Anakin woke up with the sunrise. He sat up and looked around with sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, Commander," Rex beside him greeted.

"Morning, Rex," Anakin answered, but then blushed. "I-I mean, Captain Rex," he corrected himself quickly.

"Sir, you're my Commander, you don't have to address me as Captain," Rex explained. Anakin looked at Rex thoughtfully and frowned. Rex blinked.

Anakin shook his head. "Maybe, but if I call you Rex, I'll only do it when we're off duty, but I won't disrespect you in front of your men," he said and stood up from his bed. The little Jedi smiled at Rex. "I'm glad that you all see me fit the rank of a Commander, but I also know that you're still wary of me. And of course, you are, you still haven't even known me for even a full week. So why should you trust me as a person," he said.

Rex looked shocked. "Sir, we…" he began, but Anakin interrupted him.

"Don't worry, I will prove myself trustworthy. You don't understand, but I know your situation. I know how you live and how you grew up." Anakin's eyes had a grave deepness to them, which made Rex wonder if the boy was just saying that, or if he really knew how he and his brothers lived, were treated and grew up.

Anakin didn't wait for Rex to end his thought and say something, and left him alone with his thoughts.

As Obi-Wan left his tent where he had had a meeting with the Council, he ran into Anakin, who was helping the clones to prepare for their departure. He frowned when he saw how happily Anakin accepted that Commander Cody told him what he should do and how. Obi-Wan didn't know if he should be happy or concerned about this. Normally, Anakin argued when someone told him what to do and how to do it, especially when it was simple tasks like carrying things or relaying messages.

In the back of his mind, Obi-Wan knew that it was because that kind of work reminded Anakin of his life as a slave. He sighed and despite having to talk with his Padawan, he let him help the clones, noticing his determination and concentration while he worked.

In the evening, they finally boarded the ship and were ready to depart.

Obi-Wan couldn't see his Padawan anywhere, so he decided to look for him in the mess hall, where most clones were going. After arriving, he saw Anakin eating with some clones, so he got himself some rations and sat down at the same table. The clones looked a little bit shocked and were about to stand up and salute, but Obi-Wan motioned at them not to do it.

"At ease, troopers," he said, and looked to his Padawan. "Good evening, Padawan."

"Hey, Master," Anakin said after swallowing.

"How's your leg? I saw you working all day," Obi-Wan asked.

"It doesn't hurt at all. Like I said, it's only a scratch," Anakin answered.

"Oh, Padawan. The graze of a laser bolt is not just a scratch," he said, sighing, but also a little bit amused.

"Then a little burn, but it's nothing big or critical," Anakin answered, and his Master sighed.

The clones listened, fascinated. It was their first time seeing their General behave as a Master of a Padawan and not as a Jedi General. But the conversation ceased, and everyone ate in silence.

After the evening meal, Anakin followed his Master to his small cabin. When the door closed, Anakin found himself in Obi-Wan's embrace.

"M-Master," Anakin stuttered, surprised. He knew that Obi-Wan liked hugs, but didn't do it often, and would never admit to it. The most times it was Anakin who hugged his Master and Obi-Wan hugged him back, after making sure nobody saw them.

"I'm sorry Padawan, Anakin. You never should get into a battle, especially not alone," Obi-Wan said.

"But I wasn't alone. The men were at my side and had my back," Anakin answered and stroked Obi-Wan's back. "I'm alright," he assured.

"Nevertheless, you shouldn't be on the battlefield, you shouldn't see men dying or getting hurt. There are reasons why Padawans are not allowed to go on dangerous missions at such a young age. I shouldn't have allowed this," Obi-Wan said.

"But Master, I had to be there. I was able to help them," Anakin argued.

Obi-Wan let go of Anakin and sighed. "I know. I heard what you did out there. Because of you, they were able to win with no casualties."

Anakin looked down. "Almost. I wasn't able to save Beat… The clone I found in that cave with Coric," he whispered.

"We can't save everyone," Obi-Wan answered and grabbed Anakin's shoulder, squeezing it softly. "You did well out there. I'm proud of you."

Anakin looked up and saw that his Master meant what he said. "Thank you, Master," he answered, and smiled a little bit.

Then he looked down again and said uneasily, "And seeing people die… I've grown up seeing people get hurt or die in side streets. I don't like it, but I'm used to it."

"Oh, Ani…", Obi-Wan said, using Anakin's nickname, and hugged the child again. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Master. It's okay," Anakin assured again.

They stayed a while in their hugging position before they let go. "I need a meditation over this. Come, you could use it too," Obi-Wan said.

They sat down. As always, Anakin sensed how easily his Master fell into meditation, emptying his mind and opening himself to the Force to find peace and strength in its whisper.

