The world changed in the space between heartbeats.

In one moment, Jedi Master and former High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in the common area of the Millennium Falcon, teaching Anakin Skywalker's son the most basic of lightsaber forms.

In the next, he stood beside Marshal Commander Cody aboard the Negotiator.

Obi-Wan allowed himself one heartbeat – five – an indulgent ten heartbeats to revel in the awareness of the bright presence of his fellow Jedi in the Force, the first time he'd felt that in twenty years, before focusing on Cody, ignoring the other clones and the blasters they'd aimed at him.

"Hello there, Cody."

"Who are you," the commander demanded, "and what have you done with General Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan smiled. "Have twenty years in exile on Tatooine changed me so very much? I am Obi-Wan Kenobi…from the future."

Cody couldn't have looked more disbelieving if he'd tried. Come to think of it, he might actually have been trying.

Obi-Wan really shouldn't have expected anything else. Not that he'd had a chance to expect much of anything, given the abrupt nature of his travel through time and space.

He had to convince Cody he was telling the truth, and quickly, given the holomap before him.

Utapau. He swallowed past a sudden lump in his throat. Somehow, he'd been given a chance to avert disaster. He couldn't squander it.

He cleared his throat. "Call Stitch up from medical – he can do a genetics test to confirm my identity. Quickly, please – we've little time to waste."

Cody hesitated, and Obi-Wan realized he needed to offer something more.

He raised his hands and turned to offer Cody his right hip. "Take my lightsaber. You have a clip for it on your belt."

"That doesn't mean much when you can Force-pull it to you," Cody observed. Obi-Wan barely caught the hand signal he gave to his brothers surrounding them.

Obi-Wan met his gaze evenly. "You have my word. Keep it until you are comfortable returning it."

And he levitated the saber from his hip toward Cody.

After the briefest hesitation, Cody snagged the lightsaber out of the air and placed it at his own hip. "While we wait for Stitch – what happened?"

"I would tell you if I knew." Obi-Wan lowered his hands to his sides. "One moment, twenty years from now, I was on a ship in hyperspace, and the next I was here. I cannot explain more than that."

Cody nodded in acknowledgment of his answer but continued relentlessly. "You said we have little time. What did you mean? Does Grievous escape?"

"No. No, I killed him in my past, and that was the end of us all."

Cody's lips twitched despite the gravity of the situation. "General Kenobi always did have a flair for the dramatic."

Obi-Wan chuckled briefly. "Ah, well, in this case, the truth is dramatic."

"From a certain point of view," Cody countered with a grin.

In that moment, Obi-Wan felt as if he'd been standing beside the 212th's commander for the last few hours rather than the last few minutes. He could only hope that his commander's humor meant he'd taken even one step toward accepting that Obi-Wan really was Obi-Wan.

Before he could respond, Stitch arrived. "Sirs. … That is you, isn't it, General?"

Obi-Wan smiled and held out a hand, palm up. "That is what you are here to confirm."

Stitch understood immediately and within minutes, he'd taken a blood sample and run it through his scanner.

"I can confirm that this is General Kenobi," Stitch told Cody. "The length of his telomeres suggests he has aged approximately twenty years."

"Thank you, Stitch," Cody said. "You're dismiss-"

Obi-Wan cut him off. "Now that we've confirmed my identity, I need a call with all the Jedi generals currently serving, their commanders, and their medics. Fully encrypted, and now."

"But, sir," Cody sounded more hesitant than he should. "General Grievous?"

"Can wait," Obi-Wan declared. "The call, please?"

BREAK

The secure communications center aboard the Negotiator was large enough for the command staff, so Obi-Wan, Cody, and Stitch stood comfortably behind the com officer as he initiated the call Obi-Wan had ordered.

Obi-Wan made sure to step out of the cameras' visual range as the call went through.

Unsurprisingly, the Temple answered first, Mace Windu and Anakin appearing in holographic form before them, both looking as serious as Obi-Wan had ever seen them before.

Even as more masters answered the call, Mace frowned. "Commander, can this wait? We have a matter of some urgency to deal with."

Cody, if it were possible, straightened even beyond his normal military-perfect posture. "General Kenobi insisted, sir, and I agree with him."

Anakin craned his neck, as though trying to peer around Cody. "Where is Obi-Wan?"

Remaining out of visual range, Obi-Wan said, "I'm here, Anakin."

Anakin frowned, and some of the other masters mirrored his expression when he asked. "Are you all right? You sound…different, somehow."

Obi-Wan took a breath and released his nerves along with it. "I'm concerned, Anakin. For you. For Padmé. And for your children."

Anakin's mouth dropped open and he stared at the camera on his end of the call. Other masters muttered in obvious disapproval.

