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The two Jedi and one boy stood in the cold corridor with only the faint hum of the two blue laser shields breaking the silence. The tension in the air was palpable. Anakin's confession paralyzed the two Jedi. He regarded them calmly as they stared at him in shock, horror, and finally composed themselves enough to fake the serene Jedi calm that they wished they felt. They both could sense without a doubt that Anakin was telling the truth. Neither spoke as they probed him with the Force in an effort to discover more.
"So," Anakin spoke casually. "What now?"
"What do you feel you deserve?" Master Qui-gon answered stiffly. Obi-wan was silent, as he didn't trust himself to speak calmly.
"That's a loaded question isn't it? At this point, I don't think either of you have any choice in what will happen next." Anakin said seriously.
Obi-wan sighed, "You are right. We will take you back to Coruscant to be judged by the Jedi Council."
"Sleep, Anakin" Obi-wan attempted to use the Force to make the boy fall unconscious. He wasn't really surprised that it didn't work.
Anakin shook his head and turned his back to them. He walked as far away from the Jedi as he could go and went to stand facing the other blue laser shield.
Qui-gon pulled out his comlink and called the second Jedi team that was in a ship orbiting the planet. "We have trapped him. We may need your assistance to subdue him. We are in the Intov Mechanic building on the south side of the city."
"Understood, we are landing now." Came the reply. Qui-gon replaced the comlink to his belt and looked up as he felt a large surge in the Force.
Once again, Qui-gon and Obi-wan were shocked speechless. Anakin Skywalker walked slowly through the other laser shield. He turned around for a moment to smile at them and then dashed out of sight.
Quickly, they both ran to the nearest terminal to tell the security officer to disengage the lasers. Neither bothered trying their comlinks. They knew that Anakin was certainly jamming them now.
"At least he does feel guilty." Obi-wan said quietly.
"Yes, there is still hope."
The laser shields retracted and the race to catch Anakin was on.
***
"Transmit the signal to start the ship, Kaely." Anakin told the little droid nestled in his pack. He squinted in the bright, mid-day sunlight. Overcoming the guards outside of the building had been easy with the Force.
She complied and answered with a confirmative beep. He ran down the streets and leaped over passing vehicles as he made his way towards the hanger where his ship was docked. Up ahead, he could sense that three more Jedi were coming his way and making no effort to hide themselves. Suddenly, Kaely emitted a shrill warning that was unfortunately becoming more and more familiar.
"Not now, please, not now!" Anakin moaned despair. He turned down an alley and cut across the residential district. He ignored the strange looks that the people gave him as he ran by their houses and through their lawns. Desperately, he tried to concentrate for the battle to come.
***
They caught up with him in the deserted courtyard of an estate on the outer edge of the city limits. The First one came from the left. But Anakin knew this trick. It was a ploy to distract him from the real danger. He spun abruptly and ducked the Second who came from behind him. The Third dropped on him from above. However, Anakin knew that maneuver, too. He slid quickly to one side and dodged again. He ignored them as they issued the standard, "you will come with us" speech.
Anakin crouched low and ready. He was determined not to be captured. You won't get me! He thought coldly. Not now, not ever. He flipped over the First and kicked the Second in the head as hard as he could. I'd rather die then go with them! He skipped out of the First's attempt to grab him and watched aghast as the Second recovered and stood up.
A blow to his head brought Anakin back to reality. He had ignored the Third and it nearly was his undoing. Fortunately the strike was intended to merely knock him unconscious rather than kill him. Obviously, they didn't know that Anakin was tougher then average for his age. He pretended to collapse. When the Third came closer to determine if he was all right Anakin sprung up and aimed powerful kicks to both the Third's and First's midsections. They doubled over and the Third fell down.
The Second lunged erratically at him. Anakin was forced to dodge wildly and nearly lost his fingers when the Second smashed his hand into a wall. Franticly, Anakin wrenched his left hand out of the Second's grasp. He vaulted upward and flipped back in a effort to gain some distance.
Anakin carefully flexed his hand. He didn't dare look down at it. From the amount of pain emanating from it he felt sure that it was still intact. He gingerly moved each finger and tried not to wince. I hope nothing is broken. The Second and First were beginning to close in on him. They are trying to corner me.
