Where Darkness Surges

"Padme? What's going on? Padme?"

The Senator never heard Bail's voice, her communicator completely forgotten in her hand as she watched Ahsoka Tano, Padawan of her dear husband, be crushed by the weight of death that was pressing on her. Her pallor had gone from peach to almost pink, tears streaming down her cheeks as her legs simply gave out from under her. Padme might have cried out, she wasn't sure, her hands jerking forward to catch her friend but Anakin was already ahead of her; a powerful arm wrapping around his student, his Padawan, and easing her down to the ground. His entire body was sweating, his breathing coming out in short gasps and heaves; his hair was soaked.

"Ahsoka! Ani!" Padme breathed, trying to understand what they were feeling.

The Togrutan Padawan was inconsolable; she moaned and curled into herself, her tiny frame looking more and more like a child as she pulled herself into a fetal position, gripping her temples and rocking slightly back and forth. "Make it stop," she moaned, tears clutching her face and tainting her voice. "Master, make it stop!" She took in a great shuddering breath. "It hurts!"

"Sh, Ahsoka," Padme cooed, only dimly aware of the tears streaking down her own face as she watched her family suffering and was unable to do anything. She reached up and put a hand on the Padawan's wet cheek. "Sh, it'll be okay. It'll be okay."

"Noo," she moaned, sobbing. "Nooooo."

Helpless, Padme turned to her husband, lost in his own pain. "Ani!" she called, her hands full with lekku and montral. "Ani, help me!"

Something got through to him, Anakin suddenly snapped to attention, shaking his head slightly, and stared at the girls, his girls. There was a Huttese curse and he bent down, a hand thrusting over to Ahsoka's trembling temple. "Shields, Snips!" he shouted, his eyes closing and bending even further forward, touching his forehead to hers. "Shields," he whispered. Padme guessed he was touching their bond, pushing and prodding what he needed to raise Ahsoka's shields to protect her from the empathic waves of the slaughter that was happening at the Temple. Space Padme didn't even want to think about what that felt like.

When he finished, Anakin's eyes opened; dark and baggy and ugly, his eyes were so rimmed with red the color seemed to bleed into his usual crystal blue. That frightening gaze locked onto Padme, and the Senator hiccupped as she - insensitive, untouched she - felt the darkness swirling in her husband.

"Watch over her," he commanded, his voice two octaves lower than normal. "I'm going to the Temple."

Anakin stood to his full height, towering over the two women on the floor. It wasn't right, somehow, looking up at him, he looking down on her. He never looked down on her, never down his nose, never with utter apathy; he always was looking into her, smiling at her, crying to and for her, always attentive to her every need, always needing to be reminded to think about his own needs once and a while. This... it wasn't... it wasn't Anakin.

Padme didn't think she could take anymore, but worse, he coldly turned around and she was suddenly watching his back again, retreating from her, going away from her; walking deliberately away from the people he cared about most, away from the family he loved more than anything, the world he'd promised he would protect.

"Don't!" she cried out, stumbling to her feet. "Anakin! Don't!" Something in her heart was shattering, and she had to stop it, stop it with everything that she was. "Anakin! Don't leave!"

He whirled around, his red, foreign eyes penetrating her. "They're slaughtering the younglings!" he growled, the entire tiny hallway vibrating with his anger. "I have to stop them!"

"Ani, Ani please! You can't go!" she begged, outright begged, grabbing his shoulders and standing on her tiptoes, trying to get at eye level to him, frightening as his eyes were.

"I'm going to stop them," he said, "I'm going to kill them." And the room rattled with his promise.

The narrow hallway was claustrophobic, she was too big for the thin space, it was hard to breath, but she pressed forward. "Anakin, please, you can't go! They'll kill you!"

His grin was malicious. "They will try."

"Anakin!" she cried out. "Don't! You're vision! You weren't there! Don't leave Ahsoka alone! Don't leave me, don't leave us alone!" Desperate, wanting it all to stop, she grabbed her husband's wrist and thrust it to her stomach, willing that he feel their kicking baby, that he see the stress that everyone was under, that he see just how much he was needed. Ahsoka was still moaning at their feet, rocking back and forth and bumping against the back of Padme's legs.

Her husband seemed to still slightly. His focus wasn't on her yet, but his eyes dropped down to his hand, unfocused, staring at their baby in what Padme could almost describe as confusion. She couldn't understand what was so confusing, she couldn't understand his red eyes, she couldn't understand him.

"Obi-Wan," she muttered, "Obi-Wan, help him. Please."

