KEYnote: If Palps enacted Order 66, more than half the Jedi would be alive to avenge themselves and it wouldn't be hard to find out who gave that order. Palpatine would be admitting defeat.
Chapter 15 - The Power of a Name
Anakin prayed each night he fell asleep that he would dream of Luke and Leia, even if Leia, his future daughter, wanted to kill him.
At least his son seemed to like him, though he couldn't shake the feeling that he was sad.
Leia was ill-contained rage while Luke looked as if he was drowning in sorrow. Luke had clung to his twin as if she were his one hope in the entire galaxy.
Anakin wondered where he had gone wrong as a father to them. Something he really hated to think about because there were a plethora of ways things could have gone wrong. He vowed to himself that if he could get off this world that had become his morbid prison, whose guards were the sheer lack of technology and parts to get off the planet, then he was going to leave the Jedi Order.
If Luke and Leia had come to him as a warning, then he was going to choose Padme and their possible life together over the galaxy.
Screw being the Chosen One.
Even if he was going to disappoint Qui-Gon, and more importantly, Obi-Wan.
Anakin sighed, turning on his side on the platform that served as his bed and the only place in this world he was afforded any sort of privacy or peace, the body he inhabited protested. His joints ached, his breathing laboured, it grew worse with each passing year.
During the day he was restless to remain in his room, but at night he could hide. Not that it mattered, trapped in this form that was not his own, he was a prisoner wherever he went.
And it worse even than his slavery had been when he was a child because he was alone.
His dreams now were his only freedom. Yet even as images and memories of his mother, his life with the Jedi, and even of Padme, only the ones of his twins seemed to be real.
So when he closed his eyes and was greeted by not his children but Obi-Wan, he was rather disappointed. Odder still, they stood in the white marble halls of Alderaan.
Until Obi-Wan asked a rather peculiar question, "Who are you?"
Anakin gave his old Master an exasperated look, in this dreamscape, he looked like himself. "Honestly, Master, a few years pass and you forget about me?"
Obi-Wan narrowed his gaze at him before his eyes went wide, "Anakin? Is it really you?"
Anakin spoke slowly, "Yes, Obi-Wan, it's really me." But despite his sass, he felt the Padawan-Master training bond that had laid broken between them when he nearly blew himself up, came alive again. And like with his twins, this was more than a dream
And before anymore could be said or done, Anakin found himself wrapped in a tight hug. His Master had never been much of a hugger, regardless, Anakin hugged him back just as tightly.
Pulling back with a relieved smile, Obi-Wan cupped his face, "I've missed you, my friend. Things have started to get crazy since you left."
"Since I left?" Anakin asked, heart humming from the realization that Obi-Wan did care. He was so sarcastic all the time that even when he was being sincere, Anakin had a hard time discerning the almost always collected Jedi Master. "I departed in the middle of a galactic civil war, and it got crazy in my absence? Snips isn't that much trouble."
Obi-Wan stepped back, "Anakin, compared to you, Ahsoka is an angel."
Anakin crossed his arms, "Ahsoka is not that easy of a Padawan."
Obi-Wan actually snorted, "She was your first Padawan, but speaking as the man who had you as my first student, trust me, she is well mannered and-"
"Temple raised," Anakin concluded.
Obi-Wan raised a brow at his tone, "My third Padawan isn't Temple raised, and while prone to defying expectations, he is more respectful than you ever were."
Anakin felt sorrow at that, "Snips was knighted without me?"
"No, after your accident she was made my Padawan, she's still in training. Cody adores her."
"What about Rex? Surely the 501st has been missing their Commander and General?"
"The 501st's new General is my third Padawan," Obi-Wan said with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Since when does the Council allow a Master to have two Padawans?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "As I said, things have gotten crazy since you left."
"So who is this new Padawan? What do Rex, Appo, and Fives think about him?"
"Actually, I have no idea who he is, I don't even know his name. But Rex, Appo, Fives, Echo, Cody, Wolffe, and really, most of the clones love him."
"Wait? How do you not know his name?"
"It's complicated." Obi-Wan paused, staring at him, "Are you dead?"
"No!" Anakin exploded, "I didn't die! I mean, I did die, but I woke up."
"In your own body?"
It was Anakin's turn to narrow his eyes, "Obi-Wan, what do you know?"
"Know? Nothing. I know, absolutely, nothing. What I have is a ship load of suspicions. You died. I felt you die. But then you woke up and it wasn't you. So if you're telling me you are still alive then you can't be the person in your own body. Because he isn't you."
"There's someone running around in my body?"
"Whose body are you in? More importantly, where are you?"
"I don't know they just keep calling me-"
Anakin woke up, the Force jolting through him.
He cursed, although even if he had more time he wouldn't have been able to give Obi-Wan directions. Stretching his ancient bones against the stone floor.
"Obi-Wan," he said to the darkness around him, "Please find me, I can't live like this forever."
But even as he said it, he knew it wouldn't be forever. This body was dying.
Forever, even for the supposedly immortal, had its limits. Anakin had found himself with more power than he could ever have imagined at his fingertips, yet his own freedom was out of his hands.
