Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anakin Skywalker was a slave. He was born a slave and raised a slave and nothing had changed that. He remembers the day that Qui-Gon Jinn won him from Watto in that pod race. He thought he would be free and was so excited but Master Jinn left his chip in. And slaves were not free unless they no longer had a chip.

Then they went before the jedi council, Anakin was terrified. The meeting was so much like a slave acution that it was terrifying. They told him he was too emotional and that his thoughts lingered on his mother. The only thoughts he had about his mother were worry. He was worried what would happen to her since Watto lost a lot of money and a slave. 

He felt so hopeless. If he was to be sent home to Tatooine then Jabba would surely kill him for all the money he lost. At the least he would be reenslaved within the hour. Then Master Jinn died and the council decided that he was now Master Kenobi’s. 

He was grateful for the kindness of the jedi especially since punishments weren’t horrible. They were actually pretty benign compared to what he received on Tatooine. There were a lot of things about the jedi he couldn’t understand even as he grew older. Like why they got mad or concerned when he acted appropriately for a slave. Or how they wanted him to give away his emotions. Or how they didn’t like attachments. How was a jedi to be compassionate yet not have attachments? But he never asked questions as slaves weren’t supposed to.The day everything started to take a turn for the better was a seemingly normal day.

The 501st and 212th had just gotten back from an extremely stressful and long campaign. They were docked on Coruscant to replenish food, weapons, and ammo as well as allow the wounded to heal and the others to rest. It was a long awaited and needed break for all involved except Anakin Skywalker.

It wasn’t like he didn’t need a break he desperately needed one of those, if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by, it was just that he was still working. Master Kenobi left him at the senate to debrief the creepy depur Chancellor that was obsessed with him and then they had to debrief the council together. Anakin understands his place as a slave but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with more scrutiny. 

It’s just what masters and depurs did. He already knew that but he hadn’t slept for 50 hours and counting. He needed rest and that was coming from him, he slept even less than his Master when he was on campaigns which was saying something. Anakin groans as he shuffles out of depur Palpatine's office. Does the man know when to ever stop talking? He had taken 20 minutes at most to debrief the kriffing chancellor, who proceeded to rant for another hour and forty minutes. 

And all he kriffin talked about was their “friendship” and what it means to him and how the Jedi council ignored his “talents” (Anakin didn’t know what the kriff the man was talking about and for once he didn’t care to find out). It was safe to say Anakin Skywalker hated chancellor Palpatine and would kill his master or himself if he had to deal with the slemo again. 

Anakin stumbles around the senate compound in and out of awareness since his body's exhaustion was starting to get to him now that all the adrenaline was out of his system. Jedi council be damned, he needs to sleep. Anakin feels a dull aching start to render in his head which was usually the onset of a brutal upcoming headache. Anakin mutters out a string of slurred mando’a curse words he learned from his men that would make even hardcase blush in embarrassment.

After a while of getting nowhere Anakin can’t take it anymore and sighs heavily as he’s in a completely empty part of the senate compound. He has no idea where he is but he’s too exhausted to care at this point. Anakin stumbles to a nearby wall and braces his back against it. He slowly sinks to the ground, his mind being too out of it to think logically or remember what he has next on his agenda. 

He pulls his knees to his chest and curls in on himself the best he can to help hide himself from plain view. Although his minds too much of a mess to think properly his slave instincts kick in and he does his best to hide himself from the view of civvies or slemos and just rests his head on his arms. He then closes his eyes, giving in to darkness.

Usually 50 hours no sleep was something he could deal with but he hadn’t slept well for most of the campaign which lasted months. The most sleep he’d gotten at once this past week was 3, maybe 4 hours. They had to continuously be on their toes out on the battlefield and never allow the clankers to catch them vulnerable or off guard; that was practically a death sentence out there.

Not that long after Anakin finally falls asleep maybe 30-45 minutes later a very lost Commander Wolffe and some others from the wolf pack as well as Commander Bly come stumbling across the seemingly empty corridor. They were there to find Commander Fox, who they were going to invite to 99’s, for tonight in honor of the 501st and 212th return and the departure of the 327th. 

