While Others Followed Orders

by Lux's Sister

Some followed their conscience. In an AU where Ahsoka didn't go to Raxus and the Bonteris didn't die, a mission leaves Ahsoka at the mercy of a ruthless commander. Her guard, unable to stand by and let her die, takes drastic action. On his choice, hangs the fate of the galaxy and of his family.

5. Actors and Observers

CHAPTER FOUR- ACTORS AND OBSERVERS

(A/N: Thank you to scottusa1 for your review, and another big thank you to Lost Lauren, MuffinPants, SnipsandSkyguy4590, Zaconator and Zackis, Legoryan4579, and scottusa1 for adding this story to their favorites list. You guys are the best.)

Might as well say it again: If I owned the Clone Wars, then it wouldn't have been canceled. Alas, it is canceled. Therefore I don't own it.

Actor-Observer Effect: the phenomena in which we blame others for their actions, but see ourselves as victims of circumstance for our own misdeeds.

"We are all born with a powerful herd instinct and it can force otherwise rational people to act in inexplicable ways."

-Paul Rusesabagina

PADME

John pulled Anakin aside to tell him about the Tor incident. I told Mina he was going to go on a murderous rampage right off the bat.

Only a few minutes into the story, I heard "I'm going to kill that sleemo!" coming from the side room. This just goes to show how well I know my husband.

I walk over and knock on Anakin's door. "Anakin, quiet down. Ahsoka's sleeping."

Anakin and John exit, the former's face purple. "Will you two be okay with Ahsoka for a while?"

I open my mouth to ask why he's leaving, but Mina beats me to it. "Yes. Where are you going?"

"To…to that monster."

"Anakin, what are you going to do?"

Anakin blinks. "Well actually, I'm not really sure yet. But we're going to do something."

ANAKIN

I knock on the door three times. "Mr. Peter Torrance?"

"What?" some guy yells from inside the house.

"Galactic Postal Service with your package, sir." I respond.

"He gets packages all the time," John had told me. "He won't bat an eyelash."

Sure enough, the door opens right up and a man in a military uniform takes the cardboard box from my hands. "Do I have to tip…"

I step into the house and shut the door behind me.

"Hello, Tor. I'm pretty sure you don't recognize me. How about I jog your memory?"

Tor points at me. "I'll have you fired for this. Get out of my house."

"Hello, darlin'. Let's see what we can learn today!" I snarl, ripping off the ridiculous postal service cap I'd pulled low over my face, and lunging forward to punch Tor in the stomach.

"S-Skywalker?"

I grab the front of his shirt and pull him close, close as John says Tor held Ahsoka. "Tell me, Tor. Where in your code of ethics does it say it's okay to beat sick young girls until they cry? Or keep them in a freezing room without food or water?"

Tor yanks his shirt from my grip, stumbling backward. "It wasn't my fault. I was just following orders!"

"Six million people died when a group 'just followed orders'." I shoot back. "Following orders isn't good enough. I know what happened, Tor. I know her guard held her in his arms so she didn't freeze to death."

I remember those feelings projected through the bond. Crippling bouts of fear and pain followed by kind words and instructions to relax and rest, often accompanied by a soothing touch.

"She's so sick, she can't sleep through the night!" I roar.

Tor coughs and straightens up. "Skywalker, please listen to me. You know Jedi are stronger than normal people. I figured it was nothing she couldn't take." He holds a hand to keep me at bay. "I know the conditions were a bit austere but we had no other facilities to handle her."

"Of course. It doesn't take much for someone to cling to a soldier wearing the uniform that had been shooting at her." I reply. "Like you said, Jedi are tough."

Tor doesn't respond. I think he knows his goose is about to be served with a side salad.

As much as I want to kill him, it would be too easy. Too easy for me to slip away from my wife and child and into the grip of something tempting and dark. Too easy a punishment for Tor. No, it would be better to let him face the pre-planned music.

"I almost feel bad for you." I say. "Because your pain is only starting."

