Happy Star Wars Day and May the 'Fourth' Be With You!
now, on with the story:
Anakin covered his sudden uncertainty by dismounting and turning to help Artoo. The droid was whistling, worried at how to get down. He couldn't activate his jets without burning the animal.
"I'll get him." Luke said, reaching into the Force and letting the droid float to the ground. The scout leader's eyes were wary but wide with interest.
Anakin held the jittery steed, stroking it's neck and soothing it. It was amazingly easy, easier than he'd ever found it even in his days as a jedi. Perhaps because he was truly content himself. Seeing Obi-Wan he felt a profound relief that he was back where he belonged. No misgivings could override the feeling.
Obi-Wan studied Luke briefly and then turned a mere glance to Anakin. "Did I miss something?" The Jedi's expression was guarded. "I felt a massive tremor in the Force."
Anakin shifted slightly, handing the reins to the scout, who led the two mounts away. Obi-Wan surely had sensed his presence, just as he had sensed Obi-Wan's. Never had his former master been so expert at concealing his reaction as now. All he got by reaching out was that Obi-Wan's mental shields were up.
"The Emperor is dead. The second Death Star is destroyed and the Imperial fleet is scattered." Luke smiled.
Kenobi turned to Anakin. His expression tightened.
Luke opened his mouth, closed it again. This was something they would have to work out. He tightened his lips worried and glanced around. He'd never seen Obi-Wan look so stern.
"Hey." Anakin finally forced out. He also had to force himself to look Obi-Wan in the eye. Gravity seemed to pull his gaze down in shame.
Kenobi still just looked at him.
"Thank you for training him." Anakin finally said. "You did brilliant. He was brilliant. He beat him."
"But he killed him." Luke put in, unable to keep silent.
Anakin nodded slightly. "But he'd already won. When he wouldn't turn … Palpatine was so angry. And I knew he'd won. And I couldn't let him kill him for making the choice I wished I'd made."
Obi-Wan's eyes held his, studying him. Anakin kept his own shields down. He felt Obi-Wan reaching out with the Force, sensing the aura of peace that had replaced the black hole of the dark side around him. And then were his eyes, tired, with dark circles around them but they were his normal blue, no sign of the hate filled yellow of the Sith.
The awkward, intense moment was broken when Anakin sneezed again, repeatedly.
"I really think you should take those meds …" Luke observed.
"Right. Sure." Anakin coughed. He sighed.
Obi-Wan turned to the bags the scouts had dropped. Luke pointed out the medicine and Obi-Wan handed them to Anakin.
"Bit overwhelming after all those years in the mask." Kenobi observed, too politely.
"Yes. I'll take the sneezing over the mask though." Anakin ignored the brief thought that Obi-Wan had put him there. It didn't raise his anger like before. It dawned on him the question was asked to test his reaction to that reminder. Anakin's eyes opened again and he froze. He blinked hard, staring over Obi-Wan's shoulder.
Bail Organa had appeared and he had a pistol pointed at him. But that he hardly noticed. It was the two figures beyond him that had him blinking rapidly, eyes watering, part from his confused sinuses, but more from being overwhelmed with emotions. He had to be hallucinating. Surely two of the people he'd missed the most, one lost and one dead couldn't be here. Especially one who was dead.
But Force sense didn't hallucinate did it? Was this some false vision? He could feel it was really them. He took a half step forward only to be blocked by Organa. The man radiated fear.
Obi-Wan gently laid his hand on Anakin's arm. Luke looked up, following his father's gaze.
"Who is it?"
Anakin looked pleadingly at Obi-Wan. "Is it really them or am I going crazy?"
"We have much to discuss. However if you've turned your back on the dark side, I'd tend to call it going 'sane'."
Anakin swallowed hard, looking past them. He could've flattened Organa easily. But Leia flickered in his mind. He'd raised her. He couldn't hurt Organa. Not now. He didn't really want too, just shove him out of the way. But he wouldn't risk it.
But while he was blocked, they weren't.
"Ani?"
"Anakin?"
Anakin gulped, wanting to hug them, to hug both of them.
They darted around Organa.
"What…how…?" He pleaded. "I thought you were dead. I saw your funeral."
"We faked it. They faked it. Even my family thinks I'm dead. I did nearly die. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ani. I wanted to try and reach out to you again, to find out what he did to you, to try and make you see what was happening to you. But I couldn't risk you finding me, finding out th ..."
