Better Left Hidden

Chapter 3: Transit

The shuttle gently glided into the main hangar of the Resolute. The ramp lowered and the four passengers strode out.

"Admiral Yularen, a pleasure to see you," Anakin said as he walked past the uniform-clad, dark-haired man.

"General Skywalker, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine," the admiral said formally, falling into a brisk walk besides the ever-reckless Jedi Knight. Although they didn't always see eye to eye on certain matters, Yularen held a healthy amount of respect for his Jedi General. "We will depart for Ghuians as soon as we reach the bridge."

Ahsoka and Rex fell into step shortly behind the two now-silent men as they strode through the gray durasteel hallways of the Venator-class Star Destroyer. The clone captain branched off at an intersection soon thereafter, making his way to the barracks to meet back up with his brothers no doubt. This left the young Padawan trailing the two elder men in a dreamlike state, glancing at the dull and drab walls without truly seeing them.

What was it that had her agitated so? Every time that she thought that she had a hold of it, it slipped away. It was like a word on the tip of your tongue, infuriatingly close, yet ever elusive. Ahsoka crossed her arms and glared at the area just in front of her boots. Why couldn't she place this feeling? It was like a shroud had eclipsed her vision, both physically and in the Force. A fog, shimmering just in front of her, opaque and impossible to see through, obstructing her view, holding this feeling just out of her reach. What made it all the worse was that she was certain it was important. She just knew it was! Without her Master's amicable teasing and conversation, the Togruta was left to her thoughts, biting her lower lip in frustration.

She barely noticed when the doors to the bridge swooshed open and she stepped inside. Ahsoka nearly bumped into the back of her Master, and she would have if not the stern voice of Admiral Yularen.

"Engage hyperdrive, enter hyperspace."

Ahsoka looked up startled, with wide eyes, just in time to see the blur of blue hyperspace fill up the viewport.

"Now General, if you'll follow me, I have a diagram of the Separatist base we will be infiltrating upon arrival," Admiral Yularen said as he briskly walked over to the holoprojector near the doors of the bridge. With the swift jab of a button on the control panel, a holographic image sprung to life, slowly revolving in the air over the projector.

Ahsoka stood next to Anakin, intently staring at the base, no fortress rather, that they would soon be inside. "That sure is one big building," Ahsoka stated in awe.

"Yes, our information indicates that it was built with security as the number one priority, not inconspicuousness," the admiral said, turning to face Anakin.

"Well, why would they have a need for inconspicuousness?" her Master asked thoughtfully, his gloved hand on his chin, eyes narrowed in thought. "There's no civilization around for hundreds of klicks according to the diagram."

"You are right, General. The planet is divided into two sections, the Brightside and the Darkside," Admiral Yularen explained as he changed the projection to the larger view of the planet. He pointed to each area as he mentioned it. "Ghuians is in a tidally locked orbit with the system's star. Half the planet is basked in eternal day, the Brightside, and the other half is engulfed in perpetual night, the Darkside. The Brightside is predominantly plains and swamps with small arid deserts scattered throughout. The Darkside is very rocky and has several mountain ranges crisscrossing and intertwining. Few species live on the Darkside, and none of them humanoid or capable of forming civilization. The base is located at the intersection of two of the larger mountain ranges, the Domie and the Zanarepse."

"Which means that getting in will pretty hard if it means climbing over crags," Ahsoka stated, glancing up at her Master with a bit of concern in her cerulean blue eyes.

"The Commander makes a very valid point," Yularen stated stiffly. His eyes hardened "Skywalker, do you have a plan for infiltration of this base."

"Eh," Anakin said, waving his hand in the air and looking away. "I'm getting there."

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "Master, I don't think this mission is a good time to go in without a plan."

"Easy Snips, maybe you have been spending too much time around Obi-Wan." Anakin chuckled. When he noticed that Ahsoka's expression did not soften at all, he abruptly cut off. Ahsoka's Master stooped down slightly to her level and placed a hand on the young Togruta's shoulder. He softened his voice and spoke in a more serious tone. "Don't worry, Ahsoka, I have no intention of going into this one without a plan. If this weapon is as dangerous as the Council made it seem, it is imperative that we put a stop to the Separatists' plans." The sooner they brought an end to that Separatist scum, the sooner he could return to Padme and live a normal life with his wife. Well, as normal a life as a married Jedi and Senator couple could have. He was determined, and nothing could stop him from ending the war and returning to his wife. Nothing.

