Chapter 3 – Assault on Tatooine

Author's Note: I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but Amatakka and the Tatooine Slave Culture were created by Fialleril. :)

~ Amina Gila


Obi-Wan senses the disturbance in the Force immediately. Danger. Something is very wrong.

He doesn't have to wait more than a few minutes to find out what.

Several palace guards rush into the room only moments later, their worry and fear pouring into the Force. "A Separatist fleet has just come out of hyperspace above the planet. They're blockading it and preparing to land," reports one of them.

Of course. He should have known this would happen eventually. Well, he did suspect it, but it isn't something they're ready to deal with, not right now.

They don't have any sort of air force, and they're still working on trying to rebuild the planet, so they don't have much in way of military force either, though it will be enough to defend the palace if things come to it. Most people on Tatooine can use a blaster, so if the droids start going after the civilians, they should be able to defend themselves, to a point.

But he's not going to take any chances. "Lock down the palace," Obi-Wan orders. That's likely exactly where the droids are heading, already. "Warn the people not to engage the droids in the city unless they have to."

They don't need to start a senseless massacre, because he knows that's exactly what the droids will do if they think they have a reason to.

The guards hurry from the room to do as instructed, and Obi-Wan immediately moves to his long-range transmitter. The Separatists will likely block transmissions any moment now, so he needs to make this fast.

He uses the emergency frequency, and Anakin picks up the call immediately.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin asks, worry clear in his gaze. He knows something's wrong, of course, or Obi-Wan wouldn't be calling him this urgently.

"The Separatists are attacking," he explains, getting right to the point, "See if you can get Republic assistance."

Anakin's reply is abruptly cut off as the line goes staticky. They jammed the transmissions. But he already got the call through. It doesn't matter.

Outside, Obi-Wan can hear the muffled sound of blaster fire.

The droids are here, already.

He hurries from the room, making his way up to the upper levels of the palace, where they have balconies overlooking the surrounding area. He finds Shmi first, positioned on one of the balconies, sniping down at the droids below. Numerous others are already taking up positions to join her.

"There's hundreds of them," she observes, as he moves to join her, expression grim.

There are regular and super battle droids, swarming all around the palace now. There's only way to get through, though.

Through the main entrance door.

And it's totally sealed off. The droids themselves will never be able to get inside.

"They won't be able to break through like that," Obi-Wan observes. The door is literally several feet thick for a reason, after all. Jabba intended the palace to be secure in case of attacks, and that certainly works to their advantage right now.

"Unless they bring in something bigger," Shmi calls, shooting several more times down at the droids. The blasts strike their mark, and the droids collapse to the ground. Some of them try to shoot up at the balconies, but it's too high above them, and the shots miss completely.

"They will," Obi-Wan says, because he knows that much. If they've come this far, they'll be prepared to deal with anything.

Except maybe another Sith.

He doesn't have to wait long to see what the Separatists are planning to do. The droids move out of the way, making room for several much larger spider-shaped droids which march towards the front entrance.

The first of them fires, the blast striking the door hard. Nothing happens, but he knows already that blasts like that are going to damage it, especially if they keep up.

Several of the spider droids fire again, at once, and the blasts slam into the door again.

Shmi aims her blaster downwards, firing at one of them, but the angle is too awkward, and the shot only glances off the side of one of them. At this angle, it will be impossible to destroy them.

"The Republic should be on its way," Obi-Wan declares, and he can only hope it's true. The Separatists have more than enough droids to overrun the entire planet, if that's what they're planning to do. "And I'll be waiting for the droids, if they break through."

He turns away from the balcony, heading down for the main level of the palace.

Almost constant blaster shots are bombarding the door when Obi-Wan finally reaches the ground level. The ground is shaking a little, from the force of it, but still, the door is holding. It's several feet of stone after all. It will be fine. For now.

He reaches down, hands resting on his and Anakin's lightsabers. (He still keeps it with him, because Anakin doesn't take it off planet.) When the droids do get through, he'll be waiting for them.