Okay so they didn’t notice the sleeping jedi at first to be fair no one did. They were all, well Bly and Wolffe were arguing about what the directions to Fox’s senate office they were given were. It was Jerk, a newer addition to the wolf pack, who first noticed something off in the corner. While the others were busy arguing or listening to the arguing Jerk makes his way over to the thing-no wait that’s a sentient. Jerk makes his way over to the sentient and the first thing he notices is that they look worse for wear. 

Their clothes were slightly torn, hair was a mess, and they had dirt all over. If it weren’t for the familiar looking metal hilt on their belt that caught his eye, or the familiar smell of gunpowder and blood that the sentient was caked in he would have thought they were homeless. He quietly makes his way over to the sentient that he now knew was a jedi.He kneels down to them not being able to identify them since their face was buried in their knees.

“Hey, General,” he says quietly as he shaks the sentient. His vode still somehow was oblivious to him and the general in the corner. 

“Mmm, not now Rex,” is all Jerk gets in response.

“C’mon General it's time to wake up and I don’t think this is the safest place to sleep.” He informs them, shaking them harder now.

“M’ sorry Rex but mso tire..,” the exhausted general trails off slightly, while now looking up at Jerk. The first thing that runs through Jerks mind is that the General is young. They look not a day older than 17 in human years and they were humanoid so they most likely aged the same. He observes the exhausted worse for wear general and decides that he needs to help him. If it backfires he’ll blame General Koon or his genetics. 

“How longs it been since you slept?” He asks.

“Fifty hours. Ya know it's not been safe R’x.” The General slurs out. Jerk looks stunned at the young Jedi for a moment. He knew most jedi didn’t always have healthy sleep schedules but 50 hours. He doesn't even think General Kenobi, who he’s heard General Koon complain about, has stayed up that long.

He wordlessly hoists the Jedi into his arms. The General is surprisingly light, too light to be normal in his opinion. Now the chatter in the background is gone. He looks to his vode who are staring at him. Oh! Seems they finally noticed they weren’t alone. 

“Who’s that?” Commander Bly asks.

“No idea, they are a humanoid Jedi though and by the looks of it they just got back from a campaign.” He responds as he walks back to the group with the jedi in his arms. 

“What do we do with him?” Rev, a shiney asks.

“Bring ‘em back to the temple. The only recent campaigns back with humanoid generals are Rex’s, Cody’s, and Pond’s battalions. He is definitely not General Windu or Kenobi. So he must be Skywalker. Here I’ll take ‘em.” Wolffe states calmly stretching out his arms to Jerk. Jerk looks a bit reluctant but hands over the general to Wolffe. 

Wolffe knew General Skywalker was on the younger side but he looked too young to be out on the battlefield. He’s too light and has obviously not slept in a while. He looks beat up and curls in on himself slightly. It’s like he’s trying to protect himself from something or someone even in his sleep. The general's overgrown curly hair is matted. He probably came here right after his ship landed and he parted ways with Rex Wolffe notes. 

Their search for Fox, now completely abandoned, as they search for a way out of the senate building to bring the Jedi back to the temple. They all walk in silence, the only sound being the occasional passing by senator and their boots on the floor. Bly went to continue looking for Fox while they returned the 501st’s General. 

“No, I’m sorry! Master please! Please mom didn’t break it I did! I’m sorry it’s my fault, please don’t hurt her! Please, I promise I’ll never do it again!” A broken muffled voice mutters, sounding utterly terrified. The words and voice startle Wolffe so much he stops in his tracks. 

“What the Kriff?” Wolffe states looking down at the young sleeping general now crying and muttering in his sleep.

“Master Watto please! I’ll make you more money please. I'm so sorry. N-no please not the whip I won’t ever break anything again! I’ll be good, I promise!” General Skywalker mutters now slightly shaking and practically sobbing while still being asleep. 

Wolffe and his vode with him stare in shock. The strong, fearless, reckless, and protective General Skywalker. The one who held no fear or regard for his own life on some occasions was practically breaking before their eyes. They’d seen this man in action Wolffe had even met him once this didn’t seem like him. 

A moment later General Skywalker's eyes snap open, having this wild look in them. Skywalker squirms in Wolffe’s hold and scans his surroundings. He seems pretty out of it for a long moment before he seems to gain some sense of reality and looks up at Wolffe.

