Chapter 12
Three months later Anakin and Farra were sent to Jabilm to help in the fight against Separatists Rebels there. During the three months they had been on Coruscant, Farra had been asked to keep an eye on Palpatine as the Jedi Council had become more suspicious of him. The Jedi had also learnt of a new leader the Separatists had gained, a General Grievous. Anakin is not pleased to find out that Farra is to keep an eye on Palpatine.
"Palpatine is like a mentor to me," Anakin tells Farra."
"I'm not all that thrilled about it myself as I consider him a friend too," Farra said.
Anakin is pacing the floor of Farra's room, worried about where this latest suspicion could lead.
"I think you should be prepared in case Palpatine does turn out to be Darth Sidious. I am preparing myself for the worst" Farra said.
"Damn it Farra how can you even think that of Palpatine" Anakin said.
"What if it is true though Anakin?" Farra asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know" Anakin replied.
Anakin sits down on Farra's bed and slides his arms around her.
"Lets not argue about this," he says.
"I'd agree with that," Farra says.
Anakin smiles and gently moves closer until his lips are touching Farra's. The two Jedi kiss, sending fireworks shooting up and down Farra's spine. To Farra, Anakin's kisses are always 'out of this world' His kisses are intense and eager and this one is no exception. Farra feels a sense of sheer ecstasy go through her, as she tastes Anakin's lips on hers. Finally they come up for air and they look at each other.
"That was amazing," Anakin says.
'I wish we could get married sooner' Anakin thinks.
He knows however that Farra is correct in wanting to wait as they could both be killed at any time. He contents himself with cuddling into Farra as the two of them slip into a shared meditation.
A few weeks after that, the Jedi had learnt that when Anakin killed Dooku it was in fact a clone of Dooku. When Anakin and Farra learnt of this they were dismayed then accepting of the fact. The Jedi didn't know if Grievous knew about Anakin and Farra but had a suspicion that he did. Farra hadn't learnt a great deal from her watching of Palpatine and had gratefully passed the job on to another Jedi before going to Jabilm. Anakin and Farra lead the attack force and Alpha, the ARC trooper who had helped them once before is also there. Alpha sees a wounded rebel and goes to shoot him only to be stopped by Anakin who tells him not to shoot the man. Alpha decides to do it anyway when Farra speaks up.
"Leave him Alpha. He's hurt so he won't be able to harm us. We don't kill someone who is wounded. Its not the Jedi way"
Alpha reluctantly agrees to spare the man and moves away from him.
Farra contacts Kass of the 'Padawan Pack' a group of Padawans who's Master's have been killed. Anakin and Farra had been considering taking one each of them on as their Padawan. She suggests that a flanking force could prevent a retreat and orders the Padawans to carry out the flanking maneuver. Alpha had been the one to come up with the idea of the flanking maneuver and the two Jedi had liked the idea so had contacted Kass to have it carried out. Before Kass signs off Alpha makes some snide remarks about the 'Pack' Farra rounds on him and tells him to knock it off and that the Padawans are doing just fine. Ten minutes or so later, Kass reports to Farra that no one escaped the flanking maneuver. Anakin and Farra commandeer a speeder and head for Shelter Base. When they get there Anakin sees Alto Stratos and points him out to Farra.
"We will take him together. First we ask him to surrender. Remember we only attack if we are threatened." Farra says.
Anakin nods and the two Jedi dismount from the speeder to approach Alto.
"Surrender Alto and you won't be hurt" Farra calls out.
Alto scoffs at her and raises his blaster. Anakin deflects the bolts Alto fires at Farra. Alto turns and runs realizing he is out matched.
"Let him go" Farra advises Anakin.
Anakin turns his attention to the base and starts clearing it of enemy droids and personnel while Farra Alpha and Sirrus go to a downed AT-AT to evacuate the troops in it before it blows. Aubrie, Sirrus' padawan is with Anakin. A few minutes later Anakin reports that his section of the base is clear. Farra tells him to join him in the AT-AT but before he can do so the AT-AT blows up.
"Farra!!" Anakin screams in anguish as he and Aubrie dive for cover. When the smoke cleared Anakin raced towards the AT-AT. He finds Sirrus' body but Farra is nowhere to been seen, He can't find Alpha either.
