Chapter 4: Escape From Coruscant
"Just so I understand this correctly, the conclusion of a meeting about your nightmares involves us going with two unknown Jedi and Obi-Wan on a retreat of undetermined length leaving today," a perplexed Padme Amidala asked with genuine confusion.
"Well, when you put it that way, yes. He also practically said he wasn't accepting a 'no' from you and to take it up with him if you had a problem with it," Anakin said hoping the troll wouldn't throw him under the bus when invariably she called him telling him her schedule wouldn't allow it.
"This would be better if this was only with Obi-Wan. The other two Jedi may throw us under the proverbial bus if they realize we're married," Padme said.
"I know, but Yoda said he would help, and he seemed to think these particular Jedi would help in some way," Anakin said.
Padme sighed. "Let me call the little troll and see what we can do."
Yoda had meanwhile found Obi-Wan and had the master stunned when he told him he was leaving with his padawan, whether the council approved of the journey or not. Obi-Wan had agreed, of course, but Yoda had been forced to use the "Trust me do you?" guilt trip that he always had up his sleeve. It came as no surprise when he received a transmission from a slightly confused senator.
Padme's point of view
The green master came to view on her table. "Greetings, Senator, always happy to hear from you I am."
"A pleasure as always, Master. I am a little confused as to a request from Knight Skywalker. Surely the council knows my schedule will not allow me to be gone from Coruscant for an unknown length of time," Padme said.
"Time you need away from work. As a vacation perhaps you should view this," Master Yoda said.
Padme wasn't sure what to make of what appeared to be mirth in his eyes. "We all do our part in this war and for that reason I cannot go away for so long. I have already scheduled leave here shortly."
At this the Master Yoda looked at her seriously "I know, but go away you should. Coruscant will become too dangerous for both of you, and you now have more than yourself to be worried about."
Padme felt her eye twitch. He knew. Somehow the little troll knew their secret. Anakin either was not as vague as he thought he had been this morning, or Yoda had had always seen right through him. It was a low blow to be sure and, frankly, blackmail, but the comment about danger had her attention.
"What danger could we have on Coruscant?"
Master Yoda sighed. "Unsure I am that this war will end the way we believe. Regardless of who wins, danger is growing rapidly for both of you here; it may be a long time before you see Coruscant again."
"Could security help us?"
"No. As great a danger as young Skywalker himself is in, far greater it is for you. No one must know when or where you are going. In fact, it would be best for no one to know until you have left. After you leave, make no communications with Coruscant."
Padme paled. Whatever danger Yoda was indicating was indeed dire.
"I will make preparations to leave today," Padme said
"Good. Good day to you, Senator."
Padme sat stunned at the holoprojector. It sounded to her as if someone was targeting their whole family. She grimaced. Her child was possibly in danger. No. She would have to leave. She summoned her most trusted double to make it appear she was still on Coruscant for as long as possible.
Garden on the roof
Yoda was sitting in his favorite sunny patch when he received word that the visitors had arrived. A quick call to the guards had them escorted to his present location. Yoda got his first look at them when they were presented as Master Ben Solo and Knight Khai. Ben was a short statured redhead with a clean-shaven face who looked incredibly like his father in all other respects. Khai was 5'6' with what appeared to be dark hair under her hood and a shadow in her dark eyes. Both were either late 20's or early 30's. Yoda sensed that the knight had been deep in the darkness at one point in her life. Master Ben's force presence was not as impressive as he had hoped for, having sensed his father. As if sensing his thoughts, the young Skywalker's Force signature briefly exploded into a supernova before calming down.
Having dismissed the guards, leaving no one around them, Yoda finally spoke. "Safe we are to speak, young Skywalkers."
Ben nodded his head. "Thank you, Master Yoda. It is a pleasure to meet you. My father anticipated you would know who we were by the time we got here."
"Hmm, yes, but a few lessons perhaps more for him I will plan."
Ben smiled. "He would be disappointed if it wasn't that way."
"Hmm, your Force signature, dimming you are," Yoda said to Ben. The young Skywalker was not as powerful as his father, at least yet, but was still likely more powerful than Sidious.