Wrong thing to say.

His entire face became as red as his eyes and the hand she was holding so tightly to the baby shot out, grabbing a wrist and lifting it over her head. "Obi-Wan?" he demanded. "Obi-Wan? I'm your husband, why are you calling out to him?"

"Anakin... please," she gasped, shocked that he was doing this to her.

"EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!" he shouted to the top of his lungs, shoving her roughly and clutching his head.

Padme had long lost knowing what was happening in his head, and as she struggled to regain her balance Ahsoka, curled on the floor, interrupted her stumbling and she tripped over the poor Padawan. The world tilted as she fell, and for one horrifying moment Padme could only look over her shoulder at the floor and pray that her baby wouldn't be hurt from the fall. One arm was pinwheeling while the other she tried to angle to take the brunt of the fall, she only prayed that Anakin wouldn't blame himself for this if something happened.

A metal hand shot out and grabbed her flailing wrist in an durasteel grip, yanking her arm and subsequently herself out of the fall before wonderfully strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame, an angled chin and face burying into the crook of her neck. It happened so fast she wasn't quite sure what happened at first, but the trembling body holding her said enough, and she all too quickly wrapped him in a hug of her own.

"'re y' 'kay?" he mumbled into her shoulder, voice cracking.

"I'm fine, Ani," she whispered, kissing his exposed neck. "I'm fine now that you're back. You're back. Oh, Ani," she said, her own voice breaking. "You're back, that's all that matters."

Her husband started to sink to the floor, the energy of his all but disappearing, and Padme allowed herself to drop down with him, sinking to her knees and then her behind; it was awkward with Anakin wrapped around her, but she didn't care. His entire body was taught, trembling with tension and discontent. Her shoulder was getting wet, and she knew he was crying.

"My head," he confessed, "It's too full... The Jedi, all of them... the younglings... the younglings... and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan and you... I have to help you... I have to stop the vision... but it's so hard to think..."

"Then don't think," Padme hushed, one hand stroking his hair while she dared to loose the other to touch Ahsoka. "Don't think, don't act, don't do anything else; just work through all the feelings. The rest can come later."

Some time later, there was a soft, "Milady?"

Padme looked up to see Typho, looking at the three of them sprawled on the floor of the narrow hallway, the Jedi clutching her in some way, and her in her own state of disarray. The pre-flight checks must have been completed, and he was looking for a destination. Padme was at a loss of what to tell him, but she spoke anyway.

"Get us into space," she said softly, glancing at her hurting family. "Get us as far away from the Temple and the death as possible."

"I have to file a flight plan," Typho said carefully, "we don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"I may have a suggestion," a voice said softly, and Padme openly startled as she look to the hand that had been stroking Ahsoka to see her communicator was still on.

"Bail?" she queried, shocked that he was still on the line.

His tiny hologram looked to her, his face a complex mix of emotions, but he nodded and Padme knew that he had heard everything. She wasn't sure she could completely process what "everything" was, but she knew that there was likely to be a long discussion later. That was fine. That was fine, because it meant that everyone was around when later actually happened.

"I have a consular corvette out in the inner core," he said over the communicator, turning to face Typho. "It called in recently speaking of 'navigational problems.' I'll be going there myself to see what is the matter, since you're out in space and 'in the area' you can board and see if there's anything you can do to help."

"I understand," Typho said, nodding stiffly at the plan. "I'll file the flight plan." He spun on his heel and left.

Padme offered a watery smile. "Thank you, Bail," she said softly.

"I can see the fire from my apartment," the other Senator said, "even if I hadn't seen young Ahsoka's reaction I knew it couldn't be good." They both paused when said Padawan suddenly moaned, her entire body shuddering as she murmured, "Master Plooooh." Padme reached over to stroke her montral again. Anakin suddenly gripped her very hard, and she did what she could.

"Is she alright?" he asked softly. His eyes flickered to her husband, and Padme knew he was asking about both.

"I think they're feeling everybody dying through the Force," she said softly, and as soon as she said that it became real. Her heart froze over, her eyes widening, and fresh tears started to streak down her face. "Bail," she sobbed, "The Jedi, they're all dying. Right now! Everywhere, across the galaxy, and I'm just sitting here. I'm running away!" She should have let Anakin go, she should have gone with him, blaster in hand and taken care of those clones! Anger filled every pore of her, and even as she shook her head at her thoughts on going to the Temple, she was already channeling her anger to something more constructive. "There's going to be an emergency session over this, right?" she asked slowly, her voice hardening.

