❝𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏.❞ -- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒓
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Astrid stooped low to the ground as her and Anakin dashed behind a row of palm trees dotting the narrow island. They had landed their starfighters on one of the four islands chains branching off from the main island. All of the branching island chains were narrow and mostly composed of pure sand with a few palm trees dotting the beach, so it was hard to be sneaky.
The main island, though, was completely covered in palm trees, but from what Astrid could see from this distance, it appeared as if the Separatist had torn down most of the palm trees to clear a space for whatever building they were constructing.
Worry gnawed at Astrid at the proximity of her family to this growing Separatist stronghold.
"We need to get closer," Anakin murmured as they peered around the crop of palm trees they were hiding behind.
Astrid spotted three skinny battledroids approaching roughly fifty yards away, probably making their rounds around the perimeters of the island chains to check for any invaders or spies. The two Jedi pressed closer against their respective palm trees, and as the battledroids made a loop at the end of the island chain, her and Anakin shuffled around the tree trunks to remain out of the droids' sight.
"Our starfighters," Astrid realized with growing alarm as the droids began to approach the beach edge where they'd left their ships.
Anakin's eyes widened, and at that moment, Astrid heard one of the droids exclaim in its whiny, nasally voice, "Hey! A pair of Republic starfighters!"
Anakin and Astrid sprinted out from behind the palm trees towards the droids, and at the sound of their lightsabers igniting, two of the droids turned towards them, blaster guns raised. Astrid and Anakin slashed the two droids down like they were stalks of wheat.
But the third droid had already lifted its skinny, metal wrist and was speaking hurriedly into a comlink, "There are Jedi on the island! There are--"
Anakin sliced its bronze metal head off with a whirl of his lightsaber, cutting the droid off mid sentence. "We'll just have to do a brief fly-over now that the Separatist know we're here," Astrid said in a rush. "We can't stay on the island. The Separatist will trap us on here."
"No," Anakin swiftly disagreed. "We need to get a closer look. What if they're building a weapon? We wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a building and a weapon if we do a quick fly-over. Not to mention they'll shoot us out of the sky if we fly overhead. Odds are they have some defense guns."
They had a silent stare down, and Astrid crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes, refusing to budge. Anakin merely narrowed his eyes back at her. With a growl, Astrid looked away, realizing they were wasting time, and she hissed, "Fine! Come on then!"
They began sprinting down the beach towards the main island. As they neared the main island, they had to slow their pace in order to listen for approaching droids. Oftentimes, they had to quickly fling themselves behind nearby palm trees to avoid being seen by the few droids who managed to sneak up on them unnoticed.
Thankfully, the vegetation was growing thicker as Astrid and Anakin drew closer to the main island, which worked in their favor. But there were now more droids roaming the island, all of them likely on the look out for her and Anakin after that third droid had reported their presence.
By the time Anakin and Astrid reached the main island, they'd killed at least twenty droids, leaving a trail of steaming, metal parts behind them. The two Jedi had no time to hide the evidence of their presence. As they wove through the palm trees and underbrush, Astrid heard the screech of metal from ahead, and she swung her gaze upwards to see a construction crane peeking out from above the trees.
Her and Anakin moved behind the pile of felled palm trees lining the outskirts of the construction zone, and they peeked their heads over the pile to gaze into the clearing. In the middle of the clearing was some sort of platform-- the foundation of the building-- and droids stood around it with blaster guns gripped in their hands, guarding the construction machines and the few lifeforms operating the machines.
It was a cacophony of whirring machines and banging metal.
"It looks like a regular building to me," Astrid whispered.
Her gaze swung to the left, and she caught sight of the seven defense guns pointed towards the sky. Anakin was right; they would've been shot right out of the sky if they'd flown overhead.
Suddenly, a slick, oily feeling washed over Astrid as she spotted a black cloaked figure standing near the far edge of the clearing, speaking with two Separatist who, judging by their decorated outfits, must be representatives of their Separatist-allied planets.
Her eyes narrowed as she took in the slightly-stooped over, black-hooded figure. One pale, gnarled finger peeked out from their wide, black sleeve as they indicated to the foundation of the building. A shiver ran down her spine, and the hair on the back of her neck prickled as if there was electricity in the air.
"Who is that?" Anakin murmured, his eyes on the figure as well.
Astrid closed her eyes as she became one with the Force-- becoming the cool, salty wind, the beating liveliness of the surrounding plants, and the water molecules in the air-- and as she reached the figure, she slammed into a solid wall of obsidian black that stung her skin with its ancient frigidity. It was the frigidness of the universe before the sun's existence, the type of ancient cold that sank into her bones and froze her blood.
Astrid reeled backwards as she quickly yanked the Force away from the cloaked figure, and as she came back to herself from the Force, the person turned their head and looked straight in her and Anakin's direction. Astrid's eyes widened as she sensed, even from this far, their hatred and wrath through the Force.
"Now you've done it," Anakin muttered from beside her. Anakin must've sensed Astrid reaching towards the mysterious person with the Force.
