Chapter 53 -Sanity and Madness
As a blaster bolt zipped dangerously close past her head, Satine tried to duck lower behind the tree she was hiding behind. She pressed Luke closer to her chest, who had been screaming his lungs out since the clones had opened fire on them. In her other hand she held the blaster which had been the only thing that kept the soldiers from closing in on them.
Satine hated violence. But right now, that blaster was the only thing that kept her alive. The soldiers did not aim for Padme or the children. Only for her. It was clear what order they had received.
Secure the children and the mother. Eliminate the rest.
Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. They were running out of options. Similarly, Padme crouched beside her in cover, a crying Leia in her arms. The forest had been smaller than they had thought. As Satine looked ahead, she could already see the trees thinning. An escape in this direction was impossible. She would not get far, not without protection.
"I don't see how we're supposed to get out of here", she hissed between clenched teeth, throwing a glance at Padme.
The senator shifted Leia in her arms. "I don't know…, "her expression was grim, "They are not backing off."
Another salve of blaster bolts flew past their heads and the women instantly tried to press themselves closer to the ground. Satine heard how they came closer. It would only be a matter of seconds now until they would be surrounded.
She closed her eyes and let her forehead rest against Luke's tiny head. "Ni'm bid Ni ceta, ner adiik," she whispered over the boy's whimpering.
"Satine, I…," Padme looked at her, a solemn expression on her face, "Maybe I can convince them to let you go."
The duchess' eyes went wide. "You can't be serious, Padme! In no way I am going to let you hand yourself in."
The brunette bit her lips. "That might be your only chance."
Satine vehemently shook her head. "No. That's my final answer."
Padme was about to respond when something interrupted them.
"Lower your weapons!", a dark voice bellowed. Her heart skipping a beat, Satine dared to peak around the corner. The clones stood frozen still, their heads turned towards the new arrival. She craned her neck to get a better view.
It was Anakin. The man was standing between the trees, his head held high. But something was off, Satine could tell that from the way he was holding himself.
She turned to face Padme. "Anakin's here," she mumbled, "But something is not right."
Padme swallowed thickly. "Do you think he…?"
… killed Obi-Wan.
Satine felt sick. That was what she was afraid of. She focused back on the scene in front of her, banishing that thought from her mind.
Anakin stepped forward; his gait somehow uneven. It was only then that she noticed what was wrong.
"His hand is missing," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the severed limb. He was trying to hide it underneath a cloak that was definitely a bit short for him. It was Obi-Wan's cloak.
Padme crept closer to her, Leia unnaturally still in her arm, and also stretched her head over the tree trunk. "So they fought," she breathed.
Satine nodded stiffly, watching as the clones shifted on their feet, but then lowered their weapons. Just then, Anakin suddenly raised his remaining arm and gave a signal.
Movement spread through the treetops above the heads of the small group until two silhouettes swooped down on the clones like shadows. The figures manifested into Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, Satine realized with relief, as she watched the two Jedi disarm the clones with precision. It was only then that Anakin moved as well. The padawan leapt away, leaving the other two a bit of space. Faster than she was able to follow what was going on, both jedi had moved. It almost looked like they were mirroring their moves as they pressed their hands against the soldier's heads. Anakin had to move his hand from one clone to the other, but still he was too fast for them to do anything about it. They started dropping to the ground, like marionettes which strings had been cut loose.
Satine and Padme had already scrambled out of their hiding spots, as they proceeded to snap binders around the men's hands.
"Anakin!", Padme called, running ahead. The man looked up as he heard his name, his eyes widening.
"Padme…", he answered, his voice coarse, as he stepped forward hesitantly. As they finally stood in front of each other, Anakin's gaze darted between his wife and the baby in her arms. His eyes were glassy as he finally lifted his hand to caress Padme's cheek. He was saying something, but Satine couldn't understand it as she had stepped back to give the pair a moment. Anakin then moved his hand to take Leia's tiny hand into his. The girl looked at him with wide eyes, unsure about this new stranger.
