Well now we're really getting into the series proper, for convenience I decided to divide it into two pieces. Things probably won't deviate too much at the beginning of the story, but as things progress more changes will begin to occur. I was also planning on doing some chapters/arcs that would focus on characters other than Nitai, and depict more adventures that occur during the Clone Wars that may not have occurred in the canon timeline due to his presence. This chapter's recommendation is Todd in the Shadows, who reviews pop music, he also has two series, One Hit Wonderland, where he looks at the careers of one hit wonders (or bands/artists who are considered one hit wonders) and Trainwreckords, a newer series which looks at albums that basically killed the careers of the artists who published them.
But anyway on with the show, take it away, overly excited Clone Wars announcer!
Walking a Tightrope Chapter 4 (V. 1)
A Galaxy Divided!
Moving quickly after the Battle of Geonosis, the droid army of the Separatist Alliance has taken control of major hyperspace lanes, separating the Republic from the majority of its clone army. With few clones available, the Jedi generals have found it impossible to gain a foothold in the Outer Rim, and more and more planets have been throwing their lots in with the Separtists.
With the Jedi peacekeepers and Republic army busy fighting the war against the Separatists, crime has begun to run rampant, and even those who were once thought untouchable have been feeling the effects. The son of crime lord Jabba the Hutt, has been kidnapped by a rival criminal faction and he has sent out a call to anyone for anyone who is willing to return his son to him. Seeking to ingratiate the Republic to the influential Hutt families, Chancellor Palpatine has ordered that any available Jedi be sent to retrieve the infant Hutt, but with their forces stretched thin, the only two available are generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, who have recently taken the planet Christophsis. With normal communications unable to reach the two generals, the Jedi Order has dispatched messengers to personally deliver the orders.
Coruscant 22 BBY
Ahsoka Tano, recently promoted Padawan, had been incredibly excited to learn that she had been selected by Master Yoda himself to deliver a message, but that that message would be being delivered to her new Master. However, as she exited the turbolift and stepped out onto the floor of the hangar, she was surprised to see another Padawan already standing by the Nu-class shuttle which was supposed to transport her to a loading station closer to the Outer Rim, where she would meet up with a cruiser that would escort her the rest of the way to Christophsis. The Padawan was of a species that she had never seen before, and come to think of it she didn't recall ever seeing him in the temple. He had bright red skin that seemed to only stand out more when contrasted with the brown tunic and pants he was wearing. He seemed to be talking with a white and red R2 model astromech droid, and she was able to make out more of the conversation as she drew closer.
"Are you certain that you packed everything properly, S1?" The question only drew a series of exasperated beeps in response. "I just want to make sure, the Jedi were very polite to loan me a set of light armor, and I would prefer that their generosity not go to waste." He said, this seemed to provoke a decidedly less polite sequence of beeps. "I am not starting to sound like my mother." He said before Ahsoka cleared her throat, attracting his attention.
"Excuse me, are you lost? This is my shuttle and I wasn't aware that anyone else was going to be joining me." She said, he didn't respond and she noticed that he was staring at her head tails, she reached out and snapped her fingers a few times in front of his face to draw his attention back to her face.
"Oh sorry, excuse my staring, I've never seen a Togruta before." He said, now that was a curious statement, if he'd been staying on Coruscant for any length of time he would have doubtlessly seen a Togruta before, especially since there were a few amongst the Jedi. He bowed to her and when he straightened back up his luck of awe and curiosity had been replaced by a rather friendly looking smile. "My name is Nitai Zeama, I only recently arrived to the Temple. My planet is very isolated, but luckily a Jedi decided it would be a nice place to live in seclusion and trained me after discovering my affinity for the Force, the council has graciously decided to accept me as a Padawan despite the unconventional nature of my education, and decided to assign me to Master Kenobi. The decision was only made yesterday, and so I am not surprised at your…well, surprise. We will be travelling together to Christophsis, since I have been told that you have a message to deliver to Masters Kenobi and Skywalker." He rattled off, and Ahsoka was almost impressed at how he seemed to speak without even pausing for breath.