"Quiet!" Cody snapped, then looked abashed when he got the quiet he'd asked for. Demanded, really.

Obi-Wan felt the change in the Force as Cody pressed past his discomfort and turned to him. "General?"

Obi-Wan smiled briefly at him. "Thank you, Cody. Anakin, to be concerned for someone you love is natural. I ask you now to act on that concern. Take Padmé to the Halls of Healing – unless she has already been seen by a Jedi healer?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, she hasn't. But-"

"But nothing," Obi-Wan declared. "She is very near her due date, and you are concerned for her, correct? Because of your dreams?"

Anakin swallowed and nodded, reluctantly.

Obi-Wan was glad he remained out of visual range. His scowl was most certainly not Jedi-like. "If you were concerned, you should have explored all avenues of assistance. I beg you, do so now, before she and your children are beyond any help."

Anakin looked conflicted. "But you'll need me. The Chancellor-"

Mace cleared his throat and spoke more gently than Obi-Wan remembered him ever doing before. "Your concern will distract you. Is distracting you. Go, see to her and your children."

Anakin disappeared from view and for long moments, Mace watched something out of range of the visual pickup. Finally, he turned back to face the others.

"He's gone."

"Hm." Master Yoda's exaggerated hum got their attention. "Perhaps now, Kenobi's true purpose we will learn?"

"Wait." Plo Koon held up a hand. "Skywalker said something about the Chancellor?"

That was as good a cue as he could hope for.

Obi-Wan stepped closer to Cody, into visual range. "It's all of a piece, Plo."

To a one, Jedi and clone alike, they stared at Obi-Wan, who gestured to Cody and Stitch. "Gentlemen, if you'll brief them on the events so far?"

It was good to see his old friends – his family, if he were going to be honest about it – again, alive and as well as anyone could be in the middle of a war. It was more than good, actually, but Obi-Wan had no time to spare for those feelings. Instead, he had to focus on the call he'd demanded.

Cody took a half-step closer to the visual pickup. "I was briefing General Kenobi on our current mission, when he…became…older, as he is now. At his suggestion, I summoned our medic to perform a genetic test to confirm his identity."

He stepped back, and Stitch stepped forward to the spot where Cody had been. "I performed the test, and genetically, this man is General Obi-Wan Kenobi, if some twenty years older than he was this morning."

Yoda sat forward. "Interesting, this is. Disturbing. Encounter a Sith artifact, have you? Age you, it did?"

"No, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan replied. "I believe I have somehow changed places with my younger self."

The masters, commanders, and medics all seemed to speak at once.

"However," Obi-Wan pitched his voice to carry, and after another moment or two, the others subsided enough for him to continue. "As interesting as the situation is, what is most important is the knowledge I bring with me."

Mace frowned. "If you've truly time-traveled – and I agree that appears to be the simplest explanation, given what you've said – then should you not preserve your past?"

"My past is not worth preserving." Obi-Wan's flat tone drew all eyes to him. "After we successfully completed our mission – the one we're on right now – the clones turned on the Jedi and killed almost all of us."

"No, sir," Cody's protest was echoed by every other clone on the call. "We were made for you, sir, and we've come to know and respect you. We would never-"

Obi-Wan rested a hand on his shoulder. "You had no choice, my dear commander, and I bear you no ill will for what you did. None of you," he added with a glance at Stitch and then the clones on the call.

"Happened, what did?" Yoda asked, outwardly calm.

"All of the clones have a chip implanted in them. Here, in the right hand portion of the frontal lobe." Obi-Wan tapped his right temple. "Upon activation, the clones had no choice but to obey the orders they were given – and the first one was to kill the Jedi. The few that survived were hunted almost to extinction."

"Chips." Cody's tone was flat. "Slave chips. In our heads."

"I'm afraid so," Obi-Wan said.

"I want it out of me. Now."

Obi-Wan patted his shoulder – he hadn't realized his hand was still on Cody's shoulder. "That's why I wanted you commanders and medics here. You can verify what I've told you."

"Wait," Mace said. "If that's true, we need to prevent whoever gave the order – the chancellor, I presume? – from giving it again."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan agreed. "Which is why I suggest a complete comms blackout. No incoming communication without a code word, known only to us on this call."

"Stopgap measure, that is," Yoda said. "But necessary."

"What code word?" Aayla Secura asked. Beside her, Commander Bly looked heartbroken.

"Something uncommon," Obi-Wan said. "Something no one would consider saying under normal circumstances."

"Kriffing karking slave chips," Cody offered, his expression fierce.

"I've actually said that on a mission once," the trooper who must've been Mace's medic said. "Sorry, sir."

