Chapter 11: Unubunko Kwee-Kunee (Underground Queen)

"No."

"I'm afraid so."

"Xanatos. Xanatos had you."

"Hmm."

"Dank farrik."

"Hmph!"

"Ow, hey! Don't hit me with that thing. I'm not some youngling you can chastise for cursing."

"An adult you are. But excuse it is not for having bad language in front of young ones."

"He's hardly a youngling either. I'm sure he's heard worse."

"I certainly have, though never from the lips of a revered Jedi Master. I'm afraid you've quite ruined my image of the Jedi as beyond reproach, Master Windu."

"Right, it's my foul language that has caused you to become disillusioned with the Jedi."

"I'll forgive you so long as you don't do it in front of Anakin. I'll never be able to tell him to mind his manners again if he hears the Master of the Jedi Order cursing."

"Just—let me see if I've got this straight. Xanatos kidnapped you on Bandomeer because he thought you were Jinn's Padawan. He had you enslaved in a deep sea mine. Then a few days later he bribed someone to have you shipped to Telos…where he held you captive but still trained you in lightsaber combat and other Force techniques?"

"That's pretty close. Although I hesitate to say he trained me. Our 'training sessions' mostly consisted of him beating me over and over again with a lightsaber while I tried everything I could think of to defend myself. Occasionally he would switch it up by making me face off with him in some other challenge of Force skills that he could beat me at, like an obstacle course. He did very little actual training, though he expected me to keep improving. He did give me access to the texts and modules he had smuggled out of the Temple library, which were far more helpful to my continued education."

"What was the purpose of that? He had to know that's not an effective training method. Was his ego so fragile that he had to beat up a boy half his age to feel powerful?"

"His purpose in 'training' I think was more to wear me down than build anyone up. I was being stubborn. He wanted me to be his apprentice, but I refused. I didn't want to betray the Jedi. And I couldn't bear the thought of having that close connection with him, of having a training bond especially. It…didn't feel right."

"Hmmm. To the dark side, he had turned. Sense this, you could, even as a child?"

"I suppose so. I knew something was off about him right away. His anger was always there, very close to the surface, easy to sense. Later it became pretty obvious that he had fallen. Some of the texts he had…some of them definitely didn't come from the Temple. They described the dark arts, and not from the perspective of defending against them. How to actually practice them."

"We found some of those datapads in the investigation after his death, when his holdings were searched. If only we had found you too."

"You couldn't have, as I wasn't there anymore. I was sold soon after Xanatos' death, specifically to keep the Jedi from finding me."

"Never discovered was the origin of these dark materials. Wealthy was Xanatos, with far-reaching business interests, but concerning it is that find these things he did, and concealed his source. Powerful he was, but many there are that are more powerful and may do just as easily as he."

"Master Yoda, this may be difficult to hear, though perhaps not surprising in light of recent events—I believe that Xanatos did not find these things on his own. He had help from someone else, a…a mentor."

"…A master, you mean."

"Perhaps. I'm not sure. Xanatos told me very little, and I never met or communicated with this person. But I'm sure that Xanatos was in contact with someone."

"What makes you say that?"

"He sometimes spoke of another. Someone who 'showed him the truth about the Force,' who was teaching him things the Jedi never would. Always in the vaguest of terms, of course. I have no idea who he was, how Xanatos met him, how often they spoke, or their method of communication."

"This is…concerning."

"Indeed. It certainly concerned me greatly, especially when Xanatos let slip that this person was interested in me, and that he had asked Xanatos to give me to him."

"…Sith-hells…"

"Yes, quite possibly. For once I was actually grateful that Xanatos refused to relinquish me. Though once Xanatos saw how afraid I was of this person, he held it over me—started telling me he would sell me to him if I didn't do as he wished."

"Hmmm. The Force was with you, young Obi-Wan. If interested in you this mysterious mentor was, curious it is that find you he did not after Xanatos' death."

"I managed to convince Xanatos' wife not to sell me to him. She sold me to a spice smuggler instead, and that was the point I decided to abandon the name Obi-Wan Kenobi. If he was still looking for me, I wanted to make it harder for him to find me."

"But harder it would be also for the Jedi to find you."

"I know. I knew that, but it didn't seem likely that the Jedi were still looking for me. This dark mentor seemed the more immediate threat. I thought it would be foolish not to take this precaution on the off chance that the Jedi might miraculously find me when I knew that this person definitely was looking and did know where I had been."

"Smart. A terrible trade-off and decision to make, but you probably saved yourself."

"Thought it unlikely you did, that the Jedi would come for you? Hmm, believe in us so little, you do."

