Chapter 32
Last Best Chance
"Out of time to what?" Anakin asked the woman seated before him, surrounded by nothing but stars. He felt as though he recognized her, but could not recall her face. She resembled, in a way, both Padme and Leia, but there was something in her face that was off, something that seemed familiar but which he could not place.
"To make the world anew," she said.
"I don't understand," Anakin said.
"It is so hard to reach you this way. You keep pulling away. I can't concentrate or I will lose you," she said. She appeared to Anakin to be disoriented. She looked forward with unfocused eyes, like she did not see him, like she did not see anything at all.
"What is this place?" Anakin asked, nervously.
"Nowhere. Everywhere," she answered.
"Who are you?" Anakin asked.
She thought about this question for a while and said, "Perhaps I am no one anymore. Perhaps I have never been. You will decide that."
"That doesn't make any sense. You've been talking to me. You talked to me, years ago, on Coruscant. Do you remember?" Anakin said hurriedly.
But the woman refused to be hurried. She still spoke slowly and distractedly when she responded, "It was why you returned. It was why I died, that I might never live."
"If you won't tell me who you are, tell me what you are!" Anakin yelled.
"I am your memory of the past which you wanted to erase, and the future which must never be," she answered, and appeared to be drifting even further from coherent thought. "I am sorry Anakin, I am trying my best. It takes so much from me to cross the divide."
"Why are you doing this?" Anakin asked.
"Because you asked me to, my friend. Long ago in a day that has not yet come. You wanted to try again," she said, her voice trailing off into a whisper. "It has been so long."
"Try what again?" Anakin yelled as he leaned towards her, anxious not to miss a word she said.
"The darkness is inside you and the light is all around you. Let them in Anakin, let their light in and you will see the path," she said.
"What path? What do you mean? Who are you?" Anakin said as the woman began to fade from his sight. Out of some combination of anger and fear he reached out to her and grabbed her hand. When he did so, images came rushing into his mind. They were disjointed flashes, glimpses of moments he did not understand. Masked figures in black, people crying out, faces of friends flying by with the barest hint of what they were going through. But what came through clearly was the sadness, the pain, and the guilt. All the feelings that had washed over him after he heard the voice, her voice. And the guilt, he knew, was his. Guilt for things he had done, or would do. The force of the emotional shock was such that he let go of her, though whether his grabbing her hand had slowed her departure at all was not at all clear. The stars faded out with her and for a moment all was darkness.
And then he opened his eyes, back in the engine room, with its familiar hum. Anakin stood up, and found he was unsteady on his feet. He turned around and stumbled his way towards the door. When it opened at his approach he saw, waiting on the other side, Master Yoda with his walking stick. Anakin stopped and leaned against the doorframe, saying nothing to the old Jedi Master, but not taking his eyes off him.
Eventually Yoda spoke, "Many strange things I have felt recently, young Skywalker. Know you what I mean?"
Anakin did not answer and Yoda continued, "A secret I have for you. Shared only with Obi-Wan I have. In the last days of the Clone Wars, a journey I took. Remember perhaps you do, helping me leave the Temple?"
Anakin nodded but still did not speak and Yoda smiled before saying, "My quest to many strange places it took me. Visions I saw, voices from the past, from old friends long gone. Secrets they taught me. Then, silent they went. The briefest of connections it was, now gone. For fifteen years, silent they have been. Listen I still do. Still nothing. Not since your voice appeared it did. Wondered I have, about the connection."
"I don't know anything about that," Anakin said, still trying to collect his thoughts and get control over his emotions.
"Speak to you again the voice has?" Yoda asked. Again Anakin remained silent and Yoda followed up with, "When so long you have listened, hear things you will. Only a whisper, but there."
"I don't understand it. I don't understand any of it," Anakin said as he stepped out into the corridor.
"Perhaps understand more than you think you do," Yoda said. "Perhaps know the message you always have, but needed the Force to remind you, you did."