"Really? Well I suppose I should welcome you to the Order then. My name is Ahsoka Tano." She extended a hand which Nitai took and shook enthusiastically. "So, have you really never seen a Togruta before?" She asked as the two of them walked onto the shuttle, the S1 trailing behind him.
"Well, never in real life. My people are very isolated, I'm the first to ever stay away from our planet for longer than a few days. In fact, I'm pretty sure my Master was the first alien to ever step foot on our planet, if you don't mind, I have a few questions that I'd like to ask you." He said as the door to the shuttle closed, and she could have sworn that she heard the little Astromech droid laugh as the shuttle took off and made its way up into the skies of Coruscant.
Several Hours Later, on board a Republic cruiser heading towards Christophsis
It turned out that when Nitai said "a few questions" he actually meant "an entire list," and that was no exaggeration, the red-skinned Padawan had pulled out an electronic notepad and actually began listing off questions just as quickly as Ahsoka could answer them. They ranged from the general culture of Togruta, to the biomes of their homeworld, to biological questions, some of which she very firmly refused to answer, after all what type of person asks to touch someone else's head-tails after just meeting them? She was silently grateful when they arrived to the resupply station and boarded the cruiser that would take them to Christophsis, since he seemed to be distracted as he began to question some of the idle clones on the command bridge about themselves and the ship. However, he grew silent as one of the navigators spoke up.
"Admiral Yularen, we're dropping out of hyperspace." He said as Nitai and Ahsoka went to stand on either side of the admiral. However, when they finally exited hyperspace they did not find the orbit above Christophsis empty as they had expected, instead, several droid ships were hovering ominously in space, and immediately began to open fire on the unprepared Republic cruiser. Everyone on the bridge stumbled slightly as several volleys of laser fire battered against the shields.
"I thought that you said the blockade was broken!" Nitai shouted in surprise to be heard over the sudden clamor of sirens and shouted orders. "It was, the Separatists must have sent reinforcements." The admiral replied before turning to the two young Jedi. "You have to get down to the surface, run to the hangar, your shuttle is waiting for you there, the Separatists should be too focused on us to notice you slipping down to the planet's surface." Nitai and Ahsoka looked to one another before nodding and breaking into a sprint. They had to dodge several groups of clones who were rushing around to various areas of the ship in order to deal with the damage it had sustained, but they managed to make their way to the hangar fairly quickly. "Come on S1, we've got to go, now!" Nitai shouted to the astromech, who had been waiting near the door to the shuttle. The three of them quickly piled onto the shuttle and Ahsoka clambered towards the cockpit. "We need to get down to the surface, as fast as possible." She said, the clone pilot sounding off a quick "Yes, sir!" Before taking off.
Thankfully the admiral's predictions would prove accurate, the larger Separatist ships were busy focusing on the Republic cruiser, and the droid fighters were occupied by the quickly scrambled wings of Republic starfighters. Once they were a decent distance away from the fighting Nitai and Ahsoka collapsed into their seats, Nitai could still feel his heart pounding in his chest. The idea of space combat had always made him anxious, on the ground, with his lightsaber, he knew that he could rely completely on his skills and his weapon, there was so much that could go wrong with a fighter, and there was almost no room for error in the void of space.
Ahsoka looked over at Nitai as he began to take a few deep breaths, she had been shaken a bit by suddenly being thrust into combat, but the other Padawan looked far more shaken. "You okay, Nitai?" She asked and he just laughed nervously. "I'll be fine, just…" He paused to exhale and close his eyes briefly to try and center himself. "I haven't had a lot of experience being in space, and that's my first time being anywhere close to space combat, I mean I did a few simulations back home to prepare before I left but…I was always in the pilot's seat for those, it's a bit different when someone else is flying and there's nothing you can do to help." She moved over to sit next to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be down on the surface soon enough." She said and he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Thanks, it'll be good to have some solid ground beneath me again." He said as Ahsoka removed her hand from his shoulder. The two of them spent the rest of the ride down to the surface in a comfortable silence.
