Chapter 11.
Mining Colony
Rori, Moon of Naboo
Guided by one of the higher level workers up the stairs to the second floor, Retep and R2D2 followed them into a secure room in the east corner of the distribution center. As they approached, they noticed the central dataroom was locked behind a secure door and surrounded with transparisteel windows. Peeking out the windows, the second floor covered only half of the facility's size and the rest was left open to monitor the workers below. Looking down, they could watch as the shipments were packed and prepared for off world distribution.
Leaving the door slightly ajar, waiting for Captain Skywalker to join them, R2D2 plugged into the droid access outlet beeping his findings to Commander Ageelil next to him. Typing away at a nearby terminal, Retep concentrated on his own research and relayed his findings with the droid. Thirty minutes of this and Retep felt compelled to make casual conversation with the astromech.
"So…how long have you been with Captain Skywalker?" It was still weird calling him Anakin.
R2 spun his head unit towards Retep and replied with beeps and whistles. Not having much prior experience, Retep wasn't the best at the astromech's language, but he understood enough.
"For the entire Clone Wars? You must have a lot of stories to tell," as he scrolled through the datapad he was reading.
R2's pride evident as he did a long, high pitched whistle then punctuated with several beeps.
"Really?" Retep chuckled, "The only reason Captain Skywalker is alive is because you saved his life so often?" He rolled his eyes. "Sure, if you say so," with a sarcasm laced in his tone.
This didn't go over well with the sensitive droid who abruptly disconnected from the terminal and rolled into the commander defiantly sending out a quick set of beeps.
Startled, Retep let go of the datapad he was holding and backed up away, "Hey….I'm sorry! I wasn't calling you a liar!"
While he never met a droid with so much bravado in his life, it wasn't so much the droid that surprised him, as the rare way Captain Skywalker regarded the droid. Not surprisingly, the droid spoke very passionately about his master and the amount of loyalty for his master was clearly evident. He was touched with how Anakin treated R2 as if he was a living life form. It's as if Anakin didn't see any difference in sentient beings; living or droid. Most people treated droids as tools to be used even though they express self awareness and desires. It was eye opening for Retep.
"I mean, I'm sure you helped him but he is a Jedi." He laughed nervously as he shrugged his shoulders. "He can handle himself."
R2 glared at him somehow. One of the lights on his head unit flashing slowly and rhythmically. Seemingly satisfied, he finally whistled at him and returned to the terminal.
Retep let out a sigh, "You're right. You always need someone to watch your back." He returned to the datapad he dropped. Hoping to lighten the mood, "Well, I think we did pretty good here. There's pretty good damning evidence we can present to Captain Skywalker when he comes by."
"Someone say my name?" Captain Skywalker strode in casually.
Relief crossed Retep's face as he smiled. "Hello, sir." He greeted him quickly, "Artoo has been really helpful."
Anakin crossed his arms as he stopped between to the two of them. "Artoo can be helpful from time to time." His tone with light and joking.
R2 beeped him a warning and earned a chuckle from Anakin.
"So, what did you and Artoo find out?"
Retep glancing at the datapad in his hands, "The logs here are, thankfully, quite meticulous. Every day there are regular log entries. It appears that usually there's 1% or less of tainted spice a month. This has been the trend for the last several couples of months. Then, last month, it spiked to 5%. Something about one of the shafts had been compromised."
Leaning towards his Captain, Retep tapped on the datapad and pulled up a screen to show Anakin, "Usually there's an additional test to analyze the tainted spice; organic material, radiation level, trace elements. Last month they only did that for one of the days, and it was assumed that the impurities were from the same cause, so the rest was discarded. Something about knowing what the contamination is in the particular shaft and wanting to salvage as much as possible."
Reaching for the datapad, Anakin examined the data. Waiting for his Captain to go over the data, curiosity overtook him. Retep asked, "How did your talk with Wehttam go?"
Anakin's lips thinned and he flashed him a look quickly. "It's not him," he stated in a deep tone warning him not to defying him.
Ignoring the warning, the young man's temper rose up and he furrowed his brows, "How do you know that? I went over his transmission. He's hiding something."
Anakin slowly put the datapad down on the terminal in front of him, steeling himself to be patient with the young man and not draw into his anger. "The shipment you heard about was an anniversary present for his wife from the planet Buac."
"Buac? It's illegal to trade with that planet. Everyone knows that!"
Anakin raised an eyebrow, "You would arrest a man for wanting to get his wife a nice anniversary present?"
