No sooner had the door closed behind the Jedi than Bob's father burst into the room, completely captivated by Asoka. His face, which had never been particularly gentle, was now a mask of sternness, consisting almost entirely of sharp angles.
"Boba," he said, without moving his lips, "Get ready, we're leaving immediately.
"Why, Dad, it's late," Bob tried to resist, not wanting to go anywhere right now. Towards evening, winds always blew on Camino, throwing cold streams of almost incessant rain into your face. In such weather, the best thing to do was to sit at your desk and immerse yourself in the study of some planet or other, rather than fly off to who knows where and for what purpose.
"We have to!" Jango snapped. "Otherwise, we risk being caught."
"Who would want to catch us?" Bob looked up at his father in genuine surprise. "Or do you think we have something to hide?"
"You see, son," the man began, looking intently at him, "the time has come to tell you the truth. We're not here for no reason. It wasn't Saifo-Dias who asked me to become a clone matrix, but a completely different Jedi who had become a renegade. His name is Dooku, or rather, many now know him as Darth Tyranus.
Boba sat down on a chair and stared at Jango. It was the first time his father had ever spoken to him so openly. Until now, the boy had been sure that they were only living here because of his work at the station, but it turned out that everything was completely different. Jango, sitting down on a chair next to him, continued:
"Dooku left the Order voluntarily, realising that it would not give him what he wanted — power and freedom. And so, after leaving the Order, Dooku organised the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which many systems joined, and then created a separatist movement. That's when Darth Sidious himself noticed him and made him his apprentice. It was he who gave the go-ahead for the creation of the Clone Army and generously pays for our upkeep. And today, the Order has almost found out about this, so they sent two Jedi here to find us and force us to hand over the leader of the CIS, so we need to hide for a while. Let's get ready and leave quietly.
Boba no longer objected. Impressed by the story, he quickly packed the necessary things into his backpack, and fifteen minutes later, he and his father left through a back door, where their small, inconspicuous ship was waiting. Jango didn't know that they had already said enough to keep the Jedi on their guard and prevent them from leaving Kamino as soon as they left the station.
"Did you hear what Boba told me?" Asoka asked when she and Obi-Wan approached their ship."More than enough. A few more facts and we'll find the leader," Kenobi agreed. "I suggest we follow them.
"Let's start right now!" Tano exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the black passageway where a shabby ship was preparing for takeoff.
"How predictable they are," Obi-Wan muttered, turning in the same direction. "I've never liked bandits."
"Actually, he's a bounty hunter," Asoka objected, not out of a desire to argue, but simply out of military habit.
"What difference does it make? The important thing is that he's going to screw us over," Kenobi replied, slightly irritated. "And I can't forgive that."
"No one is asking for forgiveness," Ahsoka said with a strange smile, and when they caught up with Jango's ship, she broke away and easily caught up with it, climbing up with the intention of getting inside. She used the ropes hanging from the rear edge to help her. Togruta grabbed the ends and began to climb up to hear what her father and son were talking about. Both were sitting in the cockpit, thinking they were alone, and discussing their plan without restraint:
"We're heading for the Arcanis sector," said Django, sitting at the helm.
"Why there?" Bob asked, dissatisfied. "It's hot and there's nothing but sand."
"That's where the first capital of the KNS is," the elder Fett replied harshly. "And they'll take us in there."
"Are you serious?" said Asoka, unable to restrain herself, and almost fell headfirst into the ship's cockpit. At the last moment, she caught herself and grabbed the rope, but nevertheless, a pair of montralls flashed past the windscreen, right at the pilot's eye level, their markings visible even from such a distance.
"Son, we have guests!" exclaimed Jango, not particularly surprised. "Your girlfriend has expressed a desire to join us! Just tell her to forgive us, it's not in our power."
He revved the engine and began to take off, simultaneously swerving the ship from side to side in an attempt to throw off his unlucky passenger. Asoka clung to the ropes with her hands and wrapped her legs around the hull, trying to hold on for at least a few minutes. It was a very difficult task. Jango was a skilled pilot, steering the ship with a steady hand and manoeuvring skilfully, but Asoka was no slouch either. Perseverance and tenacity had always been the essence of her nature, and even when she almost fell down, she stubbornly climbed back up.
