Chapter 8 – Sacrifices

Anakin had every intention on questioning Yoda about early initiates, and their training. The difficult part was figuring out how to ask him, without the ever wise Jedi guessing he had two force-sensitives in hiding, that he planned on training in secret. Several times he offered Yoda his help with the newest initiates.

The first time Yoda readily accepted, but then when he showed up, Yoda handed Anakin a toolkit and asked him to repair the space station's engine. "Making weird noises, it has been," said Yoda. It took Anakin all day to figure out it's hardware. The machine was very outdated.

The nest time Yoda reported a plumbing issue, and again Anakin was crawling around on his hands and knees under the bulkheads of the space station. How such a little guy could clog the plumbing up so badly, Anakin didn't want to know.

Each time Anakin would try to be observant, though he wasn't given many opportunities. Yoda seemed to have an endless number of breakdowns and repairs that needed to be made.

"My station, how is?" Yoda stuck his head down to where Anakin was working on the ventilation system.

"Old," Anakin said with a touch of disgust.

"Um-hmm, Yes very old. Right you are." The little Jedi laughed as he pulled out of the hatch where Anakin had been working.

"Wait. I wanted to know, I mean I had been wondering…" Anakin began. "The younglings. You haven't started to train the infants yet. How does that process start?"

"Haven't I? Hmm hmm hmm."

"The droids have been doing everything for them, each time I've been here. You've hardly done anything with them at all." Anakin tried to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.

"What do you expect me to do? Several months old, they are. Yet train them we have begun."

Anakin's eyes opened wide with startled confusion. "We… I've had less contact with them than you have."

"Observant, younglings are. By watching us, they learn." Anakin looked at the little man like he was going crazy. Yoda laughed and continued. "Wanted to fix the ship when you came here, you did not. But duty you have performed. Benefit us all here, it has. Learn from this example, the younglings will."

"But that's all passive. How does the active training begin? When should ah… you begin to train them to use the force?"


And thus, as was the little Jedi's style, it took Anakin several months to start learning how to train his twins. Of course he was also partially distracted too. Padme had been examined by Dimi, his mother's Tuscan Raider friend, and then also by what medical specialists could be found in Anchorhead. An ally he could not find in any of them. They all determined Padme was healthy. Given she had proper nutrition, and proper prenatal exams, she was expected to have a healthy pregnancy.

His wife also began to lay it on thick. She'd show him holo-images of the twins first few months of life. When he'd bring up Luke's colic or the long nights, she'd become emotional. She'd remind Anakin how much she missed her sister and her nieces. Anakin couldn't take it when she cried and it usually ended with him kissing her, which didn't help his resolve.

Then at other times she'd simply suggest names, for the child he never agreed to have. And he got the feeling she was suggesting ridiculous names just to get him to argue back. "Leonardo, or Lettite?" she suggested over coffee one morning.

"No, I'm not calling a little one Lettite!" Anakin debated back. Which made Padme smile up at him, as if she was getting closer to winning.

In the end, Anakin could refuse his wife nothing, and he agreed to try for a third child. Padme was very happy, and Anakin was, lets just say, distracted.


When Anakin did start to train the twins, he used some of Yoda's techniques, but added a little Anakin flare. He started much younger than Yoda implied he should start, and he was pleasantly surprised with how fast the twins were learning. Anakin stood back and watched as Luke made his toy blocks hover as he stacked them into a small tower, using the force. Then the tower fell, when he stacked too many blocks on its narrow base, and Luke started to cry. Before Anakin could intervene, Leia pacified him with a peaceful wave of the force, and Luke started building his tower again.

"Master Anakin, your comm is buzzing," C3-PO said, breaking his trance.

"Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz." Then the comm was silent for a moment. "Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz."

Anakin knew what this meant. Calling the comm and sending only buzzes was a system the Jedi established to send each other coded messages. "Tell Padme I have to meditate again. There's an emergency council meeting." Anakin instructed the protocol droid.


"Heard from Ahsoka, I did," Yoda began.

Anakin felt slightly jealous his former padawan wouldn't contact him first, but figured her news must have been urgent, and so he set that aside.

"Heading to Felucia, the inquisitors are. Leave there, you must." Yoda turned to Shaak Ti and Maris Brood.

They both looked stunned. "Yes, master," said Maris.

"No." Shaak Ti whispered. She was too startled to immediately answer the inquisitive stares by others in the mental-scape. "The Falucians are force-sensitive."

Tel-Mac looked around him. "Falucians are strange, primitives. And they have a hard time resisting the temptation to the dark side. Would we really consider recruiting them."

"With a proper teacher, any student can benefit!" Shaak Ti stood up in confrontation.

"What master would want to take them as a padawan?" Tel-Mac threw back.

"I have already been training them." Shaak Ti confessed.

"B-but you can't. To take a padawan without the council's approval." Tel-Mac turned and looked for agreement from his fellow council members.

"This sounds like something that started before the council reformed?" Anakin saw this as an opportunity. If he should ever be caught, he'd want a similar forgiveness from the council.

"And to drop a student, mid training, is even more dangerous." Obi-Wan added on.

