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Chapter 16: Perfect StormI braced myself as Vader raged his way from the hanger. Deep ebon clouds were moving in on my small, brighter clearing. We were running out of time. I knew danger was coming.
The storm would crash upon the shore, and soon.
"You left them defenseless! Your one duty is to keep them safe! Stupid, weak old man..." Vader picked me up with the Force and slammed me against the solid wall, rage swelling even more.
I didn't feel anything break, though my ears rattled as items fell or broke. At least he wasn't choking me, despite Vader's fierce anger and concentration. After a few more slams, I was dropped to the floor and wondering just how long until the adrenaline faded enough that the pain would hit.
He marched into the twin's room, throwing off the mask.
I stood and calmed myself, checking for dizziness and pain.
I didn't feel any.
Following him in, his laughter seemed real as they crawled over them and chattered.
-Sorry, Master.- He traced Leia's nose as she grinned back. -We are being watched constantly now, I saw an excerpt. Another acolyte tried to kill me a few days ago, at the same time as the attack on you. Your only risks were supposed to be outsiders.-
Taking another breath to resume the defeated appearance, I reported aloud and with hesitance, on benchmarks Leia and Luke had passed and their favorite games. His eyes drooped and I felt a trace of his sadness before I smelled that Elevens started making our next meal. We were always on stage as he drank in a quiet evening with his children.
-The next assassin will be more prepared, Obi-Wan. I don't know how many other candidates for apprentice Sidious has been cultivating. I don't think there are anymore at the level of Dooku or Ventress.-
That was not a comfort despite the truth I could feel in the late night silence.
Otherwise Vader raged and he broke things, all around the palace. He visited Monmou to interrupt therapy with a storm of vengeful rage. He marched through a public ceremony for Kashyyyk without a word, but with deep rage simmering behind the mask.
I could feel a little worry every time he played with Leia and Luke, because Monmou was found dead. I was trusting him with our lives and safety, but throughout the days I doubted and worried- and feared, as much as I did not want to admit it.
The fear rarely left me now, fear for the tiny candles in the darkness. That I would fail to protect them as I failed before. That the nova brightness of their father had already slipped too far into the darkness.
A growing anger that they would be corrupted too.
The central part of many plans we made, was getting Sidious away from his court and guards. Anakin, or Vader, had to be between those dark missions. But Sidious almost never left the former Senate district, and no one knew he was leaving until he was already gone.
Luke looked up from the pages he turned for me, his face bursting with his smile. "Daddy's home, Bobo!"
"I heard first, Luke!" Leia showed some talent at her father's pout, distracted from her tower of blocks.
"Nope."
"I did."
"Nuh-uh."
"Uh-huh!"
They repeated it back and forth like they often did, but it wasn't serious squabbling today. I listened for Vader's mood. What was clear was that his anger and fear exploded further, along with an almost hidden exhaustion.
He moved away again towards trooper barracks, and Luke's face wobbled into tears. Leia scowled like she wanted to cry too and climbed up next to her brother.
Putting the brightly colored book aside, I brushed the sides of each head. "I don't think he wants to go, Sunshine. Is he happy about it?"
Luke listened and shook his head. "Sad. Very sad."
"He will be back, young ones. We can go outside and exercise in the sunshine today."
I wasn't soothed as easily as they, but it would take death to keep their father away from them now. I worried more and more that this time he would return wholly Vader instead of troubled Anakin. The flashes of light would gutter out and my Padawan gone forever.
Then I must be prepared to take them and run. With increased surveillance, I could not ask Rex or Wolffe to clear a path, asking would make it too late to run.
Their training was more like play at this point. We walked on a straight line, climbed over a shallow ladder, and hopped or rolled under a board without touching it. Throwing and catching a comet ball wasn't always successful, even with the tail to help. I wasn't commenting on Force use that might help as I wanted them to be comfortable with using it at this age.
