Hi! Since the last chapter went up so late, I decided to post this one a bit early.
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. I really appreciate it. :)
"Alright," Anakin said, stepping into the bright morning sunlight. "How many places could the Droids be?"
"13," Ahsoka responded, stifling a yawn.
"That's less than I thought."
"We should have plenty of time to check each location before the 501st arrives," Obi-Wan mused. "Which one is closest to us?"
"The Government warehouses, most likely," Ahsoka said as they approached a speeder.
"It would make some sense for them to be there," Anakin said, settling into the driver's seat. "Nobody would think to check it."
"It would make sense for the Droids to be in any one of these places," Ahsoka pointed out, hopping into the back as Obi-Wan sat down in the passenger seat.
"Fair enough." Anakin lifted the speeder off of the ground and took off towards the warehouses.
He missed the endless skyways of Coruscant, where one could dive from the highest levels all the way down to the planet surface. While the sandy, flat streets of Shili were far less exciting, Anakin still enjoyed the rush of adrenaline that he received as he raced towards their destination, ignoring the speed limits. The streets were empty, as citizens were not allowed to leave their houses for any non-essential reason. Even when citizens did go out, they steered clear of the governmental area and anywhere else that might be a target for the rebellion.
"Anakin, slow down. We're not in any hurry," Obi-Wan called, his voice barely audible over the rushing of the wind.
Instead, Anakin sped up, grinning as his hair was blown back.
"Ahsoka, remind me to fly next time," Obi-Wan yelled. Ahsoka laughed, a wide smile on her face.
Anakin slowed down and brought the speeder to a stop a block away from the Warehouses. He stepped out of the speeder and waited for the other two to follow.
"Alright, let's go," Ahsoka said, her voice hushed.
They ran to the corner of the street and Anakin peered around the corner. There were three huge warehouses, the first being about 15 feet from them. They couldn't go in through the doors; if they were spotted it would ruin the mission. Anakin decided that their best bet was to go in through the roof.
He motioned for the others to follow and crept around the corner, pressing his back to the building behind him. It seemed to be some sort of museum and was much taller than the warehouses. It was made out of cobblestone and would be easy to climb. Anakin leaped up, grabbing onto a windowsill and sticking his toes into the wall, hoping that the stone would hold his weight. He got a high foothold and hoisted himself up, reaching for a deep hole in the wall. He kept climbing, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka following close behind. He reached the third story window and glanced back over his shoulder, looking down at the roof of the warehouse. He gauged the distance and called upon the force, clearing the distance between the two buildings. He landed on the roof and turned, waiting as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka joined him.
"What now?" Ahsoka whispered. "I hope you weren't planning on burning a hole in the ceiling."
"No," Anakin responded. "I'm sure there's some other way we can see inside."
"Over here," Obi-Wan whispered, peering over the edge of the building. Anakin crouched down next to him and followed his gaze. There was a grate, most likely allowing airflow into the building. Anakin lifted the grate away, letting it hover in the air.
"I can see in," Obi-Wan informed him. "It's empty." Anakin slid the grate back into place.
"Let's go and check the other two," He said. The three of them ran to the edge of the roof and jumped to the middle warehouse. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka kept going, leaping onto the farthest one.
Anakin looked over the edge of the middle Warehouse and located one of the small grates, running over to it. He lifted the grate away and peered into the hole. This Warehouse was empty, as well. As he was putting the grate back, he heard Obi-Wan and Ahsoka come up behind him.
"Empty," Ahsoka whispered.
"This one too," Anakin said out loud, not bothering with stealth anymore.
"Well, Obi-Wan said, walking over to the edge of the building. "We'd better get going then." He jumped off, soon followed by Ahsoka. Anakin joined them on the ground moments later.
He grabbed the keys of the speeder out of his pocket and twirled them with his finger. "Only 12 more locations to go," Anakin said.
Obi-Wan snatched the keys out of his hand, grinning. "Which I will be driving to."
Several hours and 12 locations later, they had still not found a single Droid. They had gone up to the mesa, frustrated by their fruitless efforts.
"Well that was useless," Anakin said, ducking under the police tape and walking towards the edge of the mesa that overlooked the city.
"You can say that again," Ahsoka sighed, sitting down on the precipice and letting her feet dangle off the edge. Obi-Wan and Anakin sat down next to her.
"The Boss must be keeping his army far away from the city," Obi-Wan said.
"We went pretty far," Ahsoka pointed out.
Anakin laid down with his feet still dangling off the edge, his hands under his head. He squinted against the sun, which was glaring brightly in the middle of the sky.
