Synchronous

011: Fracture, 49%

A Sith-turned-bounty-hunter, a Jedi Padawan, four clone troopers, a time-traveling politician, a time-traveling smuggler, and a time-traveling slash body-hopping Jedi all sitting together in the same apartment room.

It sounded like the beginning of a really terrible joke.

"So," Ahsoka concluded, "you're not Anakin?"

"Luke." Not-Anakin affirmed with only a slight bow of his head.

It made sense. Sort of. If one threw away any and all disbelief, reason, and sense. It explained his odd behavior, his gaps in memory, and his willingness to work with Ventress.

"So that's why you haven't been as nagging as usual." Ahsoka crossed her arms.

She half-hoped for him to snap back at her with something witty. But Luke only offered a half-smile that looked too relaxed on Anakin's face. "It's not my place."

It saddened her somewhat, however. The fact that the peace and ease that she had seen her master carry these past few weeks had apparently been carried by another.

"Where…" Ahsoka struggled to find her voice. "Where is Anakin then…?"

Leia and Luke exchanged a look.

"Well, that's…"

"We're better without him." Leia clipped. "Trust me."

Ahsoka bristled at this but called herself. Out of the corner of her eye, the men exchanged looks. Meanwhile, Ventress remained in the corner of the room with crossed arms and with half of a smirk pulling on the edge of her lips.

"But why you?" Ahsoka questioned, tapping her chin before gesturing to them with a quirked brow. "I know the Force works in mysterious ways but there has to be a reason for why you're in his body and the others came here themselves."

The three time-travelers exchanged looks with one another. Han then ruffled his hair and spread himself out on the couch across from her and shrugged.

Ahsoka found herself frowning at this. They were making themselves a little bit too comfortable in her master's apartment, weren't they? Exactly how much of his bank credits had they spent since they got here?

Luke opened his mouth. "Well, that's because…" He trailed off as he seemed to catch onto Leia's narrowing eyes.

Ahsoka made a face of ultimate displeasure. "More secrets?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then, what is it?"

"Enough of this." Leia snapped. "We need to get to the point." She eyed the clones who sat stiffly together at the dining table opposite her and then at Ahsoka who strayed by Luke's side. "We told you the details of our arrival here, and now you need to provide us with everything you believe we need to know regarding this time." Before any of the clones could interject, she continued, "As we've said, the Empire's propaganda has censored the past — your present — regarding the war and many things have been censored. Even with my connections, I had trouble collecting the entire picture. Right now we need to discuss persons of interest associated in this war and who are most likely associated in the Empire's rise." She sighed and placed her hands on her hips and exchanged a look with Luke. "That and we need to make sure no suspicion falls onto Luke from people close to him for his odd behavior. After we gather everything we know and extract the data from the drives Asajj stole we can address these microchips." She paused, glancing over at the Jedi Knight. "Luke?"

The attention in the room slowly drifted over to the addressed. To the addressed who looked rather contemplative and thoughtful. He was staring at a space in-between Ahsoka and the clones and snapped to attention when Han kicked his foot.

"Right. We have the Emperor who's serving as the current Chancellor." Luke cleared his throat. "And we know Obi-wan whom we knew as Ben in our time—"

"That's right!" Ahsoka straightened. "Master Kenobi! We can tell him about this. He'll know what to do—"

"No." Leia clipped resolutely. "We're already risking a lot by telling you lot this. The more people that are involved, the more risks that are involved." She paused, expression growing distant. "As much as I have faith in Kenobi, we cannot risk this getting any more out of hand than it already has. It's as simple as that."

"But—" Ahsoka began to protest, glancing at Luke for assistance. But Luke was not looking at her. His eyes were trained on Leia's commanding figure. And that very fact made Ahsoka falter. For a moment, she had nearly forgotten.

"Well, I might be stating the obvious," Jesse interjected before glowering at Ventress darkly, "but seeing as how she's here, I think General Grievous and Count Dooku should be added to that list of involved and suspected people you're building. Pretty sure you know about them already though."

