"Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi were supposed to be back hours ago," Ahsoka groans. I sit on the couch in her quarters while she lays on her bed. "I never really asked, how was Mandalore?"
"It was... interesting, to say the least. But now I have a bunch of make-up work for Force Theory."
"Can't Master Obi-Wan get you out of doing it? That's what Skyguy does for me, I barely ever have to make anything up."
"He wouldn't even dream of it. One time, he was gonna get me out of writing an essay, but then he read it over and ended up making me finish it because he thought it was good."
"Oh, no."
"Oh, yes. At least he helps me with my work, though."
"Well that's good."
Suddenly, Anakin barges into the room. "Heya, Snips!" He peeks his head out the door. "Hey Obi-Wan! Arlo's in here!"
Obi-Wan sighs as he enters the room beside Anakin. "I'm assuming you finished your make-up work, then?" he asks as he raises his eyebrows at me.
"...Yes?" I lie.
He crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "Well, you got lucky this time. Come along, you two." We stand up and exit the room with them. "We lost contact with the medical station orbiting Felucia. We've been sent to investigate."
—
"That's Felucia, dead ahead," Anakin says as we exit hyperspace.
"But where's the medical station?" Ahsoka asks. "I don't see anything on my scanners." It begins to beep. "Wait, there's something."
I peer out the window from behind Ahsoka. "Uh... that's no medical station," I say as a bunch of vulture droids pop out of the shuttle.
"Vulture droids," Ahsoka sneers.
"Hang on," Anakin tells us as he speeds up our ship. The droids begin blasting at us, but Anakin dodges them.
"I guess we know what happened to the medical station," Obi-Wan says. Suddenly, our ship is hit. "That's not good!"
"Way to state the obvious," I mutter as I hold on the edge of my seat.
"They took out the plasma conduit," Ahsoka tells us as we enter the atmosphere.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Anakin asks us.
"Almost certainly not!" Obi-Wan says as the four of us strap the life support masks to our heads.
"Looks like we're doing this the hard way," Anakin tells us. "Starting ejection sequence!"
"How come every time you fly, we crash?" Ahsoka questions.
"It's not my fault, it's the ship!" he defends.
"That's what they all say," I mutter.
"Ready to eject," Ahsoka says. Our ship nears the top of a cliff.
"Wait... now!" Anakin shouts. We pull the levers on the sides of our chairs and fall towards the surface as our ship crashes into the side of the cliff. The pods bounce around, and I begin to slightly worry that we won't all land in the same place, but then I begin to laugh. It's kinda fun, and I know for a fact that Obi-Wan hates it. I begin to feel dizzy as the pod comes to a stop and opens. I take my life support off and hop out while laughing and trying to run over to Obi-Wan, but tripping and almost falling in the process.
"You alright there, Master?" I ask as he catches me and holds me back upright.
"I'm fine, Arlo," he says miserably.
"Where on Felucia do you think we are?" Ahsoka asks as the four of us begin to walk.
"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan tells her. We hear a growling sound from somewhere.
"Oh, I don't like the sound of that," Ahsoka says.
"And I don't like the look of that," Anakin adds as he point to a ginormous jungle rancor, who walks right past us. We stand still and quietly. "We don't want to scare 'em."
"We can't just wander around aimlessly. We need a plan," Obi-Wan states.
"You always taught me to go on instinct, and my instincts tell me to go that way," Anakin says as he points to his right.
Obi-Wan strokes his beard and shakes his head. "No, that... that doesn't seem right. I think we should go this way." He points to his left.
"Why do you even ask for my opinion? You never do things my way," Anakin questions.
"We crashed the ship your way," Obi-Wan tells him. Ahsoka and I begin to giggle, then catch eye of smoke rising up ahead.
"Very funny. I see your sense of humor survived the landing!" Anakin replies sarcastically.
Obi-Wan looks at me, then turns back to Anakin. "It's about the only thing." I laugh softly at his comment.
"Uh, if you two are done arguing, we think there's some smoke on the horizon, which means people," Ahsoka tells them as she points to the smoke.
