Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. The following work is not intended to add to, promote or distort this series. This is a work of fanfiction, and the author does not profit in posting. This is simply a writing exercise written for fun.
Watching over Potkin and Wezz as they roamed the temple was a pain, especially alone. Even with appropriate disguises, jacked from the Jedi storehouses, Anhilis found herself struggling to tail and corner them. Especially while keeping her presence so small and docile.
Her frustration levels were very high.
Damn it, Devaro! She grumbled internally, Where the hell are you? You're supposed to be here with me!
But she did understand it. Both she and Devaro knew that they had ulterior motives to this scheme and they'd already agreed not to interfere with each other's plans. That was why she hadn't told her master, who was now searching for Masana in some remote sector of the outer rim.
Neither trusted Pestilis, truthfully, and both had their list of complaints about her.
So now, thanks their secret truce, Anhilis was stuck watching the outside of a door while she awaited the prey she was currently stalking. The door slid open, revealing the red-headed Wezz as she floated on by. She'd just had a meeting with that weird Koran master, the one with a scowl sewn into his face. Windu, she managed to recall as she resumed tailing the master.
As she followed Wezz down the hall, she watched and calculated. Could this woman be Skywalker's mother? Was the question at the forefront of her mind. She'd already ruled out Potkin on her own after fighting her. The woman was far too weak to be the mother of such an admirable subject.
She'd already established a picture in her mind of what Skywalker's mother must have been. The list of adjectives were all quite strong; precise, cunning and resourceful were her top three. So, as she tailed Wezz down the hall, she could not help but notice how she too was being followed.
She turned her eyes to spot the Koran master there, watching her with a glimmer of suspicion in his dark eyes. He went so far as to frown at her. But she didn't care. She had her alibi.
Instead, she continued confidently down the way, knowing confidence would be the thing to convince anyone around her, not a plausible story. At last, Wezz turned the last corner and stood before a door. Carefully, the young woman picked at the lock, checking the empty halls in the as she did with a look of uncertainty in her green eyes.
And then, like a nexu, she slinked into the room, slipping the door closed as she did.
Her audience watched her as she did this, raising a spotted brow. Curious more than anything, Anhilis tiptoed across the hall to read the name on the door. Room 2354, Skywalker. And that was when the smirk appeared on her face, Well, Miss Mystery-Lover, I finally found you.
Luke and Leia were actually a little peeved as they sat inside the gondola speeder the following morning. Before them was Paddy their driver, chatting away happily with Anakin as they moved towards the docks. Both twins were bound in cuffs, the bored Ahsoka charged with watching them. Sadly, they made the error to trust their father overnight and woke up in his custody.
It seemed he'd contacted Artoo, who'd brought the gondola driver out that morning with him. At first, the twins debated running off and protecting their identities as best they could, but they realized having their father chase them around the island would only result in a longer delay of their plans. Instead, they chose to play along into a convenient escape became apparent.
If I could at least lay down, Luke complained, fighting a yawn.
Leia rolled her eyes, No kidding. I'm tired too.
The strain of fighting with Grievous had not left them unaffected. Both awoke the following morning feeling their forties physically, and the mirror didn't discredit that analogy for them whatsoever. Even Anakin was taken aback by how much their injured state affected their appearance.
Getting frustrated more than anything, the two let out a synonymous sigh, bringing Anakin's attention back to them. He stared at them a moment, his gaze strange, as though contemplating. "I could be persuaded to let you go..." He started, almost sweetly, "If you tell me what I want to know."
Luke glanced to Leia, who's chocolate eyes were as amused as his icy ones. "Nah." Leia provided as Luke shrugged, "We're pretty content with the status quo." Growing frustrated once more, Anakin glared at them before turning his attention back towards the river. Luke had to smirk at him a moment, sensing that familiar feeling of bewilderment grow in the man. We've stumped him.
At last, he turned back to them, his eyes darkened with annoyance, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Reminded of a more unpleasant version of the man, the twins went silent, their eyes trained on the gondola floor. But this state of depression would not last long.
