CHAPTER TEN: WARM WELCOME

The landing stripe on Coruscant

The Thrusters of the gunship screeched as the pilot send the LAAT/i in a sideways landing, and by the time he'd killed the thrusters, the Jedi that had been standing in the open troop bay had already jumped of and walked towards the four men that were standing very close to the exit of the remainder of the Invisible Hand, the pilot had heard of the one that had set the ship down, and had many questions, but the Jedi he was transporting didn't seem to like people who were asking him.

Mace Windu strode towards the group of four with haste, The Chancellor, Anakin Skywalker and Eyan Yeshan were a mess, and even the droid didn't look like its extraordinary sophisticated programming was able to process what had just happened.

"Chancellor, are you all right? Do you need medical attention? I have fully equipped field surgery standing by." Was the first thing that came out of his mouth, and Anakin and Eyan gave him a respectful yet dazed nod, they'd gotten of the bridge just in time before it, and many other parts of the ship, had exploded.

"No, I am quite all right, thanks to these three here, just a bit dazed." He said, pointing at Anakin, Eyan and even their astromech droid, R2-D2.

"How about you two?" Mace asked the two Jedi, who were starting to return to normal again.

"I'm fine." Anakin said and he looked as if he meant it, "Me too, that field surgery must be needed somewhere else." Eyan didn't look like he was fine at all, a smear of blood running from his scalp to the side of hit mouth and his clothing scorched at all sides.

Mace waved the gunship off and it roared away.

"Master Windu?" Eyan started with a playful smile, "Yes?", "Dooku, he is dead.".

Mace listened to the echo of those words in awe, that meant, that the CIS would slowly start cracking, and eventually, shatter…

"That is…" he couldn't quite finish the sentence so he took a new breath, "That is the best news I have heard in years, really? You killed him?" Mace asked, regarding both Eyan and Anakin, who nodded in response, looking distantly.

"My friend is too modest, he killed Dooku." Eyan said with a continues smile.

"That's… amazing! How did you do it?" Mace asked, and immediately saw that Anakin didn't like the question.

Palpatine answered for him, "Oh, it was something extraordinary, I think I should describe it as that Anakin was just a bit more motivated, Dooku was simply fighting to win, but Anakin, if I may presume the honor, was fighting for a friend." The words stung, true as the may be, the Council had never liked the close relation between Palpatine and Anakin.

"And you, where were you in this?" Mace asked Eyan, then realized he wasn't as much asking as blaming him for it.

"I, oh, I uh, was taking a nap the second half of the battle…" Eyan said with a broad smile.

"Dooku may have been a bit over-confident after having disposed of Yeshan so… quickly…" Palpatine said and Eyan blushed while looking away.

"We'll hear the full report later, in the Council chamber, for now lets just return to the Senate, people have been notified you want to make a statement on the HoloNet." Mace said with a nod at Palpatine.

The Senate building

The Shuttle set down on the docking platform and Mace gestured at Eyan, the doors opened and Anakin stepped out after Palpatine, but Eyan stayed behind.

"Eyan, aren't you coming?" Anakin said when he noticed as much.

"No, I don't have half the courage for politics, plus, someone has to be the heroic poster boy.".

"Poster man.".

"Quite right, poster man, go meet your fans, I'll do the hard work and deliver my report to the Council, have fun spending a glorious day with the senators." Eyan said as he leaned against the door.

"You have fun in the Temple." Anakin said with a shake of his head and ran off to the politicians and HoloNet supporters.

Then the doors closed and the shuttle too off again, Eyan found himself alone with Windu now, and he wasn't liking the grim and raw look on his face a bit.

"Eyan, sit down." Mace gestured at a chair, "There's something, regarding the Chancellor, and your friends, you need to know…".

Eyan swallowed, not liking this one bit.

The Jedi Temple

Eyan stumbled away from the Council Chamber, the conversation with Windu, then the report in front of the Council, no part of it had been right, nothing about it was right.

But now he realized something else, something that tried to bring a smile to his face, that had turned grey after so much bad news.

He moved through the hallway, ignoring the happy greetings and congratulating from the other Jedi, he had only one Jedi on his mind, and he knew exactly where that Jedi was now.

He turned around the corner and pressed that delightfully quick-to-respond button next to the door and the door slid aside.

Then, as soon as the door had closed behind him, they fell into each others arms.

"Eyan!" Ahsoka said exited to see him after such a long time, "Eyan…".

"I'm here Ahsoka, right here…" Eyan replied and pressed his head against hers.

"There were rumors, terrible rumors that... t-that you had died. I've been having nightmares of you dying ever since you left." She started shaking, and it became worse every second, every trembling breath.

"I-in an explosion, and, when the bridge exp-ploded, Eyan…" she said and Eyan guided her to the bed in the room, the only thing that kept her standing was Eyan.

"Ahsoka, I wouldn't die, ever, I will always return to you," he said and looked her in the eyes with a compassionate smile.

"I'm s-sorry, I should be stronger than this, I'm a J-Jedi." Ahsoka sobbed and wiped the sudden tears from her eyes.

Eyan put his arms around her and smiled.

"It's okay, I've missed you, it's been way to long…".

"Seven months, how could they do that to us?" Ahsoka said with a face that tried to be strong but showed her about to burst into tears again.

