Later:
~Lux's POV~
Half of the Palace came to see after the rumor that Anakin had been hurt defending Ahsoka, against six Sith. Or, it felt like half of the Palace to Lux, who had not had separate contact with others in so long, except for those unlucky souls trapped in the dank prison cells with him.
The most infuriated out of all of these people though had to be Obi-wan Kenobi, who stormed into the room half a second after the doors had opened. Inside, Anakin Skywalker sat on the couch, letting his wife tend to him passively. Padme was grumbling beneath her breath, obviously anxious, but far too relieved to chew him out on his recklessness.
On either side, Luke and Leia stood at the ready, bandages and bacta patches in hand. Leia was grinning with pride while Luke's brows were furrowed in concern. It was a good feeling, seeing such human emotions.
When they entered the room, Anakin looked up and a bright grin stretched his face when he caught sight of who had come. He looked as if he had not slept in days, nor eaten.
Don't I know how he feels, Lux was just as drained. He felt like he wanted to lay down and sleep for the rest of his life. Then again, the work had been especially merciless today. Not that it always wasn't, but…
Stars above, but was he tired. And hungry.
"Anakin's hurt?" Obi-wan demanded, as his head snapped back and forth restlessly, searching in vain for something he could not see.
"As much as he doesn't want to admit it…" Padme began, only to be interrupted by Anakin's sharp glance; Lux had the feeling that Obi-wan had told him about Qe-Azen.
"I'm perfectly fine," Anakin corrected.
"Liar," Ahsoka snorted from behind him. She walked over, leading Obi-wan by the hand. "Here he is. You may smack him at will," she presented Anakin for the sacrificial offering.
Obi-wan promptly followed her advice, giving Anakin a good whack upside the head. "Ow! Hey, I save you from Sith and this is how you treat me? Thanks a whole lot, Snips!" Anakin groused, rubbing the back of his head. Lux smiled tiredly and sank down unto the couch beside Anakin.
"You look tired, Lux-Lux," Leia observed, watching him intently.
He shrugged. "Long day, kid. You okay, Anakin?" He inquired.
"No. Now my head hurts, and... Ouch! Careful there, master," Anakin said as Obi-wan then commenced with his own medical check-up, poking and prodding none too gently.
"And just what did you think you were doing, taking on six Sith alone?" Nava wondered, walking over to give Padme a quick one armed hug before she moved behind the couch. Lux felt strong, long fingers land on his shoulders, massaging knots from them. He moaned at the quick pain then even longer feeling of muscles being released from tension.
"Hey, me next," Intrepid volunteered, taking seat next to him. Nava chuckled softly and hummed softly beneath her breath. Lux had to smile. Nava's liveliness and motherly like vitality had not faded, even during all these years.
"I thought I was saving my friend, why? Do you wanna hit me too?" Anakin demanded, though there was more of wounded pride in his voice than real resentment.
"You got beaten up. If it hadn't been for Starkiller…" Ahsoka reminded him, as was his due.
"Thank you for reminding me, Ahsoka," Padme stood akimbo, watching Anakin with worried eyes.
"Go easy on him, guys," she clucked at the others.
"Fine. I won't shoot him…Someone go get me a skillet, I'll hit him with that," Obi-wan deadpanned. Lux could not tell if he was joking or not. Anakin apparently did not believe he was.
"Wow, wow, wow! No bludgeoning the wounded hero! Twins, do you see this? This is what you get for being brave. Take note," he told his children.
"Next time you feel the need to be brave, Anakin, don't," Obi-wan sternly reprimanded him.
"So I was just supposed to let that Sith hit Ahsoka?" Anakin demanded, a bit irritably.
"You all do realize that it's a hopeless endeavor, right?" Padme agreed, standing supportively at Anakin's side.
"We learned to do it, so can you," Intrepid grunted.
Lux shook his head, feeling that they were being just a bit harsh. "We're only worried for you," he told Anakin honestly. "Its not that Ahsoka doesn't appreciate what you tried to do…"
"Appreciate what? Having to watch him get his butt whupped by some half-drunken slobs? No, I didn't appreciate it!" This came from Master Tano herself. Lux sighed and cast her a poisonous glance.
"She appreciated the sentiment," he corrected himself, nonetheless knowing how he would feel if Anakin did something like this for him. "But, Anakin…You didn't really do much. Admittedly, she would have gotten a few new bruises, but…Well…I hate to sound indifferent…But we're slaves. It wouldn't have come to more than that, and Starkiller would have made them feel the pain later anyway. If anything, you don't really have to worry about anyone really hurting Ahsoka or Intrepid. They're under Starkiller's protection," he explained.
"Do you think that makes it better?" Anakin demanded.
Lux leaned back. "It doesn't," he agreed. "And it's a harsh truth, but…Its the truth. The last thing the Rebellion needs is you injured and in Sidious's grasp," Nava put in calmly. Anakin looked very much like he wanted to inform them of where the Rebellion could go, and what he thought about their opinions and points, but refrained for sake of Luke and Leia's innocent ears.
"We've been doing this seven years, master. One more beating isn't going to kill me now, not when we're so close to skipping this popsicle stand," Ahsoka's eyes shined with soft pleading.