Suddenly beeping along side them, Artoo inserted his own opinion, which made Luke's face incredulous and Anakin's bright red. Leia and Ahsoka were fighting chortling, with the former breaking the uncomfortable silence with, "You caught us Artoo!" It was then that Luke busted out laughing with her, unsure of what else he could do, "We are so the children of Anakin Skywalker... happily married and keeping that tree inverted!" Leia decreed, to which Anakin scoffed and Artoo began celebrating in a flurry of beeps. Paddy's jaw hit the ground at the accusation.
"Artoo!" Anakin retorted bitterly, "She was being sarcastic." The droid then bleeped and blooped his take on things, "No, you did not win your soldering arm!"
Luke leaned forward, eager to hear more as he observed the humorous behaviors of his hero and father. He's so fun! He decided, feeling his sister agreeing in their bond, We probably would have put him through hell, and he'd have loved it. Leia chuckled as she watched the man argue sense to the droid.
"Why would their mom be Padme?!" Anakin suddenly shouted out, then quickly caught himself, "You know what... don't answer that." Please! He added internally, hoping the normally sensitive droid took the hint. There wasn't a moment for him to find out.
Luke snorted, "She's totally our mom!" He replied matter-of-factly to the ever reddening Anakin and Artoo, "Obviously... how else would we have had the keys to that place?"
"You broke in." Ahsoka chimed in lamely. She was enjoying this episode of 'torture-her-master' very much and wanted badly to be a part of the fun.
Leia shrugged, "That's beside the point." She then leaned forward, wanting to tease her father more and loving every second of it. It almost felt like they were a real family to her... almost. "Fact of the matter is, Artoo earned his soldering arm."
Aghast, Anakin near shouted, "Don't you dare encourage him Jaina!" And it was then that Paddy decided his opinion mattered.
"You all are much too loud!"
Surprised and silent, the four Jedi sat back with looks of concern on their faces. Indeed, they had been too loud, and it was apparent that several couples on romantic rendezvous were suffering from the headache as they ambled on by in the opposite direction. Even as snobbish royals and vacationers alike gave them the stink eye, Luke and Leia found their faces smirking and their minds wandering. Searching.
They knew imprisonment would not protect their mother. They needed an escape.
We still can't be clear that we weren't the target. Leia reminded her brother as she felt something peculiar rush by her in the Force, she started glancing around in search of its source.
Luke nodded, He made it seem that I was the kill... but I agree. It is highly possible that our enemies used the guise of being Separatist to paint a target on all our brows.
He then turned as well, feeling that same presence through his bond with his sister. Once more, he'd had to retract his presence from the Force. Once more, he was fading away into half a being. And, as he ran his senses through the world around him, trying to find another source of power, he wound up recalling something instead.
Like a flicker, he saw his grandmother staring at him intently in his apartment, "Find Gerali." She's said, "Follow your instincts."
When his vision returned to him, he found himself back in the boat with both Leia and Anakin staring at him bizarrely. Leia seemed more concerned, and Anakin seemed very disturbed.
"That felt like my mother...How did-..." He sat forward, for once not demanding as much as mystified. His normally dark blue eyes had the light of earnestness in them, making them more cerulean.
Luke sighed and sat forward, surprised that their father had as much access to their bond as he did. Like their own had been like in its fledgling years, it flickered in and out in its intensity, which is likely why they could occasionally hear his thoughts and why he could see that memory. "It's a very confusing story." Was all he offered before changing the topic entirely, now understanding what the presences he and Leia were sensing could be. "Where does this river lead to anyways?"
Paddy shrugged, detecting, as everyone else had on the gondola, that Jacen was merely dodging to another topic, "Back to Theed, actually... if you go far enough."
Pretending to be interested more in the discussion than the topic, Luke sat back and inquired, "Ah, so this is the river that feeds into that waterfall I saw?" Paddy nodded slowly, suddenly smiling. He was proud of his knowledge of the area, having lived in it for some time now.
Paddy had earned quite the commission on his adventures in the military and retired to this landscape once he'd been afforded to. And wasn't required to work as a gondola driver, but it was his passion for the nature and the water around him that kept him so involved. Senator Amidala was perhaps his favorite guest, and she entertained his enthusiasm for the world around him. He continued to drive the gondola and care for the Varykino estate with zeal because of the pride he felt in working their. That and the good company, which Jacen and Jaina were, even as felons.
