Chapter Nine – Home?

Last chapter – congratulations are in order if you got this far! And now, a lovely, tie-all-the-loose-ends-off chapter to finish. Happy 2011!

The journey, this time, was different. Instead of the crystal clear speed of the past where events were certain, Clari's travel into the recently altered future was slower and took more effort on the Destabiliser's part – it grew hot and shuddered in Clari's grasp. Her vision was again filled with a bizarre myriad of colours, but these too were different from what she had experienced before; the images still were not clearly identifiable, though in a different way. Instead of the scenes speeding past too quickly to see, they were blurry and undefined, only becoming distinct the millisecond before they moved on.

Fighting the disorientation in her head, Clari urged her little creation onward – soon enough she began to pick up speed, racing towards their destination. It was exhilarating, but she was still accelerating. Would she stop in time?

Through the swirls of ambiguous future Clari sensed her destination fast approaching. Alarm bells started to ring in her head – still too fast! She squeezed her eyes shut, praying she wouldn't end up as a red streak on the Council floor –

With a deafening crack, and a jolt that would have sent her eyes flying out of her head if she hadn't closed them, Clari landed, crashing violently to the floor.

At the shocked silence surrounding her she opened her eyes, and became worried – she had materialised in the council room again, but on first glance it looked identical to when she had left. Her fears, however, were alleviated when she saw the people, or more accurately, the differences in the people who stared at her compared to those that had been regarding her five minutes ago – or was it 21 years? Yes, it definitely looked like time had moved on. Sighing internally in relief, she noticed from the corner of her eye a hologram fading, no doubt the promised holorecording from the Council 21 years prior.

"Another happy landing." Clari commented dryly from the floor where she was still sprawled – her head swam too badly to even think about standing up yet.

"Welcome back, Clarissa." A deep voice spoke behind her, another that she could have easily confused with a person from her timeline. She turned, and perceived the speaker as a grey-haired Obi-Wan, looking remarkably like the Jedi she had been taught by, not so long ago in a timeline now far too far away – if less weathered – with an older Anakin seated on his right.

Clari bowed respectfully to the assembled Masters, with a much dignity as she could manage in her dizzy, shocked state, halfway through rising from the floor, "What year is this?"

"21 years exactly after you left us," Anakin replied; Clari smiled widely – the Destabiliser hadn't failed her. She bent down to proudly pick up her time travel device, but at her touch warning alarms sprang up all over the holographic screen, beeping spewing furiously from it as its systems overloaded. Then, with a last pathetic toot and a mournful puff of acrid smoke, the Temporal Destabiliser faltered and went dead, never to reawaken.

"Blast – it burnt out." She stretched out a tentative hand, and before long was opening up the innards of the box. There was nothing but a mangled mess of melted wires, fuses and electrical components – it was broken beyond any possible hope of repair. Clari sighed, lamenting the loss of her last reminder of her time, "Well, that saves me a job, at least."

She had been talking to herself, so was startled when she heard a response from one of the Jedi around her, "Whatever do you mean?"

"When I had finished using the Destabiliser I was given orders to destroy it," she replied after a brief silence, looking up, "for the obvious reasons – the consequences would be disastrous if this technology got into the wrong hands." For Clari, the terror of the damage her Destabiliser could potentially inflict rose like a dizzying cliff in her mind; so did the idea of personally taking her lightsaber to the thing she and her friends had spent an age working over. She knew such emotions were corruptive to the mind of a Jedi – but despite her tireless efforts, these feelings could not be overcome. Perhaps there was only so much you could do to deny your own thoughts and emotions.

Wrapped in her reverie, Clari only heard the closing end to Obi-Wan's speech "...we have orders from our predecessors to make our newest addition to the Jedi Order as settled as possible," he was saying – obviously for her benefit – gesturing to the place where she had seen the holorecording vanish. "I think," Obi-Wan leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on his fingers, expression thoughtful, "now that we have seen Clarissa safely arrived, we should reconvene tomorrow when she has had a chance to be briefed – if everyone is in agreement?"

The council murmured in agreement, and soon everyone was rising, heading for the door. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged a silent conversation – they looked more like brothers that ever, Clari noted as she watched them with her peripheral vision – until Anakin nodded once and moved to fall into step by Clari as they made their way back down into the main body of the Temple.

