Chapter 1 – Meeting
Plot: Raised by Darth Sidious, Anakin Skywalker has never truly met a Jedi before. He's a Sith. They are his mortal enemies, and the lines between them are simple. But when he meets Aayla Secura, he starts questioning everything he once thought he knew.
This is a gift for I-Nex-I on ffnet. :)
~ Tirana Sorki
"This is a very important mission," Palpatine – master, father, whomever he is – is saying, hands on his desk, "The time for the Clone Wars has arrived. You must ensure the Jedi locate Kamino and discover the clone army we have prepared for them."
"What of Senator Amidala?" Anakin asks, hands clasped behind his back. Officially, he'll be going to her as a security guard, which he has legally trained for. Unofficially, he's there to make sure his master's plans go as planned. Which will mean starting a war, and being complicit in it.
He just wants peace. He just wants to help people, so no one will ever have to endure what he is. And what Ahsoka is – his sister doesn't deserve this life. He wants to get out. To break the only chains he has left.
When Anakin was little, when Palpatine first took him in and adopted him after Darth Maul pulled him off Tatooine, he thought their relationship was real. That it was genuine, and Anakin clung to that hope for years, though now, at nineteen, he is no longer nearly naïve enough to believe that. Palpatine just wants his power.
But he still raised him. He still took care of him. He doesn't whip him for not cleaning a junk shop fast enough. He's a kinder master than Watto ever was, except at least on Tatooine, it – it was real. This is a lie. Everything has to be a lie. And Ahsoka is at stake, too.
"Make no move against her. Do not reveal yourself. Continue to act as her friend, and whether she survives or not is irrelevant."
It doesn't matter to his master's plan, which means he should be allowed to save her if need be. That's... good. He and Padme had a falling out years ago that neither of them have recovered from, but he doesn't want her to get hurt, either. She was a friend, and she was kind to him when he was little, even if she's managed to be completely oblivious to his and Ahsoka's plight for years. As have the Jedi.
Qui-Gon wouldn't have been. The Jedi Master is the one Jedi Anakin truly has respect for. and Maul killed him, too.
Anakin nods in understanding, turning to leave the room, pausing as his eyes lock with his sister's.
"Anakin's gonna work with a Jedi?" Is she jealous or worried? He honestly can't tell.
"Hiding the truth of your training from a Jedi will not be a simple task," Palpatine responds, "It won't be another game for you to play, Ahsoka. Your darkness is too prevalent."
Many questions as to why.
Anakin wishes he could throw back a snarky comment, instead, he clamps his jaw, mutters a quiet "I will see to it, master" and breezes out the door, Ahsoka's eyes following him. On to Padme's apartment. Hopefully, she'll not be too grudging about his presence there.
**w**
She grumbles a little, mostly to how Palpatine assigned his alleged son to the task, but gives him enough space to wiggle off for a talk with Jar Jar – the Gungan is childish enough that it lets Anakin well, let loose for a little while.
He's still with Jar Jar when the elevator pings and the Gungan hurries away – the Jedi must be here now. "Lookie lookie!" Jar Jar chirps, approaching, followed by a dark aqua twi'lek'. She doesn't look that old, perhaps around Anakin's age himself. And why is she dressed like that? "Dissen Jedi arriven."
"It's good to see you again," the twi'lek says, bowing briefly.
"You too, Aayla," Padme replies, smiling. It's hard for Anakin to tell if it's genuine, or a show. She is a politician. They're very difficult to see through. That's something else he learned to dislike as he got older.
The Jedi's name is Aayla. It fits.
Anakin trails the bunch to the couch, seating on the same couch as the Jedi, but leaves a careful seat between them. Captain Typho gives the Jedi a run-over of the situation, and Padme cuts in with a "I don't need more security. I need answers. I want to know who's trying to kill me."
"As a Jedi, I'm here for protection," Aayla replies, leaning forwards, "Not an investigation, but if the attacker resurfaces, perhaps I can find a lead."
"If they went so far as to blow up a ship here on Coruscant, I am confident there will be another attempt," Anakin interjects, "The boldness that would require won't let them back down."
"I suspect Count Dooku is behind this attack," Padme adds.
That's close enough. She's on the right track, but it's a wild accusation with no proof.
"Count Dooku is a former Jedi," Aayla reminds, "I truthfully struggle to imagine him attempting to have anyone assassinated, but we all can fall from our way."
They exchange a few more remarks before Padme retires to her room, her handmaids following. Typho exchanges some words with the Jedi, and slowly, the group disperses.
"I never caught your name," the Jedi says, turning to Anakin.
He starts. He's talking to a Jedi. The first since Qui-Gon, and he's a bit... overwhelmed. "Anakin Skywalker," he answers – it's a good thing he hasn't ranked truly as a Sith apprentice yet, or his Sith name would be lingering in his mind instead.