"It might kill you though, and that's a rather unacceptable idea," Obi-wan put in, once more serene after his thorough check of Anakin's health.
"If there hadn't been six," Anakin began.
"There were six!" Ahsoka threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I would have taken them," Anakin finished determinedly.
"You couldn't take a worm right now as exhausted as you are. You need rest and food, as do we all, and this conversation needs to be halted until later," Nava interrupted before further debate could begin.
"Me and Leia will go snatch some stuff from the kitchens," Luke volunteered after a tense silence.
"No, you won't," Intrepid stated, straightening.
"They've been stealing things from the kitchen?" Anakin squeaked, looking to Padme in bewilderment.
She sighed and shook her head. "Their your children. Yours. What did you expect?" She asked.
For a minute Anakin looked as if he wanted to tell her just what he had expected, but then shut his mouth, the fire ebbing. "They're Jedi," he agreed, staring with some rue at his young children. "What did I expect?" The sadness in this statement hung in the air as solid fact. The twins shifted, uncomfortable beneath the now doleful stares.
"Go on, then. Be careful, you two," Obi-wan dismissed them, softly. Luke and Leia nodded, and without further talk, silently made their way into the vents and into the Palace.
"I'm starting to hate vents," Anakin groaned, as he leaned back where he sat.
"They're brave like you, Ani," Padme added, sinking down next to him. Obi-wan and Nava stood behind the couch as the family wafted into a thoughtful silence, contemplating the joy…And pain, embedded into the Jedi's life. Lux wanted to sleep, so badly.
After a tense moment, Obi-wan sighed and laid a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Anakin, I was so angry at you that I forgot to ask if you're alright," he said. The others turned to him with concern then, the same question in all present eyes.
Anakin shrugged. "Nothing worse for wear, really. A bit…Melancholy, I suppose. But that's curable. And these wounds aren't bad, they'll heal," he glanced at Ahsoka. "My heart hurts more at the moment. I hate this not being able to protect you guys thing," he stated.
"Pain builds character," Ahsoka chuckled, brokenly.
"Wish I could believe it," Anakin grunted.
"Where did Sidious take you?" Padme asked.
"Myrkr. I was assigned to bring him back the head of the Vornskr queen. I thought it would be easy, that they were just animals," Anakin let out a slow breath. "They weren't just animals," he finished softly.
Another deep silence. "Did you find out anything useful for the Rebellion?" Lux inquired at last.
"Yeah. Swiped one of Sidious's little notebooks. I don't know what it has in it, but it could be of some use," Anakin fished the small holo-pad from his pocket and handed it to Ahsoka.
She stashed it away in her shirt to be given to Yavin later. "Anything else?" Anakin chuckled weakly.
"Life sucks," he proclaimed.
Lux had to laugh softly, even if it was weak. He yawned. "It really does," he agreed.
"Its like that guy we met on that mission," Intrepid claimed idly.
"What guy?" Lux asked.
"Which mission?" Was Ahsoka's immediate after word.
"You know, that one where we got stuck in that village of shamans? And that crazy Wookie tried to bless us?" Intrepid clarified. The memory bloomed on Lux. He let out a startled laugh, the clutched at his aching ribs when the laugh jostled his acute pains.
"Ah, yeah…Which one of you hit him again?" He inquired.
"My bet is that it was Ahsoka," Anakin chuckled, screwing his lips into determination as he attempted to stand. Obi-wan offered him a hand, but Anakin waved it away, instead dragging him round to the front of the couch and making him sit. "You look ready to pass out. All of you do," Anakin informed him mildly when Obi-wan began to protest.
"Nah," Ahsoka went on, lying her hands neatly atop her stomach as she sunk deeper into the couch, eyes fluttering shut. "It was Intrepid, and she didn't hit him, she tripped the barve. Remember? He fell and then that little girl who always followed him around, she tripped over him and hit him on the head when she fell on him. It was pretty funny," she remembered.
"We were young back then," Intrepid fantasied. "We didn't know how to contain laughter at that sort of spectacle. No wonder they kicked us out," she recalled.
"And here I thought I trained a diplomat," Nava landed beside Obi-wan heavily. As if without thinking, the older man's hand went up and gently combed through her hair, all without looking at her.
Nava closed her eyes and leaned back, exhaling. "We diplomatically made a fast retreat, master," Intrepid remarked.
Obi-wan snorted. "We've had to make a few of those," he reminded Anakin, gently shoving his side with his toe. Anakin and Padme had settled on the floor in front of the crowded couch.
Padme was on Anakin's chest, her own eyelids drooping. They were so tired. Anakin nodded, putting an arm behind his head. "Yeah," he chuckled softly. "Like Vladimir, and Terexia, and Yumbasa…" he mumbled.
"Detroit, Kumbasa, Haley XXV…" Obi-wan agreed, chuckling softly.
"But we were young back then, so innocent," Padme muttered.
"Never thought I'd say this, but we were," Nava agreed softly. "We never knew, even during the Clone Wars, even after all the death and despair, just how hard things were going to get. We never knew that one day, there would just…Stop being a way," she whispered.
"Oh, there's a way. It just isn't fair," Obi-wan yawned.
"I miss Biyalia," Ahsoka muttered. "I miss sitting down at a table, and eating dinner. I miss the stars. I miss my lightsabers. I miss our ships and stories… I even missed the dang Code," she stated.
