She was gone. That was the extent of it. The situation was not complicated or convoluted, as many situations before him had been. Instead, it was horrifyingly simple, and a situation that he had absolutely no power over whatsoever.
Ahsoka had made her choice, and it was not his right to interfere with that. The Jedi side of him cried out that she was throwing away her entire career and life.
But the more personal side of him, the side he only ever showed to his closest friends and family told him she was right. The council had all but betrayed her, and there was no way they deserved her forgiveness, let alone loyalty anymore, not when they themselves had none for her.
And so it was, while not exactly how he wished it would happen, that Anakin Skywalker willingly allowed his apprentice to walk away from those that had turned on her. He would never hold it against her. After all, he knew what it was like to live with people who always expected the impossible. If there was anything he wanted for Ahsoka, anything he had tried to teach her, it was to be her own person, rather than some drone for the Jedi council to order around and all but abuse verbally when things didn't go their way.
So Anakin had stood and watched as Ahsoka's figure descended the grand steps of the Jedi temple, fading into the sunset in the distance as she left. Anakin couldn't help but spitefully think that was a metaphor of some kind. Ahsoka leaves, and the sun set on the Jedi order. It was what they deserved after all for chasing away their most promising student in recent years.
Anakin had continued staring at the descended sun for nearly an hour after Ahsoka had left, and when he felt the chill of the night beginning to arrive, he turned and headed for the hanger bay of the temple. He could not stay there tonight, not whilst he had the knowledge that he would be spending his evening alone in his formally shared living quarters.
Instead, climbing into his speeder, Anakin set course for the one place he wanted to be right now. He needed a familiar comforting face, one that would listen.
One that would tell him that everything was going to be ok.
Anakin didn't bother knocking on Padme's front door, not that he ever needed to anyway. Mostly he did it to keep up the pretence of their secret relationship, but right now he couldn't care less. He needed to vent, and he knew Padme would listen.
Entering into her apartment the first figure that greeted him was C-3PO, who was as enthusiastic as ever at seeing him.
"Oh Master Anakin how good to see you again. I must say that I could use you help with some repairs to Miss Padme's…"
Anakin all but cut Threepio off as he wife entered the room, her face full of what appeared to both concern and relief. Clearly she could see the look that adorned his face, one that Anakin was sure was giving off his grief.
"Ani? Are you ok?" Padme's soft gentle voice was a source of comfort for him. Knowing that someone cared was good enough.
But right now Anakin really needed to vent, and he hoped that Padme wouldn't think any less of him for it.
Pacing around the room, Anakin stopped briefly at the couch in the centre of the room, bending down to pick up a pillow from it, before promptly throwing it across the room, revealing at the sound it made when it hit the wall with a soft 'thud'.
"Ani?" His wife tired again, coming toward him, a hand out, offering it as a source of comfort, one that Anakin took.
Neither spoke for a few moments as they embraced, Anakin calming himself in the process as Padme no doubt tried to understand what was possibly happening to him.
After a few moments of the warm embrace, Anakin spoke, his voice coming out in a whisper.
"Ahsoka left us."
It was a simple statement, but one that hurt nonetheless. Saying it was almost as if he was confirming it. She really was gone, simply because he had said it.
"What?" Padme gasped in shock, pulling back from the embrace slightly to be able to see Anakin's face.
Sighing, Anakin continued.
"The council offered her reinstatement to the order, at the rank of knight no less. She would have been the youngest knight in several generations. But she refused and left the order."
Anakin struggled to keep his tone neutral, his attempt briefly failing, allowing a hint of anger to slip through in his tone, one that Padme clearly picked up on.
"You're not mad at her are you?" Padme questioned, her tone growing concerned. It occurred to Anakin that Padme probably thought he was angry at his former Padawan for leaving. That couldn't have been further from the case.
"No! Of course not. I may not like it much but she did what she wanted to do, and I would never stop her from doing that. It's the kriffing council that I'm angry with!" Anakin replied, this time allowing his anger to seep through.
Padme however was having none of it. Rather than listen she merely tightened her grip on Anakin, pulling him closer to her as comfort.
