Starboy - Clone Wars

Four

The moment they get off the ship, Anakin is asking about Padme with an urgency she's never heard from him before. And there's a pang of something - a feeling she doesn't like - in her stomach.

"She went to look for the lab," the man tells them.

"And you let her go?" Anakin questions.

C3-PO interjects, "Senator Padme can be very hard to stop once she has made up her mind." She remembers what Anakin told her about the droid: how he had made the golden machine from scratch back on Tatooine. He also had complained about sand always getting into the wiring before they were off the planet.

"Good point. I know what you mean." Anakin fidgets with his sleeve, glancing at Seraphina who is still looking at the droid.

Her attention is drawn back to the topic by the other man saying, "This is Peppi Bow. She was the last person to see them. Padme sent her here to safety."

The pink Gungan steps forward. "Theysa looking for the sick-maker."

"They?" Obi-Wan wonders aloud.

"Representative Binks was with her," the man adds.

Seraphina remembers him. "Jar Jar, right?" Anakin nods, his eyes barely meeting hers before he focuses on the others. She frowns at his sudden shyness. He'd usually have made a joke about her not knowing names as well as he does - or as well as Obi-Wan does.

He, instead, looks at Ahsoka. "Go with the Gungan. See if you can find them."

"You've got it, Master," the young padawan says.

Seraphina steps forward and Anakin's hand is on her wrist. But neither of them says anything before he lets her go. "I'll keep her safe," she assures him, thinking that's what he had been wanting to say to her - not realizing that while he wanted Seraphina to protect Ahsoka, he had been just as worried about Seraphina herself.

He watches her walk away while Obi-Wan takes over, mentally chiding the young Jedi for his clouded judgment.

*seraphina may*

Seraphina is riding behind the Gungan with Ahsoka behind her. But the thief can't help focusing on the world around them.

She's seen Naboo before, sure, but not out here. Not out of the city. And she's kind of liking the way there are no speeders; few homes here and there; a town packed together occasionally; but mostly grassy lands filled with animals.

"Dis da ship belonging to them," Pippa says.

"Where are they, then?" Ahsoka asks. Her voice is almost as tight as Anakin's had been; she lets out a breath when Seraphina puts a hand on the girl's leg. Then they get off the creature, looking at the footsteps that had been left. "Their tracks end here."

Seraphina glances down at the sound of a machine. She pulls Ahsoka back and quickly tells Pippa, "Don't move off of that droid." She nods to the young padawan when its time and Ahsoka easily tackles Pippa, following Seraphina behind a root big enough for coverage.

"I think we found it," Ahsoka says.

Seraphina almost laughs but brings her comms up. "Skywalker, you there?"

"May, are you okay? Did you find her?"

"We're fine but we didn't find the Senator," she replies. "We're pretty sure she's inside the lab."

Ahsoka adds, "The whole area is wired with pressure sensors. There's no way to get in without being detected. But I'm more than happy to-"

"Do not attempt to get inside," Obi-Wan tells them. "Either of you." A map shows up on Seraphina's wrist. "I need you to detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility. It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area while we come in through the hatches." Anakin and Obi-Wan's faces show up next.