"Commanders, we're approaching the LZ, but I'm seeing a group of clankers falling back from the defensive line." The clone pilot said, and Nitai just arched a brow. "Well, it appears our information wasn't entirely accurate, I thought Chistophsis had been taken." Ahsoka just nodded and frowned slightly. "I'm guessing that those ships in orbit probably were here to reinforce their army, and without any Republic cruisers around to provide support or reinforcements…" "The troops down here are up the proverbial creek, with nary a paddle in sight." Nitai said, finishing her thought.
"Well I suppose that's something our Masters will have to sort out, they're the generals after all." Ahsoka said with a slight smile, somewhat secure in the thought that the two Jedi Generals would be able to think up a plan. The shuttle touched down and Nitai stood up before walking over to a crate, he popped the top off, revealing a set of lightweight, white armor, it consisted of a breastplate and shoulder pads, along with a pair of gauntlets. He caught Ahsoka's curious look and shrugged. "My lightsaber style requires a lot of movement, but a bit of extra protection never hurt." He said as he strapped it on over his tunic before checking his lightsaber to make sure that the armor wouldn't interfere with his ability to grab it at a moment's notice
"I suppose so, I always found it a bit too restricting." She responded as the door to the shuttle hissed open. She'd always found even a small amount of armor to be a bit inhibiting, she liked being able to jump and move freely when fighting, and besides, she preferred dodging blaster bolts to reflecting them, and any excess weight would have made that more difficult.
The two of them walked down, and were greeted by the sight of the two Jedi Masters, and a group of clone troopers standing behind them. "Younglings?" The bearded master, who Nitai assumed to be Obi-Wan said, seemingly slightly confused. "And who are you two supposed to be?" The other Jedi, Skywalker if Nitai's guess was correct, asked. A blue and white astromech chimed in with a few beeps, although its attention soon seemed to divert to S1, who was following close behind Nitai.
"I'm Ahsoka, and this is Nitai, Master Yoda sent us. I was told to tell the two of you that you must return to the Jedi Temple immediately, there's an emergency." She said, before Anakin stepped forward. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bit of an emergency right here."
"Anakin is correct, our communications have been a bit unreliable but we've been calling for help." Obi-Wan chimed in.
"Master Yoda hadn't heard from you, so he sent me to deliver the message." Ahsoka said before Nitai spoke up. "We were under the impression that Christophsis had been taken, you can imagine our surprise when we dropped out of hyperspace practically on top of several droid cruisers."
Anakin sighed with frustration before turning around and throwing his hands up in the air. "Oh great, so they don't even know we're in trouble."
"Well hopefully that won't be true for long." Nitai said as he glanced at Ahsoka. "The cruiser that dropped us off is still in orbit, although it probably won't be for long, you could use it to relay a signal to Master Yoda." Ahsoka said.
"Then we shouldn't waste any time." Obi-Wan said as the four Jedi turned and headed towards a holotable that had been set up. Obi-Wan pressed a few buttons on the communications pad and the image of a clone wearing a bridge crew uniform sprang up. "Generals, it's good to see you're okay." He said, before his projected image stumbled slightly, probably due to the ship shaking from a laser impact. "We need you to relay a signal to Master Yoda at the Jedi Temple, our communications haven't been able to get through to them." Obi-Wan said and the clone nodded. "I'll try to make contact with the Jedi Temple, but we're outnumbered and taking a beating from these Separatist warships, so I can't say how stable the transmission will be. Standby."
The image of the clone flickered off and the four Jedi glanced between one another as the seconds passed, and Nitai let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't even realized he had been holding when the image of Master Yoda appeared. "Master Kenobi, glad Ahsoka and Nitai found you, I am." The wizened Jedi said.
"Master Yoda, we are trapped here and vastly outnumbered and outgunned, I am afraid that we are in no position to go anywhere or do anything. Our support ships have all been destroyed, along with a majority of our gunships and walkers." Obi-Wan responded.
"Send reinforcements to you, I will." The rest of Master Yoda's transmission was lost in a haze of garbled words and static as the holographic projection began to break up. "Master Yoda? Master Yoda!" Obi-Wan's voice was growing increasingly stressed as the transmission dropped and the fragmented image of Master Yoda disappeared completely, only to be replaced by the clone bridge officer who they had spoken to previously.