He tugged on the bond between him and his old Master, and let out a soft sigh. And whispered to the Force, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."
Somewhere Floating in the Outer Rim
Obi-Wan woke with a jolt. Feeling the tether of the once broken Padawan-Master bond between him and Anakin, he tugged on it.
Three tugs returned, one from Anakin, one from Ahsoka, and one from his third mystery Padawan.
Obi-Wan groaned when he realized that he could tell Ahsoka apart from Anakin and the third's but he couldn't tell Anakin apart from the third's.
Two different directions, two brilliant powerful lights on either end, but Obi-Wan couldn't tell just through the bonds which direction led to which. But he knew they were lightyears apart and he couldn't simply wander in space without crashing into planets.
At least, he consoled himself, he knew they were alive.
He had yet to tell Ahsoka about his vision of his mystery Padawan in the Council chamber and now he was glad for that decision.
Anakin was alive.
Obi-Wan pulled on his robe, and despite his frustration with wandering the Outer Rim without direction, he felt better than he had in… years, actually. And felt much better than he had since Anakin's accident. He was finally able to sleep, and he was no longer responsible for everything and everyone in the galaxy. And blissfully, no more Council meetings.
Where there was life there was hope, and the Anakin in his Force-vision-dream had had his memories. If only he could have given their coordinates.
"Master?"
He turned, Ahsoka rubbing sleep from her eyes, "Morning, Ahsoka. Sleep well?"
She frowned at him, he had maybe been pounding the basics of lightsaber fighting into her. Yes, she was beyond that point in her own skills, but there were some holes in her defences that Anakin himself had that Obi-Wan had the authority now to make her fix.
The result of which was that they spent hours each day practising as the troops tried finding new ways to locate the 501st. Practising lightsaber forms was nowhere near as tough as war, but still, he wasn't going easy on her.
"Sore," she said.
"Don't worry, today we'll focus more on meditating."
She groaned, meditating was never something Anakin prioritized. Not that there was much time for it in war. Even Obi-Wan could admit that sleep was more important than meditating for a teenager while fighting for one's life on a near constant basis. But Obi-Wan worried about the effect such constant violence could have on the younger Jedi. But now that they had some breathing space, he wanted her to be whole mentally as well as physically.
So meditating.
"I felt you reach for the bond between us," she said, breaking him from his thoughts, "Is everything okay?"
He couldn't help but smile, "Yes, everything is okay." Not perfect, he was still missing two Padawans but they were alive.
She frowned up at him as they walked out onto the deck.
"Cody, any leads?" he asked as soon as he spotted his Commander.
Cody turned to face them, his face perfectly neutral, "No, Sir."
Ahsoka let out an audible sigh.
Obi-Wan was more direct, "So you're telling me that with approximately a two hour lead, the 501st was able to completely disappear?"
Prince Lee-Char had kindly confirmed that a Venator-Class Star Destroyer had entered within range of the planet, only to zip off again. And from there, nothing.
"Yes, Sir."
"You're saying that one star ship has perfectly evaded us when we have more than four times their man power and literally thirty-five more Star Destroyers than them?" Obi-Wan asked.
There was an amused glint in Cody's eyes, "Yes, Sir, that is what I'm saying."
Obi-Wan rubbed his temple, why did everything have to be so complicated? They hadn't even been able to locate their frequency to send the 501st a message.
"Sir!" Waxer came sprinting into the room, tablet in hand.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I was searching through the local news systems; the Separatist armies have been destroyed."
"What!?" several voices called out, including Obi-Wan's and Ahsoka's.
Waxer connected the tablet to the main holo display, and image after image came across the display from countless of Separatist systems. Droids laid in carnage.
Obi-Wan put his hand to his chin, something was off about the images, and his eyes widened as he realized-
"They look like they self-destructed," Ahsoka said, speaking his thoughts aloud.
Obi-Wan nodded, "Self-destruct and firing on each other."
"Gee," Wooley said, "I wish they had done that sooner."
"Did the Republic win the war?"
Obi-Wan switched over to Republic news feed and found… "What the hell?"
Ahsoka gaped at the headlines and even Cody looked startled.
"We were only gone for a week!" Ahsoka exclaimed.
The Republic had not declared themselves victors of the war, because apparently, no one was paying attention to the Outer Rim.
"The Muuns," Obi-Wan said softly. He had no love for the IBC but for an entire species to be targeted…
"Why would the Separatists do that?" Ahsoka asked, "I thought the Bank was funding the Separatists?"
"Perhaps this explains why the droids were firing on one another," Cody suggested.
"A fraction within Dooku's ranks?" Obi-Wan mused.
"Mace is in prison," Ahsoka said.
Obi-Wan felt his brows shoot up as Ahsoka called up the headline, "'Leader of the Jedi Order Held in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center for Military Incompetence.' Why are they holding him there? The Detention Center couldn't hold a Force sensitive, much less Master Mace Windu."
"Because 'Military Incompetence' isn't a real charge," Obi-Wan said, "he must have pissed off the Chancellor." He searched and whistled when he saw the headline, "Yoda entered a public debate with Palpatine over the ethics of his terms?"