"Long time no see." Anakin began, laughing as he saw Clari's face, twisted into a painful expression as she tried to wrap her head around the idea. To her, she had only been gone five minutes; to him, she had been gone 21 years. "I trust your journey went without any problems?"

"Oh, yes." Clari smiled sarcastically, "It was just as smooth as usual." They stepped out of the turbo-elevator and parted from the other Masters, who were still regarding Clari as some sort of impossible figment of their imagination.

"Would you like me to show you your new quarters?" Anakin offered obligingly. Clari nodded in reply, too wary to navigate the infamous maze of the temple unaided. Besides, this was also provide her with an opportunity to get up to date with everything that had happened during her absence.

Anakin led the way, Clari having to slow her pace slightly to match his – clearly, he was not the young man he had once been. Clari decided to open the conversation with a millennia-old technique, as clichéd as commenting on the weather, "So, how have you been getting on?"

He shrugged in reply, "Good, I s'pose. As you can see, I haven't turned back to the dark side yet, just as I promised." His face crinkled with amusement, but took no notice of Clari as she regarded him critically.

Time, it seemed, had been kind to Anakin. He was now aged 43, but one wouldn't automatically presume that to be true – only the wisdom in the depths of his ever brilliant azure eyes showed his true age. The shadows of stress under his eyes were gone, smile lines taking their place: his air was one of a man balanced in the Force. It was evident from the nods of respect of those that passed them that he had matured somewhat over the years, and earned the high opinion of his fellow Jedi, not just for being the Chosen One.

Clari waited until they had reached her new permanent rooms in the Knight's quarters before she started probing Anakin with curious questions, keen to avoid the excited stares and whispers that seemed to be following her. She wondered how long it would take before she would have to practise her door-barricading skills.

As she stepped over the threshold of the small apartment, Anakin caught the tone of her mind and chuckled. "You can't blame them for being curious, Clari. After all, you have become a bit of a legend – crazy, mysterious, saviour of the Republic and all that…"

Clari put on her 'modest' face, "That's not right – it wasn't all me."

"Nonetheless…" Anakin let the unspoken words hang in the air between them, indicating to himself; what would have happened if and after Anakin had become Darth Vader. Clari pushed the thought, and where it would have ultimately led, out of her head – she had done far too much wallowing lately as it was.

To Clari's horror, Anakin continued, "This isn't the worst of it – I expect soon you'll have a whole glorious day with the politicians who's precious Republic you saved," groaning, Clari put her head in her hands, mumbling something faintly about a 'happy face' – there was nothing she hated worse than being the centre of attention.

After she had pulled herself together, Clari began her quest for knowledge, "So, what did I miss?"

Anakin considered his answer before he spoke, "In brief, very little. The peace has held, with only a few difficulties along the way – after the Clone Wars ended it was our job to mop up the remnants of the Separatists and the… surprises Sidious had left for us." Anakin winced, and Clari wasn't so sure if she wanted to know what those 'surprises' had been, "That was when we lost Master Windu." Clari's eyes widened, remembering Windu's absence from the High Council – it must have taken quite something to bring down the best Jedi swordsman in the galaxy. "Since then, it's been quiet – too quiet for my liking."

Clari snickered at his pained expression, "Good to know." Her forehead creased as she remembered another conspicuous absence from the Council, fearing the worst, "What about Master Yoda?"

Anakin offered a reassuring smile, "Nothing to worry about – he retired from the Council." He mock-looked around himself for eavesdroppers, snorting contemptuously, "Yoda's getting on now, he thought he'd let some 'young blood' take control of the Order."

Clari raised a suspicious eyebrow, wary of Anakin's reaction, "So, who did the Council appoint as the new Grand Master?"

"You're never going to believe it," Anakin muttered sarcastically, "Obi-Wan."

Restraining herself from doing a victory dance right there and then, Clari watched Anakin's face, analysing it for any hints of the jealousy his younger self would have felt acutely.

"What do you think about it?" Clari probed, keen to find the limits of his maturity.

