"I have a message for you, Orican," Palpatine said through the hologram message he sent.
The changling man who recieved it through a droid contact, Orican, listened paitently. He didn't know who this old man was, or why he came out of nowhere wanted him specifically. It had been a long time since he had anything to do with the republic.
"It's my understanding you left the jedi order due to 'irreconcilable differences' years ago," Palpatine continued through his cloak, "which is entirely understandable, given their nature. But I didn't send this message just to remind you of such of a thing, no. I wish to tell you the jedi council has officially claimed to have found 'the chosen one.'"
This peaked Orican's interest. Whoever this strange man was, he had his attention.
Palpatine continued, "Whether or not you believe this is up to you. I'd understand if you'd want to go out and track him down to see if this is the case for yourself. His name is Anakin Skywalker, and he recently became the youngest ever jedi to be knighted at age 19."
Orican turned off the hologram message. "Tsh," he said, "so he's jedi scum. I don't why you decided to bring this to my attention stranger, but I'll see for myself if this jedi is everything the council claims."
"I see you're getting along with your padawan quite well now, Anakin," Obi-wan said as the cruiser prepared for landing.
"We're working on it, master," Anakin replied.
"Tatooine must have done some good for the two of you," Obi-wan added carefully. He watched as Anakin flinched at even hearing the name of his old planet.
He muttered angrily, "I never want to see another Hutt again, let alone an ugly baby one." He stepped out onto the landing platform and felt the sunlight of the alien planet hit him.
Obi-wan asked gently, "Have you told Ahsoka anything about your past?"
"Of course not," he scoffed, "she's just a kid, there's no reason to give her nightmares. Besides, it isn't relevent." It was what Anakin wished was the truth, that what he went through growing up didn't effect or bother him, but Obi-wan knew better. They both understood he was lying to protect his own ego.
Obi-wan changed the subject. "I know this mission is less exciting than what you'd rather be doing," he said, "but it's imperitive for the war effort for you to collect this intell as soon as possible."
Anakin replied, "I know, master. I won't let you or the council down on this one." He stepped down the ramp and turned to see Ahsoka running down behind the two of them.
"Sorry I'm late!" she exclaimed, out of breath, "I thought we were going to land in an hour."
Anakin replied, "We were going to, but we made good time. You have to stay on top of things, snips. Let's move out." He motioned for her to follow him as he stepped away.
Just before Ahsoka left the platform, she turned to Obi-wan and asked, "Aren't you going to wish us luck, master?"
"There's no such thing as luck," he said, "just do a good job." He watched as she ran after Anakin.
As she caught up to him, she asked, "So, our first recognizance mission together. This should be fun!"
Anakin turned around and explained, "Out of all the things we could be doing for the war effort, this is the most boring job. It's practically droid work. Come on. The faster we finish this, the faster we'll be assigned a new more interesting mission." As he spun back around, the bushes next to Ahsoka rustled. She stopped, confused, as there was no wind. She sensed a presence inside the plant.
The hands of a changling reached out and grabbed her before she could react. She grabbed one of her her lightsabers, but he quickly tossed it and forced her into the ground. The last thing she could remember, a needle was going into her arm.
"Stop!" she said, "Who-" She was out cold before she even knew what hit her.
Orican on the other hand, was fully prepared. He quickly changed his appearance into hers and grabbed her dual lightsabers. He jumped out of the bushes in time to see Anakin only just noticing his padawan wasn't right behind him.
"Ahsoka!" he scolded, "Weren't you listening? Keep up my pace!"
"Yes, master," Orican as Ahsoka replied, trotting up behind him. He knew Ahsoka and Anakin only just met each other, but he was sure they must have gotten to know each other at least a little. He had to be careful if he wanted to get to know the chosen one so well.
Meanwhile Anakin paid no attention. He carved the path out for them through the low vegitation of the rocky desert of yellow, purple, and pink rocks and fauna.
"Why are we going the long way?" Ahsoka asked.
"We have to make sure we don't get spotted on the way to this separatist outpost," Anakin said, "you were late to the meeting, so I'll remind you that we're strictly collecting intel to see how many droids are in the valley on the other side of this mountain range. Then we're supposed to come right back and report an accurate count directly to the council." He gestured back to the site Obi-wan dropped them off at.
Orican thought to himself, that is boring, no wonder he's so cranky.
As they walked up the mountainside and slowly made their way to their destination, Orican knew he needed to get more information on Anakin. He, still walking as Ahsoka, asked, "Have I told you how I was discovered as force sensitive?"
"No," he said, "but I didn't ask either, snips."
"Well how were you discovered, master?" Ahsoka asked innocently, "I'd love to hear all about it."
"That doesn't matter now," he insisted.
"Sure, it does," she explained, "Master Yoda once said that the way a jedi is discovered, is the first indication on how the force will guide them throughout their life. So, how did you learn you were force sensitive, master?"
Anakin sighed, irritated, he said, "Master Yoda may have a point, but that doesn't mean I need to tell you about it."
She asked, "Do you think he's wrong?"