"Yes," Bail answered, already seeing where she was going.

"We need to be there," she said. "All of us, the entire Delegation. We need to see Palpatine's explanation for this. We need to see what he's going to do without the Jedi."

Bail's hologram nodded grimly. "I've already contacted the others. I'll see you on the corvette in an hour or so."

Padme nodded, and when the communicator finally flickered out, she looked up to the view port to see the stars had already filled its scope. They were out in space, and she could only hope the distance from Coruscant could help somehow.

She doubted it, but she still hoped.

Obi-Wan was hardly surprised when he arrived at the Tantive IV and was promptly buried in hugs and relief that he was alright. Nor was he surprised at the tears given the overwhelming anger he'd felt from Anakin as younglings were slaughtered and Jedi perished across the galaxy. Even shielding and filtering as much as he could, the distance from the Temple didn't matter as his former Padawan had dropped all of his filters in shock.

He gave himself another moment to quietly grieve.

Anakin had promptly dragged him to the small infirmary of the ship to have him checked out, despite Obi-Wan's insistence that he was fine.

"You were knocked out and almost drowned, you're not fine until the healer says so."

And after feeling the Light fade and the Darkness strengthen, Obi-Wan couldn't begrudge him that. Neither could Padme, it seemed, as Anakin insisted she be checked out, despite an appointment three days prior where she was fine.

Once Anakin was satisfied they were all fine, they sat in a small conference room.

For a while, it was just silent, all of them sitting there. So much had happened in such a short time. They were still processing all of it.

Obi-Wan took a breath and broke the silence. "Bail, I take it you now know everything."

The Senator gave a wan smile. "I must say it was a bit of a surprise."

Padme gave a small chuckle.

"We've been called to an emergency session," Bail continued.

"We need to be there," Padme stated firmly, looking to her husband.

"Angel, it's too dangerous..."

"I agree; they should go," Obi-Wan stated.

"Why?" Anakin growled.

"It will give us a chance to sneak into the Temple."

"What?" Ahsoka gasped, still incredibly pale.

"You haven't checked the Jedi channels, have you?"

Everyone shook their heads. Obi-Wan nodded. He doubted they were in any frame of mind to. "The signal from the Temple is that the war is over and to come home."

"No," Ahsoka whimpered. "It's a trap! They'll be killed like everyone else!"

"Which is why we'll be there, Snips," Anakin replied, already getting Obi-Wan's plan. "We'll change that."

Though still pale, the Togrutan Padawan nodded with determination.

Typho stepped forward. "Milady, it's too dangerous for you."

"I'm going," she replied as firmly as before.

Anakin reached out holding her hand. "Then keep a healer with you. Just in case."

"Ani..." she nodded. "I'll come right back here after the session." She narrowed her eyes. "I'll be waiting for you. So you'd best get back. And in one piece."

Obi-Wan dipped his head as Anakin seemed to just radiate with his love for her.

"I'll have my people try to intercept any Jedi on their way here," Bail offered.

"Thank you," all three Jedi replied.

Ahsoka wiped another wave of tears from her eyes as they looked down to the Temple. It was strange being back here. It seemed like centuries since they'd hurried off of Coruscant as everything she ever knew and loved died in the span of an eternity. Smoke was still drifting lazily up, but aside from the fires, one wouldn't know there had been a massacre inside. The walls still reflected the late afternoon sun, the spires still cast long shadows. It looked... normal.

But it didn't feel normal. The Temple was always a feeling of home and calm in the Force. Glowing gently with safety and protection. Now, it was marred with Darkness. There was no inviting feeling. And though people in brown robes still crossed open promenades and near the entrances, they were not Jedi. And one couldn't ignore the fires that burned.

This wasn't right.

This wasn't right.

That had been her home! That was her home!

And now it felt like a mere shell of its former self.

And they were going to go inside.

She couldn't stop the shudder.

A heavy dark brown robe draped itself around her shoulders, and Ahsoka looked back to see her master looking down at her as he arranged his robe around her.

The affectionate gesture warmed Ahsoka's aching heart and she took a deep breath to compose herself again.

"Main entrance, or one of the docking bays?" Anakin turned to Obi-Wan.

The Jedi Master let out a long sigh. "I suppose it does not matter. You realize they will attack as soon as the see us?"

"Yes," Anakin replied quietly.

Obi-Wan merely nodded.

This was unacceptable for Ahsoka. "You're just going to kill any clone in our way?" she swiftly turned to them.

