#i like to think vader would always cover for them no matter what

[biteofcherry]

Darkness between the stars

Darth!Steve Rogers x female reader

Author's Note: On my recent wave of feels after Anakin's cameo in Ahsoka, I couldn't stop thinking about powerful Jedi Steve Rogers, who was once galaxy's hope, turning dark. This is very loosely inspired by Anakin's storyline, without going full on Vader-look (because Steve's face is too pretty to cover it with that ugly helmet; sorry, I make the rules here).

summary: You followed your Master when he gave in to the dark side, not believing the twisted values the Emperor spew, but because you couldn't imagine being anywhere other than by Steve's side. Even if you accepted the fact Steve's heart may forever belong to the woman he once loved.

warnings: angst; hurt/comfort; soft dark!Steve Rogers; some power imbalance; choking kink; implied age gap (since Steve was the Reader's Master), but Reader is of age

The threat of thudding footsteps caused a spike of fear among the Imperial officers passing in the corridor outside - you sensed the stench of it. You could easily imagine them scattering away as quickly as possible, or trying to blend with the walls.

As cowardly as it was, it was also wise. Finding yourself in the path of an angry Sith Lord would end badly.

Thankfully, the medical droid stitching up your leg had no real human feelings, so it continued its work without a hitch even as the seal to the med bay opened and Steve stormed in.

All in his towering, dark glory.

Black robe swiping the floor, deadly lightsaber strapped to the utility belt, shiny buckles on the reinforced leather gloves on his hands. 

Darth Nomad. Sith Lord.

Once upon a time a great, idealistic Jedi Master, Steve Rogers.

Though the Jedi Order no longer existed and his path had turned dark and bloody, he still remained Steve to you.

Only in privacy. Always in your heart, even as you addressed him as Master or Nomad when other's ears and eyes were on you. He owned you; his claws ran far deeper and clutched stronger than Palpatine’s influence on him.

You harbored a crush on your Master for years, hiding your thoughts and longing every day. As well every night, when you rested in your chamber at the Jedi temple and he returned into the arms of his beloved wife in her lush suite.

When you followed Steve to kneel at the Emperor's feet and pledge loyalty to the dark side, you perfectly sold the lie of the ambitious, proud apprentice who was bitter the Jedi were too weak. You claimed to want to continue your training and be on the winning side, the side of true power.

What you truly wanted was to be with Steve, even if it was only to suffer unrequited love as you helped him drown the world in blood.

The Emperor somehow bought it, or maybe simply thought it useful to have you serve the Empire, no matter your actual motivation. 

However, Steve saw right through you.

He didn't confront you right away. Not for months. Until the two of you were on a solo quest, treading through the lush flora of an outer-rim planet, searching for an ancient artifact - much like you used to do as Jedi.

Did he catch you looking at his profile too long? Did he sense the change in your heartbeat whenever he was close? Was your Force bond so strong that he glimpsed into your desperate dreams?

Or maybe Steve simply knew you so well, after all the years. 

When he reached for you, when he touched you, you knew it could deepen your later suffering. But you still gave in, if only for one night. If only you could taste him and fall apart under his command this one time. 

But it wasn’t just one night. Nor a few chance encounters over the years. 

Whatever it was between the two of you, has become a regularity. A wicked norm that sated, as well enhanced the craving that’s been burning inside of you. It seemed there was never enough; the desire for him simmered beneath your skin every day and your desperate love pushed you further into howling darkness. 

Eerie, that love was what pushed Steve to the dark side as well. 

There were other factors, layers upon layers, but it was the heart that sealed the deal. For the both of you. 

Your tragedy was that Steve’s heart would never be yours. 

So you fed off on everything else you were given - Steve’s attention, his lust, his protectiveness. 

Which was why he stomped through the Executor like a deadly storm cloud - in his case, literally deadly - led by rage.

You knew it was mostly directed at the scum who dared to wound you, but some of it was also at you. For being careless in your small mission, which you attempted to keep secret from him. 

His black cloak floated ominously around Steve as he stepped inside; his fingers clenched into fists, stretching the leather of his gloves.

“How serious is the injury?” Even in anger, Steve’s voice remained calm. 

You opened your mouth to say it’s not that bad, but he gave you a pointed look that meant he wasn’t talking to you and that you were in serious trouble. The kind that may end with your ass bruised. 

“A level two blaster wound to the thigh,” the medical droid reported. “It missed the artery and the muscle will rebuild with the protein enhancer we’ve injected. Patient’s skin has been sutured.”

Steve’s gaze flicked to your bare leg, eyes narrowing as he assessed the dressing over your wound. The droid wasn’t bothered by it, but if a living person was here instead, they’d sweat in fear of his disapproval. 

“The patient may experience impaired mobility for the next day. No other complications are expected.”

Steve nodded, his eyes still on your leg. Though his trimmed beard gentled the sharp line of his jaw, you still saw the nervous tick of muscle. Then his gaze shifted along your half-dressed body and settled on your face. 

He stepped closer to the bed and cupped your chin. Scent of familiar leather pleasantly dispersed the annoying smell of medical antiseptics. 

“I’m gone for two days and you get yourself in trouble, Stardust.” Steve squeezed your chin a tad harder. “Should I keep you at my side at all times, like an irresponsible apprentice freshly in training?”

“Or-” he leaned in; the blue of his eyes searing like his old lightsaber- “maybe I’ll confiscate your weapon and keep you as a bedwarmer only?”

Before you managed to utter I’m sorry for failing, Master, Steve was lifting you in his arms. Stealing your breath with the gesture.

One arm beneath your knees, the other under your back. Your heart stopped for a moment, then rushed in a rapid pattern as he carried you out of the med bay.   

It had to be a bizarre sight - the Dark Lord of the Sith, most feared in the whole galaxy Darth Nomad, who snapped necks with a flick of a wrist; was carrying a woman through the Star Dreadnought.

However, no one dared to stare, or even flick a curious glance your way. 

Steve showed softness when you both laid spent after fucking, or simply wrapping an arm around your middle when you were sleeping, but he never carried you like that. 

Even when he wanted you in a certain position when he fucked you, he either told you to do it the right way, or used the Force to bend your body how he wished. 

Being cradled in his arms, out in the open, soothed that deep longing for true care on his part. Taunted you with deep feeling that you knew would never be real.

“Something’s troubling you.” Steve stated when the double-sealed entrance to his (and yours) chambers closed behind you. “And it’s not your injury, I sense.”

He crossed the space to the bedroom, where cold blue light changed into unsettling red that you learned to associate with safety. Black and red used to mean the enemy, the danger, even death, but Steve made you love it. Conditioned you to see it as the setting you belonged in. 

“Well, my failure in successfully finishing my deal on Serenno,” you shrugged, but instantly cringed as you felt that lie failed miserably.

You weren’t a bad liar. When it came to Steve, however, it was as if the ability was malfunctioning. 

At least ever since he slipped his gloved finger between your lips for the first time and softly commanded you to admit how much you craved him.  

You yelped as Steve suddenly dropped you onto the bed. The muscle in your thigh spasmed, sending a painful jolt. Fingers gripping the dark sheets, you breathed through the wave of ache as you lifted your gaze to look at Steve.

His black robe dropped to the floor. He set his lightsaber down on the black, lacquered table, then unbuckled his utility belt. It fell to the floor with a dull thud. 

“You do not lie to me, Stardust,” Steve’s glare was a warning as he braced his hands on his hips and waited for your honesty.

The reason hidden deep in your heart could bring you more trouble than withholding the truth from Steve. You feared speaking it aloud may cut you out of Steve’s life completely, if he learned that you were desperate for so much more than his cock. 

But there was no way of hiding it from him for long. Not when he was on a hunt to rip that truth out of you.

Steve would get to it one way, or another. One could perhaps be a sexually torturous way, but there was also a chance of him reaping it from your mind with the Force. 

You took a deep breath, forcing a cold sheet to form around your fluttering heart and make you seem indifferent to your own emotions, like you did at the beginning of your life on the dark side. Your fingers tightened their grip on the smooth, dark sheets.

“Your gesture startled me,” you admitted. “I know I’m of certain value to you, as a lover and as a former Padawan. Being carried like that, like you cared, incited foolish thoughts in my head.” 

Steve’s eyes narrowed as a frown marred his forehead. His head tilted slightly to the side, his gaze never allowing yours to drop. 

“Elaborate,” he requested, but you knew that despite the calm tone it was a command. 

“It almost ignited a stupid hope to have your heart,” you spat out bitterly, “which would never happen, I’m aware, Master. I know there was only one woman who had your heart and it lies buried with your wife.” 

With the woman who wasn’t strong enough to pull him off that edge of destruction, nor had the guts to fall with him and rule by his side. 

Steve’s hand shot forward, fingers curled in an open grip. The yank of incredibly powerful Force pulled your body upwards, as if you were a featherlight ragdoll. He made your body flow in the air, inches above the floor. 

The pressure around your neck cinched. He wasn’t touching you, yet it felt as if Steve’s gloved fingers were wrapped around the front of your neck, squeezing your throat. 

It spiked fear and adrenaline, but also roused your body in ways no other lover ever could. 

Your body froze in place right in front of Steve, the Force still keeping you hanging in the air. 

“You are right to say my heart was buried with my wife.” Steve growled through clenched teeth. “It’s left in the past that we burned to the ground.” 

A gasp escaped your lips as Steve’s hand firmly wrapped around your neck. Though he still used the Force to move your body, it was also his sheer strength behind his movement as he walked you backwards until your back met the wall.

“You’re not in my heart, Stardust, because I no longer have one,” his hot breath tickled your cheek as Steve’s face inched even closer. 

“You’re not my love. You’re more. You’re  m i n e.”

What filled your heart felt similar to the overwhelming lightness you used to be connected with, once upon a time.

The Force eased back and your body sagged, but Steve’s hand was still firm on your throat. Holding you up as your toes tried to reach the floor and give you some support. 

No, he wouldn’t let you down easily. He would drive in the point that he was your support. He was your sustenance. He would hold you up, as well destroy you. 

“You’re my fucking everything!” 

Steve bit your bottom lip, making you cry out at the sudden sting. Then the flick of his tongue soothed it before he swiped between your parted lips. The way Steve kissed you was more consuming than the darkness you dwelled in; more burning than the lightsaber’s blade. 

When he pulled away, your lips were swollen and tingling, and your cunt was pulsing with need. 

“You’ll repent for endangering what’s mine-” Steve’s chuckle was a brush of tempting darkness as his free hand slid up your wounded thigh- “tomorrow, when it’s fully healed.” 

“Yes, Master,” you moaned as his fingers changed their course and teased your folds beneath the short, medical robe. 

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x you #Darth!Steve Rogers #Jedi!Steve Rogers #dark Steve Rogers #(In the aspect of being a Sith Lord) #soft dark Steve Rogers #(when it comes to reader) #Darkness between the stars

[ask-sad-ghost-piett]

❣️ - What are their love languages? 🍷- How do they feel about alcohol? 🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking? 💓 - What are some signs they’ve fallen for someone? How do they show their affection? 🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand? ☂️ - How do they feel about rain? 👗 - How comfortable would they be wearing a skirt or dress?

Send a symbol to ask the Admiral a question.

❣️ - What are their love languages?

In my opinion, loving someone is very similar to loving the Galactic Empire. It's easy to say that you love something or someone, but what determines your sincerity is entirely how you act on it. So, the way I show love has always been through acts of support. If I really care for someone, I'll go through drastic measures to support their goals, whether that entails spending sleepless nights reviewing 6,043 probe droid reports, running out into a blizzard on Hoth because they forgot their thermal wear on the Executor or braving an asteroid field.

I also like to give small gifts when I can, preferably anonymously, after wiping the security cameras to cover my tracks.

🍷- How do they feel about alcohol?

In life, I would drink as needed to cope with the stress of working on board the Executor. In that regard, I think my drinking was proportional to the stress and therefore healthy.

🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking?

I like to have my key points straightened out and organized so as to ensure a succinct delivery. No one appreciates a rambling public speaker, and when I was under Tarkin's command, going over the 7-minute timer for presentations would get you thrown out the airlock. I mean that literally.

💓 - What are some signs they’ve fallen for someone? How do they show their affection?

Oh dear. That's rather hard to describe, but I'll do my best.

Do you know that feeling when a particular person walks into the command bridge, and suddenly, you can't stop sneaking nervous glances at them no matter how hard you endeavor to remain focused on your datapad? Or that feeling that you wouldn't mind being trapped in a collapsed AT-AT with said person and have occasionally dreamed about such an occurrence during ill-advised midday naps?

I would say that's love. At least, Captain Needa said that's love when I asked him. He was actually married unlike myself, so I believe he'd know.

Besides the methods described earlier, I don't believe I ever devised other means of showing affection. I preferred to keep it to myself, stifled and contained under my resting nervous face such that no one needs to know.

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

I've never understood how Lord Vader's Force powers work. For instance, does he have a limited range? Moff Jerjerrod and I attempted to study this once, and we thought we'd determined the range to be about 500 meters. But then, Lord Vader choked Ozzel outside of that range. Perhaps there's no limit? But if there's no limit, why did he ask me to fetch him caf from across the ship on several occasions instead of using the Force? (I also don't understand why he asked me to fetch him caf when he couldn't drink it.)

☂️ - How do they feel about rain?

I'm quite neutral towards rain. Frankly, after so many years onboard a Star Destroyer, one almost forgets what planetary weather feels like.

It rained often on Axxila, so I was used to it. It was inconvenient at times, but I'd much rather take rain over Tatooine.

👗 - How comfortable would they be wearing a skirt or dress?

Hypothetically speaking, my answer would depend on the material and general appearance of the garment. I've never actually thought about it. There weren't any dresses and skirts in the Imperial dress code, and my civvies were always plain shirts and pants. My current wardrobe is limited to what I died in, which is a bit of a shame. I miss my winter scarves.

#decoded imperial rp meme #admiral piett #get to know the admiral #imperial seance

[the-firebird69]

40K - THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND IS A FALSE GOD | Warhammer 40,000 Lore/Spec...

You can see him on the cover and it's the Yankee faust the reason to use that name is that these Max say the wrong thing about us you're not saying. What the saying is Terry cheesman is like our son and JC is like the emperor of all mankind was just Trump which is his role and they are kind of making fun of our son sort of saying that his game is a bit smaller and the counting on ships and since they have. And saying that we will have none and so forth but only what we took is what the counting on and for some reason they are stuck on the fact they think that we can't make ships. And there are several ships that are nearby the sites where's the palaces are going to go in the future and those are big by the way and that's not really too soon but it will happen and those are different ships and they say they don't care it will say JC and Mary made them and also that JC and Mary took half the cavium on Earth no more and the rest of it's going now into the huge ships which they don't have it means the max do not have those. Warhammer. You is the end of it. You'll see that the emperor of all mankind is destroyed sprains fried and it's from feedback and that Terry cheeseman did it and he's considering himself to be the new emperor. And he goes on to do things that are much more logical it was saying that her son has analogous to him the whole time because JC and Mary sort of had her son come about and allowed it and helped it along and is his brother just as Terry cheesman and Trumper Brothers and Trump checks out but to be the de facto leader but it was a small group dangerous people and the story is that he tries to make the laser on Titan and fails and he does get hit a few times and finally he is killed an attempt to board a ship and has a bad guy and not as Vader but it's what they always do is make it analogy and then threaten our son and he's very tired of his people. And they're constantly threatening by the way and the sun doesn't want to argue this is a waste of time and they just will continue doing it I'm so interesting orders now but for real this is what happens to Trump and Terry she's been follows soon after a whole bunch of people die and Warhammer and Warcraft and starcraft including Stan and he gets hit pretty bad before but the analogy is extremely important and potent

WHAT ARE ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY IS WHAT THE MAX HAVE PLANNED FOR HE AND US AND THIS PARTICULAR SERIES SHOWS IT THAT JC IS TOO FAIL AND BE DESTROYED AND THEY IGNORE MARRIED AND HE HANDS OFF THE REALM TO US AND THE CHARACTER DOES BUT IT'S NOT RELEVANT TO OUR SON AND I SAY IT A LITTLE BUT THAT'S WHY THE FLEETS DISAPPEARED THEY SAY

And responses are phenomenal

Thor Freya

Olympus

These Macs sound sick to us and that's what they sound like. Jesse and Mary and they're expected to he's the one who built the ships that are made out of one piece of petrified Stone and it's really from wood but it's petrified wood it's extremely tough stuff and his blocks of his palaces do not contain this material and he is known to be handling ent and the petrified version too but it's not a master of those creatures and find it hard to believe the mass would be so foolish just to say that they will repeated no matter what if they knew of these ships that I'm speaking to

Zues Hera

You don't know about the ships and we don't care and yeah I guess we don't know the capabilities that might matter cuz we don't need weapons we just need propulsion and I've had enough of this s*** we're not having them do all that yeah we are and I'm tired of them laughing at us no it's motivational who says your seperetssts you can leave and nobody would know it's like a tree in the woods. Yeah we don't care about that either I said it's a tree falls in the woods and it's petrified and you can't defeated you might but you don't seem to be have any brains left .. he says all that and it makes a difference but we think it's JC and Mary

Macs

This is evidence and we will keep it and we're going to find out if it's true

Mac daddy

Olympus

#Youtube

[wizardofstars]

Every time a baby was born in the kingdom, the healer would write their name down and send it to the capital to be marked in the book. No matter the blood—be it a beggar’s or a lord's—each name was equal and had to be registered in the grand book. From the moment of the birth, until their dying breath as old magic bound to the book marked them gone.

No one knew where it really came from, not anymore, but everyone knew it was impossible to avoid the register. No amount of bribery, threatening—or pleading—could sway the report, the healers always had to send it, lest they faced the knights shutting down their ability to help others.

.Chancellor Palpatine—now the Emperor—still kept the old law. Restricting it further to have anyone visiting be registered temporarily, and those who wished to migrate to be written in permanently. Knights now regularly inspected clinics, healers, anyone who would have such information, arresting any who defined the new laws

Other lands did not hold such a high level of registry of their own populations, mostly keeping records of those who crossed their borders. Most suspected it was due to no one knowing how to replicate the magic within Coruscant's tome, and so it stayed one of a kind.

And now newly named Lord Vader found himself standing before it, staring at the book with contempt. He knew his old name was still hidden within those pages, mocking the existence of Lord Vader.

But that was not why he was here.

Anyone who resided in the old Republic, even if not born there, would be written in, as such was done for the senators, who made it their whole life to serve their own people in the capital.

Knight Skywalker had been there when Senator Amidala had her name officially written in, as her silent shadow and protector.

But Vader needed to know if Palpatine was right.

Opening the grand tome was easier than expected, the weight of it feeling almost non-existent compared to its massive size, but Vader paid that no attention.

The order was alphabetical, after the family name, so did not take a lot to find hers. Vader’s golden eyes scanned the correct page, and when he finally saw it, he felt his metal knees almost give out. His gloved hand caught him on the dais, his fingers digging into the wood.

There it was, Amidala, Padmé. Crossed out.

Vader closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

So it was true.

Numbly, he flickered the pages, landing on another name.

Kenobi, Obi-Wan.

Alive.

He felt as the snarl pulled at his scarred face, glaring at the name almost like he could will it to cross itself out.

It didn’t.

His curiosity satisfied, he moved to close the tome, but something stopped him. A small push inside of him caused him to change the page again, and before he knew it, he was staring at his own discarded name.

Uncrossed.

He huffed, the claws of his gauntlets scratching at the wood as he tightened his grip. It was obvious it would not be crossed out until the moment his scorched heart stopped beating.

And with the Darkness and fire filling his whole being, it would take a long time.

The Force was foolish in thinking just glancing at his name would change anything.

Vader moved to close the tome, to finally put his past behind him when another name caught his attention.

Just below his own, it stood there innocently, shattering his whole world. It made the air seize in Vader’s chest, the fire within him threatening to reduce the fortress around him to dust as his rage grew.

Skywalker, Luke.

She said it would be a boy. She said she wanted to name him Luke.

No one but him and her knew.

The ink was dark, still fresh, so it- he was a child. A boy, with the name she wanted, and with his mother’s legacy. Vader was no longer focused on the calligraphic letters, his mind wandering as it slowly clicked.

Registered, and uncrossed.

As delicately as he could, he ran his claws over the letters, tracing them, his scarred lips soundlessly mouthing the name.

His child.

His child.

Palpatine had lied.

The knowledge his beloved Padmé had perished still made his chest tighten painfully, but he hadn’t killed her. She lived long enough to name their son.

Luke...

Palpatine couldn’t know.

The realisation froze Vader. The fire in his veins felt like ice, the hand still bracing him against the dais clenching down, the wood groaning, nearly splitting.

The Emperor would demand Vader to find Luke. In the best scenario, he would try to replace Vader with his son.

In the worst, he would demand he killed Luke.

At the very idea, his whole body tensed, the Darkness roaring within him, thirsty for carnage and blood. For Palpatine’s decapitated head in his claws.

Without even thinking, he carefully glided the razor-sharp metal over the page near the gutter, the paper disconnecting without an issue. For a moment Vader thought some magical trap would spring up, devouring him within a moment for desecrating such an important object.

Yet nothing happened, and he was left with the page in his hand, his focus only on one name. Momentarily, he thought about destroying it, taking care of two birds with one stone, but something in him hesitated. This was his only way of knowing his child still lived.

Without a moment more, he folded the paper, hiding it within his armour, over his heart, before closing the book.

He would find his son.

And no one would stand in his way.

---

“Gone?”

Vader did not even look up at the guards, their armour clicking together as they fidgeted. He was more focused on the map in front of him, his anger building.

“Y-Yes, my Lord. The knights at the border said a man named Ben had passed onto Alderaan days ago.” They paused, and each word stoked Vader’s inner fire more and more, “From their descriptions, it seems he was travelling far, and—”

“And what.”

The guards must have noticed the gauges Vader’s claws had created in the desk, as they straightened; “He had a child with him, sir.”

Both of them had been smart enough to duck as a chair flew over their heads, smashing into the wall, splinters raining upon them.

“I want him found.” His voice was low, nearly a growl as he slowly placed his hands on the table, his uncovered golden eyes staring at the two troopers before him, “I want him caught, alive.”

The two quickly nodded, turning to leave as they took it as a dismissal, but his words froze them in their tracks.

“And remember troopers,” Vader felt his fangs catch at his flesh as he spoke, “If any harm comes to that child, I will not be forgiving.”

The moment his hand rose to wave them away, they were already gone, leaving Vader alone in his dark study as he traced the Empire’s border with the kingdom of Alderaan.

“You are running Obi-Wan,” He murmured, “But where.

“Where are you taking my son?”

---

In another land, one covered in sand, with the sun scorching every inch of the kingdom, was a lost man. He lost everything in a day, and yet gained so much by the end of it.

In his arms lay a child, no more than a week old, bundled up and sleeping peacefully.

But Obi-Wan— Ben, knew it would not last long.

He begged the nurse to not send the letter, that he would take the child away to another land, but she did not listen to him. She wrote the name down, sending it to the fallen capital, and Ben knew she signed the child for death.

So he ran, as fast and far as he could, Luke in his arms the whole time.

He knew where the child would stay, for Anakin— he swore to never return to that place, where his step-brother’s family lived. Tatooine Desert.

Sighing, Ben curled on himself, bringing the infant closer, his eyes closing. How had everything gone down so fast? He most likely would never know.

But he knew he needed to protect the child in his arms, for he was the only one who could save them.

---

“Name.”

“Luke.”

The guard looked up from his book, giving the hooded figure before him an unimpressed look, “Full name if you wish to enter.”

“Of course, my apologies.” The man- by the height, more likely a boy— bowed his head, “Luke Skywalker.”

Scribbling the name down, the guard did not look at the youth as he asked; “And the purpose of your journey?”

There was a pause, the sound of uncertain shuffling, muffled by the soft rain.

“I’m visiting family. My father, specifically.”

With a grumble, the guard wrote it as well, before rolling it up and tying to the messaging raven, “Welcome to the Empire then, Mister Skywalker.”

#*jazz hands* #lil fun oneshot

[siennahrobek]

Future Past

Anakin stopped cuddling and sleeping with Obi-Wan when he was thirteen years old.

Ben never knew why and honestly; he was a bit too scared to ask. Sometimes he wondered if that was when it started. Ben himself hadn’t had much of that type of closeness with his own master, mostly due to the fact that by the time he and Qui-Gon Jinn had gotten used to one another and actually accepted their partnership, by the time they had cared about one another, Obi-Wan had been much too obsessed with hard work and being good and he felt too old for such frivolous comforts. He wasn’t a very touchy-feely person, as a result, but he had never pushed Anakin away when he came to him.

Quinlan had helped, saying that it wasn’t abnormal. It was okay, good even. Obi-Wan hadn’t discouraged and up until Anakin hit teen age, he would come to Obi-Wan for comfort, especially in the cold nights. But then, at thirteen, he stopped and Obi-Wan had tried to ask but was much too worried about distancing the boy to outwardly ask why.

Ben never says a thing when Luke keeps coming to him, even past thirteen.

He treats every time like it will be the last.

In his mind, it is inevitable.

But Luke kept coming, keeps coming. Ben knows that he has nightmares about the Empire, about the few Inquisitors they had encountered and most of all, Darth Vader. He had seen the photos of the creature in the suit, he had seen the aftermath of the destruction he left in his wake. Luke didn’t have a lot of comfort from anything or anyone available for him aside from Ben.

And so he took what he could get.

Apparently, it helped.

Ben didn’t know and still doesn’t know, but Luke had become incredibly intuitive and observant.

Some nights, Luke doesn’t go to Ben for comfort. He does, of course, sometimes go for it because he is young, and they are living a life full of heartache and fear. But it isn’t always that way. Sometimes it is a cover. Some days, Luke goes to Ben to comfort.

He is fairly certain Ben doesn’t know.

*

It took Ben a long time to get enough contacts, enough of a network for them to live more comfortably. Luke hadn’t understood at first. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were fairly well off, at least in terms of moisture farmers on Tatooine. There weren’t really times where they were low on food. There wasn’t really a time where Luke went so hungry that his stomach would growl for days or watch his guardians give their food to him and go without. But now, they were on the run and although Ben had gotten a good handle on where to get money, supplies and food, there were still stretches of time that were difficult, as they could be in space for weeks, even upwards towards months.

Luke learned to be careful when to came to eating during any particular difficult time. If he showed he was too hungry, Ben wouldn’t eat and give all he had to Luke so the boy had trained himself not to act as hungry as he could have been to make sure there was something for his mentor and guardian. These times didn’t generally last very long, as Ben almost always found something to do to get them supplies, currency or food. But it was something that Luke had learned quickly. He never complained about what was given to him as he learned this, and he never asked where it came from either.

Ben was doing his best while on the run, right on their heels, by the Empire and often times, even Darth Vader himself. Luke had been ten years old when Vader first started chasing after them and over the next few years, Ben had to explain the best he could who this man was and why he was doing this.

In the end, it hardly mattered. The first time Luke had even gotten a glimpse of Darth Vader just in pictures and knowing exactly who was chasing them, he had devastating nightmares about it.

He still did.

5 BBY

“I think, perhaps, it is time that we spoke of what form you would like to study,” Ben hummed. They had a few moments on a near deserted planet with very few people living there. The natural gas that was converted into fuel was their main source of income from the outside but since the planet was so hidden away and not well known, they could control who not only who got any of their product, but also who knew about it.

Luke didn’t know how Ben got to know about it, but he did. It wasn’t a pretty planet and as humans, they could only stay in the atmosphere for a day or two, but they still took the little moment of peace they had to their advantage. They were sitting on a rock face, purple and blue mist lightly sifting around them with sabers in hand.

He stared at his father’s saber. He had tried so hard to work with it, but the crystal wasn’t very cooperative with him. It was mournful and sad. He wondered what it had been through to make it wail like it did.

“I could so Soresu,” Luke suggested, staring down at the saber.

Ben’s amusement was palpable and the softness in his presence was more comforting than he probably would ever know. Luke appreciated it, his anxiety about these types of choices often heightened. If this had been the time of the Jedi Order, if this had been the time where there were thousands of beings like him, he would have all the time in the galaxy. All of the knowledge and archives and teachers to help him on his journey with the Force. But in the day and age he was born in, there was not that luxury. He was so lucky to have Ben.

“Believe it or not, beacon, I can teach you other forms,” the older jedi pointed out and oh, did Luke know. He had seen Ben go through katas and stances of several forms. It must have taken him so long to be able to just memorize them and even longer to apply them in situations and combat. “I have mastered Ataru and am rather adept at Jar-Kai. Your... father, his preferred form was Djem So,” he explained, almost stumbling at the mention of Luke’s father. That happened sometimes and the grief that came along with it, was often choking. Luke couldn’t imagine how much he missed him. “You have a strong connection to the Force and the force behind your blows is also similar.”

“It’s aggressive,” Luke shifted, a bit uncomfortably.

“It is an offensive form,” Ben corrected, gently as he set his own saber down on the rock before him. Luke mirrored him with his father’s saber. His hands were cold. “Which is often paired with strength. Ataru is an offensive form too, forceful, and acrobatic. Your father used Djem So and was excellent at it, he was certainly a force to be reckoned with. My own master preferred Ataru. It is speedy and acrobatic, and he used it mostly because no one expected him too, considering he was so tall and large. Your father’s padawan, Ahsoka, had a bit of a leaning towards Jar-Kai, which is often used with two sabers; one regular and the other a shoto.”

“And Soresu?” Luke questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Ben snorted but his grief pulled back, replaced with mild mischievousness, as he continued to explain his own preferred form. “After my master died, I thought a lot about the failings of my style and the lack of defense for it. I guess I swung one way to another from an aggressive form to a very defensive form. Soresu is the classical defense form of lightsaber combat. Tight, controlled movements where most practitioners analyze opponents and work with openings.”

“Do they create openings?”

“Soresu is a form that is based often in endurance,” Ben said. “With the controlled movements and strict action, practitioners are known to be able to fight for longer periods of time, often outlasting their opponent or finding an opening as their opponent gets frustrated or tired. It doesn’t take as much energy.”

“Do I have to pick one?”

Ben cracked a smile and shook his head. “Although most find a form, they are comfortable with and master that specifically. Although many great jedi were good at several forms, being able to use it different scenarios. Some of the greatest jedi could use several forms gracefully in combat and battle, using whatever they could to their advantage.”

“I’d like to be a good jedi,” Luke smiled.

“I can teach you all I know of the forms I have expierence with,” Ben promised. “And you don’t have to choose any one to master right now. Or perhaps ever. But it is something to keep in mind while working and training, to see which you find yourself leaning towards or more comfortable with.”

“Can you tell me more about my father’s style?”

He just nodded. “Of course. I spent many years alongside him and we fought very well together.”

Wouldn’t that be something, Luke thought, for son to be like father. Perhaps one day, he would be just as good a partner for Ben as Anakin Skywalker was.

Present Past

Ben

“Sir,” a familiar voice cut in, insistent, as Luke awed stare was focused on the little, chirping droid in front of him. Ben – Obi-Wan – whatever – glanced around at Waxer near them as he took off his helmet, Boil close between him and the boy. He chest thumped a little at the sight of them. At Boil here, Waxer alive. Waxer had died on Umbara the first time. Things were already changing. Ben just hoped it was for the better. “He’s injured; a lightsaber wound. Not life threatening, as far as I know, but it happened when we were separated. Basic treatment from General Tachi,” Waxer reported, keeping his voice still and ready. Ben quickly learned why. Luke shot him a grumpy glance, taking a precious moment away from his new friend.

Ben frowned, his heart beginning to speed up. Lightsaber wounds were not something to be trifled with or taken light and his gaze hardened as he tried to keep his anxiety from flaring. “Luke,” he muttered, disapprovingly, his frown deepening further. Anakin looked over at him, feeling a bit surprised, nostalgic and just a tad bit amused. The boy just glanced down and shifted while Boil took his droid. The BD appeared uncertain but quickly climbed up and latched onto the trooper’s back plate. “You did not tell me this.”

To his disappointment, Luke just shrugged carelessly. “Didn’t exactly have a lot of time.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ben took a deep breath. “At least you are already scheduled to get a checkup anyways. Helix, Kix, please take Luke, Master Tachi and the rest of the boys to the medical bay and get them looked over. Please make it thorough. Is anyone withholding any other significant injuries?” Ben asked, seriously, as he looked around. There was a display of shaking heads but honestly, it was rather difficult to believe them sometimes.

“Ben,” Luke grumbled. “It’s not serious, just a graze.”

“Who did it?” Ben asked, his voice growing lower and sterner. “Dooku?”

“No,” Luke confessed and reluctantly gestured towards the area where his wound was probably stinging. Ben just frowned, deeper and deeper. “But he wanted a rematch with Krell. There…wasn’t a lot for me to take advantage of in the room that he set us up in. His experienced and strength outmatched my skill and training.”

“You came out of it alive,” Ben said, his voice rumbling low in his chest as he tried not to let his anger rise up. That was all anyone could ask. His mind was rolling; immediately coming up with new regiments and teaching sessions and he tried to stop. Luke would have the absolute opportunity and choices when it came to masters to teach him. He would not be stuck with Ben, despite how much Ben wanted to continue teaching him, how much he wanted to call Luke his own padawan. “That is all one could ask for,” Ben replied, instead. “Krell will not be returning but you, Si-Master Tachi and the other troopers will be going to the medical bay,” he added, glancing over at Helix and Kix standing nearby and dipped his head.

As the small group was ushered away, Luke hesitated, keeping his new droid close as he took the unit back from Boil, his eyes sweeping across the group Ben would be left with before Siri winked at them both and made him go. Ben, Obi-Wan, was left with his original group sans a few others and he couldn’t help the feeling of loss. He just got Luke back and although the relief of his safe return was there, there was also the concern that he wasn’t, quite, here. Already left. He fought the urge to bring his hand to his face and just ran it over his features. He was just so tired.

“We should speak to the Council,” Obi-Wan said after a moment, the others looking to him for answers. He didn’t quite understand why so many looked to him for answers. It was startling, rather; him, of all people.