Anakin's mind was swimming, Yoda's words mixed with the mysterious woman's, and with the visions and feelings his connection with her brought in its wake. He looked down at Yoda and said nothing. He felt exposed and vulnerable in a way he had not felt in years. He knew that if anyone alive could help him figure out what was going on, what the source of the voice, of that vision, was, Yoda could. But he did not want to go back to the Jedi begging for help. They had cast him out for the crime of attempting to defeat the enemy, and for killing a Sith Lord responsible for the deaths of untold thousands, including Master Qui-Gon.
But the fury of his refusal to admit he needed help did not change the fact that he needed it. She had said he was pulling away. That much at least he had understood. He had felt it himself. His friends, his children, Padme, they grew farther and farther away from him with every passing month. He was surrounded by nothing but enemies and minions and men like Thrawn, who was something in between. Let their light in, she had said. He did not need to be told who held the light in his life. Through all the uncertainty and all the doubt that had plagued him since he was a child, he had always known where the light in his life came from. She was here, he thought. Down the hall and a few floors up. Such a short distance to serve as such an unbridgeable gulf. He knew, despite all the stories he told himself, he knew that he was the cause of that distance. I put it there to protect them, he often told himself. I left to make the galaxy safe for them.
But at some level he also knew that this was not true, or not the whole truth at least. He wanted to protect them, but he wanted to do it his way. He did not want partners, he did not want people he had to convince or compromise with. He was the Chosen One, and the victory was going to be his. The path to victory is the one he had found, and they could not walk that path with him. And so he was alone. Alone in the darkness, even though the light was a short walk away. His angel.
His thoughts went from his wife to his children. Luke had gotten so much taller in the past months. Leia reminded him of Padme at that age, but he could also see hints of his mother Shmi in her face. He had missed so much time. He had tried to save them, but left them alone. He had turned his back on the light, but it had not gone out. He just had to turn back. Something out there, something powerful wanted him to turn back. The last time he had listened to that voice, he had turned away from Palpatine. What might he have become had he not listened then? What would become of him if he ignored the voice now? Whatever else was true, the voice was an ally against Palpatine. Perhaps it was the Force itself, guiding the Chosen One towards his destiny. All these things he thought while Yoda watched patiently.
And so, with his love, his hate and his sense of importance all pulling him in the same direction at last, Anakin recovered his balance, his sense of calm. He looked down again at the venerable Jedi and gave a bow. "I believe it is time to return to the conference Master Yoda."
"Hmm? Something worth seeing there?" Yoda asked playfully.
"Yes, I think I have something worth sharing," Anakin said as he strode off in the direction of the elevator.
"Always in a hurry you are young Skywalker," Yoda said as he waddled along behind him.
"Not so young anymore," Anakin said ruefully.
"What I am saying is that if…if we choose to unite our forces we should have some idea of where everyone stands on likely first moves," Bail Organa yelled to make himself heard in the fractious contest the conference had descended into.
"The only condition under which our forces will be united with yours is one in which your forces are placed under Commander Skywalker's control, and he will consult on strategy as necessary and with those he chooses," Thrawn replied, a hard edge to his voice serving the same purpose as Organa's increased volume.
"You cannot seriously expect us to place our forces at your disposal without some assurances about what you will do with them," Admiral Radus said.
"If you want victory then yes, I do expect that of you," Thrawn replied.
"Delegates!" Padme shouted as she beat an improvised gavel on the table. "Delegates! We were talking about an investigation into Saw Gerrera's theory. Discussing military integration and strategy is getting well ahead of ourselves."
Before anyone could respond the doors opened. Anakin stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips and gave the delegates an icy stare. The room fell slowly silent. After a few seconds he turned to his side to give Master Yoda a chance to walk into the room. Once he was through Anakin followed him and took his seat.
"Where are we?" Anakin said softly.
No one quite knew who he was talking to so it took a moment for someone to speak. Eventually it was Mon Mothma who did so. "We were discussing the possibility of locating Galen Erso, the scientist Saw Gerrera told us about. He would likely be the key to determining what this secret project is."
"You have a way Saw?" Anakin asked.
"We have had no word," Saw answered cagily.
"But you do have the girl," Anakin replied. Saw could not hide his shock at Anakin's mention of Jyn, but very quickly turned a baleful eye towards Luthen, who met his gaze without any hint of shame.
