Legacy Rising: This is the story of Arryn Mindalen, second Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi, before, during, and after the Clone Wars.

Chapter 2

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

25 BBY, Coruscant and en route to Sartinaynian

"I'm sorry Master, I don't think I heard you right. We're dragging a Youngling with us?" Anakin Skywalker blanched as he ate his midday meal in the Temple rectory.

Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed and looked at his apprentice across the table. "Yes Anakin, you heard me correctly. She is fluent in Sartinaynian, which will greatly help our trade negotiations." Obi-Wan did not tell Anakin that said Youngling was also coming along as penance for sneaking out of the Temple more times than anyone wished to acknowledge. Having one reckless Padawan was enough- he did not need Arryn and Anakin to feed off of one another.

Obi-Wan shooed Anakin off to an afternoon class, and he finished his meal while reviewing the brief Master Windu had given him, thinking back to their conversation earlier.

Mace paused from discussing the logistics of the mission and said, "There is one more thing…" his tone putting Obi-Wan on guard. "We are having a bit of trouble with an initiate. Arryn Mindalen. She's brilliant, speaks over sixty languages fluently…"

"I sense there is a 'but' coming," replied Obi-Wan as they walked.

"She does not get along well with the others in her clan. So much so that she's been sneaking off to the Senate instead of attending classes. I read her datapad- she is learning the material- perhaps even more than is taught in the advanced political science classes- but she needs to learn how to work with others."

A part of Obi-Wan wanted to laugh at the situation- given all the low-life places Anakin had snuck off to, he would be grateful if his apprentice would dash off to the Senate, to learn things, no less.

"I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with the mission," said Mace chuckling.

"It did cross my mind," replied Obi-Wan dryly.

"She speaks Sartinaynian, which will be of use to you in the negotiations."

"And…?"

"The Force is strong with her. We don't know why she's been acting out. But if anyone can rein in such a headstrong youth within a matter of days, it is you, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan tried to mask his surprise. "I'm sorry…what?"

Mace sighed. "We've assigned her to go with you. The mission should be relatively straightforward and it will give her the real-world experience she's been craving. But we also want to see if it will help us figure her out. Missions can teach many things the Temple cannot. You can teach her many things classes cannot. She needs guidance, and from what we've seen with young Skywalker of late, you are the best candidate for the job. She only knows that she's going to translate. Nothing more."

Obi-Wan could feel a migraine coming on. He took a deep breath and released it into the Force. "It will be as if she is my own student," he said through clenched teeth.

Obi-Wan frowned as he continued to read. Did the Council think him the disciplinarian of the Order? He was a Jedi Knight, for Force's sake, not the nursemaid to disobedient. Out of respect for the Council's wishes, he accepted the situation, but he certainly did not like it.

That night, at a time most Jedi would be asleep or deep in meditation, Arryn sat on one of the large boulders along the bank of the lake in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, deep in thought. Upon hearing the news that she would accompany a Master-Padawan team on a mission, and not just any team, but the famed Obi-Wan Kenobi- Anakin Skywalker team, her initial excitement was overshadowed by a nervousness unlike anything she'd experienced before. The two were modern legends at the Temple; all the Younglings watched the pair in great awe, hoping that one day they would show even a fraction of Anakin's skill and Obi-Wan's wisdom. Arryn heaved a sigh. If accompanying the "Sith Killer" and the "Chosen One" was not the epitome of intimidating, then nothing was.

A part of Arryn's brain screamed at her to get some sleep, but the other part was flowing with adrenaline. She pulled off her boots and dipped her toes into the lake, watching the ripples spread outward. She turned abruptly, hearing the crack of a branch underfoot. She recognized a small shadow heading toward her and smiled.

"Good evening Master Yoda," Arryn called out to the silhouette.

The small green Master came into view and regarded the young girl with faint amusement. She dipped her head in deep respect for the Grand Master of the Order. He clambered up the rock next to Arryn and sat facing the lake, the soft reflection illuminating his green skin with dancing rays of light. "Pensive are you, young one?"

Arryn nodded.

"Have you fear about the mission?"

Arryn looked down at her hands. "Yes, Master."

Yoda emitted a small grunt, considering her response. "Fearful you should not be. Ready, you are."

"I suppose so. I hope so," she replied uncertainly.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, watching a school of pop-mouths glide smoothly under the surface. She absently dipped her toe in the lake again. Yoda gave her a small prod and pointed down to the ripples. "Metaphorical, is it not?"

Arryn furrowed her brow, not quite understanding. "What?"

"Down this path, the Force led you, hmm?"

Arryn thought about the day's chain of events, suddenly making sense of the Master's analogy. "Yes…oh! Oh! Being late, getting in trouble- all of it led to the mission. And it even led to this very moment!"

"Know now that you must trust in the Force, hmm? A reason for everything, there is."

Arryn watched a glow-fly land on her finger. "I just wish the Force would have a reason for me to not screw up anything tomorrow."

Yoda laughed. "Trust in yourself, you need not. I will trust for you, yes! Is that enough for you?" Arryn gave him a tiny smile and nodded. He poked at her arm. "Now, to bed with you, thinker of deep thoughts!"