Lux felt his body starting to relax, could hear sleep whispering to him. "Haven't thought of that thing in so long…How's it go again? There is no emotion, there is only peace," he tried to recollect, but his mind wandered from focus, settling determinedly on the need for rest.
"We should get back to work," Nava yawned, though she had already sunken into the security of Obi-wan's arms. Lux felt Intrepid's warmth sinking into him on one side and Ahsoka's on the other. His head lolled against someone's lekku, he couldn't tell whose. He felt his muscles starting to relax. He felt warm, cared for, safe.
"Imagine how much trouble we'll be in when the masters find us gone," she murmured. The fear of that momentarily stunned Lux awake, but Anakin's soothing, confident voice floated back up.
"The Sith can go to the hells. Don't worry. You're safe here," and that…That meant everything. Lux exhaled slowly, finally able to feel his lungs in his chest, able to hear the sound of his own heartbeat. He was alive. Alive. Alive.
"There is no passion, only serenity," Obi-wan continued.
"There is no ignorance, only knowledge," Nava snored softly.
"There is no chaos," Intrepid muttered, snuggling against his side.
"Only harmony," Ahsoka caught on.
"There is no death," Anakin topped it off drowsily. "Only…The Force…"
They slept.
~Nava's POV~
The world became new in a blaze of opened fuzzy eyes, but she still did not see much in the darkness, or perhaps that was her own exhaustion trying to lull her back to sleep with whispers of oblivion and rest, the blurriness counteractive to her goals of getting up and seeing what time it was. Nava did not move, couldn't even find it in herself to tense.
Where am I? It had been a long time since Nava had asked herself that question. There were only a selected amount of places that she could wake up in; and none of them overly pleasant, but at least some of them gave her a sense of security. That sense was not lacking, now… In fact the strong arm that was circling her shoulders was quite familiar, the dry tang of Obi-wan Kenobi something she could not live without.
Her lashes fluttered. It was warm wherever this place was. Warm, and though she could physically feel the bodies around her, they were not crammed together like rats into a cage. And whatever this thing She was on, it was softer than the ground, smelled nicer too.
Speaking of smells, what is that? It was vaguely familiar, but her groggy mind could not wrap a name to the sensation of sweetness and bitter leaves tingling her nostrils.
It reminds me of something, or rather, of several someone's. She had often woken to the smell of that…Long ago, in some different time with different people, during a different life. Nava had been young then, or so she thought. Oblivious, naïve to what was her future, the very future of the Order. It was ironic, really.
Sleep tugged at her, but Nava pushed it away. She did not want to sleep, and force knew that she had to get up eventually. It was her task now to figure out what in all the stars was going on, where she was…With that stubborn determination, she roused her uncomprehending body from its stupor, and focused.
There was movement, in the corner of her eye. Something tall and lanky. After a moment, Nava recognized it. Well, it seemed Anakin was awake at least. Good,she wouldn't be obliged to go back to bed. She moaned softly as a crick in her neck announced itself. "For the love of..." she released a slow breath, trying to ease the ache through the vital life's air that kept them all sustained, and coughed. She probably still had sulfur in her lungs. Gently, she untangled herself from beneath Obi-wan's arm.
Ahsoka was next to her, leaning heavily on Lux, eyes still closed. The others were yet asleep, the room dim. She glanced out of the ray-shielded windows, and saw stars-or were they satellites?- still in the blackened night gloom.
It was nighttime, then. The room was yet dark. On the floor she noticed three individuals, one larger than the other two. It occurred to her that Luke and Leia must have returned and followed their family's fine example. She was tempted to chuckle, but the slight wheeze in her lungs dissuaded her.
Anakin had sat down at the bar... Or rather, on it. He was cross-legged upon the smooth surface, back straight and eyes closed. Why he felt the need to meditate on the bar was beyond her, but far be it from her instincts to interrupt him.
I remember meditating, Nava recalled, unwilling to move from the warmth of the others around her The tang of tea tickled her nose, tantalizing. She would have to rise and go get it. "Blast, blast, blast…And triple double blast," she muttered beneath her breath. With difficulty, she found her way to her feet.
Bones creaking, Nava carefully abandoned the serenity of the community bed and stumbled over to join Anakin in quiet solitude. She stepped over Padme and the twins, carefully, smiling a bit as she went. Of all the people she missed in her life, Padme had been the one she had missed the most.
The back-to-back banter, the political debates, the fiery passion of her young friend had always been a comfort, then Padme's staunch loyalty had made her a staunch friend as well. In a universe where loyalty was as rare as saber crystals…Well….Padme was her best friend. Anakin did not stir from his meditation when she stole his tea, gulping down the scalding liquid with relish, Nava had not tasted tea in seven years. She closed her eyes, basking in the beautiful feel of it…
"Good morning," only to be startled from her reverie by Anakin himself. His eyes had opened. They were shadowed in the dim light, and yet she could clearly see the amusement that laid within.
She cleared her throat. A bit embarrassed to know that he had probably sensed her emotions. It was odd, to be so transparent. Anakin chuckled at her embarrassment, and carefully undid his pose, swinging himself off the bar without sound.
