It's a short chapter (compared to others at least) but it does push the plot a bit more.
July 6th, Four years post Galactic Empire
Mia opened her eyes slowly as memories of a dream of Anakin faded away. In the dark she could still see his features illuminated by candle light, a grin on his face before taking in a big breath and blowing out the candles of a birthday cake, plunging the room around them into darkness as friends and family cheered.
The lamp behind her turned on and Mia rolled over to look at her brother, "Sleep well?" He asked her, hands moving slowly.
She nodded, remembering the smell of smoke and sensation of kissing Anakin right after before he jokingly smeared frosting on her cheek because that was just Anakin, mischievous.
"Then why are you crying?" He asked her.
Micah's signing had greatly improved because between the pain meds and the swelling midichlorians her ability to hear through the Force had not yet quite returned and it was just easier trying to sign.
She blinked as a small tear escaped out the corner of her eye. Reaching up, she wiped it away.
"I had a dream about my family and it reminded me of how much I missed them," She answered verbally, hands moving slowly for his sake.
"The doctors talked about taking another brain scan, checking up on the swelling," He told her.
"Bout time," Mia muttered irritably, "I would have put an order in for one the second my patient was admitted, regardless of the last one."
Micah smirked a little, "I'm guessing you're a bit tired of being on the other side of doctor-patient care?" He surmised, moving carefully through the hand signs.
"Uh, no, it's guessing," Mia corrected, one finger pointed upwards as she moved her hand in the opposite direction, "Sorry, I know learning is a bit difficult when I keep switching hands."
Sighing, he nodded, "Regardless, I'm sure you're tired of being here."
"Oh, I am very sick of being here and I would like very much to leave," Mia told him, "Or the very least have more of a deciding influence on the diagnosis side of this."
He nodded slowly, "If you were the doctor in this, what would you do?" He asked.
"Since I'm only in here for 'observation' I'd at the very least do a bit better at observing my patient, including frequent and regular tests and I'd be a little less condescending about it too," Mia answered before sarcastically adding: "But that would require effort of course.
July 6th, Four years post Galactic Empire
Anakin moved slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen as he went to get coffee started. As he walked into the kitchen, he stopped and sighed. Part of him imagined Mia slowly cooking dinner as she looked out the window to watch Luke and Leia play outside, a faint smile gracing her lips. Stepping further into the kitchen, he started making coffee for himself before walking to sit down while it brewed. The door opened and Luke and Leia rushed in with a heat of excitement, going up the stairs two at a time. Eyebrows furrowed, he turned and looked at Obi-wan as he slowly walked inside.
"I promised to build a fort with them," Obi-wan mentioned as he made his way upstairs.
Nodding, Anakin turned and looked out the window as mid-morning sun hung over the trees, casting shadows against the house. The bitter smell of coffee drifted through the room as the wheezing sound of the coffee maker alerted him that it was almost finished.
Standing slowly, Anakin leaned against the table as the world around him threated to spill over in a swing of vertigo. Taking a deep breath, he moved towards the coffee maker and pulled out a cup.
While he was in the infirmary Obi-wan had taken it upon himself to unpack a bit, mostly when it was late at night and he wasn't busy with the twins or visiting Anakin.
Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he slowly made his way up the stairs.
"No, we need the blanket inside the fort," Leia disagreed.
"Now Leia, the secret to fort-making is using the sheets as the cover for the fort and keeping the blankets and pillows inside the fort," Mia told her as she carried a stack of blankets, "That way it's super comfy."
Anakin smiled at the memory as he pushed the door of Leia's room in and walked in. Luke and Obi-wan were in the process of trying to keep the sheets balanced over the dresser and desk chair.
"You're supposed to tuck the sheet into the drawer and keep it closed, it's much more stable than using something to weigh it down," Anakin pointed out.
Turning to Obi-wan, Luke nodded, "We should do it that way," He stated confidently
Nodding, Obi-wan opened the drawer and helped Luke tuck the sheet in before closing it.
"We could use ribbon to tie the sheet to the chair," Leia suggested as she grabbed a spool of ribbon from her desk.
Anakin sat down on Leia's bed as he watched them build the fort. Stooping down, Leia stuffed pillows and blankets in strategic places before telling everyone they could come inside. Moving slowly, Anakin sat down next to Luke, coffee cup still in hand.
"We should make tea and have a tea party in here," Leia suggested.
