Interlude: Resonat

DROMUND KAAS: KAAS CITY

"I have failed you, Anakin," Obi-wan heard himself say. "I have failed you."

The lava glow shimmered in his brother's wide eyes, the orange-red heat flickering across his pained expression. "I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over," Anakin cried out.

Obi-wan couldn't believe what he was hearing. How had Palpatine gotten into his head so thoroughly, that he had managed to warp Anakin's perception altogether? He shook his head and tried once more to reach him. "Anakin! Chancellor Palpatine is evil!"

Anakin instantly yelled back. "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!"

And this was where Obi-wan knew he had truly failed him. He normally shouted, "Then you are lost!" When he could have—and should have— asked Anakin why he'd felt that way. Instead, when he had finally opened up to him for once, and expressed how he was feeling... Obi-wan had allowed his emotions to cloud his judgement, resorting to scolding and berating as he had done previously. As before, he'd dismissed his former padawan's feelings, and effectively told him he was wrong.

But in this dream... the same dream he relived night after night, something changed. His dream-self said something different... "Why?"

The fiery intensity fell from Anakin. Suddenly reflective, his eyes dropped to the lava, the blue bladed tip of his lightsaber lowering toward the droid beneath his feet. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was the sound of a child's scream; a loud piercing wail that seemed to echo from all around.

Obi-wan panicked and called out to him, and Anakin looked up. But still, all he heard was the same crying, the constant sobbing sound not matching the movement of his lips. The wailing got louder, and a different cry joined the first, this one higher pitched and screaming...

Panting heavily, Obi-wan jerked upright in the recliner. He'd fallen asleep again. Looking to the window, he stared at the darkened view of Kaas City outside, blew out a long breath and roughly tugged at his hair. Could it really have been that simple? Could he have actually saved Anakin from this fate if he had remembered his training, and not allowed himself to get caught up in his grief and anger over what he had witnessed in the Temple? He sighed and slumped forward. It couldn't have been that simple, surely. Anakin had already made his choice.

But what if it had been? Would that mean all this really was his—

"Obi-wan!"

Jolted from his thoughts, Obi-wan spun around in his seat. Sabé was standing before Padmé and Anakin's bedchamber, one hand on her hip, the other pointed toward the open door.

"Can you not hear the twins?" she asked him. "They've been crying for ages."

He heard them then. So, apparently the wailing sound hadn't been coming from his dream after all, rather, from Luke and Leia in the other room. He pushed up from the recliner, wearily rubbed the moisture from his eyes, then started toward her. "I'm sorry, Sabé... I've not been myself lately."

Sabé smiled at him, and gently touched his shoulder as they went to enter Anakin and Padmé's bedroom together. "It's alright, I know you haven't," she said soothingly. "I often hear you calling out to him at night."

"I see..." Obi-wan said, and continued on toward the cot. Luke was holding onto the railing, tears streaming down his little face. And Leia was screaming at the top of her lungs, kicking at the covers wrapped around her feet. They were both terribly distraught, their combined upset echoing through the Force like a cyclone.

Obi-wan reached into the cot, scooped up Luke and used the Force to calm him. Sabé attempted to do the same with his sister, but Leia fought back; crying and struggling in Sabé's arms as she tried to hold her to her chest.

"She's as feisty as her mother," Sabé said, wrestling with the young Skywalker. She followed Obi-wan out from the bedroom and back to the window.

Stopping by the recliner, Obi-wan glanced over his shoulder and watched Leia repeatedly slap at Sabé, still trying to break free. The tight expression on her face was so much like Anakin when he was younger; the same deep creases in her brow, the same unyielding fire burning in her eyes. He sighed and slumped down into the seat with Luke. "Yes. But she has her father's temper," he muttered.

"Da–da..." Luke whimpered at the mention of his father, burying his face into the crook of Obi-wan's neck. "Da–da..."

Obi-wan looked down and stroked the boy's blonde hair. "I know, young one. Don't worry, your Dada will be home soon."

Sat in the seat opposite, Sabé got comfortable and laid Leia down against her chest. "Have you spoken to Padmé recently?"

"Yes," he said. "She called me last night."

"And... did she say when she was returning?"

