Precipice by shadowsong26
Reunion: Chapter 9
It was their last day on Alderaan, and still early. The children were already up; conspiring in a safe corner of the garden while Obi-Wan kept an eye on them from the terrace outside their suite.
(They likely didn't realize he knew what they were doing. He knew he wouldn't have, at that age.)
He couldn't hear them, not at this distance, but he didn't need to. He'd guessed a good portion of what they'd plotted amongst themselves, and as for the rest…well, even ten-year-olds deserved their privacy.
And if some of what the twins had gotten up to was a little worrying, well…he and Anakin had, of course, taken the time to shore up the shielding they'd placed on Luke all those years ago, and walk him through building his own, the better to adapt to changing circumstances. It wasn't ideal, especially since, unlike his sister, Luke lacked a teacher or three to guide him. But there was only so much they could do to prepare. And, short of keeping Luke in the dark about his father and sister for even longer -or essentially abducting him, or forcing Padmẻ to leave Coruscant with him-that was their limit.
Well. Luke would be all right. Obi-Wan had to trust in that.
Those lessons, though, had been something of a delight in other ways. Luke wasn't precisely like Anakin-less so, in most ways, than Leia was, apart from the physical resemblance-but there was still something of the same eager warmth that reminded Obi-Wan of the boy he'd taken in all those years ago. Tempered, a little, by the differences in the way they'd grown up-Luke's warmth wasn't undercut by the same need to please that Anakin's had had-but still there.
Obi-Wan had certainly had more than a few moments of nostalgia, over the past three days.
Leia had sometimes joined them for those lessons, sometimes wandered off to spend time with Padmẻ while Luke was otherwise occupied. And that was-probably-a good thing, too; give each of the children a chance, however brief, to bond with their other parent privately, or something near to it. Obi-Wan had occasionally left Luke and Anakin to their own devices, as well, for that reason.
True, he had spent most of his time here with the family in one way or another, but Obi-Wan had also met with Bail at least briefly once or twice each day. The others, of course, had focused entirely on each other and the children until now. As well they should.
But, as with all things, their brief reprieve was at last coming to an end. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Leia were due at the spaceport in just under six hours. And, while it was not quite time to say goodbye, and most of that time would be stretched as long as it could, filled with last-minute conspiracies and confidences...Padmẻ and Anakin, at least, would have to cut that short. The plan was-had always been-to have a brief return to business; one last strategy session this morning, this time, with the two of them in attendance as well.
His musings were somewhat abruptly cut short-almost as if summoned by his thoughts, the door behind him opened, letting Bail out onto the terrace to join him.
"Good morning," he said, crossing the deck in three easy strides to stand beside Obi-Wan, leaning against the railing with a smile.
"Morning," he replied, accepting the cup of tea the Senator passed him with a smile of his own and a nod of thanks, before turning his attention back to the twins. They seemed to have lost interest in conspiracy for the moment, and were now fully occupied with some sort of game whose rules he couldn't quite track. It involved quite a bit of running around and jumping over obstacles, in any case.
Probably for the best, Obi-Wan said. Even if she hasn't been going short of sleep, with all this excitement, Leia will probably crash once we're underway. Which will spare her, at least, the stress and discomfort of a long flight on a commercial liner...
"It's good, that they get along as well as they do," Bail said, following his gaze.
"Oh, we weren't particularly worried about that," Obi-Wan said, as Leia abruptly turned and tripped Luke, sending him splashing into a nearby fountain. "Not for this visit, at least."
Bail raised an eyebrow. "Have you never spent time around ten-year-olds before? Or siblings?"
Obi-Wan laughed, as Luke came up, spluttering and indignant, only to reach out and grab Leia's ankle and drag her down with him, her giggling cutting off abruptly in a rather annoyed yelp.
"Oh, several," he said. "And I'm sure that, when they have to share space-and their parents-on a more permanent basis, there will be some conflicts. But for three days like this…"
"A fair point," Bail said, setting his own cup down on the railing-caf, by the smell.
