Danger! The warning is suddenly screamed by the Force as the three of us head to the Jedi Temple to continue out training with Anakin. By the time it registers, Anakin is already moving. His lightsaber is already ignited, and he's whirling to face the incoming attack. I notice that Ariana also has her blade in her hand, swinging in unison with Anakin to deflect the blaster bolts whizzing our way.
I shouldn't be surprised, especially after our conversation last night, but I am. Ramona and I also ignite our lightsabers, preparing to block any other bolts coming towards us. My eyes follow the direction the bolts are coming, and I spy a shadowed figure peering around the corner of a building, aiming a blaster at us. After firing a few more shots which we deflect, the figure spins around and takes off running.
He – at least I think it's a he – crosses our line of sight for a moment as he sprints to a nearby waiting speeder. How could it have taken him so long to realize that if you're alone, you don't try to kill a Jedi with only a blaster? At least not when they're armed with lightsabers. Jedi don't usually die that easily.
I frown, slightly. I don't recognize the figure from any of the movies, so I don't think he's anyone I've ever heard of before. Probably a random bounty hunter hired by Palpatine. I sigh quietly. It's not even been a day later, and they're trying to kill us already. How will we survive? I shudder, realizing that if we'd drawn our lightsabers one second later, at least one of us would be dead or seriously injured right now. Just another typical day in the life of the Starlights.
Anakin dashes to his speeder and leaps inside with the three of us right behind him. The potential assassin's speeder takes off and zooms away into the sky towards the busy traffic lines far above us. Firing the engine, Anakin speeds after, his jaw set in a determined expression. He's clearly intending to catch him, come what may. I fasten myself inside and brace for anything.
Even if we catch the bounty hunter, he'll never tell us who hired him, and even if, by some miracle, we got the name out of him, we would never be able to trace it back to Palpatine. At least we'll have one less person trying to kill us. With our life having just taken a downwards turn, I guess we just must look for whatever positive aspects are left. Although, I suppose being with Anakin and Obi-Wan is worth all the trouble we're experiencing.
I tense as Anakin begins executing a series of maneuvers that leave me feeling a bit shaken. Memories of the bounty hunter chase in Attack of the Clones flicker through my mind as we speed higher into the sky. It seems this chase will be going on for a while. The assassin can fly well, but Anakin's better.
"I'm going to be green," I mumble mournfully under my breath to my sisters. I just hope the flight won't go on long enough for me to become sick. The wild moves we're taking to avoid losing sight of the speeder is enough to make my stomach turn.
"That's what we get for laughing at Obi-Wan when he was in this situation!" exclaims Ramona with feigned cheerfulness, clearly no more appreciative of the mad flying race we're trapped in than I am. Actually, she likely feels worse than me, because she always gets motion sickness worse than I do on Earth when we drive.
Ariana and I laugh at the comment as we dive in and out of the traffic lanes and turn sharply around a couple buildings. A blaster bolt suddenly flies our direction, but Anakin pulls the speeder out of the way just in time, and we continue zooming forwards. I never got a chance to discover how traffic laws work on Coruscant. Are there even police around to enforce the laws?
We take another sharp turn right between two traffic lines. Saying it's "amazing" we haven't gotten in a crash yet is more than an understatement. At least we're only chasing one person though, because we'd never be able to chase two. Ariana shifts in her seat somewhat uncomfortably, a clear sign that she's not exactly feeling amazing either, though I suspect she's only considering it a miracle she's still alive with Anakin's flying.
I duck reflexively as several more blaster bolts are fired at us, before the assassin's speeder suddenly takes a wild turn around another building, almost losing control in the process. Anakin easily flies after, still looking totally unruffled by the many near crashes we've had. I'm even willing to believe that he's enjoying the chase. I shudder, turning my attention back to the man we're pursuing. Seriously, hasn't the bounty hunter realized it's impossible to escape?
I catch a flicker of warning from the Force as his speeder whizzes another direction, trying to suddenly turn a corner far too sharply. It crashes straight into the side of a building and bounces back. I can't help but cringe and hope that there was no one right inside the building who was injured. Smoke and flames start leaking out of the engine, and the speeder spins out of control. It hurtles towards the ground far below for what is sure to be an explosive end.
Although there's hardly a reason to follow anymore, Anakin drops our speeder down after it. The wreckage already seems to be burning, if the smoke billowing out is any indication. When it hits the ground, it explodes into a ball of flames just like I'd expected. I watch with a horrified fascination, unable to tear my eyes from the flames.
"Shouldn't it be obvious that you don't try to out-pilot Anakin?" mutters Ramona, eyeing the wreck that was once a speeder. She doesn't seem too upset that the man crashed. Anakin smirks at her comment, but from his slightly irritated expression, I can tell he's upset the bounty hunter crashed. I'm sure he wants answers as much as – no, more than – we do. He'll never get them now. At least not until he discovers Palpatine's identity.
Ariana lets out a long sigh, "At least we survived this. Let's just hurry back for training now. There's nothing else we can do right now."
***
We train with Anakin for a while before he leaves to attend the next Council meeting. We, of course, already know everything that will happen in it. Obi-Wan will be sent to Utapau to fight Grievous. And he'll win, of course, but in the end, he'll lose everything. If he was here, Anakin would never have turned, and the Jedi never would have been destroyed. The galaxy would have been spared so much devastation. It's almost ironic that one simple decision caused such horrific results.
