Chapter 43 - Padawan Lost

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: Thank you, loldelegate! :)

~ Amina Gila

"I was hoping we would never have to return here," Anakin says flatly, scanning the surrounding Felucian trees, as he swallows down the ration bar as fast as he can – he doesn't know when the droids will show up next.

"Reinforcements should be arriving shortly," Cody replies, looking up at the sky for any incoming ships. There are none yet.

Anakin perks up. "We're getting reinforcements?"

"A small team. They're supposed to be some of the best clones," Cody responds. It's been a long time since they worked together, and Anakin didn't realize how he missed it until he was back out here. He doesn't miss the fighting exactly, but the clones need him. It's good to be with them and Obi-Wan again.

"Enough to make a difference?" Anakin asks grimly. They're bogged down as always here. It's just what happens. He morbidly questions sometimes if there's really a hope that they'll break through the Spearatist forces when whichever side starts to lose promptly just sends more reinforcements. But this sector is too important for either side to lose.

Not that tearing apart the whole planet in the process is going to help any of them.

"They're rumored to have succeeded on every mission they're sent on," Cody replies, "Although this one is a bit... unusual. They're just here to help us take the next position." He lowers the scope on his helmet, scanning the sky again. "They're coming now."

And suddenly, Anakin has the distinct feeling he knows exactly who Cody is talking about. Why didn't he think of it sooner?

Or maybe it's just that he can sense who's approaching, as the unusual ship lands, and the doors slide open.

Clone Force 99.

He knew it!

Hunter is the first off the ship, with Omega close behind. Her face lights up instantly at the sight of him, and he exchanges a small smile with her.

"This is Commander Cody," Anakin introduces, approaching. He remembers what they said about the regular clones, and... he'll make sure that won't be a problem for them here.

"At your service, sir," Hunter replies, nodding.

"We're ready to blow things up!" Wrecker agrees cheerfully.

"You'll have plenty of chances for that," he concurs, grinning.

"I'm calling the rest of the boys in to explain the plan for this together," Cody tells them.

It gives Anakin a moment to go over to Omega. He wants to talk to her, and they won't have long.

"I didn't expect to run into you so soon," she says, smiling, looking up at him.

"I did not either," Anakin agrees, as they sit down side-by-side on a log. "How long have you been fighting?"

"A couple months," she replies, taking his offered ration bar to eat.

"How has it been?" He knows she was eager for it... not fully knowing what it was she was eager for.

"Mostly we just fight on our own. This will be our first mission with other clones. And Jedi," she adds, smiling almost shyly for a moment.

"This will be different then," Anakin agrees, returning her smile. "But you must be ready. It is... a hard planet to fight on."

Omega nods, growing more serious. "Hunter warned me."

"Good," he says, "It's not half the fun many battles are."

"I'm good at strategies," she says, "Maybe I can help with that!"

He wishes it were that simple – they have all the best strategists here already, and it's still not working because of the sheer numbers of Separatist forces. "You will," he assures, "But it will take much more than that."

She nods. "Crosshair and Wrecker are always competing for the highest droid count. Maybe that will help."

Anakin smirks. "Cody and I do that all the time. It drives Master Obi-Wan crazy."

She grins back. "How is that a competition, though? How could he ever beat your count?"

"Lightsabers do not do nearly as much damage as explosives."

"True. Mind if I join the competition?"

**w**

Omega doesn't remember the last time she was this exhausted. Maybe after she first started her training, but certainly never before and not when she's still in danger. She's never been this relieved when she sinks to the ground, finally taking a moment to catch her breath.

Anakin scans the trees for any remaining droids before joining her on the ground. Across the battlefield, the others are finding their own spots to rest for as long as they have.

"How do you still have so much energy?" Omega asks incredulously, scrubbing a hand over her face. She just wants to sleep.

"You adjust to it," Anakin replies soothingly, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she mutters, moving a little closer so she's nearly leaning against him. She snuggles up next to her brothers all the time on the battlefield, especially Wrecker. There's nothing strange about it.

Frankly, she's too tired to care even if it is strange. Anakin doesn't seem to mind either. They trust each other intimately, in a way she doubts most people can understand. At least she sure didn't before she came out here – there's nothing quite like fighting beside someone, constantly covering for them and knowing they'd do the same for you.

It has formed a deeper bond between her and her brothers too, but that was always there. It's different when it's a stranger who she's getting so close with now.

They actually know each other now, even if they haven't really talked that much. It is a bond that runs deeper than anything she's ever formed with her brothers, and it's... different, even though she can't quite say how.

But she knows that for as eager as she is to win the battle and have another success, she really likes being here with Anakin, and she doesn't know when they'll have the chance to meet again, so she'll be grateful for every moment that they do have together.

They curl up on the ground side-by-side, and she finds herself falling asleep surprisingly quickly, exhaustion overtaking her.

