Part Fifteen
A week later, Obi-Wan stood as Padme entered the witness waiting room. Dooku was standing off in a corner, and frankly Obi-Wan preferred it; the remark he had made earlier still bothered him, though he could not for the life of him understand why. He had absolutely no memory of Qui-Gon ever sharing the thought that Obi-Wan was a treasure; oh, he'd said on occasion that he was proud of his Padawan, and complimented him when the situation called for it, but Obi-Wan had never seen that level of affection. After he'd learned about (and fought with) Xanatos, Qui-Gon's former Padawan, he more than understood his master's reticence of showing affection. How Qui-Gon had managed to share such an intimate thought with Master Dooku, of all people, Obi-Wan couldn't figure out. That, and, he still wasn't sure how to react at all to the idea that his master thought him a "treasure."
Those thoughts quickly disappeared, however, when he saw the signs of deep irritation on the queen's heavily made up and impassive face.
"I sense you are not happy," he said with irony.
"I am not," she said, and even her level voice held and edge to it. "We will speak more in the apartment. I do not trust this building."
Obi-Wan nodded, flanking her as Panaka took her other side, Dooku bringing up the rear.
It is growing.
It is clouding everything.
Obi-Wan shook his head; now was not the time to meditate on obscure messages from the Unifying Force. Later, at Padme's temporary apartments, he could try to sort out the dark feelings he was having. He still hadn't decided if mentioning them - even obliquely - to Master Dooku had been a bright idea. Frankly he'd been shocked that he even brought it up but, ultimately, he needed help interpreting the Force, and that was a Jedi's job. Pity he wasn't a Jedi anymore.
Obi-Wan quickly squelched that circle of thought. He'd been down that road far too much recently. He was actually looking forward to going back to Naboo. At least the memories there were clear-cut; it seemed every time Obi-Wan turned around on Coruscant he was brought face to face with some memory that had once been happy but was now laced with pain and bitterness. Such emotions were not becoming of a Jedi, no matter what his status was, and he wanted to remove himself as quickly as possible.
It is clouding everything.
Shaking his head again, he followed Padme into the airtaxi that would take them back. Witnesses were forbidden from speaking to each other about a case, and also from watching the HoloNet and seeing the trial. It prevented "passive tampering" with witness testimonial. Knowing this, he hoped that Padme could explain her frustration without openly discussing the case. Even under her white and red make up, her face was quite cross, and it was clear that her cross-examination had not gone well.
Padme and Panaka sat on one side of the tiny airtaxi cabin, Obi-Wan and Dooku on the other. They traveled in relative silence, Padme stewing over her mood while Panaka kept a watchful eye on the skies. Dooku's eyes were closed, likely in a semi-meditative state. Obi-Wan, however, found himself full of nervous energy. This was not the bad feeling he was having from the Unifying Force (though that malady was still plaguing him, had been plaguing him since his arrival on the planet), but something else. He was itching for a lightsaber, he wanted to move, and he couldn't understand why. This wasn't the garbled sense of the Unifying Force, it almost felt like that time he'd found the survivor...
Was this the Living Force?
"Something's going to happen!" he said, reaching forward without thought and grabbing Padme's wrist, yanking her to him so he could shield her, ignoring her startled squawk and reversing their positions; putting her on the seat and moving in front of her. Panaka already had his blaster out and was in the middle of standing up in the tiny cab when the droid driving it suddenly blew up.
Everything shook and rattled, his ears were bombarded with so many sounds he couldn't categorize them, Padme was pushing and pulling against him. Obi-Wan heard the distinctive snap-hiss of a lightsaber and the cabin filled with soft blue light. Dooku cut a hole through the roof of the taxi and climbed out, a bleeding Panaka close behind. Obi-Wan thrust Padme up, temporarily blind from the many skirts and layers she was wearing, before hoisting himself up as well. There was little room for everyone to hold onto the tiny hood of the vehicle, especially now that it was perforated, but a glance was all Obi-Wan needed.
