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“Then you’ll die braver than most.” says the Sith Lord, looming over his fallen prey.

Ezra is a brave boy. Even so, he cannot help but fear as the looming dark lord encroaches with a crimson saber lit, especially when the boy’s own lies next to him, broken.

Tasting the boy’s fear, “Perhaps I was wrong.” says the Sith Lord, as he raises his saber to strike the boy down.

“It wouldn’t be the first time…” she interrupts.

The figure stops to spare a moment, looking at her. “It was foretold that you’d be here,” says the articulated mechanical voice. It is odd, how differently he speaks than Anakin. As if he’s impersonating some noble from the Core. She suspects he’s overcompensating for his lack of subtlety back in.. Back in-

“Our long awaited meeting has come at last.”

“I’m glad I gave you something to look forward to."

“We need not be adversaries.” he says. She refrains from asking a sarcastic ‘really?’ “The Emperor will show you mercy if you tell me where the remaining Jedi can be found.” Of course…

“There are no Jedi. You and your Inquisitors have seen to that.” Ahsoka can’t help bitter resentment dripping off of her words like venom. He, on the other hand, doesn’t seem fazed by the accusation.

“Perhaps this child will confess what you will not.”

“Stop!” she yells. This isn’t Anakin, she reminds herself; Anakin wouldn’t. “I was beginning to believe I knew who you were. Behind that mask… But it’s impossible,” Ahsoka hisses. “My master could never be as vile as you.”

“Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him,” he confirms her darkest nightmares.

She remembers what it was like to sense this creature in the Force the first time: as dark as a black hole, and yet, still, too much like Anakin. She remembers screaming and passing out with the horror of sensing something so great, so bright, so full of compassion turn into whatever this is… Ezra has told her she was unconscious for hours that day. So she knew this creature couldn’t be Anakin. She still wanted to believe…

Tears threaten to well out. So does anger. So does disgust. “Then I will avenge his death.”

“Revenge is not the Jedi way.” Vader of all beings warns, as if to taunt a memory.

            “Remember, revenge is not the Jedi way, Padawan.”

“I am no Jedi,” she snarls. She’d lost that privilege. They’d made her leave… No, she’d chosen to leave. But she didn’t see any difference either way. The Council had made a terrible mistake. She’d deserved to be angry.

But then why leaving the Order still feels wrong?..

It’s neither the place, nor the time to dive deep into those feelings. She’d moved past them, she did. She decides to attack Vader instead.

When the mask cracks, it’s Anakin’s gaze that meets hers.

“Ahsoka.” says Anakin’s voice, disrupted by pained mechanical rasps. He watches her, lightsaber withdrawn. Look at me, he means to say. Look at what has become of me. Look at what I’ve been reduced to.

Ahsoka doesn’t like what she sees.

“Anakin…” Oh Force… That look. The same look in his eyes, when she’d left him. If she’d stayed, then perhaps Anakin wouldn’t-

“I won’t leave you,” she promises. The darksider falters for a brief moment, he hesitates. She can see it in his sickly yellow eyes. “…not this time…” That’s enough proof that Anakin is still in there, somewhere, because she wants to believe he is. Getting emotional is a dangerous state to engage for a Jedi. But she’s no Jedi.

His hatred, Vader wins out, as his expression hardens. “Then you will die.”

It’s said out loud as a threat. A promise. But Ahsoka knows better, because it’s meant to be a warning. Right?

Anakin is still there, isn’t he? He must be…

…Right?...

“Anakin, Master, please.” she pleads as the invisible hands around her throat tighten.

Ahsoka finds out she’s wrong, one more time, as the crimson red lightsaber cuts through her chest. She gives into guilt as life leaves her.

She should’ve remained a Jedi…

“Kriff,” someone whispers from the World Between Worlds. I was too late…

She dies. She knows she dies.

Then how come she’s still breathing?

Everything hits her at once; the untainted Force presence of her Master, the Temple Guards…

She gasps for air as she notices where she is: the waiting room before the Trial Chamber of the Jedi Temple… Anakin grasps her shoulders, shaking her. The same voice, without the mechanical rasp, his voice asks, “Ahsoka? Are you alright, Padawan? What am I asking, of course you are not.. Calm down, breathe.. It’ll be alright…”

She looks into the sky-blue eyes and finds it hard not to break down as her killer -no, that was Vader- as Anakin attempts to comfort her. Drowning next to Skyguy’s warm presence, she remembers exactly how much she has lost.

Chapter Text

“Why can’t you just let me go?” she asks to the Force. She wouldn’t mind dying. She doesn’t know if she has enough strength left to go through all of this… again.

It’s Anakin who replies. “You know why I can’t.”

She sighs. “I know…”

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh? You mean you’re not gonna try to run this time?” he asks with concern concealed under a light joke.

Ahsoka almost smiles. Run? To where? It won’t matter wherever she goes, the future always has a way of catching up with people.

The gong of the bell urges her to go before she can reply.

Perhaps that is the punishment the Force deemed fitting for her: letting the Jedi punish her one more time for failing them, for leaving them. For leaving the Chosen One in his time of need, for letting him fall…

She can’t even bring herself to blame Barriss, she can’t feel the heartbreak and betrayal she’d felt the first time. Barriss had been right about the Order losing its principles. Sure, bombing the Temple and murdering innocents isn’t the way Ahsoka would go about it, but then, Barriss also hadn’t survived the purge.

She doesn’t know if she should rat her out… She doesn’t think her presence in this time can influence the outcomes anyways.

She steps on the platform, looking up at the Council members.

Master Kenobi, Master Ti, Masters Mundi, Windu, Yoda, Koon… Her family, alive. Just how much she’d missed all of them… At their sight, basking at their bright warm presence in the Force, she forgets why she’s there. Unfortunately, Yoda reminds her of their purpose of gathering.

“Padawan Tano. Serious charges have been brought against you. How plead you?”

“Not guilty, Master” she says. What else can she say anyways? “I would never-”

She stops. take the lives of innocents, she’d claimed one lifetime ago. But then, she actually had, from a certain point of view… She can’t bring herself to protect sanctity of Jedi values either, after leaving the Order one too many times…

Once again, she is alone. She doesn’t even have herself on her side this time. What does she even have-

The Force…

She has the Force. The Force is all she has.

She takes a deep breath, as she centres herself. It’s surprisingly easier to do, with the galaxy not having fully submitted to the greedy tendrils of the Sith. Not yet.

Can she make it so that it’s not only not yet, but also not ever?

“You were alone with Letta Turmond when she died.” says Master Mundi. “Can you explain this?”

“I cannot, Master Mundi, except that I must’ve been a fool to take her life, knowing I’m alone with her, after she summoned me. I’m being set up, Masters.”

“Which brings us to Ventress,” says Plo Koon. It’s never easy to hear Master Koon speak to her with cold suspicion in his voice. “Can you explain your association with her?”

“After I realised I was being set up by a Force-sensitive, I sought my own answers. As she was a third party, I thought–

“Did she help you acquire the nano-droid weaponry found when you were apprehended?” interrupts Master Windu.  “The same devices used in the bombing of the Temple?” His stern demeanour is difficult to put up with when she’s the one under scrutiny.

The question had been a trap, she notices this time. Both “yes” and “no” let the assumption that the nano-droids were under her possession slide. She doesn’t intend to do the same mistake twice.

“I wasn’t aware I had the possession of such weapons,” she says. “I recall being knocked out by the Troopers after I was attacked by a Force user with red lightsabers, and waking up under confinement.”

“Conveniently, you fell unconscious next to the nano-droids. And conveniently, this mysterious attacker nobody else has seen deemed it was enough to simply retreat and let you live…” adds Master Mundi.

Ahsoka feels Anakin’s anger, not towards her but for her, burn. She looks at Master Mundi. “Don’t you think it’s all a little too convenient? The Force doesn’t lie, yet our sight has been clouded for a long time now. We’re all being deceived, Masters,” she says, disciplining her voice. She’d been too emotional the first time. It probably hadn’t helped her case…

“The question is, Padawan Tano, who is deceiving us? Ventress, you, or someone else?” asks Master Windu.

“You’ve already made your decision, haven’t you?” Anakin asks on her behalf, his volume rising. “This meeting is just a formality!” He looks at Obi-Wan, demanding an answer. Knowing what is to come, Ahsoka feels something break in her. Obi-Wan shifts his gaze, guilt dripping from his eyes. Poor Obi-Wan, ignorant of what horrors await him.

Force, have mercy. He doesn’t know.

“Reached a decision, we have,” answers Yoda. “But not in total agreement, are we…”

“It is the Council’s opinion that Padawan Ahsoka Tano has committed sedition against the Republic, and thus, she will be expelled from the Jedi Order.” Master Windu announces the verdict.

So it doesn’t change…

“Your padawan status will be stripped from you, and you shall forfeit all rank and privileges within the Grand Army of the Republic.”

Privileges.. Yes, it totally had been a privilege to witness her comrades, her vode bleed, die, and be forced to murder their generals. It had been a privilege to suffer so much loss only to find out the side they served was the side of the Sith. That they all had belonged to the Sith…

The absolute worst part is that she knows what will happen. She knows who the mastermind behind all of this is, but she can’t even tell that because nobody believes her. She can’t warn them about the corruption of the Republic when she’s already being kicked out because of ‘sedation’.

“You will be turned over to the Republic Court to await your trial and whatever punishment they set for you. Henceforth, you are barred from the Jedi Order.” Master Windu concludes.

Whatever punishment… They’d really let them execute her…

It isn’t the possibility of death that scares her; she’s already died once. She doesn’t despair about being killed again; she’s too tired already. She despairs because the Council already seems too lost in the bureaucratic web of the Senate, too lost… She wants to break down right there, cry her lungs out, and hug every one of them until her arms give up. They don’t know betrayal yet. They don’t know. They haven’t tasted genocide. Poor them, they don’t know. They have no idea.

Force, spare them. They don’t know.

The Temple Guard yanks out her Padawan beads. It doesn’t hurt any less the second time.

Please, lead me, show me the way.

Let them live.

Please.

Chapter Text

Waking up from a restless nap, Ahsoka finds Anakin and Padmé making their way towards the cell she's temporarily being held before the next trial.

Oh well, how to handle this? "I know nobody believe me, but Palpatine is the Sith Lord and I know this because I'm from the future..."

Settling on to follow an improvised plan, Ahsoka greets them with a sincere smile.

“I will do everything I can to prove your innocence, Ahsoka.” says Padmé.

“Thank you Master, Senator Amidala. But I doubt the Council has... I think something else is going on between them and the Senate, they were forced to let me go. You need to let me go too, Master.”

“Never,” he hisses. “I can’t believe they would-”

“And what if the Chancellor decides I’m guilty?”

Anakin hesitates. “He… He wouldn’t… He would see reason…” Ahsoka gives a look of sympathy as the delivery comes as an attempt Anakin tries to convince himself first.

“I need you both to listen to me.” she pleads. “Something is about to happen. Something big.” she begins, choosing her words carefully. “Else, why go into such trouble to frame a mere Padawan?.. Master, I think you’re the target.”

“I’m not afraid of them.”

“That’s not what I meant. They’re pushing you further away from the Order, further away from the light. Now they’re using me to widen the gap between you and the Council. Next, they may use Senator Amidala.”

He swallows at the revelation. “..What. do you know about..”

Ahsoka gives a look. “Please.. Even the younglings know. And not the time. Please listen to me. You need to let go, Master. Your attachment is clouding your judgement.”

“How can you still defend them after they’ve done this to you?!”

This isn’t the effect she wanted to cause.

“Because they won’t defend themselves. They will need you, Master. They don’t know. The Senate controls the Council now. Which brings me to the second point.” she looks at Padme.

“There are those within the Senate, higher ups, that’d rather see the Order destroyed. The masterminds behind the war… They’re abusing the Republic. They want us to fight within ourselves, pushing us to the point that we’re no longer serving the people. It needs to stop. This attack at the Temple… Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace, not warriors, but only the Senate has the power to stop the war now. Our hands are tied.”

“We can’t do much with the current emergency powers of the Chancellor either. He decides what we do now.”

Anakin gives a look of betrayal to both. “If you think he’s… He’s a good man, Padmé. Ahsoka, you sound like a Separatist! You can’t be really supporting the bombing!”

“Of course I don’t. Even you think I’m guilty!”

Ahsoka knows Anakin doesn’t think she is guilty, but that’s the only way she can think of to stop him from probing any further. If he’s upset with her, he won’t look for the real culprit, and maybe that’ll change the course of events.

“I know you aren’t guilty. But if you speak that way in the trial, they’ll think you’re guilty!”

“I speak nothing but the truth.”

“Then good luck with making them believe you!” Anakin lashes out, and leaves the cell with fury.

“Anakin, wait,” Padme reaches out behind him, only to hesitantly turn back to Ahsoka. Padme breathes in frustration. Honestly, between her and Obi-Wan, both have the patience rivalling Yoda when it comes to Anakin.

“Go,” she says. “He needs you.”

“You need me more… Let’s go over your defence.”

Everyone is there.

Anakin is there too, pouting. That is good. If Anakin is there, then he isn’t investigating. But so is Barriss… That’s also new. She wasn’t there the last time, and that’s why Anakin was able to find her.

Perhaps some things can be changed?

Ahsoka steps onto the circular platform, waiting for the Chancellor to speak. There he sits, watching the play he wrote, looking down upon everyone, as everyone plays the roles he handed out. He must be enjoying himself.

“Former Padawan Ahsoka Tano. You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself. This court will decide your fate. Prosecution, you may begin your arguments.”

She has to employ every bit of self-discipline she has in order not to lunge forward and try to strangle the Sith Master. Or not to scowl at Tarkin.

This really is her great trial.

