Star Wars: Heir of the Force
Episode 2: Chapter 2
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***HotF***
Padme Amidala scowled, crossing her arms as she gave her best 'to hell with your opinions and plans' look to the Jedi knight standing before her. For his part, Obi-Wan merely sighed, having arrived at her living quarters knowing how difficult this argument would be.
"Miss Amidala, I understand that this course is opposed to what you would normally do but we are concerned for your safety above all else. Coruscant can be a very dangerous planet and any advantage we can gain from having you return to Naboo would make this easier."
She knew why he was insisting upon this, to an extent she even agreed, but that didn't stop this from feeling like a retreat, a surrender, and she hated it. "So, I'm going to sit around and stare at the two of you for the rest of my life or until the incompetent enforcement officers finally do their jobs?"
Kenobi promptly shook his head, "Ahsoka will be accompanying you alone for now, I will catch up later."
"What, you have a hot date planned?"
The man flushed red for a moment before clearing his throat, ah it was so easy to tease Jedi, what with their lack of romantic experience or skill in emotions. "Nothing of the sort, just an errand or two to run. They shouldn't take more than a few days at most. I trust you two can stay out of trouble?"
His gaze had been directed more at the young girl standing silently nearby, who nodded passively, but Padme took it as a personal affront. "I don't need a babysitter Kenobi and why is it that I feel as though these 'errands' have something to do with me?"
Despite the denial that followed she could already tell her guess had been correct. Apparently lying wasn't something that The Force helped much with.
"Fine, keep your secrets just keep this in mind when you have any questions of your own. Also, just as a suggestion Kenobi, don't go into politics, you are a terrible liar."
***HotF***
Anakin watched from nearby as the two women departed in cloaks and felt the pull to follow them. Three different stops later and he swore they were trying to lose him in the steel jungle. It was only due to the younger girl, he had overheard the name Ahsoka muttered more than once, and her glowing connection to The Force that he was able to trail them so easily and at such a distance to ensure they didn't discover him.
He wasn't quite sure why he didn't want them knowing he was there, but it most certainly had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't know what to say exactly, and that he did want to continue being near to them, especially the older.
Thus, the teen continued his close pursuit, following them through the passageways until they reached an interplanetary transport hub and boarded a spaceship.
This would make his task considerably more difficult.
***HotF***
Jango Fett, bounty hunter and occasional mercenary. Home planet said to be Concord Dawn but not verified, human, male. The two most substantial qualities in the man were his reputation as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy and his Mandalorian armor. The latter of these was attached with a note that he seemed to have no ties to Mandalore itself.
The Jedi knight frowned as he scanned over the information. It had arrived late, and the only reason Kenobi was reading about the man at all was the fact that his presence had been noted by officers in the vicinity of Amidala's Coruscant residence. Unfortunately for him the man had no outstanding warrants and thus he had not been arrested, not that the patrol who ran into him could have done so.
Still, he knew that there was no such thing as a coincidence, and Fett was thought to have committed political assassinations in the past. It fit far too well with their timeline concerning the attempts on Padme's life to not be connected.
Now the question was, who had hired him? Who wanted Padme Amidala dead to the degree of hiring one of the most infamous, and expensive, mercenaries in the galaxy?
***HotF***
The older man bowed respectfully as the holographic image flickered to life before him. True, he had always thought such an action was below someone of his skill and stature, but it served a purpose regardless of how demeaning the gesture was.
"Count Dooku," came the immediate greeting, "I trust everything is proceeding as planned?"
"But of course, Master. The droid armies will be ready ahead of schedule and the bounty hunter has reported that the first shipment of clones has already been completely outfitted and trained. As of now we are ready for further operations, any delays will only increase our resources for the conflict ahead."
Sidious nodded, "You have done well my apprentice, but I sense there is something you are curious about."
Now the former Jedi hesitated. He was not dealing with Yoda or any other Jedi, he was speaking to a Sith Lord. Questioning plans often did not end well for those inquiring above their position. "I am simply curious as to why Amidala was allowed to leave Coruscant alive. Nute Gunray…"
"Is a fool!" Palpatine snapped in anger, silencing his apprentice, "He should have put aside his petty vengeance and left well enough alone. Instead the Jedi are now involved and searching for the assassin. The assassin which could easily lead them to Kamino or even Geonosis. Tell me Count, are you prepared for a large-scale Jedi investigation?"
