My Brothers Empire

Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.

Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will.

Chapter 20

Polis Massa was an over sized asteroid, or at least that was what it seemed like to Ahsoka. But, apart from that fact, it was a medical facility. There was supposed to be no finer in the galaxy, though Ahsoka suspected that before the empire had destroyed them there had been. Everything was surrounded by the vastness of space and its stars, the insides and medical facility were protected by a ray shield that allowed ships to pass through, but there were certain areas where death was a certainty if you went to them unprotected. There was more than enough room for the rebels that needed treatment and enough extra space for others to rest.

The moment they arrived, they were greated by the doctors that lived there and - since they wanted the empires rule to end - allowed the rebels to stay. Obi-Wan had been given a diagnosis of his health from a medical droid and they said that he needed rest and was even hooked up to a nutrient drip because he was in such bad shape. Nervous, Ahsoka had point blank refused to be hooked up to a nutrient drip if her diagnosis was bad and had not even had one until Anakin had been given his - which said he was perfectly healthy, surprise, surprise - and had sat in the room with Ahsoka whilst the medical droid did its thing.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Ahsoka." Anakin assured her. "Why are you nervous? You were healthy on board the Exactor and I'm sure your just as healthy now."

Ahsoka could only nod in response. She was scared to death of medical facilities. All those medical droids with their needles and injections and... it was just far too much for her to handle. Everyone had a weakness, and Ahsoka's was anything to do with needles, injections, amputations and blood was something that she preffered to steer clear of.

The medical droid came back into the room with a datapad in its needle like hands and Ahsoka was suddenly afraid to pick it up incase a needle impaled her from the other side. Another one of the fatal flaws Ahsoka had, still being a child she had very vivid imagination and this was one of the bad sides of it. Seeing that Ahsoka was not going to take the datapd - which the droid had just held out for her - Anakin took it and began looking at it.

"You are healthy," The medical droid said. "But there is one small problem."

Ahsoka tensed. "What problem?"

"You have low calcium levels," Anakin filled in for her. "There are also problems with your temperature too. It comes from being cold from a very young age, like at the temple." Anakin smiled at Ahsoka. "At least that explains why you hate the cold." He said whole heartedly, making Ahsoka feel a little better.

"There is more." The medical droid said.

Ahsoka looked to Anakin for an explanation. "Over active brain waves," Anakin recited from what was on the data pad. "Low nutrition levels, not as low as Obi-Wan's so you won't need a nutrient drip, exhaustion - I had that too - dizzy spells, temporary loss of vision and..." Anakin paused for a moment.

"I don't have dizzy spells," Ahsoka said. "And I've never lost my vision -"

"You could faint at any time and at any moment if you over exert yourself." Anakin said, looking up at Ahsoka. "That's what all of this means."

"When will it, you know, wear off?"

"You will need to spend a few days asleep," Anakin said. "Have double the amount of nutrients you need and constant medical supervision." Anakin looked up at Ahsoka. "This kind of thing will take time that we may not have," He turned back to the medical droid. "Could you put her in stasis for two days? Then at least it will have healed slightly."

"What?" Ahsoka protested. "No! I want to help!"

"It's only healing injured rebels, Ahsoka." Anakin said. "I'll be right next to you for most of the time."

"I don't want to be asleep whilst I could be helping." Ahsoka said.

"I promise I will wake you if there is any trouble," Anakin assured her. "You never know, after you wake up you might feel a lot better."

"Shouldn't I have had this done on the Exactor?" Ahsoka asked. "Or a few years ago?"

Anakin shook his head. "This condition must have developed from the sudden change of climate. Going from warmth to slightly cold to freezing isnt very good for you." He turned back to the droid. "Put her in stasis straight away."

"What!"

"Of course sir." The medical droid obeyed.

"I don't want to go to -" Ahsoka cut herself off when she saw the medical droids needle. "That's it, I'm not going into stasis. No way."

"Ahsoka it's fine. I have you." Anakin said reassuringly.

Ahsoka shook her head frantically. "No. Not happening. Needles are not the way for me. Not happening. Ever." Ahsoka stated.