“I’ll have Menace bring them up,” Commander Cody dipped his head, his voice quick, sharp and ready, like he knew exactly what he was thinking. So reliable, Ben mused. Oh, what a relief it was to have Cody with him, without the chip knowing that his loyalty wasn’t against them. “By the time you step foot, they should be gathered.”

“Thank you, Cody, but I don’t think it will be a long meeting. Just kind of a briefing of the events we have gone through and a notice that we are…returning to Coruscant,” Ben replied, quietly as he stepped in line next to him, Quinlan slinking right behind him and Anakin rushing up to his other side. Ben fought the roll of his eyes.

The commander just shot him a smile and although Ben was fairly certain it had come out so quick, he couldn’t have stopped it; he said, “When have I ever let you down?” It was quiet, made only for Ben’s ears, but he flinched away as the trooper realized what he had said.

So, he knew.

Ben straightened and stared at him for a moment because…because it wasn’t his fault. He knew that; he had learned that in the future. Ben no longer flinched in the presence of troopers, any troopers. He knew. He turned to stare at his commander, intent and completely solid. “Never,” he insisted, quietly.

Cody seemed to relax a little more with his gaze softening into something of a bit of relief. True to his word, by the time they got to a room out of the way with a holo table, the Jedi Council was lighting up in their holograms. Ben couldn’t help the smile that inched even through his trimmed beard. Someone from the Council began to speak so the two of them glanced back over to the holo table. “Master Kenobi,” the voice Ben couldn’t quite identify at the moment, said, relief and a bit of fondness spilling through. Oh, it had been so long. He felt terrible for forgetting the voices of such friends and loved ones. “I imagine your mission was successful?”

Ben turned towards the table and took his place, with Cody, Quinlan and Anakin all near him. He straightened, practically automatically, and rolled his shoulders, his armor feeling surprisingly normal and easy, despite not having worn it for well over a decade. It was so normal now. He didn’t know if it was just his body was used to it or his mind or the fact that he wanted this to be the time; before everything went wrong. “I am well. There were a few wounds, and we lost a man in the chaos, but the others seem to be otherwise… alright.”

“And the child?”

“Luke,” Ben answered with a nod, staring at the table, unable to quite meet the gazes of those he had long lost. Somehow, it just seemed harder now. “He is alright as he can be. We are…we have set a course for… Coruscant.”

Master Koon’s low, masked voice piped in briefly. Ben felt like he was going to melt into a puddle. He missed it. His voice. All of their voices. He missed their friendliness and their kindness and their concern and their love. “That is good to hear. We have rescued the Togruta colony as well as the other slaves and destroyed the compound. They will be returned to their homeworld.”

There were praises for Master Koon’s efforts.

Ben just watched, his eyes flickering to each and every one of the members present. Oh, had it been so long. His friends, each of them was dead in his time. He had lived through their demise, of everyone, in nearly one foul swoop.

“Obi-Wan,” a female voice chimed in, a bit quiet. Kind and with a hint of an undercurrent of understanding. Adi Gallia, he thought painfully. He remembered the day that she had died, slain on Florrum by Maul and his brother. It would not happen this time, if he could help it. He wouldn’t make that same mistake. The thought of Maul filled him with grief and just exhaustion. “Are you alright?”

“As much as I can be,” he replied carefully.

“Then why will you not look at us?”

He forced himself to look up. They were all staring at him. It was difficult to meet their gazes. “I have a lot to say and I’m unsure how much time we have. And I don’t…know everything. Most of this will be in person because, as secure as I know Menace can make things, we should not underestimate the enemy.” With that, he near startled and glanced over at the communications station. Menace was there, as always, securing their privacy.

Ben didn’t remember how they lost him.

“How well are we secured, Menace?” he asked instead.

The officer, only briefly a bit surprised to hear them speaking to him directly, took a moment to answer. “I’ve been working on new measures sir but so far, it’s wayyyy better. Not even our own networks can get into this but if you are really worried about it; I’d need a little more time to absolutely button things up.”

Nodding, Ben glanced over at the holo call again, taking time to stare. It had been so long, over fifteen years, since he had last seen them and oh, he didn’t even know what to think. Oh, how he wanted this to stay this way. With them alive, tired as they were, but still, but still here and still alive.

He wasn’t alone.

“I have…accepted that this is real,” he replied slowly, choosing his words carefully. He couldn’t quite meet the gazes of anyone in particular at that moment. They were all staring he knew. “And, I am…I am as okay as I can be. This is real, I am in…I am in the past. I have lived over fifteen years more than what all of you will live.”

Some mild shuffling.

“And things…they do not end well,” he continued, leisurely and steady but he was nervous. He didn’t know who could be listening. He trusted Menace and his abilities, of course, but this, the Sith Lord, his reach was far. “And I should not speak of too many specifics; I would much rather explain in person.”

They were all nearly surprisingly understanding.

Was that strange? That he thought they would fight him for answers in the immediate?

“I know that this type of… travel is theoretical possible,” Master Mundi replied, slowly, his head turning a bit to the side to convey curiosity. Ben wondered if he could feel the faith and trust coming from the jedi around him, speaking to him, or if that was just his wishful thinking. “And I do not doubt you, Master Kenobi…do you know how this occurred?”

“I…cannot say that I do,” Ben confessed, keeping a few of his words slow and steady, to make sure even he could get the words out. He didn’t remember much on what exactly had happened. Luke would be the one to ask; he was the one who had literally draggedhis body away from the danger. Ben didn’t even know how he had gotten away from…away from Vader. “I was hit pretty hard from a blow from a…Sith Lord and Luke dragged me…somewhere. A cave, maybe.”

“This Luke….” Master Billaba added, curious and soft. Obi-Wan glanced at her, trying not to cry. He remembered Caleb – Kanan – in the future, how he had reacted when Ben had told him how proud his master would have been of him. He remembered Kanan’s padawan and thought how much Depa would have just loved such a child with so much spunk and talent. He wondered… would they find each other again? It was hard to say and even harder to think about. “Who is he?”

Strength surged through him, a conviction he knew the others in the room could feel. He felt Quinlan put a steady hand on his shoulder while he nearly felt Anakin shiver; something cold and sharp. “He is hope.”

For some reason, the thought seemed to go back to what Ben’s own master said had claimed about another boy from a sandy planet. Ben honestly didn’t know why and it was vaguely irritating all the same. “Once said, about a young boy from Tatooine, your Master did, hmmm,” Master Yoda broke the silence, curious and interested.

Ben paused, unsure how to respond to that. Because, despite his beliefs, he would not put the label of that on him, on anyone. Especially not after what he had experienced. And he wasn’t sure if he would have said that Qui-Gon believed Anakin was hope, especially not in the way that Ben thought of Luke. Qui-Gon had an ancient prophecy in mind. Did he want Anakin to be the Chosen one? Had Qui-Gon hoped he was? Perhaps, but he wasn’t hope to the former master. Ben stared down at Master Yoda, straight-faced. “What do you mean by that, master?” he asked, tightly.

“The Chosen One, you believe him to be?”

Anakin’s head whipped between them, staring at Obi-Wan for the answer. The man had always been a bit skeptical about the prophecy and sometimes even thought that more expectations were put on him because of it. It wasn’t true, mostly because many didn’t believe in the prophecy, or, if they did, they weren’t convinced that Anakin was the person of it. Anakin had struggled in his journey through the jedi and his teachings but the expectations that came from being thought of a person of a prophecy, was not really one of them.

There was a time that Ben had believed it himself. It still might, he couldn’t really be certain, but he had never said anything about it to Anakin, save once. And the entire reason, at one point, he believed it was because he was pretty sure that Anakinbelieved it. Ben had always thought his former apprentice would go on to do such great and extraordinary things, whether or not he was the Chosen One.

He just had never thought or realized those extraordinary things would be murderous and evil.

Ben would not do this. He would not fight over some prophecy that in the end, had little to do with the situation he was in. It would not change anything about what was happening or what had to occur. “I care little for prophecies. Luke has been…my hope. The Jedi’s hope. Potentially, at the time I left, the hope of the galaxy. The Chosen One prophecy is just that, words spoken by a being from long past. Whether or not it is true…I no longer pay attention. Luke is a force-sensitive in my charge that I would like to submit as a candidate for the Order. He has been trained since he was eight…nine…something, in the ways of the Jedi as best I can but he is young and eager to learn, and this is what he wants. But that is…something for later. There is… a more pressing matter to discuss.”

Everyone wanted to say something, that was for sure.

“Master Kenobi….”

“You may understand when you meet him,” Ben interrupted sharply, serious. He knew what Luke wanted and he was good for it. He would fight for this boy because…this was all he wanted. This was what Luke wanted and he had spent the entire time trying to convince Ben he would be a good jedi. He had trained for so long, more, in some ways even better. His dedication to it was impressive. And even if he ended up not wanting to become this – which, however, Ben doubted – he still would have options. Ben would have to introduce Luke to his mother, he supposed. He shook the thought from his head. He was not going to deal with the subject of Padme Amidala at the moment. “But for now, we must focus on saving…well…. everyone. I would like to call a Council Meeting. A lot of potentially sensitive topics must be discussed.”

*

Boil

No one was happier to be in hyperspace and away from that planet more than General Kenobi and Luke. That was fairly apparent and certain. Boil knew that sometimes the jedi felt ill ease when in hyperspace but from what he had seen from General Kenobi, the man almost seemed relieved. Less fighting, less anxiety, less loss. He knew the jedi wasn’t exactly a fan of manual flying, so perhaps that was part of it. And being away from that awful slave planet? That was certainly something that he was sure the two of them were grateful for.

There was also the obvious reasons, at least, to Boil they were. From what Luke had told him, he and General Kenobi had been on the run a lot which probably meant being in hyperspace meant safety. No one is firing or chasing you in hyperspace, that was for sure. So the relief he could see in the boy’s shoulders when the ship lurched into the appropriate speed was understandable.

This whole situation, frankly, it was exhausting, and Boil had absolutely no idea what was going on and, rather, how to do things moving forward. But one thing was for sure, Luke was not going anywhere and honestly, Boil kind of prefers he didn’t. He liked him. There was something about this kid in particular that made him want to keep him around forever. He wondered if it was some kind of force shenanigans, like the general and Luke brought back some kind of future Force feelings or something from where they came. He knew they had spent some time with him in the future.

And Waxer was still here which was one of the biggest reliefs. Boil had spent the last several days worrying over his best friend – not that anyone really had known it – and oh, what a feeling it was, that he was back and unharmed. He had thought he lost his brother forever for a moment there. General Kenobi was different but still the same and things…looked both darker and brighter at the same time. He wasn’t entirely certain how to explain it.

Boil followed Waxer and Luke closely as they were led to the medical bay where the groups were split up. The boy was slowly chittering with his droid, surely trying to figure out what exactly the droid was trying to say to him. Rex sidled up to Boil, calm and steadfast as always. Boil had been around him before; when the two groups of soldiers worked together since Boil and Waxer was usually working with General Kenobi. Boil glanced at him, and Rex was just staring at him.

“Yes?”

“You…” he hesitated and took a breath, glancing around, as if he was a bit concerned on who would be watching or listening. So suspicious, Boil mused as his eyebrow rose, curious and questioning. The captain swallowed and his jaw tightened. “You know, right? About us? About what is in our heads.”

The chips, Boil realized.

He nodded in confirmation. The fact that some of the 501st knew about it when Commander Cody ordered to keep it under wraps was a bit suspicious, but he supposed if Luke told them, it would have to be okay. “Yes. And apparently you do too. I’ll let Helix know so you can get… de-chipped,” he said, slowly. It felt weird, giving orders to a Captain, especially one such as Captain Rex. This was Cody’s brother, at least in a way that was closer than the average brother. He was kind of famous and he knew that he was fairly well acquainted – perhaps even kind of friends with – General Kenobi, but whatever happened, they would have to get through this and everyone would have to do a part. “We have to keep this rather, quiet. We don’t want to start a panic or let word get out about this.”

“This is dangerous,” Rex muttered.

“We have no idea what we are dealing with,” Boil replied with a frown. It was true, of course. There hadn’t been a lot of time and although a lot of information was exchanged and inferred, it wasn’t nearly enough. “We have to trust General Kenobi that he knows what he is doing.”

That seemed to help a little bit for the captain, knowing that General Kenobi had a plan. That he was in on these things, that he knew things nearly all other did not.

They were all split up between Helix and Kix with the Rex, Fives, Jesse and Tup, going with Helix to get their chips removed and looked over while Kix went through all the stops for Luke and General… Tachi? Siri? Boil wasn’t exactly sure who she was, or what exactly he was supposed to call her, but the more time she spent around them, he was pretty sure he kind of liked her. She had only been around for a couple of minutes, but with her banter and interesting personality, he couldn’t help but wonder if she would be sticking around. General Tachi’s wounds were minimal, and Luke’s were a bit more; both Waxer and Boil wincing at the sight of his lightsaber wound.

“It’s not too bad,” Kix replied as he peeled away the bandage. Waxer’s hands were full of explorer droid, which was beeping around him and clawing at his shoulder to perch. His brother let it. “We have some good lathering of bacta to put on there to have it healed up sooner.”

It was near an hour when he was asked to check up on the others, as this was the first time one of the chips would be removed without a jedi’s assistance. Or rather, Luke’s assistance. Boil hesitated but did what he was told. Helix gave him a glance upon going into the room with the others. Not everyone had gotten their chips out – it was slower without Luke or a jedi, but Fives and Rex had gotten through their surgeries. He stood quietly in the corner, waiting patiently for Helix to finish with all of his surgeries to ask for updates.

“-tell him about…about Echo?” Boil heard Fives ask quietly to Rex, huddled in the corner near some chairs. He didn’t know why they didn’t just sit down. The captain shook his head, confused with his brow furrowed deep. “So then how did he know?”

How did he know?

Wasn’t the answer obvious?

Luke had met a couple of clones in the future and with General Kenobi there, he was pretty sure the older jedi had told the youngster about the clones he knew about. And as far as Boil knew, General Kenobi knew many of the 501stboys. And even then, Fives and Echo were a bit well known of being close with Rex, Cody and such. Of course, General Kenobi would know him.

“I met him,” Luke’s voice answered from behind him. Boil glanced around and shook his head. Figures, the child had escaped Kix’s care with Waxer right at his shoulder. The little droid hopped from Waxer’s arms to Boil’s shoulder, closing it’s little finger digits into his armor. Automatically, Boil’s back straightened and shoulders rolled back. Luke stood near him, as if being next to him, to Boil, of all people, was what he wanted most in this situation. It was mind boggling.

“What?”

“Yeah. We uh…we kind of fought,” Luke replied, a bit embarrassed as he smiled vaguely and glanced away but then he quickly continued, the words spilling out as fast as they would allow, “But it was a misunderstanding, it was totally okay.”

“You…it couldn’t have been him. You couldn’t have met him,” Fives replied, mournfully, his brow furrowing as he stared, intently. “He…Echo is dead.”

“Pretty sure he isn’t,” Luke pointed out with a shrug. He looked like he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Boil couldn’t blame him. How exactly was he supposed to answer something like that? Especially when people started arguing on what he knew or who he knew. “He told me stuff, some of it even about you.”

“He…he died. In an explosion,” Fives pointed out, but his voice sounded numb.

“Well, I guess that’s how he lost his legs and his arm,” Luke pointed out, uneasily. Boil was pretty sure he tried almost to play it off like a joke. He knew that a few soldiers with crude prosthetics sometimes liked to play around with the loss of their limbs for amusement. Some kind of coping mechanism but Luke looked just a bit uncomfortable with all the eyes and attention on him. “Look, Fives. Echo never told me what happened to him or to you. If you don’t know where he is, I don’t know either. We talked for like, two hours. I don’t even know if Ben knows.”

“General Kenobi,” Fives breathed out. “He could know.”

“Maybe,” Luke replied, careful. “It’s been over fifteen years since the war ended. Even if he does know what happened to Echo, he might not remember it.”

“He has to,” Fives whispered, practically exhaling the words out. “He has to.”

*

Things got a bit awkward and quiet after that. General Tachi and Kix were not happy that Luke had slipped away while they were taking care of jedi general’s light bruising and abrasions but when they came in, they certainly understood the somber mood that had laid upon them. Helix and the droids did well to dechip Rex and the others that had been captured and then Kix was read into the situation, after his own chip was removed.

Helix and Threepwood had been working tirelessly to organize and get the 212thcleared of chips and Kix was very ready to help with that endeavor, including the 501st in it as well. After everyone was cleared and plenty of medical supplies were used, the initial group of the 212th that Luke was initially involved, with the exception of a few, had made their way to him. Protective bunch.

Boil could relate.

The close call with losing Luke, with losing Waxer… it had not been easy to work with that, even with his faith in General Kenobi. But they were here, they were alive and although they sported a few nasty bruises and although Boil had a tendency not to show it, he would be forever grateful for their lives spared.

He would like to keep it that way.

In the end, finding General Kenobi was easy. It had always been kind of easy when it came to him and Waxer figuring ways to find their general. By some bizarre chance, despite all of Boil’s efforts, he had been separated from Waxer and Luke and the others in their pursuit to find the general on the ship, with Luke’s new droid, BD-42 on perched on his shoulder.

Boil couldn’t exactly understand the droid, but she was pretty good at communicating her mood through the volume and tone of her beeps. He would have to learn her language, he supposed. He had a feeling he would be around Luke, on by proxy, the droid, quite a bit.

“Commander Cody, Menace, I need you to order a ship-wide communication black out,” General Kenobi said, keeping him voice from wavering any more than absolutely necessary. This was real, this was happening. Boil watched his general order the men in a serious but kind way; like he wanted to keep them near him forever; like he couldn’t trust anyone else. It was…warming. Boil wanted to be worthy of that trust. It was hard to think that way, knowing what Boil knew. Even without the chip in his head now, he figured it would take a little time for Boil to really trust himself again.

“Yessir,” Menace nodded, curtly.

He was stiff. Boil wondered, absentmindedly, what he knew.

“Aside from a call to Senator Organa, which I will be making, there is no communication in and out for now,” the general said. The two soldiers nodded in affirmation and although Cody was definitely apparently relunctant to leave, he did, after a few silent reassurances from his general. He did, however, see Boil, and after making eye contact, there seemed to be some kind of unspoken communication between the two troopers and the commander seemed to feel a little better, knowing Boil was there.

Boil kept out of the way and out of sight, even after Cody and Menace left the area. He didn’t know if General Skywalker knew he was there, but General Kenobi certainly did. He couldn’t wait until Waxer and Fives found them and got here with Luke. He had a feeling this was going to be concerning.

And boy, it was.

“You think Senator Organa is the one we should trust with…all of this?” General Skywalker asked, stiffly with a frown. Oh yeah, he definitely didn’t know that Boil was present, especially considering what he said next. Boil had spent a lot of time around General Kenobi, and often times, that meant General Skywalker too. “Perhaps someone we know better,” General Skywalker surely thought that he was being sly. “Senator Amidala is our friend.”

Boil had heard a bit about both of the senators, and he heard plenty of the stories behind them. General Kenobi spoke surprisingly kind of both of them despite having a known mistrust for politicians and, considering what Boil had heard over time, he couldn’t blame him. He had also been around sometimes when the senator was around. General Skywalker’s attitude and even actions often changed quite….rather, drastically, when she was present.

General Kenobi wasn’t going to lie, and Boil could see it. How did everyone not see him like that? The way his gaze was flat but tired, like this was a conversation he had made too many times. “Her attachment to you clouds her judgement.”

Oh. Oh, man.

The younger general startled, nearly jumped back, and looked as though he had been struck. Struck hard. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Boil did not want to know this. Oh no, no, no, no. Not at all. He couldn’t just walk away – General Skywalker definitely would see him then. But this? This was information he did not really want to be privy too. No, no, no. Sure, he knew there was something there. Anyone that had seen General Skywalker and senator Amidala in the same room together knew something was going on there but Boil certainly did not want to know any of this.

Please don’t, he thought. Please.

“W-What? What does that mean?”

No. No.

“She’s attached to you and you to her,” General Kenobi shrugged, calmly, like this was a totally normal and completely not weird conversation. Like he wouldn’t be surprised by anything said. Boil had a feeling General Kenobi knew more than General Skywalker thought. Whether or not this was a good or bad thing, he could not tell. “And I know you are kriffing her.”

Boil choked.

Out loud.

Oh no, no, no.

Luckily, before General Skywalker could respond or even notice Boil, they all heard a loud, clearly disgusted, “EWWWW. I don’t want to know. Gross, gross, gross!” The group turned to see Luke coming up to them, flanked by a couple of troopers from both the 212th and 501st. Boil recognized them and sighed loudly in relief, letting all the air out of his lungs. He hadn’t even realized that he had been holding his breath. They finally caught up and just in time to save him from a severely awkward encounter.

He felt like he was dying inside.

General Skywalker huffed, confused and rather baffled while Ben just smirked, vaguely amused. He definitely knew something that the others did not, and Boil wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know what it was. General Skywalker just frowned deeper and continued with another topic, still looking at the older jedi. “Did he tell you why he doesn’t like me?”

“We have not discussed it, no,” General Kenobi sighed and glanced at him, unimpressed, with an eyebrow raised. This was a rather strange conversation, Boil thought, especially considering that the subject of their conversation, an actual person, was standing right near them. “Anakin, you have been with me the entire time. We just came back from a Council briefing.”

“I missed it?” Luke screeched, wailing loudly. Everyone jumped and looked towards him. He nearly toppled over, nearly screeching incoherently. Boil and Waxer’s eyes met before they both looked down at him, first shocked and worried and then softening as they both realized what was happening. Whether or not he was absolutely heartbroken, it had never even mattered. The dramatics he was displaying was just that – dramatic and a display.

“It was just a Council meeting,” Anakin shrugged, his eyes narrowing into something rather uninterested. He let out a loose huff as he rolled his eyes, bored.

“Easy for YOU to say! You know them; I only heard stories!” Luke groaned in response, leaning dramatically against the wall and nearly sliding down it as if he was in agony. Waxer, next to him, was trying so, so hard not to laugh. “Ben! I can’t believe you did this to me! You know!”

To his credit, General Kenobi barely reacted and just smiled at the boy kindly.

Boil couldn’t help but wonder what kind of secrets the High General kept in his head.

“They aren’t nearly as good as you think.”

Luke just huffed. “I think I’ll decide that for myself.”

“I thought you’d want to do it in person,” General Kenobi shrugged, plainly.

Luke just whined and flopped over once again from the floor.

“Suit yourself,” Anakin muttered.

Luke just took a deep breath and regathered himself, shaking his head before jumping to his feet, almost completely forgetting about what his dramatics were about. His eyes re-brightened and his shoulders rolled back, no longer sad and slouched, but ready for anything and very, very determined. “Ben, Fives wants to ask you about Echo.”

“Echo?”

“Ya know, the clone I almost beat up on Lothal?”

“Didn’t he nearly beat you up?”

“It was a DRAW.”

“Uh huh.”

“Do you know how he….ya know, came back? Fives says he’s dead, but I know he isn’t cause we met him in the past…er…the future,” Luke explained, shooting Fives a very quick and sympathetic glance.

General Kenobi hummed and stroked his beard lightly, definitely in thought, probably trying to recall what was asked of him. He shook his head, covering up his bout of mild frustration as being unable to immediately bring up an answer. “Let’s see. Echo… it’s been fifteen years.”

“The Citadel,” Anakin replied in realization, glancing between the group of them, reminding him of what Boil assumed was the mission where Echo had apparently lost his life… or, at least, so they thought. “We lost him there.”

“Yes, of course. Citdel,” General Kenobi nodded as he began to recall. “You will have to give me a moment, Luke. It has been a long time and I don’t think I was involved in the rescue personally.”

“One of my men is alive?”

“Yes. I don’t quite recall where, at the moment. I will have to meditate on this.”

“But he is alive,” Fives noted.

Ben nodded. “Yes. He joined Clone Force 99; The Bad Batch I think they called themselves.”

Fives sounded hurt. “He…didn’t come back?”

Boil thought the name the Bad Batch or Clone Force 99 sounded vaguely familiar, but he wasn’t entirely sure where he may have heard it from. Either way, the meaning was clear. After Echo was rescued in the past – future, whatever – he didn’t come back to the 501st legion and he didn’t come back to his brother. Boil couldn’t imagine not coming back to Waxer if given the chance.

Ben blinked and within the moment, Boil understood why Echo hadn’t returned to his legion. There had been nothing to return to. “Oh. I… I’m not entirely sure but I do not believe you were around.”

“Dead you mean.”

That would do it. If Boil had been captured for any amount of time and came back to a battalion where Waxer was no longer alive, he had no idea what he would have done in that scenario. Waxer was his best friend.

Echo was Fives’.

“My apologies, Fives.”

“Do you rem…never mind. I’m sorry for prying, sir.”

“It has been well over a decade, but I am going to meditate; if you would like me to think on it,” General Kenobi promised, earnestly. Whether or not, Fives believed him, it didn’t matter. The 212th knew exactly what General Kenobi’s promises were and how they held up.

“Don’t worry about it, sir. Things have already changed.”

“Indeed,” General Kenobi’s gaze swept over the lot of them and landed on Boil himself. The trooper couldn’t tell whether he, himself, was uncomfortable or not. All of this was just so strange, but General Kenobi’s faith in them…Boil felt good about that. “Boil, Waxer, would you mind keeping Luke busy for the time being?”

Both Luke and Waxer perked, interested, while Boil just watched General Kenobi’s expression of soft amusement and a bit of grief. “Training?” Luke asked, his eyebrows waggling eagerly. The general nodded.

Waxer and Luke grinned at one another, wildly.

General Kenobi just scoffed, entertained and looked over at Boil. “Keep them in line, would you, sergeant?” he asked.

Boil nodded. “Of course, sir. I’ll make sure they don’t set anything on fire.”

He shrugged. “Small fires are acceptable. Try not to destroy anything we need.”

The sergeant just smirked. “Of course, sir.”

SIRI

“You’re projecting, Obi-Wan,” Siri hummed, kneeling on a cushion with her old friend mirroring her. They had gone into his room after his council meeting and she had found him soon after, leading him away from the others, despite his former padawan’s uneasy and unpleasant stares. It had been a slow and careful entry into his room. Siri knew it hadn’t been long for her, for the soldiers, for everyone except Obi-Wan. It had been a decade and a half for her friend, since he went into this room. “You haven’t been this anxious since…well, for many years.”

“I’m trying to remember everything,” Ben confessed, his shoulders slumping as he followed, kneeling back and trying to breath slowly and surely. “So we can prevent as many deaths and atrocities as we can and yes, I’m well aware I cannot save everyone, but I have the opportunity to help, and I will take it.”

Siri just smiled at him, kindly, tired and understanding. This was the Obi-Wan she knew, and she empathized with what he wanted. And from what she knew, from what Luke had told her…she understood even desperation from that. She took his hand and held it gently. He just watched, almost bewildered. “I know. But you are panicking. Trying too hard too fast.”

“One of the 501st troopers, Fives, asked me about one of his brothers we lost at a mission to the Citadel,” Obi-Wan said with a frown, his gaze still on their hands. She hadn’t known there was a mission to the Citadel but she certainly knew what it was. That could not have been an easy mission. That place was a fortress. “And he’s alive. He was eventually rescued, but it has been sixteen years and I’m finding it difficult to recall the details around it since I wasn’t…directly involved.”

“Things will work out,” she assured, squeezing his hand ever so gently. She wasn’t sure if he knew what he was doing but he started gently rubbing a thumb over the top of hers, his eyes far away. “Think, but do not force yourself,” she added.

“I don’t want to guess wrong,” he agreed.

“Please,” she huffed, good naturedly. “The faith people have in you – that I have in you – is actually absurd, okay? It’s gonna be fine you absolute fool of a man.”

Obi-Wan finally glanced up at her and cracked a smile.

“Come on, let’s get some meditation in before Skywalker does something stupid,” she added. He nodded silently. She never actually let go of his hand but in all honesty, she had forgotten she was still holding onto it. He never said a word and by the time they had been done with their work, it hadn’t even felt like she was holding onto him. It was almost like he was a part of her, something so natural it didn’t feel out of place.

Their meditation wasn’t shared, and she could understand why. She doubted that Obi-Wan had opened his mind to anyonesince the destruction of the Order, even Luke, for rather obvious reasons.

“I think I remember something,” Obi-Wan hummed and he got up, his hand tearing from hers. It felt cold now. He went to his desk to write some things down; probably what he could recall at the moment.

“Did the Council meeting go okay?” she asked. It would keep him from overthinking and let the thoughts flow naturally; jotting things down as his meditation on the subject allowed.

He hummed back. “It was a bit of a briefing, just barely though,” he answered, a bit distractedly. He was quiet and she fought the urge to shift and move forward to hear him better. “We are heading back to Coruscant. Is there somewhere we need to drop you off?”

She shook her head and then verbalized her answer. “No. That’s fine. I had just finished my mission when I was asked to jump on another ship. It ended up at Dooku’s – I didn’t see him, and he didn’t know I was there – but I found the troopers and later, when planet side, Luke.”

“He talked to you.”

It wasn’t a question.

“He told me what he knew, eventually,” she confirmed. He was still writing, although it was getting a little slower; less information available. “One of the troopers was rather adamant about knowing what he knew.”

“I’m sorry you are involved,” Obi-Wan hummed again.

She just shrugged. “I think it’s better that you have friends around you, in the scenario you are in,” she said instead. Thinking back about some of what Luke said, she smiled slyly, something mischievous. She was going to stir up trouble with this one and if Obi-Wan hadn’t changed completely, his reaction would be a bit fun to mess around with. She shifted towards him, catching his eye and his gaze narrowed briefly at her, suspicious. He had a right to be. “If that is what we are.”

His writing had slowed to a stop after a moment and he turned his head to look at her more thoroughly, his eyes narrowing further. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, warily.

“He knows. About us. What we almost were once,” Siri noted, a bit curious, a bit amused and certainly interesting in what Obi-Wan’s reaction to that statement would be. It had been… a very long time and neither of them had really spoken about it since they were young. She made him promise to never remind her and as of yet, he had never consciously or purposefully done so.

Obi-Wan frowned a bit and there was something in his eyes that Siri wasn’t entirely sure if she liked. She had a bit of a bad feeling. “I didn’t tell him,” he said, finally. “When you died, you gave me your warming crystal. I carried it around for sixteen years. One day he found it. He asked. I found I could not refuse him.” The short, to the point statements were a bit out of character for her friend, as he was such a speaker, but it was certainly interesting to hear.

“You could never really refuse your padawans,” she smirked and chuckled, keeping it light. It was true. Obi-Wan could never really refuse Anakin either. He did so much, and he tried so hard. Not everyone saw it the way she and Bant, and even Quinlan did. Maybe it was because they had grown up with him, knew him better than most, even now. Or at least, the now he was before he jumped back into the past. Well, that was confusing to think about.

He hummed again.

She wasn’t entirely sure if it was obvious to him, but it sure seemed like that to her. Something had happened between now and when she had died between them. It wasn’t completely shocking. She had never stopped loving him in any way, shape or form, and although none of that was necessary for her to be content and happy in life, the fact that he was there was always enough. She glanced at him but then her eyes stayed. He seemed to notice and stared, certainly trying to keep everything he had behind closed doors and locked shields. “You were there…when I…” she drifted off, uncertain.

He nodded. “Yes. I did not kill the man who did it. I was…rather upset.”

Understatement, she knew. How many people had to die in Obi-Wan’s arms to be enough? As if friends from his childhood, his beloved master, her and how many others after that weren’t enough. It felt like some sort of penance for a crime she had no clue he had committed. And she knew he didn’t. He didn’t deserve this. “Good,” she said instead, and she meant it. There was one thing Obi-Wan was good at; it was promises. He took them the best he possibly could, and she would never wish him to lose anything of himself over her. “Don’t lost yourself over me.”

She would never wish that on anyone.

Siri didn’t think that Obi-Wan really knew what was coming from his mouth when he said it, but she wasn’t surprised. She wondered if there had been anyone around at the time that he could have talked to or found comfort and solace in. Her heart told her the answer. “Anakin was convinced I did not…care about, love you because of it.”

She snorted. She couldn’t help it. If there was one thing that Siri didn’t doubt, today especially, it was how much Obi-Wan cared, how much he loved. Her, the Order, other jedi, people, his people. “What does he know about it?”

“He is in love.”

That was debatable. Sex, relationships, dating, even marriage… it didn’t always equate to love and even then… the view on love wasn’t exactly the same as how the jedi viewed it. And honestly, with the way Anakin acted, she was not convinced that what he thought was love, actually was. “Don’t be so sure,” she noted, nearly rolling her eyes at the thought. “Anakin’s view on love and care are skew, to put it mildly.”

He hummed an affirmation. She wasn’t wrong and he knew it.

And she wondered how well he knew that.

“What happened before?” she asked instead.

“What do you mean?” he asked, his head cocking to one side in curiosity. It was faint but there as he had walked back towards their cushions, leaving the little notebook he had been writing in on the desk.

“I reminded you, didn’t I?”

He never would, even she knew that. He had kept his promise for well over twenty years, she doubted that he ever would have even beyond that. But something happened. She had a hard time thinking she would, but she supposed it wasn’t impossible. Especially with this war and how easy it was to lose people. Something had happened and that wasn’t nearly as surprising as it perhaps it should have been.

“I swore to never remind you and I kept that vow,” he replied sternly. His words were clipped. Oh, Obi-Wan and his promises. She nearly shook her head to herself because, just, of course. Always so steadfast, always so reliable.

“But I did, didn’t I? I brought it up and we were…”

He hesitated. “Sort of. Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Loving you was always enough.”

“As it should be.”

“I won’t remind you.”

She just shrugged. “Maybe I will.”