"Yes, a lesson my own master taught me. We believe it is best not to advertise to our enemy that our presence could be a threat," Ben answered.
"How long has marriage been allowed in the Order?" Yoda asked.
Ben looked tentatively at the horizon and sighed. "This will be hard to hear, but it comes along with the information we are to provide. The rule has not been in effect since my father rebuilt the Order."
The answer had its expected effect on the master as he sighed and closed his eyes. "How many?" was the question.
"With the exception of a few my father found in hiding or in unusual ways, you and Master Kenobi were the last," Ben answered sadly. "My father's training was not completed. He taught himself from what records he could find along with visiting many other groups of Force users through the galaxy. The no marriage thing was not a rule he even knew about until well after the Order had been reestablished and if he had of tried to institute it the other masters would have collectively picked him up and threw him into the nearest lake until he came to his senses."
Yoda could not help but giggle at the image of the current council dunking him or Mace in a lake. "So, it was time for the Order to move on from that rule. Likely it has been time for many a year, but time for this conversation it is not. The enemy is about to make his final plans. How much time do we have?"
"I don't know, but not long. Taking my grandparents off of Coruscant is critical. He may intervene to stop that." Ben pulled the center of a holocron out of his pocket and handed it to Yoda.
"Even if not, our actions may cause him to speed up his plans, so time is critical. This holocron gives suggestions of what you might do, but regardless get the children and the archives off Coruscant and don't allow anyone to return," Vestara said breaking her silence. "Whatever happens, though, if the council decides to move against the Chancellor make sure you have taken care of the things we have mentioned."
Yoda placed the heart of the holocron in his pocket "Where can I find you?"
"If the Sith win, we will go to a place where you should be able to communicate with us. We will return every few weeks to that location from that day," Ben said. "As of now I do not expect us to return to Coruscant, but from what I'm told, you would likely retreat to a particular swampy planet."
Yoda looked at the pair with a come on, really? face and sighed. "Yes, I would imagine so. I expect we will soon have a council meeting on this"
"May I ask why? From a certain point of view the council has already decided our course of action regardless of what's said today," Vestara said.
Yoda giggled "Yes, decided it may have, which is why if they say 'no' today, you still have council authority to leave." Yoda got serious again "Anything there is from here that should be taken with you on your journey?"
Ben and Vestara looked at each other.
"I don't know," Ben said. "Perhaps you could get me access to the archives, and I could look to see."
Yoda stood up. "Let us go then. Some time left we still have. Make use of all of it we must."
Yoda noted the wonder on the faces of the two Jedi as they walked through the Temple. "Been here before have you never?"
"We have been here, but only certain parts of the building were used, as it was mostly the administrative office to liaison between the order and the Galactic alliance. Before we had to retreat to Ach-to, our primary headquarters were the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV and Ossus," Vestara said.
Yoda stopped. "Found Ossus you did? Lost were the coordinates to us many millennia ago."
"Indeed, my father found it quite some time ago, along with a few ancient Jedi knights." Ben said.
"Know the coordinates do you?" Yoda asked.
"Indeed, in fact, once things settle a bit with our training, we intend to use it as our primary dwelling place. There's a decent civilization there and the old ruins are in relatively decent shape," Ben stated. "We will give them to you in our first communication."
"If succeed the Sith do in toppling our Order as you say, what of the Republic?" Yoda asked.
"The Republic, for all intents and purpose, fell the same night, though officially it was several days later before the Empire was formally established," Vestara said.
At this point the group entered the archives. Ben audibly gasped at the sight. While the ancient library of Ossus was indeed larger than what was before him, this was still an impressive sight to any person with a passion for research. Vestara was notably less impressed, observing the other Jedi in the room rather than the books. Not that books and learning were not important to Vestara, she could out-research most PhDs when it was something she needed to know, but it wasn't her passion.
"Good morning, Master Yoda," said a voice and from behind the stacks walked Jocasta Nu, lead librarian. "I don't believe I have met your friends."
"Friends from a long way away," Yoda replied. "Masters Ben and Vestara from the unknown regions. They are here to see the archives for the first time. Ben, Vestara, meet Jocasta Nu our head archivist."