"We've lost the transmission, sir." He said, before quickly being joined by another officer being escorted by an armored trooper. "We have to leave orbit immediately; more enemy ships have just arrived." The new officer spoke up, tripping slightly as the floor shook beneath his feet from yet another volley of laser fire impacted against the ship. "We'll get back to you as soon as we can." If the clone had anything else to say, they didn't get to hear it, since his projection quickly vanished as well.
"Well I'll guess we'll have to hold out a little longer." Anakin said as he crossed his arms, and Nitai found it hard to tell if the Jedi found the idea frustrating or exciting, although judging by his tone he wasn't willing to rule out the possibility that it could be both.
"My apologies, young ones. It's time for a proper introduction." Obi-Wan said as he walked around the table to stand in front of the two Padawans.
"I'm Ahsoka Tano, the new Padawan learner." Ahsoka said with a small smile as she introduced herself. "And I am Nitai Zeama, also a Padawan sent to learn." Nitai spoke up, bowing. At this proclamation both Obi-Wan and Anakin looked mildly surprised. "Hmm, I was unaware that the council would send me two Padawans, but I suppose given our current situation it can be difficult to assign one Padawan to a Master as we normally would." Obi-Wan said.
"I'm at your service, Master Kenobi, but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker." The young Togruta said, pointing to Anakin, whose luck of surprise quickly turned into one of disbelief.
"What? No, no, no, no, no. There must be some mistake. He's the one who wanted the Padawan." Anakin said as he pointed accusingly at Obi-Wan. Nitai could hardly blame such a reaction, if Master Skywalker hadn't even requested a Padawan then it must have been a surprise to have one suddenly thrust upon one.
"Well he's got one." Nitai spoke up. "I have, in fact, been assigned to learn under Master Kenobi." "And Master Yoda was very specific, I am assigned to Anakin Skywalker, and he is to supervise my Jedi training." Ahsoka said with a pleased tone to her voice, there was no way she was going to let her Master weasel out of teaching her.
"But that doesn't make se-" "We'll sort this out later." Obi-Wan said, cutting off any further objections from Anakin. "It won't be long before those droids figure out a way around our cannons." He said, drawing everyone's attention back to the more pressing matter at hand.
"I'll go and check on Rex in the lookout post." Anakin said as he turned and began to walk away, before Obi-Wan placed a hand on Ahsoka's back and ushered the young girl forward a few steps. "You'd better take her with you." He said, and for a brief moment Nitai wondered if Master Yoda really had made a mistake in assigning Ahsoka to Master Skywalker instead of Master Kenobi, since the grins that spread across their faces were almost identical. Anakin didn't even look back as Ahsoka began to follow him and Nitai moved to stand next to Master Kenobi.
"Are you really certain it was a good idea to send them off together, Master Skywalker did not seem pleased at suddenly learning he had a Padawan." Nitai said as he glanced at his new Master out of the corner of his eye. "Anakin will have to learn that sometimes we can't always get what we want, and besides, I think it will be good for him to have a Padawan, hopefully having someone else to look out for will keep him from jumping recklessly into danger." Obi-Wan responded before turning to face his new student. "Now let us go assess the defensive line, I'll give you a rundown of our situation, and you can tell me a little bit about yourself." He said and the two Jedi walked off, with Nitai effortlessly diving into his partially fabricated backstory.
A Short Time Later
"So essentially, we're trapped on a blockaded planet, vastly outnumbered, our only major heavy weaponry are the artillery cannons and a few walkers, and considering the droids are probably landing even more troops as we speak, we'll probably run out of ammunition for the cannons long before they run out of droids or tanks." Nitai said as he and Obi-Wan walked behind the barricades that had been erected by the clones.
"That's the gist of it." Obi-Wan replied. "But fortunately, we'll only have to hold our position, if we can last long enough to be reinforced, then our chances of success will improve dramatically.
