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Palpatine had been captured. Revenge of the Sith had begun.
Well, not yet. They were still on their way to Coruscant. But knowing that this was the beginning of the end was enough for Grim.
While Obi-Wan and Anakin discussed battle plans and strategy to rescue the Chancellor, Grim went off on her own to find a space where she wouldn’t bother anyone. Finding this place she ignited her lightsaber beginning to train. She didn’t work on more simple moves either, she practiced some of the most complex moves she knew of.
This had become a standard routine. Whenever Grim was stressed she would lose herself in lightsaber practice. It had become part of how she had quickly learned and become skilled with her lightsaber combat, even enough to hold her own against Sith Lords, even if she had lost those fights. Although these training sessions often left her exhausted and overworked.
Grim had always dealt with anxiety for the future. She knew what was to come and did everything in her power to change the events. Except now Revenge of the Sith had started and she didn’t know if she had changed anything for it, and it might be too late to do so now.
Obi-Wan and Anakin were discussing a plan when they noticed that Grim was not with them. Obi-Wan frowned remembering how worried Grim had looked when he had told her the news. She was always worried about something, but he had never seen her as worried as she had been then.
“Have you seen Grim?” Obi-Wan asked Anakin.
“I think I saw her run off to be alone somewhere,” Anakin admitted.
He sighed. She was training again. He had noticed that it had become a coping strategy for her when she was stressed, although he had tried to get her to take up meditating more instead. She would not listen to him and continued to overwork herself to distract herself. “I should probably talk with her,” said Obi-Wan. He did not need his Padawan to overwork herself right before a battle.
“I’ll go with you, Grim has seemed to be stressed a lot lately,” said Anakin.
“She has. There’s been a lot on her mind I think, but she won’t talk to me about it. A lot like another Padawan I once had.”
Anakin rolled his eyes. “I was not that bad.”
“No,” agreed Obi-Wan. “You were worse.”
“Hey!”
The two Jedi found Grim and just as Obi-Wan had thought she was training to distract herself from her emotions. They stood there for a moment watching Grim before Obi-Wan decided to alert her of their presence. “Grim,” he said.
At her name she turned around and Obi-Wan and Anakin saw that she had been crying too. Grim deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it back to her belt before wiping away her tears. “Yes, Master?”
“Are you okay, Tiny?” Anakin asked her.
“Yep,” said Grim, sounding as stressed as she was.
“You don’t sound okay,” said Anakin.
“Are you stressed?” Obi-Wan asked.
“No, what gave you that idea?” Grim asked, rolling her eyes. She knew Obi-Wan could tell she was stressed, Anakin too.
Obi-Wan sighed. “Grim, we’re worried about you. You’ve been stressed a lot lately, Anakin and I have both noticed.”
“Well the Chancellor has just been captured by General Grievous of course I’m fucking stressed!” snapped Grim. “I bet the two of you are as well! I mean the entire future of the galaxy can depend on us and this mission! Am I not supposed to be stressed about that?”
“You’re allowed to feel however you want, but you shouldn’t overwork yourself,” Obi-Wan told her.
“And definitely not right before a mission like this,” Anakin agreed.
Grim sighed, frustrated and still so very stressed. “Maybe you’re right, but this- everything depends on us.”
“Not everything, Tiny. Just the whole Republic.”
“Oh yeah, no pressure at all. Just the entire Republic.” Grim rolled her eyes.
Anakin had no idea that everything really did boil down to this. All three of them. Their choices could change everything or keep it all the same, and the entire galaxy would feel the repercussions good or bad. Anakin’s choices most of all.
Anakin tried to give Grim a playful smile but he was worried too, and she understood.
“Maybe we should discuss this,” Obi-Wan suggested.
“Discuss what?” Grim asked.
“Our stress. You’re not the only one who is worried, Grim,” he said. “Maybe if all three of us talk about what we’re worried about-”
“No,” Grim and Anakin both said. Neither one of them were willing to share their concerns with the others.