'Farra, where are you?' Anakin thinks, 'I need you when I fight. You're the only one who keeps me from losing control'
He is distraught believing Farra to be dead. However he quickly finds himself helping the 'Padawan Pack' take out a group of battle droids. Then he helps them make their way to Cobalt Station. Along the way the Nimbus Commandos attack the Padawan convoy. Anakin sees Altos and charges him, his grief at losing Farra blinding him to all other thoughts.
"I'm going to destroy you Stratos" Anakin declares.
Then he realizes that Farra would disapprove if he killed in anger. He decides to honor her memory by upholding the Jedi code. Before Stratos could attack Anakin an explosion separates them. Anakin returns to the Padawan Pack and as he is a full Jedi Knight takes charge.
It is decided to help with the evacuation after the Padawans learn that they are only ones between Stratos and the evacuation zone. As they prepare to leave Anakin receives a holo message from Palpatine telling him to help with the evac and leave the current mission to the Padawans. Anakin reluctantly agrees, as he has never let Palpatine down. Before Anakin goes Aubrie gives him Sirrus' holocron to take with him. He takes a swoop bike to the evacuation site but is attacked by some assassin droids but destroys them with his lightsaber. He eventually makes it to the evacuation site and meets with Gillmunn. However their meeting ends in an argument when Anakin informs Gillmunn that he and his men have to stay behind on Jabilim. Gillmunn gets angry and tries to commandeer the ship. Anakin ignites his lightsaber and grabs Jabilim on the arm.
"If you don't step aside I will have to remove you with force" he says.
Gillmunn reluctantly stands down but declares he will never forget the Republic's betrayal.
What had really happened when the explosion occurred was this: Alpha had pushed Farra back out of the AT-AT and had jumped out himself. At the same time Asajj Ventress had arrived and seeing Farra apparently unconscious had captured her. Both Farra and Alpha had been rendered unconscious by the shock wave from the explosion. Farra wakes up on Ventress' home world to find a Sith Torture Mask on her face. It prevents her from concentrating. Ventress comes in and tells her that all the Padawans on Jabilim had died and Anakin had died along with them. Farra screams in despair, as she cannot concentrate to see if Anakin is still alive. Asajj tells Farra she intends to find out where the Republic's medical facilities and foundries are. Farra is in chains and she desperately tries to free herself realizing that Ventress intends to torture her. Because of the Sith mask she cannot connect to Anakin via the Force and let him know where she is. She then realizes that Anakin probably thinks she is dead.
'I wish I could reach out to Anakin. He must be devastated' Farra realizes
Then Farra hears something humming and sees a spherical droid moving towards her. It has what appears to be a hypodermic needle coming from one appendage. She has no idea what the other appendages do but guesses she is going to find out.
Over the next few weeks Farra is tortured every day but she does not break so Ventress turns her attention to Alpha. He has had to listen to Farra's screams every day and he can't bear to think what is happening to her. Farra has been feigning being drained and has been using the Force to press on the pipes in her holding area and kill the muscle maggots Ventress had been feeding her. She and Alpha plan a break out, as both know they need to escape and quickly. At the same time Anakin has realized that since they didn't find Farra's body she must still be alive. He has been meditating and reaching out with the Force desperately hoping to sense her presence somewhere in the galaxy. Finally he detects her presence, albeit faintly on the planet of Rattatak. Getting permission from the council he goes to his star fighter and blasts off for Rattatak determined to rescue Farra.
Farra and Alpha execute their escapes plan and free other prisoners as well. Farra removes the Sith torture mask and is immediately able to reestablish her link with Anakin.
'Farra!! Thank the Force you can communicate with me again' Anakin thinks via the Force.
'You're alive Anakin. Ventress told me you'd died'
'That lying bitch' Anakin thinks.
'Be mindful of your thoughts. I sense anger in them' Farra thinks
'Never mind my thoughts. Are you ok my love' Anakin asks.
'No I've been tortured. I need your help to escape. Alpha is with me' Anakin said.
'I'm coming as fast as I can. I love you' Anakin thinks.