The two of them weren't kept waiting much longer-just long enough for the twins to fish themselves out of the fountain and sit on the edge of the basin, conspiring again-before Anakin and Padmẻ emerged onto the terrace from the other door.
"Good morning," Padmẻ said, after a brief glance at her children to assure herself that they were alive, intact, and in a minimum of trouble.
"Good morning," Obi-Wan replied, with a smile she returned, as Bail passed the two of them-more caf, of course, because they were all barbarians.
"Barbarian is a little harsh, isn't it?" Anakin said, raising an eyebrow and dumping a heaping spoonful of sweetener in his. As always.
"I thought you two couldn't actually read each others' thoughts?" Padmẻ asked lightly. She preferred her caf unadulterated, apparently.
"Oh, we can't," Anakin said. "It's just I've heard this lecture a dozen or so times before."
"Really, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, though he couldn't quite hide a smile at the old, familiar dance. "An opinion that differs from your own is hardly a lecture."
"Well, considering that I'm the one you expound at…"
"Boys," Padmẻ said, which made Anakin laugh and kiss the top of her head.
"All right, we'll behave," he said, and then his expression turned a touch more serious. "I guess we should get started, then?"
"Probably," Obi-Wan agreed.
"Over here," Bail said, nodding towards a cluster of elegant wicker furniture where they could talk in semi-private comfort, while still keeping watch over Luke and Leia.
Anakin and Padmẻ settled on a small couch, with her leaning contentedly into his shoulder and their hands entwined. That had become their practice over the past few days, in the evenings after the children were sent off to bed. To be as close as decency would allow, always touching-if only to hold hands. Obi-Wan supposed it was a comfort to them, now that they were no longer keeping their relationship secret. At least among friends.
There had been a brief, awkward moment, though, that first night; when Anakin and Padmẻ had settled next to each other, but with a few careful centimeters between them, out of habit. And it had-or so Obi-Wan believed-struck all of them at the same moment that they had never done this before.
That the three of them, for all the love they'd shared even in the darkest days of the War; for all the messages and work they'd shared in the decade since…
The three of them had never been together like this. With everything out in the open. With no secrets. With nothing to hide.
Even on Polis Massa, after everything had been revealed and Obi-Wan had given up on his thin veil of plausible deniability, there had been too much going on. Setting aside Anakin's condition at the time, even, there had been too many decisions to make, too much focus on building the foundation for their new war.
It hadn't taken them long, of course, to find their rhythm and figure out how to relate to one another now, but there had…there had still been that moment.
But now, Anakin and Padmẻ were able to, and did, take every advantage of their physical proximity while they could, and Obi-Wan found it...sweet, if still a little sad. But mostly sweet-that they loved one another so much, and that they trusted him so much, to be so open about it.
"So," Anakin said, once he decided Bail and Obi-Wan had situated themselves as well. "What have we missed?"
It didn't take particularly long to brief them, at least. The bulk of what he and Bail had been working on consisted of finer points of detail, related to overall broad strokes that the four of them, with input from Ahsoka, Rex, Senator Mothma, and Padmẻ 's trusted handmaidens, had worked out through messages left at dead drops over the past two years.
"So, our priority, now that we have a somewhat substantial network more or less in place, should be about gathering it more closely," Bail concluded. "Until we do that, we can't really make any effective large-scale maneuvers. We've been making small progress in the Senate-and I know you have been, too-but we need a more united, organized front. As quickly as we can, without sacrificing the safety of the movement itself."
"We'll start actively looking for places to set up a semi-permanent base," Obi-Wan said. "There are a few places we've noted over the years, but we'll want to do more thorough research before we pick any of them. Either way, may take us up to another year or two to get things going, but we can manage."
"Let us know when you have something," Bail said. "We've got everything more or less set on our end, in terms of funding and immediately necessary supplies. Longer-term arrangements will depend on where we're going, of course, but we can at least get started."
"We'll want backup sites as well," Anakin said. "We're not quite extensive enough out there that we can settle too securely, I don't think. At least not yet."