But Anakin didn't hear a whisper. He heard the Force roar. He didn't need to listen closely, he needed to shield himself from the input the Force was giving him to avoid being overwhelmed. He couldn't just sink into meditation like his Master.

He had once asked what the Force felt like when meditating. Obi-Wan answered that it was sometimes a silent lake he entered. A lake where he could breathe and feel weightless. When meditation was harder, it was just a little stream he could dip his hand into.

But water was not Anakin's expertise. For him, it was like entering a sandstorm. If he wanted to go into deep meditation, he first had to shield himself while entering. Then, when he wanted to open himself, he had to lower his shields, bit by bit. He couldn't just lower them altogether. He had to calm down the storm, so he lowered them little by little, to just let a few gusts of wind in. With training, he could lower his shields more and more, but it was exhausting to lower them without letting them fall completely.

When he had first learned to meditate, he was afraid of this storm, but Obi-Wan had kept telling him to open himself, so one day, he tried it when he was alone in his bedroom. He opened himself to the Force.

It hurt; his mind was blown away by the Force. He lost himself in the storm and lost his control. After he managed to get out of the storm, out of the meditation, his bedroom looked like a storm had raged in it.

Luckily, Obi-Wan didn't notice it, and Anakin was able to tidy up his room before Obi-Wan could see it. Anakin still wondered how nobody in the Temple had sensed his little Force storm. But maybe his wish to train meditation secretly to surprise Obi-Wan had let him unconsciously shield his bedroom.

Since that incident, Anakin never tried to open himself to the Force all at once.

Apart from the training and time he needed more than the others, his shielding didn't let him empty his mind, because his shields didn't just hold the storm out, they also bottled up his feelings and thoughts, and didn't let them out. He had to push them out through his slightly lowered shields and that wasn't easy, because the storm kept pushing against it. He mostly managed to push only a few of his feelings, minus the frustration his struggle created.

Deep meditation always left him exhausted, so he only did it when he was alone. His ego didn't let him show his struggle to others. He didn't want to see the faces of others or Obi-Wan when mediation had the opposite effect on him than it should, so he often only did light meditation when with others, or let himself be guided by Obi-Wan to his Force lake.

"By the way, why did you leave the base? I told you not to," Obi-Wan asked after the meditation session was over.

Anakin's eyes went wide, and he looked down sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry, Master. But in my defense, the Force led me. I just followed it. It led me to Coric and Beat. Maybe you already know, but they were trapped in a cave. I fell in it, too. I didn't want it, but the ground just gave in. But because I was there, I was able to lead them out. Unluckily, there was a cave-in. Then there was something calling me and… I found this humming crystal. Is this a kyber crystal?" Anakin asked, without telling him about his mother or the Sith he met. If it was really a Sith.

While talking, he took the crystal out of his pocket to show it to his Master.

This time, Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. "Yes…" he said. "You found your kyber crystal… Anakin, do you know what that means?"

Anakin shook his head and looked questioningly at his Master.

"You know that building your own lightsaber is something special for a Jedi," Obi-Wan began and Anakin nodded, ready to soak up all new information like a sponge. Obi-Wan had to smirk about this thirst for knowledge.

"Well, it's not only because the lightsaber is a powerful weapon and a part of being a real Jedi. It's also because it needs a kyber crystal to work," he explained, and Anakin looked at the kyber crystal he'd found, astounded.

"And not only any kyber crystal. You need the one the Force led you to. Traditionally, we go to Ilum for the Gathering, it's a ceremony where a group of younglings go to find their crystals. After that, they build their first lightsaber. But obviously, the Force doesn't care about tradition," Obi-Wan told Anakin and laughed a bit.

Then he got serious. "I think your vision of accompanying me to this mission wasn't just to help the clones to protect the base and to find the missing Jedi. I think it was also to find your crystal. The Force wants you to build your lightsaber, which also means it sees you fighting… I don't like the thought, but I think you shall accompany me in this war," Obi-Wan mused and felt the Force humming in agreement. It made him sad. No child should fight in a war.

"Don't be sad Master. I know the war is bad, but I will do my best. We will win this war. It will end soon," Anakin said encouragingly.

Obi-Wan smiled. "You are right, Padawan mine. We will fight, do our best and we will win."

Anakin was about to go when he remembered Master Kosiyr Le'lyar's lightsaber.

"Oh, Master. This belongs to Master Le´lyar," he said, and grabbed the lightsaber from his belt to give it to his Master.

"Right. We have to return it, even if its owner is dead. Thank you, Padawan," Obi Wan said and took it.

"Thanks for what?" Anakin asked, puzzled.

"For not keeping it. I know you've wanted to have a lightsaber since your beginning in the Temple. And I understand it. I appreciate it that you didn't intend to take from the dead," Obi-Wan explained.