“A-ah Commander Wolffe would you mind setting me down?” General Skywalker asks. 

“Of course General Skywalker,” Wolffe states, setting him down lightly. General Skywalker stumbles a bit and grumbles under his breath as he leans all his weight against the wall.

“Just call me Skywalker or Anakin, it doesn’t matter to me. We’re off duty so I’m not a general. Thanks for helping me. Sorry if I inconvenienced you in any way. I-um-I thanks.” Gen-Skywalker states smiling kindly at the clones. Somehow he looks even younger, awake than sleeping. Something in Wolffe flares up in anger at that Watto guy. 

He didn’t know Skywalker but he’d heard from Rex about how kind he is and how he memorizes the names of his troops and stays up late trying to find more ways to save more of the vode. Skywalker still has tears running down his face and looks vulnerable. They couldn’t just leave him like this he can barely stand.

“It’s not a problem Skywalker. We were heading to the Jedi temple since I needed to discuss some things with General Koon. Would you mind if we joined you?” He asks. The others look at him slightly lost but he just gestures to Skywalker who by the way still is leaning against the wall. Skywalker gives them a genuine and kind smile.

“Sure, I need to give my debrief though. So Master Koon may be a bit late unless they move it to tomorrow.” Skywalker informs them and tries to stand up straight. That just leads to him almost falling face first if not for Blade. Blade and Jerk help support Skywalker as they walk to the temple. Skywalker states a few times he can walk on his own which earn him eye rolls from everyone else. 

They get closer to the temple and then they part ways at the front of the temple. “I’ll get Master Koon for you,” Skywalker tells them with a smile as he stumbles into the temple. The four clones share a look between each other. They didn’t care that Skywalker was a jedi and that he could take care of himself; they would now protect this kind suffering young man. 

Anakin Stumbles into the temple and almost trips onto a young togruta which just so happens to be his padawan.

“Master!” Ahsoka exclaims when it registers in her mind who he is. Anakin feels the pounding in his head magnify at the loud noise. So that’s where his headache went he thinks as he straightens up and pushes the ever present exhaustion that fogs up his head to the back of his mind. Or at least he tries to.

“Hey snips,” Anakin greats with a wide smile.

“Me and Master Obi-Wan have been looking all over for you! We’ve got to debrief the council.” Ashoka states and grabs his wrist leading him to the council chambers. He just allows himself to be dragged by his young padawan. At least he didn’t have to stumble along looking half dead.

Once they get to the chamber door Ahsoka lets him go and he straightens up. Then he follows his rather enthusiastic padawan into the council chambers. They enter and bow to the masters.

“Where have you been, Knight Skywalker?” Master Windu asks.

“Ahh my meeting with the chancellor went longer than usual!” Anakin states with a fake smile. “Also Master Koon I met some of your men on the way, they said they needed to talk to you.” Anakin says shifting his attention to Master Plo Koon. 

“Thank you knight Skywalker. If you all don’t mind I do not believe it’s important that I sit in on this report so I need to go see what they need.” Master Koon excuses himself. The other masters present give him a nod and he leaves the room.

Anakin will admit he might’ve rushed through the report a bit and he might’ve not been as thorough as usual but he was extremely exhausted and desperately needed sleep. The council dismisses them and Obi-Wan follows them out.

“Master, I know it’s a bit late but could you help me with training?” Ahsoka asks.

“Ahh sorry Ahsoka I can’t at least not right now but tomorrow I can.” Anakin responds feeling bad for not being able to help. He doesn’t trust himself around weapons, much less lightsabers at the moment. 

“Anakin! What can you possibly have to do that’s more important than your padawans training? You can’t neglect your duties as her master just because you have other things on your plate at the moment.” His master states annoyed.

“I’m-” Anakin starts.

“No, Obi-Wan, I do not believe that Knight Skywalker is in any shape to do training.” Master Koon interrupts.

“Plo don’t allow him to step out on his responsibilities. He's my ex-padawan. I’ll handle this.” Obi-Wan states.

