Attack of the Clones Part 1
“Not like that, Mellan. Ciara! Anakin is there too, stop thinking like a twin, and start thinking like a group!” Obi-Wan called from his perch. “Anakin, stop drawing on the Force. You do it without the Force, or let yourself fail. You need to rely on Kiffu to see you through this Hunt. Although I'm very tempted to bring out one of Quin's favorite Yoda teachings.”
“Please don't.” Anakin groaned from where he had landed on his back. Mellan helped him up.
“Can we be done yet?” Ciara asked. “We're not making any progress.”
Obi-Wan stared at them, then sighed, glancing at the sun. “I suppose we can have lunch a little early today, but I need you to think about where this is going all wrong. You need to work together, you need to rely on Kiffu, and you need to believe in yourselves. You only have two more days to prepare.”
“You're too good at being a jagliar, pibling.” Mellan muttered.
Obi-Wan smiled sweetly. “All the better for you three to be ready to fight one.”
They ate in quiet, almost sullen, silence.
Anakin sighed after putting his bowl aside. “How did you and Quin do it with just the two of you?”
Obi-Wan smiled at them. “Good question. I can't tell you our strategy because you need to come up with one that works for you. All we can do for you is ensure you have the skills for this.”
Seeing their crestfallen expressions, he decided to give them something else.
“It was hard. Very hard.” Obi-Wan showed them his foot; they were all going barefoot because it was easier to connect with Kiffu through bare skin.
“Wait, those scars are from a jagliar?” Anakin gasped. He'd seen them before, but hadn't known.
Obi-Wan nodded. “The very one that Quin and I killed for our Hunt. Very few escape without injuries, and that still happens with groups of three or more. You shouldn't needlessly sacrifice yourself, but you shouldn't expect to just get out without injuries. That's why I'm going so hard.”
“Oh.” Mellan stared at the scars. “But... Kiffu... it's so hard to connect with. To listen to. How do we know we're doing it right?”
“Stop thinking about it, and just do, rely on your instincts.”
Ciara frowned, glancing at Anakin. “And how do we work as a group with Ani?”
“Use Kiffu's energy to be aware of where Ani is, like you already subconsciously do with Mellan. Remember: you want to work with him too, he's family.”
“Right.”
Anakin sighed. “Okay. What's the Yoda teaching, and how does it work here?”
Obi-Wan cleared his voice for his best Yoda impression. “If an enemy exists not, obstructed you cannot be.”
“But... we need to defeat an enemy?” Mellan stared at him confused.
Anakin stared at Obi-Wan, then sighed. “No, that's not it. For one, my 'enemy' right now is the fact that I'm struggling with not using the Force because it's too strong, too instinctual, but Obi's right. I just need to forget about that, focus on Kiffu, and everything else will come. I do know how to do things without the Force, I just find it difficult.”
Obi-Wan smiled, and nodded. “Go on.”
“The other thing is...” Anakin bit his lip. “I think it's that the jagliar isn't really an enemy and we shouldn't think of it as such. It's a predator, and we're its prey, but it's not evil, it's just trying to survive like any creature would be when hungry or attacked. When in pain. We should change our thinking. The jagliar isn't really our enemy, neither is Obi.”
They huddled up. Obi-Wan watched proudly for a moment, then smirked. He rinsed out all the dishes and put out the fire they used to heat up their food. Time for an ambush.
He disappeared into the trees and laid on the branch above them as they discussed. Good, they were finally actually coming up with strategies. He was getting worried they wouldn't have it figured out before their Hunt started. His lessons were done first thing the next morning, the next two days were supposed to be about what to do after killing the jagiliar and all the symbolism involved in the Hunt. Derry and Darach were doing those lessons together, thrilled to be teaching their children together.
The trio didn't realize he was there as they focused on planning. Perfect. Obi-Wan smirked and dropped down into the middle of them. Mellan ducked out of the way without thinking, Anakin shrieked and hit him, Ciara cursed and pulled the other two away to regroup.
Obi-Wan stalked after them, mimicking the behavior of a jagliar, listening to Kiffu on how to move. When to attack and dodge.
This time, they almost had him. Obi-Wan tossed Anakin on top of the twins, grinning widely
“Much better. Keep it up, you're finally getting it. Getting what it means to be Kiffar. What it means to work in a group.”