"My apologies for not bringing this up sooner, but I honestly thought I was doing good. Keeping the Jedi traditions alive, and teaching them to resist the dark side. I have had successes, if you'd like to know."

"Hmm. All of Falucia, we cannot save. But…" Yoda paused to stroke his chin. "Your students we will save. To Falucia Obi-Wan and Anakin will go. Transport them off world, they will help." If the others had looked up they'd have seen Tel-Mac scowl.


Anakin and Obi-Wan met to pick up a larger ship that they planned on filling with refugees. "And we are ready to fly." Anakin had finished the pre-flight procedures and was preparing to take-off, when he noticed something strange in his friend's expression. "Is something wrong? R2 is going to be piloting, if you're worried about my flying."

R2-D2 beeped a confirmation on their safety.

"No, no. It's not that. I've just got something on my mind." Obi-Wan reassured. Then he continued to stroke his now beardless chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Alright, if I can be of any help." Anakin tried to reassure.


R2-D2 landed their ship on Falucia without trouble, and Anakin and Obi-Wan went off to find Shaak Ti and Maris. Standing by their ship was a Jungle Felucian. At just over six feet tall, its head was a mass of grey tendrils. There were dark holes for what was presumed to be eyes and a mouth, but Anakin couldn't see them to be sure. He immediately felt an instinct to back up, and he understood why most species regarded these native Falucians as strange. He, if it was a he, wore a loin-cloth made from natural fibers and a necklace made from the bones of small animals. He barked when they didn't say anything for a while, and motioned with his hand for them to follow.

Anakin and Obi-Wan followed the Felucian through the jungle. Part of the way there Anakin turned around and saw a plant pull back and open up into a bright red flower. The Felucian pulled out a piece of raw meat and threw it at the flower. It's petals closed around the meat and the Felucain beckoned them to continue.

He led them to a very odd clearing in the jungle. Around them were several large mushrooms coming out of the ground. In each mushroom there were round windows and doors. He led them to one particular door, and in they went.

"Come on, Ti. We can use his help." Maris spoke in a reassuring voice.

"Ooh," Shaak Ti growled. "He hasn't come to help. He's come to make sure we don't save any darksiders. Like I would…"

"Tel-Mac," Obi-Wan was surprised.

"Tel-Mac turned to greet them. "I was in the area, and I wanted to come help. This is not the thanks I expected." He motioned to the still angry Shaak Ti, a look of frustration on his face as well.

"Well, as Jedi we help others whenever we can, and we don't look for thanks." Obi-Wan chastised in his cool, calm manner. "And we trust our fellow Jedi to do what's right in their own way." Obi-Wan turned to see Shaak ti blink in resignation.

"Our shuttle can take twelve, maybe fifteen refugees. Tel-Mac, how many can your ship hold?" Anakin changed the subject.

"Uh, I can take three," he responded.

"And I've got my shuttle that can take five more, besides us." Maris added.

"Twenty," Shaak Ti gripped the wall as if she were going to fall over. She shut her eyes. "Only twenty."

"Attachments are..." Tel Mac was stopped by a strong glare by Maris.

"I'll tell the chieftains. They'll decide who goes with us." Shaak Ti walked outside, and the others followed her. They watched her walk up to another Felucian who wore a mask over his face and a long gown decorated with many beads. The Felucian only barked at her, but Shaak Ti seemed to understand the language.

"We'll go wait by our shuttles." Obi-Wan said.

"No wait. You'll want to take one of the Felucians with you. The Yerdua defends the village, but the Felucians know how to get you past it." Maris waved and one of the Felucians walked over.

"Yerdua, that's what that was. You know I thought I recognized the species." Obi-Wan said. "I've only read about them, of course." Anakin looked at him puzzled. "The semi-sentient fungal flower the Felucian fed on our way in here. They must be domesticated, am I correct?"

"Sort-of. They're still mostly wild, though the Felucians have a way with them I'll never understand." Maris answered.

"The flower. I'm really supposed to take an escort because of a flower." Anakin almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

"It's a poison spitter!" Maris exasperated.

"I've read about them, Anakin. And I'd rather we not test ourselves unnecessarily." Obi-Wan received an eye roll from Anakin.


Obi-Wan and Anakin barely made it to their shuttle before they saw R2-D2 meandering through the jungle looking for them. Tel-Mac left the village with them and he hadn't yet gone off to his own shuttle yet.

"R2, what are you doing out here!" Anakin didn't know why he chastised his droid, R2 had an independent streak worse than a teenager at times. R2-D2 beeped a response.

"What's he saying?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Something about ships. Ooh boy!" Anakin turned to their escort. "Can you understand me?" The Felucian seemed to nod. "Good. Go tell Master Ti that we need to get out of here fast. Have the refugees come meet us here."

Anakin and Obi-Wan ran to their ship. R2-D2 stumbled along behind them, though they quite forgot about Tel-Mac in the confusion.


