The excitement of the first moments of the journey were tinged by an air of trepidation; for the first time since their arrival, Anakin and Obi-Wan would have answers. Of the three, Anakin was the most optimistic, eagerly conferring quietly with Obi-Wan quietly for a brief period after settling their ship into orbit around Tatooine. When they had finished, he'd whirled around to face Luke and with an air of breathless enthusiasm, given the single word "Malachor" by way of explanation and dived into the cockpit of the ship to wrestle a course out of the navicomputer. Luke has smiled eagerly at the announcement but as soon as his father left, he had lapsed back into quiet contemplation. Stealing a glance at Obi-Wan, he saw many of the same emotions reflected back on the Jedi's face. The sudden arrival of these Jedi from the past had been hard on all of them, and just as Anakin had suffered upon finding out the fate of his wife, Luke's mother, Obi-Wan seemed to be suffering now.
"Was it the ghost?" Luke broke the silence.
"Sorry?"
"The ghost from the cave, it can't have been easy to face your own death quite so suddenly, on top of everything." He knew he'd spoke awkwardly, but the older Jedi appeared to appreciate his words.
"No, surprisingly. I reconciled myself with the fact that sooner or later my turn would come a long time ago. It's just… for years I've seen many people I care about cut down around me, and I've tried not to mourn their deaths, to not let the deaths of my friends corrupt me; no matter how many times you say goodbye though, it never gets any easier. It's nice to know there might be a chance to see some of them again." Obi-Wan lapsed into silence, and Luke let him think for a moment before probing further.
"What then?" he questioned.
"You didn't know Ahsoka," Obi-wan broke his silence, "she was your father's padawan through the Clone Wars. They were inseparable, but if Anakin truly did become Vader, you can imagine it would have hurt her similarly to the effect it appears to have had on me."
"So when we arrive with you and Anakin acting like nothing ever changed", Luke started, suddenly understanding.
"I'm not sure she'll react how Anakin expects her to", Obi-Wan finished sombrely, "it may even turn violent if she suspects he's already turned."
"Do we tell him now then?" Luke asked, concerned.
"How?" came the reply, "we don't know what turned him, or even what he did since. Let's just hope she greets us warmly enough to finally give us some answers."
They lapsed back into silence, and Luke fell deep into thought. With everything that had come from the excitement of finding his father and old Ben Kenobi again, he began to wonder if he had shirked his duty to the rebellion to easily. He had been so caught up in the excitement that he hadn't even had time to properly talk with the new Jedi short of discovering the name of the one they called Windu as he briefed him on how to recognise Lando undercover. It was as he was wondering if he should have been more careful in adapting his own role in the plan in case any complications arose on Malachor that Anakin re-entered the main area.
"Malachor…" he mused, his earlier excitement seeming to have dissipated slightly, "what would she be doing on Malachor? It's dangerous isn't it?"
"Extremely. It's strong with the dark side, I've even heard rumours of a Sith temple." The question had been directly to Obi-Wan, but the older Jedi had answered with a calmness bordering on nonchalance and because of this, despite the danger he spoke of, Luke found himself filled with an intense curiosity to see this planet for himself, instead of the trepidation he was expecting. Although he knew that Obi-Wan's calm demeanour was likely a result of his focus on the risks of finding the 'Ahsoka' they were looking for, he couldn't help but focus on the moment, and gave a wry smile as he imagined what Leia's reaction would have been if she had heard what they were heading into.
Anakin broke the silence by pulling Luke to his feet. "In that case, what kind of father would I be if I didn't ready my son for the battles ahead?" he proclaimed lightly.
"Are you sure you can handle him?" Obi-Wan called dryly as Anakin began to clear a small area to spar in, suddenly breaking his silence.
"Make sure to step in before he beats me up too much then," his father responded quickly.
