Depa knelt at the mouth of the Lothal temple, arms crossed, waiting for Mace to emerge from inside. Early morning light shone over the plains, and a Loth cat chittered somewhere in the bowing brown grass.

Anakin had vanished in the night along with a broken down speeder and Bant and Nahdar in tow. Depa shook her head. After her padawan's display on the training field, she had wondered how long it would take him to run away to look for Kenobi. Even after five years of separation, Anakin idolized and idealized the knight and probably thought Kenobi could avert whatever haunted his dreams. Brave. Brave and foolish.

Soft footsteps caught her attention, and she raised her head as Mace emerged from the depths of the temple. She sighed and slumped forward, hands rested on her thighs and elbows akimbo. "Master."

He knelt beside her, a stable anchor point compared to her swirling thoughts. His missing eye was long healed over in a faded scar, but a small brown eyepatch covered the socket. He turned his face to the sun and they sat in silence for a long moment before he spoke. "Depa. You're up early."

"Hmm. Where's my padawan?"

"The same place as Knight Erin and her padawan, I imagine."

Depa raised an eyebrow. "And when are they bringing him back?"

"Probably once they find Kenobi."

The Jedi master shook her head. She suspected Anakin might try to leave, just as she suspected Bant would leap at the chance to find her friend. But... "If Plo hasn't found him in five years, and he hasn't responded to the beacon, it's possible Kenobi may not want to be found."

A Loth cat emerged from the grass and blinked its round eyes at the Jedi pair then skittered closer. Mace raised one hand, and the cat darted closer to run its head under his fingers. The Loth cats were half-domesticated already thanks to the padawans and younglings relentless efforts. A few more years and the animals would practically be house cats. Mace threaded his fingers through its long coarse fur, and it purred.

"Shmi is worried about him."

Mace didn't answer, just listened and scratched the cat beneath its chin as it leaned into his palm.

Depa sighed. "He would have gone regardless of what we did to stop him, but I fear that by going, he's taken the danger with him."

"Hmm." Mace frowned. "You never had premonitions."

The Loth cat walked over his thighs to nuzzle his other hand, purring slightly. Depa smiled. "No, that was never my forte." Her smile faded. "If we are found here, by Dooku, by the Republic… I fear we made the wrong choice about the Holocron."

He was still for a moment. Then, "All the lightsabers in the galaxy couldn't save us before. We will never be safe. Not from danger. Not from grief." He laid his hand on her shoulder, a familiar gesture that steadied her. "Don't let your heart be troubled, Depa. He will come back to you."

She laid her hand over his and wrinkled her face in a smile, the jewel in the bridge of her nose scrunching against her eyebrows. "Are you certain you don't have premonitions, Mace?"

He shook his head with fond exasperation. Not premonitions, only trust in the Force. They looked out over the village, the stone huts poking out of the grass like great grey beehives. Shmi emerged from one of them, a basket on her hip, and Ahsoka ran up to her with a fistful of wildflowers. Mace exhaled slowly through his nose, and Depa knew he had made a decision.

"We may never be safe. But I think it's time we move the children onto The Crucible."

Depa moved to her feet. "I'll call Master Hyuang and ask him to start the evacuation."

The ship jolted, startling Anakin awake. He and Nahdar started up from where they'd been leaning on each other, but Bant was already standing at alert. The padawans scrambled to their feet, and Avee beeped and whirred as she hovered around them.

"What's happening, master?"

"We're coming into port now."

Nahdar smiled. "That was easy."

"Careful, padawan," Bant said. "We aren't to the queen yet."

"We made it halfway across the galaxy without trouble. What could go wrong?"

Anakin stretched. "Once we land, we can—" The ship banked hard, and the Jedi grabbed onto the crates to keep from being flung across the hold. "What is—"

Bant paused and tilted her head. "I think that's our cue to leave."

"What?"

The knight ran to the cargo bay door and hit the controls. The doors groaned and shuddered open. Sunlight and humid air poured into the hold, and the wind whipped by. The ship flew low over a long lake, and in the distance, there was a city of green-domed buildings along the cliff-lined shore. Naboo. Anakin raised one fist in the air. "Whoo!"

A pair of gold Nubian fighters whizzed by, and Anakin felt a thrill go through him at the speed and grace of them, even if they didn't mean anything good. They couldn't get caught by the authorities before they talked to Padme. Jedi were technically protected in Separatist space—they'd kept up with the news during supply trips to nearby Lothal cities—but Dooku was still in charge and very much a Sith Lord. If they got turned over to him before they got Padme's help, they'd all probably die. Or get tortured and then die. Anakin wasn't very clear on how Sith worked, but he knew the story ended with everybody dead.