“Former Padawan Tano, I shall prove that you were the mastermind behind the attack on the Jedi Temple, and that once your accomplices carried out your orders, you eliminated them one by one. When you are found guilty, I ask the court that the full extent of the law be brought down upon you, including penalty of death.”

Padmé tries. She really does. She can be very convincing when it comes to her own area of expertise, but Ahsoka has the lingering suspicion that there is a valid reason why Padmé hasn’t chosen the law school instead. “Look at the facts.” Padmé begins… “Letta Turmond called Ahsoka to her cell to reveal the name of the true mastermind behind the bombing of the Jedi Temple. Letta told Ahsoka she was afraid.”

“Objection, hearsay.” Tarkin doesn’t miss a chance to object, no matter the likelihood of the objection being sustained. It’s a psychological trick, to throw Padmé off balance, and unfortunately, it appears to be working to a certain extent.

“Sustained.” says Sidious. Of kriffing course.

“She told her the mastermind was a Jedi, and before she could reveal the Jedi's name –

“Objection, hearsay. There was no sound in the recordings. Is your entire defence based on suspect Tano’s claims alone?”

“I’ll sustain this as well.” Sure, why not?

“Letta Turmond was strangled to death by way of the Force. Why would Ahsoka kill Letta with a method that would so obviously tie the murder to her?..”

“Objection, speculation.”

“Sustained. Please concentrate on the facts, Senator.”

“..A.. A Jedi may be responsible for the murder, but that Jedi is not Ahsoka Tano. Members of the court, you are prosecuting the wrong Jedi.”

Ahsoka spares a glance at Barriss. Guilt radiates from her in waves, perhaps she isn’t lost yet. If she can find her centre once again… Barriss too was used as a piece; Emperor had used her attack as an evidence to fabricate the Jedi’s betrayal in the future.

Tarkin starts clapping. Simultaneously, Ahsoka begins wanting to clap his face.

“Well said, senator Amidala.” Tarkin says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Former Padawan Tano, if you are innocent, then why were you seen conspiring with known separatist terrorist Asajj Ventress?”

“Objection, lack of foundation.”

“Overruled. Prosecution can continue.”

“Seen with her?” Ahsoka asks calmly. “When I was making my case, I was led to believe nobody had seen her, leading to the charges about me supposedly having the possession of certain weapons… Unless I was being misled on purpose. Has the prosecution been omitting the truth?”

“Do you deny associating with a known terrorist, Tano?”

“You didn’t answer my question, Admiral Tarkin… But I-

“Please simply answer the question, former Padawan Tano.”

“I made a vow to speak the truth, and to speak nothing but the truth. As a member of the Jedi Order-“

“This is a simple yes or no question.”

“I had to fight her for peace. That’s what Jedi do nowadays.” she says matter-of-factly, as if she didn’t drop a paradoxical statement. “Unless the Senate had different orders for us in mind,” she adds, looking at the Chancellor. She wants everybody to recognise how absurd the situation is, and remind that the Order is no longer an autonomous institution, but rather bound by the orders of the Senate. It should be harder for the Senate to accuse the Order of instigating the War, then. Hopefully.

The Chancellor rises from his seat. “I'm sure many of you look at this former Jedi and think, ‘Surely she cannot be this murderer, or saboteur that they speak of…’ And yet, think of all the times we have been fooled by the Separatists, and how they have infiltrated the Republic, and ask yourself, ‘Is this yet another Separatist scheme?’ Another way to rip the Jedi, and subsequently all of us, apart…” he sits back upon completion of the speech.

The slimy Sithface knows his rhetorics, alright? It isn’t less impressive the second time. He attacks her, while maintaining the façade that he’s supporting the Jedi… His words also twist Padme’s defence, making her look as if she is paranoid for looking past the obvious suspect in search of a different guilty party.

The votes arrive in a tense anticipation.

“The members of the court have reached a decision. Ahsoka Tano, by an overwhelming majority, the Court declares you guilty of sedation, and set the penalty of death for your crimes.”

Murmurs propagate along the courtroom. “I do not believe it,” Padmé mutters. “How can that be?”

Guilt washes over Barriss. Storms rage within Anakin. Even the Council appears disturbed.

That’s completely new. That means her presence does affect the outcome. That also means the future is changed forever. Ahsoka smiles resignedly. She doubts any future could be worse than the destruction of the entire Order.

“However,” the devil himself continues, tapping his fingers on the arm of his seat. “After careful consideration, the Court decided to offer you a choice… Considering your earlier services to the Republic, a sincere apology might persuade the members of the Court to change their mind. If you plead for a life sentence following a confession, the Court will grant it instead of the capital punishment.”

It seems Sidious wants the case closed with Ahsoka found undeniably guilty, with a confession. An ultimatum? He’s toying with the Jedi…

Ahsoka senses everyone relax. Too bad she is about to spoil it.

“I’m grateful for the gracious offer; however,” she responds. “I made a vow to speak only the truth. I cannot accept charges for crimes I haven’t committed, regardless of what decision the esteemed Court arrives at. I deny the charges on me, and plead not guilty.

The uproar this causes is something else.

“You do not know what you wish for, child. If you value your life, you better accept the offer.” the Sith threatens. “The leniency the Court has, even for ex-Jedi, has its limits.”

“I understand, Chancellor. My answer is the same. I take pride in following the guidance of never-ending Light, and laying my life in service of the people of the Republic I love dearer than life. I had the honour of being a Jedi. I had the honour of being the Padawan to the Hero with No Fear. The Jedi follow the Light, no matter how dark those around us become. We cannot lose our path and choose the easy way out. Not with life-ending courts, not with interplanetary conflicts, and certainly not with Wars. I don’t regret my life, no matter how short it will be cut, and I intend to keep it that way.”

Now that’s how you give an ultimatum. The Force has brought her back. If the Force wants her to remain alive, she will. And if not…

     “Let me die,” he shouted his lungs out, frantic. “You’re all going to burn. We’re all going to die. You don’t know what you’re doing… You don’t know…”

Maul was right. They’d all burned.

Force, have mercy, she pleads for the thousandth time.

Have mercy for them. It’s okay if she doesn’t get to see it. Take me. Please. But they…

“Very well… Then I have no choice but to declare Ahsoka Tano guilty of sedation, and set the penalty of death for her crimes against the Republic. The time and the place of the punishment will be announced later today. Until then, the Court is adjourned.”

When the chaos is over, she is brought back to her cell to enjoy her remaining one last day. As it is, she is finally allowed visitors. So she isn’t surprised when Anakin storms in.

“Are you out of your mind?! What are you after, Ahsoka?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“I’m sorry, Master…” she responds quietly. “Please forgive me…”

His anger dissipates, giving way to despair. “Padmé promised me… You can’t just... This can’t be real. This…” he mumbles. “I.. This… I will fix this.”

She can do nothing but give him a sympathetic look. He won’t fix it this time, he can’t, and that’s okay. As long as they get to live…

She isn’t surprised to see Obi-Wan visit her either.

“I don’t expect you to forgive the Council, or understand the reasoning behind the decision. And I won’t pretend to understand the difficulty of the situation you were put in either… I just want you to know you’ve made us all proud, Ahsoka. I hoped a different decision would be made, but..”

He doesn’t complete his sentence. That’s okay. She knows already. She bows, “May the Force be with you, Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan bows back. “May the Force be with you, Padawan… May the Force be with us all…”

She is however, surprised to see Barriss of all people.

“You do realise there’s a chance you will die tomorrow, right?” she asks.

“That is true for us all, isn’t it? Every day brings us closer to our demise.”

“But is it really worth it? Do you really believe,” Barriss bites her lip, “what you’ve said? About our principles?”

“I have to, Barriss. We’re in a war against our wish, bound by the decree of the Senate. The Force is all we have.”

“Well, what if the Force tells us not to fight?”

“... Is that what you think the Force is telling us?”

“I don’t know anymore..”

“It’s okay not to know. It’s less okay to pretend to know. It’s not okay to let others get harmed as we learn.”

“What do you mean?”

“… What do you think?”

“You’re confusing today. Why don’t you just tell me what you mean?”

“You once told me I saw things clearly… Let me tell you what I see: The extras on you… You’ve made a mistake: Their owner prefers lizards over parasites.”

Understanding dawns upon her. As her eyes widen in panic, she bolts to her feet. “Ahsoka… I..”

Ahsoka looks at her with narrowing eyes, as she watches the lies form in Barriss’s mind. Once she notices how much Ahsoka knows, all pretence falls. “You’ve once told me that the evidence was clear, and nothing would ever change… You were wrong.” she says to Barriss. She knows for sure that it can and does change. Her presence is a testimony of it.

“If you knew, why didn’t you tell?” asks Barriss.

“Perhaps you don’t realise it yet, but this has become greater than who’s attacking the Temple: this is a battle between the Senate and the Order… I can’t choose the easy way out this time.”

“That dogma will get you killed.”

“No, Barriss… You will.”

“Don’t you dare to pin this on me! You could’ve chosen to confess and live. I’ve done the right thing!” she growls.

“…If you say so… Only, you aren’t sure, are you?”

“The Republic is corrupt!”

“And blowing up the Temple surely cleaned out that corruption.”

“What should we do, then?! Sit down and do nothing?! Allow the Jedi to become the villains?!” she shouts. But the anger is just a façade, hiding all the self-doubt of a confused child cornered by the simplest of truths.

“Think, Barriss,” Ahsoka matches her intensity, if not her volume. “Who benefits from that kind of action? Certainly not the reputation of the Jedi, or their attitude… Don’t you realise that’s exactly what Dooku is doing with the Separatist army? Look at where that brought him to.. Tender arms of the dark side –

“You know nothing about the dark side.”

She refrains from answering ‘much more than you think’, as she isn’t supposed to know it yet. “…At least I won’t pretend to know. You don’t know the dark either, Barriss. It deceives you too. Such is the nature of the dark side…”

Barriss breathes heavily for a minute. “We’re done here,” she says, having come to a decision.

Then she flees, leaving Ahsoka to ponder upon what is yet to come.

Chapter Text

This is it, then, she thinks, as they fit the blindfold as a part of Yavin convention. She cannot help but smile grimly as she’s brought to the platform. Blindfolding a Force sensitive is as effective as trying to stop a mosquito with a fence. She senses all eyes upon her, so it must be close. She senses immense distress, from where the Council is, and especially from Anakin.

It still doesn’t fully register as ‘what if’s roam freely in her mind. What if they change their mind? What if the Order decides to intervene? What if Anakin decides to intervene? What if Barriss confesses…?

But that’s ridiculous. First time had been a fluke: Real life is not a holomovie in which the unfairly accused victim is saved at the last second. There have been people lived for and died for truth. She isn’t the first. She won’t be the last. But if her death can prevent something terrible in the future.. she’ll gladly take it. After all, the Force sent her back. It’s up to the Force, what happens to her. She hopes Anakin doesn’t fall this time. How her demise will affect him, she doesn’t know…

“Do you have any last words?” the executioner asks. She can sense Barriss holding her breath. She is in a weird state between crying like a baby and laughing maniacally. Her voice is surprisingly steadier than expected. “Thank you, no.” She feels Obi-Wan trying to reach out despite the risks of connecting a dying being. He is a good man. Force help him.

She reaches out to the Force.

Have I fulfilled my role this time?

The Force surrounds her, comforts her, and takes away the anxious anticipation.

Please don’t leave me.

But that’s unnecessary. The Force is always with them.

Always.

Obi-Wan decides he’s never felt so helpless in his entire life before. And it isn’t like he hasn’t felt helpless before. In fact, he’s quite familiar with the feeling. He’d felt helpless when Satine died, he’d felt helpless when Qui-Gon died, he’d felt helpless when Cerasi died, all in his arms… Or even when Bruck fell to his death… But none of them had involved an unfair punishment delivered by a decision body he himself was a part of.

Ahsoka is being put to death for sedation against the Republic and the Order, barred from her Padawan status by the Council, and yet, even moments before her demise, she is the most Jedi of all of them. She stands there with a smile even when the Council abandons her, when he abandons her, she doesn’t give into anger, she doesn’t give into hatred… She alone upholds the Code, despite all opposition and imminent danger of capital punishment, she turns down the temptation. She needs to be teaching them, and the Council knows this. How can they not, when the Council’s hypocrisy is thrown at their faces so clearly?..

At what cost, though…

He seeks out Ahsoka in the Force. It’s dangerous to attempt to connect with a being when they’re close to death; if not careful, he may be carried away with the currents when she... is gone… But he’s a Jedi Master, for Force’s sake, and that’s the least he can do after failing her so thoroughly. When he tries to reach out to her to comfort her, she reaches back to console him, compassion floods back from her in an unstoppable stream.

Oh, dear Ahsoka.. Luminous beings we are. How brightly she shines…

He can’t bring himself to look as the blaster fires.

Anakin decides he’s furious. How can the Council allow it? They must’ve known; there is not a tiny bit of darkness within her. Not that the Council can sense darkness, but to think they’d abandon a being so bright… And Obi-Wan… How can he stand, doing nothing? He is a member of the Council, isn’t he? How can he allow them to take her away? Why does Ahsoka let them? Why does she leave him?

But he is angry with himself the most. Why can he never help the people he loves? It’s his failing as much as it’s a failing of the Council. But as much as he wants to put all the blame on the Council… his eyes subconsciously search for Palpatine.

“I know she’s innocent, sir.”

“I don’t doubt you, my friend.”

“Then… I’m terribly sorry to ask this to you, Chancellor, but can’t you change the mind of the Court?”

“Do you want me to use my influence as the Chancellor to alter the decision of an independent Court?”

The way Palpatine put his request into words made him feel.. corrupt. Just for a brief moment, Palpatine looked as if he relished that request. Anakin used his right, and responsibility in that case, to remain silent.

