The Jedi who Came in from the Cold Chapter 25, a star wars fanfic

A/N: Hello everyone! To those of you who still have patience for my mess of an upload schedule, I am thrilled to at last bring you an update. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, read, and reviewed in the downtime. I am actually a little glad that I waited, as the Bad Batch has forced me to seriously reconsider some of my Clone plot (especially backstory) but I have made all the necessary tweaks to my plans am very much looking forward to getting into that. I think it might actually be better than what I originally had in mind.

The one thing I'm still really annoyed about is having to cut Jesse from this. I know its old news at this point… but still

As usual, I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but I'm sure I'll like it better in a few years after three or four rounds of edits. In the meantime, I apologize for my awkward writing and general incompetence. I hope it at least gets across what I'm going for.

These next couple of chapters are kind of a "side episode." They do matter; they set up future plot, character development, and Mandalorian tie-ins (s2, specifically lol), but it isn't part of the main plot. Don't worry, we'll get back to your regularly scheduled Ani breakdown soon. :)

Related: Everything has now been edited to the best of my current ability. The first several chapters are now readable! Yay!

RyanSquad: Yeah. And it might get worse before it gets better. MalirBly: Thank you so much! I hope that you keep reading, and that you continue to think so highly of my work. I do try my best. Pyroseyes: Yeah. Being stuck in the middle of a war was never going to be good. What he needs is real help, but who knows when that will come. Themugglepadme24: "The entire thing?" In one sitting? It's pretty long; are you okay? In all seriousness, thank you for the kind words. They mean so much. *Sends back more and tighter hugs* Courtesy Trefflin: "Unless something happens" :)

Anakin is indeed very protective over his loved ones. He always has been. It's one of the things I love most about him, but it has also gotten him into a lot of trouble over the years. The thing with someone like Anakin is that you can't write tense situations for him the usual way without significantly nerfing his character. The question can't be "will he live" it's "how will he live" and particularly, "what will be left of him afterwards." He is technically one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. He can take out anyone he wants at any time. The conflict must be internal, rather than an external threat (in most cases.) I'm glad you liked it! I hope that you like this one too. Read on! Darth Dimples: There was a point not too long ago where this was almost definitely going to be Anisoka. There was a good friend of mine who I was bouncing a lot of ideas off, and he really pushed for it. I figured why not, it actually seemed kind of sweet (in this context) and I thought I would include it. That friend has since blocked me out of nowhere on every platform. I have no idea why he made that choice, but it does mean that Anisoka will not be in this fic. Ichigo urahara Shihoin: Yes he does. It used to be Anakin in Vader (in a way), and now the roles are flipped and it's Vader in Anakin (in a way) Ahsoka: The Road Less Travelled By… would need work to be viable again. It has a lot of lore issues that I would want to fix, and sequel influence that I would want to cut out with a machete. I wouldn't call it abandoned (I still have the plot in my head and I might get back to it at some point) but it is on the back burner while I finish this one. Dragon Girl: Your wish is my command. Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Lothal

Center of Operations (Ezra's old silo from when he was homeless)

The Day Before

Ahsoka couldn't help feeling that Lothal never changed, at least not since they had wrested it away from the Empire. It was peaceful, quiet, a welcome refuge in a galaxy in continuous war.

At least, the landscape was, deceptively so.

Lothal, being free of the Empire, was the center for many different rebel organizations, most of which she had little to no connection with. The Rebellion ran ops here, as did the Mandalorians and others. Sometimes she couldn't help but think how nice it would be if the façade was real, if there was at least one place untouched by the horrors of the galaxy.

Maybe after the Empire fell, things would be different.

As usual, they landed in secret, hiding their ship behind a rock formation and taking speeders the rest of the way. Sabine would meet them further up and escort them inside. Due to the time difference between standard time on shipboard and the local time related to Lothal's rotation, it was nighttime when they landed, with a full moon illuminating their path.

Sabine seemed somewhat annoyed when they saw her, and her tone reflected her dissatisfaction.

"Does he understand everything?"

"Don't worry." Ahsoka tried to mollify her fears from their call. "Not a word will be said to anyone in the Rebellion."

"Good."