**w**

"Are you certain of this, Senator?" asks Aayla, expression doubtful.

"Yes," Anakin says, firmly, unable to help but feel a flare of irritation, "I can handle it."

More than they'll ever realize actually, considering that he's the strongest Force sensitive known, according to Obi-Wan. He's just careful to avoid letting any of the Jedi know that.

He supposes her concern about him asking to come down and participate in the literal battle is a reason to be on edge – when she doesn't know he's trained – but he's too tense to care for such concern right now. The Separatists are attacking his home. He is going to make them regret it.

"It is her job to worry," Ahsoka points out, as Aayla walks away, stepping over to Anakin's side. It's good to see her again, though he wishes it was under different circumstances.

"I suppose it is," Anakin agrees, with a forced smile.

"So, uhh... isn't your dad a former Jedi?" asks Ahsoka.

Anakin blinks at the unexpectedness of the question. "Yes...?"

"I'm sure he'll be able to help, back down there. Don't worry, your planet will be fine." He's not sure if she firmly believes that or if she's trying to cheer him up, but he appreciates the effort regardless.

He smiles faintly, reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Snips."

The cruiser of the 501st finally jolts out of hyperspace, only to come face to face with the Separatist ships orbiting the planet. They've installed an entire blockade here, Anakin realizes immediately, and they'll never reach the surface unless they're able to break through here first.

He crosses his arms as he watches out the front viewport, his apprehension skyrocketing. They're already down on the surface and that means there's likely been a battle raging at the palace all this time.

Hopefully the droids aren't taking it out on the civilians too, like they usually do.

And Obi-Wan and Shmi... Are they alright?

He knows Obi-Wan should be fine, but he can't say the same for his mother, not if the droids have managed to break into the palace. They need to get down thee. As soon as possible.

Before long, a space battle is raging all around the cruiser, with Aayla standing the bridge, giving orders to the clones.

The Republic's slave army.

More than anything Anakin wishes they hadn't had to ask for Republic assistance here, but they didn't have much of a choice at this point. Still, that doesn't mean he has to like it. The clones are a slave army, and no matter what excuses the other Senators throw out for why they had to purchase an army, there is none. It's proof that the Republic is corrupt, and if the Separatists weren't just as bad, he'd join them in a heartbeat.

"We may be able to break through and reach the surface, shortly," Aayla announces, finally looking to Anakin.

"You can come with me," Ahsoka offers immediately as the clones who aren't out in the space battle already start heading to the remaining gunships.

Anakin takes a position next to the padawan, and the captain – Rex, he'd heard him being called – of the 501st as they start flying down for the surface once the Republic Star Destroyer is able to drop down into Tatooine's atmosphere.

Explosions ring out around them, as the droids shoot at them, many flying down to try and intercept the gunships.

"We're taking heavy fire!" one of the clones calls.

"Close the blast doors," Rex orders, and the door to the gunship slides closed, plunging them into momentary darkness before the emergency lighting flicks on, flooding them in a red glow.

He can feel the death in the Force, the feel of so many of the clones dying, and it's even more infuriating. All of this death and destruction for nothing. It's not as if the clones have a say in this matter. They don't have a choice. They're being bought and sent off to fight and die for a Republic that's literally enslaving them.

The Republic really isn't any better than the Separatists, in the end.

It's not the first time he's begun to question if Tatooine even belongs as part of the Republic anymore, but it's something he'll have to think about more later. Right now, he needs to focus on the battle; Not that that's hard when he can feel the danger all around them.

Another particularly loud explosion rings out, and the ship suddenly jerks violently.

"We're hit!" warns the clone pilot.

"Just keep us steady," Ahsoka calls, though he can hear the worry in her voice.

He's pretty sure they're much closer to their destination now, but the intensity of the fighting hasn't let up yet. Another shot rings out, and the ship jolts again, hard, nearly throwing all of them to the floor.

