The Mission
by Ruse

Summary: Anakin makes the most of babysitting a squad of little Jedi initiates.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or make money off this story.

xXx

The squad waiting across from Anakin Skywalker was eager, he could sense that. Eager, nervous and determined to do their commanding officer proud. The mission wasn't a hard one, per se, but they were young, untried. A myriad of things could go wrong, he had warned them—they were up against Jedi, after all. But if they were steadfast and if they listened to him, they could pull it off.

His robe shed and his back pressed against the cool wall, Anakin put his gloved index finger to his lips in a call for silence. Instantly the troops quieted, heedful of his warning. Then, ever so gently so as not to make a sound, Anakin leaned out, peering with one blue eye down the hallway. A Jedi Knight walked, seemingly oblivious to the danger behind her. Good. His mental shielding was working. His power was great and his skill without match.

Turning his gaze back across the hall, Anakin motioned the squad forward. Quiet as the Ruku mice of Jandara two of them crept across, walking on their toes, shoulders hunched and eyes wide. One step, another, another, then disaster! The first soldier made it across without alerting the Jedi Knight, but the second one dropped, felled by his own excitement!

Just eight years old, young Sors Bandeam was on his hands and knees, head aimed at the Jedi Knight with eyes widened in fear of being caught. Behind him several of the initiates giggled until Anakin said, "Shh!" That quieted them; one even put both her hands over her lips to quell herself.

Anakin leaned further around the hall and watched the Knight continue to walk. Stretching his hand, Anakin wiggled his fingers and Sors pushed himself off the floor and quickly closed the distance between them, rushing behind Anakin and leaning against the wall breathlessly. "You almost got us vaped," whispered Tev Fero, the nine year old initiate that had preceded him. Anakin waved his hand behind him, hoping they would keep it down.

Seconds crept by until finally the Jedi Knight was gone. Anakin relaxed his stance and motioned the remaining squad members to cross. Their crossing was not without a decent share of noise, he noted ruefully, but then they were just younglings.

When they were across the initiates gathered around him. Evarian Fassban, one of the older initiates at the ripe age of eleven, reached out and grabbed Anakin's sleeve, giving it a tug. When he had Anakin's attention, he said in a flat tone, "Is it time to run back to the creche yelling 'abort mission!' yet?" This was the endgame contingency plan should things go completely sour.

"What? No!" Anakin replied, shaking his head.

Evarian looked nonplussed. "But Master, Sors..."

"Sors is just fine," Anakin cut in firmly. "What kind of talk is that for a Jedi? Mistakes happen, but you don't just give up on the mission. Not until you have no other choice."

"Well...okay. I guess." Evarian gazed dubiously at the squad. Anakin sighed. He was shaping up to be one of those Jedi, the ones that went completely by the book and never threw caution to the wind. The Order needed those kinds, he supposed—not that he would ever, ever let Obi-Wan know such a thought had even roamed within a klick of his brain.

Anakin patted Evarian on the shoulder. "Have a little faith, huh?" The boy nodded his head, ready to follow his general to certain doom, it seemed. Inwardly, Anakin chuckled, but outwardly he was all business again. "Alright, guys. The mission continues. We had a close call, but we made it through. That happens a lot on the field of battle. You have to learn to shake it off."

"Like this?" asked Illana, a tiny Mon Calamarian who was now wiggling her entire body in a very literal attempt to follow orders.

Biting the bottom of his lip to keep a lid on his grin, Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, we could do that. Come on, guys, shake it off." In an extremely rare display that he hoped and prayed to all manner of deity was not being captured by Temple security cameras, he demonstrated and shook himself. A few of them couldn't control themselves and giggled at such a silly sight, but slowly, one by one, they all wiggled and jiggled, shimmied and squirmed. "Now you got it!" Anakin stopped and grinned at the younglings. "And if you ever tell anyone I did that I'm going to put Felorian pincer bugs in your beds. Now let's move, soldiers! I'm on point."

