one on one with newt.

[Spotted.Newt]

Anakin's master sounded too kind to own slaves. Riksha wondered why he hadn't been freed, but didn't ask. She also noticed him tug one of his sleeves down, and she wondered why he did so. Perhaps he was hiding some scar that he was self-conscious about. Hiding scars had never really been something she thought about, as she thought of them as learning experiences. For example: Riksha had a scar about four inches in length on the underside of her left forearm, the result of an interaction with General Greivous. She had been a young padawan at the time, and overconfident, which resulted in the injury.
Riksha continued to think about Qyu-Lyen, in between the pieces of Anakin's story. Had he gotten a new padawan? Where was he right now, on the battlefield or negotiating a treaty? Did he think about her every now and then? He thought she was dead, about this Riksha was certain. But if it was he who had died, she would still remember him and his teachings.
Realizing she had been staring off past the moons for a while, Rikshs returned her gaze back to the planet, looking over at Anakin just as he asked her two questions. She shook her head, looking back out at the city. "No, to both questions. I haven't seen him in about two years. Not since I've been here." Pondering whether or not to mention how she got here, she decided to tell a half-truth about arriving. She could tell he was a bit curious as to how she had ended up on this planet. "I was no longer his student when we came here, though we still spent time together. It was a business trip, and I came along. Something happened...." Riksha trailed off. She obviously couldn't say that something went wrong while she was planting bombs in a separatist base. "There was an accident... I don't remember what went wrong. The next thing I knew, I woke up in some sort of hospital." This was true. She didn't remember what had happened, what had gone wrong with the plan. She still didn't, despite many hours spent meditating on the subject in search of answers. "Well, the people on this planet don't just go saving your life out of the goodness of their hearts. Hence the reason I'm still here."

[mugwart]

Anakin turned his head to look at her, clenching is jaw. "It was that way with my master, too." He held
his gaze on her, letting out a long, shaky exhale. "The man who came to my village didn't come for me.
He never said that... I mean, he never really had the chance. He died before I really knew him. I only
knew him for a few days." He lowered his gaze now. The night wind had a certain chill to it that made
Anakin's heart race. His blue eyes grew watery as the thought back on the entire situation. His entire life
changed in an instant.
"My master now isn't bad. But I know they only took me away because they knew I was... different. They
could sense it." There, that line, make him want to hit himself in the face. If she knew anything about
Jedi, that could be a giveaway. So he cleared his throat, and tried again. "I mean, see it. They could see
that I was more advanced for a child of my age." His face grew warm, his story suddenly crumbling. He
leaned back off of the railing now, standing up straight. He looked up at the moons, hovering just above
the hazy horizon. "It is late," he murmured, taking a step back. "I should go and rest. I had a long day of
heavy flying." With that, he turned, pushing the large doors open.

[Spotted.Newt]

Riksha noted that Anakin said the man could sense it. This could be another clue to the fact that a Jedi was the one to take Anakin, or it could be a casual comment. People often said stuff like "I could sense that something was wrong" and they had no relation to Jedi. Riksha might have believed this, if the young man hasn't then tried to cover up his words by saying "see it." He was hiding something, of that she was sure.
Riksha could sense movement down in the dining room, and knew that it must be about time for her to return and entertain the guests with some silly easy force trick. She nodded when Anakin said he should go rest. "I should head back downstairs, the Queen and her guests will be expecting me. Good night." she followed him through the tall doors, but instead of turning back to the sleeping hall she went downstairs. An hour later she returned to her room, falling quickly to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan barely slept that night.
He was still worried about Anakin. He knew that the young Jedi knight was capable of taking care of himself, but Obi-Wan worried nonetheless. What if something went wrong? What if Anakin was discovered?
Calm down, the Jedi told himself. Anakin is not your padawan anymore. You must learn to trust that he will survive without you.
He had been tempted to contact Anakin, but knew this could cause problems. Anakin would contact him when the time was right.

Riksha woke early, as usual. She cooked breakfast alongside the other servants, as she did everyday. But unlike everyday, the Queen left the palace right after breakfast. She had some business to attend to, and would be gone most of the day. This was a grand opportunity for Riksha, as she had the ability now to do a number of things. She could a). Meditate for as long as she wished, b). Snoop around a bit, like she often did when she had first arrived here and c). Do whatever else might come to mind that she could not normally do. Riksha planned to take advantage of the Queen's absence, starting with some snooping. She hurried up to the roof soon after the Queen left, and took the contents out of one of the pots. It was a pair of pants and an old t-shirt. For obvious reasons, she couldn't go crawling through air ducts in her normal attire. If she got it dirty, the Queen would be suspicious. Not to mention it isn't exactly easy to crawl around in a skirt. Bringing the clothes back to her room, Riksha changed quickly before removing the grate to the air vent that was in her room. It was in the ceiling, and was not all that large, but it was large enough that she could fit inside. She force jumped into it, then quietly crawled through the duct. She planned to use the vents to get inside the Queen's trophy room. This was where her lightsaber was located. She would swap the fake lightsaber with the real one, and the Queen would never know the difference. Why did she want to swap the lightsabers? Riksha didn't really have a good reason, just a feeling that she might need the real one sometime soon. Plus, she would feel better knowing it was somewhere she could access it easily and not locked up in some trophy room.