“Your loyalty to your family is commendable, Master Skywalker, your passion to keep those that belong to you… Alas, I’m afraid I’ve already intervened too much. Who do you think gave her the second option? I cannot help unless she confesses to her crimes. You must realise, this is the inevitable consequence of blindly following the Jedi dogma…”

But Anakin was no longer listening. The conversation meant that the Chancellor indeed had the power over the court… That also meant he was letting them take her. For all his talk with being Anakin’s friend, and mentor, for all the freely given praise, he wasn’t better than Obi-Wan. He was just another politician, another liar.

She is smiling. Force, they’re killing her, and she is smiling…

Anakin’s fist closes in despair. He can do nothing but look as the blaster fires.

The blaster fires twice. 

The second blast meets the ground instead of Ahsoka’s head, and Ahsoka.. isn’t there. Her body isn’t there, as if she sublimated into thin air. With no body to govern them, her clothes collapse on the metallic platform. Obi-Wan’s eyes meet Anakin’s, then both of them look at the other masters in confusion, only to find the Council looking at each other with the same unvoiced question.

What happened?

Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.

It’s a saying Ahsoka had heard Yoda repeat countless times, and only upon death, for certain this time, can she truly understand what he means.

            Death, yet the Force.

She drifts away with the currents of the Force, letting them carry her to a destination she doesn’t know where, or when.

“Where am I?” she asks. “When am I?”

A warm chuckle answers her. “I’d often tell Obi-Wan to keep his mind on ‘here’ and ‘now’. Neither ‘here’ nor ‘now’ has any meaning anymore… The Force has its ways of humbling us.”

A being somehow brightly resonating with the Living Force despite being in the soup of Cosmic Force greets her. “I’m Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan was my Padawan.”

“Grandmaster Jinn?” she asks, amazed. So this is the legendary maverick who trained Master Kenobi? “It’s an honour to meet you.”

“You have done well, young one.”

Not that young anymore… Nevertheless, the praise raises warm, fuzzy feelings, but they’re extinguished by the questions nibbling her mind. Does the Force reject her for her earlier mistakes? Has she failed again? Will she not join the Force? “I thought I would become one with the Force…”

“While most Jedi become one with the totality of the Force upon their death, there exist techniques allowing us to retain our own identities separate from the Force for a time. This ability doesn’t need to be learned, although it can be learned, but also can be achieved through denying the will of the Force upon death like the some powerful Sith can do, or committing a selfless act of sacrifice, like you’ve done..”

“Oh…”

“You sound disappointed, young one.”

“I’m not. I’m just… tired, Master Jinn. And worried about what will happen to Anakin.”

The Master hums. “The Chosen One will bring balance to the Force, one way or another… That being said, I understand wishing the Order to come out of the chaos unharmed.”

“Is it not too late to save them?” she asks, a little too eagerly.

“It has less to do with ‘time’, for ‘time’ doesn’t mean much here, and more to do with ‘ability’, in this case… I succeeded to preserve my individual consciousness in the Force, but my training was incomplete, and the circumstances of my demise left me unable to fully manifest in the physical realm, preventing me from warning them more clearly. But perhaps you can manifest in the physical realm… I will teach you.”

“Thank you, Master Jinn.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. I don’t know if it will work.”

            Where are you, Ahsoka?

“What is this trickery?!” yells one of the Senators. “The Jedi are protecting the traitor!”

            Where did you go to?

“Calm down, Senator. It does no good to anyone to attack us with baseless accusations. The Order has done nobbut cooperated since the beginning of this investigation.” reminds Master Mundi.

            Why would you too leave me?

“Then how do you explain her vanishing?! You’re hiding her! You must see why the Jedi cannot be trusted with the critical positions in the Republic.”

The room reacts with various chants of agreement and a wave of heads bobbing down and up.

            Have I failed you so badly?

“As surprised as you, we are. Know what happened, this Council does not. Explain it, we cannot. Has its own ways of humbling us, the Force does. Reasonable doubts, we all had..”

            How can I ever let you go?

“With all due respect, Master Yoda, I cannot claim to know these, mysterious, ways of the Force,” the Chancellor joins with a bored expression, as if nothing happened, “…but if you had a reasonable doubt of her innocence, why would you let her be punished?” he asks. “I cannot help but think some in the Order are hiding crucial information from the Senate, and based on the reactions, perhaps even from the members of their own Order.” he says, looking at Anakin.

            This is outrageous. It is unfair. We fought for them…

“These accusations are laughable. The Council followed the decree of the Senate against our better judgement. Just like we did on the matters of the Clone Army, and the War. A decision I’m no longer sure of its merit.” opposes Master Windu.

            I don’t want to let you go.

“So you don’t deny having differences in opinion with the Senate.” Tarkin has a knack for twisting the words. He would’ve made a fine politician in another life. In this life, it only annoys Anakin. “Differences that went, for some reason, unannounced… I wonder if those differences are the reason Ahsoka Tano escaped punishment fitting of a convicted traitor.”

He can no longer contain himself. “Stop calling her a traitor! While you boss around on your comfortable chairs, we are the ones who hurt and bleed and die.”

            I won’t let you go. I won’t let anyone go. I promised mom.

“So much for Jedi calm,” Tarkin sneers.

“Ahsoka is a hero!” Anakin addresses the senators. “She died because of your stupidity. You accuse the Jedi of warmongering for your incompetence to uphold the peace. You are an ungrateful herd of self-serving bigots.”

            Wherever that brings me to, I don’t care.

            …

            (Don’t lose yourself, Master.)

            Snips?

            (Please, don’t let them win. Your fall is what they want…)

            You don’t understand. I’m all alone.

            (You’re not alone.)

Obi-Wan places a hand on his shoulder. A gesture that could mean restraint or support. But given how Anakin just insulted the entire Court to their teeth, perhaps they aren’t mutually exclusive in the given context…

“Enough.” the Chancellor stops him before he can dig a deeper hole for himself. “I understand you’re upset, Jedi Skywalker. As is everyone.. Therefore, with the authority I’m given by the Senate, I adjourn today’s.. convention, and issue a more comprehensive investigation… I hope we are all on agreement on that.” the Chancellor lulls the courtroom. Some Senators calm down as the Jedi reluctantly agree, and Anakin does his best to not make things worse. Not that he ever succeeds at that, but still…

“That will not be necessary, Chancellor,” says a padawan, Master Unduli’s padawan if memory serves right, Barriss… One of Ahsoka’s friends… Which is odd. Padawans aren’t supposed to interrupt like that.

Everyone looks at the padawan, wondering how she has the audacity to interrupt the Chancellor.

“..Because I’m the person behind the bombing of the Temple and the killing of Letta Turmond.” Barriss confesses. Then all hell breaks loose.   

“Padawan!!”

“She was your friend!”

“Is this another trick of the Jedi?”

Exhausted by his outburst and numbed by one shocking development after another, Anakin can’t bring himself to react at all. He freezes.

“I wanted to see if she was telling the truth about our ideals. I believed.. I thought she would back off from her decision.. I hoped.. she would… I.. I was wrong. You really killed her.” she says, the lines of her young face clearly defined with terror.

“And you…” she looks at the Council.

“You didn’t stop them, even though you didn't know she was guilty! Don’t you see? I did it because I've come to realize what many of people in the Republic have come to realize; that we've so lost our way that we have become the villains in this conflict!.. that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us!.. And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become, an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the light that we once held so dear… This Republic, is failing! It's only a matter of time bef–

“Take her away.” the Chancellor gestures her to be taken out.

Chapter Text

Out of all Council meetings, this is the one Obi-Wan dreads the most; one where they must discuss a deceased fellow Jedi. Especially then, given the circumstances around his grand-padawan’s passing, he dreads that specific meeting with his entire being. His feet drag him to the Council chamber after his weary spirit loses to his rational, dutiful mind.

The Council doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. Obi-Wan, to his dismay, feels all eyes focusing on him. Master Plo-Koon immediately dives into the topic. “There’s no eloquent way to put this. We have erred…” That’s an understatement. But everyone gets the message, the message Master Koon is too kind to tell directly; “Ahsoka was innocent and I told you so.”

“We owe you and Knight Skywalker an apology… Alas, no lengthy apology can fix our mistakes,” says Master Tiin, one of the councillors insistent on giving Ahsoka to the Republic Court. Obi-Wan doesn’t want apologies, not when he feels like a murderer himself.

“Padawan Tano has shown great strength of spirit, mastery over oneself, and commitment to Jedi values; all necessary to be worthy of a Knight. Her bravery in the face of a tiring trial ought to be commended. I recommend late Padawan Ahsoka Tano to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight. That is the least we could do now…” he suggests. Unsurprisingly, everyone agrees.

“There are also questions regarding to her funeral and her body…” Master Windu points out.

“Hmm…” Yoda gives his characteristic hum. “Hasty with the funeral, we must not be.”

“But what truly happened? She was just.. gone.” asks Master Billaba, somewhere between awe, fascination, and unease.

No ideas are put forward, so everyone looks at Yoda. Yoda closes his eyes, like he always does when he knows something that he thinks others don’t, but no wisdom comes from his mouth this time. Ignoring the inquisitive looks of the councillors, he dives into a meditative state. With the mystery being deemed unsolvable without his input, the Council moves onto more practical matters.

“The Senate is breathing down our neck… To see they’d think it all to be a trick… They seem to believe anything as long as it suits their own gain or furthers their narrative.” says Master Mundi.

Obi-Wan isn’t surprised. That’s simply politicians being politicians. With a Senate like that… Perhaps Offee wasn’t entirely wrong in her accusations…

He wonders how Luminara is coping. She has always been a firm follower of the Code, but no matter how well one follows the Force, events like that have a way with people. Having your padawan turn to the dark for answers… Obi-Wan can’t imagine how painful it must be for the master. He knows it from his own master: It’d taken more than a decade for Qui-Gon to get over Xanatos, and even when he did, he was a changed man, and not necessarily for the better.

“And there’s also the concerning nature of former padawan Offee’s confession: about the Jedi losing our path… We cannot allow such thoughts to foster amongst our ranks.” pushes Oppo Rancisis.

Obi-Wan feels his lips thin. “With all due respect, Master Rancisis… Her methods are certainly to be condemned, but don’t you think her accusations held some truth? This entire trial has shown us how much influence the Senate and the military has over our internal affairs. If we allow it to continue, we may find ourselves sacrificing what we stand for as Jedi, and our members to the amusement of politicians.”

“I agree.” says Master Koth. “As long as the Order is acting as the military, we’re bound to report to the Senate. War is a tool of the Sith. We should resign from the GAR.”

“And give them what they want? The Sith will want to remove us from the critical positions within the Republic.” opposes Master Kcaj. His tactical mind is a blessing in discussing battle plans, but his refusal to look beyond what is immediately visible does him a great disservice.

“We shouldn’t have accepted such positions in the first place.” joins Master Ti, giving a quick glance at Obi-Wan. She’s right, of course. Obi-Wan traces the floor, guilt bubbling up. If it wasn’t for his incompetence on Geonosis, the Order wouldn’t be played into assuming the leadership of GAR. “Our duty is to the Force, to the People. Not to the Senate, especially not when the Senate no longer represents the People… We could act as the bridge between systems in the CIS and the Republic like we’d normally do in any other war. A decisive victory is not needed; our goal could be to find a common ground leading to some form of co-existence between the two sides.”

“I doubt our attempts at making peace would find audience. That’s the reason why we have ended up in this war in the first place.” says Master Windu.

“Not to mention that CIS is puppeteered by the Sith. It must be the will of the Force to end the Sith, even if it means we have to be a part of this war. This is a war to end the wars.“ says Master Fisto.

At that moment Obi-Wan understands as he begins to lose concentration; the Council won’t listen, again… They’re too caught up with the righteousness of battling Dooku.

“But there’s no guarantee they haven’t infiltrated the Republic either.” Master Plo-Koon points out. “Chancellor himself was kind enough to remind us that fact… With the corruption in the Senate, I wouldn’t be surprised to find the influence of the Sith on the Republic side either.”

“Which is why we must end the war as quickly as possible.” Master Mundi counters. “As it is, the quickest way to end the war is to win it.”

Obi-Wan quietly draws a deep breath to centre himself, wondering if he’s made for failure; to see something lurk at the horizon, and to have his warnings ignored… Ever since he’d set his foot on the path to becoming a Jedi, it’s the one pattern that keeps repeating itself.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*

Barriss is arrested. Ahsoka’s name is cleared. Anakin should be less angry. He is not less angry. He paces his quarters in a tense fury, going over the fight between him and Padmé mere minutes ago.

           “I’m on your side, Anakin. Ex-Jedi or not, Ahsoka was still a minor. I don’t know why the Court made the decision it made; it was unlawful..” Padmé said, somewhere between righteously angry and apologetic, her sadness more exaggerated with the blue hue of the hologram.

           Anakin couldn’t bite his tongue though, as his anger got the better of him. “Then what good are you politicians if the only thing you’re capable of is to falsely execute a blameless girl?!”

           Padme has been understanding of Anakin’s targetless destructive rage, until the same rage begun targeting her. “You can’t talk to me like that. I tried to save her as much as you did- no, more than you did! When you left her alone in that cell, I was there with her. You stormed out like a whiny kid who lost at a game. What good are you in your anger?”

           “How dare you treat me like they do?! Will you tell me to ‘let go of anger’ next?”

           “You’re being unreasonable Anakin, you need to hear –“

           “I risked everything for you! I risked getting kicked out of the Order for you, I would’ve fallen for you. And that’s how you repay me?”

           At that moment, infinitely patient Padme, the same woman who took the news of his darkest moments on Tatooine with a stillness rivalling even the most stoic Jedi, erupted. “How’s that even relevant if- Anakin, you married me! I didn’t force you, it was a choice. You knew the risks. What I owe you is my heart, my love… I don’t owe you to be a punching bag that you can verbally assault whenever you want to - I’m not Obi-Wan - I won’t stand here and just take it as you attack me with my imagined shortcomings to protect your bruised pride!”