The Second ran forward and feinted a strike at Anakin's legs. But Anakin saw it and with a roundhouse kick he dislocated the Second's shoulder. The First took that as an opportunity to snag Anakin's tunic and pin the boy to the wall.
No! Anakin struggled. He fumbled at his pack and tried to open it and push away the Second's arms off of him. Finally, his hand snaked inside and he grabbed Kaely. "Sting!" he commanded. Little K-LE1 opened one of her compartments and fired a tiny but powerful laser beam that burned across both of the Second's forearms. Anakin used an elbow strike to shove the Second away and slipped out of danger.
Anakin eyed them warily. He knew that he had to take them completely down. I can't risk letting even one of them escape. They can't ever have a chance to tell anyone about what they have seen me do. With that last thought, Anakin ceased his dodging and attacked with the intent to tear all three of them apart.
***
Anakin's presence in the Force unexpectedly intensified. All at once, Qui-gon's and Obi-wan's ability to sense him went from a vague direction to an absolute location. And then it reduced back to vague again. However, it lasted long enough for them to sense exactly where he had just been.
"What did Anakin just do?" Obi-wan gasped in surprise.
"We will know soon." Qui-gon answered in a worried tone.
If it was possible, they began to run even faster. At the end of the next street they turned and discovered an unexpected sight. There on the pavement lay scattered bits and pieces of three large battle droids of indeterminate type. More pieces of metal adorned the ground of the courtyard beyond.
"What?" Obi-wan murmured in confusion.
Qui-gon paused to look at a nearby limb for a moment. It looked familiar in a way he couldn't decipher. Dismissing it from his mind for the time being, he called to Obi-wan. "We must keep going."
They looked up as the second team of Jedi rushed up to them. Master Deyonna, Knight Suoixna and Knight Gnirit all came to a halt when they saw Qui-gon and Obi-wan alone in the street.
"Where is the boy?" Master Deyonna asked.
"He escaped." Obi-wan gave the obvious answer curtly. He led the other Jedi in a run towards the hanger bays.
"He can not go far with his ship impounded." Master Deyonna surmised. She looked at Obi-wan. "However he might steal a ship."
"Master Stiaw's team can intercept him if it comes to that." Qui-gon reminded them all.
"Our comlinks don't work." Knight Suoixna informed them.
"We know. Anakin is jamming them." Qui-gon told him.
As they approached the hangers, they could all sense that Anakin was inside his own ship's hanger already.
"Master Deyonna, go with your team to your ship and take off. Get out of his jamming range and contact Master Stiaw. Be ready to disable Anakin's ship if we don't catch him."They nodded and left as Qui-gon and Obi-wan went to confront Anakin again. They could hear the whine of a ship's engines as they approached the hanger entrance. Impoundment of his ship certainly wasn't going to stop Anakin from leaving. The boy was quite resourceful and had no fear of the law when he could simply use another false ID and name for his ship.
They arrived too late and could only watch in remorse as Anakin flew away.
Qui-gon bowed his head. "He will elude them."
"I know." Obi-wan answered.
***
When Qui-gon and Obi-wan returned to their ship, they were not surprised to learn that Anakin had evaded capture. They took off to join the other two Jedi vessels in orbit.
The leader of the third team, Master Stiaw contacted them first. "We are plotting his possible hyperspace vectors now."
Master Deyonna called in from the second ship. "We should spilt up to cover as many of the locations as quickly as we can."
"We agree." Obi-wan answered for himself and Master Qui-gon.
"Also, we should simply disable his ship this time." Master Stiaw said over the ship's com.
"It would take him by surprise." Master Deyonna agreed.
"However, he will certainly attempt to steal a ship once he discovers his error." Obi-wan pointed out.
"I have a list of systems coming through, transmitting now." Master Stiaw told them.
Obi-wan and Qui-gon examined the list. It was a little long due to the fact that they were so close to the Core. Obi-wan looked over at his former teacher for guidance.
"Which is he going to?" he asked.
Qui-gon finished looking at the names and sat back in the co-pilots chair. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the Force. It was an ability that Obi-wan had not fully learned yet and would not conquer for a few more years.
"Yaw-sihtog." Qui-gon answered.
Obi-wan relayed their choice to the other six Jedi. Master Stiaw decided that his team would go to Eno Gnorw and Master Deyonna chose Tidessim. They all bid each other farewell and left to their first destinations.