"I'm sorry—"

"No, no. Blame you for that, I cannot."

"Xanatos was always working on me. He knew all my fears and insecurities, both because he knew my history and because my emotional control wasn't as good then. Occasionally he even dosed me with spice to question me while I was high and couldn't shield. Eventually…eventually he pretty much had me convinced that even if the Jedi were still looking for me, they wouldn't want me back if they found out that I had trained under him, a fallen former Jedi. Since I was tainted by the dark side."

"Damn, kid…"

"To isolate you, was his intent in sowing this seed of doubt in the Order. To rely only on him, he wished, so do as he wanted, you would."

"Yes. He wanted me to turn, betray the Jedi and be his apprentice for true. I know that he had plans to parade me about in front of Master Jinn, to hurt him with the knowledge that another of his students had fallen. Even though I told him that I was nothing to Master Jinn many times, he never listened."

"Wait a minute, is this why you never told Jinn who you really were? I know you said it was because you were ashamed of your circumstances, but—"

"…Ah, well, yes, somewhat. I long ago came to the conclusion that Xanatos was…a highly unreliable source of information about the Jedi and Master Jinn. But there was still a concern, I felt, that Master Jinn might see in me the stain of the dark side, of the Padawan that betrayed him. When I first met Master Jinn as a child, he saw right away that I was given to anger and aggression. He knew there was the risk I would turn to the dark side, so felt it was better not to train me to be a Knight."

"He said that to you?"

"I wasn't sure until now whether the Jedi knew that Xanatos had such influence over me, but I thought it likely. Xanatos had a few encounters with Master Jinn after Bandomeer, and I was certain that he would taunt him with news of me, as he'd planned.

"In any case, I was well aware that no matter if I was considered fallen or not, going back to the Order was not in the cards for me. I was an adult, no longer eligible for Jedi training, and a slave in the Outer Rim, well beyond Republic jurisdiction. I knew that even if Master Jinn wanted to help me, there was nothing he could do. So my checkered past wouldn't have mattered if not for Anakin. I had trained Anakin, and I knew that it would reflect badly on him if there was any hint of darkness near him. I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize Anakin's future, so when it seemed that Master Jinn did not recognize me, I didn't tell him, lest Ani be tarred with the same brush."

"I wish I could say that your fears about that were unfounded, but considering how Anakin's introduction to the Order went…"

"Speaking of which, I do wish to lodge a complaint with the Council."

"Well, you do have plenty to complain about."

"…I apologize—"

"No, I'm sorry, Kenobi—that came out wrong. I'm not exactly at my best; I don't think I've had even eight hours of sleep altogether since Qui-Gon waltzed into the Council chambers with the Chosen One and tales of the return of the Sith. I only meant that there is quite a lot that you could fairly criticize the Council for. We should have done much, much better regarding you."

"It's all right, Master Windu."

"We usually like to record formal complaints for the record, but I don't see any holorecording apparatus in this room. I can track down one of the queen's handmaidens to ask for one. Her highness did tell us to ask for anything we needed while we are staying in her palace."

"I don't think that will be necessary. I have the Master of the Order and the Grand Master here to hear me, which will be enough."

"All right, you may proceed then."

"Respectfully, masters, what in the Sith-hells were you thinking sending a nine-year-old child into an active war zone?"

When Padmé sees Anakin waiting next to Master Jinn on the landing platform, she's a little confused. Not that she isn't happy to see him, but she had thought that Ani was going to the Jedi Temple to start his training. He had seemed to think that he would not see her again when he bid her goodbye as Queen Amidala. Perhaps he is just there to see them all off?

When Ani boards the ship at Master Jinn's side, her confusion is joined by shock. Does Master Jinn really mean to take a nine-year-old boy into what is probably going to be an armed conflict?

She puts the question of Anakin out of her mind for the time being. She has to focus on imparting her nebulous plan to her Captain, Master Jinn and the Gungan Jar Jar Binks. She is grateful when they agree to try brokering an alliance with the Gungans, and even more grateful that they decide to save making any concrete plans until everyone has rested. It is already late in the cycle, and though she doubts she will be able to sleep, she wants to catch up with Anakin before he goes to bed.

"Ani?"

Well, if she can find him, that is.

Padmé really does not know how this boy is able to so thoroughly hide on a ship this small, but this is her third circuit of the tiny transport and she's seen neither hide nor hair of the kid. She has resorted to calling out his name and hoping he will answer.

It's when she checks the engine room again that she hears a soft rustling noise, one that doesn't sound like it belongs.

"Ani?"

She finds him crammed into the space under a readout panel. The wrapper of a ration bar is clenched in his hand, the source of the noise that alerted her. Well, at least he ate some dinner.