Ahsoka finally smiled. "Well, I sure hope so, Skyguy. I won't be able to get you out of every mess that you get yourself into." She shrugged off his hand and sauntered to the other side of the holoprojector.

Admiral Yularen glanced between the two Jedi, slightly incredulous, but by this time well used to their strange antics. "Well, if you two are done now, I shall leave you to study the diagrams on your own and formulate a plan. Contact me if you require assistance." The admiral marched away to supervise the clones at various station throughout the bridge, his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

Several standard hours and arguments later, Ahsoka and her Master had come up with what they believed to be a semi-feasible plan.

"Alright, Snips. That seems to be about it," Anakin said, glancing at Ahsoka pointedly.

"Don't worry, Skyguy," Ahsoka said, smirking. "I actually like this plan. It's way better than the last one you suggested."

Anakin crossed his arms and glared at his Padawan. "Look, I still don't see how it was that-"

"You suggested jumping out of a gunship onto the roof of the facility!" Ahsoka cried, throwing her arms in the air. She leaned over and slapped her hands on the holoprojector, raising a white eye marking at her Master. "Need I remind you that the wind would be more than strong enough to blow our strike team off of our course? And the base is in the mountains? Meaning sharp, pointy objects everywhere! Not to mention the fact that this is a stealth mission. Once the Separatists in the compound are alerted to our presence-"

"Okay, I get it. Sheesh, you didn't have to get so worked up, Snips. I got it the first time," Anakin said, head turned away from her and holding his hands up as if to stop a tidal wave.

"Then why did you bring it up again?" Ahsoka asked incredulously, her head-tails twitching.

The Jedi Knight smirked. "Because someone needed to get out their frustrations and cool down." The smile fell from Anakin's face, and he walked over to stand next to Ahsoka who had stormed away from him. "Now, Snips, tell me what it is that has you so high-strung."

The change in the young Togruta was drastic, like a balloon that someone had poked a gaping hole in. All of her anger and frustration rushed out of her, leaving a subdued and very downcast Padawan. She glanced down at the floor and clasped her hands together.

"Snips, is it because Barriss didn't show up to see us off?" her Master asked, concerned.

"To be honest, Skyguy, I really don't know what it is. I just know that something is wrong." Ahsoka turned her head farther away from Anakin and bit her lip. "Very wrong. And I have no idea what it is."

Anakin sighed, hoping that his young Padawan wasn't going through what he had gone through when he had had dreams of losing his mother. "Everything will be fine, Ahsoka," Anakin said, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. "I know it's hard to be feeling how you do." When Ahsoka still wouldn't meet his eyes, Anakin put a hand on her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. He calmly met her eyes. "But you can't let your feelings rule you. Put it aside for now, and I'll help you figure this out once the mission is done."

"I know, Master," Ahsoka said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay, Snips," Anakin said with a smile. He suddenly brightened and straightened up, a wide grin on his face. "I know just what you need. We still have some time before we reach Ghuians. What do you say to a sparring match?"

One side of Ahsoka's mouth quirked up and she crossed her arms. "Only if you're up for getting your butt kicked, Skyguy."

"Oh, we'll see about that, Snips." Anakin smiled, happy to see that his Padawan was happy.

The two Jedi departed the bridge and walked through the corridors of the Resolute in amicable silence, nodding a greeting to those they passed. Soon enough, they arrived at the doors that led into the sparring chamber. They entered the empty, spacious room and set their lightsabers to their lowest setting, Ahsoka opting to use only her main green saber instead of both.

"Ready, Skyguy?" Ahsoka asked as she walked to the center of the room.

"I think I should be asking you that, Snips," Anakin said with a smirk.

Master and Padawan slowly circled each other, blue and green blades humming, waiting for the first strike.

Anakin abruptly lunged at Ahsoka, her green blade quickly raised to block the strike. She pulled her saber away from her Master's and swiftly tucked and rolled under his blade, springing to her feet behind him. Her lightsaber darted at his back, but he spun around fast enough to block it. Their lightsabers clashed as each pushed against the other.

"Nice, Snips," Anakin said as he applied further force to his saber. "I'm impressed. Of course, it would be better if you would actually hold your lightsaber the right way, but I guess it's fine."

