It was not, in fact, a smooth ride.

Jinx saw the separatist ships coming fairly early, and immediately engaged in evasive maneuvers. They barely had time to buckle in before the ship jolted back and forth, spinning and turning sharply as he avoided the other ships' missiles and turrets.

"Almost clear!" he called back. His voice was strained as he focused on his job.

It was no fault of his own, really, when the Twilight was hit. A star destroyer had come out of hyperspace right behind them and had wasted no time shooting at them.

To their great relief, they weren't far from the Resolute - within sight of it, even.

"We could use some help here!" Jinx called into his radio to the Resolute.

"Fighters deploying now," a comm officer replied. True to his word, fighters launched and flew into a defensive position around the Twilight. More fighters followed, this time going on the offensive while the Twilight was escorted back to the Resolute.

The second that the Twilight entered the Resolute, the fighters that had protected them shot back out to engage the separatist ships.

"Sweet Jesus," Soph said, tipping her head back. She glanced at Quinlan and laughed. "It's truly never boring with you, Master. You attract chaos."

"And you don't, hm?" he grinned when she paused. "I've taught you better than to be boring like Obi Wan."

"I resent that," Obi Wan called as the door to the ship opened. Quinlan's grin grew as he walked off and clapped a hand on his friends' shoulder.

"You taught her well, my friend. She's good at adapting to any situation."

"You call jumping out of a nine story building 'adapting'?" Fives asked. Quinlan shrugged.

"Of course, I do. Had she not adapted, we could all be dead!"

Obi Wan closed his eyes. He looked as if he was praying to the Force for less chaotic friends. "Please don't jump out of any more buildings."

"No promises," Soph laughed. "Sorry, Master."

"I expected nothing else," he assured her.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what're you doing here?" she wondered. "I thought you were dealing with Duchess Satine."

"Things are, for the most part, rectified," he replied. "I see you caught Gunray. I assume that's when you jumped out of a building?"

"Yep. We had to get out fast. Droidekas."

Rex rolled his eyes, but he said nothing.

"I think it's time we secured Gunray and get the hell outta dodge," Anakin said, making his way over with Cody. "Glad you came back in one piece."

"You doubted me?" she scoffed. "I'm offended."

"Hey, we caught him once already. He's slippery."

Soph elbowed him as they watched Hevy escort Gunray off the ship with Droidbait on his other side. "Take him to lockup, boys. Make sure to leave him with Boost - he'll take care of him."

Droidbait snapped off a two fingered salute. "You got it, boss. When we're done?"

"Go ahead and rest, men," Anakin told them. "We're heading out in two rotations."

"Where to?" Soph wondered.

"Well, that's what we wanted to talk to you about," Obi Wan said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "We're going to Christophsis."

"Oh," she frowned.

"What's on Christophsis?" Quinlan wondered. Soph glanced at him.

"I suppose now would be a good time to explain how I found out about the chips," she sighed. "Let's get to the meeting room. Rex, Cody, care to join?"

"I'd like to know what to expect," Cody agreed. Rex nodded, so they went with Soph, Obi Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka - who met them halfway toward the command deck - to the meeting room they always used.

Ahsoka hadn't yet been told what had happened, but Soph thought it was time. Quinlan was someone she'd wanted to tell early on, but they hadn't run into each other at all. The Council typically kept him busy in the inner rim, while they were making their way carefully through the outer rim.

"So what's going on?" Quinlan wondered. She took a breath and prepared herself to tell her entire story once again.

Soph wasn't sure where to start. There was so much to tell, and so much was unbelievable.

"General, I'd suggest showing him," Rex said. Soph nodded.

"That may be a good idea," she agreed. She reached up and removed her cloak, watching Quinlan as she did so. He stared at her chest, looking vaguely sick.

Ahsoka had seen it before, of course, but they'd dodged her questions on the matter until there were other, more important things for her to worry about.

"Oh, Force, Soph," Quinlan whispered. "How…?"

"I was killed," she answered slowly, already tired of repeating herself. It was still rather upsetting to discuss, especially with Anakin around. Her eyes flicked to him but she quickly looked away when he frowned at her. "I was killed by a Sith, and… the Cosmic Force took me back here, toward the beginning of the war. I ended up on the Rishi moon outpost above Kamino with Rex, Cody, and my men. I realized I was given a chance to change the end I saw. It- it was bad. We lost, and the Jedi were decimated via the chips in the clones."

"How is that… possible?" Ahsoka asked, looking deeply upset. "You can't have died."

"I did, 'Soka," she said softly. "I'm sorry. What's important is that I'm here now."

