Anakin Skywalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
morally_cryptic) wrote2015-04-15 10:49 pm
morally_cryptic) wrote2015-04-15 10:49 pm
Entry tags:
[fic/rp] across the galaxy
[ooc: Just prompted by a little mental image of Anakin "stargazing" that popped to mind earlier.]
On Coruscant, it was impossible to see the stars, even if one was looking out from the Council room at the top of the Jedi Temple. An unfortunate side effect of so much light from so many buildings and various forms of transport speeding around the airways. Not to mention that there was simply so much starship traffic, one likely wouldn't be able to tell the lights of ships from the field of stars behind them anyway.
Anakin had discovered this unfortunate fact not long after he came to live at the Jedi temple. He'd thought that, surely, so close to the center of the galaxy, the sky would be full of stars to see that he'd never been able to see before on Tatooine. Instead it turned out that perhaps the only thing that was better about Tatooine than Coruscant was that the desert planet was so sparsely inhabited and that the skies were so clear. Even out on the Rim, the sky was full of stars and the spiral arm of the galaxy could be clearly seen arcing across it.
He didn't try to watch the night sky on Coruscant anymore, but he still kept up the habit of at least looking for a moment whenever he found himself on a new planet. At the center of the Republic, however, he has to content himself with substitutes.
Which is why he can be found in an empty classroom surrounded by a holographic rendering of the galaxy. He's been spending all afternoon, so far, carefully marking off different star systems in various designated colors. Technically the entire exercise could be done by a computer but that wasn't Anakin's purpose in doing it. It requires concentration, but it doesn't require him to spend much effort in actually thinking so the whole activity is almost meditative.
The first batch of colored systems is simple: yellow for those that Anakin has already been to. Naboo might possibly be a subtly brighter yellow than all the rest, as if he'd lingered on that one for a moment longer than the others. He'd once told Qui-Gon he was going to see them all and certainly he had a better start on most other inhabitants of the galaxy, but it was still extraordinarily minute compared to the sheer number of systems represented on the map.
The second batch are green, signifying systems where battles of the Clone War have been fought and the Republic retained (or gained) control. Another group are blue, for the Separatist-won battles.
And finally, there's a sprinkling of red dots across the galaxy, mostly concentrated Rimward, and these are for those systems where battles are currently raging. Places he should be where he could be doing some good and making a difference. Staring at those flashes of red, it was almost enough to have him just commandeering a starfighter and heading out somewhere...anywhere. After making sure orders somehow just happened to make it through the system so that Rex and the 501st would be meeting him, of course.
But it wasn't, quite, enough. Contrary to some people's beliefs, he did have enough self-awareness to recognize that any action along those lines would likely not end well. That didn't mean he didn't still feel the temptation and it's that thought that has him swiping a hand through the starfield and systematically clearing everything out again until only dots of yellow remain on the map. He stares at those longest before they're wiped clean as well.
On Coruscant, it was impossible to see the stars, even if one was looking out from the Council room at the top of the Jedi Temple. An unfortunate side effect of so much light from so many buildings and various forms of transport speeding around the airways. Not to mention that there was simply so much starship traffic, one likely wouldn't be able to tell the lights of ships from the field of stars behind them anyway.
Anakin had discovered this unfortunate fact not long after he came to live at the Jedi temple. He'd thought that, surely, so close to the center of the galaxy, the sky would be full of stars to see that he'd never been able to see before on Tatooine. Instead it turned out that perhaps the only thing that was better about Tatooine than Coruscant was that the desert planet was so sparsely inhabited and that the skies were so clear. Even out on the Rim, the sky was full of stars and the spiral arm of the galaxy could be clearly seen arcing across it.
He didn't try to watch the night sky on Coruscant anymore, but he still kept up the habit of at least looking for a moment whenever he found himself on a new planet. At the center of the Republic, however, he has to content himself with substitutes.
Which is why he can be found in an empty classroom surrounded by a holographic rendering of the galaxy. He's been spending all afternoon, so far, carefully marking off different star systems in various designated colors. Technically the entire exercise could be done by a computer but that wasn't Anakin's purpose in doing it. It requires concentration, but it doesn't require him to spend much effort in actually thinking so the whole activity is almost meditative.