"We don't just watch our enemies Saw, we watch our friends too. For their safety, and ours," Anakin said.
"She doesn't know where her father is!" Saw snapped.
"I don't think the suggestion is to use her as a source of information," Luthen said.
"What then?" Saw asked.
"Galen Erso is a father," Anakin said, stealing a glance at Padme as he did so. "A father who has been without his child for long years. I can assure you Saw, he will do anything he can to keep her safe."
"You want to use her as bait?" Saw asked indignantly.
"If the opportunity presents itself, it would be foolish not to," Luthen said. "He may know everything about this secret project. We have some Imperial officers of our own as prisoners, but the most senior were taken years ago and know nothing. The rest were kept in the dark."
"Bring her to us Saw, then we can see what we can do together," Anakin said.
"I do not work for you Skywalker!" Saw shouted.
"Of course not Saw. I am what I always have been to you, an ally, showing you how to fight your enemies. I hope that we remain allies, and that you remain wise enough to choose the correct course," Anakin said. Saw stormed out of the room in response.
"Good riddance!" Vaspar said.
"His contribution to the cause has been incalculably greater than your own, Senator," Anakin said. "I find your lack of respect…disturbing."
"Anakin!" Padme said sharply. "No one came here to be insulted, and I had thought everyone did come to secure cooperation."
"Of course, my apologies Senator. Saw and I are old friends. I hope you understand," Anakin said with a nod. Vaspar, clearly unsettled by Anakin's tone and manner, returned the nod and stayed silent. Luthen leaned over to Anakin and whispered in his ear.
"I understand presentations have been made regarding threats," Anakin said. "I am sorry I was not present. I would like to make a presentation now."
There was some annoyed murmuring at moving backwards in the agenda, but the fear of Skywalker prevented any from speaking up and Padme gave her approval.
Anakin stood up and said, "In brief, Palpatine has founded a Sith Order."
"I thought there already was a Sith Order," a Neo-Confederate from the banking clan said.
"In a way," Obi-Wan answered. "All our investigations after the incident on Naboo suggested that the Sith long ago instituted a rule that there would only ever be two Sith at a time, a Master and an Apprentice. After Anakin killed Dooku, Palpatine lacked an apprentice. In a sense the Sith Order ended then. There was only Palpatine left."
"But what about the Inquisitors?" Sato asked.
"They were never Sith," Ahsoka, who had stayed silent throughout most of the meeting, said. She had not even been given a seat at the main table, but one behind Obi-Wan and Yoda, joining the ranks of aides and executive officers there in support of the official delegates.
"What does that mean?" a confused Senator asked.
"The Inquisitors were former Jedi who had joined Palpatine, but we do not think he ever treated them as Sith. They were never taught the kinds of things that Palpatine and Dooku knew," Obi-Wan said.
"That is true, but he was teaching students, all the same. I found them on a dozen planets, all worlds that were a part of the old Sith Empire. Hundreds of students spread across worlds like Dromund Kaas, Korriban, or what many of you know as Moraband. Not all of the children the Inquisitors found in the past were recovered after Eriadu. Most, it seems, were sent to be a part of this new order. Once it became clear that the Jedi Order had survived intact, if reduced, it seems Palpatine decided to create an order to put up against ours," Anakin said.
"I take it there is no hope of survivors?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No," Anakin said bluntly.
"I am sorry but what is the significance of this?" a Senator asked.
"If there is a Sith Order out there, then even killing Palpatine might not bring an end to this war," Padme said.
"I would not worry about that," Anakin said.
"You got them all?" Admiral Radus asked.
"No, but what I mean is that this Order will not survive without him. They are not like the Sith from the old stories. They are not struggling against one another to claim supremacy. They are all entirely devoted to Palpatine. The teachers, the students, all of them. They have been indoctrinated into a cult. Even when given a chance to survive if they give up his secrets, they willingly die. It makes them more formidable when he is alive, but it makes them weaker if he dies," Anakin explained.
"You have attacked multiple worlds to find them?" Ahsoka asked.