"Hey, little one," he whispered, his blue eyes shining, "I am your father."
"This is Leia," Padme filled in for him, a wide smile on her face, "Do you want to hold her?"
Anakin suddenly halted his movement and Satine thought that she saw a flash of fear crossing over his face. "I… I don't know if that is a good idea. I don't want to hurt her."
Padme seemed to notice as well as she took a step back, eyeing him careful. "Oh Ani…"
He pursed his lips, lowering his head. "I'm sorry."
"No, no," she instantly reassured him, "It's okay, we'll try again when you're feeling better."
Anakin only nodded meekly, looking defeated. I was that moment that Satine decided to approach them with Luke. The boy was still whimpering quietly.
"And this your son, Anakin," she said, holding the baby so that he could see him, "Luke."
He held out one of his fingers and Luke almost instantly made a grab for it, suddenly looking delighted. Satine smiled at the small gesture.
"I think he might be feeling you in the Force," she guessed, lifting her head to look at Anakin.
"Both of them are shining so bright," the father mouthed, entranced by his children, "Almost blinding."
He then met her eyes. "I don't know how to thank you. I can only imagine how much you did for them."
"You don't need to thank me," she replied honestly, "You would have done the same for us."
It was in that moment that Ahsoka approached them. "Master?", she asked gingerly, uncertainty reflecting in her eyes.
Anakin turned to look at her and again, like with his children as Satine noted, he was hesitant. But before he could say something, his padawan engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug, almost toppling both of them over. The jedi's face twisted painfully but he kept himself in check. Slowly, he lifted his remaining arm and returned the hug.
"I've missed you so much," Ahsoka muttered into his chest, making no indication to let go off him anytime soon.
"I'm so sorry", he breathed, his hand carding over her montrals.
Obi-Wan joined them, a slight smile on his face as he saw the scene. "You shouldn't crush your master, Ahsoka", he chuckled.
The padawan just shrugged her shoulders, keeping her grip on Anakin.
The jedi master shook his head in amusement and then finally faced her.
"Hey," he greeted, stepping close to her and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek, "Everything alright?"
Satine huffed. "I can't believe you did it."
His smile faded and she immediately knew that not everything was alright. "I somehow managed to break Anakin's chip and together we defeated Palpatine… but," he swallowed thickly, "I'm afraid that Master Yoda didn't make it." The sadness she had hoped she wouldn't have to see again so soon had come back into his eyes. Gray overshadowed the otherwise brilliant blue.
"Oh no," she gasped in shock. Satine had never known the ancient jedi master personally, but she knew that Obi-Wan had always looked up to him in a way, despite Yoda being at fault for a lot of things that went wrong in her partner's past. Him being dead now was another blow to Obi-Wan's self-esteem. She knew that he blamed himself. He always did. It had been the same as Plo died.
She adjusted her grip on Luke who started wiggling in her arms again.
Obi-Wan noticed her struggle and offered his arms. "Here, let me take him for a moment. You must be exhausted."
There was a makeshift bandage wrapped around one of his forearms. Satine inspected him closer for a second. His hair was disheveled, dirt was smeared over his face, barely covering the small cuts that littered his skin. His exhaustion seemed evident, but still he seemed to lighten up when he saw one of the kids.
Hesitating for a moment, she finally handed him the baby. Luke looked at him with wide eyes, but then giggled to himself, one tiny hand reaching for Obi-Wan's beard. Screwing up his face, Obi-Wan let him have it for a moment, until finally he gingerly took the tiny fingers aside with his own finger. The deep lines that had been carved into his face ceased a bit.
Satine's heart soared as she watched the two. She was sure Obi-Wan would be a great father.
But now was not the time.
"How do we proceed now?", she dared to ask, her eyes roaming between the unconscious clones and Obi-Wan.
"Anakin and I will be going up to the Negotiator. If we can get it back under our control, it could function as a kind of base. Also with the medbay there we might be able to deactivate and remove the clone's chips."