Especially now that Jacen was awake.
But that budding conversation was cut short by Anakin Skywalker, who grouchily reminded Jacen, "The next time you see those waterfalls, it will be from the prison hold of my ship." He then sat forward intently, "Of course, I can change that if you become more cooperative." The ferocity and frustration of his countenance was perhaps the most unbearable element of his interrogation.
Leia shuddered at the edge in his voice most of all. It was too familiar.
Even Luke hardened his heart some to the man's query, his face as stoney as his fathers. "We've nothing of value to share with you. You should trust us!" Was all he said, his voice almost venomous, surprising his sister even in the way he said it, "So you'd best just let us go. We've done no harm."
"Trust is a two way door, and you've done little to open that door. You've trespassed on private property, spied on a public official, and I'm not even sure how you conned Jar-Jar into helping you AND covering for you." Anakin reminded him coldly, while Ahsoka sat by, watching the exchange like she would a duel, "I've all I need to see you in a cell for a while."
To that, Leia scoffed, "We'd get out on some technicality." she assured him.
Turning his dark blue glare at her, he reminded the young woman that, "You wont find the same privileges in a Jedi interrogation center."
Ahsoka sighed, "Master... I don't know that they-"
"-Quiet Ahsoka." The man ordered before adding, "It's all up to you. How will your fate be decided?"
As Leia gulped and Luke gawked, the two swiftly used their bond to plot any escape they could. And they had quite the clever one. They didn't offer an answer, nor did they signal their motion with some sarcastic hand-off.
Swift as a Rancor, the two of them leaned to one side and capsized the gondola long before Anakin and Paddy had a chance to recognize what they were doing. Ahsoka shrilled as she fell into the cold water while Artoo managed to take off with his thrusters before the liquid damaged his circuits. Splashing to battle the undertow of the river, the three sentients glanced about for their escaped prisoners. "Damnnit!" Anakin shouted as he realized they were long gone, slamming the water with a mechanical fist while he scanned the distant waters for them.
He could sense their weak presences long down the river.
"How'd they do that master?" Ahsoka wondered as she used the Force to turn the boat over. Anakin aided the elderly Paddy onto the boat while he searched the area with his force presence, his hair falling into his eyes, stinging them with river water. "The fish!" He finally realized, "They dove in and grabbed onto the fish!"
Confused, Ahsoka climbed aboard the boat and glanced around. She could not see nor sense any nearby fish that would help two escapees.
"The Mammoth Gills." Paddy finally spoke up, "Long thought extinct because they swim so deep now... There must have been a school beneath us."
Anakin scoffed and reached down with his senses to find stragglers he could use to chase after the Darklighters. He felt nothing.
"Those kriffen-"
"-Master!" Ahsoka shouted, an epiphany coming to her, "We could use Artoo's repulser jets to follow them!"
Glancing up at his droid, Anakin smirked a moment before shaking his head, "He wouldn't have enough juice for that journey." Artoo whistled his agreement as he landed inside the boat. "Let's face it... we lost them Snips."
Obi-Wan Kenobi was seated in the Jedi Archives with a furrowed brow on his face, trying his best to understand the ordeal his former Padawan was faced with. He'd researched far and wide on Jacen and Jaina Darklighter, and was found with, once again, a resounding collection of nothing. This fact disappointing him, as he wanted desperately to help his brother in arms. So, after a few hours on that subject, he returned his search towards the duo that had attacked Bail Organa, and, thereby, brought the Darklighters to the Jedi's attention. He'd been in the midst of this research when Master Windu approached him.
"I have put Wezz on Skywalker's case." He informed the redheaded man with no formalities. Obi-Wan paused and turned back towards Mace, his brow raised. Master Windu regarded him a moment before adding, "I just thought that news would ease your mind, my old friend."
Sighing and shaking his head, Obi-Wan admitted, "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with another Jedi investigating this." He then paused and added, "Anakin is a very private person. The fallout of having someone investigating him without his knowledge would... well, let's just say I won't be there when he discovers this."
