Chapter 8

Anakin was having a bit of difficulty processing this new piece of information. "But you're dead!" he stated rather stupidly.

"Do I look dead to you?" Riksha asked, folding her arms. It was somewhat amusing, watching as the young man stood there looking baffled and sounding like an ignorant child.

Indeed, Anakin felt almost like a confused child. "No..."

"Good. If you had said yes, I would have worried for both your sanity and my appearance."

Suddenly, Anakin grew almost angry. She didn't seem bothered by the fact that the universe thought that she was dead, that the Jedi thought she was dead, that he had thought she was dead. She had deceived the Jedi Council, and here she was cracking jokes about the situation and practically making fun of him. "You have a lot of explaining to do," he stated, his tone changing from bewildered to almost threatening, the way a parent or teacher might talk to a young one who had done something wrong.

Riksha was unphased by harsher edge his voice took on, though she became more serious with her next words as well. "As do you. Do you have any idea how incredibly dangerous it is for a Jedi to be here?"

"I've been in dangerous situations before," the Knight replied dryly. "I don't see a problem with my being here."

"Looks can be deceiving."

Anakin rolled his eyes at the classic lesson he had been told over and over again. "So I've heard."

"I'm serious," Riksha responded, taking a step closer to the young man while staring him down. "You shouldn't be here."

"Well that's just too bad. I'm here and I am not leaving until I get what I came for," Anakin crossed his arms stubbornly, holding his ground.

Riksha released a sigh. "Follow me, we can't talk down here, it's not safe." She turned, striding over to the balcony adjacent to Anakin's room. Looking upwards for a moment, she suddenly leapt up.

And she didn't come back down. Curious, Anakin hurried out to the balcony, peering up towards the dark night sky. Movement caught his attention, and he noticed Riksha waving at him from the top of the middle tower. Ah, a Force jump. He should have known. Glancing around to be sure there was nobody watching, he leapt up after her. With a soft thud, he landed on the roof. Straightening up, he was rather surprised by the numerous random objects and pots that lay neatly up against the walls. "Wow," he murmured.

Riksha stood in the center of the roof, spreading her arms wide and gesturing to the space around them. "Welcome to my training facility. It also doubles as a meditation center, and currently appears to be serving as a sort of conference room."

Anakin turned in a circle, looking at everything around them. It was rather impressive, that she had managed to continue training and meditating despite her unfortunate situation. Speaking of which... "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead."

It was Riksha's turn to roll her eyes. "Well, obviously I'm not dead."

"Do you intend on explaining exactly what you are doing here?" Annoyance was quite clear in his tone. They were talking in circles, something Anakin generally found quite infuriating.

"Maybe. But only if you explain what you are doing here first."

"Why should I tell you?" The Knight challenged. By this point, the two of them were standing only a few meters away from each other, as if having a face off. "How do I know I can trust you? Maybe you've been brainwashed by your master."

"The Queen is NOT my master," Riksha replied with a ferocity that startled Anakin. "The only people whom I will honor with the title of Master are Jedi."

Anakin opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off.

"And as for brainwashing I would like to remind you that I was a Jedi, same as you are, and I am not easily swayed from my beliefs."

"Well-"

"Furthermore, what could I possibly do to ruin whatever your plan is, assuming you have one? It's not like I am a very influential person on this planet."

Anakin closed his mouth, considering these words. It was true, she had no say or influence in any matters concerning anything at the moment. Though he was still bordering on being angry at her, a bit of pity began to crawl into the mix of thoughts and emotions.

Seemingly satisfied by his silence as a response to her statements, Riksha broke away from the staring contest and walked over to the edge of the roof. She leaned on the decorative wall, looking out of the city. It was not long before Anakin followed, though he stood stiffly beside her. He was not one to trust easily, and despite her arguments he couldn't help his suspicions.

"So, what is the purpose of your being here?" Riksha turned to look at Anakin, her gaze calm but expectant.

"Fine. I'm here on a liberation mission," Anakin stated vaguely with a stubborn tinge, true to his nature. "Your turn."

"I currently serve the Queen," Riksha responded. Her tone was calm and even, and her body language did not betray this. Within her mind though, hidden by her strong mental shields, was a sad undercurrent.

"I can see that. But why?" How did the Queen manage to enslave a Jedi?

A sigh followed his question. "Because I chose to."

"What?!" The Knight exclaimed incredulously. Why would anyone willingly choose to become a slave? Was this woman crazy? Having been a slave once, Anakin knew how awful it was. Slavery was one of the things that sometimes caused him to loose control over his emotions, sparking anger and resentment. Obi-Wan had tried for years to help the boy get over this, but had not yet succeeded. Now, as he stared at the slave before him, accusations and assumptions once again began to jump forth in his mind.

"You heard me," her tone was a bit more strained this time. It was painful for Riksha to think about that choice that she had made, even though she wouldn't dream of making a different decision. But Anakin did not pick up on the change in tone, since he was so caught up in his own thoughts and assumptions.

"That is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard! You lead everyone to believe you were dead so you could hang out here and serve the Queen of slave trade in this sector? Ha! I would rather die then do something like that!"

Riksha cut into Anakin's tangent, quite done with listening to his accusations. "It wasn't just my life in the line, Skywalker!"

Anakin paused, giving the former Jedi the opportunity to fit in a few more details.

"I had a choice," Riksha began, looking him in the eye to make sure he paid attention. "Sacrifice two lives," she held up two fingers to emphasize her point "or sacrifice one."

Anger began to seep away, and for the first time Anakin took notice of the faint whisper of sadness and pain that tainted the Force surrounding her. This hadn't been something she had done on purpose to deceive the Jedi, and she didn't really want to be here. Yet she had stayed this long. "I don't understand," he said slowly.

Riksha nodded, having already known from his behavior that he obviously did not understand. She turned away once more, resting her palms on the edge of the balcony and staring down at the little pools of light in the city below.

"Two years ago, just after I was Knighted, my former Master Qyu-Lyen and I traveled to the planet with an army of clones. We figured if we liberated the planet, we could put a major damper on the slave trade market. Much like what you are tasked with doing now," Riksha paused, and Anakin nodded in agreement. "We were met with heavier resistance than anticipated. But we still stood a chance, if we could take out the droid factory. That was my job. Place a few bombs and take out the factory while Qyu-Lyen fought alongside the clones. Something went wrong while we were carrying out the plan..." She trailed off, having reached the unclear part of the story. "I woke up in a hospital bed, several days later, with some pretty bad injuries. The Queen came in, and informed me that Qyu-Lyen had been captured. I was given two options: both of us die, or I stay and Qyu-Lyen goes free. You can guess what I chose."

Anakin was silent, as he absorbed her words. He felt ashamed of his thoughts and words earlier, how angry he had gotten. "You stayed so that your Master could go free, so that he could continue doing good."

Riksha nodded. "And I've tried to do as much good as I can, even though I'm stuck here."

Silence fell upon them, and for a little while they both just stood there looking out at the night, each lost in their own thoughts. It was Riksha who finally broke the silence.

"I should head down. It's getting rather late."

"I guess I should probably head back too."

With that, they parted ways for the night, each jumping off the roof and landing on their respective balconies.

Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update. This chapter was tricky for some reason, and I rewrote it three times. I might do so again, I just can't seem to make it feel the way I want it to. I also hoped it would be longer, but that didn't quite happen. But enjoy what I've got so far. :)

I'll write a note at the top if I alter it, so don't forget to check in to see if I've made any changes.