Yoda nodded to the student, who answered at once. "Because someone erased it from the archive memory."
"That's right!" another of the children agreed at once. "That's what happened! Someone erased it!"
"If the planet blew up, the gravity would go away," another one of the children called out.
Obi-Wan stared blankly at the excited group, stunned, but Yoda only chuckled.
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is," he explained. "Uncluttered. The data must have been erased."
Yoda started out of the room and Obi-Wan moved to follow, flicking his hand as he passed the reader shaft, Force-pulling the hologlobe back to his grasp and instantly dismissing the starry scene.
"To the center of the pull of gravity go, and find your planet you will," Yoda advised him.
"But Master Yoda, who could have erased information from the Archives? That's impossible, isn't it?" "Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is," Yoda replied with a frown. "Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will. May the Force be with you."
A thousand questions filtered through Obi-Wan's mind, but he understood that Yoda had just dismissed him. They each had their riddles, it seemed, but at least now Obi-Wan's path seemed much clearer before him. He gave a deferential bow, but Yoda, already back to his work with the children, didn't seem to notice. Obi-Wan walked away.
Soon after, not wanting to waste a moment, Obi-Wan was out on the landing platform standing beside his readied starfighter, a long and sleek delta- wing fighter, of a triangular design, with the cockpit set far aft. Mace Windu was there beside him, the tall and strong-featured Master regarding Obi-Wan with his typically calm and controlled demeanor. There was something reassuring about Mace Windu, a sense of power and, even more than that, of destiny. Mace Windu had a way of silently assuring all those around him that things would work out as they were supposed to.
"Be wary," he said to Obi-Wan, tilting his head back just a bit as he spoke, a posture that made him seem all the more impressive. "This disturbance in the Force is growing stronger."
Obi-Wan nodded, though in truth, his concerns were more focused and tangible at that moment. "I'm concerned for my Padawan. He is not ready to be on his own."
Mace gave a nod, as if to remind Obi-Wan that they had covered this already. "He has exceptional skills," the Master replied. "The Council is confident in its decision, Obi-Wan. Not all of the questions about him have been answered, of course, but his talents cannot be dismissed, and we are not disappointed in the progress he has made under your tutelage." Obi-Wan considered the words carefully and nodded again, knowing that he was walking a fine line here. If he overstated his concerns about Anakin's temperament, he might be doing a great disservice to the Jedi and to the galaxy. And yet, if he let the magnitude of his assignment in training Anakin Skywalker bring him to silence on legitimate questions, then was he doing great harm?
"If the prophecy is true, Anakin will be the one to bring balance to the Force," Mace finished.
"But he still has much to learn. His skills have made him… well-" Obi- Wan paused, trying to walk that delicate line. "-arrogant. I realize now what you and Master Yoda knew from the beginning. The boy was too old to start the training, and…"
The frown spreading on Mace Windu's face signaled Obi-Wan that he might be pushing a bit too hard.
"There's something else," Mace observed.
Obi-Wan took a deep and steadying breath. "Master, Anakin and I should not have been given this assignment. I'm afraid Anakin won't be able to protect the Senator."
"Why?"
"He has a… an emotional connection with her. It's been there since he was a boy. Now he's confused, and distracted." As he spoke, Obi-Wan started toward his star fighter. He climbed up the cockpit ladder and into his seat.
"So you have already stated," Mace reminded. "And your concerns were weighed properly, and did not change the decision of the Council. Obi-Wan, you must have faith that Anakin will take the right path." It made sense, of course. If Anakin was to become a great leader, a creature of prophecy, then surely his character tests must be passed. Anakin was waging one of those tests right now, Obi-Wan knew, off in seclusion on a distant planet with a woman whom he loved too deeply. He had to be strong enough to pass that test; Obi-Wan just hoped that Anakin recognized the trial for what it was.
"Has Master Yoda gained any insight as to whether or not this war will come about?" he asked, somewhat changing the subject, though he felt that it was all very connected. Finding the assassin, making peace with the separatists- all of these things would allow him to focus more closely on Anakin's training and would keep things at a more even keel around the troubled Padawan.
"Probing the dark side is a dangerous process," Mace stated. "I know not when he will choose to begin, but when he does, it is quite possible that he will remain in seclusion for days."
Obi-Wan nodded his agreement and Mace gave him a smile and a wave. "May the Force be with you."
"Set the course to the hyperspace ring, Arfour," Obi-Wan instructed his astromech droid, an R4-P unit that was hardwired into the left wing of the sleek starfighter. Silently, the Jedi Knight added to himself, Let's get this thing moving.
Chapter Fourteen
It was a scene of simplicity, of children playing and adults sitting quietly under the warm sun, or gossiping across neatly trimmed hedgerows. It was a scene of absolute normalcy for Naboo, but it was nothing like Anakin Skywalker had ever witnessed. On Tatooine, the houses were singular, out in the desert, or they were clustered tightly in cities like Mos Eisley, with its hustle and bustle and bright colors and brighter characters. On Coruscant, there were no streets like this one any longer. There were no hedgerows and trees lining the ground, just permacrete and old buildings and the gray foundations of the towering skyscrapers. People did not gossip, with children running carefree about them, in either place.