The humour was strange to Luke, as accustomed as he was to the numerous quips and easy humour shared between himself, Leia and Han through their time in the rebellion, he had never appreciated just how close Obi-Wan and Anakin had used to be. The thought was only fleeting, however, as he fought to bring his mind back under control. He had trained with his father before during the brief time they had trained together on Tatooine and knew that for all his skill, he was still far outclassed: he would have to focus. Slowly, he reached for his lightsabre but was swiftly cut off by Anakin. "Woah, you're doing to activate that thing in here? Cut the wrong wire and you kill us all?"
"But when I first started training with Ben…" Luke began, then corrected himself, "sorry, Obi-Wan".
"You let him turn that thing on in a ship this small?" Anakin joked, turning on Obi-Wan, "you must have had a death wish".
"Maybe he took after you too strongly", Obi-Wan retorted.
"You must have got tired of showering him with compliments," Anakin responded, then continued before Obi-Wan had a chance to counter.
"I found these instead", he explained, producing two thin metal poles, "they seemed light enough to make a decent substitute for a lightsabre, but may take a moment to get used to". He tossed one to Luke, who caught it deftly and assumed a comfortably defensive posture, bracing himself for the flurry of blows he expected to come soon.
To his surprise, he watched his father also assume a defensive position, and slowly begin to circle towards his right as the two locked eyes. Reflexively, Luke mirrored the movement, allowing his makeshift staff to fall slightly to cover his exposed flank, abandoning the high guard of his favoured Form V style for a more defensive posture to defend against the attack he guessed was coming. It was then that Anakin betrayed his intentions. Possibly to ensure the viability of the attack with an unfamiliar weapon, Luke noticed Anakin's eyes, which had been fixed on his right side, flick almost imperceptibly to his left. Fighting the urge to alter his own defensive position in response, Luke decided to lay a trap for the more experienced Jedi. Shifting his guard once again, he lowered his staff towards his hip in a basic Form I defensive stance, appearing to overly commit his defences to bait a predictable attack from his father. To his satisfaction, the bait worked perfectly, as with a slight smile, Anakin suddenly shot forward and brought his pole around in a savage arc aimed for Luke's exposed midriff. Instinctively, Luke moved forwards to meet him. His father's blow had been impressively fast, but the power it had required Anakin to overcommit to the attack, a mistake Luke now fully intended to exploit. Whilst his stance had made it almost impossible to effectively manoeuvre his weapon to defend himself in a conventional frontal duel, Luke had no intention of remaining to match his father's blow. As he moved, he began to turn, bringing his pole over his head and dropping to one knee in a single fluid motion to deflect his father's blow at an angle over his head.
Straitening up, Luke used the momentum generated by his pirouette to drive his pole towards his father's side. However, the older Jedi had anticipated this and, similar to Luke's own manoeuvre seconds before, had adapted the force of his own blow into a spin which he used to slice upwards and knock Luke's blow clear, forcing the two to break apart. Undeterred, Luke closed again quickly. Noticing Anakin beginning to shift into the characteristic overhead stance of Djem So, he capitalised on his opening, making a brief but savage low cut at his father's shins before the other jedi could execute his own downwards strike. Anakin reacted fast, deftly stepping backwards out of the range of Luke's strike and executing a sharp pirouette, culminating in a jab aimed for Luke's undefended head as he straightened back up. Instinctively, Luke jerked sideways, watching as the blow sailed harmlessly past him, and ducked to avoid the inevitable backswing of the pole as Anakin attempted to catch him off-guard. He had anticipated his father's actions perfectly, and moments later heard the satisfying noise of the pole slicing through the air as it sailed harmlessly over his head. However, now Luke was on the defensive, and as he parried and dodged the flurry of blows directed at him, the true extent of the skill of the Jedi had possessed in their prime began to dawn on him.