"We're going down," the pilot warns, as the gunship shakes violently, and Anakin can feel it speeding for the ground much too quickly for his liking. Right now, he really wishes that he was the one flying the ship. He hasn't flown spaceships ships in all-out battle before but still. He has the Force, and he's crashed enough times to know how to do so while causing minimum damage.

"Hang on," Ahsoka warns him, but he can sense her apprehension in the Force, as she tightens her grip on her handhold.

He can smell smoke now, and that is not a good sign. The ship is burning badly.

Moments later, it slams full force into the ground, dislodging Anakin's grip entirely, and he's abruptly plunged into darkness.

**w**

Ahsoka struggles to push herself upright with a groan. Her head is ringing from being slammed so hard into the side of the gunship, and she knows she's going to have some serious bruises from this. The air inside is smoky too, so it's like she can hardly breathe.

But they need to get out of this ship immediately, in case it's about to blow up or something. Besides, they have battle to be fighting. They need to make it to the others.

Forcing past the pain and dizziness, she tries to drag herself back to her feet, only to slam her head on... something. She's not even sure what part of the ship she's lying on, she supposes, but it might well not be the bottom. It... could be one of the sides, but she's not even sure, because the gravity seems to be in a corner instead of any specific side.

Something moves, and the next she knows, blinding sunlight is flooding her vision. Anakin is standing by the entrance, likely having forced the doors open. Well, he's certainly far more equipped with handling situations like this than any other Senator she's run into. It makes her wonder what his life has been like, because it's as if he's as certain as herself or one of the clones.

"Are you alright?" Anakin asks worriedly, looking them over.

"I will be," Ahsoka groans, climbing shakily out the opening in the gunship.

Rex, and the other two clones in there with them climb out immediately after her. They're all walking, so that's a good sign. But the pilot took the worst part of the impact, and Ahsoka doesn't even have to reach out with the Force to see that they're too late to save him.

"What now?" Ahsoka asks, scanning the horizon. Way up in the sky, she can distinctly make out flashes of a raging space battle, but down here... there's literally nothing. No sign of life or anything.

"We'll have to go on foot," Anakin sighs, looking around.

"That's going to be a long walk," she says grimly.

"We better get going, because this isn't a good time to be out."

She can imagine. She's roasting already, and it definitely doesn't look like there'll be any respite from the heat for a long time. They have very limited water with them too, that survived the crash.

"What are your names?" Anakin asks the clones, almost immediately after he starts leading them through the desert.

They all seem completely taken by surprise at the unexpectedness of the question. To be fair, Ahsoka is herself.

"I'm Captain Rex," he answers, "These are Fives and Echo."

"I can't imagine this was the most welcome greeting," Anakin tells them, "But we're grateful for your help."

"It's... what we were made for, sir," Rex replies.

Ahsoka doesn't miss the way Anakin's expression darkens ever so slightly. (He's always upset with the way clones are treated, and she has to admit he's the one who taught her to treat them like individual humans in the first place. The Jedi don't have much caring for them... it's not that they don't care, they just don't go out of their way to save them, and when they do, it's always about resources.)

Ahsoka isn't sure how long they've been walking, when she suddenly starts to sense an inkling of danger in the Force. Something is wrong, and... She cautiously reaches out, trying to see if she can determine what it is.

The ground beneath them suddenly trembles. Some distance away, sand on one of the dunes starts to shift, almost as though something is moving underneath it.

"What's that?" Ahsoka asks, warily.

The ground trembles again, this time louder, and Anakin stops, expression tense as he looks around. "Run," he orders them, narrowing his eyes and spinning around. "Now."

"Why?" she blurts.

"Now!" he repeats and takes off.

She doesn't ask again and runs after. This is his home planet, after all. Whatever catastrophe is about to strike, he's the one who knows how to deal with it. Hopefully.

They don't get far. The ground shakes violently, and the next thing she knows, she can feel and see it moving, only right behind her. Throwing a frantic glance over her shoulder, she sees something – something enormous – slowly rising up out of the ground behind them.