Quinlan

“So…how is training going?” Quinlan smirked, leaning over to peek his head around in the doorway, eyes shining. He had finished up his own briefing with his previous mission with the council after Obi-Wan’s little meet, as they were already there and it was rather convenient and had to take a while to figure out where everyone was. Some of Obi-Wan’s boys were working on dechipping their brothers and coordinating plenty of plans for…a rather absurd number of scenarios and strategies, while Commander Cody was attempting to communicate with the head honcho trooper on Coruscant. Commander…something it start with an F. Fax? No, Fox.

Siri had taken Obi-Wan to meditate and Quinlan had convinced Anakin to leave them alone, rather focus on perhaps doing some meditation or training with his own padawan. He wasn’t getting the answers he wanted, and Quinlan knew that was irritating him. Oh how a bit of patience could go a long way for him.

Quinlan had eventually found himself in one of the gyms where some of Kenobi’s guys and even a few from the 501stlegion was going through some drills, teaching Luke a few things and practicing protocols and combat. He ended up standing next to a trooper and it took him a moment to put a name to the face, so to speak. He would get the hang of the names of Obi-Wan’s men, eventually at least.

“Not too bad,” Boil replied, his eyes barely casting the jedi a glance before going back to Luke, where a few guys were showing Luke, some moves for combat, going through them quickly as he was to attempt to copy them. Apparently, he had been at this for quite some time. “He’s determined. Definitely not a quitter.”

“Well, I guess you got Kenobi’s drive,” he chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Luke asked, finally allowed to pause and catch his breath. One of the guys nearly pushed him down at the suddenly lack of movement but Luke just stepped out of the way.

“He was always working hard to become a jedi,” Quinlan shrugged with a small frown. “What raw talent and power he didn’t have, he well over made up in hard work, practice and persistence.”

“He’s so good at things…it is kind of hard to think he wasn’t powerful and talented,” Luke confessed, a bit embarrassed as he rubbed his hands, as if that would dry them off from the sweat.

“If you think that, then his hard work really paid off,” Quinlan chuckled, amused. It was one of Obi-Wan’s strengths, he supposed, although sometimes he felt like it was a bit of a downfall. Obi-Wan worked so hard all the time and although it often meant he had been underestimated, that kind of persistence took time. It ate time. “How about something to eat, huh kiddo? Obi-Wan is with Siri and well, you need to eat some time.”

“Meditating?” a trooper asked hopefully.

“Probably,” Quinlan replied easily, not bringing attention to it as he tried not to stare. It was one of Skywalker’s men, although Quinlan couldn’t quite remember who he was. “This is all a lot to take in for someone who has already lived it. I’m going to borrow Luke for a bit if that’s alright.”

“Of course sir,” Another trooper, Waxer, he was pretty sure, nodded and glanced at Luke. “Wash up and get changed.”

“I’ll be back,” Luke promised.

No one was entirely sure who exactly he was speaking to.

***

“Do you want…more?” Quinlan asked, mildly amused, an eyebrow hiked up as he watched Luke finish up his plate. They had quickly made their way to the cafeteria where the boy was given a generous portion of rations and food, the trooper attending the counter, a bit bewildered by the sight of a youngster. When they sat down, Luke had nearly dove, in immediately.

The boy tried to hide his flush. “Ah…I’m alright.”

He just rolled his eyes and retrieved another plate, putting it in front of Luke. He didn’t paticularly care for what this kind of behavior implied. “It’s alright. Just eat up.”

Luke hesitated but complied. “Thanks.”

“Had to be careful, huh?”

“Most of any currency Ben got went to fuel or bribery…just trying to flee from the Empire,” Luke explained quietly, taking a moment to move around his food a bit, unsure on whether to continue or not.

“And Vader,” Quinlan nodded, gravely.

Luke nodded.

“He doesn’t know, does he?” Quinlan asked with a frown, careful and quiet. It didn’t need to be said what and who he was speaking of. “That you know who Darth Vader is.”

Luke shook his head; his expression turning mournful and sour and something turned in Quinlan’s stomach. Obi-Wan didn’t know that Luke knew who his father became. He had been keeping that secret for all that time and Quinlan couldn’t even imagine how that much was eating at him. “No. I’ll have to tell him now. Ben…always made you know, himas such a great person and just…amazing. A pilot and warrior and friend and for the longest time I just… practically idolized him…but…but knowing what he became?”

Quinlan nodded because that was understandable. He wasn’t even entirely sure that he could completely know how that felt. He knew his parents sure, and his aunt was…something else, but he supposed, this was a bit different. Still, he could really get where Luke was coming from. And it wasn’t just knowing the monster Luke’s father became; it was the fact that he had to live for years with that person chasing and hurting him. “It’s hard to be around someone, even someone you are supposed to love and don’t see that…only see the man that hurt and hunted you down because that is all you have known him as in life.”

“It wasn’t even just knowing what he became. I know it. I lived it. If I hadn’t spent the last several years of my life running from him, watching what he did to Ben both physically and emotionally, watch him nearly kill me and Ben so many times…I think it would be easier,” he confessed, pausing to abandon the rest of his food. There wasn’t much left, but Quinlan wasn’t entirely sure if he would finish. The conversation had turned rather dour and the appetite probably lessened significantly.

“Do you plan on telling Skywalker?”

Luke just sighed and made the choice to stop eating, pushing his food away. He looked like he regretted it, as if he wasn’t sure the next time he would eat, but Quinlan imagined he suddenly didn’t have much of an appetite with this line of conversation. “I don’t know. Probably. I probably will have to but…I want to be a jedi and he… he’s my father but still…not? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“He’s your biological father, technically, but he’s not…he’s not your teacher or caregiver or guardian,” Quinlan could understand this too. He knew his parents and even loved them, but he didn’t know them long. Master Tholme had been so much to him; so important. He still was, honestly. One of the people he knew he could always count on.

“He doesn’t know me. And…I have to try and separate him and Darth Vader before I can really do anything because he’s not Darth Vader here but…” Luke drifted off, sitting back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest, like to make himself smaller as he looked down, uncertain.

Quinlan could easily finish. “That’s all you see.”

“I want to be a jedi and it doesn’t matter that he’s my father. I want to be a jedi,” the boy added stubbornly, keeping his gaze down. He was staring, almost glaring.

“I’m sure you will be,” Quinlan agreed, and he certainly believed it. “Obi-Wan seems pretty confident in you.”

“Not enough to make me his padawan, apparently,” Luke grumbled, and Quinlan could hear as he tried to keep as much bitterness out of his voice as he could. He wasn’t even sure that Luke had meant to say it, but the words certainly came out anyways. “I get that Vader had been his padawan but…I’m not him.”

“I don’t think his hesitancy to ask this of you has much to do with his previous student,” Quinlan pointed out. Luke looked up and stared at him, almost pained. He wanted this so bad; Quinlan could see it. Something had happened to give him such knowledge and faith in this, he noted. He remembered how he felt about finding Aalya and just knowing.

“That what is it?” Luke asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice and tone. “I even understand not having me as a padawan in the future, where we were, it’s dangerous and put a lot of unnecessary risk on us but…Ben said I could be a padawan here and now. And I thought…I thought he would want me. That we could be a pair; like a real master padawan pair.”

“He wants to allow you choices,” Quinlan tried to start to explain, the words kind of rushing out because he understood. He had been there when Obi-Wan had finally been taken as a padawan. He had been there through those struggles. He had been there when Obi-Wan had to take Anakin as his padawan; he knew what Qui-Gon asked of him. He knew that when Obi-Wan tried again, it hadn’t gone as he had anticipated. Of course, in typical fashion, the now-council member had taken it in stride. “He doesn’t want you to think the only way you can be a jedi is through him. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be your master. He just doesn’t want you to think he’s the only one and you are stuck with him. That he is your only path to becoming a jedi.”

Luke just groaned as he leaned forward to lightly bang his head on the table before leaning and sitting back again, which certainly got his frustration across.

“Obi-Wan doesn’t want you to build up resentment because you think you are stick with him, have no other choices,” he continued, hoping that this would get his point across. He had plenty of talks about apprentices over the years, especially those early years when Obi-Wan was training Anakin, with his friend. Aalya may have had been several years older than Anakin but Quinlan tried to help his friend as much as he could, even if it was just to talk or do something stupid to let out steam. “He doesn’t want you to think he’s holding you back. You didn’t have many choices before but right now, he has the opportunity to give you choices – free choices – and he will give them to you, no matter how he feels about it.”

“But I want him to be my master and you seem to think he wants me as a padawan,” Luke insisted and oh, how sure he sounded. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”

Quinlan paused and thought about this for a moment, his heart swelling just a bit. How many times had Quinlan see this fail? How many times had he seen Obi-Wan being passed by? The fact that Luke was so certain, so sure, even when everyone else was offered to him, at his fingertips, he still chose Obi-Wan; it made him feel so happy. But this wasn’t the time to bring that up, for sure. “Did you know it was Master Jinn’s dying wish, his dying words to Obi-Wan for him to train Anakin?”

Luke paused and stared at him curiously. “No. I didn’t know that.”

“Skywalker butted heads over it after he found out because well, neither of them really chose each other. They love each other, of course, but it wasn’t an initial choice for either of them,” Quinlan tried to explain. He found this difficult to talk about without the snarky comments that he was used to using. “And later, when Obi-Wan wanted to keep teaching and find a padawan again, it was the middle of the war and so nothing was very…conventional on finding padawans but he thought he found one that would be a good match and wanted to ask. But when she was sent to him to see if they would work, she was assigned to someone else. Obi-Wan… a lot of things in his life have been chosen for him or he’s with people who, although ultimately work well with him and love him and he loves them, they didn’t really choose him either.”

“I would always choose him,” Luke insisted.

Oh, how he sounded so sure of himself. Quinlan felt his chest soften into melted butter. “Does he know that?” he asked, patiently and quiet. It wasn’t particularly usual with him but he was trying to channel his inner Obi-Wan, or at least, his approach to youngsters. “Have you told him that?”

Luke hesitated and glanced down. “I…I don’t know. I don’t think so. The conversation never came up, it was a moot point without the Order.”

“Look, Obi-Wan doesn’t want you to feel like you don’t have a choice but if you do choose him….I’m not sure you entirely understand what it would mean to him, Luke, knowing he would be your first choice.”

“He’s the only choice.”

Quinlan grimaced. This was exactly what he was trying to explain. This is what Obi-Wan didn’t want; someone who felt stuck with him. “If you had been born during the time of the Order, raised in the creche, became a padawan, knowing you, you would have had your pick of masters,” he tried to clarify. “They would be all scrambling for the honor to teach you.”

“I would choose Ben. I would always choose Ben,” Luke insisted again, and his statement felt so true, so real, so persistence, it almost took Quinlan back. “When I said he was the only choice I meant even if I could have anyone else, it wouldn’t matter. There is no other choice, I would choose him. Ben is my guardian, my teacher, my family. He can’t be anything else to me. I want him to be my master. How can I convince him?”

He thought about this for a moment. “Wait it out. When we get back to the Temple, he’s going to let you be around other masters…show you there is more. Hang out with them, look around, keep an open mind and if you are sure, in the end, you’ll get there.”

Luke nodded, firmly. “Trust me. I know this.”

Quinlan’s smirk turned curious and interested. “Something happened.”

It wasn’t a question.

The boy nodded, once, eyes hardened. “I had a trial… on Lothal. I know it’s supposed to be me and Ben.”

“Alright then.”

Luke

Ben was awake when Luke finally gathered the courage to enter. It had been a long day as the ships they were on and with, mostly just the Negotiator and the Resolute, were racing towards Coruscant. Luke had never been, of course, since it was strife with Imperials, Sith and storm troopers. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Luke knew from the news and just general education that the Jedi Temple had been made into the Imperial Palace. He was a bit glad he never actually had to see it as the Imperial Palace. Perhaps that would make it easier for him to see as the Temple. Ben had told him plenty of things about it, but Luke wanted to see it. He wanted to see the Jedi Temple so bad, and he had never even imagined he would be able to do such a thing.

Luke had kept away for most of the day but then again, Master Vos and the other troopers had kept him busy, talking and training. He had gotten to meet so many of Ben’s troopers, Luke thought his heart would burst with happiness. He got to meet the ever-reliable communications officer, Menace, and the fun and artsy Bloom and the incredibly amusing and fascinating Immortal, who, as his name would suggest, had survived more than he probably technically should have.

At dinner, he took a bet to stomach Immortal’s so-called death caf. It was a close call, as it was rather gross, but Luke got through it.

It had the desired effect.

Later, when people started to get settled down and the night shift guys came out of the shipwork, Luke was given a spare bunk in a spare room. Luke couldn’t stay. He couldn’t be alone. The ship never felt larger or colder than in that moment. So went out to find Ben’s room. He felt a bit bad for bothering him, after all, Ben had been so close with him all the time for the past several years. But he just…couldn’t.

He couldn’t say he was surprised that Ben was awake. Ben seemed to have the same thought about him too. Luke stood in the open doorway, wringing his hands nervously and staring down at the floor.

“Can I stay with you?”

Ben just nodded as he finally caught Luke’s eyes. “Of course,” he paused, partially sympathetic, part amused, part understanding. “It is a bit strange, is it not? Being on such a large ship with so many people.”

“It’s both…nice and overwhelming,” Luke admitted as he shifting, a bit more into the room, his feet shuffling. “I was so tired before, when we were apart but now…I have troubles.”

“You are welcome to stay with me as long as you’d like.”

Even if it is for the next ten years as your padawan? Luke thought and then quickly buried it deep. That wasn’t right. He would listen to Master Vos. Give it some time. He would still try to prove himself, of course, because this was…they had to be sure, and Luke had to make sure he was good enough. He wanted so bad to be good enough.

Ben started to take down the mattresses and set them on the floor, wrapping blankets and sheets over and around them. Luke moved towards him and grabbed a bunch of pillows, holding them close and tossed them on one side. After all was said and done – the area was abundantly larger than necessary. It was huge in fact, larger than virtually any floor space he and Ben ever had on their little starship. He almost missed it. Ben sat down near the middle of the mattress set up, Luke following suit. As they got settled, it was silent for a long moment.

He knew what had to be said. He didn’t want to really talk about it but he also didn’t want to dwell and wait on it either.

“I know we have to talk,” Luke said quietly.

“About Anakin,” Ben replied with a short nod.

“About him.”

Another pause.

“I’m scared to speak of it. Not because of you but…” Luke drifted off, trying to find the right words. This was something he thought about for so, so long. He had mulled it over, turning around and around in his mind. Who his father was and how that affected both him and Ben. It had taken him forever. The thought of Vader…it made him sick to his stomach, paralyzed with fear. That creature had haunted his nightmares for so long. Still did. “What it would mean. How it would change things. I don’t know what to do because…he is here…in front of me. In my reach. Before…that was just a dream. Just…impossible.”

“Luke.”

“I know,” he rushed out instead because he had no idea how exactly to tell Ben this. Of course, he needed to know and if Luke didn’t tell him, he would figure it out and the confrontation that would inevitably follow. But just the thought of Vader being his father. Of him being the same person as the man in Ben’s stories. Of him being Anakin Skywalker; it made him cry.

And he had no idea how exactly to feel about it.

He was already tearing up.

“About what?” Ben replied, gentle but careful, as if he wasn’t sure what he could salvage.

“About everything,” Luke continued as he tried not to cry but the tears were swelling up in his eyes as his breath shuttered. “About my father. Who he is…or, rather, who he became. I know who Darth Vader is.”

If Ben’s expression was anything, it was heartbroken.

He never wanted Luke to know this.

Once upon a time, Luke was upset about the secrecy.

Now, knowing, thinking about it? It made him feel sick.

Sometimes he wish he didn’t know.

“Anakin Skywalker, my father, is Darth Vader.”

#revolving suns #revolving suns au #pro jedi fic #pro jedi #luke skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #quinlan vos #siri tachi #clone trooper boil #clone trooper waxer #waxer and boil #captain rex #fives #anakin skywalker #time travel #time travel fix it #fix it #star wars

[shatouto]

@obiwanobi allowed me to write a sequel to this lovely raised-as-sith!anakin and jedi!obi-wan fic!! pls enjoy this tiny little 1.3k of hurt/comfort

content warning: description of injuries

capable de deux

The standard clock strikes half past midnight.

Obi-Wan sets the basin on the floor. The man who is no longer Vader sits against the wall like a broken doll, one arm bent in a sickening angle, hands lying palm-up and unclenched between half-crossed legs. He’s not uncooperative, just limp, when Obi-Wan lifts his hands or turns his shoulder to remove the broken armor pieces. He’s not unresponsive, just lackluster, when Obi-Wan decides that the clothes are too mangled to salvage anyway and announces it to him in a murmur. He’s not unfeeling, just very, very quiet. Worryingly quiet.

In the shadow of Anakin’s silence, the only light that comes through is his eyes. Obi-Wan feels Anakin’s gaze like a physical thing, following his every movement in weary wariness as the scissors slowly snips their way along the seams. It’s borderline suffocating, how the air is so thoroughly silent that Obi-Wan can hear exactly how shallow Anakin’s breathing is. He sets all of the blood-soaked scrap fabric aside and dips a cloth in lukewarm water. He meets Anakin’s eyes, before wiping a streak down his front.

Anakin’s body is littered with scars; if there is a patch of unmarred skin left amidst the glossy criss-crossing, it would be dark with bruises. So many scars for someone so young, Obi-Wan catches himself thinking, frowning deeply - because Anakin is young, younger now than any other time Obi-Wan has glimpsed him outside of his distinct helmet. Young enough to be a Padawan, even, had the Jedi found him before the Sith. Obi-Wan sighs.

A deep cauterized gash runs from the tip of Anakin’s shoulder to the middle of his chest, and a fresh burn spreads from his heart to diaphragm, all of which Obi-Wan quickly covers with bacta patches before cleaning the rest. The blaster shot wounds are a more pressing concern, as they are still bleeding. He bites his lip in commiseration, nearly holding his breath as he cleans the too-tender flesh as gently as he can. His lineage does not have a gift for the art of healing, and Anakin’s shields are still rammed up high and tight, so Obi-Wan opts to monitor Anakin’s reactions for any sign of sudden pain.

Anakin doesn’t make a single sound. He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move. If it isn’t for his breathing sometimes hitching, Obi-Wan would have thought that Anakin is entirely numb - which would have been worrying. Whenever he glances up to Anakin’s face, their gazes touch; Anakin’s eyes train on his face rather on his moving hands, not alert, but not aimless either.

Water darkens in the basin. Obi-Wan has changed it for a third time, and is on his second washcloth. There is so much blood it’s a miracle that Anakin has made it this far, has dragged himself into the Jedi Temple without getting caught. Obi-Wan works his way down to the slippery patch on Anakin’s thigh, which turns out to be a wound that he can’t - and doesn’t want to - even begin to guess the cause: Raw burnt flesh just ripe for infection on the edge of a gaping cavity still oozing blood.

He whispers an apology as he has done for every touch, dabbing the cloth at the least damaged edge of the wound. This is by far the nastiest wound he’s seen, and Obi-Wan raises his gaze, worried that this might be where Anakin breaks.

Anakin doesn’t.

And somehow it’s even more disquieting.

“You can’t feel it?” Obi-Wan breaks the silence.

Anakin finally blinks at him. Even the confusion is better than the utterly blank look he has been sporting.

Obi-Wan breathes a sigh of relief, short-lived though it is. “Your injuries?” He specifies.

Anakin cocks his head a bit - almost cute, Obi-Wan thinks in passing - but then says in a voice devoid of emotions whatsoever. “It’s not that bad.”

Obi-Wan scoffs. “Anakin, there is blood and bruises everywhere on you and I think your arm is badly broken. Can you even feel it?”

Anakin shrugs with his unhurt shoulder. “No.”

“You can’t—” Cold dread bursts in Obi-Wan’s chest like a sheet of ice shattering. He places a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Anakin, you need to see a healer! Why did you let me—”

“No, I mean”—Anakin straightens up minutely—“I can’t feel it because it’s not there anymore. It’s just a mechno-arm. Dooku cut my real arm years ago.”

“…Dooku.” Obi-Wan stares at him, voice flat. “Dooku, the other Sith, who’s supposed to be your ally. He cut your arm.”

Anakin makes a vague sound of affirmation, and falls silent, letting Obi-Wan struggle to form a reply to that. Now it’s his turn to look at Anakin in the face, while those now-blue eyes turn towards the ground, lashes so long they cast shadows of their own.

“Don’t call a healer,” Anakin finally mumbles, not looking at him. “I don’t want healers. I don’t want… people. I don’t like anyone touching me.”

“Oh.” Obi-Wan’s eyes widen, realizing that he still has his left hand on Anakin’s shoulder, while his right rests just over Anakin’s knee, still clutching the washcloth. He makes to pull away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

Anakin’s hand flashes up in sudden, unexpected liveliness, immediately squeezing Obi-Wan’s hand on his shoulder. His eyelashes quivers.

“You’re not ‘anyone’.”

—

The entire living room smells like bacta with a hint of blood by the time Obi-Wan is done. He locks Vader’s lightsaber with its buzzing red crystal in a drawer, and wraps away the broken prosthetic and ruined armor and shreds of clothing; it’s not safe enough to discard them conventionally, and he will have to burn them later, ideally somewhere unfrequented. Right now, there is no way Obi-Wan can leave his quarters. Not with Anakin limping out of bed at the sound of a fresher door sliding open or shut.

By all rights Anakin should have passed out from lightheaded exhaustion by now, yet he seems even more awake now than even when Obi-Wan first found him on his knees in the hallway. Anakin pauses at the sight of him and sits back down on the edge of the bed. He fixes Obi-Wan with the gaze of a Loth-wolf.

Obi-Wan lets out a sigh, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He takes a seat beside the former Sith. “Anakin,” he enunciates each syllable in a lingering rhythm, “could you please stop watching me like this?”

Anakin blinks at him; so far, Anakin seems capable of two states of being: desperate, and confused. “What do you mean?” He looks deceivingly innocent, covered in bandages and wrapped in Obi-Wan’s colors - a thought that Obi-Wan, startled, quickly shuts down. “I’ve always looked at you like this.”

Obi-Wan’s mouth hangs open, his mind running the sentence through. Always? Since before? And then it occurs to him that Vader wore the helmet along with his full suit of armor every time they clashed in battle. The few rare times they crossed paths outside of combat were all hair-thin ceasefires, too tense, too charged with fragile hope for him to notice. It dawns on Obi-Wan that Anakin has no concept of what is an appropriate amount of looking, of staring at someone.

“...Should I not?” Anakin ducks his head a little, and reaches for Obi-Wan’s hand.

By Force, this is a man who demanded surrender from Jedi only to open fire on them, who killed hundreds with just his hands and a lightsaber, who led operations that burn cities of civilians, who scorched the earth of whole planets and poisoned whole systems. This is a man who has done enough evil to make the core of a kyber mountain shudder. He has no rights looking like this, lamb-like in both colors and manners.

But could a child weaned on blood and brought up on broken bones know any better?

“Go to bed, Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, in a tone distinctly reminiscent of that which he used with a younger Ahsoka in her rebellious day. (Not that she has gotten any less rebellious; she only moved on to matters more significant than bedtime.) He squeezes Anakin’s hand, and eases him down onto the pillow, and watches Anakin until Anakin can’t watch him back anymore.

And like all infants who fall asleep with a hand in their own, Anakin holds on tight.

#obikin #obi wan kenobi #obi-wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #is it still vaderwan if he’s alread an ex-sith #anyway #CLEM #SENT ME #THE DIALOGUE PART #AT 2:30 AND I WAS LIKE ‘ok there is no way i could keep myself from writing this’ #i fuckin love this au man #like bless u clem #i was struggling to find a good way to bring a sith anakin back to the light and then you just #you just dropped this right in front of me #i totally hijacked clem’s au hngngnkdf #i have so much more i wanna write #so much #shatou writes

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Introductions (AU; the government are introduced to the Emperor’s right hand man)

Emperor Palpatine sat at the helm of the table, his expensive ornate satin cloak pulled up to cover his deformed features. He had made a rare exception to the never appearing in public rule, if only to summon his little group of closely affiliated followers for a less than chummy supper. The Coruscant sun had already begun to set, its pinkish rays disappearing behind the skyscrapers visible from the large single viewport of the Emperor’s dining hall. Two months had passed since the fall of the Republic. Two months since the war came to an end, two months since the Jedi were declared traitors and executed en masse. Two months since Palpatine declared himself dictator, since his regulations had begun being pushed onto all known systems. Two months, and Governor Tarkin had thought himself to be lucky with his role.

A few faces, he recognized. Former admiral Wullf Yularen was a welcome addition despite being a bit below the required rank, fighting the just fight against outliers and naysayers. Orn Free Taa was a more unfortunate case (he had likely invited himself by flattery and empty promises), while Vizier Mas Amedda was an obvious presence. Sate Pestage, Janus Greejatus, Ars Dangor, Kren Blista-Vanee and Verge’s smug faces had Tarkin fighting the urge to roll his eyes at their insipid subservience. Artist Eveli Charis was, Tarkin figured, the most surprising member of the meeting - serving as the only female face of the small crowd. Her aside, and finance minister Gagh rounded off the gathering. 

These people were - each in different ways - the most influential people of the new Empire.

“I have not gathered you simply for the sake of sharing a dinner in the wake of our victory. Indeed, I have been wishing to relay to you my plans for the grand future of our Galaxy,” said Palpatine suddenly, his voice gravelly and his gnarly hands reminiscent of claws where they rested against the table cloth.

Tarkin thought he could see a pair of golden eyes gleaming beneath the shrouded darkness of Palpatine’s hood, but chalked it up to a trick of the light. Instead, he focused on the hand stitched embroidery of the Emperor’s burgundy robes. The man had always had an affinity for fancy dress.

“It is clear that you shall provide eyes and ears for me, and I trust you to fulfill your duties towards the Empire, and subsequently to me. However, I’m afraid I must offer you a small surprise.”

“Another, Your Highness?” Tarkin said with an amused smile, and he couldn’t help but feel triumphant when Palpatine let out a pleased cackle in response.

“I’m afraid so, Governor. Surely, you shall all take this little revelation in stride. Are we not in dire need of powerful allies?” he responded, gesturing with one clawed hand towards the Vizier who stood poised by the doorway.

On each side of the hydraulic sliding doors themselves, a royal guard clad in crimson stood at a patient salute. The Emperor’s personal bodyguards, their faces cloaked and hidden from view much like Palpatine himself. Their presence was an odd mixture of reassuring and oppressive, Tarkin had decided. But he saw no reason to fear them, given his own standing with the Emperor. If anything, he benefited from their presence as protectors.

“Will you reveal to us this secret, Your Highness?” asked Charis, her expression curious and incredulous at once.

“My child, have you not been taught the virtue of patience?” was Palpatine’s response; a thinly veiled insult that put her in her place, as she shrank back in shame and lowered her head in an obedient bow.

“Forgive me my insolence, Your Highness,” she offered, apologetic and the Emperor simply shrugged her words off.

“Think nothing of it. You are correct, it appears to me that I have unfairly omitted mentioning this to either of you. Alas, it is time I remedy this arrogance.”

Tarkin noted how the Emperor turned his head briefly, giving the Vizier a barely perceptible nod and the man stepped back. On cue, the guards uncrossed their electro-staffs and parted to the sides. Confusion seemed to overtake most of the party’s faces, as the doorway slid open with ease - only to reveal a man. Clad in black armour with red and silver accents; broad shouldered, tall and visibly disdainful towards his company. He stalked wordlessly up to Palpatine’s right hand side, where he lingered - gloved hands folded in front of his hips, legs wide apart. His eyes were glowing, an amber shade to their irises, a bloodshot sclera. The man’s face was scarred, rugged; and the only visible emotions seemed to be anger and resentment. One single dark blonde curl fell over his creased forehead.

But that wasn’t the oddity. Someone in the company - Tarkin suspected it to be Yularen, judging by the tone - gasped.

Indeed, it was difficult not to recognize the young man by the Emperor's side - the Emperor, whose features had twisted into a toothy grin. The man said nothing, taller than Tarkin remembered him. Something warped and cruel and twisted distorting his rather handsome features into something unrecognizable, all charm vanquished. He was pale, peering in distaste down at the dining party as if they were beneath him. It didn’t sit right with Tarkin, given that they all knew who he was and what his past profession up until about two months ago would have been.

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker had joined them for supper.

“May I introduce to you Lord Vader,” said Palpatine, breaking the eerie silence. “Some of you may believe you are familiar with this man. I assure you, you are mistaken. The man whom you may recall is long gone. Lord Vader has seen the error of his ways, and accepted the Jedi traitors for what they are. He came to my aid during the assassination attempt ordered by master Windu.”

Tarkin listened closely, but he was not the only one who seemed unable to tear his gaze from Skywalk-- Vader’s stern features. He looked so much older than his age, as if he had seen a million lifetimes of suffering pass him by. His hollow eyes seemed haunted, but their inherent glow was more reminiscent of a predator locked in a cage. Simply biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. Still, he made no move and did not utter a single word.

“Lord Vader has turned out to be, much like you, one of my most trusted advisors. He is my right hand man, and while I have neglected to provide him with an official rank - he outranks every single one of you. It is my belief that only he has the means to do what needs to be done,” the Emperor continued.

Yularen seemed to shift uneasily in his seat, his eyes wide and a blunt disbelief etched into his aging features.

“You wish to speak, Colonel?”

Tarkin heard himself say; wondering if they were the only ones present - apart from the Emperor himself - who had maintained some sort of personal relationship to the man Palpatine had renamed and retooled so viciously.

“No, Governor. I--” he began, but was immediately cut off by Palpatine.

“You are wondering how the man you knew as a Jedi could turn on his own kind, is that not so? You are surprised to see that his loyalty towards the Empire could outweigh his loyalty towards his kin. Am I correct, Colonel?”

Yularen seemed to pause a bit longer than required, but gave a curt nod as he found the voice to speak up.

“Yes, Your Highness. I am merely… surprised, as you put it,” he said as a manner of surrender.

“It is understandable that you would be shocked. Should you like to speak of your own decision, Lord Vader?” the Emperor drawled, his voice menacing and sing-songy at once as he gestured to offer Vader the opportunity to speak.

“No,” the young man simply said, standing so still that his lips barely even seemed to be moving; his gleaming eyes scanning each and every person present before it landed on Tarkin - the only man who’s amusement outweighed the concerns. “I believe my actions will speak for themselves, as will your evident trust in me, my master.”

The voice was a bit deeper and gruffer than Tarkin recalled it - but that could be maturity - but its monotone quality was new. Vader spoke as if the words held no meaning to him, as if whatever he said was pointless and a waste of breath. As if his words were unbefitting of anyone but the Emperor. Yet, at the same time, he was matter of fact and to the point. A quality Tarkin had enjoyed in the past, and one he presumed Yularen had as well.

“Oh, I implore you to amuse this unspoken inquiry, Lord Vader,” Palpatine pressed, and as much as it came off as if being in good faith, it was an obvious demand no loyal servant could ignore.

“As you wish, my master,” Vader simply obeyed, his burning eyes still holding Tarkin’s in a cold, disgruntled stare. “I was the single man to commandeer the troops as they marched on the Jedi temple. I surveyed the situation, and I made sure not a single soul present escaped their fate. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to serve my Emperor, and I will not be frowned upon by the likes of you.”

The last word was delivered with such pure, unbridled loathing that it seemed to lower the temperature of the room by several degrees by proxy of mere intent. Vader nonchalantly folded his arms over his chest, lips drawn into a thin line and the perpetual scowl of his forehead had already begun to carve out fine lines in their wake. Palpatine was still sneering, grimy teeth bared in a ferocious grin.

“As you can see, Lord Vader’s conviction is admirable and undeniable. He has proved himself worthy of my trust, and so, I expect you to follow my example accordingly. I expect you to show him the reverence he requires,” the Emperor concluded, that odd glow to Vader’s eyes mirrored by his as he briefly peered up from beneath his hood - this time, it could be no trick of the light.

“I trust your infallible judgment, Your Highness,” Tarkin finally said, being the first to accept the new norm. “I may not be completely assured of Lord Vader’s motives as of yet, but he shall gain my respect when he has proved himself worthy of it.”

“My friend, you need not fear. However, I understand your concerns, and I have no doubt that you will come around quite soon,” said Palpatine, and while there was malice to the tone, he was also unusually honest and benevolent.

Tarkin suspected that was entirely on him, and their long history as colleagues and friends. He nodded, glancing over at Vader whose eyes regarded him still. Their gaze was arduous, and heavy, and vile - but that seemed to be their natural state, rather than any personal vendetta.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” was Tarkin’s only reply, and he shot a defiant glare back at Vader. “You are much too gracious.”

“Will you cease your repulsive display?” Vader snapped, and while Tarkin at first almost expected Palpatine to defend him; he found that the Emperor seemed humored enough by the obvious insult to allow the man to finish his trail of thought. “The Emperor will offer you no favours based on your fawning. You embarrass yourself, Governor.”

“Now, now, Lord Vader. I believe such childish bickering belongs elsewhere,” he finally shushed, as Vader relented like an obedient school boy fearing punishment. “However, I must agree. It would serve you well to evolve your attempts at flattery into a less… tacky matter.”

That triggered a reaction from Vader, as one corner of his lips twitched briefly upwards in a mocking, superior half smirk. He said nothing, but the triumph in those golden eyes spoke for itself.

“Now, with this out of the way, I wish to return to the matters at hand - but there is one more thing I wish to clarify. Lord Vader will not tolerate any mentions of the man you might recall him to be. He is no longer the naive child of yesterday. There will be a penalty for such insolence - no matter whom it may derive from. Lord Vader is a reinvented man. You shall address him only as such, and by no other name. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” was the singular response - and a brief hint of delight, and perhaps relief, crossed Vader’s scornful face.

“Very good,” said the Emperor with a cackle.

__________

I am not generally a fan of suitless Vader, but this idea came to me and it kinda required that so I went with it for once. Enjoy!

