From Flames, I Soar

by Kurenaino

With the Empire at the height of its power and the shadow of a greater threat hanging above all those who would oppose Palpatine, the Specters, led by former Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus, are forced to contend with the Sith Lord that set the galaxy ablaze. Sequel to In Chaos, I Thrive.

48. A Princess on Lothal

AN: Long time since the last update, huh? I had a few smaller projects I wanted to do, and the past few weeks have been difficult to concentrate on writing because of my sick dog, who stuck it out like a trooper for as long as he could before we had to put him down on Tuesday. We got almost ten days more out of him than anyone thought, and while it was very difficult, I was glad to have that time. It might be a week or so before I'm back in the groove, but don't worry. I haven't abandoned this, or any of my other projects.

I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long time now, and many things went places I wasn't expecting, but I'm glad it took me there. Please enjoy, lovelies!

Chapter 49: A Princess on Lothal

The Imperial fleet had left Lothal. Out of the blue on the way back to their Garel hideout after a routine mission, Hera had swung the Ghost by the planet to which they always returned and found it largely unguarded. Like it had been before Tarkin had occupied the planet. A reasonable force, not the overwhelming armada they had been faced with before. They could return, assess the damage, see what Tarkin's reign had wrought. It was a chance to go back to what had been their home base for a long while, see what the Imperials were doing in the vital production factories they placed such value in. They were rarely given opportunities so good as this one, a chance to at least alleviate the strain that the Empire placed on suffering Lothal.

Hera didn't like it at all.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't go..." the Twi'lek sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut when the crew immediately cried out against her suggestion that they not go to Lothal. "I'm saying we should be cautious."

"Well, yeah, of course we'll be careful," Ezra said quickly. "We're always careful."

"At least some of us are..." Kanan muttered, casting a pointed glare at the sheepishly grinning Ezra. "I don't know if this is a trap. We have been gone for a while, and the Empire is a big place. Not everything centers around Lothal."

"And that's what's worrying me," Hera said firmly. "Tarkin isn't here, so what is so important that he'd withdraw his fleet from a vital planet like Lothal where there are active Jedi rebels, to say nothing of the Shadow King operating in the sector?"

"We may have an answer for that," Ahsoka said as she stepped into the room, the Spectres sitting around the holotable quickly standing to greet her. "The intel we received from Minister Tua is finally starting to pay off in a very big way, now that we have Obi-Wan's Inquisitors to fill in the missing pieces and confirm the more high risk info," Ahsoka said, connecting her datapad to the holotable and swiping her fingers across the screen to bring up the relevant information.

"And this information has to do with Lothal?" Hera asked as the galactic map was displayed on the screen.

"In a way, yes..." the Togruta muttered when the galaxy map appeared before them, and she quickly tapped a few points, highlighting a collection of planets scattered around the Outer Rim. "First of all, our absence from Lothal has been noted," Ahsoka said, firm and commanding, more Fulcrum now than Ahsoka. "Our activities in other sectors and Kenobi's actions on Muunilinst have the Imperial High Command moving troops in an attempt to protect high risk targets and vital Imperial strongholds. Say what you will about what happened on Muunilinst, but it rattled the Imperials. They believe the Shadow King is moving to strike the Empire at its heart."

"That's why Tarkin moved his fleet?" Sabine asked, her eyes wide and completely bewildered as she crossed her arms and scoffed. "I thought Tarkin was smarter than that."

"He is..." Ahsoka said flatly. "Which is exactly the problem. Tarkin wouldn't move his fleet from a vital system like Lothal with the threat of a Rebel cell, two Jedi, and a Sith Lord nightmare running around unless something even bigger has called his attention. Which it has." She zoomed in on one of the highlighted points. "This is the Batonn sector," Ahsoka said with a triumphant grin on her face. "Home to the Nightswan insurgency, which Tarkin has suddenly become very keen on destroying. We've known for a while that Nightswan has been dealing hard blows to Imperial shipping and exports, but we weren't sure why."

"And we know now?" Hear asked, and Ahsoka tightly nodded.

"We do. Apparently these have been targeted strikes against the Empire's secret project, and Nightswan has somehow become very knowledgeable about it." She reached out and touched three points within the sector. "Now, we don't know the identity of the Nightswan, and we have yet to make proper contact with him, but we're zeroing in on his location. His base of operations is either here, on Denash, on Sammun, or on Batonn, and contact needs to be made with him quickly, since the Imperial governors within the sector have officially requested naval aid in destroying the insurgency."

"And that's where Tarkin is headed?" Ezra asked, and Ahsoka bit her lip and slowly shook her head.

"No...no, Tarkin has been called elsewhere. It looks as though the Imperials are assembling task forces to deal with the matter, so it looks as though we still have some time to locate and make contact with Nightswan, if we can." She sighed heavily. "No, Tarkin's been called elsewhere on vital business at an unknown location. To discuss a certain...classified operation." Ahsoka placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. "Codenamed: Project Stardust."

"Sounds to me like we need to get to that meeting," Zeb growled.

"Yeah? I think we should go after Nightswan," Sabine shot back.

"I think we're better off leaving this stuff to Ahsoka," Kanan said quietly. "There's too many unknown factors here for us to be of much use. This is better suited for the Fulcrum network until we have something really solid to go on."

"I actually agree with Kanan on this one," Hera said slowly. "We are, as of now, extremely limited in what we can do because we don't have a base of operations. We're vulnerable in a way I really don't like, and every time we meet the Imperials, we suffer losses that we just can't afford. We need to regroup, and now that Lothal has suddenly become available, I think it's as good a time as we're going to get."

"That was my recommendation as well," Ahsoka said softly, zooming out of the Batonn sector and tapping the highlighted planet of Lothal. "Leave the intel work to me, and I'll pass along anything I find when we're ready. But for now...Lothal is vital to Imperial interests in the Outer Rim. There's no telling how long we'll be able to be there, but it won't be for long. We need to take advantage of this opening while we can."

"Does Obi-Wan know about all of this?" Kanan asked, and Ahsoka sighed heavily.

"He does, but you know how he is..." the Togruta muttered. "He's been playing with those Inquisitors for almost two weeks, there isn't much we can do to take him from that."

"How were the Separatists successful with anything with that man running the show..." Hera mumbled, and the Togruta chuckled softly and flashed the pilot a grin.

"They did lose while he was helming their war effort..." Ahsoka said, a sly, devious edge to her voice that quickly lightened the heaviness in the room. "But, on the subject of Kenobi, take comfort in the knowledge that he isn't all self-serving." A swift flick across the datapad and the galactic map was cleared, replaced by the image of three Hammerhead corvettes, not large ships, but versatile one that sported plenty of space for cargo and crew and was equipt with enough fire power to defend it. "You wanted ships, Hera, and Obi-Wan's talked to his contacts to bring you these."

"First two TIE Interceptors, and now three corvettes?" Hera asked, a pleased cadence to her voice as she circled the holotable and observed the ships. "And it's not even my birthday, he must really be smitten." She paused and frowned as she looked at Ahsoka. "But they aren't here now. Why? What's the catch?"

"No catch," Ahsoka said quickly before that sly smile crossed her face once again. "Not exactly. These ships are coming from allies of ours on Alderaan. They've been paying close attention to the work we have been doing, and out losses against Tarkin's fleet over Lothal have been noted, as has the suffering of the people planet side under the increase in Imperial restrictions. They wish to help, and talks between them and Obi-Wan have resulted in a plan that can accomplish several of our goals at once."

"So, what, they're just going to deliver the ships to us?" Sabine asked, a frown on her face as she looked at the people in the room. "...does nobody see the problem with this? Alderaan is sort of a major deal in the Core Worlds. If they just give us these ships, it's going to be found out in a second that they're aiding rebel factions. Alderaan does a lot of good work in the galaxy, but that's all going to end very quickly if they are suspected of treason."

"You're right," Ahsoka said, the smirk on her face making it clear that she wasn't worried. "Alderaan has been working against the Empire since its inception. We have become very good at this game. They aren't going to give us they ships. They are embarking on a mercy mission to Lothal to deliver relief to the people because of the harsher Imperial restrictions. And while they're there..." She grinned brightly, her arms crossed over her chest. "We're going to steal them."

"So, we get ships, relief to the people suffering on Lothal, and we get to make the Empire look bad because they lost a visiting dignitary's ships." Ezra grinned broadly. "I really like this plan."

"Yeah, it's great until you realize that this will bring the Imperials right back to Lothal," Kanan said firmly. "They only just let up. Doing this will just bring them back. Maybe not Tarkin, but we could be faced with something worse. You know, like Thrawn."

"Obi-Wan considered that," Ahsoka said softly. "Part of the reason he planned it this way is because that's exactly what he wants. We've already lost Lothal, and the Imperials will be back. If we can manipulate the situation so we can get Thrawn here, well...that's a very dangerous, very hard to find enemy that suddenly becomes very visible to us."

"...Lothal will suffer," Ezra said softly, and Ahsoka bowed her head, her brow wrinkled in contemplation and conflict.

"Lothal is already suffering. And Thrawn has...something of a reputation. He's a hard man, but not a cruel one, judging by his military career. He goes out of his way to engineer surrenders when massacre and subjugation appear to be the only options, and he does it by being clever. If Lothal is going to be under Imperial occupation, and it will be, we may be better off with Thrawn than anyone else."