The ship banked again and a distracted Anakin slammed into a tower of crates. Avee shrieked and pinched after him with her claws but missed, and Nahdar hurtled into him.

"Oof."

"Sorry."

The boys caught hold of each other as they fought to keep their feet under them, and Avee swung back and forth while the ship pitched around her.

The cargo shifted hard, and one of the boxes cracked, spewing a faint cloud of orange dust. Spice.

"Oh, kriff." Anakin gripped Nahdar's arm tighter. "They're smugglers."

Nahdar's eyes widened with realization then narrowed. With a flick of his wrist, he ignited his lightsaber and sliced through the crate. A plume of orange spice burst out the hold doors like an exhaust vent. "There's our cover."

"Less talking," Bant shouted from the exit. "More jumping!"

Nahdar cut through a swath of crates, and three more orange clouds trailed from the ship. The padawans stumbled through the cloud to Bant's side.

"Quick, Avee."

The three Jedi leaped. For a second the wind howled in Anakin's ears, and water rushed up to meet him. Panting, he flipped himself around and got his feet under him just in time to plunge into the lake. Cold water engulfed him; a cloud of bubbles and sudden dark obscured his vision. He held his breath and tried not to panic.

He knew how to swim. He did. Obi-Wan had taught him in the lake on Serenno, and he'd practiced on Lothal, but the pressure in his ears and on his lungs from submerged just wasn't natural. There were so many bubbles-where had the surface gone?

Someone grabbed his arm, and he flinched, but Bant emerged from the dim green water, looped an arm under his, and dragged him along at uncanny speeds. Just as Anakin's lungs started to burn, the knight pulled him to the surface. Sputtering, Anakin gulped for air and kicked hard to keep himself afloat.

"You all right?"

"Yeah." He coughed and wiped at his eyes. "Thanks."

She smiled. "Let's try to avoid the smuggler's ship next time."

He grinned and paddled to the cliff face to hold onto the slick rocks. "I'll do my best, master."

Avee skimmed along the surface of the lake and chirped nervously. Anakin raised his face higher out of the water to look up at her. "Hey, hey, we're okay. See? Just don't get too wet."

They floated in the shade of the cliffs, the city overhead and the Nubian fighters chasing the freighter trailing the last of the spice like exhaust fumes.

Nahdar surfaced beside them and bobbed low in the water as he moved his arms and legs with relaxed ease. "Now what do we do? They will be watching for us in the city."

Anakin shook his head and pointed to the Theed palace further down the shore. Its domed roofs shone dark green and gold in the late afternoon sun, perched high above the lake with ribbon waterfalls fluttering down in a mess of rainbows and mist. As stable and majestic as he remembered. "There's a secret way in under those waterfalls. It'll take some climbing to get to it, but the mist will hide our approach. The passage leads straight into the palace, and we can find the queen from there."

Bant looked surprised. "How do you know that?"

"I had a lot of time to explore after the Battle of Naboo. Before things went sideways."

Nahdar dipped his face under the water and exhaled slowly then raised his head and blinked once. "And you are certain she'll help us?"

Anakin nodded without hesitation. "She'll help us find Obi-Wan. She's got to."

The queen, the Hand, and the handmaidens strolled the gardens of Theed Palace in the cool of the evening. Sabe wore black and crimson royal regalia-Padme would not don it again until the danger was passed, the one concession Obi-Wan had her handmaidens had persuaded the stubborn queen to. Also with them were Rabe and Padme in their red-hooded handmaiden's dress, stewing quietly at his side. The sky overhead dipped into orange, and the setting sun cast thick shadows across the carefully maintained gardens.

As they walked, Obi-Wan noted the placement of the concealed guards they passed and the visible ones. Captain Typho had placed them well, but for all the peace in the garden and all their preparation and planning, Obi-Wan couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger.

He tucked his helmet tucked under one arm as he kept his pace to a casual stroll. "Your majesty." All of the women looked at him, but he was careful to keep his attention on Rabe in case they had any unwanted observers. "You ought to consider Representative Binks' suggestion."

Rabe threw an irritated glance his way, and Padme bristled beside him. "The queen has thanked the representative for his concern, but she has worked for five years to see that the Peace of Mandalore is upheld. She will not hide in the lake country while we stand on the brink of war."

"Amidala's life is at risk."

