Amidala eagerly awaited Anakin's arrival. After a month apart, this was their first meeting. The woman stood frozen at the window, gazing at the landing pad, which was on the same level as her chambers. Evening twilight descended upon Coruscant, and the city blossomed with millions of colorful lights.
Finally, a two-seater speeder landed on the pad. Amidala stepped toward the entrance. She hadn't reached the door before it swung open and Anakin Skywalker literally flew into the room. Her Anie. His faithful R2 followed close behind.
"Padme!" With that, the Jedi rushed to her, lifted her into his arms, and spun her around in a wild dance.
"It's good to see you, Master Anakin," C-3PO said, creaking his joints. "Hello you too, R2."
The astromech droid chirped cheerfully in response.
The two lovers were oblivious to their surroundings.
"Padme, I missed you so much."
"Oh, Anakin… I was worried about you."
"That's nothing compared to how I feel about you. You almost fell into the hands of the Separatists. It's a good thing Vikt saved you and the other senators… Oh."
"What?"
"I think I even forgot to visit him in the hospital to thank him…"
"I didn't like him."
"Why's that?"
"He's too… strange. He's not like other Jedi. He seems dismissive of politics and the Senate."
"Oh, come on. How many Jedi do you actually know?"
Padme thought about it, slightly taken aback. It was true — Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin, Obi-Wan, the Council… that was the extent of her acquaintances. Yet there were thousands of intelligent beings in the Order.
"Besides," Anakin continued, "I'm willing to forgive him a lot — he saved your life, after all."
"Ani, you're so kind."
"That's why you love me, right?"
"Are you staying long?"
"We're leaving in the morning."
"What? So soon?"
"The war…"
"Then… let's not waste any time."
***
Sitting in one of the Isaribi's cabins, I indulged in contemplation — though not of anything grand or beautiful, but rather of a banal pile of what had once been my armor. Even to my technically unskilled eye, it would be easier to throw it away than repair it. However, after thinking it over, I decided to keep at least the helmet. As a reminder.
Hm, only now did I truly realize how close I'd come to, so to speak, "merging with the Force." After all, Ventress was no training droid, and the only thing that saved me was that she'd simply underestimated me. The armor, again, had absorbed most of the damage. I'd need a new one… or maybe not. I didn't feel like tempting fate again — getting into another fight with a gifted opponent. Okay, Ventress was one thing, but what if it had been Grievous or, Force forbid, Dooku? That would've been game over.
No, of course I didn't lose heart, but the whole thing left a sour taste. I expected more from myself than just taking a good beating. Still, this duel had cooled my head considerably. Well, how do they say it? "One beaten is worth two unbeaten"? Yeah… that's comforting. A little. But now I was out of headquarters, without a security detail — and Ahsoka? Not a chance.
I placed my helmet on the shelf and tossed the rest of the armor into the trash, since there was no proper garbage chute on the Consulate. This wasn't the Acclamator — the dimensions here were much smaller.
Returning to my cabin, I continued to mull over the situation while rummaging through my things. After finding what I needed, I settled down on the floor and began to meditate.
At the start of my battle with Ventress, I'd sensed something — but couldn't grasp what it was. Now I had a hunch, and I was going to test it.
The first item I examined was my saber. Studying it closely, I tried to listen to my feelings — and they responded… strangely. My memory helpfully supplied the necessary recollections, and I finally understood the source of my unease. The sword was no longer mine. Or rather, the crystal wasn't. The hilt itself — its shape, balance, and weight — was perfect, made specifically for me. But the crystal… had become foreign.
What did our mentor say? "One of the most important parts of a lightsaber is the focus crystal. However, though lightsabers are powerful weapons, their design is so versatile that almost any crystal can be used." Turns out that not just any crystal will do. Maybe it was because I was no longer quite myself…
It's hard to understand, of course. I, an Earthling, perceive myself here as a single being, and sometimes the line between identities is so thin you hardly notice it. But for the Force, that difference might be vast. After all, before a Jedi inserts a crystal into a blade, they imbue it with their own Force. The crystal in my saber radiated only Light. I was… somewhat dirtier, so to speak. Therefore, the crystal had ceased to be mine. Sadly. But replacing it wouldn't solve the problem.
And all of this felt useless. Maybe I could improve a little more, but even so, even Ahsoka would eventually surpass me. It stung a little — but that's life. Although, by hook or by crook… anything's possible. Let's try to break down the problem.
So, what do we have? A very smart — well, okay, not stupid — gifted person who wasn't overly "gifted." There's a need to survive, which requires using all available means, including fencing. Hmm. What to do? It's amazing how such— wait.
Surprise. That's what I need. If I can't win with this sword, I'll make another. Or not even a sword. Or swords? That's the trick. I need to think carefully about how to make the most of my limited abilities.
Okay, all those "whips" and "spears" are clearly overkill. First, I don't know how to assemble them so that everything works properly, and I simply don't have that many materials. Plus, my skills are clearly not sufficient to master such "devices."Let's scrap that idea. What else can be done?
Dual-phase. That's the first thing that comes to mind. As far as I remember, this rare type of saber used several focusing crystals to create a blade that could double in length. Unlike standard sabers, which had a manual length adjustment, the dual-phase blade could switch instantly — opening up great possibilities. Of course, you'd need a fairly large hilt and a two-handed grip to handle it properly, but it might be worth it. Piercing an unsuspecting enemy with an extended blade — mm, just like a fairy tale. Especially if you make the blade long… say, two meters, and one meter in its normal state. That would let me use all the advantages of Shii-Cho, which I know better than any other style. Yeah, master, damn it, learned a couple of Soresu moves and already got cocky.
Still, something smaller wouldn't hurt either. If I had another blade, I could have kept my hand. — though that's debatable. Something like a shoto, with a blade around forty to fifty centimeters long… although… yeah, and maybe make it possible to connect the sabers into one big staff, like Maul's. And dual-phase too. Nonsense… hmm. Or is it? Or maybe regular hilts that, when connected, extend the blade for two-handed use? How would that fit my fencing style, though?
Okay, I'll figure it out later. Anyway, the parts for building a saber — which for some reason I'd asked the storekeeper at the Temple(premonition, no doubt) — are in my cabin on the Marat. Yeah, and I should think about armor too. But that's for when I get to Donovia — I'll ask our engineer. Hutt knows when I'll next visit the Temple, but I need protection now. Maybe full armor is overkill, but I definitely need head, shoulder, chest, and arm protection, plus knee pads. And I should think about a personal deflector shield — those things are damn useful. Right now, I'm walking around in something like a sleeveless shirt and a Jedi cloak. I feel naked, honestly. I've gotten used to the weight of armor.
The second item was also a saber — but this one wasn't mine. It was Ventress's. Hmm. Through the Force, it reeked of Darkness. My idea of giving it to Ahsoka no longer seemed as "brilliant" as it once had. I couldn't predict how this nasty thing might affect my Padawan, so, just to be safe, I'd hide it somewhere far away.
And speak of the devil — here's Ahsoka. Without opening my eyes, I waved my hand, activating the door panel.
(End of Chapter)
Bonus chapter for 600 Power Stones. Thank you for your support!