Chapter 3 - Rescue
It's been about a week since they came to Naboo. And she's beginning to hope the mission here will last a while longer, if she's being honest, because she doesn't really want it to just be over yet.
They go for a swim in the lake together – the Senator refuses to join because she doesn't want to mess up her dress – but Aayla and Anakin are back on the bank together, flopped out in the sun to get their clothes to dry off faster, when Artoo comes rolling up, beeping wildly. "There's a transmission back at the ship?" Anakin translates for her.
"From who?" Aayla queries, standing.
"He believes it's from your master," Anakin replies.
Aayla takes off without another word, following the droid back to the ship. Her master wouldn't be calling out of nowhere if it weren't important. Oh, well. They're going to be tracking water into the ship after all.
Anakin follows and the Senator lingers in the back, trailing them.
A hologram of Quinlan flickers to life when they enter the ship. "Aayla?" he asks, looking instantly relieved when he sees her.
"Master? What happened?" she inquires urgently. Something's wrong. She can feel it.
"I need to get this transmission to Coruscant. Can you boost the signal?"
She scrambles for the controls, quickly getting the Council on the call.
A hologram of Windu appears moments later as her master starts talking. "I tracked the bounty hunter to Geonosis. I lost him while I was here but then I found a secret meeting between Count Dooku, the Trade Federation, and other Commerce Guilds. They're amassing a droid army, in a factory right here – like – the ones right in front of me - !" Quinlan cuts off sharply and draws his lightsaber, deflecting blaster shots from destroyer droids.
Aayla inhales sharply, watching anxiously. And then the transmission abruptly shuts off.
It's not hard to guess what just happened. They're capturing him and she's not with him just like she's been worried about from the start, and now there's nothing she can do to help him. She has to –
"Aayla," Windu says, "We will handle the situation on Geonosis. For now, you the most important thing for you is to stay where you are and protect the Senator at all costs."
Even if though her master needs her? But she knows what she's supposed to do as a Jedi and it's not something she can argue with. She did that enough as a child, and that nearly got her taken away from him. But...
"Yes, Master," Aayla confirms quietly, before the transmission cuts.
She can feel Anakin's eyes on her. "Geonosis isn't far from here," Anakin says, "They're on the other side of the galaxy. If you want to go after him – "
"They just told me I can't," Aayla responds, frustrated. "He needs me, but I – " But her duty says she has to stay here and if she's going to be a make it as a Knight, then that's what she has to do. But her master could die there and she can't shake the panic gnawing in her gut.
"I can protect the Senator while you're gone," Anakin replies, "If your master needs you, it... doesn't seem fair that they can demand you not go after him."
It's jarring to hear someone even say something like that against the Council. Shame flickers through her a second later, for how much it makes her like Anakin a little more, when she knows she shouldn't feel like that. "Thank you," she murmurs instead, and she's about to cave in and agree but if she failed her mission while she was gone, then... "But if you're not a Jedi like me. And – "
"What if I came, too?" Padme speaks up, "That way if you're going to protect me, you'll have to come along."
Fine. If they're both all the way on board with this, she's not going to turn it down. Not when she's so afraid of what could happen to her master. "Alright," Aayla agrees, smiling a little, "Let's go."
**w**
Geonosis reminds Anakin of Tatooine in all the ways he wishes it didn't. There's sand everywhere and a sharp pang runs through his heat as he looks out at it. A place he never wants to see again, but it also reminds him of when he had a family free from his duties as the Sith. He throws another glance over at Aayla, at how she's holding herself so tightly wound. She's afraid and the Jedi would have demanded that she let her master possibly die just for duty.
They really do have more similarities than he realized.
Anakin reaches out slowly, without really thinking it through, touching her arm. "We'll find him," he promises.
She looks up, startled, but smiles back. "I know."
"Let me negotiate," Padme requests once they've landed, heading for the ramp.