"I made it for whoever woke up first," he explained. "I'm surprised more have not woken, then," Nava replied, taking a cautious sip this time. Her tongue was aflame, she might have burned it.
Anakin let his eyes travel to the others of their circle, smiling softly. "You all were pretty tired. But stubborn. Do you know how hard it was to mind-trick you last night?" Nava choked on her tea.
"You what?" she croaked.
"We all needed the rest," Anakin assured her. That point as not the one that Nava intended to dispute.
"You were half dead yourself!" And he had been injured. How had he managed a mind-trick in the condition he had been in?
Anakin shrugged, modestly. "It was nothing. I'm glad the twins brought food though. Are you hungry?" He inquired, as if he had done nothing special or out of the ordinary. Nava stared at him another moment more, marveling the tenacity of this man to take care of them no matter what, before she nodded.
"Famished. What do we have?" she finally responded. Anakin went into the kitchen to dig into the things he had put away. "Everything and nothing," he called back quietly. Nava glanced at the shadow that was the others. They slept on deeply. Anakin placed a plate of fruit before her. Nava wasted no time in devouring it all.
Forgetting propriety, she dug into the juicy food. Anakin watched with half amusement and half indignance. "Remind me to steal some more tea from the kitchens," he chuckled as Nava downed the food with the sweet-smelling liquid.
"Please do," Nava agreed; her cheerfulness back now that she had had something to eat. She glanced at Anakin. "Did you eat?" she demanded suspiciously. Anakin raised his hands defensively.
"Yes, I did. Don't worry about me eating," his face turned bitter. "Sidious wouldn't let his chosen pet starve," he growled.
"I didn't know he was feeding Vader table scraps again. The black man did look a bit fuller the last I saw him," Nava remarked placidly as she took a seat in the soft chairs. She sighed as her muscles eased.
Anakin was surprised at first by her comment, then he laughed, softly. "You haven't lost your wit, I see," he told her, taking a seat at her side.
Nava smiled briefly. "It is what keeps us sane here," she explained.
Anakin nodded, his eyes wavering over to the couch again. "I think someone's looking for you," he whispered softly. Nava didn't have to turn to know that Obi-wan was probably unconsciously reaching out for her. She closed her eyes, reaching out to the piece of her heart that he held within his grasp, always. I'm here, she sent as private message. She felt a brief pang of comfort that was not her own before Obi-wan settled again, at ease. Anakin's brows raised.
"But without the Force…" he muttered, perplexed. "When you have been together as long as we, and been through the things we have," Nava said, without looking up from her tea cup. "Then you learn to communicate past the Force," she explained, merely, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"I suppose so," Anakin muttered, shaking his head. He turned back to her, smiling. "Force, fifteen years ago, it never would have occurred to me that my master could fall in love with someone. I thought he was afraid of women," he chuckled with affection. Nava smiled back, and turned to stare at her love.
"He is," she answered. "Something about a sex-talk Qui-gon gave him when he was thirteen, and if I know old Jinn, he probably… Distorted a few facts," what those facts were Obi-wan would never tell, but Nava was not sure if she desired to know anyway.
For a moment, Qui-gon's rich chuckle seemed to echo in the air between them, but that was impossible. "Good old Qui-gon," Anakin laughed. Idly, he levitated his saber before him. Nava watched with fascination. "He loves you a lot, you know," Anakin reflected. "I remember after I got him back from Bruck,"Anakin's face still stormed at the name. "And I stayed up with him talking all night. He couldn't sleep, with all the nightmares, you know? He'd tell me some of the stuff you used to do as kids. Most of it included you. It sort of dawned on me then that there was something he wasn't telling me," Anakin chuckled softly, eyeing her with affection. "He thinks you're a divinity," he informed her.
Nava grinned, flattered, but not unaware. "I've carried a torch for your master for a long time," she agreed affectionately. "Ever since we were oh, twelve or so. I never told him, even I didn't really know what it was I was feeling, and besides, he was oblivious and it was evident he and Siri had something going on, so I let us stay friends," Anakin cocked a brow.
"Weren't you jealous?" He wondered curiously.
Nava shrugged. "Not really. Siri was my friend, too, and they deserved each other, trust me. I was…Sad, I suppose, knowing that he would never notice me, never see me as more than just an old classmate… Then Qui-gon died, and he took you on… He was a legend in the Temple, you remember. But I always saw into him. He was still mourning Qui-gon, I don't think he'll ever truly stop mourning the man. The only thing overshadowing it was…" she glanced at him.
"His love for you. He could have spent days talking about you. I used to visit, you know, when you went to class, or I even helped him search for you the dozen or so times you ran off when you were younger," Anakin blushed a scarlet red.
"Oh," he mumbled, obviously tongue tied for anything more to say than that.
Nava chuckled. "The things he used to want to do to you! I had to give him the 'corporal punishment is against the code' sermon several times, or he would have taken a strap to your back and felt no shame! But in the midst of his ranting's about your behavior, he has always been proud of you. My master didn't understand it, didn't ever approve of Qui-gon bringing you to the Temple. But I wasn't going to leave him… Or you. I figured we owed Qui-gon that much for his years of service," she explained.