Her eyes grew wide. "You two intend to do what? That's insane!", she hissed outraged.
At her outburst Padme joined them, a puzzled look on her face. "What's going on?"
Before Obi-Wan could defend himself, Anakin spoke up, having disentangled himself from Ahsoka. "We want to take the Negotiator back."
Padme also shook her head in bewilderment. "You can't be serious."
Anakin glanced briefly at Obi-Wan before continuing. "We don't like it either, but this is the only way. We need that Star Destroyer."
"And how do you plan to get aboard undetected?" interjected Satine, still unconvinced.
"Anakin will pose as Vader, and I'll take Cody's armor," Obi-Wan also defended their plan this time, "I'm not much shorter than a clone, so it shouldn't be obvious at first glance."
She shook her head. "I don't like this."
It seemed that Obi-Wan's patience was thinner than usual. "Do you want to be stuck here forever?", he snapped.
Satine looked at him stonily. "If this madness stops then, I can live with it."
"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Obi-Wan whispered, disappointed, "So many times you've said that you shouldn't just think of yourself, but of others as well. And now you're just going to give up? Satine, with this ship we could help so many more people."
"How many more sacrifices do you intend to make, Obi-Wan? We both know that one of them will ultimately be your last." Her voice was biting, laced with disappointment, fear and despair.
Satine looked at him for a last time.
"I can't stop you anyway," she stated resignedly, stepping forward and taking Luke from his arms again. A hurt look came to his face, but this she ignored. "Then you should leave now."
Obi-Wan stared at her as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. He then just nodded stiffly and took a step back. His silence was only confirmation for her that he knew that she was right.
Anakin broke the uncomfortable silence. "I think we should take the ship you came in and fly all the way to the village. From there, Obi-Wan and I will take the troop transport. We can keep the men here in the cargo hold of the ship, Ahsoka will guard them."
Satine squared her jaw, anger brimming under her skin. If they wanted to have it this way, fine. She would not stop them. Refocusing on Luke, who had watched her expression change with his big blue eyes, she began walking off towards the ship.
Their little argument did not settle easy with him. Obi-Wan had not expected Satine to be delighted about their decision but still, her not understanding it at all had felt like a stab in the chest to him. They definitely needed to talk after this was over.
He hadn't talked to her during the flight to the village and also not when Anakin had said his goodbyes to his family. Obi-Wan knew that it was better if he left Satine alone for a while. Her words kept coming back to him as he strode to the empty street of the village, intending to fetch Master Yoda's body. She was right. But he also knew that he would never be able to close his eyes with a good conscience knowing that he could have helped and deliberately chose not to.
That's not who he was. And Satine knew that.
He finally reached the small bundle on the road, but immediately noticed that it was smaller than before. Slowly, he knelt down, lifting the fabric.
The body was gone. Only the small lightsaber was left behind. With a trembling hand he picked it up, his finger tracing over the smooth metal.
He had only read about this phenomena in books. That extraordinary strong Force users were able to literally become one with the Force upon their death. For him it had only been sort of a mantra, but seeing it with his own eyes now was something that shook his faith.
Obi-Wan stood back up, still tightly holding the lightsaber. He stared at the discarded cloak on the ground.
"I hope you are in a better place now, master," he whispered, then turned to leave.
His mind was spiraling. The need to just sit down and never stand up again was now stronger then ever. But he needed to stand above his fears and anxieties.
Obi-Wan banished all the dark thoughts from his mind and carried on.
Still, he worried about his former padawan. He had immediately noticed that Anakin had grown silent after he had finally met his children. Like he was closing himself of from his own family. After Obi-Wan had managed to change into Cody's armor and somehow wedge his head into the bit to small helmet, he joined his friend in the cockpit of the transport, where Anakin was already fiddling with the controls.
"You alright?", he asked, his voice strangely distorted by the modulator.
Anakin didn't look at him. "Sure."