Ventress merely sneered.

"Yes, right..." Leia nodded agreeably at them. Suddenly, she stiffened and her lips pulled even more downwards than before. "We didn't mention this earlier, but I believe Tarkin is involved as well."

As soon as the name left Leia's lips, Ahsoka visibly stiffened.

"Is there something wrong, Ahsoka?" Luke asked.

Ahsoka quickly uncrossed her arms. "No… the only things I know about him are what Anakin's told me in passing…"

"I see even now he's hanging with those sorts of people." Leia snapped.

Ahsoka exchanged a look with Fives.

"I... get the feeling that you don't like the General very much." Fives noted. "He can be a little rough around the edges and reckless but that's what makes him a good Genera—"

"I'd rather not hear the opinion of someone who's been working unquestionably under the hand of the Emperor."

"Hey." Fives frowned. "I serve the Republic. Not the Emperor or whatever you're calling 'im."

"Your Republic fell." Leia returned, and before Fives could respond she swept out the room and out to the balcony.

Han and Luke watched her go with clouded expressions before they exchanged looks with one another. There was an understanding between them it seemed. A connection. Han nodded at Luke before rising from his seat to head out onto the balcony. Asajj watched him go with a slight frown.

"I take it that she's as fond of the General as she is of us." Jesse grumbled after sharing a look with Tup who looked the most uncomfortable with the situation.

"She's been through a lot…" Luke returned. "She has her reasons."

"You gonna tell us what those reasons are, sir? I mean all we really know is that apparently, the Chancellor's actually a Sith Lord and that he's somehow involved in the cloning facilities and that whatever he's planning leads to the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire." Fives said. He ran his fingers over the medical bandages at his temple and eyed Luke with uncertainty.

"You can just call me Luke." Luke responded before he smiled thoughtfully although a bit half-heartedly. "It's not my place to tell you what those reasons are." He thought for a moment before he added, "But when she is ready, I believe that she'll tell you." He looked away towards the balcony and trailed off: "Hopefully we can…"

Ahsoka and the men looked at him expectantly but he did not finish. Ahsoka glanced at Han and found that the man was now crossed-armed and staring at the clones as if the entire thing was a regular occurrence.

A beat of uneasy silence passed.

"It seems ridiculous that he'd be right under us." Jesse finally said as he shook his head.

"The Chancellor has control over the Senate." Leia's voice carried from the balcony.

"Even still, I still don't understand how he could be right under the Order's nose."

"The Emperor is a skilled manipulator," Luke replied as he returned his attention them. He ruminated, reminisced, eyes growing distant. He turned to Ahsoka and drew slowly, "When I first arrived here, I felt something was off. Something was wrong with the Force. It was saturated with darkness in my time but it was beginning to clear. I think the Emperor may be clouding the Force somehow." He frowned somewhat and despite the fact that the expression looked natural on Anakin's face it seemed unbecoming of him. "The Order…."

Once again, Luke did not finish.

Ahsoka studied him for a long moment before she began to speak. "Hey, I—"

But Luke had already unfolded himself from his seat and was heading out onto the balcony just as Han was re-entering the room. "I'm going to speak with Leia. I'll be right back."

"Right." Ahsoka pulled back and rubbed her arm.

Luke took in the cold night air as he stepped out onto the balcony and fell into place at his sister's side. She was leaning against the balustrade and threw only a half glance in his direction. He offered a half-smile in return but remained silent as he studied the narrow, winding alleys of the city.

"Bail — he…" Leia finally said. "I didn't mention this earlier but he thinks very highly of Vader." Luke didn't move to protest her address of his father and instead waited for her to continue: "I wonder if there's anything he hasn't touched here."

They enjoyed the quietness that fell in-between them.

"I found out who our mother is the other day." Luke found himself saying suddenly. He flushed somewhat. "I mean, our birth mother."

