KEYnote: Sorry about the tone of the last chapter's summary, I've just been writing fanfic long enough to know nearly half of readers and reviewers don't read or merely skim dreams. Which I understand, but as this story is family/drama/mystery/humour/adventure, I didn't want the next ten chapters to have confused reviewers being like 'this came from left field', for example, the one moonbat who keeps freaking out about a paradox despite my explaining that this story will have no paradoxes… So if you want to go back and reread, the visions happen at the start of these chapters which are as follows. And to prove I planned this, Anakin mentions how much he hates the beard the first time you see him ;)
I can't tell you how much I appreciate all yours support :D
Knight Anakin Skywalker Dreamwalking:
Chapter 9 - Restraint (In the World Between)
Chapter 13 - the Zillo Beast (Lars Homestead, Tatooine)
Chapter 15 - the Power of a Name (Mountain Palace, Alderaan)
Chapter 16 - Queen of Peace (Mountain Palace, Alderaan)
Chapter 18 - Worlds Between (In the World Between)
General Leia Organa Dreamwalking:
Chapter 9 - Restraint ( Leia, Luke, and Anakin)
Chapter 13 - the Zillo Beast ( Leia, Luke, and Anakin)
Chapter 16 - Queen of Peace (Leia, Bail, Obi-Wan, and Anakin)
Chapter 23 - The Son and the Daughter
Luke felt a tug on the bond between himself and Obi-Wan and swore he could almost hear Obi-Wan's voice in his head, Come back to me, Padawan.
"Luke?" the laughter falling from her face as she came alert.
He turned to his sister, and said with some regret, "We have to go."
"Danger?"
He shook his head, "No, but Obi-Wan wants us to find him, which if he's with the clones makes sense. This place really doesn't seem like somewhere you should be wandering if you don't have a connection with the Force."
She nodded, "I'm ready to leave." She looked up at the darkening clouds in the distance.
Luke offered her his hand, which she took and they went on their way. Obi-Wan was a beacon of light. But now that he was paying attention to it, he thought he could feel Ahsoka and three, maybe four others further off.
"Are you alright?"
He nodded, "Yeah, just… everything is almost too clear here, or rather too loud."
"Can you not find Obi-Wan?"
"No, we should reach him in a few hours I think, but we aren't the only Force users here." That three out of the four presences he felt who were not Ahsoka and Obi-Wan seemed, even at this distance, quite a bit more powerful than Obi-Wan scared Luke.
Especially the one who seemed to be darker than Dooku, as dark or darker than Darth Vader had been.
And that presence was approaching them like the black cloud overtaking the sky.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Leia asked, seeing the change in his body posture.
"I think we are being hunted," he said, voice dropping into a low whisper.
"I have my blaster."
"That isn't going to do us much good if they are as strong as I think they are. Let's move, the closer we are to Obi-Wan the sooner we can get off this planet, if that's even what it is."
She nodded, understanding as well as he did that hiding wasn't an option. They didn't know where they were and if Luke could feel them then they could be felt.
"It's too quiet," she said.
"There aren't any animals here," he noted.
They didn't run, not only would that attract attention but it would deplete their energy. Regardless, for relatively short people, they made good time.
Night had fully descended by the time they saw the first Star Destroyer.
"You know, I never thought I would look at those ships as a welcome sight," Leia said.
Luke pulled her toward him, readying himself as he whispered, "We have company."
Neither of the two figures exactly snuck up on them as they descended from the sky, one a large bat-like monster and the other a glowing griffin.
As the two creatures landed they morphed into humanoid figures.
"So, you are the ones the Father loves," the male with red glowing eyes said.
Luke didn't know what to say to that.
Leia, on the other hand, cocked her hip, and though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was staring them both down as if they were less than peasants like the royal she was. "Who are you, and what by the karking stars do you want?"
"We want Father to love us as he loves you, though he knows you not at all," the female said, her voice was wispy, and her glow seemed to brighten then dim then brighten, like a candle flickering in the wind.
Luke reached out to her with the Force and found her… shattered. As if she was unstable in reality. It felt as if she would dissolve any moment into the Force.
The male snarled, "Do not think you can replace my sister. We will replace you and then we will destroy those outsiders and Father will have to love us."
"We will take his memories," the female said, again, something was very wrong with her voice, yet standing by her, Luke felt warmer, fuller.
"Who the hell are you talking about?" Leia growled, her hand tightening on the butt of her blaster.
"The Chosen One," the male said, "He is our Father, not yours."
Luke was very confused, were they talking about Anakin? But Anakin was dead.
He reached out once more with the Force, and the male just like the female, seemed to be fading from existence. But his presence wasn't dissolving smoothly into the Force. No, his essence was like the puncture of an oil can, seeping and polluting the world around him.