           “I don’t want to hear about Obi-Wan!” Anakin lashed out.

           “Why? He makes you feel insecure, doesn’t he? You resent him because he’s everything you fear you cannot be.”

           “I’m better than him! He killed Ahsoka!” he yelled, refusing to acknowledge Padmé could have a point.

           “Not any more than you and I did…”

           Then something snapped. There was a long moment of awkward silence between the two.

           “…This isn’t working, Ani.” Finally said Padmé, disturbing the silence. “You are so… passionate at times, so caring, so loving. And at others… It’s like, there’s a pedestal of worship, and a hell of condemnation on your mind, and, and I’m either on that pedestal or in that hell, and there’s no in-between. I’m tired; of constantly worrying if, no, when you’ll take me down from there. I can’t do this anymore, Ani. I don’t want to watch as your love twists into something vile, I don’t want to witness as you grow to hate me..”

.There she goes too. They all leave

.Maybe they should

           “I…” he hesitated, “..agree…”

           Padmé’s hologram glitched. “You do? Are you sure? You.. aren’t angry?”

           “No… I mean, I am upset, but you’re right, it’s your choice… I have to respect that…”

           “That’s.. surprisingly mature of you. Thank you for listening to me, and being understanding.”

           Anakin only nodded as he switched the holo-call off.

He finds himself losing trust towards the system, the politicians, even those he deemed “wise” once. To Palpatine, and to Padme… He finds himself losing trust to all, all that he’d give everything for. It’s as if he finally realises, nowhere in the galaxy is safe, nobody can be depended upon. As he sees the limits of his own abilities, the abilities he once thought were enough to make any dream come true, he is desperate. It’s like Shmi’s death all again. The Hero With No Fear is afraid of being abandoned. Sometimes he thinks he still hears Ahsoka… He’s tightly holding onto Ahsoka’s ripped off symbolic padawan braid, refusing to let go. The beads leave imprints on his flesh hand.

“Anakin,” the soft, non-demanding voice of his master calls for him. Anakin stops pacing as he directs his fury towards the door. Obi-Wan takes it as he doesn’t step back, he doesn’t stagger. “I realise my apologies won’t help the situation… For all its worth, I’m sorry.”

           How dares he to come between me and Padmé! He turned her against me!

“What does the Council require of me?” he asks, his voice as cold as Hoth.

            (Master, please, at least listen to him.)

            Oh, Ahsoka… Last time I did that, they took you from me.

Obi-Wan isn’t a skilled negotiator for nothing. He’s clearly hurt by Anakin’s delivery, but he recovers from it within seconds.

“…The funeral will take place after the knighting ceremony.”

           (That must be one weird ceremony)

“The Council is aware that it won’t fix our mistakes, but we’ll still do what we can.”

“And I’m expected to be there so that I can knight her ghost and torch a hollow pyre?” Anakin asks.

           (Knighting my ghost can be a good idea)

“I see that you’re upset-

“-Kriffing right I’m upset!” Anakin yells. “Taking her life wasn’t enough, abandoning her wasn’t enough, now you seek to taint her memory.. You and your dear Council never cease to amaze me with finding new ways of mockery.”

“…Tell me,” he offers.

“I hate to feel like this. Inadequate. Weak. Not that the Council would understand…”

“But I do…” he says softly. “It’s perfectly reasonable for you to feel the way you do. You’re currently facing a great loss; a preventable, unfair loss, caused by an immature decision of the Council.”

“Don’t act as if you understand. How can you understand? It’s your fault…” he stops, thinking what else to say next.

“Go on, please,” he asks, like a whisper.

           He asks for more? I’ll give him more!

“You could’ve stopped them, Obi-Wan… They killed her and you didn’t stop them. I couldn’t stop them…”

“Ah,” he says, like he found the missing piece of a puzzle. “It isn’t your fault, Anakin.”

If Anakin didn’t know better, if he were to miss the signs of concealed hurt appearing and disappearing on Obi-Wan’s expression, he would think Obi-Wan craves this confrontation. But Anakin knows he’s hurting him. He just can’t stop as he vomits every bit of contempt, anger, and resentment to his face as Obi-Wan practically invites him to do even more damage.

“Yes, it’s yours. You knew she was innocent. They wanted to destroy her, and me, and you gave them the perfect opportunity to do so. They wanted to hurt us and you let them. And now you want to Knight her as if you weren’t the ones to bar her from the Order in the first place, as if you weren’t the ones to remove her protected status to- to…” he stutters as his voice gives up to exhaustion.

After a brief pause, Obi-Wan asks, “..What would you have me do?”

“I don’t know! Bring her back, maybe!”

“You know that’s not possible.”

“I’m angry, Obi-Wan. I’m furious. They don’t even care… At the end, she died for nothing…”

“…Do you want revenge?”

“Yes! And I’m tired of pretending that I don’t! I want them to hurt as much as I do.”

“But would it be ‘justice’?”

Anakin wants to lash out even more, but as his intense anger burns itself out, he is left with the ashes. “If the Republic, or the Council, or the Force is incapable of serving justice… then yes, I’d rather serve it myself. And I will never forgive you for letting them take her,” he concludes quietly. “There… I’m done. You can kick me out of the Order now.” he says, realising things he said and how he just behaved are more than enough reasons for a member of the Council to kick him out, or demote him, or put him on probation if nothing else.

Then Obi-Wan kriffing thanks him, for sharing.

No longer possessing the mental energy to ponder on the implications of this unexpected action, he mumbles. “Get on with it, old man. Just bar me too, and be done with it.”

“That is not up to me to decide, Anakin. You’re hurting; I want to help you heal. But to heal, you need to get the poison out first … You’re right to blame me, you’re right to be upset, but don’t let your attachment-”

“-cloud my judgement? Actually, I’ll rather have my judgement clouded if the alternative is becoming like the Council. At least, that way, I won’t kill innocent padawans.”

           (You’d be surprised.) 

           What’s that supposed to mean?

“…I meant to say weaken your commitment… Your anger is righteous, but you must let go…”

“Never!” he hisses.

“Letting go isn’t the same as forgetting. But you mustn’t let your feelings rule you.”

“I won’t take it from you or your precious Council.” he says with disgust. “They’re my feelings… I’m coming to the ceremony now, and that should be enough for you, Master Kenobi. Now, if there’s nothing else…”

Obi-Wan opens his mouth as if to say something, but then his com beeps, and he closes it with a frown. “…That will suffice. Thank you, Anakin,” he says, and disappears through the door. 

Chapter Text

“I won’t take it from you or your precious Council. They’re my feelings…” Anakin says, still not having understood the necessity of letting go, attached to his feelings as if they are the essence of his own identity, as if they are the only things that truly belong to him. But that’s a slave’s mentality… “I’m coming to the ceremony now, and that should be enough for you, Master Kenobi. Now, if there’s nothing else…”

Obi-Wan’s com beeps as soon as he opens his mouth. Not now, cursed thing! He takes it out with annoyance.

A message from Mace. “There’s a delicate situation at the ground entrance,” it reads. “This one needs the attention of The Negotiator.”

Deciding the talk will have to wait, Obi-Wan makes his way out to deal with the next crisis. He strolls through the barren halls, no longer bustling with activity since more than two thirds of Jedi are out of the Temple at any given time. The emptiness deeply disturbs him, so he hurries, lest he begins thinking of who will make it back and who won’t when the blasted war ends, if it ever does.

How did it come to this, Ani?

Padme collapses on her seat in her office as tears fall from her face, one after another, onto the open datapad containing her half-written counter-speech against Senator Orn Free Taa, the disgrace of entire Twi’lek species galaxy-wide.

She wipes the cloudiness in her eyes with the back of her hand as she commands herself to focus back on her task. Where was she? Oh, yes; formulating a response to Taa’s line 59, where he said “As the representative of Ryloth, I must express my, as seen over the recent events, regrettably well-founded fears over the possibility of the Jedi abetting crime while protecting criminals, plotting to take over the government using their military influence, and obstructing the overall functioning of a democratic decision-making body…”

And he’d gone on to recommend giving even more power to the Chancellor to protect the democracy from “looming threat of militarist ideation, hauling us to certain slavery, as apparent through the dubious Jedi command of GAR…”

She cringes. Palpatine himself had been the pioneer of GAR, did this bigot not remember any of that? And implying Jedi are slavers… On Ryloth, and then later, on Kiros against Zygerrian Slave Empire, the Jedi had rescued countless sapients sold into slavery, including a large number of Twi’leks and Togruta. Togruta…

Her eyes go cloudy again. It’s impossible to concentrate well enough in the office, with the disruptive ache of an unhealed heart. Then she sees a group of people gathering around the Senate building. Being in the presence of an audience, listening to their problems, interacting with them has always helped her think and act more rationally, so she decides to go outside.

There is a large crowd outside. Reporters from various media capture footage here and there; a group of Coruscanti people, some with elegant dresses, some straight out of the gutters, but all wearing the same steel look of determination in their eyes, hold enormous cardboards with slogans like “We Demand Justice” or “Rezpect 4 Democrcy” written on… Temple Guardians and clones from 212^th form a line of barricade between them and the courtyard of the ground entrance.

Obi-Wan looks up at the dotted skyline with many more citizens blocking the airways with their air vehicles and sighs. “What is happening?” he asks to his trusted Commander.

Cody makes his way towards him. “We’ve got a leak. Somehow Commander Tano’s false conviction and Offee’s confession made their way out.”

“What do the people demand?”

“Answers,” Cody replies in an instant with no hesitation. “Probably… I wouldn’t know for sure,” he adds, but a little too late. After giving a fake cough, he asks, “What are your orders, General?”

“Well, I better give them some answers, then. Tell the vod’e to let them through, to set their weapons to stunt, to secure the parameter, and to be vigilant if they spot any indications of violent or suspicious behaviour. I’ll answer to the reporters and representatives… And to you, and to the vod’e, if you’d like… You too deserve answers.”

“Thank you, General."

At the same time, Palpatine is at his office, quietly drinking his premium Cassius tea, while watching his ‘guest’s, Senators Paddie and Darsana debate over the most mundane aspects of their mundane lives, blissfully unaware that soon enough, their wealth will serve its purpose for his plans.

“-and that is why Sermerian roots are stored behind-“ says Senator Paddie, his volume steadily increasing in an attempt to match the noise coming from outside the Senate building. “-the largest containers of-“

“What is this ruckus?” interrupts Senator Darsana, just to stop the Sermerian senator’s elaborate analysis of capital punishment’s impact on the Sermerian-root trade.

“Demonstrators, Sir. There appears to be protests all over the planet. They’re gathering in front of the Senate too. Shall we make them go away?”

“The masses?” Palpatine takes a sip from his tea. “No.”

Obi-Wan walks towards, and then into the masses, a halo of reporters bloom around him, murmurs of his title propagate along the crowd as people give him way.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master, and I speak on behalf of the Jedi High Council. How may I be of help to you Gentlepeople?"

A holocam is thrust into his face as the reporter holding it asks "Will you seek compensation for this injustice, as the Jedi Order?" Obi-Wan notes that the reporter too is a Togruta. He refrains from swallowing a cold one.

"If by compensation you ask whether the Order will see to the true culprit being identified and tried, then yes. We already have, in fact. But re-evaluating the decision arrived by an independent court is beyond our jurisdiction, and ultimately, against the principles of a functioning democracy. The opinion of the Order is irrelevant, or the opinion of the High Council, or any institutions including the Senate, for that matter. The only position of power to revoke the decision made by the Court is the Chancellor with his emergency powers, and the Jedi Order respects an elected leader of the Republic and his authority."

"As Padawan Tano's grandmaster, then? What are your opinions?"

He draws a heavy breath. "An important part of Jedi teachings is forgiveness for the wrongdoings against our person, and to work for the greater good of the galaxy. Padawan Tano, now officially Knight Tano was a true follower of Jedi teachings. I believe she wouldn't want strife between the Jedi and the Republic."

"What about General Skywalker? Does he share your views?"

"I cannot speak for the views of individuals…” he says, closing his eyes. “I can only speak for the Order as a collective. You will need to ask General Skywalker's opinions to General Skywalker himself."

"How can you guarantee that any of us won't be falsely charged tomorrow, even when your own members aren't safe?" another reporter asks. "How can you guarantee that the constitutional rights of the citizens are to be protected?"

"I wish I could give such guarantees. Unfortunately, we are at war, and as such, bound by the orders of the Chancellor under the martial law. This question might be better answered by the esteemed Senators, I'm afraid."

"So you are powerless to stand against injustices because you have to take orders? 'The Jedi are soldiers bound by orders'. Is that what you're coming at, Sir?"

Yes.

Palpatine waves a hand. “Let Lord Vandron handle these buzzing mosquitoes. Tell him that if he succeeds to take care of this nuisance with the militia he has, I will let him have his own secret police.” He gives a charming smile. “After all, I must defend our democracy from ‘terrorists’ posing under protestors… So don’t let them go away; burn the flies instead,” he orders.

Following orders mindlessly; yes, droids are what we were asked to not just overcome but also become.

"We are what you wanted us to be. I'd kindly like to remind everyone here that the Order never asked for certain positions of power. We are a religious order first and foremost, thrust into positions of power despite our clear lack of interest, by the very laws made by the people you have voted for. And yet, we have accepted this responsibility without complaint for mainly two reasons: ensuring civilised treatment of the valiant Troopers, and ending the war as soon as possible. Those are the reasons Padawan Tano too had fought for. Personally, I am looking forward to the day I get to take off my armour and wear my robes. Let us hope that that day is sooner than expected."