It was like karma, Obi-Wan had been complaining about Palpatine for years, his only regret was not being there to see the man's frustration that was near palpable in the images of him. Nothing like the mostly silent yet 'great Jedi Knights' going public with their concerns. Because the Jedi so seldom said anything publicly that wasn't the base minimum script, it appeared when they did speak up, people listened.
Plus, the Republic looked like it wasn't doing so hot economically, enough so that not a single headline seemed to notice that the Separatist's forces had been almost entirely destroyed without the Republic Army having to list a finger.
"Wait," Cody said, going back to the headline, "Why is Wolffe- is that a General insignia on his armour?"
Ahsoka zoomed in on the image, "No, it's a High General badge."
Obi-Wan who had been a High General almost didn't recognize the symbol. They were actually rare to see because Jedi didn't really wear them. But Wolffe who was identifiable in a grainy image by the metallic eye that had replaced the one Ventress took from him, was indeed wearing a High General Maker, three blue, three red, six yellow.
Ahsoka searched his name and a small article written by a local news group who had covered the story. Again, Ahsoka read aloud to the gathering crowd, "'Commander Wolffe, CC-3636, becomes the first clone to make General in the Republic Army. He is also the first non-Jedi in known history to sit on the High Jedi Council, and thus is not just a General in the GAR but a High General.
"'This assignment for High General Wolffe also comes with the formalization of the fifth Jedi Service Corps. While not as well known, or as appreciated, as the Jedi Knights, the Jedi Corps have served the galaxy for thousands of years. In addition to the original four Corps, which included the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, the Educational Corps, and the Exploration Corps, now includes the Defence Corps of which all Republic clone soldiers have been registered under.
"'As a few notable minds have voiced concerns in the past, the Defence Corps solves the problem of citizenship that the clone soldiers may have found themselves facing at the conclusion of the Civil War. Contrary to weaknesses within the Republic that have emerged from the recent collapse of the IBC, the Jedi have proven their stability. Likely in the following months, if not years, the Jedi Service Corps will be called upon for help like never before. Clearly, as members of the Jedi Order, the clones will find no displacement in the galaxy whatever the outcome of the war.'"
As Ahsoka finished reading a cheer went around the ship, loud boisterous calls of victory. Followed by men rushing to comms to send the information to the rest of their fleet.
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan smiled at each other, at the men around them. They themselves might have left the Order, but the Jedi would always be their people and the clones were welcomed members of that larger family. A person really didn't have to be a lightsaber wielder to be a Jedi.
Obi-Wan could not have predicted the events that would have followed their departure, but he was glad of the results.
Somewhere Else Floating in the Outer Rim
They had nearly crashed into the Zygerrian ships. Luke had taken no small amount of pleasure opening the dock of Negotiator II to drag in the large, but dwarfed, slave ships. Their tractor beams were more than enough to disable their ships.
Luke wasn't at all amused, however, when they discovered the ships 'cargo.'
Thousands of Togruta colonists from Kiros were shoved into a tight room. Some of them had burn marks from electric prods and others had bruises from being grabbed. And well, shoving 50,000 people in such small spaces hadn't been conducive to keeping everyone safe. All of them were dehydrated, scared out of their minds, and showing visible signs of shock.
As a result of this treatment, Luke and the troops had figured the Zegerrian slavers could share single person cells. To say they were 'cramped' was a bit of an understatement, crapping in one another's laps was a bit more accurate.
As for the reprogrammed battle droids the slavers had been using, Luke had been angry enough to dispense them with half a thought when the Zygerrians threatened to shoot their prisoners.
Governor Roshti sat across from Luke, Major Rex, Captain Appo, Lieutenant Dogma, Corporal Hardcase, and Hevy at a small meeting table. Lieutenant Fives and Echo were helping organize getting all the Togruta colonists settled in for the trip back to the Kiros.
"What are you going to do with us?" Roshti asked, shoulders hunched.
"Take you home, Sir," Rex said.
Roshti looked up at them, "We don't have the resources to help the Republi-"
Appo shook his head, "No, Sir, we aren't asking anything from you. We are taking you home to Kiros unless there is somewhere else you would rather be?"
Roshti looked at all of them, then at Luke, "You are the Jedi of old?"
Luke smiled gently at him, "Something like that. Really, Governor Roshti, we want to help your people any way we can."
Roshti's shoulders slumped, "I can't thank you enough."
"Would you want some of our men to stay with you on Kiros until everyone settles back in?" Luke asked, despite knowing he would need most of his men if they were going to pull off what he had planned.
"We couldn't ask-"
"Even a few hundred troops," Luke offered, "They could call for reinforcements if anyone else showed up to cause trouble."
The Governor looked torn, but nodded, "I would- I mean, just for a few months, until things calm down, we would be grateful. But no more than three hundred. I know such a force couldn't hold off a large-scale attack but our people are peaceful and I don't want them to…"
"To become too comfortable or too fearful of armed forces?" Appo offered gently.