His presence was cold, and Luke wished they could run away from them.
"Who are you?" Luke demanded.
The male smiled, "I am the Son, she is the Daughter, and we are your death."
Leia had her blaster up and fired in half a thought.
The Son waved his hand and the blaster went flying, and then Leia did something Luke could not have predicted.
She raised her hand as if you were reaching to strangle the Son.
It should have been impossible, she had next to no training, but the laws of the Force seemed altered here, and his sister had not only the power but the strength of will to take this creature by the throat and squeeze with an invisible hand.
Luke's heart raced, it was Darth Vader's signature move, and to see Leia use it…
He never thought he would ever be truly afraid of his sister until that moment.
"NO!" the Daughter screamed as the Son scrabbled at his throat.
What followed felt like a lifetime, yet was merely the passing of a dozen heartbeats.
The Son reached out his hand to send some type of attack at them, but Leia snapped his neck and he dropped limply to the ground.
The Daughter let out a wail and let rage a blast of lightning. Unlike Dooku's, it wasn't white-blue but a deep emerald green.
However, Luke had been trained how to redirect lightning by both Masters Yoda and Dooku. Only, Luke didn't account for how much stronger he was here and he overshot the return fire.
The emerald lightning didn't feel like the Dark Side of the Force, and that too bolstered his ability to redirect it.
The Daughter didn't scream as she fell to her knees, back arching as lightning seared her. Luke cut the connection off but the lightning had been overpowered, and thunder cracked as the daughter with her flowing green hair and golden light collapsed beside the Son.
She reached out her hand to the dead shadow, and Luke saw the tears on her face, as she breathed, "Brother…"
And Luke felt her let go.
Weak and broken hearted, she let go of life and passed into the Force.
Luke clamped a hand around his left wrist as he felt his skin ripple, Leia let out a yelp, clamping a hand down to her right wrist.
What by the names of the binary suns...
Pulling back his hand, he found a metallic gold tattoo ingrained into his wrist as if it had always been there. Smooth to the touch, the symbol was strange, of a quatrefoil in a circle and in its centre was a twelve pointed star forming around a circle.
They stared at it, neither of them saying anything. Leia revealed her wrist and her tattoo was the inverse of his, a twelve pointed star, with four longer spikes the eight other points framing the four major points of the star, and in its centre was the quatrefoil. And instead of metallic gold it was a deep reddish black like the markings on the Son's face.
"What are these?" Leia asked.
"I don't know," he said slowly, "But I have a bad feeling about this."
Leia had just snapped this being neck the way that their Sith Lord father would have, he had just killed a dying female with a technique Yoda had taught him.
And now they were both Tattooed by the Force and the Force itself felt like it was reshaping around them.
Cody was aware of his men gazing around them with astonished eyes as the seasons seemed to pass through the day, but Cody himself was more concerned about his General.
Obi-Wan had a tendency to take on too much and he blamed himself for almost everything. General Luke was more grounded in that way, despite his younger age. No, Luke while being personable didn't take everything personal, he was a true military General.
Obi-Wan was a great leader, but a Jedi. Always a Jedi, even after having left the Order, even after starting an open relationship with the Duchess.
And where Cody was happy to see the man he considered to be his dearest friend finally find some happiness for himself, the galaxy seemed determined to drive the Jedi to his limits.
Cody, for one, was not overly glad to see that Anakin Skywalker was alive. Anakin always seemed to stress Obi-Wan out, and where Luke had stressed him out as well it had been for different reasons.
Obi-Wan had worried himself sick over Luke because he wasn't Anakin despite taking his father's place. But the actual Luke, while he didn't behave as any other Jedi, was solidly dependable. Whereas the actual Anakin was prone to doing things that might get himself and others blown up.
Duchess Satine and Commander Ahsoka had become Cody's co-conspirators in getting Obi-Wan to breathe a little.
Ahsoka was doing her part well, mostly inadvertently because she was growing up and the more she aged the more she came into herself. And though she had a reckless streak that did both her Masters proud, she was beginning to reason more and more like Obi-Wan rather than Anakin.
That Cody was grateful for, because as much as the 501st Legion respected Anakin for his un-Jedi-like ways, Cody saw Anakin's tactics as half formed. When Anakin and Obi-Wan worked together, it was almost a perfect balance of their flaws, except for the minor detail that Anakin never stuck to a plan. So yes, Cody was glad that Ahsoka seemed to be taking the best from both her Masters, and becoming more steady like Obi-Wan.