He turned to her and said, "Why are you so chatty all of a sudden!? Keep your guard up, we're about to head into separatist controlled territory." He hurried up the old worn down hiking trail. It was obvious he hadn't been used by locals since the beginning of the war.
Orican whispered to himself, "I didn't want to resort to this, but if you don't want to talk I'll have to." He took out a small vial he brought with him, and knew he would have to wait for the right moment to use it. Still, through their walking he tried a few more times to get Anakin to open up before he turned around and snapped at who he thought was Ahsoka. It was no use.
"You're not going to sleep yet, master?" Ahsoka asked, pretending to get comfortable in the long grass as darkness fell over them.
Anakin sat on a log and said, "I'll sit watch first and wake you up in a few hours for your turn. Don't worry about me."
"But no one's around."
"Goodnight, Ahsoka," he said, completely ignoring her.
Orican didn't feel like waiting around all night. He waited for Anakin to turn and get distracted by something, looking off into the night passed the little fire he had started. Then, Orican got up and released the sleeping gas trapped inside his vial. It didn't take long for him to breathe it in, and pass out, now fallen over and fast asleep.
"Finally," Orican said, immediately changing out of Ahsoka's body, "hate to have to do this to you, guy, but you've got to give me something to work with here." He leaned over and pressed his hand into Anakin's hair. "Show me your past." He gasped and recoiled as Anakin's childhood memories assaulted him. "Whoa!" He stumbled back. "What was that?! I'm not doing that again!" He changed back into Ahsoka and rubbed her horns, as if they would get rid of the horrid memories he just witnessed. "Well, at least I got something now. You better have a good nap because tomorrow's a big day for you."
Orican stayed in Ahsoka's form and fell asleep off to the side of the burning fire. His plan was in place, even with having so many hiccups along the way.
The next morning, Anakin was surprised to realize he had fallen asleep and slept the entire night. The fire had long since gone out. He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Ahsoka!" he said, pushing at her to wake up, "What happened?! The sun is already up!"
She turned over and asked, "It is? What happened to waking me up in the middle of the night to keep watch?"
"Apparently we both needed a full night's rest," he said, "We're lucky I don't sense any activity nearby. Come on, get up, we're moving out. We've already burned through enough daylight." He turned and began walking away without waiting for her.
It only took a few hours of trekking through the wilderness before the two of them finally reached the outpost they were looking for. Through the trees, Anakin peered through binoculars around the vegetation for cover.
"Not a droid in sight," he said, "that's strange. Maybe they've abandoned the post. Let's go down and get a closer look."
"Wait," Ahsoka said, "those weren't our orders."
"I'm merely getting a closer look to make sure there really aren't any droids around," he insisted, "this'll only take a moment, snips!" He motioned for her to follow him down the mountain, as if it were easy.
He brought them both right down through the trees next to the large building. There wasn't a hint of movement, not from the locals, and not from any droids. Orican wasn't sure what was up. It wasn't as though he was used to being in a war zone, but he kept a level head despite his fears. Could they be ambushed?
Anakin said, "I'm going in."
Ahsoka replied, "And you thought this would be boring."
The doors were locked, but it was a simple fix. Anakin simply used his lightsaber to cut through the lock and prepared to hear an alert or droids moving in on their location. Nothing. He went inside carefully. The darkness didn't reveal much at first. Once their eyes adjusted, they could see the rows and rows of shelves and some disheveled files mixed here and there. Some broken, some in tact, no signs of life all around.
"A library," Anakin said, "then the separatists took over and used it as a base." He kicked over some abandonded droid parts. "Nothing's salvageable."
Ahsoka examined the dust and said, "It looks like no one has been here for a while."
Anakin's communicator went off. He nonchalantly answered it and said, "Obi-wan we made it to the base. It's clear. The separtists moved on a long time ago. It's an abandoned library now, no signs of any droids or life." He gestured to the space around him, knowing Obi-wan could only see him directly and not what was behind him.
"Anakin!" he said harshly, "I know you're still getting accustomed to the idea of a padawan following you around everywhere, but that doesn't mean you can leave her behind while you go galavanting on a mission!"
Confused, he asked, "What are you talking about? Ahsoka's been with me the entire time."
"No, she hasn't," Obi-wan insisted, "Ahsoka was just found unconcious in some bushes next to the transport. How could you leave her behind?" He brought her on camera and showed her unhappy just-woke-up face.
Anakin slowly turned around to face the fake Ahsoka. "A changeling! Who are you!" he demanded activating his lightsaber with one hand, Obi-wan still on the screen on his other wrist.
"About time you noticed, chosen one," Orican replied, activating Ahsoka's lightsabers, "but give me a moment to change. I know for a fact this body won't beat you in a fight." He quickly changed himself to look exactly like Anakin.
Through the hologram, Obi-wan said, "Anakin, get out of there! I'm on my way!"
Anakin shut communication down and readied for a fight as he demanded, "What do you want?!"
Orican attacked and replied coyly, "Just think of this as the ultimate test, chosen one!"