The metal poles they were using could pass as crude training staffs, but next to the elegance of a true lightsabre they paled. Despite their slim nature, the poles were still surprisingly heavy, creating a momentum when swung that drastically reduced the manoeuvrability of the weapon. When introduced to a lightsabre for the first time, Ben had told him during his first training session years ago on the Millennium Falcon, many people struggled with the lack of weight in the blade. Whilst conventional weapons would often be weighted to balance at a point where they could be swung with minimal effort, they still contained a physical blade. When fighting, most people relied on the slight weight of this blade to know reflexively exactly where it was and where it would need to be. The introduction of the lightsabre had changed the very fundamentals of this. Lightsabres produced a beam of energised plasma, which most people found impossible to keep track of past using it like a tool. In the heat of a duel, where keeping control and awareness of your weapon dictated the difference between life and death, they were simply not able to keep up. Jedi, he had been taught, were able to sense the position of both their blade and their opponent's through the Force, a realisation that had allowed him to deflect blaster bolts with their eyes covered as he first learned. It was a difficult weapon to master.
However, when someone had familiarised themselves with the lightsabre, they would find it unparalleled in the grace and precision with which it could be swung. Unlike the bulkier conventional weapons, all the weight of a lightsabre was in the hilt. As such, it would respond immediately to the simplest change in posture or flick of the wrist, attaining a level of speed unfathomable to those who had never fought with one before.
This was reversed when fighting with simple iron bars. Luke had thought himself skilled, but as he and Anakin continued to trade blows, he found himself tiring quickly under the relentless flurry of blows from his father, the pole in his hands beginning to feel heavy and sluggish. Concentrating hard, he began to slip into his familiar defensive patterns, deftly deflecting Anakin's strikes as he was driven further and further back. As he was moments away from being driven into the corner of the room, he got his opening. Seemingly overconfident, Anakin cut at Luke, using the momentum of the strike as it was dodged to fuel a massive overhand strike, which crashed down savagely towards Luke's head. The blow was devastating, and predictable. Luke neatly sidestepped the blow, twisting under Anakin's guard and aiming a swipe at his exposed side. The blow was parried, but that didn't matter: Luke was on the offensive. Despite being a highly effective swordsman, Luke was aware he was tiring, and refrained from trying to batter down his father's defences, sticking instead to precise cuts and jabs designed to exploit any opening he could find; there were precious few. He was gaining ground though, and pushed on relentlessly, trying to free himself from wall, where it would be only a matter of time before he was pinned and beaten down.
He managed to maintain his attack until the duel had been pushed back almost to the middle of the room again. As he attempted a sharp overhand cut, aimed to clip his father's shoulder, he found his blade parried and locked against Anakin's. Both men grunted with effort as they fought a wordless battle for dominance, heaving against the other's blade to get close enough to clip their body. Just as suddenly as it had started, the lock was broken. Luke felt the resistance from Anakin's blade suddenly vanish and realised an instant too late what his plan was; he hadn't been expecting it and staggered as his blade swung uselessly in a wide arc. The moment Anakin had stopped resisting in the sabre lock, he had twisted sharply to avoid Luke's uncontrolled cut, then used his own blade to control the wide swing of the two weapons. The window lasted only for a moment, but as Luke's defence was stretched wide and away from his now exposed body, Anakin slashed high, aiming for a glancing blow to the shoulder. He had been overconfident. The manoeuvre would have worked perfectly with an inexperienced opponent who had been thrown off balance, where panic would set in for a the briefest of moments as they fought to right themselves and lost focus on their surroundings. Luke, however, was not inexperienced. Whilst he did not have the extensive training in lightsabre combat boasted by both Anakin and Obi-Wan, from the moment he had been taught to use a lightsabre, he had been fighting with it. This was mostly against imperial troops and sharpshooters, but it didn't matter, the combat had honed his instincts. The moment he felt himself lose control of his weapon; he had guessed Anakin's tactic. With his guard exposed, his father wouldn't want to seriously hurt him, so would aim his strike to an area that could absorb the blow. At a guess, Luke had predicted it would come for either his shoulder or stomach and had acted on instinct, dropping to a low crouch, and hearing the blow whistle over his head with satisfaction.