Cody scowled but nodded to acknowledge the point.

"Tosche Station," Obi-Wan offered. He couldn't imagine any of the clones – and precious few of the Jedi – recognizing the name of a power station on Tatooine, let alone randomly guessing it as a code word.

"Tosche Station it is," Mace agreed, and the others nodded or otherwise signaled their agreement.

"Commanders and medics," Obi-Wan said, "you're dismissed, to confirm the chips' existence and create a plan for removing or disabling them."

Cody addressed his fellow troopers. "Commanders, comm blackout is ordered as discussed here. Only those on this call and your communications officers are to be told the password."

Once his order was acknowledged, he inclined his head in farewell and turned for the door. Stitch followed, and when the door closed behind them, Obi-Wan used the Force to lock it once more.

Plo made a noise that was the equivalent of clearing his throat. "Back to my earlier question. What was that about the Chancellor?"

"He's the Sith."

Obi-Wan didn't even try not to quirk a grin at Mace, who'd chorused his words. The grin faded almost immediately and he spoke again.

"Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith master behind the war. He gave the order that killed us."

BREAK

It was some time before order returned to the call. Obi-Wan couldn't blame them for their reaction to the news. His own had been similar, even if his knowledge of Palpatine came too late to save the Order, so he let them have their few minutes of shock and outrage.

When the commotion finally died down, Obi-Wan said, "We have this one precious opportunity to save the younglings at the temple and strike Palpatine down. I suggest we do not waste it."

"But," Depa Billaba protested, "he's the supreme chancellor. We'll be…vilified at best."

"But alive," Obi-Wan countered. "Most of us, I hope – unlike what he plans for us. I've lived through the alternative. Most of you did not."

A new, stern, voice cut in. "We'll not be vilified. Not if he's a Sith as Master Kenobi says."

Obi-Wan focused on Jocasta Nu. "Master Nu?"

The woman's image shifted as though she'd straightened in her chair, and her expression went grim. "The Jedi gave up much of their authority and power – political, obviously; not our power in the Force – during the Ruusan Reformation. But the Sith remain within our purview. We merely need evidence."

The others looked at Obi-Wan expectantly, and he blew out a breath. "The chips and their programming will supply sufficient evidence – of treason, if not his being a Sith. You should have confirmation of both by the time you reach Coruscant."

"We will?" Mace asked. "You're not joining us?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help his grimace. "I will deal with Anakin."

"Why?" Aayla asked. "We could use his strength in the Force to bring the Chancellor down."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Chancellor Palpatine has been grooming Anakin since he was nine."

"No," Depa objected. "We investigated him. He's not a sexual predator."

"Do not pretend such naivety, Depa," Obi-Wan snapped. "It doesn't become you."

Yoda's ears dropped further than Obi-Wan had ever seen them before. "Grooming him to be a Sith, mean you?"

"Yes, and it's all of our fault."

The others protested, but Obi-Wan waited them out. "Who allowed Palpatine such access to the one many of us believed to be the Chosen One? Why did we – and yes, I blame myself as much or more than anyone else – allow it?"

"But," Aayla said, "if he is the Chosen One, why do you think he won't fight beside us?"

Obi-Wan hoped his smile wasn't patronizing. "How many Sith are there?"

"Always two, there are," Yoda answered immediately.

Obi-Wan nodded. "And how many Jedi? Ten thousand? Twenty-five if we include the Service Corps? How would one bring balance to the Force in that circumstance?"

Mace flinched. "He didn't."

Obi-Wan couldn't show any mercy now, couldn't soften the blow. "He killed the younglings in the temple."

Mace frowned at him. "And you think you can handle him alone?"

"I don't plan to fight him, if that's what you're asking, Mace. I will keep him focused on his wife and children."

"Wife?!"

It was Obi-Wan's turn to flinch at the near-unanimous outcry.

Even from the holocall, the sound of Yoda's stick pounding on the floor of wherever he was echoed through the conference room where Obi-Wan stood.

"Time for recrimination, this is not," Yoda declared. "Discuss this after, we will."

A knock sounded at the conference room door, and Obi-Wan stretched his senses out to see who was there. Recognizing Cody's presence, he unlocked the door with the Force.

Cody entered and re-secured the door before coming to stand beside Obi-Wan once more. "Sirs."

"Commander," Obi-Wan said. "I admit I thought you'd be in surgery already."

"I would be, General," Cody answered, "if I didn't need to contact the commanders who aren't on this call to give them the blackout order and the password."

Obi-Wan blamed twenty years of exile on Tatooine for his failure to consider the other commanders – Rex, though only a captain, served as Anakin's commander, and Fox was on Coruscant, and those were only two of the others Cody referred to.