As for Satine, well Cody had never seen anyone be able to reach Obi-Wan as she could. No one could keep him so focused on the present, even now when all they were doing was waiting for the Skywalkers to return, a perfect time for General Kenobi to brood about future events, he was smiling like a boy as he argued with Satine.
"I'm just saying, it would have been nice to have been asked. You know I was planning on asking you, no?"
"We've been stuck in space for months, and you haven't asked."
"Satine," Obi-Wan breathed, "We've only officially been together for a few months, and we have been at war-"
"Which I joined, which legitimized the entire Rebel Alliance and swayed all of the fifteen hundred systems part of the Council of Neutral Systems to join the Alliance as well."
"I know that but your people-"
"My Prime Minister has been well supported on his various trips to Alderaan, which is fast becoming the capital of this new Galactic government. In a year or so, I imagine it will be reasonably safe for me to walk the streets again. Our warriors who left are returning in mass, and even those who aren't, are having quite the time in stirring up chaos for the Hutts."
That made Cody want to smile. He and his brothers were descended from a Mandalorian warrior. To say there was little in common between Clone culture and the Mandos was far from the truth.
"So you're saying that Mandalore is ready for a Jedi Duke?"
"Obi-Wan, you were on the Council, you were one of the most well known Jedi in the Order, one of the most popular Generals in the Republic Army, a High General, and you left. You left, and as far as anyone is concerned, started a Rebellion, taking an entire portion of the GAR with you. And you got away with it. Your men followed you freely, my people adore you."
"It helps that the entire galaxy saw you choose the woman you loved over the Order," Waxer said.
A year earlier, Waxer would never have dared to speak to Obi-Wan like that.
Jesse sniggered, "And convinced said woman who was the leader of their people to give up on pacifism."
Jesse, as an ARC of the 501st, most likely would have said much the same two years earlier.
But Obi-Wan seemed to grow more relaxed with the troops the more familiar they all got. Despite Obi-Wan being somewhat conservative with his own affections except when it came to Satine and his injured Padawans, he nevertheless welcomed the clan-like nature the 7th Sky Corps and 501st were creating.
As if they were becoming a true family even if there was a hierarchy.
Satine smiled at them, "See? You would be welcomed as the next Duke of Mandalore. Korkie already loves you and he's the only family I have left."
"Would your people be okay with our children being Force Sensitives?"
"You wouldn't want them to be raised at the Temple, would you?" she asked with a note of worry.
Obi-Wan shook his head, and there was a note of uncertainty in his expression that Cody rarely saw his General let show, "No, but I would, and I know it's unprecedented for this era, but I would still like to train them as Jedi. In the High Republic, Jedi were able to hold offices of state and be trained in the Jedi Arts. If our children take after me, I want them to have the best of us."
Satine cupped his face in her hands, "You were always a Rebel weren't you? It never made sense to me how you became known as the Perfect Code abiding Jedi Master. You certainly weren't that when we were younger."
He smiled at her, resting his head in her hands, "Nor were you averse to fighting. But as for why I ended up clinging to the book, as some might say, between my Master being Qui-Gon the maverick and my first Padawan being Anakin, being rule abiding was rebellious."
She laughed, and pressed a kiss to his lips.
Cody glanced away, happy for them, but uncertain of his own feelings that arose at the sight. They had been at war for four years now. And this last year they had been escorting hordes of freed people to be reunited with their families.
Families that consisted of more than just brothers and sisters. Cody really hadn't thought of what his own life might entail after this was all over, and he had never thought of finding a partner for himself before. Yet he had started too when his High Jedi General, who had never seemed to stray from his role as monk and general, was now actively talking about having children with one of the most beautiful women Cody had ever met.
Even Anakin, which was a far less surprising revelation, had a wife, which had resulted in Luke and Leia.
Cody very much thought he would like to start a family of his own some day. Some stories were spreading that the clones of the Republic who had joined the Jedi Service Corps were dating.
Yet Cody couldn't help but doubt himself. Who would want to marry a clone? Aside from those who purposely changed their features, he knew much of the galaxy thought of him and his brothers as identical, both inside and out. They had been made not born, they were expected to be individuals as they had been created to be disposable.
And on the reverse, Cody wasn't sure that he would ever be comfortable with being with someone who could mistake him for one of his brothers. Of course, the only people who could tell them apart without markers were Force Sensitives, who were not exactly innumerable throughout the galaxy.
It was one reason that he suspected Satine, while perhaps not being as strong or strong enough to become a Jedi Knight, was somewhere on the scale of Force sensitivity. That she hadn't injured herself with the Darksaber whenever Obi-Wan had time to train her was the first hint, but the singer for Cody was the fact that Duchess Satine had yet to mistake a single one of the troops. Something that regular officers had never accomplished without checking their numbers on their uniforms.