"And will be again, Master Kenobi. I don't like this idea of hiding."

"Sometimes—" His tone dipped toward reproof. "—we must set aside our personal wishes and do as is requested of us."

"Personal wishes?" Sabe stopped short, her delicately painted chin raised. "I was not aware the count had sent you to lecture me."

Obi-Wan smiled apologetically. "It is not meant as a lecture, your majesty. Only an appeal to the reasonable nature that has kept the CIS from straying these past years. I dread to think what should become of us if something happened to you."

She shared a look with Padme and some unseen communication passed between them before the three women fixed him a dour look. "Very well," said Sabe. "I will consider it."

Obi-Wan returned the smile. "That is all I ask…" The Force tremored, and he paused and turned his head toward it. It felt half-familiar, unsteady, and just out of his sight. He frowned.

"Master Kenobi?" asked Padme.

"Excuse me, my lady. I must speak with Captain Typho." With a bow, he stepped away from the retinue and slid his helmet on. Then he turned from the main path and climbed the stairs to the long balconies that ran the length of the garden on both sides, lined with pillars and windows into the palace. Theed was open and airy, full of light and open space, but he'd spent enough time lurking in shadows to see the myriad dim corners where an assassin might hide. Captain Typho's guards had overlapping vantage points on the queen and her party at all times, but Obi-Wan could not afford to trust them.

The White Hand paced along the second-floor railing, keeping one eye on the queen below.

The Force tremored again. That nagging familiarity blunted and blurred with danger. Obi-Wan shot the captain a look where he was positioned on the far balcony, but Typho shook his head once.

Nothing then.

He'd have to be on guard.

Caedus let the guard slide off his lightsaber blade and crumple to the ground in the heap. The human hadn't had a chance to cry out, let alone reach for his weapon. Death wafted in the Force, and Caedus took a deep breath. From his pocket, he produced a flattened droid that he activated, and from its shell, it unfolded a dozen needle-like arms and pinchers. It floated to the lock and drilled through the durasteel cover. The door hissed open, revealing the secret flight of stairs his master had promised. How Sidious knew the inner working of Theed so intimately, it was not Caedus' role to guess. Not yet. He'd killed to get what he had-other Jedi. Other rivals. He'd crushed Pong Krell under his own heel and thrown him aside to become Caedus. What was a queen to that?

Once he killed Amidala and brought the White Hand's head back to Sidious, he would be rewarded. He had chosen the winning side after all.

Caedus bowed his bulky frame, his four arms held close to his body, and the slicer droid clung spider-like to his back as he began the long climb to the palace.

They had been climbing forever. Still dripping from their ascent up the cliff face, Anakin kept one hand on the wall. Bant's lightsaber and Avee's headlamp only gave so much light in the little staircase, and the steps were mossy and damp and uneven. His boots were soggy, and the humidity wasn't helping him dry any faster, so he climbed slow. If he slipped, he didn't want to tumble all the way to the bottom.

The staircase wound round and round and round, and they'd passed the exit to the hangar bay a while ago. Anakin took two more steps and ran into a locked steel door. The waterfall roar from the other side of the staircase wall muffled their steps and hard breathing, but it made talking harder too. Bant laid a webbed hand on his shoulder and pointed to the wall then shrugged.

Anakin gestured for her to wait and ran his hands over the cool door. There wasn't a locking mechanism accessible from this side, which meant Avee couldn't pick it, but if he could just find it with the Force… there.

Some internal mechanism clicked and whirled, and the door slid open.

Anakin stuck his head out and peered around. They were outside again, on one of the green-domed roofs. The sun was setting now, and the roof reflected the light in a golden haze.

From below drifted voices that sounded a little familiar, so Anakin hopped out of the secret passage and gestured for Bant and Nahdar to follow close behind. Carefully balanced, they made their way to the edge of the roof and peered down at the gardens where the queen was walking with her handmaidens. He remembered these gardens. The smell of the roses, the mist from the fountains as he'd followed Padme and her handmaidens around while Obi-Wan argued with Yoda and the Council. That felt like a really long time ago.

He peered closer in the dying light. He could see her there, walking behind the queen in a red handmaiden's dress. One of the others must have been pretending to be the queen today because Padme Amidala walked behind the queen in a red handmaiden's dress. She was as beautiful as he remembered, the sunlight shining off her like a halo. An angel.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi? We are right here," Nahdar hissed back.

Anakin felt his face go red, and he looked away.