It has the hugest... head she's seen in her life, and it spans so far on either side behind them, there's no way they could ever run out of its way in time. Its teeth are enormous,and it's slowly opening it's gaping mouth, looming right over their heads.

A blinding panic flares through her, and she tries to keep running, even as she whips out her lightsaber, all the while knowing that it's going to be useless against this monster, whatever it is.

"Stay back," Anakin calls, and abruptly spins around.

**w**

A krayt dragon was not on the list of things Anakin was hoping to deal with today, but there's only one way to stop it, and even if he doesn't want to reveal his secret, they're all going to be dead,if he doesn't. He raises a hand, delving into the Force.

He was never the best at this, but Obi-Wan's made him practice many times before. He can do this. He has to, or it's going to be the last thing he tries doing. And he absolutely refuses to die and let Ahsoka and these three clones die because he couldn't control an animal. He still struggles with it at times, because of the nature of this ability, but he can do it. It requires a deep and absolute understanding of life, and a deep-running trust of the creature being connected with, which is... extremely difficult for Anakin. It always has been, because of his past. He always struggles with trusting any forms of life with which he's not already well-acquainted.

Reaching out with the Force, he tries to connect with the monster's mind. Quickly.

Tries to feel it, through all of its violence and hunger.

He does his best not to look at the gaping mouth over their heads, about to close over them. If this doesn't work, they'll never be able to get away anyway.

Sleep.

The dragon keeps moving forwards, and he presses harder against its mind, sending it calming waves through the Force.

He's the literal strongest Force sensitive in the galaxy. He can do this.

Sleep!

The dragon lets out another growl, and Anakin practically holds his breath, as he continues to press the suggestion against its mind.

After a moment, it starts to back away, slowly sinking down onto the sand, even with its head still exposed, and closes its eyes, drifting off into a Force induced sleep.

It only lasted a master of seconds, but his heart is still pounding from the abruptness.

Now, time to do damage control.

Ahsoka and all the clones are staring at him.

"What did you do?" Ahsoka is the first to find her voice. (To be fair, the clones probably wouldn't ask, since they wouldn't see it as their place.)

"I used the Force," he answers simply.

"But... how?" she objects, frowning.

"Obi-Wan trained me," Anakin explains, "It's something that I really prefer not letting people know, so if you could all not mention it...?"

"Not a problem, sir," Rex replies readily.

"I, uh... sure, if you don't want me to," Ahsoka replies.

"Thank you," he says gratefully. In truth he doesn't know how the Jedi would react, and he doesn't really care to find out. The Council isn't unreasonable, but he has little doubt they'd be very upset if they knew he was trained by a Sith. Obi-Wan had never officially left the Order, either, which makes it more... dangerous for him.

"I thought we were about to become lunch," she says, eyeing the dragon for a few moments before they turn and start to walk away again, "What even was that?"

"A krayt dragon. And that was only it's head. Its body is much bigger."

Ahsoka shudders. "Are those things common?"

"Out in the Dune Sea, yes," Anakin replies, "But there's no real civilization out there, beyond Tuskens and Jawas."

"Sometimes I'm really glad there's no wild animals like that on Coruscant," Ahsoka deadpans. "Not to offend your home planet, or anything, but..."

"I can see why," he says, dryly, "But it's not so bad if you're used to it."

"Well, I hope that's the last... monster we'll be running into, here," she mutters.

Anakin stops in his tracks, at the distant sound of a blaster shot. Right over the next dune of sand, he can see vaporators, which mean they're practically to civilization now. And he can also see a bantha.

"Well, we might have found a different problem," he states grimly, reaching for his blasters.

"What?" Ahsoka asks, warily.

"I don't know yet."

He sprints forwards, to the top of the dune, where he can get a better look.

Sure enough, they've found civilization again, and right in time to see a small group of Tuskens attacking the farm.

Things with the Tuskens on Tatooine have been... better than they used to be, but some of the tribes still attack settlements sometimes.

He fires at the attacking Tuskens, and immediately catches sight of the figure perched on the roof of the house, doing likewise.