"I don't think the Geonosians are likely to negotiate. We'll try to get him to safety in the meantime," Aayla decides. That's going to mean leaving Padme unprotected, but the Geonosians would probably not react well to a Jedi being here and as the Chancellor's son. Anakin thinks it would be legally even worse if they were to get to him.
Once Padme's headed off the ship and demanded for an audience with the authority, he and Aayla sneak out into the shadows. He can sense the Bugs closer by. They'll have to move fast and discreetly to avoid them.
But as they move deeper into the facility, Anakin's quickly beginning to realize how lost he is. The catacombs are nearly endless, and he's only half sure which way they came in the first place now.
A flock of Bugs suddenly flies at them, when they round another corner. Aayla whips out her lightsaber, trying to fight them off. Anakin draws his blaster, shooting back – having his own lightsaber here would be far more useful. But he'd left that on Coruscant, just in case it's discovered, and mostly because he really didn't need the temptation of using it. Not that Aayla is driving him crazy enough to want to stab her in her sleep – because he's actually finding he enjoys her company far too deeply to be comfortable with – but he didn't want the risk of them being attacked or ending up in a situation like this and pulling it on instinct.
They fight back-to-back, trying to ward them off, but there's too many and he keeps nearly getting shot by the few Bugs who do have weapons. He probably would've been already, if not for being able to duck at the right moments.
The blaster shots keep hitting the sides of the catacombs. He hears a sudden noise, the sound of the ground shifting above them and then the ceiling is suddenly falling down all around them. Aayla drops her lightsaber, throwing her hands up to catch it. Anakin nearly does intuitively too, but stops short – he can't use the Force if he doesn't have too.
All the bugs near them are buried, trapped forever in the ground that's about smother them too.
Aayla's expression is tight, like she's straining to hold it all. Anakin thinks he could do it easily. He doesn't want to have to just stand here. They could die in here. They could easily run out of air. And if it's life or death, he has to do something –
His master would probably excuse him using the Force in front of a Jedi in this situation, but he'd probably also be expected to kill said Jedi to make sure there's no witnesses. And he's never going to do that. Even if he remembers very well everything his master's told him about what the Jedi will do to them, if they're caught unprepared. He knows the Jedi massacred the last Sith and he doesn't doubt they would do that again now.
But –
He's not going to let Aayla die here. He never realized until this moment, how much he cares about her. He hardly knows her, but she's the closest friend he's had in a long time and she's – well, they have something in common he hasn't shared with anyone in so long. He wants a stronger connection, a –
Something he knows he shouldn't be thinking about.
Aayla looks over at him, her desperation bleeding into the Force, despite how composed she normally is. But he wouldn't even need the Force to see the look in her eyes.
She... feels the same, he knows.
Even if this is something they both definitely should not, by both the Jedi and Sith ways. But Aayla, she... she cares about him. Loves him, perhaps. Or close enough.
Anakin hesitates for only a second later. He'll have to do it. He –
The dirt around them suddenly moves, flying down the hall, and then a lightsaber is slashing through the remains of a wall around them, cutting a hole.
Quinlan is standing there and Aayla drops the hold on the ceiling around them the moment they can duck to safety. He grins once he seems to realize that they're both okay. "I take it you're here to rescue me and then I had to rescue you?"
"Something like that," Anakin replies, smiling – he actually likes him a little bit. Maybe it's just how much Aayla obviously looks up to him.
"Master," she breathes, practically teleporting to his side, "Are you alright? I was afraid the Jedi wouldn't get here in time."
He pats her shoulder. "I'm fine, little one. But come on. Let's not wait around."
All Anakin can feel for a moment is a desperate aching emptiness deep in his heart. She's so free with him. He wishes he could even begin to feel that way for his own master. Or just about someone, someone who would actually take care of him – but the only family member he can be free with is Ahsoka and all his focus is to take care of her now. That doesn't stop him from wishing.
Aayla turns to look back at him, and Anakin blinks, totally caught off-guard when she reaches for his hand. He takes it, letting her pull him after. "Come on," she urges.