"A pleasure to meet you, Master Nu," said the young Jedi in unison.
Ben suddenly gasped. "The great holocron!"
Jocasta Nu looked at him. "Yes, indeed. It is housed here."
She looked at Yoda who said, "Do not be concerned, Master Nu. They have full access to the archives and even the holocron vault. They are far enough out that their own Jedi council they have. Master Ben is a representative of that council and has full access and can even borrow anything from the library to return later." Yoda then turned to Ben and said pointedly, "Even the great holocron."
Ben bowed to Master Yoda.
Jocasta was understandably visibly confused at the conversation. "Does Master Ben wish to borrow the great holocron?"
"He does," Yoda answered for him, "and I will personally give him several holocrons he could need, to return, of course, at a later time."
Jocasta's eyes went wide at the statement. "Master Yoda, a word with you in private, please."
"Of course, Master Nu." Yoda looked at the young Jedi. "Feel free to browse and download anything you need onto a data pad."
Yoda walked off leaving the Ben and Ves alone for the first time since they reached this time zone.
"Well, let's make the most of it while we can," Ben said, walking to a terminal.
"Should we insert the signal while were waiting?" Ves asked.
"No, I plan on creating a distraction long enough for you to do that later. I don't think we have time before they come back," Ben replied as he chose a terminal away from any other Jedi. "Have you noticed anything else while we're here?"
"Yes, enough to be concerned that our plan will not work as expected," Vestara stated.
"The usual kind of chaos that enters any Skywalker plan or do you sense our enemy detects our presence?" Ben asked, looking at her.
"Neither. This location's Force nexus and your grandfather's proximity will naturally shield you from Sidious. I'm concerned by the fact that the average student on Yavin IV is more powerful than most knights here."
Ben looked up concerned and reached out with his senses "Perhaps that is because the stronger ones are on the battlefield."
"Is it possible that this why they fell?" Vestara asked. "I'd take a group of younglings from Yavin before any of this crew against the Sith Lord."
"Yoda's very powerful," Ben answered. "Not as powerful as Dad or Kyp, but he could certainly take Kyle or Corran. I'd personally wager on Yoda against Kyp with 900 years' experience, I'd dare say he would win in his prime at any rate. I also sense at least another couple of presences who are strong enough to be masters. However, you're right. With 500 Jedi in the building, that is concerning. It's like looking at Christmas lights in the Force instead of the sun you see coming into either Yavin or Ossus. Do you think the Sith are somehow responsible or is this complacency after 1,000 years of not having an enemy to fight other than crime families? You know, we never really knew much of the Order before the fall of the empire as the Coruscant archives were destroyed, and the empire pretty much destroyed anything else. Dad, of course, was largely self-trained and most of what we know came from the library of Ossus and what little Yoda and Obi-Wan taught him."
Vestara thought about it. "I would say they had lost much of what they once knew, and complacency made them think they had it figured out. The Sith have also likely been slowly tearing at them for 1,000 years via Republic laws. As much as your father would hate to hear it, his Order was built, perhaps subconsciously, for the sole purpose of defeating Sith Lords. Between the Vong war where hand to hand fighting was critical, the One Sith, and the Imperial Dark side warlords, the Grandmaster made sure his Jedi knights were prepared to fight a Sith, and in the process his Order was perhaps better built for war on a galactic scale than the Jedi of this time era."
Ben looked troubled at the thought. "Yes, my father would hate the idea that his Order is better at war than his teachers'. War does not make one great, but that is how we survived against everything that came against us."
While talking, Vestara had pulled a disc file from her pocket and had been downloading the archives. Fortunately, the tech they brought was superior to the computer tech of this time and Vestara slid right by security and had 85% of the archives already downloaded. She had nearly completed her task by the time Yoda and a clearly upset Jocasta Nu had returned.
"You will, of course, return the master holocron soon, correct?" Master Nu said.
"Yes, I plan to return it to its place hopefully within a month," Ben said. Ben did not mention that its actual resting place was the Library of Ossus before the Jedi of the Old Republic had to quickly evacuate the planet.
"Patience, Master Nu, great the payoff will be of them borrowing it," Yoda stated.