Roshti nodded, "I know that sounds foolish, without you, we would be-"
Luke touched his hand where it rested on the table. "The Jedi destroyed the Zygerria Empire once, it can be done again."
The Governor levelled him with a hard look with kind orange eyes, "What are you going to do with the Zygerrians?"
"With the ones on this vessel? After we take you safely back to Kiros, we'll take their money and shoot them into space in escape pods."
And Luke had every intention of making their chances of surviving that difficult. He couldn't really bring himself to execute them, not that they didn't deserve it but Obi-Wan had taught him that a Jedi didn't kill unarmed foes. And while he wasn't a part of the Jedi Order anymore, Luke had felt the press of his own anger begging him to the Dark Side when he saw the frightened faces of Ahsoka's people, weapons pointed at their head.
Luke's goal in life was not to wind up like his father, the fact that he was in his father's body had just reaffirmed that goal every time he saw his reflection, every time he appreciated that his lungs didn't need the aid of breathing apparatus.
Roshti was gazing at him, "You're going to attack Zygerria, aren't you?"
Luke knew his smile was tight as he said, "This Legion is known as the Rebel Alliance, we serve no government. As for our purpose, I think taking down slave empires is an excellent use of our resources and talents."
Roshti almost smiled, "The Rebel Alliance? Yes, I suppose in a galaxy of turmoil, not all chaos is bad."
"No," Dogma agreed, "Not all chaos is bad, a lesson I think we have all been learning lately."
Roshti nodded, then asked, "Do you happen to know a Jedi by the name Ahsoka Tano?"
Luke grinned, "Yes, she's our friend."
Roshti smiled back, "Ah, I am glad to hear this. Master Plo was very kind, I always hoped she would do well with them. The whole colony was pleased to hear when Shaak Ti rose to the High Council."
"Ahsoka will doubtless become one of the greatest Jedi Knights in history," Luke said earnestly, "She's big hearted, strong, and incredibly clever. High Council Member Obi-Wan Kenobi is her Master, and there is no better teacher in the Order."
Roshti touched his heart, "You have my and my people's gratitude, Master Skywalker."
Luke smiled, "Luke is fine, I'm not actually a Master."
"All the same, General Luke, thank you, your goodness shall not be forgotten."
Father like son, Rex couldn't help thinking as Luke beat the crap out of Darts D'Nar for information.
Exactly three hundred troops, among them Appo, Fives, Echo, and Driodbait, had taken the Negotiator II with the Togruta back to Kiros. The rest of the 501st Legion had divided themselves up between the slave ships.
"Of course, we'll free you," Luke was lying to D'Nar as he coaxed and threatened information out of him. It was as if someone had taken General Anakin's grit and willingness to get his hands dirty but with General Kenobi's demeanour. The result of which had been interesting. The first interrogation of Bruno Denturri had been one of Jedi mind tricks, where Luke had just begun talking with Denturri, gesturing subtly with his hands and the Zygerrian had shared everything he knew and had done to his slaves.
That interrogation had ended abruptly with Dogma shooting Denturri when he got too detailed.
No one, not Luke, not Rex, not bleeding heart Cloud had reprimanded him. Rex kind of wanted to give Dogma a metal, in truth.
Lucky for them, Luke had the foreknowledge to 'interview' everyone separately. So D'Nar didn't know his friend was dead.
D'Nar was made of tougher stuff than his friend, however, "Jedi scum, Zygerria was once an Empire, and we have risen from the ashes-"
Luke activated his lightsaber, the green blade humming as it shaved off the left side of the cat-man's sideburns. Luke's voice was low and intimate, he was so calm it scared even Rex, "Listen to me, D'Nar, I have devoted my life to taking down empires. My sister and I have faced worse than a few slavers, and these men behind me, they're half your age and have done more than you'll ever accomplish in your entire existence. Now you're going to tell us from the top down, the layout of your precious city and where all your prisoners are kept. Because if you don't, you're going to wind up somewhere where wealth can't follow, somewhere where there is absolutely no difference between slave and slaver."
D'Nar sneered, "There's always a difference."
Luke raised a scarred eyebrow, his green saber crossing close to the Zygerrian's heart, "You have had a lot of discussion about the class system with corpses then?"
D'Nar snarled, "You're a Jedi, you won't kill me."
Luke smiled, "My father was a Sith Lord, my mother is a politician, you have no idea what I'm culpable of."
Rex exchanged a look with Dogma, Anakin became a Sith Lord?
But apparently in the future, the clone army served a Sith Empire, so it did make some sense that they would have followed General Anakin Skywalker. Not that Rex was happy about that, although, the knowledge did make him more supportive of their little Rebellion. The future where Anakin became a Sith Lord and the Republic became an empire could go inflate itself.
N'Dar finally looked a bit uncertain, "A Sith? But you're- the Jedi don't have family."
Luke's smile was evil, "My family is quite exceptional. Now talk before I do something I am probably not going to regret."
When they got to the Queen, N'Dar started getting defensive, "She hates Bruno."
Good because we shot him, Rex thought as Luke pressed N'Dar for more.