"Which will give us a stationary target while we remain mobile," Hera muttered, her eyes running over the data presented before her on the hologram.

"Yeah, sure, but we get a smart opponent in Lothal, we're not going to be able to get them out," Kanan said firmly. "We can oust an idiot, but this guy's actually dangerous, and if we know where he is, it won't be long before Kenobi forces an engagement, and if Thrawn's got a home base, no matter when we strike, it's going to be on his terms."

"Obi-Wan disagrees," Ahsoka said quietly. "He's got a plan, and the only way we're going to resolve this is by actually sitting down and playing with him. Kenobi and Thrawn have been moving their pieces around each other for a very long time. They must engage eventually, and Obi-Wan thinks if he can draw Thrawn to Lothal, he can win."

"I agree with Ahsoka and Kenobi on this one," Hera said quietly, earning her a wounded look from Kanan. "I know you don't like it, love, but they have a very solid point. Our time on Lothal will be short. The Empire will return in greater numbers, but if we can somehow dictate which Imperials we face...maybe they determine the terms of the engagement, but we decide the field. That's vital to the success of any battle."

"And what good is being able to say where we're going to fight when Thrawn will know the field as well as we do?" Kanan countered.

"Because he doesn't get to decide the field, it's not his choice!"

"That won't matter to a tactician!"

"Alright, stop," Ahsoka said firmly, and both Kanan and Hera turned their gazed to the ground. "Let's not forget that we have a tactician on our side as well. Obi-Wan is every bit as intelligent as Thrawn is, and while he may not have the overwhelming Imperial might that Thrawn has access to, Obi-Wan's always been very, very good at making very little go a very long way. We need to trust him. He's got a plan."

"...alright," Kanan said with a sigh, running his hands down his face as he groaned. "Alright. Stealing ships from the Empire. When do we begin?"

---

"I didn't think you were coming with us on this..." Kanan drawled as he leaned in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Obi-Wan sort through one of the crates that his two Inquisitor ladies had brought in from the Umbra. In the two weeks since Obi-Wan had made these acquisitions, Kanan had seen a fair bit of the Sith Lord, but nothing to indicate that he even had women on the ship. They were gone, simply not there, or else tucked away out of sight where the Jedi could not object to what was being done to them. Presumably.

Which made it all the more unsettling that they were here, right now, and...behaving. The two women were leaning against the wall, standing close together and calmly watching the Jedi watching them, their matching yellow eyes belying something intelligent, curious and bold, which wasn't at all what Kanan had expected, given the Sith's treatment of the Grand Inquisitor. He was always fearful, a perpetual haze of panic and obedience dulling his eyes, but these woman were bright and vibrant. These weren't slaves, just as Ahsoka had said. These were apprentices.

"I wasn't going to come, no..." Obi-Wan muttered, pulling out a piece of armor from the crate and holding the chest plate up, a heavy, black piece of armor that matched the helmet of the Death Trooper that Kenobi had gotten Ezra for his birthday. He gestured casually at the Inquisitors. "The girls are progressing faster than I anticipated..." Kanan frowned when sly, arrogant, identical smirks spread across the women's faces, and he had to look away. She looked nothing like Hera, but the red Twi'lek steeped in the Dark Side was a shocking counter to Kanan's good, sweet lover, and it almost hurt him to look at her knowing that once, perhaps, this woman was once like Hera, under other circumstances could have been Hera.

"You sure we can trust them, Kenobi?" Kanan asked, inching closer to the Sith Lord when he could feel amused, coy gazes burning into him. Obi-Wan didn't even look up from sifting through the crate.

"Girls, no harm is to come to the Jedi, am I understood?" Obi-Wan asked in a flat, disinterested voice as he dug out a shoulder pauldron and dropped it to the floor.

"Understood, Master," the girls chanted in unison, and Kanan couldn't repress the shiver that ran up his spine.

"Alright, can I just say how weird it is having kriffing Inquisitors in this ship?!" Kanan said almost frantically as he turned to face the women once again, the looks of shared amusement still present on their faces.

"Why?" the Chagrian asked with a curious tilt of her head. "Is it any stranger than having a Lord of the Sith on the ship, Jedi?"

"We're not Inquisitors anymore, in any case," the Twi'lek added when Kanan sputtered for words, trying in vain to find an explanation as he quickly averted his eyes, the bemusement on her face quickly becoming more sultry as her eyes roved over the flustered Jedi. "Oh, I think the little Jedi likes Twi'leks!" The widening eyes and the faint blush that touched the tips of his ears was enough to make the woman chuckle, press off the wall, and draw closer to the now retreating Kanan. "A fine choice, if I do say so myself..."

"Behave, Vehemis..." Obi-Wan said softly, his gaze finally lifting to stare at the Twi'lek, and scolded, she bowed her head and stepped back. "Hera Syndula is, without question, the boss around here, and I have found it a distressingly terrible idea to mess with the things she cares about. Unless you wish to deal with the positive fury of this crew's Space Mom, I highly suggest you leave the Jedi alone."

"...I apologize, Jedi," Vehemis muttered as she bowed her head. "I was...simply attempting to be friendly."

"Uh huh..." Kanan mumbled cautiously, scooting even closer to Obi-Wan as he glanced suspiciously at the Chagrian, the woman he had fought back on Takobo, a woman who was willing to take a child from his mother and corrupt him with the Dark Side, the woman who had fought and wounded him, the injury healed now, but the dark scar stood as a reminder of how dangerous a person could be when they felt trapped. "And what about you?" Kanan carefully ventured. "We, uh...we good?"

"Why should we not be?" the Chagrian asked, the faintest smile touching her lips. "As I remember it, you and your friends bested and subdued me. More than that, I am no longer an Inquisitor in service to Darth Sidious."

"What, just like that?" Kanan scoffed. "Loyalties change easily when in the hands of an enemy. What's to keep you from turning on us the moment it suits you?"

"Among my brothers and sisters of the Inquisitorius, I was the Third Sister," she quietly hissed. "We were encouraged to fight and kill each other so only the strong and the clever rose to the top." She laid a hand over her chest, her eyes drifting down to the ground for a moment before she looked at the Jedi once again. "The Third Brother was stronger than I was, but I was smarter. I seduced him, and after he finished using me, I killed him when his guard was down and became the Third Sister. Before that...I was girl." She sneered contemptuously, and the Twi'lek beside her ran her fingers down the blue skinned arm and gently took her hand. "With the Empire, I was nothing, a number never meant to climb too high and made to be replaced." She drew up and threw her head back proudly. "With Master Lumis, I am Vitios, and you cannot possibly understand what it means to have a name until it is stripped from you and forgotten." She took a deep breath, her lip curling up in twitches of anger. "So don't question my loyalty, Jedi."

"W-well, shit..." Kanan muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck and quickly looking back at Obi-Wan, the Sith having returned to his task of picking through armor, but it seemed half-hearted, almost reserved. He had been quiet before, but now, his silence was profound. "I, uh...I apologize. I-I didn't think..." Kanan sighed heavily and shook his head. "I don't know what I thought. Not that, I guess." Vitios nodded her head, but said nothing else. "You don't...remember who you were before...I don't know, before you began following the Dark Side."

"I remember being torn from my family on Champala," Vitios said quietly. "I remember Lord Vader slaughtering them when they resisted my abduction." She shook her head slowly. "But my name was lost to me long ago, all memories I had before then, who I was before have faded nearly completely. When you are very young, pain and torture easily destroy the memory of anything else that might have been. It is...easier to believe there is nothing better."

"I was born in the Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas," Vehemis chimed in. "My parents were acolytes there expected to breed children powerful in the Dark Side, but I did not know them. I was born into darkness and given to Lord Vader when I showed sufficient talent. I survived the massacre there because I was on Coruscant for training." The Twi'lek took a deep breath, her eyes running over the Jedi's face and shivering slightly when she could feel his sympathy. "I...never had a name. We earned a title by becoming Inquisitors, and only then."

"...I do hope you can find what you're looking for with us," Kanan said quietly, despite the fact his heart was pounding with anxiety. "We don't have much, but what we do have is good. We're...family here." The two women drew back slightly, genuine surprise in their glowing yellow eyes as they searched his face, and he could feel their presence in the Force, dark and subversive and uncertain reach out to gauge him, and quickly withdrew when they found him devoid of the fear and anger they were so accustomed to. They quickly turned from him to speak to each other in soft, hushed voices that the Jedi couldn't understand, but he couldn't help but smile privately to himself when he felt confusion and the slightest stirring of respect in the Force.

"Kanan," Obi-Wan said, interrupting the silence with his light, easy tone and his customary smirk as he pointed to a stack of armor on the ground, the awkward tension in the room quickly fading away. "I need you to try that on. Despite the smaller fleet above Lothal, the security on the ground has increased a great deal. A Death Trooper protection detail has been integrated into the security of the Alderaanian delegation, and we are not letting that go to waste. Suit up."

"Pretending to be a regular Storm Trooper was bad enough..." Kanan muttered as he picked up the armor's black body suit, a frown on his face as he considered the tightly woven mesh when Ezra climbed down the ladder in his own white Imperial scout armor, a bright smile on his face when he saw the Sith Lord.

"Hey, Kenobi!" Ezra chirped as he jumped off the ladder. "I didn't think you'd-Oh shit!" He pressed himself firmly against the wall when he saw the two Inquisitors, his whole body tight and tense, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and peeled the Padawan off the wall.