"Ani, are you all right?"

Anakin doesn't say anything and doesn't look at her, which is more than a little worrisome. "Ani, please talk to me."

"About what?" he finally says. He sounds like he's trying to be sullen, but it mostly just comes out sad.

"I'd like to know what's wrong. I want to help."

"Nothing you can do. So don't worry about it." Ani rests his forehead on his bent knees.

Padmé scoots as far under the panel as she can to get closer to Anakin. "Maybe not. But I can still listen to you. Remember when we were on the way to Coruscant, and I told you that I would listen? I meant it."

Ani peeks at her from the corner of his eye. "The Jedi Council said that I can't be a Jedi," he finally says.

Padmé frowns. "Why not?"

Anakin clenches his hands on his shins again. "They said I'm too old, and I'm too afraid," he finally mutters. "And they don't like that I have a bond with Ben because it could be attachment."

"I don't think I understand," Padmé says slowly. "Of course you have a bond with Ben—he's your father, he raised you. And from my perspective, you have been very brave through a very difficult time."

"I don't really understand either. But they meant that the Wind—I mean, the Force—that I have a bond with Ben in the Force, a really strong one. And bonds are okay, but a bond so strong so young could be attachment. But…I don't know what the difference is between a bond and attachment. They sound kind of the same to me."

They sound the same to Padmé too, and she doesn't know enough about Jedi philosophy to help Anakin sort it out. "Did you ask Master Jinn what it means?"

Anakin shakes his head. "There wasn't time. And I…"

"What is it, Ani?"

Anakin squeezes his eyes shut. "I don't want to talk to him yet."

"Why not?" she asks, heart sinking. How could Master Jinn have lost Anakin's trust so quickly?

"He promised I would be a Jedi, that I would be trained," Ani says, voice low and quavering. "He told me he would help me, whatever happened, but—" Anakin swallows hard. "He didn't even say anything when they told him he couldn't train me."

"What happened?" Padmé's indignation grows with every word out of Anakin's mouth.

"The Council said that I won't be trained, because of being afraid and attachment. Mister Qui-Gon tried to tell them that they were wrong, that I should be trained because I'm chosen or something like that, but they still wouldn't let me. Then Mister Qui-Gon said that he would train me, but they didn't accept that. They said something about his former apprentice, about a mistake he made—I don't know what exactly. But the end of it is that they wouldn't let Mister Qui-Gon train me. And now I don't know what will happen to me."

Padmé has to hold back her own tears at the heartbreak in Anakin's voice. "Ani, I'm so sorry. That's very hard news to hear, but it will be okay," she tells him, rubbing as much of his back as she can reach in the cramped space. "Remember I told you that I would help you if the Jedi didn't come through? I meant that too. I will help."

"I—I believe you," Ani says, and Padmé relaxes just a bit. "But you're pretty busy right now. You're going to Naboo to fight the invaders. You shouldn't be worrying about me."

Padmé sighs. "I won't lie to you, Ani. You're right that the situation is dire right now. It might be a long time before I can help you the way I want to. But I will look out for you as much as I can."

Anakin finally leans into her, resting his small weight against her side. "Thanks, Padmé."

They sit together in silence for a minute before Padmé's concern overcomes her again. "Anakin, you said that the Jedi Council thought you were afraid? And that's part of why they rej—wouldn't let you train?" Anakin nods. "I don't understand. You're so brave. Surely they could see that."

Anakin shifts beside her. "They were right though," he says, soft and reluctant like a confession. "I was afraid—I am afraid, I guess. I was really nervous when they tested me. I was afraid that I would fail and I didn't know what would happen to me then. And—and they figured out that I was afraid for Ben."

Ani takes a deep breath. "I don't know what's going to happen to Ben now. Watto could sell him, or make him fight and—and he could get injured, he could die. And I know—I know that Ben has plans to run," Anakin's voice drops to a whisper, and Padmé has to lean in to hear him, heart in her throat. "He's always ready for both of us to run away at any time, just in case something happens, like if one of us gets sold without the other. The only reason he hasn't run yet is because it's too risky to try unless we have no other choice. I know what the slavers do to runaways, and it's bad. And Ben already tried to run once, before I was born, and they caught him, and they never forgot it. And if he runs and they catch him again, it'll be even worse."

Padmé feels a shiver go down her spine. She has no idea what slavers do to runaway slaves that tried to escape twice, and she's certain she doesn't want to know.

"So yeah, I was afraid, and they saw it." Anakin finishes.