Ahsoka knew the fine line Sabine walked between the two organizations, trying to free the Galaxy at large while also trying to do her duty by her people, house, and clan. It was a lot of pressure, especially with her mother getting older and not so subtly grooming her and her brother to eventually take leadership of House Wren.

Every step was important. Even one mistake could ruin everything.

Luke still had a right to be involved.

Luke couldn't help wondering if this may have been a mistake. Sabine felt genuinely irritated at his presence, a massive change from the other times he had seen her. He understood Ahsoka's goal here, to shift her alliance with the Mandalorians from herself to the Order at large, but he understood Sabine as well. He had no desire to cause tension or to make things more difficult.

And he had a bad feeling about leaving the fleet, like he was about to be needed there.

Oh well, he was here regardless. This was important, and if all went well they should be able to leave Lothal with at least a game plan for finding Ezra. Surely things in the Rebellion would keep long enough for that.

Once they made it up the ladder, two Mandalorians in full armor sat at a table in the entryway, nursing alcohol and eating a noodle dish Luke didn't recognize. They pointedly ignored the newcomers, even, he noticed, switching from basic to their own tongue at their approach.

"Many Mandalorians don't like outsiders." Was Sabine's unprompted explanation.

No kidding, Luke thought.

Ahsoka asked, "Do you think this will be a problem for the op?"

"No. Don't worry; they'll do as they're asked."

She stopped in front of a terminal in the main control room, getting to work pulling up a program. "I'm sorry to make you guys come all the way out here. I don't like to discuss specifics over comm."

"Broadcasting our plans to the enemy is rarely a wise decision." Luke agreed.

Ahsoka broke in, clearly impatient to get underway despite the late hour. "So, what do we know?"

Luke decided to largely stay silent, the better to gather information and get a full understanding of their intel.

"Well," Sabine started, deciding to go through everything since neither Jedi had been present for the event. "Ezra used his connection with the purgill to have them remove Thrawn. They went to hyperspace with both of them on board, and we don't know what happened after that." She paused. "The nice thing is, they did take an entire star destroyer with them, so the ruins should be easy to spot if we can find the planet. The bad news is… we don't know where the purgill went, or much if anything about their migration patterns… and they're in the unknown regions, which we don't know enough about to map out hyperspace routes, so finding that planet is going to be…problematic."

"And Thrawn was still alive when they left." Ahsoka finished. "And the purgill took his fleet with him."

There was a somber moment of silence. Luke hadn't been around at the time, but he had heard of the Chiss genius and his seeming near-omniscient ability to predict the Rebellion's every move.

Still, talk of such a frightening possibility was pointless. He broke in, eager to bring the conversation back on track. "So what is this thing you're bringing up?"

"Um, well. Some of our techs modified a hyperspace navigation program to map out every possible trajectory they could have taken, and narrow down the possibilities. It hasn't come up with anything yet, but it might someday. Like I said, the fact that they wound up in the unknown regions is making this a lot harder." She paused. "Anyway, apart from this, I've reached out to my contacts to see if anyone's heard anything, and I plan to continue leaning on those leads. You should know, Bo-Katan is aware of what we're doing, and you have her full support."

"If we can talk to her, that will open up even more avenues." Ahsoka said.

It was late, and eventually everyone wandered of to bed, with the agreement to resume discussion in the morning.

Ahsoka quickly found she couldn't sleep. What Anakin had told her was still running through her mind. She lay there, constructing scenarios, trying to find one that fit everything she knew.

Anakin had been missing for days now, ever since he and Obi-Wan went to rescue the Chancellor.

Padme woke in the middle of the night in her apartment, only to find kidnappers landing on her porch. They quickly grabbed her and were gone in less than a minute.

Now she was in a facility, in some unknown location. In front of her stood a terrifying pillar of evil, a shadowed face hidden under a dark hood and robe.

Sidious, she had already realized with horror.

"Where is Anakin?" She cried out in desperation. "What did you do with him?"

The snake opened its evil maw and spoke. "Not to worry. You shall see him soon."