I pop into a fight stance and punch him once in the stomach again, then in the shoulder, and finally in the back before John grabs my arm.

Anakin, control yourself!

"Good, because they're going to be here soon." He nods to Tor and points at his taped-up nose. "Just for the record: this did not happen because of clone troopers. But I'm sure they'd be happy to replicate it for you."

Tor's mouth opens. "Please…I have money. You can't ignore this."

I shrug. "You did. And by the way, I know there were no orders. Command knows how to take care of high-profile prisoners. You failed."

When I walk out the front door of Tor's house, a white van pulls in. They wait for me to get in John's car before opening their doors.

Inside are the ten men of Torrent Company who drew the chance for revenge. Rex, Fives, Jesse, Appo, Hardcase, Echo, and Blitz are among them. I don't know what they'll do. They have only been ordered to keep Tor alive and to call an ambulance for him if need be. But each one of them assured me Tor will pay accordingly.

After I set the coordinates into the Twilight, John turns to face me. "Anakin, are you okay?"

"I am now."

JOHN

Hurry with the hanging, Mr. President. Otherwise you will hang earlier than we

-Erich Fellgiebel, to a Nazi war tribunal

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

-Albert Einstein

I need to get to work tomorrow. When we brought Ahsoka to Padme's, I told Tor I had the flu. Obviously, this excuse doesn't hold up for a very long time. If I don't work tomorrow, the suspicion against me increases tenfold, especially when Mina said she had the same illness.

Anakin and Padme thank us profusely (and on Padme's end, tearfully). Ahsoka hugs each of us in turn.

"Thank you," she says. "For everything."

"Well I owed you," I reply, feeling her form just as fragile as when she was passed to me as an unconscious bundle. "Thank you for keeping Lux from choking on his stupidity!" I'm going to have a talk with Lux when I see him next. Something along the lines of dragging random girls to different planets to join terrorist groups is not OK!

I swear, that boy is just like me as a teenager.

When I clock in on Tuesday, Cooper waves.

"John, that flu any better?"

"Hi, Cooper. Yes, I'm all better now. Just needed a couple of days to rest."

He nods, as if he wants to rush through the pleasantries. "Boy, you've missed a lot here. The bantha poodoo just hit the fan."

"How?"

Cooper and I start to walk to our posts. "Well, you remember that Jedi girl? Some of her clone troopers got into Tor's house and beat him up. And somehow, the prison recordings got to the war tribunal." He gives me a look. "Tor's being court martialed."

Internally, I sing BEST DAY EVER!

Outwardly, I ask Cooper what charge Tor's under.

"Brutality to a prisoner." He says. "The tribunal agrees with you John. She should have gone to sickbay, not the cell block, and she needed rations, blankets, and medication until she was strong enough to be interrogated. And even then, the tribunal says that the interrogation should have been far gentler to start out than what Tor said he was going to do. And by the way, they say the only reason she lived was because of you and me." He smiles.

I return the smile. "Good job, Coop. So, have they sent in a new commander?"

He shakes his head. "No. One of us is going to be promoted!" He claps me on the back. "It's a pleasure working with you, soon-to-be-Commander Bonteri!"

I blink a few times. "Wait, what?"

"The tribunal is putting up a new commander who they say acted heroically to save the kid's life. That can only be you. I mean, you were like her guardian angel. Sitting with her all the time, feeding her, wrapping her up in that coat of yours." Cooper says. "You're a shoo-in for it, John."

"I'm not sure," I say, shrugging. "You were pretty amazing too."

If that isn't the world's biggest stretch, I don't know what is. Cooper helped, that part can't be denied, but he only did it because I influenced him. Does that count as heroism?

But he smiles, and I know I've spoken right. "Thank you."

The meeting to promote the new commander (I don't want to say "me" and sound pompous), begins in five minutes. Longest five minutes of my life. Not because I'm itching to lead, but because of one simple fact: the reason I am going to be promoted to Commander is that I didn't want someone to freeze to death.

