Part Twelve
Anakin hated being at school.
No, that wasn't completely true. He loved the mechanics, shop, math and science classes. Diplomacy was boring but little Kohse helped him through most of it. He loved learning. What he hated was the fact that his brother Obi-Wan was off at the jobsite with a lot of union bigwigs doing important things. He was negotiating contracts for hundreds (thousands?) of workers. He was being an echuta hero while Anakin was just going to school.
He hated it!
It put him in such a sour mood he couldn't stand it. He had no patience for his classes and was quick to shout out all the answers in class because it was all so obvious, of course the wiring was inverted on the diagram because it was being held upside-down and you could tell because the circuit regulator always faced toward the cockpit and fuel injectors were always farther way and it was standard practice that all diagrams put the cockpit at the top of the picture, duh! Several teachers tried to pull him aside and talk about his superior attitude but he just pouted and stared at the floor, refusing to comment. He must have gotten four detentions in the span of the last three days, and he kept skipping them because his first priority wasn't some stupid punishment but rather dashing home to see if Obi-Wan made it home or if the talks were going so poorly his brother stayed up all night in conference at the jobsite.
That had only happened once. But once was one too many.
His diplomacy and political classes he ignored outright, instead looking all of his focus on his datapad that he'd sliced into the HoloNet to watch the feed of the negotiations, trying to spy any glimpse or mention of Obi-Wan. Kohse's mom had interviewed him after his release from jail. That had taken several hours of whining and puppy-eyes and promises and even then it had almost failed until the mother politely promised that she would keep the interview politically neutral and give it minimal hype. If it hadn't been for Kohse's mother the interview would never have happened. None of the tricks that worked on his mother seemed to work on Obi-Wan and it left Anakin with the startling realization that just because he was free didn't mean he could always have things go his way.
It made him think about things. He had spent months, almost a year, bending over backwards to be accommodating to Obi-Wan - partly because it was necessary but also because he needed the good favors saved up so that he could call them in when he wanted something. It was how things had worked in the slave quarters. One did favors for friends so they would do favors in return; and with his mother he knew he could get most of what he wanted because his mom just couldn't say no to him like everyone else could, would, and did. Anakin had done everything he had so that he could make Obi-Wan into the brother Anakin wanted. It was very sobering to realize he may not have a say in the matter.
That didn't help his mood either.
He didn't understand why Obi-Wan was so desperate to avoid the attention. There wasn't an owner about to hit him, so there was no need to be invisible. Indeed, Obi-Wan was being a hero; he deserved attention, because attention was love. His mother showered Anakin with attention, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why Obi-Wan so desperately shied away from such displays of love. Naboo loved him for what he was doing, if only they knew it was him that was doing it. The HoloNet talked all about Chommell union heads and the stupid fancy-schmancy litigator the bad companies had hired, but no one mentioned Obi-Wan and his role. Even Kohse's mother's interview didn't talk about the fact that he was on the negotiation table.
Anakin just didn't get it. What did Qui-Gon do that made Obi-Wan so shy?
"Duty is more important than adoration. And Obi-Wan finds it more rewarding."
Startled, Anakin looked up from his datapad and around. Everyone was listening to the teacher, no one and nothing looked out of place. Had he imagined it? Anakin replayed his thoughts, thinking back.
It had sounded like something Qui-Gon would say. Was it just a memory? Anakin couldn't recall any conversation where the decorated Jedi had said that, but then memory was a hazy thing at best. Still, why had he thought of it so suddenly?
Two classes later Anakin was ignoring the other students in the study hall and again pouring over the HoloNet. Kohse was trying to look over his shoulder, she found the feed really interesting - unlike Anakin she understood the arguments and byplays that were happening and she always got so excited when a concept or idea they learned in class came to play. Anakin didn't care one way or the other; he just wanted to see his brother. He wanted to help.
That was when the thought popped into his mind, and he quickly took down the name of the litigator, the firm he represented, and who else was on the negotiation team for the bad guys. Kohse frowned at him, but he was already starting to open up other windows. This would take a lot of digging; Anakin wasn't completely sure what he was looking for. Frowning, he remembered the first day Obi-Wan was free from jail and they were walking through the throngs of protesters at the jobsite. He had been open to the Force then in order to understand where he needed to go. Anakin didn't know exactly how to do that but he figured it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. If it were anything like when he used the Force after school that one time, the day he got in the fight with stupid Horace, it would be a snap.
He blinked, remembering the result of that experiment in the Force and the conversation with the engine shop teacher after the fact. He was in school, but it was a study hall...