That quelled Anakin's anger instantly, as both of them hoped it would. They would talk about it later no doubt, but right now all they both wanted was to enjoy the fact that they still had each other.
When morning rolled around Anakin rose early, gently kissing the head of his sleeping wife, before heading out the door. Despite the previous days events, he had had a good night's sleep.
He could only hope that Ahsoka did as well, wherever she had ended up.
Anakin and Padme had talked some more in the night, mostly Padme with Anakin listening, but it was a talk nonetheless. His ever brilliant wife had all but assured and convinced him that Ahsoka would be fine, and that if she needed his help she would contact him. Had anyone else told him that he would not have believed them, but with padme it was different. he trusted her work explicitly. She would never lead him wrong. So if she said that Ahsoka would be fine, the she would be fine.
It would be a stretch to say that he had fully accepted and made peace with Ahsoka's decision, but for now he was willing to accept it. He trusted Ahsoka, and knew she would find her own path in time. He only wondered what sort of path it would be.
For now however, he had a much harder task to deal with. The 501st had yet to find out what had happened to their commander, and Anakin was almost certain there would be outrage from them.
He wasn't wrong.
Anakin had found several members of his battalion sitting together in their shared barracks. While not quite as exquisite as the jedi temple, the barracks served their purpose as a resting place for his men.
Taking a spare seat at the table, Anakin's eyes went over the faces of the various troopers assembled. Rex was there, naturally, as was Fives and Kix. Jesse had also come, as had Tup. There may have only been five on them there at the moment, but it was the five he trusted the most, and the five who deserved to know what had happened.
Upon noticing his arrival, Rex nodded his head in a sign of respect, drawing the attention of his companions who were clearly engaged in an animated discussion. Rex could clearly sense that his general needed to speak to them about something.
When the conversation had died down, Anakin began, keeping his voice steady and professional. The last thing he needed was for his troops to see their general broken.
"I'm afraid that, as of yesterday evening, Commander Tano has officially left the Jedi order, and by extension given up her rank as a commander of the GAR. The council offered her reinstatement into the order, but she chose to walk her own path in light of what has happened."
The five clones around him each had a different reactions to the news. Tup slouched in his chair, clearly upset at the news. Kix's head was in his hands in an instant, a deep sigh coming from him as he considered the news. Jesse had stormed off, grumbling under his breath about the council costing the 501st their commander and friend.
Rex's face didn't change, but his eyes did. Most people would not recognize the subtle shifts that Rex unknowingly used to portray his true emotions. but Anakin did. The Captain's eyes glanced down briefly, before coming back up to refocus on Anakin. The Jedi could tell his loyal Captain was upset at the news, but understood the reasoning behind it. He, like Anakin respected Ahsoka's ability to make decisions for herself.
Fives' reaction was completely different.
"Those kriffing council members! That kriffing traitorous Offee! Kriffing Wolffe for hunting her down! I'm gonna kill them all!"
Anakin had never seen Fives so angry. It was the sort of reaction he expected from himself. The fact that it was his ARC trooper instead was not a comforting thought. By now Fives had stood from his chair, knocking it over in his anger in the process, fuming with anger. What exactly was he going to do?
It wasn't until Tup rose to his own feet, grasping the ARC trooper by the shoulders to calm him down, that Fives' anger seemed to recede, the ARC trooper coming back to sit in his chair.
"I understand how you feel Fives. i had to stop myself from verbally abusing the council last night myself. It won't do you any good. For now, all we can do is wait and see. Hopefully one day she will return to us."
Anakin's words, even if they were said more for his own comfort that the clones, seemed to work. The troopers were not happy with the news of their commander's departure, but they accepted her decision, just as he had.
Shortly afterwards, the table was cleared, leaving only Rex with his general. It was then that the Captain spoke for the first time following the news.
"She's really gone sir?"
All Anakin could do was nod.
Anakin's talk with his troops seemed to have a positive effect, at least for a while. Merely three hours after he had departed the barracks, he received an emergency call from Rex.
"Sir, Fives has… taken matters into his own hands. I think you need to get down here now."
