Anakin had a strong connection to the Force, but he didn't really understand it. He knew what his capabilities with the Force were, and he could harness its power with ease, but when it came to understanding its will, he was in the dark. Sometimes he felt like only the Masters on the Councill understood the force's will. Other times, he just thought that they had no idea what they were doing, and they were just way better at faking it than he was.
One thing that Anakin knew for sure about the Force was that it couldn't really be resisted. If the Force wanted something, it made it happen, and it would be in everyone's best interest if they just went along with it.
So when he felt a strong disturbance in the Force as they made their way back to their ships after a simple mission, he knew that something big had just happened. From the way that Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks and looked around cautiously, it was clear he had felt the same thing.
"I sense someone." Obi-Wan said. After he'd said that, Anakin realized that he felt the same thing. There was a bright presence in the Force, so strong and raw that it was overwhelming. Anakin wasn't used to a Force sensitive feeling like this. One of the first things that younglings were taught was how to mask their presence in the Force, as well as how to block out the overwhelming presence of life that surrounded them while still being connected to it.
This source of light and power was not masking at all. Anakin could tell just where they were, and he could sense that they were coming closer. He reached for his lightsaber, though he didn't pull it out right away. The raw power was alarming, but it was so full of light that he had a hard time believing that the source was a threat.
Anakin wanted to head towards the bright Force signature, getting a jump on them before they could strike first. Obi-Wan, of course, had a different plan.
"Let me handle this." Obi-Wan said. He looked towards the rocky ledges around them. Anakin looked up just in time to see a shadowy form duck out of sight. "We're not here to hurt you." Obi-Wan called out. "We're friends. We just want to talk." They got no reaction.
"We're not with the Separatists." Anakin kept his voice calm and reassuring. "We're the good guys." He assumed this person was a native of this planet. They'd just gotten rid of a Separatist outpost here. It would make sense for the locals to be cautious about the war. Though it didn't explain why this individual was so unnaturally strong with the force.
Things were still for a long time before a young woman who looked about Ahsoka's age poked her head out from behind a rock. There was fear in her eyes, though also a fierceness. "I don't trust stormtroopers, or any other puppet of the Empire."
"Stormtroopers?" Ahsoka looked at them in confusion.
"Empire?" Anakin frowned. He could sense her genuine feelings, but that didn't mean he understood them.
Obi-Wan looked as confused as they were, but he maintained his calm nature. "I'm afraid you may be mistaking us for someone else. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I'm a Jedi Knight of the Republic."
The young woman was tense for a long moment, and Anakin could sense some strong confusion from her. She finally stepped out from behind the rock. She was holding a thick stick, and she wielded it like she was ready to hit any of them with it.
"Kenobi?" She stared at Obi-Wan, studying him. Anakin saw her mouth the words 'Jedi' and 'Republic'. She was full of confusion. After a very long and tense moment, she seemed to light up in recognition and realization. She was ringing with truth, and Anakin felt like he was missing something.
The girl stepped away from the rock and started to climb down towards them. Taking a closer look at her, Anakin was surprised about how small she was. She was a little short for her age, and it was a wonder that someone so small could hold so much raw power in them. Her choice of outfit was also weird. Her dress sandals and shimmery outfit looked like something that would belong in a throne room, or a negotiation dinner. Not a rocky cliffside.
Anakin didn't easily trust strangers, and there were few things as strange as someone who wasn't prepared for the terrain they were in. But he wasn't really cautious around this girl. He'd never seen her before, but she felt so familiar to him. He felt like he knew her, and it was more than just because she had the same air around her as Padmé did.
The girl stared at all of them. She seemed as in awe of them as they were of her. "Are you really Jedi?"
Anakin pulled out his lightsaber. He held it in one of his palms. He held his other hand out and used the Force to levitate it. He gently pushed it towards the girl, who caught it and held it with all the respect it deserved. Anakin knew this was a reckless move, and Obi-Wan would give him an earful later, but something felt right about this specific gesture of trust.
"I'm Anakin Skywalker." He said. He approached the girl, holding out his hand. She shook his hand with far more confidence than someone her age and size could usually achieve. She handed him back his lightsaber.
"Leia." She said. She looked like she was about to say more, but she held her tongue. Anakin had no problem with this. It was a lot of trust to ask from somebody who had just met them. There was nothing wrong with giving this a little time.
Ahsoka wasn't as accepting of her reluctance. "Just Leia?" Anakin's apprentice crossed her arms, giving the other girl an unimpressed look. Leia stiffened her jaw and lifted her head. Even though she was shorter than Ahsoka, she somehow exuded an air of confidence and authority.
"As far as you need to know, yes." Leia said. Ahsoka scowled. Before the conflict between them could get any worse, Obi-Wan stepped between the two girls.
"Do you know anything of the Force, Leia?" Obi-Wan asked. Leia didn't admit her ignorance, but Anakin could feel her lack of recognition. But just because she didn't know the term didn't mean she wasn't familiar with the Force.
