VANQOR

or

Formerly Chapters 6 through 11 of "Flying with an Angel"

Nothing got on Anakin's nerves quite like Obi-Wan's lectures. They seemed to go on for hours and on occasion they actually did. So far it had been a solid twenty-three minutes and Obi-Wan had barely taken a breath. It was nothing he didn't know already, nothing he hadn't heard a thousand times before. Jedi are peacekeepers. Violence is a final resort. There is no emotion, there is peace. It had been pounded into him for the last six years since he had arrived at the temple.

His annoyance was only increased by the fact that he hadn't been able to sneak away to his room so he could lick his wounds before Obi-Wan began his speech. He was fairly certain that a few of his ribs were cracked, or at least bruised and the wrist of his right arm was dislocated. Ferus had improved in his hand-to-hand skills since they had last gotten into a brawl, not nearly enough for the temple's "golden boy" to not be sent to the healing wing again, however.

It was everything Anakin could do to sit up straight on the couch. The next few hours would be miserable until the fractures in his chest healed themselves. Most of his bruises should have already faded. It surprised him that his Master had never noticed how quickly Anakin would recover from his injuries. He hadn't been to the healers, thank goodness, since he had first arrived at the temple.

No doubt he would once again have all blame placed on his shoulders. Every time Anakin would try to defend himself and explain what had happened, Obi-Wan would tell him to not shift the blame and to stop lying. Anakin may have lied to his master significantly over the years, but only out of protecting himself and his mother, never to get himself out of trouble.

"Well? Do you have an answer?"

Anakin shook his head. There was no use in him even trying to explain himself anymore. Repeating what Padawan Olin had called him and his mother would only make him more upset and aggravate his ribcage. It was hard enough controlling the pain as it was.

"Go to your room and think about what you've done."

'You mean think about how I defended my honor?' he thought to himself. He palmed the door open with his left hand as he was keeping his right as still as possible until he could get to the fresher where he could pop the joint back into place. After he locked the fresher door behind him, he turned on the shower and grunted as he realigned the bones of his forearm with practiced ease. Now that he had use of both his hands, he reached behind to remove the cloaking device from his back and wings, unclipping the filaments from along his extra appendages first. If he were able to patent the design he could revolutionize the industry, a cloak with a focused and limited field was something out of a holofilm, especially on this scale. However, a patent would draw attention to himself and cause people to ask more questions than he wanted to answer.

After showering and replacing the cloak onto his torso, he stared at the tattoo over his left clavicle. Part of him wished he had never learned to read Aurebesh.

Anakin dreaded when that schutta would be released from the Healer's wing. Obi-Wan had already forced him to apologize to Ferus. If the golden boy would just leave him alone, everything would be fine. He tried so hard to ignore the insults and sneers. It was no secret that he was a slave before he came to the Jedi.

Obi-Wan was in a meeting, being briefed about an upcoming mission, and Anakin just didn't feel like sitting alone in his quarters for lunch. The cafeteria was usually busy around lunch, and today they had an especially good meal on the menu. Fried nuna was the main dish, it was a rarity in the Temple because of the amount of work and expense that went into it. No one could live forever on ration bar, however.

After filling his tray, he scanned the crowd for a familiar, and friendly, face. Darra and Tru were sitting at a small table by the windows and when they saw him looking, they waved him over. They were the closest people he had ever had to friends, next to Kitster. Even then, often times Kitster and his relationship had been more mutually beneficial. It was easier to steal food so you wouldn't starve when you had a look out.

He moved quickly over to the table and sat down. Nobody talked until he finished his meal, which didn't take very long. The two other padawans had learned very quickly not to distract Anakin from his food. He ate more than all the other padawans, sometimes eating as much as two or three persons might eat. Once, another padawan, a wookie, had challenged him to an eating contest, which Anakin had won with ease. It wasn't something Master Kenobi had been pleased with, but the Knight never argued as the healers were still concerned about Anakin's weight.

As Anakin cleared his tray of all edible material, he started to notice that the headache that had plagued him night and day since he left Tatooine was easing. It always loosened it's clutches when he was around Tru and Darra. To be honest, it even got better around Ferus. He had yet to figure out the connection, but he wasn't going to complain.

They held idle conversation, trying to stall returning to their rooms, until all three comlinks rang simultaneously. Duty called. All three master-padawan teams had received missions.

Before he knew it, he and Obi-Wan were headed of to Typha-Dor and his headache had returned, full-force. A mission would be a good distraction. Yes, a very good distraction, and it couldn't possibly go worse than their previous mission. They had ultimately brought peace to the system, but Master Yaddle's death bothered him more deeply than he was willing to admit. Anything would be better than that. Anything.