“I’m not “allowing” him to step out on responsibilities Obi-Wan! I mean are we even looking at the same knight. Look at him and tell me he looks in any shape to be wielding a lightsaber nonetheless teaching his padawan to do so.” Master Koon states looking at the knight in question. “Knight Skywalker, when's the last time you slept more than an hour?” Master Koon asks.

“Hmm primeday I think…” Anakin answers after thinking really hard for a few minutes.

“You are aware that was around two days ago right?” Master Koon asks.

“Uhh yes, but I can still train Ahsoka. Master Ken’bi’s right, I can't neglect ‘soka for my needs I’m being selfish.” Anakin responds slurring his words a bit. 

“How long have you been up?” Master Koon asks.

“Fifty f’ur hours master.” Anakin slurs out a response somehow, still keeping track of time. 

“No, training little soka can wait, let me take you back to your quarters so you can get some sleep.” Master Koon says and starts guiding Anakin away while glaring at Obi-Wan as he leaves.

“I can’t sleep m’ster then I see master ‘atto.” Anakin informs the Kel Dor master slurring less now. 

“Who’s that?” Master Koon inquires.

“Is my old slave ‘aster before the master Jin won me. He owned me and mom.” Anakin states slowly. This statement makes Plo almost stumble at the revaluation that Anakin was a slave. Plo’s about to respond when he realizes that they’re at Anakin’s quarters. He takes in the man’s state and decides now’s not the time for questions. Just as Plo’s about to leave Anakin he hears a mumble that’s barely recognizable.

“Don’t leave me please can’t be ‘lone.” Anakin mutters looking extremely scared and out of it which breaks Plo’s heart.

“I won’t.” Plo responds, allowing Anakin to lead him in. Anakin leads him into the living area. After Plo takes a seat on the couch Anakin drapes himself on it and promptly passes out. Anakin’s laying on the medium sized couch with his head in the jedi masters lap. The Kel Dor master takes out his portable datapad and starts working on assignments because it’s not like he could do anything else with Anakin using him as a pillow.

After about an hour Plo starts hearing whimpering and crying. Plo looks down at the source, which is the knight who is still fast asleep in his lap. He starts running his clawed hand through Anakin’s hair as a way to soothe him which works. At some point Plo completes his work and falls asleep as well.

Anakin yawns and notices that he’s on something soft. He must’ve made it back to his quarters somehow. He doesn’t know how though all he remembers is getting scolded by Obi-Wan for something. He doesn’t even remember what he did wrong. He has to get up but his pillow is really warm and he’s not cold for once. Maybe a few more minutes can be excused.

“Oh you’re awake, Knight Skywalker.” A familiar voice states. Anakin jolts up at the sudden voice that he recognizes as Master Koon. Why was Master Koon in his quarters? WAIT HE WAS USING HIM AS A PILLOW! Anakin can feel his face warm up at the realization.

“M-master Koon! I-um-I good morning?” Anakin says, stumbling over his words feeling too embarrassed to be alive.

“Good morning,” Master Koon states, smiling kindly at him.

“What happened I don’t remember much,” he says sheepishly.

“Ahh well I came back to the council chambers and found Obi-Wan scolding you for not doing training with Ahsoka. I could see you were in no shape to train and that you were exhausted so I talked to Obi-Wan. Then I took you back here and you asked me to stay so I did.” Master Koon states looking through something on his datapad. 

“I-well thank you. You really didn’t have to. I don’t want to burden you master.” Anakin says looking down at the ground.

“It was no trouble, Knight Skywalker. I got some time to rest and complete some of my work. Now I think we’ve got some things to discuss.” Master Koon states. Immediately Anakin feels his heart sink and fear creep into his veins. What did he do wrong? Was he going to be punished? Or sold!

Master Koon seems to sense his panic(He was probably projecting again.) and speaks up. “Hey, calm down Knight Skywalker, you’re not in trouble I’m just concerned.” Master Koon states.

“Anakin, call me Anakin.” Anakin states hating the formalities.

“Then you can call me Plo if you’d like Anakin.” Master Plo states giving him a gentle smile. “Now let’s talk about some things you said earlier. First off, who's  Watto?” Master Plo asks.