Dooku gave a slight shake of his head, "No Master, I am not."
"Then see to it that any lone Jedi are not able to report what they find. In the meantime, ensure that the viceroy understands that such disobedience will not be tolerated."
"Of course, Master." With that the connection was terminated, leaving the newest Sith to his own thoughts.
***HotF***
It had been a long trip, a very long trip, especially for the former monarch. Conversation between her and the padawan was rare and awkward combined with the fact that everyone else looked more than a little sketchy. Of course that was the point of them using the cheaper means of transport, if there was an assassin still out for her life they would have a harder time tracking a departure through less than reputable means of transport that often did not require an ID.
She had also glared menacingly at more than one passenger who had wandered over in their direction to either flirt, con, or rob them. Those she had expected, the typical garbage that looked for easy targets in places like this to prey upon.
What was far more concerning was the stalker they had picked up two terminals prior. Through occasional glances she knew enough to rule out anyone she directly knew. He was young, attractive even from what she had seen, and didn't seem to have any heavy baggage or weaponry on him.
He was quick too, following them through means she couldn't quite figure out. They had changed outfits twice on coruscant, going so far as to stripping in the bathrooms and tossing their other outfits, but he had still managed to keep on their trail.
What did he want? Was he here to kill her? Had he figured out her identity and intended to confront her about an article she had written? Was he an agent of a current politician, here to threaten her?
Either way they couldn't escape him on the shuttle traveling through Hyperspace, but nor could he do anything rash like blow up the ship. Well he could, but the few times she had managed to discreetly glance in his direction gave her the impression he wasn't a hardcore zealot or suicidal.
Even stranger was the fact that Ahsoka hadn't even seemed to notice. Either the girl was utterly useless as a bodyguard or those 'Jedi tricks' weren't as impressive as she had originally thought.
"So… uhm… what do you do for fun?" Ashoka inquired, interrupting her own train of thoughts. Padme was about to tell her to 'mind her own business' but when she looked over something caused her to hesitate. There was a look in the young Jedi's eyes, something she remembered seeing in new handmaidens, especially those from the smaller villages.
Maybe she was being a bit too hostile towards someone who was, after all, trying to protect her. "I enjoy reading, adventure books if you are interested. I find it helps to relieve the stress from the day."
This single statement seemed to throw Ashoka into confusion, who blinked rapidly at the change of tone, and the actual response rather. "Oh, uhm that's neat."
Padme nodded, "So what about you? I know you have a lot going on with your... studies but surely you have a hobby or two?"
The girl blushed and squirmed a bit in her seat, "Not really... we don't have the time or resources to spend on anything that isn't important for our work. My... uncle has scolded me before for becoming distracted with such things."
A frown crossed Amidala's face. She knew the Jedi were zealous, but this sounded almost dangerously so for a young mind. "But... you have downtime, right? Like when you spend time with friends and just relax maybe go on a date or something?"
"The J... rules forbid attachment," Tano replied, catching herself before she gave the default answer they had always been told growing up. "We are not permitted to date or have meaningful relationships of that nature. If we are not on missions, we spend our time training."
Stalker forgotten for the moment Padme decided to find some way to get the teen to loosen up a bit. It couldn't be healthy for someone to be working all day every day, even she took breaks at times.
***HotF***
Anakin frowned as the duo departed from the ship and made their way into the busy spaceport of Naboo. He thought the older of the two had noticed him on the flight but perhaps he had been mistaken. Either way it would be a bit more difficult to follow them now that the crowds were beginning to thin out and his presence would be more suspicious.
Trailing behind, he contemplated taking to the rooftops where it would be easier to cover the distance and hide should they become suspicious. The problem was that should they leave the city it would be far more challenging to follow.
As he was busy debating what to do next the young man failed to notice that the two were leading him into a more private corridor, and upon turning the corner he found a blaster pointed in his face, an angry expression on one face and a confused one on the other.
"Alright, who the hell are you and why are you following us!?"
***HotF***
Ashoka's hand went, instinctively, to her lightsaber, despite it being hidden, the moment Padme reached for her blaster. She wasn't sure what had come over the woman. All she knew was that one moment they were making their way toward where they could rent a speeder, the next there was a gun pointed at a blonde hair man.
That wasn't what surprised her the most though, she had been in these types of situations before. No, what was far odder was that she hadn't sensed the human despite Padme being able to notice him. When she reached out with The Force to figure out why, there was... nothing. It wasn't a void, like she might sense from a droid, instead it was like sensing The Force itself, he felt like a pure extension of the energy rather than an individual separate and yet connected.