Anakin tries to ignore the way Quinlan looks at them, the way they're holding hands, as though he's more aware of what they're feeling than they themselves are. "Wait," Anakin says, a few steps down the tunnel, "We have to go back for Padme."
Quinlan stills. "You came here with the Senator and lost her, too?" His voice is teasing, though.
Aayla smiles sheepishly back at him.
"You know, if I'd known, I could have rescued her when I escaped the prison levels. I got away in the first place because of a disturbance there. That was probably her."
Well, it sounds like they're going back.
**w**
They don't make it to Padme before she's being taken to an execution arena and then a couple hundred other Jedi show up to the rescue. The battle between them and the droids is fierce. Countless Jedi are dying and... Anakin knows this is what Sidious wants, but that doesn't stop how he wishes there was more he could do. He can take out a lot of droids with his blaster but if he could use the Force, he'd be doing much better.
And then the army of clones his master spoke of shows up at the end to the rescue and pick up the survivors.
Anakin's just silently grateful that Aayla and Quinlan made it out alive. So far. There's a battle raging as he gets into the same gunship as them and they take off, sand whipping around them as they fly. Padme's here with them too, also surprisingly fine.
Ships are exploding on all sides, as they fly through the raging battle. There's droid ships everywhere and... Anakin's never been in an all-out battle like this before. He can feel the death everywhere, the lives slipping away into the Force. It was a familiar feel on Tatooine but it's far more extreme here and he wants to do something to stop it. But he really can't.
They're still flying when they spot Dooku, and Quinlan immediately gives the order to pursue. The Jedi want to stop the war here.
And Anakin... wishes he could help them. But that's not his master's plan. He wants it to start and Dooku has to get away.
The gunship jerks violently from a nearby explosion, throwing Padme off.
Anakin jerks to the edge, worry spiking, but... she should be fine. If they stop, they're going to lose Dooku. He just hopes she doesn't end up dead out there.
They land in a hangar and Dooku is halfway to his ship when they enter.
"You aren't escaping after what you did, Dooku," Aayla says sharply. She's vibrating with anger and it reminds Anakin sharply of how she'd been so dubious at the mere thought that Dooku could be behind an assassination attempt on Padme. And now... she's seen what he's truly becoming.
What will she think of Anakin when she knows what he is? He doesn't want to think about that right now. It's not as if the Jedi are ones to speak of being all good either, but...
Aayla charges Dooku, and he lifts a hand, hitting with her a blast of lightning. She goes down with a scream and Anakin skids to stop, gut flipping at the sound. Dooku just hurt her. He knows how painful that is. And Sith lightning is... well, he loathes it.
Quinlan approaches Dooku a bit more carefully, but within moments, they're blades are clashing. Quinlan is practically drawing on the Dark Side himself. It's not hard to see how angry he is, not that Anakin can really blame him for that.
Now that they're distracted, Anakin scrambles over to Aayla's side, crouching next to her. She groans softly, trying to force her eyes open.
"Don't strain yourself," he orders, "You're not in a place to fight right now." Not without getting hurt worse. That looked like the kind of lightning intensity that's meant to take someone down for a long time.
"Nor are you," Aayla rasps, trying to move but falling back against the floor with a groan, "And he – needs help."
Anakin looks up.
Quinlan is... not doing all that well. Dooku already has him on the defensive and it almost looks like he's just toying him. He finally sends the Knight skidding back and Anakin draws his blaster, flipping to stun and firing at Dooku. The Count whips towards him, deflecting the shots away but it gives Quinlan a chance to recollect himself, enough to jump the Sith again.
Anakin tries firing a few more stun shots at Dooku anyway, careful not to hit Quinlan in the process. He can't accidently kill Dooku – he'd really be in for it with his master if he did – but he has to stop him from hurting either of the Jedi here. A stun blast Dooku only half manages to deflect nearly takes him down and he stumbles a step back.
Quinlan nearly stabs him and Dooku flings him across the room. Then he turns and crushes the support on some beam, sending it plummeting right towards Aayla's head.