One of the new tactical droids, Kalani it's called, takes the microphone. From my limited experience with them, the last thing these units do is waste time. This is going to be the shortest speech in the history of speeches.

"Men," it says. "The Separatist Alliance is pleased to present you with your new superior…

The men try hard not to shift their feet, like they want this over with so they can go get their caf, or go on break, or whatever.

"Matthew Cooper. Please step forward."

What?!

I flinch. A staff sergeant gains an expression reading "what the Force?" Cooper, for his part, almost chokes on his own spit and turns to face me.

"Matthew Cooper, please step forward!" Kalani repeats.

I give Coop a terse nod, and he steps forward. One of Kalani's men marches down and pins the new stripes onto Cooper's lapel.

"Straighten up, soldier. You don't have any spine." The officer whispers. Cooper straightens up and follows him up to the podium.

"Dismiss your troops." Kalani orders.

Cooper gulps, and raises his hand to dismiss us. The staff sergeant next to me locks step with mine. "It was supposed to be you, Bonteri. Wasn't it?" she asks.

"Apparently not," I say dryly.

My comlink buzzes with a message from Cooper. Take the rest of today off.

And as much as I don't want to take orders from Cooper, I clock out.

MINA

"If you saw a dog going to be crushed under a car, wouldn't you help him?"

-Oskar Schindler

As much as I would like to get looking for Lux and Sierra, duty calls in the form of my clients who apparently can't handle two days without me, John's unexpected day off, and hunger.

I was supposed to go to the grocery store the day John brought Ahsoka home, and leaving her was kind of impossible what with her panic. With an extra person in the house, we've eaten everything down to the last can of soup. And when he arrived home after the failed promotion, I figured a lunch out might cheer him up. Both of us are seriously craving hot food after eating cold everything for a week.

"So what you're telling me is Cooper has been promoted for heroism with Ahsoka's case?"

John nods.

"That's foolish! You saved her life." I retort, and furiously begin to read the menu.

John decides to leave me to the decision of whether to get a sandwich or a salad. And because of his silence, the conversation from the other booth floats over to ours.

"He tried to do his job, but that little cretin just had to refuse to comply."

"But I heard it was-."

"It wasn't that bad in there," the first woman says. "She had blankets, and there was a guard in there taking care of her. All the news stories are lies. Lies of a kid who should've just curled up and died."

John looks up. "Mina, count to ten."

When people get to know me, they think I have a terribly tragic past, and that's why I'm so patient with people. Not the case. Instead, I worked at Galactic Burger dealing with meathead customers. That job has given me tremendous patience.

I stand up and look over the edge of the booth. The woman with the big mouth is Sue, Tor's "special friend." I recognize her from the staff party last year.

"Take it back." I order.

Sue stares at me. "What did you just say?"

I clench my fist. "Take. It. Back."

"Oh, I know who you are!" Sue says, pointing at me. "You're the little nursemaid, who took care of that stupid little padawan your traitor husband brought you!" She bristles. "Don't play dumb. Tor told me what happened. He said that your husband and Anakin Skywalker came in before the clones. He says John was the one who took the Jedi home to you because she was in such awful condition." She rolls her eyes.

Considering John's already let the tooka out of the bag, I shove Sue's little friend further into the booth and slide in to face off with her "Sue, she was sick." I say in the intonation of a Senator/Galactic Burger Cashier.

"Tor was taking care of her." Sue argues. "She was fine. Your husband only brought her home so he could steal the glory. And of course, so you could be Mommy again and nurse her back to health." She takes a sip of her drink. "Do you really miss your children that much, Mina?"

I lean back, like I'm standing at a podium, or at my cash register. Oh, it's shocking how similar my first job, my Senatorial position, and dealing with Sue are. They all involve having to be nice and convince a person you want to throttle that you're right.

"I don't know how much Tor told you, but when I met her, that girl was close to dying." I say.

"She could bear jail."

"You already know she had been poisoned. But I have the feeling I'll be the one to say that she was being kept in a very cold cell and was bordering on hypothermia."