"My girls, Ezra, relax..." Obi-Wan drawled, smacking Ezra on the back when he laughed in nervous embarrassment. "They're here to help?"

"Really?" Ezra asked, eying the Chagrian nervously, the woman merely staring blankly at him in return, the slightest twitch of irritation at the corner of her lips. "Because I remember that one sort of...trying to kill us not too long ago."

"They're fine, Ezra," Kanan muttered gently as he unfastened his own armor from his arm. "I feel we can trust them. Their loyalty wasn't bought, and it wasn't coerced. They...found something here they didn't know they were missing."

"Oh." A bright, genuine smile crossed Ezra's face. "Just like me."

"Just like all of us..." Obi-Wan whispered, clearing his throat and standing up straight when he felt the eyes of the two Jedi staring at him, the warmth of the Force as it reached out to him making him immediately pull away. "Atgal kia'tave kraud, panele. Isar nenx itik je'as deja tikazi nu'm kaire," he said firmly, and with a respectful bow, the two women gave a final glance to the two Jedi and disappeared through the corridor linking the Ghost to the Umbra. The moment they were gone, Kanan started shedding his clothing to slip into the body suit, Obi-Wan quickly removing his own robes to do the same.

"Has the plan changed?" Ezra asked when the two men began snapping the black armor in place.

"Not changed, no, but from the sound of it, security is especially tight," Kanan grunted as he reached back to snap the snug straps of the armor in place. "Sounds like we're going to have to assess today and execute tomorrow."

"Looking good for Alderaan is in the Empire's best interests," Obi-Wan added. "Even with the shit Sidious pulls, he sort of needs the Alderaanian relief work to make a show of pretending to care. It's good publicity they need. At least for now." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "As useless as the Senate is, they still have the ability to limit what Sidious can openly do. I don't think they'll last much longer, but so long as they are around, he needs the humanitarian work that places like Alderaan do."

"Alright, extra security, got it," Ezra said with a nod, a smirk on his face as he leaned in toward the Sith Lord. "But you're here in case we need some mind magic, right?"

"Exactly so."

"Don't encourage him, Ezra..." Kanan growled. "You know how he takes ideas like that and runs with it. Give him an inch, and by the afternoon, he'll have the entire Imperial garrison under his sway." Obi-Wan's eyes lit up, a bright smile on his face as he turned toward the Jedi, and Kanan poked him in the chest. "Don't get any ideas! That's a tall order, even for you, and you'd bring the entire Imperial fleet down on Lothal. We barely escaped last time!"

"Relax, I wasn't planning on doing anything a Jedi wouldn't approve of..." Obi-Wan said with a roll of his eyes. "Not today, at least. Today is about surveillance."

"Oh, well isn't that just a kriffing relief..." Kanan growled. "You sure you can handle this, Kenobi? I wouldn't want you blowing your cover because the temptation to be...well, you is too great to handle."

"Mm, you are so considerate," Obi-Wan drawled, patting the Jedi on the cheek as he passed him to climb the ladder to the cockpit. "Don't you worry, darling, I'll do nothing to disappoint you."

"If you do, Kenobi, our romance is over. There's only so much I can take before you break me completely."

"I was under the impression that I have broken you..." Obi-Wan said gently, a wicked gleam in his eye as he looked down at the Jedi from the balcony and watched with amusement as Ezra began gagging.

"Again with the flirting?!" the Padawan called after Kanan as he climbed the ladder to join the Sith Lord. "I'm telling Hera, she's going to be so mad!"

"...so, you didn't tell him about the threesome?" Obi-Wan asked Kanan when he came to stand beside him at the railing. Kanan simply shrugged.

"He's just a kid, Kenobi, I don't need to tell him everything."

From the cockpit, Hera could here the echo of outraged screams followed by wild, raucous laughter, and with a heavy sigh, she piloted the Ghost toward Lothal.

---

They stood at attention on the landing platform, their weapons grasped tightly in their hands as they watched a young, nervous Imperial officer pace before them, giving the troops their orders and something akin to a rather threatening pep talk as he tugged at his collar and wiped the sweat from his brow. It wasn't even hot out, the winter months on Lothal approaching quickly, but the officer was terribly anxious and likely fresh out of one of the Academies to command his first post. Every time he passed them, he gave them a cautious, almost frightened look. In all likelihood, the young Lieutenant had never seen a Death Trooper before, and they were intimidating enough as it was without being distinctly outside his chain of command, the garbled, coded speech emitted through their helmets unsettling in the best of circumstances. The least of which because he couldn't understand it.

"Get a load of this guy..." Kanan muttered to Obi-Wan, grinning within the helmet when the lieutenant shot a fearful look back at the Death Trooper. "I thought they had increased security, what are they doing sending out kids to command this stuff?"

"Honestly, I'm disappointed that they didn't send someone more important," Obi-Wan said, leaning in slightly toward the Jedi. "I was hoping for Agent Kallus, or Lothal's Governor, or an Inquisitor, or something."

"Maybe not an Inquisitor, Master," a slightly teasing feminine voice said into their helmet's open com channel, their helmets linked up to the Ghost and the Umbra in order to keep Hera appraised of the situation, and to keep the Obi-Wan's crew on standby in case support was needed. "We know the three Inquisitors remaining in service to the Empire, and all three possess the talent to sense your Jedi from a fair distance. Though, perhaps not if he stays close enough for your presence to negate his."

"Let's just be grateful they aren't there to test that," Hera said softly. "Kenobi, are you certain that the Death Troopers that were supposed to report won't be found?"

"Kanan and I took their identification codes, so until we leave, the Empire should be none the wiser," Obi-Wan said softly, watching as the lieutenant paced by again, glancing at them once more before he turned his eyes back to the sky to keep watch for the expected Alderaanian delegation. "And Yoda ate the bodies, so we don't need to worry about that either." Over the com, Hera sighed heavily. "No, don't give me that, Syndula," Obi-Wan gently chided. "The rancor needs to eat, and I needed a place to dispose the bodies. Two problems solved with a single solution."

"I didn't say anything..." the captain said forcefully to a cascade of female chuckles from Kenobi's crew.

"No, but you were thinking it," Obi-Wan drawled, Hera groaning in the background.

"You're going to stay out of my head, Obi-Wan, unless you want your new pets to know who's in command here," Hera calmly demanded, the women on the Umbra falling silent when the Sith Lord swallowed hard.

"Understood, Mistress. It won't happen again."

"Master," the irritated electronic hum of K-2SO chimed in over the gawking of the female crew and the loud and raucous laughter of Cody. "Three Hammerhead corvettes just reverted to sublight speeds over Lothal and are approaching the heavy cruisers in orbit. Assuming passage is given, they should be at your current location in approximately six minutes."

"Acknowledged, K2," Obi-Wan said, drawing up taller and turning his attention toward the skies. "Com silence while we're working, kids. Time to see what we'll be dealing with here."

"Be safe," Hera said softly. "I'll see you when you return." With that, the buzz of the open channel fell silent, and Kanan and Obi-Wan stood at attention and watched the skies, occasionally allowing their gaze to drift to Ezra, who stood nearby at the front of a group pf Imperial cadets. Getting on the planet had been a simple thing to do. In place of the Star Destroyers that had previously blockaded the planet, the Empire had left behind a small fleet of light and heavy cruisers, lorded over by a single Star Destroyer, which was nowhere to be seen. With the activity in nearby Batonn, it was very likely that the Destroyer had been called out to offer reenforcements. The number of heavy cruisers in the skies above Lothal was nothing to joke about, but it was far less threatening to deal with and made getting past them and down to the ground far easier.

The Ghost's identification modulator worked like a charm, as always, and Hera had brought them down to their usual place in the caves of the planet's twisting, winding canyons, as of yet untouched by civilization of any kind. With any luck, getting out would be just as easy, though those plans would be discussed that evening when they made the plan to steal the corvettes, though they suspected there wouldn't be a problem. The Imperial garrison the cruisers were landing in was a remote one, far outside of the main force in Capital City in order to be closer to the location they were to be distributing aid to. If they were swift and effective, the corvettes could be stolen and hitting lightspeed before the cruisers overhead were made aware that the Alderaanian ships were in rebel hands.

If things went as planned.

The light glinted off the ships long before they arrived, and Obi-Wan watched as the singular point of light became three as they drew closer, slowly able to make out the shapes of the corvettes as the low thrum of their engines began to reverberate through the air. In the Force, he could feel the lieutenant's uneasy and frayed nerves, the young man almost buckling under the pressure, Ezra's excitement and Kanan's soothing presence as he reached out to calm the boy. It took only a few minutes for the ships to land, the versatile corvettes much bigger than Obi-Wan had been led to believe. Hera was going to be pleased, but if anything, this further stressed the need for a more permanent base. He'd be sure to look around for one on his way back from Moraband when he journeyed there within the next few weeks.

With a hiss, the boarding ramp of the premier corvette slid open, a compliment of Alderaanian guards marching out of the ship to stand at attention on the landing platform and long the ramp. From inside his helmet, Obi-Wan sucked in a sharp breath and held it, his hand at his side shaking to conceal the ripping current he felt within his body, the Dark Side held tightly at his command as it snarled and raged and hissed in fury. The change in the Sith Lord did not go unnoticed by Kanan, who leaned closer to him and discretely nudged him to get his attention, but Kenobi's eyes were fixed on the ship. There, walking down the boarding ramp, was a teenage girl in a simple but elegant white gown that just brushed her ankles, her long, braided hair draped over her shoulder as she stepped out of the ship, a guard captain not much taller than her at her side.

