Legacy Rising: This is the story of Arryn Mindalen, second Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi, before, during, and after the Clone Wars.
Chapter 3
Prediction and surprise lie at the heart of every relationship.
25 BBY, en route to and on Sartinaynian
The ship tumultuously rocked back and forth as the three Jedi made their way to the navicomputer, struggling to keep their balance. Arryn gasped as she saw not the rocketing stars of hyperspace, but a raucous swirl of plasma and gas ahead of them. Obi-Wan and Anakin quickly took the controls, attempting to manoeuvre the small transport out of the trajectory of the radiating bursts of energy.
"Sit down, Arryn. Ion storms are dangerous," said Obi-Wan, maintaining his usual aura of calmness, despite the dire situation.
"Here comes another one!" Anakin called out as another focused burst of energy screamed toward them. Obi-Wan expertly swerved the ship, narrowly missing the plasma burst. Arryn gripped the armrests of her chair, equally mesmerized and frightened by the phenomenon.
"I'm open to suggestions, Padawan," Obi-Wan said tersely, ceding to Anakin's renowned piloting skills.
"I'm working on it," replied Anakin with a hint of concern in his voice.
Arryn thought back to a recent conversation in the Senate dining hall where two moisture farmers who'd come to lobby for higher subsidies were complaining about the recent escalation in ion storms around Tatooine. "Master Kenobi," she said, "I may have an idea."
Obi-Wan turned with a raised brow.
"Ion storms are magnetic, right?"
Obi-Wan gave a single nod, realizing what she was proposing.
"What if we shot its polar opposite into the center of the storm? The two poles will be attracted to each other, temporarily keeping the plasma rays contained."
Anakin nodded. "It's worth a shot."
Obi-Wan stood up and checked the readings on one of the side consoles. "We will need to eject the barrel toroid at the end of the magnetometer. If we amplify it, it should create enough of a disturbance in the storm that there will be free space for us to get around it and back to hyperspace." He turned to Arryn. "Do you know where the ejector is?" She shook her head. He pointed to a location on the schematic of the ship. "Hit the green button on my command, then come straight back here, understand?"
"Yes, Master Kenobi." Arryn obeyed, but she didn't like the slightly pejorative tone in his voice. She hadn't done anything wrong- at least not within the last few hours- but she got the strong feeling he didn't like her very much. She'd hoped he'd be different, but it seemed like he was just like all the other Masters at the Temple, ready to write her off as a troublemaker.
She found the panel and waited until she heard Obi-Wan give the command, then ejected the magnetometer. She hurried back to Obi-Wan and Anakin.
"Did it work?"
"Look," said Anakin, pointing ahead. The storm turned inward, ablaze in a dangerously beautiful way. "Let's get out of here!"
"Preferably before the magnetic effect wears off…" trailed Obi-Wan dryly.
Their fingers gracefully skimmed the controls and within a matter of seconds, they'd cleared the previously inaccessible space.
"Ready? On my mark…now."
The stars once again flew past in trails of steady pale light. Anakin breathed a large sigh of relief. "I think we're clear."
"I have just one question," said Obi-Wan pointedly. "How in the blazes did we enter an ion storm? The flight plan for Sartinaynian would not put us even remotely close to that system."
Anakin didn't make eye contact with his Master. "Well…I may have programmed in a shortcut…but I swear, I had no idea there was an ion storm near Moorja!"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, trying to find the serenity to not use harsh words, especially since Arryn was well within earshot. "Anakin, please do us all a favour and stick to the flight plan we filed." His tone was resigned, with a strong hint of disappointment.
To everyone's great relief, the rest of the journey was without incident and the Jedi brought the ship into the spaceport on Sartinaynian without even the slightest turbulence.
As they were about to disembark, Obi-Wan took Arryn aside for a moment. "Stay close behind me," he said sternly. "If I tell you to do something, you must do it without hesitation. This is no time for self-importance or pride." Arryn nodded, a little taken aback by the sudden exercise of his authority. She wrinkled her nose at his turned back, then mentally chided herself. Don't be a fool. He outranks you in every possible way.
The ship was met by two delegations, one of blue-haired humanoids, the other identical, save for green hair.
"The two tribes," Anakin whisped to Arryn.
In broken Basic, the two groups greeted the Jedi. They handed Obi-Wan a datapad and gestured for them to follow, where three groundcars were waiting, parked at the ready.
The Jedi got in the third ground car, and the train of vehicles took off to the municipal building on the border between the two tribes' territory.
"So... what exactly are they negotiating over?" asked Arryn from the back seat.
Obi-Wan skimmed the datapad. "The dispute is over ground water. A reservoir under the border between the two tribes extends into both their lands."
"And…they just discovered it?" asked Anakin skeptically.
"No. They had a prior agreement, but it expired. Apparently, their ancestors settled the dispute using a hieroglyphic calendar, but its location was lost years ago. So they've been relying on modern treaties to determine its use."
"Sounds fascinating," whispered Anakin with rolled eyes to Arryn, who grinned in return.
Obi-Wan fixed his apprentice with a cool gaze. "Padawan." The simple word carried only a hint of command, but it was more than enough.
The municipal building was only minutes from the spaceport, built overlooking vast grasslands with a line of gently sloping hills along the horizon.