Now he counterattacked, turning and aiming a savage backswing at his father's legs to trip him. The blow never made contact. To Luke's amazement, Anakin had jumped his attack, horizontal in the air as he executed a side flip over the lightsabre below him. Seemingly subconsciously, Anakin brought his own pole round fast as he jumped, aiming a cut at Luke's undefended shoulder. This time, he was successful, the blow connected with a resounding thud, and Luke was thrown to the floor by the force of the blow.
Shaking himself off, he looked up to see a hand being offered to him. It was Anakin, glistening with sweat and grinning roguishly at him.
"He always was a show-off", explained Obi-Wan apologetically.
"I… I didn't know that was even possible", Luke panted.
"What?" Anakin inquired.
"You can just do that mid-fight?"
"Do what? I did quite a lot back there, you didn't exactly hand it to me", Anakin grinned.
"The flip, I mean I was taught how to, but I never imagined you could use them in the middle of a fight like that."
"Who taught you to flip?" Obi-Wan cut him off.
"Master Yoda, when I trained on Dagobah", Luke responded, "but I…". He was cut off by Obi-Wan, who let out a small chuckle and seemed to share a knowing look with Anakin.
"Of course he did", the older Jedi sighed, "I've never met anyone who loved them more".
"You should see him fight", Anakin remarked wryly, "I could swear his feet never even touch the ground."
"It wouldn't even surprise me if that was true", joked Obi-Wan, although seemed to note the concern flashing across Luke's face, and continued quickly, "but you don't have to use such extreme acrobatics if you aren't comfortable with them. Some forms value precision, and others…"
"Value flipping all over the place like a madman", finished Anakin proudly. At this, Obi-Wan shot him a subtle but extremely pointed look, which Luke couldn't help but laugh at. However, it was effective, and Anakin quickly backtracked, "not that that's any better…" he finished unconvincingly.
"No! Really, I'd love to learn", Luke said earnestly, "it's just, I didn't know it was possible".
"It was commonplace", lamented Anakin, his earlier enthusiasm seemingly melting away as he was reminded of the harsh realities of what had been and would be lost.
"You should have seen Anakin and Secura training on Maridun", Obi-Wan mused, "even injured they were surreal. But I suppose she's dead now as well?"
They looked expectantly at Luke, he had never heard of anyone called Secura, living or dead. This wasn't surprising, the Jedi were largely forgotten throughout the galaxy, and those who he remembered had often been twisted into war criminals and traitors by imperial propaganda as they were hunted in his early life. It was probably a blessing he hadn't heard of her, it meant she had probably died a quick death. All the same, he sheepishly cast his gaze downwards and, with his eyes fixed firmly on the floor of the ship, gave a small nod, eliciting deep sighs from the other two Jedi.
"A shame", Obi-Wan said a shadow of regret in his voice, "she was a great Jedi".
"And a good person", Anakin added bitterly.
They lapsed into sombre silence, pondering the fate which had befallen so many of them. It was always there, like a dark shadow hanging over the entire episode. The phenomenon which had transported the four Jedi into the future, for whatever reason, had provided a glimpse into the beacon of hope which would spring up to rebel against the ever-present shroud of the Empire. Whilst Anakin would forever be grateful for the glimpse at the man his and Padmé's child would grow up to be, but no matter what they did, the sheer scale of loss that this new future had suffered was impossible to escape from at times.
The rest of the journey was punctuated by such episodes. They were brief, but occasionally Anakin or Obi-Wan would find the other alone, staring out into space, and wordlessly leave them to grieve for a few moments. The exception was Luke. The young Jedi wasn't oblivious to the pair's lapses, but he turned a blind eye for the most part. It was an implicit understanding, Anakin and Obi-Wan had suffered an almost identical loss, if they needed to exchange a quiet word or a sad moment, they had each other. What they lacked was a purpose. In the long expanses of space travel, this could be hard to come by in the narrow confines of a ship, and Luke provided one expertly. His earlier enthusiasm at Anakin's skill with the proxy lightsabre was only magnified into his own training, and he threw himself into it with an unmatched excitement and vigour. Training became a regular part of the routine, and under the tutelage of both Anakin and Obi-Wan's pointers on his style, Luke progressed quickly, even beginning to offer his own advice on stormtrooper combat before long.