Nava was silent another moment, smiling a bit. She had never disobeyed Kapli as much as she had in those years! Her mentor had not wanted her near Anakin or Obi-wan during that time. "Qui-gon may have leashed his poor apprentice to that boy, but I'll not have his foolhardiness taking you down too," the wise Jedi Master had stated with each grumble about the supposed Chosen One.
Nava had gone anyway, without regret or apology whenever she had been caught. I still never told Obi-wan that Kapli forbade me from seeing him, Nava reminded herself, with a low chuckle. Knowing Obi-wan, he would probably feel guilty if she did tell him. He was a barve that way.
"I'm glad you were there for him," Anakin admitted. "I wish I would have met you before…You so remind me of my mother, maybe you could have kept Sidious's lies out of my head," he mumbled. Nava nodded, wondering. Could she have…? It was useless to wonder. She hadn't, and here they were now.
"Obi-wan wanted to free your mother, but he didn't want her to be an unwelcome distraction to you, or an attachment. He hadn't had very good experiences with his own kin, I'm afraid. He didn't know what to do," she tried to defend, but Anakin waved the subject away.
"I know. He told me," of course he did. Nava nodded and went back to her tea. It had cooled, it was better now. Anakin gazed at her from the corner of his eye.
"What?" she asked, a dribble of tea running down her cheek. Anakin snickered softly.
"The thing is, you have her inner strength," he stated, barely audible. "My mother's innate decency, her care and compassion… I miss her every day, just like I've missed you these past seven years. It was the same feeling," Nava felt tears sting at her eyes. She turned away before Anakin could see them. His humorless chuckle told her that he had already seen. "I can't stand the idea of losing two mothers," he admitted, with all the honesty of one who did belong to the Light. Nava turned back to him, heart softening. The clear fear for her-for all of them-lay naked in his eyes. Nava sighed.
There were only a few people who looked at her like that anymore, and with time and experience the emotion faded. Sons grew up, as she had seen with Qe-Azen, with Han and Lando. Children saw horrible things, as she had witnessed with Intrepid, Lux and Ahsoka. Younglings became Jedi… All her babies were growing up. Nava reached up and gently touched Anakin's cheek. The faintest stubble of a beard was coming in. Nava smiled sadly. Yes, younglings become Jedi. "Oh, my son. I've missed you too," she whispered, with all the emotion that the code dictated was not supposed to be there.
Anakin gripped her hand and brought her palm to his lips. His eyes were shining with tears. "I've done horrible things for you," it wasn't an accusation, merely a stated fact. "And I'll keep doing them. I'd do anything for you all," and that was a stated promise, one a Jedi should never make. But a son would.
Nava nodded. "So have we all," she agreed cryptically. Anakin fell silent a moment, staring past her, into a moment she was not privy too.
"Obi-wan told me about Qe-Azen," he suddenly broke out. Nava's spirits dimmed at the mention of the boy who had been like a son to her. Suddenly, a lump was in her throat.
It had not been all that long since… Nava sighed. "I knew he would," she agreed, for Obi-wan could never keep any pain from Anakin Skywalker. No matter the years between them, their bond was still just as attuned, she had known that.
"He doesn't want revenge…" It was stated as a question.
"You know that revenge is the last thing that Obi-wan thinks of. Revenge is what Qe-Azen was fighting against. He was a beautiful child," she summed up, a bit weakly. The sound of his name seared through her, leaving a trailing hot blaze of sorrow behind.
Anakin was quiet another moment, before he tentatively asked "will you tell me about him? Obi-wan never said much, only that he was courageous…And selfless," there was not much else to tell.
Nava looked away, seeing his familiar face in her mind, the happy grin, the way his eyes lit up whenever he saw a Jedi, the determined outline of him trying to understand.
"He was... Incredible," she marveled, finding no other words fit enough to describe the boy. "So young, so curious… He thirsted for knowledge of the galaxy. He didn't wish to control it, or own or have power over it… He wanted to understand it, help it. He loved stories, strangely enough," the story telling had not been so strange. It was a natural inclination for children to love the imagined, what had been hilarious to them all was who his hero of the stories had been.
"His favorite character in all of them was you," she laughed aloud. "We'd all sit down and listen to Obi-wan and Ahsoka's descriptions of your escapades for hours. He was like a little boy, whenever we started in on it. He never wanted to hear about anyone else," Anakin smiled, sadly.
"Han, Lando and him…Force, they were trouble makers. He's the one who told Han he could fix that fire hazard ship, did you see it?" Anakin nodded. "And they worked on it almost every night. Stubborn as rocks, was Qe. Yet he could go with the best of them. He followed Yoda around. He found the midget fascinating. He would hide behind people and watch him, like a child playing hide and go seek," Nava rolled her eyes.
"Then he'd run laughing to us when Yoda finally whacked him. Your master spoiled him as bad as he did you! Indulged his every fantasy about whatever it was Qe-Azen always fantasized about. He talked of destiny, often. He believed that he had a higher purpose, a meaning beyond meanings…" Nava felt her bottom lip tremble. Her voice cracked.
Anakin laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He was such a good boy," Nava wavered. "He used the methods Intrepid taught him for healing to help the other enslaved children. He even painted-or I should say tattooed- the Jedi insignia right here," she pointed to her left breast.