"If we don't catch him first..." Qui-gon began saying.
"I know." Obi-wan replied.
***
Anakin Skywalker was exhilarated. Ha! Did those Jedi really think they could out fly me? He grinned smugly at the starlines of hyperspace outside of the cockpit window. He flexed his bruised hand slowly, relieved that there were no permanent injuries. A faint, repetitive beeping sound started inside of his pack.
"Alright Kaely." Anakin said as he opened the bag. He started to move the datacards around searching for her. The beeping turned into a shrill squeak.
"What?" Anakin said. "I'm trying!" He removed some of the datacards and shoved his hand down to the bottom and quickly pulled it back out when K-LE1 pinched his hand with her little grasping arm.
"HEY! What'd you do that for?!" he glared at the tiny droid hidden somewhere in the dark bag. "I'm doing the best I can!"
He grabbed the pale green droid and set her on the computer console. Kaely began to scold him savagely.
"Quit fussing, you're not hurt, Little Miss Impatient. I didn't even scratch your paint job." Anakin shoved the datacards back in the bag hastily. Kaely continued to titter angrily at him.
"If you aren't nice," he warned. "I won't teach you to fly."
Instantly she became quiet. He knew how much she loved new parts and upgrades. He closed the pack and picked her up. "You were very brave against that big droid, Kaely."
Kaely flashed her eyes at him in disbelief.
"No really," he said. "I'm very proud of you!"
She happily peeped out a little tune like a bird in response to his praise. Anakin smiled down at the small droid in his hand as he walked out of the cockpit and into the common room. He placed her on the table and began to pull open drawers and compartments. "Let's see what we've got here." he murmured aloud. "I need these coils, hmmm and this, no it's too big." He was distracted by an annoying humming sound. Anakin looked in the direction of the noise.
Kaely was wheeling around as fast as she could in circles in the middle of the table.
"Kaely!" Anakin sputtered. "Stop that!"
The little droid engaged her brakes and slid right off onto the floor. Anakin got up and walked over to her in exasperation. "I can't take my eyes off you for a minute!" he said looking down at her. "Do I have to order you to sit still?"
Her only response was to squawk at him. "I don't care if you are bored or whatever. You'll wear your wheels down and I don't want to have to keep replacing them all the... ACK! There's skid marks on the table top!"
Anakin picked Kaely up. "Look what you did!" he said indignantly.
Kaely scanned the table with her yellow eyes and then looked up at him and whistled guilelessly.
Anakin sighed. He put Kaely back down on the table. "Don't move." he insisted.
He returned to the cabinets and finished collecting the parts he needed and grabbed his toolbox. He sat down on the old bench and began to assemble tiny repulsor lifts. As he worked K-LE1 swiveled her eyes and examined the parts he had placed by her. She watched as her master put on his magnifying goggles. When she was sure he wasn't looking Kaely silently opened one of her compartments and extended her tiny grasping arm. She lifted it up and reached into the box far above her and picked up a tiny welder. Kaely looked at it curiously and set in quietly in front of her. Slowly she stretched her arm as far as it would go to grab more objects out of the toolbox.
Anakin looked up in surprise when his hand failed to pick up the pliers he knew were in his toolbox. He realized suddenly that Kaely was too quiet. That's a bad sign. Snagging his goggles off he looked down at the now empty box and pile of tools in front of his droid. Kaely quickly dropped what she was examining and began to look around the room innocently.
"I ain't falling for it." Anakin told her.
***
Anakin walked briskly long the top of a tall stone wall. It was a beautiful day and he'd just earned a lot of money. His buyer had been very pleased with the datacards Anakin had stolen. These jobs aren't half as bad as I thought they'd be. It was a very convenient arrangement. His clients didn't want anyone to know who they were and they didn't want to know who they were hiring. They only wanted something brought to them. Of course, Anakin always checked them out. They only thought they were anonymous. I'm sure Dr. Dabton feels a bit guilty paying me to steal the evidence he needs to use in court to bring down Intov Mechanic Company for copyright fraud. But he'll get over it. I wonder what they'd all think if they knew they hired a kid who is just about to turn thirteen?