"And a way off this planet," I add. "Masters, zero; padawans, one." Ahsoka and I fist bump as we begin to walk towards the smoke, and our masters follow. We walk through the Felucian jungles for what seems like an eternity, until some kind of settlement comes into view.
"Look, there's a village," Ahsoka points it out.
"Maybe they have a ship we can... borrow," Anakin says as we walk into the village.
"Hm. They're growing healing herbs," Ahsoka notices as we observe the plants by the entrance.
"Nysillim, I believe," Obi-Wan tells her. "One of the most valuable crops in the galaxy." We draw nearer to the buildings in the village.
"This place looks deserted," Ahsoka says.
"I don't believe it is," Obi-Wan replies. "The crops are ready to be harvested. Tools are lying about. No, something's amiss."
"Well, there's one thing I learned where I grew up. If you want to know what a farmer's up to, look in their barn," Anakin says.
"That's a lot more productive than what I learned," I mutter.
"What'd you learn?" Ahsoka asks.
"If you want to find out what a drug lord's up to, look in their house, then you'll probably die afterwards." Obi-Wan shakes his head at me.I shrug as we walk up to a barn and Anakin opens it, revealing a ship.
"This is an odd ship for farmers," Obi-Wan states. "Perhaps someone's here to pick up the sillim."
"I still don't get it," Ahsoka says.
"Me neither," I agree.
"Where is everyone?" Ahsoka questions. Obi-Wan and I split off from Ahsoka and Anakin and begin to search around. We enter into an abandoned house and look around.
"Do you see anything?" Obi-Wan asks me quietly.
I shake my head. "What about this?" I point to a door in the floor. He nods and walks up to it, opening it to reveal a family of Felucians.
"Go let them know," he tells me. He turns back to the family. "Don't fear. We're not here to hurt you."
I run out the door and into the house I saw Anakin and Ahsoka walk into. They crouch by the same trap door that we found, with another family. "We found some, too," I whisper.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you," Ahsoka tells them. I suddenly feel the barrel of a blaster skim the back of my head.
"Kindly drop your weapons, Jedi." We stand up hesitantly, still holding our sabers.
"Take it easy, Snips, Sparky," Anakin tells us. "We don't want any trouble." One of the four bounty hunters says something in alien dialect that I don't understand. "It's not always about the numbers," Anakin responds to the bounty hunter.
I try to contact Obi-Wan through the Force. I close my eyes and try to find his mind.
"Is this working? Can you hear—?"
"Yes, I hear you, Arlo, what is it?" his voice asks in my mind.
"We're in a bit of a situation, actually."
"Of course you all are. I'll be right there."
"Four on one is hardly a fair fight, even for a Jedi," another bounty hunter says. My eyes snap open.
"Wait a minute. Four on one?" Ahsoka questions angrily.
"You mean four on three," I correct him.
"We don't count you, knee-highs," the robot bounty hunter says.
We hear a lightsaber ignite. "Do you count me?" Obi-Wan asks as he walks up the steps, one hand behind his back. The bounty hunters turn to him, giving the three of us a chance to ignite our lightsabers. They size the four of us up.
"Wait, don't harm them!" one of the Felucians tells them as he pops his head out from the floor. He climbs out. "Can't you see these are Jedi? We are saved!"
"Saved?" Ahsoka and I ask in unison.
"Need I remind you, Casiss, you already made a deal with us?" the Zabrak female bounty hunter asks.
"But with the Jedis' help—"
"Excuse me, but help you with what?" Ahsoka asks. Casiss lowers the Zabrak's blaster.
"Pirates," he tells us. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka look to me.
I sigh. "Oh dear."
—
Night has fallen and we find ourselves in the dining room of the house with the four bounty hunters and some Felucians while Casiss explains to us what's happening. I sit between Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, while Anakin stands on the other side of the room.
"Simply stated, if we don't give the pirates a portion of a crop, they will destroy our homes, with us in them."
"Hm. I see your dilemma," Obi-Wan says.
"Sillim farming is a meager trade. Without our herbs to sell, we will have no money for food, fuel, or equipment."
"And yet you can afford to pay mercenaries?" Obi-Wan questions.
"These bounty hunters drive a far more reasonable bargain than the pirates."
"Why not just fight them yourselves?" Anakin asks.