This gave Leia pause, and Luke observed her carefully. The city light crescented her face in gold but it left the other have of her face colorless and pale.

"It's Senator Amidala, isn't it?"

Luke paused.

"You must have inherited your kindness from her," Leia said, turning away from him so that her face was now fully bathed in the golden light.

Luke stared at her before he returned, "And you inherited your ability to lead from her." He chuckled lightly but hid it with his hand. "Then again, I think that ability is all your own." When she did not respond, he reached out to press his hand over hers which rested on the balustrade.

She did not speak. She did not stiffen. She did not move away.

For a while, hand in hand, they stood in silence.

SPLIT

When Luke returned to the living room he found that Han and the clones were talking animatedly with each other, Asajj was gone, and Ahsoka was rising to make her leave. They met each other's eyes he smiled at her gently in turn but that seemed to simply alarm her even further. She quickly turned her head away from him and excused herself.

Luke knew that she needed some time to digest all of this information. It was perfectly understandable. Her master was not her master. Her Order was being manipulated. The Republic that she stood for was near its point of crumbling. The future that she aspired to make brighter was wrought with darkness.

Luke felt for her. He truly did. And he could not help but watch solemnly as she exited the apartment—

Her receding back was oddly familiar to him, he realized suddenly, abruptly. But he couldn't quite place why. What was it…? The only thing he could place was an odd feeling that was seizing his chest. What was it…? It felt as if she was going to leave him forever.

Before he could stop himself, he found himself moving forward. He could feel the clones and Han watching him but he didn't care for their attention at the moment. He didn't even quite know what he cared for at the moment. His feet carried him to the doorway, and his hand rose to activate the keypad.

"Luke?" Leia questioned as she re-entered the room behind him.

"I just need to check on her." Luke heard his voice say.

The door slid open in front of him.

He took a step forward and—

— 50%

anomaly ? ? ?

His ears prick wIth static. His vision goes in and out of focus? hIS liMBS feel detatcHed as iF tHey arE noT HIs oWn.

mechanical breathing. the whir of a saber. moisture farm. temple. temple. coruscant. obi-wan. ahsoka. padme.

Something has gone wrong. Something he CaN't quiTE put his FinGER On? Like something has bEEn cUT out and rePlACED wITH sOMEtHING tHAT dIDn'T fIT. Like the time he accidentally plAced the WRONG gEAR IN the transmisSions system of tHat sPeeder on Tattoine.

Yes, that time.

Watto is not pleased when he places the wrong gear in the transmissions system in that speeder. Watto yells, shouts, grumbles, complains, snaps. Watto even kicks the speeder down for good measure. But he is okay. He is okay because he is welcomed into the warm, comforting arms of his mother. Even though he is a slave, he is okay.

— he took a step forward and—

[Something was wrong, he knew. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. What was it? He had to think. Something about his situation was wrong. Like something had been cut out and replaced with something that didn't fit. Like that one time he'd accidentally planted the wrong seeds out into the field on the moisture farm.

Moisture.

There was moisture on the back of his neck — sweat?

But why?

And besides that fact, there was some else present that did not belong. A hazy feeling slowly began to ebb away into the confusion. That hazy feeling — what was it? It was a familiar yet foreign feeling. A sort of feeling he had come to terms with long ago and learned to let go. An unpleasant sensation that churned his stomach.]

— and blinking in confusion, Luke stepped through the threshold of the door — and into another room, which was odd since he was certain he'd been heading out the entrance. Then again, his father's apartment was still rather unfamiliar to him. He could very well have gone through the wrong door.

The room was small but well-lit and furnished with a square table. At the table sat two figures. Two familiar figures. Both who rose to a stand at his entrance. Both who were very familiar to Luke. The most familiar of the two rose first and stepped forward with raised a brow.

"Obi-wan?" Luke blinked. "What are you doing in my apartment?"