"Dad, she's going to crash!" Bob suddenly cried out and grabbed his father's hands, forcing him to brake sharply. Jango did not expect this, and the ship, obedient to his hands, jerked and overturned, causing Asoka to almost fall, hanging on the rope and dragging herself a couple of metres along the asphalt before an uncontrollable and invisible stream lifted her up and pulled her into the warm interior of the familiar ship, smelling of machine oil and chocolate candies. And from this familiar warmth came a particularly unpleasant sensation on her wet clothes and the abrasions she had received during the sortie, as if they had all started to ache and bleed at once. She sat on the floor of the cabin and tried to pull herself together.
"Once again, you're not thinking about the consequences," Obi-Wan's disapproving voice rang out above her. "I warned you yesterday: no unnecessary actions!
"Don't scold her, Master, she already understands. She just couldn't stay away, as usual," another voice, equally familiar but not at all angry, said to the Togrutar. It belonged, of course, to Anakin, who came out of the cockpit and helped Asoka to her feet.
"All right, go to the medical bay and clean yourself up. And no more tricks," Kenobi said, softening a little, and returned to the controls to continue tracking the mercenary. At the last moment, Asoka approached him and said with a kind of vengeful pleasure, looking him in the face:
"Sector Arcanis. The leader of the KNS himself is waiting for them there with open arms. I heard it just as clearly as I hear your reproaches now. Come on, Anakin, I really don't mind fixing my hull," she added, already friendly, and leaning on his arm, she walked to the end of the ship, where a small cabin served as a room for the wounded. There was a medical droid that looked like a man in a gas mask, and he greeted the two with his trademark phrase: "Greetings, how can I help you?"
"I wonder if we'll really see this Tirannus today. Ouch!" she asked Anakin, sitting on a couch while the droid treated her scratches and bruises.
"I don't think he'll show up, because as you've already seen, all politicians are cowards. He'll probably send some messenger!" Anakin said dismissively, not really paying attention to what he was saying, because he hadn't brought Ahsoka here to talk about Tyranus, but to be alone with her and try to seriously discuss his feelings. But the conversation had clearly gone off track.
"Please don't generalise. Politicians aren't always like that, and exceptions are more common than you think!" the Togruta exclaimed indignantly and jerked away, causing the droid's mechanical arm with a cotton swab to flinch and scratch her badly, causing another abrasion, this time on her shoulder, to bleed again. Ahsoka winced in pain and bit her lip. Anakin also grimaced, also in pain, but of a completely different nature. Tano remembered the Chancellor again, and it made her terribly angry. He lost all desire to talk about his feelings; he knew what Ahsoka's response to his revelations would be. Clearly not what he wanted to hear, and for the umpteenth time, Anakin pushed these thoughts deeper into his mind, deciding to be content for now with the opportunity to think about her and remember the moments of special closeness that had brought such unbearably sweet torment to his young soul.
"Maybe you're right, I didn't interact with them that closely," the teenager muttered through clenched teeth. "But our enemy is clearly not on the list of exceptions. Look at what's happening outside the window!
There was indeed something to see. The droid had just finished processing and, turning to the window, Asoka stared at the darkening sky, illuminated by large stars and the lights of the ships. The battered ship of the Fett family was rushing in the specified direction. Togruta recognised the route; it passed right through her homeland, as Tatooine was also part of the Arcanis sector. Jango had clearly noticed the pursuit and was trying to shake it off, manoeuvring desperately and firing back. There were enough clouds to hide in... for those who couldn't sense their enemy, which was not the case for Kenobi, who always knew where his pursuer was.
"I wonder if he really hopes to get away? He acts as if he is confident of victory and invulnerable," Anakin mused aloud, following Django's manoeuvres with his eyes.
"And I think I know why!" Asoka exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "Wow! You were wrong, politicians aren't cowards."
"Politicians are, Sith aren't," Anakin replied, following the Togrut's gaze. "Especially former Jedi!"
"Or those who hate them, having killed more than a hundred!" added Ahsoka, realising what she had seen outside the window. But there was no time for conversation, as the ship suddenly lurched forward without warning and the windows were covered with a purple glow. The situation became uncontrollable, and now all that remained was to hope that the landing would be soft. Although, I personally would not have thought so, knowing who had sent the capture beam.
***
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