Bail looked alarmed. She caught herself.
"…he was alive. After what Palpatine did to you, I couldn't risk him getting our son."
Luke's jaw dropped.
Artoo let out a soft, amused twitter.
"It's okay to say 'they'. I know about Leia." Anakin eyed Organa, who was tightening his grip until his fingers were white knuckled. "I understand. It was my own fault I lost my family. Well, mine and Palpatine's."
Bail glanced at Obi-Wan, worried. Obi-Wan's shield flickered with uncertainly when he admitted this. The old Jedi looked at Luke, who shrugged helplessly.
"I didn't tell him on purpose..." Luke murmured.
Padmé took a step forward. She ducked around Bail.
"Padmé…" He warned, grabbing her arm.. "he's been a Sith for years. He stood by while Alderaan was destroyed. He murdered the Jedi. Those who escaped the temple massacre, he hunted down..."
Anakin winced, the brief memory of those deaths stinging his memory.
She looked between them with tears in her brown eyes. The simple homespun style garb she wore only accented her natural beauty. "I know what he did. You told me what he did. But I also know… I always knew, there was still good in him. I knew why he did it..." She looked back at Anakin. "I'm sorry Anakin. I knew you were lost and confused. And I know that vision scared you. I should've insisted we go right then, or go to the Jedi and tell them the truth and get help…"
Anakin gaped at her. "Your blaming yourself? That's insane!"
"And I blame myself for not training you better." Obi-Wan said sharply. "None of us knew the danger from Palpatine. Not in time. He had far too long to get inside our … your defenses."
"Now your defending him!" Bail sputtered angrily.
"No, I'm just observing there is plenty of blame to go around. Anakin is not the only one who based critical decisions on his trust of Palpatine." Kenobi firmly stated. "Perhaps the only one who realized how blind we were becoming was Ahsoka."
Anakin smiled slightly. "I missed you, Snips." He cocked his head. "You've grown up so much." She was a woman now. A beautiful, full grown togrutan woman.
"Of course." Ahsoka smiled back. It faded slightly. "I demand to share the blame too." She put her hands on her hips. "I knew darned well without me around you and Obi-Wan would get in over your heads."
Obi-Wan looked disgruntled, Anakin opened his mouth and Padme burst out laughing.
Luke just looked confused. "Um. Hey…"
"Oh. Sorry." Anakin recognized Luke's shock. "This is your mother, Padme."
She blinked back tears and smiled at him. "I'm so glad to finally see you again." She reached out a cautious hand and pulled him into a hug. "I pried news out of Obi-Wan but I've thought of you every single day."
Luke hesitantly returned it, blushing a bit at the unexpected praise.
"And this is Ahsoka Tano, my former padawan."
Luke stepped back from his mother, surprised. "You had an apprentice?" Luke gaped at his father then turned to her. "So you're a Jedi too?"
"Not exactly. I left the Order before…well, before."
"Ahsoka was framed for a crime she didn't commit. The Council voted…not unanimously and no, before you ask, I did not vote for it …to cast her out and allow the military to try her." Obi-Wan stated calmly.
"Anakin cleared me. He wanted me to come back. But…" Ahsoka's eyes dropped, then rose again. She met Luke's but then turned back to Anakin and lingered. "I'd lost my confidence. I'd always believed the Jedi were my family. But then they just tossed me out. I was no longer confident they'd do the right thing." She stepped forward and touched Anakin's hand. "Now that I know about Padme and the twins, I can well imagine why you were reluctant to trust the Council with them." She looked sad. "I'm so sorry we didn't see what Palpatine was trying to do to you."
Anakin gripped her shoulder in return. His eyes roamed the group and Padme suddenly rushed forward and wrapped him in a bear hug. Bail flung his hands in the air in frustration. "Am I the only one who is mad at him? Who doesn't trust him? Who remembers the nightmare he put us all through?"
Obi-Wan just covered his eyes and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. Nonetheless, a small smile tugged the corner of his mouth.
Ahsoka crossed her arms across her chest. "Hey, I had an advantage when I hid from Darth Vader because I was trained by Anakin." She nodded sharply. "And if I don't have to have to hide anymore, I'm all for it! He believed in me, once, even when I made mistakes. And I know him. This is my Anakin. This is Skyguy, not Vader. I know! I can feel it!" Her eyes held Anakin's and he knew that she while she was happy to see him and wanted to trust him, she also wanted answers. She was definitely going to grill him later.