Mace frowned and nodded, "I understand your concerns, my friend." Pulling the chair beside Obi-Wan out, he sat down and rested on his elbows, showing his fatigue regarding his many responsibilities. "Fact of the matter is, Skywalker has always been a bit of a wild card in terms of how he handles big changes. He's unpredictable and, you know as well as I, that not having all the facts would do him more harm than not. Wezz is very efficient in terms of investigating people who don't want to be found. We could have all the information Skywalker would require by the time that he returns with the Darklighters."
Obi-Wan sighed, "I thought Anakin was in charge of this particular investigation... And I'm certain he believes he is too."
"He believes what he needs to believe for the time being." Mace admitted, "Master Yoda specifically requested we add Wezz to the equation, once he'd learned that I'd allowed Skywalker to pursue the Darklighters. He's concerned Skywalker would keep vital information regarding his discoveries from us."
"I'm not sure that he's required to divulge information regarding his family to the council." Obi-Wan pointed out. Mace shrugged.
"There is a risk that Skywalker's whole family might be as powerful as he..." He reminded the redheaded Jedi, "Who's to say that they are all like him or not. Fact of the matter is, that possibility is very dangerous."
"Like him or not?" Obi-Wan near demanded, amazed at the audacity of the Korran Jedi, as he could feel the suggestion behind the statement. But rather than retort, Mace merely nodded and stood, meandering towards the door of the library. In a desperate effort to undo whatever the small group of un-trusting masters were planning, Obi-Wan called after him, "You know, he's worked his heart out trying to prove to you all that he belongs here... this action will undo almost any semblance of trust he has for the Order."
At the door, Mace stopped and turned around, hovering in the threshold as he considered Obi-Wan's warning. "Trust is a two-way door, Master Kenobi."
Deep in the river water, having been pulled down swiftly by the undertow, Leia latched her body on to the fish through the Force. These Mammoth Gills moved quickly, nearly propelling them at speeds unheard of for fish. But the current of Theed made that all the more possible, as they were nearing the waterfalls behind the city.
They'd latched themselves to the fish with the Force, crossing their arms across their chests to prevent any pull as they were swept down in the current. Years of training to hold their breath and slow their pulse so that the oxygen in their body didn't get used up swiftly made the hour and a half journey bearable, as the fish only surfaced twice and were not about to surface near a city. Their approach to Theed did make Leia concerned, as she wasn't sure how to detach and find the surface without her body giving out from the strain of the advanced meditation.
Glancing over to her brother, who didn't appear as lacking for air as she felt, Leia sent her question to him through their bond, Now?
It was then that Luke opened his eyes and nodded.
Watching her brother's approach, Leia gawked as Luke used the Force to move his body between two Gills and then took their own momentum to catapult himself upwards and out of the water. Moments later, Leia followed suit.
They'd landed on a small bridge in Theed's upper-class residential district, not that one could tell based on the state of the cobblestone. The whole city had been suffering from the war, which had exhausted the resources necessary in keeping the city maintained. But, the off angles of the walkway did not stop the children from playing on it. The twins could hear their giggles from down the walkway as they attempted to dry out on the bridge.
In wringing out her cloak, Leia noted that both she and her brother looked almost twice their age and her jaw dropped. She hesitantly brought her hands up to her face, tears threatening to stain her eyes. And her first thought fell on a most pressing issue to her, will I get back to Han before I die?
Luke sensed her anxiety and wrapped his arms around her, I promise you will. He held his beloved sister in his arms a while, trying to help her from succumbing to fear and depression. And in caring for her, he steeled his soul against his own worries enough to keep thinking. To keep progressing. To keep fighting for their lives.
And that was what they were doing with every step. Fighting to keep from dying in this era. Fighting to keep their mother alive long enough to birth them. Fighting to keep their father from the truth. And fighting to keep their enemies in the dark to everything. They were at war and they were the only two on their side fighting.
Soon, Leia calmed and stepped away from her brother, "Thank you." She told him, smiling at him widely. He grinned back and nodded, stepping to the side so she could see the walkway behind him.
Knowing they'd stand out while soaking wet, Luke and Leia meandered down the nearest street, ducking out of view as a few of Theed's security force glanced their way. Another of Luke's mind tricks did them well enough to escape further scrutiny. But it also exhausted him to the point where he could no longer walk. He grabbed onto a wall to catch his breath, panting as though having an asthma attack.