Getting up, he walked up to the study hall manager, a political science teacher for the older kids. "Sir?" he asked in his most polite voice.
"Yes?"
"Can I..." Anakin frowned, trying to think of how to word this. "My brother's teaching me stuff the same way you are. I know I'm in school but it's study hall, so is it okay if I work on something my brother's teaching me?"
"As long as it doesn't distract the other students, I don't have a problem with it."
Nodding, Anakin went back to his seat and leaned over to Kohse. "I'm gonna do a Force thing. Be quiet for a second, okay?"
"Okay," she whispered, adjusting her seat and shuffling her desk.
Anakin took a few deep breaths and reached, picturing the podraces and flying over Naboo airspace, reaching the feeling he had in mornings, practicing lightsaber forms without a lightsaber, the sense that Obi-Wan always seemed to carry within him wherever he went.
Satisfied, he opened his eyes and started his research, thinking about what he wanted to find: leverage against the litigators. His fingers started to fly across the datapad, stylus highlighting and copying and sorting. Information soaked into his head and he began to get a better understanding of what the bad guys were like.
The litigator was part of a firm that did lots of business around the galaxy. It seemed to do a little bit of everything, and it seemed to almost always win its cases. As Anakin, immersed in the Force, started looking up old cases he noted that the ones they lost seemed to always have a Jedi consultant or was a crisis that a Jedi was asked to intervene. That made him more curious and he looked up the clients the litigation company hired out to. The Force said look, now, and as Anakin spied the names and the occupations, following up the food chain, he discovered something so startling he gasped, breaking his concentration as he stared at the datapad.
"That was really cool!" Kohse whispered excitedly. "You were moving through the windows so fast I couldn't see what you were reading!"
Anakin blinked, feeling a little disconnected, before his thoughts finally caught up with him.
"Kohse!" he said in normal speaking tones, garnering looks from other students in the study hall. "Do you have a communicator or do I have to use the school's?"
Kohse looked confused. "I have one but why-"
"Give it to me!"
"Mr. Skywalker, I'll have to ask you to be quiet, this is a study hall and-"
"Quick!" Anakin said, on pins and needles.
"Kohse, don't give it to him," the stupid political science teacher said. Anakin got angry.
"I have to contact Obi-Wan!" the ten-year-old declared. "He needs to know the people he's negotiating against work for the Trade Federation!"
The negotiations had taken a quick half hour break for lunch. It was several hours past the standard lunchtime, everybody was hungry, but the litigators seemed determined to make the work as uncomfortable as possible for the collective bargaining team. Obi-Wan was a Jedi, these minor tactics weren't going to dissuade him, and Oerba and Narmle were bound and determined not to let these petty strategies work on them. If anything, it spurred them to push even further, dig in their heels. It was all well and good, but Obi-Wan knew that a stalemate would do nothing for them. Both sides had to give if they expected to get, and Obi-Wan was starting to feel like he was staring at two Anakin's facing off against each other. He had very dread predictions on how this was going to turn out if he didn't figure out a way to get the litigators to listen. The Chommell union heads were fierce but had been around the block before and had quickly seen Obi-Wan's experience as a boon to them, deferring to his suggestions when he made them. The lawyers, however...
Sighing, he turned on his borrowed communicator to see if Augara left any messages for him. Apparently he did, he saw a half dozen transmissions waiting to be received. Mentally groaning at what emergency had happened now he ducked into an unoccupied recreation room, opening the cooling unit to see if there was bottled water before playing through the messages.
"Obi-Wan! The bad guys! They work for the Trade Federation!"
The world very nearly stopped. Obi-Wan blinked, his ears burning as he listened to all the messages, not left by Augara but rather Anakin as the boy left increasingly desperate and frustrated messages explaining what he had discovered. Any thoughts of lunch flew out the window as he glanced at the time. School had gotten out twenty minutes ago.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath, absorbing the garbled bits and pieces of Anakin's messages before he connected his comm. to a terminal in the room and dialed home. He needed more than audio for this call, and the terminal had a two-way view screen. Old man Jafan appeared on the terminal monitor and Obi-Wan asked to be switched to his apartment.
"Not until I get my rent! It's coming due, you know!"
"Please, Mister Jafan, I need to talk to Anakin."
"He ain't here. Now how are you going to pay me without no work? Welfare checks never come when they're supposed to!"
Honestly, it was one problem after the next. Obi-Wan rubbed his face and did what he could to placate the older man before hanging up as quickly as he could. Fighting off the coming headache, he called the school, trying to convince himself that Anakin was there for after school help, not because he had gotten into trouble. When his call was rerouted to the assistant principal, he knew that rationale was fruitless and he was forced to face facts.