Several days later on the planet Vanqor

Panic. It was all consuming to Anakin. Every sense had been on high alert since he had been forced to crash land the second ship thus far on the mission, every sense except for his logic that is. He had remained calm and done everything he could to ensure that the disc containing the Vanqors true attack plan would stay hidden until it could be delivered to Typha-Dor and prevent a massacre. He had complied with the group of Vanqors that had shot down and captured himself and the few Typha-Dorans who had been left at the surveillance outpost. They had been outnumbered and with Obi-Wan hidden and able to call for backup, it had been his best option to be compliant and keep the information hidden. That was before he realized who was in charge of the camp they were being led to. There was a symbol on the sleeves of their captors, and he would know that insignia anywhere.

The muscles in his back and neck were so rigid they made his bones ache and they increased the prevalence of his migraine. His head pounded and it took every ounce of willpower not to give in to the fight-or-flight response which so easily came to him. It was the reason he was so good in battle. He knew exactly the moment when continuing confrontation began to have more risks than a retreat. Neither of those options would end well for him until backup arrived. His whole focus had to be on staying invisible and disappearing in the crowd, to have a number not a name. His life depended on it.

As they went deeper into the facility the scent of sterility augmented his unstable state even further and he felt his breathing start to get more rapid though he did keep a certain amount of control. He wasn't hyperventilating, yet.

One by one the group got smaller as they were taken through doors on either side of the hallway and he finally noticed that he wasn't the only one on the verge of a break down. It wasn't good for any of them to be there, not just him. Shalini had entrusted him with the disc though, he had to remain hidden at all costs. It was about more than just himself, now. The whole planet of Typha-Dor was relying on him, but could he do it? Could he not fail? He wasn't sure. He had to try though.

Try not. Do...or do not. There is no try.

He shook his head, as if it would shake the thoughts of Yoda's disappointment and his own guilt from his mind. It least those thoughts half distracted him from the pain.

They came to a door marked 063 and he was shoved inside with the door locking behind him, just like the others. It was a small room, no more than three meters by four meters with a sleeping pallet on the right, a small holoviewer on the left, and a door to what he assumed was a fresher. The holoviewer hummed and the image of a human female appeared dressed in a labcoat.

"Hello and welcome! At this facility our primary concern is your comfort. Accommodations are simple but designed to increase your personal satisfaction during your stay."

Anakin couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. Personal satisfaction, what a load of bantha poodoo.

"Please, do not be alarmed at your door being locked. Some time after you complete viewing this holomessage the lock will release and you will be allowed to explore the rest of this facility."

A map took the place of the woman, showing the locations of a common area, cafeteria, outdoor garden, infirmary, and even a gymnasium with a pool. What kind of POW camp was this?

"Meals are served at 08:00, 12:00, and 18:00. While you are not required to attend each of these meals, we want to ensure that all residents remain healthy and well-fed."

The woman appeared again.

"Each room is provided with private refresher, complete with all the most modern conveniences and amenities. Additionally, underneath the sink is a small compartment where you will find a change of brown tunics. Please, put these on and place your previous garments on the shelf. They will be cleaned and stored safely until your departure. Everyday, between the hours of 08:00 and 12:00, a maid service will come and clean your quarters and replace your garments with another fresh set. If you find that your garments are ill-fitting, simply leave a note for the maid. We hope you will enjoy your stay!"

There had to be a catch. As soon as the holo blinked out, he began searching the room and fresher from top to bottom for some sort of bug. Nothing. Even the holoviewer was only one way. Nothing made sense. He would stick to his plan though, stay hidden. He went to the fresher and got the tunics from where the holo said they would be. They would help him blend in. With a few adjustments to his cloak, compensating for the new garment, his extra limbs would remain hidden from sight. The other prisoners had been relieved of their weapons previously, but Anakin had been able to keep his saber hidden for the time being. He slid both the disc and his hilt into a small recess he had put into the cloaking device.

The door still hadn't unlocked. He felt he should be doing something. What he needed to do was take a shower. Thus far the mission hadn't allowed any opportunity for bathing, and he had to admit, he was not smelling so hot right now. Perhaps it wasn't normal fifteen year old behavior, but he really didn't want to smell like a Wookie's backside any longer.

He felt his muscles start to relax under the pounding of the hot water. Funny, the only thing pounding was the water, not his head. Ah well, what did it really matter. It was the first time in years his head didn't hurt at all and he was going to enjoy it. Perhaps his stay in the camp wouldn't be nearly as terrible as he thought.