"Kaely, slow down." Anakin called to his little droid. Kaely was having a blast. She swooped and glided in the air around him. He could have caught a public ground transport back to his ship, but he wanted Kaely to have a chance to practice flying more. She sang and whistled bird calls that she heard. They startled a large bird resting on top of the wall and Kaely started to chase it.
"No." Anakin ordered. "Leave it alone."
But K-LE1 didn't listen. She flew erratically around the hapless bird as it snapped at her with its beak. Kaely squealed in surprise when she found herself being pulled backwards. Anakin calmly plucked his disobedient droid out of the air with the Force. He held her suspended in front of him.
"When I say no," he began lecturing and then snatched her quickly and jumped off the wall as a blaster bolt streaked past where he had just stood. Kaely shrieked in protest as Anakin stuffed her in his pocket. "Quiet." he whispered and fled.
***
Anakin was sweating, his face was red and haggard as though he'd just ran a marathon. And in a way, he had.
"This," he gasped. "has GOT to STOP!"
Everywhere he went those droids followed. How do they keep finding me? They always tried to capture him. They had tried throwing nets, darts, gas bombs, but they had never shot at him before. Obviously, whoever kept sending them had decided that it didn't matter anymore whether they brought Anakin back uninjured. Or in one piece.
This is bad. Anakin thought. A sharp pain began in his head and quickly spread to engulf his entire body. For a moment he thought he'd been shot, until he saw an all too familiar glow begin to emit through his skin and clothes. /Oh, no. Not this, not now! Panicking, he pulled out Kaely. "Go to the ship, fast." he told her through his gritted teeth. He watched her speed away and leaped to avoid three more blaster shots.
Without warning the light surrounding Anakin expanded and burst around him. The shockwave violently threw all five droids to the ground. Their metal bodies and limbs melted and shattered like glass. Anakin collapsed to the ground.
The sound of approaching footsteps brought him back to his senses. Anakin looked up to see Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan standing over him. Qui-gon knelt beside him and reached out his hand, "Will you let us help you now?"
***
Anakin looked up at them with wild eyes. His head was pounding and he was breathing very heavily. He lay flat on his back in the middle of a slightly scorched circle on the road. His blue eyes opened and closed very slowly.
"Can you hear me?" Qui-gon asked. Please answer me, Ani. Anakin was silent and didn't move.
Obi-wan moved to put his arms under Anakin's shoulders to lift him up. He jerked back as a finger of electricity arced from Anakin and shocked him.
"What was that!" Obi-wan looked down at the boy in surprise.
"No.." Anakin mumbled. "You'll..."
"We'll what, Ani?" Qui-gon asked urgently.
"Be hurt..don't." He struggled to lift his hand and waved it at the Jedi, trying to indicate that they should move back. His labored breathing increased. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut in pain.
"We can stop the pain." Qui-gon tried to tell Anakin. Why won't he let us help? he thought in confusion.
A golden glow began to seep through Anakin's skin and shine through his clothes. It would have appeared beautiful if not for the look of agony on the boy's face.
"Qui-gon move back." Obi-wan said in alarm. He looked at the remains of the strange battle droids.
"He needs help." Qui-gon argued.
"This is too dangerous, we must get out of the way!" Obi-wan insisted. Why doesn't he sense it? Obi-wan thought in frustration.
"No." Qui-gon refused to budge.
Obi-wan was torn. As evidenced by the destroyed droids around them, Anakin's light was a very bad thing. Sometimes, I wonder if I must save Qui-gon from himself. Resigned to their fate, he braced himself and reached out his hand. Obi-wan stood ready to grab his former master out of the way.
"Move!" Anakin yelled.
Qui-gon leaped backward as the light clinging to Anakin increased and expanded to churn in the air around him. White and yellow sparks danced in the air and further burnt the ground. It began to overload the two Jedi's senses. Anakin was perfectly still on the pavement as the Force battered at him. The Jedi were puzzled that the Force could be so painful.
Master Qui-gon closed his eyes and probed the air around Anakin. Obi-wan looked at him carefully as Qui-gon used the Force to slow down some of the particles of light. Slowly at first, Obi-wan also began making the air heavy and thick to slow the wild luminescence.
