15

Yoda stood at the helm of the ship One's End. With him were all the members of the Jedi Council. They waited silently above the Planet Malastare. The methane giant loomed before them in the front viewport. They watched it with calm stares, preparing for the end of days. In their minds this could very well be the end of the war between the Jedi and the Sith.

"Pilot," Mace Windu said calmly from behind his draping brown hood. "Go ahead and get us planet-side."

"Wait." Yoda said, narrowing his eyes. It seemed to the others that he was sensing something. For what seemed like forever the short Whill stood, searching through the voice. He heard an echo of a friend long lost. It rang through his large ears once, and merely faded away.

"Go we should not. Amiss something is."

The Jedi measured Yoda's seriousness, and then nodded. If anyone there was to be trusted with instincts, it was Yoda.

"Then we will not go planet-side," Windu sounded off. "Get us back to Coruscant as fast as possible."

Anakin opened his eyes. Slowly at first, but everything appeared to be blurry. He realized that he wasn't breathing on his own. Some machine opened and contracted his lungs every few seconds. In a matter of time, he realized he was in a bacta tank in the Jedi Temple.

In front of him, distorted by the round glass, was several members of the Jedi Council. Yoda stood at the head of all of them, gazing into the blue liquid. Directly beside him was his friend, his brother, his mentor, Obi-Wan.

Anakin peered down through the liquid, and noticed that the cauterized hole in his right shoulder had healed tremendously. What was a thumb-sized hole had become a round scar. He knew the wound would never fully heal. It was just another scar on his body given to end the Clone Wars.

"He fought and defeated both Sith Lords, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan said proudly. "I was afraid it was the end of all of us."

"That he is the Chosen one, Skywalker has shown."

"It was only by the will of the force that I contacted you and kept the Council from landing on Malastare."

Yoda turned to look at him, a scowl on his face. "You, I heard not," He said, deep in sincerity. "Your fallen Master, it was."

The two could only stare at each other. It was Qui-Gon that had contacted Yoda.

"Lifted the veil of the Dark Side has."

"We don't exactly know what waited for us on Malastare," Mace Windu whispered. "Perhaps we will never know. But we can rest assured that Sidious' move wasn't as stupid as we first conceived." He rubbed his hand across his bald head. "It would have made no sense to wait for over two decades to bring down the Republic and the Jedi Order to throw it all away with some stupid attack."

Obi-Wan watched the sun rise above the skyline, glittering among the buildings in a thousand rays of light. A sparse amount of clouds moved about, but they dared not block the brilliant morning. It was the dawn of the Galactic Republic. The rain clouds had disappeared into the void, bringing forth a marvelous palette of warming colors. At that moment, Obi-Wan realized that the dawn could not have been a better hallmark of the rebirth.

Anakin pulled his cloak over his shoulders with a resounding sigh, one that denoted not weariness, but refreshment. The skies of his soul were no longer that of a torrential squall, but the gentle dusk over an ocean. He made his way briskly through the halls to meet Obi-Wan. As he walked, he thought about the recent events. They had all passed so quickly through him that they were a blur of emotion and pain. All in all he was thankful for the events though, for they had freed his soul from the clutches of fear.

He found Obi-Wan standing on a balcony that overlooked the jagged skyline of Coruscant. His master looked tired, but happy, which warmed his soul.

"Master, I'm glad I found you." He put an arm around Obi-Wan.

"How is your wound?" Obi-Wan smiled. "You're lucky you know, Sidious' saber went all the way through you. If he had been centered any more, you wouldn't be here."

"The will of the force, I suppose."

An eyebrow lifted over Obi-Wan's right eye. "I suppose."

Anakin looked down over the city scape, trying to find the proper words.

"Master, there's something you should know."

Obi-Wan stared at him concernedly. "Yes?"

"Padme and I aren't just husband and wife."

"She's expecting."

Anakin's face ran blood red. Was there no extent to what he knew? "You know?"

"I felt it," Obi-Wan said with content. "The Skywalker name has not been doubled, but tripled."

Anakin could only bring himself to nod. He was completely at a loss for words. Deep down, he knew that if he even tried to open his mouth, nothing but a hiss of air would come forth.

"You do realize," Obi-Wan continued. "That no matter what you do, this is soon going to be known to the Jedi Order."

Once again Anakin nodded. "I suppose my days as a Jedi Master are numbered."

"We will see, my young friend."

"My point of telling you this, Obi-Wan, is that I would be greatly honored if you would be the twin's Godfather."

Now it was time for Obi-Wan to be silenced by shock.

"You've been a father to me, Master, and the best way I can think to repay you is this."

Obi-Wan embraced him, cradling Anakin's tousled head in his hand.

"I too have broken the Jedi Code of conduct. I have formed an attachment."

The two needed not to mention anything further on the subject. Both souls were at peace with each other and the universe around them.