Dutifully the squad of ten waited until he passed, then followed him in two lines as he had taught them. He stretched out his senses, seeking along the planned route, finding the next few hallways pleasantly clear. Sensing his relaxed stance, the children followed suit, getting somewhat rowdier the further they walked.

And then they came to the next checkpoint. Anakin called for a halt with one hand raised and the younglings fell back in line, waiting in silent diligence for his command. Turning, he said, "Okay. This is the most dangerous part of the mission. The Lift. We have to take it and once we step off, there's no turning back. No escape if we're caught. We'll be sent to the brig where we'll have to sleep on hard cots, drink only warm water and eat only yucky, stale, old bread made from Veshari wheat and gundark toenails."

"Eewww!" the squad moaned collectively.

Evarian, however, was skeptical. "Do gundarks have toenails?"

Anakin gave him a flat look. "Hush." He gazed at the rest of them. "My point is be extra careful. You've got to move quietly, make your presence in the Force as small as you can and whatever you do, stay with the squad. Okay?"

The company of ten younglings all nodded their understanding. Anakin stepped over to the lift and lifted his head a bit, looking them over critically. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" they cried.

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

Anakin's hand hovered over the lift call button. "Okay..." he said, getting ready to push it.

"Wait!" All eyes turned to young Sors. "I sense Master Yoda!"

Anakin smiled inwardly until Evarian whispered, "Is it time to abort?" He looked at the lift nervously.

One brow cocked, Anakin shook his head and motioned them to run back to a nearby hallway. Ten bustling little younglings cleared the lift area as fast as they could. But there was nowhere to go! Doors lined the halls, but they were filled with ongoing classes for the padawans of the Order. They couldn't hide in any of those!

Cantering into the hall after them, Anakin waved his arms and motioned to a large pillar on the right flank of the hallway. "Get behind there! Go! I'll create a diversion!"

The younglings clamored behind the pillar, out of view for the most part. Once they were settled, being as quiet as they could be, Anakin leaned against the pillar, crossed his foot over his ankle and casually draped his arms together over his abdomen.

The lift opened. Then the telltale sound echoed down the large hallways, careening around corners, assailing their ears. Tap, tap, tap. The noise Yoda's gimer stick made when it struck the hard floor.

Tap, tap, tap. Closer and closer.

Tap, tap, tap. The younglings were more anxious with each stroke of the cane. Master Yoda, head of the entire Jedi Order, was closing in upon them.

And then...he was there. Coming into view, the wizened old Jedi swiveled his head to take in the sight of Skywalker standing there, doing absolutely nothing, casual and nodding a greeting as if this were the most natural of meetings. Yoda's eyes narrowed a bit and he stopped, leaning on his stick. "Standing idle, are you?" he asked, glancing once behind the younger man.

"Hmm? Who, me?" Anakin returned, his face an artful study in innocence.

One of Yoda's eyebrows raised at that. "Anyone else, is there, to ask?"

Anakin choked a little on that and then forced a smile. "Of course not, Master. Uh, I'm meditating."

"Meditating?" The corners of Yoda's lips twitched.

Biting at one of his nails, Anakin nodded his head. "Yeah. Meditating. On this hallway. It's a really nice one."

That sounded utterly ridiculous and would have landed him in the healing ward under normal circumstances, but Yoda only swept the scene over with a final gaze, then said, "With you may the Force be," before he started walking again, down the hallway from where they had originally come.

Tap, tap, tap... And then he was gone.

Anakin heaved a sigh of relief, somewhat for show, then turned as the younglings came out of hiding and surrounded him. "That was close!" exclaimed Jenn, a young Twi'lek with green skin.

Nodding sagely, Anakin replied, "It was, it was. Which brings us to our next lesson. Always have a good excuse in mind when dealing with Jedi masters. Alright, we've got a lift to catch. Come on."

