Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from Star Wars. It's owned by Lucasfilm and now Disney. I just play in their universe. :)

Part of the AU series including: Heroes Homecoming, Healing Nightmares, Tatooine Quest, etc.

Featuring Anakin Skywalker (after his return from the Dark side as Vader) and Obi-Wan, who survived their Death Star duel.

Obi-Wan found Anakin on the top level of the Yavin 4 temple, formerly known as the Rebel base, staring up at the ceiling. "Is that it?"

"I think so." Anakin nudged it with the Force and the hatch disguised as solid vibrated. They both ducked aside as dust and rock chips rattled down.

"Careful." Obi-Wan advised.

"I got it..." The stone moved, revealing an opening and stone steps, very narrow. Glancing at Kenobi, Anakin carefully clamored up the steps. He paused. "Oh yes. This is it...ack."

Obi-Wan came up in time to see Anakin's blue lightsaber swatting at cobwebs.

"Bit of overkill, don't you think? Oh." Obi-Wan backed away as a highly poisonous spider type creature hurried off the web. It leaped at Obi-Wan, but Anakin's sword bisected it.

"Lovely." Obi-Wan grunted.

"Dusty." Anakin waved his hand in front of his nose and sneezed. It took some Force pushes to open the sealed windows, allowing the light to stream in. A single elaborate chair sat in the center on a swivel stone. Anakin waved his hand and dust sprayed out the windows.

Obi-Wan started coughing. "Must you?"

Anakin was sneezing as well. "Sorry. Bad idea. Aha." He held the lightsaber up to reveal arcane symbols. He nodded. Sith all right.

Obi-Wan moved to study them. Anakin slid his eyes shut, cautiously probing with the Force. No traps sprang on them. He felt the natural dark energies around them, but they were mere dim echoes of a past age.

"I can feel the other temples. But this seems to be the primary focus."

"I can feel them as well, but I think your link is stronger. What else are you getting."

Anakin cocked his head. I'm not sensing...wait, what's that? Darkness...that way." He pointed.

Obi-Wan considered his map. "Temple of the Blue Leaf Cluster is that way. Reports suggested an odd crystal formation is the main centerpiece."

"Up for a hike?"

"If I must."

The moisture clung to their clothes. The jungle was beautiful with exotic greens and blues, but not easy walking. Creatures chattered and chirped and they had to be wary. Some ignored them, some were mischievous and some dangerous. They came out at the temple, which was in worse shape and much more overgrown then the main one. "We'd best be careful." Obi-Wan observed.

"You think?" Anakin gazed up at the crumbling stones. Slowly climbing up the steps and entering, he was drawn to a giant crystal. "What the stang is that?" Anakin was unnerved instantly. In the reflection he saw, not his own image but the image of Darth Vader, yellow eyes burning out of the black mask, slaying Jedi... haunting, accusing faces rushed at him... He leaped back and turned his eyes away instantly. Sheer reflex slammed his mental shields up and his lightsaber came out.

"Obi-Wan?"

The old man was staring, face white, into the crystal. Anakin grabbed his arm and turned him away. He smacked his cheek lightly. "Hey! Snap out of it." He pushed with the Force, resisting the dark side, calling on the life glowing all around. He could feel the darkness circling, radiating from the crystal, calling on all the fear and guilt and anger of his past. Fortunately, he'd had a lot of practice resisting it lately.

"Obi-Wan?"

Anakin spun, lightsaber drawn and slashed at the crystal. He blinked in surprise as his arm vibrated. The crystal turned molten at the edge and a few chips flew out, but it didn't break. If anything he felt as if a vast creature was casting a deathly, amused grin at him. "I guess that won't work. Impressive." Anakin stated, hair raising on the nape of his neck and shivering.

The old man shook his head finally and closed his eyes. "We can't bring students here without dealing with that thing."
"I agree. Anywhere else to check out on the map?" Anakin was pulling him to the exit. A rumbling overhead made him speed up and they just missed a hail of stones that crumbled from the ceiling overhead. Outside, they paused for a moment in the comforting light.

"Suggestions on getting rid of it?"

"Blowing it to fragments comes to mind." Anakin snorted.

"A Sith crystal? We don't know what will happen if we blow it up. Or do you?"

"Not really. But we know it's not safe to leave sitting around. Anyway, wasn't there another one to check?"

"The next one in line is the one with a giant statue. Did you feel anything from that direction?" Obi-Wan motioned.

"No. Well. Nothing on this scale anyway. Lead on. And if you see a giant crystal, look away fast."

The next one gave them both pause. "I'm guessing that's Exar Kun." Anakin said, staring up at the giant figure.

"And he liked to look like he was walking on water." Obi-Wan observed as they splashed across the barely submerged stone walkway.

"Liked to make a grandiose intention, I guess. At least he's not a giant crystal. I'm surprised he didn't think of that..."