But whatever screwed up loyalty this creature had seemed to rise for his Queen.
"You're lying, your father can't be a Sith Lord. Jedi don't know their families."
"I wasn't exactly happy about it either," Luke said, "But he taught me some important lessons."
N'Dar snarled, "Like what?"
With a startlingly quick movement, Luke reactivated his saber, and with a flash of green light, took off N'Dar's foot.
N'Dar let out a short yell before regained himself, snarling up at them.
Almost cheerfully, Luke said, "Like you think you can afford to lose a limb, until you lose one."
N'Dar looked at Luke's arm that was metal, something the Zygerrian knew from his bleeding nose, "Your own father took your hand?"
Luke nodded solemnly, "As far as introductions go, it wasn't a great first impression."
Rex fought to hide his shock, Anakin wouldn't have attacked his own kin? Would he?
"You're insane," N'Dar hissed.
"And you have a number of body parts that you could theoretically live without. So tell us, if you were going to steal a bunch of slaves from your Queen what might you do?"
N'Dar let out a sharp bark of laughter, "She'll kill them all before she'll let them g-"
Luke decapitated him.
The suddenness of it made Rex nearly jump.
Deactivating his saber, Luke apologized, "I'm sorry, that was harder than I thought it would be."
Rex could imagine, Luke wasn't exactly cut out for torture, and he was pretty sure that his General's calm and a lightness of speech had come at a heavy internal price.
"They deserve to die," Hevy said.
Luke shook his head, "But Obi-Wan wouldn't have killed him."
"General Kenobi gets beat up a lot because of that mentality," Rex said. "Did your dad really take your arm the first time you met him?"
Luke nodded, "It was just my hand. I challenged him to a duel, which was stupid, I had maybe three months of training at that point and he was... Well, you knew him, and he only got more dangerous as a Sith."
"You're from Tatooine, right?" Hevy asked.
"That's right."
"If you don't mind my asking, what were you before you joined the Rebellion and tried becoming a Jedi?"
"A moisture farmer."
Hardcase burst out laughing.
Luke wasn't sure about playing the villain. It felt like inviting trouble.
More than that, killing the slaver N'Dar had felt good, and Bruno Denturri, well, Luke had wanted to give Dogma a metal. But what did that say about him? What was the line he was meant to walk?
He was so angry with these slavers. Angrier than he had ever been even with the Empire. For once it wasn't Leia he wanted to talk to, he wished Obi-Wan was here to talk him through this.
Because he knew his sister would have just killed them all without a second thought, but then Leia didn't have to consider the Dark Side that whispered promises of power in his ear. Power that could give him the strength to break the Zygerria Empire.
But this wasn't about breaking the slavers, this was about rescuing the slaves. And in N'Dar's final words Luke had his warning.
Queen Miraj Scintel would kill her slaves before they let them go. Which means they couldn't go in as the good guys. Because if they did then the slaves' lives and well being would just be used as leverage against them. They couldn't be the heroes they wanted to be, they needed to be tyrants. They needed the Zygerrians to fear them.
Luke just hoped he wouldn't lose himself in the process. But they would either do this smartly or not at all. And Luke understood that true strength did not come from how much of the Force he could wield but how much control he had over himself.
So how strong was he? He hadn't faced the Emperor like he had intended to, a part of him had foolishly believed his father wouldn't truly take him before his dark Master. But if he hadn't been sucked into the past, Darth Vader would have fed him to the wolves. And since being in the past, Luke had been running away from the Emperor.
So really, how strong was he? Luke Skywalker, the moisture farmer from Tatooine, how strong was he? Strong enough to merely pretend to be the bigger monster? Because that was the only way they could actually save the people enslaved in Zygerria.
He wondered if he was willing to do this, what else he would be willing to do to kill Darth Sidious? He wondered if that was how his father had fallen. Had he merely been pretending to be evil? But where was the line? Where did one do what was necessary and where did one become the very thing he had fought to destroy?
Soon to Be Approaching Kiros
Ahsoka was terrified, "What do you mean a distress signal from Kiros?"
Plo's hologram image looked at her, his words kind as he said, "We understand that the 7th Sky Corps is no longer a part of the Order, but you're the closest to the planet."
She turned on Obi-Wan, "Master, pleas-"
Obi-Wan waved her to silence, "Of course, we'll go. But we might be too late, Plo. Who attacked them?"
"Zygerrian slave traders. We haven't been able to make contact with them since the initial transmission was put out."
"No," Ahsoka breathed, "no, my people were peaceful. We might have been a predatory species once but we-" Her voice broke.
Obi-Wan put a hand on her shoulder, "We'll go to Kiros and send most of the fleet to Zygerria. If they've taken anyone we will retrieve them."
"Be smart," Plo warned them, "The Zygerrians hate the Jedi."
Ahsoka bared her teeth, "And they will learn to hate us again."
"Careful, young one," Plo and Obi-Wan warned her.
She swallowed hard, "Yes, Masters."
"We will contact you with any further information," Obi-Wan smiled slightly, "And give High General Wolffe my congratulations."