Anakin strained to stop the volcano in his head. He could feel the Jedi's efforts, but didn't believe they would be enough. Don't they know that they'll... NO! I won't let them. With a mighty surge of the Force, Anakin flooded himself with power and froze the light. For a moment the pain nearly drove him mad, but then he felt Qui-gon's quiet presence and Obi-wan's determination. Steadily, Anakin snuffed each spark out. He fell into blissful unconsciousness.
***
Anakin awakened in one of the medical centers on Yaw-sihtog. Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan stood on either side of the bed. They didn't bother greeting him or asking how he felt. They immediately went right to interrogating him.
"You must talk to us!" Obi-wan demanded.
"No!"
"We need to know..."
Anakin interrupted. "No, you don't. It won't help!"
"Anakin!" Master Qui-gon said severely. "Obi-wan is right."
Anakin sat up and glared at them. He seemed to be weighing whether it would be worth it or not. The Jedi returned both gave him identical looks of disappointment. Anakin slammed his fists into the soft cushions in frustration. He tried to get up.
"Ani, be still." Qui-gon ordered and gently pushed Anakin back.
"You will have to tell us eventually." Obi-wan told him. "You may as well start now."
"Fine." Anakin answered begrudgingly.
"Good." Qui-gon said.
"What do you want to know first?"
"What in space was that light?" Obi-wan asked shortly.
"I don't know." Anakin spoke saucily.
"Anakin." Qui-gon warned.
He sighed. "I've always fought it. In the beginning, the glowing only started when I meditated." Anakin looked at Qui-gon. "You saw me do it once."
"When?" Obi-wan asked.
"On Queen Amidala's ship, while we were traveling back to Naboo." Qui-gon answered. He looked over at Anakin. "Does it still cause you pain?"
"Yes, it often hurt at first, so I just didn't meditate. But later it would occur while I was sleeping and the pain would wake me. Somehow, I guess I learned to stop the pain or maybe I just got used to it. I don't know."
Obi-wan poured a glass of water and held it out to Anakin. The boy's hand shook badly as he tried to reach for it. "The pirates rarely saw it happen."
"What happened?" Qui-gon asked quietly.
"I suppose you know by now that the Diputs pirate gang kept me." Anakin stated. "The other kids were smart. They didn't use the Force to fight them off like I did. So, the pirates thought that they were all just regular kids. They took them all to the cargo hold and sold them as slaves. The pirates were S'sorg. You know, those big hulking people with insect-like heads from Sknits. They don't think twice about selling kids as slaves. S'sorg think that all other races in the galaxy are inferior. But, they decided it would be more profitable to keep me."
Obi-wan and Qui-gon looked at each other as Anakin paused to try to catch his breath. They hadn't known that. None of the other children had said anything about seeing Anakin using the Force. Most of them had never even noticed the boy as he traveled with them. They hadn't described their attackers very well, either. It had made it very difficult for the Jedi to find them, especially since they had never discovered the name of the pirate group.
"The pirates used you to help them steal things." Obi-wan surmised.
Anakin nodded. "You know the drill, if I refused they threatened to beat me to death. About what I expected. I was able to draw the line at opening locks and the really bad stuff. They had only seen me lift things, so I let them believe that's all I could do. Until they saw me glow once. Fortunately, they couldn't ever find any use for it. Not that they didn't try."
"This, glowing, it has become much worse now?" Obi-wan inquired softly.
"Yeah." Anakin hung his head. His face contorted with emotion. Guilt and disgust were the chief feelings that the Jedi could sense emanating from the boy.
"It happened really bad while we were landing in a hanger of a planet I don't know the name of. The pirates never told me where we were or where we were going. And except for when they needed me to move something, I was always confined to the ship."
Anakin paused again. Willfully, he worked up the courage to continue. Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan waited silently. They did not want to rush him or make this anymore difficult for him. The boy's face relaxed a little and he took a deep breath.
"I had little warning before I saw the glow. I was a bit surprised that it was starting while I was awake and not meditating, but then the pain began. I think I passed out because the next thing I remember is lying in a crater."
Anakin tried to drink from his glass and nearly dropped it. Qui-gon reached out to help him and the boy swallowed the cool water greedily. They knew that he was reluctant to resume his explanation. Obi-wan couldn't help but give him a stern look. Anakin frowned, but decided it would be better to keep talking.