"No, we should get that board game Obi-wan got and snacks and play that," Luke decided.
"But I want tea," Leia argued.
"Obi-wan makes cruddy tea anyway," Luke disputed.
Leia rolled her eyes, "I can make tea, Mia's been teaching me how," She stated, crossing her arms with a very proud, slightly smug expression.
Luke shook his head, "I don't want tea," He complained.
"You don't have to have tea, I just want it," Leia argued.
Obi-wan pinched the bridge of his nose and Anakin shook his head.
"Have your tea, I want to play Rat Race," Luke decided.
"You're stupid," Leia complained, getting annoyed.
"Leia, that's not nice," Anakin scolded her.
Leia crossed her arms, "It's true," She grumbled.
"Have your stupid tea party, I'm not playing with you!" Luke shouted as he got out of the fort and left the room, "You cheat anyway."
"I do not!" Leia called after him.
Obi-wan and Anakin exchanged a glance before letting out a collective sigh of exasperation.
Luke walked into the room, holding the Rat Race board game, "I'm building a fort in my own room and if you want to play you can come with," He told Obi-wan and Anakin. Turning to Leia, he frowned, "You're not invited."
With that he left.
Sighing, Anakin looked over to Obi-wan, figuring it was better if they split up, that way neither of them felt left out. Obi-wan's eyes flinted over to the door, telling Anakin to take Luke.
"I think I'm going to go play Rat Race Princess," He told her as he started standing up.
"What? No!" Leia whined.
"I'll have a tea party with you," Obi-wan assured her, "Provided you make the tea this time."
Smiling, Leia nodded, "It's a deal," She agreed.
Walking slowly, Anakin joined Luke in his room, watching for a moment as he started building his own fort. "Building a fort?" Anakin guessed.
"Yes and it's going to be better than Leia's stupid crummy old fort," Luke grumbled as he yanked the sheets off the bed.
Walking straight to his closet, Luke hooked the mattress sheet on the two coat hooks on either side before moving towards the desk and tethering the other end to one of the drawers and using his lamp as a weight. Taking the flat sheet, he began adding to the fort.
"It looks nice," Anakin commented as he leaned heavily on the door frame, sipping his coffee slowly.
Stopping, Luke looked at it and nodded, "Just needs one thing," Luke decided before walking out the room, "I'll be right back."
Returning with an armful of snacks, Luke sat down in the fort.
"Are you stocking up for an invasion or something?" Anakin questioned, highly amused.
"Yeah, an invasion of stupid tea-loving girls," Luke stated as he started setting up the game.
Moving further into the room, Anakin sat down and scooted into the fort, "I believe I said something similar once," He mentioned. When Luke looked up at him with a curious expression, he explained, "I was nine, almost ten and Mia was eight. We'd gotten into an argument like you and Leia just had. I don't even remember what it was about but I stayed in my room all day. I ran out of things to do for fun though, and I didn't bring snacks but at one point Obi-wan had walked in and asked when I was coming out."
"So I told him I was coming out, and I quote, 'when stupid girls with their stupid books and their stupid tea left'," Anakin concluded.
"Though, that didn't really fly with Obi-wan and he told me that I couldn't come out until I apologized to Mia," Anakin added, "Mia couldn't leave until she apologized to me."
"Wait, why would Mia leave?" Luke questioned, confused.
"Oh, that was before Mia became a Padawan too so she slept in these special bunk rooms for younglings," Anakin explained.
Nodding, Luke sighed.
"Since when do you not like tea anyway?" Anakin questioned, curious.
Luke looked down at the board game as he picked out the blue rat, "It's not the same without Mia," Luke muttered.
Mia had been the one to introduce him to tea.
Anakin nodded in agreement.
"Is Mia ever coming back?" Luke asked him, looking up with wide blue eyes.
"Of course she is," Anakin assured him.
"How do you know?" Luke questioned, not believing it.
Anakin smiled, "Because Mia always comes back," He stated, "She always has and she always will, sometimes it takes her a while but she always comes home."
Nodding, Luke looked up at him, "You want to go first?" He offered, holding out two dice.
Smiling, Anakin took the dice from his son's tiny hand and tossed them on the board.