Anakin shrugged, "He was the best candidate for the job, being such a model Jedi and all." His eyes sparkled slyly, "To be honest, I don't envy him – I don't think Obi-Wan's got a proper night's sleep since he got the job."

There was a pause as Clari chewed her lip, deciding whether to ask her next question, "How have things been with... Padmé... and the twins?"

Anakin sighed, "Variable." Clari felt pity for Anakin – it couldn't have exactly been easy, bringing up children while still trying to stay on good terms with the Jedi Order. "When mine and Padmé's marriage was first announced, the Order was in uproar – I was surprised the Council didn't kick me out after all. Things got... easier the first few months after the twins were born – Padmé had to quit most of her duties as a Senator, but we stuck to the cover story we had been given and everything seemed to be all right.

"When the twins got older, that was when the problems really started. You see, I wanted Luke and Leia trained as a Jedi, Padmé didn't, and the Order would have preferred if they didn't exist at all – the argument went on for weeks. Eventually, we agreed a compromise: the twins would go through the basic training at the Jedi Temple – it would be dangerous if they hadn't – and then they would be offered the choice to continue their Jedi studies and become a Padawan, or to 'pursue other interests'." A proud smile tilted Anakin's lips, "Luke chose to stay with the Order – he's just been knighted – but Leia followed her mother into the grand and mystical world of the Senate."

"Do you see them often?" Clari queried – with the strict non-attachment rule the Jedi had, normal Force-adepts were separated from their parents at a very young age, but would this apply to the Skywalker twins? She suspected not – they had broken just about every other rule in the book so far.

"Not as much as I would have liked. They've both become quite independent, so I'm not sure they would appreciate their dad stalking them."

The relaxed atmosphere was suddenly broken by a shrill beeping from the comm on Anakin's wrist. He answered the call, and Obi-Wan's voice, made tinny by the speaker, instantly began scolding him.

"Anakin, where are you? You do realise your youngling class started five minutes ago." His voice was muffled, and indistinct activity could be heard in the background, mixed with the screams of excited children.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan – I lost track of time."

Obi-Wan had to raise his voice to be heard amongst the incessant noise around him, "Just get down here – it looks like a war zone already!"

As Anakin touched his wrist to end the transmission, his face turned pale and he gulped; Clari snorted, speaking commentator-style, "Next up on 101 ways to kill a Jedi: the Chosen One vs. 20 younglings. But who will win? There's only one way to find out – fiiiiight!"

"Stop mocking me," Anakin scowled, "This is serious."

"Of course," giggled Clari, playing along, "Don't worry Anakin – you're only facing an imminent and painful death. It's no worse than usual."

"Well," Anakin rose and moved to the door, rolling his eyes heaven-ward, "I should go – I'll see you around, Clari."

"Yes, see you around," Clari raised her hand in farewell, "If you survive..." she added mock-menacingly. Chuckling, Anakin left, the door sliding closed behind him.

One hour later, and Clari found herself uncharacteristically bored. The truth of the matter was she had exhausted her already small list of tasks, and her stomach was growling irritably.

Emerging into the corridor, she walked swiftly to the closest turbo-lift – it was mercifully empty. Following her supposed route to the cafeteria, she wandered around, preoccupied with avoiding the occasional curious glance.

Like a subtle itch in the back of her mind, Clari gradually realised that something was out of place. After getting herself thoroughly lost and disgruntled, Clari gave up and headed to another handy turbo-elevator. She berated herself for wasting time by losing her way – though it wasn't exactly hard, even for the veteran residents of the Temple.

This was down to the fatal design flaw of the Temple – the architect who had designed it in the first place had seemed more concerned with appearances than practicality. As a result of this, only a limited number of corridors were able to access the cafeteria, and it was hard work finding them.

Internally cursing at forgetting this, she stormed into the elevator; it already had an occupant, and Clari moved to stand inconspicuously against the back durasteel wall. Her companion, however, had different ideas.

"Hey, are you Clarissa Lihac?" At the sound of the speaker's voice, the small creature in Clari named recognition stirred sleepily, like an animal emerging from hibernation – confused but curious.

"Yes," she sighed, resigning to the torrent of questions she wasn't sure if she was allowed to answer, while examining the floor with great interest.