To Anakin, it was a scene of simple beauty.
He was back to wearing his Jedi robes, the peasant garb discarded. Padm walked alongside him in a simple blue dress that only seemed to enhance her beauty. Anakin kept glancing her way, stealing images of her to burn into his mind, to hold forever in a special place. She could be wearing anything, he realized, and still be beautiful.
Anakin smiled as he recalled the ornate outfits Padme had often worn as Queen of Naboo, huge gowns with intricate embroidery and studded with gemstones, tremendous headpieces of plumes and swirls and curves and twists.
He liked her better like this, he decided. All of the decorations of her Queenly outfits had been beautifully designed, but still could only detract from the more beautifully designed Padme. Wearing a great headpiece only hid her silken brown hair. Painting her face in whites and bright red only hid her beautiful skin. The embroidery on the great gowns only blurred the perfection of her form.
This was the way Anakin wanted to see her, where her clothing was just a finishing touch.
"There's my house!" Padme cried suddenly, startling Anakin from his pleasant daydreams.
He followed her gaze to see a simple but tasteful structure, surrounded, like everything on Naboo, by flowers and vines and hedges. Padme started off immediately for the door, but Anakin didn't follow right away. He studied the house, every line, every detail, trying to see in it the environment that had produced her. She had told him many stories of her childhood in this house during their trip from Coruscant, and he was replaying those tales, seeing them in context now that the yard was in view.
"What?" Padme asked him from some distance ahead, when she noticed that he was not following. "Don't tell me you're shy!"
"No, but I-" the distracted Anakin started to answer, but he was interrupted by the squeals of two little girls, running out from the yard toward his companion.
"Aunt Padme! Aunt Padme!"
Padme's smile went as wide as Anakin had ever seen it and she rushed ahead, bending low to scoop the pair, who looke
d to be no more than a few years old, one a bit taller than the other, into her arms. One had hair short and blond and curly, the other, the older of the two, had hair that resembled Padme's.
"Ryoo! Pooja!" Padme cried, hugging them and twirling them about. "I'm so happy to see you!" She kissed them both and set them down, then took them by the hand and led them toward Anakin.
"This is Anakin. Anakin, this is Ryoo and Pooja!"
The blush on the pair as they shyly said hello brought a burst of laughter from Padme and a smile to Anakin's face, though he was equally ill at ease as the two children.
The girls' shyness lasted only as long as it took for them to notice the little droid rolling behind Anakin, trying to catch up.
"Artoo!" they shouted in unison. Breaking away from Padme, they rushed to the droid, leaping upon him, hugging him cheek to dome.
And R2-D2 seemed equally thrilled, beeping and whistling as happily as Anakin had ever heard.
Anakin couldn't help but be touched by the scene, a view of innocence that he had never known.
Well, not never, he had to admit. There were times when Shmi had found some way to produce such moments of joy amid the drudgery that was life as a slave on Tatooine. In their own way, in that dusty, dirty, hot, and smelly place, Anakin and his mother had carved out a few instants of innocent beauty. Here, though, such moments seemed so much more the norm than the memorable exception.
Anakin turned back to Padme, to see that she was no longer looking his way, but had turned toward the house, where another woman, who looked very much like Padme, was approaching.
Not exactly like Padme, Anakin noted. She was a little older, a little heavier, and a little more… worn, was the only word he could think of. But not in a bad way. Yes, he could see it now, he thought, watching as she and Padme hugged tightly. This was whom Padme could become-more settled, more content, perhaps. Considering the amazing resemblance, Anakin was hardly surprised when Padme introduced the woman as her sister, Sola.
"Mom and Dad will be so happy to see you," Sola said to Padme. "It's been a difficult few weeks."
Padme frowned. She knew that word of the attempts on her life would have reached her parents' ears, and that was possibly the most disturbing thing of all to her.
Anakin saw it all on her face, and he understood it well, and he loved her all the more for that generosity. Padme wasn't really afraid of anything- she could handle the reality of her current situation, the reality of the fact that someone was trying to kill her, with determination and courage. But the one thing about it all that troubled her, aside from the political ramifications of such distractions, the ways they might weaken her position in the Senate, was the effect of such danger upon those she loved. He knew that she didn't want to bring pain to her family.
Anakin, who had left his mother as a slave on Tatooine, could appreciate that.
"Mom's making dinner," Sola explained, noting Padme's discomfort and generously changing the subject. "As usual, your timing is perfect." She started toward the house. Padme waited for Anakin to move beside her, then took his hand, looked up, smiled at him, and led him toward the door. R2-D2 rolled along right behind, with Ryoo and Pooja bouncing all about him. The interior of the house was just as simply wonderful and just as full of life and soft color as was the yard. There were no glaring lights, no beeping consoles or flickering computer screens. The furniture was plush and comfortable; the floors were made of cool stone or covered in soft carpeting.