As the queen and her party left the hall and entered the throne room, another person caught Anakin's eye. A man in white with a white helmet stalking along the balcony that overlooked the garden. He was cold. Strong in the Force like a tempered steel blade as he passed through the shadows of the marble pillars, and two silver lightsabers glinting at his belt. There was something familiar about him, something in his deliberate stride that reminded Anakin of Lothal wolves.

The padawan eased his shields up, shrank back into the shadows. He wasn't sure who the masked man was—a Jedi? Had Padmé found another Jedi and offered him sanctuary? Either way, it didn't seem like a good idea to catch his attention.

In the shade of one of the pillars, the man paused and turned his head. Avee thunked down onto the roof and wrapped her arms around her chassis. Anakin shrank further back, letting the quiet and the dark encompass him. Willed the man to overlook him.

The helmeted man stood a moment longer then returned to stalking along the railing.

Once the man passed the Jedi's hiding place, Anakin gestured to his friends. "Wait here." Then he leaped down beside a pillar, hidden in its deep shadows. A quick glance up at the balcony told him the man in white hadn't spotted him.

Padme passed by his hiding place. He had to get her attention. He had to talk to her.

"Psst."

Padme walked on, almost past him. Anakin raised his hand and caught at her train with the Force. She stutter-stepped and looked back at her skirt, and Anakin waved slightly. "Psst. Padme."

She jerked her head toward him and froze. He grinned lopsidedly. "Hi."

Her mouth fell open. "Anakin?"

The other girls noticed their friend had stopped, turned, spied him, and gaped at him too, and he felt his face get hot. "Uh… can I talk to you? It's really important."

The guards along the walls were moving. Their panic rang in the Force, and on the balcony, the man in white vaulted over the railing and strode toward him with a lightsaber in hand. Kriffing son of a sith-spawned-Anakin whipped his head back to Padme and stepped into the light with his hands raised. "Whoa, wait. Please don't arrest me. I need your help."

She nodded, and the queen held up a hand. The guards slowed then stopped but still glared at him with obvious distrust. The man in white stopped short as if he'd been struck. Anakin didn't have time to think about how weird that was, so he focused on Padme and tried to look taller. He was taller than her, he realized, almost by a full head now. She stood a pace away, the other handmaiden close at her heels and the girl in the queen's clothes a little further behind.

A smile spread across Padme's lips, and his heart skipped. "Ani. It's been so long. How did you get here?"

"I kind of snuck on-planet." He bowed stiltedly like he remembered Obi-Wan showing him. "It's good to see you, Padme."

"And you. You've grown."

He blinked. "I… uh…"

"You said you needed help?" A frown creased her forehead. She was worried. She was worried about him, and it set pins and needles along the back of his neck. She reached out a hand to him. "Are you in danger?"

"No. Well, yes, but not right this second. We're looking for Obi-Wan. He's been looking for us for so long, and he never found us, and I'm worried he's in trouble. If you know where he is, it's really important that I find him."

Her eyebrows went up, and all three girls shot a furtive glance at the helmeted man. Anakin glanced at him too, the maybe-Jedi standing perfectly still. The Force coiled tight around him almost like he was trying to hide in plain sight, and there was still a bite of danger to his presence.

Padme smiled and put her arm around his shoulder. "Well, Ani, you can stop worrying."

The man took a half-step toward her. "My lady..."

"This is the White Hand. He knows Obi-Wan." Padme gave Anakin a warm smile. "I'm sure he'll be happy to help you find your master."

Anakin bowed to the man. "I'd really appreciate it, sir. He's been missing for a long time, and I'm worried about him."

Obi-Wan held his shields tight, reeling from the sight of his padawan. His padawan here, on Naboo at the same time the queen's life was in danger. There were no coincidences, so this had to be the Force's idea of a bad joke. But he thanked the Force anyway that Padme understood the value of secrets and masks.

He bowed stiffly to the boy and folded his arms. He had to get the boy away before Dooku caught wind of it. Before Anakin realized what Obi-Wan had become. Fortunately, the boy seemed entirely distracted by Padme's arm around his shoulders. Good stars, the boy had grown. Last time they had been on Naboo, Anakin had been a child barely as high as Obi-Wan's waist, and now he was a teenager a head taller than the queen.

Five years.

Obi-Wan's heart twisted in regret for what he had missed. Five years… He pushed the feelings aside. All that mattered was Anakin's safety.

Sabe stepped forward. "It is good to see you again, Anakin. We were about to convene for an evening meal if you would care to join us."

