Anabeth: Darkness Rising

Chapter 6 - Departure Preperations

The next morning Ana got up early to be in the landing bay on time to welcome her Master. She stood alone in the cold morning air as she waited for his shuttle to land. When it finally did and Windu emerged his face lit up as he spotted his Padawan waiting for him.

"Welcome home, Master!" she greeted him as he got closer. "Thank you, Ana, it's good so see you back to your old self. I see you've finally finished your lightsaber" he said, pointing to the second hilt on Ana's belt. "I have" Ana confirmed with a smile.

"So, tell me, what colour is it?". "I don't know" Ana shrugged "I was waiting for you". "Waiting for me?". "Yes, it just didn't feel right without you there" Ana explained. "Well, I'm here now. How about we go inside and practice dual weilding a little. You could call Anakin and Ahsoka and see if they'd like to join us if you'd like" Windu suggested, already pushing Ana back inside the Temple.

They met up with Anakin and Ahsoka in the training room where Anakin had already picked up a training saber in order to demonstrate the moves Ana still had to work on. As Ana carefully unclipped her new lightsaber from her belt  the others watched in anticipation.

However, as she moved her finger to activate the blade she noticed Anakin whispering something in Ahsoka's direction which made her stop. "What is?" she asked, curious and slightly confused. "Nothing" Anakin lied, not sounding the slightest bit convincing at which Mace raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Alright, fine, well.... we might have all made bets on what colour your lightsaber is" Anakin admitted, earning an amused eye roll from Windu. "For the record, I did not bet and was in no way aware of this" Mace quickly made clear. "Who is a part of this?" Ana asked, looking at Anakin. "Well, Ahsoka and me of course, as well as Obi-Wan, Satine, Padmè, Drallig, Depa and Caleb" Anakin answered, counting his fingers to make sure he didn't forget anyone.

"Who else was I expecting" Ana sighed to herself. "So, what's the score?" she asked curiously, deciding to take the whole betting pool with some humour. "Let's see, three people said blue, two said green, another two said yellow and one person said purple" Ahsoka provided the list. "Time to find out then I guess" Ana said, her finger finally going back to the button.

The blade hummed to life, a smile spread across Ana's face as Anakin, Ahsoka and Mace looked at her with wide eyes. The blade had no other colour than purple. "No way" Ahsoka gasped, her eyes glued to the blade in awe. "Man, how did Obi-Wan know?" Anakin was confused, his eyes not leaving the blade either.

"Wait, Obi-Wan was the one that guessed purple?" Ana was slightly surprised. "Oh yes, he was the one" Anakin replied, contemplating that fact they all owed Obi-Wan five credits now. "That's why I don't bet" Mace stated, touching Ana's shoulder slightly to tell her that he was proud of her.

After Anakin and Ahsoka had finally come around again they all got back to their original plan of training. One after the other, they all sparred with each other, Anakin and Mace throwing in little ideas fir improvements for Ana every now and then. She improved rapidly, especially with Anakins help, seen as he made use of the same lightsaber Form as Ana.

When lunch time came around they all grabed some food together before going their seperate ways. Windu was called in for a Council meeting while Anakin and Ahsoka had something important to attend to with the 501st, leaving Ana to visit Satine who was also alone due to Padmè attending a Senate meeting.

"So, your Master is back now, which means, you can tell me what colour your lightsaber is" Satine said excitedly as they reached the living room. With a smile Ana unclipped her lightsaber from her belt again. "Obi-Wan won" she stated as she activated the purple blade yet again. "Wow" was Satine's only response as her eyes were darting back and forth between Ana and the lightsaber before Ana deactivated the blade again.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale" Ana asked worriedly as she realized Satine was not looking as usual "Yeah, I've just been feeling a little sick, but I'm sure its nothing" Satine replied, taking a seat on one of the sofas as Ana did the same. "It doesn't look like nothing. Maybe you should see a doctor. For all we know you could be poisoned, by Death Watch  trying to assasinate you again perhaps".

"No, it's not poison, and definitely not Death Watch. I've been sick for a few days now, if someone were trying to assasinate me they would have used poison that killed me sooner" Satine tried to turn down the girl's idea. "All the more reason to see a doctor if you have been feeling like this for a while" Ana argued.

"I'm fine, Ana, please, just drop it" the Duchess requested a with a little more tension and urgency in her voice than was usual for her, making Ana drop the issue in confusion. Silence filled the room as Ana desperately tried to find another topic for them to talk about while Satine looked around the room a little uncomfortably.

"Have you heard anything from Bo or Korkie recently?" Ana asked, hoping at least one of them had somehow made contact again. "I'm afraid not, the last time I spoke to them, they were trying to hunt down Maul after he disappeared, but that was weeks ago" Satine replied.

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine how you must be feeling" Ana offered her condolences. The fact that they hadn't heard any news for almost three months bothered her just as immensly as it did Satine. She missed calling Korkie when it was late in the night and her Master was already asleep. And she missed studying with him when could use some company.

"Did you even tell them I was alive the last time they called?" Ana asked, hoping that they didn't assume her to be dead. "Yes, they know you're fine" Satine assured her. "Great" she sighed as the room fell silent again. The two of them simply sat there, enjoying the quiet.

"So, are you excited to be out in the field again?" it was Satine's turn to pick up the conversation again. "Definitely, although I don't know how much I'll enjoy being away for a longer period of time. The Sepratist's assault on Anaxes has been an escalating conflict for quiet some time now. I guess that's why they are sending their best Generals there, but still, I don't see us setteling this one in just a few weeks".

"I know how your feeling. It just seems like the war is getting worse with every passing day instead of better" Satine sympathised. "Everyone is so tired of the war. It's pointless, and way to many people die every day. So many innocent planets get caught in the conflict, not to mention the tall it's taking on the civilian population. I mean, have you been down to the underworld recently? Social problems have not been more pressing in hundreds of years, and it doesn't look like it's going to get better any time soon.

The Republic is falling apart from the inside out. Issues that were once the responsibility of the Jedi keep on being adressed less and less within the Order, instead, we are on the frontlines, fighting a war that isn't even supposed to be ours. I mean, a peacekeeper leading an army, can you see the irony of that? Sometimes, I wish the Jedi had chosen to be a neutral party a long time ago, like Mandalore. Perhaps we could have been of greater help to suffering planets that way. Surely, I can't be the only one feeling this way" Ana voiced her frustrations.

"Believe me, there are countless others who feel like you. Barriss Offee, although handling it in a bad way, is probably the best examply os this" Satine said. "I'm not like Barriss!" Anabeth protested immediately. "Of course not" Satine assured her "But she was driven by those same frustrations. And if you and her can feel that way, then surely there are others who also can.

Just look at Obi-Wan for example, you can see it in his eyes when he talks about the war. If asked, I'm sure he'd tell you the exact same thing as you just said" Satine elaborated. "That's nice to know" Ana admitted. "The war will end, Ana, and things will get better after that. Don't lose hope" Satine tried to cheer the girl up who gave her a smile in response. "Now, how about we start preparing dinner for everyone. I can't have you going off to Anaxes on an empty stomach" Satine suggested enthusiastically, getting onto her feet again and disappearing into the kitchen with Ana right behind her.