This was not a building as Anakin had known on Coruscant, and not a hovel, as he had known all too well on Tatooine. No, seeing this place, this street, this yard, this home, made the young Padawan even more convinced of what he had declared to Padme not so long before: that if he had grown up on Naboo, he would never leave.
The next introductions were a bit more uncomfortable, but only for a moment, as Padme showed Anakin to Ruwee, her father, a strong-shouldered man with a face that was plain and strong and compassionate all at once. He wore his brown hair short, but still it was a bit out of place, a bit… comfortable. Padme introduced Jobal next, and Anakin knew that the woman was her mother without being told. The moment he met her, he understood where Padme had gotten her innocent and sincere smile, a look that could disarm a mob of bloodthirsty Gamorrean raiders. Jobal's face had that same comforting quality, that same obvious generosity.
Soon after, Anakin, Padme, and Ruwee were sitting at the dinner table, comfortably quiet and listening to the bustle in the next room, which included the clanking of stoneware plates and mugs, and Sola repeatedly saying, "Too much, Mom." And every time she said that, Ruwee and Padm smiled knowingly.
"I doubt they've been starving all the way from Coruscant," an exasperated Sola said as she exited the kitchen, glancing back over her shoulder as she spoke. She returned carrying a bowl full of food.
"Enough to feed the town?" Padme asked Sola quietly as her older sister put the bowl on the table.
"You know Mom," came the answer, and the tone told Anakin that this was not an isolated incident, that Jobal was quite the hostess. Despite the fact that he had eaten recently, the bowl of food looked and smelled temptingly good.
"No one has ever left this house hungry," Sola explained.
"Well, one person did once," Padme corrected. "But Mom chased him down and dragged him back in."
"To feed him or cook him?" the quick-witted Padawan retorted, and the other three stared at him for just a moment before catching on and bursting out in laughter.
They were still chuckling when Jobal entered the room, holding an even larger bowl of steaming food, which of course only made them laugh all the louder. But then Jobal fixed an imposing stare over her family and the chuckling quieted.
"They arrived just in time for dinner," Jobal said. "I know what that means." She set the plate down near Anakin and put her hand on his shoulder. "I hope you're hungry, Anakin."
"A little." He looked up and gave her a warm smile.
The look of gratitude was not lost on Padme. She tossed a little wink his way when he looked back at her. "He's being polite, Mom," she said. "We're starving."
Jobal grinned widely and nodded, offering superior glances at Sola and Ruwee, who just laughed again. It was all so comfortable to Anakin, so natural and so… so much like what he had always been wanting in his life, though perhaps he had not known it. This would be perfect, absolutely perfect, except that his mother wasn't there.
A brief cloud passed over his face as he thought of his mother on Tatooine, and considered the disturbing dreams that had been finding their way into his sleep of late. He pushed the thoughts away quickly and glanced around, glad that no one seemed to have noticed.
" If you're starving, then you came to the right place at the right time," Ruwee said, looking at Anakin as he finished. "Eat up, son!"
Jobal and Sola took their seats and began passing the food bowls all around. Anakin took a good helping of several different dishes. The food was all unfamiliar, but the smells told him that he wouldn't be disappointed. He sat quietly as he ate, listening with half an ear to the chatter all about him. He was thinking of his mom again, of how he wished he could bring her here, a free woman, to live the life she so deserved. Some time passed before Anakin tuned back in, cued by the sudden seriousness in Jobal's voice as she said to Padme, "Honey, it's so good to see you safe. We were so worried."
Anakin looked up just in time to see the intense, disapproving glare that Padme answered with. Ruwee, obviously trying to dispel the tension before it could really begin, put his hand on Jobal's arm and quietly said, "Dear…"
"I know, I know!" said the suddenly animated Jobal. "But I had to say it. Now it's done."
Sola cleared her throat. "Well, this is exciting," she said, and everyone looked at her. "Do you know, Anakin, you're the first boyfriend my sister ever brought home?"
"Sola!" Padme exclaimed. She rolled her eyes. "He isn't my boyfriend! He's a Jedi assigned by the Senate to protect me."
Padme's sigh was intermixed with a groan. "It's not, Mom," she said. "I promise. Anyway, Anakin's a friend. I've known him for years. Remember that little boy who was with the Jedi during the blockade crisis?"
A couple of "ahs" of recognition came back in response, along with nodding heads. Then Padme smiled at Anakin and said, with just enough weight to make him recognize that her previous claims about his place here weren't entirely true, "He's grown up."
Anakin glanced at Sola and saw that she was staring at him, scrutinizing him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Honey, when are you going to settle down?" Jobal went on. "Haven't you had enough of that life? I certainly have!"
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (star wars) Page 15