Who knows how long it will be before the droids show up again?

**w**

Exhaustion is nagging at Anakin, even as he keeps pushing through the trees, for the wall up ahead. They need to get into position by the time Obi-Wan and Plo are ready for the final attack on the base to begin.

They haven't quite made it to the wall they're approaching when Anakin suddenly senses danger. "I sense something out there," he warns in a whisper, turning to scan the trees.

"A droid?" one of the clones asks.

No, it feels... living, but it's hard to tell when there's so much life here. "No. It may just be an animal, but stay alert," he warns.

Anakin draws his lightsabers, motioning to the clones who sprint for the wall, shooting down the droids on top and quickly climbing it with their cables. Far away, he can faintly hear the sound of explosions – his master must have started the assault on the Separatist base.

Something is wrong though. He can feel something in the woods, and –

The last clone barely makes it over the wall when a gold-colored stun blast flies right at him, from in between the trees. It's far too wide to deflect away, and he realizes a split second too late that he needs to jump before it hits him.

Faint noises filter in through the haze of darkness, and all Anakin knows is that he needs to wake up. Distantly he can hear voices and they're not clones or his master.

Opening his eyes, Anakin sees metal bars surrounding him, and he bolts upright, desperately taking in his surroundings.

Because he's in a cage.

Why is he in a cage?!

The room is dark, and there's cages surrounding him on all sides full of people too, and –

He jolts forwards, heart hammering wildly as his hands press against the cool metal. Why is he here, why is he –

He hasn't been there in so many years. Not since – How did they get him again?

Wait... the guards on the far side of the room are Trandoshan, but that does little to calm him because how is he here and –

"Anakin? Where are you?" Obi-Wan's voice calls faintly, sounding very irritated, but he's never been so relieved to hear that voice in his life, especially not when it feels like he can hardly breathe. Like he's completely forgotten how to, and he feels frozen because how is back in a place like this.

"You won't be needing this anymore," one of the Trandoshan hisses, throwing Anakin's comm to the floor and stepping on it, cutting off the sound of Obi-Wan's voice.

He has to get out of here. Obi-Wan needs him, and he doesn't know where his lightsabers are anymore, but he can still fight. He's – he's a Jedi. He's not defenseless like he was then. But that hardly feels like it helps because – because –

Breathe.

Controlling that was one of the first things he learned for meditation, and he draws in a few shaky breaths, trying to focus on that instead of the panic consuming him. "Where is this?" he demands tightly, "Where are they taking us?"

"They're pirates," one of the others calls, "They're gonna release us and hunt us down for sport."

Hunt them down? They're –

He should be more appalled, but he's never been so relieved that he didn't hear that they're being taken to an auction. If they're being hunted down that'll give them a chance to get out of here, won't it? Even if he can't escape now. Which he can't, because there's too many guards everywhere, and he doesn't where he is or if the ship they're in is currently flying.

It's enough that he can try to find some semblance of calm – being in a cage still isn't helping but these people aren't slavers, at least not the normal kind. Not that they're any better but a fight he can handle – and try meditating while he waits.

**w**

The attack goes easier than Obi-Wan expected, so it shouldn't be a surprise when something else goes wrong. Anakin won't answer his comm, and the clones with him say they last saw him on the other side of the wall – they never saw him follow.

"Search the perimeter," Obi-Wan orders.

Except they come back with nothing but Anakin's lightsabers.

Where could he have gone?!

There's no question that he's alive – Obi-Wan shoves the thought aside just as quickly as it comes; of course Anakin is – but why are there no traces of him?

Was he captured by the Separatists somehow? But how could that have happened and no one saw anything? It's not as if they'd be able to take Anakin down easily, even if he's just a padawan. He's far too skilled for that.

It's the only explanation, though. And that means...

He knows what the Separatists do to the Jedi they capture, and to think that now they have his padawan... Fear twists sharply in him just thinking about what it could mean. They don't even have a way to find him. He could be anywhere by now. "Search the area again. Look for any traces," Obi-Wan orders again.

There has to be something. He cannot accept that he lost Anakin like this. There has to be a way to find him.

Anakin is perfectly capable of handling himself, and Obi-Wan knows he'll do everything he can to find his way back. If he wasn't dealing with the Separatists, that knowledge may be a little more... comforting, though. With them, it may only make his situation worse and...

He knew constantly that he feared losing Anakin, but he didn't realize how much until right now.

"Our mission here is complete," Plo says, approaching him, "It is time to leave."

"We must find Anakin," Obi-Wan argues.

"He is not here, or you would have already found him," Plo points out, which is... probably true.

"I will alert all command to be looking for any signs of him," Obi-Wan decides reluctantly, turning away. Plo is right, even if he doesn't want to agree, because it feels like he's leaving their last lead behind.