"Ahsoka -"

"I can't, Anakin." Ahsoka said with pleading eyes. "Needles... I can't..."

Anakin sighed and put his arms around Ahsoka, making her feel much more safe and happy. He held Ahsoka close to his chest for a minute before, without her noticing, nodded his head to the medical droid who injected her. She hardly felt it, only felt that she was drifting off to sleep and could hardly fight a thing that was happening. Quickly, the darkness took over and Ahsoka drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Anakin placed her down on the bed gently, looking up at the medical droid when he stood back up with the datapad still in his hands.

"Make sure that she is all right and do not bring her out of stasis until I say so or unless there is trouble." Anakin ordered it sternly. "I'll be helping out Master Kenobi, contact me if there is the slightest problem or change in her condition."

With one last glance at Ahsoka, lieing peacefully on the bed, Anakin left the room to go and find Obi-Wan. He always did hate leaving Ahsoka out of the action, but she was safer that way. This time, there was no action to be left out of. It really was just getting everyone healed and ready for when they were going to Coruscant, if any rebel leaders did make contact then they would have to wait. He was already risking more than enough lives on his own, without adding theirs to it. Anakin was just trusting that the force would keep them alive this time, there was nothing else to help them.

The corridors were filled with rebels walking from place to place to either recover or help out their friends. Obi-Wan was in the room on the far right hand side, resting. He had been in a terrible condition, according to the medical droid, and had gone to sleep for the first two hours that they had been on Polis Massa, whilst waking up afterwards to have something to eat. Anakin palmed open the door to see that Obi-Wan was sat on his bed in a white dressing gown, reading something on a datapad. He looked up and smiled at Anakin as he walked in.

"Hello," Anakin said. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." Obi-Wan replied. "Coming to Polis Massa was an excellent idea."

Anakin smiled. "Glad you think so," He commented.

"Where's Ahsoka?"

"She's going to be in stasis for two days."

Obi-Wan's expression changed to one of concern. "Why? What happened?"

"See for yourself." Anakin said, holding out the datapad with the medical droids diagnosis for Obi-Wan to read. With each passing second the Jedi master looked more and more concerned.

"This will take time to sort out," Obi-Wan said finally, handing Anakin the datapad back. "Time we may not have."

"I know," Anakin replied. "That's why she's only going to be in stasis for two days and we'll wake her if there's any trouble."

Obi-Wan nodded. "This plan of yours to go to Coruscant is risky, Anakin." Obi-Wan cautioned. "I'm not sure if Ahsoka will be able to handle what you have planned."

"She won't change her mind about coming with us," Anakin said. "I won't leave her here for the empire to find either, she has to come with us."

Obi-Wan nodded, sadly this time. "That is true." He conceeded. "You realise that this is going to be the biggest battle in history, and she is only a child."

"We can't go waiting around for a few more years until she isn't, Obi-Wan." Anakin commented. "She can handle this, and if we don't survive, then the Jedi will be free at least."

"Going down fighting has always seemed like your style, Anakin."

"Anything to make things easier for someone else." Anakin reasoned. "What are you reading?"

"Reports on where the imperial fleets are strongest," Obi-Wan informed. "I'm surprised that none of them are near Polis Massa. They're all far too busy bloackading planets in the inner systems."

"The emperor has never been the smartest of people."

"That's a polite way of putting it, for you." Obi-Wan commented. "Did Ahsoka say that she wanted to be in stasis for two days? Or longer?"

"She didn't." Anakin said. "I did. I doubt she'll know she was put into stasis until the medical droid wakes her up; Ahsoka's scared to death of needles so I didn't tell her that it was happening."

"She's not going to be happy with you."

"She'll get over it if I play my cards right." Anakin said, shrugging his shoulders.

"If she's a thing like you, then her grudges will last a long time." Obi-Wan reminded him. "Ahsoka was always an active youngling, as I recall, even at her young age. I'm surprised the torture at the temple did not kill her."

"It almost did," Anakin commented. "Vader would have killed her if I hadn't gotten there in time."

"You barely did."

"I still did, though. Have you thought about contacting the Jedi council?"