Tel-Mac heard 'ships' and he knew what Anakin meant. They were too late. It was likely an imperial ship, and the sooner they got away from that, the better. He turned and ran towards his own ship. He was tempted to fly away as quickly as he could, but he also knew if he did, the empire may catch four Jedi knights, and council members. It would definitely be hard for their already struggling community to take. Besides, he didn't know if he could get away on his own. A single ship was easy to shoot down. He sighed, then made a decision.

Keeping his ship low, he flew it over to where Master Obi-Wan was parked. Then he got out and walked over to where the two were already having a strategy discussion. They had their ship's readouts in front of them, telling them what ships arrived and where they were. It seemed they were flying over the larger farming communities first.

"Good news is, this village is rather small, and being in the middle of the Jungle, they might not even find it from orbit. The bad news is, once they finish their orbital search, if they don't find anything, they'll probably send men down on foot." Obi-Wan summarized.

"And we need to get out of here before that happens." Anakin added. "If we fly up past the tree-height they'll spot us instantly. We need a diversion."

"My shuttle's smaller. If I fly up and attack them, you can get away." Tel-Mac suggested.

"That may be our only option." Obi-wan said with a downward tilt of his head. Anakin looked off in thought.


Tel-Mac turned to see Shaak Ti approach with a number of Felucians, far more than they had room to take with them.

"Maris is on her way here with an already full shuttle." Shaak Ti said before he could say anything. "She knows about the imperial ship's arrival and will fly low under the treetops."

"Alright, who's coming with us?" Anakin asked. The group of Felucians parted and smaller Felucians were brought over by the older ones.

There was a moment which Tel-Mac thought took far too much time. The larger Felucians would pick up and caress the smaller ones. Humming strange words in their own language as they did so. Tel-Mac was about to say something to hurry everything along, when he noticed Anakin had a tear in his eye. Obi-Wan also looked down and away, seeming to want to avoid watching the exchange.

When they were done they then led the refugees onto the ships. Because they were so young, it turned out they could take more than initially estimated.

Then Tel-Mac went to go board his own ship, but Obi-Wan reached out and stopped him. "No, wait. Anakin is going to take the shuttle. You're going to come with me."

"But…" Tel-Mac fumed.

"If I can hit the main shuttle's hyperdrive port it'll create an explosion," said Anakin.

"So, I can do that. Shoot the hyperdrive port," said Tel-Mac.

"The shot needs to be exact. And you'd need to avoid being shot down in the process," Anakin added.

"Anakin is stronger with the force. Plus he has more piloting experience. He has a better chance of getting it done." Obi-Wan put the argument to rest.

Tel-Mac felt frustrated. As much as he feared being caught or killed by the inquisitors, he didn't like having his own strength questioned.

Before they could move on that though, Shaak ti surprised them all. She got out of line to board Obi-Wan's ship and patted two smaller Felucians to take her place.

"W-What are you doing?" The others all questioned her at once.

"I'm staying here." She said. "Tell Maris that I have faith in her. She'll be a strong Jedi and will change the order for the better. One day she'll understand my decision." One of the elder Falucians growled something at her and she leaned over to hug him. "I know. I know." she whispered.

Tel-Mac expected the Jedi Master to argue back with her, but instead he said, "May the force be with you." She bowed her head in reply.

Tel-Mac took a sprint to his shuttle, using the force to push the unsuspecting Anakin out of the way quickly. Anakin crashed into one of the nearby trees, and may have broken his arm in the process, but Tel-Mac didn't care. These Jedi were insane, he reasoned with himself. To risk their lives for primitives was one thing, but to give them up entirely was another.

But Tel-Mac wasn't insane. He decided to do what needed to be done. He'd fly up and attack the imperial ships, giving Obi-Wan his way of escape. Then he'd fly back and pick up Shaak Ti, whether she liked it or not. It was the only way to do this.

Or maybe he should just fly away at that point. After-all if the older woman had lost her sanity, maybe it would be better to leave her with the primitives and the imperial troopers. He'd decide that when the time came.

Either way, he'd prove his value against the chosen one, and no one would dare question him again.


Obi-Wan and some of the Felucians helped Anakin up and into the shuttle. When his arm was moved Anakin cried out. Obi-Wan winced, the arm was likely broken. "There are medical supplies on the ship, but that'll have to wait."

Anakin nodded and held his arm. He understood the stakes here. "R2, get us out of here." he instructed the droid.

On their way out they saw Tel-Mac's ship take several hits. He was able to take down a few of the smaller imperial ships, but was not able to get an exact hit on the larger vessel's hyperdrive port before he was forced to crash-land somewhere on Felucia. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, he couldn't watch any more as the imperial ships descended to the crash site. R2-D2 jumped to hyperspace a second later. No one saw what happened to Tel-Mac.


Hi Everybody,

When I started writing this I was going to simply summarize the mission on Felucia and have Anakin be returning from the mission half way through the chapter. But then I thought that felt more like telling instead of showing, which is something we authors are always lectured to avoid. The parts with Tel-Mac's POV just kindof jumped onto the page when I was writing them, I didn't intend to put that there either. I do have plans with all this, however. Next chapter there will be surprises, if I haven't given it away already, so stay tuned.