He barely had time to form that thought before Cody was addressing the other Jedi.

"Sirs," he began, "we have confirmed the presence of an unknown chip implanted in five troopers already, including myself. One of them is currently undergoing surgery to have it removed. I expect your medics will have similar findings."

"Then we have little time," Mace said. "Jedi to your starfighters. Reconvene this call in half an hour, before entering hyperspace."

Obi-Wan bowed to the flickering images. "May the Force be with you."

Mace's lips twitched into an approximation of a smile. "Is it unfair to suggest you have the harder job?"

BREAK

Obi-Wan had kept the call to Anakin both brief and audio-only, saying only that he would be on Coruscant as quickly as possible to support Anakin and Padmé, whatever happened. Anakin, sounding lost and perhaps a little desperate, agreed.

Now, several hours later, Obi-Wan guided his starfighter to an unpracticed landing – he hadn't flown anything larger than a landspeeder in a decade or more – in the Temple's hangar bay and, while his cockpit was still dimmed from the approach, tugged his hood up to cover his hair and face – his gray hair and lined face, so different than what anyone at the Temple would expect.

The clamshell canopy hinged open, and he rose from his seat to climb out of the tiny craft. Keeping his hood up, he handled the necessary datawork with as much speed as possible and keeping his fellow Jedis' attention away from the tiny detail of his age-spotted hands. He regretted using the Force against his fellows in such a way, but the Force itself suggested he not reveal his features to the Jedi at large.

Obi-Wan kept his hood up for the trek to the Halls of Healing, muscle memory finding the way as easily as he ever had – even if he sometimes missed a step when memories of fallen Jedi littering the path welled too darkly in his mind.

Treating the journey as a sort of moving meditation helped Obi-Wan calm his thoughts by the time he stepped off the lift and followed a short corridor to the Hall, Anakin's Force presence growing stronger, though not necessarily brighter, as Obi-Wan drew closer.

He felt Anakin's approach moments before he heard the other man's voice.

"You didn't have to come all the way back to Coruscant, Obi-Wan," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan was grateful he'd called Anakin personally to inform him of this visit. Hearing his former student's voice wasn't nearly as distracting a second time, so he kept his composure more easily.

"Of course I did," he countered. "It's a stressful time for you both, and I will offer what support I can."

Before Anakin could respond further, Obi-Wan pulled out the datapad Cody had given him, brought his medical report to the screen, and used the Force to send the pad sailing gently toward Anakin, who caught it easily.

"What's this?" Anakin looked down at the pad for a moment, then back up at Obi-Wan. "Your medical records? I know who you are."

"Do you?" Obi-Wan reached up to pull the hood down.

Anakin stared at him for long moment, then nodded. "Yes, I do. Medical records can be faked, but your presence in the Force can't. Even if you do feel more…tired than the Obi-Wan I know now."

Obi-Wan smiled briefly. "You can say old, Anakin."

"But you're not," Anakin countered. "In twenty years, you'll only be fifty-seven or so. You should still have ten to twenty years at your near-peak and then another ten to twenty at reduced physical capability. At least."

"Yes, well." Obi-Wan blew out a breath. "Not all of those years were good ones. But we are not here to discuss a future – or past – that now may not happen."

Obi-Wan tugged the datapad from Anakin's hand and floated it gently toward Master Healer Vokara Che, who had appeared silently at some point during their conversation.

"Vokara," he said. "The other file on the datapad should prove quite interesting."

She scowled more for show than from any real anger as she caught the datapad. "I'm familiar with all of your definitions of that word, Obi-Wan."

"And I meant every one of them."

He bowed to the healer and turned to Anakin. "How is Padmé? The twins?"

"Much better," Anakin answered with a smile, which slipped into an expression of wry exasperation. "Though Healer Che steps in at least once an hour to berate one or the other of us for not seeking out a healer before. If we had, she believes much of Padmé's troubles could have been avoided."

"Why didn't you?" Obi-Wan asked softly.

Anakin opened his mouth to answer, but then appeared to remember where they were. Without saying anything, he turned toward the corridor that led to the private suites.

Obi-Wan followed without being asked, only mildly surprised when Anakin led him to the suite where Padmé rested on a biobed. She appeared to be asleep.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Anakin gestured Obi-Wan to one of the two visitor chairs, using the Force to pull the second one silently close.

"I was afraid," Anakin admitted quietly, then he huffed a laugh. "I still am, if I'm going to be honest about it."

"Of?"

"Being kicked out. Being a failure as a husband, a father. Being…nothing, just like I started out."

"Oh, dear one." Obi-Wan cupped Anakin's neck, brought him in close to touch their foreheads together. "You could never be nothing."