"It sounds so easy when you put it that way, Master." Nitai remarked dryly, which only drew a chuckle from Obi-Wan. "Have some faith, my young Padawan, I've been in far worse situations than this and come out unscathed." He said, although that wasn't entirely reassuring to Nitai, since that probably meant he'd probably be getting drawn into even more desperate situations, presuming he and Master Kenobi managed to survive this particular adventure. However, he caught sight of something unusual out of the corner of his eye. As he turned he saw a flickering red barrier, that was slowly expanding, but what was more alarming was the line of tanks which was advancing under the energy shield's protection. "Well Master, it seems like our odds are looking worse by the second." He said as he and Obi-Wan turned and made a rush for the impromptu command station that had been set up in front of one of the few remaining intact buildings.
"They have a shield- " "We've noticed." Nitai said, being abruptly cut off by Anakin as a projection of the surrounding area was quickly brought up on the holotable.
"The shield generator must be somewhere in this area, and they're slowly expanding its range, keeping it just ahead of their troops." Obi-Wan explained as he gestured to the gradually growing bubble that appeared on the projection.
"Our heavy cannons will be useless against that." A clone, who Nitai guessed was Captain Rex judging by his slightly more ornate armor, added.
"We could try to level the playing field by drawing them into the buildings." Obi-Wan suggested, although judging from his tone of voice even he seemed to doubt the effectiveness of that plan, since it was assuming that the droids would even bother to send troops into the building, rather than simply levelling them with their tanks.
"If that shield is going to be so much of a problem, why not just take it out?" Ahsoka asked. "Easier said than done." Rex said, with Nitai nodding in agreement. "Indeed, with that many tanks even four Jedi would have trouble getting through to wherever they're keeping the shield generator."
"Well I…for one, agree with her." Anakin said, seeming reluctant to agree to the plan more due to who suggested it, rather than its difficulty. "Someone has to get to that shield generator and destroy it, otherwise they'll just roll over us."
"Right then." Obi-Wan said, clearly unconvinced. "Maybe you two can tiptoe through the enemy lines and solve this particular problem together." He said with a slight grin.
"Can do Master Kenobi." Ahsoka said, and Nitai was almost impressed by how nonplussed she seemed about the idea of sneaking through an entire column of tanks and droids.
"I'll decide what we do." Anakin said, not wanting to seem like his Padawan was taking the initiative in the situation more than him.
"If Rex, Nitai, and I can engage them here, you might have a chance to get through their lines undetected here." Obi-Wan said, pointing towards a few different points on the holographic map.
"But you won't have much time, the droids vastly outnumber us, so our ability to streetfight is limited without the use of our heavy cannons. They'll march forward under the protection of our shield until they're right on top of our cannons, and then they'll blow them away." Rex said as he stared at the steadily advancing line of troops that was displayed on the projection.
"We'll figure out a way, come on Master, let's go." Ahsoka said with a smile before turning around, Anakin quickly following her. "If we survive this, Snips, you and I are going to have a talk." Anakin said as they walked off.
"They make…quite a pair, don't they sir?" Rex asked as he glanced at Obi-Wan. "You think they have a chance?"
"They better, if they can't turn off that shield generator before it reaches the heavy cannons, there'll be no escape for any of us." Obi-Wan said as he, Nitai, and Rex leaned over the map.
Later, on the Front Lines
Nitai peered through a pair macrobinoculars alongside Captain Rex and Obi-Wan, watching as the shots of their heavy cannons were blocked by the shield, which stubbornly refused to so much as flicker under the assault.
"That shield is certainly putting a crimp in my day." Obi-Wan said, needing to shout to be heard over the constant firing of the cannons. "Perhaps they would turn it off if we asked politely." Nitai suggested with a tense grin.
"It's no use, sir. Even at full power the cannon doesn't affect it." Rex reported.
"Well it was worth a try." Obi-Wan said before turning to Rex. "Tell the men to fall back to the prepared positions." He said as he joined Nitai and the clones as they ran towards some ruined buildings and walkways, taking cover out of sight of the droids and waiting as the ominous, metallic footsteps of the droid army drew closer and closer.