"I'm Aayla Secura," the twi replies, smiling. It's a small, genuine smile, not one of the very frustrating, too-wide fake ones he sees at the Senate constantly. Not bad. "You're part of the Senator's security team?"
"Personally assigned by the Chancellor. My father." Or so the official story goes.
"You're the Chancellor's son and you've chosen a job in security?" she asks, maybe a bit teasingly.
"What about it?"
"Most politicians' children plan to be politicians too. At least that's what I usually see."
Well, when she puts it like that – "The Senate is the last place I would want a job," Anakin replies, amused, and he means that, "I have seen more than enough of it with... my father."
"I get that," Aayla replies, "The missions that are most involved in Senate matters are always the messiest."
He can't help how curious hearing her talk about being a Jedi is making him. He knows what Sidious had told him, about how corrupted they are, but he's never really met one. Other than Qui-Gon who was nothing like what his master described. "Aren't all the missions you do form the Senate?
"Not all, but most. Especially lately. Rising tensions with the Separatist movement." Aayla glances around. "We should check security."
**w**
It's the middle of the night now, as Anakin paces around, repeatedly checking the area to make sure that it's secure. He sees Aayla doing likewise, though they don't say much to each other. But mostly, he's trying to discreetly use the Force to sense if any danger is approaching.
As carefully as he can, because he can't let Aayla realize he's using it actively, but this point, he's not sure the Jedi would notice anyway. Sidious has been hiding right in front of them for over a decade and they've all been oblivious. It's not likely a padawan would notice something that not even any of the masters have.
"Have you been on this kind of mission before?" Aayla queries, as they pace back and forth in the living room together for a brief while.
"This is really my first of this level," Anakin admits. He's had practice before but security isn't really his job. It's just a front.
Aayla nods.
"What about you?" he wonders. "How long have you been on missions?"
"I was twelve when I became a padawan," she replies, "It's been about eight years."
It's right when he's beginning to think that nothing's going to happen that he suddenly senses something.
Aayla perks up a moment later and he hopes his instant reaction isn't too obvious, but he's not going to risk someone dying if he doesn't need to. Aayla's sprinting for the bedroom without a word, Anakin close behind.
He draws his blaster as he runs inside, but danger is right next to Padme –
Some kind of poisonous worms, from first glance.
Aayla ignites her lightsaber, slashing them in half.
There's a droid hovering right outside the window. He fires at it, because he has no idea if it's the kind that can also use laser fire and he's not taking that chance. The glass shatters but the droid moves fast enough that the shot misses.
Aayla runs for the window, slashing her lightsaber through the already broken glass and pieces of it fly everywhere, a gust of cool wind whipping into the room. And then she's jumping straight out the window onto the droid.
Idiot.
Seriously.
What happened to using the Force?
Maybe that's really why the Jedi are failing so bad. But she's going to need help and... he's not going to just let her die senselessly. Even if his master would be perfectly fine with that.
Anakin runs for the door, and the rest of the way through the apartment building, ignoring the odd looks he gets as he scrambles into the nearest speeder he can find, and takes off into the lanes of traffic in the direction she disappeared too.
He has to use the Force to guide him there, but all Jedi are far enough away that they shouldn't sense it. He can feel he's getting closer when there's a flash of a blaster shot overhead and the next thing he knows, a very familiar Twi'lek is going to free fall through the lanes of traffic.
Anakin jerks the speeder downwards, zooming underneath her so she lands on the back. "Thanks," Aayla calls breathlessly, clamoring across the speeder and sliding into the passenger's seat next to him.
"I thought Jedi weren't supposed to fall," he calls over his shoulder.
"Very funny," she deadpans, head swiveling as she tries to locate the assassin.
"I have him," Anakin assures, zooming forwards in pursuit of the fleeing speeder, "But really, I thought Jedi had some thing about that."
"Yeah, at least my master wasn't here to see that," she shoots back, "How'd you find me so fast?"
"It was hard to miss you floating through traffic lanes, begging to be hit," he teases.
She huffs. "Well, let's just hope your flying skills are up to par because – Did you notice we're in this lane the wrong way?" she ends with a yelp.
Anakin jerks the speeder around, sending it flying between some more traffic lanes. "Yes, I did."
Flying is still the only thing that makes him feel free so he goes all out with it as he zips between the traffic lanes.
He thinks Aayla is going from looking amused to a suspiciously greener shade of aqua. "Ever thought about slowing down?" she pants.
"No, or we're going to lose him."
"I think we just did," she points out, as they spin around another corner of a building to see nothing.
"I think they went – " He pauses, looking around.
"That way," Aayla calls, obviously sensing it the same moment he did.
He jerks the speeder down, and sends it zooming right into a train passageway, keeping close to the ceiling to avoid the train and ignoring Aayla's yelp of "don't go in there!"