"I can't do this much longer." he informed Leia sternly, panting all the while, "I'm exhausted... and so are you!" Leia nodded, also panting and unsure of what to do. They needed to rest, but they needed to find their mother as well. She was about to reassure her forlorn brother when a ball connected with her backside.
She turned to find two giggling girls looking at her, smiling wide. Both had dark hair and dark eyes, dressed like young, upper class girls. "Pooooooja!" The older one called, or rather moaned, "You need to say you're sorry."
The younger one, blessed with intense curls that must have run in the family, chuckled once more and nodded. "I'm sorry." She said this with her hands clasped behind her back and her torso turning nervously. Leia nodded to her and smiled.
"Not a problem, Pooja." She replied, recognizing this girl as their cousin the second she saw her, "Thank you for apologizing." The girl curtseyed at her a moment before collecting her ball and running off towards her older sister.
Leia chuckled as Luke hobbled up to her, using the wall to support himself. They watched the two of them with like grins.
"How ironic." Luke commented.
Leia turned to him with a smirk, "How opportunistic." He turned back to her and smiled back with blond brows raised high over his icy blue eyes.
With their boots scrunching water with every step they took, the twins managed to make their way back down the narrow street towards the girls.
"Pooja?" Leia suddenly called out, "Ryoo?" Both girls turned to her curiously, "Are your parents home?"
Anakin's boots scrunched water between his toes with every step he took, and all he could think was how much he wished that his feet were surrounded with sand. At least sand didn't smell after wards. Ahsoka had given up on her shoes and was carrying them to their speeder, hoping to air them out on their drive back to Theed. She wanted to say something to her master, but wasn't sure what would or would not be safe to comment on. These Darklighters are far more difficult than Grievous to face. She realized with chagrin.
But something about them seemed safe, something she didn't want to admit to her master. If she did, she was certain she'd be given nothing more than his incredulity to deal with, just as he had doled out to Artoo. Not that she bought Artoo's incredible story of their being Anakin's children, but she was fairly certain that they all had to be family. Cousins even.
"Master?" Ahsoka tried patiently as they zipped down the forest road, "What do you know of your family?"
Anakin scoffed before answering, his eyes never leaving the scene before him as he accelerated to a dangerous level... as usual. "Not much." was all he offered after a while, "Why?"
Gulping a moment, Ahsoka worked up the nerve to finally inform him of her own speculations. "Is it possible that they might be in your family?"
"He is not my brother!" Anakin suddenly shouted, taking a mountain pass turn rather sharply. As Ahsoka caught her breath and held on to the side of the door, Anakin continued his tyraid, "He isn't! Why won't anyone believe me?! HE even said so!"
Gulping once more to work up her nerve, Ahsoka quickly suggested, "Could he be a cousin?"
Anakin actually slowed down the speeder as he pondered that, bringing the vehicle to a halt. He sat silently for a while, not saying anything. His eyes darted around the flora of the area, showing how in depth he was contemplating. Ahsoka could feel through the Force that he was trying to use his instincts to find the answer, considering every aspect of his history that he knew from his mother.
"No." Anakin finally decided, "He isn't my cousin either."
Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka did the one thing she hated doing to her master when he was like this: challenge him. "How do you know?"
"My mother..." Anakin began, "She told me her only sibling died when he was a boy."
Nodding in understanding that, Ahsoka pointed out, "Cousin is a very general term... they could be second cousins or something."
Pausing, Anakin turned to her, "They?"
Furrowing her brow, Ahsoka shrugged backwards, "Didn't you feel it?"
"Feel what Snips?"
She paused a moment, reading his perplexed expression that was also mixed with a stare that was a challenge. "They have nearly the same Force-presence... they aren't married, at least, not legally." Anakin sat back as he heard that, realization dawning on him as he did.
"They're brother and sister." He finally commented, before hissing, "Why didn't I notice that before?!"
Ahsoka nodded and watched as her master struggled to place all this new information in his brilliant mind, even as Artoo whislted his I-told-you-so from the back seat. The two Jedi merely ignored the droid, sitting in the near silence as Anakin attempted to decode who these two bizarre individuals were to him with the Force. But the only conclusion he could come to was the eerie words of Demantis; Go to Tatooine, see the grave of the man beside your mother.