As important, was fostering coordination and teaching them to listen to me, no matter what, and staying together. Bobo says was a funny game that left them giggling at the silly things they did. I could not expect successful escape behaviors before the age of six, estimated from development resources I still studied. Ten or twelve would be better, the age of young Padawans. Jogging wore them out enough they were content to nap or watch as I trained hard daily.
I didn't trust the Emperor to wait until they were older.
He must have started on Anakin around nine, before the age of reason. He'd been savant with droids and piloting, but not at noticing the poison.
Brief, angry, and rarer visits from Vader now began with sparring that felt like a duel. His fighting style was shifting away from fiery into brutal as I brought forth memories of other Masters' forms. I regretted that I had not insisted on a grounding in Vapaad, now a lost form. I now had enough anger that learning to balance and exhaust that against foes held some value.
So I meditated, often, accustomed now to the thinner access to the Force under the cuffs.
I meditated as often as it took to reach balance and serenity before a clean and fast session with the training droids. Many were damaged from my sessions, and I would need to get Anakin to upgrade them next time he was here any length of time.
He'd be amused.
Weeks passed until I noted that we were already halfway to Leia and Luke's next birthday. Less welcome was another invitation for dinner with Palpatine. This came while I was persuading Leia that eating was better than playing with her food. Luke wanted blue food only, this week. I wasn't sure if he hadn't inherited his father's taste for blue milk.
Cleaning up quickly, I left Rex and Wolffe with the younglings, taking Cody as one of my guards. I was no longer sure what the dining room had been before Empire. What was clear from the lack of windows, was that there was to be no outside observation or escape.
The Sith was already seated, and he nodded at the other seat. "General..."
"Emperor." I carefully sat, as if this was a formal event.
His eyes held a glint of amusement, though nothing could be felt in the Force. We dined in near silence, small foods yielding to consomme and then to an elegant entree that meant nothing to me. I felt no need to indulge in small talk, we were not equals in this play and I would not make any pretense at this being a social event.
"I understand that Lord Vader's offspring are growing well. Do you suppose they will surpass his height with the far better nutrition in their early years?" Palpatine showed little true interest.
That seemed a harmless observation. "Senator Amidala was much shorter than her husband. I expect their heights will be in-between their parents.
"You have not begun to teach them Jedi ways. I find myself surprised… unless you wish to keep those secret?
"Not secret, but teaching the youngest was not part of my training or duties as Knight and General. Raising younglings was a calling of the Living Force, and that was not my calling. War left no time. Elevens' suggested readings have been most helpful so far."
Sidious' silence after that had a weight to it.
I wasn't about to suggest another topic, that would reveal more about us than silence. I ignored the droid replacing our plates with an elaborate, layered and baked dessert.
"Your duel with that boy was a thing of grace. Vader never mastered anything but power. Likely the girl might become graceful as she yields to her anger, even at this stage." That small smile was all cruelty. "I must wonder if maximum effect of your death would be now or when they are older. I can tell my Apprentice considers a challenge of me, but he is still weaker than I'd hoped from his attachments.
"He has more of those than are needed to keep him angry. Perhaps I should let you choose which of you to die a bloody death in front of the rest of Vader's little family."
Said in a neutral and contemplative tone, my blood still ran cold. "I choose for the Living Force, as you knew I would.
The Force shifted from Dark to turbulent around me. I wanted to challenge, to end this Sith, but he held all the advantage right now. If I died from something that foolish, the twins would be unprotected and Anakin lost again into Vader.
I kept my hand relaxed as I sampled the confection in front of me.
And I tried to resist hating the man in front of me. And failed to do much more than leech some of the hatred and fear and desperation.
I ate slowly in silence as Palpatine did not bother to hide his gloating. My own 'bad feelings' were shouting that this was not finished, only paused while we ate. A droid brought liquors in tiny glasses, and I did not wish to reveal the depths of my distrust.
Making the tiniest of tastes after smelling a distilled honey-berry liquor, I finally answered his earlier threat. "I would prefer Anakin keep his children."
