"So, what do you think, master?" Anakin asked while looking at the planet before him, flying his ship calmly. He glanced at Obi-Wan who was sitting in the seat next to him and noticed how he was fidgeting with his fingers and a drop of sweat was rolling down the side of his face.
Knowing that Obi-Wan still hated flying and everything related to it, Anakin smiled and made the ship fly even faster than before as they almost reached the surface.
"What do I think about what?" Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at Anakin's actions while his hands involuntarily gripped the sides of his chair a bit tighter.
"About the mission." Anakin answered, pushing some buttons to ready the ship for the landing.
Obi-Wan took in a deep breath as he lifted his hand to stroke his beard in a thoughtful manner, his eyebrows knitting together as his blue eyes took in the green of the planet. "I have to be honest with you, Anakin, I don't think I have ever heard of this planet before. I don't know what to expect."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi who doesn't know anything about a planet or what to expect?" Anakin took in a shocked breath. "Where is my former master and what have you done with him?!"
Obi-Wan sighed deeply and leaned his head on his hands. "I am not a walking databank, Anakin." He sarcastically said. "And slow down, I have no intention of crashing down and dying here."
Anakin laughed but did as he was told. "Still, for a weapon with this much power the senate is acting strangely calm about it nearly falling into the wrong hands. Even Padmé was vague when it came to the details."
"Well, we need not worry." Obi-Wan said as he straightened up in his chair. "We've got Rex with us and we've got some allies on the surface according to Yoda. And as I see now, the planet does look inviting."
Obi-Wan let his eyes wander over the numerous gigantic trees and mountains. There were multiple rivers and waterfalls coming from the hills that now shimmered beautifully in the light of the sun. The planet looked a lot like Naboo, only it seemed more wild and crowded with nature. If he was sure of one thing, it would be that the inhabitants of the planet loved their nature. Their city was overgrown with trees and other plants yet it looked elegant and strangely majestic.
"At least there's no sand." Anakin mumbled to himself.
~
"Yet another happy landing, I see?" Rex walked up to Obi-Wan and Anakin after they had exited their ships. He nodded at them: "General Kenobi, General Skywalker."
"It's good to have you with us, Rex." Anakin smiled as he patted his shoulder and made his way off the landing platform.
"I wouldn't refuse a getaway like this. No droids, no zombies from beneath the ground or any crazy sith." Rex sighed happily as he looked around. "What's the plan, general?" He asked as he looked at Obi-Wan expectantly.
"We will first need to take back the city since the weapon is stationed there. We will establish our base and drive the rebels away from it, after that we'll see what happens." Obi-Wan said. "For now we'll wait till everyone's here."
Obi-Wan looked at his surroundings and wondered where the rebels even were. He had expected them to attack the minute they'd landed yet there was no one to be seen. He turned to Rex, who had been on the planet for several weeks now.
"What do we know about the rebels?" Obi-Wan asked. "Is there any chance that there is Separist involvement?"
"Well, they're not the usual droids, that's for sure. They're highly intelligent for such an undeveloped planet but use extremely little technology or weapons to get what they want. As for the separatists, we have no reason to suspect that the valerians have formed an alliance with them. One thing's for sure; the separatists will try to get involved when they hear of this."
Anakin frowned as he let his eyes wonder over the tall buildings on the horizon. They were mostly made out of light stone and reached up high into the clouds. "This should be easy, then."
"Don't underestimate them, general." Rex warned him. "As I said, they seem to know a lot about us. The problem is, we don't know anything about them."
"We will." Obi-Wan promised. "For now; get ready. We'll be leaving at sunrise."
~
Lyanna's POV
I sighed deeply while twisting a knife around my fingers. My red locks fell before my eyes as they stared dully at the table in front of them. I waved the lock of hair from my face as I sat up in my chair, looking around the round table as everyone was still discussing loudly and rather angrily. Instead of focusing on the discussion I looked around the council chamber.
It was a room in the shape of a circle and right in the middle of it stood the round table where the council would meet after something happened. Behind every chair, which all had different designs and decorations made especially for the person in it, was a statue of one of my ancestors. They towered above everything else, reaching the ceiling which was almost 10 feet high. The room seemed to radiate power and wealth and the moment you were in it made you know that there was something drastic going on.
"Enough!" My father yelled as his fists pounded on the table. As if a gun had just been fired, everyone stared at him in shock. I on the other hand, looked at him gratefully. My father had never been someone to speak loudly or interrupt people but he knew when he had to.
I took in his features, his broad jaw that was covered with his ever growing beard that he tried to keep short, his golden with specks of gray hair that was thrown back from his face and being held like that by his silver crown and last of all his kind grey eyes. Even for his age he was certainly good looking.
"I will not condone to an action that will lead us into war." He said clearly.
"We are already in a war!" My uncle, a man named Derik, spoke loudly. He was quite the opposite of my father; black hair that he kept rather long, a full beard and dark blue eyes that always held a tint of contempt. To be honest, I never really saw the likeliness between them. Maybe it was because their personalities were also the complete opposite. Father sighed deeply and fell back into his chair in defeat, looking at his brother while waiting for an explanation.
"I told you a few weeks back that there was word of the republic invading our planet to take it from us. You decided to ignore it, claiming it was just a rumor. Now, their army with two of their best Jedi are at our very own doorstep. How can you not see that we must act now before they take our freedom?!"
An eerie silence fell over the council as they looked at their king in anticipation. "Because this is not what the republic usually does." I spoke up, earning a few confused glances from the men around me. "They never just invade a planet or force their leadership onto it. It would be against their very own goal; democracy."