Plo nodded, "I will, but it is High General Wolffe Koon. The troops have begun to register themselves individually into our systems and taking on some of our surnames."
Waxer grinned and fist bumped his Commander's shoulder, "Cody Kenobi, that has a nice ring to it."
Cody and Obi-Wan made identical expressions that weren't quite rolling their eyes but communicated the same emotion nonetheless. Although Ahsoka was pretty sure she saw Cody sounding out the name quietly as Obi-Wan turned his attention back to Master Plo.
"May the Force be with you."
"And with you," she and Obi-Wan chorused.
The hologram went dark and Obi-Wan began giving orders. Leaving Ahsoka to her own worries. She didn't have many memories of her people, the time she had earned her akul teeth for her headband standing out, but otherwise, they were just a symbol in her life.
But she wasn't human, and unlike humans, there weren't so many Togruta in the galaxy that she could ever fully lose her connection to them.
Her mind started spinning in every awful direction she could imagine. She wanted to act, she wanted to know now. But that was a child's wish, and she could do better than that.
She found herself a quiet corner and wrapped herself in the Force. Obi-Wan had been teaching her to meditate. Of course, she already knew how to meditate, she had been raised at the Jedi Temple after all, but since becoming Anakin's Padawan, meditating had not been a priority.
Not that Ahsoka had been a fan of it in her youngling years either.
Becoming Obi-Wan's Padawan was, aside from all the other changes happening, a difficult transition for her.
When Anakin had finally agreed to take her on as a Padawan, he had said, You're reckless, little one. You never would have made it as Obi-Wan's Padawan… but you might make it as mine.
Which after getting to know Anakin was laughable, because really, if Obi-Wan could train Anakin after just making Knight, he could have handled anyone. Obi-Wan was never phased by any of her emotional outbursts or reckless behaviour. He took it all in stride, sometimes with a wry joke. So no, it wasn't Obi-Wan who had to make the adjustments, it was her. Obi-Wan expected a lot more from her than Anakin had.
And far from resenting him for it, she was grateful, because he pushed her to be the best version of herself she could be. Although Obi-Wan could be more cautious than Anakin, he never underestimated her like Anakin had done time and time again.
Of course, it wasn't fair to criticize her old Master, because Obi-Wan already had an idea of what he was doing with a Padawan Learner, Anakin had been learning as much as she had.
Anakin.
She let her mind wander down that route, distracting her from the plight of her people. Anakin had been completely altered by his memory loss. A completely different person and one she saw not as a Master but a peer.
She thought of all their differences, going over the mental list she had constructed. She missed the old Anakin but she wouldn't replace the new one if she had the opportunity.
"Ahsoka," a voice called to her softly.
She blinked her eyes open, for a second she was afraid she had fallen asleep, but when she moved she realized she simply had lost herself in meditation.
Obi-Wan was smiling down at her, "Well done, Padawan."
She allowed herself a small grin, "Meditating is better than angry pacing."
"Indeed," he said, "And your lack of angry pacing saved you a few hours of worrying. The Kiros colonists are safe and we found the 501st Legion."
She sprang to her feet, "Anakin-"
"Doesn't appear to be with them but we have-" and here he made air quotes, "'Negotiator II' so they won't be able to run from us again."
They begin walking toward the ramp, "Were they here when the Zygerrians attacked?"
Fives greeted them with a smile, "No, Commander Tano, we ran into them on their route to Zygerria."
Ahsoka couldn't help herself, she skipped the last few steps down the ramp of the carrier and grabbed Fives in a tight hug. In addition to missing old Anakin, she was missing the 501st as well.
Fives markedly patted her on the shoulder, she pulled back and shook him, "Where by the stars have you all been!? You had a two hour head start!"
"General Skywalker had us wash the ship's IDs and computers."
She gaped at him and Obi-Wan looked upward as if pleading his case to the stars themselves.
"Where did he learn to do that?" her Master asked, "Only pirates and smugglers do that to their ships. That's like declaring yourselves-"
"Rebels?" Echo offered.
Appo came up with Governor Roshti then, and she bowed to him as did Obi-Wan.
"Ah, Ahsoka Tano," Roshti greeted warmly, and she flushed a bit at his remembering her, "And your Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, I presume?"
Obi-Wan inclined his head, "You honour us, Governor Roshti. We are here because of your distress signal, but it would appear that you are in good hands."
"Yes, yes, your General Luke was quite the saviour. He and his Rebels rescued us before we even reached Zygerria."
"Luke?" Ahsoka asked.
Roshti nodded, "Yes, Luke Skywalker. He said he knew you. He spoke quite well of you both. I know it isn't customary for people to watch out for those who enter the Temple, but you and Shaak Ti have done us proud."
This time she knew her cheeks were heated, "We actually left the Order, I mean, Obi-Wan and I."
Roshti smiled, "You would be welcome to return to Kiros, your parents-"
She took a step back, raising her hands. She was curious, of course, she was, but the warnings she had grown up within the Temple combined with her worry for her people when she learned of their endangerment made her hesitate.
Could she handle a bigger attachment?