"Princess Leia of Alderaan," the lieutenant said as he stepped forward and bowed deeply to the teenager. "It is an honor to have your presence here on Lothal."

It took every shred of self control for Obi-Wan not to scream.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, but if you don't mind, I'd like to skip the pleasantries and begin distributing the relief aid as soon as possible," Leia said, her voice commanding though her tone was gentle and sympathetic. "Lothal has suffered terribly because of the rebel insurgency here. I don't want your innocent to starve."

"Nor do I, Princess..." the lieutenant said, clearing his throat to make his voice seem less thin and nervous than it sounded. "We have all been suffering because of these terrorists. We just need to, uh..." He cleared his throat again and gestured back to some of the Stormtroopers in the line, and two stepped forward carrying scanning equipment. "We just need to scan the contents of the ship, check for...c-contraband..." he muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the implication that a Princess might be carrying illegal goods, but the teenager simple gave him a winning smile and nodded her head.

"Of course, Lieutenant. Anything you need." The nervous Imperial bowed to the teenager before he turned to give his commands to the scanning crew, to be thorough, but not disrespectful, to follow exact procedure and be careful not to damage anything at all. While the lieutenant busied himself with his men, the Princess frowned, her brow drawing together in focus for a moment before she swiftly shook her head and leaned close to the guard at her side, the two of them whispering to each other for a moment before the guard drew to his full height and seemed to scan the area through the mask he wore.

Beside him, Kanan could feel Obi-Wan burn.

"Kenobi..." the Jedi whispered, nudging the man beside him. "I don't like the feel I'm getting from you...makes me feel like you're getting ready to do something rash...again..."

"I'm going to kill them..." Obi-Wan snarled, his entire being tightening, and both the Princess and the guard looked quickly in their direction, eyes wide and nervous for a moment before they staggered back, the Princess gasping with fear as she looked directly at them.

"Princess Leia!" the lieutenant said swiftly as the scanning crew entered the first ship, the man gesturing for the Death Troopers, and slowly, the two of them came forward, Kanan keeping his eye on the Sith Lord. Something was up, and he wasn't sure what it was yet, but he did not like it. When they were standing beside the lieutenant, Kanan could see that the girl was pale, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared intently at Obi-Wan. "As an added precaution, Governor Pryce had assigned you an extra security detail of the Empire's finest troops."

"O-oh..." Leia muttered weakly, swallowing slow and hard as she looked back to the Imperial officer, a tight, nervous smile on her lips. "I-I...please send the Governor my thanks..."

"Are you...afraid of them, Princess?" the officer asked gently, drawing up tall and making a show of fearless bravery for the young royal. "Most people have not seen a Death Trooper, Your Highness, and it's true they are intimidating by design, but you have nothing to fear. These are the most elite soldiers the Empire has to offer. You will be safe in their care."

"I-I'm certain I will be..." she said, her gaze dropping to the ground and very discretely backing up against her guard, her attention quickly diverted behind her when a low rumbling carried through the air, caused by a large craft that towed a hovering sled behind it, a large clamp fixed to the device. Nine of the clamps were towed out, each one guided toward each ship's set of three landing struts, and the clamps were fixed, a high pitched electronic hum emitting from them before they loudly banged as they were attached.

"To ensure the security of the Alderaanian delegation," the Imperial said proudly, "we are locking down your ships with gravity locks."

"Gravity locks..." Leia mindlessly repeated. "Isn't that a little excessive?"

"We are leaving nothing to chance, Your Highness," the lieutenant said, finally appearing to be comfortable now that his security measures were falling into place. "One of our rebels is a known ship thief. Nothing is going to go wrong on my watch. And," he said, drawing up proudly and gesturing to the large complex behind him, "for additional security, we have Imperial Walkers stationed here to guard your ships while your delegation is distributing the relief supplies."

"...and tell me, how am I supposed to distribute my relief supplies without my ships?" Leia asked in a flat, unamused drawl, and the lieutenant gawked, trying several times to begin offering an explanation and failing each time to become coherent. "You know, forget it..." the Princess said sweetly, sidling up closer to the suddenly flushed lieutenant and sliding her fingers down his cheek, her eyes drifting to the Imperial shuttle at the end of the landing platform. "I'll just have to use your shuttle."

"My...m-my shuttle?" he gasped, almost choking on his words when she smiled at him.

"I thank you so much for offering it!" Leia said brightly, gesturing to the Alderaanian guard behind her. "Please, as soon as the scanning crew is done with their inspection, begin delivering the relief aid to the shuttle." The guards quickly saluted and began doing as the Princess commanded, and Leia turned, strode past the gawking officer, and strode toward the shuttle, her guard and her Imperial protection following close behind her. They were halfway to the shuttle, well out of sight of the officer and the Stormtroopers as they scrambled to help the Alderaanian guard when Obi-Wan's hand shot out to wrap tightly around Leia's arm, the Princess' assured step faltering when she gasped and held her breath, her skin paling considerably and her eyes wide and frightened. The guard at her side drew closer to Kenobi, stuttering as he tried to formulate a sentence, but the swift turn of his head to look at the smaller man made the guard immediately step back.

"Obi-Wan..." Kanan said quietly to the man, watching the Princess and her guard very, very carefully as the Sith Lord exerted his unyielding control over them. "Maybe you should-"

"You will stay out of this if you know what's good for you, Jedi," Kenobi snarled, the sound vicious even through the helmet's modulator, and a soft, desperate groan from the soldier and the Princess' silent trembling. Kanan decided that staying out of it was, in fact, the best course of action. Something was going on here that he didn't understand, and testing the Sith Lord here, surrounded by Imperials and without their lightsabers, was a very, very poor idea. There was a history here, one he didn't yet understand, but the warning in the Sith Lord made it very, very clear that this was deeply personal.

With Obi-Wan's hand on the Princess, the pace quickened, the girl and her guard's legs moving quickly to keep up with the Sith Lord's long, angry stride. Four posted guards stood at attention outside the shuttle, and they drew up slightly, their posture becoming rigid as they approached, but a quick flick of Kenobi's wrist and the snarled command of "Leave us" made the troopers shiver, and despite being unable to understand his words through the helmet's coded, unintelligible vocoder, they obeyed, their feet dragging for a second before they marched away. Releasing the Princess, Obi-Wan shoved the girl and her guard up the ramp and into the shuttle, Kanan following close behind and pressing himself silently to the back wall as the Sith slammed his hand on the panel to seal the ship closed.

"Please!" Leia said frantically, throwing her hands up in placating surrender when Obi-Wan tore his helmet off and threw it against the ground, his golden eyes blazing with fury and bleeding through with the jagged touch of deep red. "I-I can explain!"

"Oh, you had better!" the Sith Lord snarled, his fury only growing when his gaze shot to the nervous guard. "Take that stupid thing off your face, boy." The soldier quickly obeyed, his shaking hands quickly removing the helmet and dropping it to the ground, the blond boy just as young as the girl he guarded, his blue eyes cast shamefully at the ground as he reached out to take the Princess' hand in his.

"We thought..." Leia began, but stopped herself quickly and shook her head. "I thought-"

"No, you didn't think!" Obi-Wan snapped, bearing down on the teenagers, the two of them backing up as far as they were able, but there wasn't much space between them and the wall. "The orders I gave you were clear. You are not to be involved with the missions connected to the rebellion!"

"No, you said we couldn't fight beside you, Father!" Leia snapped back, anger flashing through the Force as she drew up, emboldened by the growling Dark Side, and Kanan slowly removed his helmet and stared at the people before him. These teenagers were strong in the Force, though he couldn't understand why he had been unable to sense it before now. More than that, they were Kenobi's children, or at least the girl, this princess was, though the way the boy held her hand felt somehow familial. No, these were, without question, the Gemini agents he had encountered briefly before.

"We aren't fighting!" Leia continued, her wrathful gaze meeting the cold, expressionless face of the Sith Lord. "This is a humanitarian mission, that's all! You weren't even supposed to be here!"

"And you aren't supposed to be doing this at all!" Obi-Wan growled in response, his looming presence over the twins doing nothing to frighten the emboldened Leia, but Luke shrank back, chastised and remorseful. "I was clear in the matter, you are not to be involved, save for the duties I've assigned to you at the base! Was I not perfectly clear?!"

"When we are ready, we will fight!" Leia shouted back. "I don't care what you think, Father, we are ready! We have been! And I will not be held back by you any longer!"

"I'm sorry, Father..." Luke whimpered, his voice shaking with emotion he tried to hold back. "We just...wanted to help..."

"I ought to just kill you both myself!" the Sith Lord hissed as he used the Force to push the twins down on to the acceleration couch. "It would be better than having you fall into Imperial hands, because they would not be so merciful to grant you a swift and painless death, not when they learn who you are!"

"I'd rather go down fighting them then sit around uselessly watching!" Leia snapped, struggling against the powerful hold the Force had on her, her thrashing ceasing as she suddenly began gasping for air.