Oh no. This is not good.

A clone. They ended up on one of the stowaway clones' farms.

Tatooine has been... Well, they've made it known among the clones that any of them who want to run away from the army are more than welcome to come there, and they'll... conveniently not be found if the Republic comes looking for them.

And now, he's accidentally led Republic soldiers and a Jedi right to one of them. But he knows Ahsoka, and he can probably talk the other three out of outright reporting him.

The Force flares a warning, and Anakin spins around as two more Tuskens appear out of practically nowhere – how do they always do that? – right behind them.

One of them swings their club-stick for him, and he dives out of the way, barely avoiding it as it slams into the ground. Ahsoka whips out her lightsaber, jumping at them. Rex shoots down one of them, and Ahsoka slashes through the other's club and stabs him.

Anakin turns his attention back to the few who are near the entrance of the hut and fires several more times at them. They turn, catching sight of him. One of them yells out their warning cry, and they all run back for the waiting bantha.

Obviously, they realized that they're out numbered this time around.

As soon as Anakin's certain no other Tuskens are planning to try and attack them, he hastily crosses the rest of the distance over to the hut, waiting as the clone climbs down from the roof. He can feel his sudden apprehension and fear as he realizes that there's other clones and a Jedi here.

"Thank you," the clone tells Anakin as the door to his hut opens, and a pink Twi'lek appears in the doorway, a worried look on her face.

Seconds later, the door flies the rest of the way open and two half-human, half-Twi'lek children run out, racing over to the clone and throwing their arms around him.

"What's going on?" the Twi'lek woman asks, warily, approaching them.

"We were passing by, and saw you could use some help," Anakin answers, easily, "Your names?"

"I'm Sue Lawquane," she replies, "And this is my husband, Cut."

"You're a clone, aren't you?" Echo asks bluntly, eyes narrowed as he eyes Cut.

The man sets his two children down, and shoes them towards the house, before Cut replies. "I am."

"You're a deserter," Rex accuses. Anakin can feel his anger mixed with disdain in the Force.

"Well, I like to think I'm merely exercising my freedom to choose. To choose not to kill for a living," Cut retorts.

"That is not your choice to make. You swore an oath to the Republic. You have a duty."

"I have a duty. You're right. But it's to my family. Does that count, or are you still planning to turn me in?"

"Do I have a choice?" Rex demands.

Anakin takes that as his cue to step in. "If you believe that you have to turn him in, I cannot tell you not to." Because he won't force the clones to risk getting themselves in trouble, if they don't want to. Technically, it would be a crime for them not to report this. "But Cut is right. If you don't want to fight, you shouldn't be forced to. This isn't something... that I want to becoming public knowledge, but Tatooine provides protection to any clones who want to leave the Republic military."

"Isn't that... illegal?" Ahsoka frowns.

"Technically, it's also illegal to have a slave army in the first place," Anakin points out.

Ahsoka blinks, opening her mouth and closing it again.

"With all due respect, sir, this is what we were made for. It's our duty," Rex replies.

"Your loyalty is... admirable, Rex," Anakin tells him, because it truly is, but at the same time it's awful to see how loyal people can be to their slave masters. It hurts to see, because these clones least of all deserve it. No one does. No one should have their life permanently in the hands of another, with no will to choose. "But. that's part of my point. You were created for that. You were never given a choice."

Fives and Echo exchange glances behind Rex, but neither of them says anything. Anakin can't help but think that they – at least – are considering his words, even if that won't change their minds right now.

"At the very least, you should have a choice between whether or not you fight for an organization that doesn't even give you any rights, between whether or not you have to keep fighting and watching your brothers die, or live a peaceful life. Just because that's why you were... 'created' –" and it's sickening to talk about like this, "– Doesn't mean you should be forced to stay. That is slavery, even if the Republic calls it something else."

"I never thought about it like that," Ahsoka admits, gaze dropping to the ground.

"Most haven't," Anakin assures her, "And, of course, the Republic will never present it like that because "slavery is illegal". Not that I'm saying the Separatists are any better."