“Well he’s my old slave master before I was won by Master Jinn and became his property.” He answers quietly.

“Property?…..I……Oh force! Anakin you don’t still believe you’re a slave do you?” Master Koon asks.

“I-well yes I mean I still have my slave chip and I wasn’t really told otherwise.” Anakin mutters out his response looking down.

“Anakin, Qui-Gon freed you he wasn’t purchasing you…oh force! Is that why you were so afraid at our first meeting?” Mas-Plo asks after his words sink in.

“Yes, It kinda also felt like an auction.” Anakin responds, going quiet towards the end. Plos face well at least the part that isn’t covered seems to look horrified.

“Anakin, I think there’s been a grave misunderstanding. We will need to address this with the council but for now we need to get you down to the healers ward. Is there anything harmful this chip can do?” Plo asks roughly as he grabs Anakin gently by the wrist and leads him out of the room.

“W-well it can explode if the transmitter switch is flipped.” Anakin mutters so quietly that Plo almost misses it. Plo speeds up their descent to the healers ward. Anakin stays quiet the whole walk and Plos too stunned to speak. Plo gets to the healers ward with Anakin in tow then informs Healer Che of the situation. After that Anakin is prepped and then sent off to surgery to remove the blasted slave chip.

Plo stands alone in the waiting area of the healers ward thinking. Every strange thing about Skywalker just slots into place. The way he acts with the clones and how he gets pissed at any mention of slavery. Why he never could make other jedi friends and why he was cagey around the council. It explains everything. He needs to contact Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

He opens his com’s contacts lists and hits the call button for Obi-Wan. It rings for a few beats and then Obi-Wan's voice filters through the com. 

“Hello Plo,” Obi-Wan greets.

“Hello Obi-Wan, this is not a social call. I need you to gather Ahsoka and then meet me in the healers ward.” Plo responds shortly.

“IS there something wrong? Has something happened to Anakin? I swear if it’s another reckless-” Obi-Wan starts but gets interrupted.

“Just come here Obi-Wan I’ll explain once you get here with his padawan.” Plo interrupts then shuts off his com. Plo spends around 15 more minutes pacing the room quietly which to him feel like hours. Realistically he knows it’s not been that long but he can’t help but feel anxious. How had something so big passed the whole jedi council and Anakin’s master. 

A part of Plo curses Qui-Gon thinking that if the blasted man wasn’t already dead he’d kill him himself. Plo doesn’t make it a habit of cursing other Jedi’s graves but for Qui-Gon Jinn and his lacking reports he’ll make an exception. Finally he hears footsteps approaching.

“Plo?” He hears a voice he recognizes as Obi-Wan's break through the silence. 

“I’m here,” he answers, stopping his mindless pacing as Obi-Wan enters the room followed by Ahsoka.

“What’s going on?” Obi-Wan asks, looking both confused and concerned. 

“Did you know?” Plo hears himself ask. That was definitely not at all what he meant to say but there was a protective rage simmering under his skin and there’s only one thought that keeps repeating in his mind. “Did Obi-Wan Know?”

“What are you talking about Plo?” Obi-Wan asks, looking even more confused.

“Skywalker is a former slave who thought he was still a slave. Did. You. Know?” Plo asks more firmly this time. Plo couldn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth. He didn’t mean to be so short with Obi-Wan or sound so angry but it seems like his brain has lost its filter at the moment.

“I-i…. I had my suspicions…. But! I had no idea for sure and I didn’t know he still thought he was a slave!” Obi-Wan answers slightly defensively. Which makes Plo slightly more angry.

“You should’ve brought this up to the council Obi-Wan then we could’ve help him sooner.” Plo states as Obi-Wan locks his remorseful gaze on the floor. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Obi-Wan asks, sounding extremely remorseful which makes Plo feel a slight bit of guilt well up in him. 

“He’s in surgery,” is all Plo answers with.

“Wait! Why is my master in surgery and since when was he a former slave!?” Ahsoka cuts in looking panicked.

“He’s okay, they're removing his chip.” Plo answers quietly, trying to reassure Anakin’s padawan. This answer draws Obi-Wan's attention back up from the floor.