July 6th, Four years post Galactic Empire
Mia breathed slowly as the machine technicians placed two warm blankets on top of her to keep her warm. One of the technicians held up her hand, making the universal sign for 'okay' as a question. Mia smiled at her effort to try and communicate with her, caring. Nodding slowly, Mia watched as she reached over and pressed a button. The tray she was laying on slowly slid her into the heart of the machine. The tiny, pin-prick sized light above her was red but any minute it would be green, signaling that the brain scan was beginning. She'd never liked these machines, hated the sounds they made and the way they made her tune out all sound for some peace.
Then it turned and green.
Holding still, Mia waited for the sound to drift in but it was near silence, a soft buzzing hum around her. She wondered if the swelling in her brain had gotten worse or remained the same. Her headaches had gotten much better since arriving here but she knew that was because of the medications they'd put her on.
Closing her eyes, she shut out the machine as it rotated around her head.
She sat down on the bed slowly, decompressing from a long day of chasing after two four year old terrors on sugar because Anakin and Obi-wan's idea of taking the twins to the park so she could take a break and relax required them stressing her out again when they got back. Stretching her neck to the left and then the right, Mia sighed as the joint popped and realigned. Before she knew it, Anakin was gently brushing her hair off her back and onto her left shoulder.
"I'm still mad at you," She stated, knowing exactly what he was doing.
"I know," He replied, his breath tickling her shoulder just before he pressed a soft kiss to the bare skin.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get them to go to bed?" She challenged as he placed his hands on his shoulders, his thumbs pressing gently into her back.
"I do," Anakin stated as his thumbs began making circular motions, "Because you made me do it."
Mia grinned, "Rightly so," She laughed.
"Still can't believe you swore in Huttese at me," He muttered.
"Are you offended?" Mia asked him, amused.
"No, I'm actually quite proud, I've just managed to corrupt dear, sweet, goodie-two-shoes Mia," He teased her, "Though it was a very highly offensive word, I don't recommend you repeating it."
"It wasn't that offensive," Mia disputed in a sigh as his fingers began removing knots of tension, "And you did not corrupt me."
Anakin laughed, "No, I just taught you how to swear in the most offensive language in the universe," He stated.
Mia smiled as his thumbs worked down her spine, making the muscles in her back feel more like muscles. "Lower," She murmured, breathing slowly as she gradually began to really relax.
He reached the giant knot of tension that resided between her shoulder blades, kneading it slowly as his fingers fanned across her back, his fingers lining up with her ribs in synchronicity. Mia let out a soft moan of pleasure as the knot in her back eased away at his skilled fingers. Leaning forward, he pressed soft kisses to her shoulders, leading up to her neck. Mia leaned back, resting against his shoulders as he kissed her pulse point, her soft spot. In an instant she turned around, her hands gripping his neck as she pulled him closer, kissing him. His hands slid slowly down her waist and hips as they kissed, gripping her thighs just above her knees, pulling her so she was on top of him. They were long gone, any annoyance or irritation they'd felt towards the other gone. They so rarely stayed mad.
Suddenly she was moving, being pulled out of the machine. The light hurt her eyes as the technicians smiled at her. Sitting up slowly, she slowly moved into the wheelchair they'd brought over, mindful of the vertigo she'd been feeling for the last week.
They wheeled her slowly out the room, heading towards the elevator to got up two floors and bring her back to her hospital room, where her brother waited. As they wheeled her into the room she saw Micah sitting on the chair on the corner, looking quite bored. He perked up when he saw her.
"How'd it go?" He asked her as she slowly eased herself onto the hospital bed.
"Alright, I mostly slept through it," She answered as she leaned back heavily on the bed, exhausted.
"Do you know when we'll get the results?" He asked her, his voice muffled but present.
Mia thought about it, "Uh, scans like that are recorded on video and given to the doctor who will review it when he gets a chance and that video would probably be about ten to fifteen minutes long on fast forward. I'm not their only patient though so it might be a while before we hear back from him."
"How long would you take to talk to the patient about it?" Micah asked her.
Mia shrugged, not liking what she was about to say, "With brain swelling as severe as mine, I'd put a rush on it," She explained.
He nodded slowly, "How severe?" He asked.
Mia bit her lip, "It could kill me," She murmured, tears slipping down her cheeks, starting to let the reality she'd tried so hard to ignore seep into head, "If it gets any worse it could kill me."
He sat there, stunned and not knowing what to do. There wasn't anything he could do.
Sniffling, Mia looked away as she wiped away the tears.