The worry in Rex's voice was rare, and thus immediately gained Anakin's attention. Rushing back to the barracks he had left only hours before hand, Anakin braced for whatever Fives was up to. Upon arrival, he was forced to spring into action.
Lying on the floor was Commander Wolffe, blood trickling from his nose and a fresh purple bruise adorning it, a clear sign of someone hitting him.
Behind him were various members of the Wolfpack, looking on with what appeared to be anger, with various members of their battalion holding back others who looked particularly bloodthirsty.
Glancing over the other side of the room Anakin spotted Fives being held by himself by the combined might of Tup and Jesse, both of which were struggling against Fives, who was evidently desperate to escape his comrades clutches and resume what Anakin assumed was his physical assault on Wolffe. Behind them other members of the 501 stood, many of which also had looks of anger on their faces.
"Skywalker," A deep voice spoke from beside him as Anakin turned to unexpectedly come face to face with the masked visage of Plo Koon. The Kel Dor had clearly entered the room behind him, no doubt being called by members of his own battalion to investigate the situation. "What is happening here?"
Anakin had no real idea, even if it was glaringly obvious what had happened. The situation was getting out of hand, and he knew he needed to deal with it himself.
Drawing on the force, Anakin bellowed across the room.
"ENOUGH! STAND DOWN, ALL OF YOU!"
Dozens of heads turned to him in an instant, some with looks of shock and guilt on, others retaining their look of anger.
In that moment, Fives managed to break free, making a dash for the injured Wolffe , clearly intent on finishing what he started.
That was until Anakin moved to intercept, standing directly in Fives' path and restraining him.
"Explain yourself at once trooper!" Anakin all but snarled. He did not tolerate this sort of behaviour from his troops, not ever!
Fives however was not intimidated. "This piece of bantha poodoo is responsible for Commander Tano getting captured. If he hadn't stunned her she wouldn't have been brought to trial, and she wouldn't have left us!"
Anakin's expression softened slightly. He was not expecting Fives to take Ahsoka's decision so badly. He'd almost say that Fives was taking it worse than he was.
It was clear that Fives was looking for someone to blame, and Wolffe was just the one unfortunate enough to be in the path of Fives' wrath.
Still, that didn't make his actions acceptable.
"I understand you're angry Fives. I'd love nothing more than to tear apart those that caused this, Barriss chief among them, but this isn't the way. If we resort to violence we are no better than the person who framed Ahsoka in the first place. Wolffe was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
From the way Fives' face began to contort it was clear that Anakin's words were having an effect. A few moments later, and several deep breaths on Fives part and the tension in the room seemed to evaporate. Now calm, the ARC trooper moved around Anakin, bending down to help Wolffe to his feet, before murmuring his apologies and calling Kix over to help him.
From there, the rest of the two battalions began to disperse, the unexpected spat between them dealt with. In the end they were all brothers, no matter which general they worked with. That was a bond that was unbreakable.
Content that his job was done Anakin began to move to the exit, nodding to Plo Koon as he passed by. Unlike the rest of the council the Kel Dor had actually bothered to apologise for his actions. That at the very least earned Anakin's respect.
Now though he had to deal with someone else on the council he hadn't spoken to since Ahsoka had left.
Anakin didn't bother to even knock on the door that led to his old master's private quarters. Through the force he could feel that Obi-Wan was in there, no doubt either meditating or enjoying a cup of the herbal tea that he seemed to have a penchant for. Anakin thought it tasted like garbage himself, but then he was not Obi-Wan.
Striding into the room Anakin spotted Obi-Wan resting on a chair, a cup of tea in his hand, as he had predicted. The elder man glanced up at Anakin as he approached, a small, if not sad smile coming to his face. Anakin could sense what was about to happen, so he seized his opportunity before Obi-Wan did.
"I know what you're going to say Obi-Wan. Attachment is not the way of the Jedi order, but Ahsoka was far more than just my padawan. She was my friend, and you and your council sold her out to maintain a public image that was already in the dirt!" Anakin spoke sharply, trying to contain his anger. He wasn't sure what to make of Obi-Wan these days, not after the Rako Hardeen incident, and now this!