Obi-Wan nodded. "I agree. I think we'll want to stay fairly mobile for as long as we can."
"We'll keep that in mind as we source equipment," Padmẻ said, adding a few notes onto her datapad. "We've got a few leads for some of what we'll need-Bail, you remember the mobile emergency response units project we put together a few years back? I want to have Sabẻ re-evaluate some of our suppliers there, but…"
"Good thought," he said. "How soon can your people be ready?"
"Once we find a place-it'll take probably two to three standard weeks," Anakin said. "And that won't be our entire network, just a few key cells we think will play well together. Enough to staff a small, semi-permanent base."
"I'll reach out to my black market contacts," Obi-Wan said. "When the time is right. We can use their activities for cover as we move in, and also to help supply on anything Padmẻ 's people can't procure."
"Right," she said. "And then-at some point, we'll have to make a public stand. Come out into the open."
"Any idea when we'll be ready for that?" Bail asked.
Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged a look.
"On our end…" Obi-Wan started, then hesitated. "Let's see how this next project goes first. One year of a established semi-permanent base, serving multiple cells in a sector. If things go smoothly with this initial trial, then possibly as soon as that. Let's say...three years, as a rough estimate?"
Anakin nodded. "Sounds about right," he said, with a slightly disappointed sigh; but he didn't argue the point further. And some of that was, perhaps, the product of time; increased maturity tempering some of his reckless need to move, but Obi-Wan suspected that it was largely the thought of Luke and Padmẻ 's cover and lives potentially at stake if they moved too quickly.
He just wished that his friend had managed to develop that glimmer of restraint some other, gentler way.
"It also depends on developments in the Senate, of course," Padmẻ said. "Which may cause further delays. And we haven't made a final decision, but we think Mon will be the one to step out and deliver the call to action at that time, so you'll need to coordinate more directly with her as we get closer."
Because her government could more easily disavow her than the others.
Because she was-unattached.
Because she had the least to lose.
The four of them fell quiet for a moment, the magnitude of that looming event-even three or more years in the future-sinking down upon them.
At length, Bail cleared his throat and broke the silence. "I think that covers everything we needed to do in person," he said. "Unless any of you can think of something I forgot?"
Anakin shook his head, and Obi-Wan, after a moment, did the same.
"Not really," Padmẻ said, then, with a glance at Anakin, "unless either of you has heard any more about the bombing?"
Which was, of course, not the first time Anakin had heard of it, despite his request to be left out of the loop. Obi-Wan had taken Anakin aside briefly, the very first day, to update him on the exact nature of the bombing on Coruscant-and, more importantly, the target. Primarily because, while he didn't need to actively involve himself at that point-there was very little that could be done from here, in any case-it was far better for him to hear the news from Obi-Wan than from Luke. Who, even with Leia and Anakin to draw his attention, would not be distracted from the danger his friend was in for long.
"Right," Anakin said, and added, unsurprisingly, "Luke keeps asking. I've been trying to help him track and evaluate any warnings he gets from the Force, but he says he's not picking much up. I'm not sure if that means the threat's more or less passed now, or he's just not experienced enough to sort it out from what's going on inside his head."
Which, as Anakin in particular knew, was hard enough even with experience.
"No update, unfortunately," Bail said. "We've heard bits and pieces about a couple other incidents over the past few days, both on Coruscant and elsewhere, but it's hard to figure out what's actually connected, and what's other groups or individuals taking advantage of the tension. There haven't been any more official press releases since that first day."
"I've been monitoring our emergency channel, and same thing there," Obi-Wan said. "I wish we had better answers for him."
Padmẻ nodded. "It was a long shot, but I figured I'd ask."
"If Ahsoka, or anyone else in our network, learns anything, we'll pass it on as soon as possible," Obi-Wan assured her.
"I know you will," she said, then glanced out at the twins.
Leia was now up in a tree, hanging upside down by her knees- "She's fine," Anakin whispered -with Luke tossing stones and other small objects for her to catch.