The squad scuttled out of hiding and followed their fearless leader to the lifts. It was definitely a crunch, fitting all eleven of them, even if ten were only half-sized at best. Anakin was backed against the far side of the lift with younglings gathered around him, chitter-chattering away in tiny voices, talking about the mission, lessons from earlier and generally finding ways to get on each other's nerves. Listening to it all made Anakin grin. Had he ever been so young and innocent? It felt impossible. No wonder Obi-Wan had been half barvy, half the time; he had cared for a nine-year-old day in and day out, one who had not been trained in Jedi serenity whatsoever at first.

A small hand reached for him. Curling her fist around the hem of his robe, Leewa, a young Iridonian with pale skin and eyes the color of ice, asked softly, "Master Skywalker, are you as old as Master Yoda?"

Now, Obi-Wan's teasing notwithstanding, Anakin liked to imagine he had a certain amount of gentle allure about him. Maybe he wasn't exactly holomodel material, he didn't dare let his vanity take him that far out of the zone of Jedi humility, but in general he thought it was definitely possible his appearance was at least somewhat passable. Padme called him 'her young, handsome Jedi' when she was feeling frisky, and since he trusted her at her word, he had to—with all humility, of course—admit the terrible truth; he was quite probably a pretty good looking guy.

So it was somewhat ruefully that Anakin looked down at Leewa and asked, "Do I look that old?"

"Well, no, but you're old." Oh, that burned. Slightly, but it was there. He had crossed over that line his master had long ago, that age where the young no longer identified with you, but saw you as one of them—the oldsters, the beard brigade, the keepers of the cane.

Anakin resisted the urge to ask her if she had ever heard 'Night Wild' by Rage of the Rathtars. Of course she wouldn't, she was too young, but he hoped that at least some padawans out there still secreted away to listen to it. It really was a good song. Definitely fresh and wizard. Except, Ahsoka hated when he said something was 'wizard' she cringed as if she were embarrassed by it, so that must mean... No!

"I'm not old," he replied hastily, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Now pipe down, I'm concentrating."

Leewa immediately looked to her little companions and, with a certain amount of enthusiasm, whispered, "Shh! He's concen...concentatering!"

Anakin shuddered lightly at her pronunciation. The younglings did quiet down after that and were soon all gazing at him expectantly. Looking from face to face, Anakin sighed inside, then offered, "Our, uh, path looks clear."

The kids went back to chattering and he sagged against the wall, counting the seconds until the lift finally reached the floor they needed.

Once the door slid open the squad piled out. About half of them remembered to attempt stealth, but it hardly mattered. Anakin couldn't sense anyone in the nearest hallways. They should have a straight shot to their next checkpoint. Still, he had to quiet them down to avoid alerting Jedi in neighboring rooms. He again pressed his finger to his lips and the squad of younglings hushed, then remembered their formation of two lines of five. He grinned proudly and then took point.

And for about half of the trip toward their next checkpoint their clandestine movements remained smooth and undetected, or so it seemed to him, the most powerful and prescient Jedi in the Order.

Then, turning a corner, Anakin jerked back, startled. It was one of the Three Terrors of the Order, the first being Mace Windu, who never hesitated to eye him critically. The second was,quite obviously, Master Obi-Wan, for reasons he assumed were readily apparent to anyone that knew him. But this was the third, the newest and perhaps most frightening of all: his own padawan. She had her fingers woven around his heart and could make him feel pride, bewilderment and the greatest of chastisement if he dared awaken her anger.

Ahsoka was leaning against a large pillar, arms crossed, eyebrow raised and a smirk tickling her lips. "It's not time," Anakin warned Evarian preemptively, holding out a forestalling hand. He eyed his padawan curiously. "Why did you hide your presence from me?"

Her brow raised a little further. "Because what I sensed from you made me curious. So I hid myself and started tracking you. Good thing you were concentrating so hard."

"Concentatering," Leewa corrected.