"It's the power that the Jedi have." Anakin said, breaking it down in a way that the teenager would be able to understand. They could get into technicalities later. He levitated a handful of small rocks, making them circle around each other. "Can you do anything like this? Or maybe you could when you were younger, but you convinced yourself that you just imagined the whole thing?"
Leia's brow furrowed slightly and she bit her inner lip. She stared at the floating rocks, a conflicted look in her eyes. Anakin knew that she knew what he was talking about. He remembered what it was like to be a Force-sensitive kid with no training. He remembered feeling like he had to hide any little sign of his abilities, because while he hadn't known where his powers came from, or what they meant, he still knew that it had to be a secret.
Leia didn't carry herself like a slave child, but it was clear that she had still felt like she needed to hide her abilities. What Anakin wanted to know was why.
"Perhaps you've managed to do something far more subtle." Obi-Wan said. "Maybe you have a feeling when something good or bad is about to happen." There was a spark in Leia's eyes. She knew just what he was talking about. "Or maybe you seem to know what people are thinking or feeling before they say anything. Or you can get people to do whatever you want."
Leia's shoulders rose slightly and she took a very small step back. It was the first time that Anakin looked at her and saw an overwhelmed child, rather than a miniature adult. "But I don't…I don't have the Force. I'm not a Jedi. My parents would have-" Her eyes widened suddenly, and she seemed to pale. "They wouldn't have told me anything." She finished this last part quietly, like she was just noticing something that had been right in front of her for years.
"You are not a Jedi." Obi-Wan said. "There's specific training and philosophies that are a part of being a Jedi. However, you do, in fact, have a very strong connection with the Force. We can feel it around you."
"It's blinding." Anakin said in awe. Leia still looked confused. "Here, let me show you." Anakin slowly lowered some of his own shields. "Just think of me. Imagine you're reaching out to me, but with your mind instead of your body."
Leia frowned and closed her eyes in concentration. Anakin soon felt a cautious probing around his mind, and he let it in. Leia gasped and her reach immediately retreated. He raised his shields again.
"That felt…" Leia trailed off. She was breathless. "I don't know how to describe it."
"That's my Force signature." Anakin said. "It's the way it flows through me."
"There was so much of it." Leia said.
"My connection to the Force is strong." Anakin nodded. "So is yours."
Leia blinked, taken aback. "I feel like that?"
"You feel brighter." Obi-Wan said. "And you're not holding anything back."
"The Jedi spend years learning control." Ahsoka said. "You lack the experience, and broadcast the Force like a beacon." There was just a hint of smugness in her tone, and Anakin planned on having words with her later about it. He thought it was fine for Ahsoka to be proud of how far she had come in her training, and all the effort she put into it. However, she shouldn't see it as a reason to look down on someone who had the same potential, but had clearly never been given the opportunity to hone it.
Anakin knew that Ahsoka wasn't trying to be cruel. She just didn't know any better. She'd never met someone who was so strong in the Force, but so untrained in it. The thought probably hadn't even crossed Ahsoka's mind that Leia probably had the discipline to be a master in the ways of the Force if she just had some guidance.
Leia crossed her arms, her unease about Anakin's Force signature slipping away as indignation took over. "If I have the Force, then I should be trained to use it."
Ahsoka scoffed. "You're too old. We're trained from the time we're very, very young. You're too strong willed to learn." Anakin clenched his jaw at those familiar words that he'd heard all the time growing up. He'd heard something along those lines even before he'd been found by the Jedi, back on Tatooine. He understood the intent behind the words. As Obi-Wan said, being a Jedi was more than just using the Force. It was about giving in to it, and it was really hard to take somebody who didn't even understand the concept of the Force, and convince them to let it have such a strong influence over every choice they made.
But Anakin had received the training, even though he was deemed too old. He had a hard time adjusting to the culture, but once he'd figured that out, he felt like he did okay. And Anakin couldn't sense a desire to become a Jedi from Leia. She wanted to tap into her potential, just enough to be able to control something that was such a vital part of her. She wanted to understand something that she had learned how to repress.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Actually, I believe that Leia is right." Ahsoka's scowl deepened, and Leia beamed, shining brightly through the Force. "You have potential the likes of which I've rarely seen, but that can put you in danger. We could sense you, and I imagine the Sith could too, and they wouldn't hesitate to twist that potential."
"You need to learn how to shield." Anakin said. He thought she could benefit from learning much more about the Force, but the Council wouldn't be able to deny the fact that shielding was necessary.
"If you are interested, I would be honored to teach you." Obi-Wan said. Anakin smiled to himself. He knew that his Master had been longing for another padawan. He cared intensely about people, and Anakin knew how much Obi-Wan enjoyed bonding with individuals, taking care of them and getting to know them. Since the start of the war, he hadn't been able to connect with people the way that he wanted to. Anakin thought that having a padawan, or at least a student, would be really good for him.