Ahsoka's brow furrowed. She looked close to tears, and Soph didn't blame her. She'd have been upset, too. "Who killed you, Master?"

"I'm not answering that," she said plainly. She very pointedly did not look at Anakin again. "It doesn't matter who killed me, because I'm stopping it. They won't turn into that again. I'd die first."

"Force, kid," Quinlan rubbed his forehead. "What do you mean, we were decimated?"

"I mean Palpatine used the chips to have any and all Jedi killed," she explained. "I was with him when it happened. I saw over the holo… so many of us killed. Hundreds- thousands. He offered me the chance to join him, and when I refused, he had his apprentice kill me, too."

"I'm sorry, I can't just-," Anakin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Soph looked at him in surprise and realized he'd been frustrated for a while- a long while. "Tell us who killed you."

"Anakin-,"

"No!" he snapped. "I won't let you be killed, Katarina."

She winced. He was mad. Really, really mad. "Ani, calm down."

"Calm down?" he stared at her. "For weeks now, Soph, you've told me not to worry about it, and that you're changing that, but how the hell do we know that if we don't know who did it?"

"Stop," she said quietly.

"You can't let him kill you again!"

She flinched. She had let Anakin kill her, and she knew without a doubt that she'd do it again. "Please, Anakin."

The stifling energy of the Force flooded the room, draining the light from every corner. Soph tensed and closed her eyes. She felt her chest tighten at the suffocating feeling around her. She replayed the memory in her mind entirely unwillingly until it was all she could see. When her eyes snapped open, she took in the sight of a furious Anakin, darkness pouring from him. "Stop. Please."

"Who did it?" he snapped at her. "Tell me!"

"Anakin," Obi Wan said, his voice low. There was a warning in it, and one that had Anakin looking to their master. "Stop."

Anakin looked between them, but he froze when he tried to catch Soph's gaze and realized she couldn't look him in the eyes. All the energy drained out of him. "I'm sorry. I… don't want anything to happen to you again."

"And it won't since we know what happened," Quinlan told him gently.

"But you must control yourself," Obi Wan told his old padawan seriously. "Losing control will only make things worse."

"For now, I just need to keep going," she said, still looking down. She felt Rex's eyes on her and sighed inwardly. She knew he was worried and probably more than a little frustrated with Anakin. She didn't blame him - she was, too. "Keep fighting."

"And we can do that," Obi Wan assured her. "Tell us about Christophsis."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Soph was sweating and practically gasping for air when she woke from the nightmare that had followed her for so long. Her breath came out staggeringly as she shot out of bed. Her hand first reached for her lightsaber - though if she was thinking logically, she'd have known it wasn't the best idea to handle a weapon while so emotionally compromised - before she pulled her clothes on in a rush.

Gripping her lightsaber like a lifeline - and it was one, really - she made her way out into the hall. The last thing she needed was to be in a dark room alone where she was constantly plagued by the same nightmare, worsened by her conversation with Anakin earlier.

She wanted to find someone, anyone, really. She didn't want to be alone, so she made her way to the command deck to see if any of her friends were there. The 212th was still sitting firmly next to them, and Obi Wan and Cody were still on board. She'd gone to bed late the evening before after working on what she remembered of Christophsis. Going over things would be happening soon was always a draining activity for her, but one she knew was necessary.

"Soph," a voice called. She froze and closed her eyes. The last person she wanted to see had found her.

"I'm busy, Anakin," she replied, continuing to move. He followed and grabbed her arm to slow her down. After waking up how she had, she was too on edge. She spun, grabbing his arm, and slammed him into the ground before she could stop herself.

As soon as she'd taken a short breath, she backed up, eyes wide. She glanced down at her hands and quickly slid her lightsaber onto the attachment on her corset that held it. "I'm sorry."

"Force, Soph, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she said sharply. He frowned and shook his head as he smoothed out his clothes.

"Something's wrong. Tell me."

"Nightmare is all," she muttered. "I'm not really in the mood for this."

"I can see that. Tell me what it was about."

"No."

"Soph, tell me."

"I said no."

"Soph-,"

"It was my death," she snapped. "Happy?"

She watched the realization hit him, and his nagging turned to a concerned frown. "I'm sorry. After earlier… Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

He sighed and reached out for her hand. When he touched it, she felt a warm, nauseating feeling in her stomach moments before she felt something in her mind - the Force, but something else, too.