Master Nu didn't look convinced but decided not to fight a losing battle. "So, Master Ben where abouts are you from?"
"Ach-to." Ben answered the academic, hoping the archivist wouldn't find a hole in their cover story.
Fortunately, Master Nu was more interested in Ach-to's secrets and the lore of the ancient Jedi temple. She and Ben talked for a while of the items of interest on the planet. Ben politely didn't tell her where the planet was but offered to instead take her there at some point in the future, if possible. The ecstatic librarian forgot her frustration and set about on the task of prepping the holocron for travel.
Yoda watched her walk away and sighed. "Take her will you?" he asked Ben.
"If she makes it, and I can find her, yes," Ben answered softly, handing the Grandmaster a small disk. "I just made this. I believe it contains almost the entire archive. I don't know what secret artifacts you might have hidden but remember anything left will become the property of the Sith within a matter of weeks, so get anything critical out of here."
Yoda nodded. "Time for our meeting with the council it is."
Council Chambers
"I understand that you claim to be Jedi from the unknown regions of space," said Master Kit Fisto.
"Indeed, our Order is currently located on the planet Ach-to," Ben answered.
"It is obvious that there is a bond between you and your companion- that of husband and wife. Does your Order agree with this and for how long has this been allowed?" Master Ki Adi Mundi inquired.
"Long before I was born was it allowed, in fact the rule against marriage was abolished by our order since the Jedi Purge when the only Jedi that were known to survive were two masters and the children of a knight who was secretly married," Vestara answered.
The council members looked at each other in some surprise. The Jedi purge, that they were aware of occurred well over 2,000 years prior. Mace Windu was himself very surprised by the statement as he sensed the honesty of the answer. Yoda meanwhile had his eyes closed.
"Has attachment never caused one of your own to fall to darkness?" Mace asked.
"I will not say it has never come close, but we have no record of any of our order falling permanently," Vestara replied. "There are, of course, rules like a spouse cannot join the hunt for one who killed his or her significant other." If one is killed, a task force of 12 Jedi are dispatched to deal with the situation. Our enemies learned fairly quickly that it was a bad idea to intentionally target a spouse. These rules amongst others we have found successful in keeping people from going over the edge."
The council collectively could find nothing to say, as opposed to the somewhat breakaway Correlian group, this group, from what they could piece together, had been established around the time of Revan.
Mace deciding further discussion on this issue was useless for the present and decided to switched topics. "Master Yoda indicated you needed our help."
Ben bowed slightly. "Indeed. Though it might be better to show you, if you will allow."
Mace glanced at Yoda who nodded. The council members leaned forward to watch a video when to their shock the room went dark with a fog. In the fog, the council could see images of unknown foes and ships of strange appearance causing mass destruction such as they had never seen even in the worst of the Clone Wars. They saw images of their fellow Jedi knights fighting warriors who used deadly staffs as weapons. They then felt rather than saw a darkness great and an image of a foe who used the Force to destructive purposes that their worst nightmares couldn't imagine. With that the images faded, and the room restored to normal.
Vestara then spoke to the council. "What you saw will be a threat to you as well, though you have time to prepare. That is why we were sent. Only a few people can go either way given the great distance between us. Therefore, our Grandmaster has sent us with the purpose of teaching two of your members the necessary skills to fight these invaders. We were specifically instructed to train Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker. The Clone War is practically over. The importance of immediately starting the training is crucial."
Shaken, Mace said, "Thank you, the council will now deliberate your request."
The two Jedi bowed and departed the room.
Obi-Wan was the first to speak "I have heard of these enemies, many years ago, on the living planet Zonama Sekot. Just a few of them were more dangerous than the Jedi master that was there at the time. If they are being led by a darksider, it could be more disastrous than the Clone War."
"I agree," Plo Koon stated via hologram. He had seen the images even across the galaxy. "One thing I must ask, however, is how did they create the images?"
The council collectively looked at Master Yoda.
"A simple illusion. Difficult it is not when learned, though it's a skill known only to few." He did not mention that he suspected that, as opposed to the Force illusions that he himself had some skill with, these were Fallanassi illusions, learned from a group deep in the outer rim. The old master had not even thought of them for many years.