"Wow." Thankfully, her companion said little else on the subject – she evidently wasn't the sort who was only interested in the reputation of a person, "What were you doing at the Databank?"

"Oh, was that where I was?" Clari replied, raising her eyes to meet the stranger's. A thrill struck her like lightning, freezing her in place: it was Alex. At first, Clari wasn't quite sure if she could believe her eyes – Alex looked almost exactly the same as she had the last time Clari had seen her. It was as if she had been plucked directly from Clari's memories.

Or, not quite – there were a few notable changes between the curious young woman in the lift and the determined leader facing certain death, from that hologram that now seemed a galaxy away. Most notably, the prominent shadows and lines of stress that had hung under the eyes of the woman in Clari's memory had vanished, replaced with cheeks glowing with health. A more subtle change Clari picked up was her posture: this Alex leaned casually against the durasteel, beating out a slow rhythm on her arm with her fingers; the Alex from her memory had had a lithe, panther-like grace, the result of a life as a rebel warrior. In the rest, they were identical - from her tall, gangly frame, to her tanned, open face framing warm hazel eyes, "Alex!"

"Yes," she said with some surprise, taking in Clari's bewildered look, "How do you know my name?"

Clari avoided the question, "Actually, I'm a bit lost, do you know the way to the canteen?"

"Of course," Alex smiled, "I'll take you there, if you like." Clari accepted without hesitation.

15 standard minutes and a plate of Jedi 'delicacies' later, Clari was sure she had found her first friend in this new, strange time. "I've never really thought seriously about having a Padawan," Alex was saying, chewing thoughtfully on the remains of her food, "I'm still quite new to all this knight stuff."

"I think you'd make a good teacher." Clari offered, realising a second too late that she had said the wrong thing.

Alex put down her fork, scrutinising Clari, "Why do you keep saying things like that? You still haven't answered my question - how do you know my name? I don't know..." she struggled for words; Clari stared at her food, "It's like - I've only just met you, but you seem to know me so well!"

"Alex," Clari sighed, "I have known you for 10 years."

"But... that's impossible!" Alex gasped, stating the obvious like it gave her strength, "You haven't even been here one day!"

Clari smiled grimly, "I'm a time traveller, remember? Nothing is impossible."

"You're crazy." Alex shook her head in disbelief.

"Couldn't agree more," Clari grinned peevishly, rising from the table.

"No, wait! Don't go," Alex threw out a startled hand, "It's just that I don't understand."

Clari hmmed in acknowledgement, "Yes, I would probably make more sense if you knew the whole story."

"So tell me it, then."

"I'm sorry – I don't think I can."

"Please? You can trust me – I won't tell anyone." Something in Alex's gaze told Clari she was speaking the truth.

Clari wavered for a moment – she was sure she could trust Alex, but wasn't so sure if Alex would actually accept her story. Be daring, the Force told her. "Fine, I'll tell you – but not here. There are too many people eavesdropping already." She said , eyeballing the woman on the next table, who was so engrossed in listening to their conversation that her hand was frozen halfway to her mouth.

"I know the perfect place." Alex beckoned, leading Clari away from the bustling cafeteria.

"Well, where do I start?"

Alex had predictably led her to an undisturbed corner of the Archives; they sat cross-legged on the floor, like expectant younglings waiting to be told a story. Clari leaned back against the embellished durasteel shelf, Alex mirroring her position across the aisle. Staring at the elegant tiled floor that stretched between them, a wave of isolation surged over Clari. Just like now, only a metre but a sea of tiles away from Alex, she would never be on quite the same level as everyone else. She would always be the outsider, the anomaly, never quite fitting in – at the thought, she felt sadness prickling in her eyes. She rubbed a hand against them, surprised when her hand came away wet.

Noting Alex looking at her curiously, she mentally shook herself and re-gathered her scattered thoughts.

"Where would you like to start?" offered Alex, hungry for information.

"The beginning?" After a brief pause, Clari cleared her throat dramatically then began the tale of her adventures through time, space and male hormones. When Clari was younger, she had read books where a character spilled their darkest secrets to someone close – they had described it like a weight lifting off their head. Clari had then dismissed it as hyperbole; now she wasn't so sure. Her tale in full flow and trusting Alex to accept it, she felt light and free, more content and secure than she had felt in a long while.