Incredible.
Another growled demand from next to her returned the young Togruta to the 'here and now'.
"I won't ask again, why are you following us?"
"Uhm... well it's a bit hard to explain I guess." The man replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head almost as if he was more embarrassed than scared about being discovered. "See the thing is, I'm trying to figure out why my stomach and chest feel fluttery whenever I look at you, so I was going to follow and wait for an opportunity to ask if you knew but then I remembered that people don't really like strangers walking up to them or being followed but I also didn't want to not see you again and..."
He might not have noticed it, but Ashoka did, the slight blush on the older girl's face, the shift in her posture... he probably didn't realize how cute he was being.
"Anyway, I'm really sorry if I scared you or anything, I just really like being around you."
Padme frowned, before giving a nod to Ashoka to take a few steps away from him and have a talk in private. "So, what do you think?" she whispered, without taking her eyes off the boy, whom the younger female would admit was rather cute.
"About?"
"Him, don't you J... well can't you sense deception and stuff like that? Do you think he's being honest or is this a trick? I can't really get a good vibe on him."
"Honestly... I don't really know. He's different, something is unique about him in a way I have never seen or even heard of before in a living thing."
The former monarch seemed to notice the uncertainty in the reply, "Is that good or bad?"
"I don't think he's here to hurt you if that is what you are asking, but if nothing else I would like to try and figure out more about him."
"Yeah... me too..." Padme muttered, ignoring the fact she was eyeing him up and down for a moment. Coming to a mental decision she stepped back towards the young man, who smiled once again, his happiness causing her own to form. "We have made the decision that you may accompany us for now."
Ahsoka nodded, "It will make it easier for me… I mean us to keep an eye on you."
Something stirred in the former monarch, almost like the beginnings of jealousy, but she ignored it. It made no sense to feel such things towards a girl so young, especially when there was nothing to be jealous about.
"So, what is your name?" Said girl inquired.
The response was quick and easy, another tally in the 'probably not lying to us' category, "Anakin."
"Anakin…" Padme continued, hoping to investigate his past while they were on the way to their destination.
"Anakin." He repeated, not at all perturbed or annoyed at her pressing.
Well he certainly wasn't getting off that easily, "Does 'Anakin' have a last name?"
He quirked his head to the side, "No, do you?"
"Yes, it is Padme Naberrie." They had opted to use her other last name just in case anyone was listening.
The man gave one of those, 'light up the room' smiles again, "That's a really pretty name."
Fighting off the slight heat that threatened her face she focused once more on the task at hand, "Didn't you already know that after following me all this way?"
"No, I just thought you were pretty and the whole butterflies thing."
Amidala was about to make a comment on that, when the younger individual interrupted, "Your parents never gave you a last name?"
Turning to her, and thus earning an annoyed frown from Padme, he replied, "Not that I recall. I never had a father though and my mom…" he stared off into space for a second before shrugging once more, "I can't really remember her anymore, she passed on when I was very young."
"Oh… I'm so sorry Anakin."
There was an odd look in his eyes when he directed them to Padme once more, a mix of confusion and appreciation. "Everyone dies eventually, there's no reason to be upset about it forever."
"I… suppose so."
As if sensing the shift in mood the Jedi once again interjected, "My name is Ahsoka Tano."
His smile shifted to her, and this time the older woman definitely noticed the blush adorning the younger's cheeks.
"It is very nice to meet you Ahsoka."
Oh yes, no reason to be jealous at all.
***HotF***
Recent connections have been made between Jango Fett and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
That single statement had been enough for Kenobi to do more research into the group, eventually leading to him being summoned before the Jedi Council.
"Investigating the CIS, you are hm?" The oldest, and who Obi-Wan considered the wisest, member inquired.
"Yes, Master Yoda. My investigation into the attempted assassination of Padme Amidala has led me to the bounty hunter Jango Fett, and his possible connection to the attack."
Windu leaned back in his chair, "What do you intend to do from here?"
"Investigate further master, I do not assume to know all the answers but there is most certainly a connection. I am just not sure how deep it goes."
The green Jedi hummed in acknowledgment, "Careful you must be, political the situation will become and a conflict you may create without intending."
He nodded, taking the words to heart, and was prepared to leave when Shaak Ti spoke up, "What of Amidala? I understand she is no longer on Coruscant."