Satine, like the Jedi, seemed to be able to tell them apart in the dark.
Not even Senator Padme Amidala could have done that.
Having lost track of General's conversation, lost in his own thoughts as he was, Cody's attention was brought around to Obi-Wan making a sound somewhere between a huff and a sigh.
Obi-Wan's cheeks were blazing as he said, "Because Star Destroyers are not the most romantic place to ask someone to marry you, alright? Honestly, I haven't even found time to get you a wedding brace."
A wedding brace, as Cody had come to learn in assisting Obi-Wan to have a pair made, was a thin bracelet or cuff that was to be made out of Beskar and was meant to be both beautiful and yet fit close to the skin as to be worn under one's armour. Some Mandalorian couples exchanged pieces of armour engraved with crests if they wore armour all the time, but as that was not the case for either Obi-Wan or Satine, the bracelets were expected.
Cody had made contact with a Master metalsmith by the name of Maas, and the bracers were ready for pick up whenever they could make it back to Mandalore where Obi-Wan had been planning a grand proposal.
Satine looked shocked, "You know about the-"
"Do you honestly think I wouldn't learn all I could about your people's culture, Satine, after meeting you, after living on Mandalore for well over a year?"
She pulled him into a hug, "I love you, and I'm sorry I ruined your romantic gesture."
Obi-Wan held her tight, "I love you too, and I'm just happy that after all these years you still want to be with me."
"Always, Obi-Wan, always."
Cody couldn't have suppressed his smile. If anyone deserved happiness, it was General Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Obi-Wan!"
Everyone stood at attention to the stranger's voice calling out to them in the night, but as soon as the figures came within the lights of the transport ships, Cody recognized the body language of the young blonde who jogged over to stand before Obi-Wan.
General Luke Skywalker was a young blond haired man and was dressed completely in black. He had a kind face and was several inches shorter than his father.
Really, the only feature he seemed to have inherited from his father were his blue eyes.
Obi-Wan pulled the young man into an embrace, and Luke hugged him back fiercely. Pulling back he said with a laugh, "You're taller than me again."
Obi-Wan ruffled his hair, "You, my young Padawan, are almost as much trouble as your father, and he never actually started a war."
The chargrained expression he gave Obi-Wan was far more suited to his face than Anakin's. "Sorry, Master. I didn't mean to dump that on you."
That's when Cody looked to Luke's sister who wore green forest gear, her dark hair braided practically back, and her dark eyes were filled with an inner fire as she assessed them all. She was strikingly beautiful and Cody had the distinct feeling she was counting their men and ships.
Luke reached back, catching her hand, "Obi-Wan, Sky Corps, 501st, this is my twin sister, General Leia Organa of the original Rebel Alliance and Princess of Alderaan. Leia, meet the navy of the current Rebel Alliance."
Leia took a half curtsy step, but not with the demure gaze of a noblewoman, but with an expression of durasteel that could have made General Windu quale.
Cody respected her already.
"It is an honour to finally meet you in person, Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan bowed to her, "The honour is mine. May I introduce you to my fiance, the Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, my Marshall Commander Cody Kenobi, our ARC Commander Jesse, Commander Gregor, Captain Waxer, Captain Appo Tano, and Lieutenant Dogma."
Their Sergeant Fives was with Anakin.
Leia was looking at them all with awe, "You're the Rebellion?"
Luke grinned at her, "Yep, the entire 7th Sky Corps and the entire 501st Legion."
Something like wonder crossed her expression, "That's, we could take over the galaxy if we want to."
Cody snorted, he couldn't help it, "General Organa, the Republic is several times larger than us."
She waved that away, "I've been following military tactics against the Empire since I could sit up on my Papa's knee. And you are all trained soldiers. If I had had these numbers we could have gutted the Empire."
"The Jedi Order seemed to be taking the reins back of the Republic," Luke said, "the Emperor's counter strike was to slaughter the IBC and the Trade Federation. He turned the droids against Dooku."
"Well that's no true loss, the economy must be in shambles though. But I thought you said Dooku was alive," she said.
"He is," Appo said, "the Separatists changed tacks since the Treaty Mon Cala and has become more of a political movement than a war, especially now."
"Was the Death Star destroyed? Did you get to Erso before the Emperor did?" Luke asked Obi-Wan.
The Emperor. There was something disturbing about the way Luke said that title, almost as if the title meant more than the identity of the person behind it, as if he were bigger than a single person ought to be.
Obi-Wan nodded, "General Wolffe destroyed it and the Erso family is on the Negotiator II." There was a smirk on his lips for the last.
Leia's posture eased, "Kenobi, I love you. That's thrice now you have saved my life." But then she asked, "Wait, Wolffe made General? I thought there weren't any clone generals in the GAR."