Ciara groaned from the bottom of the pile. “Uh... how long are we going to keep this up?”
“Either until sunset, or you succeed in your goal three times in a row.”
They all groaned, but picked themselves up and discussed new strategies again. Obi-Wan gave them two minutes this time before ambushing them.
Obi-Wan watched the three learn the lessons, watched them grow just in the course of the afternoon. Watched his padawan prove that he was ready to be a Knight, in how he took charge, and how creative he could be. How adaptable he was, even without relying on the Force.
Most importantly, he watched Anakin grow more confident and sure of himself in a way that had been missing before. Now, for certain, he would be ready for his Trials. Obi-Wan could not wait.
.
Quinlan and Aayla were working together once more. Even though Aayla had been a Knight for a year and a half, they still worked together frequently. Aayla was still getting experience, after all, and they already worked well together.
And in the sort of mission they just got, that was important. Quinlan wished that he could have gone with Obi-Wan and Anakin to help Anakin, Ciara, and Mellan prepare for their Hunt, but they were barely able to spare Obi-Wan and Anakin, let alone Quinlan. Not with how many missions there were with the Republic starting to break apart. They were on the eve of war, and at this point, it wasn't a matter of if, but when and how, though many were still in denial.
Aayla waited until they were almost there to ask the burning question. “So... Is Senator Amidala nice?”
Quinlan chuckled. “Yes, she is, but she's also incredibly stubborn, holds strongly to her morals. Protecting her is going to be difficult. You'll get along great.”
“I'm not that bad!”
“No, but you know what it's like to be thought of as less because you're a woman. People think of her as delicate because she was Queen, but you know better.”
Aayla paused. “When you put it like that... So what if she wants to run right into danger?”
Quinlan shrugged. “Use your best judgement. You're a Knight, Aayla. You know our mission is to keep Padme safe from assassination. People may disagree with our methods, but as long as she's alive and relatively uninjured, we've done our jobs.”
Aayla nodded thoughtfully. “Like letting her run into danger could keep her safer if I'm right there rather than her sneaking off.”
“Precisely.” They ended their conversation there.
Padme smiled at the Jedi assigned to her. “Master Vos!”
“Senator Amidala! You look well. This is Knight Aayla Secura.”
“Nice to meet you, Knight Secura.” Padme knew full well Aayla was his padawan. He and Obi-Wan had kept in contact with her sporadically over the years, after all.
They discussed the plans for keeping her safe, and only once it was just them and Padme did they all drop the formalities. Quinlan knew that Padme hated all the formalities; it was one of the reasons she preferred to pretend to be a handmaiden. She could be less formal at least for a time.
“Quinlan, are you sure all these precautions are necessary?”
“They waited until your ship was on the landing pad to blow it up.” Quinlan responded. “That's not a choice many would make. The bomb was on the ship, they could have ensured no survivors, but left it open to survivors, and in a place that would be a visible example. With that, there's no telling what their goal will be, or how they do this.”
“I... I see.” Padme looked a bit shaken. “Then I will defer to your expertise.”
When the assassination attempt finally happened, they took care of it quickly. Then the probe appeared. Quinlan and Aayla exchanged looks.
Aaya grinned. “You're the better pilot, Quin!” And jumped out the window to grab it.
Quinlan was already on his way to find a speeder to aid in the chase. Padme was left a little bewildered at how quickly that happened. As well as a bit surprised at how determined to kill her someone was. There had to be something she could do, but for now, she had to trust in the two Jedi.
They almost lost the assassin, but the Force guided them, and, thankfully without doing so in front of witnesses, they had a changeling pinned down. Quinlan thought they were going to get answers, but poison dart. Typical. He examined it. It seemed familiar, probably one of the more obscure planets that bounty hunters might use.
Aayla sighed. “Well, now what?”
“Now we have to take stronger precautions for Padme, she's not going to like it, and we have a lead. I don't know if this is sloppy or calculated, but we have a lead.” Quinlan held up the dart.
“For now, we need to get some more sleep, and in the morning we'll make the proper report.”
“Wonderful. This is just what we needed with war so close.”