Anakin brightened. "That would be great! I, uh, might have brought a couple friends."

Beneath the helmet, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. Who in stars name had Anakin convinced to sneak into Theed palace while the queen was under active assasination watch? He shook his head. Only Anakin.

"More Jedi?" Padme smiled. "Of course, they are welcome. But we have laws to protect the Jedi, Anakin. You don't have to sneak around."

The boy grimaced, and Obi-Wan knew he was thinking of Dooku. A fine mess Obi-Wan had walked into.

Anakin waved at the roof, and two shadows leaped and landed crouched in the garden path. A probe droid drifted down and hovered behind them. The guards whipped toward them, blasters out, but Sabe waved for them to stand down. "It's all right."

The guards lowered their weapons, and both figures stood, two slightly damp Mon Cala with lightsabers at their belts. Obi-Wan's stomach twisted. Bant.

Kriff. Of course it was Bant.

His mind raced. They could not know who he was. What he'd done. They couldn't. He had to get them all out of here and back to wherever it was they had come from. The White Hand would have to set up some kind of call with Obi-Wan to persuade them to leave him alone. If Dooku found out about them, if he found them-

Sabe turned up the garden path to lead them all inside, but the Force rang a warning. Instinctively, Obi-Wan threw out a hand, knocking her to the ground with an invisible shove. She cried out, and something metal pinged off the paving stones. Padme and Rabe gasped and ran to her, and Anakin darted after them.

Obi-Wan sprang to stand over the queen and her handmaidens, a lightsaber raised but not lit as he searched for the sniper.

Bant and her padawan lit their lightsabers and took up defensive positions beside Obi-Wan, and the green glow of them pushed the evening back. It felt right and like a horrible betrayal all at once. Of all the Jedi who could have found him, why did it have to be Bant and Anakin?

On the ground, Sabe gasped raggedly for air. Rabe had her hand over her friend's throat, fear in her voice. "It grazed her."

"Is she all right?" Anakin asked. Avee moved to hover near his shoulder and beeped nervously.

Captain Typho crouched a few paces away and held up a thin metal dart. "Poison."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Anakin asked.

"Get the queen inside," Typho ordered.

Bant turned off her lightsaber and scooped Sabe off the ground, gown and all, and Anakin grabbed Padme's arm. The boy didn't have a lightsaber, or if he did, he'd lost it. Obi-Wan shifted to keep them covered as he scanned the shadows. He would not miss a second shot.

The Force grew cold and thick, hanging over the garden like a fog. Obi-Wan slid into a fighting stance and gritted his teeth. "Everyone inside. Now."

A shadow of a statue shifted, and a towering Besalisk stepped out of the dark. Dressed in black from head to foot, the four-armed assassin drew two double-bladed lightsabers from his belt and ignited one. The blood-red glow bathed the garden in deadly light, and the guards shrank from it even as they trained their blasters on him.

Fear flooded the Force, Anakin's howling the loudest as he stood face to face with the nightmare that been hunting him.

Bant's padawan shuddered. "Master."

"Go," she ordered. "Now."

As the others retreated inside, Obi-Wan stalked forward a few paces to put himself firmly between the others and the new Sith, and he drew both lightsabers. Sabe's ragged gasps faded, but Anakin's fear bloomed into white-hot fury. The White Hand curled back his lips and felt his own rage simmering as he glared at the intruder. He had known Gunray was in league with Sidious. He should have expected a Sith would try to finish what Maul had started. "You're going to regret coming here."

A laugh rumbled in the Besalisk's throat, and the Dark Side fog thickened around him. "The White Hand. I had hoped to meet you."

Obi-Wan lit both his lightsabers, their golden fire blazing in his hands, and he raised one in a dueling salute. "Then allow me to introduce myself."

Author's Note:

Real life has been kicking my butt a little recently, so the updates will be a little slow for a few weeks here, but Obi-Wan, who's also having a terrible day, gets to be a BAMF next chapter, and I'm very excited.

References:
"All the lightsabers in the galaxy couldn't save us before. We will never be safe. Not from danger. Not from grief."
- reference to Yoda's rejecting the Dark Side temptation in Dark Rendezvous. "Safe? I will never be safe."

"Sometimes—" His tone dipped toward reproof. "—we must set aside our personal wishes and do as is requested of us."
- Anakin in AotC. "Sometimes we must set aside our pride and do as is requested of us."

Reviews:

Djanka Lee: Thank you! Everybody is riding the struggle bus, but i'm glad the timeline and politics feel a little clearer!