TM #228: 3am
Anakin listens to the slow, steady breathing of his sleeping wife. He longs to stay right where he is, curled up behind her, naked and comfortable and completely content. He wants to join her in sweet slumber, awakening the next day at an obscenely late hour to enjoy a leisurely breakfast together. Perhaps make love a few more times before heading back to his Jedi life.
He's fallen asleep here before, but he won't allow himself that luxury this time. Obi-Wan would only buy his excuses for so long before becoming dangerously suspicious. The Padawan comforts himself with the knowledge that once he becomes a Knight and is awarded quarters of his own, he’ll be able to spend entire nights with his wife.
Radiating soothing vibes into the Force, Anakin pulls away slowly from his beloved Padmé and begins to dress himself. He was so skilled at this that she didn't even stir. Truly, Obi-Wan should be proud of him for honing his Jedi stealth skills.
He climbs into a very standard-looking, plain speeder -- one without nearly the capabilities of his own enhanced vehicle, but also without threat of recognition -- and lifts off from the private landing pad at the rear of Padmé’s apartments. He navigates the ever-crowded skyways effortlessly, devising a lie with which to placate his Master should he by chance have noticed his absence.
Anakin doesn’t immediately notice the speeder on his tail. Perhaps because he’s too tired, or too preoccupied with his thoughts. He nearly completes the short journey back to the Temple when he begins to suspect, and he can’t help but feel a thrill at the challenge of losing his pursuer. He dips and circles and changes direction at an alarming speed, aided by his Force sense -- a sense he’s certain the other pilot doesn’t possess. The pursuer follows his course but falls behind... yet not far enough behind to lose sight of him.
He wonders if, careful though he was, he was somehow observed leaving the Senator’s private dock. Cloaked and hooded, he doubts that anyone could have identified him, but he dares not fly directly into the Temple hangar and risk a scandal. He continues past the Temple and hopes that the other party takes note of this and loses interest.
No such luck.
The pilot behind him demonstrates remarkable flying ability for a non-Force user, though he does have a few close calls with other airtraffic. Anakin intuitively knows that he himself poses no danger to anyone, but he can’t be certain about his follower. Nor does he wish to attract the attention of the Coruscanti police. He decides to land at a fueling station, a safe one, relatively isolated, free of sentient attendants. He waits as the other craft descends a short distance away from him, and for the first time he can see the species of the other being -- a Rodian.
Anakin jumps out of his speeder and strides angrily over to the other vehicle. The amusement emanating through the Force from this being only serves to infuriate him more. He motions for the pilot to exit his vehicle, and prays that he understands Basic. The Rodian complies with his request, though he reaches for a device on the dash... Anakin’s lightsaber is in his hand and ignited before the Rodian’s long fingers even touch the object. Just as quickly, Anakin realizes it’s not a weapon, but a holorecorder.
“Why are you following me?” he demands, keeping his saber ignited. He is pleased to note that the Rodian’s amusement is now tempered with fear.
“Just doing my job,” replies the other in thickly-accented Basic. “I’m a reporter, you see.”
Anakin looks at him dubiously. “Just doing your job. At 0300? I’d say you’re working too hard. And a Jedi flying a speeder is hardly newsworthy.” He nods at the recorder. “Give that to me.”
The Rodian hesitates.
“Give it to me now!” bellows Anakin, and the object is quickly thrust into his free hand. He makes a show of holding his lightsaber tauntingly close to it, pretending to ponder slicing it to pieces.
“No, please, don’t!” pleads the Rodian. “I’ll leave you alone!”
“You think I’m a fool?” Anakin snorts. But he takes pity on the other being and merely ejects the holodisc, leaving the device itself unharmed. He pockets the disc and hands the recorder back to its relieved owner.
Destroying the machine wouldn’t help matters; the Rodian would get another one and could still decide to try his luck following Anakin again. Perhaps it was a decoy, and he was following Anakin for other reasons than to sniff out a scandal.
I should just kill him, Anakin thinks. Rodians were known to be violent, and this one could have come up from the nefarious lower levels, could have attacked a man innocently fueling up his speeder... it would be so easy.
The Rodian shifts nervously, as if sensing Anakin’s thought process.
Unbidden, an image of his old friend Wald comes to mind. Anakin knows not all Rodians are bad. And regardless, the one before him hadn’t done anything illegal. It would be quite un-Jedi-like to kill him so casually.
Instead, he gives a brief wave of his hand. “You will go home and forget any of this ever happened.”
“I will go home and forget any of this ever happened,” repeats the Rodian automatically.
“You’re sorry you bothered me and you’ll never visit this district of Coruscant again.”