"He had formed schools, academies. He had hidden them well. They had been running for years without giving off any sign. But they did have agents traveling between the schools, and we were lucky enough to find one and track him. We think we got all of the sites but one," Anakin said.
"Where is this last site?" Obi-Wan asked.
"That's the thing, no one knows. Even the teachers at the Sith Academies did not know where the central world of their order was. It is some old Sith world, off the starcharts and uninhabited for millennia until Palpatine found it again," Anakin said.
"If it is not on the charts and none of them had been there, then how do you know it exists at all?" Vaspar asked. This question caused Obi-Wan, who was reminded of Jocasta Nu, to roll his eyes.
"I did not say they had not been there Senator, I said they did not know where it was. All the teachers at these schools had been trained there by Palpatine, but they were not permitted to leave or return on their own. They all told the same story. Palpatine has special agents who are responsible for ferrying people and resources to and from this world. All we have is a name. Exegol," Anakin said.
"So a base he has to retreat to, hmmm?" Yoda said.
"It is worse than that," Luthen said. "For years we have noted something similar to Saw, only with a very specific scientific area, cloning."
"I thought the Emperor abandoned cloning?" one of the Senators said.
"He abandoned clones as the infantry for his army," Thrawn said. "Have none of you ever questioned why that was? Certainly those of you in the fight have realized that the conscripted troopers do not measure up to the old clone troopers."
"He worried the inhibitor chips would lose their effectiveness over time. Also they age more quickly," General Dodonna said.
"This has been the standard story the Empire tells, that the clones, for all their martial ability, are of unreliable loyalty and prone to breaking down. It is surprising how widespread the acceptance of this story is, given that the shortness of their period of combat effectiveness decreases the worries about the waning of the power of the chips over time," Thrawn said.
"We can correct the aging problem, by the way," Anakin said. His comment seemed to take Luthen and Thrawn by surprise. Both turned their heads quickly to look at their commander, though Anakin paid them no mind. "We have in our possession one of the Kaminoan scientists who helped create them. She has been able to create a virus that rewrites their genetic code to slow the aging process to something like normal rates. We can make this available to all of you who use clones in your forces."
Padme, having noticed the surprised and, at least from Thrawn, disapproving expressions on the faces of his lieutenants , and recognizing the gesture for what it was, smiled at her estranged husband and said, "Thank you General Skywalker."
Anakin nodded towards Padme and continued, "Nala Se is also the source of much of our information on the cloning scientists who have gone missing. According to her, all the top experts have been taken, and of course Palpatine liquidated the Kaminoans at the beginning of the Empire. He wanted all the advanced knowledge about cloning in his hands. That is why the clones had to be decommissioned and the Kaminoans destroyed."
"Anakin, we know it was you who destroyed…," Obi-Wan began to say before Anakin cut him off.
"I destroyed one city. Palpatine destroyed all the others. I left the Kaminoans as a species perfectly able to carry on. It was Palpatine who engineered the genocide," Anakin said. "To get back on topic, he doesn't want cloners to create an army for himself. He has more than enough cannon fodder from all the worlds he controls. We think he wants them for himself."
"What mean you, Master Skywalker?" Yoda asked. His decision to call Anakin 'Master' did not go unnoticed by those delegates familiar with the Jedi and their traditions.
"Once, years ago, Palpatine tried to convert me to his side with the promise of helping me save Padme from death. He claimed a Sith had once known the secret, a Sith I now know to have been his master. The lies we tell reveal more about us than we often intend. He chose that way of manipulating me because it was the greatest desire of his heart. Only he has no interest in saving those he loves, for he loves no one. He wants to save himself. We think he intends to figure out a way to clone himself and so keep himself alive. The secret Empire, the one that exists behind the facade of the Empire the galaxy knows, it is intended to last forever, and to forever have Palpatine as its Emperor. And no matter what happens to him, he will have this base we cannot find to fall back on, from which he can return again. This is the true threat. This is what we must fight, what we must defeat. And I cannot do it alone," Anakin said. His voice had grown quieter and his tone graver with each sentence of his speech, until, at the end, the entire room had gone silent in the attempt to hear him.
"You do not have to be alone, Anakin," Padme said.