The young man clenched his fists by his side. There's a difference between smuggling spice and a simple, yet in poor judgment, present. He knew that. Wrinkling his face and slumping forward, he muttered, "I guess I wouldn't."
Anakin seemed satisfied with the young man's answer. At least he was teachable. It's one of the reasons he took notice of the young man. Anakin could handle high spirited individuals like Retep and Ahsoka. As long as they were teachable, he could help them reach their potential.
Retep added, "Someone here is doing something with that spice. Who is it then?"
Putting his hands on his hips, Anakin walked over to the transparasteel window to gaze down at the packaged products wheeled away.
Anakin inquired, "Who decides whether or not to do additional testing on the product?"
Retep looked surprised, "Well…" He picked up the datapad and searched for a name. "Oh, here. Artoo mentioned that his name came up several times regarding the tainted spice. Someone by the name Oren"
A smile crossed Anakin's face, "That's the head of distribution. He's the one Wehttam said to go talk to. I think we should pay this gentleman a visit. Good work you two!"
A burly man in his early 30s, Oren had long, black hair that extended past his shoulders, tied back out of his face. His muscular arms covered with a fine layer of curly black hair while his eyes gazed with a deep brown, almost black color surrounded with thick, tanned skin from years out in the sun monitoring the mining facilities. High up on the second floor catwalk, he engaged in a heated conversation with one of the workers until something caught his eye.
The unmistakable red and blue uniform of the NRSF. Concerned, he convinced himself that they were here for something else unrelated. They didn't know what's going on. He covered his tracks well. Almost reassured, he would have kept his composure had he not seen the lightsaber on the person next to him. Panicking, his eyes shot up, tracing the lightsaber to the face of the person. A Jedi and he didn't look happy.
"Kriffing hell!" He muttered out loud to himself and pushed the worker next to him off to the side as a distraction as he took off in the other direction.
Anakin snarled as Oren pushed the worker off the catwalk. Using the Force, he quickly drew the screaming worker to the railing. Clinging to the bar for their life, Retep went over to help them back onto the catwalk as Anakin ran past Retep in hot pursuit of the head of distribution, lightsaber drawn and lit. Blood pounding in his veins, he didn't have the patience for this man who was so callous to another person's life. The man was afraid of the Jedi, he felt it in the Force, and Anakin used that to his advantage. Quickly, Anakin dashed after the guilty man with the supernatural speed of the Force. Just as he reached him, Anakin leaped high into the air, twisting and swooped down on him, landing just in front of him.
Flashing a victorious grin, he held his lightsaber out, pointing at the man, daring him to take another step, "Leaving so soon?"
Oren narrowed his eyes as he put his hands up. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the action unfold above them. "A Jedi? What are you doing here?" He hissed.
Commander Ageelil came up behind him and drew Oren hands back to cuff him, "That's Captain Skywalker to you!"
Deactivating his lightsaber, Anakin tilted his nose up, standing tall over the shorter man, "Explain to me why you thought it was a good idea to run from us?" A sly smirk crossed his face, "And don't lie. I'll be able to tell."
The man spat on the floor in front of Anakin earning no reaction from the Jedi, "There's nothing here that concerns you. You should mind your own business!"
"Stealing and smuggling spice is my business. You really didn't think you'll get caught?"
So the Jedi knew. Oren figured as much and it was pointless to hide it. Damn, why was one of these space wizards here? The Republic had denounced them. They should be hiding in some back hole planet somewhere wallowing in their meditations.
He spatted out, hotly, "What happened to Panaka? You know, if you weren't here this would have worked perfectly. He doesn't care about what happens on Rori." Oren looked down below at the disapproving looks thrown at him. "No one on Naboo cares about us!" He stated more for their sake, attempting to justify his actions. "As long as we mine the spice for their benefit. As long as we are their cash cow, we can do whatever we want. They never come up here. Never come talk to us. We might as well be droids out here." He growled with intense anger in his words. "So what if I wanted to make some extra money for myself. I deserve it!"
"That's enough!" Anakin's voice boomed and echoed off the walls as he crossed his arms, staring the man down. His tone even startled Retep. Not a bit shaken, Oren just stared back defiantly at the Jedi. The man's anger radiated in the Force, and hidden away behind that anger was a flint of the pain of resentment and being unappreciated that led him down this dark path.
Anakin glanced around them and grimaced, "Let's get him off this catwalk so we can talk privately."