"Yes, all bundled up in blankets." Sue snorts. "I'm not sure if you've heard, but Tor nearly smothered her in them to make up for the broken heater."

"The 'blanket' you speak of is my husband's jacket."

Sue fake-smiles. "She's a Jedi. Jedi are strong. She holds information that we need for the war. If a little chill is what it took, I'm sure she could manage."

"She was helpless!" I shout. "Anybody could see she wanted to fight back, but she begged for someone to help her and only one person did."

Sue takes a sip of her tea. "Minnie, are you sure this isn't just about your kids?" she chides. "It must have been awful to lose them to the Republic the way you did."

"This isn't about my children per se, but there is one thing you have right. This is about a little girl who does not deserve to die."

Sue chuckles. "She was no little girl."

I want a cheeseburger, with no cheese!.. no, not a hamburger. I want a CHEESEBURGER, with NO CHEESE!...CHEESE. BURGER. WITHOUT ANY CHEESE!

If I can keep myself from murdering No Cheese Cheeseburger Guy, then I can let Sue live.

"She is," I say, leaning across the table "And you remember this, Sue. Tor's actions are a war crime if the victim is an adult. I doubt they'll be more lenient when the victim's a child who couldn't even raise her hands to defend herself."

As much as I want to throw her tea in her face, I know when to cut my losses. I serenely (while meanwhile smoldering) walk back to my table and flag down the waitress.

"Yes, we'd like to be moved elsewhere in the restaurant," I request.

ANAKIN

Padme, like all sentient beings, has a breaking point.

Hers happens to be in the form of a holo-message.

"Ahsoka was having fits all night like a colicky baby, and kept me up for 12 hours straight because you were at the Force-forsaken Jedi Temple, and when the Republic finds out Mina's alive, the Senate is going to go all to the Force." She sobs hysterically. "I can't take it anymore, Annie! Please come and help me."

What does any respectable Jedi do when his secret wife and his apprentice/adopted daughter are having a bad night? Well first, he finishes playing sabaac with Hardcase and Appo. Then, feeling like a horrible person, he goes 10 clicks an hour over the speed limit to get to Padme's house.

I flag down Dormé and ask her to please make Padme a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker, but I just sent Sabé to the market for more." She apologizes. "We're all out."

"Are Padme and Ahsoka all right?"

She sighs. "Padawan Tano was up all night. I imagine the Senator is exhausted. I offered to take care of the child for a while, but she declined."

"Oh. I'd better go check on them then." I tiptoe over to Ahsoka's room and very quietly ease open her door. My wife and child lay on Ahsoka's bed, fast asleep. I grab one of the extra blankets and spread it over Padmé, careful not to wake her. "You are the most hardcore Senator I've ever seen, you know that?" I whisper.

Ahsoka begins to stir under the covers. Using the Force, I pull her toward me so as not to wake Padme.

"Easy there," I soothe when she opens her eyes. "Don't wake her up."

"My force, I feel awful about that," she whispers. "She's so tired and she won't let Dormé in."

"Well, she can rest now." I say. "Give me a second…" Using the Force, I lift Padme into my arms and take her down to our room. I lay her on the bed so hopefully she won't hear if Ahsoka has a fit. Oh, who am I kidding? Padme developed Jedi-caliber Super Mom hearing long ago. She'll come running if Ahsoka so much as coughs.

"Did Lux say anything?" Ahsoka asks out of the blue when I return.

"What?"

"Lux…" she says. "I asked you to call him when you left last night?"

I facepalm.

"Master! Were you playing sabaac again?"

"It was going to be really fast, so I bet those cookies I'd been saving and then Hardcase started winning and I had to get my food back." I explain.

"We just found out that his mom and dad are alive, and you got sidetracked because Hardcase won your Oreos in a game of sabaac?" she asks incredulously.

"Hey, don't worry. We can call him right now, and that way you can talk to him, too."

