Author's Note:
UPDATE! THIS WORK IS NOW EXCLUSIVELY HOSTED ON ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN!
Hello, and welcome to TBYS! This is a passion project of mine, and a little unconventional, so I figured an author's note was in order. First of all – this work is not for canon purists. I understand and recognize canon, but in this work I will often times warp it, purposefully ignore it, or rewrite it altogether. If this isn't your cup of tea, this isn't the work for you. Also, besides this prologue, most of it will be written in third person from Nea's POV, with maybe a few random snippets from Anakin's POV as well.
In addition to this, I want to let it be known that the endgame relationship for this work is a polyamorous quad between Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, and my oc. For any additional notes or tags, I recommend you take a look at my AO3 upload of the same name. Thank you, and enjoy the story!
A/N 2: UPDATE! THIS WORK IS NOW EXCLUSIVELY HOSTED ON ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN! My username there is "obikin" (a link to my AO3 is also available in my profile here if you wish to follow this story's migration). All chapters other than this prologue have been deleted, and this prologue chapter will remain up for the sole purpose of notifying those with interest in this fic's progress of its migration.
I apologize to any reader who solely use FF as their sole mode of fanfiction consumption, but unfortunately the comments I have received on this work from FF users have made me (as a polyamorous person myself) somewhat uncomfortable. In addition to that, I feel as if there's no use in my posting this fic, which will evolve to include explicit scenes, on a platform that does not allow explicit content – therefore forcing me to censor my own work and direct you to my AO3 uploads anyway. Again, I apologize to the inconvenience, but I hope that you understand that as a comfort fic I created solely for myself, I'm not interested in seeing consistent comments berating my for my own identity. Thank you, and I hope to see you on AO3!
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Prologue
Obi-Wan strode into the council room, Anakin not far behind. While Obi-Wan's gaze was focused, his brows knitted together in contemplation as he walked, Anakin's composure was far less relaxed – the irritation rolled off of him in waves, his steps thudding in the hall as he trudged forward, his dark robes like a storm surrounding him.
"Master Kenobi. Skywalker," Mace Windu addressed them, nodding at them both. Obi-Wan nodded back, while Anakin bristled. He always hated it when Windu didn't use his proper rank of Knight.
Obi-Wan did his best to ignore the tension between the two Jedi, as it was in common practice these days, with Anakin being called more and more often into the council meetings due to the war. He knew his former padawan was itching for a place on the council, and that he was irritated because of the clear lack of acknowledgement of his importance, despite it being glaringly apparent. But, it was almost as if this common tension bled into the background, as more pressing matters took the forefront.
"What's going on?" Anakin asked the council, with no preamble. It may have been the tension from Windu's jab, or it may just have been the fact that Anakin was disturbed right before his evening meal. It really was difficult for Obi-Wan to tell, sometimes. But Anakin's urgency wasn't without merit – they had been called in with no extra instructions, during their brief respite from battle. It had to be urgent.
Obi-Wan himself even bristled when he saw Yoda and Windu exchange glances, before Yoda nodded and straightened, preparing to speak.
"Important mission for you, we have. Retrieve a former Jedi, you must."
Anakin and Obi-Wan shared a look – it was almost automatic, a mutual searching as they both took in the information.
"A former Jedi?" Anakin asked, always the first to question a mission. It seemed as if Windu was expecting this, as he already had an explanation prepared, his hand gliding across the holo projector, a mugshot springing to life in the pale blue of the projection.
It was a woman, about Obi-Wan's age. Her hair was pulled back in a messy braid, loose strands hanging around her face as she laughed at the photographer, holding her prisoner's number as if this were all a huge joke.
"Nea Andar?" Obi-Wan read, his brows raising. Force, he hadn't heard that name in over a decade.
Anakin, still not catching on, continued with his tirade.
"Is she a Sith? Why are we-" Kenobi held up a hand, and Anakin shut his mouth, his teeth connecting with a clack as he reeled back – the swift silence clearly a result of his confusion, rather than any desire to truly quiet as Obi-Wan had requested.
"What has she done?" he asked, and Windu contained a sigh, irritated with the impatience of the two.