Obi-Wan sighed and took a seat next to his former padawan. "You're awfully quiet… I thought you would be happy, now that Padme and the kids are back at your side."
Anakin's hand tightened around the steering wheel as he whipped his head around, his eyes glinting darkly. "It's not like that!", he snapped, "I-…"
He stopped himself and bit his lip, taking a deep breath. After a moment he spoke again, this time quieter and more collected. "It's not like that. I am happy to see them… really. But right now, it's just… too much."
Obi-Wan tilted his head trying to catch his friend's expression through the visor of the helmet. "Do you want to talk about anything?"
As expected, Anakin shook his head. "No, not right now."
It was not the right time to push the subject, Obi-Wan knew this. "Alright, but you know I am here to listen if you need me."
"Sure, Obi-Wan."
Anakin then wordlessly started the engine and they lifted up, heading towards the Negotiator which was still cycling in orbit.
"So, how do you plan to deactivate the chips?" he asked after a few minutes, the silence slowly starting to nag on him.
"EMPs", came the short answer and Obi-Wan couldn't help himself and shook his head.
"I know you don't really want to talk but we need to work together if we want to have a chance," he grumbled, "So would you please enlighten me on what exactly you mean by that?"
Anakin leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Electric impulses. If I am able to modify an EMP grenade so that its frequency disturbs the chip's function, we might be able to deactivate them."
Obi-Wan lifted his eyebrows in surprise, but the other couldn't see that since his face was hidden by the helmet. "That's your idea? Electrocuting our men?"
"If you have a better plan", Anakin grunted, "I'm all ears."
He did not. And that has always been a thing he did not like. "No," he answered quietly, turning his head back towards the viewport, "How many men did you bring?"
Next to him, his friend finally turned to look at him. Obi-Wan could practically feel the words that had been left unsaid between them.
"50," Anakin said, "And seven of them accompanied us down here."
"So we have to handle 43 up there."
Anakin hummed in response. "If this doesn't work, we're screwed."
"I know," Obi-Wan said solemnly, absently tracing one of the scratches carved deeply into the left vambrace. The golden paint was chapped off, replaced by many blackened scorch marks.
He silently wondered if Cody had killed a jedi.
"One of us has to get as many EMPs as possible, the other should try to deactivate the external comm system."
This time it was Obi-Wan who nodded. "Keep them from calling for reinforcements. Good thinking. Which part do you want to take?"
"The comm stations. Maybe in the process I can find some more information about the chip in the database."
"Alright." Obi-Wan sat up again.
"You have something on your mind," Anakin said suddenly.
He didn't know what to make of his former padawan right now. His behavior somehow irritated him more than ever. To say that he was worried about his friend was an understatement. He kept his gaze fixed on the starship slowly growing closer as he replied. "Just a bit worried. That's all."
"You don't seem convinced about this plan."
Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I am just tired. I have the feeling that I'm getting careless. It's just a matter of time before I make a mistake. And there's too much at stake for that."
"You know we've only come this far because of you?"
"I wasn't alone."
Anakin sighed. "I'm serious, Obi-Wan."
"That makes two of us."
His friend shook his head and turned away again, his face contorting. "Whatever you say. We'll be right there. Are you ready?"
"Sure." The whole thing left a bitter taste on his tongue, but there was nothing he could do about it.
When they came within range of the Negotiator and they were hailed, he banished his worries from his mind, now playing his role.
"This is CC-2224, requesting permission to board," he said monotonously at their request. Next to him Anakin visibly stiffened, but Obi-Wan could not care about that now.
Both men stared spellbound at the control pane, time passing as if in slow motion. After a moment, the longed-for confirmation finally came and the line disconnected again. Anakin expelled a breath and steered the ship toward the hangar.
Anakin pursed his lips, not looking at him. "I know this isn't easy for you... Since these are your men. You sure you want to go through with this?"
Sighing, Obi-Wan rose from his seat. "I'll be fine. You just remember your role."