"Ani…I think it's…rational for you to be worried about Ben. He's in a bad situation, and he's kind of a risk-taker." Ani snorts, mouth curving in agreement. "And of course you were nervous when they tested you. Who wouldn't be? You had to go up in front of these really important people, knowing they were judging your performance and that your future depended on how well you did. So I think it's reasonable to be nervous. No one can be completely unafraid all of the time." She brushes a hand through his hair. "I think it's more important to be brave. To push through your fear and do what you need to do anyway. My mother told me that you can't really be brave without also being afraid. That's real bravery, and you have that in spades. You're one of the bravest people I know, Ani."

Anakin gives her a shy little grin. "Ben says that too. Well, he says that you can't have courage without fear, and to be mindful of my fears, to acknowledge them but not let them control me, but it's almost the same."

"Your father is a wise man, Ani."

Anakin turns to her, wrapping his arms around her waist in a hug, which Padmé immediately returns. She can feel the prominent knobs of the little boy's spine under her hands, the individual bars of his ribs against her side as he leans his too-slight weight against her. He seems so small to have gone through so much.

When Ani is ready, Padmé takes him to the ship's main chamber, where she and her handmaidens slept on their journey to Coruscant and where they will sleep now on their way back to Naboo. Sabé, Rabé, and Eirtaé have already pulled the cushions from the benches around the walls and arranged them in the center of the room to create a makeshift bed, and they graciously welcome the little boy when Padmé asks their permission for him to stay with them. She does not want Ani to have to bunk with Master Jinn after what happened.

The rest of the five-day trip back to Naboo seems interminable. Padmé meets with Qui-Gon Jinn, with Captain Panaka, with Ric Olié and the other pilots, and especially with Jar Jar Binks, but all they can do is just keep reiterating what they know, rehashing their nebulous plans to end the invasion when they don't even really know what is happening on Naboo. The only report they have had was the holo from Governor Bibble on Tatooine, and that was days ago and likely manufactured by the Trade Federation. No one has been able to re-establish communications with the planet. Padmé rewatches the holo until Eirtaé makes her stop. Even then, she still hears Governor Bibble's voice echoing in her mind. The death toll is catastrophic…

She desperately needs a distraction or she'll go crazy, and the only one she has is Anakin. After their talk, his spirits seem to have lifted. He has stopped avoiding Qui-Gon, but still spends a great deal of time with her and the handmaidens and still sleeps with them at night. He seems to somehow know just when she needs a break and occupies the time by talking about one of the many things he finds interesting or telling her stories that he heard from the traders back on Tatooine. He's a sweet boy, and she can tell that he is trying to help her in his own way, which is rather endearing.

Anakin's earnest attempts to help her prompt Padmé to seek out Qui-Gon. It's not really her place to question a Jedi Master on his decisions regarding a child in his care, but she doesn't understand his reasoning here, and she's worried.

Master Jinn, predictably, is less than helpful.

"The Jedi High Council does not answer to your queen or to you, young handmaiden. Their decisions regarding Jedi younglings are none of your concern."

"So it was your Council's decision to send a little boy into a war zone? Without even admitting him as a trainee first?"

Qui-Gon gives her an impassive look. "You have spoken with Anakin."

"Of course. He's confused, and so am I."

"Clearly. However, I need not explain myself or the Council on this matter. It does not concern you."

"Well, the queen is quite concerned about bringing Anakin on a very dangerous mission. She would very much appreciate an explanation for why he, a child, is on her ship, Master Jinn."

"The queen requested Jedi assistance in returning to Naboo. Anakin's presence aboard her ship is part of that assistance."

Padmé held in a sigh at Qui-Gon stonewalling her yet again, but she has faced more than a few older men who believed they knew better than her or shouldn't have to answer to her because of her youth. She would have to change her approach.

"Master Jinn," she begins again, softening her voice. "I am asking only out of concern for Anakin. He and his father are my friends, as well as heroes to the Nubian people whether they know it yet or not. I told Ben that I would look out for Ani. I am sure that you promised him much the same. We have a common cause in this. Please tell me what you can."

Qui-Gon paused for moment, which told Padmé that she would be getting as much of an explanation as Qui-Gon felt like giving, but it wouldn't be the whole thing.

"Anakin will be admitted to the Jedi Order," he says. "The Council simply has yet to decide whether Anakin will be admitted as a Padawan apprenticed to a Knight, or to another branch of the Order. They had not yet arrived at a decision before I was ordered to accompany Queen Amidala back to Naboo. I thought it best to bring Anakin with me. He knows no one in the Temple yet, and it would be unfair to leave him there alone while his future in the Order is still uncertain."

"But at least he would have been safe in the Temple!" Padmé nearly shouts.