Leaving the catwalk, they dragged Oren into a nearby room. As the door slid close loudly and echoed in the room. Nearing the back wall, Retep dropped him onto the ground against it, the man's hands still bound behind him.
Anakin leered over the burly man for several agonizing minutes. Fighting within himself, he was angry at this man for pushing an innocent off the catwalk and for the audacity to justify his actions but he couldn't ignore the man's pain that resonated through the Force. More importantly, he wouldn't get any information from him unless he met him halfway. He knelt down by the man and Oren looked away.
"I know you blame everyone for your problems," he said quietly.
"Isn't it? You should be baring judgment down on those Nubians! They treat us as second class citizens!"
"Stealing spice is not the way to get them to listen to you!" He corrected him.
Resigned, Oren stated, "I don't care. I'm just trying to make a living here."
In a firm tone, Anakin continued, "At what expense? The worker you almost killed? Your actions endanger everyone here on Rori. Who are you smuggling the spice for?"
The man frowned and refused to look the Jedi in the eye. If he said nothing, then someone else could step in his place later and take over what's rightfully his. If he's going down, he's taking everyone with him.
"Crimson Dawn. We go through a dealer that goes by the name Choira. Never met them. Easier to deny if things go south. We talk through a scrabbled comlink in code. They send people to come and pick up the spice then the transaction goes through."
"How?"
"Through the pucks. I have one with an encryption, and when it's linked with Choira's pick up crew puck, I get paid remotely. It shows up in my account."
"So, you meet with the smugglers?"
"No, I got a guy that goes with the shipments. He meets with them and does the transaction. We split the money."
"Who is this guy?"
"Seluj, he's loading a shipment right now."
Anakin softened his tone, attempting to appease this man's humanitarian side, "You realize that Crimson Dawn is extremely dangerous, don't you?" The man looked away. "They could hurt the people here on Rori because of what you are doing. Don't you care about them?"
Oren grimacing, "I wasn't trying to get anyone hurt. I care about the people here. I do! I didn't think anyone would notice some spice missing. Wehttam calls us all family here. He cares for us when no one else does."
"And this is how you repay him?" Anakin's tone weary and sad.
"You have to look out for yourself otherwise no one else will." Oren answered through gritted teeth.
Anakin felt pity for this man and sadly shook his head, "Commander Ageelil, let's go find this Seluj."
"Yes, sir," Retep pulled the man back up to his feet.
"Now, take us to him," Anakin commanded.
Captain Skywalker, Commander Ageelil, and Oren made their way to the loading dock. Nearby, a freighter was nearly finished with their load and ready to ship out soon.
Oren pointed with his chin grimly, "There. That's him. The one in the red shirt."
A thin but muscular human male, about the same height as Retep, back's was turned to them. Just before he could turn around Anakin swiftly made his way to him. "Seluj, I presume?" His hand on his shoulder.
He blinked and sputtered as he turned to face the Jedi and the NRSF officer. Eyes widening with recognization and then darkened with anger, "You! You ratted us out?"
Outraged, he was ready to launch himself at his partner but Anakin's firm grip on his shoulder stopped him.
"Show's over. Hand over the puck."
Seluj eyes flickered from his boss to the Jedi and back. Debating in his head, then shaking it as common sense gripped him. Relenting, he grumbled as he dug into his pocket to pull out the round silver object. Anakin grabbed it and cuffed him.
He protested to Oren, "You said no one will catch us! That your plan was foolproof!"
"Tell that to the Jedi." The other man grumbled.
Ready to protest his innocence, he gauged the Jedi cuffing him behind his back. If it was anyone else, maybe he could fool them, but even in the current state of the Republic, Jedi are well known and feared. Petty criminals like them didn't stand a chance against these Force wielders with their ability to look into your mind and ascertain the truth. Anakin just smirked at him, sensing his thoughts, silently daring him to try.
"A life of crime doesn't pay boys. Now you, both, are going to go to the planet that you love so much to face your charges." Anakin added sarcastically, earning a groan from the two offenders.
They loaded the two men into the holding cell on Anakin's ship where the perpetrators sat hunched on the ground with their heads slung forward in defeat. Once they had been securely locked away, Retep turned to Anakin with a bright smile on his face.
"We did it! We caught them!" Retep enthusiastically replied at his first successful mission with a large grin plastered across his face.
"We did." Anakin started cautiously, "but not the way you had imagined it did." He waggled a finger at Retep's face, taking a moment to teach his Commander a valuable lesson.
Retep snorted in response, "He was still doing something illegal." Annoyed, Retep didn't care to see the point.