He grabbed Padme again and rolled off the chasse. Padme shrieked in protest, but Obi-Wan had not spent all those years with his master without learning a few things. One of them was focus, and he threw himself into the Force with abandon, thinking only of the task at hand: stop falling.
Eyes heavily lidded, he listened to the Force as he angled himself for a controlled dive. It was difficult to hold himself level, but it became easier once Padme's initial panic subsided and she followed suit. A hand, his hand, shot out of it's own volition, grasping a cable of some kind. It resisted the kinetic energy Obi-Wan and Padme were generating with gravity, and the resistance started to slow their decent. It wouldn't be enough, the Force passed on, and so when the cabling hit the upper edges of it's tensile strength he let go, their momentum starting to build but he reached out again. They were falling parallel to a building and Obi-Wan tried to angle towards it. He didn't particularly want to clip it at terminal velocity, but that thought barely registered as the Force said grab now! - and his fist wrapped around a vent pipe.
The thing snapped from its fastenings, swinging out and away from the building and bending, once more offering enough resistance to slow their descent as it ripped from more and more from the building.
Looking down, he saw a roof that they might be able to land on. Holding as long as he dared, Obi-Wan risked a glance at Padme and saw that she had seen it, too. Letting go of the pipe just as it snapped in two, Padme and Obi-Wan both tried to aim their dive. Obi-Wan shot a hand out, palm up, and begged the Force that he be strong enough to cushion the fall. He still had Anakin to train, and he'd be damned before he failed Qui-Gon yet again.
An old, familiar, blue-tinted face filled his vision.
"You are strong and wise; and I am very proud of you.
"Very proud of you."
"... Master?"
The roof slammed into his feet, jolting Obi-Wan from his concentration of the Force. He tucked and rolled, Padme doing the same. The roof was sloped, enough to keep them rolling, but the friction of their bodies against the graded metal slowed them even further until something finally slammed against Obi-Wan's back - an exhaust pipe as big as a nerf, Padme soon crashing into him.
Panting, it took several breaths to orient himself. He realized belatedly his face was covered in cloth, one of the layers of Padme, no doubt. Adrenaline was still pumping through his system, and it made his motions jerky as he yanked it all aside and forced his dizzy body to get up. He stumbled on his feet and tried again, finally successful, as he scanned the area with his eyes and his senses.
Padme was at his back perhaps a minute or two later, a blaster from who-know-where fisted in her hands. "Sorry for my panic earlier," she said in quick, calm, but slightly too-loud tones.
"Perfectly natural reaction," Obi-Wan quipped, a little shocked that he had managed to be so flip. "I suppose the sky-diving was a pleasant distraction, but I'd much rather have a warning before hand."
"I know you said there might be assassins but I hardly thought-"
"On a trial this big and this public with a multi-planet conglomerate looking to save face?" Obi-Wan countered, "I'm rather surprised they waited this long."
"I've finished my testimony," Padme said, "They couldn't have been after me."
Obi-Wan nodded, his breathing finally coming under control. "I rather expect I've somehow become a key witness." Stars only knew why, but he was certain to find out. "We can't stay in one place. They've likely sent someone to check the efficiency of the work. We need to move."
Padme quickly hoisted her many layers, revealing a holster strapped to her shin, where she pulled out a second blaster, tossing it to him. Obi-Wan didn't want to guess where the first had come from. He caught the blaster, hesitating only for a moment. Blasters were so... uncivilized; but he was in no position to complain. Padme was already dashing across the roof to an access door, Obi-Wan quickly followed suit.
"Our first priority is to find Captain Panaka," Padme started to say.
"No, our first priority is to get somewhere safe," Obi-Wan countered. "Master Dooku will take care of Panaka, and he, too, will try to find a safe location. Once we are secure, we can contact the Jedi, and then we can look for each other."