"Without you two, I would have nothing left in this galaxy to fear losing..." Obi-Wan said, his voice flat and expressionless and all the more chilling for it. "I would be unbound, free to act exactly as I wished because nothing would matter." He shrugged indifferently when the twins turned wounded eyes upon him, no longer frightened or fearful, simply filled with the dull ache of sympathy and understanding. "I may die, I may destroy the Empire, but the outcome wouldn't even matter."

"Don't be stupid," Leia hissed almost bitterly. "You have the Spectres, you care for them!"

"Leia, stop," Luke growled, and though anger flashed quickly through her eyes, it soon fled. She nodded and stared at the floor.

"The Spectres aren't my children," Obi-Wan snapped, a wave of his hand releasing the twins from the grasp of the Force. "Even before the day you were born, my entire existence has centered around protecting you, and I shall continue to do so." A low, angry growl reverberated through his chest as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Does Bail know you're here?!"

"Of course he knows!" Leia snarled, her temper flaring in a knee-jerk reaction that she swiftly bit back, biting down on her lip when she felt her father's eyes seeing right through her. "He's the one that sent us!"

"B-because..." Luke choked, shallowing hard to fight back his nerves. ""Because we...t-told him that you said that we should lead the mission..."

"...Luke, you are so stupid..." Leia hissed, shrinking back in her seat when Obi-Wan seemed to tower over him, the Dark Side drawn to him like he was the center of a black hole, and the metal within the ship suddenly burned to touch with how cold it had become.

"Let me see if I understand this..." Obi-Wan whispered, the easy smile on his lips at odds with the glowing fury of his eyes. "Bail Organa sent you here because he believed I had asked for you. To...what, presumably get you more integrated into the rebellion?" The twins slowly nodded, unable to make contact with the wrathful Sith Lord.

"Father..." Leia began, but she was swiftly silenced with a sharp command that carried the weight of the Force behind it, and she did not have the strength of will to disobey.

"I will hear no more from you today..." Obi-Wan growled dangerously. "From either one of you." Groaning, he turned from the twins and ran his hand over his face, breathing deep as he attempted and failed to calm himself. "You two are eating away years of my life..." he mumbled into his hands. "Of all the dangers to me in this galaxy, it will be you two that will be the death of me, I swear it." He pointed at them, his eyes narrowed and his face hard and unyielding. "Stay there. We will discuss this later."

Luke and Leia said nothing, only nodded as Obi-Wan turned away from them and stormed into the cockpit, throwing himself into the pilot's seat and quickly beginning the pre-flight checks. Slowly, Kanan peeled himself off the wall, his chest aching with the breath he didn't know he was holding relieved when he exhaled. He slowly walked through the ship, each step as silent and as careful as he could make it, as if he would somehow disturb the tense peace if anyone noticed his presence. He bent to pick up Obi-Wan's discarded helmet when he came to it, looking at the twins as he did so, though they were silent, their heads bowed and their gazes lowered with palpable guilt. He wanted to say something to them, anything at all to maybe comfort the kids, as they appeared to be no older than Ezra, but he could think of nothing at all to say that could soothe them. He had witnessed something deeply personal. He had no business getting involved, lest he inadvertently make matters worse.

He stopped in the entrance of the cockpit, looking at the Sith Lord hunched over the control panel and staring intently at the instrumentations and displays before him as the checks were run, as if staring could somehow make the process go faster. Obi-Wan didn't seem to notice him there, though Kanan was certain he had. The man was far too alert to be oblivious to his surroundings, more so than Kanan had ever seen, since his apparent children were near, and the need to protect them was so overwhelming that Kana could hear the Force sing with the Sith's need. He slowly lowered himself into the copilot's seat and set Obi-Wan's helmet down on the ground between them.

"I'm sorry you had to see that..." Obi-Wan muttered after a long moment of silence. "Teenagers are...difficult. I'm sure you understand, having had a hand in raising Ezra..."

"...I'm not sure it's the same thing," Kanan said almost meekly. "Obi-Wan, I...didn't know you were a father."

"You weren't meant to know," Obi-Wan muttered, his fingers flicking up switches when the pre-flight checks completed. "You never should have known, though honestly...I'm a bit surprised you hadn't puzzled it out."

"There were times I very nearly did," Kanan said, smiling gently when the impassive mask the Sith wore began to crack, revealing something almost tender beneath, something soft and vulnerable he had seen only once or twice in fleeting moments within the man. "There were times when I saw something in you, just...something about the things you said or the way you did things that made it seem possible. I always just thought...maybe it was a relic of a time when you were going to be a father."

"No..." Obi-Wan said swiftly, the corner of his eye twitching slightly before he rubbed his palm against it. "I never had the chance to be a father to the child Satine and I created. I never thought I had it in me after that." He looked back over his shoulder and leaned over until he could catch a glimpse of the twins, the two still sitting silent and cowed on the acceleration couch. With the faintest twitch of his lips, he turned back around, his focus returning to the displays on the console. "...Luke and Leia showed me otherwise. They...saved me, in many ways."

"From what?"

"From myself..." Obi-Wan whispered, a sad smile touching his lips as he let go the control on his emotions. "There was a time I was...lost. After Satine, there was nothing inside me but madness and a compulsion to see the galaxy burn for all I had lost. I was burning, and I would see everything be incinerated with me."

"Ord Mantel," Kanan said quietly, and with a soft chuckle, Obi-Wan nodded, finally turning to look at the man beside him.

"Not every story the Jedi told about me were lies or exaggerations or twisted until they became horror stories to scare Padawans," Obi-Wan said. "But some were. Some were crimes I was innocent of, and many of them were actually worse than the way they told it." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath as he reached back into his memory. "I did burn Ord Mantel, and all the billions of people on the planet. And I would have continued. I would have gone on until there was nothing left or until someone finally ended the destruction with my death." He looked back toward the twins once again. "Luke and Leia...and their mother. They...brought me back from the depths of insanity. They saved me, in more ways than one."

"...who was their mother?" Kanan asked, despite himself, though he couldn't find it in him to regret asking, even when the Sith Lord's brief flash of anger and the hiss of annoyance at the invasive question quickly yielded into a painfully wounded look in those golden eyes.

"Padmé..." Obi-Wan whispered an almost pitiful whimper in his throat as he swallowed hard. "She was in no ways my Satine, but she was...exceptional. Brilliant and beautiful and kind to a fault. And Sidious..." He stopped himself and quickly shook his head. "Sidious and I...together, we managed to ruin her. By the time I had realized why, I tried to help, I tried to somehow...stop what I had started, but things were too far into motion. All I could do was protect her and her unborn children from harm, and it still wasn't enough..."

"Did you love her?" Kanan slowly asked, and Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, his hand laid over his heart and feeling the strong, steady beat.

"Until the day I die, my heart will always beat for my Satine..." the Sith said, his voice thin and strained with emotion. "I cared about Padmé a great deal. In a way...I suppose I did love her. As much as I was able with my heart torn out and buried on Mandalore."

"What happened to her?"

"I killed her..." Obi-Wan said, his voice distant, and he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the look of appalled shock on the Jedi's face. "Don't look at me like that, Kanan. I am responsible for the deaths of billions. I have burned planets and committed more than one genocide. I can probably only count on one hand the number of beings in the history of this galaxy that wade as deep in blood as I do. But of all the beings I have killed...there is only one I truly regret." He took a deep, calming breath and clenched his hand to keep it from shaking. "I won't cheapen her death by making excuses as to why I did what I had to do. I wish it could have been otherwise. I wish I would have fought harder to find a way. But I didn't. I had my reasons, and she died for them. That is all."

"...do they know?" Kanan asked, glancing back toward the twins, and Obi-Wan scoffed.

"Of course they know. I do not lie to my children, Kanan. I will not allow something as petty as dishonesty to tear my family apart." Obi-Wan grumbled and looked behind him. "They're smart, in any case, and you've seen how rambunctious they are. They'd find out the truth on their own anyway if I hadn't told them..." He sighed heavily and imputed a string of commands into the console. "Luke, Leia, come here!" the Sith Lord called, and a litany of quiet cursing and frantic scrambling could be heard behind them as the twins moved as quickly as they were able to stand in the open doorway of the cockpit.

"F-father," Leia began frantically when the Sith Lord turned in his seat to face them, and quickly shut her mouth when he held up his hand for silence.

"You two get your shit together. I'm lowering the boarding ramp so we can get your relief aid on the ship and delivered." The twins looked at each other questioningly before glancing back at their father.

"Father..." Luke began softly. "I thought we weren't allowed to-"

"You're here now, so you may as well finish what you began," Obi-Wan grumbled, pointing a menacing finger at them and the two of them quickly shrank back. "But so help me, you will obey. If this is anything like what happened on Muunilinst, I will take your X-Wings and you will never fly again. Am I understood?" With a gasp, both kids frantically nodded, the threat having the desired effect. "Go. Make yourselves ready." They rushed away, uttering not a sound as they retreated to the back of the ship, and Obi-Wan picked up his helmet.

"Kanan..." the Sith said quietly. "Please, keep the nature of their relationship to me a secret. For their safety."

"I promise," the Jedi answered solemnly. "If there are introductions to be made, you'll be making them."

Flashing the Jedi a small, grateful smile, Obi-Wan reached out as if to touch his shoulder affectionately, stopped himself, and pulled back, sliding his helmet over his head and pulling the release for the boarding ramp.

