"We will need to make a deviation to Kamino," Anakin told his group. "We got intel that the Separatists are going to make a move there."
"Kamino?" Rex turned to his General, pale. "We need to stop it. We have vode there, still training."
"We will, don't worry," Anakin assured his Commander.
"We might help the vode, but what about him?" Ahsoka pointed out, gaze in the almost catatonic Korkie.
Anakin sighed, heading towards his... step-son? He took a seat in front of him and smiled at him gently. "Want to talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about? My whole life is a lie!" Korkie despaired. Anakin winced at the confusion and heartbreak he felt pouring in the Force. "I mean... I never liked my aunt... my mom? Oh, osik! I never liked the Duchess' politics, but rather than a civil war I preferred them. Then you come and show us all the dark truth behind her pretty words. And now this! I just don't know how to keep up."
"It's a lot," Anakin agreed. "I won't be able to do much for you. I might be amazing in many things, but not on this. Mind Healing and talking about emotions has never been my thing... neither Obi's if I am being honest. Also, the fact that I am only a couple of years older than you and I am your step-father, I can understand opening up to me won't be comfortable." Anakin smiled encouragingly. "However, I will be here for you. We all will. You don't need to use any labels. You can just call use family, aliit."
"Aliit..." Korkie murmured under his breath. "I can get used to that," he smiled weakly at Anakin. "Do you think that Obi-Wa... I mean, buir will like me?"
"He will love you," Anakin assured him, wholeheartedly.
"Thank you," Korkie thanked him.
"Don't even mention it, we are family," Anakin waved it away. "Though, get ready for landing. We are close to Komino."
The following hour was pure chaos, as the 501st tracked down the Separatist agent. Korkie and Ahsoka had stayed behind in the Ekkerth with orders to escape if things go south. Ahsoke did not like it one bit, but she had been put in charge of protecting a civilian, Korkie, and will fulfill her duty as padawan.
"Ventress," Anakin hissed under his breath when he noticed who had Count Dooku sent. Just like last time she had been tasked into stealing the DNA of Jango Fett which was being used to create the troopers. "Everyone stay back! She is a Sith! I'll take care of her!"
Rain poured from the dark sky, soaking everything below. The battlefield was a slippery mess, but for Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress, it was just another challenge. They were deep in a deadly duel, oblivious to the downpour around them.
Anakin's orange lightsaber cut through the rain, its glow reflecting off the water. Ventress' red blade clashed with his, both of them fighting with fierce intensity. The sound of their lightsabers mixed with the constant drumming of the rain, creating a unique symphony of battle.
Despite the wet, slippery platforms, they moved with incredible grace. They leaped, spun, and parried each other's strikes, their movements almost supernatural. Anakin's hair stuck to his forehead as he pushed forward, determination clear on his face. Ventress, with her pale skin glistening in the rain, fought back with relentless intensity.
Ventress attacked with raw aggression, her red blade a blur. She was driven by the dark side, aiming to overpower Anakin with sheer force. But Anakin was no beginner. His years of training and countless battles had sharpened his skills.
Anakin's movements were precise and powerful. He met Ventress' attacks with controlled, calculated strikes, his orange lightsaber slicing through the rain. He dodged her strikes gracefully, turning her aggression into opportunities for his own attacks. With each move, he silently thanked Mace and Depa for their lessons in Vaapad.
In a decisive move, Anakin disarmed Ventress, sending her lightsaber flying through the air. She stumbled back, eyes blazing with fury. Before she could recover, Anakin closed in, his orange blade hovering just above her throat.
Raindrops pelted Ventress' face as she lay on the ground, breathing hard from the fight. Anakin's intense gaze held her, his lightsaber casting an eerie glow in the stormy night. The rain was the only sound, steady and unending.
Anakin's grip on his lightsaber was firm, his resolve clear. Ventress glared up at him, defiance mixing with the realization that she had been defeated.
"You've lost, Ventress," Anakin's voice was firm, edged with exhaustion. "Surrender now."
Ventress' chest rose and fell as she considered her options. The rain continued to pour, a testament to the intensity of the moment. "Surrender to Jedi scum like you? Never!" Ventress mocked him. "You are everywhere Anakin Skywalker. The slave that was set free, who breaks the chains of other slaves. You have some guts to name your ship Ekkreth!" Ventress glare was filled with hate, as her anger poured into the Force in torrential downpour, just like the rain falling from the sky. "And yet you are a slave to your Order, to the Force! Where were they when my master needed them? When he was doing the right thing?! WHEN HE DIED!" Ventress shouted on Anakin's blank face. "You are all hypocrites! They allow you to do as you wish, only because it helps them take down the Sith, but when my master tried to set us free, to save us, he was abandoned!"