Ao3 link below:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32029582

#darth vader #anakin skywalker #darth sidious #emperor palpatine #sheev palpatine #grand moff tarkin #wilhuff tarkin #star wars #au #suitless vader #the empire #wullf yularen #post order 66 #post rots #pt #prequel era #the bad batch era #empire era #fanfic #fan fic #fanfiction #fan fiction #fic #fics #my stuff #vader #lord vader #anakin #skywalker #skyguy

[xecutivecucumber]

Rexsoka Week 2021 Day 7: FUBAR

I hope everyone enjoyed my Rexsoka week contributions. I've had a lot of fun with them. Thanks for all the support!

This one is a little less focused on their relationship and more on the...effed up part of things.

TW: Non Graphic Torture

Day 7: FUBAR

Rex had hung for hours. They'd stripped him of his armor and blacks. His arms were wrenched upward and over a horizontal bar of metal. His legs were forced in an uncomfortable position, as if he was doing a squat midair. Most of his weight was on his bent knees. The device he was entangled with seemed to be a relic of the Separatists.

Rex had no hope of getting out of here alive. It would be foolish to go so deep into Imperial territory for one soldier, even as high ranking as he was. And Rex prided himself with the knowledge that he would never give any sensitive information away.

They'd started the normal Imperial interrogation process with him, using an IT-0 droid to try and get him to talk. Rex was better than that. The clones had been trained to resist the mundane mind probe that the droids used.

But then they had stopped. Some higher up wanted to interrogate Rex themselves, and Rex was to be untouched until they got there.

So Rex hung. The pain of his shoulders and knees was probably more effective than what any of the average Imperial idiots could inflict. By the whispered tones of the Imps in charge of him, whoever was coming for Rex was far from average.

Rex didn't fear pain. He'd been under extreme distress, physical, mental, and emotional, before. He hadn't broken then. He wouldn't break now.

Finally, the door slid open, and a tall, dark figure swept in. Its head was covered in a helmet that hid any trace of humanity. The sound of rasping breathing accompanied it, as if each breath was forced in and out of the thing's body. It stared at Rex, and Rex was so transfixed by its blank stare that he almost didn't notice the thing's companion.

A clone, holding his black helmet at his side, with greying hair and a wandering scar down the left side of his face.

Rex's breath caught.

"Cody? " He asked.

He didn't need it confirmed. It was Cody. Rex could never forget his ori'vod's face.

It seemed that Cody had forgotten Rex. He looked Rex over with a blank stare. His chip was still active.

"Captain Rex." The dark figure said in a deep, robotic voice that nudged something in Rex's memory. "You were listed as killed in action."

"Well," Rex said, though he could not tear his eyes from Cody's face. "Reports can be wrong."

"Yes." The figure said. "It seems so. Which leads me to believe that others that were believed dead may yet be alive."

Rex tried not to let his fear show in his face. He knew who this man wanted.

"Tell me." The figure stepped forward. "Where is Ahsoka Tano?"

Rex managed to look away from his brother and into the figure's helmeted face.

"Ahsoka Tano is dead." He said with as much conviction as he could muster.

"I see." The figure said. "Commander, you may begin."

"Yes, Lord Vader." Cody said.

In a fluid movement he withdrew an electrostaff and slammed it into Rex's side. Rex hissed through his teeth as he felt ribs break. Then the electricity began coursing through his body in burning waves. Rex’s jaw clenched involuntarily, keeping him from making much noise.

Rex fell limp as Cody finally drew the staff away.

"Where is Ahsoka Tano?" Vader asked again.

Rex struggled to lift his head.

"She's dead." He said.

Vader stared at him for a long time before turning to Cody.

"Continue."

Ahsoka stole through the halls of the Imperial facility. Rex was here somewhere. At least, that’s what she prayed. The chances of him surviving at the hands of the Imperials seven days were-

Ahsoka refused to let herself dwell on it.

She paused at a corner when she heard the idle chatter of two TK troopers nearby.

"I wish Lord Vader would hurry up and kill the wretch." One complained. "Patrolling the detention level is becoming a real pain."

"Gives me a headache." The other grumbled. "Judging by its screams, I doubt it can last much longer."

Ahsoka's heart quickened. He was alive. She waited for the troopers to move past and quickly made her way to the nearest lift. The Force guided her hands to hit level B3.

The lift opened and Ahsoka felt sick. Rex's screams were echoing throughout the hallway. There was something else; whatever was torturing him was a Force user. A powerful and Dark one at that.

Ahsoka grit her teeth. There went her plan to go in sabers blazing. She edged closer to the area from which Rex's noises of distress were coming from. Soon she could make out words.

" SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S DEAD!" Rex was screaming.

So that's what they wanted to know. Ahsoka tried to reach for Rex's mind, but it was saturated with pain, oblivious to everything but the torture being inflicted on him.

Ahsoka found a storage closet adjacent to the room Rex was in. She would have to wait this out, no matter how badly she wanted to stop Rex's tormentors.

After a while Rex's screams turned to sobs, and the words he said changed.

" Kote, vod, gedet'ye!"

Cody, brother, please.

Ahsoka's heart clenched as she translated the words in her head. He was calling for Cody. She prayed that he was seeing some delusion, and that Cody was not playing a part in his torture.

His sobs began to fade. Ahsoka pressed a montral to the wall. A door opened and shut. Ahsoka waited a minute before unsheathing her sabers. She drew them in a circle in the wall and forced the cut section forward. The room she stepped into was overly bright. The floor was tacky and pinkish. Ahsoka swallowed bile before looking at the back of the room.

Rex was twisted around a metal frame, forced into what looked like an excruciating position. He was mostly naked, save for his grey undershorts. It seemed there wasn't a bit of skin that wasn't bruised, burned, or cut. Blood ran in dribbles from fresh slashes on his chest. He didn't look up as she approached him. His head lolled forwards.

" She's dead. " He whispered through chapped lips. " Kote, gedet'ye, she's dead. "

Ahsoka shook herself and wasted no more time in releasing him from his bindings. He'd lost weight in the few days he'd been here, and Ahsoka easily lifted him. A soft groan escaped him as she shouldered most of his weight.

"It's okay, Rex." Ahsoka promised him. "It's over now."

It would be. Even if they were caught, the answer the Imperials wanted was given by her presence. There would be no need to continue his interrogations.

Of course, they could always use him against her.

She quickly scanned near her. There was one guard nearby. The dark presence was getting further away.

Ahsoka set Rex down before slipping out the door. The startled guard didn't have time to make a noise before Ahsoka slammed him against the wall. He crumpled. Ahsoka retrieved Rex and started their painfully slow way down the corridor.

Rex occasionally made soft noises of pain as she jostled him. They got to the turbolift with no incidents. Ahsoka could sense the guards on the level on which her stolen Imperial shuttle was docked. There weren’t many, and by some miracle of the Force she managed to get Rex to the hangar without being seen. He let out a pitiful groan as she quickened her pace.

"I'm sorry." Ahsoka whispered. "We're almost out. Just-"

The dark presence suddenly reappeared, looming between them and the shuttle.

Ahsoka had no time, not with Rex's dead weight, to move before the man to which the presence belonged stepped from behind another ship. If it could be called a man. It seemed more like a droid.

"Ahsoka Tano." It said. "Captain Rex has become a more convincing liar. I almost believed him when he said you were dead."

Ahsoka tensed. She would not leave Rex. But she didn't see a way out of this.

"Something I'm sure you're eager to rectify." Ahsoka spat.

"There is a way for you to survive. For you both to survive." It said. "Join the Empire and you will both live."

"And become whatever you are? No." Ahsoka said.

The figure did not immediately attack.

"You think this path leads to anything else?" It asked. "Your attachment to the clone is far too deep."

"I'm sure it was only attachment that made you fall." Ahsoka said.

Her mind raced. What could she do? She would not leave Rex, but she couldn’t move quickly with his weight. And this thing was powerful .

"I see that you are resolved." The thing said. "Then I offer you this. Surrender, and I will give you both painless deaths."

For half a moment Ahsoka was tempted. Rex's pain was saturating the Force. She didn't want him to hurt anymore. And she saw no way out.

Her hesitation was seen as a refusal. The thing reached out a clawed hand. Ahsoka tensed, but nothing touched her. Rex, on the other hand, stiffened. Ahsoka nearly dropped him as he struggled for air.

"No!" Ahsoka said. "I didn't-"

A blaster shot rang through the hangar. The thing whirled to the side and deflected it with a hand. Rex relaxed.

Ahsoka only paused long enough to see a familiar clone pointing a blaster at the thing. She drew upon the Force and darted forward, past the figure who was concerned with blocking the barrage of blaster fire raining down on it.

"No more!" She heard Cody shout. " No more! "

She reached out briefly to try to connect with Cody and found a shattered mind. Whatever they had done to Rex had been too much for him.

Ahsoka dragged Rex the last few feet to the shuttle.

"Now, R-7!" She shouted.

The shuttle's door began to rise. Right before it shut, Ahsoka saw the Dark creature shear through Cody's chest with a blood red blade.

There was no med bay in the Imperial shuttle, so Ahsoka had to lay Rex on a clean sheet in the middle of the passenger bay. It had taken nearly two hours to dress Rex's injuries. Ahsoka had to set his broken fingers, wrap his ribs, and put bacta on every burn and laceration. He began to stir as she was finishing wrapping the cut up soles of his feet.

He groaned as he shifted, eyes opening to a slit.

"'Soka." He mumbled.

He struggled to lift himself.

"Shhh." Ahsoka said, gently easing himself back down. "Lie still."

She began running her fingers through his short hair in a hopefully soothing manner. He closed his eyes again and his head sagged to the side.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Hurts." He slurred.

Ahsoka frowned. She already had him on pretty heavy painkillers. She couldn't give him more, but she hated that he was still in pain.

She continued to massage his head. She hoped he was heading back to sleep.

"Cody?" He asked.

Ahsoka felt sick at his hopeful tone.

"I'm so sorry, Rex." She said. "He didn't make it."

Rex didn't say anything at first. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Was it-" He struggled to form the words. "You?"

Ahsoka moved her hand to the side of his face.

"That thing killed him." Ahsoka said. "He died so we could escape."

Rex squeezed his eyes shut. The agony that warped the Force around him deepened. He turned his head away from her, a tear tracing down his cheek.

“No more.” He muttered. “ No more. ”

Check it out and my other Rexsoka Fics on A03!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34125910/chapters/85234081

https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExecutiveCucumber/works

#rexsoka #rexsoka week #rexsoka week 2021 #rexsokaweek #rexsokaweek2021 #captain rex #ahsoka tano #ahsoka and rex #Day 7: FUBAR #commander cody

[blacklilyqueen]

Maybe tomorrow

Summary: Rex and Ahsoka both worry about each other after the war and desperately hope for a sign to know that the other is still alive.

Pairing: Rexsoka

Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 1849

Note: Based on this comic by @luoiae​

"Any news from Ahsoka, Wolffe?" "No."

Part of him had expected that answer, yet he hoped for some news from her. It didn't have to be much. Just a small token to let him know she was okay, that she was safe, that she was alive.

Rex hadn't heard from her since their escape a few months ago. At first, he thought she was just trying to maintain a low profile. Messages could be intercepted and right now it was important that he, and especially she, stayed out of sight. And even though that thought was somewhat comforting, he always wondered if something bad had happened to her.

He wished he could have contacted her, but for their safety, they both thought it would be the best if he didn't know her exact location. His days were filled with as many chores as possible, hoping it might distract him from his worries. But every night, when he closed his eyes and nothing else remained to occupy him, he would see her in front of him. Sometimes everything was peaceful. She just stood there looking at him with that beautiful smile. Her eyes shone with joy and it was as if nothing could destroy that moment.

However, there were other nights. Nights when he woke up from sleep with his eyes wide open and his heart racing. His mind plagued by images of Ahsoka, covered in blood and in captivity. He saw the Emperor’s Inquisitors torturing her. Heard her screams. Had to watch her die slowly but surely. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He had such a dream that night and like every time he had hoped for a message from her to make sure she was alright. Almost every day he asked Wolffe if he had heard from her and day after day he was disappointed. He left the former clone commander behind and returned to his daily distractions.

Maybe tomorrow he would hear from her.

 "Hey, Rex. I hope you're all safe."

Although there were a thousand things she wanted to say to him and tell him about, that was all she said. For months she had tried to contact him over and over again, but he never answered any of her transmissions. So it happened that she didn't produce more than that one sentence, because at that moment all the other things didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that he was safe.

More and more often she caught herself worrying about him. What if the Empire found out he was alive? What if they knew he had helped her escape? It would be his death sentence.

But maybe he just cared about her and was afraid to answer her. Over the past few months, she had increasingly tried to convinced herself that it must be because of that. Although this thought gave her a little comfort, she still wanted certainty.

Maybe he would answer tomorrow.

 "She still hasn't...?" "No."

"I see," the words hardly seemed to leave his mouth. He stood with his back to Wolffe and now turned his head away again. His muscles tensed a little at Wolffe's answer and his fingernails dug into his palm even though he didn't realize it. He was about to leave when Wolffe said something else:

"She's not dead. If she were, we'd know it. The Empire tends to make a big spectacle out of the death of a Jedi."

Rex knew he was right. He also knew Wolffe only meant well, yet it was anything but reassuring. The thought of Ahsoka's death plagued him enough as it was, now saying it out loud didn't make it any better. Three years was an extremely long time when you don’t know if the other person is still alive or not. He fervently hoped so, but his doubts grew with each passing day.

He turned his head once again in his brother's direction and gave him a small nod. He didn’t have enough strength for more. He left the room and went to the small cabin that the three clones shared for sleeping. Since Gregor was exploring, Rex had a moment of peace to himself. The door closed and so did Rex's eyes. He took one deep breath and as he exhaled, he slammed his hand, still clenched into a fist, against the wall next to him with all his strength.

He ignored the pain in his hand as his knees gave way and he slowly went down. His back was now leaning against the wall he had just punched. He angled his legs, propped his elbows on his thighs and buried his face in his hands. His chest rose and fell faster and faster as his heart seemed to contract further and further. When he lifted his face, he ran his right hand over his short hair, trying to get his breathing back to normal.

She's not dead. She is not dead. She is not dead.

Over and over again he repeated the words in his head. As his whole body focused on that thought, he slowly calmed down. His breathing was back to normal, the pain in his chest lessened, and his muscles began to relax.

She’d contact him tomorrow.

Yes, he was sure she would. Wolffe was right. If she were dead, he would know. He shouldn't worry. Soon he would hear her voice again, assuring him that she was alive. He tried to hold on to that thought, but part of his mind wouldn't give him that peace, and so a second thought mixed in.

There are things much worse than death.

No. She was fine. She would call tomorrow. She had to call tomorrow. Because he didn't know what to do if she wouldn’t.

 "It's been a while. I hope you're okay."

Even Ahsoka could hear how weak her voice sounded. It had been too long since she had last seen Rex. Her mind kept wandering back to that day. She shouldn't have left him. She should have stayed. Every time she left, she lost the people who mattered most to her. It was like she was abandoning everyone she cared about.

Rex, Anakin, Obi Wan, the 501st, the Order, she had abandoned them all more than once and she had lost them all. But this time there was no going back. The Jedi Order was past, Anakin and Obi Wan were dead, only Rex was left. At least, that's what she hoped. She couldn't possibly admit to herself that the last person who represented a connection to her former life had just disappeared like that.

Again and again she thought about flying to him to make sure he was okay. But she could not risk putting him in danger. No matter if someone followed her or if they clashed with the Empire on the ground, she could not let him die because of her. And he would if they were seen together.

"Please contact me. Please. Please. Please."

The connection had been broken for a long time, so she spoke only to herself. He would get back to her tomorrow. She clung to that thought as tightly as she could. Yes, he most certainly would.

“…” “Still nothing.”

He didn't even have to say anything anymore. It had been 14 years, and yet Rex asked the same question every day. There was a time when the uncertainty had made him angry, but not anymore. Where anger used to be there was now a great emptiness now. He had grown accustomed to taking no for an answer. When you expected nothing, you couldn't be disappointed, but hopelessness hurt just as much and Rex couldn't tell which pain was worse.

For a time he thought it would be the best to accept that she was dead. If it were true, he wouldn't have to worry every day about the unknown. And if it were false, he would be even more relieved should she come to him after all. But he was so wrong. Day after day he had reproached himself for declaring her dead just like that. How could he ever look her in the eye and tell her that he had simply given up on her? He couldn't do that to her and he couldn't do that to himself.

So every day he lived with the pain of hope that would probably never be fulfilled. And with each passing day, that hope dwindled bit by bit. He could never bring himself to fully acknowledge her death, but he knew that he would probably never hear her voice again, never see her face again, and never touch her body again.

Despite the daily disappointment, a part of him whispered to him, as it had every day for the past 14 years: maybe tomorrow.

 "I hope you're still alive."

Ahsoka tried to suppress the tremor in her voice. But it didn't help and she felt her voice break on the last word. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and clouded her vision.

All these years she had convinced herself that there must have been a reasonable reason why he didn't answer. Had convinced herself that he must still be alive, but now she was no longer sure. The horrible truth she had recently learned made her doubt his safety.

The feeling of Anakin's presence in the Force surrounded by icy coldness, which held him captive and had completely taken possession of him, wouldn’t let go of her. She did not want to believe it, but it had to be true. Anakin was Vader, and once she admitted that to herself, all her hopes that her old friends were still alive were dashed.

She knew how obsessed Anakin could be, and if he really had turned to the Dark Side, he certainly wouldn't let up in pursuit of his goals. If he knew Rex was still alive and that he had helped her escape, that he had disobeyed the Order 66 and sided with the Jedi, Vader would kill him without hesitation.

The only thing that gave her a little hope was that her old master had thought her dead, and hopefully the same was true for Rex. He certainly wouldn't have wasted time looking for a single clone who was presumed dead. But if Vader had even the slightest suspicion that one of them might still be alive and rebelling against him and the Empire, it would have been a sure death sentence.

But if Vader had really found Rex and learned that his inhibitor chip had been removed, he would have expected Ahsoka to still be alive. Yes, that's how it had to be. So Vader couldn't have known about Rex. Normally this should be good news, but even without the danger from Vader, there were a thousand other things that could have killed Rex. But she didn't want to think about that. Kanan, Ezra and the others would surely find him soon and then they would meet again.

But a small voice in her head whispered: Maybe tomorrow…but maybe never.

#rexsoka #ahsoka tano #captain rex #ct 7567 #rexsoka drabble #star wars drabble #ahsoka x rex #ahsoka tano x rex #star wars

[sonoftatooine]

ooh can I ask about any "Sith Anakin" of your choice and Winter Soldier AU for the ask game?

Hi, thanks for the ask! :D

SITH ANAKIN

My Raised as a Sith Anakin AU is pretty much what the name suggests - instead of becoming a Jedi at the end of TPM, Yoda senses too much danger in Anakin's training and refuses to admit him into the order, and because of this he's sent back to Tatooine and snatched up by Palpatine. The AU itself is made up of a series of fics which - very loosely - follow along the lines of various events of TCW. This particular extract is from 'The Clone Trooper', which is one of the very early fics in the series, and is one of the first things I wrote for SW:

The planet was nothing but dust and storms and death, and would have been noted as little more than an uninteresting blip on a starpilot's navigation computer if not for the raging battle that had just been waged on its surface several standard hours ago. Now, all was quiet—or it would have been, if not for the frequent winds that roared endlessly across the plains, and the crackling of bright, hungry flames in the distance. But beneath it, there was no shouting of soldiers, no screams of civilians—not even the inexorable clanking march of a battalion of droids carried through the air. All was silent. All was still.

Into this silence came two figures, one organic, one droid. The first was tall, cloaked in black with a deep hood pulled low over his head and his face covered up to the eyes. The second was a B1 series battle droid, painted with stark black stripes and clutching a blaster in one hand, and a hand-held scanner in the other. Despite one's expression being hidden, and the other incapable of forming an expression in the first place, neither seemed happy to be there.

With a sigh, Vader adjusted the cloth he had tied over his nose and mouth back on board the Twilight, his airways raw and his eyes stinging. It was a rather feeble barrier against the conditions of the planet, but the best he had had on hand. Really, it had been just his luck to arrive on this Force-damned little backwater just as a ferocious dust storm was kicking up. The stuff was whirling in the air so thick it was as if a muddy shroud had settled about them, absolute and impenetrable—he could barely have seen his own hand stretched out before him even if his eyes weren't being relentlessly assaulted with grit. It wouldn't have surprised him if he completed his mission only to find his ship half-buried under it once he returned. And that was to say nothing of Bee-One and himself in the long trek across the plain ahead of them. And that, that would not do.

The wind was howling all around him like the wailing of the dead, but Vader did not need an overactive imagination to hear the echoes of the battle reverberating in the Force. So little time had passed since the desolate plain had been full of living beings, bleeding out their suffering into the atmosphere around them, saturated thick with their fear, their anger and pain and hatred. It rushed in on him like the tides at Kamino as he opened himself up to the Force, so sudden and intense that it might have bowled him over had it not been for his years of training. He winced at the sensation—the Force was always so very loud, too loud and too bright, and now it burnt as if he were filled from crown to toe with too-hot lava—and his first instinct, as always, was to recoil. He forced himself to endure, pulling and pulling at each sensation until they lit the furnace of his own fury, and he felt his power uncoil like a dragon in his chest. The dust halted in its tracks.

“Thanks!,” came Bee-One's chipper voice over the roar of the wind. His attention was no longer on the scanner, but on the dust around them. The storm raged around them as fiercely as ever, but before the dust could reach them, it was pushed away, like filings repelled from a magnet. “That's a pretty handy trick!”

“My master has taught me a great deal,” Vader replied, his voice muffled by the cloth covering his face. He tried not to think about the one time he had seen Sidious do this, on another planet, with the sands that should have kept the Outlanders at bay parting before his new owner and closing about him like a cage, the blazing wreck of Watto's shop a faint orange glow in the distance, and his mother's screams drowned out by the shrieking of the winds— “Come on, we had better get moving.”

“Roger, roger!” It was the way Bee-One always said it—ever so slightly wry for all his chirpiness—and Vader clung to the familiarity of it, pushing the memories away. This was not Tatooine. No matter how much it may remind him— This was not Tatooine.

WINTER SOLDIER AU

So, I've managed to end up with two separate Winter Soldier AUs, so hopefully this is the one you wanted! This one is based on the premise that Anakin didn't turn to the Dark Side during ROTS and manages to escape Order 66 with a pregnant Padme. Later, the whole Skywalker family is captured by the Empire and Anakin has his memory wiped by Palpatine. It features sort of ghost Padme communicating with her family through dreams and Luke and Leia as Palpatine's adopted wards. This is a little snippet of a scene between Anakin and Leia that I'm writing (just for context, Leia knows that he's her father at this point but he doesn't remember):

"Lord Vader!" she exclaimed eyes wide as her bright little Force presence flared up in surprise. He raised his eyebrows at her expectantly, refusing to show any sign of being abashed at being caught unmasked and wandering through the halls of his master's private collection in the middle of the night. The little princess may be one of his master's heirs, but she was still a child - one who should have been asleep and safely tucked away in bed hours ago.

"Your Highness," he said. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

Leia, unsurprisingly, did not have the grace to look even remotely sheepish at having been caught so flagrantly flouting her father's rules and escaping both her nanny and her guards to boot. Instead, small arms crossed in a mimicry of his own pose, she simply stared up at him, unblinking and defiant, bestowing upon him the fiercest pout she could muster.

"I couldn't sleep," she said ever so slightly petulant. "What are you doing up?"

Vader frowned down at her, unimpressed.

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"About things not for the ears of princesses who should be in bed" he retorted sternly. Apparently, the girl was no more impressed by his evasiveness as he was by her antics, but that didn't mean she was going to get the answers she wanted. The gaze he levelled her with would have been enough to make one of his officers quake in their boots had they known to recognise him without his mask, but the unruly child did not so much as twitch under his firm stare. She glared right back at him, unrepentant.

"I don't want to go to bed," she snapped. "I'm not sleepy!"

Vader sighed. Clearly the hard line was not the right approach, but really, he should have expected that. Little Princess Leia had never been one to be cowed by disapproving words.

"You will be in the morning," he explained, with a patience that he suspected would earn him a few raised eyebrows from his men had they been here. "And then your father will be cross with you for wandering about the Palace on your own."

Mentioning his master was the wrong thing to say. All of a sudden, Leia's eyes filled with tears.

"He's not my father!," she cried stamping her foot on the ground with all the force she could muster. "He's horrible and I hate him! He punishes me no matter what I do so I might as well do something to get in trouble for."

ASK ME ABOUT MY WIPS

#star wars #star wars fic #mine #my fic #anakin skywalker #darth vader #leia organa #anakin & leia #leia & vader #sith anakin #raised as a sith anakin #winter soldier au #winter soldier au ft ghost padme #star wars au #asks #ask meme #wips #my wips #anonymous #sfw #apprentice in waiting #fractured

[gffa]

I’M GONNA HAVE TO BREAK THIS UP BECAUSE IT’S KIND OF A LOT.  So, @alabasterswriting and I were having a fantastic conversation about Anakin and how much he intellectually-versus-emotionally knows that he can leave the Jedi Order at any time, that he’s not a slave to them and it was already getting really long, so I’m going to put this in a new post because this is going to be even longer, but IT’S A SUBJECT NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART BECAUSE I HAVE MANY FEELINGS ABOUT ANAKIN SKYWALKER. For context, there are some other posts that’ll be referenced so this is only, like, the length of two monster posts instead of five.  ^_~ - The original ask about whether or not Anakin was a slave to the Jedi, which sets up how the Jedi make it extremely clear that it’s fine to leave - A follow-up ask from alabasterswriting + their very thoughtful, love response, which this post is largely a response to! Now that I’ve gotten some sleep, I think I can be more coherent on why I think there’s a lot of really good stuff to explore with Anakin’s emotional misunderstanding (versus intellectually knowing that he can leave) and why I do think it’s an important element, but not necessarily at the core of why Anakin stayed. Why does Anakin stay as a Jedi?  I think the Obi-Wan & Anakin comic covers this really well--he plans to leave, he’s not upset about it, he’s excited and has nothing but respect for the Jedi Order, he even says that he may come back.  Anakin knows that he has options, he believes that he’s capable of taking off into the wider galaxy, he acknowledges that part of the reason he may have joined was, despite Qui-Gon’s warnings, all he saw was a magic man and a way out of slavery, what was he going to do, say no? The overarching plot of the comic is:  Obi-Wan wants him to be absolutely sure of this, so he asks Anakin for one last mission together, but makes it clear that he’ll accept whatever choice Anakin makes in the end.  Obi-Wan’s point is, when they call for reinforcements at the end to deal with Carnelion IV’s civil war, they get those reinforcements, becasue they did this as Jedi.  That the Jedi are part of the Republic and thus they have the backing of the Republic.  (This is, interestingly enough, also a major theme in Master & Apprentice, that the day is saved precisely because Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were part of the Republic and had the backing of the Republic.)  Anakin realizes that he can accomplish more as a Jedi than he can setting off on his own, so he happily agrees to stay. This fits with how Anakin genuinely seems to like being a Jedi.  The problems he expresses with it, is that he wants more than what they can do, he wants to be able to tell people want to do, to make them do the right thing.  He expresses this to Padme in Attack of the Clones, he follows it up with that conversation with Tarkin during The Citadel arc, where they both feel the Jedi Code does not allow Jedi to go “far enough” to win the war. Further, he teaches on the beliefs of the Jedi.  After the brain invader worms, Anakin teaches Ahsoka about how to balance letting go of their attachments versus caring about other people and wanting to save them, how the two work together.  While she’s on Onderon and having confusing feelings for Lux, he teaches her again about how duty must come before her feelings, he seems to agree with this, because he’s not shy about subverting the Jedi teachings when he wants to.  And very clearly, he teaches the same things to Rex in the Bad Batch arc:

That’s exactly what the Jedi teach (and is ironic because this is just a few months before Revenge of the Sith and I think it’s actually a really perfect illustration of exactly what was at the heart of Anakin, that he genuinely believes in the Jedi teachings, until they apply to him and his fears eat him up and he makes himself the exception) and Anakin also seems to genuinely believe it. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin doesn’t express any desire to not be a Jedi until after he’s helped kill Mace and the younglings and then, frankly, he’s repeating Palpatine’s words, not his own, he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying, imo.  When he talks to Padme about feeling lost, it isn’t expressed in terms of him feeling trapped, but instead that he feels he isn’t the Jedi he should be, that he wants more. Anakin never seems to feel trapped or obligated--there’s almost nothing in the movies or TV show that actually lean towards the idea that Anakin felt any pressure of being the Chosen One.  He doesn’t seem to believe it himself--he tells the Father that it’s a myth.  And the other Jedi (aside from Qui-Gon) never talk about it in front of him, it’s almost never even mentioned, I think it comes up all of two or three times in the movies?  And each time there are people expressing doubt about it being true and it’s never discussed at Anakin’s face.  Even in TCW, aside from the Mortis arc, it never really seems to come up pretty much at all. Does he feel an obligation to Shmi’s memory to stay as a Jedi?  Possibly!  It would certainly be an easy conclusion to come to!  He never expresses it directly anywhere that I can recall, though. At the end of The Wrong Jedi, when Ahsoka says she’s going to leave, he says,  “I understand. More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order.“ which is the most he ever expresses about actually wanting to leave in any canon that I’ve seen.  We’re given no other context for this--is it because he’s angry at the Jedi, is it that he feels they’re not doing enough and he could do more as a free agent, is it that he wants to leave to be with Padme, is it that he doesn’t like being a Jedi, is it that he feels a wanderlust for the stars?  We’re given no further context in that scene, so we have to put it together with the other things we have.  That Anakin, when he was younger, said he felt a calling to the starts, that in ROTS he wants more, that in the conversations with Padme and Tarkin, he feels the Jedi aren’t going far enough and someone should make people do things. Put together with the end of the Obi-Wan & Anakin comic, where he stays because he feels he can do more with the Jedi than without them, I think that’s at the heart of why Anakin stays.  He wants more more more more.  This is further evidenced by what George Lucas says about how the dark side works, which is something I think Anakin is clearly sliding into at this point: “What happens when you go to the dark side is it goes out of balance and you get really selfish and you forget about everybody … because when you get selfish you get stuff, or you want stuff, and when you want stuff and you get stuff then you are afraid somebody is going to take it away from you, whether it’s a person or a thing or a particular pleasure or experience.”  --George Lucas That’s what I see it as, because the story of Anakin Skywalker is one that is sliding towards the dark side, and Anakin’s problem is that he wants more and more and more.  He wants to be a Jedi, he wants to be married to Padme, he wants to be able to murder people to win the war, he wants to be made a Master (despite having just taken a bribe from Palpatine and clearly isn’t ready for it yet in emotional mastery), he wants all these people, things, and experiences.  He wants more. The point @alabasterswriting​ makes here:  “To me, (and it’s totally an opinion, and I’m open to disagreement), it’s always seemed like Anakin was on his way to being able to being able to handle himself emotionally before his perceptions of his sense of self were messed with. And I think (as I’m sure many do) a large part of that was Palpatine feeding his ego/preying on his fears and insecurities. Like we see in the bar with Palpatine that he uses a whole bunch of trigger words meant to make Anakin equate the Jedi to his time as a slave.“ is a really good one, because I absolutely agree that Palpatine completely muddied the waters on this, that Anakin was on his way to a much healthier understanding of himself and ability to understand himself, but then Palpatine started dripping poison into his hear and telling Anakin the things he wanted to hear, rather than the truth that he needed to hear. So, eventually, Vader rationalizes what he’s doing by looping back around to what Palpatine told him, which George Lucas makes clear in his directions to Hayden Christensen (that he’s rationalizing and justifying the things he’s doing, that he doesn’t actually believe them, that is), that that’s at the heart of how Anakin handles things. He does feel powerless to help people--despite that he’s not and there are plenty of moments where he knows otherwise, like in the Age of Republic comic, when he helps the people of Kudo out of the sticky situation they’re in, they have a chance to make their own choice about whether they want to join the Separatists or the Republic, Obi-Wan specifically points out that it was him who helped them:

There are actually a ton of instances in The Clone Wars of this as well, like he helps the rebels on Onderon, he helps save Naboo from the Blue Shadow Virus, he helps free the people of Mon Calamari, he helps free the people of Kiros, etc., but it was easier to grab the above cap as an example (even if I do absolutely agree that Anakin Skywalker is a bucket with a whole in the bottom--it doesn’t matter that he helps people almost every day, it’s never enough, he still wants more, he still feels powerless to help as many people as he wants, and he does feel like he’s often taking things apart, rather than fixing things, as he tells Padme in the Malevolence arc) as well as it’s a good segue into his relationship with Obi-Wan in the next part. Ultimately, I think it comes back to the dark side--it lies, it twists things, it tells Anakin that he wants more and more and more, that nothing else around him is ever enough.  He’s not helping enough people, he’s not doing enough stuff, he’s not getting enough recognition, he’s not getting enough personal loyalty over loyalty to things that are bigger than him. But he can’t face that truth about himself, that the dark side has twisted him, so instead the dark side must be right, Palpatine must be right.  The dark side always wins, Obi-Wan, Vader says in the Star Wars comic, and so everything else must be shuffled around to fit that.  Everything else must be rationalized to fit the way he feels, so he leans into whatever justification he can find, despite that he actually really wanted to be a Jedi and believed in their teachings. (Part 2 in a reblog coming soon because I can only do one monster post at a time.  ^_~)

#anakin skywalker #jedi order #meta #long post

[writing-is-my-guilty-pleasure]

Patient || Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x Reader ~ Part 4

A/N: Part 4! Thanks for everyone’s patience (lol) with this part - Uni has been incredibly time consuming and I’ve just been too tired to write anything - so I’m trying to write a few things in advance on my Christmas holiday! I think there should only be one or two more parts in this series, and feedback is always welcome :)

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 

Main Masterlist

Star Wars Masterlist

“What’s your reason?” Your eyes flickered up to meet Kylo’s after he spoke, trying to make sense of his question as your eyes unintentionally trailed over his face.