Entering, they both shivered slightly. Their lightsabers reflected blue purple light within. The walls bore scrawls of Sith writing on a shiny surface. Crystals lined the walls.

Anakin's wet boots slipped on the stone and he froze. He looked down. He lowered his lightsaber to the floor, frowning. "Obi-Wan? There should be dust in here, but there isn't."
"And unlike the other temples, no plant life has infiltrated."

Anakin glanced around. "No animal droppings or nests either. I don't like this. I'm surprised you didn't know about these, from when you were here before."
"I heard about them." Obi-Wan replied. "But it was right before I left. I had no time to investigate. Or, to be honest, any inclination. I had enough Sith troubles at the time without seeking out more."

They both started as their comlinks chirped, a relay from the ship. Just a short message, but urgent, requesting contact.

"Oh, too bad. I guess we have to abandon our quest." Anakin said. "Remind me to thank whoever sent that."

"Get in line." Obi-Wan replied dryly, as they hurried out. Anakin let Obi-Wan lead, glancing back at the temple and up at the brooding statue. He felt like they were being watched, but when he reached in the Force for a watcher, nothing was there. Uneasy, he made a note of it.

"Did we get all the temples?"

"No. At least one more very deep in the jungle. But it may be too dangerous to search in any case. It's in the worst shape of any."

Obi-Wan sat down at the computer console. The message popped up. Padme appeared via holo, a recorded message. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But we really need you here. We have a...political, military conflict going on...call me."

Anakin scowled and glanced at Obi-Wan. "I hate politics."

"I had no idea."

"I thought we weren't going to be sucked back in?"

"Judging from the message, your military intel is running afoul of someone's political ambition."

Anakin signaled the base and asked for Padme. He frowned as he saw how upset she looked. "What is it?"

She looked around. "This is scrambled right?"

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan who nodded. "Yes."

"Fey'lya's pushing to move on Coruscant."
Anakin's eyes widened. "What about Lusankya? And that Grand Admiral?"

"He...said you were lying. His bothans can't find any proof. They claim we got all the Grand Admirals."

Anakin's eyes narrowed.

Obi-Wan interjected before Anakin could explode, "They've plenty of evidence that Anakin's intel has almost always been accurate."

"They don't want to believe it. And...Sate Pestage is offering to trade current details on Coruscant, in exchange for control of a few planets."

Anakin scowled, showing his opinion of that personage. "But...whose going to agree to give up their planets?"

Her expression turned to stone. "Ani, It's like during the Clone Wars, sacrificing one planet to save a more important one."

Anakin looked disgusted. He shook his head. "You can't trust Pestage! He knew about Palpatine for years!"

"I don't. But others do. Even Leia and Bail agree it may be the better option, or better than the alternatives. And if you want to do anything about it...you'll need to come back and convince them." She looked over her shoulder. "I need to go. They won't like me talking about this over the net."

"Right. See you soon."

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. "Think I can convince them?"

"I think you'll do your best."

"That's not very reassuring."

Anakin whipped the shuttle to the side, just dodging the laser blasts of the other shuttle in pursuit. He glanced at Obi-Wan in the passenger seat. "Any suggestions?"

Obi-Wan looked grim. The system they had paused to refuel in was rich in moons and an asteroid belt. Unfortunately, it was not rich in clear hyperspace lanes. The shuttle behind them had intercepted their course and now Anakin was not only frantically dodging laser blasts, but also trying to find a clear exit.

"We may need to go to ground."
"We do and they'll call for backup."

"We'll have to land where they can't."

"I'm going to try and wreck them on one of these moons."

Obi-Wan was shoved back in his seat as the gravity fluctuated. Anakin took them in a sling shot around one moon and headed for another. Veering into the stormy atmosphere, he ducked through giant mountains, so tall there was scarcely any air at top. Plasma winds buffeted them, revealing a harsh environment. Dodging through canyons and between lightning strikes, Anakin had a fierce, death defying grin. The elder Jedi had to fight the urge to close his eyes, and remind him it was a shuttle, not a pod racer.

Up over a cliff, down into a canyon, underneath a natural archway, then through three stone like archways, the other ship wasn't far behind.

"Great pilot back there." Anakin observed. "Let's see how you handle this?" He flipped the ship almost straight up and circled back, brushing so close to the massive stone shell shape that Obi-Wan swore he could've leaned out and touched it. Anakin punched the laser cannons hard and finally the other ship started to smoke. It rocked, brushed the side of the rocky shape and tried to spin to return fire, only to plummet as a gust of storm wind blasted it straight down.

"Yes!" A lightning strike slammed their own ship, causing the already complaining controls and engine to spark. Several indicators went red. "Uh oh."

Obi-Wan looked at him, wide eyed. "I do not want to hear, 'uh oh'."

"How about, get ready for a rough landing?"