Click

The moment the Vanqors were out of sight, Obi-Wan pulled out his comlink to call for backup. They were in way over their heads. Although it wasn't safe to make a direct call to Coruscant, a distress call could be relayed be any Jedi in the neighboring systems. He used several encryptions and wished more than anything that there would be a quick response. Did Anakin have that much time? Obi-Wan's best bet at keeping his Padawan safe was to follow him and gather and information he could on the best way to leave the planet.

There was the speeder Anakin had cobbled together in the back of their grounded ship, and he didn't have too much trouble following the fleet of ships that had captured the rest of his party until they flew over a small range of mountains. The face was very sheer with no possibility of continuing in the vehicle. He hid the speeder under a low outcropping. Hopefully it wouldn't be picked up on any satellites. With as much grace as he could manage, which wasn't much as he was still strained from their less than ideal landing, he scaled the cliff using his cable launcher. It took him much longer than he had expected, the ships would be long gone and it would take him significantly longer to find where Anakin was taken. But then, he reached the top and discovered that it wasn't a range of mountains, but rather a ring of them surrounding a small plateau containing what appeared a be a cross between a POW camp and an exclusive resort.

The compound was large with exceptional landscaping for such an arid climate. Using his electrobinoculars, he found that there were benches and large windows, a pool and a large field where several beings were playing some sort of ball game. The entire area, however was surrounded by what appeared to be an electric fence and the hangar and landing field was separated from the other buildings by a ray shielded fence. This mission just kept getting stranger.

Littering the area between plateau and the mountains were some very worrying craters, from which a sudden animalistic screech confirmed Obi-Wan's fears. They were gundarks nests. That would certainly complicate things. Back-up was most definitely needed. He found a small cave, pulled up his hood, and waited.

A light blinked on the dashboard, signaling an incoming transmission, it wasn't live though.

"Hello there! This is Knight Kenobi." What sort of trouble had Obi-Wan gotten himself into now?

Apparently a simple recon mission had gone rather awry. It was just like Kenobi to have to complicate her day. She forwarded the message to her sister ship and commed the pilot.

"What do you think, Garen? Should we put our mission on hold and save their sorry hides?"

"Is that even a question?" Crackled over the speakers.

A voice chimed in from the copilots seat, "Master, are you sure it is wise to delay our own mission?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but we're going to help them out either way. Reset the nav coordinates. Dropping out of hyperspace in three ." The two ships jolted into real space simultaneously and re-entered hyperspace moments later.

"It'll be a piece of sweet cake, Tachi."

Anakin had never felt more calm and relaxed in his life. Taking his time, it was a full hour until he emerged from the fresher and discovered that the door to the hallway was unlocked. Nothing in his room had been moved, so he might as well explore.

The building was exactly as described in the holo. He made his way to the cafeteria where cleaning droids were removing the last traces of the mid-day meal. After watching the droids cycle through the room for an extended period of time, he realized the route they followed was based in the Fibonacci sequence, an ancient mathematical formula allowing the droids to clean the most amount of space in the least amount of time. As the droids finished and returned to their docking stations, he decided to continue his venture through the complex.

Wandering his way around, in and out of the building, he found Shalini lying in the grass, staring at the clouds above her. He laid down next to her.

"That one looks like a Reek head." she said, raising her hand to point at the specific cloud.

"Oh yeah, it does."

En route. ETA tomorrow 18:00. -Tachi

Relief flooded through Obi-Wan. Help was on its way and he couldn't have asked for better backup. The tension between Ferus and Anakin could be problematic, but if Garen and his padawan were coming along as he suspected, the Teevan would be able to diffuse anything that cropped up. Tru had a knack for that.

Obi-Wan moved to the coordinates for the arrival of the ships. After the landing there was a flurry of greetings and they all went into Tachi's ship to plan how to break out Anakin and the other Typha-Dorans from the camp. Someone had shoved something mildly more edible than the ration bars Obi-Wan had been consuming and a canteen of water into his hands. He suspected Siri.

Between bites he did his best to describe the camp's layout. It was decided that when the next ship went over the mountains and into the hangar, they would latch onto the bottom with their grappling cables and jump off just after they got past the ray shields. The masters each would search for the Typha-Dorans in a different area of the compound and Padawans Olin and Veld would search for Anakin specifically and do any recon they could on the camp. Ry Gaul and Clee Rhara would keep the ships warm for a speedy escape.

"You ready Obi-Wan?" Siri smirked at him as they reached the crest of the range.

He glanced over at her and shook his head, "Of course, not. I hate flying."

A chorus of laughs went on for a bit which Garen ended with a wave of his hand despite the fact that he was having difficulty holding back himself, "Don't worry, hehe, it'll be a piece of sweet cake."