"But-" she started to say. Her makeup was smeared and half off, showing the contours of her emotion more clearly. Obi-Wan stared at her, and something on his face must have reached her because she backed down, unhappily. "I shall be guided by you in this, Master Jedi," she said. Obi-Wan nodded and they began the painfully long descent down the stairs.
It must have been two hours later when they reached the crash site. Obi-Wan had been following the trail of smoke in the most round about and circuitous route he could manage. He was not familiar with this area of Coruscant, but he had studied the planet's maps as a youngling and had a rough idea of where he was. The closest refuge would be the Judiciary building, but he dismissed that out of hand; more likely than not they would be further assaulted there. The best place would be the Temple, but on foot it was days away - even more given that he dared not take public transport and needed to be discrete. The temporary apartments they were staying at would also likely be watched, and Obi-Wan didn't know how thorough the bounty hunters that had been hired would be. He needed time to think, but, as was often the case on missions gone awry, there was hardly time.
Padme in that respect was blessedly level headed. He remembered the year he and his master had been sent to protect the future Duchess of Mandalore, it had taken that girl weeks to learn when to be quiet. But, unlike Satine, Padme seemed to know there was a time to ask and a time to follow someone's lead.
Several levels above the crash, Obi-Wan and Padme looked out over a safety rail to witness the damage. The airtaxi had long since been removed, but Obi-Wan knew from the trail of damage that all that was left of it was slag.
Padme leaned into his personal space. "What are you looking for?" she whispered.
"Jedi," Obi-Wan answered. "I had hoped there would be one standing guard looking for survivors, but it seems as though everyone has left."
"Does that mean the bounty hunter or assassin has left? That we're in the clear?" Padme asked.
Obi-Wan looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to take that chance?" he asked dryly.
Padme flushed in embarrassment. "No. Sorry."
Obi-Wan gave her a kinder look. "You've only been queen for just over a year, correct? And Naboo is a rather safe planet. That can often build a false sense of security."
Mollified, Padme reached up and started undoing her already half loose hair, brown curls tumbling about her shoulders and back. Her makeup had long since been wiped off. Once that was done she quickly started unfastening her dress, making Obi-Wan very quickly turn away in embarrassment. "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" he asked, unhappy how choked he sounded.
"We need to blend in," she said simply from behind him. "That would be easier once I strip away the advertisements that I'm a queen."
Now mollified himself, Obi-Wan rubbed his chin in thought. "Do you have a communicator, Your Majesty?"
"Padme, Obi-Wan; and yes, I do. I have a secure channel to Captain Panaka. He insisted, now I'm glad he did."
"How secure is it?" Obi-Wan asked, eyes darting around the upper levels. "How many and what type of encryptions does it use?"
"... I don't know. I didn't ask," Padme admitted. "It seems I have a lot to learn. It's safe now."
Turning, Obi-Wan no longer looked to Queen Amidala, but handmaiden Padme. The ground immediately surrounding her was littered with at least four different layers of clothing. Padme had stripped down to a simple off-white frock with a black vest or bodice - Obi-wan was not an expert - and under the skirt of the frock were practical boots. Her blaster hung at her belt, no doubt where it had first been stored. The clothing was a little too well made, she still stuck out, but it was no longer so painfully obvious and Obi-Wan could easily remedy the remainder; which he did by removing his Jedi cloak and handing it to her. She hesitated, looking at him oddly, before shrugging it on. It was too big for her, as he expected, but now the finery of her clothes were lost in the home-spun wool of his cloak.
Satisfied, Obi-Wan gestured and Padme quickly handed over the communicator. He paused for a moment, thinking about what he wanted to say before finally saying, "The Force is going home." He tucked the communicator onto his belt and started walking.
Padme quickly caught up, frowning, before asking, "What did that mean?"
"A precaution," he explained, blending into a crowd that was moving in the direction he wanted. "Captain Panaka is an excellent security officer, but we don't know how good the assassin is. I'd rather not advertise our intention on the off chance that he or she intercepts the signal. The bounty hunter would have to know the Jedi Code to interpret that. One of the Code's sutras is: 'There is no death, there is the Force'. Calling ourselves the 'Force' references that we are both all right. As for going home..."