In the strengthening comradery on board the ship, time slipped by increasingly quickly as each jedi fell into a comfortable mix of training and recounting past stories of their, highly embellished, exploits. Consequently, one night as Anakin and Obi-Wan were relaxing in the ship's common area, neither of them were prepared when Luke stuck his head in from the direction of the cockpit. "We're coming up on Malachor," he announced, "so prepare for landing. I hope you know what you're doing…" he added in an undertone. Anakin didn't blame him, Malachor didn't enjoy the most pristine reputation, and for good reason. The planet reeked of death through the Force, making it a haven for the dark side. He couldn't fathom why Ahsoka would have ever decided to venture here, but he had to know. Nonetheless, he was concerned, and after nodding thankfully to Luke, he turned to Obi-Wan to voice his displeasure.
"That was unmistakeably Ahsoka we heard earlier," he began, "but if she's gone to Malachor…"
"If it's a trap, it's a trap," Obi-Wan predicted his thought, "we've survived worse. But who's to say thing's haven't changed? Perhaps planets strong with the dark side of the Force shroud us Jedi from prying eyes, perhaps she was looking for something here. Just make sure you're ready."
"Ready for what?"
"She might not be the same person we remember… look at the toll finding out what happened here has taken on us. She lived through it."
"I'm ready," Anakin said resolutely. He knew it was a lie, but he knew he needed to appear strong, if only as an attempt to convince himself.
The ship touched down. As the landing pad began to lower, Luke looked out warily, the ground was barren rock, dark and unforgiving, with nothing but a cloying fog covering its surface. Warily, he stepped out into it, coughing slightly and shielding his eyes as he squinted into the distance, trying to catch a glimpse of life.
"Nothing!" cursed Obi-Wan, "can either of you feel her?"
"Not at all…" came the responses.
"Then we head towards that structure over there," Obi-Wan gestured to what looked like the ruins of a distant temple and, upon hearing an affirmative grunt from the other two men, set off.
They walked for what felt like ages, straining their eyes against the blanket of fog to keep the temple in sight. As they drew close, it finally faded from few, hidden behind the imposing rock walls of a narrow crevasse that now loomed. "This looks unnatural," Luke paused, "do planets in this system usually glow like that?"
Anakin bent his head to look; "that's new," he admitted. From within slender spider-like cracks in the walls of the canyon pulsed a faint purple light, barely visible but unmistakeable once you noticed it. Luke watched as his father turned to Obi-Wan, "what do you reckon it is?" he asked.
At first Luke didn't think the older Jedi had heard him. Obi-Wan stood, deep in thought, craning his neck to try and see further down the passageway. Eventually, though, he spoke. "These cliffs aren't natural," he stated, "it's known that Malachor is strong with the dark side of the Force, so if I'd have had to guess, I would have assumed that whoever built that temple placed it over the wellspring of darkness on the planet. The massacre which historically took place here could explain the destruction of the landscape, but the glow…"
"Something happened recently," Luke stated. It wasn't a guess; he could see it in the masked worry of the other two Jedi's expressions.
"Something bad." Obi-Wan confirmed.
"How bad?" Luke asked. He barely even heard Anakin move, his father had stayed silent for most of their conversation but now, wordlessly, he raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and pushed. The effect was immediate. As the fog shot away from them, the true level of destruction was revealed. All around, the ground lay cracked and uneven, splintered by spider-like cracks seeping a faint purple light. Sweeping his gaze over the barren rock, Luke realised that none of these cracks overlapped, all snaking their way out into the plains and away from the ruins of the temple, which, he realised with horror, had likely not been a ruin for long.
He was brought back to his senses by the sound of the other two arguing. He paid it no mind, "how late were we?" he asked slowly.
"We don't know," Obi-Wan said, abruptly breaking off his argument and turning to Luke. "But I doubt we were the only ones who heard Ahsoka's call, and judging by the explosion residue…"
"Explosion residue?" Luke queried.