"Then how do you explain their presence here?" Stefan, the captain of our army asked. I bit my lip and casted my eyes down to the table, an uneasy feeling erupting on the bottom of my stomach. I knew that most of the men planned to attack the Jedi.
"What my sister is trying to say-" Aidan, my brother, shifted on his feet awkwardly. He looked a lot like my father, in fact, he was almost a complete copy. He had the same broad jaw, stern grey eyes and golden hair. "Is that there must be a reason for them to invade our planet."
I mouthed a thank you to him but Aidan shook his head no, telling me that he wasn't exactly on the same page. "But it's too late for negotiations now. They have already taken position outside the city and are ready to attack at any given moment."
"We cannot let them take our city, our pride." Derik laid his hand on top of his nephew's shoulder, smiling at him proudly. He then started walking around the round table with his hands clasped behind his back. "We've been hiding in the shadows for too long, hiding our true faces, identities, powers. We've condemned ourselves to a life of simplicity when actually we were born for greatness."
He let his eyes wander over all the 8 members of the council. "It is time to show the republic that they cannot rule us, that we, the people of Valeria, are not just another tribe to be reckoned with. We will show them what real power looks like!"
"And be killed in the process?" Eric, the king, countered. Derik glared at his brother as all the other councilmen nodded. "We've been living in peace for almost a hundred centuries. I will not let anything break or destroy that peace, not while I'm king."
"Then what do we do, just let them take our home?!" Derik grew irritated, waving his hands around in the air.
"This is our home and nobody will ever take that from us." Eric stood up and placed his fists on the table. "We need to find out why the jedi are here. To do that, we need more time."
"We don't have time!" Derik yelled. "Tomorrow they will invade our city. None of your negotiations will stop that!"
"Then our first priority is to get the people to safety." I said. As the master healer of our kingdom, I was charged with taking care of the people's health. I sat up in my rather simply decorated chair as I looked at Derik. "As you said, the jedi will probably invade our city tomorrow. We can't let our people get trapped in our battle."
"So what, we're just going to flee?" Daniel, another councilman, asked.
"No." My father said as his eyes wandered over the map that was laid out on the table. "My daughter is right, we will need to evacuate the city and take the people to Eagle's Fall." He pointed at the location on the map. "We, however, will take position around the city; here, here and here." He said. "We'll be able to observe and maybe find out what they're planning."
"And if what they're planning is bad? We'll hide even deeper inside the bushes, hoping they don't come looking?" Derik crossed his arms before his chest and lifted his eyebrows. "We can't just give up the city!"
"You and I both know that Vellen is easier taken than held." My father grew irritated. "When the need is there, we will have the opportunity to take it back."
"Your grace, if I may-" Stefan began but was soon interrupted.
"My decision is final, commander." Eric stated.
"You're making a big mistake." Derik angrily muttered under his breath, earning a glare from my father.
Eric kept his brother's eyes captive, almost daring him to go against him. My uncle knew better though after their rivals in the past. "Council dismissed." My father said, making everyone leave the room. "Except you two."
Aidan and I exchanged glances and hesitantly walked back to our father. When the last councilman had left, my father let out a deep sigh and plumped down onto his throne. The stern look was replaced by a tired one.
"What is it, father?" Aidan eyes him suspiciously. I knew that if he had the chance, he would choose my uncle's views over my father's any time. No matter what he said, I always knew that Aidan preferred violence over peace.
"My children." Eric looked up at us with a tired look. "I wish I could do this myself, but you know of my condition." He stood up slowly. "I need you two to make sure the people are safe. Aidan, you take the south district and lead them through the valley. Lyanna: you take the north district and lead them through the woods."
"Of course, father." Aidan bowed slightly. Even though he preferred my uncle's views, he always tried his best to make his father proud. Maybe he just needed confirmation that he was doing well.
"That will be all for you, my son." Eric waved him away. Aidan's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, looking back and forth between father and I. "Goodbye, Aidan." My father pressed on.
"Is there something else?" I asked when Aidan had left. My eyes followed him as my father slowly made his way over to the statue behind him.
"This... Threat has reminded me that I still have a lot to tell you." He said.
"About my true parents, you mean?" Hope flowered in the bottom of my stomach as I walked up to him. He never really told me who my real parents were. In fact, most people, including my brother, thought that I was his bastard daughter.
Eric glanced at me with hurt in his eyes. "Lyanna..." He sighed as he laid both his hands on my shoulders. "You are my daughter, that's all you need to know."
"But father-" I protested but he ignored me as he turned back towards the statue.
"You know who this is?" He asked as he looked at the man.
"That's Anduin Fireheart." I sighed deeply and crossed my arms. When I was little, father used to take Aidan and me to this very chamber at night. He'd talk hours and hours about the statues and the legends behind them. "Or as most people call him, the phoenix."
"He brought all the clans together to fight the Blackwings and thus created the kingdom of Valeria as we now know it." He let his hand glide over the smooth surface as he stared up at the eyes of Anduin in wonder. "He was killed soon after." He muttered.
"Father, what are you trying to tell me?" I frowned.
"What I'm trying to say is..." He turned towards me again, his grey eyes capturing mine again. "You mustn't let yourself be blinded by hatred. Never believe the stories that you hear but find out yourself. And never, never let anyone influence you over what you think about someone else, understood?"
"Yes, father." To be honest, I was shaken by this. Never had there been so much desperation in my father's eyes.
"Good." He let out a large sigh of relief. "Now go, evacuate the city. I wouldn't want anyone to be captured by those jedi."