The Rodian repeats it back to him, and Anakin watches him fly off into the night. The Padawan stifles a yawn as he heads back to the Temple; he’s so tired now that he doesn’t think he can survive a confrontation with Obi-Wan. If his Master is indeed awake, Anakin hopes he will show the same mercy he has tonight.
He's fallen asleep here before, but he won't allow himself that luxury this time. Obi-Wan would only buy his excuses for so long before becoming dangerously suspicious. The Padawan comforts himself with the knowledge that once he becomes a Knight and is awarded quarters of his own, he’ll be able to spend entire nights with his wife.
Radiating soothing vibes into the Force, Anakin pulls away slowly from his beloved Padmé and begins to dress himself. He was so skilled at this that she didn't even stir. Truly, Obi-Wan should be proud of him for honing his Jedi stealth skills.
He climbs into a very standard-looking, plain speeder -- one without nearly the capabilities of his own enhanced vehicle, but also without threat of recognition -- and lifts off from the private landing pad at the rear of Padmé’s apartments. He navigates the ever-crowded skyways effortlessly, devising a lie with which to placate his Master should he by chance have noticed his absence.
Anakin doesn’t immediately notice the speeder on his tail. Perhaps because he’s too tired, or too preoccupied with his thoughts. He nearly completes the short journey back to the Temple when he begins to suspect, and he can’t help but feel a thrill at the challenge of losing his pursuer. He dips and circles and changes direction at an alarming speed, aided by his Force sense -- a sense he’s certain the other pilot doesn’t possess. The pursuer follows his course but falls behind... yet not far enough behind to lose sight of him.
He wonders if, careful though he was, he was somehow observed leaving the Senator’s private dock. Cloaked and hooded, he doubts that anyone could have identified him, but he dares not fly directly into the Temple hangar and risk a scandal. He continues past the Temple and hopes that the other party takes note of this and loses interest.
No such luck.
The pilot behind him demonstrates remarkable flying ability for a non-Force user, though he does have a few close calls with other airtraffic. Anakin intuitively knows that he himself poses no danger to anyone, but he can’t be certain about his follower. Nor does he wish to attract the attention of the Coruscanti police. He decides to land at a fueling station, a safe one, relatively isolated, free of sentient attendants. He waits as the other craft descends a short distance away from him, and for the first time he can see the species of the other being -- a Rodian.
Anakin jumps out of his speeder and strides angrily over to the other vehicle. The amusement emanating through the Force from this being only serves to infuriate him more. He motions for the pilot to exit his vehicle, and prays that he understands Basic. The Rodian complies with his request, though he reaches for a device on the dash... Anakin’s lightsaber is in his hand and ignited before the Rodian’s long fingers even touch the object. Just as quickly, Anakin realizes it’s not a weapon, but a holorecorder.
“Why are you following me?” he demands, keeping his saber ignited. He is pleased to note that the Rodian’s amusement is now tempered with fear.
“Just doing my job,” replies the other in thickly-accented Basic. “I’m a reporter, you see.”
Anakin looks at him dubiously. “Just doing your job. At 0300? I’d say you’re working too hard. And a Jedi flying a speeder is hardly newsworthy.” He nods at the recorder. “Give that to me.”
The Rodian hesitates.
“Give it to me now!” bellows Anakin, and the object is quickly thrust into his free hand. He makes a show of holding his lightsaber tauntingly close to it, pretending to ponder slicing it to pieces.
“No, please, don’t!” pleads the Rodian. “I’ll leave you alone!”
“You think I’m a fool?” Anakin snorts. But he takes pity on the other being and merely ejects the holodisc, leaving the device itself unharmed. He pockets the disc and hands the recorder back to its relieved owner.
Destroying the machine wouldn’t help matters; the Rodian would get another one and could still decide to try his luck following Anakin again. Perhaps it was a decoy, and he was following Anakin for other reasons than to sniff out a scandal.
I should just kill him, Anakin thinks. Rodians were known to be violent, and this one could have come up from the nefarious lower levels, could have attacked a man innocently fueling up his speeder... it would be so easy.
The Rodian shifts nervously, as if sensing Anakin’s thought process.
Unbidden, an image of his old friend Wald comes to mind. Anakin knows not all Rodians are bad. And regardless, the one before him hadn’t done anything illegal. It would be quite un-Jedi-like to kill him so casually.
Instead, he gives a brief wave of his hand. “You will go home and forget any of this ever happened.”
“I will go home and forget any of this ever happened,” repeats the Rodian automatically.
“You’re sorry you bothered me and you’ll never visit this district of Coruscant again.”
The Rodian repeats it back to him, and Anakin watches him fly off into the night. The Padawan stifles a yawn as he heads back to the Temple; he’s so tired now that he doesn’t think he can survive a confrontation with Obi-Wan. If his Master is indeed awake, Anakin hopes he will show the same mercy he has tonight.