“Chip?” Obi-Wan asks quietly still sounding confused and remorseful but also now adding anger into the mix. Yeah Plo did not like this mix of emotions and where it could lead so he makes a mental note to send the Kenobi-Skywalker legacy to the mind healers. They all need counseling and evaluations.

“He said that on Tatooine Hutt slaves are injected with special chips to track them as well as explode if they were to run away.” Plo answers trying to keep his rage that was building up from overflowing into his words. Obi-Wan now looks absolutely murderous and Ahsoka looks a mix between disgusted, terrified, and angry.

“Ahh I see now you’re all here. You can visit knight Skywalker. He's out of surgery and awake you can visit just don't overwhelm him. He’s also out of the field for a mandatory two weeks since the chip was embedded a little too close to his spine for comfort. I want him to be under observation for the next twenty-four hours. That’s all.” Healer Che states as she walks into the room having her own aura slightly tainted with anger. She then leaves as they all make their way towards the door.

Plo leads them all to Anakin’s room which has  a reenergized Anakin sitting there fidgeting with something in his hands.

“What’s that you have there Skywalker?” Plo asks, approaching the young man.

“I-well-it’s the c-chip.” Anakin answers, holding the chip up for all to see. Plo feels a wave of rage wash over him and he gently takes the monstrous piece of metal out of Anakin’s hand and tosses it on the ground. He then starts stomping on the blasted metal object.

Anakin stares in disbelief at Mas-Plo, it’ll take him a while to get not being a slave, what the heck was he doing. He looks to mas-Obi-Wan who he’d noticed enter the room with Plo for help, but the man and his Padawan are both glaring at the chip that’s being smashed.

Anakin sighs, you know what he doesn’t want to know. “When can I go back into the field?” He asks, feeling slightly antsy. Obi-Wan turns to look at him with an unreadable expression. 

“Anakin you just had an EXPLOSIVE removed from YOUR BODY and you’re asking when you can go back to the battlefield?” Obi-Wan asks incredulously at Anakin’s question and raises his voice a bit throughout the question.

“Yes, I mean it was a pretty minor thing and I wanna get out there and find Grievous or the Count so we can end this war.” Anakin answers with a shrug.

“Two weeks is how long you’ll stay on Coruscant. No less that’s what healer Che said.” Plo states now glaring at the destroyed chip.

“WHAT! I have fought with a broken leg and a concussion but removing a tiny explosive gets me off the battlefield for two weeks.” Anakin responds rather annoyed. This makes everyone’s gaze lock onto him.

“MASTER!” Ahsoka scolds, looking angry.

“C’mon snips, it's not that big of a deal.” Anakin states trying to soothe his very angry padawn. This for some reason gets everyone more angry. 

“Any protests Skywalker and I’ll take your rather concerning statement into account and add another week.” Healer Che states entering the room. Anakin groans and let’s her do her post opp checkup. 

Yeah after that there’s no more complaints from Anakin of being grounded on Coruscant. He does grumble at Plo’s and Obi-Wans hovering although deep down it makes him feel warm and happy inside. He spends some time with the Wolfpack who for some reason come to visit him and seem to be as protective as the two Jedi masters. 

He would love to visit his troops but Obi-Wan and Plo keep him grounded to the temple. A week after the surgery he goes to the council with Plo and informs them of the situation. Most of them apologize for the miscommunication and tell him he’s not obligated to call them masters. He feels awkward calling them by their names so he just settles for replacing the old title with the title Elder.

Anakin’s almost relieved when the two weeks is finally over and he is redeployed with his padawan and troops, who have some questions. And if he misses the small family he’d built with Plo, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and the Wolfpack he doesn’t mention it.

Chapter Text

Anakin was happy to finally be back on the Resolute with his men. He hates the war and wants it to end at all costs but he cares for the 501st. Anakin wakes up still a little groggy. It was the 7th day since they left Coruscant and he was trying to put together a good battle strategy that’ll save the most men possible. 

He’s barely slept in the week since they left Coruscant but he’s doing fine. 

The mind healer the council sent him to would call this an anxiety or self worth issue but he genuinely wants to find the best strategy to get through the campaign. Sure he’s barely ate and slept but he has to keep working. Anakin stares at the holo pad and the battle plans he was just working on and he draws a blank. He can’t really think of anything so he decides that a little training wouldn’t hurt. 