Obi-Wan put a hand on her shoulder, "It is your choice, Ahsoka, remember that. It is always your choice."
Roshti was no longer smiling but he didn't look hurt.
She knew Anakin would have pushed for her to meet her parents, but personally, there was some dark thread in her past that she didn't want to pull on.
She remembered Plo Koon finding her as clear as day. She remembered being grateful, the feeling of safety and belonging that had embraced her. Whoever her parents were or had been, they hadn't been able to give her that. She hadn't wanted to look back. She would always be a Togruta, but she would be a Jedi first.
Even if they weren't technically a part of the Order anymore.
She took in a deep breath before releasing it. She bowed to Roshti, "With all due respect, Governor Roshti, I wish my birth family well, but I am a Jedi and will not be remaining on Kiros."
Roshti nodded, a smile returning to his expression, "Luke was correct in his assignment of you I think, kind as you are intelligent."
There was that name again, and this time Ahsoka was paying attention to the troops' reactions to the name. They weren't surprised.
She exchanged a look with Obi-Wan.
Once pleasantries were passed between and some of the officers were replaced with some of the 212th, Gregor taking Appo's place as one of the three hundred soldiers staying on Kiros, and they had all returned to The Negotiator II that Obi-Wan took full rights to, they talked.
Ahsoka crossed her arms, staring daggers at Cody and Appo, "Who is Luke Skywalker?"
Appo swallowed, "That isn't our secret to-"
"He told Roshti," Ahsoka argued, "Who is he?"
Obi-Wan stroked his beard, "He's the one possessing Anakin's body. He lied about the amnesia, quite convincingly I might add, because it would appear this 'Luke' knew very little about the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order."
Cody and Appo exchanged a look, but Ahsoka turned on Obi-Wan, "Wait, what? You mean Anakin is actually possessed?"
She remembered what Obi-Wan had said, jokingly at the time, that if Anakin was possessed they would have to destroy him.
"Anakin is alive," Obi-Wan said, "I spoke with him last night in a vision. I don't know how to find him, but I can feel that he's alive."
This got a large reaction out of Appo, "Anakin is alive?"
Obi-Wan smirked at him, "So the person running around as Anakin isn't Anakin and you know it."
Appo frowned at him, "Luke Skywalker isn't Anakin Skywalker. General Skywalker who looks like Anakin is really Luke, and everyone who knew this thought Anakin was dead because Luke is in his form?"
Ahsoka was getting a headache, "This is insane. So Luke is a shapeshifter, a parasite?"
"No!" Cody, Waxer, Appo, Fives, and Echo exclaimed in unison.
Obi-Wan crossed his arms, "Alright, then who is he?"
"Luke is Anakin Skywalker's son from the future," Cody said calmly.
Ahsoka stared at him, "You're insane."
Waxer shook his head, "Are we? Or are the Jedi? Because Luke stopped time."
"What do you mean he stopped time?" Obi-Wan asked.
"On Umbara, Krell-" Echo spat the name, "tricked me, and faked commands information. He got the 212th and 501st battalions to fire on each other. Luke ran in and put himself between the frontlines. He was faster than any of us, and he just held out his hands and-"
"And he held the blaster shots still," Fives finished for him, "He warped time around them."
"And then he healed Waxer," Cody said, "I got off a shot before Luke stopped us, and Waxer was dying, but Luke saved him."
"He almost died to do it," Appo said softly.
Waxer nodded, "He was so weak afterwards he could hardly stand. He also got grazed by three shots when he let go of the magic."
Ahsoka could barely understand what she was hearing.
However, Obi-Wan seemed to have been expecting something like this. "Luke told me he killed Krell, this is why?"
"No," Cody said, "General Luke was going to arrest Krell but he started a duel with him."
Obi-Wan's eyes went huge, "A duel? But you just said he was too weak to stand. Cody, I felt, no. Every Force sensitive in the galaxy, felt, Luke stop those blaster bolts. Warping time? That's, I can't begin to tell you how hard that must have been, the mental gymnastics at all to even wrap your head around that-" He shook his head, "Krell was a Master and Luke's lightsaber form can be quite spotty."
Ahsoka had felt the ripples when Anakin -Luke, had been on Umbara.
"Luke was fighting defensively," Fives explained, "He was fighting as you do, but then Krell went for Rex, he was going to kill him. But Luke sliced him in half."
"Good," Ahsoka snapped, "He deserves to be dead after that."
But Obi-Wan didn't say anything, stroking his beard.
She frowned, "You disagree."
"No," he said, but he sounded unsure.
"Master," she said exasperated.
He shook his head, and sighed, "No, Ahsoka, I don't disagree. Krell needed to be stopped and what he did was not forgivable."
"But what?"
"But," Obi-Wan said, "If Luke is Anakin's son then… Well, typically the more powerful the Force user the more careful they have to be about the Dark Side. In this case, I think there is no need to worry, he was acting out of more defence than anger. But he's still my Padawan, and it is my job to worry."
"Is that why you were so hard on Anakin?"