They took the best cover they could while they waited for the next set of ships to go overhead. It was nearly 01:00 when they heard engines approaching. Garen and Siri were the first to take the leap, followed by Tru. Obi Wan and Ferus caught the next ship that was following closely behind. The weight of five persons on one ship would have been too noticeable. Despite the bright search lights, they were able to stay concealed, hugging as close to the hulls as they could. Obi-Wan was the last to detach from the vessel and went into a roll when he reached the ground, absorbing the impact as evenly as he could.

"Another happy landing," he whispered to his four shadowed companions. It was like a dance, making their way around the lights, staying in the dark. On their way to the main building, they found a supply shed. Although the front of the small outbuilding was lit, the back was completely black. It acquired a brand new entrance that evening, via saber blade. The sentries wouldn't discover it or the five missing uniforms until the following afternoon.

Dinner was plain but nourishing here. Anakin wouldn't have minded a bit more kick but he wasn't one to turn down food, especially considering the portion sizes here. Everyone got the same amount. The food was same the second night as the first, boring but satisfactory. He and the others he arrived with were sitting in the commons playing a game of sabacc, using old fashioned fiber cards and no betting system, all but one of the group, that is. To their knowledge he hadn't left his quarters yet, not even to eat. After the third round, Anakin noticed a throbbing at the base of his skull. By the sixth round the migraine had returned in full force, perhaps even stronger than previously.

He did his best to continue playing, but eventually his hands started shaking. Before it got any worse he bid goodnight to the others and returned to his room. He turned off the lights and waited in the dark hoping that would help. It didn't. What he needed was a shower. Yeah, that would do wonders for him.

His mind wandered in every direction and none under the stream of the shower head, but it kept circling back to one phrase. He did his best ignore that phrase.

Must be something in the water.

The ends justify the means, don't they?

Hours later he woke to someone shaking his shoulders.

"-akin...Anakin, you need to wake up." Something about that voice, it made him want to slap whoever it was, but the feeling passed almost as quickly as it had come on. His eyelids fluttered open, revealing a dark mopped head with a streak of gold running through the bangs. Anakin shut his eyes again.

"Come on, Skywalker, wake up." there was a light slap on his cheek. He batted the hand away and turned so his back was to the wall and folded his wings as best as he could underneath himself. Thank goodness he had left the cloak on while he slept.

"You try, Veld." The mattress under Anakin dipped and swayed with the change of weight.

"Anakin..." he opened his eyes again, this time to his best friend, "You need to get up, we have to get out of here."

Anakin hesitated to respond, prompting the other padawan to continue talking, "Are you injured?" Anakin shook his head at that. He was far from injured.

That annoying voice decided to chime in again, "We need to get out of here. Our Master's are waiting for us. We need to get the Vanqors true attack plan to Typha-Dor."

So they were leaving. He might as well welcome his headaches back with open arms. At least Tru would be there. His headaches always lessened around the other padawan. He threw the covers off and stood up with more grace than he usually possessed.

"Just let me get my saber. I hid it in the fresher." The lie went unnoticed. As if it was an afterthought, he mentioned, "Do either of you have a canteen I could borrow? I'm quite thirsty."

Ferus nearly yelled in surprise, "You've been in a POW camp for the last two days and you want a canteen? We should be getting out of here before we're all caught."

"Here, Anakin. Take mine." Tru held out his for Anakin's taking.

Anakin was genuinely thirsty and drained it as soon as he went into the fresher, before refilling it from the tap. Knowing this could be his last opportunity, he ran his head under the faucet as well. He removed the disc and his saber from the cloak and grabbed his tunics before exiting.

"Why the kriff is you hair all-" Ferus seethed with frustration and anxiety, "you know what, never mind. Let's get out of here." He didn't look behind to see if they were following him.

Tru cast a quizzical glance to Anakin.

"I was hot."

The Teevan turned to the door checking for any others who might be wandering the hall. "Later, we will be having words."

They have escaped the camp. Heated discussion between Tru and Anakin. Back on their ship, Anakin reveals his knowledge of Jenna Zan Arbor running the camp, but not the connections he has to her. Ferus says that he knows Anakin is hiding something, and promises to find out what.

The arc finishes much like in the original stories, however Jenna Zan Arbor is not seen. Her name only mentioned. Obi-Wan tells stories of his first encounter with her, when Qui-Gon was still alive. The topic is never brought up for the remainder of Anakin's apprenticeship.

A/N To speed the publishing of the main story line, I have not completed this arc for the time being. These last two paragraphs are a summary of will eventually be added to this arc.