They were now walking down a dark, endless hallway. It was an old place, an abandoned asylum or hospital if she had to guess. Vaguely medical trash filled the corners, and the hall was lined with reenforced doors recessed into the walls. What must have once been an antiseptic smell had long sense surrendered to dust and cobwebs. Palpatine continued casually, "He was easy enough to capture. An unfortunate 'incident' on our way back from my rescue took care of that. Now they think him dead. No one is looking, and by the time they suspect your disappearance, it will be too late."

The voice was chillingly familiar. Only now, far too late, did she realize who was inside that robe.

She had been such a fool to trust him.

The group stopped at the end of the passage. A room number was etched and painted in fading letters, but no longer readable. Padme tried to turn and run, but her abductor held her tightly and she couldn't wrestle away.

One of Palpatine's guards opened the door. The scene that followed was truly awful.

Every surface, from the walls to the floor and even the ceiling seemed to be coated in blood and smoke residue. The floor was littered with flesh, which on even the slightest inspection was revealed as fingers, toes, and chunks and rounds of limbs. Some were even individual segments of fingers. A smell like burned meat permeated the room, filling her mouth, nose and lungs until she thought she should never get it out in a thousand years. Padme fought the urge to vomit as her gaze traveled across the room.

A chair sat in the center, with manacles for wrists and ankles and metal bindings across the chest. Contained within was a mass of blood and burned flesh so thoroughly destroyed that it took her a moment to recognize him.

"ANAKIN!" She screamed, running to his side, barely even able to process what she was seeing. He was clearly unconscious at the moment, a small mercy that barely seemed a mercy at all. All four limbs were gone; the three that had provided the pieces littering the ground replaced with metal, the forth, preexisting prosthetic still attached. The new prosthetics had clearly been hastily and poorly attached; rivulets of blood marred the silver surfaces and they had been drilled into the bone, a barbaric process almost certainly done while he was awake.

Even worse was his body. It was blackened and roasted, with peeling skin that revealed the flesh beneath. His head had no hair at all, just a horrible, burned scalp that gave way to melted ears and a mutilated face. She could only imagine the torment that could have produced such a result.

"Anakin, Anakin can you hear me? It's me, it's Padme." She was terrified to even touch him, reaching up slender fingers that didn't quite touch his skin.

There was almost no reaction. Anakin turned his head very slightly, a faint, agonized moan barely escaping his flaked, burned lips.

Padme turned to yell at Sidious, "What did you do to him?!"

Her voice was enraged and horrified, full of protective righteous anger, but the monster spoke as casually as if they were discussing lunch. "Only what was necessary, my dear. I fear your husband is quite stubborn."

"So you set him on fire?!" Hearing another barely audible sound, Padme turned back to him, "Anakin? I'm here. I'm here. It's okay." She wanted nothing more than to hear his voice, but she was also grateful that he wasn't awake to feel such awful pain.

Palpatine continued, still conversational, "His turn is excellent, but not quite complete. This is where I require your assistance."

At his approach Padme stood, turning to shield her husband with her body. "You will not touch him again!" She had nothing, no weapon, no special connection to the Force, no way to defend him against the evil demon in front of her, but she resolved to do anything she could. She would not allow this to continue.

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat, invisible fingers wrapped tightly around her neck as she slowly raised into the air.

"I don't need to. You are all I need."
Padme could hardly breathe, but she forced out a few defiant words, "Anakin… will kill you for this!"

A sickening snap followed, and as her limp body dropped to the ground Palpatine calmly replied. "Oh, I think not."

He turned to a nearby cluster of droids, "Wake him up!"

The mass of burned flesh finally shifted as the droids injected something under the skin, awaking with an unending moan of pure agony. Involuntary tears rolled down the blackened cheeks, depositing salt in fresh wounds and increasing already unbearable pain.

Palpatine leaned over him, pressing a button to release the restraints as he did so. "Lord Vader? Can you hear me?"

"Pad-mmeee." A hoarse, raspy, pain-slurred voice emitted from the creature in the chair. "I c-can feel… her. Where- where is sshhe?"

The monster took a moment to seem appropriately grieved. "I fear- Well, I brought her here, as a sign of my good faith, a gift to my new apprentice, but I fear it was too much for you. You were mad, practically wild. I…" He paused, as if the words hurt him to say, "I fear my guards were not able to stop you before you… killed her."