They were undisturbed all throughout the time Clari rambled, the only exception the faint hum of the millions of luminous data-pads surrounding them. There was a charged pause after Clari let her words reach their natural conclusion – Clari looked at Alex nervously. The pulsing blue light from the data-pads on the shelves cast strange highlights across their faces, picking out Alex's – surprisingly – relieved expression.

"So there's, like, a parallel version of me, that you know?" she asked – Clari nodded wearily, not being able to muster the energy for more speech.

Neither could think of anything to say – Alex was silent for longer than usual as she ran through Clari's story. Eventually, Alex's face split into a wide grin.

"So, let's get this straight – you find this weird because I'm so similar to the me you knew before?" Clari nodded cautiously in reply, wary of the excited glint in Alex's eye. At this, Alex rose, beckoning to Clari before walking off, expecting Clari to follow. Her curiosity sparked, Clari hurried after Alex as she darted between the shelves.

"Where are we going?" Clari whispered – out of habit, there was no one around – but Alex stubbornly refused to reveal her scheme, saying only that it would make Clari's life 'a whole lot weirder'.

Stunned into silence, Clari paused – how could her life physically get any weirder? Alex was still walking, turning the corner out of sight; Clari shook herself out of the reverie she had sunk into, and ran after her friend. Putting on an extra burst of speed as she rounded the corner, Clari caught hold of Alex's arm, tugging her to a stop.

"Where are you taking me?"

Alex met her eyes, before nodding over Clari's shoulder, "Here."

Confused, Clari turned around. They had reached a clearing in the towering forest of shelves, lit by shafts of light that spilled through wide, high windows. Before Clari were a small group of table – true to the style of the Temple, a single table could fit at least 20 people around it. A slanted column of light fell on the closest table, illuminating the six Jedi who sat around it. Clari looked back at Alex, perplexed, but Alex just smiled knowingly, and moved past Clari towards the table.

Clari followed, until she could see more clearly what the Jedi were doing. They were playing cards – each had five small piles of cards in front of them, and another, larger pile face down beside them. The Jedi, mainly women of around Clari's age, were talking, laughing and as Clari watched, an order was called out by someone and the game began. It was strange to look at: a kind of mad rush of stacking cards, all done using the Force. In a sudden flash of nostalgia, Clari remembered playing an identical game called Tug as a padawan – the objective was to get rid of all your cards on one of the piles in front of each player, and then try to move the smallest pile over to you, again using the Force.

Coming back to the present, Clari saw the exact same thing happening now: one of the card piles was hovering a few centimetres above the surface of the table, jerking erratically as it was pulled in several directions at once.

Watching their faces with interest, Clari was suddenly sent staggering by the unexpected power of the realisation that had hit her – these faces were familiar, painfully familiar.

For a brief moment Clari's mind cleared, and it was like her thoughts and everything around her jumped sharply into focus; Alex turned hopefully towards her, her face standing out with the other faces of Clari's long lost friends, like purely held notes in a tumultuous cacophony of sound. Lightheaded in disbelief and wonder, Clari's stunned brain finally put names to faces: Danni, perceptive blue eyes, open, emotive face; Hannah, large spills of wild mahogany curls, spidery, agitated hands; Fern, wide, naive eyes, brow furrowed as she focused her attention on the floating cards.

The other three Jedi Clari didn't recognise. No, correction, one of them she had known – Lesa Starfall, a young force adept Clari had befriended during her time on Yavin 4.

Suddenly, there was a sharp ripping noise, and the floating stack of cards exploded in a flurry of ripped paper.

"Danni!" the chorus of riled voice filled the air, bringing Clari back from her thoughts.

"Why does everyone look at me whenever this happens?" Danni protested, shaking debris out of her hair.

"Usually because you cause it." Chimed in Alex, taking an empty seat at the table, before looking back at Clari, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Clari."

Clari felt herself step forward from the shadows, as seven pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. Hannah spoke first, "Is that Clari, as in Clarissa Lihac, the time-traveller?"

"Yes." Clari struggled to find her voice – her old friends were here, all here!

"Ooh, new person!" Sang Danni happily, breaking the unfilled pause. Clari sat down nervously next to Alex.