Obi-wan stopped in his approach and shared a look with Ahsoka who stood behind him. "Anakin, firstly, you're the one who called us here. Secondly, last time I checked, this wasn't your apartment." He paused and looked Luke over. "Unless you've recently decided to rent out another apartment on the outskirts of the city. If that is the case then I think I have to call into question your sense of taste."

The hazy feeling was still there swirling around at the pit of his stomach. Was that… fear?

"I— uh…"

"Master," Ahsoka pressed, peering into his face as if searching for something. Almost hoping for something. "You commed both me and Master Kenobi. Don't you remember?"

Luke felt the hazy feeling recede and a blanket of familiar calm lay itself over his chest. He let out a breath and tried to recollect his thoughts. He didn't understand what they were referring to. He hadn't commed anyone since he'd arrived back on Coruscant. Judging by their expressions, however, they believed a different story. A story he would have to go along with until he understood the full scope of his situation. He hummed, "Oh, right. I just wanted to meet up. Since we haven't seen each other in a while…"

It was only for a second but Ahsoka's expression faltered. She quickly covered up her disappointment with crossed arms and a well-directed smirk. "What? You saw me a couple of hours ago and you miss me already?"

"A couple hours?" Luke stared at her. Stared past her out the window that opened up just behind her. Sunrise. It was just on the horizon. But that was impossible. He had only seen her a couple minutes ago. And it had been night.

Ahsoka glanced at Obi-wan and then met Luke's gaze with an even forceful smirk. "Come on, Skyguy, you didn't hit your head again, did you?" There was unmistakable worry in her eyes.

"Really now? Don't tell me you two were attempting to come up with a sympathetic story to explain your behavior on Kamino to the council." Obi-wan interjected as looked in-between the two of them as he stroked his beard. "That was quite the tale I heard from Master Shaak-Ti, by the way. I'm a bit sullen that I wasn't invited along for the adventure."

Again, Luke was startled out of his swirling thoughts by Obi-wan's biting tongue and coy demeanor. It took him several seconds to gather himself; and when he did, he offered a shrug. "How'd you know?"

But Obi-wan did not take the bait. Instead, the amusement that had spread across his face receded and was placed by an unreadable expression. He was searching Luke's face for something. Something that he could apparently not find.

"Anakin, your call sounded urgent," Obi-wan said.

"I was just very excited for all of us to get together again." Luke returned a little too quickly, a little too nervously. What in the world was wrong with him? His thoughts and feelings felt all out of sorts. He had released those feelings — he was sure of it. But they still felt like they were clinging to him somehow. Dragging him down, down, down—

"Anaki—"

A static beep from Luke's wrist cut Obi-wan off short, and Luke felt relief seep into his bones. He quickly reached up and activated the com on his rest.

"Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker," a voice rang out from the device, "your presence is requested in the Chancellor's chambers immediately." The device crackled as the message ended.

A strange feeling washed over Luke in that instant. Rather, a mixture of feelings he didn't quite understand. Of course, he felt a blip of alarm at being summoned by the Emperor but he quickly released that feeling into Force. But that left an even stranger feeling lingering in his chest. One that he could not rid himself of.

Relief.

Which was the opposite emotion that was on Ahsoka's face. With great effort, she brought down her raised brows and closed her open mouth. Taking a step forward, she glanced at Obi-wan and then back at Luke. "It's not important, is it…?"

Luke met her gaze and offered a subtle, sympathetic smile. "Well, it's the Chancellor, Ahsoka. It'd be strange if I didn't treat it with urgency." He thumbed the door behind him. "I should probably be going." He thought for a moment. "Ah, and I'm sorry that I called you out here just to leave. We should all grab some of the fritters some time, alright?" Although he directed the question at both of them, he maintained his eye contact with his father's padawan.

"Alright," Ahsoka returned without much emotion. She looked as lost in her thoughts as he normally was.

With that, Luke nodded and swallowed before turning towards the doorway.