"Not exactly," Obi-Wan corrected himself, "but it helps to think of it like that. This temple was destroyed, accidentally of deliberately it doesn't matter, but as it was it released tremendous amounts of energy into the surrounding area. That's probably what carved this charming canyon and the other scars in the landscape, but it hasn't fully dissipated yet."
"So the light's what remains?" Luke asked.
"The light's what remains." Anakin confirmed, "it will fade soon enough, although it tells us the explosion happened relatively recently."
"How recently?"
"Hard to say, but the point is if anyone survived the explosion, their ship probably didn't."
"Meaning?"
"We're not alone here…" The words hung in the air for a moment as realisation dawned on Luke. Warily, he scanned the surroundings for signs of life, seeing nothing as the fog blanket began to smother them once again.
"Then they know where we are," he stated, back up to the wall and feeling for his lightsabre.
"Precisely," Obi-Wan agreed grimly, "it's pretty hard to miss a stunt like the one Anakin just pulled with the fog. Luke tensed, casting his mind out towards the Force and stretching it to his surroundings, trying to sense something, anything, which might warn him of danger. He felt his breathing slow, his heart rate quicken, and he froze like a coiled spring, conditioned from too many battles to the cat-like reflexes of a soldier who knows they're caught in an trap.
He could have stayed like that for a long time he knew, but anticipation of the enemy was almost always worse than combat itself. When Luke was fighting, the world seemed to melt away around him, he fell back into his sequences and focussed only on his opponents, his weapon, and his allies. When he was waiting, the anticipation would begin, the adrenaline would begin coursing and fear would creep in. He had been told once by Yoda that the Jedi of the Republic had forbade fear, citing as a path to the dark side, but Luke took a different opinion. Those who were not scared before a fight didn't understand the gravity of what they were involving themselves in. Warriors who lived for bloodshed lacked compassion, those who truly felt nothing lacked empathy, but to be nervous was to be human. Still, every time he hated it and so he was almost glad when we heard the small noise to his right.
It was the kind of thing which would have been easy to ignore, a small rustle in the wind, but Luke had too much experience to give in to complacency. On instinct, he dropped to one knee, twisting his body as he did so to allow his momentum to carry him into a roll. He sprang up, watching the jagged shard of rock which had been aimed at his head continue to fall to the ground from where it had shattered harmlessly above his roll. Flattening himself against the rock, he reached for his lightsabre and opened his mouth to call a warning.
There was no need. As soon as they had heard the sound, Obi-Wan and Anakin had sprung into action, Anakin seemingly melting into the fog and Obi-Wan slowly pacing backwards to reach Luke. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"Yes."
"Did you see where it came from?"
"Over there," Luke gestured, "but it won't help you. It came fast and was almost noiseless as it was thrown, I've seen it before, someone was using the Force."
For the first time since Luke had known him, Obi-Wan swore. "Better keep our guards –"
He stopped suddenly, calling his lightsabre into his hand from where it hung by his belt and twisting his body in a fluid motion. As the blue blade erupted from its hilt to form a defensive barrier along Kenobi's back, Luke saw another blade of pure white lock with it. Obi-Wan finished his twist deftly, aiming a kick at where Luke guessed the midriff of his assailant would have been. He must have used the Force to assist it, because the white blade shot backwards, its wielder landing nimbly a few metres away on the rocky ground. Luke watched as Obi-Wan assumed a defensive stance, slowly readying himself beside his future mentor and drawing his own green lightsabre in anticipation. Tense, the two Jedi watched as the hazy white light in the fog vanished again, moving against each other's backs. Suddenly, Luke saw the light in front of him again, only this time it was joined was a second; he cursed, "they've got two!" he yelled to Obi-Wan, bracing himself for the inevitable attack. It came fast. Whoever was behind the blades was skilled and knew taking on two Jedi simultaneously was likely a foolish idea. They ducked and weaved through the fog, appearing like a ghost as they tried to drive the two jedi apart. Luke once more fell into the all too familiar rhythm of battle, anticipation of where the enemy would strike, defend the first few blows, mount a counterattack, watch as the ghost once more vanished into the fog. Every time back into the fog… Luke had an idea. "She's close," he whispered, "tell me just as you sense her attack". Obi-Wan nodded wordlessly, Luke didn't know if the older Jedi had guessed his plan, it didn't matter, he'd understand anyway.