They sat in silence for the longest time, nothing to say because no comforting words could diminish the reality. Mia didn't cry, she didn't want to cry in front of her brother, in front of anyone because it meant admitting she couldn't beat this. That thought scared her.
Mia was staring at the wall when Micah suddenly moved, sitting up. Following his line of sight, she watched the doctor slowly walk into her room.
"Miss Rosslyn, we have some good news," Dr. Keaton told her.
Mia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I've reviewed your brain scans and the swelling has gone down significantly," He told her.
Mia turned to her brother, "Did he just say the swelling's gone down?" She asked him, not able to believe it.
Micah nodded.
"I thought you might want to see the scans yourself," Dr. Keaton added, pulling out a folder from her chart.
Sitting up, Mia took it from him and pulled out the printed scans, reviewing them quickly, "Do you know how this happened?" She asked the doctor, staring at the images, "Is this just the medication?"
"Well, we can't know for sure what exactly is causing it but if we keep you on the medication you could possibly return home and follow up with another doctor," Dr. Keaton added.
Mia nodded numbly.
"I'll keep you overnight and we'll see about releasing you tomorrow," Dr. Keaton concluded as he left, "Those scans are yours to keep, by the way."
"I can't believe it," Mia whispered once the doctor had left.
"They've really gone down?" Micah asked as he leaned over to see the scans himself, not believing it either.
Mia nodded, "There's still some swelling but it's not nearly as bad as it was before," She explained.
"This is great news," Micah exclaimed, a real smile breaking out on his face, soft and small but entirely real.
Mia grinned back, relief washing over her.
July 7th, Four years post Galactic Empire
Taking it easy and laying around the house was proving to be very difficult. In some ways it was difficult because his active mind kept telling him there was something left to do. It was an instinct that had been there longer than he could remember and it was likely always going be there. Sitting around the house and not doing something productive felt wrong. Not to mention he had to four, almost five, year olds who never sat still and laying down on the couch while they charged in an out of the room at play felt weird. In some ways taking it easy wasn't very hard because it was already a bit difficult to go upstairs without feeling tired and light headed, doing much else seemed near impossible.
In a few days Anakin was supposed to start work, work being patrol duty and maintenance on the ships on base, most of them small and old, inconspicuous. Obi-wan had started working at his new position on base, in intelligence-analysis, organizing data on the Empire. Most of the intelligence came from intercepting encrypted Imperial data transmissions and spying on Imperial bases across the galaxy and it was his job to help wade through the information with others on this team.
Sitting on the couch, Anakin slowly read one of Mia's old books, starting a new chapter she'd often complained about.
Suddenly Leia came bounding inside the house, rushing into the kitchen with Luke hot on her heels. There was quiet whispering then silence followed by the refrigerator opening and shutting before both of them tiptoed their way outside, thinking their dad wouldn't notice.
"Is there something I should know about?" Anakin asked them before they could go out the door.
Leia stopped for a moment to look at him before giggling and running outside after her brother.
That just didn't bode well.
Standing slowly, Anakin followed them outside, going down the porch steps slowly as he rounded the corner to where they sat, crouched with their backs turned to him.
"He's so cute," Leia whispered.
"What's so cute?" Anakin asked as he slowly approached them.
Luke and Leia looked up at him before pointing to something small and brown hiding under a root in the tree. Eyebrows furrowing, Anakin slowly sat down on Leia's other side, wondering what it was.
"It's a bunny," Leia quietly explained.
Nodding, Anakin looked over at the small pile of offered food a few inches in front of the rabbit, leafs of lettuce and a few carrots.
"You know, it can probably feed itself," Anakin pointed out.
"But we want to feed it," Leia argued at a whisper, "Besides, it's so small."
Looking back at the rabbit, Anakin watched as it slowly poked its head out and took a hesitant bite of the lettuce. They watched in a long breathless moment as the rabbit began to slowly eat the offered food, seeming a little more trusting of them as they sat still, keeping a safe distance away from it.
"Maybe we could keep it," Luke suggested.
"No," Anakin disagreed automatically.
"Why not?" Leia asked, not believing it.
"It's a wild animal Leia, not a pet," He told her.
Leia sighed out of annoyance before turning her attention to the rabbit as it took a bite out of the crunchy carrot.
"We could let it stay outside and just keep feeding it," Leia suggested.
Anakin shook his head, "You'll just attract more wild animals, it's a bad idea," Anakin stated quietly, shaking his head.