Anakin looked down at her, his exhausted eyes showing the briefest flickers of red. "They aren't exactly our friends right now, Snips," he replied.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It will be the will of the Force. If we can avoid fighting, very well. If we can't, then we must defend ourselves."

Ahsoka shook her head, fresh tears coming to her eyes again. She was sick of crying. "But we can't! That'd be revenge wouldn't it? That's the Darkside!"

Anakin put a hand on her shoulder, letting out along breath. "At worst, it would be justice. And it would be the choice of the clones."

"We avoid taking life Ahsoka, but there are times were we can't," Obi-Wan agreed.

"No!" she cried. The grief was overwhelming her again. This was all too much. "That's the Temple! There's been enough death in there! And you want to add more? Justice or not, will of the Force or not, we can't!" she wailed. "The clones..." Ahsoka hiccupped, "we thought of them as sentient beings. And they're sentient, and they're beings, but they've been programmed to always follow orders. If ever anyone gives them an order, they don't have a choice, they must obey!" She looked down. "And we'd kill them for doing their duty. They same way they've killed us for doing our duty. That's just wrong! And messed up! And... and..." her knees gave out under her as she couldn't swallow her sobs any longer.

This was all just so wrong. So very wrong. No more death... Please... Because even if they were clones, she didn't think she could take any more.

Arms were suddenly around her and she willed away her tears as best she could. There would be time for crying later. They needed to save any Jedi who lived and was coming home to the Temple and find out what was going on.

... Even if that meant... killing...

Another sob escaped her. The arms around her tightened.

And there was a sob that wasn't her own.

Blinking away tears, she looked up to see her own master crying. But that didn't make sense... unless.

"I'm sorry, Master," she mumbled. "I don't mean to project so much."

Obi-Wan crouched beside them, hesitated a moment, before wrapping his arms around the two of them. "Jedi are allowed to feel, young one. And after everything today? We all have a lot of feeling we need to do."

Anakin nodded, leaning into Obi-Wan's embrace. "As Jedi we feel, but we have to put the feelings away when we need to. Putting all of this away for a while? It won't be easy. Take all the time you need, Snips."

Ahsoka nodded, burying her face into Anakin's neck and just taking a moment to feel secure in their arms. It was with great difficulty that she wrestled her feelings. She would not let her master down with this. She may be a Padawan, she may not be as skilled, but she was a warrior and a veteran combatant. She knew that she needed focus or she would fail.

But the thought of feeling another death...

"Then we won't kill anyone," Anakin soothed, their bond alive with calming and shared grief, and support. "We'll go into the Temple another way."

"And what way would that be?" Obi-Wan asked with curiosity.

Anakin only grinned. It was still a somewhat sad grin. But it was nice to see anything to smile about.

"It'll get us in without being noticed. Anything after that will be distractions or mind-tricks."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We'll need to shield. Heavily. This is going to be traumatic, no matter what we do," he sat back, releasing them from his hug to rub his beard. "The last thing we need is all of us distracting each other with what we're going to be seeing in there."

Ahsoka wasn't entirely sure she wanted that. She knew she was clinging to Anakin's presence and she wasn't sure she could quite let go at the moment. But this bond was still new. She'd gone for a long time without knowing that they could do this, she merely needed to go back to that.

Retreating into her own mind, she looked to her bond and shielded it with everything she could throw at it. Anakin had taught her well, after all. She was surprised she could still sense him, and quite clearly. But it was quiet. No words, just feelings. She nodded to herself. That would have to do.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Snips?"

Ahsoka wasn't sure. Not at all. But she pulled out of Anakin's hug anyway. With a watery smile, she gestured toward the burning Temple. "Lead the way, Master."

Yoda reached out with the Force to alter a dial he could not reach in the small, but Wookie-designed ship. His heart was nothing more than a permanent ache now that almost all the Jedi of the galaxy were gone. Dead. At one with the Force. And while he could rejoice that it had been swift, the fact that so many were now gone... it just hurt.

The tiny Jedi took another deep breath and acknowledged the pain for what it was, and let go.

Though the grief would need to be dealt with, there were more pressing matters. If clones were attacking Jedi, then the Temple was likely in danger, if not already taken. Indeed, the signal from the Temple broadcasted that the war was over and to come home. That did not sit well in the Force, so Yoda knew he needed to go and save whatever Jedi remained. They would need to hide. Regroup somehow, and assess what was going on.

They had been blind too long.

It was time to do something about it.

But Yoda would not know what until he found another Jedi to discuss things.