Obi-Wan wondered exactly how she knew this, but dismissed the curiosity a moment later, "My padawan is looking after her on Naboo. I thought it most important to get her off planet and to a safe location before delving deeper into those behind the attack. If this lead does not pan out, I will be departing to rendezvous with them."
A silent conversation took place after he finished between the various Masters, communicated through eye contact and The Force. Whatever it was Kenobi had not been deemed important enough to be included and thus he merely cleared his mind and allowed himself to focus on his next step until they were ready to address him.
"The council has made its decision." Mace declared, earning a nod from the man standing in the center of the room. "You will continue your investigation but will take no action without our approval. As Master Yoda stated, this is a dangerous situation we find ourselves in. The republic is on the brink of catastrophe and as servants of it we must be extra cautious in our words and deeds. Also, we want a report from your padawan as soon as possible."
This last statement caused the knight to pause in concern, "With all due respect Master Windu, I have ordered them to lay low and avoid communication unless absolutely necessary, should the assassin be monitoring for them. If they were to send a communication..."
"It is important that we remain in contact and oversee the situation." The dark-skinned man interrupted, "Should the need arise we will intervene or have them relocate once again."
"Of course, I will reach out and have her make contact when she is able." With that the man was dismissed, doubts now forming in his mind despite his best intentions.
***HotF***
"Oh wow, this is amazing!" Padme grinned at the exuberance displayed by the man. It reminded her of the holidays with her nieces. Beside her the young Jedi nodded in agreement.
"It is a very lovely house."
And it was, she had contacted her father through a public hub shortly before departing Coruscant and inquired about staying at their family's summer home for the time being. He had, of course, agreed and informed her it would be ready for her and any guests. On the shores of a large, private, lake with the nearest neighbors more than several miles away. It was the perfect place to relax and stay out of the public's eye.
"Not the house, I mean the view. The green grass, clear skies, crystal blue water… I missed places like this while on Coruscant."
She smirked, "Not a fan of the big city hm?"
He shook his head as he plopped down on the ground, running his hands through the grass, "I love all the various people and forms of life in a city sure. The diversity, the stories, the cultures… but there is just something about being out in nature that just feels different."
Padme took a moment to consider the statement, and realized Anakin was right. Maybe she had been spending too much time in the dirty, dusty cities rather than taking a rest to just relax. "Well we are the only ones staying here for the time being, so we have the house to ourselves. I'll show you to your rooms so you can unpack and relax a bit before dinner."
***HotF***
The Jedi knight attempted, once again, to slip into meditation through usual methods. Unfortunately, it was becoming somewhat difficult what with the whole suspended in an energy field several feet off the ground and slowly spinning around in circles. Kenobi wasn't quite sure what he was more concerned about, the fact that he had yet to ascertain the identity of his captors, how easily they had discovered and located him upon his first arrival, or that they appeared to have been ready for at least one Force using prisoner.
Unable to fully meditate the man decided to look back through the previous few days of activity, hoping to discover something he had missed before, or at least to feel productive with his time.
It had ended up being far simpler than he originally believed it would be, to trace Fett's footsteps, 'greed, can be a very powerful ally'. A saying often hammered into his head that when he was at a dead end it could often be useful to trace any monetary transactions.
Kenobi had done so, and after a few hours, and a trip into some of the more crime ridden areas of Coruscant, he had tracked a series of high yield deposits back to a very familiar group. The Trade Federation.
It all made sense, they were wealthy enough to purchase the services of someone like Fett, and hated Amidala enough to do so.
From there he had, with a few mental suggestions, managed to ascertain that a large pool of the Federation's resources had gone to some sort of project on Geonosis. For an hour he had debated whether to approach the council with this information and wait for them to make a decision or continue investigating on his own. Eventually he opted to go with the latter option, promising himself that it would just be a scouting mission and nothing more.
Naturally this changed upon arriving and being ambushed minutes later by dozens of destroyer droids, forcing him to surrender. Thus far he had met no living beings, having been escorted to the chamber by robotic forces. Undoubtedly this was an extra precaution should he find a way to manipulate the minds of those who might be able to free him.
Just as he was completing what was, by his estimate, the eight-hundredth rotation the door to his chamber opened as an individual, currently shrouded in shadows, walked into the room. A second later they stepped into the dim light, and the man's eyes went wide with shock.
"Qui-Gon!?"
***HotF***