Shortly after the Council meeting is over, Obi-Wan takes his turn in our training. A surge of conflicting emotions rush through me when I see him again. We'll likely only see him once more: when he leaves tomorrow. I hope with all my heart that it also won't be the last time Anakin sees him, which is what would have happened if we weren't here to save Anakin.
"I heard about the assassination attempt," Obi-Wan tells us almost immediately.
"We knew it was coming," admits Ramona with a sigh.
"We're in a dangerous situation now. We've gotten the attention of the Sith Lord," Ariana explains, and I can feel her anxiety spike. Since we're talking to Obi-Wan, we can go into more details than with Anakin. We have an unspoken understanding that telling Anakin would arouse his suspicions about the Sith's identity, especially because of the conversation with Palpatine last night. That's not true for Obi-Wan.
I sense that it's not the right time for him to find out. Honestly, I can't trust that Anakin won't do something stupid if he finds out right now. It's better for Sidious to reveal himself when he's ready. I shiver slightly, unwilling to admit aloud how worried I am, though we're no stranger to people wanting us dead. It's a common occurrence back on Earth, but here in the Star Wars universe, the technology is so much more advanced, and it can be harder to know what to expect. And since we're dealing with Sidious, anything is possible. We have no way of knowing to what lengths he might go to eliminate us before we become too dangerous.
"We're walking on fire right now," I mumble, flinching as I remember too late what that phrase reminds us of, especially with what could happen in a few short days. I never should have said that. Images from the battle of Mustafar flicker through my mind. It's the fight we are sworn to do everything in our power to prevent, regardless of the personal costs.
"Don't say that!" cries Ariana, shuddering as she no doubt remembers the same thing.
Silence falls over the four of us for a long moment. I don't know what to say to break it, so I let it linger. Obi-Wan seems to be debating asking what we're talking about, but decides against asking, likely assuming correctly that it was a reference to something in the future which we can't reveal to anyone now.
He finally breaks the silence, asking a completely irrelevant question. "Did you hear that the Council is sending me after General Grievous?" he inquires, and we nod in confirmation.
"I always considered that to be the biggest mistake," Ariana confesses with a sigh. I agree with her. If there's anyone who could have stopped Anakin's fall, it was Obi-Wan. I think he was the only one who could have done it successfully without outside information about the future, like we're in possession of.
"For me to go find him?"
"No, for you to go, and Anakin to be left here. You weren't here when everything fell apart. That could have prevented what happened, but with us here, hopefully it'll be okay," Ariana explains, with a hint of hope in her voice. We can do this. We must do this. That is, provided we aren't killed first. I'm honestly not sure that we won't be anymore.
Obi-Wan's expression becomes concerned as he takes in Ariana's words. "So, everything is going to be happening in the next few days?" he questions.
"Yes. By the time you get back, everything will have happened. And the three of us will have gone home, I think, regardless of what the results are..." Ariana's voice trails off. Right. I take a deep breath to control the sudden onslaught of emotions.
We all miss everyone back at home so badly. Our family, Lance, Asiya, Evelyn, Mark, Matt, and all the others. But at the same time, leaving behind Anakin and Obi-Wan, even Padme, never to see them again, is going to be almost impossible. The thought alone hurts me. I don't want to lose them forever. I've always considered Anakin and Obi-Wan to be real people, but now, having known them, it'll be so much harder to leave them.
I'll miss them so much. The hardest part is knowing that we no longer have a reason to be here once our mission is over. The Force won't bring us back here without a cause. Our role will be over, and they should get the peaceful lives they deserve, but we'll never be able to talk to any of them again. If things go as planned, we'll be leaving in around two days.
If we fail to stop Anakin from falling, we might be here a couple more days, where we'll have the "honor" of going to Mustafar with Obi-Wan and Padme. I know we'll be able to stop the events there from transpiring as we know, but still, we'll have failed the most important part of our mission. Wonderful. Not.
For a moment, Luke's words from The Rise of Skywalker drift through my mind. "No one is ever really gone." Yes. That may be true, but the Jedi will still be destroyed.
I sigh, suddenly feeling as though I'm carrying the galaxy on my shoulders. Now that we've come here and met my two favorite heroes from Star Wars, I can't even imagine a life where I'll never see them again. Knowing they're real and being able to feel their presences distantly, but just out of reach, will be torture. It will probably start driving us all insane. Just thinking about it, I almost start missing them, even though we're still together. I've never been good at goodbyes, but ones that are final are so much more painful.
After a long moment of silence, Ariana steps towards Obi-Wan and wraps her arms around him. He seems slightly surprised for a second before returning her embrace. I guess he has a good idea of what we're feeling. As soon as she lets go, Ramona and I hug him also. I'm going to miss him. Terribly. And this moment will be one I'll remember and use to keep my longing at bay when we leave them.
It's not rational, but I'm desperate for an assurance that we won't be separated forever, so I reach out to the Force, silently begging it to answer me. At first, all I feel is a tinge of sadness, but soon, I feel a faint glow of light. I don't know what the Force is showing me in our future, but at least I can take comfort in the knowledge that we won't be depressed for the rest of our lives from missing them.
A sliver of hope forms inside me. Maybe we'll figure out a way to get through the dimensions again, even though I doubt such a feat is possible. Or maybe we'll find some other way of communicating. Or maybe, well who knows? If the Force wants us to see each other again, then we will. We have no control over it. Whatever happens is the will of the Force. And whatever the Force wants is for the best. I must believe that.