Eventually the red energy shield passed over them, and Nitai gripped his lightsaber tightly in preparation. "We're inside the shield, just stay away from the tanks." Obi-Wan said as he ignited his lightsaber, Nitai quickly following suit. The two Jedi leapt from their hiding place, directly into the mass of droids. One of whom caught sight of them and exclaimed "Jedi!" before being sliced in half by Nitai's lightsaber. The clones followed their commanders on zip lines, firing their blasters as they zoomed down towards the droid column.
Nitai could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his lightsaber hummed, somehow, he could still make out the subtle noise despite the clamor of battle as he began to carve through the droids, making cure to establish a safe area where the clones could land. But even with the advantage of surprise they could not defend forever against the droid army, and eventually they were pushed back into the ruined crystalline buildings which dotted the streets.
"Sir, they're right behind us, and closing fast." Captain Rex said as he ran through the smoke towards the two Jedi, the three of them quickly taking cover as a cluster of lasers shot overhead.
"The shield has almost reached the heavy cannons." Obi-Wan said, his voice tense.
"Move your troops back to the heavy cannons and do everything you can to defend them, I'll delay the droids." Obi-Wan said before turning to Nitai. "You go with them." He said, but Nitai only smiled in response. "Sorry Master, I'm afraid I can't follow that order, what type of Padawan would I be if I let you go out and die on our first day together? Besides, if that shield reaches the cannons I'll be dead anyway, and if I must die I'd rather go out fighting tooth and nail." He said and Obi-Wan only shook his head, smiling wryly. "It seems I'm somewhat cursed to have Padawans who have trouble following orders." He said as the two Jedi emerged from their cover, deflecting blaster bolts and staring down the approaching contingent of battle droids.
The two of them must have cut through dozens of super battle droids together, as attested by the growing pile of scrap and droid parts that gathered around their feet as they stood back to back. But eventually they found themselves completely surrounded, and with the barrel of a tank's cannon leveled at the both of them. The tank's hatch popped open and surprisingly the figure that emerged was not a droid, but rather a narrow-faced alien.
"You must be the infamous general Kenobi." He said, his Galactic Basic was tinged with a rather noticeable accent.
"I surrender." Obi-Wan said deactivating his lightsaber. Nitai looked confused but after sharing a quick look with his Master he mirrored the gesture, deactivating his saber and slipping it into his belt, only for a droid to come forward and grab it along with his Master's.
"Now, master Kenobi, order your troops to stand down." The alien general ordered as Obi-Wan used the force to levitate several shattered pieces of the building in front of him, letting creating a makeshift table and three chairs, two on Obi-Wan's side and one opposite. "General, have a seat." He said, gesturing to the table.
"Have you gone mad?" The alien asked, scratching the side of his head in confusion. "I hate to agree with the man pointing a cannon at us, but are you out of your mind?" Nitai said.
"I have conceded the battle, now we simply need to negotiate the terms of surrender. Pay attention Nitai, think of this as your first lesson." He said as the droids circled around them, their blasters still leveled at the two Jedi.
To Nitai's surprise the Separatist general actually seemed to consider it. "Don't try any of your tricks, Jedi." He growled.
"Surely there's no reason we can't be civilized about this." Obi-Wan said, the general paused for a moment before the back of his tank hissed open and he exited along with an LEP assistant droid accompanying him. "It is a rare honor to be able to meet one's opponent face to face, you're a legend throughout the Inner Core." Obi-Wan continued as the opposing general sat down, with Obi-Wan and Nitai soon following. Nitai was surprised to see how thickly Obi-Wan was laying on the flattery, but he was even more surprised at the general's response. "Thank you, the honor is all mine. I'm so glad you decided to surrender." He couldn't really be taking the flattery at face value? Maybe it was because Nitai had grown up taking classes on how to lie at the academy, as an elective, of course, but he wasn't fooled by Obi-Wan's tone for a second, he would have expected that a general would be able to see through it.
"Well at some point one must accept the reality of the situation." Obi-Wan responded before coughing slightly. Nitai was almost embarrassed at how fake it sounded, either Jedi were terrible liars, or Obi-Wan was deliberately laying it on thick. "Could we get some refreshments?" Obi-Wan asked, and the general turned toward his servant droid. "You, get us something to drink." The small droid saluted and walked off. "Thank you, this shouldn't take long." Obi-Wan said, and Nitai grinned as he finally caught on to what his Master was doing.