"Did it strike anyone they were leaving out information?" Mace asked. "These invaders I have personally foreseen in the past though it seemed they were hiding critical information."
"Harm us it will not," Yoda stated bluntly. "Tell all in time to their students, they will."
"Then we are agreed," Master Ti said from Kamino.
Mace put it to a vote and the majority voted 'yes'. Mace and Ki Adi Mundi abstained.
As the council broke up Yoda inquired to the two why they had not voted. Mundi explained as he himself was allowed an exception for marriage it would be biased for him to vote on the matter. Mace, on the other hand, was not completely convinced and asked Yoda for permission to challenge the master to a duel. Yoda acquiesced as he hobbled to the door to find the knights. Mace followed and they found the pair watching the skyline pointing out landmarks to each other.
"The council has agreed to your request," Mace announced. He did not miss the look of surprise that went across their faces if only for a second. "I would however ask that Master Solo spar with me before you make any further preparations."
Ben looked surprised and agreed to the request. Vestara excused herself to go to the archives.
Mace watched her go. "She has been exposed to darkness."
"Indeed," Ben said. "She was raised on a planet of darksiders. I crashed there in an emergency hyperspace jump into the unknown regions and after a series of extraordinary adventures I would never undo and yet would prefer to never do again, she and I left the planet together as a married couple, alive by the skin of our teeth."
Mace felt a mixture of pride, joy and pain and a slight bit of fear in the casual statement. It was obvious whatever had happened there had been a formative experience.
"My father took her on as his private student to learn the light and balance herself. Once he had succeeded, another Master took it upon herself to finish her training on away missions."
"It is unusual for a person steeped in the dark for so long to turn to light. Master Yoda says that once you have gone down the dark road, forever will it dominate your destiny," Mace stated as they walked down the corridors.
"Master Yoda sites a very old proverb. However, it is perhaps better translated to say that once one falls down the dark road, forever you will deal with the consequences. The guilt of things one does in darkness will forever be something one must live with," Ben replied. "That does not mean people cannot choose to turn away from the destructive path they are on. But most will not, to avoid the responsibility of the things they have done."
Mace contemplated the words as they came into the training area. Ben noticed Master Yoda had discretely followed behind. Ben reached out for a practice saber and tested it to ensure it would not cut anything.
Mace appeared surprised and at the query he replied, "Usually knights and masters here spar with their real lightsabers."
He pulled out a training saber as well.
"Oh, we quit the practice after some younglings saw their teachers practicing with the real thing, and one of them got a hand cut off. Happened well before I was alive," Ben said.
"Very well. In that case, don't hold back," Mace said.
The crowd in the gym stopped what they were doing to watch Mace have a duel with the newcomer. The duelists saluted each other and began.
Mace's point of view
The kid was good, very good. The master was surprised at the intensity of the duel, but what confused him most was the form. The lightsaber form Ben was using was not any of the 7 known forms, it in fact appeared to be a mesh of II, III, and V. With his mind distracted he almost missed a jab from the knight that would have finished the match, but Mace managed to avoid it at the last second. One thing was increasingly clear as the fight continued. These Jedi were not trained to fight with restraint. Ben was actively going for strikes and jabs that were lethal, trying to finish the fight quickly. Mace recalled the vision in the council chamber and remembered they were vastly outnumbered by an enemy that battled them in hand-to-hand combat as opposed to the blasters that were the main danger of the Clone War. Pragmatically, it was probably the only option available, but it made the Jedi flinch at the thought of killing sentients in a major war as opposed to the scraps of metal they fought most of the time. Once again, his thoughts almost made him miss a slash towards the wrist.
"Ok, this kid isn't playing around," Mace thought. "Time to stop playing with the fish before I lose because I'm not paying attention."
At that thought, the Jedi master quit pulling punches and upped his speed on his strikes. To his shock, the other Jedi changed gears with him and was able to match the increased tempo of the clashing blades without a pause. For a fraction of a second, Mace realized the Jedi was shielding his full Force signature from him.
"Where did they find this kid?"