Anakin had received five detentions and had not served any of them. Obi-Wan had known nothing of this, so absorbed was he in the negotiations. He had made the (obviously erroneous) assumption that Anakin could function on his own, and now he was paying the consequences for such a serious blunder. The boy was too attached to him, was desperate for any affirmation or attention he could get from Obi-Wan, and he constantly let his emotions run away from him.
This kind of behavior would never have been accepted in the Temple, and one very tiny corner of Obi-Wan's mind was glad the ten year old wasn't there; he would not survive the culture shock. While he tried to placate the assistant principal Obi-Wan tried to decide how he could best cure Anakin of this increasingly problematic issue of attachment.
... Perhaps he was too old to be trained. Obi-Wan was beginning to see Master Yoda's point on that score, but the boy was so naturally gifted with the Force that leaving him alone was unthinkable. Still, the past couldn't be changed and Obi-Wan wasn't going to let it rule him. Qui-Gon's death did a more than adequate job on that front.
The question was how to show Anakin why attachment was bad and how to break it...
"No. Breaking attachment will only make him more desperate for it. Better instead to show him how to be attached selflessly."
Obi-Wan stopped talking mid-sentence, his face going deathly white as he turned to look over his shoulder. Surely, surely there was someone who just entered the room. But there was no one, and there could be no mistaking that voice anyway.
"... Master?"
"Mr. Kenobi? Is there a problem?"
"... No, nothing is wrong at the moment," he finally answered in a shaky voice, finally turning back to the communicator terminal. "I thought someone had just entered the room. Regardless, I will speak to Anakin very firmly and he will receive punishment to supplement the suspension he is receiving for his skipped detentions. If either you or I think of anything else, you have my number and I yours. Now, if it doesn't interfere with Anakin's detention, may I speak with him? To begin the lecturing of course?"
"Of course. A moment please."
Obi-Wan turned back to the empty room briefly. But there was nothing, and he pushed it all aside.
"Obi-Wan!"
"Anakin, I have at best fifteen minutes before negotiations reconvene for you to explain the half dozen messages you left on my communicator. You need to be brief and you need to be thorough."
The child's face pinched together in thought on the terminal screen, trying to reconcile the antagonistic combination of "brief" and "thorough." When he sucked in a large breath Obi-Wan quickly added, "and clear," before Anakin could bowl through everything as quickly as possible. Anakin pouted but started talking anyway.
"I wanted to help you," he said simply, "so I thought I'd research the guys you're negotiating with. I used the Force like I do when I'm podracing or working on an engine, and when I was done I realized the bad guys are working for the Trade Federation."
"What is your proof?"
"The firm's board of directors has three members that I was able to confirm as members of the Trade Federation, and about seventy-three percent of all cases they handle can be traced up the chain to the Trade Federation."
"How did you get this information?"
That caused a pause before Anakin frowned and said, "... I don't know. I was really deep in the Force; it wasn't till I stopped that I put it all together. I have all the files I downloaded. Should I forward them to you?"
"Yes."
"Obi-Wan, they almost always win their cases because a witness disappears or suddenly changes their story. This is dangerous! I should be there to help you and-"
The former Jedi made his face turn very hard, and he immediately cut in. "And what, pray tell, makes you think you can handle something this delicate when you can't even show up for a detention when it's assigned to you?"
Anakin squirmed, but Obi-Wan was not done yet.
"Worse, you can't trust me enough to tell me that you are getting in trouble. No, no, don't try to say that I was busy and you didn't want to bother me. The truth is that you feared what I would do and instead you wanted to avoid the consequences of your decisions. You have once again let your fear drive you. The whole reason you were in trouble to begin with was because you feared my leaving you behind for these negotiations and never coming back. You are desperate for my attention but you only want the kind of attention that suits your wants not your needs."
"But I helped you! I found out-"
"This is not a give and take relationship of favors, Anakin," Obi-Wan cut in again. "This is about being a Jedi: A Jedi does what is right because it is right, not because it's convenient or because it benefits them, but because it is right. I did not get illegally fired and thrown in jail because I wanted to, but because it was the right thing to do. You did not fly out into space in an alien fighter because you wanted to, but because it was the right thing to do. I did not leave the Order because of any benefit to you or I, but because it was the right thing to do. That is how a Jedi lives.
"You are going to wish detention was the only thing you had to do. When you get home you are going to start writing an essay on why Jedi cannot let emotions take complete control of them and I expect the first draft done by the time I get home. I also expect thoughtful letters of apology to every teacher you earned a detention from and to the assistant principal for the trouble you've caused. I will see you when I get home."