"The Jedi do not dictate my actions. I am no longer a slave, I won my freedom. You can too," Anakin answered Ventress, voice even and calm. He was the eye of the storm, feeling warm and calm in the Force. "The Jedi talk about kindness and not being afraid. But they are clouded by their own fear of the dark, I will admit to that. They failed your master and they are failing by allowing this war to rage on. You are right when you call them hypocrites." Anakin conceded her point, taking Ventress by surprise. "I will be betrayed, but I still choose to extend my hand to you... to anyone that needs help. One of my mother's most important lessons, was that the biggest problem in the galaxy is the lack of people helping each other." Anakin finally broke into a soft smile. "I know what it feels to believe that there's nothing left in your life but to cling into the dark side. Allow me to bring you back to the light, you can do it."
Ventress eyes changes for a second, before throwing Jango Fett's DNA into the air. Anakin leapt to catch the capsule before it could break into the floor and turned to Ventress. As he had expected she was gone.
"General!" Rex came to a stop next to me, Echo and Hawkes following close behind. "Do we chase after her?"
"No, let her go," Anakin commanded softly, as he stared where he had had Ventress pinned. "We need to get Korkie to Curoscant, I won't put him or Ahsoka in danger as I chase after Siths."
"The talk with Mandalore was a success," Obi-Wan announced, feeling quite conflicted about it. While, he was proud of his husband, he also worried about his ex-lover. What he felt once for Satine might not ever be a third of his feelings for Anakin and Padmé, but she had been his first love and will always be dear to him. "The Duchess signed the treaty. They also rescued Jango Fett's DNA, though Asajj Ventress escaped."
"I wonder what has my padawan so worried," Plo hummed thoughtfully. "Anakin's intuition never fails, if he felt that something big was suppose to happen..."
"It did," Mace informed them. "I felt the shatter point break."
"Inform us, Skywalker will," Yoda interrupted. "Once he makes it to Curoscant, a guest will join."
"A guest?" Depa wondered.
"Important, he is," Yoda nodded. "Know who he is, I do not. But Skywalker assured me, it better be done!"
Now every Jedi Council member was confused, while most of them also exchanged amused looks. What new chaos will Anakin unleash on them?
Suddenly, the door opened and three people entered. A troubled Ahsoka, an angry Anakin and a nervous redhead. The Jedi Council looked at the boy, then at Jedi Master Kenobi, and again at the boy in stunned silence.
"Duchess Satine Kryze is a bitch that lied to her own son about the truth of his birth. Making him believe his father did not want him, his mother was a reckless teenager terrorist, and she was the saint aunt that took him in," Anakin seethed, trying to keep his tone controlled. "I might be banned from returning to Mandalore as long as she is in power, but it was totally worth it." Anakin sighed and smiled slightly at the shocked Obi-Wan. "So, we have a son."
At that moment every fondness Obi-Wan still had for Satine died. That was his boy! His grown boy that he had never gotten to know and watch grow. How could she?!
"This unsettling, it is," Yoda frowned. "Kept one of us, the Mandalorians did."
"I am not force sensitive," Korkie hesitantly pointed out.
"It does not matter," Plo told him warmly. "You are Jedi Master Kenobi's son, you are one of us. Force sensitive or not."
"I believe Obi-Wan and... " Windu trailed off.
"Korkie," the young redhead offered.
"Obi-Wan and Korkie would like to get to know each other in peace," Windu said. "I believe it's better for them to meet before we continue to discuss everything." They all watched in silence as the two redheads left, acting quite nervously. "Force! Why is it always you Skywalker?"
"Ask the Force," Anakin snorted humorlessly.
"Shit!" Depa cursed. "Kriff it all! She did that? To Obi-Wan?!"
"With all her actions to the Mandalorian people, are you that surprised?" Ki-Adi-Mundi scolded.
"Did you get him legally?" Shaak asked warily.
"I did," Anakin sighed. "Then again Korkie is legally an adult by Mandalerian law. As such he can leave on his own."
"Still, you got yourself banned from Mandalore?" Windu asked drily.
"I've never heard someone cursed in so many languages," Ahsoka had a far away look in her eyes. "Even the droids were scandalized!"
"She deserved it!" Anakin pouted.
"What now?" Ahsoka asked, looking quite lost.
"Our mission has been a success, we will rest and wait for the next one," Anakin told his padawan gently. "I'll need to talk with angel and tell her to prepare another room. Korkie will need a place to sleep."
"Does that mean you are a father now?" Ahsoka asked her master surprised, she could not see it.
"I doubt Korkie would like to see it like that," Anakin laughed. "But finding out that you have a grown-up son that someone you cared about kept it a secret from you... that's not nice."
That is the century's understatement. If Anakin had found out earlier about his kids, before he had been lost to the dark side, things could have turned out differently. It was something Anakin has never forgiven Master Kenobi. He now can differentiate between them. Knowing that in the future that will never come he never knew about Korkie... well, he can move on from that past.
Forgive but not forget.