Sweat started beading on his brow. Mace decided the best way to end this was to use Vaapad and use the kid's shatterpoints to find a weakness, his wife perhaps. With that grimly in mind he rapidly changed forms to end the fight. The fighting became more intense as visions of shatterpoints flashed through his mind most of which he didn't understand. The Republic on fire, a cyborg rising out of darkness with a red blade, an evil laugh. A blue, no, a green blade rose against the darkness and prevailed, in time it was met with many others all collectively rising to stand with the first. Mace could tell this was history to the young Jedi before him and tried to tack onto a path more personal. He saw a powerful Jedi with a green blade protecting a trapped young one of Yoda's race from what appeared to be robots. He saw an image of the Jedi meeting with a red-haired woman. Ahh, family- the Jedi's parents, perhaps. The wife, oh, there she was meeting Ben, perhaps for the first time. Mace saw the sickly yellow around the irises of the girl and the ones she was with. Sith Lords, he realized with a shock. Following the pathway of the shatterpoint, he saw the Jedi with a blue blade, desperately battling it out with several Sith Lords in an arena. Mace could sense rather than see the boy believed the girl's life was dependent on the outcome of the battle. Fear. Oh, something that he could manipulate with Vaapad. He continued to follow the trail and saw an image of the young Jedi releasing lightning from his fingertips. There. Yes, Mace had what he needed. He prepared to have a final Vaapad maneuver at his opponents only dark spot and struck.
Onlookers' perspective
The fight had rapidly gotten so fast that it was difficult to see the individual strikes. The younglings were openly oohing and ahhing. The Jedi Battlemaster was watching the battle with a keen eye and interest in the style of the visiting master. The duelists appeared to be evenly skilled. Every time Mace upped the ante, the master responded in kind, as if he was allowing the Master of the Council to set the pace. He saw when Mace decided to try to end it with his Vaapad style, an excellent form that few Jedi would ever master. Vaapad was an excellent style good for both defense and offense, but got its strength from the opponent's darkness by channeling it back on the user. In theory, a darksider against a Vaapad user would effectively be fighting themselves. Drallig noticed with his eye, though, something that Mace was missing; he was losing ground quickly.
"Target fixation," Drallig observed and watched as Mace went full in with a strike that was clearly meant to end the battle. Drallig was the only observer not surprised when Mace overextended and got disarmed by the other Jedi. Mace fell backwards a few feet and had a blue training saber at his neck.
"Solah," Mace said, shocked.
The young master nodded, shut off the saber and reached out to help him up. Cheers rang up from the children for a fascinating fight as the Battlemaster went up to congratulate the winner.
"How did you beat that?" Mace asked somewhat shaken that his for sure winning strike lost the battle.
"I can answer that," the Battlemaster said, coming up to him. "You attempted a Vaapad strike, you obviously were trying to use shatterpoints to find a weakness and thought you had one. Vaapad, however, as you know loses its primary advantage without darkness to power it and his weakness was not darkness in a Jedi master who has learned balance. So, you overextended yourself like a youngling and got disarmed."
Before Mace could say anything further, Skywalker came up through the crowd with Yoda and Obi-Wan.
"Need to go back to class, I believe many of you do," Yoda said to the stragglers who turned back to their previous lessons.
Ben had not noticed but apparently most of the temple had shown up to watch the spar.
"Young Skywalker, meet one of your guides, Master Ben Solo."
Anakin looked excited at the prospect. "That was an incredible lightsaber display."
"Thank you, Knight Skywalker, though I thought he had me beat for a minute, Ben said shaking the proffered hand. "As soon as Knight Khai returns, we will prepare to leave."
"Knight Khai is here," said a voice from behind and the three masters looked to where the voice came from as her Force signature came back to visibility.
Mace twitched as he saw the shatterpoints amongst the three. So much rode on this arrangement that he was having second thoughts about the lack of oversight on this training. "It's a good thing Obi-Wan is going along," He thought grimly. He also wasn't happy that there was a reformed Sith Lady (Or was the title still lord? He wasn't sure about that particular history.) in the mix. "I believe Knight Khai failed to mention her past association with the Sith," Mace stated with some coolness.
Anakin turned and looked at her, surprised.