Obi-Wan waits for the next question, but there is a brief interlude, only disturbed by random flashes of holocameras.

"Well then, if that is all, I must attend to my duties. May the Force be with you." he says, as he makes his strategic retreat. As usual, all the bold questions are asked behind his back, as he turns back to the crowd to face the Temple.

"General, will the Order seek to revoke the martial law?-"

"-Where is General Skywalker? Why doesn't Hero With No Fear speak?-"

"-Will the Chancellor return his emergency powers? Will he resign from his seat?-"

"-Is it true that you were on Mandalore when Duchess Satine was assassinated?-"

“-Will Senator Amidala speak on behalf the Jedi ever again?”

It happens at that moment. Smokes rise from the direction of the Senate, which Obi-Wan instantly gets a bad feeling about. “Evacuate the vicinity, now,” he tells Cody. He thinks he hears cries echoing from kilometres away.

Deaf to the cries, blind to the suffering, neither of his ‘guests’ are bothered as smoke and fire emerge outside, as both eagerly continue to their discussion on how to fill their pockets more. Palpatine herds the corrupt politicians, enabling them with well-timed nods and easy smiles. At this rate, he won’t have to lift a single finger as these greedy imbeciles destroy themselves. The nobles, the commoners, the rich, the poor, the Jedi; all are begging to be controlled.

“Control the fire!” Padme hears an officer from the Rescue Ops yell.

“We cannot locate a point of origin: There are multiple points of origin.” The officers notice her. “Senator, it isn’t safe outside. You should seek shelter immediately.”

“What about the people?” she asks, her eyes landing on the panicking crowd.

“We are doing what we can,” the officer tries to reassure her before yelling again. “Deploy the hovertrucks!”

“There has to be something I can do,” Padme tries.

“Please just stay out of the harm’s way, Senator…”

Padme watches helplessly as the people she was sworn to protect are swallowed by a devil’s ravenous inferno.

Sithing hells. Soon enough, Obi-Wan observes smoke and fire emerging from the crowd in front of the Temple as well.

With the sensible decision to intervene, though, a unit consisting of temple guards and clone troopers is able to locate the sources of the fire on time. Perpetrator, or perpetrators? Multiple origins, difficult to set up by a single individual without getting caught, difficult to light them up simultaneously, so possibly perpetrators. They are somewhat experienced, it seems, from the materials they’ve chosen like accelerators and combusting fuels, from the places they’ve chosen to initiate the fire. Not a simple crime of passion then; not instigated by a couple fools carried away by the passionate public in heat of the moment… Could it be premeditated instead? More likely, the perpetrators certainly knew what they were doing. The fact that they weren’t caught despite the tight security is further testament of their capability, or that of whoever gave them directions.

The fire is contained before it can do any real damage, but the people panic regardless. Thankfully, despite the panic, they do listen to the instructions, and the crisis is averted without any lives lost. The bad feeling is still there, however… just how many others died in the Senate fire?

He wearily runs his hand over his beard. Can he ever get a rest? Just an hour is fine. Scratch that, just a minute is fine. Please, let a minute pass without any hovering “bad feelings”… Is it too much to ask?

His eyes are stuck on the Togruta reporter again.

Perhaps it is…

“The pests around of the Senate building were removed as you ordered, Sir. But I regret to tell you that the Jedi intervened with the other. The second fire wasn’t successful.”

“No matter, Lord Vandron, in fact, it is better this way. I will make sure that the Jedi are pressed down with adequate pressure.”

Anakin paces in the room, for an indefinite time, as the same voice whispers over and over again.

          Master.

Anakin launches himself to the bed. “Nope. Don’t wanna hear it.”

          Master.

He tries to cover his ears with his hands.

          Master.

That doesn’t work. If he distracts his mind with something, surely he won’t hear it?

He grabs his wrench and lazily fastens a loosened bolt of an R2 unit’s inner mechanism lying on the table. He promised the mechanic at the hangar to deliver it the next day, so he better –

          Master.

The problem is that he needs to distract his mind with something involving words. Fixing a droid mechanism is not that. So he decides to read. As he switches his datapad on, a stream of news tabs flood his screen.

A-TV: Thousands die in the Senate Fire: Evidence points at the Jedi.

It is known that the protests on Coruscant have been targeting the breaches of procedure done by both the government and their “beskar fist”: the Jedi.

Although there were more than 5000 dead and more than 20000 injured in the Senate Fire, the Temple Fire fortunately claimed no lives. Did the Jedi know of this attack beforehand?

Why hasn’t the culprit of the fires been caught?

Are the Jedi really protecting wrongdoers as the senators said?

In any case, the evidence appears to be stacking against them.

Anakin wants to feel something, anything, except this cutting, cold void. His inability fills him with rage. The news keep appearing.

Vulptex: The Negotiator denies responsibility: “The opinion of the Order and the opinion of the Senate are irrelevant. We are bound by the orders of the Chancellor under the martial law.”

SNN opinion column: A silent Sky(walker) before the (fire)storm

…The stream of questions were only responded by General Kenobi. The Negotiator being The Negotiator, the press was left with more questions than they had to begin with, with suggestions planted here and there at a possible drift between the Senate and the Military.

The silence of our previously revered generals suggests an avoidance of the People, and an avoidance of the Truth. The Hero With No Fear is perhaps not so fearless after all…

The audacity! “I’ll show you fearless!” He jumps on his feet, with an uncontrolled Force push the datapad flies across the room, smashes into the wardrobe, and shattered pieces scatter with a loud scrash. It feels good.

“Please calm down, Master, remember: Your fall is what they want.” the same voice says, but this time, it isn’t coming within his mind. Next to the wardrobe, a blue, transparent figure stands: a Togruta in her thirties, wearing Ahsoka’s markings on her face, looking at him with her eyes, only much more serious, but somehow much more tender at the same time.

Anakin cracks with a laughter. “That must’ve done it. I’m finally mad…”

Chapter Text

          This is when Ahsoka talks but Anakin thinks he's imagining things.

"This is them talking normally."

Anakin cracks with a laughter. “That must’ve done it. I’m finally mad…”

“You’re not mad, Master, I’m really here.”

“You’re here… to torture me? You’re not real. You know how I know? Because she is dead. Because of me. You’re just my imagination, showing me what I would want to see. But I know better now. They all leave. They all should leave. She must’ve hated me for letting her down.”

“I would never hate you.”

“Not real. This is not real. Begone, ghost!”

“I won’t leave you. Not this time… This time for sure.”

“Great! Will I be knighting you with you at my back?”

“I don’t see why not.”

As the evening presents itself with all its red, yellow, orange glory, Anakin makes his way into the Council chamber, as early as he can be, just to avoid another lecture by the councillors on importance of planning and punctuality. To his surprise, he finds the chamber empty, with the only exception of Obi-Wan sitting at his seat, his eyes fixed on the mosaics of the ground, one hand brushing over his beard, overall an accurately descriptive picture of the act known to many species as ‘overthinking’. He doesn’t notice Anakin enter, not immediately. It’s funny because he often tells Anakin how distractively loud his presence in the Force is. Well, apparently not loud enough.

            Hello Master Kenobi.

Just as Anakin's persistent follower speaks in his mind, Obi-Wan’s battle-hardened reflexes kick in. “So you’ve come,” he says.

“I told you I would.”

Obi-Wan nods absently.

“I think I should resign from the Order.” Anakin says. Obi-Wan’s mouth falls open for a brief moment, before he immediately schools it back to his perfect serenity. It reminds Anakin of a blob-fish, which he would find funny if he wasn’t nervous about incredibly dumb thing he is about to do now.

“What’s with that face? I thought you’d be relieved…” says Anakin, but that’s also probably a bad idea. Now Obi-Wan just looks outright offended.

“Why would you think that?”

“I thought you never wanted me..” Anakin swallows, “trained.. in the first place.”

“Then I have truly failed you. I shouldn’t be surprised… That seems to be the one constant of my life, no matter what I do, as you pointed out countless times before…”

“Don’t make this about you, Master. I was angry, alright? It wasn’t entirely your fault. Besides… I have other reasons for resignation. I can’t trust myself with doing the right thing anymore… I’m always angry. I just shattered an innocent datapad and it felt good.” His explanation probably doesn’t make much sense, but Obi-Wan is kind enough to wait it out.

            Yes, poor thing’s only crime was to show you the news, which you opened by the way.

“My point is, Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace, not warriors, but I like being a general. I like power a little too much.”

Obi-Wan is puzzled. “That’s very self-conscious of you, but you’ve liked power since you were 9. Surely that cannot be the sole reason behind your decision?”

Well, it’s now or never. Anakin takes a deep breath. “No… I’ve broken the Code. I got married, well, technically, I’m getting a divorce anyways but still…” The lothcat is out of the bag, he wants to think, but something isn’t right. No… “…You knew?” he asks hesitantly, unsure which answer would be worse for him.

            I told you, even the younglings know.

“…I had my suspicions. You, and Senator Amidala weren’t exactly subtle…”

“Then why?..” he begins, unable to complete the question. Why didn’t you tell me out? Why didn’t you punish me? Why did you tolerate it, even when you don’t even tolerate me?

“I could list a wide array of reasons, like how much the Order needs you, our Hero with No Fear, our Chosen One... but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. I’m simply too attached to you, Anakin. You’re like my brother. You were happy with Padme. I thought you knew that I knew. I thought we both pretended that I didn’t know. Hence, my repeated warnings about the dangers of attachment… I didn’t want you to make the same mistakes that I do.”

Anakin hears howling in his ears as every assumption he’s made about Obi-Wan violently crumbles. “I… I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. I couldn’t see…”

A hand attaches itself on his shoulder, where did it come from?

“Apology accepted, my friend. It is harder to see when our vision is clouded.” Oh, the hand is Obi-Wan’s… It feels nice.

“I’m just so.. angry… All the time. This whole thing is so karked up, Master! I see her… I still hear her, you know?”

“I know… I miss her too.”

“No, I mean it. I really see her, hear her voice. She still whispers into my ears, making sassy remarks…”

          Hey now, easy with the “sassy”, I’m not as bad as you two.

Obi-wan eyes shift behind Anakin’s shoulder, as he smiles subtly. Anakin just sighs.

“..I think I’m losing myself to madness, Master.”

“You aren’t mad, Anakin. You’re upset. So am I…”

          I talk to you both.

“She’s telling me she talks to us both.” says Obi-Wan, but wait, what? Anakin freezes.

“What is it?”

“You mean… You too can see…” Anakin points at the ghost following him. But if both of them can see… Ahsoka waves a hand at them. This time, Obi-Wan freezes too.

“Master Kenobi, Master. I thought you’d appreciate having the padawan to be knighted herself at the Knighting Ceremony.” says Ghost Ahsoka.

“I take it back. Perhaps we’re both going mad.”

It isn’t really easy to suppress a bitter smirk as the ever stoic High Council members do their best to not be startled by the blue, transparent silhouette of the person they didn’t think they’d ever see again. Revenge is not the Jedi way, but the experience is almost cathartic, as they are forced to face their latest mistake and look her in the eye. As Anakin is…

With the exception of Yoda. The little troll doesn’t react, makes his way to his seat completely unbothered, with a quip “Just on time, you are, Knight Tano.”

Great. Just great.

Mace clears his throat. “Pada – Knight Tano… Master Yoda. Care to enlighten us?” Anakin, never in his life, not once, thought he’d agree with the man, finds himself agreeing for the first time.

“So… I’ve died..” she begins. “..twice,” her voice turning solemn. The shift in her tone raises eyebrows.

“and the first time I died, it happened… approximately 15 years in the future from now… in the hands of a powerful Sith apprentice called Darth Vader, only to wake up before my hearing with the Council.”

Notion of time travel is absurd, but it isn’t the most bizarre thing that happened within the span of a couple days, so after a brief moment of silence, the Council accepts it and moves on. As for Anakin, Anakin only finds the bit where Ahsoka is defeated by some stupid Sith most unbelievable. 

“15 years…? Some war to end wars,” Master Ti remarks.

Master Fisto raises his hands in the air. “Guilty as charged.”

Anakin can’t stomach being in there, joking light-heartedly like nothing happened.

“If you’re from the future as you say, how did you survive the trial the first time?” Master Mundi asks.

“The first time, Master Skywalker ignored the orders and tracked Ventress,” Typical. “..which led him to Barriss. He turned out at the Court with Barriss at the last moment before the verdict was announced. Barriss confessed, and I was cleared.”

So I could’ve saved her… In other words, it is my fault Ahsoka died this time.

“If you knew Padawan Offee was responsible from the beginning, why didn’t you tell us?” Obi-Wan asks, resentful. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we killed you… We did kill you…”

“I’m sorry, Master Kenobi.” Ahsoka takes a deep breath. “If it will console you, I was technically already dead… I don’t know why the Force sent me back, or why to this time in particular, but I was already past my time. As for why…” she takes another breath. “I didn’t know about this ghost-form at the time. I thought I’d just completely join the Force… I also needed a demonstration, not for Barriss’s involvement, but for what you’ve all have been suspecting since the beginning: that the Senate is under the influence of a Sith Lord. I suppose you all believe me now, so believe me when I say, that the Senate is under complete control of this Sith Lord…”

“We had to make a difficult choice, and we chose incorrectly. Your integrity should never have been in question, Knight Tano. Nor your commitment…” says Master Windu, acknowledging their mistake.

“If not, then it should be,” she replies, acknowledging hers. “The first time, after the trials, I left the Order…”

Another brief silence follows.

So Ahsoka had left him in that other timeline too. His fist clenches under his robes.

“If this is to be a Council meeting, then… I’m no longer needed here,” Anakin gives a polite bow. “Masters.” Then without waiting for a dismissal, he walks out of the chamber, damn the consequences.