"I'm not supposed to. Mina was telling me stories about him as a baby, and I laughed so hard I had a fit." She says, stifling a giggle at the memory of Mina's story. "And fits hurt."

"Okay…so I'll just talk to him and say you're asleep." I say, dialing the comlink.

Out of the speaker comes the sound of a dial tone. Talk about antique…

"That sounds like a landline." Ahsoka observes. "Who even has landlines anymore?"

Before I can answer, a female voice breaks through with an "Oh, for the LOVE OF THE FORCE!" and then the line dies.

I stare at the comlink.

"Well, that's not him."

"He has a sister. Her name is Sierra, I think." Ahsoka says. "I've never met her, but I read her messages when Lux and I were on Carlaac." She smiles. "She was somad at him. From what I've heard, she wouldn't hesitate to say something like that."

"And that girl on the line had an accent like Mina, John, and Lux. I'd say Sierra Bonteri is a pretty good guess." I point out.

Ahsoka takes the comlink, and calls back. This time, there's no dial tone, just a beeping noise.

"We'll call back later," I suggest. "You go back to sleep."

"I've done nothing but sleep for the past week." She scoffs.

"Yeah, and you're not out of the woods yet." I reply, gently pushing her into bed. "What did Padme say you were like? A colicky baby?"

Ahsoka rolls her eyes. "I think that's her sleeplessness talking."

"Yeah, and the reason she was up...?"

"…I'm just waiting for your skin to unzip, and Master Kenobi or John pop out."

I laugh. "No such luck, Snips. You're stuck with me."

TOR- ONE WEEK EARLIER

Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him.

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

Commander Peter David Torrance is tired of war. He's tired of his job, tired of his dead-end relationship, tired of keeping the Bonteri family's secret while the man himself is right under his nose.

So when opportunity to move from the hard-knock life to easy street presents itself in the form of a Jedi youngling rendered totally helpless, he snaps it, or rather her, up.

The Jedi Princess causing the demise of the Hero With No Fear. It has a certain appeal to it, and Tor knows it'll be his ticket out. But on the way to the prison, the girl cries out and shudders, an action so small no one but he could detect it.

Tor can't help but feel a stab of pity. She is pretty far gone, he thinks, bouncing Ahsoka in his arms as if to calm her. She could be sent to sickbay, just until she gets to interrogation.

He nixes the idea. If the girl is sent to sickbay, Tor's lousy luck would have it that her doctor would release her to interrogation without notifying him, someone else would pull the secrets from her, and he would be left promotion-less and sans bonus.

No, far better to keep her where he could keep an eye on her.

He looks over his shoulder to check that his men are still there, and his eyes catch on the girl's face. It would be sweet if Tor knew what that looked like, but it's dirty and twisted in a grimace of pain.

Maybe I should rethink the sickbay thing…

He shakes his head to clear it from such a thought. But Ahsoka and her obvious ill health serve as a very constant moral dilemma.

"Cooper, I need a break," he says gruffly, needing something to take his mind off his prisoner, some time to set his conviction. He's almost convinced himself that Cooper can watch the girl in the cell block when he hears an almighty crack.

Tor spins around, and there's Ahsoka lying on her stomach, tears starting. Cooper stands over her for a second before dropping to his knees to check her over.

"That might be a concussion," he mutters.

"For Force's sake, Cooper!" Tor screams in frustration, because how dare Cooper with his incompetence damage Tor's prize. He stomps over and scoops up Ahsoka once more, this time settling her in his arms with her chin propped against his shoulder so he won't see her face even by accident.

And he has made up his mind: John Bonteri may be a fool, but he's a father and knows how to take care of kids. Tor can trust him to keep the girl alive until interrogation. A perfect fit: He will be able to supervise without wringing his hands over Cooper's idiocy possibly killing the girl.

She shudders again, but this time Tor can catch the dagger of pity before it destroys his plans. Rather, it supplies him with an idea.

Maybe a little chill will loosen those lips of hers…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

He remembers a time when he first started guard duty. His superiors brought in a boy, a mercenary bleeding from a stab wound.