Obi-Wan sighed, both his Padawans were so stubborn and they would never communicate with him when he tried to help them. “It was just a suggestion.”
“We should go over how we’re going to rescue the Chancellor again,” Anakin suggested.
“That’s hard to do when we don’t know what to expect,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “We’ve already gone over some plans-”
“Yeah, but Tiny wasn’t there. She should know the plans.”
“Kick Sep butt, save the day, get back home,” said Grim, rolling her eyes. “I know the plan, same as always isn’t it?”
“This is a rescue mission so the goal is to get the Chancellor back to Coruscant safely, not destroying as many droids as possible,” Obi-Wan reminded her.
“Who said I can’t do both? Whoever turns the most clankers into scrap wins.”
Anakin grinned, the challenge reminded him of old times with Ahsoka. He chuckled a little. “You sound like Snips, Tiny.”
Obi-Wan sighed. “She sounds like you, Anakin.”
Grim couldn’t help but laugh. “How dare you suggest I sound like Skywalker, Master.” She joked.
“What’s wrong with sounding like me?”
“Do you want a list?” Grim asked.
“Hey!”
Obi-Wan shook his head with a small smile. “You two seem to be in better spirits at least.”
Grim’s smile fell. “Oh no, far from it Master. Just trying to ignore it.”
“Well you can’t just ignore your fear, Padawan.”
“I know. I think I’m going to meditate now. Maybe you’re right and it will do better than just training.”
“I’m glad to see you taking my advice. Just don’t miss the mission briefing.”
Grim gave a lazy playful salute. “Of course not, General.”
Obi-Wan shook his head with a smile. He and Anakin left to prepare for the upcoming battle.
Grim sat down and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing first and then sinking into the Force.
Grim could see the light. She never truly saw the dark of the Force. She saw an absence of light. In the galaxy there was lots of light. Some brighter than others. On this very ship there was this.
The clones were there. Unique in the Force. Grim was able to tell each one of them apart.
Anakin was there. His light bright and dull at the same time whilst flickering in and out. On the edge of darkness, although the flickering was slow. More akin to seeing a visual of deep breathing with the pace. The Padawan wondered how long his light would last. If it was a dying flame she could not save.
Obi-Wan was there. His light was a beacon of it. He was the light. Bathed in it. To Grim it seemed as if the dark could never touch him. Obi-Wan was the brightest star in the galaxy to her. Matched only by Yoda who was as bright and strong as a sun.
Grim reached out further. Trying to reach towards where this battle was led. The feeling there was strange. There was the bright light of the Temple and all the people in it. The light of the regular people of the world. Then the missing void in the space above the planet. Most times there was light above the planet but Grim felt nothing…well almost nothing. She felt some of the living people in Grievous’ fleet as well as a little for Grievous himself. But the droids were nothing, and so were the Sith.
She couldn’t rescue Palpatine, saving him kills the Jedi. Grim knew this, but she also knew she couldn’t just directly kill the Chancellor in cold blood. Not only would that be treason it would reflect horribly on Obi-Wan and she couldn’t have that. But she couldn’t let him live either. She needed a way to be more discreet. She needed a plan.
The Padawan knew this mission was dangerous. With the right cover she could frame his death as an accident. She remembered the scene where Anakin and Palpatine were running through the empty elevator shaft before the ship was righted and they almost fell. If Grim could cause Palpatine to fall in that scene, well nobody would blame her.
It would be the perfect cover. She just had to wait.
Her plan relied on Palpatine’s for as much as she hated it. She just had to alter things. She could do that. She’s done it before.
She smiled a little. A plan in mind. She could save the Jedi. She had to. If she didn’t then everything she had done would be for nothing. She would not accept that.
Grim focused on the Force for a little longer. Keeping her mind on the light.
Her comm beeped. “Grim, you’re going to miss the briefing,” came Obi-Wan’s voice.