The first batch of colored systems is simple: yellow for those that Anakin has already been to. Naboo might possibly be a subtly brighter yellow than all the rest, as if he'd lingered on that one for a moment longer than the others. He'd once told Qui-Gon he was going to see them all and certainly he had a better start on most other inhabitants of the galaxy, but it was still extraordinarily minute compared to the sheer number of systems represented on the map.
The second batch are green, signifying systems where battles of the Clone War have been fought and the Republic retained (or gained) control. Another group are blue, for the Separatist-won battles.
And finally, there's a sprinkling of red dots across the galaxy, mostly concentrated Rimward, and these are for those systems where battles are currently raging. Places he should be where he could be doing some good and making a difference. Staring at those flashes of red, it was almost enough to have him just commandeering a starfighter and heading out somewhere...anywhere. After making sure orders somehow just happened to make it through the system so that Rex and the 501st would be meeting him, of course.
But it wasn't, quite, enough. Contrary to some people's beliefs, he did have enough self-awareness to recognize that any action along those lines would likely not end well. That didn't mean he didn't still feel the temptation and it's that thought that has him swiping a hand through the starfield and systematically clearing everything out again until only dots of yellow remain on the map. He stares at those longest before they're wiped clean as well.
no subject
He just smiles and comes back around to crouch down by Malco. "He's right, you know. I'm not as nice as he is. He's the Negotiator, after all." And Anakin was the Hero With No Fear. Which really could imply all sorts of things if one had the right sort of imagination.
Something in Anakin's gaze must have been having an effect because he hadn't actually touched Malco and Anakin could still sense the flare of fear that emanated from him. Still, Malco shook his head. "I'll tell you nothing."
"You've served your purpose to them, Malco. Do you really think they aren't going to just round you up with the rest of their prisoners? You're dreaming."
no subject
Still, Obi-Wan is impressed at Malco's insistence at not speaking. By now, Jade has finished tending to Kista, and she's made the other woman as comfortable as possible. She moves over to the trio and stands over the traitor as she wipes her hands on a rag. The rag gets tossed aside and the anger in her gaze would almost shame Anakin on a bad day.
"I know you won't talk for them," she says, her voice quiet and deceptively calm. "But you will talk for me. And Master Skywalker is right, the Seps will take you prisoner. I, unlike the Jedi, have no problems with handing you over to them with the very convincing message that you double-crossed them to the Republic. I'm sure you know what Dooku does to those that fail him and his people."
i'm rolling with ventress here
So Malco can't quite repress a little shudder that comes over him, "she never gave me her name."
Time for Anakin to step in again, an intensity in his gaze that has little to do with the traitor in front of him and more to do with the sudden sensation that he knows exactly who he's referring to, "she?? What does she look like?"
no subject
Obi-Wan turns away with a grimace and a resigned sigh. Why is he not surprised.
"Of course it's her," he says to Anakin, taking a leap in reading into the feelings coming off of the younger man. "She's smart enough to not show her face, and if she did engage in a holo-transmission she would've been concealed somehow."
no subject
Jade glances between them, irritation and confusion evident on her face. "Well I'm glad you two know but could you please let me in on the secret?"
Anakin stands up and gives Malco a disgusted look, "her name is Asajj Ventress. She's an...acolyte...of Count Dooku. And she's almost as bad as Grievous." Just in a very different way. "You should probably just stay out of the way."
no subject
"Ventress being here makes keeping our involvement in this operation a secret much more complicated," Obi-Wan ponders aloud. "We can't just go out there and pretend to be merchants, because she knows us. And I don't think she'd believe that we just happened to be in the area for some other reason."
no subject
And even if they could disguise themselves, the first time they had to pull out their lightsabers, she'd know. She'd fought them enough times by this point to recognize their styles, he was certain.
Then, "....Jade, I don't suppose you have any fighter-type starships around?" Hey, as long as they hadn't started loading their prisoners, a few strafing runs on their ships might do the job and Jade could claim they were pirates that had recently been picked up. If nothing else, if they could knock out whichever ship was being used as the control for the battle droids, it would turn the tide in their favor, as far as numbers went.
no subject
Under the scrutiny of both Jedi she sighs and her shoulders sag. "We have a few. We use them to run escort on some of the larger merchant ships that we hit up. Not sure if they're going to be of much use in this case."
flip a coin, I guess?
Pause.
"They aren't dummy fighters, are they?" Seriously people, seriously. What are you even thinking?
My Percentile Die Says...