[mugwart]

As Anakin struggled to fall asleep, he thought of Obi-Wan. He hadn't called in as he'd promised he
would. He would later, he assured himself. Obi-Wan couldn't be too worried - it hadn't even been
a full day since he'd left. After many restless minutes, he forced his eyes to stay closed and his
mind to rest.

Morning came very quickly. Anakin rose slowly, a bit confused as to where he was. His bed was far
softer than usual, and more comfortable. He could smell some kind of breakfast cooking, but he
didn't bother to leave his comfy spot for another couple of hours.
When he did, he wanted to find Riksha. She seemed trustworthy enough to push for information
without fear of her telling anyone he was acting suspiciously. The queen had gone, as he'd gathered
from other slaves, so he was free to roam the palace - for the most part - freely. He peered around
corners until, finally, he spotted Riksha. She was wearing new clothes, dirty clothes, that would
never be accepted in the face of royalty. So, from afar, he squinted at her, wondering what in hell's
name she could be doing. She glanced back over her shoulder, and Anakin leapt back behind a wall
with the reflex of a Jedi. Then, when he was sure she was moving ahead, he followed.
She was very calm as she walked past others, and none of them seemed aware of anything. Happy to
be free for the day, he presumed. He continued padding quietly in her footsteps, up until she
reached her room. Anakin stopped at the door, but kept his head around the corner to watch. She
pulled a large metal cover away from the wall, revealing a vent large enough for a person to climb
into. Curiosity taking the better of him, he absentmindedly tip-toed into the room behind her.

[Spotted.Newt]

Riksha nearly forgot the fake lightsaber. Since she couldn't exactly turn around with ease in this section of the ventilation system, she used the force to call it to her. She had placed it on the table, and since she hadn't gone too far from the vent through which she had climbed she was able to lift the fake lightsaber and direct it into the vent. It was a matter of moments before she felt the cold metal in her grasp, and then she clipped it to her belt. Then, she set off crawling through the ventilation system.
Having explored quite a bit up here in the past, she knew exactly where she had to go. It had been a while since her last opportunity to do this, but she had mentally mapped most of the systems. There were some areas she had not explored, but she didn't feel the need to travel through some areas. The palace was huge, and she didn't exactly have a whole lot of time to explore.
She turned down the first right, then made a left, went down a slight decline, turned a corned, traveled straight for about three minutes, and made another left, then went straight at a three way intersection, turned right, went down another slight decline, made another left, and she was there. A metal grate rested in front if her, and she very carefully picked it up and placed it to the side. After being careful to check for any life forms that might be in the room (there were non, of course) Riksha swung down so that her legs were hooked over the side of the vent and still in the air duct. She was now hanging, upside down, from the ceiling in the trophy room.
It was really an awful place, or at least for Riksha. The Queen had all the outfits from the Jedi had been killed on this planet hanging in glass cases. That included Riksha's own Jedi attire. Then, there were the lightsabers from all these Jedi, perched on a shelf.
The reason Riksha did not just jump down was because the room was laser trapped. The laser did not reach the ceiling or within about four feet of it, since the room itself was about 10 feet tall. So, as long as she was up above the lasers, she should be able to execute her plan without a problem. Carefully extending her hand, Riksha lifted her lightsaber from the shelf. It zig-zagged between the lasers, coming up to the vent. Riksha placed it next to her feet, then began to maneuver the fake into its old resting place.

[mugwart]

After many brief moments of contemplating, Anakin crawled into the vent behind Riksha. He
made sure she was far enough away to not hear him crawling lightly behind her. He wrapped
around opposite of where she was, perching at a vent closer to the ground on the far side of
the room. Anakin's heart jumped. Here, the robes of late Jedi hung proudly by tacks. They
were too clean to even seem real - a dirty robe was proof of adventure, as Anakin saw it.
Lightsabers were tucked neatly and displayed in glass boxes, and beside them, the name of
the fallen Jedi. He squinted to try to read the names, but his head began to pound and the
words became nonsense. Then, Riksha dropped down hanging by her knees. She slipped the
handle of one of the weapons in the place of one that was sheathed, then pulled herself back
into the vents.
She is a Jedi! Anakin's mind was racing. His head spun as he focused in on the sign by where
she had pulled the saber from. She was the one who was sent a year prior - only she was alive,
and quite well, despite the fact that she was enslaved. Someone I can trust, Anakin thought,
his heart pounding. Carefully, he turned on his knees, crawling back the way he came.