Obi-Wan gives an apologetic look at the councillors as he rises in an attempt to follow him. “Stay, Master Kenobi.” orders Yoda. “Time, Skywalker needs…”

“I shouldn’t have dropped on him like that…” says Ahsoka, thoughtful. Upon the shock of dying, waking up again, only to die once more, she’d completely overlooked how poorly Hardeen incident had affected Anakin, and how poorly Anakin reacts to people he loves dying and then undying.

“Skywalker can take care of himself,” says Mace. “Meanwhile, we could hear the rest of your story.”

Then follows an inquiry. “What is this form…?”, or “But isn’t it immortality…?”, or “So you’ll be gone again…?” But for Ahsoka, the best moment is when Obi-Wan hears the involvement of Master Jinn. “Qui-Gon?” he asks, with wide eyes. Often being pushed to his limits by Anakin, it is incredibly rare for him to react to any event with such surprise. Ahsoka delights in it.

At one point, Yoda’s knowledge upon ‘the future’ comes into question. “Meditated on this, I have,” Yoda says. “A vision of the past, it was… of a possible future, it was. Always in motion, the future is; yet for Knight Tano, her future had become her past, yes; as her past, her future had become…”

“How much did you see?” Ahsoka asks.

“Glimpses. A black hole swallow a galaxy, I have seen. Corrupt the brightest star into Vader, it did… Darkness. Genocide… Wrong, am I, Knight Tano?”

A ripple of nausea spreads through the room as Ahsoka sees Order 66 and the aftermath in her mind’s eye. “You are not wrong, Master,” she says, her tone warning. “If we insist being on the path that we are currently on, the future won’t be kind to the Order…”

“Then tell us! Who is Sidious?” Windu pushes.

“I could give the name, but then what? Please keep in mind that currently Sidious is practically the Senate itself… This isn’t a war we can win with our lightsabers, masters… It is Anakin’s destiny to bring balance, ours is to protect it. We cannot do it if we forsake our principles. This war is destroying even the best of us.”

“What do you suggest we do then? Retreat from the war?”

“If we can’t negotiate peace, then yes; at least not actively participate in it, and if we have to, then not lead an army of the enslaved. For a long time, we believed in the righteousness of our battles between clear sides: Sith Empire against the Jedi & the Republic, slavers against liberators, droids against sentients… What do you do when both sides belong to the Sith, masters? What do you do if, despite everyone’s best efforts, all the vod’e in essence are designed to be mindless droids? The only way to win Sith’s game as Jedi is to not play it.”

“So, your brilliant solution is just ‘let Skywalker handle it’?”

“The Force showed you that he is the Chosen One, did it not? Will the Council blatantly ignore the Force? Then what good are we, Masters? What do we stand for? What is our purpose? Perhaps finally it’s time for this High Council to ask the questions that truly matter!”

“It is also our responsibility to ensure we keep existing to be able to ask such questions. Skywalker’s intentions are pure, perhaps, but his method is insanity disguised as talent. If we were to leave it to him, his ‘improvised plans’ would spell our destruction.”

“No, his spontaneity isn’t the problem, it’s the excuse. Real problem is that you don’t trust him, and he senses your distrust. You are punishing his genuine desire to help with distain. You think you help him with turning a blind eye when the topic concerns him, but he thinks you’re keeping him on a leash. You are pushing him away from the light.” This is where Padawan Tano would insist at the reasoning, and inevitably lose the Councillors. Knight Tano, however, knows that when it comes to these stuck-in-their-ways councillors, guilt can be a better motivator. “After the incident that caused me to be here, I hoped the Council would be more receptive towards fixing obvious mistakes, but apparently I was wrong…”

More silence…

It’s Master Mundi who breaks the loud quiet. “Of course, these are all hypotheticals now.” It is truly unbelievable, just how obstinate some councillors can be. Even Obi-Wan’s face sculpts into a very tangible picture of clearly visible confusion.

“Allow me to explain,” Mundi attempts. “With your travel in time, Knight Tano, the timeline is already altered with unseeable ripples spreading through our own. There is no guarantee that the events will occur in a similar manner. In fact, there’s no guarantee that your past prior to the trials was the same as Padawan Tano’s in our timeline. Frankly speaking, we are back to the square one. I’m afraid knowledge of your past will not be of help when it comes to our future.”

“But surely, it could be of some help –

“Master Mundi is right, we have no way of being entirely sure –

“We don’t need the entire solution, we need guiding steps –

And there they go, from debating what to do to debating over what does it mean to be ‘some’ help… Patience is the Jedi way, but one mustn’t confuse passivity with patience. Ahsoka waits patiently, not passively, as her eyes drift towards the single sun of Coruscant setting behind the urban horizon, dotted by inconspicuous lines of air vehicles. When was the last time she got to witness it when she was alive?  A sight truly to die for… For any species with average eyesight, it is a pretty sight, but for the Temple raised Jedi, it means home. How many other planets must’ve been home to her brethren, lost and forgotten within the glitching archives?

Ahsoka isn’t losing her home again. But to truly protect it, she'd had to let go of it first…

“I have a way to know for sure, Masters.” That attracts all the attention. Good. “Are you familiar with the chips implemented in the brains of Troopers?”

It isn’t a surprise that they aren’t. “Well, then, if my memory serves right, you will be within a few days under some very unpleasant circumstances, but if we act now, we can perhaps control the circumstances which this ‘secret’ is revealed and turn it into an advantage. What do you say? Can you offer me a chance at this?”

Chapter Text

The bridge of The Resolute is crowded with activity, with troopers moving from one station to another, droids transmitting orders, buzzing and beeping and all one would expect from the crew needed to efficiently pilot a large ship the size of The Resolute. Anakin hears all of it; the unflattering whispers and gossips about his foul mood, hasty footsteps; he sees the sideway glances in his direction, the concern of the troopers on his behalf muddying the Force… He pretends not to notice as he stares into the silver lines of the pitch black hyperspace. It is as beautiful as ever.

In a twisted way, he thinks, that this is what he has always wanted. The first one to see all the stars, visit all the planets… even if it’s under the pretence of wars and orders. It’s all he has wanted, the freedom, when he was a child who knew nothing of it. There he is now. “Free.” And it’s nothing like he hoped it would be. It feels like a big ruse, disappointingly so. Even overrated, perhaps…

Or perhaps, says a voice in his mind, suspiciously like Palpatine’s, you aren’t free enough. Perhaps you aren’t powerful enough. But he’s the Chosen One, Hero With No Fear, possibly one of the strongest people in the whole galaxy… what other power is there to take? “The dogmatic ways of the Jedi are shackling you, my friend. Even then, you’re the best Knight I know of.”

He knows his men are… avoiding him now, which isn’t surprising considering his simmering temper after leaving the emergency Council meeting early, even since before the Resolute took off. He doesn’t mind, or rather, he doesn’t care. He can’t bring himself to.

Miraculously, there is a pair of footsteps, coming closer, getting louder. Force feels too muddled for him to single the owner out, and he doesn’t want to turn his head to give more attention towards whoever that is. But still, some curiosity nudges Anakin. Who would that fool be to approach the dormant dragon?

“General,” Commander Fox, it is. “We’re approaching Ringo Vinda. Leaving hyperspace in ten standard minutes.”

“Very good, Commander.” says Anakin, without looking away from the pitch black oblivion. He won’t look at the face of the man who wanted to shoot Ahsoka. But even that doesn’t matter anymore…

Commander Fox obstinately doesn’t leave his presence. He just quietly stands there.

Fine, if he wants to play it that way. Anakin finally turns to give him a stern look. “Is there anything else, Commander?”

“Yes, Sir…” he says hesitantly. “Commander Cody told us what really happened behind the curtains of Commander Tano’s trial… I’m sorry for your loss, Sir.”

Anakin swallows. He doesn’t want to have that conversation right now. Or ever. But the inevitability of it is clear, especially if even Cody knows more than it was publicised. Kriff it, Obi-Wan. He told them everything, didn’t he? He sighs. “There’s nothing to be sorry about… apparently it wasn’t the first time anyways…”

“Sir?”

“Jedi aren’t allowed to grieve too long on a particular loss… It isn’t the first time we’ve lost a comrade, is it?”

“But.. I thought she was closer to you?”

“Yes, and that too wasn’t allowed.” he says bitterly, his voice getting sharper with each syllable. Kriff. How did everything get messed up so quickly? All he wanted to do was to explore the galaxy and help people. “Besides, Ahsoka temporarily came back as an apparition. Perhaps you may even run into her on this mission…”

“Apparition, Sir? Like… like a ghost?” Fox pales.

Anakin scoffs as an answer. That will do.

The ship goes out of the hyperspace, and slowly approaches to the space station. The troopers get ready for the breach, just as they were instructed. Anakin too leaves for his room to get prepared, and just as he’s about to give the order to launch the attack, his stupid com beeps. Anakin decides to ignore it.

“You should open it, it may be important.” says Ahsoka, appearing seemingly out of thin air, giving him a scare. Anakin swears he’ll never get used to it.

“No.” There is no force in the galaxy that can make Anakin open the –

Somehow Ahsoka succeeds at turning the com on. Can ghosts interract with matter?

An unhappy Obi-Wan appears at the other end. “Finally, his majesty deigns us peasants worthy enough to show his face. What did we do to earn this special treatment, do tell?”

“I’m not in the mood for a berating, Obi-Wan. Just finish quickly so I can get started with the assault.”

“What?! Assault?! Are you out of your mind? Anakin, your mission to Ringo Vinda has not even been authorised yet!”

“So I should just waste valuable time listening to the old fools babble nonsense?”

“We were about to make peace with-“ Obi-Wan stops midway, running a hand over his face. He takes a deep breath. “..Just be patient, and don’t launch an assault! You will do nothing except to wait for new instructions, is that clear!?”

“Whatever.” Anakin turns off the com without waiting for a response. He’ll do what he feels like doing. Obi-Wan’s blue hologram disappears, leaving only one blue figure in the room. That one remaining blue figure being Ahsoka, watching Anakin intensely… Anakin doesn’t like to be watched.

“Enjoying the show, are we?” he asks, not even bothering to conceal his annoyance.

“Patience, Master,” the ghost dares to say. “There is a reason behind their decision.”

“Oh, no, no, not you too. You don’t get to talk, like them, always hiding something…” he mutters under his breath.

Anakin expects Ahsoka to try to calm him down, or change the topic, but she doesn’t. “You’re right…” she says. “I was hoping to protect you from the truth, but you have a right to know it.”

“What truth?” Probably something stupid.

“The Sith apprentice that killed me… the being known as Darth Vader… was once the man known as Anakin Skywalker.”

…

No!

No…

Anakin wants to rage, object, cry out, no, that can’t be him, he’d never be a Sith, but… he touched the dark already more than once… The ringing truth of Ahsoka’s words shakes him to the core.

“I didn’t want to tell this…” she says, her voice quivering. “You aren’t him, you aren’t that monster. But you must know… I’m worried for you, Master. I’m worried that I’m running out of time to reach you. What we’re truly fighting against aren’t just the Separatists, not just the droids, not even just the Sith Lords… We’re fighting against imbalance, Master… So please, win. If you lose…”

He catches a glimpse in his mind, pure bright snow, he can’t feel the cold;

no, it’s a vast field of trooper helmets latched onto long stakes, the helmets stare right through him;

a clear blue sky;

no, a dusty grey cape solemnly fluttering in smokes;

a sapphire lightsaber,

hers,

not anymore,

icy shards bore into his soul…

Ahsoka’s eyes get cloudy. Can ghosts even cry?

There’s more…

Clueless pairs of young eyes look at him pleadingly in the Council chamber. He closes them –

– Pain. He can’t breathe. Only red. His nerves are on fire, melting.

Obsidian shards cut into his torso as he drags himself across –

– I hate you.

“What should I do?” he asks shakily, his fear finally showing its ugly face. There’s no need for pretence with Ahsoka, especially if she already knows… He’s kriffed up big time, hasn’t he? But maybe he can unkriff now.

Unlike Anakin, Ahsoka calms herself down like a true Jedi Knight, releasing a hefty deal into the Force. Anakin didn’t teach this. He couldn’t teach it when he couldn’t do it himself… She glows in the Force, sending comforting waves of warmth at him. Kriff, she’s better at this than Anakin ever hopes to be.

She assumes back her steady voice. “You will need to secure a trooper, Tup. He’s been experiencing chronic headaches, and if not, he will soon. You should get him treated and the source of this headache found.

She’s confident, too. Force, he’s both scared of the future, but also immensely proud of Ahsoka at the same time somehow. How much Ahsoka has grown, without him, despite him, slowly settles in…

He too somewhat calms down. “What is this about?” he asks, curiosity taking over fear. He wastes no time as he immediately orders the presence of Tup, Fox, Rex, Fives, and a medical droid at his door.

“All clones are implanted with behavioural modification biochips in their heads…” Like slaves. Anakin’s stomach churns. “…Tup’s is, or was, malfunctioning.” Anakin stares at her with wide eyes.

There is a knock on the door. His troopers too, it seems, don’t waste time.

It’s a surprisingly quick procedure when they know what they’re looking for. They scan the head for inorganic materials and find the chip in minutes.

“How’d you know, Sir?” Tup asks. “It was just a light headache…”

“A little ghost told me to check, just in case.”

Fox swallows.

They complete the procedure in the privacy of Anakin’s room. In less than a quarter hour, Tup’s brown, decaying chip is taken out. Sometime during the operation, though, Tup randomly wakes up, mumbling “The mission… the one in our dreams… that never ends. Oh, the nightmare. I'm… free.” then passes out again.

After all is done, he goes back to giving instructions with a learned efficiency. “Commander, we’ve received orders to stand down. In the meantime, Captain, take care of Tup. Fives, I want this biochip studied and encrypted.”