---

"Of all the irresponsible, reckless, dishonest things you have ever done, this is by far the worst!" the life sized holographic image of Bail Organa said to the two crestfallen twins, his voice raised and his tone stern, the Sith Lord standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest as he listened to the lecture. Bail was a terribly good parent, somehow managing to be both commanding and compassionate all at once, a facet of his personality and his practiced political skills which made him such a fine leader. What was clear, though, was that Bail loved these children, and, the twins were heartbroken to have disappointed him so severely.

"I'm sorry..." Leia muttered. "I just thought-"

"But you didn't think, Leia," Bail groaned, his eyes squeezed shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You just found a way to do as you like, never once paying mind to the dangers or the consequences. You have always found clever ways around rules, Leia, but this was foolish and ill planned. And you," he said, turning to Luke. "I have always known you to be the voice of reason, Luke, but even you have exercised poor judgement today." Instead of answering, Luke bowed his head and sniffled, his shoulders shaking as tears splattered the ground.

"It wasn't Luke's fault..." Leia muttered, gently wrapping her arms around her upset brother. "I convinced him it was a good idea."

"I have no doubt you instigated this mess," Bail said with a sigh. "But Luke is responsible for his own actions. At any time, he could have let someone know what stupidity you were planning this time. You may be persuasive, Leia, but you aren't that good."

"So what are you going to do?" Leia muttered, catching her lip between her teeth as she looked up at her guardian. "I...I-I don't know how to say I'm sorry for this..."

"You already have, sweetie..." Bail said softly. "And I don't know how you're going to be punished for this. That's up to your father to decide."

"I'm still considering the options," Obi-Wan said quietly when the twins looked back at him. "There is a great deal to take into account."

"As always, Obi-Wan, I would ask that you are merciful in whatever action you chose to take with them," Bail said softly, his eyes on the obviously remorseful twins. "We were all teenagers once. It is never an easy thing."

"Never easy, no..." Obi-Wan repeated with a sigh. "My rebellious years were...particularly volatile, though I wasn't a teenager when I rebelled against the Jedi. I had always been something of a late bloomer." He nodded as if he had decided something. "Thank you, Bail, I will keep that in mind when I decide what I'm to do with them. I'll be in touch sometime tomorrow, the Spectres and I need to plan how to go about stealing your ships."

"Just be safe, Obi-Wan," Bail cautioned. "I know you're something of an expert in stealing ships, but you've never stolen more than one at a time. You're going to have to put a good deal of faith in your team, so the plan must account for all possibilities."

"Oh, please Bail, you're talking like this is my first mission..." Obi-Wan said with a roll of his eyes. "I have a plan and contingencies in the event that it doesn't go like I think it will. Let's not forget that I was trained by the man that single-handedly orchestrated the fall of the Jedi and the Republic."

"Oh, believe me, I have not forgotten..." Bail said with a shake of his head. "May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan."

"...yeah, let's hope it still is." He disconnected the hologram and closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he touched the Force and found what he always did these days. Ominous red and the black shadows of Vader, Maul and Sidious, and his own broken form upon the ground, no matter what he did, no matter what he tried to change it, the Force simply redirected him here every time he attempted to see past it. The gift of his foresight was gone, replaced instead with the draw to this, his oncoming defeat. If somehow, the Force was still his ally, he couldn't see it.

"Father?" Luke asked quietly, laying his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, and with a sigh, the Sith Lord laid his hand over the boy's. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Obi-Wan said with an easy smile on his face. "Come on, we need to talk strategy with Kanan and Hera. You two are going to be good and listen, yes?" The twins nodded quickly, and with a gesture of his hand, Luke and Leia followed Obi-Wan out of his room and into the corridor of the Umbra as they headed toward his spacious living room where both the crew of the Ghost and the Umbra were waiting to discuss the plan.

After the aid had been delivered as planned, several other Imperial ships having to be called in to deliver all the supplies in a timely manner, Obi-Wan and Kanan were reunited with Ezra at the relief distribution center they had set up, and after they had completed their task, they collected Luke and Leia, disconnected the onboard tracking and identification transmitters, and flew to where the Ghost had set down, contacting the Umbra and telling them to join them on Lothal. As soon as Obi-Wan's ship landed, he told Kanan to meet him with the other Spectres within an hour, took Luke and Leia by the arm, and dragged them to explain to Bail what they had done.

Now that his children had faced the considerable disappointment of Bail Organa, it was time to get to work.

They stepped into the room and found the considerable crew they had amassed over their time together waiting for them. The Spectres, the two clones, the Fulcrum agent, Kenobi's two droids, his Chiss and his two former Inquisitors, all of them quietly, somewhat awkwardly mingling, most of it driven by Ahsoka, who had fearlessly approached the red Twi'lek and the Chagrian with Kanan and quickly began building bridges between them and finding commonalities with the dark siders.

"Alright, let's get to work," Obi-Wan said as he strode into the room, gesturing to K2, who quickly dimmed the lights and activated the holotable, the layout of the rural Imperial garrison where the hammerhead corvettes were docked appearing before them. "Before we begin, an order of business." He gestured to the twins that stood quietly behind him. "This is Luke and Leia, the Gemini agents. They are assisting us in this mission."

"Oh shit, you're the Gemini?!" Ezra said excitedly, the teenager almost coming out of his skin as he looked at the two of them. "You're rebels and royalty?!" He grinned brightly when Leia looked up and smiled at him softly. "This is going to be so awesome."

"Keep your pants on, boy, they aren't celebrities," Obi-Wan said with a roll of his eyes. "We have a job to do. Did everyone here review our notes on the strength of the force present?"

"We did," Hera said, stepping forward to take her place at the table across from the Sith Lord. "The security is very tight, but they don't have a great deal of air support, and the communication array shouldn't be too difficult to take out." She frowned and pointed to one of the images displayed and quickly enlarged it. "These are the problems. AT-AT Walkers. Those things are heavily shielded, and I don't know that we have the fire power to take even one down. There are two of them, and getting those gravity locks released while we have those things shooting at us..." Hera shook her head. "Not good prospects."

"Hmm..." Obi-Wan circled the holotable, observing all the information displayed before him. "Getting on the ships shouldn't be a problem, it's everything else..." Obi-Wan muttered, his eyes roving over the group. "...Sabine," he said softly, pointing to the Mandalorian. "Grotthu." He pointed to the Chiss. "And Luke," he said, pushing the startled boy forward. "You're the best pilots we have that we can spare. You three are stealing the ships."

"Wait, what?!" Leia gawked, looking at her grinning brother. "I am-"

"A Princess," Obi-Wan growled in warning, "and will be missed if you are not present. We need you to be seen, and we need you to be pissed. Understand?"

"...yes," Leia said firmly, drawing up and looking as regal as she could. "Yes, I think I can manage that."

"I know you can," Obi-Wan said quietly. "You will remain on Lothal and wait for the Imperials to send you back home to Alderaan. We need this as clean as possible to avoid implicating Bail in rebel activities. You are to rejoin us on Phoenix Home as soon as you are able." Leia didn't answer, only bit her lip and nodded, which was good enough for Obi-Wan. "Hera, you and Chopper in the Ghost and Cody and K2 in the Umbra for air support, and the rest of us are on the ground. Kanan, you lead the team to get those gravity locks disengaged. This is our absolute top priority. Unless those things are off, we can't steal those ships."

"I'll take Ezra and Zeb," Kana said, frowning as he looked around the room. "And Rex. I bet there's a code to disengage those gravity locks in that idiot brain of his."

"There might be," Rex said, chuckling softly as he shrugged. "I'll have to take a look at the equipment, but if I have good cover, I should be able to figure it out."

"Zeb will cover you," Kanan said, a hand on the Lasat's shoulder. "Ezra and I will be trying to cut through the locks on the second and third ships."

"Without cover?" Obi-Wan asked, shooting the Jedi an almost disgusted look before he scoffed. "Take HK with you. Lightsabers are going to draw a lot of fire, and it's going to give him lots of targets." Perched atop a counter toward the back of the room, HK-45 looked up, a short burst of electronic excitement sounding from his vocoder.

"Overjoyed: Master, it has been so long since you've allowed me to engage in this sort of excessive execution!"

"You aren't indestructible, HK," Obi-Wan softly growled. "You are to be prudent, and you are only to destroy the Imperials that are actively shooting at our ground team, understand? If they ask for a slaughter, give it to them, but don't attract undue attention. Those Walkers can destroy you, and the more people you kill, the faster they will be able to locate you. We need time. The longer you can avoid detection, the safer you will be."

"Hey, slave," Cody drawled from where he stood leaning against the wall, and Rex looked over, his eyebrow arched at his cocky copy. "In the event that you're totally useless and you can't disable the locks, I'll let you use my lightsaber." He shrugged. "As long as you promise to bring it back."

"You're getting sentimental again, traitor," Rex said with a roll of his eyes and an amused smile. "If you don't cut that out, I'm going to think you're starting to like me. We can't have that."

"In that case, I hope the Walkers step on you," Cody grumbled, tossing the other clone his lightsaber, and Rex flashed him a quick grin as he caught it.

"Speaking of which, Kenobi..." Hera said, pointing to the enlarged images of the Imperial Walkers. "These are a huge problem. What are we going to do about these?"