The black-cloaked person looked away then and resumed talking to the two other people, and Astrid's brow furrowed in confusion. Had they not just seen her and Anakin?
"They're a Sith," Anakin said softly, and Astrid glanced at him in surprise.
"How do you know?" she asked.
He only shook his head and replied, "I just know. It's almost as if I've met them before." He huffed an incredulous laugh as he added, "Which is impossible because the only Sith I've met is Maul, Opress, and Ventress. But somehow, somehow, I know this person is a Sith." He glanced at Astrid as he added, "Besides, didn't you see their black presence in the Force and sense their hatred? That is a Sith all right."
Still talking to the two Separatist politicians, the cloaked figure began walking in their general direction, and Astrid and Anakin both tensed up. "Well," Astrid muttered, "if they are a Sith, we can't attack. Not when we're so surrounded and outnumbered."
Anakin nodded begrudgingly in agreement.
As the two Separatist and the Sith drew near, Astrid could see the lower half of the Sith's pale face from within their hood, and she realized the Sith was a man. Astrid and Anakin slunk lower to the ground as the three walked by them a mere twelve feet away, and their words floated towards Anakin and Astrid as they passed.
One of the politicians was saying, "I believe with enough resources, the tower will be completed within four years instead of five."
"I am afraid I have more important plans that must be put into place first," the Sith replied in a raspy, croaked voice. He turned his head just slightly in the two Jedi's direction as he added, "I must also persuade my next apprentice to my side."
"What other plans do you speak of, Lord Sidious?" one of the politicians inquired, a nervous tremble in their voice. Astrid's eyes widened at the mention of the Sith's name.
The Sith didn't bother glancing at the nervous politician as he replied, "Wonderfully terrible plans, representative. Positively world destroying."
Astrid's blood chilled as cold seeped into her bones at the Sith's words.
"And who is to be your next apprentice?" the other representative inquired hesitantly, his blue-skinned hands wringing anxiously in front of him.
The Sith's bloodless lips curled into a cruel, hateful smile as he replied, "I shall not say his name, but rest assured that my next apprentice is the Jedi Order's most talented fighter, and he is strong in the Force. He shows much promise."
Astrid couldn't help but glance towards Anakin to gauge his reaction, but Anakin was staring ahead intently, mouth thin as he watched the Sith Lord. His hand began to move to his lightsaber at his hip, but Astrid grasped his wrist, stopping him.
"Don't," she whispered, so quietly that the words were barely audible even to her own ears.
But Anakin must've heard her because he reluctantly drew his hand away from his lightsaber. The two Jedi waited there, motionless, holding their breaths, until the two Separatist and the Sith were long past them. Astrid's shoulders slumped downwards as she took an uneven breath.
"We need to get out of here," she told Anakin.
He nodded in agreement, and the two of them slid down the pile of felled palm trees to the sandy ground. They stooped low to the ground in an effort to remain out of sight as they sprinted away from the Separatist base towards the island chain where they'd left their starfighters. The farther they got away from the main island, the greater the number of battle droids they came across as the Separatist ramped up their search for the two of them.
Anakin and Astrid hid behind a cluster of palm trees as they eyed the twenty battle droids roaming the expanse of open beach between them and their waiting starfighters. Anakin tapped his comlink and whispered into his wrist, "Artoo, start my ship."
There was a quiet beep in response, and in that moment, Astrid realized she really ought to get her own astromech. They were so handy to a Jedi.
Astrid ignited her lightsaber as she gauged the distance between her and her own starfighter and the twenty battle droids separating her from her starfighter. She took a steadying breath.
"Okay, let's go," she said to Anakin before she burst out onto the open, sandy beach. Her boots kicked up sand behind her with each sprinting stride.
She immediately raised her lightsaber in front of her to block the blaster fire that instantly came her way when the droids noticed her rapid approach, and a few of the energy bolts ricocheted off of her lightsaber to hit some of the battle droids. Astrid reached the first of the battle droids, and she sliced the battle droid in half before whirling around and stabbing another battle droid coming up on her left.
She heard the sound of Anakin's lightsaber whirling through the air beside her. Astrid pushed forward, slicing and cutting her way through the throng of skinny battle droids, and when they began to overwhelm her, she used the Force to shove some of them backwards. Several battle droids flew fifteen feet away in a tangle of metal limbs, the sounds of their complaints filling the air as they struggled to rise to their feet.
Astrid finally broke free from the group of battle droids, and she made a dash for her starfighter. She slung herself into the cockpit before pulling the cockpit's glass ceiling closed behind her. Her hands shook with adrenaline as she flicked the engines on.
She glanced up from her controls and found Anakin surrounded by six battle droids on the beach. Her eyes widened in alarm, thinking he was in trouble, but then he Force-shoved three of the battle droids before twirling his lightsaber through the air and slicing the remaining three droids clean in half.
Anakin's eyes rose and met hers before he started forward, his boots kicking up sand as he dashed for his waiting starfighter. With fluid agility, he leapt into the pilot's seat. The two of them rose into the air as red blaster fire flew all around them, and Astrid used the starfighter's front guns to hit a few of the battle droids on the beach before she shot off into the sky with a whine of her engines.