"I completely and utterly agree with you there Anakin." Obi-Wan replied, standing from his chair and moving towards the small kitchen in his quarters, beginning to put some sort of drink together. Anakin had no real response for a moment. he merely stood dumbstruck. Had Obi-Wan really just agreed with him?
"I'm, I'm sorry?" Anakin stuttered in reply, shaking his head as if trying to clear his head of any false thoughts.
Obi-Wan, who by now had finished pouring a drink of what Anakin assumed was caf, moved back over towards the table, placing the drink down in the process and offering it to Anakin.
"We turned our backs on her when she needed us most Anakin." Obi-Wan continued, his features sinking slightly at the memory of the recent days gone past. "For that I am eternally sorry, but grateful at the same time."
"Grateful! You're grateful that my padawan has left the order!" Anakin very nearly shouted at Obi-Wan. It wouldn't be the first time of course, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. To shout was to show weakness.
And Anakin was anything but weak.
"No Anakin," Obi-Wan answered, his voice remaining calm, "I'm grateful that she saw the flaws of the council, and had the guts to leave us. They don't deserve her Anakin. No one does. She is her own person. Always has been, always will be."
Anakin knew what Obi-Wan was going on about. His master was clearly upset at Ahsoka's departure, just as he was, but he had accepted it for the same reasons Anakin had.
Ahsoka was an individual at heart. Sure, she loved to socialise, as did most Togruta, but her personality made her unique.
As a Jedi, she was forced to withhold that personality at the best of times, much as he had been forced to keep his marriage a secret, and as Obi-Wan had been forced to push his feelings for Satine Kryze aside.
In the end, that was not what Anakin wanted for the young Togruta teenager he proudly called his apprentice. If her being herself meant leaving the Jedi Order, then so be it.
He only wished he could be as strong as she was.
The next few days passed by rather uneventful. The absence of Ahsoka still hadn't faded from Anakin's mind, but he was making do. He very much doubted that she would be off sulking for not by his side anymore.
In fact she'd probably be mocking him if she saw him in such a state.
It was on the fourth day after she left that something finally came along to distract him. Apparently a joint mission had been organised by the council, with the combined might of the 501st and 104th coming together to liberate a city from Separatist oppression.
Anakin hadn't personally interacted with Plo Koon since the incident with Fives and Wolffe, and thus had no real feeling of how exactly the Kel Dor would be towards him.
Or how he was dealing with the departure of the child he had found.
The Jedi Master had greeted him in the hanger bay of his personal Venator, immediately guiding both him and a group of loyal 501st clones over to a gunship in back. Behind Anakin, Rex and Fives followed, their eyes darting around the hanger bay. There appeared to be no lingering animosity between the troopers over the fight the other day, for which Anakin was grateful. The last thing he needed was internal conflict.
It was then that Plo Koon began to talk, his ever deep voice echoing across the hanger bay.
"I have asked you here prior to the mission to give you a gift General Skywalker. Or perhaps I should say, a gift from Commander Wolffe and his pack." Plo spoke, what sounded like humour in his voice as he directed Anakin and his two followers further into the hanger bay. Moving around a group of assembled boxes, Anakin found himself in front of a single LAAT gunship, and standing before it was Wolffe, as well as other members of the Wolfpack.
Upon noticing their arrival, Wolffe stood to attention, snapping a quick salute, before speaking.
"General Skywalker. Captain Rex. Arc Trooper Fives. I wanted to personally apologize for the role I played in the apprehension of Commander Tano. As a symbol of the condolences of both myself and the 104th, I would like to gift you this unique gunship."
Anakin could only raise his eyebrows in confusion as Wolffe spoke. What was he going on about?
And then Wolffe moved to the side, his brothers following him, allowing Anakin a glance at the gunship.
It wasn't a unique model or anything like that. It was a standard LAAT. But what did stand out was the markings that adorned the side of it. The troopers were known for adding custom nose art to their gunships. It appeared that Wolffe and his men had done the same to this one.