'Love you too babe' Farra thinks
Farra continues to sense Anakin's thoughts as she and Alpha make their way through Ventress' castle. She meets a man called Osika Kirske. Kirske tells them he will help them.
"Why should you help us?" Farra asks Kirske.
"I know Ventress' history and I don't like what she has become. I killed her parents and Ky Narec, Ventress' Jedi Master. Her Master crashed here and he trained Asajj. They were thought of as heroes for bringing together the various warring factions here."
"Various warring factions?"
"Yes. Here there are various groups and they are always fighting for power," Kirske says.
He then leads Farra and Alpha to Asajj's trophy room. There Farra recovers her lightsaber and finds Ky Narec's lightsaber. She clips her lightsaber to her belt and takes Narec's lightsaber as she's decided to return it to the temple.
They leave the trophy room and head out to the landing platform atop of Ventress' castle. Farra orders Alpha to fire up Ventress' ship just as Asajj appears.
"How in Sith's name did you escape?" Asajj asks.
"Like I'm really going to tell you" Farra replies.
She stands her ground ready to fight if needs be. Asajj spots Kirske and chops his head off with her lightsaber. Then she goes after Farra. Farra ignites her lightsaber as well as Narec's lightsaber. She holds one in each hand and reaches into the Force ready for battle. She relaxes and lets the Force direct her actions as she parries the blows Ventress aims at her. The two fight for a while and are evenly matched. Just as Farra is about to take advantage of an opening she has spotted she stumbles on a rock and falls, hitting the ground hard. She has the wind knocked out of her and before she can get up Ventress is on top of her.
Anakin arrives just in time to see Farra sprawled at Ventress's feet. He realizes that he is seeing what the two saw in their vision. Landing his ship Anakin leaps out, his lightsaber igniting as he moves then races over to where Farra is. Farra opens her eyes to see two red lightsabers coming at her. She desperately reaches up with her lightsaber to parry but one of the lightsabers hits her head and she feels its heat. Surprisingly she feels no pain and is still alive. When she gets to her feet she realizes the awful truth. The lightsaber had passed through her hair cutting it off. She knows Anakin won't like it at all and puts a hand to her head wondering how short her hair is now. At the same time Anakin has landed his star fighter and has leapt out to engage Ventress. After a short duel, which Farra joins, Ventress realizes she is no match for Anakin and Farra whose strength has doubled since they last fought. She turns and runs, realizing that Farra has taken Narec's lightsaber. Back inside her castle she cries as Farra's 'stealing' of Narec's lightsaber saddens her.
Anakin returns to his ship and Farra Force jumps into Ventress' ship. The two fly back to Coruscant and when they are reunited there Anakin lets out an exclamation.
"Sithspawn Farra, the bitch cut your hair off with her saber. Thank the stars it was your hair and not your head"
"How short is it Ani" Farra asked, dreading his answer.
"A few inches from your head. You look like a blinking Padawan learner"
"Not funny Skywalker. I don't have the braid remember" Farra said, slightly annoyed.
Anakin had doubled over with laughter at his own comment. When he stopped laughing he told Farra that she would have to cut what Ventress hadn't cut.
"Can you do it Ani? I'd rather you did it than anyone else"
Back in Farra's room Anakin ignited his lightsaber and adjusted the blade so it was very short. Then he carefully leveled Farra's hear with it so her hair was all the same length.
"Thanks love. Its only hair and I'll grow it again. People will know I'm a full Knight as I don't have the braid"
"You look different but you're still beautiful" Anakin told her.
"And you are growing more handsome with each day that passes" Farra said.
Anakin's hair was now getting quite long as it had been growing for about 6 months. Farra really liked his new hairstyle as it made him more attractive than ever. Anakin smiled and met Farra's lips with his. The two kissed, their relief of knowing that each other was safe evident in the intensity of her kiss.
" The last three weeks have been the hardest I've ever lived through. Not knowing if you were dead or alive nearly killed me. I missed you terribly," Anakin said.
He was caressing Farra's short hair with his flesh hand.
"I had no idea if you were dead or alive either" Farra said.
Anakin just held Farra close glad they were together again. Farra snuggled into his arms, glad to be back in the warmth of his embrace. She had missed his loving embrace the past three weeks.
Chapter 13