"It smells so…clean," said Arryn, as she got out of the groundcar. "I'm not used to anything but Coruscant's smog."
"There's a lot outside of Coruscant," said Anakin, enjoying Arryn's amusement. "Don't worry, in a few years, you'll get to see it all."
She spun around in the crisp air. "I like it here."
"Arryn! Anakin!" Obi-Wan called from the steps to the building where he was standing with the two delegations.
Anakin gulped. "Come on. I think he's been irritated enough for one day."
An annoyed expression sat upon Obi-Wan's face as the two students ran to catch up. "Arryn, would you mind conveying to our hosts that we're ready to proceed?"
Arryn's heart beat a fast tattoo as her fear of making a mistake resurfaced. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves from the high-pressure position she was in, but she knew Obi-Wan and Anakin had sensed her wave of emotion. She conveyed the message in accented Sartinaynian, and the delegates chattered amongst themselves in delight. With a nod from the green-haired tribe, the leader of the blue-haired tribe responded rapidly and gave Arryn a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Arryn looked up at Obi-Wan. "Master Kenobi, they thank the Jedi for their traditional presence among the negotiations and look forward to continued peace between their two nations."
The green-haired tribal leader added another message for Arryn to translate.
"They would like to show us the caverns where the water was first discovered. Apparently it holds mystical properties."
Obi-Wan nodded. "That would be fine."
Arryn relayed Obi-Wan's message and they followed their hosts into the building and down an antiquated, but beautifully maintained turbolift.
The air temperature dropped substantially as they made their way underground. When they arrived, the doors opened to a system of caverns of extraordinary proportions with crystalline stalactites falling from every inch of the ceiling.
"Where's the water?" whispered Arryn, her eyes barely adjusted to the darkness.
"Right in front of you," said Obi-Wan. "Look down."
What on first glance appeared to be a bottomless abyss was, in reality, water darker than coal. Arryn shivered slightly- the Force was strong in the cave.
"Why is the water so dark?" asked Arryn in Sartinaynian.
One of the aides in the blue haired delegation answered that it was the mineral-rich lining of the caves that gave the water its colour.
The green-haired leader brought forth a shallow bowl and scooped the dark water into it. He held it out and made a declaration to Arryn.
"He is offering a drink of the water to give you good fortune," she translated. She looked up at him, and frowned. "Master Kenobi, is the water…Force-sensitive?"
"I don't know if it's the water itself, or if it's emanating from a life form within the caverns, but there is undoubtedly a strong Force presence here." He took a look at the bowl filled with the dark substance and mentally calculated how to respond diplomatically. "Please tell our friends that we appreciate the gesture of goodwill."
She relayed the message as he took the bowl and drank- or at least appeared to- and passed it to Anakin, who followed suit. Anakin handed her the bowl and her stomach turned at the thought of the murky substance she held. She held it to her lips and pretended to drink, which somehow seemed convincing to their hosts.
Arryn handed the bowl back and each member of the tribes' delegations passed the bowl and drank.
"I guess germs are not a consideration for the Sartinaynians," whispered Anakin. Arryn agreed, but not out loud. Anakin took a step to the side as the bowl continued to make its rounds, and tripped over an outgrowth on the cavern floor, catching himself on the wall of the vast chamber.
"Watch your footing," said Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin out of the corner of his eye.
"I'm fine," stated Anakin, regaining his balance. "Thanks for asking."
A strange creaking sound emanated from the within the walls and the Sartinaynians looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What's going on?" asked Arryn. Both leaders shook their heads, and looked at their assistants, unsure.
Anakin looked over at where he'd nearly fallen and saw a seam emerge within the wall of the cavern. "Um, I think I hit a switch or lever or something when I fell…"
The two tribal leaders hurried over. "Door!" The blue-haired chieftain exclaimed in Basic.
The assistants rushed to help push the door open. It had not been released for a very long time, and the strength of ten Sartinaynians still could not budge the stone. The green-haired chieftain looked at Obi-Wan and asked him if the Force could be used to be used to help.
Obi-Wan nodded and the Sartinaynians moved to the side to let the Jedi do their work. Obi-Wan and Anakin Force-pulled the stone and it slowly dislodged from the wall. "Arryn, you too, please," commanded Obi-Wan, not once breaking his concentration, and Arryn joined in, levitating the piece of stone and gently setting it against the cavern wall next to the opening. They stared in awe as the hidden cavern bathed the dark chamber with reflections of light.
Arryn blinked. "Stars and galaxies…what is this place?"
A/N: Hehe...a little bit of a cliffy! This chapter is dedicated to my friend JediMasterObi-WanKenobi as a distraction from the craziness of life...hope it makes you smile!
There is only one more chapter of "little" Arryn...then we're going to go forward in time! Please check out Arryn's Tumblr at classicalbrunette dot tumblr dot com!
Shout Outs:
Darth Cirus and Valairy Scott- Thanks so much…that means a lot!
CrazySmallLady and Coco-Chipchip- Thank you! I hope you like this chapter!
Darth Malus- Thanks for your thoughts! Arryn's only 9 here, so I'm giving her a little leeway to be innocent. There will be a jump in time in a chapter or so, and she'll be very different. I hope you'll stick around for that!
To everyone else, please review…I really appreciate constructive feedback!