"A long time ago, Master Jedi." Khai said equally as cool.
"How many Sith are there in this Galaxy?" Mace asked.
"Oh, somewhere around 250-300, I would imagine." Ben stated matter of factly from the side. "The rule of two only applies to the Bannite Sith Lords, though as a whole they are generally far more powerful than the others, with maybe the sole exception of Darth Krayt himself who died several weeks ago. The One Sith organization numbered around 150 until about 15 years ago when it was dismantled. And then there was a group stranded on a planet in the unknown regions that numbered around 150-200 easy."
Mace at this point decided it might be a good time to quit asking questions before his head exploded but asked one more. "I imagine these Sith were your enemies. And hopefully are no current threat to the Republic."
"The One Sith organization was our main adversary before being destroyed due to one of their own members exposing their order to us prematurely. The others were too remote and had no hyperdrive capable vehicles, so they were not a problem unless you accidentally landed there by mistake. They also never joined forces because they saw each other as beneath them," Ben answered. "But neither should pose any immediate threat to the republic."
"Finally, some good news." Mace grumbled. At this he walked away muttering under his breath.
Vestara watched him go and said, "Perhaps we should leave while we have a chance."
Yoda nodded. Anakin and Obi-Wan confirmed they were ready, but Anakin said they would have to wait for two others who would be joining them. Ben and Vestara stopped.
"Who?" Vestara asked with a slightly chilled voice.
"Republic protocol requires that a senator away from her job must be accompanied by at least two troopers if not going to her home world," Anakin said. Anakin noticed the look Ben and Knight Khai gave each other, which didn't make sense.
"Do you trust these troopers?" Vestara asked.
Anakin had known Rex and Jesse since the early days of the Clone Wars and vouched for them both.
"Perhaps this would be for the best," Ben said thoughtfully.
Vestara didn't seem convinced after a moment of what appeared to be a mental conversation Vestara nodded. "Very well, they're your responsibility, Skywalker."
It was at this point Ben noted that his namesake had been rather quiet through their conversation. He gave a quick glance at the Jedi master and noticed a contemplative look on his face. "Are you alright, Master Kenobi?" Ben inquired.
"Yes, sorry," the master said, coming out of his thoughts. "You just reminded me of …oh well, never mind."
"How many people were required to ask permission for these troopers to follow us?" Vestara asked.
Anakin was getting a little tired of the knight's suspicious attitude and wondered how they had paired this master-knight duo. "It's like me and Kenobi." Anakin thought briefly. He often was the "bad cop" to Obi-Wan's "good cop", though this pair acted like that even in front of fellow Jedi. Anakin then reassured the knight that as the General of the 501st division there was no one he needed permission from. The surprise from both was clear that he was the General of the 501st division but neither stated anything.
"I hate to ask this, but can we borrow a ship from here?" Ben asked.
Anakin looked at him. "Yes, we can borrow the Twilight II," he said as R2 came out of the hanger door.
Vestara's eyes grew wide at the sight of Luke's droid. Ben had long known that R2 had once belonged to Vader. Anakin walked over to the Twilight, which from the outside appeared to be a hunk of junk. Ben sensed amusement from Vestara and suspected that it came from the similarities with the Millennium Falcon. "So Grandfather and Uncle Han both share a love of junk vehicles," Ben thought with amusement.
Anakin sensed the amusement towards his ship. "Hey I will have you know this ship has it where it counts," he said seriously.
The remark brought peels of laughter from the pair. As the befuddled knight watched them get on board, Kenobi put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, they will appreciate it more when you crash it.
Anakin gave him a side look. "Everybody's a comedian today."
A slightly disgruntled Anakin got in the pilot seat. He lifted off and headed towards the GAR main base where they were to rendezvous with Padme, Rex and Jesse.
Still giggling in the corner, Ben stated to Anakin, "Forgive us, my uncle has a ship nearly a century old and that's the line he always gives, usually when it's about to have a hyperdrive breakdown."
Anakin turned red at the saying. Obi-Wan was having trouble staying calm in the co-pilot chair.
"What kind of ship runs a century?" Anakin asked.