"I don't see you taking the food away," Leia pointed out in a way that reminded him so strongly of Mia he didn't have a response.
She had a point.
Sighing, Anakin sat in silence with the twins as they watched the rabbit eat the food, watching as it slowly came out from under the root it had taking refuge in. It was tiny, possibly a baby, with brown fur that acted as perfect camouflage in this environment. As it ate it watched all three of them, observing.
"Mia would let us keep it," Luke stated confidently.
Your mom has never been fond of the idea of owning animals, Anakin almost stated before realizing he was almost going to refer to Mia as their mom.
"Mia has never liked the idea of keeping animals as pets," He said instead before he could really focus on the thought.
"Why?" Both of them asked at the same time, looking at him.
Anakin sighed and looked at the rabbit, "She thinks animals should be free and wild, living their own life," Anakin explained, "Not be cooped up inside as pets."
Sighing, Leia turned back to the rabbit, nothing else was said on the matter.
"I'm going back inside," Anakin murmured, standing.
The world tilted for a moment, reminding him not to stand too quickly. The rabbit held still for a moment, watching as Anakin waited a moment. Feeling he could walk inside without nearly falling over like before, he slowly made his way inside and went back to reading.
July 8th, Four years post Galactic Empire
At the notice of her imminent release if all continued well, Micah had stepped outside to make a transmission. Mia suspected it was to his ship, giving his men orders to fly through hyperspace here. It was probably a lot easier than flying back to Ammi-seru to get back to them. Part of her wondered about boarding his ship again. The idea of being on an Imperial ship made her sick inside, regardless of whose it was. It hadn't actually bothered her the first time, she'd been too pissed off at them and had expected to be taken down to holding if not executed in front of the Empire right away.
Granted, she'd spent several days on board that ship without anything bad happening but she'd been just as nervous leaving it because she hated the idea of any Imperial seeing her. Many things could happen if one of them told the Emperor that Micah hadn't killed her right on site, one of those things being death for her and her brother.
So as she signed her name on the release forms, she felt very sick inside and the urge to run anywhere was overpowering.
To her great disgust she was wheeled out of the hospital like an invalid—though, what can one call themself after a week in the hospital?
Micah handed her a black cloak with red trim, which she put on with no hesitation, and motioned her to follow him to the small ship that she vaguely recognized as the one that had brought them to the first facility, though she presently had no idea how it had gotten there.
"The pilot that flew us to the first facility flew it here as well," He explained as they boarded it, "It will take us aboard and then it will return to Ammi-seru."
Mia sighed as she slowly approached the ship and went up the short but fairly steep ramp. Once they were onboard her brother went straight to a long case in the back of the ship she hadn't noticed before. He opened it slowly and pulled out the black chest plate of his armor. She watched from the front of the ship as he slowly put on the armor, wondering just how many sets he had. Given his position as a Emperor's Jedi hunter—the thought made her both roll her eyes and want to throw up—she imagined he'd been forced to replace a piece of armor here or there. Turning, she looked over at the pilot who was eyeing her curiously. She was fairly used to that by now, as sad as that was, because most people who worked for her brother didn't know what to make of her.
Suddenly the air around her brother turned cold and dark and it made her struggle not to jump away out of instinct. It was far too easy to forget he was a Sith. Turning, she looked at her armor clad brother, the visual reminder of who he was sinking in.
She wasn't just looking at Micah, she was looking at Darth Brutus. Just because she called him by a different name didn't mean he wasn't still that same person.
"We're ready to go," He told her just before putting on the mask.
Mia bit her lip, every muscle in her body tense on reflex.
"Are you ready?" He asked her, the voice chilling her bones.
She wondered if she'd ever get around to telling him exactly how creepy the mechanical voice was but she didn't particularly feel like it right this moment. Sitting down in the seat next to the pilot without a word, Mia strapped herself in while her brother sat down behind her, possibly a bit irked at her for sitting up front. The thought made her smile, a little bit of normal sibling annoyances made her feel almost normal.
As they left the atmosphere Mia pulled the hood of the cloak over her head. The star destroyer loomed ahead and for a moment Mia almost forgot that she used to command ships like that all the time, back in the war. Now as her fingernails dug into the seat she couldn't help but worry that she'd be shot out of the sky. They flew towards it slowly, without incident, and the pilot directed the ship into a large hanger. Behind her she vaguely heard her brother stand up before standing at her side.
"Ready?" He asked her.