"The Temple is the home of the Jedi Order, and could be considered the center of the Force's religion," Padme finished, catching on fast.
"Yes. Captain Panaka may not know what it means, but Master Dooku will, and he can take steps to make sure we are picked up."
Padme grinned slightly. "You seem to have the situation well in hand."
The praise embarrassed Obi-Wan, and he felt an instinctual need to deflect it. "Hardly, milady. I will not feel that we are 'well in hand' until we make contact. Life is infinitely more reassuring when one knows that one has backup."
Padme's grin only broadened. "Some day, Master Kenobi, you will realize just how capable you really are; and I want to be there to tell you 'I told you so'."
Their route was just as laboriously circuitous and roundabout as their route to the crash site. Not knowing how well equipped the assassin was, Obi-Wan kept to enormously large crowds, thin dark alleys and well away from any security cameras that he could see, not trusting how slice-free they would be. It was exhausting, being so alert to all the variables, but Obi-Wan had no time to be exhausted, and so he simply told himself he wasn't. Padme was depending on him, Anakin was waiting for him back on Naboo, and he still had a promise to fulfill for Qui-Gon. Thinking of his master brought the depression again; Obi-Wan was already reiterating the list of his numerous deficiencies but he shook his head, trying to shake it all off. Here and now, he reminded himself. He could not allow himself to dwell on the past when the present needed his immediate attention.
The sun was so low in the sky that the city's tall buildings cast enormous dark shadows.
It is growing.
Space, that didn't help his concentration. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Padme. She was winded after walking - damn near hiking - for so many hours, but her determined face had not changed one iota.
"We should start thinking about shelter," he said.
"I can keep going," she said, defensive.
"I know," Obi-Wan answered, "and I don't intend to stop immediately, but once the sun is down, the streets won't be safe. This isn't Theed."
Padme looked more than ready to make an argument, but finally capitulated. "Shouldn't Panaka have gotten help by now?" she asked instead.
"Not necessarily. We fell in two groups. We've determined that I am the target, but there were two people in that taxi dressed as Jedi. If the bounty hunter wasn't sure which was his target, he would have been forced to choose which of us to give case to. I dare say Master Dooku seems to have gotten the short end of the stick, given we've been generally unmolested up to know."
"Is that why you waited so long before trying to contact them?" she asked.
"Yes. A protracted battle in Coruscant would be extremely difficult to manage. Also, Master Dooku would have much experience at his disposal. I doubt it lasted more than twenty minutes, but there was also the time it would take to secure help. I'll be more worried if we don't hear from him by morning."
Then, as if right on cue, Padme's communicator crackled to life on Obi-Wan's belt. "Kenobi," the deep and resonant voice of Dooku said. "What's your current location?"
"Mid-level, I don't know the street, in an economic district. We passed a large square with a circular fountain some time ago where we could see right up to the sky."
"Very well, a transport will pick you up within half an hour and take you and Her Majesty back 'home'."
"Understood," Obi-Wan said, grinning, and at last, he allowed himself a sigh of relief.
The week Obi-Wan had spent en route to Coruscant had been even harder on Anakin that the week when Obi-Wan had been in jail. At least while his brother had been incarcerated, Anakin had been able to visit. But this was the first time, really the first time, that Anakin had no contact with his new brother. The frustrating thing was that, despite Obi-Wan's many assurances, Anakin was still petrified that he wouldn't return. Coruscant was where the Jedi lived, it was home of the Temple that Obi-Wan shared so many stories of. Obi-Wan, as a witness for the trial, would be sequestered to prevent "passive tampering" and wouldn't be able to call.
It was enough to drive Anakin insane.