They are heading to Umbra where the citizens are fighting with the separatists to force the republic out. While they would usually leave separatist planets alone, this one controls a major trade route that they desperately need. Anakin grabs his saber and makes his way to the training room. He ignites his saber and starts to go through his Katas adding different ones into his usual style once in a while.

He would usually train with Ahsoka but she had to stay back planet-side because she had an upcoming test. Obi-Wan was also accompanying Anakin on this campaign so he asked Madam Nu to watch over her and make sure she took the test. Anakin starts to lose himself in the repetitive motions and before he knows it a voice calls into the room that it’s breakfast time.

Anakin breaks out of the meditation like haze and hears his stomach grumble. So he decides to join his men in the mess hall. He turns the saber off and straps it back onto its belt. Then he exits the training room. He makes his way to the mess hall and then enters the room. Most occupants of the mess hall go silent when they see him enter, he usually eats alone while making plans.

He grabs a tray and gets some rations while trying to shrink into himself. After a few minutes things go back to the way they were when he entered the room. He looks for the familiar blonde hair or blue shoulder armor of his captain and smiles when he spots the man. He recognizes the troops Rex is sitting by as Fives, Kix, Heavy, Jesse, and Appo. Fives smiles at him and waves him over. Anakin makes his way to the table and takes a seat amongst them.

“Hey General!” Fives states happily.

“Hello Fives and I'm pretty sure I already told you this but just call me Skywalker or Anakin when we’re not in the field.” Anakin states playfully glaring at the arc-trooper. 

Okayyyyyy General,” Fives states with a smirk to which Anakin just groans. 

“Fives leave the man alone!” Appo states also grinning. Anakin just buries his head in his hands with a groan.

“Hey General, what's that on the back of your neck?” Fives asks. What was he talking about? Anakin rubs the back of his neck and instead of his hair he feels the slight bump of his recently gained scar among the mostly smooth skin of his neck. Ahh he forgot he put his hair up earlier.

“I had a surgery done after we got back from our last campaign, that's why they extended our leave.” Anakin states, deciding not to bring attention to his past.

Umbara is a shit show Anakin thinks with an annoyed huff. You see before the mission started he was commed by Plo who asked him to keep an eye on Krell since his troop death rates were highest amongst the GAR. In truth there was a call that was for him from the chancellor, but ever since he told Plo and Obi-Wan as well, although a bit more reluctantly, that the chancellor creeped him out and made him feel unsafe they kept the chancellor as far from him as possible.

The council also helped with that by stating that other jedi could take the chancellor's missions and asking him about his obsession with the young knight. Yeah that shut the old man up pretty quick. Anyway back the the shit show that was Umbara. Anakin of course being the amazing General he is, he told his commanders and some other troopers that he was going to be there with them. He faked being surprised at being called away and faked leaving. 

Instead of leaving he changed into some armor given to him by Rex and then joined the troops. It was a good coincidence that they got a new batch of shineys recently so no one batted an eye at not knowing his name. Although they did ask why he was a bit taller and never took his helmet off. He just ended up telling them that he got a bad facial scar from one of the trainers on Kamino that made him insecure and that his height was a less common approved mutation.

Anyway, every time after Krell gave them his bogus strategies that would get more of them killed than actually helping them win, Anakin would come up with an alternative plan with Rex that was way better. That got Krell to scream at them but cut the casualties from what would have been half the battalion per battle to one or two troopers per battle.

When they captured the base he, Hardcase, and Fives pulled off the flying stunt. Anakin didn’t mean to get involved in that one but they were going to do something stupid that could kill them therefore Anakin had to make sure they didn’t die. Hardcase almost sacrificed himself but Anakin had him jump ship, while still in motion mind you, and leave his ship on autopilot.

Once they got back they almost got executed well Fives and Hardcase because somehow no one knew he was also involved.