She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised, "I'm about to walk into the heart of the Empire, with no weapon mind you, and hope they don't shoot me," She reminded him just before she sighed, "Yeah."
Standing, she followed him out, tugging the hood down a little farther before bowing her head down, not at all eager to have someone see her face. In front of her stood one man dressed in a grey uniform with three men, dressed similarly, standing behind him.
Goody, the welcome wagon , Mia thought sarcastically as they walked down the ramp of the ship.
The aura around her brother changed in an instant, turning cold and dark in a way that made her struggle not to jump away.
"Commander Ver," Her brother greeted, his mechanical voice sending anxious shivers down Mia's back.
"Good to have you back sir," Ver greeted, not even bothering to give her a second glance, "What are your orders?"
"Return to the bridge, I will join you shortly to discuss our next move," Micah—Darth Brutus, Mia reminded herself—responded, "I need to see to our guest."
Mia raised an eyebrow. Is that what I am?
Nodding, Commander Ver turned and walked away, seeming to have expected as much.
Turning to Mia, Micah nodded and made his way towards the lift, expecting her to follow. A wave of annoyance echoed from her as she followed, apparently not liking the way he had assumed she'd follow. The annoyance confused him for a moment because last he had checked she didn't want to spend any time out in the open with his men. He expected that he'd never fully understand the normal social rules so many followed and he certainly would never fully understand his sister.
The ride in the lift was eerily quiet. When the doors opened Mia went straight to the door. He almost let out a sigh as he entered the ten-digit key to let her into the room.
"I'm assuming you're intending to go straight to the bridge," Mia stated sarcastically, looking up at him from under the hood, her grey eyes just barely visible.
"Are you irritated?" He asked her.
Mia rolled her eyes, "No, I just don't think it's in your best interest to assume I'll always do as you like," She stated before walking further inside to make herself a cup of tea.
"I'll see you for dinner," He told her instead of responding, shutting the door behind him as he left.
The lift ride going down was unpleasant in ways he couldn't properly explain. It was strange how different of a person he was around Mia as compared to others. Even the lift ride down, alone, made the darkness creep up on him. He wasn't sure if that was a welcomed change or not.
Pushing it off into a corner along with many other thoughts on that subject, he made his way towards the bridge.
As he walked in he could see Commander Ver giving two other officers orders while occasionally glancing at the officers on the floor below, seated at computers going over calculations and communications between them and other bases and ships.
He stopped behind Ver, not at all surprised how easily the young commander noticed him even with his back turned.
"Lord Brutus," Commander Ver greeted, standing up straight with his arms at his sides.
Behind him the two officers walked away to follow their given orders.
"We're to visit the planet Airon sector," Darth Brutus ordered.
"That's the current location of the build site, if I'm not mistaken," Commander Ver commented, "How is that going along?"
"That's what we're to find out," He responded.
Nodding, Commander Ver looked at his superior officer for a moment before speaking, "You know I'd never pry into your personal matters," He started, "But that was Jedi Knight Rosslyn I saw just now, wasn't it?"
Darth Brutus turned to him, "Is there a problem?" He questioned, though he sensed he already knew the answer.
"No, of course not," Ver assured him as he looked out into the field of stars straight ahead, "I'd just like to know what lie I'm to tell the Emperor should he ask."
He almost smiled at the loyalty, loyalty was such a rare thing in the Empire.
"Tell him I'm using Miss Rosslyn to track down Anakin Skywalker in exchange for her life and freedom," He answered, "And one I've killed him, I'll kill her as well."
Ver nodded, "That's good, he'll like that," He decided before smirking, "I might actually have to try to keep a straight face."
His lips twitched upwards from behind the mask, another almost smile.
July 9th, Four years post Galactic Empire
Stepping out of the house, Anakin and the twins still sound asleep, Obi-wan breathed in the cool air, feeling it seep in through the long sleeves of his shirt and brush against his arms. Sitting down on the steps of the small porch, he laced up his boots. It was his first day of patrols. Standing up, Obi-wan walked towards the trail leading towards the mess hall and the underground levels beneath it. The base was still quiet, Rebels just beginning to wake up. The sky was oddly set in overcast despite the warm season but he'd spent most of the last year underground and he'd almost forgotten what the sky was supposed to look like on warm days.
Going up the stairs of the mess hall, Obi-wan cut through to the back and took the lift down to the first floor. He only vaguely know what where everything was down here, he hadn't spent much time here yet.