"Clearly you haven't experienced the sheer determination of will that is Anakin Skywalker," Obi-Wan says wryly. "If he says they'll work, then they'll work."
no subject
Not that he can promise he'll bring it back in one piece...
But now they have the beginnings of a plan, and it's something he knows he can do, so that's enough to settle him. "Okay, where are they?"
"You're in luck, they're on this side of the compound," Jade replies, "next hangar over
or whatever, in fact."And that had Anakin already heading for the door.
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He pauses briefly to ensure that Malco is tied up really nicely and then gags him. Then he's checking on Kista, frowning a little as he smooths hair off her forehead.
"Do whatever you need to, to keep him," a nod at Malco, "quiet and in line; and see if you can't drum up some blankets and other items to make Kista comfortable and keep her warm. Use whatever you need to of the bacta supply to keep her alive."
And then he's back to following Anakin.
no subject
And Anakin has to figure out which are going to be useful for them in a rather short period of time. So it's with a combination of actually looking at how they're put together and sinking into the Force to give him hints as to which will be most useful that he inspects them.
He walks by them all, running his hands over them as he goes until he finally points out two craft. They don't look like much, but they look like they'll do. "These...though we should still run system diagnostics, just in case." And make sure the weapons were live.
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"Yes, I would hate for something to suddenly go wrong while in flight," he agrees in regards to the diagnostics. "Hopefully that won't take too much longer? Our window of opportunity is starting to shrink rapidly."
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"It won't if you get started on yours," Anakin says as he hops up into the fighter he's chosen for himself.
And really, it didn't take so long at all. They weren't going to go through the full check up they might have in other situations. They were just going to have to take 'good enough'.
The droids won't know what hit 'em.
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He's done with his diagnostic in short order. "Looks functional to me. Any new or further objections on your end?"
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Maybe they'd get lucky and catch Ventress in the crossfire.
Probably not, but a guy can dream...
And with that sentiment, he took off, trusting Obi-Wan to follow.
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And it's here that he finally gets a good look at the compound and its layout and the sheer number of resources at this group's disposal.
"Remind me to sit Jade down and have a serious heart-to-heart about her and her people's real intentions, when this is over," he says over the securest comm channel he can find. "Because this can't be some simple refugee relocation program. I bet Malco probably used it as a means to get on Dooku's good side."
no subject
"My favorite sort of conversation," he says with a wry grin as they approach the droid carriers on the ground. They appeared to be in luck as mostly it seemed people were still being rounded up and...organized into groups? Split along some sort of lines that Anakin wasn't even going to try to decipher from his position in the sky. The important thing was that it appeared the droid ships were not yet loaded with living people.
Before the droids can compute what's about to come, he opens fire on the ships, aiming mostly to take out guns and propulsion systems but not actually make anything explode, if possible. At lot of those people might not be on the ships, but they're standing pretty close.
no subject
The minimal resistance by way of vulture droids - as in, there weren't as many as Obi-Wan expected there to be - indicated that the Confederacy had no reason to believe that the refugees would be capable of, or stupid enough to mount an aerial assault.
Which is nice, because Obi-Wan hates dog-fighting as much as he hats flying.
no subject
The one ship he can't catch is definitely not piloted by a droid at all and he has to watch in annoyance as Ventress jumps to hyperspace. Just as well, he knows, but it's still a little galling.
"I think we've done all we can do up here. Time for that chat with Jade?"
Hopefully she'll actually just be straight with them this time. They did just save her life and that of all these people, after all.
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It isn't long before they've landed and rejoined Jade, who's managed to procure some better medical treatment for Kista in their absence. She looks up as Obi-Wan re-enters the building.
She opens her mouth to speak, but Obi-Wan stops her with a raised hand.
"Yes, things are settled and your Separatist problems have gone away for the time being," he says, anticipating her question. "Now, we got a good look at your operation here, and I would like a better story than the one you've already given us on what, exactly, is going on here."
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Jade lets out a deep sigh. There really isn't any point in keeping things from them at this point, she knows that. "We weren't exactly looking for sanctuary. We were looking for a place of our own."
Which might mean taking a place of their own. Maybe pirate wasn't such a bad appellation after all.
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He's crossed his arms over his chest and isn't very amused at all this. He ignores Malco's muffled protests.
Jade spreads her hands in helpless defeat. "...Yes?"
no subject
Everyone seemed to have their own agenda here.
Then again, that was kind of par for the course with missions like this.
Jade's lips thin a little, "you'd have to ask her."