Anakin's eyes flew open and he started to shake. "No. No, it's not possible! Where is she? Padme! Pad-"

He spotted the too-still figure on the ground.

Ignoring his injuries, Anakin forced his way out of the chair to collapse beside her. Urgently he searched for signs of life, any movement, any spark in the Force at all.

"No…" He whispered, seeing the ring of bruising about her neck and feeling nothing in the Force. In absolute desperation he turned his attention further down, openly weeping for his dead wife as he touched her stomach, feeling in the Force for life, and still finding nothing.

"I fear we were not able to save either of them." Palpatine said sadly. "Believe me. We tried to prevent you, but we could not."

The creature screamed in horror and absolute grief, collapsing sobbing to clutch the body in its own metal arms, ignoring all pain the touch caused, completely and utterly broken.

Did that make sense? Ahsoka still wasn't sure. There was still something off about it.

The only accommodations for the night were mattresses on the floor, ringed about the edge of the interior of the round tower that served as Lothal's command center. Ahsoka had endured worse.

The moon was full, streaming through the missing door to illuminate everything inside in a blue haze. The grasslands visible through it whispered invitingly, an endless peaceful rustling like a quiet sea.

Desiring some fresh air, she wondered out onto the high porch. She spotted Luke nearby, leaning on the railing, the eternal breeze that washed over the plains ruffling his blond hair.

So, she wasn't the only one. Hardly surprising considering the time change.

Ahsoka walked over to him.

Luke threw her a friendly smile. "You can't sleep either, huh?"

"I just keep thinking about what Anakin told me, that's all. Trying to put the pieces together in a way that makes sense." She paused. "What has you up?"

Luke was silent for a few seconds. "I've been… thinking about my Father as well. Trying to reconcile my childhood memories with what I know now."

They often talked about Anakin, conversation seemed to tend toward either that or training, but it was typically regarding his current state, treatment, and progress. Ahsoka realized that she actually knew very little about Luke's past. "I didn't know you had memories."

He paused, "Not much. Just… bits and pieces… mostly untrue, vague. But…there was one time I annoyed my uncle enough to say something of substance. I was… a kid. Desperate, eager; I kept bothering him for information about my parents. And finally, he told me this story, about my father and the two graves near our house."

Realizing the need for elaboration, Luke continued. "This was a long time ago, but they still lived lived on the same farm, did the same things. My grandmother used to take walks out by the vaporaters. They were several clicks out, but mushrooms grew on them, and those gave some variety to her cooking. One day, she walked out a little further than usual and got grabbed by some raiders. By the time anyone realized what had happened it was too late, the cowards had already made it to their village. My grandfather led a rescue group against them, but it was pointless. Thirty men went out after her, four came back." He paused, quiet. "Tuskens are… vicious creatures. Everyone knew the fate that awaited her if she wasn't rescued."
"What happened?" Ahsoka patiently asked.

"You must understand, my uncle never told me the truth about my father. He said he was a navigator on a spice freighter, and I never questioned that. So, supposedly, she had been missing for over a month when he just randomly showed up on their doorstep, back early. No one held out much hope; they knew she would be dead after so long as a Tusken captive." Luke paused. "Father barely said a word after they told him, he just left. He came back the next day with her body, unharmed. When they investigated the site they found he had killed every single person in that place and torched the huts." The young man shook his head, disbelieving, "I suppose it makes sense now. A Jedi could easily survive a situation that would kill a dozen normal people, even going against Tuskens, and my father would never abandon anyone to such a fate."

This…this was not a story she had heard.

"When was this?"

Hearing her horrified, tense tone and correctly interpreting it, Luke immediately started trying to backpedal. "Listen Ahsoka, it's not what it sounds like. I know in terms of Jedi morality it… isn't great… But you haven't lived on Tattooine. The Jedi, weren't from Tattooine. It's a different world there. Harder, harsher, more dangerous. It's… hard to explain, but such things are seen differently there. And it's just a story, I don't even know if it's true. Please don't-"

"Luke." Ahsoka quietly interrupted him, making an effort to be calm and peaceful. Anakin hated Tattooine, and she remembered him mentioning once that his mother was dead, when she suggested going and rescuing her after she learned of his past. Had he already had such a massacre, such darkness in his past when he was training her? Had he… always been doomed to his current path? "I just want to know when this would have happened."

