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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3844724" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 533: Of ActionIn a way, it was refreshing to be back in the humid, sticky, unpleasant-to-a-human weather of Yavin IV. Of course, it would have been better had Tobias been Alraxian again, but deciding not to cause more questions and confusions amongst the few students still there. The relative emptiness was due to the fact that many students were off fighting the war, either with Kyp Durron, a Jedi leading a group of aggressive Jedi to take the fight to the Vong despite Master Skywalker’s disapproval, with their Masters protecting planets or doing something similar to what Master Ral and Tobias had done...Jedi business that happened to come together with the war.     They had arrived back on the jungle moon a few hours earlier, and Yavin’s star was setting over the trees on the other side of the Great Temple. Venda had also come with them, and was now in the Academy’s medical ward recovering still. She was, however, conscious now. Or, according to Master Ral she was.    Tobias had been out in the large clearing in front of the Great Temple since their arrival, just sitting idly on a rather large rock near the trees. He should have been meditating or something like that, but he just sat there watching the distant star setting. Tobias felt so tired, but not the kind that he could actually sleep. It was more just a complete exhaustion, the constant adrenaline rush from everything that had happened finally fading completely away and leaving him...just so damned tired.    “You look beat,” a somewhat familiar voice said from behind Tobias.    Turning around, he saw none other than the youngest of the Solo children, Anakin, standing there with a slightly off grin on his face and his arms casually crossed over his chest. There was something about him, though, that looked different. But Tobias didn’t have the kind of experience with people to even guess at what it was.    “Its been a long few days,” Tobias said softly, watching the young human wander over before plopping down next to where Toby sat.    Tilting his head up to look through a mop of dirty brown hair, Anakin said, “I know exactly how you feel.”    Only having a small idea of what Anakin had been involved in a few systems away, Tobias didn’t feel like jumping into that and making a fool of himself. So, instead, he mumbled, “I killed someone...and another indirectly. And I...I was at Fondor. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”    That seemed to have a strong affect on Anakin, who didn’t seem to bother controlling the ripple of surprise that extended out from him through the Force. But his voice didn’t reveal any of that surprise, maintaining the same casual tone it had before, “You’re lucky to be alive,” but then, Anakin paused and let out a long, heavy sigh, “I was on Centerpoint. I was ready to fire it and...my brother somehow talked me out of it. But then my cousin stepped in and fired it and...and he couldn’t aim it like I could have. If I’d just done it myself so many lives would have been saved...”    Tobias shifted his head to look down at where Anakin sat, now seeing only the top of the young man’s head. Suddenly, all of the things that were bothering him didn’t matter anymore. This...this kid, who was probably half Tobias’ age despite looking like they were both the same age, had seen so much more in his short years than Tobias had. Anakin had fought in battles, saved lives, and was a good Jedi. And now, Anakin had been on the other end of the same battle as Tobias. Not only that, but he’d been ready to fire the very weapon that had caused such an immense destruction...and he’d stopped, only to see someone else fire it and take thousands of lives.    “Its hard,” Anakin suddenly cut in, speaking softly again and seemingly thinking out loud, “The first time you see people die in front of you. When they really die and you look down and they’re gone. But think about this, Toby...how many lives did you save? How many people did you protect?”    A lot.    Immediately, that was what Tobias said to himself. He had protected people. Stopping Tokarr, one way or another, had saved countless lives. The Miraluka had been so far gone that he was ready to kill without any provocation and was headed right for a major population zone. And Tobias had been there to help stop him..and Venda. He was the one who had caught the very quiet thoughts in her nearly-lost state. She was recovery now because of him.    “Never thought of it that way,” Toby mumbled.    Anakin nodded a bit, still looking off towards the jungle at, as far as Tobias could tell, nothing in particular, “You took action. You did the right thing. Its our duty to step up and fight, not sit around trying to figure out the meaning of existence. Not when we can do something to help.”    It was surprisingly hard for Tobias not to laugh. Instead, though, he managed to just smile to himself. It wasn’t that what Anakin had said was really amusing, but it just sounded so much like Jyren. Those were exactly the kinds of things Tobias could hear his father saying, albeit quietly and while yelling at Marix. And, somehow, it was comforting to know that others thought that way.    Because they were right.    Jedi Knights were the defenders of the galaxy. They were supposed to protect the people that could not protect themselves. It was one thing for th students to be kept away at a safe place to train, as that made perfect sense, but the Knights themselves needed to be doing what they were supposed to be doing. Protecting. Fighting the Vong. By the Force, they all carried lightsabers! Those were weapons and belied the pacifistic nature that some seemed to try to put upon the Order.    “Thank you,” Tobias finally said, “That means a lot from you.”    “It shouldn’t.”    Surprised, Tobias sat up completely to look down to where Anakin was a bit better, “Of course it does! I barely know anything that’s going on but I’ve still heard the things you’ve done. You’re a hero, Anakin. Gods, you’re just like the Jedi my father would tell me stories about when I was little. All the students here look up to you, too!”    By now, Yavin’s star had set and it was mostly dark. Lights from the Great Temple illuminated the area, and there was a slight glow from the large, orange gas giant above, but it was harder for human eyes to see now...even at close distances. The few other students that had been outside had moved into the hangar and the Temple, leaving the Tobias and Anakin alone in a rather awkward silence.    But then, almost suddenly, Anakin hopped up to his feet and said, “Its not like I’m the only one in the galaxy who tries to help people. Besides, you seem to want to do the same. Give it some time and all the kids here will be talking about you.”    “If they notice me,” Toby grumbled, more to himself than to Anakin, as he stood up and looked over to the glow of the lights within the Temple’s hangar. Of course, Tobias did keep to himself and try to remain as unnoticed as possible, but that wasn’t really the point.    “I suggest not bathing,” Anakin said, grinning widely, “That’ll get you noticed pretty quickly.”    For a long moment, Tobias stared at him. Then, finally, he laughed. Anakin soon followed suit and whatever tension had been in the air before was gone. Soon after, they both headed into the Temple and went their separate ways again, with Tobias finally deciding to head to the medical ward to check on Venda. As he headed there, Tobias couldn’t help but feel good knowing that he had a friend in one of the most famous Jedi in the galaxy.</blockquote>

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