Obi-Wan winced. The ship was in a barely controlled dive as Anakin wrestled with it. The extended side flaps wavered and Anakin fought to keep it stabilized and upright as they broke through dark trees and neared the canyon floor. With so much vegetation in the way, it was hard to even see it. But Anakin was gifted at this, he snapped the landing gear down just in time for it to hit with a violent bump and splash of a water.

For a long moment, they sat just breathing. "Any landing you walk away from, is a good landing." He intoned.

"For the people who walk. I doubt the ship would agree." Obi-Wan said, working to get his stomach settled back in place. Somewhere during the landing it had bounced into his throat.

"Anakin, are we going to sink?"

"I don't think so. I think it's just a really big puddle." Rain was pouring down outside in massive sheets. It was so dark, they could hardly see anything. "Do you think they survived?" His voice was ambivalent.

"They went down harder then we did. I expect they would've been in no position to notice our crash." He paused. "Hopefully." Obi-Wan rose slowly, with a wince. "I am getting to old for your type of landing."

Anakin followed him and they both headed for the engine compartment. Anakin paused, hands on his hips. "Oh."

"Not good." Obi-Wan considered the slagged circuitry. "We needed that."

"Suddenly, I rather hope they did get down. We can steal their parts."

"Nice of you. I think I'll try calling for help." Obi-Wan turned and went back to the cockpit.

Anakin picked up the tool box and got to work examining what could be fixed and what couldn't." He paused as he studied the mess. The hyperdrive initiator was damaged. Only one of the thrusters was online. And the repulsor circuits were shifting from red to green and back.

"No comm." Kenobi said.

"Damaged?"

"I don't think so. It's just the location. We arrived when two moons come close enough to brush each other's atmosphere. That's where all the plasma discharge in the air was coming from."

"Well, I hope it clears up outside. We really may need to check out that other ship. I think I can fix the repulsor and one of the thrusters. But one's wrecked and the initiator is fried."

"So we have to hope our pursuer's is intact, or that you can find a way to jury rig it well enough to return to Landris Way."

"I'd prefer the former, in case they called for backup. Whoever they are."

"The Empire."

"No kidding. But normally they come with Star Destroyers and TIEs. Not Lambda class shuttles. I presume they weren't expecting us."

"I sensed someone Force sensitive." Kenobi observed, concerned.

Anakin nodded. "Familiar too."

"You could identify them?"

He shook his head as disconnected a lead from the console and replaced it. "Not quite. Very focused and determined though."
"I didn't get that."
"I hope it's not because they were very focused on me."
Obi-Wan picked up one of the tools and started it on the internal thruster components. "I hope not too. That would imply they know who you are and were. And they will see you as a threat."

Anakin's lips tightened. "I don't feel like a threat." He snorted. "The Alliance doesn't believe my warnings."

"I don't think it's disbelief that's the problem. And your attitude isn't helping."
"My attitude? What about Fey'lyas? He called me a liar. If his bothans can't confirm it, oh it must be a lie."

Obi-Wan sighed. "That is more likely politics than disbelief."

"And here I go full circle, helplessly watching politics get people killed! I wouldn't make up the Lusankya, Obi-Wan. I've been aboard it. Before and after it touched down. Just because I don't know how he buried it unnoticed in the city…I wasn't there at the time..."

"They don't want to believe taking Coruscant is impossible."
"Maybe it's possible, but not if you ignore the facts. We have a military tactician using all the tactics of Grand Admiral Thrawn. But oh, no, I imagined him. Because the Emperor 'doesn't like aliens'. And then there's the whole thing with Pestage. How can they go along with it? Even if he could give them Coruscant, how can they agree to his terms? Rulership of a couple of planets? Whose planets get sacrificed? Not theirs. How can they trade planets? The planet's aren't theirs to trade!"

"I tend to agree."
"But even Leia is ready to go along. I really thought she wouldn't…"

"Anakin, she's thinking like a tactician. Barring ignoring your warning on defenses, we did the same. Sacrificed this world to save that."

"No. That's not the same. We couldn't fight to save them. We hadn't the resources. We didn't literally trade them away willingly, like trading a speeder bike for a landspeeder. What will they do if those people want to join the Republic and get fair representation?"

"I could remind you, we did make a deal with the hutts."

Anakin fell silent, staring up inside a console. Obi-Wan could only see the luma he was shining inside. "I was hoping…the Alliance would be better than this. Better than the old. Not fall into the same traps."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I know. But perfection is ever elusive. I doubt they'd reject the people of any world that overthrew Pestage by themselves."

"Hmmfh." Anakin grumbled.

Obi-Wan sighed. They had been there and done that. And it was no wonder Anakin resented it happening all over again. They didn't realize just how the Sith could take advantage of such corruption. They probably didn't even realize how close they were coming to being corrupt!

to be continued

Thanks to the X-Wing Rogue Squadron comics and novels for Pestage and Lusankya.