They began to circle, tightly pressed against each other's backs and peering through the fog for their mystery assailant; they didn't have to wait long. Luke felt a slight nudge against the back of his elbow and dropped, forcing his hand to the ground with as much energy as he could gather. He doubted the shockwave he'd create would hinder their assailant or even unbalance them; it wasn't supposed to. As Obi-Wan once again met the stark white blades, the fog surrounding the trio vanished, pushed away so forcefully the process was almost instantaneous. As Luke watched, the effect was like watching the figure lose its shroud, revealing in place of the ghost a woman. She was an impressive visage. Her face bore a grave expression stretched over striking orange skin, and seemed tall to Luke, an impression which may amplified by the two lekku emerging from her head in place of hair, so that even crouched in a familiar stance of Form 4, she looked imposing. The woman seemed temporarily confused by the sudden change in her environment, but regained control of herself so quickly Luke wasn't sure if the expression had ever truly crossed her face at all. It was all Kenobi needed though, the moment the fog had lifted he had thrown himself forwards in a brief offensive that lasted what Luke estimated to be approximately four blows before he rapidly disengaged, jumping back to a safe distance, and raising one had placatively. "Ahsoka…" he said mournfully, "how many hells have you been through?"
"Who are you?" came the guarded reply, "did Ezra bring you here?"
"Ez– who?" Obi-Wan asked, confused.
He never got his answer, because just then, Anakin emerged through the fog. Later Luke would learn what had delayed his father. As Obi-Wan had moved to cover Luke, Anakin had tried to head off the potential assassin who fired the rock at his son's head. Coming up empty, he had begun to head back when he heard the unmistakeable sound of lightsabre combat, skidding to a halt in the circle himself from a full sprint with his own weapon drawn. Despite this unorthodox entrance, Luke didn't know how he had expected the woman to react to his father, from the stories he had been told they were as close as siblings once. He would have imagined her to be uneasy, but the anguished scream and full-throated vigour with which she threw herself at him took him by surprise. Anakin's defence was clumsy, he obviously unprepared and was losing ground fast, evading her twin blades with increasingly desperate measures. "Ahsoka, it's me" he pleaded, and Luke could hear the confusion and hurt in his voice, "it's me! I know for you I've probably been dead for a while now, but it's really me! I don't understand it either…" he trailed off before the note of desperation in his voice grew any stronger. The togrutas gave no answer but kept raining her onslaught at Anakin in grim silence. Luke watched, transfixed, and was shocked to notice that there were tears running down her face as she forced his father closer and closer to the wall of the canyon. Anakin was trapped, Luke realised with horror, the usually trivial obstacle of a backwall proving inescapable as Anakin resolutely refused to counterattack, it was a brave principle to stick to, but a foolish one. Defending against two lightsabres with his back pressed against a wall and with no inclination to flip the tide of the battle, Anakin could only last so long. One of the white blades slipped past his defences, aiming for his neck, and froze. Luke assumed the woman hadn't been prepared for this, as she tried to push against the invisible barrier locking her weapon in place, he noticed her looking at Anakin with a newfound concern. His steely blue eyes glared back into hers, his face contorted into a snarl with the effort of keeping her frozen. Behind the aggressive façade, however, Luke noticed another new emotion in his father's face: fear. The woman suddenly shot into the air, held above the ground by the invisible force as her lightsabres were torn from her grip. She stared at Anakin, steely-eyed and resolute, her mouth twisted into a grimace. Just as quickly as it had begun, however, Anakin let go. He had sunk to his knees and, as the togruta gently floated towards the ground, one of her lightsabres landed in front of her. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know what came over me. I don't know what you went through on Mandalore, or what you've been through since, but I know you. I trust you; you won't hurt me… Snips."