"Much as I expected, Jedi. Enjoy your drink, it is a very fine vintage and few would appreciate it."
I felt no poison, aside from its strength. With his intentions, I was safer here than back at home or in Anakin's presence.
The sweetness of the drink made me maudlin, would Leia and Luke remember me? Remember me as anything but part of a bloody horror?
A larger part of me was assessing my tactical situation. Would he strike now before I had a chance to plan, or arrange some strike tonight, tomorrow, or next week to maximize Leia and Luke's fear? Would I have time to bolt, what did we need?
More importantly who could I ask for help. I needed a ship and some lead time…
"You seem quiet, General. Perhaps another demonstration should be planned. With Vader away, I'm sure we can find another who can provide a challenge and a good show. I would like that." His voice was smug.
My own anger about these demonstrations for his amusement was deepening into a rage as I concentrated on controlling my breathing and expression. "I believe my last partner has yet to recover."
"Self-control has been revealed to be a problem without your Order to train against." A thread of regret appeared in his satisfaction.
I was not about to volunteer to teach Sithlings, my trust could not stretch that far with his earlier threats.
"You want a demonstration, Master?" The door crashed open from an enraged Vader. "My family was not to be harmed."
"Excellent, a thread of control even at distance." Palpatine's eyes held no pride or approval.
I'd stood as well, even as Anakin attacked, unlocking the cuffs and breaking the block. My blue saber a bright contrast to their reds as I moved to flank the former Chancellor. We slid together into a battle meld.
A battle meld that rang and shook, unstable for the first time.
"Who needs control?" Vader grinned, showing teeth. "You've managed to make the Senate look good. You've managed to make the Council look good."
The furnishings of a formal dining room were light on found materials to aid the fight. The table and droid had the greatest mass, but the droid broke apart on the shielding table. The Emperor took a superior glee in attacking his supposed Apprentice, mirrored by Vader's anger.
Mine was tightly controlled as I both attacked and tried to calm Anakin, he was dark enough that our connection to the light did not flow back and forth as it should. It stuttered, without the awareness we had of our battleground.
We fought alone, not together.
Sidious' strikes came too close in a flurry of incredible speed. My leg was burnt, but it wasn't serious.
Anakin released his saber and cursed as it landed on the floor in two pieces. He tested his mechanical hand and cursed in Huttese.
Palpatine's smile was reptilian and didn't reach his eyes. "This is why I am the Master. Kneel, Vader!"
"I kneel to no one," Anakin snarled.
My fear and rage swelled and I finally linked to Anakin in the meld. I felt better as he wasn't as frantic as I expected.
He grinned and reached to his boot. -I liked what you sent Wolffe for.- He lunged forward again with his Jedi blade.
The fighting was moving in our favor now as we pushed him back. The Sith wasn't smiling as much as he struck us with lightning. The Darkness swirled and whipped around us like a cyclone, as if the gravity on Coruscant had increased.
We were the eye as the pressure increased and Palpatine enjoyed watching us resist the currents.
Anakin stepped back. "The kriffing Dark, you want it? Take it all. I don't want it anymore."
He spread his arms and I moved between him and the Sith's next attacks. Parry, deflect, block, defend-
As the seconds passed, the darkness currents were channeled and funneled back at Palpatine. The pressure increased the closer to the Sith. His attacks slowed and my saber dug into his off hand.
His push reaction sent me into the wall, and I felt his pain and trace of fear. I hurried back to protect Anakin.
The darkness grew heavier still, draining into an absolute cold of dark that felt like an event horizon.
-Now, Obi-Wan!-
The darkness seemed to pull me toward Palpatine, but Anakin's blade got through the Sith's defenses first.
I didn't feel anything when the corpse hit the floor.
The tidal wave of darker emotions, a galaxy's worth of anger, greed, and contempt flooded over me, still trying to diminish me, cut by ebon cuts as it passed.