"The first thing I noticed was I had no clothes on and I was sun burnt all over." Anakin described. "I was confused to find I still had hair on my head, even though it was singed. When I climbed out of the crater I saw that the ship, hanger and all twenty-seven pirates were gone."
"I had totally incinerated them."
He waited for their reaction. Qui-gon's eyes widened slightly and Obi-wan sat back a little, but neither spoke nor offered any sign of comfort or disgust. Anakin pressed on.
"I stole some clothes, stole a ship, broke into the pirates' money and searched for a crack in the galaxy to hide in. I knew I had to get as far away from the populated worlds as I could. I eventually made it to a small, uninhabited moon in an unsettled system."
Finally, the Jedi began to talk. "And then it happened again." Obi-wan said as a statement not a question.
Anakin nodded. "I had several more bad episodes while I was there. It took I think a year to learn shut it off."
"So now you can control it?" Master Qui-gon asked.
"Sorta, I thought I could at least suppress it. Obviously, I was wrong. So, you see, going to Coruscant would be a very bad idea."
***
Anakin crossed his arms in front of him and boldly stated. "I'd rather not talk anymore." He looked at Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan meaningfully. It was a clear indication that he would answer no more questions.
Qui-gon nodded. "Very well. You must rest now. We will take you to Coruscant after the healers release you."
"I really don't need to stay here." Anakin insisted.
"Ani," Obi-wan said. "You were unconscious and in severe pain..."
"Am I bleeding or missing limbs?" Anakin asked sarcastically.
"You passed out." Obi-wan reminded him.
"I'm fine now!"
"Cease the argument." Master Qui-gon ordered.
The command made Anakin shut his mouth with a frown. Obi-wan, however, looked at his former master with one raised eyebrow and a smirk. Qui-gon pretended not to notice.
"Perhaps we should be going." Master Qui-gon said slowly and deliberately. Obi-wan looked at him cautiously and glanced at the boy. Anakin didn't seem to notice, he was too busy slouching and scowling.
"Can you walk?" Obi-wan asked Anakin suddenly.
"Yeah." Anakin drawled.
Qui-gon reached out a hand to help him up, but the boy refused it. Quickly, the three of them snuck out of the building.
***
"Quicker." Obi-wan told Anakin as they jogged down the street.
"Why don't we just take a public transport then?" Anakin asked in confusion.
"Too dangerous," Was Qui-gon's reply.
Anakin looked at him intently. It finally dawned on him that they were both acting strangely. Tentatively, he expanded his range of perception with the Force. A feeling of disquiet hung in the air. It had no direction, yet it felt near. He sensed no danger, but felt threatened just the same.
"What's wrong?" the boy asked them.
"Good afternoon."
The two Jedi stopped short at the voice. Anakin was startled when he realized that he could not sense who was speaking or where they were. He was pretty sure that the Jedi couldn't either. They had turned their backs to him and each scanned the area with the Force.
"I do hope that you won't be too disappointed when I relieve you of your young charge." the mysterious voice said. It wasn't very deep, nor too high and Anakin was hard pressed to guess at whether it was a man, woman, or alien speaking.
"It's from a comlink." Master Qui-gon told him.
"Yes," the voice said. "I'm terribly sorry that I can't be with you, but my associates will keep you company."
Several large battle-style droids appeared at either end of the street and even a few were on the rooftops. Instantly, Qui-gon and Obi-wan ignited their lightsaber's in anticipation.
"Keep out of the way, Ani." Qui-gon ordered the boy.
"No problem," Anakin said jauntily. "I'm sure the two of you can handle these guys just fine." Instantly, he bolted and flipped over the three droids ahead of them and ran as fast as he could. The Jedi were surprised for only a moment before the droids began to close in on them. None of the droids turned to pursue the boy. Either they weren't very smart droids, or they had been ordered not to.
***
Anakin stumbled into his ship. "Kaely!" he called, "Kaely!" He scanned the dimly lit interior in confusion. It's oddly quiet in here. Normally, K-LE1 would be singing a little song and playing with something when she was waiting for him to return from a job or meeting. It was in general a nuisance because she often got into things she knew she shouldn't. Like the time she opened every single ration package in the kitchen cabinet. And she rarely remembered to put away her "toys" when done. Yet there was nothing amiss that he could see. Did she get lost on the way back here? Anakin thought worriedly.