"Of course. I can't imagine a greater teacher." Leia said with a smile that looked so familiar to Anakin, and he couldn't figure out why. He was a little curious about the way that Leia spoke about Obi-Wan like she knew him, but he assumed that she had just heard about him. He was one of the more well-known Jedi, afterall.
"We'll have to tell the Council about you." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I think we should talk to your parents and make sure it's alright if you come to Coruscant with us."
Leia's smile faded. Anakin felt a rush of pain and confusion from her. They were going to have to teach her how to shield soon, because getting all of these emotions from her was going to get old very quickly.
"My parents aren't here." Leia said. "To be perfectly honest, I don't even know where here is." The Force rang with truth. "One second I was at home, and the next I was here." It sounded unbelievable, but Anakin could sense her honesty, and it certainly explained the disturbance they had felt in the Force. It didn't explain exactly what had happened though, let alone why.
"What do you know?" Ahsoka asked, not unkindly.
Leia frowned, thinking. "I've been feeling weird these past few weeks, almost like I was homesick, even though I was home." She wrapped her arms around herself, her body language betraying a vulnerability that her voice didn't reflect. "It almost felt like someone was calling out to me. Someone who needs me, but I can't get to them."
Anakin knew the feeling well, and from the concerned looks on Ahsoka's and Obi-Wan's faces, they did too. That had to have been the Force. It was either calling out to her itself, or it was the conduit in which somebody else reached for her.
"Do you know who needs you?" Anakin asked. Leia pursed her lips and shook her head. She looked upset that she didn't know. Anakin imagined she felt like she was letting whoever they were down. "Hey, that's okay. Maybe that's something we can help you figure out. Meditation can help you interpret the Force's confusing messages. I've never been very good at it, but Obi-Wan's the master. If anybody can help you find this friend of yours, it's him."
"I will do everything in my power to help you find the answers you need." Obi-Wan said. "And then perhaps we can figure out how to get you home." Anakin didn't think it would be as simple as just taking her to her home planet. The Force was complicated. If it brought her here, it would need to have a role in taking her back.
"Thank you." She said, her gratitude almost lighting up her Force signature that Anakin half marveled at the fact that she wasn't glowing. This girl was so bright.
Leia followed them back to their ships. She stayed close to Obi-Wan's side. While she seemed relaxed enough, Anakin couldn't help but notice that she shied away from the clones. She didn't seem to want to even look at them.
Obi-Wan gave her a reassuring look. "You have nothing to fear from our friends. They're just as human as you and I." They had met a number of people who were cautious around clones, just because they had never met sentients like them. There had been many times when people's unease had been lifted just by seeing how human the clones really were.
Anakin looked at Rex, who was used to this song and dance. His captain took off his helmet. "I assure you, miss, me and my brothers don't bite." He tucked his helmet under his arm and offered a hand out. "The name's Rex."
Leia blinked and stared at Rex for a long moment. She was looking at him similarly to how she'd been looking at Obi-Wan, like she was seeing somebody that she vaguely remembered, and she was trying to figure out where from. Anakin wondered if she had met them before. Rex and a few other men from the 501st had joined Obi-Wan on missions before. It wasn't impossible.
After a tense moment, Leia smiled. Any sign of her nervousness was gone. "Rex, of course." She took his hand without a hint of hesitation. "It's a pleasure." And she seemed to mean it.
When they got to the ships, Cody was standing ,waiting for them. He saluted as they approached. "Sir, the Jedi Council is gathering for an emergency session. They want you to call in as soon as you're available."
Obi-Wan frowned and increased his speed. "Did they mention the nature of the emergency?"
"Something about a disturbance in the Force." Cody said, barely understanding what he was saying. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances. They had felt a disturbance. They had assumed that Leia suddenly showing up had been the source of it, but Anakin didn't think it would have been felt by the Council. This felt like something bigger than that.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He gave Leia a small smile, though Anakin could see the tension and nervousness in his eyes. "Come, young one. If I'm correct, my friends would be very interested in meeting you." Anakin knew he had wanted to wait until they got to Coruscant, and to use their travel time to teach Leia some basics about the Force. That way if the Council didn't give their permission, they would have already accomplished something.
If something was happening with the Force though, and Leia had something to do with it, it would be better if the Council knew about her now rather than later.
Anakin had listened in on plenty of Council meetings, not at all caring if he wasn't invited. Sometimes it was by request of the Chancellor, or because he had some insight from a recent mission of his. This time when he followed Obi-Wan and Leia, with Ahsoka right at his heels, it was to provide support.
Anakin knew how it felt to stand before the Council, with everybody's eyes on him, judging him. He could still remember every word that was said about him as they debated whether it was worth it to take him in or not. He'd felt a bit like he was at a slave auction, talked about like he was just another asset rather than a living being.
He would let Obi-Wan take the lead. He was much better at handling the Council than Anakin was. But if the Council thought that he was just going to stand to the side and let them decide a girl's fate as though she didn't get a say, they had another thing coming.