That first week, he'd ended up ignoring many teachers and earning detentions (again) because he was looking up anything he could find about the trial and the stream of testimony and evidence against Nute Gunray, in hopes that Obi-Wan would somehow be mentioned. Granted, he served those detentions, having already learned from Obi-Wan that skipping them was a bad idea. Mrs. Hudson, who was staying with him while Obi-Wan was away, was very understanding and offered a sympathetic ear, as her granddaughter, now recuperated, had moved out of Theed to start anew.
Anakin had almost started going through another week of steady detentions when he stopped and really looked at what he was doing.
He was skipping an education that he finally had the benefit of. Something neither Obi-Wan or Anakin himself approved of.
And after squirming through two periods of trying to figure out how to stop looking up the trial, he'd stayed after his detention with two of his teachers and asked for help. He explained everything to them in terms they could understand. That this was the first time away from his brother and he was anxious about it. The teachers had nodded in understanding and together they started looking at what Anakin could do to not be so distracted in class. (Mrs. Hudson had praised him and said Obi-Wan would have been so very proud. Anakin somehow sensed that was true and couldn't stop smiling and congratulating himself on his maturity for the rest of the day.)
After two days of failed methods, a strategy finally came together. He wasn't fond of it, but he finally had a vested interest in paying attention in class.
Simply put, he didn't have his datapad.
All his notes and classwork had to be done out by hand, with pencil and flimsy. The only time he was allowed his datapad during the day was during study hall and that was after the teacher had checked to make sure all of his work was done.
This had been a boon for Anakin. Without a datapad, he couldn't access the HoloNet and start trolling the newsfeeds for Gunray's trial. Thus no distraction. It made his teachers get used to his sloppy handwriting. It ensured he got his work done in a timely manner, (since he had datapads at home that he always used) and without the HoloNet's distraction, all his answers were accurate and precise. He could still worry about Obi-Wan, but it was controlled and managed now.
Once Anakin finally did have a datapad and HoloNet access, he poured over the various news sites, both galactic and Nabooan, trying to gauge how things were going and if that would affect how long Obi-Wan needed to stay to give his testimony. Going through the newsfeeds was difficult, since Anakin didn't know galactic law and it seemed one needed several degrees in slime to be able to follow all the rigmarole that was being sloshed around from both sides. In a study hall of frustration, he'd written a program to transcribe the various commentaries and proceedings he was seeing and then translating them to more simple Basic that scrolled along the bottom of his screen, just so that he could even get the gist of what was going on.
And, much to Anakin's surprise, what he was seeing wasn't going well. Every time the prosecution set forth some sort of evidence against Gunray, it was almost immediately called into question and thrown out. Anakin couldn't believe this! He'd fought the Trade Federation, he'd heard the chatter in his cockpit, he recognized the station in orbit over the planet that he blew up. There was no question who did it, but evidence didn't seem to be allowed into the court. This just wasn't fair!
He'd expressed this in his diplomacy class and the teacher had led a long debate for the rest of the week about galactic law, how it affected diplomacy, the positions Naboo and the Trade Federation would be with the galaxy after this trial and how that would affect policies and standings.
When Padme took the stand, looking like the regal queen she was, Anakin would sit back, glad that someone could finally put the Trade Federation in their places. And, because it was Padme and he was going to marry her one day, he started working his schedule around her appearances in court. There was a time difference between the solar rotation of Coruscant and the city of Theed. So Anakin set his alarm to two a.m. and got up to start watching the trial. When the sun started rising in Theed, Mrs. Hudson would show up and usher him out so that he could do his forms and kata and meditation before sitting down for breakfast (she was an even better cook than Obi-Wan!) and heading to school, turning his datapad over to his teachers after smiling and waving to Padme's image one last time before starting his classes. At lunch and during studies, he took his datapad back to review what he'd missed while in classes and catch up. Once the school day ended, the court session had long since recessed for the day, so Anakin went home, reviewed the trial, finished up any school work he still had, and went out looking for people who needed help before an early dinner, more meditation (he wished Obi-Wan was home to help him with it) before turning in as early as possible.