"General Wolffe Koon was elected to the Jedi High Council," Gregor said, "He's the first non-Jedi to be on the Council and is a High General."
Leia smiled at him, "Well, it seems the Jedi can adapt after all. I can't think of anyone who deserves that position more than Wolffe."
Gregor smiled back, "You know him then?"
Leia nodded, "I know you too. You, Wolffe, and Rex were among the first and only Republic clones to defect from the Empire."
Cody among everyone else, stiffened, they had heard this before, Luke had told them that they would turn on the Jedi, but it seemed different coming from this woman who seemed to know and understand more. Luke had been guessing, his twin clearly knew her history.
Appo crossed his arms, "None of us would have willingly served an Empire and we, the 501st, would have followed Rex."
"Rex was on Mandalore when Order 66 happened."
Cody felt his finger twitch involuntarily at that statement, his heart went cold in his chest.
Order 66.
Why did that statement mean anything to him? But his thoughts couldn't hold that question as Appo spoke, looking irked, "What does that matter? We wouldn't have supported a dictator."
Leia looked at him with sympathy, as she answered "You didn't have a choice, Captain Appo."
Cody's own temper was rising now, "But Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor got a choice?"
"Rex didn't storm the Temple with the 501st and you, Commander Cody, were the one who gave the order to shoot down General Kenobi. Obi-Wan survived, of course, but none of the Jedi in the Temple did. There are just some things that once done that you can't come back from. When the Jedi were gone, the clones had nowhere to go but stay with Darth Vader and his Master's empire."
Storm the Temple.
Everyone in the 501st looked stunned and too horrified to speak.
You, Commander Cody, were the one who gave the Order to shoot down General Kenobi.
But that couldn't be true, that was Cody's worst nightmare.
Cody looked at his General who didn't look at him accusingly, only deep in thought, a hand to his chin. Somehow that reaction made it worse, as if he were actually considering the fallout of such a thing. As if such a thing were possible.
"We would never serve Sith Lords," Cody said, taking a step forward toward the little princess.
"You were created by Sith Lords and the Jedi have been serving them too, though if the Order is truly taking steps in seizing control of the Republic then maybe that's changing." She looked at Luke, "I really can't believe you defused the war without killing him."
"His grand plan fell apart pretty easily," Luke said, "He was relying too heavily on the Jedi remaining ignorant. I think Master Mace Windu put the pieces together because he was put into prison for a bit."
Her responding smile was almost evil, "Oh, but to beat him with politics, that is too perfect. But we still need to assassinate him."
Luke nodded, "I don't know how to get close to him now though, I'm nobody. You realize our existence is basically impossible now? Our mother never conceived us and by this point we should have been born."
Leia shrugged, "That's irrelevant, we exist, we are here, and having no record is a good thing. Can you shield yourself in the Force? If we play this right, he might not even know you're a Jedi until you're on top of him. Ugh, I wish we could just bomb him, but that's been attempted a thousand times over, I think you're really our best shot at him."
Cody, who had been infuriated with her a moment earlier, couldn't help but appreciate her ruthlessness. Things would have been so much easier if the Jedi had been more willing to go in for the kill at the get go.
"Can we go back to the 501st attacking the Jedi Temple?" Dogma asked, "The Jedi Temple that has younglings. Surely you can't mean we would not only turn on our leaders, the only people in the galaxy who treated us as real people, but kill their young also?"
That made Cody feel physically sick. He now had a new nightmare, turning his blaster on Ahsoka, turning his men on Padawans, on the- he had to close his eyes to stop that thought. To breathe. Waxer bumped his shoulder, and they exchanged a pained look.
"I don't think anyone has ever treated you and your brothers well. The Jedi Order were not without their failings. But yes, as far as I am aware, the children were included in the genecide. As was anyone else in the galaxy who was discovered to have Force sensitivity.
"The 501st was known in our time as Vader's Fist. But I honestly can't tell you how many of the Republic troopers actually survived to see the first Death Star be completed. Darth Vader was always on the front lines in the beginning of the Empire, and you with him. His tactics were brutal. But your Legion remained the most elite because you always had a Sith Lord at your side and he kept you trained."
Here she looked at Cody, "We actually found a recording of you, Commander, complaining about the new generations of clones."
He frowned at her, "What are you talking about?"
"You retired from active duty and became one of the leading instructors of the Imperial Naval academies. But the Emperor was wise to the fact that if the clones descended from Jango Fett could kill the Jedi then they could theoretically kill the Sith too. So the next generations of clones were just normal human males. You were complaining to someone about how no matter how hard you trained or pushed them that they would never be as good as those from the GAR."