"We have to do something," Tor had said. "He'll die!"

His superior grunted. "Fine then, Torrance. Fix the kid up. But you're responsible for him."

Tor wrapped the boy in blankets. He spoon fed him meals when he was too weak to do it himself. He stitched up the wound and even managed to bring medicine into the cell. He took care of him, even as his superior laughed. And day by day, the boy grew stronger.

About a week and a half after his initial capture and the onset of Tor's nursing, the boy is a little too strong. When Tor comes in to bring his meals, the boy slams the food tray against the back of his head. Knocking him out cold.

When he wakes up, the boy is gone, leaving Tor lying on the cell floor with food still stuck in his hair. His coworkers laugh at him, he's never trusted with a prisoner again until he transfers.

Yes, he thinks as the girl in his arms shrinks away in fear. There once was a time before I knew about prisoners.

Don't help them. They'll only stab you in the back.

COOPER

"Why me? Why have I been granted this position, when there are others more qualified?"

It's a simple question, and one Cooper's new commanding officer expected from the simpleton.

He strokes his chin. "Indeed, there is another more qualified…"

He needs not say John Bonteri.

"But we don't want him."

Cooper looks up.

"We will mold you, Cooper," the commanding officer says. "We will mold you into the perfect commander. Just like we did with Tor."

Cooper's chest inflates. "I am not Tor!"

"You aren't," the man says. "You're better. You have the fatal flaw."

"The flaw? What flaw?" Cooper demands.

The CO examines his nails. "I'm sure you know, Cooper. Soon enough, you'll be fighting against the John Bonteris of this world. But this time, try not to fail. Just so you know, Torrance wasn't court-martialed for war crimes." He says, and ends the transmission, leaving Cooper sitting alone in his office.

What have I done? The young commander thinks, What flaw could he possibly be talking about? I didn't hurt Ahsoka! I didn't do anything! And what does he mean, Tor's not in jail for war crimes?

He leans back in his chair. "I'm a good man. Why doesn't he see I didn't do anything to that girl?"

Far away, the general thinks on Matthew Cooper as he closes out his workday.

"Yes. The fatal flaw, built into the sentient brain before we even came together to build cities. The flaw that allowed people to go about their daily business while crematoria belched an unmistakable smell, allowed a woman to be stabbed to death while she screamed for help, let a child be run over twice by a truck."

He sighs.

"The bystander effect. It never fails to protect violence,"

And as he looks at the paperwork on his desk.

"Or, to keep our plans secret."

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

-Edmund Burke

Author's Note:

And that, my friends, marks the end of While Others Followed Orders.

A (not-so) quick overview of some terms and allusions made during the chapter:

The bystander effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people do not help somebody in danger when other people are present and apparently capable of helping. Everyone think that someone else will help the person. If you are ever in danger and need to get help from a passerby, walk up to them, look them in the eye, and say "please help me." This can reduce the bystander effect by sticking them with the responsibility and making a personal connection.

"Tend and Befriend", the Chapter three title, is an term used to describe a reflex exhibited by women in stressful situations. We (women) often care for others or seek social support in this kind of situation, which is reminiscent of what Mina and Ahsoka do.

The CO mentions the people and the crematoria. This is a reference to the people who lived near Nazi death camps.

The "woman…stabbed to death" is Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death in her NYC apartment complex while screaming for help. No less than 38 people heard her and didn't do anything.

The child the CO mentions is Wang Yue, a Chinese two-year-old who was run over by a van. 18 people walk by as she lies in the street, and Wang is even run over again before a woman comes to her aid.

Well, I actually have an announcement. We have not seen the end of John, Tor, and Cooper. Yes, there is a sequel coming, which will be titled "While Others Found Success." It will be featuring some familiar faces from the Onderon Arc, and a very dark and twisted take on what could have happened to the planet, and what the CO is talking about.

Thank you all for reading this story. Your readership, and especially your review, mean a lot to me.

Thank you all,

Lux's Sister