He had been trying to reach other Jedi across all Jedi frequencies but there was no response.

Unsurprising.

Saddening. But unsurprising.

"Master Yoda, is that really you?"

The tiny master blinked, looking at a small hologram appear of Senator Organa.

"Senator," Yoda greeted, not sure how he felt about this. Organa had often been a friend of the Jedi, though more conservative and reserved about it than how blatantly Senator Amidala supported them. But with no information and having already been blindsided by clones he'd thought he could trust, Yoda was weary to say more. "A most unexpected surprise to reach you, this is, on this channel."

Organa nodded. "Master Kenobi gave it to me before... I'd best not say more. I have a consular ship, the Tantive IV in orbit trying to stop Jedi from landing on Coruscant. Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker left a message for any Jedi who come on the ship, just in case." The small hologram glanced around. "I must be on my way before they realize I'm talking to a Jedi." Organa looked at the tiny master with great sorrow and sympathy. "Be safe, Master Yoda. Stars above, enough have died. Be safe."

Yoda nodded, cutting the transmission and easily finding the corvette that Organa had mentioned in a distant orbit. The ship's captain, a cleft-chinned human, efficiently got Yoda onboard quietly and to a conference room. There, the two sat.

"Master Yoda," the captain greeted.

"Captain Antilles," Yoda greeted. "Understand, I do, that information you have."

The man was a trained diplomat, and nothing showed on his face as he nodded, but Yoda felt great turmoil inside.

Antilles stood, giving a bow. "Master Yoda, as you are probably already aware, the clones have turned on the Jedi. They marched on the Temple." Antilles stood straight, looking forward without looking at anything. He delivered his information levelly and professionally. "We took Knight Skywalker, his Padawan, Senator Amidala and her chief of security on board when they were fleeing."

Yoda nodded. No doubt the two had been at one of the young Senator's dinners that she hosted for Jedi who were interested. It spared them, for which Yoda was grateful. Enough had fallen. Yet it put Amidala in danger, which he regretted to do to such a fine person.

"Master Yoda," Antilles hesitated. "I've never seen anything like it. There was no mark upon Knight Skywalker or his Padawan, but both were crying out in pain. Padawan Tano was nearly catatonic. Senator Amidala informed us that the two were feeling the death of all the Jedi in the galaxy. The younglings in the Temple, the Knights out on missions. Everywhere."

Yoda heard the question. It was inconceivable that the Jedi could have been wiped out so thoroughly. And yet, now the Jedi were all but extinct. Yoda had no way of knowing how many Jedi still lived, but their Order had gone from thousands strong, to few in the span of an hour, depending on how long some of the Jedi held out or how the clones had set up their ambushes.

With a heavy sigh, he replied, "Understandable it is, for them to suffer so. Closer they were when attacked the Temple was. Sense strongly the death they would." Because the Darkside could transmit pain and suffering so easily and the Force was almost choked with Darkness.

Antilles nodded, quailing inside at the injustice of what had just happened, but maintaining his professional air. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small cube. "Master Kenobi left this and instructed me to give it to any Jedi who we were able to intercept."

Yoda took the small holocron.

"I'll leave you to it," Antilles bowed and left the room.

The tiny master held the holocron, merely looking into its depths for a moment. A holocron encoded the cognitive networks of whoever left the recording, essentially leaving a living breathing memory of a person and their feelings and knowledge at a particular time in their lives. Jedi used holocrons to record techniques and histories. Obi-Wan had not done that. This was not a holocron for knowledge or learning. This was a holocron for warning.

Yoda allowed a moment of sadness that a holocron was used this way. Then he reached for the small cube through the Force, turning crystals and inverting patterns until it was no longer a cube.

"Ah, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan greeted, his eyes watery. "I am surprised that you are the first to access me."

"Grateful I am, that still alive you are."

The holographic Obi-Wan nodded, a hand coming up to brush the tears threatening to fall. "Forgive me, Master Yoda. This has been a long day. I was recorded with great haste. As such, my feelings haven't been properly sorted."

Yoda nodded, knowing that Obi-Wan's large and caring heart would be a great source of hurting during this difficult time. Indeed, Yoda himself wasn't free of the ache of loss. "Understand I do. But time, I doubt we have. Please, tell me what you've planned."

Obi-Wan ran a hand roughly through his hair. "I'm afraid not much at the moment, Master. I am currently on my way back to the Temple with Anakin and Ahsoka to alter the Temple beacon. We are aiming to tell any remaining-" Obi-Wan paused. "Tell the Jedi to run and hide. The Chancellor has called an emergency meeting in the Senate, and that is where most of the security should be, making now the ideal time to do so."