“My reason for what, Sir?” You eventually replied as you gave up trying to figure out what he was talking about. Why did he have to speak so cryptically? “You’re going to have to give me more than that – it could mean anything knowing you.” You smiled cheekily at him from your position at the end of his bed; this time he’d called you with a deep gash stretching up the side of his left leg. It looked incredibly painful, and you couldn’t comprehend how he was purposefully putting himself through this much pain just to see you – at least, that’s what you hoped he was doing, otherwise you were completely misreading this whole situation.

“You reason for joining the First Order.” Kylo spoke bluntly. “You’ve been fixing me up for months now, and yet I feel like we are still strangers to each other.” If you hadn’t just averted your gaze back to his leg, you might have noticed the corners of his lips twitch up into the slightest shadow of a smile – but it was gone as quickly as it came.

“Oh! Oh, right, of course.” You smiled. “Well, my father was the Chief Medical Officer when he was in the First Order, and on his breaks he’d always try and teach me as much as he could about medicine before my mother caught him teaching me things that were too gory or troubling for my ‘young eyes’.” You huffed out a laugh at the thought of your parents. “So I joined because I wanted to be a Doctor and to hopefully be the Chief Medical Officer myself one day – I love my father and I’d be proud to follow in his footsteps and be as half as successful as he was.”

“And I wouldn’t say we’re strangers – I mean I’m pretty familiar with your body by now.” Your eyes widened at the realisation of what you said, and you continued in slight panic. “Not like that! I didn’t mean it to sound like that at all, Sir, oh dear.” You sighed, deflated. “I look like such an idiot now.” You muttered under your breath, as you returned your efforts to applying some soothing balm to Kylo’s wound, and preparing the equipment you’d need to give him stitches.

“It’s alright.” Kylo peered down at his leg to try and see what you were doing. “I’m used to your tongue-tied manner of speaking by now.” You raised your eyebrows in surprise.

You let out a giggle at his attempt at a mild joke, and the rest of your visit was spent in friendly silence, dispersed with the occasional small talk.

 “Y/N!” You jerked upright in your seat, blinking rapidly as you came to your senses, the memory of one of your favourite interactions with Kylo fading from your mind. Yasmyn was staring at you in slight concern. “Are you alright? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a minute now.”

“Oh yes, sorry!” You sighed, running a hand through your hair distractedly. “I’m fine thanks, just a bit tired I guess.” You adjusted yourself on Yasmyn’s bed; the two of you were having your weekly girl’s night – or as girly as it could get aboard the ship.

“Something on your mind?” Yasmyn asked sympathetically as she finished braiding her long, dark hair. “Or someone?” She grinned at you, wiggling her eyebrows. “Maybe someone tall, dark and mysterious?”

“I wasn’t thinking about Kylo.” You chided firmly, trying not to let your blush be too visible. At least once every girl’s night the topic of Kylo Ren would be brought up, as Yasmyn was always eager to hear about what the you and Kylo had shared with each other, because ‘even though he’s practically the leader of our fleet, nobody knows anything about him, and the gossip on this ship is so dry, your relationship with Kylo is the only thing I have going right now’.

“I never said you were thinking about Kylo.” Yasmyn grinned triumphantly. “I only said you might be thinking about someone tall, dark and mysterious. I never said it was Kylo, Y/N. I never said-” She was cut off as you threw a pillow at her face in retaliation.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Another two months had gone by since Kylo’s incident with the ‘scavenger girl’ – although it was never too easy to tell the time in space, and you had gone from being someone relatively quiet and unknown except to those you worked with, to someone whose name was slowly being passed around the entire ship. This wasn’t your fault – you hated having more attention than was necessary – no, the only person you could blame for this sort of attention was none other than Kylo Ren.

Over these two months, he’d managed to amass a mysterious amounts of injuries – when you compared the sheer amount of times you’d been called in to the times he was off the ship or in training, you were finding it harder and harder to believe that Kylo wasn’t getting all these injuries on purpose. But try as you might, you couldn’t really complain about it, as every time that you were called to assist Kylo, the more you got to know him, and the more you opened up to him.

But the closer the two of you grew, the more the rumours started to spread around the ship; and they were very clearly not in your favour. Because the more you were sent to assist Kylo, the more your co-workers noticed, and the nosier they all got; every time you returned from a trip to Kylo’s room you were crowded with questions from those closer to you, and judgemental and resentful glances from everyone else.

By now, whether because of these rumours or not, you’d got a reputation for yourself, and had even been personally called by other high-ranking officers to personally assist them – if you were good enough for Kylo Ren, then you were good enough for them. And that was actually how you got yourself into the situation that you were currently in. You were currently attending a very important meeting regarding a mission that would put quite a lot of Stormtroopers at risk, so you had also brought various medical records and lists of all the medical equipment on-board the ship. You had also had to evaluate the percentages of how many soldiers would either die or be seriously injured, so the rest of the medical team could prepare the right amount of equipment.

When the meeting was originally arranged, it was supposed to be attended by the Chief Medical Officer, however he was needed elsewhere; he had an emergency surgery that he needed to attend, and he trusted you out of all the other medics to cover for him. Possibly because he knew Kylo…favoured you over everyone else.

“So,” General Hux spoke up, finally starting the meeting. “The attack on the rebel base will begin with at least a quarter of the soldiers on-board, as we currently only have a rough estimate of just how many rebel soldiers are hiding out in that base.” You nodded, typing out quick notes on your personal padd for later.

“We’ll most likely be sending about one third or our forces down to begin with – enough to scare the rebel forces and if needed we can send in reinforcements.” Hux moved tiny digital figures about on a screen, illustrating where each group of the forces would be positioned to attack the base. “The rest of the fleet will be on standby in case a new strategy is required and a temporary retreat is needed. I would hope that our forces aren’t pathetic enough for us to even consider retreating.” He turned abruptly, eyeing you haughtily. “Do we have sufficient medical supplies for the foreseeable casualties?”

You looked up nervously from your padd – you’d been making rough notes about this most recent plan so you could report back to your boss and he could begin to prepare everything.

“Yes, General Hux, I do believe that we have enough supplies.” You pulled yourself together, trying not to ‘um’ and ‘err’ your way through your sentence. “But of course, I will send all the necessary figures to my superior as I do not have full access to all our equipment, and in the case that there are any supplies we may be short on.” You added as an afterthought – if there was anything that needed to be ordered you didn’t want the responsibility to be solely yours. “One third of the forces was it? And the rest on standby…” You re-capped while scribbling down extra notes. “And my superior sends his most sincere apologies that he could not be here instead of me.”

“No matter.” General Hux waved away your apology indifferently. “As long as all information gets relayed I could not care less who is here in his stead.” And with that, he continued with explaining the various stages of the attack.

Then, just as you were retreating slightly back into the mass of officers crowded around the main screen, you heard someone speak under their breath; ‘Well, it won’t be long until she does have authority to all our medical supplies, considering she’s been sleeping her way to the top with Ren. And then who knows how irresponsibly she’d use our supplies.”

You stop where you stand, feeling a flush creep up your face, turning it bright red in embarrassment. You could see those nearest to you glancing in your direction with obvious distain and disapproval, as if they were imagining a future where you were in some ways their superior. You could hear whispers on every side, many of them agreeing with the nameless whisperer, and you finally opened your mouth to defend yourself, when-

“I hope you’re not insinuating that I, the descendant of Darth Vader, would be capable of behaving like a common whore on my ship.” Kylo’s cold, slightly robotic voice echoed loudly across the room, silencing everyone, including General Hux. Nobody dared to speak, and you stood frozen in a mix of fear and embarrassment. “Because that’s certainly what it sounded like, Lieutenant Kendell.” At this, a few people subtly turned their heads in the direction of the offending statement, and you turned to see a relatively weedy looking man visibly shrink away from Kylo.

“I- of course, no sir, I didn’t mean to offend you-” You watched him backtrack, stammering over his response as Kylo simply stood, watching him. “I-I simply wish to see our forces grow and thrive, and was only remarking that this medic would not be our best way of seeing this happen – I mean she may be far too inexperienced for such a role-”

“So you assume she is using me to gain status? Her family name far outranks yours in any case, Lieutenant, so such foolish thoughts are unnecessary.” Kylo interrupted, and the room seemed to grow darker. “You assumed that I would succumb to any such advances?” He took one single step towards the unfortunate Lieutenant. “You forget your place, Lieutenant. It would be wise not to do so again in the future. It would be unfortunate to lose a member of our staff because of such a foolish mistake.” With this threat hanging in the air, he turned, cape flowing dramatically behind him, to face Hux, who continued his speech.

As everyone began to settle down, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander as you replayed the conflict. You weren’t hurt by Kylo’s behaviour, more confused that he would go out of his way to seemingly defend your honour – you assumed he wouldn’t want people to know that the two of you were even relatively acquainted. You mulled over your thoughts, confusion fogging your mind as you absentmindedly followed suite and exited the room amidst the other officers, heading back to the med-wing.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Later that day, after you’d relayed all information back to your boss, and sent him the notes you’d made, you finally made the journey back to your room. Luckily, it was your day off tomorrow, so you could afford to have a nice, relaxing shower that would hopefully clear your mind of the stresses of the day.

Eventually, when you’d got out of the shower and put on less formal clothes, (not quite pyjamas – these were your own clothes so your evening consisted of leggings and an oversized shirt) you just so happened to check your padd for any messages from Yas, when you saw a message in your inbox that was unread. Upon checking it, your blood ran cold – it had been sent 8 minutes ago, and it was from Kylo himself. Not another officer messaging on his behalf, but from Kylo himself.

You sat bolt upright from where you had been reclining in bed, and double checked the message. It was from Kylo alright, and it had been sent-

“Eight minutes ago?!” You shrieked, hurriedly scrambling to your feet, shoving your feet in your usual uniformed shoes, pulling on a long cardigan and rushing out of your room. It took you longer than eight minutes to get to Kylo’s chambers, but it was a decent enough amount of delay from the time the message was sent to when you actually saw it, that Kylo would be sure to notice that you were eight minutes later than you should have been. He didn’t even set a time; he had simply requested your presence in his chamber, but the underlying message was that your presence was to be requested immediately.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

About fifteen minutes later, you skidded to a halt outside Kylo’s chambers, having run most of the way there. You frantically tried to catch your breath as you smoothed your hair, trying to appear as though you hadn’t spent the last fifteen minutes worrying that your lungs were going to explode. You introduced yourself to the guards outside Kylo’s room, and no sooner than you spoke the door slid open, one of the guards gesturing for you to go through.

“You’re late.” Kylo stated after the door had closed behind you. He was standing at his window, back to you, helmet off.

“My apologies, Sir.” You began, taking a few cautious steps forwards. “I was…well, occupied at the time that you sent the message. Believe me, I would have come sooner if I had seen your request sooner-”

“Occupied?” Kylo turned to face you, his expression impassive as ever; his interrupting statement, rather than question lingering in the air. “I was under the impression that once your shift was over you no longer need to be occupied.”

“Um...” You flushed slightly, subconsciously running a hand through your damp hair. “Occupied…in my shower?” You avoided his burning stare. There was silence for a moment, as if Kylo was trying to determine whether or not he believed you without delving too deep into your mind.

“You are excused of your tardiness this time.” He eventually spoke, and you relaxed slightly.

“If I may, Sir, why did you want me here?” You ventured, rocking back and forth on your heels as you glanced around the (now) familiar room. “If it’s to do with the comments made in the meeting earlier, I apologise if I’ve done anything to-to damage your reputation-”

“If anyone was going to ruin my reputation, it would not be you.” He cut in coolly. “You are not exactly in a position to do so.” He gestured to a chair set out in front of his desk. “Sit. We have much to discuss.” You did as he said, shifting around on the surprisingly soft seat, trying to get comfortable. He too, sat down in a chair he seemingly pulled out of the shadows of his room.

“If you think it is better for not to…run into each other more often, Sir, I understand that.” You started, leaning forwards in your seat. “I feel like rumours about-” you paused, unsure if you could refer to whatever the two of you were as ‘us’, but decided to go with it anyway. “Us, have been following me for almost a week now and it could ruin any chance I have of becoming Chief Medical Officer because everyone thinks I just sleep around and haven’t earned my place because of my family name.” You continued in frustration. “And it doesn’t help that, no offence, you seem to acquire a range of injuries from who knows where, and nobody else seems to want to take up the job because they’re convinced we’re having an affair or something – I’m lucky my boss is sympathetic towards me otherwise I could have lost my job or been demoted by now.” The words seemed to tumble from your lips, unending.

“You think my situation is any better?” Kylo stood, beginning to pace around the room. “I have the power of the Force, I can easily tell what people are thinking, and they do little to conceal their thoughts in my presence.” He spun on his heel, his bulking form towering over you. “I will not be taken for a fool by those pathetic enough to believe such rumours. I will not let them defile my name and my presence, or yours-” he cut himself off as his voice grew louder in anger. You stood as well, anxiously wringing your hands.

“I appreciate that, Sir.” You said quietly. “I know what’s on the line for you, and I’m sorry that it got this far. Maybe it would be better for a different medic to attend to your many injuries.” You felt more dejected than you probably should – after all this was a professional relationship.

“That won’t be necessary. While I am sure your co-workers are capable at doing their job, I know that you are most familiar with what antidotes work with my body and what do not.” Kylo dismissed your suggestion.

“Well what do you suggest?” You asked, a hint of exasperation in your tone. “While I do enjoy your company, Sir, I don’t want our meetings to affect your image.” There was a pause as Kylo took in your words.

“No. I will not be bullied by my insubordinates.” You heard him say, almost to himself. “We shouldn’t even be having this conversation; I don’t need to please the rest of the fleet – I just need them to win me this fight against the rebellion.” He strode to stand in front of you, and you gazed up at him. “I should not have to change my behaviour for them, and neither should you.” You opened your mouth in protest.

“But Sir, I-”

“You are under my protection. If there is anyone giving you trouble, you will report it straight to me.” He stood tall, not like that was hard for him to do, and you swallowed heavily, in awe of the sheer power he radiated. “That is an order. Do you understand?” His voice grew quieter at the end of his sentence; but he was no less grand.

“Yes, Sir.” You replied, suddenly finding it difficult to speak clearly, a smile visible on your face for the first time that day. “Thank you, Sir.”

“I think we’re past the use of such formalities, considering that today you’ve been accused of sleeping your way to power and I have been accused of doing such with someone of a lower station.” He said smoothly, his face as clear of emotion as ever.

“How else should I address you?” You asked, slightly flustered. (And slightly stung by the ‘lower station’ jab but it was the truth.) This must be one of the most bizarre days of my life, you thought to yourself, mind racing.

“You strike me as an intelligent woman, Officer Y/N; surely you do not need me to spell it out for you. Obviously the usual title when others are present.” He said, now walking you towards his door, hands behind his back, his form looming over yours. “Just because I allowed you to address me as such in private, I must remind you I will not be as lenient when we are in public.” He said placidly.

You nodded in acknowledgement. Kylo it is then – that was the only less formal title that you could think of. “Of course. I wouldn't dream of doing any such thing, Kylo.” You saw the left corner of his mouth twitch ever so slightly at your words as he opened the door, allowing you to step through. “I do hope you don't over-exert yourself in training, or do anything to worsen your injuries.” You called as you started to walk back down the corridor. “It would be a shame to meet again so prematurely.” For one of the most feared men in the galaxy, he isn’t nearly as subtle as he thinks, your smile widening as you walk back in the direction of your room, and you could have sworn you heard a chuckle echo down the corridor behind you.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Taglist: @ah-callie​

(also tagging @joscelyn02​ - just in case you wanted to know when the next part was out :) )

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #ben solo #ben solo x reader #kylo ren imagines #ben solo imagines #star wars #star wars imagines #star wars x reader #adam driver #Star Wars The Force Awakens #star wars the last jedi #star wars the rise of skywalker

[isabelleashmore]

Invisible Moonlight: Padmé Amidala/Sabé for @star-wars-wlweek

Padmé winged easily through the steps, whisking Sabé along with her, and for a moment, they were waltzing in their nightgowns through the ballroom of Theed Palace, Sabé’s touch electric at the small of her back. It was only on her planet that petticoats and ballgowns, stiff and unforgiving on the bodies of Imperials, turned beautiful, their hems flaring vibrantly over the floor with their soft, silken sighs.

It was only in Sabé’s arms, dancing through her memories of Naboo, that Padmé became weightless.

(Or, Padmé and Sabé have a romantic night to themselves following the rise of the Empire.)

Rating: Teen

@star-wars-wlweek

Read here or on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33233989

Invisible Moonlight

“Were you surprised?”

Sabé whispered the question as if they were kids at a sleepover, scared to be caught out of bed after lights-out. They essentially were, Padmé reflected, only this time, it was being caught in bed that would get them in trouble. She tried and failed to banish that image from her mind: palace guards breaking down the door to her and Sabé’s hidden bedroom, finding them tangled up in the sheets and in each other. A humiliating arrest, after which they would be hauled to the throne room and tossed at the feet of a furious Emperor Vader. He’d throw his jealous little tantrum right then and there, which would subside only after he’d locked away his wife and executed her lover, all without ever addressing the women who frequented his room each night. The sparks of resistance that she and Sabé had so painstakingly kindled would be snuffed out; Luke and Leia—well, thank the gods that they were Anakin’s, too, because envisioning her children at risk, especially as a byproduct of her own actions, squeezed the air from Padmé’s lungs faster than if she’d been chucked off a skyscraper—

Sabé curled an arm around her waist, breaking her free from her ruminations. Padmé’s lips twitched into a fragile smile. Sabé’s every touch felt like a lullaby, like a murmured, “I’m here.” They had taken all the necessary precautions, she reminded herself: Dormé was covering for them and Anakin was spending the night with his own mistress. Not that Padmé thought of Sabé as her mistress. If anything, she liked to imagine that she was her girlfriend, and sometimes even indulged in fantasies of one day calling Sabé her wife.

Emboldened by the dream kneaded into that word—wife—Padmé giggled and touched her nose to Sabé’s. “Was I surprised by what?”

“Realizing that you were attracted to me. Were you surprised?” Sabé shimmied coyly out of Padmé’s grasp; her sultry, side-eyed gaze was enough to send tingles down Padmé’s arms. She found herself admiring Sabé’s lip gloss under the muted, golden light, the way it drew attention to the delicate purse of her lips, and thinking about how, whenever she was deep in thought, those lips would fall open just slightly, like a rosebud puckering into bloom…

It took Padmé much too long to focus on the question. She inhaled and blew out a slow stream of air, hoping Sabé hadn’t noticed. “Yes,” she hedged, “and no. I mean, there were some things about us that finally made sense. Like back when we were girls, and I got jealous when Harli Jafan started flirting with you—”

“You did?”

A blush stole into Padmé’s cheeks at Sabé’s unabashed delight. “Why else did you think I was upset about her trying to kiss you? I should have realized it earlier, but everyone around me just assumed I was only into men. Maybe I assumed it, too. Until…”—she met Sabé’s gaze from beneath her eyelashes—“until I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

Sabé smiled and took Padmé’s hand in hers, absentmindedly tracing the lines of her palm. “If you don’t mind me asking, what made you so sure that people had those assumptions in the first place? No offense, but I can’t imagine Theed Palace being thrown into chaos over your sexuality. Yané and Saché were openly a couple, and I was out as bi before I signed on as your handmaiden.”

“It wasn’t that. I’m sure that if I made a point of coming out, everyone would have been supportive, but…” Padmé rested her head on Sabé’s shoulder, pondering how to translate her emotions into words. “My parents and sister were always asking me when I was going to bring home a boy. Maybe I started to believe that that was the ultimate goal, that liking anyone else made me somehow…less than. And then one day, Anakin happened to accompany me to my parents’ house. He was only there as my bodyguard—a Jedi one, at that!—but my whole family leapt to the assumption that he was my boyfriend. Sola and my mother were so happy—relieved, even—and…I don’t know. I told myself that none of it would matter if I could just fall for Anakin, but then I caught myself thinking, how would they have reacted if I’d brought home a girl instead?”

“I know your parents,” Sabé said. “I’m sure they would have been supportive.”

“Oh, they would have, if they had known. But I brought home you and Dormé a few times and they never assumed either one of you was my girlfriend.”

“It’s probably because you’re so feminine,” Sabé said with a hint of bitterness. “No one ever expects feminine women to be into women.”

“No one ever expects women to be into women.”

Sabé’s only response to that was to grip Padmé’s hand a little tighter.

They sat together in silence until Padmé had collected her thoughts. “I think,” she confessed, “that I was most afraid of seeing the shock on their faces. It would have felt too much like letting them down, like turning my back on a dream they’d had for me since childhood. No, more than a dream: an expectation.” She worried her lip. “I don’t know when ‘assumption’ turned into ‘expectation’, but it did, and I couldn’t bring myself to ruin it—not for them, and especially not for myself. I still don’t know of anyone in House Naberrie who isn’t heterosexual, and there was enough tension between my relatives and me as it was, what with some lingering contention over my career choice and my not-entirely-pacifist politics—and then this—!” Padmé didn’t realize she was crying until the tears were flooding down her cheeks. She clapped a hand over her mouth, just in time to muffle the sob that escaped her. “Gods, I wish I had told them—now that Anakin won’t even let me talk to them—”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Sabé stroked Padmé’s hair with her free hand, pausing only to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? We all move at our own pace. I knew pretty young, but if I’d figured it out just a little bit later, I would have had the same insecurities as you. Probably more of them, since in my case they would have been justified.”

“Stop it, Sabé. You know how I feel about you talking yourself down.”

“I know, love.” Sabé raised Padmé’s chin to drop a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth. Somehow that still ignited every nerve in Padmé’s body. “For the record, my career path was also hard for my family to accept. Being chosen as your handmaiden was an honour, of course, but my parents were just so hung up on this fantasy of me following in the family tradition, playing hallikset in the back row of some orchestra for the rest of my life.”

Padmé sighed, wiping the last of her tears on the back of her hand. “I think that’s one of the main problems on Naboo. Everyone wants their child to go into the arts, but we still need people who can run the government or fill any of the other thousands of jobs that are necessary to our planet’s survival. My father did support my engagement in politics growing up, but even he still hoped that I would ultimately pursue a career in the arts. Thankfully, once I announced to my parents that I was running for Princess of Theed, they understood that politics were my calling and stopped trying to wrangle me into an artistic pursuit. But before that, they’d tried everything: poetry, original oratory, debate, the like. My mother had desperately wanted me to be a musician, like you, but I wasn’t a standout talent at any particular instrument. At least I took all those years of dance classes—”

“No way, that doesn’t count. Everyone takes dance classes.”

Padmé shoulder-checked Sabé in mock offense. “How dare you dismiss my prodigious dance skills. I’ll have you know, I was recommended to a couple of ballet conservatories thanks to my ‘natural poise and diligence’.”

“Oh, I can believe it. I was watching you dance tonight.” Sabé’s voice had taken on a genuine, if a bit seductive note. She grinned and dropped her lips to Padmé’s ear. “You want to know a secret?”

A thrill shot down Padmé’s spine. “Yes…”

“I was jealous tonight, love. Really jealous, having to watch you dance with him in front of everyone. His hands, just…digging into your waist, as if to lay claim to you or something…” Padmé was horrified to find that the passion in her girlfriend’s voice, so hot and sensual a second ago, had suddenly been zapped dry. “Gods!” Sabé cried, sharpening and spitting the word like it was dirty. “That man is insufferable, I—I hate him!”

Padmé remained silent, rubbing the silk of her nightgown between her fingers. She had thought for a moment that this was going in a different direction, but then somehow Anakin had ruined it without even being here and—no. She refused to let the thought of him spoil her mood. Instead, she took a deep breath and examined the small, windowless bedroom that she and Sabé shared. Already a warm pulse of pride was pushing out the anger in her chest. They may have lost the bulk of their past lives to Anakin, but they had still succeeded in making this one thing their own.

Padmé’s favourite shimmer-silk robe had taken up permanent residence on the back of the desk chair, and Sabé’s hallikset case lay nestled at the foot of their bed. On the walls, they had hung every holophoto they’d rescued from Anakin’s war on the past, regardless of whether said photos were personally relevant to them. Decade-old letters from Padmé’s sister and Sabé’s brothers, penned on real arbovellum paper, were piled lovingly on the vanity; next to them, a meticulous arrangement of eyeshadow palettes and perfume bottles. What really caught her eye, though, was Sabé’s music player, its bulky form squatting somewhat obtrusively in the corner. Sabé had held a strange affection for the battered old thing since Padmé had known her, despite—or perhaps because of—her brothers’ alleged attempts on its “life” over the years.

“Sabé,” she proposed lightly, “how about a dance?”

Sabé followed her gaze to the music player, and her eyes widened in surprise. “What, right here?”

“Why not? We’ve got music and two people who know how to waltz. What more could we need?”

“Hmm…fair point.” Sabé stood up from the bed, her hips swaying just slightly as she approached the music player. Padmé felt a fresh blush heat her cheeks. “I’ve still got this recording my brother gave me a few years ago, from the orchestra he was playing with at the time.”

“Perfect.” Padmé closed her eyes just before the first strains of music wove through the air. When she opened them again, Sabé stood before her like a vision: her hair haloed by a cross-section of candlelight, her hand extended to Padmé with the palm up. “May I have this dance, my lady?” she asked in a manner so formal, they could have been at an actual ball. Padmé giggled like a lovestruck teenager and took Sabé’s hand, pulling her eagerly to the centre of the room. Their nightgowns traced the movement with a cool flutter of silk. “You may,” Padmé whispered belatedly, unable to look anywhere but into Sabé’s eyes.

She could feel the night wrapping them up in moonlight they could not see, driving them closer, closer, closer until her breasts pressed up against Sabé’s, whose open lips hung just a tantalizing breath away. Lost in the glossy expanse of her girlfriend’s pupils, mesmerized by an orchestra’s melancholic cries, Padmé let the past flood the present, transforming the world around her. She was dissolving into another time, a place where thousand-pound chandeliers hovered overhead like they weighed nothing at all, where moonlight came streaming through arches and marble reflected the world at her feet. Padmé winged easily through the steps, whisking Sabé along with her, and for a moment, they were waltzing in their nightgowns through the ballroom of Theed Palace, Sabé’s touch electric at the small of her back. Padmé gasped into the cello’s sonorous vibrato, each pull of the bow a tug-of-war between desolation and desire. It was only on her planet that petticoats and ballgowns, stiff and unforgiving on the bodies of Imperials, turned beautiful, their hems flaring vibrantly over the floor with their soft, silken sighs.

It was only in Sabé’s arms, dancing through her memories of Naboo, that Padmé became weightless.

The bow paused on the string, still trembling, as if on the cusp of climax. Padmé’s eyes fluttered closed and Sabé kissed her, firmly on the mouth and then more passionately, parting Padmé’s lips beneath her own. Padmé clung tighter to the curves of Sabé’s waist, unable to suppress a shiver as the music exploded around them. Sabé’s lip gloss tasted of strawberries, of carefree summers in the open air of the Lake Country. Padmé tugged insistently on her girlfriend’s bottom lip, frenzied by the elusive sweetness of home, and felt Sabé deepen the kiss in response.

Coruscant was a cold planet, in every sense of the word. But Sabé always managed to make it just a little bit warmer. As soon as their lips had parted, Padmé lowered her head to Sabé’s ear. “One day,” she promised, “after all of this is over—the Empire, the Rebellion, everything—I’m going to take you to Varykino. We’ll put ourselves first for once and leave everything behind. No Amidala, no handmaidens…just us. Well…except for maybe one thing.” She laced her fingers through Sabé’s and gently stroked the side of her palm, hoping it would distract from her own quickening heartbeat. “I…I’ve decided that I’d like to raise Luke and Leia with you, Sabé. Assuming…that’s something you would want?”

Sabé’s rosebud lips dropped open in shock. Padmé panicked and nearly jumped in to amend her request—what she would actually say was beside the point—but then Sabé laughed—a full-bodied, dazzling laugh—and breathed, “Padmé…” Her fingers were feather-light on Padmé’s skin as she lifted her face to hers; Padmé was met with the glorious sight of Sabé’s eyes, glistening beneath a thin layer of tears. “I can’t think of anything else I’d want more than to raise children with you. I love you.”

Giddiness overtook Padmé then, a rush like free-falling back into love. The laugh that emerged from her was watery, nowhere near as melodious as Sabé’s, but she didn’t care. “I love you, too,” she replied, and because that still didn’t feel like enough, “I love you, I love you, I love—”

Sabé kissed her again, robbing her lips of the words so that only raw passion remained, and in that moment, in that small, windowless, beautiful room, Padmé’s cares slipped away beneath the invisible moonlight.

#starwarswlweek2021 #padme amidala #sabe #starwars #sabedala #dancing #lesbian romance #lgbtq+ themes #naboo royal handmaidens #post order 66 #padmé amidala lives #emperor vader au #wlw writing wlw

[laurenmm62017]

When You Find Your Answers, I'll Be There Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31111016

Here's the 2nd chapter! I don't think I nailed Kallus' POV so i appreciate any feedback!

Alexsandr Kallus grew up on Coruscant, the most populous planet in the galaxy. He knew about soulmates before he was even able to walk. He was surrounded on all sides by people talking about soulmates.

He absolutely hated it.

He hated that all he can see are shades of grey just because he hasn’t met someone he’s supposed to spend the rest of his life with. He hated that it wasn’t even guaranteed that he and his soulmate would be romantic partners, but they could be simply platonic (which would be fine with him) or even hate each other (which he was less fine with). He hated that he might not even meet his soulmate AT ALL. He hated how all of his family, friends, classmates, and teachers always made such a big deal about soulmates.

He was so tired of it.

Alex was 11 when he was bullied for these views so much that he was cornered after school and beaten up so hard, his ribs were bruised for a solid month afterwards.

He decided then that he would enlist in the Grand Army of the Republic when he came of age. Everything was grey on those giant Venators anyways.

He never really thought about who his soulmate could be. He pushed himself to be as strong, fast, and smart as possible. He pushed himself so hard, he passed out due to exhaustion every night. During a particularly grueling sparring session, he had pushed so hard, that his partner grew enraged and broke his leg to get him to stop fighting. Pain lanced up and down his leg as he screamed and writhed on the ground. Their instructor calmly, almost too calmly, called to the medbay on campus for a stretcher. Alex never really forgot that look of apathy.

When Kallus was 20, The Galactic Civil War ended and the Empire rose to power, with Emperor Palpatine at the helm and his second in command Vader at his side. The Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army, and he was recruited into the ranks as a Commander. It took a long time for ranks and respect to cement into place, but by the time he and his troops went on their first real mission to Onderon, a former base for major rebellions led by Saw Guerrera, he gained the respect of all under his command. He regarded them all as capable soldiers and friends in return.

The mission went south, of course. It turned out that Guerera’s troops hadn’t left the planet yet because they had blown up his company’s transports. Kallus had been knocked out in the first blast, and woke up on his back on the side of the road. He attempted to stand up, but he found that he couldn’t move a single muscle.

Then, slowly, a tall, dark grey Lasat menacingly prowled down the path of destruction, executing every one of the soldiers who were still showing signs of life.

John, Lina, Corbyn, their medic, Stim, everyone.

Kallus’ eyes were as wide as can be, as the Lasat slowly passed by his position.

‘Don’t notice me, don’t notice me, don’t noti-’ He frantically thought, but it was in vain.

The Lasat’s head whipped around to look at him, paralyzed on the ground.

“Well, well, looks like I found the commander of the group. That’s some fancy armor compared to the others, isn’t it?” He purred dangerously. Kallus tried to open his mouth, but found he still couldn’t move.

‘If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with.’ He glared up at the Lasat.

“Ooooooh, look at those eyes. Tell me, have you found your soulmate yet, Commander?” He snickered, leveling his weapon at him, some kind of modified electrostaff. “Tell you what? I’m feeling pretty generous tonight, so I’ll let you live. But I gotta make it look good. So what should I do.... Heh, I got it.”

The Lasat swung down on Kallus’ leg and it broke cleanly. Kallus still couldn’t move but the pain of the same leg that broke a few years ago was so excruciating, he passed out.

When he woke up, he was lying in a medical bed. His superior officer, Admiral Yularan, was sitting in a chair at his bedside.

“Good to see you awake, Commander. The medical droids tell me you’ll make a smooth recovery. Whenever you are able, I’d like a full report of what happened down there.”

“My men?”

Yularan shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, my boy. You were the only one we found still alive.”

He looked up at the ceiling, anger, guilt, and fear flooded through him. He felt so helpless. He was caught off guard, and as a result, everyone was dead.

Because of him.

In that moment, on that uncomfortable medical bed, he vowed that this would never happen again.

Kallus was 26 years old when he was recruited into the Imperial Security Bureau on the recommendation of Admiral Yularan. He was trained to be ruthless, unforgiving, and as stoic as a rock. He was first assigned to Internal Affairs in order to keep loyalty to the Empire. He was very good at this job. Because he garnered the respect and loyalty or his coworkers and subordinates, many of them were rather to get in his favor by reporting any disloyalty or traitorous activity to him. He was one of the most successful Agents in ISB at this time. However, he was becoming restless just staying on Coruscant every single cycle. He wanted to get out in the field, and assist the Empire from out in the stars. He requested to be transferred to Investigations.

That was where he first encountered his soulmate.

His Lasat soulmate.

For kriff’s sake, how cruel could the universe be? A Lasat? The very one who slaughtered his first unit? One of the species he helped hunt to extinction. Surely this was a joke.

That first time he made eye contact with him, however, was admittedly magical. The way that color seemed to first saturate within the Lasat’s eyes, and spread to his soft-looking fur, and then to his surroundings made him pause for a moment. He was so captured in his eyes, it was like the galaxy paused just for this moment.

But reality came back as a blaster bolt nearly caught him in the shoulder and he ducked back to cover.

In his free time, he learned the names of the colors of his soulmate. His eyes were bright green. He had light purple fur and dark purple stripes. His jumpsuit is dark green normally, as he rarely could disguise himself. He encountered his soulmate many more times in the span of a few months, but he was never able to capture him or his group of rebels.