He suspected that fact had something to do with Rex ushering him out of the landing bay before Krell rushed in. Then after Hardcase and Fives were thrown in the brig they got a transmission. Anakin felt the force screaming at him that something was wrong during Krells debrief on the enemy’s with stolen armor so he decided to contact Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan tells him that they never sent that message and were actually winning their battle so Anakin devises a plan. He tells everyone to set their blasters to stun after they leave the base which gets a lot of angry shouts from other the troopers which are ended by him removing his helmet.

They all state in shock as he pulls his lightsaber out of a hidden compartment and ignites it. After the original shock and explanation the only trooper upset is Dogman who tells them that they shouldn’t be deceiving a jedi master because he was higher in rank and that they should trust him. Anakin leads the way with his saber and when shots are fired at them Anakin identifies himself and the 501st as friendly’s. 

That pisses a lot of troopers off when they realize Krell sent them out to kill each other for no reason. Although everyone escaped the battle with only scrapes, bruises, and a few passed out clones, they are furious that Krell tried to make them kill their own brothers. They then march and overtake the base to confront Pong Krell. Anakin at first confronts Krell in disguise but when he feels Krell reach into the force he rips off his helmet and draws his saber. This pisses Krell off and he glares murdously at Anakin.

“What are you going to do slave boy?” Krell asks, bringing Anakin’s past up in an attempt to enrage him. In another universe or before he started therapy Anakin would have been blinded by rage and would have attacked Krell mindlessly. But now he just shrugs the jab off and sinks into the force as he attacks Krell.

They duel for a while being almost evenly matched although Krell had way more experience. In the end Krell makes a mistake which results in his loss to Anakin. They then take Krell to the bring where some of the troops had locked up Dogma earlier. They free Fives, Hardcase, and Dogma. Then Krell goes on a rant about how he’ll get away with everything and somehow Dogma gets a hold of a blaster and shoots him.

After that Obi-Wan calls and tells them they won and Anakin tells him that Krell died during the confrontation. Anakin, Rex, and some others move the lifeless body of the dead ex Jedi into the command room and position him as though he’d been shot down right there. Anakin forgets that Krell mentioned his past until another day in the mess hall on their way home.

“Hey Anakin, what was Krell talking about when he called you a slave during the confrontation?” Kix asks. Anakin almost groans he wishes they would have forgotten about that, but trust Kix to remember it.

“I-well I grew up on Tatooine. Tatooine is a plant under the Hutts rule. My mother was taken into slavery at a young age after her family’s ship was caught by pirates. She had me while being a slave under Gardulla the Hutt. When I was 5 Gardulla lost me and mom my in a bet to my old slave master Watto. We were then taken to Tatooine where I spent the rest of the time till I was found by the Jedi. I was freed by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan's master.” Anakin responds, trying to keep his voice monotone.

“Wow…..” Fives states looking sadly down at his lap. The others at the table also bow their heads about as they soak in this weight that their jedi has had to live with. 

“The scar on my neck is from when I got my slave chip removed. It happened so late because the council didn’t know about my past. Apparently the only ones who did were me, Qui-Gon, Senator Amidala, and Representative Binks. Slave chips are things that the Hutts use they are explosive devices that have a remote trigger for if a slave escapes.” Anakin continues as he subconsciously rubs said scar. 

All of his companions now have a murderous look in their eyes as they still look at their laps. Kix is the one to speak up to change the subject. He takes a once over of Anakin and the glares before he speaks up, “When’s the last time you slept?” Anakin’s gaze just darts around panickedly knowing he’ll suffer his medics' wrath if he tells the truth. 

“Uhh I don’t know, last night I think.” Anakin lies.

“General, you were doing reports all night last night I know because you woke me up stealing my unfinished ones.” Rex says breaking out of his daze along with the others.

“Well I think it’s time I go. I’ve got a lot of mediation to catch up on.” Anakin states nervously jumping up from the table to make a break from it. He’s stopped in his tracks by Heavy blocking his way. Kix glares at Anakin who glares at Heavy.

“I’ll take our jetti back to get some sleep.” Rex states grabbing Anakin and dragging him down the hall. Anakin tries to fight the blonde's grip but he’s too strong. Eventually Anakin just gives in and accepts the fact that he is surrounded by mother hens no matter if he’s on or off planet. And although that fact annoys him to no end it also makes him smile because it means he is loved and cared about and isn’t alone.