"Easy for you, perhaps. But look at us. We are farmers, not warriors. Even with the bounty hunters' help, I had feared the worst. But now there—there are eight of you!"
"What do you want, Jedi?" the horned bounty hunter, who's name I learned to be Sugi, across from Obi-Wan, asks.
"We need a ship. Ours is beyond repair, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan tells her.
"The one in the barn, that'll do," Anakin tells her.
She huffs. "That's our ride, it doesn't go anywhere without us. And right now, we're busy."
"Busy extorting farmers?" Obi-Wan questions.
"I don't hear you offering to help," she retorts.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't help even if we wanted to."
"What?" Ahsoka and I ask, surprised.
"Excuse the four of us for a minute," Anakin says as we walk outside.
"Master, these farmers are in trouble. Why can't we help them?" Ahsoka asks.
"Believe me, Ahsoka, I would like nothing more. However, we need to report that the medical station has been destroyed. If we stay too long, the Separatists will show up looking for us here," Obi-Wan explains.
"But—" she starts.
"Better they get robbed by pirates than attract the interest of General Grievous and his horde," Obi-Wan tells her.
"There has to be something—" I start.
"Pirates! Pirates! Pirates!" a villager suddenly shouts. "The pirates are back!" They enter the village quickly on their speeders and stop in front of us.
"That's far enough," Sugi says as he and the other bounty hunters step in front of us. "I speak for the people of this village. State your name and business."
"My name is my own business. And my business is taking what's ours," the pirate says.
"There is nothing here that's yours, unless you're here to buy it," Sugi says.
"Buy it?" another pirate laughs as he steps off his speeder. A undeniably familiar laugh. He walks to the front. "Kenobi, Skywalker, I can't believe you came all this way to see me."
"Hondo," Anakin and Obi-Wan mutter to each other.
I step in front of them towards him. "Hondo?"
"Arlo! It's good to see you again, m'dear."
Sugi glares back at us. "You know each other?"
"Of course we do!" Hondo answers. "Tell them how far back we go, Kenobi." He approaches us.
"Too far, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan sighs.
"Ha ha! And here I thought we were friends." He puts a hand on each of our shoulders. "And me and Arlo here go even further back! Known her since she was a tyke hangin' round the cantina."
"If you're truly interested in friendship, Hondo, might I suggest you stop threatening these farmers?" Obi-Wan suggests.
"Threatening them? Oh! Please tell me you have not been listening to this bounty-hunting scum!" He turns and points to me as he walks back to his group. "I know you I taught you better than that, kiddo."
"Scum?" Sugi questions. "We're just here to help them protect what's theirs."
"Oh, come, come, my dear. How much are they paying you?" Hondo asks as he turns back in our direction and walks up to Sugi. "Bup, bup, bup! Does not matter. Whatever it is, I will double it, and all you have to do to earn it is... step aside."
"We. Don't. Break. Deals," she sneers. The pirates pull out their weapons as Sugi pushes Hondo aside, and the bounty hunters do the same. I step between them, holding Hondo away while Obi-Wan keeps Sugi back.
"Steady, everyone," Obi-Wan says calmly.
"What is your stake anyway, Kenobi?" Hondo asks.
"All we want is a ride to the nearest Republic outpost, and I'm willing to pay you handsomely for it, twice what you could make selling this crop," Obi-Wan says.
"Well, um, how do you plan to pay me?" Hondo asks.
"A funds transfer when we arrive," he answers.
"Bad idea," I mutter to Obi-Wan.
"You know me too well, kiddo." He shoots me a wink. "Republic credit?" he then questions with a click of his tongue while walking back to his crew once again. "We've been over this before, Kenobi. My associates don't accept that currency."
"I'm offering a deal that benefits us all, Hondo. Don't let your greed blind you to that fact," Obi-Wan reasons.
"You know, I like you and your kiddie, Kenobi, but, um, no one leaves this planet until I get my sillim."
"Then I hope you enjoy it here, because you'll be staying a long time, parasite!" Sugi sneers.
"You know, this crop has not been harvested." Hondo looks to Casiss. "You'd better hurry, old man, before things start to, uh, die on you?" He walks away and hops on his speeder.