And then they somehow crash landed together on that Geonosian ice moon.

~

Alexsandr sat on the ground, and watched his soulmate, Garazeb Orrelios, member of the Spectre crew, jog towards the Ghost and as his friends poured out of the ship to welcome him back.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave they had taken shelter in.

“When you find your answers, I’ll be there.”

That is what Zeb had said. But why in the galaxy would he try to find answers to questions he knows he won’t like the answers to?

For himself? For the galaxy? For Zeb?

He knew that no one in the Empire would run out and embrace him like Zeb’s teammates had. The most interaction he will have is with the medical team to fix his leg. He would simply send a report to a superior officer that he would make up.

Kallus was picked up by an Imperial shuttle long after the Ghost left the atmosphere. As he suspected, he is sent to medical, discharged after his leg is set, and sent back to his quarters. No one except Konstantine greeted him on the way back.

Alone in his quarters, he sat down heavily on his bed and stared at the grey floor, walls, bedsheets. It was as if he had never even found his soulmate at all. The only burst of color there was the small meteorite he smuggled back with him.

“It’s the same color as Zeb’s bo-rifle…” He thought, idly stroking his thumb along the crevices in the meteorite.

“I’m going to find my answers, Zeb.”

~

The next time he saw Zeb in person was right after his escape from the Chimera. He messed up. He got caught, and he caused a huge loss for the Rebellion. Would he really be welcomed into their ranks after everything he had done? He was genuinely not planning to ever join up with them. If he got caught, he figured he would never see the light of day again and he would die as Fulcrum.

He never expected Kanan Jarrus, of all people, to approach him after their first jump into hyperspace.

“Kanan.” He whispered, clutching his arm to his chest and shifting his weight to one leg. It still hurt even after the medical droid looked him over. “Thank you, for taking me in.”

Seeing Kanan this close, without his mask, Alexsandr could see why the Jedi usually wore his green face shield. The scars across his face were much lighter than the rest of his face, jagged and haunting. Kanan placed a hand on his shoulder gently.

“Thank you, for risking everything.”

“It wasn’t that hard. Once I found my answers, it was clear to me.”

“We’re glad to have you, Fulcrum.” Kanan smiled and dropped his hand back down. “Zeb is in the common room, if you want to speak with him. The debriefing is almost over.”

“Thank you. Kanan. And please. My name is Alexsandr.”

He smiled at Alexsandr. “Get in there, Alexsandr.” Then, he continued through the ship with the comfort of someone who has been in a place for a long time.

Alexsandr slowly limped up to the door of the common room, pausing for one moment before he opened the door. Inside was Hera Syndulla, General Dodonna, Sabine Wren, and in the far corner, his soulmate, Garazeb Orrelios. Their eyes met and for a moment, it seemed as if everything fell away. It didn’t matter that he just barely managed to escape from the Empire. It didn’t matter that he had been beaten down over and over. All that mattered was that he was safe here, caught in those sharp, bright green eyes.

Zeb motioned for Alexsandr to stand next to him, and he limped over as fast as he could. He leaned his weight against the wall  and Zeb placed his hand right next to his. He could feel the heat radiating off of Zeb, and in that moment, Alexsandr had never felt safer.

“So, did you find your answers?”

“I did.”

#kalluzeb appreciation week #kalluzeb #alexsandr kallus #garazeb orrelios

[siennahrobek]

Future Past

5 BBY

(Luke is approximately 14 years old)

Lothal was a bit of a strange place to stop, on account of being so bustling with the Empire’s presence. However, for some reason, Ben had insisted on a short stop there and lured him in with that mischievous smirk he would get sometimes and a mention of a surprise. And Luke supposed, he could use the distraction. Of anything, really.

It had been hard; so soon after Ben had forced Boil to leave them. Boil had been Luke’s friend, in a way that he had never had before. He and Ben didn’t stay on a planet long enough for Luke to actually make friends, but Boil had stayed with them for months and it was turning into routine. It became normal. Even squishing him into their little ship wasn’t too bad; Luke was just too happy about just having someone else around. Of course, Qui-Gon stopped by once in a while, but he couldn’t hold his form for very long and generally, he only came when he had something to teach. Luke had been so happy for those couple of months, having someone around to talk to and help and teach and be taught by. He loved Ben, of course, he did, with so much, but there was a difference.

And suddenly that was taken away.

And Luke had been very upset.

After Boil had been sent away, Luke didn’t talk to Ben for nearly a week and even after that, it was only necessary exchanges between them. Which led to their trip to Lothal where they barely made it past the strict incoming traffic regulations and landed in the middle of nowhere.

Meditation, Luke presumed with a frown and the roll of his eyes.

Ben took nothing with him, just gestured for Luke to follow him out into the grasslands. And, as of course, he did, and they walked in silence through the tiny civilization which he knew would be leading out into the actual, literal, middle of nowhere. At least, until Ben had spotted something that had interested in him. After telling Luke to stay where he was and the younger man returning that request with a long, irritated whine and near rebuttal, Ben had left him in the market, hidden away in an alley until he got back.

It wasn’t just hard because of Boil leaving, although that was the core of it. It wasn’t just because Luke had lost pretty much the only friend, he had made that he knew Ben would trust. But Luke had been a bit bitter towards his guardian. Things were a bit more strained than usual, and Luke was holding onto his feelings. The ones that were so upset and angry that he felt like sometimes he could just explode.

Because he finally, finally, had a friend that Ben would approve of. Sure, he was older like Ben, but it was a start, it was something. It was even a person that Ben cared about and trusted. But then he just sent him away and Luke was struggling on forgiving Ben for that.

Lost in thought and his bitterness, Luke was a bit too late to notice the being creeping up on him but realized just enough for avoid the stun coming his way. He didn’t get a good look at his opponent who tried to flip him…only for Luke to bring the being with him and flipped him as well.

It hurt. And no doubt it hurt the other guy too.

The ensuing fight was rather brutal, and Luke had a feeling if he hadn’t been shown so many hand-to-hand moves by Boil, he would have lost. Well, if the fight had gone on any longer than the few moments that it had, he probably would have lost. At least, if Luke hadn’t used the Force. But that would blow their cover.

It was sharp and ruthless with fast strikes that were almost always some kind of hit, whether or not it was the area that it was intended. And for absolute certain, Luke knew he would hurt and be so sore tomorrow. Well, if he liveduntil tomorrow. And by the way things were going with this fight, he wasn’t entirely so sure he would.

“Luke!”

“Echo!”

The two of them had stopped so abruptly that they both stumbled, nearing falling over one another as they tripped over themselves to stand up and move away, one from the other. Luke felt like he was coughing up the dust the two fighters had kicked into the air, but it was difficult to get enough air in his lungs. He was tired. Ben and another trooper, longer hair and a bandana were standing in their sight line, looking quite unimpressed and frowning, expectantly.

“Ben!”

“General Kenobi?”

Luke’s head whipped around to the side, where his opponent was, eyes wide and shocked. The man had ripped off his dark helmet to stare and Luke tried to prevent his double take. Because…. well, because he looked like Boil. Well, not exactly. He didn’t really have much in the way of hair and his skin was a bit ashen, but they looked so similar. Meaning this was a clone. Luke glanced back at Ben and the other man. Another clone.

“Echo,” Ben greeted, quiet and soft with a slight bow. His presence softened at the sight of this former soldier that he knew but he was still guarded, shielded. Luke struggled to understand this sometimes, but Ben had believed the clones had betrayed the jedi and killed all of his family and people for well over a decade. That caution wasn’t just going to go away. But he was trying, and he did his best. “It is good to see you alive and well.”

“Is it?” the clone – Echo – sputtered, obviously a bit surprised at the statement. “Because I have a hard time being glad to see…people like us, knowing what happened.” Luke knew what he was alluding to; how could he not. Everyone knew what had happened, even though there were different stories surrounding it, depending on who one heard it from.

“I know about the chips,” Ben swallowed as his eyes softened further in grief, something misty and far away, like he wasn’t quite in the present. It was for everyone involved, rather tragic. The jedi dead and the troopers brainwashed; the galaxy gone and under the tyranny of the new Galactic Empire. “We found out a few months ago. I am so sorry.”

“I feel like I should be saying that to you,” Echo muttered, shaking his head while the other clone just looked between the both of them. He wondered who he was exactly and how he knew them. “I shouldn’t be surprised you are alive. The 212thalways had rumors about you.”

“Rumors?” Ben mused, an eyebrow raising curiously.

“Yeah. Some of them thought you were unkillable.”

Ben scoffed with several different and varying emotions running through it, some Luke couldn’t quite identify with any amount of certainty. “That is rather ridiculous but, I suppose, their faith in me is… it would have been nice, if things hadn’t worked out the way they did,” Ben said. “I hear you are chasing a bounty. On Luke and myself.”

Echo blinked and shot a glance at Luke before turning back to Ben. “Uh… yes sir. Although, in our defense, we didn’t know it was you.”

“No worries,” Ben shrugged and tucked his hands into the large sleeves of the overcoat of his robe. “And I think you can drop the sir. I am no longer your superior officer, much less a general.”

Echo just smirked faintly. “Of course, sir.”

“Hunter and I just wanted to make sure you and Luke didn’t kill each other,” Ben responded, his tone filling with a form of amusement. “Would you mind keeping him company or entertained while we speak?”

The trooper just nodded. As the two of them walked off to have their talk with the assurance that the clone and boy did not, in fact, kill one another or would for that matter, Echo turned back towards Luke and tried to smile, offering his good hand for Luke to shake. He did, of course. It was only polite. “Sorry about, ya know, hitting you in the face, kid.”

“You can call me Luke,” the younger boy replied but he forced himself to look at him. It was a bit difficult with the similar facial structure of his friend. They looked virtually nothing alike aside from that. Boil had more hair and a bit of a scowl, and his presence was oh so vastly different. Neither were bad or better, but it just kind of made Luke miss Boil. “I’m sorry for nearly busting your vambrace,” he added, gesturing towards the slightly sparking tech inside. Echo just winced but then shrugged and pulled up his other arm which…had a machine attached to it.

“I’ve got it,” he added as he started to poke at it. “Those moves looked familiar. Considering General Kenobi knew about the chips, I guess it is safe to say that you two came in contact with some troopers.”

Luke nodded.

“Anyone I might know?”

“I don’t know in particular if you knew them,” Luke replied as the two of them walked through the little marketplace, slow and steady. Echo continued to work a bit on his partially broken vambrace, and Luke kept his gaze on the varying items that were out for sale in the market. “Commander Cody and Sergeant Boil we found on Vader’s ship.”

The clone paused and stared at him, just kicking up as he stopped in his tracks. Luke paused enough to glance at him, a bit startled. “That…is a lot to unpack. I’m going to skip over the whole Lord Vader thing for now. Cody is alive?”

Luke hesitated and looked away. “No. He’s not.”

Echo sagged in disappointment, but they continued to walk. “Oh…so you…you learned some stuff from the other guy, Boil.”

“He was a part of the 212th, Ben’s immediate battalion,” Luke explained. He didn’t know if Echo knew in particular but he just thought it would be best to clarify. “He was with us for several months before Ben sent him away. He taught me some things and told me a ton of stories. About Ben and the 212th, about Cody, about him and his brother Waxer and all the others.”

“You like stories?”

Luke tried not to look sheepish when he nodded in affirmation.

Echo just grinned. “I have plenty of stories. And trust me, they are some of the most insane and fantastical stories you will hear. My brother, Fives, and I were amidst all sorts of action alongside our general. They called him the Hero with No Fear and he was…something else. His name was Anakin Skywalker.”

*

Luke barely got to hear a fraction of what Echo had to offer and it just made him even more upset when Ben told him they had to go their separate ways. He wanted more. He needed more. Echo was fun and his stories great and they were about his father! Oh, he wanted to know more!

But Ben was stern, and Hunter was anxious to get back to the rest of their party. Luke somehow convinced them to give the two jedi a ride to their destination, which Ben very reluctantly finally caved to. Luke had a few more minutes and he would use it to the best of his ability. Their destination, as Ben pointed out, was a fairly natural looking structure for Lothal’s environment and the two clones had left near immediately after dropping them off. Luke’s heart just felt heavy.

Ben explained that it was a Jedi Temple and that they would both have to use the force to make the entrance known. It took them a fair amount of time, possibly due to their conflicting feelings on the past events and Luke’s bitterness. But, eventually, it happened and the Temple unraveled to reveal its door way, coming up from the ground.

Ben didn’t say a word.

They walked in. It was musty and disgusting but there was a brief and faint scent of freshness, possibly from someone opening the Temple recently. At least before the last two hundred years. Luke voiced this out loud.

“I would believe so,” Ben hummed as he looked around, running a hand along one of the pillars with a kind of sad reverence. “This is a Jedi Temple and I do believe we will find some guidance here.”

“Guidance for what?”

“Whoever knows,” Ben replied, letting the torches light up in small flickers of flames that lit their way. There were a few skeletons around the floor near the columns. Neither of them tried to look at them, rather avoided them and kept walking deeper. “The Force may use the Temple for varying lessons for any one of us and it is a good place to be to learn something. I dare say you could use some guidance that is not from me.”

Luke just glanced away and swallowed.

It hadn’t been easy between the two of them, that was for sure.

“Are we…splitting up?”

“Your journey is your own,” Ben replied, calm and kind, although there was something underneath that Luke couldn’t identify. “Just as mine will be mine. Why don’t you start that way? It smells less musty.”

Luke glanced to where he gestured. “Okay,” he replied and looked back to Ben, but he had already disappeared. Even for someone at his age with as much grey hairs as he had, he was surprisingly quick and sneaky. “Okay,” he repeated to himself with a sharp exhale. He turned towards the doorway and took one of the torches before heading in.

He didn’t know how long he walked or how he lost his torch. For a while, he was in the dark. Everything was so silent it was eerie and rather disturbing, making Luke exceptionally uncomfortable.

And then. And then things changed.

And that change was so sudden and so real and the reason he was here seemed to mush in his mind. He didn’t exactly remember where he was or what exactly he was supposed to be doing. But he stopped when he felt it. Luke stepped into a gorgeous garden, grass tickling at his legs, soft and lush with the crashing of waterfalls bubbling over his ears. It was a sound he would never get bored of; ever since the first time he had seen one. There were walkways winding around the land, with patches of flowers and a few trees, full bearing of fruit and leaves, dotting the grounds. It was so beautiful.

He wanted to know off his boots and just…relish in the feeling.

It was warm here. Not the kind of heat that was oppressive and ongoing and just made one want to lie down in their room and not move, ever. But the kind that would come and go just enough for comfort, something of joy and kindness. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, taking in those good feelings and the brisk freshness of the air.

There was a joyful shout, and he opened his eyes. Ther were children running over a hill chasing one another and reaching out with huge grins on their faces and sparkling eyes full of laughter and playfulness. Luke blinked.

And then again.

There were…people here?

He paused and stared in wonderment. Maybe…maybe they were jedi. They were in a Temple. Right? That was where he was. Right, right, he and Ben had went into a Jedi Temple. Made sense, perhaps, that there would be remnants of jedi here…right?

Maybe there were survivors.

Survivors, Luke thought numbly. It sounded too good to be true. He had to find Ben. He had to tell him what he had discovered.

“Luke!” a voice called, cheerfully. He spun around and stared at the being, blankly as a he strode up; a Kel Dor if he wasn’t mistaken, walked to him, hands tucked into his sleeves, similar to the way Ben did when he was wearing a large cloak. “Initiate Luke,” he corrected with a chuckle and although his face was incapable of smiling with the mask that he wore, Luke was pretty sure he was grinning on the inside.

“Initiate?” Luke echoed, questioningly.

“Yes,” the being chuckled again and gestured to him up and down. “The step before becoming a padawan, of course.” Luke looked down at the light-colored tunics he was in. These…were not his clothes.

“I can be a padawan?” he murmured.

“Of course!” the Kel Dor teased but he sounded warm and kind, although a bit surprised on Luke’s questioning about his place here. “You have done very well in your classes. You are well on your way to becoming a great jedi.”

“There are no more jedi…besides Ben,” Luke replied numbly as his mind sparked. Of course, Ben. That was what he was supposed to do. He needed to find Ben, tell him about this, about these…jedi he had discovered. At least, Luke thought they were jedi.

“Nonsense, Initiate,” the Kel Dor said, with a light shake of his head, amusement filling his voice. He waved around the garden, gesturing to other beings that had now entered and were mingling around. There were so many, of different ages and appearances and species. Most were speaking to one another, in groups of two to several. “There are many,” he assured as he made Luke look. “And you must only choose.”

“Choose?” he sounded too much like an echo.

“A master.”

Sure enough, some of those around were speaking with children that were dressed like Luke. Some were hugging, being led away by the respective masters with their hand or appendage in the other’s. They were choosing and being chosen, Luke realized. Initiates being chosen as padawans. Initiates choosing their masters.

“I can choose?”

“Well,” the being pointed out as he put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. He nearly startled; only Ben and Boil had generally touched him. The Kel Dor didn’t seem to notice. “It is a mutual thing. However, I was hoping to ask you.”

“Ask me?”

“To be my padawan,” the master suggested and turned to face him straight on. “You are kind, driven and compassionate. You would do well under my tutelage. What do you say, Initiate? Would you like to be my padawan?”

Luke stared for an embarrassingly long time because that just…it seemed impossible. He had always wanted to be a jedi; especially a padawan, for as long as he knew what a padawan was. Ben never technically denied him outright or said no. Rather, he would just tell him how dangerous that term was, and they had better not speak of it again. Luke didn’t always listen. “I…I’m sorry, sir – master – but I don’t think so. I need to find my guardian.”

“Unfortunate,” the master hummed, shaking his head and he sounded genuinely disappointed. Luke hated doing that to him but something about this just didn’t seem right. Something else at play. “Good luck, I suppose then. I hope you find what you are looking for.”

“I’m looking for Ben,” Luke replied, glancing around. When he turned back, the Kel Dor was gone. It was like he had disappeared right out of the thin air. After what Luke had seen Ben do, he couldn’t be terrible surprised if the jedi had been capable of that, but he thought it was rather unlikely. “This is rather strange.”

“Quite not,” someone else said. Another master was behind him again and Luke turned around towards him. He was older, with long greying hair.

“Master…?” he questioned.

He frowned. “Master Drallig. Better work on that memory, initiate. A master will not want to train a child who cannot even remember their name.”

“Yes master,” he replied.

“You are up next.”

“Up?”

“The Exhibition match,” Master Drallig frowned deeper. “Come on, initiate! Get your head in the game! Prospective masters are watching.”

“Of course. Of course,” Luke nodded and jogged off to where the master gestured. Even though he had no idea where this was, what was happening or what exactly he was supposed to be doing, his body seemed to know, and he just moved with it. He spent hours in the exhibition, sparring and fighting against other students, moving on to next rounds as he won bouts.

It was like he had been training and readying himself for this for his entire life. And it was an amazing feeling.

Luke didn’t know if he won the exhibition match or, rather, if anyone had or could. He just remembered doing several fights and moving on until he found himself back in the depths of the garden again, away from the tournament itself and amidst other masters. He was having an increasingly difficult time reminding himself that this wasn’t real and his goal here.

All he knew was that this was his chance to become a padawan.

He just had to find someone that felt right.

So, Luke went through the garden, every so often someone asking him to be their padawan but none of them felt quite right. Or perhaps they felt too right to be true. It hardly mattered; something niggled in the back of his mind, reminding him he had a goal and a purpose. He just kept forgetting what that was exactly. He was getting desperate. Nothing felt quite right. But he was running out of time and options. It was getting harder to say no. By the time Qui-Gon Jinn came around with his request, there were barely any masters left. He was so kind and gentle and a familiar face. Luke wanted to wrap himself in the cloak like he did with…

Ben!

Luke stuttered and took off, leaving Master Jinn without an answer. Rude, perhaps, but Luke was running out of time. He had to find Ben. Because Ben. The light that appeared before him was blinding and devastating but Luke knew. He knew. It was his father.

“Hey kiddo.”

Luke swallowed. This…this was something he had always wanted. To meet his father. It seemed like an impossible dream. Because it was. Impossible.

His father began to speak and oh! Was Luke so starstruck! It was his father! The famous jedi! The hero with no fear! Ben’s friend, his brother…

Luke stopped.

Ben.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked out. “I can’t talk. I have to find Ben.”

His father stared at him with a serious frown, his face perfect and smooth, with the locks of his hair framing his face that made Luke too easily calm. He looked right; perfect. Like Luke had always imagined his father to be. There was something missing about his face, but Luke couldn’t quite put his finger on what. He supposed, at this point, it hardly mattered. “Isn’t this what you always wanted? Your greatest dream? To meet me? To talk to me?”

“I have to find Ben before it’s too late,” Luke tried to reason, and he found it difficult to tear his eyes away from his father to look around for his guardian.

“So, he’s more important than me? I am your father!”

“And I want to be a jedi. Like you. Like Ben.”

“I can teach you, I can teach you much better than that insecure relic of an age long gone,” his father insisted, determined and strong. Luke’s brows just scrunched together with a deepening frown because that didn’t quite sound right. His father loved Ben, they were friends, brothers. He couldn’t imagine him saying something rather rude and disrespectful like this about him. “I am your father.”

“I know,” Luke replied with a hard swallow. So much was running through his head. It was so hard to keep track. “But this…I need to do this. I want to be a jedi and that means sacrifice. Letting go.”

His father reeled back and scowled, his eyes blazing with heat and color and lines scratching into the sides of his face, barely noticeable but it was almost all Luke could see. “You would trade this – everything you ever wanted – me, the jedi, this world, for him?”

“This isn’t real,” Luke responded, sadly as he forced himself to stare at his father, into his eyes. Direct and resolute. “And Ben…even if he wasn’t destined to be my jedi master, I would choose him every time,” he backed away, one foot after another. It had started out slow, but he knew he didn’t have a lot of time. “I will still dream of truly meeting you,” he said and then began to run. It was all he could do to keep himself from staying, from staying and losing everything else but the feeling of dreams. All he could feel was the heat burning into his back as he ran off. And he just kept running. His feet began to ache, and he tripped over them in embarrassing frequency.

“Ben!”

Nothing.

“BEN!”

Still nothing. There was no one in sight of the garden anymore.

“Ben! Please!” he begged, finally tripping to a halt. He nearly fell, exhausted and out of breath as he tried to catch up. He didn’t have much more time; it was running out. “Please. Please. I just…I just want to be a jedi.” His chest started to heave, and tears threatened to overtake his vision. “Please.”

There was a brief silence.

“Well, if a jedi is all you wanted to be, there were plenty of masters willing to teach you. I have no doubt you had plenty of offers.”

Luke scrambled to turn because that voice; oh he knew that voice. “Ben!” he cried, happily, tears coming out in relief as he caught sight of his guardian. He looked a bit younger, less weary. The bags under his eyes were less noticeable and the only real wrinkles around his face were that in the corners of his eyes from smiling.

“Hello, Beacon.”

“I want to be a jedi,” he promised as he got closer to him. “I hope you never question my commitment.”

Ben hummed. “You have made your desire to become a jedi rather clear. You had plenty of chance. Master Koon, Master Jinn, even your father.”

“You saw that?”

He smiled but shrugged. “You said no to all of them. Why?”

“Because of you.”

“I’m holding you back?” he asked, incredulously. He looked torn and almost offended, almost horrified at the prospect. It was laughable to Luke but apparently Ben had taken that very seriously. Luke wondered what that meant; why he would react in such a way.

Luke choked out a laugh and shook his head, rather vehemently. “No Ben. Never. I didn’t want anyone else. And I know it’s important. You are always my choice. You were always my choice.”

Present Past

Luke

Iyah, one of the slaves that Siri and Luke had freed from the little temporary quarters that the troopers had been held in had a hiding place for them until the group figured out what to do next. Siri still had her disguise of a slave trader and with all the traffic and bustle of the up-and-coming auction, it was easy to move and blend in with the crowds when Luke and Siri’s smoke bombs erupted upon Luke’s presence being found missing. Iyah’s former master had died as of recently and she was in the auction house because her master’s family was going to sell her. It would be some time before the rest of the family went through all of his things and house, so they had a fairly secure hiding place until then. Luke didn’t think that they would be at the house that long.

The smoke from their little distraction is noticeable, even to those out in the streets and far from the palace but they were practically harmless. Just enough to mask their presence and allow them to escape. Wrapping the troopers in cloaks, they moved through the curious crowds that watched as the smoke puffed from the palace windows and doors.

The house that Iyah brings them to is out of the way and not something that someone would come to immediately, as it is just a bit off the streets. The other slaves mostly huddled on their own, leaving the jedi and troopers to their own devices but Iyah just eyes Luke up, warily and announces her intention to make food for everyone as she comes back to bring them a first aid kit; probably one that she knew her master had on hand. Most beings had something of the sort.

“You don’t have to do that, ma’am,” Captain Rex tried to assure her quickly, in some attempt to convince her that she had nothing to fear from them; that she had no obligation to feed any of them.

Luke met her eyes for a moment, and she frowned at the trooper, but she doesn’t say anything. She just turned and nearly stormed back to the kitchen.

Fives was itching to speak, to ask for answers. Luke didn’t have to be force sensitive to know how eager and pressed he was for such things. He didn’t want to explain everything at the moment; he hurt, and he was tired, but he knew it was inevitable. Eventually, Fives could not quite continue to keep it all in. It hadn’t been long. Most of them were still trying to just catch their breath.

“I think it is about time you tell us what is going on,” Fives started, his jaw clenching. If nothing else, Luke had to admire his persistence and pursuit for answers and justice.

Luke sighed and tried to sit up further. They were all on the floor, mostly collapsed over themselves in their exhaustion but Waxer helped him and let him lean against his solid shoulder. “I can tell him about some things, if you want,” he suggested, gently.

The boy knew the trooper was being genuine. Boil had told Luke so much about Waxer in the months that he had with him, and he didn’t seem to downplay how kind and good Waxer was. Luke hoped he could keep him alive, if only for Boil’s sake but he couldn’t help but value him above and beyond. He hadn’t been around for long but trusting Waxer felt near like second nature.

“I knew you were keeping secrets,” Fives frowned at the Lieutenant, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. Waxer, took it in stride, barely shrugging and projecting a show of simple acceptance. Fives kept going with a stream of questions and a demand for answers. “What do you know? What is going on? Does this have anything to do with what happened with Krell? Or why we were put under him and not ourGeneral. Or how about the fact that General Kenobi came back to the Resolute on a stretcher?”

“One at a time, Fives,” Rex interrupted, flatly with a tired sigh. It perhaps, wasn’t exactly the right thing to say at the moment.

“And you, you have been keeping secrets too,” Fives shot at him, his frowning deepening. He was so frustrated and scared; Luke could feel it. He couldn’t entirely blame the trooper; the situation was intense and strange. Sometimes with one’s most intense emotions, in the moment, they could not be shielded. It was easier for a jedi because they trained for that sort of thing, but most other beings didn’t even know the existence of shields; not really. “You know it as well but decided, hey, let’s not tell your troops. Maybe some of them would still be alive if you had.”

Rex’s jaw clenched and Luke lurched forward, ready to defend. It wasn’t his fault and Luke hardly thought it mattered knowing what he knew would have changed anything. Luke hadn’t known specifically Krell was a traitor or any specifics on the Umbara campaign but that didn’t make the losses they encountered hurt any less.

“Enough,” Master Tachi nearly barked. She was still standing for a moment and towered over the rest of them, coming back from getting some pillows and blankets from the others. They weren’t great, probably not even that comfortable, but it would do. “This is getting none of us anywhere. I am certain they all have good explanations for what information they have and the lack of flow of it.” At the very least, she seemed to believe it.

Luke shook his head, mostly to himself, and tried to organize his thoughts and what exactly he would say. He didn’t want to tell the 501st, only because of how close they were with his father and due to Palpatine being around his father all the time… secrecy was crucial. “Look, okay,” he started, trying to catch up with himself. It was not particularly easy. He didn’t even know if they would believe him. Others had taken it fairly well; the 212th’s faith in Ben and Cody’s reasoning was helpful, as well as Master Vos’s abilities. But most of these guys were from the 501st; Luke didn’t know if they had that type of faith or belief. “This is…the galaxy depends on total, complete and absolute secrecy. Absolute. You cannot tell anyone,” he stressed as best he could.

“Why not?” Jesse asked, genuinely curious.

“We have to be very careful on the flow of this because there are people we cannot trust and I don’t know all of them,” Luke started to explain, his voice nearly rocky as he spoke. He didn’t particularly want to because well, it was complicated and in all honesty, he had no idea what exactly all he would be revealing to these people. “I don’t know all the people I cannot trust in this time,” he tried to clarify with a bit of a wince. “Some of the 212th knows a bit of what I explained, but for the most part, only Master Vos, Commander Cody and maybe Ben…er Master Kenobi knows most of it.”

Rex tensed up a little, his eyes turning a bit sharper as he stared at Luke at the mention of his closest brother. Luke tried to ignore the shielded feelings Rex was hiding. They weren’t exactly the most positive ones and Luke’s heightened ability with the force let him see, even through some of the thickest of shields. It wasn’t something he particularly liked but sometimes it seemed too apparent for him to ignore. And in Rex’s case, he found out that one of his closest brother was keeping secrets from him. “Cody knows all of what you know?”

“I explained some things to him,” Luke confessed, not quite meeting Rex’s eyes. He barely got to know Cody at all in the future; as they were only with one another for an hour or two, but he had heard plenty from both Ben and Boil. “Please don’t get mad at him. It’s my family. I’m sorry. I asked him not to tell you.”

“Why?” Rex replied steadily, keeping his voice completely void of too many feelings that Luke could feel. “You seemed like you trusted me.”

“I do,” Luke insisted quickly and then, embarrassingly enough, his mouth ran off with him. “You aren’t the breach.”

“The breach?” Rex’s brows creased as he stared at the boy. “Who is?”

“If you act strange, Skywalker will know…” Luke drifted off, uneasily as his hands shuffled in his lap his gaze turning down. Speaking of his father was strange, especially when he was very strict on not letting anyone know what Anakin was too him. He still had to wrap his own head around all of this; he didn’t need everyone else’s opinions and thoughts on the matter yet.

“No way. NotGeneral Skywalker,” Fives insisted, nearly moving to stand up to make his point. Both Jesse and Tup pulled him down to keep him sitting but Fives was absolute. “He is loyal to the Republic; whatever happened… it is not his fault.”

Luke ignored him, fiddling with his hands. It wasn’t completely complicated he thought, at least, the line of who should and should not know the future, but it was complicated for Luke. Being in the era with his father, when he is so young and not completely evil and trying to kill him and such, it was strange. It would only be stranger when Ben came to get him, and he had to explain why he wasn’t geekingout over the fact he was getting to meet the man. “Look, a lot happened and a lot more that I don’t know. And then the Chancellor will get wind of things,” he replied, slowly, unsure how this would end up going. It was certainly an intense accusation and not one he was completely sure how others would react to. “He is not someone we can trust.”

There was a brief moment of absolute silence.

And then…

“You can’t be serious?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“This is absolutely ridiculous!”

“He’s the leaderof the Republic.”

“Why don’t you want him to know?”

“How do you know about this?”

“What happened?”

“What did he do?”

“The Chancellor…how bad is it?” Siri asked, her voice rising above the others; something stern but calm and solid. Luke wasn’t entirely sure if it was actually louder or just something he could hear better over the others. She looked over at him, believing and serious. It was hard to wrap his head around. She just…believed him. She didn’t even know who he was. He didn’t know how she had that kind of faith in him or why she did, but he was incredibly grateful.

“The worst you can imagine,” he choked out.

Siri paused and took a seat near him with a few moments of silence to mull this over. Everyone let her have the moment, trying not to stare as she took what time she was given to think about things and come to her own conclusion. “The Sith master,” she guessed, her jaw clenching as she said it and glanced up at him. He nodded. “How do you know this?”

He hesitated and glanced at Waxer, who nodded encouragingly, and then Rex who just stared, ready and knowing. Luke turned back to Siri, eyes glazing over the others while he could vaguely feel Waxer’s presence near him. “Well…” he started, shifting, still uneasy. He sighed and then took another breath, readying himself for actually saying it again and the fallout of what he was about to reveal. “I guess the simplest way to say it is that I am from the future.”

“Now I know you’re kidding,” Fives shook his head as an only partially amused smile stretched on his face, but he turned serious and partially irritated as he continued with a scoff. “That is your big secret? Some sort of sick prank? What was this? Some terrible plan convoluted to try and get Dooku’s attention or something? I have no idea what your plan or goal was but guess what? It didn’t work.”

“He’s not lying,” Waxer insisted, leaning towards Luke and forward towards Fives at the same time, protective and relentless. He calmed himself but continued, just as strong and solid and ready. “Originally,” he glanced over at the boy. “Luke was born a little over a year from now, right when the war ends.”

“We have a year left?” Checkerboard whined.

“Who wins?”

“The Sith win,” Luke pushed out because it was the truth. Everyone else had been losers in this war because even though the jedi and troopers did everything they could to protect people, it was still a trap. Mostly for the jedi of course, but for this, in this, it turned out just as horrible for the troopers as well. “No one really wins but him. Trust me. The galaxy after the war is so much worse.”

“The Jedi….” Waxer sighed and Luke took his hand, squeezing it, gentle and assuring. Luke hadn’t been around at the time; he hadn’t been a jedi. But Waxer, even though he was technically around, he had taken it even worse than some of the others. Even the prospect of this happening, to them, to anyone, was horrifying. But it was something that it appeared he needed to get through. “The Jedi are killed, virtually all of them. And we do it. There are…some kind of chips in our brains that make us practically droids and we kill all of them.”

The silence was palpable.

No one could even completely imagine the implications of what he was saying.

“It’s gotta come out,” Rex said suddenly, shuddering out of his stupor. Fives reached out for him, but Rex jerked out of the way, and he stood up, as if that would make some kind of difference. “I work closely with Commander Tano! She’s fifteen!”