Luke started to stir, and Obi-wan gently rubbed at his back. "He is bringing her back today. They're due to arrive some time later tonight."

Frowning, Sabé locked gazes with him. "When you say "He" I assume you mean, Vader?"

Curious, Obi-wan raised a brow at her. "Who else would I be referring to?"

She sighed and looked away. "I don't know... I guess I was hoping—"

"Sabé..." Obi-wan said seriously, "you must try to put aside your resentment toward him. It isn't helping matters."

"I know. It's just..." she muttered reflectively. "When I think about what he did to Padmé..." Sabé's expression hardened and she stared at him. "He nearly killed her, Obi-wan. How can you do that to someone you love?"

Obi-wan looked to the window. Unlike Sabé, he'd spent a lot of time analysing and overthinking what had transpired on Mustafar. In a way, he'd come to understand some of the motivations behind Anakin's actions that night—at least, he thought he had. He closed his eyes, then exhaled, deeply. "I do not believe Anakin ever had any intention of hurting her," he said, shaking his head. "I think he'd just become so lost and confused, that when the two of us had him backed into a corner, he panicked and lashed out to try and reclaim control over the situation."

"That doesn't excuse him for what he did," Sabé hotly bit back.

"No, it does not..." he conceded. "But, knowing Anakin, he probably thought he could—" sensing a presence watching them, Obi-wan stopped and looked up. Syrennè was standing by the far wall, behind Anakin's command desk, just in front of the door leading down to his comm room. Her arms were folded, and she was wearing a new black cloak, the hood drawn down to cover her face. Obi-wan cleared his throat. "Well, hello there," he said, meeting the young woman's concealed gaze.

Syrennè briefly hesitated, then strode forward from the wall and stopped before Anakin's desk. "Did I hear you correctly?" she asked, her once sweet and innocent voice, now sharp and to the point.

Obi-wan stroked his beard. "I suppose that all depends on what you thought you heard," he answered cryptically.

"Don't toy with me, Obi-wan," Syrennè hissed, folding her arms again. "Is my Master coming back today, or not?"

He narrowed his gaze at her. "My, my... already so impatient. We have become quite the little Sith now, haven't we?" he goaded. "Your ethereal Sith friend must be quite proud."

Syrennè growled at him. "Darth Malgus has taught me more in this past week, than the Jedi Order ever did. He is twice the warrior you were, and infinitely more powerful!"

"Darth Malgus..." Obi-wan mused, looking down and stroking his beard again. "So that's his name. I must admit, I was curious..."

"Answer me, Kenobi!"

Suddenly irritated, Obi-wan snapped his head up and glared at Syrennè from his seat. Deciding to test a theory, he embellished on the truth slightly so he could assess her reaction. "Yes, your Master is returning today," he said pointedly. "And... he is bringing his Wife back with him, so the two of them can spend some quality time bonding with their children."

A surge of anger eddied from the former youngling through the Force, and Obi-wan knew he'd hit his mark.

"So be it," Syrennè snarled. Then she turned away and stormed off.

Obi-wan watched her leave, not taking his eyes off her cloaked figure until she disappeared through the opening and secured the passage entrance behind her. Frowning, he stared at the closed wall; deep in thought. Ever since that day back on Tatooine, when she'd held Anakin's lightsaber and been subjected to the traumatic visions of his past, Obi-wan had sensed she'd become connected to him in some way. After Anakin had agreed to take her on as his apprentice, that connection seemed to strengthen, fostering an almost possessive kind of bond between her and her new Master. A bond that greatly bothered Obi-wan.

"I don't trust her," Sabé commented. "Even Commander Appo seems wary when she's around the twins."

"Yes..." Obi-wan murmured. He glanced to Sabé. "All the more reason for you to let go of your anger. Anakin will need to keep a watchful eye on Syrennè when Padmé returns. He will soon become blinded if he feels you are trying to convince Padmé into leaving him."

Sabé huffed out a long breath, then looked to Leia sleeping on her chest. "Fine. I will try to support him for now... but if he so much as goes to lay a finger on Padmé—"

"Which he won't," Obi-wan interrupted.

She stared at him silently for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, you know him better than anyone—I will trust your judgement. I hope you're right."

So do I... Obi-wan said inwardly, looking to Luke fast asleep in his arms. So do I.