"I think you'd better go see what they're up to," Bail said.
"Thanks," she said and stood up, offering a hand to Anakin. "Obi-Wan, are you coming?"
"Oh, all right," he said, setting his teacup aside and smiling at them both.
"I should go check in with Breha and Winter," Bail said. "I'll come get you when it's time to go."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, then followed Anakin and Padmẻ out into the garden.
All of a sudden, it was all over.
One minute, Luke was playing with Leia and Mom and Dad in the gardens, and the next he looked up and Uncle Bail was standing on the terrace, and Mom sighed, and Dad reached for her hand and squeezed it briefly, and he knew.
Leia caught that, and looked up at Uncle Bail too, and Luke could tell exactly when she figured out what he was doing there. "...can't we stay a little while longer?" she asked.
"I'm sorry," Uncle Obi-Wan said. "I truly am, Leia, but we can't."
"Dad?" she asked. "Daddy, please?"
"Leia," Dad said, and it came out as a sigh.
"Come on," Mom said, and held out a hand to her.
Leia hesitated for a second, like she was about to argue more, but finally nodded. Mom pulled her aside, to where Luke couldn't quite hear the two of them talking. Uncle Obi-Wan headed up to talk to Uncle Bail again, and Dad sat down in the grass next to Luke.
"I can't promise when we'll do this again, sunshine," he said, looking off at the mountains in the distance. "But we will. Someday. Okay? Hold on to that."
"I know," Luke said, pulling up a few strands of grass and shredding them. "Three days seemed like ages except...except…"
"Yeah," Dad agreed. "Time's funny like that. Always too fast when you want it to go slow. And the opposite, too."
Luke nodded. "Mom...Mom gets letters, right?"
"She does," Dad said. "And you will too, from now on, as often as I can. But you gotta promise me something, sunshine, okay?"
Luke nodded, and looked up at him.
"Write me back," Dad said.
"I will," Luke promised.
"Good," Dad said, and gave him a little smile. "C'mere, give me a hug."
Luke really didn't need that much encouragement. "M'gonna miss you," he said, and he felt Dad running a hand over his hair; couldn't tell if it was the metal one or not but it didn't matter because both were Dad.
"Me, too," he said, then held him a little tighter for a breath, before letting him go and studying his face for a second. "Go say goodbye to your sister, okay? You'll hear from me soon. I promise."
Luke nodded, and stole one more hug, before he looked up and saw Mom and Leia making their way back.
Leia picked up speed and slammed into him; he thought he heard Dad stand up and go over to Mom.
"This is stupid," Leia said. "It's all just stupid."
"Uh-huh," Luke said, because she was right. Leia was almost always right.
"But we'll talk, right?" she said. "We'll both do calendars, and next time it's night for both of us, we'll try dreaming. Just like we planned. Right?"
"Right," he said. And it might not work the first time, or the second, but sooner or later they'd make it work. Because Leia was super smart, and strong with the Force and knew what she was doing, and they'd done it by accident so many times before. "I'll talk to you then," he said.
"Good," she said. "I'll see you soon."
"Not if I see you first?"
"You wish," she said, and rolled her eyes, but it got her to smile a little, so Luke was okay with that.
"Keep an eye on Dad, okay?" Luke said. "I kinda get the feeling he does a lot of stupid things."
"You are not wrong," Leia said. "Tell you all about it?"
Luke nodded. "When we talk."
"When we talk," she agreed, and hugged him one more time. "Be safe. And give Mom extra hugs from me."
"I will," he promised. "Bye, Leia."
"Bye," she said, then let go and went to take Dad's hand and follow him and Uncle Obi-Wan up to the terrace and out of the palace and...
Luke felt Mom's hand land on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her waist in a sideways hug; the two of them quiet while they watched the rest of their family walk away.
Original Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long, guys, and thank you so much for your patience/sticking around! As of right now, the plan is for two more chapters in this arc, and my goal is to get them out by the end of the calendar year. Wish me luck, and see you next time! 3 ~shadowsong