With that, he left the cockpit. He needed a moment alone. The helmet on his head felt like it was squeezing the air out of him. There was nothing he would rather do than rip it off his head.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a second, blocking out the thoughts that tried to suffocate him. It was the truth what he had said to Anakin. He was tired. Sleep didn't come easy to him anymore. Somehow something always kept him awake, silently nagging on his mind.
And then there was Anakin. He knew that his friend needed help, but somehow, he lacked the strength to do it.
The ship shook a bit as they touched down in the hanger and he braced himself against the wall as his knee made itself known again at the sudden movement. The ship's engine died down and he found himself caught in sudden silence. Behind him the door to the cockpit swooshed open and Anakin stopped beside him, again with that worried expression on his face.
"Just don't ask," Obi-Wan grumbled, still rubbing his aching limb, tired of the same dialogue over and over.
"I wasn't going to," was all Anakin said before walking past him towards the ramp, "You coming?"
Pushing himself off the wall, he tried to adjust the helmet for a last time, but to no avail. He would have to deal with the headache later. Disgruntled, he limped more than walked over to his former padawan.
The man shot him a look, but said nothing. Instead, he pushed the opening button to reveal the all-to-familiar hangar of the Negotiator. Obi-Wan swallowed. The Force was agitated, the usual calm atmosphere this cruiser normally held was nowhere to be found.
Some of the troopers were awaiting them. They stood more stiffly than usual, all of them wearing their helmets. It made Obi-Wan angry. There was the sudden urge to kill Palpatine all over again. He clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists, letting Anakin go down the ramp first.
"Lord Vader, Commander, we've been awaiting your return" one of the clones greeted as they stepped in front of the group, Obi-Wan tagging a few steps behind, where his place was supposed to be.
Anakin nodded in acknowledgement. "The emperor has some unfinished business. He will join us later. Keep the ship ready to depart and await further orders. You may leave now."
"Sir, yes, sir," came the unison answer and the troopers began to spread out to retake their positions. They hadn't noticed that something was off.
"I'll meet you in the training salle as soon as I am finished," Anakin, now again Vader for the time being, whispered before starting to walk off as well, leaving Obi-Wan standing in the hangar.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he muttered, before also beginning to follow his task.
Obi-Wan exited the hanger, avoiding most of the troopers that crossed his way. It was only when he turned into the last corridor that separated him from getting to the weapon storage, he ran into one of his men.
They called him Knife. He had only recently been assigned to Obi-wan's battalion, but it had quickly become clear where he got his name. The clone had played around with a small knife over and over again, letting it slip between his fingers and throwing it, only to elegantly catch it again. And the whole thing without cutting himself even once. Obi-Wan had to admit that this had been impressive.
Now there was no knife. They stood a little awkwardly in front of each other, and yet Obi-Wan could feel the eyes of his opponent analyzing him closely.
'He's noticed that I'm a little shorter than he is,' he thought bitterly, biting his tongue painfully. Trying not to let on, he stood as straight as possible and squared his shoulders.
"Trooper," he greeted, taking a step to the side to pass the man.
Obediently, the man made way for him, though his gaze never left him. "Commander," he saluted back.
Obi-Wan had already taken a few steps when the man spoke again. "Sir, you know that it is mandatory to visit the Med Bay if you are injured."
Halting in his tracks, he turned. "What makes you say that?" he hissed.
Knife took a step back, lowering his head a little. "You're limping, sir."
"I assure you that is of no concern to you, trooper," he growled, making the man back off further, "Now get back to work."
Luckily, the clone obeyed immediately. He mumbled quickly: "Of course, sir. If you would excuse me", he then quickly made his way to the end of the hallway. Obi-Wan did not move again until the door slid shut behind the man.
Only as he was sure that he was alone again, he waltzed down towards the weapon storage, anger seething under his skin. Maybe he should have stopped Knife from leaving. If the man had noticed that something was off, then they were in trouble.
The door to the weapon storage finally opened before him and he stepped inside, his eyes already searching the seemingly endless shelves. The supplies were almost empty, he realized with dismay. Most of the shelves were unfilled, with a single weapon lying here and there.