"You leave that to me, dearest..." the Sith Lord said in a low, pleased drawl. "Vitios and Vehemis will come with me to deal with that matter."

"What about Ahsoka?" Ezra asked, the Togruta looking down at him and smiling gently.

"I'll be leaving for Phoenix Home to prepare to take the new ships in," Ahsoka said. "As a Fulcrum agent, my job isn't to be on the front lines, and I'm afraid word of my presence may very well attract attention we don't want. Obi-Wan isn't the only one being actively hunted."

"Lord Vader has been hunting her for a very long time," Vitios said, and Luke and Leia slowly drew close together. "He knows she lives, and he very much wants him dead."

"I put myself at enough risk on Takobo," Ahsoka whispered, her voice laced with irritation. "If I'm found, the entire rebellion may be at risk. I need to return to the background where I can be of the most use."

"Sounds like we have a plan then," Hera said."Any questions?" Nobody moved, and with a smug smirk upon her lips, she shut the holotable off. "Alright. Let's get going."

---

"They just look so much bigger when they're standing against you..." Vehemis whispered, her red lekku squirming in irritation as she ducked behind the crates at the edge of the Imperial landing field when the nearby AT-AT Walker swept it's head around, its searchlights passing slowly over the area. Beside her, the Chagrian rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a fool, their size hasn't changed," Vitios hissed. "You're just afraid, fear is making them seem large. The Sith do not feel fear."

"Well, are aren't Sith, now are we?" Vehemis snapped back to the derision of her Chagrian teammate.

"Not yet."

"Ladies..." Obi-Wan gently chided, his eyes scanning the area as he listened to the chatter over the com in his ear. Things were going very well, from the look of it, and everyone was in place and ready to move as soon as Sabine, who was leading the pilots that would actually steal the ships, gave them the word. It was a major operation, and the Mandalorian was leaving nothing unchecked or rechecked to ensure that on her end, things went as smoothly as possible, because once they began, it was going to be a mess.

"Master..." Vehemis said, her voice low and seductive as she reached out and dragged her fingers down the Sith Lord's side. "Exactly how are we supposed to destroy those? They were built to withstand bombardments, blaster fire does nothing to them, and we don't have anything in the way of explosives."

"Anything can be destroyed, Vehemis..." Obi-Wan said quietly, his eyes following the shadow of Kanan as he and his team darted from cover to cover, avoiding the Imperial patrols, though the guard detail around the ships was light, due in large part to Leia's efforts. She had the young lieutenant wrapped around her finger, and for the past half hour, he had been showing off, giving her a full tour of his little rural garrison and demonstrations on what his soldiers were capable of. It kept the Imperials occupied in an effort to impress the young Princess of Alderaan. "Never forget that nothing is beyond destruction. All things must end eventually."

"Even you, Master?" Vitios asked softly, and Obi-Wan closed his eyes, a forced smirk on his face.

Even me. "Don't be absurd, apprentice, I am a Lord of the Sith, Master of the Dark Side, one who follows in the footsteps of the greatest powers this galaxy has ever seen." He scoffed, his gaze turning toward one of the Walkers as it slowly moved closer. "Nothing can kill me."

"I never doubted you, Master..." Vehemis purred, pressing herself against the Sith Lord's side and shooting the Chagrian a victorious glance. "So what's the plan? How are you going to destroy the Walkers? Master, please say you're going to crush it with the Force!"

"I wasn't planning on destroying them at all..." Obi-Wan said, grinning when the Twi'lek drew back and frowned. "Come now, destruction is not always the answer, my dear. If our enemy is so kind to bring us a weapon to use, it's terribly bad manners not to use it."

"We're going to appropriate the Walkers," Vitios said, a small, superior smirk on her lips as she leaned over to look at the Twi'lek. "Just as I said. You owe me forty credits."

"Don't be so smug, Master still likes me better."

"Unity, pets..." Obi-Wan drawled softly, reaching to run his fingers affectionately over their hairless heads, and both woman slumped beside him, leaning against him for support. "If I cannot count on your cooperation during my missions, you will not come, and then what use are you to me. This isn't the Inquisitorius. Your advancement isn't dependent on the failure of the other, but on your joint success. The ancient Sith fractured because of this. Sidious' Empire will fracture because of this. Mine will not."

"We're ready," Sabine's voice said over the com, and Obi-Wan grinned, his eyes staring intently at the Walkers before him. "The pre-flight checks are done, the engines are primed, and we're ready to fly the moment the locks are engaged. Is everyone in position?" A cascade of quiet affirmatives followed, and after that, the com fell silent, and Obi-Wan pointed to the nearest Walker.

"You two take that one," he commanded the women beside him. "I don't care how you get in, just make certain you do. If we can keep the Ghost and the Umbra out of the fight until we need to be evacuated, it will make our escape easier."

"Understood, Master," the women said in unison, and without another word, they ran out behind cover, Vitios and Vehemis running for the nearest Walker while Obi-Wan stepped into the shadows and sprinted off toward the one further off. The sound of blaster fire and shouting filled the air when the Imperials discovered the rebels when the first of the nine gravity locks disengaged, and immediately, the Walker Obi-Wan was running toward began to turn toward the Alderaanian ships. Taking his blue and red sabers in hand, Obi-Wan caught them in a backhanded grip as he ignited them, his presence revealed too late for the Walker to do anything about him as he jumper toward one of the massive legs and dug his sabers in.

Sliding down as the plasma blades slowly dragged molten lines through the hard armor of the AT-AT, Obi-Wan swung his legs and vaulted upwards, twisting in the air at the peak of his jump to stab the sabers into the leg just above the large joint of the knee. He planted his feet against the rotating disc of the steel beast's knee when it began to move, placing as little pressure on his sabers as possible to keep himself from sliding down as much as possible, the rush of wind as the Walker took a long step ruffling his hair and nearly dislodging him from his place when the wide foot landed hard upon the ground, the jolt nearly shaking the sabers free. By the time he jumped again, he had nearly sunk below the rounded knee disk, the armored plating so thick that it didn't seem as though the plasma blade did any damage to the leg's inner workings.

The cannons above him began firing, sending vibrations through the entire craft that passed through the sabers so that the Sith Lord could feel it in his chest, and he quickly looked over to the airfield to see a hail of blaster fire filling the air. Gritting his teeth, he launched himself up again, finally clearing the legs and slamming his sabers into the side of the tank's body and swiftly jumped one more time to land gracefully upon the top, crouched low to keep his balance as it moved with jerking steps. Holding his saber loosely between his thumb and forefinger, he extended his arm and with a quick flick of his other three fingers, he threw the top hatch open and swiftly dropped inside, the Imperial troops inside hardly having the chance to even reach for their blasters before the rapidly spinning lightsabers sliced the four bodies to pieces.

Obi-Wan quickly sat at one of the control stations, turning up the volume on the Imperial's closed com channel and listening to the panic in the voices of the officers as he familiarized himself with the controls. They were, unfortunately, quite complicated, and absolutely needed a minimum of two people to run the mobile tank with efficiency, but he didn't need to be able to manage more than minimal movement to line up his shots and fire on his targets. He quickly scanned the scene of the battle spread out before him through the wide viewport of his high vantage and grinned when he saw Vitios and Vehemis, red sabers in hand, one dangling through an open hole cut in the bottom of the craft's body, the other perched atop it and stabbing the weapon through the Walker's head and into the cockpit. In moments, both Walkers would belong to them, and it would be safe for the ships to take off.

Grinning wickedly, Obi-Wan lowered the aiming reticule and grasped the cannon controls, aiming them at the compound's transmission tower when a strained, frantic voice over the com reported that the Princess and her retinue were safe inside the bunker, giving the AT-AT Walkers and the forces on the ground the freedom to fire without concern for the safety of their royal guest. Muttering a swift, amused "Yes Sir" over the Imperial channel, Obi-Wan opened fire, striking the transmission tower several times while fire bloomed against the collapsing metal, and the cockpit filled with static, then silence as the communications system was destroyed.

"Sabine," Obi-Wan said into his own com as he angled the cannons down to aim at the Stormtroopers as they broke rank and scattered to avoid the falling debris, and he couldn't help by smile wickedly as the confusion allowed the small figures of Zeb and HK-45 to quickly and easily pick the soldiers off. "We have control of the Walkers. You're clear for liftoff as soon as you are free to do so."

"Copy that, Kenobi," Sabine said, and Obi-Wan watched through the hail of blaster fire at the spinning lightsabers in blue and green at the base of the ships as one of them powered on its powerful engines and lifted into the air, quickly speeding away toward the atmosphere. "See you at Phoenix Home," Sabine said, excited laughter lining her voice as the swift work from the lightsabers freed the second ship. "Be safe."

"Hera, we're ready for extraction," Obi-Wan said after the connection between him and Sabine was cut, getting out of his seat and slashing his blue lightsaber across the Walker's controls before he leapt out of the hatch and jumped off the side, his lightsaber digging into the side of the craft to slow his fall.