"Ahsoka, you need to know, that I love you." Eyan said and was surprised that he said it himself.

"Y-you love me?" Ahsoka repeated trembling, Eyan smiled, his time with Anakin had taught him enough about love to understand that love was what they were both experiencing right now.

"Yes Ahsoka, I love you…" Eyan said, still surprised that he hadn't chickened out yet.

"Eyan, I think, that I love you too…" Ahsoka said and a smile appeared as sun breaking through clouds that brought rain.

"C'mon Ahsoka, its not very you to cry, you are Ahsoka Tano, the best knight of the Order." Eyan said with an undeniable smile which Ahsoka returned.

"I'm sorry, I guess I've been with Padmé for too long, I'm starting to pick up bad habits…" Ahsoka said and suddenly her tears were all gone.

"Padmé? She doesn't seem like someone who would cry a lot…" Eyan said with his arm still around Ahsoka's still faintly trembling body.

For maybe a minute Ahsoka said nothing, silently weighing if it was worth it to betray Padmé's trust to tell Eyan.

"Eyan, I'm only telling this because I trust you, and I need someone to tell it, because I can't talk to Padmé about it anymore. Padmé and Anakin are married." She looked at him, he didn't move a muscle, not a bit, his smile didn't even fade.

"That's okay Ahsoka, Anakin already told me when we were falling towards Coruscant, he told me through the Force, because he must have sensed that every bit of me thought of you…" Eyan confessed and Ahsoka looked at him, then she lay her hand on his jaw.

"Come here you crazy!" she kissed him and pushed him back on the bed.

The Jedi Temple, late in the night

Anakin Skywalker bounced up the stairs and ran past the pillars of the entrance, everyone else was asleep so no one would see him slipping in.

"Had a nice day, Anakin?" a voice said from behind him, Anakin turned around.

Eyan came from behind a pillar and walked towards him.

"You spoke with Ahsoka, I guess?" Anakin said and pointed at the bit of brown on Eyan's cheek, lipstick, which Eyan quickly wiped off.

"Well, talk isn't exactly the word I'd use…" Eyan replied with a broad grin.

"I'm glad you two get along so well." Anakin said and yawned.

"And where have you been? You missed the briefing." Eyan said.

"I have no regrets, I've been with Padmé…" he whispered and the two walked through the door, finding Shaak Ti standing there, she looked surprised.

"What are you two doing out so late?" she asked and Eyan and Anakin looked at each other.

"Talking." Eyan replied, "Filling Anakin in on what he missed, but half of it he already knew anyway." He continued and glanced at Anakin, who send him a thank-you telepathically, but not hearable to Shaak Ti.

"Yes, I must say you both did a tremendous job and great service to the Republic, it won't be long till you two are sitting in the Council I'm sure." She said, and Anakin almost believed that she'd caught his thought.

After all that what Master Windu has shared with me that you don't even know, I'm quite sure that they won't… Eyan reasoned and realized that it was not so obvious as he though, but he wouldn't be let in the Council so that the masters still had a grip on both him and Anakin, he then thought.

"Thank you, Master Ti, I appreciate you saying that." Anakin said with a nod but Eyan could immediately sense a change in Anakin, maybe Shaak Ti had too, but she certainly didn't show so.

"Your welcome," she said with a gentle voice, "Now if you two will excuse me, I have to go, good night." She walked away with a smile and as soon as she was out of hearing range Eyan asked: "Anakin, I sensed something in you changed, what is it?".

"Nothing, good night to you too." Anakin said with a grim face as he turned away and moved to his room.

"Good night to you all the same, sleep well…" Eyan said sadly and moved towards his own room.

The undercity of Coruscant

There is a place on Coruscant whereonly a couple beams of sunlight reach the actual ground itself, it is a place where law runs free, except for one small area, an area the size of a small village.

Here, the tribe of sprites lives.

Around this place, many legends lie, whenever clone squads do their patrol there, they find only an abandoned tent camp, and once in a while a creature stirring the place, a bird, or sometimes a fox.

Of course, creatures like them aren't supposed to be there, but over time the clones didn't even bother with them anymore.

But these creatures, they are the members of the tribe of sprites.

And they too, have their legends, for example, the legend of the wolf, a very unoriginal legend, about a time where everything seems lost, and war has escalated to worse than catastrophe.

But then, a hero shows up, with the power to subdue giants, a hero with the loyalty of a dog, the fierceness of a predator and the very sprite and spirit of a wolf.

He, is what represents light.

The elders of the tribe tell the children this legend as a story, and some parents use it as a bed-time story for their kids, and so the children believe it, and the one place that is still blessed with sun-rays every day is a cherished place by the children.

The parents know better, its just a legend.

But the children sometimes pray to this hero, ask him to protect them, and the parents can't bear to tell the children that it is all a legend, a lie.

Because they too, in the deepest spot, in the unreachable part of their heart, believe it too.

And sometimes, when no one is looking, they pray that this hero will stop the darkness that is, and is to come.

This hero, this loyal, fierce wolf, is Eyan Yeshan, proud member of the tribe of sprites, wielder of the burden that is the power to subdue giants, the Force and more.

A/N: I'm not going to upload this as the fourth chapter of the day ( My friend got to read it before you guys did, aren't you jealous? ), so when you see it, please note this, have fun, leave a review and please enjoy!