It was chaotic and he was often tired through classes, but he managed. But, to Anakin's disappointment, (and that of the rest of Naboo who was watching the trial in earnest) Padme's testimony was shot to bits by the defense team after almost every sentence left her painted mouth.
It was infuriating.
As if being without Obi-Wan wasn't difficult enough, Anakin wanted to go and throttle the koochoo who were countering Padme and mucking up the wheels of justice. But that was anger, so Anakin kept distracting himself with his helping in the afternoon.
It had been strange looking for people to help on Naboo. The planet was much, much richer than Tatooine and they didn't have issues with trying to stay cool like back in the desert. Still, Naboo was a planet that had been occupied and had fought. While there were several homes in Theed that were basically fine, many of Naboo's generous citizens were donating to help rebuild and repair neighbors who didn't have anything left after the invasion. They were willing to go without for those that had nothing.
But winter was in full swing in Theed and there were many classmates who complained about heating systems not really working but not enough money in the family to repair them. Anakin, in response, was going door-to-door all around his neighborhood and the market to see if anyone still had heating problems and if they'd let him look at it. For the skeptical, he told them it was practical applications practice for a class and they just smiled and let him in, taking the holounit he offered, saying that his teacher was to critique his work.
He wasn't even needing to use that ruse as much, as word seemed to be spreading that he was a good mechanic and would help free-of-charge. Some families even had him looking at other repairs their homes needed. He did what he could and offered advice on the rest.
A few people insisted on paying him for his services and, as much as he tried to deny the pay, there were some homes he just couldn't leave without taking credits. Anakin had thought long and hard about what to do with the money, especially when a few of the people he helped sent money to him via Mrs. Hudson. There was no denying that he and Obi-Wan could use the credits. Anakin knew Obi-Wan was planning to get lightsabers eventually, and Anakin wanted to purchase his mother's freedom. But now that he'd finally gotten around to helping people and feeling good about it again, it kinda felt wrong to take the money for something he did selflessly and use it for something selfish. He wanted to earn the money to pay for his mother, true, but not like this. He wasn't working to get money, he was trying to nurse a part of himself that he'd been neglecting.
It was through meditation (not that Anakin had a clue how the meditation had even ended up working) that the answer finally came to him. Ten percent of the credits he earned was kept, the rest he gave to charity. It felt like a very Jedi-ish thing to do and he had the distinct impression that Obi-Wan would be proud of him for this. It wasn't like the credits added up to a whole lot. He only had, at best, three or four hours a day to go out helping people, and some fixes could take that entire time.
The routine helped. And as the weeks dragged on as Padme gave her testimony, Anakin settled in and kept himself occupied. He didn't feel so lonely as a result.
Obi-Wan sent messages when he could. Being sequestered was simply awful as far as Anakin was concerned, but there wasn't a kriffing thing he could do about it. Obi-Wan was clearly putting in the effort to reassure him and the least Anakin could do was to wait patiently.
Not that patience was ever a strong point of his, but he was trying. That had to count for something.
Anakin walked up to his study hall teacher, a notebook of flimsy with him to show all his work and accomplishments for the class. The teacher nodded, smiled gently, and gave him his datapad.
Kohse, as always, looked over his shoulder as he started skimming through what he'd missed in the trail for the day.
"Queen Amidala didn't do good today, did she," the now-seven-year-old asked, frowning.
"No," Anakin replied, scowling. This had been one of the worst days for Padme while she was on the stand. She conducted herself with grace and dignity, and finally left the stand regally, but the damage of the defense was done. Almost everything she said was struck from the record and the jury had been told to discount it.
It was wrong. Just wrong.
Commentators were starting to talk about the next witness the prosecutor would bring to the stand, a former-Jedi, and Anakin couldn't quite stop a small sigh of relief. Obi-Wan would give his statement, take down the defense litigators the same way he took down the litigators against the unions, and finally come home.
Anakin had missed him and was looking forward to it.