"A YT-1300. He has put so much money into that ship in repairs that he could have bought a fleet of cruisers," Vestara said.
Anakin figured the century line was facetious as they had only been developed 40 years prior and were starting to age. Still, one could put some serious modifications into the ships. He nodded as he slowly headed into low orbit where the GAR base was located to dock with his cruiser.
Vestara and Ben looked at each other at the sight of the star destroyers coming into view. While it was not a rare sight in the Galaxy and frankly Ben had been on more than one on various missions, his mind went to his parents telling the story of how the Caadmas crisis ended with Captain Paellon and the still-alive Grand Admiral Thrawn appearing to shut down the fake grand admiral. Admiral Thrawn had agreed to the terms of a peace agreement negotiated by Ben's Aunt and Paellon, only adding in a mutual defense clause against an outside invader. The New Jedi Order had been a signatory, with the agreement of eventually adding a school in Imperial Space.
Still, the stories of his parents and family sneaking around or running away from star destroyers all went through his mind. It wouldn't be long before the same was true for them, just hopefully not today.
Anakin brought the Twilight onto its usual docking point on his cruiser. Outside was Padme dressed as Sabe with Sabe dressed as Padme, along with Rex and Jesse, as well as Admiral Yularen.
"Uh oh," Ben flashed to Vestara, "we got trouble."
"What kind?" Vestara sent back.
"That Captain will become the original head of the ISB. He is likely already in the Emperor's pocket," Ben replied in their mental conversation. "I wonder if the that's how the Emperor kept up with my grandfather so well."
"So much for our leaving to be secret," Vestara mused. "Hopefully we can avoid a firefight."
Obi-Wan was the only one who seemed to notice the internal conversation as he walked down the ramp. The couple had been slightly unnerved by the sight of the star destroyers and he noticed a tinge of discomfort at the sight of the captain. Why anyone would be unnerved by Yularen was beyond him- Tarkin, yes, but not Wulf.
"General Skywalker, hopefully not another insane mission where we nearly get blown out of the sky yet you manage to pull it off last second?" the Admiral inquired.
"Not today, Admiral. I only need a couple of men. This is a mostly Jedi operation," Anakin replied good naturedly. Anakin then introduced the two Jedi to his admiral.
Obi-Wan had been watching Yularen, but he showed absolutely no recognition of the two Jedi, and was in fact quite pleasant with them. The master did notice the Jedi's excitement over meeting the senator. The clone troopers were next. Vestara was especially respectful of Rex, he noticed. For now, he would trust that Yoda knew what he was doing but he couldn't help but suspect there was more going on here than at first glance.
It didn't help that Ben was strangely familiar, after 10 years of living with Anakin. If his eyes were not green and he wasn't short, Obi-Wan would almost think Ben and Anakin were related. Perhaps they were distantly, he reflected that neither he nor Anakin knew anything about his family. Casually, he considered Qui Gon's usual trick of getting a blood sample from anyone but decided it would be a breach of privacy for only his personal speculation. Not to mention the thought of another Skywalker running around made him cringe. Padme was obviously disguised, as usual. Having been introduced as the handmaiden, she looked resolved if not a bit shaken. A casual observer would never see it, but Obi-Wan had been around long enough to know Padme's tells. A few minutes later they were finished stowing away the new gear and, in the seats, approaching the edge of Coruscant's gravity well. Obi-Wan casually observed that Ben and Vestara were watching the commlink somewhat anxiously and saw the obvious relief on their faces when they made the jump to hyperspace.
As soon as they made the jump, Ben trickled an enormous amount of relief over the bond to Vestara. They had made it off the planet with comm silence now mandatory. Vestara nodded. Regardless of what happened now, their enemy had either been unaware of their manipulations or too slow to stop them.
Authors notes
Long chapter this week it's the size of two normal chapters . I figured most readers would want to get off coruscant relatively quickly. Yeah into the the wild blue yonder of storytelling. I promised at the beginning thag this wasn't a normal ROTS AU Coruscant will be a dwindling place of importance as the book proceeds. I will note here that my chapters are split based on the subject of the chapter rather than length. As such some chapters will be longer than others. Next week Si vis pacem, para bellum.