Silence falls over them, and he doesn't think the clones are really sure what to say, at this point.

"I can see what you're saying, sir," Fives concedes after a moment.

"And if any of you ever want... out, you're always going to be welcome here, too," Anakin promises, "So... I know you see it is as your duty to turn in Cut, but... think about what I've said, at least, first."

"I won't turn them in," Ahsoka says, firmly, and Anakin nods, giving her a small smile.

The clones don't say anything, but if Anakin is going to risk a guess, he doesn't think they're planning to, either.

"Now, we need to be getting to the palace," Anakin declares, a sense of urgency settling over him again. They need to get moving.

"You can take my speeder," Cut declares.

Anakin offers his thanks before the four take off again. He can only hope that they'll be able to get back in time.

"I know how you feel about the clones," Ahsoka remarks finally, quietly, "And I know why."

"They are slaves," Anakin replies, steely. "They are bought with money."

"The Kaminoans did raise them," she says sullenly. He's fairly certain it's not because she disagrees with him, but because it feels like it's her duty to defend the Jedi, to deny that they would ever condone something of such nature.

"Yet if the clones choose to leave, they are hunted down."

"The Jedi do care for them."

Anakin scoffs. "The way a slave is treated does not change their status. It doesn't make it right." He's heard that logic before, thank you very much. It's common among some slavers, to consider themselves superior to others because they 'treat their slaves well'.

"I... know what you mean," Ahsoka concedes. "I – I know my master does care, but normally, it's the resources they're concerned about losing."

It makes him sick to hear, because that was so very true for him. Slavers are always – okay, usually – careful not to harm their slaves too much lest they die, because it would be a loss of money. That's it; nothing more. How can the Jedi, who are said to serve the common good of the people, condone such behavior? He doesn't understand it and probably never will. It doesn't matter anyway, because it's wrong in every way he tries to figure it. The Republic is corrupt, but now he wonders if it is corrupt in ways he never would have imagined.

The remainder of the ride passes in relative silence. Anakin is pretty sure all four of the others are thinking over the incident still and considering what he said.

He turns his attention back to the battle raging, though, when he hears the far-off sound of blaster shots. They're only increasing in intensity as they steadily come closer to the palace, and his worry skyrockets again. He has no idea what happened in the time he was gone, and while Anakin is fairly certain everyone close to him is still alive – he would have felt it if they died; he must believe that – but he doesn't answer for everyone else, or if everyone is... alright.

There are clones here to help now, so the Separatists definitely haven't taken the palace, but that doesn't mean he isn't worried over everyone who's there. Obi-Wan should be fine but there's still Shmi and Kitster and Wald.

**w**

Obi-Wan is already holding his lightsaber ready as the door – part of it anyway – finally explodes, disintegrating in a blinding flash of laser bolts, debris from it flying all around. The opening is small, but the rest of the door has been badly damaged already, and now that they got through part of it, it's only going to be a matter of time.

The spider droid tries to move forwards, but its legs catch on either side of the opening, and it can't move any closer. It fires again, and he deflects the shot away right back at it. The blast tears right through its head, and it falls to the ground. More droids move forwards, climbing over and partly pushing it away from the opening as they march into the front entrance of the palace.

He doesn't wait, charging at them and slashing through them one after another.

The ground is still trembling from the force of the blasts striking the rest of the door, and he spins his blade furiously, deflecting away the bolts as the droids keep shooting in through the opening.

Way beyond them, he can make out the some of the clone forces arriving, attacking the Separatists from behind. But there aren't many of them, and there's hundreds of droids out there. It still isn't going to be an easy fight, at least so long as the Separatists can send in more reinforcements from the air.

Another blast strikes the door, and more of the rock... shatters, for lack of a better word, flying across the floor.

Yes, the palace is going to need a lot of repairs after this, and he is definitely not impressed, but that's a concern for a later time.

The opening is wide enough now, though, and soon dozens of droids are marching into the palace.