Ahsoka smiled at the young girl, then raised her gaze back to her master. "Why is it whenever you have creche duty the younglings end up doing something weird?"

"It's not weird, it's field practice," Anakin asserted.

"We're on a mission," Tev Fero supplied and Anakin gave him a pat on the back for backing him up.

Smiling, Ahsoka looked the group over and said, "Well, what's this mission about, anyway?" She addressed this to the younglings because she knew if there was a secret she could get it out of them faster than her master.

Evarian shook his head at her, taking it out of Anakin's hands. "You're the enemy! We can't tell you!"

Tiny Illiana glared at Evarian for his outburst. "'Soka is not the enemy! She's one of us!"

"No, she isn't," Evarian held firm, crossing his arms around his chest. "She is the enemy and she knows too much. We should stuff her in a closet."

No matter how cute it was, Anakin had to put a stop to that before mob mentality created a problem for him. "Hey, hey, hey. No stuffing anyone anywhere, got it? There's only one thing we can do in this situation." His eyes glinted as he grinned at Ahsoka. "We make her take the oath."

Ahsoka nodded to herself as if all her fears were confirmed. "The oath? What sort of oath?"

Anakin motioned to the squad. "To join us, of course." Her blue eyes rolled, but he wasn't about to let her off the hook. "Put your fist over your heart. Come on, Snips."

She stared at him for a moment longer, then put her fist over her heart, her expression long-suffering, but tolerant. "Okay." It amused her greatly to see the little squad members doing it, as well as her own master.

"I do swear," he said with emphasis, expecting her to repeat it. She did so a little halfheartedly, but he could tell she was coming around. "To behave with honor and compassion, to perform to the best of my abilities for my squad mates, and to do whatever Master Skywalker says." Ahsoka choked a little on that last bit.

The little initiates all smiled, all but Evarian, who eyed her suspiciously, but said nothing. Ahsoka grinned back, then smiled up at her master. "Okay. Now will you tell me what this mysterious mission is?"

"Nope," Anakin replied with a smirk. "You've gotta prove yourself by following us into dangers unknown."

Ahsoka rubbed her forehead stressfully, but motioned them to start walking again. "I'll bring up the rear."

"Excellent." Anakin snapped his fingers to get the rest of the squad's attention. "Back in formation. Let's move out, troops."

The younglings lined up dutifully as Ahsoka watched, both amazed and amused. Her master threw her a wink before turning around and starting off down the hall again. They were pretty good with staying side by side and keeping their voices pitched low. By the time they reached the next checkpoint Ahsoka was fairly impressed.

Looking over the heads of the little Jedi, Ahsoka took in the sight of the large door and said, "The west garden? That's the mission?"

Anakin shook his head. "No. Just a detour, my padawan. The mission is beyond. But first? The forests of Alderaan! Be mindful, Initiates, for there may be dangerous rancors lurking around!" The younglings giggled at that and Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but smiled at how cute this whole situation was. She didn't often get to see this side of her master. They were always on the battle field or cramped in their fighters or otherwise. He seemed peaceful in a way that even bantering with his real troops couldn't match.

Into the doors they went, Anakin cautioning them to total silence lest the groundskeeper hear them. He could sense the older Jedi across the bay, merrily tending to plants in his care. There were also a few other Jedi here. One was a Knight lost in meditation. Another, a student padawan learning the care of saplings, dangerously close to their path.

"We're going to have to be really careful," Anakin whispered, then led them creeping through the winding pathways, beyond the growing trees and flowers, past the bubbling streams built into the landscape.

"Wow!" said young Sors, watching a luminescent butterfly flutter onto a large fern. He kept his gaze fixed as long as he could while walking, then it was on to the next beautiful sight.

Anakin walked backwards a moment, smiling at the younglings. "Everybody reach out. Feel that?"

Leewa nodded her head, her eyes bright and joyous. "It's the Force! It's strong in here!"