[Spotted.Newt]

Riksha felt a disturbance nearby, causing her to nearly loose her focus. Someone or something was either hidden in the room or outside it. This could potentially be very bad... If a guard caught her switching the lightsabers, she would be in very big trouble indeed. But, as the fake lightsaber landed to rest where the real one once stood, nothing happened. The young Jedi swung back up into the vent, clipped her lightsaber to her belt, placed the grate back over the opening, and headed back the way she had come.
She moved much more quickly this time, in a hurry to get out of the vents and up to the roof, where she could safely stow away her weapon. She distinctly remembered the last time she had tried to reclaim her lightsaber, and it had not gone well. It had happened just over a year ago. In fact, it was exactly on the one year anniversary of her capture that she had last tried this.

Riksha was lifting the lightsaber, carefully dodging the lasers, when a small noise caused her to break her focus. The lightsaber swayed, crossing one of the laser beams, and causing an alarm to sound. This louder wailing caused her to loose her balance completely, and she tumbled from the vent and landed on the floor of the room. Being a Jedi, she landed on her feet, but it didn't much matter. A pair of guards came running in, and found Riksha standing there. The lightsaber rested on the ground, several meters away. One of the guards noticed it, and sneered.
"You wanted to be reunited with your lightsaber, huh?" He had stated, almost amused. "It looks like you're about to become acquainted with a lightwhip instead."

The joke was on them now. She once again was in possession of her weapon, and she intended to keep it. Jumping carefully out of the vent, she glanced around her room before walking out to the balcony. From their, she leaped onto the roof. A broad grin displayed itself on her face, as she held her lightsaber. It has been so long since she felt it rest in her grasp, perfectly fitted for her hand. Turning it on, the blade leaped forth eagerly from the hilt, it's green color illuminating her face.

[mugwart]

Anakin breathed heavily as he crawled out of the vent before her, continuing to crawl to where the
windowsill was. When she crawled out, she shouldn't be able to see him there. He struggled to regain
his breath, having a strong urge to contact Obi-Wan. His heart was racing. The Jedi wasn't dead. She
was a slave. The queen had deceived the Jedi and all of her people - this Jedi was very much alive,
and seemingly unwilling to remain a slave much longer.
Something crossed Anakin's mind. She could help him. She would understand, surely, wouldn't she? She'd
probably like to expose this planet and free its people. But there was a lingering worry that she'd been
too far washed to really want to help him. She could be loyal to the queen - to the Separatists, for that
matter. Anakin had seen many Jedi wander down that path.
Suddenly, and very roughly, he realized that Riksha was standing before him, lightsaber drawn, the vivid
green stinging lines in his eyes. He exhaled slowly, pressing himself further against the window. She had
a sort of wild look behind the sadness in her eyes. She must have been a valiant Jedi. Anakin clenched
his jaw, returning a look of mortification. His lips parted as he began to speak. "Well, this is an interesting
way to meet someone in the morning," he murmured, moreso to himself than to her.

[Spotted.Newt]

Riksha suddenly realized that she wasn't alone. In fact, Anakin was standing right in front of her, staring at the lightsaber. Good job, who knows how he's going to react to seeing you with a LIGHTSABER in your hands.
She quickly deactivated it, putting it behind her back. Maybe he would think he had imagined seeing the lightsaber. That's unlikely. a little voice in her head scolded her for being so careless.
She knew he had promised not to tell the Queen about her practice session with the fake lightsaber... But would he tell now? Now that she had an actual weapon? She didn't know him well enough to figure out what his reaction might be.
"Well.... This is rather awkward. she commented. "Say, how did you get up here?" She gestured around the roof on which they were standing with the hand that wasn't holding the lightsaber. Either he was an extraordinary climber... Or he had jumped. Force jumped. Which would mean he was a Force user.

[mugwart]

Anakin's heart sank. He'd been too caught up by the fact that she was indeed a Jedi that he'd
forgotten they were in a place hard to reach. "Uh..." He stepped around her, feeling cornered
by the window. He stumbled backwards, but remained steady on his feet. His own lightsaber
was tucked under his shirt. He could show it to her now, if he wanted, and she could join him.
She could also turn and report him. Right now, it wasn't worth the risk.
"I am not a slave or a trader," he said, clearing his throat. That was the truth. That's as far as he
went. He didn't need to say more, not now. He pushed past the question about how he got onto
the roof in the first place, lightly tapping his shoe. His left hand was tucked under a sleeve and
hidden somewhat behind his back, and he was very aware that she could see the scar resting on
his eye. He was prepared to push past that question, too. He turned from her, looking over the
village again.
From the roof, one could see a vast mountain range. They were huge, beautiful rolling mounds
blanketed by thick, green growth. It must be beautiful here in the cool season. The palace was
sat on one of the highest mountain, cleared of most trees and replaced with a greyish-green
fake undergrowth. The village was scattered in the valley, a few houses starting to creep up the
sides of hills.
"It must've been beautiful," Anakin murmured, playing with the hem of his shirt. "Before they
brought misery here."