"Don't do this, Hondo," I call out to him.
He turns back to me. "Arlo, my dear... you know how the business goes." Him and his pirates then drive off.
—
"When the attack comes, it will come in two fronts: the forest to the south and the ridge to the north," Obi-Wan tells the bounty hunters over a hologram map of the land. "Whatever you do, you must defend both sides."
"But there are only four of them," Dilanni, a Felucian, says. "How can four bounty hunters defend against so many?" Embo replies to him in his alien language which I still don't understand.
"The farmers are right. These bounty hunters don't stand a chance," Anakin tells Obi-Wan.
"We've been over this, Anakin," he sighs.
"You seem to lack confidence in our abilities, young Jedi," Sugi says.
"I'm sure you're good at what you do, but you are in way too deep," Anakin responds.
"Said the peacekeeper who failed to keep the peace," she retorts.
"The rift in the galaxy is not our fault," Obi-Wan argues. "If more worlds would stand up for themselves against the Separatists, this war would have been over long ago."
"That's it!" Anakin suddenly exclaims. "We'll just train the villagers to defend themselves."
"But we are just simple farmers! Why are we paying bounty hunters to defend us if we are just going to end up doing it ourselves?" Dilanni questions.
"Hush, Dilanni," Casiss says.
"Trust me. We'll have you ready," Anakin assures.
—
The next morning, we begin to prepare for the pirates' attack. I stand with Obi-Wan and Sugi, overseeing the harvest of the sillim.
"Put it in the barn, every bushel," Sugi commands. On the other side of the village, we hear Anakin teaching the villagers how to fight. After they finish, we examine their work in the barn.
"What happens if you need the barn as a fall-back position?" Obi-Wan asks as we walk back outside. "With all the sillim here, it'll be difficult to squeeze the farmers in."
"There's room," Sugi replies as she walks away.
"I worry that you care more for the safety of the sillim than you do for the safety of the villagers," Obi-Wan calls out.
"You think I'm only worried about my profit, is that it?"
"The thought had crossed my mind," Obi-Wan confesses.
"So in your mind, I'm just like any other pirate."
"Am I wrong?"
She chuckles. "Not entirely. But it is easier to protect the villagers, and the sillim, if they're both in the same place."
"Then might I suggest—?"
"You might suggest anything you want, General Kenobi, but I know what I'm doing, and I will keep these people safe. My way." She begins to walk away.
"Well I suggest you give her a chance. The thing we may need to outwit these pirates is another pirate," I tell him.
"Yeah, Kenobi, listen to your kid!" she calls out.
He sighs and smiles slightly. "Come on then, little one, let's go see how Anakin's doing." We follow Sugi to where Anakin was teaching the Felucians to fight, which from the part we catch, wasn't going so smoothly.
"The bounty hunter is right. Every minute you waste teaching us to twirl these stupid poles is time you could have spent beating those pirates yourself!" Dilanni kicks the pole to the side.
"And what good would that do you?" Obi-Wan asks as he walks up to him. "Another band of brigands would inevitably come along. Or did you intend to give away part of your crop every harvest season?"
"If you make us do this, there won't be another harvest season!" Dilanni says as he storms away. It falls silent for a moment.
"All right, everyone, get back in position," Anakin calls out to the group of villagers in front of him. "Let's continue." They continue their training while Obi-Wan and I walk up and down the rows, offering tips and pointers.
"There, a scout!" Sugi suddenly shouts as she points up to a cliff. The scout begins to run off while Embo runs after him. We follow close behind as Embo easily catches him and defeats him. "Quick work," Sugi says with a smirk.
Embo replies in his alien dialect.
"Yes, but when this scout fails to report to Hondo, he'll be coming," Obi-Wan tells them. "Soon."
—
We make the final preparations for the coming attack as the sky begins to grow dark.
"The farmers are in position," Anakin calls out to me, Obi-Wan, and Sugi. "Well, the ones who stuck around, anyway."
"Very well, Anakin. Turn on the fence," Obi-Wan says. He clicks the fence on, which surrounds the village and leaves us outside of it. We hear the sound of the pirates' engines rev.