Satine crossed her arms, "Why was Major Rex on Mandalore? Mandalore was neutral."
Leia shrugged, "Mandalore was caught in a civil war, and by 19 BBY they were controlled by a rogue Sith who took over Death Watch."
Cody felt his eyebrows shoot up at that. There was so much wrong with what this woman was saying, from his brother supporting an Empire, confirmation that they had turned on the Jedi, the weird dating system she was using, and the news that Mandalore had the misfortune of descending into yet another civil war with a Sith Lord at the helm of a terrorist organization.
"And where was I?" Satine asked, and even without her headdress, she looked every inch the rightful leader of her planet.
"Dead, if we are in 18 BBY then you died almost two years ago," Leia stated.
Obi-Wan took a protective step toward his fiance and asked, "Who?"
Leia met his gaze, "Darth Maul."
Obi-Wan rocked back, "No, no, I killed him. I personally killed him nearly fifteen years ago."
Leia crossed her arms, "Then you did a poor job of it."
There really wasn't a lot of sympathy in this woman.
"I cut him in half!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.
Cody was shocked at this outburst. Obi-Wan would make a quip when being flayed alive. What about this Darth Maul was causing such a reaction?
"I killed him," Obi-Wan continued, seemingly unaware of Satine putting a hand on his arm, "He killed Qui-Gon and I killed him. His bisected parts fell down a shaft on Naboo, no one could have survived that."
Darth Maul killed Obi-Wan's Master Jedi, that explained the reaction.
"Decaptition," Leia said primily, "You told my Papa that you killed Vader too, but he managed to live even if he was more robot than person after you were through with him. Decaptition is the only sure way with Sith Lords."
Obi-Wan shook his head and said nothing, Satine looked near sick with worry at his side.
"Who is Darth Vader?" Dogma asked angrily.
"Anakin Skywalker," she said flatly.
Silence.
Complete and utter silence as everyone looked at her, except Luke who looked away.
Luke who had seemed disgusted at times to use his father's lightsaber, who had made little effort in trying to pretend to be his father, going as far as to wearing white and forgoing his father's armour. Luke who had seemed almost pleased at times when praised for not being like his father.
Cody saw first the broken and betrayed expressions of his 501st brothers, before he turned his gaze to Obi-Wan who looked…
Defeated.
There was no other word for it, he looked defeated. As if his life had amounted to nothing but failure.
Cody was glad Rex wasn't here for this, Cody planned on explaining this all to his friend somewhere private.
Cody remembered that feeling all too well when Luke had brought him, Rex, Appo, Fives, and Dogma to discuss the trap the civil war had been for the Jedi Order and the Sith's bid to turn the Republic into an Empire.
Obi-Wan turned that haunted expression to Luke, "You didn't tell me, why didn't you tell me?"
"I never told you my name was Luke either," he said, "And what was I supposed to say? Hey, Master Obi-Wan, I'm not really Anakin, I'm Anakin's son from the future, possessing my father's body. And not only have I decided to leave the Jedi Order, but my father would have become one of the scariest Sith Lords in history who was going to help raise an Empire. Oh and by the by, Anakin Skywalker is dead, so it doesn't matter what he would have done or became because he doesn't exist. Bye!"
Cody winced.
Obi-Wan stared at Luke numbly. "Luke, Anakin is alive. He got his body back just as you and your sister have seemed to."
The Skywalker twins had vastly different reactions to this news.
Joy lit up Luke's face, and he asked, "Really? Is 'Soka with him?"
Contrariwise, Leia looked almost ill.
Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, she is, they went looking for you."
"Why?" Luke asked, pointing up to the Star Destroyers, "It wasn't hard finding you and this place isn't safe for anyone who can't use the Force. It feels like we are in its heart."
"That's what I told him, but Anakin doesn't listen to me," Obi-Wan said.
Luke shook his head, "That's ridiculous."
"Says the Padawan who ran off to places unknown after starting a war with two slave empires," Obi-Wan returned archly. "By the stars, Luke, you had all of a two hour lead on us."
Leia half smiled at that, "I trained him myself, Master Kenobi. A two hour lead is a luxury. Outrunning a larger, more powerful enemy with a near limitless amount of resources is the definition of the Rebellion."
Satine gave her an odd look, "You may find, Princess Organa, that the Rebellion is no longer how you imagined, the neutral territories, as well as some Republic and Separatist defectors have been forming a new government around Alderaan."
Far from being displeased, Leia looked strengthened by this news. She looked up at her brother, "Just a moisture farmer from Tatooine, huh?"
He grinned, "The galaxy is filled with a great many wonderful people, they just needed an opportunity to change. The Empire made people feel helpless, like corruption and suffering was all there was, but where there is life-"
She took his hand, "There is hope."