The image on it however was not what Anakin had anticipated.
Painted on the front of the gunship was a fierce looking Togruta, armed with dual lightsabers, in the midst of combat, flanked by several white and blue armoured clones. The identity of the Togruta was obvious to anyone who had worked with the 501st before, clearly shown by the quiet gasp that emerged from Fives.
Anakin could barely look away from the art. It was a perfect depiction of the young woman his padawan had become. A fierce and capable warrior, who sought to protect anyone in need.
From where he was standing, Wolffe spoke again, his voice surprisingly soft for once.
"This way she will always be with you, protecting her brothers."
Anakin was rarely a sentimental man, at least that was what he told himself. But this gesture got to him. Wolffe had played a role in Ahsoka's capture, and clearly even he knew that Ahsoka had been innocent.
The question remained however, why didn't the council?
Shrugging off that thought, Anakin turned his head to Wolffe and spoke.
"Thanks Wolffe. She'll serve us well."
The mission turned out to be a roaring success, thanks to the cooperation between the 501st and 104th. Anakin would never admit it, but he had missed the chaos of the battlefield. At least there he felt like he was in control of things.
When he had arrived back at Coruscant a few days later, fully intending on spending time with his wife, Anakin was instead surprised to receive an invitation to lunch from Chancellor Palpatine instead.
Briefly checking in with Padme, Anakin had decided to accept, heading to a popular cafe for the elite of Coruscant that the Chancellor seemed to favour. Upon arrival, the most powerful man in the republic had as usual warmly welcomed him to his table, offering him a glass of expensive looking alcohol in the process. It would have been rude to decline, even if Anakin was not one for drinking.
"So I hear that you and your troops managed to once again pull off a victory against Count Dooku's forces. The republic shall always been in your debt Anakin." The Chancellor spoke, a wide smile on his face as he spoke to the Jedi Knight. Anakin couldn't help but smile back. At least someone appreciates his abilities.
"Thank you your excellency. I'm glad I can be of service."
The Chancellor merely smiled again in response, before his face took a rather grim look. That concerned Anakin.
Slowly and cautiously the Chancellor reached below the table, pulling a datapad seemingly out of nowhere, before placing it on the table before them, sliding it over to Anakin in the process.
Anakin eyed the datapad with suspicion. Why had the Chancellor given him this?
"It is only right that you know of this Anakin." The Chancellor spoke, his voice neutral, betraying nothing.
Anakin's eyes darted between the pad and the Chancellor a few times, before he gingelly reached across to the pad, touching it once to power up.
An image flashed to life in an instant. It took Anakin a few seconds to figure out it was a graph of some kind, or a poll.
Or a vote. And that these were the responses.
There were two bars. One was significantly taller than the other one, suggesting a vastly majority favoured one option over whatever the other one way.
It was then that he saw the headings of each bar.
'Guilty', and 'Not guilty'.
"No?! Anakin whispered in shock as he stared at the data before him. Surely this wasn't what he thought it was?
And then he saw another heading, one that encompassed the entirety of the data on the pad.
'The Republic Senate vs. Ahsoka Tano.'
Anakin's eyes began to dart back and forth between the two bars again. The one that read 'guilty' was so much larger than the one that read 'not guilty'. It wasn't even close!
"How can the Senate had voted ninety-eight to two against her?" Anakin nearly shouted, counting the numbers again. Only two people had thought her innocent? Ninety-eight people were willing to execute a teenage girl!
The Chancellor seemed to be at a loss for words as well, his wrinkled hands moving to take the datapad back from Anakin.
"It is indeed a great injustice Anakin. As it stands the two who voted for in favour of young Ahsoka were Riyo Chuchi and Lux Bonteri. Everyone else voted otherwise." The Chancellor spoke, his lips forming a thin line, one that resembled remorse.
Anakin couldn't help but lean back in his chair. He would have to thank Senators Chuchi and Bonteri later for their support. At least Ahsoka had some friends in the Senate.
But the fact that so many others had voted against her sent waves of boiling anger through Anakin's veins. Bail? Mon Mothma? Had they voted against Ahsoka as well? They must have done… considering the results on the datapad!