Anakin looked into his wife's eyes and found there what he had overlooked the past few years, the eyes of his angel, the eyes of the woman who would save him from himself, who would always be the light in the darkness. The voice had been right, again. "I move to reconsider my proposal regarding the leadership structure of this alliance," he said, breaking the silence.
"I don't think the time is right for that…," Admiral Radus said before Anakin once again interrupted, this time standing up to do so.
"We know what we must face. We understand the threat. We know that none of us can do it alone, and we know that all here are committed to victory. What more do we need to discuss? I move to adopt a constitution for this alliance in which all members surrender their independent authority to a supreme leader," Anakin said.
"Why not just say that you intend us to all submit to you?" Vaspar asked derisively.
"In addition…I nominate for this position the leader you have all already accepted. I am willing to place all my forces under the supreme command of Senator Padme Amidala, on the single condition that all of you do as well," Anakin replied before sitting down again.
Silence ruled the room. Everyone else had expected Anakin to demand the position of leader for himself. This they had all expected before they even arrived at the conference, and had become only more convinced when he made his case that the leader of the alliance should have supreme power over all the rest. Insular rebel groups being what they are, rumors of the relationship between him and Padme Amidala had spread. They all thought her leadership of the conference was just a way to get Skywalker to show up. None had considered her being made leader of the eventual Alliance.
"Anakin, while I appreciate the vote of confidence, Bail and Mon have been working tirelessly for over a decade stitching the Alliance together. They have been the ones raising money, coordinating the various groups, doing the hard work of bringing people together. If we are to have a supreme leader, which I do not support, it should be one of them," Padme said.
Before Anakin could respond, Bail Organa stood up and said, "My friend, it is true that I have been more involved in rebel politics than you, but that is all the more reason for you to take up this position. As everyone around this table knows, over the years we have built up our share of animosities. Anyone you point to that has more experience than you also has those who would resent their elevation, and who would hold back their allegiance as a result. We have been rival factions for too long for any one of us to lead the others. But you, you who were among the first to raise the alarm about Palpatine's actions in the days of the Republic, you who saved my life in those first days after the Republic's fall, you are someone that I believe all of us can rally behind."
Padme smiled at Bail who smiled in return. Padme turned to Mon Mothma who nodded in agreement with Organa's speech. It was Yoda who broke the silence, saying, "Second Master Skywalker's motion, the Jedi Order does."
And just like that the two most influential political leaders at the table, as well as the factions representing the greatest military forces, had signed on to Padme's leadership. By themselves this coalition of factions was already dominant, and included the two factions that, going into the conference, most of the rebels had thought would be intractable opponents. The remaining delegates faced the choice of joining themselves or fading into obscurity as the new Alliance moved on without them. They also knew that if they wanted to avoid Skywalker's supremacy, then the former Senator from Naboo was their best bet. After a few more speeches which allowed the politicians at the table to pretend their agreement was the result of sage deliberation rather than the desire to jump on the bandwagon before it departed, the matter was resolved. Padme Amidala was the leader of the Rebel Alliance.
She immediately showed that the authority Anakin had demanded for her would not be wielded unreasonably. She suggested an agenda for the remaining day and a half of the conference, sought feedback and input from all the delegates, and amended it to take account of their suggestions. It was a small thing, but it let them know that despite the fact that Skywalker was certainly willing to kill anyone who disobeyed her, she was open to disagreement.
They broke for a recess to allow Padme to plan the rest of the day's sessions with Bail and Mon Mothma. As the delegates left the table Thrawn gave Anakin a skeptical look.
"Something you want to ask, Admiral?" Anakin asked without stopping his progress towards the door.
"I question the wisdom of placing supreme authority in the hands of a civilian. A pacifist no less," Thrawn said.
"I would have thought you had long ago learned not to question my decisions," Anakin said coldly.
"I learned long ago to give you my perspective before you make your decisions, and then to accept them once made. But this was not what we planned, and I was unable to discuss the issue with you," Thrawn said.