Grim’s eyes fluttered open. “Sorry Master, I’ll be there shortly.” She jumped up and ran to the war room, using the Force to boost her speed.
Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Cody were standing at the holotable waiting for her. Grim slid to a halt, before she hit the table. “I’m here.”
“That was fast,” said Obi-Wan.
“Didn’t want to miss it,” she replied. She went and stood in her usual spot between Obi-Wan and Cody.
“From what the Council has informed me, Chancellor Palpatine is somewhere aboard ‘The Invisible Hand,’ we should expect large resistance from the Separatist fleet.” Obi-Wan said.
“They will be trying to escape so we need to keep them above Coruscant until the Chancellor is safely rescued,” added Anakin.
Grievous wouldn’t be trying too hard to leave. Sidious and Dooku would make sure things worked out to keep them there. Grim, Obi-Wan, and Anakin were heading straight for a trap that only the Padawan was aware of. That’s when the thought occurred to her that Palpatine might have planned something for her as well. She was filled with dread for a moment. What would he have planned? He kept her alive for a reason. Unless that was too big of a risk now. She shook the idea out of her head. She couldn’t get distracted like this.
“Grim?” Obi-Wan asked.
“Hm?” Grim asked.
“You were lost in your thoughts.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“What’s bothering you this badly?” Anakin asked.
“Yeah kid, we’ve all seen you stressed before but never like this,” Cody added.
“A lot counts on us is all,” she said, waving away her concerned friends.
“And it has before, and yet you were never as worried as this,” Obi-Wan said.
Grim bit the inside of her cheek. They really had all noticed. “We know the war depends on this. The future of the galaxy is at stake here, I’m just worried about that. I’ll be fine.”
None of them look convinced.
She sighed. “It's just a lot, okay? I promise there's nothing else.”
“Padawan, may we talk privately for a moment?” He asked her.
She hesitated. “Okay,” she sighed.
They walked together to an empty place in the ship, Obi-Wan leading her with a hand behind her back, resting on her shoulder. Once he was sure they were alone he turned to her. His face was cast in a shadow that seemed to reflect the seriousness of the situation. “Have you seen this before? You knew exactly what happened before I told you,” he said.
She looked at the ground, rather than looking at Obi-Wan. She wanted to tell him, but her concern would only make him worry more if he knew that she was scared of what she had seen take place.
“Grim?”
“I don't want to talk about this, I'm sorry Master. Rescuing the Chancellor is far more important than my feelings anyways.”
“Just don't let those feelings distract you, or control you. You must have a clear mind.”
“I know, Master. I promise you, I won't let my fear get the better of me.”
He hesitated for a moment. “Very well, I trust you. Let's go back to the briefing now, shall we?”
“Of course, Master.”
They walked back to the war room of the ship, where Anakin and Cody were still at the holotable. They seemed to have been having a conversation when the two came back in.
Grim didn't actually bother to pay too much attention to the briefing. She already knew everything, and she knew more details than the others. She knew she should warn of the trap that Dooku had set, and yet she remained silent.
If they knew of Dooku’s hand in this, they would be prepared for him. There was the chance that if they were prepared then perhaps Obi-Wan would stand a better chance against him. As much as Grim cared for her Master, in order for her plan to succeed he would have to be unconscious for it to work.
Nobody would approve of her plan. It was treasonous after all, but it was for a good reason. They would understand that in time. She had to be as subtle as possible, Palpatine's death had to be framed as an accident.
She knew of the risk she was taking. Everything she had done since appearing in Star Wars had been a risk. Every choice she had ever made led her to this. Here and now.
When they exited out of hyperspace everything would matter. Everything she had done. Everything she never did. All of it would matter. Reaching Coruscant was the beginning of the end.
As the ship prepared to enter realspace, the three Jedi rushed to the hangar. Their fighters awaited them. The battle awaited them.
Fate waited for them.