To Luke's surprise, his father punctuated this last sentence by tossing his lightsabre into the fog. It wasn't a long throw, and no one was in any doubt that if needed, Anakin would be able to locate and summon it back to him through the Force, but could he do it before the woman could close the distance between them? Luke wasn't sure. Either way, the symbolism of the gesture was clear, his father had surrendered himself. With painstaking slowness, she crept forwards, methodically closing the distance between the two. When they were about five paces apart, she stopped, turning to call one of her lightsabres into her hand. Deftly, she ignited it and resumed her slow pacing back towards Anakin, who waited motionless, still kneeling, staring steadily into her eyes. Soon, she was stood directly in front of him, staring down. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"It's a shame," came the reply, "the last time I saw you, me and Obi-Wan were rushing off to save the Chancellor. I would like to have thought you'd have at least kept the lightsabres I gave you."
"Answer my question," the woman pressed icily.
"Anakin Skywalker," Anakin's voice rang clear, "I don't understand how I got here either, none of us do. People tell me that for you I've been dead for quite a while, so I understand this is a shock, but you'll have to trust me."
"Ok," she replied, grimly moving the lightsabre closer to his neck, it was almost touching now, "that was a pretty story, very moving. I'll repeat, who are you?"
"Ahsoka… it's me." There was hurt in Anakin's voice, and Luke thought he could smell a faint odour of singed flesh, but Anakin's face betrayed nothing.
"Ahsoka! That's enough." Obi-Wan suddenly interjected, "he doesn't know…" he added gently.
"Know what?" Anakin began, but he was cut off as Ahsoka quickly withdrew her lightsabre.
"It's really you?" she started, then broke off and gave a single sob as she threw herself at Anakin, wrapping him in a crushing embrace.
After a while, she broke away, "I've missed you," she said almost matter-of-factly.
Anakin bowed his head, "I've missed you too", he said warmly, then his tone shifted, "but you have to tell us what's happened. One moment, we were ending the Clone Wars, the next, we wake up here and people tell us… well we've heard some pretty terrible things."
"I will," she said, "I'll tell you everything, but we need to get off this planet first. If you found me here, the inquisitors won't be far behind, or worse," she broke off, "do you have a ship?"
"Well, yes, it's over there." Anakin gestured in the vague direction of the ship, "just tell me first, what don't I know? What's this secret? What happened to me, and how does he know?" he looked at Obi-Wan, who avoided his gaze. Luke barely noticed this, however; was staring directly at the woman, trying to catch her eye. As soon as he did, he gave the slightest imperceptible shake of his head, which she answered in kind with a slight nod, before turning back to Anakin.
"It's complicated," she said, "but I'll give you your answers. Let's just get on the ship first."
That seemed enough to satisfy Anakin, who simply nodded, his earlier tension seeming to melt slightly. As he watched his father talk softly with his old padawan, Luke couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy for the man who had been lost to Vader. Silently, he heard Obi-Wan fall into step beside him, exchanging a grim smile as they walked gradually back towards their ship. Slowly, however, the sombre air between the two men began to melt, and as the old stories began to surface once again in the forming conversation, Luke felt his trepidation give way to excitement. After months of planning and training, the time was finally here. Han Solo had been frozen in carbonite long enough, and with an extra five Jedi knights now accompanying the rescue mission, Luke was confident his friend would see the suns again.
At this point, I think 14 disclaimers are probably enough, people get the point. Sorry for the delay in between posting times, this was a bit of a long chapter, and I wanted to try and do it some justice. The story's still underway, but it's hard to find a good time to write sometimes. I hope you all liked it, and stay tuned for more! (Eventually...)
Once again, feedback and comments are really appreciated, it's nice to know when other people are enjoying your work (or when you need to learn how to format your dialogue - I'm working on it!) Until next time everyone - AW117