They zoom out the other end, right behind the speeder again, resuming their chase.
"That was crazy," she huffs though she looks a bit amused. "But – " The rest of her words are last as he zooms off at top speed again,
And then they're coming right up on power-coupling.
"You got a problem with being electrocuted?" Anakin calls. He, in fact, does but he's not sparing a moment to think about it right now. At least this'll be his choice. It only happens in training if it's necessary anyway. It's not as if his master does it just to hurt him, even if he still finds himself annoyingly jittery around it. Despite remembering Sidious' "pain will only give you strength."
"Doesn't everyone?" Aayla calls back.
"Do you see any other short cuts?"
"Do it!" she yells back and he zooms forward, right through the couplings, shaking off quickly enough the way the electricity jolts through him. It's so brief and it just stings more than really burns. That wasn't actually as bad as he thought it would be.
"My master would never approve," Aayla comments dryly.
"Good thing he'll never need to know." The way she keeps talking about him, radiating so much ness makes him curious to know more of what he's like.
Anakin can't deny caring for his master, but it's – so complicated. Not the way she speaks of hers. It makes him long for his mother for an agonizing moment. For back when she was still alive, the days they were still together. He wishes she could have gotten the chance to meet Ahsoka. She would have adored her. And she would have given her a far better childhood than she's ever going to get now.
They weave their way through a few more lanes before the assassin is flying right below them. "Come after me?" Aayla calls, and then she's swinging out of the speeder, dropping onto the one below.
Anakin flies down after them. If he didn't have to pretend to just be a driver, this would be a whole lot easier.
Especially when Aayla's efforts to get into the speeder end with her falling off as the speeder crashes into a ball of flames. The dark clothed assassin leaps out and takes off, trying to lose themselves in the crowd.
She stumbles to her feet and takes off after.
Anakin doesn't manage to catch up with her until she's skidding to a stop right outside a bar.
"She went in there," Aayla says, still breathless, "But it's gonna be hard to find her in there."
Anakin eyes the door. "And that's not really a place for..." He hesitates, glancing back at Aayla. That's just not somewhere Twi'leks go unless they want a lot of undesirable attention. Especially not the way she's dressed.
She shrugs. "You get used to it." Fair enough but that just doesn't seem like a very fair thing for the Jedi to demand of her. And he's not quite sure that she's as flippant about as it she's acting, but he doesn't really know her... so he's not certain.
She takes a step forwards, but then pauses again, glancing back with a lingering smile. "And just so you know, I'm not sure I want to get in a speeder with you again."
Anakin grins back. "Why not? I thought you were having fun."
She cracks a smile. "I was. But if I throw up on the person we're trying to arrest, it won't look good on the Jedi."
He laughs. "Well, you'll get used to the flying eventually."
"I'm not sure I want to," she replies dryly, before moving forwards, into the bar.
Anakin follows close behind, scanning their surroundings.
He's the less noticeable one and he stays as discrete as he can, scanning their surroundings for the person. He hardly got a good look at them so he barely even knows who he's looking for.
Danger is whispering into the Force. Anakin turns sharply, pushing his way through the crowd toward Aayla, right in time to see someone moving up behind her. There's a glint of metal and Aayla whips around, igniting her lightsaber and slashing through the woman's blaster. She promptly goes for a second one and Anakin tackles her from behind.
The bar explodes into chaos, people scrambling out of their way and some just pressing closer to watch, as though there's something to see. Anakin doesn't much appreciate the way a bunch of them are just blatantly staring at Aayla. He saw enough of that kind of look on Tatooine.
He gives a few of them a fierce enough look that they back down, though that's probably giving them an entirely wrong impression on their relationship. Not that he cares. Jedi or no, he does not appreciate seeing people looking at Aayla like she's some kind of object to be studied. He knows that look all too well.
Aayla snaps stun-cuffs on the woman's wrists and they push her towards the door, which she looks none too happy about.
"Who hired you?" Anakin demands, the moment they're outside.
"My client is classified," she retaliates, glaring at them.
"If you cooperate, you might have a better chance when you're brought to justice for attempted murder," Aayla says.
The woman just glares stubbornly back at them.
Something's wrong –
A dart suddenly hits the woman in the neck and she gasps, falling to the ground.
Anakin looks up sharply, barely in time to see a figure dressed in armor streaking away into the sky and out of sight.
He crouches next to the body, with Aayla on her other side, but trying to see if there's anything he can do but it's... too late. He can feel her life force fading away, and her form is shifting back to its normal Changling form, as she mutters a final swear word before going limp.
"Toxic dart," Aayla observes quietly, expression grave as she pulls it out of the woman's neck, studying it.