The Empire must not have restocked.
Obi-Wan went to the other end of the room, where the explosives were stored. Here, too, things didn't look any better. Just six EMPs.
"Shit," he cursed, grabbing the grenades. He stuffed them into a pouch he had found lying in a corner and swung it onto his back. In his head he was already calculating how this was going to work. Six was too few. Way too few. He reached out with the Force and found Anakin at the other end of the ship. Their bond was still too fragile after they had restored it, and so Obi-Wan could only nudge his friend's mind slightly to signal him.
It still hurt. The tearing of the bond had taken more out of him than he had wanted to admit. It had hurt at first to use the Force. Now that they'd restored the bond, it was like trying to fix a big puncture wound with a tiny Band-Aid. The healing effect was rather low.
Still, he was glad to have Anakin by his side again. Even if he wondered if their friendship would ever be the same again. And whether their bond would grow stronger again.
Determined, he made his way to the training salles. Fortunately, this time he met no one on his way. The training salles still looked the way he remembered them. He settled down on one of the benches, placing the bag between his feet. Now it was time to wait. And hope that Anakin had an idea.
After half an eternity his former Padawan appeared. His expression was tense.
"Please tell me you've had more success than I have," he grumbled, watching his friend through the visor.
"The external comm systems are down, and I was actually able to find out about the chip via Palpatine's code. I just don't know if I really figured it out."
Obi-Wan hummed. "Well, I have to tell you that I just got six EMPs."
"Six?" hissed Anakin, "Kriff, that's far too few. Where did all the supplies go?"
"You tell me," he shot back, a little unnerved.
His friend began pacing in front of him, arms folded as far as they could go with only one hand and obviously thinking. Suddenly he stopped and cursed again. "I almost forgot. The supplies were mostly taken from the ship for... For the storming of the temple."
Obi-Wan propped his head on his hands. "Great, can you still do something with what we have?"
"We'll have to try," Anakin settled in front of the bench, and grabbed the pouch, spreading the grenades in front of him, "I need your help here."
"What do you need me to do?," he asked, straightening his back again.
"Try to open them and pull the wires out. But be careful, they might detonate if you accidently break something inside."
Sighing, Obi-Wan plucked one of the grenades of the floor. "Sure, let the man who knows nothing at all about technology fiddle with the explosive device." The HUD inserted into the visor of the helmet somehow made it extremely difficult for him to focus and his head was already starting to ache again.
"You always said you never stop learning," Anakin threw back with a grin, "Besides, I'd do it myself, but with only one hand it's difficult."
"Yeah yeah, just talk yourself out of it," he grumbled, concentrating on carefully undoing the screws with the Force and getting to the inside of the grenade, "What are you going to do once I get these things open?"
His friend's signature lit up a bit and for a second Obi-Wan thought he saw the little boy who was tinkering with his droids again. "We wire them together. Create in principle one large grenade. And then I'm going to change a little bit of the frequency and strength of the pulse so hopefully the chips can be deactivated."
Obi-Wan gave him a quick look. "As many times as you've turned something into a bomb without actually meaning to, I trust you completely here."
They continued to work on their task. Obi-Wan did as Anakin instructed, not nearly as precisely and deftly as he would have liked, but at least they were making progress. In the end, they had finally connected the grenades. Only the last step was missing.
"Here," Obi-Wan held out the small circuit board to Anakin.
"Hold it still," his friend murmured, his fingers hovering gingerly over the tiny components. Fascinated, he watched as parts shifted shallowly, even if he didn't understand what exactly Anakin was doing.
After a few minutes, his counterpart lowered his hand. "Done."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that's the right setting?"
Anakin shrugged. "I don't. Just have a feeling."
"Famous last words. But well then, let's get started. We don't have time to waste."
He pushed their construct back into the bag and stood up from the bench. "Where do you want to gather the men?"
His friend got up as well and looked around. "I actually thought about doing it right here."