Anakin stopped walking and turned to face Thrawn, who stopped as well, putting his hands behind his back. Anakin took two steps to bring his face so close to his Admiral's that they were nearly touching cheeks. Thrawn affected a lack of concern for this intimidation tactic, but could not help but think of the times he had seen officers die for producing this level of anger in their master.
"I simply worry that a change in ultimate leadership might change the understanding we have of what constitutes victory. I was promised that if we defeated the Empire I could…," Thrawn tried to explain.
"You were promised?" Anakin asked sharply. "You think you are being treated unfairly?"
Thrawn met Anakin's firm stare, something few others in the galaxy would dare to do, and said, "I simply seek to align my expectations to the new reality,...Master."
"Ah I see. Well then let me help you with that. If I thought you had anything useful to add on this matter, I would have consulted you, Admiral. Nor should anything about this arrangement concern you. For you, nothing changes. You serve me, and you will continue to do so without question, without hesitation. I will provide you with the ultimate strategic goals and you will determine the best way to achieve them. Where those goals come from, how they are arrived at, has never been up to you, and it never will be. Victory means now what it has always meant for you. It is what I order you to accomplish. Do you understand?" Anakin said, in a whisper with not a scintilla of softness in it.
"Of course, Master Skywalker," Thrawn said. Anakin turned and left without saying another word to Thrawn, who stood in place as Luthen walked up to him from behind.
"It's unlike you to take such a foolish risk," Luthen said.
"You must be quite pleased," Thrawn replied, "at the thought that I may soon be out of the way."
"I don't want to see him kill you the moment we are back on the ship, Thrawn. I want you to have a bit less influence on strategy, not lose you. It was my suggestion that you be brought in in the first place," Luthen said.
"And how might I thank you for that gift?" Thrawn said with a sneer.
"I don't know why you are so upset anyway. You should be happy Admiral. He secured you the services of 10 capital ships, dozens of frigates and several fighter wings that you yourself have complimented as some of the best in the galaxy. You want your name written in every galactic history book from now until eternity? He just gave you the means to achieve a victory that will do that. You want to go home to your people? The timeline has just been shortened," Luthen said.
"We have more tools at our disposal, yes. That is true. But what will be using those tools for now? Mercy missions? Blockade breaking? Civilian evacuations?" Thrawn asked while shaking his head contemptuously.
"You act like those accomplish nothing. That is how you build loyalty and solidarity across thousands of worlds. You will need the support of those civilians we might be sent to save if you ever want to mount attacks into the Core," Luthen said. "And don't pretend that you aren't already considering ways to deploy a hundred Jedi."
"I admit there are some exciting possibilities that have opened up. But do not expect me to celebrate your victory," Thrawn said.
"You're talking nonsense," Luthen said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"There was one person in the galaxy, just one, that our master was prepared to bind himself to. One person for whom he would sacrifice everything. You have engineered events so that she is now in command. How can I speak against her? How can anyone speak against her now? And you think these trinkets you have delivered me will somehow distract me from the fact that an hour ago we had a leader prepared to do whatever was necessary for victory, and that now we do not?" Thrawn said.
Luthen shook his head and left the room. Thrawn smoothed out his tunic and then located General Dodonna and Admiral Radus standing together in the corner of the room, having an animated conversation. He made his way over to them, longing for the rationality of military discussions as a welcome respite from the political maneuverings and melodrama he had just suffered through.
In the hallway outside the room Anakin stood once more at the window. He had grown angry with Thrawn, far too angry. He could feel himself slipping. The voice had reached out to him only an hour before and already he was turning away from the light. Was one victory over the darkness all he could achieve before backsliding? Was the moral clarity these messages from beyond gave him destined to fade?
He heard, in the distance, the sound of his childrens' voices and took a moment to collect himself. They came around the corner discussing something in an animated way with Ezra Bridger, a boy Anakin barely knew, as he was not one of the younglings Anakin had taken any part in rescuing. It took Anakin a moment to realize the three teenagers were arguing about music. Specifically about what was the greatest band in the galaxy.
"How can you say any human singer is the best singer in the galaxy, when so many other races can make sounds we can't?" Leia asked.
"Weird sounds," Ezra replied. "Who cares if you can make sounds no one wants to hear?"