Rex and the medical droid carry Tup on a slide to the medbay, and Fox and Fives leave in a hurry to leave Anakin alone, and Ahsoka reappears with their leave.

Considering Tup’s incoherent mumbling… A terrible feeling hovers upon Anakin. He doesn’t want to know, but he has to ask, “What are the chips for?”

Ahsoka looks away.

He has to know. “You promised to tell the truth!” He demands once more.

Ahsoka finally answers. “Overriding of personality…”

Oh, so they’re worse than slaves. They’re meant to be kriffing droids as if they aren’t fighting against an army of those…“We can’t let those chips remain there!” he objects. “We won’t, right?”

“We won’t.”

“Tell me, what is encrypted into those chips?”

Ahsoka cradles her right lekku, putting it behind her shoulder. She shakes her head. “Terrible things. You don’t want to know.”

“I must know.” He must. He has to know how badly he screwed up in another future.

“…There were various protocols, but I only know the 66^th… It is the order for extermination of all Jedi for treason against the Galactic Republic.”

All Jedi?

Then those young eyes…

It was him… He killed them all.

Anakin is overtaken by terror. His legs lose their strength, and he drops on the bed.

“Master!”

It’s cold. Force, it’s freezing… Why is it so cold? It’s so cold that he’s shivering. He tastes acid rising up in his throat. His eyes burn. He can’t breathe.

At that moment, new instructions arrive.

<All troops are to immediately retreat from their positions, and return to Coruscant for the “peace summit”, and the cease-fire effective immediately.>

Chapter Text

The senators gathered in the office are mostly loyalists, some growing more distrusting towards the military, some growing dissatisfied with the Chancellor’s incompetence at finding a diplomatic solution to the war, some seeking to find allies for consolidating their influence… She has few true friends there, except from Mon and Bail, so Padme expects a loud, if not, at least vocal opposition.

Collecting her most genuine voice, she reminds herself that she can do it. She’s done it countless times before.

(Not after she’d failed to save Ahsoka, though. Not after everything broke apart and the pieces burned…)

No, she has to do it, therefore she will do it.

“We’re gathered here, because the Republic we hold dear is dying,” she begins. As she speaks, silent confidence slowly returns back to her. “She is sick, of corruption. She is sick, of radicalisation. She is sick, of division. And of war. And of injustice… And not just by the hands of Separatists; most of these diseases spread by friendly hands. Of those that belong to Her “saviours”, “heroes”, “senator”s…  Hands that belong to Her “Chancellor”, Her self-proclaimed doctor… And he prescribes the wrong medicine…

If this does not stop soon, She will die.”

“Careful, Senator.” warns one of the senators, from Jinaata, if she recalls correctly. “That doctor was elected by the very people we swore to serve.”

“Perhaps so… and yet, it’s still our duty to keep Her alive, regardless of who She chooses to be Her saviour. We have to take action.”

“For your sake, I hope you aren’t suggesting what I think you’re suggesting…” says the same senator, his dark eyes narrowing with warning. “I must remind you, Senator Amidala, that we are the Loyalists.”

“Yes we are, but our loyalty is to the Republic, not to a man.”

“Certainly. But was it not you, who started the election that led to Chancellor Palpatine’s inauguration? What changed?” some other senator asks.

This is another type of question she expected; her mistakes. They’ll probably ask about Ahsoka’s trial too… She pauses for a brief moment before talking. It’s a tricky one. “In hindsight, it was mistake I regret very much,” she says truthfully. “None of us could foresee how power-hungry he would become. As you are all aware he holds all the critical positions of power now; the military, the Jedi, the Courts… all decision making bodies, bending to the will of a single man… It has to stop.”

“True, not even the Jedi are to be trusted fully.” says a Caamasi senator. It isn’t surprising given their anti-militarist tendencies. What a shame that one of the cultures which influenced the Jedi Order was slowly turned away from them… “I don’t mean to insinuate that they’re malicious, but we should assume the Chancellor has some kind of advantage to hold over them. Not to mention how they’ve militarised over the years… The Order cannot be blindly trusted as long as they’re commanding the Chancellor’s army.” He makes a valid point of course, yet Padme cannot help but think about Anakin, and Obi-Wan, and all of her contacts in the Order, and curses the circumstances that pit good against good.

“Then what do you suggest?” They finally reach to the heart of the matter.

“The one power we still have left is the right to call the Senate for an official investigation about the Chancellor’s dealings.” Padme suggests. As expected, it is not a suggestion that was taken in lightly. It causes a very polite uproar. Objections rise one after another.

“In the middle of the war!? Senator, you must see how such an action would purely benefit the Separatists. Why not wait until after the war for such a drastic measure?”

“I must agree. We cannot waste the Senate’s time with a wild goose chase for alleged wrongdoings of the Chancellor. What if he is completely innocent?”

“He is not,” Padme asserts. “There has to be something somewhere. During and after Jedi Tano’s prosecution, I had the opportunity to access the Judge’s, in this case the Chancellor’s records. Every major crisis has worked out for him. Every suspicious death, every disappearance…”

“Perhaps he’s just a great opportunist.” That is in the realm of possibilities, of course, but it isn’t something Padme overlooked. There’s a difference between placing yourself in a great position on an existing board and setting up the board deliberately around you… Palpatine’s exponential increase in power upon becoming the Chancellor indicates it’s the latter.

“Tano’s prosecution, huh…” Mon ponders. “I believe this has gotten personal for you, Senator. Perhaps you should take a break. You’ve been overworking recently.”

“Just recently? Have you met her?” Bail chimes in. What a blessing and a curse to have friends like these… Their interruption buys her enough time to formulate her next sentences carefully.

“I will not deny that my failure at Ahsoka’s trial has upset me deeply, but I would never mix my personal feelings into this. Don’t you see, it’s too much of a coincidence for everything to work out just as Chancellor could benefit! Remember the admission of GAR! How likely is it that after the Chancellor’s unsuccessful insistence of an army, at the end of his term I must add, we happened to need an army, and an army just happened to be lying around in the galaxy somewhere?”

Her delivery must’ve upset some other senators, as one grumpily points out, “That army saved your life on Geonosis!”

“And it may have condemned a million others to death! I would gladly forfeit my life if it meant to prevent a war, so would the Jedi… As much as it pains me to say it, transgressions like that happen all the time, it shouldn’t even have been a question to start a war…” she shakes her head in disappointment. “No, the war has started, so that the Chancellor could grab emergency powers. Open your eyes, Senators, or it will be too late.”

“Well, about that…” says Senator Ister Paddie of Sermeria, who has been silent up until now. “I believe I may have some useful information to share… but I will need some guarantees for my safety first, before I say anything.”

It all happens very quickly.

Palpatine is at his office as per usual, sifting through yet another report on the war when the request to “cease-fire” arrives. Hapes as a neutral core system volunteers to host the “peace” summit, and the Senate decides to give it a chance, requesting the Chancellor along with a team of senators to represent the Republic. He skims the list, ah! One of the members is Senator Amidala, which is not surprising, as she recently seems to taken it onto herself in a personal vendetta to watch his every movement in public, unsubtly, like a stubborn slug, as if she could do anything to him by staring intensely.

As for the CIS, Count Dooku announces his participation, accepting the Jedi supervision if they choose to let go of their positions in GAR. The Jedi agree surprisingly quickly, with everything in action quicker than Palpatine is able to activate his contingencies.

This is unexpected, he thinks. It’s as if the Jedi are picking up the pace, acting with the next couple steps in mind rather than passively reacting like they’ve been doing since the beginning of the war. The wheels of the Senate turn smoothly, as if they’ve all been greased recently… Hope, he realises, hope for peace more specifically, is the culprit for everyone’s high spirits. Hope for peace is like the grease for the wheels, and just as disgusting.

Palpatine isn’t used to his plans being disrupted by quick action of the Jedi. Mostly because his plans are crafted quite well, but also because the Jedi usually rival snails when it comes to passivity. It means he too will need to accelerate his plans.

With Tyrannus acting without his knowledge, and the involvement of Jedi… Based on those alone, he suspects Tyrannus will betray him soon. He will have to discard his wayward apprentice along with the pitiful CIS and declare himself Emperor during the peace summit. In a way, it is fitting: He will bring peace after all, and security, and stability. But there are some risks involved. Mainly, the distance.

Hapes is around 36 standard hours away from Coruscant, meaning at least 72 hours of the Senate functioning without his influence. Moreover, when he becomes the Emperor on Hapes, it will give at least 36 hours of reaction window to whatever remains of the Jedi. So much can change in 36 hours… Palpatine doesn’t like it, he’d planned to become the Emperor on Coruscant for this exact reason. But he doesn’t have much room for movement, especially when he knows the opposition in the Senate against him is growing. It will be now or never.

He boards on the ship to Hapes cluster equipped with that possibility. No matter. He still has an army. Skywalker, with the anger he’s been cultivating for a decade now, should be ripe for picking, and with Amidala also present there, he’s sure he can make Skywalker join him. He requests the presence of Kenobi & Skywalker team from the Jedi, it will be extra gratifying when the boy falls in front of his former master’s eyes. Perhaps he will make the boy kill the Kenobi nuisance to test his resolve…

He smiles at the boy, and Anakin bows his head respectfully. He’ll make a fine servant; powerful, and obedient, and infinitely more manageable than Dooku, who has been practically a cunning time-bomb with the potential to turn against him anytime.

They give speeches to the press, with saying much and nothing, the same nonsense about peace and hope and democracy… Then they proceed to the closed session, and the fate of the galaxy remains to be discussed hidden from the people’s eyes, as if the results aren’t yet decided…

Palpatine eyes the room. There is a large U-shaped table, on one side, his disobedient apprentice sits and two droids accompanying him to represent CIS stand beside him. On the other, Padme Amidala and another senator, and Commander Fox entrusted for their safety, together they’ll represent the Republic. He walks to the seat resigned for him. Kenobi and Skywalker stand in the middle of the room, but having bled for the Republic, and with Anakin being married to one of its senators, Dooku is incredibly stupid to expect full neutrality from them. Nevertheless, he has to put on a show as if he’s disappointed, just in case.

“Master Kenobi… I see the Jedi have ‘resigned’ from the GAR. I do not recall such a request being brought to me or to the Senate before the cease-fire.” he says, as if he wasn’t expecting this sudden move, to give Dooku the illusion of control, as if he’s caught off guard.

“Well, as of cease-fire, the Order does not see it necessary to continue to lead the army. Necessary steps to ensure the smooth transition have been taken, and the required paperwork has been transmitted to the Senate. I believe there are no legal obstacles preventing it. As for your permission, Chancellor: We do not need it to return the power back to the Republic. With the martial law no longer in effect… you get the picture, I’m sure.”

“Martial law or no, surely the Order wouldn’t leave the Republic in Her time of need? After all I, along with the Senators here, have been led to believe that you were also battling against, this, Sith, threat…” Palpatine says, looking at Dooku when he says ‘threat’, testing his foolish apprentice.

“It is very kind of you to draw attention to that, Chancellor.” says Dooku, smiling. “Or should I say, Darth Sidious.”

And there it is… Just as he has foreseen.

“What?!” Anakin all but shouts, he’ll need to work on the boy’s terrible high-pitched screams later, wearing down his vocal chords if need be, electrocution after electrocution. Obi-Wan steps in front of Anakin, as if a mediocre Force-sensitive such as himself could stop Palpatine from doing harm if he desired to do so. How foolish.

Senators are discomforted.

It’s a bit early for his taste to reveal the surprise to Anakin, but he can feel his anger in the Force, and that’s exactly what he wants.

Plan B, then, he is to use the drift between the Republic and the Jedi to convince senators to side with him than Kenobi. He smiles knowingly.

“My, my. Has the Separatist movement grown so desperate that the only way they see out is to attack a man on his religion? For former Jedi Dooku, the indoctrination runs too deep, it seems, how sad. How sad that the Order, peacekeepers indeed, cannot preserve their neutrality when one of the sides was one of their own… Here in the Republic, we do not assume morality based on personal beliefs. Being a Sith is not a crime in the Republic law, unlike being a traitorous Separatist. You can’t prove I’ve done anything wrong.” He turns at the senators. “And surely the Senators wouldn’t allow such travesty of Republican ideals… The freedom of religion is a core tenet of Republican values.”

Kenobi’s face turns into a shape as of someone who has been forcefully fed rotten eggs. His eyes dart between Palpatine and the Senators, his hand resting on his saber. As if he could stop him when he couldn’t even stop Maul. And Anakin just grows redder with every passing minute.

“No, he is right. Following the Sith religion isn’t a crime punishable by the law…” says Padme Amidala.

That naïve girl. Their idealism will prove –

“..However, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, treason, attempted murder, murder, and organising arson, are…” She looks at him in contempt. “That’s right, we have testimonies. You will be asked to defend yourself soon. Courtesy of Senators Organa and Paddie, they’ve all gathered an emergency session to discuss your crimes in the Senate.”

“I am the Senate.”

“No, you’re not. The Senate is the Senate. You are but a man.”

“It’s treason, then…” Unacceptable. They’ll all pay it dearly. “Commander Fox, execute Order-” but before he can finish, the worthless clone aims at his head and shoots.

“Fox, no!” Anakin shouts.

Palpatine gets out of the way with ease, activates his own saber and cuts the clone in half before Anakin can snatch him out of his range using the Force. In mere seconds, both Obi-Wan and Anakin ignite their lightsabers, settling in their preferred forms. Tyrannus sits still, his arms crossed, a cocky grin on his face. So that’s it for him, then? Make them battle it out, then side with whoever wins? Opportunistic bastard. Clever, but not clever enough. When Palpatine wins, he will make Dooku suffer. There is only enough space for one cunning opportunist.