From behind him, some of the palace guards take cover near the walls, shooting at the droids.

He raises a hand, crushing a bunch of them with the Force, throwing them back at the advancing army.

There's a sudden flash of green, and a Togruta with a lightsaber – Ahsoka, the Jedi friend Anakin mentioned – leaps into view, slashing through several of the droids right near the corner of the entrance.

Moments later, Anakin himself darts into view, ducking out of the way of a blaster shot, and discreetly shoving a droid's blaster away with the Force. He's shooting back at the droids with blasters in both hands.

"You can take this, you know!" Obi-Wan calls above the commotion, motioning to Anakin's lightsaber on his own belt. He will never understand what his son loves about blasters so much, as opposed to lightsabers.

"That won't be necessary," Anakin yells back, dodging another shot and darting across the room, positioning himself behind Obi-Wan as he starts shooting at the droids with a skill obviously of a Force-sensitive.

From beyond the droids ranks, he can see someone else with a blue lightsaber cutting through them.

Aayla Secura is here too, then.

It looks like the battle may be closer to ending than he was expecting, after all. That's good.

**w**

Now that the clones are here, it doesn't take long for them to destroy the droids that have entered the palace, and Anakin moves up to the opening, positioning himself mostly behind it for protection as he keeps shooting at the droids. It doesn't look like any more reinforcements are coming, so they just to destroy all the ones on the ground. Unless something major changes, it's pretty clear who's going to win this fight. It's only a matter of how long it takes, and how much more damage the droids do before they're destroyed.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka head out of the cover of the palace, joining the others in destroying the droids outside.

For the moment, things are going almost too smoothly, which, of course, explains why that promptly had to change. The Force suddenly flares in warning, and Anakin looks up sharply to see an explosive – he didn't see where it came from – flying right towards them. Instinctively, he throws up his hands, altering its path, pushing it away from the palace and from the clones.

It crashes down in the midst of the droids, tearing through them, sending pieces of metal flying in every direction. Some of the clones are still too close, though, and he sees several of them collapse to the ground.

Rex.

Anakin's eyes fall on the captain. He was too close, and he's injured too, and the droids are heading right towards him, still shooting, and the few others who are injured next to him.

No one will be able to get to them in time. Except for maybehim.

Anakin springs into motion in a flash, sprinting out from behind the cover of the palace, and running towards where Rex is lying. He ducks the blaster bolts fired at him, raising a hand and calling his lightsaber to him from Obi-Wan's belt.

The blade hisses to life in hands, and he deflects the last few shots away, yanking the super battle droid about to shoot Rex over to him with the Force, slashing it in half. He hastily finishes cutting through the rest of the droids right around him, and hurries over to the captain.

The explosion took out most of the droids, and the others should be able to handle the rest. Deactivating his lightsaber, Anakin crouches next to Rex, looking over his condition. The injury isn't as bad as he first thought it was, but some of the injuries are much like shrapnel wounds, thanks to the flying metal from the explosion. Some of them are bleeding badly, and he definitely needs to be treated soon.

Anakin looks past him, to the other clones next. He doesn't know any of their names, but their conditions don't look much better. He needs to get them somewhere safe. They're too exposed out here, with all the fighting.

"Don't worry about us, sir," Rex insists.

Anakin throws a glance over his shoulder at the approximately two dozen droids remaining. "They can handle it," Anakin replies moving to help Rex into the palace.

He comes back for the other clones next, and by that point, the rest of the droids are cleaned up.

Once he sees that the clones are being attended to, Anakin slips back outside again, surveying the wreckage. The outside of the palace has been badly damaged, but it looks like for the most part, casualties have been relatively minimal. He still doesn't appreciate the damage, though.

"Nice... place you got here," Ahsoka comments, although Anakin gets the feeling she's trying to be polite and that she's actually not terribly impressed with it. Well, she did grow up in the overly fancy Jedi Temple, so that's not really a surprise. "Is this where you live?"

"It's the palace, yes," Obi-Wan answers, approaching them, "And you see, Anakin? Lightsabers are more useful than blasters."