"Right over his heart. He said it was to remind himself of who he was," as if he had ever needed help remembering. Nava smiled bitterly, feeling a singular tear run down her cheek. Anakin swiped it away, his own eyes large with pity and anger.
"Sidious will pay for what he's done to this family," he growled, the fire of wrath in his eyes.
Nava shook her head. "Qe-Azen made his choice. Revenge would only dishonor it," she sighed, though even she heard the disheartenment in her voice. She, too, had imagined the most horrific, chilling death for Sidious after Qe's death. She had never wanted someone dead so much, not even Grievous, and he had killed Annex.
Anakin felt her ire. With gentle tenderness, he wrapped her loosely in a one armed hug. "I know," I was as simple as that. Nava sighed, leaning her head against Anakin's shoulder, thoughtfully.
"It hurt Obi-wan the most. He loved Qe-Azen like his own…I did too. To hear him die… Well," and there was nothing more that she could say to that either. Anakin inhaled slowly.
"I know. I felt his pain, took it from him, but he still mourns," Anakin told her. Nava felt him rest his chin on her head and nodded.
"You never stop mourning your child," She had two to mourn now. Annex and Qe-Azen. Two sons, lost to the evil within the universe, on a war that should have been ended long ago. Nava did not believe that she would ever see an ending to the epic struggle of good vs evil, light against dark, perhaps the war would never end at all, but for as long as time stretched…There would be Jedi and Sith willing to have a go at ending it anyway.
"Enough," Nava decided after a moment. "These are downhearted thoughts. I only have so long here, you know," she stated, grabbing Anakin's arm and unwrapping it from her shoulders. "Did you know that Ahsoka is in love?" She inquired. Anakin's shocked and blanched features paid testament to his ignorance.
"I don't think she knows," a new voice yawned. Nava looked over and smiled to see Intrepid Camber walk over groggily.
"Have tea," she offered, handing her friend the cup.
"Tea?" A small smile bloomed Intrepid's face. "Force, I haven't had tea in years! What kind is it?" For that Nava didn't have an answer, but she doubted that Intrepid would have listened anyway.
She had already downed the lukewarm liquid in a single gulp. "Ahsoka is in love? With who?" Anakin demanded, his voice having risen about twelve octaves higher.
"Jinx. Jinx Zadya," Intrepid supplied knowingly. Anakin was no more assured by the acquainted name than any other.
"Jinx? When did that happen? I thought she couldn't stand Jinx!" He cried.
Nava snorted with amusement. "Half the time I can't stand Obi-wan," she ratiocinated.
"And good Force knows about eighty-three percent of the time I can't stand anyone," Intrepid added for better numbers. "It started years ago. I found them in the same bed one morning on Ahsoka's ship," Intrepid informed him without much passion, as if it were old news. Nava's brows shot up. She hadn't known that. Nor had she thought Ahsoka capable of doing…That.
Anakin's face burned a bright red. "And just what did you find them doing?" He screeched, as if he really didn't know, being the father of two children. Intrepid smiled patiently.
"They were both clothed. As far as I could make out, it was more of a comforting embrace than anything, born from exhaustion. All the same, I haven't stopped teasing Ahsoka about it. And I dared not tell Lux," she added diplomatically."He would have killed Jinx," she sounded so nonchalant about it.
Nava deduced that her former Padawan were still half asleep. "I would have helped him!" Anakin chanted. "Why didn't she tell me?" He looked ready to murder Jinx right that second.
"Tell who what?" This was Padme, who walked up to their small circle with a pained whisper, rubbing her eyes. Nava vacated her seat to make more tea as she tossed over her shoulder
"Ahsoka's in love."
Padme's reaction was very different from her husbands. She grinned with genuine delight. "That's wonderful! With whom?" She inquired.
"It is not wonderful! And its with some half-start named Jinx!" Anakin hissed.
Padme looked faintly worried. "His name is Jinx?" She echoed uncertainly.
"Yes. You see? He's bound to be all sorts of trouble. His name practically means ' danger: daughter-slayer'" Anakin began, crossing his arms.
"Jinx is a nice boy," Intrepid defended the young so called daughter slayer.
"He is, Anakin," Nava agreed. "He's handsome, clever, witty and selfless to a fault. He made an excellent Jedi," she remembered.
"He's about to make an excellent Twi'lek crochet piece!" Anakin told them hotly.
"And that's why Ahsoka didn't tell you, I'm guessing," Padme yawned, unintimidated by her husband's wrath.
"No, I don't think so. Ahsoka doesn't really know she's in love herself," Intrepid contradicted. "Their sort of in an in-between state I believe….Trying to push away their feelings without destroying themselves," she explained.
"Won't work. I tried it too," Padme grunted.
"That's what I try to tell her, but she's stubborn as rocks," Intrepid agreed, as Nava handed them both cups of tea. Intrepid graced her with a brilliant grin before relishing hers. Padme laid a grateful hand on her arm, smiling as well.
"As she should well be!" Anakin harrumphed.
"Oh, come on, Ani, how bad could he be?" Padme tried to reason with him.
"He's a boy, Padme. A young boy, which means there are only a few things he wants, and he's not getting any of it from my apprentice!" Anakin decided, obviously very sure of this.
"Did you want that when we met on Naboo after ten years?" Padme needled, trying to make a point.