Obi-Wan shrugged, "I was hard Anakin because I was young and where my Master was unorthodox, I always did my best to be as orthodox as possible. It's what made Qui-Gon and I such a good team. We balanced each other's weaknesses. It's also what made Anakin and I such a good team, but I know it wasn't easy for him." He sighed.
"And yes, I was more cautious with him. Anakin is in the same class as Dooku and Mace, above them really. Mace and I are good friends, Ahsoka, but I've only known him well after his being on the Council for decades. He still struggles with the pull of the Dark Side. I hoped to give Anakin the tools to help him deal with that internal war."
"You're powerful," Ahsoka noted, his words hitting home to her own temperament. She had heard the whispers too the longer she fought in this war.
"Perhaps, but I'm lucky. Whenever I lose control of my emotions, my connection to the Force slips. I have to be collected, as you say, to be able to listen to the Force and use it. Which is not ideal when struggling for one's life as it leaves me vulnerable, but the benefit is that the Dark Side doesn't call to me the way I've seen it beckon others."
She frowned at him, "You always knew Anakin and Luke were two different people, didn't you?"
Obi-Wan looked at her, as if he could see through her, "Didn't you?"
Referring back to her mental list, she couldn't help but agree. "So somehow Luke, who is Anakin's son, is trapped inside of Anakin's body, but Anakin is still alive?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said firmly.
Appo sighed, "That's good, I'm rather fond of the Skywalkers."
"But where is Anakin?" Fives asked.
"I don't know," Obi-Wan said, "But I think he's in trouble."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "Of course he is in trouble. He didn't stay away from us for two years on purpose."
"Skywalker and trouble are pretty synonymous," Fives remarked.
"On that note," she said, "where is Luke and the rest of the 501st?"
"Zygerria," Appo answered.
Obi-Wan sighed and Ahsoka shook her head, "Okay, so this is all really hard to swallow but Luke being Anakin's son is beginning to sound pretty believable."
Obi-Wan sighed again, "I blame Qui-Gon. He didn't manage to kill me when I was his Padawan, but Force help me if his legacies aren't going to be the death of me."
Ahsoka grinned up at him, "Don't forget, Master, I'm your Padawan too now. I'll help keep you alive."
Fives sniggered, "Yes, because you're so much less trouble than the Skywalkers, says the female who got kidnapped by Trandoshan hunters only to rescue yourself before we and your Master got there with three barely trained Padawans and a Wookie. The same female who a few only weeks later, gets herself kidnapped again by your Separatist friend who got in deep with a terrorist organization."
Yeah, so maybe Ahsoka's Padawanship with Obi-Wan hadn't exactly gone smoothly. But she crossed her arms, ready to be defensive, "I got free from Death Watch by myself, thank you very much, and saved an entire village in the process."
Obi-Wan sighed again, "I'm still blaming Qui-Gon for all my Padawan woes. Only he could have gotten me stuck with you, Anakin, and Luke."
She frowned at him, "I'm not that bad."
"No, you're not, but do keep in mind that Count Dooku was Qui-Gon's Master."
She knew that but she hadn't really thought that through until now, "In the future, who do you think was Luke's Master?"
"My credits are on Yoda," Obi-Wan said with a smirk. "Yoda who was Dooku's Master."
Ahsoka laughed, "History is going to hate us."
"Probably," Cody agreed.
Ahsoka gasped, "Did you just make a joke?"
He frowned at her, "I make jokes all the time, my humour is just more sophisticated than the Skywalker variety."
"Watch yourself," Fives warned with a cheeky grin, "Apparently there are two insanely powerful General Skywalkers roaming the galaxy now."
Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Luke is not as insane as Anakin," Cody said.
"Luke literally started a Rebellion, which we all joined," Fives countered.
Waxer smiled, "You know if we follow our elected representative's lead, they could quickly follow thousands upon thousands of Skywalkers and Kenobi's, and even Tanos, roaming the galaxy."
"What are you talking about?" Echo asked.
Waxer's smile was face splitting, "Wolffe was elected as the first non-Force sensitive to sit on the High Jedi Council. And he took his General Plo's surname, so he's High General Wolffe Koon."
Appo, Echo, and Fives gaped at him, then looked at Obi-Wan, "Is that true, General Kenobi?"
Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, and apparently the Jedi Order a fifth Service Corps, all your brothers have been brought into the Order as a part of the Defense Corps."
Ahsoka reached out to squeeze Appo's hand as he blinked back tears. He squeezed her hand back, "So much is changing so quickly. I never saw an end to this war, I never really thought about what our lives might be afterwards."
Ahsoka's heart broke for him, and she understood too well, "So are you going to be Appo Skywalker or Appo Tano?"
He laughed and Fives sniggered, "Well, we know it's going to Cody Kenobi."
Obi-Wan stared at them all, a trace of horror on his face, "Why do I feel like I've just adopted 60,000 Padawans?"
Ahsoka nodded sagely then said in her best Yoda impression, a friendly mimicry all initiates at the Temple learned, "Hm… Because strong in the Force, you are."
Obi-Wan laughed.
AN: Thoughts, reactions, flightless birds of prey, or feedback, please?