It feels like he's leaving Anakin behind, possibly from something he can't get out from on his own. If anyone could do it, it would be his brave-to-the-level-of-stupidity padawan, but he won't be able to do that if they're... hurting him.

They can leave, but there has to be something more they can do. He won't accept that all they can do is blindly wait and hope someone else will get information of somewhere the Separatists may be keeping him.

**w**

Anakin senses it moments before it happens – the floor beneath him suddenly gives out, and he's falling, landing on the brush covered ground below. He instantly starts pushing himself upright, trying to catch his breath as he takes in his surroundings. Towering trees surround them on all sides, and it's dark and foggy here; the only light is that of the ship and –

Danger screams through the Force as the front guns suddenly open fire on him, and the group of others struggling to their feet.

He whirls around, sprinting for the trees as fast as he can, dodging between the towering trunks to give himself cover from the laser fire. He sees and feels several of the others with him go down, and it's sickening.but there's nothing he can do to help them right now except run.

The shooting finally stops a few minutes later, and he crouches against a nearby trunk, breathing heavily.

He's – They're being hunted. For sport. This isn't war. It isn't like the Separatists. (At least it isn't slavers.) It's... they're doing it for fun. Killing people senselessly, and now he's out here and stranded, and he has no idea where here is.

He needs to find a way out of here immediately. What's happening on Felucia? Did they win the battle? Were the clones alright without him? He knows Obi-Wan is worrying about him, and...

He hates how helpless the entire situation makes him feel. He's been in tight spots on the battlefield before, but it was different. It was something he knew how to fight, and he's never been completely weaponless like this when his captors have every advantage except for the Force.

(Well, he was once, but not as a Jedi.)

Still, what terrifies him most is that he's all alone out here. He's accustomed to... being with people.

Anakin scans the trees again, creeping a little closer to where the ship dropped him off. It's hard to see far from how foggy the planet is, but he can still see water in the distance. It looks like he's on an island, especially judging from the climate here.

That's... not good. It's very unlikely the Trandoshans are actually anywhere here on the island, but they have to be somewhere. There has to be something he can do. He just needs to figure out –

A branch snaps behind him, and Anakin whirls around, right as three figures jump down from the trees. "Come with us," the black-haired girl requests, moving forwards.

"Who are you?" Anakin asks, eyeing them warily. Their presences feel bright in a way none of the others' did, and he never saw them on the transport. They must've been here for a while now.

"We used to be Jedi younglings," she replies, before darting off away through the trees again.

Anakin hurries to catch up with them, as they wind their way through the trees, finally coming to a small enclosure inside an especially enormous tree. From up here, Anakin can clearly see the other planet in the sky, which means they might be on a moon somewhere, but it's hard to tell.

"We never stood a chance. They attacked us on a training mission and brought us here," the aqua Twi'lek explains, as they step inside.

It's... somehow relieving to know he's not the only Jedi here, not that he's glad at all that there's others here, but still. "Why would they take us?" Anakin wonders.

"Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them," the girl replies bitterly, "I'm Kalifa. This is O'mer and Jinx. Who are you?"

"Anakin Skywalker. I am a padawan. They took me in the battle on Felucia." He should have been paying more attention. He shouldn't have been taken down by a simple stun blast even if it was a very powerful one. He's supposed to be stronger than this. If he can't keep himself from getting into messes like this, how is he going to help anyone or destroy the Sith? But... now that he's here, he can help them, at least. He can help everyone who's here.

"What is the situation?" he asks, "Why do they hunt us?"

"For sport," the Cerean – O'mer – replies miserably, "They mount us on their walls as trophies. We've been stuck here for more rotations than we can count. No one has come for us."

"I doubt anyone is still looking," Jinx agrees, subdued. That's... probably true, especially with the war. No one would think to keep looking for a missing padawan. They would just be assumed dead, and in truth, the Order wouldn't even have the resources for a search.

Anakin is... completely on his own out here. He's used to situations like that, where everyone is depending on him. But this time, the territory is completely unfamiliar.

"Chew on that, padawan. Then rest. You'll need your strength," Jinx says, turning away and stretching out on the floor.

After a moment of hesitation, he joins them. He is exhausted, after all. That's how he was captured to begin with. He'll rest, and then they are going to find a way out of here.

**w**

Anakin jolts awake at the first sign of movement – he's used to that – to see the three other younglings already awake. The... cave is still dark, but light is just starting to filter in through the opening.

"You'll want to eat now," Jinx tells him, holding out a fruit.

He sits up, taking it. Now that it's light enough to see in here, he can see they have some fruit stockpiled here, enough for the morning meal.

He hasn't had food with real taste in so long and now is hardly the state to enjoy it, but it's... still good not to be eating ration bars right now. "What do you do now?" he queries, as they all start eating.