A glance at the clock told him that the courts on Coruscant were now closed for the day and Anakin sat back with Kohse to quietly discuss the testimony for the day and how the trial was going.
For some reason, however, Anakin had difficulty concentrating on the discussion. There was something he needed to do but he wasn't sure what.
"Oh of course," he mumbled to himself. The Force wanted him to do something and it hadn't poked at him so badly since right after Obi-Wan had told him Qui-Gon was dead and the Force had pulled him to the conversation between that troll Yoda and Obi-Wan. Of course, that had also been his desperation to find something familiar in a wealthy and extravagant palace he wasn't entirely comfortable in, no matter how hard Padme and her handmaidens tried.
This was one of those times meditation would be really helpful.
If Obi-Wan was there to explain how to even get in to meditation.
So rather than the sit-and-concentrate method of Obi-Wan's that got faster results, Anakin used his I'm-in-a-Podracer method that he could at least do easily. "'Scuse me for a sec, Kohse."
"'Kay."
He closed his eyes, felt the Podracer around him, the shift of engines, the wind on his face, and the datapad came alive in his hand.
Of their own volition, Anakin's hand started to open windows and find what it was he needed. Things flew across the screen quickly as whatever Anakin needed to access put up some sort of resistance, either that or he was doing this the difficult way since, as Obi-Wan had once explained, this type of meditation was the equivalent of letting a krayt dragon loose in a glassware store. In short, chaotic and unfocused.
Finally, however, Anakin slid out of his meditation, uncertain how he did that or why. Now that he was back to himself, he looked at what he had dug up.
It was a traffic cam.
Really? The Force wanted him to look at a traffic cam? Why?
Except he recognized the skyline. It was a traffic cam on Coruscant. The sun was well on its way to evening there, meaning it was the same timezone as the courts.
Something cold trickled down Anakin's spine.
Seeing that he also had controls for the traffic cam in a separate window, he started zooming in to an airtaxi that had just caught his attention. Kohse was still looking curiously over his shoulder, but he ignored her as whatever and slid down his spine started gripping his heart.
Out of nowhere, a red blaster shot hit the airtaxi and both he and Kohse gasped. Loudly. The teacher was talking to them, but Anakin ignored it as he zoomed in further with the traffic cam.
"Queen Amidala!" Kohse gasped, as four passengers climbed onto the roof of the taxi.
"Obi-Wan!"
And both screamed as they watched Obi-Wan grab Padme and jump off the taxi before another shot blew it up.
Anakin was standing, shouting, "Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan!" Kohse had broken down into tears and the teacher was yelling something or other.
Switch cameras! Switch cameras! Anakin jumped from one traffic cam to the next, following Obi-Wan and Padme's descent through the buildings, panicked and frightened and one tiny corner was amazed as Obi-Wan seemed completely in control as they were falling to their deaths.
Only they didn't die.
Obi-Wan had somehow saved them.
Anakin was crying, but he didn't pay any attention to the tears. He needed to contact Coruscant, the authorities, someone to get help to Obi-Wan right now because who knew where that blaster shot had come from and Obi-Wan needed help and-
The datapad was pulled from his hand.
"Give that back!" he shouted in desperation. "I need that! I gotta do something!"
"Mr. Skywalker! Miss Korden! You will explain yourselves this instant!"
"Queen Amidala was just shot at!" Kohse wailed, curled up in tears. "Our Queen! Our Queen!"
"What are you-"
"She's not dead!" Anakin yelled. "Obi-Wan just saved her but I gotta do something! Call the security or something! That shot came from somewhere and they could still be in danger and I need my datapad to follow where they're going so that I can give coordinates, so give it back! Give it back right now!"
"Calm yourself, Mr. Skywalker," the teacher said firmly. "What nonsense is this about Queen Amidala being attacked?"
Anakin, not thinking of how he did it, ripped his datapad away from the teacher with the Force and called up the traffic cams again. Tabbing between windows, he found the recording he somehow knew he was making and rewound to the beginning, before turning the screen to the teacher.