"They have their applications, but actually shooting back is far more effective," he replies stubbornly.

"Especially when it takes ten shots to destroy a droid when it can shoot you down in one," Obi-Wan says dryly.

"That's what we got brains for! To avoid getting hit."

"I think I have to agree with your dad on this one," Ahsoka chirps, "And I didn't realize you had a lightsaber."

"I don't take it with me for a reason," Anakin replies.

"You will need to be prepared, in case the Separatists return," Aayla warns, approaching them. If she's having thoughts on the fact that Anakin was trained outside the Order, she doesn't comment on it. To be fair, that would be pretty rude.

"This will take a while to get fixed up," Anakin observes grimly, looking around. So, if more droids did show up after the Republic left, they'd be able to get into the palace easily.

"I don't think the Separatists have an actual interest in Tatooine, except beyond the hyperspace lanes," Obi-Wan declares, "It may well have been Dooku's form of petty revenge."

"Revenge for what?" asks Ahsoka dubiously.

"He wanted us to join him and thought we would be stupid enough to agree even after knowing that he's a Sith," Anakin explains.

"I imagine he didn't appreciate my response," Obi-Wan informs dryly.

"That much is obvious," Ahsoka says, looking around at the damage again.

"Hey, is Mom okay?" Anakin queries, looking to Obi-Wan.

"She is," he assures, "She was staying up on the balconies as a sniper. The droids couldn't shoot all the way up there."

"I'll go see what the situation is," Anakin decides finally.

**w**

Anakin goes to check on the injured clones again once he's certain the rest of the situation is under control.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, stopping next to Rex's bed.

The captain is sitting up now, and he looks significantly better than before, though he's certainly far from okay.

"Better than before. I will be fine," Rex replies, "Thank you for helping us."

"It's not a problem," Anakin assures, "It's my planet." He honestly thinks Rex is legitimately confused over why he's even showing him so much concern in the first place.

"If I may ask, are you a Jedi?" Rex wonders.

"No," Anakin answers, "I was trained in the Force, but I'm not a Jedi."

"I thought the only Force users were Jedi," Rex admits.

"The Jedi do prefer it like that," Anakin answers, "But they don't exactly have a copyright on the Force. Obi-Wan used to be a Jedi, but he left."

"I didn't realize Jedi couldleave," Rex says, and Anakin is pretty sure he knows what Rex is thinking about again.

"Most Jedi are taken to the Temple when they're still babies," Anakin relates, "But they are allowed to leave if they want to, even though it rarely happens." He pauses for a moment, checking to make sure that they're alone, before continuing. "And I think clones have the right to have the same option, even if the choice about leaving is completely up to you."

"We were always taught that our only duty and purpose is to serve and fight for the Republic," Rex says, after a moment.

"I know," Anakin sighs, "If you want to stay, there's no reason not to. But just remember, if you change your mind, you're always going to be welcome here."

Rex eyes him uncertainly. "I don't know what to say, sir," he murmurs at last, seeming almost overwhelmed.

"I know what... slavery is like," Anakin declares, after a long pause. "It isn't something anyone should have to go through, in any form. But even if you choose to stay, I'm doing everything I can in the Senate."

They don't say anything else on the matter, and Anakin leaves it at that. He wishes there was more he could do to help the clones, but for now, he will have to stick to working in the Senate. And most things of that nature are being completely ignored as of late, because all the Senate cares about is fighting a war that they truthfully don't have any hope of winning.

If the war is actually won by either side, it probably isn't going to be until half the galaxy has been ruined so badly it will take centuries to clean up the mess. What Anakin really fails to see is why he and Padme seem to be some of the only people who realize that.

It's ridiculous. As far as he's concerned, the moment a widespread war broke out was the moment everything fell apart entirely. Fighting will bring them nowhere. It will only serve to destroy the other side, while harming its citizens, who have done nothing.

And for hardly the first time, he starts to question again if the Republic is really the right side to be on.

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