Ahsoka grunted and launched herself into a flip, jumping over and behind her Master. He turned and their blades locked again.

"I think you're getting old, Skyguy," Ahsoka taunted. "Looks like someone's slowing up."

"Hey, now you watch it, Snips. If anyone's getting old, it's Obi-Wan. I'm only twenty-one," Anakin said, indignant.

"Only twenty-one?" Ahsoka questioned raising an eye marking at her Master.

"Snips!" Anakin cautioned.

The two moved steadily backward with Anakin leading. Their sabers clashed and spun as they worked their way to the far side of the room, Ahsoka switching levels and utilizing her agility, alternating strikes high and low to try to find an opening in her Masters attacks. Their fight ended when Anakin brought his saber down hard on Ahsoka's, knocking it out of her hands. Anakin deactivated his saber as Ahsoka used the Force to retrieve hers, readjusted its setting, and clipped it into its place on her belt.

"I'll beat you one of these days, Master," Ahsoka remarked as they walked toward the doors, side by side.

"I'm sure you will, Snips," Anakin said as he placed a hand on the young Togruta's shoulder. "I'm sure you will."

As the two exited the sparring room, they heard Admiral Yularen's voice blaring throughout the halls of the Resolute. "Strike team, report to main hangar for mission briefing. ETA to Ghuians, one standard hour."

"Looks like it's go time, Snips," Anakin said, glancing at his Padawan.

Ahsoka smiled. "Ready if you are, Skyguy."

A/N: Well, here it is. Sorry, for the wait. I have no excuse other than life and school decided to hit me. Hard. Well, better late than never I suppose. Again, my apologies. I hope this chapter made up for it. For those of you who are getting impatient with the story, next chapter is the arrival at Ghuians, I promise you. You'll get more answers then, and I'm planning on adding a bit with another perspective, probably within the next couple chapters. I'm telling you, things are about to get interesting. So, this chapter was me trying my hand at writing a lightsaber sequence. Tell me what you thought of it. I hope you could kind of picture it and it wasn't just "she did this, then he did this, and she did this, and he did this." Okay, now on to my reviewers, as of this chapter:

Cnwriter: Thanks for taking the time to review. Yes, interesting indeed. I've never read Omen, but if you say so. Again, thanks! :)

Christina: Haha, interesting hypothesis, but no. Thanks for taking the time to review! :)

Fox Scarlen: Thanks! Having the characters in character (haha) is very important to me, so I'm glad you think they are. I did enjoy incorporating a bit of Ahsoka's musings into the story. I just think it'd be really amusing to see the thoughts going on about Anakin and Padme, even if Ahsoka doesn't necessarily know that it is Anakin and Padme. Glad you liked it. It'll probably become more clear how the prologue ties-in in the next few chapters or so. Thanks for reviewing! :)

Evil Tree: Yep! Glad you caught the weapon comment. I was beginning to worry that I was being too vague. Glad you liked the detail and plot. My mom keeps telling me that I can't be too mysterious and that I need to start delivering on the story and plot instead of keeping building up, so I'm glad that her advice is helping me give a satisfying amount of plot. Glad you like the Barriss and Archives mysterious fun-ness. Haha, yeah, Ahsoka's thoughts on that particular subject are amusing to write. Thanks for reviewing! :)

Victoria: Thanks for reading and reviewing, even if you did give me some very harsh criticism in school on the subject on my story! I agree with Cindy! Harsh! But anyway, glad you liked it! :)

Just a Crazy-Man: Thanks... But really, thanks for taking the time to review! :)

Ben Rachlin: Thanks, and thanks for picking up on the mysterious weapon. Hm, interesting hypothesis on the subject of Barriss. I'm planning on (slightly) clarifying what's going on with Barris sometime in the next few chapters. Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for taking the time to review! :)

Thanks for the reviews people! Track becomes mandatory this week, so let the juggling begin! I'll really try to get you a new chapter quicker this time around, but I can't make any promises except that I'll try. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, if you caught any mistakes, or if you have any advice. Oh, and I tried using some symbolism in naming the mountain ranges, but Victoria told me that I was being too subtle, so if you catch it, great, if not, eh. Thanks for reading. Please, review! :)

~JediRunnerGirl