“We have to wait until we get back to the ship,” Waxer answered instead, looking up kindly and understanding. “We can’t do it now.”

“I need it out,” Rex muttered.

“Can’t you just use your jedi magic to get it out?” Checkerboard asked.

“I…” Luke shifted. “No. I can’t. I have the power but not the precision. Me and Ben, we had to do it together when we didn’t have medical equipment. I did it by accident with Boil.”

“How did you do it with him?”

“I uh…kind of slammed him into a wall,” Luke replied with a sheepish look.

“If you and General Kenobi were able to do that, can’t you and General Tachi do the same thing?”

Luke winced. “No. Not that she isn’t capable, but we don’t know each other, not like that. It’s hard to explain.”

“General Kenobi will be here quickly,” Waxer assured. “And when he does, we can get out of here and you can get the chip out.” Afterwards, Luke got himself around to talking a bit more on what was going on, although not giving quite enough as he did in the first time around with those in the 212th that Commander Cody had brought with him. The troopers popped in with questions that Luke tried to answer the best he could, but Master Tachi stayed quiet, waiting and listening quietly.

“He lived through it,” Siri says, near inaudibly, shaking her head. The troopers were talking amongst one another, although he wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about; he just stared at the master. This was kind of amazing, he thought, getting to meet so many people that he had never thought he would be able to. His father, Master Vos, Master freaking Siri Tachi. “The genocide and devastation of the jedi; our people. Of course he did. As if he hadn’t gone through enough.”

Their gazes met and he tried to shoot her a small smile.

The door opened and Iyah brought them a few trays of food. Luke recognized the meal; he had seen it once in a while when Aunt Beru helped out fleeing or freed slaves back on Tatooine when he was a child. He accepted it gratefully with a quiet thank you in another tongue and they ate for a moment in quiet and peace, although the knowledge about the chips were still hanging over their heads. Every time someone tried to say something, they were shut down within moments.

By the time they were done with the meal, Master Tachi politely excused herself and Luke as well, to his surprise and pulled him out of the room. It was a flimsy excuse that Luke thought sounded rather ridiculous, but the troopers seemed to buy. Maybe this was a jedi thing. He hoped he would get to learn. She took the first aid kit with her and sat him down at a table away from the others.

“Come on, take off the armor,” she said.

Luke blinked but did what he was told.

“Dooku gave you some nice robes,” she murmured but barely waited a second for an answer. “Take them off please. I know you have a wound underneath there. You want to tell me how you got it?”

Luke continued to do as he was told and tried to wrangle himself out of the dark robes, after he carefully set aside the armor pieces in a pile nearby. “A lightsaber. He wanted to watch me fight Krell again.”

Her eyebrows creased. “Krell? As in Pong Krell?”

“He’s a traitor,” Luke muttered.

“Why were you with him?”

“We fought on Umbara. I…we almost won,” Luke replied, as she started to clean and disinfect the area around the wound. It hurt to move, most of the time, and he hated looking at it. Vaguely, he wondered if it would scar. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He explained how Krell had set up the troops during the campaign and how Luke had just barely stopped it in time, although not early enough it seemed.

“You were alone?” she noted with a frown.

“Ask. I know you want to,” Luke just smiled, faintly.

“You know who I was,” she continued, barely sparing him a glance.

“Yes. Ben…uhm… Obi-Wan talked about you,” he nearly ducked with the embarrassment. No one knew him as Ben around here, no one but him. He would have to get used to calling him by his given name. Or, if he was really lucky, perhaps Master Kenobi. Or something of the sort. Long had Luke wanted to be a padawan – Ben’s padawan – but things were doing so fast and so far, he tried not to cling to that type of hope.

“You can call him Ben,” Siri shrugged, lightly as she smiled gently at him. “I understand who you refer to.”

The conversation wasn’t exactly light at all times, but it bounced around a lot. Neither of them had a particular direction they were going through, although, of course, it would mostly be about Obi-wan. He was really the only thing they both had in common. What Luke knew about her wasn’t a whole ton as a person, as Ben tended to tell him the best and most amazing things about the people he loved, but Luke was not against getting to know her now, while he still could. He had no idea how long he would be able to stay in the past; if this was his present now or if he would have to return to his own. “He carried around your warming crystal every day,” Luke said instead, trying to catch Siri’s eyes. He did and she looked down at her necklace, a thin rope that wrapped around a near pulsing and slightly luminescent crystal.

She looked back up at him and stopped for a moment to stare.

Luke didn’t know what it meant but he knew what to say. “He loves you.”

Ben was full of love. It was something that Luke had known for a long time. How different it must be, as Ben in this time and place had so many people to love that were still alive. The entirety of the Jedi Order, the troops he had befriended, his other friends across the galaxy, those he had loved in a slightly different way… it was no longer the kind nostalgia and memory type of love that Luke knew.

These people were alive now; at the very least, some of them. This would change so much. And he couldn’t wait to feel that type of love in Ben for this time. He was kind, of course, even when they were on the run. Luke could feel it when they met people, especially those Luke knew. Any troopers they came across, Cody and Boil and Bail Organa. And Master Vos; oh, Luke had remembered how happy Obi-Wan had felt; the love he had projected. Luke rarely questioned Ben’s love: he tried to show it in many ways that may have not always been the most apparent.

“I’ve known that for a very long time,” Siri replied, her voice quiet and kind. She hesitated and smiled to herself, as if remembering something amusing but important. “He loves so many, so much. It often brings him so much pain.”

No matter what Obi-Wan lost, he still kept being himself, in the light, was still giving out his kindness. “He told me about you,” Luke confessed, his chest warming. He never really got to talk about this, as Ben was almost always the only person he could talk to. It just wasn’t the same.

“What did he say?” She couldn’t help her curiosity, looking up at him with an amused but cautious glance, her lips curling up just enough.

He matched her expression. “I can’t imagine you being unable to guess.”

She grinned, her smile widening into something more mischievous. “Indulge me.”

“He knew you well, the longest I suppose. At least, it seemed like it, out of the people he loved in that way,” he explained, his smile softening as he thought back to the things he had learned from Ben over the years and what he could pull out of the older jedi. There was times Ben was easier to get answers from and other times Luke had to beg for something; anything. He didn’t like to guilt trip, but it was easy sometimes, there was very little else to do when they were in hyperspace, stuck in the tiny little space that was their ship for so many years. “You knew him, well, perhaps better than most, I think. He seemed to think so. He’s sad a lot of things. How talented you were with a lightsaber, strong willed and independent; determined and so focused. He said you were beautiful and had short blonde hair and liked jumpsuits. And you know, the obvious, that you were amazing.”

Siri choked down a laugh.

Luke didn’t give her enough time to answer and continued, glancing down at his hands and stripped his gloves from them. “I asked him about those he had fell in love with after I asked about my mother,” he explained quietly. “I don’t think it was easy for him to talk about that, considering his past, but I was young. I didn’t understand and I…I wanted to know.”

“Who is your mother?”

He shifted around, suddenly uneasy. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Master Tachi because of course he did. Even if he didn’t trust her just from what Ben had told him and such, she had helped him, had gotten him out of Dooku’s clutches and helped him rescue the troopers. But this was a whole different level and honestly, Luke had never had to deal with this before. His parents, they were alive, and he had to deal with that, eventually. “It’s complicated.”

“It’s someone Obi-Wan knew,” she mused, unfazed by his inability to give a straight answer. “Rather well, if he had such answers for you. If he could describe her and tell you about her in a way that would make you ask.”

“Master Tachi,” Luke warned, swallowing heavily.

“Senator Padme Amidala.”

Oh wow, she was good.

“How did you know?”

“I am rather observant,” she shrugged. “Comes with the job, I suppose. One has to be in my line of work. I’ve met her a couple of times. Obi-Wan has talked about her too, as he often is around her and working with her. At least, more than some others. Between those things and when you saw collars on the clones…” she drifted off, pointedly. He swallowed nervously, glancing down.

“Your initial anger was Skywalker. Something almost personal and hot; I could feel it through the Force; it burned through my shields, even though we do not have a bond. It was easy to know, and I know it well, as I have trained around Skywalker plenty of times before. The cold fury, however, was Obi-Wan. You didn’t scream and hit something; you weren’t exactly calm, but you weren’t crazy either; just furious. It is something I have seen him do to hide his anger when he was older and it is very cold. But how you handled it? With the righteous fury and reckless abandon, with making a snap choice with little plan? To free the slaves, you could and get them out of there? I’ve seen that kind of thing before when I have been in Senate meetings or hearing about them even. I’ve seen it before. That is all Padme Amidala.”

Luke looked up to stare at her in some kind of awe because he had barely told her anything about his parents. He had barely told anyone anything about his parents. Cody knew simply from knowing Obi-Wan and remembering a holo he had shown. Master Vos knew it from Luke’s own memories. But Siri, she simply deduced. Ben wasn’t kidding when he said she was amazing. It made the boy wonder about the others Ben had known as amazing and how great they were in their respective talents. “I…you are as good as Ben says,” he confessed.

“That’s nothing,” she shrugged, and Luke had to believe it. Or, at the very least, Siri herself believed it wasn’t that impressive. Luke couldn’t quite tell if it was confidence or ego or simple honesty; he didn’t know her or anyone else for that matter, like that. “Obi-Wan and I…our padawans were around the same age,” she explained, and brought back up bacta patches to put on his wound to help it heal up quicker and cleaner. “We did missions together. Trained together. I’ve known Skywalker as a teenager. You have his sandy blonde hair and unstoppable drive.”

He really hoped that was a good thing. He had only ever really had Ben’s perspective and thoughts on his father which were a bit skewed. It wasn’t that they were wrong, but Luke knew for certain that he didn’t tell him whole truths, not nearly as much about the faults. It had taken Luke quite some time to understand exactly why. The fact of the matter was Ben had wanted Luke to love his father, to know him as his best self rather than the faults and monster that he eventually became. It had been hard to swallow for some time and Luke still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about it; it was something he continuously had to work through and was. “Wow…you really figured that out quick.”

“With your whole-time travel thing,” she leaned back a bit to get a better look at his wound and brought out the bandages to keep the bacta on, as well as clean alongside the wound itself. “And Obi-Wan knowing your parents so well to tell you about them….I was just open to any possibility. That is hardly the craziest option.”

“I’m not my father.”

She glanced at him, certainly a form of understanding in her gaze. He wondered what that meant. How she could understand such a thing, from which he was feeling. It was something he had to tell himself since he had learned what his father had become. Before that, he wanted nothing more to be like his father. Ben had told Luke some of the most fantastical things about Anakin Skywalker and how much Luke would have been loved by him. How much he was loved. Ben didn’t generally make comparisons between them like that; it was rather a seldom occurrence. But after learning Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader, the beast that was constantly chasing and trying to kill them; it had taken Luke a length of time to come to terms with several different things that were connected to that. Whether or not Anakin Skywalker was evil or not, Luke wasn’t him. He shouldn’t be him. Luke should be Luke.

He was still trying to figure out who that was.

“Of course not,” Master Tachi assured readily. “You are Luke.”

“No, I mean…” he sighed. She was right, of course, but that wasn’t quite the point he was trying to make. But, as the moment passed, she seemed to understand still.

“I understand,” Siri nodded. “You are not Anakin Skywalker and similarities or comparisons between the two of you doesn’t mean you do or say the same things. Blood is not everything.”

He nodded and glanced away as she got up to start wrapping around his shoulder and torso, weaving between his appendage to get the best available lock for the bandages with the best range of motion. For some reason, the conversation skipped over again. He didn’t really want to talk about his father; he knew that would certainly be coming in the future. “I hope he came back with me.”

“A coma was mentioned,” she hummed but he could feel and hear the under currents of concern shifting through her voice.

“Yeah. He was in some kind of unexplainable coma when I…. left,” he said carefully. If she noticed his hesitation, she did not seem to be inclined to mention it or point it out. “I’m pretty sure he is awake now. I just don’t know if he came back with me.”

“He won’t abandon you.”

Oh, she sounded so sure.

“Perhaps,” he choked out instead.

“I will not either,” she nudged him, his good shoulder, from the back. He caught a glimpse of a ready and determined smile. “Would you like a partner?”

He chuckled, his chest softening as the conversation turned a little gentler. He quite enjoyed and appreciated the change of pace. “I think Waxer might get offended,” he pointed out. It was a joke, because of course it was. He didn’t know how Waxer felt, not exactly. But he did seem rather inclined to stay by Luke’s side and that was also something he could appreciate. He had plenty of experience with other clones, but it had always been so short, save for Boil’s time with them in the future…past? Luke’s past. But Boil hadn’t been allowed to stay. Luke had been rather upset with Ben for quite some time after that.

She laughed, completely unbothered and unoffended by the notion. “We can make a squad. How does that sound?” she asked, tightening the bandages a little. It was uncomfortable but he knew the pressure would be better in the end.

He grinned, trying to turn his head towards her. “Save Galaxy and Destroy Sith Squad.”

If anyone could help him destroy the Sith, he couldn’t be surprised if she ended up being one of them. Of course, there were others he would like on that squad too.

“SGaDSS,” she snickered as she finished up and came back to his front to tie it off. It was some kind of silent and mutual agreement and they high fived. Both of their hands were sweaty, from the heat and warmth of the planet but his heart was soaring that it hardly mattered. She was a jedi and he got to meet her. He got to meet another of Ben’s friends, loved ones. “You talk kind of like him,” she said after they stopped laughing and sat down, settling against the wall. She had brought over some pillows and blankets from closet in the corner so they could lean against them instead of just the hard floor and wall.

“Who? Anakin?”

“No,” she chuckled, waving her hand. “Obi-Wan. He could be so sarcastic, so quippy. He could verbally keep up with anyone. The way he jokes with and about his troopers. The way he follows those he cares about into the fires of Hell,” she glanced away and shook her head, once again almost lost in thoughts and memories. “Just… part of the reason he is a good person to be around, to be friends with.”

He and Ben had talked a lot about love and compassion and kindness. The different types and the roles they could play in life. But love was still love, in any form. No one was higher or more important than another. It was a lesson that Luke had found solace in. “He always told me that loving someone was enough. Time and distance don’t exist when it comes to love.”

“Apparently he is very wise in the future,” Siri hummed and suddenly he was leaning against her. He was tired, because of course he was, but this was easier, just leaning on her and almost ready to fall asleep or something. He had been tired a lot lately. He wondered if it was because of the time travel. At least he hadn’t been in a coma, like Ben.

“He doesn’t…” Luke drifted off, trying to find the words but his mind was starting to get heavy. “Always make sense but he tries.”

“That’s Obi-Wan for ya,” Siri chuckled and scooted a little closer to him, possibly to make things more comfortable for either of them, or both.

“This will be the longest I have been around a jedi that wasn’t Ben,” Luke muttered.

“It hasn’t even been a day.”

Well, considering he had only met one jedi before and that was for a very short time, it wasn’t exactly hard to compete. “I have met one other jedi and it was barely for an hour,” Luke replied with a huff. “I was in a galaxy so dark, so few jedi. But here, in this time, here I have been around Skywalker, Ahsoka, Master Tiin, Master Vos… I…”

“Quinlan was there?” Siri asked, suddenly interrupting and a bit surprised.

“He came to help Ben, I’m pretty sure,” Luke replied, his heart catching pace and moving a little quicker than normal. He liked Master Vos; he was very interesting and was the only other real jedi he had met in his own past. And Ben seemed to really care about and love him too. But if he was a danger to Ben… Why? Is that…bad?”

“No, not at all,” she shook her head, blonde hair swaying a bit. “They just haven’t hung around each other for a while.”

“They’re friends.”

“Yes. Very much so,” she paused and studied him, glancing down at her shoulder where he was resting near her. “You should take a nap.”

“What? Why?” he snorted but even he knew it was obvious. He was tired.

“You heal when you sleep,” she replied bluntly and then paused before continuing, like she needed to have some sort of explanation and clarification. “We have a medic friend.”

“Bant,” he hummed. Another person Ben knew and loved and talked about. He wondered if she was still alive; he didn’t remember when she died. If she was still around; he would like to meet her. They could probably exchange notes on their caring regiments for Ben.

“Yes.”

“She’s right,” a new yet soft and familiar voice creeps into Luke’s ability to hear. Both of them glance up in the door way where Waxer was standing, partially void of armor with his arms crossed against his chest, frowning disappointedly. He shook his head and was very clear about expressing how he felt. “And I’m not happy you didn’t say something about being hurt.” He barely gave them a moment before he walked over and asked for permission to sit next to them. Luke practically took his arm and dragged the trooper down to their level. He was so warm, and kind and his presence just curled around his. Even though there were only half a dozen troopers, it was an overwhelming sense of good feelings and warmth that Luke wasn’t used to.

Luke didn’t talk much, his brain becoming heavy and tired as the moments passed on until he was barely conscious. At some point, another trooper came in, but Luke’s eyes had already been closed as his mind started to move towards sleep mode. There was talking and footsteps. Luke tried to reach out into the force, towards that warm something that had entered, and he heard a door shut. A few chuckles.

By that time, he is sound asleep and knows nothing.

Fives

The second part of the explosion was what woke them as it was very audible and even shook the ground what they were laid upon. It shook them awake for certain, even before one of the former slaves – the woman that made them a meal before – ran in started spouting hurried exclamations in a language that Fives didn’t actually understand.

The younger jedi, Luke, was practically draped across any trooper he could get close to, as well as the other, older jedi, practically clinging to them. He was embarrassed when he awoke, tucked near Lieutenant Waxer but no one said a word. Only silently untangled themselves from the boy and got up as the woman continued to babble.

They were on their feet within moments, although Jesse’s legs were tangled in the scratchy blankets, and he fell over himself. Tup couldn’t help but chuckle as he and Checkerboard, from the 212th, helped untangle him and get him up.

“What’s happened?” Captain Rex asked.

The woman continued to speak but the Captain just glanced around helplessly. He, like the rest of them, didn’t know the language that she was speaking and apparently, she didn’t have a translator either; hand held or implant.

General – Master – Something Tachi stared at the woman intently and nodded. “She said that something has exploded; she is fairly certain that it was the palace.”

“Did you explode the structure?” Checkerboard choked out.

Master Tachi just scoffed. “No. The devices that Luke and I planted were of the smoke variety and they have long gone off. There is not a way that ours could have brought even part of that building down,” she insisted.

“Do you think it was the Republic?” Jesse asked, catching his breath after his battle with the blankets and pillows.

The jedi frowned but thought about this for a moment. “I doubt it. It isn’t generally the jedi way to just explode entire government buildings, even if they are the headquarters to a slaver queen,” she paused and said a few things to the woman. After an exchange, the woman left, although Fives wasn’t entirely sure what was said. “Get ready and get dressed. We have to figure out what is going on and how to get out of here. Or, at the very least, contact someone.”

Everyone nodded, readily. She had nothing to get ready about herself and said a few things to Luke, quiet and under her breath. He started to grab his robes and armor pieces and started to put them together as she strode out of the room.

Lieutenant Waxer glanced at the boy, curious with a silent question. “She’s going to try to see if she can get contact,” Luke replied as he worked with surprising efficiency. He did stumble over some pieces of the armor, not quite used to such things, but the 212th Checkerboard, quickly moved to help him.

After a few minutes, they were all ready to move and they excited the room towards the door in the front of the building. Master – General – ugh something (Fives had no idea what to call her) Tachi was messing with some radio, working intently. He didn’t dare to ask if she was having any progress with it.

Luke stopped at the door, keeping it closed, and reached out, with his eyes shut and taking a deep breath. After a long moment, something sparked, and the boy started to bounce on his feet. “He’s here!” he cheered, chattering excitedly as he continued to repeat the phrase.

“What are you talking about?”

The boy’s eyes were shining so bright, Fives almost felt like he was blinding but he bounced around the room, nearly flying outside of the door before holding himself back and spinning around towards them again. “He is here! I can feel him! Ben! Ben is here!”

“General…Kenobi…” Lieutenant Waxer tried slowly.

Luke nodded, vigorously. “Master Tachi! Siri! Ben…Obi-Wan is here!” he called out. The jedi glanced at him with a blink.

“I’ve got some lines,” General Tachi said, instead although she smiled faintly at him. “There are reports of slavers getting injured and stealing slaves. Someone with a light saber.”

Luke paused and frowned. “But I have his saber.”

“I’m sure he borrowed someone else’s,” General Tachi assured as she stepped closer to him. “You did say Quinlan was with him and well, Quinlan works just fine with a blaster too. So, I’m sure you are right, and it is Kenobi.”

He nodded. “We have to go.��

“Luke…”

“No! We have to get back to him!” Luke insisted as he started to move again. “We have to get to him as soon as possible. There is so much to do, and danger and I have to help him!”

“Iyah said it is chaos out there, we need to be careful,” General Tachi tried to reason carefully.

“I can’t wait,” Luke shook his head and before any of them knew it, he was out the door.

General Tachi cursed in a language Fives didn’t know but both the 212th boys had raced after Luke without a moment’s notice. The general groaned. “I have to get my equipment and pack it up. Can you…”

“We’ve got it sir,” Captain Rex nodded, curtly and glanced at the others left. “Let’s move boys. Cover the padawan commander’s back. Jesse, stay here with the general…”

“Not a general!” the jedi called back.

“Give her any help and protection that she needs,” the captain finished. Fives clasped his hand with his brother before Jesse tailed after General Tachi and the other ran off after the runaway jedi padawan youngling person.

It was chaos in the streets. So many were fighting. There were pieces of debris that had fallen even as far as they had gotten and some, slower, still falling yet. Ash and dust billowed everywhere, obscuring the skies. Luke and the 212thboys were already a bit far ahead, but they were rather easily noticeable to the eye in the off white and battered armor of the troops.

“He’s just as bad as Skywalker,” the captain muttered under his breath and ran full speed through the crowds in attempt to catch up.

Fives just grinned at Tup and pulled on his helmet before following.

Oh but those were the best kind.

*

Fives didn’t know when it happened but eventually droids started showing up. Getting through towards the palace is more difficult than expected and eventually, they even get a chance to catch their breath when they run into alley ways and abandoned houses and structures. Everyone seems to be fighting everyone, from droids fighting slavers to slavers fighting slaves to slaves fighting droids and slavers. It is a whole mess, and it is easy to get off track.

Which they do.

They end up out of the way of the palace which made Luke very frustrated. They could all feel it. Perhaps it was a jedi thing, Fives thought. He trusted Skywalker with a lot; he was a good man. There were times, however, Fives felt as though he could feel his emotions in any given situation. Well, he shouldn’t say that. In any high stakes or near-death situations. Or anything that involved Senator Amidala.

Luke’s frustrations are practically palpable, and it nearly makes Fives feel that way too. He is fairly certain it must be a jedi thing because no way is he normally feeling like this, even with the situation that they are embroiled in. He’s panicked and scared and desperate.

It is a lot more chaotic than even Umbara and often times, the group keeps losing one another for moments or even near hour at a time. There is no battlefield, no ground to take. There are no real sides. It is just unbridled and intense chaos.

Rumors begin to swirl around about lightsabers and the jedi. Some slaves from the palace running with panic, screaming about several men in light sabers fighting one another and the death of the queen. Fives didn’t think Luke could get anymore worried and desperate.

He was very wrong.

Fives wouldn’t blame Luke for what was to come next.

Brothers died in battle no matter where they were. It was a fact of their lives, and he knew that the jedi did their best. They just couldn’t save everyone and even then, sometimes they could – and did – lose their own lives in the process. This was a battlefield of a different breed, Fives thought. He almost thought they would survive this.

He should have known better.

Fives didn’t really know Check but that didn’t mean his death didn’t hurt.

And he knew it had hit Luke pretty hard too.

The moment he saw the trooper go down; they both knew it was over. There was no way the soldier could have survived that shot. But even though Luke had fought in the battle on Umbara with Lieutenant Waxer’s platoon, a group of soldiers that included Check, his reaction was not something any soldier should have advised.

He stopped and stared, frozen in place. Shocked and unmoving, as if unable to comprehend anything going on around him in the world. Captain Rex shouted something, possibly for Luke to get a hold of himself, possibly for one of them to get him out of the line of fire. Fives, of course, couldn’t do anything about the former as of yet, but he could do the latter. Running across the field from his cover, Fives literally tackled Luke down to the ground and behind a stack of crates near a door. Without a word or anything, he practically dragged the boy into the house.

They were lucky, no one was home.

Leaning Luke upright against the wall in a sitting position, Fives closed the door to give them a few minutes and gave the rest of them a short brief on the comms. As of currently, Luke was in no shape to keep moving. He asked for the jedi, perhaps she could help him, but General Tachi was a bit off with Lieutenant Waxer and Jesse. It would be quite a few moments before she could get to them. She simply ordered for them to find cover and stay put. They needed the break, possibly a nap, and for Luke to come back to them before anyone could make another run for the palace. It always seemed so far off; it would still take quite some time.

“Luke,” Fives tried with a frown, pressing a hand against the boy’s shoulder on his pauldron. Tears were starting to come from the boy’s blue eyes, steadily and finally, the first emotion finally came up. It wasn’t much but it was something. “Look, I know this is tough. Losing someone you care about, no matter how long you have known them, it’s…it’s heart breaking. And in war, where people die it’s even worse because you don’t…you don’t have a moment to stop and grieve. You don’t have a moment for burial or saying goodbye. It’s something you try to prepare for but… you can’t.”

He was in front of him before sitting down himself next to the jedi-in-training, or whatever he was, and sighed, taking off his helmet and setting it aside.

“I’m not trying to scold you or anything, but this is war, and we are going to lose people,” Fives tried, unsteadily. “And we don’t… it often happens so fast. There is no time for goodbyes and even less time for grief, in the moment. I lost…I lost my brother really fast. He did something…. something that I would have been the one to do and it just…one moment he was right by me and the next he was gone. Explosion and we had to move, there wasn’t a second to spare.”

Luke’s face started to scrunch up and Fives counted that as a win, although his feelings were mostly tied up in the memories. The boy blinked and stared at him, like he wasn’t completely sure. “Echo?”

Fives stared right back at him, his head whipping around, eyes wide. Because…he hadn’t said his name. “How did you…”

An explosion went off and the glass of the window above them shattered, spraying the contents and other debris into the house and over them. Luke threw himself over Fives in an effort to protect him from the flying debris which Fives, absentmindedly thought was a little amusing and ironic.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Fives muttered without his permission. The door busted through and both of them startled, soon to be relieved as it was only Tup and Captain Rex that came through.

“You guys good?”

“Yessir,” Fives grumbled as he got out from underneath Luke. The boy responded but Fives’ ears were ringing and he couldn’t quite make out what he had said.

“General Tachi wants us to wait for her, get some rest and so we can regroup,” Tup relayed.

“I heard,” Fives sighed and glanced around. “The place looks pretty abandoned, at least for now.”

“Most people who aren’t fighting are hiding in their homes,” the captain responded, also taking a look around. He gestured to Tup, who went to make sure and secure the perimeter. “So, my guess is that they are still out there fighting or dead. General Tachi shouldn’t be too long, but she also said we don’t have to wait up for her. Take a nap she said.”

Fives scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I guess I’ll find some blankets and pillows and a good large room to hole up in.”

It wasn’t that hard. The place wasn’t very big and eventually he found a living room space where the hard furniture could be moved to the walls, reinforce them and barricade any windows and doors. Unless someone came in with a full tactical team, it should hold out for at least a few hours. By the time General Tachi got to the house, flanked by Lieutenant Waxer and Jesse, Luke was half asleep but tried his best went they came in.

The Lieutenant was holding Check’s helmet and Luke burst into tears again.

They left the two of them alone for a moment. Well, it was a bit longer than a moment. Fives explained a bit on what happened with Check and Luke’s reaction. Luke may have been used to running and fighting and even conflict, but he wasn’t not used to the realities of war. Not like this.

They came back in after quite some time. Luke was already lightly snoring and fast asleep against Waxer’s shoulder, who was half asleep himself. And so, they made a perimeter around one another for moments of rest over the next several hours.

It is barely an hour in and already Luke is tangled up and cuddling with several troopers, as if reaching out and trying to be in contact with as many of them as he could.

“If no one else is gonna say it,” Jesse started, keeping his voice rather quiet as to not awake the young’un. “I ain’t gonna lie, is it strange that he is all…touchy and cuddly? I didn’t think jedi were…really like that.”

Everyone looked over at General Tachi, who frowned and took a breath, her lips twitching. “He is…touch started but not quite either. It is difficult to explain because jedi are very different. But one of the reasons the jedi start so young, adopted young and raised together is so they can form bonds with others like them. It is often necessary for healthy development.”

“But Luke…he wasn’t raised like that,” Waxer realized, glancing down at the child before looking back up at General Tachi. He looked quite worried and concerned. After only a few days of knowing this child, he was already so attached. Fives wondered if that was normal for him. “So he doesn’t have those bonds.”

“Luke’s presence is latching onto other jedi and connected beings,” General Tachi continued. “He has several fledgling bonds which help his… starvation but considering Obi-Wan and him were constantly on the run, Luke probably didn’t get much time with them and so they either faded or remained very thin; barely there. He’s already formed some type of connections with you.”

“All of us?”

“Luke’s presence in the force is starving for connections,” she added, and Fives could tell there was a hint of concern in her voice, although she mostly kept emotions out of it. “It won’t interfere with you or anything and if left unattended, it shouldn’t grow.”

“It helps him?” Waxer asked.

General Tachi nodded, a bit gravely. This was a rather serious topic, Fives realized. “It is partially why he is even more cuddly than normal, even for a jedi.”

Waxer held Luke close, as if that would help. The boy just huffed into his shoulder. “And…if the bond…if it does grow stronger? Is that okay?” he added, looking back up at General Tachi, eyebrows scrunched together as his concern became more and more evident on his physical features.

General Tachi just nodded.

“Even from a clone?”

“Especially from a clone.”

“What does that mean?”

“Obi-Wan could explain it better,” she confessed with a small sigh. Luke’s arm sleepily touched hers and she moved a little closer to him. “I don’t have a clone attachment or much experience with you.”

“Can you try?”

“I’m not sure if anyone, you or anyone really understands how well the clones and the jedi connect with one another, fit together, how easy it is to share bonds with,” she started, making sure to look between all of them. “Your warmth and light in the Force…as Obi-Wan tells it, although different individuals, is clicks very well with our own. This is rather quite unusual for non-force sensitives. Obi-Wan told me once it’s like we were made for you, that we were meant to be together in some way.”

“They used to say on Kamino,” Rex said quietly. He hadn’t been speaking a whole lot as of late, listening quiet and with purpose and the mention of Kamino brought both nostalgia and bitterness to all of the troopers. Their brothers were still there but it was not generally a good place to be. “We were made for the jedi.”

General Tachi thought about this and hummed. Perhaps it was agreement or disagreement or neither, Fives wasn’t sure. She was hard to read and hard to understand, much more so than their own general. “Perhaps. But I don’t think it is one sided,” she swiped Luke’s bangs to the side, gently. He exhaled again. “Many of the jedi will continue to choose you. Obi-Wan continues to choose you. It is a new galaxy and things are changing. If you will have us, we will gladly stay with you.”

“I don’t know anyone except the jedi who have cared anything for us,” Lieutenant Waxer confessed. “And I can’t speak for everyone of course, but I think we would rather be with you than any other people in the galaxy, if we had to choose.”

“You should get some sleep,” General Tachi said instead, glancing over towards the window that Fives and Tup had already blocked.

“We should set up watches for the next few hours,” Rex replied, leaving the previous conversation with ease and picking up the new one just as easily.

“Do not worry. I have it covered.”

“You can’t do it by yourself.”

“Oh yes I can. Just….trust me on this one,” she winked.

Luke

When Luke wakes up, he is drowning in a clone cuddle pile and practically has to claw his way out, his face completely red and flush with embarrassment. He is sputtering by the end of it but tries with all of his skill and work not to wake them up while trying to get himself out of the pile.

Master Tachi glanced at him from the side of the pile, out of the sleeping troopers and smirked at him, amused. “Sleep well?” she snickered.

Luke just blushed and glanced away, moving towards her as quietly and gently as he could.

“It is nothing to be ashamed of, Luke. You are an empath and crave connections naturally,” she pointed out. It wasn’t something that Luke didn’t know, in particular, but it was different here and now. Things were still dark but still so much lighter than the time he was from. There were others to connect to so close and actually around. It was so much. “It just seems so extreme now because you have never had so much before and now, there is much to have.”

“It…it’s been just Ben and me for a long time,” Luke confessed as he sat down next to her, hugging his knees. He glanced over at his armor piled over in the corner and reached for the closest pieces. “Before that it was just Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru but I don’t think they quite…understood.”

“Many do not,” she hummed.

“I love Ben,” he added, quickly. It was the truth; Ben was the only person he had with him, everyone else was gone forever or deceased. “He…he is pretty much all I have. It is hard without him around. I…I just have never been around so much….”

“Light, warmth?” she suggested.

“Hyperspace is cold, and we are not planet side a lot,” he explained. He tried to talk about a bit on their situation, in the future, past, whatever. It was easy to talk to her. Maybe it was because she was a jedi. Perhaps it was because Ben knew her and told him about her. Maybe she just was easy to talk to for him. “Ben is very warm, but this is different.”

“Everyone feels different, especially jedi,” Master Tachi assured. “You have been starved of that. It is why we raise out children in creches, together.”

“Ben told me about creches,” Luke hugged his knees tighter as he clipped the shin guards to his lower legs. He didn’t look at her, rather thinking about so much all at once. “I think I would have liked it.”

She nodded and the outer wall shook a little. They both glanced towards the little window on that side of the room. The conversation was over, Luke thought to himself. It wasn’t long; he wished he could talk more with her, but it was clear. “The fighting is getting close again,” she pointed out with a frown. “We should move.”

Luke nodded. “Any ideas on where to go?”

“I have been working on establishing communications with Obi-Wan’s ship,” Master Tachi explained as she grabbed some of her own gear and began putting it on. Her radio was in the corner, and she glanced at it as some kind of gesture to guide his gaze towards the appliance. “They are being pretty tight lipped, and I don’t have his codes.”