"Battle positions, everyone!" Sugi commands. Obi-Wan and I ignite our sabers and block blasts from outside the fence so they don't hit the villagers. This goes on for a while until Embo is blasted into the air.
"Embo!" Anakin shouts. Him, Sugi, Obi-Wan, and I run up to him.
"Embo, can you hear me?" Sugi asks. He groans a response. "You'll be all right. We'll get you inside." Another blast is fired. And another.
"Everyone, fall back to the barn!" Obi-Wan commands as we start in that direction.
"That tank is going to tear the villagers apart," Sugi tells Obi-Wan and I as she helps Embo to shelter. Anakin ignites his saber and begins to run towards it, and Obi-Wan and I do the same but stay back to block the blasts. I look up and see Hondo manning the tank.
"Kriff, Hondo!" I call out. Anakin Force jumps up the cliff the tank sits on. Hondo pulls out an electrostaff and swings it at Anakin. I look at Obi-Wan and turn off my saber. "I'm going up."
"No, you're not!"
"I can handle him, just trust me!" I run towards the rock and Force jump up the cliff and next to Hondo's tank.
"Come to join the party, kiddo?" he asks me as he fends off Anakin's attack.
I ignite my saber and give it a twirl. "Wouldn't miss a Hondo Ohnaka party for the world, my friend." I hop on the tank and begin to help Anakin fend off Hondo while something from inside fires the cannon and moves the tank. His monkey-lizard pops out and hops on Anakin, who kicks it off of him as he jumps off the tank.
"Your situation is hopeless, Skywalker," Hondo says as his pet jumps on Anakin's face, causing him to stumble backwards. I continue to swing at Hondo, who puts up a decent fight. His staff clashes with my gold blade. "I'm quite impressed, Arlo."
"Yeah? Well I'm not," I reply with a smirk. He chuckes at me as he pushes me off the tank.
"Always with the attitude, m'dear."
I turn off my saber as I land in a roll and reignite it. Anakin finally gets the monkey off of him and stands beside me. Hondo jumps down with his staff. The purple electricity on both ends clashes with our blue and gold blades. I push myself underneath the staff as Anakin disarms him and I take him out by the legs, causing him to fall over. He rolls to the edge of the cliff and barely hangs on. Anakin begins to approach, but I wave him off to stand back. I stand over Hondo.
"Help me!" he pleads as he reaches a hand out to me. "Arlo..." he lets out a sigh of defeat. "...Let me call off my men."
I automatically turn off my saber and take his hand. Anakin helps me pull him up. He immediately pushes us back and the cannon points directly at us. I dodge the blast to the side and reignite my saber. I notice Anakin is no longer with me, but back on the ground with Obi-Wan and the others safely. I turn to Hondo, who stands near the edge of the cliff. I point my saber in his direction.
"It's over, Hondo. Call it off. I don't want to fight you anymore, you're my oldest friend. Besides, what good is any of this to you now? Be reasonable."
He sighs and calls out to the villagers, bounty hunters, and masters while his ship rises up behind us. "This effort... is no longer... profitable!"
I turn off my saber and put it away as he turns to me. I nod at him politely. "I hope we meet again, on the same side, Hondo."
"As do I, m'dear." He walks over and boards his ship. "But next time... try not to deny me profit." He grins and winks as his ship flies off. I walk to the edge of the cliff and hop down, landing on both feet and making my way back to my master. He crosses his arms.
I fiddle with the hem of my tunic. "Uh... sorry?"
He shakes his head and smiles. "I can't even say I'm upset, my Padawan." He pats my shoulder as we start back into the village.
—
Casiss adresses the villagers while I stand to the side next to Ahsoka. "There are crops to harvest, fields to till, huts to rebuild. Now, let's get to work." The villagers dispatch as he turns to us. "How can I ever thank you for saving our village?"
"We didn't save your village, Casiss. Your people did," Anakin replies.
"For the first time in my memory, my people don't have to be afraid. We will never forget you." Casiss bows and walks away.
Sugi steps in front of Obi-Wan and Anakin. "I seem to find myself light on company. Still need that ride back to the Republic outpost?"
"If it wouldn't be any inconvenience."
"On the contrary... it would be my pleasure."