"Nothing. Well," he gestured to the holovid, where the woman on screen smirked one eyebrow raised, as if she dared her pursuers to try and capture her. "Nothing that is of our concern. The council just wants to talk to her."
"The council? I hadn't been informed of this," Obi-Wan was incredulous, moreso than usual, due to the fact that apparently this had been decided by every member of the council except himself – the very person who had been in the woman's cohort when they were younglings. Anakin didn't understand the true extent of Obi-Wan's indignance, but he still stood behind his master, crossing his arms, waiting for an explanation as to why at the very least, his old master hadn't been consulted in the decision.
Windu sighed again. "Nea Andar is a powerful Force-sensitive and a former padawan learner. Her skill in the Force means that if the Sith haven't located her yet, they will soon attempt to recruit her. Desperate times call for desperate measures – and desperate decisions. If we are to recruit her to the side of the Republic, she will be one less Sith for us to face in battle. It was a decision made quickly, as her time planetside is likely to be brief considering her… occupation."
"What sort of occupation?" Anakin asked, the cogs in his brain working a mile a minute as he tried to process all the new information at once, as Obi-Wan's signature in the Force was notably shielded, likely to disguise his own confusion.
Yoda fielded this one, as Windu seemed to be growing more and more irritated by the second, likely due to the time-sensitive nature of the task at hand.
"A pirate, she is. A smuggler. A Jedi, most certainly, no longer is she." Yoda nodded, and so did Obi-Wan, cradling his chin, as if running his fingers through his beard would take too much effort.
"You're not going to bring her in as a criminal. She needs to be negotiated with," Windu supplied, and Anakin snorted.
"And who better to negotiate, than-" Anakin started, with a smirk on his face, before Obi-Wan cut him off, his stance still stiff and cold – serious, even as Anakin attempted to lighten the mood in the stuffy council room.
"We'll find her. Any word on her last location?" Obi-Wan adjusted his robes, readying himself to leave as the pads of his fingers skimmed over the hilt of his lightsaber, a habitual compulsion before he would head out on a mission.
"None that we know of. We believe she's just finished a stressful run. I'd check the bars first," Windu supplied. Obi-Wan nodded, and Anakin watched him with unusual intent, his former master's shoulders tense as he left the council room, Anakin on his heels. It could have just been the stress of an assignment during their short respite, but he thought that he could sense more than that, in the thin, tangled mess of their weak training bond – never severed, but in severe disuse.
"What was that?" he asked, as the heavy door fell shut behind him, Obi-Wan's stride long and purposeful, quick as he exited the council. Anakin, even with his long legs, had to pick up his pace to catch up with him.
Obi-Wan sighed, and offered his former padawan a pointed look, his expression weary, with a tinge of worry. "This mission is serious. The possibility of a new Sith Lord is daunting indeed."
"You looked like you knew her," Anakin asked, his voice slow and deliberate, cautious around the subject. Their bond wasn't as strong as it used to be, but Anakin wasn't blind. He saw the immediate recognition present on Obi-Wan's face when he saw the holovid.
"I did. To be honest, I thought she would be dead, by now." Obi-Wan admitted, his foot falls echoing louder in the grand halls.
"Dead?" Anakin exclaimed, incredulous as he skipped a bit to catch up. "She was a Jedi, why would she be dead?"
"Not many Force sensitives live long after they have been expelled by the Order, Anakin," Obi-Wan stated, matter of fact. "Especially those that were never knighted. The Jedi offer not only a means of service and recognition for those within the Order, but also a certain amount of protection. There are many that would seek a young, inexperienced, Force sensitive for much more nefarious purposes. It is one of the reasons why we believe so many ex-Jedi turn to the Sith."
"But she didn't – or, hasn't, yet." Anakin frowned. "Don't you think if she were going to turn Sith she would have done it by now? I mean, we know Sith have been around since I was brought into the Order – "
"I don't know, Anakin," Obi-Wan admitted, turning a corner to the hangar that held the speeders. "She may have been approached before, perhaps offered a choice to join them. I doubt that at this point, if they find her again, that she will have much of a choice at all."