"But-!"
Obi-Wan turned off the terminal and disconnected his communicator. He had wanted to say more, but the pained look on Anakin's face was threatening to break him, and he'd cut himself off. Stars above that had been difficult. Anakin was not the only one who had to deal with fear. Obi-Wan would have infinitely preferred dealing with the negotiations, or fighting Hutts, or even being lectured by his master than having to take such a firm hand with the boy. A year of being understanding and sympathetic was getting him nowhere, it had to be done, but Obi-Wan was now petrified of what he would come home to. Would Anakin hate him now? And act out even more? Had he just made his life even more complicated and difficult? He had never feared reactions from his friends; he occasionally feared Qui-Gon's reaction - but that was fear of seeing disappointment, and it drove him to do better. Why would he have such fear over a child? A fear that the child wouldn't like him? Space, what was wrong with him?
"Nothing is wrong, Padawan. You are simply as attached to him as he is to you."
"Master," Obi-Wan lamented. "You're dead. This isn't real..." He rubbed his face again, his hands shaking slightly, and all too quickly he was in that refugee camp, late at night, reliving the death of his master and mourning his loss. How much sleep had he been getting? Not much, but that had been true since the move to Naboo. Was he so REM deprived that he was having daydreams, waking hallucinations? Groaning, he stood up, walking past the cooling unit and turning on a sink faucet. The water was ice cold and he splashed his face several times, running damp fingers through his hair.
"Ah, there you are!"
Obi-Wan turned to see Oerba at the doorway. "Break's over, time to get moving."
"... Yes. Yes, of course," the former Jedi said, straightening his posture and his shirt. "Lead the way."
The emotional baggage would, as always, have to wait. He struggled but was able to rearrange his thought patterns. Upon reentering the conference room, Obi-Wan took his customary seat and plugged his communicator into a datapad. Anakin had sent the files, and he kept an ear open as he perused them, trying to find the link that Anakin had. That the boy had used the Force in such a way was surprising and unorthodox; his creativity never ceased to catch Obi-Wan off guard. The data was surprisingly thorough and complete, and his eyes widened as he realized where some of the files came from. Anakin had done some very high level slicing in order to do this, and he wasn't even aware of it. Was it his childhood as a mechanic? Or a product of the Force?
Later. That could wait. He could use this. Life was about to get interesting.
Leaning over he whispered to Narmle, "I'm about to try something. Stay quiet a moment." Narmle nodded and started to spread the word.
"Gentlemen," Obi-Wan said expansively. "I think perhaps now would be a good time to share an anecdote."
"Whatever for?"
"I find the parallels will prove most enlightening, especially to you. You see, I am suddenly reminded of my last negotiation. My master and I were called to negotiate the end of a blockade. The taxation brackets on the Federal space lanes, as we all know, have been in debate for centuries: local governments want to keep the prices up so that they have income, businesses want prices low to maximize profit."
"It is an old debate and irrelevant," the head litigator said. "What's the point of this?"
"A moment," Obi-Wan said placidly, holding up a hand to forestall further interruption. "You see, my master rather thought the negotiations would be short. Nemoidians are not known for their... passionate rebuttals." Obi-Wan could hear whispers behind him. Naboo natives already knew what he was talking about. "Imagine our surprise, then, when the local Viceroy - instead of meeting us - flooded our chamber with nerve gas and sent B1 battle droids and destroyer droidekas after us." Oerba sucked in a breath and looked at him as if seeing Obi-Wan for the first time.
"A brazen tale, but I still fail to see the relevancy."
"Well, my master and I always wondered why Naboo was singled out. Even after the battle, I was still curious why the Trade Federation had such interest in the planet. It became much more apparent a few months later when Queen Amidala finally managed to complete the report on what had been done during the occupation. It seems that entire sectors of the planet had been razed so that droid factories could be built. It's all speculation, of course, and I am in hardly any position to point fingers and lay blame. However, I find it interesting that the Trade Federation so quickly gave up a planet they were space-bent on obtaining. It's just occurred to me, however, that they may not have completely left. After all, construction is a very profitable business, and it gives regular reports on city planning, zoning, population density, and details that a simple HoloNet search may not yield."
Chaos very nearly erupted in the entire conference room, but Obi-Wan had been prepared for it. Over the course of his tale he had been quietly planting suggestions of "calm" in everyone's mind. The last thing he needed was a full-scale riot. It was a calculated risk, some minds were stronger than others, and the collective gasp made him nervous, but all eyes were on him, he was in complete control of the room and it was worth the headache that was suddenly splitting through his skull as all the minds in the room became a cacophony of emotions. There were several whispers, one or two shouts but soon silence once again settled.
