin sighed, "Yes, Master."

"To yesterday, then. You shouldn't have run away. You still let yourself be controlled by your feelings," Obi-Wan lectured.

"Sorry that slavery is a bit harder to overcome than a quarrel with a crèche mate," Anakin mumbled.

His Master sighed the second time. "I know,'' he said.

Anakin gave him an angry look. "Do you?" he asked bitterly.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan admonished.

Anakin snorted. It was full of bitterness. Too much bitterness for an eleven-year-old boy. "My old Master would punish me with a beating for that. You only say my name," he said, looking his shocked Master in the eye. "You don't know," he commented on his Master's expression, "and that's good."

"I-I'm sorry. You're right, I don't know, and what I said… what I was thinking yesterday wasn't right. I apologize for that," Obi-Wan said, with a slight bow of his head.

"I-it's okay…" Anakin said, after recovering from the shock that his Master, the perfect Jedi, apologized to him.

"I apologize for my behavior, too," Anakin said, bowing his head slightly, too. Both smiled, content.

"What about breakfast before meditating? I think there will be nice rations with plenty of non-taste," Obi-Wan suggested.

Anakin snickered. "The rations aren't that bad, Master," he said, and both left the room.

The four days' travel was fairly uneventful. Anakin spent his time training, meditating, doing homework with Obi-Wan, and tinkering and talking about flying with Hawk.

He also learned some strategies, tactics, and formations useful for the war from Cody and Rex. He met Rex's closest friends Jesse, the medic Kix, Denal and Coric, as well as Cody's friends Waxer and Boil.

The cruiser dropped out of hyperspace above Jedha. Anakin followed Obi-Wan while he organized the final preparations for the landing. Then they all boarded the transports and flew towards the planet's surface. Jedha was a rocky and sandy moon, dotted with some plateaus. It was cold. Too cold for Anakin, who froze despite his thick clothes.

The clones built their base with well-rehearsed ease. Once it was finished, Obi-Wan took Cody and the 212th with him to search for the lost Jedi.

"You'll stay here and do as Captain Rex says," he said to Anakin.

Anakin nodded, "Yes, Master. May the Force be with you."

"And with you," his Master answered before he left.