He would, of course, have to head to the Chancellor's chambers but he had to try to figure out what happened to him before that. Evidently, he had lost time somehow. It could be somehow attributed to the head injury suffered by his father's body but that seemed too simple of an answer. And then there was the com message. And then there was Han and Leia. What had happened to them in these past couple hours? Were they still in the apartment? Did they see him leave? Were they all alright? And then that feeling—

"Before you go, Anakin," Obi-wan said suddenly, causing Luke to pause and turn his head. "Do you recall the last thing you said when you commed me?"

Luke stared at him and tried to think of what the least suspicious response would be. After a moment, he cocked a brow and gave half of a smile. "Goodbye?" He tried.

Obi-wan studied him before offering a wan smile. "Bye."

Obi-wan sat in his chambers, cross-legged, eyes closed. Tentatively through the Force he reached out for the old training bond that hung between him and his former Padawan. He held it gently there and gave it the gentlest of tugs.

Distantly, the memory of Anakin's voice rang through his head. He had been panting, heaving as he spoke to Obi-wan through the com-link. Evidently, he had been running. Long, hard, fast. Rushing, in other words. A panicked sort of rush that Anakin always tended to fall into when he felt extremely pressured. Obi-wan had chastised him about it many times before, and Anakin had somewhat tamed the behavior. But tonight the behavior had returned in full bloom. It had returned with such force that Obi-wan nearly panicked himself when he received Anakin's call. He had been making his rounds around Coruscant in the early morning at the time and had nearly startled when Anakin's voice screamed through the com. Anakin had said several nonsensical things during the call. None of which had made any sense. His words had been too garbled by his panicked panting, too slurred by his heavy breathing. But the final words spoken rang clearly in Obi-wan's ears:

"Wait, Obi-wan. I…When I get there... You'll know if it's not me."

Faintly, almost unnoticeably, the training bond tightened from the other end.

Out in the open courtyard of the Jedi Temple, Padawan Caleb Dume was filling out his mission report alongside several of his fellow padawan companions. They had already shared vivid stories of their first off-world mission and were now grumbling dispassionately about all of the paperwork involved with their newfound duties.

One of the padawans sitting beside Caleb spared a glance at his report and then frowned. "Er, Caleb..."

Caleb raised a brow. "What?"

"Did you hit your head or something, Caleb? Your name... You wrote down Kanaan Jarrus."

—52%

A/N: And now things will begin to unravel for poor Luke and his companions. Rubs hands together. What happened during Luke's missing time \('-')/~ okay haha that's enough of that. But we've hit the point of no return. Anyways, lots o dialogue during this chapter orz. after the next chapter the story is going to split into three storylines that i PRAY i can handle, haha

Anyways I hate to beat a dead horse but i recently republished my ebook due to certain issues ™. It's 99c right now so if you're vibing it you can check it out at this link:

amazon dot com/dp/B082851F4G

Also if you're ever bored sometime, I'm also starting a fantasy-ish web novel which you can check out for free here minus the spaces (The about page has a brief synopsis):

sixchances. home. blog

Btw I am just a little bit proud of the six chances website and my wix website... like i feel like such a computer wiz now because i learned how to set it up and everything. i feel like those hackers in those csi shows, like "I'm in"

With that being said. Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews!

And now to respond to some of the reviews….

TaitanoRules555: Thank you? so much? for all your reviews? plo koon and the inquisitor both have a significant role in this story! and i'm glad you enjoyed the awkwardness. a okay with the more detailed fights! and yes, i've read a couple of the comics! just the canon ones though

King of fans: Your review made me really happy for some reason, haha. information is successful exchanged just in the nick of time for shit to hit the fan. finger guns

Mahina: I appreciate your enthusiasm! i actually had plans for han to be a game-changing character when i first made this story because of his history ™. Is han your favorite character?

Nataly SkyPot: Gracias!

Rrit: Thanks for your support! I really appreciate it! ALSO AHHHH MR ROBOT FAN YES LIKE LITERALLY NO ONE I KNOW WATCHES IT! THIS SEASON IS BREAKING ME MAN

See y'all next time!