Healing Hurts (Anakin Skywalker)

Chapter 6

It had been two weeks since the meeting with the council. Anakin and Obi-wan had kept themselves fairly busy as they waited to be summoned to Arkinnea for the chance to find the girl. Anakin kept himself moving. Mission after mission, training Ashoka. He wouldn't sit still.

Anakin and Obi-wan had just finished briefing the council regarding a recent incident where R2-D2 had been lost, stolen by General Grievous, and then recovered once more. Anakin was on his way back to the Resolute's bridge with a growing headache from dealing with the council - per usual. He greeted the troopers as they marched by on patrol, and sent a quick comm message to Ashoka reminding her of their training session a few hours from then.

As he passed a lookout bay he paused to glance out into the vastness of space. He didn't take the time to admire it as much as he should have. His thoughts drifted as he gazed out into the emptiness around them. He thought about Ashoka -  how her training would go, how skilled she was becoming in a short period of time, and how he regretted that she had been brought into war at such a young age.

They then turned to Obi-wan. His old master had been more distant than usual lately, and he wished he could just pick him up and throw him on a vacation to maybe, just maybe, get him to let loose for five seconds instead of being his strict, stern self. It was likely stress from the war - the battles had been back to back, and more and more planets were leaving the Republic to join the Separatists - but Anakin had an idea as to what else was bothering him - Havena Jinn.

Obi-wan had a habit of placing his old master on a pedestal. A great jedi whose connection to the force was unmatched. A jedi who modeled what it meant to be a jedi. Sure, Obi-wan knew that Qui-gon Jinn was not perfect, and that there were many times he butted heads with the council. But he never went against the code - not that blatently.

Except that he did.

And now his old master had laid a seemingly impossible task at his feet - to protect his daughter. The proof of his betrayal of the code. The proof that Qui-gon Jinn had not been a perfect jedi. The proof that Qui-gon had lied to him. And it hurt. But Obi-wan knew that he would do anything to see the girl safe as his old master would have wanted.

Anakin's headache only seemed to worsen the longer he let his thoughts wander. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs, closing his eyes to ward off the consistent throbbing. But the second that he did, something happened. His ears began to ring louder and louder until suddenly, it stopped.

When he opened his eyes again, Anakin Skywalker was no longer aboard The Resolute.

He was in a building he'd never seen before. The floor looked to be a near ceramic tile that he'd never truly seen before. The walls were painted an off white, with large paintings hanging from them every 10 feet or so. The building was busy - human men and women rushed past him, some wearing odd uniforms of varying shades and colors, others dressing in a way he'd only seen in his dreams. The dreams with Havena.

So he was on her planet, then?

The people rushed past him, never paying him any mind or even once acknowledging him. At first it angered him - did they not see him standing there? Why did they push past him without even a glance?

But then he noticed that his body was glowing. He lifted his hand and gawked when he noticed how translucent it was - like some sort of ghost.

There was something else that bothered him. If he was having another vision of Havena... why was he actually there. He'd never been able to actually be there - able to move and walk around freely. He always watched from a 3rd person point of view. It was like he was watching a holodrama. Able to see and hear, but not quite able to interact.