The memory flashed through her mind again, open and making her feel more vulnerable than ever. Order 66, Jedi dying, Palpatine asking her to join them, Anakin's eyes, forgiving him, and then-

Anakin stumbled back from her, slamming into the wall behind him. She blinked her eyes open after squeezing them shut as if it would stamp out the memory. She was startled to find Anakin shaking and saw Cody and Obi Wan approaching out of the corner of her eyes. She ignored them and took a step closer to her friend. He stepped back.

"Anakin-,"

"What was that?" he asked sharply. "What the fuck was that?"

Understanding rushed through her confused mind. The Force was weird around her, that much she knew. Apparently, it had decided to show him the truth. "Anakin, please. You weren't meant to see that."

"It's a lie," he snapped at her.

"What's going on here?" Obi Wan asked. They ignored him.

"It is," she agreed. "Just a nightmare. That's all, Ani, a nightmare."

"No," he shook his head. "It didn't feel- but I wouldn't-,"

"I know you wouldn't," she promised. She tried to step closer again, but he moved back further. "Please, Anakin."

"I…" he shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Anakin, breathe," Obi Wan instructed. "Tell me what's going on."

"I… wouldn't have," he whispered. Soph frowned.

"It was a nightmare," she insisted. "Calm down."

"That wasn't a nightmare!" he glared darkly at her. "Tell me what the hell that was."

Cody was looking between them tensely. He could see the panic rising in Soph, but there was nothing he could do aside from sending a message to Rex.

Soph closed her eyes tightly. It felt like everything was falling apart. He'd seen the one thing she'd never intended to tell him about. "I don't know what you want me to say. No matter what, you're not going to believe me."

"The Force showed me something," Anakin told Obi Wan, though his eyes stayed firmly on Soph's pained face. "But it's impossible."

"Could it not be a nightmare as she says?"

"No," he insisted. "No, it couldn't. It felt too real. She was scared, Master."

"Scared of what?"

He hesitated. "Me."

Soph squeezed her eyes shut. It was falling apart. Her largest concern over telling him what had happened was that it would once again lead him to the dark side.

"General."

Her eyes snapped open and she felt a small rush of relief at the sight of Rex. He looked grim, as if he already knew. Glancing at Cody, she had a feeling he did know. "Rex," she breathed.

"Let's take this somewhere more private," he suggested, waving to an empty room.

"I think that would be a good idea," Obi Wan agreed, frowning darkly. He led them into the room and while everyone else sat - Soph was sandwiched between the two very concerned clones - Anakin paced. "Tell me what happened."

"I had a nightmare, that's all."

"No," Anakin snapped at her. He glanced at Obi Wan. "I found her walking. She was upset. I reached for her and she flipped me and then… I tried to get her to tell me what was going on, and it- I touched her hand, and the Force… showed me… something."

"What did it show you?"

"I killed her," he whispered. "Palpatine told me to and I… she forgave me. She didn't fight me. She just let me…"

"It was a nightmare," she repeated for what felt like the millionth time. Her voice was small and quiet, and she looked sick. Even that was enough to show them that there was some truth to it.

"Soph," Rex said softly. She glanced at him and knew he wasn't upset- he just couldn't use his nickname for her. She looked at him quietly. He didn't speak and neither did she, but she knew what he was thinking - it was too late. He knew, and she was wasting her energy trying to deny it. All she could do was damage control, and she was doing very poorly at that so far.

"Soph, can you…" Obi Wan trailed off, uneasy and unsure what to say.

"It…" she frowned down at her hands. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't have to figure it out, because a thought occurred to Obi Wan and he frowned darkly.

"You've hid the person that killed you from us, even when showing us what happened. It takes immense amounts of energy to do that," he told her. She looked at him and saw the way he almost begged her with his eyes to tell him he was wrong. "Why, Soph?"

"It's time," Rex reminded her quietly. "Minimize the damage."

Soph sucked in a breath and turned to Anakin. "You killed me, Anakin."

"I couldn't," he argued despite the way he'd been so insistent. "I wouldn't."

"Look, we fought this war for years," her voice was quiet. "Years, Ani, that Palpatine was in your ear, influencing your choices. You-," she paused, glancing at Obi Wan. "There were circumstances that left you terrified that someone you care for would die. I saw it darken you. Palpatine worsened things greatly, and you Fell. You helped kill Master Windu, watched Order 66, and when he told you to kill me, you did. I… I don't blame you for what happened."

"I couldn't," he whispered. "You're my family, Soph."

She shrugged helplessly. "There's a lot that happened that shouldn't have. Things that were preventable. Obi Wan and I did what we could, but… it wasn't enough. We lost you."