Suffice to say, Anakin's mood remained rather agitated throughout the remainder of the meal, not that the Chancellor minded apparently.
A few days after the meal, Anakin received yet another call from the Chancellor, this time regarding a high priority mission. Apparently the council had originally wanted to send Master Windu along on the mission, but the Chancellor had been very adamant that he would not get along with his new agent.
Anakin knew nothing of this new agent of Palpatine's, or what the mission was. The only thing he was told was that he would be the only Jedi his agent trusted.
Thus, as he always did when it came to requests from his dear friend, Anakin accepted.
Truth be told, he needed a distraction.
And who knew, maybe he would find a new friend in this agent of the Chancellor.
Author's thoughts
Well, that was a tricky one to write. Damn you Anakin Skywalker for being a complete and utter mess!
Ahsoka's departure is obviously something that hit Anakin very hard, but we never really get to see how in the series as we go straight from the Wrong Jedi arc to that Order 66 one. (side thought, it strikes me as weird that Anakin was so willing to believe Ahsoka when she said she was innocent, but he cast Fives aside when he was on the run. Palpy's influence maybe... or did Anakin just become a complete jerk who didn't care for his troops after Ahsoka left?)
Anyway, back to my prior point. I wanted to show that internally Anakin in struggling with her departure, but he can't show it on the outside, less the council come down on him like a pack of wild dogs. Still, I didn't want him to be all 'oh woe is me', but rather a more of 'i don't like this, but I accept it'. Hopefully that makes sense.
At least he has people around him to support him, like that kind gently Chancellor right? :)
Oh and the 501st would have been uttered pissed off too at Ahsoka's departure, don't tell me otherwise. (or do, for fun debate purposes)
Now, before I do my reviews of your reviews, I expect a few of you will want my opinion on a certain reveal at San Diego Comic Con right? I'm excited for it, but I can't help but wonder which arcs they will be doing. With 12 new eps coming it makes sense that it will be three different arcs. Siege of Mandalore is most certainly one of them, judging by the snippet of footage we got... but what are the other two?
I for one want them to be new arcs. The best possible options in my mind would be the Boba Fett and Cad Bane one, as well as the one with the Sith Shrine under the Jedi temple. The reason for these choices is that we don't really know much about them, as compared to the others ones.
What I don't want is one that we have already seen in some form. We don't need Bad Batch or Crystal Crisis, as we have already seen them, albeit in pre animated graphics, but we have seen them nonetheless. To fully animate them would be a waste of time because it would not be a new story.
Same with Dark Disciple and Son Of Dathomir. We have those in other formats already, so again, not a new story.
Put simply, if they are going to do new episodes, it should be new content, not stuff we already know. (admittedly, we already know how Siege of Mandalore ends, but it is one we definitely need to see)
That's just my opinion though of course. It's neither right nor wrong. :)
Next time round, Anakin and Ahsoka begin their new mission how they always do. By snarking at each other.
As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
Mysterious guest number one: Quite the compliment. Thank you very much. Glad you are enjoying it. XD
jojobinks01: I have seen the announcement... and I am excited. :)
SLE's fave guest: Glad you liked the reveal of the saber colour. I thought about orange at one point, but then chose gold instead.
No need to worry. There will be some Windu doing Windu like things later on.
Mysterious guest number two: I'm glad you liked the new saber design. It took a while to envision in my head. Then I thought, eh, her rebels ones have a cool design, lets use that sort of shape.
The true reunion is next chapter. Hopefully you like this look at Anakin's emotions.
TerminatorJedi: Glad you liked the chapter. The saber construction was great but bloody hard to write. It was fun to tease some things for the future as well. Not revealing anything right now though. ;)
Ahsoka: "No... I've not heard this story. It sounds fascinating. Is it possible to learn these powers, you know, just out of curiosity?"
Flying Dragoon: Totally does not sound like Palpatine whatsoever. Whatever could it all mean?
Aya Song: Sorry for the cliffhanger. It was evil I'll admit that. Hopefully this chapter helps a bit. :)