"Luke, Princess," Obi-Wan said suddenly, "What's that on your wrists?"
Both of them turned to him, offering him their opposing wrists. Obi-Wan examined both closely, holding both their hands palm up as Luke explained, "They showed up after we killed the Son and Daughter. They ambushed us. Whoever they were, I think they were more a part of the Force than humanoid."
Obi-Wan looked up sharply at them, "You killed them?"
Luke looked uncomfortable, "I didn't mean too, I didn't account for how much stronger I am here and when the Daughter threw green lighting at me, I threw it back. But I think she could have continued to fight, but she gave up. Her brother was dead by then."
Obi-Wan looked at Leia, "You killed the Son?"
She nodded, "Yes, and purposely so; he was threatening to kill us."
Appo laughed, "Guess we know who takes after Anakin now."
That earned him a glare from the Princess, it was only standing so close to Obi-Wan that Cody appreciated that the woman was even shorter than her mother who Leia resembled greatly. Her personality had made her seem much taller than she really was. Senator Padme Amidala could have that effect as well.
Leia took her hand back, "On that note, I think we should kill Anakin."
Obi-Wan recoiled from her and Luke looked excerparated, "Leia, we are not going to kill our own father for something he hasn't done yet."
"Yet, being the imperative word. Truly, Luke, if we kill the Emperor, Tarkin, and Vader, possibly Dooku too, then it's over, any chance that the Empire could rise again like it did before is void."
"That's not true, there's always going to be darkness in the galaxy. But people can change," Luke argued. "Anakin didn't start out bad. I don't know exactly how the Emperor pushed him to the Dark Side. That's one mystery I left well enough alone, I've been avoiding him."
"Good, the only reason you should ever have been near Vader or the Emperor in the first place was to kill them," and then she turned on Obi-Wan, "And you and Yoda should never have told Luke that he was ready to face two Sith Lords after three months of training on Dagobah. Going after Jabba was one thing but you never properly explained to Luke what being a Jedi Knight meant, much less teach him how to be one."
"Three months of training on Dagobah?" Obi-Wan repeated then looked at Luke, "When you woke up as Anakin and came to the Temple, you only had three months of training? How is that even possible?"
"You didn't tell me I was Force Sensitive until I was nineteen," Luke said, "And then you let Vader kill you to give us time to escape the Death Star and you became a ghost. Helpful, but I would have preferred you had survived to actually teach me. I had to go to train with Yoda on Dagobah. And no, Leia, they didn't send me after Vader, I was the idiot who cut my training short because I thought you were in danger."
"It was a trap," she snapped at him.
"I know, we've been over this."
"Wait!" Appo exclaimed, "Anakin kills General Kenobi!?"
Cody was extremely disturbed by how unsurprised Obi-Wan looked at this.
Luke nodded in the affirmative.
But Leia went on, "I wasn't talking about Bespin, I was talking about you handing yourself over to Darth Vader and the Emperor on Endor. You already gave away our position, they knew we were there. You sacrificed yourself for nothing. And there was no way the extra few days you spent with Yoda was adequate training."
Cody had a new appreciation for General Luke's risk assignment. No, wonder the battle droids hadn't phased him. He had been hardly a Padawan Learner in rank when, Cody could easily imagine, he blithely went up against one Sith Lord who had conquered the galaxy and another who was an evil Anakin Skywalker who had been the most powerful Jedi in the Order aside from the Grandmaster himself.
The war these two Rebels were describing seemed to have in no way equal sides.
"Yoda died, Leia! I was the last Jedi in the galaxy! There wasn't time for more training. You don't think I knew how woefully unprepared I was? But we were losing, the run on Endor was our last chance, the Emperor could have snuffed the Rebellion out that day. We put all our resources into that fight. But Darth Vader was my father, and you're right, what he did was not forgivable. But he wanted to kill his Master, all Sith Lords do. And there was conflict in him."
The Last Jedi had been the son of a Sith Lord enslaving the galaxy, Cody thought. He looked at Luke, the slight man who held himself so peacefully, who no matter the chaos about him, always had a sense of himself and his responsibilities.
Even if those responsibilities just happened to include the weight of the entire galaxy.
"Oh poor Darth Vader," Leia mocked, "The Hero With No Fear, who betrayed everything and everyone, had regrets. Poor him."
"He was a slave, and the Jedi Order placed the fate of the galaxy on his shoulders," Luke defended, "everyone has their breaking point, and the Emperor had access to him since he joined the Order. Darth Sidious cultivated those fractures in him since he was nine years old. And Leia, Anakin was powerful, powerful enough that the Council was afraid of him, afraid of what he could have become."