"I don't know. Like I said, I don't even know if it did happen. My aunt and uncle lied to me for my entire childhood, about absolutely everything, it's entirely possible that he just made up an exciting story to shut me up."

There was something else strange in the story. "I thought Obi-Wan raised you?"

"No. I think he wanted to be involved, but he and my uncle fought terribly when I was little, and after that he didn't come around much. I think they must have fought about starting my training."

Ahsoka nodded in agreement. It made sense. Obi-Wan would have wanted to start his training as early as possible, especially sense they had evidently mistaken Luke for the Chosen One. It did at least explain how Luke could have had so little training at his age.

But why hadn't Obi-Wan raised him? None of it made sense. Nothing about any of this made sense. The entire timeline as she knew it made less and less sense all the time.

Anakin may have been a mass murderer by the time she met him. Her mind recoiled from accepting such an idea.

"I can't imagine it was true. After all, how could your uncle have known about something that happened on Tattooine?"

The boy looked puzzled. "Uncle Owen lived there. He had never even left it."

"Uncle Owen? Who is that?"

"What are you talking about? Uncle Owen is my father's brother. Didn't he tell you about him?"

Ahsoka folded her arms. "Anakin doesn't have a brother. He had no family at all, as a matter of fact."

"What? But… Then who were you talking about?"

"Your uncle. Darred Naberrie. Your Aunt Sola's husband."

"Who?"

"Your… mother's sister."

Clearly his teacher knew his mother's identity, and a good deal about her. Luke filed that away for later.

The poor kid looked even more confused. "My mother's family? I was raised by Owen and Beru Lars, my Uncle and Aunt. Uncle Owen was the son of Clieg and Shmi Lars, my grandparents. They had a moisture farm on Tattooine. He was my father's brother! I joined the rebellion after the Empire murdered them! I know who they were!"

It broke her heart to reveal these lies, but she hadn't even known they existed to avoid them. "Luke, Anakin didn't have any family, at least not any he told me about or wanted to visit. If he had a brother, they were so estranged that he never wanted to see him again."

"But if they weren't my aunt and uncle… who were they? Ahsoka, who did Obi-Wan leave me with?"

He sounded so confused; Ahsoka wished she had any answers for him. "I don't know, Luke. But I would very much like to find out."

"Maybe we can ask my father when we get back."

A sudden crashing noise and a shout emanated from one of the lower floors of the tower, interrupting their conversation. A few moments later a Mandalorian appeared over the ladder. He brushed past them as if they didn't exist and ran inside the main room.

We can discuss this later, Luke projected into the woman's mind.

Agreed, Ahsoka replied.

The Jedi saw him murmur something to Sabine, then the entire room erupted into the organized chaos of what was clearly quick gearing up and packing. Men shoved their comrades awake before instantly getting to work putting on their armor, or in the case of those too paranoid to have taken it off, hastily started shoving blasters in holsters and gathering ordinance and gear.

Both Jedi were familiar with the signs of a sudden mission.

Sabine appeared out of the chaos, approaching them with a blank, official look. "There's been a complication. You two need to go, now."

Master and Apprentice looked at each other, then returned to Sabine, entirely in agreement.

"Listen." Luke retorted. "We have been straight and up front with you. We have kept no secrets, held nothing back. You've said that Ahsoka is an old friend, and you know me." He paused, "You can trust us. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."

Sabine looked apprehensively from one Jedi to the other, then sighed. "I guess more hands are better than less." She continued, growing more businesslike as she gave them a quick rundown of the situation. "We intercepted an Imperial transmission. They have captured Kanall Kryze sneaking onto a destroyer and they are holding him there pending transfer direction."

Ahsoka replied, "Why was Korkie sneaking onto a destroyer?"

"I have no idea! I didn't know that he ever ran solo missions. I thought he was too valuable to clan Kryze for that." She paused. "We have to get him back. He's so high up, there's no telling what he knows… and as we all know…the Empire can make anyone talk."

Luke continued to gaze deep into her eyes, his voice calm and reassuring. "We will help you. We will get him back."