Anakin, though, was too angry to try at self-preservation. "You better kriffing believe it! And no play-boy is gonna scam Ahsoka, either!" he shook a finger in her face. "No, no, no, and no again!" he decided. Padme frowned at him, before she shook her head and sighed, getting back to her tea.
"Its too early for this," she mumbled.
"You weren't this protective when we thought she was in love with Lux," Nava reminded him, leaning against the counter to sip at her own tea.
She was slightly startled, but not much, when strong arms surrounded her waist from behind and she felt something fuzzy tickle her cheek as he reached over to kiss her.
"What is Anakin going on about?" Obi-wan whispered, cradling her lightly against his chest. Nava rested against him, pleasantly surprised. She hadn't even heard or seen him wake or move, but Obi-wan had never lost his shadow-like ability to deflect attention from himself just by being; he had grown up in shadow, and been raised in other people's shadows…He was well accustomed to slipping from notice.
"Good morning to you too. Tea?" She offered her cup to him. Obi-wan inhaled the scent deeply before eagerly taking the cup, holding it in his hands as if it were a sacred objet d'art.
"I could keep an eye on Lux! Besides, he wasn't found in Ahsoka's bed!" Anakin calumniated.
"Ironic," Intrepid pointed towards the couch, where Lux and Ahsoka still slept peacefully, Ahsoka leaning against Lux and his chin set between her montrals with complete abandon.
Anakin spluttered. "That doesn't count!" he cried.
"What doesn't count?" Obi-wan went on, confused by the conversation at hand.
"Ahsoka is in love and Anakin doesn't approve," Nava summed it up for him.
"Ah," Obi-wan nodded, unsurprised by this new development. Nava supposed that he would know ahead of them all what was going on. Beyond being just overly perceptive to voice change and body movements, Obi-wan just plain could find any misdemeanors against the Code naturally, the skill honed from long days of keeping watch over the Order's most notorious rogue. There was not much that he did not know about the other members of the Skywalker clan.
"Yes. Jinx. He isn't so bad, Anakin, a bit pessimistic, but he does care for Ahsoka," he tried to assuage his old apprentice.
Anakin swiveled around angrily. "I don't care…Wait, when did you get here?" he asked.
Obi-wan waved away the question. "What's for breakfast?" He asked in place of the requested answer.
"And is there enough to take back to the other slaves?" Intrepid put in.
Anakin threw his hands up. "Is no one else panicked about this?" He nearly screeched.
"No, not really,"
"I think its just you, yes,"
"Its too early for this, Ani,"
"On the bright side, we have tea."
Anakin groaned dramatically and sunk back into his seat, where he had stood a moment before in his tirade. "I'm alone in the world," he lamented.
"There will always be peace in the end, little brother. Luke, Leia, I trust your mission was a success judging from the tea," Obi-wan stated with joviality that did not belong to most other slaves. The two twins, hair bedazzled and uncombed, walked up to the family with drowsy eyelids.
"Thank you for that by the way," Nava agreed, with a smile at the sleepy children. Jedi or not, they were still children, and from how much Padme had said they were sleeping lately, Nava guessed that Luke and Leia were going through another growth-spurt. That or they were getting into trouble beneath the noses of everyone present.
"Our pleasure. What's for breakfast?" Leia chirped.
"Fried Jinx," Anakin muttered, eyes twinkling. Leia blinked and cocked a brow in question.
"Don't ask," Intrepid replied, walking past.
"Don't wanna know," Leia took the advice, instead opting to walk over and thoroughly study Obi-wan's eyes. A moment of silence followed, awaiting her verdict. "I still think they're pretty," she assured him, loyal as ever to her favorite uncle.
Obi-wan laughed and reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Ever devoted," he chuckled. Nava smiled softly, and squeezed his arm. Qe-Azen had loved his eyes, too.
"We got pancakes," Luke offered the general assembly.
"Or rather pancake batter, but it applies to the same thing in brevity," Leia corrected.
"What Leia said," Luke agreed, with a fond roll of his eyes. The Sith have pancake batter in the kitchens?
It did seem the wrong breakfast choice for Force-trained murderers, but Nava hardly felt in the position to complain about it. "I heard the word pancakes?" This coming from Lux Bonteri, who stretched long arms above his head as he walked over. Ahsoka stumbled in behind him, unmindful to the thoughtful stare Anakin fixed her with.
Nava chuckled softly. "And so the last of our party is roused with food," she observed mildly.
"Its the most tempting device one can use on adolescents," Padme agreed with amusement, turning a teasing eye to her own children as she said it.
"Hey!" Luke and Leia exclaimed in unison. Nava chuckled softly, basking in the soft glow of warmth that pervaded the room, banishing from its embrace all thoughts of enslavement or sacrifice. This is home, she realized. Home, security guidance…This is the light, and she had finally seen it. When she did not have the light there to use. She supposed that the fact of their easy comradeship with each other was proof enough that the Light was still there, if only marginally.
Obi-wan seemed to know just what she was thinking. His grip on her waist tightened a minute, both minds flashing as one to an impish face that they had once chased all through downtown Courascant together at the dead of night, hoping that the Council wouldn't catch word… Yet the present would not be dissuaded from its post. Nava exhaled slowly as Obi-wan kissed her on the cheek, very gently, and moved from behind her. "Pancakes sound like a wholesome breakfast, if we can manage to make enough to share with others," He decided.
"You're cooking?" Ahsoka asked, perking up from her drowsy awakening. Intrepid had already handed her a cup of tea.
"You're cooking?" Anakin pumped an excited fist in the air. "Whoo hoo! I haven't had your cooking in seven years! Bring it on. Can I stir the batter?" He inquired with all the childish abandon of a ten-year-old.
"Father," Luke groaned, embarrassed at his elder's behavior. Nava chuckled, feeling an emotion, tight and constricting form in her chest. Or perhaps those were the tears the emotion merited with its presence. Love did that to people, she had been told.
"What?" Anakin blinked, eyes sparkling with complete proof of his guilt. Obi-wan watched the scenario with a grin.
"Don't taunt your children," he scolded without much bite from the kitchen, hands flying around to get a feel for things again. He had not been home in over seven years after all. Nava padded in to start sifting through drawers, looking for utensils. Sidious had no left much for them to use by way of cooking. It could have been worse, Nava knew.
The Sith could have the four Skywalkers locked in a dungeon quite like the one Lux and the others lived in, but for Force sakes… She shook her head, dispelling of the notion. Defiance and anger was dangerous here. Ahsoka had been abnormally introspective, studying them all with intelligent predatory eyes.
Intrepid noticed it also, just as Anakin joined her and Obi-wan in the kitchen cheerfully, physically lifting Obi-wan from his spot on the ground digging through small cubbies so that Anakin could get it for him. The action prompted a lecture on the fact that sentient beings did have free-will and independence. A lecture in which Anakin politely nodded and hummed, though Nava could tell he wasn't listening in the slightest. She chuckled softly. Some things never changed, and she loved that.
She loved them.
"You're thinking," Intrepid remarked to her Togruta sister. Ahsoka nodded, rubbing her chin in a very familiar manner.
"Will miracles never cease?" Lux gasped.
Ahsoka gave him a poisonous look until the twins burst into giggles. "Does it seem a bit peculiar to you that we're here making pancakes before the crack of dawn, inside of a ray-shielded, code-lock guarded room that is also inside of a destroyed place of peace and learning inhabited by thieves and cut-throats?" She wondered conversationally. The question did not need much thought.
"Not really,"
"Should it?"
"These are pancakes that are at stake here, Snips,"
"Haven't we always done this?"
"On the bright side, we have tea," Ahsoka grinned.
"Good answers," she approved. "Because we have always done this…On Biyalia…In the Temple…In the Satellite station…Everywhere we go, we somehow figure out a way to make breakfast, no matter what," she reflected.
Nava smiled, it was a good thought. "Some might say it is insane," she reminded them
"Even stupid," Lux added.
"Those people would be right," Obi-wan put in logically. "Psychologically, making breakfast during a time of despair and negativity doesn't display normal behavioral customs, but," he shrugged."Who cares about science?" He finished.
"Nicely put," Leia laughed. Ahsoka giggled and put her arms around the necks of Intrepid and Lux.
"Ah… The goodness of morning. Who else wants to sleep still?" she inquired.
"I think we all do, but then we'd miss story time. Obi-wan, got any good ones?" Anakin remarked. The way Luke and Leia's faces lit at the mention of storytelling made Nava's heart contract.
Qe's face had lit with that same excitement…But that was the past. She was ready to keep her mind in the here and now, where it belonged. After all, the present wasn't so bad anymore. "Oh, tons," Obi-wan said conversationally, intent on his work of pouring water into the bowl with batter in it.
"But I believe you have one for us Anakin," he volunteered his friend. Nava glanced at Anakin, whose own brows shot up with confusion, then dawned in sudden clarity.
Obi-wan did not attempt to look up. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want too," he stated, not pitying, but matter of fact. Nava wondered what they were talking about, before it dawned on her that they hadn't yet heard the story of what had been done to Anakin under Sidious's tutelage. What test had the chosski put her son through?
Anakin pursed his lips, thoughtfully, eyes taking on a faraway look. Padme frowned with concern."Ani?" She whispered. Anakin's eyes slid to her face, rested there for a moment, as if drawing strength.
He nodded once. "I don't want to tell it," he told them honestly. "But you're wrong, master. I do have too. I'm not going to be standing for it, though," he grunted. Luke's brow furrowed. Nava saw a flash of fear in his eyes.
It was always a scary moment, that first instant you realized that your parent, your protector could feel fear, could do wrong. It was always scary to finally realize that your only example of perfection was hideously, terrifically, thunderously imperfect. It was the moment that you realized with perfect clarity that you could never do everything, be everything, reach for everything in one lifetime because you weren't perfect…You could only try.
"I don't think I'm going to like this story," he stated plainly. Leia set her jaw, eyes steeling themselves harshly against the lesson that needed to be learned. Anakin nodded, sadly.
"You aren't," he agreed. "Which is why I must tell you: so that you may learn from my mistakes," the reason that anyone ever told stories was never to repeat their own history, to recreate a moral, but to prevent their mistakes from being repeated by others.
A story was an appeal to get things right that the author had gotten wrong.
Thus, with that goal in mind Anakin Skywalker sat down, and he told his children and his family about the second slaughter committed in his name.