"Well they were right, weren't they?" she shot back, "He should never have been trained! Better for the entire galaxy if he had remained a slave on Tatooine."
"You don't know that! What if the Sith had found him then?"
"Then no one would have trusted him and he wouldn't have been nearly as effective in killing Jedi."
"He would have been," Luke countered, "And Obi-Wan wouldn't have been close enough to him to ever had a chance at stopping or slowing him. Because Leia, he would have been whole of body, he could have become-"
"A monster?" she asked, "He did. I wish he had never been born!"
"Then you and I wouldn't have been! Leia, he is our father!"
"He's the reason we were separated, over and over again!"
"The marks on your wrists," Obi-Wan said abruptly, the twins turning on him in an oddly synchronized movement. Cody could have applauded his General's ability to defuse conflict. "Those symbols are ancient designs of the Light Side of the Force," he indicated Luke's wrist, and then to Leia's tattoo, "And the Dark Side of the Force."
Leia levelled him with a look, "I do not need more mystical bantha-shit screwing up my life."
Obi-Wan disregarded this statement and asked, "Who is Darth Sidious? Who is this Emperor who took Anakin from me?"
"Chancellor Palpatine," Luke answered.
Obi-Wan cursed in a stream of Huttause that had Satine exclaiming, "Obi-Wan!"
"I never trusted him, I should have-" he shook his head, "If I had only listened to my gut! If Yoda had just taken me seriously. This is my fault-"
Luke put a hand on his shoulder, "Speaking as someone who was literally in Anakin's shoes, it wasn't your fault, Master. Qui-Gon gave you a task you couldn't have possibly been ready for and Palpatine must have been plotting the destruction of the Jedi long before he even knew Anakin existed. That is not your fault."
"But I should have been there for him," Obi-Wan said in a pleading voice that broke Cody's heart.
Luke squeezed his shoulder, "I think you were, but he wasn't brave enough to trust you. Because I know you, Obi-Wan, and you were always there for me. You have been with me my whole life. You didn't even let death stop you. You may have only saved Leia's life thrice, but you saved mine more times than I probably even know of."
"Honestly, Tatooine seems to be a poor place to live," Leia quipped.
"Better than Dagobah," Luke reasoned, "Old Ben might have been a hermit in the desert but he still had some interaction with people. All Yoda got were swamp monsters. You're the lucky one who got to grow up in a palace with Senator Bail and Queen Breha who actually considered you their daughter."
Cody concluded then and there that this future these two were from, the future where Anakin became a Sith Lord, he and his brothers turned on the Jedi, and the one in which the entire galaxy was under the thumb of a tyrannical regime, was one they could never allow to pass.
"Well, speaking as the woman who got captured by Vader multiple times, I still think we should end him. Luke, why won't you even consider it?"
Luke stepped away from both Obi-Wan and Leia then, "You both told me to do that, you both urged me to kill him. Why can't you understand that I can't!?"
"Why do you love him!?" Leia exclaimed, "That man is nothing to you! The first time you saw him he killed Ben! The first time you met Vader you were trying to kill him and he took your hand. He was going to take you to the Emperor. You were going to be tortured and either be turned or destroyed. What has Anakin Skywalker ever done to make you love him?"
"He is my father!" Luke exclaimed, "Because he was supposed to be there, because family was supposed to mean something! Because I hate him for turning his back on everyone who would have loved him! I hate him for killing Ben, for threatening you, for consenting to slavery for both himself, the clones, and the entire galaxy! And the only way I could have won against him was to embrace that hatred! If I had killed him, I would have become him, and I would have rather died a thousand times over then become him! Don't you understand? I'm a Skywalker too!"
Silence rang through the clearing.
Cody did not envy the Jedi at that moment. Looking at Luke, trembling with emotion, the world around them seeming to wait with baited breath as Mortis responded, Cody saw that the immense power this young man had came at a heavy price. He might make it look easy, but it wasn't.
The Jedi Order had not constructed its rules for nothing.
"Luke, I'm sorry," his sister said, touching his arm gently.
He sucked in breath, "If we can save Anakin, Leia, then anyone can be saved. I don't mean to forgive the things he's done, but I won't hold onto hate. If he can be saved, it means once someone starts down the Dark path, your options aren't over. I have to believe that, Leia, I have to."
She pulled him into a hug, "Alright, Luke, we won't kill him."
Cody wasn't overly comforted by this concession, neither, it seemed, was Obi-Wan or the rest of the 501st.
Yet when Princess Leia tacked on, "At least, not preemptively."
Cody couldn't help but like her.
AN: Thoughts, reactions, canaries, or feedback, pretty please?