The negotiations, if one could even properly call them that, went exactly as Nitai expected they would once he had gotten wind of his Master's plan. Master Kenobi acted as if this were a surrender between equal forces, rather than one army who was vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the other. It was fascinating to watch Kenobi run down the list of proper protocols for surrender and what he would expect for his troops as prisoners of war, he was unflappably calm despite still having an array of droid blasters pointed at him. However even Obi-Wan couldn't keep the general's temper in check for quite that long, and soon the Separatist commander exploded. "Enough of this!" He shouted, clearly infuriated. "You are stalling." He said, pointing an accusing finger at Obi-Wan. "Nonsense, general, there are numerous details to be discussed." Obi-Wan replied smoothly, however, the Separatist general clearly was only enraged further by his response, and he grabbed the makeshift table and flipped it over, sending the bowls they had been drinking out of flying, which Nitai thought was a bit of a shame, Chrisophsian tea was actually quite good. "Seize them!" The general ordered as the droids began to close in on the two unarmed Jedi. Grabbing them by their arms and lifting them up into the air. While Nitai was internally distressed at this he saw how Obi-Wan's expression barely changed and tried to mirror it, keeping a pleasant smile plastered on his face despite his increasingly precarious position.
"Unless you call of your troops right now, I will have no choice but to destroy you." The Separatist growled.
"Truthfully I was hoping your shield would be knocked out by now." Obi-Wan said candidly. "As was I, but I must say Master, you did an excellent job of stalling." Nitai piped up. Almost as if on cue a whirring noise filled the air and the red tinted shield began to dissipate. "Huh, would you look at that?" Nitai said as he and Obi-Wan almost simultaneously flipped out of the droids' grasp before using the force to knock them together. They then jumped behind the general and Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around his neck, shielding his and Nitai's bodies with the general. "Don't shoot!" The general cried out as the droids closed in, their blasters leveled at Nitai and Obi-Wan and, consequently, also at the general. The sounds of explosions quickly began to ring out as the Separatists tanks began to explode, torn apart by shots from the heavy cannons. Obi-Wan pulled out an imagecaster, and a hologram of Admiral Yularen appeared.
"General Kenobi, if you can hear me, we've gotten through the blockade. The Separatist armada is in retreat, your reinforcements should be landing in a moment." The admiral said, and true to his word, a squadron of LAAT gunships flew overhead, heading in the direction of the clone lines.
"Well general, I think now would be a good time to consider thinking of surrender." Nitai said and the general grimaced. "Stand down." He ordered his droids, who raised their blaster arms to an idle position. Nitai and Obi-Wan reached out their hands and pulled their lightsabers back to them, as they escorted the general outside, where they were soon met by a descending gunship, carrying a squadron of clones and, surprisingly, Master Yoda.
"Master Yoda, your timing is impeccable." Obi-Wan said with a smirk. The Separatist general was quickly surrounded by the clones, while Obi-Wan and Nitai got onto the gunship, which took off and began heading toward a landed transport cruiser. The three Jedi got off and Nitai found himself suddenly feeling very lightheaded as the rush of adrenaline that had kept him going all throughout his first genuine combat engagement began to wear off. "Excuse me Masters, I think I need to sit down." He said, using the force to pull a piece of debris over and letting out an exhausted sigh, he sat down not a moment too soon, as his legs suddenly felt like they were made of lead. Soon they were joined by Anakin and Ahsoka, who were stepping off another gunship that was also carrying Captain Rex.
"Master Obi-Wan, Master Yoda." Anakin said, bowing slightly as he approached. "Trouble you have, with your new Padawan, I hear." The old master said, and Ahsoka looked questioningly at Anakin, who returned the look before glancing at Obi-Wan.
"I was explaining the situation to master Yoda." Obi-Wan explained. "If not ready for a Padawan you are then perhaps, we can…" Before the diminutive Jedi could complete his thought, Anakin cut him off. "No, wait a minute. I'll admit Ahsoka is a little rough around the edges, but with a great deal of training, and patience, she might amount to something." He said, and Ahsoka smiled brightly.