"A meeting, you say?"

"Yes. According to Bail and Padme, it will likely be 'evidence' on why we needed to be wiped out like a disease." Obi-Wan paused, running a hand through his beard. "Forgive me, Master. That was uncalled for."

Yoda waved it aside. "And after? What plans have you?"

Obi-Wan let out a deep sigh, both hands rubbing at his eyes. "So much depends. At the very least, we'll be meeting up with Padme on this ship again. From there? Pool information. Go into hiding. Try and figure out who this damned Sith is."

Yoda frowned. He had figured out who the Sith was as soon as the clones had attacked. For clones would ever follow an order. And the only being in the galaxy who had a higher command than the Jedi with the clones was Chancellor Palpatine. "Know not you, who the Sith is, after all that has happened?"

The hologram shook his head. "No, master. Dooku commented that it was someone close to the Chancellor. I believe Anakin burst into an interview with him this morning, but I don't know all the details of it." Obi-Wan paused, a hand covering his mouth. "Stars, was that really this morning?" The holographic image sniffed. "I was too busy with Grievous most of the day. Anakin might have a better idea of things." Obi-Wan looked around. "I miss having him in my mind. This recording apparently doesn't include our bond and it's so silent without him. For all I know his vis-" Obi-Wan stopped, looking down.

Yoda waited patiently. Young Anakin had appeared to have had a vision, and he was most curious as to what it was. But Obi-Wan wasn't saying.

Hmmm.

"A vision, you say?" Yoda prompted.

Obi-Wan looked around, rubbing at his tears again. "That," he said in the firm voice of a Master and a Councilor, "is not mine to share. Talk to me, Master. More importantly, talk to Anakin. You hurt him all those years ago when you did not condone my training of him. And he can't bring himself to trust you completely because of it. If you wish to know, you must earn that trust. I have urged him to speak of things to you." Obi-Wan sighed again, shoulders slumping. "Before I arrived, I was able to get Anakin to think about telling you, which is more than he's ever agreed to before. But the rest, I believe, is up to you."

"If so important this is, tell me you should," Yoda replied calmly.

"No Master. Not this. You do not have Anakin's trust. I understand why. But I have his trust. His loyalty. He knows I will drop whatever I'm doing to go help him if he requires, and he will do the same for me. I may be but a recording, and a highly stressed one at that, but I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am a piece of him in a moment of time. I will not betray my old Padawan like that. We have worked too hard to get past a great deal of failings of the Jedi. And yes, master, I did say failings. Maybe it's because I am still feeling so much that I can say this freely. But there are teachings of the Jedi that are wrong. I've been thinking about them for some time now but haven't been able to get past how I was raised. This, today... If the Jedi survive, something must change."

Yoda sighed. "Speaking from attachment, you are," he said quietly. "The Jedi, not perfect we are, but successful we have been for a thousand generations. Wisdom, there is, in what we have taught for so long."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I do not deny that. We have lived for a long time. But survival does not equate to success. We have failed. There are so many things that Anakin is much wiser in than a Jedi could ever hope to be. Just as he has learned from me, I have learned much from him. You are clearly not ready to hear this. I have made a promise to Anakin that it is his to tell, and I will support his decision. As such, no, Master Yoda. I will not tell you. I can only advise. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, but not the real Obi-Wan Kenobi. That choice is his and his alone. The same way it is Anakin's."

Yoda frowned.

Obi-Wan sighed again. "Wait for us here. We shouldn't be long. Then, perhaps, we can make some informed decisions. Now turn me off. I have nothing else that I can say."

The tiny master complied, rearranging the holocron back to its original cube shape and sat back, letting things be.

He did not agree with Obi-Wan. Or at least, this holocron-Obi-Wan that was still feeling the loss of so many Jedi. Things needed to be changed, yes, so that the Jedi would not be blindsided again. But the Jedi had perfected, or at least streamlined much of what they did to great efficiency.

Yoda shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on this. Palpatine was meeting with the Senate. When the meeting was over, before time had been given for Palpatine to finish consolidating his rule, was a good time.

With heavy shoulders and a heavier heart, Yoda left the conference room to find Captain Antilles. He needed to get down to Coruscant.

Author's Note: Poor Ahsoka. And Go Holocron!Obi-Wan!

Next week: Sneaking into the Temple, Dooku, and the Death of Liberty