Hannah shrugged, ignoring her friend's sporadic outburst, "Sorry, I would offer to deal you in, but since Danni here destroyed the fourth pack of cards this week..."

"Surely that's not very Jedi-like – card games?" Clari observed, smiling widely – it was an old joke she had been teased about before.

Fern, ever willing to please, piped up, "But Master Yoda says that we must practise communicating with the Force." At this there was an outburst of laughter, dispelling the tension in the air.

"Fern, I don't think that's quite what Master Yoda meant."

Fern shrugged, and Clari thought she would get away with being invisible, until Danni enquired, "So - Clari, was it? - do you know anyone here yet?"

"Only a few - Alex, Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker-" Clari was interrupted by an odd cross between a squeal and a sigh, that seemed to have come from Alex. Everyone stared at Alex's blushing face in astonished silence; with another muted squeak, she hid under the table.

"I know what this is about," Padawan Lesa smirked from the corner, "I think young Alex here has a crush on his son, Luke." Instantly, there were loud exclamations of denial from under the table, and everyone laughed.

"Don't worry," Clari smiled at Alex under the table, coaxing her out, "It happens to everyone."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Danni raised a delicate eyebrow, directing her sceptical gaze at Clari - the smile hovering at the edge of her mouth told Clari she was only joking.

"Of course," Clari replied in the same tone, "And I suppose you and Calo Santorini are just friends, then?"

Caught off guard, Danni could do little but stare open mouthed as Clari and Alex gloated contentedly. "I suppose I should mention," Alex inserted into the stunned silence, "Clari knows all of us too, in her own special way."

"Impossible." someone muttered - or perhaps it was everyone; an emotional echo through the Force.

"You have to remember, I am a time traveller - weird stuff happens to me as a matter of course." Clari spoke, easing the tension. "So yes, I knew the other versions of most people here, until I changed history, which changed you."

"Changed history?" Lesa almost shrieked - there was a cumulative 'shhh' from around the table, "Right, this is just getting too weird..."

Clari sighed, "Tell me about it."

"What she means, is that that's not at all what the stories about you said," Fern elaborated.

"Really?" Clari stroked her imaginary beard, "I'm curious, what do the stories say about me?"

"Umm, well," someone spoke, "obviously they say that you helped Master Skywalker kill Darth Sidious-"

"I heard that Clari killed Sidious herself!" piped up Fern.

"No, Anakin killed Sidious, that's why he's the Chosen One, remember?" Clari corrected.

At the same time that Fern nodded, Clari thought she picked up a stray thought through the Force. It was hazy, but seemed to imply 'so, first name terms then?'. The thought crossed Clari's mind of how surreal this was: the Anakin Skywalker of her study had been 20 years younger that the present version - but how different had the two become?

Someone obviously picked up Clari's train of thought, because Hannah's next comment was, "Are you sure you don't mean Luke Skywalker - his dad's, well... ancient."

"He's not that old," Clari defended, "and besides, when I did my mission he was only 22, and incredibly handsome."

There were noises of incredibly un-Jedi like debate between Danni and Hannah for several minutes, only intensified when Clari told them that Obi-Wan had been equally, if not more handsome.

Clari, Fern and Alex exchanged rueful looks - this sense of comradeship filled Clari with a warm feeling; her heart glowed.

Eventually, the two girls' discussion petered out, and Clari took in a long breath, gathering her courage, "Joking aside, I'm still new, and I-I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Don't worry-" Hannah re-assured.

"We'll be your friends-" Danni chorused, beaming.

"We'll be here to help you." finished Alex.

Lesa thrust her hand into the centre of the table, "Handpile time!" There were laughs, but everyone played along, piling their hands together.

"To the future." Clari proposed.

"To the future!" Came the chorus in reply, perhaps just a bit too loudly - just enough that it attracted the attention of Jocasta Nu, the fearsome librarian.

"Padawans, will you keep it down - this is a library!"

Yay! And so this 11 month adventure of Clari and her imagination ends – I'd like to thank my friends, my family, my dog... Tell me what you think, and watch this space – I've already started another 'What if' story (this time with added evil Anakin). I hope you enjoyed it!