"Right!" Anakin replied with a smile. "Anyone know why?"

"Life!" several of the children cried. Then one of them, Yahira, slapped her hands over her mouth, remembering to be as quiet as possible.

Anakin laughed lightly, despite that. "Yeah. It's the Living Force in here, strong and bright."

Everyone was surprised when little Evarian said, "I like it in here."

Nodding at the boy, Anakin replied, "Me, too. The Jedi that found me brought some of the plants in the northeast corner. I like to go there and meditate sometimes." He glanced at Ahsoka, expecting a smart remark. It was no secret between he, his padawan and his master than meditation wasn't his favorite activity. But he did try, now and again.

Ahsoka, however, was too busy holding the hand of Illiana and looking at the plants. She caught his eyes on her and said, "Master, you should be a teacher."

"I am a teacher," he retorted, looking at her meaningfully.

"You know what I mean."

The idea of it made him shudder. He had worked very hard for many years to escape the sequestered claustrophobia of the classroom. "Bite your tongue," he murmured, then stopped suddenly. Lowering to a crouch, he slowly peeked around a tree and saw the young padawan girl that was potting flowers for the groundskeeper. "Okay, guys. We're going to have to go one at a time to avoid arousing suspicion. Ahsoka, show 'em how it's done."

Grinning, the Togruta flattened against the tree and took a few steps around it, then peered at her fellow padawan. She was like a felinoid, almost, lithe and built for stealth. As soon as the padawan turned her back Ahsoka darted on light feet across the pathway, then crouched against another tree on the other side.

At random Anakin selected a youngling to go. Yevin was a human boy with sandy hair and eyes like the waters of Kamino. He peeked around the tree and a thrill of nervousness passed through him, but when the padawan girl turned away he took off across the path without looking back. It wasn't a soundless journey, unfortunately. The padawan knit her brow and looked around, but he was already across and breathing a sigh of relief.

A few more initiates skittered across at Ahsoka's direction, then a few more, on down leaving Leewa and Anakin. She was afraid and didn't want to cross. Still in his crouch, Anakin looked into her anxious gaze and said, "All you can do is your best. Your best means trying. If it doesn't work out, that's fine. At least you tried. Okay?"

Leewa nodded her head, still looking hesitant, but didn't protest when he moved her into position. Holding her hand up, Ahsoka watched the padawan for a handful of seconds and then the moment came. Leewa started running at the signal and Anakin smiled at her bravery. But, oh no! Disaster! She was a little too close to the grass and a Living Vine snaked out, grabbing her ankle. She toppled to the path and gasped, turning her head to look at the padawan fearfully.

Anakin darted out after her, grabbing the offending vine and tossing it back at the tree from which it had come, then scooped Leewa up. The padawan turned in response to the noise and stared at a grown Jedi Knight hauling a youngling through the brush, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. Anakin caught her eye and smiled at her, then put his finger to his lips as he slipped behind the tree where the squad was waiting.

He didn't look back around, but as the group hustled away he could feel her amused bewilderment as she went back to potting plants.

Once outside the gardens, Leewa looked sadly up at Anakin and said, "I messed up."

Anakin shook his head at her. "No. You tried and a stupid plant liked your boots too much." She cracked a smile at that. "Don't you laugh at that. It's a serious matter. Why, if plants wore boots, they would walk and then we would get tickled by leaves in the night." Darting his fingers out, he poked the side of her neck and she giggled. He straightened up with a grin and looked at the squad. "Well, we're here."

Ahsoka glanced behind her. "The refectory. I should have known."

"Not the refectory. It's not lunch yet." Anakin smirked at his padawan. "This is the most dangerous part of the mission—the kitchen raid."

"Kitchen...raid?" Ahsoka looked pained at that. "Oh, Master."

He put his hands on his hips and looked her over. "You too afraid, learner mine?"

"No!" she retorted hastily. "I can handle a kitchen!"