"You think no one wants to hear them? What about others of their own species?" Luke asked.
"Ok, sure, someone wants to hear them. But everyone wants to hear human singers," Ezra insisted. "What would you two know about this anyway, didn't you spend your whole lives on some rock in the middle of nowhere?"
"Atollon," Anakin said loudly. This caused Ezra to stop in his tracks and his eyes to grow wide from fear.
"Hello Master Skywalker," he said nervously.
"And I assure you that they did not lack for information about the outside world," Anakin said.
"Of course not," Ezra said, still seemingly stuck in place. Leia and Luke both looked at him, first in confusion and then in worry. On Atollon they had seen as much of the outside world as it was possible to safely bring to them, but they had never seen how others interacted with and reacted to their father.
"I understand you were given responsibility for my children during their stay on this ship," Anakin said, his tone flat and his face impassive.
"Yes sir," Ezra said.
"Then where were you an hour ago, when I ran into my children walking through the halls alone?" Anakin asked.
"They gave me the slip! They tricked me and then ran off, and I was trying to find them the whole time. I swear!" Ezra said hurriedly.
"Give the boy a break, Anakin," Obi-Wan said from behind them. "Since the job turned out to be more than you can handle, you can be off young Bridger." Ezra did not wait to hear any debate on the issue, and made his way from Anakin's presence as quickly as he could, something which only seemed to deepen the worry the Twins felt.
Anakin turned to Obi-Wan, unsure of what kind of interaction they would have. He was pleasantly surprised to see a slight smile on Obi-Wan's face.
"You showed great wisdom in there Anakin," Obi-Wan said.
"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, warily.
"Placing yourself under Padme's authority. I know such things are difficult for you, but I think it was the only way forward. And I have to confess you were right in your skepticism about a loose command structure for the Alliance. We need real leadership," Obi-Wan said.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, clearly surprised by the praise.
"Mother is going to be in charge of the Alliance?" Leia asked, her eyes wide with shock.
"Yes, Leia," Anakin said.
"So are we leaving home?" Luke asked, his tone suggesting a mixture of excitement and fear.
Anakin looked at his son and smiled. By the time Anakin had reached Luke's age he had already been traveling the galaxy with Obi-Wan for years. But his children had spent their whole life on Atollon, with only the occasional visitor. Of course Luke wanted out, and of course he was afraid.
"What do you want to do, both of you?" he asked his children.
"I want to go where you are. You and mother," Luke said. Leia nodded in agreement. She was usually the more talkative of the two, but this conversation seemed to have stolen some of her typical verve. Anakin thought for a moment and the voice came back to him. Let their light in, she had said.
"What if I gave you another option?" Anakin asked.
"What other option is there?" Leia asked.
"Obi-Wan, I wonder if you might do something for me," Anakin said, turning his head slightly so he could see his old Master out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, Anakin?" a befuddled Obi-Wan asked.
"Once upon a time you took a boy too old to train, a boy frightened of the new world he found himself in, and you turned him into a Jedi Knight. And everything he ever did that he could look back on with pride, he did because of your teaching," Anakin said. He stopped speaking for a moment when he saw Obi-Wan's eyes widen and his jaw clench. At first Anakin thought his master was angered somehow at what Anakin was saying, but then he realized that Obi-Wan was just trying to hold back his tears.
"I seem to remember something along those lines," Obi-Wan said, his throat tight and his voice thick with emotion.
"I know training advanced Padawans is Master Yoda's area, but I wondered whether you might do something similar again," Anakin said. He had not planned what he was doing, but it felt right. He felt the certainty that he almost never felt anymore, the certainty he had felt only a few times before in his life, one of which was when he was saving the younglings from the Temple. He had felt the steadying influence of the voice, of the Force as he thought it, slipping away a moment ago, but now he felt he had reclaimed it, if only for an instant.
"Yes, of course. I…I would be honored to Anakin," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin turned back to his children and asked, "What do you think?"
"Jedi?!" they yelled in unison.
"Yes, if you can manage it," Anakin said. The twins turned to each other and began an excited, overlapping and incredibly rapid exchange of words that neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan could follow.