"You didn't fight," he finally looked her in the eyes. She saw a familiar anger in them that gave her shivers. "Why didn't you fight me?"

"You're my brother," she shrugged. "And I knew there was nothing I could do. I didn't want you to feel guilt over something I should've stopped. I forgave you, and I still do. I don't blame you for what happened."

"Whose death scared him so badly?" Obi Wan asked, looking deeply disturbed.

"I don't feel comfortable sharing that," she shrugged.

"Padme," Anakin whispered. "It was Padme, wasn't it?"

Soph grimaced and nodded. "I won't tell you the circumstances, but yes, it was Padme."

Obi Wan looked pained, but he sighed. "You know about Satine, Soph. I know about Padme, and I know about Rex."

Soph blinked and glanced at Rex, who looked horrified. Cody snorted, earning himself some glares. "In that case… Padme was pregnant, and you had nightmares of her dying in childbirth," she told Anakin. "I think it deeply worsened the problem."

"I…" Anakin looked at Soph. "I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you," she repeated. "I'm just… sorry you saw that."

"You're sorry? I killed you," he stared at her. "Soph, this isn't something small. I killed you. How can you… bear to be around me?"

"I couldn't, at first," she admitted. "It's why I was avoiding you. It hurt- it still hurts sometimes. But I have unwavering faith in you, Ani. Now that we've arrested Palpatine, I truly think things will be different."

"I won't Fall," he told them firmly. "I won't."

"I know you won't," Soph said. Obi Wan nodded firmly.

"I am also confident that you won't," he promised. "Soph, if you need time-,"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm steady. It's Anakin I'm worried about."

Anakin was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, shifting the topic. He seemed overwhelmed, and she understood the need to change the topic to allow himself time to process. "Well, we weren't great at hiding our secrets."

"For what it's worth, you both picked wonderful partners," Obi Wan told them genuinely. He looked at Rex and nodded firmly.

"I will say I'm very relieved you know, sir," Cody told Obi Wan, who raised an eyebrow.

"You knew?"

"I'm their marriage counselor," Cody joked. Rex rolled his eyes and Soph laughed.

"You're married?" Obi Wan asked in surprise. Soph shook her head.

"Anakin is, though."

"You just got engaged," Anakin argued. "Don't put this on me."

"Force, you two make things difficult," Obi Wan told them as he shook his head. His eyes settled on Soph. "You're getting married?"

"Technically. I mean, I think so, yes," she answered, glancing at Rex nervously. He looked amused.

"I believe that was what we agreed on."

"Why haven't you married Duchess Satine?" Soph wondered. "If you do it in secret-,"

"Duchess Satine and I are much less feasible than Rex or Padme. If you're to be married, I'd like to marry you."

Soph's eyes lit up brightly. "Really?"

"Yes. Does anyone else know?"

"Um," she smiled sheepishly. "Like… the entire 501st has picked up on it. Plus Master Vos figured it out."

Obi Wan shook his head. "Let's just make sure it stays between all of us, then. The Council can't find out, especially since you're a Master."

Soph silently wondered if anyone else on the Council aside from her and Obi Wan had relationships. She figured they had to. She thought Master Windu probably did. Master Unduli, as well. Absently, she thought maybe Yoda had. She snorted at the thought.

"When are you to be married?"

"We hadn't quite… planned anything yet," she admitted. "We were kind of busy when we made the decision. The plan is not to wait very long."

"Then we won't wait," Obi Wan agreed. He looked at her seriously and sighed. "You're sure you're up for this? After… how it ended, you'll be okay?"

"I trust him," she agreed firmly. "Nightmares are the past. Our future is free, Master."

He nodded once. "Then, if you'd like to do this soon, we will do it tomorrow."

Soph's eyes widened. "Tomorrow?"

"Before we're sent to Christophsis," he confirmed. "So be ready tomorrow."

"Thank you, Master," Soph bowed her head gratefully. Her eyes slid to Anakin, but he wouldn't meet hers. "Ani, look at me." Hesitantly, he did. He looked nothing like the confident man he usually was - he was horrified and ashamed, and it made him look and feel small. "We're good. I'm not upset. It gave me the chance to come back and… hopefully save many lives. Fix things we should've handled before. It- it was awful, but it was what had to happen for us to fix things."

"It won't happen again," he reminded her firmly. She had a feeling he was reassuring himself more than her. "I will help you fix this."

"I know you will," she assured him. "In the meantime, we've got plenty to do."

"That we do," Obi Wan agreed. "So I suggest we get working."

OoOoOoOoOoOo