"Maybe he spread out the droids over many locations," Anakin wondered. "That way, they would all be nearby but it would be much harder for us to find. I mean, it's not like we can check every single building in the city."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin was so glad to be spending time like this with Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. While he loved running around and going on adventures with the two of them, he had missed these moments, where they would just sit together in peace. Anakin wished that Padme was here. Then, everything would be perfect.
A loud boom sounded, shaking Anakin from his thoughts. The ground trembled, and Anakin scrambled away from the edge of the mesa, getting to his feet. Alarms began blaring, and Anakin gripped the hilt of his lightsaber.
In the city below, near the Governmental area, there was a huge cloud of sand and smoke billowing towards the sky. This explosion was much, much bigger than the one at the Capitol building had been. Another bomb went off, this one near the residential area.
"No," Ahsoka breathed, running up to the edge of the mesa. She looked back at Anakin, fear in her eyes. "That was near my parent's house."
Anakin reached forward and grabbed her arm. "Come on," He said, pulling her towards the speeder.
"You two take the speeder," Obi-Wan said. "I'll check out the other explosion."
Anakin nodded as he and Ahsoka ran towards the parked vehicle, ducking under the barrier.
"Hold on tight," He told Ahsoka as he jumped into the car and started the engine. He started moving, going in the opposite direction of the safe, slow path down the Mesa. Instead, he was headed straight for the edge of the cliff. Ahsoka gripped the speeder as tightly as she could, her knuckles white.
Anakin felt his stomach drop as the ground below them disappeared and the speeder plummeted towards the empty streets below. He pulled up with all his might, letting out a sigh of relief as the speeder leveled out. Ahsoka gasped, letting go of the speeder as Anakin raced towards the source of the dust cloud.
They reached the site of the explosion within minutes. Anakin slowed and brought the speeder to a stop, the two of them jumping out and looking around. Several buildings had been leveled by the blast, and dozens more had been severely damaged by the shockwave. The police had begun to form a barrier, and hundreds of Togruta huddled around it, clinging to each other.
Anakin and Ahsoka noticed her family at the same time, all three of them standing unharmed near the front of the crowd. Ahsoka ran to them and Anakin watched as she threw her arms around them, burying her face in her mother's lekku. Anakin couldn't help but wonder if, in another world, one without the council and its rules, Ahsoka would have ever hugged him like that.
Anakin approached a group of officers, deciding to let his former padawan reunite with her family in peace.
"Sir, one of the officers said as he reached them, "The blast came from an unknown source. The situation has been classified as a level 6 threat, and we have been instructed to begin evacuating the citizens to the bunkers at once."
"How many casualties?" Anakin asked.
"56 that we know of so far, sir."
Anakin nodded. "Thank you," He said, stepping aside and raising his comlink.
"Obi-Wan," He said, "What's the situation over there?"
"Luckily, no buildings of vital importance were destroyed," Obi-Wan responded. "The treasury is still standing, although a little damaged. The current death count stands at 34."
"56 over here Master," Anakin informed him. "I expect you already know about the evacuation?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan responded. "I spoke with Rex, he said that their forces would be arriving at 1500 hours. I suggest we help with the evacuation until then."
"Sounds good," Anakin said. "See you then." The comlink beeped, disconnecting the call.
"Was that master Kenobi?" Ahsoka asked, appearing beside him.
"Yeah. The citizens are being evacuated immediately," He responded. "The plan is to help out here until the 501st arrives."
"Ok," Ahsoka said, casting a sad look back at her family. "If they're being evacuated, I guess I won't be seeing them for a while, will I?
Don't worry Snips, He wanted to say.
"Don't worry, Ahsoka. They'll be alright." Anakin looked at the three of them, huddled together. "What about Ovota?" He asked. "Does he live with your family?"
"Force, I didn't think about that," Ahsoka said, her face paling. "Yes, he lives with us, and he's lived with my parents for far longer than I have, but he isn't legally part of our family. I hope that they aren't separated during processing."
"What happened to his parents?" Anakin asked.
"They worked in the mines. According to Ovota, the whole industry is really messed up; His parents had little more rights than slaves. They died in a mine accident when he was 12."
"Oh." It made sense now why Ovota idolized the Jedi and the republic. Of all people, Anakin knew exactly what it was like to be a poor boy on a desert planet, reading stories of warriors and battles and wishing— praying that he could be amongst them.
Anakin watched the golden-skinned boy put a comforting hand on Corra's back and look up at the billowing cloud of smoke, a determined expression on his face.
Maybe, Anakin was starting to think, Ovota wouldn't make such a bad General after all.