Swallowing and putting the speeder back into gear, Anakin steeled himself for what was likely a painful journey. "Good job, Snips." Was all he afforded Ahsoka.
Stepping out of the medical bay, Count Dooku did his best to ignore the numerous buffoons scurrying out of is way. In a few hours, he was expected to meet with the Confederate Senate to vote on more pointless debates. It was a hassle, and he'd wanted anything more than to endure it.
Which is perhaps why the approaching droid seemed so much more interesting than the approaching senator.
Mina Bonteri was a good woman, which is perhaps why he despised her. Best known for her vies for peace, the woman was amongst the most respected senators in the entire assembly. On top of that, she was beautiful, even for being the mother of a teenager. Not that Dooku would notice anymore.
"Ah, Count!" Mina began, her deep voice like a whisper as she approached with a smile, "At last I've found you. I was hoping to discuss the opportunity for a rally on-"
"-Senator," Dooku attempted as formally as he could at the moment, given his still aching condition, "I appreciate that you sought me out, but this isn't really the time-"
"-I understand that you are busy Dooku," She fought further for the floor, stepping between him and the feeble droid commander that waited in confusion behind her, "But this is important for our cause... a way to gather more sympathy for our side of the war." Now she had his attention.
With a slight grin, and a strange burn in his chest, Dooku nodded to the senator. "Ms. Bonteri," he began carefully, "For something so important, I'd rather not discuss this so swiftly in the halls."
Again, Mina smiled at him, and again he felt that bizarre sensation, "I appreciate your candor, Count Dooku," She was very charismatic as she retorted, "But that is hardly necessary for so small an ordeal." Nodding and smiling, Dooku began guiding Bonteri towards the door of medical bay, shocking her with the surprising warmth of his demeanor.
"Ms. Bonteri," He continued gently, "Every attempt to rally for our assembly is of the highest priority." he assured her, then opened the door, "And I would very much like to give your idea the fullest attention... I've open office hours tomorrow after lunch, should that be convenient to you." Startled and relieved, Mina nodded.
"Thank you Count." She replied before stepping into the threshold, but she stopped a moment, her blue eyes filled with concern, "I certainly hope your recovery has been both painless and speedy, Dooku." Sensing how genuine her concern was, Dooku smiled and nodded.
With new light in her eyes, the goodhearted senator headed out of the door, and likely back to her residence not far from their Senate Hall. Dooku watched her for a moment, before grabbing his chest and stepping back. He didn't understand the pain he was feeling, but it was both sharp and burning.
He took a deep breath and motioned that the waiting droid move towards him. Tentatively, the creation did as instructed, "Are you all right sir?" It inquired, as though it could be concerned.
Nodding, the man brought himself back up to his proud stance, "Right as rain. Now, what is it?" He was quick and sharp with his words, something the droid had been expecting.
Seamlessly, the droid informed him, "General Grievous has a transmission for your sir. It is regarding his mission." Frowning, Dooku turned about and marched the other direction, on the hunt for a CommChamber so he could either congratulate our chew out his cyborg commander.
Author's Note: I wonder what's up with Dooku... I've always enjoyed how his character was so proper and yet dangerous. He will be a fun character to contrast against the others, especially Luke and Leia, who can show the same kind of poise, in my opinion, and be just as deadly.
The idea for the chapter came to me as I was adding in the scene between Obi-Wan and Mace. I felt I needed to explain what Wezz was really up to at the beginning of the chapter, and I think that addition did a pretty good job of foreshadowing what we all know to be in Anakin's future. I hope you all like it.
I don't know that I will be able to post during Thanksgiving break, as I tend to be very busy, so you may have to wait a week to see what comes next, but I will do what I can. I want to start updating more of Legacy. Speaking of which, that story hasn't received as much attention as this and I am having trouble determining if it is my writing, the plot, or the narrow margin of interest in seeing those two worlds merged together (it is a crossover). If any of you have time, I would really appreciate it if I could get some feedback from you on Legacy. You can find the link on my author's profile page.
Thanks again for reading and please don't forget to review! I'm finding that reviews are my favorite part of this experience and they certainly inspire me to keep writing.