Leia was the first to exit the incomprehensible conversation to ask her father if they could go talk to their mother, leading Anakin to reply that he should probably tell her first.
"Padme doesn't know?" Obi-Wan asked nervously.
"No, but they would have stayed with the fleet anyway, and not with mine," Anakin said. "There is no harm in it that I can see."
"Well I will be interested to find out whether Padme sees things the same way," Obi-Wan replied with a grin. For a moment it felt like the old days again. Anakin was earnest and hopeful, while Obi-Wan was sarcastic and doubting.
"The Order has changed. They had a childhood, as much as they could have in hiding. They know their parents, they know each other. They have a home. All the things that were taken from us," Anakin said as he started back towards the conference room.
"Yes, but will she want them in the fight?" Obi-Wan said, walking beside him.
"No. I don't either. That is what I was trying to do, you know? Before, with Maul. I was trying to end the war quickly so they could have a life free of it. I was just…too slow," Anakin said.
"We will get there Anakin, we will get there together," Obi-Wan said, clapping his old friend on the back.
The Alliance conference concluded the next day, by which time Saw Gerrera had been informed of the raid on his base. Half his men had been killed, but the survivors had reported that Jyn had been taken. Saw had skipped the last several meetings of the conference in order to return to his base, and it was decided in his absence that the raid probably confirmed his theory. It was not long after that Anakin ordered Luthen to make finding Jyn Erso, along with her father if possible, a priority.
It was as the Alliance began their search for him that Galen Erso was called away from his work in his lab on Eadu towards the landing pad. He did not walk quickly, for the command had carried with it no information about why he was being summoned, or to whom he was meant to report. He walked outside into what counted as good weather for Eadu. It was raining and the clouds blocked out the sky, but the rain was a drizzle and the clouds weren't thick enough to hide the fact that it was daytime. He was able to see the shuttle a long way off and waited patiently for it to land. Every moment spent out here was a moment he wasn't working on the plans for the monstrosity they were forcing him to invent, and so he was in no rush.
When the shuttle ramp lowered he could immediately make out Krennic in his white uniform. The Director was pulling someone along with him, someone in shackles that prevented them from walking correctly. A young woman Galen was able to discern after a moment. Krennic was yelling something at her that Galen could not hear over the engines and the wind, but he could see that Krennic was bleeding from the corner of his mouth. When he reached the bottom of the ramp he threw the girl to the ground in front of Galen.
Without knowing who it was at his feet Galen knelt down to comfort the poor girl. Was she some new researcher to work under him? That would be a surprise given that she looked like a teenager, though he had not gotten a good look at her face. Perhaps she was some prodigy, he thought to himself before asking her if she was alright. When he did so the girl, who had been pushing herself up, froze in place. This caused Galen to take a step back, worried he had scared the girl. When he did so Krennic, who had by then also reached the platform, laughed cruelly.
The girl turned her head slowly to look at Galen and when she did so it took him only a half second to realize who it was. She looked so much like her mother.
"Now this is hardly the reaction I expected to such a happy reunion," Krennic said with wicked delight.
"Jyn?" Galen cried out.
"Papa," she responded.
"Oh my Stardust," he said as he embraced his daughter.
"That's more like it," Krennic said.
"What is this Krennic?" Galen asked angrily.
Krennic knelt down next to the two of them and said, "This is incentive, Galen. You have been moving too slowly. The Emperor himself has taken notice, and I am not going to continue to draw his ire. You are going to complete the laser. You are going to complete the power system. You are going to allow the construction crews to continue building the station by giving them the schematics to build its central components. And you are going to do all these things quickly and competently. And do you know why you are going to find this burst of productivity?"
"Yes," Galen said bitterly.
"I thought you might. You have always been so clever," Krennic said as he stood back up. "But let me make sure there is no misunderstanding. You will complete your projects and you will hit your updated targets for completion, or your little Stardust will suffer for it. And just so you remember why you are being so much more efficient, I am going to let Jyn here stay with you here on Eadu. That way, when you fail, her pain won't be just an idea for you. I am tired of waiting, and so is the Emperor."