"But Master, I took it from his dead body," Anakin answered, staring at the ground.

Obi-Wan smiled softly and laid his hand at Anakin's chin to make him look up.

"Yes, you took it from the dead, but you did it to protect the clones, not to keep it. You never wanted to keep it. And forgetting about it after such a stressful day is just normal. I know it wasn't willingly, so thank you for returning it," Obi-Wan assured his Padawan.

Anakin gave him a small smile. "You're welcome," he said.

"New mission for you, we have. Come back, you can not," the blue hologram of Master Yoda said.

Obi-Wan frowned. They were nowhere near Separatist space, and he wasn't aware of any battles in any of the nearby systems.

"To Selvaris, you must go," Yoda continued.
"The Separatists are trying to build a base there," Master Windu explained. "If we don't stop them, they'll be able to stab us in the back. We have to prevent the heart of the galaxy and Coruscant from getting between two fronts."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We're near Selvaris, but we don't have enough troops for a large battle, and it sounds like there are a lot of enemies," he observed.

Master Windu nodded. "We'd try to send you reinforcements, but all of our units are already out there fighting their own battles. It seems that you're on your own. We're sorry, but you have to stop them by all means."
"We understand, Master Windu. We'll do our best," Obi-Wan answered grimly.

Yoda's eyes went to Anakin. "Heard that great help you were, I have."
Anakin smiled. "Thank you, Master Yoda. I also found a crystal. Master Kenobi said that it's a kyber crystal for my first lightsaber."
"Is that so?" Mace Windu asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. "I was rather surprised," he said. "But it is a kyber crystal."

Master Windu frowned. "Are you sure that it's the right kyber crystal for your Padawan? He could have simply grabbed it in the cave and kept it."

Anakin looked down. He hated it when the others thought he was lying or assumed that he did something wrong.

"I'm sure it's the right kyber crystal," Obi-Wan explained. "My Padawan said that the crystal was humming to him. At the time he told me, he didn't know that the crystal should be humming to him. He didn't even know that he needed one for his lightsaber. We never talked about it. I felt that his surprise was real."

Mace Windu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then he will build his lightsaber after you return," he decided.
Anakin smiled, but then frowned as he remembered what he wanted to ask. The problem was that he didn't know how to ask, and he was afraid how the masters would react.

"Something to say you have, young Skywalker?" Yoda asked.

Anakin looked up, shocked. "I… um… yes, Master Yoda. I… I have a question or a request."
"And this request would be?" Master Windu asked.
"The… the men… I mean the clones. They look rather similar," he started cautiously.

Yoda chuckled. "Because clones, they are."
"I… I know, but this makes it hard to tell them apart. I recognized that they all have different Force presences, but some of them are only slightly different. While in battle, I can't focus enough to tell them apart without getting shot. I'm sure that you could do this without a problem, but I'm just a Padawan," he continued, hoping the Masters would understand. He didn't notice that he had started to speak quite submissively, and not in the cocky way he normally did.

Obi-Wan and the other two Jedi Masters noticed it, and frowned. But Anakin didn't notice, since he was staring at the ground.

"And what is your idea to help everyone to tell them apart?" Mace Windu asked.

Anakin looked up again. "I noticed that we have paint on board. They could paint their armor. Everyone could paint it something else, of course. They could also be allowed to have different hairstyles and tattoos, or something like that, so you can tell them apart even when they don't wear their armor. Only things that won't hinder missions, of course," Anakin told them of his idea.

"And who decides what every trooper should paint on their armor?" Obi-Wan asked, being quite sure what the second, true reason for Anakin's request was.

"They could decide on their own. It would be too much work for us to decide what every trooper should wear," Anakin answered and smiled sheepishly.

Mace Windu sighed, knowing what it could mean if the clones were allowed to individualize their appearance. Though he thought of it as a good thing, he was also sure that the Kaminoans weren't going to like it too much.

"A good idea, this is," Yoda answered, hiding a smile.

"You have our permission. But young Skywalker, you are responsible for it, and you have to make sure that it won't hinder even a single mission in the slightest. Understood?" Master Windu asked.

Anakin nodded and bowed. "Yes, Master Windu."

"Good. It's settled, then. We'll send you the mission details while you're on your way. May the Force be with you," Mace Windu concluded.

"And with you," Obi-Wan answered and bowed. Anakin bowed too, and the transmission ended.

"While we wait for the information, my Padawan and I will catch up on our meditation. Tell Commander Cody and Captain Rex that we'll meet at 1300 for the briefing. And tell them to read through the mission information as soon as we receive it," Obi-Wan said to a clone trooper, who saluted in acknowledgement.