"Copy that, Kenobi," the Twi'lek said swiftly. "We're keeping the Umbra in the air to provide fire support if needed. Standby for extraction." Cutting the com, Obi-Wan sprinted toward the final ship, batting away stray bolts of plasma as they were fired at him, the lightsaber drawing the attention of the nearby troops as they fled from the excessively fatal combination of HK and Zeb. Quickly activating the com to tell Vitios and Vehemis to remain in the Walker until they saw the Ghost to provide cover should they need it, the Sith Lord's feet smacked against the hard permacrete of the airfield. A loud hiss and a resounding bang sounded as one of the gravity locks was secured, the clamps falling uselessly to the ground, and Kanan rushed to stand before the ship, his lightsaber swinging defensively as he batted back blaster fire to give Rex and Ezra the cover they needed to finish their task quickly.

"You know what's nice?" Kanan said when Obi-Wan skidded to a halt beside him, his own saber swinging to provide a wider shield from the suppressing fire. "Well made plans that actually go the way we want them to. I'm half expecting things to go very, very wrong at any second."

"Careful, Kanan, you know talk like that is what summons trouble down upon us," Obi-Wan gently chided. "I confess, though, it's good for the kids to see what happens when a plan is followed. You should have seen the shit they caused on Muunilinst, you would have been appalled."

"You sound almost proud of them," Kanan said with a smirk, shooting the Sith a sidelong glance as the man drew up, his head held up proudly as he looked across the field at a small girl in white safely behind the Imperial lines, her arms flailing wildly as she shouted at and berated the officer in charge. "Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were glad they're here. Have you forgotten how they ended up here to begin with?"

"Don't be stupid, Jarrus, of course I haven't forgotten," Obi-Wan said with a roll of his eyes, another sharp hiss signaling the release of another of the gravity locks. "They are, absolutely and without question, the biggest shits in the galaxy." He extended his hand, pushing back with the Force and causing the advancing line of troops to be flung back right in the line of fire of a gleefully cackling HK-45. "But make no mistake, I am proud of them."

The Ghost swept in just as soon as the third lock released, and without wasting a moment, the ship lifted into the air, its engines blazing as it rocketed away, and Kanan and Kenobi rushed forward to provide cover for Zeb and HK as they retreated for the Ghost. Vitios and Vehemis sprinted across the ground, the walker they abandoned standing still as the open cockpit smoked, the two women swiftly moving to guard Rex and Ezra as they ran for the Ghost. With the rest of the crew safely aboard, Obi-Wan gestured for his girls to follow, and falling in beside the Jedi and the Sith Lord, the four Force sensitives ran for the safety of the ship, Hera's expert piloting expertly bringing them away from the planet and into the calm peace of hyperspace.

---

It was three days before Leia made it to Phoenix Home, which gave Hera's crew the time they needed to go through the stolen Hammerhead Corvettes and scrub them free of any identifiers or navigational input and get them outfitted with a new series of codes and identifiers that would be recognized by other factions of the rebellion as friendly ships. While Hera oversaw the work and muttered to herself about the desperate need or a base, a datapad in hand to flip through all the possible locations that Ahsoka's Fulcrum agents had scouted, Obi-Wan looked out at the Phoenix Squadron fro the bridge of Phoenix Home and felt the need for a bigger ship. The next one he stole would be more substantial that three Hammerheads practically given to him by Bail. No, he needed a ship, a real ship, one that he could command battles from, one that he could face off against Thrawn's Chimera in. One that could sit at the head of the Rebel fleet when it was time.

When Leia arrived in her X-Wing with Luke's towed behind hers, she was once again dressed in her red and gold Mandalorian armor, the helmet on her head concealing her identity from everyone aboard the ship, save for the crews of the Ghost and the Umbra, who had learned in the days before that one half of the Gemini agents was the Princess of Alderaan. She found her father aboard the Umbra, the stealth ship occupying one of Phoenix Home's massive hangar bays, and with a heavy sigh, she entered the ship, her head bowed and ready for the inevitable, awful judgement of her Sith Lord father.

She found him in the comfortable living room lounging on the soft, plush couch, a drink in his hand as he talked to Kanan and Hera, though she couldn't hear about what, while Ezra sat on the ground nearby with the two former Inquisitors, the women teaching him how to preform basic maintenance on his lightsaber when they discovered what used, worn condition the dirty hilt was in. Leia quickly made her way to Luke, who stood silently in the back corner, his shoulders tense and filled with as much dread as Leia felt. She tried to keep to the edge of the room, tried to keep her steps quiet to avoid her father's notice, and she nearly made it to his side before a swift tug in the Force alerted her to the Sith Lord's attention. Groaning softly, she gave her brother an apologetic look as he pushed off the wall, and the two walked around the room to stand before their father, the room falling silent as they did.

"So..." Obi-Wan said, spreading his arms out wide. "A successful mission, yes? None of our people harmed, our objective completed, everything completed exactly to plan, no unnecessary deaths..."

"Maybe a little unnecessary," Kanan pointed out. "HK and Zeb went on something of a spree."

"...alright, so my Murder Droid didn't listen," Obi-Wan said with a shrug. "Bug surprised there. But the plan was executed flawlessly." Obi-Wan leaned back on the sofa, his fingers steepled together and his ankle crossed over his knee. "Why do you suppose that it?"

"Because we obeyed your command..." the twins responded in unison.

"Because we had a plan, and you did not deviate from it, yes," Obi-Wan said quietly. "You two did well because you followed my instructions."

"You didn't bring us here to tell us we did a good job," Leia said bitterly, and the Sith Lord's eyes narrowed.

"You're right, I didn't," Obi-Wan said coldly, and the twins shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his stare. "While you two did do very well, you shouldn't have been involved to begin with. You are only here because you decided to be deceptive and dishonest because you disagreed with my decisions. I cannot allow this to go unpunished."

"We know..." Luke whispered in a shaking breath, and with a heavy sigh, Obi-Wan rose from his seat, taking his datapad into his hands.

"I've had Bail make a list." Leia groaned loudly and Luke's jaw tightened, but he nodded resolutely. "When you pulled this shit with Owen, he got to make a list as well, so for a month, you are now the indentured servants of Bail Organa. And he has sent a very large stack of legal proceedings that need to be transcribed for the Senate."

"Oh, come on!" Leia bemoaned. "This is worse than the vaporators..."

"And you will happily do it," the Sith Lord snarled, and Leia looked down at the ground, biting back the snide remark on her tongue. "Bail cares about the two of you, and he deserves better than to be manipulated." For a moment, Obi-Wan sighed heavily, his fingers swiping over the datapad in his hands. "I gave this a great deal of thought," Obi-Wan mumbled. "You two are getting restless, and I've no doubt that regardless of the punishment I devise, it is only a matter of time before you two venture out once again on your own."

"W-we won't!" Luke said frantically. "I'll watch over Leia, I'll stand my ground, I promise-"

"You can control her no less than anyone can control you, Luke," Obi-Wan said firmly. "You may not be so rebellious as Leia, but you are just as restless. I talked to Owen the other day, and he says you have been neglecting your own duties on the farm in favor of flying, and he says you complain terribly about what he does have you do. Tatooine and Alderaan...are simply too small for you." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "...so from this point on, you will be staying here on the Umbra so that I may keep a closer eye on you. It is...simply safer for you to be working close with me than to be out in the galaxy on your own where you can do something stupid without anyone to save you."

For a long moment, they stared at the Sith Lord like they did not understand, their eyes wide and their jaws slack, and with a soft, desperate whimper, they rushed to their father and threw their arms around him, muttering quiet thanks and apologies when Obi-Wan drew them into a tight embrace.

"It will not be easy here..." Obi-Wan said quietly, placing a kiss on both their foreheads as he released them. "This is not a reward, it's for your safety, and I am very angry about this mess, so don't think the list of things you will have to do for me is anything less than substantial."

"W-we'll do it!" Luke said quickly, taking the offered datapad from Obi-Wan's hands. "Whatever it is, it will be done!"

"But...not forever, right?" Leia asked, reading over the list and glancing up at her father. "I mean, there are things on here that are way grosser than the stuff we were doing at the base, and some of these things are...impossible."

"And before you are freed from your servitude to me, the list will be completed," Obi-Wan said with a smirk. "In addition to Bail's work and all the work previously assigned to you at the base, and when we have a base for Phoenix Squadron, you will be doing the maintenance and upkeep for that base as well." He smirked as he leaned in toward the overwhelmed children. "I take your transgressions very seriously. Work hard and work well, and we shall see about reducing the length of your internment."

"You won't regret bringing us here," Leia said with a firm nod. "We'll...somehow see this done."

"You can count on us," Luke said, clutching the datapad close to his chest, and Obi-Wan dismissively flicked his hand in the air and sat back down on the couch.

"Just do not forget that this is for your own safety," Obi-Wan said firmly. "A prison is a prison regardless of where it is, and you, children, are grounded forever. You simply need a harder hand to enforce the terms of your punishment."

"...but we love you!" Leia said as sweetly as she was able, and Obi-Wan chuckled softly.

"And I you, Princess. But don't think that will make this any easier for you." The smile he flashed the girl was almost menacing. "Go. Get settled in. We begin tonight, whether you are ready or not." With a mixture of nerves and excitement, Luke and Leia dashed from the room to do as they were told, leaving the others to stare at the Sith Lord.

"...Kenobi?" Ezra asked cautiously. "What was that about?"

"Keep talking, boy, and you'll learn first hand when I ground you too," Obi-Wan chirped, and the Padawan quietly returned to putting his lightsaber together. He wanted no part in the wrath the Sith Lord was enacting upon the Gemini, no matter how excited he was for the chance to work with them.