“Probably don’t want Dooku to get any information,” Luke added. Whether or not this was the truth, it made sense anyways. He wondered where the Count was now and if he was making problems for Ben and the troopers. “Do you think they have troops on the ground?”

Master Tachi paused and frowned again. “Not sure. This place isn’t Republic friendly or even wants to be,” she replied as she stood up, finishing putting on her own gear, so different from what Luke and the other troopers were wearing. “The Jedi have taken out the Zygerrian slave empire before but…everything was different then.”

He didn’t know exactly what that meant, in particular but he followed her, putting on his smaller pieces and Master Tachi helping him clip on the gorget. “If they take out the enemy ship, I think they can drive the Separatists away,” Luke said. “I only saw one up there, I don’t think they were planning for an invasion.”

“I think you are right.”

“I have no doubt the palace is in chaos, but I don’t think there is any order for power players. No one seems organized. We might be able to get there. That is probably where Ben would look since he was following Dooku.”

“That level of chaos could mean lack of leadership,” Siri murmured as she messed around a bit with her portable radio. “The queen may be incapacitated or dead, meaning there would be a power vacuum.”

“That would also mean less guards, we could probably slip through. No one is giving orders,” he added.

“Or too many are for any type or organization.”

“Even if Ben is done looking through the palace, he would still be around that area,” Luke said.

“He is not going to just give up,” Master Tachi nodded. “Especially not with Quinlan with him.”

“So, we head towards the palace then.”

“The closer we are, the easier it will be to get communications with the Republic – or better yet – Obi-Wan’s fleet,” Master Tachi added with a grin growing on her face.

“The closer we are, the more likely I will be able to feel Ben better,” Luke added with a matching grin as he brightened up, significantly. He just needed to find Ben. Things would be okay if he could just get to him. “Don’t try to lie to me and say you don’t have a pretty strong bond with him too.”

“He is one of my closest friends,” she admitted.

“Look at you two,” a new voice piped in with a chuckle. Both Luke and Master Tachi glanced around. The troopers were all at least awake with vaguely amused expressions. A few were even moving towards their armor piles to get ready for moving out at a moment’s notice. “Makin plans without us,” Jesse added.

“Thought you could use the extra beauty sleep,” Luke grinned, cheekily.

“You little brat,” Jesse teased.

They talk a little while everyone gets ready and dressed. Master Tachi gave them a short rundown of what they were going to be doing; moving back towards the Palace. There was some apprehension, going back to that horrid place. Luke completely understood, even just thinking about made him rather upset, skin vibrating for the need for justice. If it was his choice, no one would have to go anywhere near it again. But he had to find Ben. They had to find Ben and they needed to get off of this planet.

The little group had left soon after, quiet and out of the back door, away from the chaos outside. The fighting and struggling had not ceased exactly, as there were still slavers, slaves and droids still fighting amongst one another. Luke kept Check’s helmet clipped to his belt and no one said a word about it.

They couldn’t exactly avoid the fighting and conflict and eventually, they had to move towards the more main roads to make their way towards the palace. They avoided them, of course, whenever they could. By the time they had to get to the main road, which was a straight shot to the palace, they were about knee deep in conflict.

It kind of amazed him how easy they worked together. Master Tachi had never really worked with these troopers before barely – if any – either. Luke himself had only fought alongside Waxer and only for a few moments, the other troopers as well. But the five boys they had with him and Master Tachi, they had quickly adapted to the way they moved and the way they worked. Moving with the troopers was easy, even though there weren’t many of them. They didn’t a fairly good job keeping up with him and Master Tachi and although neither of them were actually used to working with troopers, they seemed to blend well together when it came to helping each other out and having each other’s back.

Master Tachi had a blaster on her, and he knew she wouldn’t bring out her lightsaber unless it was absolutely necessary. Ben had been the same way during their travels. It often times brought unwanted attention.

Luke, on the other hand, didn’t have another weapon and he had a much larger and passionate need to fight and protect. He made arcs with Ben’s light saber like he was born for it. Perhaps, in some ways, he was.

The loss of Check was a heavy weight, but they kept moving.

The young boy from the future wouldn’t let anyone die on his account, not with this. There were six others with him – he could keep them alive. He had to keep them alive. He did not leave them and kept them within his sights the best he possibly could. It was hard to keep them together as they seemed to have the same idea about one another. Luke caught a blaster shot with the force that came too close to Jesse’s face for comfort. Tup shot a slaver that was coming up on Luke’s six.

Getting so close to the palace, they stayed tight knit until the courtyard was in place. They paused in an out-of-the-way alley to come up with a plan, right outside of the palace perimeter. “It is absolute and complete chaos out there but I can feel Ben,” Luke said hurriedly, his voice rising in excitement and plenty of eagerness. “I can sneak in and since I can sense him, I’ll be able to find him quicker. I’ll bring him back.”

“I don’t think that’s a good…”

“Look, I got this, okay?” Luke insisted and didn’t wait for an answer. He ran out of the hiding place and leapt on top of the building nearby, racing across the rooftops up and away from the fighting crowds down below. Eventually he had to get back to the ground as he got inside the palace courtyard where the battle started to thin out a little.

He reached out in the Force and tried to concentrate. He could feel Ben. He knew he could feel him.

And then…

“Luke!”

The yell was raw, screeching into the stormy chaos of the battle, as if his voice alone was desperate enough to demand the person of his desire to be returned.

“Luke!” it tried again, near at the top of his lungs.

“Ben?”

Luke couldn’t help but perk at the sound of his name. Oh, how he hoped that it was real, that it was his voice and not his wishful thinking or the screams of another being. The being that he so desperately wanted it to be.

“Luke?” the voice called out tentatively.

It was real! It was Ben’s voice!

The youngster jumped back into the fray of disorder and conflict without a second thought. “Ben!” Luke shouted back as he fought harder against the chaos, clawing his way through anyone and everyone. His saber was off now, clipped to his belt. Because now, he didn’t need it. He fought through the crowd with his hands and the undeniable power of the force, forcing his way through them with enough strength to make others even jump out of the way.

Then he saw him. Because even though it had been fifteen years and Ben’s appearance was so different; not that weathered and oh so greying older man that Luke knew; he could recognize him. It didn’t matter that his hair was a brownish ginger instead of the grey and white. It didn’t matter that his skin was younger and smoother instead of washed out and wrinkled. It didn’t matter that he was in armor pieces and under robes rather than the larger cloaks and well-used clothes. It didn’t even matter that his eyes were bluer now, had more color instead of the tired and older gaze Luke knew.

None of that mattered. Luke would know him anywhere, no matter how much of his physical appearance may have changed. He would never forget. He never could.

Tears were pricking at his eyes then, but they weren’t quite clouding his vision. He choked out the name before charging towards his guardian. Ben may not have known what Luke was going to do but he quickly figured it out. Luke ran and leapt at him with no small amount of abandon, with all the excitement and relief coursing through him and all of the desperation and fear washing away, out from his bones.

He was pretty sure that he was crying, and it did not matter. In that moment, nothing mattered but him. Because Luke was no longer alone. Whether or not everything was real, whatever Ben knew or did not know, it hardly mattered. Luke was no longer alone and all he wanted was to be wrapped up in Ben’s robe in the way he did when he was younger. He wanted to tell Ben of all the things that he had been through and all the things they could do now. Now that they had this chance. This chance to change everything and save so many.

“I know you can catch me, old man! You don’t have any grey hairs!”

And he does; Ben catches him and wraps his arms around Luke so tight, he doesn’t think the older man will ever let go. He doesn’t really want him to. Because in this moment, he doesn’t have to worry about anything. Ben is here. It doesn’t matter if he remembered Luke or not. It doesn’t matter what Ben knew or what he didn’t. He held Luke like he always held Luke, with strength and love and compassion. Like Luke had nothing in the world to worry about ever.

“You remember me.”

He didn’t know if he was right or not. Rather, it was a guess, but Ben just chuckled and curled his arms around Luke, secure and tight. “I could never forget,” he whispered, and Luke held on even snugger, wrapping his limbs around his guardian and locking his face in the crook of his neck, brown ginger hair tickling his face. “Foolish child, running off into war,” Ben mumbled with a fond huff.

“I had to try and save Waxer,” Luke said, exhaling the best he could. He felt out of breath and like he may never get it back. “I’m not sorry.” He wasn’t, he couldn’t quite be. He just wanted to help them in any way he could. He couldn’t save Checkerboard and that was going to haunt him, but he tried to make sure he remembered about all the other ones that he had helped. He had kept Waxer alive. He helped stop Krell’s massacre. He had tried and tried and tried.

“I’m not upset,” Ben assured quietly. Distantly, Luke could hear a small explosion go off. He was glad that he had found his guardian in a spot where there wasn’t blatant battle going on. “You just scared me near to death. I’m an old man, Beacon, my heart can’t take such things.”

“You’re over 15 years in the past you dummy,” Luke choked on near tears, but his chest was bubbling with laughter, something of relief and amusement. “You aren’t even old,” he paused and snuggled just a bit closer, so thankful and unable to let him go at the moment. He would, soon, of course. There was a lot of work to do but he would keep the minute. “I’m so glad you are okay.”

“I will never abandon you.”

Something in his chest loosened which helped him loosen his grip, even if only a little bit. That reminded him, Luke thought as he gave out an actual audible chuckle. “I have the very best present for you,” he murmured with a smile, amusement swelling.

“Oh? How fortuitous,” Ben rumbled, just as entertained as him. Luke didn’t know if anyone was watching or around, but it didn’t matter. Not to him. All there needed to be was Ben and him. Even if only for a minute. “As it so happens, I have a gift for you as well.”

“You got me a present?!” Luke cheered, surprised and excited as he perked up and leaned back to look at him. Luke could see the smirk that was forming underneath Ben’s mustache and beard, a twinkle so apparent in his eye. “What is it?” he asked.

“You will have to wait until we get back to the ship,” Ben chuckled as he let Luke down back to the ground.

“I bet my gift is better!” Luke boasted, his smile sly and knowing as he leaned back on his heels with the slyest grin he could muster. He didn’t think there was anything that could be better than bringing Ben back a loved one and he knew it.

“Oh?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in that way Luke had seen so many times before. “I don’t know…” he drifted off with the shake of his head. He sounded very sure of himself. “My gift is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.”

Luke’s eyes sparkled and he took Ben’s hand, firm and secure. He was just getting more and more excited. He couldn’t wait to see Ben’s face when he showed him the person that Luke had come across because oh! He had brought back someone Ben cared about; someone he hadn’t seen in over a decade and half. “Come on! I left her with the troopers.”

“Her?” Ben echoed, questioningly, but Luke wrapped his hand tighter and practically dragged him across the courtyard, through some of the sides of the conflict before he brought him back to the little structure that his team was hiding in. He got down the alley and called out to the troopers. Waxer was the first to turn, the others following close behind as they realized who was coming up to them and putting their weapons down.

Waxer tore of his helmet and all Luke could see and feel was near absolute relief. “General!”

“Master!” Luke called out as Ben finally stopped, unable to move forward.

Because he saw.

Ben was staring, Luke noticed. His glanced between the two of them, uncertain about what would happen next, but he couldn’t help but feel excitement nearly overcome him. The female master grinned at the sight of them and walked, firm and with purpose, her face scraped up and dirty from fighting and finding rest in the little, out of the way places they could. As she came up to him, Ben reached up, hesitant and rubbed some of the light layer of dirt from her cheek.

“May I?” he murmured under his breath.

Luke’s own caught.

“Of course.” Even though she was expecting it, Luke could tell she was surprised by Ben’s hug and how tightly he wound around her. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Kenobi?” she hummed as she relaxed a little into the embrace.

“You have no idea.”

“I do. At least a little. Luke told me.”

“Tachi!” a new voice cheered, and Luke glanced around. It was Master Vos, and he was jogging towards them with a couple others, a mix of troopers and jedi. Well, one jedi. He hadn’t even realized that there had been troopers and the jedi master around when he found Ben, much less of them following the two of them. “I knew it had to be you,” he snickered, turning to lean against the wall, as if he needed a brace to prevent himself from falling over with his laughter.

“Vos,” Master Tachi replied in a mock flat tone but even Luke could feel and see that she wasn’t nearly as unimpressed as she made herself out to sound. “At the very least, you kept Obi-Wan alive.”

“Hey! You weren’t there when I was trying to convince him this was time travel and not a Sith trick or torture,” Master Vos shot back, grinning wide. Neither of them was actually upset or mad or anything negative really at one another, but it was rather amusing to watch them all interact. It was funny; Luke had a bit of a hard time seeing them as such close friends with Ben.

“Well, you seemed to do that at the least,” Master Tachi huffed with a smile as the two of them leaned back and she crossed her arms over her chest for some kind of effect.

“Is everyone here?”

“We lost Checkerboard in the fight,” Waxer stepped up for a short report as Luke glanced away, his chest heating up in grief and shame. Ben put a hand on his shoulder, warm and soothing. “The other troops that were taken are accounted for.”

“Commander Cody went back up to the ship to help Sergeant Barlex fight off the Separatist ship and it appears they are doing well,” Master Vos explained, pointing upwards into the sky where they could just make out two ships, mildly obscured by the clouds and atmosphere. There may have been others, but they couldn’t be seen from the ground. Luke didn’t know.

“The Zygerrians are winning the fight with the droids too,” Rex mumbled as he looked between the jedi masters. “But they are an absolute mess. There is no organization; just fighting for fighting’s sake.”

“We have a lot of work to do,” Luke added in, firm and determined. He wasn’t wrong. Beyond this, with their chance, there was so much to do if they were going to save the troopers, the jedi and the galaxy. “We should convene with the Jedi Council, create a plan and get to work on saving the galaxy from the Empire and the Sith.”

Ben chuckled, lightly as he shot Luke a glance, a single eyebrow raised a bit curiously but Luke could feel his shields tightening a little more. “Oh, should we?”

“We do need the help,” Luke pointed out, red with embarrassment as he looked away as he realized what he said and how he said it. “R-Right.”

The jedi master just kept snickering. “Yes,” he glanced back at the others and got a look at the other jedi behind him. Luke hadn’t even noticed him come up and his breath caught in his chest. Ben perked and looked back at Luke, looking so genuinely kind and nice. Luke’s heart fell a bit. “Luke, I’ve heard you met your…”

“Anakin Skywalker,” Luke interrupted, rather loudly, in a rare show of disrespect. He tried not to let much of anything slip past as he tightened his shields as best, he could, staring at his father with his jaw set. He had to figure out how to play this. Honestly, he had to figure out how to deal with this, especially now, in the time and situation that they both were in. Ben didn’t know that Luke knew. Knew who Anakin Skywalker, his father, became. “Yeah. We’ve met.”

Ben turned confused and it was so wounded and genuine that it near physically hurt Luke to see him respond like that. “Luke…you…know who he is,” Ben said, his response slow and measured, deliberate. Cautious.

Luke hated it. “I do,” he nodded, staring just barely at Anakin.

“I am rather, confused, Luke, why…”

“Could we talk about this, later? Perhaps in private?” Luke fidgeted, glancing down at his gloved hands, his voice quieting into something that others, unless standing right by them, wouldn’t be able to hear. Luke never thought he would have this change, to have to be in this type of scenario. Luke never thought that he would meet his father as Anakin Skywalker, not after knowing what Vader had done and how many times, he had chased them, nearly killing the both of them. He had to figure out how to deal with and what to do with the change and knowledge that he had.

Ben’s brows were drawn but he nodded, solemn. “Of course. Later,” he responded, still careful and curious and worried. “But we will talk about it. This is most unlike you.”

Luke sighed, inwardly in relief. This was not the time or the place or in the right company. He couldn’t talk about this with his father actually in the vicinity. He didn’t know how he would react and there was so much more to do. “I know,” he flipped the hilt of Ben’s saber towards its owner. “This is yours. I’m sorry I borrowed it without asking.”

“Keep it for now,” Ben replied, pushing the hilt back towards him. “I’m glad you did. My crystal is willing to work with you, as always. Hopefully, in this time, you will be able to create your own.”

Luke perked subtly.

They all caught it.

“I think it is about time that we got off of this…. planet,” Ben said, carefully, trying to keep the disgust out of his voice.

“Agreed,” came a chorus of voices in near unison.

“Commander Cody can get a ship down here within a few minutes,” Master Vos announced, already messing with his commlink. “But we have to get to a nearby landing platform.”

“Shouldn’t be toohard,” Luke replied. “We’ve got four jedi, a handful of highly competent troopers and a guy who is not half bad with a lightsaber.”

“That…is how you are describing yourself?” Ben said, an eyebrow raising curiously. Luke shrugged as the troopers made a quick perimeter around them, ready to move out whenever given the order. “You know, with where and when we are, the Jedi Order is still around,” he pointed out.

“I want to help you keep it that way.”

“I know,” Ben nodded, solemnly. “I am fairly certain I can convince the Council to let you in the Order, if, of course, we happen to stay here. You’d have some catching up to do but you have been trained quite a bit and I think you have enough training to be picked up as a padawan.”

Luke felt his entire body freeze. “Picked up?” he choked out.

Ben kept his gaze completely void of any telltale emotions or thoughts; his shields as tight as they could be. “Of course. You are very talented, Luke. Kind, compassionate, determined and so eager to learn. If this is still what you want.”

He just stared back at him because…because he inferred that he wouldn’t be Ben’s padawan. That just…he wanted to be Ben’s padawan. Luke remembered the vision and trial he went through in the Lothal Temple. This was…it was always supposed to be them.

He would just have to prove himself. “I still want it,” he stated, firmly.

Ben nodded.

“We should get going,” Master Tachi popped in, speaking slowly, glancing between them with a varying range of emotions screaming across her face. They agreed and without another turn of phrase, they ran off.

Getting to the landing pad was easy. There was Luke, four incredibly talented jedi and a handful of insanely amazing troopers that could practically carve a path without hardly breaking a sweat. And it was right in time. The gunship landed just at the moment they came into view. They jumped in and off they went up towards the flagship which was beating down at the lone Separatist ship it was battling.

Commander Cody was waiting for them, along with a few others, most of which Luke recognized. There was Kix and Helix and…

“Boil!” Luke grinned with all the happiness and eagerness and relief he could project into the name. The trooper always looked surprised when Luke said his name like that and sure, this Boil didn’t have the same experiences with and without Luke that the older one did but he was still Boil. It didn’t matter.

He smiled though, warmer than most would expect with his shoulders sagging just a bit. “Hey kid. Sportin’ the armor pretty good.”

“I’m sorry I took it, but I had to sneak onto a gunship,” Luke shrugged before practically bowling the trooper over, Waxer hot on his heels. He was laughing and clasped Boil’s shoulder in greeting as the latter tried to get a handle on the squid-like hug that Luke gave. “I had to keep Waxer alive.”

When he got back to the ground and stood back, Boil’s brows were furrowed, and he frowned in realization. He glanced at Waxer, and they exchanged looks. Luke wasn’t entirely sure what they meant.

“All of you are going to need a check up and scan,” Helix butted in, Kix right at his side. They looked almost like twins. Well, really only for the fact that they had the same displeased expression on their faces. Luke tried to hush down his laugh.

“I will hand them all over to your capable care,” Ben assured as he walked closer to the group. Master Vos was whispering to Master Tachi which ended in them both snickering, almost uncontrollably. “But I do have a gift for Luke, if you don’t mind waiting a moment to take him.”

Helix shrugged. “Fine.”

Ben glanced around at the other troopers. “Did Gearshift come with you?” he asked as he got closer to Luke and wrapped a thin cloth around his eyes, making sure he could see a thing. Luke just scoffed good naturedly.

“Gearshift!” someone called out.

There were footsteps from a human and…something else. A clacking noise. A lot of them actually. It stopped and there were a few other quiet noises. “Can I loooooook??” Luke’s voice came out in a near whine. A few chuckles erupted from those around him.

Ben was standing next to him as someone untied and took off the blindfold. And in front of Luke, in Ben’s hands, was the cutest little BD explorer type droid Luke thinks he had ever seen. Washed in grey and gold, it’s little head looked up at him and squeaked in a binary Luke wasn’t entirely sure he understood but the meaning was clear. Plenty of curiosity.

His heart practically stopped. Could it be? No way.

No way.

“Is this…” he drifted off, unable to form words. He glanced at Ben, eyes wide and near pleading. “Are you serious?”

“I happened to have found her on the ship that we hijacked on our way here,” Ben explained with one of the fondest smiles Luke had ever seen up on him. “I helped fix her up, Anakin helped fix her up and she needs a bit more tweaking and probably a program update, but I thought you might like her. We talked a bit and she claimed she will give you a chance. She’s had a bit of a difficult time and would like a memory wipe, but I think you two will get along.”

“You got me a droid?!”

“I’m not sure if I would say got. I didn’t exactly pay for her or anything. Rather…liberated, in a way,” Ben pointed out.

Luke reached out his hands to let the little droid hop into his palms. He nearly felt like crying. “She’s so cute,” he whispered as she beeped at him, quick and excited. “I…can’t understand what she is saying though. Not fully.”

“It’s coded binary. Don’t worry, that can be changed in the programming.”

“Can we keep both?”

“Yes? But why?”

“I’d like to learn it. I think it would be fun. What’s her name?”

“Her designation is BD-42, but she claims to be amendable for changes.”

Luke hummed and stared at his new little droid friend. This was just… a dream. There was no other explanation. “Hmmm. We will have to brainstorm, won’t we, girl? I’m sure we can come up with something fantastic that is very you.” He looked up at Ben and he knew his eyes were sparkling because, well, they had to be. “Thank you, Ben.”

“I did promise you a droid at some point.”

“I think…. I think we might be a good team,” Luke agreed. “And we have a lot to do with an uncertain amount of time to do it.”

#it's about gosh darn time #sorry it's been a bit #revolving suns #revolving suns au #obi-wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi #luke skywalker #protective luke skywalker #the reunion #clone trooper waxer #waxer #lieutenant waxer #rex #captain rex #fives #arc trooper fives #jesse #tup #quinlan vos #anakin skywalker #just a bit #siri tachi #eyyyy she's here #i got a bit of a soft spot for the spunky undercover gal #she's Obi-Wan's friend too and he needs his friends around #au #time travel #time travel au #fix it #it will be

[shatouto]

hi yes this is another installment in the raised-as-sith anakin x jedi obi-wan au i co-write with @obiwanobi. we’ve been putting what we got so far on ao3 for archiving/organizing purposes so before you read this pls check it out first if you haven’t bc there is some semblance of continuity, thank you :’) (this installment on ao3)

content note: past psychological and physical abuse, messy healing, please proceed with care

you love him dearly

You stand alone in a great dark hall. There’s no sound but your pulse jolting in bouts inside your ears. Like the footsteps of a scared bantha. And you feel like a scared bantha. You haven’t felt like this in a long time. You used to be worth less than a bantha, with your weak hands and your small body. All you were ever able to do was get yourself and your mom hurt. You felt so bad, so very bad, so bad that you were willing to beg your mom to let you go, when this man came and swept you up. This man who called you the Chosen One. This man who you now call...

“Master,” you say, and waits for your Master to acknowledge you.

Sometimes you think it’s strange, to trade one master for another. But this Master, your Master, is a different sort. Your Master taught you how to hate the right people, in the right way; gave you a crystal and let you forge your own lightsabers. Your Master told you you were special. No, no, it doesn’t matter that you were a slave, you are special, my boy. You know you are different, do you not? That you learn faster than children your age; that your reflexes are sharper, your intuition stronger. You see things before people do, know things before people see, and do things before people know. The future and the past are sometimes indistinguishable in your dreams. Clever child, golden child, you are certainly worth more than a bantha; oh, you are worth more than the population on that sandy speck combined. You are the Chosen One! You are destined for greatness.

You were weak and small and nothing. You deserve so much more, so much more. A pity that the universe has never given you and will never give you what you truly deserve. None of that is your fault, my poor boy; they are simply too blind and puny to appreciate your capacity and recognize your power. But worry not: Your Master will give it to you. Your Master is here to help you. You love him dearly, because you are nothing without him, because the universe is stupid and cruel and you hate it for making you feel like nothing. Your Master, on the other hand, must love you dearly, or else he would not have told you all about how special you are. Would not have trained you to be so strong. Would not have given you the respectable name of…

“Darth Vader.”

The greeting sounds more like a warning, because you deserve it. “I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.” Even your voice comes out too small.

“Little need to apologize in words, my apprentice,” says your Master. “You know what must be done. You must learn your lesson.”

You love him, you love him, you love him. You love your Master, you chant in your heart, as you hang your head and tuck your tongue back and wait like the good apprentice you are.

The first blow is always the hardest. You convulse, feeling as if a thousand red-hot needles are exploding from within your sinews. Blinding pain crackles through your body, and you scream yourself…

Awake.

Anakin sits up in his sleeping bag, panting. He thinks he heard the tail end of a scream, his own, but it’s all silent now. He’s alone in the dark, the healed stump of his right arm tingling under the prosthetic cap. He searches his psyche for the tatters of a bond between him and the late Sith Lord; there's nothing left. Darth Sidious is truly dead. Two strides away from him, Obi-Wan Kenobi sleeps soundly in his bed.

His eyes soften. The sight of Obi-Wan soothes him, reminding him of where he is in time and in space. It has been a few months since he killed his Sith Master. He is in the Jedi Temple, in quarters belonging to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Nobody knows he is here.

Anakin turns away as one would turn away from a too-bright light. You can’t look at the sun for too long or it’ll burn your eyes; especially if you are used to darkness. He breathes in, and out, and shakily pulls off the cover of the sleeping bag. His new metal fingertips nearly tear through the fabric.

“Anakin?”

Anakin doesn’t flinch, but his stomach flips. Obi-Wan’s silhouette slowly sits up in bed, tousled and softly rumpled and Anakin feels frighteningly tender in the chest. He keeps his head down, not wanting to meet Obi-Wan’s eyes right now.

“Anakin, is everything alright?”

Anakin mumbles out something vaguely affirmative, and pushes himself to his feet. “Fresher,” he says, hurrying away. He doesn’t return to the bedroom afterwards, but goes straight to the kitchenette and begins to prepare a rather large breakfast. He knows Obi-Wan doesn’t go back to sleep either. He wills himself to ignore the circles under Obi-Wan’s eyes, come morning.

—

“Anakin, I have been thinking,” Obi-Wan begins, as he takes their empty plates to the kitchen, where a dishwashing droid stands await. “You don’t happen to have a habit of meditating, do you?”

Anakin almost tenses up at meditating, but he only lets out a huff of breath and opens the droid’s compartment doors. He’s glad Ahsoka is away for the night, staying in her friend’s quarters or some such. If she joins in with Obi-Wan it’ll only be harder for him to reject the request. Because that’s clearly a request, no matter how fancily Obi-Wan phrases his question.

I hate it teeters on the tip of his tongue, but Anakin just answers: “No, I don’t.” Obi-Wan likes meditation, as all Jedi do. It would feel bad, be bad, to say he hates something Obi-Wan likes.

Obi-Wan hums. Dishes clink as he sets them in one by one. “Would you be so opposed to it, then?”

Anakin pulls his shields higher so that none of the screaming No no no I hate it in his mind is going to bleed through to Obi-Wan in the Force. He makes the mistake of turning to look at Obi-Wan, because he can’t help it, and he's met with a hopeful smile and gentle, crinkled eyes. He can't bear to see that smile fall. “...Guess not,” he mutters.

“I would keep you company, if that’s fine,” Obi-Wan continues on merrily, like the good-natured Jedi he is. “I mean to invite you to join me for meditation before bedtime, in fact. Is that alright?”

Anakin stares down at his mismatched hands. If there is one thing he hates more than meditating, it’s meditating with someone watching. He tries very hard not to grit his teeth.

“Of course, you don’t have to,” Obi-Wan adds, fingers briefly brushing Anakin’s flesh wrist. The sensation shoots right into Anakin’s heart. That settles it; it’s not even a question. Obi-Wan will be disappointed if he doesn’t.

“It’s alright,” Anakin says, shutting the droid’s compartment door. The timer beeps, unhelpfully helping him count down to the dreaded session.

—

“So this is meditation?” Anakin blurts.

Obi-Wan sits cross-legged on his bed, in his soft robes and sleeping pants. He opens his eyes in a quizzical gaze as Anakin remains standing. Anakin curls his hands into fists and tries not to fiddle with the hem of his tunic. Obi-Wan frowns, unfurls from his position and comes up so near that Anakin wants to hold his breath. He smells like the cotton flower-scented fabric softener, like crisp, warm laundry - he smells like hard-earned safety. “You don’t need to lie to me, Anakin,” he says, a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “I will instruct you from the beginning if you need me to, and I promise to help you with any difficulty. Now tell me: Have you meditated before?”

Obi-Wan says so, but Anakin is not about to tell him about the Sphere; about the long hours spent in that terrible spheroid room with enough space for you to wish you could move from your spot, but the walls were too smooth and curved for you to scale; about how silent it was in there save for his Master’s voice in his mind. Anakin is not about to tell this Jedi about the splatter of blood in the Sphere where he once bashed his head against until he passed out because he could not take it. How Sidious had punished him for it afterwards. How he never dared to do it again.

“...No,” Anakin says. “Show me.”

Obi-Wan nods; his hand slips down his shoulder and runs gently down his arm. Anakin blinks. Obi-Wan's touch always feels so… nice. Unhurried and mellow and never really demanding anything back. “I see. Take a seat beside me. Make yourself comfortable, please.”

Anakin crosses his legs as Obi-Wan does. Nervousness winds his core tight, makes his back rigid and ramrod straight. Obi-Wan is near him, both in physical presence and in the Force, his signature pulsing with the light of sunrays through butterfly wings.

“Relax, Anakin. Loosen your muscles”—his warm hand traces across Anakin’s back from shoulder to shoulder, then down his spine—“and your jaws.” His fingertips brush the hinge of Anakin’s jaws just as he says so. Anakin nearly shivers. It takes him longer than he thought it would, to truly follow those orders.

“...There we go,” Obi-Wan says. He draws back, and Anakin should be glad that the distracting touch is gone, but he feels disappointed instead. “Now breathe in deep. Ah, wait. Do it again, breathe in, deeper, and try to hold it. Yes, like that…”

They spend the next quarter hour or so wrestling with his breathing pattern, keeping it both deep and steady. Anakin goes from counting the beats to counting the breaths to finally not needing to count at all. And then when he thinks he’s gotten the hang of it…

“Let go? You mean I shouldn’t focus on my breathing anymore?” he asks, puzzled, bordering on frustrated. “But you just told me to be mindful of it.”

“Yes, correct, Anakin.” Obi-Wan sounds unfazed. “Be mindful of the rhythm, and keep it up. You’ve done well so far. Now you must turn your focus inwards, and meet the Force within you.”

Anakin’s eyes slide open for a split second and then fall shut again. He doesn’t understand, but he could just try. This isn’t any difficulty that he needs to bother his instructor with. He nods, and begins again. He begins with his breathing. In, and out. Slow, and steady. And now he must not think about the breaths anymore. Now he must...

The Force within him is a well of ink. Ink that glisten from black to crimson like the blood on his hand. Ink that sloshes and laps against the walls and the echoes turn into screams. A bright white fracture crackles from one corner of his vision to the other. Centipede-like arches of incandescence skitter under his skin. Drip, drip, the blood, no, the ink, it drips and it trails and it tickles his skin. There’s the familiar taste of copper at the back of his tongue, flavors just waiting to burst. Cruel laughter echoes from the bottom of the inky well, and somewhere in the thick darkness there is the outline of a woman’s silhouette, of small but strong shoulders and—

Something warm brushes his psyche.

Warm, but too close. Anakin snatches that tendril without a thought and delves counter-current through Force-realm. He forces himself to the other side, even as something shatters around him. He knows the drill. *Your self-preservation can only come at the cost of others', my boy.* Colors begin to flash, gentle and muted, bearing the fuzzy quality of memories. Sunlight flickers, filigree wings flutter, landing on durasteel grounds. He feels tears on his face and tears in his throat and his forehead is pressed close to someone else’s, someone he loves so dearly—no, not him, someone that the person to whom this mind belongs loves so dearly.

“...proud of you. Carry on, Obi-Wan. Live brightly.”

“Yes, Master.”

There's no silence more thorough than a heartbeat evening out into nothingness. There's no solitude more poignant than the company of a vanishing light. Saying goodbye is never an easy feat, even for a Jedi, and the anger and sorrow he felt—

“Anakin! Stop!”

Anakin jolts awake. A thick, ferric drop trails from his nose, warm on his lips. He opens his eyes and finds Obi-Wan beneath him, wide-eyed. His hands are pressing Obi-Wan’s shoulders into the mattress. Obi-Wan, who was teaching him to meditate, who brushed his mental shields in the process of instruction. Obi-Wan, his teacher. And if all of those images belonged to Obi-Wan…

He just broke into Obi-Wan’s mind.

Anakin scrambles back. The ink, no, the blood, now drips down his chin. It tickles. His teeth clatter as shivers rake up inside him. He clenches his jaws and stares at the ground. The sheets rustle.

“I think that’s quite enough for tonight.” Obi-Wan doesn’t sound angry, just somewhat breathless. Even concerned. Anakin doesn’t believe it. “Anakin, you’re bleeding. Do you need—”

“No.” Anakin staggers to his feet and backs away. Nothing worse than asking for more and becoming even more of a burden because everything he takes is a debt and he will pay for it. His Master always made sure he paid. “No. I’ll—I’ll clean up. I’m sorry. I’ll clean up.”

He stands there just long enough for Obi-Wan to respond - with anything, words, blows, anything. In the end, Obi-Wan only says, “Alright. Please, take care.” Anakin’s eyes flick up to find a grimace. He turns away and all but runs to the fresher, more dismayed than relieved.

Because if the punishment doesn’t come right away, that only means he’s going to have to wait.

#obi-wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #raised-as-sith anakin #always-a-sith anakin #ex-sith anakin #so many tags for this au #star wars prequels #shatou writes #obikin #angst