K-LE1 came flying from the cockpit and zoomed around his face anxiously. She beeped and whistled loudly in a panic.
"What's wrong." Anakin was puzzled and reached out his senses to probe the ship with the Force. He sensed no danger. I wish I knew how to make an interpreter's voice box small enough for Kaely. It will probably be decades before its possible. Anakin thought.
"Quiet." he told the small droid that was buzzing in annoyance. "I said quiet." he repeated. Quiet. That's it! It's too quiet in here!
"Kaely, why haven't you started the pre-flight sequence?" he looked at his tiny green droid in surprise and disapproval.
Kaely hovered and gave a little wail as she led her master to the cockpit. Anakin sat down in the pilot's seat and examined the ship's readings and tried to activate the engines. Several of the screens refused to display and warning lights were lit all over the board. A rumble and low whine was the ship's only response before quitting. The computer flashed a error message at him. Anakin looked down in shock.
"What have those Jedi done to my ship!" Anakin yelled in exasperation. He got down on his knees and franticly began pulling off the front panels of the control board. He looked around inside, hoping to see what had been tampered with.
"I bet this was Obi-wan's idea." he spat in disgust. Anakin pulled and tugged at the mess of colorful wires. He examined each one in turn for breaks or disconnections. He felt his frustration increase and his anger begin to rise in earnest.
Kaely whistled at him. He half turned to see her slowly dragging his heavy toolbox into the cockpit. Her poor little grasping arm looked as if it was about to be pulled out of its compartment. Hastily, Anakin slid the box the rest of the way with the Force. He flung it open and began grabbing tools.
"How dare they touch my ship!" He pounded the deck plates in fury with his already sore fists.
Kaely began to peep at him derisively. She flashed her yellow eyes and flew around to hover in his way. She scolded him loudly for losing his temper.
"Getta away!" Anakin bellowed at her.
Kaely reversed her tiny repulsor lift engines away from him in surprise. She thunked lightly against the metal wall with a wail. Whimpering, she skyrocketed out of the cockpit. Anakin put his head in his hands and sighed.
***
"Kaely?" Anakin whispered. "I'm sorry Kaely. Don't cry. Come out please."
K-LE1 was very stubborn and obviously wasn't going to come out. I've got to remember that she is still a baby. She does her best. He hunted through the small ship's main room and sleeping cabin. His droid was so small she could be hiding literally anywhere in the ship. Especially now that she could fly. He'd played hide and seek games with her before, so he knew of several likely places. Petulantly, Anakin opened and searched the compartments, looked under the table and bench seat. He sifted through his clothes cabinet and sleeping bunk. He even checked the cold food preserver, though he couldn't imagine why she might try to hide in the ice.
"Please," he called aloud. "I need your help!"
Those were the words she wanted to hear. At once Kaely flipped open the top of the Ragus drink maker. She rose unsteadily out of the small mixing chamber dripping liquid on the console. She was covered in stains from the sweet drink's ingredients. Instead of a soft green, she was now orange.
Anakin looked at her aghast. "You're a mess. That stuff will become sticky when it dries and your parts will freeze up! It will take hours to clean you." he moaned.
Kaely swiveled her eyes in an attempt to look at herself in surprise. "Come on," Anakin told her. "We don't have time to waste." He quickly began to stuff a few essential tools and other items in his pack. Almost as an after thought, he grabbed some ration bars, too. "I can't figure out how to fix the ship right now. I don't have enough time. And besides, Master Qui-gon probably put a homing beacon on board somewhere just in case I did manage to get away."
Anakin looked in his belt pouch and counted how many credits he had. He opened the ship's hatch and jumped to the ground below. "We've got to find some other way to get off planet."
***
The two Jedi ran through the hanger bays. Anakin had used the droids interference to his advantage. The Jedi easily dispatched them, but the fight delayed them long enough for Anakin to escape. They could sense that he was already on a ship and leaving the atmosphere.
"We will catch him." Qui-gon said. "He must have managed to make his ship fly despite your efforts."
"Yes, however he will undoubtedly be quite upset to learn that his hyperdrive is also inoperative." Obi-wan answered as they raced for their ship. They entered the hanger doorway and slid to a halt.
It was empty.
"Anakin stole our ship!" Obi-wan exclaimed aloud.
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