Anakin nods solemnly. He's well used to death, but Sidious still tells him he's too sensitive about it. But he can't help being angry – this person was awful, but she was also killed senselessly, presumably by whoever it was that hired her in the first place. That's all the more reason they need to find whoever this is. And that may not be directly his masters orders, but he... wants to bring them to justice, if he can. That's all he's ever wanted to do and at first, Sidious told him he would stand a far greater chance at doing that as a Sith than as a Jedi, though sometimes it really doesn't feel like that's what he's doing.
His master just tells him it's that he's not looking at the bigger picture, the way he himself does. Which he knows is true, but sometimes...
"I'll take this back to the Temple in the morning," Aayla decides, "They should be able to run a scan and find a lead on who's this could be."
"You know what that means?" Anakin asks, even if the lightness in his voice is far more solemn. "You'll have to get back in a speeder with me."
"You forgot about the part where I can drive," Aayla replies dryly.
Anakin gives her a teasing smile. "Not if I get there first."
**w**
Aayla leaves for the Jedi Temple the next morning, and Padme goes to speak with Palpatine – who's going to insist on her leaving to go to Naboo.
Anakin goes back to his master's apartment to pack his things for a trip to Naboo. He and Ahsoka each have their own room here and he's had it for years, but sometimes the sheer size is overwhelming when he thinks back to his room on Tatooine. But still, there's times his room here still feels way less personalizedthan it did there. Palpatine will never let him keep his machines and projects in his room. He doesn't get to have droid pieces and tools all around his bed the way he likes, because he's supposed to be an aristocrat now. And messes drive his master crazy.
But how could Anakin ever be anything else? He was a slave, still is in many ways. He's a slave boy, meant to watch over a junk shop, and really nothing else. He can't help if this is just how he is.
"Hey Skyguy," Ahsoka chirps, trotting over to him, "How was spending a night around a Jedi?"
"More fun than I thought it would be," he replies, smiling up at her, "She was... interesting." That's not something he would dare to say when his master is present but he's not so there's no risk in saying it to Ahsoka.
She makes a face. "I can't imagine that. Most of them feel so fake-ly light it's just ugh."
"I know," he agrees. "But this one was... different."
Ahsoka crosses her arms, watching as he rummages through his things, trying to find what he needs. "How?"
"She's still young. I don't think she's half as blinded as the older ones are."
"Just give it time," she grumbles.
He doesn't know why the thought makes his heart ache sharply. He doesn't want Aayla to just be like the other Jedi. He hardly even knows her but there's still – something there. Maybe it's just that he doesn't really get to have friends anymore. There's never really the opportunity for that, and it gets so lonely sometimes. Ahsoka is always here and they share everything with each other and they always will, as much as their master will allow it, but he knows she's lonely too. She gets to leave the apartment and be around people even less than he does.
"I suppose we will see," Anakin replies.
"Is it stupid that I want to meet one just once?" Ahsoka asks, after a long stretch of silence. "I mean they're our enemies, but that's kind of why I want to?"
"Yeah," he agrees dryly, "That's what made it interesting. I'm sure you'll get your chance eventually."
Whenever it is that their master decides she's ready for that kind of responsibility.
"Eventually," she repeats with a scowl.
"Hey," Anakin says, reaching out to pat her shoulder, "If it helps any, security for a Senator is a very boring job."
Her face scrunches in adorable annoyance. Honestly, sometimes Anakin has no idea how Sidious thinks she's going to be a fierce Sith Lady when she's older, but then again, he thinks she'd probably do better at it than he's ever going to. "I knowwwww, but it's not any more interesting being stuck here all the time."
"Maybe I'll bring something back for you," he offers, though he doesn't know what or if he'll even have the chance. "Other than an interesting story."
"How could you have an interesting story to tell me if the trip is boring?"
Point.
"Maybe you'll have an interesting story to tell me when I get back," he replies, glancing back at his bag, "And... I need to finish packing. I have to go soon."
"That would be easier if you'd clean up your room," she says loudly, pointedly poking her toe at where some of his clothes are lying on his floor.
"I have," Anakin defends.
His master will have a fit if his room gets too much of a mess, and he's been kind of in a hurry lately. He's used to having far more chaos in his room. That's how it always was on Tatooine, even if that's something from years ago.
"Don't forget to pack your socks," Ahsoka calls, "Master won't be happy if you make it all the way to the Senate without them on again."
Anakin groans. "That happened one time, Snips."
She shrugs, smirking deviously at him, but the levity fades quickly. "How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know," Anakin admits, "As long as this threat is... important. It could be a few days or weeks."
"I just want to come with you."
"I wish you could come, too." He doesn't want to be away from her but they don't really have anyother choice. There's gotta be something he can find to bring back. Not thatit'll be anything cool, though. "See you later, Snips." He holds an arm out to hug her, and his little sister immediately burrows into his arms, hugging him back tightly. She's still so tiny.
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