"The sun is almost up, so we head out," Kalifa replies.

"Head out... where?"

"We keep moving so they won't pick up our scent."

"And to find food," O'mer adds, "There's many edible berries here."

He frowns. Somehow, he was... expecting something a little different. "You do not... have a plan?"

"A plan for what?" Jinx asks. "Escape? No one is getting out. All we can do here is survive."

"We can survive and escape," Anakin argues, frowning, "As Jedi, we have a larger purpose. We need to get out of here."

"If we try, we'll get killed," Jinx shoots back.

"And if we don't try, we're already as good as dead. We're letting them win."

"All the other padawans who came here are dead because they thought like you do," Kalifa warns. "We are only alive because we live like this."

"For now," Anakin points out, "You know it is only a matter of time before they find us. If we take the fight to them, we may have a chance."

"You don't understand," objects O'mer, "It's not that we don't want to fight. We're younglings. They have every advantage."

"They do not have the Force," Anakin points out, "We do. We know things they don't." He already knows he has to do this. There's no other choice – he's needed elsewhere, and even if these padawans have already given up hope, he won't. He can't. The galaxy needs him in ways he can't even begin to understand.

"And what would we do?" Jinx counters, "We don't know where they come from. They have weapons, and we don't. We have no way to fight them."

"Where do they come from?" Anakin asks.

The other three exchange glances. "We've never seen," O'mer admits, "All we know is that they come here every few days to drop off more people."

"We need to be moving," Kalifa declares firmly, standing, "Come on. We can talk on the way."

They head outside the cave, climbing over the branches as they move... almost directionlessly through the forest. They seem to know their way around, at least. This is yet another benefit they have over the Trandoshans – they live here, while the Trandoshans only hunt here. "They have to come from somewhere," he points out, "We only need to find out. Have you been over the entire... island?"

Jinx pauses for a moment to catch his breath from all the climbing they've been doing. "Most of it. They are not here."

"No, but –"

There's a sudden noise far too close, and Kalifa jolts back against the nearest tree trunk, motioning for them all to get down. Anakin crouches next to the other three, cautiously peering down onto the forest floor beneath them.

Two of the people from the transport are moving through the trees below, and he can sense danger close. "We can help them –"

"No," Kalifa objects, "We'll only endanger ourselves."

"We can't stand by and let this happen!" Anakin snaps back vehemently, furious. This is what he's been telling Barriss about all this time. "If we let them die when we could have prevented, then it's on us that they were killed. I don't blame you for being afraid, but I'm not going to let my fear of this cloud my judgment."

"We have no way to prevent it –"

A blaster shot suddenly rings out, striking one of them in the chest and he collapses. The other whirls around, bolting. More blaster shots ring out, and through the tree he can make out where the Trandoshan shooting

They're going to kill her, and how can the others stand here and do nothing?! He knows that they're afraid, but still. He can't do that.

He starts forwards, shaking off Kalifa's grip when she immediately moves to stop him. He leaps down from the trees, ducking the blaster shot that nearly catches him, reaching out with the Force, dislodging the Trandoshan from the tree above his head.

The lizard falls and Anakin scrambles for his blaster, except he's on his feet first, leaping at him. The Trandoshan tackles him to the ground with a snarl, and they roll across the ground. Anakin kicks him aside with the Force, stumbling back to his feet, ignoring how much his body aches from being slammed into the ground like that with someone so heavy on top of him.

Anakin reaches out, finally managing to call the blaster to him, except the Trandoshan is already charging for him, and he doesn't have nearly enough time to try shifting it into firing position. He swings the blaster for the lizard's head, hitting it as hard as he can.

It staggers back with a howl, reaching for him almost blindly as it starts to fall. He sidesteps it, right as a Force-wave slams into it, hurling against the trunk of nearby tree.

The Trandoshan falls to the ground, going motionless, and Anakin looks up as the other three jump down around him. "We need to get out. More will be coming," Kalifa warns.

Anakin collects the blaster, and they scramble into the trees without looking back.

"The Trandoshans deactivate the blasters if we take them. That won't work," Jinx tells him as they keep moving.

He should have guessed as much. It would be too risky for the lizards anyway. "We can still keep it for a... club," he points out.

"It's been a long time since the Trandoshans captured another padawan and brought them here," Kalifa comments, suddenly turning to face him, "Anakin, your strength is what we've been lacking. We were beginning to lose hope and forgot who we are."

He blinks in surprise. That's... not what he was expecting to hear. "And who are you?"

"We are Jedi," she replies firmly, and the other two nod.

"Alright, then we can begin with searching for a base. We can start tomorrow. And we can see if we can find the other survivor."

Though something tells him they may already be dead by the time they do locate them. But at least they can stop the Trandoshans from doing this to anyone ever again.

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