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"Astrid," Anakin said softly as they walked down the quiet halls of the Jedi Temple. The grand columns on either side of the hallway towered solemnly above them, casting shadows across the hallway in the setting sun's light. Astrid looked to Anakin questioningly, sensing his worry though the Force.
His face was cast half in shadow by the setting sun as he began, "Do you-- do you think that Sith Lord-- Darth Sidious-- was talking about me?"
Astrid halted in the middle of the desolate hallway at his words, a frown gracing her features. "No, Anakin," she said firmly. "You would never turn to the Dark Side. You have too good of a heart. You wouldn't betray your friends like that."
Anakin didn't look reassured. In fact, he looked even more troubled. Astrid daringly grabbed his hand and tugged him over into the shadows behind the grand columns. Anakin wouldn't meet her eyes, so she lifted her hands to either side of his face and said, "Anakin, listen to me."
His conflicted, blue eyes met hers.
Astrid continued firmly, "You won't join the Sith because you are loyal and selfless, and even though you may break a few of the rules on the Jedi Code and may disobey the Jedi Council's orders from time to time--" His troubled look darkened "--you are a good person. In all of your actions, you have good intentions, good intentions to help people who would otherwise be left behind and forgotten. A Sith wouldn't do that."
Anakin let out a low breath, and Astrid rose onto her tippy toes to press a kiss to his cheek. He gave her a rueful smile. "We should report what we saw in Scarif," he said, changing topics completely. "The Jedi Council is likely waiting."
Astrid nodded, and the two of them emerged from the shadow of the column and headed towards the Council chambers at the top level of the temple. When they entered the chamber, the Jedi Council sat waiting as Anakin had predicted.
A few of the Council members were flickering, blue holograms as they tuned into the meeting from some distant planet. Among these holographic members were Obi-Wan and Master Secura, who were both attending to the sieges in the Outer Rim. Obi Wan straightened in his seat as they entered.
Astrid frowned, trying to remember where her former master was located before remembering she was on Felucia.
"Inform us on your mission you will," Master Yoda croaked, addressing the two Jedi Knights. "See what did you?"
"The Separatist look to be constructing a tower of sorts, though we weren't able to discern its purpose," Astrid answered. "They were laying down the foundation of the building."
"That is all?" Master Windu interjected, his eyes set with disappointment.
Anakin shook his head. "No, we believe we saw a Sith Lord there. He was talking with two Separatist representatives. They were saying that the building would take five years to complete, but the Sith Lord told them he had more important, immediate plans to spend his resources on than the building."
"Did you hear the Sith Lord's name?" Obi-Wan inquired calmly.
"Darth Sidious," Anakin answered solemnly, face shadowed with apprehension, and there was a collective intake of breath from the Council members.
"The Sith Master this Darth Sidious is," Master Yoda spoke gravely. "Dangerous he is. Meant to defeat him you are, Anakin Skywalker."
So this was where the Chosen One prophecy came into play.
"Then I must go after him!" Anakin said earnestly as he took a few steps forward.
Master Yoda only shook his head. "Impossible that is now. His location we do not know. His true identity we do not know. Clouding our minds and our judgement the Dark Side is. Growing stronger the Dark Side is."
"So what do we do about the building?" Astrid asked with mild frustration. If Anakin couldn't go after the Sith Lord, then the least they could do was destroy the building.
Master Windu only shook his head and said, "Destroying an insignificant building is a waste of our valuable resources. Besides, Darth Sidious is waiting to complete the building. It would be smarter to wait to destroy the building when he finds need of it."
Astrid nodded in reluctant agreement.
Their whole mission seemed like an entire waste. The only thing they got out of it was the Sith Master's name and the knowledge that the Separatist are constructing a building, which the Jedi Order already partially knew.
Obi-Wan spoke up, "Now that you are done with your mission, Anakin, I have need for you in Geonosis in the Outer Rim territories. Take a day to rest in Coruscant, and then report to me."
Anakin grinned at Obi-Wan's apparent dislike of the desert planet. Through the Force, Astrid felt his excitement at being back in the field, but Astrid felt nothing but despondent that her and Anakin would be separating. When nobody spoke up about her next mission, Astrid inferred she was to wait on Coruscant until she was needed on another mission.
She supposed Master Secura didn't need her on Felucia quite yet.
Why did she feel as if she was always being left behind?
Mace Windu dismissed them, and her and Anakin dipped their heads respectively before exiting the room. Astrid wished they could stay to hear the rest of the meeting, but technically they weren't Council members. The two of them walked down the hallway, and with each step, Astrid felt as if she was marching closer to the end, whatever that end was, and she had the vague sense that time was ticking towards some dreadful end.
Looming closer and closer, a cold, dark shadow began to fall on the golden Republic.
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Hey! Sorry for the long update! School has been incredibly busy (I literally have no time at all to do things other than studying), but here is the next chapter :) Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much for the 6.1k reads and, of course, your comments and votes!! They always make me smile <3
-- Paradise_Palms