Obi-Wan did nothing, simply staring at the lead litigator, biding his time.
The head stared hard, a trickle of sweat on his forehead. His face had turned so red as to almost be purple, and his anger was palpable in the air. So was his fear. The consummate professional, however, was able to cool his head. "Is there an accusation somewhere in that sophistry?"
Got him.
Obi-Wan put on a bland smile. "Not at all," he said genially. "After all, I'm certain the Trade Federation would know better than to place incompetent leaders in charge of business on a planet they so desperately want. The impulse to make money cannot override the need to be subtle if such an affair transpired. If I were on the Trade Federation board and intent on such a scheme, I would make certain my laborers were treated so well they would have no cause for complaint, I would lavish the planet with donations and aid so that none would suspect me. I would also be certain that any litigator I needed to send to the planet did not have three board directors that were Federation members." Obi-Wan smiled again.
"But that's just me." Obi-Wan let the moment hand in the air, everyone gaping. Then,
"Gentlemen, I hope I've answered your question on relevance. If you don't mind, I've had a long day, and I think we all need a break. I move that we reconvene tomorrow after a good supper and a good night's sleep." His voice hardened. "I expect we'll all be here. It would be a shame if anyone disappeared and an investigation needed to be started. It would only hurt both sides."
Chaos did erupt then, people were shouting left and right and making all sorts of accusations, fingers were shaking and swears proliferated the air. Obi-Wan left the conference room and leaned against the hall wall. Space he had a headache.
Oerba joined him first, filled with questions and overtaxed emotions, and Obi-Wan realized he would have to call Anakin soon. He was beginning to doubt he would make it home that night.
But, then, negotiations would be very short after this.
Author's Notes: Anakin keeps trying. His heart is in the right place.
Obi-Wan being afraid of the reaction of a kid after coming down hard on him is something we both went through when we first started teaching. (Image still goes through this.) You DO want the kids to like you, it makes things go more smoothly, but the discipline needs to come in at some point, and Obi-Wan's been very light on it so far. Kids at Anakin's age aren't developmentally ready for the kind of abstract and outside-self thinking that Obi-Wan's trying to inflict on him. Anakin's been acting good to save up favors, but now that he's trying to pay in he's learning it doesn't work that way.
Working with children, particularly at that age, is a delicate balance. At 9-12, kids are still very kid-like. They'll still be all about playing games, having fun, being silly, what-have-you. They're still thinking in terms of "me". At about 12/13, however, abstract thought starts developing. Kids start thinking from other's point of view. It's not refined like mid-late teens, but it's starting. Anakin's not there yet and is still thinking more about his own wants and needs. Obi-Wan has been catering to that to some degree, aware that the abstract thought isn't there yet and is trying to approach Anakin in a way Anakin will understand.
But trust us. You can't give in to kids all the time. If a child thinks they can get away with anything, they'll keep doing more and more extreme things because they can. Again, that's the I-only-think-in-terms-of-me way. Granted, there are kids at that age who can look outside of self because parents have already been showing them via "how would you feel if" types of conversations, but some kids can hear that and still not quite get it. Therefore, there needs to be limits. Kids need to feel them. Not in a heavy-handed way, but they need to be aware of them and that if they step outside, there will be consequences. Kids won't like it. They'll probably fight back, sneak around it, etc, but once they grow up, they should respect you for it.
I (Mirror) sub in a "tough" school, and the kids will listen to me and follow my directions because they know that if they step out of line there will be consequences. (Usually just throwing them out since a sub can't do detention or a call home or things like that.) But I also spend time sitting with them, chatting, building rapport, hopefully before I need to do actual discipline. That way, they understand that I'm there for them and will work with them, but I won't let them walk all over me. There are other subs who just sit there and do nothing and the kids don't respect them at ALL.
Obi-Wan, because of how he's been addressing things with Anakin, has Anakin's respect and loyalty, but boundries weren't necessarily felt. After this, Anakin won't go stepping out of bounds so easily, at least not without thinking twice. Which is the whole point of discipline to begin with.
And in the meantime Jedi Obi-Wan p0wns the negotiation, we can add that to his list of p0wn4ge. It was a rare moment of fun to write the fic because he was being all powerful and Jedi-ish.
Oh, and Qui-Gon's memory-quotes might not be memory-quotes. (whistles innocently)
Next Chapter: Math. And travels.