"And so did you!" Anakin reminded him with a firm, fatherly tone reminiscent of what Obi Wan use to use on him as a padawan.
"If you focus on one thing then that's all you're going to see. You would have missed the true culprit." Anakin stood over him, bearing down with his superior height, "We would have arrested the wrong person."
Retep frowned at the undeniable truth in his Captain's words. Resisting the urge to take a step back, he opting to clench his fists by his side as his Captain berated him.
"You went behind my back and used my clearance to spy on someone without proof to justify your actions. There's a line you don't cross, Retep. That's what I'm trying to teach you. Some things you can't return from." Anakin rubbed his face with his flesh hand and took a deep breath before continuing in a softer tone. "I understand that you meant well. But I'm trying to teach you a valuable lesson. Learn from my mistakes and don't do the same. If you can do that then you are a wiser person then I was at your age."
Commander Ageelil blinked at his Captain, clearly confused. The self assured, confident Anakin Skywalker had once been reckless to the point of regrets of his actions? His childhood hero was becoming more and more of a real person to him. As fallible as anyone else. The rose colored lens he saw him through were slowly clearing into a more realistic view of the man in front of him. Turning him into someone he could understand better and relate with. Someone he can connect with and maybe share his own self doubt and fears. Someday.
Respectfully and sincerely, as he made eye contact with Anakin, "Thank you, sir. I mean it." Earning an approving smile from his Captain.
Retep continued, "So do we take them back? I mean. We have the puck. We can find out who's on the other side of this thing. Make sure they don't try this again with us?"
Anakin put his hands on his hips and let out a heavy breath. He could just end it here now that they arrested the two people within the mining company behind the illegal activities. Wehttam seemed responsible enough and Anakin knew that he would keep a closer eye on his staff in the future. All he was required to do was to take these two back to Naboo to be prosecuted and go home to his wife and kids. Just like he planned.
What Retep said was also true. Crimson dawn had already put roots down on Rori. It wouldn't take much for another disgruntled miner, unsatisfied with their situation, to walk the same path. The wiser thing to do was follow it to the source and stop it. Make them hesitate before infiltrating Rori's mining colony again. But there was something even more than that.
He felt a nudge in the Force. There was something more to this and it compelled him to investigate further. It tugged at him refusing to leave him alone. All he wanted to do was return to Theed. His job as the Head of Security was done here.
But he wasn't just a Captain. Underneath it all, he was still a Jedi. He still did his lightsaber forms, still meditated, still did all the routines he done for years since he was 9 years old. Stubbornly, he still wore his Jedi robes too. Justifying that it was much more comfortable than the itchy, restrictive NRSF uniform, but it was more than that. That and his lightsaber was all he had left of his former life. He didn't even flinch when people called him a Jedi. Simmering anger and resentment still lingered deep within him with the Jedi Council, but he didn't wish for what happened to them. He had only hoped they would be more open minded. More willing to change. So where does this leave him now? He went from a maverick Jedi to a rogue Jedi. Forging his own path wherever the Force takes him.
Right now, the Force beckoned him urgently despite his own wishes. A cold trickle of dread ran down his spine at the thought but he couldn't ignore it. The Force prickled with the need for his attention, and it spelled danger in Anakin's mind. An image of a sleeping Leia and Luke on their beds with his beautiful wife adoringly watching over them lovingly flashed in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a few shuttering breaths before opening them.
Turning to Retep, "Commander Ageelil, are you ready for the next step in your training?" He noted the second man in red was about the same height and build as Retep. "Since it was your idea, how about you go in place of Seluj."
"You're trusting me to do this, sir?" Trying not to show the fear of him possibly failing his Captain in his voice while being thrilled at the new level of trust.
Anakin believed in learning by doing. Trial by fire. It's how he taught Ahsoka and the concept of freedom he wished Obi Wan showed him as a padawan. Besides, Anakin would be too recognizable to the Nubians on the ship. To him, it was a clear decision to have Retep replace Seluj even though Anakin won't be physically there to protect him. Learning from his experience with Ahsoka about being overprotective, he loosened the reigns to let them grow. It wasn't easy and he's going to make sure he's right where he needs to be if things go wrong.
"Yes, I am. Board the freighter under his identity and I'll follow you in my cruiser. Let's teach them a lesson not to mess with Naboo." Anakin flashed his half smirk.
"Yes, sir!"
A/N: I kept Anakin in his Jedi robes to symbolizes the constant struggle he'll have with his identity and his responsibilities.