Needless to say, the teacher paled considerably.
"The Force wanted me to see this which means there must be something I can do, so get outta my way!" Anakin bulled through, heading for the door. He could get to the Royal Hanger within the hour if he ran, get passage somehow. It'd be a week of travel, but he had to be by Obi-Wan's side.
Because Obi-Wan was all he really had left. Him and Padme. And he needed to be there for them. He couldn't just sit by and wait! He had to do something! Even if he was all alone here on Naboo, he had to do something!
A pair of arms wrapped him around the waist, hoisting him into the air.
"Echuta! Koochoo, let me down, stang it!"
"That's enough, Mr. Skywalker," the teacher said firmly, despite a very shaky voice. "You and Miss Korden are coming with me."
"Let me go!" Anakin shouted, vile Huttese and Basic curses falling easily from his lips.
"B-b-but!" Kohse sobbed. "The Queen!"
"Don't make me carry you as well, Miss Korden. Come along."
Frankly, Anakin didn't care to be carried anywhere, thank you, and put up a tremendous struggle, twisting and pushing and pulling. The teacher meant well, he got that, but this was not helping. He needed to help his brother! Words to that affect were shouted and screamed as he refused to be carried along like a baby because he had work to do! He was shown that for a reason and he had to be able to do something!
The teacher was strong, however, and didn't let go until they were in the guidance office. There, Verutine the vice principal and Kim the principal were waiting. Kohse was still sobbing uncontrollably. Kim immediately picked up Kohse and hugged her close. "There, there," she said in quiet soothing tones. "It's alright. Everything is all right."
"But the Queen!" Kohse wailed.
Anakin didn't have the patience for this. "Shut up, Kohse! I told you! Obi-Wan saved her!"
"But! But!"
"Aaaargh!" Anakin pulled his datapad back from the teacher, called up the recording and shoved it into Kohse's face. "See? Obi-Wan saved her! Pad-Queen Amidala is safe and alive! Now shut up and help me figure out what to do!" Kohse calmed, but was still sniffing loudly which was grating on Anakin's ears at the moment.
Kim was pale, having now seen the recording from the beginning before she put on a calm face.
"That's quite the recording Anakin. Where did you get it?"
"I made it."
"And where did you get the footage for that," Verutine asked.
"I didn't, I recorded it from the traffic cams on Coruscant! Now can we call Coruscant and get security to arrest the bad guy who just tried to kill Pa-Queen Amidala?"
"And how is it that you have access to the traffic cams on Coruscant?" Verutine's voice was pure skepticism.
"He did a Force thing," Kohse sniffed quietly. "He does that sometimes."
"A 'Force thing'?" the principal asked.
"Keepuna! We don't have time for this!" Anakin shouted. "We gotta do something to help!"
"Obi-Wan and the Queen are safe, Anakin. You can do nothing if you do not calm yourself. Remember what Obi-Wan has taught you."
Anakin whirled around, shocked to have heard Qui-Gon and talking so directly to him. That wasn't a memory of a conversation that might have been. That was a straight-out reply to what had been going on. And behind him, Qui-Gon, the man that Anakin looked at as a father, stood serenely before giving a faint smile and fading away.
Anakin's knees buckled under him as the shock made him numb down to his very core.
Author's Notes: At last! Five seconds of inspiration! There was life in the fic!
And it was ACTION to boot, hopefully that made the readers happy, ne? We have Obi-Wan being a Jedi and Anakin following the Will of the Force - er well, sort of. His repercussions won't be fully realized until a certain conversation happens later. And Padme continues to be interesting whenever we write her. Is it wrong that it's easier to write her before she becomes the housewife?
Several of you were surprised to see Dooku. That makes us happy. :) He's at a fascinating time in his life where hi's still a Jedi, but he's progressively getting so disillusioned, he's fading from the Light.
Anyway, not much to say for this chapter.
Next chapter: A ghost and a call.