I braced myself, clinging to the iridescent filaments of my attachments like lifelines, swinging wildly as Dark Forces flooded through the battleground. The Dark tried to wedge into crevices of my shields, to wedge in and shatter them as the mindless wave kept me off balance.
Clinging to my lifelines, I expected to be washed away as a last vindictive act by the Sith. I could only spare a pulse of affection sent along those lines as my Force presence fluttered and wobbled in the flood.
Could I be swept fully into the Force by this explosion of Dark? Detached from my living body? For a moment I wondered what my supposed cause of death would appear.
But that didn't matter, not really.
Anakin lived. Leia and Luke were away from this.
When would this end? Was my lack of breathing because I had detached from my physical form, or were these only instants?
Finally I began to sense eddies as the pressure lost force.
I felt a dim by comparison presence I knew as well as my own and I yanked on the spider-thread between us. The bridge thickened until the wash was just a dim fog, already brighter than in years.
When I opened my eyes, Anakin shook his head before he powered down his old light saber and clipped it to his belt.
Taking a deep breath, the best I could come up with was, "It is done."
He seemed to shudder, red rims surrounded bloodshot blue eyes.
I staggered over and put an arm around him, but I was not sure which of us was more steady on our feet. I could not feel more than a trace of his presence, even touching.
What became clear when we dropped to the singed carpet, was that our exhaustion was our next danger.
I didn't have the energy to panic as the seconds passed.
Anakin was draped over and around me, calming into a doze, with his head on my shoulder.
I was too exhausted to drowse, but managed to run fingers through his sweaty and matted hair.
I waited.
It seemed like hours as I waited and watched over my Padawan.
I heard the slightest sound as a door opened and I wondered if it was the Red Guard to check on the now corpse of their Emperor or another acolyte.
I didn't care much. None were as dangerous as Sidious.
Terse words floated by before Rex dropped into view. "Cody, get Kix in here quietly. They're still breathing, but they don't look good."
"Twins..." I wasn't sure which of us breathed that.
"They're fine now, Generals. Wolffe and Elevens are watching them after their… fits. We can mobilize the Vod'e for at least a few hours after the assassin attacked the Emperor. That should hold while you rest."
Firm hands lifted us apart and carried me away.
Waking yet again in the medical area, reminded me of the loss of Che and all the other healers we needed so many times. Kix impressed me with how little Force abilities were needed to tut and scold. But some things could not wait, and I sat up along the side of of the bed and removed the broken Force inhibitors from my wrists. "I will rest when we are more secure. Where's Anakin?"
"General Skywalker is still sleeping in the next room."
I did a quick meditation to draw more energy as I attempted to stand. "We are still in this hive of scum and villainy. Bring the twins and any vetted brothers down here and a secure comm. We have much to do before Sidious' allies can react."
I was slightly surprised when he obeyed, without any further objections.
Walking to the next room got easier as I went. There I saw a sleeping Anakin, his face smooshed into the skinny healing hall pillow. "Anakin…"
He grumbled and then suddenly sat up, looking around wildly. "Master, I had a terrible vision."
Moving over to sit beside him, I admitted, "It's not over yet, dear one. We must talk now. About the future."
He looked around as if shocked at my still damaged blue uniform. "Why don't you be emperor? You'd be much better, you could fix everything that was wrong during the war..."
I hadn't thought he'd jump that way, and I did not want to admit it contained any temptation. I marshaled my thoughts, as democracy or the Light weren't compelling enough reasons to convince him, as much as it pained me. "I don't want the job, nor anything from Sidious' destruction of the Republic."
That made him scowl, but I held up my hand that I wasn't finished. "In an empire, everyone who is not emperor is a slave to the emperor, with no choices. Some may have more privileges, but they trade away themselves to those above them, for illusionary safety. Do you want that future for Leia or Luke or their children? Nor is there real safety for rulers with enemies and rivals and betrayals." That made him wince. "And most importantly, neither of us would be with the twins very much, to teach them and watch them grow. If you step down now, they won't remember that you weren't here these months, they'll forget Vader. You'll just be Daddy."