Quinlan glanced at her, having been studying the dart again. “That's the point, I'm sure.”
.
Quinlan was quite happy to leave Padme wrangling to Aayla. Aayla was a good Knight, and could handle it. They would probably find some way to bond, anyways. Quinlan had a bounty hunter to find.
Dex was as knowledgeable about such things as always, and soon Quinlan was trying to find Kamino on the maps.
“Do you need help, Master Vos?” Jocasta asked him.
“I've told you to call me Quinlan,” he grumbled. “I'm just trying to solve a mystery. Is it possible for someone to go in and erase information they don't want found? Even if it's like a whole planet?”
Jocasta frowned. “I suppose it would be, but they'd either need to be an excellent slicer, or have the right credentials. It would be easier if they were both. What are you looking for?”
“Someone who's never been wrong before on their information told me about a system named Kamino. It should be here, and it looks like there is gravity pulling objects in, right there.” Quinlan pointed. “But it's gone.”
“Sloppy work, then.” Jocasta nodded. “If I were trying to hide a system, I would make sure to hide the effects of gravity with something else. You will find what you're looking for there.”
Quinlan smiled. “Thank you, Jocasta. Looks like I have a trip to take.”
.
Aayla sighed. “I do understand the need to stand your ground, especially with how it looks. But that assassination attempt last night... multiple methods used, and the assassin was killed by the bounty hunter who hired her. You can't stick around.”
Padme crossed her arms. “And what about the investigation into that?”
“Quinlan is taking care of it, following the one lead we have.”
“So I am being sent home after just arriving.”
“Do you have any better ideas? At the least, if you want to do something about it, it will be easier from Naboo where no one recognizes you compared to here where all your movements will be noticed, especially after the attempt last night.”
Padme blinked in surprise. “You're not going to stop me from attempting to solve this on my own?”
Aayla laughed. “You're smart, stubborn, and don't like watching others sacrifice themselves for you when you're capable. Kind of like Jedi. And one of Quin's favorite strategies... Obi's too... Well, really any master is to keep padawans out of trouble by giving them the opportunity to help in smaller ways so that they don't go running headfirst straight into danger on their own. It's a strategy that works well on more than just padawans.”
“Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic,” Padme admitted sheepishly. “So the refugee ship is the best option?”
“Everyone will be expecting you to have security, be traveling on your own otherwise for the greatest safety. No one would ever expect you to be traveling in a big group with a young twi'lek as your only companion.”
Padme sighed. “Well, I suppose I should get ready.”
.
Anakin jolted awake, breathing hard. He frowned at the ceiling. That was... a really strange nightmare. Why was he dreaming of his mom dying on Tatooine? He'd just said goodnight to her a few hours ago; they were in the same house on Kiffu. That was a really weird dream to have.
Especially considering that if he was going to have a nightmare, it really should have been about the jagliar. Nothing in the lessons he had over three weeks fully prepared him to face it. It was terrifying, but they had prepared well, and relying on Kiffu turned out to be easier than Anakin had expected in the face of danger.
He of course still had a bite on his shoulder that got infected, and several scratch marks, but he had worked in sync with Ciara and Mellan, and they killed the jagliar, finished their Hunt, and earned their tattoos for their left arms. Anakin's tattoo symbolized courage against all odds while Ciara's was leading with quick thinking and Mellan's was free-spirited yet steadfast.
If anything, he should have had a nightmare of those heart-stopping moments. When Ciara fell from a tree and almost didn't grab onto a vine fast enough, when Mellan had been too busy joking around to see the death looming above him but managed to use his spear to hold off the jagliar thanks to Kiffu's warning... when Anakin was cornered and they were too far away to help, with their own injuries, and the jagliar bit down...
But no. Anakin had been dreaming about his mother dying on Tatooine and woke up terrified like that was a real concern. And the terror wasn't going away. With a grumble, he left his bed and carefully joined his family in his parents' room, his parents sleeping with the year and a half year old twins, Dylan and Devin, between them. The toddlers hadn't yet learned to sleep on their own outside of naps, which was normal for Kiffar.
Anakin smiled at the sight of his little siblings and then yawned, crawling into bed and curling up against his mom. Feeling her presence helped him calm, and soon he was asleep again