Anakin tries to yank her out of the way, but he can't move fast enough and he's mid-gathering the Force to him, about to stop it anyway, when her master lifts a hand, freezing it mid-air. Even if he's visibly struggling to keep it from falling.
Dooku runs for his ship and he's blasting out of the hangar by the time they have the chance to pursue.
Quinlan appears at Aayla's side only a moment later. "Aayla?" he asks, hovering.
"I'm okay," she rasps, wincing as she tries to push herself up.
Anakin lays a hand on her shoulder, helping her upright. She grimaces but forces herself past it anyway. "You'll need to get that looked over, even so," Anakin replies, "Electrocution like that can cause internal damage."
"How do you know?" Aayla rasps, reaching out weakly to squeeze Anakin's hand, as she leans into her master's side.
Oops.
"Training accident." He rather doubts she knows what's involved in training for a security officer, so that should be a safe answer. Not like it's too much of a lie, either – he has been electrocuted many times as a slave. By his master, or by invention accidents.
Aayla winces. "Ouch."
"No more charging Sith," Quinlan chides lightly, "Come on."
**w**
With the battle over, Aayla is re-given the mission of accompanying Senator Amidala back to Naboo. Anakin's there, too. She's more than happy about that, if she's being honest. Especially now that the galaxy is such a mess and there's about to be a war. She still can't believe so many Jedi are just gone now. She could name dozens of the ones who were there, even if she didn't know any of them well.
It's the next late afternoon when she's outside, watching the sun setting on the balcony when Anakin comes to join her.
"Feeling better?" Anakin inquires, watching her.
She clenches her hand, grateful when it doesn't start spasming at random again like it has been for the past few days since Geonosis. "Right now." And her heartbeat kept going off. The aftereffects are nearly as annoying as the pain itself was.
Anakin nods, but he's still staring at her.
She can't help thinking back to – that moment in the tunnel. It was twice now, then and in the fight with Dooku, where she thought she was going to die. And that had made her acknowledge that... how she feels about Anakin has gone far deeper than she thought it ever could. Far deeper than it should because she's a Jedi and she's not allowed to think about these things but she can't help it.
But she doesn't even know how to talk about it or if she even should. She knows what it means – it's against her way of life and she can't just...
"It's peaceful here," Anakin comments quietly, and her gaze darts back to him.
"Yeah," she agrees, "I just wish that was true everywhere else."
"Me too." He sighs. "When I used to dream of being a Jedi, I thought I could help everyone. I thought... this kind of conflict would be something I could end before it even started."
"I can't believe it is starting. There hasn't been a war in so long. Jedi dying on missions is... not common. Especially not so many." She's still shaken about that.
"I know," he agrees solemnly. There's something else there. She'd almost think it's traces of guilt if that even made any sense but she doesn't think much of it.
"But either way, I'm glad I'm back on this mission," Aayla confesses finally.
"Me too." She can feel Anakin's longing, mingled with a lingering depression again. She still wonders what's with that but he'll come to her about it if he wants to.
He's standing right next to her now and her heart sort of flutters. She wants to say something but all words die in her throat.
"When we were in the tunnel," Aayla blurts finally, and she has no idea where she's going with this, "I thought... we were going to die there. And – there was something I wanted to tell you first but I guess it doesn't matter now."
Anakin shifts a bit. He's blinking repeatedly and he almost seems uncomfortable but she also thinks he knows what she's going to say. "What?"
"I'm not supposed to feel this way as a Jedi," she says, suddenly blushing furiously. She kind of feels stupid now. Talking about this is just going to make it more real. "So, it doesn't really matter but I – I guess if I weren't one, I'd like to continue our friendship."
Ugh.
She sounds so stupid. How do people even talk about these things?
"That was why I was not going to say anything," Anakin replies, "But since that moment, I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I wish we could have more, but I – I will not ask that of you." He feels afraid and suddenly, she thinks there's far more to that.
"Is that the only reason?" Aayla asks, even if she appreciates fully that he's not asking her to betray her beliefs. There's clearly something wrong with her for almost wishing that he would. "Or is it also – your father wouldn't approve?"