Giving up on trying to find his way on his own, he approached one stranger walking down the hall. "Excuse me, I'm supposed to start patrols today," He spoke, smiling sheepishly.
Nodding, the young man looked behind him, "It's down the hall, second left and then through the door labeled 6B-108, you sign in and they'll set you up from there," He answered, pointing into the direction he'd come from.
"Thank you," Obi-wan added with a smile as he walked away.
"No problem," He replied, smiling.
When he signed in for patrols the woman behind the desk pointed him to the door behind her. From there he'd gotten his radio, a blaster rifle and a map of the trail he was supposed to follow.
"Obi-wan," Claus called from behind, surprised to see the other Jedi.
Looking over his shoulder, Obi-wan smiled, "Claus, are you here for patrols?" He questioned, just as surprised.
Nodding, Claus passed him and picked up the blaster rifle and radio offered to him by thirty-something man in charge of assigning weaponry.
"What patrol group were you assigned?" Claus asked.
"Uh, Patrol Group A," Obi-wan answered, checking the map.
Claus smiled faintly, "Well good, I can give you the tour," He laughed.
As they went up to the dining hall, Claus directed him to the side entrance and down the stairs.
"So group A is assigned the outer barrier, it's mainly under the cover of the forest but it's quiet," Claus explained as he walked straight ahead, "You start at the first check mark and follow a clockwise path."
Obi-wan nodded, taking all this in. They lapsed into silence for a few minutes.
"How's Anakin?" Claus asked, breaking the silence.
"Tired," Obi-wan answered, sounding exhausted himself, "I've managed to keep him off his feet but he's beginning to get restless."
Claus nodded, knowing the feeling, "On Pallaxides I broke two ribs and they kept me off duty for two weeks and even after I was supposed to take it easy," Claus admitted to his friend, "I wasn't allowed on another mission for another two months."
Obi-wan looked over at the man, trying to remember that fateful night, "I don't remember that," He admitted.
"It wasn't until the very end of our battle with Darth Brutus," Claus explained, "I managed."
"Anakin has never been good where the term 'taking it easy' is concerned," Obi-wan stated, "Frankly, the fact he's been so good about it this time has me worried."
Claus nodded, "I remember Mia saying, once, that Anakin was the worst patient she'd ever had," He murmured.
"He still is," Obi-wan laughed before sighing, "I suspect Mia's absence is largely to blame for Anakin's compliance over taking it easy, he's been depressed since learning of," He trailed off.
Claus nodded, "The day I heard she'd been captured I," He sighed, "I punched a wall, followed by nearly flipping my desk over."
"And a massive hangover in the morning," He added.
"When Anakin heard he took it out on a punching bag," Obi-wan mentioned as they began walking up a hill, "I found him with cut and bloodied knuckles."
"He's not been the same," Obi-wan murmured, looking down at the ground.
Claus bit his lip, Nor have I, he thought.
"Mia has that effect on everyone," Obi-wan stated, sighing wearily, "She works her way into your heart."
"Effortlessly," Claus murmured, thinking back to the first time he'd held her, the way she gently touched his Padawan braid, her fingers trailing down it.
Obi-wan nodded in agreement, thinking of the first time he'd met her, small and tiny, looking up at him with curious blue-grey eyes before smiling widely. He remembered how easily it was to teach her to sign her name, how quickly she'd picked it up because she was undeniably smart. He also remembered the day in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, taking Mia to see them as he taught her new signs. The second Claus saw her he recognized her, the way he smiled down at her as he held her gently.
Mia had that effect on everyone, it was so easy to love her.
June 9th, Four years post Galactic Empire
On her third day aboard this ship Mia had learned of the window in her brother's room and the way it gave a view of the stars. He found her in his room that night, watched the way she marveled at the beautiful sea of stars before her. He hadn't fought and demanded she never entered his room after that. So as Mia stepped into his room, she approached the window, looking out it with a small smile on her face before she noticed something. It was small, just a skeleton of a frame but around it ships were hovering, cranes held out carrying more metal frames. Her eyebrows furrowed and in an instant she knew that whatever it was, it was designed for something terrible. It made her feel cold inside.
The next chapter will be a lot more Claus-centric (he isn't often seen in this fanfic, of course neither was Micah-Darth Brutus before now) and the way he interacts with Anakin and he twins.
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