Besides, ‘Vader’ will be a much, much better apprentice.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, it was in self-defence... You must see the dangers of Jedi dogma, my friend. See how blinded they are with their narrow view… Join me, my boy. Renounce the Order, and be free. You know you are better than them.”

“I hate you!” the boy yells, out loud and through the Force. Obi-Wan tenses. Palpatine laughs.

“Good, good. Use your hatred. You’re already so close to the dark side… You just need a gentle nudge.”

And the best motivator is in the same room as them: She sits right there, frozen in her place like the other senator. Palpatine grabs her throat with the Force.

“Let her go!” Anakin jumps in, but Padme is getting choked while Palpatine dances around with his saber and laughs like a maniac, taking on both Obi-Wan and Anakin at the same time with no effort.

“You should join me, Skywalker, if you want to save your wife.”

Anakin looks into her eyes, and the bitch has the audacity to shake her head in his hold, earning herself a slow, painful death.

As for Skywalker...

This is the moment for him...

This is the moment, Obi-Wan knows. Ahsoka has warned them that it’s Anakin’s destiny to bring balance, and that it isn’t a battle they can win purely by their lightsabers. It’s probably the only reason why he’s able to keep himself from attacking much more aggressively at the root of the problem right in front of his eyes. He has to trust Anakin. Whatever comes out of his mouth will potentially determine the fate of the galaxy.

The moment stretches to infinity as Anakin is lost in the eyes of the Senator. Obi-Wan can feel gears turning in his brother's head, his every instinct screaming at him to do something, the pull of the dark… That’s how he himself had felt when he’d lost Qui-Gon, when he’d lost Satine…

He also knows that it’s Anakin’s test; only Anakin can overcome that darkness that’s been consuming the light for decades now, hidden.

But that doesn’t mean he has to do it alone. Obi-Wan pulses his presence, reminding him of that. And Ahsoka is there too; she appears behind Padme and the Sith, just out of their vision, but Anakin and Obi-Wan see her clearly... Never alone.

Anakin makes his decision.

“Go to hell,” he says to Sidious’s face.

Then something shifts in the Force, something shifts in Anakin’s signature, as he shoos away the temptation. The smoky cloak covering the Sith dissolve into the force, leaving it bare in all its ugliness.

Sidious loses.

“Perhaps I will, but then she’s coming with me.” Sidious directs his saber at Padme, and Force pulls her towards the ignited blade. He doesn’t want to accept his defeat in dignity it seems. Typical. But it’s too late for the mastermind.

It’s a team effort, a lineage effort; Ahsoka paralyses Sidious in place, Dooku joins the battle, cutting one arm from the elbow with a swift, efficient Makashi motion, and Obi-Wan cuts the other. Sidious falls on the ground, unconscious, and so do his arms. Anakin catches Padme. And the Force feels exponentially lighter.

“Thank you, Ani. For not giving in,” Padme whispers, reaching out, tracing his face with her delicate fingers before passing out. Anakin holds her.

Ahsoka smiles at them and disappears just as the doors burst open.

Master Windu and a couple clones barge in. Windu nods at Dooku.

They place Padme on a medbay. As she’s brought out, Obi-Wan and Anakin look at what is left of Fox. Obi-Wan squeezes Anakin’s shoulder. “You’ve done well.”

“Fox…”

“…made his choice. You should rest now… Go to her.” he says, gesturing the Padme being carried through the door.

With medics treating his arms, Sidious comes back to consciousness, only to find yet another blaster directed at his head. “Sheev Palpatine, you are under arrest for your crimes against the Republic, and the murder of a valiant trooper.”

They can’t handcuff him for obvious reasons, but they fit a Force-suppressing collar. Let it be said that revenge is not the Jedi way, but seeing the enslaved place a collar on the slaver is poetic justice. Obi-Wan tries his best not to feel immense joy as a result of another’s pain, but with the adrenaline running his veins like ecstasy, he isn’t winning on that front.

Dooku stands tall and proud before Palpatine on his knees. “Behold the great mastermind; your overconfidence was your weakness after all. So you yourself fell into the same trap you’ve tried using on Skywalker. How fitting!”

"For a moment, I thought you'd back off from the deal and attack us instead." says Obi-Wan.

"Oh, I was tempted. But then I thought… With all that talk of supposed power, Sith are more incapable than they think. There is so much the Sith cannot do. Sidious could never save the galaxy, for example…” Sidious gives him a murderous look, “I could. At that moment, when the offer for the cease-fire arrived, only I held the power to end the war, or damn the galaxy. To tip the scales. Make them win if only I so desired… I was the judge. It was my decision to make, and mine alone. I was above both the Jedi and the Sith. And that choice, it was something the neither the dark side, nor serving the Jedi could ever give me… That's how I will go down to the history: The Man Who Started And Ended The War."

"Then you're a fool. For an insignificant moment of power, for a delusion, you've given up true greatness. You could've ruled the galaxy beside me."

It’s  ironic, Obi-Wan thinks, that’s what you yourself did with choosing the dark side… And only then can Obi-Wan succeed to summon a tiny fragment of pity for the Sith Lord. There are only victims when it comes to the dark side… Who would Palpatine be, if he hadn’t turned?

"No, you'd eventually replace me.” Dooku replies. “Oh, I know all about it, your little plans to take Skywalker instead...” he gives a full, bright, mad laughter, as if he’s told the funniest joke in the galaxy. “Let’s just say, a little ghost told me,” he wheezes, with Sidious definitely not on the joke.

They leave Palpatine to the not-so-tender care of troopers. Once out of others’ earshot, Obi-Wan turns at the only remaining Sith. (or-not-so-Sith anymore? Is there such a thing as former Sith?) “You still have some questions to answer, Dooku.”

“Come now, I’ve acted in your best interests even since before the war had begun… Why don’t we start over, Master Kenobi? Surely you remember what I’ve told you on Geonosis.”

Obi-Wan does… He couldn’t forget even though he wanted to, the same line taunting him since the beginning of the war. “’What if I told you, that The Republic was under the control of a Dark Lord of the Sith?’”

“Yes, surely you believe me now?”

“That doesn’t absolve you of killing Jedi.”

“It was war, grand-padawan mine-“

“-don’t call me that.”

“I still wish it hadn’t come to that… It was necessary for reform.” Dooku says, as sincere as a former Sith is capable of it.

Was it necessary though, really? Obi-Wan looks at him with an unreadable expression, and walks away without saying anything else. He has far too much to think about.

Chapter Text

“Hey bud. So… we won’t fight against your kind. And I won’t fight against mine. Great, isn’t it?” says Anakin, petting the dome of R2. The droid turns around itself with some affectionate beeps.

Ahsoka is tired. Her time is almost up, and yet…

She is content, yes; Sidious is found and defeated, the war is mostly over… There are still a couple issues, of course; Grievous is still out there, blinded with vengeance. So is Maul, sneering from Mandalore… The Jedi aren’t as popular as they used to be with the Senate, but Ahsoka thinks that’s for the better anyways.

With their decreasing popularity, the Council decides to de-centralise from Coruscant, to revive some of the old temples, re-connect with their roots and other light sects, with Jedha; another decision Ahsoka wholeheartedly agrees with.

Dooku is being tried by the courts for various war crimes he’s committed, but he’s given some leeway due to his old age and unique contribution to ending the war. It’s likely he’ll be given some kind of rehabilitative house-arrest under Jedi provision, which is more like a vacation for the rich aristocrat.

Anakin hasn’t fallen yet. Ahsoka suspects he will not ever, not in this timeline. He still has some secrets to share if he wants to fix more, but it’s ultimately up to him…

Obi-Wan finally seems rested.

And they’re all alive!

And she is so, so, tired…

She makes a quick detour, phasing through the walls of the Temple, to watch padawans being instructed on some advanced shii-cho drills. She specifically looks at a tan skinned, teal-eyed human, Kanan, or rather, Caleb at this point in time, running his hand through his hair nervously, a habit that’d rooted from his early padawanship it seems…

Now that things are different, she has this nibbling question in her mind: if she were to act differently the first time, could she save them even then…?

But it’s not so Jedi-like to ponder upon such “what if”s, and definitely not right before her very own official knighting ceremony. The Jedi believe in the logos, the Force, the great chains of causality leading all to be exactly as they’re supposed to be.

She silently says goodbye to the padawan she would never meet, because he wouldn’t lose his master to a brutal betrayal, because he wouldn’t have to become Kanan Jarrus, because he wouldn’t be pushed to lie and cheat and steal to survive…

She phases back to the chamber in which she’ll be knighted soon, greeting those who know of the “little ghost”, even though she isn’t little at all.

The members of the Council form a circle around her, Anakin standing among them, then everything goes dark, except for her blue form emitting a faint glow. Grandmaster Yoda lights up his green lightsaber first, with everyone following his lead. Ahsoka kneels on one knee.

“We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed.” Master Yoda says the ancient rites in perfect grammar. Perhaps centuries-long practice indeed does make it perfect…

She sees Anakin smiling. It must be contagious, because she too begins smiling, then spreading it to Obi-Wan. Anakin opens up his palm to reveal her padawan braid, of course he’d saved it, and floats it back to her, keeps it suspended in the air, where the beads would be if she were fully corporeal.

“Ahsoka Tano. By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi,” Master Yoda cuts the braid floating in the air, “Knight of the Republic.”

As she rises, she decides having your braid cut is definitely better than having it yanked off from your head. She lets Anakin have the beads back.

As she rises…

As she rises, the Force calls her back with a beautiful lullaby, fading away, she closes her eyes and becomes one with the rest of existence.

“Perhaps I should prepare myself to call you Master Skywalker now.” Obi-Wan says, his eyes sparkling.

“I’d trade the title in a breath if it meant Snips could be with us for longer. She said she was tired… this was her goodbye.” says Anakin, looking at the beads that have been through a lot, including but not limited to being squeezed a little too hard by both flesh and metal hands, and being cut by Master Yoda’s terrible aim (No, it wasn’t due to Anakin shaking in excitement and causing the beads to wobble in the air; it was definitely Master Yoda’s terrible aim.)

“Every great reform consumes its own pioneers first. Perhaps that’s why it’s difficult to bring about true change.” Obi-Wan says thoughtfully.

“It’s inevitable though.” Anakin says, earning himself a sharp reaction from Obi-Wan. What was his former master thinking? “Change, I mean. My mother once said ‘You can’t stop change any more than you can stop suns from setting.’”

“Your mother is a wise woman.”

“She was…” Anakin corrects. “Tuskens tortured and killed her. That’s why I was on Tatooine before the war began…” Obi-Wan listens attentively, not without some surprise, and some sorrow as well. Anakin can see him thinking about his advice on ‘dreams’ not working… He doesn’t deserve more sadness, so Anakin apologises.

“I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. You were always there for me, a perfect model, an unattainable goal of how I should be… The ideal Jedi… I… I wasn’t quite that. I wasn’t even close.”

“I’m flattered, but you shouldn’t try to be me; you should be the best you.” Obi-Wan smiles bitterly. “And believe me, I am far from the perfect Jedi.”

“What do you mean? You are the best?”

“I have my own share of fears… I have always feared I wouldn’t be good enough for you. You are so brilliant, so bright in the Force… If I’ve kept my distance, it’s because I feared my attachment to you would ruin you. I still think that, as I thought at all the times you’ve yelled me in the face, that how Qui-Gon would be a much, much better master… I feared you were right… And as Master Yoda likes to drill so fervently, we both know fear doesn’t really lead to anywhere desirable.”

“I’d just say it because I’d get angry. Not because it’s true. You know that, right?” With Obi-Wan’s blatant self-deprecation though, Anakin isn’t so sure. He realises he might’ve hurt him even more than he ever realised. One of his such outbursts had happened in that very chamber, he remembers, right before his own knighting ceremony… ‘I know,’ Obi-Wan had said, ‘I miss him too…’ but not without being hurt first… Perhaps Padme was right. Of course, she’s almost always right… Anakin does really need therapy.

Obi-Wan doesn’t respond immediately, but then he says, “You are the best part of me, a better Knight than I could ever hope to be,” his eyes smiling. “You are strong, and wise, and I’m very proud of how much you’ve grown, dear one…”

Dear one… The endearment Obi-Wan uses when he’s especially proud of him, which is rarer than he’d like… But this time, its reason of use is built on falsehoods. It doesn’t feel deserved. Anakin can’t have it.

“Master,” he says, words getting stuck in his throat. “I.. still haven’t told you the whole story yet.” He’s going to hurt Obi-Wan much worse, but he can’t look him in the eye, his brother who trusted him, and act like he’s free of any more faults. He will tell, and take whatever Obi-Wan decides to do with him.

“That’s alright, Anakin. You can tell whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you… I really did something terrible.” Anakin gulps. “I don’t feel ready to share, but I’ll still leave the Order.”

“That bad?”

“Probably worse than whatever you’re thinking. It isn’t technically illegal in the Republic law, but…”

“Dark,” Obi-Wan guesses.

“Yes, very.”

There is another brief silence.

“I too will be resigning from the Council.”

"What will you do with so much free time?" Anakin grins. “I think you should take another padawan.”

“I really think should not. Besides, Grievous and Maul can’t be left to their own devices…”

“Pfft, overworker.”

“And what will you be doing?”

He shrugs. “Padme and I talked some things out, so we won’t get divorced. I’ll be going to therapy… She says she wants to learn more about Republic and Her people through first-hand experience, and you know, I’ve always wanted to visit every system out there, so we’re going to do some exploring… It may or may not involve starting a few rebellions against slavers.”

Obi-Wan chuckles. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Just try not to crash too often.”

“Not a chance, R2 will be with us.” he says, only to remember C-3PO… “On second thought, so is 3PO, so it’s entirely plausible that we will crash sometime…”

“Just.. be careful, alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll be alright. We’ll all be alright.” he promises.

And they all will be.