"Then go with you, she will, to the Teth system." Master Yoda said, drawing a confused look from Anakin. "Teth? But that's wild space, the droid army isn't even in that sector." "Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutts son, has been." The old Master responded.
"Wait, you want me, to rescue Jabba's son?" Anakin asked, and judging by the tone of his voice Nitai guessed that the very thought of assisting a Hutt offended him.
"Anakin, we'll need the Hutt's allegiance to gain an advantage over Dooku, especially if we hope to take the fight to the Separatist forces in the Outer Rim." Obi-Wan said.
"Hmm, negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will. With him, Padawan Zeama, will go." He said and Nitai sighed, before allowing a weary smile to once again spread across his face. "It seems our work is never done, well I suppose it will be interesting to see a Hutt in person." He said before Master Yoda turned back to face the four of them, although his gaze was focused on Anakin and Ahsoka. "Find the renegades who hold Jabba the Hutt's son, your mission will be."
"Come on master, it doesn't sound that hard, I'll go get Rex and organize the troops." Ahsoka said before turning and sprinting off to find Rex.
"Don't worry Anakin." Obi-Wan said as he noticed a nervous edge in his old Padawan's stance. "Just teach her everything I taught you and she'll turn out fine." He said with a smile as Anakin glanced back at him. "You know, something makes me think this was your idea from the start." He said, and judging by the smile on Obi-Wan's face, Nitai would be inclined to agree.
"Let's just hope he's ready for this responsibility." Obi-Wan said once Anakin was out of earshot. "Ready to teach an apprentice, he is, to let go of his pupil, a greater challenge, it will be." Master Yoda replied. "Master this, Skywalker must."
As the gunship carrying Anakin departed Obi-Wan turned back to Master Yoda. "If I've got to make a deal with Jabba the Hutt, I'd best be on my way. Nitai, head into the cruiser and there should be a fighter waiting for you, I'll meet you in orbit and we'll head off together." He said, as he headed towards his own starfighter and climbed in, before taking off and shooting into the sky.
Master Yoda and Nitai shared a look before he stood up, groaning as he felt the muscles in his leg protest. "I suppose I shouldn't keep him waiting too long. I'll see you later, Master Yoda." He said, he normally would have been much more respectful to the elder Jedi, but he had just gotten out of a warzone and had spent an extended period of time unarmed, with blasters pointed at him, he'd earned the right to be a little casual.
When he entered the hangar of the cruiser he found a familiar droid working on a mostly red Jedi starfighter with white detailing, similar to Obi-Wan's, although his was a much brighter shade of red. He was surprised to find the starfighter so perfectly matched his skin tone, but the reason for that quickly became apparent as S1 rolled up to him, a spray can, dripping red paint from its nozzle, clutched in one of the little droid's mechanical dendrites. The astromech squealed in excitement at the sight of him and rushed forward, dropping the spray can before wrapping its mechanical arms around his leg, before pulling back and then extending an electrified prong to jab him in the shin.
"Ouch, I'm sorry S1, I can't help it if the Jedi make crazy plans." He said as S1 beeped indignantly, telling him precisely what he thought of the Jedi and there 'plans'. "Oh save it for later, we've got another mission, we're heading going to go deal negotiate with a crime lord." Nitai said as he climbed into his ship pausing slightly as he was halfway inside and then sighing. "What has my life come to where negotiating with a Hutt crime lord is considered something to look forward to?" He said before settling into his seat and closing the cockpit. S1 activated his jets and maneuvered above the astromech socket just in front of the cockpit.
After firing up the engine, he shot out of the hangar into the sky above Christophsis, where he met up with Obi-Wan's fighter. "We'll be heading to Tatooine to meet with Jabba. Link up with your hyperdrive ring, it should have the coordinates already set." Obi-Wan's voice came in clearly through his communications relay. The two fighters slid smoothly into place in their hyperdrive rings, and soon enough the two Jedi jumped into hyperspace, leaving Christophsis behind as they headed towards the desert planet of Tatooine, and the palace of Jabba the Hutt.