The following morning, Arryn stood on the landing platform, pacing nervously. She had not slept much, waking up from nightmare after nightmare, each one painting a more gruesome picture of the consequences of mistakes she made during the mission: the failure of the negotiations. Her own death. The deaths of her companions. She knew they were just dreams, but the images were not easily forced out of her already overactive mind.

Arryn could barely stomach the morning meal, and settled for putting a muja muffin and fruit in her pack for later. She saw two figures walking toward her, one trailing behind the other, sleepily finishing up the last bites of his own breakfast.

"Hello," said Obi-Wan cordially. "You must be Arryn."

She gave a small bow in response. "Master Kenobi."

"This is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker," he said, placing a guiding hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

"Hi, nice to meet you," said Arryn.

Anakin nodded coolly.

"Alright- I think it's time to go," said Obi-Wan, sensing the tension build. He boarded the ramp of the small cruiser with the two younger Jedi close behind.

Arryn let out a small hmph. Anakin had barely said two words to her once they were aboard the ship, clearly not thrilled that she was there. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he tinkered with one thing or another. She'd been given strict instructions to mind Obi-Wan, but he was busy piloting through a more tricky part of space before they could make the jump to lightspeed. She considered reading one of the texts she'd brought along, but her mind was too active to focus. She sighed again and rested her chin on her knees, hoping to figure out a way to crack Anakin's shell.

A little while later, once they were gliding through hyperspace, Arryn found Anakin in the causeway of the ship, working on the circuit board for one of the consoles.

"Hi," said Arryn.

Anakin looked up. "Hey."

She watched him silently for a few minutes before trying to break the ice.

"How's it going?"

"Fine," Anakin replied vaguely, holding a multitool in his mouth.

Another pause ensued.

"So...what clan were you in?" asked Arryn. She knew he had come to the Temple already apprenticed- everyone knew that- buther insatiable curiosity of the Chosen One's life wanted satisfying.

"I…wasn't actually. I came a little later to the Temple." Anakin clearly did not want to continue that line of questioning, but gave her an unexpected small smile. "What clan are you in?"

Arryn crouched next to Anakin in front of the open panel and peeked over his shoulder. "Dragon…"

"I sense some hesitancy there."

Arryn wrinkled her nose. Darn Anakin's superior Force skills!

"They don't like me very much." She quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stripping down some of the unnecessary components on the forward lasers to make them faster and more accurate." He leaned closer to Arryn and winked, "But if Obi-Wan asks, I'm repairing the backup comm system." Arryn laughed. He rerouted some wiring into the ports of his datapad, and conversationally asked, "So why do you think the Dragon Clan doesn't like you?"

"I don't know." Arryn sighed. "Okay, here's an example: I know the answers to the questions in class, but if I raise my hand, I'm a 'show-off' or 'Master's pet.' But if I don't interact, I get bored out of my mind," she said, shrugging.

Anakin smiled, typing programming code into his datapad. "I know how you feel. Coming to the Temple late made me stick out like a sore thumb. Can you pass me a-"

"Sonic wrench?" She said, holding it out from the pile next to her.

"Yeah, thanks. How'd you know?"

She pointed down to the datapad screen. "It says so right there."

Anakin furrowed his brow. "You know programming code?"

"Yup." Her voice quieted to a low whisper. "Can you keep a secret?" Anakin nodded. Arryn checked to make sure Obi-Wan was out of earshot, and said, "Remember how the Holonet was hacked last year?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, it was all over the news."

"Well…I did it!" She said with a huge grin. "Got in, got out, and best of all…they still have no idea how I did it!"

Anakin raised an incredulous eyebrow and set down the tools. "Yeah right. Show me."

Arryn pulled out her datapad and showed him the coding sequences. He studied them for a few moments, then let out a low whistle. "This is incredible…encryption beyond anything I've seen before." He looked at her in amazement. "You hacked the Holonet."

"Shhhhh," giggled Arryn. "No one else knows! And do you want to hear the best part? I did it in the middle of Hyperdrive Math class."

Anakin put a hand over his mouth to suppress his laughter. "You sure are something, Small Fry." Arryn wrinkled her nose at the nickname. "No? How about Scrappy. You're definitely a scrappy one."

"What are you two doing?" said a voice from behind them.

Anakin snapped the panel shut. "Just making some modifications, Master. All set now."

"We won't be making any surprise landings as a result, will we?" asked Obi-Wan with a raised brow. He folded his arms in a gesture that was completely Obi-Wan- a mixture of patience and faint exasperation.

"That was one time, Master," Anakin retorted.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Force help us." He turned his attention to Arryn, but before he could issue any sort of edict, the ship lurched forward and shuddered violently.

"What was that?" cried Arryn, jumping to her feet.

Anakin's eyes grew wide. "We've been hit!"

A/N: Only two more chapters to go in the prologue…then things are going to majorly change! Arryn's relationships with some major characters will come into play realllly soon… : )

Darth Cirus: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

JMOK: Hahaha….yes she is! And she got a little more devious this chapter too…not quite the old Arryn! But soon they will figure out why and what to do about it…stay tuned! ; )

And check out Arryn's Tumblr at http:/ classicalbrunette. tumblr. com :)

MTFBWY!