"Good," Anakin replied, nodding in the direction of the kitchen hall entrance. "You get to be the one with sticky fingers."

"I...you...you just..." Ahsoka sputtered, then narrowed her eyes at his half-smile. "You owe me."

Anakin gave her a light bow. "As always. Let's go."

The troop moved on silent feet and with quiet tongues through the last leg of the journey. At the kitchen entrance, Ahsoka paused and listened with her senses. Anakin could feel the two Jedi cooks in there, both of them seeing to the buffet for lunch that was due in about an hour. They were in the far side of the kitchen, near the exit into the dining hall. This was good.

Ahsoka gently palmed the button on the side of the door and it slid open with a hiss. Everyone froze and both she and her master again assessed the cooks. They hadn't heard a thing. Quietly, moving like a desert mouse, Ahsoka tiptoed into the kitchen while Anakin held the door open, one hand on the threshold so it would read his limb in the way of shutting. A big shelving unit filled with pots and pans blocked the view from the other side of the kitchen.

"What am I supposed to get?" Ahsoka whispered, looking back.

Anakin raked the kitchen counters over with his eyes, then nodded to one end. "Get us some of those spice cakes. Those are good."

Rolling her eyes, Ahsoka nevertheless complied and crept along the shelf, then peeked around it. So far, so good. No one within sight. She took a few steps, then a few more, reached out her hands and clasped her fingers around the tray...

"What do you think you're doing, Padawan?" asked an indignant voice from nearby.

Ahsoka whipped around, tray forsaken. Master Beyari stood, arms crossed, brown eyebrow cocked curiously. In that moment she did the only thing she could think of. She ratted Anakin out. "My master made me do it."

Beyari turned his head and took in the sight of Anakin Skywalker standing in the door, his eyes wide with innocence and a puddle of younglings at his feet. "Of course," the old master said at length, shaking his head. "Teaching the crechelings bad habits, are we?"

"Training exercise," Anakin corrected with a charming smile.

The old man wasn't charmed. The other cook, Master Gara, came around the corner, wiping her hands on a towel, and looked at the new arrivals. "Oh. Skywalker. Naturally."

"You've got a reputation here?" Ahsoka asked him.

"It's not half as bad as it sounds," Anakin defended himself.

Beyari waggled his finger at the Jedi Knight. "Oh, it is. Don't let him fool you. He's learned some strange habits from his master."

Ahsoka's jaw dropped. "Master Obi-Wan?"

Beyari nodded sagely. "Yes, Kenobi. Only he generally tried charming his hands into the trays, when he was young. There's always one or two, every single generation." He rolled his eyes skyward, then looked back at Anakin. "Miss Tano, you may kindly lead the younglings to a table out in the refectory proper. And take the tray you were so intent on. I'll send out something to drink in a moment. You, Skywalker, have earned yourself dish washing duty."

For a long moment Anakin just stared, trying desperately to think of a way out of it. But he could tell by Beyari's steely gaze that there would be none of that. No, Anakin could do only one thing, the dutiful thing, the thing which would hopefully teach his little squad the most important lesson of all—friendship and sticking by your team.

Taking the fall for his initiates, Anakin bowed to the cook and replied, "Yes, Master."

Surprisingly, Evarian stepped out of the little group and approached the cook head on. "Master, are you gonna lock Master Skywalker in the brig and feed him toenail bread and water?"

Beyari looked at Anakin a little flatly, then said to the youngling, "Not this time, Initiate. Mercy is an important part of being a Jedi."

Satisfied, Evarian then turned to Anakin. "I'm glad we didn't abort mission."

"Me too," Anakin agreed.

"We'll save you a spice cake."

Anakin's lips spread into a grin and he clapped the boy on the shoulder. "Thanks, kid." Rolling up his sleeves, he followed Master Beyari deeper into the kitchen and concluded it had been a pretty good day, pulling creche duty.

xXx

The End