He thought about it for a moment, but then agreed. Still, there was something Anakin needed to know. "Before we do this, I need to tell you something," he started, earning himself a confused look, "I ran into one of the troopers. I think he might have noticed that something is off."
"Blast," Anakin ran a hand over his face, visibly displeased with this development, "There's nothing we can change about this now. We need to start. You know what you need to do?"
"Yes, but Anakin…," he put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "If he has recognized me or something goes wrong… don't blow your cover for me."
Anakin shook his head and stepped back, brushing his hand from his shoulder. "Don't ask such a thing of me. Now come."
Before Obi-Wan could object, Anakin had activated the commlink on his arm and his voice boomed through the speakers.
"All men assemble in the training salles. Now."
The bad feeling returned, making his stomach churn. Anakin positioned himself in the middle of the room. Obi-Wan took his position opposite of him, somewhat to the left. The bag with the grenade that was supposed to save them all felt unnaturally heavy.
As the men began to drop in one by one, it felt like the temperature in the room seemed to drop by a few degrees. Something was off.
Silently he counted.
33, 34, 35...
No one came in anymore. Anakin seemed to have noticed it, too, because suddenly he seemed tense. Obi-Wan felt eyes searching his direction again and again.
They knew it.
"Where are the rest?", Anakin asked, squaring his shoulders and tapping his foot impatiently, trying not to fall out of his role. No one of the men moved. Obi-Wan wished he could catch their expressions. Like this he had no indication of what was going in their heads. The Force felt strange around them, twisted in a way. He didn't recognize his comrades anymore.
Anakin stepped closer to group. "I asked you a question," he growled, impatience evident in his voice. Still, no one dared to answer.
Suddenly, Anakin reached out and pulled one of the men with the Force toward him. As soon as the trooper was within reach, his fingers were around his neck, squeezing.
'Anakin what are you doing?,' Obi-Wan hissed over their bond, but his friend blocked him.
He had to restrain himself from intervening.
Anakin's blue eyes bored into his counterpart. "Answer my question."
The clone flinched as Anakin's fingers squeezed tighter. But it was having an effect. "Sir, we have reason to believe there is a traitor among us," he blurted out.
Obi-Wan watched as his friend tilted his head. There was this twinkle in his eye that he couldn't place. It worried him.
'Anakin...' Again, no response.
"A traitor? And who would that be?" he drawled, his face very close in front of the other man's visor.
As if in slow motion, he watched the clone's head turn in his direction. "Your commander, my lord."
Anakin laughed. "My commander? And what leads you to this witty conclusion?"
Obi-Wan's heart grinded to a painful halt.
"Sir...," the soldier suddenly seemed less certain, "... He's got a limp, and he's a little shorter than we are."
"Oh really?", Anakin took his hand back and crossed his arms, suddenly looking amused. "Let's see then. CC-2224 step forward."
Hesitantly, Obi-Wan stepped forward.
'What are you doing?' he tried again.
Finally, Anakin shot him a short glance. 'Just trust me.'
Clenching his teeth, Obi-Wan took his place next to the other trooper. In front of them, Anakin began to pace up and down, pretending to inspect them closely. After a moment, he stopped in front of them again. "I see no difference," he stated coolly.
Immediately, the clone beside him stiffened. There was a brief flash of fear palpable in the Force. "But, sir..."
Unease spread.
'Anakin, this can't be working.'
'Let me think.'
'We're running out of time.'
'I know.'
'Then think of something, damn it!'
'Fire the grenade.'
'What?'
'Do it now.'
Even if the plan involved more insanity than reason at this point, Obi-Wan had to blindly trust his friend. With the Force, he pressed the detonator.
Within an instant, his world was filled with a blinding flash and a stabbing pain. And then there was only darkness.
Mando'a translation:
"Ni'm bid Ni ceta, ner adiik" - "I am so sorry my child."
It was planned that this chapter would be longer, but then I split it up.
I hope you like it anyway!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas :)