Chapter 2

The Transmission

CORUSCANT

Underworld

The fires had been brought under control and the Clone troopers had moved into some of the lower parts of the city as Leo and Obi-Wan lifted a fallen airship off a walkway as droids moved other rubble carrying it away. Order had almost been restored as clone medics did their best with the long lines Republic citizens in need of medical care from the night of looting and rioting.

The probe droid Oculus was hovering overhead keeping a vigil as Leo walked back to a large gunship with blankets, rations he grabbed two of each and came over to two people and handed it to them. "Here you are, join the others in the line and they'll check your injuries." Leo told them before he walked back up to his Master.

"We're running out of supplies." Leo told him.

Obi-Wan sighed "We were totally caught off guard."

"If we were attacked could we repel it?" Leo asked him.

"Depends on the scale." Obi-wan added as they started to walk. Just then another series of gunships flew in landing with fresh clones and supplies with Anakin and Ahsoka coming out of it walking up to them with Artoo coming in between them.

When they met each other Oculus flew down below and looked at Artoo with his blue sensor beeping at the Astro droid "Who's this?" Anakin said as the droid flew up looking at them.

"This is Oculus." Leo said as it flew over to Ahsoka then back to Leo taking a seat on his shoulder.

"Hmm maybe I need a pet droid?" Ahsoka said, giving him a funny look.

"We've brought fresh supplies Master, the city is secure and our defenses are back up and running." Anakin told them to get the conversation to the reason they were there.

"Finally some good news, its a travesty about the peace negotiations failing one could assume we could have been celebrating today instead of… this." Obi-Wan said disheartened looking around at the carnage from last night's attack. Leo looked at Ahsoka when her shoulders slumped, obviously upset that her mission had failed. When she noticed him looking he veered away when Anakin chimed in.

Shaking his head and arms crossed "Believe me the last thing the Separatists want is peace.'

"How can you say that?" Leo asked him "What?" Anakin asked.

"Mina Bonteri herself championed the peace process, the Separatist Senate voted for it?" Leo asked him "And then they attacked when our guard was lowered?"

"It had to be because of one of Dooku's plots." Leo said up to Anakin glaring at him "Oh you know that for a fact?" Anakin asked him.

The boy stiffened "Well no but-" "But look around you, look at this destruction it'll only end when the Separatists are defeated." Anakin said, cutting him off holding his hand up.

"Is that what the Chancellor told you?" Leo asked him.

"Excuse me?" Anakin asked, Leo looked at Obi-Wan who said nothing obviously Leo had something that struck a nerve within Anakin. Leo felt Anakin staring daggers into Leo but when the boy saw his eyes his own resolve hardened "You're very close with the Chancellor."

"As a jedi should be, we advise him." Anakin told him.

"Did you advise him to accept the peace?" Leo asked him "We were attacked?" Anakin asked him.

Leo gaped at him "Into deregulating banks?" Leo snapped.

"We needed a loan to secure more troops." Anakin told him scornfully "So this can happen all over again, so the Chancellor can have more power?" Leo asked him.

"The Chancellor is a good man doing everything he can to keep the Republic intact." Anakin said with his anger rising "The Chancellor is a dictator and tyrant!" Leo yelled at him. Anakin's face scrunched up and he his hand went to his lightsaber before Leo reached for his, Obi-Wan got between them "Enough you two."

Ahsoka's eyes were wide as she'd never seen the side of either of them, Obi-Wan looked at his Padawan "Padawan return to the temple, now." Obi-Wan ordered him, Leo and Anakin's eyes were locked like two beasts about to battle "Now." Obi-Wan ordered Leo tore his hand from his lightsaber and stormed off.

"I see some things haven't changed, Leo can still be moody?" Anakin asked, calming down, smirking.

Obi-Wan didn't share his smile "Leo's not the same boy you remember I'm afraid, the war has tested him given his unique abilities."

"What does that mean?" Ahsoka asked.

Obi-Wan turned to them "If you can recall Leo's battle meditation abilities that Pong Krell failed to train properly, Leo and I were given the unique assignment of facing unconventional enemies."

"... and that means?" Ahsoka asked fearfully "Leo's and I have been fighting worlds that are aligned with the Separatists but refusing battle droids." Obi-Wan as Leo walked away pushing past some people roughly.

"Oh…" Anakin said, sounding regretful with how he spoke to him "Ahsoka go with him, make sure he gets back to the temple alright." Anakin asked.

She gave a respectful nod "Yes Master."

JEDI TEMPLE

Training Ground

After leaving the under city, Ahsoka was walking up a flight of stairs to the training ground when she passed by Master Sinube escorting a group of younglings "Greetings Master Sinube." Ahsoka said, smiling at him, the elder Jedi Master looked up at her "Padawan Tano so good to see you again, my how you've grown."

"I think you need a new greeting Master." Ahsoka said softly "By the way have you seen Padawan Rock?"

Sinube looked back up to the training grounds "I believe he's… up there?"

"Figures." Ahsoka said walking up the steps into the training ground, when she heard the sound of fighting and training, she first noticed Oculus had made a nest out of green robes. She looked into the training grounds to see three training droids with lightsaber arms surrounding a shirtless Leo. He was holding off all three of them at once with his double bladed lightsaber blocking two lightsabers at once before he force pushed one away. When they all rushed him Leo used force push from every direction to shatter all three droids before he stood up panting covered in sweat. The shining sun caught the glint of his naked torso, the creases and curves on his muscles were only interrupted by scars dotting his chest. The wounds from dark acolytes lightsabers on his chest and arms, a blaster burn on his shoulder from Hondo, claw marks on his back.

Leo took a deep breath when he turned around to see Ahsoka, "Snips?"

"Uh… Leo?" She said seeing him.

"You okay?" Leo asked her walking toward her, he folded his hinge hilt and put it on his belt as he walked up to her. Picking up his robes and shirt Ahsoka noticed not only was he more developed in the muscular region and scar tissue, Leo had something on his chest specifically his left pictorial "Is that a tattoo?" Ahsoka asked after seeing it.

Carved right on his chest in red ink was the tattooed symbol of the Jedi Order, the lightsaber with two wings around it in a semicircle.

"Yeah, you don't like it?" Leo asked as he started to get dressed.

"I just never thought of you as the tattoo type?" She said arms crossed no longer distracted by his shirtless form "One day clones all started getting Tattoos, you should see the one Commander Cody got?" Leo said as he walked over to their bench and sat down, she followed him across the training ground and ruined battle droids.

"Really?" She said looking at the scrap.

He looked up at her "It's in a place you'd never expect."

"So you're feeling better?" She asked him, Leo slouched his shoulders "Am I that obvious?"

Ahsoka cocked a brow at him "You always train when you're upset."

"I wasn't upset, I was…." Leo stood up "Okay I was upset, you know I wanted this war to end." He said hands on his hips pacing.

"Master Kenobi told me you've been fighting… non droids." Ahsoka said to him

The Jedi Padawan looked at her "It's not that." Leo said, shaking his head.

"What then?" She asked as he paced by her "Okay, if I tell you, you have to promise not to get mad."

"Okay I promise." Ahsoka snickered at how serious he was being "You know how Master Skywalker knew you went to Raxus with Senator Amidalla?" Anakin asked.

Ahsoka's eyes got wide "You told me?" "No!" Leo snapped holding his hand up "No, I… you promised you wouldn't get mad." He said as she was starting to turn a darker shade of orange.

"I'm not mad… I'm not mad… continue." Ahsoka said sitting down, Leo took a breath "Alright just going to spit it out there because the last time I tried to hide something well… I was almost possessed by a ghost." Leo said taking a deep breath "I stopped following you because before I left for the outer rim I learned my family lives on Raxus and went to see them." He said quickly.

Ahsoka's jaw nearly hit the floor "... did you?" She asked.

"No I chickened out before they could even see me." He said, Ahsoka sighed on the edge of the bench and leaned down "Leo you know attachments are forbidden?"

"I know Ahsoka, but haven't you ever been curious about them, about your family where you came from?" He asked, trying to get her perspective on the issue.

Ahsoka was surprised the conversation had turned on her "... no, the Jedi Order is my life when master Plo brought me to the temple I've never given it much thought?"

"I saw them." Leo said.

"Saw them?" Ahsoka asked "Not really more than just shadows in a foggy window, kind of poetic and ironic when I say it out loud." Leo said in earnest.

Ahsoka looked up at them "So… why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I… oh you mean why didn't I go see them?" Leo asked her, she nodded as if it were obvious.

He shook his head "They live on Raxus, support the Separatists could imagine the danger that would put them in?"

"I can only imagine really, was that why you were arguing with Anakin?" She asked him to change the subject.

Leo looked at her "No, Master Kenobi and I have been fighting in places without droids against-" "Separatist militias I know he told me, how's that any different from droids?" Ahsoka asked him.

He spun around at her quicker then she expected "... You couldn't imagine." He started as he held up his arm, Oculus who was fighting with a bird over its nest and eventually one flew over and landed on his arm "Droids are different, they don't feel fear or hate unless programmed to, these rebels and insurgents I use my battle meditation to end the fighting as quick as possible and for a split second when I feel there fear, their anger I use it against them…"

Leo stopped his confession "Sometimes it makes me feel ashamed to be a jedi."

Suddenly both of their comlinks beeped at them "Padawans report to the war room, something interesting has just happened."

Both Padawans looked at their wrists before each other, "Talk about this later?" Ahsoka asked "I'd like that." Leo said letting Oculus hover back in the air before they returned inside to the temple. A short while later the two of them had entered into the war room where their own masters were waiting followed by half the jedi council and a few other Jedi knights as well all chattering intently on something the two Padawans had just missed.

"What is it Master?" Ahsoka asked Anakin as Leo and her came up, Anakin looked at Leo sternly before he turned to snip. "We just intercepted a transmission from the chrelythiumn system." He said.

Leo looked at Obi-Wan "But that's way beyond the outer rim, nearly uncharted space?" Leo said in observation

"What was it about?" Ahsoka asked "We don't know, but buried in the message is a jedi distress code that has not been used in over two thousand years." He explained to the two of them.

"Its an older code." Anakin said "But it checks out."

The twin padawans glanced at each other nervously thinking a million things at once but one thing was sure on their minds "A separatist trap?" Ahsoka asked.

"We think so, that's why the Jedi being sent will meet with a heavily armed cruiser to investigate." Anakin told them arms crossed "You volunteered us for the mission didn't you." Ahsoka said smiling, Anakin winked at her "I think it's high time the four of us had another adventure again help mend things up." Anakin said walking to the exit with the padawans following him.

Leo rolled his eyes next to Ahsoka "Last time we had an adventure like this we ended up fighting pirates and I got shot." Leo whispered under his breath.

"Oh I'm sure nothing bad will happen that far out in space, we'll be back before either of you can recite the Wookiee alphabet." Anakin told him.