Skyguy? Luke mouthed. Anakin just rolled his eyes with a flicker of a smile.
Luke's eyes roamed the group. His mother was hurt and a bit angry at his father, but nonetheless glad to see him. Obi-Wan was relieved but wary as well. Ahsoka was a complicated package, she had a wait and see attitude. Bail Organa was mostly frightened, a bit angry and suspicious.
"So, we came to help. What's the situation?" Luke finally asked.
"The situation is, we're trapped here." Bail growled, not taking his eyes off Anakin.
Obi-Wan peered thoughtfully at his former apprentice. "How did you get through without a fight?"
Bail's suspicions skyrocketed again, judging by the way his hand flexed on his weapon.
"When we fled the second Death Star we took his shuttle." Luke stated.
"It has a cloaking device." Anakin finished.
"That could be handy." Ahsoka pointed out.
"We can't evacuate two hundred plus people in a shuttle." Bail snorted.
"Do you have a ship?" Luke asked. "What happened to yours? The last supply drop was supposedly destroyed. We thought the colony was lost with it."
"It crashed." Ahsoka announced. She motioned to the cave. "We've been repairing it in there and it's mostly fixed. Trouble is, it's not up to handling what's up there right now. And they've been there for months."
"Months?" Luke was startled. "What are they looking for?"
Everyone suddenly turned to look at Anakin.
He drew back slightly, held his hands up slowly, palms out. "I don't know off the top of my head what every sector fleet is up too."
"But if they didn't leave even to join the main fleet at Endor it must be important." Luke observed.
"Very likely." Anakin cocked his head. "So let's hope Artoo finds a way to bounce through that download.
Artoo suddenly squealed, going up to Padme and rocking excitedly.
"Artoo? Is it really you?"
The droid beeped excitedly.
"I thought he was with ..." She hesitated.
"I left the droid with Leia." Bail said, in a 'I don't see why one droid is better than another' tone.
"Haven't caught them up on everything Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, brow raised.
"It took me time to get here on foot." He sniffed. "I'm not as young as I used to be."
"Are you seriously telling me that you came here not knowing?" Bail demanded, understandably disbelieving.
Anakin sighed. "I didn't plan to come back any more than I planned to fall. And I don't really think advertising I'm alive is a good plan."
"Couldn't you just order them to leave?" He sounded somewhat sarcastic.
"In the short run, maybe. But I'd have to be a murdering tyrant to do it. The only way to hold a Sith empire together is to be a Sith. And I don't want to be a Sith. I can't change what I did yesterday but I sure don't have to be one today."
"No please. We would all prefer you not be one today." Obi-Wan interjected firmly. "He's right. It's dangerous for him even to pretend. Too dangerous, for all of us." His eyes were boring into Anakin as if they could bore right through too his soul. Maybe they could.
Anakin flushed and nodded. It brought on another sneeze. He sighed.
"Artoo is using his code and trying to discreetly look up what's going on." Luke said defensively. "If they think he's dead, they won't have any reason to change his codes, right?"
"Sounds right to me." Ahsoka put in firmly. Her eyes sparkled and she looked at her old master appraisingly.
He could feel her reaching out with the force, the gentle brush she'd always used when checking up on him. He'd always kept her out. Now he didn't particularly try. He let her feel how he felt. Overwhelmed. Guilty, ashamed remorsefully, relieved and joyous all at once.
She smiled and nodded slightly, touched Obi-Wan's sleeve. Anakin could feel his master checking too, he suspected he'd been doing it during the whole conversation. No wonder he was so silent. He'd been monitoring how he reacted to the accusations and the greetings, matching his how he felt in the force to his emotions and actions.
"I suggest we go inside and catch up on events over the evening meal." Kenobi suggested, an idea that was agreed to by all, even Organa, reluctantly. Padme gripped Anakin in one hand and Luke in the other and started to lead them to the cave. Anakin felt a sudden, firm pressure on one shoulder. He glanced aside to meet Obi-Wan's eyes. Just passed him Bail followed, weapon still at ready. His old master gave his shoulder a cautionary squeeze and Anakin nodded. He needed to be on his best behavior. His family might be willing to give him the opportunity to prove himself. Bail Organa would shoot first and ask questions later rather than risk his people to Darth Vader.