"I've been Vader for so long, Master. I can't be forgiven for all I did." He looked down with a shudder.
"We can make that part of negotiations, Anakin. Restore the Republic, restore the Order, both with reforms, and in time remove as much of the damage from the madness as we can. Raise Leia and Luke with us in the Temple."
Perhaps as a prison for him, but I would leave that to the Force for now. I could feel his hope. "Or, we'll all leave for the Outer Rim or beyond. I don't want to lose you again to madness."
"You won't, I've seen that course enough." Anakin met my eyes and his gaze dropped downward as he lunged to hug me again as his breathing calmed and slowed.
I kept my focus on planning for transitions, healing the surviving clones, and finding surviving Jedi until there was a quiet chime from the door.
Rex, Wolffe, and Cody arrived with the twins, and they practically leaped toward us, bright as sunny days.
Anakin lifted his head. "Rex, I'm placing you in charge of the Temple defenses, preferably drawn from the old 501st and 212th. The twins remain the highest priority. If anyone wants to argue, tell them to comm me. If you don't trust anyone to follow orders, lock 'em up for review. We are returning to merit advancement from the GAR, and that's for enlisted as much as brothers."
"And the 104th?" Wolffe asked.
"If you trust them." Anakin agreed.
Once Luke and Leia were settled into a waiting area for now and the brothers redispersed through the Palace, Anakin was looking a little grim as I contemplated the comm. But he didn't share why.
I took a breath, and connected to Bail despite it being in the middle of the night and just barely not the same day as the Emperor's last command dinner. "Kenobi, needing to speak to you urgently."
There was no image and a heavy hush. "Organa here. It is very good to hear from you like this. Is there any chance I can speak with you later?"
"No. There is no time. Are you secure there?" I could hear a barely stifled snort.
"Secure enough." Bail's voice was faced away from the recorder.
I felt no warning from the Force. "The Emperor is dead. Interim Minister Skywalker will be returning power back to the Senate in steps, final after fresh elections and reforms to prevent a rise like Palpatine's. The army will also be reformed and will need to remain active in case any of the Emperor's Sith acolytes move to prevent this; the troopers were blameless. You would make an excellent interim Chancellor."
"Is this an order, General?" His voice sounded grim as well. "Or is it Emperor?"
I took a deep breath. "No. Merely advice from the acting Grandmaster of the Jedi Council. This transition will have to be carefully done, but start quickly before a power vacuum can develop."
Murmuring rose as I spoke.
A muffled voice asked with venom, "How did the Emperor die? What about Vader and all the destruction on Kashyyyk and other worlds?"
"The Emperor murdered his wife and held other hostages against him. I believe many worlds consider that as legal mitigation. Regardless, as a Force user, the Order has precedence on any sentencing and imprisonment. And more importantly, it must wait until the Empire ends and Republic is more stable again."
"Palpatine was about to kill Obi-Wan so he could train my children to be Sith. I.. We killed him." Anakin's blue eyes were fierce.
Before he could speak again, I raised a hand in front of his face and he settled back against me as I spoke. "If you could send a pair of representatives here at local dawn, we can finalize the initial announcement for mid-morning. Cleanup will take years, Senators, and the Order will be unable to provide more than advice for some time until we can find any hidden survivors and rebuild."
"Agreed, Master Kenobi. Force be with you."
The connection closed, I thought that was well begun. I started making lists and priorities and wondering if a protocol droid would improve progress or hinder organizing this. How much of the Republic structure survived?
Something warm and wet slid along my neck and the shell of my ear, with teeth grazing the top.
I turned to look at him. "Anakin!"
His eyes were wide and a little scared. "I care for you, Obi-Wan. You love my children, and you're still attached to me… despite everything. I get that you can't say the words the way I'd like, but you still protect me. ...Is there any chance you could feel something more someday?"
A network of cracks in a retaining wall made of old caution and guilt, and slightly newer envy, dissolved, and I kissed him on his forehead.