Anakin twitches sharply, looking away. "He wouldn't. We can't. I know that. But I still want it more than anything."
The openness of how he's talking is weird, but she's frankly grateful for it. It makes this feel easier. Anakin is very open, even if she knows there are things he's hiding. She likes that about him, too. "Me too. But I guess we can't really have it." She reaches for his hand anyway and he takes it, squeezing it back.
"Maybe if no one knew."
She's almost surprised at how she actually considers it. "How long could we really keep that s secret? And I don't want to get you in trouble with your father, if that's what a concern."
Anakin nods. "But I would like us to stay friends if we can."
"So would I."
And that, at least, should be possible. They leave it at that, watching the sun set together, even if Aayla has the feeling that their decision to keep this solely a friendship thing isn't going to last for long.
**w**
"They say we have to push them in a little deeper, and – yeah, something like that."
"We're Sith, not botanists," Ahsoka whines, "Why are we doing this?"
"You said you wanted to see them glow, remember?"
She sighs. "Okay, fiiiiiiine." She brushes the dirt from her hands. "This Jedi you mentioned?"
"Aayla," he answers.
"What's she like?"
"She's... different. Different than I expected, than we ever learned about. I don't know. It's strange. She's a former slave, and she struggles with the Council."
"I didn't know Jedi did that."
"Neither did I. I told you, she's different. I don't trust her, but I –" He doesn't know how to say this. He does not want her to know how he feels towards the Twi'lek. It's embarrassing. It's forbidden. But he cares about Aayla enough that he can't imagine her dying.
He has no – to little – hesitation at killing any of the Jedi. But Aayla? Never.
"You like her?" Ahsoka asks.
"Yeah. I do." It's strange when he thinks of it – Sidious has always said the Jedi are evil, and Anakin has seen little else, but Qui-Gon and Aayla are the only two Jedi he's actually gotten to know. And neither of them are evil. What if Sidious is wrong? What if the Jedi truly aren't so evil like they have always been taught?
The Sith are not as Sidious had once said, either.
It would just be another lie.
Right on cue, the door opens and Palpatine himself walks in.
Anakin jumps, whipping around to stand in front of the flowerpot, and Ahsoka hides the seed package behind her back.
Their master slowly looks between them. "What are you hiding?" he asks.
Anakin scoots closer in front of the pot. His mind jumps to Aayla, but that's not what he's talking about – right? He couldn't know about that.
"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asks sweetly.
"Did you truly think your attempts to transform yourselves into immovable walls would succeed?" Palpatine grouses. Either he's having a bad day, or... he's having a bad day.
Anakin slowly scoots aside. "Padme showed me these, and Ahsoka wanted to see them, so..."
"Sith don't have gardens," Palpatine tells him flatly.
"They don't usually go to operas, either," Ahsoka has the audacity to snip back.
"They're Nubian," Anakin protests, even if he knows Sidious is twitchy about his home world. "I just wanted to be more... attached to it."
"They don't even have the right climate to bloom." Someone's in a mood.
"I wanted to try, anyway," Ahsoka protests. "The war's starting, right? We got a good reason to celebrate." With a flowerpot? Is she serious?
"Indeed," he agrees, "Soon enough, Anakin will begin his assent to becoming a true Sith. You will serve in the war, and make your name known across the galaxy. You will fight alongside the Jedi until the time is right. Be sure to bear in mind that they are still our enemy."
That's going to be hard. Sidious knows how Anakin is about people. He gets attached easily. But an order is an order. He can't fight them. "I understand, Master."
"Good. None of the Jedi would spare you if they learned of your true self. Do not forget that."
He leaves them there, a heavy weight settling in Anakin's heart. He can't imagine having to fight Aayla. But. If she knew he was a Sith, what would she do? She wouldn't brush it off. "Hey," he quips instead, "At least the flowers survived."
Ahsoka laughs.
Well, with his sister at his side, maybe he doesn't need anything else.
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