"They wouldn't be able to do anything, their hands are cuffed to their chairs, and even if I could theres no communication devices left in the council chambers. Vader destroyed them all to try and get us to 'give up hope' which we almost had after a few years with no word from the outside world. Well, that is, until we found out that the chosen one was alive and well and completely innocent to the ways of the sith. I vaguely remember a polite young boy not being able to think of a reason to tell the emperor for why he didn't want to join the sith."

"A reason which the council provided straight afterwards, I remember."

"Then you saved Ahsoka, though we did not know whether or not she survived. We just assumed that Vader had killed her and that you were powerless to do a thing."

"Powerless? Me? Against Vader? I'd just chopped his hand off so I highly doubt that I would have classed as powerless at that time."

"How did you convince him to let Ahsoka live, anyway?"

"I told him that I would make his life a living hell, blow up the ship and kill him." Anakin said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "He said there was no way but after I reminded him that I was the chosen one we had a little conversation about how Jedi can't be trusted blah blah blah and then I just ran out of the room to get Ahsoka, who was in the brig after being treated by a medical droid."

"He didn't say a thing?"

"Oh he had plenty to say, I just didn't listen." Anakin grinned. "What's your medical diagnosis say?"

"Low nutrient levels, nutrient drip low, prone to fits if I don't rest, injuries that need to be healed, fractured bones, loss of water, loss of blood... it goes on." Obi-Wan said boredly. "What about yours?"

"Perfect health, apart from the fact that I have minor exhaustion." Anakin said lazily. "Probably from waking up every night for the past five years to help Ahsoka with her nightmares."

"I wonder why she has them," Obi-Wan questioned. "No other Jedi has had nightmares like hers as I understand it. We're all far too tired to even get nightmares."

"I don't know either, maybe its because she was the youngest youngling in the temple when it was taken over? I'm not sure."

"Either way, you should be sleeping. Minor exhaustion can turn nasty if you ignore it."

"I'm fine." Anakin protested.

"Now your beginning to sound like Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "Or is it the other way around?"

Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You promised to tell me what the two of you were on about on the battlefield?" Obi-Wan reminded him.

Anakin cursed silently, this Jedi had the memory of the force. "Well, when I was making Ahsoka feel better after her first nightmare, she got a little paranoid, since it was the after effects of her dream. I used the force to clear her mind but accidentaly created a mind bond between the two of us, so we can communicate silently without anyone else knowing."

"And you were talking about sexism... because?"

"I said something and Ahsoka said 'men'." Anakin replied.

"The ability to communicate without speaking or moving is a great one," Obi-Wan said. "But it can go wrong a few times."

"Tell me about it. One time Ahsoka tried to say something and it came out as a huttese swear through our bond. I can't remember the last time I've had to lie so much about why I was blushing or taking offense."

Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "You have a problem with Ahsoka swearing?"

"Well, we both have our areas that the other is not allowed to go into. I can swear in huttese, but not in Ahsoka's home planets language and she can swear in her home planets language but not in huttese. Therefore we don't know what the other is saying, but we know that its a swear."

"Ingenius, except that swearing around the Jedi temple will get you into trouble."

"What do you think the mind bond is used for?"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Immature, the pair of you. No wonder the council sent me to watch you." He muttered, but Anakin could just about hear it. "The rebel leaders might be making contact soon, what are you going to tell them?"

"Mothma? That she's a miserable witch for not telling the rebels what to do." Anakin said rudely. "If it's Senator Organa then I'll tell him that we're about to do something that will destroy the empire."

"And if it's Senator Amidala?"

Anakin swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "The same thing."

"You do love her." Obi-Wan said, smiling slightly.

"I do not."

"Yes, you do."

"Obi-Wan, read my lips. I. Do. Not. Love. Her."

"Fine, not love, just admire."

"Admire is fine." Anakin said. "But not love, living with Darth Vader has washed away my visions of 'love'."

Obi-Wan nodded sadly. "You really should be getting some sleep," He advised. "You'll want to have all of your energy when Ahsoka is brought out of stasis and you have to deal with the consequences of your actions."

"You might be right on that one."