"In body, yes. But I would rather not give Anakin cause to feel abandoned by me or anyone else at this stage. He is familiar with us, and separation, not knowing what is happening to his friends, would be traumatic in its own way."

That gives Padmé some pause as she remembers Anakin's anxiety about what might be happening to Ben now. She doesn't necessarily agree with Qui-Gon's reasoning here—surely Anakin's physical safety is more important—but he has a point. And the point is now moot as well: Anakin is on this ship bound for Naboo whether she likes it or not.

"You said that Anakin might be admitted to a different branch of the Jedi Order?" she asks Qui-Gon instead.

Qui-Gon nods. "Anakin has come to the Order at a much older age than is typical for those on the path to Knighthood. If the Council decides that he will not be trained as a Knight, there are other paths he may pursue within the Order, specifically the Service Corps."

"I didn't realize there was more than one branch of Jedi."

"It is a common misconception."

"Well, I don't think Anakin knows that either. You might want to explain it to him, since he seems to think that he will be cast out of the Order if he's not a Padawan. Since you're so concerned about his emotional well-being."

Qui-Gon only nods again, then gives her some excuse to extricate himself from the conversation. Padmé wants to scream with frustration at that man.

Whether or not he's supposed to, Master Jinn must be training Anakin anyway—Padmé has begun to see Ani meditating at various times of day in various places around the ship, and doing dance-like exercises. She notices that he frequently touches the necklace he now wears, the one that used to be Ben's, especially when meditating. He must still miss his father, which Padmé finds completely understandable and also really heartbreaking. Just before they arrive on Naboo, Ani secretes himself away again for several hours. Padmé is about to send out a search party when he finally reappears, but without the necklace. Padmé doesn't ask him about it.

She doesn't have time to talk with him about anything anyway, because the moment they exit hyperspace, they all become extremely busy. The blockade is easier to pass through from the outside, but only marginally, and Ric Olié and R2-D2 are once again heroes, not to mention Anakin, who stationed himself in the engine room to help R2.

The trek to the Gungan city and then to the Gungans' hiding place takes most of a day to complete, but was well worth it for their new allies. As the Gungans deploy their army, Captain Panaka takes a few of the pilots to infiltrate the prison camps and comes back with reinforcements from the volunteer army that have been operating an underground resistance over the last two ten-days.

With the resistance fighters finally comes news of her people, and it is not good. They all report atrocities committed by the Trade Federation. Civilians have been rounded up under threat of violence and forced to relocate to internment camps, where conditions are terrible. Those who try to resist are killed. Many more are dying of dehydration or illness, and there is hardly any food. No one knows the status of Governor Bibble or even of Queen Amidala, as the Trade Federation has taken over all communications on the planet.

The situation is bleak. Padmé's heart burns for her people. She is grateful for the Gungan army and the resistance network, but even still, it will be a hard fight to win. By the time she has got everyone to agree on a strategy, she feels wrung out, exhausted from the weight of all the battle plans and lives that depend on her.

Perhaps that is the reason why she doesn't immediately notice that Anakin is with them when they set off to infiltrate the palace. It doesn't help that Ani is quiet in a way that he seldom is, frowning in silence at the gravity of the mission they undertake. By the time she realizes that he is there, they are already more than halfway to the capital city of Theed. They can't turn back now, and Padmé doesn't have the mental energy to berate Qui-Gon again for bringing a child into a war zone.

It would maybe even be a little hypocritical of her, since she and her handmaidens are also technically children, and her plan puts them all directly in the line of fire.

She very pointedly does not think about that as she dodges blaster fire in the streets of Theed. She can't allow herself to think of anything but the moment she is now in, where any wrong move could be her last. She can only let herself have one goal: capture the viceroy. All other concerns can come later. If there is a later. Which she is not thinking about right now!

When they have at last infiltrated the hangar, cleared it of battle droids and gotten the pilots launched, there is a quiet moment where they are not being shot at and their small band of fighters is regrouping for their assault on the palace. She hears Master Jinn order Ani to stay in a ship's cockpit, and she would be relieved that Ani will not be part of the assault if she could spare the energy for that emotion. Instead she takes a deep breath and lets herself sink into what feels like the eye of the storm, knowing that the worst is yet to come.

Oh how little she realized just how much worse the situation could become. For when she leads her fighters to the doors, before anyone can touch the panel, it opens to reveal a sight that shakes her to her core.

A figure hooded in black robes stands beyond the doors, waiting for them. He holds in his hand an unsheathed lightsaber, red as the tattoos on his face.

Kneeling at his feet, bruised and bloody, is Ben.